Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Drive 50
New Mexico North
Vivid tableaux of bold colors and eye-catching forms, the panoramas of northern
New Mexico take in purple peaks, ruddy buttes, bloom-bedecked meadows, and
flaming skies at dusk. And thanks to its splendid isolation, the landscape looks
much as it did four centuries ago.
Length:
About 410 miles, plus side trips
When to go:
Popular year-round
Words to the wise:
Roads can be icy and snowpacked in winter and early spring.
Not to be missed:
Northern Navajo Nation Fair (October), Shiprock
Nearby attractions:
Aztec Ruins National Monument, Aztec; Bisti Wilderness and
Chaco Culture National Historical Park, south of Farmington; Heron Lake State Park,
near Rutheron; Kit Carson Home and Museum, Taos
Further information:
New Mexico Tourism Department
1.
Shiprock
A thriving center of Navajo trade, and the site of the tribe's annual fall festival, the town of
Shiprock occupies a land where nearly every monument has been sacred to this people for
centuries. Southwest of the town lies Shiprock Peak, for example, a volcanic core that soars
some20storieshigherthantheEmpireStateBuilding.TheNavajosdubbeditWingedRock,
and down through the generations they have told how the hallowed monolith once sprouted
enormous wings to rescue their ancestors from enemies. (Early explorers gave the peak its
present name because of its resemblance to a high-masted sailing ship.)
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