Life On The Road Parts 5 and 6

Part 5

After arriving safely at the pristine RV park in Camp Verde, we were assigned a primo site (in our opinion). Not on a corner but next to a corner site which was usually reserved for the infrequent overnighter, we had plenty of space and privacy. We spent a lot of time day-tripping around the area, going to Montezuma Castle and Montezuma Well (neither of which actually had anything to do with Montezuma!). Since we weren't that far from Cottonwood, where we'd spent the previous winter, we also went back to that area to visit Tuzigoot, another site of an ancient pueblo. Montezuma Castle was our favorite of these three; we always found it so serene and peaceful, it was like being in church for us, only better, since it's outside in gorgeous natural surroundings. I always feel closest to God in these ancient places.

Montezuma Castle

Montezuma Well

We met some extremely nice people in this park, such as my friend Jackie, who is full of wonderful, hilarious stories. Jackie REALLY needs to write her stories down; they'd make a terrific book! There were a couple of other people, too, that were so nice we just hated to say goodbye to them. Thank goodness for Facebook; I can at least keep in touch that way.

We also met an nice couple there with whom we have kept in contact, even spending a couple of winters in the same parks. She and I have jewelry-making in common and always have plenty to talk and laugh about. In the spring and summer, they travel to Bryce Canyon for the season working in either an RV park or at the rock shop. Then they take the winters off. They've been work-camping like this for (I think) something like 12 or 15 years, traveling all over the country. But this will be their fourth year at Bryce. Like us, they love the west.

After our winter in Camp Verde, we had the reservation at Meteor Crater in the spring waiting for us, so at the end of April we departed the Verde Valley and headed 'up the hill' toward Flagstaff. Hmmm, it sure took a lot longer to get back up that grade than it did coming down! No 'wheeeee!' there, boy howdy! We made our usual 'Flag' stop at Olive Garden, then headed east.

We reached Meteor Crater RV park in the early afternoon, checked in, set up and settled down. This place is out in the middle of nowhere and is not really the kind of park people come to for a month. It's an overnight or weekend place; a week's stop at most; there for the convenience of travelers stopping to see the crater. The only other places around are Winslow to the east, a casino to the west and the remains of an old ghost town called Two Guns. But some of the most spectacular sunrises and sunsets I've ever seen!

Meteor Crater

I think we had the most fun at Two Guns; we went twice! I gathered a bag of junk (glass, metal bits, rocks and such) to make funky jewelry with and the place is just eerie. My imagination kicked into overdrive and I envisioned the old watering holes, brothels and other shady places that made up the notorious town of Two Guns. Of course, we went to the crater, too, and it is pretty amazing to see this gigantic hole out in the middle of nothing but desert and to touch a remnant of the meteor that you learn is over 50,000 years old and came from outer space. I'm enough of a geek that things like that still boggle my mind.

And we went into Winslow (location of the nearest Walmart) to poke around several times. On a corner (not that corner, though☺) there was an old gas station converted into a shop selling Southwestern jewelry, Indian rugs and pottery. One day we pulled in there; it looked closed. But as we started to pull away, a car roared up next to us, a guy jumped out and offered to open up the place. Of course, we went in and browsed and the man did his dead-level best to sell, sell, sell. He did have a beautiful selection of jewelry, my favorite thing in these shops. I felt sort of sorry for him after hearing several tales of woe, so I finally picked out a bracelet that didn't cost an arm and a leg. I handed him my card but he couldn't take it because there was 'a problem with the machine'. So we dug around for enough cash, paid for the bracelet and left. Patrick then pointed out what I didn't catch on to--that there were no lights on in the place. It wasn't that the machine didn't work; the poor guy apparently hadn't paid his electric bill. Much of Winslow is like that--kind of sad and shabby; another Route 66 town laid to waste by I-40.

