In the POD - Joshua Tree National Park

 

A Joshua tree 

Joshua Tree National Park, CA

The Joshua Tree area has been inhabited by humans for at least 5,000 years but by the 1920s development and cactus poachers threatened the ecosystem. Minerva Hoyt, a Pasadena, CA resident  and lover of desert plants, became concerned and it was the result of her efforts to protect this area that FDR designated the 825,000 acres as a national monument in 1936. 

Oh those strong, persistent women….. thank goodness we have had them throughout our history!

It was not until 1994 that that this national monument was elevated to National Park status. 

Cholla cactus 

Amid the Cholla cactus

Colorado Desert

We entered the park from its south entrance having traveled  Box Canyon Road heading north from the Salton Sea. It was a perfect meander through the desert giving us a small peek into what was to come. 

Joshua Tree National Park is an ecological melting pot - the blending of the Colorado Desert at its eastern/southern half and the Mojave Desert to the west/north. The Colorado Desert is approximately 3,000’ above sea level and the habitat is similar to the rest of the Sonoran Desert that spans much of Arizona and New Mexico with Creosote being the dominate plant mixed with large patches of Cholla cactus. It is about a 30 mile drive through this desert landscape until one reaches the “transition” zone into the Mojave. 

The elevation in the Mojave Desert is above 3,000’ and climbs, at one point, to well over 5,000’ at Keys View. You know you have entered the Mojave when you finally see the Joshua trees mixed among the pinyon pines, juniper, and scrub oaks. Joshua trees are, in fact, a species of yucca and can grow to over 40’ tall. Their growth rate is surprisingly slow… 1” per year! 

Joshua trees

The Mojave is also home to the most astounding piles of stacked boulders I have ever seen! These huge rocks are composed of monzo-granite as a result of volcanic activity eons ago. Over time the granite cooled and crystallized and began  its uplift to the surface. They truly look like a child’s building blocks arranged just so. 

Scrub oak

There are lots of campgrounds within the park- all of them very basic (no hook ups) and no vehicle over 35’ is allowed. We stayed at the Jumbo Rocks camp -@ halfway through the park - which was nestled among, yup, jumbo rocks. It was so quiet and the night sky was spectacular! Around 4 am I looked out the window to see the moon - a bright, almost yellow-orange grin siting just on top the boulders in the SE sky. That sliver of a moon did not lessen the brilliance of the star packed sky around it. 

The next morning we were greeted by a coyote walking by; its gait an almost skip/hop. 

Our camp spot at Jumbo Rocks

Yes - that’s Tim in the background! 

The park has lots of picnic spots and trails, both short loops and longer open wilderness routes, as well as off road trails for 4 wheel drive vehicles. There is so much to explore. 

The morning before we left we drove to the top of Keys View. At 5,185’ it was cold and the wind was gusting. We parked the van and climbed the rest of the hill to the viewing platform. The peak looked down on the entire Coachella Valley and the snow capped San Jacinto Peak. 

Keys View

The park is other worldly and yet so naturally basic. The snaking roots of the desert plants looking for water, the insects and small rodents that survive within and off the plants, the coyotes and the hawks at the top of that chain…. all adapting to this desert environment and all providing for one another. 

In the POD - West X Southwest

 

Red sandstone hills along Rt 179 in Sedona

Heading west from Winslow, Arizona we continued to climb in elevation. In the distance was Humphrey’s Peak. Located at the northern end of the Coconino National Forest, this snow covered mountain rises to 12,635 feet. As we arrived in Flagstaff, at almost 7,000 feet, we saw our first accumulated snow covering much of the ground. The sun was shining and the temperatures said 48 degrees - but it was balmy! We then headed south following state route 89A - a beautiful 33 mile ride through the majestic Ponderosa pines of the Coconino National Forest - descending into Sedona at 4,300 feet.

