Day 11 - Tuesday, May 22nd - Holbrook, AZ to Gallup, NM

Distance: 94.2 miles

Elevation Gain: +2411 ft. or 25.6 ft./mile

Net elevation change: +1290 ft.

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Today’s ride was to the northeast and started under overcast skies and light winds with temps in the mid 50's.  We finished up in Gallup under sunny skies and temps in the mid 70's. Although the winds picked up they generally were out of the southwest and at our back, especially over the last 20-25 miles. We crossed our second state line into New Mexico at about mile 72 and like yesterday we used I-40 nearly the entire way. Unlike yesterday it was pretty much uphill all the way, but nothing  dramatic. It basically was a series of long rollers with very gentle grades up and down similar to this shot.

We rode 425 miles and spent 5 nights crossing Arizona.  In crossing New Mexico we will travel about 450 miles and spend 7 nights in state, including our second rest day in Santa Fe. About 12 miles into the ride we passed exit 300 for Goodwater.  I suppose the name indicates that there is good water at this spot but I did find this pic amusing and a bit ironic.

We spent a good portion of the day roughly following the path of the Puerco River which is

the main tributary of the Little Colorado River, which, in turn, is a tributary of the Colorado River. It is about 170 miles long and runs from its headwaters near the Continental Divide in New Mexico and meets up with the Little Colorado River near Holbrook, AZ. It drains an area of roughly 2700 square miles but it is an intermittent river since the area is very dry and arid. For nearly 30 years through the 1980s the river ran continuously as it was fed by wastewater from uranium mining activites. In 1979, the tailings pond of the Church Rock uranium mine breached its dam and spilled 93 million gallons of radioactive, acidic uranium tailings solution into the Puerco River contaminating 250 acres and of land and 50 miles of the Puerco with about 1,100 short tons of uranium. A short ton is 2000 pounds so we are talking about 2.2 million pounds of waste.  Yes, we are all glowing a bit since the half-life of uranium is 25,000 years at the low end.

While we did not see any standing or flowing natural body of water there is plenty of evidence that when it rains, it rains in a big way. All of these pics are from various points in today's ride.

Big Lithodendron Wash

Dead River

Crazy Creek 

Querino Wash

We passed the southern border of the Painted Desert and the northern portion of the Petrified National Forest around mile 25. The Painted Desert is a desert of badlands in the area where the four corners of Utah, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico meet.  It runs from the eastern border of the Grand Canyon National Park southeast into the Petrified National Park. Motorized traffic in both is restricted.

Being a child of the 50's and 60's TV and movie westerns, I always assumed badlands were was where the bad guys were. While that may have fit the needs of the writers it turns out it is just shorthand for the geology of the area. Badlands are characterized by dry terrain with soft sedimentary rocks and clay-rich soils that have been extensively eroded by wind and water. They are difficult to navigate by foot as canyons, ravines and gullies are common along with spectacular color displays. The Painted Desert was named Francisco Vázquez de Coronado in 1540 when he sent an expedition to find the Colorado River to resupply him. Passing through the wonderland of colors, they named the area "El Desierto Pintado" - The Painted Desert.

The Petrified National Forest covers about 230 square miles with an average elevation of 5400 feet. It is 30 miles long north to south and varies in width from 1 to 12 miles. Some 225 million years ago, downed trees accumulated in the river channels and were covered by volcanic ash. Silica was dissolved by the groundwater and absorbed into the logs forming quartz crystals that replaced the organic matter. The varied colors of the fossils are created by iron oxides and other substances also absorbed. About nine species of trees have been identified from the fossils, all are extinct.  The park has over 200 different plant fossils along with fossils of giant crocodile like reptiles called phytosaurs, salamander-like amphibians, early dinosaurs, freshwater snails and clams.

Except for other vehicles and a Navajo Travel Stop the next sign of civilization is when we passed through Chambers at mile 46 which was built as a stop for the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad in 1883. Steam engines needed water and Chambers had a good well. Chambers was named after Edward Chambers, an vice president of the railroad. He was responsible for opening the town’s first post office n 1907. He went on to serve as the Director of the Division of Traffic under President Herbert Hoover. 

At mile 52 we reached Sanders with a population of about 63. and its name comes from either a railroad engineer, CW Sanders, or Art Saunders who operated a nearby trading post. The village is surrounded by two different chapters of the Navajo Nation and the population reflects that being over 70% Native American. We also see our first road side grain silo for loading grain onto railroad cars.  I have no idea how far the grain traveled to get to this point as I haven't seen anything remotely resembling a farm. I suspect we will see quite a few of these as we continue east.

Around mile 53 we entered land that is part of the Navajo Nation Reservation and we don’t leave it until we crossed over into New Mexico some 20 miles down the road. Before that we stopped for our second rest stop at mile 64.  The following pics are from the top of the I-40E entrance ramp and further down the road before we get to the New Mexico border.  Just stunning!  I'm going to miss the red rocks of Arizona.

We crossed into New Mexico at mile 72 and promptly lose and hour. Arizona and New Mexico are both in the mountain time zone, but Arizona does not recognize daylight savings time. Notice the background in the shot below...no red rock anywhere in sight. II don't know why it stops but it's like the border decision was based where the red rock stopped/started.

The above picture was taken by Bob. Sadly, Bob leaves the tour today. He has done the entire tour twice and portions of the tour several times. Bob is 78. I heard second hand he is contemplating a ride in England for his next adventure. Truly an inspiration!

At mile 78 we crossed the Manuelito Canyon just south of Manuelito and pass through Defiance at mile 85 before getting to the outskirts of Gallup.

Manuelito is a small village not far from the Manuelito Canyon and both are part of what is known as the Manuelito Complex or Manuelito Canyon Historic District, a complex of archaeological sites containing Anasazi ruins that were estimated to be populated from 700-1350 AD. One of the larger ruins is a 500-room multi-story stone compound known as the "Big House", which is estimated to have been used from 1200-1325 AD. The Anasazi ultimately moved south leaving the area to the Navajo. Eventually the Navajo were subdued by the US Army in a war of attrition and the starving Navajo were forced to march about 450 miles in what has become known as “The Long Walk” to a government established internment camps. Manuelito was an important Navajo leader who resisted the oppression of the US Government, ultimately ending that period of imprisonment and the relocation of the Navajo to the newly formed Navajo Nation Reservation located on Navajo ancestral land.

Defiance came to exist as a railroad station when the railroads pushed west. It replaced Fort Wingate in 1882 as the primary shipping point for supplying Fort Defiance, 26 miles to the northwest. Defiance was in turn replaced by Ferry Station, later renamed to Manuelito as the primary supply point. Today it is nothing more than a small village.

And finally we got to Gallup after a second long day in the saddle.

Sneak Peek at Tommorrow

A bit easier day tomorrow as we will ride 65 miles to Grants, NM, generally in a southeasterly direction. We will also cross the Continental Divide at an elevation of 7,275 feet above sea level.

Grants, with a population of about 9,200, is the county seat of Cibola County. It is on the Trails of Ancient Byways, a designated Scenic Byway, to prehistoric archaeological and geological sites of northwestern New Mexico which provide insight into the lives of the Ancient Puebloan, Navajos, Utes and Apache peoples. Grants began as a railroad camp in the 1880's when three Canadian Grant brothers were awarded a contract to build a section of the railroad. The town initially prospered from railroad logging activity in the nearby Zuni Mountains. Carrot farming replaced logging in the 30's. I'll be looking for the carrot farms.