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I travel a lot; I hate having my life disrupted by routine. ~ Caskie Stinnett
It is good to have an end to journey towards, but it is the journey that matters in the end ~ Ursula K. LeGuin
Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and enjoy the journey ~ Babs Hoffman
I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I intended to be. - Douglas Adams
"Thousands of
tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out
that going to the mountain is going home; that wildness is necessity;
that mountain parks and reservations are useful not only as fountains of
timber and irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life."
The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one's own country as a foreign land. ~ G.K. Chesterton
71% of the Population believes in global warming, while the other 29% are still trying to resolve the "Earth is Flat" debate
Wandering re-establishes the original harmony which once existed between man and the universe. ~ Anatole France
Reduce Recycle Reuse Restore
“When words become unclear, I shall
focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be
content with silence.”
Reduce Recycle Reuse Restore
Reduce Recycle Reuse Restore
Reduce Recycle Reuse Restore
Reduce Recycle Reuse Restore
Reduce Recycle Reuse Restore
Reduce Recycle Reuse Restore
Reduce Recycle Reuse Restore
Reduce Recycle Reuse Restore
Reduce Recycle Reuse Restore
Reduce Recycle Reuse Restore
Reduce Recycle Reuse Restore
Reduce Recycle Reuse Restore
Reduce Recycle Reuse Restore
Reduce Recycle Reuse Restore
Reduce Recycle Reuse Restore
Reduce Recycle Reuse Restore
Reduce Recycle Reuse Restore
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Pat's November Blog If This is your first time here, you might want to start from the beginning of our fulltime RV Journey with my previous months Blog's
January Blog
February Blog
March
Blog
April
Blog
May Blog
June Blog
For Those That Don't Know Me, You can click here to read my Bio Photo Gear We Use - Solar Tips, Fact's and Trick's we've learned while on the road
Camper
Check List - A list of things we do before leaving camp.
Again, this isn't gospel, but its a good start for those who might not
already have a list made up.
**** We had driven west out of the Los Alamos area, with the only way to get out was to drive back through Albuquerque. That would be our first time being back in civilization in the past two weeks. Let me tell you that the traffic of Albuquerque was enough to drive us back out into no-where land where we're starting to feel very comfortable. We had found a BLM Campground off the side of HWY 117 near El Malpais National Monument and dumped the camper before heading to La Ventana Arch, the second largest in new Mexico. The beauty of the South West is the BLM land, it's free to camp at and very prevalent. The campgrounds don't have many amenities, and no utilities, but that's why we set ourselves up for Boondocking with our solar panels and deep cell batteries. This is also when a Gazetteer comes in handy, because it shows which land is BLM Land and what is state land.
We took too many photos of the arch, and realized just because it's warm when you're in the sun, it doesn't mean you're going to stay warm once you're in the shade of the mountain. I'm the one always yelling at Cindy "Bring you're jacket" or "Put a sweatshirt on!" Now I was the one stuck in just a T-Shirt who was freezing while Cindy was offering her sweatshirt to me and laughing at my stupidity.
With large lava flows that look like they were steaming hot only a few days ago (actually the youngest lava is over 3000 years old) you would think you're on one of the Hawaiian Islands and far from the dry desert of New Mexico. Turning off of HWY 117 onto Route 42, Cindy laughed saying "Not another New Mexico dirt road again!" I pleaded, "No, this is a main road that is on the park map, it just happens to be dirt" Boy was I wrong. Route 42 is a dirt road here and there, but I don't know if I'd take it in a regular car. There were plenty of times that the high clearance of our four wheel drive truck was needed to get over some of the lava which crossed the road. This was also our first experience with Prairie Dogs. From the truck, the prairie dogs don't mind sitting up and watching you pass, but slow down or try and come to a stop, and they're gone in their ground nests in an instant. Numerous times I tried to get a picture of these funny little animals only to be outsmarted every single time. They also have better patience then Cindy does. She's only good for a few minutes of sitting, looking at a sand mound before she wants the truck started and it to be moving. So needless to say, we have no prairie dog pictures to show off.
