A QUICK INTRO

Well, the blog is finished. It was a lot of work. It was slow work, especially since I don’t have internet access in my apartment. So the creation of the blog happened in little bits here and there and everywhere.It was an amazing trip. We saw only a fraction of what we could have seen, what we wanted to see, what we were able to see in our limited time frame. Ideas are flowing about going back to either revisit some places or get to places we missed this time. The Southwest is full of texture, color, depth, food, nature, rock, mountains, lakes, trees, grasses, snow, sun, etc. It’s packed full even when it appears there is nothing for miles.

I easily created over 600 shots between my film and digital cameras. I’ve paired it down a bit, don’t get nervous. Still, the blog has hundreds of photos. It’s a lot of info to see and read. That’s the beauty of a blog. Come and go as you please. You can click on any photo to enlarge it. Most browsers will support this function. Some browsers will simply open a new page with only the photo on it but not enlarged.

Let us thank Dave and Steph, Concetta, Brad & Nilufor, Katherine & Aiden, and Val for their generosity, hospitality and time. We hope we can do the same when any of you come to Seattle.

I don’t want to confuse you but let me just say that you needn’t pay any attention to the posting dates on these entries. Just use the title of each entry to guide you through chronologically. Blog entries are posted in chronological order, with the newest entry appearing last, at the “top” of the blog. So I had to first create 15 separate dates to use as my fake posting dates and then had to reverse them in order for the oldest stuff to appear first and vice versa. I hope you have a good time viewing the shots and reading the info. I’ve included plenty of links so you can cyber explore along the way.

Just click on the arrows next to "June" or "May" to access all the individual days.

Drop me a line: bodanzarama@gmail.com

DAY 1 FRIDAY MAY 18 SEATTLE TO LAS VEGAS

AND SO IT BEGINS

On Friday we left work early, right before noon. It was a hectic morning. I had a second interview for a prospective job. It was casual and quick. About 11:15 a.m. the HR folks contacted me to offer me the position. Good timing! I accepted. A nice way to begin a vacation.

We grabbed our gear and headed a few blocks down to the Westin hotel to catch the Airporter shuttle through Gray Line of Seattle. For $10.25 you jump on a full-sized tour bus, plush seats, air-conditioned and a bathroom. Let someone else do the driving, right? The shuttle dropped us at the departing gates and you don't even load or unload your bags. Tip the driver, say, "Thanks!" and you're off. The best part was we purchased the online, printed them at work, and had them in our hands when we left the building.
Concetta picked us up in Las Vegas and patiently waited out the back-up at the baggage claim. Once we were back at the house we discovered that the casita was set up like a swank hotel, complete with luxury toiletries lifted from actual swank hotels. Thanks, Steph! Nothing like stealing stolen hotel toiletries. Nothing had been missed. There was music, incense, snacks, a coffee maker, and flattering photos of Steph’s teeth. Felt like home.

In the kitchen was a mega feast. Cheeses, crackers, fruit, drinks, and homemade rueben bread from Concetta. It’s basically a reuben sandwich, stuffed and rolled into pizza dough. With Dave working late, the four of us made quick work of this bonanza. This was followed by some well-deserved lying around, playing with the pooches and enjoying the warm evening air. It was a wonderful welcome.






I am not at all sure what is happening here, nor am I responsible for it.

DAY 2 SATURDAY MAY 19 ALL DAY IN VEGAS

Because we were on vacation, because we were in Vegas, and because it was 97 degrees, we spent a good deal of Day 2 in the pool. Coffee and breakfast (Cousin Patty’s nutroll – lord, that is tasty) in the courtyard was followed by a morning swim. Check out those underwater shots. Just like NOVA, huh?

This is Macy and she hates the pool.

Concetta can't help but work the cosmetics. Here she convinces Sally that she has found the perfect color lipstick.

Later we all took a ride through Redrock Canyon. Kind of like an appetizer for sights to come. S and I then had to do the food shopping for the trip.




But once back home we were back in the pool. This time with cold Coronas.





Once Dave was home we ordered dinner and ate outside.
Check out that offical NFL Cleveland Browns jersey. I found it at Goodwill for $3.99. It's in fabulous condition. Dave and Steph will have to fight over it. Or just let Lexi wear it. It matches her colors.
Well, this shot below of the moon and Venus was the best I could do from the courtyard, just before bed. It was a full day of vacationing. Tomorrow we hit the road early.

