~ wander.essence ~

on journey: to buffalo, new york

wanderessence1025 August 15, 2018

It’s a warm June day when I take off for Buffalo, New York, en route to Niagara Falls. Billy Joel serenades me, putting me in “a New York State of Mind.”

On Rt. 15N, wooden fences follow me on the undulating farmland, and clouds with well-defined edges, as if drawn with a fine-tip pen, hover overhead. Fabbioli Cellars and Creek Edge Winery, white barns, a boarded-up farmhouse, and orange day lilies fly past my window. A farm market offers “Fresh eggs and local honey,” and the Little Rock Motel promises a place to lay my head. I pass Barnhouse Brewery and the Old Lucketts Store with its “Vintage Hip” sign and its Beekeeper’s Cottage. This is vineyard and winery country — dotted with antiques, junk and farm markets — on this last shred of road in northern Virginia. This stretch through my home state is breathtaking, with its silos, barns, rolling green fields and golden grasses. The only time the bucolic scenery is interrupted is at the Valero gas station, which doubles as A Factory Cigarette Outlet.

I cross the Potomac and Maryland Welcomes You: We’re Open for Business. Signs show I’m on “America’s byways: Hallowed Ground.” Corn and hay fields surround me while Jaymay sings of “Niagara Falls.” TLC admonishes: “Don’t go chasing waterfalls,” but of course, that’s just what I’m doing. When I pass the Monocacy National Battlefield, I wonder when I’ll have time to visit to get a National Passport sticker and stamp.

On the way to Hagerstown, the sharply defined clouds give way to a white haze smeared over pale blue. I pass Catoctin Creek, Boonesboro, Smithsburg, and Sharpsburg. Antietam Battlefield reminds me of a happy anniversary with my husband in November of 2015. Deep Creek Lake brings back memories of several family weeks during past summers.

Before long, I’m welcomed to Pennsylvania: pursue your happiness. Phantom Fireworks promises All Fireworks Legal in PA! I’m curious about the town of Amaranth, which seems to have a questionable existence. Beyond it, a sign promises Beyond Reasonable Doubt, Jesus is Alive!

Amanda Shires sings “You are my home / Wherever you go / Anywhere that you stand / Is my piece of land.” I enjoy the lyrics and press replay several times. Lavender wildflowers brighten the roadside, but a dead deer soon spoils it. When I pass through Everett, I can’t help but think of a boy I dated in high school, Roy Everett, who was killed in car accident shortly after high school. Our romance, if you can call it that, lasted just prior to and shortly after the York County Fair, where we rode the Ferris Wheel together.

Pennsylvania seems an endless state, and here the white haze gives way to white clouds with grey underbellies. Jet streaks criss-cross the skies. I could stop at the Second Blessings Coffeehouse, but then I’d just have to make more rest stops. Juniata Trading Co has a U.S. flag fluttering on every post and Bygone Days offers treasures from lost times. If I so desired, I could find Harness Racing at the Bedford Co. Fairgrounds.

Soon, I’m heading north on 99 to Altoona. I sing along to the song “Said Nobody” by Old Dominion:

Don’t give me a kiss
Cause I don’t wanna taste your lips
Said nobody
Said nobody, ever

I speed by other places: Saint Clairesville, Osterburg, Blue Knob State Park, Claysburg, King, Roaring Spring, Portage, Hollidaysburg, and Tyrone. Road construction forces drivers to bump along for miles on the shoulder. Wind farms twirl out-of-tandem on the ridgeline. A dilapidated trailer park has a sloppy handwritten sign in front: “Trump Make America Great Again.” Ugh.

John Prine sings of “Summer’s End” and “Caravan of Fools,” both of which I love and play again and again. I fall in love with John Prine in fact, especially when he sings in “Lonesome Friends of Science:”

I live down deep inside my head
Where long ago I made my bed.
I get my mail in Tennessee,
My wife, my dogs, my kids and me
Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh

How I love the uh-huhs! They’re so much fun to sing along with when you don’t know the lyrics. 🙂

I continue the endless drive past orange day lilies along a creek in a shadowy hollow. I consider whether I should stop at Bombshell Hair and Nail Salon. Could they really make me into a bombshell? The “Buddy Boy” Winery doesn’t match up to the classy names of Virginia’s wineries, but Philipsburg is a surprise with its charming porched houses and town square.

On 322W, I pass Larry’s Saw Shop and Destini’s Day Care and a place called Earth Worx. On I-80W to DuBois, I pass the Rosebud Mining Co and Empire Excavating. I hold my nose through a smelly town with belching smokestacks. Lindbergh Furniture has an airplane hovering over its front door. I pass the Custer City Drive-in and wonder about Custer’s last stand and what he has to do with Pennsylvania. Sadly the Expressway, like all good things, comes to an end, and it’s all two-lane roads from here on out. It’s slow going as I get stuck behind pokey vehicles. Speed limit signs admonish drivers to crawl through specks of towns.

Finally, Welcome to New York, The Empire State at 2:41 p.m. A sign says: God Bless America / America Bless God. I wonder why it doesn’t say, God Bless the World! These nativistic sentiments get on my nerves. I pass through the Hamlet of Kill Buck and think, really? Kill Buck?

I drop my bags at my Airbnb in the Elmwood neighborhood of Buffalo and take a walk up and down the cute street. After buying a few books at Talking Leaves…Books, I enjoy Shio Butter Ramen at Sato Modern Japanese Cuisine, accompanied by Kirin beer and hot sake. The perfect ending to a 7-hour-drive. 🙂

Airbnb in Elmwood Village

Shio Butter Ramen at Sato in Elmwood Village

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“ON JOURNEY” INVITATION: I invite you to write a 750-1,000 word (or less) post on your own blog about the journey itself for a recently visited specific destination. If you don’t have a blog, I invite you to write in the comments. Include the link in the comments below by Wednesday, August 29 at 1:00 p.m. EST. When I write my post in response to this challenge on Wednesday, September 19, I’ll include your links in that post.

