View from a bridge at Zion National Park.

We left Tuesday after school and drove to Flagstaff AZ. The next morning we drove to the Grand Canyon via Williams, AZ. Tom had not been there since he was a child and it had been over 30 years since I was there. We were all certainly impressed – the weather was clear and sunny. We wore layers, which we were constantly taking on and off depending on the sun and shade. Crowds were low. I will post a few photos below. We spent the night there and the next morning tried to get out by nine am, but there is so much to see – it was probably after one before we left the park.

Tom threw Charlie over the side! Not really - there is a ledge underneath Charlie...

This huge elk was eating cactus at our motel. There was a traffic jam with eveyone snapping photos.

On the way to Zion - 89A the scenic route.

Zion Park - you can see a small bus at the bottom of the photo - I took this one.

Weeping Rock - it was surreal.

Charlie fit right into a little mini-cave.

There are two rock climbers in this photo.

There are three of them here and they are carrying sleeping gear.

Charlie took this one and the few below on his high rim trek.

Notice the chain they have to hold onto to get around this curve.

This guy was just standing beside the road - he was posing for people.

I recommend the Magestic View.

Tom and Charlie found a friend!

We left going out the same way we came in - this tunnel is a mile long and has windows for beautiful views. It was a little eerie going through this thing at night.

We started our drive to Zion National Park and saw some beautiful scenery, stopping lots of places to look at pottery and take photos. Now, I had read somewhere that you need to arrive at Zion National Park before dark because of the switchbacks going down in to the canyon. Of course I had forgotten all about that – cause I can’t remember things as well as I once did. So it is around 6pm and dark and we reach the park and I immediately remembered reading to arrive before dark. It was quite dark – and we could see a couple of headlights way, way, way down below us. Stayed at the Majestic View resort for two nights and it was so nice. The next morning was a delight – cause remember it was pitch dark when we got there. Honestly we were overwhelmed with the beauty of the place. We saw people rock climbing on sheer surfaces. Charlie took the high route treks and Tom and I stayed low. Zion was just a fabulous place. The photos cannot do justice to the enormity of those cliffs and rocks.

We took 264 across Arizona to get home on Saturday - saw lots of beautiful scenery - just went on forever.

Charlie and Tom are packing today to drive back to Georgia. I’ll fly back on the 20^th – same day Elizabeth is flying in from Alaska. Even though I have been working this fall I feel like we have been on an extended vacation.

Today I am posting a couple of photos of a really lovely sunset. Charlie took these photos. I am so busy at school I have hardly any time to update this blog. I have a second Family Night scheduled this week at school and then I have a book fair in two weeks.  I  had ordered the games for Family Night too late and they are not going to have arrived by Tuesday.

Tom and Charlies are leaving NM early - around the 30th. I will miss them  - but it will be nice and quiet here and I get to watch anything I want on television. I just hope I can drive myself to the Albuquerque airport and board that plane by myself - Tom takes care of all that stuff.

We had rain and sleet today in Zuni - it is pretty cold but not freezing.

We have decided to go to Scotland this summer and we are putting a down payment on the trip tomorrow. I went online today and loaded up my Netflix queue with movies made in Scotlant. We are really excited about this trip. We'll take the boat over, train up to Edinburgh and then spend two weeks drivng around with a rental car. I don't know that it could possibly compare to our trip to Australia - but I have high hopes. Two of my favorite actors, Brian Cox and Peter Mullan are from Scotland!

Tom and I have been really busy on the weekends recently. I work really hard at school during the week – staying late lots – but weekends are for traveling. I’ll start with our snowfall yesterday morning. Charlie took these lovely photos. Some snow is still here – Gallup schools started late today. I have these huge floor to ceiling windows in my library and had lovely winter views all day.

It was already beginning to melt when we woke up.

The second weekend in October we drove to Durango-Silverton steam train, which has been in continuous operation for 125 years. The scenery was fantastic and some of the curves were a bit nerve racking. We only had about two hours in Silverton – we should’ve taken the bus back – but Tom loves those trains.

Grumpy guys at Grumpys!

That is my old Size 5 coat - I look huge!

Scenes like this were at every turn.

