Paddling Canyonlands - Stillwater Canyon on the Green River

Mike and Tracy

Thursday night Mike came to my house to pick up the canoe, mostly to save time on Friday morning. Friday morning I drove to Mike’s house, and we loaded up gear and headed out. We went on to Boulder, where we picked up Steve. We continued south through Golden and drove west. We had lunch at blue Moon deli in Silverthorne, and bought gas in Grand Junction. We drove on to Moab, where we had to drive around a bit to find our group campsite, Datura C. 

We went down to Mike’s diner in Moab where we met Cathi and Dick from Arkansas. We had seen them on video conferences, but none of us had met them face-to-face. Craig joined us about the time we were finishing dinner. We walked over to get gelato at the food truck park, and drove back to our campsite. Ben and Dottie and Becky showed up about 9:30 pm.

We arrived at Tex’s about 7:15. We learned that one of the group was a no show, so our group will be 11 people. It was a crazy drive down to Mineral Bottom, with huge drop-offs. We saw some base jumpers jumping off cliffs with parachutes.  We got organized, and were on the water about noon. 

We had a muddy stop for lunch, and paddled until 5 o’clock, mostly because we were having trouble finding campsites, due to steep river banks and Tamarasks. Our camp was up a steep bank, but perfectly nice on the upper level.

Sunday was cloudy, but it cleared up.  We passed the Sphinx rock formation.  We traveled about 14 miles, and found a camp with a nice shade tree, where we all gathered.  It was continuing to be very hot.

Monday we got on the river at 9 AM. We paddled past various rock formations. Including two story ruin perched on a cliff; the access looked impossible. We had hoped to camp at a particular camp, but we found that there were people already camped there. We proceeded onto another camp at mile 9, and saw canoes there also. However, we realized that they had not unloaded their canoes; they were just taking a hike to see the ruins. We were glad to be able to stop, after 15 miles. The ruin was a grainary, near to camp.

Tuesday we got on the water around 9, as usual. It was only 9 miles to the confluence, so we were a bit lazy paddling. When we arrived at the Colorado River, we started looking for campsites. We tried one on the right, but there was not deep enough water for the jet boat. Then we checked the campsite on the left, and not only did there seem to be enough water, there was actually a jet boat mark on the riverbank. This became our campsite. We washed our muddy boats, per the request of Tex’s. In the afternoon we had cocktail hour, and people got fairly merry.

Wednesday we prepared to be picked up. The jet boat went by at about 10 AM, and went further down river to pick up some other parties, before returning to pick us up. The Tex's employees later complimented us on how organized we were, and how clean the boats were. The jet boat took us up the Colorado river to Potash, where they loaded the jet boat onto a trailer; we got on a bus to return to Tex’s. At Tex’s the employees handed us gear and boats, to be sorted and put with their respective owners. We had a nice dinner at Tapatio restaurant in Moab. Most of us returned to the same campsite that we had been in the previous week.

Our trip home on Thursday was uneventful, with Egg McMuffins in Moab, and sandwiches at Culver’s in Glenwood Springs. We returned to Boulder to drop off Steve and his gear, and proceeded on to Fort Collins.

All in all, it was a particularly great trip. Everybody was was very easy to get along with, and everybody knew what they needed to do. The weather cooperated by providing us no wind for the entire time, which was outstanding, and perhaps unprecedented. The group was predominantly composed of senior citizens, but that didn’t seem to keep us from enjoying ourselves. ;-)

Taos

We drove south to Walsenburg and ate at Georges’s diner. We headed west into the mountains; Sandi drove in heavy rain, all the way to Taos. We ran into construction and rush hour in Taos. Our B&B, Old Taos Guesthouse is lovely. We ate at Antonios; our waiter was the owner. His sister-in-law seated us. Richard was pleased to see chiles en Nogado on the menu.

The Taos Pueblo, about 1000 years old, is a UNESCO World Heritage site. A young lady named Turquoise gave us a group tour of the pueblo. She talked about several revolts and colonizers. The old church was demolished by US cannon fire during one revolt. We visited several artists, and bought some small items.

