Day 13 - Holbrook to Gallup - 'Inspired' 05/03/10

Day 13

5-03-10

Holbrook to Gallup

This morning came very early due to a restless night’s sleep. My concerns were how many available services would be operating for this section of the journey. My map shows several, but the information I get from locals invalidate the map. My only alternative is to ride into Gallup if the sources are right. I decide an early start will be to my advantage if the day is long. So, 6 am I leave Holbrook with clear skies, no clouds whatsoever and big red beaming down warming the earth and me in 28 degree weather. I am surprised the streets are not more active with Monday morning traffic. At this time in the morning Holbrook is a ghost town. One truck passes me as I enter I-40. I climb for two miles, the first of many as I was told “rolling hills” and stop to take a picture of the desert and its horizon. There’s very little vegetation, and I think the trip will not be as pleasant as my past days of riding due to the lack of character this land mass is showing at this moment. I think for a while and realize something is missing. Wildflowers. I have not seen any for some time. (picture) I come to a bridge that breaks the monotony of the vast emptiness of this desert. It’s a wash with some green vegetation and rock formation. I hit the road another 15 miles. I come to an area that was either originally a part of the Petrified Forest or, in likelihood, a predetermined tourist attraction. Off to a distance lay remnants of petrified wood lying but not in a natural way. At mile 25 I take the off ramp to the Petrified Forest Visitors Center.(picture) Fortunately for me they have a café, and I decide to get a bite to eat and maybe even take a sandwich with me. I sit around for a while and then browse the Visitor and gift shop. The cost to enter the Petrified Forest is 10 dollars a car. I thought about riding in myself, but decided an extra 6 miles would be detrimental to my getting to my destination. So I leave after packing the sandwich in my front bag that has my Advil, my Tylenol, high blood pressure, Advair, vitamins, Biofreeze (for the muscles) and Cliff Bars. And off I go, happy as a pig in ____. I’m ready Freddy. I think to myself how funny to be riding with a destination in mind knowing the possibilities that it may be 12 hour or better day’s ride, and I’m still happy. I see a sign coming and the closer I get the bold lettering reads Goodwater ½ mile and as I get closer I can read the sign below. It says No Services, and I start to laugh. I come to the conclusion then and there that this happiness will have to stretch for at least 12 hours. I notice a road running parallel to the I-40 which I’m on, and up ahead a wooden bridge. I stop for a picture and look east in the direction of that road and see buildings. I believe this is part of the old 66. (picture). Sure enough a vacant old A-frame building with a sign painted Old Stage Station sits with at least a dozen old vehicles and a sign “Parts for Sale”. I’m sure this station served a great many individuals passing in a time when the road I am riding was mere dirt and sagebrush. (picture) The road dead ends a half mile up. This is a common sight as I continue up I-40 to Chambers which, sadly to say, had no services of any kind. An abandoned gas station and next to it was a Best Western Hotel up for auction.

Chambers, Sanders and Navajo are all part of Apache County, which also contains parts of the Navajo Indian Reservation, Fort Apache Indian Reservation, the Petrified Forest National Park, and Canyon de Chelly National Monument. Apache County, created in 1879, has the most land designated as Indian Reservation in the United States. Large herds of cattle and sheep roam over the mesas and the fertile valleys. The Navajo Indians, 150,000, occupy most of the Northern part of the county and, in fact, drive their cattle over most of the county to wherever the grazing is better, which is typically the southern part.

That was your history for Chambers. Now my history. I have to ride another 45 miles to Gallup. After resting and eating my packed sandwich with some of my beef jerky, trail nuts and water I get along with a refreshed mind and an energized smile. My legs are saying please, and I ‘m saying, legs please please me just a little longer. I’m glad these rollers are short and the flats are long. Sanders brings me emptiness. It’s not until I get to the small community of Houck that I take a short break at the gas station convenience store. Next to it is a trading post, something that is becoming very common as I get closer to the New Mexico border. Not much said about either Sanders or Houck, for that matter the next town I hit, Lupton which has a Route 66 diner (picture), a community store and another trading post. From here I’m on I-40 and stop periodically for picture taking. The terrain has changed quite drastically. The mountains of red rock, dense in some areas and sporadic in others of trees and green vegetation. I finally come to a Welcome to New Mexico sign and 20 more miles to go. I take them slow and easy enjoying the descents and the cool breeze. I am feeling tired but again thankful for the 70 degree weather and although many relatively easy rollers.

