We’ll be in SoCal for the rest of the week - my brother and sister in law have graciously gathered most of the extended family together for a 3-day bash at Disneyland, to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary!

So, we’re back in SoCal, the road trip has come to an end. When we started in Portland, the odometer was 6,536 so this one was 4,240 miles. And 3 months ago, our drive from New Orleans to Milwaukee was 2,842, so we’ve driven over 7,000 miles-worth of America in the last few months. That oughta last me for a while.

Over the last several weeks, we’ve mostly stayed in relatively modest places, motel-ish sometimes, a few places a notch or two above. We checked into the Palazzo in Las Vegas, and this is our suite. The “living room” area is two steps down from the bedroom. When we checked in, they musta thought we were someone else.

very Grand Canyon.

Blue skies have become something of a rarity for us. At home we have the vog to contend with most every day; when we visit family in SoCalif, sure, the smog is not as bad as it was in the 70’s, but sparkly blue skies are still unusual; and in the last several weeks, the skies were almost uniformly brown/grey haze, obscuring most everything at any distance, due to the wildfires. So the last few days, further south, have been glorious.

Bryce Canyon. Pix speak for themselves.

I thought we wouldn’t beat Bluff, Utah’s population of 320, but we’re now in Cannonville, Utah - pop. 167. Bryce Canyon tomorrow. Not 10 minutes after we checked in to our latest palatial digs (the registration desk is in a 7-11 convenience store), the skies opened up. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen it rain any harder, and thunder was coming in from 360° around.

Dinner last night was on picnic benches outside - great colors in the sunset.

Settling into our cabin in downtown metropolitan Bluff, Utah. (pop. 320). The second pic is the view from the room.

even better Canyon de Chelly video

Canyon de Chelly video

Ancient cliff dwelling remains can be seen in the first pic, toward right/lower.

Canyon de Chelly is breathtaking. I’ve crisscrossed the American southwest any number of times over the years, and somehow missed this. It’s just amazing.

So, we’ve made our way down from the high country of Colorado & Wyoming, to the (still high) desert of Utah and Arizona. Four Corners is the unique place where you (or you and your dog) can stand at the 4-state border convergence, such that parts of you are in 4 different states at the same time. (For my easily-confused non-American friend in Scotland: Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico)

The greenish color of the water and the orange color of the rocks (iron oxide) are all by-products of the mineral-rich earth in this area, obviously the reason why this area was ground zero for gold and silver mining in the 19th century and into the 20th.

Looking straight down.

So, got to put a check mark beside a bucket list item today. Ok, not exactly on a par with the Pyramids or something, but still, the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railway has been on my list for a very long time.

This summer, the area has sustained both a horrible wildfire (most all the local businesses have “thank you, firefighters!” signs in their windows) and then a few weeks ago, a flood which wiped out large stretches of their tracks.  So we had to take a bus from Durango to Rockwell, and board the train there - so we missed 15% of the train’s normal route, but (we’re told) not much of the best stuff.  It was spectacular, some of the most beautiful scenery imaginable, and a few months ago I did enough homework to pre-book an open car, to maximize the experience.

Once we get out from under the horrendous wifi of the Durango La Quinta Inn, I’ll post pix.   (grrrrrrrr)

Today was a drive day, the longest one the trip will require. 7+ hours. So not much fun during the day, but I found a sustainable beef ranch which has a fun little “food truck” operation. Also grows its own produce, and we had a nice meal, on picnic tables, looking out toward the Colorado Rockies. Pretty darned good burger.

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The view from our room.

Beautiful. A lot of the drive near the top had us in the clouds & rain, but still magnificent.

The Visitor Center at the summit is at about 12,000 feet, above the timberline. And was 37°.

The moose was a ways away, couldn’t focus in very well.

Dinner last night - roasted elk, marinated venison, and wild game sausages. The dish is called “Carnivore”. No way I could order anything else.

So, we’re in Estes Park, adjacent to Rocky Mountain National Park. My co-classical-music-collecting buddy Jerry, whose family has deep roots in the area, advised us to go a little off the beaten track (and away from the crowds), and take a windy, unpaved, switchback-heavy dirt road up the mountain...and we’re glad he did!

Wyoming.

So, Yellowstone being the intensely photogenic place that it is, I’ve just posted considerably more photos than usual. If there’s anyone out there who is bound and determined to see every last one of them, you’ll undoubtedly need to scroll to the bottom of the blog page, and hit the “older posts” link, to go to the previous page of photos. May need to do it more than once.

The Mud Volcano