Last night the stars were glorious! I wish I knew how to take pictures of the night sky. As we lay in bed, we heard a pack of coyotes. They were very close and then when they began howling again, they had moved further away.
I took my morning walk through grassland, past vineyards and farm fields.
W had only a short distance to travel to our next Harvest Host site; another vineyard just 4 miles away.
We got set up and left to drive to the Patagonia Fall Festival. There were well over 100 vendors. Beautiful crafts of every sort and jams and honey and food trucks. We walked through and, in another life, there would have been lots of stuff to buy and have and keep. But our current life doesn’t allow for the accumulation of things…rather memories and pictures! We bought Navajo Fry Bread stuffed with beans and cheese for our lunch.
We sat and listened to live music.
It was a pleasant way to spend the afternoon. Patagonia is an interesting town.
I saw a tarantula crossing the road today and later we saw a rattlesnake coiled in the road. We have seen several herds of pronghorn.
When we got back to the vineyard, we went in and bought a bottle of Syrah some smoked cheddar and crackers. We sat on the patio in the soft breeze…simply enjoying the moment.
We rested for a short time. The winery closed at 4 and so we went back down and played some cornhole.
We have stayed at Catalina State Park before. I love that it is nestled against the mountains, in a natural environment, with nice hiking trails, and at the same time it is just outside Tucson. We could hear coyotes yipping on and off through the night. There was lots of evidence of their presence…tracks and scat on the trail this morning.
We don’t usually come to Arizona in the fall. There has been a lot of rain and things look very different and very green. This is a desert thorn-apple. These plants are extremely (fatally) poisonous to both animals and people.
This is a blue swallowtail caterpillar.
Someday that caterpillar will be a blue swallowtail butterfly.
We could only get one night at Catalina. We started looking for other options and found a Harvest Host Winery in the town of Elgin. We took 10E out of Tucson and then 83S to Elgin. We traveled over gently rolling hills.
We stayed at the Twisted Union Wine Company in Sonoita Wine Country.
After settling and resting a while, we went inside for a tasting. We chose a bottle of Reign Check red wine, some cheddar biscuits, and provolone wrapped in prosciutto and took our afternoon snack out to the patio. We met another couple and chatted about wine and travel and life. We are not big drinkers and day drinking is NOT part of our usual routine, but I really wanted the full experience and I was not disappointed.
We are on a prairie at 4800 feet of elevation. It was in the 80’s but there was a gentle breeze blowing all evening. I walked along the fence line.
We took our dinner outside and watched the sun change the color of the sky. We watched the tiny sliver of the moon and used the binoculars to see the shadows.
We saw Venus and then Saturn, using the Star Walk App to orient ourselves.
We woke up on the 5th and it was pouring rain. I had no desire to walk in the deluge and so we packed up and got ready to ride down the road.
We had plans to meet our good friends, Lee and Claudia, in a campground near Flagstaff. We traveled in rain for most of the morning and arrived shortly after noon. We arrived first and so we picked two adjacent sites. We were so happy to see friends and to share our evening meal, lots of stories, and good red wine!
On Saturday, the sky was clear. Claudia and I had a beautiful morning walk.
We all packed picnic lunches and then hopped in our Jeeps and took the loop road to Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument. We walked a couple of short trails near the lava flow. This volcano erupted about 1,000 years ago. In fact all of the hills and mountains in the surrounding area were volcanoes.
We traveled on to Wupatki National Monument. We stopped to explore the Wukoki Pueblo. This particuar house was three stories and built on a huge rock formation. This allowed for the families who lived here to be out of harm’s way during flash floods and gave them an excellent viewpoint. This castle like structure was occupied in the 1,100’s.
We went on to Doney Mountain where we enjoyed our lunch. Afterward, we hiked up the cone and admired the view.
Wednesday evening, Lee and Claudia cooked for us. Alaskan sockeye and silver salmon…just delicious! We chatted until it was dark and we were too chilly.