Note: I said earlier the terrain and sky have a great deal to do with the enjoyment of the ride. They can even alter the balance of your mind. The earth is connected without interruption. Yes the ocean divides the exposed land mass but her fibers are finely woven to her core. Good, bad, beautiful, ugly its all the same. I had to adjust my mind to except it all because one without the other would create an imbalance of life’s circle. So as I ride this section of Arizona I must not allow my prejudices to interfere with this living painted canvas of color. Even here, a desolated desert, with empty blue skies. I smile, look around and say thank you.

I arrive into Gallup along the old Mother Road around 7:00 pm. I can say I was exhausted, yet my spirits of high energy with intensity has not diminished. I am hungry but decide to seek shelter first. I decided to lay over here in Gallup a day or two for rest. After a few attempts at hotels that I pass I finally find one with a room and a Jacuzzi. I am on an Indian Reservation.

Gallup was founded in 1881 as a railhead for the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad. The City was named after David Gallup, a paymaster in Gallup for the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad. The railroad workers began "going to Gallup" to get their pay; thus a town was born and named.

Many different ethnicities came to build the railroad, including Europeans, Asians and Mexicans and many of them stayed on to mine coal. Already native to the area were several tribes that are still in existence today including the Acoma, Hopi and Zuni Pueblo Indians. Today Gallup is known as the “Indian Capital of the World” as at least 1/3 of the community has Native American roots.

In the early days of Gallup for the most part it was a typical western frontier town, but in comparison to some of the other towns it was relatively quiet. Occasionally there was an Indian uprising, but the soldiers that were stationed at the nearby Fort Wingate kept things under control preventing any major attacks. Also most of the citizens carried guns until a new law in 1896 limited the practice.

Today, Gallup is the home to about 20,000 people, and serves as a trading area for more than six times that number. A steady stream of travelers who come to see some of the most unique and interesting wonders of the American Southwest. Route 66 runs through Gallup and the town is even mentioned in the Song Route 66. Gallup in general is a very poor community due to the many mine closures in the last century with no promise of any other economic development. Asking locals “What keeps Gallop alive?” their answer is the Reservation. Art work by Navajo, Zuni, Hopi, Acoma, and Pueblo Indians (Jewelry, blankets, rugs, metal art and Pottery. ) You see this in the number of trading post businesses. (In short, it’s the people and their tradition that keep it alive).

There is a Historic building called The El Ranch Hotel. It is the oldest building in town on the main route of 66 which has hosted many famous people such as John Wayne, President Regan, Humphrey Bogart, and Katharine Hepburn to say the least and ME. The building remains pretty much intact as it was back then, and I would recommend it as stopping point if passing through.

I have breakfast at a local restaurant and again it is absolutely wonderful to see and hear the beauty of their humility. Their language is soft and punctuated with a weight of emotion with every word. When they smile the glow for their life shines even on the aged faces of elders. (picture). These elders, Mary Ann Nish, Mary Jane Begay, and Alice James are asked about the changes they have seen. They answer it seem to be alright. We do not involve ourselves with the outside politics. We have our own political life and don’t care about the government. We live on our reservation (Menulito) on border of NM and AZ. Every day we bring water to our homes and work the fields We still use lanterns for light. Once a week we come into tow to buy groceries and eat here. It is very simple. They say water and electrical lines are being brought in but we don’t know what to do them. We laugh together. This is great. A big difference, my waitress who’s name is Charity is Navajo in school studying to be a nurse. (picture)

I leave with picture of my new friends.

Tomorrow Gallop to Grant I hope

Take Care Love ya all

Old man inspired by the simple