It was another one of those travel days. Our journey took us eastward on I-40 to Gallup, New Mexico where we turned northward to head to Cortez, Colorado. At Cortez we turned east and drove a few more miles to Mancos, which is at the entrance of Mesa Verde National Park.
The scenery changed many times along the 325 mile route. Around Flagstaff there are still a variety of pine, spruce, and juniper trees on the sides of the mountains. Though we drove by Winslow, we didn’t stop for a photo at a famous corner. Then, in less than 15 minutes of travel the landscape changed back to high dessert with yucca plants, sagebrush, and stubby trees and shrubs. Of course, we encountered some old roadbed of US 66. In another few minutes we were driving through Petrified Forest National Park while being parallel to the BNSF tracks. We commented to each other as to the number of trains we saw along a 30-mile stretch. Around Petrified Forest we could see the multi-colored formations shaped like teepees.
Then, at Gallup we turned north on US 491 and drove through Navajo lands before reaching the Ute Reservation south of Cortez. The landscape was high desert with mountainous areas and wildly varied rock formations shaped by exposure to wind. Though the roadway was in good shape, there were places where ground heave took advantage of the situation and presented several spots where dips in the pavement made it seem like we were encountering stiff waves.
Yes, we could have gone through the four-corners area. We elected not to because of the elevation difference. Though we’ve done so on this trip in other places, the roads and grades over the passes through that area are a bit hostile. That is why we drove to Gallup before going northward.
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