If you link after August 29, I will not be able to include your link in my next post, so please feel free to add your link to that post as soon as it publishes (since I’m leaving for the Camino on August 31).

This will be an ongoing invitation, once on the third Wednesday of each month. Feel free to jump in at any time. 🙂

I hope you’ll join in our community. I look forward to reading your posts!

the ~ wander.essence ~ community

I invite you all to settle in and read a few posts from our wandering community. I promise, you’ll be inspired!

Jude, of Travel Words, wrote about her journey by boat to the medieval town of Yvoire, known for its “Garden of Five Senses.”
- The Journey
Jo, of Restless Jo, wrote a sad post about a passenger she met on a flight who is struggling with addiction.
- ON JOURNEY: INFLIGHT BLUES

Many thanks to all of you who wrote posts about the journey. I’m inspired by all of you! 🙂

things i learned today: on the road to buffalo, new york

wanderessence1025 August 14, 2018

I learned that New York is nicknamed the Empire State, commonly believed to refer to the state’s wealth and resources. The true origin of the name is questionable, however.

I learned that the Tim Hortons restaurant chain crosses the border into New York even though Tim, a professional ice hockey player, was Canadian.

I learned that some fools think Trump is really going to save them.

I learned that a hamlet can actually have a name like Kill Buck.

I learned that you can drive legally on the shoulder of a highway for long distances when it is under construction.

I learned that wineries can have tacky names like Buddy Boy.

I learned that people try to be clever when spelling names, like Earth Worx and Leighty’s (Lady’s or maybe it’s just the person’s name??) Boot Warehouse.

I learned that I love songs by John Prine and Chip Taylor.

I learned that I love to sing along with a song that says “uh-huh, uh-huh” numerous times.

I learned that some people don’t need “room to breathe.”

I learned that deer don’t have a chance on America’s highways.

I learned that “anywhere you stand is my piece of land.”

I learned that I get annoyed driving on America’s byways – two-lane roads – where I’m stuck behind slowpokes crawling through small towns.

I learned that I’m going to ignore TLC’s advice NOT to “go chasing waterfalls.”

I learned that Elmwood Village has been named “one of the 10 Great Neighborhoods in America” and has green spaces designed by Frederick Olmsted.

I learned that I was able to say thank you in Japanese without even thinking about it: arigato gozaimas.

I learned that I’ll always be suckered into buying books at shops with names like Talking Leaves…Books.

Elmwood Pet Supplies

Elmwood Village Church

Mural in Elmwood Village

Mural in Elmwood Village

Eden, 1987 by Judith Shea

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“PROSE” INVITATION: I invite you to write a 250-350 word post on your own blog about a recently visited particular destination (not journeys in general). Concentrate on any intention you set for your prose. In this case, one of my intentions for my trip to Buffalo, New York and Niagara Falls, was to write a “things I learned today” list each day.

It doesn’t matter whether you write fiction or non-fiction for this invitation. You can either set your own writing intentions, or use one of the prompts I’ve listed on this page: writing prompts: prose & poetry. (This page is a work in process.) You can also include photos, of course.

Include the link in the comments below by Monday, August 27 at 1:00 p.m. EST. When I write my post in response to this invitation on Tuesday, August 28, I’ll include your links in that post.

This will be an ongoing invitation. Feel free to jump in at any time. 🙂

I hope you’ll join in our community. I look forward to reading your posts!

the ~ wander.essence ~ community

I invite you all to settle in and read a few posts from our wandering community. I promise, you’ll be inspired!

Jude, of Travel Words, wrote of her visit to Yvoire, a floral medieval village in France on Lac Léman (lake Geneva).
- Impressions
Meg, of snippetsandsnaps ~ Potato Point and beyond, wrote a third person nostalgic account of life in an Aussie town that wraps up a woman’s sufferings and celebrations all in one.
- Swamped by the past
Suzanne, of Being in Nature, wrote a beautiful post about a conflict with an aboriginal man at a bushland reserve; the conflict shakes her to her core, and brings her to a realization of how stuck she has been.
- Moving on

Thanks to all of you who wrote prosaic posts following intentions you set for yourself. 🙂

dead horse point state park

wanderessence1025 August 12, 2018

We left Arches National Park and drove north on US 191, where clouds trailed overhead into wispy cones that hinted of cyclones. Along the road, slickrock areas promised mountain bike adventures. We sped by Horse Thief Campground and Mineral Bottom Road.

Driving to Dead Horse Point State Park with view of La Sal Mountains

Heading south on SR 313, we crossed open range where calves frolicked and black cows wandered lazily across the road or grazed in the flat grassland. Under one lone tree, two cows huddled for shade. The fragrance of cliffrose danced through the air.

hoodoos and slickrock along the way

According to one legend, Dead Horse State Park was once used as a corral for wild mustangs roaming the mesa. Cowboys in the 1800s rounded up these horses, and herded them across the narrow neck of land and onto the point. The neck, which is only 30 yards wide, was then fenced off with branches and brush, creating a natural corral surrounded by precipitous cliffs. Cowboys then chose the horses they wanted and, for reasons unknown, left the other horses corralled on the parched point, where they died of thirst within view of the Colorado River, 2,000 feet below. The people who found the remains of the unfortunate horses gave this place its name.

Oh, the cruelty of humans.

Dead Horse Point State Park

We stopped first at Dead Horse Point Overlook, where we enjoyed grand views of the canyon and the Colorado River from the top of the mesa.

Dead Horse Point State Park

We soaked in the iconic view of the gooseneck in the Colorado River.

Dead Horse Point State Park

Mike stood at the Dead Horse Point Overlook to admire the views.

Mike at Dead Horse Point Overlook

Dead Horse Point State Park

From the East Rim Trail, we saw bright blues on the desert floor; these are solar evaporation ponds for a mine owned by Intrepid Potash, Inc. Potash is potassium chloride, a salt found in the Paradox Formation. Salt deposited from ancient seas made up this formation as it evaporated and was buried by other sediments.

