POTR #79 - Six To Go

Peace On The Road

Six To Go

June 24, 2013

When we started our summer traveling this last May our intention was to go to the northwest and visit the last six of the 48 states that we have not traveled and stayed in. Some years ago I said that I would not count a state until we had stayed for three nights. We crossed most of Wyoming with only a single nights stay. So we still have six states to go at this time. But with any luck we will make the six yet.

I am sure that every person looks at the surrounding area when they are looking for a place to live. We make our selection based on many factors. Is it in the country, city, forest, near the ocean or lake or river or that which appeals for some other reason. Going around Arizona and New Mexico we have seen many places that we would not choose. In Gallup we went to see some Native American dancers. The spokesman for the dancers talked about some of the Hopi still living in hogans where there is no electricity, no plumbing, no anything that we take for granted in the places we choose to live. It has been to interesting to see the hogans with nothing around except a nice pickup truck parked nearby. I can understand that but something that I have not been able to figure out is a nice house several blocks from any other buildings without any apparent electric supply. Other places in the country every house has electric poles leading to the house. Even in Amish communities the power lines go to the Amish farm houses but are disconnected at the meters. But not the ones I saw on the reservations. I cannot believe that the utilities are all underground. This would be less of a puzzle if they did not have satellite dishes mounted on the roof. Other than that the houses are pretty normal.

In traveling around we saw several ruins that were built up to 2000 years ago. They were built by the people called Sinagua by the Spanish. Sinagua means without (sin) water (agua) or waterless. These ruins were built in one of the hottest and driest areas of the Colorado Plateau. While there were several smaller ruins the most fascinating is the Wupatki National Monument. Maybe a couple thousand years ago it was a better place, agriculturally speaking. Wupatki means “Tall House” in the Hopi language. It is a pueblo style dwelling has more than one hundred rooms. The tallest building had at least four stories and maybe more levels. In the 1930's several of the rooms were used to house employees of the National Park Service. The employees were charged $10.00 a month to live there. There are secondary structures which include two kiva-like structures. Ruins identified as a ball court have been found that are similar to Meso-American and Hohokam ruins in Southern Arizona. No other ball court has been found any farther north. The Pueblo was built around a natural rock outcropping, using the thin flat blocks of the Moenkopi sandstone held together with mortar, giving it a distinct red color. Between 1040 and 1100 during the volcanic eruption of Sunset Crater the whole area was covered with volcanic ash, which in turn caused the native population to abandon the countryside. It is believed that the Sinagua had ample time to move because it does seem that they left very few of their belongings to be covered with ash. Within a hundred to hundred fifty years the area saw a recovery in vegetation productivity due to an improvement in the soils ability to hold water.. By 1182 Wupatki had been started with perhaps a hundred occupants. It continued to grow and it reached a maximum population of 2000 before it was permanently abandoned around 1225. It had grown to be the largest pueblo of the area. Their economy was based on growing corn and squash in arid conditions without the use of irrigation. Artifacts that have been found in the ruins indicate that they traded with tribes that lived near the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. This site also contains a rare geological blowhole. It is estimated that it is an opening to a closed underground passage that has a volume of seven billion cubic foot, equivalent to a tunnel 165 feet by 165 feet square and 50 miles long! Under the right conditions wind may exit the blowhole at thirty miles an hour. Also if the conditions are right air will flow into the blowhole. The area has a rugged inhospitable look that is also very beautiful.

WUPATKI NATIONAL MONUMENT WITH THE BALL COURT TO THE RIGHT SIDE

Erma and I lived in Ft. Collins in a trailer park. Not long after we got married we bought a VW beetle. It was about forty miles up the Big Thompson Canyon to Estes Park. Estes was up in the mountains, full of interesting tourist shops, and a place that sold GREAT popcorn. The VW got 32 mpg and gas was sometimes 25 cents a gallon, at the local Gas-a-mat. Frequently we would just go to Estes for a bag of popcorn. We figured that it cost about 50 cents or maybe 75 cents. Of course the drive was beautiful and about another 5 miles we would be in Rocky Mountain National Park where we could feed the chipmunks and ground squirrels raw peanuts which were for sale in town just for them. When our daughter was small she loved feeding them. Once she came to us with a peanut bag and said, “Look!” She opened the bag and had a chipmunk in it. It poked its head out, looked around and ducked back down to stuff more peanuts into its cheeks. At that time feeding the animals was encouraged but today I think you can actually be ticketed and fined if you feed them. So even to see the mountains with the snow covered peaks brings back good memories of times in the past. In Estes or anywhere in the park there were almost always deer, elk and Rocky Mountain Big Horn Sheep. I miss the mountains. I miss being able to go into the high country in less than a hour.

