New Mexico, Texas, Mexico, Arizona

You can't say I'm not getting around on this vacation ... two countries today. Three different states in one of them.

I went down to El Paso this morning and decided to walk across the Santa Fe Bridge to Ciudad Juarez in Mexico. It was easy enough: park your car, get out, pay 35 cents, and follow the masses across the bridge. Within minutes you're in Mexico, where countless people are trying to drag you into pharmacies or offer their services as drivers. I was neither interested in driving around nor in buying drugs, so I declined all offers and just walked down Main Street for a bit. Before long though I walked back because there was a huge line at the border crossing from the Mexican side, and I knew it would take me a while to get back.

Having made it back to the American side I had a lovely conversation with the Homeland Security officer who checked my passport. I have to say this about this trip so far: I've only ever met nice guys (they were all men) whenever I had to show my passport, be it in New York or out here where I've been checked three times so far. Today's officer seemed to be in the mood for a chat despite the incredibly long line, and he pulled me into a conversation about the dangers of Juarez. I had told him that I just gone over to get a look around and he just asked "What'd you wanna do that for? Don't you know the statistics?" And then he proceeded to tell me that this year - so far - more than 1,500 people have been murdered in Juarez and that the record was 21 murders in one 24-hour period. I told him that I had felt pretty safe but I had only ventured as far as a few blocks down the main street. He shrugged and told me how to get back to my car the fastest way, which was nice because, frankly, I had only a nebulous idea of how to get there fast and easy.

I took a look at the historic center of El Paso before heading out north-west, towards Arizona. I had planned on going to either Tucson or Tombstone for the night but that was before I got stuck in a 2-hour traffic jam on the I-10. A truck carrying paper had turned over, and there were reams of paper all over the right lane and the shoulder. At least the scenery was mildly interesting as we were just crossing an area called Texas Canyon.

When I came across a sign for motels in the town of Benson, AZ, I decided to stop for the night. Tombstone is just 50 miles down the road, and I'll go there in the morning to follow in the footsteps of famous outlaws, and to take a look at the OK Corral.

Entering Texas



Walking over to Mexico



Ciudad Juarez





Leaving Mexico and going back to the U.S.




Downtown El Paso






Along the road

White sand

Well, actually it's gypsum but who cares, right? The area is called White Sands National Monument, so we're sticking with the white sand thing. And white it is ... really, really white. I've never seen dunes like that, and to see them at sunset was absolutely beautiful. Yes, I know - that word again. I can't help it though. *shrug*

My day began less great. For the first time this trip I had to really think about where I was when I woke up this morning. I wasn't quite sure about the state, let alone the town but then it came to me: Gallup, the Navajo Nation capital on the old Route 66. Well then, I thought, let's see what this little town has to offer. The answer is, not much. There are some interesting neon signs from the old Route 66 days and every other store (at least) is an Indian Trading Post specializing in Kachina dolls, Navajo pottery, or dreamcatchers. Or all of the above.

I pointed my car south today, towards the warmth, and the drive was quite uneventful, if not to say boring. After the rugged, beautiful landscapes of the first ten days of driving out here, this stretch of New Mexico desert was ... bland. Desert to the right, desert to the left, and I kept thinking about John Wayne riding along there. It was - again - the classic Western scenery, complete with tumbling tumbleweeds. I threw some Western movies theme music on and drove as fast as I was allowed.

I am now in southern New Mexico, not too far from the border to Texas and Mexico, which was first noticeable by the large number of Border Patrol cars. I think I saw the first Border Patrol some 120 miles north of the Mexican border. What they were looking for up there is anybody's guess. I was stopped on my way to White Sands too, just like everybody else and had to show my papers. We're still at least 50 miles from the border ...

I spent a bit of time at the local Wal-Mart tonight and for the first time in forever I was surrounded by Germans who all seemed to do their shopping here in Alamogordo, NM. The reason, of course, is that the Air Force Base up the road, Holloman AFB, houses about 650 German Air Force officers and their families. It's where they get most of their training.

White Sands, by the way, is not only known for its white sand but also as the center of early US space travel and missile activity. White Sands Missile Range is just up the road and I might check out the space museum tomorrow. Or I might go down to Mexico ... wherever the mood takes me.

