tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18931255454663380162024-02-22T02:46:10.022-05:00A Map and a MustangHow a car and a girl set out to see the wild side of America in a somewhat unconventional fashion.Kelly Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04271547498127096571noreply@blogger.comBlogger158125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893125545466338016.post-52158606522528782102024-01-21T03:01:00.007-05:002024-01-21T03:01:38.838-05:00A Slideshow of Scenery<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal">8-7</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">----------<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I zipped open my tent flaps this morning to be greeted by a
fantastic day, clear and warm and blue, the sun’s rays lancing through the ponderosas
to warm the needle-strewn ground. A perfect day for lazing about. So I did,
burying myself in a book while water for tea and oatmeal heated on the grill. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Perhaps I buried myself a little too long, considering that
I had a six-and-a-half-hour drive ahead of me. But that’s nothing to us, these
days. Jane and I, we’re born to run.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Nevertheless, I eventually did load all my gear back into
Jane so we could get a move on to the next destination: Chiricahua National Monument!
Another Arizonan park, but one in the very far southeastern corner – and one
that I’ve missed up until now, since I usually head west via the northern
Albuquerque route rather than the El Paso route.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Jane rumbled to life and I promptly remembered that I had
almost no gas. No worries, I was headed back south through Flagstaff so I’d
just get some gas there. And so, we set out into the sunshine.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8nFCJbHGaOMKDYX5LC6YYYSUjplG_r04Gmq30yKczM0V0bCRk0u0wNRsBlgz7rHKKkGdPbuuOgw5N4iv8FYEJ1X21ypWraJHAoZxTJO6oD_emEtkVF9kmxCY_qyBPvpqmR7weXaIeU9q_RKLj2C6y5jYhD2NYo5t0DmbQ9kdSlCRje_ELONBbvGhcDyI/s5216/Edit-IMG_1740.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3477" data-original-width="5216" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8nFCJbHGaOMKDYX5LC6YYYSUjplG_r04Gmq30yKczM0V0bCRk0u0wNRsBlgz7rHKKkGdPbuuOgw5N4iv8FYEJ1X21ypWraJHAoZxTJO6oD_emEtkVF9kmxCY_qyBPvpqmR7weXaIeU9q_RKLj2C6y5jYhD2NYo5t0DmbQ9kdSlCRje_ELONBbvGhcDyI/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1740.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<br />
<p class="MsoNormal">A few miles up the road, I passed a gas station, but it was
on the left, so I continued on.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Another mile or so up the road, I passed another gas
station, again on the left, so I continued on.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Well, about a block after that, Jane’s motor very abruptly
stuttered, fizzled, and cut out, leaving me to frantically hew over towards the
shoulder. It roared back to life abruptly, stuttered some more, and then finally
hit its stride and burbled on like normal (with, of course, that same tick that
it’s had for half of the trip, now louder than ever).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I saw another gas station ahead on the left. I turned into
it as fast as I could, this time. No more left-turn snobbery from this gal.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I put a solid 14 gallons of gas into the car – the tank only
having a capacity of 16 gallons – and then pulled over to the side to pop the
hood and give her a good once-over. Could this sudden failure be gas-related?
Maybe. Or maybe it’s a failing ignition coil, or something’s loosened up, or
the tick is not as innocuous as I had supposed, or the entire engine is about
to explode. I tend to spiral like this, with these kinds of symptoms.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A few minutes later I had the valve covers off, checking for
anything suspect. No dice. The valve covers went back on, and I went through
the ignition system. No dice again. In fact, all seemed well under the hood. Ultimately
I tightened the hell out of the headers (which were quite loose, as I had
forgotten to re-tighten them after the gasket replacement two days ago), closed
the hood, and gave Jane a good heart-to-heart.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I had planned on taking a rural route through the Arizonan
mountains to Chiricahua, which would keep me out of the searing summer heat
wave that was slated to roll over the state later in the day. But suddenly,
that rural route didn’t seem like such a good idea. With no idea what’s wrong
with the car – if there’s anything wrong with the car – it’s always best to
stick to routes where towns with parts stores can be found. So, begrudgingly, I
changed my route to a much more awful one: the Phoenix route.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Phoenix route is awful for quite a few reasons,
actually, but there were two I was really concerned about: 1, the forecasted
high temperature of 118*F for the afternoon, and 2, the massive amount of
traffic one usually encounters in town. I’ve sat in Phoenix traffic before when
it was 110*F out, and I really had no intention of doing so again. But
sometimes, you gotta do what you gotta do. It would be a good stress test for
Jane, at least, and I have people in Phoenix to rely on if things went south.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So off we went, descending from Flagstaff’s friendly climate
into the pit of hell. Every time I think of Phoenix in summer, I am reminded of
a quote from King of the Hill: “Oh my god! It’s like standing on the sun! This
city should not exist. It is a monument to man’s arrogance.” I really couldn’t
agree more.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7PldRcIJwj10GlHfjFNhR0QYT6_Qm2D9Lhgibqp3VDVYkcMdaw7uDF6BVrsLa-AzbDFDak4rD2Zhjmmj_IoVTh4dOxPslYAEn9RTGvZ0iX2hWBQUI7HTk4cMfOOpBh1cxGAg7KrT7I7aQCZVxAayEIOR7ZXudnMTrx9JjR5roMRjhNiOzCEX_ATyii1o/s5472/Edit-IMG_1744.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7PldRcIJwj10GlHfjFNhR0QYT6_Qm2D9Lhgibqp3VDVYkcMdaw7uDF6BVrsLa-AzbDFDak4rD2Zhjmmj_IoVTh4dOxPslYAEn9RTGvZ0iX2hWBQUI7HTk4cMfOOpBh1cxGAg7KrT7I7aQCZVxAayEIOR7ZXudnMTrx9JjR5roMRjhNiOzCEX_ATyii1o/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1744.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Descent</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-cvN-o9ArbExoZafWTyC1zRaIAedaFG2kmGbK_hyphenhyphenCPJDTU0QM_tRUXX0ID0GI6rLk-t-wxbPVCULHUKcoJDHp55XCUqrgF3OxrCe6eQy45vypZJ_Qb9SEAsUyD1vKB5UhSkms46rxO0jHAqLYzEF9U5844MdDeeqY5uEKj5XHh0cj68jqOl9U6HHNAZk/s5472/Edit-IMG_1745.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-cvN-o9ArbExoZafWTyC1zRaIAedaFG2kmGbK_hyphenhyphenCPJDTU0QM_tRUXX0ID0GI6rLk-t-wxbPVCULHUKcoJDHp55XCUqrgF3OxrCe6eQy45vypZJ_Qb9SEAsUyD1vKB5UhSkms46rxO0jHAqLYzEF9U5844MdDeeqY5uEKj5XHh0cj68jqOl9U6HHNAZk/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1745.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">But on the way, a nice hill of saguaros</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The day was sweltering, the city’s smog doing nothing to
diminish the effects of the sun. Instead, it turned into a kind of one-two
punch, the sun’s rays boring down to the earth with remarkable intensity and
the smog holding in every last bit of heat, smothering the city in an ovenlike
embrace. I could do without those two punches, thank you very much.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">My arms prickled with sweat as I drew all appendages back
inside the vehicle, the breeze through the window no longer being the cooling
friendly type. My sweat soon vanished despite my best attempts to hydrate, wicked
away by the very air itself. A square of sunlight draped across one leg and
commenced roasting it until I shuffled my bandana around to cover the patch,
and I counted my blessings that I was mostly sitting in Jane’s shade. It felt
much like I’d imagine the inside of a convection oven to be.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Ahh, summer in Phoenix.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Fortunately, the dreaded traffic I had been anticipating
never materialized, and I skated through town with only a moderate amount of
roasting and a survivable case of dehydration. Count me lucky. Even luckier,
Jane was once again back to running in her prime, the morning’s drama
forgotten. Probably, it had just been the result of running bad gas too low in
the tank – usually I try to fill up every half tank, as gas stations in rural
places can have a pretty substantial water cut that makes for poor running. But
it's always better to be safe than sorry when it comes to Jane and her opinions.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">With Jane happy once more, I opted to turn off at Highway 60
to head east through a more scenic route. I had some considering to do, and
considering is always best done on a nice road instead of a crappy crowded
interstate.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaBzO-kv9Sdhzbk6MLTvKbalYVEF9YHMIkrQBvGaxgl8yRY8k8OkM8VRb6ff2ed_dKuO_DnY3BEiOjTaYe5Q-qWJFOY5pFKhyrSjopnN9g_bM-s3MA-QO0dPYAftWjL-7xiYjHMv_qB215oAotergU2ACw-WfaShpMG-jW-wj1X7QGADYECvpPrp8Abas/s5472/Edit-IMG_1751.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaBzO-kv9Sdhzbk6MLTvKbalYVEF9YHMIkrQBvGaxgl8yRY8k8OkM8VRb6ff2ed_dKuO_DnY3BEiOjTaYe5Q-qWJFOY5pFKhyrSjopnN9g_bM-s3MA-QO0dPYAftWjL-7xiYjHMv_qB215oAotergU2ACw-WfaShpMG-jW-wj1X7QGADYECvpPrp8Abas/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1751.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>My plan for the next two days had been to camp out at
Chiricahua, hike around, see some sights, and then move on back towards Austin.
But having just gotten a taste of that heat wave – and being very tired from
the compounded effects of this trip’s demanding driving on top of a couple
weeks of travel prior to that – I was not feeling too excited about going
there. In fact, I was feeling much more excited about adding the park into my
NEXT road trip, which I’ve already decided will be an extended loop around
Arizona in the fall of 2024. Better weather, good stopping point on the way
over, I came up with a lot of reasons to skip it in favor of going next year.<p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Well, that idea took root in my head and refused to leave,
so even with the improved scenery, I decided that I would cut Chiricahua from
this year’s trip. So instead, I settled back for a long drive towards New
Mexico. Jane hummed along unconcernedly, apparently content with my decision as
long as we had somewhere to go.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We wound our way towards the Superstition Mountains – a
range I plan on visiting next year – glorying in the smooth blacktop, the
saguaros, the rocky cliffs, and the reappearance of clouds, even if the
temperatures did still leave something to be desired.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIvoSodFLk2eOsfttVjPK6It-ghCg0sJdwAnnegDgPkpsDNGx4DYsratu6XHxegyOmqMA-cUVL99BOiBPs-Fh8rP9yfrq3Vus3v53qT0g5nHXzj03HzoQ0hUr1xbS3apt5ykw_ysh__TRqGb0TiLCK80OP3Vmih1Wwj6Z3uvhBGe8bVSN3qUHdiXyPgmk/s5472/Edit-IMG_1755.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIvoSodFLk2eOsfttVjPK6It-ghCg0sJdwAnnegDgPkpsDNGx4DYsratu6XHxegyOmqMA-cUVL99BOiBPs-Fh8rP9yfrq3Vus3v53qT0g5nHXzj03HzoQ0hUr1xbS3apt5ykw_ysh__TRqGb0TiLCK80OP3Vmih1Wwj6Z3uvhBGe8bVSN3qUHdiXyPgmk/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1755.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4q8u8XuDQikVGY1LhHgaxm4H6Tu2Bz5waJV2WKvAewSBX5MFuCmrYhDcIf56Wkcdklf80vDvPJQHldumqb90r9ZBeKqbIfZM20gVX2kbBDPDCMaHYIzBjj5j6QfhTbZ3rFjBr4z_zH_DA31t_qZ089EJebVsFwnhHGXW2RD11ghq24w9r4BPiHSITZKE/s5472/Edit-IMG_1757.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4q8u8XuDQikVGY1LhHgaxm4H6Tu2Bz5waJV2WKvAewSBX5MFuCmrYhDcIf56Wkcdklf80vDvPJQHldumqb90r9ZBeKqbIfZM20gVX2kbBDPDCMaHYIzBjj5j6QfhTbZ3rFjBr4z_zH_DA31t_qZ089EJebVsFwnhHGXW2RD11ghq24w9r4BPiHSITZKE/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1757.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The road narrowed, twisting between rocky spires that looked
much like fingers stretching to the sky, then plowing onwards through boulder
fields and eventually into a canyon. A massive tailings pile rose into view,
stacked so high that it towered above the canyon, a vast manmade mountain
dedicated to the pursuit of copper.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsDy8ST12GCMjatbgu0V5m3r_1TGJ7ZFO6g9WEI_qExbhPgxqkoujPRFcLwPhYNSWmVuPmCyYIxZpekVfc4LnU_MY_RvwwG9I2QsRCZbb37HiREjM9J_mEhWTeOfgk9V4KN2G3rI_2t9ONDRSBuWjq0ENXEyWe-_9Y1j7qJ3whwbc6NIqi6MWdX48lSDo/s5472/Edit-IMG_1764.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsDy8ST12GCMjatbgu0V5m3r_1TGJ7ZFO6g9WEI_qExbhPgxqkoujPRFcLwPhYNSWmVuPmCyYIxZpekVfc4LnU_MY_RvwwG9I2QsRCZbb37HiREjM9J_mEhWTeOfgk9V4KN2G3rI_2t9ONDRSBuWjq0ENXEyWe-_9Y1j7qJ3whwbc6NIqi6MWdX48lSDo/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1764.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7WXGEb-wjF-SKSarGGMBDWD6LT-_oYL-zHmI9Zk6r0_SyTgU4WiBOZbNl_aCtJ6w5xq0PBG05NFYdZozcJnE2q79io7u7YGM0ezDAcYvjcLNlcwMU02EQIveadhontHGm0jjfyo-ZWf9vpOAIFPR4dC8Yd79PlLQnMMpYtNhZtCWuutfhN97cdQ9oDhE/s5472/Edit-IMG_1766.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7WXGEb-wjF-SKSarGGMBDWD6LT-_oYL-zHmI9Zk6r0_SyTgU4WiBOZbNl_aCtJ6w5xq0PBG05NFYdZozcJnE2q79io7u7YGM0ezDAcYvjcLNlcwMU02EQIveadhontHGm0jjfyo-ZWf9vpOAIFPR4dC8Yd79PlLQnMMpYtNhZtCWuutfhN97cdQ9oDhE/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1766.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgye3XSDyI2g-a9IO1H1MKIMxHXkLSXncgpWddAYBc6VKRzUy8bhRDjlnzwrRjPW5tcv4qFU4A18wSdRSWW0h-x99yZeIAe6ducu_h0HdVU_mXwCbeT2noAW6ZQNqo7LHYXyuOHiXEqSiGUVGEuuy41soIPAkRpiUDsAb_nCM4DgpWpNWfBUHFa0eLl53k/s5472/Edit-IMG_1769.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgye3XSDyI2g-a9IO1H1MKIMxHXkLSXncgpWddAYBc6VKRzUy8bhRDjlnzwrRjPW5tcv4qFU4A18wSdRSWW0h-x99yZeIAe6ducu_h0HdVU_mXwCbeT2noAW6ZQNqo7LHYXyuOHiXEqSiGUVGEuuy41soIPAkRpiUDsAb_nCM4DgpWpNWfBUHFa0eLl53k/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1769.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tailings pile in the background</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitethm_Lotwe5vl9iv-cg_hOCbFdgZGhqNURvpJI0ODdCaWOEBF-EaRgPit0z_TCjjw5-Dxn6MtP2mDHsRx_GUZyrCQyN1pFd39XDfpcrgU__tVl-sXqDDQLHXvhD_V9i1zkOxD-VDx5VDaiVcDSrydGVT2azhyphenhyphenXc9XBX1IW4yQvB6r-ieNeluzp_eQ38/s5472/Edit-IMG_1771.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitethm_Lotwe5vl9iv-cg_hOCbFdgZGhqNURvpJI0ODdCaWOEBF-EaRgPit0z_TCjjw5-Dxn6MtP2mDHsRx_GUZyrCQyN1pFd39XDfpcrgU__tVl-sXqDDQLHXvhD_V9i1zkOxD-VDx5VDaiVcDSrydGVT2azhyphenhyphenXc9XBX1IW4yQvB6r-ieNeluzp_eQ38/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1771.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tailings "mountain" up close</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We passed the ugly – but admittedly awe-inspiring – thing and wound our
way out of the canyon and into a more peaceful, pastoral scene. Pastureland
stretched out into low foothills, which rose into humble mountains crowned by
clouds that echoed their shape. We passed farm after farm, each with their own agrarian
specialty.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWC1slKjS5mXvBwZ8eAk2l7B7qDAJQvePUQ-QXkqq2_ovuLbkR5TDnnvBqMV6MOd60ykCvqXAHDC2Vm731Rn5SkuigMZd3jFR94ymQJlETs_cd2NE_rCKI6ZEeRbmkppNzRpvkuHlrpkd_HqEV8v7VAvFBzX_ivnGtCVkU4djIf5PfUfBB23Uy1VRWzG0/s5374/Edit-IMG_1778.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3583" data-original-width="5374" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWC1slKjS5mXvBwZ8eAk2l7B7qDAJQvePUQ-QXkqq2_ovuLbkR5TDnnvBqMV6MOd60ykCvqXAHDC2Vm731Rn5SkuigMZd3jFR94ymQJlETs_cd2NE_rCKI6ZEeRbmkppNzRpvkuHlrpkd_HqEV8v7VAvFBzX_ivnGtCVkU4djIf5PfUfBB23Uy1VRWzG0/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1778.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglme-wLVx0QeBz-7t98wBoEF8OvYNms-Nat0NFHAIwIiXs9tgAUI6MneQCHfeVuFmbpMsr7R-qFz4TAvv1_iLL2E7Bo5_0B8-4D-xmmqBPfdI236fxvR9YteWUtc82KdSFBGW-9KF-wfA52wyfwdzn6N5ZZzaYu9z5BGFWPIeK0-CH5OwQDYxreCQ7oxA/s5472/Edit-IMG_1782.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglme-wLVx0QeBz-7t98wBoEF8OvYNms-Nat0NFHAIwIiXs9tgAUI6MneQCHfeVuFmbpMsr7R-qFz4TAvv1_iLL2E7Bo5_0B8-4D-xmmqBPfdI236fxvR9YteWUtc82KdSFBGW-9KF-wfA52wyfwdzn6N5ZZzaYu9z5BGFWPIeK0-CH5OwQDYxreCQ7oxA/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1782.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Stormclouds gathered in the distance, a large diffuse block spanning
the entire sky. I was glad for the relief from the sun, but not enthused about
driving through the usual awful summer afternoon monsoons. The wind whipped up,
throwing dust into the air and veiling the landscape in a hazy brown cloud.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixiyjoxyuFzDMapXtEAb5gjJPwjH5m7NbxLlZVgSwbbMGidIAzmdokXIu7mlvxlYqFdZUA9c5D45NpH0vsYeF8qTo1wWTt4Q_yqrfQI5jLVrnHL6q2gBC-YSmMVNSr21QGp2m8khN0uXxyaywmTGiNUFYGgoNbQG1LFN9VHfBCZYE1qLeCZO8yklo9Zck/s5472/Edit-IMG_1784.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixiyjoxyuFzDMapXtEAb5gjJPwjH5m7NbxLlZVgSwbbMGidIAzmdokXIu7mlvxlYqFdZUA9c5D45NpH0vsYeF8qTo1wWTt4Q_yqrfQI5jLVrnHL6q2gBC-YSmMVNSr21QGp2m8khN0uXxyaywmTGiNUFYGgoNbQG1LFN9VHfBCZYE1qLeCZO8yklo9Zck/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1784.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Difficult to tell where the dust ends and cloud begins</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtRKuzVUaN2UmYGs7tFtUZzRgACcXY3FSgrLotkWjelu1c6NNEfNTqu9MRoF6xgKOC6916yS4-bEdVJ8pUnRptS1i7K5lgOT0GMyltGg9F8MRPWOLLIhKmrwGJTPGDF6Xtn4W1-p9pfZCnAbtUWHkL5vlvgEO_wZMWjKIxYrgnHAoUamh11CRHRzAReKI/s5472/Edit-IMG_1785.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtRKuzVUaN2UmYGs7tFtUZzRgACcXY3FSgrLotkWjelu1c6NNEfNTqu9MRoF6xgKOC6916yS4-bEdVJ8pUnRptS1i7K5lgOT0GMyltGg9F8MRPWOLLIhKmrwGJTPGDF6Xtn4W1-p9pfZCnAbtUWHkL5vlvgEO_wZMWjKIxYrgnHAoUamh11CRHRzAReKI/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1785.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The first droplets of rain skittered across Jane’s hood, and
we braced for the usual downpour. But then… it just never came. A dusting of
droplets, not even enough to raise the asphalt’s tarry scent to the surface. We
lucked out this time, considering the look of the storm.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht6UXXQkSOc52j-MnFlqU0czB4nqKxQ9Ll-6DDUMWytoF_2Uda2vs5bf1tcrfm57xuj1tGK_28D3T1ZkM1RVEOCv2KO69T3l9sfGjet5N3KQgsdKQOINQ8aGbRlf0KPJvPy8bFsIWKWBUDECJcf9WtnCAFiMpLzHwYqpJm6gpUWI9HS4WKZkveKTQQAvk/s5472/Edit-IMG_1786.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht6UXXQkSOc52j-MnFlqU0czB4nqKxQ9Ll-6DDUMWytoF_2Uda2vs5bf1tcrfm57xuj1tGK_28D3T1ZkM1RVEOCv2KO69T3l9sfGjet5N3KQgsdKQOINQ8aGbRlf0KPJvPy8bFsIWKWBUDECJcf9WtnCAFiMpLzHwYqpJm6gpUWI9HS4WKZkveKTQQAvk/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1786.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>The afternoon stretched on and we cruised through the unendingly
beautiful landscape of first southeastern Arizona, and then southwestern New
Mexico. It was a good day to run.<p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_r_GxF3hYCMvpT74SSmat2gC0k6FJ9p-LljRqsKgzUrkJHbAIq7FdQECz5KjWi5kJx-wamrppPFs1LwtHsKqYziuTwXnLIwcOCcmE9NIBGCSHQoSKCVspbLBz0KVyiKLlofWDxiqWWHOHDfIIyV2CKjeliPYhFRO-j5VNdWGynU9dctMTiYkqvUVzi_M/s5472/Edit-IMG_1791.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_r_GxF3hYCMvpT74SSmat2gC0k6FJ9p-LljRqsKgzUrkJHbAIq7FdQECz5KjWi5kJx-wamrppPFs1LwtHsKqYziuTwXnLIwcOCcmE9NIBGCSHQoSKCVspbLBz0KVyiKLlofWDxiqWWHOHDfIIyV2CKjeliPYhFRO-j5VNdWGynU9dctMTiYkqvUVzi_M/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1791.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7AcEsWtDfI41ezYnJZIMNJorAxFj5Xn5EWjx5swusSqOzXOYZHUiQTiDldlF71A6-A9VrWqFP0c7uLQdEJpVq4X5ugyh_nX3qqGBjoRhYxvmMCcCtzx9U_57jy_I8YjpiTJV3fQWYqIwDjnrDU-Blj114gPglyy1M6SRBpTr-ndE8iHSlkEgxj9_UAkg/s5472/Edit-IMG_1797.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7AcEsWtDfI41ezYnJZIMNJorAxFj5Xn5EWjx5swusSqOzXOYZHUiQTiDldlF71A6-A9VrWqFP0c7uLQdEJpVq4X5ugyh_nX3qqGBjoRhYxvmMCcCtzx9U_57jy_I8YjpiTJV3fQWYqIwDjnrDU-Blj114gPglyy1M6SRBpTr-ndE8iHSlkEgxj9_UAkg/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1797.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvHJi7eFpY7gK7_1_LbH2kYUaYAfWSk_UKMNlpCdh8bUcr9exs2NTs5DUiUdIHEKrNj0ehZhv39-sj_ICEoHrbH30b8AtensmGs7CDyFd_4nWqBb1-Cjl3FwoYH3sIxdaydExXkXi3HQtIkGaOMBuhsOUadr2Zp5VrpJFrUE8vj9mioGmEPR9hD_Kqxa4/s5268/Edit-IMG_1798.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3512" data-original-width="5268" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvHJi7eFpY7gK7_1_LbH2kYUaYAfWSk_UKMNlpCdh8bUcr9exs2NTs5DUiUdIHEKrNj0ehZhv39-sj_ICEoHrbH30b8AtensmGs7CDyFd_4nWqBb1-Cjl3FwoYH3sIxdaydExXkXi3HQtIkGaOMBuhsOUadr2Zp5VrpJFrUE8vj9mioGmEPR9hD_Kqxa4/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1798.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Eventually, we pulled into the dusty small town of Deming,
New Mexico, notable only for being the only stopping point between Lordsburg
and Las Cruces, each town more than 50 miles away. But hey, it had cheap
hotels, and that seemed good enough to me. After checking Jane over to make
sure that she really was still running flawlessly after the morning’s incident
(she was), I wandered over to the local restaurant for some enchiladas. And on
the way back I saw something that put Deming on the map for me: the biggest, brightest,
most spectacular rainbow I’ve ever seen, arcing across the sky in defiance of –
or perhaps because of – the dust that swirled over the town.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirQcwGwnl1RPZSHVWou9MXFqInZtf4-TLVDh0CJw3tmCv_zI2nagAKYvNzQTYVKHJbOHAPLaOx-Zape6hl3jxodPWwcLpm4llQclG6QIzobdEGq70zv6CvPtCkhXd48CZ8eFigE_2Onk1Y0ot2Ac7d1dbh5IhvUciQu32VNVA4RbzFHEehIorQifG6lkg/s2048/Edit-IMG_8107.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirQcwGwnl1RPZSHVWou9MXFqInZtf4-TLVDh0CJw3tmCv_zI2nagAKYvNzQTYVKHJbOHAPLaOx-Zape6hl3jxodPWwcLpm4llQclG6QIzobdEGq70zv6CvPtCkhXd48CZ8eFigE_2Onk1Y0ot2Ac7d1dbh5IhvUciQu32VNVA4RbzFHEehIorQifG6lkg/w640-h480/Edit-IMG_8107.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisXNQkWIZHZwAGCbg-wJEqVV8DoXcaRrGDqtLsWZjuy1ptv04TFwypzzj1mE__KcLldLBju6ZY0XDU_u9eQ71ZbBFSgTzrAHVOFzWGl0HTIT8-kgiCyA97HU6CPZvg2QY6on_dmCej6wkjVCbmdVe6rDbzwnj4oyXAh2igWD3F44Q0GkLFANboyrh_rIU/s2048/Edit-IMG_8109.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisXNQkWIZHZwAGCbg-wJEqVV8DoXcaRrGDqtLsWZjuy1ptv04TFwypzzj1mE__KcLldLBju6ZY0XDU_u9eQ71ZbBFSgTzrAHVOFzWGl0HTIT8-kgiCyA97HU6CPZvg2QY6on_dmCej6wkjVCbmdVe6rDbzwnj4oyXAh2igWD3F44Q0GkLFANboyrh_rIU/w640-h480/Edit-IMG_8109.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6MruTMkHw-pOY09WlrOenJm948R7Yfnbtmxn1RZE_k5Z9bpdXqTNtPtUniT_BCO9jzhLW3EnxJ9P4f6hZRFwNhogieUKlyKkwDKWMISyDl-sve8tFBa6lTCWZ9CG7oS4eEC2i-6jNiNdV7M2piS0ZWrHDJFg0Yjb94aI8fwH3VJxOF9QBk2l4IDzJ33Y/s2048/Edit-IMG_8110.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6MruTMkHw-pOY09WlrOenJm948R7Yfnbtmxn1RZE_k5Z9bpdXqTNtPtUniT_BCO9jzhLW3EnxJ9P4f6hZRFwNhogieUKlyKkwDKWMISyDl-sve8tFBa6lTCWZ9CG7oS4eEC2i-6jNiNdV7M2piS0ZWrHDJFg0Yjb94aI8fwH3VJxOF9QBk2l4IDzJ33Y/w640-h480/Edit-IMG_8110.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I only wish that I had been outside of town to see that –
imagine the majesty of a rainbow like that sweeping across the plains and the
distant mountains. Well, I can see it in my mind, anyways.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It occurred to me that today, in my mad flight towards home,
I had the pleasure of experiencing almost every scene that the American
Southwest has to offer. From the forested remnants of volcanos, to saguaro-strewn
hills, to scrubby desertland, to bare desolate mountains, to canyons lined by
rocky spires, all bleeding together into a flickering slideshow of landscapes
scrolling over Jane’s hood. We saw the human side of it, too, the mines and the
pastures and the fields, the blisteringly hot urban city and the isolated towns
clinging to a sparse existence surrounded by miles and miles of wilderness. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s certainly been a unique day of scenery.
It has me very excited to visit for a longer, more leisurely trip next year!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Occupied with those thoughts, I bunked down for the night
and prepared for another long day of driving tomorrow. Boy, I sure wish I could
teleport sometimes. But I guess then I would miss moments like these, places
like these, and that would be very sad.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Kelly signing out.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />Kelly Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04271547498127096571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893125545466338016.post-24125843927357416772024-01-06T02:53:00.063-05:002024-01-06T03:09:23.225-05:00Those Who Came Before<p> 8-6 </p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal">----------<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I woke to the start of another hot day – it seems we’ve
arrived back at the standard August climate, for better or worse. After a
couple of eggs at a local Mom and Pop diner, Jane and I hit the road.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Instead of another long slog, I had planned for a short
drive followed by a leisurely afternoon in Flagstaff visiting the region’s
other two national monuments. It’s not fair to visit just the one (Walnut
Canyon) without the others, you know. Especially considering that the three are
interrelated in such an interesting way – through the stories and lives of the
ancient peoples who once called this place home.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We hopped on I-40 eagerly, my eyes glued to the horizon in
search of the distant mountain rising out of the plateau that would signal our
approach to Flagstaff. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxfWFCE04lMYEoYukAC0gXlk5UBmTz48aKqFW8eL4F3wf-LFNqvGdv4xsAc9ehsq7QUKkon_zVgPrHeKey026RFQO43p0NfwhpsFs27-tphpbD-O3YHla9wc4T6sjWz9skQsX14pJlQpDG_NNTx5dfWnr2iJQRn2CYi_WtIaa1R5L8yTUycNAsW_rkW20/s5472/Edit-IMG_1466.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxfWFCE04lMYEoYukAC0gXlk5UBmTz48aKqFW8eL4F3wf-LFNqvGdv4xsAc9ehsq7QUKkon_zVgPrHeKey026RFQO43p0NfwhpsFs27-tphpbD-O3YHla9wc4T6sjWz9skQsX14pJlQpDG_NNTx5dfWnr2iJQRn2CYi_WtIaa1R5L8yTUycNAsW_rkW20/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1466.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Instead, I saw endless meadows of chollas.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The three-hour drive seemed positively short in light of the
long driving days I’ve gotten used to pulling, and we arrived at the foot of
that wonderful mountain in what seemed like mere moments. A short climb later
and we were amongst the Ponderosa Pines, their intoxicating vanilla-pine scent
drifting through my open window on that eternal cool Flagstaff breeze. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGKHOsv4OQscGNQMDx2pAKW8t4JofgZSxWVYLr9uGc9xzkGReJHpW97gzBQ_6gsHvQhE5i7Jd9o4CzEbaWzKuRWokpUTWKnKjWGTbV8001jUn-l-7Qa2uNJUZD5aLBoShaqU0j_g8DWJMgT15q348wRgvOPzHt54SskwoRXI9eU9GBI6keqNTlPKONzQ0/s5398/Edit-IMG_1478.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3599" data-original-width="5398" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGKHOsv4OQscGNQMDx2pAKW8t4JofgZSxWVYLr9uGc9xzkGReJHpW97gzBQ_6gsHvQhE5i7Jd9o4CzEbaWzKuRWokpUTWKnKjWGTbV8001jUn-l-7Qa2uNJUZD5aLBoShaqU0j_g8DWJMgT15q348wRgvOPzHt54SskwoRXI9eU9GBI6keqNTlPKONzQ0/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1478.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><o:p><br /></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I turned north towards our destination, planning on grabbing
gas on the way out of town. But alas, the last gas station came sooner than
expected, and I missed it. Apparently.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I found myself viewing Sunset Crater far faster than
expected, before I even hit the entrance booth! I guess that’s to be expected
when you’re looking for a volcano, which is admittedly much taller than all of
the trees and other landmarks in the area.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT1YQPBjywrSqFyovjEBizewk4K53YImIrKR2NQopYhCYil0TbCx72OrdJgE11Grs8wlGFIQBpo0lxbOsjt99nOlD32PglqcguHzfbYEFS1cnH_ut3BiEesYT_Vn99B11TSxgrpWsauSIBMXh6saY0pdNxtwukV-c50okAeQD_ycGl0KPZ0AHlZRC5m0A/s5472/Edit-IMG_1480.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT1YQPBjywrSqFyovjEBizewk4K53YImIrKR2NQopYhCYil0TbCx72OrdJgE11Grs8wlGFIQBpo0lxbOsjt99nOlD32PglqcguHzfbYEFS1cnH_ut3BiEesYT_Vn99B11TSxgrpWsauSIBMXh6saY0pdNxtwukV-c50okAeQD_ycGl0KPZ0AHlZRC5m0A/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1480.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We approached the entrance booth, where I asked, with one eye
on the uncomfortably low gas gauge, how many miles one could expect to drive
while seeing the park. The attendant helpfully informed me that both of the
parks – Sunset Crater and Wupatki – could be seen in one big 50-mile loop. I
decided I’d risk it, because who doesn’t like to roll the dice unnecessarily now
and then.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">First stop in the loop was the visitor center, just past the
entrance booth and campground. There, a ranger oriented me on the available
trails in the park. None of the trails were especially long in the first place,
so I knew I’d have no problem seeing at least one whole park in an afternoon.
But the ranger also informed me that a fair number of trails were still closed
after being impacted by last year’s Tunnel Wildfire, which meant I’d be able to
see all of both parks in one afternoon! Yay, kind of.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg11pPdHWvbEj1_weWeVeOhPssgXf4d_RZIehzQwEUioGLUegFPwT1m67-XMVXrfHYox3IfIMqCXlTmCBQ59PIeqpW0D-AGwiNaQP2JgQiuQ72VOzi_YsQ7BgfTU4KimQ-jBVyenrSUxWap2e_uF9woqMzzKF-vhGzI-KExxHYEQ-vKyrwG-G8gxhG75q0/s5472/Edit-IMG_1481.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg11pPdHWvbEj1_weWeVeOhPssgXf4d_RZIehzQwEUioGLUegFPwT1m67-XMVXrfHYox3IfIMqCXlTmCBQ59PIeqpW0D-AGwiNaQP2JgQiuQ72VOzi_YsQ7BgfTU4KimQ-jBVyenrSUxWap2e_uF9woqMzzKF-vhGzI-KExxHYEQ-vKyrwG-G8gxhG75q0/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1481.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That is a damn good looking car.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvDzfX6tW8WEHoAcCZBDKK2FKc7uAZ3bsWkctPyDnOs5ORrAkskdMVAkVqtzHpa1OhU3cxgDQDm05QduRwQGkc_wVAJHmQYENa5PJpyQ0-H7XhzR5dQ2ZyUgtFwH6XRx7-wbhZc_o-kekiczKuRdYh_EoNxmqetIso3uYgqWTLlrXPEmlMOQQ2aLnc0yk/s2048/Edit-IMG_8007.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvDzfX6tW8WEHoAcCZBDKK2FKc7uAZ3bsWkctPyDnOs5ORrAkskdMVAkVqtzHpa1OhU3cxgDQDm05QduRwQGkc_wVAJHmQYENa5PJpyQ0-H7XhzR5dQ2ZyUgtFwH6XRx7-wbhZc_o-kekiczKuRdYh_EoNxmqetIso3uYgqWTLlrXPEmlMOQQ2aLnc0yk/w640-h480/Edit-IMG_8007.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This guy thought so too</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A quick turn around the VC gave me the basics of what makes
Sunset Crater so unique. It’s one of the youngest in the States, a cinder cone
that abruptly “grew” around 1085 AD. I say “grew” because these things often
start fairly small, but over time they pile cinders, ash, and volcanic blocks
around their margins as they erupt, effectively growing taller and taller until
they run out of steam (well, more accurately, available magma).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">That in itself makes Sunset Crater a notable point of
interest. But what cements it as a noteworthy cultural and natural landmark is
the fact that it erupted so recently that it impacted early human cultures
living in the area. Researchers have spent decades uncovering the story of this
volcano’s eruption and its impact on local peoples. Apparently, it gave enough warning
that people living in the area were able to evacuate, leaving their homesteads
to be buried in ash and lava flows while they watched from afar.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But far from abandoning the area as one might expect, they
returned after the volcano had ceased belching fire and rock. And then, they
learned to farm in the thick blanket of cinders that now coated their land. It
turns out that the cinders are actually good for a lot – in addition to
containing a lot of vital nutrients, they make a good porous groundcover to
help protect crops from drying out or baking in the sun. Counterintuitive, but
a very cool concept!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Jane and I scooted along to the Lava Flow trailhead so I
could see this not-so-deadly volcano for myself. At one point, this volcano was
probably a very tall, very impressive cone. But now, nearly a thousand years
later, it’s weathered down into a rather unimpressive but admittedly
unusual-looking black hill composed of fragments of odd holey rocks. Hmm.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR-6PEf2LfibMqcOTvRN5q9f9X9Z52x7lGfLXYyhPXAiKSO4FAyHMHmoFc6gbrBovGOgo_cIFJ6zpo3-7HnyKFb_hyAPYIlU8z5fB4nQS012GHVqjq53X1ThujVbilxJgNIJzvgh2cfWsjFCG9b3xqde4cxBYG_wx82ffIKwyueQOjj2_HNk7pckjghZI/s5472/Edit-IMG_1510.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR-6PEf2LfibMqcOTvRN5q9f9X9Z52x7lGfLXYyhPXAiKSO4FAyHMHmoFc6gbrBovGOgo_cIFJ6zpo3-7HnyKFb_hyAPYIlU8z5fB4nQS012GHVqjq53X1ThujVbilxJgNIJzvgh2cfWsjFCG9b3xqde4cxBYG_wx82ffIKwyueQOjj2_HNk7pckjghZI/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1510.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjsoVhYIZrzHor82pXGX-b2Xa8CzgHhYIdZ4RytyiByGUphSYW-F_TShTQi2wofpTr67JI7qHtrr5lg3qD7N8IKCxc2XaB3dnuFzc5IzyHHbcO_8ibRQSK_8wPO36g4kUE0aKCzm8qhk2u3IQkJhOLcoZJFUH1sYIblAY9yaWuv45f1ARAKIvHaepVls4/s5472/Edit-IMG_1489.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjsoVhYIZrzHor82pXGX-b2Xa8CzgHhYIdZ4RytyiByGUphSYW-F_TShTQi2wofpTr67JI7qHtrr5lg3qD7N8IKCxc2XaB3dnuFzc5IzyHHbcO_8ibRQSK_8wPO36g4kUE0aKCzm8qhk2u3IQkJhOLcoZJFUH1sYIblAY9yaWuv45f1ARAKIvHaepVls4/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1489.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Although, it does look better with Jane in front of it!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I packed up my stuff – feeling compelled to do so despite
knowing that the full trail loop is less than a mile in length – and set out to
see some more interesting rocks. Even though the volcano itself isn’t too
impressive, the rocks at its base certainly make up for it. The remnants of
lava flows emerge from the cinders, their twisted forms rising tortuously towards
the sky. Many are full of holes, evidence of the expulsion of trapped gasses as
they cooled over the land. Others appear as viscous sludge, forced through gaps
in rocky barriers and extruded into odd shapes.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw49TWk4_OQhOEWb2FUV_Z-lNjJ5NFTirsggAfP3y62As_ZbvmoupBNvhFIOc2qo2pYM-RPq-isziwtam9fNoXJAFPWJxWMFuNjTNmhnNLiIkQZNA-4Ivl0jjTSPsanqfIPFthBNXNLMdJT57ymwEEABB3xwxNQTyd6Df_dn4GUAOFIh5KCMc2olrrwqM/s5472/Edit-IMG_1500.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="5472" data-original-width="3648" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw49TWk4_OQhOEWb2FUV_Z-lNjJ5NFTirsggAfP3y62As_ZbvmoupBNvhFIOc2qo2pYM-RPq-isziwtam9fNoXJAFPWJxWMFuNjTNmhnNLiIkQZNA-4Ivl0jjTSPsanqfIPFthBNXNLMdJT57ymwEEABB3xwxNQTyd6Df_dn4GUAOFIh5KCMc2olrrwqM/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_1500.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An odd-looking rock formation, created when lava oozed upwards through a crack between cooled rocks.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ4L8Gf-IGKdFPcZiDjt2u-QWErIvcU0f2KM62aTzPQUUpGyehulwzICaaLfXYJSXml3JK34un9b5jKMyKPXNXdK58Vfq4sAIjGfEjOhoCQ0NL6gbmrpjbqahgBMcydxMbFdrZxLWptu1mnTFdqHZ6GV-bJ45_judUOBqbFJoD74U-b679zQ7ENtgbwjY/s5472/Edit-IMG_1512.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="5472" data-original-width="3648" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ4L8Gf-IGKdFPcZiDjt2u-QWErIvcU0f2KM62aTzPQUUpGyehulwzICaaLfXYJSXml3JK34un9b5jKMyKPXNXdK58Vfq4sAIjGfEjOhoCQ0NL6gbmrpjbqahgBMcydxMbFdrZxLWptu1mnTFdqHZ6GV-bJ45_judUOBqbFJoD74U-b679zQ7ENtgbwjY/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_1512.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An outcrop composed of ash and pyroclastic debris</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlJVkYyfkVaCLhTwJfki9qZ0ivIipsQM9dZVDxBqvPP6qpRBQY_n9OKKUS_tVsqTE_OxsII2KZOtgO_eBmMACoraG2RNmNcc1Vp97-gfYy1wCK3dhZkgY8z4RsiK1HID02eQaffqxbwmflJUy7LMCHqmRUe7hNHcKOck8goYvJZMaHTn7Hkd5ZQzC_Y2o/s5472/Edit-IMG_1550.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlJVkYyfkVaCLhTwJfki9qZ0ivIipsQM9dZVDxBqvPP6qpRBQY_n9OKKUS_tVsqTE_OxsII2KZOtgO_eBmMACoraG2RNmNcc1Vp97-gfYy1wCK3dhZkgY8z4RsiK1HID02eQaffqxbwmflJUy7LMCHqmRUe7hNHcKOck8goYvJZMaHTn7Hkd5ZQzC_Y2o/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1550.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A fossilized lava flow!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As I walked through the shifting cinders, I considered what
a cataclysmic and life-changing event this must have been, for so many people.
Connected only by the tenuous threads of common trading routes as they were,
imagine how word would have spread amongst the scattered communities of the
Southwest. Would there have been residents in Walnut Canyon then? They would
have undoubtedly heard the explosion, looked out on ash falling from the sky
for days if not longer. But for those further out, would they have seen the ash
and wondered? Would their connections have gone dark for a while, immersed in
the effort of solving the problem of the abrupt formation of a new and very
angry mountain in the middle of their lands? As connected as we are in today’s
world, it is easy for us to hear about disasters across the globe. It’s almost
unfathomable to think of a world in which you might not even know a volcano had
erupted nearby. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Clearly, in the story of these people, resiliency dominated
over fear. They made their peace with the mountain and moved back into its
shadow. But restarting their lives in the wake of such a disaster cannot have
been easy. I surveyed the landscape, which is currently scarred by the effects
of the Tunnel Wildfire. Although there are still many trees intact, it’s easy
to look at the scorched stumps and blasted brush and envision oneself looking
out over a similar landscape a thousand years ago. This is not a hospitable
land, at least at first glance.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoQBCxf6tTvqmkA3Lv0p5aIUj5-2aEEyozQk7p6M-OyDMgH-pZEcpg-T2lUfqRpceBpwDSA1oA84E7P-At-BZh88FNbKh4NUw7ru_xH-gYRlNL386iw5F6gvoZJlRw_C7E3dzMd6-JxLjqkuWNTUuW-MH9FbdjTZh2aA2EL7Nqtqc5_I3RiXwoOYB-qjM/s5472/Edit-IMG_1531.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoQBCxf6tTvqmkA3Lv0p5aIUj5-2aEEyozQk7p6M-OyDMgH-pZEcpg-T2lUfqRpceBpwDSA1oA84E7P-At-BZh88FNbKh4NUw7ru_xH-gYRlNL386iw5F6gvoZJlRw_C7E3dzMd6-JxLjqkuWNTUuW-MH9FbdjTZh2aA2EL7Nqtqc5_I3RiXwoOYB-qjM/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1531.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I liked how twisty this tree is</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtkWqY9jhiGRewdqwsBb0C1zBF4giXexdQhjLyXsCz39_wtT6N2QF9zaS6Z5WO7LYIB-LPICzGJuarN6-MH3KnSMREM4M13DBBS9biwsk5Wo9JMDpcN_woz1ksMneDXnNd4AyuTXvjNqhkVd_qipB1HYi3UVeXwFdbLs4e-O180SV0UWlGph3kPxPUsjE/s5472/Edit-IMG_1532.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="5472" data-original-width="3648" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtkWqY9jhiGRewdqwsBb0C1zBF4giXexdQhjLyXsCz39_wtT6N2QF9zaS6Z5WO7LYIB-LPICzGJuarN6-MH3KnSMREM4M13DBBS9biwsk5Wo9JMDpcN_woz1ksMneDXnNd4AyuTXvjNqhkVd_qipB1HYi3UVeXwFdbLs4e-O180SV0UWlGph3kPxPUsjE/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_1532.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This land has seen a similar scene before - and now, nearly a thousand years later, it looks much the same. Volcanic rubble and blasted burned landscape.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB8MtBoBmlPH7t4tR2GVmS1ANCqCvK14vM9jOl1o5KMZaYu0a0oS5fsu9By0ePGgI1Q8GEJPKS7G528ouhXLDh4XbXtoIbPhqAtLsOqL8YbY__rPcs5yaewECFHeukWQaVXIOojHf2y_AQO3ta_5P1Z8qeBzLjIAFYLIFSbyyW9LXTTh52X-uyhlioLPo/s5472/Edit-IMG_1547.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB8MtBoBmlPH7t4tR2GVmS1ANCqCvK14vM9jOl1o5KMZaYu0a0oS5fsu9By0ePGgI1Q8GEJPKS7G528ouhXLDh4XbXtoIbPhqAtLsOqL8YbY__rPcs5yaewECFHeukWQaVXIOojHf2y_AQO3ta_5P1Z8qeBzLjIAFYLIFSbyyW9LXTTh52X-uyhlioLPo/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1547.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I found it very unusual how these pine trees were so broadly spaced on this otherwise barren slope of volcanic ash.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I completed the trail in short order, concluding it with one
last sweeping overview of the crater (and Jane).<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbTZ9dfc6eQjY7g_dulJ1lQAC7ller7w0CiAFLGFceCnZxB6O5LZf8iFpmYs2Kw25PLbd7W2EKsmDuM6cp2YZFmcfzy3s9MyXevaWLsIhRLUVfBAo2_NZkB513gdIZFmp5tUPu_w-nZj8OyuR1-f8Qmtm20qSn4JxGdntVnF5U97EpyU8dHP08sZ88fEA/s5472/Edit-IMG_1558.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbTZ9dfc6eQjY7g_dulJ1lQAC7ller7w0CiAFLGFceCnZxB6O5LZf8iFpmYs2Kw25PLbd7W2EKsmDuM6cp2YZFmcfzy3s9MyXevaWLsIhRLUVfBAo2_NZkB513gdIZFmp5tUPu_w-nZj8OyuR1-f8Qmtm20qSn4JxGdntVnF5U97EpyU8dHP08sZ88fEA/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1558.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jane for scale.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8RPOzc7gZz397KIkS2a_RkQxzH6nr0f3_HHMnR-2lBBh28KdX9rdMW9ttusUc5cK9vvzFLKUEzzTTtvLqC3LzNh-Gai06i2WNdz7cKVjhtwmUYfVixlXPD-mSamYf6_mNX7ks0l6HypxYi6tl_k1DzGN_9ErWFTEgVrmCB4ni0kV1zDdErj_WmVjL_qo/s5472/Edit-IMG_1559.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8RPOzc7gZz397KIkS2a_RkQxzH6nr0f3_HHMnR-2lBBh28KdX9rdMW9ttusUc5cK9vvzFLKUEzzTTtvLqC3LzNh-Gai06i2WNdz7cKVjhtwmUYfVixlXPD-mSamYf6_mNX7ks0l6HypxYi6tl_k1DzGN_9ErWFTEgVrmCB4ni0kV1zDdErj_WmVjL_qo/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1559.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Damn, that is just a great looking car. Some days I just think about this a lot, as is evident from today's pictures.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And with that, we had completed the trails available to hike
at Sunset Crater! Kind of underwhelming with respect to length and difficulty,
but certainly a great one to see cool rocks and to immerse oneself in
imaginations of past lives.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Jane and I hopped back onto the loop, heading counterclockwise
towards Wupatki. Once again we descended from the forested terranes of
Flagstaff into the surrounding colorful flatlands of the Colorado Plateau.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigoeyyOhN0ShdsNd_c5_hjZfDVPYFg0LwVVfGO6iAjvL8sRBKIxxi2PBQF7ceJYUxmlkhVskM6iNMboUjlv9NdMadG-6PftWZyGztm82poEKul26HhEPA-5rZ_ivagXEeD3W3d0ySdLbG5-HZ0hd3EjjDgexGqC3fHmz_SWOI9YXQKVojZ6LMYCkKA0WA/s5421/Edit-IMG_1572.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3614" data-original-width="5421" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigoeyyOhN0ShdsNd_c5_hjZfDVPYFg0LwVVfGO6iAjvL8sRBKIxxi2PBQF7ceJYUxmlkhVskM6iNMboUjlv9NdMadG-6PftWZyGztm82poEKul26HhEPA-5rZ_ivagXEeD3W3d0ySdLbG5-HZ0hd3EjjDgexGqC3fHmz_SWOI9YXQKVojZ6LMYCkKA0WA/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1572.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I spy red rocks!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As we reached the base of the foothills, the visitor center
came into view, and of course I stopped to have a walk around. This one focused
on telling the story of the people who lived in the pueblos overlooking the
plateau. In particular, they focused on Wupatki Pueblo, a spectacular multi-story
structure with over 100 rooms. Although the site has proof of habitation extending
over 13,000 years, it peaked in the early 1100’s when the Wupatki Pueblo and
surrounding region was inhabited by over 2,000 people. That’s quite a sizeable
settlement for that time period! Some of these people were undoubtedly refugees
from Sunset Crater; others moved in to take advantage of the newly fertile soil
derived from the ashes of Sunset Crater’s eruption. The massive population
influx and rise of agriculture turned Wupatki Pueblo into a bustling trade hub,
a waypoint for many other migrating tribes where people could gather and share
news and innovations. Consequently, archaeologists working the site find a wide
array of materials and craftwork artifacts which can be attributed to various far-reaching
tribes that were otherwise disconnected.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">By the mid 1200’s, Wupatki Pueblo had been abandoned
entirely due to changing cultures and an extended period of drought. It has
remained abandoned since then, at least until it was temporarily inhabited by
one of the earliest rangers of the park! (and I have to say that I’m very
jealous that someone got to live in the pueblo like that, even if it was
probably bad for it from a preservation standpoint). It’s easy to think that
this was a site that came and gone in a blink of an eye. But really if you
consider the dates, one begins to realize that this pueblo was inhabited continuously
for over a century. The stories these stones could tell.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I stepped out of the visitor center and first encountered a
very sad garden, which presumably was intended to show the beneficial effects
of cinders in agriculture. Unfortunately, this year’s extended, extreme drought
had completely blasted the crops (or someone had forgotten to water them at
all!). But, I suspect that this was kind of par for the course for this area,
sometimes. We’re not in Kansas, after all.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfwcZXwMXnkT6lGELfSWtQhpA3b-O8MfItFcEWfmILv3BYhfs31O_ns3q3SplYXutMGq8lva2Zi5P515vnjFZe2_efDoVqbJY6MWo_kn3TNkLYp6OCoywWgvGYI2HoqaS8MDOAk86HvLQtSCQp7ZDRhVMBGLrH1LTjQbnrvQkltMA9SvNrv1fh5MAmRBc/s5472/Edit-IMG_1577.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfwcZXwMXnkT6lGELfSWtQhpA3b-O8MfItFcEWfmILv3BYhfs31O_ns3q3SplYXutMGq8lva2Zi5P515vnjFZe2_efDoVqbJY6MWo_kn3TNkLYp6OCoywWgvGYI2HoqaS8MDOAk86HvLQtSCQp7ZDRhVMBGLrH1LTjQbnrvQkltMA9SvNrv1fh5MAmRBc/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1577.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">But this is an especially sad scene in a kind of funny way</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Following the trail around, I encountered a much more
spectacular view: the remarkable remains of Wupatki Pueblo.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_0d-mLavhOHUeyoyLV24YvF920HGhaobY7zn-jQUlyxhPDQrufi-RzkXUMcRYs94DOAT_4R5iA79FtufKwOoJ4Q6OFH9535LYiW1Rgd-IiY-dwA6rWg7_7GtaIvA4isF2ZRiG6b4sdH554ol4zCgs4oE_1OazXCvE4ABibrin8imX4_5qDQliuP_WKUw/s5472/Edit-IMG_1587.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_0d-mLavhOHUeyoyLV24YvF920HGhaobY7zn-jQUlyxhPDQrufi-RzkXUMcRYs94DOAT_4R5iA79FtufKwOoJ4Q6OFH9535LYiW1Rgd-IiY-dwA6rWg7_7GtaIvA4isF2ZRiG6b4sdH554ol4zCgs4oE_1OazXCvE4ABibrin8imX4_5qDQliuP_WKUw/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1587.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLOXrBwq-Ub83Td8L7UapzbZbY3mkZudxv4JDttRiXuyUdZ7JKrfLwS1tTGKsjm2rbztPLfVoOEdgRwhln-H3DeVhHl9uk8W4CnTaM2lAhkm3MV-oGA_HAaRPYHYkTfB4yStbcKY3EseHeNueRvmpLbZCAc_CILI-7PxNhZ8A3XsH9OFKVBUe7QxW5qzc/s5472/Edit-IMG_1599.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLOXrBwq-Ub83Td8L7UapzbZbY3mkZudxv4JDttRiXuyUdZ7JKrfLwS1tTGKsjm2rbztPLfVoOEdgRwhln-H3DeVhHl9uk8W4CnTaM2lAhkm3MV-oGA_HAaRPYHYkTfB4yStbcKY3EseHeNueRvmpLbZCAc_CILI-7PxNhZ8A3XsH9OFKVBUe7QxW5qzc/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1599.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What an incredible view this place has.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The pueblo consists of a large main building with over a
hundred rooms, plus another few outbuildings and a large circular court. The court
was thought to be a ball court, although it likely also served as a gathering place
for people. From afar, these things all looked like pretty standard-sized buildings.
But as I moved closer, the sheer scale of the settlement really sank in.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBPOJ74Nao2bUsTmbITtye8Swio2mk73cha6BfN2CXsi7nOxkOX35e6aYcrKsVMoQ8yTV2n8ypslQqDlAmVJ-oWg_OGgjE2mEwroKEeixBGLkmCwAXGRwLucHo5cZVpn0DypGyrCwrcb_Czr-B2e7hAqltb4BVm_sBbD9mSPeS0VuNsktq0rIooB67taY/s5472/Edit-IMG_1588.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBPOJ74Nao2bUsTmbITtye8Swio2mk73cha6BfN2CXsi7nOxkOX35e6aYcrKsVMoQ8yTV2n8ypslQqDlAmVJ-oWg_OGgjE2mEwroKEeixBGLkmCwAXGRwLucHo5cZVpn0DypGyrCwrcb_Czr-B2e7hAqltb4BVm_sBbD9mSPeS0VuNsktq0rIooB67taY/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1588.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHxCVS3oX3grK5DMpkVTghnfzB66fpnyqHMNesCXpSjNoUjjIA4jl84CbO4OrkhiA5fvXBsTyVJg8ivUYbeglH_jsnd9HHBxXDs3-jbfbahbWmd0XTk7RTSIfD0SxbfdKi2qFKdQUzyqrfIwAAPfhEKNXDkd6EYpFEuXtINtTof8NQ1EIPDF-4RRwQ5qU/s5472/Edit-IMG_1595.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHxCVS3oX3grK5DMpkVTghnfzB66fpnyqHMNesCXpSjNoUjjIA4jl84CbO4OrkhiA5fvXBsTyVJg8ivUYbeglH_jsnd9HHBxXDs3-jbfbahbWmd0XTk7RTSIfD0SxbfdKi2qFKdQUzyqrfIwAAPfhEKNXDkd6EYpFEuXtINtTof8NQ1EIPDF-4RRwQ5qU/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1595.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Three or even four floors! Amazing.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiABBAYN8tuK32C2pD78wRmRQMYi_y_F-c9brwRr02tTNVs-FJx6sVgkh6QIrkV4NQkgBLhtlaRDVDaA1sx2Pua0tzKpwdA7FtWVeiZ-0dBDh3FftJMTRYdO484prQ6QO4IDk008eVV7ilnsxvswt5mDzyxjKlVkfRBHU51F7n_MTstEoZ0W2RqYABU-Mo/s2048/Edit-IMG_8036.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiABBAYN8tuK32C2pD78wRmRQMYi_y_F-c9brwRr02tTNVs-FJx6sVgkh6QIrkV4NQkgBLhtlaRDVDaA1sx2Pua0tzKpwdA7FtWVeiZ-0dBDh3FftJMTRYdO484prQ6QO4IDk008eVV7ilnsxvswt5mDzyxjKlVkfRBHU51F7n_MTstEoZ0W2RqYABU-Mo/w640-h480/Edit-IMG_8036.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Surprisingly, a number of rooms in the pueblo were open to
visitors to view, an opportunity that I gladly took. It became clear to me that
the people who built the pueblo picked the site based on the presence of a
massive fantastic sandstone outcrop, which served as foundation, floor, walls,
and occasionally even the roof. Why build four walls, when you can build three
and lean them against a massive rock for a fourth wall with 100% stability?
That’s just smart thinking!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This is not to say that anything about this building is “lazy”.
Far from it. The masonry, which looks very similar to that which we might use
on our houses today, is still in incredible condition after nearly a thousand
years. Not only is it flat and tight, but it butts up to the natural sandstone
outcrops seamlessly. Incredible work.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizLIMgdlCJITRuDOOcuFCcXKtit9zMRGwHBes0sghxI6bhUGNIk8DGEXBUDfyiSQBsXWwguTzCCZapyUogz-GKgYXgrVNPZ0Vf0uLMZAXkXFHepLoNCJfYwv8SscnoGeVilcyzRGbx8ximDhU1LE-iOm4q1oI8q6mPjeZEZ9FuuVeVmwSabRYARCgXfXg/s5472/Edit-IMG_1605.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="5472" data-original-width="3648" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizLIMgdlCJITRuDOOcuFCcXKtit9zMRGwHBes0sghxI6bhUGNIk8DGEXBUDfyiSQBsXWwguTzCCZapyUogz-GKgYXgrVNPZ0Vf0uLMZAXkXFHepLoNCJfYwv8SscnoGeVilcyzRGbx8ximDhU1LE-iOm4q1oI8q6mPjeZEZ9FuuVeVmwSabRYARCgXfXg/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_1605.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From the interior of the pueblo, you can see how straight walls intersected the irregular margins of the large sandstone block to use it for stability.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiED0K2jf6vTgdP7WakVu1j0hgnxk2io1JmxGS9Z_pctvBblwiztSIow62wku5muqTiTIFe_Po6KAORoe3zgGUTE3iHyywzctwkVTdJ1gVIA2WWCzjWU4JeNAmLzGPzAj6E08YXgP2hrNCEhjZ3BnTdoZx18furCC1VsPc-s3DWtqJPI9eCJ4n6Jx3p27U/s5472/Edit-IMG_1616.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiED0K2jf6vTgdP7WakVu1j0hgnxk2io1JmxGS9Z_pctvBblwiztSIow62wku5muqTiTIFe_Po6KAORoe3zgGUTE3iHyywzctwkVTdJ1gVIA2WWCzjWU4JeNAmLzGPzAj6E08YXgP2hrNCEhjZ3BnTdoZx18furCC1VsPc-s3DWtqJPI9eCJ4n6Jx3p27U/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1616.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An outside wall, also anchored to the other end of the sandstone block in a very pleasing way.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ5VdOkyzk4CuY2zh_EUIRHeLk1L0f_q-m0Y8TYHXhJW3GZoYy-AUjp5nQ_zX6MrpDssqRbgvFFmhNCPBNQGM3WhGeDvzCfUckHk3oh39GEfEES9EzoJm3XhUiTHbJC-o82JKGBhbDAAwtO8Z0P6g3UFAnZyn3_bsZLpshWSlt_kSh6V50Jni3cE3ebe8/s5472/Edit-IMG_1624.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ5VdOkyzk4CuY2zh_EUIRHeLk1L0f_q-m0Y8TYHXhJW3GZoYy-AUjp5nQ_zX6MrpDssqRbgvFFmhNCPBNQGM3WhGeDvzCfUckHk3oh39GEfEES9EzoJm3XhUiTHbJC-o82JKGBhbDAAwtO8Z0P6g3UFAnZyn3_bsZLpshWSlt_kSh6V50Jni3cE3ebe8/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1624.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An ancient viga (roof beam), still in place.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I explored for a while, imagining what it would have been
like to live here. For someone in the 1100’s, it must have been like living in
a big city, albeit one with an incredible view in all directions. Perhaps most
days would be filled with farming, but many would be filled with excitement as
someone sighted an incoming trade party on the horizon. Maybe that party would
arrive bringing news of a volcanic eruption, or a great new game, or a new political
agreement between tribes. Or maybe they would come bearing exotic seashell
necklaces from the Atlantic or strange new pottery from the north or beaded garments
from the south. Far from a boring life, I’d bet. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As the sun dipped towards the horizon, I headed back to Jane
to continue around the loop to the next ruin.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuGIO9QeAXZ74TBZyviZMvzZDLYfsP6HPwbVOXnDBjjszT8bd56Ms3kh0kg0wzCZNA5msQgJ_y1SwTD-tL47nMrjV1c-mBf7TURxIa_Zg3CKUdEnP7wjwLV3MRljj5tqwDyEcM-LeSic-8sAfrrwthgHqHCG6FRWjRm0JRtwHT-ab2nYSKWte4cnI_F4U/s5472/Edit-IMG_1633.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuGIO9QeAXZ74TBZyviZMvzZDLYfsP6HPwbVOXnDBjjszT8bd56Ms3kh0kg0wzCZNA5msQgJ_y1SwTD-tL47nMrjV1c-mBf7TURxIa_Zg3CKUdEnP7wjwLV3MRljj5tqwDyEcM-LeSic-8sAfrrwthgHqHCG6FRWjRm0JRtwHT-ab2nYSKWte4cnI_F4U/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1633.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I had to wait for the spectators to leave first.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0evjRFaxpZo7k-OALVeuBIdeKIYgQVciWRWqydT4r6oNfvdpuYg2gE6s82pibUcqIYPSRQrIaSn5uM1WB5itw8EdxM2qYunsOyfa-fv8t0TsBb3vROUlND9r-8rQ47zrUf2aba-5lqmyVfsAaq7-xvWdpuxtepmhlkLofLYoCe3TM5VQBReR4hl92ZtI/s5344/Edit-IMG_1634.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3563" data-original-width="5344" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0evjRFaxpZo7k-OALVeuBIdeKIYgQVciWRWqydT4r6oNfvdpuYg2gE6s82pibUcqIYPSRQrIaSn5uM1WB5itw8EdxM2qYunsOyfa-fv8t0TsBb3vROUlND9r-8rQ47zrUf2aba-5lqmyVfsAaq7-xvWdpuxtepmhlkLofLYoCe3TM5VQBReR4hl92ZtI/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1634.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">My next stop was Wukoki Pueblo, another large settlement. This
spectacular building, although not as big as Wupatki Pueblo, is most notable
for its imposing presence. Built atop a large sandstone pedestal, it features a
three-story tower and a number of well-crafted rooms with very impressive architecture.
If there was ever a Native American mansion… this would be it.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTKAqLVH3MlYRD-Mr45na2b0AZzzstiKsicZ3XMPbMOJo-los6Ozwb-VTMNUSpQxqezC0lCPsY-VrTl6DGv6wurc1Lzu81zpi7U_irghMifbuCX0aQ_fWa-5Vw-qFAYAWG9rh5yBBFhpG4SswUdt3T_afJndOyxzgNOhQMWqi24LQ3wjsUbyadI39x1tA/s5472/Edit-IMG_1638.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTKAqLVH3MlYRD-Mr45na2b0AZzzstiKsicZ3XMPbMOJo-los6Ozwb-VTMNUSpQxqezC0lCPsY-VrTl6DGv6wurc1Lzu81zpi7U_irghMifbuCX0aQ_fWa-5Vw-qFAYAWG9rh5yBBFhpG4SswUdt3T_afJndOyxzgNOhQMWqi24LQ3wjsUbyadI39x1tA/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1638.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The pueblo nearly fills the pedestal, with a small patio-like area left clear on the left side (presumably for watching the awesome sunsets)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUbMgAM6aH8UftTxLUzNJ_8pRO-UGj1r46lmkrv6VgswnUo_8zr0kUS9o86sq-C9sZeyOmJTr8xS38ZtV-506evtV4ACRB-ECqSnCh4fYHxrThRg5LinWjsa2lbJM1lnDpa1wTWHdZ3gDGCYCZIuvjXMiBpn_OrBsvn0l8EIc5uoMYax-tpSH2-xPsaT8/s5472/Edit-IMG_1652.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUbMgAM6aH8UftTxLUzNJ_8pRO-UGj1r46lmkrv6VgswnUo_8zr0kUS9o86sq-C9sZeyOmJTr8xS38ZtV-506evtV4ACRB-ECqSnCh4fYHxrThRg5LinWjsa2lbJM1lnDpa1wTWHdZ3gDGCYCZIuvjXMiBpn_OrBsvn0l8EIc5uoMYax-tpSH2-xPsaT8/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1652.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An amazing statement tower</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVaDORl1yjaF4Y6QiGGuQtNM_UEP0WOL9yo1hE-nSO5L0BROlmVl6En4k1GKxrFQJrfkLujx84QEbA3U5iv_j67v_Cx7r67p7eV91BmQfNcTKAjKN_fUsVfaI9eXfHiU1us5uCgkR6zvaD76xRaqs-uGSeXy79pIInxzCfXuZtcKJ7DdZxzRhRMW4IVPg/s5472/Edit-IMG_1656.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVaDORl1yjaF4Y6QiGGuQtNM_UEP0WOL9yo1hE-nSO5L0BROlmVl6En4k1GKxrFQJrfkLujx84QEbA3U5iv_j67v_Cx7r67p7eV91BmQfNcTKAjKN_fUsVfaI9eXfHiU1us5uCgkR6zvaD76xRaqs-uGSeXy79pIInxzCfXuZtcKJ7DdZxzRhRMW4IVPg/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1656.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rising from the sandstone pedestal seamlessly</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7DZLhnLLVTvjKZ2EQoShhS3M_bh_MoRHjAeE_7F4Qw0tpeojFubwTgvWuX4Pjc2y7COL7K_rLhlfaWxmFGg-rKrz2KN8r2V-EVnLBs5j4Oqv2cQmthG9ibxnx5q7n13rvhOeZTkG3r2tFOZRn4waHUtuiCO-6EccLpXumC8kOiMZS-lh85_QQ_XhJvv8/s2048/Edit-IMG_8063.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7DZLhnLLVTvjKZ2EQoShhS3M_bh_MoRHjAeE_7F4Qw0tpeojFubwTgvWuX4Pjc2y7COL7K_rLhlfaWxmFGg-rKrz2KN8r2V-EVnLBs5j4Oqv2cQmthG9ibxnx5q7n13rvhOeZTkG3r2tFOZRn4waHUtuiCO-6EccLpXumC8kOiMZS-lh85_QQ_XhJvv8/w480-h640/Edit-IMG_8063.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Windows with nice slabbed headers. The regularly spaced holes below that are all that remains of the floor structure.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHLi538KM_Tw-3sGafppOoTWS8tMzbjmElqf2C-oeZd0KIhZQWG0xlGSZC4F_yMlZ4AvuQ-KleAkAA_GT6WuE5sbmFL2fsB1cxC1gjh6441cT4oWEYPaKMui1v-ovODl8iaYsF51ZOdApTbNBvlf6_NNLOBzTMg9cfiP1VzcXm8KQr1WPrsKAj3SrBBLc/s2048/Edit-IMG_8065.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHLi538KM_Tw-3sGafppOoTWS8tMzbjmElqf2C-oeZd0KIhZQWG0xlGSZC4F_yMlZ4AvuQ-KleAkAA_GT6WuE5sbmFL2fsB1cxC1gjh6441cT4oWEYPaKMui1v-ovODl8iaYsF51ZOdApTbNBvlf6_NNLOBzTMg9cfiP1VzcXm8KQr1WPrsKAj3SrBBLc/w480-h640/Edit-IMG_8065.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A door with great craftsmanship, edges substantially worn by the passage of time and touches of thousands of hands.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUT8_L-sWPWEzmLL3HFnLHI01FITrRnC7AudEY_0KqR9ZQPHwgFyWzh2tkjBXWSpn1EfOMO1o4aiTwvEYbZvlz6PCD9GIhrDPi2Ufd62pVco0qgKMRv5EyMDvx-zFnRkUJUQhO4c_bMuDw_RCIyq_M5P4180cGxNChx6kxGc0FeUsxYq1ufPaspmpZUZQ/s2002/Edit-IMG_8068.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="2002" data-original-width="1502" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUT8_L-sWPWEzmLL3HFnLHI01FITrRnC7AudEY_0KqR9ZQPHwgFyWzh2tkjBXWSpn1EfOMO1o4aiTwvEYbZvlz6PCD9GIhrDPi2Ufd62pVco0qgKMRv5EyMDvx-zFnRkUJUQhO4c_bMuDw_RCIyq_M5P4180cGxNChx6kxGc0FeUsxYq1ufPaspmpZUZQ/w480-h640/Edit-IMG_8068.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A nice little keyhole window for light with an exceptional view of the endless plateau.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As impressed as I was, the sinking sun pushed us onwards, so
we pushed on to the remaining two pueblos.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGI5ZN1ejtvSFPNaqo9jcXYgwJEWYXaXp2he8-XfzcnaKJdiAmUQJgpABwKFyOxveEu0okV4X9g-OjGiHf3fSiXCFQ2KzHTBkhWfeIINqdyX7lmmusaVzQl_KQtfzKnmjQN0HnZyGmL-5vjmDfeEUJtTJFw9AEd2wC7h2sdeME_YzD7qJrsuCFZO6lrjE/s5472/Edit-IMG_1662.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGI5ZN1ejtvSFPNaqo9jcXYgwJEWYXaXp2he8-XfzcnaKJdiAmUQJgpABwKFyOxveEu0okV4X9g-OjGiHf3fSiXCFQ2KzHTBkhWfeIINqdyX7lmmusaVzQl_KQtfzKnmjQN0HnZyGmL-5vjmDfeEUJtTJFw9AEd2wC7h2sdeME_YzD7qJrsuCFZO6lrjE/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1662.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">But first, I had to look at my car again. This is always the time of day when Jane really shines.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We reached Nalakihu Pueblo – overlooked by Citadel Pueblo - right
at the Golden Hour, a perfect time for experiencing the still beauty of the
land. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGcbjNcDsA9i7XO8hrFOG6WtZsckrAPXQfC0Z3NrmtB7bjJNa9bd3_LaDmOGzdR8L6FE-d1Ro5csSszd8dlgjBeUif0TpLt47PFAulzZXFSrteni4sZb49xAtNwpigltSg8DmeXiuZJlcNXZgdMQpaQMRj5ijx0iyCrTnoypWG_c1PgCoYjxMkS1pztm0/s5472/Edit-IMG_1667.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGcbjNcDsA9i7XO8hrFOG6WtZsckrAPXQfC0Z3NrmtB7bjJNa9bd3_LaDmOGzdR8L6FE-d1Ro5csSszd8dlgjBeUif0TpLt47PFAulzZXFSrteni4sZb49xAtNwpigltSg8DmeXiuZJlcNXZgdMQpaQMRj5ijx0iyCrTnoypWG_c1PgCoYjxMkS1pztm0/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1667.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I hiked up to the top of the Citadel, which is perched at
the top of a hill in the middle of a flat grassland. Unfortunately, it is
poorly preserved, partly because it’s located in such an exposed area. But it
is cool to think of what might have been. From this vantage point, one can see
for miles and miles – maybe in the 1100’s, this would have been miles of
fields, dotted with other small pueblos. Or maybe it was still a grassland
then, used for grazing farm animals. Whatever the landscape looked like at the
time, I know that that view was just as spectacular then as it is now. What a gift,
to experience sunsets every day in a place like this.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikHExMLLeI1-otRZAe78jS0sWR_nPvkWbI5fyIFktYrjktc-GDJEa-5CVfnDT6RBQGI-QM9_r8kXPBqewE2UKRxYUZj8x23oD834mG9PC7k9abW-B6XxVf164jA_YI6ioTeVEJPTVjruxh9mG0qiIdU7EOSL1WyV_epgHeyoWwd1ueE2F1-DTiX_LhCmc/s5472/Edit-IMG_1673.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikHExMLLeI1-otRZAe78jS0sWR_nPvkWbI5fyIFktYrjktc-GDJEa-5CVfnDT6RBQGI-QM9_r8kXPBqewE2UKRxYUZj8x23oD834mG9PC7k9abW-B6XxVf164jA_YI6ioTeVEJPTVjruxh9mG0qiIdU7EOSL1WyV_epgHeyoWwd1ueE2F1-DTiX_LhCmc/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1673.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBHkwVkzNmKJcYE5OwK_Jvmuf-Qht3HqznSfWnimIwNUqAngoQ8R7hDN-I-rOps7X8cQgRK1kO0tP8XSUnHXDrqvD9xTQZCg0bl9JLTes6sbytjkQGDWA3cnvklen_ZcaDhx798tSnCL0skCcc-MaN0kxVEolm2K0gXtZHSMzPLOI_b63rPRGq__ExRyA/s5472/Edit-IMG_1676.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBHkwVkzNmKJcYE5OwK_Jvmuf-Qht3HqznSfWnimIwNUqAngoQ8R7hDN-I-rOps7X8cQgRK1kO0tP8XSUnHXDrqvD9xTQZCg0bl9JLTes6sbytjkQGDWA3cnvklen_ZcaDhx798tSnCL0skCcc-MaN0kxVEolm2K0gXtZHSMzPLOI_b63rPRGq__ExRyA/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1676.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I like how this one incorporates volcanic cobbles from Sunset Crater - note that that was not the case for earlier pueblos! This tells us about when the different pueblos were built relative to the eruption. Or maybe it was just their aesthetic.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZE4xdlo-viJchllCHWYe2pa37DrlfcqLFXkCq4QWAFNs5gRZ0S1njh8S6nJyC2njFGnRy3TKMLxbDIAXnqWoTWwAbLGf0TrucJzKsNLrcKtN8BNyhdhveCNfoXYrGglu8BgejYKbEA4v4NfowBWmWvbBM2-YJlg6OKDv2d9IeEqapelRM336hdBBTXSs/s5472/Edit-IMG_1680.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZE4xdlo-viJchllCHWYe2pa37DrlfcqLFXkCq4QWAFNs5gRZ0S1njh8S6nJyC2njFGnRy3TKMLxbDIAXnqWoTWwAbLGf0TrucJzKsNLrcKtN8BNyhdhveCNfoXYrGglu8BgejYKbEA4v4NfowBWmWvbBM2-YJlg6OKDv2d9IeEqapelRM336hdBBTXSs/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1680.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeqGtBVpMV-3knTNg4r_PprVuU2pK1E2BV_GG-pMTJIVpvbynFNeQC6P0N-lH_kIIVYw6-KufwyjQYUYpUgLl68aEANIW5TRIGK16HS7TSyadvxMECWwK-d10ZjYEsebW27sc-yyCIRT0xHEKF22VLqkTUI1YUVSR7_dhwQnO8gN66HYPSnW6ZU9Kla8Y/s5235/Edit-IMG_1690.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3490" data-original-width="5235" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeqGtBVpMV-3knTNg4r_PprVuU2pK1E2BV_GG-pMTJIVpvbynFNeQC6P0N-lH_kIIVYw6-KufwyjQYUYpUgLl68aEANIW5TRIGK16HS7TSyadvxMECWwK-d10ZjYEsebW27sc-yyCIRT0xHEKF22VLqkTUI1YUVSR7_dhwQnO8gN66HYPSnW6ZU9Kla8Y/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1690.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jane in her natural habitat.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTSnmJPjz37DaEjlsOXlksO_PMXutBx9HktT-Ia_0rEZRpRdww-9uPep3UuPg_KCsFC78TLCDIj8wShhHRn6DCgLVhdIe-1574oYK8gHTf6dWzIJT0a7zVBzAAOlXdzlf62EdvWhlIFYaB0yWtiTlLe4q21qznKPThzKR_At7QzGPU6rsiZgt3RqtwyTM/s5472/Edit-IMG_1697.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTSnmJPjz37DaEjlsOXlksO_PMXutBx9HktT-Ia_0rEZRpRdww-9uPep3UuPg_KCsFC78TLCDIj8wShhHRn6DCgLVhdIe-1574oYK8gHTf6dWzIJT0a7zVBzAAOlXdzlf62EdvWhlIFYaB0yWtiTlLe4q21qznKPThzKR_At7QzGPU6rsiZgt3RqtwyTM/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1697.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As the golden tones began to wane and shadows crept over the
grasslands, I approached my final stop for the day: the Lomaki and Box Canyon
Pueblos. Located on the rims of small canyons that bisect the plains, the
pueblos look much like watchtowers, sentinels guarding the lowlands.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicgNt-AJOSRY6AYrxLluLtkGnSMhO8LKvXd_7TNhLWmAiko7WJ1uYQL2SPQxXO9at01rCXWecd016FW2Nr77fNXlkpYr_syNJTdl37ElLecrdYR-sS7Mna7O7pjHCaoV-Mr8f6X3g6aA0XWmsxZZJ7F5FmliQsb_h04k9l6iHqFcpzDEjl7w_e2cWMrGQ/s5472/Edit-IMG_1704.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicgNt-AJOSRY6AYrxLluLtkGnSMhO8LKvXd_7TNhLWmAiko7WJ1uYQL2SPQxXO9at01rCXWecd016FW2Nr77fNXlkpYr_syNJTdl37ElLecrdYR-sS7Mna7O7pjHCaoV-Mr8f6X3g6aA0XWmsxZZJ7F5FmliQsb_h04k9l6iHqFcpzDEjl7w_e2cWMrGQ/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1704.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYidiQIRMfdT0jfziZqA-JEjPid5jk5a9OreNFCrJ_0cIyKzBIs_tW35_tIvP_VM1PR4Ka9e-L0vHGi2Y_BfsUbueoznISK-tIhvEHuESPa-lKcHPTHHZfzKep0uuYZUR6WOI7tbi36RxsHeF4MeJRp4e_5TaKebq81LY6Uhl8a2APDxlfWxC771b9RuY/s5472/Edit-IMG_1716.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYidiQIRMfdT0jfziZqA-JEjPid5jk5a9OreNFCrJ_0cIyKzBIs_tW35_tIvP_VM1PR4Ka9e-L0vHGi2Y_BfsUbueoznISK-tIhvEHuESPa-lKcHPTHHZfzKep0uuYZUR6WOI7tbi36RxsHeF4MeJRp4e_5TaKebq81LY6Uhl8a2APDxlfWxC771b9RuY/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1716.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW3oUdWhnJ4osL8qbE9kF6o0K1LiR0Fvv6i2Vbs4lzHwXnCE6yl7a0pbuYcAbFwGXVG-WEPFbWiLe87XUE_Ful5R2DjF-R538e0EycW0RGfjXOWAYVtkHvJe8GYz9Tr3QNl8_ARBWrEo81vPnHrNNsm_IEPvXfr1M4mk5R-EnzBPWfIMNe2fY_jO-eal8/s5472/Edit-IMG_1730.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW3oUdWhnJ4osL8qbE9kF6o0K1LiR0Fvv6i2Vbs4lzHwXnCE6yl7a0pbuYcAbFwGXVG-WEPFbWiLe87XUE_Ful5R2DjF-R538e0EycW0RGfjXOWAYVtkHvJe8GYz9Tr3QNl8_ARBWrEo81vPnHrNNsm_IEPvXfr1M4mk5R-EnzBPWfIMNe2fY_jO-eal8/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1730.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hello, World.</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It’s not hard to figure out why these were placed here. In a
broad flat grassland, how does one keep ones livestock wrangled? It’s not like
there’s abundant trees around for making fences. But a box canyon – a canyon
with only one entrance – is a perfect place to keep your animals. The “watchtowers”
at the entrance to the canyon were likely exactly that – not just residences,
but places where people could keep an eye out for possible hostiles while also
making sure their livestock stayed in the canyon. Maybe not as spectacular of a
view as that from Citadel Pueblo, or as fancy of a house as that at Wukoki Pueblo,
but I bet this was a lot more convenient.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I headed back to Jane and we hustled onwards around the
loop, heading back towards Flagstaff. Very suspiciously volcanic-looking
terrain – now manifesting as innocuous low rounded hills – rose out of the
plains, then eventually gave way to Flagstaff’s familiar mountains.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1jro8c7DJqk6_Q8ZwrO1cT4MLe6Vct3zd2CnLTMlk6FY1KjX_CmOz8sr1zeh3ALbNrSvVFKzDjNM5jqWYdaOoAz-o9PltdmKrO3i4raJiZhD1s8YKxIyfHuHOCCkU9igKPinVFt5kd4Ll1z5rkIg9Djv9LIgATKRenSWh1nPi_rHzk3iLM4tesHhaM-E/s5472/Edit-IMG_1735.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1jro8c7DJqk6_Q8ZwrO1cT4MLe6Vct3zd2CnLTMlk6FY1KjX_CmOz8sr1zeh3ALbNrSvVFKzDjNM5jqWYdaOoAz-o9PltdmKrO3i4raJiZhD1s8YKxIyfHuHOCCkU9igKPinVFt5kd4Ll1z5rkIg9Djv9LIgATKRenSWh1nPi_rHzk3iLM4tesHhaM-E/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1735.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3I9R31397OoB2wXjkngCucg6GBu1SDDfI825RG_641xe4HZPxxQmfE1rwcvc2i6u-VVnQWF-ADnq4UhY7jUb4JzQtPAnB7v5LH3phzMOQQ8eGVdp1_zudVYgnkDC3XEeGurQs6RCRQ5nJb9BP5m6kzYwynBY2P0X_K1Jji2WqEwkRX8cYCAp6fx3mpvU/s5472/Edit-IMG_1736.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3I9R31397OoB2wXjkngCucg6GBu1SDDfI825RG_641xe4HZPxxQmfE1rwcvc2i6u-VVnQWF-ADnq4UhY7jUb4JzQtPAnB7v5LH3phzMOQQ8eGVdp1_zudVYgnkDC3XEeGurQs6RCRQ5nJb9BP5m6kzYwynBY2P0X_K1Jji2WqEwkRX8cYCAp6fx3mpvU/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1736.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We climbed in elevation some more, until the turnoff for Fire
Road 545 came back into view. We made our way into Sunset Crater for the second
time today, turning into the campground just before sunset with the usual perfect timing. We
were surely very low on gas, but Jane had miraculously been sipping fuel all
day so we came out a bit better than expected. Whatever the fuel level, it became
a problem for tomorrow, as I found a very inviting campsite and set my gear up
in short order. I was just glad to finally be able to pull out my tent, my old friend - one that has been certainly neglected so far this trip. It's good to be back outdoors and on the "slow" side of the trip, where I can take the time to really immerse myself in where I am.<o:p></o:p></p>
<br />
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBtyEBL717KAwEq8cBx3Qygk9Ce9FWeGZKjcbOHJWT4wtKtyjetlTPewQgQBh1s633c2CZAjkESg0xhyU_EW2yxsbJNj8G2C3aJSqd1etDP5AZdPVc9YloZjY7DwFgulAqDCWG87L7gf60PRQR4yJFjO9rBgSUtxlCDoytqIAgaugzRku2xOoo1qCQWqM/s2048/Edit-IMG_8106.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBtyEBL717KAwEq8cBx3Qygk9Ce9FWeGZKjcbOHJWT4wtKtyjetlTPewQgQBh1s633c2CZAjkESg0xhyU_EW2yxsbJNj8G2C3aJSqd1etDP5AZdPVc9YloZjY7DwFgulAqDCWG87L7gf60PRQR4yJFjO9rBgSUtxlCDoytqIAgaugzRku2xOoo1qCQWqM/w640-h480/Edit-IMG_8106.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p class="MsoNormal">I watched the sun set over my beautiful, fantastic car,
parked in that beautiful, fantastic scenery, and counted my blessings. There’s
nowhere I’d rather be than here. Sitting by my campfire, the usual Boy Scout hamburger meal sizzling on the grill nearby, I reveled in the onset of night. Fingers of clean, cool, crisp mountain air battled with the smoky heat of the flames and the whispers of hot rendering fat from the grill in a swirling tumble, while the Ponderosas all around me rattled with a rising breeze. This land is steeped in history, and as the day begins to fold and the world draws close, you can feel it rise from the ground, a breath of wind of its own. What has this land seen of the evolution of human history, I wonder. What was it like, in the time of Those Who Came Before?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV3M20woJcvKV9XST9ONYnlK5cGMWZ1C5Zp9VaWP6uXPAL3VNjNHxaoybPIqrerHtfgh8SKGFJ7odWA4WJjtSvtOXfCFemQT3MaNUNyWWNkcBGkmADZO_NNWJGnVZATVFsV3rvRhyphenhyphen-c0UzDYr-UC802cnODpAvsFwTQRnh4eSeDwAsD9bCMdsK1p170Ew/s2048/Edit-IMG_8103.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV3M20woJcvKV9XST9ONYnlK5cGMWZ1C5Zp9VaWP6uXPAL3VNjNHxaoybPIqrerHtfgh8SKGFJ7odWA4WJjtSvtOXfCFemQT3MaNUNyWWNkcBGkmADZO_NNWJGnVZATVFsV3rvRhyphenhyphen-c0UzDYr-UC802cnODpAvsFwTQRnh4eSeDwAsD9bCMdsK1p170Ew/w640-h480/Edit-IMG_8103.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Kelly signing out.<o:p></o:p></p><br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">**Side note from the author: My greatest apologies for the delay in these posts - an abundance of scientific and creative projects this fall really sapped my creative writing skills! But, I will finish the posts out as always, never fear.**</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br />Kelly Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04271547498127096571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893125545466338016.post-65460850625393277952023-11-02T22:54:00.001-04:002023-11-02T22:54:24.076-04:00Grey<p class="MsoNormal">8-5<o:p></o:p></p>
<br />
<p class="MsoNormal">----------<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I hate this time of year. No, not August. More of a specific
day. I hate the day that I depart Reno, leaving Hot August Nights behind.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">No more rainbow splash of colors, each car competing against
the rest for the most eye-catching hue.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">No more searing glitter of chrome, sizzling swooping
checkered and striped patterns leaving sunspots marching across your vision.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">No more earthy rumbly boasting of V8s, coalescing into a
deep bassy thumping reminiscent of a far-off herd on the move.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">No more cheerful chatter of people united by a common
passion, frenzied in their need to say everything that needs to be said before
the moment passes.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Nothing but wretched solitude as we descend from the
northern oasis, striking out across the desolate plains of Nevada, Jane’s
exhaust echoing out into the vastness, suddenly a lonely small sort of sound.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Once again, we are alone, separated from our kind.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And everything suddenly seems very grey.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaoCaiFKbBlQXkORxwa4YFozDrqATrjwuw3iUYQLoEVUgTEZDHkhHxkjjvzsjjf24RJcY9BLvo28j8d9K54F4Kg8pCLbYyJ1BjNmXqctalJPGC_e9UqvWEp5RlYRdchXA4MHN2V43xH0LZBREKpb3MKemqe5H6C6CzGq4_Jy6joQDhdjp2iUIAeML_T-Q/s5472/Edit-IMG_1420.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaoCaiFKbBlQXkORxwa4YFozDrqATrjwuw3iUYQLoEVUgTEZDHkhHxkjjvzsjjf24RJcY9BLvo28j8d9K54F4Kg8pCLbYyJ1BjNmXqctalJPGC_e9UqvWEp5RlYRdchXA4MHN2V43xH0LZBREKpb3MKemqe5H6C6CzGq4_Jy6joQDhdjp2iUIAeML_T-Q/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1420.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Of course, it may be that I’m being a bit dramatic here.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Maybe the greyness is just because there’s a massive amount
of haze in the air from nearby wildfires.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But it is good, because it matches my melancholy feelings.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Jane and I trudged south, taking it easy as we had nowhere
in particular to be. There was not much to be reported for the first five hours
or so – just searing scrubland crowned by smogged-in distant hills, punctuated
by the occasional lake or small rise.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv8U9ocPf9Y4eZ2fAxz4Ne1KTldBLFmadr2g8zh0DohLt02mmnoliITH0CFamEdO3EP6LqqqzpVe8J9nfnOpMB6fJQBK5uMgf5u_F7XjfYd6Xr3leQiLlZvKsEjdQQ6D09XfH3sEjXib3feC8rC1CJZ22Jmn3RimKAXMYgCncv9aFBcvIiaDD4Iar9Zhg/s5309/Edit-IMG_1411.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3539" data-original-width="5309" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv8U9ocPf9Y4eZ2fAxz4Ne1KTldBLFmadr2g8zh0DohLt02mmnoliITH0CFamEdO3EP6LqqqzpVe8J9nfnOpMB6fJQBK5uMgf5u_F7XjfYd6Xr3leQiLlZvKsEjdQQ6D09XfH3sEjXib3feC8rC1CJZ22Jmn3RimKAXMYgCncv9aFBcvIiaDD4Iar9Zhg/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1411.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw71vzkvyHmSaQNGa86aFeXmVqDzSwYgeUZgY5-K1A7LhCaIuBlRbgjMMIZLxii4eCcmKLxih0VKRdxuOMqZPy2yhOkFy8X89Q1FynLPuRkPYCr90rFiqNq2WxQ_EprMxvDyBGDYq8VO01xCbBwEVy5nQTekvrtL45HUuRHyelY8JqPirkFDpFb-yhfa8/s5449/Edit-IMG_1413.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3633" data-original-width="5449" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw71vzkvyHmSaQNGa86aFeXmVqDzSwYgeUZgY5-K1A7LhCaIuBlRbgjMMIZLxii4eCcmKLxih0VKRdxuOMqZPy2yhOkFy8X89Q1FynLPuRkPYCr90rFiqNq2WxQ_EprMxvDyBGDYq8VO01xCbBwEVy5nQTekvrtL45HUuRHyelY8JqPirkFDpFb-yhfa8/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1413.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We approached Death Valley and the smog burned off,
vaporized in the face of the valley’s unrelenting heat. It appeared that the
return trip to Austin would be a hot one, unlike my unseasonably pleasant drive
up. Ah, well. At least I had some very nice mountains to look at after that. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZwiXOo6ZGibIJd7HoFpElGPJwNRH7-vhVqzLYqIl2LCphaMcl9zozotc5PiXM6HFhyphenhyphenOhSEze6NXhEpwtsxHQdo47e3uppKtaW8mdQClOMLJpj7HYIdCpl4PwmZToRGPn9Z6ueoWaWdlNajld1pUFgxpKNjAupF0e5dhcf92yw11-qmFIy9FztE6C0uoU/s5472/Edit-IMG_1432.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZwiXOo6ZGibIJd7HoFpElGPJwNRH7-vhVqzLYqIl2LCphaMcl9zozotc5PiXM6HFhyphenhyphenOhSEze6NXhEpwtsxHQdo47e3uppKtaW8mdQClOMLJpj7HYIdCpl4PwmZToRGPn9Z6ueoWaWdlNajld1pUFgxpKNjAupF0e5dhcf92yw11-qmFIy9FztE6C0uoU/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1432.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE91amawbL_oLO19WTyXuZ43YWAPvCR2pXRSdgBwPIkGzO77RDUeSbmbprn-sByqI6UBO2xVSqbdjMH86LLeRPBqC_e1_z9eo_dMgceGkAxix6fHTyOwwW606ADrU968ooIIQ8m8_pCbcpjXTV-6g1ctHKJTkww5x5jZo95es14-4c4z5qVlwHL7cY9kg/s5068/Edit-IMG_1443.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3379" data-original-width="5068" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE91amawbL_oLO19WTyXuZ43YWAPvCR2pXRSdgBwPIkGzO77RDUeSbmbprn-sByqI6UBO2xVSqbdjMH86LLeRPBqC_e1_z9eo_dMgceGkAxix6fHTyOwwW606ADrU968ooIIQ8m8_pCbcpjXTV-6g1ctHKJTkww5x5jZo95es14-4c4z5qVlwHL7cY9kg/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1443.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikEkfYx2sC1xu_gTxQGw0Gcvna0pNZGL0kKyNVpupDU84hvdrEWMJvRQmDaw2NXaJu1wjRJ4MgU5rW4aBS0hTOrqw9R_cKieVI1EPOfNg8w9aU44oCQjuoS6kvhtLCjc1TUTJopqZ83uqp-vwhP2HqtWYmgiHWc4u3_EhboszQMcMEp2X80C8dSWmneaM/s5206/Edit-IMG_1445.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3471" data-original-width="5206" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikEkfYx2sC1xu_gTxQGw0Gcvna0pNZGL0kKyNVpupDU84hvdrEWMJvRQmDaw2NXaJu1wjRJ4MgU5rW4aBS0hTOrqw9R_cKieVI1EPOfNg8w9aU44oCQjuoS6kvhtLCjc1TUTJopqZ83uqp-vwhP2HqtWYmgiHWc4u3_EhboszQMcMEp2X80C8dSWmneaM/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1445.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKj52Y4tDbzD5Ccyq1qdw3HDfRO3yk3gMU58YnN72iu2AgoqU2XSuCsL1XJq2W-YzF1XLVd2eDyahAZ2602PpZZ7ybO9zgDWCDNHCMZYQxsGoxd0L1xmeNMWML-OSiAF_DzksUNEBIKkk1oH4JD8PogOuRi8P-OC6wwMQSU0thE54mQSo0uBwNK2MOIwE/s5188/Edit-IMG_1447.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3459" data-original-width="5188" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKj52Y4tDbzD5Ccyq1qdw3HDfRO3yk3gMU58YnN72iu2AgoqU2XSuCsL1XJq2W-YzF1XLVd2eDyahAZ2602PpZZ7ybO9zgDWCDNHCMZYQxsGoxd0L1xmeNMWML-OSiAF_DzksUNEBIKkk1oH4JD8PogOuRi8P-OC6wwMQSU0thE54mQSo0uBwNK2MOIwE/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1447.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiz1cp6D91f_0g52mEX4AdfXp3x1XDCdL2MZA6_Jsq-dzlTQgdsjpL4IlXqkkPJ8J3HnIWlkA7DxwoC95sW9NGdo-tp-NevlNB47x_-QkFsPdBxvcLBC2bHRgsYSXbfbqJ7-KN_jolIIWXJERkPBX_BnRVrE1OLs1BpMQnyxybfiD1BsPjJEm9f1K2AYE/s5132/Edit-IMG_1449.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3421" data-original-width="5132" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiz1cp6D91f_0g52mEX4AdfXp3x1XDCdL2MZA6_Jsq-dzlTQgdsjpL4IlXqkkPJ8J3HnIWlkA7DxwoC95sW9NGdo-tp-NevlNB47x_-QkFsPdBxvcLBC2bHRgsYSXbfbqJ7-KN_jolIIWXJERkPBX_BnRVrE1OLs1BpMQnyxybfiD1BsPjJEm9f1K2AYE/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1449.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wow! that is a lot of deformation</td></tr></tbody></table><br /> <p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Periodically, I would pass through small towns clustered
around a stand of cottonwood trees, a true oasis not just metaphorically but
also literally. Cottonwoods are a sure sign of water near the surface – maybe a
seasonal spring, maybe an underground river, but sometimes even an actual
flowing creek. It is very odd to drive across such vast stretches of desert only
to happen upon one of these oases, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. However
they occur, I am always thankful for them. Without them, Nevada would be one
unending desert, an uncrossable wasteland devoid of human life (or the all-essential
gas stations).<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Usy6UBaGZgLvWwRHEkDZiVQjKEVgBHSUU6RrvX2lOtmS4S98td09mxJMmjGP0R5M6nppX7LJ_yi8HgLP89Ajbm31dTasaxghB2gnExCj1dT-5fy4w9B28m2pCrM7hl_ZhmXXarPHjDStLyPyB3v4j2PhFvBk0iycj6ud04x14Z2N7l2iP1iWuM0JCM0/s5336/Edit-IMG_1441.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3557" data-original-width="5336" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Usy6UBaGZgLvWwRHEkDZiVQjKEVgBHSUU6RrvX2lOtmS4S98td09mxJMmjGP0R5M6nppX7LJ_yi8HgLP89Ajbm31dTasaxghB2gnExCj1dT-5fy4w9B28m2pCrM7hl_ZhmXXarPHjDStLyPyB3v4j2PhFvBk0iycj6ud04x14Z2N7l2iP1iWuM0JCM0/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1441.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A no-name town composed of a group of mobile homes and a parts shop.<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbcKAX7JRE-pqCdgBaBnHgpsZ-9fUG86tnhlqUcDR5ayvpqZE3kNHlLwUMoVSQFSO51cOZwrX8OBe_K7iUqAczvnRMoA3KdTNGueaH8BfN9O8s6f2kW1rcuxWYU3MLBInaTsDH_al0T8Uv9OhrAeEHsPs15LEkhfsXlnkbL1qBM7J6EBk4LoiJJPPGbGk/s5472/Edit-IMG_1439.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbcKAX7JRE-pqCdgBaBnHgpsZ-9fUG86tnhlqUcDR5ayvpqZE3kNHlLwUMoVSQFSO51cOZwrX8OBe_K7iUqAczvnRMoA3KdTNGueaH8BfN9O8s6f2kW1rcuxWYU3MLBInaTsDH_al0T8Uv9OhrAeEHsPs15LEkhfsXlnkbL1qBM7J6EBk4LoiJJPPGbGk/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1439.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The slightly-more-settled town of Beatty</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<p class="MsoNormal">Think of it this way: the oases are the only thing standing
between Nevadans and a Mad Max-esque existence.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We kept on with our melancholy march, the smog competing with
the roasting heat in a horrible weather tug-of-war. I sat in the driver’s seat
and sweated and sweated, going through liters of water and a fair amount of
sunscreen. I tried some more Iron Maiden to pick us up, but ultimately that
didn’t satisfy and I settled on an unholy variety of 90’s dance music. No
accounting for taste (or lack thereof) in this vehicle on the way home,
sometimes. Fortunately, Jane voiced no objections, instead adding to the din
with the one-two punch of the bellowing exhaust and the accompanying clattering
exhaust leak.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj10I-RFIMjlFy0ybTHPU9ydQ8-zJVGLgGsFurqhqbohCNi-4mbYA-hTuNfwA4Cde1adfoal7Z6CQniPZkffsNMFBAljKGp3cBTfBzZU-chbNYxOfosPTFtMqhc27dI-Ld6UZ8Z3SovES16gQsy0386E2y3C14S3qhCsUQmKniUBE6q2cz4W4SJLw7Zjtk/s5370/Edit-IMG_1452.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3580" data-original-width="5370" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj10I-RFIMjlFy0ybTHPU9ydQ8-zJVGLgGsFurqhqbohCNi-4mbYA-hTuNfwA4Cde1adfoal7Z6CQniPZkffsNMFBAljKGp3cBTfBzZU-chbNYxOfosPTFtMqhc27dI-Ld6UZ8Z3SovES16gQsy0386E2y3C14S3qhCsUQmKniUBE6q2cz4W4SJLw7Zjtk/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1452.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some really big sand dunes I passed! Incidentally, I later passed a sign advertising them as... you guessed it, "Big Dune". Creativity is really not Nevadans' strong point.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvFyn44ErIL-8aBl4Q_I225uzVDodb345Qq4A9Q9pv2V0ab4MUAVf5syN_TRqofkBiDBYr1Tta6PcY0pIYK20duLC5R83KdR3kYVBYTgc88ePboFXANvSJ0rSYtuHbn1gYu_KPzqA1yG9GHHszBcJi5ARl_l3Yyp5yrsQj2H3veCkBiryPxzp7zPiSW-M/s5363/Edit-IMG_1457.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3575" data-original-width="5363" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvFyn44ErIL-8aBl4Q_I225uzVDodb345Qq4A9Q9pv2V0ab4MUAVf5syN_TRqofkBiDBYr1Tta6PcY0pIYK20duLC5R83KdR3kYVBYTgc88ePboFXANvSJ0rSYtuHbn1gYu_KPzqA1yG9GHHszBcJi5ARl_l3Yyp5yrsQj2H3veCkBiryPxzp7zPiSW-M/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1457.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJPZd5QdUpdwQ2ULk0OzDXe5Gz5CLmrbg38v3WopdLRBVVWFdgJddadGFL8vMVVSStOhqYkkCIhFMJgmDjy-MI1-abcxX5Aq3w0-DN_TZ-LQuDO5hyphenhyphenFG1a73j4vjWC8lS6yYxBHSZOU8BjDoyL70Fm3veZ-NxQxYFsgJG1RpQ6YhrN0u5jHOI5yo0XJJw/s5472/Edit-IMG_1458.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJPZd5QdUpdwQ2ULk0OzDXe5Gz5CLmrbg38v3WopdLRBVVWFdgJddadGFL8vMVVSStOhqYkkCIhFMJgmDjy-MI1-abcxX5Aq3w0-DN_TZ-LQuDO5hyphenhyphenFG1a73j4vjWC8lS6yYxBHSZOU8BjDoyL70Fm3veZ-NxQxYFsgJG1RpQ6YhrN0u5jHOI5yo0XJJw/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1458.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I eventually arrived in Boulder City, hoping to once more
stay in the historic hotel “downtown”. But alas, they had just sold out their
last room by the time I got there. So I scooted down the block to a Sands Motel
– no relation whatsoever to the Sands Hotel in Reno, I assure you – and booked
myself a cheap room. The AC was cold, at least, so I flopped onto the bed to
soak up some cool air before wandering across the street to get some dinner. Jane
waited patiently outside the motel, a glittering gem already coated in a fine
dusting of road grime. If one was in a melancholy mood, one might remark that
the car itself was slowly turning grey, its vibrance perhaps leaking away with the
ever-increasing distance between us and the culture – and time period – it hails
from. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But that’s silly, of course, because to the outside
observer, Jane is as stunning as ever, a refreshing rare flash of a different
time when artistic whims were often upheld over pure utilitarianism. A little coat
of dust can’t hide that. Maybe that grime actually enhances the image, in fact.
Because that small detail tells the observer that this car isn’t just some museum
piece pulled out of storage for a brief spin to a local show. This is a car
that has held its own on the roads for nearly 60 years.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Probably no one else thinks about this, but I do. You have
to occupy yourself somehow when you’re driving through the desert for eight
hours, after all.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Tomorrow I’ll get up and head to Flagstaff for a small
amount of adventuring before continuing the long trek home. Until then…<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Kelly signing out. <o:p></o:p></p>Kelly Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04271547498127096571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893125545466338016.post-7665871109850148442023-10-08T04:17:00.011-04:002023-10-08T04:17:35.192-04:00Still Here<p> 8-4</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">----------<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The last day of Hot August Nights has come all too soon.
Well, the last day that I’ll be around, at least. For some reason all of my
friends like to leave by Saturday morning, so I guess I will too. But I’ve
still got a whole day to hang out before hitting the road again.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I started the morning with some wrenching, wrangling my
friend Jeff into observing (for emotional support) while I checked the valve
adjustment on the passenger side bank of Jane’s motor. I just wanted to make
sure that that persistent tapping sound – which I thought was an exhaust leak –
wasn’t actually something far worse. So while everyone else was still groggily
making their way through their morning routines, I was out in the parking lot,
pulling the valve cover and spinning the motor over to check the valves.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv44io37iZbXj-2UONV-OFvnRSRZZ9G9YY8G8uzaqj5EU_vOIlfCdMk41ftlVd_cYAvHfbFus0eLHIa-Yvm3AV_nV6EomkT4x8Jpj0SlP8DYdGtDcRgf9JGDYBPhEyteexfBZH9rxKtz8t3P-YDqkLV-9NJk-q7dijaREOjq_82j8mLlogC_Ml2k4mOR4/s4864/Edit-IMG_1366.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="4864" data-original-width="3648" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv44io37iZbXj-2UONV-OFvnRSRZZ9G9YY8G8uzaqj5EU_vOIlfCdMk41ftlVd_cYAvHfbFus0eLHIa-Yvm3AV_nV6EomkT4x8Jpj0SlP8DYdGtDcRgf9JGDYBPhEyteexfBZH9rxKtz8t3P-YDqkLV-9NJk-q7dijaREOjq_82j8mLlogC_Ml2k4mOR4/w480-h640/Edit-IMG_1366.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><br /><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Fortunately (or unfortunately) I found nothing amiss, so I
buttoned the car back up and wandered around the parking lot for a few minutes.
This close to the weekend, you’re more likely to see some of the fancier or
more extreme builds showing up in pursuit of one of Hot August Night’s fabled
prizes. Lots of fun to look at, even if they are wholly impractical for general
use as actual automobiles.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKM2WIHCzEQus756a1a7AB2QniA1-xjEB5oBoPTcXmJqYki2jrCjSXj9gdLPS5ykzvWAc2yEa4mHfOqFG6xWAr8eW0IIY3aGFz474PpCQRL2pduhyphenhyphen-j2S-8eSLYXx-TNbBu6xH14USEFdy9dMi7He7Cb1xvlgJaGbDfUEP5Wljl1ZEIztLD8Q39qwW9Mo/s4864/Edit-IMG_1368.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="4864" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKM2WIHCzEQus756a1a7AB2QniA1-xjEB5oBoPTcXmJqYki2jrCjSXj9gdLPS5ykzvWAc2yEa4mHfOqFG6xWAr8eW0IIY3aGFz474PpCQRL2pduhyphenhyphen-j2S-8eSLYXx-TNbBu6xH14USEFdy9dMi7He7Cb1xvlgJaGbDfUEP5Wljl1ZEIztLD8Q39qwW9Mo/w640-h480/Edit-IMG_1368.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I call this one "The Creamsicle". It is BEAUTIFUL but would probably be awful to drive, especially without sunglasses</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit6nbYK0wXHINaFkUtNdBDoeyO-UKS_GwSFYw_TG_ZlURD40l9Bra02ehAY9-qci5QrlJjaJxFK1mOjmjIhocpUgqIrtB5fpwVZCk2bVXUjr377MnRYm8HsUZv99O4GltNUufKRhG8nO1MXA7ru181Xgr4QoUEUWQst4IL8it7AyksDtj_-MZETY6ldus/s4864/Edit-IMG_1370.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="4864" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit6nbYK0wXHINaFkUtNdBDoeyO-UKS_GwSFYw_TG_ZlURD40l9Bra02ehAY9-qci5QrlJjaJxFK1mOjmjIhocpUgqIrtB5fpwVZCk2bVXUjr377MnRYm8HsUZv99O4GltNUufKRhG8nO1MXA7ru181Xgr4QoUEUWQst4IL8it7AyksDtj_-MZETY6ldus/w640-h480/Edit-IMG_1370.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A beautiful cream and yellow interior, but boy that is a lot of light to have to squint through!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRtc7_LOxkAGEBltUuA4ceMbDnfA2PpISStdMsr9udFDUzTn33x2npVRaHz26-k2gQbNTxSgYgqn5khdhFqPQsMT94-sbdkhE0_op80JJbgxeUXnrZM_TCNoK4X_CfJu7bGKIf7KFvTHuZ0zL17MCBo6bVhsIql5QeGwfLZwNYgwT0zGRMei1J_1bQnGE/s5472/Edit-IMG_1387.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRtc7_LOxkAGEBltUuA4ceMbDnfA2PpISStdMsr9udFDUzTn33x2npVRaHz26-k2gQbNTxSgYgqn5khdhFqPQsMT94-sbdkhE0_op80JJbgxeUXnrZM_TCNoK4X_CfJu7bGKIf7KFvTHuZ0zL17MCBo6bVhsIql5QeGwfLZwNYgwT0zGRMei1J_1bQnGE/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1387.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Whatever this is</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAJPqlWezDfEC17-NMA0JrnEaOu5Zt-DKDQHanP7iJqBoUbjg2Bua9zddWAUClg-oWSgiP9buMjp3D9cg7FYF9p5FHqdkOtMMpfOXDuasqtmFPXhFkDnrmj2f5fS6ihI62XUSHdhZ91g6daJ49LSYnSJeNFX0FudqGn5FkQQvsyExqfOA9ihQ5A3iuc8k/s4864/Edit-IMG_1391.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="4864" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAJPqlWezDfEC17-NMA0JrnEaOu5Zt-DKDQHanP7iJqBoUbjg2Bua9zddWAUClg-oWSgiP9buMjp3D9cg7FYF9p5FHqdkOtMMpfOXDuasqtmFPXhFkDnrmj2f5fS6ihI62XUSHdhZ91g6daJ49LSYnSJeNFX0FudqGn5FkQQvsyExqfOA9ihQ5A3iuc8k/w640-h480/Edit-IMG_1391.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pulled by whatever that is</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />
<p class="MsoNormal">I returned to the hotel lobby after a brief spin around the
lot. By then various other people had straggled in with their coffees and assorted
pastries, so we decided to get started with the day’s plans: a trip to the
National Automobile Museum!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For those not in the know (I wasn’t in the know, certainly),
Reno is home to one of the best automobile history museums in the US. It
originated as the remnants of the massive car collection of Bill Harrah, one of
the city’s great “architects” (read: a very successful casino owner) who was an
especially voracious automobile collector from early age until his death in
1989. His collection has apparently been recognized as one of the most
historically important collections of automobiles in the world, as Bill did not
discriminate in the cars he rescued. Everything from the very earliest vehicles
through the late 80s and beyond ended up in his collection, beautifully restored
and lovingly preserved.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We took an Uber over to the museum (yes, still saving
parking spots) and spent a few hours perusing its halls. The main core of the
building is set up like Main Street, USA, with cars placed in displays reflecting
the culture of times long past, when America’s obsession with cars was bright
and shiny and new and joyful.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnVRWn-ealoKOYOTBw03Oon3a8U91nCNwMg4_t4nho-a-GnrEtIXQ8hnODjK1ZK7zMpo6BMiuaArpFum9HP15hhAUZ9IqESi1RaDgCb4v9BTnvLi3HyoaCizh94OT3mMbj3GzwSu8bBo3I_JpqyA2Lyi5L6sEXwyhhkrl6_aR59nm6T-dE0nE6KowOZPg/s5140/Edit-IMG_1392.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3427" data-original-width="5140" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnVRWn-ealoKOYOTBw03Oon3a8U91nCNwMg4_t4nho-a-GnrEtIXQ8hnODjK1ZK7zMpo6BMiuaArpFum9HP15hhAUZ9IqESi1RaDgCb4v9BTnvLi3HyoaCizh94OT3mMbj3GzwSu8bBo3I_JpqyA2Lyi5L6sEXwyhhkrl6_aR59nm6T-dE0nE6KowOZPg/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1392.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhda8dZFVhbAfPo5aTm-y5zVcb5r3KExBFmYFyscYLgTaU__3iBiSmS4GDtN-uiOKR8yQLH7-dzQCf7fLnj8ucVLWh_xbPaMB6B8qDvug4MoHBJr8YKy5M2cUipdAPUIatb0UZUqHUz5Uvk1i1hggT1uSOCa8DpD47C0gAV7adnrgel6zRUvlV22DEk4fs/s2048/Edit-IMG_7879.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhda8dZFVhbAfPo5aTm-y5zVcb5r3KExBFmYFyscYLgTaU__3iBiSmS4GDtN-uiOKR8yQLH7-dzQCf7fLnj8ucVLWh_xbPaMB6B8qDvug4MoHBJr8YKy5M2cUipdAPUIatb0UZUqHUz5Uvk1i1hggT1uSOCa8DpD47C0gAV7adnrgel6zRUvlV22DEk4fs/w640-h480/Edit-IMG_7879.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNEwJkpNweaRqt4ZN0ETyO5HEyLAt_oBLMDulhLoDeJDSyx9bvsj9gYXvCEaZMr6QJhxhfClFccl_8lTPJWlZNtwYCjTBE_xOUnEBYI2ONPk5e0cybOQlbAfoPBf117n6QGJAwYFSInEbWceRX-6DeW3DHCE91zpZXRlyxkYI3tLubk9I1C-toH-lMx_8/s2048/Edit-IMG_7923.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNEwJkpNweaRqt4ZN0ETyO5HEyLAt_oBLMDulhLoDeJDSyx9bvsj9gYXvCEaZMr6QJhxhfClFccl_8lTPJWlZNtwYCjTBE_xOUnEBYI2ONPk5e0cybOQlbAfoPBf117n6QGJAwYFSInEbWceRX-6DeW3DHCE91zpZXRlyxkYI3tLubk9I1C-toH-lMx_8/w640-h480/Edit-IMG_7923.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">To the sides, a number of unobtrusive doorways lead into
cavernous galleries, each dedicated to a certain period of automobile
innovation. And wow, what a collection! When they said that Bill Harrah collected
everything – they meant it. As we stepped inside the first gallery, I was
shocked to see how many extremely early concept cars were housed therein. But
more shocking was looking at the timeline and considering how quickly the early
“cars” took shape into something easily recognizable as a car.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I took more than a few very blurry, poorly-lit photos of the
cars in this museum, and debated not putting them in this post at all. But then
I figured, why the hell not. It would be cool for this post to take a brief
tour through the history of the automobile. After all, I am now armed with
enough knowledge and photos to make a bit of a story of it. So let’s take a
quick spin.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The early 1880’s saw the development of steam-powered
quadricycles, which became steam-powered carriages, which became internal-combustion-powered
– all within the span of a decade or two! By the early 1900’s, Ford had
established their name and in 1908, the iconic Model T was born. Just imagine
living at that time, going from horse-drawn carriages and steam-powered
transportation to a very modern internal combustion-driven vehicle within the
span of one generation. Amazing.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV4t9BB8al-hdO2OblcpJZUjrDexGV_Ha555f9YOeDWZb6aFRxmdHlF0w7pC-LJ6ELA5A5vl1lUxYyh0JDNXBWQQ53PyLaGvDT5apPiAPr84OfDDDWTX9gIahtzAUWwtoqBa72QROapjqV8ZC82Os42q86sk7bCCPQlRbykzkhWXdN5rRCqAGhHNTvwIM/s5472/Edit-IMG_1397.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="5472" data-original-width="3648" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV4t9BB8al-hdO2OblcpJZUjrDexGV_Ha555f9YOeDWZb6aFRxmdHlF0w7pC-LJ6ELA5A5vl1lUxYyh0JDNXBWQQ53PyLaGvDT5apPiAPr84OfDDDWTX9gIahtzAUWwtoqBa72QROapjqV8ZC82Os42q86sk7bCCPQlRbykzkhWXdN5rRCqAGhHNTvwIM/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_1397.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An 1982 Philion, a steam-powered quadricycle</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgntA9hsqgqecmOmHpaTbpb6JA9IsXgu7Y1qC5VAhgvernbLYtd2pn69X7E-jU0vpdC2vntvV_mvelR3Zm9WMK289YBpJEmDRAjduV6SsPs8IRlIOEPTuAishkrj-G7qKcmzpQm-4E2BRl8VxsHauwryfXwaqXqanAbE6OKbFdvpzPYqYjje7c9H6eKgnk/s2048/Edit-IMG_7828.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgntA9hsqgqecmOmHpaTbpb6JA9IsXgu7Y1qC5VAhgvernbLYtd2pn69X7E-jU0vpdC2vntvV_mvelR3Zm9WMK289YBpJEmDRAjduV6SsPs8IRlIOEPTuAishkrj-G7qKcmzpQm-4E2BRl8VxsHauwryfXwaqXqanAbE6OKbFdvpzPYqYjje7c9H6eKgnk/w640-h480/Edit-IMG_7828.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An 1897 Leon Bollee, a miniature automobile and one of the first to use an internal combustion (one cylinder) engine</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkwXqi_waDEtHg7fGYv91OhRs7fIYE6n-h_W0UbVXxbp0p09DjNs_qxKDpUS5BrYXKr0UrDEvSadPdedfAwmxZif3GRYpiVEkqdSuhrf0YVMDIGu4h54ClH3EEyLdSp2Z1GibPbkKWMe4ckTsb5SKrfoxNzqUczqBg96hMbQFVUvFw6oJ61ZPQIMyfMaE/s2048/Edit-IMG_7840.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkwXqi_waDEtHg7fGYv91OhRs7fIYE6n-h_W0UbVXxbp0p09DjNs_qxKDpUS5BrYXKr0UrDEvSadPdedfAwmxZif3GRYpiVEkqdSuhrf0YVMDIGu4h54ClH3EEyLdSp2Z1GibPbkKWMe4ckTsb5SKrfoxNzqUczqBg96hMbQFVUvFw6oJ61ZPQIMyfMaE/w640-h480/Edit-IMG_7840.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A 1910 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost, one of the earliest luxury automobiles. "The Best Car in the World"</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjnVYKk3TcouZLr3t6FQYjgbIz1uIrRTsEZNevpU2FAjwMGMLVbHRTd3MxBO2VDz3ZSNu-zDwS5Gn_QASVnrjYFGuejqu09RfA5WaTPt6-IJhkThNFFsenBriwZNLcRocbUAAMFO4Z1PNp0UXJBbgQe_uelzWasYjq2Vd-Bt2DYQ3AY87JV_MzAbxZcWc/s2048/Edit-IMG_7870.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjnVYKk3TcouZLr3t6FQYjgbIz1uIrRTsEZNevpU2FAjwMGMLVbHRTd3MxBO2VDz3ZSNu-zDwS5Gn_QASVnrjYFGuejqu09RfA5WaTPt6-IJhkThNFFsenBriwZNLcRocbUAAMFO4Z1PNp0UXJBbgQe_uelzWasYjq2Vd-Bt2DYQ3AY87JV_MzAbxZcWc/w640-h480/Edit-IMG_7870.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A 1914 Buick, another very good-looking car.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It was wild walking through the assortment of vehicles,
looking at all of the things that engineers were trying at the time. Clearly,
many things didn’t work. But it was very interesting to see how early on people
were starting to try new things, testing far-out concepts and cobbling together
ideas in pursuit of continuous improvement. You look at this collection of
cars, and you realize just how hard mankind was bitten by the “Go-fast” bug.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_sBnFUrquKuK9RLmiiaBpEde_n1ZiJLSvjnY879zD7nCqzyobLwZfmahn7hp5q-h-mMT2Dm0FFBRippDIBcM6uWbti_4I_8ecGAr-numFXaa2xw8VMD7OvovxFqhl4sz8osHqfKV4pnWLY12-50P3L98XJQ2VSEWTOT6VC3R8WSv9QzPR3I_6S9O-RAI/s2048/Edit-IMG_7835.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_sBnFUrquKuK9RLmiiaBpEde_n1ZiJLSvjnY879zD7nCqzyobLwZfmahn7hp5q-h-mMT2Dm0FFBRippDIBcM6uWbti_4I_8ecGAr-numFXaa2xw8VMD7OvovxFqhl4sz8osHqfKV4pnWLY12-50P3L98XJQ2VSEWTOT6VC3R8WSv9QzPR3I_6S9O-RAI/w480-h640/Edit-IMG_7835.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Holy moly is all I've got to say about this one</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDjI1SwTObkW9LM3cE9WDDoLcBmhIqY3EMSOXMCuNodimLnTROEaEj745bCdJgfIMaUbBXxJW3-3i3g1FY940PMjIphiucGJY_gdJVDBtw-bvsEpNDJ-y-sUStCzAag-OG4pzk42XMujv6iB0rEYOrUqNnx2ZCdy-h1Sb0Y-LY4JbYrKrBnoQQAsy0DQk/s2048/Edit-IMG_7852.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDjI1SwTObkW9LM3cE9WDDoLcBmhIqY3EMSOXMCuNodimLnTROEaEj745bCdJgfIMaUbBXxJW3-3i3g1FY940PMjIphiucGJY_gdJVDBtw-bvsEpNDJ-y-sUStCzAag-OG4pzk42XMujv6iB0rEYOrUqNnx2ZCdy-h1Sb0Y-LY4JbYrKrBnoQQAsy0DQk/w640-h480/Edit-IMG_7852.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A good visual reminder of why "cylinders" are called "cylinders" in motors!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9-DCIjHsgOc2fVsGJ3Oa-27h251VcNzIxmDXAFkxLcfD_onji8E4RmOSPXwEJGbQ-dnfLaocwf6hi__4Cc2INHrYnzNBI200V8flSV1vaJDcsQQhU-0zyKgYaCi_KQp_yKSDhoPLxsWM81xDb8ywW4fsr306uDS5sPMPTKIiRIOv7SpjrckzsVt2NCZQ/s2048/Edit-IMG_7865.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9-DCIjHsgOc2fVsGJ3Oa-27h251VcNzIxmDXAFkxLcfD_onji8E4RmOSPXwEJGbQ-dnfLaocwf6hi__4Cc2INHrYnzNBI200V8flSV1vaJDcsQQhU-0zyKgYaCi_KQp_yKSDhoPLxsWM81xDb8ywW4fsr306uDS5sPMPTKIiRIOv7SpjrckzsVt2NCZQ/w480-h640/Edit-IMG_7865.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A 1914 Detroit Electric, one of the very earliest electric cars - and one with a range of up to 200 miles! (at 25 mph)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Even as the powerplants behind the vehicles were evolving,
so too did the supporting bits and pieces. Wagon wheels gave way to rubberized smooth
tires, which were quickly fitted with treads of various designs. Taillights –
originally lantern housings with actual lit candles placed inside – were rapidly
upgraded with incandescent bulbs in better reflective housings. Hell, they even
had to invent turn signals!<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1lqZeERwKqKUj_Xo9nuRZXpCw7a-9HwqUV6gSrMgbgN_V83zt1iFMizUtdcVFQt007ArU2OzxHR3BmvCVpuf0FJNCclK97PxXH-1t07GXfdPBcPkL9DXmidALg6hWOSAYe17NWQCs6SeLLONP9agweoPU3SUIzt_qAvPkIRV3Ix7tMsC-SrOhb0FmEKE/s2048/Edit-IMG_7846.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1lqZeERwKqKUj_Xo9nuRZXpCw7a-9HwqUV6gSrMgbgN_V83zt1iFMizUtdcVFQt007ArU2OzxHR3BmvCVpuf0FJNCclK97PxXH-1t07GXfdPBcPkL9DXmidALg6hWOSAYe17NWQCs6SeLLONP9agweoPU3SUIzt_qAvPkIRV3Ix7tMsC-SrOhb0FmEKE/w480-h640/Edit-IMG_7846.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Now that's a familiar brand... </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWIqnourdgkzGsIFaBYbvHICdg7GVmcpb-R9B-hOB_coQyevMkaCmwpP3KBVWQ2Ax251qeOTN2cXD9gpCPGQAzGlu2EHlyElsBN_iZuQLBmqKC1vt1Ggu6Y_bibUNlGbqJ_iEtVZCb95LxzYISO6KBmPLBDHM4PiGXzfORgOWap_vHSQYPoSkORMGuGnk/s2048/Edit-IMG_7847.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWIqnourdgkzGsIFaBYbvHICdg7GVmcpb-R9B-hOB_coQyevMkaCmwpP3KBVWQ2Ax251qeOTN2cXD9gpCPGQAzGlu2EHlyElsBN_iZuQLBmqKC1vt1Ggu6Y_bibUNlGbqJ_iEtVZCb95LxzYISO6KBmPLBDHM4PiGXzfORgOWap_vHSQYPoSkORMGuGnk/w480-h640/Edit-IMG_7847.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpDGwCZdRehdBV4F7yHMoOP1p3vxLSZXmvipQ4njUONhE8s83_cPc6v54EUs3wAG6OFMuhqZ4bNyX0PmyCCBRO107RefESAEYFDbaa0YRi2i8de8r31h5DU4mfnFdi215-WCU6Z_VYU_DtDQL1oSZ4nAD5BI-5Kw2MfefiNI-0CTkdHZ6ZgSpOZ2DcoGQ/s2048/Edit-IMG_7849.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpDGwCZdRehdBV4F7yHMoOP1p3vxLSZXmvipQ4njUONhE8s83_cPc6v54EUs3wAG6OFMuhqZ4bNyX0PmyCCBRO107RefESAEYFDbaa0YRi2i8de8r31h5DU4mfnFdi215-WCU6Z_VYU_DtDQL1oSZ4nAD5BI-5Kw2MfefiNI-0CTkdHZ6ZgSpOZ2DcoGQ/w480-h640/Edit-IMG_7849.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Non Skid" - an early attempt at improving traction!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGylJTA2BSc61vDJ4DQAcPVObnyRdKcdgghIsRVI3cbNSOKkXK4O6Q0dkAksmZR4tz1tgcQvUhrqAXyI8IItDS3ZBm8KGZcWS3mAlzmNnjyAoYOW2zQ9vepE1DYMVxJnWFUbMPf57OHqFcBiC_3ww-39_mfwwG-aoapBOFz1Iyt8SgywyLoDAXIEyyfnQ/s2048/Edit-IMG_7916.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGylJTA2BSc61vDJ4DQAcPVObnyRdKcdgghIsRVI3cbNSOKkXK4O6Q0dkAksmZR4tz1tgcQvUhrqAXyI8IItDS3ZBm8KGZcWS3mAlzmNnjyAoYOW2zQ9vepE1DYMVxJnWFUbMPf57OHqFcBiC_3ww-39_mfwwG-aoapBOFz1Iyt8SgywyLoDAXIEyyfnQ/w480-h640/Edit-IMG_7916.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The original turn signal - note the cable attached to the top which needed to be pulled to flip the turn signal out!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />
<p class="MsoNormal">The Roaring 20s – well through into the 40’s – was a time of
a different type of innovation. Having mostly sorted out the details of the internal
combustion motor, designers instead turned towards aesthetics and comforts. With
the Art Deco movement in full swing, the previously carriage-like body style
favored in early cars was instead discarded for varied shapes strange and
wonderful and inspired. Although the big automakers were still cranking along,
a lot of boutique companies cropped up and tested new designs, hoping they
would catch on. Amazingly, Bill Harrah managed to get his hands on a lot of
these kind of one-off gems. It’s incredible that they still survive today.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrBNWeh07DMdjf_XXGV6hKwZ634I-qJXbv_v-Et8tnjgWegIY3kKkvoApF0n8tdXJFMl7TFBE4_PmRaKhw06ZsXojwl_C2i11LU1d_B8wsOXpU0OtXaKANct2ka_EvOdTeAcfJK2WQlZKqeV59X9kZhZxl1EQwaa9rX622uRa8db3l6KxGbeUGL58g9jk/s2048/Edit-IMG_7883.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrBNWeh07DMdjf_XXGV6hKwZ634I-qJXbv_v-Et8tnjgWegIY3kKkvoApF0n8tdXJFMl7TFBE4_PmRaKhw06ZsXojwl_C2i11LU1d_B8wsOXpU0OtXaKANct2ka_EvOdTeAcfJK2WQlZKqeV59X9kZhZxl1EQwaa9rX622uRa8db3l6KxGbeUGL58g9jk/w640-h480/Edit-IMG_7883.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A one-of-a-kind all copper-bodied 1921 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost, which was made using full sheets of copper for the body panels.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh71FQPKdNPp_Pd3TKlP2kBozXuyqZzvQWnYgYLwJ7AiU4PptzJPWrbVGFCfTqFgUFbhYGErSWwqncxN0K7lr3OmnkdYscvkSzBf4M81N44X81WD4byj7gy_vl2na3i3HiwROY6sukPGVjA4F0oFWO07ctMYDr5kqG3y2i9drqTqnQv62rF-LbUgMvZaaE/s2048/Edit-IMG_7891.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh71FQPKdNPp_Pd3TKlP2kBozXuyqZzvQWnYgYLwJ7AiU4PptzJPWrbVGFCfTqFgUFbhYGErSWwqncxN0K7lr3OmnkdYscvkSzBf4M81N44X81WD4byj7gy_vl2na3i3HiwROY6sukPGVjA4F0oFWO07ctMYDr5kqG3y2i9drqTqnQv62rF-LbUgMvZaaE/w480-h640/Edit-IMG_7891.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This odd beast is a 1937 Airomobile prototype, which was designed to be as aerodynamic as possible.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVbo0sFM5Yb1g2sJN3V8QSY58eb1SB0_xcCYtMPHo3qrKlMnH7pCCU2Q95kfK7viq8Rj6PnlW7Rze1IbhSGBS-DUtT00E2BHUbslliS9gicLr9_W3qcTmXg842keGzIRfY_wInDx70JHaUvSkSCmk__4q-esfVZ04BWDEBWjIMfoG6hRCmOb18YF9CiNw/s2048/Edit-IMG_7892.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVbo0sFM5Yb1g2sJN3V8QSY58eb1SB0_xcCYtMPHo3qrKlMnH7pCCU2Q95kfK7viq8Rj6PnlW7Rze1IbhSGBS-DUtT00E2BHUbslliS9gicLr9_W3qcTmXg842keGzIRfY_wInDx70JHaUvSkSCmk__4q-esfVZ04BWDEBWjIMfoG6hRCmOb18YF9CiNw/w640-h480/Edit-IMG_7892.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Remarkably, the seal-shaped chassy actually DID work as intended, having no problem going 80 MPH and averaging 43.6 mpg. Same as a modern Honda Civic! Unfortunately, the design was too strange-looking and it failed to get enough backing to go into full production.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirAcLulj1o6kRLe4KbqPvXQJwL4zSjPVe1FivrF9EQOjX2PN5PUkCfMPsnC4-lzFIiZuWFju4lGCJi4Vh0gtEi7LECgcMHVbu3T6Im_vzQruOS1F8OOlcLEKEIp0ywI2TwJdA7NIm7TThD6RdkkVXi8WcXqamQpWhy3TBso2hzWgEXdyUsqK66GyBIX4c/s2048/Edit-IMG_7931.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirAcLulj1o6kRLe4KbqPvXQJwL4zSjPVe1FivrF9EQOjX2PN5PUkCfMPsnC4-lzFIiZuWFju4lGCJi4Vh0gtEi7LECgcMHVbu3T6Im_vzQruOS1F8OOlcLEKEIp0ywI2TwJdA7NIm7TThD6RdkkVXi8WcXqamQpWhy3TBso2hzWgEXdyUsqK66GyBIX4c/w480-h640/Edit-IMG_7931.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A 1937 Cord, a good-looking beast that was as fast as it was cool! It's supercharged and had a very impressive (for the time) top speed of 112 mph. This particular car is a speed record setter, driving 2,441.3 miles in 24 hours at an average speed of 101.72 mph (holy cow).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2YpLnZ5E2NlBTbe_PDROCuzSly3hS5rArp-lWDRSiVFcdJqLLeL9mgCopUL6FU5RvbAIOQSg289AGfrLkMr6yO4xsFwhJk-EMOaFehzbhI1Wmrs4FAqr4-6s6WoRa-KW4fikCOu1-T_XlIIB0p0mBbekJKQWF1Qo90i_b00RATk5uSrGCu1u2oSasnB8/s2048/Edit-IMG_7941.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2YpLnZ5E2NlBTbe_PDROCuzSly3hS5rArp-lWDRSiVFcdJqLLeL9mgCopUL6FU5RvbAIOQSg289AGfrLkMr6yO4xsFwhJk-EMOaFehzbhI1Wmrs4FAqr4-6s6WoRa-KW4fikCOu1-T_XlIIB0p0mBbekJKQWF1Qo90i_b00RATk5uSrGCu1u2oSasnB8/w480-h640/Edit-IMG_7941.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A 1949 Jaguar Roadster next to the iconic Mercedes Gullwing. Two verryyyyyy expensive vehicles, both then and now.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi74x6MBaVqgQJeQ4metTcK2c8agv3mkrI1GwmwswPAQaQ5fPmKbbv_DmnfboMiU_TckIrGiHE-UVQxFdoOl87UKTi0TMtkZqOzL-siYBHsji-E6jA9R_brkXCcbuTyNa4fKq4G6uijca5IDbW00SGn02cjJrziyeIo9JcSdM0OFJU0cELNf2k1k0JLBEw/s2048/Edit-IMG_7960.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi74x6MBaVqgQJeQ4metTcK2c8agv3mkrI1GwmwswPAQaQ5fPmKbbv_DmnfboMiU_TckIrGiHE-UVQxFdoOl87UKTi0TMtkZqOzL-siYBHsji-E6jA9R_brkXCcbuTyNa4fKq4G6uijca5IDbW00SGn02cjJrziyeIo9JcSdM0OFJU0cELNf2k1k0JLBEw/w640-h480/Edit-IMG_7960.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My absolute most favorite car in the whole collection - a 1936 Mercedes-Benz Type 500K Roadster. My god, look at those CURVES. Absolutely gorgeous.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The 1950’s saw the real blossoming of the automobile
industry, as cars went from a luxury item for the rich, to a tool for the
everyday man. Cars got big – big enough for families – with incredible eye-catching
chrome and fins to celebrate the opulence that had finally reached the middle
class. I didn’t take too many pictures of these, mostly because there are
better examples (in far better lighting) parked right outside. But notably,
Bill Harrah didn’t seem too keen on keeping representative examples of the more
common 50’s cars, instead preferring to keep historical examples and oddballs
that were ultimately failures.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmSlFSkpsrtlOE9-hMHEqInNYJF9WcEbr8tsu6qA9kMEvyOlL5UecDZ6BDiVL7NoPPbeTbMB05tUZHPVQmIQCR6-uYcvS8rLLGR0x5ctjL_ROud6FSZE2ezSAUnYsdeXA8tmWjs0efE44dHoxi-CZ2EM38D4CqpCFcz-MEObrvn_AJQgH4E2kLw7iqZ_A/s2048/Edit-IMG_7936.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmSlFSkpsrtlOE9-hMHEqInNYJF9WcEbr8tsu6qA9kMEvyOlL5UecDZ6BDiVL7NoPPbeTbMB05tUZHPVQmIQCR6-uYcvS8rLLGR0x5ctjL_ROud6FSZE2ezSAUnYsdeXA8tmWjs0efE44dHoxi-CZ2EM38D4CqpCFcz-MEObrvn_AJQgH4E2kLw7iqZ_A/w640-h480/Edit-IMG_7936.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">By the 1960’s and 70’s, auto development had advanced to a point
in which the cars – and the amenities they had – were quite similar to today’s
cars. Engineers had figured out and implemented the concepts for many of the
systems that we still use today – brakes, power steering, air conditioning,
things like that. There were even a lot of features that we consider to be
higher-end today, such as multi-directional switch-activated mirror
adjustments, power windows, power seat adjustments, tilt-away steering wheels, power
convertible tops, etc. But there were still some interesting approaches to how
different effects were achieved. Many items were operated by vacuum, with a
million little vacuum hoses routed all through the body of the car instead of
the now-common electrical motors. These are the little things that make the cars
of that era endearing, a little reminder of the progress we’ve made since then.
