Kate and Jim go to New Mexico
and Arizona
"The Geology Tour"
November 2007
This fall, Kate and I decided, based on advice from some
birding friends, to go to Albuquerque to see rosy-finches. In the
colder months, at Sandia Crest east of the city, all three rosy-finches
come to feeders at the top of the mountain at over 10,000 feet. So
Kate and I decided to give it a shot. And since we enjoy the
southwest, we turned this into a 12 day trip (November 19 to November 30). We started in
Albuquerque and will finish the trip in Albuquerque. Here
are all of the trip photos - more will be added as this narrative
progresses.
If you'd like to see a larger version of the picture, just
click on it and you'll see it on Flickr. Click on the "all
sizes" icon above the picture to an even bigger version.
Part 1 Sandia Crest
Part 2 Four Corners
Part 3 Driving to Kayenta, Arizona
Part 4 Driving to Monument Valley
Part 5 Monument Valley Tribal Park
Part 6 Driving to Williams, Arizona
Part 7 Gunfight!
Part 8 The train to the Grand Canyon
Part 9 The Grand Canyon
Part 10 Oak Creek Canyon
Part 11 Tlaquepaque in Sedona
Part 12 Sedona to Phoenix
Part 13 Desert Botanical Museum in Phoenix
Part 14 Phoenix to Tucson
Part 15 Tucson to Hereford
Part 16 Casa de San Pedro
Part 17 Bisbee
Part 18 Sulphur Springs Valley and the Drive to Albuquerque
Part 19 Crest House at Sandia Crest
Part 1 - Sandia Crest Rosy-Finches
Monday, November 19
We arrived after much hassles with American Airlines,
including misplaced luggage and cancelled flights. We drove a little
way up to Sandia Crest, but the altitude (we had just flown in from about
800 feet Chicago) and the lack of light did us in. But
we did get some shots around the hotel.
Tuesday, November 20
After getting used to the altitude, we made it up to the
Crest House at Sandia Crest and almost immediately got a Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch. We enjoyed refreshments and warmth at the Crest House,
and watched their feeders for a couple of hours, with flocks arriving at
the feeders every 30 minutes or so. Most of the birds were Black
Rosy-Finches with only an occasional Gray-crowned, which I never got a
shot of. But Kate and I did walk away from the day with two lifers,
views of other birds we rarely see, and hopes for the Brown-capped
Rosy-Finch at the end of the trip. This takes care of the first goal of
our trip, seeing Rosy-Finches.
Here
are all of the photos the trip up to Sandia Crest.
Part 2 - The Four Corners
Tuesday, November 20
After getting two of the three Rosy-Finches, we headed off
to Farmington, New Mexico on US 550, stayed overnight and moved on to the
Four Corners via US 64 and US 160. I've always wanted to do this. It's touristy,
but it's a part of the world I've never been to, and I have this affection
for visiting unique geographic points. Plus I had an idea for my 365
Day self-portrait. US 550 between Albuquerque and Farmington is
desolate, but beautiful. I love this part of the world. Not
too many picture opportunities though - one fascinating mesa after
another.
Here are pix from the road to
Farmington including
We overnighted in Farmington, NM and departed early the
next day for the Four Corners.
Here are the pix from the road to Four
Corners
including
And here are the pix from the Four
Corners including
Here
are all of the pix from part 2
And this now takes care of the second goal for this trip,
visiting the Four Corners.
Go back to the beginning of the trip.
Part 3 - Driving to Kayenta,
Arizona
Wednesday, November 21
After visiting the Four Corners, we headed for Kayenta,
Arizona on US 160. This involved a drive through a LOT of emptiness
interrupted by some interesting geology. The drive was fascinating,
the light was wonderful, but it was desolate. Very few towns and you
passed through them pretty fast. I barely had time to slow down
going through town, and then I'd speed right back up again.
Part of the problem with photographing all of this geology
is scale. Many of my pictures (I shot LOTS of pictures) just weren't
that satisfying unless I could do something to show scale. That's
why the pictures by Baby
Rocks Mesa include the buildings...to show how big these formations
are.