Midway through this drive, we found the Big Tubes section of El Malpais. This was a few hours into driving, and we were both ready for a good hike, walk, climb or anything to stretch our legs. What we found was something that was just amazing! For a 1/4 mile, you hike over rough lava, a mix of small ups and downs till you come to the section where the big lava tubes once flowed. Here you can see where the lava flowed out of the volcano and through the valley floor. What was once humongous tubes of lava, are now just collapsed sections of flow. In some areas, you can climb down into the tubes and crawl through the blackest of black caverns. With no light to speak of, and rough boulders all around you, even my headlamp that is normally bright enough for any task, barely cut through the darkness. I couldn't talk Cindy into following me into any of the caverns, which are open to explore, and really I wasn't too keen on exploring them with just the two of us. All I kept thinking of was the last news reports of those college kids who went cave exploring and got lost. They had done everything right. They notified others of where they were going, they left a note on their car and had multiple lights with them. We had done none of that, so exploring the dark caverns would have to be something we would put on our to-do list. We made our way back to the Sunline and in the first time I could remember, we did absolutely nothing for Halloween. As we got back to the camper, we couldn't believe the stars and how bright the the milky way was. The nearest town was Grants, which was maybe 30 miles away and not that big of a town to begin with. With not a light to hinder the display of stars, we sat gazing at the sky with our mouths wide open in amazement. Thursday November 1st 2007 I got up early and headed back to La Ventana Arch to see if the sunrise would make the light any better, but I basically just froze while watching the same arch we had seen yesterday in the shade. I went back and crawled back into the warm bed where the two dogs had taken over my position beside Cindy. By the time we were loaded up and on the road, it was noon and we drove over to the Bandera Volcano and the Ice Caves. We had seen signs advertising this attraction all along I-40 and thought since the other things we had been hiking around were so cool, maybe this would be the same. Pulling up to the little visitor center/gift shop, we made our way in and asked the lady behind the counter our usual questions. She couldn't, or should I say wouldn't answer any question we asked about the cave, saying she had never hiked the 400 yards to see what it looked like? That should have been our first clue that it wasn't that exciting The brochures were very cool looking, with a 12' wall of ice and stalactites hanging from the ceiling. We paid the $9 per person entrance fee thinking at least we might get some cool pictures.
I hate to say, that Cindy didn't take one picture, and I only took 4, so that should tell you how exciting this was! First of all there was no ice and the little cave (Singular) we did see, was the same thing that we've been seeing for the past few days for free while hiking around El Malpais National Monument. The Big Tubes were 100 times better then this, and were free! Cindy was so mad and I felt totally robbed. She kept saying she was going to go in and ask for our money back. I just wanted to get out of here and move on to El Morro National Monument. Cindy did go back in to make sure she had looked at the post cards that were for sale in the gift shop and make sure we had seen them right. When she said to the woman behind the counter that they should tell people that there is no ice in the Ice Caves, the woman just said "Yeah I know, those post cards are from the 50's and 60's."
From the Ice Caves we drove west over the Continental Divide towards El Morro National Monument. For some reason Cindy had offered to drive! I was amazed, but thought these roads are so empty, it would be the perfect opportunity for her to get some experience behind the wheel. The next half hour was spent with me laughing at her yelling that she was freaking out and that I couldn't talk because it distracted her. We made it to El Morro and found that the campground was closed for the season. You could camp there for free, there was just no water available. Great, another free night for us. Free is always good on our budget. Friday November 2nd 2007 El Morro National Monument El Morro is another monument like Bandelier. With Native American ruins, petroglyphs and enough history to fill any historians cup, we had a full day ahead of us. When Cindy found out that the trails were dog friendly, of course she had to go get the dogs and bring extra food and water for these two anchors.
This short two mile hike around
the National Monument is breathtaking, and well worth the drive off the
main highway of I-40. El Morro is also home to some of the oldest
writings in America. The soft sandstone walls were a favorite for
the Natives to carve their petroglyphs in. The Zuni Indians, whose
Puebloan ancestors lived here, call it Atsinna - "Place of writings on
the rock." The Spaniards called it El Morro - The Headland.
Anglo-Americans called it Inscription Rock. El Morro was a stop
along the main East-West trail dating from antiquity. Over the
centuries, those who traveled this trail stopped to camp at the shaded
oasis under the cliffs. They left
Hiking this large mesa is fairly easy. Remember you're elevation here is around 7000', so you're going to be a little winded if you're like us and used to the flat lands of the east. But it's nothing too strenuous. We passed a few couples in their golden years who were doing just fine with the elevations and the scenery is so beautiful, you'll want to stop often to take plenty of pictures. After yesterdays ordeal with the Ice Caves, it only made me more angry that this beautiful park was only $3 per person, and the pass was good for the next 7 days. That also included a free campground, yet we paid $9 to see nothing at the Ice Caves! (I know, let it go already)
While hiking, we were joined by
one of the park rangers, Lee Ferrill, who had to come out and scold a
few hikers who had wandered off the trail into an area they werent
supposed to be. Having Lee along with us on the hike was like
having a tour guide. He knew so much about the local flora and
fauna, that it made the short hike all that much more enjoyable.
