tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84960177717696040692024-02-06T22:12:06.538-08:00Brian and Sue on the RoadUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger238125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496017771769604069.post-21807602597213172802019-09-02T17:55:00.001-07:002019-09-03T08:08:23.397-07:00Circles in the Sand<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We had a very special experience while we were in Bandon, Oregon. We were lucky enough to be there for one of the few Circles in the Sand events remaining this summer. Denny Dyke is the creator of the Circles in the Sand labyrinth.<br />
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A bit about Denny Dyke from the Circles in the Sand website <a href="https://www.sandypathbandon.com/">https://www.sandypathbandon.com/</a><br />
'Labyrinth artist, Denny Dyke first created Circles in the Sand for his own walking meditations. He soon became fascinated with the ocean and the ever-changing sand. After three years and hundreds of labyrinths later, the first Dreamfield Labyrinth was created in September 2014.<br />
The path of the first Dreamfield meandered through seven spirals and returned near the entrance. Today the Dreamfields have grown larger with a path meandering through a much larger pattern. Always with one path, no dead ends or no wrong turns and returning home. A true labyrinth experience on the sand.'<br />
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I'm not sure what time Denny and his team began the labyrinth, sometime after the tide went out, but the walking time was from 8AM to 10AM. After 10AM the tide started to come in and erase the labyrinth.<br />
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This photo is from the overlook, showing the scope of the labyrinth.<br />
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We walked down a series of staircases to get to the beach. Before beginning the walk, Denny introduced his team and welcomed us to enjoy the walk. He's second from the left in the photo below.<br />
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This was a magical experience, hopefully the photos can convey some of that sense of wonder and showcase the amount of work that went into this labyrinth.</div>
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This gentleman is the Bubble Man, and evidently he comes to many of the labyrinths. He told me that his daughter makes her living traveling all over the world doing bubble art, and that her largest bubble enclosed an elephant. Yikes!</div>
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After experiencing the labyrinth we did some further exploring and had lunch. We returned in the afternoon to see how our Circles in the Sand were doing.</div>
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Pretty much gone with the tide. It boggles my mind that Denny and his crew spend so much time and are so creative, just to share a bit of peace and joy with the world. He says that the energy from the labyrinth goes back to enrich the sea.</div>
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Here is another link in addition to the one I mentioned at the beginning of this post <a href="https://www.sandypathbandon.com/">https://www.sandypathbandon.com/</a> that also has a beautiful video.</div>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vs7DEWj-qFo">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vs7DEWj-qFo</a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496017771769604069.post-89149557469858828532019-08-26T17:49:00.001-07:002022-05-11T08:30:52.592-07:00Washington's Olympic National ParkOlympic National Park on Washington's Olympic Peninsula has an incredible range of diversity. It covers nearly a million acres and has three distinctly different ecosystems - glacier-capped mountains, an old-growth temperate rain forests, and over 70 miles of coastline. We have been to all three regions in previous years, and spent most of our time in the Hoh Rain Forest and Rialto Beach this time around.<br />
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<b>The Hoh Rain Forest</b><br />
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The Hoh Rain Forest is lush, mossy, and full of old growth trees. Some of them can reach over 300 feet high and seven feet in diameter.<br />
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Most of the trees are covered with huge clumps of hanging moss, ferns and fungi.<br />
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While Seattle gets around 36 inches of rain a year, the Hoh Rain Forest gets as much as 14 <b>feet</b> of rain a year. The prevalent fog and mist contribute the equivalent of another 30 inches of rain, resulting in one of the world's lushest rain forests. It has been awarded the distinction of being a World Heritage Site and a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO.<br />
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There were numerous examples of what are called 'nursery logs'. These are trees that fell, and as they decayed seedlings and other trees began to grow on them. The roots of the seedlings often straddle the log as they grow toward the soil.<br />
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<b>Rialto Beach</b><br />
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Rialto Beach always leaves us speechless. The driftwood trees are incredibly huge, as are the trees growing next to the beach. It's a very different, stunning beach.<br />
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There are sea stacks off the beach. A sea stack is a geological landform consisting of a steep and often vertical column or columns of rock in the sea near a coast, formed by wave erosion. It's amazing how trees manage to grow on them considering the harsh conditions. We were surprised when the owner of the RV park we were staying at near Rialto told us that they are very busy during the months of January and February. Evidently people love to come here to experience the winter storms. Judging by what's left on the beach by the storms they must be amazing.</div>
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More seastacks in the distance off the peninsula.<br />
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Brian got to be the model for the day to put things into perspective.<br />
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This tree's roots make it look like they're about to add another log to the beach, which could take who knows how many years.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496017771769604069.post-28371588828938896092019-06-25T16:06:00.000-07:002019-06-25T16:06:50.691-07:00Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National MonumentWhile we were in Santa Fe, NM a few weeks ago we were looking for some places to hike and found out about Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks. The National Monument was about 30 miles from our RV park in Santa Fe, so pretty easy to get to. It was kind of a mini Bryce Canyon, only the hoodoos were a different color.<br />
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Tent Rocks is jointly managed by the Bureau of Land Management and the Pueblo de Cochiti, which has always considered this to be a sacred place. Kasha-Katuwe means white cliffs in the Keresan language of the pueblo.<br />
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The cone shaped tent rock formations and hoodoos were formed from volcanic eruptions and were carved by wind and water. Some of the hoodoos have boulder caps that protect the softer area below, but those that have lost these caprocks are disintegrating. The photo above shows the hoodoos with the caprocks, and the photo below is of the ones that no longer have caprocks.</div>
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There are two hiking trails at Kasha-Katuwe, both starting at the parking area. The Canyon Trail is 1.5 miles long, and is the one we took first. It goes through a canyon and climbs 630 feet to the top of the mesa. </div>
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Having Brian in this photo gives some perspective to the size of the hoodoos.</div>
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It's hard to believe the tree below has survived the water that must rush through the canyon.</div>
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The root system was incredible.</div>
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There were spots on this hike where the canyon was more of a slot canyon. It was so narrow in places that we had to go single file and take turns with people going in the opposite direction. While waiting for one group to come through I overheard a young boy ask his mother 'do only old people use those poles?' Very observant of him.</div>
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Fun to look up through the narrow slots.</div>
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After hiking the Canyon Trail we took the 1.2 mile Cave Trail. The one cave we saw had drawings on the ceiling. Not sure how old it was, but we learned that during the 14th and 15th centuries several large ancestral pueblos were established and their descendants, the Pueblo de Cochiti, still inhabit the area.</div>
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The trail back to the parking area wound around through the tent rocks and hoodoos.</div>
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We've been to Santa Fe quite a few times, but this was the first we had heard of Kasha-Katuwe. It's always fun to discover new places!</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496017771769604069.post-39196920824661931742019-03-21T18:17:00.000-07:002019-03-21T18:17:27.820-07:00Big Bend National Park is BIG<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-hS0E2xKXuZofIXgqPDNJ3fKzdmJ7sBTrA1YYuZF8ERiBOASf5KoM1Pfxh6cv7CvnCln3i7Edw3E9V2H7FsqJXrgf33sAGoH5uZtIzX7T-g7dk3_gGRYGbMwgCMNGXQl7PHnYTapBHf-s/s1600/blog+overlook+to+santa+elena.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1500" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-hS0E2xKXuZofIXgqPDNJ3fKzdmJ7sBTrA1YYuZF8ERiBOASf5KoM1Pfxh6cv7CvnCln3i7Edw3E9V2H7FsqJXrgf33sAGoH5uZtIzX7T-g7dk3_gGRYGbMwgCMNGXQl7PHnYTapBHf-s/s320/blog+overlook+to+santa+elena.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Brian and I have wanted to stop at Big Bend NP on our way back from Mexico for several years, partly as part of our quest to see as many national parks as possible and also because of its featurs. Big Bend is one of the largest, most remote, and one of the least-visited national parks in the continental United States, but it's still difficult to get a campground reservation there.<br />
