More Joshua Tree ; Lake Havasu City ; Grand Canyon ; Navajo National Monument ; Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park ; Santa Fe
(posted from Santa Fe Library)
(This post covers 15 – 21 April, 2010)
-----------------------------------
Wednesday, 21 April-
Last night's tequila-fest put me to sleep very heavily early in the evening but then I woke around 0100 and couldn't get back to sleep. Labashi was similarly affected. Fortunately we both have reading material so we just read for a few hours until we faded, then woke up a bit late-- 0800-ish.
Today we returned to Canyon Road, the galleries district in Santa Fe. We spent the day finishing out our tour of galleries. We saw some really incredible art work but, fortunately, none we can't live without. But these walks always give Labashi ideas and later on those turn into projects back home.
Late in the afternoon we drove north of Santa Fe to a Mexican restaurant called Gabriel's near the Camel Rock casino. We had talked again to the same gallery gal who had recommended Maria's and she had praised Gabriel's table-side-made guacamole. She was right! Good stuff. We also split a tamales plate to see how the Santa Fe tamales compared to the special ones we had had in Tucson. Tucson won this time but the Santa Fe ones were also good.
We then looked up the local Wal-mart for a few supplies, then drove back across town to the Cross of the Martyrs for a sunset view of the city. As we left there we saw a sign for the library so spent the evening on the web and reading newpapers there before heading back to our campsite at Rancherias de Santa Fe campground.
-----------------------------------
Tuesday, 20 April -
We left Angel Peak this morning and drove down Route 550 toward Santa Fe. Our goal today was to find a reasonably-priced campground with showers and wi-fi near Santa Fe and then begin exploring the city.
Our drive took all morning but we did find an RV and camping park to our liking called Rancheria of Santa Fe for under $20 a night. We had glorious showers and Labashi spent an hour or so figuring out which galleries she wanted to visit.
Against all odds we found a parking spot right in the heart of the gallery district on Canyon Road. We had gotten a late start but still managed to see a dozen-or-so galleries before 1700 closing.
In one of the last galleries I asked about a recommendation for supper and we happened to hit what I call a 'live-wire' type of person. She had asked us our opinion on changes she's making to the gallery's web page so I knew she was a bit out of the ordinary. And on the subject of restaurants she not only had opinions, she wasn't afraid to express them. She gave us a half-dozen options and wasn't shy about telling us which were over-priced or over-hyped.
We selected “Maria's” for dinner, based largely on the fact that we could order a flight of top-notch tequilas. Again, we found the last parking spot available and it was right by the door-- more Labashi-luck. We had to rely on our waiter, Kevin, to recommend three tequilas. They ranged from a young, clear one which reminded me of paint-thinner (Chinaco Silver @ $75 a bottle) to a pink one aged in oak and possessed of raspberry-chocolate notes (Asombroso Reposado @ $125 a bottle) and a yellowish, earthy one (Trago Anejo @ $85 a bottle). We thoroughly enjoyed comparing the three tequilas but perhaps the most important lesson we learned is we're not 'into' the sport of tasting exotic tequilas. We then had our meal-- chicken fajitas-- and again thanked our gallery friend for pointing us to Maria's.
After supper we drove back to the campground and spent the evening reading, blogging, and planning tomorrow's visit to Santa Fe.
-----------------------------------
Monday, 19 April-
This morning we drove on to Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park. We loved being in Monument Valley and this park allowed us to get up close to the massive stone mesas. The Park is well developed and has a hotel, restaurant, museum, and trading post but its best feature for us is the 17-mile dirt road winding through the red-rock mesas. One stop along the way is John Ford Point where you expect to see a stagecoach cross the dirt road in front of a backdrop of mesas stretching off into the distance. The feeling is so real you see the image in black and white, just like the movie.
After we finished the long, dusty, and lonely tour drive, we headed north toward Mexican Hat. Along the way we were climbing out of Monument Valley and it was interesting to see the changes in the rocks as we climbed from the valley floor to the plain above. We continued winding our way through Indian reservations all afternoon and reached Shiprock around 1700. Off in the distance is the massive form of Ship Rock, a beacon to white pioneers and a sacred site to Indians.
