Arches National Park

 

 

 

 

 

Finally I was able to experience for myself the cathedral like arches and vast desert of Arches National Park. Edward Abbey wrote about the region in a series of essays that comprised Desert Solitaire, a book published in 1968. The tales come from time he spent there as a park ranger, living alone in a trailer on the edge of this wonderland of eroded sandstone and harsh desert. I can't imagine how it would be sitting there waiting for tourists who rarely came 50 years ago. Today, though, the traffic pours through almost bumper to bumper making it hard to find a parking place at some of the more famous formations.

We hunted for the location of his former ranger station, but could not find it. At the visitors center we learned that the entrance used in Abbey's time was no longer in use, and the trailer is long gone.
It was brutally hot the day I was there.....104F, and I couldn't make the trek up to the arches themselves.

Route 66

 

 

 

Part of our western journey bordered on and sometimes actually followed the celebrated Route 66.
When I was a teenager my family traveled on the famous highway in our epic vacation to California. My dad had dreamed of this trip for a long time, and with little money and a car that overheated we made the attempt.
We followed Route 66 all the way. The highway was lined with colorful motels in classic mid century design and souvenir shops that promised all kinds of thrilling products such as cactus candy, petrified wood, Indian pottery and blankets, and gaudy home decorations. It was a thrill for us to stop and study the exotic offerings, though we never bought any for we had limited funds.

On this trip we were only able to see broken remnants of the old route or portions of the road that traveled through now withering towns that thrived when it was THE route west.

The wigwam motel is still in use in Holbrook, Arizona where part of Route 66 still exists and the lava bed is near Gallup, New Mexico along the old highway.

Way Out West

 

Open roads and seemingly endless spaces characterize the American West. In the next few posts I will share some photos of my recent trip to the West.

I grew up watching "cowboy" movies and yearning to see the landscapes that served as settings for some of these movies. So on this trip I finally got to see some of John Ford's favorite movie sets in Monument Valley. And I was able to visit again the canyonlands that are like no other on earth.

I also got to stand on the very spots that inspired one of my favorite authors, Edward Abbey, in Arches National Park.

Everything is just peachy!

 

 

 

Rains were plentiful this spring and the crop of peaches is early and generous. Who can resist the sweet , tart juicy goodness? So we made a peach cobbler or maybe two.

Walter Anderson--The Islander

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Many years ago I read a book, The Horn Island Logs of Walter Anderson, and became entranced by the author. It was a log of time he spent alone on an island off the coast of Mississippi.
He would row a small boat to the island and spend months alone. During that time, he observed the natural world that he found around him. Often he would gaze for hours at a bird or crab, following them around and just observing. Then he would try to capture its essence in  sketches and watercolors.
He saw the patterns in bark, feathers, flowers and water. It always amazes me when I look and see that those patterns ARE there!

 Perhaps his ability to focus so intensely was due to mental illness. He was hospitalized several times for depression and possible schizophrenia. In spite of it all, he continued to create beautiful works of art. Much of it is on typing paper, boards, wallpaper, and anything that offered a blank space to fill.


Anderson was hired to paint the walls of the Ocean Springs Community House. The series of murals wraps around the walls of the building in vibrant colors that fill all the spaces. Some of the above photos are of the community center, and others are from a room that he filled with art in his Mississippi home.
There is also a museum dedicated to his work in Ocean Springs, MS. Every year I try to make a pilgrimage there to look at it all once again and be awed by the magic.

Hill Country Lavender

 

 

 

The small lavender farm struggles to exist in the dry Texas climate. It has been a challenge with the recent droughts. Every spring I visit just to sniff the pungent fragrance and buy a few soaps.

terrier terrors

 

Here are two of the terriers that brought fun and terror into my life. Maggie, we guessed, was a cairn terrier. We found her wandering on a remote highway with no homes near and "rescued" her. It could have been that she was on one of her big run abouts that she continued to do even after we claimed her. Fearless and full of energy, she roamed great spaces and would attack any varmint. She once had her throat torn by a nutria, a beaver type rodent that inhabits wetlands in Louisiana. And she almost died from the wounds inflicted by a pit bull that dared enter her space. She could always hear my car returning and would race across fields to be there to greet me when I arrived, pretending she had been there all along.

Toby, my first wire fox, was full of so much energy that he chewed up several doors and stainless water pans as a puppy. He could bounce up to 3 feet when greeting visitors, and never learned how to walk on a leash without gagging himself. Actually, he needs an entry all his own to detail his exploits.

Enchanted Rock

 

A huge rock comes into view in the distance. Pink, bare and rounded, it is Enchanted Rock, a granite pluton that rises from the surrounding plain and is visible for many miles. Located in central Texas, it is a destination for all kinds of explorers who want to clamber over it and feel it powerful presence. On weekends and holidays the park that surrounds often has to be closed because there is no room for parking or camping. We have tried to make it early, but failed twice. I still hope I get to make it to the summit one day, but as I get older it begins to seem less likely. 

out on a limb

The sun perched on a limb and showed me the way.

Along my walking path.....

Otter

 

 

 

Since birding has been slow around the house lately, I decided to take a drive to the lake and look for ducks and shorebirds. It was rather barren there, too. But as I scanned the canal I noticed a roiling of the water and up popped a whiskery head. An otter! He was swimming quite close to fishermen and crabbers, and my first concern was that he would get harmed. He seemed to be doing well, though.

 My next concern, and one that makes me grieve for him and all wildlife, is all the plastic and trash that humans are throwing into the canal when they are finished with their day of recreation. Bottles and plastic fishing lines, fast food containers and boating trash float along the margins of the waterway.

Orchard Oriole

 

 

 

Singing boldly all day long and scolding me whenever I walked thru the yard, an orchard oriole gave away his nest site. It has been years since I had one nest so close to the house. The nest is about 25 feeet up on the outermost limb of a live oak.

Carolina Wren's nest

 

This busy little rusty bird built its nest in a hanging basket on my patio.

Texas hill country wildflowers

 

 

 

 

 

 

So many flowers--miles of them--a fascinating surprise in what most would consider a harsh landscape. I really didn't realize I had so many posts about wildflowers. I do love them!