Back again!

In October every year I head to Denver to help my brother out, babysitting his aged pets while they have an anniversary trip to Mexico.  (Due to a simple but tragic mis-reading of my schedule, I was ORIGINALLY assigned this month for my AIR, so I wondered if there were any gaps in the schedule that I might come back and do a little token residing) This year it snowed his first day out and I forgot about what I will return to ...Phoenix HEAT!
The trip down was via Wolf Creek Pass in Colorado and last time I went up that route a couple of years ago I was crying on the way down.  The beetle kill was so awful.  This time I left early in the long shadows of morning, to the west, so the sun did not blind me and NO TRUCKS stressed me out!  I really enjoyed it!  Then back through the mountains and on to the familiar flat Rez land on the way back to Arizona.
Kip did arrange a three night recovery for me, from the 12 hour trip.  I feel it a lot more coming home than driving up. Probably the depression of coming back to boring old home....
In to the Park, I was eyeball burned and aware that it was no longer Spring.  The deep autumn in the park brings rusts and gold to the rolling flat grasslands.  And the air was softer, whiter.  I found there was a lot of "controlled" burning going on in the area.  It was seriously changing the nature of the place.
Once I located my key and was settled in to cabin 77, the L-shaped one, I met my neighbors, a water colorist and her husband from Tubac.  They had arrived the night before and I gave them my brief park rundown. They also made me feel guilty that I was not up to the task of this place.... Relived that an artist was in the park to contribute to the experience, but again, not sure where I fit..
I had been turned down for another residency (and I should have held off for next year, as I an already hoarding the days I can talk someone in to giving me precious hours here) but I had thought I might work on a sample of my project if I can apply it to another park... I have my eyes set on Mesa Verde as I had a short email chat with someone there and they MAY allow the cat! 
I wanted to do what I do best - humans.  The project, which really was an offshoot of the ill-fated model release I never ended up using, was to meet and immortalize at least one visitor a day, probably from another country, with a brief interview and a lot of photos.  To show how really valuable the park is to US.  The humans who revitalize ourselves, who often only get to experience actual nature in these parks. 
Now with the impending doubling of fees, I think it is even more necessary to show that access by EVERYONE is necessary!  We own these places and we need them to STAY human.

I packed for Denver and found myself lacking some necessities for the Park.  I have all (oh, I am nearing another good 500 if not more photos from the Denver Zoo and Rocky Mountain Arsenal wildlife snapshots) my photos in the camera, but forgot to bring the card reader for to put them into the computer to use when I am connected by wifi in the few areas of the park that I can connect!
I did learn that my phone can transfer a few photos, so we are lacking the beautiful shots and back to being a tourist!!!
Here is the Thing, settling in at his home away from home:

I left for about an hour and came home to tail-less corpse of a three inch lizard that he had already murdered.  

I understand there is a small chewing creature next door, and as this is our third stay, I am grateful that my traveling companion has earned his keep... of course the lizards are NOT an issue, but he is always on patrol!

Holbrook Route 66 Day

Hope you are not skipping days you THINK you read, as I have my camera, my big computer, and a keyboard that can actually type and spell-check!  So I updated the cell photos and there were some nifty things to see...

Jake was my Ranger helping at the booth:

It was WINDY!   But it was Route 66 Days and it was full of cars:

Had a really amazing Elvis impersonator among a full day of music....

Trouper and his Ranger on horseback came by and gave out free horsie kisses!  He is such an attentive and patient representative of the Park!  New in town, he picked up right where he left off!

Most of the day was spent hanging on to the roof.  Finally with a couple of hours to go, we pretty much lost the tent!  The wind kept  you cool, but without the shade, it was a lot more oppressive than I counted on.

There was a Hash-knife Posse breakfast, Navajo Tacos (... watching me balance it on my boot was a supernatural feat in the gusts!!!) but I wore much less than expected. And the shaved iced even gave me a frozen headache!  So I was not THAT hot!

Home in the casita, I had to race out to see a sunset on Blue Mesa...

Getting Some Kicks! (My Tour of Route 66)

This was such an unexpected adventure!

I knew I was happy to help out with the Holbrook Route 66 festivities, and was invited to do this amazing trip called the "Relics Tour" in conjunction.

I think I was hoping for more history of the Park, and when I realized what a truly devoted following the road had, it got even more exciting!  