Solar Evaporation Ponds

Water is pumped down into the formation to dissolve the salt. This salt water is then pumped into the shallow, vinyl-lined ponds seen below. A blue dye is added to speed up evaporation. The dry desert air and many sunny days make this a productive operation.

Twenty-ton scrapers, guided by lasers, harvest the dry salt. A local refinery transforms this concentrated form of potassium chloride into plant fertilizer.

solar evaporation ponds

The West Rim Trail offered the best views of the Colorado River, so we walked along the edges of the canyon.

Dead Horse Point State Park

Dead Horse Point State Park

tree at Dead Horse Point State Park

Dead Horse Point State Park

Dead Horse Point State Park

We stopped at the 30-yard-wide neck, where the wild horses were corralled off, according to legend.

the neck at Dead Horse Point State Park

Dead Horse Point State Park

On our way back to Moab, we stopped to admire The Monitor and the Merrimac Buttes. Towering 600 feet above their Navajo Sandstone base, they can be seen from many points along the highway. The Buttes were named after the Civil War ironclad ships of the same names. The shapes of the buttes mimic the actual shapes of those historic ships. The Merrimac, the large rock on the left, was the Confederate ship, called the “Virginia” by the southern forces. The Monitor, on the right, was the Union ship sent to destroy the Merrimac. The resulting sea battle changed maritime warfare forever. Long after both ships lie on the sea bottom, their rock counterparts remain locked in perpetual battle.

Monitor and Merrimac buttes

Minerals contribute to the painterly rock colors of The Colorado Plateau, seen clearly here. Reds and yellows come from iron, the black sheen is formed from manganese (known as “desert varnish”), and purples and greens are caused by clay minerals.

At this viewpoint, visitors have carefully constructed scores of cairns.

cairns at Monitor and Merrimac buttes

Underlying this view area is Navajo sandstone, deposited 200 million years ago and found throughout the Colorado plateau. At that time, the area was a vast desert system, complete with shifting sand dunes, much like today’s Sahara Desert. These sand dunes hardened over centuries. Erosion exposed the “petrified” sand millions of years later, creating the Navajo sandstone formations we see today.

Navajo sandstone often creates dramatic scenery such as cliffs and rounded domes.

Utah juniper

Although Dead Horse Point State Park is not a National Park, the Visitor Center had a sticker and a cancellation stamp, which I happily added to my National Park passport.

Cancellation stamp

Between our hikes today at Devils Garden in Arches and Dead Horse Point State Park, we walked 21,743 steps, or 9.21 miles.

*Wednesday, May 9, 2018*

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On Sundays, I plan to post various walks that I took on our Four Corners trip as well as hikes I take locally while training for the Camino de Santiago; I may also post on other unrelated subjects. I will use these posts to participate in Jo’s Monday Walks or any other challenges that catch my fancy.

This post is in response to Jo’s Monday Walk: Alte and About.

on returning home from oman

wanderessence1025 August 6, 2018

In the British movie, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Judi Dench plays Evelyn Greenslade, a newly widowed housewife whose house must be sold to pay off her husband’s debts. She goes to India with a group of elderly British characters, whose motives for coming to India are as varied as their eccentric personalities. They choose to spend their retirement years at Sonny’s Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, a home for the “elderly and beautiful,” based on pictures on the hotel’s website. Upon arrival, they find the hotel to be dilapidated and mismanaged. Some of the characters embrace the experience, while others seem determined to be miserable.

While staying at the hotel, Evelyn keeps a blog of her activities. She narrates throughout, to her Day 51 moral at the end:

The only real failure is the failure to try.
The measure of success is how we cope with disappointment, as we always must.
We came here and we tried, all of us in our different ways.
Can we be blamed for feeling that we’re too old to change?
Too scared of disappointment to start it all again?
We get up in the morning. We do our best. Nothing else matters.
But it’s also true that the person who risks nothing does nothing. Has nothing.
All we know about the future is that it will be different. Perhaps what we fear is that it will be the same, so we must celebrate the changes.

Because as someone once said, “Everything will be all right in the end, and if it’s not all right, then trust me, it’s not yet the end.”

I understand Evelyn’s sentiments. Sometimes we feel we’re too old to change. I believed that was the case in my early 50s. I thought nothing would ever change in my humdrum existence. However, at age 54, I went to work abroad in South Korea for the first time ever in my life. From the ages of 55 to 57, I lived and worked in the Sultanate of Oman. I would never have imagined doing such a thing when I was in my thirties and forties, married, raising a family, and doing all the things that were expected of me.

I could have been too scared of disappointment to start it all again. But the life I was living at the time was already a disappointment. What did I have to lose, after all?

I couldn’t say about myself that my only real failure was a failure to try. For I did try. I tried, and for better or worse, my life changed.

While in Korea, the only thing I could think about was my desire to work in the Middle East. It’s a long story, but after September 11, 2001, I became intrigued, almost obsessed, by Islam and the Arab world. I wanted to understand this culture and I read every book I could get my hands on. Since Korea was my first time teaching ESL, I looked at it as putting in my time, adding to my resume, so I could go to the Middle East.

I completed my Master’s degree in International Commerce and Policy in May of 2008. Most of my research was centered in analysis of economic and political issues in the broader Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan. One paper was titled Social Ramifications of U.S. Foreign Policy in Egypt. This was a collaborative effort with colleagues which also dealt with the political, economic, and the political-military consequences of U.S. policy in that country. My other research projects included Macroeconomic Prospects for Jordan and Free Trade in the Middle East: A Tool to Achieve Peace and Stability. I wrote about Women’s Empowerment as a Key to Economic Development in Afghanistan. I also wrote papers focused in other areas of the world, including Mexican Judicial Reform and its Effect on the Political and Business Climate. I studied Arabic from 2005-2007 (and not again since, despite living in an Arab country for nearly two years). After going to Egypt, which I adored, for the month of July in 2007, I was determined to work in the Middle East.

