Antelope Canyon

Well, I got a chance to work on some of the photos from Antelope Canyon.  It was a great experience.  The canyon is a small arroyo just outside of Page, AZ.  It is about a football field in length, average 10 feet wide, and about 40 feet deep.  Here is the entrance.

It is late so I will not write much tonight, more later on the adventure.  Just had to upload these from the canyon.

Enjoy!  Summer is drawing to a close.  

Allen

Moving On Down the Road

It seems like forever since I last posted or brought you up-to-date.  Well, I left Colorado Springs after having a wonderful visit with my old boss and friend Jody and her family.  It was real nice of them to open their door and let this vagabond stop for a few days to sleep in an actual bed.  I also got laundry done.  It was a relaxing couple of days.  I drove around Colorado Springs and just marveled at the changes.  Of course everything changes in 20 years!

I also caught up with an old friend from that period 20 years ago - Paul Paradis.  It was great to see him and learn how his life had changed over the years.  I remember many a weekend spent at his gun shop helping and then heading out to go target shooting or helping teach a class.  It really was good to see him again.

Of course a visit to Colorado Springs just could not pass without a visit to the Garden of the Gods for pictures.  I took several, but the panaroma was so large It blew my computers mind when it tried to stitch it together.  Yes, even MacBook Pros have their limitations.  So instead I chose a couple for you.  One was the day I went to take pictures as the sun was supposed to be coming up and instead I had misty rain.  Not that I am complaining, the west really needs rain.  The other is approximately the same one on the day I left to bright sunrise.  

My next stop was the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, a really short day away from Colorado Springs and a beautiful drive through the mountains.  It is a truly spectacular canyon.  I spent the night down in the canyon at the campground and listend to the rush of the water flowing downstream.  The next day I was up and drove and hiked along the rim to various overlooks.  

Another short hop to Mesa Verde for a couple of nights.  I got settled in and bought my tour of Long House for the next morning.  Mesa Verde has a great campground with free showers, but it has been the most expensive place I have stayed in a National Park.  The next morning I was up early and decided to eat breakfast at the concessionaire so I would be ready when they opened the gate to Wetherill Mesa at 0900 (9am).  Tour was at 1000.  It is a fairly short hike down to the cliff dwellings.  If you get a chance definitely go.  

I finished out the day with a hike to some other ruins.  I woke up to rain the next morning, it had blown in overnight.  So in my travels on that day I had intermittent rain all day.  I headed out to the Canyon of the Ancients National Monument.  I first stopped at the Anasazi Heritiage Center which came out of the building of the McPhee Reservior.  It holds an incredible collection of document, photographs, architectural drawing, and artifacts from an area that is now flooded.  It also has a wonderful museum,  I especially liked the timeline - recommend a visit here before you go to other ruins or monuments.  

I then decided I wanted to visit Durango, CO.  Why?  I am not sure as it was actually backtracking about 50 miles.  But I went anyway and just looked around.  Then drove back over to the Canyon of the Ancients and the Hovenweep National Monument.  It is a great place though it is out of the way.  You actually cross over into Utah, just before arriving at Hovenweep.  Hovenweep is Ute/Paiute for “deserted valley.”  I asked and the average number of visitors per day is 100.  A far cry from the 1000’s at Mesa Verde.  I spent two night in their campground and of the approximately 30 sites the most filled was 4.  If you like star gazing, Hovenweep is the place for you.  I think the nearest town is Cortez 42 miles away.  

The dwelling here a roughly the same time period of Mesa Verde, but more along the modern pueblo dwellings.  Built up along the canyon sides in multi-storey “apartments”. The ruins right at the headquarters are good - it is a two mile walk around the canyon rim with only one section that you need to hike down and up again.  

After this I settled into the campground for the night and watched the storms continue all around me and then finally blow in over me.  It was a real light show, with lightening hitting all around the area.  Nope, no lightening shots, I was in my tent keeping low.  

The next morning I decided to hike over to Holly Community ruins.  I highly recommend this hike (or drive).  The ruins there are truly inspiring.  Be warned this is an eight mile round trip.  It drops into the valley and at time follows the stream bed.  Plan on at least four hours and take plenty of water.  Because of this I decided to stay a second night so I would not be rushed to get back and tear down camp.

After the morning hike and lunch, I headed over to Lowery Pueblo ruins - another part of the Canyon of the Ancients.  It has been excavated much more than other ruins in the area.  

The next morning I headed out to Cortez again to do laundry and get some supplies.  I then struck out for Four Corners.  It is an interesting place, but not really my thing.  Thought I really love this region - the desert, mountains, and just vast open spaces.  Truly inspiring.

So after 5250 miles, and 6 weeks I made it to Page, AZ.  Page started as the construction camp for the Glen Canyon Dam, now it is the gateway to the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.  I will have more on this in the next post.  While I love the Springbar Tent (affectionately now known as the Taj Mahal), it really is not something I want to put up every night.  (It goes up if I am there for more than three days.)  I have been using my backpack tent - while good, kind of small.  Just a shoutout to Andrew for sending my other car camping tent.  I will have a little more room at night now.

