Original subtitles

(soft music)

(upbeat music)

- [Narrator] Secrets of the Southwest

takes you to the land of red rock,

big sky, and deep canyons.

Here you'll unravel the mysteries of a 1,000 foot maze,

jet ski in the middle of the desert,

travel barren bad lands that teem with unexpected,

and at times deadly forms of life.

From Westerns to Route 66,

to the land the artist Georgia O'Keeffe made famous,

we've got all the secrets.

This is the American West.

(horse neighs)

And in this unparalleled wonder,

we'll take you off the beaten path.

You'll discover there's nothing like it in the world.

(upbeat music)

Secrets of the Southwest

travels to the heart of the Southwest, the Grand Circle.

In this corner of the great American panorama,

the borders of the states of New Mexico,

Arizona, Utah and Colorado blur into one big country.

Our first stop, a place you'd recognize,

even if you've never been west of the Mississippi River.

- Hey Gurly, why don't you take the cuffs off the kid,

he's mighty handy with a gun.

- [Narrator] Our images of the Wild West

are forever torn from the frames of the Wild Westerns.

The Calvary at Dawn, Cowboys and Indians, Gunslingers.

- Go Martin, please.

- [Narrator] A pretty girl.

A Desperate Town, and a hero riding off into the sunset.

But what else did many of these movies have in common?

They were all shot in a place called Monument Valley.

Sculpted out of callosal red rock,

this cinematic dream location is engraved

in our collective imaginations.

What you might not know is that it was a sheer

stroke of fate that opened Monument Valley to the world.

Beginning with the legendary director, John Ford,

whose luck changed in the year 1938.

At that time, Harry Goulding and his wife

were the owners of a remote trading post

on the outskirts of Monument Valley.

The Goulding's, along with their Navajo neighbors,

were struggling to survive the depression.

Visitors to the valley were rare,

and there was no market for Navajo wool or crafts.

- They tried to last it out and one morning in 1938,

Harry heard by the grape vine

that there was going to be a movie made on the reservation

somewhere out in this area.

So, he approached his wife Mike and said,

"Let's go to Hollywood and see if we can entice

John Ford to come to the reservation

and make the movie here at our property at Goulding's."

- [Narrator] The couple set out for Hollywood

to convince the famous director

that this was the ideal setting for his movie.

Armed with a stack of photographs

and a determination driven by desperation,

Harry got his meeting.

- And the chap that ran the trading post,

Harry Goulding, he says, "These Navajos are starving,

and I understand you're going to do a Western.

If you come up there and do it," he says,

"You'll probably, you'll be doing a great thing,

and probably save a lot of lives,

and it'll certainly be a great help."

- [Narrator] Harry Goulding's gamble paid off,

Ford made up his mind almost immediately,

and production began on a film

about a desperate group traveling through Apache country.

The film Stagecoach went onto earn

seven academy award nominations,

and a well deserved place in movie history.

Its success raised the genre of the Western

to big budget status.

And made a star out of a little known actor

named John Wayne.

As for Monument Valley, it became the symbol

of the Wild West, and the setting for some

of the most popular movies of all time.

John Ford returned to Monument Valley

many times during his career.

He always employed the local Navajos

as extras and stuntmen in his films.

And he revered this land owned by the Navajo Nation.

He often said it was the most beautiful

and peaceful place on Earth.

Calling it his lucky spot.

And the success of Stagecoach

and his other films confirmed it.

The Goulding's are gone, but legends never die.

Goulding's Hotel is one of only a few places

to stay near Monument Valley.

The Goulding's home, and the original trading post

have been turned into a small museum

with old photos and movie memorabilia.

But the real cinematic star was,

and still is, Monument Valley.

Monument Valley is not only the backdrop for the movies,

it's the backdrop for hundreds

of commercials over the years.

Like this one, that sold the Chevy Impala in 1964.

Although commercials have changed,

Monument Valley's rugged setting

continues to captivate generations.

