I awoke in the night to thunder and rain! In Arizona. Yesterday folks were saying this has been a monsoon year in this part of the country. But, that is certainly why all the flowers are in bloom now! And, that contributes to the allergies we both woke up with this morning.

First stop: Safeway pharmacy for some Allegra to stop the sneezing and runny noses.

The rain had stopped, yet the clouds were fierce and the winds blew with force. Still, it was 70 degrees with spots of sun, so on we traveled.

We went out to visit Sunset Crater Volcano National Park. Being from the land of Mt. St. Helen’s, it was interesting to see a very different landscape; a very different type of volcano. I’m no geologist, but I could see the difference in the results of the volcano’s impact. Sunset crater erupted over 1,000 years ago, but still looks in some ways as if it had happened a year ago. And, since we are already several thousand feet above sea level, the peak of Sunset crater looks to be only a few hundred feet high! Because it is. We are just short of 7,000 feet above sea level at Flagstaff, and Sunset Volcano’s peak is about 8,000 feet.

The sky was filled with angry clouds as we stopped at Sunset Volcano, and I neglected to capture a shot that I can put easily into my blog tonight. Suffice it to say, it looked like a small hill that was covered with tarmac (black volcanic ash) and dotted with a few small points of vegetation.
We went down the other side of Sunset Crater to the East and sought out our next destination, the site of the Wupatki ruins. Here again we saw another stunning example of complex dwellings that housed an agricultural people for several hundred years. We stopped to talk with a National Parks ranger who explained that it was actually the ash from the volcano that made the ground fertile enough for the Sinagua people to cultivate for several generations. When the land was no longer “fertilized” by the volcano ash and had been spent due to constant cultivation, the people picked up and moved on to other sites. But the ancient architecture of their homes and ceremonial sites remain.

We walked among the 800 year old ruins and enjoyed watching the rain clouds move swiftly over the Eastern sky, then made the decision for that late lunch / early dinner back in Flagstaff.

Salsa Bravo was recommended as the best Mexican food Flagstaff had to offer and we enjoyed a very fresh and tasty Mexican meal. Amazingly, it was quite different from the last Mexican meal we enjoyed. There is such a variety in the Mexican kitchen. And, we enjoyed it thoroughly.

That made for an early return to our little cabin, but we were ready for it. It was just turning dusk and I went for a short walk before coming back for the National news. The first news we’ve seen in a week. That’s truly one of the graces, or benefits of vacation . . . no news!

The winds have died down now, but the chill is on. We can smell smoke from some neighbor’s wood fireplace. We’ll tuck in for some reading and relaxing tonight. Tomorrow is another adventure.

I’ve never had a long list of things I always wanted to do. But standing at the rim of the Grand Canyon at Sunset was one of them.

We elected to join a small tour for the event, just so we wouldn’t have to drive home in the absolute DARK of Arizona, with so very little light to illuminate the way. In addition to supporting the local economy, it was a good choice.

The mini tour van picked us up at our Club House at 12:30 and the adventure began. The 14 other folks had already been on the tour for an hour and a half already, having started from Sedona. They made a special stop to pick us up in Flagstaff.

And the tour guide just kept talking. We learned later his name was J.R. and many more things about him that no one needs to know! But, he was doing the driving and the entertaining and we were just along for the ride.

Our first stop was the Cameron Trading Post about an hour outside the Canyon Park. It’s a huge Native American concern and it had many beautiful objects and art pieces to view and purchase, if one were so inclined. Since I have a “thing” for beavers, I purchased three new little Zuni fetishes that will be added to my ever-growing collection. I catalog my beavers and so I had to ask what each was made of. I learned that one is made of turquoise; one of Picassa marble; and one of alabaster. They will join a host of brothers and sisters as soon as they arrive at their new home.

Then we went into the Grand Canyon and J.R. stopped at an overlook with no guard rails or fences. He wanted us to have our first look at the canyon just as it would have appeared to the first people who stumbled upon it. Needless to say, we stayed far from the edge, not wanting to stumble any further!

But, it was breathtaking. Simply breathtaking. A picture cannot compete with actually STANDING on the rim and looking into the vastness of the canyon and the Colorado River – ONE MILE below us. J.R. told us that the Natives have a legend that this is where the mountains fell asleep, and so they laid down into the earth, leaving this canyon. As good an explanation as any, I would guess. And, they named this place “Kaibab,” which means “Where the mountains fell asleep.”  I love the legends that try to give reasons for the natural forces of nature.

