On May 9th, 2024, our Off the Beaten Path group filled the day with a visit to three intriguing sites: the Hubbell Trading Post, the Navajo Tribal Headquarters, and the El Morro National Monument. There would be a few hours in the van, as well. (Click on any image to enlarge.)
Hubbell Trading Post.
The Hubbell Trading Post, operating since 1889, is the oldest trading post within the Navajo Nation.
We parked near the original complex John Hubbell built.
This view includes the barn.
A National Park ranger gave us a tour of the interior of the Hubbell residence. A portrait of John Hubbell hangs in one hallway. He was noted for his fair dealings with the Navajo and hosted many visitors, including Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt in 1912.
The trading post was sold by family members to the National Park Service in 1967, and the home has been preserved. Here's the main hallway.
Many famous persons of the era passed through, and some stayed a while. In this photo of a bedroom, you'll note the conte-crayon portraits by Elbridge Burbank. (Click on images to enlarge.)
They even owned a piano!
Outside, we noted the guest hogan (eight-sided building) used by researchers and artists.
Our group spent time in the separate trading post store, where visitors can peruse various Navajo handiwork, ranging from children's toys to spectacular classical rugs. On the outside, Joan and I also enjoyed a pair of supervising (well, napping) owls.
Eventually, it became time to leave, and we were on our way to Window Rock.
Window Rock.
Window Rock is a name for both a geological feature and the Navajo Nation's capital. First, we parked at the Window Rock Tribal Park & Veteran's Memorial. Three flags fly at the parking area: Arizona, Navajo, and USA.
The Veteran's Memorial, established in 1995, was designed as a circle with walkways oriented to the four compass points.
The park naturally gives a place of prominence to the Navajo Code Talkers of World War II. It was our first stop, traveling clockwise.
It's a dramatic history ... click on any image to enlarge.
There seems to be a tradition of leaving coins at the memorial's base.
Continuing along the walkway, the name-bestowing window rock grew larger and larger.
A closeup using zoom. Walking to, above, or upon the Window is strictly forbidden.
Continuing around, we walked respectfully through the remembrance of Navajo veterans.
After leaving the memorial, our group relocated to the Navajo Nation Museum. The sidewalk was lined with vendor's stalls, but our time was limited, so Joan and I entered straight away. The exhibits include Navajo art of various genres, covering many eras of Navajo history. A topic of particular interest to us was the "Long Walk of the Navajo," a deportation by the United States of about 10,000 Navajo to eastern New Mexico, requiring some 50+ different forced marches from 1864-1866. During the march and following internment, a third of the population died from starvation (the new land was unfarmable) and disease. In 1868, the Navajo were allowed to return to their homeland, as negotiated by General William Tecumseh Sherman, and on exhibit at this museum is one of two surviving original copies of the Treaty of Bosque Redondo.
After a big lunch nearby, we clambered into the van and headed for El Morro National Monument.
El Morro.
The El Morro National Monument is sometimes known as the Grafitti Rock. Indigenous peoples, Spanish explorers, and American adventurers have all carved inscriptions on the sheer bluff sides. After a stop at the visitor's center, I took my first photo.
There are trails to follow to inspect the "graffiti," but some are currently closed.
Our first major stop was at the pond when heading counter-clockwise from the visitor's center.
Approaching the pond, tucked in a shaded corner.
In season, it must be a charming waterfall.
Joan and I continued on and began encountering the inscriptions/graffiti. Here, we see indigenous petroglyphs (Click on any image to enlarge.)
More work was left by the Spanish and Americans. Some of the script is elegant,
Block letters from 1859. (All graffiti after 1906, when the site became a national monument, has been erased.)
Spanish script from 1709!
At the Inscription Rock, a cluster of rectangular signatures appeared, as if planned.
Soon, Joan and I reached a point where we decided to turn around; we wanted to visit the ancestral Zuni pueblo atop the plateau. Returning the way we'd come would be the shorter way; we'd been told that further along the trail was closed. After climbing various staircases, we found the view from the top, about 500 feet up, was expansive.
We soon arrived at the Atsinna pueblo.
The focus now is more on preservation and less on excavation.
Just beyond, the trail was in need of repairs.
I took a few steps forward and took another panoramic shot, bringing the valley floor on both sides into view.
Then it was time to turn around. A rock wren was supervising us.
After gathering at the visitor center, our group drove on, regrettably passing by the El Malpais National Monument -- lava flows, cinder cones, lava tube caves! But there are only so many hours in a day. We settled down in Grants, New Mexico, for dinner and to spend the night.