Heading into Flagstaff

Humphrey’s Peak

 At the start of our route there were signs -  “No vehicle over 30 feet” and I wondered why. The POD is just @ 25’. Well ……. halfway down that hill I was sure happy that Tim was driving! The road, which at first was quietly meandering through the forest, met up with Oak Creek and suddenly we were driving in a hairpin turn ravine with a limited amount of guardrails!! It was definitely not as scary as the Rt 190 western entrance into Death Valley National Park - mainly because it was an hour shorter! 

But it was beautiful. As long as I watched the creek rushing on one side and towering red cliffs on the other interspersed with small homes and inns nestled into the hills it was less fraught for me - because I def could not watch the road. 

Descending into Sedona

Sedona itself is not my idea of fun. It was jammed with tourists, gift shops, restaurants, and galleries catering to that clientele. I’m sure there are pockets of authenticity….but I’m not even sure what that means in this place anymore. However, the landscape, red rock mountains, and big sky make this area of the country unbeatable for the views! None of my photos can do the area justice- it is all just too big. Just go see it! 

 We are staying in the area for 3 days at Dead Horse Ranch State Park located in Cottonwood, @ 15 miles south of Sedona. It’s a 423 acre park within the Coconino National Forest. The land was purchased by Arizona State Parks in the early 70’s from the family that first established it as a working ranch in 1940. At that time, the family had visited a few properties and asked their kids which one they liked the best, and they said, “ The one with the dead horse”. 

Our day trips have included:

Fort Verde State Historic Park

Established in 1865, and shuttered in 1891, Fort Verde was a base for U.S Army Scouts during the time of the Indian Wars. There were 43 forts in the Arizona Territory during this time. None of the forts had walls around them…… can’t believe the t.v show “ F Troop” was lying to us! Fort Verde is the best preserved example of a fort from this period and visitors can walk through three of the fort’s homes; the Commanding Officer’s and family, Bachelor Officer’s and the Surgeon’s Quarters all furnished as they would have been in the 1880’s. 

The original fort’s headquarters is now the visitor center set up with exhibits, period artifacts of military and local Yavapai and Apache life,  and a video about the Indian Scouts that served in the Calvary during this time. It was interesting that the military exhibits never fully explained the U.S government’s reasoning/expectations of “Indian Wars” and they made a big point that there had never been any fighting at this particular fort. I did find it fascinating that, when the campaign was over, a number of the Indian Scouts had traveled to Washington and we’re awarded presidential medals only to return home and be rounded up with a number of “ dangerous” Apache, including Geronimo, and sent to a prison in Florida in 1886. Ahhh, we just keep learning.

Montezuma Castle

Arizona Sycamore trees

Seasoned logs can last for centuries- roofs in Montezuma’s Castle are still supported by these beams! 

Montezuma’s Castle

Sitting @ 100’ from the valley floor this five story, 20 room dwelling was built by the Southern Sinagua sometime between 1100 and 1300. The Sinagua were hunters and gatherers that roamed the Verde Valley for thousands of years before building these permanent settlements. No one is sure why the Sinagua moved away from their pueblos. 

V - Bar - V

Petroglyphs 

V Bar V is the largest known, and best preserved, petroglyph site in the Verde Valley. The area is quite remote and there is a bit of a hike to get to the site. Dated between 1150 and 1400  these petroglyphs are stunning. The site has over 1,000 petroglyphs on 13 panels. On the three walls that you can see one has a calendar and there is an entire wall they call the female wall because of its depictions of marriage and birth.

Douglas Mansion

Jerome State Park

Jerome, AZ and the Jerome State Historic Park 

Set high in the mountains ( oh yeah, many more hair pin turns) overlooking Cottonwood, AZ sits the small town of Jerome. Jerome began in 1876 when prospectors staked claims to rich copper deposits. Because the mines were so high in the hills - @ 6,000’- it required many teams of mules to bring the ore down and ultimately was not very cost effective. It took deep pockets to make it profitable by bringing in a narrow gauge railway to reduce the freight costs. In 1889 William Andrews Clark, basically a robber baron with eyes on politics (!),  bought out one of the mines and it became the largest producing copper mine in Arizona Territory. From this point on, Jerome grew rapidly and by 1912 there were 2 mines pulling out copper, silver and gold. 

