Seligman Arizona and on to California -"The Golden State"

After a fantastic day in New Mexico, we crossed over into Arizona and spent the evening in Flagstaff. The next morning we talked to a local couple who encouraged us to visit Seligman, the Birthplace of Route 66.

Seligman embraces yesteryear with its colorful and quirky shops and assorted memorabilia.

Kingman Arizona - Mojave Desert

Outside Temperature!

And yet there were snow-capped peaks.

Once in California, the sights were mostly trucks, trains and solar farms.

California golden poppies...

...and golden smiles to be together on Father's Day. 

Our Rich and Many-layered World

This quote on enchantment showed up in my email...an apt description of 

how I have been feeling as we continue on our cross-country adventure.

Enchantment…has nothing to do with fantasy, or escapism, or magical thinking: it is founded on a vivid sense of belongingness to a rich and many-layered world; a profound and whole-hearted participation in the adventure of life.

SHARON BLACKIE

After exploring the wonders of Pecos National Historical Park, we drove further north (literally) to Santa Fe, the capital of New Mexico. At an elevation of almost 7000 feet, Santa Fe is the highest capital city (and oldest state capital) in the United States. Known as "The City Different," Santa Fe holds many secrets to be discovered. Luckily we had Silvia and Carlos, friends of our Miami family, to reveal all the riches the city has to offer.

Two Geminis - Silvia's birthday was on the day we met for breakfast and mine was the day after!

Wonderful breakfast at The Plaza Cafe, Santa Fe's oldest restaurant.

From 400+ years of cultural fusion to award-winning cuisine, tons of family-friendly adventures, more than 250 art galleries, 2o different museums, restorative spas and historic churches, we are already planning a return visit. Thank you, Silvia and Carlos, for welcoming us to your city!

After breakfast we were off again, traveling south to Albuquerque.

We stopped in Gallup, New Mexico for lunch and met Jeremiah and Jake from the Navajo Nation. At first we chatted about dogs after they admired Ruby. When I asked about the nearby Veterans' Memorial Pillars, Jake told us his grandfather served in WWII and Jeremiah said his father was also a veteran whose name was listed there. We thanked them for their families' service and they wished us well on our journey.

Gallup Veteran's Memorial Pillars

From New Mexico we crossed into Arizona and our final destination of the day - 

the Petrified Forest National Park.

At the North Entrance to the park.

Painted Desert

Painted Desert

Puerco Pueblo Petroglyphs

Puerco Pueblo Bird Petroglyph

Blue Mesa

Blue Mesa

Blue Mesa

Giant Logs

Giant Logs

Petrified wood can be colorful because it contains trace amounts of other
elements (iron, for example) which produce a variety of colors.

Jasper Forest

Pictured in front of "Old Faithful" the largest of the Giant Logs which measures
35 feet long, weighs approximately 44 tons and is almost 10 feet around at the base.

New Mexico "Land of Enchantment"

 Sunrise lit the Glorieta Mesa as we awoke in Pecos, New Mexico. After a rather uneventful mosey through Oklahoma and Texas, we got an early start to a day filled with surprises...and enchantment!

Pecos National Historical Park was the first destination and we arrived just as the park opened.

https://www.nps.gov/peco/learn/historyculture/index.htm

A peaceful morning hike through this ancestral valley. Signs along the path told the story of the many groups that passed along these cultural crossroads - hunters and gatherers, traders, Spanish conquerors and missionaries, Santa Fe settlers, Civil War soldiers, ranchers, and tourists.

Sam and Ruby the Bark Ranger view the Trade Fair Field where trade happened between the Rio Grande Valley tribes of the west with the Plains tribes of the east.

A distant view of the Spanish Mission Church.

A wooden ladder provides entry to a reconstructed kiva.

Sam bravely descended into the darkness.

The kiva is an impressive subterranean structure used as a ceremonial and social space. The hole in the ground represented the connection to the underworld which the Pecos believed was their people's place of origin. The Pecos prayed to the underworld through ceremonies and offerings, believing these rituals were necessary to ensure good crops and overall balance in their world.

In 1536 the Spanish came in search of gold and other riches and encountered the Pecos. By 1621, the Franciscan friars built the Mission Church. Eventually, faced with ill treatment by the Spaniards, the pueblos banded together to create the first American Revolution - the Pueblo Revolt of 1680.

Remains of the Spanish Mission Church

National Park crew working to preserve the ruins by applying coats of mud plaster.

The E. E. Fogelson Visitor Center had an excellent museum with detailed dioramas.

This diorama shows the size of the Spanish Mission Church.

A view of pueblo life.

*More enchantment to follow on the next post...stay tuned.

Havin' a Whale of a Good Time

The Blue Whale of Catoosa is a beloved historic Route 66 landmark in Catoosa, Oklahoma. Hugh Davis, a zoologist, built this as a special place where his grandchildren could play and swim! After welding the steel framework, and applying hand-mixed cement one five-gallon bucket at a time, the whale was completed in July 1972. It is 20 feet tall and 80 feet long.

We’ve had days full of driving and activity…followed by days of just motoring down the highway. Driving through Oklahoma and Texas was that kind of day. Wide open plains, sweeping winds…yes all the show tunes from “Oklahoma “ were playing in my mind. 

We spent the night in an adorable historic home in Oklahoma City.

Built in the 1920s, Crestwood offered brick homes in a variety of styles, all with uniquely designed chimneys. Here is a newspaper ad describing the community.

For dinner we had the highly recommended and yummy pizza from Empire Slice Pizza in Oklahoma City.

The scenery on our journey along the Texas panhandle to Amarillo was oil rigs, wind farms and cattle ranches