Sunday, February 13, 2005

Joan's first newsletter Covering January 16 through February 13, 2005

What I’m grateful for:

Clean restrooms everywhere. One, in a Circle K gas station in Willcox, AZ, even had an arrangement of artificial flowers (well, maybe they were air fresheners).

Stash chai tea bags

Cappuccino machines in gas stations

Public libraries that offer free Internet access

Cash back with no fee when I use ATM/debit cards in supermarkets

PBS radio stations

Full moons while camping

Cheap motels with in-room refrigerators (and sometimes also a microwave)

My battery-powered tape player, used to listen to books-on-tape after dark – which begins around 7ish

My propane-powered Mr. Heater; which heats up my gigantic tent quickly

That gigantic 8-1/2’ x 8-1/2’ x 7’ high tent

My van, Catherine the Grape, who seems to be enjoying the trip as much as I am. She only got mad at me once – after driving about 40 miles on a dirt road, she disabled the radio/CD player, but it began working again the next day. Catherine is a concord grape-colored 1998 Honda Odyssey, suggested by friend Peter Anning because it gets darn good miles-per-gallon for a minivan, the two rear rows of seats can be removed or folded down for more room (and I did both), and it’s a Honda (well made and reliable). The interior did shrink between purchase date (Dec 13) and when I loaded it up for the trip, but I can still see out the windows and sleep comfortably inside on a 6’+ cot when I’m not at a hostel, motel, or friend’s home.

Some of the places I’ve slept:

Pacific Grove, Jan 16, home of Russ & Nancy Walker (he was my boss at the astronomy company where I worked 1997-2001)

Avila Beach, CA, Jan 17, camped at Avila Hot Springs and soaked in the natural sulfur hot springs twice

Nipomo, CA, Jan 18-19, Bill’s Home Hostel; hiked on Nipomo Dunes and participated in the anti-Bush inauguration day demonstration at Santa Maria with Bill and the one other hostel guest, a retired postal worker from Ireland. Trip’s most unusual shower was at the hostel: standing in half a wine cask with solar-heated water streaming from a shower-height hose nossle. The used water was siphoned off to water the garden.

Barstow, CA area Jan 21-23, camped at Rainbow Basin and Calico campgrounds, and one night at Route 66 Motel. It probably dated back to the ‘30s or ‘40s; slightly decrepit but I had to do it. Slept in a round bed and the Indian owner had an interesting collection of renovated old cars.
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona, Jan 27-29, camping. Would have stayed longer but I needed a shower!

Tucson, AZ – at the home of friends Merlin and Lee Jan. 31 through ???

Silver City, New Mexico, Feb 9 – the three of us took a trip to hike at Chiracahua National Monument and see Silver City; where we stayed at the Palace Hotel in an 1882 building. Recommended; we had a two room suite and expanded continental breakfast for just $62.

Best experiences so far:

Hiking for an hour or so along the Pacific Crest Trail (found the trail where it crossed CA Hwy 68 between Tehachapi and Mojave, right by the 700 windmills)

Calico Early Man Archaeological Site near Barstow – because I was the only visitor, I got a personal tour into the normally locked dig site by the site caretaker who had worked on the original dig with renowned archaeologist-paleontologist Dr. Louis S. B. Leakey in the ‘60s. Stone-age tools dated to 200,000 +/- 20,000 years ago were first found in 1942 (but no human remains found yet). I saw two tools in situ, one a stone anvil. Excavation continues to be done one weekend a month by volunteers.

Mojave Desert Hole in the Wall area, CA – the desert was green, and the hole-pitted rocky landscape was way cool. I met a retired technical college instructor and his wife from Minneapolis, who were intrigued by my solo trip and said they were driving the Alaska Highway next year. Hmmm – food for thought.

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, AZ – 5-star scenic, many visitor center programs conducted by volunteers or interns, longest hike so far (6 miles round trip to Lost Cabin Mine). Only place organ pipe cactus grow (well, some further north in Ajo), also saw many saguaro cactus and early-blooming desert flowers.