So 31 July marks the rough halfway point of this adventure.  I have traveled across seven states, stayed in five national parks/monuments, and saw some truly great country.  It makes me appreciate even more the photographer of old who carried not only their camera, but all the film, and accessories necessary up the sides of mountains.  And I complain about the weight of my 1 pound digital camera (no film - only a small SD card and extra battery).  

Still more adventures to come.

Allen 

Road to Colorado

Sorry it has been a while since I updated the blog.  I have been off the grid for quite some time.  I was even having problems just keeping my cellphone charged. 

I visited Roswell, NM and did not come across any little green/blue people with large eyes while there, however, I did get the feeling that I was constantly being watched.  It was really strange but I just never could find the alien.

I also saw lots of irrigation and it made me thing of how much water is the source of life.  I know that I while traveling keep a close watch on how much water I keep available.  So I saw this and tried to show how water can change the very land.

What I will say is that Roswell has an awesome Museum of the Southwest that is well worth the time to go and see.  Also the Contemporary Art Museum is wonderful, they bring in new artists every year, give them a place to stay and a stipend and let them create.  The works of art are just amazing.   I don’t recommend the Alien Research Museum unless the Roswell Incident is your life.

From Roswell I traveled north to Santa Fe for a few days.  I camped at the KOA in Santa Fe.  I arrived in the afternoon and watched the clouds come in.  Yes, it rained and turned very cool for the entire time I was there.  I got a couple of photos while camping.

While in Santa Fe I visited the Georgia O’Keefe Museum and the Andrew Smith Gallery of Photography.  They are next to each other and are wonderful.  I especially enjoyed the Photography Gallery because they were highlighting works by Ansel Adams.  I especially loved the fact they had Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico displayed as Adams developed it in 1941, his redevelopment in 1961 and again in 1988.  It was amazing how each was so different but still having great affect.

After Santa Fe, I headed north again to the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve.  I traveled through some heavy rain until just before I arrived.  I got set up watching it rain across the valley and a dense cloud cover overhead.  Then suddenly this is what I say:

The next day I took a hike out onto the dunes and waded the seasonly stream that flows at the base.  The sun was just coming over the mountains and I could not help but take a shadow portrait 

I also wanted to give you a sense of the scale of the dunes so here is a man with his sons getting ready to sand board down a dune

Just a couple more of the dunes:

The next day I went to Zapata Falls to hike.  It was in BLM land and National Forest.  Here are a couple of photos from that day.

The morning I left Great Sand Dunes, I had a herd of Deer wander through camp.  

I decide to backpack to the South Zapata Lake.  It started out at 9400 feet above sea level and at the lake was 11,900 feet.  I had a 40 pound backpack and it was only 4 miles.  Well, I quickly fund out that I am not young.  (Notice I avoided the “O” word!)  I finally gave out at about 3.5 miles and set up camp.  About 50 minutes after I set up the afternoon rain began.  This quickly changed to pea-sized hail.  So it definitely was an adventure.  It took me 5 hours to get as far as I did.  The next morning I headed back down and it only took 3 hours down.  My legs felt like I had been walking up the down escalator for 5 hours.  I did find this during the hike.

After I got back down to the car, I rested, repacked, and headed to Colorado Springs to visit with my old boss and friend, Jody Holtz.  Been taking it easy for a couple of days, getting the car’s 30,000 mile service.  Tomorrow will be Garden of the Gods.  Probably head out again the day after.  

It has been great fun over the last five weeks.  Looking forward to new things and experiences over the next six.

Allen

Alien Hunting

Well, I made it to Roswell, NM without being abducted by aliens, of course there is tonight still to go.   I stopped at Guadalupe National Park and at Carlsbad Cavern National Park as I drove north.  It was a pretty uneventful day.  I am staying in a small RV park that has a tent camping area.  I plan on exploring tomorrow the town of Roswell and visiting the three museums they have.  Then will head out to Santa Fe.

I did not post pics this morning so her goes:

You remember Little Pinky the trailer I stayed the first night at El Cosmico.  Well here is what the inside looked like.

On the second and third night I slept in a teepee.  It was great!

 And for the final night it was a Safari Tent.

 Of course no visit to Marfa, TX is complete without the picture of the Prada Installation.

I also have worked on some pictures for the website that hopefully the wifi here at the RV camp will have sufficient bandwidth to upload.  If not, here are the next few photos.  

Farmhouse:

Going Home:

And finally Guadalupe 1 and 2.  I tried a couple of different things on these and not sure which I like the best.

I also am trying to not spend too much time sitting on the computer,  I did that when I actually made money at it.  So trying to limit it no more than four hours at a time.  That really is not much when you need to go over and choose photos to work on.  So I try to be very choosy.

Allen

Close Encounter of My Own Kind

I am sorry I have no pictures to add today.  The past two days have been focusing on art.  The galleries and foundations do not allow photography, but will regale you with other pics when I next take a day to review and process photos.  

