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gilda_eliseAnd it was. It was very warm and very dry the day I flew in, but, hey, I'd known that was going to be the case. It was May 11th—how else would it be? Still, I was home. As much as I love experiencing actual changes of seasons in Michigan, I think Phoenix will always be home. I was born there, spent almost fifty-five years there, and most of my family is still there. But on this trip visiting family was really secondary. After being chauffeured around England three times already (and a fourth time planned,) by my friend, Anne, I thought it only fair that I return the favor at least once.
May 12
I was lucky enough to be able to schedule a lunch with some of the women I used to work with. Even after almost ten years, they still manage to meet up every few months. When you work pretty much with the same group of women for over a decade, you tend to create some pretty strong bonds. It was a small group, only eight of us, but it was lots of fun and cool enough on that day for us to eat out on the restaurant's patio.
But as the day, and the following ones, progressed, I found that I've totally acclimated to having more moisture in the air. My lips felt completely desiccated and I think I went through a half dozen tubes of lip gloss. But knowing that I only had to deal with the heat a few days before heading north made the 100 plus degree temperatures much more bearable.
May 13
Anne, my friend from England, arrives. It was close to 7pm by the time we got back to my sister's, so there was only time for some quick introductions as it was in the middle of the night for Anne. We wouldn't be leaving Phoenix until the 16th, so we knew we'd have a couple of days for her to get to know everyone.
May 14
We started our day with a visit to the Heard Museum. I remember visiting this place as a kid. It was always on the "Tour of the City" that was de rigueur for grammar school classes. There was quite a bit less to it then. It started out as little more than an hacienda type building in 1929 but grew over the years as wings were added. But it was more back then, too, as there was more variety to the exhibitions. I remember a mummy and shrunken heads and a diorama of Cortez' conquest of the Aztecs. Now, it's very focused on the Native peoples of the Southwest, their heritage and arts.
Located at the entrance of HOME: Native People in the Southwest, this glass and clay sculptural installation was inspired by an ocotillo fence and combines tradition and the contemporary to represent borders and the idea of living in two worlds.
Katsinam (plural) are Hopi spirits that represent almost every aspect of Hopi life. They are also called the "Cloud People." They appear in dances from December to July each year. The dances are part of the Hopi religious calendar, and important in bringing precipitation for the crops (snow in the winter and rain in the warm months) as well as other blessings to the Hopi people. Katsina dolls are carved to give to children at these dances.
We spent most of the morning at the museum, leaving around noon for lunch. Afterwards, it was back to my sister's house to get out of the heat.
May 16
We'd used the day before to get ready for the trip, packing up, picking up the rental car, buying whatever we thought we'd need, so we managed to be on the road fairly early. My niece wouldn't be able to meet up with us until the following day, so for the first day it would only be me, Anne, and my sister, Nadine.
We were worried that there might be a problem getting to our destination as there were two fire burning nearby. We passed the first on the road to Payson, the smoke rising up over the tops of the nearby mountains, but it was far enough away from the road that it wasn't a problem. We stayed in Payson only long enough for lunch.
The Mogollon Rim is an escarpment that runs along the middle of the state for about 200 miles, the natural boundary between the Colorado Plateau in the north and the deserts to the south. It rises to about 7000 feet and is mostly covered by a Ponderosa pine forest.
We took the Rim road in until we came near to where my husband and I used to camp, oh, about twenty years ago. There had been a fire (the same fire that destroyed Zane Grey's cabin,) but not enough years have gone by for the trees to have regenerated, so we had an unobstructed view of the forest below. Still, the vegetation had grown back, so it wasn't a barren wasteland anymore, but more like a meadow. It's usually quite windy and without the trees as a break the breeze was pretty strong.
From there, we drove further along the road until we came to Kehl Springs, a small campground where Nadine and I used to camp. There are only seven or so camp sites, and, other than for an outhouse, you're on your own. You have to haul in whatever food and water you need. But there's a picnic table at each site, so we pulled into one (we had our pick—other than the camp host, the place was deserted,) and spent a relaxing couple of hours in the cool pines.