Between the towns of Estes Park and Grand Lake, Colorado is a spectacular highway that goes through the center of Rocky Mountain National Park. The road is named Trail Ridge Road and is 48 miles in length. It crosses the continental divide at 10,758 feet and goes on up to a high point of 12,183 feet. It is the highest continuous paved road in the USA. There are higher 4W drive roads that either are NOT continuous or are NOT paved. Eleven miles of the road is above 11,000 foot with timberline at 11,500 foot. Because of the high altitude snow accumulates to twenty foot or even deeper. Snow closes the road anywhere from late September to the middle of October. Highway crews start clearing the road in May with the intent of having it open by Memorial Day. They are usually successful but not always. And even then it is occasionally closed for several hours, up to a day or even more. The park was established in 1915. Longs Peak at 14,259 foot is one of the most impressive peaks in the park and can be seen from many locations along the road. It is known as Beaver Mountain in James Mitchner's book “Centennial.” We have been across the top many times and part way probably a hundred times. It is a big favorite of ours. Unfortunately the shop that sold the popcorn is gone many years ago.

VIEW OF ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK FROM TRAIL RIDGE ROAD

When I was thirteen I made a trip with my Mother and sister out to Oregon following nearly the same route that we drove today along I-84 through Wyoming into Utah. In 1955 there was no Interstate highway but the highway went right by two parallel limestone strata that have been tilted to vertical. Softer strata on the outside has worn away so that they stick out above the ground about forty feet. Between the two hard layers of limestone the softer limestone layers have worn down forming a channel that is about 25 feet wide and running hundreds of feet down the mountain side. There is not much reason to stop except to stand and view the strange and amazing things that can be produced by the natural forces of nature. This formation is called “Devil's Slide.” The first time I saw it I was not too many years away from sliding down slides at the school playground. I could just imagine the Devil sliding down the length of the channel and hollering his delight on the way down, and then getting up and climbing the hill to do it again and again. There is not a lot that I remember of the trip to Oregon. I was impressed by a filling station, Little America. I remember seeing advertisements that said they had over a hundred stations at which they could fill your vehicle. Today their website says they have sixteen stations. Not nearly as impressive as a hundred or more. So to see the Devil's Slide as it has remained in my mind nearly sixty years later was gratifying. As a teenaged boy I was impressed and I was still impressed when I went by on this trip. It only took a few minutes but was very worth while.

A GEOLOGICAL FORMATION CALLED DEVIL'S SLIDE ON I-84 JUST INSIDE EAST UTAH

In traveling across Texas, into New Mexico, Arizona and then detouring into Colorado we have been struck by how much of the country is dry. It was not until we drove into Colorado that we began to see green fields along the highway. The forests of Colorado are extremely dry to be sure but there is more green along the roadsides. We have not been in a single area that was really having the rains that would be desired. It is so strange to know that not far away there are areas that are flooding and would desire to share the water. A lot of Wyoming seems to have gotten more rain than most of the country we have seen. Out across the fields there seems to be more forage for the antelope to eat. That is a very good thing because we saw more than I would care to count. Many times there were small groups of two to four, but occasionally there were herds of antelope that must have had more than twenty. We enjoyed seeing every one of the beautiful animals.

We have also been impressed by the many geological changes that we pass driving along the road. I think we have a benefit in the fact that our roads have been cut through geological formations. We get to see things from the windows of our vehicles that are not available any other way except by hiking into canyons and gorges. Out our windows there is a panorama of beauty that is amazing. The road may rise a few thousand foot over several miles and reveal a totally new vista. Suddenly an area might display a group of hoo doos or a cliff with holes nearly large enough to be called a room. There is always something new to view around the next corner or along the next mile. As we go through Idaho towards Oregon and Washington we will be seeing a lot of territory that is new to us. We still don't have any specific plans except to go on to new country and decide what we are going to do sometime before we leave the campground where we spent the night. Sometimes it is even later than that.