We enjoyed eating and shopping – I bought a lovely Navajo pot that reminded me of a vase of my grandmothers. Mother said she always put Nasturtiams in it.

We stayed at a really old timey place that night in Durango – Charlie slept in the loft. Very comfy beds. It was one of those places that was probably pretty popular in the 60’s and 70’s before all the chains moved in.

Look behind us to see the huge - infinite valley just before we got to Mesa Verde.

The next morning we drove over to Mesa Verde National Park. On the way, driving through Colorado – we saw some of the prettiest and happiest cattle I have ever seen. The fields were so green and the cattle were black as could be and spread all over those huge fields. They just looked happy.

Tom at the ruins we visited.

I did not go below - but of course Tom did.

That's old Ann after she climbed back up from the ruins - it was quite a climb, but I did it.

Charlie crawling down to the ruins.

That's Charlie in the middle front.

The drive up the mesa to Mesa Verde was breathtaking. I swear we could see for a thousand miles – huge plains that just went on forever. We kept going up and up and up. The weather was clear and beautiful. We finally got to the top. Tom and I walked down to some ruins we could get to pretty easily. Charlie took the two tours where one has to tread rocks down, through, around, up, and actually climb ladders to get in and out. I never in my life though I would be able to see these cliff dwellings. It is something I’ve wanted to do since I was a child …and there we were. To know how old these places were and how hard life was for the people who lived there was a really odd feeling.

Last week I had my first family reading night at school – so I was really nervous and planning for that all week. We had over 70 people and it went great. I had made a scavenger hunt to learn about all the different activities and areas of the library. The parents seemed to have a wonderful time. So last weekend I was really relieved for the week to be over with. We were going to stay home and relax – but then we figured we could easily get to Monument Valley and back in two days. So I called up and made reservations at Guilding’s? Lodge – what a smart move!  The next morning we had to deliver Roxy to the kennel and then stop by Wal mart. We can’t go anywhere without stopping by WalMart first. Charlie was really impressed with Window Rock and the other scenery we had on the way there.  We got there after lunch and were just so surprised and pleased. This motel was really special and was backed up to a huge rock – I mean huge – I was a little nervous it might fall forward.

The motel is over to the right.

We could see Monument Valley from our room. We took a much needed nap and then headed out for the 17 mile loop though the valley. We were not disappointed. The road was rough and ready and we got some fabulous views. Now the reason Tom wanted to go to Monument Valley was because his favorite human being, John Wayne, made some movies there: Stagecoach, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, and, my favorite John Wayne movie, The Searchers. So we were able to see some of the same scenery from the movie.

These horses were roaming free at the turn in to the Valley.

Nice photo. There were several folks with tripod and big cameras trying to capture the colors - it was almost dusk.

This was John Wayne's cabin or something in She Wore a Yellow Ribbon.

Charlie and Tom went to the motel theater to see Stagecoach that evening – I worked on school stuff. The next morning we ate breakfast at the restaurant, went to see John Wayne’s cabin (actually a set used in one of his movies there), and visited the gift shop where I bought two pots. We debated about whether we would drive home – or if we wanted to drive north a bit. North won out.

We headed towards Mexican Hat  - but looking back we saw absolutely beautiful far off views of Monument Valley. We had to stop like ten times before we got to Mexican Hat. We saw a gravel pile so huge it looked like a lake. Mexican Hat is called Mexican Hat because it has a rock formation shaped like a Mexican hat!

We decided to go be further North to Gooseneck Park – where the San Juan River has eroded some rock and looks more like a snake than a gooseneck. It was special – there was nothing there hardly to keep one from falling over and down – I was a little nervous because the wind was blowing and I just knew one of us would blow over the side. We didn’t.

We decided to keep heading north and intersect with 191 before we headed south. About a couple of miles north of Gooseneck Park, we came to Valley of the Gods – a mini Monument Valley. It was okay but the best was about to come. We could see a huge mesa in front of us – but we could not tell where the road was going. Ended up – it went pretty much up the side of the mesa – switchbacking all the way, skinny gravel road, straight up and straight down on the side. How exciting! I held my breath the whole way, thankful that Charlie was in front and Tom could not see me gripping the seat.