From there we stopped at three or four more overlooks, some with trails that took us to better viewing points – ALL of them places that Randy and I would have never found on our own. It was worth the price of the trip just to see one of them!

At the Park Village, we stopped for dinner and everyone fueled themselves for the evening’s beauty yet to come. Along our way to the last overlook, where we would walk out and watch the sun set on the canyon walls, we saw elk grazing among the Ponderosa pine.

We joined many others who were already sitting on rocks on the canyon’s edge and positioned ourselves for the sunset. I elected to stand, but because I did I was able to maneuver myself along the path to catch different angles as the colors changed and bled across the rock face.

Amazing! Stunning! Breathtaking. None of the qualifiers are adequate. And, you’ll have to suffer the pictures. They will forever provide the episodic memory of this evening’s splendid experience.

We were dropped off at our Club House at 9:00 p.m. and walked back to our cabin under a brilliant star-lit sky. Yep, cross that one off the bucket list! It was well worth the trip!

A beautiful Sunday Morning greeted us and as we ate our yogurt at our little kitchen table. Four deer slowly walked past the window. They were so graceful and beautiful, taking a moment to stop and look in the window. There were two does and two fawns. As I jumped up to look at them cross the front yard, they bounded off across the street! Early morning visitors to grace us at the start of this lovely day.

Today we decided to go South to Sedona and explore the parks in that area. Sedona is home to some of the most stunning red rock formations anywhere. But, first we had to drive through Oak Creek Canyon to get down in elevation to where Sedona rests between the jutting and magnificent red rock formations. It was a gorgeous drive.

Once in the town, we found back a little Native American Trading Post that we had visited once 12 years ago. It was still there and still filled with amazing articles that challenged me to make choices. I could have taken one of everything. But, I settled on a hand woven basket for my new kitchen and a small hand painted  vase for roses from our garden.

By this time the driver needed his coffee, (he’s not a first thing in the morning coffee guy, but more like the middle of the morning) so Gypsy obliged and we located the closest Starbucks. Outside the store were the most amazing group of cacti I have ever seen. Big, prickly pear cacti, the size of bushes, with giant purple nobs on them that looked like they were either seed pods, or perhaps just ready to bloom. I asked a passer by what they were and she said, “That’s what they make cactus jelly out of.” Hum, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of making cactus jelly. Very Interesting. Something I must learn more about.

We drove on out of town and beyond the small town of Cottonwood to the site of Tuzigoot. The Tuzigoot ruins are all that remains of a vibrant culture that built their community in that spot and thrived there from about 1100 to 1400 AD. It’s always amazing to learn of cultures that had such complex social structures and economic systems. On this very warm day, it was easy to see how their “condo” of stone dwellings would have provided a cooling effect on days such as this. The views of the valley beyond were stunning.

From there we drove farther South and found the site of Montezuma’s Castle. This is also a complex site where a community lived about the same period of time as the people of Tuzigoot, only these industrious people built their dwellings in the side of a cliff. It was a very natural system of self-protection. They built ladders to climb up and they would pull up the ladders behind them, barring any enemy from following them into their dwellings. It’s impressive engineering in any age! Beaver Creek, at the base of the cliffs provided their water source. The surroundings were beautiful.

By this time we were ready for a late lunch / early dinner! So, we drove back into Sedona again and found the Mexican restaurant that the clerk at the Trading Post had recommended. It’s the oldest Mexican restaurant in Sedona and she assured us we wouldn’t be disappointed. And, we weren’t. Their guacamole was EXCELLENT – as was everything else as well.

A stop next door for a piece of chocolate and we were ready to head back “home.” But, not before finding a place to stop at an overview so the photographer among us could take some late-afternoon-sun-shots of those beautiful red rocks. I just love the afternoon sun! Photographs taken anywhere of anything at that time of day always seem to be the most brilliant and beautiful.

One very large cloud grew dark and angry as we drove back North to Flagstaff. It couldn’t help but rain. So, to grace the end of our day among the red rocks, we had a little bit of an Arizona rain shower and a exquisite double rainbow.

Who could ask for anything more?

We had a nice leisurely breakfast at our little cabin and then decided we would just explore around the immediate area today. I threw in a load of wash, we filled our water bottles and set out for the local Visitor Center for information about the locale.

