From October 26th. through November 9th. 2014, we took a memorable journey to the Southwest, USA.
Our purpose was many fold. (1) We wanted to visit my sister Cree Ann in Albuquerque, NM, (2) Connie had never visited the SW, (3) there were areas I wished to see, and (4)we were joining the Pisano (Connie's Mom's family), Reunion in Las Vegas.
Following are photographs of people, places and things of our trip. ENJOY!!!
Cree's home in NE Albuquerque, NM
Trip up nearby Sandia Peak........
Tram cars that take people 10,678 feet up to top of Sandia Peak
For dinner and the sunset view, 10,600+ feet above Albuquerque, NM looking West from from Sandia Peak
The sunsets and the lights come on Albuquerque
We took a day trip to Rio Grande Nature Center, Albuquerque
Bosque Natural Area along Rio Grande River, Albuquerque
Dinner at El Pinto Restaurant, Albuquerque, NM
We drove to Santa Fe.........
A very interesting and worthwhile museum to visit; now we know all about New Mexico.........
Sangria and lunch at La Fonda on the Plaza in Santa Fe, NM
On to Chimayo, NM, where we found a very spiritual setting with three individual churches, Santuario Church, Santo Nino de Atocha Chapel and Santo Nino Prayer Portal....
Very spiritual and interesting.....
Then, on to Ghost Ranch, NM former home of artist Georgia O'Keefe
Connie on the trail to Chimney Rock.
A little time for a photo op...
John trails behind.......
Scenic beauty.....
O'Keefe liked Ghost Ranch because in every direction she turned there was scenery and subjects for her to paint.
We concur!!!!
That night.......
Our charming B&B in Abiquiu, NM on the Chama River
Note the size of the cereal bowls !!!
Connie checking the itinerary and saying, "we gotta get going!"
NOTE:
Our
Waze navigation smart phone APP proved to be an indispensable tool along our 1,480 miles journey.
Early in the AM its on to Monument Valley, Utah
Open roads!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Monument Valley, Navajo Tribal Territory, AZ.
The View Hotel rooms all over look Monument Valley, wonderful view........
Connie's "art studio" on the road!
Up early to catch the sunrise.......
Later in the day......
Walking the desert to get the photo. No, I did not trip on that rock....
Shooting "Toten Pole" monument....
Early AM view of the Valley with many Buttes
Our ride through the Valley strapped into a flat bed truck....
Duffy, our Navajo guide plays the flute for us!!!
A hogan or Navajo home in the valley.......
One of the dozen arches in the Valley.
Connie and John in the Valley.
Duffy telling us he had no problem with the Washington Redskins, he is proud to have red skin....
At their last tribal pow wow, the big Navajo chief wore a Washington Redskins tee shirt in support of the "Skins"....No problem here !!!!
Another arch in the valley.
Connie on her photo expedition..........
A very memorable 3 1/2 hours strapped onto a seat on the back of a flat bed truck with Duffy at the wheel....Many memories!!!!!!!
Next stop, Page, AZ, Lake Powell and Upper Antelope Canyon....
But first, on the road in very, very scenic northern Arizona...............
The Marriott Hotel in Page, AZ our travel headquarters on this day.....
Lake Powell, AZ
The Japanese tourists were an everyday sighting. They came in handy to snap our photo, as above.
Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado River and Lake Powell, Page, AZ
On a cliff overlooking the Colorado.
Our main purpose was to take photos in Upper Antelope Canyon outside of Page, AZ. We ran into a wind/sand storm that day. This is the entrance to the slot canyon......
Here is a sample of our Antelope Canyon photographs............
Rear entrance to the canyon....
Kim our Navajo guide packs us up to get back to the main road. There was a forecast for rain and we had to get out of the area, as it is prone to flooding.......
Sedona, here we come....but first a stop at the Cameron Trading Post for a little shopping....
The most scenic highway we traveled was 89A, southwest of Flagstaff on the way to Sedona....
a beautiful area!!!
We didn't see any bears!
Our destination was Sandra and Steven's sprawling home in Cottonwood, AZ.
The next day Sandy gave us a super tour of Sedona and Verde Valley area.
Sedona airport Vista.........Thunder Mountain/
Capital Butte in distance
Hunting for the airport vortex..............no luck!!!
Chapel of the Holy Cross.......
We took a sunset Pink Jeep ride west of Sedona
As the sun went down it turned chilly for some and Navajo blankets were offered.
Next day, back North on 89A, West on I 40 and North on 64 to Grand Canyon,
At a reststop on 89A we meet "Lino" an Apache Native American.
Snow peaked Mt. Humphreys and the San Francisco Mountains near Flagstaff, AZ
Grand Canyon
Walking the trail into the canyon....
Stars in the sky above Grand Canyon at 5 AM.......
Hoover Dam and lower Colorado River
Lake Mead in the background, we have reached Nevada...Las Vegas is next....
We caught up with some of the Kerwick Clan for dinner at Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas
There is a separate Blog posting for the Pisano cousin's reunion.....
Three days later, were on the road for one more final spot, The Mojave Desert....
Thats all for now folks! Stay tuned for our Cuban trip in February....
XOXO
Connie & John
Caroline and Hailey...
All four cousins, Hailey, Caroline, Ryan and Colin....
Caroline inspects Kristen's and Connie's collaboration...
Dawn, John, Hailey and Ryan...
The Burkes....
