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!
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| Me and John on Hoover Dam |
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| Hoover Dam |
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| Lake Mead |
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| John and Jamal discuss a present for Sherry, John's wife |
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| Wish I'd had the money and a place for this Hopi Pot. That's also picture of the woman who made it. |
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| 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.
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| Near the old mission in downtown Santa Fe |
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| 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"!!
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| Hey, it's crazy but it made us smile at the end of a long day. |
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