On a bus tour like ours (Caravan) regular rest stops are scheduled in. This one was to a unique place with a store, as usual, and restrooms, a must, but fun stuff to see and do in front and in back of the building. Kanab, Utah, calls itself “Little Hollywood” because of all of the…

This is an ancient dwelling over 800 years old. The inhabitants chose to build in a cliff side for protection. The model that shows daily life in the dwelling was constructed by Rangers when the actual dwelling was closed to visitors in the 1920’s. Inhabitants used sycamore trees in their construction and for ladders. The…

Lake Powell exists because of the Glen Canyon Dam which generates electricity and regulates the water used by Utah, Arizona, California, and Nevada. The tour was fun, even in the rain. The bridge next to the bridge, however, was very cool because it was built in Emeryville, CA, and trucked over here to Arizona. When…

Lake Powell used to be Glen Canyon discovered by John Wesley Powell. When the Glen Canyon dam was built, the Colorado River filled Glen Canyon to form Lake Powell. Our cruise day was rainy, but the trip was still beautiful. The interesting marks on the sandstone cliffs were carved out mostly by flash floods. We…

We spent the day on the border of Arizona and Utah. Mostly, we were on the Navajo reservation, but the Hopi reservation is inside the huge Navajo reservation. We visited a trading post where I got to watch a Navajo woman making a rug. I have grown up with native artifacts, since I am Native…

I’ve been to the Grand Canyon before, in 1982! The Canyon has not changed, but my hiking abilities have. I stayed up along the rim this time. We visited The Watchtower, which was designed as a Harvey House rest stop, serving tea for those visitors on a Harvey Tour. The architect, Mary Colter, worked hard…

Many of the walls were constructed of flat-sided stones and pebbles surrounded by cement. They called this “desert masonry” (look at the wall behind the guy in the purple shirt.) The petroglyphs shown was found on the site and became the logo for Taliesin West. Many pieces of artwork were included throughout the buildings.

Outside of Phoenix is the winter home/studio of Frank Lloyd Wright. He and his apprentices built the structures trying to coexist with the surroundings. I especially like his attention to the small design details that show up in corners and ceiling designs and fixtures.

The canopy of trees towering above our heads as we walked was beautiful. The guide said it was a competition about which trees could grow tall enough quickly enough to get to the sunlight. Other trees were useful for capturing the nitrogen and enriching the topsoil, but they seldom made it to the canopy. The…

The island trek was pretty easy. There was a boardwalk to follow with only a few wobbly boards. The temperature was cool, but since it was not raining, it was really a pleasant walk. We did not look for Pokémen because there was no internet service. You gotta get off the grid once in awhile….