One of the main attractions are the hiking and backpacking trails. Big Bend is also known for its dark skies and stargazing.In 2012, the park was designated an international dark-sky park by the International Dark-Sky Association. Measurements made by the National Park Service show that Big Bend has the darkest skies in the continental United States. Thousands of stars, bright planets, and the Milky Way are visible on clear nights. Unfortunately we were there during a full moon with cloud cover so we weren't able to get the whole dark sky experience.<br />
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Big Bend is very popular during early spring so we've never been able to get a campground reservation and boondocking isn't allowed in the park. Since it's so vast and off the beaten path it only made sense to us to go if we could get into one of the campgrounds. There are only two campgrounds in the park that will accommodate rigs over 24 feet so our choices were limited unless we wanted to stay outside of the park and spend half our day driving into and out of the park. We got lucky this year and were able to reserve two consecutive nights, the only ones available in February or March.<br />
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The map above shows how far the Park Headquarters and Visitors Center are from the closest towns (which aren't exactly close to anything else). We stayed at the Rio Grande Village Campground which was 30 miles from the Visitors Center. On the map above it's located where the road from the Visitors Center goes southeast and ends at the Rio Grande River.<br />
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Big Bend covers 1,251 square miles and there aren't very many maintained roads so it takes a while to get around. The roads in the park end at the Rio Grande River, which is the boundary between the United States and Mexico. More than 1,000 miles of the river are part of the boundary and 118 miles of that are in the park. Many of the park's features have been shared with Mexico for thousands of years. Santa Elena Canyon, one of the park's best known and most photographed features is half a canyon in the U.S. and half a canyon in Mexico, and the Chihuahuan Desert is shared by both countries.<br />
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We spent our time on our first day exploring the area around the campground. We drove out to the Boquillas Canyon overlook where visitors often cross to visit the Mexican village of Boquillas. In the photo below the plateau is in the U.S. and Boquillas is in Mexico. It's a good example of how much the river bends, pun intended.<br />
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We continued on to Boquillas Canyon and hiked into the canyon. The Rio Grande begins in south central Colorado and flows to the Gulf of Mexico. Much of the water is diverted before the river reaches Big Bend.<br />
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Boquillas Canyon is one of three major canyons in the park. Although the water level was low, it was still impressive to see the canyon walls and rock formations. The woman walking into the canyon in the photo below gives some perspective of how high the canyon walls are. We enjoyed the hike although it was super hot - wrong time of day to be hiking but it was our only chance so we took it.<br />
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Santa Elena is the most well-known canyon and it was our first destination on our second day. We got up early to make the drive, well over an hour from our campground, in an effort to beat the heat and other hikers. Good decision, and it worked out well. The canyon is spectacular.<br />
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We hiked a trail that followed the river, ascending at the beginning before coming back down to water level. The photos above were taken at the entrance to the canyon, looking both ways.<br />
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We saw several groups of people canoeing the canyon.<br />
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From what we could determine, canoeing on the river is allowed as long as one has a permit. It appeared there were places to camp upriver. When we saw a large group of people returning downriver with a guide we checked things out and found that there are several companies that are licensed to escort river trips.<br />
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Big Bend has several ecosystems - river, desert, and mountain. After leaving Santa Elena canyon we headed for the mountains. Not mountains by Colorado standards but definitely not desert. The elevation in Big Bend ranges from 1800 feet to 7832 feet so maybe these could be called mountains.<br />
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We had a fun, if tiring few days and saw a limited amount of Big Bend. It would take more than a few days to see it all but I think we got a pretty good idea of what it has to offer.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496017771769604069.post-56656682702485508142019-03-18T16:21:00.002-07:002019-03-18T16:46:48.623-07:00San Miguel de Allende Day TripsAfter leaving Ajijic we returned to San Miguel de Allende for a few weeks. Our good friends Mindy and Robert from Colorado have a house rented in San Miguel for the months of February and March, and we wanted to catch up with them. Mindy and I go back to my first years teaching in Colorado and it's always special to be able to spend time together.<br />
Although this was their third visit to San Miguel Mindy and Robert hadn't had the opportunity to take many day trips so our goal was to take them to some new places. We spent a fun day in Dolores Hidalgo, and ended up packing a few of their purchases in the Bus to deliver to them in Colorado this summer. No charge for delivery other than a good Mexican meal cooked in their new purchases.<br />
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The other day trip was to Bernal, a Pueblo Magico that Brian and I have been to before. When I blogged about it a few years ago I explained why it's considered such a special place - the following link has more photos and more information <a href="http://briansue2.blogspot.com/search?q=Bernal">Bernal Mysticism and History</a> Bernal is the third largest monolith (single rock) in the world, quite impressive.<br />
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Bernal is about 80 miles from San Miguel so we got an early start. We had hoped to get there in time to hike at least part of the way up Pena de Bernal, 'the rock', but were stuck in a traffic jam for 2 1/2 hours and didn't get there in time to do any hiking. Maybe next time. We did have time to wander around town a bit and have a nice lunch of gorditas and beer.<br />
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Below are Robert, Mindy and Brian with Pena de Bernal in the background. It can be seen from just about anywhere in town.<br />
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There's a lovely plaza in front of the church, good place for a photo op.<br />
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While the town was very quiet on the day we visited, a weekday, it was pretty clear that it was a tourist destination and I would imagine it can get pretty crowded. There are lots of shops, a variety of restaurants that were both upscale and budget, and quite a few places to stay. It's a very colorful town that's fun to explore. I took this picture of Mindy with the catrinas, and it reminded me of the puzzle 'which one is not like the others?'<br />
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We finished our day with some ice cream and a visit to the mask museum, Museo de Mascaras, which was pretty interesting and has a great mural in the front.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496017771769604069.post-5560026116725659682019-01-29T13:41:00.001-08:002022-05-10T07:18:14.186-07:00Ajijic/Chapala Area and No Fuel<b>Fuel Shortage</b><br />
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The fuel shortage in Mexico put a bit of a kink in our travel plans this winter. The President of Mexico decided to close the pipelines because of massive thefts and corruption. The shortage was the worst in the area we were in - the states of Jalisco, Michoacan, and Guanajuato. Many stations had no fuel and long lines if there was fuel. It was estimated that 70% of the stations in Jalisco and Michoacan were closed because there weren't enough tanker trucks to supply them with fuel.<br />
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Because of the shortage we decided to move the Bus to an RV park in Ajijic on Lake Chapala, where we could walk to most places and stay put until things improved. After almost three weeks in the Ajijic area there wasn't much progress, although on the plus side I had some very good dental work done.We then spoke to a friend in Patzcuaro, where we had hoped to head next, who told us the situation there was even worse. We decided that we would return to San Miguel de Allende, since we were planning to meet friends there for a few weeks in February anyway. For a variety of reasons that I won't go into here, we feel we made the right decision. There's always next year.<br />
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<b>Ajijic</b><br />
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The Ajijic/Chapala area is said to have the largest ex-pat community in the world, and I believe it. It's an easy place to hang out, although it doesn't feel much like Mexico. We've been in the area many times, and this time we decided to walk around the town and take some photos of some of the colorful murals and a few interesting signs.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496017771769604069.post-63309947872768246652019-01-11T12:33:00.000-08:002019-01-11T12:33:58.780-08:00Guadalajara, TlaquepaqueWe're staying at a new RV park that's about a 15 minute drive north of the towns of Chapala and Ajijic called Chapala RV Park. It's still under construction but our hookups are good (50 amp which is unusual). Once the park is done we think it will be very nice. <a href="https://trailerparkchapala.webnode.mx/">https://trailerparkchapala.webnode.mx/</a><br />
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There is a nice common area, and bathrooms with showers and laundry are being built.<br />
