Huck Finn Country

I know - it seems like I'm taking forever to get us to Chicago.  It has to do with my lack of persistance at the keyboard and trying to get as much in as possible. 
So this will be short but interesting (I hope.)

We left Kansas City a week ago heading for Springfield.  It was a beautiful day - we weren't in a big hurry and we saw the signs by the side of the road - and a name
that struck a chord in our memories. Hannibal, Missouri.

So we ditched the interstate and followed the directions down to the Mississippi River.  (Everytime we do something like this, the voice on the GPS gets perturbed:  'When possible make a legal U turn!')

What could be a nice way to spend an hour on a fall Sunday afternoon than visiting the home of Samuel Clemens, AKA Mark Twain, with his famous creations Tom Sawyer?

Turns out thousands of other people had the same idea - because this was
the day for the Folk Life Festival in Hannibal.  Normally we'd head
in the other direction - I'm no fan of crowds - but this was likely to be
our only visit here...so off we went.

This fair didn't seem to have any of the usual corporate sponsors...It was
a seemingly chaotic but obviously well organized Local event.  Of course
local merchants and artisans were trying to sell their wares. 

For example a potter had created thousands of 'name pebbles.' If you found your name in these bottomless baskets, you could buy the pebble for 3 bucks!




Or how about home made cherry pie! You could have some for free if you entered the cherry-pie-eating contest!

I was sure Blair would jump in...He loves cherry pies!  But we'd just had some
barbecued pork sandwiches!  No room. 

We got a kick out of the buildings and sites that were so familiar to us from

our literary childhood: Tom Sawyer's white-washed fence!

And the homes of Samuel Clemens' childhood that became the locations in his books.

We liked Hannibal.  It didn't have that 'Disney' feel to it that so many historic

sites are taking on these days.  Maybe that's a tribute to Samuel Clemens
enduring legacy.  We're glad we dropped in.

Buffalos and Barbecue

The last time I wrote we were still 800 miles away from Chicago.
Colby Kansas is flat and friendly.  Its welcome centre is there to
encourage travelers to hang around and visit their art gallery or
theatre.  But the cheerful man behind the counter was unfazed by our
intention to keep going.  He told us to make a quick stop at Oakley, Kansa.
This is the town where Buffalo Bill Coady got his name.  (Annie Oakley
was part of his wild west show...but had no connection to Oakley
Kansas.  Go figure.)

Anyway, we stopped to view the beautiful monument to the dreadful
contest which gave him bragging rights and his name. 

In 1868 he competed with another
buffalo hunter - Medicine Bob Comstock - to see who could kill the most
buffalo in one day.  Bill won the day - too bad for the poor animals who would soon disappear forever.  But it was a
different time.  Bill was one of
the west's great myth builders.

His wild west show defined the romance and excitement that we all associate with the
opening of the west.  Blair and I couldn't resist entering into the spirit when we had the
chance! 

There's really not much I can add to these - sometimes there's no accounting for

the silliness that helps to make the miles seem shorter.

So off we went to Kansas City - and decided to spend two nights there.  Our hotel was

downtown - not far from the mighty Missouri River and a farmer's market area that

was deserted (except for a goblin or two) - mainly because market day is on Saturday and this was a Thursday!

We didn't know much about KC...other than part of it is in Kansas and the other part

is in Missouri.  And something else:  they make great barbecue here.  So, after night fell, we drove off to another seemingly deserted area of town and found Arthur Bryant's.  It was not deserted.

People of all descriptions and colours were enjoying KC's version of health food.  Delicious fries and braised pork on a bun along with local brew.  I've been trying to get in regular walks every day, but there's no way a daily walk can overcome the fat, cholesterol and other delicious calories we've  been consuming on a fairly regular basis.  Sigh.

We compensated the next day with a lovely meal of vietnamese food - spring rolls and noodle soups.  And some walking.  We were encouraged to check out one of North America's first shopping malls built in 1927.  It was a remarkable example of ornate and fanciful architecture. 

There are even bronze copies of European sculpture.

 but it was as if all the upscale stores from Fifth Avenue in New York City had set up branches here.  And they aren't outlet stores, either.  Very pricey. 

Of course its impossible to take the pulse of a city by staying a couple of nights and reading a few chapters in guide books.  A lot of the US cities built on the old industrial model have had to try to redefine themselves as those industries became obsolete.  The downtown cores seem hollow - lots of buildings but not enough people to fill them.  At least that's the impression I've had - KC and Cleveland (a previous trip) are struggling.  St. Louis and Chicago are thriving.