You can see Monument Valley from the main road,

but veer off to the winding stretch

of dirt road through Navajo Country,

you'll discover that Monument Valley is not really a valley,

but a flat panorama where time and the forces of nature

have turned mesas into towering buttes,

and buttes into spires.

Nearby there's one place the photographers

keep all to themselves, the Valley of the Gods.

A land locals call the miniature Monument Valley.

Here, you'll find one of the finest photo ops in the west.

(camera shuttering)

And next to The Valley of the Gods,

you'll also find a well kept secret,

the perfect place to get away from it all.

In fact, The Valley of the Gods Bed and Breakfast

is the only home within 360,000 acres.

This remote ranch has four rooms for rent,

so you better plan ahead.

At this bed and breakfast, meals are cooked and served

outside on the 75 foot porch with a breathtaking view.

(upbeat music)

Monument Valley was not the only mecca for the movies.

Along the Grand Circle, just past the point

where the continental divide intercepts civilization,

you'll find the town of Gallup, New Mexico.

Gallup's strategic location as a railroad stop

amid Indian country, made it the choice

of a series of directors.

And by the 1930's, the town was playing a leading role

in the hay day of the Hollywood Western.

One place not to miss is El Rancho,

the hotel built in 1937 by RE Griffith,

the brother of movie magnet EW Griffith.

It became a destination to the stars

who ventured out to make a record 20 Westerns

between 1940 and 1965.

- The facility here at the El Rancho

had all of the amenities that movie stars liked.

We had big dances here, big parties here,

the whole facility had an aura about it

that no one else did.

- [Narrator] The hotel has been restored

to the way it was, many of the rooms are named

for the stars who once slept there.

Some even have special amenities,

like a kitchenette for Kirk Douglas,

and the Reagan room, that was later upgraded

to the Presidential Suite.

Gallup continues to be a strategic stop for travelers

exploring the Grand Circle.

Several of the original businesses

that sprung up to accommodate motorists

along Route 66, are still open.

Including the Eagle Cafe, and Richardson's Trading Post,

where you'll find an inventory of 2,600 saddles.

And at night, the neon outline of El Rancho

invites everybody to drop by.

Continuing along Route 66 to the town of Winslow, Arizona,

you'll find another secret.

The last of the great railroad hotels.

La Posada was built in 1930 by the Santa Fe Railroad

and Southwest architect Mary Colter.

In keeping with the history of the area,

the hotel was designed as a hacienda

of a wealthy Spanish dawn.

The facade along Route 66 is actually the back of the hotel.

The front faces the tracks, to accommodate the public

in the days when everyone traveled by rail.

This was once a Harvey House,

managed by the legendary Fred Harvey Company,

who brought top-notch food and service to the Wild West.

The Harvey Company provided one of the first

employment opportunities for women.

Their ads called for young women 18 to 30 years old

of good character, attractive and intelligent,

to move to the West for employment.

And as many as 100,000 women did just that,

they became Harvey girls.

- We served the trains when they came in.

People would come in,

and I always say first fast-food restaurant

because we had carts where they could choose

what they wanted and then we got it out to them

as fast as we could.

And they only had about 30 minutes.

- [Narrator] Will Rogers once said,

"Harvey kept the West in food and wives."

The Harvey girls ventured west to work,

but they actually helped settle it.

As many as 20,000 Harvey girls married ranchers,

miners, merchants, railroad men, and cowboys.

Today, La Posada has been fully restored

as a destination hotel,

complete with the 21st century version

of Harvey Fine Dining.

And the Winslow Harvey Girls Society

acts as tour guides of this landmark.

It's an excellent way to launch a trip

along the Grand Circle.

Besides, you never know who will pull up along Route 66.

Secrets of the Southwest continues along the Grand Circle,

an area that has the highest concentration

of national parks, natural wonders,

and the grandest canyon of them all.

Each year a steady stream of over four million tourists

from around the world come to see

the Grand Canyon for themselves,

because no picture can do it justice.

