Sometimes we get lucky!

Well, you know we didn't make it to Meteor Crater as planned yesterday, due to our having to help a fellow camper couple, right?  So, we thought we would try again today.  We didn't rush to get up, as the Crater is located only 5 miles down the road from our campground, and we really had nothing else planned for the day.  Sooo, that meant we got to sleep in a bit and watch the morning news.  Oh MY, the news was shocking!  The monsoon had come through last night, mostly south east of Phoenix, which is south west of our current location.  It dumped anywhere from 2 to 5 inches of rain in just a few hours, and it was on the way to us!!  There was some serious flash flooding in Mesa and Apache Junction, and people were people, in other words, STUPID.  Driving into the flooded streets, then getting stranded.  We watched one rescue operation involving a good dozen firefighters and a full hook and ladder truck.  When they got the ladder & bucket over to the car, one firefighter jumped out, into SHIN DEEP WATER.  Really people?  REALLY?  All that time and money wasted, and all she had to do was open the door and get out?  Wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes.  Anyway...we had a good hot breakfast, cleaned up and headed out.  Yesterday, we picked up a geocache in the campground parking lot, and we knew there was another just outside the night entrance gate.  Turns out, that's what's left of Old Route 66!  

Yup, see that pile of rocks at the base of the sign?  That's the cache!  Go No Farther!

Once we signed the log book for the cache, we turned around and got back on Meteor Crater Road and headed to the crater itself.

Admission to the exhibits and viewing decks was $20 bucks for normal people - veterans get in for only $9 bucks each!  Thank you for your service honey!!

Sooo, check out that chunk of iron-nickel!  The meteor mass was calculated to have been approximately 150 feet in diameter, weighing several hundred thousand pounds, and containing enough metal to produce about 42,000 automobiles!  This is what's left of it, and it was found a couple miles away!  (It was actually found in Diablo Canyon, where we went to Two Guns and the Apache Death Cave the other day!)

So here was our first glimpse of the crater.  It was a slide on a TV screen.  No big deal, right?

But, once we stepped outside, it was overwhelming!  The dude in yellow is Jeff, from Philadelphia, PA.  He was our guide for the rim tour.  He had an interesting back story too.  He actually had zero interest in geology or history, and had never even heard of this place or the event, up until 6 years ago.  He had a degree in English literature, and was working for a builder at the time.  The builder had a job out here and Jeff wanted to go see the Grand Canyon, but it was snowing, so he came to the crater instead.  The builder went out of business before the job was complete, and Jeff was stranded in Phoenix, with no job, so he found the guide job online, got it, and has been here ever since.  He is currently housed in the company-provided dorms on site.

Jeff was supposed to take us on an hour-long, mile long hike around the rim, but it was cold and blustery, and it looked like a rain storm was approaching from the south, so he warned us our tour might be cut short.  

Jeff pointed out the magnetic properties of the debris, talked about the mining that had occurred inside the crater, pointed out the 15 foot tall steam boiler (that appeared to be the size and shape of a bbq grill), and then the rains started.  He shared a few more facts about the impact (the crater rim is 5,600 feet in elevation, 4,000 feet across, and 2.4 miles in circumference) and then herded us all back the way we came, to the safety and comfort of the building.  Inside, he shared a few more facts:

There is evidence of the crater being referenced by Native Americans, but the first written report was made in 1871, by a man named Franklin who served as a scout for General Custer.  For years, the crater was referred to as Franklin's Hole.

Later, local settlers named it Coon Butte, and it was thought to be just another extinct volcano.

In 1886, iron-nickel meteorites were found by a sheepherder, but he thought they were silver, so he didn't say anything until 1891.  

In 1902, Daniel Barringer, a mining engineer out of Philadelphia became interested in the site as a potential source of iron.  He assumed the original meteorite was buried in the crater, but none of his digging or experiments over the next 26 years were fruitful.  The Barringer family still owns the crater itself, and the Bar T Bar cattle ranch (started in the 1880's) still owns the surrounding lands, with lease agreements between the two entities.  The Bar T Bar Ranch Company also owns the campground and has plans to improve it even more.  (It's already pretty nice, AND big-rig friendly!)  

We finished up touring the interactive displays and reading all about it, then headed over to see what was available in the gift shop.  There were some rocks, geodes & crystals, some cheap stone necklaces, lots of kid science stuff, T-shirts and magnets.  We came away with a post card for our former neighbors in Florida, since they don't do Facebook or Internet, and never know where we are.

