Travels with Ziggy

Ziggy has been very good on this trip. She still goes crazy when another dog is around. Yes, most campgrounds are full of dogs! And she doesn't sit down (or drink) while the RV is in motion. But she has been very sweet. She doesn't mind staying in the RV while we are out touring. She is very good about her biological breaks. We are glad she's here.

I won't repeat the thoughts that Judy blogged, but I will add a few myself. The climate here is interesting. Low-mid 80s during the day and into the 40s at night with almost no humidity. But that's only part of the story. We are at 8000 feet here at Bryce Canyon. That translates into two interesting effects on the body. Although the temperature during the day is comfortable, the sun is HOT! You burn twice as fast as at sea level. And it can be almost unbearable to be out in the sun in the afternoon even with the comfortable temperatures.

The second effect is air pressure. Normal sea level pressure is about 30" of mercury (about 14.7 psi). Air pressure here is about 23" of mercury (about 11.5 psi). If you think that difference makes breathing interesting then you are right. Luckily we are coming from Santa Fe which is at 7000 feet, so we are at least partially acclimated. Some of us are affected more than others. (I never did like her very much!)

You also have to drink a LOT of water. You dry out very quickly. I started to realize this when I tried to speak and nothing came out because my mouth was so dry!

Judy's description of driving through the Navajo and Hopi reservations is woefully lacking. Unfortunately I can't do any better. A travel day which I had mentally written off (and my birthday!) turned out to be one of the most exciting and memorable days of the trip so far. I'm just glad we didn't break down out there!

It's really frustrating not having an Internet connection. Our last campground had none. This campground also doesn't have one (or TV either), but we are sometimes able to steal, er, borrow one. There may be a neighbor with a satellite connection. I don't know, but at least we seem to have received our e-mails. One good thing (or bad depending on whether you are writing or reading) is that I composed this blog offline and was able to take the time to add some more great(?) stuff.

In completing our first two weeks of travel we have realized a couple of things. First, we LOVE traveling this way. We have seen lots of interesting sights and it's great having your home with you. You learn, however, not to be in a hurry. Speed and RVs don't go together.

The second thing we realized is that RVing is not for everyone. Most of our friends, for instance, would not enjoy this mode of travel and would opt instead for a high-end tour. We have no regrets about RVing whatsoever.

We have also discovered that Interstate roads are a necessary evil. We avoid them whenever it is practical. There are so many more interesting things to see on the "blue highways." The Navajo reservation is a perfect example as is Tinkertown.

Today's entry is long enough. We'll fill you in whenever we are able. (Las Vegas on Thursday - I think we might be able to find a connection there.)

My Darling Clementine

We have arrived at Bryce Canyon National Park. We crossed into Utah this morning and drove through a section of the Painted Desert. Awesome scenery and the best was yet to come. As you travel the high desert you see beautiful mesas, pinnacles and other rock formations. Bryce has them all beat. They have hoodoos. They are formed by erosion, water and other forces of nature. The colors change as the sun moves and the reds and shadows take your breath away. The park is small and we hope to see all of it before moving down the road to Zion NP.

We checked into our campsite and went into the park to see the Bryce Amphitheater from some of the viewing areas. The hoodoos are like silent sentinels standing at attention for thousands of years. Some are individual and others are in clusters. As you look out at the vistas you think this looks like an animal or indian chief or something else. Many of the rocks have names and it is fun to look for them. The park also has lots of wildlife and we saw a few deer and pronghorns.

Tonight we grilled steaks, took a long walk and then lit a fire. A perfect evening.

My Corner of the Sky

I'm up to Saturday, June 3rd. We haven't had internet access for a few days and I'm trying to catch up and remember as each day is so full. Today is Jeff's birhday and it is also a travelling day with lots of miles to cover. We pack up early and set out for Arizona. We pass through Albuquerque again and west on Route 40 to Gallup, NM. Then we head north and pass through hours on the Navajo Reservation which is larger than the state of West Virginia.

