Volcanoes, cliff dwellings, ruins, snowy mountains - all in a 2 hour drive from Sedona

1. 


2. 
   
3. 
   
   
   
   

Such beautiful sites - it makes you want to burst into song - maybe "America the Beautiful."

1. Volcanic cones at Sunset Crater

2. Lava fields

3. Snowy mountains at >6000 ft. altitude

4. Wukoki Ruins (predecessors of the Hopi and Navajo)

5. Wupatki Ruins

6. Walnut Canyon cliff dwellings (look closely at the bottom half of the pic -Careful, that first step out of the house is a killer. ) We couldn't get any closer becausde there was a major rockslide that closed off the trail. I wanted to rapelle in - but Bob nixed the idea.

Sedona Lesson #1: Do not EVER mock the vortex

Sedona is known as a powerful spiritual center. Where else can you get psychic readings on every street or buy crystals at hundreds of little shops, or shop at a Metaphysical Department store? Drumming circles, sacred chanting, are all available here. Guided sacred vortex tours are also big around here. We didn't know what vortexes were or that Sedona is a center of four powerful vortexes. Here's a desciption from a local website: "Vortexes are areas of high energy concentrations, originating from magnetic, spiritual, or sometimes unknown sources. Additionally they are considered to be gateways or portals to other realms, both spiritual and dimensional. Vortexes typically exist where there are strong concentrations of gravitational anomalies, inturn creating an environment that can defy gravity, bend light, scare animals, twist plant life into contorted shapes, and cause humans to feel strange. Many vortexes have been shown to be associated with Ley Lines and have been found to be extremely strong at node points where the lines cross. " Anyway, Bob and I were yucking it up about vortexes, on a hike this morning . I even took a pic of a twisted tree and no sooner had I sarcastically said "OOOOh, look at what the vortex did to this tree, it's all twisted!" than I lost my footing on the broken red rocks and took a dive face first into the red rocks covering the ground. I am fine - stratched, sore, glasses scratched - and totally fearful of THE POWER OF THE VORTEX! I do believe in vortexes! On another hike we came up lots of rock cairns and medicine wheels that people had constructed at the foot of one of the mountains. Here's another quote for explanation: "Simple cairns and similar assemblages have recently been adopted by the Deep Ecology movement. Stacked or balanced, these offer places and moments for reflection at spiritual-environmental retreats." It's possible that Sedona may be a bit too spiritual for us.

Happy New Year to All! From the Mission Inn to Red Rocks at Sedona

The Mission Inn in Riverside was a beautiful property - they have an annual Festival of Lights and decorate the place to look magnificent. Unfortunately, our experience with customer service was not on par with the hotel's appearance. A prime example of the saying "Beauty's only skin deep." But now we are in the red rocks of Sedona. It's cold here - there is even ice forming in some of the fountains. And we may get to see how red the rocks look when it rains.

Embargo broken! Rose Bowl Parade photos the day before the parade!

We hit the road early this morning to see the Rose Parade floats as they were being completed. There were busloads of tour groups coming to see the floats - but we were able to get into 2 of the 3 sites. It's amazing how many flowers were used and what the floats must cost.

December 28, 2007 - Our 31st Anniversary

Palm Springs is just so 50's. Our hotel pool is pictured. Every building in the area looks like it was designed by Mike Brady. It just makes you want to jump in the pool and synchronize swim. (we are the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th from left).

In celebration of our 31st anniversary we visited the Shields Date Farm in Indio. We had a date milk shake (very tasty) and watched the video about the romance and sex life of the date. (very 50's). Then we went to the Living Desert and walked along the San Andreas Fault.

Day after Christmas

Day after Christmas started out all black, white and gray as we drove out of Yosemite - beautiful, but so different from the clear blue skies of the previous 3 days. Then we sat in endless traffic trying to get through Los Angeles at 15 mph. Finally, the scenery turned all brown and sand colored as we entered the desert. Hundreds of wind generating windmills were spinning on the side of the road. Sand and dust pelted the car. Then FINALLY we saw the green of Palm Springs and were warmly welcomed to our motel - the Desert Riviera (http://www.desertrivierahotel.com/) - a retro motel. What a surprise - a warm fire in the lobby fireplace, a 60's white Christmas tree, and champagne in plastic champage flutes - Just call us Ozzie and Harriet and Gidget!

Christmas Day

A beautiful day walking in the snow under a blue sky.

Merry Christmas from Yosemite!

Merry Christmas Eve to everyone! Here's a photo we took yesterday of Half Dome and the Merced River. It is quite breathtaking in person. We hope you have a wonderful holiday. We are enjoying the beauty of Yosemite and hoping you all have a wonderful Christmas, too.

Vegas at Christmas - It's no Williamsburg

There's no hot cider on the streets here in Vegas but Kelly keeps asking why there are so many vans driving around advertising "Hot Babes." So far it's been a lucky trip for us. After years of begging, Paula finally got to the Liberace Museum. It was quite an experience. That Liberace was a one of a kind! Kelly, won $69.40 at the penny slots and tonight we go see Cirque de Soliel Beatle's show "Love." Bob has lost at the tables but he lucked out to see the PETA demonstration at the M&Ms store.

