Wandrin Blog

When in Durango, the tourist thing to do is to take the vintage steam powered train to Silverton. Diesel fuel for the road trip with the Silver Slug would have been less expensive, but would not have been nearly as enjoyable. It is difficult to enjoy scenery when driving -- especially winding mountain roads.

Of the choices for the journey, I chose the Silver Vista (silver matches my thinning hair). In addition to be able to take great photos from in the car, standing on the platform was also allowed. The train's host on the car explained tidbits of railroad's history, movies filmed on the route, and the history of small towns along the way to Silverton.



Non-alcoholic drinks were complimentary. Alcoholic drinks were available including a margarita that had the color of the Animas River. (To achieve that color, melon liquor was put in the margarita.) My choice was a margarita without the color. The ticket price also included a souvenir cap and a bar of Rocky Mountain dark chocolate. (Great for depression when considering the price of the ticket.)

My Durango hosts - Steve and Lisa - are avid road bike riders. Lisa makes rides to coincide with the nine o'clock train which is the train time I chose. Since that is the only train where the single Silver Vista is located, I really did not have much of a choice. Lisa could certainly travel much faster than the train speed of 15 miles per hour. However, she slowed down to allow the train to catch up and allow me the opportunity to take a photo of Lisa from the train.

Most likely my readers were wondering -- how long. Three and a half hours to Silverton - 45 miles from Durango. After a two and a half hours in Silverton, it is back on the train for the return trip. Considering the length of time, I brought a book along. However, it remained in my pack the entire time as I enjoyed the change of scenery and the arrival of spring along the route.



With Durango at an elevation of 6500 feet, lilacs were blooming and trees were almost completely leafed out. Not so at Silverton at 9300 feet. Some buds were noted on a few trees, but spring was still a few days away. With that change in elevation, it is cooler in Silverton by over ten degrees. A warm jacket was required in Silverton as I wandered around taking photos of stone constructed buildings.

Check the gallery for a few of the hundreds of photos I took on this great day of exploring.

It was the end of March when I took the hike in South Mountain Park in Phoenix where I left the point-and-shoot camera (Canon Powershot SD850 IS) at the trail head. At least that is what I thought. When I was searching for my small binoculars, I looked through my back pack that I use on longer hikes. Found the binoculars. But I also found the missing-lost-stolen camera. I cannot explain why the camera ended in that pack. There really was no subliminal reason for misplacing that camera to get a new one. It was only five months old.

So the Nikon Coolpix was left at home to take the Canon SD850 camera to take on a hike on Durango's Animas Mtn trails.

Following the trail above the Animas River Valley below, it is mostly an exposed trail with lots of Mule's Ears (maybe) in bloom. With the view of the valley, the river's ancient oxbows and course changes are quite evident. Follow that with some Wandrin paths, it was a good day. It also proved that the camera will have a future.





Now the question is what to do with the two point-and-shoot cameras. I only need one when I go hiking. After getting used to using the Nikon Coolpix, I liked some of its features. However, both cameras have positives and negatives.

The positive is that the Canon is back. The negative is that I paid good money for the Coolpix that could have been used to power the Silver Slug for several hundred miles. But the price of fuel is really another issue.

Proulx is one of the few fiction authors that I read. In these short stories, the author's imagination and story telling skills take the reader to meet the Wyoming environment and the people who call Wyoming home.

The race pitting bicycle riders against the train on Saturday was canceled due to snow. As a result the Durango to Silverton train won by default and received the trophy. That was a first. The weather was much better on Sunday for the Criterium races of the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic.



The crowd pleaser is the Cruiser Criterium:






Wandrin around the neighborhoods between criterium events, there were other photo ops. The house that has several architectural styles blended atop the quarried stone first floor was one. The other building did not seem to have an architect, but this alley view is pleasing.



Bleeding hearts were spotted in a city building flower bed. The iris closeup was courtesy of a nearby neighbor home.



And this spotted on the door of a house in one of the neighborhoods:

Looking out my window earlier this morning as I was having my breakfast shake, the scene was falling fluffy flakes. That is the Durango scene in the yard of Lisa and Steve. This nomad has been able to avoid mornings like this for many years. It is not something I would have expected this late in May.

It also wasn't what the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic was expecting. The 2500 bicycle racers planning to race the train to Silverton this morning were disappointed to have the race canceled due to the amount of snow at the upper elevations on the way to Silverton. That hasn't stopped the hardcore bicycle riders. If they can't ride to Silverton, a ride up the county road in front of Lisa and Steve's house will be the alternative.