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The park overlooks the city of Guadalajara and Lake Cajititlan, and is across the highway from the town Ixlahuacan. The views are great.<br />
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Chis and Juan joined us for a few days and the four of us took a day trip into Tlaquepaque, which is sort of a suburb of Guadalajara. I always enjoy going there - lots of galleries, museums, shops and restaurants. A pictorial tour of our day....<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496017771769604069.post-35905257344926281792019-01-11T10:53:00.001-08:002019-01-11T10:53:04.500-08:00Christmas in Valle de JuarezIt's been a while since we spent the holidays in Valle de Juarez so we were happy to receive an invitation from Barb and Sal to a Christmas party there. Barb and Sal used to own the RV park in Valle de Juarez where we stayed on previous visits. We have some great memories of previous holidays there making tamales, taking great hikes, eating lots of good food, making new friends, and generally enjoying ourselves. Sal and Barb sold the RV park but have a beautiful house in town where they spend part of the winter.<br />
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It was great to see some of our RV friends that we haven't connected with in a while. There were four couples who stayed in RVs at another park near town, and quite a few former RVers made it to the party as well. The RV park we stayed at this year worked out well for us. It's called Victoria RV Park and now has a website with information about the park and surrounding area <a href="https://www.victoriarvp.com/Home">https://www.victoriarvp.com/Home</a><br />
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Lots of fun, some pictures from the party...<br />
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Sal and Barb<br />
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Our group from the four RVs at the park this year - Paula and Jerry from Nova Scotia<br />
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Gail and Bill from Nova Scotia<br />
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Chris and Juan from Monterrey, Mexico<br />
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and Sue and Brian </div>
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Quite a few people at the party, here's a group shot </div>
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It was a great way to spend the holiday, our thanks to Sal and Barb for getting all of us together for a mini reunion!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496017771769604069.post-49626744349162654422019-01-11T10:19:00.000-08:002019-01-11T10:19:26.378-08:00Arizona, San Miguel de Allende<b>Arizona</b><br />
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It's been a long time since I've blogged so I'll do a quick catch up. We spent our time in Arizona this fall getting caught up with doctors appointments and working on a remodel of our Arizona room, which is kind of a screened in sunroom. We painted the walls and put in a new beadboard ceiling.<br />
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Last year when we were in Dolores Hidalgo I bought a star light. Brian was able to wire it to the new ceiling fan and it turned out really well. I love the colors and light that shines through them.<br />
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<b>San Miguel de Allende</b><br />
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We left for Mexico in early December, first parking spot San Miguel de Allende. We were there for almost two weeks. We did the usual walks around town, went to a great Christmas Jazz concert, and just generally enjoyed ourselves.<br />
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We happened to be there on the Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe, a popular Catholic day that celebrates the belief that a man encountered the Virgin Mary, Mexico's patron saint, in Mexico City on December 9 and 12, 1531. We went to the parade in town which ended at the San Antonio Parroquia (church). All were looking to be blessed at the church on this day.<br />
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The parade began with some floats, mohigangas (giant paper-mache people) and clowns.<br />
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Next came a line of taxis to be blessed at the San Antonio church.<br />
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Following that was a large group of marchers from San Miguel, many carrying items with the Virgin of Guadalupe. Then came the horses of all sizes, quite a long line of them.<br />
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When the horses made the turn to go into the square we wondered how they would all fit. I guess they've done this before because they managed to line up around the square, took a while but it worked out.</div>
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The long line of marchers went through the church. Many of them left their items featuring the Virgin on the steps of the church to be blessed.</div>
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As we were leaving we passed a group of decorated tow trucks going to the church. I guess there wasn't any more room because they all ended up backing out of street leading to the church.</div>
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It was an interesting day, just one of many we seem to have in San Miguel.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496017771769604069.post-77275331754030636302018-09-29T13:13:00.000-07:002018-09-29T13:13:38.751-07:00Zion National Park<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Zion is one of our favorites with its distinctive rock formations. Like a lot of the other national parks it's become crazy busy. To visit the main part of Zion you have to park and take shuttles, understandable with all the crowds. Unfortunately the waits to get on a shuttle were 30 minutes plus. We had been to the areas that require a shuttle several times and we wanted to avoid the long wait and big crowds so we spent most of our time on the east side of the park. This area doesn't require shuttles, and is not as busy.<br />
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We saw an amazing number of desert bighorn sheep on this trip. We started with a beautiful hike up the Overlook Trail. When we first started out we saw a bighorn family and encountered more along the trail. They don't seem to be bothered the least little bit by humans.<br />
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The trail ended at a stunning overlook, just as advertised.<br />
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The trail was fairly easy, passing through some interesting areas.<br />
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The other hikes we took were off the beaten track and we didn't see many people, but did see more bighorn sheep. This herd was up on the rocks above the canyon we were hiking in. It was fun to watch them jumping from rock to rock - very surefooted. One thing that was concerning is that we could see and hear them coughing. I looked on the internet and found out that there is some type of bacterial pneumonia infecting some of the sheep. While it can't be treated and no sheep have been known to have died, the website did ask anyone who witnessed excessively coughing sheep to report it, so I did.<br />
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We saw another large herd near the road.<br />
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On another day we saw this ram and what appeared to be his mate.<br />
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He was pushing her and trying to get her to move to another spot. I guess he just gave up and walked away from her, then she took off on her own.<br />
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We did some other hiking outside of the park. We took a trail up to a small slot canyon called Red Hollow. It was a pretty easy hike to the entrance and through the first part of the canyon.<br />
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Once we got into the canyon there were several large boulders to climb over - fortunately someone had hauled in a pallet which provided some crude steps to help in getting over the first set of boulders. The second one pretty well stopped us. We're just not as young as we like to think we are.<br />
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We've enjoyed doing more hiking this summer and Zion is a great place for it. It takes a bit of planning to get away from the crowds but it can be done.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496017771769604069.post-22083281084926902432018-09-24T15:38:00.001-07:002018-09-24T16:10:18.079-07:00Bryce Canyon National Park<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Bryce is right up there among our favorite national parks, so it's always worth another visit. It has the largest collection of hoodoos in the world. Hoodoos are tall, skinny rock towers that are formed by erosion. Photographs don't do them justice. The photo below is from an area called the amphitheater which has thousands of them.<br />
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We spent some time driving along the main park road, stopping at the overlooks and doing some short hikes. Stunning views abound.<br />
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We spent one morning hiking the Queens Garden and Navajo Loop Trails which were rated as one of the top ten hikes in the U.S. by National Geographic a few years ago. The Queen's Garden Trail winds its way down from the rim to Queens Garden at the bottom. The photo below shows the beginning of the hike as people begin the descent.<br />
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The trail winds through the hoodoos and has several arches to pass through.<br />
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The Queens Garden Trail ends at a rock formation that is remarkably similar to a statue of Queen Victoria wearing her crown and long dress. The statue is somewhere in England, I'm not sure of the exact spot.<br />
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At this point the trail joins the Navajo Loop. We hiked along the canyon floor, enjoying the sights, and got ready to do our 550 foot ascent. Fortunately the ascent has switchbacks but it's still a long way to the top.<br />
