Thursday 4 Oct St George to Vegas

We slept in a little and Opal finished almost all the reservation changes. After a light breakfast at the coffee shop next door, we packed up our things and filled a flat rate box to mail at the post office….no need to carry those travel books all over the country, now that the touring part of our trip is coming to an end.

Other than the first 30 minutes (a pass thru massive rock canyons), the route to Vegas was 75mph (legal limit) all the way across mostly barren desert - about a 2 hour shot to Vegas. The only ‘fun’ was watching the trucks seemingly racing with each other at 75mph; sometimes one would get an uphill advantage and pass, but soon another one would get the edge and pass.

For some reason Vegas is nearly sold out these next few days… our normal haunts fully booked, so we ended up in the Candlewood Suites, on Paradise, right by Terrible’s….nice big rooms, a laundry for Opal to hang out and fast internet!!!!! So I can catch up the last week of blogs and pictures!

Tomorrow we’ll be flying to Wisconsin to visit Opal’s niece and family, and the week after that we'll be visiting our daughter, son-in-law, and grand-daughter in Santa Rosa.

So the Southwest adventures of Opal and Earl for 2007 has come to an end. Perhaps next year we’ll embark on Part II.

Wednesday 3 Oct Page to Saint George UT

We slept in and then Opal busied herself for a couple of hours to change flights, get new hotels and cars, for our revised trip. About noon we took off for St George. After we crossed the Glen Canyon bridge and saw the dam, Earl noticed a turn off at the Wahweap Marina, so off we went. Turns out that in addition to the marina, there is a nice lodge with rooms facing Lake Powell (which, btw, was about 20 feet lower than normal), and a restaurant located off the lobby with a glorious view of the marina and lake. There were several houseboats making their way both in and out of the marina.

We settled in for lunch at the Rainbow Room. We shared a 3-cheese cactus dip and a Rock Fish (cod) Taco. Delightful, even the cactus! Turns out you can fish year around and there are several fish varieties. After the obligatory tour of the gift shops, we were in the car and off to Saint George on another glorious (and hotter) day,

As we drove thru the typical SW terrain, huge boulders, miles long mesa’s, endless bluffs, bare and sometimes trees, high desert, we saw a roadrunner crossing the road and one Wily E Coyote. I think we are getting sated by the scenery, beautiful and dramatic, but at the same time a little, o hum de dum.

About 10 years ago Earl found us a buffet in Provo UT called the Chuck-Arama. In subsequent trips in and around Salt Lake City we visited the other Chuck-Aramas. It turns out Saint George has one (there are only 4 or 5 in the whole world, all in Utah). And, to our delight, if anything they are even better! I had “small” portions of cowboy potatoes (think fried potatoes, cheese, veggies in a gooey wonderful mix), pulled pork, pueblo pork (like a wurst), bbq ribs, homemade raisin roll with honey butter, fried chicken, a tiny bit of greens, fresh raspberries and blackberries, mac and cheese….I passed on baked beans, ham and prime rib being freshly sliced, banana squash (Opal had some) so I could save room for carrot cake, bread pudding, cinnamon pulls with ice cream….of course I was being good, so I passed on the brownies, hardest thing I’ve done in ages! Opal filled up on salad and carbs…especially the freshly baked buns (soft and warm from the oven).

Back to the room and Opal finished off more of the trip modifications.

Tuesday 2 Oct Bluff to Page AZ via Monument Valley

Off to Gooseneck point, a high bluff above the San Juan river which makes three big lazy bends, 3000’ straight below our feet. This picture shows one of the loops.

Then, as Earl put on his western movies music, we entered Monument Valley
(the site of many Westerns) and paid our entry fee for the bone jarring, teeth rattling 3 hour (leisurely in and out looking at views) ride over the gravel and dirt road thru the valley. Wandering aimlessly on their own, we saw half a dozen horses, a flock of goats, lizards, hawks circling lazily in azure skies and of course, the Indians selling their jewelry, dream catchers, rugs, etc, in the most remote areas of the valley. The scenery was awesome, almost surreal.

