Green

We are back at home. In Oregon. First impressions; GREEN ! Green trees, green grass, green hills, green campers parked in driveways, mossy green sidewalks. It is SO different from the country that we have been in for many months. One is no more beautiful than the other, just totally different. We've been home three days and already I'm tired of the clouds. I'm ready for some sun. The weather guy says that tomorrow will be better with a good chance of sun for the week-end. It would be nice for sure. An email from a fellow volunteer at at Gila said that it has been in the 90's back there. I am not sorry to miss that. With the altitude and low humidity there, the nights do cool down into the 40's and 50's so great for sleeping, etc.


Also we found out that the New Mexico Highway Department came in this week and poured several truckloads of rock into the abyss on Hwy 15 and in four hours had re-opened the bridge on the road into the cliff dwellings that has been closed since the second week in January. Hurray for them! I know it's only a patch job, but it will be good to have the road open again.

Lava Beds

Lava Beds National Monument.

It’s a place that we have driven by several times and every time I have said, “I’d like to go there some day”. So this time we decided to check it out. It is located in northern California just west of Hwy 95 about 10 miles south of the Oregon border. There are two entrances, north and south, but by all means use the northern one, for the first seven miles of the fifteen mile southern entrance road is almost impassible due to pot holes caused by frost heaves. Between an extremely bumpy surface and driving to avoid the holes, your speed averages about 15 mph. It gets some better for the rest of the forest service road and then smoothes out once you reach the monument boundary.

As you might guest from the name the park is located on a site of volcanic activity. Shield volcanoes ooze lava rather gently (if you can say that about molten material). The park has numerous small peaks all of which were vents for oozing the hot stuff. As the lava flowed and cooled, flowed and cooled, it left the landscape with almost impassible topography. The area is littered with piles of lava and tubes where the molten lava flowed through the “cooler” lava. These tubes are now caves that populate the area. A sign in the visitor center states that there are 746 caves that have been discovered in the monument, but not all are open to the public for safety reasons. However, many, about 25, are open to visitors. All you need is a flashlight, safe shoes, and warm clothing to go into them. Hard hats would also be a good idea too if you have them. I would probably wear my bike helmet to protect my noggin. Large flashlights are available at the visitor center because caves are DARK. (go figure). The visitor center is open set hours, but the caves have no hours. The loop road that travels to the majority of the established ones closes from 5pm to 8am to vehicles, but not to hikers or bikers. . Also there are a couple of caves that are right next to the visitor center so you don’t have to travel at all to go underground.

We spent the night in the park campground which has about 40 sites. No hook ups are available but flush toilets and water is on site. There are several campsites that are large enough to accommodate larger rigs like ours. Even though we were coming in a Saturday the campground was less then half full. It would be a great place to spend a few days relaxing and exploring a few of the caves.

Driving out the north entrance road, you pass several pullouts with opportunities to explore additional geologic and historic features. One of these stops is named Captain Jack’s Stronghold. During an episode called the “Modoc War” in the 1870’s a small band of Modoc people held out against the US Army for 5-6 months here. In walking the informative trail through this area, it is obvious that this is a fortress. The caves and gullies and jumbled lava rocks make this place useless for vehicles or horses and so large armies would have been reduced to individuals. This was the Modoc’s land and they knew this place well. Under the leadership of Captain Jack a small group of warriors and their families gave the military a lot of problems.

The Big Ditch

It's been eleven years since we have been there and since we stopped in Williams, AZ it was time to go back to the Grand Canyon. Things have changed some. There is more. More people. More parking. More buildings. More shops just outside the park boundaries. But one thing stayed the same, the canyon. It is still there. The trees still stand on the edge of oblivion. Twenty different languages are in the air at one time, but the people look the same. Busses go where once cars could, shuttling to and fro trying to stay ahead of the hordes that come to camp, come to hike, come to see.

The other thing about place is that the whole time we were there; we saw people, lots and lots of people. The visitors of course, there are always going to be visitors, and the staff. Bus drivers, construction workers (there is always something being built in a busy place like this), clerks in shops selling t-shirts and Navajo rugs and sandwiches. Grand Canyon is a village. I don’t know what the population of the place is but one of the bus drivers told me that the school there has 300 students. What was missing was the presence of rangers; park personnel. During our day at GACA we saw three people in Park Service uniforms. One was giving a ranger talk along the rim trail near the Hopi House. The other two were standing behind a counter at the visitor center with visitors standing in line to talk to them.

At Gila everyone you came in contact with, except the person who ran the gift shop, was in a uniform, either as a volunteer or employee of the park. Not so at GC. There were lots of uniforms, of sorts, just not Park Service uniforms. I was disappointed about that.

I mentioned previously that I had spoken with a bus driver who happened to be on his break. The shuttle buses are owned by the Park Service, but driven and maintained by a contracting company. The drivers need one year of bus driving experience to apply for these positions. They work five days a week, 8 hours a day. The busses are inspected before and after each shift for safety and operational items and also for dings and scratches, even tire rubs. They want the busses to be close to the curbs, but not too close. In my opinion, the bus drivers have to be saints to perform their jobs. They have their rules to follow and then have to remind us of the rules that we must adhere to. In addition, there are the unlimited numbers of questions that they are asked everyday. All of this is done with courtesy and calmness. Saints, I tell you

And still, with all the pomp and hurrah, it still is a magic place. The air is cool and clear. The forest is here. The canyon separates and yet brings it all together.

100% Electric

The government and the national monument is going "green" or at least it is trying. Recyling is being encouraged. They trying to do their part with energy.

One big way has been the purchase of two 100% electric vehicles for use here at the park. One is a flat bed work vehicle,and one is a four door transport vehicle. They look like a cross betweeen a golf cart and a Hummer. The later rig is used to carry workers from the VC to the parking lot on the way to the cliff dwellings. It is small, light weight and seems to be quite efficient. Time will tell if it going to work out, but my intial view is favorable. Top speed is 35 mph so it would not be something that would be used on the highway, but for buzzing around town, it would be ok. It does have a heater, horn and wipers so it would work in most weather conditions. The cost was $25000 which is what I guessed when we volunteers first saw it.

What do you think?

Indian Fry Bread

Indian Fry Bread

3 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup warm water

2 quarts vegetable oil for frying

Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt together, pour in the water and mix, then knead until the dough is soft not sticky, adding more flour or water if necessary.

Place in a bowl, cover, and let sit for 15 minutes. Divide the dough into twelve equal sized balls. Roll each ball out until it is approximately 5 inched in diameter an ¼ inch thick and poke a hole in the middle.

Heat the oil in a deep heavy pan or cast iron skillet to 375 degrees. Drop the breads, one at a time, into the hot oil and fry, turning , until golden.

Serve with butter, jam, or honey. Or use to make Indian tacos.

(Sopaipillas are the Mexican version of fry bread. The addition of a small amount of sugar to the batter creates a slightly sweet bread that, when served warm with honey, is the perfect accompaniment to a meal redolent of chile.)

Makes 12 pieces Yumm!!!