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Looking up, the people look like little ants.<br />
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The view looking down from about halfway up the switchbacks.<br />
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Almost to the top and still smiling.<br />
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<b>Fire</b><br />
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The drive through the park ends at a viewpoint called Rainbow Point. We took a hike from there called the Bristlecone Trail. When we started the hike we noticed a few firefighters and their vehicles, but the trail wasn't closed. When got to Rainbow Point we could look out and see smoke.<br />
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We had been aware of increasing smoke in the area and knew there was a fire (actually 2) in the park but the fires hadn't affected us. As we continued along the trail we talked to some firefighters who were clearing brush. They told us that the policy was not to suppress the fires unless they approached structures or a public area. We continued along the trail, seeing more firefighters coming down, and when we got back to the parking lot the number of vehicles and personnel had greatly increased. The winds were quite strong and it was evident that the fire was spreading. We stopped at one of the overlooks and watched as the fire exploded.<br />
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We were never close enough to be in any danger, but the smoke was pretty thick that afternoon, even back at our RV park. As we understand it, the firefighters were protecting Rainbow Point. The parking lot has restrooms and a few other structures. We were told that there was a sprinkler system up there that would be used to keep the fire away. The latest update as of 9/24 is that 'The Riggs and Lonely fires are currently active along the park's southeastern boundary. These fires are being monitored while they perform their natural role in a fire-dependent ecosystem.' Several trails are still closed, but as of this weekend the road to Rainbow Point is open during the day.<br />
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<b>What's in a name</b><br />
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One of my favorite stories is about how Bryce Canyon got its name. Sometime in the late 1870’s or early 1880’s Ebenezer Bryce moved into the Paria Valley, just east of the present day national park. One day while searching for his cattle Ebenezer, a pioneer rancher, stumbled onto the main amphitheater of Bryce Canyon. You’d think that he would have something dramatic to say about what he saw on this occasion, but his only comment on record was “It’s one hell of a place to lose a cow.” People were more practical about life in the days of Ebenezer Bryce and scenery was likely far less important than scratching out a living in an arid and higher elevation climate. Soon the word must have spread about the canyon and locals began calling the place Bryce’s Canyon.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496017771769604069.post-13621123623295496372018-09-23T15:31:00.000-07:002018-09-23T15:31:12.639-07:00Living the DreamWhen we meet new people they often say 'Oh, you're living the dream'. Brian's standard response is 'Yes, but sometimes the dream's a nightmare'. While we're by no means in a nightmare scenario we have had a bit of a glitch. While camped near the North Rim of the Grand Canyon I noticed a drip under the back of the Bus. Brian crawled under, found out it was coolant, and said 'this is not good'. Turns out we had a serious radiator leak and couldn't drive the Bus. Fortunately our FMCA Roadside Assistance covered the tow, which wasn't cheap.<br />
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As long as we were already set up and had paid for a couple of days we decided to stay where we were and spend some time on the North Rim. More about that later.<br />
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When we were ready to leave a lowboy was sent up from Kanab, UT. The tow driver was experienced and Brian was also familiar with the process. The Bus was loaded up without a problem and delivered to Little's Diesel Repair in Kanab. At least the drive down to Kanab provided us with some great views - too bad the Bus was being towed backwards and couldn't enjoy them as well.<br />
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Unfortunately we need a new radiator, not cheap or easy to get. It looks like we'll be here at least another week. The good news is that we're in a really gorgeous area of the country, have a 50 amp electric hookup, water, free wifi, TV, and access to a pump-out truck.<br />
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The town of Kanab is a base for people going to Zion, Bryce, the Grand Canyon North Rim, Page for the slot canyons, and so many other things in southern Utah. There are some great restaurants, stores with the necessities and so on. We have some ideas of things to do while here - things could be worse.<br />
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We've been so busy that I haven't blogged about our time at Bryce Canyon, Zion National Park, or the North Rim. Looks like I've got time now so will try to get some posts and pictures<br />
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published in the next few days.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496017771769604069.post-62963758311642618692018-09-09T16:31:00.000-07:002018-09-09T16:31:58.137-07:00Arches National Park<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Arches National Park is located very close to Moab, Utah. This was our third visit and it was just as inspiring as the first time. This year we made a point of doing more hiking. We didn't do the best planning on our first hike as it was pretty hot but still mostly doable. We hiked down a trail called The Park Avenue Trail, one of the first major attractions within the park. It's a one-mile trail that follows the bottom of a canyon at the feet of some of the park’s gigantic and well-known monoliths.</div>
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It was too hot to hike the entire trail but we did our best. Brian is dwarfed by the huge rocks and we were both feeling the heat at this point.</div>
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We continued on in the car and explored some of the well-known spots that were fairly close to the road, such as Balancing Rock</div>
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The Three Gossips with Sheep Rock on the lower right</div>
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Turret Arch</div>
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and Delicate Arch, the arch that is on the Utah license plate. I took the photo of Delicate Arch with my telephoto lens. The hike to reach the arch itself is a steep 3 mile hike over rock, not something we thought we should do. It's rated as strenuous, and the Park Rangers even had a tent set up at the trailhead to check with people before they attempted the hike, a good idea on sunny days with temperatures in the 90s. Maybe in our younger days when our hips and knees were working a little better ...</div>
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There's an area of Arches called Devils Garden which is one of the premier spots in the park. We hadn't hiked any of the trails in Devils Garden in previous years so it was on our bucket list for this trip. After experiencing the heat and crowds on the first day we got smart, got up early, and did most of our hiking while it was relatively cool and not too crowded.</div>
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We went to the furthest arch, Landscape Arch, first. It's the longest of the natural arches in the park and has one of the world's longest stone spans. It stretches 306 feet, just slight longer than a football field and is only about 11 feet thick at its center. In 1991 a 60-foot-long slab of rock fell from the bottom of the arch. There were hikers in the area who heard cracking sounds and were able to flee as a 60 foot long rock slab peeled away from the right side of the arch. When the dust settled there were 180 tons of fresh debris under the rock. It's believed that unseasonably heavy rains the prior ten days caused water to seep into the sandstone pores and the weight finally caused the arch to lose its struggle with gravity. Today there are concerns that the passage of time will cause the arch to weaken further so hikers aren't allowed under the arch anymore. </div>
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After leaving Landscape Arch and heading back to the trailhead, there were some shorter trails to other interesting arches. We hiked to Tunnel Arch</div>
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and Pine Tree Arch where everyone (us included) was having their picture taken.</div>
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It was a very enjoyable couple of days. We love this area of southern Utah and will continue on our journey to some of our favorite places.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496017771769604069.post-31819181847990209472018-08-05T17:17:00.002-07:002018-08-06T09:45:11.823-07:00Ouray Colorado<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Ouray (YOUray) is awesome. It is located in the San Juan Mountains, where many of the mountain peaks are over 14,000 feet.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZUbQaocc52dCTGTSG1G4iCD7SbLGdU2qizAhsLfzgrUOg1UpKVKbaNwPx6a9Y7crHth7UXiwbMW5HK8cpvX3WW3TkAUXH-J_gHjHVLpxsPgSz71PKE5a3X_cpR_9Mxxpk8wz1ZXQ_M1gK/s1600/DSC_0144.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZUbQaocc52dCTGTSG1G4iCD7SbLGdU2qizAhsLfzgrUOg1UpKVKbaNwPx6a9Y7crHth7UXiwbMW5HK8cpvX3WW3TkAUXH-J_gHjHVLpxsPgSz71PKE5a3X_cpR_9Mxxpk8wz1ZXQ_M1gK/s320/DSC_0144.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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We have driven through Ouray before but this was our first time staying here - unfortunately we could only get a spot for 3 days. I think we'll be back. We had a great view from our RV space, somewhat hazy the first few days due to smoke from the terrible California fires.<br />
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We spent our time hiking and looking at mountains, cliffs, waterfalls and rivers. One hike took us to the bottom of Box Canyon to see the falls which plunge 285 feet. The water is low due to the drought, but still seemed to be going through at a pretty good clip. In the photo below, water is cascading down a chute just above the outlet at the bottom.<br />