The majestic canyon, one of the seven natural wonders

of the world, covers 1,900 square miles.

This is the great abyss,

and the view from the rim is humbling.

At an average of 10 miles wide and one mile deep,

this 277 mile long chasm took a mere

five to six million years to sculpt.

At its base, the Colorado River

relentlessly rushes over 160 rapids.

When you talk about the Grand Canyon,

you have to mention Major John Wesley Powell,

one of the first explorers to attempt

to unlock its many secrets.

Powell's point honors the one-armed

Civil War veteran and professor who led a daring expedition

through the uncharted waters of the Colorado River.

Not once, but twice, in 1869 and 1871.

His mission, to chart and name the canyons and creeks

of this land, he simply called the great unknown.

In 1912, Ellsworth and Emery Kolb

were the first to record travels

down the might Colorado River with a motion camera.

Their film simulates what braving the rapids

might have been like for Major Powell,

except that Powell never knew what danger

lurked around every bend.

The Kolb brothers earned their own place

in Grand Canyon history, they became an institution.

Their 1912 film had the longest run of any film ever made,

playing every day for 60 years

at the Kolb Studio along the south rim.

For those who choose not to take on the river,

hike down one of the trails, and you'll soon come to grips

with the Grand Canyon's daunting 5,000 foot vertical walls.

- This is where you can hike to the north rim, right?

- You can, if you look where Phantom Ranch is,

and you can see the canyon--

- [Narrator] Ranger Pam Cox warns hikers

never to underestimate the Grand Canyon.

- We actually call the canyon

the giant the giant Venus Flytrap,

because it does, it lures people into it.

And a lot of people come here not really understanding

what it takes to hike to the bottom.

- [Narrator] In the summer the canyon floor is an inferno,

with temperatures soaring above 100 degrees.

And remember, if you manage to make it to the bottom,

you have to make it back up.

And in their enthusiasm to explore

the recesses of the canyon,

some visitors ignore warnings and barriers to get close,

a little too close for comfort.

- It's a rare occurrence that somebody's

actually going to fall into the canyon,

it does however happen periodically.

And it's usually because people are really

just disregarding the fact that this canyon

was formed through erosion, that erosion continues,

and sometimes those rocks as they're standing

on the very brink of the canyon's edge will give way,

and they'll go with it.

- [Narrator] Climbing the nearly vertical walls by mule

is another way to conquer the canyon.

The mule, a cross between a donkey and a horse,

has more stamina than a horse.

And it really is stubborn as a mule,

because it refuses to be put in any kind of danger,

making the mule ideal to haul human cargo

up and down the treacherous terrain.

This form of transportation hasn't changed

since the days of early travel.

- Group up over here in front of me

if you're on this mule ride today,

I want to see the whites of your eyes.

- [Narrator] Except today there are

a strict set of rules laid down

by tough love mule wrangler, Ron Clayton.

- These mules are going in that canyon today

because you want to go, not because they want to go,

they've been there.

These mules do not neck rein like a horse,

folks they single rein like a mule,

right to right, left to left.

Folks your biggest hurdle today

is probably gonna be the heat.

Drink your water.

I fly about 12 people a year

out of that canyon heat dehydrated

with water hanging on their saddle horn.

- I need you to put your toe in there,

put this toward ya.

You ready, here we go.

Grab ahold, climb on up.

- [Narrator] Mules descend Bright Angel trail,

an ancient Havasupai Indian foot path

that drops off the rim into a series of switchbacks,

leading to the canyon floor.

And mules are in demand, so plan ahead.

These trips are totally booked up to two years in advance.

(upbeat music)

- Going up and down the canyon is taxing,

but visitors once had a tough time even getting to the rim.

All that changed on September 17th, 1901

when the first train rolled in

from the town of Williams, Arizona.

The Grand Canyon Railway brings

this bit of history back to life.

Every day passengers arrive

at the vintage log railway depot,

just as they did at the beginning of the 20th century.