But I didn’t really need any exhibit to tell me that: this is something that I
know on a personal level, from my many years of working on Jane and other
assorted classic cars of the era.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I guess that’s why I started to lose interest once we got
into the 60’s and 70’s gallery. So many features of those exhibits were so
familiar to me that it seemed almost strange to see them in a museum, placed on
display like some dead thing, a relict of a different age. To me, the 60’s and
70’s-era cars are very much alive, and Hot August Nights is the proof. With the
true brilliance of the classic car culture, with all of its creativity and
innovation and love and dedication, on full display on the streets right
outside, the dark halls of the National Automobile Museum felt a little sad, a
little forlorn. Funereal. I found myself wanting to return to the land of the
living.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Having seen more than our fill of cars, we left the museum
and wandered off to get some pizza, then made the all-essential run to Summit
Racing. They were doing a cracking amount of business, and I added to that with
a purchase of some header gaskets to try out on Jane. After that, we took
another lift back to the Grand Sierra. In that span of time, an abrupt downpour
had opened up over all of Reno, leaving all of the cars glittering like wet
jewels amongst the consternation of their owners.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihvmJEFFkQjHP-ZKqaVPdswpcHfKhmsIZntFtex2gja_FpDbg3XCiCSzZbYkM0pKUGXBWWWWA3gOSjZgFP7qkwHNMywIVocUGNXqTt8CKEsm7Pk0-c9BXFtynSiUhCqhYbtx3lvXPDqIbfPtxvgBzn3RCqT9-RDeF3TBjKMRdvfpI0y2wF30oh5gD44cY/s2048/Edit-IMG_7977.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihvmJEFFkQjHP-ZKqaVPdswpcHfKhmsIZntFtex2gja_FpDbg3XCiCSzZbYkM0pKUGXBWWWWA3gOSjZgFP7qkwHNMywIVocUGNXqTt8CKEsm7Pk0-c9BXFtynSiUhCqhYbtx3lvXPDqIbfPtxvgBzn3RCqT9-RDeF3TBjKMRdvfpI0y2wF30oh5gD44cY/w640-h480/Edit-IMG_7977.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Jane, of course, is no stranger to being wet, and had not
changed in appearance nor diminished in impressiveness one bit.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I elected to go up to my room for a nap while I waited for
the showers to pass, then headed back down to take a stab at fixing Jane’s
probable exhaust leak. My friends dutifully assisted, knowing that I’m
completely incapable of simply leaving the car alone during any Hot August
Nights stay. After verifying that the aft end of the headers didn’t have an
exhaust leak, we concluded that it must be the fore end, so I pulled the
headers away from the motor and spent a very dumb hour or so incrementally
scraping away at remaining header gasket material stuck to both surfaces. I say
“very dumb” because the task would have been accomplished in about two minutes
if I had remembered to buy replacement gaskets for the aft end at Summit when I
got the other gaskets (which would have let me just drop the headers entirely,
freeing up a lot of space for scraping) or if I had remembered that I actually
had a pretty good wire brush in the toolkit which would have been substantially
more effective than a flathead screwdriver. Alas. So I scraped away while
various people took turns supervising and holding a shade for me.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpo07d5D340FOEK4J3YdbOEIdRCmEeeBY5JN0YOXoG6yXvCV1r_Qj59Fr5PPFYfLQ5bxSVrk2Tu6o-TcfbIKDW13akdL230f8OJCbVrZtwD-4UzSZnId9sYC64uIidAOlYsPkytDMEPJNkdZ4knJ0qtBzeHkUrsmc_TLbz5gQd-MTlPimvjQfsKpw1oDA/s2048/Edit-IMG_7979.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpo07d5D340FOEK4J3YdbOEIdRCmEeeBY5JN0YOXoG6yXvCV1r_Qj59Fr5PPFYfLQ5bxSVrk2Tu6o-TcfbIKDW13akdL230f8OJCbVrZtwD-4UzSZnId9sYC64uIidAOlYsPkytDMEPJNkdZ4knJ0qtBzeHkUrsmc_TLbz5gQd-MTlPimvjQfsKpw1oDA/w480-h640/Edit-IMG_7979.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGISU8jZmTu5RJ49CSlCGDdc8e7FWC5Y7hJUuySC_fpw1mMr2Er9DwTengNv_tpjfFGufnQMIiTPioIazVdJwrBbRw6SWiyRhFPgBZ69hOjmBhsNsoJXnEiObqM1D7oxvlsv5i8cK7Gn6vvhR7JHEOBuyRcgYPwFPnoV0rT3JMayVlalk8-jCwd-cCMB4/s1600/Edit-SF%2004Aug23%20HAN%209.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGISU8jZmTu5RJ49CSlCGDdc8e7FWC5Y7hJUuySC_fpw1mMr2Er9DwTengNv_tpjfFGufnQMIiTPioIazVdJwrBbRw6SWiyRhFPgBZ69hOjmBhsNsoJXnEiObqM1D7oxvlsv5i8cK7Gn6vvhR7JHEOBuyRcgYPwFPnoV0rT3JMayVlalk8-jCwd-cCMB4/w640-h480/Edit-SF%2004Aug23%20HAN%209.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As the sun began to set, I finally buttoned Jane up and released
my friends from shade-holding duty. They gathered round for the engine
start-up, to see if my problem had been resolved.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I dropped into the driver’s seat, slotted the key in, primed
the fuel pump, and cranked the ignition. Jane’s motor roared to life victoriously.
And…. The sound was still there, completely unchanged or possibly worse.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiTfqT13DmTCwjHpUC5Cm036imAhHh7w0D_U9xDQ340Ys1IIYwZcJIiHdWh1sFvR2WD7BtvfCrm5BUpPHHw1NX_Ae9P9iP04TT26mbzAN5RlNgZyn8bIHNokWZ3bjwocO8TgnxjDcCI5dzZh1sjosjbWj3KRg7X-BXMOPZMdYBzZnRPeLfeoa0AFhVtDk/s1561/Edit-SF%2004Aug23%20HAN%2021%20trim.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="1171" data-original-width="1561" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiTfqT13DmTCwjHpUC5Cm036imAhHh7w0D_U9xDQ340Ys1IIYwZcJIiHdWh1sFvR2WD7BtvfCrm5BUpPHHw1NX_Ae9P9iP04TT26mbzAN5RlNgZyn8bIHNokWZ3bjwocO8TgnxjDcCI5dzZh1sjosjbWj3KRg7X-BXMOPZMdYBzZnRPeLfeoa0AFhVtDk/w640-h480/Edit-SF%2004Aug23%20HAN%2021%20trim.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You might think that I would have been very annoyed about
this. But I really wasn’t. I’ve learned from Jane over the years that as long
as I make a good-faith attempt at fixing the car, whether or not I’m successful
is really irrelevant. I’ll always make it home, as long as I tried. But if I
don’t try… so help me.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We spent the remainder of our last night together shooting
the shit in the parking lot, same as we always have. I immersed myself in the
night, soaking up the laughter, the camaraderie, the energy, the specialness of
it all, branding it into my mind to be viewed again and again in the future.
You see, this might be my last Hot August Nights for quite some time. We had
all agreed that this would be the last big get-together, in part because of
rising costs but also because people’s lives are changing, different things
taking precedence. And as much as Hot August Nights is about the cars, it’s more
about the people. The chance to take Jane somewhere truly awesome notwithstanding,
of course.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWsN3ePUMT2iOfO1chm1gUC0BLBhkJZzk5ewBvbyrOlbYDcbt92mYxQTTgN9Pn9yhl7JAY_XgXYAjGX3gmUPTJ6Y-E8BnUaQjy2m-GC-mg_ry0-P5F8BRtF37L2Op2-prWkvFlGTR0lkGXTuJIwqVdg8NKXhOPZ9MQZsOM8rFQrOpHZBGAJdc1DMrObpg/s2012/Edit-IMG_7981.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="1509" data-original-width="2012" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWsN3ePUMT2iOfO1chm1gUC0BLBhkJZzk5ewBvbyrOlbYDcbt92mYxQTTgN9Pn9yhl7JAY_XgXYAjGX3gmUPTJ6Y-E8BnUaQjy2m-GC-mg_ry0-P5F8BRtF37L2Op2-prWkvFlGTR0lkGXTuJIwqVdg8NKXhOPZ9MQZsOM8rFQrOpHZBGAJdc1DMrObpg/w640-h480/Edit-IMG_7981.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUE6-NzuUOhHKcQGGJxmcX1Umt2L1zgtH6aIE-snC8k-CIqt9it5JhmCAMeH17_nTBYxq9YGu17ZUNFCLgaBoEgZKCo6XZndO6VjEXxNsVzc_WAJ6viEESIYMbdUx_6PmNPeS2r_dlavI7N3cutZEVBetxJYhgqVnlw-gHAldlu2c78GK6CefziU9_iZc/s2048/Edit-IMG_7995.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUE6-NzuUOhHKcQGGJxmcX1Umt2L1zgtH6aIE-snC8k-CIqt9it5JhmCAMeH17_nTBYxq9YGu17ZUNFCLgaBoEgZKCo6XZndO6VjEXxNsVzc_WAJ6viEESIYMbdUx_6PmNPeS2r_dlavI7N3cutZEVBetxJYhgqVnlw-gHAldlu2c78GK6CefziU9_iZc/w640-h480/Edit-IMG_7995.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But you know, at events like this, there is always one thing
that always leaps to the forefront of my brain: “Still here.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There’s the classic cars, relicts of decades long past,
remaining evidence of times when the world was a different place. Time capsules
of new ideas, new concepts, creative designs, ultimately unsuccessful
strategies, all the little innovations and alterations and changes that led us
to where we are today. Still here.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Their caretakers, lovingly working to keep those memories
alive, burnishing in every passing year like just another layer of wax, passing
the responsibility down through generations. Still here.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The hot rodders, finding new and creative ways to improve,
to personalize, to push the boundaries of what has previously been imagined,
continuously expanding to keep the hobby fresh and interesting and attractive
to newcomers. Still here.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The community, a myriad of individuals spanning a vast
landscape of experiences, all with their own beliefs and values and educations
and backgrounds. Yet somehow all coming together in unity, forming a massive motley
patchwork quilt of people that is the fabric of our community, the thing
keeping our love of cars alive. Still here.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There’s my friends, just one group of many, but special
above all else because they are mine. Each of us held together by the bond of a
single model of car – the Ford Mustang – a bond which should be tenuous, but
which is inexplicably strong. Each of us, moving through our own lives, getting
married, having children, buying cars, selling cars, having all of our own
adventures, but still tethered by an invisible thread to each other. Still
here.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And then there’s me and Jane. Nearly thirteen years of propping
each other up, and almost a decade of years of road trips. Over 70,000 miles of
roads traveled, through good times and bad, through sun and rain. Each of our
parts gaining in age, in wear, and sometimes requiring replacement. But still
here.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We’re still here.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYmjj8Tv51d_Rkg6Tu_E8OvxkgwFdz10M8KdppSHhBsdT6T7Spdkn1ZE9fJbwPoRpgfNxWqMWh8JWwEXYqqxWCl1BsfXLnXiJ21OmnXKElm0VdQVTSTB0Ja97YfiGPlS4_cPMQbWpjPxhyphenhypheniaOuTp4y-181gdeVGRXHPe63xYq6-nlXiNtHGEsWFNnfVPk/s2048/2011_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYmjj8Tv51d_Rkg6Tu_E8OvxkgwFdz10M8KdppSHhBsdT6T7Spdkn1ZE9fJbwPoRpgfNxWqMWh8JWwEXYqqxWCl1BsfXLnXiJ21OmnXKElm0VdQVTSTB0Ja97YfiGPlS4_cPMQbWpjPxhyphenhypheniaOuTp4y-181gdeVGRXHPe63xYq6-nlXiNtHGEsWFNnfVPk/w640-h480/2011_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtBx7pcxx7hCfxXfPFD2DtXSQRq_69xRgMTZS4jqsUG4viVc0seg4azvhJpnkfXp1ZCGn9ufCWFTbHpMpqxhEby3d52UUj6MrrIQP7nYvqIJGeahVkIMgkg0AATBBW1hTne8B8J72RDPjwIFw2f_pnmOLfskjMCUIWb8n5qPiU6434imaY68z8l13Xqmc/s960/2012_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="960" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtBx7pcxx7hCfxXfPFD2DtXSQRq_69xRgMTZS4jqsUG4viVc0seg4azvhJpnkfXp1ZCGn9ufCWFTbHpMpqxhEby3d52UUj6MrrIQP7nYvqIJGeahVkIMgkg0AATBBW1hTne8B8J72RDPjwIFw2f_pnmOLfskjMCUIWb8n5qPiU6434imaY68z8l13Xqmc/w640-h426/2012_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifugviZlksFZMd241T2X5NIR-bVoPDdAaaPvC_u5Hht0eJ3z94fEBO3rvw4KjCIktxUrhnSI1oWrMbd66FxbeNYUzYrlzg7iCWiIxuuafyBs4hycAOGOzAN92QPd-B2OB7w9kjjm9SwbmFP7KAYsK6Eiex3pHlNCffmSD-ro-uizz8fhg1DHgTbY36AUo/s960/2014_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifugviZlksFZMd241T2X5NIR-bVoPDdAaaPvC_u5Hht0eJ3z94fEBO3rvw4KjCIktxUrhnSI1oWrMbd66FxbeNYUzYrlzg7iCWiIxuuafyBs4hycAOGOzAN92QPd-B2OB7w9kjjm9SwbmFP7KAYsK6Eiex3pHlNCffmSD-ro-uizz8fhg1DHgTbY36AUo/w640-h480/2014_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgNj3eruevA0-CPAa5QNETk7ctBrhxfcDa8pWHdv3LAbKUFe0NG1N3fzp5Bxh7INgjRFl9K2d1WCUUw6dyJoVbU1gjnjP2VihqJXlnwvGxyc4G5Cc_Rk_nzh0kkP23Q2xGjWVTQbcdPIXYZT6slqBJSInosTXHalKyQzd0QsOx2EyWnx0ftvUxZl8n8jQ/s1800/2014_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="1800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgNj3eruevA0-CPAa5QNETk7ctBrhxfcDa8pWHdv3LAbKUFe0NG1N3fzp5Bxh7INgjRFl9K2d1WCUUw6dyJoVbU1gjnjP2VihqJXlnwvGxyc4G5Cc_Rk_nzh0kkP23Q2xGjWVTQbcdPIXYZT6slqBJSInosTXHalKyQzd0QsOx2EyWnx0ftvUxZl8n8jQ/w640-h480/2014_2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqA_tFa6QByCn_ShmCWXB6uvico6bhtVHx13CO4UFEEcwwbpa0RxXYBKvBZUl8m1ItjzZmLrFSQa3YowveF2HsEV_dhwcEGVOBaaKu6cv8u64yZmfSwXcXYq6gyWpK9zM67yhPL1RK1ZBZlDlNS2GZnolbmmQbLKeSxaoaG-gXrywTY2-vinXOFUHHzRw/s4581/2014_3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3054" data-original-width="4581" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqA_tFa6QByCn_ShmCWXB6uvico6bhtVHx13CO4UFEEcwwbpa0RxXYBKvBZUl8m1ItjzZmLrFSQa3YowveF2HsEV_dhwcEGVOBaaKu6cv8u64yZmfSwXcXYq6gyWpK9zM67yhPL1RK1ZBZlDlNS2GZnolbmmQbLKeSxaoaG-gXrywTY2-vinXOFUHHzRw/w640-h426/2014_3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCbRS8ds6IP65bl1KKNS3GpORWlC7qZhbHOnpyk-ZMMWrmQtiK2912Iqj_EinEklIQKsYIIKr2-iGFKLNLl4PD8-Ru59SyUYjzki8cR9K1CzY5yoKxBdlZWanm2unVhyIjhJAuqEWHAvvT7KPJrWCqp7Qpzd-BGyB4JvuPkTfh8fElGm2kIKgbdz0sCTY/s1152/2015_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="864" data-original-width="1152" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCbRS8ds6IP65bl1KKNS3GpORWlC7qZhbHOnpyk-ZMMWrmQtiK2912Iqj_EinEklIQKsYIIKr2-iGFKLNLl4PD8-Ru59SyUYjzki8cR9K1CzY5yoKxBdlZWanm2unVhyIjhJAuqEWHAvvT7KPJrWCqp7Qpzd-BGyB4JvuPkTfh8fElGm2kIKgbdz0sCTY/w640-h480/2015_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoW-8cDxc1k-7d_HMMw4T5tNf6MeJUhIZITBQnJh0hQTbhXG6H0LmzEFb96uP3sZnnWkPHyPkgsDGvjJuBki_Jfc7USBQxw5TEtfzejMCIMp-ThTRh11u-npgg-aAcOh_5ApUJ3gPRZnhTHw1YvsHXG-dMvLon1T_01egdLOSFPCKUO66qdiP9EdWZilY/s4000/2015_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="1782" data-original-width="4000" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoW-8cDxc1k-7d_HMMw4T5tNf6MeJUhIZITBQnJh0hQTbhXG6H0LmzEFb96uP3sZnnWkPHyPkgsDGvjJuBki_Jfc7USBQxw5TEtfzejMCIMp-ThTRh11u-npgg-aAcOh_5ApUJ3gPRZnhTHw1YvsHXG-dMvLon1T_01egdLOSFPCKUO66qdiP9EdWZilY/w640-h286/2015_2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRHQd-xw6PhXeqVBb4YpNZZBV4Le4eiA8eq7C6-JUhfioWNZVcYfyOBa_4BR3RdFnMtmYkWDDSrGJrucWjxoamUOiHxqe-8lmuhg8M3xnwQxV4TMvGb2CT5ghCvRDa3KGpKG6_PuB3854H-7aP8A1I1tg3FzS5CQaNdmB0Z9ej6OtK0dga9NhzxhTw3_Q/s4000/2015_3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRHQd-xw6PhXeqVBb4YpNZZBV4Le4eiA8eq7C6-JUhfioWNZVcYfyOBa_4BR3RdFnMtmYkWDDSrGJrucWjxoamUOiHxqe-8lmuhg8M3xnwQxV4TMvGb2CT5ghCvRDa3KGpKG6_PuB3854H-7aP8A1I1tg3FzS5CQaNdmB0Z9ej6OtK0dga9NhzxhTw3_Q/w640-h480/2015_3.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhClm96QBmwX1smAv8f7K865oy1vXqf91tXo5Zk3hv_tBFiYb5N2c8EvqbxLSNL_Tqe3Z-Zf2FMCxHi5k18szgS78p3wPuN5BbQU_EGB2Y76xWdQOd6wv9jrBcD4JicUzkAROqlVuAkErwftRWBqZsZNnhPCuzmmJRNkMfmiY9pJs03u6Bydr5YckUxhak/s4000/2016_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhClm96QBmwX1smAv8f7K865oy1vXqf91tXo5Zk3hv_tBFiYb5N2c8EvqbxLSNL_Tqe3Z-Zf2FMCxHi5k18szgS78p3wPuN5BbQU_EGB2Y76xWdQOd6wv9jrBcD4JicUzkAROqlVuAkErwftRWBqZsZNnhPCuzmmJRNkMfmiY9pJs03u6Bydr5YckUxhak/w640-h480/2016_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOaOxG2rfx1935HZqEZBP8ChLvNxj71-HDBFcpunnjattBg-6qMtEUSYfoh0LwwVEaeRCdX4frxvIaijEiquIWlcSiCuupWV_g3y3ltmOPABdDSIgN6H0EjQblKnGcugPsMsrdficijh6LiI9pzdOEHE2jbnWLw139JRj921FJxz8fu4qqCMI9f2HVSzQ/s1074/2016_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="763" data-original-width="1074" height="454" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOaOxG2rfx1935HZqEZBP8ChLvNxj71-HDBFcpunnjattBg-6qMtEUSYfoh0LwwVEaeRCdX4frxvIaijEiquIWlcSiCuupWV_g3y3ltmOPABdDSIgN6H0EjQblKnGcugPsMsrdficijh6LiI9pzdOEHE2jbnWLw139JRj921FJxz8fu4qqCMI9f2HVSzQ/w640-h454/2016_2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjodVn72MQP-l3XyEtAE05TZNIMNNyJhmrmpz2b-O1lQB8W-WxQ0o35DaYsqSpTCN-L9wPkp-W8JARJMTQBxr93Oq_llZDK3YvlvFBvDBulLF34b7cdgmpIwaEmu5mhBXpggrqIQw350xtVYB90A0gZyw5M2UwGhbg4KKVq_dEYtec_ZdW2G0jayK2mAeA/s1024/2016_3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="1024" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjodVn72MQP-l3XyEtAE05TZNIMNNyJhmrmpz2b-O1lQB8W-WxQ0o35DaYsqSpTCN-L9wPkp-W8JARJMTQBxr93Oq_llZDK3YvlvFBvDBulLF34b7cdgmpIwaEmu5mhBXpggrqIQw350xtVYB90A0gZyw5M2UwGhbg4KKVq_dEYtec_ZdW2G0jayK2mAeA/w640-h426/2016_3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8MmJoZ1KBGoN3RPROF6zrH-yIsnYBEMXgMEw7HGOqj3cz8Y6ZgqVACGhEcGW6MZfstKVTjTqFd1vSnyiPKpWK6N22LWCzdylOdIwLXRAFmV21kwIu6QF72JMEGEW6loJcStiLVme_pGG1oRtEfoQRpGRlcOTCr7Ge5q8PiJkyRG1QrKjIy9vYanfHsS8/s1024/2016_4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="1024" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8MmJoZ1KBGoN3RPROF6zrH-yIsnYBEMXgMEw7HGOqj3cz8Y6ZgqVACGhEcGW6MZfstKVTjTqFd1vSnyiPKpWK6N22LWCzdylOdIwLXRAFmV21kwIu6QF72JMEGEW6loJcStiLVme_pGG1oRtEfoQRpGRlcOTCr7Ge5q8PiJkyRG1QrKjIy9vYanfHsS8/w640-h426/2016_4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWrUjxB7jAW1lshyphenhyphenZlJNc8O0NhRHZJSTw_3FomCDRB49jZ2jxUpZYp8S7tgNOavSI3G_y1-1swABZ_J2f9dgxTE6L9YCAzuAD3nwK21t5ydrdsZ8jn8R87Q21xH8SGI2G8xYeQrnxjtZ5DhAG-Uj9uqYGvJLoLKLRpd3gyk8z8MEx6nhrQcdbrU71Ur3o/s1024/2016_5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="1024" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWrUjxB7jAW1lshyphenhyphenZlJNc8O0NhRHZJSTw_3FomCDRB49jZ2jxUpZYp8S7tgNOavSI3G_y1-1swABZ_J2f9dgxTE6L9YCAzuAD3nwK21t5ydrdsZ8jn8R87Q21xH8SGI2G8xYeQrnxjtZ5DhAG-Uj9uqYGvJLoLKLRpd3gyk8z8MEx6nhrQcdbrU71Ur3o/w640-h426/2016_5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVGKhVLjoC4IfGDBmHwsecUJ-ASgbviy_qKx6PJzSL7E7xNaLhirp3tbtpf39p5EdX9OC9UHLvK3ShFy0ePPj1_0SQ_Hlj5tRFLgGd4ENdZm8dCKrmvtv9NoQ4iStSxjf10ozaXqkiBija4oUFGNLNz1vMSTyYhEbM4iW0e9xWRnnhzBuNu_35TKg_onc/s5472/2017_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVGKhVLjoC4IfGDBmHwsecUJ-ASgbviy_qKx6PJzSL7E7xNaLhirp3tbtpf39p5EdX9OC9UHLvK3ShFy0ePPj1_0SQ_Hlj5tRFLgGd4ENdZm8dCKrmvtv9NoQ4iStSxjf10ozaXqkiBija4oUFGNLNz1vMSTyYhEbM4iW0e9xWRnnhzBuNu_35TKg_onc/w640-h426/2017_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Dn2wf76-s3g37mcOwxNGQvwjeQfXMs1NQmF4UUey8juQLzMQCnGkznbNWnnCIEDqH-Q8tle-C7srnpEJLkDAS3LG4DC1iyZnzNHhaehtcuExwShZv-sgFaCn88_NsCthKESTBnf9N0N3TkRi5xN5AzOOThc6sd_t4Cd9XVm8RsvXUNyJNPMyhyphenhyphen5Arko/s2048/2017_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1366" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Dn2wf76-s3g37mcOwxNGQvwjeQfXMs1NQmF4UUey8juQLzMQCnGkznbNWnnCIEDqH-Q8tle-C7srnpEJLkDAS3LG4DC1iyZnzNHhaehtcuExwShZv-sgFaCn88_NsCthKESTBnf9N0N3TkRi5xN5AzOOThc6sd_t4Cd9XVm8RsvXUNyJNPMyhyphenhyphen5Arko/w426-h640/2017_2.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg97Q5ULIVvdEAhf_Ngz5-fwM2tQ4F8w65UnBACyNYr4NdK5PU6UbhNXtW2wDNh_-c0zJ86yWfLJOZg-X8jA7cb2mF91zg-67EaDQApO2i3EVKE1KUZcgqBwasT4IjpFbR8-FKNBVAMFri6FHH7C2k2e7LkqmP3svz2isCNiokRE7ARq7xJbpjUMMjxD2k/s5472/2017_3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg97Q5ULIVvdEAhf_Ngz5-fwM2tQ4F8w65UnBACyNYr4NdK5PU6UbhNXtW2wDNh_-c0zJ86yWfLJOZg-X8jA7cb2mF91zg-67EaDQApO2i3EVKE1KUZcgqBwasT4IjpFbR8-FKNBVAMFri6FHH7C2k2e7LkqmP3svz2isCNiokRE7ARq7xJbpjUMMjxD2k/w640-h426/2017_3.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS6hQhWKBr1E-EjCPMruwd-zKrqHiZuhBb4SKVScLCRMHpmjtRYDlFkBWa8WpIb3PRxyOOMysbM6tYquGrUURzUFY1cfS2j5cYE6CQaJPmn074RImOj7km7Y63ITsXFeCwNHB8KF5oT9H6pzEz1yopQVb3-geuGCol5iuIvupYS4BKc7EuHmfgfZgMyDM/s2048/2018_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS6hQhWKBr1E-EjCPMruwd-zKrqHiZuhBb4SKVScLCRMHpmjtRYDlFkBWa8WpIb3PRxyOOMysbM6tYquGrUURzUFY1cfS2j5cYE6CQaJPmn074RImOj7km7Y63ITsXFeCwNHB8KF5oT9H6pzEz1yopQVb3-geuGCol5iuIvupYS4BKc7EuHmfgfZgMyDM/w640-h426/2018_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTXivF4WDaut9w8-a1h1IAM-D8fn7FXvuFLqq8CncxQoks1ngRPqFtBzmffUUJ8CAhw31P49kBEI0s9DKfyw-lFF8Dodiwh77V7ejPKBxTSDQ12cep6gT9viYzbhXH_TWq9UP-6DEN993LBmcd4eGXKsNfx-eUx4VX4RMIhfd1PQFS7LxBVOanL2Cb7a8/s2048/2018_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTXivF4WDaut9w8-a1h1IAM-D8fn7FXvuFLqq8CncxQoks1ngRPqFtBzmffUUJ8CAhw31P49kBEI0s9DKfyw-lFF8Dodiwh77V7ejPKBxTSDQ12cep6gT9viYzbhXH_TWq9UP-6DEN993LBmcd4eGXKsNfx-eUx4VX4RMIhfd1PQFS7LxBVOanL2Cb7a8/w640-h426/2018_2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo3JadVT8VLy9tV4qbEqK4tVD-jOT8sDCXEFnGMMswisKMgfOuPFi2nT7DPxcmDnDFRe42YkAex894lDMrKVTgIDITWaqmILYEO0ifR4r7tFR9dc47g7QxFZ1VEVV52RpRQn47uuZljHd6UxfssggP2y-LUSwE5Q6c2Wp4nMoVjH37EO5dxm0yGaUIMPw/s5504/2019_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3096" data-original-width="5504" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo3JadVT8VLy9tV4qbEqK4tVD-jOT8sDCXEFnGMMswisKMgfOuPFi2nT7DPxcmDnDFRe42YkAex894lDMrKVTgIDITWaqmILYEO0ifR4r7tFR9dc47g7QxFZ1VEVV52RpRQn47uuZljHd6UxfssggP2y-LUSwE5Q6c2Wp4nMoVjH37EO5dxm0yGaUIMPw/w640-h360/2019_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Ov7MEM2OOb2v8J3o1QeVH3-A85lZV8QHp4geEEAs8cPTa8ZHOTD8vkZDMCKt5HeS8kB3YZcqDiABmhCFvAwBxH8Y45N_16IqK-_zsOrI39vWLGUf7I612oJXrntfNbFsIGxzZhiLieJ9ViW8QVhLQvEwqBKsCHIKxJljmtLCxDd3b5mKx0j6re-tuoc/s2592/2019_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="2592" data-original-width="1944" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Ov7MEM2OOb2v8J3o1QeVH3-A85lZV8QHp4geEEAs8cPTa8ZHOTD8vkZDMCKt5HeS8kB3YZcqDiABmhCFvAwBxH8Y45N_16IqK-_zsOrI39vWLGUf7I612oJXrntfNbFsIGxzZhiLieJ9ViW8QVhLQvEwqBKsCHIKxJljmtLCxDd3b5mKx0j6re-tuoc/w480-h640/2019_2.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWCtvkMorguOvlKkDsmSfU-7dh1ZyhIhXItB1ixd0Wnb2wdRY9XTupzZlFVQFv5S7bBJ0WNnk_Yw2Js1jo3UtfMdH_9O2hy2uFN-pI9u0qEfCgs4c2B-GTMWOm86quezEz43RaoqRs_MiDQwx8jhb6-JC2KYqYnpJaWTGv8zA8ZCKj9IuD0GHmEoQKZ9g/s900/2019_3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="675" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWCtvkMorguOvlKkDsmSfU-7dh1ZyhIhXItB1ixd0Wnb2wdRY9XTupzZlFVQFv5S7bBJ0WNnk_Yw2Js1jo3UtfMdH_9O2hy2uFN-pI9u0qEfCgs4c2B-GTMWOm86quezEz43RaoqRs_MiDQwx8jhb6-JC2KYqYnpJaWTGv8zA8ZCKj9IuD0GHmEoQKZ9g/w480-h640/2019_3.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBiMsM-Qqbqy9LwuSEd0E92ol-0bq8Wih5M9XZuZjKS0pw6WJZug4GBUAHUp_AgITTvVgmVId127BXVPDc-_CSUdyDj0ZD6iZXaB-Nh6dUWQymUP4BJxkKNG5_MYNf8bqknQRV1-_CMG0w2zX2n0QeeFZEgrS-8DeZ6mRwkY59gTBS3cccCHJ9SW3CVQk/s5370/2020_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3096" data-original-width="5370" height="368" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBiMsM-Qqbqy9LwuSEd0E92ol-0bq8Wih5M9XZuZjKS0pw6WJZug4GBUAHUp_AgITTvVgmVId127BXVPDc-_CSUdyDj0ZD6iZXaB-Nh6dUWQymUP4BJxkKNG5_MYNf8bqknQRV1-_CMG0w2zX2n0QeeFZEgrS-8DeZ6mRwkY59gTBS3cccCHJ9SW3CVQk/w640-h368/2020_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtPJxadHaFzkCAGyeCiIBe7XL0_H7GG-_UXWUt54se-NjChb2LnmWkD9t23kOXR7_xInC5_ISZgMToXWL7amDFto2duthsxpsc32uCgPJ6s71mhtJgGe5W4dyzj9pomTlwcLJVfZOdviOt_LigQ6bTB_zeyr01xrGPmgT8Ph4QxE16jYzqIFM5miRCdGk/s5472/2021_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtPJxadHaFzkCAGyeCiIBe7XL0_H7GG-_UXWUt54se-NjChb2LnmWkD9t23kOXR7_xInC5_ISZgMToXWL7amDFto2duthsxpsc32uCgPJ6s71mhtJgGe5W4dyzj9pomTlwcLJVfZOdviOt_LigQ6bTB_zeyr01xrGPmgT8Ph4QxE16jYzqIFM5miRCdGk/w640-h426/2021_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8yZQVbb7VZsHoPXeRN2Dj9htz8VkHx1nOHqL39dIa5JQzmJOGivDVeHwPTi2ywo5apioOQ-5cJzzOdfkgshgyz4JkU9V3AMjdQoA_XwG2Rih7tJopo4sA73cLMDJhDtiJq7EpUN2iWjjExOs1LhvXzneVNPIFyTkS0ya3Atvti4GvhIzQA6VEdWRNxIU/s5472/2021_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8yZQVbb7VZsHoPXeRN2Dj9htz8VkHx1nOHqL39dIa5JQzmJOGivDVeHwPTi2ywo5apioOQ-5cJzzOdfkgshgyz4JkU9V3AMjdQoA_XwG2Rih7tJopo4sA73cLMDJhDtiJq7EpUN2iWjjExOs1LhvXzneVNPIFyTkS0ya3Atvti4GvhIzQA6VEdWRNxIU/w640-h426/2021_2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibTea_EA9fr4TV8lHfvMRay3aC6TdH7-LkbJ8MIvV4olBn0tQuA0SDPpHi9dlifU9rWU7TyebA1nvm4invNC9tO6uNUsT1RL7VES-xH1Kl5R05QuwgrhiKTRiP_1wFMbtq8_XQr4EBDSryQV5v8ii1AX2w1m887QEvHNBEjEUu3uDcv_nKG4dGV2mafJY/s1080/2021_3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="832" data-original-width="1080" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibTea_EA9fr4TV8lHfvMRay3aC6TdH7-LkbJ8MIvV4olBn0tQuA0SDPpHi9dlifU9rWU7TyebA1nvm4invNC9tO6uNUsT1RL7VES-xH1Kl5R05QuwgrhiKTRiP_1wFMbtq8_XQr4EBDSryQV5v8ii1AX2w1m887QEvHNBEjEUu3uDcv_nKG4dGV2mafJY/w640-h494/2021_3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQEYLB9mgT7Y9R_N0eMV1Eqw0zzA-eK22AIzJGx7peyA-H0p4yttehA9riJf3xHoqtIfjMobhRyr1HBmfv-SpRA-R0ulknCUHtqJbcasr_JRWi-lOR_Bv2I2XWJrkCBkyQH8fV8VQesVVw_8pn81OoemT0UTgYrghBmDe8RaaYZ8_Ykt72kdlUklxL2aE/s1440/2022_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQEYLB9mgT7Y9R_N0eMV1Eqw0zzA-eK22AIzJGx7peyA-H0p4yttehA9riJf3xHoqtIfjMobhRyr1HBmfv-SpRA-R0ulknCUHtqJbcasr_JRWi-lOR_Bv2I2XWJrkCBkyQH8fV8VQesVVw_8pn81OoemT0UTgYrghBmDe8RaaYZ8_Ykt72kdlUklxL2aE/w640-h480/2022_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh59afD1M2qNv5cifXObLIAiVCFUsQ0mIjQAeozkJlH77U9iFVT6r9o1qBjJmK70S5OXWik4vjB0CE4Lzju2SmDFm7KsMVIb9RXfyq2OFnRrWl-9I4AiO9SQwZ4bs2r-mKDIKEVKY0B0f1EANEp604z0Zp_ifLwDMTq2_w8jyK-lFrCV1yjUZYmXpFVE3I/s1600/2023_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh59afD1M2qNv5cifXObLIAiVCFUsQ0mIjQAeozkJlH77U9iFVT6r9o1qBjJmK70S5OXWik4vjB0CE4Lzju2SmDFm7KsMVIb9RXfyq2OFnRrWl-9I4AiO9SQwZ4bs2r-mKDIKEVKY0B0f1EANEp604z0Zp_ifLwDMTq2_w8jyK-lFrCV1yjUZYmXpFVE3I/w640-h480/2023_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTDuuj3KZls76O-NwMVtVC7AHQdoH9X7mxLcuqBS8LdbAJcctrDvBljilZZu2jml_cLnl1JVSpmrrmWj3p6UzbTparhTt22isVgLX_Wdf6M7XmRVKiBNk9a3uSwLSfeCvYQEWNpjHT9iF6_wufWP6_x450rJTMaWpTfF4Z0UNMVTwMFuTFaV1Ne2mydzk/s1600/2023_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTDuuj3KZls76O-NwMVtVC7AHQdoH9X7mxLcuqBS8LdbAJcctrDvBljilZZu2jml_cLnl1JVSpmrrmWj3p6UzbTparhTt22isVgLX_Wdf6M7XmRVKiBNk9a3uSwLSfeCvYQEWNpjHT9iF6_wufWP6_x450rJTMaWpTfF4Z0UNMVTwMFuTFaV1Ne2mydzk/w480-h640/2023_2.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><o:p><br /></o:p><p></p>Kelly Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04271547498127096571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893125545466338016.post-46928868724613358002023-09-27T01:07:00.007-04:002023-09-27T01:07:43.893-04:00The Best of Times<p>8-3</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">----------<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The new day dawned, and I awoke somewhat disoriented, bewildered
by my surroundings. You see, in past years I’ve stayed at the Sands downtown,
which was… kinda run-down, but very endearing in a bunch of little ways. This
year I had found an especially good deal on a room at the Grand Sierra so I had
opted to stay there with my friends.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But boy, the Grand Sierra is a big change of pace.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Take my room, for starters. On the 22<sup>nd</sup> floor –
or was it the 25<sup>th</sup>? Big plush bed, tall ceilings, swanky décor,
marble tiled bathroom with a trendy waterfall shower, mirrors everywhere, tons
of lighting. Very nice, very nice. A room currently strewn with my dusty,
sweaty, well-used road trip clothes, but a very nice room nonetheless.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Step outside the room into an equally-plush hallway, step aside
as a cleaning robot whirs past, and summon an elevator. There’s eight elevators
that go to this floor, so it takes about two minutes for one to arrive, despite
the massive number of hotel guests. Maybe another minute to get down to the
lobby, depending on how many floors it stops at on the way down. In contrast, the
Sands always had only one or two elevators functional (out of the available
three), so it was actually pretty remarkable on the odd occasion when you could
actually get down to the lobby from your room. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Step out of the elevators, and you’re swept up in a sea of
people, no matter the time of day. Going to gamble, going to eat, going to a
spa, going to check in, going to check out, going to go out for the day, going
going going. The entire floor hums with energy, a myriad of conversations pelting
in from all angles. The Sands? Well, attribute it to its dark “bear den
aesthetic” or whatever you like, but humanity oozes through there on a slow complacent
current. Calming. Easy.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then there’s another critical difference: the acquisition of
breakfast. There’s a buffet at Grand Sierra ($30+ for breakfast!!), a café, and
a Starbucks. No real middle niche of cheap but freshly-cooked diner food, no
greasy hashbrowns and salty crispy bacon and vaguely burnt coffee. The Sands?
The Sands had Mel’s which was exactly that: your quintessential greasy spoon
breakfast diner, and an old hot rodder’s classic at that.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Yeah, I really missed the Sands. I think it was just more my
style.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I grabbed a breakfast sandwich at Starbucks – the only full
breakfast costing less than $10 in the place – and headed out to the lot to see
Jane. I had a situation to remedy – one unwittingly generated by yet another
very big difference between the Sands and the Grand Sierra. At the Sands, the
classic car lot is guarded by a bike cop and requires an entry tag to get in,
but otherwise your access is unrestricted. People hang out and tailgate at all
hours of the day and throughout most of the night, wrenching on their cars and
shooting the shit. And I was used to taking advantage of that policy on the
first night of every stay to clean Jane up – 10PM, 11PM, midnight, 1AM, no
matter, I had the time.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It turns out that the Grand Sierra lot cops kick everyone
out – EVERYONE – at 10PM. Don’t ask me why. No hanging out, no wrenching on
your car, no cleaning, no nothing. Everyone out. Where are we supposed to go? Who
knows, not their problem. All that’s left is the casino with its glittering
lights and trumpeting machines.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So, Jane had been trapped in her Jekyll-and-Hyde guise for
the night, as the cops had intercepted me and kicked me out shortly before I
started on the second half.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Man, I really missed the Sands.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I spent an hour finishing up Jane’s makeover, during which
quite a few people stopped by to comment on the car’s wretched appearance. The
guy parked behind me handed me a fresh fancy shammy, saying, “Here, you’re
going to need this.” I didn’t use it, knowing it would be ruined forever if
used on the level of grime that I was dealing with.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But eventually, she came clean.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMXuiwlFBCEWmXFIgqVIZdNdHAm4VAbDxfCijaga0Ahn_29TvPA-LeRJZUsuBVN50OqI_Nv1mSW47wkGyPdJkrSZEt9OHcpxk6PlPdyeLzCA1EGnVPbvpOvzoKntx2fOIXwRaLsteoXxgJcl9ymyP8d6BF7bGzcia1cEkguFPQqEeZsvyNBDWO9LIJsR4/s5472/Edit-IMG_1289.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMXuiwlFBCEWmXFIgqVIZdNdHAm4VAbDxfCijaga0Ahn_29TvPA-LeRJZUsuBVN50OqI_Nv1mSW47wkGyPdJkrSZEt9OHcpxk6PlPdyeLzCA1EGnVPbvpOvzoKntx2fOIXwRaLsteoXxgJcl9ymyP8d6BF7bGzcia1cEkguFPQqEeZsvyNBDWO9LIJsR4/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1289.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxwkIzN2A-4hO4ANeEGqZ55o13THC6Jfkkrmfyu36tTSRbD-6H4_MU1p-gHZFIHBDvSucbPymst6GWLGPvieStcGP6y1Q2xNS_2pFeDxyTJ0KZgIy9Z8BfBYHEz7f9FpIPBcLkZWgHz2t1cwQnkmx5fNcNTMz6iXYfhtBNMMDWEfBKtwfi7WaGjucuH_Q/s2048/Edit-IMG_7760.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxwkIzN2A-4hO4ANeEGqZ55o13THC6Jfkkrmfyu36tTSRbD-6H4_MU1p-gHZFIHBDvSucbPymst6GWLGPvieStcGP6y1Q2xNS_2pFeDxyTJ0KZgIy9Z8BfBYHEz7f9FpIPBcLkZWgHz2t1cwQnkmx5fNcNTMz6iXYfhtBNMMDWEfBKtwfi7WaGjucuH_Q/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_7760.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jeff "Vana White"s for me</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQEiQNbgj0EhUgsW4fTOu9K1RVndut8NcM3OLh81wIk4NjlUA7m2sDMBNA-O8xcfd829IVw0TqknPVx8eC6R7ldAytbRcRe_4CuPoHKssnr5CahOQwErXBaGbjP4VIfI4wW5LoR-ixqpGeAy46fodTiIU1v1KUHGTvxThW_MvQGzx0SXvMnh_T6xDr0DY/s5472/Edit-IMG_1292.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQEiQNbgj0EhUgsW4fTOu9K1RVndut8NcM3OLh81wIk4NjlUA7m2sDMBNA-O8xcfd829IVw0TqknPVx8eC6R7ldAytbRcRe_4CuPoHKssnr5CahOQwErXBaGbjP4VIfI4wW5LoR-ixqpGeAy46fodTiIU1v1KUHGTvxThW_MvQGzx0SXvMnh_T6xDr0DY/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1292.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFlyVfXQ1-N-9Grh33p4e1ta_3I-BVBvKmuHLhKxZZAKJkDc-Xc2H271fsVtQXP0vyxVb4JHaeqPo2DV_Btm67HSt6nKEtJg48GaK66PzeSNHrXLtNpfoqUc0IO1PCUz9mIrZMcdoHWC__nQmcL9P9mGdLHZTsd5y9qr1aHJsP2mYLmCl0iGQ4McV0B3k/s5472/Edit-IMG_1295.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFlyVfXQ1-N-9Grh33p4e1ta_3I-BVBvKmuHLhKxZZAKJkDc-Xc2H271fsVtQXP0vyxVb4JHaeqPo2DV_Btm67HSt6nKEtJg48GaK66PzeSNHrXLtNpfoqUc0IO1PCUz9mIrZMcdoHWC__nQmcL9P9mGdLHZTsd5y9qr1aHJsP2mYLmCl0iGQ4McV0B3k/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1295.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's a damn shiny car</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">By that time the rest of the crew had arrived at the scene,
and we congregated to decide on who was going where. Ultimately the majority of
us decided on the swap meet, a great place to find useless (or occasionally
useful) stuff that you never knew you needed. So we piled into the beater cars
and headed over to the fairgrounds, leaving our Mustangs securely in their
treasured parking spaces (still very silly, but also still very necessary).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We spent a few hours poking around at the swap meet – I found
an interesting pair of copper header collector gaskets, and bought them on the
off chance that they would help fix the exhaust leak that had cropped up in
Arizona. But otherwise, not much interesting to be bought. The outdoor project-cars-for-sale
lot had a bunch of overpriced junk for the most part. The indoor finished-cars-for-sale
lot, on the other hand, had better prospects, with a lot of rare and
beautifully built cars up for sale. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">That lot always kind of breaks my heart, though. These aren’t
the cars that have been neglected for fifty years, left in a ditch to rot.
These are cars that have been treasured, carefully restored and maintained in
beautiful condition by many hands for untold hours over the decades. Some have
just been rescued and built by professional restorers, and are simply great
examples of a car well-cared-for. But the ones that really break my heart are
the ones that have stories. The ones that have a sign in the window explaining
70 years of single-family ownership, clear evidence that these people viewed
themselves as stewards of a wonderful piece of machinery. The ones that have a
photobook on the dash, maybe mostly just restoration photos but always having a
few photos slipped in that belie the real human history behind the car, the
friends and the family and the memories made with the car. I always wonder how
it is that it has come to this. A car that became a treasured family heirloom,
a member of the family, and then subsequently just something to sell at auction.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I don’t like thinking about this, because I don’t like
thinking about what will happen to Jane when I am gone. Who will become her
custodian? Will they care for her like I do? Will they sell her after one too
many annoying moments?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Well. I am young. So these are things not to be thought
about. I hoped that we would leave soon.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Fortunately our stomachs drove us away from there and
towards better places: namely, barbecue! We headed to Brothers Barbecue, an
award-winning joint close to the main drag. My large plate of meat-n-carbs (pulled
pork and mac and cheese) pulled me out of my funk in no time. Let me tell you, being
a Carolina girl living in Texas, I have really missed good pulled pork. For
reasons I cannot fathom, Texas is just spectacularly bad at pulled pork. It’s
an easy dish to make, but somehow they mess it up. So I was a little suspicious
when I saw that Brothers claimed to be Texas BBQ. But the pulled pork plates I
saw going past looked like a good approximation of the KC style, so I gave it a
try. Delicious!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">After lunch the crew wanted to go to the auction, but by
that point I had had enough of that so I opted to stay behind. Instead, I
walked a few blocks up to the downtown car show on the drag. By then it was a
bit late in the afternoon so a fair amount of cars had cleared out, but being
Hot August Nights, that still meant that there were a couple hundred left
behind to drool over.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9ZC0bCIGxMiam2tCtFpLU5jl5TzvtEeusL7lRmLewps-3loOzCozxwOZkuFiVlKUvC5BMeb-WMfiUrvO4nAM9d8syLqZ4v9PYIgI7Y3s5KG9ljMV9ChRwEMmP8qR6khPHdLwadbbGFdS-qd16B6CrgWV6z44Mdjq7tu02iD-PFedJeMWT_KlScW9ePBI/s5381/Edit-IMG_1299.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3587" data-original-width="5381" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9ZC0bCIGxMiam2tCtFpLU5jl5TzvtEeusL7lRmLewps-3loOzCozxwOZkuFiVlKUvC5BMeb-WMfiUrvO4nAM9d8syLqZ4v9PYIgI7Y3s5KG9ljMV9ChRwEMmP8qR6khPHdLwadbbGFdS-qd16B6CrgWV6z44Mdjq7tu02iD-PFedJeMWT_KlScW9ePBI/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1299.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looks like Mopar Alley to me! That's a lotta green.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh98-TWRwFwCdiokNVrLUu_VjpwQ3h8pStYjxqtLufUUwD-TPKbGWSh_YxzuOURZQAAp9c3QqYIcoqogeUXoBTzodTTycOEWqNaqqQ8LoREv3Wh0TgEjnF7IrK_Fn9bTLk63EPOVOj4SOfa9tuBKrVi1ra9K3gmPva_6U6mx3G_GKWcYu6zXSmlUC-eG9s/s5472/Edit-IMG_1309.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh98-TWRwFwCdiokNVrLUu_VjpwQ3h8pStYjxqtLufUUwD-TPKbGWSh_YxzuOURZQAAp9c3QqYIcoqogeUXoBTzodTTycOEWqNaqqQ8LoREv3Wh0TgEjnF7IrK_Fn9bTLk63EPOVOj4SOfa9tuBKrVi1ra9K3gmPva_6U6mx3G_GKWcYu6zXSmlUC-eG9s/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1309.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I see this Impala every year, and every year I absolutely love it. What a beautiful car.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqnjmzWZJHf_GrZZ0amRfbTGIQrmKTWuWsIpqvL-xf-2ZWBxoj0NFP4WP7rIgyDszwCcOQNuM4ut2OsoyKzEuzAYD5ApngA-znfRXs1xMNOgh8ds4s6UMMMM4T7vqrsGSc56gxmJD4WUK_0MTaZ0Zml01xtYFfM9dkFs9-9FMN1_PicD03g_Wy3v0Lb1A/s2048/Edit-IMG_7782.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqnjmzWZJHf_GrZZ0amRfbTGIQrmKTWuWsIpqvL-xf-2ZWBxoj0NFP4WP7rIgyDszwCcOQNuM4ut2OsoyKzEuzAYD5ApngA-znfRXs1xMNOgh8ds4s6UMMMM4T7vqrsGSc56gxmJD4WUK_0MTaZ0Zml01xtYFfM9dkFs9-9FMN1_PicD03g_Wy3v0Lb1A/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_7782.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU7qH7AW7bZB3W3tdWN4w3xhQd3nOeRpGUMLdG9E6235s05RouV3JkfJXN_NiGirfbO8cEIVLwbK2ZS3ApJkDTSUKHFaa-qg95Zi2OeELxhInXUn3TAxgeqynyEJNCqqT1-3jhOpIKyiuTHh-P_tPXzIxCnlMWJJlBRAuvDrIGJWUexFd-oybzmZ2s9sM/s2048/Edit-IMG_7774.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU7qH7AW7bZB3W3tdWN4w3xhQd3nOeRpGUMLdG9E6235s05RouV3JkfJXN_NiGirfbO8cEIVLwbK2ZS3ApJkDTSUKHFaa-qg95Zi2OeELxhInXUn3TAxgeqynyEJNCqqT1-3jhOpIKyiuTHh-P_tPXzIxCnlMWJJlBRAuvDrIGJWUexFd-oybzmZ2s9sM/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_7774.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A beautiful '69 Mustang, although minus points for wearing nearly 20-year-old tires!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK3a2Y24Y42rLjbNCfVZwJvyIn2jAXC8o8Agf8GJjvu8cIaFglqxLRUFS8DFfYtOVF9OfEzOvSsix59RuZsXdTsBwqyYTrg47L6K4ezu-V64mDx0j48JHP_Mjf-PPQGszzhQSCJqfZLBa6rvoRcPwgP7kvccmrk5NJXLo8pJVk5lUeLdP_z63Au4z736k/s5472/Edit-IMG_1312.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK3a2Y24Y42rLjbNCfVZwJvyIn2jAXC8o8Agf8GJjvu8cIaFglqxLRUFS8DFfYtOVF9OfEzOvSsix59RuZsXdTsBwqyYTrg47L6K4ezu-V64mDx0j48JHP_Mjf-PPQGszzhQSCJqfZLBa6rvoRcPwgP7kvccmrk5NJXLo8pJVk5lUeLdP_z63Au4z736k/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1312.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSeymjZFcBmlJDOZo5cSpIY5J0cSY2kIEr0Sb84h7bldKO8zRX7D2oRnHuAA2X5KiOa1Pxh0Fj9t_fiV39gw5y4aDljR3AsnvdxtgH1kbAWjHP0gq56XA1UbfHiS28vVq21p--cVHrGbebxFMHFy11fzl5Z9WZ9NBGRhIBTIlO2Sue2OGtX5AHd6_IoTU/s5379/Edit-IMG_1317.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3586" data-original-width="5379" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSeymjZFcBmlJDOZo5cSpIY5J0cSY2kIEr0Sb84h7bldKO8zRX7D2oRnHuAA2X5KiOa1Pxh0Fj9t_fiV39gw5y4aDljR3AsnvdxtgH1kbAWjHP0gq56XA1UbfHiS28vVq21p--cVHrGbebxFMHFy11fzl5Z9WZ9NBGRhIBTIlO2Sue2OGtX5AHd6_IoTU/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1317.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibV4pVfmPT-xASQ3kDLBJMcM504Z4aSEwUtRc0q74KxyXbVSTVpbxJ622rFgUvPsMC5-Y8rYBlu-9Td7k1wdnFIGlWEhNTFYXL1Z_AXsJxOgoDP4uYCQzIvBhYpOOBqQQDCEfujqkhI5dS3L3GUhG6CFnUe0ksHwRm4U6sUrKzurgarf8piYgK7Bw6RZc/s5472/Edit-IMG_1328.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibV4pVfmPT-xASQ3kDLBJMcM504Z4aSEwUtRc0q74KxyXbVSTVpbxJ622rFgUvPsMC5-Y8rYBlu-9Td7k1wdnFIGlWEhNTFYXL1Z_AXsJxOgoDP4uYCQzIvBhYpOOBqQQDCEfujqkhI5dS3L3GUhG6CFnUe0ksHwRm4U6sUrKzurgarf8piYgK7Bw6RZc/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1328.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Ri7zc61QIMLYgKBDfAiHIv6yg8tPSBXFzFKHIMJiTxfFx29ar17UV0rXLGPWPkUecUXVL_zGTLKz_u6X1v0DzCG7IGUTbwVRy6v4LyDtxjvMRtFbAvw9fBoyyxisG9Gqsi2MXo0pvk3Us_U51z6I_hS_2VqXA1SoLI8Uf8Q0rfiRRVtq5oUzkCErpWs/s5472/Edit-IMG_1331.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Ri7zc61QIMLYgKBDfAiHIv6yg8tPSBXFzFKHIMJiTxfFx29ar17UV0rXLGPWPkUecUXVL_zGTLKz_u6X1v0DzCG7IGUTbwVRy6v4LyDtxjvMRtFbAvw9fBoyyxisG9Gqsi2MXo0pvk3Us_U51z6I_hS_2VqXA1SoLI8Uf8Q0rfiRRVtq5oUzkCErpWs/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1331.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">One of my favorite things about Hot August Nights is how it
pulls the oddball cars out of the woodwork. Yeah, there’s still a million
Mustangs and Camaros and Chevelles floating around – your standard pony- and muscle-car
fare. But you also see all kinds of rare and crazy cars – like this Ford
Thunderbolt, or a Jeepster!<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGX8G8QDKA9pMuPePFI5f6bbuLfMAVpwjltZfVXRtSg6BacZmc9EdSXvu1feKf5RPbAK_OBNU1r8ll2EC8OU8SFkd4eAsEaukyRShlqQMWbtM1ImPP8jQDDMhzsW6842xgRnb7SQVU3Qs_nTbzailNSHMyncoAOSteDFX53GvGU-__RuLGaDk10V0jAVY/s5472/Edit-IMG_1303.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGX8G8QDKA9pMuPePFI5f6bbuLfMAVpwjltZfVXRtSg6BacZmc9EdSXvu1feKf5RPbAK_OBNU1r8ll2EC8OU8SFkd4eAsEaukyRShlqQMWbtM1ImPP8jQDDMhzsW6842xgRnb7SQVU3Qs_nTbzailNSHMyncoAOSteDFX53GvGU-__RuLGaDk10V0jAVY/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1303.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If you don't know why this car is so spectacular, you should Google it.</td></tr></tbody></table></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXPchbEU5Ojpft1h26fw5Wsh2-w2dd3119cWy2VHYTmeS9z12xFTm3mtYOb2CY4N2p5_ZmKYdWxAyMHXi7JhirFFAIlbL4X0LS9px0OwAh7cIY2Q2W5g-AWQ43TNdcFPC8Tac-KyZl9tAnVbKtC_r3AqoJf3GEkiL4ZSwdjSczZd2ZV9ma9q8ANu3Efps/s5472/Edit-IMG_1302.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXPchbEU5Ojpft1h26fw5Wsh2-w2dd3119cWy2VHYTmeS9z12xFTm3mtYOb2CY4N2p5_ZmKYdWxAyMHXi7JhirFFAIlbL4X0LS9px0OwAh7cIY2Q2W5g-AWQ43TNdcFPC8Tac-KyZl9tAnVbKtC_r3AqoJf3GEkiL4ZSwdjSczZd2ZV9ma9q8ANu3Efps/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1302.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9138VkWMk0reuhR5qTP41girPH0Yi7x1SGWXmDOvyUZrVrBFg4-wvbfLI8SPrTtBWby16R6f6iXgAVgSUvTHA7rjigR2Os3F0L4lYT-HQ9SBDN1pIwYi5NNIFhg2M7juNCdXWl4tDBLPrCoAiYYOBxzqrWiKwnTcmwKUTVNYQZ1vyZSJcdz2oeY2tTgo/s5472/Edit-IMG_1304.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9138VkWMk0reuhR5qTP41girPH0Yi7x1SGWXmDOvyUZrVrBFg4-wvbfLI8SPrTtBWby16R6f6iXgAVgSUvTHA7rjigR2Os3F0L4lYT-HQ9SBDN1pIwYi5NNIFhg2M7juNCdXWl4tDBLPrCoAiYYOBxzqrWiKwnTcmwKUTVNYQZ1vyZSJcdz2oeY2tTgo/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1304.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1gmUiVhJFzNjaCwwi4IBgVYi3KKhMT6tWyqaXmwnm9GQ5HvbsOkVNUHMm_VHy70j3pujTncfpc0q5Zdl47Etg5_afRwPbOlwka-z11zS4RBEchM0WlLGhmcqRxGLlIwzz2cD3N2tmjBryxKfIrQl_D4p1ZGMKmPT4OZ6O_DG4LA6lLpoe33RriNIHPbQ/s5472/Edit-IMG_1305.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1gmUiVhJFzNjaCwwi4IBgVYi3KKhMT6tWyqaXmwnm9GQ5HvbsOkVNUHMm_VHy70j3pujTncfpc0q5Zdl47Etg5_afRwPbOlwka-z11zS4RBEchM0WlLGhmcqRxGLlIwzz2cD3N2tmjBryxKfIrQl_D4p1ZGMKmPT4OZ6O_DG4LA6lLpoe33RriNIHPbQ/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1305.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC5FFwS9TkFYOnIonpHXKs-o5MeBA-pC6fnMCvWttmyDUcHTiRdns3JoeVczeIQUV50qftto-EFmVv6OVDeamJtS5XBA71UthxUSm_gicc83CE2BQMGtXFMcHNXYiVv3vnES7sj4Wp0TrjZNXhu4YkWbcUePDpf1ubna6gsmdtvRTlt4zM3nxSmONgT-A/s5472/Edit-IMG_1326.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC5FFwS9TkFYOnIonpHXKs-o5MeBA-pC6fnMCvWttmyDUcHTiRdns3JoeVczeIQUV50qftto-EFmVv6OVDeamJtS5XBA71UthxUSm_gicc83CE2BQMGtXFMcHNXYiVv3vnES7sj4Wp0TrjZNXhu4YkWbcUePDpf1ubna6gsmdtvRTlt4zM3nxSmONgT-A/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1326.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br />
<p class="MsoNormal">After walking the rows for a while, I scooted inside to catch
some air conditioning while doing a tour of the “Big Boy Toy Store”, an
exhibition hall with a bunch of vendors all showcasing their latest and greatest
go-fast shiny parts. I stopped by the SCE Gaskets booth in particular, as
someone outside had recommended them to me as a place that might be able to
advise me on the exhaust leak situation. Ryan, the owner of the company, was
kind enough to put significant thought into helping me strategize the possible
ways to keep the car from blowing the gasket again. He saw the copper collector
gaskets I had bought at the swap meet earlier hanging on my belt (the best way
to keep from losing things is just to tie them to myself, I’ve found, or I’ll
walk off without them) and we had a chat about gasket thickness and getting
them to conform to my very wonky, very crooked exhaust system without blowing
out. I went away satisfied with a plan, and he promised to stop by my car
tomorrow to see how things worked out.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">My actual “work” complete, I caught an Uber back to the
Grand Sierra, arriving with some time to spare to walk the lot there as well
before meeting back up with the crew.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4XUoWZzG5G3r8OFmqFfBE8gr3eBksoRl5w6TdFui0rx_Yfnd4PeQ5JeQe77rZsxcrZdHISYRyGcYDFMaOftxvWFJ_u_3m3tU-35ECndctoX6VZIh3kXnmCPyNcNuoTF5Qq5Kx20YejGalbLiRCklFDcqxEqP825NoOQPXj-zn3LQPvG5elAlUgN04tQk/s5472/Edit-IMG_1332.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4XUoWZzG5G3r8OFmqFfBE8gr3eBksoRl5w6TdFui0rx_Yfnd4PeQ5JeQe77rZsxcrZdHISYRyGcYDFMaOftxvWFJ_u_3m3tU-35ECndctoX6VZIh3kXnmCPyNcNuoTF5Qq5Kx20YejGalbLiRCklFDcqxEqP825NoOQPXj-zn3LQPvG5elAlUgN04tQk/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1332.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnuk9HWouG8Du_2k6m_rsUlqE4RCHm-5ITqRO7qG2Hl5Rl7A0b1VL9CiBYLzjcYtQrfgQBIwMuT9bUzQ_24LIdTsMQCQO3YkLewNMmyaeZwJ3IGubv4g8_a6FbzGo7AXSvRdY9XzmmZ6CkQykpal1ufe1FmT6OU7P7mXMf1luKlTwKArkJsm9OU5Ykoiw/s5472/Edit-IMG_1333.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnuk9HWouG8Du_2k6m_rsUlqE4RCHm-5ITqRO7qG2Hl5Rl7A0b1VL9CiBYLzjcYtQrfgQBIwMuT9bUzQ_24LIdTsMQCQO3YkLewNMmyaeZwJ3IGubv4g8_a6FbzGo7AXSvRdY9XzmmZ6CkQykpal1ufe1FmT6OU7P7mXMf1luKlTwKArkJsm9OU5Ykoiw/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1333.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNHWySLjbfgmXAt4f1GyLHtgBXCIRNwovRD9cYnAfsjspRCuHg4neoJYOgoo45tGGjr252U4bdqrp4Em8t4pV3Ucmbf1_VoGQfanuPgUW2EkbG11zbtEhwb07-S0oy0UmedhK1zxmg0Cad-cnrbsLAVwxaH098-AZAJP-L9JhTnmmDeuV3osiIw4amYMo/s5472/Edit-IMG_1337.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNHWySLjbfgmXAt4f1GyLHtgBXCIRNwovRD9cYnAfsjspRCuHg4neoJYOgoo45tGGjr252U4bdqrp4Em8t4pV3Ucmbf1_VoGQfanuPgUW2EkbG11zbtEhwb07-S0oy0UmedhK1zxmg0Cad-cnrbsLAVwxaH098-AZAJP-L9JhTnmmDeuV3osiIw4amYMo/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1337.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The most hot-roddy row of hot rods possible</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiop9y9XoX5eiDQy5vJGJLFh4mN26d2LZ_0n5D9IBIpPP_M5AuaSqETMN9EpUy3wXVoMxUkVfNdCSC2N7hkVHEq_zWYVLphvWjSzH_QnKPMC6YyIPRqPMyxV9aEIDORAVnzAgYSwwzHPExyvHYnU7ZkOQW1NHoeyUR-BaoeqBa3B8ashxZfZ9EI_JKcv4g/s5472/Edit-IMG_1338.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiop9y9XoX5eiDQy5vJGJLFh4mN26d2LZ_0n5D9IBIpPP_M5AuaSqETMN9EpUy3wXVoMxUkVfNdCSC2N7hkVHEq_zWYVLphvWjSzH_QnKPMC6YyIPRqPMyxV9aEIDORAVnzAgYSwwzHPExyvHYnU7ZkOQW1NHoeyUR-BaoeqBa3B8ashxZfZ9EI_JKcv4g/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1338.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqHOyIQo4_n9oatT15Dbkz70LRAM106z9iB4XkpdiRleky_IapEtLkeUgGJ7PG0auu3kRJaNNnSO47PtkYNtOngnJQ6PL4OOe__NPz44nY5cU0F4jiMyBOEY7QUXqPYOpF-CSZLBdssuI2SFueMfNsNRf_7bMmGcFbo-uqL09_sUYz2qlqrLFRARmbkX8/s5472/Edit-IMG_1340.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqHOyIQo4_n9oatT15Dbkz70LRAM106z9iB4XkpdiRleky_IapEtLkeUgGJ7PG0auu3kRJaNNnSO47PtkYNtOngnJQ6PL4OOe__NPz44nY5cU0F4jiMyBOEY7QUXqPYOpF-CSZLBdssuI2SFueMfNsNRf_7bMmGcFbo-uqL09_sUYz2qlqrLFRARmbkX8/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1340.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An Opel! I know next to nothing about this car but it's awesome.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmV4lC99jXhiY9p370wAstmBb0FwSSnC5qS-Ehxi6Mzbnwe7BvArs5l8LRmYpUyFhIJPEGj5Af-YAKK8zrKb6l_8nRKzRIEujH7KrIgW5da_Dp2esFD4-CoApYtrlfMT32nnLrV8xfTQibavY6pX7WwD68XioWdAdOhg7scWCQ9YM6C_Q6ag-sPh8CbFg/s5472/Edit-IMG_1344.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmV4lC99jXhiY9p370wAstmBb0FwSSnC5qS-Ehxi6Mzbnwe7BvArs5l8LRmYpUyFhIJPEGj5Af-YAKK8zrKb6l_8nRKzRIEujH7KrIgW5da_Dp2esFD4-CoApYtrlfMT32nnLrV8xfTQibavY6pX7WwD68XioWdAdOhg7scWCQ9YM6C_Q6ag-sPh8CbFg/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1344.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hey, what a cool map in the back of this car! Oh wait, that's mine! Lol.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidzc_B_lLHy5p3J9jbC_NBgOMzmTgYWVoRcOyf_kO3tQpBVaKd2q-vdBs34g-MVgYV7BmLcB8xCcsm6sfvvYMFnVloSrK3_22KvBnNkgLu8j4QLHKNHaMzq-qdKHuVgaAQqLZUmUWeyKKewnVUHZZ3meSR218-Te1765uZn6sv2ZA42tWxcTvW2rVP4Co/s5472/Edit-IMG_1348.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidzc_B_lLHy5p3J9jbC_NBgOMzmTgYWVoRcOyf_kO3tQpBVaKd2q-vdBs34g-MVgYV7BmLcB8xCcsm6sfvvYMFnVloSrK3_22KvBnNkgLu8j4QLHKNHaMzq-qdKHuVgaAQqLZUmUWeyKKewnVUHZZ3meSR218-Te1765uZn6sv2ZA42tWxcTvW2rVP4Co/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1348.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTDter8XoCtnPlQQnwFewSZa7YLY4f2VOXLf1qLd3FU2CUPLowhHZIWvd5MoDhQuuQ1j2Puxs6ZN2jYQo8LcsRiO2xCwqgrWanl5UUaBTqHURFai5Y4_u0FTevVVUUbsmQa60dHWLcjoS6NcOXl0lisbKl-l2-hOm_RpFQ0JnHDnU4nr11Hg8UEFfTte8/s5472/Edit-IMG_1349.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTDter8XoCtnPlQQnwFewSZa7YLY4f2VOXLf1qLd3FU2CUPLowhHZIWvd5MoDhQuuQ1j2Puxs6ZN2jYQo8LcsRiO2xCwqgrWanl5UUaBTqHURFai5Y4_u0FTevVVUUbsmQa60dHWLcjoS6NcOXl0lisbKl-l2-hOm_RpFQ0JnHDnU4nr11Hg8UEFfTte8/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1349.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3J_KyQ2dJgnaP25KizfMjViLQdMjnzeuWeuZ8if0DBxqjnbUN2AFj4pwSfD0wbTNIunCfU04PEdSvcYhFRNZzQ6LaQDq6Kqvdb2U3mpvznxGvdIwaFrnvDwSUpTlYPnxaWWCWhu2pKvP431irK0pBpnHeu_uZInFbi6mMjgIHj2wj47uXjQuraq12Zlg/s5472/Edit-IMG_1350.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3J_KyQ2dJgnaP25KizfMjViLQdMjnzeuWeuZ8if0DBxqjnbUN2AFj4pwSfD0wbTNIunCfU04PEdSvcYhFRNZzQ6LaQDq6Kqvdb2U3mpvznxGvdIwaFrnvDwSUpTlYPnxaWWCWhu2pKvP431irK0pBpnHeu_uZInFbi6mMjgIHj2wj47uXjQuraq12Zlg/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1350.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Points awarded for this Corvette being clearly driven, but taken away for the potty break it apparently took upon arrival.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirDrmrn9kgaOPgGGPxiES_vCICQRdCIqnkP92ucMk3RoVS0vZOpHvwlbOjcEySZlFDpesth8D6y6pnVB_4fN-PMnHkStyu_oTDSvuh_iPyYwgkqPY32CpIYWKJvmwwxTfYOKesHrxee2ZB0F7x8EbATf0GXJQ_3tQXz9vu8c8b7GMo5IKMLB6s8FOfxc0/s2048/Edit-IMG_7809.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirDrmrn9kgaOPgGGPxiES_vCICQRdCIqnkP92ucMk3RoVS0vZOpHvwlbOjcEySZlFDpesth8D6y6pnVB_4fN-PMnHkStyu_oTDSvuh_iPyYwgkqPY32CpIYWKJvmwwxTfYOKesHrxee2ZB0F7x8EbATf0GXJQ_3tQXz9vu8c8b7GMo5IKMLB6s8FOfxc0/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_7809.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another no-no: dry rotted and horribly worn tires! Yikes.</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic8SaqpEXAF9BCkvowDhBSCTwoCSvLsH6xCpc2xxGfNERyZc6Chw_xR8bOYJcAE8OGFitKcrK6z_eHH6F7n6nszd3PGU1jPZf6NW3Pi1MbLceaKuwAAQsDMMk4ix2fPtZ-v3lwirCvWMYtYVkRQQQ5jENCLOt2rIZ8kKQpFGAH2VnKWXZEY_vrDf0p3qk/s5376/Edit-IMG_1351.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3584" data-original-width="5376" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic8SaqpEXAF9BCkvowDhBSCTwoCSvLsH6xCpc2xxGfNERyZc6Chw_xR8bOYJcAE8OGFitKcrK6z_eHH6F7n6nszd3PGU1jPZf6NW3Pi1MbLceaKuwAAQsDMMk4ix2fPtZ-v3lwirCvWMYtYVkRQQQ5jENCLOt2rIZ8kKQpFGAH2VnKWXZEY_vrDf0p3qk/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1351.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the HAN award winners. Money talks here, and there is a LOT of it in this car.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0HEvPp5DSoxRny0VKUk7EwN1DWYVjPsdVm1Vi6olqe9YAw4SNZCXzZKqnenHzPcdWWVzPJWDGamUu3daiVhn6zJKg3kJdDZuWUjbKjHklsxSsHj27xkC8B2o2ZrTOunwCCbcei4PB50P99DNeurf2CKdUi6nuEnJVvfbXJWztRaR_2pTTllXa-aTGxFQ/s5472/Edit-IMG_1353.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0HEvPp5DSoxRny0VKUk7EwN1DWYVjPsdVm1Vi6olqe9YAw4SNZCXzZKqnenHzPcdWWVzPJWDGamUu3daiVhn6zJKg3kJdDZuWUjbKjHklsxSsHj27xkC8B2o2ZrTOunwCCbcei4PB50P99DNeurf2CKdUi6nuEnJVvfbXJWztRaR_2pTTllXa-aTGxFQ/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1353.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not quite my style though to be honest.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyPTr537Ng8w2rgcVrC-T3m-MYnrNDGKjJ6ZS2a_Arm43lUlTdhopNEHtJwzIMmVwyYBwE0SlHzWYTxJgskpuMUl-Vu34XGZFg-tZwpAfHNYe7b95nbFjf3nyqrVs-BR1i97b6riWxSyqnCUI6VMF3M_9grcj5PPN_cDZ__LzsiGQ-uzk8cmHFxYc3Pbk/s5472/Edit-IMG_1356.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyPTr537Ng8w2rgcVrC-T3m-MYnrNDGKjJ6ZS2a_Arm43lUlTdhopNEHtJwzIMmVwyYBwE0SlHzWYTxJgskpuMUl-Vu34XGZFg-tZwpAfHNYe7b95nbFjf3nyqrVs-BR1i97b6riWxSyqnCUI6VMF3M_9grcj5PPN_cDZ__LzsiGQ-uzk8cmHFxYc3Pbk/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1356.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Now THIS though... THIS I could get behind! (And absolutely never afford, as this is another very high-end award-winning build)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH83_fdU8lhJbPe7_FfkkGKPzi4G38o2Zm-hYZ-7lCaRtGQvKlEZ1ac8uR-PkJYdMWrenLN3nKgBLMhclhSYe2GDl0C6aNttB2-vEPOMUS-ni7VzjpznJDUhKTlEALQb0uRKMpaMwLlfs7uJawvnraeKlfCimOsxh4q6Ow4GXAWnafvVgr7aRUwIa_VxA/s5472/Edit-IMG_1357.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH83_fdU8lhJbPe7_FfkkGKPzi4G38o2Zm-hYZ-7lCaRtGQvKlEZ1ac8uR-PkJYdMWrenLN3nKgBLMhclhSYe2GDl0C6aNttB2-vEPOMUS-ni7VzjpznJDUhKTlEALQb0uRKMpaMwLlfs7uJawvnraeKlfCimOsxh4q6Ow4GXAWnafvVgr7aRUwIa_VxA/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1357.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjslh4kfuSevH65UvJ20tlOdGXLNbZfbT9CSMryG99AilitKMAsd9cDGQPw4mnmVNsP14pxy7eUfKhKaIk3F_tfdJrJIvPlgX_i5Sjb9Y0Tvp7kiy7fwiKCUk-aFTiw6qCIyDlc9Ohq9dYHnsyXVIYmhhFW1xNE1774sobrqSxGWFk8qOfYPi-kP0RgATs/s5472/Edit-IMG_1358.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjslh4kfuSevH65UvJ20tlOdGXLNbZfbT9CSMryG99AilitKMAsd9cDGQPw4mnmVNsP14pxy7eUfKhKaIk3F_tfdJrJIvPlgX_i5Sjb9Y0Tvp7kiy7fwiKCUk-aFTiw6qCIyDlc9Ohq9dYHnsyXVIYmhhFW1xNE1774sobrqSxGWFk8qOfYPi-kP0RgATs/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1358.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtrCB4Fjq5cVXc4uAWevDt8MJ1Yt_atMNgwOZA9-FgrgIRaEZB8WAI97hgc4wSf_ol8dyQhdKCnoe7GtI70SnM-S256vTVUYCexj3RKQg3_8Z6orfrXs9MWGJE3P5faS-djhSyWEyy0ncurlJy2F9ysmWdU4SUW81hJV5Qewvx-YaZrMfdZB_a-I_ZsJ8/s5427/Edit-IMG_1360.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3618" data-original-width="5427" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtrCB4Fjq5cVXc4uAWevDt8MJ1Yt_atMNgwOZA9-FgrgIRaEZB8WAI97hgc4wSf_ol8dyQhdKCnoe7GtI70SnM-S256vTVUYCexj3RKQg3_8Z6orfrXs9MWGJE3P5faS-djhSyWEyy0ncurlJy2F9ysmWdU4SUW81hJV5Qewvx-YaZrMfdZB_a-I_ZsJ8/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1360.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boy look at how perfect that paint is. I bet this car's never even driven to a gas station.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The whole venue was abuzz with energy – more of a
kicked-beehive vibe though, rather than a cheerfully-busy kind of feeling. But
that was to be expected, as it was Thursday night, the show was in full swing,
and best of all, there was a pretty big free concert scheduled for the night’s
entertainment. The Grand Sierra was the IT spot to be, for sure.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And there I sat with my friends, feeling very smug with our
big raft of chairs plopped down at our block of parking spots, watching the
endless stream of cars cruise past in their fruitless search for a parking
spot. It made for a very nice kind of rolling car show, albeit one that had a bit
of a tendency to periodically drown us in heady hydrocarbon-rich exhaust fumes.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBL0Sm-80z6eDCJkX-g2KtNGTphzTSSROegHOzzeOnlGOe49qIcXgxxJeayxtNDnJzCPPoTqV5J9l458AuZ8U82pZgRTtkMimwPdQiiBnpRHLkFbB_qAJQ79bMBIE64FQfQQPu4NG2QaakMOHCRITdq1USVbL5HO5BI4fNanr96vSAjybXZ41t19pIuTw/s5472/Edit-IMG_1363.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBL0Sm-80z6eDCJkX-g2KtNGTphzTSSROegHOzzeOnlGOe49qIcXgxxJeayxtNDnJzCPPoTqV5J9l458AuZ8U82pZgRTtkMimwPdQiiBnpRHLkFbB_qAJQ79bMBIE64FQfQQPu4NG2QaakMOHCRITdq1USVbL5HO5BI4fNanr96vSAjybXZ41t19pIuTw/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1363.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The sun sank towards the horizon and still the cars streamed
past. People began to migrate towards the stage, camp chairs in tow – only to
find that there was nothing but standing room available. Feeling peckish, I started
to wonder what we would do about food. It wasn’t long before I realized that given
the size of the crowd milling around, there was probably a next-to-zero chance
that we would be able to score a table at one of the sit-down places indoors. Well,
okay, there’s plenty of food tents popped up around the margins of the car lot.
I had a wander and came up with… a loaded baked potato. Can’t have a winning
dinner all the time, I guess.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As Reno sank into darkness, the lights flared on, bathing us
in the hard luminescent glow of stadium lights. Polished chrome glittered in an
endless blanket of stars across the lot, outlining the countless unique shapes
of vehicles spanning decades of time, decades of innovation. Heat radiated off
of the baked tarmac and mingled with the cool night breeze. The hum of thousands
of spectators, ambling through those warm currents, ran counterpoint to the
rumble of vintage motors, a perfect duality. This is the essence of Hot August
Nights. A series of fleeting moments of perfection, strung together through the
days and coalescing every night. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And then, across the parking lot, the stage rang out with
the strum of a single electric guitar. The concert was starting. And it’s not
just any old cover band playing, or a local band, or some small-time act: it’s
38 Special, one of my favorite rock bands. I popped out of my seat and popped
over to the stage to watch. Even though the stage sound isn’t perfect (the parking
lot making for a less-than-ideal auditory setting), hey, it’s still a free way
to see a huge band up-close!<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR2ZUayRC6tUTIj00qzgpqwifhC35zuRi-NLm5oTmNeX1yAUCnUG41Rsb80v5xoQmLZClg8POeEzk9mpzaOwP46S8p9xIdPLSie70twQB7d5IxhiPIbdzD5CemORvo4woyBmz1iZq-GP8SDIZH5i9MXfcXmUMnxiqc3gtX6yk5UlMVQ5TcZ53Gfz2gfio/s2048/Edit-IMG_7813.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR2ZUayRC6tUTIj00qzgpqwifhC35zuRi-NLm5oTmNeX1yAUCnUG41Rsb80v5xoQmLZClg8POeEzk9mpzaOwP46S8p9xIdPLSie70twQB7d5IxhiPIbdzD5CemORvo4woyBmz1iZq-GP8SDIZH5i9MXfcXmUMnxiqc3gtX6yk5UlMVQ5TcZ53Gfz2gfio/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_7813.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><br /><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I returned to the crew’s flotilla of camp chairs as the last
note faded into the night, and we spent another hour or so hanging out before security
booted us out again. Not before we made them take our picture, at least.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNdCjnXLVvj4uuq6FBE48-QM9fXL49wq762YIv9CVwXuGmNFMD1mxYK2__WW5459CAEjmDneJTAjR5V5wmfnj8zi2_kHoP4qT-YV-FxE9mWVXpClPzTXthszwm9pCATOVPwtiSffQvZNAiRmOMy7VnfSr7mIl8HWqRJ-OJ9-COcHaPziF6-t3TxXlPIik/s1600/Edit-SF%2002Aug23%20HAN%20113%20StangFix%20Gang.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNdCjnXLVvj4uuq6FBE48-QM9fXL49wq762YIv9CVwXuGmNFMD1mxYK2__WW5459CAEjmDneJTAjR5V5wmfnj8zi2_kHoP4qT-YV-FxE9mWVXpClPzTXthszwm9pCATOVPwtiSffQvZNAiRmOMy7VnfSr7mIl8HWqRJ-OJ9-COcHaPziF6-t3TxXlPIik/w640-h480/Edit-SF%2002Aug23%20HAN%20113%20StangFix%20Gang.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3LqwMmm1C5VWxyQRay4KaSf7DYUarBXJRD5hsu_wlIXNmcZt_VZfSt_0aJoOOuE63eZ9IlAbcvN_EH-DOwZhF5aZdcQ818rDrabW8E58YmGPAdtpXvz659LwDAxF67EbLSNLWIxH-XbWp8v6Rs1LZmmRd3HjRHXqON7EDcZLYeLriYpPnDseNklsUzUU/s1600/Edit-SF%2002Aug23%20HAN%20117%20StangFix%20Gang.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3LqwMmm1C5VWxyQRay4KaSf7DYUarBXJRD5hsu_wlIXNmcZt_VZfSt_0aJoOOuE63eZ9IlAbcvN_EH-DOwZhF5aZdcQ818rDrabW8E58YmGPAdtpXvz659LwDAxF67EbLSNLWIxH-XbWp8v6Rs1LZmmRd3HjRHXqON7EDcZLYeLriYpPnDseNklsUzUU/w640-h480/Edit-SF%2002Aug23%20HAN%20117%20StangFix%20Gang.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNkTI90KwCwVTR7TUyavt6oXQ7NURpc08tB3vqCs7DXe0zs8afxIWD_C4e3lf1plgfWdvpND3hKPWCh2lmUxIEm0j7OdRgMiEg0zXrhjh9PpRnxGmTErK93GTD8-7FIvbTz0UgMNf76t1I6DDYlB0FZEZub5SaNOY60wt0I114NGpsZhjlEK3KtISnzcU/s1600/Edit-SF%2002Aug23%20HAN%20125%20KellyH%20'66.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNkTI90KwCwVTR7TUyavt6oXQ7NURpc08tB3vqCs7DXe0zs8afxIWD_C4e3lf1plgfWdvpND3hKPWCh2lmUxIEm0j7OdRgMiEg0zXrhjh9PpRnxGmTErK93GTD8-7FIvbTz0UgMNf76t1I6DDYlB0FZEZub5SaNOY60wt0I114NGpsZhjlEK3KtISnzcU/w480-h640/Edit-SF%2002Aug23%20HAN%20125%20KellyH%20'66.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><br /><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Look at how big our smiles are. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Kelly signing out.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /></div>Kelly Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04271547498127096571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893125545466338016.post-51293132573367783072023-09-23T02:11:00.007-04:002023-09-23T02:11:41.295-04:00The Importance of Traffic Management<p>8-2</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<br />
<p class="MsoNormal">----------<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Another day, another timezone-induced early morning. Although,
when I say “early” I mean, “I was dressed and somewhat ready for the day by
7:30AM”.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I ambled downstairs to the hotel restaurant, which professed
to begin serving a full breakfast menu at 7AM. I proceeded to sit there for a
full fifteen minutes while a man in the kitchen studiously ignored me.
Fortunately, I had a great book to read so I didn’t really notice how much time
had passed. Eventually, a woman arrived at the restaurant, plunked her stuff
down, strapped on an apron, and came to take my order – hashbrowns extra
crispy, please, two eggs, and some bacon. Your standard fare.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Twenty minutes later, a plate of the greasiest breakfast
food I’ve ever encountered arrived at my table. It was somehow drowning in
grease and completely unsalted. A winning combination! I ate it anyways,
because I was hungry and have an insatiable desire for even the worst hashbrowns
in the world some days.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So maybe you would think that today’s story would begin with
some variety of food poisoning! But you would be wrong, because I am pretty
indestructible when it comes to things like this. Although, I was still pretty
grumpy.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I checked out of the hotel – which had otherwise been very pleasant
– and shuffled all of my stuff outside and into a very wet Jane. Apparently, it
had rained all night. Seems kind of weird for Nevada, really, but I’ll take the
cooler weather any time.<o:p></o:p></p>
<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRBiXrHF0XVDmybWz76FB480F83dqjB0SCtAUPPiQz2JG5viTcVmcoRAbu5H-OCuPFMk2H9saEZ_OA72Q9Lfv2ve7LMDk3-N4SU5LsZYx9PI3d6x2DHXhAC4f_GkZLlCUpjhwNsAvKlhkupX_Vl7mx7xqBSgD79mqTo26N88UQm9yQxUp4nKP38yNR7vA/s2023/Edit-IMG_7728.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="2023" data-original-width="1517" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRBiXrHF0XVDmybWz76FB480F83dqjB0SCtAUPPiQz2JG5viTcVmcoRAbu5H-OCuPFMk2H9saEZ_OA72Q9Lfv2ve7LMDk3-N4SU5LsZYx9PI3d6x2DHXhAC4f_GkZLlCUpjhwNsAvKlhkupX_Vl7mx7xqBSgD79mqTo26N88UQm9yQxUp4nKP38yNR7vA/w480-h640/Edit-IMG_7728.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<p class="MsoNormal">We hopped on the road while the early morning showers were
still departing, pursuing the last fleeing raindrops as the low-hanging clouds
shielded us from the sun. A good way to start a moody morning.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtxrcdN3qxRGPJio0eo4vjx_MGtanUdkgFFiuDCkTsCw856dN60Zit8cX4BdHQSX6JZCcHQZqfy-ZTPpoMFJKlJdL6AVfEnj6f_iRiGbNCY1v-OQS3bW4V7xDYqR-L-3auctLnPVk9ZNLAZhrZ44_F9aqWjluJ5jrzGd7GnRnsKIdh2ReHmZNm55nbbeI/s5472/Edit-IMG_1163.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtxrcdN3qxRGPJio0eo4vjx_MGtanUdkgFFiuDCkTsCw856dN60Zit8cX4BdHQSX6JZCcHQZqfy-ZTPpoMFJKlJdL6AVfEnj6f_iRiGbNCY1v-OQS3bW4V7xDYqR-L-3auctLnPVk9ZNLAZhrZ44_F9aqWjluJ5jrzGd7GnRnsKIdh2ReHmZNm55nbbeI/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1163.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We reached Vegas in short order, fortunately coming through
after the bulk of the morning traffic had passed. So I guess in a way that
delayed breakfast kind of worked out for the better, probably, because I had entirely
forgotten to account for rush hour. I always do, because I’m very rarely in heavily
populated areas when on these trips.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJqQWB4AJ4NvVwV-sD9VEBNwWUJ6tjQqdQOzTgL0zS9njlXKkizpx1Kt3Gd1Le7WUTXHxf7tnkdsWaXSsWM45j6t1R9WUX2vky977lFmHPoLnn0vAL5LodwR7ye7MLu5NGAYXnegu9-jonvXR66H0oseNFUBPw8souKsvL6y6BHPEEDd7QwTjSgT9nDPk/s5335/Edit-IMG_1166.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3557" data-original-width="5335" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJqQWB4AJ4NvVwV-sD9VEBNwWUJ6tjQqdQOzTgL0zS9njlXKkizpx1Kt3Gd1Le7WUTXHxf7tnkdsWaXSsWM45j6t1R9WUX2vky977lFmHPoLnn0vAL5LodwR7ye7MLu5NGAYXnegu9-jonvXR66H0oseNFUBPw8souKsvL6y6BHPEEDd7QwTjSgT9nDPk/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1166.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I have to say, opting to stay in Boulder City instead of
Vegas this time around was a much better choice! If you want to find cheap
accommodations in Vegas, you have to go to the Strip, with all of its traffic
and tourists and valet parking and crowded lots and long elevator rides. And
then the next morning you have to fight all of that in reverse to depart the
Strip. In Boulder City, everything is a cheap accommodation, and you can park
right outside your room. As an added bonus, you can also walk to dinner without
getting robbed! Neat. Too bad it only took me seven years or so to figure that
one out.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We sailed on through Vegas and hit the open road almost
immediately, as is usually the case with towns and cities in Nevada. It always
seems to me that Nevadan towns involve a concentrated effort from people to occupy
as small an area as possible, with very few of the sprawling outskirts estates
that you normally expect to see around towns. The reason for this is very
obvious, of course: most of Nevada is inhospitable desert, and your giant
McMansion on the city outskirts would have exactly 0 water and a great view of
a very flat brown landscape with maybe some extra-brown mountains in the
distance. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-W9d87qOS-D2NtAEQ2Lgjky7xoxOtrqe2YXcQpLruxwFxRNCSh10oQvNQaAex2qpSRF1vcGDLCib1PAuCmQirU17R5glW63_kmaerAVGDXU3I7VbCgVlKbJlEEleLhBq5UhrLNRbS4BVJLxjYojYYdx77yXZN0UCat4t9EpBKcyhPEL91uQqXdJ8itAI/s5324/Edit-IMG_1170.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3549" data-original-width="5324" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-W9d87qOS-D2NtAEQ2Lgjky7xoxOtrqe2YXcQpLruxwFxRNCSh10oQvNQaAex2qpSRF1vcGDLCib1PAuCmQirU17R5glW63_kmaerAVGDXU3I7VbCgVlKbJlEEleLhBq5UhrLNRbS4BVJLxjYojYYdx77yXZN0UCat4t9EpBKcyhPEL91uQqXdJ8itAI/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1170.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimObFzGi2rz7gGxtCFIzOgsKQjvVFizVWRp2nNTJcBVPtpKu0SdystOFc7nZGbfB8Ho86LMrDPoLmT8U0lYOABJdBxi3L6hResfn9bLyMssjHXEcAYcgL4wg5vHh4TDy0wh-ZasjAC0RP5yu6dGRqn-P6CxCwRLyJyx4MEUozo1TSe6d9YNE1cC9h3EYg/s5345/Edit-IMG_1183.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3563" data-original-width="5345" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimObFzGi2rz7gGxtCFIzOgsKQjvVFizVWRp2nNTJcBVPtpKu0SdystOFc7nZGbfB8Ho86LMrDPoLmT8U0lYOABJdBxi3L6hResfn9bLyMssjHXEcAYcgL4wg5vHh4TDy0wh-ZasjAC0RP5yu6dGRqn-P6CxCwRLyJyx4MEUozo1TSe6d9YNE1cC9h3EYg/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1183.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Of course, I’m being a bit facetious here, because there is
quite a lot of beauty to be seen in the desolate Nevadan landscapes if you know
where to look. As Jane and I cruised down the tarmac, navigating through intermittent
belts of craggy hills amidst the broad plains, the heavy cloud cover gave way
to wonderful puffy cotton candy affairs. Each presided over the scrubby
landscape only briefly before dissolving into a trail of vapor. It was turning
out to be a beautiful day.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizqZHZHtGolumYkQb8UgEQanyQK2dj3YaAXDHj6Y24HpMFmJNO9Ae0Hr1IUDqhiHTZCIGuvr5KzM5n4S64ehb_PeWd1bE8axDjgNMBBajAj7uKrRkx6fOqXE6G7qy1L25OclLy2pOzGQllsKncqiCltLFvwkEgdc17aa0TufVvoWnWWW8P_YY3_VwolLg/s5472/Edit-IMG_1186.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizqZHZHtGolumYkQb8UgEQanyQK2dj3YaAXDHj6Y24HpMFmJNO9Ae0Hr1IUDqhiHTZCIGuvr5KzM5n4S64ehb_PeWd1bE8axDjgNMBBajAj7uKrRkx6fOqXE6G7qy1L25OclLy2pOzGQllsKncqiCltLFvwkEgdc17aa0TufVvoWnWWW8P_YY3_VwolLg/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1186.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Area 51 Alien Center always merits a photo. Although, last time I drove past it advertised that it was a brothel, and I noticed that was not the case this time. Hmm.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibPh3CyS41nnaoiz4c0ZVkT-MuQsbP7aH1_E89RCynTfeN1DFLskhhw24EvdFk0FS3VxyJVlp8L3HB12oZkNsqNxqs8oVOuMSUKBtGB4smh4TsacM_hSemW-yq5H_84QDVHqMKLp68azc_7R7jzrBpwjEwsN72rHOLSNnpFdL7ebwpY9lS2qA37SyKY9U/s5331/Edit-IMG_1187.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3554" data-original-width="5331" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibPh3CyS41nnaoiz4c0ZVkT-MuQsbP7aH1_E89RCynTfeN1DFLskhhw24EvdFk0FS3VxyJVlp8L3HB12oZkNsqNxqs8oVOuMSUKBtGB4smh4TsacM_hSemW-yq5H_84QDVHqMKLp68azc_7R7jzrBpwjEwsN72rHOLSNnpFdL7ebwpY9lS2qA37SyKY9U/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1187.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXcmj7emGU7BbNbUZ9h9IprX6NdfJtEjHOV_q7ZtN1sv5LlH6htX_lum5qZ04eB22OILvYXCM-2YgygudT3Cpj6MWban5ECZ-duak1lng_VKi_O6t86Yy3dQsLOTuyML3qLMSSTUmFuseDnsHaR-qK0C7g5RQcCNpn68wYrcWVgcEuqE73QUR3BHA5pI8/s5303/Edit-IMG_1192.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3535" data-original-width="5303" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXcmj7emGU7BbNbUZ9h9IprX6NdfJtEjHOV_q7ZtN1sv5LlH6htX_lum5qZ04eB22OILvYXCM-2YgygudT3Cpj6MWban5ECZ-duak1lng_VKi_O6t86Yy3dQsLOTuyML3qLMSSTUmFuseDnsHaR-qK0C7g5RQcCNpn68wYrcWVgcEuqE73QUR3BHA5pI8/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1192.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJFgNSWHol_46AGodaAEgFWus3LHaaHzI-SUPkh38NKZhYc1Bg2Ru2ta0GhBeCrTOhH1RbmTdXMSlhxehvAxWcu_dCk968FG2LCx44euSVQNd2DV0FhjNtAaDvA32F9z-ojIjSlWdB3UIwMNMGn66fsYxWOQ6JV_iuyi3Z9Hbmcwe3At0EHivft6HEY04/s5472/Edit-IMG_1193.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJFgNSWHol_46AGodaAEgFWus3LHaaHzI-SUPkh38NKZhYc1Bg2Ru2ta0GhBeCrTOhH1RbmTdXMSlhxehvAxWcu_dCk968FG2LCx44euSVQNd2DV0FhjNtAaDvA32F9z-ojIjSlWdB3UIwMNMGn66fsYxWOQ6JV_iuyi3Z9Hbmcwe3At0EHivft6HEY04/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1193.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The landscape grew a bit greener – certainly the greenest I’ve
ever seen in Nevada – before subsiding back into scrubland. Joshua trees began
to dot the landscape as I approached the Death Valley area. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhER-3eLNjw7qgk_ld3htVASCQBEt8ma97rOvI_AJW8itHw2JWV7zFBMes2VqwO1rCrWtysWOQMzZfs2siHvGbDob7LnDumJPUElqqDYPfYBXbvlyuCvrfQEogJHUTStJLg2dl8RYfz-wnEeYz3_MZDWV4BnYZiwdnrP9xhQtnPq1e2dS8uzYr0af7XD_c/s5472/Edit-IMG_1203.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhER-3eLNjw7qgk_ld3htVASCQBEt8ma97rOvI_AJW8itHw2JWV7zFBMes2VqwO1rCrWtysWOQMzZfs2siHvGbDob7LnDumJPUElqqDYPfYBXbvlyuCvrfQEogJHUTStJLg2dl8RYfz-wnEeYz3_MZDWV4BnYZiwdnrP9xhQtnPq1e2dS8uzYr0af7XD_c/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1203.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wide-open skies over a wide-open plain</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBAyjMzz4LeJMHAKqJ_vmB5JJzNtKZxpEus40SK-AXhvCvK1n1zQJ-tFW5YxpwcBDcv5HEYEE63B_AfOKMV0xjkIBpST_PCjbnGyjR1cuFLN6YTF5-LhJRSuvwgZzR5OcVluaFxUJM-ZIfge9EVx2y_v4VN3uYnY4aYpXmQtCZfgtCAYTf-vfWL2o_JKA/s5472/Edit-IMG_1211.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBAyjMzz4LeJMHAKqJ_vmB5JJzNtKZxpEus40SK-AXhvCvK1n1zQJ-tFW5YxpwcBDcv5HEYEE63B_AfOKMV0xjkIBpST_PCjbnGyjR1cuFLN6YTF5-LhJRSuvwgZzR5OcVluaFxUJM-ZIfge9EVx2y_v4VN3uYnY4aYpXmQtCZfgtCAYTf-vfWL2o_JKA/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1211.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9KqMhfSoOLT2MYBYmDyyqAM-PZqFDqgyromXt9xH8r3H4eK5Qhni-Ow5sRWZFsFUu16Z3gEqTNQHCY--3v0k9qZyFV8NaJVsAUW-CnAu8jR676g-ohm6c9yKMDCpfAk0kk8n0U-KzCaNKbkHGCJOHt0xIdYKXdZW-ytwISr-ShsgpJAZeGEGCJvr2F74/s5472/Edit-IMG_1214.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9KqMhfSoOLT2MYBYmDyyqAM-PZqFDqgyromXt9xH8r3H4eK5Qhni-Ow5sRWZFsFUu16Z3gEqTNQHCY--3v0k9qZyFV8NaJVsAUW-CnAu8jR676g-ohm6c9yKMDCpfAk0kk8n0U-KzCaNKbkHGCJOHt0xIdYKXdZW-ytwISr-ShsgpJAZeGEGCJvr2F74/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1214.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Usually, even my brief foray through the edge of the hotspot
in Beatty is enough to leave me toasted for the rest of the day. I don’t
believe I’ve ever been there at a time when it’s less than 105*F. But this
year, those wonderful little clouds gathered to periodically trickle a small
drizzle down to earth, keeping the temperatures down. Man, I sure do love rain.
In this context, at least.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We carried on like this for the majority of the day, ducking
in and out of cloud cover as we arrowed across the plains towards Reno, drawn
like an iron filing to a magnet. My speakers trumpeted out endless renditions
of Iron Maiden’s vast discography, and I reveled in the joyful powerful noise
of my existence in this little monster of a car. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Some days are just really, really good days.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1mSjI2mk85bI-a0M8bx-bk6tn-C0NFQeofkNr4uKWihieyZ91pacuMk7lL0uITi_uJrX003loD93Fx0ZgjOJwrQD24RGxH8K4ujYDvWuVgJggYC87lZQRpVcqqExhA6ngQVSCoWih2egsX_faTXhBdEOr9fxSg7wc9V9fUkbJ5222O4dNq-yjHB7JZfo/s5273/Edit-IMG_1222.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3515" data-original-width="5273" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1mSjI2mk85bI-a0M8bx-bk6tn-C0NFQeofkNr4uKWihieyZ91pacuMk7lL0uITi_uJrX003loD93Fx0ZgjOJwrQD24RGxH8K4ujYDvWuVgJggYC87lZQRpVcqqExhA6ngQVSCoWih2egsX_faTXhBdEOr9fxSg7wc9V9fUkbJ5222O4dNq-yjHB7JZfo/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1222.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNJpCoA8mnxBb_I_fkExVDL43hDccqvzt9QJHAjPE7DpXbsgGbQYCd7ceWV7ouWVew6VrE10RT6Easz7wewIKd_VjMzxk6yBWFMtPtZn_sYShku-4hTJQnJWod-Gb9T4lT0V-Jpt4xxumkxMrdwihM-dnTGq7xYc-jp6YENfAAxVF2LCk6g71Pga5MOBw/s5472/Edit-IMG_1229.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNJpCoA8mnxBb_I_fkExVDL43hDccqvzt9QJHAjPE7DpXbsgGbQYCd7ceWV7ouWVew6VrE10RT6Easz7wewIKd_VjMzxk6yBWFMtPtZn_sYShku-4hTJQnJWod-Gb9T4lT0V-Jpt4xxumkxMrdwihM-dnTGq7xYc-jp6YENfAAxVF2LCk6g71Pga5MOBw/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1229.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeTTsS4NyYi4lUaUGpP4I6x8wNdn6kt_xqDRfDBYdNj15xXUxrZTOAS3eVWheXaNsT87a1b0fAGM00yBZ2ZS89zdGPcr_xvNOqyNXW0fyh_BndRtkVJ3bc0X99Wmqx-ttBICz9-x8mJxZE2sKWucVffBA4c2_FaxXkPWs_hJ3i0ooDpjF8eAfN2Wte2l4/s5472/Edit-IMG_1237.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeTTsS4NyYi4lUaUGpP4I6x8wNdn6kt_xqDRfDBYdNj15xXUxrZTOAS3eVWheXaNsT87a1b0fAGM00yBZ2ZS89zdGPcr_xvNOqyNXW0fyh_BndRtkVJ3bc0X99Wmqx-ttBICz9-x8mJxZE2sKWucVffBA4c2_FaxXkPWs_hJ3i0ooDpjF8eAfN2Wte2l4/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1237.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHX6ppo50xxIvmBgiYPx6Ge6wos95CvKMjhL9LL8ky2wJpZMk1_yxJaj7NOLo9QGCLDJv2M3qYklrX-gZBeNA9644vWBCO7CrIZd5IwzXXLPCM9V14y-nrk9mqYzw677Th10aZFShKP96cFbAMT7UD6D-WuujPF4GGXh-HsxzIrX_yVZv1lgr1op7JPt4/s5472/Edit-IMG_1239.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHX6ppo50xxIvmBgiYPx6Ge6wos95CvKMjhL9LL8ky2wJpZMk1_yxJaj7NOLo9QGCLDJv2M3qYklrX-gZBeNA9644vWBCO7CrIZd5IwzXXLPCM9V14y-nrk9mqYzw677Th10aZFShKP96cFbAMT7UD6D-WuujPF4GGXh-HsxzIrX_yVZv1lgr1op7JPt4/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1239.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8XPiBCk4OW348h7oXrz414PzZAsoGsNoLvtUeq9ZiWzNMlnEAsM98_E-qj-H9gSUv1EyBxGSmncpUVQSU092eIhUuI5dXJ_MXSA0NdtfOZxvPbcFfZnn8U0wRShkz4WzQtDNJvhcEM1q7Bkgj6_qFJX8M0Rajx7QwuiheNUK600Nhvzf4Yin4OfZVwIo/s5472/Edit-IMG_1244.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8XPiBCk4OW348h7oXrz414PzZAsoGsNoLvtUeq9ZiWzNMlnEAsM98_E-qj-H9gSUv1EyBxGSmncpUVQSU092eIhUuI5dXJ_MXSA0NdtfOZxvPbcFfZnn8U0wRShkz4WzQtDNJvhcEM1q7Bkgj6_qFJX8M0Rajx7QwuiheNUK600Nhvzf4Yin4OfZVwIo/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1244.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This tall skinny cloud perfectly aligned with the road for quite some time and provided shade for many miles</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-xqDBkg9cfVC9gRv7phzf2VRE1SRNQ2Gjy7Jor9sWjhfuRCaNdlP61TBSLYUT1SR54FHPfzR4YGx_IcxOPK94MadYDlrWKcl755qEwfasc-KN3o6EGuiCMvOpuLhZKKNdV3ADSh2hGlIvMWXDN9liJJSM8nl2Spys3loyy2xSKLbmmhiexulFOoBqNSI/s5472/Edit-IMG_1248.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-xqDBkg9cfVC9gRv7phzf2VRE1SRNQ2Gjy7Jor9sWjhfuRCaNdlP61TBSLYUT1SR54FHPfzR4YGx_IcxOPK94MadYDlrWKcl755qEwfasc-KN3o6EGuiCMvOpuLhZKKNdV3ADSh2hGlIvMWXDN9liJJSM8nl2Spys3loyy2xSKLbmmhiexulFOoBqNSI/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1248.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk1566u3X_4G3532SECfD_SSeI_sPoXH1CpIspgslmLrwFrTuxIa1SqwHmp3nY98uqr-qe44MLa-vK0KtK76RxPQQGxwhW_cSJruiAqKcOU8aDqZzM40gtRWAXNNCCuAPKw6JNsmkScJu1ldZPe1j7YcoMR1dbBYUCWkGMA9ge7poSVQaD3gYqdOdnXzc/s5472/Edit-IMG_1252.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk1566u3X_4G3532SECfD_SSeI_sPoXH1CpIspgslmLrwFrTuxIa1SqwHmp3nY98uqr-qe44MLa-vK0KtK76RxPQQGxwhW_cSJruiAqKcOU8aDqZzM40gtRWAXNNCCuAPKw6JNsmkScJu1ldZPe1j7YcoMR1dbBYUCWkGMA9ge7poSVQaD3gYqdOdnXzc/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1252.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Eventually I made it up into farmland, a sure sign that I
was approaching Reno. My highway flight turned into a more meandering cruise,
long fields of grain and other crops connecting small farming communities dense
with homesteads amongst tall stands of trees. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimDXnlI8uzg34gNPg22Z7IAcd-CWES3EROvE_BjIJivG3vfXZIMW32c5Q9GdNQpqDWYVWf-8HnlxS2jYS0LXk7NGgdejwYL6S3wkBNqb3pdt1mw6_hIdjGgBDFu3dN4q1httN3gsbsHHL8YMlo9AU6qiaU7sTqdbWVKWr8Z398BSIrk0vQzruciKHz5jg/s5472/Edit-IMG_1264.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimDXnlI8uzg34gNPg22Z7IAcd-CWES3EROvE_BjIJivG3vfXZIMW32c5Q9GdNQpqDWYVWf-8HnlxS2jYS0LXk7NGgdejwYL6S3wkBNqb3pdt1mw6_hIdjGgBDFu3dN4q1httN3gsbsHHL8YMlo9AU6qiaU7sTqdbWVKWr8Z398BSIrk0vQzruciKHz5jg/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1264.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It must have been harvest season – or nearing it – as I
found traffic significantly slowed by various pieces of farm machinery trundling
down the roads at their honest best 15 MPH. There were a few especially large
machines that I was 100% sure that I could drive underneath successfully, but common
sense took hold and I instead patiently waited in the line of traffic with
everyone else, skipping ahead of the farmers one vehicle at a time in a very
inefficient game of leapfrog.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I finally cleared the last of the larger farming communities
– with all their associated traffic – at about 4PM. Perfect! I was an hour away
from Reno, so I figured I’d arrive right at 5, and cruise right through as town
emptied out at the end of the workday.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But as I kept driving, I noticed that my phone’s GPS kept
saying “Time to Arrival: 1 hr”. I would drive 10 minutes, and it would say
there was an hour remaining. I’d drive another fifteen minutes – and still an
hour remaining. Hmmmmmm.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Well, it was all still smooth sailing until I got within 25
miles of my destination – at which point traffic (of which there was suddenly
quite a lot) came to a complete standstill. In the middle of nowhere. Nothing
but a brown rock gully and all of us crammed in it. Google Maps had no accidents
to report, so I was very puzzled by the holdup. And annoyed. Here I was,
theoretically less than half an hour away from my destination, and my phone was
still reporting that I had an hour – or perhaps now an hour and fifteen minutes
– to go. Arghhhhh!!!<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzQZnrNZNogFll6YTf-wmb8w7H5a6i-n-3SgO_MSx0JqQRFINf3tSN1CnL_vUpMzbs1GiWs0SVNmpFTTEhcJDYqHbudf3tFhfkYZM-F9L5ZiE_2OXdVEw5z2p7wJqJAW9AezaUGIM_JDEtjM3jxHN2Gvfx2EW9_Vk3GRR3Buw01yjGHh8KA8ukIGrbVPw/s2048/Edit-71271359023__BDED8287-64CD-400E-AD91-E58D75B00537.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzQZnrNZNogFll6YTf-wmb8w7H5a6i-n-3SgO_MSx0JqQRFINf3tSN1CnL_vUpMzbs1GiWs0SVNmpFTTEhcJDYqHbudf3tFhfkYZM-F9L5ZiE_2OXdVEw5z2p7wJqJAW9AezaUGIM_JDEtjM3jxHN2Gvfx2EW9_Vk3GRR3Buw01yjGHh8KA8ukIGrbVPw/w480-h640/Edit-71271359023__BDED8287-64CD-400E-AD91-E58D75B00537.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This was all made worse by the speed of the traffic. Jane is
just not equipped to drive at 2 to 5 MPH. So I sat there marinating in the sun –
all of the previous clouds and goodwill having completely vanished – pumping the
clutch and the gas and the brakes in various combinations to inch forward bit
by bit. Ten minutes passed. Fifteen. Twenty. Thirty. 5PM came and went, and
still I sat trapped on this infernal road. Traffic stretched as far as I could
see, both ahead and behind me. Of course, the other lane – the one leading out
of town – was completely empty.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Remember how I was earlier noting that Nevada is kind of
unique in that everyone does their best to live within city limits, as close to
the center as possible? Yeah, I had forgotten about that. It turns out that when
people leave work for the day in Reno, they leave the factories and foundries on
the outskirts of town, and head INTO town to go home – the opposite from almost
every other city in America! Fascinating, but extremely aggravating.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">After five miles – and 45 minutes of time wasted – I came
upon the traffic obstruction: a particularly poorly-designed onramp that, by virtue
of its extreme curvature, required cars to enter the highway at about 15 MPH.