One day a lady and her mother, driving a nice Class C camper, pulled in next to us. They were very friendly and we soon struck up a conversation. They admired my little Ruby-Deaux and when I explained it was the bead 'wagon', they were very interested in seeing my 'wares'. In turn, I learned that the younger woman was Robin Martinez Rice, a writer, and they were on their way to New Mexico to a book signing. We had a very nice time bartering jewelry for books! As well, her mother makes some extremely nice cloth totes. They picked out some necklaces and I got 2 of Robin's books, signed and a beautiful cat-themed patchwork tote bag. I have to say Robin's book 'Imperfecta', (which I believe Robin told me was based on the life of her grandmother), is a really good book. I highly recommend it, as well as Robin's other works. You can also follow her on Facebook here.

The only other remotely exciting thing that happened at Meteor Crater was the one night I took the trash to the dumpster in the dark, and lifted the lid to find a surprised mouse perched on the ledge. I screamed my favorite curse (one that involves a duck) and let the heavy lid slam down resoundingly. My bloodcurdling swear/scream and that banging lid echoed through the silence of the park like thunder. With head hanging, I walked back over to the RV to find Patrick sitting outside laughing silently but hysterically. When he could catch his breath, he asked, "Problem?" "Shut up." I said.

I'm here to tell you, the lady who reserved our spot for us the previous September sure wasn't lying. You could set your watch by the wind. It started blowing around 9 a.m and roared all day till about 9 p.m. In other words, it was heat driven. We rocked. We rolled. By the end of May, I thought I'd go stark raving mad from listening to the wind howl. I could not wait to leave!

Till next time,

"I have a very powerful sense of place, but I have a very powerful sense of being a migrant, so it's both. It seems like I'm always leaving my home." ~ Junot Diaz

Part 6

From Meteor Crater in Arizona, we went west, then north, heading for Kanab, Utah. Originally, we'd planned to head to western Colorado somewhere near Montrose. But our new pals we'd met in Camp Verde told us about an inexpensive park in  Kanab and the town sounded really interesting. Kanab is centered a few miles above the middle of the Utah/Arizona border about 237 miles from Meteor Crater. We stopped overnight in Page, Arizona which is right next to Lake Powell.

The dam at Lake Powell outside Page, AZ

Bright and early the next morning, we were off to Utah. My only experience with Utah previously was our short stay at Arches National Park in 2011 and driving south along the eastern border heading for Arizona . For whatever reason, shortly after we crossed the Arizona border back into Utah, I felt an almost tangible change in the...air, atmosphere, aura, ambience? Call me crazy but it felt less dangerous, kinder, more welcoming. I had a vague sense of coming home. When I told Patrick how I felt, he agreed and he's not the metaphysical type at all. His feet are firmly on the ground!

We had a lot of fun during our stay in Kanab. At the risk of sounding like a tour guide, there are just so many places to see in Utah. So many national and state parks! National Parks are definitely Patrick's main gig and without him, I'd never have seen these wonders! (Here's a link to a short video about the top 10 things to see in the state. Since we were in the southern part of the state, we didn't see all these, maybe half, but it gives you an idea of the diverse landscapes to be found here.) And if you're not into the natural wonders of the place, Salt Lake City and Saint George are chock full of history and art. The entire state has a deep reverence for history, art, education, family values, etc.

Kanab itself is a fascinating little town. It's possibly the first community in the U.S. to be run by women! Read about that here. With a population of around 4000, this small burg was once called Little Hollywood because so many western TV shows and movies were filmed near here and the stars were put up at The Parry Lodge, known locally as The Parry. Sadly, westerns faded out of vogue and Kanab now caters to tourists who want to see where the stars once filmed or visit the nearby parks or Best Friends. Zion National Park is only 30 miles away. Bryce Canyon, 70 miles to the north and the Grand Canyon, 70 miles to the south make nice daytrips. There are others too: Grand Staircase Escalante, Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, and many more. Coincidentally, the two closest Walmarts are also 70 miles away; one to the southeast in Page, AZ and the other to the west in Hurricane, UT. (In Utah, it's pronounced 'Hurra-kin'.) I guess Kanab is 70 miles from anything!