Our guide on the bus was Petrified Jack, the ranger I met just before I left.  He is the perfect icon of a ranger and represents the park in THE BEST possible way.  He is tall and wise and funny but somewhat stern.  No doubt from his former life as a teacher.  He reminds me a LOT of Mom's husband Thomas!

So, before we all got on the bus in Adamana, he asked us all to relate our connection to the road.  Of course I had a few. 1. a MAJOR crush on George Maharas growing up from the tv show, 2. the boyfriend has a 62 red 'vette and 3. my recent 66 years on 66 adventure, which if you missed in the blog, keep scrolling down to day 18 in the park.

We had a great bus driver and two of the park folk, Jake who I knew from the first round whose job was pretty much taking great photos and getting people excited about coming here, and Bill the park Archaeologist!  Between Bill and Jack, no question went unanswered!

So, on the bus we go to the first few stops, which were on private lands and all told interesting tales of entrepreneurial adventures, heartbreak, the growth and development of transportation in the US and some pretty strong armed tactics that created both the freeway and National Park system of today!

I am posting from cell photos as the camera reader was forgotten this trip.  Good pix may follow, but the tale is here to tell.

First photo from Painted Desert Point Trading Post.   

It was pretty early in the day and the views north and south were actually pretty spectacular. The narrow area from which you could view both the White Mountains and Painted Desert did make it a great spot.  It had been there on the main travel route across the country beginning with the Whipple expedition (I was writing notes on a bus, so forgive me if I got them askew) in the early 1800's then experiments with wagons and camels, a stage-line route from Defiance to Prescott to the first major "road" the Old Trails Highway which preceded 66 which came in 1926!  Or that is what I seem to have written in the margins of what initially looked like a boring little hand-out that turned into a PHENOMENAL wealth of info, supported by the tales of Jack and Bill.   This trading post that was a shell station on 66 suffered mental illness, murder potential illicit booze and gambling!  But now is just a pile of debris.

I doesn't look like much, but two dips in the horizon show the old stage route as we stopped at Rocky's Old Stage Station.  Also a scene of power struggles and state vs private owner.

We got to see a beacon (well a footprint of it) that was part of the Air Mail route!  Why did it take so long to get letters when it was much faster navigation? Because until beacons, planes had no way to see their route at night!  This system of lights every 10 miles helped speed up communication.  They were disbanded for the war because of how CLEAR the routes to major population areas worked and could be used by Japan.  And then they made radar so that helped!

We bused back to our cars and drove into the Visitor Center Parking Lot for a foot tour of the roadbed in the park.  

Bill was great at explaining how HISTORICAL archaeology was as vital as ancient in telling the tale of this amazingly important strip of land that was the route for centuries for anyone going east and west.

We found some choice stuff and he gave us perspective on how carefully we all should think of "trash"

In the middle of nowhere, we found the parts of the foundation of the Painted Desert Tower. 

 So... I will attempt at this point to explain how it took from Teddy Roosevelt declaring the area a National Monument in 1906, one of TR's first areas under the NATIONAL ANTIQUITIES ACT (somewhat relevant even today....) to not actually becoming a Park until 1962 by LBJ.  It was about the entrepreneurs.  The area was checker-boarded with individuals going from Arizona Land Leases, to Homestead and even Railroad land, sold off to pay for the rails!  In order to consolidate the area to give to the public, they had to have the properties donated, or purchased or in some way acquired by the park.  Piece by piece in some very sneaky ways .. like if a roadside attraction was happily making money and had no intention of divesting, they would move the road...sneaky people, these Park folks!  The spot we saw was a very popular tourist haunt with a tower and great view (and possibly some stronger drink than Route 66 Soda Pops) (which they now sell in the PDI!) It sort of seems heartless to demolish a funky cute old tourist attraction (signs say "BURIED FOREST") but lets be real.  Were it running it would be upgraded and modernized anyway and the charm we lost would STILL be gone.

From there it was a much longer than advertised jaunt to the bus.  I mark it up to a lack of distraction... TOO hot already, a long walk to and equally long walk out without even broken pop bottles to slow us down.  One of our number tripped on the flat highway!  I know exactly how it happened!  After a long trek among the scruffy, unforgiving, not flat brush, looking at every footfall for a secure spot, the flat road, and then the small but SEEMINGLY DAUNTING dip on the other side pushed the last bit of energy, and BOOM, a toe drags and she is down.  With the opportunity to give up the fight, she literally sat and could not move.  