Thursday morning, Claudia and I took another good walk, this time to the lava flow.
We said goodbye to Lee who was leaving for an elk hunt and Claudia hitched a ride with us to Tucson. We were so happy this meet up worked…to spend time with our kindred spirits. Lee and Claudia just spent the past six months traveling to Alaska and back. They also have children and young grandchildren and they totally get us! Until next time…fond farewell…what adventure awaits?!?
My morning walk took me along the edge of Lake Powell. The water levels here are very low…154 feet below full. In 2011 the water was 107 feet down. In just the past year, the surface level of the lake is 50 feet lower than that.
We stayed an extra day here in Page…we were not sure how we were going to spend it. We tried to book a half day river rafting trip but they were sold out. I happened to notice a BLM office to the north and what looked like a bunch of 4WD trails. We went over the Glen Canyon Dam and into Utah.
At the BLM office, we were given a map to Alstrom Point…and off we went. The first part of our journey took us through some desolate muddy colored rock formations.
We took a side trip to Crosby Canyon.
This road led us to the edge of Lake Powell.
We both liked the look of this giant rock. We parked the Jeep and hiked around it.
Back on the main road and we saw these free range cattle. In such a harsh environment, it is hard to imagine what they find to eat.
We stopped for lunch on the crossroads to Alstrom Point. We were not sure if we were going to quit or continue. I showed Tim the map and the pictures…we couldn’t turn around yet.
It was only another 7 miles to the point and the pictures were so pretty…the last 2 miles took us a long time. The road was considerably rougher and required 4WD to climb the slick rock.
But the views when we got there were worth it!
The light was changing as we headed back, making everything glow.
We got back to Page at 5 o’clock, having put in a full day on the trail, we were tired and hungry. We stopped at the grocery for a few supplies and some ready made chicken and salads.
I always hate to turn around before the end of the trail…you never know what you might be missing…today I am glad we made the choice to get to the end!
My morning walk took me down to the marina and by the edge of the lake.
We ate our breakfast outside. The view so lovely and the weather so pleasant!
Tim tried to watch the Talladega NASCAR race that is now scheduled for tomorrow because of rain. Then he watched the Red Zone…lots of football. I cleaned the bathroom and did all the laundry and took care of lots of little things.
At 2:15, we left to go to our Lower Antelope Canyon tour. I was disappointed that we couldn’t see the Upper Canyon. All the tours were sold out. I found the Lower Canyon tours and because they cost less and had several openings, I was convinced that we were probably getting a second-rate tour…that was absolutely not the case. This canyon is on Navajo Tribal land. You cannot go see the canyon unless you pay the fees and are escorted by a guide. We were not sure what to expect but Ken’s Tours was a first-class operation from start to finish. You cannot be on Navajo land without a mask…inside or out…makes no difference…no mask…no tour! We happily complied and completed our COVID screening. We were called for our tour and followed Will, our guide into the Earth. We descended 6 flights of steep stairs into the canyon.
This was one of the most stunning places I have ever been. We took so many pictures trying to capture the beauty of this place. The sandstone has been carved by flashfloods that sweep sand and water through the slot canyon, creating the shape and texture of these rock formations. This carving and etching has happened over thousands of years. In 2013, a flashflood swept through taking all of the stairs and ladders and leaving the canyon 15 feet deeper. The water had filled the canyon all the way to the top.
There are no words that are adequate to explain…just look at these pictures and feel the awe…
The crevice that we climbed out of…back to the surface.
A raven’s nest on the ledge.
The Navajo name for Lower Antelope Canyon is Hazdistazi or “spiral rock arches.”
The Walmart that we stayed at in Page was the best Walmart ever. It was clean and well stocked. It was fairly quiet so that we were able to sleep well. In the morning, there were about 15 other RVs there with us. The view was tremendous. I walked my first three miles in laps around the parking lot.
