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| Ute Pectroglyphs - Moab |
Wednesday, October 20
Well, the day has come, as I knew it would, as it always does, to say goodbye to my love. The return leg of our trip must begin, and I must leave Moab behind once again. We both felt the sadness of leaving this place, Ruth & I; Moab has found a permanent place in our hearts. We spent five wonderful days here, but we are so comfortable with this town it felt like we'd been living here for five years.
So where does Moab fit into our future? Or does it? Short term: we have already commited to returning here in the spring of 2012 for the Canyonlands Half-Marathon. I want to complete both races this town has to offer in this idyllic setting, and as mentioned earlier, Ruth has "unfinished business." Also at that time, we plan to do a motorcycle tour of the ancient Anasazi Pueblo ruins sites between Moab and Canyon de Chelly, Arizona. And of course, revisit Arches & Canyonlands National Parks. We're very excited.
Long term? Well, it has always been a goal of ours to experience living out west for a year, if not longer, in a small western town devoid of all the "luggage" living in urban and suburban environs requires one to carry around. Moab is such a place. We'll see. As one local put it to us: "We're 30 years behind the times here." In today's crazy, fast spin cycle, seemingly out of control world, that may not always be a problem.
And so off the four of us go. Fare thee well, Moab. We'll see you again soon. Pointing the Prairie Schooner on a southward heading, down UT Hwy 191 we fly. Our destination for tonight is Bernallilo, New Mexico, just north of Albequerque. But first, we must play tourist at the Four Corners Monument and the Aztec Pueblo Ruins.
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| Roo doing the "Four Corners Dance" |
Four Corners Monument had to be the most tacky tourist stop on our trip, not to mention a ripoff paying $6.00 to snap your picture while standing in four states for two minutes (the corners of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona meet here).The place was rundown, although some renovation was going on. The monument is on Navajo Tribal Land, and for some unknown reason I felt very uneasy when I got out of the van. Even the dogs were acting strangely. I didn't mention it to Ruth, but as she came along side me, she said "Let's hurry up and take a picture and leave." I said "what's wrong?" "I don't know" she replied. "We just have to get away from here fast." So we did. Picture taken, we boot scooted to the van and made tracks pardner. Neither of us said anything for a while, but when we left the Navajo Reservation, Ruth said "I'm ok now." Very strange.
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| Four Corners Monument |
The Aztec Pueblo ruins in Aztec, N.M. were a different story. These ruins date from the 1000's to 1200's A.D. They are an ongoing archaeological site managed by the National Park service. Being able to walk through and touch these ancient pueblo dwellings as the original inhabitants did was truly amazing. We sat in a beautiful wooded picnic area adjacent to the ruins and had a quiet, peaceful lunch. A feeling of peace, serenity and sacredness emanated from this place. It was hard to leave.
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| Roo sculking about an Aztec ruin |
Back on the road, we head southeast down NM Hwy 550, a scenic drive that takes you right through the New Mexico desert, beautiful in it's own right. As dusk approaches, we see the expansive brightness of Albuquerque and it's suburbs. Back in the big city. But hey, tomorrow we get our kicks on Route 66...........
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