Truly Awesome!

Are the Northern Arizona sunsets always this glorious? Thanks to the jet stream suddenly moving south, the sky was churning with all manner of clouds in shades of crimson and gold against deep blue. The show lasted all the way down the highway from the Grand Canyon park to the town of Williams, where we spent the night on another section of historic Route 66.

Elk by the Grand Canyon

"I was raised as a Quaker," he says, "and they always talked about going inside to greet the light. I was interested in that. Not only in the visible

but in the light seen with the eyes closed, the light and color in dreams."

I'm reading about Roden Crater in Arizona, trying to find out if it's finally open to the public. Absolutely fascinating story. http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2008-09-04/calendar/maya-lin-and-james-turrell-art-from-earth-and-sky
Click on the old article below the photo of the crater. Also, Google has a satellite view and there's an old NYT article describing how hard it is to get an invite. Best I can tell it's still not open.

A long and winding and dusty road

Like fools, we rushed right in where only all-terrain vehicles should have tread and found ourselves on a hair-raising ride over a rocky, wash-board mountain pass. Eventually we met up with the paved road and arrived at the town of Patagonia, in southern Arizona, where we seem to be the only guests at the Stage Stop Inn. Across the road is the Velvet Elvis, where we had an excellent dinner and had the place to ourselves. Loved the colorful Navajo blankets hanging on all the walls and yes, the velvet Elvis painting over the bar.

Road Trip 12/10

In our search for sun, we've arrived in Barstow, CA after four days of driving. Tomorrow -- Arizona! Just posted a bunch of photos on Flickr. This shot was taken this morning as we were leaving Isleton in the California Delta, where ultra rich farm land was created from the labor of Chinese workers who built hundreds of miles of levees to channel the Sacramento River (? -- I should fact check). We had stumbled upon this unusual little town and a fantastic place to spend the night -- the Delta Daze Inn -- just as I was imagining sleeping in the car.