One of the joys of travelling Route 66 here in Gallup, is that I’m getting to see some of the older buildings that are still around; the hub of the original road-trips no doubt. Roadrunner Motel and an ice-cream parlour, to name just two, make this portion more interesting than freeway driving, that’s for sure.
After a splendid amount of sleep, I was up at 6:15am for a nice early start, just as the Sun was rising. Still tired after 6 hours of sleep but nevertheless, it’s an hour ahead of the time I expected to be moving.
Red Rock state park was real easy to find and a nice straight drive on the freeway. In fact, the whole park was visible as I drove parallel to it on the freeway. Took a right turn and after making a gas and breakfast stop, it was on to the old Route 66, toward the interior of the park. Unfortunately at this point, the entrances were shut down (for the rest of the year, by the look of it) and there were no long-term options, to park up for a walk. I decided on driving further into the park area, for photo opportunities and after thirty minutes and shots including Church Rock, I had soaked up enough to get at least some distinct atmosphere.
The main car-park that was cordoned off, looks like it’s adjacent to some kind of rodeo event. Again, I’m thinking that as seasonal events end, so the park closes the main areas for the year. One other thing I noticed around this area is a light sulphur smell but then diluted, with this amazing wild sage odour.
Drunken conversations are sometimes amusing, sometimes laughable and often time irritating but here I stood, while listening to some half Danish, half Native American have a conversation with an American guy, who proceeded to tell him that he thought all Native Americans were drunks. Of course then he had the misfortune of asking my opinion, to which I replied: ‘Yes they are, but that’s because the Americans fucked them over’. Saying this in a loud voice I found, not only gets attention but also encourages silence amongst the crowds. I would have been happy to be proved wrong but not a single person came forward to convince me otherwise. I’m happy to know at least some people, are somewhat guilty for the past of this fine land.
