San Diego

From Twenty Nine Palms, we drove west to the Pacific Ocean. We decided to do this leg of our trip without Irv. He doesn't travel well in congested urban areas, and there was no good place for us to park and camp in San Diego, so he gets to spend the week in storage at a KOA in Banning, CA. He deserves a break.

As we drove deeper into Southern California, we saw wind farms, and avocado trees...

and trucks full of fresh oranges.

We stayed at a Holiday Inn right down by Shelter Island, close to the Bay. It was warm and sunny, and we truly felt like we were in San Diego.

The first morning, we had breakfast at the ever popular Old Town Mexican Cafe...

before meandering up the beautiful, sunny coast...

Famous Windansea beach

We went to the Gliderport at Torrey Pines, where dozens of people were sailing through the air.

San Diego is such a magical place. I (Stacy) met up with my friend, Carol Smith, for lunch, then  Jack and I took a long, sunny walk along the Bay.

Joshua Tree National Park

We are edging our way closer to the Pacific Coast and have finally arrived in California, Stacy's home state.

We came over the mountains, through a 50+ mile stretch of no-man's land desert, ending up in Twenty Nine Palms, California -- so named, they say, because there used to be a watering hole here (an oasis) surrounded by exactly 29 palms. There are several more than that here now, but it is still a desert town. It is very arid, very rocky, with interesting rock formations and plants that are predominantly intimidating (thorns, spikes, needles, etc)

The Marine Corps has a base here where soldiers are trained to serve in Iran and Afghanistan. That is the kind of terrain I am talking about.

We took a long drive and photo shoot through Joshua Tree National Park. It really was unlike anyplace else either of us had ever been. The park includes part of the Mojave Desert and part of the Colorado Desert, and the delineation is obvious.

The Mojave section contains incredible rock formations and "forests" of Joshua Trees.  Joshua Trees are related to Agave plants, but are tall, and crooked, shaggy and coarse.  They evidently got their name from Mormon settlers who thought the trees reminded them of Joshua, beckoning them on to the Promised Land. Frankly, I think the travelers must have been dehydrated and/or suffering from heat exhaustion, because the trees are a little scary, and very interesting.

A Joshua tree in full bloom

See how shaggy and rough they are? And sometimes, they just give up and fall over.

Another Joshua Tree

The Colorado Desert section is much more wide open, flat, with NO Joshua Trees and NO huge rock formations. But we did catch a dust storm.

This dust storm was miles wide and heading East across this valley

We were lucky enough to stumble onto this region during the cactus bloom, so we took some photos.  The adaptations that plant life has made to this harsh desert environment is evident everywhere, including the "bloom".  The flowers are small, brightly colored, and I am sure very short lived.

Cholla cactus in bloom

Ocatillo tree in bloom....really pretty

Don't know what this is, but it was a gorgeous purple color

And, in my ongoing quest to show warning signs from across America....

Lake Havasu

On Sunday we drove to Lake Havasu, created by a dam across the Colorado River and forming the Arizona-California border. We are inching our way closer to home.

Weather here is gorgeous and warm. About 90 during the day. (But it's a dry heat.) The lake itself is a desert jewel, with warm crystal clear water. We stayed in Lake Havasu State Park, right ON the lake. We enjoyed the white sand beach, and used our air mattresses in the still cool water. The lake is RIFE with all manner of pontoon boats - fishing boats, ski boats, jet skis - and frankly, that is about all there is to do here. Did I mention that it's spring break? Not too bad though.

Our campsite

View from our front door

There is one curious thing about Lake Havisu City. In 1967, the original London Bridge was dismantled and moved from the River Thames to Lake Havasu, Arizona. London sold it because it was not sturdy enough to handle modern traffic loads. Now it serves as a plain old bridge between the "mainland" and a man made island.  There are a couple of London-themed hotels and restaurants around it, but mostly it allows McCullough Boulevard to cross the canal.

London Bridge at Lake Havasu. Go figure.

We took a ferry over to the California side of the lake to go to a casino.  It was wonderful to get out on the water, which is a beautiful blue-green color.

The surrounding mountains are very rugged and craggy, and provide a pretty dramatic backdrop for this beautiful lake.

Expanding our universe...Lowell Observatory

At 7,200 feet on Mars Hill overlooking downtown Flagstaff, Arizona is the Lowell Observatory, where a number of important astronomical accomplishments have been made over the years. It is the place where it was discovered that the universe is expanding, and also where a then-theoretical ninth planet (Pluto) was first seen.

The observatory was built in 1894 by the very wealthy Percy Lowell, after whom Lowell, Mass. is named. Today it consists of two domes, each housing a large telescope. The historic Clark Telescope is down for repairs right now for the first time in its 117 years. Sigh.

But we did go into the dome, which was built from local pine lumber by a couple of brothers who owned a bicycle repair shop way back when. The "upside down bucket" shape (as the guide described it) allows for the top half to rotate on a series of old Ford truck wheels, complete with shiny hubcaps, to position the opening appropriately for viewing the desired part of the sky.

Mars Hill used to be the only observatory site, but increasing light pollution from the growing Flagstaff area forced them to first move about 13 miles outside of town, and then 40 miles outside of town. This distant site, called "Happy Jack", is home to the new $53 million Discovery Channel Telescope. We didn't get out to visit it, but the videos were impressive.

There is also a museum, documenting the history of the Lowell family, and the discoveries made at the Observatory.

Percival Lowell's first telescope that fueled his interest in astronomy and inspired him to build the observatory.

