South Padre Island Texas to Bandelier National Monument New Mexico

Turning northward . . .

Before beginning with my latest adventures, I must submit a correction from my last travelogue. I mistakenly indicated that Brownsville was the most southerly point in the USA. Thankfully, my friend Matt, who is retired from the Coast Guard, was happy to inform me of the error. In fact, Key West is the most southerly point in the US, a place he has visited often. Now, in order for me to claim that I have been to the farthest point south, I, too, must go there. Matt assures me he will let me in on the secrets of where to park and which bars have the best beer.

But alas . . . having visited Brownsville very briefly, I began another long trek north. Actually, I found the high humidity of the coastal area suffocating and, once again, found myself high-tailing it back to the desert. This time, though, I would follow the Rio Grande as far as New Mexico. My first stop, was a beautiful state park called Falcon Reservoir. Finally, after many weeks of being in Texas, I saw a roadrunner. Although it rained most of the two days I was there, I still enjoyed the peace and quiet. Among other birds, I saw a female cardinal. From here, I continued along the Rio Grande past Del Rio to Seminole Canyon State Park. It was easy to tell that spring was about to burst forth as the bluebells were just beginning to bloom along the roadside.

On my first day at Seminole, I packed a lunch and hiked out to the Rio Grande. Perched on a cliff overlooking the river, I attracted the attention of a frisky squirrel as I ate my lunch. After he figured out I wasn’t about to share with him, he skittered around behind me. A few moments later, I heard this interesting screeching sound, and when I turned to look behind me, there was the squirrel with his mate. They were quite happy to inform me that it was indeed spring, and they were in the mood for mating. After rolling around in the brush for a few minutes, they decided to take their amorous adventure to a more private locale. Then, I was visited by a curious little canyon wren. From my perch on the cliff, I could also see the “panther pictograph.” Unfortunately, the water level in the river was too low and tours of this site were not available. On my second day, I took the guided tour of the “Fate Bell Shelter” pictograph site. Just as I was arriving at the visitors’ centre to take the tour, I noticed a rather large tarantula crossing the road. As a matter of fact, I had to stop to let the great spider cross. The tour guide announced that these pictographs were technically considered “polychromatic anthropomorphic abstracts.” What this means is that the painters used more than one colour (red, black, yellow, and white) and they illustrated human-like figures or shamans.

After my visit at Seminole, I headed over to Big Bend National Park, where I spent a little over a week. It was nice to settle down and relax for a change. During my time there, I stayed in a little village called Terlingua. From there, I took several trips into the national park to enjoy the geological formations and the continuing show of wild flowers. When it was time to leave, I continued along the Rio Grande towards Presidio, and witnessed some of the most spectacular scenery in Texas.

Once my visit to Texas was finished, I sat down and made a list of the places I had yet to visit in New Mexico and Arizona. First on my list was the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, where there is a magnificent example of pre-historic cliff dwellings constructed in the early 13th century by people of the Mogollon culture. Just before the actual site, there was a lovely little campsite where I stayed for three nights. Two out of the three nights, I was the only person there. With no light pollution from nearby towns, the view of the stars was extraordinary.

From there, I wove my way west into the southeastern corner of Arizona, where I spent a day driving through the Coronado National Forest. This was a winding, climbing, dirt road that tested Buckskin’s mountain-climbing abilities, but the drive was worth it given the spectacular scenery. From here, I was hoping to visit a place called “Snaketown,” which features ruins from early Indian cultures, but that site is not presently open to the public. Continuing north past Phoenix, I camped for a few days near a little town called Carefree. On a trip like mine, who could resist? One day, I went for a short walk to see where the trail head began, and when walking back, I decided to take a short cut. A twelve mile shortcut! That kind of mistake is not too bad when one is driving, but on foot, it is an entirely different kettle of fish. Actually, it was a beautiful hike, and the weather was perfect. The wildflowers were just beginning, and I saw several fields of orange poppies, lots of lavender coloured verbena, and a few brilliantly red Indian paintbrushes. There were even a few prickly pear cactus in bloom. For most of the hike, I was completely alone, but then, at about the seven mile mark, I met another single woman hiker who had her little dog with her. As it turns out, she is a vet in town and she was a great companion for the walk. When I left the campsite a few days later, I stopped in Carefree to do laundry. While moving clothes into the dryer, I noticed a woman come into the laundromat and stop to talk with another woman. I also noticed she had a small tape recorder. A few minutes later, the woman with the tape recorder came over to me and introduced herself as Peggy, a local reporter for the newspaper. She was doing a “person on the street” article about people’s reaction to “imbedded press” coverage of the war with Iraq. When I told her I didn’t think I should answer as I am a foreign visitor in the US, she encouraged me to say what I thought. After she recorded my opinion, she asked more about me, and was intrigued to learn about my journey. After she left, a cowboy, who was also doing his laundry, came up to me and asked about Canada. He had lived in Smithers, BC. I mentioned that I had been considering doing some work for a native community north of Smithers in Port Simpson. He asked me what kind of work, and when I replied, “ministry,” his jaw almost dropped on the floor. When I replied, “That bad, eh?” his response was, “Yeah, that’s bad. That’s really bad.” He then turned around and walked out of the laundromat. The experience left me feeling strange. At one level, I knew his hard feelings could not be taken personally; but on another level, I guessed he had been badly harmed at the hands of religion in the past. Dirty laundry of another sort, I suppose.