We still had more traveling to do, so we reluctantly took our leave and circled back toward Camp Verde, a small town to the north of the Valley. Sylvia, my niece would be meeting up with us in the morning. As we approached the town, the smoke from the other fire near Crown King darkened the sky to the south.
May 17
Since Sylvia wouldn't be getting into Camp Verde until noon, we took the couple of hours we had to visit Montezuma Castle National Monument.
Montezuma Castle National Monument features well-preserved cliff-dwellings. They were built and used by the Pre-Columbian Sinagua people, northern cousins of the Hohokam, around 700 CE. It was occupied from approximately 1125-1400 CE. The reasons for abandonment are not yet known, but warfare, drought, and clashes with the newly-arrived Yavapai people have been suggested. The five-story stone and mortar dwellings contain 20 rooms and once housed about 50 people.
The ruins have nothing to do with Montezuma (having been abandoned a hundred years before Montezuma was born.) Rather, its name came about from the popular belief of the 1800's that Aztecs constructed the ancient ruins of the Southwest.
We took the self-guiding trail that winds through the area, passing the wayside exhibits (a diorama of the Castle and descriptions of the flora and fauna of the area,) while enjoying the quiet of the place.
One thing I noticed, lizards have become much more interesting since I left Arizona. Maybe because I don't see anywhere near as many in Michigan. Anyway, I found myself taking pictures of quite a few of them, as they were all over the place. *g*
The trail is only about a third of a mile, and meanders by Beaver Creek before taking you back to the Visitor's Center.
After leaving the Monument, we returned to our hotel in time to meet up with Sylvia. Then it was off to Williams.
There's not much to Williams. It's population is only around 3000, its claims to fame are in it being considered the "Gateway to the Grand Canyon" and because it was the last town to have its section of Route 66 bypassed. it's also where we would be boarding the train to the Canyon. We got there around noon and checked into our hotel.
Built in 1897 as a saloon and bordello, this two-story Victorian Romanesque brick building captures the 1890's old West atmosphere. The rooms all have very picturesque names, ours being "Big Bertha's Room."
After getting settled, we toured the town. Needless to say, there are plenty of shops where you can pick up just about anything dealing with Route 66 or the Grand Canyon.
On to the Grand Canyon
May 12
I was lucky enough to be able to schedule a lunch with some of the women I used to work with. Even after almost ten years, they still manage to meet up every few months. When you work pretty much with the same group of women for over a decade, you tend to create some pretty strong bonds. It was a small group, only eight of us, but it was lots of fun and cool enough on that day for us to eat out on the restaurant's patio.
But as the day, and the following ones, progressed, I found that I've totally acclimated to having more moisture in the air. My lips felt completely desiccated and I think I went through a half dozen tubes of lip gloss. But knowing that I only had to deal with the heat a few days before heading north made the 100 plus degree temperatures much more bearable.
May 13
Anne, my friend from England, arrives. It was close to 7pm by the time we got back to my sister's, so there was only time for some quick introductions as it was in the middle of the night for Anne. We wouldn't be leaving Phoenix until the 16th, so we knew we'd have a couple of days for her to get to know everyone.
May 14
We started our day with a visit to the Heard Museum. I remember visiting this place as a kid. It was always on the "Tour of the City" that was de rigueur for grammar school classes. There was quite a bit less to it then. It started out as little more than an hacienda type building in 1929 but grew over the years as wings were added. But it was more back then, too, as there was more variety to the exhibitions. I remember a mummy and shrunken heads and a diorama of Cortez' conquest of the Aztecs. Now, it's very focused on the Native peoples of the Southwest, their heritage and arts.
Located at the entrance of HOME: Native People in the Southwest, this glass and clay sculptural installation was inspired by an ocotillo fence and combines tradition and the contemporary to represent borders and the idea of living in two worlds.
Katsinam (plural) are Hopi spirits that represent almost every aspect of Hopi life. They are also called the "Cloud People." They appear in dances from December to July each year. The dances are part of the Hopi religious calendar, and important in bringing precipitation for the crops (snow in the winter and rain in the warm months) as well as other blessings to the Hopi people. Katsina dolls are carved to give to children at these dances.
