Day 17 - The Heard Museum, Phoenix

The Heard Museum located in downtown Phoenix is a museum of Native American art and history. We visited the new Smithsonian Native American Museum a couple of years ago and like The Heard even better. It is a user friendly museum just loaded with amazing art and information. This museum touched my heart. Its beautiful art objects brought joy to my heart. But the stories of how we abused the Indians made me so sad.

I was brought to tears by the story of the Mojave Indians whose land was destroyed by our government. Their sacred mesquite trees and their beautiful willow trees were burned and uprooted before their eyes to prepare the land for farming. For 25 to 35 years the government developed 88,000 acres destroying not only their beautiful land but their culture as well. The mesquite tree was used by the Mojave from birth to death. Its wood was used to make cradles, the sap was used to make their hair black, it provided fruit, it provided shade by day and heat by night, and its wood was used in the cremation ceremony. Loss of the mesquite tree very negatively impacted the Mojave culture.

I was brought to tears by the stories of children as young as five years old being forcibly taken from their families to Indian boarding schools all over the US. The only reason any Native Americans survive today is that our government decided it was more cost effective to institute a Federal School System to educate each Indian child for 8 years than to kill them. The goals of Indian schools were to educate Indian children, convert them to Christianity, make them good American citizens, and give them vocational training. They were forbidden to speak their native languages and grew up ignorant of their native traditions and cultures.

Thankfully, beautiful Indian art survived through the centuries and is still being produced today. The tens of thousands of adult Native Americans who graduated from Indian Schools in operation from 1879-2000 are now relearning their cultures. I left the museum hopeful that this great country will never again repeat such offenses against another race. Unfortunately, I see many in this country who would disregard human rights in the name of smaller government at any cost. Where is their compassion? I believe compassion to have been the major ingredient in the success of this country. May we learn from history and go forth with love in our hearts for our fellow man.

Day 16 - Frank and Friends

All photos above of Taliesin West Architectural School and Grounds

Today temp reached 105 degrees. But what I've always heard about the heat not being so bad in Arizona because of the low humidity is true. The humidity today was somewhere between 10 and 20%. I could actually breathe and being in the shade was quite tolerable.

We began the day by visiting with Rodney Gaylor, a Phoenix resident originally from our home town of Cayuga, Indiana, and brother of Bill's sister's husband. Rodney and Becky have a beautiful home. We met up with Becky at a very good southwestern restaurant. Dessert was a chocolate pie with no chocolate in the ingredients. It was made from chilies that taste like chocolate. Honestly, it was one of the best chocolate pies I've ever tasted. Had a great time visiting w/Rod and Becky.

In the late afternoon, we took a tour of Frank Lloyd Wright's architectural school, Taliesin West, located in the Sonoran Desert.  Construction of Taliesin began in 1938 and was finished in 1957. We are Wright fans. We were not disappointed!  He married the structure to the landscape at Taliesin West just as well as he did at his masterpiece, Falling Water. The Sonoran Desert gets more water than any other desert and is lush in comparison. The school is surrounded by beautiful trees, all manner of cactus, flowers, and lots of birds. The front of the school has a beautiful triangle shaped pool and a small expanse of grass. The pool is there not only for architectural and decorative purposes, but as a cooling system for the very large drafting room located directly in front of the pool to the left front of the school. The pool was intentionally located to catch mountain breezes as they passed over the pool where they evaporated and cooled, then passed on through the open windows of the drafting room.

Undoubtedly a genius, Wright was the first to do so many things. Here are some of them:
-First architect to put pigment directly into concrete. Done for first time in Unity Temple, Chicago, Ill. Common today.
-Invented and installed the first air conditioner which he called air filtration.
-Built first cantilevered toilets so janitors could clean under them more easily.
-First architect to integrate lighting into architecture. He did this in so many different ways. He hated exposed light bulbs so he recessed them into beams and ceilings, covered them with carved wood, and installed unexposed up lighting, lights in floors, and in the sides of walkways. And these are just some examples of his unprecedented use of lighting. There are many, many more.
-First to make mitered glass walls.