Rainbow over the Vermillion Cliffs; view is from our doorway.

Utah is also an animal loving state. Near Kanab is Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, the largest no-kill sanctuary in the country, with locations in New York and Los Angeles as well. Located in Angel Canyon just outside Kanab, this huge sanctuary features special separate residences for cats, dogs (including separate buildings for special needs dogs and one for older dogs), pigs, horses, rabbits, birds and more.  If an animal doesn't get adopted, it will live out its life right there getting the best possible care and then be laid to rest in Angels' Rest cemetery. Our tour of Best Friends was the most moving day-trip we've had in Utah.

Something else that made the Best Friends trip extra special was that my sister had come out to see us in Kanab and took the tour with us. While she was there, we attended the Kanab Writers Conference, which we both got a lot out of. At least I hope I did!☺

While we'd made the decision to forego pets after our last cat died, we have no problem at all with adopting neighboring critters on a temporary basis. Thus I got into a habit of keeping a bag of dog treats onboard. While in Kanab, I met a sweet girl across the road from us. She and her husband had a Japanese Shiba Inu named Bo. Bo was allowed to come across and visit us, but only when he was given permission. When he wanted to come over, he'd stand and look at his mom intently. When she finally would say, "Well, go ahead, go on over!" Bo would come trotting over to get his Milk Bone and then trot away. After a couple months, we learned that Bo 'buried' most of those treats all over their site, under leaves, under chairs, under blankets. Wherever he thought his goodie would be safe, Bo stashed it for future enjoyment. That dog had so much personality!

Bo

The very evening of the day we arrived at the park in Kanab, we had a visitor. A beautiful cat with Siamese type markings, silver beige and chocolate, that we came to call Lonesome Cowgirl. She was super-skinny. But I hated to feed her because you know how cats are--once you feed them, they're yours. And we didn't want to get all attached and feel responsible. Besides, she had a collar on; she belonged to someone. But apparently someone was not feeding her as she seemed to grow thinner by the day. She came to visit us everytime she saw us outside. She'd look at us so plaintively as if she was saying, "Feed me? Feed me!" I couldn't take it any longer and ran over to one of Kanab's two tiny grocery stores and bought a bag of cat food and some treats. Soon she was waiting outside for me every morning by her new food and water bowls. I'm such a sucker sometimes but I just can't help it. I mean, look at this sweet face!

Lonesome Cowgirl

Lonesome Cowgirl started putting on some weight and her fur turned glossier. We taught her to give us a high five! "Gimme five!" showing her the palm of a hand. She'd reach up a paw and give us a pat. We thought it hilarious, but we're easily entertained! Eventually a fellow down on the end site walked over and informed us that Lonesome was his cat. We weren't going to dispute it as we certainly couldn't take her with us when we left. But I've always worried if she was getting a square meal. Another time, another place, I'd have kept her.

One other thing of note was Western Legends Roundup Days, a film festival, celebration and street fair held every August. My favorite part was attending the Paiute dances being held at the old school grounds. These various dances were performed by young women and girls, with an announcer explaining each dance and its significance. At the end of the show, they began a Friendship Dance. I was surprised but pleased when a little girl ran over to me, caught my hand and pulled me into the circle of dance.

A young dancer getting a last minute touch up before the show.

The weather grew gradually colder as we moved into fall--colder than we expected; time to look for warmer weather! So we left Kanab on October 31st, and headed for Bullhead City, AZ. We got up that morning to a big surprise---a coating of snow! As we reached the lower elevations of southwestern Utah (St. George/Hurricane area), it grew gradually warmer and the snow disappeared. Into the lower desert we descended.

Till next time,


"Native American isn't blood. It is what is in the heart. The love for the land, the respect for it, those who inhabit it, and the respect and acknowledgement for the spirits and elders. That is what it is to be Indian." ~ Unknown