My plan was to drive west along the far north of New Mexico to Farmington. The remarkably useful NMroads.com showed snow had closed many roads. I couldn’t do the Enchanted Circle. I couldn’t drive north from Chama. Neither could I go along a key stretch of scenic route as I had hoped to. However, as evidenced by the fact that I’m typing this in Farmington, with patience and lots of detours I arrived and the day was a success.
I drove through snow, hail, rain, and sun. I drove over ice, packed snow, slush, and dry pavement. The changes in weather and elevation and sunlight brought delight to the photographer in me. Never did I feel endangered but I always remained cautious. Today I drove through a picturesque New Mexico Weather Wonderland!
Though I had to drive around many obstacles, I still managed to see much of what I wanted.
The steam railway in Chama was not running as expected but I was still able to walk around the station, see the trains, and imagine what it would be like to scale the Rockies along steep cliffs. I’ll have to do that.
Another gem was the Rio Grand Gorge bridge. Though along a road that was closed, it was before the closure so I was able to see it. Wow! This bridge spans a 660 foot deep gorge and it was a thrill to walk across. It was completed in 1965 and is already classified as an Historic Highway Bridge for its magnificence. If you’re thrilled by heights then this is your bridge! Below you can see a photo gallery of pictures from the area.
The Navajo Dam was a complete surprise. I had intended to visit Navajo Lake State Park because I’d read it was scenic. Indeed it was with the lake, and the gorge, and the river but the vast expanse in front of the dam took my breath away. What fun to drive along the dam and drive into the canyon. It was so nice not to have paranoid security blocking access. Living in D.C. I forget how great it used to be before 9/11.
Last on my agenda was the Aztec Ruins National Monument. This again goes to the heart of why I’m here and thankfully the Ranger provided me with more insight. After touring the restored settlement I came to understand another reason why New Mexico has its Puebloan character. Unlike the English and French, in addition to searching for gold the Spanish were on a religious mission. Instead of killing or herding indigenous people into reservations as the English and French did, the Spanish converted and commingled. With the adoption of Catholicism the local people were allowed to continue with their prior ways. We see evidence of it to this day. Pictures of the ruins can be seen below.
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