He told us stories about certain cracks and crevices, explained why
certain inscriptions looked the way they did, and was just a good guy to
have along on the hike. He even was a dog person, having three
dogs himself, so he didn't care
One thing that we found so wild was that Lee had moved to this area after leaving Corporate America. He started working here and a short time later his father-in-law called him to say he had found a letter from a great uncle. This uncle was making the West-East passage and stopped at this very oasis. In a letter home, he talked of building a scaffolding to carve his name in the sandstone like so many other travelers had done. In the letter he described where he had made the carving; Lee said the day he walked out to that exact location and looked up, seeing the name from the early 1800's just ran chills up his spine. Fate had brought him to a place that hundreds of years before, family had passed by and had left their mark for him to find. Isn't it wild the way life works out? Lee recommended a few local areas not to miss, and told us to make sure we come back in the fall after the monsoon season, when the valley floor is filled with wild flowers. By the time we got back to the camper, we had spent 5 hours hiking this two mile trail which I think is a new land speed record. Now you know why it takes us so long to go anywhere, we like to talk to people we meet, and we like to take plenty of pictures. We did meet a few nice couples, one from Oklahoma who recommended a few different places for us to visit, and another family from Minnesota who had taken the last two months to take their 3 kids around the country on a scenic adventure like ours. Cindy and I logged on to their blogs and found it very humorous to see what the same landmarks we were seeing looked like through the eyes of a child. You can check out their site here http://goodsamclub.mytripjournal.com/Baberblog After so long in the Boondocks, we needed to find a campground that had full hook-ups so we could empty our tanks, refill our fresh water and get some laundry done. So maybe the next few days will be spent just relaxing and playing catch up. We pulled into USA RV Park in Gallup, New Mexico and called it a night. Saturday & Sunday November 3rd & 4th 2007 Sitting in USA RV Park in Gallup New Mexico, we've been playing a whole lotta catch-up. It's amazing how fast things pile up. Between emails, photos and updates, you'd think we've been off the grid for a few weeks. This campground is pretty nice and with Gallup being the biggest town around for miles, it looks like there is plenty to do in this area. Cindy and I have been a couple of hermits and have spent most of our time in the camper on the computer or cleaning the camper before we head off again.
POI Factory is like a dream come true for anyone who owns a GPS. If I would have downloaded all the waterfalls for Minnesota while we were driving through that state, we wouldn't have had to sit and flip through maps. There are POI's for each state's parks, scenic drives, specific fuel stations or attractions for certain areas. I spent the day downloading all the State Parks, National Parks, Dump Stations and Scenic Drives for the next few states we'll be traveling through. I also found out that while I had the GPS unit hooked up to my laptop, if I looked something up online, it asks me if I want to record this location into my GPS! Thanks Tom and Mary for the link, and now I know to check something out as soon as it's sent over to me. Tuesday November 6th 2007 Our 1st Run-In with Navajo's Driving North through Arizona, we headed up to Navajo Nation and one of the largest Navajo Reservations in the country. The drive up was beautiful with vistas from horizon to horizon interrupted by red mesas jutting up from the flat desert atmosphere.
Driving onto this Reservation was like stepping back in time to the 1930's or 40's. I cant figure out how some Native Tribes have followed the advances in society while others have sat stagnant for almost a century. The Reservations we're used to visiting in Michigan are beautiful. They have big casinos where top name acts perform weekly bringing in tourists from all over the state. The homes are up to date and you almost wouldn't know you were on a Reservation if it wasn't for the advertisements and bill-boards trying to bring in more tourists.
Growing up in a middleclass small town with only a few non-Angelo's to speak of, I've never considered myself a racist in anyway. I've kicked people out of our restaurant when they used racist terms and always tried to be as neutral as possible. I have always wondered what it would be like to have the tables turned on me. For the first time in my life, I was the minority. Except for the few Angelo's staying in the cottonwood campground, we were the only non-Navajo people we met.
Driving
into town got us some strange looks and made me feel very uncomfortable.
It's one thing to be the new person in a small town, our truck
Not that I expected a few hundred years of oppression to be forgotten, but I didn't imagine it would be like this. It was just a stark contrast to the tribes we were used to meeting in Michigan. The Chippewa's of Northern Michigan are very cordial and go out of their way to welcome you and make you feel at ease. Here, the nasty stares almost made you want to pack up and leave town as quickly as we had pulled in. The Cottonwood Campground was fenced in and had signs posted to not feed the roaming dogs. The campground was rustic, with no hook-ups, but it was free, so we werent complaining. Free is good, even if I did have to strap on the shoulder holster. I will say that this area has the worst sand spurs, or stickers or what ever you call them we have ever seen. One step into the grass and the bottom of your shoes are covered in stickers. The poor dogs take one step and just stop with their paw out waiting for you to remove the few in each pad. Wednesday November 7th 2007 Canyon de Chelly National Monument The only thing we were here to do was explore Canyon de Chelly (pronounced Canyon de Shay) while waiting for some mail to get delivered. We really needed that new LCD screen for the laptop so we could update this stuff you're reading, so while waiting for the delivery, we would see what we could around this National Monument and make the best out of it. Just because we're being looked at funny, I wasn't going to let it ruin our time here.
