Desierto Pintado

The petrified forest was more than we expected. Even though the forest has been decimated by years of pilfering, there was much more to see than we expected. But the best part, I thought, was the varied colors in the painted desert. What a sight to behold! The photos do not do it justice.

Also, today for the first time we were under expressive skies filled with rain, snow, sun, clouds. During the drive we often had complete 360 degree views which gave us a broad view of the atmosphere. We arrived in Santa Fe late afternoon, had dinner with our Exploritas group, and got the low down on our week here. We will be doing some reading, listening to experts lecture on lit, art, and history, and touring the area.

Standing on a Corner in Winslow, AZ

Trying not to let the sound of our own wheels drive us crazy, we pulled into Winslow, AZ. Wasn't much of a town. We saw one girl in a flatbed Ford. Taking it easy, Wayne stood on a corner before we left.

Before Winslow, it had been a harrowing morning. During the Sedona tour of the Broken Arrow red cliffs, I slipped off a cliff. Clumsy me. There I was hanging by my fingernails. Had it not been for the quick reaction of our tour guide, I would have surely fallen to my death. All I could think ofwas, "what will my devoted blogees do now?"

The remainder of the day was uneventful yet memorable. After leaving the red cliffs of Sedona, we headed for Flagstaff and the Petrified Forest. The route out of Sedona was another steep climb along a narrow road covered in falling rocks. We climbed thousands of feet and watched the Arizona cypresses give way to Ponderosa Pines and snow. As we approached Flagstaff we found ourselves atop a plateau that stretched for hundreds of miles, flat and vast. Slowly those high plains changed to desert. We stopped in Holbrook, AZ for the night and will tour the Petrified Forest tomorrow before heading to Santa Fe.

A very rocky video of a very rocky trip.

Wow! Wow! Wow! and more Wow!

We met our friend Ralph for coffee this morning, got a look at his house and a quick tour of the neighborhood. Then we took off for Sedona. Before we even got out of town we saw the Frank Lloyd Wright exit and realized Taliesin West was at our fingertips. We slammed on the breaks, took an immediate exit and sought out the house. The house certainly is not Falling Water. It is a teaching facility and not a museum. The structure does not incorporate all of the Wright aspects of melding furniture, art and space into one experience. This was Wright's ongoing experiment using students to continuously try out new ideas and materials. But it was a good tour; the guide was very knowledgeable.

Next, we headed for Sedona and then, voila! Montezuma's Castle was ahead of us. What could we do but stop. The name is a misnomer. At some point the site was named because someone determined the cliff dweller people who lived there were descendants of Aztec refugees. But, in fact they were more than likely a part of the Sinagua culture who had left the Flagstaff area. No one is allowed into the dwellings any longer in order to help preserve the structures. They were first constructed in 700ce and abandoned around 1400.



Toward the end of the day we arrived in Sedona. What a beautiful, beautiful area. The more time we spend in the west the better we are able to see the subtle differences in the areas. Sedona has lush green forests at the base of great red cliffs as opposed to other cliff areas that have very few trees or plants. Tomorrow we take a jeep tour and will get more information about the formation of the area.

By The Time I Get To Phoenix...

She'll be ...la de da, Glen Campbell came up twice in conversation today on our way to Phoenix. As we were cruising through the Sonoran Desert of Arizona marveling at the Seguaro Cactus, we were quoting from cowboy movies. "We don't need no stinkin' badges", and "Fill your hands you sons a bitches". True Grit caused me to think of Glen Campbell, which led me to "By the Time I Get to Phoenix". Things get silly when you're in a car for 6 hours. Today we were below sea level, so can't blame the altitude any longer.

We drove through amazingly flat deserts at 75mph passing acres of irrigated farm land beginning to bud green. The Imperial Valley is a rich, vast area of farms surrounded on all sides by mountains that rose blue and misty in the distance. As we left the valley we crossed into sand dunes and then the Sorona Desert where the Seguaro Cactus thrive. Tonight we are in Scottsdale, AZ and it is 75 degrees. We met long time friends for dinner. Wayne has known Ralph and Bobbie since his youthful days as an elementary teacher in Duxbury.

