Chimayo, New Mexico

After leaving Wind Spirit, we sought out the small public library (the quest for free wifi!) in the quaint town of Globe, Arizona.  Took the scenic route through some crazy canyonlands and eventually camped in Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest in northeast Arizona after eating lots of DairyQueen(TM).

Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest

free camping

En route, we saw some people on their own trips:
-- A couple of young dudes all bare-chested and drenched in sweat climbing the canyon roads on their bikes, loaded with camping gear.
-- A middle-aged man walking the road & hitched to his back were one of those little bike trailers people affix behind their bikes in order to haul their kids around.. except his was filled with gear... Whatever it takes.

View from our campsite:

evening light

morning light

 she climby

In western New Mexico our sometimes-wonky but ever-friendly GPS unit "Tom-Tom" ("Tommie") led us to El Malpais National Monument.  A beauty of a spot!

she climby

El Malpais

natural bridge

sand bluffs

the black stuff in the valley is hardened lava flows

the mountains in the background are volcanoes

can't stop climbing

beauty rocks

self-timed

ruins

Our destination in New Mexico was Jenny - Sancho's sister Anni's best friend from Philadelphia.  She's really from Matamoras, PA, which means she's my one-hour radius neighbor from back east.  She lives north of Santa Fe in the small town of Chimayo.  It's beautiful there.

Chimayo

Jenny has a great dog named Bowie and a cat named Miranda and a kitten named Booger.  We were in heaven.

puppy love

our hike was too steep for baby Bowie

Jenny showed us a great time - first off, she took us to the spa that she works at and finagled us a free hot tub/cold plunge/sauna session.  Hell yeah.
 

We slept in her woodstove-heated home in Chimayo.  We visited El Santuario de Chimayo.  She took us to the goat farm she used to work at, and we had campfires and homemade wine with some locals.  She set up her friend to change my oil and filter. We went to a flea market with lots of crafts where I purchased some Christmas presents.  Basically, she hooked us up.  Thanks, Jenny!

(near) Globe, Arizona

route 60, west of Globe

We visited Wind Spirit Community, located in the Sonoran desert about 30 miles south of Globe -- one of the oldest intentional communities in the United States.  It formed in the 1970s under the name Christmas Star Community.  The land was almost lost during the 1990s, but some clever hippies formed a folk band and toured the country to raise money to buy the land (somehow, it worked).

view of Wind Spirit from their mountain

Wind Spirit sees hundreds of visitors yearly.  The community also hosts yoga retreats and permaculture workshops.

I hoped Wind Spirit would have a variety of members - some old, some young, some kids, women, you know.  But at this point in time it is home to mostly older, retired men.  There is one young woman there who is skilled in crochet.  I bought these slipper-shoes from her.  They are a dream.

shoes by Sylvia 

We had a great time bushwhacking (cactuswhacking) through the nearby mountains.

I learned a hard lesson - WEAR BOOTS in the desert.  Since it was so warm we just had to wear sandals -- a painful mistake.  The moment I took my eyes off the ground I slammed my big toe into several spines of a Cholla cactus.  Ow.  Luckily, we had our sharp Geber(R) blade with us -- I sliced the embedded spines off the cactus and plucked them out one by one.  Simple surgery.  Another lesson learned -- relax and the spines come out easier.

The cactus incident was just the universe's way of giving me this lucky horseshoe.  It was on the ground right near the spot where I got whacked by the Cholla.  Amazing!

thanks universe!

On the outskirts of Wind Spirit's land we found this charming shack nestled in a canyon -- our Wind Spirit home (if we lived there).

simply charming!

close up!

There are two Indian ruin sites on Wind Spirit's land (and tons in the surrounding area, and in all of the southwest).  Here's one:

ruins

Wind Spirit is nicely laid out - there are no central buildings, unless you count the kitchen.  At night, in case you forget your flashlight, the little dirt paths connecting everything are lit at ground level by solar-powered lights.  All of the homes and structures are small and cute as if built for the gnomes that we are.

dome home

sweet privy

open air sink

igloo thing - toasty at night (collects heat from sun during day)

bus village

back of "media bus"

 large/awesome fire pit, wood-fired sauna in back

chickens

signage

Overall, we learned a lot about cacti, met a few characters, ate delicious meals prepared for us, went in the sauna, saw the milky way, & generally enjoyed the sky, the land, and being covered in dust.

Joshua Tree, California

 Jumbo Rocks

Joshua Tree is Sancho's favorite national park (so far).  It is located where two deserts - the Mojave and the Colorado - collide.  The Mojave desert part of the park is probably what comes to mind if you've ever seen pictures of Joshua Tree or been there -- the cactus-like Joshua trees and the rough rocks with pleasing curves.

The Colorado desert, on the other hand, is located on the east side of the park and is less frequented by visitors -- probably because there are few (if any) Joshua Trees and no big rocks to climb.  But the Colorado desert is home to interesting plants that do not grow in the Mojave.  For example, the cholla cactus.

cholla cactus

We took an interesting side trip to Keys Point lookout, where we came across a couple scattering someone's ashes to the wind and a sweet view of the San Andreas Fault.  It was all very epic.