I went to Oman in September, 2011, ten years after the horrible terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centers & the Pentagon. It seemed my dream to come to the Middle East had come true.

Wadi Tiwi

Nakhal Fort

Wadi Damm

Salalah with my sons

camel in Salalah

Tomb of bin Ali in Salalah

In Oman, I fell in love with the stark and rugged mountains, the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman, the wadis and date palms, the forts and ruins and mosques. I fell in love with Omani hospitality and hole-in-the-wall Indian and Pakistani restaurants. I grew to love the call to prayer five times a day. I loved the souqs and their exotic lanterns and incense burners. I loved the scarves Omani women and girls wore on their heads, but I wore around my neck.

fishermen in Al-Musaanah

Sultan Qaboos Palace in Muscat

men with rifles at Nizwa souq

Balad Sayt

Like Evelyn from the Marigold Hotel, I thrived on the experience as much as possible, even though at times it was a lonely existence and a physical and emotional struggle. I figured if I was going to be happy in Oman, I would have to create happiness myself, and so I resorted to the thing I loved best in Korea, traveling with a camera in hand, and sharing my adventures on my blog. When I met my dear friend Mario, I found a like-minded friend who would do these things with me; his companionship increased my enjoyment exponentially. Again, as in Korea, my travels and explorations kept me sane, and less lonely. Besides my travels within the country, I spent my free time reading novels, watching movies, and plotting other travels through the region. While living in Oman, I ventured to Jordan, Greece, Ethiopia, and Nepal. Before I returned home, I spent a month in Spain and Portugal.

Jebel Akhdar

I tried to get the most out of my experiences while living abroad. I discovered things about myself: I love to travel, to go out into far-flung corners of a place and explore it, on my own, with a camera in hand, and a willingness to share my experience with words.

I found, disappointingly, that I could be quite intolerant of certain aspects of the culture. I couldn’t understand why people set up restrictions in their society that held them hostage, and under which they were bound to fail. I dislike hypocrisy, which I found ran rampant. I found that the energy and chaos and liveliness I discovered, and loved, in Egypt was lacking in Oman. The Sultan had done a great job of bringing Oman into the modern world, but somehow the country was missing vitality. It seemed to lack a sense of humor and, as the French say, a joie de vivre (joy of living), a cheerful enjoyment of life; an exultation of spirit. It wasn’t long before I became bored with the culture and irritated by its lack of respect for women, its acceptance of cheating and its lack of work ethic. I found Omani citizens’ sense of entitlement annoying, along with its dependence on wasta to get ahead, and its attitude that things will get done, insha’allah, whenever they get done. And then of course, there was the weather. I love four distinct seasons in Virginia, particularly the fall, winter and spring. I’ve never been a fan of summer. Of course, Oman has year-round summer, and heat like I’ve never experienced.

That being said, as in Korea, I met some wonderful Omanis, especially my students, who didn’t hesitate to show their love for me. And I cherished my wonderful friendship with Mario.

boats in Musandam

Musandam

Jebel Shams

ruins at Jebel Akhdar

Sur

ruins

girls at Jebel Akhdar

mosque in Muscat

As far as work, I realized certain requirements were of utmost importance. Sadly, I didn’t find these things in Oman: I wanted to be respected as a professional; I wanted autonomy to do my job using the experience I had accumulated. I didn’t want to be treated as a robot doing someone else’s bidding, especially when I didn’t agree with it theoretically. I wanted to be commended when I did a good job and appreciated for being dependable. I wanted to be free to speak on any subject in the classroom or any other job environment. I wanted to be able to use technology, which should be a given in this modern world. And most of all, I wanted to work with managers who would listen and respect their workers’ complaints and pay attention when a mass exodus of employees occurs.

Wadi Arbiyyin

roses at Jebel Akhdar

me with roses

ruins of Adam

I’m NOT one of those people who is unrealistically optimistic, seeing the world always as a rosy, fragrant and heady place. I am realistic. I see things as they are, and sometimes I don’t like what I see. But often, I see a world full of beauty and kindness and adventure. I strive to see things that way; it’s just that I don’t always succeed. I can weigh both sides and put them on the scales so that they’re evenly balanced, the bad and the good. And I can take away an experience that changes me, even if it’s in an unexpected way.

Finally, after living abroad, I think I’ve come full circle. Now that fear I had that nothing would ever change has vanished in the haze. I know that I don’t have to feel stuck; I can change my life whenever I want. That old familiar life has some appeal to me now and I find myself yearning for those familiar routines, those familiar faces.

Now, I feel like one of my favorite characters, Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. Standing in Oman with my eyes closed, clicking my heels together, saying: “There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home.”

*June 28, 2013* – a nomad in the land of nizwa

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“ON RETURNING HOME” INVITATION: I invite you to write a post on your own blog about returning home from one particular destination or, alternately, from a long journey encompassing many stops. How do you linger over your wanderings and create something from them? How have you changed? Did the place live up to its hype, or was it disappointing? Feel free to address any aspect of your journey and how it influences you upon your return. If you don’t have a blog, I invite you to write in the comments.

For some ideas on this, you can check out the original post about this subject: on returning home.

Include the link in the comments below by Wednesday, August 29 at 1:00 p.m. EST. When I write my post in response to this challenge on Monday, September 3, I’ll include your links in that post.

This will be an ongoing invitation on the first Monday of each month. Feel free to jump in at any time. 🙂

I hope you’ll join in our community. I look forward to reading your posts!

the devils garden hike at arches

wanderessence1025 August 5, 2018

The Devils Garden Trail at the far end of Arches National Park offers routes of various difficulty and length, varying from 1.6-7.2 miles. The longest of the maintained trails in Arches National Park, Devils Garden Trail goes to seven impressive arches, with several more visible from the trail.

