Grand Canyon

April 11 - 13
Set up the camper at a nearly empty Mather Campground on the south rim of the Grand Canyon.  Nice pine forest and well spaced camp sites.  Funny thing.  Between 7pm and 10pm the campground filled up.  People arrive late and/or play late before setting up camp.
Cold, cold, cold.  Bundled in my sleeping bag. Covered by my pendleton wool blanket.  I only stuck my nose out to breath in the cold night air.
By 7am in the morning about 1/4 of the campsites were already vacant.  Mostly Early rising hikers.
I walked the rim trail and visited all the museums on the south rim that first day.  12 miles of flat walking.
Second night same as the first.  Then over to the South Kaibab Trail to explore going down into the canyon.  Forecast was for snow in the afternoon, so I limited my hike to 3 miles and 1000 feet each way.  Ended up hiking along with a young woman, Megan, who was about my speed.  We both have been traveling solo for several weeks.  We both tried to get 3 weeks of conversation in.  It was hard talking while going back up the hill at 7200 feet elevation.  Ended up at El Tovar lodge to warm up and have a beer.  Snow came down hard mid-afternoon.  Retreated to the Alaskan to stay warm and read Zane Grey books and Desert Solitare
Third night same again.  Encouraged by reports of other hikers and an upbeat weather forecast I got up at 5:30 am ate two eggs, a banana and a pilot bread cracker.  Walked over to the shuttle stop and caught a ride to the village.  By 6:30 am I was heading down the Bright Angel Trail.  By 9:00 am I was on the Tonto Bench at the Platform viewing site overlooking the Colorado River 1200 feet below.  I spent an hour there.  A bruiser of a grey squirel snuck up while I turned to change my socks.  He stole my bag of almonds even though I was wacking him with my sweaty sock.
The 6 mile, 3000 foot elevation gain return trip to the rim was slower than going down.  Very slow and steady like the tortoise.  Let's just say I made it.  I hobbled back to the shuttle, stopped for a beer & pulled pork sandwich, and hobbled into the campground.  I made dinner of rice and broccoli, then fell asleep by 8pm with the aid of two asprin.
Today finally got internet service in Kanab Utah.  My sixth state of the trip.  Happy Palm Sunday.

Following the snow line north

April 10.  As I completed the last two blogs, it started snowing.  Only two days ago it was 90 degrees.  I did say that I would be following the snow line north!  Forecast is for several days of night temperatures in the mid-20's.  Good thing I refilled the propane tank on the Alaskan.

Asiago and the rock eating tree

Asiago had another adventure while camping along Oak Creek near Sedona Arizona. As always the photos are not in any particular order.

He and Totoro were sitting by the creek and climbing the nearby boulders.  Asiago found a tree (perhaps an Ent?) that was eating one poor rock.  He climbed up the roots.  He pulled and pushed but to no avail.  He tried reasoning with the tree but the tree replied that he needed to eat his vitamins and minerals for he needed to stay strong.  Asiago gave up and played along the creek.
While napping amongst the tree roots, the tree decided it wanted more than just minerals.  It also wanted to pay back Asiago for meddling in someone else's affairs.  Pretty soon the tree had entangled its roots around Asiago.  Sleeping, he dreamt that a blanket was swaddling him like a baby.  As the roots began to squeeze, Asiago awoke and squeeked.  Totoro heard the cry and untangled Asiago from the roots.
Asiago went to the edge of the creek to throw rocks in the water (and stay away from that maleavolant tree.  Soon he found a barque to sail on.  Actually he confused a floating piece of bark for a three masted sailing ship.  He climbed on his barque and pushed off from shore.  Big mistake to  be

up the creek with no oars.  Quickly the rushing waters swept him away.  Next thing we new, his "boat" was floating upside down and Asiago was not to be found.  He can not swim.
After some anxious moments, that felt like hours, Asiago climbed up on to a rock in the middle of the creek.  Totoro sprung into action, first using his magic to fly to the rock and rescue his friend.  Second, he applied mouth to mouth resuscitation.
A shaken Asiago spent the rest of the day warming himself in the sun.

