Day 2: Navajo Nation & Hopi Art trail, Arizona and Albuquerque, New Mexico

We made a couple of changes to our day plan in the morning, after looking up the trip advisor phone app and the map.   Tuba city was close to us so we have decided to eat there instead of the hotel restaurant. Also, there was a Dinosaur trail near Tuba city that Sheena wanted to check out.  From Tuba city we could drive 180 miles on AZ 264 to Gallop New Mexico and cover the Hopi art trail in Navajo Nation.   Navajo Nation is the largest semi-autonomous land area primarily assigned to Native Americans within the US.  They have their own law, police and a tax free nation with two hundred thousand Native American people. 

We missed the locations for Dinosaur foot prints first as there was no proper directions on highway 160.  When we located the spot we saw no tourists or any building but only the  vast open Painted Desert. A local Indian approached us and offered a tour and his son also followed along with a bottle of water to mark the tracks.  His four year old son was named after Tyrese Gibson because the dad really liked the musician.   

There were several spots that resembled the fossil footprints and eggs from Dinosaur age and the Indian guide was polite to answer every question Sheena had. Tyrese turned a little naughty when he started playing with Tara and kept spraying water on her because she giggles.  The Navajo man mentioned that he counts on tips and donations to provide for the family. On a regular day many Indian men volunteer to guide a small number of tourists that stop by but today he was lucky as his fellow men are attending the Sunday service at the nearby Mormon temple.  Tuba city’s name derives from Tuuvi, a Hopi headman who first converted into Mormonism and the city was founded by Mormons in 1872. After the tour we proceeded to Tuuvi Travel center in the downtown, a $6 Million complex opened by Hopi tribe  in 2008. At the center we had a nice hot breakfast with green chilly omelet and also bought some inexpensive artworks.

We travelled on 264 East that passes through the largest Novajo and Hopi Indian nation, a 180 miles stretch that ends up in Gallup, New Mexico. We have also covered the Hopi art trail from Tuba city to Keams Canyon. At Hopi Cultural Center exhibition, we listened to an Indian singing and playing drums. We saw Piki Bread (blue corn and rabbit brush ashes) being made on a well seasoned sandstone skillet with hand and tried a variety of snacks made on the spot. We bought a cotton wood Maiden and a Sun god painted with earthen colors directly from the artists. One of them explained us about Hopi art and then showed us an old book that compared the tribes in Nirlgiris, India, with native Indians and they had striking similarities in looks, arts and the way they dressed.  May be Columbus was not entirely wrong in calling these people Indian.  Apart from the art scenes and all happy and vibrant exhibitions,  a number of trailer homes and shacks stand out while we drove through the inroads. Clearly, there is nothing upscale about these places where people lived and every place had a deprived and neglected look.

We stopped at Gallup, New Mexico for a late lunch at a Crocker Barrel joint that serves Sothern Cuisine. They disappointed me by not serving a beer but a pear lemon tea did help.  Tara fell down from the chair while playing with her burger and as usual Sheena was kicking and pretending to be angry at the floor that caused the pain.  An elder Mohave Indian couple was eating in the next table and the lady walked to our table smiling and enquired what Sheena was doing.  When explained that it was just to distract the baby from crying, she said they used to spit on the ground, when the baby’s fall down and it helped.  A third of Gallop’s population has Indian roots and unofficially known as Indian Capital of the world.

We stayed on I40 for two hours to arrive at Albuquerque and checked into Hotel Rio Grande in the Old Town area. The famous Albuquerque hot air balloon Fiesta just ended and the tourists were still hanging around in the town. Picture of Mass Ascension from this festival instantly identify New Mexico but we were a couple of days late for it. We walked to Church Café to try city’s well known Mexican food. Church Cafe is a century old home converted to a cozy beautiful restaurant situated close to San Felipe Church and surrounded by adobe buildings. A verity of red and green chilly salsas, Fajita, Chile, Quesadilla and some local brews were served for dinner and all of them seem to conform to the reputation. The gazebo in the center of the Old Town was packed with couples dancing to the classical ballroom tunes. A long eventful day, heavy meal and the beer started taking a toll on me and we were just longing to hit the bed by 10pm.