This is the Spectrograph used to discover that the universe is constantly expanding, not collapsing, by measuring shifts in the frequency of light waves from distant galaxies.

This instrument found the planet Pluto. There are tee shirts with "RIP" on them....Revolve in Peace. The symbol for Pluto is a combined "PL", created to honor Percival Lowell.

Another interesting thing is that Flagstaff is officially an "International Dark Sky city". They minimize the use of lights at night, and even their streetlights are sodium vapor lights, which emit a low intensity reddish light. All of this is, of course, an effort to decrease the light pollution here which hampers astronomical exploration.

As a little side trip, we visited the Elden Pueblo that is right in town; in fact, it is just across the street from the Flagstaff Mall. The Native Americans who lived here thousands of years ago were ultimately displaced by the eruption of the nearby volcano, and by a 20-year drought. There is an active archeological dig happening here, and we took a short self-guided tour through what they have uncovered so far.

The Grand Canyon

So many things in this world are simply known by a name, and when we hear it we don't think about what the name actually means. Well, when you walk up to the edge of this huge hole in the ground you KNOW what it's name means. It is, in a word, G R A N D.

The drive from Phoenix (elev. 1,100 ft) to the Grand Canyon (elev. 7,000 ft) was a long haul pulling a house behind a little ol' Ford F150. But Bessie made it, and at lunchtime we drove into the parking lot at the Visitor Center.

Then a short walk to the canyon rim, and... WOW!

This place is more than a mile deep (think four World Trade Centers stacked one atop the other!) and from 10 to 19 miles across. When I (Jack) was here last at age 14, the science of the time said the canyon was formed by erosion from the Colorado River. We were both a little surprised to learn that that is still basically true, although they know so much more now about the geology and formation of the canyon, which began more than two BILLION years ago. Evidently, that's long enough.

After a couple of hours near the visitor center we drove 25 miles east to a part of the canyon called Desert View. The canyon is less deep here, but every bit as beautiful. In the 1930's, a woman named Mary Colter, working with the Hopi indians, designed and built a beautiful 70-foot-tall tower called Desert View, as a meditation area and to showcase native American art and culture. Although it looks primitive, it actually has a high-tech metal superstructure, with natural rock and adobe facade. Colter insisted that not even a single tool mark remain visible anywhere.

You can climb to the top...and it is really special.

Desert View Watchtower

Best view of the Colorado River at the bottom of the canyon.

Gorgeous Native American artwork adorns the inside of the tower.

We were fortunate that it isn't high season, as we were able to enjoy this place without crowds.

Of course, there is lots of wildlife in the Canyon. Cougars, elk, deer...and SQUIRRELS!

In memory of Mandy, our dearly departed Squirrel-hound

As we drove north from Phoenix, we were amazed again and again at the beautiful skies. They are as blue as they are in these photos. The clouds change minute by minute, and are always breath-taking.

Phoenix, Arizona

We rolled into the Phoenix area a few days ago, Monday, I think. Phoenix is a very big city, and the surrounding metroplex has something like 4.5 million people, the 6th largest in the country. And major league baseball Spring Training is in full swing. (Full swing, get it?)

But I get ahead of myself.

On our way up from Tucson, we passed by a unique hill called Picacho Peak. There is also a state park of that name, so I had to find out why.

Picacho Peak, Civil War battle site

"The Battle of Picacho Pass" was an engagement of the American Civil War on April 15, 1862...and marks the westernmost battle of the Civil War".

Did you all know that Arizona fought on the side of the Confederacy, and California was Union? This battle was to keep the Confederates from crossing over the border into Arizona.

Arizona was the last state in the contiguous U.S. to achieve statehood, not joining the union until 1912. Up until that point, it was part of New Mexico, well, after it separated from Mexico proper. So there's your history lesson for today.

We stayed in a massive RV park, euphemistically named "Desert Shadows". It was sprinkled with delightfully fragrant orange and grapefruit trees, and offered all sorts of crafts, shuffleboard and jigsaw puzzles. We were the youngest people there by at least 15 years... which, in Jack's case, is really saying something.

Our first excitement in Phoenix was to see our old favorite, Rubio's Tacos. We IMMEDIATELY headed there for their great tacos.

Que Bueno!!!

I (Stacy) had coffee with a woman I worked with in Sacramento. She is now the NICU educator at Banner Hospital, but was able to break away for a coffee.

Jack and I met my cousin, Kathy, and her husband, Dan, for a great dinner and some family catch up time.

Cousin Kathy, Stacy, Jack and Dan at True Foods Kitchen. 

Then we met up our old buddy from our FIRST time in Portland back in the '80s, Mike McAvoy. Mike now lives in Sun City with his beautiful English Setter, Sam. We attended a baseball game (Milwaukie Brewers 9, Seattle Mariners 7), had fantastic gyros, and visited for a few hours with Mike at his lovely home.

We even sang "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" at the 7th inning stretch

We drove north today towards Flagstaff, stopping at an old Native American village called "Montezuma's Castle"  It is a well-preserved cliff structure, that was built about 1,400 years ago, and occupied up until about 500 years ago. Very interesting indeed.

Cliff dwelling at Montezuma's Castle. 

The inhabitants reached their homes by a series of ladders

 This is truly desert: lots of cactus and spiny, scary trees. Everything has decided it's Spring, so flowers and pollen abound.

Along Verde Creek

Overlooking Horsethief Canyon

And it is evidently important to watch your step...

Tomorrow.....The Grand Canyon!