Arizona Inn - Tucson

December 18

Left El Paso early this a.m.. The town doesn't seem to wake up till later. The coffee shop didn't even open until 7 a.m. We were outta there! West Texas speed limit is 80 mph. Blue skies and Christmas music kept us entertained till we arrived at Saguaro National Park just outside of Tucson Arizona. Huge cacti ringed by mountains and blue sky, warm breezes and sun. Staying at a great hotel in town.

From Houston to El Paso - the long and unwinding road

It was a relief to leave Houston this morning (at 4:30 a.m.) and get on the open road. In the time since we had lived in Houston (in 1977) it has become very big (just like us!) and very crowded (just like us in the car). Our old apartments were torn down and the Galleria where we used to spend our time is now a mega mall with 3 Gallerias and lots of designer stores. It always had an indoor ice skating rink in the mall but now on two weekends in December the mall has "ice skating in the snow" indoors sponsored by the Emirates. We saw the big fans that blow the snow down onto the rink from the 3rd or 4th level of the mall. As we drive, I like to listen to local radio stations and music and eat at local dives. (an affinity not shared by my companions who love McDonald's and oldies). In the interest of family harmony we take turns irritating each other. So driving through Louisiana we listened to the Cajun station and heard lots of music with accordians and fiddles and the DJ spoke in english and creole. At the Alabama Mexican restaurant we had the biggest and best frozen margaritas. To quote a country music song heard on the car radio this morning "the beer is good but the liquor is quicker." Anyway, back on the road on I-10 we stopped in a little town, Boerne, for breakfast at Guadalajara's Diner, a two person operation that probably used to be a filling station. A lot of these west Texas towns are very stark - but this one had lots and lots of charm on its main street. My huevos rancheros were covered in a wonderful salsa just brimming with jalapenos. Spicy and delish. The tortillas were so fresh. In New Orleans we decided to detour into town and had coffee and warm beignets at Cafe Du Monde - excellent. Tonight in El Paso we ate at a family retaurant that is near the University of Texas at El Paso. I guess that people don't tip much around here. As we were leaving the waiter came to shake Bob hand and thank him (for the 20% tip.). Driving through west Texas the road is straight and flat. If there was a big hill, the engineers just cut right through it and continued the road on the same flat and straight plane. The landscape is empty for as far as you can see and mountain ranges rise up and fall. The hills are covered with scrub and cactuses and the sky was big and blue with a few white clouds. It was hard to believe that the Rio Grande was just parallel (but out of sight from) the road. At sunset the mountains just glowed. No wonder Texas thinks it is a sovreign country unto itself. It is so different from anyplace else in the US.

From One Extreme to Another

The picture on the left is one of the better looking homes in New Orleans - but note the trailer that is sitting in the front yard. We saw many many homes in worse shape with trailers sitting in the front yard for the people to live in while they continue to work on their homes. A lot of the homes still have those circles painted on them from when the rescuers came in right after the flood. In New Orleans we drove past many abandoned apartment buildings and homes that were still unliveable since Katrina. It was shocking that so many homes and buildings are still a mess. In contrast, the top photos are the front yards of private homes in the River Oaks section of Houston.

The Balmy South

Greetings from the balmy south. It is so warm here in Mobile Alabama that people were dining out on the patio of the restaurant where we had dinner. We opted to stay inside with the mariachi band and our giant margaritas. Today we arrived in time to tour Bellingrath Gardens. On the way to the gardens we saw an actual field of cotton. I don't know why that seems so remarkable - but to someone from the north, it is always surprising to see cotton fields and cotton plants. Anyway, Mr. Bellingrath was one of the 10 original Coca Cola bottlers - and boy did he do well during the depression! The home was built on the Fowl River and it has a little lake. (That's the reflection (at the Japanese garden) in the lake that you see in the picture.The gardens have a special light show for Christmas - and it is gorgeous. We arrived early (surprise!) but as we were leaving the gardens there was a steady stream of cars going to this garden that is in the middle of nowhere. Bob remarked that there wasn't a child left in Mobile because they were all at the garden with their parents and grandparents. We'll post a few pictures. So far we've driven 15 hours. Today there were torrential rains and lots of people (mostly trucks) on the roads. We have so much electronic equipment in the car (portable dvd, 2 digital cameras, laptop, sleep apnea machine, GPS system) that we are probably showing up on radar as a supernova glowing blip of electromagnet radiation fields. The wires from the equipment to the cigarette lighter are constantly getting tangled into a cat's cradle at our feet and Bob, who likes to keep his car meticulous, has not yet been pushed over the edge. But it is just a matter of time.........

Tomorrow we head to Houston Texas. It's about 7 hours away. It was 31 years ago this month that a strapping young lad wed a wisp of a girl and took her to Houston to start their lives together. NO, it was not George and Laura! It was Bob and I! We're anxious to see how the town has grown in 31 years - because we know how much we've grown!

Check back for holiday travel updates

Thanks to our three Family Bowling Santas we are getting in the christmas mood.