Days 5 and 6: Mountains Majesty and a Reckoning with Colonialism

 They're not purple, but the mountains of Colorado are definitely majestic. 

We can add Durango, CO to the list of places I'd like to come back to. We had a little time before dinner on Sunday to wander around and that was about it. Monday morning we packed up right after breakfast (it's amazing how much stuff we can strew around a place when we're there for less that 12 hours and spend more than half of that asleep) and headed out to catch the train. The Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad is justifiably famous as one of the most scenic railroads in the world. None of the photos do it justice. I'll show you a couple anyway.

Photo credit David Smith

No, this is not Switzerland.

Clear the tracks....no, wait.

We got off the train about 6:30 and headed north to Mancos to visit with friends. We got there just in time for sunset.

Tuesday (which I think was yesterday? Yes. Yes it was) our hosts took us to Mesa Verde National Park. The entrance is about five miles from their house. The Ancestral Pueblo people lived in Mesa Verde from about 500 CE to the late 1200s. They built permanent dwellings which became increasing complex over time. We weren't able to get tickets to tour any of the cliff dwellings, which I didn't mind. What we saw from the overlooks was amazing enough and I didn't have to climb up or down a 30-foot ladder over a sheer cliff. 

The first European to excavate this structure assumed it was a temple in part because of this carving. What does it mean? We have no idea.

Cliff Palace. See below.

I had the same experience here that I had in Rome and that I expect I will have in Israel when we get there in November. I can't wrap my mind around how long ago these buildings were built. I used to say I studied American history in college because there's so much less of it - only about 500 years to deal with rather than millennia. Of course what we saw yesterday is American history. What I studied as "American history" is really the history of European colonization. The anthropology and archaeology studies at Mesa Verde started with the same biases and assumptions that infected my education. Fish can't see water. Of course the Ancestral Pueblos had a hierarchical society. Of course the most important/wealthiest/most powerful people lived in the Cliff Palace (which of course was a palace) because it looked the most imposing. Of course they lived difficult and hardscrabble lives. Of course all the pottery and weaving had to be functional. Of course  they were"surprisingly sophisticated." The word sophisticated itself carries a load of unquestioned implications. The National Park Service is starting to replace some of the dated and racist commentary with documentation that shows a more sophisticated understanding of ethnography (see what I did there?). They are beginning to privilege and amplify Native voices. The museum in the park is being renovated to reflect these changes, and they've already removed all human remains. Now if they could only use BCE/CE instead of BC/AD.

In the evening we drove into Mancos, wandered around some galleries, had some excellent cider from Fenceline, and ate dinner in town. After walking around all day at 9,000 feet we were ready for bed.

Today: Canyon of the Ancients! Oh, and more mountains. And probably Navajo tacos.

I Lift My Eyes to the Mountains: Day #4

 We started the day in La Junta, CO, at an authentic small-town diner. The Copper Kitchen lived up to the Yelp reviews: friendly, efficient service, really good food, and a chat with Larry, the owner. It's the kind of place where the pictures and tchotchkes on the walls and shelves look like they were really collected over years, not selected from a catalog to look as if they were selected. A lot of the other customers were locals. Every town needs a third place. And La Junta has interesting art.

Railroads are important.

We thought this would be a shorter day. It wasn't. It may have been fewer miles overall (I didn't check the trip odometer) but we left the plains and headed up into the mountains. The twists and turns and steep climbs slowed us down. We took a detour for lunch. It was a bit further than I expected. David had no complaints because we saw a spectacular series of radial dikes. I'm not the geologist and I still thought they were pretty cool. 

Whoever named the Cuchara Yacht Club has a sense of humor. To be fair, it does overlook the water. My cocktail was delicious and my chicken salad was even better. 

Larry (remember Larry? He owns the Copper Kitchen) said we had to stop at the Wolf Pass Overlook. Larry was right. 

We spotted a waterfall from the overlook and as we were driving down the mountain David noticed a turnoff near the waterfall, and we hiked up to the base. Never mind that it was a steep climb at about 7,000 feet above sea level. Totally worth it.

Then we headed into Durango, wandered around the town for a little while, and had dinner at 636 Maine Avenue. I suspect our server is working there for the summer and I hope his career path takes him to some other line of employment. The drinks and food were delicious.

 We're now settled in for the night in our condo a bit outside of town. Tomorrow: a train ride!

So Far: Day #3

I glanced at the trip odometer this afternoon before we reached our last stop and it read about 1100 miles. So far.

Today was the last long driving day for a while. We left Kansas City this morning and we're putting our feet up in La Junta, CO tonight. We're in our seventh state and our third time zone. So far.

We've come a long way (sorry) from the first cross-country trip we did. Now we make sure to get out of the car for lunch; so far we've found good local restaurants (thanks to Yelp). We'll also have some picnics along the way. Today's was Blue Sky Brewery and Eats in Salina, KS. No pictures of the food or the beer. Sorry!

We detoured after lunch to see Monument Rocks. If you saw these picture without captions, would you think they were in Kansas? I wouldn't have. 