Oak Creek, Sedona, Fossil Creek and Flagstaff

April 5-10, 2019
I woke up at Asaayi Lake to crystal clear skies and stars in aboundance.  It was 28 degrees.  My wash towels and pots were frozen to the picnic table.  Coyotes were calling not too far away.
Oatmeal and coffee for breakfast inside the Alaskan with the heater running on high.  I packed up and hit the road by 7:30 am.  The detour to Asaayi Lake made for a long day driving to Manzanita Campground on Oak Creek near Sedona.
The scenery in between was classic wide open high desert with mesas and volcanic plugs in the distance.  In the Navajo lands many people use hitchhiking to travel short distances.  I cleared the passenger seat and picked up 3 people along the way.  Two Navajo and one Hopi.  All grew up in the area.  Two had left and then came back.  None of the rides were more than 10 miles.  Two were heading to work.  One was going to help his grandfather to chop wood.  We talked about grazing permits, city noise and family connections.
I stopped at a historic trading post along the way, confirming that Toadlena Trading Post was the best place to find a Two Grey Hills rug.
On arriving in Sedona, I made the mistake to try to go into town to pick up some not so necessary supplies.  Traffic and crowds were astounding.  No parking in town suitable for a full size pickup like Black Bart.  I tried to find a way out of the mess and ended up going a mile down the highway before I could turn around.  Then there was a half mile traffic jamb trying to get back through Sedona and to my campsite.
The rustic campground was great.  Very small (about 25 sites), full and units close together, but the creek and scenery made up for those.  I had about 3 hours of creek time before making a stirfry dinner with beef, broccoli, garlic and hot pepper flakes.  The neighbors came by to inquire about what smelled so good.  Then their eyes watered from the pepper (Thanks to Rose for the super hot pepper flakes you gave me for Christmas two years ago.  A large pinch packs a wallop.)
There were twin almost three year olds in the site next to mine.  They had given their grandfather reservations for camping for Christmas.  They expressed concern that the kids might bother me.  I brought out Asiago and Totoro to show my attitude towards young kids.  We hit it off.  Asiago and Totoro gave them hugs before bed and the kids helped with Asiago's "adventure with the rock eating tree".
I did venture into Sedona early the next day to hike around some of the Red Rock cliffs and wait until evening to call Nancy since cell service was zero in the camp.
The next day was all creek time and boulder hopping has I read books and enjoyed Oak Creek from the camp.  The weather was perfect.  In the low 70's.
Two days ago I broke camp early and headed to Fossil Creek Recreation Area.  There is a spring gushing out 30,000 gallons a minute from the base of the Mongollon Rim.  The water is a constant 70 degrees and high in lime from passing through the aquifer.  This creates a crystal clear water and limestone coatings on the rocks in the creek as the lime precipitates out.  Perfect swimming holes for a 90 degree day.  I read, napped, swam and hiked around for a lazy day along the creek. Only 4 other people came down to my swimming hole the whole time I was there (11 am to 4 pm).
I also found and confirmed that 15 miles of washboard road will spontaneously open the camper doors and lower the steps.  I didn't lose anything, but the camper was a bit dusty inside.  Bungee cords did the trick.
I camped nearby Fossil Creek at Clear Creek Campground.  It was warm and the bugs were out.
Yesterday I came to Flagstaff to get internet service to watch Ruby's lecture recital, do laundry, take a hot shower, go shopping, wash the truck and scope out were to watch today's UEFA Cup match between Barcelona and Manchester United.  Last night I visited three brew pubs to find one that would have today's match.  After the match I head to my campsite at Grand Canyon for four nights, then five nights in Utah's Kodachrome State Park near Bryce Canyon.

A diversion to Lake Asaayi

April 4 - 5:

I went to Magic Laundromat and started two loads.  It struck me as it has at four other places that I was the only non-navaho in the place.  It is funny that it took four businesses to realize that I was the odd man out.  And yet, not.  Everyone has been friendly and courteous as I am, so there it is.  Of course I am avoiding the national chains and in so finding things like green chili stew with posole in a hamburger joint or a hamburger with slabs of Hatch green chilis as the headline choice.

I took the advice of the owner of Toadlena Trading Post and headed to Window Rock, then north towards Crystal.  He thought that it is the most beautiful drive in America.  It is lovely with sandstone inclined on the east side of the road.  At the town of Navaho I headed east.  I had seen some interesting geography on the google earth views.  It was astounding. The road is called Bowl Canyon.  As you drive on this rough dirt road, like Middle Fork Snoqualie road in the old days, the red sandstone mesas open up to surround a lovely pasture land.  Green with the spring.  There were a few small ranch houses in the canyon.

