I finished Blog #1 of this trip at 3:15 a.m. this morning! I had the energy…and the determination…to finish this blog so I could publish it today while I’m here at the KOA in Holbrook, AZ. Despite some hiccups with my Gmail blog site, I finally published the blog and then, around 1:00 pm, sent it out via email to the folks on my Email Blog List.
Incidentally, today’s blog is actually #109. My very first blog was published (on a different blog site) on June 28, 2006. At that time, I had just turned 56 years old and was living in Tucson, AZ, newly retired the year prior.
As I wrote in my previous blog (#108), this truck camper trip started out with a problem with my camper’s fridge. And, not only that, a few days later, my equally important emergency vent handle (above the bed) broke. Both were repaired relatively quickly and I’m starting this new Week #2 with the camper in good shape. Being a 2005 model, my camper is, after all, 19 years old. Or, maybe it’s actually 20 years old if we can assume it was manufactured in 2004. Gotta mention my truck, too – a 2006 model, it’s 18 years old and in good shape, too. I do my best to keep both camper and truck maintained on a regular basis. Thank you, David at Galaxy Campers and Rafael at Palm Springs Ford!
And now, what of me? That younger 2006 version of yours truly is now 74! Physically, I don’t spring back up from a sitting or crouched position like I used to. That’s been true for quite some time now, but I manage to rise with the help of whatever (or whoever) is nearby. I’m well aware of the unfortunate propensity for older folks to fall, so I’ve come up with a mantra – “Watch where you plant your feet, today and tomorrow and every day.” Very important, this one, especially inside and outside the camper! Not to mention climbing up into, and getting down from, my behemoth of a truck!
It's been just about a week now since I left home and the question about “getting my groove back” with the truck camper travel experience has revealed a glaring discovery thus far. I’ve shrunk!
In height, to be clear. I can barely reach, standing on the ground, the exterior lock on the camper’s rear door. And, even on tiptoes and stretching my right arm, I can’t reach…at all…the switch that opens/closes the slideout. When I demonstrated that endeavor to David last week, he told his son, Steven, to improvise a sort of “clubbed” handle that I can use to reach the switch. Oh, thank you, Steven, that handle has been most effective! Dumping the grey/black tanks will be challenging…I know that already. Stay tuned!
For dinner this evening, I went over to the KOA “Cowboy Cookout” kitchen and ordered a steak to go. The chef at the outside grill was Donald, my “emergency lever repairman,” and he sure did grill me a delicious steak! Baked beans, potato salad, and a fried bread completed my order. A hearty serving it was, some of which I later put away in my nice cold fridge.
Donald, grilling my steak. My camper in the background, with the vent cover open.
All day today I’ve been receiving, on my iPhone, a high-wind alert for tomorrow in this area. The alert included advice for drivers of RVs and campers to take extra caution. Considering my destination tomorrow, I have a Plan B in mind if that becomes necessary. Did I mention “adventures” as part of this type of truck camper journey?
Monday, September 16, 2024
I woke up early this morning so I could leave early for the two-hour drive to Canyon de Chelly, a national monument in Chinle, AZ. Checking the latest weather report and noting the thick clouds in the sky, I decided to go with my Plan B – stay here at the Holbrook KOA for a third night and go up north to that national monument in Chinle tomorrow.
After paying for tonight’s stay, I had to move to a different nearby site, which was fine by me. Armed with better Arizona and New Mexico paper maps, I took a closer review of my previously planned (via online) routes to Chinle and came away satisfied with my original draft. I do have a Plan C, contingent on tomorrow’s weather.
Around late afternoon I took a brief walk around the KOA and then started working on this blog draft. Towards evening, a double rainbow appeared, gracing me with a lovely window view as I sat at the dinette table. The rainbow eventually dissipated and the next time I looked out the window, there was the full moon. Mother Nature sure does enhance these journeys!
I got up at 6:00 am (7:00 am where I’m going today) and by 6:30 am I was on I-40 E, then Routes 77N and 264E to the Canyon de Chelly National Monument in Chinle. This is Navajo Nation and it was a pleasant early morning drive. As I glanced around at the scenery it was all desert – no farms, no ranches, no structures, no Dollar Stores. I did pass the requisite number of the yellow/orange diamond-shaped warning signs and one in particular caught my attention. I asked myself – “Over these many years of driving all over the USA, and parts of Canada, and having passed thousands of those signs, have you ever seen that one?” The symbol on the sign was a horse. Not a horse & buggy, like I’ve seen in the Amish and Mennonite communities. Just a lone horse, and in galloping mode, too. There’s always a first time for a lot of things.