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Much of this area was mined for many years. Old mining equipment can be seen behind Brian.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifsVKtwKV-TWgTcnaZx_9rJnzPrbLlKTfmuUbq40ZM7b9hh374qoc4q7jqICT-mrK4Ph0HPgtqi1atlz8FCUia-PViiYO1ar6QsjzuZGwChvASTcIesnBFxDJ5KK6Va14Wjlxiy9wC_uUa/s1600/blog+brian+box.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifsVKtwKV-TWgTcnaZx_9rJnzPrbLlKTfmuUbq40ZM7b9hh374qoc4q7jqICT-mrK4Ph0HPgtqi1atlz8FCUia-PViiYO1ar6QsjzuZGwChvASTcIesnBFxDJ5KK6Va14Wjlxiy9wC_uUa/s320/blog+brian+box.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The Million Dollar Highway, listed as one of the most dangerous roads in the world, stretches for about 25 miles and follows the route of U.S. 550 between Silverton and Ouray. It's also one of the most spectacular roads in the world. It goes over Red Mountain Pass, named for the mountains it passes through.<br />
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We (Brian) drove the Million Dollar Highway several years ago with the Bus towing our car. While it could be a bit hairy at times, it was doable as long as we took our time. We came into Ouray this year from another direction so decided to take the car back on part of the route. We were able to stop and enjoy more of the scenery.<br />
The origin of the name Million Dollar Highway, built primarily by Otto Mears, is disputed. There are several legends including that it cost a million dollars a mile to build in the 1920s, or that its fill dirt contains a million dollars in gold ore. Who knows.<br />
This was once an area rich in ore containing silver and gold. The remains of the Yankee Girl mine are part of the Idarado Mine. Evidently there was such a rich vein of silver that the ore was sent straight to the smelter. Mine tailings, a trestle, and buildings are still visible. As we understand it, there is a major clean-up operation going on.<br />
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It's possible to drive through the old Yankee Girl town. I'm guessing it was one of those company towns where everyone depended on the company for everything, probably never getting out of debt to the company - 'I owe my soul to the company store.'<br />
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It also seems that this is the Jeep and ATV/UTV capital of the world. We've never seen so many of them in one place. It makes sense, though, because there are a multitude of trails through the mountains and mines. Pretty cool - maybe next time we'll rent a Jeep.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496017771769604069.post-91214004316256550942018-07-31T16:59:00.000-07:002018-08-01T08:10:08.998-07:00Finally Made It to ColoradoOn the day we left Fountain Hills the high temp was supposed to be 114. Needless to say we were happy to escape. In the weeks before we left our routine had changed to adapt to the higher temps, getting up around 5 AM so we could do our walk before it got too hot. We stuck to the routine while getting the Bus ready to go, and pulled out around 7:30 AM. Pretty early for us.<br />
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We've been in Dolores, Colorado for the last week. It's a small town in southwest Colorado, west of Durango and quite close to Mesa Verde National Park, the Anasazi Heritage Center, Canyons of the Ancients National Monument and Hovenweep National Monument. They are all part of a large area where Native Americans, eventually known as the ancestral Pueblo people, made their dwellings and villages.<br />
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<b>Hovenweep National Monument</b><br />
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Although no one has lived in them for over 700 years, the towers and cliff dwellings are still impressive. It's really interesting to see how well they were built, especially some of the taller towers.<br />
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There are cliff dwellings as well, evidence that a sizeable population lived in this canyon at one time. The eroded Boulder House can be seen in the photo below, under the curved overhanging rock.<br />
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<b>Lowry Pueblo, Canyons of the Ancients</b><br />
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This pueblo was interesting for a couple of reasons. It's 2 stories tall, has over 40 rooms, and several kivas. Kivas are a large chambers, usually wholly or partly underground, that were used for religious ceremonies and other purposes. The main structure at Lowry is protected by a metal roof, and we were able to go in and look at several of the rooms. We think the walls in the photo above are probably part of the upper story and the main level is still partially underground. The architecture was influenced by Chaco Canyon, about 100 miles south.<br />
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<b>Anasazi Heritage Center and Museum</b><br />
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This place was fascinating and really well worth a stop. There are displays showing the history and the methods modern archaeologists use to excavate and preserve artifacts. Many of the displays are interactive. There is a reconstructed pit house, which was basically an underground house that the ancients lived in before they began building pueblos. It really gave us a sense of what the people and their lives were like so many years ago. Very impressive and highly recommended as an introduction to this area. I didn't take any photos but the link below has some good ones.<br />
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<a href="https://www.google.com/maps/uv?hl=en&pb=!1s0x87396ceb0987d345:0x61d371889ff62a61!2m22!2m2!1i80!2i80!3m1!2i20!16m16!1b1!2m2!1m1!1e1!2m2!1m1!1e3!2m2!1m1!1e5!2m2!1m1!1e4!2m2!1m1!1e6!3m1!7e115!4shttps://lh5.googleusercontent.com/p/AF1QipPGXnG6yupdUZJfRJxO98d4GEfaKlOIGgI47LmQ%3Dw284-h160-k-no!5sanasazi+heritage+center+-+Google+Search&imagekey=!1e10!2sAF1QipPGXnG6yupdUZJfRJxO98d4GEfaKlOIGgI47LmQ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiIv_ais8rcAhVM6YMKHZUXBNcQoiowCnoECAsQCQ">Anasazi Museum Photos</a><br />
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<b>Mesa Verde National Park</b><br />
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This was our second visit to Mesa Verde. The first time we went we did the more popular side of the park where the most famous ruins are located. We took the the ranger guided tour of the Cliff Palace, which is Mesa Verde's largest cliff dwelling, and took the Chapin Mesa loop road that went by many of the sites. Since this area attracts so many tourists at this time of year we decided to go over to Wetherill Mesa on the quieter side of the park.<br />
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<img alt="Image result for mesa verde step house" 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" 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<span style="text-align: left;">We hiked down to the Step House and were able to climb around and get a good look at things. It's amazing how the park service has managed to preserve so many of these sites while still allowing people to get up close and personal.</span></div>
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As we hiked back out of the canyon we could see many overhangs and other formations across from us.</div>
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In the photo of the rocks below I see what looks like a face. Above it, evidence of one of the many fires that have happened in Mesa Verde can be seen. Lots of black and dead trees, but vegetation starting to grow. </div>
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We also saw this little guy on our hike out - one of the more colorful lizards we've seen.</div>
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We really enjoy learning more about the history and culture of this area. We have explored many of the ruins in Mexico that have both architectural and cultural similarities. It's obvious that there were well established trade routes developed by the ancient Pueblans hundreds of years ago with people to the south and west.</div>
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We've finished our learning and exploring in this area for now and will be moving on to another small Colorado mountain town, Ouray. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496017771769604069.post-73624229178314858922018-07-11T15:52:00.003-07:002018-07-12T06:33:56.294-07:00Sedona<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We're still hanging out in Arizona, feeling the heat. However, we had a very nice break when our friends Vin and Connie invited us to join them in Sedona for a long weekend. We've been to Sedona and the surrounding area a couple of times so we were more than happy to join them. Sedona is a gorgeous area surrounded by red rock formations. There are a variety of hiking trails and we were able to take a couple of very scenic hikes. Although it was a bit cooler than down here in Fountain Hills it was still pretty warm during the day - no complaints though. </div>
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Sedona is also known for its mystical healing powers. There are several vortexes around Sedona. These vortexes are thought to be 'swirling centers of energy that are conducive to healing, meditation and self-exploration. These are places where the earth seems especially alive with energy. Many people feel inspired, recharged or uplifted after visiting a vortex'. People come from all over the world to experience them.</div>
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Sedona also has some very nice galleries, restaurants and shopping. All in all, a pretty nice place for a getaway.</div>
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We may actually be able to leave here in another week or so. Brian's done with his physical therapy appointments but will still be doing PT on his own. He's worked hard to get his rotator cuff and shoulder back in shape and I give him a lot of credit for that. His physical therapist even told him that he made exceptional progress. Go Brian!<br />