I continued past to Asaayi lake.  A reservoir.  Along the way I came to the real road into this area (i.e. paved).  Then back to a good dirt road and a stream crossing.

The concrete blocks for the crossing had been badly broken up and I was reluctant to cross.  Afraid that there would be a soft spot in the middle.  So, I stopped to listen to the creek and drink a beer.  After about 15 minutes Kyle drove up in a small sedan.  Kyle is a Navajo from Gallup and was hoping to go fishing further up the road.  He definately could not cross with his low clearance.  We talked for about 20 minutes about where I was headed and where he recommended I go.  After much encouragement, he convinced me that if I put my right wheels over the blocks to the right then I would make it through with my high clearance.  I asked that he help me by calling for a tow truck from town if I got stuck.  I lined up the wheels with his recommended adjustments and went for it. No problems except for some slipping on the mud on the far side of the creek.   We waved and set off.  I regret not giving him a beer.

A quarter mile further was the entrance to the campground at Asaayi Lake.  There is an alternate route out that has no creek crossings.  As it is, I am the only one here unless you count a herd of 10 wild horses, two great blue herons, some ducks and some geese and a few other birds.  I walked around the reservoir.  It was about 3.5 miles around.  I checked out the downstream creek and stopped for some creek time.  At the end I forded the inlet in my bare feet to get back to the camper.

It is now 6:45.  The sun has broken thru the clouds.  There is a pleasant but cool breeze and there are small patches of snow in the shade on the north side of the hills across the creek.  I am going to have a simple freeze dried thai curry meal with my gin and tonic.  I want a simple repacking tomorrow because this wonderful diversion will make for a long drive to Sedona on Friday.

Correction plus rug photo

That last blog was April 1 - 4 (not March)

Here are photos of the rug I got

and the Toadlena Trading Post

Chaco Canyon and Two Grey Hills

March 1 to 4
After leaving Ojo Caliente fully soaked and bathed and relaxed, I headed on backroads to Chaco Canyon.  I made one last stop at Bode's in Abiquiu for gas, beer and brocolli.  Lovely half canyon half range lands for about 60 miles west.  Then another 60 miles northwest on a 4 lane highway.  The last 13 miles to Chaco were on clay dirt roads with 5 miles of moderate washboard.
All campsites are first come first serve because they are reconstructing the bathrooms (one at a time) and the drainfield.  About 10 campsites are reserved for construction.  If they encounter archeological items while working, a large crew of people will come out to continue the digging and cataloging the historical items.  Given the road, this was a tent, camper and sprinter style RV crowd.  Much like me. I gathered numerous tips for places to stay along the rest of my trip.
The next day I hiked about 7 miles through overlooks, ancient pueblos and ancient roads.  Very nice and not crowded.  To get to the mesa top there was a narrow steep defile to climb thru.  Luckily not steep enough to test my acrophobia.
I found a nice covered picnic table out in the park to spend time reading until the wind picked up and it got too chilly.  The next day I packed up and headed to Bisti de na zin and Two grey hills.  My plan was to take county roads (clay dirt) directly.  Then the rain started, whipping across the highway.  Without off road tires or 4 wheel drive I changed my  plans.  I stayed on the highway to Farmington and Ship Rock before heading south to Newcomb / Two Grey Hills.  I skipped Bisti.
I wanted to visit Two Grey Hills to see the place of origin of my favorite navajo rugs that my parents collected.  It was well worth it.  I spent 2 hours in the Toadlena Trading Post.  They had a retrospective of historical Storm Pattern rugs from 1920 to 1950.  Absolutely astounding beauty and quality.  Fine tight straight lines and intricate patterns.  Then I went to the rugs they had on sale.  I had already scoped out rugs at other trading posts and had a feel for the cost of quality.   I spent an hour and a half flipping out rugs, laying them on the floor, comparing them side by side and getting information on the weavers.  The Toadlena Trading Post owners could name the weaver just by looking at the rug.  They know them all personally.  One weaver came in while I was comparing her work to others.  Her's was too busy for me.  Finally I choose one to compensate for the ones I accidently gave to Goodwill after mom passed away.  It is about 3' by 4' and I have a postcard of the weaver holding the rug.  It was not cheap, but the one that I lusted after was 5' x 6', tapestry quality with very fine yarn and $9500.  Sigh.
Today is laundry day in Gallup, NM then follow the road from Window Rock to Crystal.  The people at Toadlena said it was the prettiest route in the country.