We got home just in time to walk the dog before the rains really came down (that's the lucky part!).  And it got colder and colder, as the day wore on.  We decided tonight might be a good night to use up some of that spaghetti sauce and pasta that we have down in the basement, taking up all the extra room.  We want, at some point, to put a portable freezer down in that baggage bay, but as long as we have extra food down there, we don't have the space.  Sooo, what goes well with baked ziti and salad?  Homemade bread, of course!  Yup, I may not have my bread machine, but I do have my Kitchenaid mixer on board!  And I have flour, sugar, salt, butter and yeast.  And now we have bread rising!

Tomorrow is a travel day.  We are heading to Camp Verde, only about 60 miles south and west of where we currently are.  We'll be there one week (unless the river rises and we have to evacuate!) and then head down to Surprise, where we plan to park it a while.  Well, for the next 3 months, anyway.  We are looking forward to seeing John & Lora, whom we met while we were all working down in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas.  I hear there is a safari wildlife park, a railway, Tuzigoot National Monument (Native American ruins), Sedona and Montezuma's Castle.  Lots to see and do!

Funny side note - Remember the stilt walkers we met at the Petroglyphs National Monument??  Rich and Star were their names.  Well, I posted a picture of the crater up on Facebook, as we were leaving, and Star immediately commented with a couple pictures of her own - they were right here at the beginning of their summer tour!!  Small world!  

Sooo, y'all stay safe and warm till we meet again!!

What do Pueblos, Petroglyphs, Stilt Walkers and the President Have in Common?

Yesterday, Sunday, dawned overcast and chilly.  Not just chilly for us, oh no...it was chilly for everyone here!  It was only 57 degrees upon waking, and we were told that is the coldest temp they've had since June 25!  Oh my, I think that means Winter is on its way!  So, what else happened Sunday?  Well, we discovered that we have double-booked ourselves!  How on earth did THAT happen?  I know I checked and checked our dates, and that shouldn't have been the case.  Well, it WAS.  Turns out, when we registered at the Air Force Base, we leased a site for a week.  Further research showed that we should have only purchased four nights!!  Well, crapola...now we have to fix it!  We called Camp Verde, in AZ, and got them to push our reservation back a week, then we called Meteor Crater, in Winslow, AZ, and got them to adjust our incoming date, plus add a day.  Good thing we had an extra 3 days to play with...we were planning to go to Gila Bend, but we had no reservations, so it was no trouble to just alter the dates and route a bit.  That (and a big, hot breakfast & cleanup) took all morning.  After that, we decided maybe we should get to work on Aunt Grace's financial report.  Oh.My.Gawd.  It was after 5 pm when we got to a stopping spot!!  I'm sure glad that report is only due once a year!

Sooo, today, we had planned to stay on base, because President Trump is due to fly into Albuquerque and go deliver a campaign speech at Rio Rancho, just a bit north of town.  All weekend, they've been warning us of road closures and detours, and being unfamiliar with the streets, we thought we could just avoid the crowds and stay in.  HA.  That plan didn't last long - both of us wanted to get out and about and see some sights!  So we figured we could head WEST of town, to go see the petroglyphs.  That we did!  See the sign?  We were there!  That picture is devoid of people because we waited for another couple to move away from the sign.

We meandered up the path and stopped to read this sign.

As we were reading about this facsimile of a petroglyph, this couple came up and explained that they knew the artist (Zia Pueblo Native) that had made it, and they had just come from seeing him, where he presented them a special rock of their own.  Can you see it?  Star (the lady on the right) is holding it in her hand.  That's Rich, her husband of 10 years, on the left.  Peter Pino is the artist, and the carving on the rock is the story of their friendship.  We spent about 3 HOURS with this couple, trading life experiences, travel stories, and sharing tearshed over loss of fur babies.  They are absolutely charming and fascinating, and we were so very honored and privileged to share a little of their life's journey.  We are absolutely certain our paths will cross again.  In fact, we came to a stop light (most people call them traffic lights, we call them stop lights, because they're always RED!), Rich and Star pulled up beside us, handed us their calling card, and we both reached out & pinky swore we'd meet again!

 The large rock is the petroglyph Circle of Life that Peter carved specially for the Visitors' Center.  It is the only one you're permitted to touch, because oils and the pressure of rubbing fingers actually destroys the carving.  As we chatted, and watched the informative movie, Star held her rock (the smaller one) in her hands, the entire time.  When she opened her fingers, you could see where it had become darker and the design appeared more faint.  As it was exposed to the air again, the design reappeared.