Taliesin graduates bachelor and master degree architecture students. They have thirty students at a time. First year students sleep in tents. A migratory school, students spend October thru April in Taliesin West and the rest of the year in Taliesin Wisconsin. Wright saw Taliesin West as a place to do work in winter and Wisconsin as the "real" school.  Wright lived to be 92 and worked up to his death. He did 1/3 of his life's work in the last 10 years of his life.  His legacy is not bad for a man who did not graduate from high school and attended less than a year of college.

Went out to dinner with Marilyn tonight to a Lebanese restaurant and had gelato for dessert. Yum!

Tomorrow we are heading for Tucson.

Signing off till tomorrow, Bill and Marsha, weary, bleary, but cheery Western travelers

Day 15 - Sedona

Another beautiful day.  Temp reached 97degrees, but we never were terribly uncomfortable.  Hard to complain when in such a beautiful place.  Spent lots of time visiting art galleries and shopping in Sedona.  Had a wonderful lunch there at the Cowboy Club.

In late afternoon, we met up with Marilyn Bellincampi, a friend we met through the Affordable Travel Club.  It was absolutely wonderful to get caught up with Marilyn and that's a difficult thing to do because she is in perpetual motion.  A wonderful spirit and humanitarian, Marilyn is inspiring to be around.  Her optimistic outlook on life is contagious.

We are spending the night with Marilyn and maybe tomorrow night as well.  She reminded us that Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West is in Scottsdale and that's a hard one to pass up. 

Signing off until tomorrow, Bill and Marsha, grateful for good friends

Day 14 - The Grand Canyon

Bill and I are both camera shy, but we thought you might want proof that we were actually here and not deceiving you by sitting at home posting away!
Not much to be said about the Grand Canyon except if you haven't seen it up close and personal, do so if you ever get the opportunity.  Words don't do it justice.

Signing off until tomorrow, Bill and Marsha

Day 13 - Canyonland and Monument Valley

Photo 1 Monument Valley

Photo 2 Canyonlands

Photo 3 Canyonlands

Another gorgeous day! Saw our first open range cattle in the Canyonlands. So different than the midwest. Scrub became much larger today. Then we began to see trees which have been scarce over the past few days. They made a nice canopy over the road in some places leading into Canyonlands.

The Canyonlands were an interesting place.  Just inside the Park we visited Newspaper Rock.  It was a National Historic Site of 2000 year old petroglyphs.  The info posted said historians weren't sure what the pictures meant.  Could have been telling a story or could have just been doodling. In either case, it was amazing that these beautiful works survived for us to admire.

The Canyonlands mountains were red at the base all the way to the top layer which was light sandstone. There were many mushroom shaped formations with the red being the fat stem and the light color the top. We visited a huge canyon where we did a little hiking. So cool.  We really just scratched the surface of the Canyonlands with our two hour drive through.  Got a good feel for it, though.

On to Monument Valley located on the Navajo Reservation.  MV was awesome.  However, the road through the valley was in horrid shape, really not fit for cars to drive on.  Unfortunately, they did allow cars and we chose to drive rather than take a tour wagon. Probably a bad choice. We were never so glad to get off that rutted, potholed road.  Put a bit of a damper on our experience there.

Tonight we are staying on the Hopi Reservation. Tomorrow we are heading to the Grand Canyon.

Signing off till tomorrow, Bill and Marsha

Day 11 and 12, Arches National Park

Yesterday, we drove from Provo, UT to Moab, UT. Moab is a big mountain biking area. Rodney, thought of you a lot while there. Great little western town with lots of shops.

We arrived in late afternoon. Went immediately to Arches National Park. There really are no words sufficient to describe the utterly amazing western landscapes and Arches certainly did not disappoint. Bill got in a few photographs.

We got up early today and arrived at the Park by 7:30am. Bill photographed till about 11:30am then we went back into town. I shopped while he worked on his photographs at McDonalds.

Back to Park for sunset photos. Hope you like Bill's Arches' photographs. We got to see Tom Till's photos of Arches. They were amazing. He is a nationally known photographer from Moab and has a beautiful downtown gallery.

