September 26, 2005
Grandpaw Hauls Out the Old Slide Projector Amid a Chorus of Groans
The only downside of our trip:
The car we reserved: A Ford Mustang
The car we actually got: A Chevy Malibu
Which leaves me looking back at a week that combined the ignominy of driving a Dorkmobile with the knowledge that we had truly looked upon the face of God. More times than I can count, my head felt ready to explode with the extremes of our trip which, further, has left me with absolutely no idea where to start with the recounting of our adventures.
Oh, wait. Yes, I do. With what, to me, is the most important picture of the 150+ we took:
Me ‘n Der Cuzz!!
And next, our completely unexpected but very happily received gifts from Der Cuzz:
On top, direct from Mongolia, a felted camel made from...er, camel. He was immediately named “Mongol Lee,” or more accurately, “Mongol LEE,” with emphasis on the “LEE,” and became our constant companion during the trip, sort of like Stephanie’s sock...only not.
Underneath Mongol LEE, a gift worth its weight in gold: Two balls of Mongolian camel yarn. Grown on a Mongolian camel, sheared from a Mongolian camel, spun by a Mongolian in Mongolia, and now in my possession. Amazing. And, yes, it's soft, although it's hard to tell because the balls are dense, solid, hard, like two cannonballs—which tells me that there is a buttload of yarn wrapped up in there.
And now, on to the trip. And since we know this is the modern-day equivalent of holding friends and family hostage while we inflict upon them endless hours of grainy slides, some sideways, some upside down, don’t fret—we won’t include all 150+ pictures. But, dang, it was hard to narrow it down.
We arrived in Phoenix on Saturday, and drove the two hours to Sedona. Within five seconds of taking this photo...
we received our first lesson in Arizona flora, that being that anyone, scientist or not, botanist or not, who tells you that saguaros are rare, priceless, and thisclose to disappearing from the face of the earth, never to be enjoyed by future generations, is full of hooey. To him I say loudly and with great vigor and with emphatic pointing of a finger, “Liar, liar, pants on fire!” Saguaros are weeds, weeds, I tell you! Granted they take 60 years to grow one "arm," and 125 years to reach full maturity, but they, and the prickly pear cacti, were everywhere. Every. Frickin'. Where. Right after we congratulated ourselves on having seen and photographed a Rare Saguaro Cactus—one of the two remaining on this earth, we were convinced—we drove over a hill...and there it was—saguaro as far as the eye could see. Tens of thousands of them. And it continued in this vein for miles. And miles. Rare and endangered, my arse.
And this photograph captures the exact moment when we realized how absolutely clueless I was about our trip, what we were doing, where were going, what we were going to see. Sure, our hotel web site had boasted that they were located near “the red rocks,” so this “red rock” business seemed important, but this is the moment when I actually said, “Oh, red rocks!” Out loud. Like a dweeb.
And proof that the hotel was, indeed, near the red rocks. I present the view from our window, at sunset:
Soon after the above photo was taken, we hit The Long Day of Travel Wall and very shortly after that were face down in bed, drooling and snoring, I'm sure, but getting rested up for the next day when our true adventures began. We rendezvoused with the Robed One in the a.m. and he took us on a marvelous hike which took us closer to the red rocks and which gave us a chance to see more of the Arizona flora and fauna, like, yes, even more prickly pear cactus, but how can you resist something as beautiful as this?
And we saw lots of this, alligator juniper. Cool, no? At least it was cool until the moment, three days later, when I realized that that was exactly what my skin was feeling like.
And a coupla more photos from Part 1 of the hike:
Part II involved a trip to a cave to see some petroglyphs pictographs petroglyphs pictographs ancient drawings.
This photo shows some petroglyphs pictographs ancient drawings made in an area where the Native Americans burned fires, the soot from which caused the petroglyphs pictographs ancient drawings to naturally turn black:
...What's that, Maw?! It's time to go home already? But Sis and Bobby Joe and Tammy Lee and Jim Bob haven't had a chance to see the slides of the Grand Canyon yet! What's that you say? We're invited back for Wednesday vittles? Okey-doke, I'll bring the rest of the slides back then.
Welcome back! The long week of silence was difficult for me, but I was able to get through it only because I KNEW you and TMK were having a wonderful time on vacation.
and it appears that indeed you did! Thanks for the great pictures, but you've left me hankering for more (see, I'm talking old wild west now, thanks so much).
