Saturday 24 April 2010

I was on my way to Bluff, Utah by 0600. I got coffee in Prescott Valley and ate a granola bar as I drove east on highway 69 to Dewey. I took 169 from Dewey to I 17 then north toward Flagstaff. I stopped a couple of times to photograph views of Mt Agassiz. I bought gasoline in Flagstaff, and bought a Navajo taco in Kayenta. I took a few photos from the road in Monument Valley and one of the bridge in Mexican Hat.

I got into Bluff, Utah about 1600 Mountain Daylight Time. I found Far Out Expeditions at the east end of town. I didn’t see anyone around, so I called Bob Helmes on my cell phone. He told me to look behind the house. I found Bob and several friends drinking beer in the back yard. Bob introduced me to Vaughn, Marsha, Desa, Holly, and Jeff. Vaughn and Marsha own Far Out Expeditions, and live next door to the office. Desa, their daughter, is working on an archaeological dig. Jeff is a kayaker, rafter, whitewater outfitter, former owner of a kayak manufacturing company, building contractor, and was with Walt Blackadar, the famous kayaker, when he died. We went to dinner at 1800, and Bob and I headed to our campsite at 1930.

To protect the archaeological resources of this outdoor museum I won’t say exactly where we went. We slept under the stars on top of a mesa. The moon was almost full so we saw few stars, but I could make out a few stars of the winter circle in the west. Before sunrise, the summer triangle was near the zenith.

You can see more photos of this trip at Picasa.

Friday 23 April 2010
I was on the highway headed to Prescott by 0630. I got fuel in Kingman. There was snow on the junipers near the tops of several passes, and a misty fog drifted through the junipers in the high valleys giving the landscape a mystical, fairyland appearance. I stopped to photograph the mist in the junipers twice. The first time I pulled off the pavement I ran over a rock that hit the undercarriage of the Honda.

I got into Prescott, Arizona about 1100. I visited with my cousin, Bruce Hardwick until 1230. He is in the Veterans Administration hospital. He mysteriously lost the use of his legs about 6 months ago, and the doctors haven’t been able to restore his use of them. He sold his house, a historic landmark, and bought another about two blocks from downtown that can be modified for wheelchair access. He hopes to have the modifications completed in a couple of months so he can move there. I went to a garage where a friend of Bruce’s put my Honda up on a rack. I had put quite a dent in the exhaust pipe and pushed it up against the frame so it made quite a bit of noise. The mechanic used a crow bar to pull the exhaust pipe away from the frame, greatly reducing the amount of noise it made. At 1800 I met Bruce and three of his contra dancing partners at The Raven, a very popular pub downtown Prescott. They have a large selection of beers on tap. I ordered the barbecued ribs and Bourbon Barrel Stout. The stout was served in stemware. I really liked it. It was smooth, malty, with the mouth feel of cream.

You can see more photos of this trip at Picasa.