San Andreas Fault

In the picture above, the San Andreas fault is not the bumpy hills in the foreground (those are Indio Hills), and not the big mountains in the background, but the distinct and straight ridge at low elevation between the bumpy Indio Hills and big mountains.

We camped, we hiked, we looked for bolted rock routes but found only sketchy ones.  There are thousands of routes at Joshua Tree; it is a sort of climbing mecca.  We avoided the popular spots (and probably all the bolted routes) like Hidden Valley where we saw tons of climbers.  Next time we'll bring a climber friend or a guide book.

Not to be left out of the rock climbing action, nearly every rock we encountered was scalable without the use of rope.  Felt free.

One reason Joshua Tree is so appealing is that despite its desert climate and inhospitable (to humans) landscape, the curved rocks form a sort of rock garden that gives a feeling of shelter and positive energy  Plus, you get the sense that you are not lost in a great abyss, as you do in so many other deserts (like the Colorado & Death Valley).  But, of course, you are lost in a great abyss.

I knit this little pouch that turned out to be just the right size for my squat little cell phone.  Why is it so satisfying to cover technology with sweaters??

At the moment we're in a Super 8 motel in Phoenix, Arizona.  We're about to visit Windspirit Community.

San Diego, California

Visited cousin Eva in San Diego.  It was a much pleasanter urban driving experience than San Francisco.  Gas was cheaper, tolls were absent, fish tacos abundant, and the smell of fresh bud everywhere.  It's no wonder the inhabitants are lulled into the empty promise of endless summer.

We had a relaxing time hanging out at Eva's relaxing home -- replete with Linden art, a fully stocked kitchen, a "guest bedroom," and a neighbor's friendly cat.  Too bad most of her neighbors are douchebags.

hiking Torrey Pines state reserve

She took us to Torrey Pines state reserve, known for its endangered Torrey Pine trees.  These trees are the rarest pines in all the states, growing only in San Diego county and on one of the Channel Islands off the coast of southern California.

The cliffs on the beach looked "eminently climbable," as Sanch is apt to say, but the rock was semi-solid sand, just waiting to let loose.

Sanch, Eva, sandy cliffs

We met this gull, who was rotund and confused.  I hope it all works out.

wishing you well

gull fest

San Diego was a great spot.  Sure it was excessively blonde, self-consciously hetero and full of highway billboards for the "LAP BAND" weight loss ploy, but what's southern California if not a little Baywatch?

Death Valley, California

 mesquite sand dunes

Death Valley National Park is awesome.  I/pictures cannot explain what it is like, other than: Death Valley is a feeling.  Music sounds better there.  If you're not a person who enjoys extremes, you may not like it, but you'll never forget it.  In fact it will probably scare you and you'll swear never to return.  If you enjoy extremes, you will thoroughly enjoy the valley of death.

Death and Valleys both rank high on my list of interests, right up there with Life and Mountains.  Polarize me.

Other things that rank high are Camping and Free.  National Parks are hit or miss when it comes to free camping.  Death Valley has more free campgrounds than pay campgrounds.  Of course, you have to be willing to drive 20-30 miles away from the main attractions and down poorly maintained dirt roads.  It sure helps keep away the conservative RV crowd (generalization).

Ol' NorthFace loves desert climate

 Camping, Free, Death, Life, Valley, Mountains, AHHHHhh

By now, of course, the unchecked poison oak has raged to the extreme.  And with no chance of remedy within 100 miles, we were left to simmer in our own allergic reactions.  Some local beer took the edge off.  It is brewed in Inyokern, CA -- a tiny town we drove through on our way to Death Valley National Park.

Not that Norbie gets jealous or feels inadequate when he greets the high volume of RVs on the western road, but he sure loves it when we treat him like an RV.  After all, he provides recreation and he's a vehicle.  Why not?

RV or Norbie?

The ravens in Death Valley are a strong presence.  They make lots of pissed-off sounds while wildly shrugging their shoulders.  I've never seen anything like it in my limited experience with other ravens.  They seem to communicate that they are pissed off at the unnatural influx of people to their land, and could we all just go back to our condos and burn down the bathrooms on our way out?

Death Valley Raven

We hiked through Mosaic Canyon.  It was pretty vast.

Then we took a stroll through the sand dunes.  Nothing feels better on bare feet/the soul than warm sand dunes with the occasional pricker and sidewinder rattlesnake tracks.

Free, Life, Death, Valley

The park is enormous.  It is the largest national park in the continental US (not counting Alaska parks).

Norbie enjoys life
 

"Devil's Golf Course"

Wee coyote  -- young or just small?

After we left the park and gained cell phone service 100 miles later I told my parents how beautiful Death Valley is.  My mom would hear none of it -- "I've been to the desert, I know what it's like, and I don't like it" me: "Yeah but you haven't been to DEATH VALLEY"