Painting

It's hot and humid here today, 

(about 102 with 35% humidity!)

so I'm staying inside 

and starting a new class on colored pencil portraits.

I finished the Anna Mason class on The Hand 

last week 

before I took off on my trip. 

My Hand Painting

I love watercolor, but sometimes I get bored
and want to do something different,
so I bought some Coloursoft Pencils 

and I'm going to try my hand at colored pencil art.

I signed up for a portrait class from ArtTutor.

Today I work on eyes.

The teacher is using a different set of pencils,
but they cost near $200
so I'm working on a color chart
to try to find equivalent pencil colors for the class.
I wish she'd included a chart with the lessons,
but it's good practice for me.

Soooooo....
I'm off to do art and try to stay cool.
See you on the road.

Happy Trails!

Annie

Gallup, New Mexico

It was late in the afternoon when I arrived in Gallup. 

I'm not sure what I was expecting, but the place is tiny.

I needed to find a campsite before dark, so I drove on through, figuring I'd go back to explore the next day or two. I was getting tight on cash and needed to find a place to hunker down for a week or two.  I found a campground not too far up into a canyon called Quaking Aspen, where the fee was only $5 and half of that for me with my federal pass.

I arrived and as I was looking for the pay envelope I saw a sign that said, "CAMPGROUND CLOSED SEPTEMBER 17 AM!"

Oh crap!  Really?  

Just as I was bemoaning my luck on this danged trip, a car with a sign, "CAMPGROUND HOST" pulled up.

I said, "Is the campground REALLY closing tomorrow???"

He nodded, and said, "And you may want to follow me to the next campground, because the host here says he's locking up as soon as he collects the envelopes in the morning. Last year, he locked a guy in!"

Sheesh!  Apparently the fellow had to use bolt cutters to get out of the campground. I didn't carry bolt cutters, so I followed him a mile or two up the road to another nice campground.  I had the pick of the place as there was only one other camper left. Really nice campground that I'll return to next season. However, it was also closing the next morning. Budget cuts, I guess?

So I parked for the night in this wonderful quiet place with pines and meadows, got a good night's sleep, and decided to head back to Desert Hot Springs next morning.   The Universe just didn't seem to be cooperating with my plans of finding a place to hang out a couple of weeks until the weather cooled in DHS.

I've learned to LISTEN to these signals from the Universe, and though it's over 100 degrees with humidity of 35% here today, I feel I made the right decision. I'll hang out here and paint and do water aerobics in the mornings, and continue my Route 66 travels possibly later in the season. At least I did make it across Arizona.

By the way, I stopped at this place just before crossing into New Mexico. It's on the North side of the highway and a grandmother there runs a little stand inside with the BEST tacos!

New Mexico looks like it will be gorgeous!

My nice campsite

As I was leaving I stopped in Gallup for breakfast and ran across this sign.

Maybe another clue from the Universe that I should get my butt home!

::laughing!:::

Happy Trails!

Annie

 GPS: 35.40581, -108.54017 for the campground

Painted Desert

The Petrified Forest and the Painted Desert are basically in the same park. You enter one from the south and one from the north. Both Visitor Centers are worth a stop, though the one at the southern end is better because they have a short trail where you can see petrified logs up close.

The Painted Desert was crazy spectacular!  I'm really happy I visited.   The colors were amazing; blues, purples, pinks, tans, just like someone took a paintbrush to the hills.  Beautiful.















There was a fellow with camels there - he was busy talking to a lady so I didn't stay to find out what his deal was, but the camels seemed to feel right at home ther ein the desert.











After a wonderful day exploring here,
I got back on the Highway and headed to Gallup, New Mexico.

Petrified Forest

From Holbrook, I headed to the southern end of the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert.  The Petrified Forest is in the southern end of the park and the Painted Desert is in the northern end. If I had it to do again, I'd enter the Painted Desert at the northern tip right off Hightway 40/Route 66, but for some reason, the guidebook didn't say that was possible and I ended up driving the full length of the park 3 times. 

I parked at the lower end, right outside the park, in a small FREE Crystal Forest Shop campground run by tourist shop there.  The lady there was nice, and said as long as I had a toilet, I could park there free for up to 10 days. 

