We decided we had seen what we came to see in Albuquerque so we left our campsite, the Sandia Casino parking lot, about 8:30 heading towards Gallup, NM. Stayed Friday evening at the Bluewater Lake State Park near Grants, NM. The main campground was OK; nothing special. When we were driving around looking for a campsite we saw three RV’s camped right on the edge of the far side of the lake. We stopped a Park Ranger and he told us how to get there. Off we went down dirt roads and through a marshy area to get to the far side of the lake. We thought our Sumner Lake SP campsite was special. Look at the picture of this site. We’re parked four feet from the lake. Us and three other RV’s shared this entire side of the lake. No utility hookups but who needs them? We’ll take a view over an electric plug any day. This campsite rates near the top for view. It got cold last night; 35*. There is still snow visible on the tops of nearby moiuntains.
Saturday morning we drove into downtown Gallup. Carol wanted to get matching wedding bands. Carol had lost her original wedding band perhaps 30 years ago and had my band resized to fit her. I haven’t worn a ring since then. We went to the Richardson’s Trading Co. & Cash Pawn store. We were there four years ago when Gopher & I made this trip together and Carol flew into Albuquerque for a week. This trading post has been in business for over a hundred years. We found matching silver & turquoise bands. They write on the sales slip who made the merchandise you buy. Our rings were made by a Navajo named Virginia Tulley. I bought myself a pair of jeans at Zimmerman’s; another long time trading post. They said the jeans were made by a Zuni named Levi but they wouldn’t put that in writing. Both these store are on Historic Route 66.
From a local magazine
“The arrival of the railroads in the Southwest in the 1880’s ushered in a new era of commerce that continues today. The Southwestern trading posts, which made Native American arts & crafts available worldwide, evolved into complex business operations. With all business transacted under one roof, each trading post became a regional social center, wholesale buyer, department & grocery store, financial institution and the link to the outside world for people of the area. Artisans needed the raw materials of their crafts as well as sustenance while they handmade their labor-intensive products. There were no banks in the Southwest to lend money. Trading posts had vaults for safe storage of valuables, so an alternative banking system developed. It was known as the cash pawn, and like the trading posts themselves, it remains an important part of community life today. Traders accepted handmade items, which were called pawn, as collateral and returned them to the owner upon repayment of the loan.” The article went on to say that only a very small percentage of pawn is never reclaimed by the borrower. Even so, the quantity of merchandise that can accumulate over a hundred or more years is considerable. Pawn vaults are a good source of high quality handmade merchandise.
Browsing through Richardson’s is like spending time in a museum except everything is for sale. They have a special vault room where the really valuable merchandise is kept. The jewelry in the regular display cases topped out at about $10,000.
After shopping, we walked around the downtown area for a while then went to lunch. More very good Southwest food. After lunch we walked to an amazing bakery. Going to stop there again in the morning.
Early afternoon we went to the Red Rock State Park located off Rt 66 east of Gallup about 8 miles. Took a picture of Church Rock; a religious place for the Navajo. We were the only people there. Tried to find someone to pay but everything was closed except for the local Post Office. Right now it’s 6:30pm. It’s us and two others.
