Top Weekend Getaways

Culture Vulture Adventure

Destination: Gallup
What to bring: adventurous taste buds, hiking moccasins, shopping cart

If you’re looking to cure the sameness of everyday life, head to Gallup, 138 miles west of Albuquerque off I-40, to breathe the air of Native American culture. Set between the Navajo and Zuni reservations, this town offers a doorway into a unique world.

The adventure starts early on a Saturday morning at the Gallup Flea Market. Vendors sell goods ranging from katsinas to jewelry to Navajo herbal remedies such as Lightning Medicine. Sample blue mush, a corn cereal, or try that Navajo staple, the mutton sandwich: roasted meat on Indian fry bread, topped with a whole green chile.

From there, follow the locals to downtown Gallup, a gem of 19th-century buildings and kitschy Route 66-era neon signs. The first stop for many Native Americans is City Electric Shoe Shop. Set in the 1920 Chief Theater, it’s the place to stock up on feathers and leather to make ceremonial clothing. But if you don’t have plans to perform an Eagle Dance, you can peruse an excellent selection of cowboy hats and moccasins to wear around town.

While you have your plastic out, head a few blocks away, to Richardson’s Trading Company. In business since 1913, it’s a sprawling market full of pottery, rugs, katsinas, and turquoise and silver jewelry. The knowledgeable staff will teach you to select a quality purchase.

Then, head across the street to the Gallup Cultural Center. Built in 1923 as the Gallup depot of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway this building, in modern Mission style, houses the Storytellers Museum, an insightful exhibit on regional history. Most impressive is the Masters Gallery, which showcases paintings, sculpture, pottery, and basketry by some of the region’s renowned Native artists.

Take a break for an enchilada with the locals at Earl’s Family Restaurant, where Native Americans set up tables to sell jewelry, creating a bit of a bazaar atmosphere. Then check in to the quietest hotel in town, La Quinta. (Though it’s not as big on local culture, it’s one place to escape the sound of freight trains passing in the night.)

As the sun slants across the area’s red mesas, head to the Gallup Cultural Center’s outdoor theater. There, each summer evening, Native Americans dance. Dressed in full regalia, they step and twirl into the night to the soulful beat of drums.

If You Go: Gallup Flea Market, off U.S. 491 on Ninth St., (505) 722-7328; City Electric Shoe Shop, 230 W. Coal Ave., (505) 863-5252, www.cityelectricshoe.com; Richardson’s Trading Company, 222 W. 66 Ave., (505) 722-4762, www.richardsontrading.com; Gallup Cultural Center, 201 E. 66 Ave., dances at 7 p.m. from Memorial Day to Labor Day, (505) 863-4131, www.southwestindian.com; Earl’s Family Restaurant, 1400 E. 66 Ave., (505) 863-4201; La Quinta, 675 Scott Ave., (800) 531-5900, (505) 327-4706, www.laquinta.com—Lesley S. King