After these past days of cold temperatures, rain, snow, and hail, I have a serious case of cabin fever. With clearing and warmer weather predicted, tomorrow I can get back to exploring the area. I hope.

Roaming the streets of Mancos, I was taking photos of old buildings. This 1905 bank building was built to last -- not like commercial buildings that are built today looking like they were built by the corporate bean counter.

That was when I noticed the Bakery sign on the end of the building. How could I have missed that.

The bakery/cafe had the the original tin ceiling. More importantly, the bakery case had a cinnamon roll. David, the baker, makes an excellent cinnamon roll with a balance of flavors and textures and a light coating of a powder sugar frosting.

Looks like a repeat visit next time I am on US Hwy 160 in southern Colorado.

Note: Mancos is about seven miles east of the entrance to Mesa Verde.

Subtitled A Black Man's Journey Into the Heart of Africa

This is a very frank and disturbing book about the author's visit to his "ancestral" home land. As he travels as a local resident in ancient trucks along non-existent roads, he relates to the reader the colonial history, slavery, Africa's geography, the despotic governments and the tribal tensions. The author finds it difficult to come to terms with the corruption, poverty, diseases, and the lack of an infrastructure to support any economic improvement.

Although written in 1992, as I read the book it seemed like I was reading of Africa in 2008. Nothing has changed. The author is a gifted writer taking the reader on this difficult journey through the continent of Africa and he sees little hope for a positive future.

On one of my explorations I toured the Anasazi Heritage Museum near Dolores -- about 10 miles from Cortez. This museum is located on a hill just above McPhee Reservoir. As the reservoir was being built, the Anasazi ruins were excavated and the artifacts are exhibited here along with other artifacts and collections from the Four Corners area.

Natural stone used in building construction will draw my attention. The exterior walls of the museum are an art piece with varying sizes and colors of quarried stone. The influence of Anasazi architecture is evident in the large circular courtyard and the natural stone used in construction.

Some ruins were not flooded since they were on the hill above the museum. How about that for a view. Of course the water wasn't there when the Anasazi lived here.



On another journey, I found the Battle Rock one room school house built of stone in 1915. Today it is still a one room school for about 30 children from grades kindergarten through sixth. The outdoor privies have been replaced with indoor plumbing and a row of computers seems to be an anachronism in this very rural school setting. There are few schools where a tree would be allowed to exist where the kids could shinny up the trunk like this young man.

Vintage signage

This windmill hasn't turned in a long time.

And a sunset to close the day.

After looking at the Canyonlands Needles map, it looked to be about a three to four mile a hike to the confluence of the Green and the Colorado. That would provide for some great photos. The large print on the sign confirmed I was at the correct trail head.

The hike is a repeating scenario down the canyon across the bottom and up the other side with some flat hiking along the canyon bottoms or along a canyon ridge. After an hour and a half, I questioned returning hikers "how far". Perhaps an hour to the destination was the reply. Yikes. Could be another two miles.

A short time later, it was a u-turn to the trail head. Now I looked at the sign -- 5.5 miles to the confluence. Oh well. It was a nice day for a hike; a journey and not a destination.

The following day from the Elephant Hill trail head, I hiked about eight miles with no destination and enjoyed another journey with lots of photos along the way.

The views and rock formations surround the hiker. The natural rock beauty was accented with ancient, gnarled junipers, cactus and bonsai pinon pine. Along the way, there were pictographs next to the trail.

At one point the trail went perfectly straight through a huge rock formation. 100 feet long and shoulder width reminded me of a slot canyon. However, slot canyons are never this straight. What natural geology caused this huge crack to appear.







The most famous stop in Canyonlands may be Newspaper rock. Some of the petroglyphs on this rock are over a thousand years old. However, the rock face includes more recent petroglyphs of 20th century graffiti -- including the 1970s peace symbol.




As I was leaving Canyonlands heading to Cortez, I was traveling through open range where three cowboys were moving cattle.

Sand Island Campground (BLM) is located four miles west of Bluff, Utah on the San Juan river. There are about 20 spaces here -- about half are large enough to accommodate large RVs. Many are tent sized. No hookups, but water and pit toilets are on site.



The rock wall that is visible in the photo above had many panels of petroglyph -- dating from 850-1300 A.D.