DAY 3 SUNDAY MAY 20 LAS VEGAS TO CHINLE

BOULDER CITY

Boulder City, Nevada is a town built by the government to house the people who built Hoover Dam. It's elevation is listed all over the Internet as anywhere from 2200 ft. to 2501 ft. You get the idea. The older, main drag looks fun. The closer you get to Hoover Dam, however, the blander things get. Housing developments and really, really green lawns and too many golf courses. Not to mention this is where the money seems to be. Boulder City is also close to the Lake Mead National Recreation Area so, essentially, it can't be ALL bad but you won't catch me speding lots of time there.

We took Route 93 south to pick up Route 40, a state highway. The drive away from Hoover Dam was bleak. For that matter, the ride down 93 was bleak. It didn't get much better for a long time. There is very little change in landscape along 93. Little change in color or texture. It's dry, bland, and rocky. I wish I had taken pictures of the blandness but I think I was just overwhelmed.

Kingman, AZ and Flagstaff, AZ are not much to write home about. Granted, we only drove through but there was little to be seen from the highway to intice anyone to stay. And it's not like you can't see for miles on this kind of highway. This part of the trip also took us through part of The Painted Desert. We saw only a small part of this but it was pretty, especially compared to the rest of the landscape we'd seen that day. From Rte. 40 we caught 87 going north on our way to Chinle, Arizona. In a short while you are on Hopi Indian Reservation land. The Navajo Nation spreads and spreads for miles in many directions. Also, it's not just one big connected piece. The Navajo Nation lands spill into Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. And the poverty is obvious. But it appears the the Hopi land looks even worse. But allow me to disclaim that we saw a small part of it, just on 87 north from I-40, to Rte. 264 East, to catch Rte. 191 North into Chinle, Arizona. And I'm not sure where border lines are for Hopi land and Navajo land. I realize that I've painted a grim picture. I also realize that the many characteristics of poverty we saw are just one part of a very complex system of culture, tradition, goverment and hope. Hope in the form of a brilliant rainbow we saw after a storm.

Below are a couple of shots along 87. This is not the bleakness I was talking about earlier. Though sparse, there is plenty of texture and color and the sky was very dramatic. The light was eerie.



I had never seen cars stuck in the side of an embankment before but here you go.

The plan was to stay two nights at Spider Rock Campground in a traditional Native American hogan. This place has a great website. They have a crappy campground. The dude is real nice but the hogan is a dump. There was no way we were going to sleep on that "matress" pad in that cramped, dark, and cobwebby closet of a hogan. Plus, there was no running water. There was a Honey Bucket but it was rank. Neither of us could picture this place as home base for two days. Far more rustic than camping and Sally has been on some long, rustic backcountry camp trips. We told the dude that it was a bit too rough for us, to keep the money, thanks. Before this happened, we were told that a German woman, Gisella, was camped here and was renting a jeep for a canyon tour the next morning. We found Gisella and she agreed to let us share the jeep and the cost. We planned to be back at 9 am the next day. We then drove back to town and booked two nights at an overpriced Holiday Inn. This is where we met many of the stray dogs and cats of Chinle. Most were females, most had had plenty of litters. All knew that a hotel parking lots was a good place to score a snack but we refrained from contributing.

DAY 4 MONDAY MAY 21 CANYON DE CHELLY

WHITE HOUSE RUIN

We arrived back at Spiderock Campground on time only to learn that the canyon tour had been rescheduled for noon. This gave us time to head back to White House Ruin and actually do the hike. It's the only hike in Canyon de Chelly you can take without a park ranger or an authorized Navajo guide. It's 2.5 miles round trip with some quick elevation drop. Not a problem going down but one must always go back up. At this elevation, we could feel the difference in our lungs, which are used to moist, Pacific Northwest air closer to sea level. Add to this the impending heat. It was a very good idea to hike in the morning.

The Navajo still live in Canyon de Chelly and you can see sheep, a farm and a field on the way down to White House (so named because of the once white-washed walls of the structures). You can also see a hogan, a traditional dwelling that you spot all over Navaho land. Some are more modern looking than others but you can always tell which land is Navajo-owned.

You can't get close to the ruin (thanks to a chain link fence to ward of moronic purveyors of vandalism) but you can easily get shots through the fence. At first I was excited to discover a vault toilet but it was NAS-TEE. I once used a vault toilet so nasty I had to hold my breath and leave the door open while Sally stood guard. Still, I ran out with eyes watering and the smell on my clothes for several minutes. At least while hiking you have the chance to duck somewhere to pop a squat. Not so at White House Ruin so you'd better hold it. Also at the bottom are Navajo craftspeople selling their wares. Bring cash. You also see the jeep tours arriving that bring folks down to the ruins and beyond.