At the Visitor Center we found a number of interesting places to visit, and since we were on that side of town already, we went up Mars Hill to Lowell Observatory. We intended to just check it out in the daylight an return after dark, but we ended up spending the entire afternoon there! It houses the 120 year old, 22 and a half foot long, 24 inch refracting telescope that discovered Pluto and the rings of Uranus. We were escorted around the observatory grounds and given heady explanations of the discoveries and continuing work of astronomers to this day. Then we were allowed to go into the observatory that houses “The Clark,” that massive telescope that Lowell brought to this place. It made me feel pretty small. We learned all about how Percival Lowell had it built to his specifications and how the team of scientists literally “MacGivered” the structure that houses it. We were invited to return after dark with the lure that if the skies were clear, we might be able to take a view through it.

That settled it! We were coming back after dark. But in the meantime, there were issues with a faulty “go pro” that needed some assistance from someone knowledgeable at Best Buy, and the always necessary late afternoon lunch / dinner.

We were delighted that the Best Buy was close and the glitch easy to fix. So, we just crossed the street and enjoyed a Sizzler meal before making our next stop, Walnut Canyon.

We arrived at Walnut Canyon just a little too late to really be able to explore it well, so we must go back before the week is over. The canyon was home to cliff dwellers between 600 and 1400 AD, and the dwellings are still visible and still impressive.

As the park closed and the sun drew long shadows, we drove into Flagstaff and walked the town until darkness fell. Time to return to the observatory and see if it were possible to look through that massive telescope.

Once again, the guides were very knowledgeable, and one man lecturing on the galaxies was completely beyond my comprehension. But, he did say one of the telescopes was open and spotting the moon. We were invited to climb the hill and take a look if we wished. Well we certainly did!

So up the hill we climbed and through the smaller telescope we looked. Now I felt even smaller – looking up from this earth into the heavens and SEEING the craters of the moon with my own eye. Pretty amazing, I’m here to tell you.’

While we wanted so badly to view the heavens through “The Clark,” the guide said that her supervisor had not given permission for it to open because of the partially cloudy sky. We could only guess that it was a massive endeavor to open the giant doors of the dome so the telescope could view the heavens. Still, we had seen the moon! We actually saw the craters of the moon. Bold as I was, I went back and asked if I could take a picture through the telescope. And, here it is. It looks like every other picture of the surface of the moon you’ve ever seen – but this one is exactly as I saw it!!!

Leaving, we decided to go back on a clear evening in the coming week so we might be able to see the galaxies through that massive telescope. And, we will.

It was quite a thrilling day for sticking close to home and not knowing what we were going to do when we started out. Just don’t forget to look up!

We were moving slow this morning after our trek yesterday along the totality of the Las Vegas strip. But we didn’t mind as today was to be our short day, ending with our arrival at our destination for the week.

A little more desert environment – real desert – on the outskirts of Las Vegas before we stopped at Lake Mead National Recreation Area. Lake Mead is impressively the largest man-made lake in the U.S. It is nestled within the barren and arid lands of the Nevada desert, but is a beautiful blue site on the landscape, giving life to plants, animals, and humans alike.

We stayed long enough to see the excellent National Park’s film and explore the visitor center museum. Since we didn’t bring our speed boat or fishing gear, we just packed back in the car and went on across the mountains and into the state of Arizona.

Arizona is still desert, but a much prettier, greener desert, that leads on to the high plateau around Flagstaff. While driving according to our Gypsy’s (or GPS’s) direction, she warned us there was an accident on the route resulting in a 50 minute slow down. We thanked Gypsy for the alert and made the decision to stop in Kingman, AZ for a spot of lunch. While lunch was nothing to write home about, it was a welcome stop to keep from sitting in traffic on the interstate because of an accident.

Traveling on, we finally arrived at our destination in Flagstaff. We have a lovely little timeshare “cabin” for the week, located south of town. We unpacked the car and started to relax. I took a short walk (it had to be short after yesterday – my hip still hurts!) and captured an Arizona sunset through the pines. It was beautiful.

We skipped out for some fast food to quiet the rumbles and picked up some groceries. As we came back I had to stand in the street and marvel at the sky. It was clear and filled with stars we so seldom see in our part of the woods. I hope we can make the trip over to the observatory while here so we can see the heavens through their telescope.

We will rest for a day and stay close to “home” tomorrow, then we will branch out and see the National Parks in the surrounding area.

While at Lake Mead this morning I saw two posters the National Parks have put out for display and I’ve been thinking about them all day. They explain so perfectly why we feel such a “pull” to see all of our country’s national parks.

One of the posters showed the newest national park that President Obama just named in June, The Stonewall Inn in New York City. The events of Stonewall opened the door for millions of LGBT Americans to begin pressing for full and equal civil rights. The caption on the poster says: “Parks aren’t just about open spaces. They’re also about opening minds.” We couldn’t agree more!