We traveled just a short distance to the Antelope Point Campground. This is a brand new and beautiful park right on Lake Powell. The view here is pretty as well. Because of extended drought conditions, the lake is very low.
Our good friend Claudia recommended some attractions in the area. Our drive.
We began our day at Navajo Bridge. This was the first bridge built across the Colorado in 1929. It replaced Lee’s Ferry as a safer way to cross the dangerous river.
In 1995, a new span was constructed to handle heavier vehicles and traffic.
The older bridge is now a pedestrian bridge. The two are called the twin bridges. The bridges cross Marble Canyon which is the beginning of the Grand Canyon.
We walked across and could see in the very great distance, a small colorful dot. It was a bunch of rafters floating the river.
Lee’s Ferry used to cross at this point in the river. Rafting trips still end and begin here. You can take 51/2 day, 81/2 day or 14 day trips through the upper portion, the lower portion, or the entire Grand Canyon.
From a trailhead, we walked to the river. We watched people fishing.
We found a lunch spot near the confluence of the Paria and Colorado Rivers. Here the muddied water from the Paria dumps into the crystal clear water of the Colorado and the waters churn and mix.
We took a longer hike along the river’s edge. We climbed up onto the ledge and then back down to the trail.
At last we found ourselves in a place where we really had to climb sharp volcanic rocks to get to the next level. It looked hard and precarious. There was the potential of falling. We turned around and hiked back to the Jeep.
On our way back to the campground, we stopped at Horseshoe Bend. We hiked to the riverbend.
When we got back to the RV, we were tired and happy and eager for some quiet time. Thanks Claudia for your wonderful suggestions…we thoroughly enjoyed our day!
I took a shortened walk this morning. We wanted to get started because we had a longer drive today. I spent my day looking for campgrounds, making reservations, making a shopping list, working on the blog, taking pictures, booking a tour for Sunday, and navigating.
We were about an hour from the Arizona border and as soon as we left New Mexico, the scenery really began to change.
At some point this afternoon, the RV turned over 100,000 miles…that’s a lot of adventures!!
We did a bunch of errands this afternoon and stayed in the Walmart parking lot in Page.
We found a great little restaurant, Bonkers, which served outstanding Italian food. Tim had a blackened salmon with shrimp and kale in some sort of sauce with fettucine. I had the chicken special with spinach and sundried tomatoes in a pesto cream sauce on linguini.
My walk this morning took me through a nearby neighborhood. The highlight was right here in the campground, a beautiful rose garden. My grandparents had beautiful roses and seeing these blooms this morning brought back a flood of treasured memories.
Today, our adventure was to travel to Chaco Canyon and to visit the cultural site there. We left with this hand drawn map.
At the intersection of the highway and Route 7900 we had 21 miles to go. The first 5 miles were paved. The next 7 miles was rough gravel washboard, and the last 4 miles to the National Park was hardpacked rutted dirt road.
We stopped at the Visitor Center and the ranger gave us a brief overview of the park and things to do. Tim was interested in hiking trails. The ranger recommended the 5.4-mile loop trail at Pueblo Alto. She stated that the trail began with a fun little rock scramble and then continued along the cliffs with views of the ruins below.
This butte, Fajada Butte, is a sacred place. On the top the Cahcoans had a solar calendar that helped them detemine the solstice, marked holidays, and determined their planting and growing seasons.
We did walk among the ruins, as we made our way around the park loop road. These ruins were created earlier than the Aztec Ruins we visited yesterday. These great houses were built from 850 to 1150 and inhabited until about 1250. In contrast to the ruins we saw the other day, these have had relatively little repair work. The tops of the walls have been sealed with mortar to keep moisture from leaking into the walls and joints. The lumber for the beams in these houses was hand carried from a forest 50 miles away.
Pueblo Bonito is the largest and was the most developed of the great houses here. This is a representation of what the community looked like.
