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$100 min purchase Continental U.S. only
$100 min purchase Continental U.S. only Four Corners
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Click image for a more detailed map. |
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Okay, first
thing's first ... the grub. You really can't enjoy a trip unless the food
rewards you for taking the time for yourself. Here's a gargantuan veggie
'wich at Oregano's in Flagstaff. Pretty impressive looking, and the grilled
veggie's were tasty but the bread was sort of blah. |
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Fast,
straight ahead jazz on the speakers and The Wizard of Oz (the black-and-white
section at the end) was on the teevee. American restaurants and bars have
adopted a strange trend -- teevee without sound. My theory: Our attention
spans have gotten so short that we're uncomfortable with prolonged periods
of looking at our lunch partner. So we're relieved at having something
else to look at guilt-free.
Oregano's is in a 1930's Craftsman bungalow. Warm and inviting with just a touch too many kitschy chotchkie's on the wall a la Friday's. |
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I
really wanted to eat here, the Crystal Creek Sandwich Co., which was ravingly
reviewed by the cool cashier at the Varsity Gasser service station. Said
he eats there almost every day. But the joint was jam packed with Northern
Arizona University students, was blasting sports on the teevee (yes, the
sound was on) and I wasn't thrilled with the idea of waiting 30 minutes
for road food.
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San
Francisco Peaks, the highest in Arizona, 12,633 feet.
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Can't
miss the big National Park Service sign on the highway out of Flagstaff.
With little between here and Cortez, these guys would surely provide me
with all sorts of great information about where to go and where to camp.
However ...
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...
ugh. Closed.
How is it that we can't keep our park offices open on weekends, just when we need them? Really, how much could it cost versus funding, oh I don't know ... an unprovoked war? |
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Out
of Flagstaff, after an hour of wide open West. is the Cameron
Trading Post, run by our friend Jimmy Jensen. Originally a Paul Harvey
railroad stop during America's Romantic Age, the place is a whole lot
of something in the middle of nothing. There's really nowhere to camp
in these parts so I spent the night.
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View
#1 from my spacious balcony. That's the Little Colorado down there.
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View
#2 from my spacious balcony.
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During
the entirety of the trip, I guess I encountered 50% German, 30% American
and 20% French. The impact of the weak greenback was obvious.
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Exquisite
Navajo rugs are woven on premises.
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Inside
the Cameron dining room for huevos rancheros de manaña. Fast service
and clean busboys who constantly clean the carpets. My eggs were served
with a fresh, hot-wrapped tortilla and -- very authentic -- a freshly
grilled poblano chile. All flavor, just a touch of heat.
Near me were a manicured and respectful Navajo family of eight, three American rock climber gals, a Hopi man and a German couple with bright, new daypacks. |
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My
room was immaculate and comfortable at Cameron Trading Post. Unfortunately,
the t.p. was threaded in the wrong direction upon arrival. One demerit,
Jimmy.
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Trusted
travel companion, The Egg
(Toyota Previa) |
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Back
on the road, headed north. Painted Desert type geography here.
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Still
loaded up by a good breakfast at Cameron, I was not tempted by the inviting
Amigo Cafe Cafe.
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Navajo
National Monument is spectacular. That cubby hole on the left once housed
a 140 room community.
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Click
to enlarge and see the ancient condos.
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A
nice campground here at Navajo.
Next time for sure. |
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Petrified
dinosaur footprint.
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Mormon
tea, also known as ephedra. Traditionally used a cold remedy. I can vouch
for this as I *used to* get great relief from hay fever when this plant
was in Breathe Easy tea. But the feds outlawed this most heinous of flora
and now I'm back to my old pill pals, provided oh-so-readily by the pharmaceutical
industry.
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Where's
Waldo? Can you spot the lizard?
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I
couldn't resist this shot. What was the Schwan's Man / Woman doing way
the heck out here?
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A
typical structure from pre- white folk times.
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Interior
built of juniper.
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Strip
mall ; Kayenta, Arizona.
Ya-ta-hey. |
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For
your viewing pleasure, two panoramas. The second one is the Valley Of
The Gods, which would be the ultimate place for a vision quest. Hope to
come back when the weather is cooler.
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Entering
Monument Valley
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I'll
tell ya straight up -
I did not doctor the color in this photo! |
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Church
Rock
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Campsite
in Monument Valley.
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View
from the tent. Not bad digs.
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Kampground
Kitty. I gave her a can of tuna and you'd think I saved her family from
the Holocaust.
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Goulding's
Lodge for breakfast. Strange service here; I could have had my coffee
refilled 12 times (if that's what I ordered) but not a single offer to
refill my iced tea. I ordred the breakfast burrito without the sausage,
but I got the sausage but not the green chile sauce and sour cream. Server
was inattentive, food is a 5 out of 10. But what are you going to do?