(steam blowing)

By steam train, the size, power, and complexity

of a steam train demands your attention.

This top of the line train cost $27,000 to build in 1923,

and a whopping $1.5 million to restore.

Ever wonder what it would be like

to be in the driver's seat of a 200 ton locomotive engine?

- [Conductor] All aboard!

- [Narrator] On a steam train,

it's actually the engineer and fireman who are in charge.

They constantly monitor gauges to adjust

the amount of water, fuel, and steam the train generates,

and they regulate complex moving parts.

There's a lot more to it than meets the eye.

Once the Santa Fe Railroad reached the Grand Canyon,

the railroad commission construction

of a first class hotel to accommodate travelers.

El Tovar, described as the most expensive

log house in America, cost a quarter of a million dollars

to build in 1905.

This national landmark, named in honor

of Pedro De Tovar of the Coronado Expedition

is still one of the grandest lodges

in Americas national parks.

To manage El Tovar, the railroad brought in

the legendary Fred Harvey company.

But here's something you might not know,

in 1902 America's brilliant and most unknown architect,

Mary Colter began a 40 year association

with the Fred Harvey company and the railroad

that changed the face of the Grand Canyon.

It all started with the Hopi House in 1905.

Hopi House was built as a place for Native Americans

to create and sell their art.

Colter modeled it after an old Hopi Indian structure.

She even brought in Hopi craftsmen

to build it from materials picked up on site.

As architect and designer,

Colter concentrated on every detail.

It's so authentic that according to canyon legend,

Hopi spirits called rock boys are still thought

to watch over the house.

- They're little beings that when you build a building

they come and they watch over the building.

And I assume from that, protect the building

from harm and outside influence.

I have to come up some nights and close out the register,

and when I do that sometimes you swear

you hear murmuring of voices.

We have little sheep that we sell,

and we have come in and see the little sheep herded up.

And sometimes some of the dolls will be on the floor,

and of course we always blame that, "The rock boys did it."

- [Narrator] Another Colter building

named Hermit's Rest, recreates the home

of a prospector and entrepreneur

who lived along the canyon rim for over 20 years.

The lookout studio, set in stone,

look like it's part of the canyon walls,

and a must see, one of Colter's greatest achievements

is the Desert View watchtower.

The 70-foot watchtower sits on the highest viewpoint

on the south rim of the Grand Canyon.

It's an incredible structure, modeled after Indian ruins.

Inside the ground floor has a shop with a view.

The walls of the spiraling stairwell

are covered with Hopi symbols.

Walk up to the top of the tower and you'll find

panoramic scenery nothing short of spectacular.

Mary Colter was a pioneer of this Southwest aesthetic.

Across the west, 11 of her buildings are national landmarks.

But the Grand Canyon has to be her grandest showplace.

On the canyon rim look down, but also look up,

another secret soars overhead.

The Condor is America's largest flying land bird,

with a wingspan of nine-and-a-half feet.

On the verge of extinction,

their population was once down to 22 birds.

But a successful captive breeding program

allows their release into the wild.

- In 1996, the Peregrine Fund started releasing birds

at the Vermilion Cliffs

about 55 miles north northeast of here.

And the birds frequent the south rim, so we track them.

We release them as juveniles, and their parentless

so we're kind of their foster parents.

They're pretty vulnerable in their first few years.

- [Narrator] Radio transmitters are attached

to the bird's wings.

Then radio telemetry equipment is used to track the Condor.

- These are like an FM radio that we can directionally

with the three element antenna,

swing around and when we're in line of sight of a bird

the signal will come in strong

when they're very close and sometimes weak

if they're far away or tucked in a canyon somewhere.

There's a bird that either has a real strong transmitter,

or is very close.

- [Narrator] 52 Condors have been released to date.

It's hoped that they will breed and re-establish

their population in the wild.

Cliffs, points, buttes.

Perhaps the true way to unlock the secrets

of the Grand Canyon is to spend time here.

