Farmington, NM to Santa Fe, NM

GET-YUR-MOTOR RUNNIN'  ROAD TRIP

Astoria - Santa Fe - Death Valley - Astoria

October 21, 2013  (Day 7 of 44)
Farmington, NM to Santa Fe, NM
Miles Today: 228 / Trip Miles: 1,569

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Aztec Ruins National Monument:
Located a short distance northeast from Farmington, New Mexico is Aztec Ruins National Monument, a well-preserved example of ancestral Pueblo architecture, artifacts, and culture.

The buildings date back to the 11th-13th centuries. What remains today is a walled village with almost 400 rooms on 3 levels, over a dozen kivas (circular ceremonial areas). The "ruins" are in a good state of preservation with original masonry walls and 900-year old wooden roofs that are still intact. A reconstructed Great Kiva sits in the center of the plaza.

Early Euro-American settlers erroneously assumed the people who built these structures were Aztecs. This mistaken identity continues with the name of this site and adjacent town of Aztec. The ancient Pueblo people who built, and lived, here were probably related to the Mesa Verde group in Colorado although they also had close ties with Chaco culture further south. 

From the Aztec Ruins, I took U.S. Highway 550 south to Bloomfield, New Mexico where I headed east on U.S. Highway 64. The sky was pale blue with a few clouds. Highway 64 is a scenic route with a mountainous, evergreen terrain including jagged rocks, cliffs & canyons. This route crosses over the Continental Divide. The mountainous terrain with curves, straightaways, and lots of places to pass slow traffic makes for a fun-driving road. (Scenic Rating = B+ / Driving Rating = A)

Dulce, New Mexico:
Dulce  (population 2,600 / elevation 6,800 feet) is a scruffy, sleepy Native American town located in a beautiful setting in the southern Rocky Mountains. It is the largest community and tribal headquarters of the Jicarilla Apache Reservation. I stopped here for ice cream and gasoline.

X Files:
In the early 1960's, a subterranean nuclear blast occurred about 30 miles southwest of Dulce right off of Highway 64. This nuclear blast was conducted under the umbrella of project “Plowshare”, and was named “Gassbuggy”. It has been alleged that this particular subsurface nuclear blast was used to create a hollowed-out chute or chimney for development of a substation for a super-secret tunnel system attached to an underground black-book project base.

According to a former Dulce base security officer, this highly secret base is operated by humans as well as reptilian aliens. It is here, apparently, that a multitude of experimentation projects are carried out --primarily genetic experiments on kidnapped men, women, and children. There are a myriad of other specialty science projects taking place at the Dulce base including, but not limited to: atomic manipulation, cloning, studies of the human aura, advanced mind control applications, animal/human crossbreeding, visual and audio wiretapping, the list goes on …

Chama, New Mexico:
Chama (population 1,200 / elevation 7,900 feet) is a small village whose economy now relies on tourism. 

Chama is the western terminus of the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad, a steam-driven, narrow gauge heritage railway which carries visitors to and from Osier, Colorado, and Antonito, Colorado, during the summer months. It operates on the remaining 64-mile portion of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad's San Juan extension built in the 1880s between Alamosa, Colorado, and Durango, Colorado. The route was abandoned in the late 1960s, and the tracks from Chama westward to Durango were torn up soon afterwards. 

The Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad station is in the center of town. The railroad is known for its extensive collection of rolling stock which can be viewed at the Chama rail yard. I walked freely around the semi-busy rail yard -- no "Keep Out" signs.

Abiquiú, New Mexico:

Abiquiú (6,100 feet elevation) is a very tiny town about 50 miles north of Santa Fe. In the 1730s Abiquiú was the third largest settlement in the New Mexico Territory. Artist Georgia O'Keeffe lived here from 1949 until her death in 1986 at age 98. The town square is reached via a short unpaved road from U.S. Highway 84.

The dirt-surfaced town square resembles a small, vintage Mexican town with a beautiful adobe church, tiny public library, adobe homes, a cantina and, what appears to be, an old theater. The nearby buildings are in various conditions, from pristine to falling apart. Normando's Cantina, and the El Piñon appear abandoned.  Georgia O'Keeffe's adobe house is a block from the town square.

Film, TV & Books:

Many films have been shot in Abiquiú: Indiana Jones & the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Cowboys & Aliens, City Slickers, Red Dawn, Wyatt Earp and The Last Outlaw. The TV series Earth 2 was also shot here. Abiquiú is mentioned in Willa Cather's 1927 novel Death Comes for the Archbishop. "Abiquiú" is the title of an episode  of the television drama Breaking Bad. Abiquiú is shown as the hometown on the driver's license of Mike Franks' alias in an episode of the TV series NCIS .

Mary, our friend Caryn, and Caryn’s children & their friends will arrive in Santa Fe tomorrow. We will explore the Santa Fe area for seven days.

Photos

(Click on Photo For Larger Image)

Doorway

Aztec Ruins National Monument, New Mexico. [flickr.com]

Looking Through Doorways

Aztec Ruins National Monument, New Mexico.  [flickr.com]

Inside Great Kiva
The Great Kiva at Aztec Ruins National Monument, New Mexico is the third largest kiva ever excavated. It was reconstructed by archeologist Earl Morris in 1934. "Kiva” is a Hopi word meaning “ceremonial chamber.” Small round kivas were probably used by families or clans for meetings, ceremonies and ceremonial preparation. Great Kivas, like the reconstructed example at Aztec Ruins, were probably more for communal activities and ceremonies.  [flickr.com]

Freight Car
Weathered paint on Denver and Rio Grande Railroad freight car. Location: rail yard in Chama, New Mexico.  [flickr.com]

Normando's Cantina & El Piñon
Both establishments, located in the town square of Abiquiú, New Mexico, appear out of business. El Piñon might have been a movie house.  [flickr.com]

Adobe Church

St. Thomas Church (established 1740) - Town Square, Abiquiú, New Mexico.  [flickr.com]