In N Out

We did nothing today. Sorry. Well, that's not exactly accurate. Of course, we did some things. We sat in the glorious sun drinking coffee and reading the paper.

Then we went for a long walk before going for lunch at the In N Out. This is a crazy hamburger joint that has 3 things on the menu (hamburgers, cheeseburgers, fries) unless you know the secret orders like double/double, 3x4, animal style. Thanks to Chad for filling us in so we didn't look like fools. The weird thing I saw was people coming in and helping themselves to the drink fountains without paying. Check out the parrot guy.







We really enjoyed out time in California. The living is truly good. Tomorrow we hit the road again heading for New Mexico. We'll take 3 days to get there with stops along the way in Arizona. Stay tuned.

Joshua Tree National Park

The Joshua Tree lives primarily in the Mojave Desert. And it covers all the area we visited in its namesake park. The park is also peppered with huge mounds of boulders. They look as if some giant child was stacking and piling stones. Today the temps were in the low 60s. But the ranger said summer temps reach 130. We saw petroglyphs, the San Andreas Fault and the Salton Sea (from Keys View), and a Joshua Tree in Bloom.

Lunch, a Movie, and Dinner

Today we went to Coronado Island for lunch at the Hotel del Coronado. Coronado Island is not really an island but a peninsula. But one must get there by bridge, big bridge, big, big, big bridge. The hotel is a National Historic built in 1877. The Victorian structure is gorgeous and has a rich history of movie making and hosting writers, stars and dignitaries. After lunch we took a quick tour of Old Town, which is a State Historic Park, located in the Old Town neighborhood of San Diego. The park preserves and recreates the old town of the city.
We returned to the Gas Lamp district to see Shutter Island which is an adaptation of theDennis Lehane novel. We are always interested in Lehane's work because it is Boston based. Scorsese does a beautiful job of this genre film; Hitchcock abounds. For dinner we returned to a restaurant, Blue Point, we visited 5 years ago to see if their calamari was as good as we remembered. Meh.

Petit Dejeuner

After some discussion about being seen in public with a Yankee fan, we took off for breakfast at Ki's Restaurant on the Pacific Coast Highway. It was fun to be there; the restaurant is owned and operated by Phil and Cate's family. We've heard about this restaurant for years. Finally, we get to experience the real thing. It was nice to meet the family. Plus, the food and coffee was terrific. After breakfast, the Whitney gang returned to San Pedro, and we chilled the rest of the day.

If I Could Talk to the Animals, Just Imagine It

Our peeps came to see us today. Bonnie, Chad and the adorable Duncan came down from San Pedro around noon. Duncan just finished his basketball season this morning and brought along his winning trophy. Go DEW! The weather men were all wrong because the day was sunny and warm enough for us to spend the afternoon at the San Diego Wild Animal Park. It's a great place with plantings and landscaping appropriate for each species. Their mission is conservation, which was evident from the number of babies. There was a new baby elephant born on Valentine's Day. My favorite thing was the baby giraffe. The birds were cool, too. Tonight Wayne grilled some awesome steaks. Tomorrow we head to Ki's for breakfast.

Do You Know the Way to San Diego

San Diego has one of the best public parks I have ever visited. We were here about 5 years ago and went to the zoo. But I don't remember exploring enough then to have discovered all the park offers. The site is concentrated with museums, gardens, the zoo and theater space; the Spanish style architecture is beautiful and consistent throughout the park. We enjoyed a temperate sunny day walking and visiting different venues. The park was alive with joggers, musicians, school children, and cute dogs. The Museum of Art holds a healthy collection of medieval as well as contemporary art. My 2 favorite were an early Monet, Haystacks at Chailly, and a Bosch, Christ Taken Captive. After some time in the park we stopped by the Gas Lamp district and then headed back to La Jolla. We had such a nice time in La Jolla earlier this week that we repeated our Margaritaville hour with the same view of the coast.