Here
are the pix from part 3
Part 4 - Driving to Monument Valley
Wednesday, November 21
Now the geology gets really interesting. We made a
right turn at Kayenta from US 160 and headed north on US 163 to the Utah
border. Straddling the Utah/Arizona line is Monument Valley Tribal
Park. I was surprised to find this out too. Monument Valley is
not a National Park. It found its way to fame and glory when John
Ford starting filming movies here with John Wayne.
Our plan was to have lunch at the park's visitor center, shop, then take pictures.
This way, I wouldn't be taking pictures during the worst light of the day,
midday. But when we pulled up to the entry gate, they had a sign up saying the restaurant and gift shop were closed. Dang! I'm NEVER gonna get my Navajo Fry Bread!
Anyway,
as we were turning off the highway into the park, we saw the sign for
Goulding's Lodge across the road from the park. So we went there for lunch. I'm glad we did. They had a nice gift shop, restaurant and it was in an extraordinary setting.
And we killed enough time to get better light for our visit to the
park. We also got lucky in that the skies got bluer over
lunch. Most important of all, I got my Navajo
fry bread.
Hmmm.
The guy who started this lodge (Goulding) promoted Monument Valley to John Ford for
Stagecoach. And the rest is history. The lodge was the base of operations for the various movie productions.
Here
are the pictures from part 4
Part 5 - Monument Valley Tribal Park
Wednesday, November 21
As mentioned in the previous section, this is not a
national park, it's a Navajo Tribal Park.
We got lucky by waiting through lunch. The sun was at a more
pleasing angle, and the clouds cleared with some beautiful blue
skies. We stopped at the visitor center to look at the view,
then took our rented SUV (this is one of the reasons I wanted a
high-clearance car) and drove into the park on a pretty rough dirt
road. We didn't bottom out the vehicle once, but I saw a lot of
other cars that were having trouble.
The only problem is that it was a dirt
road. City
folk don't realize that, when you drive on a dirt road, you leave a cloud
of dust in your trail. So whenever we stopped, we had to be wary of
someone approaching us driving as fast as he could go, and then wait for a couple
of minutes for the dust to settle before taking pictures, walking around,
etc. This is not a time to be changing lenses on your digital SLR.
We spent a couple of hours driving around the park until
we had taken enough photos and the sky started clouding up. We headed back to Kayenta on US 163. We finished up the day photographing
Church Rock again, with the late afternoon sun.
We overnighted at
the Holiday Inn in Kayenta where we got, you guessed it, more Navajo Fry
Bread. Hmmmmm.
Here are the pictures from Monument Valley Tribal Park.
Part 6 - Driving to Williams Arizona
Thursday, November 22 (Thanksgiving)
Today turned out to be train day. Except we had some car
trouble in the morning.
Warning lights on the SUV
kept telling me I had a tire pressure problem. But of 4 gas stations
on the corner of US 160 and US 163 in Kayenta, only one had a working air
pump and it cost me 50 cents. Plus I had to buy a tire gauge.
We will continue to have problems with this for the duration of the
trip. I'm still not sure if it was the tires or the constant changes
in elevation. But it was moderately annoying. And when I
complained to the car rental company, they did give me a free
day. So that's somethin'
We started west on US 163 through Tuba City to US 89, then
headed south to Flagstaff. I didn't take too many pictures. I
was getting a little tired of geology and brown photos. So are you,
I'm sure.
We saw an electrified line west of Kayenta, click on
either of the pictures to see more information.
 
And finally got to photograph some trains in
Flagstaff
We finished up the day in Williams, Arizona.
We'll be boarding the Grand Canyon Railway for the trip to the south
rim of the Grand Canyon tomorrow morning.
We had our Thanksgiving dinner at the depot restaurant
(Max and Thelma's) and it was a zoo. I think that most of Williams,
Arizona goes out for Thanksgiving dinner at this place. It actually
wasn't too bad once you got past the crowds.
Here
are all the pictures from today, part 6
Part 7 - Gunfight!