Most of the overlooks have locals selling handmade crafts and jewelry, and I did sit and talk with one guy who had some cool hand carved stones. I fell for it and bought some of them because they looked that interesting. The one hike where you can climb down 1 1/4 miles to the White House Ruins is what we had in our agenda for today. After driving along the canyon rims for the past few days at various times of the day, we figured the White House ruins would be best when bathed in afternoon sunlight, so we spent the morning talking with our various neighbors in the campground.
Our other neighbors were from California and were filled with great information on places to camp in the Southwest. Earl and his wife 'SP', were more than happy to take some time and share their many years of camping experience with Cindy and I. Earl and I sat comparing our solar set-ups and talking about the many ways we've found to boondock for free, while Cindy and 'SP' adored the 3 week old puppy that had been the talk of the campground for the past few days. This puppy had adopted Earl and 'SP' when it's mother had abandoned it. Being the animal lovers they were, they had taken it in and had been feeding it till they could think of a way to get it to a rescue off of this Reservation where animals, especially dogs aren't that well taken care of. Hiking White House Ruins
Once the
afternoon sun was at the right direction, we headed down the trail
and into the canyon. From the start, this hike offers you some
breathtaking views. The trail is very easy on the hike down, and
could be traveled by
Once we
reached the valley floor, the hard packed sandstone we had been hiking
on switched to soft sugar sand. We crossed the small river that
was barely flowing through the valley floor and were greeted by a few
Navajo women selling some of their native jewelry pieces. The
ruins are much larger than they appeared from the overlook some 700'
above. What looked like a small dwelling is actually multiple
rooms which are sprawled out along the cliff side.
We sat
watching the huge ravens soar along the walls, riding the thermal
updrafts and croaking out their throaty calls to one another.
After our usual finger numbing picture ordeal, we headed back up the
canyon with the sun throwing long shadows over the canyon floor.
We thought about what the Anasazi people must have thought when they
called this area home. This canyon has been one of the longest
continuously inhabited landscapes of North America and looking at our
surroundings, you understand why. I could have dropped my
Remember those benches I spoke of, well we made good use of them on the hike back up. Even though it was only 1 1/4 miles to the top, at this elevation, any effort in climbing is strenuous for us. Although we are getting much stronger than our first few climbs back in Santa Fe, we can still feel the crisp thin air sting our lungs when trying to suck in heavy breaths. By the time we had gotten to the top, I was sweating good and feeling very refreshed. Hiking is a mind clearer for me and I love to have the time to myself with just Mother Nature and the sounds of nature. Usually Cindy and I are just enough distance apart, that conversation is only exchanged at the resting points of the switchbacks, and then it's given in-between heavy breaths, so it's not that engaging.
The 3 of us sat talking, philosophizing and just having a good laugh while enjoying some of Cindy's mouth watering spaghetti for the remainder of the evening. Earl is a retired professor from UCLA and was very interesting to talk to. By the end of the night we had shared quite a bit and my face hurt from both laughing and talking. It was nice to meet such an interesting, easy-going individual. Thursday November 8th 2007 Driving the Canyon Floor I had said that the only way to explore the canyon was to hire a Navajo guide. You can do this either in one of their vehicles which is very expensive, or if you have a capable four wheel drive, you can use your own. The guides are on a first come, first serve basis, so I drove up to the Park Headquarters to see if I could find one.
Alice was an elderly Navajo woman who had lived on the Reservation her whole life and had been guiding with her father since she was a young girl. She told us she was even born in the canyon back in 1939 and knew it like the back of her hand. We pulled in, I locked my hubs, switched the truck into 4-High and took off. The first mile of the 17 mile long route is deep sand, the kind that a high RPM and much bouncing is needed to get you through it. As soon as I found an area where the ground was solid enough, I got out and aired down the tires so we wouldn't spin so much in the soft sand, something I should have done when I locked my hubs back on firm ground. With the tires aired down to the proper level, we floated right over the sand and I didn't need to keep the truck at such a high RPM.
This canyon driving was my idea of fun. The trail driving wasn't
that hard, but you definitely have to have a high clearance vehicle.
With dozens of stream crossings, some up to the bottom of the doors, any
vehicle lower than our truck might be getting their floorboards wet.
If you ever come to Canyon de
With our own personal tour guide, we were allowed to stop at any point we wanted, and could go at our own pace. You know, the snail pace we usually travel at in order to make sure we see every possible bit. By hiring your own tour guide, you only pay a $15 an hour price compared to the $48 an hour price to get bounced in the back of their vehicle. So when rolling along and we came to a pack of wild mustangs, I was able to get out and snap some images. When I really wanted a different angle of the cliff side, I could drive over there or hike away from the truck to get that certain angle.