.

 Next we went to historic Taos, had lunch at Manzanita Market, and visited several shops, including Mooncat Yarn, Common Threads, Opcit books, galleries, and Taos Rockers rock shop. The rock shop owner was a geologist, who also designs patterns for knitters. We had an inexpensive dinner at La Cueva; the owner is from Guanajuato.

Thursday we headed north to the Rio Grande Bridge, over the dramatic Rio Grande cañon. Sandi bought a pair of beaded earrings from a Guatemala lady; there were many vendors set up there.

We continued to Arroyo Seco, where we visited Taos Wools; Sandi may take a weaving class there at some point. We ate lunch at Sol Restaurant. The town is delightfully arty and funky. We drove the twisty road to Taos Ski Valley, where Richard skied many years before.

We went on to the Millicent Rogers museum. It is a large museum of Southwestern Art, with pottery, jewelry, and wood carving.

We had dinner at La Terraza restaurant, and went across the street to Taos Llfestyle, a furniture store with an open area for concerts and events. The speaker was Mirribai Starr. She read from her book, Ordinary Mysticism. Sandi wanted to hear her, and she got her book signed.

Friday we went to the small community market at Talpa, and then to the famous San Francisco de Asis adobe church. It was too early for lunch, so we took a drive on the High Road to Taos. We had lunch at the Trading Post Market in Rancho de Taos.

In the afternoon we visited a used bookstore, Somos, and bought some $1 books

We had a light dinner at a new Lebanese restaurant, the Earth oven.

The artist's unique Nativity scene, with Jesus, Mary and Joseph on one motorcycle, and the three kings behind

In the evening we went to the Harwood museum, to see a very impressive show of work by Nicholas Herrara. He is a folk artist, making pieces tied to the religious and cultural traditions of northern New Mexico. This was an opening, so we got to meet the artist.

Our drive home was routine. We started up the trail to the Stations of the Cross in San Luis, but rain turned us around.

All in all a great trip.  We did a lot.

 

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Upper Green River paddle

I am continuing my project to paddle the length of the Green River.  Earlier this year, I paddled 80 miles with my friend Dave.  On this trip, Tom and I picked up where Dave and I had left off.

On Thursday, I drove up to Reardon Draw Campground, near Big Piney Wyoming.  Tom and Joan had already arrived.   The campground was primitive but not bad, with shade, and space for a few campers.  Joan cooked us a nice dinner.  She cooked dinner and breakfast for us each day.

On Friday, Joan drove us up to the Green River, east of Big Piney.   The river looked very low, considering that the gauge said 500 cfs.  A few miles below the put in, the New River joined the Green, and added a lot more water.  This area is ranchland; with some irrigation to grow alfalfa or grass for cattle.  There was some wind, but not too bad.  Our highlight of the day was seeing a moose.  When we got to where we had planned to take out, after 15 miles, we decided to continue on the 3 miles to camp.     

On Saturday, we planned to paddle 15 miles to Whelan Bridge, near LaBarge.   The weather was perfect, blue skies, no wind.  We did enjoy a bald eagle flying not far over our heads.  When we got to the Bridge Tom thought that we should continue, since things were going so well.   Of course, once we resumed paddling, the wind picked up, but not too bad.  The next take out was at Names campground, an additional 8 miles.  By the time we had gotten to Names, we were tired.  Joan picked us up.  My plan had us paddling the 40 miles from Big Piney to Names in three days, but we did it in two days. 

Beyond Names is Fontenelle Reservoir, which I plan to paddle in 2025.  I am getting very close to completing the Green River.  I need Fontenelle and a few days below Fontenelle.  I also need about four days south of Vernal Utah.  With any luck, I will finish the Green River in 2025.

Sunday, I drove home, with a stop to go to mass in Spanish in Rock Springs.  I was quite tired when I got home.

