A Mid-May Trip to Utah and Arizona

 Up and down, good and bad, that pretty well describes our latest trip! We left home headed for Utah with both trucks and campers. Utah, because we wanted to go ATVing, and both campers because we wanted to attend an EXPO of “Overlanders” (people who make adventure travel their life, if they can, or their hobby, if they can’t). The one truck and camper is for sale and we hoped there might be some interest there. Here is a brief synopsis of this crazy past week: 

Almost in Utah, we ATV’d this great little canyon, then on to a ride in Utah. The next morning we headed for Flagstaff, in the rain, and the overdrive went out of the Ford truck —rig we are trying to sell. Got to expo, crazy number of people and rigs, supposed to rain and afraid of getting stuck in the field campground with trailer, so camped in pullout up on the main road.

During the night weather worsens with wind, rain, and snow and Mike gets diarrhea. Next morning, I brave the elements on the ATV for five miles and attend Expo for a enjoyable couple of hours. Saturday, we leave, head for Utah and did great tour of Canyon de Chelly, then on to Moab to ride next morning.

The next morning Mike checked new oil filters on ATV’s, both leaking, can’t ride. Head home. Blow tire on trailer. Buy two new tires. Get home about five just in time for two inches more snow!


Instead of details of the above week, I will just add pictures and captions!

The old Bedrock General Store at the take-out of our Slick Rock
 to Bedrock run on the Delores River.
 The river is now dammed and the store closed.

The beginning of the little unnamed canyon
 in western CO near the Utah border. 

Just part of the old ghost town we found
 at the end of the little canyon. 

The walls are closing in.

And what beautiful walls they are!

The lovely double waterfall on the rim of the canyon.

The slick rock of Utah

Back on the quads

Fascinating old twisted juniper tree

Claret cup cactus.

Storm coming in fast.

Beautiful Arizona landscape in the spring.

Heavy rain approaching

The stables at the old Hubbell Trading Post.

And interesting four-horned goat head in the Hubbell museum.

The general store room of the Hubbell Trading Post.

Here we go -- driving of the creek of Canyon de Chelly

One of the many ancient settlements
tucked into the canyon walls.

Sheer canyon walls.

Our Navajo guide, Harold Smith, of Talking Rock Tours.
One must hire a guide to go INTO the canyon.
You CAN drive the rims of Canyon de Chelly.

Petroglyphs carved into the canyon walls.

A lovely clearing in the canyon., so peaceful one could stay a week.
  Many Navajo continue on up this creek where they live and farm in the bottom of the canyon.

My Honey on his 70th birthday.

Another large dwelling nestled in a crack in the cliff wall.

Massive rock formations.

A natural cave which was once walled in with sticks and reeds
to provide a protected home.

Springtime in the Ozarks of MO & ARK

Spring in the Ozarks

I simply had forgotten how lovely the Ozarks of Missiouri and northern Arkansas are in the spring. Before leaving, we waited until our recent 18” of snow in Salida had melted, figuring our weather would hit there, if we got ahead of it!

Son Ron happened to be in Branson that weekend, so we drove down there. Not only did we have a wonderful visit, but he called Mike (son) and he drove down the next day. We four took the two canoes to the Buffalo River in Arkansas for one of the most wonderful canoe trips we’ve had in years.

The Ozarks themselves, could not have been prettier. It is unusual for both redbud and dogwood trees to bloom at the same time, but this year they did. The oak and hickory forests of southern Missouri were just coming out with many different shades of green. The pastures were looked like tended golf courses, and were especially lovely with herds of cows grazing.

Recent rains had brought the Ozark streams up to a runnable level, and we dodged rains on our three other canoe trips that week. One of the trips was with son, Mike, grandsons Dylan and Steven, and even Judith joined us for a lovely day on the Current River in Missouri.

In addition, we had a good visit with Ron’s wife, Shelley, and Mike’s family. We saw grandsons, Justin and Wes, for a few minutes, but they were in the fields planting corn. The previous week had been cold and rainy. You know, “make hay while the sun shines”, is the truth, not just a saying! 

Eighteen inches is a lot of snow for late April.

Rocky Falls near Eminence, MO close to the famous Current River.

Mollie loves playing "retrieve the stick" in shallow water.

 Our son Mike took these pictures
 while trying to keep dry
 from the wind-blown waterfall.

The Buffalo River was the very first of the "National Scenic Riverways" in the U.S.

Hemmed-in-Hollow is about a mile hike
in from the Buffalo River in Ark. 
(Mike B. is at the bottom.)

An antique fire truck in Ponca, Ark!!!  

Oaks at our campsite.

Dogwood blossoms -- a lovely sight in the spring.

My three favorite guys.

San Miguel Allende and Guanajuanto, Mexico

Heading to San Miguel de Allende

Most of you have probably heard about the lovely small colonial city, San Miguel de Allende which is in central Mexico. It played a huge part, along with Delores Hildago and Guanajuanto, in the fight for independence of Mexico from Spain in the early part of the 19th century.  It is now a well known artists and expatriate community.  We have visited several times and this was our destination when we left Mexico City. 