Ended our day with a great dining experience. Ate at Milt's Stop and Eat Classic Diner established in Moab in 1954. We read rave reviews on the net. It is a tiny place with people lined up to get in. There's seating inside and out. Bill had a buffalo burger and I had an avocado melt. We shared a huge order of fries. All food was great. Made with fresh, interesting ingredients. Young staff of waiter and two cooks were efficient, personable, and entertaining. A family of 7 came in while we were there there and the Waiter was so good w/the kids.

Signing off till tomorrow (otnd), Marsha and Bill, exhausted but excited by all the beauty out here.

Day 9 and 10 Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, and Salt Lake City

Yellowstone Photos

Photos 1 and 2 Grand Prismatic Spring

Photo 3 Midway Geyser Basin pool 

Photo 4 Old Faithful

Photos 5 and 6 Yellowstone Streams

Weather this entire trip has been great.  Mornings chilly.  When we set out at 7am Monday for  Yellowstone Park, it was 36 degrees.  Brrr!!!  But the days have ended up between 75 and 85 degrees.

The hot springs and geysers of Yellowstone are so surreal. Throughout the entire park, everywhere you look, steam is coming out of the ground in several places.  Our favorite spot was the Midway Geyser Basin with the crowning glory being Grand Prismatic Spring (photos 1 and 2).  The steam coming off this spring is multi colored -- pinks, greens, blues.  The very blue color of the water is the sky reflected in particles suspended in the water.  The oranges, yellows, greens, and browns on the outer parameter of the spring are colorful bacteria called thermophiles that thrive in the extremely hot temperatures.  Hope you enjoy the pics of Grand Prismatic Spring.  Bill had to hike a rugged, steep trail of two miles round trip to get them!  Scaredy cat me stayed in the car and read because the trail was marked as an area frequented by bear.  

The upper and lower falls and the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone were also magnificent sights.  

We enjoyed the rugged Grand Tetons, but it was late afternoon when we arrived and the weather turned a bit nasty.  The thunderstorms, including hail and lightening, did not lend themselves to photos.  

On to our stop for the night, Montpelier, Idaho, an old western town with a population of just over 1,000.   Drove through several national forests to get there.  Magnificent views.  The landscape was very different from any we had seen thus far.  The mountains were gently rounded and covered with vegetation and some trees.  A nice change from the rugged mountains we had experienced previously.  

On Tuesday, we headed for Salt Lake City.  We went through Paris, ID, a very small town and the sight of the first LDS pioneers.  Thirty families settled there.  In 1888 an awesome LDS tabernacle was built in Paris.  

We drove and drove from Montpelier and couldn't seem to get away from Bear Lake, a 20 mile long and 8 mile wide body of water with white sandy beaches.  

Next town of note we came to was Logan, Utah, population 42,670.  The town is nestled in Cache Valley by the Logan River, surrounded by beautiful mountains.  Home of Utah State University, Logan is a beautiful, pristine city with interesting architecture. 

We spent several hours in Salt Lake City.  Visited Temple Square and took a tour of the Temple, Tabernacle, and Assembly Hall.  The tour was led by two LDS sisters (what they call the women of the faith), one from Japan and one from Jordan.  Both were recent college grads, architecture and mathematics majors respectively. They spoke amazing English and did a wonderful job touring us.  

Photo 1 Paris, ID LDS Tabernacle

Photo 2 Temple Square tour guides and our tour mate, York, of Dresden, Germany  

We toured Brigham Young's home, the Beehive.  Again the tour was led by sisters, one from Mexico and one from California.  (Note: The young women conducting tours are on 18 month missions.  Such missions are voluntary.) The Beehive was a magnificently furnished mansion where Young lived for a period of time, but it was also a place where he received dignitaries and other political figures as he was not only the Prophet for the LDS Church but also the first governor of the Utah Territory.  SLC is an exceptionally clean city with beautiful flower gardens everywhere.  Interesting, modern architecture in city proper.

We wanted to visit the Chase Home Museum of Utah Folk Arts located in Liberty Park.  By the time we arrived in early evening, it was closed.  But we were rewarded by visiting one of the most beautiful parks we have ever seen.  This 100 acre park contains an aviary, the museum, a playground, a pool, tennis courts, a huge fountain, and gorgeous gardens.  A bike path surrounds the park.  We were IMPRESSED!

We are spending the night in Provo.

Signing off till tomorrow (or the next day), Bill and Marsha