And being a two-lane highway, and of course that onramp having very little
merge room at the top, that meant that every single car on the highway entering
that area would have to slow down to let people merge in, or face a pretty
catastrophic wreck. Hello, completely unnecessary traffic.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Once I drove past that single onramp, traffic cleared up and
things went right back to pleasant highway cruise conditions. But of course
then I was simmering mad. I can do traffic if it’s because of a wreck or construction
or SOMETHING. But traffic just because someone did a bad job engineering a
road? The worst.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So instead of cruising casually-but-victoriously into Reno,
pleased with ourselves over another long trip completed, Jane and I screamed
into Reno at a rapid clip, all grumpy and growly, probably exuding pretty hefty
punk rock vibes. We turned into the lot at Grand Sierra Resort – our home for
the next three days – and were immediately directed to the back lot, possibly
due to my scowl or possibly due to the horrifically thick layer of grime
coating Jane. Well, whatever, the back lot is closer to registration anyways.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But as I pulled into the lot, it became very impossible to
stay grumpy. Everywhere I looked, there were dozens – hundreds – thousands – of
classic cars of all makes and models, ranging from the rattiest
cobbled-together hot rods to the most pristine off-the-factory-floor classics
to the most extravagant, grandiose custom cars. All gathered for this yearly
event to celebrate the history of the automobile and our love affair with it.
And here we were, Jane and I, once again. She always gets me here, through hell
and high water.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_D5x9y1k3ojG7FQYyUOFBIlQ93N_LrqTVcLXx1qkwYAgK1SNZK6hZ4vQNWCtxlCSZDIP0dtE8A-VohEGjARc77cdFm42IRjDeQ9NDW2HK4c4bUFhag-4tZ4KbI1r3a4mQswS0W3F9Bc7XafKrNgDuaXV1hKND3WFBbfCGvFoUU_RFOaUpk7SnIUgMHc4/s2048/Edit-IMG_7734.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_D5x9y1k3ojG7FQYyUOFBIlQ93N_LrqTVcLXx1qkwYAgK1SNZK6hZ4vQNWCtxlCSZDIP0dtE8A-VohEGjARc77cdFm42IRjDeQ9NDW2HK4c4bUFhag-4tZ4KbI1r3a4mQswS0W3F9Bc7XafKrNgDuaXV1hKND3WFBbfCGvFoUU_RFOaUpk7SnIUgMHc4/w640-h480/Edit-IMG_7734.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVpwCSuTXKJrLj4Ox0zP77YjQ7nx8TNepylRkMNSRYREh2sGOXSLLZG4Rl9BR0aXuypyLbziA2ykQtz6YbGjmAbiNJmAQBp76RnR-I8Vl4HmL-aUfoDp5E_BBC8xjcRW5sOgnQfcJP8gQCpyV0_pP1BmSIu4jFnUtnPHeLLpgZ_2QU63cVNDDRtrYT42Q/s2048/Edit-IMG_7733.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVpwCSuTXKJrLj4Ox0zP77YjQ7nx8TNepylRkMNSRYREh2sGOXSLLZG4Rl9BR0aXuypyLbziA2ykQtz6YbGjmAbiNJmAQBp76RnR-I8Vl4HmL-aUfoDp5E_BBC8xjcRW5sOgnQfcJP8gQCpyV0_pP1BmSIu4jFnUtnPHeLLpgZ_2QU63cVNDDRtrYT42Q/w640-h480/Edit-IMG_7733.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><br />
<p class="MsoNormal">I ran inside and picked up my registration packet, which
gives Jane and I both access to all of the car shows and parking and cruises
and drag races and auctions and everything else that comes with Hot August
Nights. Then I headed out into the parking lot to find my friends – not a very difficult
thing to do, considering they always park in the same spot! So I meandered down
towards the Amsoil tent, stopping to admire various hot rods. The lot was
absolutely slammed – both with cars and with people! It seems that turnout has
fully rebounded following the covid years.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I found my crew posted up behind a hot rod featuring two
side-by-side engines and four blowers. You know, your usual Hot August Nights
fare. They were amusing themselves by giving completely wrong answers to the
odd stranger who stopped by to ask about the car (which was owned by someone
else entirely). It didn’t take much to convince them that we should go to
dinner instead. So off we went.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We spent dinner strategizing over steaks. Why strategizing?
Well, Hot August Nights being such a huge event, parking can come at a premium wherever
you might think you want to go. The Grand Sierra Resort is one of the major
nexuses of the event, as it hosts all of the free concerts and has the largest
parking areas – with the most competition for a parking spot. So you kind of
don’t want to lose all of your crew’s parking spaces if you’ve got em. But then
you find yourself tied down to your spot and unable to go visit other parts of
the event, which of course is no fun at all either. And that’s why it’s a good
thing that half of our crew brings extra “beater” cars to putter around town
in. We leave the Mustangs in the Grand Sierra lot, and drive the Corollas to
the museum and the auction and the downtown car show. In some ways that kind of
defeats the purpose of a week-long cruise-oriented car show, but when your main
priority is hanging out with your friends, it’s the best way to make sure you
all have somewhere to congregate.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I began to feel as if I had spent the day attending a course
on traffic management.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">After a lengthy dinner, we retired back to the cars where we
set out the camp chairs for a long session of bullshitting with each other. I
scored a spot for Jane two spots down, and spent some time cleaning her up
while chipping in with pithy remarks when conversation got loud enough for me
to join. Even though I hate to miss out on even a single minute of the fun, I
also hate to leave Jane grimy and ratty while she’s parked amongst the
perfectly manicured show cars. It makes me feel like I’m neglecting her. There’s
no doubt that we are meant for the road, which comes with a certain level of
grime, but I don’t know, I guess I’d be self-conscious if I showed up to a
black tie event covered in mud, so I assume the same goes for Jane. So I always
make an effort to polish her up and put a nice shine on her so she fits in with
the rest of the cars in the lot.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlTHrJgJQCyLyBG-ZGL0_FkjjXR40V4Wn_6FNJF3dhP5nTZ_OwZNmQ2itOrbvDqGKH0JHA7Zo-7do5-FqG5GzP1UFy2e3UPjN1g-zWzHhMdf7DCQSvq9-ONXick6PxYSpUT-RG2A9cTS4gQDYLh3fWdP4T8uq1W8NTArfEfSwopcKscfAt_4cDBnZYrh4/s5372/Edit-IMG_1267.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5372" data-original-width="3581" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlTHrJgJQCyLyBG-ZGL0_FkjjXR40V4Wn_6FNJF3dhP5nTZ_OwZNmQ2itOrbvDqGKH0JHA7Zo-7do5-FqG5GzP1UFy2e3UPjN1g-zWzHhMdf7DCQSvq9-ONXick6PxYSpUT-RG2A9cTS4gQDYLh3fWdP4T8uq1W8NTArfEfSwopcKscfAt_4cDBnZYrh4/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_1267.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOUbpnm8Hbai2bzX32jRvw9S8gP-m6gYVQtb71ujcvKx3bG79mn5bHvNO0JmOwoTfIdBuirm4LaErLEoVlfbrMeqrWouCTZAtGxzVDXZUFQWrno__QWwEP8PnpOjwc47Eux9NpbUSBViS6oNaRr892qpuGZwVlxWh80GPbK8Cmx4rNBB0aAWwV2iSdHb0/s5472/Edit-IMG_1270.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOUbpnm8Hbai2bzX32jRvw9S8gP-m6gYVQtb71ujcvKx3bG79mn5bHvNO0JmOwoTfIdBuirm4LaErLEoVlfbrMeqrWouCTZAtGxzVDXZUFQWrno__QWwEP8PnpOjwc47Eux9NpbUSBViS6oNaRr892qpuGZwVlxWh80GPbK8Cmx4rNBB0aAWwV2iSdHb0/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1270.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I call these Jane's "Angel Wings". When driving through pouring rain the dust often gets swept back on the corners of the windshield like this. A fun lesson in the aerodynamics (hydrodynamics???) of the car.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Per my usual habit, I cleaned only half of the car first so
I could take a photo comparing Jane’s two faces: the road warrior, and the show
pony. I call it the “Jekyll and Hyde” look. It’s a great way to really highlight
how many miles of road I had to drive to get here.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYHEJVShvvMDqA4tDgWiZCQ22cvH6dhXeWX9hQIGHvW_7xyrmFenuziZmC-nhUapfkh_EjOq0KkYgtxvdoXpUUKFs3d3KUWI5HdCHFmQY4vOy2_8Eha3jSHIs3nYOILi4f0ivsjmJUnC86VRywV4Ex-h5z4R1X_6fu6uSyiq0OdXJUzhqB2SPBgBQ5kbU/s2048/Edit-IMG_7743.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYHEJVShvvMDqA4tDgWiZCQ22cvH6dhXeWX9hQIGHvW_7xyrmFenuziZmC-nhUapfkh_EjOq0KkYgtxvdoXpUUKFs3d3KUWI5HdCHFmQY4vOy2_8Eha3jSHIs3nYOILi4f0ivsjmJUnC86VRywV4Ex-h5z4R1X_6fu6uSyiq0OdXJUzhqB2SPBgBQ5kbU/w480-h640/Edit-IMG_7743.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuWlE7mN-jaVY-h9qRZ5REqhguFYe8jPvV5jxKb8QYjRUy0zFLSTBaHCunNOXyUDir4JwPnmFiigh2OND-O1FtAdY73-db1p5trgoNsJju-QrtjWX5Dnxn_4HtYfnsP2PdupCl3031oQjuDXLeAch7V8oKe8XpradkpTNybNHBzoy4XKGjQJEL5FqMdG0/s2048/Edit-IMG_7750.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuWlE7mN-jaVY-h9qRZ5REqhguFYe8jPvV5jxKb8QYjRUy0zFLSTBaHCunNOXyUDir4JwPnmFiigh2OND-O1FtAdY73-db1p5trgoNsJju-QrtjWX5Dnxn_4HtYfnsP2PdupCl3031oQjuDXLeAch7V8oKe8XpradkpTNybNHBzoy4XKGjQJEL5FqMdG0/w480-h640/Edit-IMG_7750.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As I worked, a desert night breeze wafted in, carrying the
sounds of camaraderie towards me on its cool currents. Laughter and excited conversation
echoed across the lot as friends from all walks of life and all corners of the
country were reunited with each other, all bursting with new stories and
adventures to share. The familiar click of ratchets and the clang of metal on
metal drew curious bystanders to various cars like moths to a flame, witnesses
to the ongoing reality of keeping the classic cars alive. And underneath that
ran the strongest pulse of all: the thump-thump-thump of vintage V8 motors creeping
through the lot, the growl of performance exhaust on a hot rod cruising through
town, the howl of a wide-open throttle on the highway.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The sounds of a hobby, a community, a passion, alive and
well. I’m proud to be a part of it.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipdwVsfxp-MAQDzO_JrTU40abuHBsE5oHmK4RIrbH1v0pRsC_SuUjsgnPFkF_2r3ZCRJ1bmVge9l4LQ-kYE61PdcJuBcI2s8zGeqGE1cdjqZ8w9O-tGRicEAnzCPUb5iBVsdovSaAbNiq5avvfdOGlIgeeRt5cNMWYGvlhvzM96xqhhnzAdDXP4hvZOdA/s5472/Edit-IMG_1276.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipdwVsfxp-MAQDzO_JrTU40abuHBsE5oHmK4RIrbH1v0pRsC_SuUjsgnPFkF_2r3ZCRJ1bmVge9l4LQ-kYE61PdcJuBcI2s8zGeqGE1cdjqZ8w9O-tGRicEAnzCPUb5iBVsdovSaAbNiq5avvfdOGlIgeeRt5cNMWYGvlhvzM96xqhhnzAdDXP4hvZOdA/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1276.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Kelly signing out.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div id="hzViewer" style="background: none; cursor: pointer; display: none; line-height: 0px; opacity: 1; overflow: hidden; padding: 5px; pointer-events: none; position: absolute; visibility: hidden; z-index: 2147483647;"></div>Kelly Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04271547498127096571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893125545466338016.post-62912787316370312412023-09-15T01:39:00.000-04:002023-09-15T01:39:01.817-04:00Petrichor<div class="separator"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggxglpG9xEfmwPg-IzvZgl5t5vCS1cl1hM271nwTdx1tm4E6sVjgMaEDcnTS5MdkKkGXAVEMAxYv7kC5nwn5BdVHEaSTHH8p2p2WLOPtcM5Tm1f6ch3Ewbone9alWitlZ-2y4o_3TOMZ6xSRxM6MxBZar2WlIEvgLgSSZHZolu93YdUtwdV7pMu6aqRWU/s5472/Edit-IMG_1136.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggxglpG9xEfmwPg-IzvZgl5t5vCS1cl1hM271nwTdx1tm4E6sVjgMaEDcnTS5MdkKkGXAVEMAxYv7kC5nwn5BdVHEaSTHH8p2p2WLOPtcM5Tm1f6ch3Ewbone9alWitlZ-2y4o_3TOMZ6xSRxM6MxBZar2WlIEvgLgSSZHZolu93YdUtwdV7pMu6aqRWU/s320/Edit-IMG_1136.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p> </p><p class="MsoNormal">8-1</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">----------<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You know, one of my favorite things about going west on road
trips is the part where I go across time zones. Especially when I go into
Arizona, and get a nice two-hour rollback. Why, you ask? Well, it’s because it
makes me look like a better, more productive member of society in the mornings.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Instead of rolling out of bed at a perfectly respectable (to
me, but apparently not to many people) 8AM, I rolled out of bed at 6AM this
morning. I showed up at breakfast bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at about 6:30AM,
and felt very smug as I surveyed all of the other bleary-eyed travelers
shuffling about. It is in these brief moments that I glimpse what it would be
like to be a morning person, and it feels kind of like a superpower. Imagine
being functional before the sun even comes up! That’s crazy.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Well, that was me today, for once. I capitalized on my
accidental early bird-ism and hopped back into Jane a little before 8AM (the
horror!!!). Thoroughly soaked after a night of rain, Jane nevertheless cranked
right up with only a minimal amount of grumpiness. Although, the steering wheel
now squeaks slightly when I turn it to the left, and a pretty aggressive
exhaust leak seems to have appeared overnight. Don’t ask me why, I don’t know.
Maybe I’ll fix it… later.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">None of these things mattered as we got back on the road,
making our way through town towards the small highway that would take us out of
the mountains. We slowly cruised through the swirling morning mists that still
wrapped the sleepy town close, enjoying the ethereal solitude as we puttered
past shuttered cafes and darkened homes. The desolate road stretching out of
town beckoned us into sodden pine forests, drawing us ever downwards towards
the base of the mountains. And then, very abruptly, we burst out of the forests
into sunshine. A short while later, the gloomy mountain roads were but a
memory, one rapidly being replaced by a more classic Arizona view: the endless
flat, scrubby, sun-drenched high plains of the Colorado Plateau.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-fzxYjOfsFJeodRmnd9R1eUdfgYw2Qjqd5I_2Y_Jw-rjK9553A7qkYmRQmgcuHLFblc49cYIF3KIQfDy4nwYkQmQ4wheG6Q9LDnuGCWQ3gvzmrOaCEL19IKZFaPsvks2lG6g7RBNNsigBImU-BIrN3B8PEWmsJZJnBha4Ze_HYRC2UU_LFG84wO9gqXg/s5365/Edit-IMG_0969.jpg"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3577" data-original-width="5365" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-fzxYjOfsFJeodRmnd9R1eUdfgYw2Qjqd5I_2Y_Jw-rjK9553A7qkYmRQmgcuHLFblc49cYIF3KIQfDy4nwYkQmQ4wheG6Q9LDnuGCWQ3gvzmrOaCEL19IKZFaPsvks2lG6g7RBNNsigBImU-BIrN3B8PEWmsJZJnBha4Ze_HYRC2UU_LFG84wO9gqXg/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_0969.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTRCgFEEc1CXlu4Hs7ccYR-BUx9ePcLRCWcfXMjziNU--mnTW_HLuWRUyqZzDNCNXzSybB8mCq1bAq3XTyI3m_WovfaMuH35bq0EVzvtZG5RsvVJcBPGhk_nL1iBJJa4qgHz_sRX4J7-3m26PzUTj5_uAjq8pHBLzEM4H7UBbhki-ZJIJtrrgHZkrmicQ/s5472/Edit-IMG_0972.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTRCgFEEc1CXlu4Hs7ccYR-BUx9ePcLRCWcfXMjziNU--mnTW_HLuWRUyqZzDNCNXzSybB8mCq1bAq3XTyI3m_WovfaMuH35bq0EVzvtZG5RsvVJcBPGhk_nL1iBJJa4qgHz_sRX4J7-3m26PzUTj5_uAjq8pHBLzEM4H7UBbhki-ZJIJtrrgHZkrmicQ/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_0972.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal">The morning wore on and eventually I found myself in
Holbrook, a classic Route 66 town. Holbrook is one of the few towns that
escaped complete population decimation with the bypassing of Route 66 and
opening of I-40 in the 1960’s – although it’s not a large town, it has held
firm against the passage of time and has managed to hold its population steady.
Despite this, it still leans heavily on its Route 66 roots, giving the town an
endearing time capsule-esque feel. On my way through town I passed several familiar
stops, mostly classic motels including the famous Wigwam Motel (which I noticed
has expanded its classic car collection since the last time I passed through).
Every time I pass this place, I wonder if Jane has been here before (before me,
I mean) on some long-past adventure. What I wouldn’t give to find someone who
knows this car’s history.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">At the edge of town I traded out my small highway for a more
familiar one: I-40, my old friend. I have run this stretch of road many, many
times by now. And as detrimental as it was to the small tourist towns that used
to provide refuge for weary travelers traversing the Arizonan high plains, I
have to say that this stretch of interstate is nevertheless my favorite in the
United States. I know that’s a bizarre thing to say. But imagine, if you will,
being me: someone who has driven a loud, rowdy vintage car for no less than
fifteen hours along the often-awful, minimally-maintained roads of West Texas
and New Mexico, over the course of two days. And then imagine suddenly hitting
a perfectly paved, gloriously flat, comfortingly broad ribbon of asphalt that
arrows straight across the plains towards a distant but visible mountain. And
even though the landscape is flat, it’s colorful, all greens and yellows and
oranges and reds patched together like an impressionist painting, presided over
by stunningly picturesque clouds. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Ooh, does it feel good to hit that stretch of road.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh3vNG-aA4Pyn0AWqoSsSYAGkBCgZul3fWmczlNQeqGrz1Gzo1D5zLaQYKo5C9RgepYMakL-LzQg1dIN1Y1n8QPDh84Ab1UxH9htLBTIpHsgnuBZFGlgA78D8Sw_fadbHwxdIWDNBnszeraCXxgWsP2Ei1ZJJuOWZ0pTqekltWm72Q7SkRyhr2Ih0ndT4/s5411/Edit-IMG_0976.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3607" data-original-width="5411" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh3vNG-aA4Pyn0AWqoSsSYAGkBCgZul3fWmczlNQeqGrz1Gzo1D5zLaQYKo5C9RgepYMakL-LzQg1dIN1Y1n8QPDh84Ab1UxH9htLBTIpHsgnuBZFGlgA78D8Sw_fadbHwxdIWDNBnszeraCXxgWsP2Ei1ZJJuOWZ0pTqekltWm72Q7SkRyhr2Ih0ndT4/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_0976.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgukm9l0gOuKQn3zCh4it-8sVQ15dwZ-uxIeNjzZLk8kxkf0ng4s4o6nt8qWNUopKRsnG3iA5qg5jYJZWD2xWAxSFL3hEsLzLu6_roJTLl3mO88HxygRp1OjSvaN-0zCEX6dvzrzGX-x0AJ2h1xYBacM3177L9o0-hubGjwfV22rtoNFPOrjoDzHbZIptA/s5472/Edit-IMG_0978.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgukm9l0gOuKQn3zCh4it-8sVQ15dwZ-uxIeNjzZLk8kxkf0ng4s4o6nt8qWNUopKRsnG3iA5qg5jYJZWD2xWAxSFL3hEsLzLu6_roJTLl3mO88HxygRp1OjSvaN-0zCEX6dvzrzGX-x0AJ2h1xYBacM3177L9o0-hubGjwfV22rtoNFPOrjoDzHbZIptA/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_0978.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkQD-GodGb7HM3kjWZzm-A5J8RkNS1w7luFpD3b37-lr7ifNjsSivtYQ8VEjAa0aWzI7st0uvsbMkWmGhV4Tv82M5JCikGkj9J7TWJepuQoJbsxpNA9PvSTzp8BWnDpYTPYSGukbAO4RbqtlNCPKxT_lni3uaoTboWw79ZZVJpsJsuCkSTGJwBsjFfvQQ/s5472/Edit-IMG_0985.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkQD-GodGb7HM3kjWZzm-A5J8RkNS1w7luFpD3b37-lr7ifNjsSivtYQ8VEjAa0aWzI7st0uvsbMkWmGhV4Tv82M5JCikGkj9J7TWJepuQoJbsxpNA9PvSTzp8BWnDpYTPYSGukbAO4RbqtlNCPKxT_lni3uaoTboWw79ZZVJpsJsuCkSTGJwBsjFfvQQ/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_0985.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4OzJkXsIMg5a6P_jyNNLGWnBj1eAYKgAdAx8hz2XUx7XqCNnRzXTGyFnwZyn5GySD1N0_etY7b3qoycitJpnogYaHuIMIWXm0HSfD3JvUQtXMPkLMpsw4BrOegVykPvK3-5qjarcm5l5s-ZLpMcE3GDSTLM3tlIcAgRlxPvW0wZ6gSCIUk9H2KFIA2uY/s5472/Edit-IMG_0987.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4OzJkXsIMg5a6P_jyNNLGWnBj1eAYKgAdAx8hz2XUx7XqCNnRzXTGyFnwZyn5GySD1N0_etY7b3qoycitJpnogYaHuIMIWXm0HSfD3JvUQtXMPkLMpsw4BrOegVykPvK3-5qjarcm5l5s-ZLpMcE3GDSTLM3tlIcAgRlxPvW0wZ6gSCIUk9H2KFIA2uY/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_0987.jpg" width="640" /></a></div></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<p class="MsoNormal">Jane and I reached that distant mountain – and the town of
Flagstaff nestled on its flanks – just around lunchtime. As temperatures were
rapidly climbing down on the sunny plains below, we ascended back into another
forested mountain refuge, seeking respite from the heat. I had some extra time
to kill, so I stopped off at Walnut Canyon National Monument. One of three
national monuments in the Flagstaff area, it’s a smaller park with limited
hiking and activities, but it is a perfect afternoon stop.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We cruised up to the entrance booth, where the ranger on
duty attempted to strike up a conversation. I say attempted, because it is
fairly difficult to understand each other when shouting back and forth over the
rumble of a vintage V8. Eventually I killed the motor and we were able to hear
each other – he was very helpful in explaining trail closures (okay, three
hiking trails are now two…) and was very complimentary of Jane. I abruptly
realized that I had absolutely no idea where my park pass was, and was feeling
a bit reluctant to pay the $25 entry fee knowing that I’d be there only a
couple of hours. Fortunately, the ranger had mercy on us, and let us in anyways
on scout’s honor. Some days, we still got it. Well, Jane does, at least. He
really did like Jane.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I parked, loaded up my pack, and stuck on my tennis shoes.
I’m almost always in hiking boots, but considering the trails were only a mile
apiece, I felt a bit silly digging them out of Jane’s trunk. So, sneakers it
is. After a brief stop at the front desk of the visitor center, I headed out
the back door and got my first view of Walnut Canyon.<o:p></o:p></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhSDGg10j_fKg4nd8vNF2eBU_ZJciVoJZmVbin0AlHxSN2wQMBouJ1ez82DUE_Aks_jxPju6N02AwsOCHRrsP5q4Q2uGDA1IjPUqbtoBSoELI8B_Hh6kkm-NOTHd-h8JMGtt7uTsx4pIr2Z6LVaoVXe2fpqDiPd6IAsDZ0-4sMZJRRX7tcuknux07V-m8/s5402/Edit-IMG_1009.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3601" data-original-width="5402" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhSDGg10j_fKg4nd8vNF2eBU_ZJciVoJZmVbin0AlHxSN2wQMBouJ1ez82DUE_Aks_jxPju6N02AwsOCHRrsP5q4Q2uGDA1IjPUqbtoBSoELI8B_Hh6kkm-NOTHd-h8JMGtt7uTsx4pIr2Z6LVaoVXe2fpqDiPd6IAsDZ0-4sMZJRRX7tcuknux07V-m8/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1009.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTaDbuSReUEqXujSTz5I2kHteSe98fwuaVNEZRGKtt7taitcREVMSOjmzphl_A6mCZ6JgRfIN1iKT7-hQffHvIws5Nclg6fBaxLaxtwebVB24ru1JLX6WX36fFtpvSUP0yo_rE9n7xzeQOJkPa1nQ42dV80skdUAEIRqeINbj1kX7vbLRT39GYtZgSo4U/s5472/Edit-IMG_1003.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTaDbuSReUEqXujSTz5I2kHteSe98fwuaVNEZRGKtt7taitcREVMSOjmzphl_A6mCZ6JgRfIN1iKT7-hQffHvIws5Nclg6fBaxLaxtwebVB24ru1JLX6WX36fFtpvSUP0yo_rE9n7xzeQOJkPa1nQ42dV80skdUAEIRqeINbj1kX7vbLRT39GYtZgSo4U/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1003.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Far from being one of my more commonly-visited barren red
rock canyons, Walnut Canyon is a gentler place, with abundant trees and grasses
growing along its terraced sides. Flora diversity is actually very high in this
canyon because of its unique position at the intersection of a drier (plains)
and wetter (montane) setting, creating a bunch of microclimates within the
canyon driven by orientation of the canyon walls (sunnier/drier vs.
shadier/wetter) and position relative to water sources (runoff and the creek at
the bottom). And because there’s so many plants, there are also a lot of
animals – birds, rabbits, bighorn sheep, deer, and the like. So it’s no
surprise that this canyon was a favored place for occupation by many early
indigenous groups!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As you look out across the canyon, at first glance it may
look to all be similar gray rock and trees. But look a little closer – with a
geologist’s eyes – and you see another thing that made this canyon ideal for
habitation: the alternation of different lithologies. Let me explain, because
rocks are very cool and are the basis of my day job, after all. At the base of
the canyon lies a massive, cross-bedded sandstone known as the Coconino
Sandstone. This sandstone – which, interestingly enough, preserves the remnants
of very large sand dunes - is thick and forms steep inclines and cliffs which
may be readily traversed with some skill, but are not great for plant or human
habitation. <o:p></o:p></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCOg6D_UZB0jP3AcsO4q1UQFvv48JM2TzWZuQAOFr2SGwx7GAaWtpqXxuYL3U6OHKtCW4ivA6HEEhAOHU3cATXND_zfx6DWCJI62m7mb6L0HOmEXWEuXPgyRIM_rB42piJuj6VK84LpL4kPlUu_VeeA3qqi0KKcQ7D4rs2m4NUf7TSs1jYYBinaKepPGQ/s5472/Edit-IMG_1026.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="5472" data-original-width="3648" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCOg6D_UZB0jP3AcsO4q1UQFvv48JM2TzWZuQAOFr2SGwx7GAaWtpqXxuYL3U6OHKtCW4ivA6HEEhAOHU3cATXND_zfx6DWCJI62m7mb6L0HOmEXWEuXPgyRIM_rB42piJuj6VK84LpL4kPlUu_VeeA3qqi0KKcQ7D4rs2m4NUf7TSs1jYYBinaKepPGQ/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_1026.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><br />
<p class="MsoNormal">Overlying that further up the canyon walls is the Kaibab
Formation, which is composed of cyclically alternating layers of hard limestone
and softer more clay-rich lime mudstones. Over time, the softer material has
weathered away while the harder limestone has remained, producing the terraced
benches and gentle slopes that step up the canyon walls. The gentle slopes are
more ideal for vegetation, and the benches? Well, those big overhangs are just
perfect to use as the roof of a home. And that’s exactly what the Sinagua
people did in the 1100’s. The longer you observe the upper half of the canyon,
the more these ancient dwellings leap out at you.<o:p></o:p></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4nxValdXYvdmkvEgxzsT85FnvPU-CQKI3KfHDbXNHCWjAjEaZw1w-i9YUlezkuw4ellbuxMwsH6nZcf3RKdSNq6S6oJqOeQTLXnO_yu6LnogUo9Sxuyn9CZsxPe_XEjVsAHDrmmnPAvP1Fuh-sIyNN4elsBLgkHnzc4e4XXD6HnM5QJPXLBZ0fx_hfK4/s5472/Edit-IMG_1057.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4nxValdXYvdmkvEgxzsT85FnvPU-CQKI3KfHDbXNHCWjAjEaZw1w-i9YUlezkuw4ellbuxMwsH6nZcf3RKdSNq6S6oJqOeQTLXnO_yu6LnogUo9Sxuyn9CZsxPe_XEjVsAHDrmmnPAvP1Fuh-sIyNN4elsBLgkHnzc4e4XXD6HnM5QJPXLBZ0fx_hfK4/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1057.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_mqkTs9KRxG8oofgNCmuB_7vAHv16uZFvGi7bEknEnvibTsCjRnuHLDPgbyBaVwlrrdgHMJX1jPIk3gjM_VU3b2ccQm8Ln3f7ZKE0T_QQtSTChXOnvyKdo6nYNeEB2VY1pRjSgZu-xhNQ9jMt6G5aK6MomY_A0NAbw1L_R84KVqVMW7kuX_0TSX7vn9Q/s5472/Edit-IMG_1056.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_mqkTs9KRxG8oofgNCmuB_7vAHv16uZFvGi7bEknEnvibTsCjRnuHLDPgbyBaVwlrrdgHMJX1jPIk3gjM_VU3b2ccQm8Ln3f7ZKE0T_QQtSTChXOnvyKdo6nYNeEB2VY1pRjSgZu-xhNQ9jMt6G5aK6MomY_A0NAbw1L_R84KVqVMW7kuX_0TSX7vn9Q/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1056.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ3CeEqMT6ocRGiClUENL8S6YRHeTbUUFLXWzhWmUZ1KxkqWsEOAzqnyJwpdBlQd-9SgTzVVwdgEz1X70IWugKzbeh0zJAxhE4kSKTZSMYeDHwoghl59gth4_0SSqIuAGi4pEW5Ot_8E-S0SRr3bf38e4sgcCpRDeSHSMKC0qTZzeqL5HF-HPffxNN7y0/s5472/Edit-IMG_1059.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ3CeEqMT6ocRGiClUENL8S6YRHeTbUUFLXWzhWmUZ1KxkqWsEOAzqnyJwpdBlQd-9SgTzVVwdgEz1X70IWugKzbeh0zJAxhE4kSKTZSMYeDHwoghl59gth4_0SSqIuAGi4pEW5Ot_8E-S0SRr3bf38e4sgcCpRDeSHSMKC0qTZzeqL5HF-HPffxNN7y0/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1059.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6O1FCAGEBAag0i8MPKQQSayOuoGVIQV7x_I1IO8ksG5ZU0b8unTpCMM8bujP7yvwbSfuHcJEHIuT-FoD7aHEiNcQwnHujxYS91XIRH547nULYGvcw5ANiCfzLgZF41HB0UGzQY0G7YHYC1lK4T3hcfI-bSoV5ZMdhLH0vt-N1F3CYWdyjX0cmuUPth1Q/s5472/Edit-IMG_1060.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6O1FCAGEBAag0i8MPKQQSayOuoGVIQV7x_I1IO8ksG5ZU0b8unTpCMM8bujP7yvwbSfuHcJEHIuT-FoD7aHEiNcQwnHujxYS91XIRH547nULYGvcw5ANiCfzLgZF41HB0UGzQY0G7YHYC1lK4T3hcfI-bSoV5ZMdhLH0vt-N1F3CYWdyjX0cmuUPth1Q/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1060.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnX7_WZeuwogNEqaCrvo4J5KZZRAad3A2YGOz5daOvSM4cw_2K7GTINtvxC8cBQA2Pjd3y8mIK39bbrBDDvY_dxvWLaMS2MoEcBazE569KoXuXeRDgtFhySY5KXg5H-t8k-tZWOA2H3CdSTRINObTLHeQcB4oyt-PNX9mSHjg-FHSjLUNSC6spjVRqxTs/s5472/Edit-IMG_1062.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnX7_WZeuwogNEqaCrvo4J5KZZRAad3A2YGOz5daOvSM4cw_2K7GTINtvxC8cBQA2Pjd3y8mIK39bbrBDDvY_dxvWLaMS2MoEcBazE569KoXuXeRDgtFhySY5KXg5H-t8k-tZWOA2H3CdSTRINObTLHeQcB4oyt-PNX9mSHjg-FHSjLUNSC6spjVRqxTs/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1062.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ_8NOG_YP7GLDqj_FAWk1sfljVcj5OALsYOHLKvGA5tvTavJ0m7eLr2zRi0hoAdnWu5sojjg5sfI1JJ0_Yf0kFfmaLy6agm6AOH1lw6orDDruwPbnQDcTkxLECbHZXialPV8VJSHdk-sMmnAoduwAW43LPEsYg2dNZiKGni39LHFvoqWlxY1ZEih0ygE/s5472/Edit-IMG_1069.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ_8NOG_YP7GLDqj_FAWk1sfljVcj5OALsYOHLKvGA5tvTavJ0m7eLr2zRi0hoAdnWu5sojjg5sfI1JJ0_Yf0kFfmaLy6agm6AOH1lw6orDDruwPbnQDcTkxLECbHZXialPV8VJSHdk-sMmnAoduwAW43LPEsYg2dNZiKGni39LHFvoqWlxY1ZEih0ygE/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1069.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPOMTfMMCJYHk65mCKdmgt10PM0p1HzXYCSQp4tL875p-5N-YmXBb21YI_SNmw-ne51X4zLPzGYNYWWzgX7S18Rybv3_rF1wa5H5VbWUuhUcqOMTDh0jt9iwW2qnFcbgFilud_F0sfNxTa75GkvWfOXfsY8nV8kRnUh0sow73f8c1pGz8imbiE38DLKBM/s5472/Edit-IMG_0994.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPOMTfMMCJYHk65mCKdmgt10PM0p1HzXYCSQp4tL875p-5N-YmXBb21YI_SNmw-ne51X4zLPzGYNYWWzgX7S18Rybv3_rF1wa5H5VbWUuhUcqOMTDh0jt9iwW2qnFcbgFilud_F0sfNxTa75GkvWfOXfsY8nV8kRnUh0sow73f8c1pGz8imbiE38DLKBM/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_0994.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Incredibly, Walnut Canyon is home to over 80 cliff
dwellings, each with several rooms. Many remain in excellent condition even
after nearly a thousand years – testament to the engineering and building
prowess of these ancient peoples. Although, it could also be argued that this
is mostly related to the perfect setting for preservation: generally arid
conditions with few floods or natural disasters, sturdy protective rock benches,
good material availability for strong building blocks and mortar, low erosion,
and a more hidden, less accessible location preventing easy destruction by
vandals. Let’s say it’s both.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Walnut Canyon’s Island Trail drops you down into the canyon
and loops around several benches for a close-up view of a series of dwellings,
each with their own unique features. I made my way down the trail pretty
quickly, eager to explore the remnants of a very different civilization. The staff
at the front desk had gone out of their way to warn me about the 368 stairs
that you have to traverse to get down to the meat of the trail – but that didn’t
seem that strenuous to me. After all, the Sinagua peoples traversed this canyon
from rim to floor every day of their lives, and they probably didn’t have the
benefit of regularly-spaced, OSHA-approved cement stairs with handrails!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The trail wound around the side of a ridge, butting right up
to remnants of the dwellings. Although some walls have been reconstructed for
educational purposes (using the same techniques as originally employed to build
them in the 1100’s), many remain exactly as they were made all those centuries
ago. The 1-2-foot thick walls would have kept everything dry and cool in the
summer, and dry and warm in the winter: the perfect climate control for year-round
living! It was very cool to read about the various uses of the rooms in the
dwellings – many of the narrower rooms were employed as storerooms, whereas
other larger rooms were likely living quarters. The storerooms would have been
filled with dried food stores as well as many, many jars of water, which were
needed to survive the dry season as Walnut Canyon’s creek is seasonal. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sounds stressful to me, but I guess the
potential for a water shortage is no different than the ones faced by a lot of
desert-dwelling communities today!<o:p></o:p></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMCKljAiY4QiQApbvKA1GX_XUvQtIhTZrDHMM46RXeQ6xvKqCWUGgViMBEeD6moSTGWMVybb6BImQGxjZdDooFzVAJHrFIFwXtq95OC24Xy418inM5_K_7JluX8mx6mMS_cyu2__PEBKMUzJLKcH3D0npth9jJW0w_5QQOd1IxKka_LhfW0g7-QWFC3-U/s5472/Edit-IMG_1013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMCKljAiY4QiQApbvKA1GX_XUvQtIhTZrDHMM46RXeQ6xvKqCWUGgViMBEeD6moSTGWMVybb6BImQGxjZdDooFzVAJHrFIFwXtq95OC24Xy418inM5_K_7JluX8mx6mMS_cyu2__PEBKMUzJLKcH3D0npth9jJW0w_5QQOd1IxKka_LhfW0g7-QWFC3-U/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1013.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Restored walls - you can see differently colored mud mortar</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy0_UxpGxfbAXks4BGXq2gwFqjQq--huMBQWXHy8lYwm8QjKudKCDZFPL1pwYn4oQpFBThrk5q9zgT78x57-GY9Ddm9xRjalrFo4demy3Atc9hgyPbaVCJKjVzoL3R4nESmeJGIfgdqIAOxoI9I2WYpdR_kipvRHpQPvkYX5OhJMeUOU0bbjyOjWLCvQg/s5472/Edit-IMG_1018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy0_UxpGxfbAXks4BGXq2gwFqjQq--huMBQWXHy8lYwm8QjKudKCDZFPL1pwYn4oQpFBThrk5q9zgT78x57-GY9Ddm9xRjalrFo4demy3Atc9hgyPbaVCJKjVzoL3R4nESmeJGIfgdqIAOxoI9I2WYpdR_kipvRHpQPvkYX5OhJMeUOU0bbjyOjWLCvQg/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1018.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A long narrow storeroom with a doorway on the far end</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlrijYTKiPkBzbfyrBW7zF7VfNWWScurCDA7gsqR-MB1rbvgDEo8eEhaHp-ZqmILEmhJ7apO-lOrvioTYoOqZ1I1taX7xm2WkAN6NoypB0yOnkyhCiyBlRKOKvfbIDiIy5u75ByQFnLFocE8Skdmi73ZViGDT2LXJY8_wdBQZlIp76oZCfQmivfcqN7ak/s5472/Edit-IMG_1028.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlrijYTKiPkBzbfyrBW7zF7VfNWWScurCDA7gsqR-MB1rbvgDEo8eEhaHp-ZqmILEmhJ7apO-lOrvioTYoOqZ1I1taX7xm2WkAN6NoypB0yOnkyhCiyBlRKOKvfbIDiIy5u75ByQFnLFocE8Skdmi73ZViGDT2LXJY8_wdBQZlIp76oZCfQmivfcqN7ak/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1028.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A series of dwellings (or one very large dwelling for a family) under a large overhang</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivcRy4khZf0fZM9Omtq_SC4GkjlF5pF0aJF3sxNcj34dPS2pcigPM9HH5383DdhH_mF-4wqJjCHo8rL4sb8VG-bsl7ydEecvCcyYzoGbrKQcUoIUQRTL1352wTu0Nv25B5ULlVbmPdwV1bdBhUz1K7ss7WARIY6PPuMZ76jgIDMkSvyCzSFAENiMa42rw/s5472/Edit-IMG_1032.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivcRy4khZf0fZM9Omtq_SC4GkjlF5pF0aJF3sxNcj34dPS2pcigPM9HH5383DdhH_mF-4wqJjCHo8rL4sb8VG-bsl7ydEecvCcyYzoGbrKQcUoIUQRTL1352wTu0Nv25B5ULlVbmPdwV1bdBhUz1K7ss7WARIY6PPuMZ76jgIDMkSvyCzSFAENiMa42rw/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1032.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Many of the larger rooms had charring along the top of their
roof – evidence of cooking fires from a long distant past. And some dwellings still
had their doorways intact, revealing them to be small rectangular openings that
you would have to stoop to pass through.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxvNm29-8UAKsHUlqDn80Cf_IH3inf_Zf2G-VjhKeXZBz0-kepSz99y6h8BVxp2VMe8kVKFQS1SoozFr_YzEPRxzRi4HVk1V9JiypB6OuF08UJee0TtlvtD_CugVy7ZT_1BOwawjJebiZM3oMAfbTI6o9aHvydDLuGCqKpRVwOJdCS9DKl1yoCwdolYgY/s5472/Edit-IMG_1021.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxvNm29-8UAKsHUlqDn80Cf_IH3inf_Zf2G-VjhKeXZBz0-kepSz99y6h8BVxp2VMe8kVKFQS1SoozFr_YzEPRxzRi4HVk1V9JiypB6OuF08UJee0TtlvtD_CugVy7ZT_1BOwawjJebiZM3oMAfbTI6o9aHvydDLuGCqKpRVwOJdCS9DKl1yoCwdolYgY/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1021.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidzSbh15ETyfn6hdj20Nw0FJB80HncauMMJ42qq0_T2eqfoOtuOK-W_MMuPgBjdBYwM5n1wJgJPgPMmZ11HJFc6RmjUFpjHPEWSZWQsc1x7UiU0MUSk_I04ainoQbWUoij2AmIHCtt8N74ypTjq7k923ic4R7xqbOa-MCKgBMqyWhDpWWhZwOkQwlRL5g/s5472/Edit-IMG_1033.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="5472" data-original-width="3648" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidzSbh15ETyfn6hdj20Nw0FJB80HncauMMJ42qq0_T2eqfoOtuOK-W_MMuPgBjdBYwM5n1wJgJPgPMmZ11HJFc6RmjUFpjHPEWSZWQsc1x7UiU0MUSk_I04ainoQbWUoij2AmIHCtt8N74ypTjq7k923ic4R7xqbOa-MCKgBMqyWhDpWWhZwOkQwlRL5g/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_1033.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx6uysjBMdj4pTfUjpQHIMtH_WGjktSPPynzPMryJpAPZROBgxUnfjhIrRozOTRt6Nmaj6Dksf7HQ-5RPVahs-wEY7SqdcsHCByJ61HQFa00E1OzEIpw3csCm_7l_etIr4yUzNO9TYx_Rwru1W0c7CaYhaUOJBbSacO9MA-Z4HQLyN4vVNm4cFSbJFlkc/s5472/Edit-IMG_1038.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="5472" data-original-width="3648" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx6uysjBMdj4pTfUjpQHIMtH_WGjktSPPynzPMryJpAPZROBgxUnfjhIrRozOTRt6Nmaj6Dksf7HQ-5RPVahs-wEY7SqdcsHCByJ61HQFa00E1OzEIpw3csCm_7l_etIr4yUzNO9TYx_Rwru1W0c7CaYhaUOJBbSacO9MA-Z4HQLyN4vVNm4cFSbJFlkc/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_1038.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinm-lV3153NrgMrNnRfsgei8sOXHawhLOZvKf22LJzwjn92rBZqGKumnL9uVjzzfAFodEaynKD0bmm3HccUnx4ZTqjAntTnjAFzeQueFC9IK5-y9lcAwvK4JO3snulM5YI6RL-fSYUUVd4J_7aBbAVXZ7MwmLYkFGOU73TtcQU5lqarQxa2cz08NlSaFM/s5472/Edit-IMG_1043.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinm-lV3153NrgMrNnRfsgei8sOXHawhLOZvKf22LJzwjn92rBZqGKumnL9uVjzzfAFodEaynKD0bmm3HccUnx4ZTqjAntTnjAFzeQueFC9IK5-y9lcAwvK4JO3snulM5YI6RL-fSYUUVd4J_7aBbAVXZ7MwmLYkFGOU73TtcQU5lqarQxa2cz08NlSaFM/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1043.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A very heavily used room</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">That led me to wonder, though, how the Sinagua survived the
massive smoke inhalation that they would have undoubtedly subjected themselves to
if they sat in those rooms for too long. A fire for warmth or cooking would be
nice, but not at the cost of suffocating yourself!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Well, as I proceeded around the trail to a strip of really
wonderfully-preserved dwellings, I got my answer. Each room had a smoke hole
built in over the doorway just against the ceiling. So, air would enter through
the doorway to help feed the fire, and the smoke would stream out the top hole!
Ingenious. This is probably "Fire 101", but hey, I wouldn't have known that.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOp08tBP_Chf7jCkO_tVG44ZSzdYkBeQYHfRlRM3MIZpSTgSNzHXV_KzbuPd6QR24NP73O_AYnayn1OJwRjMSvxZeXApdBW54ypCi8JSWH6q5gfk6faIN5alOjJz5YjuUh6L604qtROHMrDUwJHq49nLDQrDjvgq5yIx6RVoO2oNu6wSFXMcAIK1cOA_k/s5472/Edit-IMG_1041.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOp08tBP_Chf7jCkO_tVG44ZSzdYkBeQYHfRlRM3MIZpSTgSNzHXV_KzbuPd6QR24NP73O_AYnayn1OJwRjMSvxZeXApdBW54ypCi8JSWH6q5gfk6faIN5alOjJz5YjuUh6L604qtROHMrDUwJHq49nLDQrDjvgq5yIx6RVoO2oNu6wSFXMcAIK1cOA_k/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1041.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMsyXfi7aemKdsKsocqkDYnfRRwPeJ3qMsxmv7R-xAGMeDufCTyv0KLivcF0LmOSXPIDw83sCYHxAh7NXp-kKqbrqq318fOJ1qlf0KHbdie8JzslPADlvG0ijU2HycIs1zI4XVp2IdUrVY3mcHsZw1ueH65sv_f3ExFOryZCmyF56YhxAdCKT92YEFU8w/s5472/Edit-IMG_1042.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="5472" data-original-width="3648" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMsyXfi7aemKdsKsocqkDYnfRRwPeJ3qMsxmv7R-xAGMeDufCTyv0KLivcF0LmOSXPIDw83sCYHxAh7NXp-kKqbrqq318fOJ1qlf0KHbdie8JzslPADlvG0ijU2HycIs1zI4XVp2IdUrVY3mcHsZw1ueH65sv_f3ExFOryZCmyF56YhxAdCKT92YEFU8w/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_1042.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPqS384nzPouGnhvjPCwxOR7w_TXb5_BowDsml3C1Q7oQWofZO5Dq6kRRG2bb3Xg5OwMQ7XWFIw3LfUt5r1KhKcfMwibBjvVA4jIsbC9A7iGKAdCS0huMbyMTGvVg9pKITnZqUDrhyFNq4UVmYCrQGw9oR-je-e7vdzc7p7h-NntzTrevLDTblF6EUImA/s5472/Edit-IMG_1046.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPqS384nzPouGnhvjPCwxOR7w_TXb5_BowDsml3C1Q7oQWofZO5Dq6kRRG2bb3Xg5OwMQ7XWFIw3LfUt5r1KhKcfMwibBjvVA4jIsbC9A7iGKAdCS0huMbyMTGvVg9pKITnZqUDrhyFNq4UVmYCrQGw9oR-je-e7vdzc7p7h-NntzTrevLDTblF6EUImA/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1046.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What a great view</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiPdJSwwcE5me6fRfyl1MUW259zk7pjhAudqcRs3ixSsr1GhgQzaLSox2yIdDZiIxcs5fQ_r046dtg8ZnTj1PvhhIoz_3QUZGFp5S_LuKO47ArODWkPGg2oPdh8Ovs-HzyrjNNUiX7pKhfoQJiilqf0soBXviwZIiC82Zd-2rF3roZIhFgXynK52nzZys/s5472/Edit-IMG_1050.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiPdJSwwcE5me6fRfyl1MUW259zk7pjhAudqcRs3ixSsr1GhgQzaLSox2yIdDZiIxcs5fQ_r046dtg8ZnTj1PvhhIoz_3QUZGFp5S_LuKO47ArODWkPGg2oPdh8Ovs-HzyrjNNUiX7pKhfoQJiilqf0soBXviwZIiC82Zd-2rF3roZIhFgXynK52nzZys/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1050.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The size and scope of these dwellings is really amazing</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The loop completed, I headed back up the steps – 368 stairs,
mind you! – with absolutely no trouble at all, actually. I guess maybe I’m in
good enough shape to qualify for life as a Sinagua. Or at least, I’m in good
enough shape to be able to do some of their daily activities. Whether or not I
could hack it long-term, with all of the climbing and gathering and hunting and
constant activity in the same canyon… well, dubious. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">After reaching the visitor center back at the rim of the
canyon, I wandered down the second trail, which is really little more than a
short walk to an overlook where you can see… well, the same canyon, I guess. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqxjWGmm4spciZa2v9rgetxyijOq-jha2U_628VXza19RecMwVQiWP2eZUtUxwtdkBaATgC6mW4qAilJC6-H3NQ8g-aa1geK0B3Mrc0peAInIU25wN6RJzOik2BSM1Iwey5Zrjh4zIjLSQ6HWPJQbomLhxUrcrtKBz6-8kaPyqS7Sd8OYyWxRw0J8dSY4/s5472/Edit-IMG_1071.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="5472" data-original-width="3648" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqxjWGmm4spciZa2v9rgetxyijOq-jha2U_628VXza19RecMwVQiWP2eZUtUxwtdkBaATgC6mW4qAilJC6-H3NQ8g-aa1geK0B3Mrc0peAInIU25wN6RJzOik2BSM1Iwey5Zrjh4zIjLSQ6HWPJQbomLhxUrcrtKBz6-8kaPyqS7Sd8OYyWxRw0J8dSY4/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_1071.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzJCdhXLmEN_iAgh6wlicDfxA08WG-13KFiZVVdsUev88fLKe4rpVPZ7z8wTgREnuam62C89tf016M7RjhLHctY--rtRhJ5umfRFoBD74hwfGkag71Me2HTICOGXGoblmo2mGpA4VagQzLUmcSifSDALe9-2E7JwQ1lY7azMxsX0m-xqN78PSmtDXph28/s2048/IMG_7708.JPEG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzJCdhXLmEN_iAgh6wlicDfxA08WG-13KFiZVVdsUev88fLKe4rpVPZ7z8wTgREnuam62C89tf016M7RjhLHctY--rtRhJ5umfRFoBD74hwfGkag71Me2HTICOGXGoblmo2mGpA4VagQzLUmcSifSDALe9-2E7JwQ1lY7azMxsX0m-xqN78PSmtDXph28/w640-h480/IMG_7708.JPEG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Unfortunately, it is much harder to see the dwellings from
this overlook as many of the more visible ones are located in the canyon wall
on the side that you happen to be standing on. But it was a nice reminder of
how this canyon probably looked even hundreds of years ago – apparently pristine,
but full of hidden life. Maybe back then, the voices of the Sinagua people would
have risen out of the canyon, the only immediate evidence of their civilization.
Maybe if you looked closer, you would start to see flashes of skin as people
moved through the forest, or maybe you would catch the scent of a campfire when
the wind blew the right way. Or maybe, as now, the people would have left an
indelible mark on the landscape, the forests cleared away to make room for more
fields, more pathways, more growth.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A time machine would
be a very nice thing to have, I think.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Our brief tour of Walnut Canyon now completed, Jane and I
hopped back on the road and got to driving. I wanted to hit Boulder City, NV –
a smallish town at the gate to Hoover Dam, just outside of Vegas – before dinnertime.
So we finished our ascent towards Flagstaff and dropped down the other side of
the mountain, Jane eating up the smooth graded pavement like a particularly
delectable dessert. Spectacular big puffy afternoon clouds had gathered, bringing
with them a refreshing cool breeze. The plain stretched out in front of us,
never-ending, but always with a suggestion of mountains on the horizon, a
teasing destination never reached. It was a perfect afternoon for a long drive
in a perfect car, and one that is rarely encountered in Arizona in high summer.
I savored it for as long as I could.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXmYnMctaVfegsM8bO4gJYCijLivPub-7qlaYM4EI3lYbGpL_lzZ40FrSb5fB8_JwCmT7vNfYzrbDaonPAM44sissyC-MetynTWnZvJ99-xBuiecqP67LoqYBw8ioA9DwmiMTIq8gaqVsslYnX59KUZOfiQB46yIH7B_F9je5kgibrd-Pws9bZy7_jzmA/s5472/Edit-IMG_1086.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXmYnMctaVfegsM8bO4gJYCijLivPub-7qlaYM4EI3lYbGpL_lzZ40FrSb5fB8_JwCmT7vNfYzrbDaonPAM44sissyC-MetynTWnZvJ99-xBuiecqP67LoqYBw8ioA9DwmiMTIq8gaqVsslYnX59KUZOfiQB46yIH7B_F9je5kgibrd-Pws9bZy7_jzmA/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1086.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Los Angeles seems a bit ambitious for a road sign located in the middle of northern Arizona, don't you think?</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEbR-8UAG1nz5l6AM2rH2KSTbcmPNfPwmCCcI7cD77KimAmyZIt8av9B6ErErrzChwc7a0bXsjYWQb1NdbTkSSKFJ7G_4UE1t9J5WPaRZAbyF6l1Okq4H4WE95uQUjhZk67OzoJCWRmggt6Se9ByGx__Hgyt46wL3ISMqcEacaONP8GF1VsUK6VIub3cE/s5338/Edit-IMG_1088.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3559" data-original-width="5338" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEbR-8UAG1nz5l6AM2rH2KSTbcmPNfPwmCCcI7cD77KimAmyZIt8av9B6ErErrzChwc7a0bXsjYWQb1NdbTkSSKFJ7G_4UE1t9J5WPaRZAbyF6l1Okq4H4WE95uQUjhZk67OzoJCWRmggt6Se9ByGx__Hgyt46wL3ISMqcEacaONP8GF1VsUK6VIub3cE/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1088.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsJOE4o12R9g7pBP89vvLDc1b3m6mqnwPPrtqPYGqz2nyBrcjlG-exeqamuexFekHt9YBuIYvsk2suUrvstoyDhdF1vxwj5qoJxxhR0pQ6XAXBwWT-GGSNkRTda2TJZ5QjEqOyp-sMMq-OdCprm3eLJtWMncuQJNrHToPwqDrYFcGrzIqOcMrlgX8Hxws/s5472/Edit-IMG_1094.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsJOE4o12R9g7pBP89vvLDc1b3m6mqnwPPrtqPYGqz2nyBrcjlG-exeqamuexFekHt9YBuIYvsk2suUrvstoyDhdF1vxwj5qoJxxhR0pQ6XAXBwWT-GGSNkRTda2TJZ5QjEqOyp-sMMq-OdCprm3eLJtWMncuQJNrHToPwqDrYFcGrzIqOcMrlgX8Hxws/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1094.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBEjtPJDoueAm9n9MCi8oPsimPPEGJV0t74dCUeT6jq6dqFG4VQGGsIuM44tQ-FJR9naPmmKtOqwTXt7Su6OUSWZzPqhdbZ8M-nQkNrWc0mm5rtkv3LPYMUCovKEGNF6gkYscbU3_jn8Lef8MlTzCXE63P7JMfSVbrFw2FhdMXtnXOEEn7C1ptl4Dosqw/s5239/Edit-IMG_1098.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3493" data-original-width="5239" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBEjtPJDoueAm9n9MCi8oPsimPPEGJV0t74dCUeT6jq6dqFG4VQGGsIuM44tQ-FJR9naPmmKtOqwTXt7Su6OUSWZzPqhdbZ8M-nQkNrWc0mm5rtkv3LPYMUCovKEGNF6gkYscbU3_jn8Lef8MlTzCXE63P7JMfSVbrFw2FhdMXtnXOEEn7C1ptl4Dosqw/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1098.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjRYqCKuPF9IZ6O6OQO-VWM1QlofjkuJloKERD9ZS8BZok4oEpEs6-SXQSv5SU11Ygb4i8QxyoixkiovtZ-_cIeV0GyIItC9YTxxApxuW_s2kco1-Id4j4TKbGOMRjs_rMOBrQjm8ZOZQfQTrIpcmUV7dAk12NFn0vzXCyxtySY25jznrQaZBN2Ma9NGs/s5472/Edit-IMG_1104.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjRYqCKuPF9IZ6O6OQO-VWM1QlofjkuJloKERD9ZS8BZok4oEpEs6-SXQSv5SU11Ygb4i8QxyoixkiovtZ-_cIeV0GyIItC9YTxxApxuW_s2kco1-Id4j4TKbGOMRjs_rMOBrQjm8ZOZQfQTrIpcmUV7dAk12NFn0vzXCyxtySY25jznrQaZBN2Ma9NGs/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1104.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But then, of course – as is par for the course for this trip
- it began to rain.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLm-aiHJUkkuW2rCqncQoJnEx9GqshUjJsVRXKCoSbPilrKhfvzNgHAZKT4Rh6ZfEfEKr2Szz3g-TUeDnATp41YRphUJi6wxB_9KI7DWXTtv636zsIQ_fk7RrSEe4rEEDyJYJEL6Mep9rLUpF5vKxh7bIuYUa7Am3nYUEBhJF7iZZbWTGgB69_Vm9xNaA/s5472/Edit-IMG_1102.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLm-aiHJUkkuW2rCqncQoJnEx9GqshUjJsVRXKCoSbPilrKhfvzNgHAZKT4Rh6ZfEfEKr2Szz3g-TUeDnATp41YRphUJi6wxB_9KI7DWXTtv636zsIQ_fk7RrSEe4rEEDyJYJEL6Mep9rLUpF5vKxh7bIuYUa7Am3nYUEBhJF7iZZbWTGgB69_Vm9xNaA/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1102.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">I know that usually I complain incessantly that it always
rains on the last day of my road trip, and that it is always one of those
horrible torrential monsoons that threatens to wash Jane straight off the face
of the earth, and that I always seem to spend half the day white-knuckled with
nothing but the fear of imminent demise circling rapidly through my head on
loop. But this year has been kinder. This year, in the face of the hottest,
driest summer I’ve ever experienced, I was given the gift of nice gentle rain.
Nice gentle rain, for hundreds and hundreds of miles across the deserts of New
Mexico and Arizona. It felt like a miracle.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Jane and I splashed through spotty showers the whole rest of
the way to Boulder City, alternating between cool refreshing downpours and
glorious sun-drenched stretches. The air crackled with life, rife with the
songs of birds and the buzzing and chirping of insects, punctuated by the staccato
crunch of loose pebbles on the asphalt and underscored by the gentle whish of
tires on wet pavement. I turned the radio off and sunk into the moment – one
long, unending moment - breathing deep and scoring the scene into my memory.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Kk3nkHsmqYoIplbEe0kbO9AL5nZYNk3OOu2yEYEo-zJom_xw-P64C7C052Fusc2UZG-8fsfJbgffX9znxPeqCLyXc8OVEsa4oL7hHL-zCQC8CEHoq3LB-s0X12tVB3aCa0yeLZjoZZhkV3swUvcz4aUy5neqib9s37zT9xwwz6yVhyMRsgaUa00eotE/s5384/Edit-IMG_1106.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3589" data-original-width="5384" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Kk3nkHsmqYoIplbEe0kbO9AL5nZYNk3OOu2yEYEo-zJom_xw-P64C7C052Fusc2UZG-8fsfJbgffX9znxPeqCLyXc8OVEsa4oL7hHL-zCQC8CEHoq3LB-s0X12tVB3aCa0yeLZjoZZhkV3swUvcz4aUy5neqib9s37zT9xwwz6yVhyMRsgaUa00eotE/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1106.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt2w2Fuohzlq5MwrJpeXMJkcSoTA6B2VbEoRTzZCMk8ufgv3lw6J2wtzA7NQloKv84pHkGkqiJBK_DNuvGOuhMBKb3W3M-HOIcKRYxKEfSmVqcu3ruOioUEIsw0BrPi0SmFMnPm4c6WvHGlWC_lkT98h0idxcrtTD9MtcimFF6wyqwQlE9aa_DdgD_ggw/s5472/Edit-IMG_1115.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt2w2Fuohzlq5MwrJpeXMJkcSoTA6B2VbEoRTzZCMk8ufgv3lw6J2wtzA7NQloKv84pHkGkqiJBK_DNuvGOuhMBKb3W3M-HOIcKRYxKEfSmVqcu3ruOioUEIsw0BrPi0SmFMnPm4c6WvHGlWC_lkT98h0idxcrtTD9MtcimFF6wyqwQlE9aa_DdgD_ggw/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1115.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbyH5MuUFYqFZBU3KvKW6nkCiOW_Gweu-dNxscqrr9rDNTu3zdtZ2genii5Q9iM1tdTCUdmMWJ7r5aHezdCYD-5jE5jtFXs3K9VF6qbHjna8-P1mTAV7xiSbTGEoQvTDRQmosFniDLCbRQZIGqSx2wSj4LIUYJn1ZOdKwoeQov0FyamGwfUesLq6Kw7-E/s5472/Edit-IMG_1117.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbyH5MuUFYqFZBU3KvKW6nkCiOW_Gweu-dNxscqrr9rDNTu3zdtZ2genii5Q9iM1tdTCUdmMWJ7r5aHezdCYD-5jE5jtFXs3K9VF6qbHjna8-P1mTAV7xiSbTGEoQvTDRQmosFniDLCbRQZIGqSx2wSj4LIUYJn1ZOdKwoeQov0FyamGwfUesLq6Kw7-E/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1117.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boy, that is beautiful</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbADD5niiNiv3Cz7b4TVTrc_khwRQ8wWlirU9mIfwPmfevy0xtVe_5krVzwlsgV3s_VM8zjMC252oTuSqd52-zHHilXM3Tx8uRig-LmJCKCC70qXx7-T69FTIedchfL-qQmHIyj4msZ95I2D3KHuoFNiNRg3IvJzwh2SBfCGAvjgQjbuwMsCLLJuReGu8/s5056/Edit-IMG_1121.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3371" data-original-width="5056" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbADD5niiNiv3Cz7b4TVTrc_khwRQ8wWlirU9mIfwPmfevy0xtVe_5krVzwlsgV3s_VM8zjMC252oTuSqd52-zHHilXM3Tx8uRig-LmJCKCC70qXx7-T69FTIedchfL-qQmHIyj4msZ95I2D3KHuoFNiNRg3IvJzwh2SBfCGAvjgQjbuwMsCLLJuReGu8/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1121.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Even giant transmission lines are beautiful when the weather's like this</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw0UhVF_XtvuctfUCutSIvSC11izzTMMZa1igEoBCfDXCTsamuKEU-YbMYJ9ZizuUEGVTcsYmTDoFgLkRqJ62jZDUk3TYLOTZr_FRfR45SEwkOeZXJFdB6HxBao8mbuNCw1KGnufWZbjVDOoPZ2VeYZ1aWXmp-OI_Mqcy4HwPHNPlnhPNF6wZpj3jrJgs/s5409/Edit-IMG_1129.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3606" data-original-width="5409" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw0UhVF_XtvuctfUCutSIvSC11izzTMMZa1igEoBCfDXCTsamuKEU-YbMYJ9ZizuUEGVTcsYmTDoFgLkRqJ62jZDUk3TYLOTZr_FRfR45SEwkOeZXJFdB6HxBao8mbuNCw1KGnufWZbjVDOoPZ2VeYZ1aWXmp-OI_Mqcy4HwPHNPlnhPNF6wZpj3jrJgs/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1129.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Moody</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwgbV_r_b6xJJ0-laN1gg6hNYKb8d_jHYe3d5wn1vqXzeb5LofELwjBY5Le52rZAlqPTOVm1y5duB7Jy_ExjJG-_mvn6OQCW94IVEvKXv6Sw6L4yIO6jKARVzNpV5LzqMABKCL2Zw1_E3N6VfC4SxtD_DYaDZhCN4-45uQEkzN9zOcvk4RM5wXqDq4pWk/s5397/Edit-IMG_1135.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3598" data-original-width="5397" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwgbV_r_b6xJJ0-laN1gg6hNYKb8d_jHYe3d5wn1vqXzeb5LofELwjBY5Le52rZAlqPTOVm1y5duB7Jy_ExjJG-_mvn6OQCW94IVEvKXv6Sw6L4yIO6jKARVzNpV5LzqMABKCL2Zw1_E3N6VfC4SxtD_DYaDZhCN4-45uQEkzN9zOcvk4RM5wXqDq4pWk/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1135.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A very picturesque wind farm</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">As we traveled through that perfect point in time, something
new occurred to me. Petrichor. It’s the word that describes the smell that
comes with rain after a long dry spell. You know, when you walk outside and go,
“It smells like rain out here,” – that smell. And there’s only one word for it,
because for the most part it is always pretty much the same smell. Humans are
uniquely equipped to smell petrichor, as we can reputedly detect it at as
little as 0.4 parts per billion – just the faintest suggestion of rain,
somewhere far away. It is generally thought that we are sensitive to this smell
because our ancestors relied heavily on rains as a source of water.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Well, considering that it hasn’t rained in Austin since early
June, maybe I was just a little more attuned to the scent. But I very abruptly
realized that different places have different-smelling petrichor. The scent of
rain in the cloud mountains of New Mexico and Arizona is very different from
the scent of rain on the high plains of Arizona. In the mountains, rain smells
sharper, piney, a little acidic, a little rocky. But on the high plains, rain
smells sweet and mellow, warm asphalt mixing with the overwhelming abundance of
grassy herby scents. A small observation, but in a way a momentous revelation. Sometimes it's the little things that really shake you.<o:p></o:p></p>
<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggxglpG9xEfmwPg-IzvZgl5t5vCS1cl1hM271nwTdx1tm4E6sVjgMaEDcnTS5MdkKkGXAVEMAxYv7kC5nwn5BdVHEaSTHH8p2p2WLOPtcM5Tm1f6ch3Ewbone9alWitlZ-2y4o_3TOMZ6xSRxM6MxBZar2WlIEvgLgSSZHZolu93YdUtwdV7pMu6aqRWU/s5472/Edit-IMG_1136.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggxglpG9xEfmwPg-IzvZgl5t5vCS1cl1hM271nwTdx1tm4E6sVjgMaEDcnTS5MdkKkGXAVEMAxYv7kC5nwn5BdVHEaSTHH8p2p2WLOPtcM5Tm1f6ch3Ewbone9alWitlZ-2y4o_3TOMZ6xSRxM6MxBZar2WlIEvgLgSSZHZolu93YdUtwdV7pMu6aqRWU/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1136.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">I don't know how long I spent thinking about that, but it was probably a bit too long. In what felt like no time at all, we drew close to Boulder
City. Billboards advertising “SHOOT A MACHINE GUN!”, and “DRIVE A TANK!” (which
does sound fun) signaled our return to some approximation of society.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ9WuDtF0vrF9A71wzjmPye-aLr8zhJIDwRo37PWQv_FCsKHnTWAZPtF0kXjHoi0KFTorYOlq17SSTNY1Ru0Kj5c1XHNFLGb0v_JFTdTr1DdMVBBA0Qd-bI2lDpR6xf1U4LuViG4QwxypC2UhEv5PvsBmG6OWZh6TZ_bA1iknL-sm_h1Td2mZZ1Ujhqv4/s5472/Edit-IMG_1125.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ9WuDtF0vrF9A71wzjmPye-aLr8zhJIDwRo37PWQv_FCsKHnTWAZPtF0kXjHoi0KFTorYOlq17SSTNY1Ru0Kj5c1XHNFLGb0v_JFTdTr1DdMVBBA0Qd-bI2lDpR6xf1U4LuViG4QwxypC2UhEv5PvsBmG6OWZh6TZ_bA1iknL-sm_h1Td2mZZ1Ujhqv4/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1125.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjugu1vCu5SXFj5hP1lFjvz0O6kXQGHhqDjwjkeuQasNlTONza99rxSohexCRS2FDMZtpgXPreGjVRgtCJfXMgPxFd8ILq2GWtb4DwsqBS-G2ONAyynTLemfbP2Jn3yxs7k-c1e17PumDpVuD0VLdSMkq-Q5EmgCytXQRZ2gYNxNMCP53xhBAjj7OOaR88/s5472/Edit-IMG_1132.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjugu1vCu5SXFj5hP1lFjvz0O6kXQGHhqDjwjkeuQasNlTONza99rxSohexCRS2FDMZtpgXPreGjVRgtCJfXMgPxFd8ILq2GWtb4DwsqBS-G2ONAyynTLemfbP2Jn3yxs7k-c1e17PumDpVuD0VLdSMkq-Q5EmgCytXQRZ2gYNxNMCP53xhBAjj7OOaR88/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1132.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Those far-off mountains had finally come into reach, and we
climbed steadily into the brown, craggy hills that are a Nevadan trademark (to
geologists, at least).<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi90Fcg1FiEQCToF93BjO2VhtESeeX7TZKhBIjyHAJB6AYSzx4t1VOTxC-cjQpi9YvObkH9vW04nAKqBx3THNWfzx3Dxjk0fxjdUshSwi0jdQ3PZKlJ1T2-XVTfHt2pdw3S37PQjwJDzaZFRVXuc-omLyfSV8i1Lu5TtNAOBxDlqj8iOJXgw3UiiSrv03w/s5472/Edit-IMG_1153.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi90Fcg1FiEQCToF93BjO2VhtESeeX7TZKhBIjyHAJB6AYSzx4t1VOTxC-cjQpi9YvObkH9vW04nAKqBx3THNWfzx3Dxjk0fxjdUshSwi0jdQ3PZKlJ1T2-XVTfHt2pdw3S37PQjwJDzaZFRVXuc-omLyfSV8i1Lu5TtNAOBxDlqj8iOJXgw3UiiSrv03w/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1153.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitXIZp14AbMFcE2pu3AvPr5vknKLgb9hRnPfWaF4N8Pzc2OdOAD2u-D9SobC-PicqC4JlCHend4geQF0__l299MPsTcqApWUTXMijrJznbbEkZunk0Pb6Cr-BWDRUA809_LMDIPwuUK-mNP8OHXFSxvRRG8XVByvXyM5v0SpK4ns5l55jF5kfcYAzI_lI/s5325/Edit-IMG_1151.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3550" data-original-width="5325" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitXIZp14AbMFcE2pu3AvPr5vknKLgb9hRnPfWaF4N8Pzc2OdOAD2u-D9SobC-PicqC4JlCHend4geQF0__l299MPsTcqApWUTXMijrJznbbEkZunk0Pb6Cr-BWDRUA809_LMDIPwuUK-mNP8OHXFSxvRRG8XVByvXyM5v0SpK4ns5l55jF5kfcYAzI_lI/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1151.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAv9OuoW4FSR7MOaTCB5n7wCdn-BE6w6zKK3ejZA8JKfFWeqqiY1OPualhdor6AkBWAmjKDVnf0nK8Rb-3SzCU4HtfoanDFEpmWytgrKVpGveNX-QOoXcsetDkoYikCMwmVWrr7f4Gbdh0r11Wz8qHnrYAOQY7ghPGwi_Ec6FaIVn4R06kAOKgm-cc5kw/s5472/Edit-IMG_1159.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAv9OuoW4FSR7MOaTCB5n7wCdn-BE6w6zKK3ejZA8JKfFWeqqiY1OPualhdor6AkBWAmjKDVnf0nK8Rb-3SzCU4HtfoanDFEpmWytgrKVpGveNX-QOoXcsetDkoYikCMwmVWrr7f4Gbdh0r11Wz8qHnrYAOQY7ghPGwi_Ec6FaIVn4R06kAOKgm-cc5kw/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_1159.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And a short time later we pulled into historic downtown Boulder
City, arriving at the very impressive Boulder Dam Historic Hotel.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8v4QaAumgKanQHirjowZ0bx6oE7wlzf0wP3yNpgQaf-dkDzox0uh93WIJFB4i5yr3PNLdP_DUmcAFU-PajpifLBeTCAua5hR7CB7XTdy5tWDTTxJHh3p0Gd7Wu336CoWXY1LJQqEJjb-3yepus2GVewToLNYDlhfmbck4BJPJ7ZIDSN_P0mzUYvWoR98/s2048/IMG_7718.JPEG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8v4QaAumgKanQHirjowZ0bx6oE7wlzf0wP3yNpgQaf-dkDzox0uh93WIJFB4i5yr3PNLdP_DUmcAFU-PajpifLBeTCAua5hR7CB7XTdy5tWDTTxJHh3p0Gd7Wu336CoWXY1LJQqEJjb-3yepus2GVewToLNYDlhfmbck4BJPJ7ZIDSN_P0mzUYvWoR98/w640-h480/IMG_7718.JPEG" width="640" /></a></div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Although things were damp, the rain held off for dinner, so
I had a Guinness Stew meat pasty at the restaurant across the street
(delicious) and sat outside for as long as I could to enjoy the cool
temperatures (even more delicious). <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgatOnop6IKzGGV0W-0BrxM1l_TlCSMYUUrAPQJfepKsxs-xAjiqfqRK7lEs6Df019HMmh1ymlpiaSoi_RGPq3KylqqwJY_SKKixm1zZUOgYPVR_ieoDd8vzdgq3u5ajKia8DWMgNOx9A-yOyaPvX50tDNMmQtbbWXxNDw2z9Z1cVBYmO9iXNjEuvpneCo/s2048/IMG_7725.JPEG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgatOnop6IKzGGV0W-0BrxM1l_TlCSMYUUrAPQJfepKsxs-xAjiqfqRK7lEs6Df019HMmh1ymlpiaSoi_RGPq3KylqqwJY_SKKixm1zZUOgYPVR_ieoDd8vzdgq3u5ajKia8DWMgNOx9A-yOyaPvX50tDNMmQtbbWXxNDw2z9Z1cVBYmO9iXNjEuvpneCo/w640-h480/IMG_7725.JPEG" width="640" /></a></div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Another perfect day for the books. Kelly signing out.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>Kelly Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04271547498127096571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893125545466338016.post-41807465278106870802023-08-17T02:10:00.005-04:002023-08-17T02:10:39.661-04:00Escape to the Arizona Alps<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal">7/31<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">---------------------</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A benefit to not slogging out a ludicrously long drive (or a
shorter drive and minor but time-consuming breakdown) on the first day of the
trip is that you don’t wake up feeling like you’ve been run over by a bus (or
your own hot rod) the next morning! I like that.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Because I wasn’t feeling like I had been run over, I
actually made it up and out the door at a pretty respectable time for me. I’m a
night owl, you know, and mornings are not for me.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The problem that I encountered was that I was in need of
breakfast, but Van Horn is a small town, and it was Monday to boot. Many
restaurants are closed on Mondays now – kind of a nice thing for the workers,
but biting me in the butt today!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Of the three breakfast places available in Van Horn, only
one advertised being open: Mom’s Kitchen. Yep, that’s the name of the place.
When I arrived, they were closed and an elderly Latino cowboy was pulling away
in a minivan – but when he saw me pull into the lot, he reversed and hollered
something out the window at me. “What???” I said, struggling to hear over the
V8 grumpily waking up under Jane’s hood. We went back and forth several times,
at which point he seemed to conclude that there was just something wrong with me
so he waved me towards the building.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He came around the side, unlocked the front door to let me
in, and shuffled around waking the kitchen up – and it truly was a home-style
kitchen, just like the one you’d see in any house in America. I only know this
because you could see over the counter. Shortly, “Mom” herself showed up and
started cooking, and a few minutes later I was served a pile of great
diner-style eggs, hashbrowns, and bacon. I felt a bit bad about making them
open the place up just to make 8 bucks off me, but fortunately a number of
other people showed up to eat once it became clear the place was open. I struck
up a conversation with a friendly couple – also out-of-towners, but headed in
the opposite direction from me. I (correctly) guessed that they were from El
Paso, and they wanted to know how I knew. What I said was, mysteriously, “Oh,
you can just tell El Pasoans from their vibe”, but the truth is that there’s
only one city west of Van Horn, and it’s El Paso. Ha. We chatted hot rods for a
while and swapped recommendations for food along the long El Paso-to-Austin
route – not that there’s that many options, so it was a bit more commiserating
than recommending – and then I got on my way. I had a lot of driving to do today,
again! Day Two: the Mountain Day. The day where I would cleverly cut up into
the mountains of New Mexico and Arizona to avoid the horrendous heat gripping
the lowlands of the Southwest, hopefully.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We had a bit to go before the mountain part, so Jane and I
hopped back onto I-10 and got to running. Sometimes in the early morning runs
like this, I consider the discrepancies in how different people take care of
their cars. Many people I know like to crank their vintage cars up and let them
idle there in the driveway for 10-15 minutes or so, or until they’re up to operating
temperature. Then, they might gently putter out into the street, and run the
car lightly for a bit before starting to get on it.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then there’s jackasses like me, who will crank the motor up,
peel out of the parking spot in less than 30 seconds, and immediately turn
right out of the parking lot onto the on ramp leading to a major interstate with
a posted speed well over 75MPH. Run ‘em hard right out the gates, that’s what I
always say. Or I would, if anyone asked me. Probably you shouldn’t take my
advice though.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Regardless, Jane has never complained about this treatment
before, and she didn’t today either. The scenery in this pointy little corner
of Texas is pretty sublime, actually, contrary to what many people envision
when they think of Texas. Sure, there’s the traditional “Texas-style” flat
scrubby plains where the highway runs, but just a little further out into the ranchland
they are succeeded by low rolling hills, which jaunt along merrily in the long
shadows of distant flat-topped cliffy mountains. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7WWMQRa_m53OR9TOmsj5FmxdHOfJ0H8Wo0HeqM5xzJHDVlb_gJ-sWJfalNB-cAhzhsvN4mpyOWWN24pTHZrXeG6Zkhg2knYwxczvx-YnVCcThNUeg6AVbHh2q-b_yGCMNr7X3rwUOWYuG4ZQQHGCWGoeCAS_Hnc56YJmPndMT4X6VB40UBzN7qfOYn7A/s5472/Edit-IMG_0917.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7WWMQRa_m53OR9TOmsj5FmxdHOfJ0H8Wo0HeqM5xzJHDVlb_gJ-sWJfalNB-cAhzhsvN4mpyOWWN24pTHZrXeG6Zkhg2knYwxczvx-YnVCcThNUeg6AVbHh2q-b_yGCMNr7X3rwUOWYuG4ZQQHGCWGoeCAS_Hnc56YJmPndMT4X6VB40UBzN7qfOYn7A/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_0917.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJa1EjdU-g-ZVBCLtZHbWDvgTVGjckpBYf65jemRLmHTyIpBYDhIrC7OktomsDqGuLBuJEfQ-7uudMzgoF2_5Vlgeow_c4PCW_SJ95B1VBMByUcL8S_BRhfl3kBEqAmX-dDG7oXhg6_VEy5vSvDCtIUxIxYcLTG9oQiTMsntDNGnEAjM_gyU_tTMw7wkw/s4650/Edit-IMG_0911.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3100" data-original-width="4650" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJa1EjdU-g-ZVBCLtZHbWDvgTVGjckpBYf65jemRLmHTyIpBYDhIrC7OktomsDqGuLBuJEfQ-7uudMzgoF2_5Vlgeow_c4PCW_SJ95B1VBMByUcL8S_BRhfl3kBEqAmX-dDG7oXhg6_VEy5vSvDCtIUxIxYcLTG9oQiTMsntDNGnEAjM_gyU_tTMw7wkw/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_0911.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And you know what, considering how incredibly crispy and
dead things are in Austin (courtesy this year’s drought and heat dome), that
flat scrubland looks pretty dang refreshingly green.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimL8jmFxydKQKoBZirQBkbs15EtGDbuxS-ErsJqWd1VF5CtWBIFSaMhOPk6KPo6igTzNjC_odx6_ILKb-dQ8tZkW_bgnD-EiSUY-s5_vC3wRJEvqrQK0aQtIIDww_rrpoUTU1GsuCB0Y9WXVEOs5SXlxjMctdbtqF3480ITTRX2kUAeSVIECP2AjpCIhA/s5396/Edit-IMG_0915.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3597" data-original-width="5396" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimL8jmFxydKQKoBZirQBkbs15EtGDbuxS-ErsJqWd1VF5CtWBIFSaMhOPk6KPo6igTzNjC_odx6_ILKb-dQ8tZkW_bgnD-EiSUY-s5_vC3wRJEvqrQK0aQtIIDww_rrpoUTU1GsuCB0Y9WXVEOs5SXlxjMctdbtqF3480ITTRX2kUAeSVIECP2AjpCIhA/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_0915.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A couple of pleasant hours passed before we descended into
El Paso to brave whatever traffic it might send my way. But instead of traffic,
I got… rain?</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqr5QL4nvFu_eRPUFs2yRcYfdPU68WI5DRXiPl47-huZxN3-CDA2WMXdihHguOhI1xQ8UCOSCjMHb0B7z1IWU-z4akcm9eDE95fXvuqTT2bzvzU2fv8ZmWvD8eoquO3WnzI60oSt2KJCHZnTA00Imxc2PpOHruT8Pz0DLXirpKSc3Tt8zl41yc-RTRYHI/s5472/Edit-IMG_0920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqr5QL4nvFu_eRPUFs2yRcYfdPU68WI5DRXiPl47-huZxN3-CDA2WMXdihHguOhI1xQ8UCOSCjMHb0B7z1IWU-z4akcm9eDE95fXvuqTT2bzvzU2fv8ZmWvD8eoquO3WnzI60oSt2KJCHZnTA00Imxc2PpOHruT8Pz0DLXirpKSc3Tt8zl41yc-RTRYHI/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_0920.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja6CVCKpPnMIAH8mk_5JP9OWDGQ7__JCeRxLPQMbTJVqzyRWdcPdMAVgdoKh0gnu5B4PILj8VKsrTyO5Zmdp3_BpU1tRh5Tu6WxBeiQG96wYLinRhzvZXbFQm9cStf9g7gA03mdEsROcbLl9GMkHJWyosIs53sxrEB8wB97jjUolYQH7m23IchiBZqfYk/s5472/Edit-IMG_0922.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja6CVCKpPnMIAH8mk_5JP9OWDGQ7__JCeRxLPQMbTJVqzyRWdcPdMAVgdoKh0gnu5B4PILj8VKsrTyO5Zmdp3_BpU1tRh5Tu6WxBeiQG96wYLinRhzvZXbFQm9cStf9g7gA03mdEsROcbLl9GMkHJWyosIs53sxrEB8wB97jjUolYQH7m23IchiBZqfYk/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_0922.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br />Hmm, that’s a novelty. Hasn’t rained in Austin since the
beginning of June. I left my window down and let my arm hang out, relishing the
feel of the raindrops on my skin and the cool wind twisting its way through the
city. Oh, man. That’s the good stuff.<p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The rain cleared as I left El Paso, and I hit New Mexico in
good time.<o:p></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSt3-P0mcFx6Lu62gqrD5cnrGzOD1Df1iy3io7LOCtrkzxbSqfmD0BhIB6S4En9yoriHyQAU79qWktciVnhcwMfHnTvAgcyYCTeuIZ0W443FAfSB0IScppz8itXf42yw5w7RgvSEGzrwdaprV-2mKRhjUBFEzP8C8S4xtvHbt1h1XUJ7yUtDgvQR_57R4/s5472/Edit-IMG_0923.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSt3-P0mcFx6Lu62gqrD5cnrGzOD1Df1iy3io7LOCtrkzxbSqfmD0BhIB6S4En9yoriHyQAU79qWktciVnhcwMfHnTvAgcyYCTeuIZ0W443FAfSB0IScppz8itXf42yw5w7RgvSEGzrwdaprV-2mKRhjUBFEzP8C8S4xtvHbt1h1XUJ7yUtDgvQR_57R4/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_0923.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">I like going this way to New Mexico because it has the fanciest entry sign</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As we struck out across southern New Mexico, I began to see
some familiar signs. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRJge9QA-Mqn_sp8C-dAkgC7R_xVpfQXIs3x-6sBvw40NTI-fKAXFukr3PMOUu6aSDoV-Hai9F8GMA9f4-tyYWtVa4CePiaGGyvTp_ng7f8DwodSugPkjr4TSb6e1MF8iESDpdq1TMIGhJAU6IqVDsSpHELdDYbIVyX_7pvTSXFrIoUvQut6N4rsOh5FY/s5472/Edit-IMG_0925.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRJge9QA-Mqn_sp8C-dAkgC7R_xVpfQXIs3x-6sBvw40NTI-fKAXFukr3PMOUu6aSDoV-Hai9F8GMA9f4-tyYWtVa4CePiaGGyvTp_ng7f8DwodSugPkjr4TSb6e1MF8iESDpdq1TMIGhJAU6IqVDsSpHELdDYbIVyX_7pvTSXFrIoUvQut6N4rsOh5FY/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_0925.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And that was puzzling to me. Because on every past road trip
I’ve taken, I’ve run along the northern route towards Albuquerque. I’ve never driven
this way before. But these billboards… they were nearly the exact same as the
billboards that I always see advertising for Flying C Ranch on the northern
route. “GUY STUFF!” “GIRL STUFF!” “KNIVES!!” “SNAKE STUFF!” “PONCHOS!” – I find
those signs hilarious and always snap a pic. But here they were, the same signs,
different location! Well, I looked it up and it turns out that a company called
Bowlin Travel Centers actually runs like eight of these weird gift shop travel
center things, mostly spread across New Mexico. Huh. Well, it’s not as special
now, but I guess I’m still entertained.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Jane and I continued our northwesterly strike through the
plains, winding our way up towards the mountains and the haven of the Colorado
Plateau. The closer we got, the more clouds gathered over the mountains – at first,
just the usual fluffy New Mexican summer clouds, but eventually coalescing into
a more ominous variety. Out in the plains as we were, we mostly got to enjoy
the cloud cover and the cooler winds without any of the drama (well, beyond
visual drama). Perfection! <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe2LxXrdw4IbGWfzididF5lG4u9h5FaHuGh5G_TvhQuvgM7DHzqD1ksiVa6y949Qwd82ZklcbAHD44wuFH43CagGMRIIG4nUGErXKoE9EEii2BhaRIBELbYo7lUVlhtSQmiYkYLsGgm3sFuAdxdBHyX11NZk-3EUJAYS5iHOTvbUhFxKdTPWQbIpXykNU/s5472/Edit-IMG_0928.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe2LxXrdw4IbGWfzididF5lG4u9h5FaHuGh5G_TvhQuvgM7DHzqD1ksiVa6y949Qwd82ZklcbAHD44wuFH43CagGMRIIG4nUGErXKoE9EEii2BhaRIBELbYo7lUVlhtSQmiYkYLsGgm3sFuAdxdBHyX11NZk-3EUJAYS5iHOTvbUhFxKdTPWQbIpXykNU/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_0928.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSymHBbiIk8is_Nfe98U_0gplvo0_ZEgjPpTKkpU3lpWamueogAi8g65r0yYVzLIhSoWy8K2v8I1JYVYU7Usj7fFZYudT3Gms4eAICHQdoFKr7aiLXZ7abufBBuR_kvJhD8Nc5nGSaOhsJt_myW8IcPys0tHtWEQ07TWn95XXmTZaPE0McHDQAFx564Tg/s5472/Edit-IMG_0929.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSymHBbiIk8is_Nfe98U_0gplvo0_ZEgjPpTKkpU3lpWamueogAi8g65r0yYVzLIhSoWy8K2v8I1JYVYU7Usj7fFZYudT3Gms4eAICHQdoFKr7aiLXZ7abufBBuR_kvJhD8Nc5nGSaOhsJt_myW8IcPys0tHtWEQ07TWn95XXmTZaPE0McHDQAFx564Tg/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_0929.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAk6-EX03Y-SwkfxfVpmB48aJWi6D85HHF2M-fwOW09kBb3Bp1ZcoTgiDbEhwSpygh6PoM2n5CMb3xBTgwl_uj8llpKDEg6aTdOswPUuU9SwaD5qDnhKJHKPJCRWBzJ_e6gVKCWl86U1Gluv9oLcqMYWHLpX_rehyh9luu1KqhakXDLc6TO3l9vjyclHI/s5472/Edit-IMG_0930.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAk6-EX03Y-SwkfxfVpmB48aJWi6D85HHF2M-fwOW09kBb3Bp1ZcoTgiDbEhwSpygh6PoM2n5CMb3xBTgwl_uj8llpKDEg6aTdOswPUuU9SwaD5qDnhKJHKPJCRWBzJ_e6gVKCWl86U1Gluv9oLcqMYWHLpX_rehyh9luu1KqhakXDLc6TO3l9vjyclHI/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_0930.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjshIRykPpgJAnxyfaYKhU7APwTgYzUgB-3KJZL2zaznEHhcV50iAbdo_ZxvX722EiKbWvTEpwBxWZf67N5gJs1gl-8UsnFafNxgxkDt64eJ52tO7vU_eT4LSbhVX2IVJZekCwngzkhESRnMmnHSg7nt3cbQq1_l18fCu3Y8p_HtiGbS6bBE-5rLnbCvfY/s5472/Edit-IMG_0932.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjshIRykPpgJAnxyfaYKhU7APwTgYzUgB-3KJZL2zaznEHhcV50iAbdo_ZxvX722EiKbWvTEpwBxWZf67N5gJs1gl-8UsnFafNxgxkDt64eJ52tO7vU_eT4LSbhVX2IVJZekCwngzkhESRnMmnHSg7nt3cbQq1_l18fCu3Y8p_HtiGbS6bBE-5rLnbCvfY/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_0932.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boy that is some perfect black asphalt</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEOKAVkXKwUdrY2X8ajWgxtr9ITA-e01ulWPYyT1Pci7GXg1xT3qtnnKLeq-litbw2hl4EjQYA3mnpvzRGlcet0nuYpUBY1j31ygObQsZpuhud1y4HmaSudYNStj-UwolI11JPU5pMM1tHFWlg5UVFFu9PTtFun7oQKdnFyrcXWRRQGxBxWP-8NOGoZlY/s5472/Edit-IMG_0934.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEOKAVkXKwUdrY2X8ajWgxtr9ITA-e01ulWPYyT1Pci7GXg1xT3qtnnKLeq-litbw2hl4EjQYA3mnpvzRGlcet0nuYpUBY1j31ygObQsZpuhud1y4HmaSudYNStj-UwolI11JPU5pMM1tHFWlg5UVFFu9PTtFun7oQKdnFyrcXWRRQGxBxWP-8NOGoZlY/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_0934.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But finally, our path ascended into the mountains, and we found
ourselves beneath those clouds. Very fortunately, these summer storms were not
inclined to be vicious – not like the massive Texas monsoons I’ve encountered
in past years. Instead, I got a nice normal drenching rain. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Qfh2SlFAGgE6lIhZLAV-gYGHCqX94IC-x-Iuv4B5PRvbGRvAbhayKa2UvJYa1bB5ojSJJH0vSH8MGf4HMXUmMuXwLtZWnPrkNIr1NPz1rfKrINH3eWIvDZUYGXFMK-vWjEoIlcOwm1OiDWR3YcwSfqkkbxXny0FmqkYZD3ggZaCd6nE4nnHrNNxIcyM/s5472/Edit-IMG_0935.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Qfh2SlFAGgE6lIhZLAV-gYGHCqX94IC-x-Iuv4B5PRvbGRvAbhayKa2UvJYa1bB5ojSJJH0vSH8MGf4HMXUmMuXwLtZWnPrkNIr1NPz1rfKrINH3eWIvDZUYGXFMK-vWjEoIlcOwm1OiDWR3YcwSfqkkbxXny0FmqkYZD3ggZaCd6nE4nnHrNNxIcyM/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_0935.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Satisfying, if less picturesque than usual.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT3GHVKxN6wtc8EDTaC_D7xKnHeMPm2A8bW0mYSJLq98VmgI4vbdWfFdwVZGe3jMz6RnJdezPwRtQDZF6rEqx5hQvtGQvldUKEbVJH8uc-WBzh4bNUK2WBJz0FmHhiRdWDV5_18yVDOhHLoRJySOCEMOXR-IaP8Vb9a0yPLNY006SDflVVeaMaJLzg5X0/s5472/Edit-IMG_0940.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT3GHVKxN6wtc8EDTaC_D7xKnHeMPm2A8bW0mYSJLq98VmgI4vbdWfFdwVZGe3jMz6RnJdezPwRtQDZF6rEqx5hQvtGQvldUKEbVJH8uc-WBzh4bNUK2WBJz0FmHhiRdWDV5_18yVDOhHLoRJySOCEMOXR-IaP8Vb9a0yPLNY006SDflVVeaMaJLzg5X0/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_0940.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That is a great windshield wiper though I guess</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Little did I know, but those storms would set the tone for
the entire rest of the day. Jane and I threaded our way through the mountains on
a little two-lane highway, perfectly content to hang out and take it easy for once.
Intermittently the rain would slacken to drizzle, then clear for a bit, then
proceed back into drizzle and then heavier rains, never constituting a deluge,
just enough to keep the moody rainy-day feel to the afternoon. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For hours, we rumbled quietly through pine forests and
farmland and little farming towns, letting the serenity of a rare rainy day
seep into our bones. The radio crackled out some fuzzy tunes, barely loud
enough to reach above the whishing of tires on wet asphalt and the reedy
whistle of the wispy remnants of storm winds. Deep breaths brought me nothing
but the smell of rain, the earthy scent of wet soil and the subtle rubbery
aroma of wet asphalt and the sweet fragrance of wet grass and the sharp tinge
of wet pine all wrapped up in one. Temperatures dropped into the 60’s,
prompting me to snug my flip-flop-adorned feet further under the dash and to drag
a bandana across my lap for a little bit of extra warmth. And through it all,
the gloomy landscape just kept going and going and going. What a glorious,
glorious rainy day.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsz6bEyVeECehYqALo6I5tREAecitDVrRdQphMNIThCFNjqfgvaNgm9iv5tVog2gTpegyUQ3EhLC96HOur64Tr__pqvWPfC2tk04gHa7BA5RsptJFX-Q2TeUvBF8OyggNwXGJwoEM5PU07df5uywX1OuhgsxuKfzG1qWmO8xfgU2AcNYiWQfvaiVVVmwc/s5472/Edit-IMG_0946.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsz6bEyVeECehYqALo6I5tREAecitDVrRdQphMNIThCFNjqfgvaNgm9iv5tVog2gTpegyUQ3EhLC96HOur64Tr__pqvWPfC2tk04gHa7BA5RsptJFX-Q2TeUvBF8OyggNwXGJwoEM5PU07df5uywX1OuhgsxuKfzG1qWmO8xfgU2AcNYiWQfvaiVVVmwc/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_0946.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJHTBNWpwUebo7jjaJsLC_q3PIGRmaLXMvi55y4n0kha6RIJSpf6PxEgrcFzHxyVCeZEjSw9rna3EwPXEuKLeOWBhBQ_xfQsNfWbie02fj8spYURNn8eT14WCh77oszk4VXs2Y5_XJ9EAiGjqpaSzPn4tqWek66K_SwoAreKat2fC4bYEpel1sEWKky-c/s5472/Edit-IMG_0943.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJHTBNWpwUebo7jjaJsLC_q3PIGRmaLXMvi55y4n0kha6RIJSpf6PxEgrcFzHxyVCeZEjSw9rna3EwPXEuKLeOWBhBQ_xfQsNfWbie02fj8spYURNn8eT14WCh77oszk4VXs2Y5_XJ9EAiGjqpaSzPn4tqWek66K_SwoAreKat2fC4bYEpel1sEWKky-c/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_0943.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Drove past some cool rocks too which was an added bonus</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTJZsutaW8HjYWBQnJfEpXg7B2xWRjCWCKaeoo8MmGBhNjh2JGoLKGnepqSaWaZb5H0bJY8hHSm91UIBd_jXDtRZtiv4XwcT_TFP7d5ssH5kDptTqgfX9VutCJ24Ko2ktPmbzxOgoJ9C7CH6sum0pqWf49Ux6wXEf71lC3CZckIxBnuerP4bw2lYJkmy0/s5472/Edit-IMG_0949.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTJZsutaW8HjYWBQnJfEpXg7B2xWRjCWCKaeoo8MmGBhNjh2JGoLKGnepqSaWaZb5H0bJY8hHSm91UIBd_jXDtRZtiv4XwcT_TFP7d5ssH5kDptTqgfX9VutCJ24Ko2ktPmbzxOgoJ9C7CH6sum0pqWf49Ux6wXEf71lC3CZckIxBnuerP4bw2lYJkmy0/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_0949.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I was wondering why I smelled hay for a while until we went around a bend and I saw the guy two cars ahead of me. This guy then proceeded to drive at 15 MPH up a very, very long stretch of a mountain, presumably due to the fact that he was dragging a billion pounds of sodden hay behind him, or because he was a massive asshole. Either way, I hated him.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrd8LNRKKIyoKMS3cqOXQ_8HJDXXeKqDvU-E6k4AN3sXAqD3jc2wxe3DzYCrljt7cS_04tYIzwGaL4CWtD9PA1AL3-ViLDd6aLqVM9ddfgHRIA5W34UWMZNEGGNZXb9ufqHN49L5r-dZPpsYghygXOcDCeHF7xZYApIXSJOs3EkeO993VFAlXmu2cH-Ek/s5472/Edit-IMG_0952.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrd8LNRKKIyoKMS3cqOXQ_8HJDXXeKqDvU-E6k4AN3sXAqD3jc2wxe3DzYCrljt7cS_04tYIzwGaL4CWtD9PA1AL3-ViLDd6aLqVM9ddfgHRIA5W34UWMZNEGGNZXb9ufqHN49L5r-dZPpsYghygXOcDCeHF7xZYApIXSJOs3EkeO993VFAlXmu2cH-Ek/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_0952.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyeba08se8XYtsg9Uz1wdVlIh_qhuNCQYsF1aBz-hfZC9q31nh-s757-JEob15Rh_Ge1IBmrcSIMqcVA_AfP9YYMeBfsYlnErYhNLnO7khahmhpqMyjmwCKDx3T7Jr0oGhL55FZPsmJCrafRiD-5vAOWKO6MJASxcHrk2CsGD1zBZ7b89aC-fJOK4rAmc/s5205/Edit-IMG_0954.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3470" data-original-width="5205" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyeba08se8XYtsg9Uz1wdVlIh_qhuNCQYsF1aBz-hfZC9q31nh-s757-JEob15Rh_Ge1IBmrcSIMqcVA_AfP9YYMeBfsYlnErYhNLnO7khahmhpqMyjmwCKDx3T7Jr0oGhL55FZPsmJCrafRiD-5vAOWKO6MJASxcHrk2CsGD1zBZ7b89aC-fJOK4rAmc/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_0954.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9lHc8js4hCYOpFDT1-fSG9xWNd_NsHkWsvwiBIJRvBxkKx7MEtt3G_KFJ9eSzRqX_PaBbe6uhm1zisTzEWphgk-DrckbjQXpKNF7FniGcvv0-iFpqbvZQGpc3EXHB2-P7jHQ4pc9d_1T01HF8IJcc6iYb8jGhEKjqKuqMkTezFX8kjBtceIU9H5ZbP_I/s5322/Edit-IMG_0956.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3548" data-original-width="5322" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9lHc8js4hCYOpFDT1-fSG9xWNd_NsHkWsvwiBIJRvBxkKx7MEtt3G_KFJ9eSzRqX_PaBbe6uhm1zisTzEWphgk-DrckbjQXpKNF7FniGcvv0-iFpqbvZQGpc3EXHB2-P7jHQ4pc9d_1T01HF8IJcc6iYb8jGhEKjqKuqMkTezFX8kjBtceIU9H5ZbP_I/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_0956.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oooooh that is some Grade-AA fog! Very spooky.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZp039cb8Iti_1Z_cI75CPNdguH893ef7I4PgQoGTK-1XkRWyIp0fgXAk1KKh_nJQ8YN_4Ju-mYRtjOBa5C6yT_Z0VDtqBZnj_Af0emtZ1Xr1X6w3wgu9wdQYeZRtDJsKhuwU1WfUzfmsYVW5f8Bmezgd1cz1bBJ69kjJcZUa_pbTFZZpoEMZZwJSkgYk/s5472/Edit-IMG_0962.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZp039cb8Iti_1Z_cI75CPNdguH893ef7I4PgQoGTK-1XkRWyIp0fgXAk1KKh_nJQ8YN_4Ju-mYRtjOBa5C6yT_Z0VDtqBZnj_Af0emtZ1Xr1X6w3wgu9wdQYeZRtDJsKhuwU1WfUzfmsYVW5f8Bmezgd1cz1bBJ69kjJcZUa_pbTFZZpoEMZZwJSkgYk/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_0962.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some very heavy-duty snow fences on the flat, windswept top of one of the mountains.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />But all days must end, and eventually I reached my
destination for the night: Pinetop, AZ. Nestled deep within the White Mountains,
which are sometimes affectionately espoused as the “Arizona Alps”, it’s just a
little mountain resort town. Not fancy like Vail, but more of an honest
vacation town. There’s a little strip of hotels and restaurants and not too
much else in the way of town infrastructure, which is just fine by me. I booked
myself a hotel for the night and headed out to have a nice Italian dinner,
feeling thoroughly pleased with the day. I could not have asked for better
weather to take me through New Mexico and half of Arizona – it’s exceedingly
rare for me to get a “pleasant rain” day, and I certainly didn’t expect to get
one here! A good omen for the rest of the trip, I hope.<p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Kelly signing out.<o:p></o:p></p><div id="hzViewer" style="background: none; cursor: pointer; display: none; height: auto; left: 5px; line-height: 0px; opacity: 1; overflow: hidden; padding: 10px 5px; pointer-events: none; position: absolute; top: 3732px; visibility: visible; width: auto; z-index: 2147483647;"></div>Kelly Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04271547498127096571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893125545466338016.post-59437014555997265242023-08-13T15:34:00.002-04:002023-08-13T15:34:41.374-04:00A Hot Rodder's Call <p class="MsoNormal">7/30 <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p>----------------------------------------</o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hello friends. It’s been a while! It is now 2023. Jane and I
have been taking road trips for nine years now. Mostly in the summer, although
last year I did deviate from the norm and go somewhere when it wasn’t a billion
degrees outside.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Nine years is a long time to be doing these trips. In fact,
when I did my first trip in 2014, many called it a “trip of a lifetime”. The
problem with a “trip of a lifetime” is that it indicates that you only do it
once. Alas, I missed that connotation, and I’ve just kind of kept doing them.
And I’ve kept dragging you all along with me via this little blog, which now houses
many years of memories.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So here we are. Nine years down the road. This year, I was
hoping to take Jane out on an in-depth loop around Arizona sometime in October.
But sometime back in March, my Californian hot rodder friends sent out the
call: all of us, Hot August Nights, August 1<sup>st</sup> to 5<sup>th</sup>, Reno,
Nevada, one last time. Why one last time? Well, we’re all getting older (not so
much a concern for me, but certainly for others), attending the show is getting
more expensive (WAYYY more expensive), people are moving, family obligations
are increasing. The usual "life” things. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Well, I’m a sucker for “one last times” and always a sucker
for my friends, so I abandoned my ideas of a nice leisurely Arizona cruise in
favor of one last screaming long-haul up the axis of the hottest parts of
America in a bid to spend a few days with my friends at the coolest hot rod
show west of the Mississippi. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I immediately found a bit of a problem though: I had already
planned a nice Canadian vacation with my parents to occur in the latter part of
July. I was coming back the 27<sup>th</sup>. Hot August Nights starts on the 1<sup>st</sup>.
That’s a pretty quick turnaround time for me to get home and then immediately have
to drive 1800 miles in the opposite direction. And being a real person with a
real job, I also was looking at a pretty huge chunk of vacation to spend all in
one go… a dicey proposition.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But I am the master of “turn and burn”, and Jane is the
master of getting me where I need to be, when I need to be there. So, I began
to plan.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Ultimately, I decided that I would make this trip all about
Hot August Nights, with only a few side forays into parks for hiking and
camping. Instead, I would take a winding route up through Texas, New Mexico, Arizona,
and Nevada, doing my best to stick to mountain ranges wherever possible. This
summer has been extraordinarily brutal – our hottest one yet, although probably
not the hottest one to come – and long driving days through the blistering sun wear
me down like nothing else. Better to do less driving, and do it in cooler
climates. Knowing I would have just spent two weeks hiking around the Canadian Rockies,
I was not too sad to miss out on all of my usual park stops – I figure I’ll hit
them next year, or whenever I finally do succeed in my autumn tour of the Southwest!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I planned to take four days to drive the 1800 miles to Reno,
including a day stop in Flagstaff to see a park. Then I would be in Reno for three
days, and then do the drive in reverse, including a day stop in Flagstaff and a
two-day stop in Chiricahua National Monument, landing me back at home only twelve
days after initial departure. A quick sprint, with little to no margin for
error. My specialty!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The plan sketched together, and hinging on a perfectly
operational car and a perfectly operational me, I proceeded to… dink around
like usual, obviously. I went to the Canadian Rockies. I came home on the 27<sup>th</sup>.
I laid on the couch for a day. And then I went into the garage and took stock
of my darling Jane, who was 0% packed and had had a grand total of fifteen
miles put on her in the past two months due to the excessive Texas temps. Does
this sound stressful? Because it was, but not stressful enough for me to resolve
to do anything about it beforehand, apparently. Hmm, this should be a familiar
tale by now.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Fortunately I’ve done this so many times that I’ve got the
packing list all but memorized. And Jane has done this so many times by now
that I think we’ve just kind of got an understanding. So, I packed her up on the
29<sup>th</sup>, made some minor tweaks, made my peace with the rest that I
should have fixed months ago (hello, world’s squeakiest brake pedal), and went
to bed.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">On the 30<sup>th</sup>, I got up, had some eggs for breakfast,
then plopped in Jane. We swanned out of the garage around 10AM to
already-scorching temperatures in the high 90’s, scraping a muffler on a high
spot on my driveway and departing somewhat ignobly with a few sparks and a
grumpy clatter of the sleepy motor. We were ready to make our first sprint of
the trip. Hopefully.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I opted to take a route along a couple of smaller highways to
start. It’s always nice to get to putter along on empty roads and through small
towns to get warmed up, you know? So, Jane and I cruised westward through the
Hill Country along a series of two-lane blacktops, enjoying the chance to get reacquainted
with each other.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE_NSZ09v1tVuWc4Eu7pPpfIJKAd4bKOiG_rGJrt9Jb0J3Nkkv4lviMbSLmkIEl96bbF7HEMAtRWBVmnqmE91nB8o3GoBNzk75PPJAFmd5oAsGislSUeXh4-9XtSCSRt4hGAUbg_dMfpMwkF9Dlr2Hdv9l3Hpygccag4xxxOAcqVr8vdOpQSz0xwLdCUU/s5472/Edit-IMG_0892.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE_NSZ09v1tVuWc4Eu7pPpfIJKAd4bKOiG_rGJrt9Jb0J3Nkkv4lviMbSLmkIEl96bbF7HEMAtRWBVmnqmE91nB8o3GoBNzk75PPJAFmd5oAsGislSUeXh4-9XtSCSRt4hGAUbg_dMfpMwkF9Dlr2Hdv9l3Hpygccag4xxxOAcqVr8vdOpQSz0xwLdCUU/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_0892.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I always love this part. These old motors weren’t really
made to do heavy city traffic. Over time they get kind of boogered up, a little
lumpy feeling, weighed down by excess carbon deposits sitting around where they
shouldn’t. But when you hit the open road, all those deposits get cleared out,
all the lumps get leveled, and over time the engine just begins to sing. A
practiced ear – such as that possessed by someone who’s been daily driving a
vintage Mustang and periodically dragging it out on wild road trips for many
years – can hear the difference clear as day. It’s a shift in the tone, a new
depth to the power, a smoothing of the exhaust note into a perfectly regular
rhythm. Oh, but it is satisfying.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Unfortunately, as you all know, on the first day of any trip
I tend to be plagued by issues that Jane feels suddenly worthy of attention.
And yes, they are almost always related to something I’ve been neglecting, so
that’s on me. I’m mentioning this because you all should appreciate exactly how
much practice it takes to enjoy this part, not a care in the world, head fully
embedded in the sand with a complete lack of acknowledgement that things are
very likely to go south at any point in time.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But here’s the thing, I am real real good at doing that.
Partly because the song of a perfectly-tuned Ford 289 is enough to cause me to
forget my worries. And partly because there’s not really a point in trying to
anticipate what will be thrown at me, or when, because Jane is nothing if not
inventive. But mostly because I have been scared to death of driving this car every
minute of every hour since the wreck back in 2013 – more than ten years ago now
- and at some point you just learn to get over the fear and get on with things.
So here I am. Driving my rapidly-aging, rapidly-appreciating, completely
irreplaceable hot rod halfway across the country, again.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Anyways, I can’t tell if Jane is mellowing in her old (older??)
age, or if she was feeling merciful due to my own increasing age and impending
frailty (I’m 32 now! 32! Positively ancient!), but that 289 kept running like a
sewing machine all day.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We puttered through interesting little towns with distinctly
European architecture.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM9XXxwGB1Ve2WlYxnredfnUZnTl_0MfddtwwtvX0DzGO4peJhwb1PgjLUo4K_3W_YovPpAJfLb5MT7TFR3gMVBT5PWhhfH4EL6YlpTFjECYxsiUrqMIhw97L0T2v_n95xU-zyGcHOrHGjd_UGTEw9PtGkRryyNnPLz2mcXYaJ8VN1NpMu2-TadeA668k/s5472/Edit-IMG_0894.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM9XXxwGB1Ve2WlYxnredfnUZnTl_0MfddtwwtvX0DzGO4peJhwb1PgjLUo4K_3W_YovPpAJfLb5MT7TFR3gMVBT5PWhhfH4EL6YlpTFjECYxsiUrqMIhw97L0T2v_n95xU-zyGcHOrHGjd_UGTEw9PtGkRryyNnPLz2mcXYaJ8VN1NpMu2-TadeA668k/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_0894.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We rumbled past sprawling ranches, ranchhouses snugged up
against hills to avoid the winds of the prairies.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWlFRRPC7dephtBsfDGY9ELA6IqeMO4HIIyGzzJzoEr0-9yMhDzvFVR1c53CodJCSc5mq_SkwFEk-Pjj4JpCWBpybWT2VHK3rGR1QQjwUxDBbErF6sAcjD-KM9nDNbffvWXP801c6esQKgH3CuN6laVy2kLqDmysyxbp_hF3KF8unucECnk8QPonuWxRU/s5472/Edit-IMG_0895.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWlFRRPC7dephtBsfDGY9ELA6IqeMO4HIIyGzzJzoEr0-9yMhDzvFVR1c53CodJCSc5mq_SkwFEk-Pjj4JpCWBpybWT2VHK3rGR1QQjwUxDBbErF6sAcjD-KM9nDNbffvWXP801c6esQKgH3CuN6laVy2kLqDmysyxbp_hF3KF8unucECnk8QPonuWxRU/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_0895.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We roared up through a myriad of roadcuts, each appearing an
odd slit shaved out of the landscape.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFtzQplM7jK8FVPharDKE7jWEadZb8l-zqqX_yCxw-iz6OdDcfF6unmo2pvWAP5Wf-cGWbRt4ZfG_JruIRnAhPUEgvqGjdo415DzjZ6dJsGUHb0SGnCMBlTZU7CmyzrCdD7fbM-Pdw_rLyYDZV0Mxi6JxZ8HEVhAroEYu6ZR8FBWVpxFaVM0bncfPB7lI/s5472/Edit-IMG_0901.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFtzQplM7jK8FVPharDKE7jWEadZb8l-zqqX_yCxw-iz6OdDcfF6unmo2pvWAP5Wf-cGWbRt4ZfG_JruIRnAhPUEgvqGjdo415DzjZ6dJsGUHb0SGnCMBlTZU7CmyzrCdD7fbM-Pdw_rLyYDZV0Mxi6JxZ8HEVhAroEYu6ZR8FBWVpxFaVM0bncfPB7lI/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_0901.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We howled through vast open scrubby plains cut only by the
interstate, fencepoles and telephone poles whipping past impossibly quickly.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip8AvEiq9modRUxnO-UQNHnXiYRfx6ZDes8uVVvq0CGqNHeAzlEh9EI4wCzHz7E7uDtCQyuf3-PZbagpylP4RwM4SM3SVDpkE21ZjHZofDuJxhKH4IT84fuiRn8xRm_xJvu0QrzgMWiUkPI-KhmTUMSR-L_vkgAKyRlVJkt-gXgQVreueFHMOZ2TDhhN8/s5407/Edit-IMG_0905.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3605" data-original-width="5407" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip8AvEiq9modRUxnO-UQNHnXiYRfx6ZDes8uVVvq0CGqNHeAzlEh9EI4wCzHz7E7uDtCQyuf3-PZbagpylP4RwM4SM3SVDpkE21ZjHZofDuJxhKH4IT84fuiRn8xRm_xJvu0QrzgMWiUkPI-KhmTUMSR-L_vkgAKyRlVJkt-gXgQVreueFHMOZ2TDhhN8/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_0905.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We raced under the wide blue sky, pursuing the clouds
towards the distant blue mountains.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtj5bLCphjra9tlVAwbfsGaI571ukNE5Qd3fMl9vj3b5wuEa4yidPN0ivPbVhf8OYcsrnBATkBg_k1II9IINUymUUHz-VidXW3bEtZn4Y6R3-olPn6P1Sj8UONNe5Ycz2rf6r882vIOxwDntTwHrAXdcqkeyh-Twk9yBHKfkJTjCyqGps-If9RhF90e_s/s5472/Edit-IMG_0906.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtj5bLCphjra9tlVAwbfsGaI571ukNE5Qd3fMl9vj3b5wuEa4yidPN0ivPbVhf8OYcsrnBATkBg_k1II9IINUymUUHz-VidXW3bEtZn4Y6R3-olPn6P1Sj8UONNe5Ycz2rf6r882vIOxwDntTwHrAXdcqkeyh-Twk9yBHKfkJTjCyqGps-If9RhF90e_s/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_0906.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And by the end of the day those mountains had grown near,
resolving into the numerous low ranges hidden in the depths of West Texas. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihKJjuN30ukSgIscj5sFe3fBrL6J8wyIhS1ectNSWO2i1iciXe0qd1xunNp_tXB0V-QHzK9-5JE3LX4Cm-8dAKXpYL4M14aUcfMHT8CinWXzamN2W6XzTzOEjW6YD3sCY2fskGIoh5-NIMWZkuO3g3rUzxqFuYMLpORRUP_Jv2Ai0gbd9iTZ5hVqQ8zLU/s5472/Edit-IMG_0909.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="hoverZoomLink" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihKJjuN30ukSgIscj5sFe3fBrL6J8wyIhS1ectNSWO2i1iciXe0qd1xunNp_tXB0V-QHzK9-5JE3LX4Cm-8dAKXpYL4M14aUcfMHT8CinWXzamN2W6XzTzOEjW6YD3sCY2fskGIoh5-NIMWZkuO3g3rUzxqFuYMLpORRUP_Jv2Ai0gbd9iTZ5hVqQ8zLU/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_0909.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Our 470-mile run completed, we pulled into Van Horn, Texas,
with plenty of time to spare. I half expected Jane to chuck some parts out the
side of the engine a block away from the hotel. But miraculously, for what may
be the first time ever, we made it to our destination on the first day completely
without incident, all in one piece, Jane arguably in better condition than she
had been when we left Austin. A visit to the local steakhouse and four glasses
of water later, I was feeling pretty good about things. Could it be that we’ve
finally made peace with each other? Or have I just discovered a route that Jane
likes more than the awful haul through Lubbock and the worst of West Texas? Who
knows! But I know better than to look a gift horse in the mouth.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And so, we’ve finished Day 1 of our long haul up to Reno.
