Day 936: Canyon De Chelly NP

Posted on February 29, 2016 by Ben

This morning we visited the Canyon de Chelly National Monument visitor center:

We left the RV at the visitor center and drove out along the South Rim Drive, stopping first at the White House trailhead:

Across the canyon, the White House ruins are visible. Like the other cliff dwellings in the park, this site was built and occupied by the Anasazi between 1100 and 1300:

The White House ruins are along the canyon floor on the left side of this photo:

We started our hike down to the canyon floor. In places where the canyon wall is too steep for a trail, the trail was carved through the canyon wall:

Another man-made tunnel:

Down of the canyon floor:

White House ruins from ground level:

Heading back up:

Our next stop was a trail to an overlook of Spider Rock. The taller of the two spires is 750 feet tall:

We stopped at a number of other overlooks where cliff dwellings could be seen in the distance:

Navajo tribal members still farm and ranch the canyon floor today:

We returned to the visitor center and hitched up the RV. The kids handed in their Junior Ranger workbooks and received their badges:

We left the park by way of the North Rim Drive, stopping along the way to view the park’s northern canyon and the cliff dwellings therein:

The Mummy Cave complex is the largest cliff dwelling in the Park:

Our Canyon de Chelly parting shot:

We drove south. Since we left the Phoenix area, we’ve been above 6,000 feet, and this afternoon we passed this frozen lake at over 7,000 feet:

We continued on to overnight at the Walmart of Gallup, New Mexico, where we last slept on Day 383.

See the trip map for today’s drive and our current location.

Day 935: Hubbell Trading Post NHS

Posted on February 28, 2016 by Ben

Shabbos in Concho was great. We went for a couple little walks and enjoyed the solitude.

Today we drove east and north to Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site, which preserves the oldest continuously operating trading post in the West:

The trading post was founded in 1878 and continues to operate today:

Here on the Navajo Reservation, which is larger than ten US states, most tribal members shop at local convenience stores, but some do still shop at the trading post that has served this area for almost 150 years:

Native Americans bring their crafts here and sell them to the trading post for store credit or cash. The trading post then sells these items to the public:

We walked the grounds of the trading post:

The grounds include livestock pens:

Next we learned the history of this site in the adjacent visitor center:

The kids completed their Junior Ranger workbooks and received their badges:

We continued north towards tomorrow’s goal, Canyon de Chelly National Monument. Since it’s unclear if the Navajo Nation allows dispersed camping, we decided to stay at the NPS campground in Canyon de Chelly. I hate to pay for camping, but since we haven’t used a public campground since January of 2015 (see Day 519), I don’t feel all that bad paying the fourteen dollars. At least the campground is mostly empty:

Trish continues to fill the RV will all manner of adorable crocheted creations:

See the trip map for today’s drive and our current location.

Day 933: Flying and Biking Concho

Posted on February 26, 2016 by Ben

This morning I drove out to the “neighborhood” where we checked out property yesterday, hoping to fly. At 6,400 feet, the air is pretty thin, and with hardly any wind I had a hard time launching. After six failed launches, I finally launched flight #96, but only after running for what seemed like forever, at one point gaining a few inches of altitude and then settling back down to continue running. Once I did takeoff, the rate of climb was very low even with the engine screaming at maximum power.

By the time I successfully launched, it was coming up on three hours after sunrise, which is the end of the safe flying window due to the potential for thermals. The air was a little bumpy and seemed OK, but I played it safe and landed after just a few minutes. The whole point was to see what it might be like to fly from land we might buy here, so it was worth the effort:

Trish did some blow art today:

B tried it as well:

I went for a ride this afternoon, breathing hard in this oxygen-poor air:

Good Shabbos from Concho, Arizona!

Day 932: Land for Sale in Show Low and Concho

Posted on February 25, 2016 by Ben

We awoke to a beautiful morning at our dispersed camping location near Show Low, Arizona:

So many channels and nothing is on:

The reason we came up this way was to look at cheap lots for sale in this area which we could use as a summer getaway from Phoenix. At 6,400 to 7,000 feet above sea level, this area is only three hours from Phoenix but is 20 degrees cooler. We looked at this one acre lot that backs onto a lake:

We continued up the road to Concho, Arizona, where we set up at this Arizona Game and Fish Department free campground on Concho Lake:

We really liked this area, where there are hundreds on one-acre lots for sale. Not many takers so far:

I don’t know when the “neighborhood” was platted, but the ancient street signs are still here:

Back at the campground, we walked the 50 feet down to the lake:

Tonight, M was on dinner duty. It turns out that with supervision, he can make a good dinner:

See the trip map for today’s drive and our current location.

Day 931: Into the Wild Again

Posted on February 24, 2016 by Ben

Today we said goodbye to Barak and Shoshana and their kids. Thanks for hosting us again!

We drove northeast to Payson, Arizona, where we picked up the generic USFS Junior Ranger books:

As we approached Show Low, Arizona, we were stopped by this accident:

That’s never good:

We continued on to overnight at a dispersed camping location just outside of Show Low, Arizona. Trish did some watercolor painting tonight, and used salt to add an interesting finish to the work: