Out West 2010. A Fleeting Moment.

This is a montage of some of my favorite pictures from the Southwest. I truly have fallen in love with the area. Enjoy my fragmented photographic documentation of the trip...

Out West. Saturday. 7/3/2010.

This morning I awoke to find a fully awake Aunt Bev keeping herself busy with the chores of the house. Turns out she had been awake a great deal longer than me, try 4am. I sat in the hammock on her porch with Scottie (one of the dogs) and watched the sun settle into the sky. Once everyone had woken up and gotten dressed, we all went to breakfast at one of two restaurants in the vicinity, Ancient Way Cafe. When we got there we were greeted outside by one of the cooks and one of Aunt Bev's many friends, John. Turns out he's a Cherokee. It was cool to meet someone with roots from back where I'm from. After being introduced, he settled us at a wicker and glass table on the porch. I immensely enjoyed the breakfast there, the food was nothing short of amazing (but of course still spicy like everything edible down here), the temperature perfect, the landscape beautiful in the early morning sun, and the people friendly and full of interesting stories and anecdotes. John was the first of many we were introduced to. We even saw the owner of the restaurant, Red Wolf. Like I said, it's a different world out here. A world I'm beginning to absolutely love. We chatted away the morning while i snuck bits of my huevos rancheros to Guido Sarducci, the dog that hung around the cafe. I was sad when we had to say our goodbyes, I would have loved to have spent more time over at Aunt Bev's, but we still had Albuquerque to get to before our flight home tomorrow. However I left with the promise to return and visit. There are few things I could think of that I would love more than to go spend spring break or something over there with her and the Navajos and that may be exactly what I intend on doing. When we got to Albuquerque, we unloaded our stuff at the hotel then headed to the Historic Old Town to look around and do some shopping, I was determined to find a turquoise bracelet before I left the American Southwest. It was a leisurely afternoon of shopping and exploring, and I proved successful in my hunt for the turquoise. Albuquerque is a cool place to say the least. We tried to go to the art museum because I had seen advertising that they had a special limited time showing of one of my favorite artist's works, J.M.W. Turner. However, by the time we got there at around 4:30, we discovered that they closed at 5, but kicked everyone out 15 till. That was one of the biggest disappointments of the trip, who knows when I'll get another chance to see Turner's work on display like that. After Historic Old Town, we headed back to the hotel to shower and get ready for dinner. The restaurant we were going to was called High Finance & Tavern. Considering the fact that it was quite literally on the top of a mountain, the only way to really get there was to take a tramway. At an elevation of 10,378ft, it was the highest point i've been to thus far. The view was gorgeous and the ride up was pretty cool being able to look out of the glass box at the mountain peaks surrounding you. While we were looking down at the view of Albuquerque below waiting for our reservation, we also got to talk to and watch a hang glider propel himself off of the mountain top. I was worried that we'd have to go in and eat before we'd see him take off since he had to wait for just the right winds for the jump, but just as we were getting ready to go in he leaped into the air and rode the thermals over the mountaintops. It was incredibly to watch him glide up and over the jagged peaks. Apparently this guy set some world record spending some 20 hours in the air hang gliding. New hobby? I'm definitely looking into it. When we finally got to sit down for dinner, the food was exceptional. I'd say it was a definite second to the Bellagio buffet this trip with to die for white truffle risotto, filet mignon, and berry lemon cake. After dinner we went back down on the tramway and stopped off to watch them set of fireworks in celebration of the 4th of July tomorrow on the way back to the hotel. This whole trip has been amazing and although I am depressed beyond belief to be hopping on the plane home tomorrow, I know I'll be back soon...I don't think I'll be able to resist. I'm absolutely head over heels for this area. I love everything about it. Raleigh can't even begin to compare.

Out West. Friday. 7/2/2010.

This morning we got up at the crack of dawn. If I hadn't made it clear before, I'm not a huge fan of such early risings. However, as I have discovered, if it's something like exploring Monument Valley, I'm a little more reasonable about it all. I'm glad we had a chance to drive out there, even if we didn't do a tour or the "legit" scenic drive. Rather, we simply drove around the outskirts and made a visit to the overlook at the visitors center. It was without a doubt worth seeing. The solitary rock monuments were beautifully bathed in the orange glow of late morning. Impressive to say the least, it was worth the detour, even if we didn't linger long. Since we wanted a good chunk of the day to spend with Aunt Bev, we had to get back on the road fairly quick. I wasn't sure what to expect regarding Aunt Bev's place. I had heard a lot about it from dad, he adores the place, but couldn't picture any part of it. What I wasn't prepared for was just how unbelievably strong spirited my 76 year old Aunt Bev was. Here she is living alone quite literally out in the middle of nowhere outside of Rama, New Mexico. Completely self sufficient, her entire house is eco-friendly/green, she cares for 2 horses, numerous cows, chickens, pigeons, an 8 foot bullsnake, and her 3 boisterous and loveable dogs. She knows just about anything and everything there is to know about the American Southwest and the Navajo people and teaches part time out at the Navajo reservation right around the corner from her house. It's a different lifestyle here and immensely hard to explain over a blog. One can only partially understand the neighborly love and concern from an outsiders perspective by observation and one can only fully understand through experience, through living it. They all take care of each other other there, it's like one big family. True that she's quite alone out there in here little farm shack in the desert, yet completely and utterly false at the same time, because she's never truly alone. Not only that but it is unbelivable to see and hear of the love these Navajo people have for her. How much respect they have for this fearlessly independent 76 year old. I'm more than proud to call her family, I'm in awe that this amazing person is in fact family. You could listen to her stories and perspectives for hours and never tire of it. Although it was the first time I formally met her, I feel like I've known her for my whole life. When it was dinnertime, we all helped cook a chicken dinner in her small kitchen and watched the sunset as we ate outside. There's a peacefulness about her lifestyle. A calmness. A sense of fulfillment. I don't think I've ever seen someone so content with their life before. After talking to Aunt Bev and listening to her stories till late, I finally retired to the small shed me and my family were staying in outside. It wasn't much, but I was more than happy. I could get used to living this way...

Out West. Thursday. 7/1/2010.

