El Morro National Monument, New Mexico

 This is a fabulous place to stop on a New Mexico vacation.  Located about two hours west of Albuquerque, it is a nice stop to catch some Ancient Pueblo ruins, and do a short hike.  The entire area has been inhabited for thousands of years.
El Morro '“ the headland '“ is nestled along an ancient highway in central New Mexico between the Pueblo of Acoma and the Pueblo of Zuni. Once upon a time, a pool of dependable water at the foot of a great cliff dictated that travelers stop here. It was the only sure water for about 40 miles in any direction. Once it sustained a fairly large ancestral pueblo village atop the bluff before it successively quenched the thirst of Spanish Conquistadores, missionary explorers, and others of the Spanish colony known as Nuevo Mexico. Two hundred years later, they were followed by Anglo-Americans as they pushed a new nation'™s borders farther and farther west. Check out the graffiti on the backside of this stone edifice.

I love seeing the remains of where people lived.  I am not sure why, but the older the better.  There is something about seeing how people lived hundreds if not thousands of years ago that I find intensely interesting and almost peaceful.  The choices that we have made over the years about where and how to live and raise families makes me contemplative in a good way.  The American southwest is full of wonderful places to glimpse at the past, as well as enjoy natural beauty, so get it while you can.  The reduction in nationally held lands and the decision to mine them is abhorrent to me, but ultimately the people do not decide, money does.  Thankfully nothing valuable, besides a reliable but small water supply, has been found here.