Canyon De Chelly

Well, after racing the monsoon that was following us from the Hubbell Trading Post, we scooted a touch farther north to land in a campground next to Canyon De Chelly National Park. (Pronounced Canyon De Shay in case anyone is wondering, not Shelley) When we were just set up with the slides out the storm caught up with us with much thundering and caterwauling. We actually pulled in our big slide so our slide awnings would not get torn. As soon as the storm let up we reopened up and went for a walk where we were solicited by not one but two different people to buy their authentic indian art. Why I try to be compassionate and understand that the rez is not a place of high industry and economic plenty, I have a hard time with feeling like I am in a third world country with hawkers and hovels as soon as I exit my home.

We went the next morning into the Park after stopping at the visitor's center. The girl's jr. ranger programs had a new thing (for us) included: Trash bags. Part of their tasks was to clean up trash in the park. Now, I am for clean parks and all of the parks before this were quite clean, so I was put off, but not concerned. Boy was I wrong. This is going to sound repetitive and prejudiced, but I have driven through nicer parts in N. Mexico. All of the land around and in the park is still inhabited/dwelled upon by the Navajo people. In fact you can not go into the canyon proper without hiring a Navajo guide except for one (which we took, see later). Well the road was littered with trash and not a few dead animals (open range). The pullouts were not much better, and at each one, except one, there were 2-8 vendors aggressively hawking their wares. I was very put off. I gave the girls equal amounts of 'trash' from our packed lunch and called it good. I am not of the opinion that we are volunteer garbage men.

The scenery was quite beautiful, with many ruins along the canyon walls. We decided to do the one 4 mile round trip hike down to the white house ruins that does not require a guide. It was a hot day, mid July and we did not really start early enough in the day. That with some altitude made for a huffy-puffy hike. At least there was a neat tunnel in the wall that had a cooling breeze running through it. The ruins themselves were OK, with some pictographs, but you were about 50 yards away behind a fence just beyond, you guessed it, vendors. Apparently for a not so modest fee, you can be driven down (sounded pretty good at this point with the rest of the hike -uphill- to the canyon rim). We made it and then decided to skip the rest of the pullouts and head to spider rock.

Spider rock is one of the neatest views in the park. It is a free standing monolith hundreds of feet tall with a knob of rock on top. It is one of the iconic photo ops of the canyon. It does not look big in the photo, but it is -tall- and quite amazing. The girls also posed for a minute before we jetted back to the trailer and decided to high tail it north into Utah without even staying the night again. All in all I am going to rate this park lowest on the scale so far for dirtiness, aggressive vendors and overall ickyness. That is too bad given the natural beauty of the canyon. I have a hard time reconciling the ranger's talking of the Navajos love of the earth with the amount of trash and debris and general lack of upkeep in the area. I have known many very poor people whose area/living space was neat and tidy and showed pride. That was not evident here. Lesson learned, off to Utah.

Hubbell Trading Post

Well, after leaving the cool, stormy forests of the White Mountains in AZ, we headed North by Northeast up towards Canyon De Chelly in the NE most corner of the state. On the way Diana noticed on the map that the Hubbell Trading Post was a National Monument (read, chance for another Jr. Ranger Badge, plus good info). So we stopped.

As you can see from the picture, we were racing a monsoon storm, so we only stayed about an hour and a half. But in that time we were able to see a great many things and get some neat history. The Post was originally founded by John Hubbell in the late 1800s as a place to trade with the native Navajo (Dine') people for their rugs and silver work and to provide supplies to the local ranchers and miners. The Post was deeded to the NPS in 1965 and turned into a National Monument. It is still an active post and there are authentic rugs, jewelry and baskets offered as well as supplies. Diana just 'had' to have a 20# bag of flour because it came in an old fashioned flour sack.

The buildings were built of native stone and mud adobe and have stood the test of time, though there was some reconstruction going on. We were able to watch an Indian woman weave a traditional rug on a traditional loom (no pictures unless you pay, tradition (Don't get me started on some things, again, not enough bandwidth)).