Looking at the town of Jerome from the state park

Alas… copper production peaked in 1929 and the Depression reversed the fortunes of the town. Not to mention the ecological disasters created by the advent of open pit mining which caused massive slides and destruction.  By the 60’s Jerome had a population of less than 250 people and began attracting artists and “hippies”. Today the population is @ 500 and those artists and hippies have maintained the town, established galleries and restaurants for what is now a tourist town selling its history. 

Bobby D’s BBQ

Jerome, AZ

After touring the Jerome State Park site, the Douglas mansion built by the owner of the Little Daisy Mine, we wandered the town and stopped in for - you guessed it- BBQ. Actually it was the history of the  building that interested us. Built in 1899 by a Chinese immigrant the “ English Kitchen “ and was known to be the best Chinese restaurant in Jerome - of which there were many! It remained in Chinese hands until the late 60’s after which it changed hands many times until the current owners purchased it in 2007. The original Bird’s Eye Maple floorboards, the barstools, and the wooden booths upon entry still remain. 

The food was excellent.

We continued over the mountains from Jerome - actually following that infamous winding state road 89A south into the Prescott National Forest topping out at 7,030’ and was snow covered. We descended, another hair- raising switchback road on which I was driving at this time 😩, into Prescott, AZ finally landing back at just over 3,000’. 

Yes, that is a hillside of Saguaro cacti behind us!

We are spending tonite in our first BLM (Bureau of Land Management) camp. These camping spots are free, first come first served, primitive camp sites. We are in Congress, AZ on Cemetery Road, just off Ghost Town Road. It was the name that got us……..

There is, in fact, a pioneer cemetery here.

As we go to sleep tonight we are serenaded by a Great Horned Owl. It is haunting, lonely and the overseer of this high desert landscape .

In the POD - Petrified Forest National Park

Blue Mesa

Petrified Forest National Park 

I did not expect this! 

At over 220,000 acres, Petrified Forest National Park is one of the best places to see fossils from the Late Triassic Period - remnants of prehistoric forests that are now petrified wood. But there is so much more to see and explore here. There is one road through  the park - a 28 mile meander through what looks like another world, a foreign landscape of painted desert, grasslands, Native American ruins, and the “forests” of petrified wood. It was stunning.

 

The painted desert 

Petrified Forest National Park

When one first enters the park on the northern edge there are many pull outs to enjoy the vistas of the painted desert. Sprawling out in front of you - and below - it is difficult to get a sense of scale and distance. The colors pop and I’m sure that, depending on the light/ time of day it becomes a never ending changing canvas of colors. 

2 happy campers! 

Heading south you pass through sprawling grasslands eventually coming upon Puerco Pueblo. These archeological ruins are the ancestral home of native people who lived and thrived here between 1250 and 1380 CE. Both at this site and at another in the park there are over 650 petroglyphs! Tim and I kept coming back to the history we have witnessed over the past week ….. we are neither the first, nor the last. We share this world - whatever your world is - with a past. And that past is history that needs to be acknowledged. 

Petroglyphs 

From there you drive through another painted desert -  The Blue Mesa - however this one is mostly blues and purples! There is a beautiful 1 mile trail down into the badlands and you begin to see the colorful remnants of the petrified wood that is the namesake of the park. 

Overlooking Blue Mesa

At two other stops along the route -  Jasper Forest and Crystal Forest - there are the greatest concentrations of petrified wood. In Crystal Forest there is another 1 mile loop trail that takes you among a “forest” of these specimens. 