It was an intricate dance of areas of influence and who and how to take care of her.  Finally we drove her in the cool bus to meet paramedics at the park entry who assessed her well enough to continue the tour... BUT NO MORE HIKING!
















We picked up where we were headed and had lunch at PDI they gave us all big fat sandwiches and an apple (to stay healthy)





Inside the Harvey Girls were showing off the crockery from the various venues. REALLY interesting.

 And along with my sandwich, we got a scoop of the ice ream downstairs!
ON the road again and was feeling smug that I had found that patch of road (the day BEFORE my 66 trip) and realized we were heading there.

WOW.  This was just fun.  HORRIBLE road, bouncing the whole way, grass growning between the paths! THIS was not for a Corvette with the top down, it was for an off-road vehicle..or a wagon train?!

First stop was the flattened Lion Farm.  Owner was angered by a little diversion station (no fee, just looked like an entry) that sent folks OFF Route 66 proper into the wonders of the park, so she kept a captive mountain lion, a pronghorn and an eagle, to attract visitors.  When the park got the land they REALLY flattened it.  Burned it, dug a trench and buried what was left.  We went picking in the residue.

THEN it got cool.

We were allowed to go on to Navajo land with their permission to see two HOLY GRAILS of 66 fans!  The Dead Wash Bridge and (drum roll) PAINTED DESERT TRADING POST.  I admit I was not aware of these, but the bus was literally twittering (or what ever the masculine equivalent was) and the road was so horrible it was just like a fun ride!

Dead Wash was a stark and amazing place littered with rusted car carcasses!

From above Ranger Jack and the tough lady who took the spill watched us try to get back up from the crumbling sides littered with corpses of cars I had never seen the likes of.  All old and very red with rust...

It was way out in the middle of nowhere.  It bounced us like a washboard in a full size school bus and it was soooo much fun... finally we got to the thing they were all waiting for....

The Trading Post was a seriously sad echo of its old glory.  

Here is the snapshot from the good old days 

We swarmed it, under the careful supervision of our guys in flat wide hats:

Here is the new AiR taking photos on her iPad!

I have a head FILLED with info and my neighbor and I commemorated it with footprints next to the painted road across the street from the Trading Post.

TRULY exhausted and have a busier (let's hope not) day tomorrow in the square in Holbrook.  

....."She's Back!"

Yup.
I got recruited to help at the PeFo booth at Route 66 Days on Saturday in Holbrook!
Bringing rocks, although I just found out the early breakfast is sponsored by Hashknife Posse.  Not precisely the same guys I know, but .... Just rocks....

Got out a little later than expected and I will be only posting photos from the phone, because I forgot the loader for the camera card.  May take a while.. but GREAT FUN ALREADY!!

The other casita is at an angle.  The kitchen is bigger and the view out the door is pretty spectacular.   I  No protective wall and top to bottom view of that hill (the one the deer were wandering) and only the neighbor and road are hidden from view!
I immediately re-arranged it.
I was not facing the sunrise when I woke.  The cat might have been confused.  I can look at walls at home.  I moved the desk against the wall and maybe shoved the bed a bit into the corner, but makes the room very spacious.

I also met my neighbor.  I told her I had valued my solitude and she was welcome to talk the me, but I would let her be, so she could have it all to herself.... then proceeded to move furniture, drop things, talk to the cat and pretty much be noisy.  I just realized I talk to myself ALL THE TIME!

The bathroom is even cool!  It has a smaller tub and the same size water heater, so I am able to fill it warm!  Not that I am as excited about a HOT bath, as the casita had windows open and was 86 when I got there!  I know the nights are cooler.  That is what I am most looking forward to:  Silence and dark.  Wind blows most days and it is calmer at night... or it was when I was here!

Ran across the street for my ice cream and then I had to head over here (yes, the old visitor center) to find out what I am doing tomorrow.  The rumor is to meet at the Adamana exit at 7:30.  I CAN SO DO THAT!

Wanna know the best of the best of it all???

There was a Tony Hillerman book in the desk for me!!! I may be too tired to read, and THIS time I know what to do with all my spare time, but JUST FOR ME!!!
I am in heaven for a few more days...