Route 66



White Sands National Monument

Four Corners

Many Farms. Dennehotso. Naschitti. Teec Nos Pos. Shiprock (named after a monolith that is supposed to look like a ship). Kayenta. Mexican Water. Those are just some of the place names I passed today. I spent most day driving around the Navajo Indian Reservation in Arizona, Utah, and finally New Mexico (with a short dash into Colorado). In short, I spent the day in the Four Corners area, and I did, in fact, do the corny thing and visited the Four Corners Tribal Park. Well, I was only five miles down the road anyway, so why not?

I began my day with the much anticipated visit to Canyon de Chelly, which actually consists of two main canyons: Canyon de Chelly and Canyon del Muerto, both equally stunning. Canyon del Muerto has the so-called Mummy Cave ruin, or what the Navajo call The House Under The Rock. It was inhabited from 300 to 1300 CE and was built high up into alcoves within a sheer cliff. The photos I took make it look like tiny toy houses but the site is actually pretty big. Canyon de Chelly has Spider Rock, two 800-foot rocks that - according to the Navajo - are the home of Spider Woman, who steals misbehaving children but also taught the Navajo how to weave. Hmm.

After a dicey drive along the rims of both canyons (I now have tested all the security features of my car, and they make fancy noises and blink merrily ... almost like Christmas), I retraced yesterdays's drive and made my way back to Utah and Monument Valley. I sure did miss a scenic drive in the fog and snow yesterday! However, having made my way to the site of so many John Ford westerns, I found out that the drive through the tribal park was closed due to flooding and snow, so I could only gaze over the valley from the visitor's center. Since that is the iconic view anyway, I didn't mind so much. This is the view that shaped my image of the west more than anything, thanks to watching countless westerns in my misspent youth, although it does look a little different in the snow.

As the weather was holding (we only had snow in the morning) I decided to drive on and spend the rest of the day on the road. But where to go? Today was the first day I didn't have a plan of some kind. So when I came to a fork in the road, I made my decision the way my friend NB does: I tossed a coin, which sent me towards New Mexico.

On my way there, I passed the above-mentioned Four Corners monument, which was completely devoid of people except for the lone Navajo woman who collected my entrance fee. It was extremely windy and cold there, and I almost dropped my smaller camera. Gasp.

Back on the road, I soon came to another crossroads and another decision. Straight ahead or down south? Since the quarter had done such a fine job the first time, I repeated the coin toss, and so I now find myself on the old Route 66, in Gallup, NM.

P.S. One thing I noticed while driving through the Navajo Nation lands: I have never before seen so many warning signs about drunk driving and/or drugs. And so many free-running dogs, cows, and horses that just cross the highway. Considering the number of animals that walk along (or on) the highways here, it's a wonder there's not more roadkill ...

Canyon de Chelly








Spider Rock




Mummy Cave ruins/The House Under The Rock




Monument Valley





Four Corners



Shiprock



Along the road

Lost day

Well, supposedly I drove through Monument Valley today but I didn't see any of it. I was happy if I could see the car in front of me, frankly. It snowed all day and was foggy, so instead of stopping at Monument Valley for a visit and to stay the night, I drove on to Chinle and Canyon de Chelley. Not that the weather here is any better - on the contrary ... Here it's a mixture of sleet and red muck everywhere. Urgh.

Most of the "towns" here are not much to write home about, especially if you can only see them through a thick fog. Most have a couple of houses (or trailers) and nothing more. At least Chinle has three motels (of the more expensive kind due to its closeness to Canyon de Chelley), and I'm now tucked into my room here. It is one of the bigger towns in the Navajo Nation but it doesn’t look like there are too many people here.
I hope the weather is going to be better tomorrow, so I can see Canyon de Chelley. Or go back up to Monument Valley to see what I've missed. It's only a 2-hour drive, after all.

If it stays yucky, I'll give both a miss - with a tear in my eye because I had been looking forward to John Wayne country especially - and go down south towards Tucson or head over to New Mexico.

One thing I did see today - barely - was Goosenecks State Park, where the river makes some wild turns (again).

Along the road



Mexican Hat



Goosenecks State Park