Friends, Kim and Steve, have a small home out in the country west of San Miguel, that began its life as a stable!  They have made it into a charming artsy home, fitting for two artists. It is off the grid, getting power from solar panels and water from their own well.  We stayed parked on their property for several days, visiting them and San Miguel.

Here are some favorite photos of the Parroquia (parish church), Centro Jardin  and scenes around San Miguel.

The Parroquia with Centro Jardin at right.

Local fountain.

Lovely painted door.

Courtyard garden

Street "painting" made with colored kernels and seeds.

A parade with the girls in front in fancy dress and the four in back
 dressed as "camp followers" for soldiers during the Reveloution.

A very sweet young face. . . 

Twenty-Four Hours in Guanajuanto

We aren’t sure whose bright idea it was to drive Tracker around the Panoramica Road above the hills of Guanajuanto.  “I don’t think this is right!”  “We’re fine!”  Well, where do you think we are now?”  “Maybe here on this map.”  “NOW, which way do I turn?”  “Beats me!”  “Well, where are we?”  “I have NO IDEA!!”

We did find our way out of this “easy” one-hour drive, but only after seven (yes, seven) stops to ask directions and 2 ½ hours of frustrated driving.  Oh, and the “scenic” part of this trip?  Primarily of buildings built up along the way — no sweeping grand panoramas of the city!  Oh well.  Maybe not scenic, but an adventure, nonetheless. 

After that, things were great.  We took the Tracker back to the campground, threw some things in a couple of backpacks, called a cab to go the 10 miles in to Centro.

I was delighted with our hotel, the Hotel Posada Santa Fe, a very old and elegant hotel right on the Jardin de la Union’.  Our room (with balcony) opened overlooking the laurel trees, trimmed in straight sides, a la Mexicana, surrounded by sidewalk restaurants, hotels and tiendas.  Everything happens in this area!  Mariachies, street vendors, Mexicans and tourists from many countries stroll the streets.  That evening we had a lovely dinner at the hotel sidewalk restaurant, then joined the throng of strollers around the lovely streets and nearby pocket parks.  

We rode the Funicular (incline railway) to the top of the mountain both in the daylight and again at nighttime. The next day we walked a lot and visited Alhondiga de Granaditas museum, then the Diego Rivera home, once again.   This trip I didn’t go back to the mummy museum again — I found it incredibly fascinating but Mike hated it! We just missed getting to see the interior of the lovely Teatro Juarez.  Next time.  Walking around here is truly a feast for the eyes.

More photos; these of Guanajuanto.

Plaza de la Paz and the Basilica of Our Lady of Guanajuanto.

Colorful hillside houses.

One of the many interesting (old mine; now car) tunnels beneath the city.

Jardin de la Union.  Our hotel was at the top of the green area.

Templo de San Diego on the Jardin de la Union

Templo de San Francisco

Originally I thought this was a misspelling of "coffee."
 I later saw it advertised as the name of the cafe.

A sidewalk cafe on the bridge across a street.

More color!

Plazuela de Baratillo

Night view from the Funicular of the Basilica (foreground)
and the University of Guanajuato (white in background).

Our cook at the sidewalk restaurant in front of our hotel.

A fountain and benches in the Jardin de la Union

Little old man playing guitar (badly). 

The lovely Teatro Juarez at the corner of the Jardin

Several colorful street scenes.

Two nights in Zacatecas

As we made our way north through Mexico, next up was another colonial city — Zacatecas. It was an old mining town whose mines produced 20 percent of Spain’s silver in the 18th century.  We toured the mine with its old steps carved out of tree trunks and other relics of times past.  Many thousands of Indians were enslaved and died working mines here.

Parked at a hotel on the edge of the city, we took another cab downtown for a walk about at night.  Lovely.  The stunning cathedral is well lit and we lucked upon a concert by a school orchestra.  It was well attended and fun to watch both the orchestra and the crowd.

One little boy, about 3 years old, was “air playing” the trumpet and drums, and perhaps other instruments.  And what perfect timing with the beat!  He will, no doubt, be a musician when he gets a little older!!

Night photos of the cathedral.

Crowd photo of the concert.

"Air playing" the drums.

Pretty girls of whom Mike captured a photo.
 (He says he was actually trying to capture the colored lights!)

Depicting workers in the Eden Mine.

Primitive stairway.

 Our last stop of interest was a jaunt to the tiny dusty town of Mata Ortiz (south west of Casa Grande).  We had last been there five years ago where I purchased several lovely southwestern pots of great quality for the price.  This time I selected four for three friends as gifts, and had a great time doing choosing them from the many available.  

Next:  the border.  Oh dear.  A dust storm started about 3 miles south of the border town of Palomas, Mex/Columbus,NM and everything had to be dealt with in a horrific dusty wind.  Even the U.S. border patrol didn’t care to do an inspection in that mess.  This was on Tuesday, February 24, and we were back in the U.S.  Home again.  

That’s all for this trip.