********
Since there's no Wi-fi anyway, and data is a bit more reliable in the Casita and Wi-Fi at The Visitor Center, (where I saw a moth that was easily four inches wide)

I have a few updates in the first evening.

Is though the thing has found the outdoors very entertaining. He managed to squeeze through a rip in the screen. This one is not nearly as well put together as the other one. So I noticed out of the corner of my eye he was in the window and then kind of not in the window. Never quite figured out where he went but it was in the other room and I had gone outside to watch the Sun go down. When I went in I couldn't find him, and that's when I noticed that although it was somewhat small, there was a tear in my screen with lots of fur around it. No cat. I found him on the other side of the house. I had been outside the whole time. He just didn't come around that side.

I was rewarded with a pretty spectacular Sunset, which I usually get! However this one was from the other side of the building. And I was lucky to have witnessed my second full moon! This is it rising over the old place...

66.....Me and the Road.

The cat talked me into getting up to watch the sunrise.  Good idea.

After a night-time rain the sky was dark and shimmery and full of streaks and fog.  

We dinked around and I scrambled up some eggs, cleaned up and hit the road at opening.  Jorge said he saw HIS first snake a few days ago, but me? Still not much more than a ground squirrel that did not wait for me to get my camera.... so I go hit a different aspect of the park.  

I am on the road (literally in McD's in Gallup as I type) doing a senior coffee in honor of my birthday, on the road that has the same numbers!

Just going to snap away and see what I find....

You will note the obligatory keys on a rope, my new (traded the green monster shirt for a slightly smaller brighter one and a jacket for the chilly morning.  

It is a morning full of New Mexico skies.  They have dark flat bottoms and roll back like the bottom sides of sheep in the stratosphere.  I had to pull off a few times.

First stop was the Ortega shop.  you know it looked almost exactly like it did when I came by on car trips with the family!  I was told Gilbert and the whole Ortega clan was from the area.


 No gas in the pumps and an odd trio parked in the side lot...

JUST before New Mexico is the breathtaking cliffs.  With no cat as a copilot, I pulled off the road and found a modern hogan with about 6 tethered pups under the spectacular view!!!

Barely out of view, I pulled off to assess the booty of flakes of sandstone and possible rock art... and more photos.

A little later I made it into town and located my very favorite green chili place. Jerry's.
Of course I took no pictures....... oh no I did!!! CELL PHONE SNAP!  It was the tiniest little table I've ever sat at.

The Green Chili was recommended to me last year on the trip through.  It is microscopic and I decided to eat, instead of only to-go.  This is my enchilada with rice and beans smothered in the green chili!  I am amazed I am still awake.  I stuffed myself...soooo good!

I spent most of my time in Gallup taking pictures of rather said places, not the most exciting neon, lots of run-down stuff. But it was Route 66!

It was my trip home that was fun and games!

I got lost at one point which is par for the course, but I did manage to see a little Shepherd and her Grandpa no doubt as they brought the Sheep home with the aid of two cute little dogs with curly tails. 

And I managed to pull off and find the obligatory Chief Yellow Horse curio shop.

If you've ever traveled from Arizona to Gallup, you have seen the most beautiful Cliff face with the wackiest catchiest most bizarre curio shops at the bottom there are horses on the cliffs and cardboard animals and painted yellow horses and cement teepees... It is the ultimate Indian tourist shops. Almost got killed by a semi, but made my way in and all the way down the road to the second one which is Chief yellow horse. 

Apparently his son now runs the place,  His icons of 66 are a bit off, but in our family, Corvairs were ACTUALLY the means of transport so it is perfect!

Behind this bizarre little yard if you look carefully under the overhang you can see two little cliff dwelling remnants. If you know me you know it drove me crazy. I made friends with the owner. He said he might sell my rocks! This was an opportunity I definitely must mull over.

I came home and decided to get a dipped cone in the new creamery in the basement of PDI.  The dip stuff was not up to snuff, and Kip,  my boss decided to wish me a happy B-Day with a treat!  Got a Cookies and Cream cone.  Perfect topper to a 66 of a day!
Tiny note at the end: I am trying to post this between my phone and horrifying Wi-Fi. I do have a brief respite tomorrow where in I should have actual computer and actual Broadband. Look back and see if things changed, as I hope to edit a little.