Today we traveled southeast from Gallup stopping first at El Morro National Monument.
El Morro is a sandstone formation with a pool of water at the base which is fed by rain and snow, not from underground springs.
Throughout time people traveled through this area stopping at this oasis to camp under the cliffs. Early desert hunter-gathers, from which the Zuni Indians are descended, left their mark here with petroglyphs.
The Zuni Indians call this place Atsinna meaning "place of writings on the rock". This continues to be a sacred place for the Zuni Indians.
Spanish explorers called this area El Morro. The first inscription by the Spanards was by Don Juan Onate on April 16, 1605.
Onate had officially colonized New Mexico in 1598. Spanish inscriptions followed were written by governors, soldiers and priests as they traveled through this area.
After the Mexican-American War (1846-48) expeditions were made by the U. S. Army into this Zuni country. This rock was called Inscription rock. Following the soldiers were folks moving to California, railroad-survey expeditions and a group that was called the U.S. Army Camel Corps. All these folks added their inscriptions on the rocks. Within the camel corps were P. Gilmer Breckinridge of Virginia and a E. Pen Long from Baltimore whose inscriptions are on the rocks.
From El Morro we traveled to the east to El Malpais (the badlands in Spanish). This area is covered with volcanic rock from lava that flowed from a crater 2000-3000 years ago. This National Monument has hiking trails. We were unable to go on the trails as there was alot of snow and mud covering the trails.
When we returned to Gallup we dropped Travis off at the motorhome and went out to dinner. This being Sunday we found that many restaurants were closed today. El Rancho Hotel, Motel and restaurant was open so we went there. El Rancho is an old hotel that opened in December 1937 by a brother of a movie magnate, D. W. Griffith. As films were being made in this area movie stars ( Ronald Reagan, Kirk Douglas, Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn among others) were registered here. This establishment is still in operation as a hotel/motel. The lobby and restaurant remain in a southwestern decor. Interesting place.