That Mongolian camel yarn is TO DIE FOR. I wanna touch it! Cuzzin Tom is just the cutest, most considerate monk in all of monkdom.
Hugs, Mary B
Oh, now you've got me itching to go on my trip to Sedona (scheduled for next month)! Looooved the photos.
And I urge you to please bring the camel and his load of yarn to the next Ferals meeting, Oct. 10.
Posted by: Karen on September 26, 2005 12:47 PMKaren--me, the wool, and the camel, we will be there, front and center!!
Glad to be back, MaryB. We were convinced that the Arizona sun was going to rip our skin off a piece at a time, so we are very happy to be back in the cool Seattle air and insipid sunshine.
Posted by: Ryan on September 26, 2005 12:55 PMWelcome home and thanks for the photos! I'm going to remember to come back to this post in February - the only time I ever miss AZ. I can't wait to see more of the slide show.
Posted by: Elaine on September 26, 2005 01:01 PMI've been to that area twice now, but 20 times would not be too much. It is soooooo beautiful. I even saw a hummingbird moth at that fancy mall in Sedona. Standing on the rim of the Grand Canyon truly boggles one's mind. What are you going to make out of the camel hair? Or is it going into your "core stash"?
Posted by: Joan in Reno on September 26, 2005 01:02 PMWelsome back. An FYI Petroglyphs are carved into rocks (I think that is what these are but it's hard to tell in the pictures). Pictographs are drawn or painted onto the surface of the rocks.
Posted by: Jayme on September 26, 2005 01:06 PMI don't wanna wait. I wanna see them now!! :P~
I can be a whingey 5 yr old when it suits me. So glad you had so much fun and saw so many amazing things. I look forward to the next installment.
Posted by: anj on September 26, 2005 01:28 PMWelcome back youse two! Obviously you had a fab time. I hope Cuzzin Tom realizes by now if he'd just brought back about 100 of those felted camels he could have financed any number of trips back to MongoLEEa!!!! We ALL want one! Or two....
Love,
Linda "K"
Posted by: Linda "K" on September 26, 2005 01:58 PMYou did wear sunscreen, yes? :)
Posted by: Libby on September 26, 2005 02:45 PMYou just gave me a hankering for visiting Arizona and let me tell you, THAT never happens! After spending the first 11 years of my life driving through that state on the way to Grandma's house, you would have thought the hankering would have left me but NO you had to go and LIGHT it up!
Glad you had fun!
Posted by: Rebecca on September 26, 2005 02:54 PMYep, Libby, I was a very, very, very good girl. SPF 30 every minute, every day. No amount of SPF, though, could prevent TMK from getting the dreaded vacation cold. More on that later.
Rebecca, if you get the opportunity, go. Granted, our trip felt a little surreal because everything was so, so different from Seattle but I'd do it again. And again.
Joan, you've asked the $64,000 question. I have no idea what I'm going to make out of the yarn. One thing I DO know, though; I'm not making anything for Dulaan out of it, because how ridiculous would it be to mail that yarn, albeit in slightly altered form, BACK to Mongolia?
Jayme, thank you for clarifying the pictograph/petroglyph issue. The park ranger at the cave did explain it all to us but it's all gone !poof! out of my brain since then. Hey, I'm just glad I know how to spell the two words!
LindaK, how I winced when I read your money-making idea because, of course, it's brilliant and perfect. Sigh.
Anj, more on Wednesday. Cross my heart.
Posted by: Ryan on September 26, 2005 03:15 PMNow, Cuz! You should have put our photo at the end. No one's going to remember the rest of the post after being dazzled by the splendor of our supermodel genes. And I appreciate the "face of God" comment, but in all modesty I'm just a minor deity.
While it was a major treat to hang with my Cuz and all (it had been, after all, 10 years), it morphed into stupendous when I joined that elite club of those for whom the "M" in TMK has morphed from "Mysterious" to "Marvelous", having met her for real.
Their visit couldn't have been better timed for me. While Sedona: The Landscape never really fails to amaze, with my suddenly being plopped there from MongoLEEa, Sedona: The Population Of Delusional Individuals Who're Convinced THEY'RE Displaying The Face Of God was working my last nerve. So playing tour guide and seeing the landscape through fresh eyes was frankly faboo.
Problem is that now I've shifted to our temple in Poolesville, MD. Lessee, how can I convince them to visit here? Um, Cuz? Did you know that Poolesville has purple rocks? With pink polka dots? And chocolate rivers and gum drop trees? Yeah, OK, forget it...