We're having a few maintenance things being done to the Bus, then we should be able to load it up and take off. We plan to head to the mountains of Colorado and experience some cooler temperatures and do some hiking. After that we're not sure where we'll go, but it will definitely be wonderful to be back on the road.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496017771769604069.post-35964076215639056172018-04-10T11:15:00.000-07:002018-04-10T11:15:20.717-07:00Back in Arizona for ????We made it safely back to Fountain Hills and it looks like we'll be here for a while. As they say, 'stuff' happens. Brian has a torn rotator cuff and will be going in for arthroscopic surgery on April 18. His orthopedic surgeon is in Phoenix at the Mayo Clinic, and he only does shoulders so we're confident we've got the best guy to do the surgery. But, the recovery period is a pretty long one so I guess we'll get to experience some of the higher temperatures we try to avoid. Oh well, it is what it is and we move on from here.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496017771769604069.post-22936853192272518552018-02-27T10:24:00.002-08:002018-02-27T10:24:52.737-08:00Tocuaro, The Mask Town<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Tocuaro is a very small town about 10 miles from Patzcuaro. We have heard this is a famous place for mask making and wood carving. Most of the masks are carved from a single piece of wood. We went there a few years ago and could not find the mask makers. This year we learned that you have to roam the streets (there aren’t many streets) looking for signs. The doors are closed but they are probably open for business – not really stores as they work in their homes.<br />
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The most famous of the mask makers are of the family Horta. We met Juan Horta’s esposa (Juan died quite a while ago) and were able to see some of the works of her five sons - Juan Jose, Modesto, Orlando, Hugo and Manuel. The sons do not seem to make a living as mask makers and spend time working in the US near Boston where they also do workshops teaching mask making. The photo above is from their shop, and we think it's Juan Jose in the photo.<br />
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We then visited with Felipe Horta (below) who is apparently a cousin of the other Hortas. He is quite a character and we had a really enjoyable time seeing his work and talking with him.<br />
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Felipe is not only a mask maker but a mask collector and has a room full of masks from all over the world - Africa, India, Indonesia, Thailand, and many other places. He gave us an interesting tour of his private mask museum at his house/workshop.<br />
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Felipe's masks and the Horta family masks are displayed and sold all over Mexico, and are found in museums throughout the world including the Vatican. Felipe goes to San Francisco every year for exhibits and workshops. One of the intricate masks he showed us was priced at $15,000 pesos or about $800 US, and would cost much more once north of the border.<br />
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Felipe told us that his masks and capes are worn in what is called a Pastorale. It is held in Tocuaro in February every year. The wooden masks are related to the characters of the Pastorela. Each one is a unique piece, a product of the creativity and imagination of the artisan artist who creates it. Like most objects of popular art, the masks went from being simple but ingenious to larger sizes with more intricate carving. Each showcases the skill of its carver. Year after year they compete among themselves for the honor of having their mask best characterize the three most important characters in the traditional Pastorela. In general terms, the omnipresent characters in the Mexican Pastorelas are the angel (representing the archangel Michael), the shepherds, the hermit (who embodies the spirit of the ancestors) and the devil - always interested and willing to steal the Child Jesus.<br />
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It seemed that most of Felipe's masks were representing the devil and he had fun hamming it up with them. The mask below is similar to the one Brian bought from Felipe. Note the blue bat, vampira, between the horns. The masks can represent many different animals which have different meanings.<br />
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Felipe also wanted to show us the detail in his cape, which was really quite extraordinary. All handmade of course.</div>
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And last but not least is an X-rated mask by Felipe.<br />
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We were happy to finally make it to Tocuaro and not only see the masks but meet the artisans. More information can be found at the following links, or by googling Horta, Tocuaro or Pastorales.<br />
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<a href="https://www.google.com.mx/search?q=felipe+horta+mascaras&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS717US717&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiggf7UhK7ZAhVLSK0KHQR3AhsQsAQIMw&biw=1280&bih=637">Felipe Horta Masks</a><br />
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<a href="https://www.google.com.mx/search?q=Modesto+horta+mascaras&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS717US717&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiPqpKei67ZAhUBbawKHZS3CgsQsAQIKw&biw=1280&bih=637">Tocuaro masks and mask makers</a><br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496017771769604069.post-20974230222715119392018-02-19T10:27:00.000-08:002018-02-27T10:29:44.794-08:00Toritos and Catrinas<b><br /></b>
<b>Toritos</b><br />
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Patzcuaro is one of our favorite places and we wanted to experience Carnaval with the Toritos again this year. Carnaval takes place on the three days before Ash Wednesday. The celebration begins on Sunday and ends late Tuesday night. Loud booms and fireworks announce the approach of groups of Toritos as they roam through the neighborhoods.We saw 2 or 3 groups on Sunday and heard them again on Monday and Tuesday. I guess the idea is to party, party, party before giving things up for Lent!<br />
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One version explaining the origin of the Toritos is that they were introduced in the 16th century to Michoacan lands by Vasco de Quiroga. Their purpose was to attract the attention of the indigenous peoples who had taken refuge in the Sierra mountains before the arrival and cruelty of the Spaniards.<br />
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Another version of their origin mentions that the bulls were invented by the indigenous people to mock the bullfights practiced by the Spaniards and that Vasco de Quiroga only improved and organized them. Each town and its inhabitants were forced to help with the construction and decoration of the bull and to present it three days before Ash Wednesday<br />
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The Toritos dance traditionally contains several elements. There are those who dance around, usually 10 or more males dressed as women and the bull. There is a male who gets inside the frame of a bull and is the one who is responsible for giving life and movements to the bull with jumps and leaps. The men dressed in drag are pretty entertaining. We think they are called Maringuias and represent the women of the town the particular Toritos group is from. At least one person is disguised as the devil and more than one represents death. Interesting to see one of the Toritos in a Donald Trump costume.<br />
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Although Patzcuaro is always an interesting place to visit, coming for Carnaval and the Toritos is especially fun!<br />
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<b>Catrinas</b><br />
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About 20 miles or so to the northeast of Patzcuaro off the new Autopista Cuitzeo Patzcuaro is the town of Capula where Catrinas are made. Catrinas are mostly doll size ceramic figures of a skeleton dressed in many and various elaborate costumes. We took a road trip with our friends Jerry and Paula and roamed around Capula, looking at literally thousands of these figurines. Yes, we did make a purchase or two. We see Catrinas all over Mexico but Capula is the world capital of Catrinas. There is a giant Catrina statue at the entrance to Capula, which is a very small town.<br />
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The Catrina was created by José Guadalupe Posada and made famous by the muralist Diego Rivera. It was presumably Diego Rivera who called her Catrina, a name with which she later became known, converting her into a popular Mexican character.<br />
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Although its image is associated with the Day of the Dead, the Catrina refers to many social situations of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The caricaturist José Guadalupe Posada made an illustration of a skull with a hat, which he named La Calavera Garbancera . At that time, it was called garbancera, named for those who sold garbanzas or chick peas. They were commonly of indigenous origins but ashamed of their roots and pretended to be European. With this skull, Posada criticized many Mexicans who, despite being very poor, seemed to follow the European way of life.<br />
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There were so many Catrinas in Capula that it was a bit overwhelming. There is a wide range in quality, which is reflected in the price of a Catrina. The prices, however, are considerably less in Capula than we have seen elsewhere. Makes sense since that's where they're made. The Catrina shown below is one of the ones we bought - love the detail as well as her pose.<br />
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We found a nice restaurant for lunch that had some fabulous murals depicting Catrinas.<br />
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The mural below from the restaurant shows Diego Rivera with Frida Kahlo. The detail in the mural was quite remarkable and very surrealistic. If you click on the photo you can zoom in to see some of the weird creatures.<br />
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This appears to be a Catrina of Frida Kahlo painting Frida. Interesting.<br />
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Some of the figures in the mural are similar to the Albrijes we saw in Oaxaca.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496017771769604069.post-37084893716388373862018-02-13T15:58:00.002-08:002018-02-20T06:34:37.395-08:00Patzcuaro, Old Man Dance<br />