Petrified logs

So how did these trees become petrified-  basically turning them into rocks? First a bit of history- 225 million years ago this area of the SW was a tropical landscape with abundant vegetation and giant conifer trees that reached 180 feet. When those huge trees fell along the banks of the many rivers it was buried under sand and mud. This deep burial seals it away from oxygen and bacteria preventing decay. Eventually, silica from volcanic ash in the groundwater infiltrates the tree replacing the organic matter with quartz….. hence, petrified. Different minerals in the water create a rainbow of colors that can be seen in many of the pieces. These petrified specimens are stunningly beautiful- from tiny shards to massive trunks that are strewn across the landscape.

Gemlike colors!

For scale…

It was a very full day! We slept well that night- lulled to sleep by the sound of trains passing in the distance. It is a sound that we both love…..

When I awoke there was a dense, cold fog laying over us. As I looked out the window all I could see was the headlight of the train in the distance, coming our way. 

Heading westward.

In the POD - Tulsa and the Trail of Tears

Lake Dardanelle State Park

Russellville, AR

In 1838 over 16,000 Native Americans were forcibly removed from their homes and lands and marched 1600 miles to Oklahoma for “re-settlement”. Indian removal was a priority for President Andrew Jackson and  along  this “Trail of Tears” many perished. It was not the first, or the last, indignity that white people have perpetrated upon people of color.

Beginning with our visit to the Legacy Museum and our drive over the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, AL we have felt the tugs of history all around us. Those tugs are not pretty….. but we must acknowledge the past and face it head on. 

 I had planned some of our stops on this southern route but I did not see them as “thematic” in any way….just places I wanted to see.  However, as we continued our drive west along Route 40 from Tulsa, Tim asked if we were actually on our own “trail of tears”. Maybe the political backdrop, the cultural reckoning……played into my choices… not sure. But here we are. And we are learning something new at every stop.

We left Fayetteville, AR the day after a snow/ice storm. In these parts there are no plows so everyone just settles in and waits. Actually, kind of a wonderful response…. Slow down, take it easy, no rush.

We had planned a stop in Tulsa, OK to visit the Woody Guthrie Center. Opened in 2013, this museum and research center is located in the arts district of downtown Tulsa. - vibrant and very interesting area.

Woody Guthrie Center

Tulsa, OK

We all know (some of) Woody Guthrie’s music and the influence he had on so many folk artists that followed but I did not know that he was also an artist, that his father was a member of the KKK, that he was under surveillance by the FBI, that he died at 55 from complications from Huntington’s disease, and…. that at one point he lived in housing managed by Fred Trump! 

“Oh the tangled webs we weave….”

Beech House Ain’t My Home

Woody Guthrie wrote over 3,000 songs in this lifetime - although only a few were recorded. He sang/spoke to the disenfranchised and was a committed activist. 

Let’s all be more like Woody. 

We then made our way down the street a few blocks and visited Greenwood Rising. Opened in August of 2021, this museum and history center is located at the corner of Greenwood Ave and Archer St - the center of Tulsa’s historic Black district. It is also the district that once was called “Black Wall Street” because it was the home of a thriving and successful Black community that put down roots after the Civil War and continued to prosper into the 20th century. 

In 1921 the entire area was burned to the ground by their (across the tracks) white neighbors. The Tulsa Race Massacre was not acknowledged for many years, it was not taught. 

The Greenwood Rising commission had its birth in 2015 with the goal of establishing this center and legacy on its 100 year anniversary. It accomplished that goal and continues in their efforts to revitalize this area, speak the truth, and foster local entrepreneurship.

It is working. 

We drove west out of Tulsa and truthfully, in my mind, there is no real reason to stop until one enters New Mexico. Sorry, but I speak my truth. The rolling hills of Oklahoma slowly become flattened as one crosses the Texas panhandle. From there it is flat…. Flat…..flat until approximately 20 miles from the New Mexico border and the hills reappear and slowly rise to become mesas (hills with their tops cut off!). 

It is a  spectacular moment. And for some reason, at least for me, the sky just gets much bigger than it had been. 

In the high desert of New Mexico it is currently 39 degrees. But with that big sky and a full sun a sweatshirt is all I need. 