In this area we saw the amazing transformation from the very dry lands to irrigated lands. Also, there's quite a presence of oil and natural gas rigs and support vendors.
In Farmington we stopped briefly at the Wal-mart for a few supplies. That one had a nice parking lot for overnighting but I wanted to get out in the country. We drove on to Angel Peak National Recreation Area, some 35 miles southeast. There we had a free BLM campsite overlooking a massive badlands area and with a 360-degree view. As night fell we could see the lights of Farmington and Bloomfield twinkling in the distance. We had a couple of very strong margaritas while we watched the lights, then called it a night.
------------------------------------
Sunday, 18 April-
We thought we'd simply be driving out of Grand Canyon National Park this morning but we stopped at the spectacular views at Lipan Point and Desert View and before we knew it much of the morning was gone.
We did get underway in late morning and drove out the east entrance, then to Tuba City, AZ. At Tuba City we parked in the parking lot for the Navajo Museum but it turned out to be closed on Sundays. We had lunch in the parking lot and pressed on.
By mid-afternoon we were driving along listening to Navajo Radio (AM 660, Window Rock) and finally arrived at Navajo National Monument. We walked the Sandal Trail, which took us to an overlook of the 13th century cliff dwelling/farming village. We also took it the visitor's film and museum-- one of the better ones we've seen.
This National Monument has free campsites so we decided to stay even though it was only 1600. If we'd go on we'd miss the next site because we'd be arriving too late in the day and there is no nearby camping listed.
We had a nice break and I took two walks, one before supper and one after. Labashi joined me on the second one and we found a wonderful overlook above the campground and on Indian lands. It's great to be out here away from civilization and camping in the Indian lands.
------------------------------------
Saturday, 17 April-
This morning I was awakened at 0530 by our next-door neighbor's generator. He had an extra-quiet generator and apparently thought it wouldn't bother anyone. He left at 0600 but I couldn't get back to sleep. We arose at 0700 and after our morning rituals we drove over to the visitor's center at Mather's Point. I loved seeing the detailed maps of the area and then we walked out to the rim and then on another mile to the Yavapai Observation station. From there we could see the tents and mules at a campground thousands of feet below and we could see a few rafts in distant Colorado River.
After returning to the van we drove east Desert View. We visited the Tusayan Ruins and Museum and hit a few of the viewpoints along the rim on the way back. We then took a National Forest Road back to a trailhead for the Arizona Trail. We took a late-afternoon break at a dispersed camp site in the Kaibob National Forest. I tried to nap but just couldn't quite fall asleep. We then went to the nearby fire tower at Grandview and climbed the tower and shot video clips of the surrounding forest and views of the Grand Canyon.
We then headed west, thinking we'd take a late-afternoon tour of the Hermit's Cove area. But as we figured out the timing we realized we'd not have enough time to do that yet toda. We elected instead to have dinner at the fancy El Tovar Hotel. We figured we'd have to register then walk around the area for a few hours before we could get a table. But luck was with us-- the last table available was ours for the asking.
We had a long, wonderful supper. Labashi had deviled crabcakes and I had a tenderloin and shrimp dinner and we shared. Our dinner was fairly pricey at $75 but when we saw that rooms were going for $174-475 per night, we felt lucky to be staying in the campground.
After dinner we just had time to see the sun set on the Rim Trail and then we drove to the Shrine of Ages for the evening ranger presentation. Tonight it was a presentation about the weather in the canyon and this one turned out to be a dud. The ranger had interesting information but was a terrible presenter and we were frustrated by the end.
After the presentation we returned to our campsite for the evening and turned in early.
------------------------------------
Friday, 16 April-
This morning we hit the local Wal-mart for ice and a few supplies and then headed north. We soon hit I-40 East. By Kingman, we had somehow developed a craving for a hamburger. We heard the best burgers were at the local Denny's restaurant so gave it a try. The Western Burger wasn't bad!
