“Oh, the weather outside is lovely…Let it Snow!” Yes, we woke up to snow in Gallup NM. It was a “warm” snow at about 36°F. So it didn’t stick to the highway. Yet, it made it a very interesting morning. Jorge forgot his snow shorts so he put on sweat pants. Poor baby!

We drove to the west side of Galllup to look for a tall Indian to photograph. We got just one picture and were on our way.

We discovered a wonderful little town named Grants NM. In 1950 a local fellow discovered uranium in them dar hills. For the next 20 years it was a boom town. Naturally, we had to visit the local Mining Museum.

The museum started operations in 1986 and is still operated by the family of the man who discovered the uranium. The city and state also collect taxes to keep the operation going. It seems like a very nice deal.

Outside a large drill bit was on exhibit. We first saw a movie about the history of the local mining operations and then went deep into the mine! Well, we took an elevator to the basement where there was is a simulated mine.

Jorge immediately picked up a pick and start to hunt for his fortune in uranium. Since uranium is hard to see he needed a radioactive detector. He is still poor.

Click on either picture on the left or right to enlarge.

The text to the left explains itself. The picture on the right is worth a thousand words. I can hear the truck drivers over their citizen band radios: “Bear on the Bridge!”