 At the top there was a dirt road off to the side and it led to a point. Eager for another great view we took if and drove several miles to the end. Oh my gosh! It was the highlight of the weekend! We ended up at Glen Canyon – there were huge rocks everywhere and we all started climbing on them – the views got better and better. I felt like we were at the Grand Canyon. There were only two other people there  - just sitting there looking at the view. It really was fantastic. I’m so glad we kept going.

I love this photo of Charlie - it can't possibly show how grand this place was.

This is my pot I got at Four Corners.

I got this one at Monument Valley. These are Navajo horsehair pots.

We ended up going to Blanding Utah, then catching 191 south from there. It was dark when we got home. It was a wonderful weekend.

You can barely see the people but there are several hundred out in the middle of that field looking at the Trinity site - where the first atomic bomb was tested in 1945. Tom and I drove there Saturday - he's been wanting to go there since we arrived. It is about 30 miles southeast of Socorro, NM. Here's a couple of photos:

Tom has a whole pound of fudge in his  hand - neither of us are supposed to have it - but we did. we made ourselves wait 30 minutes between bites. We also ate at a lovely little restaurant in Magdelena NM on the way to the Very Large Array.

You may remember the Very Large Array from the movie Contact. Again, this was Tom's trip. He went on the tour while I read my book. Hence there are no pictures of Tom - just of the Very Large Array!

We got to watch them change position while we were there.

I  love this photo - can't do it justice this size on the blog. This is just inside Arizona.

This fellow was on our little patio today heading towards Roxie's food. Tom smushed him.

We are traveling every weekend and then I am working my self hard at school during the week. Last weekend we drove up to Four Corners and Shiprock. Ship Rock Peak was fascinating - we drove all the way around it. I believe it is over 1700 feet high just jutting out from the ground - a sacred rock to the Navajo.

Four Corners was nice, not too many folks and I found a really pretty Navajo horsehair pot that I liked and bought. Tom got an arrow to hang over the door for good luck.

Roxie goes with us on these trips - she loves the wildlife. We see loads of sheep, horses, cattle, Roadrunners. Saw some huge long horn steers the other day. Tom has seen coyotes several times - I can't see them fast enough. Still, my favorites are the Prairie Dogs.

This guy didn't even look up at us. Roxie of course was behaving very badly - trying to go through the window.

This past weekend we traveled to Canyon De Chelly National Monument near Chinle Arizona. There were 1000 year old dwellings built into the rock. You can barely see them in the photos - these rock canyons are huge.

Some Navajo still farm in the valley and I hope you can see the fields. We take Roxie everywhere of course - she and Tom cannot bear to be separated. We got out at one of the overlooks and walked down to the edge where there was a wall there to keep you from falling over and Roxie just jumped right up on top of that thing. The drop off on the other side was straight down - way down. Tom barely pulled her back in time. You can believe we held her tight after that.

You can barely see the houses in the cliffs. They were amazing, over 1000 years old.

Spiderwoman peak - she takes bad children to the top. I think I'd like to go.

Right snack dab in the center of this photo are the cliff dwellings.

I thnk if we ever go back to Canyon De Chelly again, we will take the four wheel drive tour at the bottom of the canyon. We would get to see the rock art and the houses up close. There is only so much time...

We also visited the Hubble Trading Post in Granado and dropped by Window Rock - which was out favorite stop of the day. There was a nice memorial to the Navajo Veterans.

I love this photo of Tom and this beautiful tree with the Window Rock in the back.

Yes, I have lost a little weight. The lap band is a wonderful thing.

Hubbel Trading post - very old place. They have $10,000 Navajo blankets in here!

If you look closely you can see Roxie in the truck.

This photo was taken late in the afternoon – a family was out herding the cattle to another area – by horse and 4-wheeler.

Grass is growing in our yard. It is lovely and hopefully will keep the Roxie mudtracks down to a minimum.

Yesterday we traveled to El Morro, a huge rock formation with a pool of water at it’s base. Used to take 9 or 10 days for the explorers and early settlers to travel from Albuquerque to Gallup and this was a stop because it had this great water. Some early explorers carved inscriptions on the rocks and of course they are still there. We enjoyed reading about the inscriptors!