On our way back up we crossed paths with a very old, very tiny Navajo sheperdess, decked out in a long skirt, velour long-sleeved shirt, backpack, lots and lots of jewelry, a huge walking stick and a head covering. Straight out of a book. I thought I was hallucinating. She stopped and began talking to me. Though she spoke only a handful of English words, it was easy to understand that she was a sheperdess and every single day she walked her sheep from one part of the canyon to another. I'm not at all sure how long of a walk this was but at her age it was impressive. My first instinct was ask her for a photo of the two of us, but I felt silly and touristy. Speaking of photography, no photos are permitted of Navajo people or their animals without permission. But you are allowed to photograph all the ruins you like.

Sally descends into the valley.
View from the top. It's about 600 ft. to the bottom.


I love lizards. I know a dude in Denver with one named Lizardo.

At the bottom we admire a Navajo farm.
You can see a traditional hogan in the foreground to the right of the tree.

White House Ruin. There are two levels. One on the ground and one in the cliff. The streaks in the rock are caused by iron.

Close-up of petroglyphs.

CANYON DE CHELLY

We met up with Gisella back at the hotel parking lot at noon and met our guide, Ben, with Canyon Jeep Tours. For $50 each we got a personalized, four-hour driving tour. A much better deal and situation than being one of about 15-20 on a giant "jeep" with the top cut off. Ben couldn't have been nicer. He had stories of growing up in the canyon, his family, his culture. He knew every nook and cranny, pointed out petroglyps and interesting natural rock formations.

Canyon De Chelly National Monument is actually several canyons that branch out from the visitor center: Canyon Del Muerto, Black Rock Canyon, Canyon De Chelly, Monument Canyon, and Bat Canyon. Our jeep tour took us into Canyon De Chelly' via the south rim.

Ben would stop to let us get pictures, water breaks, leg stretch breaks. He was a great driver too. It's a challenging ride. Lots of washes to cross, all dirt or sand. Down one side then up the other. It's not a ride for someone who can't take being bounced around. You might get wet. You definitely will get sandy in places. Ben also took us to his property to see the cliff dwellings that reside right in his backyard. Keep in mind that the entire canyon is a sacred place to the Navajo. No photos are allowed of people or animals without permission. Photos of the ruins and general scenery are permitted. Think of a group pf people touring your house. You'd probably say forget it. So travelling through Canyon de Chelly is a special arrangement. Be respectful.

Visiting the canyon was really important to Sally who spent two weeks helping a Navajo family herd sheep when she was 17. She recounts that it was the first time in her life she realized what it meant to live a life outside of a city (She grew up in Denver). Her time with the Navajo family introduced her to a life without car traffic, industrial noise, airplanes flying over, and lots pf people. In the remoteness of the Canyon there was quiet and land for miles and solitude and stars. It made a lasting impression.

The first ruin we came to is called, of course, First Ruin.
From a distance

Close up.

Driving along the canyon floor.
Far away.
Close up.

Plenty of petroglyphs in this canyon. We drove through only a fraction of it and saw only a fraction of the existing petroglyphs within that.
Way up in that crevise in the rock...
are ancient apartments surrounded by petroglyphs.
A sneak peak at a natural arch, days before we get to Arches National Park.

More cliff dwellings.

Spider Rock. The destination of the day. 800 feet high, this sacred rock, according to Native culture, is where Spider Woman lived. She taught the Navajo (Dineh) people how to weave on a loom. Spider Woman was also used to warn Navajo children against bad behavior, lest she lower her web to capture them and bring them back up to the top of the rock to devour them!




Gisella, Sally, and Ben, our guide.

I know it doesn't look like it, but we are having a great time. I can't really explain these sour faces.

Hopefully, you can see the different colors in this group of carvings. There is yellow on the left and far right. Even a purple color at the far right. There was alot going on in this collection. You get the shots you can, sometimes while sitting in the jeep while it's running. Better than nothing. If you click on the photo it will enlarge and you can then pick out some shapes and colors.

You might have to click on this photo to enlarge it to see the four figures standing in about the center of this shot.

This is Ben's property. In his back yard, beyond his fruit trees, are centuries old cliff dewllings.


Ben explained that these panels on the rock were painted white to maximize reflected light into the apartments. So imagine an intact structre standing here. If you entered it, the back wall (the side of the cliff) would be painted white to reflect sunlight that might enter.

Back on top on our ride out of the Canyon. Here are shots of what we drove through earlier.


Two shots of the same distant cliff dwelling. In the above shot we can see the ruin in the bottom right corner and notice how far from the top of the cliff it sits. Below, in the upper left corner, we see how high off the ground it sits.

After hiking and touring we had a hearty dinner, including Navajo fry bread, at the Junction Resteraunt. Choices are extremely limited for Chinle dining. Leftovers made mid-morning breakfast the next day when we were rained out of Mesa Verde.