Yellowstone and Craters of the Moon

On Sunday August 4^th, we started our drive to Yellowstone around 10 am. We made a couple of stops, and arrived in Lander around 4PM, about 280 miles. The Mountain Range campground is only three years old, about 20 sites. No shade, but well cared for, with a nice view, and far enough off the main road to not have road noise.

Our host suggested that we visit the nearby Sinks Canyon State Park, where a river goes underground in a cave, and reappears a quarter mile later. It was a pretty canyon, and there was a pool with huge trout at the bottom. We were told they were 8 to 10 pounds, huge for trout. We had dinner at Cowfish restaurant, where we had a Oaxacan chicken salad, followed by ice cream around the corner.

Monday turned out to be an RV repair and driving day. The cable that operated the dump valve pulled out from the valve, requiring a lot of time on my back working over my head, and two trips to the hardware store. We stopped at the Sacagawea cemetary in Fort Washaki, and had lunch at a park in Dubois. We continued into a smoky Grand Teton National Park and then Yellowstone. After some confusion about what site we should be in, we settled in, only to find some loose bolts holding the slide motor. I tightened the bolts, but in order to prevent this happening again, I will need to drill all the way through the frame, and use nylock nuts rather that tapped holes.

Tuesday we agreed to minimize our driving. We walked near the lake in Grant Village, and had lunch at the restaurant there. In the late afternoon we drove to Old Faithful, where we sat on the deck and watched the geyser for the 7:10 Pm erruption. We went to the evening ranger program at Grant Village, on navigation.

Wednesday we drove to the Fishing Bridge area, and then to Storm Point, where we hiked over 2 miles to Storm Point on the lake. It is a loop trail; we came back through a forested area that had an impressive amount of downed timber. Then we headed for the Hayden Valley, looking for bison.

We did find a few bison there, including one that walked down the road next to us. We continued to Canyon, where we looked at the upper and lower falls of the Yellowstone, both quite impressive. Today we saw very busy parts of the park, a reminder to come back in September, as we have done in the past. We drove home, where Sandi made dinner.

We stopped at Isa Lake, straddling the continental divide; Amazingly, it drains both to the Pacific and the Gulf of Mexico.

Richard was frustrated that he had no working phone or internet in the park. In the past, using AT&T, he had some coverage, but with T-mobile, nothing. The registration desk for the hotel was supposed to have internet, but too slow to be usable, even for getting email. Luckily Sandi has Verizon, which has some coverage in the park.

Thursday we hiked to Mystic Falls, near the Biscuit Basin, which was closed due to a recent hydrothermal explosion. Then we went to the Tribal Center at Old Faithful, where an indian couple from Pine Ridge were selling and educating the tourists. Sandi joined an impromptu drumming circle, while the man chanted. We headed back to the campground, and met Tim and Cindy, who drove down to meet us.

Friday Sandi cooked breakfast. Tim and I drove to the northeast corner of the park and fished the Yellowstone River. It was a 3.5 mile hike, up and down over a ridge to get there. The traffic was heavy, as you would expect in Yellowstone in August. We saw large herds of bison, an elk, and Tim saw a bear. Tim caught a nice Cuthroat Trout. We drove back to camp, and Sandi made a nice dinner. It was great to see Cindy and Tim; Cindy and Tim and Sandi got to get better acquainted.

Saturday we ate breakfast at the restaurant in Grant Village, and headed for West Yellowstone. We did some shopping, and ate lunch with Tim and Cindy. They headed home, and we headed for Island Park Idaho. Sandi had never been to Idaho, and was pleased to cross it off her list. We camped at Flat Rock campground, near the Henry Fork of the Snake River. There were many people boating on the river.

Sunday we drove to Idaho Falls, where we went to a Spanish language mass. Next we went to a kind of dive Mexican restaurant, where we could watch the old guys in the kitchen cook. We were told that everyone who works there is friends or family; the food was good. We bought some fresh tortillas for a dollar, fresh out of the machine. A cultural experience, for sure. We then went to the Museum of Idaho, where we learned about Idaho geology, indians, and history. We continued to Arco Idaho, where we stayed at Mountain View campground.

