cartour 24

Ely, Nevada
Friday, April 8, 2016

Wednesday, April 6, 2016 (actual)

 

Down to the White House

     Out of Springerville on the way to Canyon de Chelly and Page, (Arizona, probably).
Canyon de shae or Tseyi is an area controlled by no doubt a fraught partnership of the Navajos and the Federals because I suppose of its astounding existence. I don't know if the Natives would have bothered though if the river hadn't been down in the bottom, likely not. Navajo teens and elders selling jewelry and pottery at the overlooks. Need a guide for all access except one trail from rim to ruin in the canyon called White House (built by the ancient ones before the Navajos showed up). S and I took that. Kids were very serious, the elder sellers tired of the job. Walk to bottom was pretty sweet (two tunnels!). Bought a cold Gaterade from NA near the ruin where all the guide pickups were parked. The orange flavored Gaterade was a more subtle even sophisticated beverage than I remembered from a previous experience a long time ago. Snatches of Navajo tongue were in evidence. One kid I spoke with concerning an etching on shard of some material, rock or clay, had a marble sized pink plastic rose earring that I thought was kind of sharp. I told him so but then didn't buy anything cause we had already gotten some good stuff earlier so it was maybe a wash for him.
     Page in the early dark. Passed a seriously popular converted gas station called Big John's Texas Barbeque on search for a motel. Saw a sign for cute old fashioned motel street or some such and pulled into a Rodeway Inn where S charmed an already super charming dude at the desk (I was watching from the car, not happily) who sent us to the Red Rock Motel on the street of cute old fashioned motels even though the Rodeway had this huge flashing neon sign saying "VACANCY" presumably under the control of the super charmer, I also observed, unhappily. The Red Rock was swell though, under the management of a guy born on Catalina, the island off Los Angeles; it had two rooms and was just a step away from the Texas BBQ. We had the brisket no bun (S) and the pork sandwich (me) (duh) plus some local beer at a table where the gas pumps had been. Salted in the shell peanuts in a bucket. Country western band out there too, fairly enthusiastically wailing away on J. Cash, et al.