While riding along, we talked about all sorts of different things and
asked about outsiders on the Reservation. Alice told Cindy that
she needed to be careful while on the Reservation because of her good
looks. She said the Reservation has its fair share of crime and
being a pretty blonde, they would snatch her up, rape her and throw her
off the canyon the first chance they got! That definitely
It's just a shame that in all these years, we cant seem to get along when it comes to the races. This area has some of the most beautiful scenery we've seen, and 4-wheeling through the canyon was one of the coolest experiences we've done so far. The photography is outstanding and worth every cent it cost to hire the personal guide. I'd recommend this to anyone, especially if you're into photos like us. Just use your head and don't go wandering around by yourself. Make sure to check out the Gallery we put together from our Canyon Drive. Friday November 9th 2007 While Cindy cleaned up the camper and got it ready to tow, I ran into Chinle to the post office and grabbed our package. I stopped at the quarter car wash to hose some of the red dirt off of the truck from so many stream crossings yesterday. By the time I had gotten back, we were ready to hook up and get on the road. Earl and 'SP' had packed up and shoved off and we promised to keep in touch through emails. Cindy and I were betting on whether that little puppy would ever be given away, or if it was a new addition to the family?
Then we saw one of the strangest sights to date. While driving, I noticed a bunch of animals on the side of the road. Big birds and a pack of dogs all around a big heap on the side of the road. Well that heap was a dead horse and the dogs and birds were fighting over who got to eat it!! I don't know if the horse had been hit by a vehicle or if it had succumb to the harsh conditions out in the desert, but it left quite a sight in our minds for the next few miles. Just because Every Miles A Memory, it doesn't mean they all have to be good ones!
OK RV Park has a laundry facility and even has cable, so you know we were living large tonight....LOL Saturday November 10th 2007 I'm happy to say that Cindy and I repaired our LCD Screen by ourselves. I made her do it with me, that way if I was to mess anything up, she couldn't blame me....LOL So the laptop is back up and running and it only took a few hours for the 500 and some emails to download. Now that we had a strong signal, we talked with the family back in Michigan and found out that what was supposed to be the entire family visiting for the Christmas Holiday, will now only be our Niece and Nephew. The remainder of the day was spent updating the sight and downloading the few gig's worth of images from the last weeks worth of adventures. It's times like this when I curse my picture taking habits. Found an interesting article on how Global Warming is affecting our National Parks. For anyone who enjoys these beautiful areas, this is a real eye opener. Monday November 12th 2007
Holbrook Arizona was once a major stop for Route 66. The town now
has a little historic district, the very cool Wig Wham hotel where you
sleep in tee-pees and many other historic places to visit. With
the Petrified Forest National Park
We stopped at the Crystal Forest Museum & Gift Shop before we entered into the park, and sat talking with Brandon. I was wondering about many of the different fossils and how they could sell a sharks tooth that was over a million years old for only $28? He said that just goes to show you where we hold our values these days. They price their pieces for what they can sell them for, and it just so happens that historic artifacts go for about the same price as a movie ticket with a large buttered popcorn. What a shame.
Being as most of the main attractions in the West are National Parks and each one has an entrance fee, we just paid the $80 and bought a yearly pass. This will save us a bunch of money in the long run and we should pay it off in the next month alone.
The park has a main road that crosses through the middle that is 26
miles long. We drove from one end to the other just reading the
plaques and seeing what it had to offer. I found it very
interesting that this is called a Petrified Forest, and along the 26
mile long road, I only saw one tree. The painted desert was
beautiful with the afternoon sun casting long shadows across the mesas.
We stopped at a few overlooks and just sat staring. It's hard to
take a picture and have it show the true expanse of nothingness.
We watched a group of hikers setting out on one of the trails, and I
said to Cindy that as
When I'm hiking I like for there to be some sort of goal, a climax in the hike if you will. Spending the day climbing these short sandstone bluffs only to see the same thing at the top of each peak doesn't sound that rewarding to me. There is one hike that we plan on attempting tomorrow that describes some interesting sights, but these are nothing like the vistas of Canyon de Chelly, El Malpais or the peaks above Santa Fe. I would say that this park is perfect for those tourists that just like to do most of their photography from the overlook. I shall let you know tomorrow after we see what a hike offers us. I also added a Camper Check List page for those that are new to the RV thing and don't already have one to copy off of. Tuesday November 13th 2007 Pulling into the Rainbow Forest Museum, we sat talking with the park ranger about what the park has to offer and when is the best time to see each area. The museum has some very cool skeletons of dinosaurs that once roamed this area only a few hundred million years ago. We watched a short movie that describes the various attractions the park has to offer, before heading out to the Giant Logs area.
