#1: [20-Aug-01]

29-Aug-2016 -- This would be the first of three successful confluence visits on a trip up to see my daughters over Parents Weekend!

I had just crossed the New Mexico border and was just prior to Mile Marker 1 along NM-53 (the road name had just changed from AZ-61 at the border) when I passed my planned starting point for this confluence. I encountered a No Trespassing sign and decided to continue on into the town of Zuni and get permission for my visit.

I stopped at the Zuni Visitor and Arts Center and explained what I wanted to do to the gentleman at the desk. I showed him the confluence letter and said I basically just wanted to go to a point in the middle of nowhere and take pictures in the cardinal directions. He asked that I do not take pictures of Cultural or Religious Activities in town (There were several signs along the road advising the same thing). I said that my pictures would just be of the general landscape and I got a pass and a photo permit ($10) and I was back off to Rte 47 and beyond the sign shown in Picture 9.

I closed the gate behind me and continued along a dirt road that might be challenging in wet weather. There were some soft spots and puddles but as long as the road is dry, any vehicle should be able to make it. I parked 270 meters away on the road and began a short hike over flat terrain to the confluence.

In the distance I could hear another vehicle moving along the roads but I never saw it. The zero point was in the open and the nearest identifiable point was a tree. I realized that I had forgotten my phone in my vehicle but still had my GPS. I started logging points with my Trimble, sent a SPOT message, and took my pictures.

It was a very picturesque day with clouds on a painted sky. It had been 15 years since the previous visit but appears that very little has changed.

Post processing of the GPS data (256 positions) reveals that my Trimble GPS receiver was 1.2 meters northeast of the actual confluence with a Horizontal Precision of 2.3 meters.

From where I parked, my round trip hike took 16 minutes and was 471 meters. My total time off NM-53 was 34 minutes and 8.8 km.

What a great confluence adventure! It continues at 35N 108W!

In the Zuni Indian Reservation.