The other poster shows some ancient art forms and is captioned: “Parks aren’t just about the call of the wild. They’re also about echoes of the past.” Both speak a sentiment that sometimes eludes words. There is something about seeing these places – standing in these places – and continuing to open our hearts and minds to the past as well as to issues that still plague the future. These places challenge us with sights and sounds far from what we know as familiar and urge us to find the grace in both the comfortable and the provocative; to see beauty in the spectacular as well as in the ordinary. So much seems to often elude us simply because we do not take the time to look.

We’ll be looking some more all this week.

P.S. It’s so nice to have good internet!  What a struggle it’s been over the last four days to get connected, stay connected and actually finish anything. How much we take for granted!

Another day of driving through Nevada’s Great Basin. A few cows, a few trucks, one friendly gas station for a much needed “rest stop” and not much else. Oh, and 102 degrees without a cloud in the sky.

And then we reached Las Vegas. Just for fun we decided to walk the strip. Seven hours, 2 meals and 15,525 steps later (according to the fit tracker) we found our hotel & fell into bed.

What happens in Las Vegas stays in Las Vegas! But I will share a few pictures.

It’s been a long full day. But at its beginning I got my daily spiritual email that advised each of us to learn something new each day.  The spiritual master, Anthony DeMello wrote:

“The most difficult thing in the world is to listen, to see. We don’t want to see. Do you think a capitalist wants to see what is good in the communist system? Do you think a communist wants to see what is good and healthy in the capitalist system? Do you think a rich man wants to look at poor people? We don’t want to look, because if we do, we may change. We don’t want to look. If you look you lose control of the life that you are so precariously holding together. And so in order to wake up, the one thing you need the most is not energy, or strength, or youthfulness, or even great intelligence. The one thing you need most of all is the readiness to learn something new.”

I thought, well, that’s just what we are going to do today. We are going to see something new and learn something new about what we are seeing.

It was an early morning roll out and on the road so we could make the 4 hour drive through more of “Cowboy Country” to get to Great Basin National Park. There was an awful lot of scrub grass and sage brush, but today not a cloud in the sky and a very, very straight road with a speed limit of 70 mph.

We made a hasty stop at the only “rest stop” along the 4 hour route and it was a monument to the Pony Express Riders who carried the mails before telegraph linked our country from coast to coast. What a strange and barren landscape it seemed, with warnings to beware of rattlesnakes as you approached the Porta Potties!!

Stopped by some road work, we were afraid we would not make our scheduled time for our tour of Lehman Caves in the Great Basin Park. But, we need not have worried. We made it with 10 minutes to spare. Just enough time to make a “rest” stop before joining the group.

Sixteen of us gathered with a park ranger and walked into the middle of the earth. It was stunning. There are almost no words to describe it. And, the pictures do not do it justice. It was so unexpectedly beautiful. We walked down about half a mile into the caves, 300 feet below the surface at the lowest point we were allowed to go. Near the beginning we saw some bats flying around a small opening to the sky. After that the only light available was from some LED flashlights and the occasional camera flash.  The experience was so unfamiliar that it challenged the senses as we walked on and on into the depths. There is more beauty to creation that most of us can see – and it is usually covered in darkness. Quite a lesson to look for the beauty around us that is clearly visible in the light.

Coming out of the caves we were famished, or at least “peckish” and had an impromptu picnic of cheese and grapes we had in our cooler in the car.

Another hour’s drive and we were back within reach of civilization in the town of Ely, NV, where we checked into our motel and asked directions to someplace hearty for dinner.

We ended up at the Cellblock Steakhouse in downtown Ely and thoroughly enjoyed both the meal and the surroundings. We sat in cell block 4 and ordered steaks that would make your mouth water. They were excellent! Where better to find a great steak than in Cowboy Country, I ask you?

We reflected on the day and enjoyed examining the furnishings of the restaurant. Neither of us knew anything about the Great Basin – especially how “great” it actually is. It includes the Great Salt Lake Basin, and I did not know that by definition, a “basin” means that the rain fall does not flow out of it – but either seeps into the soil – which is one of the ways the caves are created over millions and millions of years, or collects at the bottom of the basin in a salt lake.

Even though the light was waning, I HAD to take a walk and explored the parking lot of the motel until I accumulated a 2 mile distance. It was much needed after such a lovely dinner; after such a lovely day.

So, the message for today:  learn something new. Go someplace new. Allow yourself to be moved and changed by the grace of what you see and experience.