The photo on the left shows the back of the small rock, with Peter's signature.  You can see a P, looking back & honoring his ancestors, and a forward facing P, looking to the future, both incorporating the Circle of Life, flanking the stacked "M" signifying the Present, the Nadir, representing the lower world where the spirits of the Ancients live with the supernatural beings representing the caves, springs and lakes, and the Zenith, where the spirits of the upper world reside (sun, sky, clouds).  The dots along the bottom represent water, a precious commodity in this part of the country.  The ones on the left signify that water is plentiful, because there are more, and the ones on the right signify that it is farther away (see the spacing?) and less of it.  So, if you were traveling, and saw this, you would know which way to travel safely.  Star is modeling the front of the stone, where she and Rich are portrayed on their stilts. So, you can find Star and Rich, traveling from fair to fair, all over the country....today, they are heading toward Miami-Dade area, or maybe Raleigh, NC, first, I can't remember.  NC is for the state fair, and Miami is for a specific commissioned performance.  Together, they run StiltCircus, an entertainment provider, and basically, dance, entertain, and bring joy to the world and its inhabitants.  They had just wrapped up a two hour stint (with NO BREAKS!) at the New Mexico state fair today.  She makes ALL their costumes and booth backdrops, and we talked for quite some time about the logistics and emotion of life on the road.

Eventually, we had to leave their company, because they had business to tend.  Just like normal people, they had to get their oil changed, and a few other routine and mundane chores.  We were heading to find The Madonna of the Trail, in downtown Albuquerque.  We invited them to come along, and even join us for dinner, but, they really had things to do before they moved on to their next gig.  We, on the other hand, headed downtown.  We had no idea what we were looking for, but I had marked it down as a point of interest, so there must have been something that caught my eye.  We found an empty, metered spot, fed it a buck, and started down the sidewalk.  Embedded in the sidewalk were various plaques, engraved with quotes about truth and justice, from various famous people, ranging from Abraham Lincoln to Cesar Chavez.  When we arrived at the State Courthouse, we were impressed by a huge representation of the Scales of Justice.

 After walking completely around the block, yup, all four sides, we found what we were looking for...a monument memorial to the pioneer women that blazed the trail for all the rest of us.  The Madonna of the Trail.  Right across the street from where we had parked.  But, if we had gone directly there, we would have missed that beautiful sculpture of the scales and all those inspiring quotes.

 Also, down the street, was this little shop.  Right down in the middle of all the skyscrapers and huge courthouses, this little unassuming Pueblo-style pink storefront, Sunwest Silver.  We still had about 30 minutes on our parking meter, so we headed on in.

Holy Moley!  I've never in my life seen such an impressive array of turquoise!!!  See those display cases?  They were on every wall.  See those racks in the back?  They held tray after tray after tray of loose stones, of all shapes, colors and quantities.  

Click on this panorama to make it full size, and you'll see the extent of what is in store!  And this is only out in the PUBLIC area!  There was a whole 'nother room in back, with a sign on the door, reading $300 minimum purchase!  It was the wholesale room, and there were THOUSANDS of trays of loose stones there too!  What was really funny, we were greeted by a clerk when we first entered and she let us know they were having a 30% sale on all their jewelry.  Yaay.  So we looked in every case, walking all around the room....we got to the back wall, and there were two young ladies there that wanted to see Bailey, so of course, we obliged.  We found a rack of bolos, and you know Dick is on the lookout for a new one, so of course, we asked to see the pretty blue one.  It was only $575!!!  But the young lady informed us that everything was 50% off, so it would only cost about $280!  What a bargain, right?  But, did you catch that discrepancy??  We did.  And when we went to checkout, we made sure to take our purchase to the younger clerk, with the larger discount! 

While we were browsing, this young man came out with a new bolo he had just completed.  It was HUGE and heavy!  The slide is a horny toad, silver, inlaid with coral colored stones, and the silver tips are a two-part poured cast, but they're in the shape of the little toad's feet!  They were also inlaid with the same stones.  It was heavy!  Obviously, they'd not priced it yet, but I can only imagine, a lot of bread would be exchanged for that piece!

Soooo, dinner was done, and we were contemplating taking a hike (walking the dog) and a little blurb came on the news about President Trump should be landing any minute at Kirtland Air Force Base.  What a sec - WE are at Kirtland Air Force Base!  We should be able to go watch, right?  We may or may not agree with Trump's policies and/or politics, but, daggum, this was a presidential plane arriving, right here, where we were! Here it is, coming in for a landing.

Here is a link to a video of the helicopter taking off.  We are not really sure if the Pres was on it or not!  But it was a heck of a sight!

And here is the plane, in all its glory, waiting for his return.  It was pretty darned big! Those little dark shadows under it, towards the front, are full-sized people!!

That was about all the excitement we could stand for one day, so we headed back to the camper, where the trash and dirty dishes waited.  So that was our day, dear friends, what went on at your place??  We never did get up to see the original petroglyphs, so, perhaps tomorrow!  Always tomorrow, free beer tomorrow!  If you've been to Rotten Ralph's, down on Anna Maria Island, you know that story!  Y'all stay safe, remember to open your hearts to the people around you -- you'll never know who you'll meet!Wha