ARIZONA TO NEW MEXICO

MONDAY

I left Flagstaff this morning, after a delightful three days of work and play and conversation with Carol.  The sky was overcast and rain was falling as I left, though it only last for a half hour. The nearby mountains of our yesterday were shrouded in clouds and fog.

By 3:00 this afternoon I am only half-way to Albuquerque because I stopped at the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest. I drove around for several hours and probably took a hundred photos -- spectacular views are everywhere.  This place is different than the Badlands of North Dakota or the red rocks of Sedona, but it's related.  The stripes of colors on the land formations and the red of the canyons are awesome. I've been fighting the wind and the rain a bit, but the rain never lasts for long.  I skipped a couple of walks through the petrified forest because of the strong winds.  However, I was able to see some petrified logs without taking a long hike. 

Petrified Log

Cross-section of petrified log

Cross section of petrified log

I hadn't even planned on this side trip today, but did it at the suggestion of Rich and Carol -- and it has been definitely worth it.  The colors here are sage green, dark chocolate brown, purple, rust, grey and pink -- the combinations and stripes vary from formation to formation. Another watercolor day.

I've been listening to Debussy Images Book 2 as I make my return trip through the Painted Desert, looking for my interstate.  The music seems very appropriate -- some of it seems rather ethereal and some of it is very vibrant and some of it is slow and meditative and some of it is very high energy.  It's very much like the desert.  The prairie-like parts are ethereal as I watch the wind blow across the grasses and the sagebrush.  Then I come to a part where there are vibrant colors and stripes and a canyon and big rocks and the more vibrant music is just right. Music has been a theme throughout this trip, whether or not it fit the scenery. Because I've been listening to classical music much of the time, I am just very aware of the mood of the music and the mood of the place where I am driving.  The music enhances the trip in ways I hadn't planned.

The painted desert

Some of the places in the Painted Desert, where I don't see cars or people or buildings, and I look across these huge landscapes, some of which are prairie-like and some of which is red-colored canyons and cliffs in the distance and huge piles of rocks and other formations,  it's an other worldly experience.  It doesn't take much to imagine I'm on another planet like Mars, which is called the Red Planet.  A lot of what I am looking at today is various shades of red.  Or maybe it's the landscape of the moon -- kind of barren and harsh -- except the shrubs are green today because of recent rain. I could easily forget I am just a few miles from another town or a major highway.

After I cross into New Mexico, the scenery continues to be spectacular.  There are red cliffs and cream-colored cliffs and interesting rock formations, similar to the Painted Desert except they are right along the highway.  I was  prepared for a desert ride today and it's been much better than that.  What really makes it nice is the greenery in places which makes it feel less like desert.

I've been thinking that when I get to Knoxville I need to take a route through the Smoky Mountains, particularly through Cades Cove, which I have never seen.  Because I've been through all these other national parks and scenic areas, I think I need to see the most famous and scenic one that's close to home. The end of my trip is changing as I get closer to home.

Sign of the day:  Zero visibility possible.  The second sign says:  don't stop in the travel lanes.  I don't know what this is about -- whether this is an area where there is fog or dust storms or what.  Visibility today is fine.

I am watching a rainbow form above the low hills in the distance.  The red and orange appear first, then gradually the green, blue, and purple next to it.  The pattern is a little fuzzy at first, then the colors tighten and intensify, and within ten seconds it is gone. The colors left in the same order they appeared. I've never seen this phenomenon before.

I've been listening to a little bit of T. D. Jakes on Oprah's radio network as I drive late this afternoon.  He is talking about passion and life purpose and how those two concepts are intertwined. He says you can't be passionate all the time but sometimes you have to be like Peter:  get out of the boat and walk on the water.  Do something you've never done before.  This trip is like that -- it's not that I haven't been to some of these places earlier in my life, and it's not that I haven't driven a lot of miles over the years.  When I  put all the pieces together it becomes something new. This trip is a whole thing, in some way, symbolized by the route on my United States map.  It's a full circle, and I've never done something exactly like this before. So I guess I did get out of my boat and I am walking on the water by myself out here and walking across the desert and over the mountain passes and across the prairies.  I'm loving it because it's a very freeing experience.  I touch base every once in awhile with someone I know.  We anchor for awhile, get reacquainted, talk about whatever is important to us, and then they send me off.  I willing go, but they also send me off to complete my journey.

I ended my day in Albuquerque with a glass of wine created in New Mexico, a pork chop with burgundy sauce, and creme brulee for dessert.

The historic Painted Desert Inn