On our second morning, we took the hike to Landscape Arch and then climbed up further to Partition Arch and Navajo Arch. We had to hustle to keep ahead of the Chinese tourists who were disembarking from their tour bus.

The Landscape Arch Trail is easy and well-graded, providing a close look at one of the longest natural stone spans in the world.

For this hike, I used, for the first time, my new wide-angle lens (with the exception of the last two photos).

walking through a slot canyon into Devils Garden

Devils Garden Trail

Devils Garden Trail

Devils Garden Trail

Devils Garden Trail

Devils Garden Trail

Devils Garden Trail

cliffrose along Devils Garden Trail

Landscape Arch is slightly longer than a football field.

first glimpse of Landscape Arch

Around Landscape Arch

Landscape Arch

Devils Garden Trail

The path past Landscape Arch is more difficult, winding along the narrow tops of exposed sandstone fins, then up and over short, steep crevices where steps have been carved into the rock. This section is not recommended for hikers with a fear of heights.

We escaped the crowds at Landscape Arch with a plan to clamber our way up to Partition and Navajo Arch. The route looked scary — a steep climb up slickrock with slot-canyon drop-offs on either side — so I was hesitant to go up. While we stood looking at the climb, a woman from a canyon beneath us called up and asked if we’d seen her husband, and she went on to describe his T-shirt.

the slickrock way up to Partition Arch

The woman asked that, if we saw him, we inform him that she went up an alternate route, through this canyon. We stood debating for a while, and we finally decided to take the woman’s option up through the adjacent canyon. We climbed up only to realize that the path was blocked off with pieces of dead wood at the upper end – Closed. Oh well, we didn’t know, and it was easy enough to walk over the wood barriers! There was no way I was going to climb down that slickrock, so the sign wouldn’t deter us from coming back down that same route!

We continued on to Partition Arch.

Partition Arch

standing inside Partition Arch looking out over the mesa

Partition Arch

We then hiked to Navajo Arch, not quite as impressive.

inside Navajo Arch

view of Navajo Arch from outside

rock patterns near Navajo Arch

Finally, we worked out way back down and out, through our secret canyon, and past Landscape Arch once again.

Devils Garden Trail

our secret canyon

Devils Garden Trail

cow parsnip?

Adding Partition Arch and Navajo Arch to Landscape Arch made for a hike of 5.65 miles. It took us 2:52 hours at a pace of 30:32 minutes/mile. We were quite exhausted when it was said and done, but that didn’t stop us from making a few more detours before we returned to our car.

There is nothing like the dramatic landscape at Arches to make a person feel insignificant and overwhelmingly awed.

*Wednesday, May 9, 2018*

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This post is in response to Jo’s Monday Walk: Sunrise on the Salt Pans.

poetic journeys: NEW MEXICO

wanderessence1025 August 3, 2018

No one could explain with certainty why the remains of parrots and macaws were

Entombed within Chetro Ketl and Pueblo Bonito, except possibly the

Whims of humans who desired what they didn’t have.

Melancholy, boredom, or boastful urges may have led them to trade their precious turquoise for

Elusive pleasures: copper bells, seashells, cacao, exotic birds. Were they such

Xenophiles that their great houses, pueblos and kivas weren’t enough? Were they so

Intrigued by foreign trinkets and knick-knacks that the

Chacoans succumbed to the allure of distant lands and abandoned their homes,

Or were they simply over it all — the drought, the infighting, the arguments over what was sacred?

Chetro Ketl

kiva at Pueblo Bonito

Pueblo Arroyo

kiva at Pueblo Bonito

Turney’s Trading Co, Gallup, New Mexico

Chaco Canyon National Historical Park in New Mexico was once a crossroads of cultures and trade. It was a sacred place that bound various tribes throughout the region in a shared vision, a hub of regional cultures. They built massive multistory buildings – great houses with hundreds of rooms, ceremonial kivas, plazas – all with varied masonry styles. As a trading hub, Native Americans here traded their valued turquoise, often fashioned into ornaments, beads, necklaces, and pendants, for exotic items such as parrots and macaws, copper bells, seashells, cacao (chocolate) and other items from distant lands, which were all found in excavations. No one knows for sure why the thousands of Chacoans, who had lived on this land since 850 A.D. left here in about 1250 A.D. Archeologists have surmised they left because of drought, social, political or religious issues, or simply the allure of distant places.

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“POETRY” Invitation: I invite you to write a poem of any poetic form on your own blog about a particular travel destination. Or you can write about travel in general. Concentrate on any intention you set for your poetry. In this case, I wrote an acrostic poem about NEW MEXICO.

“The basic acrostic is a poem in which the first letters of the lines, read downwards, form a word, phrase, or sentence. Some acrostics have the vertical word at the end of the line, or in the middle. The double acrostic has two such vertical arrangements (either first and middle letters or first and last letters), while a triple acrostic has all three (first letters, middle, and last)” (from The Teachers & Writers Handbook of Poetic Forms).

Some examples of acrostics can be found in Seasonal Sonnets (Acrostic) by Mark A. Doherty.

You can either set your own poetic intentions, or use one of the prompts I’ve listed on this page: writing prompts: poetry. (This page is a work in process). You can also include photos, of course.

Include the link in the comments below by Thursday, August 30 at 1:00 p.m. EST. When I write my post in response to this challenge on Friday, September 7, I’ll include your links in that post.

If you link after August 30, I will not be able to include your link in my next post, so please feel free to add your link to that post as soon as it publishes (since I’m leaving for the Camino on August 31).

This will be an ongoing invitation, on the first Friday of each month. Feel free to jump in at any time. 🙂

I hope you’ll join in our community. I look forward to reading your posts!

la posada in winslow, arizona

wanderessence1025 August 2, 2018

Winslow, Arizona is home to the American treasure, La Posada (“the resting place”) Hotel. The finest and most expensive hotel built in 1930 for the Santa Fe Railroad Co., it was designed by female architect Mary Elizabeth Jane Coulter, often called the “grandmother of American Southwest architecture.”

