Reaching Oklahoma's Highpoint, Black Mesa

Just after sunrise on April 7th we drove the remaining portions of the old Santa Fe Trail to Black Mesa.  The great thing about my quest to reach the highpoint of all 50 states is exposure to areas of the country I would never have seen otherwise.  The pan handle of Oklahoma was like driving through the scenery of every old western that you've seen.  In fact, from 1822 to 1880 before the railroad was complete, this trail was a major commercial thoroughfare connecting Santa Fe, NM with Missouri.  According to Wikipedia, Americans routinely traded with the Comanches along the trail, and it was the invasion route of New Mexico during the Mexican American War.  The area we traveled is a stark high desert with tumble weed and mesas, cactus and prairie with vast open big blue sky and occasional deer and antelope sightings.  In the sporadic small towns of the panhandle we saw the real deal working cowboy fueling up his working vehicle, often towing a horse trailer.  It took about two hours to make our way to the parking lot of the Nature Conservancy's entrance to the land surrounding Black Mesa.  I can't say enough to sing the praises of the Nature Conservancy.  They buy land that is considered important, representative habitat and set it aside for preservation so people like me can enjoy it.

An old building along the Santa Fe Trail

We stopped for a morning breakfast sandwich at a mini-mart, also the choice of local cowboys

John doing his best to look like a cowboy

Antelope "playing" beside the highway

The start of the trail to the "summit" of Black Mesa 

The trail to Black Mesa is about 8 miles round trip from parking lot to "summit".  We arrived at the trailhead about 10:30 am with plenty of water and snacks.  Midday is not the best time to hike an open and exposed part of a high western desert, but we were on a schedule to bag the summit and deliver the car to John's sister Jean on Saturday in Washington DC, so off we treked, trying to recall the words of the Broadway musical Oklahoma so we'd have a hiking song to sing.

Beginning the trail to Black Mesa

The trail was mostly flat with the exception of a 700 foot elevation gain as we climbed to the top of the "table" on the Mesa.  The geology is interesting, a volcano left a crust of rock that protects the sublayers of the Mesa from erosion.  The areas that were not covered by the "crust" have eroded away, leaving the Mesa.  It was great to be on the land after hours of watching it pass our windows at high speed.  We walked past beautiful cacti, scrub and occasional trees.  Whenever we passed a tree, we took advantage of their shelter from the hot sun.

Near the top of the climb to Black Mesa

We reached Oklahoma's highpoint on April 7, 2011

We reached the highpoint at about 12:30pm, although it was difficult to tell the correct time because we kept passing between the mountain and the central time zones during our walk.  Oklahoma's highpoint is 4,972.97 feet above sea level.  It's 1605 miles from NYC and it is in Cimarron County Oklahoma, the only county in the United States to border 4 states (Texas, Colorado, Kansas and New Mexico).  John walked to New Mexico, 1299 feet away, while I waited at the monument.  Then we we sang our way back down the trail and began our "run" to Washington DC.

More Details & Highlights from Hoover Dam to Black Mesa

Early on April 5th I was up for one or two last attempts to win on the slot machines and then John and I made the short drive from Las Vegas to the Hoover Dam.

We opted for the short tour since I was warned against the exposure from electromagnets in the huge generators.  It seems that they can mess up my pacemaker!  Oh well, it was still spectacular from the massive size and engineering wonders to the art deco architecture and the wonder of Lake Mead.  We looked at it, walked over it, drove over it and then drove over the big bridge above it.  We saw it from all angles, except below.  Then we headed for the south rim of the Grand Canyon!

Me and John on Hoover Dam

Hoover Dam

Lake Mead

Down River from Hoover Dam and Lake Mead

We arrived late afternoon at the South Rim of the Canyon.  The light was magical as the afternoon drew to a close and we walked the edge of the Canyon and explored the Bright Angel and El Tovar lodges.

Near Bright Angel Lodge

We left the Grand Canyon behind us and turned our attention to finding a good route to reach Black Mesa Oklahoma and climb it.  Finally back to my theme, reaching another state's highpoint.  It was dark when we hit the road again traveling on Route 40.   At about 10 pm we found a hotel in Gallop, New Mexico.  A little reading in our hotel room educated us about where we were, near the center of the Navaho Nation, with a large concentration of Zuni, Hopi and other native americans.  Many of the tribes have excellent craftspeople who make incredibly beautiful jewelry and pottery for sale.  As we drove out of Gallop in the morning, we decided to stop at a building with a sign reading All Tribes Center.  It turned out that it was run by a Palestinian man, Firas Jawad.  His brother Jamal was watching the store for him because he was headed out to catch a flight.  Firas's store contains hundreds of beautiful pieces, and Jamal spent over an hour talking about native american jewelry and pottery, as well as Israel and Palestine.  Both were interesting to me since my family was planning a Passover/Easter Trip to Israel and I had no presents to take home from my cross country adventure.  An hour and a half later, we were on our way with a nice collection of native american crafts.  I bought Debby a necklace with a Kachine (a sort of medicine man) with prayer feathers.  It's symbols mean that the holder will receive what she prays for.  I had to leave behind a beautiful piece of pottery that I loved but could not afford.  If I ever make it back to Gallop, I am sure I will visit Firas and Jamal again.

