October 2024 | Issue No. 53

Hello & welcome to my October newsletter. I hope the Fall season is treating you kindly so far. As we transition into the colder months & then the holidays, it always feels like October is a good time to pause for a moment to reflect; time to take a little life inventory before the whirlwind of end of the year activities begins. One of the promises I made to myself this year was to make more room for exploration & spending time in nature. I thought that this might also resonate with you & would be a great topic to share as an ongoing series to revisit every few months. 

Over Labor Day weekend, I took a road trip to visit El Morro National Monument in western New Mexico. Driving west on NM 53 it is impressive to see the massive sandstone mesa rise out of nowhere in the middle of a sunflower-filled valley. If you are looking for a road trip destination, this is a pretty easy, less than 2 hour drive from Albuquerque…definitely do-able for a day trip! 

I've lived here since 1991 & had heard the name El Morro, but didn't know anything about it. I doubt I'm alone since El Morro is one of New Mexico’s smallest national monuments, just 2 square miles. The monument was established in 1906 to preserve the inscriptions & petroglyphs on the cliffs & partially excavated Zuni village on top of the mesa. Throughout history, the location has been a gathering spot for desert dwellers & travelers due to the natural pool water source on the east side, which has been a reliable source of water for over a thousand years. This oasis formed from rain & snowmelt gathering at the base of the 200-foot cliffs. Providing both water & shade, it became known as the best place to stop between Acoma & Zuni.

Admission to this magical spot is free--to the visitor center, the paved Inscription Trail, even the campground. The shorter, .75 mile hike to see the pool of water bordered by cattails followed by Inscription Rock is a walk in history with 700+ year old petroglyphs. Then the carvings by the Spaniards starting in the 1500s truly takes you back in time. Be sure to borrow a copy of the laminated guide book from the visitors center for a self-guided tour of the inscriptions. It gave me a sense of my place in history to be in this oasis along a path that travelers have taken for over a thousand years of trade routes between Zuni,  Acoma, Albuquerque, & beyond when I read the names & the interpretations of the narratives. I can't wait to have out-of-state visitors to show off this significant historic site!

Based on artifacts found by archaeologists & the thousands of inscriptions on the cliffs around the pool, the evidence is strong that the pool has continuously been a reliable source of water for over a thousand years. The cliffs hold inscriptions by American cavalry, Spanish conquistadors alongside petroglyphs carved by its Ancestral inhabitants. In total there are more than 2,000 inscriptions & petroglyphs, on what's been referred to as a stone guest log. The inscriptions at El Morro were surveyed by topographical engineer Lt. James H. Simpson in 1849, who is credited with giving it the name Inscription Rock. Once the NPS set aside the 1278 acres of El Morro National Monument in 1906, additional carvings were prohibited on the mesa. 

What a view from the top!

 The name El Morro came from Spanish explorers, meaning “The Headland." It was also called “Inscription Rock” & “A'ts'ina” is the Zuni term meaning “Place of writings on the Rock.” For a bird's eye view of the entire monument & valley, the Headland Trail is the hike up to the top of the butte, where you'll enjoy amazing views of the surrounding bluffs. 

We decided to take the trail to the top of Inscription Rock. The NPS has done an amazing job creating a path to hike the 2 mile Headland Trail to the top to see the magical views that span for miles, & imagine the lives of the people who lived there almost a thousand years ago. The sandstone at the top has beautiful mandala patterns that are as inspiring as the views. 

 

Sitting atop the monument rock are the remains of the A'ts'ina Pueblo, which was believed to have been constructed between 1275-1350, but the village was only inhabited for a few decades. The Pueblos would have had roughly 850-875 rooms & was home to 1000-1500 people. The design is similar to a stone apartment complex that, fully excavated, would be larger than the Pueblo ruins of Chaco Canyon.  

The inhabitants of A'ts'ina left hundreds of petroglyphs, clear evidence that the ancient Puebloans recorded their presence on the cliffs long before the Spanish arrived. The soft nature of the sandstone made it easy to record their history through carved pictures, names, dates & messages. Sadly, the inscriptions are slowly deteriorating with time & exposure to the elements. Spending time amongst the ruins of the ancient Pueblo & seeing these ancestral messages is a feeling that is hard to describe in words. It is definitely worth a visit!

Do you have tangible ways to keep the memories from your travels with you after you've moved onto new adventures? As part of my commitment to myself, I have been collecting patches to adorn my denim jacket, as well as adding stamps in my NPS passport. How do you commemorate these special memories? I can't wait to add more patches to my jacket soon & love the idea of keeping those memories with me on a day to day basis. 

October Special Offer!

Photo provided by Happy Hiker

For this month's special offer, mention the newsletter for 10% off in-store at the Happy Hiker in Old Town. Offer expires November 30, 2024. This is the perfect one-stop-shop for all of your hiking, outdoor & travel needs. For outdoor enthusiasts & serious hikers/campers, this shop has all the goods for your next hike on the Sandias or road trip to El Morro & beyond. You might even want to get a jump start on holiday shopping & support this local family-owned small business in the process. They also have a second location in Ruidoso. This very special offer is valid at both locations through November 30, 2024.

Photo provided by Happy Hiker

The real estate market in Albuquerque continues to improve as we move through the Fall season. Inventory is up & interest rates are down. Now is a great window of opportunity to buy with less competition than we have seen in the last 4 years. Give me a call today for more information on the current market & all the ways I can help if you are thinking of buying or selling this year. It's hard to believe we are officially in the last quarter of 2024, but there's still time to make your real estate goals a reality before 2025!