We then continued east on I-40, eventually leaving the creosote bushes behind and seeing the desert transition to junipers as we climbed the many hills. In Williams, we found a coffee shop with wi-fi and spent a few pleasant hours catching up email, posting the blog update, and checking the news.
The shop was called 'American Flyers' and had a cool bicycling theme and very good coffees and smoothies.
We took Route 64 out of Williams to the Grand Canyon, arriving about 1600. Just as we pulled up to the gate we saw the camping sign changed to 'Tents Only' for Mather campground but decided to give it a shot anyway. We took one of the last spots available and then headed over to the nearby Shrine of Ages parking area. From there we walked to the Rim Trail and along the Rim Trail for a mile or so to Grand Canyon Village. We saw sunset in front of the El Tovar hotel, toured the art work at the Kolb Studio, and got a look at the upper reaches of the Bright Angel Trail.
We then hiked bac to the van just before the start of the evening program at the Shrine of the Ages. A ranger did a credible job with the theme-- Humans in The Park-- a history of human habitation in Grand Canyon.
We were still keyed up by that time so we drove over to the El Tovar (the fancy hotel) and had drinks in the cocktail lounge. We then drove back to our campsite for the night and immediately crashed.
------------------------------------
Thursday, 15 April-
We spent the morning in Joshua Tree National Park. After waking to a 30-degree morning we drove east from our campground at Jumbo Rock and then turned south toward Desert Center. Shortly after the turn we noticed a significant change in the desert. As the altitude slowly drops the Joshua-tree yuccas thin and then disappear entirely. The creosote bushes (aka greasewood) and ocotillo take over. This is the transition zone from the Mojave to the Sonoran desert systems and this northern Sonoran desert is also known as the Coloradan. We drove south some ten miles-- as far as the Cholla Gardens-- and turned around. On the way back we stopped at several roadside exhibits explaning the geology. The rounded, sandy-colored monzogranite rocks (we learned) had surfaced through cracks in the overlying Pinto gneiss rock. And here in this short section of road we could see where the two intermixed.
This bit of geology intrigued us so we drove back past Jumbo Rock to the Geology Drive. This 23-mile loop was shown as a 4-wheel-drive-recommended road on the map but we thought we'd give it a try. As we entered the drive it looked good and we figured we could just back out if we got into bad stuff. So starts many an adventure!
We spent the next two hours making the geology loop and enjoying it all the way. The road turned out to have some deeper sand here and there but it was a granite-particle sand and would tend to pack down as the van tires sank into it and stop the sinking within a few inches of the surface. We've been in Florida sugar sand, on the other hand, which doesn't seem to pack at all and you're soon in to the axle.
After the Geology Drive we headed out of the park to Twentynine Palms. We then drove east on Route 62. As you drive out of TwentyNine Palms there's a sign--- No Services for 100 Miles--- and it's completely correct. But we loved the drive. This was very desolate-feeling area. There are no houses, no ranches, nothing but sparse desert all around, mountain-shapes in the distance, dry lakebeds with white gypsum fringes here and there.
After a few hours we reached the Arizona border and the town of Parker. We were surprised to find a new Wal-mart and a new Safeway at the edge of town. Since Safeway had a Starbucks counter, we visited the Safeway for our re-supply shopping.
We then drove north to Lake Havasu City. We found the famous London Bridge but that area just seemed too touristy so we moved on. We found the Lake Havasu State Park and selected a campsite, then I went for a walk while Labashi read. I walked to a nearby desert-plants nature park and then walked up to the bluff overlooking the lake. The problem, though, with both London Bridge and the state park was the extremely loud boats. The launch ramp was near the bluff and some fool was having a problem with his thunder-boat. For the next three hours he revved his unmuffled engine trying to figure out why it had a miss. And when he wasn't revving, there were plenty of cigarette-boats roaring by to keep the ducks and my nerves on edge. The boat noise went on into the wee hours of the morning and all I can say about Lake Havasu City is I'm glad I'm out of there.
