22 May 2007
Dear friends of Charlie and Barbara …
This is my, Humphrey‘s, first effort to describe, on the fly, a memorable place that we are currently visiting.
We’re in Gallup, New Mexico. Oh, I should note for our eastern friends, you really don’t need a passport to visit New Mexico.
We’ve been here for the past few days and by the number of snapshots that Charlie has taken, he and Barbara have been pretty busy “touristing“. Not depicted here is Barbara’s visit to the Zuni Pueblo south of Gallup, nor Charlie’s research into Route 66, nor all the time Charlie spent putting together my blogs. Thanks guy!
Gallup, on this restaurant place mat map, lies in the upper left edge of the state, note arrow. I-40 runs by it, Route 66, the dotted line, runs through it -- Gallup’s main street, the old track of 66, is now named Route 66.
This Google Earth aerial from 12,000’ gives you a sense of the size of the town and adjacent terrain; it is high desert at 6500‘. In the picture I-40 and Route 66 main street are marked and between them lies the Santa Fe Railroad and a dry wash.
Gallup seems to be a blue-collar town with a large Catholic Cathedral prominent in the center of this picture. Gallup is a Catholic Diocese so it has a cathedral. It is the grandest building in town except for the Federal Office Building which is the typical concrete block house.
The town has nice view neighborhoods in the hills south of town. This home entrance caught Barbara’s eye
The Hotel El Rancho, on Route 66, is a national historic site. The lobby is particularly handsome and Barbara rates the Indian art gift shop as pretty good.
This is a detail of a large mural painted on the outside wall over a downtown store. Speaking from a dog’s limited knowledge, I have no understanding of the symbolism in the mural; I find it more interesting though than symbolic early Christian art Charlie has been lecturing me on.Gallup has a strong Indian presence; about 50% of the population is Native American. The town is on the southern edge of the large Navajo Reservation and about 40 miles north of the Zuni Pueblo. Barbara reports that the drive between Gallup and the Pueblo is particularly beautiful.
Earl’s restaurant is an institution in Gallup and was here when Barbara, her Mother and Brother drove through in 1950 -- no she doesn‘t remember it. It is very large with three normal-sized dining rooms, probably seats 200, and it is well patronized. Service and food is excellent. It is staffed primarily by very courteous Navajos. Barbara dragged Charlie there three times before he realize that the attraction really was the crafts on sale outside and at the table by strolling artisans (or their wives, husbands or children).
Gallup is reportedly the center of the Southwest Indian craft industry; most Navajo and Zuni crafts are shipped through the town. There are dozens of Indian trading posts buying and selling the work. Thunderbird Supply is unusual because it is primarily a jewelry material wholesaler to the Indians: everything for making necklaces, bracelets, rings and other trinkets to sell to the pale-faces. Here they are cutting silver and gold wire for quite a customers audience who appeared to be a mix of Native Americans and Anglos.
Barbara is looking at her passion: turquoise, about which she has acquired quite a knowledge. Charlie has only learned that there is turquoise and then there is turquoise. The turquoise seems to be sold both polished and in rough rock form. Barbara notes that some of the turquoise sold today is from, where else, China.
I hope that this give you a glimpse of what we’ve found to be a very interesting and different town, one worth visiting and which caused us to extend our stay.
NEXT: Wednesday we may head east along Route 66, maybe going as far as Seama adjacent to the Acoma Pueblo and Laguna Pueblo Indian Reservations west of Albuquerque, NM. I’m indefinite about their plans because Barbara and Charlie make up their minds to move or not move based upon how they feel after their morning coffee.
… Humphrey for Barbara and Charlie
Personal note. B/C's daughter Elizabeth, residing in Malibu, CA is getting ready to return to New York City this August to enter Columbia’s Union Theological Seminary for a three year Master of Divinity degree. As a celestial guard dog, I’m very proud of her following in my footsteps.
