Movin' East - Day 62

Tuesday, November 4 (Election Day), Day 62 - Petroglyph National Monument, Albuquerque, NM.

We awakened to another beautiful day. I know, you folks back in New England don't want to hear that, but it's the truth. We have not seen any rain since we were in northern California (Klamath, CA, to be exact). We began the day with a trip to Old Town Albuquerque, again, to walk around and visit the many shops there. We did purchase a few Christmas gifts while we were there. We also met some very interesting people in Old Town. In all, our morning and early afternoon could be described as, in a word, delightful!

Next, we headed back to the motor home for a quick lunch, and to attend to the doggies. In case I have not mentioned this before, they would much rather be in the motor home than being dragged along in the car with us! Afterward, we headed out to explore the Petroglyph National Monument, just to the west of the city.

I have to say, to begin here, that I/we have never seen anything like what we were about to discover. Petroglyphs, for those of you who may not have any idea what they are, are etchings in the stones which represent what is believed to be religious symbols of the various tribes that inhabited the area. The stone surfaces here appear very dark, called "varnish". The indians who etched the drawings, discovered that, by using tools, they could carve images in the stone. Under the "varnish" coating on the stone, the color is much lighter. Petroglyph National Monument contains over 20,000 of these images pecked in stone - some recognizable as animals, people, and crosses, others more mysterious. Only the carvers know the petroglyphs' true meanings. Be sure to check the web album, as we took lots of pictures of these carvings, along with some pictures of modern graffiti, which, in some cases, has disparaged the petroglyphs.

Finally, we sign off tonight with a magnificent shot of the New Mexico sky at twilight! See the web album for more shots of the New Mexico sunset here in Albuquerque.

Tomorrow, we once again pull up stakes and head east into Texas. Hopefully, we'll make Amarillo before sunset tomorrow (Wednesday). If we find anything to photograph along the way, be assured that it will be in the album tomorrow night.

One more thought before I sign off tonight: we would really appreciate ANY comments regarding the blog, the photographs, anything. Just to let us know that you are reading and enjoying our daily entries, or even if you are not enjoying following our adventures. Simply click on "Anonymous", if you do not wish to identify yourself. Otherwise, click on "Name/ID", and put your name in. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE let us know you are reading and following.

Thanks!

Here's the link to today's web album:

http://picasaweb.google.com/cbenoitiii/TheTripDay62AlbuquerqueNM?authkeyf=cSz7j9Xlhok#