The Southwest

 Ah, what an experience

Such beautiful country. Spectacular in its space. Around one mountain the terrain changes altogether. Hearing history from Autio adds to the character of the space, history,  through the milleniums. the beginning of the shallow seas to the development of the Original Americans to the development of the White Man's America. Such history.

The  Southwest

Not much wifi around so I am behind. I will write this a little differently

I Spent a couple days in Oklahoma City with an old high school friend. Kevin was a most gracious host. He and his fiance took me all over for a couple days on Nov. 5 nd 6. It is an attractive city but very spread out. We went to A lovely bronze statue of the Sooners race. They apparently got to choose land if they made a run for it and claimed it. We also stopped by the Capital where, although closed the guard let us walk around and see the exhibits and the interior of the cupola. Dinner the first night was at a kitchy ROute 66 diner which was pretty awful but you have to experience things, right? The second night followed a walk in a Nature Park and a lovely Oklahoma bombing memorial. It was lit beautifully at night. They encouraged me to stay two days and it was nice to sleep in a home with space and a real bathroom and bed. Thanks Kevin. After all these years he is still a stand up guy. I had a good meal at Toby Keith's restaurant- real Americana and lots of memorabilia.

Nov 7, 8

Kevin recommended I check out Palo Duro Canyon State Park in Texas and so I squeaked in there with a cancellation that had called in. It felt quite wild and western with the canyon walls around me. In the process of getting there I passed the Chisholm Trail, the Great Cattle Trail and heard lots of history about how we broke promises to the Indians over and over and over. Honestly, white Americans have never collectively had a good track record on land they inhabit.

The Canyon has hiking and cross country biking, horseback riding and such. Gina and I took a hike for a couple miles the morning we left. It was windy windy everywhere.

We went back to Amarillo to see the old Cadillac Ranch art installation. Apparently the thing to do now is to bring spray paint and add your two cents. I miss the old Cadillacs. Now they are sort of mutants. Look up the original installation by a group of hippie folks called The Ant Farm. The wind made me sort of crazy.

We ended up in Tucumcari (like the Little Feat song - Willing) and although they had some nice ROute 66 stuff it was sort of a sad little town. There are a lot of poor people in our country. I did have the most amazing tacos I have ever had there at a restaurant called La Cita. Smoky, moist grilled beef, served with real beans and rice- not the runny mushy stuff you get back east. 

       

Nov. 9

Got caught up with laundering sheets and such before I headed to Roswell AZ. Had to check out the aliens. Boy have they capitalized on their legendary crash in the 40's. There are murals and aliens everywhere!

It is amusing but nothing is done particularly well. They have a UFO Museum and research center. Although Gina could come in she was not interested in the aliens or reading the displays. We went into a few souvenir shops but nothing grabbed me. 

I stopped by the tourist office and they recommended camping in Bottomless Lake State Park. So I did. Many of the lakes are almost dried up. It's a free campsite so you just pick a spot, which we did. Another wild place. Poor Gina has been having a hard time with all the thistles and thorns. She is not a desert dog. She did not want to walk much and I can't blame her when she would get a thorn every dozen yards. Poor baby.

Nov 10

A late departure from Roswell.

Stopped at a real cute town which had a lot of history from Billy the Kid and Pat Garret (interesting fellow) to CCC and WW2 internment camps.

Tired of driving, I looked up to see if there were any Harvest Hosts in the area and there were! I stayed at a New Mexican winery- Black's Smugglers and had conversation with some good ol' boys.  I bought a bottle of their San Giovese, even though I could hear Will tsking me. It was a cold night!

I found out it was indeed a cold night and what's more the cold was coming in a strong way.

Nov 11

I had planned to go for a couple days to  a unique and wilderness spot called El Malpais Park. Hundred of thousands of acres of high desert and lava fields. Upon arrival I also found out that the temperature was supposed to drop to 15 degrees that night. I did not winterize the van. It never occurred to me that I would be in an area that would be that cold. My pipes would freeze. So instead of relaxing after a less than 2 hour drive I decided to head south rather than north as planned and get to Phoenix- 5 hours away. Ugh. I passed through some stunning country and rock formations, lots of tribal artwork that I did not stop for. I know how that extends a day!

By the time I reached Holbrook I had dropped down 2000 feet from the High desert and thought that would be good enough. Nevertheless I drained my water tank( recently topped off) and my waste tanks and planned to put RV antifreeze in the lines. Didn't get that part done as it was so late but I figured the water was out. A long day full of stuff. I treated myself to a Route 66 motel of Wigwams, names, strangely enough, The Wigwam Hotel. They were concrete and smelled funky but they were quiet, scenic, and I was done! Rustled up a salad from the van and called it a day after walking Gina around. Concrete wigwams are very sound proof. Which was good as it was right by the railroad tracks!

Nov 12

Well, into each adventure a little stress must fall. There is some snafu with the winterization. I don't think it filled each pipe all the way. I went to an RV dealer in Flagstaff but they didn't really understand Roadtreks and couldn't figure out why I am leaking pink RV fluid - non toxic.

I have been buying more and more antifreeze as everyone wants to see where it's going/coming from besides down the drain...

The result of this is that I will no longer have my bathroom, sinks and tap water. I will be camping in a van. Poor me!!!😁. I checked my heat and it wasn't too bad this morning although I will be tempted to have hook ups in campsites- just in case I run out of propane I won't freeze my tookus. I need an attitude adjustment but other than that this is a first world problem!

We took an amusing stop in Winslow, Arizona where we stood on a corner and had an amusing 1/2 hour.

There were a lot of Eagles (the band, not the football) fans. For those of you who may not know the song the line goes- "Standing on the corner in Winslow Arizona, such a fine sight to see. There's a girl, my Lord, in a flat bed Ford slowing down to take a look at me." The song has apparently done wonders for the town. There was a positive vibe and shops and bar and grills. Perhaps every town should hire an artist to put them on the map!

We landed in Flagstaff now that I am semi winterized. I wasn't going to come here as it is chilly but now, hey, I am much more flexible. Making lemonade.... Flagstaff is a hip place. There is a lot to do here. Although I would like to go to the Lowell Observatory they don't take dogs in. Perhaps I will do a short trip but I found a park we can take a proper hike. We may stay another day. What the heck!