El Morro Rock. The inscriptions are mostly on the base of the cliff to the right. The Zuni ruins are on the top left of the cliff.
Pasò por aquì. I passed by here. It seems to be a human trait to leave this message. I’d heard of El Morro for a long time, but it was far more impressive than I realized. For starters, it’s just a beautiful rock formation. But add to that Indian petroglyphs, Spanish inscriptions beginning in the early 1600s, followed by American cavalry and travelers’ messages. Some are exquisite engravings, most are more roughly cut. But in one way or another, all say ‘I was here’.
After looking at the inscriptions, we hiked the two mile trail along the base of the cliff and then to the top. Here is A’ts’ina – Zuni ruins that date from the late 1200s.
We stayed at The El Morro RV Park & Cabins – comfy, clean cabins, nice fire ring to gather around in the evenings, dark skies and a million stars. Part of this is Ancient Way Cafe – excellent food in this tiny, isolated community. But this is a creative community of artists, so having a first class cook shouldn’t seem odd. Most impressive to me was the chocolate pie – and the tart cherry pie (with ice cream, of course) was also worth skipping a meal for! But wait, there’s more: trails to hike, a co-op, an art gallery and playhouse, and a New Mexican gift store.
Pasamos por aquì
We passed by here.
Always Backroads 