Thinking about that free-roaming horse, I had an image of this massive brown carpet, for as far as you can see, on this wide open plain of desert grass and foliage. That carpet rippled as the Bison moved and ran. It was, no question, a glorious sight for the peoples that lived here. Those herds of Bison, America’s largest mammal, were their sustenance, food and body parts -- until the White Man arrived with their rifles. And that massive brown carpet…well, you know the story.
At the Canyon de Chelly Visitors Center, I picked up a brochure and set out to explore the area. I didn’t really have a lot of time to visit today, because yesterday’s high wind conditions, and the potential for rain, concerned me enough to make the decision to remain at the KOA in Holbrook. My plan had been to arrive here yesterday morning, go first to the Cottonwood Campground and secure a first-come-first serve campsite. Following that, I was going to drive along the canyon’s North Rim and stop at the three overlooks there. I was also planning to look into arrangements for a jeep tour of the canyon. And then, the next day (which is today) I had planned to drive along the South Rim, stop at the seven overlooks there, and then be on my way to my next destination in New Mexico.
As beautiful as the rainbow was yesterday evening, it was also a reminder that, as I travel in my truck camper, I gotta pay attention to the weather and heed whatever my gut is telling me. Learning of my change in plans yesterday, Evelyn, my sister, texted that “The universe is suggesting you rest for a day.” That’s true, too! I’m still discovering on this trip that what used to be fairly easy for me to do ain’t necessarily so these days!
To partially quote from the Canyon de Chelly brochure: “People have lived in these canyons for nearly 5,000 years—longer than anyone has lived uninterruptedly elsewhere on the Colorado Plateau. The first residents built no permanent homes, but remains of their campsites and images etched or painted on canyon walls tell us their stories. Later, people we call Basketmaker built compounds and storage, social, and ceremonial spaces high on the canyon’s ledges. They lived in small groups, hunted game, grew corn and beans, and created wall paintings. The labyrinth called Canyon de Chelly (d’SHAY) comprises several canyons that include Canyon de Chelly and Canyon del Muerto. At the canyons’ mouth near Chinle, the rock walls are only 30 feet high. Deeper in the canyons the walls rise dramatically until they stand over 1,000 feet above the floor. Cliffs overshadow streams, cottonwoods, and small farms below. Across many millennia, water etched paths through layers of sandstone and igneous rock as the Defiance Plateau rose. Today, the ancient peoples’ open windows beckon us.”
I started my tour on the North Rim first, having been told that those overlook views are better in the morning sun. The first stop was the Antelope House Overlook. The parking area was spacious and not at all full. Making sure my chosen parking spot was – you guessed it! – LEVEL, I then walked along the marked path to the viewing area. I discovered right away that, unlike the smooth parking area, this path is not “man-made paved” in any way. Keeping my mantra in mind, I stepped carefully over stones, some smooth and fixed in place, others broken up into loose small and smaller stones.
Even with the description from the brochure, which mentions a “Ruin” at this location, with my uneducated eye, unless it is already obvious, I don’t usually know exactly where or what to look for as far as a “ruin.” The canyon rock formations were beautiful, though, and it being a sunny day, it was also very windy up at the canyon’s ledge. Taking pictures, I held on tightly to my iPhone and thought to myself that if I were 50-75 pounds lighter, I would probably keel over!
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| Antelope House: Downward path on smooth/rough rock towards the viewing platform. |
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Antelope House: Grass on the canyon floor. Posted sign advised that people farm below and to please not throw objects over the ledge. |
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| Antelope House: Rock formations shaped by time. |
Realizing that this North Rim road was also Rt. 64E, the route I’m taking on my way out of Chinle later today, I decided to return to the location of the Visitors Center and drive along the South Rim. Going no further than the last overlook on this rim drive, the round-trip mileage is 37 miles. In the interest of time, I visited two spots – Spider Rock Overlook (the last one on this rim) and Sliding House Overlook. I went to Spider Rock first, and since it was now past noon, the sun was in excellent viewing position. As my picture below will (hopefully) attest, Spider Rock is impressive. The rock is an 800-foot sandstone spire, which, just gazing at it from different angles, made me think of the Twin Towers in NYC. I must have spent a good 20 minutes at this overlook.