Pretty peaceful. I guess that doesn’t make for much of a story, but I’m happy
for it. We’ve got enough stories around here anyways. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Tomorrow, we’ll get up and do it again.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p>Kelly signing out. </p>Kelly Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04271547498127096571noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893125545466338016.post-57264842803621070132023-02-03T02:24:00.001-05:002023-02-03T02:24:08.596-05:00The Jackass Sandwich<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal">11-12-2022<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">-------------</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It turns out that staying at the Buzzard’s Roost in my
swanky tipi again was a good idea, considering that I woke up to frigid high-30’s
temperatures this morning. Packing up camp in the cold is the worst, and as it
was I still struggled to crawl out of my warm cocoon to face the brittle outside
air. I can’t say I was super motivated to depart any earlier than necessary
anyways, considering that I only had a drive home to contend with. A long drive
home, but still just a drive.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Eventually I worked up the gumption to depart the tent, and
found a lovely day burgeoning. Well, I suppose by that point it had already
burgeoned, and was well on its way to just normal progression. Whatever, I’m
not an early morning person.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The sharp morning light revealed my beautiful Jane,
absolutely filthy with fine white silica dust – the wispy remnants of ancient
volcanoes, now set upon the destruction of Jane’s paint.<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikj9GkWKcmDOEr4syVixun70n_qaeb64Rx9ikQbgYIzCo_3_tWGuCdoVTPxwkKq97s4uoMhrMZay7jaumQWRBMzGQOXMzU73QUrKWX5u6XWQdkCsEYIBv8FJwQR69O4wdhyE-GiL34QBdPBiZr6QkqthAWDhM1h1NPjuK4FkRqdaSzFIrzcssd8bNt/s5472/Edits-IMG_8571.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikj9GkWKcmDOEr4syVixun70n_qaeb64Rx9ikQbgYIzCo_3_tWGuCdoVTPxwkKq97s4uoMhrMZay7jaumQWRBMzGQOXMzU73QUrKWX5u6XWQdkCsEYIBv8FJwQR69O4wdhyE-GiL34QBdPBiZr6QkqthAWDhM1h1NPjuK4FkRqdaSzFIrzcssd8bNt/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8571.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWEh9FPDySkSYs2nRCjTwZErE7bPg4PUAohyM4B_mmCdixlZ-7I6E5XvBgezgUGXD_HL0ODXphLSbaQG-7_xed6OvU0Y1BxtO--upejmHZBrA0h0Fo288z7GAC74YMUlBC_4Fil2SxuCo_O2Pa899sQoVF4vJ0N1WpwIz8ykbDWlBAKw1z4mNX2rzg/s3648/Edits-IMG_8570.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="2432" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWEh9FPDySkSYs2nRCjTwZErE7bPg4PUAohyM4B_mmCdixlZ-7I6E5XvBgezgUGXD_HL0ODXphLSbaQG-7_xed6OvU0Y1BxtO--upejmHZBrA0h0Fo288z7GAC74YMUlBC_4Fil2SxuCo_O2Pa899sQoVF4vJ0N1WpwIz8ykbDWlBAKw1z4mNX2rzg/w426-h640/Edits-IMG_8570.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Part of any road trip is building up a good “patina”, an
accumulation of grime so thick that it could feasibly actually add protection
if you’re casual enough about the definition of “protection”. But this patina
is dependent on it lying undisturbed, as any interaction with the car below – say,
by brushing past it, leaning on the fender, writing your name in the dust, etc.
- immediately grinds all of that dirt right into the paint, leaving fine
scratches. Annoying. Jane has picked up her share of fine scratches over the
years from exactly this (and worse, I’m sure), and today I would certainly add
more. Nothing like 85 MPH wind rushing over a coating of sharp silica
particles, scraping them inexorably backwards along the car!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">My detailer friends would NOT be happy.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Fortunately, I’m a complete hooligan so I only spent about
30 seconds thinking about that.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I took the opportunity to co-opt an art installation nearby –
no doubt intended for a very picturesque Instagrammable post featuring some
very pretty girl – to instead take more pictures of my car. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0ew4RK4-u4vm8qpVgN3OCEacGeGn33qH6FXO_uVJCOloCTeMsuP3y-2MPpf8JZoThT2MmGSCmpxpTew_L1UlZFXal36EfB-JWZgA8bPO8qmWZyiwAcE5BhyK7cOSH_FqT0IbXLZfvxXpSYLoMcRKr0FUtw5B8L4xrr0OgZatpI19hFSBODyM1mrql/s5472/Edits-IMG_8572.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5472" data-original-width="3648" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0ew4RK4-u4vm8qpVgN3OCEacGeGn33qH6FXO_uVJCOloCTeMsuP3y-2MPpf8JZoThT2MmGSCmpxpTew_L1UlZFXal36EfB-JWZgA8bPO8qmWZyiwAcE5BhyK7cOSH_FqT0IbXLZfvxXpSYLoMcRKr0FUtw5B8L4xrr0OgZatpI19hFSBODyM1mrql/w426-h640/Edits-IMG_8572.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr6DFcVpf7n4JM0AZBLfmXFhkykWUK7gVKcGJMWDX4KJZIuebqVNa6jrEEUcovfW2P2E0bkVmgzKaefXTgjmELSdeaHfyUvXGjbr2M7ZmoBAzAmxyUIcw1CdeknJYez9H3wdUqnfxuMWLhqNumo-nhLnxZi4BbI_7Sc6ZEspx96geFcQHxja9erRLV/s5472/Edits-IMG_8575.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5472" data-original-width="3648" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr6DFcVpf7n4JM0AZBLfmXFhkykWUK7gVKcGJMWDX4KJZIuebqVNa6jrEEUcovfW2P2E0bkVmgzKaefXTgjmELSdeaHfyUvXGjbr2M7ZmoBAzAmxyUIcw1CdeknJYez9H3wdUqnfxuMWLhqNumo-nhLnxZi4BbI_7Sc6ZEspx96geFcQHxja9erRLV/w426-h640/Edits-IMG_8575.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lol.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Somehow, it didn’t quite seem to fit in the hand right. Oh
well. Dream Big Bend, indeed.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">That silliness aside, Jane and I hopped on the road and
started the long trek back. After getting past the Christmas Mountains of
Terlingua, we had a lot of time to look at some very flat land.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5-8QQtDX81u7yToFdHsKmli4wPlCA5Qedl9uj1swN0325N3yFeyf0KF1ykSwxOUUPyljbCIrjEnjfb6x7zgEYCUwXroib2W0c8Nhwv5M4plIwn2j0I_88OSh0PTHp1-wBn5x-TKpRXTqtxHckowmJyIGZ97BzCBZDajM6iaGOhk8lgOZyl0pTWq1J/s5472/Edits-IMG_8576.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5-8QQtDX81u7yToFdHsKmli4wPlCA5Qedl9uj1swN0325N3yFeyf0KF1ykSwxOUUPyljbCIrjEnjfb6x7zgEYCUwXroib2W0c8Nhwv5M4plIwn2j0I_88OSh0PTHp1-wBn5x-TKpRXTqtxHckowmJyIGZ97BzCBZDajM6iaGOhk8lgOZyl0pTWq1J/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8576.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Occasionally, a mountain or mesa would draw near, then
disappear in the rearview mirror, just a blip in the monotony of a classic West
Texas drive. Staving off boredom is pretty difficult on a drive in this part of
the country.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggzgSUqaI0KBZ-y71Y63lu4pHuZTo0_egXmxP9PlKxufQ8DQmvrO4vzj7YcWZQcz0G3AIV3yANQZnVcRZVMWhOF1Kjrcux2KL9DCzwf6r-oBv6eVJ-xYIo186R1XjbcxYIgGGux7B5TnwPQk_Z-uPSxNkJnhklz6P9NGBd7F0uiif0qyj7vF6Af2ym/s5420/Edits-IMG_8582.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3613" data-original-width="5420" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggzgSUqaI0KBZ-y71Y63lu4pHuZTo0_egXmxP9PlKxufQ8DQmvrO4vzj7YcWZQcz0G3AIV3yANQZnVcRZVMWhOF1Kjrcux2KL9DCzwf6r-oBv6eVJ-xYIo186R1XjbcxYIgGGux7B5TnwPQk_Z-uPSxNkJnhklz6P9NGBd7F0uiif0qyj7vF6Af2ym/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8582.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And then it happened: I came upon the Jackass Sandwich.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A Jackass Sandwich is three (or more!) cars, all in a line,
all tailgating each other very closely, on an otherwise completely unoccupied,
wide-open highway. They are almost always in the left-hand lane, and they are
almost always going on average exactly the speed limit, but with a range of 10-15
MPH on either side. This one was no exception.<br /><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPwUTp85Bn7f_RW3c2wJhengTr6c5nA_-FyLuUui-INzgQFTQRck8rq7c5N_kN8PRmepe4m9vqKSlHGuijR66QkpDY5InKUJ0319a6K4vJCDUxlIEpkyYLlLvfiTk6kec21J9Z2eB_zsiGo8eI0sw0l93DmE6icE7Pb-x42-AhnHdO7o6-zZSD-NRK/s5472/Edits-IMG_8588.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPwUTp85Bn7f_RW3c2wJhengTr6c5nA_-FyLuUui-INzgQFTQRck8rq7c5N_kN8PRmepe4m9vqKSlHGuijR66QkpDY5InKUJ0319a6K4vJCDUxlIEpkyYLlLvfiTk6kec21J9Z2eB_zsiGo8eI0sw0l93DmE6icE7Pb-x42-AhnHdO7o6-zZSD-NRK/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8588.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br />I’ve run into a lot of these on the road, and they’ve always
kind of baffled me. As far as I can tell, they are usually started by one guy,
going very slow in the fast lane. And that kind of person attracts two types of
retaliatory drivers: the kind that tailgate them to try to get them to move
over, and the kind that pass them and then get right in front of them to go
EVEN SLOWER, to send a message. The problem is that these people all feed off
of one another, creating a literal revolving stack of jackasses all swapping
places angrily within one sandwich, the whole thing alternately speeding up and
slowing down to ensure that they are all as angry and ineffective as possible.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It's infuriating but fascinating to drive near. Fascinating
because you can experience these peoples’ completely unnecessary rage, with the
knowledge that any of them could decide to just drive away normally at any
moment, dissolving the sandwich. Infuriating because you constantly find
yourself getting closer, then further away, from these people without changing
your speed at all. They are funny when they occur on highways with multiple
lanes, annoying when they occur on single-lane highways with only periodic passing
lanes, and completely outraging when they occur on single lane highways with no
passing lanes. That is, unless you have a fast car capable of passing three vehicles
all in one go.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I spent some time watching the jackass sandwich waffle
around, until it occurred to me that probably it was getting dangerous to be
near. So, I passed them. At a very high speed.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I’ve found that if you don’t pass jackass sandwiches at high
speed, they will speed up to prevent you from passing, presumably in an attempt
to incorporate you into their sandwich to make it larger and possibly more tasty.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Very fortunately, a small block Ford motor has a lot of
torque and it’s sitting right in its optimal power band at highway speeds. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">After putting a significant distance between us, I settled back
to my contemplation of the landscape. Hmm, still flat.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0sY-3x1UDW5oAlqBwQuEks_Hj_nchHnhS5wC8fsb5eWWlpvyACblgW4B7rAZ4qLW0jNHunhCZHQHBmWIf9cmPEiwDsIxZ1akJz_l0s5TgbzWKrCi0vmcAXCPHbOUP6UJYeQ0Nziphg7TMeUXkRmaZipSUwvkswedeGz75A3Bi0hbwWT5QvFbfp8Cn/s5303/Edits-IMG_8592.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3535" data-original-width="5303" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0sY-3x1UDW5oAlqBwQuEks_Hj_nchHnhS5wC8fsb5eWWlpvyACblgW4B7rAZ4qLW0jNHunhCZHQHBmWIf9cmPEiwDsIxZ1akJz_l0s5TgbzWKrCi0vmcAXCPHbOUP6UJYeQ0Nziphg7TMeUXkRmaZipSUwvkswedeGz75A3Bi0hbwWT5QvFbfp8Cn/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8592.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Maybe even flatter than before?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">That Ford V8 growled along contentedly, its voice opening up
to a full-throated roar as we hit I-10. It was a clear bluebird day, perfect
for driving, although I found it a bit chilly for my tastes. Jane seemed to
like it. And so, each mile seemed to pass faster and faster, blurring together
into one seamless reel of black asphalt and white dotted lines and endless blue
sky, a film on fast-forward, played at double speed.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As we approached Central Texas, the landmarks came faster
and more frequently. At first, the odd hill would pop out of the flatlands, a
subject of amused consideration.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjeTbDZUYeGzBL_to_X7Ns-kjBy1C3ZtuEH8xVP6pw2CpcSk-wOYtb2ds6jjeJWYCnP7XI8BY8i_dCbkYV08bzS_KhWHBZf8A6lJvaqFABfxMeE0EFgskNlFoucojWzw4E8m-w1ClbJz3yNCIwmohf3Q8myhlSDvy9ASz9w3YMm98GjuuRLvGavDkR/s5472/Edits-IMG_8596.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjeTbDZUYeGzBL_to_X7Ns-kjBy1C3ZtuEH8xVP6pw2CpcSk-wOYtb2ds6jjeJWYCnP7XI8BY8i_dCbkYV08bzS_KhWHBZf8A6lJvaqFABfxMeE0EFgskNlFoucojWzw4E8m-w1ClbJz3yNCIwmohf3Q8myhlSDvy9ASz9w3YMm98GjuuRLvGavDkR/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8596.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'll give you three guesses what this one's named, and the first two don't count</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then, those scattered scarce hills became large rolling
hills, roadcuts slicing through massive swaths of rock where the hill was simply
too big to climb.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXXyV349z-RRjZOiOmd3Iky4hj1nbJutcjojBVwKX1FQ6J23SiTfVSpNXNCXdRxBPXPdtW46p1lG-0aioDcst2QiQHC5JUrbRpA8MPivWIVW9yBYH_PJ__efoNHKdovN3-SoBCCH88WhXkwGKM-J7YL56_QqeQd_032laTBwD86Tdk8PXB4OGkLbRc/s5347/Edits-IMG_8598.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3565" data-original-width="5347" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXXyV349z-RRjZOiOmd3Iky4hj1nbJutcjojBVwKX1FQ6J23SiTfVSpNXNCXdRxBPXPdtW46p1lG-0aioDcst2QiQHC5JUrbRpA8MPivWIVW9yBYH_PJ__efoNHKdovN3-SoBCCH88WhXkwGKM-J7YL56_QqeQd_032laTBwD86Tdk8PXB4OGkLbRc/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8598.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And then, seemingly very suddenly, I was in the outskirts of
Hill Country, that beautiful land of swaying thick grasses and mighty live oaks
with 100-foot canopies, a perfection of pastoral life.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9f-DX9f407Sjy31nhRPL4yL7t5vt6Hjt40T6RDPTOVhd1duydbxaGl5l1htYIMFYWxlQiMWHwf3eyOJGO_n_zSsbXBVJNNcS-PtlrLllLDrjtgNRl-N2yVe1eZlDatIyjXgrektwO2Oodmc25WeFROQFv5DfWP2-N-4rDTKtSLDfpB0blfyVsW7I2/s5472/Edits-IMG_8599.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9f-DX9f407Sjy31nhRPL4yL7t5vt6Hjt40T6RDPTOVhd1duydbxaGl5l1htYIMFYWxlQiMWHwf3eyOJGO_n_zSsbXBVJNNcS-PtlrLllLDrjtgNRl-N2yVe1eZlDatIyjXgrektwO2Oodmc25WeFROQFv5DfWP2-N-4rDTKtSLDfpB0blfyVsW7I2/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8599.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It was only a short time after that that I found myself
overlooking my city, beautiful monster that it is. Sure, the traffic here might
be completely asinine, the hustle and bustle sometimes a bit too hustley and
bustley. I love leaving, getting out on the open road where I have more space
to myself, room to breathe, exciting new things to see. But I also love coming
back, because this is my home.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcbAb6p7Q6nQDHw8mGMEcg4fkz_Nc7jXYC64hhkm95a6WpfEBu4sK32Q33T3E0_yV-EXpj2Bm0hiCSb58hsFheEc5H-89Pa1ILgb6ZS3YFNctw-kugzXvPuxbmXh0PYalvV46QmKCQr6mTkBj9-fm3704UwcWlmXWVTw1aT9fN04IgU9ZQEtSdQcnI/s5333/Edits-IMG_8602.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3555" data-original-width="5333" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcbAb6p7Q6nQDHw8mGMEcg4fkz_Nc7jXYC64hhkm95a6WpfEBu4sK32Q33T3E0_yV-EXpj2Bm0hiCSb58hsFheEc5H-89Pa1ILgb6ZS3YFNctw-kugzXvPuxbmXh0PYalvV46QmKCQr6mTkBj9-fm3704UwcWlmXWVTw1aT9fN04IgU9ZQEtSdQcnI/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8602.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal"><br />So now here we are, back in reality, in the land of tacos
and techbros and hippies and hipsters. It’s been an awesome week. Big Bend was
just as incredible as advertised – I know I’ll be back. But maybe not for a
while. Because I have some other things planned for us this year…</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For now, I’ll start with fixing that rearview mirror. And maybe I'll see about getting that dust off the paint, too.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXe_22OGBSylMxEMIiQqWTxgDSfcxCq0_LKlYjMb0LcIkaQ0atBHUCTkpDQIlaCH50tEcoudGJVW-myYK2mHsOOxjuCkQTAGszasPbLOHpE0njssbuatgDIP1eUddwtMaJMb6cQcFDt4BkhgBwQFEuIGL1EpDsqXZXgkVZZRWdHAaLcmPVnPVdjBQK/s5472/Edits-IMG_8603.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXe_22OGBSylMxEMIiQqWTxgDSfcxCq0_LKlYjMb0LcIkaQ0atBHUCTkpDQIlaCH50tEcoudGJVW-myYK2mHsOOxjuCkQTAGszasPbLOHpE0njssbuatgDIP1eUddwtMaJMb6cQcFDt4BkhgBwQFEuIGL1EpDsqXZXgkVZZRWdHAaLcmPVnPVdjBQK/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8603.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipAj6vpCv1_wTk9hOQCn_h9VeRm4NvzuhPWOhWTTA_fAqufE3RFfEivhaA5yP3uX0bTSRDm4h4O1gtlM2evvllnNEG-P0kkJJInkvZ67XVsvHw4eV9tG-uBxKW2J_hUIzi6AZ9aULMCONlSiE6jiTrP0ySsVjmXLUNsh_0ypvimjhHHvL5Z9sO72G0/s1440/Edits-JPEG%20image%20103.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipAj6vpCv1_wTk9hOQCn_h9VeRm4NvzuhPWOhWTTA_fAqufE3RFfEivhaA5yP3uX0bTSRDm4h4O1gtlM2evvllnNEG-P0kkJJInkvZ67XVsvHw4eV9tG-uBxKW2J_hUIzi6AZ9aULMCONlSiE6jiTrP0ySsVjmXLUNsh_0ypvimjhHHvL5Z9sO72G0/w640-h480/Edits-JPEG%20image%20103.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrzRmzTSSULDGjG4Jg0LVUgs21A15-fGbj4VdhIslcra3UX0SUeZD0LMwdMfS1A-619KeZBwbSCyhVTn-7cT6CXvk-GxxpVN9HXS6dSUOKL7yF7H6nLEKC0483HmtkZ9NQt_jO-_aNSOwE73uny0EQm1uu8ADDDntOenlz0f4KL8rxehNcGEJ9yKzT/s1440/Edits-JPEG%20image%20105.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1086" data-original-width="1440" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrzRmzTSSULDGjG4Jg0LVUgs21A15-fGbj4VdhIslcra3UX0SUeZD0LMwdMfS1A-619KeZBwbSCyhVTn-7cT6CXvk-GxxpVN9HXS6dSUOKL7yF7H6nLEKC0483HmtkZ9NQt_jO-_aNSOwE73uny0EQm1uu8ADDDntOenlz0f4KL8rxehNcGEJ9yKzT/w640-h482/Edits-JPEG%20image%20105.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Kelly signing out.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">**Post-blog note: Thanks for all of your patience while I've taken my sweet time finishing these posts!! These days it gets harder and harder to swap back and forth between blog-writing mode, and scientific-writing mode (which I need for my job). Anyways, this post concludes my 2022 Big Bend saga! Stay tuned for more adventures later this year... I have some cool ideas for new places to go :) </p>Kelly Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04271547498127096571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893125545466338016.post-12209350019795805872023-02-01T01:28:00.000-05:002023-02-01T01:28:13.453-05:00A Tarantula a Day Keeps The Existential Crisis at Bay<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal">11-11-2022<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">-------------<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">After a dark, peaceful night at the campsite, I was awoken
fairly early in the morning by the yelling of many children. Apparently, there
was an entire class of schoolkids camping on the upper ridge for a field trip,
and apparently, they had woken up very excited. Not that I blame them, I was
excited too. And very fortunately, their hollering sounded fairly distant,
since the campground owner had cleverly put them on the ridge, high enough up
that they couldn’t be too much of a bother. Nevertheless, the din was enough to
get me out of my sleeping bag earlier than usual.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I had planned on staying another day here at Rancho Topanga,
but abruptly decided to change my plans. Today was going to be my last day in
the Big Bend area, and while originally I had planned on exploring the Lajitas
area to the southwest, I found myself more interested in going down to the Rio
Grande visitor center in the far southeast corner of the park. So I was going
to be spending the day fairly far away, and was unlikely to get back before
dark – especially considering that I had a hankering for another steak at the
Starlight Theater. But I knew that if I got back to Rancho Topanga after dark,
I would never ever find my campsite. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So, I booked myself another night at the Buzzard’s Roost –
yes, the bougie tipi place – and went ahead and loaded all my gear back into
Jane. And then we took off for our last day of exploring Big Bend.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Jane rumbled along sleepily, passing through a
still-slumbering Terlingua, back through the now-familiar park entrance, and back
past the now-familiar Panther Junction visitor center. But this time, instead
of turning off to the scenic drive or the haul up to the Chisos, we just kept
right on past, heading southeast. The road that opened up in front of us was
absolutely sublime – one of those perfectly black, perfectly smooth strips of
asphalt, the kind that arrows through the landscape unerringly towards its destination,
swooping gracefully up and down swales in the landscape without a hitch. In the
distance, massive cliffs loomed larger and larger, beckoning me onwards.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihyxFdawSlLC01tP5VC0lRVsYjgbGKv95TUEB0j6xLzYAD0D0OkGWe6jDU6tAK8n_WP_UoNdeIqdLO4HLgC0hPXDJaRpdknsIYWGNW0KUEBpCxzxUicMTi_jvh11i4RE6LEA5YkSZyoV1yxMk4yyxUOGKMZOG2DxRKcdtyhXQJEWS9DvPJhvo-wUq_/s5472/Edits-IMG_8247.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihyxFdawSlLC01tP5VC0lRVsYjgbGKv95TUEB0j6xLzYAD0D0OkGWe6jDU6tAK8n_WP_UoNdeIqdLO4HLgC0hPXDJaRpdknsIYWGNW0KUEBpCxzxUicMTi_jvh11i4RE6LEA5YkSZyoV1yxMk4yyxUOGKMZOG2DxRKcdtyhXQJEWS9DvPJhvo-wUq_/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8247.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUmiCcvSMGWAD2pwnL7a7luujMn5YMm-EU6825jvZVN5Jl3NYxcCtBe1pDux4MLJy7zaf39OtfR6DYn5_Q_LbFvcDk4l50aYnDDd3J3zp_X7uDTaQD7fy5Dp8iGhObqpL8r1FbosKsqYYg8XDMuU-Ctz6-Cw8nq0Pi1Tjg8B7YXMNAdfrYrcRK4DMI/s5472/Edits-IMG_8252.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUmiCcvSMGWAD2pwnL7a7luujMn5YMm-EU6825jvZVN5Jl3NYxcCtBe1pDux4MLJy7zaf39OtfR6DYn5_Q_LbFvcDk4l50aYnDDd3J3zp_X7uDTaQD7fy5Dp8iGhObqpL8r1FbosKsqYYg8XDMuU-Ctz6-Cw8nq0Pi1Tjg8B7YXMNAdfrYrcRK4DMI/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8252.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br />But for once, I was not so focused on the cool rocks nearby.
Instead, my attention was drawn downwards to the road itself – or, rather, what
was on the road.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I’ve seen tarantulas every single day that I’ve been out
here. I’ve seen them on the road, I’ve seen them on the trails, I’ve seen them
in the campgrounds and at roadside stops and in parking lots. There are a lot
of tarantulas around here. But as I drove down that road, weaving around these
giant slow-moving arachnid monsters, I suddenly found myself really considering
them.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzGhtl8lzlxeohqg-XqZVoAoENHnhgpyxHmz2-iNJF29EvLbpnIWzC-sOXVp5JJF05PgincZO_R_wW2okk2hN6E7wzDfnQ3LBmbejKV2pklxf8OBtIG_9TAFfLNfsZQxwG_MetKlfZhFjdFH41FJ2NJfc6tzWIQT3JXeXB3mU21kUm9nDsElatXycQ/s4032/Edits-JPEG%20image%2075.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzGhtl8lzlxeohqg-XqZVoAoENHnhgpyxHmz2-iNJF29EvLbpnIWzC-sOXVp5JJF05PgincZO_R_wW2okk2hN6E7wzDfnQ3LBmbejKV2pklxf8OBtIG_9TAFfLNfsZQxwG_MetKlfZhFjdFH41FJ2NJfc6tzWIQT3JXeXB3mU21kUm9nDsElatXycQ/w640-h480/Edits-JPEG%20image%2075.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you’ve never seen a tarantula up close and in person
before, you probably imagine that they are just extra-large, extra-terrifying
versions of your average house spider. But they really aren’t. They’re kind of
a different type of beast entirely. Sure, they are definitely giant hand-sized hairy
spiders, so maybe that’s terrifying I guess. But they behave very differently.
Instead of skittering about, hiding in corners and fleeing across the room to
disappear under another object at the slightest provocation, tarantulas are
world-faring adventurers, and they’re as steady as they come. They march their
way across the landscape, all eyes on their destination, unerring and unafraid.
It’s nearly impossible to scare them into changing pace or direction. As cars
swerve around them, they maintain course, walking straight across the road
without pause. If you come across a tarantula while out on a hike, you can crouch
right next to them to observe closely and they will ignore you completely,
continuing about their business with nary a flinch. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">That fascinates me. It has to take a lot of courage,
completely ignoring all of the vast huge animals in the world in favor of doing
whatever it is they’re doing. They don’t devote any time to reacting to
something that is outside of their influence, and that doesn’t seem to bother
them one bit. They’re fearless and unapologetic, unreactive in the face of
inevitable danger, the masters of the “mind your own business” mentality. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It seems that every other wild animal on the planet has some
way of interacting with humans. Most run away, some might be curious, and still
others learn to ply them for tasty morsels. But I have never seen an animal
just completely ignore a human the way tarantulas do. Tarantulas behave as if
we don’t exist – not us, not our modified landscapes, not our fantastic inventions.
They just walk, carrying on towards wherever it is they’re going with a kind of
timeless single-mindedness that says, “I was here before you, and I will be
here after you as well”. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I feel we could all learn something from tarantulas. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">My spidery musings entertained me all the way down to the
border, where the arrow-straight road finally developed some character, slaloming
gleefully around hills, down into steep gullies, and back up the other side
with little regard for appropriate road grades. No tarantulas here – or if
there were, I simply couldn’t see them as my car’s nose was either pointed into
the sky or down into a gully most of the time.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKpk7V0Eks3FMvP5_wHL_9qvtLf9cZHwSWpoH9HCuMX5r-3ug39dq0E0X7Tj8k9470-yzc94PY2_beu584wq74PCZdHqGT-u811GY_cKFailhU475pM50i5jAjREFGyteAgPizXn-RQyIDm-5Ag_b8txszW2UK3pSfk-q2evE5InZ5Ng2Vqkb9x8hJ/s5472/Edits-IMG_8258.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKpk7V0Eks3FMvP5_wHL_9qvtLf9cZHwSWpoH9HCuMX5r-3ug39dq0E0X7Tj8k9470-yzc94PY2_beu584wq74PCZdHqGT-u811GY_cKFailhU475pM50i5jAjREFGyteAgPizXn-RQyIDm-5Ag_b8txszW2UK3pSfk-q2evE5InZ5Ng2Vqkb9x8hJ/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8258.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal">I reached the Rio Grande visitor center in short time, where
I stopped in to inquire about a trail for an interested geologist.
Unfortunately, the couple working there was unable to tell me about the rocks
of this area – but they did indicate that there were a lot! Surprising (not).</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I opted to start with the Hot Springs/Daniels Ranch trail,
as it came highly rated for spectacular views of the Rio Grande, but was also
reputed to be a very warm hike in the afternoon. So off I went down towards the
trailhead, just past the campground. Now the whole time I’ve been in Big Bend,
I’ve seen almost exclusively desert-y landscapes. But down here, I found myself
driving through a large stand of giant cottonwood trees, surrounded by very
suburban-looking grassy lawns and alive with the sounds of a myriad of birds. It
appears that I have finally descended down into the Rio Grande floodplain.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBmYo1eUOswh8wb9IfUkCArgiUps-q_Iw8sQ49sss9YrmxHAe4Xix8SNXsujG-ycTLffhXRidc-YOHXS9wCDXLJMy32H76i0aYWMRpG0Z3tLacBLcKeXf7FQ_iU-UqN9i-wKVxyjPzgJtC4DsdItF2WOXwrNOvGUwng19D9DpfyaHZJh_7t7gGsUrC/s5472/Edits-IMG_8512.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBmYo1eUOswh8wb9IfUkCArgiUps-q_Iw8sQ49sss9YrmxHAe4Xix8SNXsujG-ycTLffhXRidc-YOHXS9wCDXLJMy32H76i0aYWMRpG0Z3tLacBLcKeXf7FQ_iU-UqN9i-wKVxyjPzgJtC4DsdItF2WOXwrNOvGUwng19D9DpfyaHZJh_7t7gGsUrC/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8512.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPBfR9oDbzHoUR-fIOClUO5Q63Izvu1wPA47p0awAhlMg8gc_sPqUVFwY_1QFcfMAuhQCG4CyzgW4Of7Gv1vhfODvNdg9TpIEKl5j22uXEG7GGRHpUgCB4eSar4dcRd0F_mWSAJKbNwe-tMLO-BQPnOZf-mQHi2F8E8exaGPFlk4q4YfYghDeKBIS9/s5472/Edits-IMG_8511.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPBfR9oDbzHoUR-fIOClUO5Q63Izvu1wPA47p0awAhlMg8gc_sPqUVFwY_1QFcfMAuhQCG4CyzgW4Of7Gv1vhfODvNdg9TpIEKl5j22uXEG7GGRHpUgCB4eSar4dcRd0F_mWSAJKbNwe-tMLO-BQPnOZf-mQHi2F8E8exaGPFlk4q4YfYghDeKBIS9/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8511.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I parked Jane beneath a towering cottonwood and took a
moment to enjoy its cool shade and the melodic rattling of its leaves, so
similar to the sound of the aspens of Colorado. Then, I marched right past the
Daniels Ranch – an adobe structure like the rest of the adobe structures I’ve
seen around here, just bigger – and up to the base of a steep hill that was the
trailhead. Why do all of the trails in this park start with a steep hill??<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I slogged my way up, already feeling the midday heat
approaching and considering feeling sorry for myself. Fortunately, I am easily
distracted from feelings of self-inflicted pity, especially when there’s cool
rocks to be seen! And the rocks around here are rocks that I know very well:
clearly Cretaceous in age, full of shallow-water fossils that are as familiar
to me as the stones beneath my feet at work (incidentally, this is because they
are the exact same).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-rgzSnzs9CQGTDCXRBkynKdjoB4wJkZXbzq85k9REzIiVIuJJWkNUzT-5amqa-HsOIldlR0TTEyQr7YTnTr7ovjc-tfBsJZ92t-JV5LpymuiUZf82fLBYxZGeLWPjugpCR6J_02iGvE5_7kV-O3VTl8blntbhRhz6x4b96vs0fRsmcd-Qu3rOOkMo/s5472/Edits-IMG_8275.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-rgzSnzs9CQGTDCXRBkynKdjoB4wJkZXbzq85k9REzIiVIuJJWkNUzT-5amqa-HsOIldlR0TTEyQr7YTnTr7ovjc-tfBsJZ92t-JV5LpymuiUZf82fLBYxZGeLWPjugpCR6J_02iGvE5_7kV-O3VTl8blntbhRhz6x4b96vs0fRsmcd-Qu3rOOkMo/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8275.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Radiolitid rudists! A type of mollusk specific to the Cretaceous period.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I soon reached the first overlook of the trail, which showed me sprawling plains, soaring vistas, and glimpses of the Rio Grande, served up on a
platter of prickly pears and Texas sage.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> <br /></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIIIE2OoqJDs5TMnlByTQMUE8OU83QkComrkurSlPg9A1L6BGjz66vONn0nb6IQedS-oxmBvmOjjDbgUm16XmtLInrDfkBVyKKrg0YqGQdfCtfTuirWj7w5FqC2n8uu0SWoA_qNBbvce4adPX-g47Jeua3KPp45AK_4WtG7NYXjKP_bGEHCpAe8Yor/s5431/Edits-IMG_8287.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3621" data-original-width="5431" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIIIE2OoqJDs5TMnlByTQMUE8OU83QkComrkurSlPg9A1L6BGjz66vONn0nb6IQedS-oxmBvmOjjDbgUm16XmtLInrDfkBVyKKrg0YqGQdfCtfTuirWj7w5FqC2n8uu0SWoA_qNBbvce4adPX-g47Jeua3KPp45AK_4WtG7NYXjKP_bGEHCpAe8Yor/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8287.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYB6gZZmjrcKRi_J04QLb-PgkNeVJSrp4daY-MKbUHWz2GaCp1ZV55-8AeoVpgibM_fQ4pVc5ExkZQsqcZE2vd5Tz85f_OUxMf-6PhAReEgnXQPU20M1ML2Nvtw-sPLZvhTf-1ANreSL6E1mkdXHGyvKs3_frCZIGj8bZFHwF1Na2HskAdDJJWvR25/s5472/Edits-IMG_8281.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYB6gZZmjrcKRi_J04QLb-PgkNeVJSrp4daY-MKbUHWz2GaCp1ZV55-8AeoVpgibM_fQ4pVc5ExkZQsqcZE2vd5Tz85f_OUxMf-6PhAReEgnXQPU20M1ML2Nvtw-sPLZvhTf-1ANreSL6E1mkdXHGyvKs3_frCZIGj8bZFHwF1Na2HskAdDJJWvR25/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8281.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjPwyMvr_4nDxpf8l-6dw4qtljOXKI1bo0BpmyirLF23i1LOCZKPkE_4Q612DoLhZkICdYo-anTm3r_0k4hluEoecDwG6SoP-rMLOa9CYM_dNfb0UWyppjRV4dZ9zHEBaJBzgaDR7ovBPQVOBS7Fr2k0clQyCr447sl5MDwusiXXTl2uHDnOk-wOj2/s5472/Edits-IMG_8297.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjPwyMvr_4nDxpf8l-6dw4qtljOXKI1bo0BpmyirLF23i1LOCZKPkE_4Q612DoLhZkICdYo-anTm3r_0k4hluEoecDwG6SoP-rMLOa9CYM_dNfb0UWyppjRV4dZ9zHEBaJBzgaDR7ovBPQVOBS7Fr2k0clQyCr447sl5MDwusiXXTl2uHDnOk-wOj2/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8297.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br />It seemed that this trail was going to run along the tops of
the hills adjoining the Rio Grande for quite some ways before dipping down at
the very end to hit the hot springs – perfect, because that ensures that I get spectacular
views for most of the way! I can imagine, too, that staying down in the gorge
by the river, although having the benefit of giving you a bit of shade, would be
extremely hot in for eight or nine months of the year. I’ll take the shadeless
hills with a nice breeze, thank you very much.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The trail was a real treat, alternating between incredible
wide-open views of the desert of the Big Bend area – the Chisos Mountains far
in the background – and equally incredible views of the folded hills,
mountains, and cliffs of Mexico and the border. And all along the pathway I found
fossils galore, rudists and oysters and ammonites, all wonderfully preserved.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg41xcJg9H8lA0CKUcA0MYTe0giYctcuxKpuqA4r6oa6EBJKKe4XJK-crODKRgLqTb9h1T2lgTZq_nBgiBeqtVClKqywrIpp8tgCWOEJGd3eBrwfR3dNSTLJM4_6dukSmbiSHXwlUNciiYf65HxG16sx0NVPJ6Yl-MySSiYDDAgwNgiyM5qLdynK909/s5472/Edits-IMG_8479.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg41xcJg9H8lA0CKUcA0MYTe0giYctcuxKpuqA4r6oa6EBJKKe4XJK-crODKRgLqTb9h1T2lgTZq_nBgiBeqtVClKqywrIpp8tgCWOEJGd3eBrwfR3dNSTLJM4_6dukSmbiSHXwlUNciiYf65HxG16sx0NVPJ6Yl-MySSiYDDAgwNgiyM5qLdynK909/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8479.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP5CLbOvnWunmtlDcNUhqFuvaQ1EE5cGALFqu1RUagIvwLLrUaEPffm53FCrsD2LcqCWxSn4u7KDfEphL_7LRUVdmJbgmNUwGUQcyxToKX7tNoJYgDXSmCK436xRjzjdvQVcO-q3lwrODJibYVWzGDeYhMvS1jUdBN9sWXTJXq4vEilwX1Q9lMtYtH/s5472/Edits-IMG_8467.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5472" data-original-width="3648" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP5CLbOvnWunmtlDcNUhqFuvaQ1EE5cGALFqu1RUagIvwLLrUaEPffm53FCrsD2LcqCWxSn4u7KDfEphL_7LRUVdmJbgmNUwGUQcyxToKX7tNoJYgDXSmCK436xRjzjdvQVcO-q3lwrODJibYVWzGDeYhMvS1jUdBN9sWXTJXq4vEilwX1Q9lMtYtH/w426-h640/Edits-IMG_8467.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqTptg9aTya22KzLirIMU7kZo3TrJBP4ewBBtlrINY0Z_Abt5d71KS56HWCBPjI-6VgVQqWA96oJn_gcBVlFZXMnMZe3xB0of_lh53n5XGlL8eGxcQJTkEDkiZFoGIt-IoMZUQlkalzFlPVBy29E-8GeTCfq-cmyRkneP66G_2eER9GNLX16aXs7hD/s5472/Edits-IMG_8415.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqTptg9aTya22KzLirIMU7kZo3TrJBP4ewBBtlrINY0Z_Abt5d71KS56HWCBPjI-6VgVQqWA96oJn_gcBVlFZXMnMZe3xB0of_lh53n5XGlL8eGxcQJTkEDkiZFoGIt-IoMZUQlkalzFlPVBy29E-8GeTCfq-cmyRkneP66G_2eER9GNLX16aXs7hD/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8415.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlmQkVkkeh06-lfg3WpMrlnpwwzYdH_FbhOn3vs-zA9q9KJnbsSeLWHFcEJlNxgzS7y_UV5BBJxhNrrinl27CR21cBQvlllgn7lRDiGkhpGmhMrhOaPtHO1bY-atH-KgWfKrFC6ciHxsGjFp3PM-FGYMKlAnhWdP6oABM-gObVyHuJun34B4W4vfBh/s5472/Edits-IMG_8414.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlmQkVkkeh06-lfg3WpMrlnpwwzYdH_FbhOn3vs-zA9q9KJnbsSeLWHFcEJlNxgzS7y_UV5BBJxhNrrinl27CR21cBQvlllgn7lRDiGkhpGmhMrhOaPtHO1bY-atH-KgWfKrFC6ciHxsGjFp3PM-FGYMKlAnhWdP6oABM-gObVyHuJun34B4W4vfBh/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8414.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9KpLnOnsM4BcXVfkYruStYmDsXJyRbQqVIHghGQnlMGzkhEjWJX9MH7HtKZ3LpwJHxvfUa1EEJcBWyyCZOFdkxKYAKj1fW_k7KiNZFXFuGLx5Vz3xI6JHFK-Hjm86faJzC7Yo1g_-ZfIugAaog8U4PKrtaUl0ZM2cAd3CFQdKsUZSYcQWMWCV1doW/s5472/Edits-IMG_8402.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9KpLnOnsM4BcXVfkYruStYmDsXJyRbQqVIHghGQnlMGzkhEjWJX9MH7HtKZ3LpwJHxvfUa1EEJcBWyyCZOFdkxKYAKj1fW_k7KiNZFXFuGLx5Vz3xI6JHFK-Hjm86faJzC7Yo1g_-ZfIugAaog8U4PKrtaUl0ZM2cAd3CFQdKsUZSYcQWMWCV1doW/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8402.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWccDAlZXu1LjsEFjFzJi-s4w-wwauZIs7fdbsEbkBZLuLJeH20QtpBhuyobannBbYVPmJP_e47hCdGjPrUPaQ4fdRN08BH31wgLRZkkY_WZiStNSu276f-8U8NX67egczr5xgvujTNFb-vMC74TY7gDMZ4dL9-GtqGBvatdWvy7VU7m-p5Xw-T-_H/s5356/Edits-IMG_8347.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3571" data-original-width="5356" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWccDAlZXu1LjsEFjFzJi-s4w-wwauZIs7fdbsEbkBZLuLJeH20QtpBhuyobannBbYVPmJP_e47hCdGjPrUPaQ4fdRN08BH31wgLRZkkY_WZiStNSu276f-8U8NX67egczr5xgvujTNFb-vMC74TY7gDMZ4dL9-GtqGBvatdWvy7VU7m-p5Xw-T-_H/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8347.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRnlPTSIPsUuFw7qr-Z5XBYhiJn24cg42hBHq6d2r5G3RRqrK68RerXoYGOHj9_CAbSSHraC76CbXyYQN2zfNfLj4sN6BJKTQtNhSqp66iN2qNA7d1NrLLGYqzTsbYsmI7efHpRXNAF0JaFIHcELuXIWgNHlqLge-5ofE3ATBYgtSadRqagcVtlgeJ/s5472/Edits-IMG_8341.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRnlPTSIPsUuFw7qr-Z5XBYhiJn24cg42hBHq6d2r5G3RRqrK68RerXoYGOHj9_CAbSSHraC76CbXyYQN2zfNfLj4sN6BJKTQtNhSqp66iN2qNA7d1NrLLGYqzTsbYsmI7efHpRXNAF0JaFIHcELuXIWgNHlqLge-5ofE3ATBYgtSadRqagcVtlgeJ/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8341.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHfDn8sRcJEw7VGZaIcemKEcmSbJKi5T0O3u5MQwSBz3zUYwOP-sacOFFMMH9xClDyYmlQmK0Ga7Z_WPVwoz6zYi66WCfJqoc24yhUCAeyCjIPeoFL94Cp6dn2GwYlrbvWD5XdeNrTDkbd1JSxHuXAkr4gK4LEiLIQY-qhJt_IVPpxp6qcBxdtSMHP/s5472/Edits-IMG_8326.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHfDn8sRcJEw7VGZaIcemKEcmSbJKi5T0O3u5MQwSBz3zUYwOP-sacOFFMMH9xClDyYmlQmK0Ga7Z_WPVwoz6zYi66WCfJqoc24yhUCAeyCjIPeoFL94Cp6dn2GwYlrbvWD5XdeNrTDkbd1JSxHuXAkr4gK4LEiLIQY-qhJt_IVPpxp6qcBxdtSMHP/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8326.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIFAjooE1Sgl33eVUL_zn-EkokMAZ-eb4-ecoSaDTAXlMaom-eWoR3zC5VgJuEQ-5IyB0syPj1sAmZ08I4_K1EPjQS-8eClbjfK3m3Ex509v1TEGE6AyufvKbBR5edh9tbIqBYPXKomBGfcthnpF1J8TQetkEmYXvggPqEGW_YWjrSuK0Hzmtxdigs/s5472/Edits-IMG_8316.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIFAjooE1Sgl33eVUL_zn-EkokMAZ-eb4-ecoSaDTAXlMaom-eWoR3zC5VgJuEQ-5IyB0syPj1sAmZ08I4_K1EPjQS-8eClbjfK3m3Ex509v1TEGE6AyufvKbBR5edh9tbIqBYPXKomBGfcthnpF1J8TQetkEmYXvggPqEGW_YWjrSuK0Hzmtxdigs/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8316.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFA3-MQhQnHhqE-HWSC8FZC28fPm318bx0tjA4MTsMD5ci3LsQMJdQcyHrn-o18h2VxuandhDwqAikpCuNc4bRPU8mtEtThLEkJDwMx3Cah0D9lkCfYybQi4tOc7k2-RfAoWJpDoP61HMgTuvsvmy5SYApFARdzSOKpLkiMkt2mrfpY8T6rOFHShA-/s5472/Edits-IMG_8308.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFA3-MQhQnHhqE-HWSC8FZC28fPm318bx0tjA4MTsMD5ci3LsQMJdQcyHrn-o18h2VxuandhDwqAikpCuNc4bRPU8mtEtThLEkJDwMx3Cah0D9lkCfYybQi4tOc7k2-RfAoWJpDoP61HMgTuvsvmy5SYApFARdzSOKpLkiMkt2mrfpY8T6rOFHShA-/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8308.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Eventually, it wound its way closer to the river, descending
down slowly towards a wide spot between the hills where the river slowed and
swelled, taking advantage of the extra room. The Rio Grande runs higher in the
month of November – not at its highest, but still significantly more than in
summer. And there’s plenty of evidence that it can run very high indeed,
sourced from a myriad of seasonal streams from here to the Rockies. One gorge I
crossed was heavily eroded, the basal rocks smoothed into channels by thousands
– or maybe millions – of years of rapid flooding and runoff. Thick deposits of
mud trapped in the flutes spoke to sediment-laden waters running through the
area at some point, although deep mud cracks indicated that it had been some time
since that had last happened.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNTTrTtYkBt_g9cbHQnDzkWnjMKKQArAMk7X97hI0l9GXzn932f4xHxrlq8_prL9LDSUqpOyH2m0JihSJtcCj4fYMISiAiFWxM6988ThfrcW3Scee0r-9aHyV0R9W6G8tREXRLDlv3el5wGp2D0qhX7Z1A9dVgfo4D_AtoU8TY4HqISvHrG1jBoLVw/s5391/Edits-IMG_8353.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3594" data-original-width="5391" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNTTrTtYkBt_g9cbHQnDzkWnjMKKQArAMk7X97hI0l9GXzn932f4xHxrlq8_prL9LDSUqpOyH2m0JihSJtcCj4fYMISiAiFWxM6988ThfrcW3Scee0r-9aHyV0R9W6G8tREXRLDlv3el5wGp2D0qhX7Z1A9dVgfo4D_AtoU8TY4HqISvHrG1jBoLVw/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8353.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0000ee;"><u><br /></u></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8UDgTkukHF0f0LdJx1lxSbE2JD31z7e-gu3EdU55Xhsa5WZhTTZqDNQUcMffUF4kfAKWeMFHLociJM1CbML27G1Kvx29uGd3lLwAG4tXOVy_iRkP3tYONqRBdXEeNYTVj0QIFXDBrm-WtZ6gBfhoJhXTzwTkITxmJxOpWiLQDaxp91TE2632mG4X1/s5472/Edits-IMG_8348.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8UDgTkukHF0f0LdJx1lxSbE2JD31z7e-gu3EdU55Xhsa5WZhTTZqDNQUcMffUF4kfAKWeMFHLociJM1CbML27G1Kvx29uGd3lLwAG4tXOVy_iRkP3tYONqRBdXEeNYTVj0QIFXDBrm-WtZ6gBfhoJhXTzwTkITxmJxOpWiLQDaxp91TE2632mG4X1/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8348.jpg" width="640" /></a></div></div><o:p> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDmn-tN73YjQoaCR0ohgsPvzBYeBYPmJ8rwfzYmR7Nqj9tiZkAAeLNTbmKS85joZhqPdR-zUJhHoZUSFJrltCqCr7Wjj5I8Q8GllR7iuq7rRVB-17kAld9bJtEwmn7Qiuk0w99ygo3q_jYnDXBxnIJpOw8FNXhw0j7nN6fLgoxJyCvI0mswP0OKL0L/s5472/Edits-IMG_8379.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDmn-tN73YjQoaCR0ohgsPvzBYeBYPmJ8rwfzYmR7Nqj9tiZkAAeLNTbmKS85joZhqPdR-zUJhHoZUSFJrltCqCr7Wjj5I8Q8GllR7iuq7rRVB-17kAld9bJtEwmn7Qiuk0w99ygo3q_jYnDXBxnIJpOw8FNXhw0j7nN6fLgoxJyCvI0mswP0OKL0L/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8379.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQY4pApYGMfG4o3bP3PpG2den4XjDay487jJZfjsFqWcQ61SzrBEpjom6tIUb_pt5eT4GGANgqxmXhybsgcaYfMhWZbZESMYeBpAsD3vXO8QXDYQMYk-0PSh5V3-E3-r1KFYDh33L9cWN3_E0ArzjITZphr43P5MyHG50QfkGTfu5n4GabiV54_Z9Z/s5472/Edits-IMG_8372.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQY4pApYGMfG4o3bP3PpG2den4XjDay487jJZfjsFqWcQ61SzrBEpjom6tIUb_pt5eT4GGANgqxmXhybsgcaYfMhWZbZESMYeBpAsD3vXO8QXDYQMYk-0PSh5V3-E3-r1KFYDh33L9cWN3_E0ArzjITZphr43P5MyHG50QfkGTfu5n4GabiV54_Z9Z/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8372.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTNGEP0tL5mg3DqdSF3cyR6GzF1nbOLRguULqfNSWEwgDjH2Utz3Ptb0YnHC6L39-FyhBnG-L8iwL5piyW1veoe_X66LyE7mE2XMfdrGoxsevX7UfrEhzGL4eA9thCfgpPgMAqqwrGywfC9C1FQgucgVUOzrBkX-NIRKEbLz-hxddRqu_20mNiXXAv/s5472/Edits-IMG_8373.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5472" data-original-width="3648" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTNGEP0tL5mg3DqdSF3cyR6GzF1nbOLRguULqfNSWEwgDjH2Utz3Ptb0YnHC6L39-FyhBnG-L8iwL5piyW1veoe_X66LyE7mE2XMfdrGoxsevX7UfrEhzGL4eA9thCfgpPgMAqqwrGywfC9C1FQgucgVUOzrBkX-NIRKEbLz-hxddRqu_20mNiXXAv/w426-h640/Edits-IMG_8373.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Butterflies were super into this mud</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br /></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I approached the Rio Grande and meandered along its banks,
the deep sand, lush grasses, and dense stands of cane a stark change from the
rocky path I had traversed just prior. Eventually I arrived at the trail’s “destination”
– the hot spring!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This hot spring, which pops out very conveniently right on
the banks of the Rio Grande, has been a destination for weary travelers – and now
tourists and hikers – for well over a hundred years. Long ago, an enterprising
local thought to wall it in and make a deep soaking pool. It didn’t take long
before the Rio Grande reclaimed it, sweeping the building away and leaving only
the foundation behind. That foundation still serves as the main border of the
soaking pool, a place to sit and dip your feet. However, depending on the time
of year, the foundation can become nearly (or totally) submerged, more or less
eliminating the “hot” part of the hot springs. Such was the case when I came to
visit.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr1qLZfvjGX5hQ9ekbEzXdupZcc020ePnOY2_OHAlv-PbTxH_dabaWN8txaFvPFJsp0UKljMKrPcJqsmidQECuACdZkLm5q6oFYZRd_ZBQc3CfmZjy989Lp3dRR7y26WAy3NQwrbiQQMgmnaJkAuhyvkG8H2dvID7mGNzxc3jcqnYUWjacTCo5472b/s5385/Edits-IMG_8436.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3590" data-original-width="5385" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr1qLZfvjGX5hQ9ekbEzXdupZcc020ePnOY2_OHAlv-PbTxH_dabaWN8txaFvPFJsp0UKljMKrPcJqsmidQECuACdZkLm5q6oFYZRd_ZBQc3CfmZjy989Lp3dRR7y26WAy3NQwrbiQQMgmnaJkAuhyvkG8H2dvID7mGNzxc3jcqnYUWjacTCo5472b/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8436.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But, that’s okay, because it was a solid 90*F and I had no
interest in hot anything at that point. Instead, I trekked a little ways down
to a nice ledge right at the edge of the river, and sat and dangled my feet in
the swirling waters while I had a sandwich. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvGqwcPhMyjV-cwfx-0fkPGBVxIiqJnS5WaYLg-FfGUHYfBokZaiFib7x2D9IssTa3_e6jQ4w1YF95DHWP_516cdkREItfsDGyTXGR-lkTwsFebqvfz8FwSr2uPVsx3i1qB8PiefF76G4Qv_zaltZ7KGohbzJGC8OX-bIDKp0gsEf30Wo3XXPyLmue/s4032/Edits-JPEG%20image%2094.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvGqwcPhMyjV-cwfx-0fkPGBVxIiqJnS5WaYLg-FfGUHYfBokZaiFib7x2D9IssTa3_e6jQ4w1YF95DHWP_516cdkREItfsDGyTXGR-lkTwsFebqvfz8FwSr2uPVsx3i1qB8PiefF76G4Qv_zaltZ7KGohbzJGC8OX-bIDKp0gsEf30Wo3XXPyLmue/w640-h480/Edits-JPEG%20image%2094.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfhzwPGCjxH_mWJhdxDPMIFo3JQa83oQSzxiB4-X9kJfk_QLHWhPe4DW0h3VQExka3dC3v7x4OYzexCXToEglJaD4l4jBnIlL1FjuMxMwBDl6r3n7HA0JzyMi7PoZxTn_-r59dlezAlk26A3BnXP1ww7Cipo2Sac3kIks0ZItUOU5XOgSmzUTSXEoa/s4032/Edits-JPEG%20image%2093.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfhzwPGCjxH_mWJhdxDPMIFo3JQa83oQSzxiB4-X9kJfk_QLHWhPe4DW0h3VQExka3dC3v7x4OYzexCXToEglJaD4l4jBnIlL1FjuMxMwBDl6r3n7HA0JzyMi7PoZxTn_-r59dlezAlk26A3BnXP1ww7Cipo2Sac3kIks0ZItUOU5XOgSmzUTSXEoa/w640-h480/Edits-JPEG%20image%2093.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfLCwtrehVt7Jkqh-X5Ibo2w-7FWsFAzeu-ISLMuZNtZLPSjl1i-hxJiIl4zpuYSXI-uRvsaQ1r3YcrBhwtXETWOAEgBXQx3iI3f5LL9EFyhGTRp7GtQz-7VV4lZT1IQMxWiqGL27r1jGEHSO1UMGDLJvzzxGN_MPBfV4GaS0z6t8w-aa-anI64tKU/s5396/Edits-IMG_8428.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3597" data-original-width="5396" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfLCwtrehVt7Jkqh-X5Ibo2w-7FWsFAzeu-ISLMuZNtZLPSjl1i-hxJiIl4zpuYSXI-uRvsaQ1r3YcrBhwtXETWOAEgBXQx3iI3f5LL9EFyhGTRp7GtQz-7VV4lZT1IQMxWiqGL27r1jGEHSO1UMGDLJvzzxGN_MPBfV4GaS0z6t8w-aa-anI64tKU/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8428.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLhprFXL-ETZ7hnTUry9aYlarQKxFab1JMZNQ2Idr-wTEtVP_-GkZjlsFN9iFvVELcaVY6nqgE6hgQo6jX28QgM6y7t9AIM5q9xs4-Udpd9ABmf0C-5Q-7Ec-VumQn6G6FKTalPgqvA0KJmSZnjeKUpnUUEm7SX3jd1kY48dbIJcibO3xKEEyOj4EJ/s4887/Edits-IMG_8433.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3258" data-original-width="4887" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLhprFXL-ETZ7hnTUry9aYlarQKxFab1JMZNQ2Idr-wTEtVP_-GkZjlsFN9iFvVELcaVY6nqgE6hgQo6jX28QgM6y7t9AIM5q9xs4-Udpd9ABmf0C-5Q-7Ec-VumQn6G6FKTalPgqvA0KJmSZnjeKUpnUUEm7SX3jd1kY48dbIJcibO3xKEEyOj4EJ/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8433.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A very oddly placed stand of palm trees in the distance... unfortunately on the wrong side!</td></tr></tbody></table></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2HzzdFvecHJPoR5EsOHHvm_jZ5wuSwPATIoKQCAv0cdMF05DWM2DYQ8KkZgk05mz5ydKf5relKr76YslW12SJj_9YKtP9941nj_rv-K0F1BJmJXlOykkusnNL8ATKzLPnSfsX1uG27qxoSGtn4dH4dOD-s-x1CtznmXt2ibzy_tPmWlwE7Na3yPf1/s5334/Edits-IMG_8427.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5334" data-original-width="3556" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2HzzdFvecHJPoR5EsOHHvm_jZ5wuSwPATIoKQCAv0cdMF05DWM2DYQ8KkZgk05mz5ydKf5relKr76YslW12SJj_9YKtP9941nj_rv-K0F1BJmJXlOykkusnNL8ATKzLPnSfsX1uG27qxoSGtn4dH4dOD-s-x1CtznmXt2ibzy_tPmWlwE7Na3yPf1/w426-h640/Edits-IMG_8427.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A cool look at the flaggy, booklike exposure of the Boquillas Fm!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">My lunch completed and a sufficient amount of relaxing done,
I stuffed my cooled feet back into my hot boots and headed back up the trail,
seeing all of the cool rocks and scenic vistas in reverse. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcVKdf3Omfozfx5MT5wqmHeQyUAFnq_XJdK3SMAxNTOwU8cJXRLlhLSgMTu16mWmcqVTXxazAqeyR2v4R15QVa-KZ4HloE52sYdTHklDhY0wKsmqejGIbBlSmmlf1p6qhozRLXH85SGXqtu1GcMXbcQpE4WXLsVri_-Q4xVrNq7GOQR2gbOJAALzXd/s5472/Edits-IMG_8393.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcVKdf3Omfozfx5MT5wqmHeQyUAFnq_XJdK3SMAxNTOwU8cJXRLlhLSgMTu16mWmcqVTXxazAqeyR2v4R15QVa-KZ4HloE52sYdTHklDhY0wKsmqejGIbBlSmmlf1p6qhozRLXH85SGXqtu1GcMXbcQpE4WXLsVri_-Q4xVrNq7GOQR2gbOJAALzXd/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8393.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXxRL0sWuMfiOw2gXJHsZadK2lQuajLnfgkGg2Yui94z3XFriLphoUvaZzztDikwktIKts0rgflkk-gbsUKOssS42L-WMdNMmXHzHM8EBZ2I1PbNf9jKMkTf2_I7LYKorwlBgdlFRuz6w3rMOer_w-1-dReK00mIUFodIJQTxWda62KzAXLotEjK_l/s5472/Edits-IMG_8399.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="427" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXxRL0sWuMfiOw2gXJHsZadK2lQuajLnfgkGg2Yui94z3XFriLphoUvaZzztDikwktIKts0rgflkk-gbsUKOssS42L-WMdNMmXHzHM8EBZ2I1PbNf9jKMkTf2_I7LYKorwlBgdlFRuz6w3rMOer_w-1-dReK00mIUFodIJQTxWda62KzAXLotEjK_l/w640-h427/Edits-IMG_8399.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinb7W1qlhp-9A4jHoNbSmtRvO9pEKoTRVtetWlAsf3yhqd-mNEo2vY5FgFhxf5Xz6awzqv5kn3VgYnilepK2saNQMCQnclUz6VqMKdsn319PV63BUfSLSjiB3bwyumD0o-MI6Duib6aNtVxRNvJCN3CjLrjYCAIKDGDO4U6svhLrgNi1k0e-XxZJ1p/s5472/Edits-IMG_8471.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinb7W1qlhp-9A4jHoNbSmtRvO9pEKoTRVtetWlAsf3yhqd-mNEo2vY5FgFhxf5Xz6awzqv5kn3VgYnilepK2saNQMCQnclUz6VqMKdsn319PV63BUfSLSjiB3bwyumD0o-MI6Duib6aNtVxRNvJCN3CjLrjYCAIKDGDO4U6svhLrgNi1k0e-XxZJ1p/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8471.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBFylSbiTNhYAyfEp4l4M7g5hba5SZBMbHh7Kr1-51ytpkzemmXP7Af1rq0Q9KeVL5YmU5SFgZNCws_DtQJVueJa2OldDkhZeecpDZfRisuJeQbpEve8FLQQvTfZV3nCgTSgFoRAbZWa1yLhNzr8mr9zUisuP-_H0Jcel6AeEy80fx8_bc2anuReo8/s5472/Edits-IMG_8486.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBFylSbiTNhYAyfEp4l4M7g5hba5SZBMbHh7Kr1-51ytpkzemmXP7Af1rq0Q9KeVL5YmU5SFgZNCws_DtQJVueJa2OldDkhZeecpDZfRisuJeQbpEve8FLQQvTfZV3nCgTSgFoRAbZWa1yLhNzr8mr9zUisuP-_H0Jcel6AeEy80fx8_bc2anuReo8/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8486.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-1iTLa95rCNgCuxdOI24OCdFnXm67mkbr4a3hEOq7fTbaBuBI8XSmgVxzgZW2W8knuJmqMmFpnTt0JL3JZo2MXXQ3eB7xp-DONNJ6Lhli8WWp0V4K3ZVsQkNapHMXGImKF-vXhg_sC9JwTP4TPJREG3Htxzq_tc_WPpurSKGdLjVyTUf2Ugd6vZLu/s5472/Edits-IMG_8488.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-1iTLa95rCNgCuxdOI24OCdFnXm67mkbr4a3hEOq7fTbaBuBI8XSmgVxzgZW2W8knuJmqMmFpnTt0JL3JZo2MXXQ3eB7xp-DONNJ6Lhli8WWp0V4K3ZVsQkNapHMXGImKF-vXhg_sC9JwTP4TPJREG3Htxzq_tc_WPpurSKGdLjVyTUf2Ugd6vZLu/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8488.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal">I arrived back at
the trailhead midafternoon, and decided that I had time for one last stop.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Jane and I got back on the road and followed it further
towards it end, tackling its swooping curves, abrupt drops, and surging ascents
with delight. My original intent was to head to Boquillas Canyon for a short
walk – but a wrong turn took me off to a spectacular overlook instead. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG-_SiS5NgMmZWLku7Yj5hpYSjW2unoNbixvZCLu6vFYJdBR-0Y9HOr-mXZvjb5hWUq9mgno1lLJGc-b7iOuVqf28N2jstiGq2z6kpBoYupZMJfj9efxGhTuVRilyPpVqfEBhPQVabttWyHYElksU3ik4w_ne2OXGMS1lbyvzWliVYzEHayRNTpwI3/s5472/Edits-IMG_8514.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG-_SiS5NgMmZWLku7Yj5hpYSjW2unoNbixvZCLu6vFYJdBR-0Y9HOr-mXZvjb5hWUq9mgno1lLJGc-b7iOuVqf28N2jstiGq2z6kpBoYupZMJfj9efxGhTuVRilyPpVqfEBhPQVabttWyHYElksU3ik4w_ne2OXGMS1lbyvzWliVYzEHayRNTpwI3/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8514.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><o:p> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvyb4UDvj-pPmuCymL1xI2d6tqaGOXvyaTrKp1YX9lJNi0RoxH9ohEzotHnG_d3SPd3ZCFAVeJNwzKHuRykLcinCu83VGi9XSmk0kvtKYxpv6Y3yAA4MEELbBPK0rEp08a2wjqyzcPS73c6DZbNEfJCcgnqgKQ3Q45Wde_wVSAwHkkp-zwSInRfiyN/s5472/Edits-IMG_8518.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvyb4UDvj-pPmuCymL1xI2d6tqaGOXvyaTrKp1YX9lJNi0RoxH9ohEzotHnG_d3SPd3ZCFAVeJNwzKHuRykLcinCu83VGi9XSmk0kvtKYxpv6Y3yAA4MEELbBPK0rEp08a2wjqyzcPS73c6DZbNEfJCcgnqgKQ3Q45Wde_wVSAwHkkp-zwSInRfiyN/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8518.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSsAJ6Jlw-E2Sba8Jmgmwh65PseE0xaBJgOpK0Sh1VY_os4xKR1WO7d2_wJTh5gFCBtNf9xpi6j6AAVbKLRhJcK0K7_aLYbD_DECLrq3v8FpNbfoj0BLl4I9D3y4Z6Vob-HNL4HvPIu-Vode_duyKUQ1XbvPzQ4Nn2cW9Wx4336_wgHzH0FAgMp3gh/s5472/Edits-IMG_8517.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSsAJ6Jlw-E2Sba8Jmgmwh65PseE0xaBJgOpK0Sh1VY_os4xKR1WO7d2_wJTh5gFCBtNf9xpi6j6AAVbKLRhJcK0K7_aLYbD_DECLrq3v8FpNbfoj0BLl4I9D3y4Z6Vob-HNL4HvPIu-Vode_duyKUQ1XbvPzQ4Nn2cW9Wx4336_wgHzH0FAgMp3gh/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8517.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There at the edge of the parking lot, overlooking the river
into Mexico, I found a large collection of pottery, embroidery, artwork, and knick-knacks.
A bucket in the middle of the assemblage featured a sign that said, “HONOR
SYSTEM - PLEASE PUT MONEY HERE”. A peculiar thing to find deep in the depths of
a National Park!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFlWWRpxNXJcBVNWVchQs41AwagrLrDYnKZVVR63_-CI2SR9RKwPnR-bS6jTHZ_f7otjdr6H_iVzzmBem3b3Fvv4FHsU505nTZD2O7mi_nF7RC_uABXp6TlAhiQVV53yHPEb9sUMko-QdUCDXYUTgCyU6jpyOCfrdZ0vF84RIV4toLREK2k7yZwJvy/s5472/Edits-IMG_8519.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFlWWRpxNXJcBVNWVchQs41AwagrLrDYnKZVVR63_-CI2SR9RKwPnR-bS6jTHZ_f7otjdr6H_iVzzmBem3b3Fvv4FHsU505nTZD2O7mi_nF7RC_uABXp6TlAhiQVV53yHPEb9sUMko-QdUCDXYUTgCyU6jpyOCfrdZ0vF84RIV4toLREK2k7yZwJvy/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8519.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I looked across the river, and found answers in a trio of
canoes pulled up on the other bank. On the Mexican side, only a mile or so
away, there is a tiny artisan town called Boquillas. Otherwise isolated from
the world, it is reliant on Big Bend visitors – arriving via the Boquillas Port
of Entry – for income. Apparently, some enterprising artists from Boquillas had
figured that some tourists didn’t have the time, energy, or passports to cross
the border to get to town, and thus instead elected to bring their art to us! A
creative, and effective, solution, considering that I witnessed a bunch of
tourists paying for items while I was there. As for myself, I bought two
handcrafted mugs – ten dollars, a steal!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">By then, it was late afternoon, so I elected to head back to
Terlingua instead of trying to shoehorn in a quick hike of Boquillas Canyon. I
know that I’ll be coming back to Big Bend sometime, so I don’t mind leaving just
one stone left unturned. And I really wanted to get back to town in time to do
some shopping for some new cool art, and of course to put my name in for a seat
at the Starlight Theater.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We started back north, Jane’s solid rumble echoing off of
the hills and mountains of Big Bend one last time as we headed back to
civilization. It’s been an incredible week – one of true rest and relaxation,
despite the occasional wind-related setback or extra-strenuous hiking day. It’s
certainly been a nice departure from what my trips have become in recent years.
Since moving to Texas and acquiring a “real” job, my road trips have covered
the same distances but in less time, meaning that I’ve been essentially running
through parks and experiences, trying to see as much as possible in the short
time I have allotted. There’s only so much you can do when you have to drive a
couple thousand miles to your destination and be back home in a few weeks! But I’ve
really enjoyed reverting to a more leisurely, thorough exploration of an area.
I think I’ll do it this way more often in the future.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We arrived in Terlingua just before dusk, with just enough
time to stop in at the local art gallery to buy a few items of interest. While
there, the extra-friendly attendant encouraged me to stop by Terlingua’s cemetery,
supposedly one of the most-photographed spots in Texas. She was not the first
one to tell me to visit the cemetery this trip – not even the third – so I
figured maybe I should give it a go. So off Jane and I went, to visit…. graves.
Weird.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj919Jo3Fi2eI_iSZo0zSdBG6TOwjiduhuBfYg80IKrJJfnCkaoeumoRvE4eXwj96-ODbFPQs6qb1nauzry7vuMaLZJp5Gug8v-JDdyPxWHgKNKVpmgf1a5Bh4_naR1sVJDyKchZhiV5ujlzwStrB88fzkapgSo0Xcyrb8VrFmEo9RRGGz8p6J7Mnte/s5472/Edits-IMG_8555.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5472" data-original-width="3648" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj919Jo3Fi2eI_iSZo0zSdBG6TOwjiduhuBfYg80IKrJJfnCkaoeumoRvE4eXwj96-ODbFPQs6qb1nauzry7vuMaLZJp5Gug8v-JDdyPxWHgKNKVpmgf1a5Bh4_naR1sVJDyKchZhiV5ujlzwStrB88fzkapgSo0Xcyrb8VrFmEo9RRGGz8p6J7Mnte/w426-h640/Edits-IMG_8555.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisAE-Rfuviez91NuOJQ-mEVoyWhpz7-iNQEkQLwcwU3bs0pjwszqHaHHa1PMz5y7btdISDWPYLrh-LIzFIeQczf1h9Q_m7eJWgQB-qyWknxpDZEtCmv-Fk4X5p96makar321CPvWioW5LsKJ5YfRvqRzTyz6HJygTgln1K3vu55adVBTYTrQW5OA3o/s5472/Edits-IMG_8539.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisAE-Rfuviez91NuOJQ-mEVoyWhpz7-iNQEkQLwcwU3bs0pjwszqHaHHa1PMz5y7btdISDWPYLrh-LIzFIeQczf1h9Q_m7eJWgQB-qyWknxpDZEtCmv-Fk4X5p96makar321CPvWioW5LsKJ5YfRvqRzTyz6HJygTgln1K3vu55adVBTYTrQW5OA3o/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8539.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I can’t say that I got more comfortable with the idea once I
got there. It seems disrespectful, somehow, to go around taking pictures of
peoples’ graves, especially the graves of people that I don’t know. But in
Terlingua, they celebrate their dead – not for being dead, of course, but in continued
remembrance of the lives they lived, the people they loved. Instead of
manicured lawns and straight rows of marble headstones, Terlingua’s graveyard reflects
the nature of the town: chaotic, resourceful, simultaneously unapologetically slapdash
and reverential. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Although some of the deceased found their way all the way
underground, more commonly it seems they remained above ground, with piles of rocks
or concrete encasing their coffins. Considering the rocky terrain, I can see
why burying someone six feet deep would seem an unattractive – and very
difficult – proposal. Graves are scattered about at random, thin twisting treks
ducking between them and the creosote bushes. Most are adorned by crosses,
ranging from ornate painted iron affairs to simple crossbars nailed together
and weathered into the landscape. And there’s a distinctly Mexican flair to the
whole thing, with many graves bearing prayer candles, marigolds, and Dia de los
Muertos offerings.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl6LIwPvhPbkpjQz1XVHWTpWU3JPAmTBI1VBisVjlE5VM_625ezBYjZ7sZrzb2Aal0iYTCwy3E6SrAWJP0b_D_ZeBPYYRniecNnZM_zd2hxwaSkJhdyJ1yCrVqcgxC4glbIYJTXEDs5D60iTaVS9Erz9F0QykZoXYyc6S4bUeTYLpAf66mawqNQ1Ok/s5472/Edits-IMG_8556.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl6LIwPvhPbkpjQz1XVHWTpWU3JPAmTBI1VBisVjlE5VM_625ezBYjZ7sZrzb2Aal0iYTCwy3E6SrAWJP0b_D_ZeBPYYRniecNnZM_zd2hxwaSkJhdyJ1yCrVqcgxC4glbIYJTXEDs5D60iTaVS9Erz9F0QykZoXYyc6S4bUeTYLpAf66mawqNQ1Ok/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8556.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHDqvHuxpsO6Q9nTfjKpr4tgchTWbbxm_YfxI-pOgX4TPj3OWd_s4ThtjMXJftaZNiurixERQx_VPSaJpz2H4excou_GI-tNyzC8q0VbEg6fC9tdgNmKT-WROhRqq1zQ40XpkQA7sK56wiGBw-QaHNTZTLBvJXtHVFzeLWk5LkSXPOQD2YOoWkP4x6/s5472/Edits-IMG_8547.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHDqvHuxpsO6Q9nTfjKpr4tgchTWbbxm_YfxI-pOgX4TPj3OWd_s4ThtjMXJftaZNiurixERQx_VPSaJpz2H4excou_GI-tNyzC8q0VbEg6fC9tdgNmKT-WROhRqq1zQ40XpkQA7sK56wiGBw-QaHNTZTLBvJXtHVFzeLWk5LkSXPOQD2YOoWkP4x6/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8547.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZJvoQRNrpaYARWLgqIOAfMtKNjXXz8N_NNbDiI2qoo0BI-MOVdM51WKnLXsOqKXn6yF6zgLJ-lpxPYVzUQOIPT19owOl8q3x_6YCVkNdYL2CfMa-x_Woxm8rv2L3EbxbHLBvp-iqPbJ70dMRwcEB_mpOK0pLqU1vhX4uXplSmyEmdktLjV6shgWIC/s5472/Edits-IMG_8545.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZJvoQRNrpaYARWLgqIOAfMtKNjXXz8N_NNbDiI2qoo0BI-MOVdM51WKnLXsOqKXn6yF6zgLJ-lpxPYVzUQOIPT19owOl8q3x_6YCVkNdYL2CfMa-x_Woxm8rv2L3EbxbHLBvp-iqPbJ70dMRwcEB_mpOK0pLqU1vhX4uXplSmyEmdktLjV6shgWIC/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8545.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But in addition to the necessity-based architecture, and the
Mexican styling cues, there’s a very unique feel to the graveyard that could
only be the imprint of Terlingua’s come-as-you-are culture. There is no “traditional"
grave type, no rhyme or reason or organization; but beyond that, many graves reflect
the people buried within. Many are stacked with trinkets that are clear
references to the person’s life: on one grave, a myriad of chicken statues; at
another, a number of flags and Buddha statues; at still another, a massive pile
of beer bottles (I’d like to think that that one is friends drinking to their
memory, not remembrance of a massive alcoholic). My own favorite – and it’s
weird to have a favorite grave, and I mulled over the implications of that
quite a bit already, trust me – was a Lord of the Rings-themed one, complete with
a Hobbit door and a headstone inscribed in an Elven font.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNCwomnUuu8k7QNtpTs5ED12GPNvCdgJH8SHoEgI-FFEwFZUKcGVHMG__Tjjor49mJXmEjUeo36wa83-I1qiIiHlEbhKSoQHU1TdDEJ-Flr7ieTcBIUIvJKT8ETOHFndzcmk3aTmjkeMHP80C_EpEngoyV3UZgny6kNbSJmQapfPQigq33pGyxR6WP/s5472/Edits-IMG_8553.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5472" data-original-width="3648" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNCwomnUuu8k7QNtpTs5ED12GPNvCdgJH8SHoEgI-FFEwFZUKcGVHMG__Tjjor49mJXmEjUeo36wa83-I1qiIiHlEbhKSoQHU1TdDEJ-Flr7ieTcBIUIvJKT8ETOHFndzcmk3aTmjkeMHP80C_EpEngoyV3UZgny6kNbSJmQapfPQigq33pGyxR6WP/w426-h640/Edits-IMG_8553.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtMbrKMAen6RwLTqTeY9TDy_4m1CJazyqH64SUZWLk9tSnQCojZoctfNk9ggp8Ld0slpOlA5ovGYDiBfQQM8JcisSGol3nLkFRQp2_In2nUmk9Fn8Bi5h7ifa6P8IDNefIzTnTi2H72kvrAEVZ4T24j9II5_JdSoKo-Z6-3yOjBYYXHG9MBnO0sxY1/s5472/Edits-IMG_8552.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5472" data-original-width="3648" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtMbrKMAen6RwLTqTeY9TDy_4m1CJazyqH64SUZWLk9tSnQCojZoctfNk9ggp8Ld0slpOlA5ovGYDiBfQQM8JcisSGol3nLkFRQp2_In2nUmk9Fn8Bi5h7ifa6P8IDNefIzTnTi2H72kvrAEVZ4T24j9II5_JdSoKo-Z6-3yOjBYYXHG9MBnO0sxY1/w426-h640/Edits-IMG_8552.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I have to say that this must be the best graveyard I’ve ever
visited (not that I’ve been to very many). I far prefer this style to the
sterile lawns and soulless marble markers of most modern graveyards – it seems
a better way to really remember and celebrate the fallen. And you can tell that
the residents of town are truly devoted to the memories of those who came
before them: not just by the myriad of Dia de los Muertos offerings, but by the
comfortable chairs placed by some graves, by the multitude of written messages,
by the little personal trinkets left behind. It’s a comfortable place, the kind of place to
retire to at the end of the day, a good spot to have a beer and a conversation with
a friend - alive or dead.</p><p class="MsoNormal">So, I guess it's been a pretty good last day in Big Bend. I started with tarantulas, and ended with a graveyard. Such is life sometimes, I suppose. You know, as much as there is a lot to learn from tarantulas, and the way they just keep on living without paying heed to that that they cannot control... there's also a lot to be said about people and the way they imbue everything with meaning and memory. Which, I guess, is why I had so many thoughts about tarantulas and their way of life to begin with. Hmm.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Tomorrow I’ll be leaving, but I know I’ll be back sometime.
Until then… well, a comfortable bed in a fancy tipi is calling my name.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4LXA1AfeQmm3SHqWDgla3hTcWTQuhRzYNB-CPZkKCsyTsBqO1WylTIMFqO56Tcm_38bP9V4nVaYVa8tialilE6B4my6yaanL-kYjdVUVijilGfgOxr_01Pj72DYhUL1N_qBwzgqLW4BpMLK1wBLv8pYP9o2X9AHlHkMvxJ0jNS5LKCPsOt0w5ra3-/s5472/Edits-IMG_8559.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5472" data-original-width="3648" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4LXA1AfeQmm3SHqWDgla3hTcWTQuhRzYNB-CPZkKCsyTsBqO1WylTIMFqO56Tcm_38bP9V4nVaYVa8tialilE6B4my6yaanL-kYjdVUVijilGfgOxr_01Pj72DYhUL1N_qBwzgqLW4BpMLK1wBLv8pYP9o2X9AHlHkMvxJ0jNS5LKCPsOt0w5ra3-/w426-h640/Edits-IMG_8559.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3lNmFhz8n5YXXVv9vJfRTO6my28puQUB3Pg7Sh48eIwpHVGky8iAtSnMx_-wDxzInNTKakc-yOy-RljviPVjZYbaoRdebr8_87KtGcm0JVnwpKWyyGNGgXYdLmfPrVf0rS3ALrnAd-gpy-4Fh4rT8Ui0G0A6a6lFRDaqAqTdo36xR9sM3-t9PLGmq/s5472/Edits-IMG_8565.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3lNmFhz8n5YXXVv9vJfRTO6my28puQUB3Pg7Sh48eIwpHVGky8iAtSnMx_-wDxzInNTKakc-yOy-RljviPVjZYbaoRdebr8_87KtGcm0JVnwpKWyyGNGgXYdLmfPrVf0rS3ALrnAd-gpy-4Fh4rT8Ui0G0A6a6lFRDaqAqTdo36xR9sM3-t9PLGmq/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8565.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One last look at the "ghost town"</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiglO01Ahsp0Rbb20SlpJX9FElwmB9lsxXF6PSZI_MA661VFY2eTp35ZTSx4os2mVbyWHsT8-CdRuGpmiZ7ybw2PSMKJcJNK8FZCgjwIymDG7WyF04B7g1DL80VffRPf9sk1Ff7Pu67c2DEPnp0wiJqYH3d2HCWAqrk3GovnIsaWOi4T2rXtnqphjjl/s5472/Edits-IMG_8562.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiglO01Ahsp0Rbb20SlpJX9FElwmB9lsxXF6PSZI_MA661VFY2eTp35ZTSx4os2mVbyWHsT8-CdRuGpmiZ7ybw2PSMKJcJNK8FZCgjwIymDG7WyF04B7g1DL80VffRPf9sk1Ff7Pu67c2DEPnp0wiJqYH3d2HCWAqrk3GovnIsaWOi4T2rXtnqphjjl/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8562.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal">Kelly signing out.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Kelly Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04271547498127096571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893125545466338016.post-36297850332843832612023-01-13T01:50:00.002-05:002023-01-13T01:50:33.479-05:00Set the World Aflame<p class="MsoNormal">11-10-2022<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">-------------</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">I packed up camp again in the morning – tonight I’ll be
moving to a campsite outside of the park! When I booked it, I kind of figured I
would want to do some more stuff on the western side of Big Bend and in the
Lajitas area. But now that I’m here… well, I’d like to finish out the Big Bend
trails. So it would appear that I’m moving camp for no reason at all – except
that the campgrounds outside of the park have one all-important amenity:
SHOWERS.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Don’t get me wrong, being dirty and gross kind of comes with
the territory when you do long camping trips, and when you’re a geologist. But
a shower every four days or so is pretty nice. So it’s worth leaving the park
boundaries to get one.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Anyways, I had a lot of fun things standing between me and
that shower, so I set to it. I decided that I would spend the day in the
Castolon area again, as there were a few trails down that way that had been
recommended to me by various parkies that I hadn’t gotten to yet.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Jane and I came out of the mountains and puttered down towards
the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive, dodging spindly slow-moving tarantulas the whole way. I’ve seen quite
a few tarantulas on the roads and trails over the past few days – maybe it’s a
migratory season for them. Or maybe they’re just walking around everywhere so
they are easy to find on pathways. I don’t know, I’m not a tarantula expert.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio3iYsCsZ61Gp44tuhBBzkfiHl71zgytafI6MNjvHpudLyNFHw5OEbCrEu5Ejtpl9rnU1c6idB92qrhZDD8mKPE7RBhfxFJqWGPiVMFeq-baUeFm6RL5Ge5buS_ubU6cgqA7ms38kwS5ML1eBPFjNmhWWl76s5q95zdLxUKzyua-kdwnUykcGYzJAc/s5274/Edits-IMG_7897.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3516" data-original-width="5274" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio3iYsCsZ61Gp44tuhBBzkfiHl71zgytafI6MNjvHpudLyNFHw5OEbCrEu5Ejtpl9rnU1c6idB92qrhZDD8mKPE7RBhfxFJqWGPiVMFeq-baUeFm6RL5Ge5buS_ubU6cgqA7ms38kwS5ML1eBPFjNmhWWl76s5q95zdLxUKzyua-kdwnUykcGYzJAc/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7897.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ1BsqsPJ17rNvj8qlUJQaZ9T35yVgKNz7HpabkhbhCtvuUn2jX-GviLThpWkEVVV53GpbfaPc_jLtXkCLn270Nz86JXjYTxJ87WGyjR6eUwwcB2vUe1QPIabZejnPhIaG_tKuxj5Bli7tV3GMQ-MR9r_IYKhJkL3BJgv-czfAEBcZDG3byuQ5s8OH/s5472/Edits-IMG_7896.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ1BsqsPJ17rNvj8qlUJQaZ9T35yVgKNz7HpabkhbhCtvuUn2jX-GviLThpWkEVVV53GpbfaPc_jLtXkCLn270Nz86JXjYTxJ87WGyjR6eUwwcB2vUe1QPIabZejnPhIaG_tKuxj5Bli7tV3GMQ-MR9r_IYKhJkL3BJgv-czfAEBcZDG3byuQ5s8OH/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7896.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">The temperatures warmed the whole way down – it was
promising to be a beautiful but hot day. Great planning on my part – hiking in
the hottest part of the park on the hottest day of my visit. Well, whatever,
I’ve hiked in much worse than mid-90’s temps for sure.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">I first pulled off at the Tuff Canyon trailhead just north
of the Castolon visitor center. Both parkies that I spoke to earlier this week
were adamant that Tuff Canyon was one of the best places to see geology “up
close and personal”. But they also said that the rocks exposed in this canyon
are all volcanic… arghhh! Well, volcanic rocks can be really cool too, I just
don’t know anything about them which is aggravating. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">It turns out that Tuff Canyon is a pretty small canyon, and
one that comes out of seemingly nowhere. It’s embedded in the valley floor,
completely invisible except when you come up on it. You can’t see it from the
road, or even from the parking lot at the trailhead – but step about 20 feet
down the trail, and it all unfolds in front of you. Kind of a neat secret
feature.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQK-nBC2NGJ2GjyGxJ_aiuw-ccUwlC1SsKFmnpWn4BqA0T-d3x7apsxHG_wq_V_7ZR3p-QF7ZWtwuAVQ-VkCZu1T7iP3URaIKnfpD4BZDb37YsDpSZi7W9c68ZuY3A3MGBHQf7BWDKHC-OvDKHF2DZ9kXmcNuyXj0EGldKGlpJalxfuGidKC0WR5Sn/s5472/Edits-IMG_7909.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5472" data-original-width="3648" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQK-nBC2NGJ2GjyGxJ_aiuw-ccUwlC1SsKFmnpWn4BqA0T-d3x7apsxHG_wq_V_7ZR3p-QF7ZWtwuAVQ-VkCZu1T7iP3URaIKnfpD4BZDb37YsDpSZi7W9c68ZuY3A3MGBHQf7BWDKHC-OvDKHF2DZ9kXmcNuyXj0EGldKGlpJalxfuGidKC0WR5Sn/w426-h640/Edits-IMG_7909.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlbSuYHZhVLxaKCfMXazpRGR3bte8Hcq38bJHYln2VR4geZJMSkUigsaENHnon8QO1PDL5ZkB2BQUYk_9DpDg3zEtfWtkeeuG08o1DNyk8kPUYI1ljEZsX3ZsqPzU4mYWX6dlHadM82Ikxx_l-4C6nb23JeOyuFDWWUymh-PiRauHWgDvtMgVUlo6A/s5472/Edits-IMG_7898.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlbSuYHZhVLxaKCfMXazpRGR3bte8Hcq38bJHYln2VR4geZJMSkUigsaENHnon8QO1PDL5ZkB2BQUYk_9DpDg3zEtfWtkeeuG08o1DNyk8kPUYI1ljEZsX3ZsqPzU4mYWX6dlHadM82Ikxx_l-4C6nb23JeOyuFDWWUymh-PiRauHWgDvtMgVUlo6A/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7898.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwk21-RAdxDvk709qcoRlmKvni1vgcBEXkcuKdKnSIxbKgdZr7kZ1DGS7ta4XLA0_Wb9xd0oPOjQ9iG8Yd-c6ZI2BVkuGoSEadyBe8qUOdeO5q7wcKuUk5VnNih0yqXKSAcp1V2xc1WfPa8lZz_bDXQjexSNIkJUHl6HUdCWqXzyZ-pObaGpQOv1W0/s5472/Edits-IMG_7914.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwk21-RAdxDvk709qcoRlmKvni1vgcBEXkcuKdKnSIxbKgdZr7kZ1DGS7ta4XLA0_Wb9xd0oPOjQ9iG8Yd-c6ZI2BVkuGoSEadyBe8qUOdeO5q7wcKuUk5VnNih0yqXKSAcp1V2xc1WfPa8lZz_bDXQjexSNIkJUHl6HUdCWqXzyZ-pObaGpQOv1W0/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7914.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">I wandered along the canyon rim a ways, checking out some
cool features from above. Then, I followed a dirt track down to the mouth of
the canyon, where I was greeted by a wide flat gravel wash that made for easy
walking. So up the canyon I went.</p><p class="MsoNormal">I have to say, even for someone who knows nearly nothing
about volcanic rocks, this place is COOL. Everywhere I looked I saw some
fascinating detail, some rock or volcanic flow or ash bed that spoke to a
turbulent, firey past. <o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEignB3u2zMS3OPDektAeo3rLqW4ZvzPKK0sZLK8HopsNWMRwGtP8wu3I5OyoHdh95YV4FY7_fGP-KJofEY6pxjNgE7AxMMhB-wsQhZyli5rTTzu9yKU4WP6qd4mQCZ1MM2XJpwayLlpK0idxtiN6d_ux6jyOElMThX50jOifxNI16FU-LOd_UYzDjMo/s5472/Edits-IMG_7946.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEignB3u2zMS3OPDektAeo3rLqW4ZvzPKK0sZLK8HopsNWMRwGtP8wu3I5OyoHdh95YV4FY7_fGP-KJofEY6pxjNgE7AxMMhB-wsQhZyli5rTTzu9yKU4WP6qd4mQCZ1MM2XJpwayLlpK0idxtiN6d_ux6jyOElMThX50jOifxNI16FU-LOd_UYzDjMo/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7946.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE9WuDhIq1LTBheIQUEvPdfr1SyQZpEaYcmdDL_AJBEiDsiUiE1mw6aewWqAvL4TXxJ7cGuI_bwbx_-9I69evoU2jXQyhBBkPPN090pwHN2K8n6tqZwioTIud-XFBKuTYs_vrJsPbSARz4YBzLrOvi7e7kQ6OLm2nBonMYZ1jog2DlEYyBnkxbr4Ib/s5472/Edits-IMG_7931.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE9WuDhIq1LTBheIQUEvPdfr1SyQZpEaYcmdDL_AJBEiDsiUiE1mw6aewWqAvL4TXxJ7cGuI_bwbx_-9I69evoU2jXQyhBBkPPN090pwHN2K8n6tqZwioTIud-XFBKuTYs_vrJsPbSARz4YBzLrOvi7e7kQ6OLm2nBonMYZ1jog2DlEYyBnkxbr4Ib/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7931.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDYRMB-U9Fi8lOXDPLts36-A49I040pweQGfettUNxB_CDbdpk2RofApnu7dXxHcnHmRua1wL81GIZUj8BnkSNjVGlwXRAVoYiQAwLHnNTNXTRDSuqpyWGyAKV5oArHHUu7klZ69mHjgCiT3HUeL3e3htKjCZ4eUr2xDYdWmIcFfCyI17rR0bjSNjB/s5472/Edits-IMG_7923.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDYRMB-U9Fi8lOXDPLts36-A49I040pweQGfettUNxB_CDbdpk2RofApnu7dXxHcnHmRua1wL81GIZUj8BnkSNjVGlwXRAVoYiQAwLHnNTNXTRDSuqpyWGyAKV5oArHHUu7klZ69mHjgCiT3HUeL3e3htKjCZ4eUr2xDYdWmIcFfCyI17rR0bjSNjB/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7923.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not so much lava bombs, as ejected blocks? But still - imagine several very large rocks, each over 2' in diameter, being chucked through the sky to land at your feet</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiazzQgYDO4xXQEhmZikjrN668vEBC1356lc4lAdYiNeGlh3LfwJEOa_st1GSTGWxNKwPg0lse2RJOUWaEAUPKITYo4xS1H60MTyQDG9DDyzX8MZvwapPnl4OMaxQu1IHjeFP0ol15nSLJaaDbXG7VjWD1Cv3lxAFncSbh7Iou051myvNiT2e_4w6Oj/s5472/Edits-IMG_7920.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5472" data-original-width="3648" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiazzQgYDO4xXQEhmZikjrN668vEBC1356lc4lAdYiNeGlh3LfwJEOa_st1GSTGWxNKwPg0lse2RJOUWaEAUPKITYo4xS1H60MTyQDG9DDyzX8MZvwapPnl4OMaxQu1IHjeFP0ol15nSLJaaDbXG7VjWD1Cv3lxAFncSbh7Iou051myvNiT2e_4w6Oj/w426-h640/Edits-IMG_7920.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lots and lots of layers of ash and other volcanic matter with bits and pieces of other rocks along for the ride</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_koAN1Ltt8-mActakiKVAXY18-dUdzLzipkzrPEmN1Fps93P-vkRiGwN2zFSA2QyRKZHxr00J4JE3nWdgFccJvFTCmcdYO0hDMMBHV7tggsq1JGw_IDhQHrZkzdWuFvylL64-nH8cYub4SdgmVKiAy-3SgXFG1ojfllQDm6YIj5aDgff5scumxInD/s5472/Edits-IMG_7919.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_koAN1Ltt8-mActakiKVAXY18-dUdzLzipkzrPEmN1Fps93P-vkRiGwN2zFSA2QyRKZHxr00J4JE3nWdgFccJvFTCmcdYO0hDMMBHV7tggsq1JGw_IDhQHrZkzdWuFvylL64-nH8cYub4SdgmVKiAy-3SgXFG1ojfllQDm6YIj5aDgff5scumxInD/s320/Edits-IMG_7919.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">I can only imagine what it was like to be here during the
time that all of these rocks were being deposited. A world of smoking, volatile
mountains, belching ash and smoke and fire into the air, hurling lava from
their depths out into the world to cascade down their flanks and smother the
surrounding lands. The layered volcanic flows and ash beds are evidence of a
series of catastrophes, one after another. I can imagine that – perhaps – some
life came forth here, scrapping together an ecosystem after every eruption, the
plants stretching their roots deep into the nutrient-rich soil for a short time
before being burned away again. But nothing of them is left behind now. Here,
the land remembers only the rage of the volcanoes.</p><p class="MsoNormal">As I marched up the canyon, it became evident that there
were two different volcano types here at some point. The canyon walls are made
mostly of tan ashy-feeling volcanics – rhyolitic tuffs – but there are a lot of
heavy, black basaltic boulders bound up within them. Two very different volcano
types, likely cropping up at two very different periods in time – and I’d guess
the basaltic volcanoes as being the older ones, considering pieces of them are
caught up in the tuffs.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju2H3lo586Z0btqGibv7kj7PoIMhjl4vmdpS1TISUsmIwHI9-UcJVssjLW6ZF84ArhfjmKk7YWo-yikO4tWF694I0vwjyj9za1t52f0v98XA2j1wZGfAqmrYBkLRLPvzdEkLtmGVJ-hR_sp2VBEVDa9lHt0AEHmAREQBYlT0iLEpQoNV9fC_FyrsC1/s5472/Edits-IMG_7929.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju2H3lo586Z0btqGibv7kj7PoIMhjl4vmdpS1TISUsmIwHI9-UcJVssjLW6ZF84ArhfjmKk7YWo-yikO4tWF694I0vwjyj9za1t52f0v98XA2j1wZGfAqmrYBkLRLPvzdEkLtmGVJ-hR_sp2VBEVDa9lHt0AEHmAREQBYlT0iLEpQoNV9fC_FyrsC1/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7929.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Interestingly, a lot of these weird yellow butterflies
clustered around certain layers of the rock walls. I assume that either water,
or some kind of mineral nutrient they crave, comes out of those specific
layers. Weird!<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKn6u8iGDFlmNIyazpyg16k-NlaMfk34oa4v-RRBD_ZhGuglSQrZOL8nibXmuhkh6rmV8ksbMVBHym0Ol_7HTz8rJ8LKlHFQ4omfIjJXopYHRjGP5c4skSeEycrPtADcHJmH0azMmeKHG8IxCDBrUWaL1-wNwWRc5OGRwSitx3FVXTJqgeLDZf5ce0/s5472/Edits-IMG_7938.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKn6u8iGDFlmNIyazpyg16k-NlaMfk34oa4v-RRBD_ZhGuglSQrZOL8nibXmuhkh6rmV8ksbMVBHym0Ol_7HTz8rJ8LKlHFQ4omfIjJXopYHRjGP5c4skSeEycrPtADcHJmH0azMmeKHG8IxCDBrUWaL1-wNwWRc5OGRwSitx3FVXTJqgeLDZf5ce0/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7938.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">At the furthest point of the canyon, more of the story was
laid bare. Here, those tan tuffs are shown to very clearly overlie rounded,
pillowy-looking basalt deposits. The basalts were likely deposited as
slow-moving lava flows, similar to those you would see on Hawaii today – hence
their kind of lumpy, pillowy look. In contrast, the overlying tuffs look like
quick-moving flows, likely blown out explosively to level the landscape in a
blast of incredible heat and wind. Mount St. Helens comes to mind. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmOOe5OGlyKJqCT3R-dMI2nX5VtNEOFHhRuZLm_oD8ZQSjjH0ryLSgJUer7EXCzUXfHV7p1UaTLX_pzB5pGZeov2bCGYsayJhQglk_B7fELomXJmejB4eLpZTogyYMA_eaUZn2BFUpWeBKWRS4feXddqxGQDg2Prv4UofP1j9wo2hUSWrHYmXthpNl/s5472/Edits-IMG_7947.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmOOe5OGlyKJqCT3R-dMI2nX5VtNEOFHhRuZLm_oD8ZQSjjH0ryLSgJUer7EXCzUXfHV7p1UaTLX_pzB5pGZeov2bCGYsayJhQglk_B7fELomXJmejB4eLpZTogyYMA_eaUZn2BFUpWeBKWRS4feXddqxGQDg2Prv4UofP1j9wo2hUSWrHYmXthpNl/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7947.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdl1IyEhb2SaNkGwTLo1fQidf8fbAq_n0GhXjkpWYroBV8bcz4yhAt1QsRR3FJGwfuU__HE7cailz1VAvpGyWHDIzAP3UXkariUa4an3cgIlHF6JfMy9CzwQ5MSKMGdhww3dr6HEeu6KenzvOfTcLMUV_zHfU5f_Oc8EEb0oamC-hr8OHcXOlwc-o-/s5472/Edits-IMG_7951.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdl1IyEhb2SaNkGwTLo1fQidf8fbAq_n0GhXjkpWYroBV8bcz4yhAt1QsRR3FJGwfuU__HE7cailz1VAvpGyWHDIzAP3UXkariUa4an3cgIlHF6JfMy9CzwQ5MSKMGdhww3dr6HEeu6KenzvOfTcLMUV_zHfU5f_Oc8EEb0oamC-hr8OHcXOlwc-o-/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7951.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cool evidence of flows cutting over one another</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWnczlPQ9AF7jHGDE3WxJyCYhvMMeyJDu5fNnrn3_2ndxeUny51IsIbl1ACOsmEbmdTMikvGSB-MfA7TMqfkQWJ2D4-A0MXJrV7VqKD9HWbv8_KJLPHIGlcb6Jjx9YPVGcu0LosiU3o70bXHWT_ovT13U8QFmdemg6-D9ChqsNQ5tVQKoNXDftRc6l/s5472/Edits-IMG_7956.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWnczlPQ9AF7jHGDE3WxJyCYhvMMeyJDu5fNnrn3_2ndxeUny51IsIbl1ACOsmEbmdTMikvGSB-MfA7TMqfkQWJ2D4-A0MXJrV7VqKD9HWbv8_KJLPHIGlcb6Jjx9YPVGcu0LosiU3o70bXHWT_ovT13U8QFmdemg6-D9ChqsNQ5tVQKoNXDftRc6l/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7956.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's a lotta rock</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">What a cool, cool place!</p><p class="MsoNormal">I soon found that I couldn’t go any further, so I turned
around to head back. Tuff Canyon proved to be worth the recommendations for sure!
Nice short flat easy hike, and lots of very cool rocks to look at.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihXmawicFmdsz38ChBFwVdPVL0vqQXSo1niReYyqnXoaYqcUHMRqnap4P5Y7GdeDKLAUJLxkc-eP54aBK21wQAUhF13s9XEL4OodUtfIvzkHCayZgpETBXnFZEUj9BLctj4vFH1ac70Ojd2nHwuG96qSwqwUtcXb-UKf-Ru6sqzj4NwiT_vHtI56fk/s5472/Edits-IMG_7979.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihXmawicFmdsz38ChBFwVdPVL0vqQXSo1niReYyqnXoaYqcUHMRqnap4P5Y7GdeDKLAUJLxkc-eP54aBK21wQAUhF13s9XEL4OodUtfIvzkHCayZgpETBXnFZEUj9BLctj4vFH1ac70Ojd2nHwuG96qSwqwUtcXb-UKf-Ru6sqzj4NwiT_vHtI56fk/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7979.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWnczlPQ9AF7jHGDE3WxJyCYhvMMeyJDu5fNnrn3_2ndxeUny51IsIbl1ACOsmEbmdTMikvGSB-MfA7TMqfkQWJ2D4-A0MXJrV7VqKD9HWbv8_KJLPHIGlcb6Jjx9YPVGcu0LosiU3o70bXHWT_ovT13U8QFmdemg6-D9ChqsNQ5tVQKoNXDftRc6l/s5472/Edits-IMG_7956.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWnczlPQ9AF7jHGDE3WxJyCYhvMMeyJDu5fNnrn3_2ndxeUny51IsIbl1ACOsmEbmdTMikvGSB-MfA7TMqfkQWJ2D4-A0MXJrV7VqKD9HWbv8_KJLPHIGlcb6Jjx9YPVGcu0LosiU3o70bXHWT_ovT13U8QFmdemg6-D9ChqsNQ5tVQKoNXDftRc6l/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7956.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">I tucked myself back into Jane and headed south past the visitor center, keeping an eye out
for the turnout for another trailhead: the much lesser-traversed Dorgan-Sublett
House trail. This trail is almost never advertised in literature or by parkies,
mostly because it’s a pretty desolate rugged hike that’s lacking in the
cinematic scope that so many other Big Bend trails have. It does have some neat
ruins to look at, and you can see into Mexico, so that’s cool. But it has one
fairly well-kept secret that makes the whole trail absolutely worth it, which that chipper Castolon parkie had shared with me
a couple of days prior when I mentioned I had worked at a National Monument focused
on preserving petrified trees. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Anyways, we’ll get to that in a bit.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The trail started unassumingly, traversing through various
amounts of scrub and ditches with nary a cool view in sight. But it wasn’t long
before I came upon the remnants of a few homes – probably built by ranchers and
farmers in the 1800’s – each of which felt saturated in memories of a hard but
proud life. Although modest in size (500 sq. ft. for the biggest one, maybe)
and composition (some combination of mud bricks and stone), they all boasted a
pretty spectacular view of the Cretaceous escarpment towering over the Rio Grande.
<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH_8BUeMTu9zMxSFi601DDwA05twRp14q3AtPm9IiacyUuBQSzcX1Ska9XSSIfiAcp3zR6B6oOmob9MgIcoc0OL385K9MdTtQ6nq8j278GNXwGFxB5TKOISUmnZwBgzQwAAVeispRtiEawsN0YYpBgGUGphqcsxzovxZ6TRM5JgVUgYyGDpJrLGMX4/s5472/Edits-IMG_7991.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5472" data-original-width="3648" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH_8BUeMTu9zMxSFi601DDwA05twRp14q3AtPm9IiacyUuBQSzcX1Ska9XSSIfiAcp3zR6B6oOmob9MgIcoc0OL385K9MdTtQ6nq8j278GNXwGFxB5TKOISUmnZwBgzQwAAVeispRtiEawsN0YYpBgGUGphqcsxzovxZ6TRM5JgVUgYyGDpJrLGMX4/w426-h640/Edits-IMG_7991.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Someone got tired of mud bricks and swapped halfway through</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6_Fa-LXBqPrDb7nfVCk5EHumN_W_bOKGuQDP_nlOP5ppvcrYDXD66Q1AXcyHUOedbBLyGsS6uALDGRjbNOHddpQT-cpT6C1JTguJ8RJkvsIRuNJw6za7YhgfQQZfxytUplSkLqzfBHQXWTNLZeFMf3dVEO5WFKK56csY-0FaV5et1dIj9nPdAsxcg/s5472/Edits-IMG_7993.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5472" data-original-width="3648" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6_Fa-LXBqPrDb7nfVCk5EHumN_W_bOKGuQDP_nlOP5ppvcrYDXD66Q1AXcyHUOedbBLyGsS6uALDGRjbNOHddpQT-cpT6C1JTguJ8RJkvsIRuNJw6za7YhgfQQZfxytUplSkLqzfBHQXWTNLZeFMf3dVEO5WFKK56csY-0FaV5et1dIj9nPdAsxcg/w426-h640/Edits-IMG_7993.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhySflmpBLz0n1AZz9CJkS_EPvUNto_0aMXDD5o1VrPikfxgNVatv8Z9NR7MlJrL-631VTwnaB0sxamrjvM9kX109a8b0-xdHp5nn7tf5tcieewCcepaLw6-h9zA9zEeMjEkxAiuGvhVPy3YiEUgGQ-uWDU98EtcMFjoJk4ZKe4ngIhbMiqXgyMxDgY/s5472/Edits-IMG_7995.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhySflmpBLz0n1AZz9CJkS_EPvUNto_0aMXDD5o1VrPikfxgNVatv8Z9NR7MlJrL-631VTwnaB0sxamrjvM9kX109a8b0-xdHp5nn7tf5tcieewCcepaLw6-h9zA9zEeMjEkxAiuGvhVPy3YiEUgGQ-uWDU98EtcMFjoJk4ZKe4ngIhbMiqXgyMxDgY/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7995.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">One home had been nearly fully restored, and showcased a
layered mud brick and stone construction with wooden rafters and cedar-lined
window frames. I can only imagine how much care and effort must have gone into
building it, although very fortunately this area of Big Bend has no lack of either
mud or rocks. Still, not an easy endeavor.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBriWB2jkrLoRD4OUXBfkSzyB63Uhj9z6oDWvFEszzC7IDTWVz3MYsnHR_eMZBGr-IUJLeTpFAZVb1dWMQNtTf2VV7EwZ22eysVArrKWClzZw4qiY2EyaKg3T45k72mIiOUcFb9ZNNGfUR6S8FcJCSeT6Z-8UZ6UxDW-hM4oSPrLJntTWora23kbZs/s5472/Edits-IMG_7998.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBriWB2jkrLoRD4OUXBfkSzyB63Uhj9z6oDWvFEszzC7IDTWVz3MYsnHR_eMZBGr-IUJLeTpFAZVb1dWMQNtTf2VV7EwZ22eysVArrKWClzZw4qiY2EyaKg3T45k72mIiOUcFb9ZNNGfUR6S8FcJCSeT6Z-8UZ6UxDW-hM4oSPrLJntTWora23kbZs/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7998.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitGRFOM9nAH1p3GVdQ1BX7jNM4ot9UWk0qwKOJL3JHUr2tpde3lYaca3fTAbXXVI-eds7W3heymEdorEvCeYEn5v3QCoefW6hSv3d4_avGnFH7dpwR41yHXqVOwCUmgu38uixLPOowZEo3o2BeQCx6MraKY5_1JSYLDqHqCPWXBSm5gJPtODdipyNm/s5472/Edits-IMG_7999.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitGRFOM9nAH1p3GVdQ1BX7jNM4ot9UWk0qwKOJL3JHUr2tpde3lYaca3fTAbXXVI-eds7W3heymEdorEvCeYEn5v3QCoefW6hSv3d4_avGnFH7dpwR41yHXqVOwCUmgu38uixLPOowZEo3o2BeQCx6MraKY5_1JSYLDqHqCPWXBSm5gJPtODdipyNm/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7999.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some modern materials used in restoration, but mostly looks like locally sourced mud and clay! And by locally sourced, I mean from within a 1-mile radius</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The trail crested a small hill – more of a mound of scree,
really – and finally yielded some expansive Big Bend views. Two ruins set atop
the hill – one, a mere suggestion of a building that would have overlooked the
Rio Grande and nearby fields just to the south in its heyday, and another, set
further back on the hill looking southeast. I stopped by the first house – the Sublett
House, now reduced only to a pile of mud bricks and a couple very short walls –
before continuing on to the second (and last): Dorgan House. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ9mG-mAH2bGV9RNtwmR0xkEkX1HjhA71HVpiD9V1qh2zN-LPtO9SVSNonZOxX4EVkeLDh4ffmBhc2CwoaciodqVtHe1LWyZtUZzkRBnhtZHHvO1JXkVLOU_L71LzUZQ6Re9MtYj4UuvRoZVixpPdMOoq1mOx73eGhC0ByxSOWwCQYdpKhXXNb9lZN/s5472/Edits-IMG_8005.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ9mG-mAH2bGV9RNtwmR0xkEkX1HjhA71HVpiD9V1qh2zN-LPtO9SVSNonZOxX4EVkeLDh4ffmBhc2CwoaciodqVtHe1LWyZtUZzkRBnhtZHHvO1JXkVLOU_L71LzUZQ6Re9MtYj4UuvRoZVixpPdMOoq1mOx73eGhC0ByxSOWwCQYdpKhXXNb9lZN/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8005.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxDb_EeXQzJDyrLU-1IdzLK6As5YvWDjhjy0Sc2uVFZsakkGNSv8Fq-KtBQFiVNo81mpcO1XBk2Tfu-5k9mTRyIkTyPhQ9tpgbQNY9lgdyHChTlkyAAEmeNI7tQsRKVs4jQap770ghXTZOCnke_RXLQfteQhymjnUD8KCbQHRAI0e8ihuqy_PWMH1p/s5472/Edits-IMG_8022.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxDb_EeXQzJDyrLU-1IdzLK6As5YvWDjhjy0Sc2uVFZsakkGNSv8Fq-KtBQFiVNo81mpcO1XBk2Tfu-5k9mTRyIkTyPhQ9tpgbQNY9lgdyHChTlkyAAEmeNI7tQsRKVs4jQap770ghXTZOCnke_RXLQfteQhymjnUD8KCbQHRAI0e8ihuqy_PWMH1p/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8022.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Dorgan House is quite a bit larger than the other houses in
this area as a result of its unique construction, being both better-engineered
and more sturdily built, which enabled more of it to survive the passage of
time. Some of the adobe walls still stand, as does the main doorframe and front
windowframes. But there is one feature of Dorgan House that has withstood the
sands of time far better than any of the rest: its absolutely massive,
magnificent, petrified wood fireplace and chimney. This chimney is why I’m
here.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikVHqNtWbDL77aHxkPlWbVmfFp_6lEdMpZKJrrVbyzXKl6dI1aCdjzHFIxzGIAJ_6VqjXgSTTYx_gnaFXc8SnuIRMms3Dhyakx_Kzn6_DxT-paHkS1l7TvYsVFJ2P8qMJs6cuX-VDoSnReH4dQ0Y2Y0o1PFKH7lV_9m7FLaUj_ONEifSKNwksvzH6U/s5389/Edits-IMG_8031.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5389" data-original-width="3593" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikVHqNtWbDL77aHxkPlWbVmfFp_6lEdMpZKJrrVbyzXKl6dI1aCdjzHFIxzGIAJ_6VqjXgSTTYx_gnaFXc8SnuIRMms3Dhyakx_Kzn6_DxT-paHkS1l7TvYsVFJ2P8qMJs6cuX-VDoSnReH4dQ0Y2Y0o1PFKH7lV_9m7FLaUj_ONEifSKNwksvzH6U/w426-h640/Edits-IMG_8031.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrKbyrDtdrdsBxMY4Zmy58QW8lwVOMG2TdykJ4SM3_5-rHPTTmfhpBehH_yxd80RmY6l-X6gNLa1VjUMB91JKrEFWBxO17l31k11PSTsswRJXS_On_X_0mln3pDRwSgoJOOa4P8hl4vrO8K37LDr6Gqc6Na8i2MrAGkD_nYZjruGHLSqvvyWw6D3qz/s5472/Edits-IMG_8037.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5472" data-original-width="3648" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrKbyrDtdrdsBxMY4Zmy58QW8lwVOMG2TdykJ4SM3_5-rHPTTmfhpBehH_yxd80RmY6l-X6gNLa1VjUMB91JKrEFWBxO17l31k11PSTsswRJXS_On_X_0mln3pDRwSgoJOOa4P8hl4vrO8K37LDr6Gqc6Na8i2MrAGkD_nYZjruGHLSqvvyWw6D3qz/w426-h640/Edits-IMG_8037.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The Dorgan House chimney is cobbled together from large
pieces of petrified wood collected from the area – a feat in and of itself, as
finding this many large chunks of petrified wood in the area is not easy. But
they are masterfully arranged, mortared together in an aesthetically pleasing
way that has survived for nearly a century. Aside from being beautiful, the extra-sturdy
construction of the chimney served a functional role as well: apparently it
also functioned as a main pillar for the house, allowing the architect to make
the living room twice the usual size with the rafters (made of local trees,
thus the size limitation as local trees are not tall!) butting up to each other
at the top of the chimney. The two-way fireplace was able to heat the entire
space evenly, keeping the whole house warm on those occasional chilly winter
days. Although most of the rest of the house no longer exists, this chimney
remains as evidence of a home carefully thought-out and lovingly built. And it
makes for some really truly spectacular photos.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqJ7VSpvW1rA8Y-D8gQenGZ62yai0ZagLyF9tCyggo3CHPfw8SMPqzFKvysGpdKzMsiBRidg_7vRnZGffoyRZB_4qlkhvC4aOQiBngO4UVn9ZLF2-54FaSBi6xg80Ofp-xLUr5ahmxiKK-IxSBPhgWQoTjc63g3aYAvpF8ImkrNbPLdwMDFXEmV05C/s5348/Edits-IMG_8028.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5348" data-original-width="3565" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqJ7VSpvW1rA8Y-D8gQenGZ62yai0ZagLyF9tCyggo3CHPfw8SMPqzFKvysGpdKzMsiBRidg_7vRnZGffoyRZB_4qlkhvC4aOQiBngO4UVn9ZLF2-54FaSBi6xg80Ofp-xLUr5ahmxiKK-IxSBPhgWQoTjc63g3aYAvpF8ImkrNbPLdwMDFXEmV05C/w426-h640/Edits-IMG_8028.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Through a door!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmCyS2bp-89tcfDEbM2jOHUkr1ZgofP_o0m0uaYjJKoFjhsN8twBRtX1G_z6yx9bbILxj8P5qR3Bpn00w3II8mLEYOnGGEFW67HyTwxPqBLpFIo7gbhLJ4EXhvZQqauMZvem7Lan-c84_d-Mi3_ELmyXNl-UrKzG0DqP9vbSX3QDkWFekyN27g-q8B/s5472/Edits-IMG_8060.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5472" data-original-width="3648" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmCyS2bp-89tcfDEbM2jOHUkr1ZgofP_o0m0uaYjJKoFjhsN8twBRtX1G_z6yx9bbILxj8P5qR3Bpn00w3II8mLEYOnGGEFW67HyTwxPqBLpFIo7gbhLJ4EXhvZQqauMZvem7Lan-c84_d-Mi3_ELmyXNl-UrKzG0DqP9vbSX3QDkWFekyN27g-q8B/w426-h640/Edits-IMG_8060.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Through a window!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivwCcMjgJLsVAut-WOPpIziVM2AVfcPIsSqWmul6Q3v8yijXSIVG3UnwuH9pfy9t3y9_HcWG5MkSmqeZWEQrWHqS6SnTzmc7B0iAkUl0xReJCGVncWWuMiNp92Uwa_jISpchgDNXCthJ0UfNJ2mVEBcpy0a0mZBIW-slJJRsUyCMeny25c-1V3OyNM/s5472/Edits-IMG_8032.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivwCcMjgJLsVAut-WOPpIziVM2AVfcPIsSqWmul6Q3v8yijXSIVG3UnwuH9pfy9t3y9_HcWG5MkSmqeZWEQrWHqS6SnTzmc7B0iAkUl0xReJCGVncWWuMiNp92Uwa_jISpchgDNXCthJ0UfNJ2mVEBcpy0a0mZBIW-slJJRsUyCMeny25c-1V3OyNM/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8032.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From outside! With a cliff!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYHzlWMB2MxuUs8Zy2R0fIab3vYTKQ9Vp35d98sdovSCEqZWV5v0z7T7raXxocv4bwUJks7bxtd7zu19CBPegk0n2x518tilQBP527Nk3Td_Ms86cfv6hubPrj5C_7w-yv5wAg4rsvT_ukPBn6FjDLibUSz8PRfHNl8FWzMz1HQW41yUWElbZwW09p/s5472/Edits-IMG_8039.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5472" data-original-width="3648" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYHzlWMB2MxuUs8Zy2R0fIab3vYTKQ9Vp35d98sdovSCEqZWV5v0z7T7raXxocv4bwUJks7bxtd7zu19CBPegk0n2x518tilQBP527Nk3Td_Ms86cfv6hubPrj5C_7w-yv5wAg4rsvT_ukPBn6FjDLibUSz8PRfHNl8FWzMz1HQW41yUWElbZwW09p/w426-h640/Edits-IMG_8039.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From up close!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh6qEerRnTMtrw7VyYy2U8I2dtIQpaldFAa7cwVU_hbc4rtZ-7pFBLTemY5b82ouC-gDkvhChsiexcjqW-gORtvZS3l3N2xgumt4FzeZE-jnhIkEMoYMRIjUrAs7DROLZkVdRSSnXi7irkTremHqmmc15fqYca3iWg6XvuyjoQoDUefoZpDvyYLuFP/s5472/Edits-IMG_8026.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5472" data-original-width="3648" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh6qEerRnTMtrw7VyYy2U8I2dtIQpaldFAa7cwVU_hbc4rtZ-7pFBLTemY5b82ouC-gDkvhChsiexcjqW-gORtvZS3l3N2xgumt4FzeZE-jnhIkEMoYMRIjUrAs7DROLZkVdRSSnXi7irkTremHqmmc15fqYca3iWg6XvuyjoQoDUefoZpDvyYLuFP/w426-h640/Edits-IMG_8026.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"> I spent a while
taking photos – even with the subpar lighting, the striking colors of the
chimney still made for an excellent subject. But eventually I felt it was time
to move on, so I headed back down the trail to Jane.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1ZEUKmIT1h7c1eMv1_dV8f66HGisMGRTDqvyAiY73vMGd_9EpCxdMBm41-08fea6nGtQe6fErZF8vGZbLfghJ7M8UC00ayg_1K5i856MsXRYqVZtpkn7fRUGyUZYzBaxBeljAP3I0fFhnxXgoxE0-94d7VJK_BbcAEhDSz5XK1isBki7Ds9AHcScu/s5472/Edits-IMG_7990.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1ZEUKmIT1h7c1eMv1_dV8f66HGisMGRTDqvyAiY73vMGd_9EpCxdMBm41-08fea6nGtQe6fErZF8vGZbLfghJ7M8UC00ayg_1K5i856MsXRYqVZtpkn7fRUGyUZYzBaxBeljAP3I0fFhnxXgoxE0-94d7VJK_BbcAEhDSz5XK1isBki7Ds9AHcScu/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7990.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">We took one last drive up the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive –
and boy, what a beautiful day. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu9gnEiD3RM0aoblCQXLfik6m1GaLJgo0Ov70Wmx_0JA0zEhCGKPxyo4ycXJaIWGWUE_90fnTuTMlhRrQtzm4R6KBDTK_q276CmzFumjT8PCiS_6rFMP4PWAwAVm343A7JXuT3bT7s6W54Es8MAqiIx2RL8DU1O9Vc0aAn9YfmbUcTI3QGAABUMkCk/s5472/Edits-IMG_8070.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu9gnEiD3RM0aoblCQXLfik6m1GaLJgo0Ov70Wmx_0JA0zEhCGKPxyo4ycXJaIWGWUE_90fnTuTMlhRrQtzm4R6KBDTK_q276CmzFumjT8PCiS_6rFMP4PWAwAVm343A7JXuT3bT7s6W54Es8MAqiIx2RL8DU1O9Vc0aAn9YfmbUcTI3QGAABUMkCk/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8070.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFx9iwrBMmXcvhpHctvuUc5y5NPBP9IvG939VKDkV_-yYljIYeU_ARG0M72hvYWpRWaScEwCCj4sdqfyKNvWjzIit56_PBUq27vF1UFzEWxguUaQqV4cgqRGQQs90WtIfxbwuBP_hSO4P_Z4Y9UDn1_sr6rfvcRJUIl12G2E2lFSpVNthhUz-iuWoQ/s5472/Edits-IMG_8073.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFx9iwrBMmXcvhpHctvuUc5y5NPBP9IvG939VKDkV_-yYljIYeU_ARG0M72hvYWpRWaScEwCCj4sdqfyKNvWjzIit56_PBUq27vF1UFzEWxguUaQqV4cgqRGQQs90WtIfxbwuBP_hSO4P_Z4Y9UDn1_sr6rfvcRJUIl12G2E2lFSpVNthhUz-iuWoQ/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8073.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Massive ash beds</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCloKlSk6BBDxDnnAEiKB3gRx6iwBdI4IWCyT_hKDlWq4DSMLuQSIeInIU6lGbMk3qs9GB28XW1No_tbwmaL93s1gj08SEQgscwujgg-t5OobX4wNGj4avjbwgcPVvHTMRuJY-5otasYpjvIs1ty8RL2gkIhhbdZtMKYX9ucST8dEhT0iRgbuVzHnJ/s5472/Edits-IMG_8075.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCloKlSk6BBDxDnnAEiKB3gRx6iwBdI4IWCyT_hKDlWq4DSMLuQSIeInIU6lGbMk3qs9GB28XW1No_tbwmaL93s1gj08SEQgscwujgg-t5OobX4wNGj4avjbwgcPVvHTMRuJY-5otasYpjvIs1ty8RL2gkIhhbdZtMKYX9ucST8dEhT0iRgbuVzHnJ/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8075.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe2D9rbTEzP0abX3076TfW4z6_jaZivhiPkhBq9UJU_QQyCtUK3-mnSdn6o02B9T-VdiiWeoLOrh61GM--OeppO2Gj65D9O2vs2GMs0PRPCxVvmL6wIKVs682qRgZBSejMdGnLcsoBTHJL6uP-E8OieNt36gp7ACekioISAHpLkfRrRz489QQwrp9h/s5472/Edits-IMG_8081.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe2D9rbTEzP0abX3076TfW4z6_jaZivhiPkhBq9UJU_QQyCtUK3-mnSdn6o02B9T-VdiiWeoLOrh61GM--OeppO2Gj65D9O2vs2GMs0PRPCxVvmL6wIKVs682qRgZBSejMdGnLcsoBTHJL6uP-E8OieNt36gp7ACekioISAHpLkfRrRz489QQwrp9h/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8081.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">It was mid-afternoon when we made our final stop for the day
at the trailhead for the Chimneys trail. Another off-the-beaten-path trail,
also infrequently recommended although my trail map did mention that it had
some cool Native American rock art and shelters at its end. That was enough to
pique my interest so I stopped by for a visit.<br /><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZpbi2Btqq2NORRGh5z-jQ2YitfMR4xMLCXEJwvCyxb2D1NDL2lI8VjOivJeOMHMZJtnADpMC66lPzdt2Bpdx268PNhRKMVnbI5ikq5RATwazOSlfoMaykBmpXQ8VAhs0sXt_BSYiFE86gyKf7GOsHvWsplGPHp9qqWjS_wMo1JZYP3RKdfDRzGvvB/s5472/Edits-IMG_8085.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZpbi2Btqq2NORRGh5z-jQ2YitfMR4xMLCXEJwvCyxb2D1NDL2lI8VjOivJeOMHMZJtnADpMC66lPzdt2Bpdx268PNhRKMVnbI5ikq5RATwazOSlfoMaykBmpXQ8VAhs0sXt_BSYiFE86gyKf7GOsHvWsplGPHp9qqWjS_wMo1JZYP3RKdfDRzGvvB/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8085.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view from the parking lot wasn't half bad either!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN5D8e9Deszbygb58FyYWSpkERPA8Kabm9k45WdjA_oHx5NEVtMV2TfBkSuWvPiGnRjwj92oZAjyBLRg2ldMmvoRQA1VkM84EF_p_nF0LpO9fbHhdJmJtUICEPHCPKCqHT_9c4SwYYabnehrgMVfHUhjhXkunvreTYMoaTdMrFYHxTU89wYT7bRtUL/s5472/Edits-IMG_8087.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN5D8e9Deszbygb58FyYWSpkERPA8Kabm9k45WdjA_oHx5NEVtMV2TfBkSuWvPiGnRjwj92oZAjyBLRg2ldMmvoRQA1VkM84EF_p_nF0LpO9fbHhdJmJtUICEPHCPKCqHT_9c4SwYYabnehrgMVfHUhjhXkunvreTYMoaTdMrFYHxTU89wYT7bRtUL/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8087.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Add grass</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">Right from the start, this no-nonsense trail arrows across
an expansive scrubby plain towards a distant chain of outcrops a few miles
away. With nary a tree in sight for shade, I imagine that this trail is not at
all popular in the summer – but on a warm autumn day, it was no problem at all.
