On Walkabout In: Gallup, New Mexico

Basic Information

• Name: Gallup
• Where: New Mexico, USA
• More Information:  Gallup website

Narrative

As much as I like Colorado and New Mexico another place in the US I really enjoy visiting is the state of Arizona.  I lived in Prescott, Arizona many years ago and still maintain friendships with people who live there.  I sometimes drive over to Arizona to meet with friends which is what I did this past summer.  I drove from Colorado to Arizona via I-40 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  I always enjoy the drive from Albuquerque to Arizona which features a lot of high desert scenery:

One of the places I stopped to let my kids take a break from the long drive was in Gallup, New Mexico. Gallup is located in far western New Mexico near the border with Arizona:

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We exited I-40 and parked at the Gallup Cultural Center which is located in an old train station in downtown:

We spent about 30 minutes going through the cultural center and looking at some of the displays.  I really liked looking at the historic photographs of the Native-Americans they have on displays.  The cultural center is run by the Southwest Indian Foundation which is headquartered across the street from the cultural center:

The Southwest Indian Foundation sells a lot of Native-American products and then use the money for various charity projects on the reservations.  I regularly receive their catalog and sometimes order products from them.  It is good to see that they have put some of the money raised into the establishment of the cultural center.

Due to its proximity to various Native-American reservations, Gallup is one of the best places, if not the best to find Native-American artwork and other items:

Besides its Native-American heritage, Gallup also is a major stopping point along the historic Route 66.  The downtown section of Gallup has been fixed up over the years with colorful buildings that reflect the historic ambiance of the Route 66 era of American history:

Most of Route 66 is now long gone since I-40 was established that connects Albuquerque to Los Angeles.  Just outside of Gallup is where I-40 exits New Mexico and enters into Arizona.  At the border is another area that has a number of shops that sell Native-American goods to include one that claims to be the world’s largest tepee:

The border area is actually a pretty nice place to checkout because the red rocks that tower over the shops are quite impressive:

From here we then moved on with our trip into the great state of Arizona:

Next Posting: Arizona’s Painted Desert