********** END OF POST *******************
(posted from Santa Fe Library)
(This post covers 15 – 21 April, 2010)
-----------------------------------
Wednesday, 21 April-
Last night's tequila-fest put me to sleep very heavily early in the evening but then I woke around 0100 and couldn't get back to sleep. Labashi was similarly affected. Fortunately we both have reading material so we just read for a few hours until we faded, then woke up a bit late-- 0800-ish.
Today we returned to Canyon Road, the galleries district in Santa Fe. We spent the day finishing out our tour of galleries. We saw some really incredible art work but, fortunately, none we can't live without. But these walks always give Labashi ideas and later on those turn into projects back home.
Late in the afternoon we drove north of Santa Fe to a Mexican restaurant called Gabriel's near the Camel Rock casino. We had talked again to the same gallery gal who had recommended Maria's and she had praised Gabriel's table-side-made guacamole. She was right! Good stuff. We also split a tamales plate to see how the Santa Fe tamales compared to the special ones we had had in Tucson. Tucson won this time but the Santa Fe ones were also good.
We then looked up the local Wal-mart for a few supplies, then drove back across town to the Cross of the Martyrs for a sunset view of the city. As we left there we saw a sign for the library so spent the evening on the web and reading newpapers there before heading back to our campsite at Rancherias de Santa Fe campground.
-----------------------------------
Tuesday, 20 April -
We left Angel Peak this morning and drove down Route 550 toward Santa Fe. Our goal today was to find a reasonably-priced campground with showers and wi-fi near Santa Fe and then begin exploring the city.
Our drive took all morning but we did find an RV and camping park to our liking called Rancheria of Santa Fe for under $20 a night. We had glorious showers and Labashi spent an hour or so figuring out which galleries she wanted to visit.
Against all odds we found a parking spot right in the heart of the gallery district on Canyon Road. We had gotten a late start but still managed to see a dozen-or-so galleries before 1700 closing.
In one of the last galleries I asked about a recommendation for supper and we happened to hit what I call a 'live-wire' type of person. She had asked us our opinion on changes she's making to the gallery's web page so I knew she was a bit out of the ordinary. And on the subject of restaurants she not only had opinions, she wasn't afraid to express them. She gave us a half-dozen options and wasn't shy about telling us which were over-priced or over-hyped.
We selected “Maria's” for dinner, based largely on the fact that we could order a flight of top-notch tequilas. Again, we found the last parking spot available and it was right by the door-- more Labashi-luck. We had to rely on our waiter, Kevin, to recommend three tequilas. They ranged from a young, clear one which reminded me of paint-thinner (Chinaco Silver @ $75 a bottle) to a pink one aged in oak and possessed of raspberry-chocolate notes (Asombroso Reposado @ $125 a bottle) and a yellowish, earthy one (Trago Anejo @ $85 a bottle). We thoroughly enjoyed comparing the three tequilas but perhaps the most important lesson we learned is we're not 'into' the sport of tasting exotic tequilas. We then had our meal-- chicken fajitas-- and again thanked our gallery friend for pointing us to Maria's.
After supper we drove back to the campground and spent the evening reading, blogging, and planning tomorrow's visit to Santa Fe.
-----------------------------------
Monday, 19 April-
This morning we drove on to Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park. We loved being in Monument Valley and this park allowed us to get up close to the massive stone mesas. The Park is well developed and has a hotel, restaurant, museum, and trading post but its best feature for us is the 17-mile dirt road winding through the red-rock mesas. One stop along the way is John Ford Point where you expect to see a stagecoach cross the dirt road in front of a backdrop of mesas stretching off into the distance. The feeling is so real you see the image in black and white, just like the movie.
After we finished the long, dusty, and lonely tour drive, we headed north toward Mexican Hat. Along the way we were climbing out of Monument Valley and it was interesting to see the changes in the rocks as we climbed from the valley floor to the plain above. We continued winding our way through Indian reservations all afternoon and reached Shiprock around 1700. Off in the distance is the massive form of Ship Rock, a beacon to white pioneers and a sacred site to Indians.