John and Jamal discuss a present for Sherry, John's wife

Wish I'd had the money and a place for this Hopi Pot.  That's also picture of the woman who made it.

A view driving through tribal areas of New Mexico

Next we were off to Black Mesa, but first a stop in Santa Fe,  That's the way our days would go, hours of driving would lead to a stop of a place that caught our eye.  We spent a few hours in Sante Fe, a beautiful city with plenty of art and culture to keep one occupied.  I'll be back with Debby some day.

Near the old mission in downtown Santa Fe

The Basilica of St Francis of Assisi, the parishioners claim it is the oldest Christian Church in America, over 400 years

We tried, but did not quite make it to Black Mesa, Oklahoma that night.  We stopped about two hours short, dead tired at the Holiday Motel in Clayton, New Mexico and were rewarded with a clean room and an "elephant towel"!!

Hey, it's crazy but it made us smile at the end of a long day.

More Details & Highlights from Los Gatos to Las Vegas

Blogging in real time proved more difficult than I thought, (lack of regular access to internet and a proper computer).  So, now that I am home from a month of travel I'll fill in the details from my last post.

John and Chris Sands

John and I said goodbye to Chris and Lynn and departed Los Gatos, California on Sunday, April 3rd.  Thanks to both of them for their hospitality, it wasn't easy to leave California!  Our route took us south then west through the San Joaquin River Valley.  What a spectacular sight to see, over 150 miles of  food growing in fields for as far as the eye can see and aquifers running to supply both the agriculture and the cities of California.  I wish I had taken more pictures, but we were almost out of the area by the time it struck me that we had been driving for over two hours, and the magnitude food production that I was seeing around me.

Wind farm on the outskirts of the San Joaquin River Valley

At the close of the first day we stopped in the Mojave Desert town of Barstow, California.  It was well after dark and we could barely muster the energy to leave our motel for a meal.  But, following an iPhone query to Trip Advisor we opted for a stick to our ribs meal of chili relleno and enchiladas with rice and refried beans.  If you are ever in Barstow, California, (truck drivers take note), you will find good food at Jimenez Mexican Restaurant.  That, and a bit of Route 66 at night is about all we saw in Barstow.  It was just one of several spontaneous bleary eyed stops we made on our way toward Washington DC to deliver a 1995 Buick Century to sister Jean.  When morning broke we were once again off across the desert headed for Death Valley.

Road through the Mojave on the way to Death Valley

The desert was in bloom, so the long hours of driving were often interrupted by stops to enjoy the flowers and cactus and take pictures.  It struck me how vast and inhospitable this part of the country is to humans, but somehow we have found a way to bring power and water, build towns and live here.  It has a beauty and solitude I had never seen.

We had an ambitious plans for our drive on April 4th to travel from Barstow through Death Valley, see the Hoover Dam and stop for the night at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.  But, seduced by the beauty of the desert and Death Valley we stopped short for some R&R and gambling.  More on that later.

It's difficult to not continually use words like immense, vast, endless, enormous, huge, but when speaking of the Mojave Desert/ Death Valley, the Grand Canyon, the high desert of Oklahoma and many of the places we drove through, those words are all appropriate.  We live in a country that is beautiful, vast and diverse with astounding beauty.  Death Valley was a surprisingly beautiful place.  It is the site of the lowest point in the United States, Badwater is a basin located there ( -282 ft below sea level) .  It also has one of the most astounding views of geological beauty from Zabriskie Point and a drive down a the Artists Way left me feeling awed and filled with the wonder at God's creation.  We could not resist stopping for a spontaneous listen to an interpretive program done by a National Park Service Ranger.  Turns out most of the land in the Death Valley Environs was owed by a mining company known for "20 mule team borax"...  After extracting most of the Borax they decided to let the land be used by the Park Service, with the exception of a couple of resort hotels and a shopping area from which they continue to earn revenue.

Me on the salt flats of Death Valley near the lowest point in the US

Salt on the flats

Driving near "the Artist's Palate on the Artist's Drive"

Along the Artist's Drive

A NPS Park Ranger tells us about the history and geology of Death Valley

John at Zabriskie Point

Looking from Zabriskie Point toward "the Matterhorn" of Death Valley

Some of the diversity of terrain seen in Death Valley

Back on the road late in the afternoon I called my friend Jonathon Sands, not the John I was driving with but his nephew.  I said to Jon, "guess where I am....., just 50 miles west of Las Vegas".  He replied, "Guess where I am?".  "I don't know, Las Vegas", I said... turns out Jon was there with his friends to watch the NCAA Basketball Final and root for Butler.  So, instead of a quick drive through Vegas we joined Jon and his friends at the Cosmopolitan Hotel and Casino for the evening.  My first time in Las Vegas!!!

A brief summary, wow what a scene.  It was a great game, but Butler lost.  Our room was spectacular, the Bourbon was good.  I won $180 in roulette but gave it back to them at the craps table..I guess there is a reason they call it craps?  The food was great and the fountain at the  Bellagio was spectacular.  Lot's of beautiful people were there along with everyone else.  We stayed up late and had fun before we headed off in the morning for the Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon.

Me, Jon and John on the balcony of their suite at the Cosmopolitan

More of our view with the Bellagio Fountain in the foreground

John enjoys a stroll down the strip

Ok, this has exhausted my blogging energy for today.  More to come, the trip from Vegas to DC in my next blog.