Monday we drove 20 miles to Craters of the Moon, which exceeded our expectations. We took a Ranger hike to a lava tube cave, which Richard explored. Some of the lava flows are only 2000 years old, and have barely started to revegetate. We continued to the Fort Hall reservation, where we had a very interesting conversation with the director of the Shoshone Bannock Museum. She speaks Shoshone, and made the museum worthwhile, telling stories of her youth and family. We visited a store to buy beaded earrings, where they also had a huge supply of bulk beads; beading is big in Shoshone culture. We continued to Pocatello Idaho, where Sandi wanted a photo in front of the Pocatello sign, to prove that she had been there. We called some RV parks, but got no answer or return call. We chose the Bastiste Springs RV Park because they answered the phone; they employee was very nice and efficient. The park is in an industrial area, but with a nice view of a green valley with a stream.

Tuesday we followed the Oregon and California trail to Montpelier, where we visited the trails museum, which turned out to be a hodgepodge of old stuff. We enjoyed chatting with the hospital auxiliary ladies, who were hand quilting. The quilts on exhibit were generally of high quality. We had lunch at Dan's, a small time 50's style burger joint. The area was mostly wheat fields, and very rural. 

This is a display of fossil coprolites, fossilized poop. 
Amusingly, it was found in the men's bathroom

 We continued to Fossil Butte National Monument, near Kemmerer WY. Sandi had a phone call to make, but I went into the visitor center and enjoyed listening to the ranger talk to a group of men whose job is to find fossils on private land. I got to ask my own questions as well. Not sure that I understood everything that he said, as there were lots of references to long extinct species. Sandi bought postcards and t-shirts for the grandkids. We continued on to Green River Wyoming, where we got a back-in site at Green River RV Campground. Sandi laughed at the small site; I unhitched and parked the truck in a vacant site. We discussed the various campgrounds that we had stayed in during this trip, and the pros and cons of each. Lander was the nicest campground, and the lady in charge was super-nice. Sandi said that she has camped in three different Yellowstone campgrounds, and Grant Village is her least favorite.

Wednesday was a routine drive from Green River home, using I-80 and US287.

Paddling the Upper Green River in Wyoming

I continue to work on my quest to paddle the length of the Green River.   In 2023, Dave and I paddled from Green River Lakes, in the Wind River mountains, to the Forest Boundary.   This year, Dave and I planned to paddle 80 miles, from the forest boundary to the Big Piney Cutoff.   Dave is a part time resident of Pinedale; these paddles are not far from Pinedale Wyoming.   

The drive up was routine, through Laramie and Rock Springs. I did stop at Farson at the general store, which claims to be famous for ice cream; they made me a big root beer float. I went to mass in Pinedale, with a Asian priest, who is very enthusiastic. I grabbed a sandwich to go after mass. I then drove up the Warren Bridge Road to Warren Bridge campsite number 12,  which is quite a good campsite. Dave had been set up with his trailer for hours. He had also run some of the rapids which we would do on Monday.

I had a cold night in my summer sleeping bag.

Sunday, we got up early and drove quite some distance to the national Forest Boundry. Even after the drive, we launched at 8 AM, which we thought was good. Somehow I managed to flip my boat on some flat water. Not sure how that happened. Perhaps a lapse of attention. Dave pushed my boat to shore. I managed to continue paddling, despite being wet and cold. It helped to have a rain jacket. Later, I stopped and took off some of my wet clothes. The dry pants that were in my semi-dry bag were not dry, so I put the other pants back on, which had dried a little bit.

Beaver swimming.  I was surprised it did not dive.

The wildlife was fairly impressive during the day. We saw a moose, quite a few elk, a few Antelope, a pair of Trumpeter swans and a couple of beavers. We saw no one else on the water, and only a handfull on land.

We continued on and reached the halfway point a little after 10 o’clock, despite the delays associated with my mishap. The high water meant that the current was pushing us along rapidly. I arrived at our camp at about 12:30; Dave had decided to explore a site channel not far from our camp, so he was behind me.