In this area we saw the amazing transformation from the very dry lands to irrigated lands. Also, there's quite a presence of oil and natural gas rigs and support vendors.
In Farmington we stopped briefly at the Wal-mart for a few supplies. That one had a nice parking lot for overnighting but I wanted to get out in the country. We drove on to Angel Peak National Recreation Area, some 35 miles southeast. There we had a free BLM campsite overlooking a massive badlands area and with a 360-degree view. As night fell we could see the lights of Farmington and Bloomfield twinkling in the distance. We had a couple of very strong margaritas while we watched the lights, then called it a night.
------------------------------------
Sunday, 18 April-
We thought we'd simply be driving out of Grand Canyon National Park this morning but we stopped at the spectacular views at Lipan Point and Desert View and before we knew it much of the morning was gone.
We did get underway in late morning and drove out the east entrance, then to Tuba City, AZ. At Tuba City we parked in the parking lot for the Navajo Museum but it turned out to be closed on Sundays. We had lunch in the parking lot and pressed on.
By mid-afternoon we were driving along listening to Navajo Radio (AM 660, Window Rock) and finally arrived at Navajo National Monument. We walked the Sandal Trail, which took us to an overlook of the 13th century cliff dwelling/farming village. We also took it the visitor's film and museum-- one of the better ones we've seen.
This National Monument has free campsites so we decided to stay even though it was only 1600. If we'd go on we'd miss the next site because we'd be arriving too late in the day and there is no nearby camping listed.
We had a nice break and I took two walks, one before supper and one after. Labashi joined me on the second one and we found a wonderful overlook above the campground and on Indian lands. It's great to be out here away from civilization and camping in the Indian lands.
------------------------------------
Saturday, 17 April-
This morning I was awakened at 0530 by our next-door neighbor's generator. He had an extra-quiet generator and apparently thought it wouldn't bother anyone. He left at 0600 but I couldn't get back to sleep. We arose at 0700 and after our morning rituals we drove over to the visitor's center at Mather's Point. I loved seeing the detailed maps of the area and then we walked out to the rim and then on another mile to the Yavapai Observation station. From there we could see the tents and mules at a campground thousands of feet below and we could see a few rafts in distant Colorado River.
After returning to the van we drove east Desert View. We visited the Tusayan Ruins and Museum and hit a few of the viewpoints along the rim on the way back. We then took a National Forest Road back to a trailhead for the Arizona Trail. We took a late-afternoon break at a dispersed camp site in the Kaibob National Forest. I tried to nap but just couldn't quite fall asleep. We then went to the nearby fire tower at Grandview and climbed the tower and shot video clips of the surrounding forest and views of the Grand Canyon.
We then headed west, thinking we'd take a late-afternoon tour of the Hermit's Cove area. But as we figured out the timing we realized we'd not have enough time to do that yet toda. We elected instead to have dinner at the fancy El Tovar Hotel. We figured we'd have to register then walk around the area for a few hours before we could get a table. But luck was with us-- the last table available was ours for the asking.
We had a long, wonderful supper. Labashi had deviled crabcakes and I had a tenderloin and shrimp dinner and we shared. Our dinner was fairly pricey at $75 but when we saw that rooms were going for $174-475 per night, we felt lucky to be staying in the campground.
After dinner we just had time to see the sun set on the Rim Trail and then we drove to the Shrine of Ages for the evening ranger presentation. Tonight it was a presentation about the weather in the canyon and this one turned out to be a dud. The ranger had interesting information but was a terrible presenter and we were frustrated by the end.
After the presentation we returned to our campsite for the evening and turned in early.
------------------------------------
Friday, 16 April-
This morning we hit the local Wal-mart for ice and a few supplies and then headed north. We soon hit I-40 East. By Kingman, we had somehow developed a craving for a hamburger. We heard the best burgers were at the local Denny's restaurant so gave it a try. The Western Burger wasn't bad!