It's been around for a long time,

and if you find a special spot and stop to listen,

the canyon's many mysteries may be revealed.

The end of the day is the sacred hour.

The sun sets and the ever changing panorama

dissolves into shadow.

Secrets of the Southwest journey takes us from

the 277 mile long Grand Canyon to a 186 mile oasis,

that looks more like a mirage, Lake Powell.

In the middle of the area known as the Grand Circle

is surrounded by 1.25 million acres of open country.

Most of the lakes 96 major canyons

are accessible only by boat,

making it one colossal playground.

Here heaven is a houseboat.

One of the best ways to cruise

the lake's more remote stretches.

You'll also find everything from power boats,

to jet skiers, to RVers along its brilliant blue waters.

The explorer Major John Wesley Powell

named this canyon Glen Canyon,

after the lush Glens along the Colorado River side.

Little did he know that it would one day

become the Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell,

one of the world's largest man made lakes,

would be named in his honor.

On October 15th, 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower

pressed a telegraph key from the nation's capital

that set off the explosion

that changed the Colorado River forever.

(explosion)

For all its power, the mighty river

that once terrified Powell's men,

is now turned on and off to meet

the ever changing demands of hydro-electrical power.

- Our name plate capacity is 1288 megawatts.

And we estimate that that's enough electricity

for about a million and a half people.

That's our second purpose here is electricity.

The first purpose is storage of water.

- [Narrator] The massive concrete structure

creates water storage for the cities

and farms of a thirsty Southwest.

This enormous undertaking began with the building

of a steel arch bridge over 1,000 feet long

and 700 feet above the rushing river

to connect the canyon walls.

Men called high scalers had the highest risk task,

preparing the canyon walls for the dam.

Hanging by single suspension ropes,

they removed overhangs and loose rocks,

and installed hundreds of rock bolts

by drilling holes 45 to 75 feet deep

into the Navajo sandstone.

Tunnels were constructed to reroute the Colorado River.

It took over three years and 400,000 buckets of concrete

weighing 24 tons per bucket, to form the concrete blocks.

These blocks were used to build the dam's 710 foot walls

that are 330 feet thick at its base.

18 people lost their lives building Glen Canyon Dam,

America's second tallest, after Hoover Dam.

Lake Powell began filling up with the closing

of the last divergence tunnel.

- The dam was actually topped out at 1963,

we started filling the lake at that point.

It took 17 years to get the lake

all the way full for the first time.

- [Narrator] Almost one third of the water

was initially absorbed into the sandstone of the canyon.

At full pool, the reservoir holds

nine trillion gallons of water.

But no dam is impervious to water.

At Glen Canyon Dam, the sandstones natural fractures

allow water to seep through at the rate

of 2,600 gallons per minute.

That may sound like a flood,

but this water is actually rerouted at the dam's base,

where it also helps the grass grow.

With over 23 million people in seven states

depending on Lake Powell,

the dam's safety is not left to chance.

It's constantly monitored for structural flaws

and concrete erosion.

And post 9/11 security here is understandably tight.

Located at an incredible 3,700 feet above sea level,

Lake Powell's extreme size and beauty

make it one of the most remarkable

man made places on the planet.

You don't have to travel far from Lake Powell

to come face to face with the astounding

diversity of the Grand Circle.

At the Goosenecks National Park,

you'll find a true natural wonder.

The Goosenecks are formed as the San Juan River

steadily makes its way to the Colorado system,

and eventually Lake Powell.

From the top of the Goosenecks,

you can see sweeping maze like patterns.

- This is the Goosenecks of the San Juan River system.

It's a classic example of entranced meander.

It's about 1,000 feet down to the river bottom.

What you're seeing is about 300 million years

of geologic history right here in Southeastern Utah.

- [Narrator] In this entrenched meander,

the San Juan River zigzags six miles,

while only traveling one mile in distance.

But it's the consistent texture of the rocky terraces

that is so mesmerizing.

Standing here, you can almost sense the steadfast

advance of time and the river.