We wandered thru the gift shop and then we were off to Page, AZ, right at Lake Powell. While moving our stuff from the car to our room, we saw our first roadrunner… sort of scrounging the edge of the units for insects or some such. They are known to eat rattlers (I’m hoping that’s not what he’s after!) This one acted like his wing was hurt…he was sort of spazing around…maybe he felt trapped with me on his trail with my camera. They’re bigger than I thought and very hard to see.

We had made good time so we took a quick nap before heading out for dinner.

I put the address into Ms Tom-Tom for an Italian restaurant and off we went. She took us deep into a residential area and announced we were at our destination. Hah! As I turned around to head back, I swear I saw ‘Soprano” on the mailbox. Turns out she took us to “south Navajo” instead of “north Navajo” – but we eventually found it and enjoyed, somewhat, our Italian dinner.

On the way back we wandered a bit at the Wal Mart across our motel, got some more water, a dark chocolate for Opal’s one a day chocolate and went back to cut some zzzzz.

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2007 SW 10-2

Monday 1 Oct Durango to Bluff

The best ever hash browns can be had at Durango Diner, where we sat at the counter this morning and watched the owner/cook hand grate 1 1/2 potatoes onto the grill and ladle butter over the pile.
Instead of being a side accompaniment to breakfast, it was the centerpiece…..a thick rectangular slab as long as the platter ….golden crisp crust on both sides and thick shreds of al dente potatoes on the inside…indescribably delicious! The “kitchen sink” omelet (bacon, peppers, tomatoes, onions, cheese…all covered with green chile) was good in and of itself but next to the stellar potatoes, it was no contest. We also shared a homemade cinnamon roll…I thought it was wonderful, but Opal complained that it was too sweet, all the while quickly scarfing down most of it, keeping me at bay with her elbows.

It was almost noon by the time we pulled out of town and began our trek to Bluff, Utah…a tiny town close to Monument Valley National Park which we plan to visit on Tuesday.

From Opal: The scenery along the way was constantly changing. Sometimes the terrain was brown and desolate; other times we passed flat green pastures. In the background, we saw all shapes and sizes of rock formations, from a range of mountains (the “usual”) to plateaus that looked like someone had taken a saw and cut straight across, to wind pock-marked sandstone. The highway passed precariously close to what looked like piles of boulders…some that looked like a strong wind could cause them to tumble to the road below, others that caused one to wonder why it hadn’t already slid down the slope….many were HUGE…. bigger than houses!

We took a short detour to the Four Corners Monument, where the boundaries of Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado are marked by a marble plate. Earl took advantage of the opportunity to indulge in some made-to-order Indian fry bread. Yes, they ARE good…especially hard to resist when you can smell them cooking…so Opal turned the other way and checked out the nearby stands where all sorts of souvenirs and Indian jewelry were being sold.

The Executive/Honeymoon cabin suite at the Desert Rose Inn turned out to be a very pleasant surprise. We did not expect much from a motel in a tiny town like Bluff…but to Opal’s delight, our accommodations turned out to be a spacious and well furnished ranch-style cabin with a wide porch
that ran along the front and side, a good sized living room, huge bedroom, and a Jacuzzi tub. The cabin was well designed with lots of windows looking out to the scenic bluffs that surround the area. All for only $125…such a bargain! It made Opal’s Chinese blood run faster!

There were two choices for dinner in town…a steakhouse just a couple of doors down, or the Twin Rocks Café about a mile down the road. Opal opted for a more diverse menu and we took a drive to Twin Rocks, seeing some spectacular scenery along the way. Twin Rocks are exactly what it sounds like….two almost identical vertical rock formations next to each other. From Opal, this made me blush: If you substituted the “r” for a “c”, you would get the picture in fewer words! 

I had the chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and corn. Opal had veggies stir fried with peanut sauce over linguini. We saved room for dessert….had their specialty of flaky pastry topped with home baked cinnamon apple slices and cinnamon ice cream….yummy!

