Aztec Ruins National Monument Monument Valley on the Navajo Nation Zion National Park

Our last stops
Aztec Ruins National Monument
Monument Valley on the Navajo Nation
Zion National Park

Jason and Nancy
 Posted on April 30, 2014
From home! 
310 Pine Street in Helena 

Some photographs to start, some writing at the end.



Aztec Ruins National Monument is a tiny park in Aztec, NM . . . hardly the size of a postage stamp . . . with extensively reconstructed ruins.  This a major kiva from outside and then from inside. 

 
 Included only because it is my photo and I finally got a bird in focus!  We were camped on the Animas River in Aztec, NM.  There were two major diversions right above our camp, but the river felt healthy and like a high spring river.

Jason photographs Monument Valley

 

The road looks okay here, but our morning drive in this valley was easily the worst road of the entire trip.  We got out and walked a couple of miles before deciding that we could complete the loop.  It was a stunning drive.

My photo because I hadn't previously realized there was a worm hole connecting Sand Springs to the Navajo Nation.  Wanted the hunting camp family to see this one!

 

This last is Jason's photo of Monumnet Valley is late afternoon from the View Hotel.  Every room in the hotel faces the east in accord with Navajo belief.  Every room has this view.  It's a great place to stay, run by the tribe.

And on to our last stop, Zion National Park

The Virgin River

My photo only Zion photo.  I couldn't manage the big landscape so tried instead a fat squirrel.  Wow, they must be living on the tourist rations in Zion.  And they would sit right up by the trail and pose as if they expected a gratuity.

A trip of 9105 miles and 115 days throughout the American West.  Only scratching the surface of the landscape and the learning, here's what I am left with.

1)   We have spaciousness all around us.  We aren’t so crowded as many parts of the world.  The space allows our individuality and independence, and the climates require our communities and dependence. It's a wholesome balance.

2)   Montana is not unique because of our incredible landscapes.  The American West has many to offer.  We are unique because we remain small enough to know each other.  New Mexico had that feel about it too. Walking up Davis Gulch yesterday I watched two bikers intercept each other, recognize each other and ride on in conversation--old pals who hadn't seen each other for awhile randomly met up on the trail.  That's Montana.

3)   There is a basic good will in most people.  We were welcomed and encouraged wherever we went. 

4)   Retirement living is retirement from others making demands on our schedules.  Jason and I were able to get up in the dawn and lie down in the late dusk.  What happened in between was self-directed. Coming home I had wondered what I would do and already the time is so full.  So lucky.  And at my own most personal discretion. Wow.

5)   There is something egalitarian in the retired.  Living among an RV army of aging peers on the roll across the SW we met all kinds in many circumstances.  Thing is, doesn’t matter what you were before.  Matters what you are now. 

6)   At our age eating two smaller meals a day is better than eating three bigger ones. 

7)   Especially as we age, having each other to rely on is a thing of wonder.  We are so much more able together than we would be separately.

8)   Having children who are self sufficient and happily productive is a bonus.  Having Madeline Louise and Charles Mark close is a blessing.  And I appreciate them even more for some months apart.

Love to all of you who followed along.  We're back in residence at 310 Pine Street.  Coming home is the best part, all the better for having been gone.