From the Rainbow Forest Museum, we walked across the parking lot to the Fred Harvey Gift Shop. Don't ask me why, we had just left a gift shop-museum, but Cindy said "We needed to see everything." Luckily we did. I've been looking for a certain book that I read about in Bike Magazine that lists every mountain bike trail in Arizona. George who was behind the counter said they didn't have it, but asked which way we were headed and grabbed the phone book from under the counter. He called a few different bike shops and found where we could purchase the book. He then pulled out a map and drew me highly detailed directions to the spot where I could find what I was looking for. Talk about some customer service!! Cindy and I sat talking with George while he described a few different hikes in the area when he finally asked how long we were going to be in town? He said he had next Monday off and if we were interested, he'd be happy to take us on one of his favorite hikes. We swapped numbers and said we would be in touch. I thanked Cindy for making us go into another gift shop and was reminded that "Everything happens for a reason."
To think that Arizona at one time was a tropical paradise with giant dinosaurs running around and 200' tall trees everywhere. We saw markings left by Native Americans at Newspaper Rock where some 600 petroglyphs are left on the sandstone walls. The painted desert and Old Route 66, the Santa Fe Railroad which all dross right through the park.......All in all, it was a full day. Cindy joked at one point and said "Imagine if aliens were to land right here. They would look around and say, it's just like home, let's get our of here." We both agreed that we had walked on another planet today, and headed home for the camper.
With no light fall off, cool thin air so there is nothing to hinder your view, the sky looked like a Lite-Brite game when we were kids. There were more stars than I had ever seen and the Milky Way looked like you could reach up and touch it. I sat outside just enjoying the quietness and amazing light show in the sky. It's so quiet, that you can hear a car coming down the road for a few minutes before you can see it pass by. Wednesday November 14th 2007
Pulling out of the Crystal Forest Museum & Gift Shop we took Route 180
back up to Holbrook where we thought we would drive Route 66 towards
Winslow. Think the Eagles singing "Standing on the corner in
Winslow Arizona" We had picked up a local tour guide booklet from
the
OK RV Park
like we had when we found the Jemez Mountain guide back in Los Alamos.
This guide book listed a bunch of things to do and talked about driving
from Holbrook to Winslow and
We stopped at the famous Jackrabbit Gas station so Cindy could 'Ride the Rabbit' before we finally found Winslow. Except for a few t-shirt shops selling various Route 66 shirts and a few nostalgic hamburger shops which were closed, there isn't much to do in Winslow. If you are ever traveling through Arizona and think 'Let's stop in Winslow for something to do', unless you're a huge Eagles fan, I wouldn't bother. We had planned on spending the day wandering around, but now we both stared at each other wondering what to do next.
Jumping onto Route 87 South, we decided to head towards Payson a day
early. For the first 30 miles, you roll along a two lane blacktop
road with nothing but desert as far as you can see in every direction,
except for the
We both looked at each other thinking we were back in the Ozarks or a section of the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was weird to go from cactus' and tumbleweeds to the largest Ponderosa Pine Forest in the world. We turned down some forest road and found a little no-name campground on the Gazetteer that is very rustic, but surrounded with beautiful mountain sides and a nice little stream. When we were in Hawaii two years ago, we saw these really wild trees that have a green and white bark which is very smooth. When we pulled into this campground, I was amazed to see the small creek lined with these beautiful trees. I'm not lying when I said coming up into this part of Arizona, was like going into a different state. I guess these trees are Sycamore, which are in the same family as the Sweet Gum Trees we had seen in Hawaii.
When we were pulled into the Jackrabbit gas station, there was an
antique Travette Class C on a Toyota chassis that had dual axles on the rear?
Another oldie that I had never seen before. I asked the lady
behind the counter how old it was, but she said it was
Then, while we were pulled over looking at the map on the side of Route 66 between Holbrook and Winslow, Cindy was putting hand lotion on and had taken off her wedding ring. While I sat looking at the map, she said "If we're going to be sitting here for a second, I have to use the bathroom." She got back in and while we were turning around, she started YELLING for me to stop. I asked what the hell was wrong and why was she yelling so frantically? She said that she had set her diamond ring in her lap, and when she had jumped out to run back to the camper, it must have fallen on the side of the road. YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!
Even on days when we're just driving along not doing much, Cindy can still add some e | ||
We spent a few hours climbing
around La Ventana, which begs to be explored. With giant boulders
the size of our camper, and sticky sandstone rock that's very easy to climb, the
arch is worth your time off of I-40. We were amazed at how
many people would pull into the parking area, get out of their car, take
a picture and drive off. In the few hours we were here, we
probably saw this happen five or six times? Each time we saw this,
I'd say to Cindy, "I'm so glad we're doing this while we're young and
can be up here climbing, able to be hiking and experiencing this the way
it should be seen!"
From La Ventana, we drove
around the volcanic area of El Malpais National Monument exploring the
many attractions. I found it very wild that driving down I-40 you
see these mountains off in the distance, but don't realize they're
dormant volcanoes that shaped much of this areas landscape. Who
would have thought that this area was such a large volcanic field at one
time? I know in all my schooling, I never knew that New Mexico was such
an active volcanic area. 