Despite our late night last night driving in, we got up at around 8ish to go eat breakfast this morning, which can I just say was quite a step up from the last complimentary breakfast at the Quality Inn in Springfield. If nothing else, they had muffins and a waffle iron, which was more than enough to make me happy. Once we ate, we filled up all the nalgenes and headed over for a day at Mesa Verde. I don't understand what is with the United States Southwest and their obsession with road work this week, but it seems everywhere we've gone there has been some kind of construction going on. Mesa Verde was no exception, it tacked on an extra 40ish minutes once in the park to get to the visitors center. Luckily, the view was spectacular driving up, it seemed to look out over all of Cortez and the surrounding cities and mountains. If there's one thing I've definitely immensely enjoyed about this trip, it's the breathtaking scenery everywhere you go. Once at the visitors center, we got tickets for 2 seperate tours: Balcony House at 1:00pm and Cliff Palace at 2:30pm. It was supposedly a half hourish drive over there and we were already cutting it pretty close, so we had to leave pretty soon after getting tickets. There was however a minor setback though, we seemed to have misplaced my mom. We spent about 20 minutes after we got the tickets trying to find her until we finally saw her stuck in a crowd of people near the stairs to the parking lot. Needless to say we had to rush a bit getting to the first tour in time. Balcony House was supposedly the most adventurous with tall 38ish ft. ladders and steep steps carved into the cliff face. It was pretty neat. It's crazy to think of how these Pueblo cliff dwellers lived in such places, expecially how they even got up there and manuvered so close to such a steep drop in the first place. There were visible hand/toe holds in the rocks, but they had to be bloody well out of their mind to use those as their main means of getting around up there. As for the actual dwelling remains, they were incredible. It feels almost as if the Pueblos were just there. Huge, well preserved cities of stone, dirt, and lumber facing out to immense drop offs from the alcoves the the bottom of the gourge nestled in the center of the towering cliffs. Most of what we saw were community dwellings with these circular ritual rooms in the ground called kivas in which they would hold all of their religious ceremonies in. It was crazy for me to try to imagine what this place must have looked like in its prime. It was kind of the feeling I got at the Mauthausen concentration camp I visited in Austria, only quite a deal less grave. Reminiscent, full of memory, of lives retained in the stones that housed them. Overwhelming perhaps. The second tour was pretty amazing too, less adventurous for sure with only a few short ladders at the end, but mom seemed to have had enough adventure for one day. The heights of the first tour just about scared the life out of her. The second tour was also more of a community center given it's massive size, market-like set up, and amound of kivas. Apparently all the Pueblo's in the area would gather there as a market center of sorts. After the tours, we drove around to see the rest of the sites and stopped off at Spruce Tree House to climb down inside of a kiva. I have no idea how they fit so many people in those things. They're small, stuffy, and are saturated with the scent of stone. In addition, the rangers said it would be filled with smoke from a small bonfire at the center of the base. I can't even imagine what their ceremonies must have been like. Eerie for sure. After we had all had our fill of the Pueblo dwellings, we went to a restaurant in the park that overlooked the valley. Let me just point out that with the bread they brought black bean hummus. The food definitely did not disappoint. However, I have had to develop an immunity of sorts to the spices they use on their food out here. Nearly everything they serve you has some sort of burning spice to it and given my well reknowned low tolerance of spice, it's been a bit of a trial for me to get used to it. However, I am happy to announce that I'm growing more and more tolerant with each passing meal. Turns out progress can be made regarding such things. On our way back to the hotel, we stopped off at one of the most gorgeous overlooks I've seen yet on this trip. It looked out over the base of the Rockies and the town of Durango, Colorado. At first it was just me hopping out of the car real quick to snap a few pictures, but after I saw the view, I insisted everyone get out and take a look. It was beyond breathtaking. That 20 minute stop we took at that overlook was one of my favorite parts of the trip so far. Its times like those that I feel truly blessed to have the family that I have. I don't think they know how much I appreciate them, how much I truly miss them up in Boone, how much I love them, even if they can be a little dysfunctional at times. In those 20 minutes, I was the most content I've been in a long while. I don't think I'll ever be able to properly explain how meaningful these family trips are to me, how much I truly enjoy them. When we had finally had our fill of the overlook, we headed back to the hotel for an early night. Tomorrow it's up bright and early to hit up Monument Valley before we head over to Aunt Bev's house in the middle of nowhere. Goodbye civilization. Sweet.

Out West. Wednesday. 6/30/2010.

