An Edward Abbey loop

I left Phoenix Thanksgiving morning, heading north. I passed by Southwestern Academy and Sedona then climbed up the Mogollon Rim to the Colorado Plateau--the elevated, magical, almost mythical geophysical province that sprawls across northern Arizona, southern Utah, and spills over into Colorado and New Mexico. I continued through Flagstaff, across the "painted desert," over the Little Colorado (just east of the Grand Canyon), and paused at the infamous Glenn Canyon Dam before arriving in Kanab, Utah--where I spent 1.5 days with some friends, and their family.

This morning I began the loop back to Phoenix, heading through polygamist country (at Fredonia and Colorado City), St. George, the Virgin River Gorge (along I-15) and then Vegas where I am currently parked in a Starbucks. The next stop will be Quartzsite, and I'll probably press on to Phoenix tonight.

This is a stunning and unique part of the world. My route until I left Utah was made famous by Edward Abbey (among others), along with his fictional characters George Hayduke, Bella Abbzug, Seldom Seen Smith, and Doc Jarvis. If you haven't read it yet, and you're an American with an interest in the West--I encourage you to read The Monkey Wrench Gang, at your earliest convenience.

Frank Sinatra, hosted by Judy Collins on Sirius Satellite Radio provided the soundtrack this morning.

It was a good Thanksgiving and even with the gloomy economy I am thankful for so much. I'll mention two things briefly. First, I am thankful for my very good friend Kellie Forbes, and her family who took me in for 1.5 days in Kanab. I've always been a tourist or traveler passing through that beautiful and remote town--but this time I got a taste of the local culture which is as colorful and interesting as the culture anywhere. Kanab is American Jesus Country--Latter Day Saints style. The LDS people have become pretty unpopular with many of my friends, but my personal ties to Kellie and her family far outweigh any political opinions of mine. These are very good people.

The second thing I am thankful for is something a little more abstract perhaps. I am thankful to live in times when I can see so much of the world. Traveling is an important part of my life and it's so easy and relatively cheap to do right now. The current crash in fuel prices, while not good for our fuel consumption habits, allowed me to relish (with little financial pain) the open road of the American West--a place where I am very much at home. On this trip I paid my all time low price for diesel fuel, $2.11 per gallon (down from $5 this summer).

In his lifetime, Edward Abbey lamented the loss of the open spaces of the West--and what he percieved as the mindless "Americanization" of some of the last great wild places in the continental United States. While I share some of Abbey's sentiments (please note the word "some" I am no anarchist, for example), even two decades after his death, vast and wide open spaces still exist along the Colorado Plateau. They will likely be there for a long, long time given the scarcity of water in the region--though the inevitiable march of "progress" changes the landscape bit by bit, year by year.

Hopefully, as Americans, we'll follow the advice of contemporary thinkers like Thomas Friedman, and many others, and make American Progress more progressive.

Jim
Starbucks
Las Vegas, Nevada

With my main man

With Cosmo on my final day in New York. 

Wranger Jim returns

In Springfield, Massachusetts with RJ Masterbug, star horse of the Disney film "Hidalgo." Photo by Joa Sigsbee.

Twenty years visiting Dutchess County

With my sister Cari Swanson as my hostess, I've been visiting Dutchess County for twenty years now. Here we are yesterday. She is on Bond. I am on Cosmo.

The Jakester

Stretching our legs on a day with a lot of driving. Arizona has long stretches of wilderness (or near-wilderness) all over the state. Certainly as much as Utah, if not more.

Juniper berries

The most vibrant juniper berries I've ever seen. From Wikipedia: "A juniper berry is the female seed cone produced by various species of junipers. It is not a true berry but a cone with unusually fleshy and merged scales, which give it a berry-like appearance. The cones from a handful of species are used as a spice, particularly in European cuisine, and also give gin its distinguishing flavour."

With a little help from my friends

Finally . . . my place is almost presentable. I've been slow moving in getting it set up. This is especially pathetic since living such a simple life as an Airstreamer means there isn't all that much to do.

Nevertheless, it took me a month, but my new Airstreaming setup with my Dulles/Jetson-esque building is finally presentable to friends and family.

Now I'll have to get motivated and invite some people over. I had major help from a couple of friends and one in particular. The big step yesterday was getting my couch and favorite chair out of storage.

An Airstreaming update

We've been back in the Airstream for a month now and are feeling settled again. The view within the trailer is vintage 1973 with plasticky woods, vinyl coatings on the interior aluminum, and large plastic light covers.

We LOVE it all.

I really do need to get motivated and shine the exterior of this thing up. It may be a project that is impractical within the confines of the trailer park.

The bad thing about my current setup is I have a semi-permanent sewer hookup. It would be very difficult for me to unhook for trips and hook back up here.

I have a George Jetson-esque building that I am parked next to--picture the terminal at Dulles Airport with the big sweeping roof. My little version of Dulles serves as potential guest quarters, and storage. I had the floors and wrap-around concrete deck painted before moving in. The trailer is semi-presentable at this juncture, but the inside of my little building is a mess.

The trailer park is in a not so great neighborhood, but well located in town--close to work and all of my usual shopping spots (Trader Joe's being the most important).

Join the lifestyle of the Airstreaming set . . . buy a new or vintage Airstream and live the life you've always dreamed of.

Cheers,

Jim and Jake

An economic meltdown?