Dave was nice enough to loan me an old sleeping bag as a comforter, so I would not have to sleep cold..

Monday  we put in at our campsite. There were some rapids and one class 2+ rapid. I flipped when I hit a rock, and inexplicably flipped when I was in a calm eddy arranging my stuff. I think our average speed that day was about 4 1/2 miles an hour, the river was really moving. We moved to Warren Bridge campsite in the afternoon. We helped a lady with an electrical problem with her RV.

Lots of cattle

Tuesday we put in at Warren Bridge Campground, intending to paddle as far as Daniel. We got there at noon because of the strong current; we were going 6 mph! I decided to continue alone, with Dave picking me up down the river. I stopped at the wrong bridge, and met a polite rancher who chatted for a bit and then informed me that I was on private property. He also informed me that this was not the county road that I thought it was. So I apologized and got back on the water. I ended up taking out at Huston, making it a 30 mile day, probably the most mileage that I have ever paddled in one day.  I was happy not to have flipped. Our moving average was 6 mph! The day was notable for more moose than I could count, including a baby moose.

I had found what looked like a grave near our campsite, so I went to ask the campground host about it. He didn’t know anything about it, and he called his boss, who didn’t know anything about it either. His boss came out with a camera to take a photograph; they’re going to send the archaeologist out. Apparently their practice when they find a grave is to fence it off, which makes sense.

Wind River Range

Wednesday was a short day, from Huston to Sommers, only 5.7 miles, which took us less than one hour.  We decided to treat the rest of the day as a rest day.  Dave headed to Pinedale to do some work on the yard at his cabin.   I headed to Pinedale for shopping and lunch, and then back to the campground.

One of the many moose we saw

Thursday we put in at Sommers at 9 AM.  Sommers is an historic ranch with visiting hours.  We continued to see moose, more than we could easily count, including three baby moose.  We admired an Osprey soaring overhead. The river continued to be very fast; we covered 20 miles in 3.5 hours.  The take out is on the Big Piney cutoff road; it is unmarked, with a primitive boat ramp.

Friday morning we packed up camp and headed for Pinedale.  I bought Dave breakfast at the Heart and Soul cafe, and headed for Rock Springs, then Laramie, and home to Fort Collins.

It was a good trip, with cool wildlife.  Dave is a good paddle partner, and I want to thank him for his help with my quest.

Oaxaca

With a 7AM flight on Thursday January 4^th, we decided to spend the night of the 3^rd near the airport at the Hilton Garden Inn in Aurora. We had a good and fun dinner at Pho 92, where the waiters were young and cheery, and all nephews and nieces of the owner.

The Volcanos near Mexico City.

With at 7 am flight, we were on the 3:45 van to the airport. With priority status on Delta, we got entry in the Delta skyclub, where we ate a light breakfast. Our flight was on Aeromexico, although it was booked through Delta. The flight to Mexico City was routine.  We got quite a view of the major volcanos outside of Mexico City.  Popo was smoking!   We cleared immigration with no difficulty, but got confused and frustrated with baggage. The baggage came on the belt in dribs and drabs. Finally we asked where our bags were, and were told that we did not need to collect them, and we could bypass customs! The Aeromexico skyclub was fairly basic, but comfortable. I took a nap, as I had slept poorly. We headed for our gate, where everything was crowded, perhaps due to the holidays. The airport left a bad taste in Sandi's mouth; she compared it to an airport in the Phillipines in the 1980s!   The flight to Oaxaca was routine, our bags showed up as promised, and we got in a van to our hotel, the Casa Bugambillia B&B. We were more than pleased with the hotel, and crashed, very tired.

On Friday we had breakfast at the B&B, and met some of the other guests. We had signed up for a walking tour of town. There was some confusion because they changed the time from 10 to 11. Our guide was Andrea, who we enjoyed, and had lived in Oaxaca all her life. We visited churches and markets, talked about the city, and had lunch. We learned about mole, a chocolate sauce that comes in many varieties, and is a stable of Oaxacan cooking. The weather was warm, but not bad. After the tour, we went back to our room and rested. We headed out to eat dinner, spoke to an artist that Sandi had admired from the hotel, and then discovered a parade and street party, which was fun. We had a nice dinner at Casa Oaxaca.

