Day 47 - Our day on the Rez

Got up early to get a head start on the desert and the heat.  We actually left an hour earlier than expected and it's a really good thing!  The GPS sent us in the wrong direction.  We should have been headed to Shiprock, NM instead of climbing to the mountains.  We turned around and started toward Shiprock.  Couldn't convince Sir Garmin of GPS we were on the right road, so I told him I wanted to go to the Taco Bell in Shiprock.  Picked the right road! 

We passed this trading post on the way back to Cortez!

One last view of Mesa Verde:

And a shot of the Silver Bean.  It's a Cortez coffee shop in an Airstream!

On the road to Shiprock!  It's a Navajo Reservation town, but we had to leave the Ute Reservation first.

Then it's New Mexico!

Then it's Shiprock!  The name comes from a rock formation in the desert.  I wish I could have gotten a better shot, but it's sacred ground there.

One more time in an attempt to confuse Sir Garmin into give us the right road.  We were supposed to take Highway 491 to Gallup, NM.  If you've even traveled between Shiprock and Gallup, you may not recognize the road number.  It used to be Highway 666 or the Devil's Highway.  You can read more about this historic road at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Route_491

It's a long, roller coaster road through the desert.  We passed many hogans and many mobile homes with tires on the roof.  My brother the roofer says it's to keep the roof on!

We get to Gallup and decided to have lunch at Earl's on Route 66.  We've eaten here before and were looking forward to it.  I guess everyone else was, too, as we couldn't find a place to park.  We drove a little way on Route 66 and found a City Parking Lot, so we pulled in there next to the railroad track.  Fixed lunch and then a train went right by the window.  It rattle Chrissy a little.  Then it started to rain!  Didn't see that coming!

Back on the road and Sir Garmin was tricked again into giving us the right directions!  We gave him directions to a location on I-40. After that, he knew where our campground was.

We passed through Continental Divide, NM where the elevation is over 7,000'.

We're still in the desert, but we're climbing.  It's starting to rain over the desert, too.  It looks like a light gray curtain pulled across the landscape.  It may look beautiful, but it can cause problems.  It's monsoon season and the remnants of Hurricane Alex were pulled up into parts of the western US.  When we got to the campground, we learned that a lot of flash flood warnings were up.  I'm currently reading "Over the Rim - Death in Grand Canyon."  Really paying attention to the flash flood part!

We've stayed at Enchanted Trails RV and Trading Post in the past and like this campground.  It's just outside of Albuquerque and easy to get to most places nearby.  We visited the office and they suggested some places for dinner.  We chose La Hacienda in Old Town.  The food was great and our waiter, Matthew, had gone to school in Georgia.

Meeting friends here tomorrow!

See ya down the road!

Jenny :)