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| Spider Rock: The two spires stand tall, above grass, plants, and a stream. |
Noticing this young Indian fellow on the path earlier, as I walked back to the parking lot, I now stopped to look at his display of rock art. All his rocks are smooth shale that he retrieves himself directly from the floor of the canyon. He was working on one and paused to show me how he uses his very sharp tool to etch lines on the painted side, drawing similar images that the ancient peoples etched or painted on rock walls. He appreciated my interest (which was genuine especially since I’m not an art aficionado) and I appreciated his explanation of how he does his art. I bought a small piece, the back on which he etched – “alan bia 2024.” He included the year, this young Indian man whose ancestors go back thousands of years. Just for a bit of perspective…
Sliding House featured a Ruin as well, which I wasn’t able to locate. But, looking down at the green canyon floor, I saw several sturdy structures that looked like houses. People farm down there and I could see the trail of a nearby vehicular drive. The walk to that overlook was the most challenging of the three that I visited. There were several ways to get there from the parking lot and I was constantly on the lookout for the safest steps to and back.
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| Sliding House: Trees and what looks like a curved vehicular roadway... |
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| ...and a couple of houses. |
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| Sure do wonder how people get down to the canyon floor... |
By 2:30 pm, after a five-hour visit at this revered canyon, I was ready to get going to Bloomfield, NM, my stop for the night. Since I’d already pre-planned my route, I figured on a 2-3 hours drive. It didn’t turn out that way.
Taking the aforementioned Rt. 64E, I headed for Tsaile, AZ, where I then connected to Rt. 12N at Lukachukai (still in Navajo Nation, AZ) and looked for Rt. 13E, an Indian Service Route that would cross into New Mexico and connect to Rt. 491N. Somehow, I missed that junction – either there was no “thataway” signage for Rt. 13 or I just simply didn’t see it.
Driving along on the two-lane desert road dubbed Rt. 12N, I started to sense I’d been on this road for way longer than I should have been. At my right were the red rocks and red soil of this part of the desert. I knew right then and there that I had gone past the tiny unincorporated community of Red Rock, Navajo Nation, Arizona, near the border with New Mexico. Since the two-lane Rt. 12 had practically no shoulders on either side, or a side road, it took me a few more miles before I found a small dirt spot that I could stop at. I activated my blinkers, retrieved my iPhone, and verified via GPS that I had missed Rt. 13E. Turning back wasn’t worth it so I stayed on Rt. 12N and proceeded from there. My connecting junctions from that point on were Routes 191N and then 160E towards Four Corners. For some dadburn reason, past Four Corners, instead of then directing me to continue on Rt. 64E, the GPS kept me on Rt. 160 which led me into...Colorado!
Aw, jeez! A quick look at my paper map showed that I would eventually reach Rt. 491S and from there Rt. 64E will then be my way to Bloomfield. So, until I reached that junction with 491, I looked around this never-seen-by-MAP-before southwestern part of Colorado. There are mesas here, too, but unlike those I’d seen on my drives in Arizona, these mesas were kinda bland. That landscape, the mesas and the soil both, looked entirely like brown dirt. But for the weedy looking grass along the shoulders, nothing can grow here, I thought.
It was 6:30 pm when I arrived at the Moore’s RV Park and Campground in Bloomfield, NM. Yonder west, the sun was disappearing and the office was, of course, closed. Not a problem -- an envelope with my name on it, for late arrivals, was inside a cabinet, confirming my site number. And that’s where I went to set up my camper, 12 hours after I left Holbrook, AZ this morning.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention some interesting encounters on my drive today in Navajo Nation:
* Three untethered horses. Two were standing by on my side of the road, and the one on the other side was grasping a plastic pink bucket in its mouth, looking proud of its find;
* A group of cattle – with horns intact! – meandering about on both sides of the road;
* A bunch of sheep on my side of the lane.
Wednesday, September 18, 2024
Since this RV park didn’t require advance payment when I made my reservation some months ago, I went to the office to pay for my site. I then left at 11:00 am to visit the nearby Salmon Ruins, the site of an ancient pueblo that was inhabited by the Chacoan people in the late 11th century.