Ghost Ranch and Ojo Caliente

March has closed out with more Blue Highways, Georgia O'Keefe, canyon hikes, cold camping, chanted morning prayers, snow green chili fries and hot springs.
Four days ago (or was it five?), I traveled northwest from Santa Fe on small state highways.  I stocked up on vegies. ice and beer along the way.  I arrive in Abiquiu to sign up for a tour of O'Keefe's winter home in the pueblo.  She bought a ruin of a compound that had been built in the 1690's.  It took 3 years to rebuild it with several rooms, two courtyards and a large garden.  She lived there most of the year, only moving out to her even more rustic compound at Ghost Ranch for the summer.  She lived there from about 1949 until just before her death in 1986.  She collected rocks and people brought her rocks to decorate with.  Each collection carefully arranged (although her gardener would mess with her and move a rock or two every once in a while.  Usually a few days later she would see the out of place rock and move it back without a word to the gardener).  I got some ideas for my rock collections at home.
I gave up my 11:30 tour to a couple when there was only one slot left.  I used the time until my 1:15 tour to travel 13 miles up to Echo Rock. It sounded like a coyote was yipping in the echo chamber, but when I hiked in there was only a couple.  After a moment the woman burst out laughing. "Its good you arrived after I shape shifted into my human form."  We then tested numerous animal noises in the amphitheater.
After my tour of the house in Abiquiu, I had an early green chili cheeseburger dinner at Bode's.  Bode's is a grocery, merchantile, diner, pub and gas station just down the hill from the Abiquiu pueblo.  The store has been in operation for over 100 years.  They are famous for their green chili cheeseburgers and rightfully so.  The local NM beers are good too.  I had an Elevated IPA with my burger.
I camped then for three nights at Ghost Ranch.  Now a Presbitarian Retreat center with camping, rustic cabins and not so rustic rooms spread across the facility.  The scenery is fantastic and one can see why Georgia O'Keefe was enchanted by the place.  Many dozens of her paintings including the Pedernal mountain series were painted there.  She would hike around with a sketch pad capturing the forms and colors of even the smallest of hillocks and trees.  She would sometimes take years to finish the paintings in the studio, but one thing she would do is take samples of the rocks back to the studio to capture the original colors to match in the studio.  She had hundreds of pages of colors and recipes for the colors in her notebooks.
On my second evening, I sat on the porch of the lodge and watched the setting sun and clouds change the colors on the cliffs.  I felt like an amature Ansel Adams waiting for just the right textures when by time I turned on the camera, the light changed and the shot was gone.  I still took a couple of dozen photos.
The next morning the water jug on the picnic table was frozen solid.  As the sun came up it warmed up enough for a couple of  4 mile hikes on the ranch.  That evening it was too cold to sit on the porch again, so I finished the book The Emerald Mile (about the 1983 fastest oar powered wooden dory run through Grand Canyon when the Glen Canyon dam was desparately spilling all the water it could to keep from overtopping.  31 + hours for over 200 miles through the canyon.
Yesterday I packed up and drove 13 miles down a dirt road (not any worse than going to trailheads in the Teanaway).  I followed the Chama River to Christ in the Desert Monestary.  I participated in Sext (prayers before noon) that the 40 or so monks chanted.  Snow started to fall while I was there.  I do not have off road tires, nor 4 wheel drive and so I headed out before the clay roadbed got slick.
After a late lunch at Bode's (green chili cheese burger again.), took the back roads north and east to Ojo Caliente Hot Springs.  There was 3 inches of snow on the ground as I came over the hills into Ojo.  As evening fell, I sat in 102 degree water, watching the snow fall and the steam rise.  There are about 9 or 10 different hot pools from comfortable 100 degrees to hot 108 degrees.  There are several different springs that feet the different pools - lithia, iron, soda, arsenic, and others if forget.  Many couples were there enjoying the relative privacy afforded by the darkness and steam rising off the pools to be discretely intimate.  Very nice, quiet, peaceful relaxation.
I am shortly heading to Chaco Canyon.  A three hour drive west into Navajo lands.  Hopefully the dirt road in is passable.  It promises to be cold again.  I will be out of cell phone range for the next several days.  The photos again are double downloaded. oops