Day: September 28, 2017

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And THANK YOU to all my followers.  I have noticed a nice increase in followers in just the last few days, including many names I don’t recognize.  Thanks for checking out my blog and please share it with others you think might enjoy it.

Good news – My blog can now be (or will soon be) found at johnboystravelblog.com

A reserved domain name is part of the friendly service with a smile that WordPress (the host site) offers for what I am now paying them.  I will soon be upgrading to an even higher level, as I am approaching the maximum amount of space I am allowed as a Premier site and will take it to the next level, which will be unlimited.  There will be no stopping JohnBoy!

Based on an online conversation I just had with WordPress Support I have added a calendar to the home page.  This will allow you to go back in time and view older posts without having to scroll down through all entries.

Everyone sees the most recent posts first, so when you log in each time simply keep scrolling down until you see something you’ve already viewed.  If you are interested in going all the way back to the beginning (either in original order as posted or in reverse order) then keep track of what date you left off on and then resume your viewing at another time.  Maybe get a 2017 calendar and mark on it what dates you’ve already seen.  I left for this trip July 5 and started posting on the 7th.  I have posted just about every day since then, with some exceptions.  You will notice that posts have evolved in format and content (including LOTS more pictures) as I try to learn how to do this.

You may also use the Search function on the Home page to look for specific things or to find the date I posted something.

And although I like having followers, if you don’t want to keep getting emails in the middle of the night telling you when I have posted something (which you probably then delete), you may take your name off the list and just check the blog at your discretion.  And the best way to check the blog is to just go to the site, do NOT link to it from each individual email.  I initiate each post with my cell phone (which is when you get the email), then add pictures and commentary using my computer as much as 4 or 5 hours later, so you may not be seeing the finished product.

Again, thank you all.  Please feel free to share comments, good or bad, either on an individual post (you have 14 days from the original date of post) or privately via “Contact” at the top/right of the Home page.

I just took these looking out my bedroom window.  Thursday morning, Sept 28, 740am local time.  That chilly rain yesterday brought more snow to the higher elevations.

I apologize for the one day delay in posting.  After visiting this venue on Tuesday and getting back to Durango I was exhausted and went to bed shortly after I arrived just before sunset.  I slept 6 straight hours, unusual for me, and when I woke up around 2am I realized how cold the house was – not bad for sleeping, but not good for downloading pictures and blogging for 4 hours.  I got back under the nice warm blankets and went back to sleep.  Yesterday morning I was shocked to learn that there was not room on my computer to download the 735 pictures I had taken on Tuesday!  I spent much of the morning making more backups and deleting things to make room for more.  I’ll need to do some serious off-loading when I get back to Durham.  I also needed to tend to some other chores (laundry, ordering new tires for the car, getting the oil & filter changed, arranging a wheel alignment, cleaning and organizing things in my car, getting out warmer clothes, etc) and the day became full very quickly.  It started raining around noon and never got above 60 degrees so it was a good day to be indoors anyway.  Turns out I cut one of my tires on the nasty road in to Chaco Canyon on Monday (imagine that!!) and the left front keeps losing air.  I was planning to get new tires here anyway but now I don’t want to drive any distance until they arrive and I get them installed.

As I write this I am bundled up in a sweatshirt and have an extra blanket on my legs (I get cranky if my knees get cold).  I kicked the thermostat up a few degrees before I started downloading pictures and will lobby to set it higher the remaining nights I am here.

There was a light dusting of snow the night before on some of the higher mountain peaks, as there was down in Taos.  After the rain moved out this afternoon I see there is now substantially more snow on the mountains north of Durango.  Things could start getting interesting during the next two weeks here in Colorado, as I’ll only be going further north.  I may even see snow when I take the train ride from Durango to Silverton on Monday, the only upcoming day during my stay when there is zero chance of rain in the forecast.

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On Tuesday I drove from Cortez, Colorado down to Canyon de Chelly National Monument in northeast Arizona (keep in mind, I am very close to “Four Corners,” where Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico meet, so it doesn’t take long to get from one state to the other).  I approached the Canyon (whose name is pronounced de SHAY) from the northeast, on a series of scenic, paved “Indian Roads”. When I got to the first series of overlooks I did not yet have a map, so I didn’t know exactly what I was looking at, or that there were some small cliff dwellings scattered amongst the cliffs (I still haven’t had time to scrutinize the photos in detail to see if I happened to photograph any of them).

Now THIS is a canyon!….

These were all taken with my smartphone camera.  Close-ups, taken with the digital camera, will be posted later.  I’ll obviously point out if there are any cliff dwellings.

If you look at the right side of the photo below you’ll see a white pickup truck on the dirt road.

 

These are more photos taken on Tuesday at Canyon de Chelly (pronounced de SHAY) National Monument in northeast Arizona.  These were all taken with my smartphone camera.  Close-ups, taken with the digital camera, will be posted later.

Note the sign in the photo below warning people not to throw children or pets down into the canyon (we don’t want the farmers working below to be in therapy the rest of their lives).

In all seriousness, this was one of only a very few “built up” observation areas.  In the vast majority of places you could walk right up to the edge.  If you kept going you MIGHT be lucky enough to have a rock ledge not far below which would catch you, but in many, many places you would not be so fortunate.

When I got to the Visitor Center I noticed three miniature versions similar in appearance to the ruins I had seen the day before at Chaco Canyon.

There was also a sign indicating the name of the person who had designed and built these miniatures.  When I went inside to show my Senior Pass and ID I was planning to ask if that person happened to work here, as I wanted to tell them how impressed I was with their work.  Turns out the creator was the young man working behind the counter!

Meet Casey, a volunteer at the facility.  He is contemplating his future (college, the Marines, and perhaps becoming a Park Ranger).  He had a book on the local subject matter and was studying when there were no customers (he gives out maps and answers questions about the facility).  I asked if I could take his picture for the blog and he happily agreed.  Here he is out by the Welcome sign.  If you look below the sign you’ll see the three miniatures shown above.

When we got back inside (there is no entrance fee, by the way, only fees for special permits like camping, wedding or commercial photography, etc) he showed me another miniature he created.  The upper 1/4 (with grass thatching) would appear above ground level, whereas the remainder (below the black line seen on the left) would be below ground.  I took another photo showing more of the interior but the camera decided to focus on the background and not the main object, so it is too fuzzy to post.

Casey also showed me another item he made.  This is part of a part of moccasins, made with native grasses, which is what would have been worn here back in the day.

Casey is very talented and I think he will do well, regardless of which career path he chooses.  I told him he should get a job with a TV or movie studio creating miniatures for use in filming.

These are more photos taken on Tuesday at Canyon de Chelly (pronounced de SHAY) National Monument in northeast Arizona.  These were all taken with my smartphone camera.  Close-ups, taken with the digital camera, will be posted later.

These are more photos taken on Tuesday at Canyon de Chelly (pronounced de SHAY) National Monument in northeast Arizona.  These were all taken with my smartphone camera.  Close-ups, taken with the digital camera, will be posted later.

 

These are more photos taken on Tuesday at Canyon de Chelly (pronounced de SHAY) National Monument in northeast Arizona.  These were all taken with my smartphone camera.  Close-ups, taken with the digital camera, will be posted later.