Tucumcari, NM

 

In the POD - Arkansas, museums and family

 

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art

Bentonville, AR

 Founded by philanthropist and arts patron Alice Walton, Crystal Bridges opened on November 11, 2011, and welcomes all with free admission. Set over a natural spring by the same name the museum sits seamlessly in the environment built with materials that will patina and age along with its natural surroundings. The permanent collection spans 5 centuries of American art and is committed to telling broad and inclusive stories by acquiring and showcasing the highest quality works by artists underrepresented in art history. And let me tell you - they do that perfectly. 

This museum has been on my list for a number of years… but being tucked away in the NW .corner of Arkansas made it a seemingly difficult visit. Truthfully, there was nothing else around. However, this year, another year of Covid, another year of not traveling made me realize that we had to do this…. Now. 

And I am so glad that we did! The grounds, the architecture of the museum itself, it’s connection to the area, and, of course the art itself is stunning. 

Our Town

Kerry James Marshall

Pink Bird Figure II

Helen Frankenthaler

There were so many amazing artists represented that I did not know (notes written to learn about) and many artists that I did know of, and yet I had not seen these pieces. The flow/curation of the museum, as well as the documentation, was well presented making for a wonderful experience. 

The Reader

Emma Amos

Number 184T

Leonardo Drew

Ambulance Call

Jacob Lawrence 

Untitled

Felrath Hines

All I can say is that this was a perfect day. Enough for one’s eyes and enough for one’s soul.

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For the two (plus) days we were in the Fayetteville, AR area we visited with Tim’s niece Sierra, her husband Christopher, their 3 year old, Simon and her in laws, Tracy and Michael. Hats off to the Beckers family for opening their home, their lives, their kitchen, and their hearts! We waltzed into a beautiful family dynamic and the music never stopped…….. thank you so much! ❤️❤️❤️

In the POD - Hot Springs National Park

 

Hot Springs!

Hot Springs National Park was designated as a National park in 1921. It’s 5,500 acres of forested mountains surround the downtown area of the city of Hot Springs, Arkansas - creating a true urban park.

In the early 1800’s explorers in the Ouachita Mountains were told of the hot waters that people would soak in to “recover their health” and in 1832 Congress declared a four square mile reservation to protect the water for public use. By the late 1860’s  the area began to draw many people lured by the promise of improved health and at the turn of the century Hot Springs was among the most visited health resorts in the U.S. boasting many fine hotels and opulent bathhouses. Today there are 9 remaining bathhouse buildings - most repurposed. 

We visited the Fordyce Bathhouse which is now the park’s visitor center. Built in 1915 this elegant building houses, as a museum, separate men’s and women’s baths, dressing rooms, massage rooms, a gymnasium and social areas set up to recreate what it looked like in its heyday. The men’s bathing area features a large domed stained glass ceiling with a sculpture of Hernando DeSoto and an “Indian” maiden as the room’s centerpiece. Questionable at best…. Needless to say, the women’s  bathing area was quite utilitarian. 

Fordyce Bathhouse men’s bathing area

We were scheduled to have hot spring baths and massages at the Buckstaff Baths, the only bathhouse on the row to operate continuously for over a century, but our reservations were canceled at the last minute due to Covid. 

Buckstaff Baths

We did, however, find a bathhouse that offered us something that made us both quite happy. Superior Bathouse Brewery! Yes! The only brewery located within a national park, it occupies one of the remaining bathhouses, and it uses the park’s thermal spring water as their main ingredient. Okay…. So instead of sitting in the thermal water we drank it and instead of getting a massage we drank it! 

All good.

Superior Bathhouse Brewery

As one enters the park on foot, running behind the row of bathhouses, there is the Grand Promenade. Wide, bricked and surrounded by plantings this walkway was the outdoor accompaniment to the indoor “health restorative”. The promenade is .5 miles one way and is the entry point for many of the trails that run up into the park. There is also a one way loop drive inside the park to the top of Hot Springs Mountain. Along the drive there are occasional pull outs for additional access to the many trails within. 

