Day 112 - Sunday - a new culture

Day 112 - Sunday - a new culture

After a good night's sleep Vick goes out to feed the cats and receives a 1000 year welcome - I guess they would have preferred we spent the night with them!  While they're enjoying breakfast we do the same, and later gather up our belongings and negotiate the hotel parking lot to get on Historic Route 66 - the main street of Gallup.

Although we filled the tank yesterday gas prices in Gallup are reasonable so we "top up" the RV, discovering that the 138 miles from Albuquerque cost us $65 in fuel!  We also need some groceries and I've discovered 2 Albertson's supermarkets on Route 66.  The first one has no space in the parking lot so we keep going.  About the time Vicky is worrying we've gone too far, and the street numbers are so high the second store must not exist, we also realize we're heading out of town in the wrong direction.  Vicky summons the phone lady who takes us across the railroad tracks, around a residential block, back across the tracks and back on Route 66.   She gets us on I-40 and we head 4 miles east (!) and come to US491 which is the road we need to take.

There's a Safeway supermarket on this road.  We get into the parking lot and walk down to the store - at the other end so we get good exercise.  We do our shopping, walk another long distance back to the RV and set off up the road.

Our first stop was to have been the Navajo Nation Zoo where one of my ferret charges from the Phoenix Zoo is enjoying a well earned retirement.  Except that today is Sunday and the zoo is closed so we don't get to visit her.  No problem - we have another planned stop at the Hubbell Trading Post National Monument. 

Vicky has printed directions to this.  We've headed from New Mexico into Arizona on AZ264 and the directions say US191 0.3 miles.  We turn left on US191 and after going a mole realize something is wrong.  The phone lady is still available and has me turn the RV, with the car in tow, onto a country road that is mostly sand.  We figure she wants us to do a u-turn but you don't do that in a 11,000lb RV pulling a car on a sand road!

After consultation we unhitch the car and I'm about to try to turn the RV.  This is when Vicky investigates a road that leads to a ranch with a large parking lot.  I drive the RV down there and with Vicky's help get it turned around.  She drives the car down, we hitch up and are able to get back on US191 and retrace our steps.  At this point I'm really stressed out!  Turns out we should never have turned on US191.  We get back on AZ264 West and after 0.3 miles there is the entrance to Hubbell Trading Post.

The access road involves a narrow one-lane bridge that is wide enough for the RV but at this point I'm so stressed it's not easy for me.  We make it across and then into the parking lot.  Fortunately there are only about 4 cars there so with Vicky's help I'm able to turn the RV around and we park it where it will be easy to drive out.  But I need a rest.

The Hubbell trading Post was built in the 19th century by a Mr. Hubbell who lived there with his wife and 2 sons until his death in 1930.   He spoke English and Spanish and taught himself the Navajo language.  He traded with the Navajo and became highly respected.  The trading post remained in his family until his daughter in law gave it to the National Parks Service.  It still operates today and we were able to see Navajo rugs and jewelry, as well as food and supplies.  We also visited the barn which had yokes for fraft animals and even a vintage gas pump!   At this point we returned to the RV, ate some lunch and then went into the Visitor Center.

The ranger explains to us how to see the rest of the complex and then takes us into the Hubbell's home - a large log cabin that still has the original furnishings and family photos.  The ranger lets us out the back door where there's a large (non working) oven and sitting in one of the grill areas is a large black and white cat!  He's happy to let us pet him, then gets up and starts to lead us around the back.  We figure he iswas our tour guide but we soon come to a door he obviously wants to go through, and he leaves us there.

We check out the rest of the yard including their small flock of churro sheep - their wool makes the best rugs, and finally head back to the RV.  Vicky volunteers to drive.  She has no problem with the narrow bridge and we're soon on the road again.  The only problem is that, to get to our planned stop at the Hopi Cultural Center we have to go exactly 63.7 miles from a certain traffic circle (roundabout) and then turn right - no street names or anything!

Vicky gives me the odometer reading and we head across the Navajo lands, eventually entering Hopi country - the Hopi reservation is completely surrounded by the Navajo reservation.  I haven't talked about the vegetation - mostly scrub land that's not much good for farming although at one point we rose to 7,500 feet and were surrounded by ponderosa pines.

As we travel the Hopi country the land is rugged - small mountains with rocks and not a lot of vegetation.  We climb to the top of a mesa - Second Mesa - and do find the Hopi Cultural Center right where it was supposed to be.  There are craft shops - now closed, a hotel and a restaurant but they're happy to let us park the RV in their parking lot.  we do that, give the kids their dinner and then head into the restaurant.  We have a traditional Hopi dinner - for me red beans and ground beef in a spicy broth, accompanied by green chilies and blue corn fry bread, of which more anon.  Vicky settles for a lamb stew, also with the chilies and fry bread, and we both agreed it was great.  We'll try their breakfast tomorrow.

Since everything else is closed we end up having a quiet evening with the cats, and I, for the first time on this journey, get the blog totally up to date!