We spent most of the morning at the museum, leaving around noon for lunch. Afterwards, it was back to my sister's house to get out of the heat.
May 16
We'd used the day before to get ready for the trip, packing up, picking up the rental car, buying whatever we thought we'd need, so we managed to be on the road fairly early. My niece wouldn't be able to meet up with us until the following day, so for the first day it would only be me, Anne, and my sister, Nadine.
We were worried that there might be a problem getting to our destination as there were two fire burning nearby. We passed the first on the road to Payson, the smoke rising up over the tops of the nearby mountains, but it was far enough away from the road that it wasn't a problem. We stayed in Payson only long enough for lunch.
The Mogollon Rim is an escarpment that runs along the middle of the state for about 200 miles, the natural boundary between the Colorado Plateau in the north and the deserts to the south. It rises to about 7000 feet and is mostly covered by a Ponderosa pine forest.
We took the Rim road in until we came near to where my husband and I used to camp, oh, about twenty years ago. There had been a fire (the same fire that destroyed Zane Grey's cabin,) but not enough years have gone by for the trees to have regenerated, so we had an unobstructed view of the forest below. Still, the vegetation had grown back, so it wasn't a barren wasteland anymore, but more like a meadow. It's usually quite windy and without the trees as a break the breeze was pretty strong.
From there, we drove further along the road until we came to Kehl Springs, a small campground where Nadine and I used to camp. There are only seven or so camp sites, and, other than for an outhouse, you're on your own. You have to haul in whatever food and water you need. But there's a picnic table at each site, so we pulled into one (we had our pick—other than the camp host, the place was deserted,) and spent a relaxing couple of hours in the cool pines.
We still had more traveling to do, so we reluctantly took our leave and circled back toward Camp Verde, a small town to the north of the Valley. Sylvia, my niece would be meeting up with us in the morning. As we approached the town, the smoke from the other fire near Crown King darkened the sky to the south.
May 17
Since Sylvia wouldn't be getting into Camp Verde until noon, we took the couple of hours we had to visit Montezuma Castle National Monument.
Montezuma Castle National Monument features well-preserved cliff-dwellings. They were built and used by the Pre-Columbian Sinagua people, northern cousins of the Hohokam, around 700 CE. It was occupied from approximately 1125-1400 CE. The reasons for abandonment are not yet known, but warfare, drought, and clashes with the newly-arrived Yavapai people have been suggested. The five-story stone and mortar dwellings contain 20 rooms and once housed about 50 people.
The ruins have nothing to do with Montezuma (having been abandoned a hundred years before Montezuma was born.) Rather, its name came about from the popular belief of the 1800's that Aztecs constructed the ancient ruins of the Southwest.
We took the self-guiding trail that winds through the area, passing the wayside exhibits (a diorama of the Castle and descriptions of the flora and fauna of the area,) while enjoying the quiet of the place.
One thing I noticed, lizards have become much more interesting since I left Arizona. Maybe because I don't see anywhere near as many in Michigan. Anyway, I found myself taking pictures of quite a few of them, as they were all over the place. *g*
The trail is only about a third of a mile, and meanders by Beaver Creek before taking you back to the Visitor's Center.
After leaving the Monument, we returned to our hotel in time to meet up with Sylvia. Then it was off to Williams.
There's not much to Williams. It's population is only around 3000, its claims to fame are in it being considered the "Gateway to the Grand Canyon" and because it was the last town to have its section of Route 66 bypassed. it's also where we would be boarding the train to the Canyon. We got there around noon and checked into our hotel.
Built in 1897 as a saloon and bordello, this two-story Victorian Romanesque brick building captures the 1890's old West atmosphere. The rooms all have very picturesque names, ours being "Big Bertha's Room."
After getting settled, we toured the town. Needless to say, there are plenty of shops where you can pick up just about anything dealing with Route 66 or the Grand Canyon.
On to the Grand Canyon