The Grand Promenade 

The loop road was steep and winding (similar to most of the roads we have encountered here in Arkansas!) Near the top there is a tower that will carry you up 216 feet to an observation deck for views of Hot Springs Mountain and the vast Ouachita Mountains. It’s an approximate 1.5 mile trail hike to the tower from the park entrance. It was difficult to get any good pictures inside the park because the trails are all quite narrow and tree lined.

The most amazing thing about this park is the geology. Unlike many hot springs - like Iceland, which are volcanic in nature - the springs here are created by a complex system of of faults and fractures in the rocks. Rain and snow trickle into cracks of brittle rock ( novaculite and chert). Gravity pulls the water downward into the earths’s crust and the water’s temperature increases with the depth. When the water eventually reaches a major fault on Hot Springs Mountain, pressure propels it back upward. Through carbon dating experts have determined that it takes almost 4,500 YEARS for the water to complete this journey! It emerges from the springs at @ 143 degrees F. 

Wow! 

Most of the hot springs within the park have been capped/covered since the turn of the century in order to protect them from contamination, however, there are 4 on display along Bathhouse Row where you can touch the water. There’s are also 3 additional thermal spring fountains and 2 cold spring fountains where you can fill up bottles. 

While visiting Hot Springs we stayed for 3 days at  Lake Ouachita State Park. Approximately 30 minutes away it was nestled in the mountains….. so quiet and peaceful - we saw only 3 other campers the entire time. There was ZERO connectivity in the park but it was actually quite welcome for us right now…. Lots of conversation over what we had seen in the past week. 

Lake Ouachita State Park

Today was a POD care/self care day. Before moving on to our next stop we spent the morning taking stock, filling/emptying tanks, cleaning and replacing water filters etc. We also then found a laundromat because, yeah, you have to make time for that. We took our time through the rest of the Ouachita National Forest - more winding roads. 

Tonight we are spending the night at Lake Dardanelle State Park - another pristine mountain lake.

Lake Dardanelle State Park

in the POD - the weeping time

*Photo of museum from their website

Water surrounding you, swallowing you. An ocean that is angry and loud.

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That is what you are confronted with as you step inside the first room of the Legacy Museum: From Slavery to Mass Incarceration, in Montgomery, AL. It is just you and a 20’ tall video screen of churning and crashing waves - seemingly shot from the water line - and  the constant roar of a storm. A bit shocked by the sight and sounds you stiffen up and push back.  But the longer you stand there watching the weaker you become…… and you are lulled into the abyss.

 Helpless.

The Legacy Museum, opened in the spring of 2018, is housed in a warehouse building that once stored cotton and is steps from one of the most active slave auction sites in America. Using sculpture, text, video, holograms, first person accounts, and photos the museum painstakingly shows how slavery, after Reconstruction, was “dusted off and repurposed” in the American penal system.

There are many “ghosts” that guide you along this journey - from the haunting sculptures of faces and torsos that rise up from the depths of the ocean as you are pulled through the second room, the life size holograms of human beings in cages crying out for help, the towering walls lined with clear jars filled with the dirt from lynching sites and the inmates sitting on the other side of the glass connected to you by only a telephone. So many untold stories. So many continue to be untold….. 

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Memorial for Peace and Justice 

Memorial for Peace and Justice

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A short shuttle bus ride from the museum is the Memorial for Peace and Justice. Water is an important element here as well. It is the tears for those lost and it is the tears that allow us to heal. The memorial seems to be growing out of the top of a hill and as you walk up the angled walkways it’s hard edges of concrete and metal come into focus. Rusted metal coffins emblazoned with the county and state and the names and dates of those lynched are hung from a wooden ceiling. I do not know how many counties are represented - all I know is that it was overwhelming. 

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“Over the course of three days, while the rains poured down on the open square in the center of Montgomery, over 450 men, women and children were sold off. It became known as the weeping time.”

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