The girls were able to get their Jr. Ranger badges with a patch, a postcard and other assorted swag. All in all not a bad quick stop before racing ahead of the storm to head toward Canyon De Chelly.

The White Mountains

After the Rosson's came back on the 7th of July, we dinked around for a few days then headed back to our trailer which was staying up at the Cabin in the Flagstaff area. We moved me back into the trailer, re-vittled and headed down south of ShowLow in the White Mountains of Az to go Camping with the Rossons (both Justin's family and his Parents), Plus Bubba and Denise (Justin's Sister and her Husband) and their 2 daughters and a friend.

On our way there we were stopped for awhile (50 minutes) for road construction (do not get me started on the road construction rant....we do not have the bandwidth here). A gnarly storm built up behind us, caused a lightning fire, put it out with the rain and then just hammered on us. After all of that, the road crew closed the road for the night and rerouted us around 40 miles to go the last 3. Oh well. We arrived mostly safe and sound (side note:never buy inexpensive diesel on the rez..it clogs your fuel filters and causes no end of problems with your sensors and chips).

We landed in a beautiful forest meadow with more than ample play space for the 5 kids. I managed to make not one but two 80 mile round trips to Showlow to get parts to repair my truck and do some long needed maintenance. Diana went with Bubba, his daughters and Ravi and hiked the 14 mile round trip up Mt. Baldi and back. I claim that I was working on the truck, but in reality I am a wuss and the altitude was killing me. There is a wrecked plane on the trail to the summit from around WWII (I was told, could be completely wrong) as well as some spectacular views and beautiful wildflowers.

All the boy folk, yes that would include Bubba, Justin and I, went shooting on Bubba and Denise's last day. Justin had a nice XD-45 and I had my Raptor and my AR. It is always amazing how fast a couple of hundred of rounds go away. I understand I am in big trouble from both Justin and Bubba's wives for letting them shoot the AR since they both really, really want one now. Just doing my part. Chandler and Collin were both great sports and pretty good shots too.

Rossons Jr. and Sr. and we pulled out a couple of days later, they to head back to Tucson and Green Valley, us to head to NE corner of AZ to see Canyon De Chelley.

Flint is Back - July 4th

Well, I flew back to the Family from WA on the 29th of June. We were able to stay at our friend's house since our trailer was up in Flagstaff and our friends were up on Lake Powell. I had great plans to visit oodles of old friends and acquaintances from growing up South of Tucson, but...the best laid plans of mice and men...All we did is rest, stay out of the heat and visit my relatives in N. Tucson/Marana then go down to our friends the Stevens in the Green Valley area. (Sorry Evans, for some reason I do not seem to have any pics of our time visiting).

We left the girls off for an over night with the Stevens and Diana and I went out for our first 'Date night' in a loooong time. Bill recommended Cafe Poca Cosa in Downtown Tucson for a different Mexican food experience, and well, he was right. The food and the Margaritas were fantastic, kind of a Prix Fix French Style dinner done up with authentic Mexican food. Our waiter was quite the 'entertainer' and took our picture.

We were invited by the Stevens to join them down in Tubac for the 4th of July...on the 3rd. Hey it worked for us since we figured from the Rosson's back porch we would get a distance view of all of Tucson's fireworks (all 13 different shows). All of us dressed in our red, white and blues and went early enough to get a comfy seat, in the shade no less. After a few weak but expensive Margaritas, a couple of Carne Asada Tacos and enough ice cream to choke a horse, we were ready. During the festivities we saw many old school mates from Sahuarita (again, somehow the pictures were mediocre, sorry Debbie, Bill, Stewart, Morgan, Danielle, the Lopezes, the McGivens, and on and on). Tami and her friend Heather were successfully shot though..Finally the sun set and a rather impressive Fireworks display ensued.

Leaving the festivities was easier than I thought, we were able to bolt out quickly and avoid the drunks...right up until the blue and reds flashed behind me..So I pulled over and guess why he stopped me? Was I weaving,no. Was I speeding, No. Was I intoxicated, no. Were girls dancing in the bed of the truck, no...I was pulled over instead of the multitude of drunks and other reprobates because my license plate light was out. I know you all feel safer now. I guess I should be pleased that I was only given a warning and not forced to have it fixed. Oh well, next we are off to the White Mountains in NE Central AZ.