Well, I arrived in Marfa, TX on Monday 8 July.  I came to see the various galleries and tour the foundations.  I had done my research, but no place did I find that the galleries and foundation are closed on Monday and Tuesday.  So if you  are planning a trip, do not plan to arrive prior to Tuesday evening.  Also pay close attention to their opening times as they vary between the locations.  Tours of the Judd Foundation and Chinati Foundation should be booked on-line before you arrive.   Both are well worth the time.  I highly recommend the full tour of the Chinati Foundation.  It take all day, but you see an enormous body of work.  There are multiple small galleries scattered around the town and the town is made for walking or biking.  So go out and explore.

The town of Marfa has some very interesting locations to see.  First is the old courthouse, it is lovely, and you can climb up to the top and view the city.  It is one mile above sea level in the dome.  The other interesting place is the Paisano Hotel.  This is where some of the cast stayed and most of the cast hung out during the filming of the movie “Giant” in 1954.  They have one room set aside for the memorabilia.  The rest of the city is pure west Texas.  At 4700 feet above sea level, the town would be considered high plains to desert.  It is stark but beautiful.  It is also somewhat cooler than you would expect.  Even with daytime high at 100 with little humidity, the constant breeze makes it seem much less intense.  

It is Friday, 12 July, nearly three weeks into the trip an a little over 2500 miles.  Today I am leaving headed to New Mexico.  Goal is to make Roswell, but I might get sidetracked at Carlsbad Caverns.  Or an alien might just pick me up for a trip to the other side of the galaxy.  Either way it will be an adventure.  

Allen

To Big Bend National Park then on to Marfa, TX

I left Wichita Falls the morning of 5 July about 0930 heading to San Angelo for my first stop going to Big Bend National Park.  It was fun traveling over some old familiar roads from my youth, but sad too to see all the abandoned buildings along the way.  One in particular I remember from visiting some of my parents friends that lived in Dundee, TX.  The old store was just across the highway and I remember going to get candy and soda pop from it.  Here is a picture of that store now.  Memories are photographs in time.

I traveled on through Seymour where my mother grew up and found this old Catholic Church abandoned in the middle of the prairie.

It was about this time I looked up above my visor and saw mother’s handicap placard.  Well, I felt like a fool and so I did the sonly thing and turned around to take it back to mom.  I told mother it was because I just wanted to have lunch one more time with her.  So the first 150 miles was seeing the same scenery three times.  LOL.

After lunch, I headed back out on the road.  I was glad I chose a fairly short travel day since it was now about 1200.  In Stamford, TX, I came across this old Texaco Station.

I finally made it to San Angelo about 1700 (5:00pm) and stayed in the San Angelo State Park.  It was nice with covered shelters, and a full bath house.  There are not many trees, just low scrub brush.  I set up camp for the night and decided to sit back and relax.  There was a nice breeze blowing, in fact I had to stake down the tent to keep it from blowing away.  I then watched the sunset over the prairie with Butch.

Up the next morning, made breakfast and hit the road about 0800 to Big Bend.  The drive was across some very empty prairie and long distances between towns.  Had to make sure and keep an eye on the gas gauge.  

Finally arrived at Big Bend National Park about 1300.  Butch had to celebrate and sit on the sign.  Bad Boy!  

I finally stayed in Cottonwood Campground.  It is more primitive than the Chico Basin Campground.  I check Chico out, and thought it was a little packed together, with campsites practically sitting on top of each other.  At Cottonwood, as the name implies, there was plenty of cottonwood trees and no other camper.  In fact for the three day I was there I was the only camper.  I had many people drive by looking for the Rio Grande River, and a few picnickers, but no one else overnighted.  The campground was pretty nice for a primitive campground.  There was non-potable water for about every five sites, two pit toilets that were exceptionally clean, and one potable water at the entrance.  And lots of shade!  It was hot and there was not much of a breeze since I was in the river valley.  But the evenings cooled down to 70 from the day time high of 101+.

I went hiking along the Upper Burro Mesa Downpour trail.  It followed an arroyo to where it broke through a high cliff and poured down the mountain side for about 150 feet.  Of course it was dry this time of year.  It was a moderate hike, with lots of scampering over rocks and the last was a climb down of about 15 feet of smooth granite.  Got back to camp and grabbed a bucket to rinse myself off from the sweat and dirt.  That would be my primitive shower until I left.

Sunsets were beautiful.  

Every morning I normally had company for breakfast - Javelinas.  You definitely had to keep a clean camp to keep them out of things. 

I left Big Bend on 8 July heading on a short drive to Marfa, TX.  I got to Marfa about 1200 and immediately stopped at El Cosmico to get lodging.  It is a real neat place that has taken old trailers and made them into “rooms”.  I will also be staying in a teepee and a Safari Tent.  But the first night was in Little Pinky.  First real shower since San Angelo State Park. 

I am in Marfa to look at the art galleries as recommended by one of my instructors at the Art Institute in Virginia Beach.  Most don’t open until Wednesday, so will just explore.  Will go see the Marfa Lights tonight hopefully.

Allen