On the Road Again

(Last post, this site doesn't work right anymore.  I started out trying to make this interesting but encountering problems, just dashed off some details for my own record.)

This morning we loaded up the old Prius and headed south. It was such a beautiful morning at home we were almost reluctant to leave.  Clear skies over the Cascades provided a brilliant sunrise.  Mt. Rainier and little Tahoma were clear.  An eagle flew by and then an osprey.  Lots of rain in the forecast so we left, destination Arizona and the great Southwest.




After a quick stop in Poulsbo to check on the boat, we zipped down to Fife to buy a sofa (Merry Christmas me!) and slogged through post holiday traffic down I-5 to Centralia where D uncharacteristically turned in to the discount mall and bought himself a Pendleton shirt and a Coach belt.  Merry Christmas David. Killing time at Chico's, I ended up with a new dressy blouse.

Nothing but solid stop and go traffic all the way to Cottage Grove where we got a room and an amazing dinner at Jackspratts.  Crispy tofu version of coconut shrimp on quinoa and fresh greens, more than I could eat.

Day two saw us landing in Chico Ca in a dubious Best Western which turned out fine and trying to get into the Sierra Nevada brewpub for dinner but it was totally packed, then a Chinese restaurant that was totally empty and a little creepy so we found a great place nearby, The Pourhouse, that made us very happy.

Next day google maps directed us onto a short cut that put us on a narrow dirt road in the rice fields outside Chico.  Awesome birding there and soon the road normalized and we were going over high passes on the way to Reno.  Saw cousins and hit the road again for the Owens Valley.  Stayed at the Vagabond Motel, almost the only vacant room in town.  So overpriced!  Lots of vacationers in the area.

Friday we enjoyed cruising through Death Valley, lunch at the surprising Amargosa Cafe in Death Valley Junction, then a great time in Pahrump, NV, with cousins.

Saturday was a long drive to Tucson with a stop for late lunch in Wickenburg.  We like that little town.  Got to our Airbnb in Tucson after dark.  Stayed 10 days.  Loved it.  Two nights in Bisbee at the Bisbee Grand Hotel.  Witnessed the amazing arrival of the Sandhill Cranes at the Whitewater Draw.

On the way to Silver City, we spent three hours at the Amerind Museum in Dragoon. Wow!  Rediscovered Rodney's in Willcox but the meal didn't match up to our memories.  Landed just fine at the Agave Adobe and here we are, several days later, happy to be back in Silver again.

Leaving Blogger

Something has happened to this app and I can't get any photos to load and the formatting is weird so I won't be posting anything anymore.  If you have any interest in seeing what I've been up to, I would suggest looking at my Instagram, YouTube or Flickr stuff.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/julimil/  Or just key in julimil Flickr

https://m.youtube.com/my_videos

I'm Julzoftheworld on Instagram

April, Central Sicilia

Dear Reader,

If you happen to find yourself here and care to read about one day's travel in Central Sicily, please start from the bottom and work your way up.  I can't seem to find a way to put the photos and text in the right order.  Mi dispiace molto!

 Lucked out tonight, wonderful room, friendly host and this view from our room!

Aetna from the entrance to Randazzo, where we will be stopping for the night after a long but spectacular drive.

Our first peek at Mt. Aetna!  So close and fresh snow.  SS 120 was very rough from Troina to here.  Heavy rains washed out the road in many places and it was rebuilt but never paved.  Just saying.

Troina, way up high on a sheer rock cliff.  St. George (and the dragon) church and the Black and White Pub right next door, so incongruous, with its red satin upholstery.  We sat in the window with a dizzying view down the cliff.  David had the best grilled calamari ever and I had fun talking to the adorable server, so stylish with his trendy hair and cool glasses.  Kids in Sicily have been just great to interact with.  

From the church steps toward town

Approaching Troina, I think.  We saw several mountaintop towns today.

I truly loved this spot.

It was misty this morning.

La Dimora di Samu was our resting place in Enna.  We had a beautiful room and the kindest, most generous host, Giuseppe.  Leaving Enna this morning, we started off on a long and twisty series of country roads that got us to Randazzo around 4 p. m. This is looking back at Enna, way up on the hill. That's where we had a picnic lunch yesterday, at the foot of the ancient castle, Castello Lombardia.

Now Showing!

My nine piece series of various aquatic beings playing around in imaginary watery realms has been accepted into the amazing Bluewater Artworks Gallery in old town Poulsbo.  I am thrilled!

This is Octopus's Garden, a 12 x 9, acrylic on canvas, as are all of these.

Coming Home, 16 x 16

Playtime. 24 x 18, inspired by Hokusai's Great Wave

Night Seiner/Still Around, 28 x 22

Underwater Rainbow, 24 x 36

Wild and Free,  22 x 28

Geoduck revisited

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NNnWeu0yDs4

Fritters, sashimi, garlic butter sauté and chowder---we've had them all the this week, thanks to a minus tide and a sand bar that is home to the Pacific Geoduck.  A few years ago, when we first became aware of this treasure on our beach, I posted a story and photos and promised a video on how to clean a geoduck.  That didn't happen but no worries, here is a professional video on YouTube that does a great job.  We've not yet tried her suggestion of a bit of olive oil over the sashimi. It seems fine with just soy sauce and lemon, flying off the plate as the hungry diggers gather round.