Back to Route 42. What I
thought was going to be a quick cut around the National Monument, became
a 6 hour slow drive along a very bumpy road. Sure we had made it
down HWY 117 very fast, but that was because there was smooth asphalt and
speeds of 55 mph the entire way. Route 42 maybe had a max of 25 mph, and at one
point when Cindy yelled "Why are you going so fast?!" I looked
down and said "I'm only going 20 mph!" 
Now if you've been following
along with our adventure, you know I like to take a lot of pictures.
I even know that I have a problem with taking way too many pictures of
almost anything and everything we do. In the past year, I've
filled a 250gig hard drive with photos! It's one of my Obsessive
Compulsive Disorders I have, but I know about it, so that's the first
step towards recovery. 
So if I could recommend one
thing, it's save your money and stay out of the Ice Caves. Make
sure to visit El Malpais National Monument, the La Ventana Arch, the Big
Tubes Area and the surrounding areas for free, and make sure to stop in
at the visitor center and get some info before heading out into the
caves or backcountry. This area is very rugged, but well worth the
effort to explore it.
Atsinna
Pueblo, the largest of the pueblos atop El Morro, dates back from about
1275. Its builders made use of what they had around them: flat
sedimentary rock that cut easily into manageable slabs piled one on top
of another. Clay and pebbles cemented the slabs together and have
lasted to this day. Ruins atop the mesa give a vantage point of
the valley below in all directions. This million dollar view
competes with the pueblo Indians of Bandelier for some of the best
scenery I've ever seen. I'll say again, these natives knew how to
pick some beautiful locations for their homes. It also cracks me
up every time we visit this area and think of being taught that Columbus
Discovered this land? How can you discover some area for the first
time when there are already habitants here and have been for thousands
of years. 
carved evidence of their passage
- symbols, names, dates and fragments of their stories that register the
cultures and history of those who passed through this untamed territory
with some of the earliest dates being from the early 1500's.
when Luca kept begging for that big hand
to pet him some more. 
One
of our friends who we've become acquainted with from the
I've
been studying the Native Americans for years and have always wanted to
see first hand what their Reservations in the South West are like
compared to the Reservations we're used to in Michigan. Reading
books like "Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee" or "The Trail of Tears" are
enough to make me want to denounce my citizenship as an American from
the embarrassment I have for what our government did to these people.
The
Navajo Reservation we pulled into was just depressing. Homes that
looked more like tin shacks, most without running water or electricity,
random dogs wandering around the streets with cattle stopping traffic
when they crossed the main roads. Old iron relics of past decades
sitting abandoned in empty fields with tumble weeds blowing around the
roadways. It honestly seemed like we had just pulled onto a movie
set, only this time it was for real. 
usually
gets some strange looks, but most are very cordial and make us feel
welcome. This was completely different and very unsettling.
Exploring
the canyon can only be accomplished by driving along the North or South
rim and stopping at various overlooks to see some of the Anasazi ruins,
those natives who once called this area home. Except for the White
House Ruins, all other ruins are off limits unless guided by a local
Navajo. It was a little unsettling to pull into each overlook and
see a big sign that said "KEEP DOORS LOCKED - DO NOT LEAVE VALUABLES IN
VEHICLE" Not what we want to see with a truck full of photography
equipment. 
One
couple was from Michigan and when we got to talking, we figured out that
two of their best friends were from Milford (our Home Town) and I had
gone to school with their children. Every time we meet people, it
only drives home how small this world really is. Jack and his wife
recommended a few places for us to check out and were very nice to sit
and talk with.
anyone
in moderate condition. There are numerous benches for you to stop
and take a break, but we chose not to use any on our hike down.
The geological features of the sandstone are just awe inspiring.
With natural caves and tunnels to hike through, it was like being in an
Indiana Jones movie set.
We
were right in waiting as the afternoon light was making the painted
walls of the canyon just glow with deep golden colors.
backpack,
started building a shelter and been perfectly content with spending the
rest of my days here. It's that beautiful. 
Once
at the top, we climbed into the truck, and raced around the rim just in
time to see a magnificent sunset from the lookout area of Antelope
Overlook. After the sunset, we drove back down the mountain side
getting a little scare from a horse walking along the white line of the
road in the dark. Like the elk in the Jemez Mountains and the Cows
near Fenton Lake, hitting one of these animals would do serious damage
and isn't something we even want to think about. Once back at the
camper, we invited Earl over for dinner as he was sitting alone waiting
for his family to get back from an afternoon excursion. 
I
filled out the appropriate paperwork and the park ranger went to find me
a guide. They only allow a certain number of vehicles in the
canyon per day, and once the guides are all hired, the canyon is closed
for the day. Luckily, we got one of the last ones available.
Once
past the deep sand, the canyon narrows and the trail becomes tight
double track. For the rest of the day we sat bouncing along with
Alice narrating different features of the local habitat and listening to
many funny stories about her childhood spent running naked along the
canyon floor free as a bird with not a care in the world. 
