who knew horace greely was so prescient?
i have mentioned in the past that one of my great loves is the american west. i am fascinated by the lawmakers and the law breakers. i love the story of the american indian, although it breaks my heart to consider their history with the white eyes. i love the tales of exploration, discovery, and freedom that are found in the past. some of this adventure - well-tempered, of course - can still be found if you know where to look.
one of the things i love the most about the west is the terrain. even these many years later, one can easily see the rugged, forbidding nature of this wilderness that caused our ancestors so much anguish and labor as they attempted to tame it. its beauty (in its divesity) is something that doesn't cease to bring me joy. mountains, bluffs, sandstone sculpture, canyons, desert, mesas, spring-fed pools and snow-fed rivers are distributed across the west. it is beautiful.
we just returned from a road trip to salt lake city, utah. charlotte was to attend a conference, and jackson and i tagged along for the experience.
the drive from san marcos to salt lake is a long one. we passed through the hill country of central texas and the desert of west texas before turning north to the high desert of central new mexico. this land doesn't appear to hold much that would entice a man to settle here, but that is just what occurred in this place. this area is the origin of the chisolm trail and the home of billy the kid and the lincoln county war. the navajo have considered it sacred from time unknown.
in gallup, new mexico we spent the night at el rancho hotel. built by the brother of d.w. griffith on the edges of route 66, the el rancho is approaching its 70th birthday. it was the jumping off point for the production of dozens of westerns filmed in the gallup area in the 30's, 40's, and 50's. ronald reagan, barbara stanwyk, kirk douglas, humphrey bogart, and betty hutton are some of the famous past guests at the el rancho. we stayed in the alan ladd suite. it is a grand old place and worth the effort to find it. by the way, those in the know purchase american indian jewelry and art in gallup. the quality is fantastic, and the prices are highly affordable when compared to santa fe, phoenix, et al.
after driving through the navajo reservation in new mexico and utah, we arrived in moab, utah. the arches national park, canyon lands national park and monument valley are all within a short drive of this beautiful, red treasure. think big thunder mountain railroad...but for real.
from there it was through the valleys and over the mountain passes to provo, and salt lake city. although at the foot of a beautiful mountain range, i was slightly disappointed in salt lake city. perhaps i have been tainted by the too frequent exultation offered by lovers of the salt lake area. by contrast; the cache valley, which houses logan, utah is wonderful.
on our way home from salt lake city, we drove south on I 15 to I 70 and turned east. there began a 110 mile stretch of the interstate which contains access to no services at all. it was well worth the inconvenience. we were treated to a continuing array of beautiful topography. the crest of each mesa seemed to reveal a new type of canyon different from the ones preceding it. the only shame was that i was unable to appreciate it as much as i could have had i not been required to focus on the roadway as much as i was. it was a glorious stretch of natural beauty.
we made our way through moab -again- on our way to durango, colorado. durango is an old mining town in the tops of the mountains. charlotte and i spent much of our first vacation in durango, and we love returning to this mountain village as often as we are able. of course we stayed at the strater hotel, which is one of our favorite hotels. the strater is nearing its 120th year anniversary. it is a restored victorian hotel which housed louis lamour while he wrote much of his sackett family anthology. we'll always return to the strater. we went to the bar-d chuckwagon and even jackson had a good time.
the only event worth noting from durango to home was our short stop at the blue hole. it was crowded and loud, but the water was still cold enough to make me catch my breath and blue enough to strain belief. swimming in the blue hole almost makes me believe in the thinking behind the idea of "healing waters." don't laugh; i wrote "almost."
i loved this trip immensely despite the great distance traveled. i am fortunate to have been able to share these places and experience with my beautiful wife and the little boy that i love so much. this is what really makes these things so valuable to me.
i can't wait to return, even if it's to a place i've never been.
one of the things i love the most about the west is the terrain. even these many years later, one can easily see the rugged, forbidding nature of this wilderness that caused our ancestors so much anguish and labor as they attempted to tame it. its beauty (in its divesity) is something that doesn't cease to bring me joy. mountains, bluffs, sandstone sculpture, canyons, desert, mesas, spring-fed pools and snow-fed rivers are distributed across the west. it is beautiful.
we just returned from a road trip to salt lake city, utah. charlotte was to attend a conference, and jackson and i tagged along for the experience.
the drive from san marcos to salt lake is a long one. we passed through the hill country of central texas and the desert of west texas before turning north to the high desert of central new mexico. this land doesn't appear to hold much that would entice a man to settle here, but that is just what occurred in this place. this area is the origin of the chisolm trail and the home of billy the kid and the lincoln county war. the navajo have considered it sacred from time unknown.
in gallup, new mexico we spent the night at el rancho hotel. built by the brother of d.w. griffith on the edges of route 66, the el rancho is approaching its 70th birthday. it was the jumping off point for the production of dozens of westerns filmed in the gallup area in the 30's, 40's, and 50's. ronald reagan, barbara stanwyk, kirk douglas, humphrey bogart, and betty hutton are some of the famous past guests at the el rancho. we stayed in the alan ladd suite. it is a grand old place and worth the effort to find it. by the way, those in the know purchase american indian jewelry and art in gallup. the quality is fantastic, and the prices are highly affordable when compared to santa fe, phoenix, et al.
after driving through the navajo reservation in new mexico and utah, we arrived in moab, utah. the arches national park, canyon lands national park and monument valley are all within a short drive of this beautiful, red treasure. think big thunder mountain railroad...but for real.
from there it was through the valleys and over the mountain passes to provo, and salt lake city. although at the foot of a beautiful mountain range, i was slightly disappointed in salt lake city. perhaps i have been tainted by the too frequent exultation offered by lovers of the salt lake area. by contrast; the cache valley, which houses logan, utah is wonderful.
on our way home from salt lake city, we drove south on I 15 to I 70 and turned east. there began a 110 mile stretch of the interstate which contains access to no services at all. it was well worth the inconvenience. we were treated to a continuing array of beautiful topography. the crest of each mesa seemed to reveal a new type of canyon different from the ones preceding it. the only shame was that i was unable to appreciate it as much as i could have had i not been required to focus on the roadway as much as i was. it was a glorious stretch of natural beauty.
we made our way through moab -again- on our way to durango, colorado. durango is an old mining town in the tops of the mountains. charlotte and i spent much of our first vacation in durango, and we love returning to this mountain village as often as we are able. of course we stayed at the strater hotel, which is one of our favorite hotels. the strater is nearing its 120th year anniversary. it is a restored victorian hotel which housed louis lamour while he wrote much of his sackett family anthology. we'll always return to the strater. we went to the bar-d chuckwagon and even jackson had a good time.
the only event worth noting from durango to home was our short stop at the blue hole. it was crowded and loud, but the water was still cold enough to make me catch my breath and blue enough to strain belief. swimming in the blue hole almost makes me believe in the thinking behind the idea of "healing waters." don't laugh; i wrote "almost."
i loved this trip immensely despite the great distance traveled. i am fortunate to have been able to share these places and experience with my beautiful wife and the little boy that i love so much. this is what really makes these things so valuable to me.
i can't wait to return, even if it's to a place i've never been.
posted by cm at 7/09/2006
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