We packed out of Baker City, OR relatively early this morning. It was 9 a.m. when we hit the road for another six hours of fun while driving. I have to confess, by the end of the day I had maxed out on seat-time. But the ride through “cowboy country” as I call it, was still enjoyable.

When we reached Jerome, ID it was time for a fill up for our little Prius, Dixie, and a lunch fill up for us. Jerome is not on the map because of their fine dining choices. We settled for a Pizza Hut – and actually enjoyed it. The experience – much the same in any Pizza Hut – threw us 41 years back in time to when we were dating and Pizza Hut was an expensive date. Funny how the memories flooded back.

From Jerome we headed toward Wells, NV under partly cloudy skies. But the clouds were beautifully sculpted and spots of sun shone through them brilliantly. The landscape all the while was scrub grass and sage brush with varying elevations. Just like the cowboy country of all the Westerns we watched as kids.

There’s not much to Wells, NV, but they do have a Super 8 Motel, and we were certainly ready to extricate ourselves from the car! After checking into a room, I immediately went for a walk.
I walked around for about 3 miles and I think I saw most of the town. It’s a sad little mix of small houses, trailers, abandoned motels, a few very small churches, a school and a municipal park with two ball fields. I think there may be more dogs than inhabitants; more trucks than drivers, and only 3 possible places to eat: Subway, Quiznos, and Bella’s Espresso and Bistro.

The hotel manager assured us that Bella’s was the place to go. We trusted he knew what he was talking about. And, he did! It’s a cute little place decorated with old aprons strung along the windows like curtains. We split a dinner of chicken fried steak and it was fabulous. Honestly, I love chicken fried steak and I’ve sampled my share from sea to shinning sea.
Bella’s was absolutely THE BEST chicken friend steak I’ve ever had the honor to enjoy. Put Wells, NV on the map! It’s not the end of the earth! Bella’s is worth a return trip. If you are ever going East on I-80 or South on US-93 – at the intersection of those two roads is Wells, NV and Bella’s Bistro. Sometimes grace comes in unexpected places.

Full and happy we walked back to our Super 8 to catch up on e-mail and write this blog. Getting the internet working was a challenge, believe me, but my technical expert, driver, tour guide and permanent date is a master at working around tough technical glitches. Hope you enjoy!

Here we are, two long (and skinny) shadows on the road in Wells, NV as we walked to Bella’s (on the right) at sunset.

While we had been anticipating and getting ready for this trip for days, it still felt like a rush to get everything gathered and the car packed this morning. It reminded me of the reflection question (or the party game) where someone asks “If you had to leave the country and had only 30 minutes to pack, what would you take?”

Well, we had significantly more than 30 minutes to pack, and I still couldn’t settle on what exactly I was taking. Cool clothes for hot weather? Warm clothes for cool weather? Rain clothes for wet weather? And, which books do I want to take? The one I should finish? Or, bring an entirely new one or two just for this adventure?

Of course, my dear husband is a great adviser. His solution, you ask? “Why not take a little of everything.” So, of course, I was the one who still had to make the decisions. And a “little of everything” won out. Why else do we take the car?

But, we did manage to get the car packed and after a stop for some Starbucks for the driver, and a fresh bath through the car wash for our little Prius, we were on the road by 10:30 a.m.. Off like a herd of turtles, as my Dad used to say.

We went over the mountains and turned toward Yakima, stopping there for lunch at Mel’s Diner – which was actually delicious. We stretched and took a little walk around the parking lot at the diner, then saddled back up for the ride East and South to Baker City, OR.

Along the way I began to smell onions . . . for some reason, onions. But I didn’t think much about it until we passed this truck – full of more onions than I’ve ever seen in one place. And, it smelled of onions. Headed for some Costco, I’m sure and those giant bags of onions they have in their produce department – those big delicious Walla Walla onions.

For entertainment, we talked. And, talked. And talked. I love road trips. That part maybe the best, and all the varied and picturesque scenery is an additional grace.

In Baker City, we found a Mexican restaurant for dinner, which was extraordinarily good, and settled into the Rodeway Inn just off of Main Street.

I walked the parking lot for my exercise and listened to the country crickets and far off train whistles as I watched the crescent moon setting to the West.

We’re off to a great start!

After a long beautiful summer filled with work on a new kitchen and re-landscaping the yard with pieces from our downed tree, we are setting out for a short road trip.

This time we will go to the Southwest and rest in Flagstaff, AZ for a week. We can hardly wait for the adventures. Just today we reserved places on a tour of Lehman Caves in Great Basin Nation Park.  We will also visit The Grand Canyon and other points of interest both coming and going.

So, let the adventures begin!