Posted by: Cuzzin Tom on September 26, 2005 03:55 PMPurple rocks? Pink polka dots? Cuzz, you lie like a dawg.
Posted by: Ryan on September 26, 2005 03:57 PMHuh. I used Preview and everything and somehow missed that I used "morphed" twice in one sentence. How morph-tifying.
Posted by: Cuzzin Tom on September 26, 2005 04:08 PMHoping for pics from the chopper! Glad you're back. If you ever decide to send old Mongol Lee around the country Flat Stanley style (do you know him?), I hope you buy him a ticket to visit me. I'm sure he'd be the bees knees (the camel's humps?) at the monthly contra dance!
Posted by: marylee on September 26, 2005 04:58 PMI think they should visit Poolesville because that is within an hour's drive of the cutest 4-year-old in the country....namely, mine.
I swear, the photo of the prickly pear looks like an exotic bird with a red head.
Traveling must make a person say 'arse'.
Posted by: CarolineF on September 26, 2005 05:29 PMWow! You been busy, you two!
I'm plotting and planning something more to knit for Dulaan because, you know, in another life, I could have been Mongol LEE ANN.
Oooookay, that was bad. I tried. Sue me. Mwah.
Posted by: Lee Ann on September 26, 2005 07:19 PMMan. I'm having second thoughts about meeting up with that Lee Ann this Sa'dy. Huh?
Wow! Welcome back, you two, and I'm SO jealous! I wanna see that!!!!!
Posted by: Norma on September 26, 2005 08:19 PMI am soooo glad to see that you had fun on your trip!! The area looks B-E-A-utiful!! (sorry corny Jim Carrey quote!!) I can't wait to see you so you can tell me more and show me more pics! I am working hard on my knitting profesora! Quiero tejar contigo muy pronto senora! Talk to you later!!
Posted by: Courtney The Giggly on September 26, 2005 09:51 PMCan't wait to see what you make with the camel wool! Looking forward to seeing Grand Canyon pics. Glad you had a nice trip.
Posted by: Sheri on September 27, 2005 05:34 AMWelcome back--being a creature of habit and little thought, I kept checking your blog, only to hit my forehead with a duh, they're off adventuring. Glad I didn't have to inflict another headache!
Posted by: Janine on September 27, 2005 07:06 AMBlog Mistress? Is it really you? Oh I had the most awful dream! You and Auntie TMK left us! And then the house flew around and around. Norma was there, and so was Lee Ann. And Cuzzin Tom! You were there, too. It's so good to be home, though. There's no place like......*ahem*
Welcome home. hehe
Posted by: Stalker Angie on September 27, 2005 07:34 AMCuzzin Tom, it appears that Poolesville is not terribly far from the legendary Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival (first weekend in May). . .
Posted by: Elizabeth D on September 27, 2005 07:37 AMgeez that was a long week without you. Great pics...I'll watch more of yer slides any day. And camel yarn? Way cool!
Posted by: Lisa in Oregon on September 27, 2005 08:12 AMhmmm. if the cuz T is moving closer to me.. perhaps I'll finally get to meet him in all his reigning glory.
plus it is another excuse for Ryan and TMK to come visit for either rhinebeck or MDSW. :)
Posted by: anj on September 27, 2005 09:13 AMRyan, those who've told you that the saguaros are rare and dying away do NOT live in Arizona. Yes, they are giant weeds. They are everywhere. But only in this desert - they grow nowhere else in the world. Lucky me.
My stepdaughter visited for the first time and said, "Oh look, it's that cactus from Taco Bell." Gotta love the wonderful culture we have here in AZ.
Cuzzin Tom, others have mentioned this, but you'll just have to play up the yarn angle of Poolesville. Find a local spinner who doesn't sell on the internet or something, and tempt them with his/her wares.
drool. dribble. all of it. saguaros, red rocks, ancient drawings (i'm gonna have to figure out how to do the line through thingie), and most of all camel yarn. i bet there's neough there for a sweater!
Posted by: minnie on September 27, 2005 08:45 PMoh btw, you said ARSE!
Posted by: minnie on September 27, 2005 09:01 PMCan't wait to see what you turn the camel fiber into. Hmm. A camel's hair coat? Gorgeous photos. Sometimes a rock is just a rock... sometimes it ROCKS.
Posted by: PainterWoman on September 27, 2005 10:15 PM