We had lunch in the parking lot near the trailhead for the Pueblo Alto Trail. In the lot, we met a 75 year old man from New Mexico. He makes the trip to Chaco about 6-7 times a year. He was an avid cyclist, cycling about 100 miles a week, until a year ago. He was hit by a drunk driver while riding in a bike lane. Both of his legs were smashed and he couldn’t walk for three months. He is still undergoing physical therapy, or physical torture as he calls it, 2 times each week. He brought his grandson here today. The man was going to work on walking correctly with his two walking sticks, while the grandson, his fiancé, and the dog were hiking the trails. This guy is truly an inspiration!
I wasn’t sure that I really wanted to do this hike, I had already walked 3 miles in the morning…but I didn’t say anything and instead mustered up my enthusiasm and my energy. I am so glad that I went! The beginning of the trail was ¼ mile of that “fun little rock scramble.” Up we climbed. It was challenging in places…but nothing too hard for us and once we were on top, I realized that it was fun!
The trail was marked by cairns. Sometimes it took an effort to find the next one. I was glad I purchased the backcountry hiking trail guide. It helped us decide from which direction we should approach the loop. This may have saved us from getting “lost” later in the day. Sometimes it was hard to believe that we really had to follow the cairns…YES…that is really the trail!
Pecked Basins were carved into the sandstone along the path; sometimes round and sometimes rectangular. Archeologists believe that these were repositories for offerings.
Terrace View…wow…sometimes when we are hiking there are places that take your breath away…
The overlook onto Pueblo Bonito was amazing. Seeing the community from above puts things into perspective in a whole other way. These great houses were huge, well built, and preplanned so that even as the people built and added over the centuries…it was all part of a master blueprint.
We knew there was a chance of rain even as we began our hike. The light rain didn’t bother us much. I had my new rain resistant jacket and I was comfortable…but as the rain began to fall harder, we looked for a place to take shelter. We found a rock ledge that we sat under and we waited about 20 minutes for the shower to pass.
The Chacoan people created roads to make it easier to get from one place to another, The terrain in this area is very rough and the people walked. If there was an obstacle, they had to find a way to circumvent it. This is a portion of road only partially excavated.
Chacoan Steps where we took a break.
Because it was raining and because we still had miles to go and because we had seen lots of other ruins, we decided not to add an extra mile to the hike to see Pueblo Alto.
Jackson Stairway – These steps were carved into the side of this cliff. The steps are now very fragile and dangerous and no longer used.
The views from the edge of the cliff.
There was second chasm that we had to negotiate. It was a narrow and steep descent. I used my hips to wedge myself against the rocks as I searched for my next foothold…again another fun little challenge.
The rock in the distance was the one we had to pass through to get down to this level.
And because it was a loop, we had to go back the way we came. There was that ¼ uphill on the way that became ¼ mile downhill on the reverse route. I scooted down a lot of this portion…it felt like the safest way for me to get down! We were laughing and smiling all day! Hopefully you can tell that we enjoyed the day from our pictures of one another!
We finished the hike in 4 hours. When we got back to the Jeep it really began to rain. The dirt road was muddy and the Jeep got really dirty…another sign of a good day.
We still had a long drive back to town. I was imagining a cheeseburger. Tim was imagining a beer with his burger! I found a steakhouse in town that would meet our needs but when we finally got there…it was gone! We ended up at Lotaburger. I even had fries with my burger smothered in green hatch chiles and pickles and lettuce and tomatoes and mustard and bacon and cheese. We were so famished that we ate them in the Jeep in the parking lot. We never have burgers…that made this taste especially delicious…a rare treat!
It is so easy to be motivated to get up and walk when you are surrounded by natural beauty that changes as you travel. The campground sat on bluffs 150 feet above the reservoir. I walked all the way down to the water and back up again. It was great exercise! The colors of the cliffs and the sky were muted in the softer morning light. This is my “me” time…my quiet walking meditation.
