Racing Trains in Arizona

It would have been nice to spend a little more time in Arizona, rather than speeding through (hey, Dave was driving). It's so gorgeous there--particularly up north in the Grand Canyon area, and Sedona. Being in Arizona always brings back fond memories. When we lived there, back in the late 60s-early 70s, Mom and Dad took us all over that state. We camped, hiked, sight-saw, backpacked, drove, you name it. A typical weekend would see us loading up the camper (tent, cooking gear, sleeping bags, food, sterno, and each of us had our own camp chair and water canteen!), driving out to no-man's land, and setting up camp for the weekend. Dad played his harmonica. Mom looked for evidence of ancient people. Us kids--6 of us--would look for treasure (rocks, rusted metal, scorpions, lizzards), and our dog, Snoopy, would shoot out of the camper like a rocket--only to come back later covered with "jumping cactus."

Nice memories. It's funny--people often think of the desert as some desolate, barren, bleached-out-bones kind of place. And it can be that. But it's also full of life. And being in the desert makes me feel innately happy. There's just something very cool about being surrounded by sand, gorgeous rocks, lightening-fast lizzards, mammals and birds that "blend" with the landscape, and the burst of color that comes from cactus flowers, and from the mountains at sunset. There's nothing more alive than that!

You know, when you're on the road; and especially when you're on the road for long periods of time, oftentimes you make your own entertainment. Dave enjoyed "racing the train," while I looked for odd road signs to photograph. Don't worry--we didn't actually race the trains to any particular destination (like, tracks crossing the road, for instance!). We just zoomed alongside each other. I'm telling ya--there are some seriously long trains criss-crossing northern Arizona!


This photo was less than crystal clear (it's hard to take good photos when you're the passenger, and the driver rivals Mario Andretti), so I decided to really distort it in photoshop.

And tomorrow, it's "Cal-i-for-nia Here I Come!" (Just imagine the tune in your head)

644 Days Unti George W. Bush Leaves Office!
645 Days until the BIG PARTY!!!!