To me, this trail encompasses more of the heart of what Big Bend really is.
Sure, the park is more well-known for the occasional sweeping majestic view of
some far-off cool rock or mountain, but at its heart, Big Bend is a desert scrubland,
a vast prairie of wide open spaces, a wild land so expansive that even noise seems
to get lost in the void.</span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzXzESDeH8YlU5ZiITh4MiLnGxs9H9GRCKyAPLobbeSy4C3mgNfMCbLU2kwUxmwLPZugFB63ocWgSMqlWpkQMKTDE6d-dkapFDckQrk1Kn0enZ8Fd45Gt8Jw1ay5o6Wr9G_ey3I8caApTYKg9xJ72TxNPao90oPdVRigM573U5Lm7_kkX8Dg8LNKfW/s5472/Edits-IMG_8090.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzXzESDeH8YlU5ZiITh4MiLnGxs9H9GRCKyAPLobbeSy4C3mgNfMCbLU2kwUxmwLPZugFB63ocWgSMqlWpkQMKTDE6d-dkapFDckQrk1Kn0enZ8Fd45Gt8Jw1ay5o6Wr9G_ey3I8caApTYKg9xJ72TxNPao90oPdVRigM573U5Lm7_kkX8Dg8LNKfW/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8090.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTZe-_7hIpfAX-6hRfvSPW1FRcwJFb3b-8_R0xP4swxN-QP-ChZZRGtM9ULBuC0zlvngYf4m8AL7DdKOGlwxPbA4AQZJdYFszMHPt5irOBsTq9SxZibOwF2U5TwagTR9F38_EgfEYXIx-G72j4Dyc-r_cIw13urmdJu8Ijei5RRC0EtrE5bbAKSEpl/s5472/Edits-IMG_8177.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTZe-_7hIpfAX-6hRfvSPW1FRcwJFb3b-8_R0xP4swxN-QP-ChZZRGtM9ULBuC0zlvngYf4m8AL7DdKOGlwxPbA4AQZJdYFszMHPt5irOBsTq9SxZibOwF2U5TwagTR9F38_EgfEYXIx-G72j4Dyc-r_cIw13urmdJu8Ijei5RRC0EtrE5bbAKSEpl/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8177.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj02uUfWTI5arDO_TMR1O4fWFrlnboYamHU32UW_D3OHZbPVv3nGaZTNmqfVMtcgx93Bm-JKttMEml--rUhjD8GiKttZOhg9CfjmErmS2FioIMfUiXG-JKqsHsa9yTgaGqsd6zqUyC234XbNhd7pOd-HEuK-fPX4Dh5DI1-GusPTZ18-5ZCkN3Bp13h/s5403/Edits-IMG_8167.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3602" data-original-width="5403" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj02uUfWTI5arDO_TMR1O4fWFrlnboYamHU32UW_D3OHZbPVv3nGaZTNmqfVMtcgx93Bm-JKttMEml--rUhjD8GiKttZOhg9CfjmErmS2FioIMfUiXG-JKqsHsa9yTgaGqsd6zqUyC234XbNhd7pOd-HEuK-fPX4Dh5DI1-GusPTZ18-5ZCkN3Bp13h/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8167.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">As I walked down the trail, the muted crunches of gravel
underfoot almost swallowed up by the incessant rustling of endless dry grasses
and the subtle creaking of brittle creosote, I found myself really listening to
this place. It’s unsettling how quiet it seems at first, with nothing but the whisper
of wind reaching your ears. No background sounds of traffic, no voices, no
electrical hums, nothing whatsoever related to the noisy human world. With this
much open space – and this much sound deadening from the dense stands of grass –
even the occasional passage of cars on the main road becomes nearly
imperceptible. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">But the harder you listen, the more you start to pick up. Birds,
hidden among the grass and in the bushes, softly chirping back and forth to one
another. Or maybe the slight rustle of dry grass or the click of a shifting twig,
the only cues of a curious whipsnake observing you next to the path. Maybe
traces of a coyote’s mournful cry, drifting on the wind. And slowly, the
landscape starts to come alive.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigTS_gjPMvABFroMck8m7cDAcTE9w1hUIH-dq_f8WPXXWuwCOfebF9VC2fFYRS-bN15OgK0z2Q3MgIy7gBWULL2uJID6dkGpLS3eTXpvBrVZAXtILMJ6Zefo5h2YS9IPoVotBqn04omBP8iXEI81liI7nt98ICg-v3vDVNm1DBCHzc1pvNtU-iTRoX/s5472/Edits-IMG_8094.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigTS_gjPMvABFroMck8m7cDAcTE9w1hUIH-dq_f8WPXXWuwCOfebF9VC2fFYRS-bN15OgK0z2Q3MgIy7gBWULL2uJID6dkGpLS3eTXpvBrVZAXtILMJ6Zefo5h2YS9IPoVotBqn04omBP8iXEI81liI7nt98ICg-v3vDVNm1DBCHzc1pvNtU-iTRoX/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8094.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pictured: birds. Lol.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">It occurred to me that aside from tarantulas and the
ever-friendly Mexican jays, I really haven’t seen that much wildlife over the
past few days. But it now also occurred to me that maybe I just wasn’t listening
right.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">In no time at all, I reached the “chimneys” – a string of rock
outcrops popping out of the valley floor, remnants of a volcanic dike. They
provide a good vantage point to survey the surrounding landscape, so it’s no
surprise that they were frequented by Native Americans in bygone years. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUzhJ9BbCoTUBZBhmR5_nMGlOeNKq5S4fBWVMbAr8EVKSO3bkdhqoxI-r7mC3-M4EqfzZBS8vVFLZV1Iuf0A1oUKpMpSYqSSEltI-I_KezmCrb4uZBiyoXs2Dr8Qdqh6TjsBQPRbRfOzqpV2nlGBRFKFlbsOEP2qyUwFuRNBgzdhLOxAiyap78odvh/s5472/Edits-IMG_8114.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUzhJ9BbCoTUBZBhmR5_nMGlOeNKq5S4fBWVMbAr8EVKSO3bkdhqoxI-r7mC3-M4EqfzZBS8vVFLZV1Iuf0A1oUKpMpSYqSSEltI-I_KezmCrb4uZBiyoXs2Dr8Qdqh6TjsBQPRbRfOzqpV2nlGBRFKFlbsOEP2qyUwFuRNBgzdhLOxAiyap78odvh/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8114.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The southern chimney must have been particularly popular, as
there were a number of petroglyphs and pictographs ringing its base. On one
side, some rocks had been stacked in a small divot under an overhang to make a
protected camp area with a great view of the surrounding land. The walls were festooned
with carved slashes, a bit ominous looking until I was able to pick out what
looks like a carving of a deer hoof. Maybe these were once records of deer hunt
tallies. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR-hWyCihMGjG2O5aqf_wWLR52AZq9SGML2c8HIY6rA0I40H0GBQAmuOnQ4sHWPZaEbfrSFe1-2RYNND8oBgD5a0u-FLzQ-njxB0-gmuS4Dv_lnJNXcfPNCYWQK6K3NDmhBWlhiEu3di5piU_hbp-HFaJ-PA93o_8mv3PEbAnsEFWWug4HUuaxKoaH/s5472/Edits-IMG_8121.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR-hWyCihMGjG2O5aqf_wWLR52AZq9SGML2c8HIY6rA0I40H0GBQAmuOnQ4sHWPZaEbfrSFe1-2RYNND8oBgD5a0u-FLzQ-njxB0-gmuS4Dv_lnJNXcfPNCYWQK6K3NDmhBWlhiEu3di5piU_hbp-HFaJ-PA93o_8mv3PEbAnsEFWWug4HUuaxKoaH/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8121.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0kAa5Bvw1fw2tcNDLQztTB-y7WQCuRvicdG6IWkiNmkW-CS5cyXa8XQ1lXt--gOTqpmzCh3SCpleQNc82fhUkKRf1E20eVSOOYWgjS8iua68TcnfQLT1HkRcdv8lywhJ-4lp61_dYk3C7JPnGjV_jn6UWZSPQvr1znXazUGN7Te6bdZ5KakIJOxJb/s5472/Edits-IMG_8123.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0kAa5Bvw1fw2tcNDLQztTB-y7WQCuRvicdG6IWkiNmkW-CS5cyXa8XQ1lXt--gOTqpmzCh3SCpleQNc82fhUkKRf1E20eVSOOYWgjS8iua68TcnfQLT1HkRcdv8lywhJ-4lp61_dYk3C7JPnGjV_jn6UWZSPQvr1znXazUGN7Te6bdZ5KakIJOxJb/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8123.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtZB4gZ5VAZG7fxSym4uhMauTIZGYssWMrRzNJ3VdPRX3GQwspxC170TzTLdrABPIckzWRSXG4SS_ISC1h4LIrl4XmRTh8enhzfsbweJbxjZ8rpUQ6dZgsR27sdYUSAdf6csxG-ofMzBl637sashFJ6JvvtAr9QftPR1ELwp5oAy9sNusGf6re1Tit/s5259/Edits-IMG_8125.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3506" data-original-width="5259" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtZB4gZ5VAZG7fxSym4uhMauTIZGYssWMrRzNJ3VdPRX3GQwspxC170TzTLdrABPIckzWRSXG4SS_ISC1h4LIrl4XmRTh8enhzfsbweJbxjZ8rpUQ6dZgsR27sdYUSAdf6csxG-ofMzBl637sashFJ6JvvtAr9QftPR1ELwp5oAy9sNusGf6re1Tit/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8125.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuK9RcIX3L0f8YNInasVVUnB4Xatc3KtlY39kR7UKzdVwJkJY79nkycXITwLY5fmq4bC_bQ67ZL9swzK6dP7zUyKcUwm3uHf2_TpjYPwGab5b0E9VU6uT2bLvZIg3Ikr1L6VigJ23WkOsmH78ZO00OKrKgIQKX7ZMN6XWeyS0G57WEoNpP4vhM-Z2X/s5472/Edits-IMG_8127.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuK9RcIX3L0f8YNInasVVUnB4Xatc3KtlY39kR7UKzdVwJkJY79nkycXITwLY5fmq4bC_bQ67ZL9swzK6dP7zUyKcUwm3uHf2_TpjYPwGab5b0E9VU6uT2bLvZIg3Ikr1L6VigJ23WkOsmH78ZO00OKrKgIQKX7ZMN6XWeyS0G57WEoNpP4vhM-Z2X/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8127.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Originally a weathering feature in this sandstone, but now maybe also enhanced by use as something like a mortar and pestle?? Who knows</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQb2gRRnhJPQGixx1cQCdoDVZHxyCgNYkI4Zeb16PWpB5J9nKnj4KNHPaDsRkSw5IWpxYlGySE88morFl0VuaT0JLbwT2i9DVYID4vWWVxStT_mHLlpxAHLKEVI8hwo6PM2C18HRVDCH1r74PZ5a-AOOb2ArTWjk_QpjpjgIEQgNXGQMaaS4r_5Z6Q/s5472/Edits-IMG_8130.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQb2gRRnhJPQGixx1cQCdoDVZHxyCgNYkI4Zeb16PWpB5J9nKnj4KNHPaDsRkSw5IWpxYlGySE88morFl0VuaT0JLbwT2i9DVYID4vWWVxStT_mHLlpxAHLKEVI8hwo6PM2C18HRVDCH1r74PZ5a-AOOb2ArTWjk_QpjpjgIEQgNXGQMaaS4r_5Z6Q/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8130.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBgoltYf-9S-irLwSXRhWZx8jmSUDLbwPFtn383quJFxE9K2I44rdRB-WLhVxCsuThaGNjINDQPMORVk11y_mRFTjAMPucg7hvNxKZg9Kcjw4nXkKHQvbV9gQDpSK1aCaCMfd0dGajNEysXi3Cu24CijpJjnrrjs-a31jkongTKghgLARddenSveRT/s5472/Edits-IMG_8134.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBgoltYf-9S-irLwSXRhWZx8jmSUDLbwPFtn383quJFxE9K2I44rdRB-WLhVxCsuThaGNjINDQPMORVk11y_mRFTjAMPucg7hvNxKZg9Kcjw4nXkKHQvbV9gQDpSK1aCaCMfd0dGajNEysXi3Cu24CijpJjnrrjs-a31jkongTKghgLARddenSveRT/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8134.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A bunch of cool fossilized burrows in the sandstone</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">I climbed up the other chimneys for a while, exploring the
various slots and arches and keyholes they had to offer. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNxHsgSylp_yg09WiftVhhpSnaPcB6kb3iZDxi02eZtS3aoItCB3Sw1eVIW5KuYGf_O6OBwcbof1yoDOHmxmojzjSeNcgUsk6D1JOEbjSTXmCspY_Vf-bLIxbVLoU2Uwc-_g_p71u_QPtCjSVOJww34XpYxtZ3tACC1fI4Mzi-BvThrEkdaaQ2-Jw0/s5472/Edits-IMG_8137.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNxHsgSylp_yg09WiftVhhpSnaPcB6kb3iZDxi02eZtS3aoItCB3Sw1eVIW5KuYGf_O6OBwcbof1yoDOHmxmojzjSeNcgUsk6D1JOEbjSTXmCspY_Vf-bLIxbVLoU2Uwc-_g_p71u_QPtCjSVOJww34XpYxtZ3tACC1fI4Mzi-BvThrEkdaaQ2-Jw0/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8137.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyRIY9VYsnL7ipFE4vwckE7ifPbMAzl83lIst-D-SE-gH3E3L5QiKUcitQO51NtCrUT_BueJ_WDzZZ07Y883A2tYDL1hbmBMs0up2acwljuBtXW8KXtOx-ey0p7s03nqnG3ugGo4VvF4Mqdk5qFbLOiib-YbKWQM-p4216rwPFkFiMcqrMIPDFtZxn/s5472/Edits-IMG_8141.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5472" data-original-width="3648" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyRIY9VYsnL7ipFE4vwckE7ifPbMAzl83lIst-D-SE-gH3E3L5QiKUcitQO51NtCrUT_BueJ_WDzZZ07Y883A2tYDL1hbmBMs0up2acwljuBtXW8KXtOx-ey0p7s03nqnG3ugGo4VvF4Mqdk5qFbLOiib-YbKWQM-p4216rwPFkFiMcqrMIPDFtZxn/w426-h640/Edits-IMG_8141.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-8de8BRF1e8p37w3DhN2m4Yl3UJrHOE-ksGkO2rKRA4p4hOWFUGT_QxqdzF63eb6k48gg43uz32AJxCl2oTq7qdIFaouM3x7q84WU91YsX-2fZOdRRo7XLs5Xoi_tYOsmUuPIMdeIINXuUviih_mzO2cJNCINXdmn0kTYc2VAdZL_BJE5r0FbXWeo/s5472/Edits-IMG_8152.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-8de8BRF1e8p37w3DhN2m4Yl3UJrHOE-ksGkO2rKRA4p4hOWFUGT_QxqdzF63eb6k48gg43uz32AJxCl2oTq7qdIFaouM3x7q84WU91YsX-2fZOdRRo7XLs5Xoi_tYOsmUuPIMdeIINXuUviih_mzO2cJNCINXdmn0kTYc2VAdZL_BJE5r0FbXWeo/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8152.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">By then, the afternoon was growing long, and I realized that
I needed to be at my new campsite before dark. So I headed back through the sea
of whispering brush, arriving back at the parking lot in fairly short order. Jane
roared to life, raucous after the quiet solitude of the trail, but I welcomed
her comforting rumble, the heartbeat of an old pony car. That rumble is one of
the most reassuring sounds in the world, especially when you’re out on the open
road.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiprkqpKrWVLi9Jcf4CxazDNOHuHIbEqO6gnYgC8j15DVnwDae8i_yo07hgMEdBoBjbwl3ev_sxIttmfutS9NRWkR46l-t0cXxTBcA96weyoSsWBsgR33HRKOd4xLFPIZLso6BhAxcoDbh7M3TE-q70bUjLvFK-73QyKM6MEsg1PQoaEQU_9ZxjbJp3/s5472/Edits-IMG_8184.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiprkqpKrWVLi9Jcf4CxazDNOHuHIbEqO6gnYgC8j15DVnwDae8i_yo07hgMEdBoBjbwl3ev_sxIttmfutS9NRWkR46l-t0cXxTBcA96weyoSsWBsgR33HRKOd4xLFPIZLso6BhAxcoDbh7M3TE-q70bUjLvFK-73QyKM6MEsg1PQoaEQU_9ZxjbJp3/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8184.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">We arrived at the new campground – Rancho Topanga, located
about midway between Terlingua and Lajitas – in good time. I had just enough
time to set up camp before the lightshow started. All afternoon, the clouds had
been gathering, descending lower and lower and growing thicker and thicker. It
all seemed a setup for what must be one of the most spectacular sunsets I’ve
ever witnessed. Without warning, the skies burst aflame, cascading reds and
oranges and yellows refracting off of bands of clouds, weaving into an
unrivaled patchwork of brilliant firey hues across the entire sky. Texas
sunsets really cannot be beat.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1HoqPexL40BcHfE7sZYP0wCpYvVyIGl9_lT5QlLx0TUQMGYNuvwHlbKGLsY4yUIxS7PCuftHLrdFke3KMxt2vpd-17RFFYEoijaLQ1DurUonFIpQnpT2vsyCa2TSLFIuR1EEbJLT0ZZMmB-G_DMz8emQvrBPtdcj2iTYoiYHhFUzO3IQtM31gVsGx/s5472/Edits-IMG_8201.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1HoqPexL40BcHfE7sZYP0wCpYvVyIGl9_lT5QlLx0TUQMGYNuvwHlbKGLsY4yUIxS7PCuftHLrdFke3KMxt2vpd-17RFFYEoijaLQ1DurUonFIpQnpT2vsyCa2TSLFIuR1EEbJLT0ZZMmB-G_DMz8emQvrBPtdcj2iTYoiYHhFUzO3IQtM31gVsGx/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8201.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGVhy0Y75I89xJ3uIDqiv3tR4UpDGnbBdTARgQcH33hKKUE2rlmnaSPfjTcgngVvcvd3cqAVvjA-bK0JImANJ8-N9YlqlYXqgVsN3yJwHhMU9sIganxy3dTwIf8pVYYo76TpzJyHnuLrLSmCLEMYsrI3nmW7g1HRRfG4tggQV0-X0pJoE10VBq454g/s5472/IMG_8207-Edit%20copy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGVhy0Y75I89xJ3uIDqiv3tR4UpDGnbBdTARgQcH33hKKUE2rlmnaSPfjTcgngVvcvd3cqAVvjA-bK0JImANJ8-N9YlqlYXqgVsN3yJwHhMU9sIganxy3dTwIf8pVYYo76TpzJyHnuLrLSmCLEMYsrI3nmW7g1HRRfG4tggQV0-X0pJoE10VBq454g/w640-h426/IMG_8207-Edit%20copy.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidTxdDtdcEfWkGqO7JrCtcK4VZSEeRi4CdZTiUlzL4whythRWD8ckzqMdMsNdmaPqwCeTaZm_RQaJkux0P0L1UE6kgc84Rgebax0xXiByXGlZZv7inXpTBKHZUoM-zIYH1wWSFUdgcHbbDLg1ZxS7HTjejyD-TnbS1oBLnV_7b0rtYDUybvfJlNEof/s5270/IMG_8200-Edit%20copy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3513" data-original-width="5270" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidTxdDtdcEfWkGqO7JrCtcK4VZSEeRi4CdZTiUlzL4whythRWD8ckzqMdMsNdmaPqwCeTaZm_RQaJkux0P0L1UE6kgc84Rgebax0xXiByXGlZZv7inXpTBKHZUoM-zIYH1wWSFUdgcHbbDLg1ZxS7HTjejyD-TnbS1oBLnV_7b0rtYDUybvfJlNEof/w640-h426/IMG_8200-Edit%20copy.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaoXgRD7I15vTskVDlLAAPPNOch7NbdKY-eUAN-BslpD3uLPS8P5orzpS6fTZ3vVbP4s-GLqDrsBZUEjnYpfR6_FBQlSUK12mfz0G_tq_9AYwKvdY87LMLN3JFYbG5Y_KWC1VvBTzBx4vtqAfZaX8hyPT6eJkqqySIvUaTIGIWomrNPGTSh0Hnodx1/s5472/Edits-IMG_8212.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaoXgRD7I15vTskVDlLAAPPNOch7NbdKY-eUAN-BslpD3uLPS8P5orzpS6fTZ3vVbP4s-GLqDrsBZUEjnYpfR6_FBQlSUK12mfz0G_tq_9AYwKvdY87LMLN3JFYbG5Y_KWC1VvBTzBx4vtqAfZaX8hyPT6eJkqqySIvUaTIGIWomrNPGTSh0Hnodx1/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8212.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHd2-NcX729mux5tQeAKaps-zuQyOT29nA93lhnA4fuMYrfD7kR_wqH0-ehBwnck2FtWZNmcWV-s8_DtMFEukKv1sEJ65dfac0vy5rYW7PArgmRRWn2Vk16JvblQ41WisCnzSblLHHUub_ZKWFWgblVDVFa4a2nZaAk0KVNe1obFXzryhKJKXjypSJ/s5390/Edits-IMG_8214.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3593" data-original-width="5390" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHd2-NcX729mux5tQeAKaps-zuQyOT29nA93lhnA4fuMYrfD7kR_wqH0-ehBwnck2FtWZNmcWV-s8_DtMFEukKv1sEJ65dfac0vy5rYW7PArgmRRWn2Vk16JvblQ41WisCnzSblLHHUub_ZKWFWgblVDVFa4a2nZaAk0KVNe1obFXzryhKJKXjypSJ/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8214.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQo9LtCh2JMf38ibQcy1epTO1YwkHztcRUy9vFGulbMox5srwzRZja6L80npfG9JnK2xjvGqInFpQZsnMIcHYNMSU7-WrTAyF2MiVFbxhm5Rn_JR6sWmYQfkl2nVF-xXjPsGZoLgbNQ71W5wChLABcK-LBpfwP65SjYuqIH8EyCCZ0kekC8jZUUCC2/s5472/Edits-IMG_8215.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQo9LtCh2JMf38ibQcy1epTO1YwkHztcRUy9vFGulbMox5srwzRZja6L80npfG9JnK2xjvGqInFpQZsnMIcHYNMSU7-WrTAyF2MiVFbxhm5Rn_JR6sWmYQfkl2nVF-xXjPsGZoLgbNQ71W5wChLABcK-LBpfwP65SjYuqIH8EyCCZ0kekC8jZUUCC2/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_8215.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">As dusk descended and the riot of oranges and yellows and
purples bled from the sky, I began to realize how unique this campground is. It’s
divided into two parts – a string of campsites along a high ridgetop, and a
string of campsites just down in the valley (more of a gully) below. I was staying
in one of the valley sites, nestled down between two hills. And the owner has
done a fantastic job taking care to preserve the real feel of this place – so although
there’s a very nice bathhouse with showers and flush toilets and sinks, and it
does have lighting internally, there are no other sources of electricity. What
I’m getting at is that my campsite was DARK. I mean completely, pitch black
dark. Amazing.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">I sat there at my picnic table, surrounded in the comforting
inky embrace of the night, broken only by the small light from my headlamp, and
had a very remarkable dinner (just soup, but it was remarkable because of how
remote and otherworldly it felt to be sitting there in complete darkness). It gave
me some quality time to think back over all of the awesome sights I got to experience
today. From the preserved remains of raging volcanoes, to the enduring strength
of a petrified wood chimney, to the vast rugged desolation of the grasslands, I
feel that today really captured the essence of Big Bend, less from a
hiker-tourism standpoint and more from the perspective of those who actually
lived here long ago.<o:p></o:p></p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal">With that, it’s time for a shower – I’m really looking
forward to this! Kelly signing out.<o:p></o:p></p><p></p>Kelly Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04271547498127096571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893125545466338016.post-5781780730439645542022-12-28T01:59:00.000-05:002022-12-28T01:59:21.873-05:00The Hated Hiker<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal">11-9-2022<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">-------------</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I woke up to a perfect Texan autumn morning – warm, with a subtle
cool breeze just strong enough to keep you from sweating. The perfect weather
for another long day of hiking!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Jane and I puttered up to the Chisos Mountain Visitor Center
and I plopped her in their parking lot to be admired, while I hit the trail
again. Today’s goal: Emory Peak!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Almost all of the Chisos Mountains trails start from the
same trailhead, so I found myself on a familiar path, retracing my steps from a
couple days prior. Instead of heading up the Laguna Meadows trail, though, I
headed up the Pinnacles trail, effectively going in the reverse of my earlier
trek. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Very unfortunately, the Pinnacles trail is much steeper than
Laguna Meadows, and it doesn’t let up for miles. I slogged on up through the sloped
brushy foothills, up through the rocky forest, up through the endless steep
switchbacks (which were even unpleasant to go down two days ago, so you can imagine
how unpleasant they were to go up), up, up, up. I would pause at every turn of
the switchbacks to have a bit of a breather, then steam up the straightaway to
just get it out of the way. Whether or not that was a good technique… well, I
did get to the crest of the trail in a reasonable time, so I guess it worked
out for me.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh68d4KDDQ2De3wmgIOrMz04_Evr6W9AJ2yctqNhR-RhFTiKiV4d2jaSmbVUw0bfGvL1CeiI4uCi_pQdz6Po0eIfcPL2zOKesIjj6GuMR5qBVFxYYkL_pbN5F2iznwx5PGZATTzWyTt6PQ64vR1MQ6W6Y9Nwrv2LPw2gUK_fMDbSDI9xbLZL4rJ1WKg/s5472/Edits-IMG_7778.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh68d4KDDQ2De3wmgIOrMz04_Evr6W9AJ2yctqNhR-RhFTiKiV4d2jaSmbVUw0bfGvL1CeiI4uCi_pQdz6Po0eIfcPL2zOKesIjj6GuMR5qBVFxYYkL_pbN5F2iznwx5PGZATTzWyTt6PQ64vR1MQ6W6Y9Nwrv2LPw2gUK_fMDbSDI9xbLZL4rJ1WKg/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7778.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not pictured: terrible switchbacks</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2HjsK9tH5iRNi9had2V7xh4nwvKctgj-4IUiAjknksQ_Uhg2eCbg2yqYi-m-t2z21Oy8zihh4PZ6vPa0zS6bHeYJ1jpCGw_lmuAZ2kPU1jHyyEOgaBtfcWxcVou9Je0h38cGe96LwaThj68VCpPmFv-wogcIrQrlRA2cAoClyJqRtV9hZa4D-Xhz6/s5472/Edits-IMG_7784.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2HjsK9tH5iRNi9had2V7xh4nwvKctgj-4IUiAjknksQ_Uhg2eCbg2yqYi-m-t2z21Oy8zihh4PZ6vPa0zS6bHeYJ1jpCGw_lmuAZ2kPU1jHyyEOgaBtfcWxcVou9Je0h38cGe96LwaThj68VCpPmFv-wogcIrQrlRA2cAoClyJqRtV9hZa4D-Xhz6/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7784.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">After nearly four miles of trudging uphill, I reached the
crest of the trail, at a saddle between Emory Peak and another peak. I sat and
had a bag of grapes to replenish some juice. Some Mexican Jays gathered around
me hoping for a handout, but no dice from me! <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI2ZFAkH2nhH0TAJHocNCDoZRozMbXMJ5mm7Vzu0fu4LXw6JM7Vol5zfj-SmHCUFHOtZRZ2QsbiPOT65HrFbAI6HftQWhI6-0hSFvDpUu3MBDpE9es3DvRVhcoWOup-vRy3_kkFim1eNeJFK28yH4cilLH9_UnVEy7o4pPTgUdEabkfU1m4HzcuSDt/s5472/Edits-IMG_7791.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5472" data-original-width="3648" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI2ZFAkH2nhH0TAJHocNCDoZRozMbXMJ5mm7Vzu0fu4LXw6JM7Vol5zfj-SmHCUFHOtZRZ2QsbiPOT65HrFbAI6HftQWhI6-0hSFvDpUu3MBDpE9es3DvRVhcoWOup-vRy3_kkFim1eNeJFK28yH4cilLH9_UnVEy7o4pPTgUdEabkfU1m4HzcuSDt/w426-h640/Edits-IMG_7791.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cute</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">My snack finished, I took off on the trail up to Emory Peak.
Fortunately, this portion was a much more gentle grade – at least, in comparison
to the earlier steep switchbacks – so I made great time. And once I broke out
of the trees, the views were phenomenal! <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ6ScAmBMngCm_L-whI2P1Zpq6IYyDsL8dfs9V-vznFNzEb_2flnLEvFS2H3u-GG3lIQiG4uw5VgeIC_Lpt3OqBNXqZ2TvRaGh8K1ve216as0jncRirTtP10osLle8WrMK3VgfagVQm0Is3z0SrW7soz0rqPzroL1iO1OYp99kbz2VJC-9YHaY-hC6/s5472/Edits-IMG_7803.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5472" data-original-width="3648" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ6ScAmBMngCm_L-whI2P1Zpq6IYyDsL8dfs9V-vznFNzEb_2flnLEvFS2H3u-GG3lIQiG4uw5VgeIC_Lpt3OqBNXqZ2TvRaGh8K1ve216as0jncRirTtP10osLle8WrMK3VgfagVQm0Is3z0SrW7soz0rqPzroL1iO1OYp99kbz2VJC-9YHaY-hC6/w426-h640/Edits-IMG_7803.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv-jtQANghnzJYCbYHlMe5YtPEBCp8DoV0hevSiDxgBY-QV8GsZiatJOSD69nMZ7i-5KqqzqwiG04s2hrVPWmIYnJs5TQWPYdCYhY3x6honZf55mchJ02X4ySvsggX6OT-7AD_mKp6zE8AoEqUL0rMpZrWlqDE7ZB6jP2PL7EUGMFZbbuvQ1TzZVFw/s5472/Edits-IMG_7820.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv-jtQANghnzJYCbYHlMe5YtPEBCp8DoV0hevSiDxgBY-QV8GsZiatJOSD69nMZ7i-5KqqzqwiG04s2hrVPWmIYnJs5TQWPYdCYhY3x6honZf55mchJ02X4ySvsggX6OT-7AD_mKp6zE8AoEqUL0rMpZrWlqDE7ZB6jP2PL7EUGMFZbbuvQ1TzZVFw/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7820.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifZrXiC25khn7WtCPi6uT6OlYTgZre4AE_YyfOS7BMJvVm85VaA5Scrbo63rlXRf2OModrTcLkfSSduPoIpmF9-W0SGYyc4JSnQPms14QR_8ouJsK2xtzW04USxZsVCGgjL2MB7yuGQ3GStwGiB7kNgbDc52XIkDRGQTLGVqBNryDeQAxLRyRbiByJ/s5472/Edits-IMG_7822.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifZrXiC25khn7WtCPi6uT6OlYTgZre4AE_YyfOS7BMJvVm85VaA5Scrbo63rlXRf2OModrTcLkfSSduPoIpmF9-W0SGYyc4JSnQPms14QR_8ouJsK2xtzW04USxZsVCGgjL2MB7yuGQ3GStwGiB7kNgbDc52XIkDRGQTLGVqBNryDeQAxLRyRbiByJ/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7822.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boot extra-prominent here</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As I headed up, I saw a group of hikers in the distance, silhouetted
against the sky further up the ridge. As I watched, they pulled out a bunch of
flags – of unknown origin – and jumped about, waving them around enthusiastically.
Maybe a quick pump-up pep rally? Who knows. They certainly weren’t at the top,
although they were at what appeared to be a very nice overlook.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9a7TiAUMBTLz1rFe-uCOcPTYNmyCigwHoMznVxoTe_irOAnTlc9LEFtJDrNeCk8R3XypeCUvAYHd3UqyNvFSwIR8fdDBxp3VEKNH0C2QfdRyZWQXUCsv6sK5BDJbu0N_GiL1ocsRCkx1s2Lpx2JRHPhMZ4BItqFX_eYXUKMR0_n_lUUrgQ2EPMScL/s5472/Edits-IMG_7806.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9a7TiAUMBTLz1rFe-uCOcPTYNmyCigwHoMznVxoTe_irOAnTlc9LEFtJDrNeCk8R3XypeCUvAYHd3UqyNvFSwIR8fdDBxp3VEKNH0C2QfdRyZWQXUCsv6sK5BDJbu0N_GiL1ocsRCkx1s2Lpx2JRHPhMZ4BItqFX_eYXUKMR0_n_lUUrgQ2EPMScL/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7806.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRmOLEf4bwXfgZOcFb-xXWf_PiVwPpTvbe415q5-2J0am08-ZOg46WR9fcIBFgcrjM5D0_yf1BItlBsO6-6Ow2TJjmzLNfIeUG3pmWbE6GZa9X4A23gpuapZhUDcDUj7wuto4ARzuWQUuGfheNI4FbfX4d0JVB3VBXwSIoyNLTUgl8CvEAbQ8Re3oZ/s5472/Edits-IMG_7807.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRmOLEf4bwXfgZOcFb-xXWf_PiVwPpTvbe415q5-2J0am08-ZOg46WR9fcIBFgcrjM5D0_yf1BItlBsO6-6Ow2TJjmzLNfIeUG3pmWbE6GZa9X4A23gpuapZhUDcDUj7wuto4ARzuWQUuGfheNI4FbfX4d0JVB3VBXwSIoyNLTUgl8CvEAbQ8Re3oZ/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7807.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLNqCK8-a7_WNbvoMs8IOtJwcc7ondauWJiazOniPO6FchjkGKvXR9rO8JsBzIw63qVo5ffUFWt19EgwXQuX1Hc3axht6r-l4H2mvIoqBIEVziJDqOthCK6uWFxxJz_PkxE9Kdf8dGsG9oX9Xvj31OcAdQQEJjk5AifoK7eYZC8JFdQPWHjXDQAb1R/s5472/Edits-IMG_7814.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5472" data-original-width="3648" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLNqCK8-a7_WNbvoMs8IOtJwcc7ondauWJiazOniPO6FchjkGKvXR9rO8JsBzIw63qVo5ffUFWt19EgwXQuX1Hc3axht6r-l4H2mvIoqBIEVziJDqOthCK6uWFxxJz_PkxE9Kdf8dGsG9oX9Xvj31OcAdQQEJjk5AifoK7eYZC8JFdQPWHjXDQAb1R/w426-h640/Edits-IMG_7814.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Also, there were nice flowers in the trail</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">With the warm sun, the light breeze, and the low-ish grade
on the trail, I was really hoofing it. And about a quarter mile before the
summit of the peak, I caught up with that gaggle of hikers, finding that it was
a group of six or so boisterous middle-aged friends - all carrying Texas flags prominently - making their way up to
the peak. A few were struggling a bit over the bouldery trail, but I was moving
fast. And then… I had what might have been the funniest exchange on a trail
that I have ever had.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As I came up behind the rearmost member of their party, one
heard me turn a rock over and looked backwards. She turned to call forwards to
the rest of her party, “Hiker back!! And it’s a young one, moving fast!”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The woman in front of her then turned back, caught sight of
me, and said, “Ohhh it’s Mustang Sally!”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Without missing a beat, the woman in front of HER then said,
“Ooooooooh we HATEEEEE her!!”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I laughed pretty hard at that one. Never had that reaction
to my car or my hiking speed before!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">They were (mostly) joking, but I still felt the need to reply,
“If it’s any consolation, I’m a career geologist and they fire me if I can’t
hike up a mountain in less than five hours”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Which then, of course, led to the rest of the group stopping,
clamoring with questions about geology. I evaded the questions neatly with a
flippant, “Oh, I’m one of those sages, I can only answer geology questions at
the top of the mountain,” and legged it off before they could stop me for too
long. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In short order, I made it up to the summit – well, not quite
the summit, as I didn’t rock climb my way up the final 10 feet of rock, but I’d
still consider it close enough – and had a nice lunch and a bit of a nap after
looking around a bit. The view from the top of Emory Peak is pretty amazing on
a clear day! It’s easy to see clear into Mexico from here, and there’s all
kinds of neat mountains and other geologic features to look at.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD03WRE0BaMmrfDvYfW_66aMX4XLMygpAStPgj8zHe9dljOFLF-p7GbunLbwzBej7D-jpJ0XbhKxTkPRj93aQfxVrRaHC_hrzmSHb3DH__ZUrrn8T6CUnTDeL5atJFcAGyk3bHshIzxDYxrvme_GDmbLtqC-4B9o1ZgroAfPfHIQfwv1u3qj6EzrKI/s5472/Edits-IMG_7833.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD03WRE0BaMmrfDvYfW_66aMX4XLMygpAStPgj8zHe9dljOFLF-p7GbunLbwzBej7D-jpJ0XbhKxTkPRj93aQfxVrRaHC_hrzmSHb3DH__ZUrrn8T6CUnTDeL5atJFcAGyk3bHshIzxDYxrvme_GDmbLtqC-4B9o1ZgroAfPfHIQfwv1u3qj6EzrKI/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7833.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view from the slot between the two "peaks" (rock outcrops) at the top of Emory</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHuoD6gZuATslSuLwZ7QPy8Q0oH5eIKHGRBUPSXxCHJb7oN1NjaWGuTmv3pA3O8Kj_7lNtiS1riRI-mqaVK4hLQ_UeSLyHjf6Sh9RquCfENNelT8JrGnMPK8wv4oyvxThSwDLQeUHPuKt58JLDEJn2kF6DyuoNgcK-Yyi3acKTCwAj5DIaXN50-GZs/s5472/Edits-IMG_7835.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5472" data-original-width="3648" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHuoD6gZuATslSuLwZ7QPy8Q0oH5eIKHGRBUPSXxCHJb7oN1NjaWGuTmv3pA3O8Kj_7lNtiS1riRI-mqaVK4hLQ_UeSLyHjf6Sh9RquCfENNelT8JrGnMPK8wv4oyvxThSwDLQeUHPuKt58JLDEJn2kF6DyuoNgcK-Yyi3acKTCwAj5DIaXN50-GZs/w426-h640/Edits-IMG_7835.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju0PjxYHe4MvykM6VUWZ_0ZzlE0tLYd0EOGYCJibVG4B8OujOnZ19Vhvf9c-6Xqu5icoLbldoclT6jYzHO2ZdOmUUgpRmK7WIFxr6m0ktgD1BEwQJl3A0bhF8k1Z8rbjapzrD5xENIKXIfm6YirJ5sof-U3f2Ktd3sY2g0k7RLt5-aZwgnXVTNBlg3/s5472/Edits-IMG_7838.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju0PjxYHe4MvykM6VUWZ_0ZzlE0tLYd0EOGYCJibVG4B8OujOnZ19Vhvf9c-6Xqu5icoLbldoclT6jYzHO2ZdOmUUgpRmK7WIFxr6m0ktgD1BEwQJl3A0bhF8k1Z8rbjapzrD5xENIKXIfm6YirJ5sof-U3f2Ktd3sY2g0k7RLt5-aZwgnXVTNBlg3/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7838.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A hell of a view!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAoMMfVqcJfNkWXZsk2fdHUxrOpBY1R6Mg6fZXKRkEsdx_JROf10PmD_RgsU8eB5Cg_DTdPdwxFi7uECs15FxO_nuw7BB7fDOzvecmwGFbYMeymgDBgOjWb8Y-E12lE9vPckIxkEG0g50rMZZtIuU1VCjJuGqn-1ZtcvOOR1q6T73h3oSUd5tMGcCO/s5472/Edits-IMG_7843.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5472" data-original-width="3648" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAoMMfVqcJfNkWXZsk2fdHUxrOpBY1R6Mg6fZXKRkEsdx_JROf10PmD_RgsU8eB5Cg_DTdPdwxFi7uECs15FxO_nuw7BB7fDOzvecmwGFbYMeymgDBgOjWb8Y-E12lE9vPckIxkEG0g50rMZZtIuU1VCjJuGqn-1ZtcvOOR1q6T73h3oSUd5tMGcCO/w426-h640/Edits-IMG_7843.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A shot of someone climbing up to the very top of Emory's rocky spire. I only went partway up before stopping for lunch on a good boulder</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKL3rKBhsOsLzjhBrwhHtg6BRKrjaMZd1vq7S7quVy0HzOIW7WtaaQ-IDV5z7p7ereVmWD6fK1zb7VPBAYwGKWycs4S9LNIqNNXhr5js9-_PIbO2neP32jtWiPIA7rgZlIWhXNEkZf9cCtgIGWsBymeR4KrQ5MTEa99CTY2G8JUs3a7tj78KSzRhi_/s5472/Edits-IMG_7842.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5472" data-original-width="3648" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKL3rKBhsOsLzjhBrwhHtg6BRKrjaMZd1vq7S7quVy0HzOIW7WtaaQ-IDV5z7p7ereVmWD6fK1zb7VPBAYwGKWycs4S9LNIqNNXhr5js9-_PIbO2neP32jtWiPIA7rgZlIWhXNEkZf9cCtgIGWsBymeR4KrQ5MTEa99CTY2G8JUs3a7tj78KSzRhi_/w426-h640/Edits-IMG_7842.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGxoMXnumJITS_RffWWRFoxM28sTX08BZotUi9dEloIez5cwng6SgPrZQb0YZ2b99bS1YjfWDGuna3I9qsdUuZ58SyC2nMQetkAE0XJIuXO3qLkaX1aayB1_t3sm12MTH01x7Ipiu8cUVsV5PyIo5gYFg5ZAD1SQcFwyTELTsAqfCitJqWxLJK7XBM/s5472/Edits-IMG_7840.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGxoMXnumJITS_RffWWRFoxM28sTX08BZotUi9dEloIez5cwng6SgPrZQb0YZ2b99bS1YjfWDGuna3I9qsdUuZ58SyC2nMQetkAE0XJIuXO3qLkaX1aayB1_t3sm12MTH01x7Ipiu8cUVsV5PyIo5gYFg5ZAD1SQcFwyTELTsAqfCitJqWxLJK7XBM/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7840.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picturesque in the extreme</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal">Of course, eventually the other group caught up to me, and
rightly declared that since I was now at the top of the mountain, I was
required to answer their questions. I told them that I was a “soft rocks”
geologist (limestone is considered a “soft rock”; volcanics are not!) so I
wouldn’t know much about the volcanic rocks of the region. But somehow, for all
of the questions they posed, I did have an answer. One of them pointed this out
to me – “You said you only know about soft rocks, but you answered all of our
questions!!” – to which I replied, “Yes, because all of your questions are
answered on the road signs around the park, and I’ve read all the signs.” We
all had a good laugh at that one. Sometimes it pays to be the kind of person
who compulsively visits ALL of the exhibits, even the little signs on the sides
of the road!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I left the summit and hiked back down, glad to finally not
be going uphill anymore. It turns out that I took almost the exact same photos
going down as I did up, so I guess I didn’t miss any of the good views!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhRyZ4mzxprqHal3OcAiTcesLUB08zjVW68cgACWaG1wAF4FeJk_arbI7hyAft5TWKLK0S4P9A5tXmBQxKK94fUryDVIceQJ3vjoPCTWbMFwQ789DqBOvN13vl26lHbBUQi9CuNVite3NGOal9TDZr6A9TV_k9GwAlRb5Qv00A9OKrUCqmZMEuf-4c/s5174/Edits-IMG_7846.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3449" data-original-width="5174" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhRyZ4mzxprqHal3OcAiTcesLUB08zjVW68cgACWaG1wAF4FeJk_arbI7hyAft5TWKLK0S4P9A5tXmBQxKK94fUryDVIceQJ3vjoPCTWbMFwQ789DqBOvN13vl26lHbBUQi9CuNVite3NGOal9TDZr6A9TV_k9GwAlRb5Qv00A9OKrUCqmZMEuf-4c/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7846.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkzsNhTmBObtuOr70SZ10Hssz9njt1WzgkfX1EozTgG8cBuEi71FyTqOXCYWOEwiZNKJ_e3OGoYafSUh346V9rdEM3psZ7XzFwVEOHsBkw0z918YKBsfHq_R6acBXHX7PcBJ-tfvsZ_YOP6Y86TnvZ3qscN6n7kBH63RjxtU2QCko1MJNi7hYNKmuC/s5472/Edits-IMG_7849.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkzsNhTmBObtuOr70SZ10Hssz9njt1WzgkfX1EozTgG8cBuEi71FyTqOXCYWOEwiZNKJ_e3OGoYafSUh346V9rdEM3psZ7XzFwVEOHsBkw0z918YKBsfHq_R6acBXHX7PcBJ-tfvsZ_YOP6Y86TnvZ3qscN6n7kBH63RjxtU2QCko1MJNi7hYNKmuC/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7849.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2aKmfAuuy5LoDUgpr6-IU2iBfESIPSuDYBIjMpjkHvClp54sjlqLoWbH6q86xuPCzF4Oiiota_i_9qZkTA1hf-gUsxcNXDpE3f1Zi3SuL1nZs8P4i9n8m9zi0bP0GnJxHx-BI-oi6V2ydsQYKEI8NS0ao3jNpQeMTA4Qk2Y9cweBPwwJxpjdAzR9n/s5472/Edits-IMG_7852.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2aKmfAuuy5LoDUgpr6-IU2iBfESIPSuDYBIjMpjkHvClp54sjlqLoWbH6q86xuPCzF4Oiiota_i_9qZkTA1hf-gUsxcNXDpE3f1Zi3SuL1nZs8P4i9n8m9zi0bP0GnJxHx-BI-oi6V2ydsQYKEI8NS0ao3jNpQeMTA4Qk2Y9cweBPwwJxpjdAzR9n/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7852.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hmm, starting to look suspiciously identical...</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvrXqYm2H3374w97sgJiwWKLNY-iujTnfbYnU0nYaKAWFh7wLKJs92p1-rsEpym9_HgLSd0gkYHBwNbZIsntQMHxvrryPooZ1t_5qYFBMhYIz2GHVfinSkZM1tImB25U7aVdj3WKLxKwDmluWPjwSIa0bHFjYqod0jERI84wKxCMO4FE2wLfeRaknN/s5472/Edits-IMG_7863.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvrXqYm2H3374w97sgJiwWKLNY-iujTnfbYnU0nYaKAWFh7wLKJs92p1-rsEpym9_HgLSd0gkYHBwNbZIsntQMHxvrryPooZ1t_5qYFBMhYIz2GHVfinSkZM1tImB25U7aVdj3WKLxKwDmluWPjwSIa0bHFjYqod0jERI84wKxCMO4FE2wLfeRaknN/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7863.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnn0ozKNL-rhVbqH5uFJ6gTSw2uUkRaDMxoScVMKCYG3fJ4yKb_lHWhCH8hauqGLq1RCVx3H8_XEJlG2R2GP3WG4EmunfCrFHQhU1kVL-d6kRvQz3XsgY550biSHr7ExToxr0ZnjYHR1StHFYz3svYcJv1fWP8xDjaWbAqGWx5u4z3n6wZRyAU9Jr7/s5472/Edits-IMG_7892.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnn0ozKNL-rhVbqH5uFJ6gTSw2uUkRaDMxoScVMKCYG3fJ4yKb_lHWhCH8hauqGLq1RCVx3H8_XEJlG2R2GP3WG4EmunfCrFHQhU1kVL-d6kRvQz3XsgY550biSHr7ExToxr0ZnjYHR1StHFYz3svYcJv1fWP8xDjaWbAqGWx5u4z3n6wZRyAU9Jr7/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7892.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I arrived back at the parking lot early in the afternoon, with
plenty of daylight left to burn. I had hiked the 11 mile out-and-back trail in
a little over 5 hours – like I said, I was making great time considering the
grade of the first part of the hike! I think that the South Rim hike kickstarted
me into heavy hiking mode, making all other trails seem pretty short. It’s nice
to know that I’ve still “got it”, despite having lived in “the flatlands” of Texas
for seven years now. The altitude resilience and the hiking fortitude instilled
in me during my time living in Colorado has yet to wear off, it seems.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I thought about heading up to the Lost Mine trailhead again
to take a stab at parking, but the awesome patio (and brownie) at the Chisos
Mountain Lodge was calling my name again. So I plopped myself down at a table
there to hang out for a couple hours. Fortunately I had thought to bring my
book with me up to the lodge, so I had something to occupy me between long
periods of staring into the mountains. I’m getting better at this whole “relaxing”
thing.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As dusk fell, I piled myself and all my books and backpacks
and various items back into Jane – noting that the rearview mirror had finally
broken after detaching itself from the frame daily for the past two years – and
headed back to camp. The mirror is a problem for non-vacation Kelly! For now,
my problem is how many burgers I should eat for dinner tonight. And how to address my apparent notoriety in the Chisos Mountain region of Big Bend. "The Hated Hiker", indeed. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Kelly signing out.<o:p></o:p></p>Kelly Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04271547498127096571noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893125545466338016.post-41679741646951000922022-12-24T23:12:00.001-05:002022-12-24T23:12:27.573-05:00The Dusty Grumps<p> </p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">11-8-2022<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">-------------<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">While I was in bed last night, all comfy and toasty warm,
a front blew in. Not a particularly cold front, nor a particularly warm front,
but some kind of front… and boy did it blow in with a vengeance.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">This is about the time that I figured out the one problem
with my Very Great campsite. Perched as it was on the outskirts of the
campground, on the edge of a hill overlooking a gully, it was certainly made
for great views. But, it turns out, it was also exactly located at the end of
the main wind tunnel that funnels through the pass in the Chisos Mountains. And
I had gone and placed my tent right at the edge of the campsite, right on the
edge of that hill.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Consequently, my tent attempted to depart the planet all
night long, as howling winds screamed down that pass and along the gully, banking
right up under the rain fly and doing their best to take the tent with them. Fortunately,
I stake my tent down pretty rigorously – not to mention, I was in there to hold
it down! So the tent remained on planet Earth. Disappointed, the winds carried
on without my tent in their grasp, leaving behind a large volume of thick swirling
dust which would periodically settle, only to be whipped up and churned about
the tent in the next gust of wind.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Now, I can sleep through just about anything. Extreme
heat, extreme cold, light, dark, traffic, it’s all the same to me. But it is
just a bit difficult to sleep when your tent is periodically laying down on
you, creaking ominously, while whipping dust somehow makes it way past your
eyelids into your eyes.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">I was mostly able to solve the problem by laying my
hoodie sleeve over my eyes to keep the dust out. With only the one problem (my
tent laying down on me), I was able to get quite a nice night’s rest despite
the windstorm.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">I woke around 8AM and the wind was still howling. So I opted
to hang out and read a book, waiting for the wind to die down. It is really
very annoying trying to make breakfast – or any food at all – on a camp grill
in heavy winds.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">But then the wind just… didn’t die down. At 10AM I had
finally had enough so I got up anyways, at which point I found that my contacts
were also full of dust when I put them in - a painful discovery. And my fingers
were also covered in fine dust, making reinstallation of contacts sans dust
completely impossible. A bummer, to say the least.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Tears streaming from my gritty eyes, I made breakfast in
the wind, having to chase down various plates and cups halfway across the
campsite a few times. I count myself lucky that I only got my oatmeal flipped
onto me once.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Needless to say, I was real, real grumpy.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">The dusty grumps are the worst. See, if you are grumpy
because you’re sodden, or freezing, that’s something that everyone can understand.
But many people have never had the experience of just being so gritty that you
end up mad, so it really doesn’t make sense to them. You don't realize how horrible it is to have a copious amount of dirt drifting in and out of your eyeballs. How irritating it is feeling sand scrape between your toes, or grind in any other joint, rubbing your skin raw in short order. The annoyance of turning your head and having a small shower of sand stream out of your hair and into your clothes - or worse, into your ear. It is really not my favorite state of being. I think that morning,
everyone in that campground began to understand the dusty grumps pretty well.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Having hiked 17 miles the previous day, I decided that I
was due for a lazy day. I thought that maybe I would try to hike a couple of
shortish trails that start at the campground. But then I remembered that I
needed to move campsites (it’s very challenging to book a single campsite for
more than two nights in Big Bend), so I decided I would just get that out of
the way first. No sense going out on a nice hike, then getting back and getting
grumpy again trying to move all my stuff in the wind.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">So, I moved my stuff first. Fortunately, the new campsite,
although lacking a bit in views, did possess a very large bush that was a
perfect wind block for my tent. My poor tent had survived the night’s gale, but
not without consequence – one segment of the titanium poles was quite bent, and
another had cracked at the end! Nothing catastrophic, but worth babying a bit until
I can get the poles sent off for repair.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">That done, I opted to set out on the Window trail, which
runs down the Chisos Basin and out to the main drainage for the entire mountain
range. It’s a fairly popular hike, but not too crowded. As I wandered along
downhill through the brush, I encountered several groups of people, all of whom
advised me that multiple black bears had been seen nearby. Not on the trail,
but near enough to need to keep your head on a swivel.<o:p></o:p></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPJXNnceQpK6lU8Dl8DJc70qrfacNWIrhfkxSj7nu-daicPpxfO-P4fsrNnA4USUjEgJ3upKBbZmVgUClLaqSIeYQUk8B_6Ay2ys96iF0e8iye9-51jQVGzHx5oTD6ZgcgVr1w4Ik9x6_L9jHFlRxvArEKGmsoSFZpMkFRH4h2GYVDomfUCPPO7qyQ/s5472/Edits-IMG_7663.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPJXNnceQpK6lU8Dl8DJc70qrfacNWIrhfkxSj7nu-daicPpxfO-P4fsrNnA4USUjEgJ3upKBbZmVgUClLaqSIeYQUk8B_6Ay2ys96iF0e8iye9-51jQVGzHx5oTD6ZgcgVr1w4Ik9x6_L9jHFlRxvArEKGmsoSFZpMkFRH4h2GYVDomfUCPPO7qyQ/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7663.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7FMeGZOTEmzeh5mFzrL3MTy_YnUIedtolNcHhTl98rdNrAQpPlcdfn9RWC_O4hSHFPkq3J1dQUkXU_xBWQHidsuELyc81AI_V60McIUbQHDWWqnPDt6fXA41MgVZIKUDfal2r34jRuMLZGOyZ9uXU9JhVJJQQX6oofrnm95glcdOjoow6nSum2gH7/s5472/Edits-IMG_7660.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7FMeGZOTEmzeh5mFzrL3MTy_YnUIedtolNcHhTl98rdNrAQpPlcdfn9RWC_O4hSHFPkq3J1dQUkXU_xBWQHidsuELyc81AI_V60McIUbQHDWWqnPDt6fXA41MgVZIKUDfal2r34jRuMLZGOyZ9uXU9JhVJJQQX6oofrnm95glcdOjoow6nSum2gH7/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7660.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Alas, I didn’t see any bears at all. But I did see one
last late-blooming agave, which was neat. Century plants only bloom once in
their lifetime after 10 or even 20 years of growth, so they are pretty rare to
see except in places where century plants are abundant.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1mG9W0OC5a2IM-py3a4-IXYvZiIakreHqp7tG3L7HsC0PMG6rSr6pCAx1ynumqlUX923N_7Z_AmHGGVrYqR2u1ojox4nTbC4u2d1G47ayjAJla2Wnz0-NrywwhHseH7Ym_g2O4eu3bfrgqcxOPvlXZQ22VR-20LXODRvLu2jB7cKZZzY7hb_JKy2c/s5472/Edits-IMG_7668.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5472" data-original-width="3648" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1mG9W0OC5a2IM-py3a4-IXYvZiIakreHqp7tG3L7HsC0PMG6rSr6pCAx1ynumqlUX923N_7Z_AmHGGVrYqR2u1ojox4nTbC4u2d1G47ayjAJla2Wnz0-NrywwhHseH7Ym_g2O4eu3bfrgqcxOPvlXZQ22VR-20LXODRvLu2jB7cKZZzY7hb_JKy2c/w426-h640/Edits-IMG_7668.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><br /></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">The trail narrowed as I continued downhill, the sloped
brushy hillsides giving way to cliffier terrain and gravel-filled gorges. I considered
continuing to be grumpy – especially after having to hike for a while near a
group that was playing music aloud, a cardinal hiking sin – but it’s just very
difficult to be grumpy when you’re out in nature (assuming you can get away
from the people playing music). It was a kind of muggy, overcast day, but even
that couldn’t keep me down for long. And other hikers helped stave off the grumps
as well – I passed a number of very pleasant people, including a couple with a young
child who wished everyone he passed, “Hi have a nice day!”.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Most people are pretty good.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Nearing the end of the trail, I heard running water and
encountered a small creek winding down the gorge. It cascaded beautifully down
a series of small pools carved into the rock floor, burbling cheerily from one
to the other in a path cut by hundreds – or even thousands – of years of
erosion.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlgRZc6yfofNB2r0ysfV6udfh1YtO_MngPDm6rNVQyXvYIGexJ4H1AlYgmQ3GKlrtxqdi7pxjTYG-ysQUHKnK5yHKuyKV3BbwEKz3eWulECQKrtB14jZGYEtLEhKKjaxQpR9dmHOT76coy3t-HBdPFz4K2zgjUTmM1_gd29ozlu6TMeV2ARIRFVq4T/s5472/Edits-IMG_7681.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5472" data-original-width="3648" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlgRZc6yfofNB2r0ysfV6udfh1YtO_MngPDm6rNVQyXvYIGexJ4H1AlYgmQ3GKlrtxqdi7pxjTYG-ysQUHKnK5yHKuyKV3BbwEKz3eWulECQKrtB14jZGYEtLEhKKjaxQpR9dmHOT76coy3t-HBdPFz4K2zgjUTmM1_gd29ozlu6TMeV2ARIRFVq4T/w426-h640/Edits-IMG_7681.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfAnF6u1jIf10tN2xrmpLkC8BlcuKgROS0z86L6oLDE7gWg2UY9MNKkjsWNT_6BpP0zOdJ8BzqYdDPwNMOzAJXQElpt3MH11pElqFGvFbncG86ickCznwDDeKl_kaLH5IuYSqi_oes-EKn_TLopv1MO9MdCGg-UcZtbtfrSJTl5sgGjEitxaHQRDoV/s5472/Edits-IMG_7686.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5472" data-original-width="3648" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfAnF6u1jIf10tN2xrmpLkC8BlcuKgROS0z86L6oLDE7gWg2UY9MNKkjsWNT_6BpP0zOdJ8BzqYdDPwNMOzAJXQElpt3MH11pElqFGvFbncG86ickCznwDDeKl_kaLH5IuYSqi_oes-EKn_TLopv1MO9MdCGg-UcZtbtfrSJTl5sgGjEitxaHQRDoV/w426-h640/Edits-IMG_7686.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><br /></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">I traipsed down the smoothed rocky corridor for a while,
following the rivulet along from pool to pool. Until, very abruptly, the
rivulet cascaded over one last rocky shoulder and vanished completely in a pile
of gravel at its base. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9QR9m-3LZyC9VEyKO8pARFb5KHxYENdSeKftEliOWTz0XDgECTCkKi3mWVQM835I3RCHCUkSopKXKrGIUY-NmJCnwjDBUvakiQetxwAQlx1cNeEzRB6gtRC4wXPbPz12NMaenkP5mHYOQz-Jm9d4Eh_slC1Yz7s_ryMR6sttS1gHOVaAG7Qe2GN62/s5472/Edits-IMG_7687.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9QR9m-3LZyC9VEyKO8pARFb5KHxYENdSeKftEliOWTz0XDgECTCkKi3mWVQM835I3RCHCUkSopKXKrGIUY-NmJCnwjDBUvakiQetxwAQlx1cNeEzRB6gtRC4wXPbPz12NMaenkP5mHYOQz-Jm9d4Eh_slC1Yz7s_ryMR6sttS1gHOVaAG7Qe2GN62/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7687.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWGIX5O4atXjrAQplOOzruK2R9dX8ct4s3puDz-jk509uP2qVasn8eI4PnqVwT8EFYcyAn-8TWUidDRXIRBex-YXMumOstzHA_4x73KYIaAy7a7EI3gPYBDpp-YSGrVl9V61ZhyaCq7MojwUYPtc8NiZeCbmIt7LD7Tw7_qfun6dvi9FI4buieHT94/s5420/Edits-IMG_7697.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3613" data-original-width="5420" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWGIX5O4atXjrAQplOOzruK2R9dX8ct4s3puDz-jk509uP2qVasn8eI4PnqVwT8EFYcyAn-8TWUidDRXIRBex-YXMumOstzHA_4x73KYIaAy7a7EI3gPYBDpp-YSGrVl9V61ZhyaCq7MojwUYPtc8NiZeCbmIt7LD7Tw7_qfun6dvi9FI4buieHT94/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7697.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv9BgJwy0AyAhw7hgnwQNEx3uAnozhd34stMddZ-Nu9usiOKROGAufdjqyUL9SQ8kYpgtKMYRCIzsLMn4xT0T9cxwIXdjDAFNVzAHPZ8dsbU-6UGNlz5mZvKAKV9k4LSlrgn5jodH6-dfSvQyQ00g7J4XV7X0__xfxqKmDuBi-3tL5TYAYQpl3jIjb/s5472/Edits-IMG_7700.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5472" data-original-width="3648" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv9BgJwy0AyAhw7hgnwQNEx3uAnozhd34stMddZ-Nu9usiOKROGAufdjqyUL9SQ8kYpgtKMYRCIzsLMn4xT0T9cxwIXdjDAFNVzAHPZ8dsbU-6UGNlz5mZvKAKV9k4LSlrgn5jodH6-dfSvQyQ00g7J4XV7X0__xfxqKmDuBi-3tL5TYAYQpl3jIjb/w426-h640/Edits-IMG_7700.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andddddd it's gone</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">There was not a trace of it to be found further down the
creekbed. I assume that there’s a big fracture in the rock under the gorge
floor that the water flows through. Fascinating! And although at the time of my
visit the creek vanished entirely into this crack, there was a lot of evidence
for a massive amount of water flow through the area beyond this point. I would
guess that during heavy rains, this area flash floods pretty hard, swelling the
creek into a raging river that cannot all drain through that small crack.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">A short while later, I reached the true end of the trail –
the Window. Although I had been hiking along a basin floor the whole trail – something
that should theoretically be a low point – here, it became evident that that
was not the case. Although the Chisos Basin is indeed a low bowl in the Chisos
Mountains, it is still much higher than the surrounding area! Consequently, a
hike along the basin floor to the lowest point in the bowl leads you to the
brink of a massive cliff with an awe-inspiring view of the rest of Big Bend.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdYdYFHc8WcAnGqxUaEAV-z0WKSU9P3HRJOc_wNLVBKzhANCGNHS4CI8r3vHxR0uATYUt2zYBMwokdJ_neJI9EpLQ4RrxVsxmCIldYij0wEwyGnben5mF3cTQ0TDHV5Fq9CAWl__lp2MChoTBSKNRZGArrhDp8yTl24WptTuEZiq_9XIBvLJW5K_8N/s5472/Edits-IMG_7706.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5472" data-original-width="3648" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdYdYFHc8WcAnGqxUaEAV-z0WKSU9P3HRJOc_wNLVBKzhANCGNHS4CI8r3vHxR0uATYUt2zYBMwokdJ_neJI9EpLQ4RrxVsxmCIldYij0wEwyGnben5mF3cTQ0TDHV5Fq9CAWl__lp2MChoTBSKNRZGArrhDp8yTl24WptTuEZiq_9XIBvLJW5K_8N/w426-h640/Edits-IMG_7706.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLtb7nFDuuMgn_bECddm1IRxvIJRkyYgZdV9aso3_vlA4W69HozBxBx7ia_Fz63ieYUNfTMACjmivThpdctTW3HK0G-Fjr3Squ1wJaR2osZ23iA6qiVmAjpO4mVUecQprEUEqQTmCMwpnQxUmYkPZcH5Jnp1xwpRFbJ0JW9I_xBsjlMeSpZXD9d5V8/s5472/Edits-IMG_7710.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLtb7nFDuuMgn_bECddm1IRxvIJRkyYgZdV9aso3_vlA4W69HozBxBx7ia_Fz63ieYUNfTMACjmivThpdctTW3HK0G-Fjr3Squ1wJaR2osZ23iA6qiVmAjpO4mVUecQprEUEqQTmCMwpnQxUmYkPZcH5Jnp1xwpRFbJ0JW9I_xBsjlMeSpZXD9d5V8/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7710.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />Now *that* is really, really cool.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">I didn’t inch too close to the edge of that dropoff, even
though it promised even better views, for one very good reason: the rock there
is smoothed almost to glass, slippery and treacherous even when dry. Even my
hiking boots struggled to maintain purchase on it. I imagine that thousands of
years of floodwaters have funneled brutally through this small bottleneck,
battering the constraining rock endlessly in their quest to escape the Chisos
Mountains. It must be quite a sight during heavy rainfall.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">This would have been a wonderful spot to stop for lunch,
if not for the fact that there was already a group of four young teenagers
there who had had the same idea. They mostly ignored me as I noodled around for
a bit taking pictures and checking out the rocks, as they were embroiled in a
daring attempt to rescue a wasp drowning in a puddle.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">“I hope this guy doesn’t sting me, but I guess it would
be okay. My good karma for the day,” one of them declared.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Most people are pretty good.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Not wishing to bother them, I wandered back up the trail to
the burbling creek and had lunch between two of the most picturesque pools.
Along came the family with the young child (another “Hi have a nice day!!”), the
elderly couple, the two tie-dyed ladies, and a number of others. I decided to
skedaddle on so that the end of the trail wouldn’t clog up with people all
trying to find somewhere to sit and hang out without bothering others.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">The way back up the trail was not as pleasant, mostly
because the day had gotten even muggier (in November! In the mountains! Argh!)
and it was just a long uphill slog through the brush. But, I got to see some
pretty Mexican jays snacking on some worms, so that was neat.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtvXZ8dHoEjYKPu4Ody2dTn9YWQcQbrilvgVQtGI2mpeMttggxoJSjHqMBjo7TTkoLvdA7LYowvkmi9BeoeOdH2ryzwvqfZNa1cXWx3FAAUHzSc1S9hIDr8PnKukvxJ8870XJMZWD8uOstZtwTrsxm5X-M11t4DrHSsIRoODsD-TKNzSoaxwQs-9uK/s5472/Edits-IMG_7721.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtvXZ8dHoEjYKPu4Ody2dTn9YWQcQbrilvgVQtGI2mpeMttggxoJSjHqMBjo7TTkoLvdA7LYowvkmi9BeoeOdH2ryzwvqfZNa1cXWx3FAAUHzSc1S9hIDr8PnKukvxJ8870XJMZWD8uOstZtwTrsxm5X-M11t4DrHSsIRoODsD-TKNzSoaxwQs-9uK/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7721.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx-hPnjv2Dkmj5y2DdSo2ZCKSErK1G-CjYfSTRAVw7poVwz6Ei3GLd-3NsdxXi7akT-JOYXboaWRsUkVmnK2NvofRwrGPC6x8CCn87F6Jb-1hWI_DBmZkcEH_EIyZwuk9LhhmOOE9gA4hidefTL0iDayS05yoK_cZy237a5CU1TNOOv3rvbTSNaDo1/s5472/Edits-IMG_7731.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5472" data-original-width="3648" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx-hPnjv2Dkmj5y2DdSo2ZCKSErK1G-CjYfSTRAVw7poVwz6Ei3GLd-3NsdxXi7akT-JOYXboaWRsUkVmnK2NvofRwrGPC6x8CCn87F6Jb-1hWI_DBmZkcEH_EIyZwuk9LhhmOOE9gA4hidefTL0iDayS05yoK_cZy237a5CU1TNOOv3rvbTSNaDo1/w426-h640/Edits-IMG_7731.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0r9X2KINTjrKrvX1Hnxb-BWDaJ2aWtp40K474iZrq0MhTMl4Zbdakoj2o3yNXHXHJlVXDlQBayYAco4YmoC2NplyXFWeSW_UKmYHe5wUyM40SdZ89N7VVKCPbzerLb1zUKJYEq0DUbXHI4lqF3kfnvXpWh4MhbQbSZzU5q8gpRAJ5ERVY4O8My19Q/s5472/Edits-IMG_7736.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5472" data-original-width="3648" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0r9X2KINTjrKrvX1Hnxb-BWDaJ2aWtp40K474iZrq0MhTMl4Zbdakoj2o3yNXHXHJlVXDlQBayYAco4YmoC2NplyXFWeSW_UKmYHe5wUyM40SdZ89N7VVKCPbzerLb1zUKJYEq0DUbXHI4lqF3kfnvXpWh4MhbQbSZzU5q8gpRAJ5ERVY4O8My19Q/w426-h640/Edits-IMG_7736.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />As I hit the last mile of the trail, the sky cleared and
I was treated to some very classic Big Bend views. Not a bad end to the trail!</p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrwEt7FyT9Jex3hYVCVl8cstH5Jltt275rY0H7oK4rvs8WdTI6kux73Bpb0DgjSiYyw8Q8Rfu8b-96aD0oaAZJtbjwqDFAVhX5BpNFDoAYcG7BackVgc_xOrjX6wxJbh8mEwQIaLfxPiTCvguTrZDQittaezApezzH3gz6uwy5lq-69JjrfZ38xK9Z/s5472/Edits-IMG_7738.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrwEt7FyT9Jex3hYVCVl8cstH5Jltt275rY0H7oK4rvs8WdTI6kux73Bpb0DgjSiYyw8Q8Rfu8b-96aD0oaAZJtbjwqDFAVhX5BpNFDoAYcG7BackVgc_xOrjX6wxJbh8mEwQIaLfxPiTCvguTrZDQittaezApezzH3gz6uwy5lq-69JjrfZ38xK9Z/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7738.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7qsqvHrGFQIjaxCc0lUmVj6sgHf0mK8PrBQ9imylnIN0MBzkSK6POgija_50JAn9LbQz29SGqpzwfCZ6q-PkCZH1OyY3hRG2_x9-R2_BwyQQDfujvWE-lDMyVHOxd7QFP80lAglxVDb56A0sUyMYAErT_IN0BowS0WSAmI80SeT8gY0J2AhfWtspZ/s5472/Edits-IMG_7747.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7qsqvHrGFQIjaxCc0lUmVj6sgHf0mK8PrBQ9imylnIN0MBzkSK6POgija_50JAn9LbQz29SGqpzwfCZ6q-PkCZH1OyY3hRG2_x9-R2_BwyQQDfujvWE-lDMyVHOxd7QFP80lAglxVDb56A0sUyMYAErT_IN0BowS0WSAmI80SeT8gY0J2AhfWtspZ/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7747.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A lizard even came out to warm itself in the sun! This is a Canyon Lizard.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjElagsvLYnB_1YBMLg0aj4k7XbT0AtlB1_9tZRkLNBm89mQyvcD6I3X8aS1BWRJJFokSCggug5i6K8RNvKHqBsLvaVkML_tREOKNXUOBCtb00bymbWi7ATjDz-ro7X-JnwU1o55G2aMRDQVAvu2ynASO3kAY1Fly4511e_YPoHdBDUfz4b4RQgIdAV/s5472/Edits-IMG_7750.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5472" data-original-width="3648" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjElagsvLYnB_1YBMLg0aj4k7XbT0AtlB1_9tZRkLNBm89mQyvcD6I3X8aS1BWRJJFokSCggug5i6K8RNvKHqBsLvaVkML_tREOKNXUOBCtb00bymbWi7ATjDz-ro7X-JnwU1o55G2aMRDQVAvu2ynASO3kAY1Fly4511e_YPoHdBDUfz4b4RQgIdAV/w426-h640/Edits-IMG_7750.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ-sKlasQUhsK5xudyxKO0m3_6viQ1Snb31yvi9WCWjrNpqu5aSwTR_bsGYBD8lWG6X_a2wEHU_CO1Oks_GcOxsKo2EScTHzOFcAUSGEjUU0ZVFKg0cZwCJRaifMHexsuggtXY0uZG6MpyrmWmOa2U30sEFL9ye2z3DRvAIZqGtzGKru4oddaPJpSu/s5472/Edits-IMG_7755.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ-sKlasQUhsK5xudyxKO0m3_6viQ1Snb31yvi9WCWjrNpqu5aSwTR_bsGYBD8lWG6X_a2wEHU_CO1Oks_GcOxsKo2EScTHzOFcAUSGEjUU0ZVFKg0cZwCJRaifMHexsuggtXY0uZG6MpyrmWmOa2U30sEFL9ye2z3DRvAIZqGtzGKru4oddaPJpSu/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7755.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looks like "The West" to me</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3M-IHWLRLZxGxBZKao8Mo-wu_VvQPAljfx2NVISmDEP-a_aU22YeDarGtpOPAIKasT63t_gl_hPbPNLbppPP0RcrAmlHZZ-FSbP8S-MR7dajQOdgD-2zV0mv5cVb7q0dK_ZjX4tdJT3lSAnWzm1kUpoPB-Foc_qdoEhl2JaY0BzbSX3SsHycH7yiz/s5472/Edits-IMG_7758.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3M-IHWLRLZxGxBZKao8Mo-wu_VvQPAljfx2NVISmDEP-a_aU22YeDarGtpOPAIKasT63t_gl_hPbPNLbppPP0RcrAmlHZZ-FSbP8S-MR7dajQOdgD-2zV0mv5cVb7q0dK_ZjX4tdJT3lSAnWzm1kUpoPB-Foc_qdoEhl2JaY0BzbSX3SsHycH7yiz/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7758.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjegdjEmVWzc2Ku0kJsxg9vkrzOyVx7JaF1qUTp7Ne5QLClsFn49Ytio4VLxpnpA6kyo-ditV069nE9YkDAbQJvmhtn9waEyaWI8zU7zwPUUD7xAQHOf2XjwQZPNV_fZN1d_TZNtGjqkg5ElsQWmNmn1Hjs3Nm6En2c44r51elCoUf-S13eGhfQx3XO/s5472/Edits-IMG_7761.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjegdjEmVWzc2Ku0kJsxg9vkrzOyVx7JaF1qUTp7Ne5QLClsFn49Ytio4VLxpnpA6kyo-ditV069nE9YkDAbQJvmhtn9waEyaWI8zU7zwPUUD7xAQHOf2XjwQZPNV_fZN1d_TZNtGjqkg5ElsQWmNmn1Hjs3Nm6En2c44r51elCoUf-S13eGhfQx3XO/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7761.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUG6TOVXdkvmWz-APANSn1lqj33QGalX-UlFHN-jYq3xo39_JDR36jgqJhl39LXQuZKIHdLGz_lTPio_p14WfnyVqTPtYlgn39LahxOseaq862pvGl2HOLN6YCE7bewV5iHtzoAjc9fwvF1BHtVAXcLJ75aumeCaQ7U9yUWg6J3mubaBh-0LENcjRy/s5472/Edits-IMG_7764.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUG6TOVXdkvmWz-APANSn1lqj33QGalX-UlFHN-jYq3xo39_JDR36jgqJhl39LXQuZKIHdLGz_lTPio_p14WfnyVqTPtYlgn39LahxOseaq862pvGl2HOLN6YCE7bewV5iHtzoAjc9fwvF1BHtVAXcLJ75aumeCaQ7U9yUWg6J3mubaBh-0LENcjRy/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7764.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Arriving back in my campsite around midafternoon, I
figured I would sit and read a while before trying to find parking up at the
Lost Mine trailhead – apparently a cool trail, but one with a very small
parking lot that fills up fast.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">But the more I thought about it, the more I felt
absolutely no inclination to go do more assing around. So instead I just kept
sitting there in my site, reading my book and enjoying the day. It’s important
to do that sometimes, you know. I forget about that a lot in my eternal quest
to see everything. But in that moment, sitting in the warm sun, sprawled in my
camp chair and burrowed in a good book, I remembered.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">At some point, a girl – well, truthfully, probably around
my age, but I have trouble referring to even myself as a woman still rather
than a girl – approached me, rousing me from my book. She introduced herself as
Ginny, a fellow camper who really loved my car. And wouldn’t you know it, but
she has a vintage Mustang of her own! She told me all about her car, and I told
her all about mine, and then we got to chatting and a very pleasant hour
passed. Although it’s common for someone to comment on Jane, it’s fairly rare
for the comment to come from another vintage Mustang owner – and even more rare
coming from a woman, especially my age! So I was really excited to meet a new
friend.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Eventually I popped over to the Chisos Mountain Lodge to
suck up some of their WiFi and a power outlet. More importantly, I also took
the opportunity to get a warm brownie and some ice cream from their restaurant.
A beautiful day deserves a nice dessert, don’t you think?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqRsGUAhkLrX2tISMqQrj48BU2IgBDAVTVqFPlJup3W17IEVwcg6YH-33KqWBz9qDhGHoN5YZIHutqBXV_vZJlKqR8gzZCqmiuhIhmR7U6qxtrrqeIp9fcFFc12BQe1pKdXGUemK9dYVjCkvqPRYIslhPaQPbOYiydxCPftKG8Krogysz7bmuCuZQT/s5472/Edits-IMG_7774.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqRsGUAhkLrX2tISMqQrj48BU2IgBDAVTVqFPlJup3W17IEVwcg6YH-33KqWBz9qDhGHoN5YZIHutqBXV_vZJlKqR8gzZCqmiuhIhmR7U6qxtrrqeIp9fcFFc12BQe1pKdXGUemK9dYVjCkvqPRYIslhPaQPbOYiydxCPftKG8Krogysz7bmuCuZQT/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7774.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />I wrapped up the day with a nice big bowl of turkey and
wild rice soup (which I had frozen at home to use as an ice pack in the cooler –
one of my more genius ideas). The dusty grumps had been completely banished.
Sure, I was still dusty. There were still some errant specks of dirt in my eye.
It was promising to be another windy night. But hey, I had a nice walk, I saw
some nice people, I saw some cool stuff, I had some good food, and I’ve got a nice
bush to protect my poor tent. Seems like a pretty good life after all. </p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Kelly signing out.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p>Kelly Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04271547498127096571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893125545466338016.post-66414066781861439262022-12-12T02:50:00.025-05:002022-12-12T02:54:07.004-05:00The Hike That Just Kept Going<p>11-7-2022</p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">-------------</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">After a bit of a chilly night, I spent a leisurely couple
of hours warming up in the sun at camp, making oatmeal and staring blearily
into the distance as one does in the early morning.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Except, you know, it wasn’t really that early in the
morning, it was more like 9. Or 10. What can I say, I’m not a morning person. </p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Fortunately, I can afford to dither around in the
mornings on camping trips, because I simply just don’t plan too many things for
the day. This is a vacation, after all, not a boot camp. Usually.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Around 10:15, I finally got my act together, piled my
hiking gear into Jane, and drove all of 3 minutes up to the Chisos Basin
Visitor Center just up the road.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">BUT I DIDN’T GO INTO THE VISITOR CENTER</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">(I did stop outside of it, though, to verify the trail
map I had was correct)</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Instead, I opted to hop straight on the trail and get
moving. The weather was perfect, the skies were blue, various birds were
singing, the whole shebang. Seemed like a good time to start hiking before I
got embroiled in bothering various Visitor Center staff again.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Now back when I was in Terlingua having dinner with Mary
and Matt at the Starlight Theater, I asked them what their favorite Big Bend
hikes were. And both said that the South Rim Trail was the best there was. They
did warn me that it was a bit of a long trek – something like 12 or 14 miles
round trip with over 2,800 ft of elevation gain. But no biggie, I figured I’d
have no trouble at all if I tackled it early on in the trip when I still had some
energy in me.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">So off I headed on the Chisos Basin trails, following the
signs for the South Rim Trail via Laguna Meadows. Very fortunately, the Laguna
Meadows trail is quite pleasant, with nice little hills and a gentle uphill
incline – ideal for getting warmed up when you really haven’t been doing a
whole lot of hiking recently. And the views from the trail are increasingly
spectacular the further you go. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpLkag-v7yKMhgsRq88SvNJfIuJUYS2b14baUtVXCIfYWI35gvx2L7cmH85ofpcxGDF-OAmHamohDWsJuEn04websw4-rwq7m4HKU0G-cnkC7c73vIRNMO7IPivhUuWaFo8AexFexGPqi3RMITlH3BgLFuex-1tD_iIrqJgiMX7wMQ_ZXz7x3GwpfB/s5472/Edits-IMG_7363.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpLkag-v7yKMhgsRq88SvNJfIuJUYS2b14baUtVXCIfYWI35gvx2L7cmH85ofpcxGDF-OAmHamohDWsJuEn04websw4-rwq7m4HKU0G-cnkC7c73vIRNMO7IPivhUuWaFo8AexFexGPqi3RMITlH3BgLFuex-1tD_iIrqJgiMX7wMQ_ZXz7x3GwpfB/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7363.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOrvEu4kvYK8Tl-eJ9sGDxoQUjzPE1Mo5uOD8rMMreRTPszyv1V2HH5PKClL0JicQYBuBpuK2iRQR0ogaFWpfE0wgWzBQqdG6l5BCoHcAcPfa_OnKf6POtLAjP_O3HJBBuS0PBXAk1P5X2FlvOrMpmMRmDX-pg5EsJCjvqwFMyeC8ZPknCLqruo533/s5472/Edits-IMG_7364.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOrvEu4kvYK8Tl-eJ9sGDxoQUjzPE1Mo5uOD8rMMreRTPszyv1V2HH5PKClL0JicQYBuBpuK2iRQR0ogaFWpfE0wgWzBQqdG6l5BCoHcAcPfa_OnKf6POtLAjP_O3HJBBuS0PBXAk1P5X2FlvOrMpmMRmDX-pg5EsJCjvqwFMyeC8ZPknCLqruo533/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7364.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQc-_5fFAkbKJhM8yiQzH5t-80q6r-lG5vpoR76Nr8nWt3S9c-JJ3u5sfWEd4Al0LCb9DWCpwJ1ew2N_WMkZH5r5nQ9dudlzb64Q1t30q24M9oU4hVL8AcRqPMBSIriyeZT_g7kbToKlGjj8XWWCg22-vzbegZcnvswrBKdZli44ujRqh5xzA1Nk21/s5472/Edits-IMG_7368.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQc-_5fFAkbKJhM8yiQzH5t-80q6r-lG5vpoR76Nr8nWt3S9c-JJ3u5sfWEd4Al0LCb9DWCpwJ1ew2N_WMkZH5r5nQ9dudlzb64Q1t30q24M9oU4hVL8AcRqPMBSIriyeZT_g7kbToKlGjj8XWWCg22-vzbegZcnvswrBKdZli44ujRqh5xzA1Nk21/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7368.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGPe7co6sc1cQBbmRo3wwlZBGi0LPG476_5koeHubZlzDGWLVOPF3pNOKNDktU-lE9xLq-hixr5Pp-5ABSkzfwmxe_BWA9YeomAJkJF9yHxJDsh3xrF2VP_9UKFrq6NoRgsBz8_uDEue5JuDXTeXLGRN7mGB_ImCYH931zszoVRlW3uoSrWRNn6L8-/s5472/Edits-IMG_7381.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGPe7co6sc1cQBbmRo3wwlZBGi0LPG476_5koeHubZlzDGWLVOPF3pNOKNDktU-lE9xLq-hixr5Pp-5ABSkzfwmxe_BWA9YeomAJkJF9yHxJDsh3xrF2VP_9UKFrq6NoRgsBz8_uDEue5JuDXTeXLGRN7mGB_ImCYH931zszoVRlW3uoSrWRNn6L8-/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7381.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">I climbed up through the scrubby meadows and into a more
treed section of the trail. Oaks and junipers grew thickly there, shading the
underbrush and sheltering all kinds of lovely fall wildflowers, and, oddly,
large agaves (century plants). Living here in Texas, I’ve seen a lot of agaves,
but I’ve never seen any as attractive as the ones I saw in Big Bend. Perfectly
proportioned, with fat subtly patterned blue-green leaves protruding in a very
satisfying symmetrical dome, these guys are real show-stoppers. I noticed that
they very commonly grow right out of the base of a juniper tree, although I
couldn’t tell you why. They are certainly different than the sun-loving giant
agaves I’m used to seeing back at home, though.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBHPFSufzlCw0XOkrX638npeeYgrU9r16pgDg5bjTvxflYYGFaWWEY9byN5oAldyTIdqX7NPanXBzsNH1L7LuAErcD0Otk_5Ud0_ekf3_oLTdmhUSsHlsBNj7sjaRxy_3euo_djJGv91JACGt-WxAWBn5-pFCqaHxjVVw46q0EJqe4N8lPDhZ_SRXu/s5472/Edits-IMG_7402.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5472" data-original-width="3648" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBHPFSufzlCw0XOkrX638npeeYgrU9r16pgDg5bjTvxflYYGFaWWEY9byN5oAldyTIdqX7NPanXBzsNH1L7LuAErcD0Otk_5Ud0_ekf3_oLTdmhUSsHlsBNj7sjaRxy_3euo_djJGv91JACGt-WxAWBn5-pFCqaHxjVVw46q0EJqe4N8lPDhZ_SRXu/w426-h640/Edits-IMG_7402.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2RQlTmcfIb80GbnRHUccTD_Tq60sFZCx_HB_-KDLqZJFMPGEqduMLgKTeq9jvo6FOCQn-rVXOMMvU8oW5KDggQwehfx5whRr5pqk-0ZHTtAegMv1V2qxNtFRGiTBTN1AeEoaPoI3TtEuCFfAH8gq2O8ZNxz0tRco9MBNBDM1eqxAVrvE6NBh1rPbc/s5472/Edits-IMG_7405.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5472" data-original-width="3648" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2RQlTmcfIb80GbnRHUccTD_Tq60sFZCx_HB_-KDLqZJFMPGEqduMLgKTeq9jvo6FOCQn-rVXOMMvU8oW5KDggQwehfx5whRr5pqk-0ZHTtAegMv1V2qxNtFRGiTBTN1AeEoaPoI3TtEuCFfAH8gq2O8ZNxz0tRco9MBNBDM1eqxAVrvE6NBh1rPbc/w426-h640/Edits-IMG_7405.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The most pleasingly symmetrical agave I could find, for your viewing pleasure</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">By this time – at, oh, about a mile and a half into the
hike - the trail had turned quite steep. I slogged my way upwards, trying to
remember how to breathe and feeling very out of shape. But still I pressed on,
climbing higher and higher. I had things to see and places to be!</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">And boy, the places I had to see were getting more
magnificent by the minute.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj42Bu9-aNTyuF5poq6NEgs-OUN5wDcC61G20BGzRhRet2FrSQ3Dnz-ARDwHJrfmuDlS4oCBcJP2VWoCr0NZvuWJlYK01v3DGn8uxaFlGen6cWH3rlAHkHsOCCBdgBl6YpRdbzQ_AdERJJdY8P0_2-vqjCcDDXwwQjSryw535uzHxoj3qVpG50hv2bE/s5472/Edits-IMG_7411.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj42Bu9-aNTyuF5poq6NEgs-OUN5wDcC61G20BGzRhRet2FrSQ3Dnz-ARDwHJrfmuDlS4oCBcJP2VWoCr0NZvuWJlYK01v3DGn8uxaFlGen6cWH3rlAHkHsOCCBdgBl6YpRdbzQ_AdERJJdY8P0_2-vqjCcDDXwwQjSryw535uzHxoj3qVpG50hv2bE/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7411.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Eventually, I had climbed so high that I could see over the mountains in my immediate vicinity, out to the rest of Big Bend beyond the Chisos. A massive wall of limestone – with Santa Elena Canyon prominently visible – loomed alluringly far in the background. But between that wall and my position in the Chisos, it became evident that there was a lot more topography than I had expected.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuylBMexO7xZRbnU2Atf2SIZdMikT0k3yxNTzeBlBVXDKDfpGsNc5fQPCaYcAMQx_Zzzws7Y-jqbU65N-gRnLw6ZSQUXuNGzkwJCOfLJTWyR6yqh_UyuxJRTL55pDIz1X43uX-UFOraHjKm0floyruxYgUAcUtqa3CeW3CDOI_bUPt1ntGetPDPEQy/s5358/Edits-IMG_7425.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3572" data-original-width="5358" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuylBMexO7xZRbnU2Atf2SIZdMikT0k3yxNTzeBlBVXDKDfpGsNc5fQPCaYcAMQx_Zzzws7Y-jqbU65N-gRnLw6ZSQUXuNGzkwJCOfLJTWyR6yqh_UyuxJRTL55pDIz1X43uX-UFOraHjKm0floyruxYgUAcUtqa3CeW3CDOI_bUPt1ntGetPDPEQy/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7425.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjRCiTU8d99xMUKDKtc5hQeWWwL5S28pyNF7njz3Mlks5krfOt1V6o_FV0zpUySE3WkWrDeV7SzH84C8Mdd--tcLek7lwzSLSwegcIpxgPrRFlAKGNOLFgQ_F1FFdoHs17ZShBmYyraBo13ECPZU5Ss2zUr8eZAZrWDFeDAyx8WDC3uqzwkTtbEdD-/s5472/Edits-IMG_7430.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjRCiTU8d99xMUKDKtc5hQeWWwL5S28pyNF7njz3Mlks5krfOt1V6o_FV0zpUySE3WkWrDeV7SzH84C8Mdd--tcLek7lwzSLSwegcIpxgPrRFlAKGNOLFgQ_F1FFdoHs17ZShBmYyraBo13ECPZU5Ss2zUr8eZAZrWDFeDAyx8WDC3uqzwkTtbEdD-/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7430.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">I found myself beginning to hope that I wasn’t going to
have to hike through it.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">A series of switchbacks took me through the remainder of
the worst of the steep forested area, and I finally popped out at the top of
the Chisos. It seems that a large portion of the tops have burned recently – in
the past couple of years, I’d guess, based on the plants that have and haven’t
popped back up. A number of the burned patches were also suspiciously close to
primitive campsite locations. Hmmmmmm. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Z5Ho8hSGE8udc25NkDq3hSj2rCUlOXaecM3KZz4OTswxU3Sfftc_JGF9P3KiIOT93-1fE6GknlbCYsLCNjS05IDrnCo5bRusAR1g2MmBBm2reDgDr0zjj5bPFgNG5Uj87HatKul-W7UsZ7-YW2TgeRE6-q0hGfJtnYnLuUPbKSqnDrtWh7wws0sI/s5472/Edits-IMG_7450.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Z5Ho8hSGE8udc25NkDq3hSj2rCUlOXaecM3KZz4OTswxU3Sfftc_JGF9P3KiIOT93-1fE6GknlbCYsLCNjS05IDrnCo5bRusAR1g2MmBBm2reDgDr0zjj5bPFgNG5Uj87HatKul-W7UsZ7-YW2TgeRE6-q0hGfJtnYnLuUPbKSqnDrtWh7wws0sI/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7450.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thought the wispy, very yellow grass was neat looking though</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvFV3UPY1iOgcjnmpQVmHPQujRjhiGW_rlMW06QsPOZ4WBh0fU9T_E-5i4U_8gJ3rkNUn_L-NRXnXZ3UhPF9CdmMkbHny8zGQlpCozI4AsoVHNlsYWmC0o6YzRQmtQ46l-Hy2Uv9KXU3YlEUsVipeD-oBjrcYvd3S1rUKPoTOD5cfAueIImbizD9tF/s5472/Edits-IMG_7458.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5472" data-original-width="3648" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvFV3UPY1iOgcjnmpQVmHPQujRjhiGW_rlMW06QsPOZ4WBh0fU9T_E-5i4U_8gJ3rkNUn_L-NRXnXZ3UhPF9CdmMkbHny8zGQlpCozI4AsoVHNlsYWmC0o6YzRQmtQ46l-Hy2Uv9KXU3YlEUsVipeD-oBjrcYvd3S1rUKPoTOD5cfAueIImbizD9tF/w426-h640/Edits-IMG_7458.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Remarkable</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">I enjoyed a lovely meander – well, still a hike, but it
felt like a meander after the rough upwards trek I had just come out of – across
the tops of the mountains, heading ever southward. Because the Chisos Mountains
are not actually that tall, the tops are not barren as you would see in the
Rockies. Instead, they are lovely rolling grasslands dotted with trees and
bushes, many of which are not encountered lower down the slopes. The
mountaintops might not be that much cooler (temperature-wise) here than on the
valley floor, but they are cool enough that they act as refugia for many species
of plants and animals that originally colonized Texas during the last Ice Age.
As the climate has warmed since then, all of the cooler-weather-loving flora
and fauna have retreated to the nearest cool-ish place, which in this case is
the mountaintops! And apparently that’s why you can find odd things such as a stand
of quaking aspens here.</p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0VsANPLcRwlAM2hR2_ZjcBPewBtaX_Bif68Z25POpo3Wl3X16ipFM3GU3g-o_1AD_BZR1J6c220H7bPQXu0irxWNbxuelKlak3bae8L5q6se3E8nu0MAXXYPJDKcdQR3KrNfqDpiL8am_wYEWO7A-v-sq6M52Ot_JzOHTIADsxZbTC7ZL79018CdT/s5472/Edits-IMG_7452.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0VsANPLcRwlAM2hR2_ZjcBPewBtaX_Bif68Z25POpo3Wl3X16ipFM3GU3g-o_1AD_BZR1J6c220H7bPQXu0irxWNbxuelKlak3bae8L5q6se3E8nu0MAXXYPJDKcdQR3KrNfqDpiL8am_wYEWO7A-v-sq6M52Ot_JzOHTIADsxZbTC7ZL79018CdT/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7452.jpg" width="640" /></a></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">At about the 6-mile mark, I had reached the southern edge
of the Chisos Mountains. The trail popped out at an overlook that was nothing
short of incredible.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTX5jdeOaOHLUuQmCVzhfqF3QD6zddP9d7PmktNREm2N31Lp5OqLuToQWZXsowHQv8YmC2NllBGGlbFlB-dD8Rvh722hSju6koXAm4X2Ap8bdq-Ue4DBQwLsOfqKVtrsBWTjrf0qhwD7vtQlkt3JqxicUVzyxSgAOzBmZqZXopHwmEehI0k0JZqa2G/s5472/Edits-IMG_7462.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTX5jdeOaOHLUuQmCVzhfqF3QD6zddP9d7PmktNREm2N31Lp5OqLuToQWZXsowHQv8YmC2NllBGGlbFlB-dD8Rvh722hSju6koXAm4X2Ap8bdq-Ue4DBQwLsOfqKVtrsBWTjrf0qhwD7vtQlkt3JqxicUVzyxSgAOzBmZqZXopHwmEehI0k0JZqa2G/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7462.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfaHLDDzipeiW6SMO01qVKxkFdMCYyzhqBMIveQ3WAmkKDygy_tGBKRRmD6R7ArUn76nucLzjVXCDC3VYu_hIzm49DJk14ZsCwl0puVB2SPTM7sg7lT9Hx5wER6eO7mzxHOKqvVbrJlh3NyhnRcyIXPd_60OMuwyWA9UNbZc3LW16Yr2zkSyPCTX7l/s5472/Edits-IMG_7469.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfaHLDDzipeiW6SMO01qVKxkFdMCYyzhqBMIveQ3WAmkKDygy_tGBKRRmD6R7ArUn76nucLzjVXCDC3VYu_hIzm49DJk14ZsCwl0puVB2SPTM7sg7lT9Hx5wER6eO7mzxHOKqvVbrJlh3NyhnRcyIXPd_60OMuwyWA9UNbZc3LW16Yr2zkSyPCTX7l/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7469.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">Talk about a view! And what a perfect place to stop for
lunch. I sat and had a peanut butter sandwich and some grapes, which bolstered
my spirits enough that I began to consider that maybe I should add on some more
mileage to the day’s hike. If you keep skirting around the South Rim (which is
ultimately a loop trail), you can dogleg off onto an even longer trail that follows
the rim around to the northeast (don’t ask me at which point it goes from being
South Rim to Northeast Rim… seems a bit dodgy to me).</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">I decided to set off and “see how I felt” by the time I
got to the fork in the trail. I was keeping an eye on the clock – one minor
problem with traveling in the late fall is that the days are shorter, which I
definitely forgot about! Well, whatever. Whenever I say “I’ll see how I feel”,
it really just means, “I’m definitely going to do it anyways even if it’s a bad
idea at that point”.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">So off I went. The good news is that once you reach the
South Rim, the trail circles around on fairly flat land so you can at least
shake the kinks out of your legs and kind of convince yourself that you have a
lot of juice left in the tank.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">And of course, once I hit the turnoff for the Northeast
Rim (or Eastern Rim, as approximately 50% of signage called it), I decided I
shouldn’t miss out.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">It wasn’t a bad decision at all, though.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnxeCym6EGWfihZLrAVOpfcTOC6NUdyIE8MIVdK_J96TUNMDNwX9o1LaxpTEZTfN9qXAWkNDxTOhdKmh9HeNh2ITkN5gq6tjXJd4p02oIsnkbacx1V7FqaZhT5qFy4yBYQXv4kcqvan2_SzHxmVFVIA14K8TO4lnYRrs1WffMlm7pE_f3olw_D04E1/s5472/Edits-IMG_7491.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnxeCym6EGWfihZLrAVOpfcTOC6NUdyIE8MIVdK_J96TUNMDNwX9o1LaxpTEZTfN9qXAWkNDxTOhdKmh9HeNh2ITkN5gq6tjXJd4p02oIsnkbacx1V7FqaZhT5qFy4yBYQXv4kcqvan2_SzHxmVFVIA14K8TO4lnYRrs1WffMlm7pE_f3olw_D04E1/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7491.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjziyfR4U_7kvJQp40cvmSNJPUfNoqXdkLqb2kQCUCKQqo-uH9-hVYoxXGZdfkUJu4Uoy5PQ5V1O3hLgVFZY_tRRQDuvi7cEnOn8PZdSe6f-wz-0BXJHUZ-BTVJuwr5K9vbTXufitI8mQYDtghC-yN-6SUdj5nJ8evEX3r4nEeL61T5f5POVQ83TQH_/s5472/Edits-IMG_7496.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjziyfR4U_7kvJQp40cvmSNJPUfNoqXdkLqb2kQCUCKQqo-uH9-hVYoxXGZdfkUJu4Uoy5PQ5V1O3hLgVFZY_tRRQDuvi7cEnOn8PZdSe6f-wz-0BXJHUZ-BTVJuwr5K9vbTXufitI8mQYDtghC-yN-6SUdj5nJ8evEX3r4nEeL61T5f5POVQ83TQH_/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7496.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I see you, giant limestone cliffs that I want to climb</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgD8VoK5xIDNS3zOBNfpeHeuaNYXKDsTCAAdvWnlp7AjMpfqO_S9xcDJ4cz2rKOVm56S-vrQxMwppIpkEFF7Yma1IKm4LG2YJa29R2bsLDYIir8t4tD_GA44toBCJAuw11xuOdL6W0giwVOp_JJxrdiDqIellUTu4ujplM0hWwsMVG5Pb1LaPTcQJg/s5352/Edits-IMG_7507.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3568" data-original-width="5352" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgD8VoK5xIDNS3zOBNfpeHeuaNYXKDsTCAAdvWnlp7AjMpfqO_S9xcDJ4cz2rKOVm56S-vrQxMwppIpkEFF7Yma1IKm4LG2YJa29R2bsLDYIir8t4tD_GA44toBCJAuw11xuOdL6W0giwVOp_JJxrdiDqIellUTu4ujplM0hWwsMVG5Pb1LaPTcQJg/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7507.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2JUkahdpo8rHN7jUE5T5z3mY4KaQ6hJ-eZUlRJrk_qMaqeTd2_VfRNtW8XLRrCY8XNGx5zyvelurDjUbk8AawTE3Jl4d_mmMs5UxNk7up6cC2tg_kBjVetictPxiEzdh8yPjBWogH_AlbbN3ynzgq4Av4BYo1cAVg1kuFkHj_eJG-qq1VI-wViuS7/s5472/Edits-IMG_7511.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2JUkahdpo8rHN7jUE5T5z3mY4KaQ6hJ-eZUlRJrk_qMaqeTd2_VfRNtW8XLRrCY8XNGx5zyvelurDjUbk8AawTE3Jl4d_mmMs5UxNk7up6cC2tg_kBjVetictPxiEzdh8yPjBWogH_AlbbN3ynzgq4Av4BYo1cAVg1kuFkHj_eJG-qq1VI-wViuS7/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7511.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><br /></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">I wound along the East Rim for a few miles before it took
a sharp dive down into a narrow crevasse – okay, it was a totally normal creek
drainage, but it felt like a crevasse after spending a couple hours at the top
of the world – and finally joined back up with the South Rim Loop. Down in this
little drainage, I found water for the first time all hike! Really just little
pools of gross algae, but hey, I’m sure it counts for the animals that live
around here. No fish, but lots of pond snails, so I’d guess it’s a seasonal
creek. But it must exist for a good portion of the year, because the creekbed
was crowded with a stand of large water-loving maple trees. Thus, it was there
in that little drainage that I finally saw the first sign of fall: the firey
scarlet and orange and golden hues of a maple!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU1NI3anYc2u1DYp9coVc_HTOAsjsUIndvsTyRn3IOMqOdYTf7kHwU7is4co6XfpV13z3oKc65d4D1JCipbUA1Fs_O4BAVJkX0iQgAyzsmBsO1jRvpY1RRQS7j6exzhDQb-2cV5uWqhezUOWevFVpHT557Dj2mRtuvtz0T0alRGXgVopYYOLoclZ8o/s5472/Edits-IMG_7557.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5472" data-original-width="3648" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU1NI3anYc2u1DYp9coVc_HTOAsjsUIndvsTyRn3IOMqOdYTf7kHwU7is4co6XfpV13z3oKc65d4D1JCipbUA1Fs_O4BAVJkX0iQgAyzsmBsO1jRvpY1RRQS7j6exzhDQb-2cV5uWqhezUOWevFVpHT557Dj2mRtuvtz0T0alRGXgVopYYOLoclZ8o/w426-h640/Edits-IMG_7557.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">I continued my descent back down into the forested flanks
of the Chisos Mountains, heading down the Boot Canyon/Pinnacles trail past the
Colima cut-through. Not so much to look at for a while except for trees, some
nice wildflowers and this very scary building:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwyKoKFXRl9_1kgqjDbk16-brptPZXgUvzxjrl_-9kfPb7zzgAUTnEtJKo1rRm_QXzPOV7-_hlob5WlLUyZVUg4Cpt-WkDeQrFDt09mdWRO8Zc79BzfLLIFNedu56_SD7-wfI_i_jrsocjzPLWRD0KbOwzkFPqBJa7f4vwFiiZyjHLaxfrSwmb4GNH/s5472/Edits-IMG_7559.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwyKoKFXRl9_1kgqjDbk16-brptPZXgUvzxjrl_-9kfPb7zzgAUTnEtJKo1rRm_QXzPOV7-_hlob5WlLUyZVUg4Cpt-WkDeQrFDt09mdWRO8Zc79BzfLLIFNedu56_SD7-wfI_i_jrsocjzPLWRD0KbOwzkFPqBJa7f4vwFiiZyjHLaxfrSwmb4GNH/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7559.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yikes</td></tr></tbody></table><o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiouUza9Amy_3-cWcsZ079EY2LlKoCtvYjugnFMFIIbR0N3KdXmojbBbHhrViOrJaP1QaKSU3ZOm9tsQuUPkABQE3q7KXu8HJprRp8XAX46PuQTsigT8bsrqUNDIA_uMX-emSl3CTd5Je7u2_s9eyzw-pmZsQXk84hDKQx_WQ2tT5rec7IkdxJiDJnN/s5472/Edits-IMG_7533.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5472" data-original-width="3648" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiouUza9Amy_3-cWcsZ079EY2LlKoCtvYjugnFMFIIbR0N3KdXmojbBbHhrViOrJaP1QaKSU3ZOm9tsQuUPkABQE3q7KXu8HJprRp8XAX46PuQTsigT8bsrqUNDIA_uMX-emSl3CTd5Je7u2_s9eyzw-pmZsQXk84hDKQx_WQ2tT5rec7IkdxJiDJnN/w426-h640/Edits-IMG_7533.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This flower is so red that my camera struggled to take a good photo of it! Awesome</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">And then the trail started winding back upwards again. I
have to say that I was feeling a little sorry for myself by this point, being nearly
11 miles into the hike (counting all of the various detours to explore areas of
the rim) with roughly 5 more miles to go. By now it was 3PM, and I was running
a bit low on juice – and daylight! I could see the sun dropping in the sky, and
wondered if I would be hiking the last bit out in the dark. Not that it would
be a huge problem, as I always carry a couple lights, but also not my idea of
fun!</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">I hoofed it up the incline, feeling vaguely distressed
(or was it just my body protesting at the prolonged cardio?). But then the
trail opened back up to some new spectacular views, and I kind of just forgot
about being worried.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">The Boot Canyon trail is very aptly named, it turns out.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2z7Ke1Oju0TKbSHscb_z595goIkFhid3W4ZKW12LOsEN6K_83jNgdHVovY1xL3qwVBAK3nzlxm01RUF-5EkeRp3Hbucowv7XYaAE4DSWjiKmzNFrfQramyXEbIfjxlmPy1EW-tmdIG5kCE_VfQzL51FikUQzRpD0rHcll_Fl2AHaYkBKYx2osBUqa/s5472/Edits-IMG_7570.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5472" data-original-width="3648" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2z7Ke1Oju0TKbSHscb_z595goIkFhid3W4ZKW12LOsEN6K_83jNgdHVovY1xL3qwVBAK3nzlxm01RUF-5EkeRp3Hbucowv7XYaAE4DSWjiKmzNFrfQramyXEbIfjxlmPy1EW-tmdIG5kCE_VfQzL51FikUQzRpD0rHcll_Fl2AHaYkBKYx2osBUqa/w426-h640/Edits-IMG_7570.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dunno man, just don't know why they would call it Boot Canyon</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgwOJqjCSd7yOd6rNI2txk8xi5PFW_fa63dE7urFShm9UmEAbHFHsl1sFRJEGWlu9DcjlrEqZpwPRUL2XZPeHe0nvsJOUhRBBAbycuMgW3ZDWkn3MWnT8kGyue5Ow1z_Jy3LsbrW_PHPGCE6UktTomSp_9-NDUFK-qUtne6b32GoTzLfR5qedPzbO5/s5472/Edits-IMG_7575.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgwOJqjCSd7yOd6rNI2txk8xi5PFW_fa63dE7urFShm9UmEAbHFHsl1sFRJEGWlu9DcjlrEqZpwPRUL2XZPeHe0nvsJOUhRBBAbycuMgW3ZDWkn3MWnT8kGyue5Ow1z_Jy3LsbrW_PHPGCE6UktTomSp_9-NDUFK-qUtne6b32GoTzLfR5qedPzbO5/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7575.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No boots here</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNoSpacing">The trail ascended to even more sweeping views of the
northeastern part of the Chisos, and the world beyond. Towering knives of
volcanic rock jutted up from every nearby hill and mountain, while massive
limestone cliffs marched across the landscape in the background, defining the
edge of the world – at least, my slice of the world for the moment.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfOiRCPucpaXsTcBr629e9Epr5FQAy0tujxoaS1HJVZ-r-D_KmfQW9V5gleRrouNHXJsDKZhUd5gpx3pQGuNpo6Fed7OGiyQI7wZLbTf7Lwl-92TS8bCIWpVvz25h_Ee-NKVWQBG_5qJCjxKpNyRDzEK9TVjbRdcJRcPAbbUFdjtufmqeJ_Lh5c9b4/s5472/Edits-IMG_7578.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfOiRCPucpaXsTcBr629e9Epr5FQAy0tujxoaS1HJVZ-r-D_KmfQW9V5gleRrouNHXJsDKZhUd5gpx3pQGuNpo6Fed7OGiyQI7wZLbTf7Lwl-92TS8bCIWpVvz25h_Ee-NKVWQBG_5qJCjxKpNyRDzEK9TVjbRdcJRcPAbbUFdjtufmqeJ_Lh5c9b4/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7578.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">At the turnoff for the Emory Peak trail, the path took a
downward turn at last and I began my final descent. Steep switchbacks cut down
through the junipers mercilessly, prompting me to half-trot my way down to
avoid competing too heavily against the effects of gravity. I passed several groups
of people who were headed up – presumably to watch the sunset up on Emory Peak –
and thanked my lucky stars that I wasn’t them. Going down those switchbacks was
not fun, and going up looked even less so!</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">After the switchbacks, the trail turned more moderate and
I resumed a “quick stroll” kind of pace. You know, nonchalant and unconcerned
but also maybe moving pretty fast just by happenstance. The shadows were
growing quite long, and my dinner was calling me.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">I descended past the Pinnacles themselves, and began to
feel more optimistic about my arrival time. I stopped to watch some Mexican
Jays eat some worms. I stopped to look at agaves. I stopped to look at neat volcanic flows. I stopped to look at great
views, and okay views. I found a lot of excuses to stop.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh71dHCsjNRdxR7jHwtitf5xZJeI15_Mhg_Qjoxhqeiix6RgUkVnRvV9YlL4fc4R_JycgFNOtxldSkVTk7n_v6-gFc4el4xekJ59jFE_uGLLrAOkTLO-g1y4M9T0ENOL-MUdVvu1Xo6Bq_tog0emDG5PHs9jKHdvkBjvVEF7TVmymij2uwsjoOefVN3/s5472/Edits-IMG_7587.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh71dHCsjNRdxR7jHwtitf5xZJeI15_Mhg_Qjoxhqeiix6RgUkVnRvV9YlL4fc4R_JycgFNOtxldSkVTk7n_v6-gFc4el4xekJ59jFE_uGLLrAOkTLO-g1y4M9T0ENOL-MUdVvu1Xo6Bq_tog0emDG5PHs9jKHdvkBjvVEF7TVmymij2uwsjoOefVN3/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7587.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A bit intimidating looking</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo27-ziX6epmhlm7Tm1MXeFoJFdVeltEN6VT0yMH4R_Z8s7hhQsIcQBGd1JPLwKy5bI13KcXX10CgdeHzmoCH_IfqrgjCvQ_966nT3lID_iVB9HkLrQjYjlqjTqH1buxpfVi8CrBRBLmZbWckGjPtRHrcGeqNGg5v8KGyMzRCW6q5hmgmmssB_1vhJ/s5472/Edits-IMG_7630.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo27-ziX6epmhlm7Tm1MXeFoJFdVeltEN6VT0yMH4R_Z8s7hhQsIcQBGd1JPLwKy5bI13KcXX10CgdeHzmoCH_IfqrgjCvQ_966nT3lID_iVB9HkLrQjYjlqjTqH1buxpfVi8CrBRBLmZbWckGjPtRHrcGeqNGg5v8KGyMzRCW6q5hmgmmssB_1vhJ/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7630.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrDEhBslZn6_PQKzkBbDMC48sDu3m0LlL2BoPYlITjPrOtgXix1ao1nWnom7hxU_QEM3zxC_Gz6cYGYBJnwDXhOzW1pPz37Bp0n7JB-COH834jxuNAjVG51XeIWmHvVOPfwBFHeojy7j87jS9IQHv3oR2cMg6wzTxvY3ko8I_GaYpkuer8uLNNpdZG/s5472/Edits-IMG_7633.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5472" data-original-width="3648" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrDEhBslZn6_PQKzkBbDMC48sDu3m0LlL2BoPYlITjPrOtgXix1ao1nWnom7hxU_QEM3zxC_Gz6cYGYBJnwDXhOzW1pPz37Bp0n7JB-COH834jxuNAjVG51XeIWmHvVOPfwBFHeojy7j87jS9IQHv3oR2cMg6wzTxvY3ko8I_GaYpkuer8uLNNpdZG/w426-h640/Edits-IMG_7633.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWEc3cVhUrrng12oJcHognKQhEaYMJlUJ40RMIb7z7BNMXK6o8SUHTDlP2yiFCCykhu_A0VmkGlNETkFlCctR_G6ex46vyxPfHxdMO_0e7gO5uNoNxNS9ec3achPCg0w17V9Quwc2kTuxkCxde1ogxxhexsp5o8_4GNV5I3xrAR0JtFiKKVgsms_9G/s5472/Edits-IMG_7611.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWEc3cVhUrrng12oJcHognKQhEaYMJlUJ40RMIb7z7BNMXK6o8SUHTDlP2yiFCCykhu_A0VmkGlNETkFlCctR_G6ex46vyxPfHxdMO_0e7gO5uNoNxNS9ec3achPCg0w17V9Quwc2kTuxkCxde1ogxxhexsp5o8_4GNV5I3xrAR0JtFiKKVgsms_9G/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7611.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC_mudCTQKZaiXOcm3SeqvsQV77wbnj4MnkNCuAU7jZF3zFQhc_oHt2Aw7DAkjh5IcrRhw3wsYMevpZSiTTXwM8JeHY5mm4fswxZspYUj_E7tdBKV_Y7QbcNveTMqrpdTDbjqVTmx-ILTKaQxFU-U4ssf7Cr_sbYYEurYUKWtWzsdroGC85h8r9ovq/s5472/Edits-IMG_7612.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC_mudCTQKZaiXOcm3SeqvsQV77wbnj4MnkNCuAU7jZF3zFQhc_oHt2Aw7DAkjh5IcrRhw3wsYMevpZSiTTXwM8JeHY5mm4fswxZspYUj_E7tdBKV_Y7QbcNveTMqrpdTDbjqVTmx-ILTKaQxFU-U4ssf7Cr_sbYYEurYUKWtWzsdroGC85h8r9ovq/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7612.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Check out the layers of entrained gravel in here! Neat</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFg0h_PkbxeNIVXlYgBIi5BT8tN2RiMWlfE8g6sx6EHooqmJta7NOdjn39S6XmSr9FMMG5PUaYGPCVM7zx1FQFZ65slQGgkcNB1_8UO6BD2hKfXXur05Mi85tf6P5wF0YHXIKl2f_AwSmJhL8hcM9Rk3HdWKZU59lbDzN3NDm6QF5zOIfwkIa5DpZ9/s5472/Edits-IMG_7610.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFg0h_PkbxeNIVXlYgBIi5BT8tN2RiMWlfE8g6sx6EHooqmJta7NOdjn39S6XmSr9FMMG5PUaYGPCVM7zx1FQFZ65slQGgkcNB1_8UO6BD2hKfXXur05Mi85tf6P5wF0YHXIKl2f_AwSmJhL8hcM9Rk3HdWKZU59lbDzN3NDm6QF5zOIfwkIa5DpZ9/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7610.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJE_YobP4YA-dnUN5FrHWk6GsKf10Dez8vssEaQLokbKvAoUZawPi9YtDqhMiDzmFjiFkiLkQhYHp9C4SBd7OtJY6L07iWhblcWXXM9ucCoa2-qCykaidBmwFM8g7SrowiBDX4Kiwmer_LsoVh5B19M9hIFs6rHOFCW_ojfek6h2dnW8mdcGkQfVGm/s5472/Edits-IMG_7592.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJE_YobP4YA-dnUN5FrHWk6GsKf10Dez8vssEaQLokbKvAoUZawPi9YtDqhMiDzmFjiFkiLkQhYHp9C4SBd7OtJY6L07iWhblcWXXM9ucCoa2-qCykaidBmwFM8g7SrowiBDX4Kiwmer_LsoVh5B19M9hIFs6rHOFCW_ojfek6h2dnW8mdcGkQfVGm/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7592.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuqRXVYHgGWiAhWYFAUDeyk1dDC-mxiYIuxISJ2RhRcRT14LxwJSewSwKKuGgGlP3NVZJPXshu_0dpFxdVKVATufdxkm5cLpAR5JsCjFGTCB-3NjP__DvjpQEgh_J8e9tfpCzCbw8OqHCGLPaPxdWmlRqw3faj3TSIFpVkuHRLb_YyDXGZQImTBh9Q/s5472/Edits-IMG_7583.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuqRXVYHgGWiAhWYFAUDeyk1dDC-mxiYIuxISJ2RhRcRT14LxwJSewSwKKuGgGlP3NVZJPXshu_0dpFxdVKVATufdxkm5cLpAR5JsCjFGTCB-3NjP__DvjpQEgh_J8e9tfpCzCbw8OqHCGLPaPxdWmlRqw3faj3TSIFpVkuHRLb_YyDXGZQImTBh9Q/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7583.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><br /></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Maybe I was getting a bit tired.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Finally, I reached the floor of the Chisos Basin again,
and found myself with enough time left over to stop at a nice bench that someone
had placed just off the trail at a particularly scenic overlook.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Ni6fX-seed72XVcuR_4LvHz5I3fFra7T-cXBzWoLBR8dO9hO7iy161hvLCPRwRWLpa4illuZ5dKJqGKOMnVt-aEZtwSbyFCB-22c4pC7vYGaU77DS5OwvhPAnfwkEpw1DAl-2AKN145bJvOvau9tL6uYRy-d2lkyAPkuU74h5pq0LkcElCfxIy0j/s5472/Edits-IMG_7647.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Ni6fX-seed72XVcuR_4LvHz5I3fFra7T-cXBzWoLBR8dO9hO7iy161hvLCPRwRWLpa4illuZ5dKJqGKOMnVt-aEZtwSbyFCB-22c4pC7vYGaU77DS5OwvhPAnfwkEpw1DAl-2AKN145bJvOvau9tL6uYRy-d2lkyAPkuU74h5pq0LkcElCfxIy0j/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7647.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZRQG88pXalCaN-lljBpzW5kTNgFj7JZDJT_YYrjGFStks0f9w3TFhmrgInopPdQSxTsbjG9O26thTBRBCDS4tvbgI3JuK3SxRuF3K3607I02ohAPcRF_sk30Al8Njav7KF7JE4jdJpSlRTF130cmpQXY6bsJKCREQTeAzqE8190EjqyF2laBshpVY/s5472/Edits-IMG_7651.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZRQG88pXalCaN-lljBpzW5kTNgFj7JZDJT_YYrjGFStks0f9w3TFhmrgInopPdQSxTsbjG9O26thTBRBCDS4tvbgI3JuK3SxRuF3K3607I02ohAPcRF_sk30Al8Njav7KF7JE4jdJpSlRTF130cmpQXY6bsJKCREQTeAzqE8190EjqyF2laBshpVY/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7651.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is a very nice rock</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdvsQCb2SaZ1QwWve0khQWPlvDGfhQrhoaHdYEcpZa6_ZYUQrIpZibJ-FYk6REyHesbqKkKiulZHc1ZXWZyVL2d85qDw6OqYy6vsyBKM9UiFHhmTpZhuJx6k9AI3qgZlCdwa8rfGv-NRsL-e8pTq3U_JHhwtr5DbXFHvdRUyH3-bX-vr1uGcPvuRfi/s5472/Edits-IMG_7653.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdvsQCb2SaZ1QwWve0khQWPlvDGfhQrhoaHdYEcpZa6_ZYUQrIpZibJ-FYk6REyHesbqKkKiulZHc1ZXWZyVL2d85qDw6OqYy6vsyBKM9UiFHhmTpZhuJx6k9AI3qgZlCdwa8rfGv-NRsL-e8pTq3U_JHhwtr5DbXFHvdRUyH3-bX-vr1uGcPvuRfi/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7653.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><br /></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">The sun continued to drop towards the horizon, but by
that point I could see the visitor center and I knew that I was almost home
free! I’d like to say that I felt a spring in my step, but I was pretty
toasted. I did maybe walk a tiny bit faster, though.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">And then… I reached a sign indicating that the final
stretch of the Pinnacles trail back to the visitor center was closed. I would
have to dog-leg around part of a different trail and get back onto the Laguna
Meadows trail – the one I started on at the beginning of the day – to reach
home base. Hello, unexpected extra mile of walking. Argh, the final nail in the coffin! Well, nothing to do for it
but to walk, so walk I did. Fortunately this portion of the trail isn’t hilly.