Well, today was hump day of the trip and consisted of driving, driving, driving, and some more driving. We had to get from Las Vegas, Nevada all the way to Cortez, Colorado; somewhere near a 9 hour trek. Luckily the drive was broken up some by a few pit stops, the biggest one being the Grand Canyon in Arizona. Originally, I had lowered all expectations after hearing so many people say things like "well it's just a big hole in the ground" or "that's it?..." My response? It's much more than just a huge hole in the ground. It's overwhelming. First off, it's sheer immensity is dizzying in itself. It. Is. Huge. Keeping in mind that huge is a gross understatement. When I first saw it, I was at a loss for words. It is honestly one of the most spectacualr works of nature that I have ever seen. Rising and falling cliffs and gourges as far as the eye can see, the orange, red rock glinting in the sun. Then, in hidden corners of its huge labyrinth were small visible sections of the renowned Colorado River. All that consumed my mind was how badly I wanted...needed...to hike down into it, kayak the river and explore the depths of the canyon. It's hard to explain the feeling that overtook me. Although the best work I can think of to describe it was longing, it was so much more than that. How anyone can be disappointed by the Grand Canyon is beyond me. To take a break from all the deep contemplation however, let me entertain you with a story of one of the lowest of low anecdotes of human idiocracy I think I've ever witnessed. While hiking down the trail to get a view of the canyon, I noticed there were a bunch of people clumped together in a rather large crowd making a fuss over something. It was then I heard people whispering about a lion. My first thought was that people were stupidly crowding around a cougar and were about to get mauled. However, upon a closer listening in I heard people say things like "look a little lion!," "a lion cub!" and "look at his mane." Then it occured to me that these people actually thought there was an African lion on the side of the trail. When I looked to see this freak of nature baby lion with a premature mane far from home, I was in shock of these people's stupidity for on the side of the trail was this poor family trying to give their pet dog some water. The so called "lion" was a chow with a hair cut that could have vaguely resembled a mane if you maybe squinted your eyes and blurred your vision. People are idiots. Following our canyon stop, we continued on towards Cortez, trying to keep an eye out for a place to eat amidst the streched out roads of nothingness. Not only that, but for the first time I think ever, I have had no idea as to what the actual time was all day. Actually, I haven't really known the time at all this trip and no it's not due to the fact I was so consumed with the trip that I just "lost track of time." The time zones are so confusing out here with all the state hopping we're doing. Not only that, but things are further complicated by the fact that the Native American reservations out here are often on a time schedule of their own, and let me be clear, there is no shortage of Native American reservations out here. LIke I said, there was a bit of a discrepancy regarding the true time of wherever we were at. Eventually, we finally found a restaurant called Hogans in Tuba City, Arizona. To the Navajo people, a "hogan" is essentially the primary traditional home, so we figured Hogans was probably a nifty Navajo restaurant. Needless to say, we were right. It's oftentimes the case that hole-in-the-wall restaurants are some of the best tasting, and this place was no exception. The food was beyond exceptional. Cameron got this unbelievable tasty chimichanga looking thing while me, dad, and mom got these massive burgers on Navajo frybread. Let me just say this, if you have never tasted authentic Navajo frybread, your life is seriously lacking. It was the best tasting burger I think I've ever had. Not only that, but it was quite literally the size of my head. The Navajo people don't hold back on portions. Who would have thought we'd find such a cool place out in the middle of nowhere. If you ever for some reason find yourself driving around Tuba City, Arizona, it's definitely worth your while to stop off there. The rest of the drive after dinner consisted of a quiet highway bordered by painted sky darkened tints of sunset. It wasn't until late that we arrived at the Best Western Turquoise Inn in Cortez. Welcome to Colorado.

Out West. Tuesday. 6/29/2010.

This morning we took out time getting up and out of Zion. We slept in a bit, ate a leisurely breakfast, and hit the road for Nevada at about 11:30am. I know this place is just the first of many stops to come this week, but it really pained me to go. There was so much more I wanted to do, so many more nooks and crannies to explore. My biggest disappointment was that we ran out of time to hike up Angels Landing. For those of you unfamiliar with this particular hike, it's about a 2.4 mile trail. Starting off following the path of the Virgin River it slowly gains elevation and leaving the river behind, morphs into a series of steep switchbacks. However, it is the final summit that is the beauty of the Angel's Landing trek and is more often than not a turnaround point for the faint of heart. The last half mile of the hike is replete with sharp drop offs of some thousand feet on either side of you and narrow paths to tread. Chains are in place into the side of the cliff face to aid your hike, but do little to ease the immensity of the great heights you reach on a psychological level. One day I'm going back and conquering it. One day. Anyways, we got to Vegas afternoonish and checked in at our hotel, Excalibur before heading off to explore the strip. It is a world of its own. In all honesty, I thought I wouldn't particularly care for Vegas. My intial impression of it prior to arriving was a trashy stip of junk and immature idiots acting regrettably out of control. I'll admit that I was dead wrong. I absolutely loved it. I'd say the city has a certain class to it. It's a pretty badass awesome place. There's so much to take in, the hotels as architectual immensities, the atmosphere lively and electric, the shops overwhelming, the casinos buzzing with luck and misfourtune, the people ecclectic to say the least, the days short and nights long. It's insane. We spent most of the day wandering in and out of the hotels on the strip and ate dinner at the Bellagio's buffet. In all my life I have never been so amazed by food, and that's saying something. While I'm at it, nor have I ever been so completely stuffed after a meal. They had everything from lamb, CRAB, and portobello risotto to bite size key lime tarts and to-die-for chocolate raspberry mousse. In retrospect it's a little embarassing how many times I revisited the buffet for more, however it was quite worth it at the time. After dinner we headed back to the room to get dressed and ready for the main reason why we were in Vegas in the first place, to see Criss Angel live at his show Believe in the Luxor nextdoor. My sister had recieved 9th row tickets for her birthday. It would be a gross understatement to say she is in love with this man. I don't think there is anyone she respects and looks up to more than Criss Angel. She had been looking forward to the show since the beginning of June when she found out she was going. Needless to say, I was more than excited as well. The seats were exceptional and Criss Angel is probably the most badass person on the face of the earth. Although I'm not nearly as obsessed with him as my sister, my love for this guy is a little off the scales. Now if you would allow me to gush for a second, I feel the need to tell the world how deeply my life changed during the course of the show. Not only was the show in itself amazing and Criss just as impressive as ever, but I was quite literally an arms length away from him. I don't know if anyone understands what a big deal this is to me but IT'S A BIG DEAL. Not only that, but we had a definitive moment of locked eye contact. For a few seconds Criss Angel acknowledged my existence. Believe me, I am fully aware of how lame I probably sound and trust me the last thing I want to be known as is an obsessive fan, however now knowing that Criss Angel at least in some way knows of my existence automatically makes the world a better place, and I mean that. For anyone of you who do not know of Criss Angel 1) You have no right to read this blog right now 2) He is probably the most inspirational person on the planet 3) You haven't known badass until you've seen this guy in person. I'm going to cut myself off right about now so as to not tarnish your perspective of me any more than I already have, just know that my day spent in this city was more than amazing. Vegas, I will definitely be seeing you again come my 21st birthday.