The opening of the exhibit "Coexistence: The Art of Living Together" at the University of Arizona in Tucson, which began with an intertribal group of pow wow drummers and singers; blessing by an elder from the Tohono O’odham Nation; music by R. Carlos Nakai Mary Redhouse; Peter Yarrow; and a mariachi band.

Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Sierra Vista, AZ. It was magical to hear poetry read and songs sung by folks who live the real cowboy life. Even more magical to follow it with a presentation a week later in Tucson of interviews with women who also lead that life, living and working on a ranch, titled "We Killed Our Own Snakes."

Chiracahua National Monument, AZ, hiked down, down, down to Echo Canyon among outer-space rock formations (wind and water eroded spires and balanced rocks).

Attending the movie "Frida," the first film about Frida Kahlo made in 1984 in Mexico, followed by a panel discussion that included a woman who visited Frida regularly during her final illness and had even seen her and Diego Rivera participate in a march for freedom.

The Tent Story –

Near sundown on January 21, in an isolated and windy campground at Rainbow Basin outside of Barstow, I decided to set up the tent for the first time. It’s a Sportz SUV tent, 8-1/2’ x 8-1/2’ and 7 feet high that can be attached to the back of a van or set up "stand alone." It was too dark to read the instructions, so I figured the latter would be easier. I got the tent out of its bag, laid it on the ground, put the four tent poles together, and then the comedy scene began. I got the poles into the sleeves on the top of the tent, then discovered the ends went into some thingy on top that was hiding in a plastic bag. By this time I was standing on a stepstool with a flashlight in my teeth, attempting to keep the tent upright while the wind had other ideas. I finally gave up and chose to sleep inside the van (which is, after all, very comfortable). And then something strange began to occur. I kept seeing car headlights on the road I had come in on, but they were passing the campground and disappearing. The next morning I discovered why. I had gone to the group equestrian campground (which explained why it had corrals), but they were heading toward the larger official campground. After noticing the boisterous scout groups camping there, however, I was glad I hadn’t set up there.

The next time I set up the tent, in Organ Pipe, I did it in daylight and it was truly simple. It’s a great shelter from wind and sun, a place to change clothes standing up, and a confined area in which to use Mr. Heater, which is powered by a small propane canister and heats up the surrounding area quickly. Highly recommended!

Tucson –
For a big city of 900,000 more or less, it’s not bad. I’ve found lots going on here of interest, such as the Mexican movie festival, many museums, history and architecture, live music in small venues at reasonable prices, proximity to mountains and desert scenery, and suitable places to eat. There’s even a few Trader Joe’s! It seems to take a lot of driving to get anywhere, but it’s an easy place to get around.

Land, lots of land –

But it’s the wide open spaces that I love the most. I’ve managed to avoid interstates in favor of "blue highways" such as state highways. I set the cruise control at 58 and let everyone pass me – yes, even where the speed limit is 75 mph! Cactus of various types have lined the roads ever since the Barstow area. I meander for reasons that make sense only to me. For example, after learning at a presentation at Organ Pipe National Monument that the Casa Grande Ruins are the nation’s first national monument, I went to see them even though they created a northerly blip in my route, and it was well worth it. If it would have fit more easily into my plans, I would have stayed an extra day around Ajo, AZ just to play Scrabble at Marcela’s Bakery on a Monday night. I went to Lake Havasu City just to see the London Bridge. Yes, the area around it is a tourist trap, but to someone with a love for history and architecture, seeing the bridge was a real thrill. (So was the ice cream cone on that sunny day.) Oh, and I spotted a Starbuck’s at Lake Havasu City, the first since leaving Santa Cruz County.

What’s next?

Between now and the second newsletter (estimated publication date early April), I’ll be visiting the University of Arizona Mirror Lab (made for telescopes, not funhouses) and Kitt Peak Observatory on a mountain west of Tucson, both with astronomers I used to work with in the late 1990’s; checking out Roswell, NM and Marfa, Texas for the aliens’ side of the story; camping and hiking in a few more national parks or monuments; attending another cowboy poetry gathering in Alpine, Texas; soaking in a few natural hot springs; and a bunch of other stuff both planned and spontaneous.

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