As usual we began the day without a true destination…no plans. I spend a lot of time in that co-captain chair with a map in my lap and GPS in my hand!
We wondered if we should continue on Route 96 but it seemed rough and narrow and we had to be on it for more than 50 miles…or should we go on 84N? Tim found a place called Echo Amphitheater that looked interesting. We decided to head up 84 and see it. We took a hike. This natural sandstone amphitheater was created by cascading water. This place was lovely. We were able to catch the sun shining into the curvature of the rock.
Tim tested the echo effect. Watch the video with sound!
Legend has it that Navajo tribe members took settlers to the top of the cliff and killed them. Their blood ran over the rock ledge creating a permanent red stain. The legend continues…Settlers later executed Native Americans in this same place adding to the bloodstains. The echoes are said to be the voices of the unquiet. In reality, the red stains are a kind of rock varnish. Whether or not the legend is true…the west is certainly fond of its ghost stories.
Northern New Mexico is so incredibly picturesque. With its scenic byways, grassy plains, mountains, mesas, deserts and villages, this has so far been one of my favorite trips. New Mexico belongs at the top of my list with Colorado and Arizona and Utah. Nova Scotia, Baja, The Yukon, British Columbia, and Alaska are in their own category altogether!
We found a place to camp near the town of Bloomfield. We parked and ate and left to go see Aztec Ruins National Monument. These ruins were not actually built by Aztecs but by the Ancestral Puebloan People. This great house and community is situated along the Animas River and was built in the 1100’s and inhabited through the 1200’s.
This large round building was a kiva, a ceremonial space.
A smaller kiva.
A snake skin in the hole…where is the snake? Surely not to far away!
Tim could tell as we walked through, that the great house had been modified and changed several times. There is evidence of different stone, mortar, and styles of construction. Tim was able to find chisel marks on some of the stone. As a mason, Tim was amazed by how so many people of different skill levels for hundreds of years worked together to achieve the same goal and build what they did. It is obvious that the people took pride in their work. Using rudimentary tools and methods. Then, for the buildings to last so long…well he cannot imagine that anything he ever built will last 1,000 years.
This site is continually being bolstered and repaired in an effort to keep it for future generations. It is estimated though that 90% of the masonry has never been touched and is in its original state…almost 1,000 years later! The wooden timbers that at one time supported the roofs were gathered from 20 miles away. The Puebloans used spruce and aspen and pine trees from higher elevations where the trees grew taller and the wood was stronger. They also did not want to strip their own surroundings of all the standing trees.
The doors were very small. The people were shorter but additionally, smaller doors made the walls stronger and made doorways easier to block with hides or stones to preserve warmth and create storage spaces.
The life of the people that lived here was very hard. Survival was a lot of work. The construction of these great houses, planting and harvesting vegetables, storing water, and the creation of baskets and pottery were just a few of the accomplishments of this society. By the 1300’s, this site was abandoned. The people moved on perhaps due to drought or perhaps for other reasons. Ancestral Puebloan People still live in this area and work hard to keep their culture alive.
When we got up it was cold inside the RV and outside it was 32 degrees with frost on the ground. Not only that, but there was a blanket of thick fog. We decided to forgo our walking and exercise this morning and just leave! Of course, as we pulled out the fog began to lift!
We took a very narrow and curvy scenic ride to Taos.
Once in town, we found a Smith’s grocery that had everything that we wanted. It was still early in the day. We traveled on. The terrain changed with scrubby desert flora like pinion trees, creosote bushes, sagebrush, and lots of low growing cactus.
We traveled through the Rio Grande River Gorge…the view was gorgeous! The road followed the bends in the river for miles. We saw men flyfishing and people in a rubber raft negotiating the strong current and the rocks.
We could see the storm from along way away…we only got a few sprinkles though.
We arrived at Riana Campground at the Abiquiu Reservoir and settled in. We enjoyed a sushi picnic and then some quiet time. It rained for a short while and then we went for a hike.