That pueblo, near the banks of the San Juan River, was completely abandoned in the late 13th century and, like other abandoned pueblos, was left to the elements of time. From online:
“The ruins at Salmon Ruins features one of the largest outlying colonies built in the Chacoan style during the 11th century.
Salmon Ruins brings the ancient world into a modern perspective, where visitors have a unique opportunity to walk through an excavated archaeological site, see some of the artifacts on display, visit a surviving New Mexico frontier homestead, and explore full-scale reconstructions of the habitations used by Native Americans in New Mexico going back to the end of the Ice Age.
The site itself was built in A.D. 1088-1090 by people we know today as the Ancestral Puebloans. The village was lived in until around 1288.
The pueblo village is now named Salmon Ruins in honor of the family who went to such effort to preserve and protect the site. In the 1960s, the family was ready to move on but wanted the site and homestead to be used for educational purposes. The San Juan County Museum Association took over in 1969, and arranged for excavation of the ruin between 1972 and 1978. This was conducted by archaeology students from Eastern New Mexico University and was directed by Dr. Cynthia Irwin-Williams. The museum was built to display recovered artifacts and manage visitation at the site. Salmon Ruins opened to the public in 1973. Heritage Park was started in 1990 to commemorate the lifeways of the region’s diverse cultures who didn’t live on the grounds but are part of the cultural use of the area.”
After visiting the onsite museum, I went outside to walk around Heritage Park, which featured “Architectural replicas from different cultures through time…” and the Salmon Family Homestead, which the family homesteaded in the late 1890s.
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Replica of a "wickiup." |
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| Replica of a multi-room dwelling. |
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| Replica: "Ice Age Pond" |
The ruins were right behind the now delipidated Salmon house. The archaeological excavations that were done there revealed the typical stone construction and shapes of various “rooms” throughout the pueblo, including the kivas and a great kiva in the plaza. Most of the rooms were marked with numbers and, with a printed tour booklet that the museum provided me, I could read about those rooms and what their purposes were based on the items and artifacts that were found there. I spent about two hours here.
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| From the tour booklet: "No Chacoan-period artifacts were found here to explain the use of the room, except for the burial of an infant. This child was aged between four and eight months, and had been formally buried by being wrapped in a willow mat with a decorated pitcher." |
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| One of the larger rooms in the pueblo. |
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| A close look at the stone construction. |
My drive continued through the scenic Carson National Forest. The sky was a cloudless blue. The trees in the hills and the valleys were the greenest of green, seemingly unaware that fall was approaching. In some places in the valleys, the colors of the grass were a mixture of gold on green and green on gold. The ever-present diamond-shaped signs warned to “watch for elk.” There were quite a number of that warning, placed every mile or so, it looked like. Yeah! It’s elk rutting season and if those males get a whiff of a female, there’s no stopping them!
I arrived at the state park visitor center just before 5:00 pm. I parked and as I turned to walk to the building, I saw this young lady standing nearby and looking my way. She may have said something and, naturally, got no response. Approaching closer, I asked if she worked here. Yes, she did. She was about to lock up but seeing me drive in, she waited. I showed her my reservation and she gave me the campground map and other materials that I needed.
Although the sun had already gone behind the trees, I sat outside for a short while, taking stock of my day – the last two days, actually – and made quick work of my rum and diet coke cocktail. I was tired, no question!
Thursday, September 19, 2024
Wowza! It has been cold the last two nights! Do I miss the Palm Springs heat? Nah!
I’ve improvised by dressing warmer for bedtime – a long-sleeved t-shirt covered by a flannel shirt, leggings, sweatpants, socks, wool cap, and my sleeping bag on top of my two blankets. I wasn’t shivering and I slept fairly well last night…until the need to pee made its announcement. It was 6:00 am, I got up to answer the call…and to turn on the heat to get the chill out.
It was at that precise moment I realized I needed to have a hearty discussion with myself. Taking care of ME is one thing. Taking care of my camper is another. So, as soon as I was fully awake and comfortably warm, my discussion with ME went this way…
ME: Hey, Mappy, the nights are pretty cold, you notice?
ME: Yes, Mapita, I’ve noticed. We…I mean, I…should do something about it, right?
ME: You got that right, Mappy. Something to do with the propane, hmmm?
ME: Well now, Mapita, you got that right! Yeah, I figure I can manage to stay warm with my extra layers of clothes, blankets, and the sleeping bag. But the camper is another story.