Till later this is Doug of

PEACE ON THE ROAD

POTR #78 - Big Holes

PEACE ON THE ROAD

Big Holes

June 2, 2013

When I was a young boy, preteen to late teen I doubt that there was a hole within miles of our farm which did not at some point find me in it. Dad had a trench silo dug and I spent a lot of time in it until ti was filled with ensilage. If I visited a friend who had an upright silo I would get in it if possible. Of course there were swimming holes around and I swam in them all. I don't remember getting into the hog wallows but I bet I did at some point. It is likely that I was just a typical Kansas farm boy. At one of the neighbors there was a tunnel/cave that went into the limestone formation that I crawled into. I was almost too big to get into it but it was supposed to have Indian artifacts in it and I had to see if I could. As it turned out it was a long ways back in and I would bet that the only things that went in was coons. There was sign of that along the way. I never tried again because I grew too large for the hole.

Erma and I lived in the Denver area for more than forty years and never went to visit one very large hole. I guess that our reason was “The Grand Canyon is close and we can go see it whenever we want.” While that was true I would say that thirty or forty years ago I would have spent more time and enjoyed the experience more than I did at the age that I am now. But better now than never.

VIEW OF THE GRAND CANYON FROM THE SOUTH RIM

Just about every description you have ever heard about the Grand Canyon is without a doubt correct. The first view brings to mind “This cannot exist, it is impossible.” A few minutes later the mind is saying this view is unbelievable and it is awesome. In my opinion there is no way that any person could really comprehend the magnitude the “hole” that is laid out to view. Over its entire two hundred and seventy seven mile length it averages four thousand feet in depth. The deepest section is six thousand foot deep and the widest point is eighteen miles. The elevation difference of the canyon from the top at the northeast to the bottom at the west is eight thousand foot. Grand Canyon in total is considered to be semi-arid desert, however there are five of the seven life zones and three of the four desert types that are represented within the canyon. There are many springs, seeps, and ephemeral pools that provide oases to a large variety of plants and animals, some of which are not found any other place. About two billion years ago sediments and lava flows were deposited over the landscape. Prior to the late Precambrian era, about 1,750 million years ago these deposits were metamorphosed, and magma dikes filled the cracks and cooled into granite. During the late Proterozoic era, about 1,200 million ears ago, 13,000 foot of sediment and lava was deposited in a shallow ocean. Then 750 million years ago the area was lifted and tilted to form mountains. It is believed that during the “Age Of Dinosaurs” there was between 4,000 and 8,000 foot of sediment that covered the Grand Canyon. These mountains were eroded by weather, and water, to form the current canyon. In the Grand Canyon the down cutting erosion was powered by water from snow covered mountains, while the limited widening of the canyon was a result of the low annual rainfall in the area. The canyon represents one of the most complete geologic records in the world. It has been studied by geologist since 1855. A new geological rock layer was discovered in the mid-1970's. The arid conditions have preserved many artifacts of human activity in the canyon within some of its caves. Fossil footprints have been found but not a single fossilized bone. The canyon is a barrier to the intermixing of species in evolution. The South rim and the North rim have Kaibab squirrels that have evolved to look very different from each other. There are only a couple man created crossings of the Colorado River at the bottom and these are designed to prevent animals from crossing and disturbing natural evolution. I don't regret waiting all the years to go to Grand Canyon and I am really glad that I was finally able to go.

I have wanted to visit Barringer Meteor Crater for a long time. It too was not very far from where we were staying in Flagstaff. It was about 50,000 years ago that a nickel-iron meteorite about 160 foot in diameter, weighing 330,000 tons struck the earth traveling between 28,600 to 45,000 miles an hour. It created a crater about three quarters of a mile across and five hundred and seventy foot deep. Much of the meteor was vaporized before or at impact leaving several thousand tons of sand sized nickel-iron droplets in and around the crater. The impact was about the power of a hundred and fifty Hiroshima or Nagasaki atomic bombs. About 175 million tons of rock was blasted from the crater onto the rim and beyond. Some individual rocks were as large as thirty tons each. The rim shows rocks that are in reverse order to the normal stratification indicating that the floor of the crater was lifted up, turned up side down and dropped. All this happened in seconds. The instantaneous heat and pressure converted some carbon mineral into lonsdaleite, a form of diamond. In the 1960's the astronauts that went to the moon were trained in the crater to recognize the signs of meteor impact. In 1903 Daniel Barringer determined that a large iron meteorite had formed the crater. He filled twelve mining claims in the crater in hopes of mining the iron and nickel. Although he tried for many years at great expense he never received any income from his attempts. The crater was the first meteor impact crater to ever be identified in the world. Since then, based on information obtained here, there have been nearly a hundred of various sizes identified around the world. Since many of them are in the ocean or in areas with much greater rainfall they are not as well preserved as Barringer Meteor Crater due to the erosion that has occurred. The largest whole meteor specimen that has been found in the area is on display in the visitors center, weighing in at 1,410 pounds. It is known as the Hollinger Meteor and is part of the group of many iron/nickel fragments that are called Canyon Diablo meteorites for a canyon just a few miles away. There have been around thirty tons of fragments found outside the crater. This crater was originally designated as a volcanic steam vent based on the volcanoes which exist about forty miles to the west. In 1903 Daniel Barringer proposed that it was a meteorite that had caused the crater but was ridiculed by the scientific community. His beliefs were not officially accepted until 1960. It is rather humorous that on the road out to the crater there is a sign that indicates a speed limit of 55 MPH for motor vehicles and a speed limit of 26,000 MPH for meteorites.

