Arizona in August 2018 - #3

THURSDAY, 9 AUGUST:

This morning I was off at 0400 in order to meet a photography friend at the entrance to the West Fork of Oak Canyon, located North of Sedona, AZ. We were on the trail by 0500, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Derek was a great guide and very thoughtful. Derek Von Briesen is a  professional photographer who lives in Sedona, and has been published by National Geographic, Arizona Highways, USA Today, Outwest Publishing, the Weather Channel and a number of local and regional guidebooks, magazines and newspapers.

He was also full of the history of the area which he shared with me and hikers who were coming into the canyon as we left. Zane Gray wrote many stories of the west while staying here. Though we started photographing before sunrise we got some nice reflections of the walls lit by indirect light. Thank you Derek.  

RED WALL AND REFLECTION

LOOKING UP

LOWER CANYON VIEW

CREEK AND REFLECTION

ALONG THE PATH INTO THE CANYON

On my way back to Flagstaff I stopped at the head of the canyon for the view and to quickly peruse the various tables set up by the Navajo to sell their wares. 

VIEW FROM HEAD OF OAK CREEK CANYON

When I got back to the hotel the others had already had breakfast. I had a quick breakfast and then retired for a nap! Afterwards we were off to Sedona which is a beautiful city situated in a lovely valley with many geological features to photograph.

Once we got our bearings we were off to The Chapel of the Holy Cross, located a short distance from downtown. The chapel was the gift of Marguerite Brunswig Staude, a sculptress, philanthropist, and devote Catholic who believed the arts should be in service of spirit. She considered this chapel to be her greatest artistic achievement and the fulfillment of her life’s mission. 

CHAPEL OF THE HOLY CROSS

LOOKING TO THE SOUTHWEST

A nunnery in Budapest became excited about the design and planned to place the church above the Danube River. World War interfered with those plans. This site was chosen after much searching in both Europe and the U.S.

We returned to downtown and enjoyed a late lunch at the Cowboy Club Restaurant. It was close to the Pink Jeep 

Tours that I had contacted for a late afternoon tour of the back country. We had a very knowledgeable driver and enjoyed our three hour tour to the Mogollon Rim. Regrettably it was not a clear day as there was a combination of smoke and haze in the air.

 CHARLES SHULTZ AND SNOOPY NAPING 

SNOOPY

Regrettably it was not a clear day as there was a combination of smoke and haze in the air.

WEATHERED TREE

TRUNK DETAIL

We still enjoyed the adventure and returned to Flagstaff after dark. Thankfully we did not see any wildlife on the road.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 10:

Last night we bid farewell to our friends as they would leave in the morning for Los Angeles, and we would head a
little further South to San Diego. We left early in the morning so that we could meet a dear friend, Carol Ogburn, and fellow GRCNP volunteer, in Prescott for breakfast. We enjoyed getting together with her at Cuppers Coffee House in the downtown area. 

The drive home from there was pretty straight forward and one we have done often. It is a scenic drive and worth the little extra time. Our route was through Yarnell, then down to Yuma via Quartzsite. We were home by 1700. 

It  was good to be home with the opportunity to stretch our legs and unwind.  We bought deli sandwiches on the way home so dinner was quite simple and made more enjoyable with a cold Modelo Negra. 

We will return to Arizona next year, but at a different time of the year. 

ARIZONA IN AUGUST 2018 - #2

Monday, AUGUST 6:

Today we headed for our favorite retreat in Arizona, The La Posada Hotel located in Winslow, AZ.  The hotel was designed and built by Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter for Fred Harvey (Harvey Girls). It is located in Winslow, Arizona, at one time headquarters for the Santa Fe Railway.

 We took a scenic route North out of Tucson via Globe, and Payson. The drive was scenic and varied with very little traffic. We had all day to enjoy the drive by Roosevelt Lake and in the Tonto National Forest. Then onto Payson, and finally Winslow. 

We stopped at Tonto National Monument and enjoyed a short light picnic and a visit to their Visitor Center. 

It was too hot to hike to the lower Ruins which are about a half mile up hill. I did get a photograph of the Upper Ruins, but it is only a record shot. It was a long way away, and I was hand holding a zoom lens. 

Then it was back on the road to Payson. I was going to inquire about the Mogollon Rim Road, but could not easily find the Forest Service office. 

Along the way to Winslow there were a number of turn offs from the highway into the forest. I randomly picked one, and we parked and went for a pleasant walk in the Ponderosa Forest, as we used to do when driving to and from the North Rim. Here we were walking at about 7000 foot elevation. It was most pleasant. After we crested the Rim we started a easy descent down to Winslow where the terrain changed from forest to open range land. We entered Winslow from the South on SR 87. 

GARDEN SCULPTURE

OLD RR CART

Tonight we enjoyed a delicious meal in the Turquoise Room within the La Posada Hotel. One of their specialty appetizers is stuffed squash blossoms, delicious. We finished with the four of us splitting a single order of Double Chocolate, Grand Marnier Soufflé for Two. It was quite the feast.

TUESDAY, 7 AUGUST:

The heat has been taking it’s toll on us, but we did get out for a short walk before breakfast. After breakfast Janeane and Pat were off to Gallup, N.M. to have some of their jewelry repaired. We opted to visit Meteor Crater which is  only 20 miles to the West. 

METEOR SITE, 1 mile across

Meteor Crater is the best-preserved meteor impact site on earth, with topographical terrain that closely resembles the surface of the moon. 