From Jared Bernstein: "Jeez...watching history unfold in front of you like this is sure worth the price of admission, ain't it?"

I'll say. The events this past week in Washington and New York are staggering, breathtaking and unbelievable.

Happy dog

Back on Beaver Creek

For only the second (or so) time this year, I am back in my backyard of '03-'04--on the Bell Trail paralleling Beaver Creek.

Water in the desert

Rick the host

One of my hosts this weekend.

10,000 feet over the sea

An Aspen grove on our Saturday hike.

Back in Stanley with a new generation

I was in Idaho for a week helping my sister with her pending move across the country. Here is my nephew John, on the verge of no longer being a little boy. He is nine and will be a teenager in the blink of an eye. We were hiking in the mountains near Stanley, Idaho.

This is the most photogenic kid on earth fighing his innate instincts to ham it up for the camera.

This was my first time back to this part of Idaho in 25 years.

The Idaho high country was the perfect antidote to Arizona's summer heat. The trip a quarter of a century ago was arranged by my grandfather, John Morley. He sent my brother John and I on a trip down the Middle Fork of the Salmon River.

The John photographed above is the fourth generation . . . . (labeling my grandfather's the first).

Back to Aluminum

After a week that included the highest highs and the lowest lows of the year, Jake and I are taking a break from the city and heading out in aluminum. We're taking the Airstream north for two nights.

On our agenda:

A fellow Airstreamer's first photo show at a gallery in Prescott.

A party for a dear friend in her mid-thirties who just earned her bachelor's degree in education from Western Governors University! (She chose them before I did.)

A Day at the Office

Astronaut Mark Kelly, STS-124 commander, looks over a checklist on the flight deck of Space Shuttle Discovery during flight day 12 activities. Photo and text from NASA

Can it be real?

Can it be? How can it be? Think of the marvel of the human mind and human accomplishment. "Here is a fan of solar arrays, a partial view of International Space Station and Earth's horizon. Photo by a STS-124 crew member on the International Space Station before space shuttle Discovery undocked from the station." Photo and quoted text from NASA

Mark and His Crew

The STS-124 crew members pose for a portrait in the the Kibo Japanese Pressurized Module of the International Space Station while space shuttle Discovery is docked with the station.

Photo and text from NASA

Where we were: 2007-2008

1. Arizona
2. Utah
3. Colorado
4. Kansas
5. Missouri
6. Illinois
7. Indiana
8. Ohio
9. Michigan
10. Kentucky
11. Tennessee
12. Georgia
13. North Carolina
14. South Carolina
15. Virginia
16. West Virginia
17. Maryland
18. Washington, D.C.
19. Pennsylvania
20. New York
21. Massachusetts
22. Vermont
23. Wisconsin
24. Minnesota
25. South Dakota
26. Wyoming
27. Montana
28. Idaho
29. Oregon
30. Washington
31. California
32. Nevada

For a slightly more detailed look at where we were last year read the Airstreaming Places entry. For even more detail, read this whole blog! ; )

The Greatest Show on Earth, STS-124

"Standby for the greatest show on earth."
.........................................................................Commander Mark Kelly

Those were the words spoken by Mark just before blasting off yesterday.

Watching the shuttle rocket into the heavens was a better show than I could have imagined. Tears were streaming out of both eyes as they headed for orbit. And they get there fast, just 8 and a half minutes! They're called rockets for a reason.

My weekend in Florida at Cape Canaveral with Kim, Inge, Reed, and the Kelly support crew (friends and family), was wonderful.

Thanks Mark and Godspeed to you and your crew up there.

Photo from NASA

Beyond Cool

It doesn't get any cooler than this. Mark Kelly (far right) and his crew for NASA's mission STS-124 using the Space Shuttle Discovery. I was in Florida for the launch today. Here they are standing in front of the Astrovan. The rest of the text here is from Wikipdedia: "The AstroVan is a NASA vehicle used to transport astronauts to the launch pad before a launch mission. The current model, a modified Airstream Excella motorhome, has been in use since the beginning of the Space Shuttle program in 1981. Similar models have been used since the beginning of the space program. It has a special built-in cooling system for the astronauts to plug in their orange-colored launch and entry suits, so the astronauts do not get overheated during the trip to the launch pad." Photo from NASA

Fellow Airstreamers Show Up During My Staycation

You can't imagine the thrill this morning when I looked out the front of the Airstream and saw . . . Fellow Airstreamers!

Not only that, they, and their Airstream, are quite famous.

Here's a shot of the restored 1961 Airstream Globe Trotter that is known to Airstreaming fans around the world thanks to Douglas Keister's book Silver Palaces.

After being stranded in one single metropolis for almost two months, the sight of fellow Vintage Airstream owners was more welcome than you could ever imagine. They were just here for the night, en route from the Pacific Ocean at California back to their land-based home in Santa Fe.

Jake and I have enjoyed our Staycation this weekend. See Tour of America's May 25th posting for more on that.

The Globe Trotting Pup

Jake's image reflected on the side of the Globe Trotter.

Internationally Reknowned Airstreamer Karin W

Even more exciting than seeing this famous Airstream was meeting its celebrated owners. The more well known of the two is photographer Karin Wikstrom of Santa Fe. She became famous in Airstreaming circles by posing in her Airstream's bathtub, which is what she's sitting on top of in this photo. Airstreamers need to utilize space well and in this restored Airstream they placed the bathtub under the seat for the dinette.