And I did get a chance to see the Laguna Meadows trail at a different time of
day.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwibg8UC8-l-2uEHijo-oVfsTPGjLxCK7OSPPQ8lIdCGpTiNl1LyZK9ndNu8dPBlFMTOWIzQktPOlJNIzIM-pQfnxn-ASA9nAzs2VxaSgb1nquyUfFve1qJhNranZ7ynxE5AwRJ-qaeHQsS4pxy50zBOteVlZvBuxWW_4ele2znlpjQSyKMAaYMvRO/s5472/Edits-IMG_7654.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwibg8UC8-l-2uEHijo-oVfsTPGjLxCK7OSPPQ8lIdCGpTiNl1LyZK9ndNu8dPBlFMTOWIzQktPOlJNIzIM-pQfnxn-ASA9nAzs2VxaSgb1nquyUfFve1qJhNranZ7ynxE5AwRJ-qaeHQsS4pxy50zBOteVlZvBuxWW_4ele2znlpjQSyKMAaYMvRO/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7654.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Compare this pic to the first pic in this post to see the importance of hiking locations at the right time of day to capture the lighting you want!</td></tr></tbody></table>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">Finally – FINALLY – I reached the visitor center again! I
propped myself up on Jane and considered the day’s hike. It fell just shy of 17
miles round-trip, with about 3200’ of elevation gain. And I had completed it in
7.5 hours. Not bad for someone with a desk job! I had no doubts that I would be pretty tired tomorrow. Jane looked well-rested, at least, having sat in the parking lot being a pretty tourist photo subject all day.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Despite my griping about the length (which I did to myself, anyways) it was an awesome day, and I really loved
the hike. I’d do it again in a second (although maybe not tomorrow). The views
were varied and spectacular, the trail was a great mix of strenuous and
pleasant, and the weather was perfect. I couldn’t have asked for a better day!</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">After a giant bowl of homemade pot roast with all the fixings, I rolled into bed with a contented sigh.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">And that’s when the wind started.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">But that’s a story for tomorrow – so until then, Kelly
signing out.<o:p></o:p></p>Kelly Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04271547498127096571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893125545466338016.post-73810154856359577112022-12-02T03:12:00.000-05:002022-12-02T03:12:19.191-05:00America's Best Idea (Or: why the world needs more parks and parkies)<p>11-6-2022</p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">----------------</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Sunday morning came slowly to the Buzzard’s Roost, mostly
because I was held captive by a nice warm bed and the world’s softest sheets, which
made getting out of bed a completely insurmountable process in the face of the
considerably crisp temperatures just outside of the linens. Once boredom and
hunger had set in in adequate amounts, though, I dragged myself out to
breakfast at Terlingua’s only breakfast restaurant: the Chile Pepper Café, or
the Chili Pepper Café. I’m really not sure which spelling is right, because I
saw it spelled both ways on items inside the restaurant. So I guess it must be
both.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">By the time I had escaped the chaos of that place, the
temperature had warmed and the early morning haze had dissipated. It promised
to be one of those perfectly clear Texas autumn days, the kind where brilliant azure
skies stretch off into infinity with nary a cloud to disrupt their perfection. A
great kind of day for driving a very shiny blue pony car, in fact.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOj8tWdMSywEGV5jTQHWKxmj5qlLi06yX-e7IcTZTJPhe26fqVn1RFzHwwLP09PmlGPHKICLhRdngAd4nceOGOR0GZ1-_m3Fpz6Zjs1cVqjrZsb-nR5NctQrODy-N_n1NGhW06Paph3NsfybnflyZEwomx7q-R3UYb_notO1QzszUCAL8OcYy40Sco/s5472/Edits-IMG_7070.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOj8tWdMSywEGV5jTQHWKxmj5qlLi06yX-e7IcTZTJPhe26fqVn1RFzHwwLP09PmlGPHKICLhRdngAd4nceOGOR0GZ1-_m3Fpz6Zjs1cVqjrZsb-nR5NctQrODy-N_n1NGhW06Paph3NsfybnflyZEwomx7q-R3UYb_notO1QzszUCAL8OcYy40Sco/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7070.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9S1lN2yPe-TU3h2EtK06A22xzuzmjwaFxfxeTJTPvvzel9wsjuvIPgg6BA9RdALC0jRp2Ni2w8kZiMFl4cNMf4Mx9oEdpjn3dJuV8f2WUn-KBExueSLKFV7rei_4iZE1ApVmAIbugVinsdibpkW3nO58FhqvQkswG0GNbMShoxpxzoXwIwjOOQU02/s5472/Edits-IMG_7053.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9S1lN2yPe-TU3h2EtK06A22xzuzmjwaFxfxeTJTPvvzel9wsjuvIPgg6BA9RdALC0jRp2Ni2w8kZiMFl4cNMf4Mx9oEdpjn3dJuV8f2WUn-KBExueSLKFV7rei_4iZE1ApVmAIbugVinsdibpkW3nO58FhqvQkswG0GNbMShoxpxzoXwIwjOOQU02/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7053.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Jane and I headed into Big Bend towards the main visitor
center, Panther Junction, which is actually somehow 30 miles into the park. Typical
- Big Bend is a huge, fairly decentralized park developed in a very Texan way.
That is, it consists of four main “hot spots”, connected to each other by very
long roads.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">At Panther Junction, I got my plan together for the week,
harassing the poor girl at the front desk (who, she later informed me, had just
started working there a week prior – oops) endlessly about various driving
times, trail options, closures, and the like. To be fair, this is the kind of
thing that I could plan out myself prior to leaving on a trip. But I really
prefer to speak with one of the “parkies” – interpreters, rangers, guides,
whatever you’d like to call the park staff, they tend to colloquially refer to themselves
as parkies - when putting together a plan as it feels so much more personal,
and so much more like an adventure. Planning everything in advance just makes a
trip feel too… canned.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">One of the things I love most about parkies is their
(usually) unbridled enthusiasm for their park, and their joy at having the
opportunity to show it to you. A great ranger can make any day brighter and put
a spring in your step for even the most strenuous of hikes. Want to know about
river processes, riparian systems, local ecosystems, plants you definitely
shouldn’t touch, a weird bug you found, or stars you should look out for at
night? Parkies seem to come equipped with all of that knowledge – and more – by
default, even on week one! It’s remarkable how much information one can stuff into
one’s brain within a short period of time when you’re motivated purely by
passion and a love for the outdoors and history. And it is so much fun to learn
from them.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Unfortunately, it is sometimes very hard to find a ranger
who really knows about the geology of their park. Geology just isn’t many
peoples’ strong suit! And as a geologist, that really bums me out. Don’t get me
wrong, I want to know about the plants and animals too. But boy, when you have
a park that is entirely centered around preserving some really spectacular rock
features… well, I wish people knew what the rocks were so then they could tell
me! I NEED TO KNOW</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">And that’s the problem with being a geologist. You take
your work everywhere you go, for the rest of your life. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxScV50q9CtPNUessxUq0Eh08fSSwck8p8F9V4806Lc7Qy5bIWAw_DMCs2eO01QOToeiZdLQc8FMemymlWogzxBT9dcvBGWfehSumJOb3wOrnRFK3vfEQsVJSR8LynbFvCdB67X9f_jllxrq8OErAY1BdHWy9lyGRnhkXkbjhikOzf1_2U0Jt0DhHw/s1440/Edits-JPEG%20image%2028.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxScV50q9CtPNUessxUq0Eh08fSSwck8p8F9V4806Lc7Qy5bIWAw_DMCs2eO01QOToeiZdLQc8FMemymlWogzxBT9dcvBGWfehSumJOb3wOrnRFK3vfEQsVJSR8LynbFvCdB67X9f_jllxrq8OErAY1BdHWy9lyGRnhkXkbjhikOzf1_2U0Jt0DhHw/w640-h480/Edits-JPEG%20image%2028.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm going to get a lot of use out of this picture in the future, I just know it</td></tr></tbody></table></o:p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">But you know what? The GREAT thing about being a
geologist is that everywhere you go, if there are rocks, there is a fun puzzle
to solve! And figuring out what you’re looking at is a very diverting pastime, especially
on long slogs up a mountain. But that part of the trip comes later.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">After some consultation, I decided to start my Big Bend
adventure by heading down to Castolon. Located along the central southern
boundary of the park, the Castolon area features a number of homesteads, some
reclaimed farmland, great views of the Rio Grande, and the famous Santa Elena
canyon. And it’s located right at the end of the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive! I’m
a big fan of scenic drives, especially for first-day orientations and
especially when the weather is this perfect. So off we went rumbling south towards
Mexico, dodging tarantulas and stray boulders along the way while I mused over various rocks in my field of view. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZM4IeTidnkmenSwsgOcHcbDtsbhsJZ5rTJigcLkofMagPNT5c1AISrkZzDbKpTzgJ3sLBWqXIFw8dHZsY_v9NXLStc-Vdd-9eUcmFLH8TJqSmoLuGdis-fq0GCWHAAM9Slf4as1XPHF9vBk2muKswNCTL3gFbrxaLZyDqpMnSRYVRvXgdKGlExrQE/s5472/Edits-IMG_7084.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZM4IeTidnkmenSwsgOcHcbDtsbhsJZ5rTJigcLkofMagPNT5c1AISrkZzDbKpTzgJ3sLBWqXIFw8dHZsY_v9NXLStc-Vdd-9eUcmFLH8TJqSmoLuGdis-fq0GCWHAAM9Slf4as1XPHF9vBk2muKswNCTL3gFbrxaLZyDqpMnSRYVRvXgdKGlExrQE/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7084.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAwFitXd9KahiJ7yv4O-gv_moB0LPybrsZNQOcwB3cli4gJqzoXz14BGvTZUWtJ-JjQd1H7oVnEXag9rK7FxyESR11AjpE9KtHBOsPSubEkmJza-mJqmAPTq4n_X1iQwpHnbm5bRu5KnfrDEMv5xoSEg5JoujdG2eMLsvSnPDA0Z3vvlLyTpD4o8wQ/s5472/Edits-IMG_7087.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAwFitXd9KahiJ7yv4O-gv_moB0LPybrsZNQOcwB3cli4gJqzoXz14BGvTZUWtJ-JjQd1H7oVnEXag9rK7FxyESR11AjpE9KtHBOsPSubEkmJza-mJqmAPTq4n_X1iQwpHnbm5bRu5KnfrDEMv5xoSEg5JoujdG2eMLsvSnPDA0Z3vvlLyTpD4o8wQ/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7087.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvH7JEEYwHF-e9qrBJoVUYSeO3TSRh1I01Nms994eDnfKrd4LHAWvqPnBe3zW4hiasFDe5gUvZ-lab3bsUYX7fqO_36OIVSmMqPd4Wh4xmccK3d6Jk8bLi3sHqnOSSaduZrND1vu3kTzdxrecYyjKBKV0TbJISkpGkzA886fM52yuUCNgoUaPuBwmx/s5472/Edits-IMG_7112.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvH7JEEYwHF-e9qrBJoVUYSeO3TSRh1I01Nms994eDnfKrd4LHAWvqPnBe3zW4hiasFDe5gUvZ-lab3bsUYX7fqO_36OIVSmMqPd4Wh4xmccK3d6Jk8bLi3sHqnOSSaduZrND1vu3kTzdxrecYyjKBKV0TbJISkpGkzA886fM52yuUCNgoUaPuBwmx/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7112.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8CpQHEoXSB6qT3wkYoecYaSNLbGwNEP9H3NpsmGB1HDA3kMTFdEWbcf4su2wJimf2Mwgn7P1s4JO8jxH6hSJqeZI65YBtsvpYeR4fuoH7Hq7FH-3z1akDCDypCP75WKxAUTuxoAQlSkEbWChIdyV6c_mtLMmczNjGWI41SLKyUXv9TxL3X81G2F2a/s5472/Edits-IMG_7116.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8CpQHEoXSB6qT3wkYoecYaSNLbGwNEP9H3NpsmGB1HDA3kMTFdEWbcf4su2wJimf2Mwgn7P1s4JO8jxH6hSJqeZI65YBtsvpYeR4fuoH7Hq7FH-3z1akDCDypCP75WKxAUTuxoAQlSkEbWChIdyV6c_mtLMmczNjGWI41SLKyUXv9TxL3X81G2F2a/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7116.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An awesome angular unconformity</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXHSM9s_8iKwwo1ng8yKn-ADzHlx7JjAb1No9EcQW6i0bcHLmjN-BllKb7jBnUsEHTi3buA_e70aCHtTKVFQDH9B3nAEx2b0s2u13ktbTehWRKCVh7-Vk5M5YhpATmBRI5TruZMxbDsLMyI6dAi_1N7OqOXEcp7EwZ9jQVuEKUYuFr7IkygPTAUhhA/s4957/Edits-IMG_7119.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3305" data-original-width="4957" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXHSM9s_8iKwwo1ng8yKn-ADzHlx7JjAb1No9EcQW6i0bcHLmjN-BllKb7jBnUsEHTi3buA_e70aCHtTKVFQDH9B3nAEx2b0s2u13ktbTehWRKCVh7-Vk5M5YhpATmBRI5TruZMxbDsLMyI6dAi_1N7OqOXEcp7EwZ9jQVuEKUYuFr7IkygPTAUhhA/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7119.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I spy a dike</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqmlI5dtWgembY1Nyr9c5_uFI0uVdoKR75J0kw8O4ZB6ecyvj_I1isbpU5tqgYADm5GdkmewcDbaWWq3Unr4mOwxtM9u-XkpHnXFqMQAi6r-9uld0TJDAZVviFUvfuInu3KYXvQFGC38Cx3xD1C8p_xRd5dN1pAbtbi8kDJtRlS0XiFYFL2Rm6FuMP/s5472/Edits-IMG_7129.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqmlI5dtWgembY1Nyr9c5_uFI0uVdoKR75J0kw8O4ZB6ecyvj_I1isbpU5tqgYADm5GdkmewcDbaWWq3Unr4mOwxtM9u-XkpHnXFqMQAi6r-9uld0TJDAZVviFUvfuInu3KYXvQFGC38Cx3xD1C8p_xRd5dN1pAbtbi8kDJtRlS0XiFYFL2Rm6FuMP/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7129.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzrtetKuJB6lB0SE0zjprxrXQKToV7XSoDuRoNsdqD3tLgDOtNFUkkpfR51WZzQklkyfKzzeVLbKhIswQS9UPlTXZfwlIIlQWwNh14G7tbjBG3YVdEBh87PObXQMq0d-sVolqMT_-YVYaCAsd9C58PLoGmOc_JWS8IQIJ2RqqAzshx47qzQv-3y4vp/s5472/Edits-IMG_7139.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzrtetKuJB6lB0SE0zjprxrXQKToV7XSoDuRoNsdqD3tLgDOtNFUkkpfR51WZzQklkyfKzzeVLbKhIswQS9UPlTXZfwlIIlQWwNh14G7tbjBG3YVdEBh87PObXQMq0d-sVolqMT_-YVYaCAsd9C58PLoGmOc_JWS8IQIJ2RqqAzshx47qzQv-3y4vp/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7139.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Way too much volcanic ash!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">We pulled into the Castolon visitor center in early
afternoon – I know, I had literally just come from another visitor center, but
I wanted to know what was in THIS one! Turns out, actually very little, as
apparently the visitor center had burned down a couple years ago in a brush
fire. So instead, I encountered an active construction zone with various
services stuffed unceremoniously into whatever outbuildings were available. But
parkies are parkies – no matter the circumstance. When I pulled in, someone was
already standing ready to tell me about the area, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed
despite the dust swirling through the air.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">This particular interpreter, who apparently had also started
in the past week (I must have shown up at the seasonal switchover), positively
overflowed with knowledge about the Castolon area. According to her, she had
already been on every single hike in her new domain, and had already figured
out when to go back to get the best lighting for each scenic vista she had
encountered. “Go to Tuff Canyon in the afternoon, it’ll be shady”, she instructed,
followed by, “And I’m already dreaming of a beautiful sunrise through the petrified
log fireplace in the ruins of the old Dorgan House!” I found her to be a wealth
of information about the history of the region – both in bygone times (various
farming ventures) and in modern times (serving as the friendly collaborative
border between Mexico and the US). I had a wonderful time talking to her.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">But she still didn’t know about the rocks.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">But that’s okay, because the Castolon area is actually
the one area of Big Bend that I am very familiar with! Earlier when I said, “the
famous Santa Elena canyon”, I mean it both from a tourist’s point of view, and
from a geologist’s point of view. To a tourist, Santa Elena canyon is a very
impressive tall, narrow, steep-sided canyon chopped straight through a cliff, which
also happens to serve as the border between Mexico and the US. You can take a
nice easy hike down the US side and check out the Mexico side from across the
Rio Grande (it looks exactly the same as the US side… except without the
tourists) while various kayakers and rafters float past. It’s very scenic, very
awe-inspiring, etc.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">But Santa Elena Canyon is also famous to geologists, in
particular carbonate geologists! At least, it seems like I’ve heard about it a
billion times. It’s a location where you can walk through the preserved remains
of a tropical shallow marine shelf – much like you’d find off the coast of
Florida today – for thousands of feet, equating to over ten million years of
deposition. And thanks to the erosive action of the Rio Grande, the canyon is
one of the few places in the region where you can actually walk up the entire
section instead of climbing a thousand-foot sheer cliff to see it!</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Anyways, nerd stuff. The ranger and I chatted
enthusiastically about this for a while longer before I realized that the afternoon
was getting on, and I should be spending my time actually out on the hike! So
off I went again, determined to avoid visitor centers for at least another 24 hours.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">I really love National Park visitor centers.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Jane and I drove down to the Santa Elena parking lot,
skirting massive uplifted limestone cliffs the whole way. Slowly, the canyon
came into view. And slowly, the sheer size of the canyon became more evident.
This is no small slot canyon, carved by flash floods and seasonal creeks. No,
this is a canyon carved by one of the great rivers of North America: the Rio
Grande. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieEYt13QbpRW4viSy5bQQC-1hRIwPwUoxgl4Vj-F7bbAXk4iWiWnPMmMlsWSkLiMPO2TDYntZmRcDkd7ZPpU083ZHTDdvgs9KGpx01sijGEbBYmJdHCuDyHuVByHnH2Lb_vJhkGqwxK6ZjS3u4oOwqVYtXTBDI82H7eu2nxHTSGMEtUscli6MMZWJV/s5472/Edits-IMG_7147.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieEYt13QbpRW4viSy5bQQC-1hRIwPwUoxgl4Vj-F7bbAXk4iWiWnPMmMlsWSkLiMPO2TDYntZmRcDkd7ZPpU083ZHTDdvgs9KGpx01sijGEbBYmJdHCuDyHuVByHnH2Lb_vJhkGqwxK6ZjS3u4oOwqVYtXTBDI82H7eu2nxHTSGMEtUscli6MMZWJV/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7147.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjSjKH_jsyQE4yeQbbuPBCKFksqcf3huSBC6ruEN0-y3CbLejYVEZu-8-X-B80V1uajAuk_qKMHLyRvsjlE-GVvQVUD_C_DiEF-wq88atT2CWAl5l-zoenUd50vZXDoBCJF7LaMCDxGIQqSlit7ao3nfdR2tNKyHKMmYTdKC2uIHM_NS90Do3KlrCf/s5472/Edits-IMG_7161.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjSjKH_jsyQE4yeQbbuPBCKFksqcf3huSBC6ruEN0-y3CbLejYVEZu-8-X-B80V1uajAuk_qKMHLyRvsjlE-GVvQVUD_C_DiEF-wq88atT2CWAl5l-zoenUd50vZXDoBCJF7LaMCDxGIQqSlit7ao3nfdR2tNKyHKMmYTdKC2uIHM_NS90Do3KlrCf/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7161.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz3us0vAKNgXhTBxr4VC_a1r99aeMywXPXy1SfVX7IptCGQJOOiqHJPtnY5Aa6gfeoJp8rezuXAodksYw5x-a1iVJr5B6svWKChyHQT-8mgoEXeEkmJHgtexw7rwbIUazc7lZTUehBRze5IwHQ-UavS1bGia2aY2ngHA3IiQocPqbG0ct3KXkxRIYL/s5472/Edits-IMG_7168.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz3us0vAKNgXhTBxr4VC_a1r99aeMywXPXy1SfVX7IptCGQJOOiqHJPtnY5Aa6gfeoJp8rezuXAodksYw5x-a1iVJr5B6svWKChyHQT-8mgoEXeEkmJHgtexw7rwbIUazc7lZTUehBRze5IwHQ-UavS1bGia2aY2ngHA3IiQocPqbG0ct3KXkxRIYL/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7168.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><br /></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">The canyon slashes down through a thousand feet of the most
rigid rock in the area, perpendicular to the massive wall that is exposed today
(which also serves as part of the boundary between the US and Mexico). It
speaks to a time when the river ran resolute, wild and deep and strong. These
days, though, the Rio Grande is a shadow of its former self, its waters
diverted for human use long before they reach this place. During the summer, the
river runs only a foot or so deep – or less – and you can walk right across to
Mexico without even getting your shorts wet. But during the rainy season it
regains some of its former glory, deepening and quickening, making it ideal for
rafting but not so ideal for wading.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRrAOVi5IF1BF_cSnwMu2IoLxepUM9r1g9gNtGT5tyS7ekjG2xC12hnLzprVzJC4dk_wMtOcesErTbueJL2E7yHdFIABuBaQOpqg4454wDASiYYRxAc9WxoWJQ-KXmZx2oSz-p5Wm3q6hNpZbUTH1AVP3vBi6ae3bQcPt8oUhhFJZgUp9FavUdS8h_/s5472/Edits-IMG_7184.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRrAOVi5IF1BF_cSnwMu2IoLxepUM9r1g9gNtGT5tyS7ekjG2xC12hnLzprVzJC4dk_wMtOcesErTbueJL2E7yHdFIABuBaQOpqg4454wDASiYYRxAc9WxoWJQ-KXmZx2oSz-p5Wm3q6hNpZbUTH1AVP3vBi6ae3bQcPt8oUhhFJZgUp9FavUdS8h_/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7184.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That is a very large wall</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtyN0-3G_cUNa06siZo-2dxTDZHgch6eMVOYvWdEsQI0rvLMVF-IQDhpCMePClJ9HgFTVw0fzN1IU7bf23M3mDhHDiYaSxBdroJewIeLZO2YUj3EvBQRax8vuwLVVQ3HoPv1XayLMj8iZY2mxJR7p7_eUknQqfRymdGXwzA2zt0Db8DpzUx9f2qF43/s5472/Edits-IMG_7188.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtyN0-3G_cUNa06siZo-2dxTDZHgch6eMVOYvWdEsQI0rvLMVF-IQDhpCMePClJ9HgFTVw0fzN1IU7bf23M3mDhHDiYaSxBdroJewIeLZO2YUj3EvBQRax8vuwLVVQ3HoPv1XayLMj8iZY2mxJR7p7_eUknQqfRymdGXwzA2zt0Db8DpzUx9f2qF43/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7188.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Santa Elena Canyon from the beach on the other side of the Rio Grande</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Unexpected late October rains had apparently swelled the
river, and the normal low-water crossing over to the Santa Elena hiking trail
was completely flooded. But no matter, as a quick hike up a draw dog-legs you
around the deep part and you can cross through a dry gravel wash. I did so,
then scrambled up a scree slope and down the other side to intersect back into
the hiking trail. Bit of a bush-whack, but easy enough. From there I took the
switchbacks up the steeper, rockier lower part of the canyon walls before
coming out on a nice bench that meandered its way back into the depths of the
canyon.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">I spent most of the hike being very distracted by the
cool rocks, which probably looked very silly to other hikers who were enjoying
the spectacle of the colossal canyon. Imagine hiking through something this
huge, this magnificent, and passing some clown on the side of the trail closely
examining a tiny trailside rock on the ground. Fortunately, I’ve never been one
to be too bothered by what people might think – even if it does cross my mind.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Anyways, I had more important things to think about!
Mostly, the kinds of fossils I was getting to see. Rudists – a type of very
strange clam that lived 100 million years ago – and oysters abounded, preserved
in wonderful detail.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLbAHL_RKGqPSXMtgtt3r4g8uluOhz0HdmrkJNJuNKr2_NwJE_RgZkffdOBgzxWIDqEbnOzXXepIiFD8b-uNKYQt6coI-Q5sHFRX317QrfIIKBkv3t0WY3xjU6qtDwjA-j9ko14HZdxCAEcC9DZo7qFcjr4gXvq40zAzO3WZ_8OClynWmM3OKep4Hq/s5472/Edits-IMG_7213.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLbAHL_RKGqPSXMtgtt3r4g8uluOhz0HdmrkJNJuNKr2_NwJE_RgZkffdOBgzxWIDqEbnOzXXepIiFD8b-uNKYQt6coI-Q5sHFRX317QrfIIKBkv3t0WY3xjU6qtDwjA-j9ko14HZdxCAEcC9DZo7qFcjr4gXvq40zAzO3WZ_8OClynWmM3OKep4Hq/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7213.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm only including one fossil photo here, because I am practicing self control! Here are a bazillion tiny oysters and bivalves entombed in limestone mud.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">But one can only look at fossil oysters for so long
before one’s eyes feel like they might fall out, so I did eventually turn my
gaze to the more commonly-viewed parts of the trail. Santa Elena Canyon gives
one a unique feeling of simultaneous closeness and boundlessness. The canyon
walls tower over you, blocking out the sun, the perpetual twilight permeated
with a sense of inescapability. But from the mouth of the canyon, a vast
landscape dotted with mountains and ancient volcanoes stretches for miles and
miles as far as the eye can see. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTWEaxqhbRbadI0LnkOT3DOYjO_V75zl-tIMGbYT0i4tZhfIER-D7QV5jS03ezQY9qJ9g2oIgXap3l-wAjRVoewfP6knjokmERt9rfiWQ3IVrJ_KG9XiHNYiXmcNuoVjT-cb2-s1HLhYobsLw0VCr8ubSyADz3HUtz2TecGtROheVrli7oooQ1y94L/s5472/Edits-IMG_7283.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTWEaxqhbRbadI0LnkOT3DOYjO_V75zl-tIMGbYT0i4tZhfIER-D7QV5jS03ezQY9qJ9g2oIgXap3l-wAjRVoewfP6knjokmERt9rfiWQ3IVrJ_KG9XiHNYiXmcNuoVjT-cb2-s1HLhYobsLw0VCr8ubSyADz3HUtz2TecGtROheVrli7oooQ1y94L/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7283.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kayaker for scale</td></tr></tbody></table></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhybV3dY2CpkLYzYVDTpxq7KzT9FJSq7ngNJqLx-DUhgFq9NOpPgWdDcB_unZ1rZr1nxh9gwJTTWvpBCPLcowsx8WkQLzK8DC28YNwRp4P6ZaZl6JfaLBXsGYKKi7thE-LlVUmbv4pGidvRYD5eYg_CJaGXa_qWMCWlvXpV7roz8cGHWbQ5weKW6zhI/s5472/Edits-IMG_7260.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhybV3dY2CpkLYzYVDTpxq7KzT9FJSq7ngNJqLx-DUhgFq9NOpPgWdDcB_unZ1rZr1nxh9gwJTTWvpBCPLcowsx8WkQLzK8DC28YNwRp4P6ZaZl6JfaLBXsGYKKi7thE-LlVUmbv4pGidvRYD5eYg_CJaGXa_qWMCWlvXpV7roz8cGHWbQ5weKW6zhI/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7260.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-GjRv6w0AZHKaAhb7BjCaYpIuyx0GhHkaPoN9efQM0kL9pnypUE05x265mPdaR_LxExGo6PRABic77cl1NAjnrrEup0L7FAbKIOMgYldb-UFnKJsqLXq-4An_D9qY-CmaYSMUEb8Qn8ndXVWcJIucIonHpj9y5dYRLnT9jOBJ35XC4zYUR5CFUa8X/s5324/Edits-IMG_7264.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5324" data-original-width="3549" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-GjRv6w0AZHKaAhb7BjCaYpIuyx0GhHkaPoN9efQM0kL9pnypUE05x265mPdaR_LxExGo6PRABic77cl1NAjnrrEup0L7FAbKIOMgYldb-UFnKJsqLXq-4An_D9qY-CmaYSMUEb8Qn8ndXVWcJIucIonHpj9y5dYRLnT9jOBJ35XC4zYUR5CFUa8X/w426-h640/Edits-IMG_7264.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQCSykKbFm_emnm9QG_EAp6tBOkzBBgtd0_LbBGwQo6WGj9-jgNF0S2P4BczqVu2f8ZCSHVpjnTd_w8gv4rr9fzHAoCAAkeW8TXkr6oQMkn4y3micsATcPYNihyy_xAp3jpp1P7WD0RHzKMGgOMXNl2cD_qGjb7uUt-ZBoTxNRtYppZKn5JItZQRw6/s5472/Edits-IMG_7237.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQCSykKbFm_emnm9QG_EAp6tBOkzBBgtd0_LbBGwQo6WGj9-jgNF0S2P4BczqVu2f8ZCSHVpjnTd_w8gv4rr9fzHAoCAAkeW8TXkr6oQMkn4y3micsATcPYNihyy_xAp3jpp1P7WD0RHzKMGgOMXNl2cD_qGjb7uUt-ZBoTxNRtYppZKn5JItZQRw6/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7237.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGKI4ck9YDWqImyXxTYFvfZHm2GkmXsXuUj1YnwInMKkdX2FUTvQDjdgMiZEe9Cb6YmP1LJb4eLBNlC0NSMFU263fdizkI4gLPldQT8i9yFBGFYWYx8GEI79nxLkB3jt7fEl8du4OD_bugMZ5MsvpWjdWiop4eryezT_1u8jizpI7fqT_TGFEfVgS7/s5472/Edits-IMG_7276.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGKI4ck9YDWqImyXxTYFvfZHm2GkmXsXuUj1YnwInMKkdX2FUTvQDjdgMiZEe9Cb6YmP1LJb4eLBNlC0NSMFU263fdizkI4gLPldQT8i9yFBGFYWYx8GEI79nxLkB3jt7fEl8du4OD_bugMZ5MsvpWjdWiop4eryezT_1u8jizpI7fqT_TGFEfVgS7/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7276.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">The trail continued meandering down the canyon,
eventually ending at a small beach right on the river. Beds of limestone angled
down into the water and were reflected back in its murky depths. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMVLTeBks0xCLbQ3qiWr5biVurp1fT7Y62mor5ryLA0WReJ6C8jqGGL6D_kOBIR1vd1cQG_vEVoaU95OlrzQpody8KNQD5uvKKslH433CTPJvnAlPjzuNIhpRpxOfvSOqYtkG3S5FkSh-oW03XSiNUDTAMXpgLq0wPVQ4XJOlk1pwk02tFKBP3_0yY/s5472/Edits-IMG_7250.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5472" data-original-width="3648" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMVLTeBks0xCLbQ3qiWr5biVurp1fT7Y62mor5ryLA0WReJ6C8jqGGL6D_kOBIR1vd1cQG_vEVoaU95OlrzQpody8KNQD5uvKKslH433CTPJvnAlPjzuNIhpRpxOfvSOqYtkG3S5FkSh-oW03XSiNUDTAMXpgLq0wPVQ4XJOlk1pwk02tFKBP3_0yY/w426-h640/Edits-IMG_7250.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj5wN_bCuKhP4lcaPqutwY8MZG4bUrGUu-cQZKTPb8Dah7Hm_CebqiXZmlGWapF_P5uIi4AjbyZRpjKpLZ4BkRd_Ws2B6F0OBrjewhQROE9OhePNrKDaUr-12o1Lolixj3Fkd_xaoOGJy4RJj_15-o8UMwpMccR8ZGsZxNJGNYRv0AOntCMb5RpPFC/s5472/Edits-IMG_7245.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj5wN_bCuKhP4lcaPqutwY8MZG4bUrGUu-cQZKTPb8Dah7Hm_CebqiXZmlGWapF_P5uIi4AjbyZRpjKpLZ4BkRd_Ws2B6F0OBrjewhQROE9OhePNrKDaUr-12o1Lolixj3Fkd_xaoOGJy4RJj_15-o8UMwpMccR8ZGsZxNJGNYRv0AOntCMb5RpPFC/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7245.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBFvdX_SfDOth-LimByJjrhVS-ZDFV3lWS7hD5-yUdGuQiUMzW9-soIwCRUJSkqg-9Wz3fVnkAvRbAEVnjXfnF39XJwDhe7rxcW2fG7azrbMH65iWJjsdHeXyOdtpXHGhSYJ3y7P0d5oPf0Rh10mr-rztpuRZopIXNyzoLKWGjDtKG2VPrDj-I1MjF/s5472/Edits-IMG_7246.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBFvdX_SfDOth-LimByJjrhVS-ZDFV3lWS7hD5-yUdGuQiUMzW9-soIwCRUJSkqg-9Wz3fVnkAvRbAEVnjXfnF39XJwDhe7rxcW2fG7azrbMH65iWJjsdHeXyOdtpXHGhSYJ3y7P0d5oPf0Rh10mr-rztpuRZopIXNyzoLKWGjDtKG2VPrDj-I1MjF/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7246.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p><br /></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">I sat on the beach for a while with some other hikers, savoring
the picturesque stillness. That is, until a child further up the canyon started
yodeling.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">I hiked my way back up the trail and out into the sun, pausing
at the crest of the scree pile to enjoy the refreshing wide-open views after
the closeness of the canyon. </p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-rw9P_NAc85Orskhb4ax0ftI6kS29HvudFJ0ecPHoKhqSy7UerzQr8quyE95dM5cPFZUeImfAth63lRId0JA1t3QUYrrQXB43RqvhMtXeOKWONp0KYNu0Ql1ETixCijh9dIedpZfJk4by9GkPqvGef0Z7klFjfuNdYrvmLHuVW_4_UuO_bLgcU-J9/s5336/Edits-IMG_7289.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3557" data-original-width="5336" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-rw9P_NAc85Orskhb4ax0ftI6kS29HvudFJ0ecPHoKhqSy7UerzQr8quyE95dM5cPFZUeImfAth63lRId0JA1t3QUYrrQXB43RqvhMtXeOKWONp0KYNu0Ql1ETixCijh9dIedpZfJk4by9GkPqvGef0Z7klFjfuNdYrvmLHuVW_4_UuO_bLgcU-J9/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7289.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p class="MsoNoSpacing"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBqhWsQOCTIjti8JBPoCqYamvZThqmKXFTf5qvTrTFckZnt9RwBmv3q4Q8Vm6MwnjKn5sokBwuFU8t-y_uRYw4Rs03-tf2yapEcNXKSFha3JkcHOoIHMPn_jHALnjwmbzxDq5AGG8RWYZrSK6tT12UgXoZcTRDw7JyzUOixPxrMm5O15xJ0LDpqGlr/s5472/Edits-IMG_7296.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBqhWsQOCTIjti8JBPoCqYamvZThqmKXFTf5qvTrTFckZnt9RwBmv3q4Q8Vm6MwnjKn5sokBwuFU8t-y_uRYw4Rs03-tf2yapEcNXKSFha3JkcHOoIHMPn_jHALnjwmbzxDq5AGG8RWYZrSK6tT12UgXoZcTRDw7JyzUOixPxrMm5O15xJ0LDpqGlr/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7296.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">And it was there that I noticed, looking down,
that there was a family staring up at me.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">“Hello,” I said.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">“Hello,” they said. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">They kept looking at me. I kept looking at them.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Finally one of them chipped in with, “Oh, we’re just
watching to see how you come down this hill! It’s my first time hiking and this
looks pretty scary.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">I looked down at the screed hill. To me it looks like a
pretty average hill, but then again I do spend a lot of time outside. I can’t even
think of when my first time hiking was! What a revelation.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">I walked down the hill (normally, because it was a normal
hill), and the family greeted me at the bottom with awe and congratulations (“You
made that look so easy!”). Another revelation.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">They were fully geared up – brand new hiking boots,
hiking poles, packs, and the like – so I just said, “Well, it’s easy with
hiking boots, you’ll see. You’re going to walk right up that hill like normal.
Hiking is just walking but on an uneven surface, after all.” Another
revelation!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">They seemed immensely encouraged by that comment, and
after that I felt obligated to watch them take a stab at the hill. Unsurprisingly
(to me) and surprisingly (to them), they had no trouble at all and traipsed
right up to the top with nary a misplaced foot. At the top, the lady cheered and
called down to me excitedly, “I MADE IT!!!”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">I gave her a huge thumbs up and then went on my way, and
they went on theirs. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">I found myself thinking about that funny little
interaction the entire rest of the day. You know, I frequently take my
outdoorsy life for granted, and sometimes I forget how much so. To me, that was
the end of a nice pleasant stroll. To them, that was a big leap, a brave new
step into a new world. I hope they had a great hike, and that they were
encouraged to do more in the future. Everyone deserves to see the wild and
beautiful places in the world. </p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">And hey, it would be a waste of perfectly good brand-new
hiking gear if they never did it again.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">It really did get me thinking, though, about how lucky we are to have the National Park Service here in the US. In establishing the NPS, we ensured that we would be able to preserve the best of our country for others to enjoy for generations to come. And in staffing it with the best, most enthusiastic, most infectiously passionate people we could find, we ensured that the parks would remain treasured destinations in perpetuity. They are places that continue to spark wonder and excitement and curiosity in our souls, the sites of hundreds of thousands of collective cherished memories and adventures. They were - and are - truly "America's best idea".</p>Jane and I meandered our way back up the scenic drive (which is much more scenic going north than south, actually) and eventually ended up in the Chisos Basin, our destination for the night. I had scored a very nice campsite right on the fringe of the campground looking out over some lovely volcanic spires.<div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc7BOX5-ak3v7EkOzILO8d1a4UpIB4jred6G8RM-7Y-8aKiNGF9INjWCiy4xRRDSJoJ4jM6AEZuKmNbfwfVX-zDPPOCarTDZCqT6neAzwZzqWo1hDdnvUA8ZT65g8UknA2o_AByHjbi5EabjHzeoocqdQ3fgFShaZWTMxFfvn2N_v97ze852FZ9YU4/s5472/Edits-IMG_7307.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc7BOX5-ak3v7EkOzILO8d1a4UpIB4jred6G8RM-7Y-8aKiNGF9INjWCiy4xRRDSJoJ4jM6AEZuKmNbfwfVX-zDPPOCarTDZCqT6neAzwZzqWo1hDdnvUA8ZT65g8UknA2o_AByHjbi5EabjHzeoocqdQ3fgFShaZWTMxFfvn2N_v97ze852FZ9YU4/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7307.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p class="MsoNoSpacing"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4anq4zYc1SkfU6GoZlOAf0PYvx_ek9EzWJdqMjZ79CBTQSJKdaknlay1-aPhoHXNjriTPuIa4oWGAEI14X7Cy8ianEspyitFGW7vv6MqhV4Dz5sMmrgtALcMnd3aWJrPdqw4s0JKN7X6moGw1JG7emrMLOKQPxH0fSEmyKkCSOXKE-vOFWfaAOim_/s5472/Edits-IMG_7312.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4anq4zYc1SkfU6GoZlOAf0PYvx_ek9EzWJdqMjZ79CBTQSJKdaknlay1-aPhoHXNjriTPuIa4oWGAEI14X7Cy8ianEspyitFGW7vv6MqhV4Dz5sMmrgtALcMnd3aWJrPdqw4s0JKN7X6moGw1JG7emrMLOKQPxH0fSEmyKkCSOXKE-vOFWfaAOim_/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7312.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaQDNQDlKYJ8_lMZUg3-NITsVx-6Gf0QODkVu1bmC8m9gCC1e9i-zajVKjbeSjNi86r6lkzHM05vRbkVEvuCVHbuEk89b4B3KZDBborAdQIxm7umXhoragafvbVQQS_bP_mysczHzQSRlTXBt6mWFPIs_tJng3BYR6XI_wEJuKzhlYbB9Awi5soZzT/s5472/Edits-IMG_7328.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaQDNQDlKYJ8_lMZUg3-NITsVx-6Gf0QODkVu1bmC8m9gCC1e9i-zajVKjbeSjNi86r6lkzHM05vRbkVEvuCVHbuEk89b4B3KZDBborAdQIxm7umXhoragafvbVQQS_bP_mysczHzQSRlTXBt6mWFPIs_tJng3BYR6XI_wEJuKzhlYbB9Awi5soZzT/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7328.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRq_CtlYw_EJCa_fUWAzx6CCYYnP3m4VXZN4AIQbRJJaPaBeRuBUrGgc18TFBafxJPrDR4bwssTitcIs2J6pCqNGmoLw0py-ixkmAAVMbBQvp2634w21Ga6HvrtAvcj2FdOniA13GJvTsDbj39c8zk0LSQkDpCzC0Xh3LWZ-jjnNCfx15lJX8B2_PX/s5472/Edits-IMG_7338.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRq_CtlYw_EJCa_fUWAzx6CCYYnP3m4VXZN4AIQbRJJaPaBeRuBUrGgc18TFBafxJPrDR4bwssTitcIs2J6pCqNGmoLw0py-ixkmAAVMbBQvp2634w21Ga6HvrtAvcj2FdOniA13GJvTsDbj39c8zk0LSQkDpCzC0Xh3LWZ-jjnNCfx15lJX8B2_PX/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7338.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifKc34XkFA21jhwL7Jeg_p5s6-RCUo0MzF5W9_rXZaPR1wXkCRT1V1ABiwtwop7IjcJcLQXZzOB20m3F3PqAHb0EwFtuMY85U7hTqaxfpdzRWTo1oSbA1Z5pMwoHQrQXODa922_k_ND8hXBpROozRZBwHEvLGgSdPO4G7kTZoEzn9d4XpRf5drkwgl/s5472/Edits-IMG_7344.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifKc34XkFA21jhwL7Jeg_p5s6-RCUo0MzF5W9_rXZaPR1wXkCRT1V1ABiwtwop7IjcJcLQXZzOB20m3F3PqAHb0EwFtuMY85U7hTqaxfpdzRWTo1oSbA1Z5pMwoHQrQXODa922_k_ND8hXBpROozRZBwHEvLGgSdPO4G7kTZoEzn9d4XpRf5drkwgl/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7344.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-PNhf-yZbOTKTtKfJCmcCLFZws2ISWzwZUSz-ebk_9a2EuBU7ZSH5p1enFf8zURg8r6XuN4wpb6aAl3tQhH8e7iND6qrOARWoAKc9pcwkACye-T7zNVswJjcDh86M9onUmVzVhChUdT3XAyYnT-lwDcrPONDFWSZtFslsPC_mPbW8Fta_PlODNZ_e/s5472/Edits-IMG_7351.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-PNhf-yZbOTKTtKfJCmcCLFZws2ISWzwZUSz-ebk_9a2EuBU7ZSH5p1enFf8zURg8r6XuN4wpb6aAl3tQhH8e7iND6qrOARWoAKc9pcwkACye-T7zNVswJjcDh86M9onUmVzVhChUdT3XAyYnT-lwDcrPONDFWSZtFslsPC_mPbW8Fta_PlODNZ_e/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7351.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Driving up the Chisos towards the pass</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmBXzPEmGFe2b_U5HeteFVYvgSXbJYsmXe8TpXTbVG6o85NCnbJE-D5BW2YooCz4iu5ybYDotWNwQnIY1akqrMKne_J3MaxH_ML72lSz0_Ve5XedLd_r4iUC9bCfpxsFBpm-dHN65Q6zq7vVcV5gcgEloRm0RzVurvGgHTBn_ymj6PKMDY1UkvPTxc/s5472/Edits-IMG_7355.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmBXzPEmGFe2b_U5HeteFVYvgSXbJYsmXe8TpXTbVG6o85NCnbJE-D5BW2YooCz4iu5ybYDotWNwQnIY1akqrMKne_J3MaxH_ML72lSz0_Ve5XedLd_r4iUC9bCfpxsFBpm-dHN65Q6zq7vVcV5gcgEloRm0RzVurvGgHTBn_ymj6PKMDY1UkvPTxc/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7355.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Overlooking the Chisos Basin</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNHmnou38JO9ZCZYi6nFP7LYiqeqfnyONYSg-dqiuVlqro-iEtXAMIcmrU7sm2BZCiEFt2UozfSipw8rA4OZWP3CMFAomIrjjgAcYC-dBXzOmYmvZaHa41JGCwtUWLNHC77P2hpcssYz6Y7oDjmJtAKQdRqlaRuSZDbUxyOlJrHseftDGGAktSfjb2/s5472/Edits-IMG_7358.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNHmnou38JO9ZCZYi6nFP7LYiqeqfnyONYSg-dqiuVlqro-iEtXAMIcmrU7sm2BZCiEFt2UozfSipw8rA4OZWP3CMFAomIrjjgAcYC-dBXzOmYmvZaHa41JGCwtUWLNHC77P2hpcssYz6Y7oDjmJtAKQdRqlaRuSZDbUxyOlJrHseftDGGAktSfjb2/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7358.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from the campground</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZkywFCYc9KIZEEf45wqVrWMrHieLwCibBQoVEZDZGfYVVQfqibZ3yBzuv2LdMcvg5RHEAnSY_B1MTkX1OdCUpj3qZyR8xWK_MRyGLxNf2px23uY_7mWSFbDeetFrWSF4Tb2HsM4Mh-QHee_KmBfmR-7-FiUrKddQxPbH6JgYWt-Nc9UpygTVF8Nwr/s5472/Edits-IMG_7360.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZkywFCYc9KIZEEf45wqVrWMrHieLwCibBQoVEZDZGfYVVQfqibZ3yBzuv2LdMcvg5RHEAnSY_B1MTkX1OdCUpj3qZyR8xWK_MRyGLxNf2px23uY_7mWSFbDeetFrWSF4Tb2HsM4Mh-QHee_KmBfmR-7-FiUrKddQxPbH6JgYWt-Nc9UpygTVF8Nwr/w640-h426/Edits-IMG_7360.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Perfection</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">As the sun dipped over the horizon, the spires glowing red
against the golden light suffusing the basin floor, I threw some hamburgers on
the grill and then plopped down in my camp chair with an exciting new book. Jane
sat nearby, a comfortable solid presence, the one constant in my ever-changing travels.
A light breeze drifted past, carrying all the usual campground sounds – the chatter
of campers, the clinking of cookware, the sizzle of grills – out into the basin,
to be swallowed by the trees.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">It's good to be back out again.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Kelly signing out.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p></div>Kelly Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04271547498127096571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893125545466338016.post-89045310387421483312022-11-18T22:37:00.016-05:002022-11-18T22:42:27.947-05:00It's Allllllll Good<p>2022 ROAD TRIP! Hello to those who still check in here once in a while! I've just come back from this year's road trip (yes, in <i>November</i>) and I'm now working on the accompanying blog posts. This year's run was short - 8 days - so that means I'll have to work real hard to make each post extra-interesting. I hope you enjoy!</p><p><br /></p><p>----------------</p><p> 11/5</p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p>----------------</o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Another year. Another adventure. Same car. Same driver.
Same theme. Are you getting tired of me yet?? I hope not.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">At least this time I’m traveling at a different time of
year! Small differences. The reason for a November trip – instead of my usual
August romp – is twofold: 1) I had a conference to go to in Banff in August
this year (yeah, boo-hoo, woe is me, my life is awful), and 2) I’ve decided
that August is just too damn hot! This year in particular – it was Austin’s
hottest summer ever, and boy did I feel it. The prospect of hauling my buns
(or, rather, making Jane haul my buns) across the hottest state at the hottest
time of year was just not that appealing, believe it or not.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">So, I elected to try something new: an autumn trip! This
one is tricky to arrange as October is usually very busy for me, but it’s also
the best time to travel. I figured early November would be okay too, as long as
I stuck to the southern portion of the States. Not a problem – and actually a
boon, as I have a lot of great places left to see in the south. You know,
because I’d actually melt if I tried to go in my usual August timeframe.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Anyways, due to various overlapping commitments, I only
had a 10-day window to do my yearly tour. Yeah, reduced to the length of the
average American vacation – terrible! But, that’s just how things worked out.
So with that in mind, I elected to finally check a big item off of the list:
Big Bend National Park.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Now, Big Bend is the closest national park to my Austin,
TX home – in fact, it’s the ONLY national park in Texas – but I’ve never been,
despite living in Texas for nearly eight years now. This is because when I
moved here and saw how few large parks there were in the vicinity, I decided to
“save” Big Bend for a point in my life when I was having a really bad time and
needed a break. You know, a “bail-out” park for a pocket adventure to cheer me
up! The problem though is that in all the time I’ve lived here, I just have
never felt I had a bad enough day to merit a visit. Boo-hoo, woe is me, my life
is awful. Whatever. I figure I’ll check it off the list now, and you know what,
if I ever have a terrible day again, I can always come back.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Remarkably, I had Jane tuned up and reasonably
presentable a full THREE DAYS before leaving on this trip! And I finished
packing at 10PM the night before, instead of the usual 2-3AM! I’m really
growing up. I hope that Jane appreciates how hard I work to improve on my
terrible procrastination habits for her.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglTFzVUsWfoAPSuCKo_PtL1HOqbSfen4SkPA0zZG0eph8kFlzIjmFZ47aWFQCAIxQhMgaymdTdXMCmRJMMNc1LO8PP4_jE-C0tc_E5PMDv2bofehoJ1-bkJl8xBY-1MJsVH1wYgKD5fxtEye_hsHoYb6tjjCTytH6sMHk48fNXJ84WXnX5D2ZF8l3f/s4032/Edits-JPEG%20image%202.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglTFzVUsWfoAPSuCKo_PtL1HOqbSfen4SkPA0zZG0eph8kFlzIjmFZ47aWFQCAIxQhMgaymdTdXMCmRJMMNc1LO8PP4_jE-C0tc_E5PMDv2bofehoJ1-bkJl8xBY-1MJsVH1wYgKD5fxtEye_hsHoYb6tjjCTytH6sMHk48fNXJ84WXnX5D2ZF8l3f/w480-h640/Edits-JPEG%20image%202.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Annual toolbag check... not pictured: the kitchen sink.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOZVOKxC24w4N8vRxwqA7h8XVMfCh-BuMTHt9mw8SnswzpE-lvaErRiH80br5elS4rdMl9dKgCCNEyzr14Q_oDCURGtEA8_OiZ3jvlW7La_RYXVdFSzJtKo1LEXFS2OFgbdXeMy_wwuxQjF3ZmtF5fFU9Nt0ZDLI8y9JafcS_E5ZgQxQMyxRR8hC3q/s4032/Edits-JPEG%20image.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOZVOKxC24w4N8vRxwqA7h8XVMfCh-BuMTHt9mw8SnswzpE-lvaErRiH80br5elS4rdMl9dKgCCNEyzr14Q_oDCURGtEA8_OiZ3jvlW7La_RYXVdFSzJtKo1LEXFS2OFgbdXeMy_wwuxQjF3ZmtF5fFU9Nt0ZDLI8y9JafcS_E5ZgQxQMyxRR8hC3q/w640-h480/Edits-JPEG%20image.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking clean n' mean!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1XHel9_wSgszVtob5AUeOTvSCFQ1-KUYPOAYuAQ6TCm1Np2jz6ILC2S_CTNVw7STGq0aua4yNPbcxASkYApHSc3OP62EVEiW42L5rh4gdUioR-7YPCxSZpKl6uOT7JSVn7VpA8YLC55SpQ3HCnHEcacbc2jdv4QcxPlc5wkJBM82Js7Eht_5z-nGp/s4032/Edits-JPEG%20image%204.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1XHel9_wSgszVtob5AUeOTvSCFQ1-KUYPOAYuAQ6TCm1Np2jz6ILC2S_CTNVw7STGq0aua4yNPbcxASkYApHSc3OP62EVEiW42L5rh4gdUioR-7YPCxSZpKl6uOT7JSVn7VpA8YLC55SpQ3HCnHEcacbc2jdv4QcxPlc5wkJBM82Js7Eht_5z-nGp/w480-h640/Edits-JPEG%20image%204.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Starting mileage... for once I remembered to document this.</td></tr></tbody></table>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">I planned on an 8-day-long venture, which should be the
perfect length to hit most – if not all – of Big Bend’s Jane-accessible trails.
And I have to admit, I’m actually very excited to get to go hang out at a
single park and really experience it for a significant length of time, since
usually I ping-pong around parks and destinations pretty quickly. It will be
nice to not feel like I have to milk every drop out of every day to get the
full experience.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Saturday morning dawned, and I made my preparations for
the dreaded first day of the trip. I really do hate the first day. Usually I’m
facing a 10-12 hour drive through a 110*F Texas wasteland, on very little
sleep, with the sole intent of just escaping the stupid state. And Jane always
has to go and throw a wrench into things, just to remind me who’s boss (and
probably to punish me for the past year’s neglect). Combined, the first day is
always just a disaster.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">But for once, it actually seemed poised to not be so
terrible. This time, I was only facing an 8-hour jaunt down the highway in 75*F
temps, AND I had gotten enough sleep the previous night! My spirits were high –
and I hoped Jane’s were too.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">We set out at a breezy 10:30AM, hopped on the highway
headed west, and got to running. In my experience, most Texas highways are no
joke. Speed limits are high (and always viewed as a suggestion anyways) and
drivers are some unholy combination of enraged, asleep, distracted, and/or
possibly drunk. West Texas highways are especially bad, combining 75+ MPH speed
limits with poorly maintained, narrow, often gravel-filled roadways, dotted
with slow-moving oil tankers and semi trucks like slugs covering a particularly
busy sidewalk. The only solid strategy I’ve found to navigating West Texas
highways is to move fast, keep your head on a swivel, and be ready for anything
at any time. Exhausting, to say the least.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">I was prepared for the worst, as usual, but it was not to
be. No, it turns out that the majority of the roads leading out towards Big Bend - including Highways 290 and 10 – are actually very nice roads. They're smooth, they're wide, they're well-maintained, and they're pretty sparsely traveled so a nice high-80s cruising
speed doesn’t feel like so much of a death trap. This might be my new favorite
highway drive in Texas! Not that there was any competition.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">For once, Jane and I were on the same page and she ate up
the miles with ease, every mile passing more smoothly than the last. The urban
sprawl of Austin gave way to grassy fields spotted with vineyards (every year
more than the last, I notice), then gently rolling hills with live oak-filled pastureland.</p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcStlhXFbVoVkAFfUhfY04Z1n0bspVqIRGDBxA2JadKywC53MNTBZzIyCAGTDIlPuR8gJkniBTni_tIEz6KvGYHGRrg3RWqKTmfDFYBS-tznTTkRPnr7k1My7IGPI34WNeQPWdnAChfawq0ZFUYuMEvKdUlLZsGYkaTDX8j4EGenUVZUuvE0B3qdPb/s5472/DadBook_-IMG_8599.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcStlhXFbVoVkAFfUhfY04Z1n0bspVqIRGDBxA2JadKywC53MNTBZzIyCAGTDIlPuR8gJkniBTni_tIEz6KvGYHGRrg3RWqKTmfDFYBS-tznTTkRPnr7k1My7IGPI34WNeQPWdnAChfawq0ZFUYuMEvKdUlLZsGYkaTDX8j4EGenUVZUuvE0B3qdPb/w640-h426/DadBook_-IMG_8599.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Pastureland gave way to rounded cedar-studded hills and
towering rocky roadcuts.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ-KEOmbeDhgVn0nV0qzdEsWPTRCRifo6L1zn5eSiw0jL7x-MwMH1SVhQ7zZMpc4eGMmwDJtyO1QzkqfDXKJyrP2DSbOK_9Kc8b4T63qtKE_cx_AwoYEa3uK5Y_IlEeLSLVHkWiMk7wTCoHlMmUPj8VYop8NX9NFxRTlX46rF3AVUMrh6us-o5F-E7/s5347/DadBook_-IMG_8598.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3565" data-original-width="5347" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ-KEOmbeDhgVn0nV0qzdEsWPTRCRifo6L1zn5eSiw0jL7x-MwMH1SVhQ7zZMpc4eGMmwDJtyO1QzkqfDXKJyrP2DSbOK_9Kc8b4T63qtKE_cx_AwoYEa3uK5Y_IlEeLSLVHkWiMk7wTCoHlMmUPj8VYop8NX9NFxRTlX46rF3AVUMrh6us-o5F-E7/w640-h426/DadBook_-IMG_8598.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">And eventually even those hills gave way to flatlands
filled with scrubby brush, the old Texas classic. After some time, I turned off
the main highway to head south, and stared at some more scrubby brush.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqrQFnTjZTVreeh5bqUbwDu0SFx6VgB2B5CO19hLRXt0tOBl-ECiX7iVopruYuNd3hlj_Z_Qh_JIBbWx7pQWUzqfL-AWZMgLIoPa97kkPnmLWhDLUom2AWji2LMDSZ_4VMsA6N82T6jM7zvODKwy3OLXgKGYXwQSMa86iZibQiHz4kyxs4QZ59xtRL/s5303/DadBook_-IMG_8592.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3535" data-original-width="5303" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqrQFnTjZTVreeh5bqUbwDu0SFx6VgB2B5CO19hLRXt0tOBl-ECiX7iVopruYuNd3hlj_Z_Qh_JIBbWx7pQWUzqfL-AWZMgLIoPa97kkPnmLWhDLUom2AWji2LMDSZ_4VMsA6N82T6jM7zvODKwy3OLXgKGYXwQSMa86iZibQiHz4kyxs4QZ59xtRL/w640-h426/DadBook_-IMG_8592.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">The Davis Mountains grew large before me, then
disappeared in the rearview mirror.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk5t5toQae2zoD-ZCwP7bwPHG64mZYMPbBpswCaDoNUwBVoMAPY72oi6Gb5w8KTWPXmrVkaVQH9uYXnUtEa3iKuHcSTyQI7Y8hxZoanY5aMdxRP4IiNwPQ7amjtFpimHIx_2s8vAzqNTcEohJt_Mz3E-y7axY2NFmceu64CPDK7-AuVijllPXuOSEU/s5472/DadBook_-IMG_6945.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk5t5toQae2zoD-ZCwP7bwPHG64mZYMPbBpswCaDoNUwBVoMAPY72oi6Gb5w8KTWPXmrVkaVQH9uYXnUtEa3iKuHcSTyQI7Y8hxZoanY5aMdxRP4IiNwPQ7amjtFpimHIx_2s8vAzqNTcEohJt_Mz3E-y7axY2NFmceu64CPDK7-AuVijllPXuOSEU/w640-h426/DadBook_-IMG_6945.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">New mountains loomed far in the distance. And still Jane roared on, as the sun sank towards the
horizon, turning those scrubby flatlands into something like amber waves of
grain.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg9cJfC_aALkkFNFrVakZuPdUjLqpBsZnOqg8qVAWTeWmdO-3_FHXigRdCPbXI0t5IMzhps4D3LnGQvuoHuKz5iHJ4dB0NbXpDS9czaXGMB703riBH2Eodjn__-4La3uE0JWi-LrUsBc9cDeAEBWo_eoMkDy22HRwQKkXmqvRUii4joA9bzCzgO4YL/s5472/DadBook_-IMG_6955.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg9cJfC_aALkkFNFrVakZuPdUjLqpBsZnOqg8qVAWTeWmdO-3_FHXigRdCPbXI0t5IMzhps4D3LnGQvuoHuKz5iHJ4dB0NbXpDS9czaXGMB703riBH2Eodjn__-4La3uE0JWi-LrUsBc9cDeAEBWo_eoMkDy22HRwQKkXmqvRUii4joA9bzCzgO4YL/w640-h426/DadBook_-IMG_6955.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Distant mountains turned to closer mesas.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn65nOdW6XTw6ws9w_tH5t38M7seFRXOJjTAL0_NNyUxXQ2E6LHO8zGdlm0SQ5n7z2514gDhMWZQIz1BahRUSWv9r67OwcUkeXKeNtAmtdpJUdAnrtbQrLmwzH2ZnDY07Jo8voqD6CE8p7GXF-Sh0VhN0en3hs-YHyBvFH1ZaMJQbiHZ2GoyZIjxPw/s5472/DadBook_-IMG_6964.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn65nOdW6XTw6ws9w_tH5t38M7seFRXOJjTAL0_NNyUxXQ2E6LHO8zGdlm0SQ5n7z2514gDhMWZQIz1BahRUSWv9r67OwcUkeXKeNtAmtdpJUdAnrtbQrLmwzH2ZnDY07Jo8voqD6CE8p7GXF-Sh0VhN0en3hs-YHyBvFH1ZaMJQbiHZ2GoyZIjxPw/w640-h426/DadBook_-IMG_6964.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Closer mesas turned to even closer ancient volcanic mounds.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9f0YOp3IieAM-ff9qkacwkxxK8-bWM550EdqHU2GAKzA-OPlBz6ji4I30ipaI9D_zMhJvzraizRpFiJg70Q_HsuMG5TQEgnZBie4ZAb5ZylHJyajmU0zAqil8z7oNUhmtXas_XEbpfR01Ce57sOMcRg0Nn4EyaugB7rmI988RQPpuOJKSmCKzAzUS/s5472/DadBook_-IMG_7001.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9f0YOp3IieAM-ff9qkacwkxxK8-bWM550EdqHU2GAKzA-OPlBz6ji4I30ipaI9D_zMhJvzraizRpFiJg70Q_HsuMG5TQEgnZBie4ZAb5ZylHJyajmU0zAqil8z7oNUhmtXas_XEbpfR01Ce57sOMcRg0Nn4EyaugB7rmI988RQPpuOJKSmCKzAzUS/w640-h426/DadBook_-IMG_7001.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6x9jtBsk6wsOSMONHVVDaAp3ohvwkRXU2fKicno1a0q-ewF1IxOzBumn9842Xc0G7xnCbhrKBQexYQItKHtgHzqAg9d2deWOwwbrX2WUI2qv7TTzO3iYxA4FmiHi3EMm9tKrX5_4tf_3NHnh2bcV1HIJaXG7FQcVGvTcCujfngX71SgYSrQqJ7aGD/s5472/DadBook_-IMG_6998.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6x9jtBsk6wsOSMONHVVDaAp3ohvwkRXU2fKicno1a0q-ewF1IxOzBumn9842Xc0G7xnCbhrKBQexYQItKHtgHzqAg9d2deWOwwbrX2WUI2qv7TTzO3iYxA4FmiHi3EMm9tKrX5_4tf_3NHnh2bcV1HIJaXG7FQcVGvTcCujfngX71SgYSrQqJ7aGD/w640-h426/DadBook_-IMG_6998.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW3bTZa_OcJYU250Ch9fDgWJ0vLRj35MH2kqbkJQn2vAGkbklrLOXpTpA5lq_hbiF2ilsc6OxQE4oQEtGZbgB8l8BKPP6h3xbRC_tH4AFf4uZhlU__5WdgjzjW5uUGFbUvYGhqgdbpvEdXHMH6QVOTXNrBssRVGwN-t8tpqts1SPsCLMWOIoqLaJrm/s5472/DadBook_-IMG_6996.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW3bTZa_OcJYU250Ch9fDgWJ0vLRj35MH2kqbkJQn2vAGkbklrLOXpTpA5lq_hbiF2ilsc6OxQE4oQEtGZbgB8l8BKPP6h3xbRC_tH4AFf4uZhlU__5WdgjzjW5uUGFbUvYGhqgdbpvEdXHMH6QVOTXNrBssRVGwN-t8tpqts1SPsCLMWOIoqLaJrm/w640-h426/DadBook_-IMG_6996.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5g0cZEGJV6TM-C2z2pjRJVr-muKNzJL5jPoGvtdEE0FtFNmpAqepiEPYQ17JgUZSg0Zb0MoWLr8_zSjoqKzWAFHQRcZbnqn2_79srJRcbTt1L28WKZ48y6u0BQ7Rl62fcHFzaZMvb2_GA-xm7-FNe1Gn8Pph-_CPrn3XgmWgPnPDJO8gMiVDAy1D-/s5472/DadBook_-IMG_6988.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5g0cZEGJV6TM-C2z2pjRJVr-muKNzJL5jPoGvtdEE0FtFNmpAqepiEPYQ17JgUZSg0Zb0MoWLr8_zSjoqKzWAFHQRcZbnqn2_79srJRcbTt1L28WKZ48y6u0BQ7Rl62fcHFzaZMvb2_GA-xm7-FNe1Gn8Pph-_CPrn3XgmWgPnPDJO8gMiVDAy1D-/w640-h426/DadBook_-IMG_6988.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">And seemingly abruptly, we arrived at our destination for
the night: Terlingua, TX. Completely without incident. </p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">Well, except for the
final five minutes of driving, which were a bit harrowing due to the impending
sunset and the angle of the roads in Terlingua. You see, I have to be very
careful about driving west at sunset when I first start off on these trips. The
reason is incredibly stupid: Jane is too shiny, and when the sun is very low,
it will simultaneously lance in through an unavoidable spot in the windshield, AND
reflect off of the hood, creating a double-blinding effect (and not the fun
medical study type). It's worse when the car is pointed a little (or a lot)
uphill, which it was. And it’s even WORSE when the windshield is full of bug
smears, as if, say, you’d been driving through a billion trillion butterflies
for eight hours. Which I had. So, triple-blind. But, miraculously, we kept all
four tires on the road and we didn’t even miss our turn to the night’s lodging.
Must be because I’ve been doing this for so long.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">Anyways, I had booked a night at the Buzzard’s Roost, which is
right near the old Terlingua ghost town (yes, Terlingua is technically a ghost
town – more on that later). It advertised “tipis and a luxurious lifestyle”, so
obviously I had to find out what that was all about! Come to find out, it was
exactly as advertised.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">I parked Jane next to my giant tipi (“La Luna”) and
surveyed the surroundings. The tipi came with its own hammock, fire ring, and
lawn chairs. Nearby, there was a small bathroom, and a shower facility with
both an indoor and outdoor shower (both large, with wonderful high-pressure
waterfall shower heads). An open building to the side featured a large lounge
area with tons of cushions suitable for a large party of hippies (despite the
fact that the entire facility probably only accommodates 12 people at most).</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg23hHAPEzLhZN8IKz5pbIweHoe8uIhC1k5GFEBqlybn17Z9YMXI14Lp23i8OvTYBTg9D4iy9JVxYZcAPcrtkO1hZmotzzeHR8GbyAi1-s_6FibIscLHS1hH6bjy322qFuXcG1HcFrwB725cAwc2baMm388dK-9ERWAJnAxL6dELaqiRTF9xn60wK0L/s4032/Edits-JPEG%20image%205.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg23hHAPEzLhZN8IKz5pbIweHoe8uIhC1k5GFEBqlybn17Z9YMXI14Lp23i8OvTYBTg9D4iy9JVxYZcAPcrtkO1hZmotzzeHR8GbyAi1-s_6FibIscLHS1hH6bjy322qFuXcG1HcFrwB725cAwc2baMm388dK-9ERWAJnAxL6dELaqiRTF9xn60wK0L/w640-h480/Edits-JPEG%20image%205.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boy that is just not a bad view, eh?</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNoSpacing">And everywhere there was odd, vaguely threatening but
certainly very funky art.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg3DReYtbWIRRWf20KrOaCqLcpP_9rHPsOLU6znZb6ATifje11n30UBK3rQ6mWcZF0S7jvinJKgB4zsxLdNsI57ICVUhg3wfRdIzbcaSBNescjYpCphwkRht1POj1Z7jgZsnOSD4zdCDa2q14XxrgWlhItp2TYs-gN9nBwb7KUSFWnJeRn9KWq34JU/s4032/Edits-JPEG%20image%2024.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg3DReYtbWIRRWf20KrOaCqLcpP_9rHPsOLU6znZb6ATifje11n30UBK3rQ6mWcZF0S7jvinJKgB4zsxLdNsI57ICVUhg3wfRdIzbcaSBNescjYpCphwkRht1POj1Z7jgZsnOSD4zdCDa2q14XxrgWlhItp2TYs-gN9nBwb7KUSFWnJeRn9KWq34JU/w480-h640/Edits-JPEG%20image%2024.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Angry-looking children's playground equipment is never unthreatening</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisRwy6ZKfs1GggxEmxnTVoB2iMbSvH8IyblnBg2WqfbKGcTeAeWHzz4_TduJgnLT019myL1Nn2NVgo1Rav7YBuXpyxw7jYjgnyMckEC_8BSRFj0-OMqw89x0VGAJw6_HDUr8T4UWHrSLD2oj7WUX1KOr3T2J2xhl504zQsWk2UZAL94bp7uNN3hGBM/s5472/DadBook_-IMG_7023.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisRwy6ZKfs1GggxEmxnTVoB2iMbSvH8IyblnBg2WqfbKGcTeAeWHzz4_TduJgnLT019myL1Nn2NVgo1Rav7YBuXpyxw7jYjgnyMckEC_8BSRFj0-OMqw89x0VGAJw6_HDUr8T4UWHrSLD2oj7WUX1KOr3T2J2xhl504zQsWk2UZAL94bp7uNN3hGBM/w640-h426/DadBook_-IMG_7023.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ok, this one isn't threatening, it's just cool.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">I popped into my tipi and found that they had indeed
figured out how to make a tipi luxurious! Somehow they had stuffed a queen bed
– replete with a dozen pillows and the SOFTEST sheets I have ever experienced –
and a futon in there, plus a couple of nice chairs, some end tables, a small
refrigerator, a heater, various tables, spare blankets, and a large assortment
of rugs to keep your feet off the rock. They even provided towels and comfy
robes for the shower! Lap of luxury, indeed.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGPvC9Gpi6RDgAzoKA0EW1rrrnsOkuxySWNkXmfggMLQoELew8SuW2E0Ehxo_Fjd47Bnl4josDQHv4pR17OePkT3s5sfuBOj7ofYWX95UqB5O2z9Glf4Di2_cbk6EV3bj5hef0V3Mn92tM6BmnSAuZqU5StDckAqCECScTRXUjQjNi2MfTknYbCwWC/s4032/Edits-JPEG%20image%2019.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGPvC9Gpi6RDgAzoKA0EW1rrrnsOkuxySWNkXmfggMLQoELew8SuW2E0Ehxo_Fjd47Bnl4josDQHv4pR17OePkT3s5sfuBOj7ofYWX95UqB5O2z9Glf4Di2_cbk6EV3bj5hef0V3Mn92tM6BmnSAuZqU5StDckAqCECScTRXUjQjNi2MfTknYbCwWC/w640-h480/Edits-JPEG%20image%2019.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The tarp on the bed is for... in case it rains?? Here, in Terlingua, where it rains 12" per year?? Anyways I forgot to take it off before snapping this pic. Whatever.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">With Jane inspected and my gear settled, I turned my attention back outwards, and just in time. Sunset proved to be soft but spectacular, especially as a
backdrop to Jane and my ridiculous tipi. No skies of fire tonight, as there
were too few clouds in the sky, but what few cotton candy clouds did float in
the vicinity certainly put on a show. The mountains and mesas surrounding town
were bathed in light, dying them a brilliant breathtaking red.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQMWH75iHHJXhay_tn5zI6A99hdqLK6qH-MiHHFlNVQNPC3pkac9jTuamEf4uSl_8TDDSIjKWRApNiUGT6vVZnRp5m7gShf51xfBnp8s-i3sCbwexIoQ_E_xYgTwHDKOlJFqfini-PV-m1vMCeDcd5IkFqY0N6CKlRNz9Ymhh_oSRccDU_sPijA1Ci/s5276/DadBook_-IMG_6986.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3517" data-original-width="5276" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQMWH75iHHJXhay_tn5zI6A99hdqLK6qH-MiHHFlNVQNPC3pkac9jTuamEf4uSl_8TDDSIjKWRApNiUGT6vVZnRp5m7gShf51xfBnp8s-i3sCbwexIoQ_E_xYgTwHDKOlJFqfini-PV-m1vMCeDcd5IkFqY0N6CKlRNz9Ymhh_oSRccDU_sPijA1Ci/w640-h426/DadBook_-IMG_6986.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0JhFaWOo6bpXh7L9SKn_D2GC1ZJym3aIjk2O0M_Tse_fR77wa9TQwt6k9caYtyZi8ZhkAqe4b49beh704X_2gneBBOAhkJqm76LDecyNYm1TrBM0QX8cmTG-wMUZyHjo7hhclqyh_qXHK6xsjIJd5o9c5UrEyH4RSoIJPKqBRJRLOH1uxOd_ls9R8/s5472/DadBook_-IMG_7021.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0JhFaWOo6bpXh7L9SKn_D2GC1ZJym3aIjk2O0M_Tse_fR77wa9TQwt6k9caYtyZi8ZhkAqe4b49beh704X_2gneBBOAhkJqm76LDecyNYm1TrBM0QX8cmTG-wMUZyHjo7hhclqyh_qXHK6xsjIJd5o9c5UrEyH4RSoIJPKqBRJRLOH1uxOd_ls9R8/w640-h426/DadBook_-IMG_7021.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ft. a buzzard made of old tires</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPPcLQaibllCV5p07fNZ6bRS-NqFAHkS9HfaYa8r_7NsIi5tDyFlJBpCjzcSa6hJKA1WPIMYCxe1LLtg6gAZMCw9uqOxmFVzBY_pyHoVRMhHu8c7IPO7YhWnFFjl0_y3a-Hcir1HHLO5o2IkOHECkiOjOtmzSOwnq5iUbJCHyGaWCrxb_GcnVjCss4/s5472/DadBook_-IMG_7011.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPPcLQaibllCV5p07fNZ6bRS-NqFAHkS9HfaYa8r_7NsIi5tDyFlJBpCjzcSa6hJKA1WPIMYCxe1LLtg6gAZMCw9uqOxmFVzBY_pyHoVRMhHu8c7IPO7YhWnFFjl0_y3a-Hcir1HHLO5o2IkOHECkiOjOtmzSOwnq5iUbJCHyGaWCrxb_GcnVjCss4/w640-h426/DadBook_-IMG_7011.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQMWH75iHHJXhay_tn5zI6A99hdqLK6qH-MiHHFlNVQNPC3pkac9jTuamEf4uSl_8TDDSIjKWRApNiUGT6vVZnRp5m7gShf51xfBnp8s-i3sCbwexIoQ_E_xYgTwHDKOlJFqfini-PV-m1vMCeDcd5IkFqY0N6CKlRNz9Ymhh_oSRccDU_sPijA1Ci/s5276/DadBook_-IMG_6986.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3laT6qDeLM_3jxwi_Dga4an-ieiWWnVF3mUyLHxCBp1q2jZI1b5LneVuYP-UK326PCm6fEgVomKGssSUkjr6XeG71YPCeyzUpPIWCab-AxGfg3vutz1F4OmmbcA7AD_jI0EkSlNrZy8BNoKzOQHvUDZO88KIbBaY026JtBKBcqjFRqUoqFdc-cWlr/s5472/DadBook_-IMG_7009.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3laT6qDeLM_3jxwi_Dga4an-ieiWWnVF3mUyLHxCBp1q2jZI1b5LneVuYP-UK326PCm6fEgVomKGssSUkjr6XeG71YPCeyzUpPIWCab-AxGfg3vutz1F4OmmbcA7AD_jI0EkSlNrZy8BNoKzOQHvUDZO88KIbBaY026JtBKBcqjFRqUoqFdc-cWlr/w640-h426/DadBook_-IMG_7009.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div><o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjyOX_Fo6-7HeylROQaDAo4jkk31Sedq37mXBqpaguu_0QZWVrmeMrWXrcCCMDscwY5ZCouvwZHdjd9sD48yegcNsCVnvMhKY3fOuQcI9naJwK5yvznkNrrYd5HYqcBlkX2fHYXVPbhb7EBMXU1hV_uN6JrPdJWfh91I0YxudEMfiXjgVYCzD_cLb6/s4032/Edits-JPEG%20image%2023.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjyOX_Fo6-7HeylROQaDAo4jkk31Sedq37mXBqpaguu_0QZWVrmeMrWXrcCCMDscwY5ZCouvwZHdjd9sD48yegcNsCVnvMhKY3fOuQcI9naJwK5yvznkNrrYd5HYqcBlkX2fHYXVPbhb7EBMXU1hV_uN6JrPdJWfh91I0YxudEMfiXjgVYCzD_cLb6/w640-h480/Edits-JPEG%20image%2023.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Something about this photo just tugs right on my heart a little</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></o:p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">As the twilight hour set in, the mountains fell into soft
shadows and a quiet – the kind you can only get in a desert - descended over
the landscape. Beams of soft pinks and purples shot across the sky, lending a
surreal feeling to the scene.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjflxs9-7Kk4trk1rUIei0sNvp3xB0GYMYNgdWT5_J6fwy67r8Qwd9SzELtU6w6-jz7pp7MDCeKAt5ng2c5VtSpb3l9pNPNz0hxlHydpbYEhRROEK5Ql2GwTEKepNKqWAn2xbztHGW6Isat3ipVnaTmyfP4c4v5WXiAcvWy8o1hhQXxXc9YVyLC18d/s5380/DadBook_-IMG_7028.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3587" data-original-width="5380" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjflxs9-7Kk4trk1rUIei0sNvp3xB0GYMYNgdWT5_J6fwy67r8Qwd9SzELtU6w6-jz7pp7MDCeKAt5ng2c5VtSpb3l9pNPNz0hxlHydpbYEhRROEK5Ql2GwTEKepNKqWAn2xbztHGW6Isat3ipVnaTmyfP4c4v5WXiAcvWy8o1hhQXxXc9YVyLC18d/w640-h426/DadBook_-IMG_7028.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ft. a giant metal ant, scary children's playground equipment, and an ocotillo sculpture that looks suspiciously octopodian in nature...</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT1iA370G7W1QvhCQK9_eFC5QdnljMLwprtEpnpFCX9c1g76vypxjeuytBTONI8QvBhN3s5mGZFWRo2ntRx2hMUB1LH18FYUA7rWILAUBZcd05M4XuDuR4Bv-QIgl1BoC8a3La9sJWditLHv4GoCWUFR350prlvB2yUoadT5ASQK7jLtAFpdSftrwn/s4493/DadBook_-IMG_7030-2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2995" data-original-width="4493" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT1iA370G7W1QvhCQK9_eFC5QdnljMLwprtEpnpFCX9c1g76vypxjeuytBTONI8QvBhN3s5mGZFWRo2ntRx2hMUB1LH18FYUA7rWILAUBZcd05M4XuDuR4Bv-QIgl1BoC8a3La9sJWditLHv4GoCWUFR350prlvB2yUoadT5ASQK7jLtAFpdSftrwn/w640-h426/DadBook_-IMG_7030-2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTLRUdjZetyOR5FjM9MUCNjkDESi2TARPY5xfiVdZS4OAZwc_7j17nq86eGL7HOzGyC68_uPnVSgd9sUgvVqG-fOb9vEZTxKCKl8pwTWJl5pCZOaw01YR2HovvHoLvf3zrwV41pFGmzvkz4xF8R7Mec8i08tEk1EAMFXeb2jB-guglGKlKes2AdfiE/s5389/DadBook_-IMG_7032.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3593" data-original-width="5389" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTLRUdjZetyOR5FjM9MUCNjkDESi2TARPY5xfiVdZS4OAZwc_7j17nq86eGL7HOzGyC68_uPnVSgd9sUgvVqG-fOb9vEZTxKCKl8pwTWJl5pCZOaw01YR2HovvHoLvf3zrwV41pFGmzvkz4xF8R7Mec8i08tEk1EAMFXeb2jB-guglGKlKes2AdfiE/w640-h426/DadBook_-IMG_7032.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yeah, I really don't think you can beat this.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">And then, the music started to play.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">Terlingua is not a large town, the town “proper” occupying
maybe a square mile of space. It doesn’t have many residents, either, with the full-time
population hovering somewhere around 100. But those that do live here – and the
tourists besides – make it count.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">This town has a lot of different reputations, making it a
wholly unique place to visit. To some, mention of Terlingua prompts visions of the
heyday of automotive racing in the 1960’s and 70’s. To others, it evokes thoughts
of a conglomeration of transient dirtbags-turned-community. To others, it’s a
town for wild art exploration. And to still others, it is simply a great place
to find the world’s best chili.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">It’s a town that doesn’t know what it is, but it’s happy
not knowing. And that is something I can get behind for sure.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxScV50q9CtPNUessxUq0Eh08fSSwck8p8F9V4806Lc7Qy5bIWAw_DMCs2eO01QOToeiZdLQc8FMemymlWogzxBT9dcvBGWfehSumJOb3wOrnRFK3vfEQsVJSR8LynbFvCdB67X9f_jllxrq8OErAY1BdHWy9lyGRnhkXkbjhikOzf1_2U0Jt0DhHw/s1440/Edits-JPEG%20image%2028.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxScV50q9CtPNUessxUq0Eh08fSSwck8p8F9V4806Lc7Qy5bIWAw_DMCs2eO01QOToeiZdLQc8FMemymlWogzxBT9dcvBGWfehSumJOb3wOrnRFK3vfEQsVJSR8LynbFvCdB67X9f_jllxrq8OErAY1BdHWy9lyGRnhkXkbjhikOzf1_2U0Jt0DhHw/w640-h480/Edits-JPEG%20image%2028.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNoSpacing">As night fell, music and laughter began to well up from small
oases of light scattered across the barren landscape. Here, the wailing of an
overenthusiastic karaoke crew, set to Tom Petty or Guns N Roses. There, the sounds of exuberant
dining, the clinking of silverware and hum of lively conversation and
occasional shattering of glass. Elsewhere, the rising hum of a few dozen RVers
holding a bonfire party out in the desert. Altogether, elements that should
have been annoying instead blended into a pleasant background tempo, a pulse of
a town long declared dead, but still unquestionably alive. A town of 100 people
has a way of sounding much bigger when all 100 of them are out and about on a
Friday night, it turns out.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">I took a wander up the ghost town road, the main "drag" in town. To my surprise, the ghost town itself is anything but - sure, there's ruins that remain, well, ruined, but there's also a number of old ruins that have now once more resumed being homes. Outside of the ghost town buildings, though, you won't find a house in sight. No, the preferred residence in Terlingua appears to be an RV - theoretically moveable, but probably not given the distinct lack of wheels on most of them - maybe with a shade roof thrown over top, or an outhouse tacked onto the side.</p><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgDxm6f2tmdH1YNoIFNbDkRr2kUrYTGdS-aNFTrqqhzK0v0fafZLz0b5ACHmXFtEs2aUJms6BYBVodTsejgMPlS_ONe2nip0M5uNbtmOFuBTjNC_fKc8d0W9C4Z1xXkP7pqXTSP_VdEv5wQMR8nziG_u5Hgqwq2tqV2mFTeBLYcS7RLxeC6mdvLDIf/s5472/DadBook_-IMG_7037.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgDxm6f2tmdH1YNoIFNbDkRr2kUrYTGdS-aNFTrqqhzK0v0fafZLz0b5ACHmXFtEs2aUJms6BYBVodTsejgMPlS_ONe2nip0M5uNbtmOFuBTjNC_fKc8d0W9C4Z1xXkP7pqXTSP_VdEv5wQMR8nziG_u5Hgqwq2tqV2mFTeBLYcS7RLxeC6mdvLDIf/w640-h426/DadBook_-IMG_7037.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A view of the entire Terlingua ghost town</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0000ee;"><u><br /></u></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIUv3xrmcaPtVePFTk7nA5jk6tkUUL2DlkD0_Pt2Z2OdAwfFHBehtWWNxI-aBVMbv3w0-U1uUWohmo6BtJaH27KMZZzkfg0xBUn1d6wPDeUoprEjD5iDEGKfCjtQeNlb7IZSpRyvnpLsYH2h7HfNWAxXRnoU6zsk6tdTSWEYBraxnWw-Ske8pF0XMD/s5472/DadBook_-IMG_7041.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIUv3xrmcaPtVePFTk7nA5jk6tkUUL2DlkD0_Pt2Z2OdAwfFHBehtWWNxI-aBVMbv3w0-U1uUWohmo6BtJaH27KMZZzkfg0xBUn1d6wPDeUoprEjD5iDEGKfCjtQeNlb7IZSpRyvnpLsYH2h7HfNWAxXRnoU6zsk6tdTSWEYBraxnWw-Ske8pF0XMD/w640-h426/DadBook_-IMG_7041.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Upon closer inspection, not so ghostly... people just live here like normal I guess</td></tr></tbody></table></div><br /><p class="MsoNoSpacing"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipiTzKQDdfW0xdP4xSPSPXFJshu2k-9dohrA5NKfOA-h2jxkdPJVxOMxiCfB_BnBx9Kf8zKJ1m3AQJ31kCo2Z9pD2R7vj4FVAtHrwmWh_i-YHEBKxfXsmIlRgPChCe-6yqlnH6gWngavxNDYwZlmTsZmpBYFn9QLHTw7lVdWT_4v27qHYfgHHg3R1r/s5472/DadBook_-IMG_7034.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipiTzKQDdfW0xdP4xSPSPXFJshu2k-9dohrA5NKfOA-h2jxkdPJVxOMxiCfB_BnBx9Kf8zKJ1m3AQJ31kCo2Z9pD2R7vj4FVAtHrwmWh_i-YHEBKxfXsmIlRgPChCe-6yqlnH6gWngavxNDYwZlmTsZmpBYFn9QLHTw7lVdWT_4v27qHYfgHHg3R1r/w640-h426/DadBook_-IMG_7034.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The more common Terlingua residence, for those not privileged enough to live in the ghost town itself </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">I followed my ears
and nose to the biggest (and best) restaurant in town: the Starlight Theater.
And man, talk about THE place to be! People filled every chair, bench, and
table on the sprawling wraparound porch and in the adjoining cantina. Light,
music, laughter, and rowdy voices spilled out into the night endlessly, brightening
the night sky as much as the brilliant moon and stars. I think half of the town
was turned out there, and some tourists as well, but it was hard to tell the
difference between the two groups as any stranger was treated immediately as a
friend. It made my 45-minute wait to get a seat at the bar pass a little more
quickly, despite my ravenous hunger.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv3qAoUeYsMi4MDNqkk10Q8yzZX5aN_Y3iPx1EB9JXHCRcFExh21yJAln0JhQmY5ryQ8vI4Ft3d1YR7tCmM5-h_1j9dEMyICAZVbc-ngb7xF91dcvcuSYNwvb1ILJhj8LmbRDMPJy0SN9694Xh84ky76CB5gCR_CwBnz-kcyXupX5hU4Hq_PbDnwrv/s4032/Edits-JPEG%20image%2025.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv3qAoUeYsMi4MDNqkk10Q8yzZX5aN_Y3iPx1EB9JXHCRcFExh21yJAln0JhQmY5ryQ8vI4Ft3d1YR7tCmM5-h_1j9dEMyICAZVbc-ngb7xF91dcvcuSYNwvb1ILJhj8LmbRDMPJy0SN9694Xh84ky76CB5gCR_CwBnz-kcyXupX5hU4Hq_PbDnwrv/w480-h640/Edits-JPEG%20image%2025.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmb4GiqlK2e6f4pws0-lYz16NzuT-ZjeVY2Rl_hK9wcyKZ1WxS0sT9Z9bFe1shkOANVfWuQuxzsbeCv-Y91DLfPdI974xFCHXesLjSxCGFFtxPsiXkqmzQixyiQDq1gOUozxKiwfQBDHWOeSwHQ1L0mmcLPgvn3jrjMy9Y-3jzacpf3M8nHX36gpS4/s4032/Edits-JPEG%20image%20107.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmb4GiqlK2e6f4pws0-lYz16NzuT-ZjeVY2Rl_hK9wcyKZ1WxS0sT9Z9bFe1shkOANVfWuQuxzsbeCv-Y91DLfPdI974xFCHXesLjSxCGFFtxPsiXkqmzQixyiQDq1gOUozxKiwfQBDHWOeSwHQ1L0mmcLPgvn3jrjMy9Y-3jzacpf3M8nHX36gpS4/w640-h480/Edits-JPEG%20image%20107.jpg" width="640" /></a></div></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Eventually I did get a seat at the bar, where I proceeded
to order their biggest steak with a side of their famous roasted chili bacon
brussel sprouts. A middle-aged couple (I later named they were Mary and Matt) plopped
down in the seats next to me, and immediately struck up a conversation with the
bartenders and waitresses that made it apparent that they were locals. “When’s
the wedding?”, “How was your daughter’s birthday?”, “Band tonight is great.” Naturally
I was roped into the conversation, as were others at the bar. No such thing as
a private conversation here, no penalty for “butting in” on others. I might ask
about a cool place to find local art, and a guy two tables behind me might hear
and shout an answer. Maybe someone else mentions a broken motorcycle, and
someone else knows a guy the next town over, don’t worry. Need a plumber? The
guy in the back corner is a retired one, he’ll help you out, no big deal.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbuNqQnw6-rQ1npeyhpqQCcAfd1UKk0CS14S0t5REbzPW6zgTe1C110FIWCyQ56XU5_g8iU1rMi4y447Nd6j4US-G0laBKkAT6BmVCDfqmpKE7kTXMt-kJzA935K5FMMstA_FeSfhWsQkS9RVNyOX20DASFb0zaavarVV2ZoSO4zRB_Hck3mzgylsh/s4032/Edits-JPEG%20image%2030.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbuNqQnw6-rQ1npeyhpqQCcAfd1UKk0CS14S0t5REbzPW6zgTe1C110FIWCyQ56XU5_g8iU1rMi4y447Nd6j4US-G0laBKkAT6BmVCDfqmpKE7kTXMt-kJzA935K5FMMstA_FeSfhWsQkS9RVNyOX20DASFb0zaavarVV2ZoSO4zRB_Hck3mzgylsh/w480-h640/Edits-JPEG%20image%2030.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">I sat and chewed on my steak (delicious) and let the camaraderie
wash over me. I have been a lot of places – a lot of small towns – but this little
town, smack dab in the middle of (almost) nowhere, declared dead but steadfastly
ignoring the label, glowed with a warmth I’ve experienced nowhere else. I think
it’s because it’s a place that welcomes all – the artists, the ranchers, the
RVers, the out-of-towners, the dirtbags, the transients, the oddballs and leftovers
– and finds a place for them effortlessly. Be who you want to be in Terlingua.
As my impromptu dinnermate was fond of saying, “It’s allllll good.”</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">As midnight approached, I headed back to my ridiculous
tipi through the frankly frigid night, guided by the light of the stars and the
nearly-full moon. Bad karaoke still trickled through the air, if a bit more
softly and a bit more likely to be songs like “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” than “Welcome
to the Jungle”. After a nice fancy-rustic-feeling shower, I plopped into bed,
piled up the blankets, and slipped off to sleep.</p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsLbijFt_25g5hyZN2DwK8SVZsum_tLNXv6TEhaA-FmpgqoVa_EZYCySf6bHu0RN0RA9-KPa_nt2GOqhU6xjXdpYbCc_zwrq3YZ6KvSCwCnUh9u4ci86DR-SQuFZgAs_tyWVIFhIQuZ8jnBhkZW1NCLVq_-dQBrXQG7sq2NCxpSKXd5mgWzkWDWMuc/s4032/Edits-JPEG%20image%2029.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsLbijFt_25g5hyZN2DwK8SVZsum_tLNXv6TEhaA-FmpgqoVa_EZYCySf6bHu0RN0RA9-KPa_nt2GOqhU6xjXdpYbCc_zwrq3YZ6KvSCwCnUh9u4ci86DR-SQuFZgAs_tyWVIFhIQuZ8jnBhkZW1NCLVq_-dQBrXQG7sq2NCxpSKXd5mgWzkWDWMuc/w480-h640/Edits-JPEG%20image%2029.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is a really bad photo, but the only representation of how cozy this looked upon approach!</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxI8ajTwWZGZ81tkEb8Vb1S1AuT2dHfBHgc4ktSyqQBuoWpEzA8hIurwnGSXLSvWKVjUaafCNv8v0Ox-sWUJQKwdC3sC-Tg6Zj460J-7FVqXWOWqe09q9aZ2XofNuOcav7hY6BUBiREmZRI_VTtAamlCa855SrMmPLMZuoC7KlP3wPK3l4GYyrPn7a/s4032/Edits-JPEG%20image%2034.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxI8ajTwWZGZ81tkEb8Vb1S1AuT2dHfBHgc4ktSyqQBuoWpEzA8hIurwnGSXLSvWKVjUaafCNv8v0Ox-sWUJQKwdC3sC-Tg6Zj460J-7FVqXWOWqe09q9aZ2XofNuOcav7hY6BUBiREmZRI_VTtAamlCa855SrMmPLMZuoC7KlP3wPK3l4GYyrPn7a/w480-h640/Edits-JPEG%20image%2034.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">It was a great day. I like it out here. I hope Jane does
too. </p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">It's allllll good.</p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p></o:p></p>
Kelly signing out.<br /><p></p><br />Kelly Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04271547498127096571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893125545466338016.post-91785454231485997042021-11-18T01:53:00.000-05:002021-11-18T01:53:11.012-05:008/13 - 8/14 – Exhausted (and It Always Rains on the Last Day)<p> 8/13</p><p>----------------------</p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">Now we’ve gotten to the depressing part of the trip. The
part where I’m just driving… and driving… and driving… until I get home. You’d
think that by now I would be better at finding interesting ways to break up the
west Texas monotony, but I just haven’t.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">At least this year I opted to break up the drive into a
day and a half to reduce my misery a bit. The plan was to spend a leisurely morning
in Santa Fe, drive 6 hours to Snyder, stay there for the night, and then leave
the remaining 4.5 hours for the next day.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">There’s a couple reasons I did that. The first kind of
makes sense at least: I didn’t feel like driving 11-12 hours on the last day,
because that’s a long drive and I get tired. But the second reason (which is
actually kind of the real reason that I opted to do this) is much dumber: it
always rains horribly on my last day headed home, and I wanted to find out if I
could only get rained on for 4.5 hours instead of the full 11 hours.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">A spoiler: I had no such luck limiting the amount of rain
I had to endure.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">But I’ll start at the beginning. I’m rolling the 8/13 and
8/14 posts into one another, because the long drive across Texas is really not
remarkable at all. And quite frankly, very little of note happened to me on Friday
the 13<sup>th</sup>, which was a little surprising!<o:p></o:p></p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">I took my time getting going in the morning, like usual,
opting to go to a nearby breakfast diner (the Pantry) for a huge and
all-too-filling brunch. You really have to fill up on food when you’re in New
Mexico, because the green chile just isn’t the same anywhere else in the
States. So I had a gigantic chorizo and green chile omelette, which of course came
with pancakes and fruit and bacon and all kinds of other stuff. Once I had
polished that off and was feeling suitably bloated, I hit the road! Nothing
like driving when you’re imminently about to be in a food coma.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9ODV-GWTES-uB6Pf0gNbbL6JgJDEvBzg_p3BXgQwA7uyyuFaYVWfdI6oGPhnAGHRr9gF8NZp3bwVdSOqX2dImTt_dT9-30u9kHeYxTBFzgDpY35hMMBoeLe703blWe5d-4DmhTyJ4vCc/s2048/Edit-IMG_4733.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9ODV-GWTES-uB6Pf0gNbbL6JgJDEvBzg_p3BXgQwA7uyyuFaYVWfdI6oGPhnAGHRr9gF8NZp3bwVdSOqX2dImTt_dT9-30u9kHeYxTBFzgDpY35hMMBoeLe703blWe5d-4DmhTyJ4vCc/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4733.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><p class="MsoNoSpacing">Fortunately, it was a gorgeous day, with those beautiful
giant fluffy New Mexican clouds drifting across the sky. I spent the first few
hours of driving thinking that I was, indeed, going to successfully avoid a
large part of the rainstorms that usually plague me on the last day of driving.<o:p></o:p></p></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKfZICxjJ5tJY3jXzDVhG1sdvWY_L4wF7qVwV886yoJ-EEPu4L8iXK8d1qdATMh8zjT5TFpuglTcw6vPSASJ49utodLAgeewB04hCD1Tca4e_ep3vsxWLzeBfgFDV0D4lxYwjOXKNPyfk/s2048/Edit-IMG_4752.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKfZICxjJ5tJY3jXzDVhG1sdvWY_L4wF7qVwV886yoJ-EEPu4L8iXK8d1qdATMh8zjT5TFpuglTcw6vPSASJ49utodLAgeewB04hCD1Tca4e_ep3vsxWLzeBfgFDV0D4lxYwjOXKNPyfk/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4752.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwzE9IBY9DX3-joA0IIw47gdihAaRxYmoK1iQn5P-26typBP90qt5Py4N9m8UX2aYj2oVHtCL9hcWBaWyEQp_MENWse3XoTRqvvqi_LOQe2kZU7pOWBI6aGDuY6aeuKSyLTck01lm0zQo/s2048/Edit-IMG_4755.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwzE9IBY9DX3-joA0IIw47gdihAaRxYmoK1iQn5P-26typBP90qt5Py4N9m8UX2aYj2oVHtCL9hcWBaWyEQp_MENWse3XoTRqvvqi_LOQe2kZU7pOWBI6aGDuY6aeuKSyLTck01lm0zQo/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4755.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnm621SNzP2Y5b7JWUO8TNP0TvdDGd1EBpQS3avY0HobnNNI_cDy05II8bh_MyH4_aoSNS2BmZpoRNMP1N7QilQSxiw26cNUeUHrsnhRljBJUEKEFD579e-MRY9eN91Pu5Hb-3iNZuRaE/s2048/Edit-IMG_4762.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnm621SNzP2Y5b7JWUO8TNP0TvdDGd1EBpQS3avY0HobnNNI_cDy05II8bh_MyH4_aoSNS2BmZpoRNMP1N7QilQSxiw26cNUeUHrsnhRljBJUEKEFD579e-MRY9eN91Pu5Hb-3iNZuRaE/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4762.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boy, this is what you call "big sky"</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK7Mfk6Y4Uo5s5zdJ7q2pY3XiYZtZTGYBtxYd-gtguG1jzRppmQ0YOnoll9Yj7VOEeLmZF3Ioum4jEFwYjAXsqitxtK6iqVImHcNEnc8pEzvBQ9Wh-vyzRXmX-zRFtuUTR78xJB1joQ_4/s2048/Edit-IMG_4763.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK7Mfk6Y4Uo5s5zdJ7q2pY3XiYZtZTGYBtxYd-gtguG1jzRppmQ0YOnoll9Yj7VOEeLmZF3Ioum4jEFwYjAXsqitxtK6iqVImHcNEnc8pEzvBQ9Wh-vyzRXmX-zRFtuUTR78xJB1joQ_4/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4763.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwt50eXBgHpf6SDYb52qvsiXPC1AP40M8dDA50l2DBR-b6iJ95ByaIFkXo8XjNjxC1kcujWk5SUQihSQUl_f35CsUgrY4Gt3LHQNM99w9J-wWM3J7fjROT1-7A2mDNYzfII_vPrfT51GA/s2048/Edit-IMG_4767.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwt50eXBgHpf6SDYb52qvsiXPC1AP40M8dDA50l2DBR-b6iJ95ByaIFkXo8XjNjxC1kcujWk5SUQihSQUl_f35CsUgrY4Gt3LHQNM99w9J-wWM3J7fjROT1-7A2mDNYzfII_vPrfT51GA/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4767.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3W-H32_alir1NFM_XZ5z5rYmy3dGoHbh5RZVrQdUKZaSRihTCCI0kyPQ2EV4pY4jUW6UqjGoFeigDbEgB81VG3-di0Ej7aGPhRfubaWzbPU_WJR5JrlG4YOF_n2H2FnFvR3rnCQaIkIE/s2048/Edit-IMG_4771.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3W-H32_alir1NFM_XZ5z5rYmy3dGoHbh5RZVrQdUKZaSRihTCCI0kyPQ2EV4pY4jUW6UqjGoFeigDbEgB81VG3-di0Ej7aGPhRfubaWzbPU_WJR5JrlG4YOF_n2H2FnFvR3rnCQaIkIE/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4771.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><p class="MsoNoSpacing">But you all know that that’s not how this works. I always
encounter blazing heat on the way out of Texas in early August, and hit massive
storms on the way back in. And apparently, that applies no matter how many days
I take to get back to central Texas.<o:p></o:p></p></div><p class="MsoNoSpacing">So, here’s a couple photos of what my view looked like
for a couple of hours of the drive:<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGEy_qAyTMdo8Ym1l3TerDGae2o2Ww1ECiWnJaYGhnFe606gFLkdW-U04rurf4KxphPP_54UWD57_y80bBDv-6Ux79vL1FCVR6-_o9ujioAHtPuVyaUVU2qce3q6hTEENLWTjPXdi2XFI/s2048/Edit-IMG_4776.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGEy_qAyTMdo8Ym1l3TerDGae2o2Ww1ECiWnJaYGhnFe606gFLkdW-U04rurf4KxphPP_54UWD57_y80bBDv-6Ux79vL1FCVR6-_o9ujioAHtPuVyaUVU2qce3q6hTEENLWTjPXdi2XFI/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4776.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wow, traffic barrels, semi trucks, AND rain! A trifecta of grossness!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuFgAz-5Mg2hzqG_9ilgSIrx-nsDeQmvBnYkUYhBe_SBsRABtqqlBxZ2LF8pn-x0Uy1No7X4sXuA_v57CVmm6TbPUR7fmoMy8B9gAiGQ7P3lJ4Kx5uZci06MhRuwJN65LgO53q7ILD9Mw/s2048/Edit-IMG_4777.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuFgAz-5Mg2hzqG_9ilgSIrx-nsDeQmvBnYkUYhBe_SBsRABtqqlBxZ2LF8pn-x0Uy1No7X4sXuA_v57CVmm6TbPUR7fmoMy8B9gAiGQ7P3lJ4Kx5uZci06MhRuwJN65LgO53q7ILD9Mw/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4777.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><p class="MsoNoSpacing">Wow! Terrible!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Fortunately, Jane and I have endured many, many terrible Texan
rainstorms, so it’s not too much trouble. But less fortunately, this year my
tires are on their last legs, and wouldn’t you know it, old hard tires are not
the greatest for hydroplaning resistance. So, things were a little more white
knuckle than I would have liked.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">The storms cleared up in late afternoon, just in time for
me to pass by some massive windfarms. I know that some people find the wind turbines
terribly unappealing. But I just don’t. I think they look like giant minimalist-modern
pinwheels, lazily spinning away their days in currents of wind far above my
head. Pristine white, they are picturesque in their gleaming uniformity,
scattered across the landscape in such a way as to appear both arbitrarily planted
and systematically placed. There is something just truly beautiful and
completely alien to them. They seem like something that couldn’t possibly have
been built by humans – rather, they are sized for giants, behemoths that must surely
stride the vast landscape when we aren’t looking or when we’re fast asleep. <o:p></o:p></p></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwdK4PCucA5TbRuU3A1k4xlchNOo5i9GWvkVw4CrSYS33DMNLGUueBEIwFWZpcYrejWH7GbcVEBzll40q6RJ4F2cjAKGSvHX28uj5ju3gy500SHRJ8XEuzCRSwQJtokYCxxv6tqy-vx4w/s2048/Edit-IMG_4795.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwdK4PCucA5TbRuU3A1k4xlchNOo5i9GWvkVw4CrSYS33DMNLGUueBEIwFWZpcYrejWH7GbcVEBzll40q6RJ4F2cjAKGSvHX28uj5ju3gy500SHRJ8XEuzCRSwQJtokYCxxv6tqy-vx4w/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4795.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiikTAxZ64piiVUXNSpP-C6LK0LzecUVT_oQWMKUVnA5l6UjaIscrvLRF2YrCzY_iYHaNOKxW5Y8d3V624a89KaUkmjKnAaC5z4TmbCAfwaC5nRHI39H0EQV5VgdhjzcWa-idulGjlDQhQ/s2048/Edit-IMG_4796.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiikTAxZ64piiVUXNSpP-C6LK0LzecUVT_oQWMKUVnA5l6UjaIscrvLRF2YrCzY_iYHaNOKxW5Y8d3V624a89KaUkmjKnAaC5z4TmbCAfwaC5nRHI39H0EQV5VgdhjzcWa-idulGjlDQhQ/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4796.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTNoO5cK-h0vggwZZERZ6KA2a6Gxy3TIFVuMvDTZ6JdlWT8purxZKTYUfp0usV-UltSTZuMT8kC-4kVm3f_lKEvIJYN-Yzj4RvdITjKIca6YwN4EAv_07_q3-hDMABOGnpPr28eQG5KmY/s2048/Edit-IMG_4797.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTNoO5cK-h0vggwZZERZ6KA2a6Gxy3TIFVuMvDTZ6JdlWT8purxZKTYUfp0usV-UltSTZuMT8kC-4kVm3f_lKEvIJYN-Yzj4RvdITjKIca6YwN4EAv_07_q3-hDMABOGnpPr28eQG5KmY/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4797.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><div><p class="MsoNoSpacing">I always find the windfarms out here to be particularly
enthralling, as they are built to share land in tandem with a myriad of oil
wells. The turbines tower over the landscape, reaching into the skies to
harness the power of the heavens even as pump jacks peck at the ground methodically
beneath them, hard at work extracting what lies beneath the surface. It is a
fitting juxtaposition of the old and new, a perfect cross-section of the
continuation of humanity.</p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKq5vffybWSKM5PrT43huArGvknR_XZLBGLZ8Zrc2GCPsVduwypmCFlkgq9q0eoXnYhW9YxYi_HHgyz8LVvZd02vzFYUj3b846R3AC2WFMQEc-J8FlgLfKrwwOnNuxUhQVwKFMqnm76Uc/s2048/Edit-IMG_4793.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKq5vffybWSKM5PrT43huArGvknR_XZLBGLZ8Zrc2GCPsVduwypmCFlkgq9q0eoXnYhW9YxYi_HHgyz8LVvZd02vzFYUj3b846R3AC2WFMQEc-J8FlgLfKrwwOnNuxUhQVwKFMqnm76Uc/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4793.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Turbines overlooking some old dinosaurs</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNoSpacing">My old dinosaur and I did finally pull into Snyder, TX in
the evening. Not much to do in town, but that’s okay; we were just there to
find somewhere to bunk for the night. I did catch myself considering the fact
that if I pushed on to Austin that night, I could be home by midnight. But the
point of splitting this run up into two days was to find out if it would rain
on both days! And knowing this drive like I do, I knew that more rainstorms
would inevitably whip up if I decided to keep moving – and driving through extremely
rural west Texas in a pounding rainstorm at night is not on my list of fun
things to do. So, I picked a reasonable hotel and bedded down for the night.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">-----------------------------------------------</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Saturday, 8/14<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">-----------------------------------------------</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">The following morning was another slow one, mainly due to
the rainstorms in the region (of course). The radar showed them clearing by
late morning, and I saw no reason to drive in the rain any more than I had to,
so… I didn’t! I only had a “quick” 4.5-hour drive to get home anyways.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">I took off at about 11 AM and everything was sunshine and
butterflies. I had timed the rainstorms perfectly and it looked like I was
going to successfully miss all of the big storms on the way home. Awesome!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">You all have probably noticed the odd wording of that
statement, and deduced that Something Happened. Which, of course, is true.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">I made it about 30 minutes down the road and got just on
the other side of Sweetwater, TX, when disaster struck! And by “struck”, I
mostly mean that actually I hit something, not the other way around. There was
a big ole pile of roadkill in the middle of the road and I attempted to straddle
it instead of swerving. Turns out that was not a good plan, as it was a bit…
sturdier… than expected. After passing over top of it, Jane very unexpectedly (well,
truthfully somewhat expectedly) sounded like a very loud straight-piped diesel
truck. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">I pulled right over on a convenient gravel driveway and
crawled under Jane to investigate. And wouldn’t you know it, but that stupid
driver’s side muffler had gotten yanked right off. AGAIN. This happens about
once a year, because that particular muffler always wants to hang a little low
and I wouldn’t say that it’s particularly well-connected. Some of you may
remember that several years ago I managed to yank this very same muffler off
the car by hitting a puddle, of all things. And it has certainly been off
several times since then!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Anyways, normally the fix is to just stuff the muffler
back onto the intermediate pipe and proceed on with the day. But apparently the
exhaust system had REALLY had enough of me doing this, as this time the exhaust
hanger rearward of the muffler snapped right in half. I quickly discovered that
without that hanger, the muffler hung about an inch off the ground when
reinstalled. Given the number of obstacles in the road on any given paved piece
of west Texas, I figured that proceeding with the muffler this way would be a
great way to hook it off the car AGAIN very quickly. Quite frankly, I’m
surprised that the pipes and muffler have never wadded themselves up under the
car, and I wasn’t about to push my luck on this one. So, the problem was that I
needed to figure out some way to patch the hanger up or jerry-rig a replacement,
and it needed to be good enough to get me several hundred miles without me
worrying about it.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Eyeballing around the interior of the car didn’t yield
any good materials for a confidence-inspiring fix, with the best candidate
being a short length of wire hanger. That hanger ended up not being long enough
to wrap around the exhaust pipe, so that was out. So, time for Plan B, which
relies on me using some good old Southern sweet-talking charm to convince
someone to bring me what I need.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">I called the local Ford dealership first, as sometimes
they can be persuaded to help a classic Ford in need. No dice. Then I tried a
local wrecker, then Autozone, then Carquest, then NAPA. At NAPA I had some
success, as a local mobile mechanic happened to be in the store at the time
that I called. They handed the phone over to him and I was able to get his
contact information, but his response was not inspiring – something about “he
could bring me the parts I need after he does some stuff on his project car”.
Hmm, I guess my sweet-talking skills are rusty. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">So I called AAA to see about getting a tow – shamefully,
my second of the trip – the entire 2 miles back into town. All I needed was a
roll of exhaust strap, which could be found anywhere, but sometimes you just
have to do things the hard way I guess. I was still pretty peeved about having
to do this though.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Well, AAA contacted a local wrecker, who then called me
to confirm my location. I asked him if he could just bring me a roll of exhaust
strap and be done with it, to which he replied that he couldn’t do that without
losing his job. Fair enough. But then he finally came through with a ray of
hope: he said he “had a guy” who could probably help. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Let me tell you, everyone has “a guy” for some things,
and they are always exactly the person you need. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">This particular fellow’s “guy” was named Brady. The
wrecker gave me Brady’s contact information and said he’d hold on coming by to
pick me up, as I was still kind of betting on the NAPA mobile mechanic. About
30 minutes passed with me going back and forth with this mobile mechanic,
getting progressively more pissed off, when a guy showed up in a truck. It was
Brady, and he had come straight from O’Reilly’s with a roll of exhaust strap
and some spare hardware. Bless the man. I told the mobile mechanic to go kick
rocks, and Brady and I got to work.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Now I told Brady that truly all I needed was the parts
and that he was free to go, but he insisted on staying to help out. So the two of
us wriggled under Jane, stuffed the exhaust system back together, used the
exhaust strap to hang it back up in place securely, and then gave everything a
good shaking to make sure it was sturdy (it was). Thankfully, none of the
roadkill I had hit was plastered to the underside of the car, so at least we
didn’t have to deal with that adding insult to injury. Nevertheless, we did end
up quite covered in dust and rocks, but Brady didn’t seem too miffed. He was
just happy to help out. And that, my friends, is why Brady is “the guy”,
probably to quite a lot of people.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">After we got Jane all patched up, we paused to shoot the
shit for a while - an essential component of any hot rod repair experience.
Eventually we both realized we had places to be, so I promised Brady a beer if
he ever finds himself in Austin, we shook hands, and off I went, ready to run
over more piles of roadkill.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">Well, I didn’t run into any more piles of roadkill. What
I did run into was… yep, all of the rain bands I had been trying to avoid. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">For the most part, the rest of the day was spent inside a
rainstorm of varying magnitudes. So my view looked like this for a few hours:</p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /><o:p></o:p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMj7zExP9nAbnb6ZNWkSZXTwFkrZAYNCIY8emp-0g1ZIw7aDG3CnuwkJAlLmbPVXC26E9pq_k4E-9QiZSZ-EVFli9H6GEGZ5aKmh0bBq40O6Sw6TQOKjtC63_hWS_iYfL_ODA9hc2g948/s2048/Edit-IMG_4812.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMj7zExP9nAbnb6ZNWkSZXTwFkrZAYNCIY8emp-0g1ZIw7aDG3CnuwkJAlLmbPVXC26E9pq_k4E-9QiZSZ-EVFli9H6GEGZ5aKmh0bBq40O6Sw6TQOKjtC63_hWS_iYfL_ODA9hc2g948/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4812.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This photo actually taken during one of the light points in the storms, and you can tell because you can actually see the road and the lines on the road through the windshield!</td></tr></tbody></table></p><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNoSpacing">At one point the storms got to about the worst I’ve ever
been through, and I pulled off at a Whataburger to sit them out for a bit. Normally
I would try to push through, but the problem was that I was getting stuck in
the same rain band for long periods of time and because road conditions were so
bad, it was nearly impossible to escape them as we were traveling at similar
speeds. Jane is a trooper, but the roads were very seriously flooded and visibility
was somewhere around 10 feet at best. Not a good situation with a muscle car
with no safety/traction systems to speak of, especially riding around on old
questionable tires. And ESPECIALLY with an exhaust system already known to be
easily removed by standing water! Sitting in peace with a milkshake and a book for
a half hour waiting for a gap in the storms seemed a small inconvenience in
comparison.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Eventually we did get back on the road for the final leg
into town. The rain had mostly subsided into drizzle, which is wonderful to
drive in. And then, an hour outside Austin, we hit “the bubble” – the point
where storms seem to disappear in the Hill Country, leaving behind nothing but
sunshine and beautiful weather. And that was even more wonderful to drive in.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg95MGE-EPWs180qgm9hYJQUAnFTDKfJ6bfNeaJy1_15649E3aHRpggmz8mpdvX6YSlLPiewf_77Yged_LBXiyLdPjvWOB6pwuvejhCUhRt8ccJakfboRle4EHHqz0CpiBteewWIMxU8mw/s2048/Edit-IMG_4818.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg95MGE-EPWs180qgm9hYJQUAnFTDKfJ6bfNeaJy1_15649E3aHRpggmz8mpdvX6YSlLPiewf_77Yged_LBXiyLdPjvWOB6pwuvejhCUhRt8ccJakfboRle4EHHqz0CpiBteewWIMxU8mw/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4818.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ah, Hill Country, how I love thee.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNoSpacing">Jane and I finally arrived safe and sound early in the
evening, some two hours later than anticipated. But hey, not bad for a day so
fraught with pitfalls. Just like always, Jane ran me home faithfully (well,
more or less) despite the circumstances. And just like always, I trusted her to
do it. It wasn’t a peaceful, relaxing last day of driving, but sometimes that’s
just how it is. We made it through anyways. And hey, I found out that even if I
split the long last day of driving into two days… it’ll still rain both days,
not just the second. I can’t say I’m surprised by this revelation at all.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Now, Jane is ensconced in the garage, and I’m ensconced
in the house, sorting through all of my gear and unpacking. There’s quite a lot
of melted trail mix in my stuff, it seems, and I’ve just found the bag of
clothes that I was looking for for the past week. It’s pretty incredible how
much stuff fits in Jane, despite her small size. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">Although this trip was shorter than my usual yearly jaunt,
both in length of time and distance traveled, it is just really good to be back
on the road and feel “normal” after being all cooped up for the past year. I
was so glad to be able to attend my friend’s wedding in person in Denver, and
to get to visit with all of my other friends in the area, many of whom I haven’t
seen for years! And truthfully it was actually very nice to get to take my time
going places, too – usually I have a mad dash to Reno and back that leaves me
with little time to mosey around and hang out if I feel like it. I much prefer
a more lackadaisical free-form style of traveling whenever possible, and I
think I have lost sight of that in recent years. It is getting harder and
harder to travel spontaneously, without reservations ahead of time, but going
to smaller lesser-known attractions, as I did on this trip, helped mitigate
some of those issues. That’s something I’ll have to keep in mind in the future –
I’m sure I’ll keep going to Reno to see friends, but maybe I’ll make it an
every-other-year thing so I have more time to explore other nooks and crannies
in the country on off years. I’ve seen many incredible things over the past 7
years of traveling with Jane, but I have an entire continent to explore and
there’s always more to see. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">For now, though, I will return to everyday life, feeling
refreshed and ready to tackle whatever comes my way. Tomorrow, I’ll deal with
the coolant problem – it seems like a very long time ago that I blew that core
in Lubbock, but I know the coolant is still lurking in the carpet. I can smell
it! Ugh. I think I’ll powerwash the carpet to see if it can be salvaged. It
sounds like it’ll be a fun endeavor, at least. I’ll throw my flip-flops in the
mix too, as they are still woefully saturated and starting to smell very odd. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">And so starts the next Kelly-Jane adventure. It’s always
something around here.<o:p></o:p></p>Until next year's road trip... Kelly signing out.<p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">**End 2021 Road Trip Blog** (and apologies for the extended delay in posts)</p></div>Kelly Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04271547498127096571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893125545466338016.post-18554878405733746262021-11-04T23:09:00.004-04:002021-11-04T23:11:20.304-04:00Santa Fe Skies<p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">8/12/2021 - Well folks, this post is longggggg overdue, but life sometimes gets a little busy! Anyways, here's one of the two last posts in this year's blog series.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">----------------------------------</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A thick carpet of wooly gray clouds hung low over Raton
this morning as I got up and slowly prepared to get on the road. Jane sat out
in the parking lot having an equally slow morning, condensation sliding lethargically
down her sides to pool on the ground. It’s a bit chilly up here in the
mornings, and it can be hard to work up the motivation to get going, especially
with the cloud cover. But eventually the sun did break through, turning a gray
morning into one of vibrant blues and greens.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>Jane and I hit the road, heading south with Santa Fe
plugged in as our destination. True to form for New Mexico in late summer, the cloud
cover broke apart rapidly, leaving behind only puffy picturesque clouds in an
azure sky. The plains sprawled out before us and around us, interrupted only by
the sunflower-lined road cutting a winding track through them. A cool, crisp
breeze whipped through Jane’s window, bringing with it the scent of the distant
mountains. It’s times like this that I wonder why I don’t live here. Surely, if
I did, it would be impossible to ever have a bad day.</div><div><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p></o:p></p></span></span></div><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCcHooOW00Me7nepEXUMZmVzLhyphenhyphen-UM3-MJspmEMSeYTdo9NfH2XgXCUkg10tRkPqCbJG9x-asFPdip5KGZA-LWvzCaCSR61kp_FRvEGLOO1bxln08VPxRSAOqkH98pD_Uo2MUUkWqdyTk/s2048/Edit-IMG_4556.jpg"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCcHooOW00Me7nepEXUMZmVzLhyphenhyphen-UM3-MJspmEMSeYTdo9NfH2XgXCUkg10tRkPqCbJG9x-asFPdip5KGZA-LWvzCaCSR61kp_FRvEGLOO1bxln08VPxRSAOqkH98pD_Uo2MUUkWqdyTk/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4556.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8TuG6jhufbATpDM7pnALLzY3i-NNrJ2yvzaofiiA8ijGJBTdNuQN9-AW2OFz7D-T9KvGWQQIg1YXZAXmgIZhSojNi0h0BLXhEnDS27BACJyXTXycQmW4UIhyphenhyphen4hvRgZQLXGH39k5oZbZU/s2048/Edit-IMG_4559.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8TuG6jhufbATpDM7pnALLzY3i-NNrJ2yvzaofiiA8ijGJBTdNuQN9-AW2OFz7D-T9KvGWQQIg1YXZAXmgIZhSojNi0h0BLXhEnDS27BACJyXTXycQmW4UIhyphenhyphen4hvRgZQLXGH39k5oZbZU/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4559.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">After
a short drive (for us, at least), we pulled into Santa Fe. I was ready for an
afternoon of hiking, but apparently the weather had other plans! I headed to
the Dale Ball Trail System over on the east side of town with the intent of
hiking a few of the local ridges that overlook town. After miraculously finding
a parking spot, and meticulously hiding my most important belongings (like you
can really hide anything in a 1960’s car that’s loaded to the brim with camping
gear), I set off up the trail. For a while, I was able to hike in peace – and
there were lots of fun things to look at!</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVwAcMHuc2uptS5yLlhZHBl0sYu0xBTKTEPTyk2N_SqVr3Ov3VrYysvtmgTQHqOuX6KiExrzrhOeRANvM3TmrYlvqN2FTAP2NNL5oERSpR6twJeUHU_CPshZBSrFAC8gbjkG7MI7MBTdY/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_4569.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="426" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A tiny horned lizard! </td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVwAcMHuc2uptS5yLlhZHBl0sYu0xBTKTEPTyk2N_SqVr3Ov3VrYysvtmgTQHqOuX6KiExrzrhOeRANvM3TmrYlvqN2FTAP2NNL5oERSpR6twJeUHU_CPshZBSrFAC8gbjkG7MI7MBTdY/s2048/Edit-IMG_4569.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRJWoE9H2iIYKUUOfdC_wZXJv4QC4zv2-7sgpLtRO8AaM-bfQB_shPIKW_4z5Hx6_6FdHU65KFl0vbeK9ILd9pNLtxHgRYMPxMD5EuqHiLHy1UyZA828gi8lokfmHtAhHEPgwf8JWnDhY/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4575.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Metamorphosed boulders!</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But as I approached the top of the ridge, the thunder started to roll. I pulled up the weather radar to look at the afternoon storm systems, kind of eyeballed their distance from me compared to my distance from the mountaintop, and concluded… that I would not make it to the top without getting hit by lightning. Lightning really doesn’t mess around out here, you know. That was something I had to learn after living on the East Coast all my life, where lightning is fairly innocuous – out West, lightning is deadly, especially if you’re on a high point.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So, in an attempt to not invite too much disaster (you know, only a little disaster instead), I poked around the trail system below the ridgeline about halfway down the slope. I kind of just had the wiggles after driving for two days, so I was really very interested in staying out and walking around more. And that’s how I ended up drenched as the storm bands hit, exactly as my weather radar app had predicted. Hmm. It was kind of scenic, though.</span></p><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJDdOAxh1K1K4sb0Q8-lGQtI5CfZth6IGH_nh08f4CRV-VIZ353pC9_6mEAqPo-1odot8Mu7P8qq6CncesD5tS29InZv8BP0R6Hs6z9QGhHL1ZO4o_SJOKEdDq7mwzfl8CA0BxKCWH6T0/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4577.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The rain bands coming in</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJDdOAxh1K1K4sb0Q8-lGQtI5CfZth6IGH_nh08f4CRV-VIZ353pC9_6mEAqPo-1odot8Mu7P8qq6CncesD5tS29InZv8BP0R6Hs6z9QGhHL1ZO4o_SJOKEdDq7mwzfl8CA0BxKCWH6T0/s2048/Edit-IMG_4577.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqWmKtYqiUcEW55pLUR5xUQiyJ2l665eZOMf_gpVmWoxr26UFIPeeY8q3meJ2XDBX1raQqg-czz8594eA5jBu2PUApsTi4BNU47J24xBD6sQLENzV2_ud_HmDUpWi04MIC2LWUteZxbDU/s2048/Edit-IMG_4584.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqWmKtYqiUcEW55pLUR5xUQiyJ2l665eZOMf_gpVmWoxr26UFIPeeY8q3meJ2XDBX1raQqg-czz8594eA5jBu2PUApsTi4BNU47J24xBD6sQLENzV2_ud_HmDUpWi04MIC2LWUteZxbDU/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_4584.jpg" width="426" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGmONVVhhb5qBZf0adRvK3owJzvUzTMNX_PhtlOSMkK-GS7P_thQ0RpcLXc3A-_MQRN2DJEHCFdCmLBoD-tB2IAvGOZA5sw0frCfYEKLhCEanrQl52hDcJX6bXv5X88ItIHieVdYNU1Uw/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4594.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View towards town through the rain - not raining yet in the valley!</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGmONVVhhb5qBZf0adRvK3owJzvUzTMNX_PhtlOSMkK-GS7P_thQ0RpcLXc3A-_MQRN2DJEHCFdCmLBoD-tB2IAvGOZA5sw0frCfYEKLhCEanrQl52hDcJX6bXv5X88ItIHieVdYNU1Uw/s2048/Edit-IMG_4594.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm6LFS8HyySJfLBY3lCxyzMe1m7buq2NfXSrptsQEdaVVv1qtvJxBAT-Djlf_UxljpropLLeQFoHl78gImIT4TLU54NwZI4XqHfeCpF-zUeJgOtXZrrs4aIJoE9xav2iAhy3Yz4CyftHE/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4597.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A nice wet folded crinkly rock</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm6LFS8HyySJfLBY3lCxyzMe1m7buq2NfXSrptsQEdaVVv1qtvJxBAT-Djlf_UxljpropLLeQFoHl78gImIT4TLU54NwZI4XqHfeCpF-zUeJgOtXZrrs4aIJoE9xav2iAhy3Yz4CyftHE/s2048/Edit-IMG_4597.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><p class="MsoNoSpacing">When I had had enough of that, I headed back down the
hill to the trailhead to collect an equally-soaked Jane. No problem, of course.