The Grand Circle takes us through Indian country,

the Navajo reservation,

the largest reservation in the United States,

covers 25,000 square miles of this region,

Canyon De Chelly, south of the Goosenecks

is the center of the Navajo nation.

The mouth of their magnificent canyon

is only 30 feet deep,

but it plunges to 1,000 feet within 15 miles.

Awesome archeological sites, like white house ruin,

reveal that the canyon has been a home to people

for over 4,000 years.

For the Navajo the secrets of this canyon

go beyond physical beauty into the spiritual realm.

Spider Rock, an 800 foot sandstone spire

is the sacred home to Spider Women,

the deity who taught the Navajo women to weave,

and weaving has been a way of life.

The Navajos produce some

of the finest rugs in the Southwest.

You need to turn off the beaten path

to explore villages like Shonto,

hidden deep in Indian country.

Here you'll get an insider's view of Navajo life.

You'll also find arts and crafts for sale

in the room next to the general store.

At Shonto you can tour a one room earth covered hogan,

a traditional Navajo home.

- The doorway of a Navajo hogan

always points toward the east,

because you want your doorway, or your pathway,

to greet the sun.

The sun is very important to our culture.

Every hour or minute the sun's coming up

there's different levels of rays that help you.

- [Narrator] The ceiling of this Hogan

is woven like a work of art.

Today, Hogan's are primarily used

for ceremonies and healings.

Another turn off the beaten path

takes you to the Hubbell Trading Post in Ganado, Arizona.

This national landmark opened in the 1870s,

is the oldest continually operated

trading post on the Navajo reservation.

The original trader, John Lorenzo Hubbell,

depended on the Navajo for horses

and their main trade item, the Ganado rug.

Hubbell's current trader, Bill Malone,

says that back then the trader

was one of the most important outsiders in the community.

- He did all their translating,

he got ahold of people that were far away from home,

he helped them in their burials.

He did things like that.

He helped them in their credit situations and other things,

he was the banker, the postman, and the grocery store man.

- [Narrator] Hubbell's was operated by the Hubbell family

until the post was sold

to the national park service in 1967.

Over a century later, it's still the place to get the best

Indian made crafts and brush up against the past.

Secrets of the Southwest travels to the southern border

or the Grand Circle, where we find the Painted Desert.

Here, the story of the Earth is revealed in baron bad lands.

This crescent shaped 150 mile apocalyptic arc across Arizona

includes the over 93,000 acre

petrified forest national park.

Shades of red, white, gray, and orange

form the muted pallet that gives

the Painted Desert its name.

These largely inaccessible areas can be bleak.

- You can see the bad lands behind me,

those were once the remains of a wet land.

This whole place was a flood plain.

And the trees were log jammed down here,

flowing down from highlands nearby, and they were buried.

- [Narrator] The silica from nearby volcanic ash

caused the trees to turn to stone instead of rotting.

Petrified wood is actually a fossil.

The petrified forest contains one of the world's

largest concentrations of petrified wood.

And wind, rain, and time continue to expose

more of this land of fallen logs.

The stone trunks lie in segments,

fractured by earthquakes, pressure shifts,

and dramatic temperature changes.

The largest log, nicknamed Old Faithful,

measures nine feet in diameter.

Although the petrified wood is protected by law,

some people just can't resist the temptation to pick it up.

- We're losing up to 12 tons a year.

It's mostly people who just want a little piece

of the area, a souvenir.

Once they get home they feel guilty,

we get these incredible letters we call conscious letters,

and the explain how their wife left them,

or their dog died, and they'll actually

send this stuff back to us.

We have piles of this stuff,

tons of material over the years.

- [Narrator] These petrified pieces

are like parts of a puzzle, once removed

the park has no idea where they belong.

So the pile of returned stolen wood continues to grow.

Nearby, we also find evidence of more recent

volcanic activity some 3,000 years ago

at the El Malpais eight volcanic events and five lava flows

helped create this 114,000 acre lava field,

the largest in New Mexico.