Out West. Monday. 6/28/2010.

Today I woke up to Montclair Quality Inn's complimentary breakfast, which just so happened to be advertised as the "best breakfast ever." They really take their modesty quite seriously here in Springdale, but perhaps they were a bit overreaching in such a claim considering that their breakfast consisted mostly of a few cereals, microwavable mini omelets, toast, pound cake, and a few bruised fruits. Regardless, it filled us up for the long day of hiking ahead. Once everyone had eaten we drove over to the Zion Adventure Outfitters to rent gear to river hike the Narrows in Zion National Park. To get to the Narrows we had to take a shuttle deep Into the canyon, finally arriving at the shuttles last stop before turning around and heading back up. The shuttle ride though was almost like a tour in itself, with its big gaping windows and skylights framing the rocky terrain of Zion it was nice to just sit back and absorb everything. After all, there was no shortage of things to marvel at. After the shuttle ride it was a mile/mile and a half hike to the river entrance. Then began our hike through the Narrows which was, without any exaggeration, the most bad ass hike I have ever been on. I spent the day trekking through a gorge cutting through the sheer, vibrantly colored rock cliffs. Tufts of overhanging gnarled trees and shrubs framing the clear blue sky hung from the rock high above your head and thick green moss speckled the slick, damp stone smoothed over by the running water. The temperature was a perfect balance of scorching warmth from the sun and the biting yet welcome chill of the crisp river water. Although some of the trek consisted of going up and over rocky land at the sides, most of it was spent sloshing through the water. Some parts of were even as deep as my chest. I could have spent forever in that gorge, however considering the fact that it wasn't a loop and we had to make it back before dark, we headed back after we reached just beyond the wall street area. Needless to say not everyone was up for the 14 more miles it took to hike the whole way through. It was not until around 8:30/9pm that we were finally showered and ready to head out for dinner. Afterwards I insisted that we stop off at the ice cream famous for a so called "bumbleberry" flavor. Truth be told, I was absolutely stuffed and had no appetite for ice cream, I was just merely curious as to what the hell a bumbleberry was. Unfortunately all the cashier gave me inside was some legend that it came from the giggle bush in funtopia or something. In protest to her resistance to tell me the truth, I got a different flavor, that showed her. I ended up leaving still completely confused as to what bumbleberry was, clearly accomplishing a lot. So ends day 2 out west. Tomorrow we sadly leave the beauty that is Zion. Next stop, Vegas baby.