Another fall adventure started early this morning as my travel companion, Carolyn, and I arrived at a misty, rainy Little Rock airport before sunrise. Our journey this time takes us to the American Southwest! We were soon soaring high in the sky towards Houston and after a short layover, we headed to Albuquerque.
After getting our rental car (a 2023 Ford Explorer), we headed to downtown to grab some lunch at Cocina Azul. We found one of “the” local spots for sure. While we waited for our food, we enjoyed salsa rojo (red) and salsa verde (green); the red was VERY flavorful and instantly started to burn away any of those pesky tasted buds on our tongues. Wow was that spicy! Yummy, but it packed a big wallop.
With our bellies full, we headed to the store to grab water for the car (a must needed item when traveling in the desert) and were soon headed west to Acoma Pueblo, the oldest continuously inhabited community in North America. Sky City is the physical and spiritual homeland for the Acoma people and the mesa on which they have lived looms 370 feet above the desert floor. On top there are over 300 structures of adobe and sandstone. Most of the Acoma people no longer live on the mesa, but they still return frequently for ceremonial occasions.
In 1629, the construction of a mission church atop the mesa was begun. It’s a 21,000 square foot complex that took 11 years to build under the harsh rule and treatment of the Spanish that had taken over New Mexico. The remaining buildings on the mesa are of various ages and have been rebuilt several times. As our tour ended, we were privileged to have been given cupcakes and cookies by one of the Acoma.
Our next stop was La Ventura Natural Arch located near the El Malpais National Monument. The arch has been formed due to the sandstone expanding in the day and cracking apart from the still cool rock hidden behind. The rock at the base and in the center was under the greatest load stress, cracked, and then failed first. Rocks on either side failed soon after somewhat symmetrically. The load from the overlying rock and the ensuing cracking apart lessened upwards. Over time this created an arch that grew from the base as more rock failed and collapsed.
With our pueblo tour taking a bit more time than planned, we had to hop onto I-40 and head west to our final destination of the day, Winslow, Arizona. We arrived and were soon seated at the Turquoise Room inside the La Posada Hotel. It was a fantastic meal after a really long day of travel. Tomorrow we head a bit more west to Sedona!
No comments:
Post a Comment