BARRINGER METEOR IMPACT CRATER NEAR HOLBROOK ARIZONA

There are so many things to see in Arizona that it is truly amazing. However I believe that if a person were to look in any state it is likely that conclusion would also be correct. It does seem that certain towns have more than their share of destinations within a few hours drive. This POTR focuses on three that are fairly close to Flagstaff, AZ. A few miles north is the Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument. About 930 years ago a volcano erupted creating a cinder cone that is 1,120 foot high. It also created a lava flow over a mile and a half wide and six miles long. The ash and lapilli that was ejected covers more than 810 square miles. Ash is less than one sixteenth of an inch and the Lapilli, which is material that falls out of the air during a volcanic eruption is between one sixteenth of an inch and two and a half inches. Lapilli in Latin means little stones. Larger particles are known as volcanic bomb until they cool and then are known as a volcanic block. The eruption of Sunset Volcano forced the abandonment of settlements of Native Americans known as Sinaqua. The Spanish word sin means without and aqua means water. Thus the Sinaqua were people who lived in an area of very little water. (I will tell you more about the Sinaqua in the next POTR.) There was a time that hiking to the top of the crater was allowed, but unfortunately the hikers did a lot of damage to the crater walls just by walking and hiking to the summit is no longer allowed. While the roads through the monument provide a tremendous overviews of the lava flows and hills covered with a blanket of ash and lapilli there is no place to really view the total volcano. I took numerous pictures of the lava flows which are very black and appears to be as new as when it was hot. To have a good picture for you to see what the crater really looks like I had to go to the Internet and find a picture that was taken from an airplane. This is the only picture that I have ever used that I did not take myself. (And hopefully the last!)

SUNSET CRATER VOLCANO NATIONAL MONUMENT NEAR FLAGSTAFF, ARIZONA

There has been a lot more volcanic activity in the Southwest states than I ever realized. While driving on Interstate 40 in the vicinity of Grants, NM there were large lava flow fields on both sides and in the middle of the highway median. In northern New Mexico there is another National Monument dedicated to a volcano. Mt. Capulin National Monument erupted about 60,000 years ago. It has slopes that are a lot more stable today than Sunset. It has a road that goes around to the top to a parking lot that can be taken with a standard vehicle. Large motor homes are not allowed on the road but can be left at the bottom. At the parking lot there is a trail around the rim with a spur trail that goes down to the bottom of the crater. Erma and I were there and hiked the trail back in 1993. Because of our hike around Mt Capulin, Sunset Crater was more meaningful. Go visit both places if you can.

In Gallup, NM we went to Earl's Cafe to eat. It was an interesting looking place and it had good food. I was very surprised when there were many Native Americans, I think most were Hopi, who came through selling jewelry. The jewelry ranged from very low quality with low prices to very good quality at a higher price. Much of the jewelry was very pretty. They were very polite. During our meal there must have been at least a dozen vendors that came by. It was simply funny to me

We are in Santa Fe, NM for the weekend. As we drove in we saw smoke from a big fire towards the east. Just about the time we were parking another forest fire to the northwest was started by a power line falling into a tree. So here we are where we can see smoke fifty miles away in two directions. There is no smoke in the camp. We sure hope the wind does not shift. But the sunsets are nice.

Till later this is Doug of

Peace On The Road