Friday November 23
Before we boarded the train for the Grand Canyon, we
watched a gunfight next to the depot. We both thought it would be
dopey, but it actually was pretty funny. There were several
jokes involving horse...well...you kinda had to be there.
Here
are the pictures from the gunfight.
Part 8 - The train to the Grand Canyon
Friday November 23
After the gunfight, we hopped right
onto the Grand Canyon Railway. Because we were staying for free at
most of the hotels on the trip (I stay at a LOT of hotels - I got points),
we decided to splurge for the luxury car on our trip. It was
glorious. They have a platform on the back of the parlor car where
we were, and I took LOTS of pictures from there. The seating was
comfortable and there were snacks. It was a great ride.
After the taking a bus tour of the south rim, and lunch
(the only part of this trip which I'd recommend people pass on...it was
like eating in a high school cafeteria), we took the train back.
There was more observation platform riding, and snacks.
Here
are all pictures from the train to the Grand Canyon
Friday November 23
After the train ride to the Grand Canyon, we walked from
the depot to the south rim near the El Tovar Hotel. One of the
highlights was this shot of a California Condor sailing right over us.
Then to the bus,
lunch (see above) and then three stops:
Trailview Overlook
Maricopa Point
and Hopi Point
After we Hopi Point, we high-tailed it back to the train
-- our driver cut it pretty close.
Here
are all the pictures from the Grand Canyon
Part 10 Oak Creek Canyon
Saturday November 24
We left Williams on Saturday morning (after a final shot
of the Grand Canyon Railway's Alco) and drove down to Sedona.
Several folks has strongly insisted that we take the
scenic drive on Highway 89A which went through Oak Creek
Canyon. It
was pretty, particularly when we drove along the bottom of the
canyon. The geology wasn't that exciting, if only because we had
been to Monument Valley and the Grand Canyon in the previous couple of
days. It would have been much more impressive if we had visited this
area first, then went north to the big GC. But we both agreed we could see visiting the area again. Maybe
even pick up one of the many houses we saw for sale, if we could find one
for $100,000 or so. ;-)
 
Saturday November 24
I read in the AAA book that Tlaquepaque
was an interesting shopping mall for art and gifts in Sedona. Since
that was our mission, and it was right just off 89A as we came into town,
we settled in for the day. We bought lots of stuff . I also
took the camera since the AAA book said that it was interesting
architecturally. Kate shopped and I took pictures; you just can't
beat that.
I'd come back to Sedona just to visit this mall
again. That AAA book sure paid off! Here's
a history of the place.
See
all of the pictures from Tlaquepaque
Part 12 Sedona to Phoenix
Saturday and Sunday, November 24, 25
After Sedona, we continued on 89A to Jerome,
an old mining town that has turned into another "quaint" artist
colony.
More contributions to the Arizona tourism industry and we
finished the day in Phoenix.
On Sunday, we went to the Unitarian
Universalist Church in Surprise. Our associate minister interned
there and I wanted to photograph it for my
project. Nice service, but I like our church better.
(grin)
Part 13 Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix
November 25
After church, we considered a couple of things to do in
Phoenix and settled on the Desert Botanical
Garden. I wanted to take some plant pictures, and there are
birds there. We've been to this place before and enjoyed it.
This was the ONLY time during the entire trip where we walked around in
shirt sleeves. It was nice to be hot for a change.
See
all the pictures from the Desert Botanical Garden
We spent several hours there, and then headed south to
Tucson.
Part 14 Phoenix to Tucson
November 25 and 26
After the Desert Botanical Museum,
we headed southeast on Interstate 10. I was hoping that
we'd have a chance to see Picacho, Arizona before the light faded. I
had read that it was a good spot for seeing some trains. As it
turned out, I 10 traffic slowed to a crawl (there was an accident) so the
exit we were looking for worked out for us anyway. The UP's line runs along the
frontage road and, after spotting a train coming from the northwest, I
stopped at a primitive grade crossing and snapped off a few
pictures. At the last moment, I noticed a Saguaro cactus and tried
to get it into the picture as well.