After leaving Carefree, I stopped to visit Montezuma’s Well and Castle. The “Castle” is actually a cliff dwelling constructed in the 12th century by the Sinaguan Indians. The “Well” is a limestone sink formed long ago by the collapse of an underground cavern. It is fed continuously by an underground spring. In the midst of the desert, this source of water was vital for both the Hohokam and Sinagua, who used the water to irrigate their crops. I also learned that the Sinagua believe their ancestors emerged from the water, making this site sacred for them.

From here, I visited Sedona again. I was thinking of trying to track down the”humming tree” that Sylvia told me about, but instead, I visited the great pizzeria that Wanda and I found back in February. Not only are they good, they are also consistently good. Yum!!! Moving farther north, I then visited Sunset Crater and Wupatki National Monuments. Sunset crater is an extinct volcano in the San Francisco mountain range near Flagstaff. It is regarded as sacred by the Hopi people. There is a legend that tells of the gods being so upset with the degenerate people that they brought fire to destroy them. As it turns out, the ash from the volcano actually made the land in the area more fertile. After the eruption of the volcano, the people moved to Wupatki, where they constructed a village.

From Flagstaff, I turned east to weave back into New Mexico in order to visit important sacred sites there. Before crossing into New Mexico, however, I took a drive through the Petrified Forest to visit the Newspaper Rock petroglyph site. Although the petroglyphs were interesting here, I was much more captivated by a raven who came to sit on a rock near the observation point. After the other tourists left, I spent about 15 minutes practising my raven calls with that bird. He was quite a patient teacher, but eventually he got bored and flew away. I don’t think a day has gone by when I haven’t seen a raven on this trip. I have become quite fascinated with them. One day, as I was watching one fly in a canyon, it suddenly turned upside down and then reversed upright again. They are masterful flyers and I really do think they enjoy flying more than anything else. Often, when I am alone in a campsite, a single raven will swoop down very near my head. I love the whoosh of their wings.

Continuing eastward into New Mexico, I stopped at El Morro National Monument and saw Inscription Rock, a huge rock that bears not only petroglyphs, but also inscriptions carved by the early explorers of the area. On top of the massive rock, there are the ruins of pre-historic Indian villages. This site is sacred to the Zuni people because it is the village of their ancestors.

Next, I stopped at Petroglyph National Monument and spent the afternoon climbing over rocks to see petroglyphs carved over thousands of years. To this day, these carvings are considered sacred by the Pueblos, who continue to use the site for ceremonial and ritual purposes.

From here, I turned northward again, hoping to visit sites in northern New Mexico where it had been too cold on my previous tours of the area. On a fine, sunny, Saturday afternoon, I hiked along Frijoles Canyon in Bandelier National Monument. This area also contains cliff dwellings dating back to AD 1150-1325. Rather than explore these ruins, however, I was much more interested in visiting the “Ceremonial Cave,” which is reached by climbing up 140 feet on four ladders. Although a bit nerve-wracking at times, the climb was worth it! At the top, is a small cave and a reconstructed kiva, which can be explored. I climbed down into the kiva (a circular room, often used for ceremonial purposes, which is completely enclosed and is entered by a ladder through the rooftop), and just sat there for a few minutes. I had the distinct feeling of being very close to the earth and a feeling of being surrounded in a womb-like structure. For me, it was an experience of sabbath–of peace and quiet, and a strong connectedness to the earth. Climbing back down the ladders was almost as difficult as the ascent, but step-by-step, I completed the journey. On the walk back to the visitors’ centre, a couple of butterflies were my companions. They were reminders of the season of spring, but also of the coming of Holy Week.

As it turned out, I was going to spend Holy Week visiting two very sacred sites–Chaco Canyon and Canyon de Chelly. To me, it seemed appropriate. Stay tuned for the next installment, which will tell of my visits to these amazing sites.