Una pequeña película

Laguna Beach Episode Guide

Laguna Beach sits high above the surf and offers an expansive view of ocean, cliffs, and flora. The day was a bit cooler but still lent itself to outdoor fun. Walking along the coast through Alto and Heisler Parks we could see the waves breaking white against the blue of the Pacific. There was a sense of a Mediterranean Coastal village as the hills rose in the distance. A quick walk through town led us past several galleries, the best of which was Len Wood's Indian Territory. The gallery had a huge collection of antique American Indian art, including pottery of Maria Martinez. I did covet most of the pottery. It's an interesting phenomenon that when art is in a gallery and can be purchased, my consumerism raises it's ugly head. But museums just leave me happy to look.

Tonight we ate at a great restaurant in Southern California, Ki's. The food was fresh, clean (my description of great tastes), and inventive. The service friendly and the place was full of laughter. It sits on Rt. 101 directly across from the swells of the Pacific.



Installation at Laguna Beach Museum, Parrot Man and the beach walkway.

Gnarly

'twas a beach day for the travelers. After a lazy morning of coffee on the veranda, we drove down the Pacific Coast Highway and stopped at the first available parking spot. It happened to be a rocky beach. But we found a nice boulder to lean against, settled in and watched the surfers, the dog walkers and the van people. We spent about 2 hours reading and then drove down to La Jolla for Margaritas and calamari. The view from the bar of the cove was expansive, blue, violet and lavender.

California Dreamin' on Such a Winter's Day

So, after 18 days we have managed to traverse the country coast to coast and see a lot of beautiful places in between. Today we drove along the edge of the Mojave Desert as we headed to Encinitas, CA and the Pacific Ocean. We think we could see the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the distance. At one point there was a great salt area among the mountains in the Mojave that appeared to be fog or a lake. It was a beautiful mirage. The pictures should show this. However, they were all taken through the car windshield and are marred with reflections. We arrived in Encinitas around 3pm. We are staying in the home of people we exchanged with last October. They are off to Arizona in their RV while we use the house. After collecting the house key and some general information, we immediately put on shorts and sandals and took off for a stroll on the beach. There were surfers everywhere, joggers galore, not an ounce of fat to be found. We are definitely not in Kansas anymore. We are very happy to be settled in here for 10 days of patio life style.

What Happens in Vegas....

We had a beautiful drive to Las Vegas through the Virgin River Canyon. I think it looked more like the Grand Canyon area than where we have been. We needed to have the car serviced so went directly to a dealer and had lunch at NY Pizza while it was serviced. After we walked most of the strip, had drinks at The Wynn, and ate dinner at Olives in The Bellagio. We were remembering it was almost 5 years ago we were in this same hotel. Vegas was temperate and not as crowded as I've experienced during the summer. It was sort of a culture shock after our nature immersion.

Through It, Around It, and Back Again

Another beautiful day on the Colorado Plateau, 62 degrees and sunny. We drove back along the Mt. Carmel route that takes you out of the east side of the park. I drove for a change so Wayne could ogle. We landed in Mt. Carmel Junction for lunch. Rather than return through the park, we drove south to Arizona, through the Kaibab Paiute indian reservation and back into Utah again. We ended our day back in the park with a 3.6 mile walk along the Virgin River. Tomorrow we head to Sin City for the night.

Spring in Springdale

Springdale, Ut our home base in Zion National Park was truly springlike with temps in the high 50s. The tulips, daffodils, and chives were peeking through, too. We drove up to Kolob Canyon in the morning. From there one can see all across Zion. In the afternoon we took two walks, one up to Weeping Rock to view the water fall and the second on the Riverside Walk into the canyon. From there brave hearts can tred the Virgin River into the heart of the canyon. The pictures do not do justice. The light seemed to be wrong all day. I was mostly shooting into the sun. Tonight we had a wonderful meal at Parallel 88.