And of course we had a geology professor moment. 

"They're Cretaceous rocks...."

Stay tuned for more of these when we get into the Rocky Mountains.

This is more what I'd expect on the prairie.

"That's definitely not a cow."

After Monument Rocks we headed to Lamar, CO for dinner. I did get a photo of my strawberry margarita. I'm glad I ordered the smaller version.

Lamar also boasts the Petrified Wood Gas Station. At least it was a gas station when it was built in the 1930s. It's been through several other incarnations since and it's now vacant, like much of the retail space in Lamar. 

I'll close with some miscellaneous photos of things I found amusing, and then I'll call it a night. The clock says 9:20 PM. My body says either 10:20 or 11:20, and in either case I'm ready for bed.

Do you think they know?

Because half-price axe throwing with $2.00 drinks is always a good idea.

When you're too old for $2.00 drinks and axe-throwing, you strap your Boost to your Harley and you're ready to rock and roll.

Epic Road Trip: Day #2, National Park #1

 

I warned you that the first few days would be less interesting. So far we've covered over 1,000 miles of interstate.

Yesterday we drove from Allentown to Dayton, OH, where we had a lovely dinner with grad school friends. Yelp found us a lovely restaurant near Fallingwater for lunch en route. Since I drove the first shift, I indulged in this delightful concoction with my meal. 

Rosé Colored Glasses

We had such a good time at dinner that we didn't get any pictures - not even of the cocktails! Dinner was delicious Peruvian food. 

We headed west again early this morning and after a bit of a mental tussle with time zones we realized we had time to stop in St. Louis for lunch with a friend and a walk along the Mississippi River. I've driven across the Mississippi five times and have no memory of actually seeing it. So this time I wanted to be sure. When we plugged all the info into WAZE we thought we'd run late - and then we realized that WAZE gives the arrival time without taking into account the change from EDT to CDT, so we had an extra hour. We consulted Yelp again and found a deli near Gateway National Park where I got to introduce David to one of my favorite crossword people and had the best chicken salad I've had a long time. No food photos there, either. 

I did take pictures of the river and the Gateway Arch! How could I not?

The great Mississippi

This doesn't give you a sense of the scale. We could see it from about ten miles away. It's HUGE.

This was an unexpected National Park stop. Since we didn't drive into the park, we didn't have to pay an entrance fee. We'll have to wait to buy our Senior Citizen Lifetime Passes. We planned to visit four National Parks on this trip; looks like it will be at least five!

We're headed to dinner (barbecue, natch, because Kansas City) with a ParentNet friend. Trips like this remind me how rich in friendships I am, and that's more precious that gold. 

The Day Before

 

Let's see. We drove from New York to Palo Alto in August of 1982 in David's 1970s Ford Galaxie 500. Then we drove from Palo Alto back to my home in NY before our wedding in December of 1984 in David's Toyota pickup. David drove back alone in January. We drove a U-Haul from NY to CA when I finally moved out there in August of '84. That was fun. There was still a Federal speed limit of 55 mph and the U-Haul had a governor that kept us to 55 on the flat - and 35 going up any kind of grade. There are a few grades between Rye Brook and Palo Alto. Also it didn't have air conditioning. Did I mention it was August?

We drove the pickup from CA to CO in September of 1990 and then drove my Honda Civic from CO to NY and back for Christmas that year. By that time we had two large dogs in the back seat. And finally we drove the Civic from CA to PA when we moved here in 1992. I didn't mention the drives from the Bay Area to Reno or Austin, NV, when David was doing his PhD field work, or my solo drive from CO back to CA, or David's trip from CA to Ohio for a semester of work at Kent State. Anyway, we landed in PA in June of 1992 and I thought we'd gotten the cross-country drives out of our system. Once we both had full-time work, the balance flipped and we had more disposable income than extra time; when we went to California, we got airline tickets like normal people. 

The Levy-Smith trail, 1982-1992

30 years later, here we go again. We're retired, we have plenty of time, and David has finally recovered from his years of enforced camping during grad school and is ready to think about pitching a tent again. So when we started talking about a trip to Bryce and Zion with at least some camping, we decided to pack up our own camping gear and hit the road. It won't be exactly the same - we did get older and (maybe) wiser. Instead of trying to make the trip in four or five days, we're taking nearly three weeks. We're only camping in a couple of National Parks and the rest of the time we're staying with friends or in hotels or in AirBnBs. Come along for the ride! I won't promise daily updates - the first few and the last few days will not be that interesting and I doubt we'll have Internet when we're camping. There will be pretty pictures, if nothing else. And it's possible someone may log on and write about the geology of the Western US. Could happen.

The plan for this trip

We are not traveling light. 

Camping gear piled in the garage

The bare necessities

Yes, I can lift it

Not shown: computer, iPad, power supply, chargers, cables, suitcases, box of wine and other spirits, box of kitchen gear, folding chairs, and duffel bag with pillows, towels, and toiletries. 

Tomorrow we're off!