It is often referred to as Fred Harvey’s last great railroad hotel. Fred Harvey “civilized the west” by introducing linen, silverware, china, crystal, and impeccable service to railroad travel. He developed and ran all the hotels and restaurants of the Santa Fe Railway, eventually controlling a hospitality empire that spanned the continent, according to La Posada’s website.

Originally called the Winslow Harvey House, the hotel closed in 1957 due to the decline of American railroad travel. Used as offices for the Santa Fe Railway until 1994, it was doomed for demolition. It was bought and restored by Allan Affeldt and is now a luxury hotel.

Camel at La Posada

La Posada

La Posada

inside La Posada

inside La Posada

inside La Posada

inside La Posada

art inside La Posada

inside La Posada

inside La Posada

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“PHOTOGRAPHY” INVITATION: I invite you to create a photography intention and then create a blog post for a place you have visited. Alternately, you can post a thematic post about a place, photos of whatever you discovered that set your heart afire. You can also do a thematic post of something you have found throughout all your travels: churches, doors, people reading, people hiking, mountains, patterns, all black & white, whatever!

You probably have your own ideas about this, but in case you’d like some ideas, you can visit my page: photography inspiration.

I challenge you to post no more than 20 photos (fewer is better) and to write less than 350-400 words about any travel-related photography intention you set for yourself. Include the link in the comments below by Wednesday, August 15 at 1:00 p.m. EST. When I write my post in response to this challenge on Thursday, August 16, I’ll include your links in that post.

This will be an ongoing invitation, every first and third Thursday of each month. Feel free to jump in at any time. 🙂

I hope you’ll join in our community. I look forward to reading your posts!

the ~ wander.essence ~ community

I invite you all to settle in and read a few posts from our wandering community. I promise, you’ll be inspired!

Ulli, of BANACTEE, posted about a place that no longer exists except in our imaginations.
- MYTHICAL PLACES: THE HEATHEN-CAVES NEAR GOLDBACH
Pauline, of Living in Paradise…, posted some colorful pictures and funny stories about her visit to the Maleny Botanic Gardens and the Bird World.
- What the little bird whispered in Jack’s ear…
Jo, of Restless Jo, took some beautiful sunrise photos during a walk along the salt pans in Tavira.
- Jo’s Monday Walk: Sunrise on the Salt Pans
Jude, of Travel Words, posted a photo essay capturing the essence of South Beach – its architecture and palm trees – in Miami, Florida.
- Ocean Drive
Sue, of WordsVisual, challenged herself to take her photography up a notch by capturing implied motion, silhouettes, one person, and intentional camera movement (ICM):
- A personal Photo Challenge

Thanks to all of you who shared posts on the “photography” invitation. 🙂

strolling along park avenue at arches

wanderessence1025 July 29, 2018

After our hike at Delicate Arch, we drove to the far end of the park to see what else there was to see. We knew since we’d arrived at noon, we’d have to come back the next morning to do all we wanted to do. At the end, we stopped at Skyline Arch, walking about a half mile round trip.

Skyline Arch

Arches often form slowly, but quick and dramatic changes do occur. In 1940, a large boulder suddenly fell out of Skyline Arch, roughly doubling the size of the opening.

Skyline Arch

around Skyline Arch

As we had to get to the Visitor’s Center for my cancellation stamp by 5:00, we made a quick stop at Fiery Furnace Viewpoint. Mike was disappointed that I wouldn’t do the Fiery Furnace Trail with him. To enter this area, you must accompany a ranger-guided hike or obtain a day-use permit at the visitor center. The Fiery Furnace is a labyrinth of narrow sandstone canyons that requires agility to explore. You must climb through narrow passages and it is easy to get lost.

We stopped to admire the rock formations and the view of the La Sal Mountains.

Fiery Furnace Viewpoint

Named for the warm glow seen on the rocks in the late afternoon, the Fiery Furnace is actually a maze of cool, shady canyons between towering sandstone walls. The chaos of fins, spires and canyons has been called “void, silent – and almost uncanny in its solitude.”

The many vertical rock walls – or fins – you see here and in the Devils Garden are the result of movement, eons ago, far beneath the earth’s surface. Over time, erosion has been shaping the Fiery Furnace. Rain, snow and ice deepened and widened the cracks, creating these towering fins.

Fiery Furnace Viewpoint

La Sal Mountains from the Fiery Furnace Viewpoint

Fiery Furnace Viewpoint

The La Sal Mountains

At the Courthouse Towers Viewpoint, we saw Three Gossips, Sheep Rock, Tower of Babel, the Organ, and other monoliths.

Courthouse Towers Viewpoint

In another direction, we could see the Courthouse Wash Canyon, the Colorado River Canyon, La Sal Mountains and the Moab Valley.

Courthouse Towers Viewpoint

We drove hurriedly down the switchbacks into the Moab Valley to the Visitor’s Center, where I got my cancellation stamp in the nick of time. Then we drove back up the switchbacks to The Park Avenue Trail.

The Park Avenue Trail is a moderate hike along a canyon floor, offering close-up views of massive fins, balanced rocks, and lofty monoliths. We descended 320 feet down into the canyon. It’s recommended that you walk one mile to Courthouse Towers and have a driver pick you up and return you to the trailhead, but we walked 2.11 miles round trip because we had no such chauffeur available.

Park Avenue Trail

On our Park Avenue walk, we were amazed by the looming fins, the balanced rocks, the cairns, the brittlebrush, yucca, yellow monkeyflower and Prince’s Plume, as well as the swirls of color on the rocks in the wash.

