I got a dozen Elk for Valentine's Day

Bright Angel Lodge, February 14, 2011. 

Up at 6:30, in time to sweep the room for belongings before going outside to watch the sun come up. This time I walked up a little ways past El Tovar. While not crazy windy, it was definitely enough to feel colder than the preceding day. 

Checked out, grabbed a cup of coffee from the lounge and decided to drive out to Hermit’s Rest, west of GC Village as the road was open. Passed the place where I turned around yesterday. I think I could have hiked all the way out and back, but it would’ve taken much of the day at the pace I walk at. 

A French couple was taking pictures at one of the overlooks. I called “Bonjour,” and then had to explain that mon Francais etait tres rusty because evidently my accent for that single word was enough to fool them. 

The views were, of course, spectacular. Ducked inside the shop at Hermit’s Rest to get warm and took some photos of the joinery on the old chairs inside the massive fireplace. Found another tee shirt I liked, so I bought it. 

Headed back down the road and was on my way out of the village when I spied activity at the mule barn. I pulled into one of the park HQ lots, walked back and couldn’t resist offering an ear scritch to a handsome long eared bay. “That’s Murph.” Busted, one of the wranglers caught me. “He loves attention.” I also got the early spring shed of a big white mule and another huge liver chestnut named Mack all over my fleece jacket, before heading off as they mounted up the day’s group of tourists to go down into the canyon. I had a lot of fun when I rode down there more than 20 years ago. 
This is Mack. He knows what cameras are for.

Brief stop at the PO to mail some cards, then on the road out of the park. Saw a car stopped dead in the middle of the road, so I braked, then realized they were rubbernecking at a herd of elk grazing on the left side of the road. I carefully pulled over to what shoulder there was and managed a few shots with my camera before driving on. 

Gassed up just north of Williams, then took 40 east to 17 South. Cut off the interstate to drive down Oak Creek Canyon to Sedona. I confess some ambivalence about the place. It’s like “Come to Sedona, our landscape, we will sell it to you.” The main drag is nothing more than an overpriced strip mall of souvenirs, silver jewelry, tour organizers, art galleries and eateries. However, I was on something of a quest. Back in 19mumble when Nancy and I did our Four Corners Trip (the one in which I did the mule ride mentioned above), I fell in love with Hopi overlay silverwork and bought a pair of earrings. I lost one. I still have the other one in a box because it’s so beautiful. I poked my nose into several shops, and finally found what I was looking for in Humiovi. Their stuff was high end Navajo, Hopi and Apache jewelry. I asked to look at two pairs of earrings, then bought one of them. Pics to follow eventually. 

Made my way south of town and back to 17, then got off for a brief visit to Montezuma Castle, a cliff dwelling that was home to the Sinagua people until around 1400 CE. It’s an easy walk from the visitor center to the foot of the cliff, so I shot some pics of that as well. 
Hit some traffic in Phoenix, so it was dark by the time I hit the grocery store and got to site. Theia wasn’t around, but Aine checked the camp map and for some reason I wasn’t on it. So I picked a spot facing the road at the very back of our plot and set up. 

 

Notes from Estrella

Estrella War, February 16, 2011 

Yes, I’m being very unmedieval, unless you count the fact that I’m writing this by the glow of the firepot. My lanterns look beautiful against the evening sky and it’s truly not my fault that the entire West Kingdom encampment appears to have disappeared into the night. 

Since my arrival I have made contact with Mitsuhide, sasha_khan  and Cristobal, and JAF and his lady. Have yet to find purple_penguin or The Great Hero Of China, though I was informed they were coming and are somewhere over in Outlands territory. 

JAF loves his new “no-sode,” because he had the red on yesterday and the black today when I ran into him. I found myself thinking, “Hmmm, that collar doesn’t lie as pretty as I’d like,” but they fit him correctly and he’s happy with ‘em. In fact, he told me this afternoon that he’d been close to chucking the Japanese thing and switching to Mongol or something because he didn’t have things that fit or were comfortable, warm, etc. Until I agreed to make him stuff and it was right. Most gratifying. And his lady is interested in taking my taiko class and maybe doing some Japanese stuff herself.

 (Warm? Everything I’ve made him was linen or cotton. Crazy Colorado boys.....) 

Did some gurdy laps in Merchant’s Row both days, spammed the privies with posts about tomorrow’s sake tasting, and start teaching tomorrow. Had chili on Tuesday night with Antonia, Charles and Petra, did some bagged PF Chang stir fry with rice tonight – I’ve got enough left for several meals if I want it. It’s a good option for when I’m solo and kept nicely on the block ice in my small cooler.  

The firepot is on my plant-stand-and-plywood sheet undergoing a test burn. I really, REALLY like the fact that I can snuff it instantly when I want it out. 

Rumor has it Estrella will not be on this site again. I’m not shedding tears. The rest of the year it’s a farm – the berms and drainage ditches make getting around awkward and the solution to the year they couldn’t service the privies due to the deep mud has been solved by putting privies up by the “main” roads. If you’re at the back of camp, as I am, it’s hike or pee in a jar in the middle of the night and dump it in the morning.