3/5/23
Reluctantly we left the strange BLM land boon-docks site. Strangely calming to be in the middle of nowhere and just sit staring at distant objects …very good for the head. I am beginning to feel the the darn homing pigeon in me. I know it’s 2 feet of snow on the ground today and I know it is March (my least favorite month in NE) but I do long for the stove fire and a soft bed (I don’t have to break down each day). I wish I was 3’” shorter or had the option to buy a fleet over an eagle. Less cushions for sideways sleeping.
Driving today was all it was (btw ..we stay off all interstates, just do state roads)… as one gets closer to Prescott AZ from the SW one goes over a pass that was over 6000 ft and snow was a foot. Our boon dock sites were either deep mud or snow. We came over the notch down to 5000 feet at White Spar National Forest (6” snow). We pulled in as options were dwindling and took a site for $5 geezer price. Safe harbor. Tomorrow we stay a night north off Sedona and do the map math. I’m, for some reason, singing in my head the Johnny Cash song “I’ve been everywhere man”.
Fondue, Maynard G Crebbs (Dobie Gillis), all that was chic in late 50’s into mid 60’c. Pipe smoking, beatnik savvy poetry a plus. I’ve been thinking about trends. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-qiC1jynmc (remember to snap your fingers in stead of clapping). I was only 6 years old when I realized people were into cool. Turtlenecks or worse “Dickies” (fake ones to put on under shirt). Paisley shirts….and that is only the guy side. Are all things American ‘trends’ ?
We passed literally and thankfully going the other way, hundreds of (to me) excessive recreational vehicles. Motor”HOMES” pulling a huge trailer of more stuff or an off-road hi-tech monster 4WD thing that can definitely tear up the road. Like a Baja race turbo charged dune-race car thing. Just observations from the road…. lots of, and all piloted by grey hair gents like me, VAN LIFE creations with Mercedes Benz on front and Star Link dishes in rear. Somehow I have missed a lot of trends (though I did get a Dickie). There seems to be 10 times more RV’s on the road than 3 years ago. In this I hope (like the fly fishing trend) it too will come to pass that there are a lot of rigs for sale to indicate the refocusing of the masses on yet a newer gotta do thing.
3/6/23
Oh no I am letting it be quite clear that I am intolerant. It can cut both ways, intolerance. It’s ok to be intolerant of injustice or hurting an animal but not so cool to be intolerant of other behaviors like alternate lifestyles or religion. So it is a word that can be good or can be bad depending. Intolerant of consumerism for recreation: that is, buying stuff you don’t need but as a form of relaxation/entertainment. I just passed through Sedona. It is like Province Town or any beautiful natural spot that became chic…trendy… expensive…a destination. Folks arrive with high expectations and then want entertainment. There are a thousand shops in Sedona… $20 for and ice cream and a milkshake. High-end schlock. People were to into shopping rather than noticing the intense beauty surrounding them … it was the reason for being there originally…it was not visible… like too many lights destroying the dark sky. Ya I'm kinda intolerant!
If I ..were King… of the forrrresst! Things would be different!
Enough of my curmudgeon opinions! We got the heck outta there and were flabbergasted at the beauty of the canyons…the ‘colors red’, vermilion, rose, rust, burnt amber, a whole rainbow of reds. The textures were also all rounded and reminded me of the colored sand castles in craft classes. And we had snow. They were still plowing the road (89A) out of the canyon with lots of trees down. Probably a foot on the ground and as we rose higher out of Sedona it got up to a couple feet deep. The pass is 7000 feet and then the descent to around 5000 where things level off.
3/7/23
Our goal is a dual one: squeeze out as many spots that are accessible to see as we wander NE from the SW. We are borrowing a map from a fellow wanderer who has millions of miles of experience in a FWC chronologizing his trips over the years, in his blog. An encyclopedia of travel information. https://bosquebill.blogspot.com/
We went from Sedona to Winslow AZ… and if that isn’t a visual comparison on wealth, fugettaboutit.
We went out of Winslow on route 87 north to route 15 east through Greasewood on Navajo land on our way to Canyon de Chelly (pronounced ‘shay’). People have lived in these canyons for 5,000 years. After the original inhabitants left the ancestral Puebloan People followed, they are often called the Anasazi. They built multistory villages, small compounds and kivas in the canyon alcoves. The floor of the canyon was farmed. 700 years ago most people moved away though a few stayed. The Hopi and other tribes spent summers here and finally after a long journey the Navajo arrived.This afternoon we had enough time to drive to the three entrances (overlooks) on the north side, tomorrow we will do the east side and then head north to four corners (AZ, NM, UT, CO ) where our hope is to see Monument Valley for the day and the next, heading east again, Valley of the Gods?
We have one eye in front and the other watching over our shoulder. The weather that has been streaming snow coast to coast last week has another event coming soon. This is to be avoided which would mean hunkering down somewhere until it passes or skirt south (more hours/days on the slab).
Your thoughts of Sedona are my exact ones of Stowe. "We got the heck out of there" was exactly what I said. Cone-lickers walking the sidewalks that may as well be back in the big city for all they notice. Good for your for enjoying the red rock and canyons while you are there!
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