We drove a little further south along the frontage road
and saw another train coming from the southeast. Again, a pull-off,
this time with some mountains in the background.
We overnighted in Tucson and then, first thing the
following morning, we drove a few miles further east on I 10 to Vail,
where we followed the frontage road (Marsh Station Road) to a neat
spot. The double-tracked UP line splits and one track crosses over the
other. And there's a beautiful road bridge there as well. Kate
and I spent about an hour waiting, but there were no trains. But we had a
chance to visit with Rick, a local railfan. He gave us the low-down on lots of Arizona
railroad subjects. It was a
very enjoyable wait.
And this is the highway bridge (Marsh Station Road)
We then went back into Tucson and bought Kate a laptop (she’d been
hogging mine and she's gonna need one anyway). We dropped in at Best Buy and bought a Compaq for a
surprisingly low price. Vista, though
(bummer).
Part 15 Tucson to Hereford
November 26
One of my favorite things about traveling west is
Jack-in-the-Box. We don't have them in the Chicago area. There's just something about those tacos. Maybe it's the
grease - I dunno. Amazingly, Kate likes 'em too.
After a delightful lunch, we drove east on I 10 from
Tucson to Benson, Arizona, another train place. It was actually
pretty busy - I'd say 2 to 3 trains per hour.
Their Amtrak station
ain't exactly a glorious piece of architecture.
After Benson, we headed south to Hereford where we planned
to spend a couple of nights. And I managed to pick up our EAT sign for the
trip in Huachuca City.
Here
are all the pictures from part 15
November 27 and 28
We spent two nights at Casa
de San Pedro, a bed and breakfast in Hereford, Arizona. We had
stayed there a couple of years ago and remembered it fondly, so we thought
we'd give it another shot. This place has now risen to one of our
most favorite places to stay (the other is the Church Hill Inn in Sister
Bay, Wisconsin). The room was comfortable and decorated very nicely,
there are birds everywhere (they have lots of feeders), and the breakfasts
are wonderful. We both highly recommend the place. And we plan
to go back really soon.
See all of the pictures from Casa de San Pedro
Part 17 Bisbee, Arizona
November 27 and 28
Bisbee is one of the more bizarre little towns in
America. There must be a law that requires the locals
to act weird. On the other hand, maybe it's like Williamsburg...the
whole "old town" is a set. Many of the locals act so far
out, you'd think it was a put-on.
How many places do you see a sign painted on the wall
about not peeing here?
Or signs slamming, well, Phish?
Speaking of sets, on the 28th, we stopped in Bisbee on the
way out of town for some coffee (there is a very good espresso shop in
town), and we found a movie being filmed along the main street. It didn't look like a very high budget
operation. There were no artificial lights and the scene wasn't really
correct. There were electric wires and streetlights overhead, a
red-painted curb, and concrete streets. And I saw a Styrofoam
cup bounce across the scene while they were filming.
See of the pictures from Bisbee
We went birding in Sulphur Springs Valley east of Bisbee
on November 27th and finished the day at Whitewater
Draw Wildlife Area, a great birding place. It's a wintering
location for Sandhill Cranes, and we saw a lot of them.
 
Then, after stopping in Bisbee on the 28th, we headed west
through Douglas and then on up to southwestern New Mexico and then to
Interstate 10. At Las Cruces, we turned north on I 25 and finished
the drive in Albuquerque at the same Marriott we stayed at the first night
of the trip.
See all of the pictures from part
18
Our plan was to finish our trip in Albuquerque to take a
second shot at the Rosy-finches. This was in case we didn't get all
three on the first attempt, which was the case. Well, we got very
lucky. There was a lot of snow on the ground up there.
 
 
Which meant LOTS of Rosy-finch activity at the
feeders. We spent the morning watching the birds, taking LOTS of
photos (about 500), enjoyed the food, and got all three species in
abundance. The pictures I got aren't fantastic, but they're good
enough for me.
See
all of the pictures from part 19
In the afternoon, we found ourselves with time on our
hands, so we drove up to Santa Fe.
Go back to the beginning of the trip.
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