Kolob Canyon


Riverwalk and Weeping Rock

We're Marching to Zion, beautiful, beautiful Zion...

The neat thing about being in Zion National Park is that we are at the bottom. No more nail biting, hair pulling rides along precipices thousands of feet high. In my opinion it is a more awe inspiring experience to be at the base of these 6000' cliffs; surrounded by massive buttresses and sheer cliffs. We saw some pretty amazing things today, including 2 men scaling what looked like a 2000' sheer cliff. Springfield, the town we are staying in, abuts the park and offers much more for the traveling duo than Bryce Canyon City did. There are multiple galleries for the souvenir hungry and ample restaurants for the gourmet deprived. We will be here for 3 days; truly a wonderful place for a Valentine.

"I Want to Fly Like an Eagle" Steve Miller

Today was spectacular. When we think it can't get any better, it does. The day was crisp and cold (23) with blazing blue skies. We reached altitudes of 9000' which took our breath away. And we saw eagles in the Escalante Grand Staircase. But before that we went to Bryce Canyon National Park. This park is much higher than Arches or Canyonlands and has more snow, which in turn provides for Douglas Fir, tall pines, and birches. We attended a geological lecture by one of the park rangers who gave a good overview of how the formations in the park came to be. He told us Bryce Canyon is unique in this country. We drove into Panguitch for lunch. There are NO restaurants in this area. Then we took a drive to the Grand Staircase Escalante area where we found a neat gallery and purchased goods.

Trip to Bryce Canyon

And much like the Trip to Bountiful we spent most of the day traveling. The country seemed to stretch forever in front of us. At one point we needed gas and exited where gas was advertised. Once off the highway, the sign said, "gas 25 miles". The landscape around Bryce is forested with pinyon pines and less desert. We are staying on the edge of the Park in Bryce Canyon City, which was incorporated in 2007. The entire town is nothing but a few hotels, one restaurant, and a gift shop owned by Ruby's family. Ruby had the foresight to settle here and open a "tourist rest" in 1916.

Canyonlands

Canyonlands National Park is almost adjacent to Arches but a very different geological area. Atop the mesa areas were small pygmy forests. There was much more snow here. The mesas would suddenly end and vast canyon areas would spread across the horizon. The weather was a bit colder and cloudier. The crowds remain sparse. We counted 3 other couples today.

We also visited Dead Horse Point State Park which was on the route to Canyonlands. It is 6000' above sea level. From the point one can see the big bend of the Colorado River some 2000' down.

NOT There and Back Again

We spent the day in Arches National Park doing a lot of hiking. The day was clear with bright skies and good temps in the 30's. We tried to hike 1.5 miles to see Delicate Arch and were turned back by an icy steep hill just steps before the view. There was an alternate trail down the road which was very, very muddy but doable. The nicest hike was into the Devil's Garden to see the Landscape Arch. We probably walked about 5 or 6 miles today and are quite pooped. Once again, let the pictures tell the story.

Rocky Mountain High

Today we drove from Denver to Moab, UT. We drove in and out of snow squalls, but the roads were relatively clear. The land was so beautiful that I cannot find adequate words. I will let the pictures speak for us.

The video (in the Woody Allen style) is of the road into our lodgings, The Red Cliff Lodge, which hugs the banks of the Colorado River.

A Survey of Western Art

We spent the entire afternoon in the Denver Art Museum. It happened to be "Free Day", and the place was packed with families. Great to see art appreciation. The contemporary exhibits lend themselves to children's enjoyment, too. They were a delightful sensory experience. Check out the video. And the place is very visitor friendly with many interactive displays and educational spots. AND photography is allowed. The collection is overwhelmingly 3D with vast numbers of American Indian, Aztec, African, Asian pottery, sculpture, fabric. There is also a fair amount of Western American art.
This is our last night in Denver. We went to see Up In the Air with George Clooney (yum) and intend to hit the sack early so we can beat the snow tomorrow on our way to Moab, UT. I would definitely return to Denver and recommend it to all as a great city.

Mile High

We woke to a beautiful, sunny and very balmy Denver day. There is a pedestrian mall about 2 blocks from our hotel, The 16th St. Mall. It is filled with the usual mall assortment of shops, restaurants, and street musicians. Free shuttle buses run up and down it constantly. We had lunch at the Appaloosa Grill and got some musical advise from the owner. (Everyone on this trip has been so friendly and interested in our journey. The owner talked about his day on the road as a musician.) After lunch we took the shuttle to the bottom of the street and walked toward the Millennium Bridge which spans the Platte River. We searched out the music venue, El Chapultepec and then walked back to the hotel. We just loved walking around in the sunny warm weather. Dinner tonight is at Marlowe's on the Mall.

For more pictures visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/minkcove/

"If you have to ask what jazz is, you'll never know." Louis

Yesterday was so busy that we never had time to post. We spent the morning in the Country Club Plaza checking out the architecture and fountains. The architecture is Spanish in style with a lot of tile work and a beautiful baroque tower. It was very quiet on the streets. We walked back to the hotel through the Mill Creek Park. We picked up the car and drove to the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art. We took a docent tour that highlighted specific pieces in the entire collection. I was surprised that they owned a Caravaggio, St John the Baptist in the Wilderness. From the Museum we drove out to BB Lawnside's Barbeque. We had read it had great BBQ as well as good blues. When we arrived there was some question about the wiseness of our choice. So we went in to see if we could survive a night there. We had a beer and a pull pork sandwich. The sandwich was not good and the band that night was not going to be a blues band. But the place was a hoot. And we would have been completely safe had we decided to return.

Instead of BB's we ate at the Capital Grill and then went to Jardines for some jazz, which was very good.

Today we were on the road for 10 hours stopping only for a quick lunch and gas. Kansas is beautiful from rolling hills to The Great Plains area which was great indeed. We had a bit of rain mixed with snow. But the roads were clear and Stephen King continues to entertain us.

Kansas as far as the eye can see.

For more pictures visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/minkcove/

Oh Captain! My Captain!

We spent the early part of the day in Springfield, IL visiting the Lincoln Library, the Old State House, and the Lincoln Tomb. The Old State House was more interesting to us than the Museum. It is associated with 3 Presidents. From there Lincoln ran his campaign, General Grant recruited men for the Union and Obama launched his campaign. Since the Library is strictly for research and the occasional exhibit, we just stepped inside for a look. The Tomb was a more in depth experience. The interior was expanded c1930 in the art deco style to encompass the original reception rotunda and the crypt. It was filled with replicas of Lincoln statuary, dressed in marble, and held all the family except Robert who is interred at Arlington.


From Springfield we drove toward St. Louis crossing the mighty Mississippi River and the impressive Missouri River. It was a gray day but a bit warmer. We stopped for lunch at Brewski's Beer Garden and an oil change in Warrenton, MO. We arrived in Kansas City about 7pm with our trip odometer reading 1500 miles plus. After a couple of drinks on the hotel house, we headed to the Country Club Plaza for dinner. We had wonderful smoked ribs at Jack's Smoke House. The waitress had some jazz club recommendations for tomorrow night.

Land of Lincoln

We had a most pleasant and uneventful drive from Indiana into Illinois. It was so flat and so devoid of traffic that the driving was a breeze.  The land reminds me of the delta along the Mississippi.  Once again we had a clear day but the temps have risen into the 30's.  

Sometime around 1:30 we pulled into Springfield, IL.  The town is laid out in a grid and is very easy to maneuver.  We toured the Lincoln Museum.  It is organized around a central plaza where replica's of the Lincoln family stand.  

We also took a tour of the Lincoln home where we were the only 2 people on the tour.  (There are advantages to vacationing in Illinois in February).  Much of the building and a lot of the furniture was original.  We both were surprised at the level of Lincoln's wealth at this time.  

Dinner was at a nice little Italian restaurant near the hotel, Saputo's.  We both had homemade ravioli and Chianti.