Earl could hardly wait to try the Jacuzzi when we got back to the cabin; into the hot water he stood, hotter and hotter; to make suds he threw in the shampoo; finally slowly lowering into the near boiling water, he sat and pushed the button! Nothing! Again, and again nothing! So he asked that Opal call the front desk to ask how the jacuzzi works. She came back to the bathroom telling me it was broken. So I sat, like a lobster, and took a shampoo bath.


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2007 SW 10-1

Sunday 30 Sep Taos to Durango

We got up early and were loading the car by 7:15 – to an absolutely beautiful day. On the way out of town we crossed the Rio Grande gorge and across a beautiful steel bridge.
While looking down in the gorge from the middle of the bridge, along with a bus load of touristas, there were four hot air balloons coming up to the gorge and then they would dip down inside the gorge, out of sight. When we got back to the car, the balloons were emerging and climbing into the blue sapphire sky, colors glistening in the brilliant sun.

Our drive started out in rolling hills and then mountains, beautiful, big valleys with large ranches and lots of horses and cattle. Some of foliage has begun to change to autumn colors, so there were bright yellow and gold patches along the way. At one point a cow wandered onto the road about 30 yards ahead of us and Opal covered her face and yelled “elk!” and then noticed it was a cow, ……. Then tried to convince me it looked a lot like an angus. (Well, what would you expect from a local girl whose familiarity with animals on the road is limited to mongooses. Yeah, that’s what she yelled at one point, swore it was not a squirrel but a mongoose, right!)

About half way thru the day we stopped at a place called Chama.....very rural and one end of a train ride. There were several neat shops with train memorabilia and lots of Indian crafts.

Chama is also a hub for back country hunting and fishing expeditions and hiking...it was very beautiful and relatively primitive area in the mountains.

A little later we passed thru Pagosa Springs - the main draw being the hot springs. It, too, is a jump off locale for fishing and hunting, hiking and horse trips, canoe and kayak trips on the river. Not as rugged as Chama, it was still a very beautiful and mountainous area.

Durango is a neat place to visit with its historic district. However, we were pooped so for dinner we went into the restaurant that was in our hotel, an Applebee’s. Surprise of surprises, the cowboy cheeseburger I had was excellent and the onion rings very good. Sitting at the bar, watching the late Sunday nite football, a very good meal indeed.

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2007 SW 9-30

Saturday 29 Sep Taos

We decided a visit to the local craft fair would be fun….but first the Taos Pueblo. A several hundred years old living pueblo with no electricity or plumbing…..but with a very old chapel and with little shops (a shop = the main room of a small family unit). Alas, it was so crowded the parking was about ½ mile away from the pueblo, which normally it would be fine, but at 8000 feet, Opal couldn’t handle it…..so we cancelled and headed for lunch (we didn’t eat breakfast). Michaels is a highly recommended spot so we gave it a try – we shared a pork chop and 2 egg breakfast. The pork chop was both tasty and moist.

Off to the fair. While Opal was wandering about I decided some freshly made mixed cinnamon crusted almonds/pecans would be great as we walked around. At the booth the guys selling the nuts were yakking, says one “she had the biggest boobs I’ve ever seen and this huge tattoo on her upper chest” and they both guffawed and laughed; without really thinking, I said, “oh, that sounds like my wife, I’ve been looking for her, which way did she go?” they stared, did not react, no words, just dropped jaws ….. I handed one of them the $5 and walked away, almost laughing out loud.

It started to rain and as people scattered I walked back to get the car to pick up Opal.

After some relaxing we decided on some dinner. As the rain had stopped and Opal was insistent on walking so long as it was a slow pace, we grabbed our umbrella (to be safe) and literally waddled like ducks around the puddles – and in the dark, down a dimly lit, mostly nothing anywhere, street where I thought I’d seen an interesting restaurant ….. turned out to be the Dara Thai, where we were treated to the cutest, most effervescent waitress in the world, all of about 16….daughter of the owners. Unfortunately, the Thai food there was more of a tie-dyed nightmare, edible but more than forgettable. I was moved to think that if Opal and I moved to a small town in Thailand and there were no American restaurants, and we decided to open one, and I did the cooking…..you can imagine the rest (think Earl does not cook more than soup from a can)…..and offered up American ‘delicacies’….aiya.

