Go West Young Man

If you are trying to decide where to take the kids on a vacation in the near future, let me suggest something. It seems that everyone wants to go to Disney World, Universal Studios, Busch Gardens, or maybe Six Flags Over Somewhere. Interesting places, I've seen them all, but not as interesting as some of the better, off the path, less commercial and, of course, historical sites. Please don't get me wrong, I'm not a travel agent, nor do I get a commission for anything that I write about, just a poor old purveyor of information.

Several years ago, I got the opportunity to work with a company out of Albuquerque, New Mexico on some research projects for the government. As good custodians of the environment, we are always looking for ways to reclaim, recycle or reuse material that has, for one reason or another, become excess or obsolete. During this period of time, we were trying to develop alternative uses for old explosives and propellants. It was interesting work that looked at various processes for reclamation and reuse. Some of these projects included the reuse of propellants as fertilizers, as animal feed supplements, for mining explosives and even in oil and gas well fracturing techniques. Additionally, I was involved with the construction of a processing plant to extract the primary explosive from its plasticized binder. This project took me to Gallup, New Mexico for an extended period of time.

Gallup is on the historic Route 66 (and also right off I-40, if you like Interstate travel) and features one of the most unique hotels in the country. The place is called The El Rancho Hotel and Motel. Pretty catchy for a hotel and motel, wouldn't you say? It was built by the brother of D.W. Griffith, the guy who made "Birth of a Nation" and several other movies. I could try to explain this place, but I'll let you visit the web page and see for yourself. http://www.elranchohotel.com/ I enjoyed the novelty of staying here a few times, but that is not the reason for this article.

Because Gallup was about a 135 mile drive to Albuquerque, I wasn't at liberty to travel back home to Indiana every weekend, so I spent several weekends in Gallup and visited some of the local attractions, which, for some reason, included a bronze sculpture of a guitar, in recognition of Jerry Garcia.

This locale is just full of history and there have probably been hundreds of books written about all of it, but there is one place that is really special to me. Located a little over 50 miles from Gallup, El Morro National Monument is a sandstone mesa that is a must see for archaeologists, geologists and historians. I had the opportunity to visit with some colleagues one day and didn't get enough of the place, so I went back later on my own to spend some more time. There are two trails to hike at El Morro. The shortest and easiest takes you to the Inscription wall, where you will see historic names carved into the stone and the pool of water that attracted travelers to this location. The second trail takes you to the top of the mesa for some beautiful views and an opportunity to visit the abandoned ruins built by the people of the Anasazi culture and occupied in the 13th and 14th centuries. Try the National Park web site, for more info on El Morro. http://www.nps.gov/elmo/index.htm

One of the inscriptions you will see is that of Don Juan de Onate from 1605; he was the Spanish governor of the area that is now New Mexico. This guy was an extremely cruel individual who killed a lot of Acoma Indians and even amputated the left feet of some 80 men. Another name, which is meticulously carved into the wall, is P. Gilmer Breckenridge. Peachy Gilmer was famous for assisting Lt. Edward Beale's camel expedition across the southwest and later died as a Confederate Officer near Kennon's Landing. Also, there is the name of R.H. Orton, who was a Captain in the California Cavalry in 1866, when he stopped at El Morro, and later became Adjutant-General of California. Orton was known as a great Indian fighter and served with the legendary Kit Carson.

Another name that I noticed and wondered about, because I thought that I recognized it, drove me to do some research. The name T.H. O'Sullivan is inscribed on the rock and I found out that T.H. was a photographer, and a very good one at that. He began his photographic career during the Civil War, working for Matthew Brady. After the war, T.H. joined the U.S. Geological Service and made three expeditions west and one, with LCDR Thomas O. Selfridge, to the Isthmus of Darien to search for a canal route across Panama. During the 1867 western expedition, T.H. became the first photographer to photograph underground miners at work in Utah and Nevada. They say that he used magnesium-flares for his light source underground. It's amazing that he didn't blow up some mine. In 1871, he accompanied Lt. George M. Wheeler on another expedition and, I believe, that is when he visited El Morro. T.H. was later named the official photographer for the U.S. Treasury, but he died 4 months later of Tuberculosis…at the age of…42. Now that's quite a bit of living in 42 years. You can see many of T.H. O'Sullivan's Civil War and U.S.G.S. photographs at the following URL: http://www.geh.org/ne/mismi3/osullivan_s...

Just a side note; Lt. Thomas E. Selfridge, the nephew of the preceding Thomas O., was not only the first U. S. military man to pilot a plane, he was the first passenger killed in a plane accident. He died as the result of a crash during military testing of a new plane at Ft. Myer, Virginia in 1908. His pilot was Wilbur's brother…Orville Wright.

So, when you're planning your next vacation, see if the kids want to go out west and learn some history….or go to Kings Island. Good luck.