Rockslides and Zunis and Cactus Honey

And, so we begin to head south, then east for a few days. The Pacific Ocean is now to our right, and the waves crashing up on the shore are so powerful and incredible that I have trouble keeping the van between the lines. Eventually, I stopped and got out and snapped pictures until Time forced me back inside the vehicle.

 

I even saw a bicycler when I stopped. This one is for YOU, Rob!!

I drove on thru some magnificent hills and mountains. Okay, so it is Not Safe to snap and drive, but I had to have some shots of this beauty. Here it is to share with all yall.

It wasn't long until I came to the Orange Groves and the Strawberry Fields. LOOK on these trees! You'll see oranges!!!

Well, maybe I need to magnify these just a little...But trust me, they are laden. Look at the mountains, bare and desert-like in the background.

I stopped at a little roadside stand and bought some fresh strawberries. They are as big as my fist, some of them, and as sweet as sugar. I had several little containers of Greek yoghurt, and together, they make a fine evening meal!

This place also had some Cactus Honey for sale. I'd never even heard of that, and so purchased a jar for Rob. He eats honey on his oatmeal every morning. Maybe he'll share it with me.  Well, I gave the man (who spoke only Spanish) my money for the sweet stuff, then asked where the Ladies' Room was....He looked at me curiously, and I then asked, "donde esta el bano?"  It was a portapotty, but, certainly better than the ice cream bucket I have in the van. So I went inside, put my honey on top of the toilet paper holder, emptied my bladder, and headed on down the road.

I got about a mile down the road when I realized that Dang! I'd forgotten Rob's Cactus Honey back at the portajohn....So, I made a u-turn and sped back to retrieve this treasure. Meanwhile my Garmin was going Nutz...."Recal----CUE----lating"

I pulled back in to the fruitstand, and there was a "honey wagon" sucking out the contents of the portapotty...and my honey jar was no longer on top of the toilet paper holder. Dam! Ten dollars of honey gone and gone....But wait! here comes the little Mexican guy running out of the stand with my jar! Sputtering several things in Spanish that I did not understand, but I Did understand that he knew it was mine and I'd left it in the john.....Muchas Gracias, I told him, and hopped back in my van.

We spent the night in Williams, Arizona on Monday. It is very near the Grand Canyon. Got a motel, very clean and very quaint on the Route66 strip down the center of town. This stretch of 66 has one-way sections going east and one-way sections going west for about 20 blocks or so. And every block is filled with very old buildings, still in operation, still feeding travellers, still lodging them for the night. Our motel was built in the 60's but updated a bit and equipped with refrigerator, microwave, and (notsofast) wifi. We were ALL very glad to stop for the night.

I ran the boyz a bowl of water and placed it under the bathroom sink. They drank heartily, and I laid out my clothes for the next day, and set up my computer on the desktop. I went to wash my hands, and noticed that the caulking on the sink was coming loose from the wall, then.....before my very eyes, the whole dang sink just tumbled and slid down to the floor....in slow motion.....crushing the waterbowl beneath it and ripping the drain from the wall.

I let the boyz finish their dinner of chicken thighs, then went down to the front desk and told them what happened, and assured them that I had not even touched the sink except to run a bowl of water.

They were willing to find me another room, but I told them I wanted to drive out to a bead shop I'd seen on the strip, and that I'd take the dogs while they tried to fix everything.

Sure enough, when I returned, the sink was back on the wall, caulked again and ready. But just to make sure it did not crush a Collie (or my bare feet!), I stuck the luggage rack under it, and closed the door to the dawgs.

Here's the finished plumbing project. Sorry I didn't think to get a "before" picture....It was sure a mess!

I slept till nearly 7:30 this morning, and then took the boyz for a walk. I went to a local resturant that advertised "Greek breakfast," for only $3.99.  The waitress was very thin and very old and very kind and the coffee was passable. But the Greek breakfast was in name only......I had French toast and 2 eggs. Later, I asked the waitress to snap my picture. Travelling alone (well, without Human companions), it is difficult to get photos of oneself along the journey. 

Then the owner of the resturant came over, and we had a pleasant visit. He IS, in fact Greek, and the resturant does serve Greek Gyros for lunch and supper. He gave me a good recipe for the "sauce" that they put on their gyros....yoghurt, cucumbers (w/the water squeezed out), sour cream, and lots of garlic.

His name is Gregory Paulos. Here's his picture.

I found the bead shop open, and bought strands of moonstones, garnets, and amethyst. Walked the dogs again, and headed out of Williams.

Back on I-40, I come upon a huge traffic jam.  There'd been a wreck up ahead, and the cars and trucks were backed up for miles, inching along, sometimes stopped altogether. Made me think that it was a Good Thang that I had "lingered" over breakfast....

Even further down the road, almost at the New Mexico border, there was a rockslide.  This time, traffic on I-40 was at at Total Standstill. I mean, turn your engine off, take yer dogs out for a potty break, fix yerself some yoghurt and Cheerios......

I studied the map, and decided to get off at the next exit, head south, then east, then back north thru the Zuni Reservation. It took FORever, but the scenery was out of this world! INcredible! 

The Zuni, I later learned, are a small tribe that keep pretty much to themselves. Their reservation is located just south of Gallup, and their main source of income used to be corn, but that has been replaced with arts and crafts that they create, among them being small carvings of animals and beautiful, signature "Zuni" jewelry. I wish now that I had stopped at one of the "trading posts" and bought something....But I felt REEEEALLy out of place there, and opted to stay in the car. I was totally in the middle of Nowhere....

It was late when I got into Santa Rosa. I think Rob was beginning to get a bit worried, maybe even Agitated at me for driving so late. The motels were Full to the brim---snowbirds flying back to their northern homes---and also Easter and Spring Break.  I knew that I did Not want to stay at the same motel I'd stayed in last week, and opted for another "Route66" genre, the La Loma.  Looked nice, had wifi, accepted pets, and only $35.  But when I asked to see the room first, he refused and told me I should "trust" him because he wasn't a (expletive deleted) person from India, but rather a true American. I still asked to see the room first, and he said if I didn't trust him, he would not trust me.  TRUST me, ladies and gentlemen....I have found that one should ALWAYS see the room before one commits to a lodging.....So....here I am at the Motel 6.  And it's late.  I'm coming up onto Central Time Zone tomorrow.....Need to get in bed. HOME tomorrow!!!!