After the meal, in the total dark, and the puddles, the walk back to La Dona Luz seemed forever and very cold.

Friday 28 Sep

FRIDAY, Sept. 28 SANTA FE to TAOS

We took the scenic Low Road to Taos, catching breakfast (at a place known for their traditional Mexican – read lard – and they were certainly that, envision a four egg omelet with ham and onion and tomato and cheese and covered with green chile, and homemade biscuit and hash browns and instead of toast, Navajo fry bread - but oh so ono) along the way, and arrived around noon to threatening skies. Thunderstorms were predicted for the afternoon and evening. Our room at the La Dona Luz Inn (a historic adobe-style Bed and Breakfast at least 200 years old) wasn’t ready, so we parked and took off to check out the nearby Historic Plaza Taos (center of Taos for the past 400 years) and surrounding area. We didn’t buy much this afternoon, tho we filled our eyeballs with the wide variety of goods offered for sale…from locally made crafts to imported imitations (read: Made in China). Also checked out various restaurants for dinner and made reservations at the Apple Tree, an award winner in Taos in 2006 and 2007. We returned to the B&B and were delighted with our colorful accommodations. We walk into a small living room with sofa, arm chair, TV and desk. Thru the left wall is the doorway to the bedroom and to the left of that is the doorway to the bathroom-- so basically it’s 3 small rooms in a row. The open beam ceiling feature aged rough hewn logs. The bedroom walls are all different – one is painted yellow-green, one yellow, one orange and the fourth yellow, brown, and yellow-green – think bright colors, clashing and loud but one got used to it. On these walls hang at least 11 paintings of various sizes, and from the ceiling hangs a multi-colored tri-globe fixture…looks something like a Tiffany lamp. But that’s not all. The color scheme of the bathroom is bright blue and green, with the theme being sunflowers. There is a big poster of sunflowers hanging above the toilet – the famous Fechin oil – Sunflowers of Taos - and a ceramic platter of sunflowers embedded in the center of the shower wall, and as you look down into the multi-colored sink, sunflowers are looking back at you. The vanity is bright blue, with the cabinets (2 greens, white, and black) and mirrors edged in bright green. The tiles in the shower are laid diagonally so they look diamond shaped and they are (what else?) blue and green! Did I say our room (called La Rosa) was colorful?? It may sound atrocious, but somehow it all works. Or maybe it’s because we’ve been here long enough to appreciate the artsy ways of the New Mexicans.

At this point in our trip we have been at 5ooo plus elevation for over a week and Opal is experiencing high blood pressure, fast pulse, a bit of nausea …. all symptoms of altitude sickness. We’ve studied the map and figured out the best “escape plan that will both get us back to Las Vegas AND down to altitudes less than 5000 feet, asap.

New Mexico definitely emphasizes the arts. When shopping, a majority of the stores are galleries. Even the highway overpasses are decorated, painted in pastels (Indian art forms) instead of bare concrete. On the way from Alb to Santa Fe, some of the overpasses had murals painted on them. Sure helps to detract from the asphalt and cement.

The Apple Tree was definitely an award winner….from soup to dessert! We shared Southwestern soup (sort of a New Mexican minestrone), Apple Tree salad (organic field greens, walnuts and dried cranberries with a wonderful blue cheese vinaigrette), mango chicken enchilada (one of their specialties) , fried eggplant baked with marinara, and pinon nut pie (like a pecan pie but with pinon (sort of pine) nuts….yummy!) We were so full we could hardly breathe! It was chilly when we stepped out for the walk back to our B&B but lucky for us, it wasn’t raining.

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2007 SW 9-28