ME: It certainly is, Mappy! Yup, the camper does need to be considered. The camper has water pipes for the two sinks and the shower. Not sure about the toilet because of the tank system. And, since water freezes at 32 degrees, those pipes would be ripe for bursting.
ME: Lordy, Mapita, burst pipes would be a nightmare in the camper! Okay then, there is really no reason to be so conservative with the camper’s supply of propane. The two LP tanks should be enough for both the camper’s fridge and heating system. From now on, I’ll turn the heat on the low setting before I go to bed…to protect the pipes and keep ME a bit warmer during the night. No big deal going to a propane place somewhere should the tanks run low.
End of discussion and decision made. To make sure this is a wise approach, I decided I would send an inquiry to David, my main “camper guy” later today.
Although I’m at a state park with a lake, I can’t see it from my campsite because of the trees around me. And, while I think it’s directly behind me, I really don’t know for sure. But, no matter, I’ve fallen behind with Blog #2 (this one!) and decided to spend today catching up on my laptop.
Working on my blog...great coaster gift from Nigel!
I do get distracted now and then...
So focused was I that at 5:00 pm (the magic hour!) I decided to stop and take a short walk. I took pictures of the two LP tanks for David. The needle on one tank was almost at the “E” mark; on the other tank the needle was close to the halfway mark. David advised that to avoid freezing of the camper’s water line, I definitely should “run the furnace” and set the thermostat at “50 or higher.” I should also run the furnace if I’m driving in freezing temperatures. So, I now have my answers and will be sure to stop at a propane service facility to fill up the empty tank.
So there, gotta be mindful of both weather and temperature conditions!
Friday, September 20, 2024
Interestingly enough, even though I spent two nights at this state park, I never even got to see Heron Lake! I thought I might drive by the lake for a look-see on my way out this morning, but, being that it was now 10:30 am I decided to just get going on the 2-hour drive to Taos.
Route 64E wasn’t finished with me! Another great scenic drive was in store – through another section of Carson National Forest. This time it was all trees, no rocky cliffs or bluffs. Tall and smaller green trees I recognized as pine but I couldn’t tell you which species they were. The trees that were changing to their golden fall color were the Aspen trees, distinguished by their white bark. The highway rose and fell and I had to slow down for the many curves along the way. Down in the valleys were ranches and the cows on the fields, minding their own business, presented a certain peaceful charm to the environment.
To add a bit of wonder, albeit man-made, Rt. 64, near Taos, crosses over the Rio Grande Gorge. I stopped there – gosh lots of people! – pulled into a parking spot that had just been vacated by another truck camper, and walked over to the bridge. The bridge “…is a 1,280-foot-long cantilever truss bridge…it crosses the approximately 650-foot-deep Rio Grande Gorge…”
Looking down.
Self explanatory... 
I crossed the bridge to see the river from this side.
Reaching Taos I first headed for Taos Pueblo, “…a living Native American community…the multi-storied adobe buildings have been continuously inhabited for over 1000 years.”
Using my GPS to find the community, a road construction detour threw me off track. Since it was, by then, mid-afternoon and rain was threatening, I decided to forego this visit today and make my way to the Taos Valley RV Park. After checking in, the nice lady told me where I could go get propane for my nearly empty tank. I went there and the guy in charge was perfectly happy to remove the tank from the camper’s LP compartment, fill it with seven gallons of liquid propane (equal to 30 pounds!), and put it back in place. My camper has two tanks and both must be in the horizontal position. They are heavy, even when empty, and I absolutely cannot lift them. David has always filled both tanks for me prior to my trips and they lasted for a good while. This time, though, I’m using the LP for the fridge (when electricity isn’t available) and for the camper’s heater.
Since I plan to publish this Blog #2 tomorrow, Saturday, I spent this evening getting it ready to go. The rain had stopped and the sun came out. My view from the dinette window…
First of all, those pictures are beautiful. Those pictures make me appreciate that there is so much nature out there and it existed for thousands (or millions or billions) of years before we came here. I do love the picture of your coffee along with the coaster from Nigel, and your good ole laptop! By the way, the weather in PS has cooled down - already under 98 this week. We had light rain yesterday too!
ReplyDeleteSuch beautiful photos of the canyon! Bloomfield is where we stop for lunch between Rio Rancho and Durango. We also walked across the gorge and saw the signs of 'hope' as that is a special place for those who don't have any left. LOVE the double rainbow!
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