Back to Arizona

Yesterday morning, we left Farmington and headed west again.  Our destination was another Native American historic site, Canyon de Chelly.  The drive only takes about 2.5 hours, so we didn't mind stopping when we came across a photo op.

Our route took us past Shiprock, which one can't really get close to, as it's protected.  We'd driven by on Tuesday for picture-taking purposes, but yesterday's drive took us around to the other side.  Tod took many shots on both days; I just took a couple with my phone, but I thought they came out pretty well, even though I'm not tall enough to aim over the fence.

Getting closer to Canyon de Chelly, we came upon a couple of viewpoints that looked interesting.  At the first one, Mummy Cave Overlook, ours was the only car in the parking lot. 

Tod is wondering why there's no one else around.

It was very quiet, and very cool to be the only people there.

If you look closely, you can see quite an elaborate cliff dwelling.  Our next stop was the Massacre Cave Overlook.  Again, we were the only people there when we arrived, but several groups were coming in just as we were leaving. 

After we checked into our hotel, we arranged for a jeep tour of the canyon itself.  Tourists are not allowed in the canyon without a guide, because it's Navajo land as well as for safety reasons.  Our guide was an older man named Dave, who was very charming and funny.  His vehicle was old and cranky, and stalled a few times before we even got off the highway.  He assured us that it was quite safe; he'd driven less reliable trucks before without any problems. 

Dave had been born in the Canyon, and spent most of his life in the area.  He'd apparently worked on some of the archaeological projects that uncovered the dwellings and wall drawings in the canyon.  On our three hour tour ("Don't worry", said Dave, "I'm not like Gilligan".) 
Both Tod and I took many, many pictures of cliff dwellings, pictographs and petroglyphs.

Today, we did a leisurely drive from Canyon de Chelly to Gallup, New Mexico, with a stop at the Hubbell Trading Post about halfway through. 

Here in Gallup, we're staying at the historic El Rancho Hotel, the residence of choice for many movie people when filming in the area.  Each room is named after an actor from the "golden age".  We are in the Kirk Douglas room, which has an adorable little kitchenette attached. 

Tomorrow, we plan to attend the monthly rug auction in Crown Point!

Ouray

Before I get started on Ouray (which we discovered is pronounced "ewe-ray"), here are some shots I took in Bryce Canyon National Park.

We arrived in Ouray around 6:30 p.m., with, again, just enough energy to have dinner and crash.  We stayed in a charming Victorian B&B that was built in 1898, which has been owned and run for many years by Mr. and Mrs. Bates.  (Yes, Tod joked that we were staying at the Bates Motel...)  We stayed there 2 nights, and each morning found ourselves chatting over breakfast with our hosts for an hour or more. 

They're called Box Canyon Falls for a reason.

Ouray is a charming little town nestled between mountains.  It's often used as a film location (the Ouray Courthouse was used in the original version of True Grit). Sunday morning, we  just wandered around the town.  The internet service at 1898 House had been down fora few days before we got there, and still wasn't back up when we left.  So after we visited Box Canyon Falls, we had lunch at a bistro on that had wi-fi, and spent an hour or so catching up on email, etc. 

After returning to our room for a nap, we had dinner at a beautifully restored old hotel called The Beaumont, which was celebrating its 126th anniversary.

Photo by Tod Beebe

Monday morning, after dawdling over breakfast, we hit the road again, heading for Mesa Verde National Park, which is known for its well-preserved native cliff dwellings.  Touring the dwellings, which are at 7700 feet high, is not recommended for those with heart or respiratory problems (i.e., me).  I stayed in the cafe and read, while Tod did a tour of Balcony House, which was quite daunting, involving climbing up and down ladders perched on cliffs and crawling through small tunnels. 

His reward for this was a t-shirt emblazoned with "I survived Balcony House".  He seemed surprised that I purchased it before he got back...

After Mesa Verde, we drove to Farmington, New Mexico, where we are spending a couple of nights.  We are staying in a lovely B&B called Casa Blanca.  We were shown to a lovely room with a king-sized bed, a couch & chair and a kitchenette with a big wooden table and a tiny stove and dishwasher, which we discovered was a suite that we'd been upgraded to. 

Dishwasher on left, stove & oven on right.

Someone is smiling upon us this trip!

Just finished reading...

Wild Penance (Wild Mystery #4) by Sandi Ault.*

Although this is the fourth of the Jamaica Wild mysteries to be published, the events in this story actually take place before the other three.

Jamaica Wild, a resource protection agent for the Bureau of Land Management (Taos Field Office), is out for her morning run when she sees a body on a cross falling off a cliff into the Rio Grande Gorge.

Jamaica soon makes the connection between this incident and Los Penitentes, a secret, nearly forgotten religious group she's been researching. But would the members of the sect really try to kill her in order to keep from learning about them?

Jamaica is well-realized as an introspective loner who becomes more social as the story progresses, especially when she meets handsome forest ranger Kerry Reed (who eventually becomes her significant other). But, what makes the book really outstanding is Ault's glorious descriptions of southwestern landscape and history.

*FTC Full Disclosure: Many thanks to the publisher, who sent me a copy of the book for review purposes.