At least, there wasn’t a problem until I got onto the roads in the eastern
hills of Santa Fe. I then found out that the eastern hills of Santa Fe flood
very badly when it rains and the roads turn into impromptu floodways. So, I
once again played the game that I always seem to be playing with Jane in
mid-August: the “is this puddle/stream/river shallow enough to drive through
without flooding my car?” game. Ugh!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">I made it down into town without mishap and checked in at
my hotel, where I laid on the bed being cold and sopping wet for a while until
common sense and the heater both kicked in. I kind of figured that I was done
for the night, given the size of the rainstorms passing through, but things
cleared up pretty substantially at 5 PM and I suddenly found my motivation
again!</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">I went for an early dinner across the street – New Mexican
Christmas-style enchiladas finished off with a round of sopapillas, of course –
and then decided to go on another hike! This was generally a terrible idea as I
was now full of enchiladas and sopapillas. But, whatever.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">I headed back towards the east side of town, determined
to find a trail that would give me (hopefully) nice sunset views over Santa Fe.
Those spectacular New Mexican clouds were back again, and I was kind of hoping
that they would stick around.<o:p></o:p></p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI6sdOhvBrsKgrRKo6Lmf-8kp3qXQq1Z6D8Sqh91vQXB_CvZh-DPmy3Q7dz3o1t1Pblz1rpOf3ED0Zq5C5vJuVOEjOHh-_s4gTKuwXbY-18RQJ-2z6HhnOGHY7F5OHXh02iFZwFCa91KI/s2048/Edit-IMG_4611.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI6sdOhvBrsKgrRKo6Lmf-8kp3qXQq1Z6D8Sqh91vQXB_CvZh-DPmy3Q7dz3o1t1Pblz1rpOf3ED0Zq5C5vJuVOEjOHh-_s4gTKuwXbY-18RQJ-2z6HhnOGHY7F5OHXh02iFZwFCa91KI/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4611.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirYfzVywyNLNT3b-bveFfriG55p0q-xBqxUv7Fw194P5-aw9pUIUkhKV1qdWNMZDELzH-zgiXhATLAz0ZxvU21WWsfpbXKzqsMD6sqe_X6OJEnxzFKnnJUVu3_z5cfSMQD9haeIUlBU44/s2048/Edit-IMG_4612.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirYfzVywyNLNT3b-bveFfriG55p0q-xBqxUv7Fw194P5-aw9pUIUkhKV1qdWNMZDELzH-zgiXhATLAz0ZxvU21WWsfpbXKzqsMD6sqe_X6OJEnxzFKnnJUVu3_z5cfSMQD9haeIUlBU44/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4612.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNoSpacing">This time, I opted to tackle the Atalaya Trail, another popular
trek on the eastern side of town. It’s quite a hike up the mountain (if you’re
full of food, at least, maybe not so much if you’re not) but I had my second
wind and I got up into the hills in short order. There wasn’t too much to see
on the way up, beyond some pink flowers that were nicely lit in the golden
hour.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPsEVnOurJlUXMvDATtIs4O9nrxNCjx8Si6qqDQ9IoOmj1ViyG69-pb8KYR2YQX6BHZnz69sx9g-dHVmXUsmhVKBzvXRdqpkTNZep6Xv9A84rnoLXTHojP8cReRmZ-sP5prAZHULVfWT8/s2048/Edit-IMG_4615.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPsEVnOurJlUXMvDATtIs4O9nrxNCjx8Si6qqDQ9IoOmj1ViyG69-pb8KYR2YQX6BHZnz69sx9g-dHVmXUsmhVKBzvXRdqpkTNZep6Xv9A84rnoLXTHojP8cReRmZ-sP5prAZHULVfWT8/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_4615.jpg" width="426" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhITbYKWQJpB2KjvRToDkOnP0D2Wj9igoawZcqESg3vVcr3-32Rtnty3a7WbW4c3duhOQlvylvLNO9zzesbOjtmj85A8Eo2aNSh27ycC1lc66IhauwXxK7jshNl5BS92VP-CIn5qCAMWKI/s2048/Edit-IMG_4619.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhITbYKWQJpB2KjvRToDkOnP0D2Wj9igoawZcqESg3vVcr3-32Rtnty3a7WbW4c3duhOQlvylvLNO9zzesbOjtmj85A8Eo2aNSh27ycC1lc66IhauwXxK7jshNl5BS92VP-CIn5qCAMWKI/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_4619.jpg" width="426" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNoSpacing">At any rate, I’m really glad that I hoofed it, because I
found a hidden overlook that proved to be a perfect spot to witness a truly
spectacular sunset. The clouds had stuck around just as I’d hoped, creating a
dramatic patchwork of blues and grays across the vast skies. As the sun slipped
low on the horizon towards the distant mountains, its rays caught the remnants
of the rains on the far side of town, refracting explosively and bathing the
landscape in a brilliant crimson.<o:p></o:p></p></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLLk69hA5DMTHwwLsyvPiCnMR2kaMc4xiIFVepO0TTlFGQFG-Z-Dw6wrS1nxYYwhvurQigQM4zowIv96Vr_Bn5s12ub8BJ2WQWQOe7PYUGBpPCld01D3bu2mm-f-TS57aQ9VrLiVbfnf0/s2048/Edit-IMG_4637.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLLk69hA5DMTHwwLsyvPiCnMR2kaMc4xiIFVepO0TTlFGQFG-Z-Dw6wrS1nxYYwhvurQigQM4zowIv96Vr_Bn5s12ub8BJ2WQWQOe7PYUGBpPCld01D3bu2mm-f-TS57aQ9VrLiVbfnf0/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4637.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGJf0ZLy00fMtr0gMyPB6qc71xv-rkhxSxnDEAZN4IUamyrmBDxJRE5ZnC475khOfIVHbVxJp62yONNDFJ9i9X-IzNcJ-fidciKsosOjMHh3D1AYQiNyQqKpJcnyJ3b7i5LAN6yN8xJUQ/s2048/Edit-IMG_4665.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGJf0ZLy00fMtr0gMyPB6qc71xv-rkhxSxnDEAZN4IUamyrmBDxJRE5ZnC475khOfIVHbVxJp62yONNDFJ9i9X-IzNcJ-fidciKsosOjMHh3D1AYQiNyQqKpJcnyJ3b7i5LAN6yN8xJUQ/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4665.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZoSisvbEtHsK5QSu5GJ5-A19dQyD7tMCJxC0s0R9NS7_w3AxmeQPnOfxbtwnmEH0vkohYlgb32bJy45Vq3ObsV-HH4v2eLprQgwrOjEaCTs2FQN6KV4lshUhPOTFzkBZy6FquugiAAHg/s2048/Edit-IMG_4691.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZoSisvbEtHsK5QSu5GJ5-A19dQyD7tMCJxC0s0R9NS7_w3AxmeQPnOfxbtwnmEH0vkohYlgb32bJy45Vq3ObsV-HH4v2eLprQgwrOjEaCTs2FQN6KV4lshUhPOTFzkBZy6FquugiAAHg/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4691.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE2uWnJa-A2eJE3AVETvEXLcMW4k39SBnexut0fgmp1MH5teMY-JIQQ_0RcJpP-cEp4MzQX3zWfGx1MufSyEVMs4D5WFr8nwpog0c6bS76w4cJVevLRwJwcYb8l6FVXFJF8zeVXQ2WTFY/s2048/Edit-IMG_4697.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE2uWnJa-A2eJE3AVETvEXLcMW4k39SBnexut0fgmp1MH5teMY-JIQQ_0RcJpP-cEp4MzQX3zWfGx1MufSyEVMs4D5WFr8nwpog0c6bS76w4cJVevLRwJwcYb8l6FVXFJF8zeVXQ2WTFY/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_4697.jpg" width="426" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdRysBuCmZG6euTEUGfcpp6_qDINjpmlQgwU1HIc4TmDkYlBMxXzi44O7L5XmxlW_pbxgElQphPIAtPe7U2OTtFe42b8GXygjAwD-N3rHWX35Mf3k94D6FDpxsKHmMDxUGCUIm0wC2gSo/s2048/Edit-IMG_4699.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1168" data-original-width="2048" height="366" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdRysBuCmZG6euTEUGfcpp6_qDINjpmlQgwU1HIc4TmDkYlBMxXzi44O7L5XmxlW_pbxgElQphPIAtPe7U2OTtFe42b8GXygjAwD-N3rHWX35Mf3k94D6FDpxsKHmMDxUGCUIm0wC2gSo/w640-h366/Edit-IMG_4699.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3r_kCSDzPxWl9RevPfbCvLpG0atzszpyy5n7WFZ2pF6Vz_GIf3Lp8AGw_xBl7gIUOF_edy02YWl9Z7Q5GllJmSgCLk0w6fW8UjB0v6LxXayWv8nX79mZYW2xI-IebnTe2Y-gRLWucx14/s2048/Edit-IMG_4703.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3r_kCSDzPxWl9RevPfbCvLpG0atzszpyy5n7WFZ2pF6Vz_GIf3Lp8AGw_xBl7gIUOF_edy02YWl9Z7Q5GllJmSgCLk0w6fW8UjB0v6LxXayWv8nX79mZYW2xI-IebnTe2Y-gRLWucx14/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4703.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjtXpPdQEeUfRRYOH5tnaxdYGdbtKyrAReJD-3p5RiVErYxIbRmGev0OJPQy1SZ-zY4wl9zQb94oI9gIWK0XIwGQX1dM2A40lZLEbAHoZC6ChAO8g4f_nvJxsEeHty-YhvnikniqBhn7s/s2048/Edit-IMG_4708.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjtXpPdQEeUfRRYOH5tnaxdYGdbtKyrAReJD-3p5RiVErYxIbRmGev0OJPQy1SZ-zY4wl9zQb94oI9gIWK0XIwGQX1dM2A40lZLEbAHoZC6ChAO8g4f_nvJxsEeHty-YhvnikniqBhn7s/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4708.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgULO6cdZqDFagaTlMDFFH7B4eanVUeix2iwNb4xvmyW8CZaYOe-HSJ-O5cxemwtel0lhjeYEGT-qT9aJj4na94R-IDjzVZ5JyOSvArcy0fjLNsG6WjhMY9czdR3V5wc0w4AMxf5mgcIfU/s2048/Edit-IMG_4710.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgULO6cdZqDFagaTlMDFFH7B4eanVUeix2iwNb4xvmyW8CZaYOe-HSJ-O5cxemwtel0lhjeYEGT-qT9aJj4na94R-IDjzVZ5JyOSvArcy0fjLNsG6WjhMY9czdR3V5wc0w4AMxf5mgcIfU/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4710.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi99eVFVaxg-m3fTg9Xhhm0IQcDjkE2u04uL2HXB9MqzIzICVhqqvt24OicH4d3Et07ReOeV3ryZJj3N_blBkq-3bLETvHOX79fbAk_SNlwAjUSkuoMM0eVMBcE_f0ArdX9x9ujeMFcwCE/s2048/Edit-IMG_4712.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi99eVFVaxg-m3fTg9Xhhm0IQcDjkE2u04uL2HXB9MqzIzICVhqqvt24OicH4d3Et07ReOeV3ryZJj3N_blBkq-3bLETvHOX79fbAk_SNlwAjUSkuoMM0eVMBcE_f0ArdX9x9ujeMFcwCE/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4712.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxxRPfzL2Uco4OSyJ9B0mEfbVnTRebTOqs-fRPFHGVuKGyh-ZAGFGoSGXO3JEINzJRndf8X0KaOcWrqOey2hQR7KnOQxnCO7q7v3b88i6zHdK8hJXF2AniqCw2ws_qZdLnVmK6chZV5kU/s2048/Edit-IMG_4717.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxxRPfzL2Uco4OSyJ9B0mEfbVnTRebTOqs-fRPFHGVuKGyh-ZAGFGoSGXO3JEINzJRndf8X0KaOcWrqOey2hQR7KnOQxnCO7q7v3b88i6zHdK8hJXF2AniqCw2ws_qZdLnVmK6chZV5kU/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4717.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhULfO_Sh_TvTrrhtGBy6_MFH9G2yMq65B3rbAHj2hJlbL70yZxqbzzArXA5yevnHqoRdyUvZwqYFGHxbhdu4nusSCP74ZJV2Oz9jJSud-swwESkg7IWpnhj4gHQFdWbamkPLsAXhsDmGg/s2048/Edit-IMG_4719.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhULfO_Sh_TvTrrhtGBy6_MFH9G2yMq65B3rbAHj2hJlbL70yZxqbzzArXA5yevnHqoRdyUvZwqYFGHxbhdu4nusSCP74ZJV2Oz9jJSud-swwESkg7IWpnhj4gHQFdWbamkPLsAXhsDmGg/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4719.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0P_D0ZYuaglB83cWiEeeO4xTqHJmCuUfn2i5RUxYNP3vzEgRToEKJZj-jGqbfL-HRrTVd5j3vFOF10PAuBaaheqwXSKF763q2oH2xgqrOwvYdRgsoYcXzphMy_u8rM0yh7F1TZlKqURk/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4726.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Too many photos of the same sunset? No such thing!</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0P_D0ZYuaglB83cWiEeeO4xTqHJmCuUfn2i5RUxYNP3vzEgRToEKJZj-jGqbfL-HRrTVd5j3vFOF10PAuBaaheqwXSKF763q2oH2xgqrOwvYdRgsoYcXzphMy_u8rM0yh7F1TZlKqURk/s2048/Edit-IMG_4726.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>Standing up there in my secluded hollow, witnessing this
incredible display, I found time to once again consider how lucky I am to get
to experience things like this. It is sad to me to think that many people will
never witness this raw beauty, will never experience the real scope of the
world and discover how small they really are. But I guess they don’t know what
they’re missing. Me, I know what I’m missing when I’m all holed up in my nice
snug house in the city, so I watched the sun set wistfully, knowing that it’ll
be one of the last truly stellar “wide-open” sunsets I’ll see for a long time.
Tomorrow I’ll head on into West Texas, and the day after that I’ll be home in
Austin. Moments like these on the tail end of trips are always bittersweet, but
I cherish them more for it.<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Kelly signing out. <o:p></o:p></p><p></p>Kelly Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04271547498127096571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893125545466338016.post-61405448820368532392021-09-14T00:46:00.000-04:002021-09-14T00:46:00.569-04:00Eastern Colorado is just Western Kansas<p> 8/11/2021</p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">-----<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Alas, I seem to be running out of vacation time, so I
guess it’s time to head home. I’ve seen some beautiful Colorado mountain towns,
traversed a gnarly mountain pass via 4x4 Jeep, driven through some sky-high
mountain passes of my own, watched one of my best friends get married, and seen
all three possible landmarks in southwestern Nebraska. Not bad, for a quick
trip! I’ve still got one more stop before I return myself to Texas, though:
Santa Fe, NM.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">I had two ways to get to Santa Fe from Scottsbluff. The
first: the highways of the Front Range, home to soaring spectacular views of
the Rockies and about 3 million people all trying to go up and down the highway
at once. The second: the tiny two-lane Highway 71, which spans the flattest,
most boring part of Colorado, and consequently is traveled by absolutely no
one.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Now, given that the Front Range ranks among the worst air
quality in the world right now due to smoke from the PNW fires piling up against
the Rockies (ask me how it makes sense for it to end up piled on the lee side
of the mountains, but that’s air currents for you I guess), this was actually a
very easy decision to make. Travel a very smoky, view-less road with a billion
other people, or travel a very smoky, view-less road with no other people.
Highway 71 it is!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">I departed Nebraska at a time when the weather was
actually clearing, so I got some cool views of the bluffs on my way out that I
had missed on my way in. <o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlErkdul2U3r4v_ZU-q2ARjhJQUgAUxzC9KBhjGyohw-uMgHmqa0xGW_nLZBBahAOVplxFAlWLDL7RwE_qdoDIe2gluMNXaTcjoxbk_KFdNK-oNvCbZ4Pfqox5fXi-BOxY7e40h7dGzPE/s2048/Edit-IMG_4486.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlErkdul2U3r4v_ZU-q2ARjhJQUgAUxzC9KBhjGyohw-uMgHmqa0xGW_nLZBBahAOVplxFAlWLDL7RwE_qdoDIe2gluMNXaTcjoxbk_KFdNK-oNvCbZ4Pfqox5fXi-BOxY7e40h7dGzPE/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4486.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqiQoMur389O_NOr1aSd4p6BysDt-Tnem6O2K9D87hBQUMcgkG8ya_poTiKwE5IwJo1JqNxqNJxkiHTo9wHFrdh_e6cPF5le31jGKphd-Q7hNeiM7NKEyrp3CbPQNYEKix4TGL5DfqAVw/s2048/Edit-IMG_4492.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqiQoMur389O_NOr1aSd4p6BysDt-Tnem6O2K9D87hBQUMcgkG8ya_poTiKwE5IwJo1JqNxqNJxkiHTo9wHFrdh_e6cPF5le31jGKphd-Q7hNeiM7NKEyrp3CbPQNYEKix4TGL5DfqAVw/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4492.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNoSpacing">But then I crossed into eastern Colorado… and, well, it
looks like this:<o:p></o:p></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2HKRe0DRxbqs8FoQy-5MfBG35KtXSyFPpYGpF_yqdmfkLvkwUGn3WnxRsEbPoFuCeJqSt7JUDNwxZwRzZKo3oyBeq14UYLCrct6_d_W2C8Iy8KTz7aDqrI8jX6VAr8K-RZKLk7roUP0c/s2048/Edit-IMG_4495.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2HKRe0DRxbqs8FoQy-5MfBG35KtXSyFPpYGpF_yqdmfkLvkwUGn3WnxRsEbPoFuCeJqSt7JUDNwxZwRzZKo3oyBeq14UYLCrct6_d_W2C8Iy8KTz7aDqrI8jX6VAr8K-RZKLk7roUP0c/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4495.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNoSpacing">Here’s the thing: many people don’t know it, but more than
a third of Colorado (the eastern third, if you haven’t guessed) is actually
awful. It might as well be western Kansas, and I cannot for the life of me
figure out who decided to draw the state boundaries where they did. It would
just make way more sense for all of the flat terrible corn fields to belong to
Kansas. But I guess Colorado needs some agriculture of its own, so here it is:<o:p></o:p></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif2gsytn_gGfJmcPH_cPaAUahDue_gbsl55Dsl1NOH761NafyR993qjCA_vmOnlPe3JH42z3-nNNrp_R_lC67sEEjqAuAbrcMzP36f0JC2U9TOpPJCzqIJOMlr-cNWl471W0VK7oW6CHI/s2048/Edit-IMG_4498.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif2gsytn_gGfJmcPH_cPaAUahDue_gbsl55Dsl1NOH761NafyR993qjCA_vmOnlPe3JH42z3-nNNrp_R_lC67sEEjqAuAbrcMzP36f0JC2U9TOpPJCzqIJOMlr-cNWl471W0VK7oW6CHI/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4498.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Literally miles of dirt</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNoSpacing">Really, it’s kind of remarkable how FLAT it is. Even
Kansas has more hills than this! It seems almost as if the Colorado Rockies
soar to vast heights and swoop to deep valleys entirely to compensate for the
featureless flatlands adjacent to them. And in a way, the dullness of the eastern
topography plays counterpoint to the drama of the west, amplifying the impact
of the mountains. Certainly, it makes for an increasingly interesting and
exciting drive as you move from east to west – something that I discovered the
few times I traveled between North Carolina and Colorado.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">The problem, unfortunately, was that I was traveling
neither east nor west today. I was traveling north to south. And that meant
that I was trapped in this drab doldrum belt for… oh, about 6 hours. Not that
long in the grand scheme of things, but certainly long enough for madness to
start to set in. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Well, probably the madness was already there. I mean, I’ve
driven 9 hours straight across West Texas – a similarly wastelandy-feeling voyage
– so many times I’ve lost count. And I keep doing it, every year, so I must be
insane. Whatever.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">All this to tell you that I took very few pictures today,
because all of the pictures looked the same:<o:p></o:p></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtjweaW9RzkQwJawNMz3KGgH6S6evxOpNeMlx2XXE9H3TDFQSoTk6ipHR4nMMK4CkQ9RyeNoiIGOMYrWpNKiND_s9hyQWZPTf7p700o8f7c4_bzxUhX2s3XFyTKAS5IuDDGLLYQAjlZKA/s2048/Edit-IMG_4507.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtjweaW9RzkQwJawNMz3KGgH6S6evxOpNeMlx2XXE9H3TDFQSoTk6ipHR4nMMK4CkQ9RyeNoiIGOMYrWpNKiND_s9hyQWZPTf7p700o8f7c4_bzxUhX2s3XFyTKAS5IuDDGLLYQAjlZKA/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4507.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wow! Incredible! </td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNoSpacing">Fortunately, as I neared the New Mexican border, things did
begin to improve a bit. With the sun low in the sky, the golden hour
approaching, and the haze nearly completely dissipated, even wide grassy flatlands
started to look nice again. You know, for as much as I remarked on Nebraska’s
endless oceans of grass – I was never really complaining, because they were
beautiful and had some topography to them. Rolling hills and bluffs and the
like. It’s a lot harder to make a completely flat grass field look nice in a
photo.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1cGwCq7WpdCWj7td-Js30cMzf2pZxCivkZ7NRjFxWLGi4z_88iy8cdNMhzv7NnSQzh71HRTvy0RWu04j2cFVeYUFJNhI1cUGU7wZMlow2UU5fpW9HGroOJ4wjDTbqaCXRsPjdeasdQKY/s2048/Edit-IMG_4496.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1cGwCq7WpdCWj7td-Js30cMzf2pZxCivkZ7NRjFxWLGi4z_88iy8cdNMhzv7NnSQzh71HRTvy0RWu04j2cFVeYUFJNhI1cUGU7wZMlow2UU5fpW9HGroOJ4wjDTbqaCXRsPjdeasdQKY/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4496.jpg" width="640" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNoSpacing">Finally, the flatlands gave way to hillier country. The
haze lifted entirely, and those big fluffy clouds so characteristic of a New
Mexican summer finally made a reappearance. Bluffs intersected by craggy
ravines slid by in a blur, blending with the patchy scrub of the southern Great
Plains. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">As much as I love the craggy mountains of Colorado, I always
feel more at home in this terrain. This is a space big enough for a vintage American
car, a space where all that personality and drama and power can burst free and
run wild. No slowing for other travelers or twisty, confining narrow mountain
passes. No tedious traffic, no need to keep things quiet and contained. Out
here, we can be as loud as we want – indeed, the landscape almost seems to
demand it. It is a landscape that feels solid – not a constantly shifting,
whispering ocean, as the plains of Nebraska are, where your own self can
disappear into the void without a trace; but a place that calls you to be
present, to feel the sun on your skin, the rocks under your feet, the wind
across your face, and to see all of the subtle variances within those traces
that speak of a complex world. This is the kind of place where the open road pulls
you forward, always onward to some new intriguing sight right on the cusp of
the horizon. And so onward we went.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9jRK-kts4DQF-AWPMoLrHTGO1YdS_IlNvOWMSWiePGQ-F_HwcDZRt4P581G-sUKK7Uu6nrq037tqKrbVS-6SETF6N9f69AzQh0znOyFl0W-do6pbaSYtEo4_JleVk8QoU1slccu2t0wo/s2048/Edit-IMG_4509.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9jRK-kts4DQF-AWPMoLrHTGO1YdS_IlNvOWMSWiePGQ-F_HwcDZRt4P581G-sUKK7Uu6nrq037tqKrbVS-6SETF6N9f69AzQh0znOyFl0W-do6pbaSYtEo4_JleVk8QoU1slccu2t0wo/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4509.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirlv_GuGHZu_dV209EzKCQpqvQHcUBq_9YzD74cys9gJOWGgJ__33MyOYxh2Tzf4vTaE71oabwOFpvi2eXd072JRhicfwxFX-C1Pm-1w1TRa83PV3RnZX8tOKXuCxQHCEPRj4wHe2It_4/s2048/Edit-IMG_4512.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirlv_GuGHZu_dV209EzKCQpqvQHcUBq_9YzD74cys9gJOWGgJ__33MyOYxh2Tzf4vTaE71oabwOFpvi2eXd072JRhicfwxFX-C1Pm-1w1TRa83PV3RnZX8tOKXuCxQHCEPRj4wHe2It_4/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4512.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA0YGGMS257dH0L5uJtTnbzjJz2yYH253CBdI_F8otfNqy93OlOw1e99BUqZCdqNHydR0EjlphEgcsD6p9g9a8b0cmjJQIfRFslmoJJKh95QV6LqyjDRIRZ43AVlbVU7vaLuk4LFbFs4g/s2048/Edit-IMG_4514.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA0YGGMS257dH0L5uJtTnbzjJz2yYH253CBdI_F8otfNqy93OlOw1e99BUqZCdqNHydR0EjlphEgcsD6p9g9a8b0cmjJQIfRFslmoJJKh95QV6LqyjDRIRZ43AVlbVU7vaLuk4LFbFs4g/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4514.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZkJmp2cd4T0LxUAlC8HwSz-wfgoZQCqg-Vy6AXgZcq1ODpt88AyH6ZlzxiOHaDW7UVDr7r77iagvF7F37j8hNz5iuopxPnRwM15pFz6Yy0iU98ju6_FVRhNERvPIsZghKHdt2JkwYhEw/s2048/Edit-IMG_4518.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZkJmp2cd4T0LxUAlC8HwSz-wfgoZQCqg-Vy6AXgZcq1ODpt88AyH6ZlzxiOHaDW7UVDr7r77iagvF7F37j8hNz5iuopxPnRwM15pFz6Yy0iU98ju6_FVRhNERvPIsZghKHdt2JkwYhEw/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4518.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Could it be...? Mountains in the distance?? Some actual topography to cross???</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNoSpacing">We closed out the afternoon with a drive through Raton
Pass into New Mexico. It always seems a bit silly, to me, that this pass is
named and carefully marked. It’s a fairly low elevation pass, with very gentle
ramps leading to and from it that make it seem more of just a large hill. In
comparison to all other Colorado passes, it’s as gentle as a lamb. But I guess
it still is a pass, and maybe it’s a fairly sizeable one for New Mexico. Regardless,
we cruised our way through, enjoying the beautiful scenery, and then posted up
in a small hotel in Raton on the other side of the pass. <o:p></o:p></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTYQSHUu2KsjHtcKTqZuD8PWEz0wm3rwDiIfssuiI3mGw7Dc1EDMBCRH6wC_xD6vQDGPLB3UereW-r1Smc6iA8F-BjXUoYsBhmX8lbWtB2jes6VUxgYpsA69ZHpY3XFKmb_Us6L4ntG4s/s2048/Edit-IMG_4536.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTYQSHUu2KsjHtcKTqZuD8PWEz0wm3rwDiIfssuiI3mGw7Dc1EDMBCRH6wC_xD6vQDGPLB3UereW-r1Smc6iA8F-BjXUoYsBhmX8lbWtB2jes6VUxgYpsA69ZHpY3XFKmb_Us6L4ntG4s/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4536.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNoSpacing"></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">I suppose I could have made it to Santa Fe all in one
day. But truthfully, I just didn’t feel like driving 9+ hours all in one go to get there. Guess I must be
getting old. Well, that, and lodging is substantially cheaper here, and I happen to know from experience that the Raton Microtel has really, really nice rooms.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">So until tomorrow’s adventures… Kelly signing out. <o:p></o:p></p><br /><p></p>Kelly Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04271547498127096571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893125545466338016.post-67162474139583369622021-09-13T01:38:00.000-04:002021-09-13T01:38:42.676-04:00Relics of the High Plains<p class="MsoNoSpacing">8/10/2021 <o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">-----<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">This morning I peered hopefully from my tent, wistfully
wishing for a departure of the smoky haze and a return to clear blue skies.
Alas, it was not to be. But things looked a bit clearer to the north – which was
good, because that’s the direction that I was headed today!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Scottsbluff is one of the few towns with amenities (such
as campgrounds and good gas stations) in this part of Nebraska, so it’s easier
to make it a temporary home base and do little day trips out from it to see the
area’s attractions. I found this out the hard way a few years back, when I had
planned a broader adventure through Nebraska on my way up to Montana – but found
myself running out of gas on a very long road with no stations, causing me to
have to backtrack back along a different road and cut my explorations short. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">On that trip back in 2017, I had planned on stopping by
Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, a little rural park in western Nebraska
that features supposedly exceptional Eocene-aged mammal fossils. It’s always
bothered me that I didn’t get to check that one off my list. So, today’s
mission was to finally go visit the elusive park!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Jane and I took a short hour-long romp north from
Scottsbluff along Hwy 29 (one of only two roads that extends north from
Scottsbluff into other parts of western Nebraska). It was on this drive that I
was reminded of one of the best things about the less-visited regions of the
States: no traffic! In fact, I encountered only four cars on the entire drive
up. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">That peaceful drive gave me an opportunity to really take
in the vastness of the high plains, to experience it in a deeper way. For fifty
miles, there was nothing but prairie as far as the eye could see: endless waves
of grass rolling across gentle hills in a never-ending verdant carpet. The
expanse yawned wide, seeming even huger for its emptiness, the absence of the
hustle and bustle of civilization. Occasionally, I saw a farmhouse placed in
the landscape, always surrounded by a protective screen of trees in what
appeared to be a desperate effort to fend off the boundless ocean of grass. But
for the most part, the only sign of human influence on the plains – beyond the
road, of course - was the endless row of fenceposts marching towards the
horizon. Indeed, it was Jane and I that seemed out of place here, her brilliant
blue paint glittering radiantly, defiant of the persistent haze, and the
exhaust bellowing out across the plains in a triumphant challenge to nonexistent
rivals. Our loudness screamed out into the void, and we received nothing in
return but dust.</p></div><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2IyPblJJd1cUFfH_Pn8Ukh5AATiv4LpQEzPOAQJw5y9WLkduXmlpLBWUJyGyNf7Csk6Kqr8lqlTC66BQ9_Kt4BeYFKq0m3i2QuwKxozMY2Jt0_AyaCf0472Bzfy2y3K2_dRuMsIFUu4c/s2048/Edit-IMG_4245.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2IyPblJJd1cUFfH_Pn8Ukh5AATiv4LpQEzPOAQJw5y9WLkduXmlpLBWUJyGyNf7Csk6Kqr8lqlTC66BQ9_Kt4BeYFKq0m3i2QuwKxozMY2Jt0_AyaCf0472Bzfy2y3K2_dRuMsIFUu4c/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4245.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyMY76aN88C4c0Igj1LPsDTVW92YEaMU_46aBp_eAojY-QQg1VlVPkdd5VErWhKh0XDIMVWAP78AcggNZK-ux7ODPFjUeEWRfaQgknMGr0V_JKUG2As3LRByR6orPJnCHhzM1xRYRpMvQ/s2048/Edit-IMG_4246.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyMY76aN88C4c0Igj1LPsDTVW92YEaMU_46aBp_eAojY-QQg1VlVPkdd5VErWhKh0XDIMVWAP78AcggNZK-ux7ODPFjUeEWRfaQgknMGr0V_JKUG2As3LRByR6orPJnCHhzM1xRYRpMvQ/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4246.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRs8nEogfa4lytDNV7j2_QdAP7u-ozFcQHLhqRbA-32fqVpTO0Xrivc1VvLuRBNrZWh5iCgwAeebWoor-bqwI6bEb7bJNfkiao5VRpE9AHIX3lNWcSSMeHCoZv12YT2T_aFOSnAXkjzeU/s2048/Edit-IMG_4253.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRs8nEogfa4lytDNV7j2_QdAP7u-ozFcQHLhqRbA-32fqVpTO0Xrivc1VvLuRBNrZWh5iCgwAeebWoor-bqwI6bEb7bJNfkiao5VRpE9AHIX3lNWcSSMeHCoZv12YT2T_aFOSnAXkjzeU/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4253.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">After some time, the GPS told me to take a right turn
onto a narrow road, and suddenly I had features to look at again. Sunflowers
carpeted the fields adjacent to the road, and small knolls bearing exposures of
chalky white rock protruded upwards from the landscape quite frequently. I had
reached Agate Fossil Beds!<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioznFPDshXdXkYlsWP1MmpXfb5NOdjOuzFrCR8jmr5m7dIK3_9ADArjvWa6ZfvEdGwD3WBQ3rP-cky5RLI0_eIiv7xNfLFpem5ebhKm-gUH3sBEhLAxI86y2xnQBZzVW1fitpvhKI6_gs/s2048/Edit-IMG_4258.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioznFPDshXdXkYlsWP1MmpXfb5NOdjOuzFrCR8jmr5m7dIK3_9ADArjvWa6ZfvEdGwD3WBQ3rP-cky5RLI0_eIiv7xNfLFpem5ebhKm-gUH3sBEhLAxI86y2xnQBZzVW1fitpvhKI6_gs/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4258.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXVUc2ZguZ0PeRnk_xD1uOhsZoo4LgUP_nCeacNPFPbOumvF3e7vcIrRUKgU6fBtXm6G6BWRELl46j-i0kkxcwd_BlKczkAGjcKa62dnh8Sg-MCpDXzKG3SzoQXyb2cTZNGpIiol76544/s2048/Edit-IMG_4368.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXVUc2ZguZ0PeRnk_xD1uOhsZoo4LgUP_nCeacNPFPbOumvF3e7vcIrRUKgU6fBtXm6G6BWRELl46j-i0kkxcwd_BlKczkAGjcKa62dnh8Sg-MCpDXzKG3SzoQXyb2cTZNGpIiol76544/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4368.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">I parked at the Visitor Center – a very large imposing-looking
log building that still looked perfectly at home in the plains - and headed inside
to get some information. The center was just as impressive on the inside as it
was on the outside, with wonderful exhibits featuring great reconstructions of
the park’s fossils. It turns out that many of the bluffs that I saw on the way
in are preserved remnants of a Miocene-aged (20-25 million year old) arid
savanna that was cut by a number of small streams and watering holes. One might
imagine an environment similar to modern African savannas, with large herds of
mammals – ancient rhinos, gazelles, horse-like animals, giant pigs, and the like
- roaming the grassy landscape and congregating at watering holes during periods
of drought. The major fossil finds at Agate are concentrated around these
scattered watering holes, which became the final resting place for many animals
during periods of extreme drought, creating thick bone beds that were preserved
for millions of years only to be revealed today. <o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWME8QwUHHvlp0ummBiVg_DLzNmwUh_AqTWa0xgYh2_BWZl6RuFBKcH3idbAuJqQtjD074AIfEzKCBqQYgAUgVeSlfeJiSqIuS61Qqe3NRmZ8VfCvZafhtvHZKgf1YqMMLZwR9-bGXktA/s2048/Edit-IMG_4285.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWME8QwUHHvlp0ummBiVg_DLzNmwUh_AqTWa0xgYh2_BWZl6RuFBKcH3idbAuJqQtjD074AIfEzKCBqQYgAUgVeSlfeJiSqIuS61Qqe3NRmZ8VfCvZafhtvHZKgf1YqMMLZwR9-bGXktA/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4285.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">In addition to the impressive bonebeds, Agate is home to some
rarer, more unique fossils, most notably the fossil “Daemonelix”, meaning “Devil’s
corkscrew”. This crazy fossil is actually a trace fossil – meaning, a fossil
that preserves some remnant of the animal’s presence or behavior instead of the
animal itself. These things consist of large corkscrewed tubes, about a foot in
diameter, that extend down roughly 6 feet before extending out horizontally for
some ways. Early paleontologists were stumped as to the origin of these
corkscrews, until one happened to find a beaver fossil inside one of them.
Turns out, these Devil’s corkscrews are actually just weird beaver burrows! How
neat is that? Unfortunately, the glass casing on this specimen prevented me
from taking a really good photo… but the rangers informed me that I could see
more examples out on the trails in their original location, which seemed more
exciting to me anyways.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG0QCRp7LsfqCJLhJRBMS33ZvoRw1U7sQ5o9nSIB9pPmG9I4Pgnmm6_f9LRyI8ZCmLg3bSjyv4Ogp5pBhMGICBGtaOiQIdgYw8AJC_OoCwsCyB3WsrI7DW16JhXAarf2QuPDaLgckIIrs/s2048/Edit-IMG_4281.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG0QCRp7LsfqCJLhJRBMS33ZvoRw1U7sQ5o9nSIB9pPmG9I4Pgnmm6_f9LRyI8ZCmLg3bSjyv4Ogp5pBhMGICBGtaOiQIdgYw8AJC_OoCwsCyB3WsrI7DW16JhXAarf2QuPDaLgckIIrs/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4281.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNoSpacing">You might think that I spent a while in here oohing and
aahing over the fossils before hopping onto the park’s trail system. And
normally you’d be right. But the Agate Fossil Beds Visitor Center is home to
something even more valuable – and arguably more fascinating – than even its
rare and unusual fossils: a massive collection of Native American artifacts
from the Lakota tribe. Apparently, the original owner of the Agate Springs
Ranch, James Cook, became close friends with Chief Red Cloud, the Chief of the Oglala
Lakota tribe in the 1870’s. This friendship lasted for decades and spanned a
period of time when the Lakota were being driven onto reservations with their movement
greatly restricted. Although James Cook did his best to advocate for his Lakota
friends, they saw that their way of life was rapidly disappearing, and consequently
gifted him many items that were important to them, to preserve and protect for
future generations to see. Remarkably, this collection survived in the family’s
care for nearly a hundred years – originally residing in the living room of his
farmhouse at the ranch, then staying with the family until the 1960’s when it
was donated to the National Park Service. I spent hours wandering through the
exhibits showcasing hundreds of these artifacts, completely in awe of the
incredible craftmanship of the various pieces, but also really touched by how well-preserved
everything was. The collection includes delicate artwork, beaded moccasins, buckskin
shirts with porcupine quill embroidery, etc., all of which is probably
remarkably hard to keep in good condition – especially for that length of time,
and ESPECIALLY for a farm family in rural Nebraska. Each and every piece that
survived intact is a reminder of the friendship that the Cook family and the
Lakota shared, tended with care and dedication. Definitely one of the best
exhibits I have seen in a long, long time.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTBNmEVtrygwXPCXvrpYECk3CaZGpWONv06V_36Y9DY1rAxMrM4NUxa0Lu78jyoZcuZs4yVV82yB2rmYWR5yOZBKCLjehJfAfrwIlDEcawDeBpe9_WbWLtx3sSs8PBfEQwfn83Pn6OLgY/s2048/Edit-IMG_4265.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTBNmEVtrygwXPCXvrpYECk3CaZGpWONv06V_36Y9DY1rAxMrM4NUxa0Lu78jyoZcuZs4yVV82yB2rmYWR5yOZBKCLjehJfAfrwIlDEcawDeBpe9_WbWLtx3sSs8PBfEQwfn83Pn6OLgY/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4265.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A (modern) example of a Plains hide painting called the "winter count", which was intended to record the events of the past year. This particular example appears to record the entire history of people in North America through the 1960's, however.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK_Np-ckqdjufDXO3Fg5RZ9rk15UeUl5nlgtrjCEWDol6jcrhhX7woWCC2OTdOIdgJU8Hafv9qO5njzan1LGpSrQLxIvlJYHthu2sU8Gyg86q9IszZdFf_1pNdazliWMgUxXh7tbo5rOU/s2048/Edit-IMG_4266.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK_Np-ckqdjufDXO3Fg5RZ9rk15UeUl5nlgtrjCEWDol6jcrhhX7woWCC2OTdOIdgJU8Hafv9qO5njzan1LGpSrQLxIvlJYHthu2sU8Gyg86q9IszZdFf_1pNdazliWMgUxXh7tbo5rOU/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4266.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amazing beaded moccasin gifts</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_8NuoCefW84plVN3U5uO14dyPGYT1YBPXD6NFhAWZDeet5iFyVQr1BDQP1gRbbXucm_46cblfi999E7zDIVAjifkk_XepqaxXm2s7D43LQ4xRQxZ2t1n_X5Rv4n8rOmwVHfve4ILuPkk/s2048/Edit-IMG_4269.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_8NuoCefW84plVN3U5uO14dyPGYT1YBPXD6NFhAWZDeet5iFyVQr1BDQP1gRbbXucm_46cblfi999E7zDIVAjifkk_XepqaxXm2s7D43LQ4xRQxZ2t1n_X5Rv4n8rOmwVHfve4ILuPkk/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_4269.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pipe bags from three generations of Red Cloud's family, decorated painstakingly with porcupine quills</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaKOxnnSiLGZSShbvtDBXZfuwTv0fsKJe-kAIkUX-bCTqpSTcQfKtqb4P0efP-BeMcl4SpbsLuTkvn5xfQYriAqCORFt9jZ0OOz9dTjtN5AvBhLrkOnKzjZgCLUFQVdL8N5R37iRrztm8/s2048/Edit-IMG_4270.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaKOxnnSiLGZSShbvtDBXZfuwTv0fsKJe-kAIkUX-bCTqpSTcQfKtqb4P0efP-BeMcl4SpbsLuTkvn5xfQYriAqCORFt9jZ0OOz9dTjtN5AvBhLrkOnKzjZgCLUFQVdL8N5R37iRrztm8/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_4270.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A buckskin ceremonial dress which would have been worn by Red Cloud's wife</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN5w_db2wDojd-VUAapGJSvbGrgZzvYZ0xQn8EzdzaDPUfkV1gCNW3oVgZLg-V5guMak0yvyDoi-XKWOm1AGtRvywypI25xUGnH8X1yv6iS6nui1VTKD9uBSfLIdH03RV5YxyQ-47eFCY/s2048/Edit-IMG_4274.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN5w_db2wDojd-VUAapGJSvbGrgZzvYZ0xQn8EzdzaDPUfkV1gCNW3oVgZLg-V5guMak0yvyDoi-XKWOm1AGtRvywypI25xUGnH8X1yv6iS6nui1VTKD9uBSfLIdH03RV5YxyQ-47eFCY/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_4274.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More awesome bags</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYrmYPykTA4DrfyBCL5DJZeK5x66Unjasj54kGw4RnLo_R9xnhyphenhyphenZzQ8fpVCmU9SGMDMFtPnCu2bYVPK5xqe5XOB0sO9COFHqAUzlxHDjt_WNeL8k9gocJmlRbaUjsQt4c1LiaArOJsnY8/s2048/Edit-IMG_4275.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYrmYPykTA4DrfyBCL5DJZeK5x66Unjasj54kGw4RnLo_R9xnhyphenhyphenZzQ8fpVCmU9SGMDMFtPnCu2bYVPK5xqe5XOB0sO9COFHqAUzlxHDjt_WNeL8k9gocJmlRbaUjsQt4c1LiaArOJsnY8/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_4275.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An intricately-embroidered child's buckskin suit, gifted to James Cook's firstborn son.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVthtE6A3cAvxfQcCAO9RL07G8taLlizyannPhO4y5V72icGieo1x_aH1AuHTjt8D9QkcJ4kXngx-MW0h8NESSzjHsjoo3da77MQfQto91Hii9FjilA_HCVuMFLwPaYOW9bMJV_KYtmrY/s2048/Edit-IMG_4277.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVthtE6A3cAvxfQcCAO9RL07G8taLlizyannPhO4y5V72icGieo1x_aH1AuHTjt8D9QkcJ4kXngx-MW0h8NESSzjHsjoo3da77MQfQto91Hii9FjilA_HCVuMFLwPaYOW9bMJV_KYtmrY/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4277.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Saddle with detailed quill embroidery on blanket, plus some rad gloves and several unique dance wands.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNoSpacing">Eventually, though, I ran out of artifacts to look at and
stories to read, and I had to move on to the rest of the park if I wanted to
see everything before the end of the day. Agate Fossil Beds is pretty light on
hiking trails, having only two. The first one, which leaves directly from the
Visitor Center, takes hikers through the Niobrara river basin and up through the
plains to a couple of the original major fossil bonebed excavation sites. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Grabbing some trail mix for a snack, I set out on the
short hike. It had kind of turned into one of those “aggressively bright” days –
you know, the kind of day where the sky is really gray and the ground is really
yellow but the sun is really bright so all of that light just keeps reflecting
off of everything, washing out the landscape and making it really hard to see.
So I squinted my way down the trail until, very abruptly, I found my eyes
soothed by a thick swatch of deep green rushes that led to a patch of large
healthy-looking bushes and small trees. <o:p></o:p></p></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVGDv-Z-U-gBzXXZ0ariKG_a3NamDKwFTll1CzgrZaWYjIs77xuXj3yMJetZpRwYMF4x1TUlgW9oC6UG9zOv6YCVlv8LzHpJeeSgFd-0xcvSj8d_w_aPPJ3wgHSw1IM78grrCgpG9V-LY/s2048/Edit-IMG_4292.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVGDv-Z-U-gBzXXZ0ariKG_a3NamDKwFTll1CzgrZaWYjIs77xuXj3yMJetZpRwYMF4x1TUlgW9oC6UG9zOv6YCVlv8LzHpJeeSgFd-0xcvSj8d_w_aPPJ3wgHSw1IM78grrCgpG9V-LY/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4292.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNoSpacing">Apparently, I had reached the Niobrara River! It was jarring
to suddenly find a lush tree-lined river springing out of the bright, almost
desolate plains. I find it hard to imagine how it would have felt to a pioneer
making their way across the Great Plains – not knowing a river was nearby, and
then suddenly coming across it like this purely by lucky happenstance. I
imagine that it probably felt like salvation.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4XUO83qXBhcGQ0EHmehF5ry4_LtPzlNlktSpf-yCRAeEDY5LvTNnLKKw9BUn9Vg4in1uVK9V8tVKAmX2JFholjEd8dsYwnPmpwbVqcxlgFDFfSnFpMSAvGSHzDeYrF1dwxPOE9KMtsiU/s2048/Edit-IMG_4294.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4XUO83qXBhcGQ0EHmehF5ry4_LtPzlNlktSpf-yCRAeEDY5LvTNnLKKw9BUn9Vg4in1uVK9V8tVKAmX2JFholjEd8dsYwnPmpwbVqcxlgFDFfSnFpMSAvGSHzDeYrF1dwxPOE9KMtsiU/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_4294.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNoSpacing">All too soon, the trail removed me from the riverbed, and
I was back in the bright, harsh, unforgiving plains again. They certainly have
a peaceful beauty about them, but I can also see that looking at this landscape
for weeks on end may have been a little insanity-inducing for early travelers.
Man, it is a LOT of grass. Fortunately, I was not traveling across the plains
for weeks – I was traveling across them for about a mile, which is hardly
anything at all. <o:p></o:p></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnKYv0WBA8QSjyvAQo4DX8MQ95ifYff7COdH73WMmqYpKPoMKX0FjjL9aSG6jCRSF2XUHGPc2jeV-hEL1A39zIYzyeyDWBt9_zUkKrcxuh9DycRqWR32yrauVlcaW0eEdOEYPywxHFlTM/s2048/Edit-IMG_4298.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnKYv0WBA8QSjyvAQo4DX8MQ95ifYff7COdH73WMmqYpKPoMKX0FjjL9aSG6jCRSF2XUHGPc2jeV-hEL1A39zIYzyeyDWBt9_zUkKrcxuh9DycRqWR32yrauVlcaW0eEdOEYPywxHFlTM/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4298.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2QdeI5zMydd6M5HcIvAhDvaW-E1K3pXm1yLx5Di6b8AvXZhJebCIx6QZGfgr8Fr_cz2vr2ydFLhLoBTnMZUaJqekutW8KDw_jDZYGcezrSZTpXb4raJJIyAZ1F2lwoPTRGjtfxDPQfEU/s2048/Edit-IMG_4300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2QdeI5zMydd6M5HcIvAhDvaW-E1K3pXm1yLx5Di6b8AvXZhJebCIx6QZGfgr8Fr_cz2vr2ydFLhLoBTnMZUaJqekutW8KDw_jDZYGcezrSZTpXb4raJJIyAZ1F2lwoPTRGjtfxDPQfEU/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4300.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I soon arrived at the knolls that once contained impressive bonebeds, now blasted and scoured free of material, the bones all safely ensconced in the building I had just left and various museums scattered across the country. I really don’t know what I expected. I guess I figured that maybe they would have left a few less-valuable fossils in place, or put in some dioramas depicting excavations. But instead, I just ended up circling a few hills of craggy white rock with really nothing to show for it. I did get a cool view of the Niobrara River valley though, and I saw a bunny having a nap in the shade, so I guess I enjoyed the walk anyways.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEingfFUK-nTiJl1oGq-1EvOLyFf4Be_ReThozx1zRhtpy3bIiZy42MCMPjNhbXTOiRXIcWNZ7IvS86sKf1MebJV8kKb8k2o0gIgOtKTXKLHyclc2gpxokK3-x5JZJu2m47iG5kKWcXejyc/s2048/Edit-IMG_4306.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEingfFUK-nTiJl1oGq-1EvOLyFf4Be_ReThozx1zRhtpy3bIiZy42MCMPjNhbXTOiRXIcWNZ7IvS86sKf1MebJV8kKb8k2o0gIgOtKTXKLHyclc2gpxokK3-x5JZJu2m47iG5kKWcXejyc/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4306.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pictured: Rocks, no bones or any defining features</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW2z3VeY4FcCeH8ozUnI8s2USsijXAn-ZAykk7ry-bXs7tvNS1QRiqHqqqhyphenhyphen1TPBjMnOJusDSjMZkkRtjPIsH4chlFbcxpzGb2E_cG6HMYwyNeRuVjb_V79upvy9eKA6o5szeQ24_3qLA/s2048/Edit-IMG_4312.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW2z3VeY4FcCeH8ozUnI8s2USsijXAn-ZAykk7ry-bXs7tvNS1QRiqHqqqhyphenhyphen1TPBjMnOJusDSjMZkkRtjPIsH4chlFbcxpzGb2E_cG6HMYwyNeRuVjb_V79upvy9eKA6o5szeQ24_3qLA/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4312.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Niobrara River Valley with a field taking advantage of the water that the river can provide.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF1pAPltEtF3a1j8cZrrslPFN6mC2o2LJiq4NSrCT8FWMjF68qLDDolq495vg875e1d0TXu5mY-jkANQ4TJvfOM_5m40ev2LRlB2D1yUYNDuyy8OEjOC1ci6-3f_Jn4-Dufv_1Dim_IK8/s2048/Edit-IMG_4317.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF1pAPltEtF3a1j8cZrrslPFN6mC2o2LJiq4NSrCT8FWMjF68qLDDolq495vg875e1d0TXu5mY-jkANQ4TJvfOM_5m40ev2LRlB2D1yUYNDuyy8OEjOC1ci6-3f_Jn4-Dufv_1Dim_IK8/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4317.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There is totally a bunny snugged up in one of the little overhangs in that rock</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQMkCt0Lwoaudc-ENVxfphVKqbNS-vZYDaHU5dSboLN0fEN9oQ_9EkXY_Js30KwJ8O86oAq-zBZvheqK9WKfsguYdJTWr-wm2pR6d1fMp-NETQi4sSYfvoi5qtK1OtPtxzhAa7OJAhkdM/s2048/Edit-IMG_4314.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQMkCt0Lwoaudc-ENVxfphVKqbNS-vZYDaHU5dSboLN0fEN9oQ_9EkXY_Js30KwJ8O86oAq-zBZvheqK9WKfsguYdJTWr-wm2pR6d1fMp-NETQi4sSYfvoi5qtK1OtPtxzhAa7OJAhkdM/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4314.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looks like I woke him from his nap</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0OLJk0T3_PxPM6Bg56T-GUdWW_wa5s8LmN4QC9ZwOROvqeZOctSCi3Cwd0vonqoaLUyKtjKnkXA1ecYQiYa51H7mgbdT8Kw6dJzBN_zYNPIr8cj9dNNVKpzTJ6a0w1-AcbN9x7PexoXI/s2048/Edit-IMG_4329.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0OLJk0T3_PxPM6Bg56T-GUdWW_wa5s8LmN4QC9ZwOROvqeZOctSCi3Cwd0vonqoaLUyKtjKnkXA1ecYQiYa51H7mgbdT8Kw6dJzBN_zYNPIr8cj9dNNVKpzTJ6a0w1-AcbN9x7PexoXI/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4329.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggJC35MuRe-B3aWC83JfrBziZk4Xmelad7tUED8jtCq7Jb0XIGfg8c4nIeKgnm4O9mAPqL-FFbOrL0lfQ6I667L-_3TKJt2Exdz-7oijxEV6bsqi7U4S9lQc-m1DeavirryJ0Lt7L20So/s2048/Edit-IMG_4332.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggJC35MuRe-B3aWC83JfrBziZk4Xmelad7tUED8jtCq7Jb0XIGfg8c4nIeKgnm4O9mAPqL-FFbOrL0lfQ6I667L-_3TKJt2Exdz-7oijxEV6bsqi7U4S9lQc-m1DeavirryJ0Lt7L20So/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4332.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-ORbfGVRRyRb2v2_0uUF8yIcrWGUGkVgIoVuWTP_6DmCpro6a-PEMAELG-Lca2qKec59gBJg8gM8CAyaaVxCCWlbjA928dNezPdEEX80FjOjNnhnA9Y5sGZXK0_1V3DhNAOrBcfDLBo8/s2048/Edit-IMG_4337.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-ORbfGVRRyRb2v2_0uUF8yIcrWGUGkVgIoVuWTP_6DmCpro6a-PEMAELG-Lca2qKec59gBJg8gM8CAyaaVxCCWlbjA928dNezPdEEX80FjOjNnhnA9Y5sGZXK0_1V3DhNAOrBcfDLBo8/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4337.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNoSpacing">A bit disappointed, I headed back down the trail, back
through the sea of grass. I did find myself looking at all of the knolls
scattered across the landscape, though, wondering if they still hold more
fossils waiting to be discovered. Surely, early paleontologists have crawled
all over this area looking for exactly that. But… people have been known to miss
things. You really never know!<o:p></o:p></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRduxb42cQl1uU-UvD3JiMjr_iDrRcOpyF-5-jlwnneHSYtWQFktybGm7EHiQvGTrbYG80Smsphp_WMS8DMTgoWH9KMAKbdYwAdr0JENd0rQY_uKH_r81N0ud2OC1e6BDj09e4JL-o4TA/s2048/Edit-IMG_4340.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRduxb42cQl1uU-UvD3JiMjr_iDrRcOpyF-5-jlwnneHSYtWQFktybGm7EHiQvGTrbYG80Smsphp_WMS8DMTgoWH9KMAKbdYwAdr0JENd0rQY_uKH_r81N0ud2OC1e6BDj09e4JL-o4TA/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4340.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2CKqZxrCkptOTzaYDe0ZzLPpUGLpuVcR2DLO8FWdb4RC-RJ5ODvYtoNoOK71eDWjXMeMhyphenhyphen4xixEDCMZ6nhSE-XdMPhmfrjLukK-aqvaLMv_0V983e5twA9roiQt7zsSI-8y1aysJcgrQ/s2048/Edit-IMG_4349.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2CKqZxrCkptOTzaYDe0ZzLPpUGLpuVcR2DLO8FWdb4RC-RJ5ODvYtoNoOK71eDWjXMeMhyphenhyphen4xixEDCMZ6nhSE-XdMPhmfrjLukK-aqvaLMv_0V983e5twA9roiQt7zsSI-8y1aysJcgrQ/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_4349.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This bird was enjoying this bench, at least</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEeaEKBE06t3-o_wi2JaO3NpkPoWcic70LGrKx9eTlJM4o2xR-ZPQ3MkCFYtMKDHhS7BLqZTIKxZXS_lXw6GZsFkmZ55aniXzy19Rr0XXyJW3JtV4WwFzZ9xSxbZ81YYrkfCRPsaIyOpk/s2048/Edit-IMG_4354.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEeaEKBE06t3-o_wi2JaO3NpkPoWcic70LGrKx9eTlJM4o2xR-ZPQ3MkCFYtMKDHhS7BLqZTIKxZXS_lXw6GZsFkmZ55aniXzy19Rr0XXyJW3JtV4WwFzZ9xSxbZ81YYrkfCRPsaIyOpk/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4354.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNurVbor2rad3d_dgEibQk526ln4iGX-2kzOFORtbLdEMObjMDfPR18Lwp69XpkE06-UkoKmb1VN7mraDiFPYcdrxhBK-BaM6XrhYSbNdpkDqwMaJ7r95fsaF7qXbOgF_T7rQ7xNb_hJw/s2048/Edit-IMG_4355.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNurVbor2rad3d_dgEibQk526ln4iGX-2kzOFORtbLdEMObjMDfPR18Lwp69XpkE06-UkoKmb1VN7mraDiFPYcdrxhBK-BaM6XrhYSbNdpkDqwMaJ7r95fsaF7qXbOgF_T7rQ7xNb_hJw/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4355.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just a bench in an ocean of grass</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq-Q2RAe-_UdDW17PSFkhniIuHfIqzZu0VbstehfqS46sKmCEn77i7rJfn7PvWlL4etojGr04PyofdyFoTxjqSXYRPH0_NyCn-EuJtCfxVrbNky7JZrCOjPxGPTTgEFZXcKR2Cc4bVHqg/s2048/Edit-IMG_4367.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq-Q2RAe-_UdDW17PSFkhniIuHfIqzZu0VbstehfqS46sKmCEn77i7rJfn7PvWlL4etojGr04PyofdyFoTxjqSXYRPH0_NyCn-EuJtCfxVrbNky7JZrCOjPxGPTTgEFZXcKR2Cc4bVHqg/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4367.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Back through the Niobrara River Valley</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNoSpacing">Reaching the parking lot a short time later, I hopped in
Jane and drove back towards the entrance to the park, where the other trailhead
was. I parked Jane adjacent to a spectacular field of sunflowers with the
intent of snapping a few nicer “posed” shots later – I hate to take up space
doing this usually, but it doesn’t matter here because I’m the only one around!</p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI9X5IPnw2S5t3R2_xwjEUi1ksoMjhRCAAObi4n8ef0AOX0rGMwvsovKNRCxT3Z2vFY-QdJ8NKTz1iczDS7LAFRHS7W4PaNOjb8vUsowT6LgRTHGzy0ANK7D3dVEl35TSLPQldtK0v2X8/s2048/Edit-IMG_4385.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI9X5IPnw2S5t3R2_xwjEUi1ksoMjhRCAAObi4n8ef0AOX0rGMwvsovKNRCxT3Z2vFY-QdJ8NKTz1iczDS7LAFRHS7W4PaNOjb8vUsowT6LgRTHGzy0ANK7D3dVEl35TSLPQldtK0v2X8/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_4385.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNoSpacing">The trail is another short one, involving a brief
out-and-back with a loop towards the end that winds through the bluffs for views
of some Daemonelix fossils still entombed in their outcrops. This one, at
least, was supposed to give me some really cool stuff to look at! I tackled it
with gusto, double-timing it to the nearby knolls where fossils were reputed to
lurk.<o:p></o:p></p></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKXm5ZZBuwwgPIUvKziCPoarfMVmGXJ5VWbu-KNcYjMjynsTMlFy3dspFcw5pKon5XSiMgX87nL1KJouPnNHPOU3vaNnqohtEDZHLw-vmajZaKCiXmUj_ZtLXNvrZuKJGBWflxaklU_Mc/s2048/Edit-IMG_4389.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKXm5ZZBuwwgPIUvKziCPoarfMVmGXJ5VWbu-KNcYjMjynsTMlFy3dspFcw5pKon5XSiMgX87nL1KJouPnNHPOU3vaNnqohtEDZHLw-vmajZaKCiXmUj_ZtLXNvrZuKJGBWflxaklU_Mc/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4389.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv0btL8b-xW6szGI9NyoXD4SK__k3JCtaW6_9Qr5zlgTdr-ZrBHEnq3Qrl1tOJ4tGNegc9mOek5nP7v4PoD4XFMKyT9Ij1elgW05oHm8e1hSw7XPYyAshbISBeOABQt4Jix516EKdEBAg/s2048/Edit-IMG_4390.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv0btL8b-xW6szGI9NyoXD4SK__k3JCtaW6_9Qr5zlgTdr-ZrBHEnq3Qrl1tOJ4tGNegc9mOek5nP7v4PoD4XFMKyT9Ij1elgW05oHm8e1hSw7XPYyAshbISBeOABQt4Jix516EKdEBAg/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4390.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The purple thistles in this patch of sunflowers are actually invasive, but they do make for a nice picture</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvb8Zca9JNQH3Ty7K-4EMsyn-ZEQB4t0aWgPPdYz-IhrMI2tPBVYkTrCMLu1_nu5yUyG6cIKnl5zxpjt_KZST9olPVMTImz9qcTWBz-GVAEffugCwtEGXP24LjKpiwl74lHp40_z31bA8/s2048/Edit-IMG_4395.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvb8Zca9JNQH3Ty7K-4EMsyn-ZEQB4t0aWgPPdYz-IhrMI2tPBVYkTrCMLu1_nu5yUyG6cIKnl5zxpjt_KZST9olPVMTImz9qcTWBz-GVAEffugCwtEGXP24LjKpiwl74lHp40_z31bA8/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4395.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOxPWSwvOhNz-vj-IX3j2XBxFI9jJ-LOzdfx6QhyphenhyphenaPgpwNrEFxalJsjGyGuQvUwqjKXLrKK7LHeAGNgNoEyvCPjlUb-wutJW9g0GuzYRbMYW4gAxs2oYKhlGw_RLWFVF70Rot7gdze-2I/s2048/Edit-IMG_4397.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOxPWSwvOhNz-vj-IX3j2XBxFI9jJ-LOzdfx6QhyphenhyphenaPgpwNrEFxalJsjGyGuQvUwqjKXLrKK7LHeAGNgNoEyvCPjlUb-wutJW9g0GuzYRbMYW4gAxs2oYKhlGw_RLWFVF70Rot7gdze-2I/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4397.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A random patch of petrified sand dune<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNoSpacing">Rounding one hill, I came upon my first exposure of Daemonelix.
Upon initial inspection, there was almost nothing to differentiate this
hillside outcrop from any other one around here – until, with the right
lighting, you could start to see the coiled fossils extending down into the layers
of rock below. There’s actually several of these traces in this outcrop, which
indicated that the beavers that made these burrows were communal, living in a
kind of colony similar to prairie dogs! Neat.</p></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyJ6prhgkrVKK9_hJ919X9xOysBwdaoEpBdzmmQ0_2SOIyR14cplR_7iFdysK1Aa5YWH-aINtcDm7IW6z1d8ZPAaYiFPXrNJcWkImieYHlYQEhBhfWkrmN603XukpCGRj-EcjWvNXIY6w/s2048/Edit-IMG_4407.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyJ6prhgkrVKK9_hJ919X9xOysBwdaoEpBdzmmQ0_2SOIyR14cplR_7iFdysK1Aa5YWH-aINtcDm7IW6z1d8ZPAaYiFPXrNJcWkImieYHlYQEhBhfWkrmN603XukpCGRj-EcjWvNXIY6w/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4407.jpg" width="640" /></a></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKHIvzbWfMLm27mktwXXiKSK2dt62VpHI9PL55NTEVMyvXeX0414yAUlGnD_LOG5_uCHHI7bEfNaXPHMsbZyx9SgEPPCCKynaY2ngR_n2LGjJ00NiCNSc8BaAUqeUOHK7t8DtQkcdW6Yo/s2048/Edit-IMG_4402.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKHIvzbWfMLm27mktwXXiKSK2dt62VpHI9PL55NTEVMyvXeX0414yAUlGnD_LOG5_uCHHI7bEfNaXPHMsbZyx9SgEPPCCKynaY2ngR_n2LGjJ00NiCNSc8BaAUqeUOHK7t8DtQkcdW6Yo/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_4402.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A very weathered, but actually visible Daemonelix burrow</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNoSpacing">Still, I was a bit disappointed. The exhibit in the
visitor center had gotten me interested in seeing one of these things in its
entirety, the way it would have been seen by a mystified paleontologist of the
late 19<sup>th</sup> century. So I carried on. A bit further along the trail,
and a very strange telephone booth-looking object came into view. Bizarre, but
hey, maybe people were accustomed to calling each other from the middle of a
hiking trail in the middle of rural Nebraska back at a time when pay phones
were prevalent!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">The trail marched right up to this booth and I found that
it was actually a large plexiglass enclosure covering a really excellently
preserved Daemonelix fossil. Here, finally, was the fossil I had been looking
for, poked right out of the hillside in all of its confusing glory!<o:p></o:p></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqZQXskELJkhcQGA73GSkmgnnlMK4BdgiiCklk-jiIl-b8qHfod7SJ4sjIVKvPmhGeUmyC-i1BO3HXvfaZVohfYXVEIRoYygXa5sSz_ycDBKCPvi-RDzUD2bC0nIg9D_eSDsXcSFvEvRc/s2048/Edit-IMG_4411.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqZQXskELJkhcQGA73GSkmgnnlMK4BdgiiCklk-jiIl-b8qHfod7SJ4sjIVKvPmhGeUmyC-i1BO3HXvfaZVohfYXVEIRoYygXa5sSz_ycDBKCPvi-RDzUD2bC0nIg9D_eSDsXcSFvEvRc/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_4411.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><p class="MsoNoSpacing">I wish that the burrow had not been encased in plexiglass,
but I know why it was: this rock is all very soft, and very prone to
weathering. The burrows probably erode out of the hillsides quite readily, so
without this shelter, this trail would soon feature no burrows at all! Take the
previous unprotected hillside as an example – there, the burrows were visible
but clearly eroded and crumbling. The ravages of time proceed quickly, here.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">I proceeded to loop around the bluffs, amusing myself
with imaginations of what it would have been like to be an early paleontologist
here. To wander around these very bluffs, chains of small, remote islands rising
out of a sea of grass extending to every horizon. To spend days, months, and
even years hopefully seeking a scrap of white bone or a strangely curved bit of
rock sticking out of a hillside, your only indication of a possible
paleontological gold mine. One could spend an entire lifetime – or at least your
entire career - here searching, and some did.</p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"> <o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMn8hQl6UUPkr1cPZAFPpkCDJylufndtvCD8egKVKF_yLev61iZAlyPMWlkoXZsQa3JDRWgzN1s4m9DtK2cfdDEGtSRls5ma_1daxwDNhfHq4L-VodprZe9-nZT2Ze61P13WXUMTnHPQM/s2048/Edit-IMG_4415.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMn8hQl6UUPkr1cPZAFPpkCDJylufndtvCD8egKVKF_yLev61iZAlyPMWlkoXZsQa3JDRWgzN1s4m9DtK2cfdDEGtSRls5ma_1daxwDNhfHq4L-VodprZe9-nZT2Ze61P13WXUMTnHPQM/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4415.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpc1n-VuYpPVgaoCQ9gib8xMDuHgpKYEravn-mOTFgsiMeFe2waaruyLxPNQDyqa7_iJ3seSRxAehdQnji3sdISGWLaYQUdsBlK-lJaVLLD0z2KWRcOZjFdY6FbVKEmJLRqcch1bsDH74/s2048/Edit-IMG_4423.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpc1n-VuYpPVgaoCQ9gib8xMDuHgpKYEravn-mOTFgsiMeFe2waaruyLxPNQDyqa7_iJ3seSRxAehdQnji3sdISGWLaYQUdsBlK-lJaVLLD0z2KWRcOZjFdY6FbVKEmJLRqcch1bsDH74/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4423.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGBYK6snnen-PzbQjr7z4Zb_V5u44kXNtVc_8dWW9F_-mdHkyyFalmVHhsaaImJ6pKZKFxBUxw7YT6uboLoWW1OwTSF9pkO7EgFNd5gbXD5fMmGqmonTSggkKbCejYCz635s8a3h0yLhU/s2048/Edit-IMG_4433.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGBYK6snnen-PzbQjr7z4Zb_V5u44kXNtVc_8dWW9F_-mdHkyyFalmVHhsaaImJ6pKZKFxBUxw7YT6uboLoWW1OwTSF9pkO7EgFNd5gbXD5fMmGqmonTSggkKbCejYCz635s8a3h0yLhU/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_4433.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A double-coiled Daemonelix! Neato (well, a lot cooler to see in person, if you're interested in paleontology)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8p-ns9C9qCyivqx-au5b1_uhV_5snX1WG9pHnc7WnFG7pCs-GLEKueulpzRSsfv98IMMnMHhTvor_siYwnkl61usokIPnPrJ5BWSTdkfFa-MAlJnDLfJJyxeGIPQgDB0fZqi-kvjzww0/s2048/Edit-IMG_4436.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8p-ns9C9qCyivqx-au5b1_uhV_5snX1WG9pHnc7WnFG7pCs-GLEKueulpzRSsfv98IMMnMHhTvor_siYwnkl61usokIPnPrJ5BWSTdkfFa-MAlJnDLfJJyxeGIPQgDB0fZqi-kvjzww0/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4436.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Erosion is an odd beast, isn't it</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA0PtQVisuXzWT4TeOprF4JmuYVJnVK18hRqM84P3wnKUcvxm4G4KmY7yhZU4gIq727QPH_w_x27KtrVT5ybbHBekbRLR3DnVyxJjKUK0DvJgn5O3M01Ldb_eba0U1Hn9om4LriVwo198/s2048/Edit-IMG_4438.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA0PtQVisuXzWT4TeOprF4JmuYVJnVK18hRqM84P3wnKUcvxm4G4KmY7yhZU4gIq727QPH_w_x27KtrVT5ybbHBekbRLR3DnVyxJjKUK0DvJgn5O3M01Ldb_eba0U1Hn9om4LriVwo198/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4438.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNoSpacing">I, however, did not intend to wander that sea of grass
endlessly in search of signs of ancient life. I had my own ancient artifact to
contend with: Jane. I arrived back at the trailhead fairly quickly (the trail
only being a mile long) and took the opportunity to set Jane up for a few
shots. When I say “a few shots”, I mean that I took about 30, but I’ll only
post a few here. I enjoy the juxtaposition of my “fossil” (well, more of an
archaeological novelty, but whatever) versus places and things far older, with
far more secrets. It’s good for a sense of perspective, you know.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioTpqVt8IIC014c2Az2xd0kf5cuzhtmZnRYdGK-jjjOcuW7avBTnZGm24Z-jRZaXfJrLBdOxr1ScGZW_c554A2B2S1RDquQN36fTagI5NCf9VukgfPxWd9Xw1uiA_isbb9eE_IRzAJgQI/s2048/Edit-IMG_4445.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioTpqVt8IIC014c2Az2xd0kf5cuzhtmZnRYdGK-jjjOcuW7avBTnZGm24Z-jRZaXfJrLBdOxr1ScGZW_c554A2B2S1RDquQN36fTagI5NCf9VukgfPxWd9Xw1uiA_isbb9eE_IRzAJgQI/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4445.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The monster hiding in the tall grass, waiting for the perfect moment for an ambush attack</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF3ulYiDB_bAvugJayQWWh1hHKyRwrHQYsGBwSn0y4cQh4eO_6aWfMBbpuljvaJFrPw5ruM3PB4hZrxsvZjJ5_brY77I8Vzklm6P8TeU501gR8bWDoIXUTVm5UU2uwwV2l1MXmjYrJVKI/s2048/Edit-IMG_4446.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF3ulYiDB_bAvugJayQWWh1hHKyRwrHQYsGBwSn0y4cQh4eO_6aWfMBbpuljvaJFrPw5ruM3PB4hZrxsvZjJ5_brY77I8Vzklm6P8TeU501gR8bWDoIXUTVm5UU2uwwV2l1MXmjYrJVKI/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4446.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhSQu9g6agvvKUbbUc76b9E8bRWH7jHj7bMd1n5C1FWGukbLwTiiz8LcqzIOAVjphJ94cxUd-LRWIkn-qzvR7mkoRJzKyBEiYdTsgEp65UR_JRDkn-83Bd1jit1nkWA_efnVjq_4I1-uI/s2048/Edit-IMG_4457.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhSQu9g6agvvKUbbUc76b9E8bRWH7jHj7bMd1n5C1FWGukbLwTiiz8LcqzIOAVjphJ94cxUd-LRWIkn-qzvR7mkoRJzKyBEiYdTsgEp65UR_JRDkn-83Bd1jit1nkWA_efnVjq_4I1-uI/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4457.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><p class="MsoNoSpacing">With my photo whoring done, I clambered back into the car
and set off back south across the ocean of grass, back to the safety of the
society of Scottsbluff. Whatever that is. I actually proceeded a little further
past town to visit Chimney Rock National Historic Site, the second Chimney Rock
I’ve seen on this trip! At this point, I’m feeling a bit invested in this
accidental side quest I’ve invented: a quest to visit every Chimney Rock in the
United States. It turns out that there are actually SIXTEEN Chimney Rocks in
the States! And now, I’ve been to (or at least glimpsed) four: Chimney Rock State
Park, NC; Chimney Rock in Capitol Reef National Park, UT; Chimney Rock National
Monument, CO; and Chimney Rock National Historic Site, NE. It turns out that
Montana has FIVE Chimney Rocks, California has three, and there are additional
ones in New Mexico, Maryland, Minnesota, and Idaho. I guess it’ll take a long time
for me to see them all, especially considering a couple of the Chimney Rocks in
Montana are actually giant mountains. Anyways, I was very excited to check the
Nebraska Chimney off my newly-constructed list! <o:p></o:p></p></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAWrnpdU5SvjaJlnSe7JehenvYJNdPzAD2A0TBV1OH0sM6kog8nV_RssNR4j4WFLePjyBnLeT_xx346YUwLnVNAonDKu-L5YRzOHW5dztnRfnSq12bAZ6CvFTLhvvGSqiCTwTo3YWBMyw/s2048/Edit-IMG_4462.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAWrnpdU5SvjaJlnSe7JehenvYJNdPzAD2A0TBV1OH0sM6kog8nV_RssNR4j4WFLePjyBnLeT_xx346YUwLnVNAonDKu-L5YRzOHW5dztnRfnSq12bAZ6CvFTLhvvGSqiCTwTo3YWBMyw/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4462.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There it is! The Chimney!</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNoSpacing">But then… I arrived. And wow, what a disappointment. Part
of the problem was that the haze was still quite bad in the Scottsbluff region.
Part of the problem was that I arrived in the late afternoon, and apparently
this landmark is best viewed with morning light due to the position of the parking
lot you have to view it from. And speaking of the parking lot – the MAJORITY of
the problem is that that’s the closest you can go to the stupid thing!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Optimistically, I pulled up in the parking lot and went inside the
museum, only to be informed that the cost of admission (to the museum) was $8,
and also that they closed in 10 minutes. Well, okay, no problem. I asked if there were any trails to
hike, as there was still plenty of daylight left, and the receptionist replied,
“Well… there’s kind of a trail on an unimproved road that leaves from a cemetery,
but we don’t let people go on that because the rattlesnakes have taken over it”.
WOW, what a statement!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Shockingly, I opted NOT to go on the rattlesnake-infested
graveyard trail, and instead just viewed the pointy rock from the parking lot
as apparently you are supposed to do. Here’s a photo I took:<o:p></o:p></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6VBTMMClDT0ztAndxi2MaAS6wvdhrHdeNq6eoc4koLltfhrk2gGXC3nY4rW4cU7E673Jj-VrZDa-6VBArcEqwg6-rQUkXH37CLBbCk_Kf67i44I1A5wfOO7pgVQ-hT_zYHDDT6-VYZfU/s2048/Edit-IMG_4465.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6VBTMMClDT0ztAndxi2MaAS6wvdhrHdeNq6eoc4koLltfhrk2gGXC3nY4rW4cU7E673Jj-VrZDa-6VBArcEqwg6-rQUkXH37CLBbCk_Kf67i44I1A5wfOO7pgVQ-hT_zYHDDT6-VYZfU/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4465.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">uuuuUUUUGHHHHHHHH</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3pVm2-auDH3yXGM50RRVkz27G1zhIxFxkvhbXuuvyAufCtjXNdxIUv6pqxTtxowL0UKVUfH20kuXHnDRNbG0tX2X25ks2JyAjkFO0m1vytwJEYPBHqlsKY8zkoz1M1HqS5IizqsYQOQY/s2048/Edit-IMG_4467.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3pVm2-auDH3yXGM50RRVkz27G1zhIxFxkvhbXuuvyAufCtjXNdxIUv6pqxTtxowL0UKVUfH20kuXHnDRNbG0tX2X25ks2JyAjkFO0m1vytwJEYPBHqlsKY8zkoz1M1HqS5IizqsYQOQY/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4467.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Somehow the wagon skeleton actually makes it look even more desolate</td></tr></tbody></table><br /> This may be the most garbage photo I’ve ever taken of my
car, and certainly of my car and something that would normally be a fairly cool
landmark! I hope you all can feel my disappointment through this photo.<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">I’m sure that normally on a beautiful day, this is
probably still a beautiful, impressive landmark. It would be even better if you
could go on a trail to see it up close, or at least from a different angle so
you didn’t have to stare into the sun. But alas, on the day that I went, this
was the opposite of an impressive landmark, and there was no trail to redeem
it. Especially disappointing considering that I really have no plans to return
to Nebraska anytime soon! Oh, well. These things happen sometimes.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">I returned to my campsite, certainly feeling more than a
bit grumpy, but cheered myself up with some hamburgers and s’mores and a nice
book. Overall, the day had been wonderful anyways – but wow, Agate Fossil Beds
sure didn’t have a lot of competition!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">As night fell, I found myself thinking back to the
collection of Lakota artifacts in that room at Agate. It is odd – and more than
a bit sad – to look up at the moon and realize that once upon a time, not so
long ago, the Lakota people had spent countless nights enjoying weather just like
this, looking up at the very same rock in the sky from the very same grassy
plains of their homeland. It is poignant to consider how their everyday items, evidence
of their way of life, are now relegated to words like “relics” and “artifacts”.
I can’t help but think that someday my life, too, will be reduced down to nothing
but relics, artifacts. If I’m lucky, that is. In pensive moments like this, it
is easy to see myself, holding on to bits and pieces of a bygone time, with my
archaic automobile, my frantic lunges towards simpler times, wilder places,
bigger skies. Things I was truly not born into, but feel the need to preserve
nevertheless. Perhaps, like many who came before me, my function in this world
is to remind others that although the world continues to turn, we should not
forget what used to be. The path once trodden is worth remembering, lessons
learned worth retaining.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">That bit of cosmic philosophy ironed out to my
satisfaction, I returned to my book.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Kelly signing out.<o:p></o:p></p><p></p>Kelly Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04271547498127096571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893125545466338016.post-7078453439003076662021-09-02T01:04:00.000-04:002021-09-02T01:04:01.016-04:00Haze is good for something, after all<p class="MsoNoSpacing">8-9-2021 <o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">-----<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Hello! New day, new post – you’ll note that this one has
skipped ahead by a couple of days, though. Last post was for Friday, 8/6, and this
post covers Monday, 8/9.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">That’s because I was completely embroiled with helping my
friend with her wedding, which was on the 7<sup>th</sup>, and completely
neglected to take any photos! Not that I would post my friend’s wedding photos
on a random blog like this anyways. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">I also visited another friend and her fiancé in Boulder
on the 8<sup>th</sup>, and me being tired and them being tired, mostly all we
did was eat and catch up. So again, nothing to report on when it comes to
snazzy picture-laden blog posts. But it was a great weekend, and I was glad to
have gotten to see my friends!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">But now it’s time to get back on the road – I’m tired of cities
and ready to go plop myself somewhere new and kind of remote.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Where does one go, when looking for solitude in Colorado
in August? The answer is: not Colorado. The reality is that most areas of
Colorado are totally swamped by tourists in the summer (myself being one of
those tourists, of course). If you’re looking for somewhere to plop down and
recover from a whirlwind extra-social weekend, you have to get off the beaten
path. And what place is more off the beaten path than… Nebraska?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Yep, I’m going to Nebraska. There’s about three things I
wanted to see in the southwestern corner of the state, which actually happens
to be not too far from Boulder (surprisingly, only a three hour drive!). I
figured I wouldn’t be actively going to Nebraska anytime in the future, so being
already in Boulder, this was probably my best time to go. Longtime readers of
this blog may remember that I did pass through in 2017, but admittedly spent as
little time as possible in the state before escaping further north.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Okay, so Nebraska. You may be skeptical, but there are
some great things to see! My destination for the day was Scottsbluff (or Scotts
Bluff, depending on if you’re referring to the town or the park in the town).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Now the unfortunate part is that while I was in Denver, a
thick gray smokey haze had descended. You know, I was very excited to get to
travel through Colorado the ONE year that it’s not on fire – and it turns out
that it doesn’t even matter. Because although there was no smoke from local
fires, the fires in the Pacific Northwest were burning so viciously that the
smoke was wafting all the way across the continent, even reaching the East
Coast. I know I shouldn’t be complaining – there are a lot of people dealing
with those fires up close and personal, and those fires are no joke. But as I
set out north from Boulder on Monday morning, I did find myself wishing that the
smoke would stay over there. Everything was completely gray; Boulder’s famous
Flat Irons might as well have not existed. It was a very blah kind of day. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">I drove north into Wyoming, then east into Nebraska, and
things did not improve. Not for a long while, at least.<o:p></o:p></p></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWDJTCjATopqXR1pm7SN1I4BwJIZlpWYD2aO_z9hUKtxIhOh8t9VgIY9nicrcnU-p3WzmkvxC0dk5PxP8q-J_ZWUDtDlGrfz3jsc6VcTsgnYt0wtGyC0VRykKnIlfR2hpJCtz0Xyj57dg/s2048/Edit-IMG_3890.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWDJTCjATopqXR1pm7SN1I4BwJIZlpWYD2aO_z9hUKtxIhOh8t9VgIY9nicrcnU-p3WzmkvxC0dk5PxP8q-J_ZWUDtDlGrfz3jsc6VcTsgnYt0wtGyC0VRykKnIlfR2hpJCtz0Xyj57dg/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3890.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sign's advertisement misleading; did not find big blue skies</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2WuxnboS3GeKnoa7Q-rdU1j39AhgrpEqGaHHNCDI0NzlWHzU1w2s0jVqLD7Jz0h2AOEvCe0nZfLH4658vvssrd-oH8SONAyeE-AAp_HO98V4O18JlV-QRParCHnJ13MlPgYPzDiJWH9U/s2048/Edit-IMG_3891.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2WuxnboS3GeKnoa7Q-rdU1j39AhgrpEqGaHHNCDI0NzlWHzU1w2s0jVqLD7Jz0h2AOEvCe0nZfLH4658vvssrd-oH8SONAyeE-AAp_HO98V4O18JlV-QRParCHnJ13MlPgYPzDiJWH9U/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3891.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At least the speed limit is nice</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVlCa971DuoCr765MAL_OnHXnSNCqUcctsVXVxEUkfy6oMBuDdMT_EH0fsYJOxVx99WvnSfqG7vJp8JMtv2V3cWdLYAaLEOYhyYY5Wlo3DN59XrrIWrAQTZf1bFGUXOK_maKSLQlj4Hlo/s2048/Edit-IMG_3892.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVlCa971DuoCr765MAL_OnHXnSNCqUcctsVXVxEUkfy6oMBuDdMT_EH0fsYJOxVx99WvnSfqG7vJp8JMtv2V3cWdLYAaLEOYhyYY5Wlo3DN59XrrIWrAQTZf1bFGUXOK_maKSLQlj4Hlo/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3892.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Is this really the good life though??</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0T1TNnRLs8Vux1zGjS8IkLM05Dc8pw9pHaaeNDgHTGT6-idqOvyDtxFxPhcG6ZWk4dIe4c9V9kPbzgtGIQ0ZFM8Ikt0t9yMa-mMbv-9zAJLN-DxS_W5zIAsAzqTgmHVrL4I-Dxdi_yYs/s2048/Edit-IMG_3896.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0T1TNnRLs8Vux1zGjS8IkLM05Dc8pw9pHaaeNDgHTGT6-idqOvyDtxFxPhcG6ZWk4dIe4c9V9kPbzgtGIQ0ZFM8Ikt0t9yMa-mMbv-9zAJLN-DxS_W5zIAsAzqTgmHVrL4I-Dxdi_yYs/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3896.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">UGHHHHHHHH</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">I finally saw SOMETHING as I approached the town of
Scottsbluff. To my surprise, large dusty white cliffs rose right out of the
plains, towering majestically over the waving grass (and corn). I don’t know
why I was surprised, as I was going to Scottsbluff specifically to see these outcrops.
I guess I was just so used to seeing nothing but gray that I was surprised to
be able to see anything at all.<o:p></o:p></p><p><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7PQygg-bOohrWGCwSJSscYOLyHXCSX5q5La81ule7MBh7Pcy_2xYjZHFoqFZTlvahnsQ5Aq3lZWuBN7difkJIPaoGvZkYPMSUJoLjNVL3qRVWKLkBZlInN2FpwpXsidJOfVlw7_7559w/s2048/Edit-IMG_3897.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7PQygg-bOohrWGCwSJSscYOLyHXCSX5q5La81ule7MBh7Pcy_2xYjZHFoqFZTlvahnsQ5Aq3lZWuBN7difkJIPaoGvZkYPMSUJoLjNVL3qRVWKLkBZlInN2FpwpXsidJOfVlw7_7559w/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3897.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Land ho!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy3lsJI8ktTpAdAQgcgJMu_uGaSjyHS7ZOQ145PXZy1LvtOxqi9DXeTg2MK23S-zK5WUkh9Vop0zUnHSqE57e3z7b8fDKO2J1eRJ_EBXh10YO8gSesX9gf32Ob-IwkvWR28rT1h1b_T_A/s2048/Edit-IMG_3900.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy3lsJI8ktTpAdAQgcgJMu_uGaSjyHS7ZOQ145PXZy1LvtOxqi9DXeTg2MK23S-zK5WUkh9Vop0zUnHSqE57e3z7b8fDKO2J1eRJ_EBXh10YO8gSesX9gf32Ob-IwkvWR28rT1h1b_T_A/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3900.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8GBLRonc5dn57ljQAneCkA369ziJjrwTaU_clf8hWp-MdhRm_2ukGGwkex8_9dUAwzEv8wrDJoTbr2HclyAUatiK5jWJFTkGQlGEQE3Tf6Z4swHYevk8M-QtOrUYYa88qnosV4gHFjaI/s2048/Edit-IMG_3907.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8GBLRonc5dn57ljQAneCkA369ziJjrwTaU_clf8hWp-MdhRm_2ukGGwkex8_9dUAwzEv8wrDJoTbr2HclyAUatiK5jWJFTkGQlGEQE3Tf6Z4swHYevk8M-QtOrUYYa88qnosV4gHFjaI/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3907.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgAx5IvtfagKO5LI2Jysz1pChxQfIBGYMELTUJeJgIIAKTpAnWfpcyGPX105TWzBf__-t_LXzydfpGi7BSPoFbs44T13x4zvdQtbv1U2mf5ybzD5vMaFehrckk4VKNCzGuMko0XVUn_XE/s2048/Edit-IMG_3910.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgAx5IvtfagKO5LI2Jysz1pChxQfIBGYMELTUJeJgIIAKTpAnWfpcyGPX105TWzBf__-t_LXzydfpGi7BSPoFbs44T13x4zvdQtbv1U2mf5ybzD5vMaFehrckk4VKNCzGuMko0XVUn_XE/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3910.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A very Nebraska picture</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">I stopped by Riverside Campground first to set up my campsite,
or at least make sure that I had remembered to book one. I found the place
largely deserted, home to a few RVs but otherwise very little signs of life.
Perfect.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Having staked my spot, I then puttered back down the town’s
main drag and turned off onto the road leading from Scottsbluff, to Scotts
Bluff. Confusing, I know.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv4u9BAdmiuK0orsm-X_V-0jS3y_RtTdUPK1EaDWLm63cWgGdnXVy1J9HY60bPkO23Zwl__YFCK6lO0vrL4xbOmI2C3Jp4dn-xXmcmmGCxd381WqDaU0Q53PJH2BqsJIB7ZfBOiEUEmeM/s2048/Edit-IMG_3913.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv4u9BAdmiuK0orsm-X_V-0jS3y_RtTdUPK1EaDWLm63cWgGdnXVy1J9HY60bPkO23Zwl__YFCK6lO0vrL4xbOmI2C3Jp4dn-xXmcmmGCxd381WqDaU0Q53PJH2BqsJIB7ZfBOiEUEmeM/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3913.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>Even the thick, wooly haze couldn’t fully diminish the
beauty of this place. It must be spectacular on a clear day, even more so for
being in a most unexpected spot in a lonely corner of Nebraska. <o:p></o:p><p></p></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDx4H6XmqGKn3f3j8X3M67CORsPapS00VJZd91qOA3cICzuhTwjFUaErrG-BEmY-FVxF4f2hjv8etmRoU3kUXziIAa26rhvNVimC263V5cQS6i-G-Rsmfe84ePbm504R-44_lc9fegPBE/s2048/Edit-IMG_3914.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDx4H6XmqGKn3f3j8X3M67CORsPapS00VJZd91qOA3cICzuhTwjFUaErrG-BEmY-FVxF4f2hjv8etmRoU3kUXziIAa26rhvNVimC263V5cQS6i-G-Rsmfe84ePbm504R-44_lc9fegPBE/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3914.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">I stopped off at the visitor’s center, where the park
interpreters oohed and aahed over Jane and I oohed and aahed over some cool
exhibits about pioneer life in the area. Many of the exhibits detailed how
challenging Scotts Bluff was to get through, especially for wagon trains like
the pioneers used, because of the eroded badlands topography of the area.
Wagons don’t go through bluffs or ravines too well, you know. But I kind of had
to wonder about this. Nebraska is quite flat and consequently Scotts Bluff is
one of the most visible landmarks for many, many miles – you see it coming, in
other words. So it seems as if it would have been quite easy for the pioneers
to detour around instead of rolling right up to it and then struggling through
the challenging topography… which they would have been able to see for miles
away. But what do I know. I guess maybe when you’re driving through a largely unmapped
continent, sometimes it’s easier to just go through what you know, even if it’s
a real pain in your ass, than to try to explore for a better solution.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Scotts Bluff National Monument is a small park, with only
a couple of trails, so you could say that the area even now remains largely underexplored
– or at least not thoroughly traversed. I picked up a map from the visitor
center, but it turns out I didn’t need it, because all of the trails started
right from the front door. No way to get lost here!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">I first headed along a short interpretive trail that
takes you along the original path that the pioneers took back in the 19<sup>th</sup>
century on their way Out West. Some cool views here, and a neat reproduction
wagon, but I think my favorite thing about the trail was that you could still see
the indentations in the hillside from the wagon ruts, even nearly 200 years
later. Erosion is a funny thing.<o:p></o:p></p></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS-FimOXnUMxG5zN_-2hV__ik0HoaZTFxVPPqcHWEHUqkhlh8Rrf1-RO65xU3CnjgkVgt1ZCdO-xT4GvbJ8k-YJ2MvzBUg_q8APAMSUOE9KIkMUfhlYa1Sr6Bpy0gSH1lnehj_qdSdODw/s2048/Edit-IMG_3918.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS-FimOXnUMxG5zN_-2hV__ik0HoaZTFxVPPqcHWEHUqkhlh8Rrf1-RO65xU3CnjgkVgt1ZCdO-xT4GvbJ8k-YJ2MvzBUg_q8APAMSUOE9KIkMUfhlYa1Sr6Bpy0gSH1lnehj_qdSdODw/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3918.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXJUU9Y2clEAzGLke6jg9Cu3jt-MSKomh02f7jys1gADkyX7AsHmGDR-_2IkmdMrQtNRuEEHZ26YfGQxMlvb7V-131f4ZrYdbThleZfWXKskzCEoiUuFRMHgxrauW4itpkh9j-mYG5pOk/s2048/Edit-IMG_3927.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXJUU9Y2clEAzGLke6jg9Cu3jt-MSKomh02f7jys1gADkyX7AsHmGDR-_2IkmdMrQtNRuEEHZ26YfGQxMlvb7V-131f4ZrYdbThleZfWXKskzCEoiUuFRMHgxrauW4itpkh9j-mYG5pOk/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3927.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgduiPNuqkSxbsmnghL2PDpFpb3Fy58KtjxwbPre6_CHuInB5-WGreX1TgRvA3O2T7ZrzCQW5O8rJMFFzf74QOUQt2sx1hvHh09GiRO8iy7GR1qC7I2r5eH4o7v7_A32Krvv42XQ64HKz8/s2048/Edit-IMG_3939.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgduiPNuqkSxbsmnghL2PDpFpb3Fy58KtjxwbPre6_CHuInB5-WGreX1TgRvA3O2T7ZrzCQW5O8rJMFFzf74QOUQt2sx1hvHh09GiRO8iy7GR1qC7I2r5eH4o7v7_A32Krvv42XQ64HKz8/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3939.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A disgusting amount of haze ruining what would otherwise be an incredible shot! (I assume)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGHk-NLWt3iC04j_8xeu1lmnimZDaU06NDZUlkTNhti5r2uMM-6WJ-nasw2sq4eqsekvpiRb3_v-W0GuLbYMmDOXdKpTrbGDJUMAZaHkHf9UBKEGENgy9v_8qBnZYmSmebh4oC2gkQB34/s2048/Edit-IMG_3957.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGHk-NLWt3iC04j_8xeu1lmnimZDaU06NDZUlkTNhti5r2uMM-6WJ-nasw2sq4eqsekvpiRb3_v-W0GuLbYMmDOXdKpTrbGDJUMAZaHkHf9UBKEGENgy9v_8qBnZYmSmebh4oC2gkQB34/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3957.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA2kYAM5__yKPS4jnJg5gajP5Nv8yAxSpiiNuAoJKy5jUNhtmN7GlwyWrcP5SyKK7NurqIPxaDikllOyMkYII1vWmhcJnKFgt4IH46cPYeuSfh7mGGwpPqCBcWwRqUUEAmiHWbHfXxMac/s2048/Edit-IMG_3959.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA2kYAM5__yKPS4jnJg5gajP5Nv8yAxSpiiNuAoJKy5jUNhtmN7GlwyWrcP5SyKK7NurqIPxaDikllOyMkYII1vWmhcJnKFgt4IH46cPYeuSfh7mGGwpPqCBcWwRqUUEAmiHWbHfXxMac/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_3959.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdC6uyX-9uVP5wF7FN_l_-98Ds80vMb0U8M0gCi-cewi4R05D-PAUy2m7FeL7VUOnYxJgqt6ixK0jsoWWAlWew2Lrr5lKwWwdlYQBmk1RY75ntjzIUUq8GbJORupNpcAnWn7Jw3qlBEEA/s2048/Edit-IMG_3965.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdC6uyX-9uVP5wF7FN_l_-98Ds80vMb0U8M0gCi-cewi4R05D-PAUy2m7FeL7VUOnYxJgqt6ixK0jsoWWAlWew2Lrr5lKwWwdlYQBmk1RY75ntjzIUUq8GbJORupNpcAnWn7Jw3qlBEEA/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3965.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvK8tbtXinyeNqpHgLSwmAXuXHqFgXr5WxGh6Q1HoR9Cvm40hys6q-wRuLH5DygP3JefTZ2TUtv6ed0LtJ-SADy05LUPUS7PeDiz3T7ImLCDfPeoIr2ZAXqzuZDsXuH7oOqImecku-Zak/s2048/Edit-IMG_3976.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvK8tbtXinyeNqpHgLSwmAXuXHqFgXr5WxGh6Q1HoR9Cvm40hys6q-wRuLH5DygP3JefTZ2TUtv6ed0LtJ-SADy05LUPUS7PeDiz3T7ImLCDfPeoIr2ZAXqzuZDsXuH7oOqImecku-Zak/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3976.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZo-2JT-w3xml53Om48-DikK74Lj-kw7pQC9WpdqLbywkk8yaz7EhpMhFt5WhYLsO1NuqjfgK3IHjEQPMoUigamWDbc46u7MdJLRZM7JuFgGMlh2G8zBE-ZXDxMBkxStImy3R7mgPHhqI/s2048/Edit-IMG_3983.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZo-2JT-w3xml53Om48-DikK74Lj-kw7pQC9WpdqLbywkk8yaz7EhpMhFt5WhYLsO1NuqjfgK3IHjEQPMoUigamWDbc46u7MdJLRZM7JuFgGMlh2G8zBE-ZXDxMBkxStImy3R7mgPHhqI/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_3983.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">After poking around there a bit, I hopped onto the main
trail, which winds its way up the side of the bluffs to a looped path with
spectacular views on top. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the entire
path was paved – most trails aren’t, but the paved ones are much better for
accessibility, and of course they don’t erode into disrepair nearly as quickly.
I can only imagine the amount of effort that it took to haul asphalt up the
sheer sides of the bluffs to pave over some of the sections. Impressive, especially
for a small park!<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">As I traipsed up the bluffs towards the crest, the terrible
air quality really began to take a toll on me. Granted, the path was steep, but
given that I just hiked steeper paths at higher elevations when in Colorado, I
have to assume that my shortness of breath was related to all of the smoke in
the air rather than my fitness. I hope. Or maybe I just ate too many pizzas in
Denver.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Regardless of the cause, my frequent stops gave me a lot
of time to look at some cool plants and rocks and stuff. <o:p></o:p></p></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPuOJtGyuE3oUr8PlKqWeqRKYdek1hDUp2KlYdOMxMkr64rJbILx-SYOXaEbnXch-zsbUD3yU-fpFwQkEgxRUl1Phqbw4onyDDxtJ4R8JkvrqZWfdrTJIFjqgbFvU5Ied-nZNauSp7mGo/s2048/Edit-IMG_3992.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPuOJtGyuE3oUr8PlKqWeqRKYdek1hDUp2KlYdOMxMkr64rJbILx-SYOXaEbnXch-zsbUD3yU-fpFwQkEgxRUl1Phqbw4onyDDxtJ4R8JkvrqZWfdrTJIFjqgbFvU5Ied-nZNauSp7mGo/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3992.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc2s-z3ZSFBI5tBpCvoKiwRvvQITv_995R9cbGNuz0nP7P2OhwaDkMci-ajv4r3nOI-48GItxEArqCMSjHWpwCwu43iec_kTBrsyh-cw-kIeagV0gvzbSIwJPiQ3LfZrTJH0IJa9oSPO0/s2048/Edit-IMG_4013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc2s-z3ZSFBI5tBpCvoKiwRvvQITv_995R9cbGNuz0nP7P2OhwaDkMci-ajv4r3nOI-48GItxEArqCMSjHWpwCwu43iec_kTBrsyh-cw-kIeagV0gvzbSIwJPiQ3LfZrTJH0IJa9oSPO0/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_4013.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4C-1tZqSieN_842-F4zV7c0zrN4Izg3RsfoZj3OeYVdfCr6651EWwZXt5I6ku-IeRZTywAhrSg7gOLNV5qnwNDvaKl1TFZr98Bb7iPDOjFQnxM1n1tkx47c4tIEXvkOGW1o-xLfdKfV0/s2048/Edit-IMG_4026.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4C-1tZqSieN_842-F4zV7c0zrN4Izg3RsfoZj3OeYVdfCr6651EWwZXt5I6ku-IeRZTywAhrSg7gOLNV5qnwNDvaKl1TFZr98Bb7iPDOjFQnxM1n1tkx47c4tIEXvkOGW1o-xLfdKfV0/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4026.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmpnA04BFSY-aU670eHVUWz4jAqPUNNhMSyUzw1GgEaSN3Hw7pHHmzFaZOPTqYR3cqeLAVA7dC7gdRlU5Xn-MC81C52EYQOJN0_uq_9DypHgUs0gxCOYlEsG2e09no9_dRtCu5hxEbCVM/s2048/Edit-IMG_4041.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmpnA04BFSY-aU670eHVUWz4jAqPUNNhMSyUzw1GgEaSN3Hw7pHHmzFaZOPTqYR3cqeLAVA7dC7gdRlU5Xn-MC81C52EYQOJN0_uq_9DypHgUs0gxCOYlEsG2e09no9_dRtCu5hxEbCVM/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_4041.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">Now is a good time for a brief foray into the unique geology
of the bluffs. These sandy yellow-gray hills are very, very soft, being formed of very
loosely lithified fine terrestrial sediments. To explain further - to make a
good strong sedimentary rock, you need two things: a mineralizing fluid, and
pressure. Essentially, to take a pile of sand and make it into a rock, you need
a way to get all of the grains to stick together. If you run a fluid that is saturated
in elements like calcium through this sand, you can grow (precipitate) little
bits of calcite that stick the sand grains together. It helps if you can bury
the sand under a lot more sand, so the grains really get squished together and fluids
get forced through or even trapped, allowing further precipitation of minerals
and mechanically sticking the grains together as well. In the rocks that I
usually work on (limestones), the sediments were deposited in the ocean, so calcium-rich
seawater can very easily precipitate bits of calcite between grains, sticking
everything together and making it very strong. But these rocks, which were deposited
on land as parts of a muddy river system, did not have the benefit of an entire
ocean’s worth of calcium to precipitate little cements to stick all of the grains
together. All they had was lime-saturated groundwater. And they didn’t get
buried nearly as deeply as many marine rocks do, in part because sediments don’t
pile up on land as thickly and quickly as in the ocean (remember, most land is eroding,
not building), and in part simply because they’re not as old as the rocks I
usually work (they’re “only” 22 to 32 million years old). So, with less burial
and less cementation, understandably, these rocks are very soft. <o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">About halfway up the bluffs, I saw a really interesting
contact between two beds of rock. It looked almost like thick mud that had been
squished up through the overlying rock! I did some brief digging into Google
Scholar (just now) and it appears that there’s a few opinions on how this could
have happened, most relating to intrusion of fluids or precipitation of
displacing minerals or something. Whatever the cause, it does look really cool!<o:p></o:p></p></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7GDjqTA46abka7OgH8cOq4kw3SSvp1tsEcLYFtAtn8hSvwg4EHvN_uXPn8KAPHXZNnq7uPfhlZG4psztsRxM5mzZOtzb7H9ULdsXdgA3VMQqY2k4YMKOSOrgpQSCrw2c3cbz34YHeUZg/s2048/Edit-IMG_4031.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7GDjqTA46abka7OgH8cOq4kw3SSvp1tsEcLYFtAtn8hSvwg4EHvN_uXPn8KAPHXZNnq7uPfhlZG4psztsRxM5mzZOtzb7H9ULdsXdgA3VMQqY2k4YMKOSOrgpQSCrw2c3cbz34YHeUZg/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4031.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wow!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoN43xQPlPu05qvSH25m2kWKWFm1Xpi6YDINT_5-v7ff9KpSXFruSqZHYoaF3s9VDFkZj4zaFKPHK3am1gwMBIltTzzrxYGYmbgaSNZQ1MyLBUS_EXyhV4v8hpyrS4c4jFpXpxSCImRE4/s2048/Edit-IMG_4032.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoN43xQPlPu05qvSH25m2kWKWFm1Xpi6YDINT_5-v7ff9KpSXFruSqZHYoaF3s9VDFkZj4zaFKPHK3am1gwMBIltTzzrxYGYmbgaSNZQ1MyLBUS_EXyhV4v8hpyrS4c4jFpXpxSCImRE4/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4032.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">I continued staggering my way up the path, cursing the
smoke that seemed to be taking up residency in 50% of my lung volume. But in
retrospect, looking back, maybe that path was just pretty steep:</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ9RHCEsHA3BcaCU3WaS9C62IYFT4gSgvV0uatsAr7p8sdGRsKqd_G2ycCJlE972cIERUxu9vJc0N0swuctL-_7jz5084LXNrBaIYqcPlI6t-D9l6A5wrolFfwvKmmVKZj113UvJGPuYk/s2048/Edit-IMG_4073.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ9RHCEsHA3BcaCU3WaS9C62IYFT4gSgvV0uatsAr7p8sdGRsKqd_G2ycCJlE972cIERUxu9vJc0N0swuctL-_7jz5084LXNrBaIYqcPlI6t-D9l6A5wrolFfwvKmmVKZj113UvJGPuYk/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4073.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNoSpacing">I neared the top of the bluffs and found that the geology
had changed again, and of course I needed to take more pictures of it! Walking
adjacent to the cliff faces, it was easy to see really cool features like pipey
limestone concretions (created by lime-rich water percolating through only
certain parts of the rock), aeolian cross bedding (relict sand dunes), plant
root casts, and insect burrows! But what was most remarkable to me was how
fragile the rock was. I could crumble it with a touch quite easily, yet somehow
despite its fragility it has stood the test of time, even though the bluffs
have been exposed to the harsh winds of the plains for thousands if not
millions of years. There’s probably a metaphor for human life or something in
there.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj1qGtRAokAccEBXsliv50FWm5KmC5euOETe5E24s-kLU-bJN7-vX55BRJRdueSuZ-dgXc9mYX41F1kiLNXsl-qS6Wj_xaLMOsYHQX527kTlFOoIzmJNGUI0zxjBsQFfdsY76ZkllyrH8/s2048/Edit-IMG_4081.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj1qGtRAokAccEBXsliv50FWm5KmC5euOETe5E24s-kLU-bJN7-vX55BRJRdueSuZ-dgXc9mYX41F1kiLNXsl-qS6Wj_xaLMOsYHQX527kTlFOoIzmJNGUI0zxjBsQFfdsY76ZkllyrH8/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4081.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixDyZuWwyopCIthlJqO2paieqzgFwnpK-A63sOXwQQ6Qnq-356ys01-oFHuMwvdNXulFTFCWzOwkEDiSDnp6b9YZrUTMjPkhpPix-JttEGf2Qo_vb6pX7fJnC0ueDiuXif2ShiT0G20ms/s2048/Edit-IMG_4084.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixDyZuWwyopCIthlJqO2paieqzgFwnpK-A63sOXwQQ6Qnq-356ys01-oFHuMwvdNXulFTFCWzOwkEDiSDnp6b9YZrUTMjPkhpPix-JttEGf2Qo_vb6pX7fJnC0ueDiuXif2ShiT0G20ms/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_4084.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz0TJV11hsnPfc4PQuTU7vCJJe6frw9Meo8mDWS7z06DZ0CiN6ulxldaxNk4bR2qMP3XP6SU-WP2_IAz1nRpzDkoSFXvoc3J2WJbztnm412YItCcw-OFrvzb6suc3qMOYKH22lcPfzmw4/s2048/Edit-IMG_4088.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz0TJV11hsnPfc4PQuTU7vCJJe6frw9Meo8mDWS7z06DZ0CiN6ulxldaxNk4bR2qMP3XP6SU-WP2_IAz1nRpzDkoSFXvoc3J2WJbztnm412YItCcw-OFrvzb6suc3qMOYKH22lcPfzmw4/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_4088.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvHLoClmDuCdxcw3ieyx88ekn8FmyfCV-HvfjB8q5hhepm8cJ8PmzyHkD3aQq4vbKK63TDC7VUwJBZahUijUBD0l0Bn0UO6tRE-UBiMiP2zelsUPG8-Am9VHyULD5fDkYHuQbqrWBdQ4U/s2048/Edit-IMG_4091.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvHLoClmDuCdxcw3ieyx88ekn8FmyfCV-HvfjB8q5hhepm8cJ8PmzyHkD3aQq4vbKK63TDC7VUwJBZahUijUBD0l0Bn0UO6tRE-UBiMiP2zelsUPG8-Am9VHyULD5fDkYHuQbqrWBdQ4U/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4091.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Pipey" limestone</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTnMIWycoGgwoGeQ91eyB3s8wBeRZ_nD0hs-fW_1McMS4_Ohus7mtrqwUJzZLT027mbEArfPm7Xfas9fujiTHJo0tLsaJxK2G01-nMk2f9gEkRe1DGJsq6ih8UEP9Rbh2xZxi3PTfPI50/s2048/Edit-IMG_4092.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTnMIWycoGgwoGeQ91eyB3s8wBeRZ_nD0hs-fW_1McMS4_Ohus7mtrqwUJzZLT027mbEArfPm7Xfas9fujiTHJo0tLsaJxK2G01-nMk2f9gEkRe1DGJsq6ih8UEP9Rbh2xZxi3PTfPI50/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4092.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_gwdAd7KCsBcYoHbwbcBMar5EhDt3mlrVmQeIHW9EbDyMHJvep8Nzi6etsXTjvyT-jgbETzATZNBCV7_RIn81JYj6ThiUTnEOJGPwQivCGPFr1d3duhfv_znyonLnVMAVXcjORQ4MmpY/s2048/Edit-IMG_4093.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_gwdAd7KCsBcYoHbwbcBMar5EhDt3mlrVmQeIHW9EbDyMHJvep8Nzi6etsXTjvyT-jgbETzATZNBCV7_RIn81JYj6ThiUTnEOJGPwQivCGPFr1d3duhfv_znyonLnVMAVXcjORQ4MmpY/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4093.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAPeg_zCyUh2-DHDo7JbckZcgGfud9mO2u2DVkATitZcp7o3l7BX8RW4Q9XvpoViQhPeWAU4z2sAR7Q1MZzYC9nOBwvkmDFP7kHYmH83Ju8C7p6xunLKS1qrBjBg2DweqPZrJRWoe1JNA/s2048/Edit-IMG_4098.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAPeg_zCyUh2-DHDo7JbckZcgGfud9mO2u2DVkATitZcp7o3l7BX8RW4Q9XvpoViQhPeWAU4z2sAR7Q1MZzYC9nOBwvkmDFP7kHYmH83Ju8C7p6xunLKS1qrBjBg2DweqPZrJRWoe1JNA/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4098.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some very nice cross-bedding</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1OmjGdezCHKhmvMulLytmszWRNkCH8I-0OeRypguT0i7QGdYBjlFK8tXucmeT0Dg0xEAEknVOd10OUpvxCcGlY24PdONRo4rkTk789lQq3YRxv684XqIi2Kr3syVdx2Sp_xQ_nhwiDtI/s2048/Edit-IMG_4099.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1OmjGdezCHKhmvMulLytmszWRNkCH8I-0OeRypguT0i7QGdYBjlFK8tXucmeT0Dg0xEAEknVOd10OUpvxCcGlY24PdONRo4rkTk789lQq3YRxv684XqIi2Kr3syVdx2Sp_xQ_nhwiDtI/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_4099.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Insect burrows and/or plant root casts!</td></tr></tbody></table><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAfPUZIYeY-uOCljpdID96RvtUqoNu7PHEqTEN0a_qBbb-cj6inV-im7w_H95ft88RQexuj1G0Lee5-pATcsC5sJGoNke5RP3Yq-wY36CaCsJhzXdxMcEA1FQq66oS9hhuNT04HkvGxuY/s2048/Edit-IMG_4111.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAfPUZIYeY-uOCljpdID96RvtUqoNu7PHEqTEN0a_qBbb-cj6inV-im7w_H95ft88RQexuj1G0Lee5-pATcsC5sJGoNke5RP3Yq-wY36CaCsJhzXdxMcEA1FQq66oS9hhuNT04HkvGxuY/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4111.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNoSpacing">Speaking of human life, I found these deep handprints in
the cliff face at one point. They were cool but… actually really creepy. They gave
me the impression that someone was desperately trying to escape – but from
what? I hoped I wouldn’t find out.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIlnzacOYV2DjlMg0ezjEao-qKXTtf4Z6g3p3eUxFI9mDIb2imSf0IxHw27xiFOqV_FdIgw36mWndusqACIhemR6DM_gG-sg9Lu7pgmIVDpre40fEOTRTxvKEVCd7ZvXh7PkaNi8Chd0Y/s2048/Edit-IMG_4096.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIlnzacOYV2DjlMg0ezjEao-qKXTtf4Z6g3p3eUxFI9mDIb2imSf0IxHw27xiFOqV_FdIgw36mWndusqACIhemR6DM_gG-sg9Lu7pgmIVDpre40fEOTRTxvKEVCd7ZvXh7PkaNi8Chd0Y/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4096.jpg" width="640" /></a></div></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNoSpacing">Finally, I reached the top of the bluffs. You can
actually drive up here if you’re not too inclined to traipse up the steep trail
that I took – there’s a parking lot at the start of the bluff-top loop. But I
had opted to hike because I needed the exercise after a weekend of eating
pizza, and also I figured that there wouldn’t be many good views for Jane at
the top anyways due to the haze. Wandering around the loop briefly, I found my
suspicions to be true. I bet that normally, the top of this trail probably
affords spectacular sweeping views of the town of Scottsbluff, various other
bluffs in the area, and of course thousands of acres of corn fields. But on
this particular day, I could only see how thick the smoke haze really was.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvMVWMJPAEGp4qq9Q7cA1OiuyJwzKP0yywVTsKgQN01D5wYkjqzEmuT5pMe_5JMzf__nmNbSdk-WPtw_bDnHJQeJJTOnwMONVolJGfidBKgR2fXwk_L1LXBvpfZs5O8gplq4wWLdaLMMo/s2048/Edit-IMG_4103.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvMVWMJPAEGp4qq9Q7cA1OiuyJwzKP0yywVTsKgQN01D5wYkjqzEmuT5pMe_5JMzf__nmNbSdk-WPtw_bDnHJQeJJTOnwMONVolJGfidBKgR2fXwk_L1LXBvpfZs5O8gplq4wWLdaLMMo/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4103.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNoSpacing">So with dusk approaching – and a ranger appearing at the
top of the parking lot to tell the single vehicle up there to leave before the
park closed – I hiked myself right back down the trail. I had parked Jane
outside the gates so I didn’t need to worry about the park closing, but I can’t
say that I love to hike in the dark! I have to confess that I was disappointed
though and spent the majority of my walk back down the bluffs thinking about how
great these views would have been, had it not been for the haze. I mean, it’s
not like I’m going to be coming back to Nebraska anytime soon.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyDPiA2RkJFjP9Cz5OfxUhvy7IAw8VvMwKvRqspKucLHS1fXP2cb2WXhW6cJodAUddFnVGnC9nM2BEWUKxn-M3EpS_KclcQGeXaMNxitIbDzvufoxMIp9scxW2TeRcwKUl8OzmRICpJ8w/s2048/Edit-IMG_4113.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyDPiA2RkJFjP9Cz5OfxUhvy7IAw8VvMwKvRqspKucLHS1fXP2cb2WXhW6cJodAUddFnVGnC9nM2BEWUKxn-M3EpS_KclcQGeXaMNxitIbDzvufoxMIp9scxW2TeRcwKUl8OzmRICpJ8w/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4113.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaEtcMCzleWfdv8gOkOeoze9ZBtFirB-IELATU_LKrJ3CxSUdcPcWMI2xmoHmyys2mRSQTVMmGsC8MkPuHGs_Wc_FgQe0AcAtatm2bukWIjZWXS9AeJh3qj07FoZbOAbsD9EESwcLMKzM/s2048/Edit-IMG_4116.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaEtcMCzleWfdv8gOkOeoze9ZBtFirB-IELATU_LKrJ3CxSUdcPcWMI2xmoHmyys2mRSQTVMmGsC8MkPuHGs_Wc_FgQe0AcAtatm2bukWIjZWXS9AeJh3qj07FoZbOAbsD9EESwcLMKzM/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_4116.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7OKKEOXWd_VYA5OvJ18elf3gif2jIjDTOnUvqAr2xN1zuJIUW8KnTDSkJbsizqoVCzDwQqoKR_1rU81C4ENF3Ff7G1_VecaQSYQsq96FlFY4DUOvWuJRpvPFaWQLmIZqAI344KqsX2t4/s2048/Edit-IMG_4134.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7OKKEOXWd_VYA5OvJ18elf3gif2jIjDTOnUvqAr2xN1zuJIUW8KnTDSkJbsizqoVCzDwQqoKR_1rU81C4ENF3Ff7G1_VecaQSYQsq96FlFY4DUOvWuJRpvPFaWQLmIZqAI344KqsX2t4/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4134.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNoSpacing">But as I reached the base of the bluffs, I was abruptly
reminded that haze is good for ONE thing: dramatic, vibrant sunsets. I was
reminded of this, because I was suddenly treated to a radiant beam of brilliant
orange light that arrowed down from a break in the thick band of clouds, diffusing
through the haze and throwing the nearer bluffs into deep purple shadows even
as it backlit others. Oh, man. It was not a traditional pink-and-purple-majesty
sunset, but it certainly lacked nothing for drama and interesting lighting. I
spent the remainder of my hike thoroughly enjoying the show, as the sun
struggled to defeat the near-impenetrable clouds, first peeking through one
gap, then another. <o:p></o:p></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6aKtASs4JZlr0uF2yjyEGm1T0i9f0izw1w-GQ5JMRUQAi-QTui0ZE_G90pEejuF12uPinfDWPGCuPiSsube4gk818uv20QpybXBAwKOv0enkpO6z4YQJGuzsss8qLVjSCv5CyHq_URwU/s2048/Edit-IMG_4146.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6aKtASs4JZlr0uF2yjyEGm1T0i9f0izw1w-GQ5JMRUQAi-QTui0ZE_G90pEejuF12uPinfDWPGCuPiSsube4gk818uv20QpybXBAwKOv0enkpO6z4YQJGuzsss8qLVjSCv5CyHq_URwU/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4146.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZh46wLkC06a6tksJnq40OoSZzQouhw_OwZNcYR_1-YkLe-xw3pPIDwBCcxmRtW-OGH6gyzyBXO0jpyQOlnn_ZhA7utSOnUE91F-2SbhM8WkCwxvsFPtWjJYxUJ6Ga5ULt7oWLAEOKovI/s2048/Edit-IMG_4156.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZh46wLkC06a6tksJnq40OoSZzQouhw_OwZNcYR_1-YkLe-xw3pPIDwBCcxmRtW-OGH6gyzyBXO0jpyQOlnn_ZhA7utSOnUE91F-2SbhM8WkCwxvsFPtWjJYxUJ6Ga5ULt7oWLAEOKovI/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4156.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbsFAD-wwe16W4OdJYwrWJhHWTYzuHvE9RtsReXvHocE_jEApJOxqRUSkrO5mA-Z5gE7dwJi4qWP1T8RYR-Z2AtuOKvNsp7HXalU_gloimdHkbBtJb276C7NV_eP4ckAYifEZd_lm_DeI/s2048/Edit-IMG_4168.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbsFAD-wwe16W4OdJYwrWJhHWTYzuHvE9RtsReXvHocE_jEApJOxqRUSkrO5mA-Z5gE7dwJi4qWP1T8RYR-Z2AtuOKvNsp7HXalU_gloimdHkbBtJb276C7NV_eP4ckAYifEZd_lm_DeI/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4168.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGycoyF0xyITeePOxv6A7iVIonj8lDe0yRz42i2UCYMAyvjjsjWOl8YcUHOBOX5KeRuvnzEkxaINbO1ioizEJnnNrFEuD_5-CA8qNecotXJhLdTEk0aYHoxaHtRuNJzqAjFqTlnMKWSQ4/s2048/Edit-IMG_4172.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGycoyF0xyITeePOxv6A7iVIonj8lDe0yRz42i2UCYMAyvjjsjWOl8YcUHOBOX5KeRuvnzEkxaINbO1ioizEJnnNrFEuD_5-CA8qNecotXJhLdTEk0aYHoxaHtRuNJzqAjFqTlnMKWSQ4/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4172.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5KD4cceVSpUjAa3-gL5btfxZVacOLunvDqnNer49ps4f8WfR72_tdWJ7ihQ1bwmIxBgm9-LHxwFPHCjGvb_sUcaz2Fbbzz-I8NyVY78B97FT86Uzvl3qZr6R5DKQfFKmqnvBgEB1YTpY/s2048/Edit-IMG_4179.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5KD4cceVSpUjAa3-gL5btfxZVacOLunvDqnNer49ps4f8WfR72_tdWJ7ihQ1bwmIxBgm9-LHxwFPHCjGvb_sUcaz2Fbbzz-I8NyVY78B97FT86Uzvl3qZr6R5DKQfFKmqnvBgEB1YTpY/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4179.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBWEt7sLYMnJDRQBeh_McYFh5z1lkuksrIGS_sieZcn9zntQkwHqZcwZV1Ena6TplL4-dHI2aeN5vnKDybBG7brEYLE0aBPWbYZQxXAecTi8Il49w99GLlLft-F7fEXQzPGLoNj75YnNU/s2048/Edit-IMG_4196.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBWEt7sLYMnJDRQBeh_McYFh5z1lkuksrIGS_sieZcn9zntQkwHqZcwZV1Ena6TplL4-dHI2aeN5vnKDybBG7brEYLE0aBPWbYZQxXAecTi8Il49w99GLlLft-F7fEXQzPGLoNj75YnNU/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4196.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip3Iq1tq8BbU1m9O_uE5jV9h9yepUIJJEGvW2YW4AIGMbnZq5rXENWri2cvCaV6J_Bx87bw9_PSpos7n4KrA6-7tSrRJNcugyXyqixlFiJyQ3kL0wY6VekP6h4EZR13dhOH8hG8HqJePI/s2048/Edit-IMG_4210.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip3Iq1tq8BbU1m9O_uE5jV9h9yepUIJJEGvW2YW4AIGMbnZq5rXENWri2cvCaV6J_Bx87bw9_PSpos7n4KrA6-7tSrRJNcugyXyqixlFiJyQ3kL0wY6VekP6h4EZR13dhOH8hG8HqJePI/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4210.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0K99HXTmXyPAkdKDZuUp-AeiUXk7asY8fK-jzmNfhKahd_o-lZRiq0_euIdneUpqFi-y6lfesz2NGPYqOXmYcEUTEQMVYBh2_0UmaJrwrwSzK3xL9oRs6hC0zfyaAA77G5Ib53LvFdZU/s2048/Edit-IMG_4213.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0K99HXTmXyPAkdKDZuUp-AeiUXk7asY8fK-jzmNfhKahd_o-lZRiq0_euIdneUpqFi-y6lfesz2NGPYqOXmYcEUTEQMVYBh2_0UmaJrwrwSzK3xL9oRs6hC0zfyaAA77G5Ib53LvFdZU/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4213.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiknaQdFNwJjInqWocu9wNm6WD83AncfXWqDewM67usiITVuqgWHdCK80pdRx0GZ6IuaIs2HP9sZye_4iyB9mrCQkiWNFYB5APsuWhyphenhyphengRG8OGXWUj7gimXbRCUwBQqWky3k5ynsx-qnTYI/s2048/Edit-IMG_4216.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiknaQdFNwJjInqWocu9wNm6WD83AncfXWqDewM67usiITVuqgWHdCK80pdRx0GZ6IuaIs2HP9sZye_4iyB9mrCQkiWNFYB5APsuWhyphenhyphengRG8OGXWUj7gimXbRCUwBQqWky3k5ynsx-qnTYI/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4216.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGDjx12mQIDF4DIKLwK1k-ouaRfgTK6F1UXzFghLGo1FUTXsfHtgDh2tZSBlS-a-np9hbkqZczqwzSaM39QRr9N0SfvLFu-jJiwC1M5K93WehdAAoJd9S9BHg7TEn9lXVE_NSuNafDzZ0/s2048/Edit-IMG_4218.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGDjx12mQIDF4DIKLwK1k-ouaRfgTK6F1UXzFghLGo1FUTXsfHtgDh2tZSBlS-a-np9hbkqZczqwzSaM39QRr9N0SfvLFu-jJiwC1M5K93WehdAAoJd9S9BHg7TEn9lXVE_NSuNafDzZ0/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4218.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiNiDuyTTaU_YvbFL91MYwOn1DDBu4k-CfW_Z9aSR2wMJou3V9_bqEYJcA1pn9a0uvBLRGniYymXjDZZ5WZ0o5ITV9wdD74wamb-0lTaBE44fcX_WcfznTf_ohUEq8onopgeMgtwp0mtQ/s2048/Edit-IMG_4224.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiNiDuyTTaU_YvbFL91MYwOn1DDBu4k-CfW_Z9aSR2wMJou3V9_bqEYJcA1pn9a0uvBLRGniYymXjDZZ5WZ0o5ITV9wdD74wamb-0lTaBE44fcX_WcfznTf_ohUEq8onopgeMgtwp0mtQ/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4224.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvqPsdfV7S8NHNPmo-m7MEaD_SmAon0aBH3NYZWY36BIDP7SReAyGApesP-YscRZY_HKAIsCnKCEQQBcF7EGZdrUjX0uVCFdYO08vhVUrW0LYqiaCXWaGCDlv24BPYH2da_z5SJdVGp5s/s2048/Edit-IMG_4226.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvqPsdfV7S8NHNPmo-m7MEaD_SmAon0aBH3NYZWY36BIDP7SReAyGApesP-YscRZY_HKAIsCnKCEQQBcF7EGZdrUjX0uVCFdYO08vhVUrW0LYqiaCXWaGCDlv24BPYH2da_z5SJdVGp5s/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4226.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNoSpacing">Eventually, the sun slid sullenly beneath the band of
clouds, and without its rays reflecting off all of the particulates in the atmosphere,
the skies turned back to a pleasant shade of blue – at least, if one was
photographing with ones camera leaned a bit upwards. I made it back to Jane
before dusk and took the opportunity to take a few photos as the park closed
down for the night. By that point, the sun was reflecting across a scattering
of clouds lower in the sky, making for a different kind of dramatic effect that
provided a very nice backdrop. <o:p></o:p></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT3IeKtz6-HmRt8u1lPUL3dVsbiQQ_WtMZOJa1aJBxXLc45iNMgsMruQn-_ydV4ejMbO7im4P5m0Ee9gYWfMIPP_AuBp4a3OdM_LQNYiC363_Y7irziweQQLV8Wf9KSJOWYaGYJTncens/s2048/Edit-IMG_4230.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT3IeKtz6-HmRt8u1lPUL3dVsbiQQ_WtMZOJa1aJBxXLc45iNMgsMruQn-_ydV4ejMbO7im4P5m0Ee9gYWfMIPP_AuBp4a3OdM_LQNYiC363_Y7irziweQQLV8Wf9KSJOWYaGYJTncens/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4230.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8bmBL3oH3pnmEfzI7yd1GOmJKKCViGulHmOpaByCITonD0v3J2NDCygkIqwJe_y0u4DbGsSg8hv4MSvr3c9oAtsh_oa7BqSI8Dp5AWvbkVMoM3P1Pc5ztVB9M0tulsctNzP5jfIOTnM4/s2048/Edit-IMG_4234.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8bmBL3oH3pnmEfzI7yd1GOmJKKCViGulHmOpaByCITonD0v3J2NDCygkIqwJe_y0u4DbGsSg8hv4MSvr3c9oAtsh_oa7BqSI8Dp5AWvbkVMoM3P1Pc5ztVB9M0tulsctNzP5jfIOTnM4/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4234.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzlPT9_u3jE0kORMYHXejfTVMNN1R9ibeUoj6VONvAxY0BhWf2mbXo6kQ1A9n2yxfCwtGZYaqbddMFEafk8w_07Th2OMMK2s0C_X0VTF2Xojb7FHTSVi0isr2WGE9D9cPtA4mH1HlwsnU/s2048/Edit-IMG_4235.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzlPT9_u3jE0kORMYHXejfTVMNN1R9ibeUoj6VONvAxY0BhWf2mbXo6kQ1A9n2yxfCwtGZYaqbddMFEafk8w_07Th2OMMK2s0C_X0VTF2Xojb7FHTSVi0isr2WGE9D9cPtA4mH1HlwsnU/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_4235.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /> I returned to my quiet campsite for a couple hamburgers
and an enthralling book – an excellent end to a day. I have to say, this one turned
out better than I expected. Certainly, the day didn’t look very promising to
start – but it turns out that haze is good for something, after all.<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Kelly signing out.<o:p></o:p></p><p></p>Kelly Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04271547498127096571noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893125545466338016.post-58431514876222005682021-08-29T03:28:00.001-04:002021-08-29T03:28:13.392-04:00Colorado Blue<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNoSpacing">8-6-2021<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">------<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">My stay in Ouray has been all too short, but it’s time to
be moving on. You see, this trip, I have somewhere very important to be! One of
my best friends is getting married in Denver on Saturday (tomorrow)! I couldn’t
possibly miss that, even if I will be sad to leave the wilder regions of Colorado.