Cami's Birthday

After departing from the North Side of Joshua Tree Park, we headed just outside the south entrance to the park where we stayed in January before heading to Disneyland. We were able to get into the exact same area where we stayed before and the girl's and cousin's 'fairy houses' were all still intact. Amazing.

The Belous all came out to set up camp with us and the three rigs made a nice circling of the wagons and alot of playing and marshmallow roasting ensued. Since it was Cami's Birthday we asked what she wanted for dinner and she said 'chicken fingers', so Diana and I proceeded to fry up 2 chickens worth of chicken fingers. Do you have any idea what that looks like in a small RV kitchen? Lets say it took 'awhile'. Never the less, they were a hit and did not last too long. Diana had also made a four layer chocolate cake with butter cream filling and chocolate ganache frosting. It was sooooo rich that most everyone could barely finish it. I did my best to not be everyone.....

Cami received some neat gifts and was very appreciative. She was sad though too, since I would be leaving in a couple of days to Washington to finish up some lingering business and stuff. But the vast majority of the time was lots of high energy and fun.

After everyone had left except us, we all went for a walk by a place I had seen earlier in the week. Sure enough, it was a tortoise hole and as we got close there was a tortoise sitting there! What a sight. It saw us just as we saw it and it dived into its hole. From a respectful and careful distance Diana was able to shoot a couple of photos of the back of the tortoise. For reference, the tortoise was approximately 10-12" across, making it about 50 years old we were told.

After that cool experience, we headed back into the Indio/Palm Springs area so that I could pack up to catch a plane to the PNW to take care of business.

North Joshua Tree

This post is a touch out of sequence. This post (and the one to follow) actually occurred before I left for Washington alone to leave the girls to fend for themselves while I finished up some lingering business and stuff in WA. Diana just made some posts that happened during the time I was gone before I could insert this post and the next one.

After leaving the Mojave Desert, we traveled South, then down a section of Route 66, then through scenic Amboy, site of huge Chloride fields/ponds, then through 29 Palms to Palm Springs for a day or two, then up through Joshua Tree to arrive in North Joshua Tree. North Joshua is quite different from the South end of the park with the huge rock outcroppings and formations. As you can see in the pictures the red rock formations are very rounded and invite climbing which we all did, especially the kids.

We met some friends from Washington that the girls had known well. The girls really enjoyed their experience with the Kaser kids Heidi and Noah. Hikes and fireside renditions of Harry Potter were had in earnest, especially spell casting with glow stick wands, I am certain the entire area of the campsite was 'entertained' by the antics.

Our last evening there we went on a sunset hike and the glow of the sun on the rocks as we climbed and hiked was amazing. It was cool though as evidenced by Andi's photo showing her fuzzy hat. We were using the catalytic heater every morning to take the edge off (this was in late Feb, early March, hey, I am just catching up). We also saw a hawk in a Yucca plant as we headed home. Diana was able to get fairly close and photograph it before it flew away.

All in all, North Joshua Tree was a fine ending of our time in Southern California. After this we were heading just south of the Park entrance (see earlier posts) where we were going to have Cami's birthday party with the rest of the Belous family in attendance.

Looking For Cooler Temperatures

Speaking for myself, I am quite wimpy when it comes to heat. Let’s try Williams Arizona, the Gateway to the Grand Canyon. Don’t’ get excited yet because we did not go to the Grand Canyon. We stopped here for a few days to visit with Grandma and Grandpa. And a lot of fun we had although is ever NOT fun when Grandma and Grandpa are around ? Let me think – NO! We went to Sunset Crater National Monument just north of Flagstaff. A gorgeous area surrounded by lava fields and pine trees. We decided that when Grandma and Grandpa got on their motorcycle to go home we would head up to Sunset Crater to camp while we waited out the last few days before Daddy came home.