We had previously spoken to a weaver from San Pedro Amuzgos, 8 hours west of Oaxaca city. Her village is indigenous, and speaks its own language, Amusgo. We took photos of some of her weavings. Sandi sent photos to her daughters, who selected one of the pieces, which were made to be cut up and put on shirts. After feedback from her daughters, we bought one of her pieces, woven on a backstrap loom.  Sandi will use them on decorative pillows. Sandi saw a walking vendor with bells, and we bought a small bell. The vendor was from another indigenous village near the coast, where they cast the bells from bronze. He was very proud of his Chatino culture and language, and recited the numbers in his own language. There are 16 different indigenous languages spoken in Oaxaca!

Saturday, after breakfast in the B&B, we went to the Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca. This museum included much information about the indigenous groups of Mexico, going back to the Olmecs, about 3000 years ago. It also discussed the Spanish Conquest, and the societal changes after the conquest. The most impressive exhibit was the materials recovered from Tomb 7 at Monte Alban, with a wide range of gold, jewels, a crystal cup, and a skull encrusted with turquoise. The building is the old convent associated with the Santo Domingo Church, a UNESCO World Heritage site. We had lunch on the roof, at La Azotea. We continued to see party processions, called Calindas, including folkloric dancers, a band, and giant figures carried by young men. One was for a wedding, one for a quinceanera, a girl turning 15. There are groups which perform for the Calindas, it is a business. We shopped a little, and headed back to the hotel to rest. We went to La Olla restaurant next to the hotel for dinner. We watched the goings on in the square in front of the church, and then went in for mass. 

 We liked the priest; the music came from a lady playing the organ, with her two daughters singing, but it sounded like a larger group. The church is amazing, a UNESCO world heritage site, and perhaps more impressive at night, with the lights shining on the gold leaf.

Sunday we decided to go to the famous market in Tlacolula. We took a cab, and declined his offer to wait for us. The market is huge and crowded, with many indigenous people, selling everything from plastics to fruit to textiles. Sandi bought aprons and a large plastic bag woven by prisoners. We ate at stall on the edge of the market. The crowds were a bit much for Sandi, so we headed back to the street, where we ended up packed into a collective taxi, a small car with three large people in the back seat.

We went to Tule, with the giant tree, reported to be 2000 years old. The town was clean, tidy, and calm, everything that Tlacolula was not. We had lunch across the street, and ended up at a collective table with a family who own a bar in Puerto Escondido. His brother runs a restaurant and deli in Oaxaca. We took a taxi back to the hotel. We had dinner in the brother's restaurant, El Olivo Gastrobar, where we had tapas and a Spanish tortilla, which is a kind of a vegetable omelet.

Monday we went to the textile museum, where we saw an interesting exhibit of Japanese kimonos. We spent some time trying to figure out how the intricate designs were made, and concluded that they used a variety of techniques. After that we discovered the Centro Cultural San Pablo, built in an old convent. There were various exhibits, and a pleasant open area. The most interesting was an exhibit and video showing how they make the traditional clay comals that are used for baking tortillas. We had lunch again in the Zocolo at the Jardin restaurant. Then we went to the Museo Tamayo de Prehispanic art, which was Rufino Tamayo's personal collection of prehispanic pottery and other materials. We tried to get into Los Danzantes restaurant, but we lacked a reservation, so we went back to La Azota Oaxaca, and ate on the rooftop.

Tuesday we went to the World Heritage site ruins of Monte Alban, a mammoth site built over 1300 years. I had been there 35 years before, but did not remember it very well. We walked the circuit of the giant plaza admiring the carvings and just the size of it. We bought van tickets in the Zocolo. We had a big lunch at the Mayordomo restaurant, and went back to the room to rest. We had a light dinner at El Olivo Gastrobar.