So today I say goodbye to Western Colorado, and cross the mountains over to Denver.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Crossing this region of Colorado is always a little
interesting. Today’s concern was that Highway 50 – one of really only two roads
that links this side of Colorado to the Denver area – would be closed. Not down
to one lane, but closed entirely. The highway winds through a very narrow rocky
gorge that’s prone to shed large boulders onto cars below, and this year CODOT
was determined to do some blasting to widen the cut and improve the engineering
of the hillside. A noble cause, but… you know, I wanted to go on that road.
Because the other option is to tack another hour and a half onto my drive by taking
the Highway 92 detour up and around the closed section of 50. Because the OTHER
other option, which is to run all the way up to Grand Junction and then over
through Glenwood Springs, is no longer an option due to mudslides in Glenwood
Springs wiping out the highway. There’s just not a whole lot of roads that
cross giant mountain ranges like this, and those that do, are plagued by
instability and, consequently, frequent closures.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Jane and I set out relatively early, for us, with the
hope that I’d be able to find some way to cross the Rockies without making my
drive 7 hours. Showing up to a social affair after 7 hours of driving through
the mountains is just… well, not fun.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">We hit Montrose and our turnoff for Highway 50, and as
luck would have it, CODOT was feeling generous. Giant signs proclaimed Highway
50 to be fully open due to the closures of the other highway at Glenwood
Springs. A good logical decision, but you never know with government
authorities, so I was happy to see that someone had made the call. Feeling
substantially more optimistic about the day’s driving now that I knew I could
take the road I wanted without any crazy detours, I settled back into the seat,
ready for some good curvy mountain roads.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">The day proved to be one of those classic Colorado Blue
days, with the sky presenting an endless vibrant blue studded with fluffy sun-drenched
clouds. It’s easy to get lost in a sky like this, looking up into the impossibly
deep vastness of the universe. If you keep your eyes on Earth instead, it’s
equally easy to be drawn into the landscape. On days like this, it feels as if
you can see with perfect clarity all the way to the horizon, however far that
may be. And you find yourself wanting to know what’s beyond even that furthest
point. Days like this are the perfect days for driving great roads. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Traffic was constant but widely spaced, as if everyone
was taking the opportunity to slow their lives down to enjoy this perfect
moment in time. I know I did. We carved our way east with perfect composure,
reveling in the luxury of the sun’s warmth, the slight crisp chill to the
breeze, the whisper of tall grasses and the rustle of aspens, the varied stunning
landscapes that changed with each twist of the road.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTYyA5iK75HTAGlPWhNSIuyajqQU1lXLiSsfeubIqxqQ0Lo3YnLAi5FCnDm04f_ut5yH7sGqGuMmqWEflnGfYU0sL32Pb78YjjXTjKBKlK0PlgbKXY4jDbKXcGUFuA3gGdeYAa5UHv6n8/s2048/Edit-IMG_3848.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTYyA5iK75HTAGlPWhNSIuyajqQU1lXLiSsfeubIqxqQ0Lo3YnLAi5FCnDm04f_ut5yH7sGqGuMmqWEflnGfYU0sL32Pb78YjjXTjKBKlK0PlgbKXY4jDbKXcGUFuA3gGdeYAa5UHv6n8/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3848.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Il_3ndsWZLn5Yy2Q6baEq-cFpw0S-jJnT43KSxEyBv1ONKshQDveu0NeAplPadN8ldRdRinvYtnwS9YbPIMCr5ZKPthEk8i0DDIwwU2Y2dFH_MJLeWEc0_5xRlc5Z6deb3PP34Gg-98/s2048/Edit-IMG_3849.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Il_3ndsWZLn5Yy2Q6baEq-cFpw0S-jJnT43KSxEyBv1ONKshQDveu0NeAplPadN8ldRdRinvYtnwS9YbPIMCr5ZKPthEk8i0DDIwwU2Y2dFH_MJLeWEc0_5xRlc5Z6deb3PP34Gg-98/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3849.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi2j06EryLbGLSCLgTSTw7kc3IVIbPQE54sZ_sAQ9nZXB_WFB30VDIxpTwyy5EE5UfBelfDRRA-A4Zb4Wj1rRm0A_W_Z-elXx_jfwuM8PIc6hJbc9ePLIVCqmvPyW-OX4UP8_xiaC1Jr8/s2048/Edit-IMG_3850.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi2j06EryLbGLSCLgTSTw7kc3IVIbPQE54sZ_sAQ9nZXB_WFB30VDIxpTwyy5EE5UfBelfDRRA-A4Zb4Wj1rRm0A_W_Z-elXx_jfwuM8PIc6hJbc9ePLIVCqmvPyW-OX4UP8_xiaC1Jr8/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3850.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE9NE7RGZJj2eRokgAQI3TSDcK_ON4bKHJrnS1WiTk-6HhsJMGYCMrL5eUM03gKkxWSg72SkwtJWeQ6rIJzQQDMtC7REHLfCa1e0Kdo54b6gqd0sLyrIMOxDT6tZV-1Np_OGz0ufpQgHY/s2048/Edit-IMG_3852.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE9NE7RGZJj2eRokgAQI3TSDcK_ON4bKHJrnS1WiTk-6HhsJMGYCMrL5eUM03gKkxWSg72SkwtJWeQ6rIJzQQDMtC7REHLfCa1e0Kdo54b6gqd0sLyrIMOxDT6tZV-1Np_OGz0ufpQgHY/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3852.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga0bgsIqhmlQrmzWsZ0ginjGcnHmbYOsdVEv_MSRodQbqoyGiQDzhFbF63dsQKE1d-eop1hVCbOF9qE08xWCg0mKL6tIK8B_9ojGr_iGtFyT8aibFENKl8zeJjdXB2Rxi58KJXrINYaVs/s2048/Edit-IMG_3853.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga0bgsIqhmlQrmzWsZ0ginjGcnHmbYOsdVEv_MSRodQbqoyGiQDzhFbF63dsQKE1d-eop1hVCbOF9qE08xWCg0mKL6tIK8B_9ojGr_iGtFyT8aibFENKl8zeJjdXB2Rxi58KJXrINYaVs/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3853.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Curecanti is especially beautiful on days like this.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0E8cArh8EK5Tve6c9key-bDaOLknNOJgpBLNe5bOWE1xSZkgops_4v_F-rS0u3OO9Xd7cVMTAAPxjZZ9Tz6RMUSnnZnWYPr6fqgzQYmI8oqSCsxbbA611Vr4QVtDv18KllGgWL8j5rUo/s2048/Edit-IMG_3855.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0E8cArh8EK5Tve6c9key-bDaOLknNOJgpBLNe5bOWE1xSZkgops_4v_F-rS0u3OO9Xd7cVMTAAPxjZZ9Tz6RMUSnnZnWYPr6fqgzQYmI8oqSCsxbbA611Vr4QVtDv18KllGgWL8j5rUo/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3855.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNoSpacing">Plains gave way to foothills, and foothills gave way to
mountains, and we wound through we wound through Monarch Pass, at 11,312 ft.
elevation. Many people stopped at the top of the pass to catch their breaths
and cool their cars before braving the descent, but not us. Jane was made for
this. We continued on. The mountains gave way back to more foothills and then
to more plains. <o:p></o:p></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinjBTIQQlMvRzjD7wB0ycP3qqfThW0zmQq14nj9RIAemWHH6V9-Bc5ymzrVSzTToeOOJkoVGHYVT89RZl-A2Yst1QMHo_jpCP3h1yhoPRov_eFsw-wnrpKKO4OzFiZcCkNdvTfUwXIcvk/s2048/Edit-IMG_3857.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinjBTIQQlMvRzjD7wB0ycP3qqfThW0zmQq14nj9RIAemWHH6V9-Bc5ymzrVSzTToeOOJkoVGHYVT89RZl-A2Yst1QMHo_jpCP3h1yhoPRov_eFsw-wnrpKKO4OzFiZcCkNdvTfUwXIcvk/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3857.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoekbZpMlO1P_x5qnkKh1w-6e9lRF_LQea1XXIRrohjtq5EBFRjJUgCoHXO5x0ZanB_1ezr5SQ3PvVy_zHTuE_PIuIVO1TCZSAbBrHYuVTxAx_MhqqdDTEjO1KbyT0Cxo_rvAGJzO9RyI/s2048/Edit-IMG_3858.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoekbZpMlO1P_x5qnkKh1w-6e9lRF_LQea1XXIRrohjtq5EBFRjJUgCoHXO5x0ZanB_1ezr5SQ3PvVy_zHTuE_PIuIVO1TCZSAbBrHYuVTxAx_MhqqdDTEjO1KbyT0Cxo_rvAGJzO9RyI/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3858.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0SrnP7xqk0J4LpxeDua73_CsTw-e1Y6pJ8Knc4eOyur4suR1txZTGCJhwsliwKDkQLA5GQtc_QkaXHDQVXpO6yUDdpmK_7tXjwH88SLOK6LwwiyNM72mVwMGFkELbiLY8RCOUlHbPIV4/s2048/Edit-IMG_3859.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0SrnP7xqk0J4LpxeDua73_CsTw-e1Y6pJ8Knc4eOyur4suR1txZTGCJhwsliwKDkQLA5GQtc_QkaXHDQVXpO6yUDdpmK_7tXjwH88SLOK6LwwiyNM72mVwMGFkELbiLY8RCOUlHbPIV4/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3859.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><p class="MsoNoSpacing">Suddenly things began to look familiar, and I realized
that we were skirting my old stomping grounds! Back when I lived up in
Florissant, CO, I used to come out this way to Antero and Fairplay for drives
through the vast grassy plains. This is the South Park Basin, also known as the
Heart of Colorado. The pastureland here is full of herds of horses and pronghorn
antelope and not much else – few homes, few things to clutter the landscape. It
was always a nice treat to be able to run out here where I really had space to
breathe, with ample stretches of straight road where I could truly open the
motor up. Twisty mountain roads might be more fun to drive, but there is something
special about seeing this much space ahead of you and knowing it’s all yours to
claim.<o:p></o:p></p></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfh38iDbtquGvnpHWnthv0bKshek4s958WDICCuSIFjXHuGlFweK_6ELxEXoRofjNeYzgDAlbtPCTi9IoAf-mUt-WKYQpOuNL4RFcAuJ6xk-aFM5de5cweqEPbXLtcNSv3IHpIegU1r5U/s2048/Edit-IMG_3862.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfh38iDbtquGvnpHWnthv0bKshek4s958WDICCuSIFjXHuGlFweK_6ELxEXoRofjNeYzgDAlbtPCTi9IoAf-mUt-WKYQpOuNL4RFcAuJ6xk-aFM5de5cweqEPbXLtcNSv3IHpIegU1r5U/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3862.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXoSRA6b4HYlRlijWr639aUtGDePLOZqq600g0vAAJQLLmWq8yRcfUZ6wfhoCxI97Z_EQdP0qgz-p65F4sR-woHbPGxm-IEYsYn7y8laRmYahaSwmx33T5Ln1GIX43Q3j3ZFdanwLvf6A/s2048/Edit-IMG_3866.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXoSRA6b4HYlRlijWr639aUtGDePLOZqq600g0vAAJQLLmWq8yRcfUZ6wfhoCxI97Z_EQdP0qgz-p65F4sR-woHbPGxm-IEYsYn7y8laRmYahaSwmx33T5Ln1GIX43Q3j3ZFdanwLvf6A/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3866.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEtoZS3uyWSQhx3yeCHPEvLhvmATkpUfTPCnI5wLZypE3EZOEsZwYwR75Vchsw-mwFbAEPAB03LbQV6HcQNxSe-0nfdYBGes5ewL3scESy5dNLKXudxu9zU9IUTXiIFQlQ1ZRUJ3BP3do/s2048/Edit-IMG_3869.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEtoZS3uyWSQhx3yeCHPEvLhvmATkpUfTPCnI5wLZypE3EZOEsZwYwR75Vchsw-mwFbAEPAB03LbQV6HcQNxSe-0nfdYBGes5ewL3scESy5dNLKXudxu9zU9IUTXiIFQlQ1ZRUJ3BP3do/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3869.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-XBNOtBqwiWUwZiZr1-yqryUvzCF4od8e-XvTKe91OirxeTxgJq8xHKIrgNV6wop1MjLFvB64enlLTT4XL0PuMvq2HF7NLEaazj9SsTb5vGpEhHrLGldtUJrpYocN-Ni_3mByK05tU0s/s2048/Edit-IMG_3874.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-XBNOtBqwiWUwZiZr1-yqryUvzCF4od8e-XvTKe91OirxeTxgJq8xHKIrgNV6wop1MjLFvB64enlLTT4XL0PuMvq2HF7NLEaazj9SsTb5vGpEhHrLGldtUJrpYocN-Ni_3mByK05tU0s/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3874.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">Fifty miles later, I was out of the basin and back up in
the mountains, crossing the remaining bit of the Rockies to reach Denver. By
this point, the perfect Colorado Blue day had disappeared, replaced by a
drizzly rainy gray afternoon, fairly common in the summers here. Traffic cluttered
up, speeds slowed, and I considered my perfect moment of leisure ended. Now, I
had one mission: get to Denver, as expediently as possible.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Strong summer squalls whipped through, periodically
drenching me and everyone else on the road and slowing traffic to a crawl. Mountain
driving might be fun normally, but it is absolutely no fun at all in a terrible
rainstorm when you can’t see. Jane’s wipers beat furiously, and eventually even
I conceded to the weather, pulling my arm inside and rolling my window up, leaving
the vent window cracked on anti-condensation duty. Well, at least the car would
be a little cleaner when I arrived at my friend’s house, maybe.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">I grumped my way into Denver as the storms cleared and a
smokey haze – drifting all the way from the wildfires in the Pacific Northwest,
apparently – filled in in their place. My Colorado Blue day was gone. But my
spirits remained high as I arrived safely at my destination and joyfully greeted my
friend, her soon-to-be husband, and her family. The whole house appeared to be at a rolling
boil as preparations for tomorrow’s wedding continued; I was immediately thrown
into the mix and got to work helping to pull things together. And so the next
two days passed, with me temporarily trading my serene, solitary road trip life
for bustling, lively wedding party duties, and Jane sitting dutifully in the
family’s garage, covered in no small amount of grime (turns out instead of
cleaning the car, the rain just mixed with the dust and made mud) and patiently
awaiting the open road. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">The next post I make will be for August 9<sup>th</sup>,
which is the day I’ll be back on the road. Until then… Kelly signing out.<o:p></o:p></p><br /><p></p>Kelly Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04271547498127096571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893125545466338016.post-91306810254546855152021-08-25T23:19:00.001-04:002021-08-25T23:26:00.420-04:00Yerr-Ay, the Switzerland of America<p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNoSpacing">8-5-2021 <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">------<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Today, I finally learned how to correctly pronounce the
name of the town I was in: Yerr-Ay. Don’t ask me how they got there from “Ouray”,
which seems like it would naturally be pronounced “oo-ray” or even “yoo-ray”.
All I know is that if you pronounce it “oo-ray”, everyone in town will
instantaneously know that you’re a tourist. So go ahead, give that word the
good ole Texas treatment and slur those consonants with a nice low drawl! <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Much of my confusion came from the fact that every person
I run into seems to pronounce this town’s name differently. Granted, most of
those people are tourists. So this morning, I got it straight from the waitress
at the campground café, who seemed like a no-nonsense native (she was). And
now, I, too, can pretend like I’m one of the locals! Except for the part where
I’m carrying around all kinds of swag, of course.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Bryan and I parted ways after a hearty breakfast, with
him heading on to Durango to visit other friends and me staying in town (YERR-AYYYY,
I reminded myself) for a day of relaxation. Well, kind of relaxation.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">The town’s visitor center had extensive information on
all of the hiking trails around Ouray, so it was easy enough to select a couple
to go on for the day’s activity. I settled on three of the most popular trails:
the Ouray Perimeter Trail, Baby Bathtubs, and Lower Cascade Falls. I figured a
good 8ish miles of hiking would be no problem and would fill up my day very nicely. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">The Ouray Perimeter Trail is a 6ish mile loop that goes
exactly where it says: around the perimeter of Ouray. What makes this trail so
popular is the fact that it goes around Ouray’s perimeter from a path situated roughly
a thousand feet above the valley floor, so you’re treated with sweeping 360*
views of the entire town nearly the whole time you’re hiking. It is pretty
unique to be able to circumnavigate a town like this, and is really only
possible because Ouray is built in a little bowl-shaped valley surrounded by steep
craggy mountains. The town's slogan - "the Switzerland of America" - is well-deserved!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Both the Baby Bathtubs trail and the Lower Cascade Falls
trail are offshoots on the Perimeter Trail, so I figured I might as well just
knock them all out at once. I parked Jane on the street across from the visitor
center and hopped on the trailhead, ready to tackle an awesome day of
spectacular vistas! <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">I quickly found out about the one downside of this trail:
the elevation gains. From the trailhead, the path arrowed straight upwards,
with nearly a thousand feet of elevation gain in the first half mile. Ouch! I
felt very much like a flatlander as I struggled my way upwards, dealing with
the twin effects of elevation and a large amount of breakfast in my gut.
Nevertheless, I persisted on pushing myself, unable to admit that maybe I am a
little more out of shape than I think. Impossible!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">The trail did eventually level out, and I found myself
skirting around the base of a cliffy outcrop on a narrow pathway that offered
my first really great views of town:</p></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Gex2qEqeQbyws5ZM_06dM7vHi55-ywKzBETq9hWi8uKTmjSF_zN-C7q-c2u_qaaQOZCkLYn5-mYdTHqq_GkIKbr2bt0AcXkmtSgCBSxzv6YBBEahPfNE4G_dj9pZrECmP4y4u4x_mOg/s2048/Edit-IMG_3559.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="427" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Gex2qEqeQbyws5ZM_06dM7vHi55-ywKzBETq9hWi8uKTmjSF_zN-C7q-c2u_qaaQOZCkLYn5-mYdTHqq_GkIKbr2bt0AcXkmtSgCBSxzv6YBBEahPfNE4G_dj9pZrECmP4y4u4x_mOg/w640-h427/Edit-IMG_3559.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWaAX36ltCt2OhN4yFguFo-tYydyi7kUVLADTmlgUqqDIkiYU3p_5sJneNNBVDiMSS6ZBOKa8L9fulFbOu8Dx0ehtYAE1IvQX6EZARXf5ce6he9v1MC3-k9ID-9UBBXBlQYVjEstSXP14/s2048/Edit-IMG_3561.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWaAX36ltCt2OhN4yFguFo-tYydyi7kUVLADTmlgUqqDIkiYU3p_5sJneNNBVDiMSS6ZBOKa8L9fulFbOu8Dx0ehtYAE1IvQX6EZARXf5ce6he9v1MC3-k9ID-9UBBXBlQYVjEstSXP14/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3561.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqoJeLmBFO7OPCD7WGdmckC_R8w_hKKpM1vE5fKm-c271vPuXEh2ui845Q1TdzpKNTRQqJWwnEugEkaO6i_FlO8lKA_NUPXuR-mMBIRrrKlPbcXpJ1UTIKnuFcTwpAqe27SZgh2t6nWCY/s2048/Edit-IMG_3563.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqoJeLmBFO7OPCD7WGdmckC_R8w_hKKpM1vE5fKm-c271vPuXEh2ui845Q1TdzpKNTRQqJWwnEugEkaO6i_FlO8lKA_NUPXuR-mMBIRrrKlPbcXpJ1UTIKnuFcTwpAqe27SZgh2t6nWCY/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_3563.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbuweK1h7YjK4mTbjr0SM2pFidB5vyPLWplYoxEAHwQoSOCUa1VBDoVd9JwTpBBoP15Ay6YU9I8_sSuGZdHVyQyoIqAi9uJwPH0FIXPl4faQ-TvnQSSkQqR42PQ56W-Ri7nRsILh0QM6E/s2048/Edit-IMG_3565.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbuweK1h7YjK4mTbjr0SM2pFidB5vyPLWplYoxEAHwQoSOCUa1VBDoVd9JwTpBBoP15Ay6YU9I8_sSuGZdHVyQyoIqAi9uJwPH0FIXPl4faQ-TvnQSSkQqR42PQ56W-Ri7nRsILh0QM6E/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3565.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNoSpacing">Looking down on the cluster of homes and shops, I
pondered what life must be like for those who live here. Ouray is a playground
for vacationers and Jeepers, popular in summers for its offroading, hiking, and
lovely weather, but less popular in winters due to a lack of winter sports
facilities (in comparison to places like Breckenridge and Vail), not to mention
more difficult access. I can only imagine that when the snow starts falling,
things get very quiet and the town probably feels very small. And then when
summer sun arrives, and tourists with it, the town must feel very bloated. Maybe
the residents really enjoy the dual nature of the town.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">As I had chosen to head clockwise around the trail, I
came up on the Lower Cascade Falls loop fairly quickly. Lower Cascade Falls is –
you guessed it – a waterfall. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was
still flowing pretty strongly, thanks to a fairly wet summer. Lots of people
and pets milled around, reveling in the cool mists coming off the falls. It’s a
bit strange of a thing to notice, but I noticed that the area around the falls
was almost completely devoid of trash. I spend a lot of time hiking, and I’ve
seen a lot of popular trails totally trashed with garbage blowing around everywhere.
So for a trail this close to town to be this clean, that means that either the
falls are cleaned regularly by the city, or Ouray is one of very few places where
the majority of the population respects and cares for their natural spaces. I’d
really like to think it’s the latter.<o:p></o:p></p></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWOyWCwi6pLdPpstgKSA7LOTHJNk4eQs4GcN6bVI7FfeFuLoUNdm633BZcj6179O_czob57OwIvRa2_RQrASJZzWVXFABUBGPvc233Mcb1zynTE3zqTVkBtj2bVFJv4DfltYKOr57Bj28/s2048/Edit-IMG_3577.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWOyWCwi6pLdPpstgKSA7LOTHJNk4eQs4GcN6bVI7FfeFuLoUNdm633BZcj6179O_czob57OwIvRa2_RQrASJZzWVXFABUBGPvc233Mcb1zynTE3zqTVkBtj2bVFJv4DfltYKOr57Bj28/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_3577.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Good flow, for August!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9rsqgjCkJV00ua_-218VGqemGcYQ-GwXikyCz7GwW5zhvE7yEjgp8gAlvZQknbV7LHv18knXMWMS3KbkXzhMzeZ_Vh0rt5pXl8qGOCt99xWQGXPUd3xG_3PmaobJSHkVr-VKRDARxCLk/s2048/Edit-IMG_3589.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9rsqgjCkJV00ua_-218VGqemGcYQ-GwXikyCz7GwW5zhvE7yEjgp8gAlvZQknbV7LHv18knXMWMS3KbkXzhMzeZ_Vh0rt5pXl8qGOCt99xWQGXPUd3xG_3PmaobJSHkVr-VKRDARxCLk/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3589.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I really enjoyed the different cuts of the rocks near the falls. Different erosional patterns means different rock types up there in that cliff face!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNoSpacing">After spending my own time milling about the falls area,
I hopped back on the Perimeter Trail and continued winding my way south. It
quickly became apparent to me that the Perimeter Trail is not intended to be
forgiving so much as it is intended to be spectacular. Instead of reaching a
maximum elevation after the initial climb and then routing the trail along the
mountains at that elevation, the Ouray Perimeter Trail wanders up and down the
hillsides as it pleases, subjecting you to steep inclines and declines in a
relentless pursuit of the most picturesque views. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">I have to say, although my knees were less than happy
with the arrangement, my eyes were quite okay with it.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCsfa_olzTALNQx8iZMwbQtuycXcgLZRL0NgOg5KWxDZJIpNuAIWSiebnJZYYW-L4zM9BXJXe7i5wgXymx7sD5NxtAzyL3T9tOAeQuDq5EiQhyphenhyphenCRpDgs88gFGKYUZQzcKwQy7mlSuPXCc/s2048/Edit-IMG_3594.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCsfa_olzTALNQx8iZMwbQtuycXcgLZRL0NgOg5KWxDZJIpNuAIWSiebnJZYYW-L4zM9BXJXe7i5wgXymx7sD5NxtAzyL3T9tOAeQuDq5EiQhyphenhyphenCRpDgs88gFGKYUZQzcKwQy7mlSuPXCc/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_3594.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A nice lightly-forested hillside with lots of wildflowers</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwektbGD8ZL_o0Ws1IHr-Grq9BIQKw-h9PhfkIRgBm0tAbPquuJ9lMvX9pFlJjSIMKdA2rujnbrZpRZM5kdk9_-iniX9Ow8jSSote-5t6etLDpvkRvckciALNSuK-JhtI83IJ2vXpstto/s2048/Edit-IMG_3604.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwektbGD8ZL_o0Ws1IHr-Grq9BIQKw-h9PhfkIRgBm0tAbPquuJ9lMvX9pFlJjSIMKdA2rujnbrZpRZM5kdk9_-iniX9Ow8jSSote-5t6etLDpvkRvckciALNSuK-JhtI83IJ2vXpstto/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3604.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A uniquely-named "Police Car Moth", which was fortunately interested enough in the flowers that it let me get close for a photo</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhshgP8wOoVXxylBP6vIWafOpLtmtXbMMvU37aQPZKnMSepZGQcviAK_JniwmXNgWhMA_Bn549krKx_b7O3dYpzqyqQ_B2c5cZKUZIa00mR_UsUnVsGxmejxXr58UHF1a6MIwW2vAECbFw/s2048/Edit-IMG_3616.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhshgP8wOoVXxylBP6vIWafOpLtmtXbMMvU37aQPZKnMSepZGQcviAK_JniwmXNgWhMA_Bn549krKx_b7O3dYpzqyqQ_B2c5cZKUZIa00mR_UsUnVsGxmejxXr58UHF1a6MIwW2vAECbFw/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3616.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking out over town from another perspective</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPzwcoV3EYQf_DNIMYS0vtdAAJID1L1KZXAauMVVi8F9strpLkmSYbEneSU8xfkqpmep_1nB5E_41CDjr-oQVkgYFD29P_YyjvKCdOk4WoCWSt74B9zve8U46tDC_yOVMSvvEtVAV8rog/s2048/Edit-IMG_3633.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPzwcoV3EYQf_DNIMYS0vtdAAJID1L1KZXAauMVVi8F9strpLkmSYbEneSU8xfkqpmep_1nB5E_41CDjr-oQVkgYFD29P_YyjvKCdOk4WoCWSt74B9zve8U46tDC_yOVMSvvEtVAV8rog/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_3633.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A lovely purple flower in some interesting light</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNoSpacing">As I approached the southern margin of town, I hopped off
on the second offshoot trail I had planned on seeing: the Baby Bathtubs trail. I
had inquired about the name in the visitor center, as it is a pretty weird name
for a trail. But all I received was some kind of vague reply about there being
rocks shaped like baby bathtubs. I don’t really know what a baby bathtub looks
like, I guess, as I had a hard time picturing what the volunteer was talking
about. So I was excited to find out!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">A short jaunt up the trail had me crossing a shallow
creekbed, and it was there that I saw them. The baby bathtubs! The creek had
carved down through a layer of very hard rock, forcing the stream of water into
narrow channels wherever the rock was a bit softer. Those channels, in turn,
got hollowed out and smoothed over by millions of gallons of water flowing
through them over hundreds – or more likely thousands – of years. The end
result? A series of hollows in the rock that look perfectly suited to put a
baby in! <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Crystal clear water – so clear as to be nearly invisible
- streamed through these “bathtubs”, burbling pleasantly through the twists and
turns in the channels, doing its part to smooth them even further. This,
surely, is the place where all inspiration for home nature-scaped water
fountains comes from! I found myself a little irritated that the pools are only
baby-sized. A nice soak in one of those smoothed-out hollows would have been
just the thing. But, alas. I had to content myself with pictures.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiytcJzu6uBOtF09wWyi0Vo0bUm2EMTdOW2A70TATTdLVP6wVJUKbe077HfLuipN0WQ1pXasxp6niCIA090HCyZPgDovQO4dQTKOnoklnmd2Yz8h8w7G2AxqH2cS-3iVEJKf5PfNOyLXrE/s2048/Edit-IMG_3637.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiytcJzu6uBOtF09wWyi0Vo0bUm2EMTdOW2A70TATTdLVP6wVJUKbe077HfLuipN0WQ1pXasxp6niCIA090HCyZPgDovQO4dQTKOnoklnmd2Yz8h8w7G2AxqH2cS-3iVEJKf5PfNOyLXrE/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3637.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The water is so clear that you can't really even see it in this photo, so mostly it just looks like a weird picture of a rock</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgPakWqKYjopHTYmtyHrUzzxDr5MA49LkeDvHWb4RySDXE-ghDgJuO4gDDLvki0HdEv3HJOkjvixiw40Vp4HRTUlbYNL018uwwHJhnFm2NAveNFusEowm9xE9I28lbNrHcu4QmP6SH-Dw/s2048/Edit-IMG_3642.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgPakWqKYjopHTYmtyHrUzzxDr5MA49LkeDvHWb4RySDXE-ghDgJuO4gDDLvki0HdEv3HJOkjvixiw40Vp4HRTUlbYNL018uwwHJhnFm2NAveNFusEowm9xE9I28lbNrHcu4QmP6SH-Dw/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_3642.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eye level view</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOARu3Z5I4xVd4m4nQlqmccYlcCHfYLZsFwyzP2hQPsARiQImMepsWxphMkwf0Hj8Ca4ZqajvFh_NtOUj5RDPo4H204XYo6tW_x3Z8784TWHDd1ItE0xGfMGbvN5m6PFgqnn9wgjGXydY/s2048/Edit-IMG_3651.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOARu3Z5I4xVd4m4nQlqmccYlcCHfYLZsFwyzP2hQPsARiQImMepsWxphMkwf0Hj8Ca4ZqajvFh_NtOUj5RDPo4H204XYo6tW_x3Z8784TWHDd1ItE0xGfMGbvN5m6PFgqnn9wgjGXydY/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3651.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking down on a deceptively large volume of water roaring through the main creek. Theoretically, a Kelly-sized bathtub... but also a very deadly one</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJIRbENb-1wDZAAy7XEaqkLPnVxTb2fbCnNKTS624TZs7m84xoU_-uBni9oUJpegEegc351vztU0QO5Ru4yFBQo27Fwnn0sqaqb-kzc1bNp5iIq6Ce0zCuSinVpkdp4Dv-s34Po52juyU/s2048/Edit-IMG_3659.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJIRbENb-1wDZAAy7XEaqkLPnVxTb2fbCnNKTS624TZs7m84xoU_-uBni9oUJpegEegc351vztU0QO5Ru4yFBQo27Fwnn0sqaqb-kzc1bNp5iIq6Ce0zCuSinVpkdp4Dv-s34Po52juyU/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_3659.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifeTi5DYCMy0WwGls33_wGVl_YA7JDbKwuiO4gUynHPTuwG1HdDZlQ4_n2x5lXoG2ZVFsF8BYuoqe82wsclUhJAR-VD39lkmV5qdPasg1I-8gfNmbHN0oQR_YUcvplEeZ5GR5VKLvc0Gg/s2048/Edit-IMG_3672.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifeTi5DYCMy0WwGls33_wGVl_YA7JDbKwuiO4gUynHPTuwG1HdDZlQ4_n2x5lXoG2ZVFsF8BYuoqe82wsclUhJAR-VD39lkmV5qdPasg1I-8gfNmbHN0oQR_YUcvplEeZ5GR5VKLvc0Gg/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_3672.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNoSpacing">I hiked along the trail for a mile or two, skirting the
creek the whole time. Then the Perimeter Trail called me back, and I began my
hike around the southern margin of the town. Interestingly, you have to cross
the Million Dollar Highway on this portion of the trail – not something I would
have considered advisable for trail planners, but I guess the speed limit on
the “highway” is low due to the curvy downhill grade so they considered it an
acceptable risk. I had no trouble crossing, at any rate, and just Frogger’d my
way across between the RVs screeching downhill in a plume of brake smoke.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyJFsJzPg50tETvwdP3ZMBwljhH_Lcr5y-CcBcIk7Ayf7ZqIpg9vHmaZ2xsMNCnCnPxN5_nMNhtp-ilJW0GP_xiy21Q_cgDLbAyu9KCux6R-onJKrOvWRjs4nEmz2WwdicWGr6QxWGRsk/s2048/Edit-IMG_3684.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyJFsJzPg50tETvwdP3ZMBwljhH_Lcr5y-CcBcIk7Ayf7ZqIpg9vHmaZ2xsMNCnCnPxN5_nMNhtp-ilJW0GP_xiy21Q_cgDLbAyu9KCux6R-onJKrOvWRjs4nEmz2WwdicWGr6QxWGRsk/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3684.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking down at the Million Dollar Highway</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfIHWDwfsUctbhsFyI8SdPRkRL0PZhaI8Ht89Lh896WFx1LX11_gprSa8X2oEJKdWK2z_OqNJ_rMt4XIdIstYbuOTtdlJyPbJGshn3OvM1Smo4-KqznP3g_BYiZ3onxRkvr8MRwaRZ4Nc/s2048/Edit-IMG_3707.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfIHWDwfsUctbhsFyI8SdPRkRL0PZhaI8Ht89Lh896WFx1LX11_gprSa8X2oEJKdWK2z_OqNJ_rMt4XIdIstYbuOTtdlJyPbJGshn3OvM1Smo4-KqznP3g_BYiZ3onxRkvr8MRwaRZ4Nc/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_3707.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmwl1dz8QbA3VD8mi9DbbWXJVRIxG_iWdVubtuWZvL3VYe-QptoKLKRRYnuACbKk9arpJ_151SIF5GvKueAO2GcVOCIaLu-NamS1XXGgX4AdMkgABoSrtV5dLQwS8WUFQUE23ElPNGZ6c/s2048/Edit-IMG_3713.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmwl1dz8QbA3VD8mi9DbbWXJVRIxG_iWdVubtuWZvL3VYe-QptoKLKRRYnuACbKk9arpJ_151SIF5GvKueAO2GcVOCIaLu-NamS1XXGgX4AdMkgABoSrtV5dLQwS8WUFQUE23ElPNGZ6c/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_3713.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNoSpacing">At the furthest southern crux of the trail, I crossed the
Uncompahgre River. And I found myself saddened doing so. This river would be
gorgeous, with its impressive cascades and booming flow, but for one thing: its
grungy yellow color. This color comes from heavy metals – particularly arsenic –
leached into the river from nearby mining operations. Consequently, not only is
the river very unappetizing to look at, but it is also very toxic. The sight
was a far cry from the perfectly crystalline waters of Baby Bathtubs a mere
mile away. I wish that mining operations weren’t allowed to get away with this –
and really, I can’t fathom how they have.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN9nEDUhA-y22biNRNrejsNN4FaznevZ4YOA157STuLGZRBvwJlbz5NyejlI7OPMeaEpQvbYnmovtco2-U2XVMS6_xwgmyctjORKtLh7EOelLDXkizk1QzZ54uyyZzxiF-LqZQoiahKM8/s2048/Edit-IMG_3716.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN9nEDUhA-y22biNRNrejsNN4FaznevZ4YOA157STuLGZRBvwJlbz5NyejlI7OPMeaEpQvbYnmovtco2-U2XVMS6_xwgmyctjORKtLh7EOelLDXkizk1QzZ54uyyZzxiF-LqZQoiahKM8/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_3716.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5mQruF0uWsullX_eR2Ql6XgISaPqXTv9XGlAo6nikPk2HoH9GreIHMqc7OUvq11UDBonoi9seKTGvetEpOY3qtv3HsfET9j5QpxkKZeLAse9hev-7CvF3lIQzxWOXtO4AAXFw97oxOYs/s2048/Edit-IMG_3717.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5mQruF0uWsullX_eR2Ql6XgISaPqXTv9XGlAo6nikPk2HoH9GreIHMqc7OUvq11UDBonoi9seKTGvetEpOY3qtv3HsfET9j5QpxkKZeLAse9hev-7CvF3lIQzxWOXtO4AAXFw97oxOYs/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_3717.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNoSpacing">I followed the Ice Park Trail (which is also the
Perimeter Trail, I guess) back down the gorge, following the rushing yellow
waters of the Uncompahgre. A ways down the path, I started to notice something
odd in the opposing rock face across the river: a bunch of stakes and cables
wired into the rocks. They looked, to me, like footholds! I saw a sign posted
near one cluster and used my camera as a telescope to check it out. Imagine my
surprise when I found that the stakes and cables were indeed for climbing! I
also saw a number of very sketchy-looking cable ladders and bridgeways across the river.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsoybOztGfM1AtbiEsr26Q5Ee2BteJkXRQARUeBBLGrrbrvxSLR1qInWH3M7yEqGh4LGM5AVqE-YeDesCbQkLhffMEPgKCFhpZvDhjbIlNgX4MKd67aY-Dar-oA1BEmDY4yN6Z1DgHH1U/s2048/Edit-IMG_3720.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsoybOztGfM1AtbiEsr26Q5Ee2BteJkXRQARUeBBLGrrbrvxSLR1qInWH3M7yEqGh4LGM5AVqE-YeDesCbQkLhffMEPgKCFhpZvDhjbIlNgX4MKd67aY-Dar-oA1BEmDY4yN6Z1DgHH1U/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_3720.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP4AXE0m0SNsNCT8UGAmlcztFS8OyHfXQMzTttVHhZbbsjKmzPW3O0u11UBFyCXshay7o2f9Tv5mAoB6cH1htRnro4YqxbRSuXidgPhQgfNFr3C2lKDJ5tUOu6jFlhmwbl9SPPZgoohiI/s2048/Edit-IMG_3721.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP4AXE0m0SNsNCT8UGAmlcztFS8OyHfXQMzTttVHhZbbsjKmzPW3O0u11UBFyCXshay7o2f9Tv5mAoB6cH1htRnro4YqxbRSuXidgPhQgfNFr3C2lKDJ5tUOu6jFlhmwbl9SPPZgoohiI/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_3721.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHY_oUXhbqTz0dRSs8ZXJozZ9e44IHSiqo2OVRDPibbVBjQ_lS4uUQUyTgRVD6nTGCyQ2sXr_wwfyO-7i27O1E9FjIFjXz7agVM2bGK1AIvUCe_9ZB_rLeVQLkmY2r9HvDfKSjFugxz2o/s2048/Edit-IMG_3722.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHY_oUXhbqTz0dRSs8ZXJozZ9e44IHSiqo2OVRDPibbVBjQ_lS4uUQUyTgRVD6nTGCyQ2sXr_wwfyO-7i27O1E9FjIFjXz7agVM2bGK1AIvUCe_9ZB_rLeVQLkmY2r9HvDfKSjFugxz2o/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_3722.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimvzl-YB567rE6wJL8fTUezKgUUKNw2OalmpqaY8nHllbYSvViX8Laq0DD5xPBfywn1Y1iYEoOodv5p46YtpJu1IVZ7WoI6Z7wSaQ2qOkuwNoPJsrN794Wbj_TuMqalj89ndaiLnrm9hM/s2048/Edit-IMG_3723.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimvzl-YB567rE6wJL8fTUezKgUUKNw2OalmpqaY8nHllbYSvViX8Laq0DD5xPBfywn1Y1iYEoOodv5p46YtpJu1IVZ7WoI6Z7wSaQ2qOkuwNoPJsrN794Wbj_TuMqalj89ndaiLnrm9hM/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_3723.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLf6lhyQPUQ5q2Zbhw0Vt8Nbzzwp-95Jb1s_qLI3ucTeciNdxH7kAuZFAwfrrvxIlIqWrcPITBTlLI5j3EY3OhRDwW_AZXYC9Lr1mylXaoyfEQ-c44WURk13ZUFxjzFBp_rHy7-zsOeYY/s2048/Edit-IMG_3724.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLf6lhyQPUQ5q2Zbhw0Vt8Nbzzwp-95Jb1s_qLI3ucTeciNdxH7kAuZFAwfrrvxIlIqWrcPITBTlLI5j3EY3OhRDwW_AZXYC9Lr1mylXaoyfEQ-c44WURk13ZUFxjzFBp_rHy7-zsOeYY/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_3724.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRbqrekWODGTUv31XoeE3NWj2aYKug_4KCXclMZFaax4Oqk-Qklf5ZzNvwYSXM4Ag80zRNZ9zFTqpCXb8iV_8YYkOqYr3EyAcSuZxkHuR5Uwfe8yxmpJRzMbuAcuYdsoaXZLydDQhdeJQ/s2048/Edit-IMG_3725.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRbqrekWODGTUv31XoeE3NWj2aYKug_4KCXclMZFaax4Oqk-Qklf5ZzNvwYSXM4Ag80zRNZ9zFTqpCXb8iV_8YYkOqYr3EyAcSuZxkHuR5Uwfe8yxmpJRzMbuAcuYdsoaXZLydDQhdeJQ/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_3725.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUO7Kp4T5Qi4bjFDUTiXFsPg4AC6hoh9neKSp81d5ahnt-aZwkGB2aPo-OSOVmt19qjn3Co4Sa0sDkNGC1J77bWW1jZZuJrvEuBaqA-wGc9OR1Em0cDcuUBZeW0tzdk4T2PTFlVDVsGFI/s2048/Edit-IMG_3726.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUO7Kp4T5Qi4bjFDUTiXFsPg4AC6hoh9neKSp81d5ahnt-aZwkGB2aPo-OSOVmt19qjn3Co4Sa0sDkNGC1J77bWW1jZZuJrvEuBaqA-wGc9OR1Em0cDcuUBZeW0tzdk4T2PTFlVDVsGFI/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_3726.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNoSpacing">Eventually, I stumbled across a sign – on my side of the
canyon – that explained what I was looking at: Ouray Via Ferrata. Apparently,
experienced climbers like to crawl around on the sheer rock faces out here, and
have devised a way to do it regularly with these inset permanent footholds,
ladders, and cabled walkways. All of this, done right over the roaring rapids
of the throttled Uncompahgre! The sign advised “THIS ACTIVITY CAN KILL YOU” and
I believed it. One slip and one harness failure can dash you on the rocks or send
you into the swirling river. I’m not sure which would be worse, but both seem
to be certain ways to die. I moved on, passing a few daredevil climbers gearing
up, and suppressed a shudder. None of that for me! I prefer my feet on the
ground, thanks.<o:p></o:p></p></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4QigG1U10ZZbzDlm1WJwg3jt4TuS8W78Z7rGXQCFdsruOm801ykVPAGDo6LAI8BUgjesM7lrNUnN7u8n-q_v3cloNnjVYojeYTnG2mbZV2Bgew1oNUGM9ofrWAmJlXCnLWNHNKxglIvE/s2048/Edit-IMG_3727.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4QigG1U10ZZbzDlm1WJwg3jt4TuS8W78Z7rGXQCFdsruOm801ykVPAGDo6LAI8BUgjesM7lrNUnN7u8n-q_v3cloNnjVYojeYTnG2mbZV2Bgew1oNUGM9ofrWAmJlXCnLWNHNKxglIvE/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3727.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNoSpacing">After that, the trail climbed again – AGAIN – winding its
way up into the sky for more sweeping views of the town. I have to say that
these ones were my favorite, at least. <o:p></o:p></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRv_0q76PztIeOzefp4qF2S0r-qRzYPSCwwqObqTFmo9I9jy3cCqCB8waFkyim3NUWbyeQR5xQb2Q-HS_NvQoVLOI9G5cIVB2ti24a16DJ2MAn-huqeK7Z2svsusQdWbdiWM8BjZF9mcI/s2048/Edit-IMG_3741.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRv_0q76PztIeOzefp4qF2S0r-qRzYPSCwwqObqTFmo9I9jy3cCqCB8waFkyim3NUWbyeQR5xQb2Q-HS_NvQoVLOI9G5cIVB2ti24a16DJ2MAn-huqeK7Z2svsusQdWbdiWM8BjZF9mcI/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3741.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc2lyYvcpFnrgmq487C7qcXplo_bq9EO2wq3fG8DtpxYIoS354rI9H3ANXGbX-X7SFfbwtzZ1x23oI-T5s1zoy3b1O47Ve0OAymYmMw7-FOsVF3gHcVCWs2JdCtVIFu1yIGu4UFfMWFEU/s2048/Edit-IMG_3745.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc2lyYvcpFnrgmq487C7qcXplo_bq9EO2wq3fG8DtpxYIoS354rI9H3ANXGbX-X7SFfbwtzZ1x23oI-T5s1zoy3b1O47Ve0OAymYmMw7-FOsVF3gHcVCWs2JdCtVIFu1yIGu4UFfMWFEU/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3745.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg48mwHuqCVIFFeARjh9pluYuayJDzws61VzxGaBoaVXt02vUeX6DUr99GS73fxHOg_aizug_QUaiey5kPoDCmTTM8ya5ofw0CWeRx9unlTbQQRiEaX2va_dipOo2cx0920R5w15PU9Yhg/s2048/Edit-IMG_3746.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg48mwHuqCVIFFeARjh9pluYuayJDzws61VzxGaBoaVXt02vUeX6DUr99GS73fxHOg_aizug_QUaiey5kPoDCmTTM8ya5ofw0CWeRx9unlTbQQRiEaX2va_dipOo2cx0920R5w15PU9Yhg/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3746.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNoSpacing">A short bit later, I entered Box Canon Park and found
myself facing a very daunting bridge suspended across a steep gorge. Sitting
several hundred feet above the very healthy Canyon Creek, it was one of those
types that is perfectly safe – stable, high-walled, and completely immobile – but
also perfectly scary due to its see-through floor. I edged my way out onto it, then leaned on the
rail to take in the sights. And lo and behold, what did I see but a gigantic,
very obvious angular unconformity!<o:p></o:p></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpRX7lJ1WYQ8m7-bOGOQSi_ZOvjpP3oGhmB0k_aLXUYtHsvZgBZ9W7iGl-YvzxAPAiaachRlPBnVRuwNx6D77QQaUw9CFiAg_ewPD1cWr4kNWre7RPMddGheOo-nlAdgvx3h3FR96Epms/s2048/Edit-IMG_3757.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpRX7lJ1WYQ8m7-bOGOQSi_ZOvjpP3oGhmB0k_aLXUYtHsvZgBZ9W7iGl-YvzxAPAiaachRlPBnVRuwNx6D77QQaUw9CFiAg_ewPD1cWr4kNWre7RPMddGheOo-nlAdgvx3h3FR96Epms/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_3757.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Check out how the steeply angled (almost upright) layers of rocks at the bottom are planed off by the overlying horizontal layers of rocks!</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p class="MsoNoSpacing">“Wow, that looks like the Great Unconformity,” I thought.
The Great Unconformity, in simple terms, is basically a line in the rocks that
represents over 100 million years – sometimes even up to a billion years – of missing
time. Underlying Precambrian-age rocks (usually a billion years old or older)
are tilted upwards at an angle due to uplift sometime after their deposition
(for example, mountain ranges being built later in the PreCambrian). Those angled
rocks appear to be planed off by some unseen cheese grater, and intersect with
overlying much younger rocks (only a few hundred million years old) which are
laid horizontally on top. So essentially, a ton of rocks were deposited,
uplifted, and then subsequently heavily eroded flat, erasing hundreds of
millions of years of preserved time before deposition began again. This unconformity
can be found in numerous places in the United States and even worldwide, but
you’re most likely to see it (and literature regarding it) at the Grand Canyon!</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">I spotted an exhibit sign nearby and was excited to find
that it was a geology sign – and sure enough, what I was looking at was THE Great
Unconformity. What a cool surprise! Not knowing anything about the geology of
the area, really, I hadn’t expected to see this particular feature here. But
there it was. I made a random passerby take my picture with it, of course. The
Great Unconformity is like a rock celebrity!<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNLdxvLZWIVKC_GVhpBr-wCbeDCNj1osKfDTl6LLBEWp_mgWiNTCUDChEQJSTvkoCiLzD6X_m1R0iV3rDHK2OTH2yUzB4LBYtQfNFDko3TD0Z1PiVXiUW68_f2vdYPGqVjwjTa5KLpDhs/s2048/Edit-IMG_3769.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNLdxvLZWIVKC_GVhpBr-wCbeDCNj1osKfDTl6LLBEWp_mgWiNTCUDChEQJSTvkoCiLzD6X_m1R0iV3rDHK2OTH2yUzB4LBYtQfNFDko3TD0Z1PiVXiUW68_f2vdYPGqVjwjTa5KLpDhs/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3769.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNoSpacing">Anyways, geologist silliness aside, I very much enjoyed
the views, even if the sight of the crashing river far below, as seen through
the floor of the bridge, was a bit concerning.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlnC6GlviYSX_PafRfFq7JGQz_GG7xOPFfeTJ0sMSVwgrqlxgCg-rjUEyz_5LsZ_ZiuWrOBtK27ZfZGrZ1UXJXqXtzWJXXCQeDu-bWxuV48Wqh6zAEOil0_uAQzabF5TyKwLNDLFD0xcQ/s2048/Edit-IMG_3773.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlnC6GlviYSX_PafRfFq7JGQz_GG7xOPFfeTJ0sMSVwgrqlxgCg-rjUEyz_5LsZ_ZiuWrOBtK27ZfZGrZ1UXJXqXtzWJXXCQeDu-bWxuV48Wqh6zAEOil0_uAQzabF5TyKwLNDLFD0xcQ/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_3773.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's hard to get a sense of scale, but I would estimate that that river is about 25 feet wide down there.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoycvzhOkSkPxMbCIA2EQ7JMMCTBZ1VdQJchVJnfrk5n0lgyRRRy-qmAwYw2JGUIUI_Y-e_yZUCFkcEOLq4dFOrDaZUkitzUFLFSBixHCRLQhcLD1gXhKplRqZ1VH9bA_pJLEDBTN1vJk/s2048/Edit-IMG_3776.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoycvzhOkSkPxMbCIA2EQ7JMMCTBZ1VdQJchVJnfrk5n0lgyRRRy-qmAwYw2JGUIUI_Y-e_yZUCFkcEOLq4dFOrDaZUkitzUFLFSBixHCRLQhcLD1gXhKplRqZ1VH9bA_pJLEDBTN1vJk/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3776.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">A
tunnel bored through the rock on the other side of the bridge, bearing me
through a particularly steep part of the mountainside (for which I was very
thankful). </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvZkLP2kYDxSi4ubpvvohme65TEfc_TiUbnfWzVg8izJ2jbvJQ4zvaHCv8vJJotFUJTDwvgOlWf8aWNPSCf0fgSAgv_r4ohpuJobmo1rCevH6z2j0bkJGtWAc1-kzP15k7fdOTmeVz5uE/s2048/Edit-IMG_3777.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvZkLP2kYDxSi4ubpvvohme65TEfc_TiUbnfWzVg8izJ2jbvJQ4zvaHCv8vJJotFUJTDwvgOlWf8aWNPSCf0fgSAgv_r4ohpuJobmo1rCevH6z2j0bkJGtWAc1-kzP15k7fdOTmeVz5uE/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_3777.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNoSpacing">A series on the steps on the other side continued downward,
before… you guessed it, the trail went up AGAIN. This time, I hiked several steep
switchbacks up a gravel road before the trail wound off into a nice wooded area,
then dumped me at my next scenic vistas. By this point I found myself pretty
amused. Every trail has a kind of character to it, and the Ouray Perimeter
Trail feels… resourceful and determined. It uses precut roads and pathways
where it can, but never misses out on a single chance at a great view,
determined to make you acknowledge the beauty of the town at the expense of
your knees. I really like this one.<o:p></o:p></p></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioFCmzLbmB9UK7NBQTVfWHC_lu0udEdBv3KBjc4euaJG3wa-5Am88j-BK8jfj3J1FwcFdGSAA3TNczV1oHV8Hy4iirxoFVLXzQLVgo7e_ssMl-awjiqJIF7XbFmfrZYp6njVh_P09wcIw/s2048/Edit-IMG_3808.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioFCmzLbmB9UK7NBQTVfWHC_lu0udEdBv3KBjc4euaJG3wa-5Am88j-BK8jfj3J1FwcFdGSAA3TNczV1oHV8Hy4iirxoFVLXzQLVgo7e_ssMl-awjiqJIF7XbFmfrZYp6njVh_P09wcIw/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3808.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib9QHVnak81VyT2NMrYesf2DK9AkQ_vOjyvv5N-7APm62GiSfn_ustlc3VWOmygO-S9OIdOMX6KeiKyBb1OdKpknV_fNt8-lpKLFrYK1JMBz4a-e7lUH4wyohbIhwiRo9A7SXTWVLknwg/s2048/Edit-IMG_3819.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib9QHVnak81VyT2NMrYesf2DK9AkQ_vOjyvv5N-7APm62GiSfn_ustlc3VWOmygO-S9OIdOMX6KeiKyBb1OdKpknV_fNt8-lpKLFrYK1JMBz4a-e7lUH4wyohbIhwiRo9A7SXTWVLknwg/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3819.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bit of a skinny goat track, really.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhesnBWcgx1LsSUryharwhgPiNxT3yc6ZhPfZLqU5lxDXBkGAtlRi-xu92xBQlcFOxLs7KBKxqdB_1y7Knw42CN2zUOGKD_WifqQjtx-ub5x_uE3WxE96fs7a6Q02O8dAEnZBB6Xup_Uas/s2048/Edit-IMG_3821.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhesnBWcgx1LsSUryharwhgPiNxT3yc6ZhPfZLqU5lxDXBkGAtlRi-xu92xBQlcFOxLs7KBKxqdB_1y7Knw42CN2zUOGKD_WifqQjtx-ub5x_uE3WxE96fs7a6Q02O8dAEnZBB6Xup_Uas/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3821.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNoSpacing">Eventually, the trail began to slope down for the last
time, winding its way back towards relative civilization. As I descended through
the pine forest, I spotted a few really cool fossils that had fallen down the
slope from the rock faces above. Score! I ended up with a nice piece of
crinoid-bearing black mudstone and a brown fusilinid-bearing silty packstone
(fusilinids look like fancy swirly grains of rice, so probably they’re only
interesting to me). Sweaty and tired, my legs (and especially my knees) aching
in protest, I finally arrived at the base of the trail again, coming out
somewhere near the middle of town. I felt a bit conspicuous as I wandered into
town on my way back to Jane, dusty and disheveled where most others were clean
and well-dressed. I guess that the Jeepers and hikers were still out on the
trails, so only the shopping contingent was circulating the downtown stores at
that time. But I wasn’t about to miss my chance at some quality souvenirs just
because I was dirty! So I wandered the touristy strip for a while until I had
settled on my usual souvenir trio: a mug, a Christmas ornament, and a postcard
to send to my sister. Then, of course, I had to stop at an ice cream shop that
I saw, because my poor legs deserved a treat after the day’s activities. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Feeling very pleased with myself, I wound my way back to
Jane on the other end of town, where she sat patiently waiting. I arrived just
in time to capture a nice golden light on the hill just ahead of her.<o:p></o:p></p></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihQ-P6asquCNb13bmWX9RKoTnIkCerBSu2DgMKQG0LctXloEVqw_rnCNAHKpdfaL4aYsJNxDxpAtK9IvcWyRiouImYXznYokEoIqRIvPbU3O3SC0jb8zSPVgXdxgzEgYWN536zxZuZKWo/s2048/Edit-IMG_3832.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihQ-P6asquCNb13bmWX9RKoTnIkCerBSu2DgMKQG0LctXloEVqw_rnCNAHKpdfaL4aYsJNxDxpAtK9IvcWyRiouImYXznYokEoIqRIvPbU3O3SC0jb8zSPVgXdxgzEgYWN536zxZuZKWo/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3832.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /> As evening fell, I headed back to camp for a tasty dinner
of hamburgers fried up on a pan on my grill. They’re no Telluride hamburgers,
with no fancy toppings or trendy exotic meats, but hey, they didn’t cost me 40
bucks either. A pretty good end to a really great day. Tomorrow, I’ll head on
to civilization – but for now, I’m happy to be out here in the cool mountain
air, listening to the muted sounds of nature overlain by the much louder hum of
avid Jeepers coming and going from the campground. Oh, well, I guess one can’t
ask for perfect solitude all the time.<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Kelly signing out.<o:p></o:p></p><p></p>Kelly Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04271547498127096571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893125545466338016.post-62977664192921582442021-08-18T03:32:00.008-04:002021-08-18T13:08:37.912-04:00The Billion Dollar Highway (Adjusted for Inflation)<p> 8-4-2021 </p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> ----</o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">A beautiful morning dawned, puffy clouds of pristine
white rolling across the landscape and bathing the hills in scraps of shadow.
It was exactly the kind of day that would be perfect for more hiking. I would
have loved to revisit some parts of the Colorado Trail – maybe taking it up the
steep hillside to Little Molas Lake and beyond – but alas, I had somewhere else
to be. I had agreed to meet a friend in Ouray for some off-roading.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">So I packed Jane up and got her cranked, relieved to find
that the smell of burned clutch had finally dissipated. We stopped at the
campground entrance for one last shot:</p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF0ii3E7s9ywZP8XNV92Uh0y_ga-pGaIgfjJ_lUFec_VjdfRdKJ0h2QOFVUOkd-vXCiZYfqIlglgqcezDYnXxGiBcfeSct3H34Ci6XiXCENnjncLfZyZkfHH2ILQatkazP1Cq3qO_4CpU/s2048/Edit-IMG_3259.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF0ii3E7s9ywZP8XNV92Uh0y_ga-pGaIgfjJ_lUFec_VjdfRdKJ0h2QOFVUOkd-vXCiZYfqIlglgqcezDYnXxGiBcfeSct3H34Ci6XiXCENnjncLfZyZkfHH2ILQatkazP1Cq3qO_4CpU/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3259.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Then, we headed north on Highway 550, passing Silverton
and entering the stretch dubbed “The Million Dollar Highway”. Some say that
this road is named for its million-dollar views, or for the fact that many
drivers wouldn’t drive it “even for a million dollars”. But apparently the
reality of its name is much more mundane: when this stretch of road was
constructed in the 1920’s, its price tag was astronomical – on the order of a
million dollars. This was so shocking, apparently, that the name stuck. Now,
that seems cheap to us, so maybe it would be helpful to update its name to
adjust for inflation. Why not “The Billion Dollar Highway”?</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">The stretch of road north of Silverton begins as a fairly
standard-looking mountain road with spectacular views:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8W1WWwT63ROUHRxyvu7hkWtK3ApNKeVfRpvJkN1nAuQ1ZkC8oCjn19eVHLLtYocxJyIileEM_XTBaPY_uwS8iztem3uIaHrWByfr82HozjZ1efo-h7_ck11CzFy0zJsiLshXTvDxYS90/s2048/Edit-IMG_3265.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8W1WWwT63ROUHRxyvu7hkWtK3ApNKeVfRpvJkN1nAuQ1ZkC8oCjn19eVHLLtYocxJyIileEM_XTBaPY_uwS8iztem3uIaHrWByfr82HozjZ1efo-h7_ck11CzFy0zJsiLshXTvDxYS90/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3265.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCkItODgNrtWzarDLMz6qHm3vuuZUXIfrY0Ws_i6T1nrCeN7ITimlIEKQjBQzmSjsT8IYPPRHaKBvw4ygDQycePBeg2iFH7th_L9cnutJCnEaeCSyGbfJWCs6aSQyKXNBxle36Y05TpEA/s2048/Edit-IMG_3269.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCkItODgNrtWzarDLMz6qHm3vuuZUXIfrY0Ws_i6T1nrCeN7ITimlIEKQjBQzmSjsT8IYPPRHaKBvw4ygDQycePBeg2iFH7th_L9cnutJCnEaeCSyGbfJWCs6aSQyKXNBxle36Y05TpEA/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3269.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7V5tFmQYUmlHj7TVhCLq7RRK2vyxYheInpVhIkOAyoUwXP55bYl1V5yNbn60e2kt6-z9oD-RNQ0eTM21dxn-kL6aC9m4_f6C-8YJjRRfSxXS6thZR7o7naZXl2QRcVJE-79PojQTk2ss/s2048/Edit-IMG_3272.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7V5tFmQYUmlHj7TVhCLq7RRK2vyxYheInpVhIkOAyoUwXP55bYl1V5yNbn60e2kt6-z9oD-RNQ0eTM21dxn-kL6aC9m4_f6C-8YJjRRfSxXS6thZR7o7naZXl2QRcVJE-79PojQTk2ss/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3272.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7zz0wYF53xPTFGeD5Emws6x2LACMSBcLXVDDuIcU5JVa0dRzC2CVQquzP0oC2FNQXwNDZFsrJaDiN55yfJ6ZTrM6dGVe5PGJX5O9jUXknoz53bYGOb_Z9isS8r9H4AVLqx5JWDdziDLw/s2048/Edit-IMG_3278.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7zz0wYF53xPTFGeD5Emws6x2LACMSBcLXVDDuIcU5JVa0dRzC2CVQquzP0oC2FNQXwNDZFsrJaDiN55yfJ6ZTrM6dGVe5PGJX5O9jUXknoz53bYGOb_Z9isS8r9H4AVLqx5JWDdziDLw/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3278.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqy_5oajYCiewf0iT6w2qzmT8HvmXPOev-wAI23YhvubC1_qwXMdjjsCQyfSNewacXUKoB82LHJqVDv48q6hBeP-FEIo5k0WHTJTVuCyNNm0H2aaCgqJHRw_AR4hWn9hWYVl0YZjhGUNQ/s2048/Edit-IMG_3283.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqy_5oajYCiewf0iT6w2qzmT8HvmXPOev-wAI23YhvubC1_qwXMdjjsCQyfSNewacXUKoB82LHJqVDv48q6hBeP-FEIo5k0WHTJTVuCyNNm0H2aaCgqJHRw_AR4hWn9hWYVl0YZjhGUNQ/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3283.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Jane’s motor hummed quietly (well, as quietly as it ever
does hum) as we skimmed down the road, sweeping around the curves and taking in
the incredible sights. And then, we were funneled into Uncompahgre Gorge, and
suddenly driving took a lot more concentration. Sheer cliffs hundreds of feet
tall loomed up from the very edge of the road on one side, and the slope simply
fell away without a trace on the other.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwMb2OoDLeuQIaPN8xxex91rG_zb-yOatgtWN36zuN7uGgi7RF86FrD1YbbRBLpTNt1Wpuhu9FhNV1WKyOXK4Mlh6BpqYnO7aWS93vHA5WvNqHq4-IwK0z82xI7GOgpXU8lWI7olBFHaE/s2048/Edit-IMG_3292.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwMb2OoDLeuQIaPN8xxex91rG_zb-yOatgtWN36zuN7uGgi7RF86FrD1YbbRBLpTNt1Wpuhu9FhNV1WKyOXK4Mlh6BpqYnO7aWS93vHA5WvNqHq4-IwK0z82xI7GOgpXU8lWI7olBFHaE/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3292.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4_2qSaFbPtXd1ZwtykjddvEx7ZZG3kbnn-uWrlxhtLkRIu3tgmeXs3I6a2oDkPzyGbtskhJP0WmUQ5VCLfdSin8EV9AwunFUvev_RgZubah8hyphenhyphenmY-6KtZ83boPpnX_vNDHG_JW2nIKAk/s2048/Edit-IMG_3294.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4_2qSaFbPtXd1ZwtykjddvEx7ZZG3kbnn-uWrlxhtLkRIu3tgmeXs3I6a2oDkPzyGbtskhJP0WmUQ5VCLfdSin8EV9AwunFUvev_RgZubah8hyphenhyphenmY-6KtZ83boPpnX_vNDHG_JW2nIKAk/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3294.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioOXcS8pc7Wk18TM3fvSWTAIrAlfCu9TFZfrl-c849WCeCcENjlgUPl6KYLjIlvhWxREZ5E5TPgjLBqrPo4yTZAwi6x2EYXQzpG3wQOIHWw4RWR7cwYzzjYtaeq4AZDGu7ZlKKTetGELc/s2048/Edit-IMG_3296.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioOXcS8pc7Wk18TM3fvSWTAIrAlfCu9TFZfrl-c849WCeCcENjlgUPl6KYLjIlvhWxREZ5E5TPgjLBqrPo4yTZAwi6x2EYXQzpG3wQOIHWw4RWR7cwYzzjYtaeq4AZDGu7ZlKKTetGELc/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3296.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh556FstoYea6YEtx2eOUh8SbL1vbqUAgVSSVrOW-V5sl6VoU4bv887UeMzxkx-iKHDaJaoECUp9FccrQB2Adc8S7XQ-alO23EYDO_N0fobrl8F852PZ9rCed5rUhdQ7ct6ZAc5SJ1Ykys/s2048/Edit-IMG_3299.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh556FstoYea6YEtx2eOUh8SbL1vbqUAgVSSVrOW-V5sl6VoU4bv887UeMzxkx-iKHDaJaoECUp9FccrQB2Adc8S7XQ-alO23EYDO_N0fobrl8F852PZ9rCed5rUhdQ7ct6ZAc5SJ1Ykys/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3299.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhywVe_ob3lzlhgpRXARnDMQgHvNGqEHi8YzwsKp0z01VGQqLUmg7VxYrsgwDJbUjD6qYns9Mz5hia-ngj8eqJBhXH1EoptJ3jz1gqRlDMeOrWbtkij0hbCBUybsvuRtbHgGmKYHrO4wxI/s2048/Edit-IMG_3306.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhywVe_ob3lzlhgpRXARnDMQgHvNGqEHi8YzwsKp0z01VGQqLUmg7VxYrsgwDJbUjD6qYns9Mz5hia-ngj8eqJBhXH1EoptJ3jz1gqRlDMeOrWbtkij0hbCBUybsvuRtbHgGmKYHrO4wxI/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3306.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes, the road is indeed undercut here due to erosion</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqhQjAz46LXxwRd4QK3HBl1NUCzEF0hlRc5qr7BiCYLVusjUsF4AdJy7ZiIs-nXUMuBGqEpEBHGZlWqm2OqwA-EE_oPEDRiFkdk9sNyk6cafm88G9oLgoxvplzhSvO33WoMlGq5dgkCLs/s2048/Edit-IMG_3307.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqhQjAz46LXxwRd4QK3HBl1NUCzEF0hlRc5qr7BiCYLVusjUsF4AdJy7ZiIs-nXUMuBGqEpEBHGZlWqm2OqwA-EE_oPEDRiFkdk9sNyk6cafm88G9oLgoxvplzhSvO33WoMlGq5dgkCLs/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3307.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yikes!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA2xdZWMZ_u9aSpZq0ztEs34W4jHusVOrUeLOWdxAWCHxoyaW51lyC4gWcQ-yYEpq63AQ9YGb-jM53VVoVY0lIJtA1NkNRGZGDvZ5_9g-ZnC5DdKbDm2IprN0zLsk2tomGNCjWNz4XE5A/s2048/Edit-IMG_3309.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA2xdZWMZ_u9aSpZq0ztEs34W4jHusVOrUeLOWdxAWCHxoyaW51lyC4gWcQ-yYEpq63AQ9YGb-jM53VVoVY0lIJtA1NkNRGZGDvZ5_9g-ZnC5DdKbDm2IprN0zLsk2tomGNCjWNz4XE5A/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3309.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">My poor little geologist brain churned, trying to take in
the geology and understand it (though this type of rock is not my specialty)
while also trying to stay on the road and away from rocks and precipices. Jane’s
transmission – a 1964 original that is thought to never have been rebuilt –
likes to pop out of gear going downhill, which provided an extra element of…
interest. Fortunately, my brakes are very good, and I have lived with this car
for ten years, which means that I’ve already mastered the art of going downhill
half of the time in gear, and half of the time coasting with the brakes,
alternating to ensure that nothing gets too much of a beating. You all should
be very impressed that I managed to take photos at all while managing all of
this, though.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">We continued down the gorge for an hour, twisting and
turning through an ever-narrowing gap with ever-steepening edges. Each new turn
brought new sights to drink in, new rocks to ponder. Truly, this highway offers
million-dollar – or even billion-dollar – views for every step of the way. But
eventually the road broadened again and began to flatten out, and I came around
one last turn to find the town of Ouray laid out beneath me. Skirting around a
last couple of turns, we came to rest in this little mountain town on the
valley floor, surrounded on all sides by mountain majesties.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfSzX-vmBeOZZilb-Q8e5qoWpCOJrWeI5EwxK6u8dEf7SZNA8HVm4J2ZkPbNcINJk273zEdEKiCHMfI2NAbZblTRX13q-6mKlkPAmdfMARbnD9jQgUdKsEOHVDicrMXEHezIxYUaYm1hg/s2048/Edit-IMG_3312.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfSzX-vmBeOZZilb-Q8e5qoWpCOJrWeI5EwxK6u8dEf7SZNA8HVm4J2ZkPbNcINJk273zEdEKiCHMfI2NAbZblTRX13q-6mKlkPAmdfMARbnD9jQgUdKsEOHVDicrMXEHezIxYUaYm1hg/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3312.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCfdFUIzkm_zHbUx5IXHSau3ukPz4aA2Ctiqr6b1Th2DpemDZbxql9xnXiPdHQcPXsUQMIP-tYzIF9ax2odYwpXmQleibvupVJLFJeQsmuXd3YeIr2ylvTpP3Y-GPkW6ozQh3ctrnjw5c/s2048/Edit-IMG_3314.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCfdFUIzkm_zHbUx5IXHSau3ukPz4aA2Ctiqr6b1Th2DpemDZbxql9xnXiPdHQcPXsUQMIP-tYzIF9ax2odYwpXmQleibvupVJLFJeQsmuXd3YeIr2ylvTpP3Y-GPkW6ozQh3ctrnjw5c/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3314.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">The town was bustling with activity, and I noted that
fully 50% of the vehicles – if not more – were Jeeps and other off-road rigs.
Ouray is a major hub for off-roading activity, with many well-known trails in
the area running all over the surrounding mountain range. Quite unfortunately, we
know from earlier this trip that Jane is NOT an off-road rig… so it’s a good
thing that I had arranged to ride along in one, instead!</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">I parked Jane in town in a conspicuous spot – even the
most inconspicuous spot becomes conspicuous with a 1966 Mustang parked in it –
and met up with Bryan, a very good friend of mine. Bryan was my landlord back
when I lived in Colorado, and he still lives here in the summers. I consider
him a sort of second father. When he heard that I was going to be stopping in
Ouray, he proposed that we go off-roading together, as he has a decked-out
off-roading Jeep and had a trail in mind that he needed a spotter for! That
sounded like all kinds of good fun to me, so I accepted.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Bryan sent me a link to a description of Black Bear Pass,
the trail that he wanted to tackle. I opened it and was greeted with a sentence
reading, “People have died on this trail”.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">“Hmmm,” I thought, and said, “This trail looks awesome!”,
ignoring the large red flags waving about in my view.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">So, off we went in his rig.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">The start of the trail was fairly tame, offering lovely sweeping
views of vast wildflower-filled mountain meadows, small stands of trees, and
abundant waterfalls. But the trail steepened and narrowed quickly, and we ascended
the first mountain with nothing but sky in view.</p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-rLLt_D59_P5K6UOmymhqYbnt7rtocePWpAc9qWbcvaQKHa6bO_TY4kDvLuqfQwNuNhlRhemUfUdzNSok7Vy9ASEHKQ2QY2EFMolxrYQmm65TTFD8WzeL-j3DEazxyABX98FOkLFz9i8/s2048/Edit-IMG_3317.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-rLLt_D59_P5K6UOmymhqYbnt7rtocePWpAc9qWbcvaQKHa6bO_TY4kDvLuqfQwNuNhlRhemUfUdzNSok7Vy9ASEHKQ2QY2EFMolxrYQmm65TTFD8WzeL-j3DEazxyABX98FOkLFz9i8/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3317.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlOnLQ-bgZXzC2KOk4nYzkcSFkVPSmgEMyB_yRmbWU9GVC4BRQd-thgeLsEOxBC-CSXKKRWaiKisgiDHB5PrcxZcbOJa3CogUcmDkiSOlhIVkqQV2eccQlw6CUvQUXNBZwGFrEqC1G95M/s2048/Edit-IMG_3321.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlOnLQ-bgZXzC2KOk4nYzkcSFkVPSmgEMyB_yRmbWU9GVC4BRQd-thgeLsEOxBC-CSXKKRWaiKisgiDHB5PrcxZcbOJa3CogUcmDkiSOlhIVkqQV2eccQlw6CUvQUXNBZwGFrEqC1G95M/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3321.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTs_W9abA3LdBcMULEao2pFhnoWhypB69AlU9Ua09Wc9elwLRyGRrmgq0-AqEMs8_pcvOhZc8JFPxjgDifYZFYA6tCxyHFcnnLKiFwYit2EZm2KeCWGiBYyt05j2h-ih-TTDrJ2fh47ts/s2048/Edit-IMG_3341.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTs_W9abA3LdBcMULEao2pFhnoWhypB69AlU9Ua09Wc9elwLRyGRrmgq0-AqEMs8_pcvOhZc8JFPxjgDifYZFYA6tCxyHFcnnLKiFwYit2EZm2KeCWGiBYyt05j2h-ih-TTDrJ2fh47ts/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3341.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">At the top of the mountain, we traversed a fairly
flattish area with some interesting landscapes that looked nearly alpine to me,
with bare-faced mountain caps towering over meadows devoid of trees. I suppose
maybe it was high enough to be alpine, although it didn’t feel cold enough to
really count.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtOu665X9m7l5SbScqvoLluZs9aboAT0Ttw5YOM5XG4cQ4Gt8NzXSgrGNUp_sGhRxl0M-GzqXspjfWdMTSpt_aj5GXyaSV0pIkxgdKVo9r8IBwMGt8O2JWC3yAzLUfOYwRgCSM09aGeXE/s2048/Edit-IMG_3346.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtOu665X9m7l5SbScqvoLluZs9aboAT0Ttw5YOM5XG4cQ4Gt8NzXSgrGNUp_sGhRxl0M-GzqXspjfWdMTSpt_aj5GXyaSV0pIkxgdKVo9r8IBwMGt8O2JWC3yAzLUfOYwRgCSM09aGeXE/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3346.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuzkJeSdotPFkNFJrWR2XtYy1kqNOfG25QX02UnS-AH781mExOjLeRmODp-NhWdkAmxHrruFZY-hsbJBZfqzyKFxBqyrA8_PgT4tABlBkkB2lsxE3AVm4E8hB9PwrANxS7L6B8WdlpuJ4/s2048/Edit-IMG_3352.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuzkJeSdotPFkNFJrWR2XtYy1kqNOfG25QX02UnS-AH781mExOjLeRmODp-NhWdkAmxHrruFZY-hsbJBZfqzyKFxBqyrA8_PgT4tABlBkkB2lsxE3AVm4E8hB9PwrANxS7L6B8WdlpuJ4/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3352.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-MizbsF8QR91EYiIRKKC_W0O8EeDSiKzsHoxthvRi1fmyyHFxqwQE8v-J8UeXMu4B2Om6DEHHGMeNwHCJRbYCkHPpxsxUwjYYW7N5vckyxdHL_TKNcjdUrkx6A6T7wKbwvyw7Z4DReoU/s2048/Edit-IMG_3357.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-MizbsF8QR91EYiIRKKC_W0O8EeDSiKzsHoxthvRi1fmyyHFxqwQE8v-J8UeXMu4B2Om6DEHHGMeNwHCJRbYCkHPpxsxUwjYYW7N5vckyxdHL_TKNcjdUrkx6A6T7wKbwvyw7Z4DReoU/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3357.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Somewhere around here, we saw a petite older lady
flagging us down. We stopped to talk with her, and she asked for a ride to the
top as she was worried that she wouldn’t have enough time to hike all the way
up before having to go back down. Of course we gave her a ride. Her name was
Carol Anne, and she was sweet beyond belief.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">We kept on up the mountain as Carol Anne burbled on about
the beauty of the vistas, how much fun she was having, and how grateful she was
for us picking her up. She was truly a pleasure to have riding along! Bryan and
I were impressed by how far along the hike she had gotten, considering the
steep, high-altitude terrain. She told us that she was in her late 60’s. I told
her that I wanted to be like her when I grow up.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">After a bit, we reached the pinnacle of the trail: Black
Bear Pass, at 12,840 ft. elevation. I suppose we might have been traveling
through alpine terrain after all! All of us hopped out to snap pictures of the
incredible valley laid out before us, with large meadows dotted with alpine
lakes and fringed by impressive mountains. As much as I would have liked to
spend this perfect day hiking, seeing this area was a far better use of such
spectacular weather.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh61KKseFVh9t3tpvNokm3ZWucjkHDuWwDaRXgLh5patj-b4-GEAZrEOscKVrhGBUGBCX1bCEfd2zUcuRN53JalXzJxylA2I07z4HKO5QORsV1hmaL2bmvoivS7ubsfiFeb0KUz6KGwYdE/s2048/Edit-IMG_3364.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh61KKseFVh9t3tpvNokm3ZWucjkHDuWwDaRXgLh5patj-b4-GEAZrEOscKVrhGBUGBCX1bCEfd2zUcuRN53JalXzJxylA2I07z4HKO5QORsV1hmaL2bmvoivS7ubsfiFeb0KUz6KGwYdE/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3364.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Xw6HxZ2jJ_pnsiIb7lJU5BBCVLQA5ObLYBejXwM_9niWZ3ZZvgdNciqP3OWL5zVYo1IEvWhhhbgMMC9-5tggkEcVXX1W0AMn2amhJgX1-FW-BagpkeIkPDD102PUf__5c85hvnpyH8c/s2048/Edit-IMG_3369.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Xw6HxZ2jJ_pnsiIb7lJU5BBCVLQA5ObLYBejXwM_9niWZ3ZZvgdNciqP3OWL5zVYo1IEvWhhhbgMMC9-5tggkEcVXX1W0AMn2amhJgX1-FW-BagpkeIkPDD102PUf__5c85hvnpyH8c/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3369.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNHJMgu1Rw1qxKddRNbD4WM1si9P6J5mJ9Ze3O4jtDlSRkkgp7u14Q1Q-NKnP1Y3rXHe5udwfW1QGbah48-H_VpwLbizpGgrUhgiXpRYrleklMgt6J_kU1G0emRRvbDi-HXGqas6AecRM/s2048/Edit-IMG_3370.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNHJMgu1Rw1qxKddRNbD4WM1si9P6J5mJ9Ze3O4jtDlSRkkgp7u14Q1Q-NKnP1Y3rXHe5udwfW1QGbah48-H_VpwLbizpGgrUhgiXpRYrleklMgt6J_kU1G0emRRvbDi-HXGqas6AecRM/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3370.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdpZoAOXLxg-5HNaVl2ATYKSfK2_ulPrDJwkktwHIsgJPbGAD1LtCZ5YDOqJ9ql7YnpwiF_fFD3nX7GPRlHIsBLlJU89KmdoJy_1OeuW4hjqIBGdiUbj0qgtOpOS5Bn02AXFBnvP5U56I/s2048/Edit-IMG_3373.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdpZoAOXLxg-5HNaVl2ATYKSfK2_ulPrDJwkktwHIsgJPbGAD1LtCZ5YDOqJ9ql7YnpwiF_fFD3nX7GPRlHIsBLlJU89KmdoJy_1OeuW4hjqIBGdiUbj0qgtOpOS5Bn02AXFBnvP5U56I/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3373.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bryan said I should have a more artsy pic of myself at the top of this pass, so this is the best we got</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">We spectated for a bit and then bid Carol Anne goodbye.
It was time to go down the trail – and this is when the REAL challenges began. At
the top of the descent, we passed this sign:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmVhu-ObJlSAIO9lVDbkb30ekRGNXTavZMLJtdg-kttbTey2XL_c5lxpb3AYeE869j7b8NRDZg4-4sPF0DM28N2BqJxsGesragty5QGjGT1VqK8pK6Eks1kUlNwcI6_b7nBT-WdGimoVM/s2048/Edit-IMG_3383.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmVhu-ObJlSAIO9lVDbkb30ekRGNXTavZMLJtdg-kttbTey2XL_c5lxpb3AYeE869j7b8NRDZg4-4sPF0DM28N2BqJxsGesragty5QGjGT1VqK8pK6Eks1kUlNwcI6_b7nBT-WdGimoVM/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3383.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">I looked at it, looked at Bryan, and said, “You can drive
this, right?”</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">“I think so,” he replied. After a pause, he offered, “Well,
my friend said this trail’s bark is worse than its bite and probably I’ll be
fine.”</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Satisfied by his alarmingly lukewarm response, I just went,
“Okay, well don’t get me killed man,” and off we went into the wild.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYc4LU6DvdOZe9TWKSpzzeUGspgW1Ls4c9ooFqLZ6O8UQUkkcA66706DaoziwnMyqOp37xx9l_M0TpGKbVyl61dMjW-D-734MZxZ02jaCQeDGYt13TR5IAV4sie3qBt7onIxutlKEfVHA/s2048/Edit-IMG_3379.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYc4LU6DvdOZe9TWKSpzzeUGspgW1Ls4c9ooFqLZ6O8UQUkkcA66706DaoziwnMyqOp37xx9l_M0TpGKbVyl61dMjW-D-734MZxZ02jaCQeDGYt13TR5IAV4sie3qBt7onIxutlKEfVHA/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3379.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jeeps for scale in bottom right</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">For a while, things seemed fairly easy. The trail was wide,
if quite rocky, and Bryan’s off-road rig traversed it with ease. But then it
narrowed, and narrowed some more, and it became very apparent that we were driving
on top of a flattened portion of a large scree slope, which was none too
stable. Bryan’s knuckles whitened.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijmk6qSR9mq1bt1LCtFLJxBANugf8KSYJqZL0VbfD_5hPJ68Rv0jTr4MAwpZXtOqOM6kKv_DzkEWO4Z25ui61wQ8ZVSNkdNGSPq0h-N380hkyxk5CEoK4NUsdRm-qmc_mzpN35BcYgkWM/s2048/Edit-IMG_3400.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijmk6qSR9mq1bt1LCtFLJxBANugf8KSYJqZL0VbfD_5hPJ68Rv0jTr4MAwpZXtOqOM6kKv_DzkEWO4Z25ui61wQ8ZVSNkdNGSPq0h-N380hkyxk5CEoK4NUsdRm-qmc_mzpN35BcYgkWM/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3400.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrtp7ihNxfDG8KLVt9Kkkog3l1FNcNSSBJ3UlIqqRJFFwJmnfLewFTzZ8DTbbMPzIq4QTU3wK6wEY0Wqbw6Mke4VbGAwp37V-LpTBhn7ZienA77vp3QbJKgSNZues1kMknTq7-gbhyUTY/s2048/Edit-IMG_3386.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrtp7ihNxfDG8KLVt9Kkkog3l1FNcNSSBJ3UlIqqRJFFwJmnfLewFTzZ8DTbbMPzIq4QTU3wK6wEY0Wqbw6Mke4VbGAwp37V-LpTBhn7ZienA77vp3QbJKgSNZues1kMknTq7-gbhyUTY/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3386.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">When we got to a lower elevation, the meadows opened back
up and wildflowers bloomed in profusion, soaking up the strong rays of the sun.
The town of Telluride popped into view on the valley floor in the far distance,
a beacon marking our eventual destination. We stopped for a bit, me to take
pictures of flowers, and Bryan to shake the tension out of his shoulders.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyLJqg0qFw1h2V1utabZyq5jinu5NJzPqS57TKYlOljzU9YF-iqrfC0tl5kzd4oUf6KmpqKqk-p_l9cf14TAqg4nLXxEqSDZzKxu6L3apCgTrY41-oHMULtAFK29uGMhMQt91vDE8A84M/s2048/Edit-IMG_3394.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyLJqg0qFw1h2V1utabZyq5jinu5NJzPqS57TKYlOljzU9YF-iqrfC0tl5kzd4oUf6KmpqKqk-p_l9cf14TAqg4nLXxEqSDZzKxu6L3apCgTrY41-oHMULtAFK29uGMhMQt91vDE8A84M/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3394.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWvPrex2W_4ORLH6h5i52TeOF_3BaHQut8wEM8AJ4tKBwdb0oGbbxjG-aMJYg6mqktouBwN_Ygmao7svI5wDcfYx435cMQ1WSKvfMOg25YxGc3Lh6x_iBrw7ovq_sbFekquCfuD9UhSik/s2048/Edit-IMG_3415.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWvPrex2W_4ORLH6h5i52TeOF_3BaHQut8wEM8AJ4tKBwdb0oGbbxjG-aMJYg6mqktouBwN_Ygmao7svI5wDcfYx435cMQ1WSKvfMOg25YxGc3Lh6x_iBrw7ovq_sbFekquCfuD9UhSik/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_3415.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw7gNTcN1g5HsiPyRpuuOKIstjcDBJ6TQzGl-qaBGy16N76iWkIzcBnvfn_OGgSZqS7008SlO6kFwLZo8bgrgjjf2OJTOk1PO50OjGckq1kn1yxDI-2s_Xcq51mL_Dt8LsgOvsejo3Sqk/s2048/Edit-IMG_3416.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw7gNTcN1g5HsiPyRpuuOKIstjcDBJ6TQzGl-qaBGy16N76iWkIzcBnvfn_OGgSZqS7008SlO6kFwLZo8bgrgjjf2OJTOk1PO50OjGckq1kn1yxDI-2s_Xcq51mL_Dt8LsgOvsejo3Sqk/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3416.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXn2hCZny9eIwt1wypEwutL64rXd-zOnUVOdfydWMfsGhrlJdIcLcTmv9y-fP0biFJfMjNWXYaYGc-W4IuBOFtOZGfeT1j5AGQcGV3l5P3KOXbABHdw3ajHZgAtfiVN26eCSYxUDcmzJk/s2048/Edit-IMG_3417.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXn2hCZny9eIwt1wypEwutL64rXd-zOnUVOdfydWMfsGhrlJdIcLcTmv9y-fP0biFJfMjNWXYaYGc-W4IuBOFtOZGfeT1j5AGQcGV3l5P3KOXbABHdw3ajHZgAtfiVN26eCSYxUDcmzJk/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3417.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifg_7ubR_tyjOQBQLPF37ix8yyJn5u9vxsD3vMVkyx-w_M61RWDr_TqCG7_GYnTNxB22tRE7wTDH0o7jfhbDP5kMNZsNeJQnpDcy3hL1E1CvdbeIRl_RQTSa1aNPycwPB0LLQqHz7Aw9s/s2048/Edit-IMG_3420.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifg_7ubR_tyjOQBQLPF37ix8yyJn5u9vxsD3vMVkyx-w_M61RWDr_TqCG7_GYnTNxB22tRE7wTDH0o7jfhbDP5kMNZsNeJQnpDcy3hL1E1CvdbeIRl_RQTSa1aNPycwPB0LLQqHz7Aw9s/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3420.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bryan and his rig, a modified 2018 Jeep Wrangler JL</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p>Then we continued on, and on, and on, and the trail continued getting narrower, and rockier, and… well, wilder. It had the look of a trail well-traveled, but one that would be quickly reclaimed by nature if given even a small chance. We did our part in keeping the trail from being reclaimed, crawling over rocks, grinding them further into the trailbed. And just as the trail started getting really steep, and really gnarly, we encountered another group of off-roaders and ground to a stop.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNYsGu7hd7dVi9I66mcA8O-IGh0SVGsLmTAjASqX2uRFuKkWUjzOIBYWNBJRV3_meTA4HsNHa4L3LMMZ3mNFUb3BUQaEvq-Xik9pHOf670vuJVGcPcBJ66Atr4QdMIHjc95OTJ0m6uER4/s2048/Edit-IMG_3438.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNYsGu7hd7dVi9I66mcA8O-IGh0SVGsLmTAjASqX2uRFuKkWUjzOIBYWNBJRV3_meTA4HsNHa4L3LMMZ3mNFUb3BUQaEvq-Xik9pHOf670vuJVGcPcBJ66Atr4QdMIHjc95OTJ0m6uER4/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3438.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNoSpacing">This group was slowly navigating one of the more
technical obstacles in the trail – a very steep off-camber rock face with a few
alarming drops. The trail did no favors, providing very limited avenues of
approach and sheering off into a steep slope directly off the side. This is the
kind of obstacle that you could flip your car on quite easily. Fortunately, one
of the drivers had a megaphone and was standing at the rock face and coaching
the other drivers through the maneuver one at a time.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Giving Bryan a thumbs-up, I got out and hung off the back
right corner for added ballast, ostensibly to help Bryan navigate the obstacle
more easily and hopefully stay on all four tires, but also to give myself a
much easier bail-out point if needed (hey, survival of the fittest). Megaphone Guy
talked Bryan through the steps and sure enough, we came through it just fine.
From my perspective, it seemed like hardly any trouble at all. But as I re-entered
the Jeep, Bryan informed me that it had not at all felt that way from the
driver’s seat. Good thing he’s got nerves of steel!</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">With all vehicles through the rock face safely, the group
moved on further down the trail. The next thing it had to throw at us – all of
50 feet of driving later – was a more extreme version of what we had already
encountered previously. Closer rock walls, even narrower, even rockier trails, steeper
precipices, deeper yawning chasms, and completely unrecoverable scree slopes. I
took a lot of pictures, just in case we died. Bryan yelled at me for taking too
many pictures because he needed me to tell him if he could get any closer to
the rock walls – he was more willing to scrape his mirrors on the cliffs than
he was to hang a tire any closer to the edge of those scree slopes than needed.
I maintained that I needed to take pictures to document our final moments.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyRLLXnZVfc8u0nAGySDMpsMNC5qPdosckO9f-1t3k8S5spbZLIM1w91rce8kdyP0XnyUshkxB8pEYHM_42gOTzj4R35O6t06Vrum9YzQl23n77fWsH4Zp7oeeDBNPTcdJTYfireGZ8Co/s2048/Edit-IMG_3439.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyRLLXnZVfc8u0nAGySDMpsMNC5qPdosckO9f-1t3k8S5spbZLIM1w91rce8kdyP0XnyUshkxB8pEYHM_42gOTzj4R35O6t06Vrum9YzQl23n77fWsH4Zp7oeeDBNPTcdJTYfireGZ8Co/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3439.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCeNTeOO8d_9xZQ444-hPQyo3Tl0r8XHOZ2TRnAY9VIhQ1-8sbZ9fxX4FWJx02SysdbaDIehGBbnLnAGH_WavM1GfNxqSGIwTjRLIIazLFIpqUcRqbFZYF8m3jBmMILqkJeGpIwOJwOZ8/s2048/Edit-IMG_3453.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCeNTeOO8d_9xZQ444-hPQyo3Tl0r8XHOZ2TRnAY9VIhQ1-8sbZ9fxX4FWJx02SysdbaDIehGBbnLnAGH_WavM1GfNxqSGIwTjRLIIazLFIpqUcRqbFZYF8m3jBmMILqkJeGpIwOJwOZ8/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3453.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgppgz1ywdFXyWXiLzaUGyNcpDi06bspR_D7YeKY9xznQttj6j7sil2sjqH0xWwFNsK6IPH5hi2sQKsChfAC5VvrYv83PNbqeUsIQcBzHkCkF4UKVnbRTyy3g6Zrs-QVbuWMFVmmWkJJsY/s2048/Edit-IMG_3454.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgppgz1ywdFXyWXiLzaUGyNcpDi06bspR_D7YeKY9xznQttj6j7sil2sjqH0xWwFNsK6IPH5hi2sQKsChfAC5VvrYv83PNbqeUsIQcBzHkCkF4UKVnbRTyy3g6Zrs-QVbuWMFVmmWkJJsY/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3454.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">The white-knuckling continued for what seemed like
forever, as we navigated hairpin switchbacks requiring six-point turns and narrow
straightaways with unstable margins. With so many vehicles on the same
hillside, we had to be careful not to knock any rocks free – which could be
deadly to someone below.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5rR6BO18cTUkSBrroFhpFf_mfVH_HmU1RWF6ciN9oKO-knvS3L3ytimYmjM7OjgWE3GK810HoTLkck5yMlQxzy6aAKIA0nsgAA1KrL2EqIdvCoZwQKW27ryKstt-xsOIu7QEyHbEx7JI/s2048/Edit-IMG_3456.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5rR6BO18cTUkSBrroFhpFf_mfVH_HmU1RWF6ciN9oKO-knvS3L3ytimYmjM7OjgWE3GK810HoTLkck5yMlQxzy6aAKIA0nsgAA1KrL2EqIdvCoZwQKW27ryKstt-xsOIu7QEyHbEx7JI/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3456.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">A gushing waterfall with a largish clearing next to it
provided a very welcome respite where the rest of the group stopped to recoup
and rest. I got out to take a few photos of Bryan traversing the water
crossing, which really was nothing compared to the rest of the trail we had
just come from. Nevertheless, it was picturesque.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQOdpDnH_bc6pYyOPfTR1Ej7G8e9xX7PjYb4JyR9tGVv-riZPXynuqO2Lo7Cmv3PWaFxu6nN4O_nusQlUkj39sCYap74oRqw7L-yLYvFVBU5JtJVW-6n5CklZi2tCG5-byod2ZnxkR4mE/s2048/Edit-IMG_3464.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQOdpDnH_bc6pYyOPfTR1Ej7G8e9xX7PjYb4JyR9tGVv-riZPXynuqO2Lo7Cmv3PWaFxu6nN4O_nusQlUkj39sCYap74oRqw7L-yLYvFVBU5JtJVW-6n5CklZi2tCG5-byod2ZnxkR4mE/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3464.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyLivwEE3z73sp5LuC_Ld_x9eSRTKPtFWm2oyPVy9bHh2RmQfEUfs8X_EWaOx8cgBZdPC0tIdbhW3GNJyMIxbMc9SB8wvRLOXzOxa353CDgBg1rQYz_O-jCcA19J1NQXD4pYZOgiWY0eE/s2048/Edit-IMG_3467.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyLivwEE3z73sp5LuC_Ld_x9eSRTKPtFWm2oyPVy9bHh2RmQfEUfs8X_EWaOx8cgBZdPC0tIdbhW3GNJyMIxbMc9SB8wvRLOXzOxa353CDgBg1rQYz_O-jCcA19J1NQXD4pYZOgiWY0eE/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3467.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">While the others rested, we took the opportunity to carry
on down the trail without traffic holding us up. And what did we find?
Surprise, more brutal switchbacks, narrow trails, and dangerous scree slopes.
This was probably the worst part of the trail just for its lack of options.
Instead of multiple lines of approach, the trail was so narrow that you only
had one way to come at a turn or an obstacle, so you just had to hope that you
were good enough to get through it. Very fortunately, Bryan was proving to be a
great driver, so we only had a few hairy moments when miniscule inch-by-inch
reorientations were needed.</p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDv_VtcHXXaFVKd7666uy19MERa_jgpkMc5_GUaJlCR7z5U5PZ1LYNRG4DZGCV6mokCS2Hf34cnFbPIdcgbmniHj8tqMrWcq_RIM2yEWn8-CwOq04b5abPdZXGblt0AOcz2W5eSJuIwZg/s2048/Edit-IMG_3475.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDv_VtcHXXaFVKd7666uy19MERa_jgpkMc5_GUaJlCR7z5U5PZ1LYNRG4DZGCV6mokCS2Hf34cnFbPIdcgbmniHj8tqMrWcq_RIM2yEWn8-CwOq04b5abPdZXGblt0AOcz2W5eSJuIwZg/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3475.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin7pVxb8VqJe6FYfYBV2hQvhO8BS-XfbdnMh1-yPlSQSnidhBXuATTdpaxtsCagKZB_M3bMlVwANEjMG47znQgcwj0DsnHrdhfZtwbpphdXzJh5YbGyZrqnQbMBPVth5fmd_PUJbhEEzs/s2048/Edit-IMG_3477.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin7pVxb8VqJe6FYfYBV2hQvhO8BS-XfbdnMh1-yPlSQSnidhBXuATTdpaxtsCagKZB_M3bMlVwANEjMG47znQgcwj0DsnHrdhfZtwbpphdXzJh5YbGyZrqnQbMBPVth5fmd_PUJbhEEzs/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3477.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Well this looks safe</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg29x9AZiejcK3NIUy_yTmFwLC4ivA_p7as20M-pR82-OGFoMI_y-xLl5lCfJ7khrZIMzXQT1HPdcOas3LMNjg1RtJrDfHRuTFVld_2fZZc6btjt3X5KpvmyDWDL16o8iKho6ucHSoQc4g/s2048/Edit-IMG_3480.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg29x9AZiejcK3NIUy_yTmFwLC4ivA_p7as20M-pR82-OGFoMI_y-xLl5lCfJ7khrZIMzXQT1HPdcOas3LMNjg1RtJrDfHRuTFVld_2fZZc6btjt3X5KpvmyDWDL16o8iKho6ucHSoQc4g/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3480.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3cwMjVgvqmrC9J3UfN2FdHKvsUMBcTFWu0kmvFXoIZSPjk6GhCM0ncuFot-H-336ceQYE9XhahCKoTYOOnke7omS0IqpJ768MAllC_zztcP2eSOxEHKw1VsIsXDlNQwIfy9wft-pI7AQ/s2048/Edit-IMG_3482.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3cwMjVgvqmrC9J3UfN2FdHKvsUMBcTFWu0kmvFXoIZSPjk6GhCM0ncuFot-H-336ceQYE9XhahCKoTYOOnke7omS0IqpJ768MAllC_zztcP2eSOxEHKw1VsIsXDlNQwIfy9wft-pI7AQ/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3482.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZXEymVNSpHNcFb78A0yx3up16TCskHQjvJNzGNXwl5jaiuwnoOgEBD_aexEegdgFMrrDe7H9vfVU1S9nuRmQsOMJ9PWOOyMe3w03kS-CdEV-pqZJXdF5SC5orLF-DRExffTG6oIuRwg8/s2048/Edit-IMG_3489.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZXEymVNSpHNcFb78A0yx3up16TCskHQjvJNzGNXwl5jaiuwnoOgEBD_aexEegdgFMrrDe7H9vfVU1S9nuRmQsOMJ9PWOOyMe3w03kS-CdEV-pqZJXdF5SC5orLF-DRExffTG6oIuRwg8/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3489.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Don't mind the gigantic boulder encroaching on the trail, it's fine</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpUfAdJCq9-xtC21m5oDSlMJ_z_4ntW-90cF6TwDF0VFs1LVFFDp7PgXcHdVvxmc66yf0n1v5TihEKxgALwK8ApYuU6OS7-9GV7dnRf5oLIM6Nh8oEV47yB8_RnTFOjDbEse0yKXvxwYk/s2048/Edit-IMG_3491.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpUfAdJCq9-xtC21m5oDSlMJ_z_4ntW-90cF6TwDF0VFs1LVFFDp7PgXcHdVvxmc66yf0n1v5TihEKxgALwK8ApYuU6OS7-9GV7dnRf5oLIM6Nh8oEV47yB8_RnTFOjDbEse0yKXvxwYk/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3491.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Who in the world has a turn radius good enough for this?</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhBeeTh2uuaK4p4xObPTjOXchyNhwTM59PY0tVxI-1WeyNCSxT0onFqxzeFiNKKJTGwPneh622uT39rphzNYXGpsGhlT0mvq_M93I3UI8dZdl7TORhPinQrCkGyDoFr5oS3AGX42Mwu4s/s2048/Edit-IMG_3495.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhBeeTh2uuaK4p4xObPTjOXchyNhwTM59PY0tVxI-1WeyNCSxT0onFqxzeFiNKKJTGwPneh622uT39rphzNYXGpsGhlT0mvq_M93I3UI8dZdl7TORhPinQrCkGyDoFr5oS3AGX42Mwu4s/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3495.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">And then, unexpectedly, the trail tied into a gravel
road, and we got to travel like civilized humans again. We both let out a
breath we had unconsciously been holding – although I truly hadn’t felt in
danger at any point in time with Bryan driving – and Bryan remarked, “Well,
that was the scariest, most technical trail I’ve ever been on!”</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Hey, everything works out in the end, you know.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">We stopped briefly to check out this great waterfall with
a house-looking building on top (which turned out to be some hydroelectric
deal). According to a nearby sign, the waterfall was called Bridal Veil Falls. Not
to be confused with Bridalveil Fall, which of course is Yosemite National Park’s
famous waterfall. People really are uncreative when they name things.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglQ548qHueTj0tpUNCCNHo6f1pZo3S6WKA9eQciFd9u1wn5g9GsvgaATdqkdArKQLhbUttN0lr36q2aifElXuRe3Wh5KZc1Sk1nYzgrdZiDYamjb6tjehklnmChIc2xhqI2UyVg6VIIC0/s2048/Edit-IMG_3502.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglQ548qHueTj0tpUNCCNHo6f1pZo3S6WKA9eQciFd9u1wn5g9GsvgaATdqkdArKQLhbUttN0lr36q2aifElXuRe3Wh5KZc1Sk1nYzgrdZiDYamjb6tjehklnmChIc2xhqI2UyVg6VIIC0/w426-h640/Edit-IMG_3502.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p>With no small amount of relief, we made our way into
Telluride and stopped for a delicious victory lunch of burgers and fries. Of
course, because this is Telluride, even a simple burger and fry meal was made bourgeois,
with all kinds of fancy toppings that justified the $40 price tag for the two
of us. I was very impressed by the
beauty of the town, but less impressed by the fact that there seemed to be only
very expensive stores to shop in and very expensive places to eat. I think that
Ouray is more my speed. Regardless, we had a nice time wandering around.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">We had originally planned on taking another, much easier
trail back to Ouray from Telluride, but opted not to as evening was approaching
and we wanted to set up camp. So we took normal people roads home – you know,
the type that’re paved and nicely swept, with painted lines showing you where
to go. The views, once again, were spectacular, and I very much enjoyed sitting
in the passenger seat where I could take photos to my heart’s content. Usually
I’m the one driving, you know, and it’s a bit harder to take pictures when you’re
doing that. A bit.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD9NcQC0RiuCVnA3CVPR5SVZ1N_BBxnwVI1x0ow4evx3BB05MX8DQHzXwkR6f_35MbstaP5OMpjVH_oAeu3s2vY8JSd78O0tX5WoOw_gQS8lu-vGr-ZSB6yn0AHB9x7qPy97U6PxZDtac/s2048/Edit-IMG_3515.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD9NcQC0RiuCVnA3CVPR5SVZ1N_BBxnwVI1x0ow4evx3BB05MX8DQHzXwkR6f_35MbstaP5OMpjVH_oAeu3s2vY8JSd78O0tX5WoOw_gQS8lu-vGr-ZSB6yn0AHB9x7qPy97U6PxZDtac/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3515.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0YgGxFVng1Ow51nsLAB90hYJUAMKG1XMUcmWv7LUUi8xArUSnWo-YXqKCc0YCPt91yv0vZ8lPIpcXVVziR0nxdNE6Gw8n4LVLXwwDRX2UNxSzgk-sAaRzQkLOuqh57jMylCAzixzVjh8/s2048/Edit-IMG_3524.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0YgGxFVng1Ow51nsLAB90hYJUAMKG1XMUcmWv7LUUi8xArUSnWo-YXqKCc0YCPt91yv0vZ8lPIpcXVVziR0nxdNE6Gw8n4LVLXwwDRX2UNxSzgk-sAaRzQkLOuqh57jMylCAzixzVjh8/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3524.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqym9xAowulONYaa2Lj21Lr7qHC3v74SXFtDRGXGbvHgf1mtXbue2bm-U7l9D9THnj4yl6FPjtejSD3eLl23FmauF5TXiU4TTot4fnmVH132YBRQ03ECEzD9oVO_awINtqqJBI-9VnD-0/s2048/Edit-IMG_3526.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqym9xAowulONYaa2Lj21Lr7qHC3v74SXFtDRGXGbvHgf1mtXbue2bm-U7l9D9THnj4yl6FPjtejSD3eLl23FmauF5TXiU4TTot4fnmVH132YBRQ03ECEzD9oVO_awINtqqJBI-9VnD-0/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3526.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVjBn29L2OMso8z3oCsWMYn4PzGfoVI7KcLP6C81BynMWv-MtrY7yQg30dk2W8OtGaQ-STblXgL7aaU5voAy1p8Nbyiu4TWAbQ8s5RDBgYyaJI9OJCJ1lbUgFPO1pyaXR-MZlbrPm5BQM/s2048/Edit-IMG_3532.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVjBn29L2OMso8z3oCsWMYn4PzGfoVI7KcLP6C81BynMWv-MtrY7yQg30dk2W8OtGaQ-STblXgL7aaU5voAy1p8Nbyiu4TWAbQ8s5RDBgYyaJI9OJCJ1lbUgFPO1pyaXR-MZlbrPm5BQM/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3532.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAFQa_glVBqgxXXb-9Tm7SIv5Rdtr7MAWwWl9EEH0qDGF6v1Q4lzOgAiXsi49rwmTns10HSjCZbJCHknn66NtseHDgWYjTPnWUluGyDB1QsYGeSJf8ZYX7erKG1gTAqpwtim4QcWXtDSY/s2048/Edit-IMG_3537.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAFQa_glVBqgxXXb-9Tm7SIv5Rdtr7MAWwWl9EEH0qDGF6v1Q4lzOgAiXsi49rwmTns10HSjCZbJCHknn66NtseHDgWYjTPnWUluGyDB1QsYGeSJf8ZYX7erKG1gTAqpwtim4QcWXtDSY/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3537.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p>As the sun dropped towards the horizon, we reached Ouray
again and I picked up Jane from her conspicuous parking spot. Together, we made
our way to the Ouray KOA, our campsite for the night. We found it rife with
off-roaders – more Jeeps than I’ve ever seen in my life in one spot! – but I
had reserved a spacious tent site that we slid into without trouble. Bryan’s
Jeep fit right in with the rest of the crowd. Jane did not. But then again,
Jane doesn’t really fit in in very many places, I guess.</p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7A-q2gP7HnFZRVr4YjYqsjEQSr7Lz1mSnKPL5Z6qUv7vXacCuO86GOKrt0JYwZTrhZigidFQ6hPTHlyO_kaA6GrzW3N7yzYajeI4uJvpCQoNFKEeCglMzRyOo9giYMhkZbToyEra9epI/s2048/Edit-IMG_3540.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7A-q2gP7HnFZRVr4YjYqsjEQSr7Lz1mSnKPL5Z6qUv7vXacCuO86GOKrt0JYwZTrhZigidFQ6hPTHlyO_kaA6GrzW3N7yzYajeI4uJvpCQoNFKEeCglMzRyOo9giYMhkZbToyEra9epI/w640-h426/Edit-IMG_3540.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two very different vehicles. Also, the size comparison is laughable!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p>After making fun of Bryan for stuffing an entire queen
air mattress into his tent, which was exactly the same size as said mattress,
we headed off for a delicious dinner at Red Mountain Brewery in town. Then it
was back to camp and we both plopped into our respective tents, mentally exhausted
from a day of intense driving.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">This is one of the best things about western Colorado, you
know. The wildness of it. The feeling of being in a barely-tamed frontier, just
a step away from loss of control at all times. Some might hate that feeling.
But I crave it, and others do too – and that’s why so many people are out here.
We all want that adrenaline rush, the pride of using your wits to conquer
something that could easily conquer us. The feeling of fighting to have any
significance in an environment that cares nothing for us. The stores in town
might offer safety and society, but a short distance away up the mountains, danger
lurks, and it’s real. No canned experiences here. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just unforgiving, raw beauty, America at its
best.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">It’s been an incredible day. Kelly signing out.<o:p></o:p></p>Kelly Hhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04271547498127096571noreply@blogger.com1