Chelly,
I'd recommend that you take your own truck. There are plenty of
tour companies that'll take you into the canyon, but the locals call
them Shake & Bake Tours. You sit in the back of a open-air vehicle
and they tend to drive very fast through the rough trails.
One tour company passed us and we all laughed at how fast they were
going with a bed full of tourists bouncing around in the back.
Earl had also told me that they don't stop but for a few minutes at each
ruins, and they are only allowed to stop at the ruins, no where
in-between. 
put
the fear of God in us and from here on out, we would be staying in the
campground. Luckily for us we only had till tomorrow when our
package would arrive and we could head out. 
Pulling
out of Chinle on Route 191 South, I looked out across the valley and
said to Cindy "WOW, that sure is a beautiful valley!" She looked
at the map and said "You're right, it's named Beautiful Valley"
Sort of funny that the Native American's named things what ever they saw
them as. 
Route
191 South turns into I-40 which brought us west towards Flagstaff.
We pulled over in Holbrook Arizona at the
only
20 miles away, most of the local shops are advertising various rocks,
petrified wood and fossils from millions of years ago. 
Brandon
described the different hikes offered in the park, and said we should
plan on spending at least a few days to see everything. He also
told us they had a campground that was free on the side of the museum if
we were interested. This was getting better with each minute we
talked. If we needed hook-ups, it would only be $10, but since we
didn't, he recommended to dump the camper, and save on some fuel costs
by just driving through the park with the truck. Made since to me,
so we unhooked and made our way into the National Park. With
service like that, I can imagine that this place must be packed full
during the summer months. 
much
as I like to hike, these hikes don't appeal to me that much.
Ok,
if you've never been here, I wouldn't recommend this National Park for
anyone with kids. Forget climbing into cliff dwellings like in
Bandelier, or stunning vistas like in El Malpais, this park offers
desert views from horizon to horizon, broken up with some very pretty
painted mesas, but other than that, there isn't too much to keep the
kids occupied. Except for one large herd of Prong Horn Antelope
and a few lizards, there aren't any animals to see or keep their short
attention spans busy.
From
an adult viewpoint, and especially one who is into history, we found it
fascinating. You have to keep reminding yourself that those small
rolling bluffs of sandstone that are covered with fallen logs, looking
like any forest area that has been recently clear-cut, is actually 225
million years old! At first, the petrified trees look like rocks;
that is till you get close enough to them to realize you can still see
the bark on the outside of the ancient tree. In many of the trees
quartz glimmers when the sun hits it just right and each log is unique
and differs from area to area.
What
is just amazing is that a 1 cubic foot section of petrified wood can
weigh close to 200lbs and its hardness is a 7 on a 10 point scale!!
What might look like a little piece of kindling will be too heavy to
pick up. Problem is, the park loses close to one ton of petrified
wood per month from visitors taking pieces home with them. What
always amazes me is the stupidity of people when it comes to taking what
doesn't belong to them. Why would you go out of your way to visit
a park just to see it's natural wonders, yet ruin it by taking a piece
of it home with you? It's almost as bad as those who hike out into
the wilderness and then litter!?! WTF is that?? 
The
rest of the day was spent hiking and photographing the various painted
mesas and wide open vistas. Too many times we philosophized about
how old this Earth we live on really is and who we should believe when
it comes to the never ending argument between religion and scientists.
We both believe in a higher power, but this Earth is just so complicated
to try and understand it all. Sometimes it's just easier to just
sit back and laugh at how alien the surroundings looks. I swear
that if you were to film it right, any of the lunar footage or the Mars
Rover landing could have been filmed in this National Park.
Once
the sun finished with its afternoon show, Cindy made some scrumptious
dinner, and I worked a bit on the photos. She went to put the dogs
out and came back in laughing that "It's darker than she can remember"
and wanted me to come outside with her.
spending the day in Winslow. We
followed Route 66 as much as we could, but numerous times it would dump
us back on to I-40 when the Mother Road would just end in a dusty field.
Arizona
State Penitentiary.
Then as some mountains start appearing, the road starts climbing away
from the desert scrub and small pines start popping up. They soon
make their way to towering Ponderosa's and you know you're in the Arizona Rim Country.
I
also wanted to talk about a few unique things that happened today.
While driving down Route 66 just outside of Holbrook, we saw the
strangest RV we've ever seen. I love to look at the older RV's and
especially one-off custom models. This was a Volkswagen Beetle
that had been converted into a Class C camper! 
her
husbands dads and she had no idea. 
We
both jumped out and were walking up and down the side of the road
combing the ground. Just when she was starting to get frantic, I
saw something shimmer in the sand and yelled "Found it!" A quick
"thank You" was said for those last few prayers and we got back on the
road.