We have had breakfast every morning with our fellow guests, mostly people our age, including a group from Minneapolis who were retired from the university. Many of them have been to Oaxaca multiple times.  The colorful table settings changed every day.  

Wednesday we went to the Etla Valley, north of town; not many tourists go in that direction. We flagged down a taxi to take us to the Villa de Etla, where Lulu at the hotel desk said that they had a nice market. The market was mostly fruits and vegetables; we bought some bananas and mardarins. It ws a relatively small and tranquil market, not like the craziness of the Tlacolula market. We negotiated with a collective taxi to take us on a short private trip to the nearby town of San Augustine Etla. The first thing that struck us was water; after hearing so much about drought, and seeing everything so dry, it was striking to be somewhere green, with running water. We went first to the art center, which had a large exhibit of masks. There were explanations in English, and videos as well. The art center was built from an old textile factory. There was also another exhibit, titled “We are all in danger”, with an environmental theme. We stopped briefly at the shop, where they told us how to get to the paper factory down the hill. Both the paper factory and the art center were founded by Francisco Toledo, a famous artist.

In the paper factory, they explained and demonstrated the process, in which they convert fiber to pulp, then using a screen to pick up the wet fiber out of a vat. They put it on the a sheet of aluminum, with a mat of absorbing fabric, and then they compress it. They have a large hydraulic press that they use to squeeze the water out, and then they hang it to dry. Most of the paper is used for art prints. We were very happy with the unplanned tour. Sandi bought earrings with paper in them. We then went to Santa Maria hotel, where we had a very good lunch. We went to the corner to get a collective taxi, which took us to a center for collective taxis, near the 2^nd class bus station in Oaxaca city. No seat belts in the old taxi; Sandi said that the back seat was dirty. From the taxi center, we took a regular taxi to our hotel.  We agreed to avoid collective taxis in the future; Eric told us that transportation there is run by a kind of mafia.  We rested in the afternoon, and then went out to La Restaurante Taniperla. We were surprised to see a Chiapas theme, even including the Tzeltal language on their uniforms. The food was OK, but it was noisy, both the music and street noise; we will not be going back.

Thursday we took an exellent Textile tour with Eric from Oaxaca Culture. Eric is a native Zapotec, university educated, who worked for years with the Textile Museum in Oaxaca in the education department. The tour was for us and one other lady, in Eric's car. We started in Tule, where we visited Alfredo Hernandez Oroszco. He is experimenting with different fibers. His shop is sort of a production shop, with a flying shuttle loom, making fabric to order for clients.

Eric's mother dying yarn

Our next stop was at Fe y Lola workshop, where we met Eric's family. His father was working on a tree of life tapestry, commemerating his recently deceased mother. The work was excellent, of course, but out of our price range. We had lunch in Teotitlan del Valle, then we went to a woman's cooperative; our host there showed us how she installs the leather on purses. Other women weave. At this stop we saw our first of many industrial sewing machines, but we also saw many treadle Singer machines. Our final stop was with a young couple who are raising silkworms and harvesting the silk. She uses strands of 30 cocoons to make one silk fiber. We had dinner at Quince Letras with John and Allison, who split their time between DC and France.

Friday we hired a taxi driver, Salomon, to take us to San Martin Tilcajete, where we visited the Albrije workshop, that employs 300 people making the fanciful animals from wood. There was a formal tour; we bought a turtle made in the student workshop; their work is superb but expensive.

We continued to Santo Thomas Jalieza, where there are many weavers using backstrap looms demonstrating and selling their work. We bought a table runner, some small bags, and a belt, and then went back to our hotel. We had dinner at Casa Oaxaca with John and Allison.