Park Avenue Trail

Park Avenue Trail

Brittlebrush along Park Avenue Trail

Yucca on the Park Avenue Trail

rock art on the Park Avenue Trail

Courthouse Towers

Park Avenue Trail

Three Gossips

the wash along Park Avenue Trail

Park Avenue Trail

Park Avenue Trail

Courthouse Towers

plants eke out a living along the Park Avenue Trail

Park Avenue Trail

Park Avenue Trail

Park Avenue Trail

Yellow monkeyflower and Prince’s Plume along the Park Avenue Trail

Today, between our hikes at Balanced Rock, Delicate Arch, Park Avenue, and various viewpoints, we walked 19,498 steps, or 8.26 miles. What a good way to get me in shape for the Camino! 🙂

*Tuesday, May 8, 2018*

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This post is in response to Jo’s Monday Walk: Elvaston Castle Country Park.

anticipation & preparation: portugal

wanderessence1025 July 27, 2018

I have been anticipating returning to Portugal since I left there in 2013!

After I finish the Camino de Santiago, hopefully by my birthday on October 25, I’ll head to Braga, Portugal to meet my husband who will fly into Lisbon, rent a car, and drive to Braga. Our plan is to meet there on Friday, October 26. Hopefully, I will still be able to walk and will be energetic enough to explore Portugal with him!

We started plotting our journey in the north of Portugal by studying a map in Lonely Planet Portugal. We decided to start in Braga, as it’s partway between Porto and Santiago de Compostela. Porto would certainly be next on the itinerary. After our time in Porto, we would head south toward Sintra and Lisbon, with one overnight in either Coimbra or Óbidos (undecided as of yet). Though I’ve already been to Sintra and Lisbon, I have spoken of both places so fondly to my husband that he wants to visit them too.

planning for Portugal

My plans are always overambitious, but we will remain flexible and figure out what we can do comfortably along the way .

I created a spreadsheet, as always, and determined driving distances between towns by using Google Maps. Mike will drive a rental car from Lisbon to Braga. I will have to use public transportation to get from Santiago de Compostela to Braga. Looking at the website Rome2Rio, I’ve found there are two separate four-hour buses, which I can take, although driving would only take 2 hours. Google Maps tells me to take a train to Pontevedra and then an ALSA bus to Braga for 3 hours and 25 minutes. I suppose I’ll figure it out when I get there!

Here’s our itinerary so far:

Friday, August 31 – Saturday, September 1: I fly solo to Lisbon.
Saturday, Sept. 1- Sunday, September 2: Take the overnight sleeper train from Lisbon: Lisboa Oreinte at 21:34 arriving in Hendaye at 11:33 a.m. Sunday. Take two more trains to St. Jean-Pied-de-Port in France.

September 4-October 25: WALK THE CAMINO!

Thursday, October 25: Mike flies solo to Lisbon.
Friday, October 26 – Sunday, the 28th: Braga and surrounds, including Dom Jesus Do Monte. If we have time, we might visit Guimaraes or Parque Nacional da Peneda-Geres. (I’m sure this is overly ambitious, but whatever we see, we see!)
Sunday, Oct. 28 – Wednesday, the 31st: Porto and all around.
Wednesday, October 31 – Thursday, November 1: Either Coimbra or Obidos.
Thursday, November 1 – Saturday, the 3rd: Sintra.
Saturday, November 3 – Tuesday, the 6th (fly home in the morning): Lisbon.

I don’t know any Portuguese except obrigado for thank you, Olá for hello and por favor for please. I ordered a book, which I’ll try to study a bit: Portuguese in 10 minutes a day. As I’m also studying a similar book in Spanish, I probably won’t have time to learn much. I should have started long before now! Hopefully I can pick up a few phrases before going.

Before I travel to any country, I try to read novels, memoirs or travel essays set in my destination. Soon after I returned from my first trip to Portugal, I read The Painter of Birds. At this moment, I’m reading, and enjoying very much, 300 Days of Sun. I have Alentejo Blue on my Kindle, which I’m debating taking on the Camino, but it depends on my pack weight. I also bought and intended to read José Saramago‘s Journey to Portugal: In Pursuit of Portugal’s History and Culture but it’s not likely to happen. I am finding it too dense, and frankly, not that interesting.

Fado, journal, camera, guidebook, map and books

Here’s my suggested reading list for Portugal (the ones with stars *** are ones I’ve read or am currently reading):

The Painter of Birds by Lidia Jorge ****
300 Days of Sun by Deborah Lawrenson (currently reading) ****
Alentejo Blue by Monica Ali
Night Train to Lisbon by Pascal Mercier
The High Mountains of Portugal by Yann Martel
Journey to Portugal: In Pursuit of Portugal’s History and Culture by José Saramago
Blindness by José Saramago
All the Names by José Saramago

The only movie I was able to find set in Portugal was Night Train to Lisbon (2013) in which a Swiss professor abandons his lectures and buttoned-down life to embark on a thrilling adventure that will take him on a journey to the very heart of himself. I enjoyed it, but it wasn’t one of my favorites.

more planning paraphernalia

Of course, I’ve been to Portugal before but only to the south: the Algarve, Evora, Lisbon and Sintra, which I wrote about here: in search of a thousand cafés: portugal. I looked over my old blog posts to remind myself which parts I liked most and where I should take Mike.

Lately, I’ve been preparing travel journals to keep when I embark on my journey. Here is a list of my creative intentions for this journey. I am always hoping to improve on keeping a travel journal.

Intentions for Portugal

When I was last in Portugal, I bought two CDs that came highly recommended by the owner of a small music shop in Lisbon: Ana Moura “Desfado” and Carminho “alma.” I have listened to them numerous times over the last several years. I also listened to fado when I was in Lisbon. In April of this year, Mike and I went to a local venue, the Barns of Wolftrap, to listen to Ana Moura in person, and we loved immersing ourselves in her sorrowful fado tunes. Fado is a distinctly Portuguese form of music characterized by mournful tunes and lyrics, often about the sea or the life of the poor, and infused with sentiments of resignation, fatefulness and melancholia. Listening to fado is an experience one shouldn’t miss while traveling in the country.

This time, I have made a playlist which includes these two Fado singers and others: Portuguese Dreams.

