The morning routine was carried out flawlessly……..as it should have been after 78 mornings in TheHowserHouse on wheels. It was sooooooo damn windy ALL night long…..that occasionally TheHowserHouse shook and would wake me up. By morning….it never did get very chilly…..the winds had settled down.
We left for Flagstaff and the Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument which is just a few miles north of town around 9am. It was quite cloudy and then the wind began to return….and even just driving the truck the 30 miles to Flagstaff became a bit of an effort to stay on the road.
Turning off of Hwy 89 North…north of Flagstaff……we soon found the first pull-off to view the many volcanoes in the large area. We then stopped at the Visitor Center for the National Monument drive……and spent some time there reading and viewing presentations on the activity of the volcanoes in this area about a 1000 years ago. I had NO idea that there sooooo many volcanoes in this area of the country. All of the mountains that we have been viewing while in this area are VOLCANOES.
We began the 34 mile drive……and stopped at many of the pull-offs to take some of the walks that are provided for better understanding of the destruction that volcanoes can make…..with the molten lava and the thrown chunks that litter as far as you can see. I have been at other volcano lava areas and while there seemed to be more lava at the other places…..this was definitely IMPRESSIVE!!!!
Of course, the 1st Lady being a ex-science teacher….she was really excited about the lava rocks, the splits in the lava, and the destruction of the ground and plant life in this area. She kept talking about the scientific theories of things like this…….hmmmmm. I enjoyed the landscapes of the lava rocks, the tall cone shaped mts., and just trying to visualize how it must have looked during the eruptions!
From there, we continued the drive until we reached the Wupatki National Monument which has several areas of “houses” of these Native American tribes. We went to the Visitor Museum….and then took a walk through the area where not only a large pueblo type house was fairly intact, but so was there ball field, and the meeting house. It is really a great place to visually study these remains…..and to learn more of how they lived. It never ceases to amaze me when we begin to talk about dates for these early tribes……just how far behind they were in comparison with the Europeans during of that time period.
My mind then goes to the way we just took over their land, their lives, and their other properties. I could get on my soapbox and deliver a scathing sermon about what our government did to these Native Americans…..but, I need to respect my blood pressure at my advancing age. There seems to be some degree of relevancy to what we are now doing in Iraq!!!
Returning to Flagstaff by mid-afternoon, we drove Route 66 into town and stopped at the Railway Depot downtown and stopped in at the Tourist Office to gather some info about their downtown arts and crafts area. We walked for several blocks stopping and stepping into some of the arts stores as well as other stores. There are MANY restaurants and cafes and watering holes throughout the area…….and so we inquired among the people in the stores as to a good place to dine.
We were urged by several to go to the Mountain Oasis……and they were correct in their review of this place. The 1st Lady and I had a glass of wine to begin with as I knew it was time for my evening dosage of my dark red medicine. I ordered the Penne Pasta with grilled chicken, artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes, and a wonderful basil cream sauce lightly covering the ingredients. I also had a bowl of soup: pumpkin pie soup!!!! Yep…..and it was delicious. There was some crunch in the soup……some small chips of celery and onion, but yet the soup had an overall sweetness from the pumpkin. GREAT!!!!
The 1st Lady had a small salad along with Linguine with garlic shrimp and spinach. I tasted it and it was just wonderful…….lots of garlic which I love!!! We had made some great choices from a rather limited menu……but by not having to prepare many menu items it allowed more time for individual preps and wonderful presentations for their cuisine. They had an extensive wine list………but, I stuck with my cabernet sauvignon and it was quite good!!
A quick stop at Walmart…..and then we headed back to Williams and TheHowserHouse. Tomorrow we leave for east of Flagstaff with the rv……and plan to visit the Meteor Crater that is there. I will talk more about it tomorrow evening…….
It has been a much, much cooler day with very little sun……but our day trip to the volcano lava beds and Native Am. ruins has made the day a very good one.
I understand my pics of the last two nights have not been able to get from me through cyberspace to you…….soooo sorry about that!!!! It is this damn slow pic sending through my cell phone…….as the Wifi sucks!!!!! I will get them on……slowly!!!
Life is Great…..and I hope it is for all of you, also!!!!!!
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