Karl was viewing those petroglyphs when I arrived. We started to chat about the petroglyphs and ascribe meaning the images that we saw. When Karl asked where I was from, I described my nomadic life. Retiring within the year, Karl is planning a similar nomadic life. As a long time hiker, his first adventure in 2009 will be hiking the Appalachian Trail.

Karl was meeting cousins and friends for a raft journey down the San Juan River to Mexican Hat. With an invitation to join them that evening for dinner I met the rest of the rafters.

The next morning with a need to ferry all the vehicles to the take out point at Mexican Hat, Karl asked me to drive everyone back to Sand Island. No problem -- I was eating a lot of their provisions.

Once they launched their rafts, I headed to the bridge just down the river and caught these photos:





It was a warm and comfortable day when they headed down the San Juan. Since a cold front came through the following evening including rain, it would be nice to know the rest of the story as they camped down river.

Last time I visited the Navaho concession at Monument Valley, the campground with electricity and water was an inexpensive place to park. In addition, the views from most of the sites in the campground were outstanding. Not this visit. The campground was ripped out and its place a hotel is being built. (Those rooms on the west side without the view should go for half price.) Camping is still available; dry camping for $10 a night was steep. However, the views were great.


Wandrin -- Monument Valley

(Note: For alternate full hook up camping, five miles away is Gouldings. This trading post dates back to the 1920s and now includes a lodge, airport, grocery store, fuel station and a campground. Full hookups including Wi-Fi is about $45 a night. And there is no view.)

My original travel plans were to bypass Monument Valley, but as a photo stop it is hard to beat. With a few clouds, the photos can be even more dramatic. Be careful what you wish for. There were clouds on the horizon as I drove to Monument Valley. When I was about five miles from the Valley, I was driving through lightening, thunder, hail and rain. There were great scenery shots as I drove that stretch. Unfortunately, there was no way to pull over (with Wandrin Wagon in tow) to capture some of that drama.

When I pulled into the camping area, the clouds were clearing and I was able to photo capture the end of the storm. By the end of the day, the wind and sun managed to dry out the dampened sand. Soon the sand was blowing around once again.

Hiring a Navajo guide for a tour of Monument Valley is one way to see the many rock formations. I had chosen that option on a previous visit. Those Navajo guided tours will take the paying guest to places that are not open to the drive yourself through option. That option can be done just for the $5 per person entry fee. I chose driving myself along the park's main road. There is plenty of scenery to view and numerous photo opportunities.

At each of the major photo stops, the local Indian crafts are on wide display. (Cynical reaction: more stuff to take home.) Mostly beaded jewelry, there were few items designed for the male to decorate his person. Most of the displays were given a cursory look, but I had the distinct impression that some of the displayed items may have been mass produced in some third world Asian country.

At each of the stops, the English speaker was in the definite minority with European languages heard on all sides. No doubt there were others, but I did recognize German and French.

As I traveled the main road with others who didn't opt for the guided tour, once again the English speaker was in the minority.

People watching... or observing is always interesting. On these drive yourself tours, two men resembling father and son -- ages 60 and 80 driving an older (perhaps new in the early 80s) two door GMC. The paint looked like primer. Not the usual gray, but the color here resembled the rusty red color of the rock formations through out Monument Valley. At each stop the GMC was put in a position for a photo of a huge rock formation in the background. Then the photo was taken and on to the next stop.

Then there were two guys from Europe. One was taking photos of the other posing in his western hat and shirt with some of the Monument Valley spires in the background. There was lots of posing and more shots. This posing was noted at two of the stops where I saw them.

People watching continued when I was parked in my rig for the evening and I noted a Japanese lady drive up on a motorcycle. She set up her tent and proceeded to capture the Monument Valley scenery with a digital SLR -- not a more expected point and shoot digital camera. With curiosity I went over to chat and get more story. My Japanese doesn't exist and her English was somewhat limited. From the stilted English, I found that she was from Japan arriving in the US about three to four weeks ago. After spending two weeks in Sedona, AZ, she was now traveling and exploring on motorcycle. Traveling alone, she certainly did not fit the stereotype of the Japanese traveling in groups.

Canyon de Chelly was deserted by the Anasazi around 1200. Later the Navajo arrived and found a place to make a home. They stayed and continue to occupy the area today. Today, Canyon de Chelly is a National Park within the reservation and tribal lands of the Navajo.

It was dry camping in the campground next to the Thunderbird Lodge. With their free Wi-Fi to access the internet, I could stay in touch -- for that one day. Cell phone access was available via roaming. At the high per minute prices for making calls when roaming, I just checked my messages. There was nothing that couldn't wait.