We then continued east on I-40, eventually leaving the creosote bushes behind and seeing the desert transition to junipers as we climbed the many hills. In Williams, we found a coffee shop with wi-fi and spent a few pleasant hours catching up email, posting the blog update, and checking the news.
The shop was called 'American Flyers' and had a cool bicycling theme and very good coffees and smoothies.
We took Route 64 out of Williams to the Grand Canyon, arriving about 1600. Just as we pulled up to the gate we saw the camping sign changed to 'Tents Only' for Mather campground but decided to give it a shot anyway. We took one of the last spots available and then headed over to the nearby Shrine of Ages parking area. From there we walked to the Rim Trail and along the Rim Trail for a mile or so to Grand Canyon Village. We saw sunset in front of the El Tovar hotel, toured the art work at the Kolb Studio, and got a look at the upper reaches of the Bright Angel Trail.
We then hiked bac to the van just before the start of the evening program at the Shrine of the Ages. A ranger did a credible job with the theme-- Humans in The Park-- a history of human habitation in Grand Canyon.
We were still keyed up by that time so we drove over to the El Tovar (the fancy hotel) and had drinks in the cocktail lounge. We then drove back to our campsite for the night and immediately crashed.
------------------------------------
Thursday, 15 April-
We spent the morning in Joshua Tree National Park. After waking to a 30-degree morning we drove east from our campground at Jumbo Rock and then turned south toward Desert Center. Shortly after the turn we noticed a significant change in the desert. As the altitude slowly drops the Joshua-tree yuccas thin and then disappear entirely. The creosote bushes (aka greasewood) and ocotillo take over. This is the transition zone from the Mojave to the Sonoran desert systems and this northern Sonoran desert is also known as the Coloradan. We drove south some ten miles-- as far as the Cholla Gardens-- and turned around. On the way back we stopped at several roadside exhibits explaning the geology. The rounded, sandy-colored monzogranite rocks (we learned) had surfaced through cracks in the overlying Pinto gneiss rock. And here in this short section of road we could see where the two intermixed.
This bit of geology intrigued us so we drove back past Jumbo Rock to the Geology Drive. This 23-mile loop was shown as a 4-wheel-drive-recommended road on the map but we thought we'd give it a try. As we entered the drive it looked good and we figured we could just back out if we got into bad stuff. So starts many an adventure!
We spent the next two hours making the geology loop and enjoying it all the way. The road turned out to have some deeper sand here and there but it was a granite-particle sand and would tend to pack down as the van tires sank into it and stop the sinking within a few inches of the surface. We've been in Florida sugar sand, on the other hand, which doesn't seem to pack at all and you're soon in to the axle.
After the Geology Drive we headed out of the park to Twentynine Palms. We then drove east on Route 62. As you drive out of TwentyNine Palms there's a sign--- No Services for 100 Miles--- and it's completely correct. But we loved the drive. This was very desolate-feeling area. There are no houses, no ranches, nothing but sparse desert all around, mountain-shapes in the distance, dry lakebeds with white gypsum fringes here and there.
After a few hours we reached the Arizona border and the town of Parker. We were surprised to find a new Wal-mart and a new Safeway at the edge of town. Since Safeway had a Starbucks counter, we visited the Safeway for our re-supply shopping.
We then drove north to Lake Havasu City. We found the famous London Bridge but that area just seemed too touristy so we moved on. We found the Lake Havasu State Park and selected a campsite, then I went for a walk while Labashi read. I walked to a nearby desert-plants nature park and then walked up to the bluff overlooking the lake. The problem, though, with both London Bridge and the state park was the extremely loud boats. The launch ramp was near the bluff and some fool was having a problem with his thunder-boat. For the next three hours he revved his unmuffled engine trying to figure out why it had a miss. And when he wasn't revving, there were plenty of cigarette-boats roaring by to keep the ducks and my nerves on edge. The boat noise went on into the wee hours of the morning and all I can say about Lake Havasu City is I'm glad I'm out of there.
********** END OF POST *******************
posted by Bezabor&Labashi | 21:56
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