Wupatki National Monument, Arizona

Wupatki National Monument in Arizona is one of those places where you can easily lose your frame of time walking among what is left of the once largest Pueblo from nearly 800 years ago.  Located on the Colorado Plateau, Wupatki was known as the meeting place for several Native American Indian cultures.  Even then, this area was dry and very warm making it not the most comfortable environment for living or growing crops for food.

To this day, no one knows why Wupatki flourished despite the harsher conditions of the land.  But it did, and that could be one of the reasons why the ancient Pueblo survives today.  Visiting the national monument is a joy to reconnect with the old ways of life.  It is also a great way to delve within your inner self, as this monument is the least traveled and easy to lose yourself in the past as you walk along quietly, usually only with your own group as company.  That is what makes visiting Wupatki so special to our family.  We love to feel as if we’re the only ones out there and that can happen at Wupatki, even in 2010.

The hikes are easy.  It is only a ½ mile round trip to see the largest pueblo in the park which is named Wupatki Pueblo.  Records indicate that about 100 people lived in Wupatki Pueblo around 1182.  Then it was the largest building within 50 miles.  The thousands of people who lived in the vicinity at that time, had a day’s walk to get to the pueblo.  The stories of the Wupatki Pueblo are passed on among the Hopi, Zuni, Navajo, and other tribes who understand the importance of remembering and sharing the history of their generations.  Hopi Indians believe the people who lived and died at Wupatki remain as spiritual guardians.

Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, Arizona/Utah

A place that is sure to leave a lasting impression on your soul is Monument Valley located on the border of Arizona and Utah in the U.S.A.  That could be the reason this place is the most used for filming movies on location.  The beauty is stark, dramatic and so riveting it’s hard to take your eyes off of the splendid nature in front you of you spanning 360 degrees.  If Mother Nature had indeed created her own art gallery, it would be the impressive sandstone monoliths sprawling in every direction in Monument Valley.

Our family recently went to Monument Valley to celebrate the beauty of life.  Don and I wanted to share this special place with our children Dani and Josh now that they are older and more aware of the emotional ties that make us who we are today.  I lost my oldest sister a few years ago.  When her husband told me that Monument Valley was their favorite place in the whole world, it made me want to see the red cliffs even more.  I knew then that just standing among the beauty of the valley would make me feel a bit closer to her spirit.  And that thought alone made my own spirit soar as we traveled.  I just couldn’t wait to get there again.

Monument Valley is a special place.  The quiet is so still there you can actually hear it within your own beating heart.  The valley is infused with the rich traditions and tranquility that personifies the Navajo Indian spirit.  Driving in the Monument Valley Tribal Park gives you the flavor of what the Navajo way of life was in the past and up to the present.  The Navajos have seamlessly bridged and preserved their old ways with the new ways without losing their rich cultural traditions.

The park has a visitor center, campground, restaurant and a lodge.  There is a $20 entry fee to take the 14 mile graded loop drive which takes you to the famous monoliths:  the Mittens, Totem Pole, and the Yei Bi Chai among others.  These are the ones that have become the landmarks of the area and highly recognizable from movies, TV shows and commercials.

As you drive keep a good look out for the livestock.  The Navajos who still live in the monument and have for generations, raise sheep who graze in the open lands.  The Navajo way of life is preserved and sheep wool is spun and woven into native rugs which are sold in the valley and in surrounding stores.   The weavers raise the sheep and sear, wash and spin the wool in the traditional ways of their old cultural ancestors who passed on the methods through the generations to preserve the art.  It is not uncommon to see a weaver sitting on the floor in front of a Navajo log loom as they spin their tradition.  This is most exciting to see near a Hogan, the ancient Navajo dwelling, which are still used for living in the valley.

Our family loves to visit Monument Valley and see the rich ways of the Navajo life.  The sandstone orange and red hues are vivid any time of day and make for spectacular photos.  If you are ever in the valley, we hope you will stop and visit the Monument Valley Trading Post.  We are proud to say our “OutDoors And not…Arizona” travel DVD is on sale there and your purchase helps the Navajo way of life endure.  As the Navajo people perceive their homeland, this strong spiritual belief in the land of Monument Valley requires that Mother Earth be treated with the deepest respect.

Let’s go!

Crater Lake National Park, Oregon

Did you know where the seventh deepest lake in the world can be found?  That would be in the state of Oregon in the U.S.A. with Crater Lake, the deepest in the nation.  Measuring 1,943 feet deep, and at  100 miles east of the Pacific Ocean, Crater Lake is located in Southern Oregon on the crest of the Cascade Mountains.

Crater Lake was not formed due to a meteor as many believed.  The lake lies inside a caldera, or volcanic basin, on the once 12,000 foot Mount Mazama which collapsed 7,700 years ago after an eruption.  In time large amounts of winter snow melt (up to 533 inches a year) filled up the caldera and formed a deep blue lake of fresh water.  The lake has no inlets or outlets.  Its water provided purely from nature is among the clearest found anywhere in the world.