Note: Verizon offers a plan for $100 a month for calling all the anytime anywhere including roaming: no restrictions. Call all you want.

During my three day stay at Canyon de Chelly, I toured the canyon's rim roads and took a modified all day trip (didn't go to Spider Rock) in a six wheel drive vehicle to navigate the canyon floor road which at this time of year with rain and snow runoff was a sizable stream. Spring time water and sun provided the intense greens of the cottonwoods that were beginning to leaf out. That green contrast with the red rock of the canyon provided for some dramatic scenery. The photos in this gallery try to represent that two dimensional view of a beautiful land.



Canyon de Chelly Photo Gallery

The canyon tour was narrated by a Navajo who took us to several of the Anasazi ruins and petroglyph sites along the canyon floor. At most of the ruins, there were tables of mostly beaded crafts sold by the Navajo. Mostly jewelry, I found nothing I wanted. Certainly didn't need anything. (Buy experiences -- not things.)

The tour guide also related describing the history of the canyon from its formation millions of years ago to the more recent misguided attempts in the 1930s for flood control when exotic trees (Russian Olive and Tamarisk) were planted. Now the process is to eradicate those trees. It looks like full time employment for years to come. It also looks like a futile effort.


Sitting in the Thunderbird Lodge parking lot and later camping was a unit from EarthRoamer Of the several options available, the one in this parking lot was a 4X4 Ford F-550 with a small living space. It certainly is not meant for full time living. However, that will get you off the main road where those great photos are lurking.

In Trouble Again by Redmond O'Hanlon

Going where a sane man would not, the author travels with local guides into the depths of the Amazon on its terms. He faces the continuing damp, all day rains, observing and recording his observations of its deadly creatures, beautiful birds, plants of all kinds -- and the deadly insects. In that jungle of 20 years ago are the remnants of stone age tribes which consider another human just another dinner. He does meet some of these tribe members and escapes the main course.

After O'Hanlon's descriptions of his journey, I will opt for the boat (if there is one) going down the river and observe that section of the Amazon from the railing.


Adrift -- Lost at Sea by Steven Callahan

In Callahan's attempt to cross the Atlantic from the Azores to the Caribbean, his small sailing boat is destroyed by a whale. He continues the journey aboard a life raft for the next seventy-six days. Fortunately, Callahan is well studied in the art of survival at sea. Survival is his life -- fighting off sharks, catching the occasion fish, distilling a little water for drinking and taking notes for this eventual book. When fishermen find him in the Caribbean, the story takes on an epic film quality that will make a tear come to your eye.

Originally I read this book over 15 years ago. It (original copyright 1986) is as excitingly fresh with this recent read.

A couple of quotes from the book:

"In these moments of peace, deprivation seems a strange sort of gift. I find food in a couple hours of fishing each day, and I seek shelter in a rubber tent. How unnecessarily complicated my past life seems. For the first time, I clearly see a vast difference between human needs and human wants."

And another from the Epilogue (written in the 1999 copyright version):

"...Over time, though, life got complicated again and memories faded. My expectations returned, and I found the same old complaints seeping back into my daily routine. Yet always, somewhere in the back of my head, a little voice reminds me that every day is a gift, not a right."


Escape by Roy MacGregor

Subtitled In Search of the Natural Soul of Canada, the author explores the subject of "escape" in lives with historical escapes and some of his own personal adventures. Each is an escape from the usual urban world.


The Nearby Faraway by David Petersen

A resident of southwestern Colorado writing in an Edward Abbey tradition, the author takes the reader on several of his adventures throughout the West. With words, Petersen takes the reader along while including historical context and natural observations to enjoy the world he explores. In each of his adventures, he muses on a variety of subjects from philosophy to the destruction of the natural world by man's greed.

At the end of this series of adventures, Petersen has become a very good friend and more hikes would be exciting and rewarding.

No cell phone or internet.

Wi-Fi at the Comb Ridge Coffee (having Chai) in Bluff just to let you know things are great. Once I have access more frequently (from inside Wandrin Wagon) it will take a few days to update past exploring -- Canyon de Chelly, Monument Valley, and beyond. Lots to write.

Check back.

Arrived at Canyon de Chelley after leaving Payson. No Verizon cell phone here -- or the air card. After commiserating, I found a there was Wi-Fi available here in the park. Don't know if I will be that successful at my next stop.

On the journey here, I took a side trip through the Petrified Forest and the Painted Desert. Here are some selected photos: