April 2007 ...........

Gallup: The city is 125 years old and has been recognized for over 100 years as a premier source of handmade Zuni and Navajo turquoise and silver jewelry and rugs. Today the community distributes 85% of all Native American craft sold worldwide. In 2005 the city approached local artists to paint murals on eight selected public and private buildings. The murals are all within a five block area of the downtown and they are spectacular. Historic Route 66 is still the single East West roadway through the present day fourteen mile city limits, and every local street still dead ends on Route 66. Trains are a huge part of the area history and 100 trains a day trace the original Route 66 through town. There is also a new part of Gallup that is on the other side of I-40. Next time you go cursing by on the interstate stop for a few days and soak up the history. We stopped for a day
( because of the snow storm that was raging from Albuquerque to Kansas) but ended up staying three. There are still lots of things we missed, so we will stop again.

April 2007 ...........

Zuni Pueblo: From Gallup take highway 602 and you will reach Zuni Pueblo, the largest of the nineteen New Mexico pueblos and considered to be the most traditional. The people of Zuni are called A:shiwi, and the majority of them are artisans. No village in North America has a higher concentration of skilled artisans than the Pueblo of Zuni. Craftsmen make jewelry of silver and polished stones so intricate it is called needlepoint. We stopped at a gallery that was part of an artists home and watched his wife create jewelry. She had a small grinding wheel and was cutting stones so tiny to fit in earrings that it was amazing. The A:shiwi still bake pies and their famous sourdough bread in wood-fired outdoor oven called he:bok'owe (buy some bread at the bakery - you must keep your eyes open for the tiny sign as you come into town that will direct you down a dirt road to the bakery). Spanish missionaries first arrived at Zuni in 1539 and the mission was built in 1626 and restored in 1968. Known as the Old Zuni Mission the building is again under restoration. It features murals of Zuni kachinas as well as Spanish Influenced architectural details. There is also a museum and Heritage center, they weren't open the day we were there. The trip is an easy day trip from Gallup and is worth the drive. As usual the living conditions on the reservation make one very thankful for our way of life.

January 2004 ...........

Ruidoso: The Hubbard Museum of the American West offers you the opportunity to see and learn about the political, social, business, cultural, and environmental history of the American West. The museum is affiliated with the Smithsonian. Part of this is the Museum of the Horse, originally in Patagonia, AZ but moved to the Hubbard Museum. Outside are wonderful statues of Horses, and inside over 10,000 horse related items. You will especially enjoy if you're a horse lover.

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