Father’s Day was spent with my dad – Lucky me! I say luck me because we spent the day replacing the water pump and adding an accumulator tank to our trailer. We had to drive in to Flagstaff to get parts an happened to stop at Barnes and Noble for a few minutes. When we came out of Barnes and Noble, I turned around and saw gigantic cloud of smoke behind the building. It looked like a bomb had gone off. As we drove back to Williams we kept watching the smoke cloud rise and grow. It was a truly awesome sight to see. In case you heard about the Schultz fire, this was it. We hooked up the cable TV in the RV park and watched the news to see that this fire was consuming thousands of acres of forest each day. The weather was incredibly dry and the brush and trees literally exploded. I know television news usually dramatizes things to get better ratings, but the images you may have seen on TV were exactly what we were seeing in person.

Guess what – Sunset Crater camping was definitely out of the question. We headed into Flagstaff to check out a county park just 3 miles south of town. Perfect! It became even more perfect when Heather and Justin called on their way back to Lake Powell and suggested we come up to the lake for the weekend before Flint came home.

We left the Trailer at Larry & Beverly’s (Heather’s Parents) Flagstaff cabin and headed on up to lake for some fun and distraction for the last couple of days before Flint got home. It worked wonders for all of us.

Tuzigoot – Just Saying the Name is Fun

We spent one day visiting the Tuzigoot ruins, Montazuma’s Castle and Montazuma’s Well. The Tuzigoot ruins sit on top of a hill and provide a terrific 360 degree view of the surrounding valley. It is a ruin of the ancient Signauan people. It was a warm day – 90 – so we didn’t spend too much time here. We skipped over to Montazuma’s Castle which is not a castle but rather a cliff dwelling ruin. Then on to Montazuma’s well which is a hole in hill. The amazing thing is it’s depth and the fact that the water flows out at a constant 70 degrees. Dipping our feet in the outflow while we sat in the shade of a big limestone cliff was the highlight of our day. Watch out for the poison oak. Luckily we missed it!

Escaping the heat

When the heat got to be too much for us, the girls and I high tailed it for the northern mountains in Arizona. We stopped near Sedona for a few days to catch up with the Rausch family. While Flint was on their farm in Washington, Kathy and the kids were in Arizona visiting with us. It was a most amazing treat to see the Rausch’s and we loved every minute we got to spend with them. We went to Walnut Canyon Northeast of Flagstaff. When the day ended and we were at risk of getting locked into the monument, we had to part ways, Kathy and kids heading home the girls and I heading to Williams, AZ to once again meet Grandma and Grandpa for more fun.

Lake Powell - WOW!

From the photos it is really hard to see the scale which Lake Powell encompasses. It is huge and daunting and absolutely beautiful. Cami, Andi and I received a couple of invitations from Justin and Heather to join them on the houseboat at Lake Powell. Boats, water, swimming, great food and kids to play with . . . what more could you ask for? We ended up going to the houseboat twice before Flint and had a fantabulous time both times. Many, many thanks to Heather and Justin and the kids for continuing to take such good care of us. I don’t have the words to describe what a wonderful time I had on the boat. Just perfect!

Ever wonder what you tounge would look like if it was dry? Check out Lauren's tounge!

Other Tucson Stuff

Sabino Canyon sits at the base of the Catalina Mountains on the north side of Tucson. In the spring months, there is ample water flow through the canyon. From the base you can ride a tram the 4 miles to the top. You can also walk it but as it would happen, Cami and Andi wanted to ride the tram – go figure. We rode to the top but walked all the way down. It was a warm day and very windy. We stopped in several places along the way to hike down to the water and play a bit. Beautiful place!

Tumacacori Mission. South of Tubac, AZ is the Tumacacori Mission founded by Father Kino and other Jesuits. When we lived in the Tucson area, we would spend Christmas eve at the mission. Volunteers line the walkways and walls with thousands of luminaries and people gather to sip hot cocoa and sing Christmas Carrols. The girls and I ventured down to learn more about the mission and of course, earn a junior ranger badge.

As our time in Tucson came to an end we were looking forward to finding some cool weather but we knew we would miss our new friends.