First Stop Blondie's

When in Shelton, eat oysters, and we did.    Fried oysters, eggs and potatoes.  Fueled us all the way to Eugene on day 1 of a road trip to Death Valley.  This message went along for the ride.  It was useful.

Another food stop along the way in Crescent City included a chorus line of Sea Lions outside the window:                    

Great Mexican snack food in Bakersfield at Grandma's Tamales on Sunday afternoon before the final push to Lone Pine, the gateway to Death Valley.

With the sun setting into the Eastern Sierras, I strolled around the edges of Lone Pine.

 We have amazing clouds in the Pacific Northwest but Never have I seen a cloud like this!

Between Lone Pine and the Sierras is a natural wonder called the Alabama Hills, where hundreds of movies have been shot on location, mostly Westerns but the area also stands in for Afghanistan and parts of Africa.  The old hotel we stayed in is where the film crews used to stay.  We got the William Boyd Room.  (That was Hopalong Cassidy, in case you've forgotten or never knew!)

Spotted this beauty before we even got into Death Valley.

Finally, after exploring the Alabama Hills, we made the long trip into Death Valley National Park.  It was cloudy, windy and rained some.  That's my excuse for not getting any dazzling flower photos.  (The reason for this trip was the "Big Bloom" in the Park.)  These yellow flowers had sprouted up in several areas and if you looked across a broad expanse of flat land, you would see a lovely yellow haze.  There are lots of beautiful photos of the Big Bloom online, probably on Instagram, too.

Late afternoon, we should have started back but didn't, crossed the mountains on that narrow twisty road in the dark and rain and then some snow (those clouds below should have been a warning!) and there was a rock slide at one point, then some tourists in a car accident, but we made it back to Lone Pine and . . . . . 

. . . the next morning, fresh snow on the Sierras and a perfect sunny day to explore . . . 

. . . Manzanar World War II Japanese internment center

and Owens Lake, a part of it that has water now.  Los Angeles got in trouble for draining it and causing a huge eco crisis, so now they are busy restoring it in places.

One last swing through Death Valley, on the way to Nevada, this time it's bright and sunny.  Here's a 20 second video I shot at Zabriskie Point. 

One storm after another on this trip.  This is somewhere between Reno and Chico.

There was one storm we did manage to miss, the big blow that hit Kingston at 60 mph.  We got back that evening, after the calm had settled in, clueless until we tried to go out the side door for firewood. It was blocked by roofing that had blown off in the storm.  No big deal and we were glad to be home.  

From Today's Artists' Letter by Sarah Genn

What's under there is your personal, private history, and the story of your painting life. Gather up all those scrapes and cover-ups -- your improvisations in emergencies -- and you've earned the ability to recognize when your brush is sparkling. Go for excellence, knowing perfectionism is a canyon of toil. Enjoy the therapeutic satisfaction in fixing a dog -- it's like darning an heirloom sock. By then you're the editor, the re-writer, the restorer and the conservationist. There's imagination in that, too. "I am seeking. I am striving. I am in it with all my heart." (Vincent van Gogh)

 

Brief Encounter

Two women exiting their vehicles come face to face at a highway rest stop in Mississippi.  The one in jeans and a sweatshirt starts to turn away but comes back and asks, "Where are you from?"  The one in the black head to toe burka with narrow eye slits says with a heavy accent, "Crystal Springs."  "No, I mean where originally?"  "Oh, India."  First woman, confused, says, "but people don't dress like that in India."  Second, covered woman, "Muslims do!"  First woman, "But all the Muslims went to Pakistan!"  End of conversation.  First woman gets back in car thinking to herself, "I really wanted to say how creepy and stupid it looks to dress like that.  No, I really wanted to ask her, what kind of God would want women to dress like that?  Muslim woman, who had been sitting in back seat, hurries after her husband (dressed completely in white) and a carful of  kids in skull caps, thinking, how ignorant, these Americans.

Volver

Being in New Mexico is like being no place else.  It's not like being in the Republic of Mexico.  It's nothing like Arizona or Texas.  I like being here, the feel of the state of being.  Tonight I especially like being here after driving across Texas for two days in the aftermath of an unusual ice storm.

Car completely covered in thick sheet of very bumpy ice early on New Year's Day

Dozens of mishaps on the frozen Interstate 20 heading west from Dallas area

Tucked in tight in a big back up, I thought at least we won't starve!

After almost 300 miles at 30 miles an hour, we reached Midland/Odessa oil fields.

This is where George H W Bush brought his young wife and baby boy W to live.

Somehow George HW made it really big here.

It doesn't seem like a very nice place to live.

I've heard it's still a good place to make a lot of money.

Next day, after another snow and ice storm, the sights were better.  In places, it was a winter wonderland.

The best sight of all was good old New Mexico in late afternoon sunshine.

Five Versions: Intriguing Old Weatherbeaten Structure

September

August

June

February

January

Love sick in paradise

Lonely pygmy kingfisher yearns for tweet from twitter bird

Acrylic on canvas, 9" x 12"