HOWEVER, for some weird reason (people without toilets?) the FLIES were CRAZY!  I'm talking 50 flies if I opened my van door for 2 minutes. I wasn't too happy about staying there, honestly, due to the flies. Otherwise, it would have been fine and I bet the stars would have been magnificent that night!

I left my ice chest and chair in my camping spot, the one under the big tree she suggested that had shade all day, and headed up the 20-something mile road to see the Petrified Forest, then the Painted Desert at the other end. Once I got up at the northern end of the park, I saw the sign that told me I could get back on Hwy 40 there!

I looked at the map and it was closer than going all the way around. If I'd not left my ice chest and chair, I could have just hopped onto the highway there, but the chair is special to me, so I drove back down to retrieve it. Then I drove back UP and stopped at the points I'd passed before due to the number of tourists in the parking lots. The park is self-guided, with pull-outs at the important points. It was pretty busy, so I'd passed some points, and was happy to have the opportunity to stop and see the ones I'd missed.

A beautiful specimen of petrified wood at the Visitor Center

Always look UP!

YIKES!

The best place to see the petrified logs up close is the Visitor Center Trail

Campsite is at  GPS: 34.79245, -109.890915

Wigwam Hotel

Next stop was the Wigwam Hotel in Holbrook. 

It was like a walk back into my childhood. 

A very cool piece of petrified log

The sign says:

Dear Mr. Paul Lewis,

It is my pleasure to inform you that the

Wigwam Village ... was listed on 

the National Register of Historic Places on May 2, 2002.

As you know, the National Register is the official listing

of the Nation's cultural resources worthy of preservation.

Congratulations!

Sincerely,

Christine M. Vlahistorm

National Register Coordinator/Historian

Arizona State Historic Preservation Office

The JACKRABBIT

Here It Is!

I arrived at the Jackrabbit, and met a couple from Eugene Oregon.

They were doing Route 66 in a convertible, and graciously offered to take my photo on the jackrabbit!

The shop was closed, so I got back on Route 66 and headed for Joseph City.

 

Standin' On The Corner . . .

Next stop was Winslow, Arizona!

The first thing I did was gas up,

then stopped at a carwash to wash the dust off my van

so I could open the door without getting slimed.

Then I asked a friendly policeman, 

"Where's the famous corner?"

He directed me, 

and

here I am "standin' on the corner."

(There are signs directing people as you get closer, btw)

This was fun.

I must have taken about 50 photos

with my iPhone propped up on a lamp post,

trying to get a good shot.

And here's the Flat Bed Ford! 
You can actually see it in the previous photo in the window reflection.

There was a funny old guy sitting on the corner,

watching all the silly people stopping,

getting their photo taken,

then leaving.

I counted at least 5 in the 15 minutes I was sitting there.

Must be real entertainment when you live 

in a town as small as Winslow!

After taking my photo,

I found breakfast in a mom and pop joint 

at the end of Route 66 before getting back on the highway.

Sadly, I forgot to take a photo or get the name.

But it was pretty good corned beef hash and eggs!

On to the JACKRABBIT!

Happy Trails,

Annie

Twin Arrows

Since I was unable to camp at Walnut Canyon, I drove until I was out of what seemed to be the smoke zone. I thought I'd camp at the old Twin Arrows, and was happy so find a brand new casino across the street, where I was able to spend the night.

I can still see the smoke in the distance. It's headed this way in the photo, and when I woke up next morning, I could smell smoke.  When I drove back through a couple of days later, it was smoky here.

This is a friendly place to boondock. I called and asked and was told it was fine to camp in the parking lot if I was going to play. I spent maybe $60 playing the slots and having dinner. I had a good time, so it was worth it.  Be sure and sign up at the Customer Service area, because you get to spin a wheel and get $$$ free play.  I won $50 free play and spent several hours playing the penny slots on that free play.  FUN!

I had the buffet for dinner, and frankly, it wasn't worth the price. I've had MUCH better buffet meals at other casinos.  If I were to do it again, I'd stay here, but would either eat in the van or find food before arriving.

The REAL Twin Arrows

The above photo is all I could see of the REAL Twin Arrows in the dark.

Next morning I can see the smoke approaching

The Casino parking lot

I headed out early and stopped at a rest stop a few miles out of town to make coffee and wait for the sunrise.



Next stop was the JACKRABBIT!

Love,
Annie