Saturday, we took a microfinance tour with the group En Via, and visited five women who benefited from the microfinance loans. Each woman has to go through business classes, and form a group of three. Initial loans are less than $100, and each woman makes a payment of at least one dollar weekly. If one woman misses a payment, all three women are fined. They claim a payback rate of 99%. We saw weaving, embroidery, and tortilla making; we had lunch at a restaurant run by a woman who benefited from their program. There is a lot of poverty in the villages; the villages use a traditional system of government, which requires each villager to take a “cargo” (service roll), usually every three years. One woman started a microbusiness because her husband took a cargo, and it took him away from his regular work.  Sandy bought an embroidered bag.   

Sunday Richard had an attack of Montezuma's revenge, perhaps from the meal on the microfinance tour. He felt better in the afternoon, so we walked downtown, and ate at Tr3s restaurant, one level up from the zocolo, but with a view of the zocolo. We stopped at the Oaxacan painters museum, but were not attracted to the two artists on display.

On Monday we decided to visit Jalatlaco, a neighborhood just east of where we were staying. It felt quite different than the centro, including murals and more young people than folks our age. We wandered around, stopping to have hot chocolate and baked goods, with lunch at Mooom? Restaurant, and bought some books at the english language bookstore. We had a farewell dinner with John and Alison at Trece Letras, and discussed a 2025 trip to visit them in southern France, where they have a home and a guesthouse.

On Tuesday we got up at 3 to take a 4 AM taxi to the airport. We landed in Mexico City, and visited the Aeromexico club again. Our flight home was routine. We landed with snow on the ground; we had just missed wind chill warnings, but it was still cold. Our cats were happy to see us.

A very good trip.

Bryce Canyon National Park and home

 

Saturday we got up and drove to Bryce Canyon National Park. Neither of us had ever seen Bryce.

We started at the visitor center, where we learned about how hoodoos are formed; You have to have cracks, a layer resistant to erosion, and freeze thaw action. Bryce has the largest concentration of hoodos in the world. This is the 100 year anniversary of Bryce becoming a national monument; it became a National park soon thereafter. Sandi shopped for Christmas gifts, as usual. We took the ranger's advice, and started with the Bristlecone Pine loop; they have a few Bristlecone pines, looking more dead than alive. After that, we tried to visit the historic lodge, but it had closed for the season. We drove to Sunset point, and then walked a mile to Sunrise point. It is really hard to believe that it is real. Perhaps the best response was to sit on a bench at the rim, watching the appearance change with the sun.

We returned to camp, where Sandi cooked another good dinner. We met a family who were taking a year off for a grand tour of the US parks. The boys were 8 and 10 years old. The ten year old was all about showing the survival gear in his cargo pants.

Sunday we drove to the Moss Cave trail, which gave us a look at the hoodoos from the bottom. The trail was rather more difficult than the easy rating that it had. We then drove to Panguich for mass. We had lunch at the flying goat cafe. Mass was at the mission church, with a Polish priest. Red Canyon is impressively red. We came back to camp to get ready to leave. We felt that we had seen everything, and the remaining trails were more difficult than Sandi cared to walk.

Monday we decided to go north on US highway 89, after considering the alternatives, which included going back via Capitol Reef! It was a pretty drive through a rural area, and a part of Utah that we had never seen. We stopped for gas in Richfield, and drove east on I-70. That section of I-70 is fairly spectacular, with many scenic overlooks. At one of the scenic overlooks, we talked to a couple of Navajo ladies selling jewelry; Sandi bought a couple of earrings. We continued to Green River UT, where we had lunch at Ray's, a traditional place to have lunch after paddling or rafting Deso-Gray canyons. Sure enough, there were kayaks on trucks outside. We stopped in Grand Junction for gas and propane, and headed to Island Acres to set up camp in the state park. The park has a quiet feel, although there is some highway noise, and the trains go by.

Tuesday we got on the road early for us, around 8:15 am. We continued east on I-70, helped by a tailwind, and went over Vail Pass and the Eisenhower Tunnel. We bought gas at Costco in Arvada, and had lunch at Wendys on Federal Avenue in Denver. We got home around 3PM. For some reason I had trouble getting the camper positioned to my satisfaction, but it got done. The cats ran into the house.

A good trip, including Bryce Canyon NP, which neither of us had ever seen.