On the Road Again - Day 1

Monday morning, July 7, we headed westward to see new locations (at least to us) in northern Arizona and Utah.  Despite our obligations to the neighborhood birds and the family feline, we decided with sufficient provisions they could fend for themselves for a few days.  We loaded the car, this time the Rav, and headed northwestward up US 287.  This has become a favorite getwaway because it is such an easy drive with relatively little traffic, especially on a Monday morning.  We made good time, eating lunch in Amarillo.

Gallup, New Mexico

We did not have a specific destination in mind for the evening, but we knew we wanted to make as many miles as practical so we did not make any tourist/photography stops.  We ended up in Gallup, NM, which turned out to be a most interesting place. Gallup, although now on the interstate, is clearly a railroad town with the railroad yard adjacent to and paralleling the main street.  Apparently the railroad was how Gallup got its start.  I originally assumed that meant water for the steam engines, which may be true.  However, Wikipedia notes that nearby coal mines supplied coal for the steam engines...probably the reason one of the predominant streets in town was "Coal Street".

Main Street is also old Route 66, and many of the signs along the road still harken back to the heyday of Route 66.  We did not realize at the time that there were some famous sights along Main Street, including the historic El Rancho Hotel, which we should have gone looking for

Gallup is also known as the "Heart of Indian Country" due to its proximity to multiple Indian reservations, including Zuni, Hopi, Acoma and Laguna Pueblo and Navajo.  The town certainly looks and feels native American. 

A special feature of Gallup is its very large number of trading posts.  These seemed closed by the time we were wandering around after dinner, but I took them to be typical souvenir shops.  Some of them could be that, but many of these trading posts are likely much more.  It was not until our visit the following morning to the Hubell Trading Post in Ganada, and to Goulding's Trading Post in Monument Valley later in the trip, that I began to better understand what a real trading post was and how it was such a central part of the local culture.  Even among trading post locations, Gallup is unique with its large number of active trading posts.  Some have been in business for over 100 years.

Finally, it seems that Gallup is not all about the past.  As we pulled into the parking lot of the Hampton Inn, I noticed a sign welcoming Tesla owners.  A corner of the parking lot was set up with recharging stations specifically for Tesla cars, apparently just one stop on Tesla's growing network of charging stations across the country.