Later we traveled over to El Malpais with I believe means bad country. Well it was certainly beautiful country. There is a huge valley covered in black lava  just huge. There were as many as 30 volcanoes in the area and the lava flowed to the same valley. We took about three hikes (could not have done that before my weight loss) and enjoyed climbing on some high cliffs – you could actually drive right to the top of them. There were also some lava tubes, some collapsed and some not – but we needed a 4-wheel drive vehicle with high clearance to get there. Maybe later.

We felt very alone in El Malpais – saw no more than 10 folks in the entire park. We did pass maybe 20 cars on the road. Seemed to be a really remote area.

I am posting a few photos. 

The tall rock formations of El Morro.

El Malpais - on the top of the rocks. I was almost dizzy.

I aksed Tom to hold tight to Roxy - cause it was a long way down.

Here's me and Tom. That is the lava field in the valley behind us.

This is La Ventura Natural Arch - eroded from sandstsone from the era of dinosaurs

We had a really great thunderstorm and downpour today. The weather has really been so cool and clear the last few weeks - so different from when we arrived.

Yesterday we drove over to the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest - took about 90 minutes to get over there. Tom had never been to the area so he was quite taken with everything, had to stop at every place. We even took one of the hikes, and I could not have done that without my weight loss. I am right at 70 pounds. We drove to Winslow, Arizona afterwards and stopped at the "Standin' on the corner" corner that the Eagles made famous. Then we drove another 20 miles to see a Meteor Crater and it was fabulous. Tom had been there when he and his brother were in their 20's and there was nothing there but a little frame place. They actually climbed all the way down and then back up - which is quite a distance. But they were young...

Here are some photos.

It just goes on forever. 

This is Tom's first view of a petrified rock.

There's lot of dinosaus statues around. Roxie thought some were real.

The Wigwam Hotel

I felt like the wind was going to blow me over. It was very strong.

Tom was amazed at the vistitor center. Movies, gift shop, displays, Subway, elevators, well it was

 pretty different from when he was there 40 years ago.

We had a fire drill at school today and the Zuni fire department actually sent a firetruck out to participate in the drill. They always do.

When Tom drives me to school every day, as we turn the corner into the school property Roxie just goes nuts cause she is about to see all the stray dogs that one of our teachers feed each morning and she is also about to see the little prairie dogs.

We have met more and more of our teacher neighbors here. Not too many inbetweens - mainly younger teachers or people with lots of experience like me. Like Chevak, these folks are from all over the US.

Tom is cafefuly tending to our grass - he and Roxie keep it watered and go out to check several times a day to see in any grass is coming up.

Sunset on the way back to Zuni. The whole sky was pink.

Tom and Roxie wait patiently while I take photos.

We passed by this area - but one weekend we are going to explore it  - there are writings and drawings on the rock that are over 700 years old. 

While searching for the main gate into Kirkland Air force base we came across two of these rocky snakes. You are only seeing the first third of the snake.

Tom Bender has really been busy sine he arrived. The back yard is  now completely clear of the waist high weeeds. He has actually planted some grass seed in the dirt that was left. He has put up all my posters and pictures, put up all the curtains, and got us some groceries - lots of groceries. I believe he thinks he is still in Alaska and buying for four months at a time! We took a little trip to Alberquerque yesterday to get our tv set. I took a couple of photos along the way.

Finally posting a few photos. The prairie dogs are the best. Looking forward to seeing Roxie's reaction to these little creatures.


Okay, here is the famous mesa or mountain here. At various angles it looks completely different.

Below is the apartment complex where I live - built and maintained by the school. Each builing you see houses two large apartments. They are twice as big as the ones we had in Chevak. And only $417 a month.

Mary - here is some kind of bird house - there are hundreds of bird in this thing. They harvest the feathers, I believe. It is the brown structure. When I get my permit I'll take a better photo. I was taking these out of the truck window today.

And now we come to these precious little creatures - the prairie dogs at my school.

These guys must be big eaters.

These guys stayed still for the longest - like they were frozen.