The reason for the beautiful cobalt blue color of Crater Lake is the purity of its water molecules.  Water molecules with no sediments, algae, pesticides or pollution, will absorb all the colors in the light spectrum, except the blues.  Those wavelengths bounce back and give the lake water its gorgeous deep blue hue.  It takes lots of pure water to get this effect, for there has to be enough water molecules to absorb all the other colors.  Crater Lake has 4.6 trillion gallons of water, making this possible, and proving the point well.

Due to its deepness the lake rarely freezes over in the winter.  A 95% freeze occurred in 1985 and the only known complete surface freeze was in 1949.  This area in Southern Oregon rarely gets cold enough to freeze water of that depth.  You would think that a lake that doesn’t freeze over would naturally be filled with native fish.  That is not the concept with Crater Lake where six species of fish including Rainbow Trout and Kokanee Salmon were introduced between  1888-1941.  Because the lake was stocked with non native fish, means fishing is encouraged and there is no limit, but you must use artificial bait.  Fishing is allowed on the shore and on Wizard Island.

Animals are rare to spot but are there at the lake, including Roosevelt Elk, Mule Deer, Black Bear, Coyote, Bobcat, Porcupine, Yellow-bellied Marmot, Pine Marten, Snowshoe Hare, Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel, and the Townsend Chipmunk.  In the summer Bald Eagles have been seen, especially near Wizard Island.

In 1902, legislation was set forth to dedicate Crater Lake as a National Park to preserve and protect its natural state for all future generations to enjoy.  The National Park Service manages the park resources to this day.  Crater Lake is a nice way to spend the afternoon.  If you are ever in Southern Oregon, make sure to plan a visit.  You can then say you’ve seen the deepest lake in America.

Let’s go!

Echo Canyon and Inyo Mine, Death Valley, California

It’s now 2010 and only 105 years since the inception of the Inyo Mine in Echo Canyon of Death Valley National Park, California.  In January 1905, two prospectors named Maroni Hicks and Chet Leavitt made the mine discovery in Echo Canyon.  By March the two men returned loaded with provisions and took out more claims in the area.  In May the men had twenty claims and began to dig a tunnel in June on one of them.  By summer the Hick and Leavitt property was the most prominent and talked about in the Echo-Lee District.

Hicks and Leavitt were able to convince investors to go in on their purchase of the Inyo Mine.  The capitalists were interested and by August nine of their 20 claims were bonded to Mr. Tasker L. Oddie for $150,000 and Mr. Charles Schwab for the remainder for $100,000.  The arrangement was for Mr. Schwab to pay the prospectors $5,000 on September 1^st, if he was to move forward with the purchase of the gold mine.  Mr. Oddie was to pay $5,000 on December 1^st with the remainder paid in one year.

Schwab never did pay his portion and never tried to develop any plans.  Mr. Oddie did move forward and his men began working the Inyo Mine.  The men soon developed a deep shaft that went 50 feet down.  The farther down the miners went in the mine the more ambitious their plans grew.  Talk began of the development of a mill with a tramway and electrical power plant to cut off the presently used 35 mile drive to Rhyolite, Nevada.  The present road was so winding, Mr. Oddie highly considered constructing the new wagon road to Rhyolite even at a cost of $1,500.  The road never materialized when Mr. Oddie let his option expire in November due to a misunderstanding of the terms.

The Inyo Mine claims were then bonded to two Colorado capitalists for a payment of $10,000 to be paid upfront with the balance of $140,000 due later that year.  The deal was never sealed when the Colorado men were unable to raise the cash or refused to move forward in their option.

The Inyo Gold Mining Company was sold in December to Utah promoters L. Holbrook and associates.  The company sold stock for $1 each, with a capitalization of $1,000,000.  By March the mine was 100 feet deep and employed nine men.  Chet Leavitt retained his interests in the mine and served as VP of the company, and directed the mining operations.

By June, the Rhyolite Herald newspaper hailed a big gold strike at the Inyo Mine.  When the blistering heat of the summer months set in, virtually all mining work ceased at the mine when temps could rise as high as 120 degrees.  By 1906 no shipments were made when work progressed slowly although a new 73 foot shaft was completed.

When the mine reopened in 1907 three new shafts at depths of 100, 73 and 30 feet had been tunneled out.  Chet Leavitt was still working the mine directing all operations as superintendent.  By February 20 men were working the mine.  A commissary store was in the works.  Water was now hauled 8 miles away from Furnace Creek.  The town kept growing to support the growing number of miners working the Inyo Gold Mine.  A new boarding house and commissary for groceries was built.  The local newspapers wrote about the boom in the new gold fields along the Nevada-California border.  The town continued to grow until the Panic of 1907 set in and forced the Inyo Gold Mine into bankruptcy.

We were just at the Inyo Gold Mine in late 2009.  It is interesting to see that a little over one hundred years later, we as a nation, are in another financial crisis.  Guess it’s true that history does repeat itself.  Regardless of whether you know the history of Inyo Mine or not, it’s still worth a visit.  But be forewarned, the road is bumpy and requires a four-wheel drive vehicle.

Let’s go!