METEOR SITE

TRAINING SITE, see spaceman and flag

In fact, NASA designated the crater as the training site for astronauts going to the moon a number of years ago. To commemorate the NASA training site and to give you a sense of scale the astronaut figure is 6 feet tall and the American Flag is 3 feet x 5 feet, located in the lower right corner of the enclosure. The object that excavated the crater was a nickel-iron meteorite about 50 meters (160 feet) across. Meteor Crater is nearly one mile across, 2.4 miles in circumference and more than 550 feet deep.

It was quite hot by the time we viewed the Crater though there was a little bit of a breeze.  Afterwards we headed back to La  Posada for a relaxing read within the cool walls of the hotel.

SUNSET SKY, 7 August

Dinner was another winner at the Turquoise Room. Tonight we started a little later with our dinner so the noise in the Dinning Room was more subdued. We also had requested a table near the entrance and away from the center of the dining room so we were not in the grand room of the dining area.

A FELLOW GUEST

WEDNESDAY, 8 AUGUST:

After breakfast we all packed up and headed to Flagstaff. The original plan was to drive to Grand Canyon, take in some of the views, and have a light repast on the porch of the El Tovar. After some research on my part we decided to not do this as the summer crowds are stifling.

We decided to drive to Cameron and into the Park via the East Rim. This we did, but on the way we drove around SP Crater which is on Babbitt Ranch land. It was written up as a scenic drive in a recent issue of Arizona Highways. The drive is off of Hwy 89, on an unsigned road, and only 20 miles long. 

THUNDERHEAD AND CRATER

It was interesting to drive through this crater field and see some unique geology. The crater got its name from C. J. Babbitt who thought it looked like a spilled chamber pot. The name he gave it is not printable either in Arizona Higways or by the mapmakers. 

SP CRATER

I enjoyed the opportunity to do some landscape photography and the rest of the group just enjoyed strolling around enjoying the many views.

SP CRATER IN BACKGROUND

LAVA FIELD

Finally we got to Desert View Tower in the Grand Canyon. It was quite crowded and a bit smoky. 

LOOKING NORTH ALONG THE COLORADO RIVER

A SMOKEY & HAZY VIEW TO THE WEST

DESERT TOWER

We did a quick reconnaissance and then headed back to Cameron where we had an early dinner of Navajo Tacos. These are made with frybread and topped with taco fixings. It is quite filling and delicious. The drive back to Flagstaff went smoothly.

ARIZONA IN AUGUST 2018 - #1

FRIDAY, 3 AUGUST:

This was an adventure with our dear friends Pat and Janeane.
Afterwards we all agreed that we will not plan to visit Arizona again in August. It is just too hot! Even so we all enjoyed our experiences.

We left San Diego at a reasonable hour, 0840! We were not fighting the commute and the main traffic was heading into San Diego while we were headed in the opposite direction. The traffic picked up when we connected with the I-10 just South of Casa Grande, AZ. We found our accommodations at the DoubleTree Hotel very easily, with George driving and I using my iPhone to give him directions.

After checking in we went out to our car to unpack. As the temperature at 1600 was about 105˚F we brought everything into our room including wine and chocolate. While outside we met our friends, Marie and John Plakos. We came to Tucson to support Marie in the opening of her show, OUR SISTER’S KEEPER
 (http://www.oursisterskeeper.org).
Marie is an accomplished photographer and textile artist. Her show is of photographs of women in third world countries that she uses to tell the tale of their plight, and give them dignity.

Soon Janeane and Pat arrived and we agreed to meet for dinner. From the Hotel, they got the recommendation of the Guadalajara Grill which was not far from our accommodations. The food was very good, but the noise was overpowering. We will look for a quieter setting tomorrow night. 


SATURDAY, 4 AUGUST: 

As we regularly walk early in the morning we did that today as well. It did not take long to work up a sweat, but we completed a 2 mile walk before breakfast. It was already heating up as we finished. 

After a nice breakfast and visiting with the Plakos we were off to The Mission San Xavier del Bac. The Mission was built between 1783 and 1797, and is the oldest European structure in Arizona.

Mission San Xavier del Bac

Mission San Xavier del Bac

The labor was provided by the O'odham. The mission is widely considered to be the finest example of Spanish Colonial architecture in the United States. The mission has an elegant white stucco, Moorish-inspired exterior, with an ornately decorated entrance. Visitors entering the massive, carved mequite-wood doors are often struck both by the coolness of the interior and the dazzling colors of the paintings, carvings, frescoes,and statues.  

The last time I visited this mission was about 12 years ago. Then the Mission was being restored and there was scaffolding on at least one of the towers. There was also scaffolding inside the church as they were cleaning up and repainting the art work in the alter area. I enjoyed walking around the outside of the Mission and seeing and photographing it from different angles.

Mission San Xavier del Bac

Mission San Xavier del Bac

We were then off to the Tucson Botanical Garden for a quick visit before calling it a day with the heat.

BUSY BUTTERFLY

MOJAVE YUCCA

HIBISCUS SUN

Back at the Hotel, we enjoyed the air conditioning while we read, and napped. 

Dinner tonight was in house at the Javelena Cantina. The  cuisine was Southwest, but not too hot for any of us. The staff was friendly and accommodating. The ambiance was quieter which made it much easier to carry on a conversation.

SUNDAY, 5 AUGUST:

Today was the opening of Marie Plakos photo show, OUR SISTER’S KEEPER .

The display will be at the Saint Philip's Episcopal Church in The Hills, Tucson,  from Sunday August 5, 2018 to October 21, 2018, in the Murphey Gallery. 

The show was very well received and Marie did a nice short talk on what it is all about, and some of her experiences capturing the ladies on "film".

This evening we once again ate at the Javelina Cantina.