Day 10: Navajo Dam to Durango

September 21, 2017

Today is long and hilly but it doesn't matter how tired I am tomorrow. This is the last travel day of the tour. I felt kind of tired in the morning but my energy level improved as the day progressed.

I started the day in a hole next to the San Juan river. So of course I have to go mostly uphill at first. NM 173 climbs for miles, then has big rolling hills over 5 summits.

There were many caves in the cliffs near the summits.

Finally I began a comparatively short descent to the city of Aztec. There is a little bit of oil and gas development along the way but NM 173 has far less oil and gas traffic than US 64.

NM 173 descending to Aztec, NM. 'Tis the season for blooming rabbit brush.

I expected Aztec to be a sleepy ranching town. It's actually a thriving oil and gas town. Larger and more prosperous than expected.

I stopped for lunch at a Subway restaurant in Aztec. While standing outside the owner of the restaurant quizzed me about the tour. He complained that it's now impossible for a Subway franchise to make a profit because of the corporate-mandated specials such as $5 footlongs. I told him I paid $9 for my footlong Subway Club.

After lunch I continued 1.5 easy miles from downtown Aztec to Aztec Ruins National Monument. Unfortunately I didn't notice the historic downtown strip to the left, just south of my route. I must have been distracted by the traffic.

The ruins are on the edge of town, with a rural subdivision right up to the boundary. The National Monument is named after the nearby city. The ancient city wasn't built by Aztecs. It was built, occupied, and abandoned before the Aztecs developed a prosperous empire in central Mexico.

Aztec Ruins National Monument. Reconstructed Kiva on the right.

I paid the $5 admission fee walked the 0.6 mile loop trail through the ruins. As at all anthropological parks, visitors are required to stay on the trail. You are not allowed wander around and you definitely can't climb on the ruins.

The trail goes through a huge Kiva that was reconstructed in the 1930's. At the time it was considered desirable to build replicas of historic structures. That mentality was quickly abandoned. Nowadays anthropologists wouldn't even consider building a contemporary structure on top of ancient ruins.

Inside the Kiva reconstructed in the 1930's.

Signs at the reconstructed Kiva explain that it is a sacred space to the local tribes, and that visitors must be quiet and respectful.

Aztec Ruins have been stabilized but not reconstructed. The Park Service claims that 80% of the stones are in their original position.

This city was built and inhabited from the late 1000's to the late 1200's. At its peak, it rivaled the large Chaco Canyon historic site which is 55 miles south. The combined ruins are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Another Kiva. Eastern "Great House" in the distance.

The two multi-room structures are called "Great Houses". Most of my photos are of the eastern great house. Both great houses were mostly 3 stories. The city was very well planned, with more than 500 rooms.

Only a portion of the ruins have 2nd story walls. 80% of the masonry work is original.

John Newberry was the first geologist to explore the ruins in 1859. He took meticulous records of the ruins, describing them as being in excellent condition with 25 foot high walls in the west big house. Sadly, when anthropologist Lewis Morgan visited in 1878, he estimated that 25% of the stones mapped in 1859 had been removed by settlers to use as building material. Stones and artifacts continued to disappear until the park was established in 1923. Most of the artifacts were looted long before the park was established.

The trail goes through rooms in a few places. Only 2 rooms have reconstructed roofs to help visitors imagine what it was like when inhabited.

Some of the doorways were made by looters. These look too nice to be made by looters.

Reconstructed roofs. None of the original roofs survive.

The Pueblo Indians were noted for excellent quality masonry construction. The rocks fit together tightly.

Nobody has the definitive answer as to why the Pueblo Indian cities throughout the region were abandoned by 1300. Overpopulation (relative to the water supply) was probably an issue. Drought-induced crop failure was probably an issue. War doesn't seem to be a major factor because skeletal remains indicate that few people died violent deaths. The Pueblo Indians didn't disappear-they are still around today. Most moved to lower ground, closer to rivers. Others migrated north to find a wetter climate. But they never built dense cities again. This city is close to the Animas river, so it's not obvious why it had to be abandoned.

Overview of the eastern "big house" from a perch on the western "big house".

When leaving Aztec Ruins I stopped to see the Animas river from a new bike/ped bridge. The bridge is an essential part of a new 1 mile long trail that connects the ruins to the city of Aztec.

New ped/bike bridge across the Animas river. It connects Aztec Ruins to the town of Aztec.

Aztec Ruins to Durango is 40 miles with a 1000 foot net climb up the Animas river. Fortunately the brisk tailwind made it fairly easy. I was happy to be on a low traffic county road instead of busy 4-lane US 550 across the river.

County Road 2900 north of Aztec Ruins. Delightfully low traffic. Across the river from busy US 550.

The county road has few river views. Usually the river is half a mile away. But it has good views looking down on farms in the floodplain and looking up at the surrounding mountains.

Today had perfect weather. High of 85F (29C). The brisk south wind was very helpful. The sky was sunny all day. Not the usual late afternoon clouds that lead to scattered showers.

One section of County Road 2900 squeezes between the river and chalky cliffs.

Unfortunately the low-traffic county road ended and I had to pedal 8 miles on busy US 550. The first half of that distance has a parallel road. To get onto the parallel road I would have had to roll the bike down a grassy embankment. I didn't do that because I assumed the road doesn't go very far, or turns away from the highway. It actually continues 4 miles adjacent to US 550 and has a proper connection to the highway at the north end.

I pedaled 8 miles on busy 4-lane US 550.

I crossed into the state of Colorado at about the midpoint of the 8 miles on US 550. Nearly all of this tour was in New Mexico. Only the last 25 miles is in Colorado. It's rare for a state to put up a big sign saying that you are leaving the state. Apparently New Mexico decided it's important to invite people to visit again. Hasta la vista is Spanish for see you later.

4 miles into Colorado I escaped US 550 by turning left onto CO 213 which crosses the river and stays west of US 550.

CO 213 crossing the Animas river south of Durango.

Distant view of the San Juan mountains north of Durango.

Much of the land appears to be white-owned, but the Southern Ute Indian tribe owns the riverfront and controls fishing rights on the river.

The Southern Ute reservation is the last Indian reservation I entered during this tour.

On the edge of Durango I cut over to CO 3 on the east side of the river. It goes straight into downtown Durango with no suburban sprawl. Getting into Durango was easy. CO 3 has frequent views of the US 550 expressway across the river. I was happy to not be there.

I didn't spend any time looking around Durango today. I have tomorrow to do that and I've visited Durango twice before. While in downtown I heard the train whistle, so I pedaled 2 blocks west to watch the train go by.

Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad returning to Durango.

Tonight I stay at the Adobe Inn a mile north of downtown. The downtown hotels are twice the price. My room cost $146 for a 2 night stay. The motel is old but nicely renovated and surprisingly stylish. For dinner I walked half a mile to the Animas Brewing Company.

In the evening I made a reservation to pick up a rental car the day after tomorrow at 9 AM. It will be a 1-way car rental from Durango, Colorado to Roseburg, Oregon. The price is very high, $1214. But it will allow me to see several interesting places on the way home.

Visiting Aztec Ruins was the highlight of the day. It's definitely worth a visit and the bike-friendly back road goes right past the entrance. No detour is required.

Distance: 60.3 mi. (96.5 km)
Ascent/Descent: +3145/-2352 ft. (+953/-713 m)
Average Speed: 9.8 mph (15.7 km/h)
Hiking: 2 mi. (3.2 km)

Today's ride: 60 miles (97 km)
Total: 404 miles (650 km)

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