It's the only place between Kayenta and Bluff.
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Just
yer average everyday Navajo auto repair station.
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Bluff,
Utah
Founded 1880 |
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A
couple 'radical dudes' just finished their Mountain Dews after a hot ride
in Canyon Of The Ancients National Monument. Looks like a great place
to backpack.
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The
McElmo River Valley
and Sleeping Ute Mountain. Colorado, at last. Green, green, green! Welcome relief for a desert-dried Zonie. Quaking aspen and red-winged blackbird. And - did I mention? -- green. Ever notice how topography actually changes when you cross state (or country) borders? Examples: AZ/CA (at Blythe), CAN/NV (near Tahoe), CA/OR (Siskiyou Summit), OR/WA (Columbia River). |
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Cortez,
Colorado. Simply put, I found the people in this town to be harsh.
The establishment that looked tempting to refresh and cool down, the Main Street Brewery Restaurant, wasn't open when I arrived at 2pm. Blondie's Pub & Grill could have been good but they didn't post their menu. Maybe it's just me, but I'll walk by a restaurant without a menu showing rather than walk in and ask. I'm just sorta not interested if they're not proud of their menu. I got a peak at the food at El Grande Cafe. What I saw looked like Green Giant Niblets and impossibly white mashed potatoes. So, I followed a vehicle painted to advertise ColdWarPatriots.com to Taco Bell. A good, old fashioned Bell Beefer never hurt anyone, except perhaps one's lunch mate. |
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Campsite
in San Juan National Forest
west of Durango. I intended to camp at Mesa Verde National Park but the campground was ... a disgrace. No longer part of the Park Service, the campground was run by Aramark -- that's right, the uniform cleaning service. Natually. Overgrown campsites, horrible road through the campground and just general dereliction. Scrub oak and beat up picnic tables. Nice national treasure. |
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Words
cannot express the swelling pride of a Previa owner.
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Durango,
Colorado. Natives refer to themselves as "Durangotans"
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Ped.
trail / bike trail along the un-dammed Animas River through the heart
of Durango.
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Skateboard
park along the river banks.
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Trestle
for the famed steam train.
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The
Animas peaked at 20 times its normal summer flow in 1911.
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Took
a way-too-quick float down the Animas with Robin and Stephen of Flexible
Flyers Rafting. These delightful river rats have been taking the world-weary
(like me) down this river for 25 years. On board I met a woman motocross
champion and aeronautical engineer for Sandia Labs, both Durangotans.
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Rebuilding
an ancient pedestrian bridge.
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There
are more restaurants per capita in Durango than anywhere in the U.S, including
San Francisco.
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Had
a top-notch dinner at Himalayan
Kitchen. Himalayan food you ask? I had:
1) Steamed dumplings called mo-mo, like soft pot sticker (scrumptious!); 2) Tse Phing, "Lightly sautéed mushrooms and varieties of vegetables, tomato, Himalayan spices, and simmered with beans noodle"; and 3) mango lassi (yogurt drink). Heavenly! |
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A
walk through residential Durango.
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Site
of the under-construction town library.
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Durango
train station |
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And,
of course, the little choo-choo that made the place famous!
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Durango-Silverton
Narrow Gauge Railroad |
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Durango-Silverton
Narrow Gauge Railroad |
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Durango-Silverton
Narrow Gauge Railroad |
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Durango-Silverton
Narrow Gauge Railroad |
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Desperate for a room, the Adobe Inn was expensive and gross. $102 for old and spotted carpets. My non-smoking room nevertheless wreaked of cheap perfume, perhaps to mask the unemptied ashtray outside the door. The grill of my HVAC unit was coated with dust and the chrome plated luggage rack was rusting. The parking lot was crumbling, which happens in snow country, but you'd think anyone with pride would at least sweep the thing once a year. |
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Between
Durango and Silverton. |
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Finally
getting into some real altitude.
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Panoramas.
Julie Andrews would love the place. |
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Colorado
waterfall
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Video
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Engineer Mountain
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Twilight
Peak
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At
9300 feet, the bustling 'burb of Silverton, Colorado. I am seriously in
love.
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A
high-falutin' hotel in Silverton.
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The good
folks of Silverton |
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Waiting
for Dr. Fleischman
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For
sale
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Camping
above Silverton
at Mineral Creek approx. 10,000 feet |
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Ursus
Alert!
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The
Ophir Pass. I knew it was a long shot to get over this thing in The Egg.
Elevations approaching 12,000 feet and not paved. |
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Over
the ridge is Telluride.
But fate would not allow it on this fine day. |
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Slippin'
and slidin' way out there with no one else around in a very low vehicle
... the end of the line.
Time to head home to Arizona. |
