El Morro and El Malpais

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El Morro
It was our second day off in the town of Grants, and after talking about means of transportation to the sights we had collectively decided to visit; we rented a vibrant cherry-red Chevy caviler. The long roads that we were forced to drive down were nauseating to say the least. And after of duration of considerable dizziness, we finally arrived at the El Morro, ranger station.
 
The folks inside were very enthusiastic to talk about the grounds ancient inhabitants. While my dad and Leslie were talking to the forest service employee, I ventured into a big, TV occupied room, with glass covered exhibits lining the walls. They had artifacts and told the story of Spanish invasion, and Indian struggle and eventual submission.
 
Outside of the information center, there was a two-mile trail that we decided to walk which included viewing some amazing inscriptions from travelers of all types hundreds of years prior. It’s thought that the early pioneers saw the Indian pictograms and were inspired to write letterings of their own. Every signature- from a westward expander to that of a General who conqueror in the name of his queen- was inscribed on this rock. Hence the name, the great Inscription Rock.
 
After touring the towering rock, and a few switchbacks later, we found ourselves towering above the desert below, and next to old ruins of clay constructs. Once thought to be many rooms large and several stories high, time had purged this building of its greatness and left it at a single story with a few barely distinguishable rooms. The ingenuity was clear, fire pits, decorated the floor among other primitive conveniences. Time many have stolen the ruins stature, but not the feeling that you can glimpse into the life of ancestors and see wonder, if they may be standing where you are now, a thousand years ago.
 
El Malpais

Back in the comfort of our car, we may our way onto uneven dirt roads with the destination of the Lava Tubes in mind. Ejecting from the vehicle as soon as we arrived, a big sign was eminent. There were many different tubes all over, so with time as our antagonist, we decided to creep into one. We never found the tube we intended to go to, but we eventually made our way into Four Windows. Sunlight shown through four holes in the rocky roof, putting the sheer blackness of the cave into perspective.
 
A lava tube is basically a cave created by the flow of lava, so as any good spelunker would do, we ventured into the vast tunnel of darkness. The cave was about fifty feet high by fifty feet wide, and with our headlamps we were able to spot ice formed due to the lack of sunlight.
 
We made our way out after a seemingly endless journey; we still didn’t find the end to the tube. Moss was growing at the entrance and many gray lizards scurried from rock to rock, evading our climbing feet. We walked the trail that we had before to return to the car and headed onto our next sight in El Malpais (“the badland”, named by the Spanish).
 
El Calderon was made up of a cave and a cinder cone. There was a trail that led to the cone but we didn’t have the time to walk it. My dad went into one of the few caves and Leslie and I read about the unusual wildlife in the area. We left, no later than thirty minutes after we arrived. And after lunch at Subway, we went to Lava Falls.
 
Leslie and I were running through the magma and volcanic rocks, cacti adorned, loosely following a trail. My dad was sunbathing on a rock slab near the entrance and didn’t join us for the one-mile jaunt to and from the Lava Falls. Leslie was worried that the sharp lava would be her nemesis, as she was wearing sandals, but in the end it was a cactus that got her. She didn’t see it and stepped right on it, with the sharp points hitting her sandals and the side of her bare foot. We got to the Lava Falls, and there were two cooled black lines of cooled lava hanging over a ledge no more than five feet off the ground. When you hear lava falls, you get a picture in your head of some massive waterfall made out of lava, this was far from what I had imagined but nonetheless, it was cool. We found my dad and with little stickers still in Leslie’s foot we raced to the Natural Arch.
 
The Natural Arch is basically a rock formation of an arch. It’s considered a geological phenomenon and one of the state monuments. We came, we saw and we left. It was nice to look at, but it was something for another time. Also, I had taken off my shirt and tied it around my head and sagged my pants pretending to be gangasta’, and unexpectedly, there were other people at the arch and I was very embarrassed. Another reason to leave.
 
Our final sight was the Sandstone Bluffs. The bluffs were very (emphasis on very) tall and gave us a very of largely where we had hiked on the last stretch. We got some great photos, and my dad teased Leslie about her fear of heights. The day was done and we’d managed to do everything that a normal person would do in a few days in about 6 hours.
 
As we drove down the barren roads that we hiked, we set along them several gallons of water, labeled for CDT hikers, hoping that the hikers we met in Reserve would enjoy the water in a water inept stretch. Leslie and my dad dropped me off at the motel and hurried to return the car. I lied down, put up my feet, and turned on the tube, thinking, Hey, maybe I’ll watch the places I’ve just seen on TV, and be able to say, I’ve been there, and seen that.
 
~David
 
 
Info on the El Morro National Monument from: http://www.nps.gov/elmo/
 
“Rising 200 feet above the valley floor, this massive sandstone bluff was a welcome landmark for weary travelers. A reliable waterhole hidden at its base made El Morro (or Inscription Rock) a popular campsite. Beginning in the late 1500s Spanish, and later, Americans passed by El Morro. While they rested in its shade and drank from the pool, many carved their signatures, dates, and messages. Before the Spanish, petroglyphs were inscribed by Ancestral Puebloans living on top of the bluff over 700 years ago. Today, El Morro National Monument protects over 2,000 inscriptions and petroglyphs, as well as Ancestral Puebloan ruins.”

 
Info on the El Malpais National Monument from: http://www.nps.gov/elma/
 
“El Malpais National Monument and Conservation Area was established in 1987 and is a relative newcomer to the National Park System. This monument preserves 114,277 acres of which 109,260 acres are federal and 5,017 acres are private. El Malpais means "the badlands" but contrary to its name this unique area holds many surprises, many of which researchers are now unraveling. Volcanic features such as lava flows, cinder cones, pressure ridges and complex lava tube systems dominate the landscape. Closer inspection reveals unique ecosystems with complex relationships. Sandstone bluffs and mesas border the eastern side, providing access to vast wilderness.”
 
“For more than 10,000 years people have interacted with the El Malpais landscape. Historic and archeological sites provide reminders of past times. More than mere artifacts, these cultural resources are kept alive by the spiritual and physical presence of contemporary Indian groups, including the Puebloan peoples of Acoma, Laguna,and Zuni, and the Ramah Navajo. These tribes continue their ancestral uses of El Malpais including gathering herbs and medicines, paying respect, and renewing ties.”