This is some of the most barren and beautiful land I've ever seen. Unfortunately there is no water as this area has been in a drought situation for eight years. The only place drier and dustier was the Hopi Reservation which is in the Center of the Navajo lands. The hills and rock formations are beautiful and the colors cannot be captured by my photography. The best treat is the calves and colts. There are so many babies and they are adorable. We have seen them lying in the fields taking a nap or learning to run alongside their moms.

We finally got to Page, AZ where we stopped for the night. This is a bustling little town which is at the bottom of Lake Powell and the Glen Rock National Recreation Area. We found a nice campgroud and had dinner at a cute Italian restaurant. We drove over to see the dam and it is impresssive. Later we shopped at a Wal Mart and went "home" to have birthday cake for Jeff's special day.

Up, Up and Away

Friday was our day to drive south to Albuquerque. We took the Turqoise Trail Scenic Route and were rewarded with seeing buffalo at a stockyard facility. They are such huge animals and so hairy!

We visited the Tinker Town Museum and fell in love with that quirky place. Next stop was Sandia Peak. Years ago we drove up to the crest, this time we took the Tramway. It is the World's Longest Aerial Tramway and one area has you 900' from the ground below. It is a beautiful ride and we had good weather at the top. We did a short nature hike and enjoyed the clean air and beautiful views.

Later we ate more Mexican food in the Old Town Plaza and did some more shopping. After Santa Fe, Albuquerque seems too big and not so genuine.

Thank God for eccentrics!

I know that this will come as a shock, but I have been accused of having a weird sense of humor. I often enjoy ideas and endeavors that many people would find offbeat or absurd.

Enter Ross Ward. Mr. Ward (now deceased) loved to tinker. He was a professional sign and banner painter (often working with circuses) who collected oddities - or created them himself - in his spare time. He did this for his own amusement, but he opened a museum to the public due to popular demand.

Surrounding the museum - called Tinkertown - is a wall. No ordinary wall this; embedded in the wall are 51,000 glass bottles. No - not glass shards in the top. The bottoms of the bottles are like bricks in a conventional wall. They are held together with what looks like concrete. The tops of the bottles come through the other side. (See picture.)

Inside are thousands of handmade carvings creating Ward's own little universe. There is a scene from an old western town and, our favorite, an entire three-ring circus complete with acrobats, lion tamers, a knife thrower, and clowns. Many of these figures move. It is impossible to look at this scene without grinning.

There are also many machines rescued from old carnivals. The best was Otto - the one-man band. Put in a quarter and you are entertained by an accordian, snare drum, bass drum, xylophone, triangle, and maybe a few others. Oh, yes. On top of Otto is a beer salesman on a bicycle whose wheels turn with the music.

Also on display is a 35' boat on which Ward's brother-in-law spent ten years sailing around the world.

All this for $3.00! The museum is run by Ross's widow, Carla, and other family members.

Let's Open Up A Restaurant In Santa Fe...

On Thursday Jeff and I drove up to Taos. We took the scenic route and visited Chimayo on the way. The scenery was spectacular and photos don't do it justice. We passed through the Kit Carson National Forest and arrived in Taos to find a town even smaller than Santa Fe. There was a lovely plaza for shopping and lunch. We walked over to the Kit Carson house & museum and learned alot about this frontiersman and later Army officer.

The afternoon took us farther north to the Taos Pueblo. This is the Taos Indian Reservation and the pueblo is the ancient village which still houses several families. While the reservation has modern conveniences, the pueblo has no electricity (they use propane) and the water comes from a stream which they transport in buckets. The housing is adobe structures stacked up using ladders to reach the upper levels. Many of the residents are artisans and we visited their shops.

Dinner was a local Mexican place and we learned about sopaphilla (fry bread) which you eat with honey when the chili is just too hot.

Spirituality

There are some places in the world that just seem to have something more than meets the eye - a place of serenity, of introspection, of holiness. St. Francis's original chapel in Assissi is one of them. So is the Santuario de Chimayo.

This chapel in the middle of nowhere is thought to have miraculous powers. There are many crutches hanging on the wall of which people claim to have been able to rid themselves. The chapel is unpretentious - like Assissi - but has a holiness about it. It has a totally different flavor than any East Coast or European church. But this is Northern New Mexico, and it fits just fine.