Only a few routes,

including an ancient Pueblo Indian pathway

cross the extreme back country.

Here's something you should know,

at the El Malpais, it's easy to get off the path

and in the monotonous landscape

that's enough to make your heart pound.

Losing your direction is not the only danger,

you also need to watch your step.

Hidden beneath the jagged surface,

lava caves and crevices can be several meters deep.

The contrast of the rocky lava beds

next to some of the most striking

sandstone cliffs in the southwest,

draws people to these extraordinary bad lands.

There is nothing that even remotely gets your attention

to explore this next secret,

you just have to know it's there.

Rock Art Ranch seems like the middle of nowhere,

but it's only seven miles outside Winslow, Arizona.

Here the earth flattens into grasslands

that continue all the way to the horizon,

except for one unexpected gash.

You go down a narrow passageway for the pay off.

Rock art panels that few modern people have ever seen

line both walls of this hidden canyon on private property.

Rock Art Ranch owner, Brantley Baird,

knows he has one of the finest strands

of petroglyphs in the world.

- Now the archeologists claim that some of the petroglyphs

in the canyon are 7,000 years old.

And this is what they call the desert varnage,

the petina, the black.

It's completely resurfaced over the,

like this is a deer here,

and then there's another deer right here,

and there's a person here.

You can see the newer stuff,

looks like families up here holding hands and dancin'.

And here's some dots, and there's a person there.

Now, that stuff there is a lot newer.

(banjo music)

- [Narrator] The pristine waters of this canyon

flow all the way to the Colorado River.

It's so idyllic that you have to wonder

why the ancient ones ever left.

Drought, disease, dwindling food,

or over-population are all possibilities.

As for the meaning of the rock art,

you can make out images of birth,

the sun, a heard of deer.

But part of the fascination

is that we'll never know the real truth.

These relics from the past remain as much a mystery

as the ancients that left them behind.

You never know what you'll find in the southwest.

While you'd expect to see horses

at home on the range, the llama has now staked its claim.

Imported from South America, llamas are relatively new.

Did you ever wonder what it takes

to take a llama out in the desert?

The answer, not much.

This pack animal is made for the back country.

Native to high altitudes,

this camel without the hump can store water.

It's an efficient browser,

the llama can live off the land,

but unlike a horse or mule,

llamas don't grab the grass and obliterate it at its roots.

Their soft-padded hooves maneuver well on slick rock,

and minimize the impact on trails.

Larry Sanford, of the Buckhorn Llama Company,

claims llamas have one pretty interesting quirk.

- Bears run away from them.

I never would have imagined that,

but they do in fact have an alarm cry

that you're probably not gonna hear today.

And it's not an alarm for the llamas,

the sound is to chase off what's coming in.

And it's much louder than this,

but it's sort of like an asthmatic elk,

it's kind of a (cry mimic) kinda thing.

(laughs) It's really strange.

- [Narrator] As for riding llama back, forget it.

Llamas are limited in the weight they can carry,

so they're used for loads, not people.

Deserts and bad lands can be inhospitable hosts to humans,

but they're not exactly barren.

Sometimes you just have to take a closer look

to find forms of life, and out west,

small does not mean less significant.

Spiders, scorpions, snakes,

and lizards are all inhabitants.

Although they do their best to avoid us,

you might see them crawling about.

The warm dry climate makes a perfect home

for 1,000 species of spider.

But the black widow is the most notorious of them all.

As they say, you'll know one when you see one.

Black widows here are jet black

with a red hourglass shaped belly.

Their venomous, though not fatal to humans.

But the male of this species has to worry,

the female eats him after mating.

And this female Texas blonde tarantula

likes to stay close to her burrow.

You might find the males wandering on the road

after a rain, probably looking for a mate.

40 species of scorpion can be found in the southwest.

Hunting at night, they grab prey with their pinchers.

Scorpions eat almost anything, including another scorpion.