One of the things that Michoacan is known for is the Danza de los Viejitos, or Dance of the Little Old Men and it's performed regularly in Patzcuaro. There are several explanations for its origin. In one version of the story, the dance of the Viejitos was originally the dance of the dissed. According to this account, the stiff, lurching, rhythmically challenged dance originated as a way for the indigenous population to make fun of their elderly Spanish overlords. This explanation seems supported by the dancers' pink masks, the color of a fair skin that has encountered tropical sun for the first time.<br />
Other sources say that it is a celebration of old age and reflects traditional veneration of the elderly. They contend that the dance was performed in the region even before the European conquest. Whatever the truth to its origin is, we always enjoy watching it performed. The dancers wear wooden shoes that are kind of split, which gives the 'tapping' sound heard.<br />
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The video shows part of the dance performance.<br />
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All of the dancers aren't old men but there seem to be a variety of ages represented, depending on which group happens to be performing.<br />
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We spent time with friends Barb and Sal, Paula and Jerry while wandering around town and had a nice lunch at Lupitas restaurant.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496017771769604069.post-54684067892261070062018-02-11T10:38:00.000-08:002018-02-11T10:38:31.576-08:00Patzcuaro, Rancho la MesaWe're in Patzcuaro once again at Rancho la Mesa RV Park, restaurant and hotel. We love it up here and are always happy to return. The view of the town, lake and island of Janitzio is stunning.<br />
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The variety of animals and birds make our walks interesting and keep us entertained.<br />
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At the moment there are several RVs here, nice group of people. Although the road coming in is a bit rough it doesn't seem to stop RVers from staying here. Lots of room with big spaces and decent hookups.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496017771769604069.post-31657178226700420342018-02-06T10:42:00.002-08:002018-02-06T10:42:42.801-08:00San Miguel de Allende and Guanajuato<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Our internet connection has been sporadic so I haven't been blogging - this will catch us up a bit.</div>
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<b>San Miguel de Allende</b></div>
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The holiday season in San Miguel was a bit more crowded than we had anticipated but we still enjoyed ourselves. Every time we go to San Miguel we notice the increase in cars and people. This year it was so crowded that the streets around the central Jardin were often completely close for many blocks. There was simply nowhere left for anyone to park, so the police were only letting taxis, buses, and motorcycles through. We tried taking a taxi into town, but then faced the difficulty of trying to find an empty one to take us home. Fortunately things relaxed a bit after Three Kings Day.</div>
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Lots of people around the Jardin. We always enjoy seeing the Mojigangas parading through town.<br />
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Interesting sculpture.<br />
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The RV park at San Ramon is about 3 kilometers out of town, more quiet and rural. One day we spotted a couple of unusual birds which we found out are called Crested Caracaras. They have an interesting history. Historians say that when the Aztecs were wandering through Mexico their god told them to look for a place where they would find a large bird eating a snake, on top of a cactus growing out of a large rock, in the middle of a lake. Their god told them that when they found this place they were to establish a city and build a temple. The place was Tenochtitlan, the center of the Aztec Empire. <a href="https://www.ancient.eu/Tenochtitlan/">https://www.ancient.eu/Tenochtitlan/</a> It's believed that the bird the Aztecs saw was a Crested Caracara and it was depicted on the original Mexican flag, but changed to a Golden Eagle on the current flag. The ruins of Tenochtitlan are still being excavated in Mexico City.<br />
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<b>Atotonilco Church</b><br />
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Atotonilco is a small town close to San Miguel. The church there has been called the Sistine Chapel of Mexico, and though we've been there many times it always worth another visit.<br />
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<b>Mineral de Pozos</b><br />
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There's an old mining town about an hours drive from San Miguel called Mineral de Pozos. We had been there before but took our friend Meridith and her daughter Harper there with us on a day trip. We met Meridith, her husband Gary and Harper at San Ramon RV Park. They're from Lafayette Colorado, very close to where we used to live and pretty fun to hang around with.<br />
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There's a womans' cooperativa in Pozos that raising money by making very elaborate clothes for dolls. Each doll represents an area or culture in Mexico and is dressed accordingly. I bought a doll several years ago, and Harper got one this year.<br />
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<b>Guanajuato</b><br />
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It's always a pleasure to be in Guanajuato, a beautiful silver mining city and one of our favorites. It's in a narrow valley with houses and roads climbing up steep hills around the historic center. It's a walking city and because of its topography it has narrow winding streets that connect a series of small plazas. A view from the Panoramica Drive around and above the city shows the colorful homes going up into the hills.<br />
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Small plazas with little cafes and narrow alleyways, some with cafes or homes built on the bridges above them, are found throughout the city.<br />
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Don Quixote and Sancho Panza are popular figures in Guanajuato. There is a Don Quixote Museum and the International Festival El Cervantino is held in the city each fall. The origins of the festival are from the mid 20th century when short plays by Miguel de Cervantes were performed in the city's plazas. It has now been expanded with more international events, and has become one of the four major festivals of its type in the world.<br />
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The places I've written about in this blog are all places that we have visited and blogged about before. For more pictures and more extensive information about them, use the 'search' window on the top right side of the blog and type in the name of the city or area.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496017771769604069.post-72234067713277852762017-12-28T15:07:00.000-08:002017-12-28T15:07:31.890-08:00Crazy Trip from Laredo TX to San Miguel de AllendeAs we made our way across Texas to cross the border into Mexico near Laredo we were surprised to encounter snow, as were the people who lived along the border. Many of the people we talked to had never seen snow before so it was a bit of an event. <br />
Brian wrote up a few emails describing our trip from Laredo to San Miguel de Allende that I'm just going to cut and paste for the post, along with some pictures we took and got off the internet.<br />
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<b>Day 1</b><br />
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Record breaker – I think. We left the Laredo, TX area around 8:30am Fri and by about 10:45am were stopped by a huge traffic back up. By around 6pm we had gone probably less then 2 miles. It is our understanding the road over mountains north of Monterrey was closed due to snow and ice. Trucks and cars were backed up for many miles. We pulled over to the side where there happened to be a wide area due to an old closed exit east of Sabina Hidalgo. Traffic finally started moving around 9pm but there were several trucks stopped on both sides of the road along the same wide spot we were in so we decided to stay the night not knowing exactly what was up ahead. Snow is so rare they don’t seem to have equipment or material to take care of snow and ice on roads so they just closed the pass. During the time we sat we saw no police or other government entities coming along the road. The truckers and some of the other people did seem to know what was going on. We called our friend Chris who lives near Monterrey and were told that not only the road north of Monterrey was closed but the road south of Monterrey was closed too. So we hope to be back on the road before daybreak to see how far we can get. Traffic is moving here now. We are fine in our self-contained little house – warm and fed and securely locked in. Chris gave us some info on the Federal Police website which came in handy <a href="https://twitter.com/PoliciaFedMx?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.elhorizonte.mx%2Flocal%2Fcarretera-a-laredo-continua-cerrada-por-nevada%2F2034006">https://twitter.com/PoliciaFedMx?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.elhorizonte.mx%2Flocal%2Fcarretera-a-laredo-continua-cerrada-por-nevada%2F2034006</a><br />
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Pictures from the internet showing why the roads were closed.<br />
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<b>Day 2</b><br />
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Coming into Monterrey after our first night of literally spending the night on the road.<br />
