El Morro, New Mexico - Arts Destination Extraordinaire!!

This week I ventured over to El Morro, a hamlet a couple miles West of Inscription Rock. This is my third trip to El Morro and each visit has reinforced my enthusiasm.

Trading Post & Coffee Shop/Roaster

A mere 300 feet long, the "town" has a Trading Post/coffee roaster, a restaurant, an r.v. park, a feed supply store and a storage-shed sales lot.  The Trading Post features work by local artisans some of whom are from the Alamo (Navajo) Reservation. Their coffee is also excellent.

Most amazing is the Art Gallery in the old school building.

Yew cain't b'lieve
evrythang yuh read. The sign
sez OPEN but hit whar CLOSED.

The Gallery serves as the community center and headquarters for the El Morro Arts Council. The building does duty as a performance space for plays, music, arts classes, workshops and other community meetings and gatherings. The Council's quarterly newsletter has the latest.


The Chain of Craters Backcountry Byway (and points North) offer myriad opportunities for dispersed camping. The "soil" here is powdered ash. Jumbles of (still) uneroded basalt add to the topographical diversity. The photo below was taken near the junction in the higher regions of Zuni Canyon Rd.

75 miles (give or take) NW of El Malpais approx 8,000 ft elev.