We were getting anxious to get to Chicago.  We had one more night on the road at Springfield, Illinois, and then an easy drive into Chi-town on Sunday morning.  We took one last stop at a Route 66 diner - this one is the Polka Dot Diner.  No polka dots in evidence, but some good burgers.

At this point we were only an hour from our studio apartment in Chicago.

More on that next.

 

Things we forgot to mention - Tarantula!

Got your attention didn't I?

We'd encountered a family of boys, gabbling excitedly about the tarantula they'd
spotted not far from the rim of the Grand Canyon.  'Do you think you can find it
again for me?' I asked.  'Sure' they shouted.  And after a 2 minute search it sprang
out from the grass right in front of me.  I hasten to add it's not poisonous.  Sorry
no one volunteered finger to provide a sense of scale for the picture.  Suffice to
say it was big!

What else did I pass over.

Ok, so back at Albuquerque, before the balloons rose over the city, we rose over the valley, not in a balloon, but up to the top of the Sandia Peaks which overlook the city.  The elevation was just over ten thousand feet - almost two miles high. 

Then we drove the Turquoise trail to Santa Fe!  A gorgeous inner city surrounded
by big surburbs.  But even the suburbs mimic the pink adobe architecture that
dominates the scenery:

Something else we neglected to describe was another excursion in Tucson:
our hosts took us up to Kitt Peak - a mountain top that features the 'most
diverse collection of astronomical observatories on earth.'   Tucson actually
has a system of low level street lighting to facilitate the folks at the
observatory.

So, after a day of cruising down Mt Lemon and driving up Kitt Peak with a stop
at San Francisco Chapel, what could be more appropriate than driving through
old Tucson in search of a Margerita!?  And Old Tucson - old buildings recently
renovated - is lovely.

Cactus and Palm trees.  Warm summer breezes, even in October!  Very
seductive!  Oh, and the Margaritas pack a punch!

So I've already mentioned the tarantula.

and the chocolate taco

at the Grand Canyon.

I've already filled you in on the attractions of Page Arizona, and Monument Valley.

At Durango, we decided to make tracks for Chicago, which meant we'd miss the
spectacular mountain scenery in Colorado, going north to Silverton and Ouray.  So we
only got the second rate scenery going west to Kansas! And check out the snow in them thair mountains...second rate or otherwise!

At the end of a long day, a week ago, the full moon guided us in to Colby Kansas.

More from Chicago, next!

Monument Valley Arizona

We left Page, AZ, On Monday, October 10th.  We are now heading east.

My hope is that on this day we will travel through Monument Valley, stop at the

4 Corners (to be explained later) and visit Mesa Verde before crashing in

Durango, Colorado.  That was my hope. 

Blair has a favourite spot on the way to Peggy's Cove.  It's a point where there

are two 30 foot boulders - one on each side of the road - perfect spots for

an ambush by movie outlaws or indians.  As we drive by, he still fires his

six-gun first in one direction and then in the other.

You can imagine how he felt as we drove through this incredible place - the

vast set for innumerable Hollywood movies - most famously Stagecoach starring

John Wayne as Johnny Ringo!  Awesome!

The geologists report that the buttes and spires are all that remain of a wide
sandstone plane that's been worn down by the action of ancient rivers and
current storms.  Perhaps in another millenia or more, these monuments, too,
will be gone. 

We were warned by signs not to leave the road unless in the company of a
Navaho guide.  I would have loved to have done this.  Why do we restrict our
time when we have no deadlines?  I think that we both are starting to feel
a bit dazed by the geography and the distances...and a desire to find home again.

So we kept going to the Four Corners:  It too is on the Navaho reservation, although
they must get a real kick out of the visitors like us who come to observe the totally
arbitrary point where four states come together.  Of course it doesn't stop them
from offering a wide variety of kitch for sale, mixed in with good hand-crafted
silver and turquoise.

We both wanted to see the spot.  And here it is: Utah, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico!

Blair agreed to have his picture taken with a limb in each state, but with one proviso:
He says he found a way to answer the question put by the Firesign Theater's "How can you be in two places at once when you're not anywhere at all!?'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_Can_You_Be_in_Two_Places_at_Once_When_You're_Not_Anywhere_at_All

By doing this he doubled the ante!

He really is a great sport.  By the way he's the one taking most of the pictures so
far.  I obviously didn't stop to figure out how to eliminate my shadow from the
picture.

But the shadow gives you an idea that the day is coming to an end...and we still had
three hours of driving to hit Durango.  So we had to by-pass Mesa Verde... it's the
archaeological site of the Hopi Cliff dwellers of the area...

But there are so many places to revisit...We are determined to return.  On to Durango,
Kansas and Chicago.  Farewell to the Southwest.  We'll be back!