And if looks could kill, this vinegaroon,

or whip scorpion, would be fatal.

But it is actually harmless.

Its only defense is a whip tail and vinegar odor.

But don't mess with the Gila monster.

It snaps in a flash, and its razor sharp jaws hold on.

The venom glands in the lower jaw

transmit a fast acting poison the flows into the wound

as the Gila monster digests its prey.

One of only two types of poisonous lizards,

the Gila monster is not lethal to humans,

but one good bite could send you to the emergency room.

Over 70 species of snakes in the southwest

make you want to look before you leap.

More snake bites are recorded in the southwest

than anywhere else in North America.

The largest species of Rattlesnake,

the Western Diamondback, is the snake

most associated with the Wild West.

It's also the snake responsible

for the majority of snake bites.

Bob Myers, curator of the International Rattlesnake Museum

in Albuquerque, New Mexico says that

when it comes to rattle snakes, there's a lot of myths.

- It is not a mean or aggressive snake,

like a lot of people would describe it.

It is very defensive.

It will sit still if you come upon it.

And you can literally walk circles around the snake,

and that snake will follow you with its eyes

until it feels comfortable and not threatened,

it will sit still and stay in that defensive posture.

- [Narrator] Another myth is that you can tell the age

of a rattler by counting its rattles.

Actually new segments grow up to four times a year,

and old segments get brittle and break off.

So, short of a birth record,

there's no way to tell their true age.

- The third big misconception is mistaken identity.

A lot of people will see other snakes

and think they're looking at Rattlesnakes,

where they're actually looking at a non-venomous snake

that's not gonna do any harm.

It breaks my heart to hear about any snake being killed,

but when people are killing non-venomous snakes

thinking they're killing a venomous snake

and doing the world some good, they're way off base,

they're killing a great rodent hunter, and a friend.

- [Narrator] One friend is getting set free today.

- This one was picked up in someone's backyard.

It was found in their yard,

and they were afraid of the snake.

So, it was brought down to the Rattlesnake Museum.

We're gonna release it today.

The Coachwhip snake is a very fast moving snake,

one of the fastest in North America.

So, I'm gonna set it out in this clear area

so we can take a look before he takes off.

Once he gets down into the grass or small rocks,

we won't see him for more than a second or two.

But I'll go ahead and release him right down here,

he's a non-venomous snake.

There he is.

There he goes.

He's gotten down into the grass now,

he's safe, he feels secure.

He'll live a nice long life out here.

- [Narrator] Let's see that again in slow motion.

The Coachwhip, one of the fastest snakes in North America.

At the International Rattlesnake Museum,

you'll find over 34 types of Rattlesnakes,

and other indigenous critters of the southwest.

And here, you can appreciate them all from a safe distance.

Exploring the varied and dramatic landscape

along the Grand Circle tells only part of the story.

Secrets of the Southwest takes us

to the land of enchantment, New Mexico.

A long framed by some of the most majestic mountain ranges

in the entire southwest.

Here the land of enchantment refers as much

to the rich and laid back culture as the magical setting.

The jewel of the southwest has to be the city of Santa Fe.

It's also the nations highest capital,

located at 7,000 feet above sea level.

In this once isolated community,

you'll find the three southwest cultures,

the Anglo, Spanish, and Native Americans

living side by side,

sharing a passion for personal freedom and art.

This combination creates a vibrant scene,

and the third largest art market in the United States.

All around town you'll find an eclectic mix,

often displayed in settings

that are works of art in their own right.

A continuous stream of artists

has been drawn to this corner of the world.

There's something deeply moving

about these highlands and high desert.

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- Well O'Keefe fell in love with the area around Ghost Ranch

and that house suited her perfectly

because it was isolated, it gives her an incredible view.

She saw the Pedernal from her patio.

And she often would say that God told her

if she painted it enough he'd give it to her.

The red cliffs behind the house,

the purples, the reds, the greens, the oranges,

these were colors that she found fascinating.

And the landscape configuration she found fascinating.

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