It includes songs such as:

Cristina Branco – E As Vezes Dou Por Mim
Ana Moura – Fado Loucura
Ana Moura – A Case of You which includes the lines: “Oh I could drink a case of you, darling, and I would still be on my feet.” And this: “I’m a lonely painter, I live in a box of paint.” So sexy!!!
Carminho – Meu amor marinheiro

I love immersing myself in music while visiting different cultures.

In the end, there is the packing. As I can only take a few changes of clothes for the Camino, I will pack a bag that poor Mike will have to bring. I’m sure I will be ecstatic to wear something different after my two or three shirts and hiking pants on the Camino! He will have to lug along my extra suitcase to Braga, where I will take possession of it most happily. 🙂

the stuff of dreams

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“ANTICIPATION & PREPARATION” INVITATION: I invite you to write a 750-word (or less) post on your own blog about anticipation & preparation for a particular destination (not journeys in general). If you don’t have a blog, I invite you to write in the comments. Include the link in the comments below by Thursday, August 23 at 1:00 p.m. EST. When I write my post in response to this challenge on Friday, August 24, I’ll include your links in that post. My next post will be about preparations for the Camino de Santiago.

This will be an ongoing invitation, on the 4th Friday of each month. Feel free to jump in at any time. 🙂 If you’d like to read more about the topic, see: journeys: anticipation & preparation.

I hope you’ll join in our community. I look forward to reading your posts!

the ~ wander.essence ~ community

I invite you all to settle in and read posts from our wandering community. I promise, you’ll be inspired!

Gilly, of Lucid Gypsy, wrote about her anticipation and preparation to travel to Poland to meet two dear blogging friends, Meg and Jo. She was waylaid in an initial attempt, so when she heard whisperings of a later surprise trip by Meg, she put her plan in motion.
- ANTICIPATING MEG AND JO

Thanks to all of you who wrote posts about anticipation and preparation.

the call to place: portugal

wanderessence1025 July 26, 2018

I dream of Portugal. I dream of pastel de nata – the delectable Portuguese egg tart pastry; of Sopa de Beldroegas – purslane, or watercress, soup; of Sagres beer; of fresh fish and Port wine. I dream of almond and fig ice cream, promised but elusive.

I dream of standing on the western shore of the Atlantic. I dream of the Algarve: Silves, Alte, Tavira. I dream of colorful fishing boats at Santa Luzia seen from the Ria Formosa boat tour and lazy days with a dear friend.

I dream of Evora: a hilltop town with a warren of winding and convoluted narrow streets.

I dream of Sintra with its its patterned pebble sidewalks, Monserrate Palace, Quinta da Regaleira, the 19th-century Romanticist Palácio Nacional da Pena. I dream of breathtaking views from Castelo dos Mouros.

I dream of Lisbon: its Baroque churches; its Moorish arches; its red rooftops. I dream of the Rio Tejo and the Tower of Belém. I dream of soulful and melancholy fado wafting out of shops, sounding like a lament on a breeze. I dream of colorful azulejos decorating churches, monasteries, palaces, restaurants, bars, railway and subway stations, and ordinary homes. I dream of the graffiti-splashed streets of Bairro Alto, the cobbled streets of the charming Alfama neighborhood, Lisbon’s steep hills and trams. I dream of pastel peeling buildings and colorful laundry strung across wrought-iron balconies.

I spent nearly two weeks in southern Portugal in July of 2013. This time around, in late October and early November, after I complete the Camino de Santiago, my husband and I will travel from Santiago de Compostela to the north of Portugal and work our way south to Sintra and Lisbon. We’ll wander around Porto, and possibly Braga and Óbidos.

My travels the first time were solo, although I had the delightful pleasure of meeting Jo of Restless Jo in Tavira. This time we may or may not be able to meet Jo and her husband (it looks like we won’t), and we sadly won’t have time to visit the south. I think I’ll be a bit worn out after the Camino. This year is our 30th anniversary on November 13, although we’ll be home by then. (Mike considers it our 23rd anniversary, if you subtract our 7-year separation). Although I’ve been to Lisbon and Sintra, Mike wants to visit too, as he’s never been, and he’s listened to my nostalgic dreams.

boats at Santa Luzia

boats at Santa Luzia

me with Jo on the Ria Formosa boat tour

tiles in Silves

me in Evora

Pastel de nata

Moorish Castle in Sintra

Pena Palace in Sintra

Pena Palace

more Portuguese tiles

Portuguese tiles

Monserrate Palace was originally commissioned by Gerard de Visme, an English merchant holding the concession to import Brazilian teak. Transformed in 1856 into a summer residence for the Francis Cook family, it represents 19th century eclecticism.

Monserrate Palace

Belem Tower

Lisbon

Colorful buildings in Lisbon

laundry in Lisbon

Baroque church in Lisbon

view of Lisbon

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“THE CALL TO PLACE” INVITATION: I invite you to write a 500-700 word (or less) post on your own blog about what enticed you to choose a particular destination. If you don’t have a blog, I invite you to write in the comments. If your destination is a place you love and keep returning to, feel free to write about that. If you want to see the original post about the subject, you can check it out here: imaginings: the call to place.

Please include the link in the comments below by Wednesday, August 22 at 1:00 p.m. EST. When I write my post in response to this challenge on Thursday, August 23, I’ll include your links in that post. If you’d like, you can use the hashtag #wanderessence.

My next post will be about my upcoming trip to walk the Camino de Santiago in northern Spain.

This will be an ongoing invitation, on the fourth Thursday of each month. Feel free to jump in at any time. 🙂

I hope you’ll join in our community. I look forward to reading your posts!

the ~ wander.essence ~ community

I invite you all to settle in and read a few posts from our wandering community. I promise, you’ll be inspired.

Sue, of WordsVisual, wrote about how she was called to visit the disused pit buildings of Reims-Geux Motor Racing Circuit. I can certainly understand her draw to such ruins.
- The Call to Place – Reims-Geux

Thanks to all of you who wrote posts about “the call to place.” 🙂

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