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Today (Dec 9, 17) it took us about 12 hours to go 99 miles! Seriously. Map below. The road going south from Saltillo toward Mexico City was closed due to snow and ice and no way to remove it apparently. No one told us until we were on the road between Monterrey and Saltillo at which point we were stuck with no way out and no end in sight. The Federales twitter website did say the road was closed but who knew they would not get it open all day? We left our roadside wide spot [1] well before sunup at about 6 AM. We got to the road between Monterrey and Saltillo between 7:30 AM and 8 AM. And then we saw the backup of vehicles. There are two main roads – one free and one toll – we were directed to the free road by Federales so had no choice. But no matter as both roads were backed up all day. We finally got to another wide spot [2] by a Pemex station still several miles from the exit to head south at about 6:30 PM. Very tired. Nowhere else to go. Traffic still stop and go – mostly stopped – until maybe 8 PM when for some reason things began to move. We have no idea why they can’t open the pass during daylight but can open it at night. We are safe and secure and warm and fed and can still get satellite TV for some reason so we are fine. If tomorrow is like today we will probably be up by 5 AM and head out hoping for the best. We are supposed to be in San Miguel de Allende tomorrow but since it is still about 400 miles away we may not make it. Watching the Today Show this morning we saw people in NYC not needing jackets or coats outside on the plaza. Something about the weather these days. So traveler tip for Mexico – if you hear it snowed (check the weather) be prepared to sit in your vehicle all day or find a nice place to wait it out.<br />
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Brian climbed up a hill and took the photo below while we were stopped for hours. The arrow points to the Bus.<br />
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<b>Day 3</b><br />
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The road was open and we got an early start. Things weren't too bad going south but apparently the road going north was closed at the pass just past Saltillo. We really couldn't figure out why since it looked like a couple of dump trucks with sand could have taken care of the northbound lanes over the pass and through the tunnel. We kept track on the odometer and the line of stopped trucks went on for 30 miles. Emergency vehicles were delivering food and fuel, and people were building fires in the median and alongside the road to keep warm. Trucks were parked at truck stops and restaurants as well. I think the news said that over 2,000 trucks were waiting for the road to open.<br />
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We had a long day but we got to San Miguel de Allende and pulled into our spot at San Ramon Hotel and RV park before dark. Glad to be settled in, and never hope to repeat a journey like that!<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496017771769604069.post-34474090409412066442017-12-25T15:23:00.000-08:002017-12-25T15:23:03.604-08:00Time to RemodelWhile recuperating from my hip replacement last year I spent some time watching HGTV and decided it was time to remodel the kitchen. Fortunately Brian went along with the idea.<br />
The kitchen had very dated pickled oak cabinets, cheap laminate countertops and the floor tile was old and chipped. The guest bath had the same cabinets and tile.<br />
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We spent much of the spring looking at numerous options and purchased most of our materials at that time. When we returned after our summer travels on the East Coast and Canada we got the rest of the materials and got started. Following is a very brief description of some of the steps we took.<br />
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We tore out the old cabinets, but had to assemble the new cabinets before we could install them. The new wall cabinets go all the way to the ceiling, and the new base cabinets are drawers.<br />
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When we were shopping for flooring we had a difficult time deciding what to use until we came across Karndean Looselay Luxury Plank Vinyl. www.karndean.com Absolutely love it. We didn't have to tear out the old tile or remove baseboards and door frames. Brian roughed up the existing tile with a sander and filled in the old grout lines. We installed the planks, and Brian was able to do the cuts with a utility knife. Some of the cuts were complicated, but he figured it out. The photo below shows the guest bath floor before installing the new flooring. We did the flooring in stages depending on what the next part of the project was.<br />
We also got rid of the old cabinets in the bathroom. We purchased new cabinet doors in the Shaker style to match the kitchen. Brian painted the doors and cabinet frames to match, which was a much easier option than trying to tear them out.<br />
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We did much of the floor in the kitchen and laundry room before starting on the base cabinets. Once they were installed the next step was to get started on the granite tile countertops.<br />
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Our choice for the countertops was 12x24 granite tiles. I chose a tile I really liked but of course it didn't come with a bullnose option. Among other things, Brian invested in a tile saw, and a tool that bullnosed and polished the granite tile. It was a tremendous amount of work and really did a number on his back but he did a great job.We had to set up our cutting/bullnosing/polishing shop in the garage since it was way too hot to be working out in the sun.<br />
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We tiled the stove side of the kitchen first - the goal was to keep the kitchen functional while we were working and we pretty much accomplished that. In addition to laying the tile on the countertop we had to cut and lay tile for the fascia. Once that was done everything had to be grouted and sealed, quite a production but done in stages.<br />
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One of the biggest challenges was the kitchen sink. The company that we ordered our cabinets from didn't have an option for a farmhouse sink cabinet so Brian modified a wall cabinet and built the support for the sink around the cabinet. He also designed and built a pull-out drawer under the sink - took several days but he's a meticulous planner and it turned out really well.<br />
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The floor under the base cabinets of the sink side was anything but level so it took a while to get that accomplished so the flooring could be installed, the base cabinets installed, and the dishwasher re-installed.<br />
Once the base cabinets on the sink side were installed and level we began the tiling project on that side. We spent a lot of time making sure the sink was properly installed and level. Brian installed all new plumbing for the sink and new faucet and came up with a clever idea for leveling the sink. He put metal on the side supports for the sink, then installed bolts that he could adjust up or down as needed while I held the level on top of the sink and countertop.<br />
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Once the cabinets, dishwasher, sink and tile were pretty much done we got to work on the bar. We tore out the old bar and built a new countertop base and fascia which we tiled, grouted and sealed. </div>
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Almost to the finish line and we still had to decide on a backsplash. When we returned to the place that we bought our granite tile one of the designers showed us glass subway tile that we thought went pretty well with the countertops. Brian came up with the idea of using a few lighter tiles to break things up and I think it worked out quite well. We thought the backsplash would go up pretty quickly but it didn't. It came in sheets with 8 tiles on each, and the spacers we had to use kept falling out. It took close to 3 days to install, very difficult but it turned out well.<br />
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Obviously I've skipped many steps and this is just the basic description of what we did. As usual with projects like these challenges kept presenting themselves, but we got done in about 6 weeks which is pretty good for a major remodel. We're very happy with the results!<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496017771769604069.post-71515739454642970332017-08-01T10:20:00.001-07:002017-08-01T10:20:48.524-07:00Nova Scotia Our friends Paula and Jerry live in the Annapolis Valley in Nova Scotia. They had extended an invitation to visit them to us several times and this year we decided to take them up on it. They were gracious hosts, showing us around and even letting us park in the driveway next to their beautiful home.<br />
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There was so much to see in the area and we were able to spend several days touring. One of the biggest attractions is the Bay of Fundy which has the highest tides in the world. The tidal change peaks at about 50 feet, as tall as a 5 story building. Twice each day, 160 billion tons of seawater flow in and out of the Bay of Fundy — more than the combined flow of the world’s freshwater rivers.<br />
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We got up early enough one morning to go to Hall Harbour for low tide.<br />
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We returned in the afternoon for high tide at the same spot. Quite a difference.<br />
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We did some touring in the area, and also between our visits to Hall Harbour. At one of the lookoffs we got a good view of the valley. The muddy rivers will fill as the tide rises.<br />
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We stopped for coffee at one of the local craft breweries (too early for beer) and had a nice spot on their deck to relax for a bit.<br />
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There a quite a few wineries in this area as well. We stopped at Luckett Winery and got Paula and Jerry to pose in the phone booth they have out in the vineyard.<br />
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We had another fun touring day that took us around more of the Annapolis Valley. We stopped in Annapolis Royal, a nice little town with lots of history. We visited the historic museum and fort.</div>
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And just generally enjoyed exploring the area. Thanks to Paula and Jerry for showing us around and making suggestions for other spots to visit in Nova Scotia. We definitely enjoyed ourselves!</div>
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