One Lap

Date: 11/15/2013

Day: 50

Location:  San Diego,   *** CALIFORNIA   *** (At last!)

Miles Today: 362

Total Miles:  11,874

Phoenix, Gila Bend, I-8, Tomorrow

Phoenix

Phoenix feels a little bit like home due to fairly frequent visits for Spring Training.  Other than baseball, the best reason to visit this town is the Heard Museum.  This institution probably holds the finest collection of Southwest American Indian art extant.  It is a great place to visit for a few hours, work on ones' Museum Stroll (as mentioned inre the Carlsbad Caverns,) and see what all the noise is about concerning this topic.  They have really good stuff.
 
Following, some images:

 

The Colonel can identify only two people in this painting, Frieda Kalo and Georgia O'Keefe --  other than the father and daughter interlopers from American Gothic, of course, over on the right.  Lucy Lewis and Maria Martinez ought to be in there somewhere, as well as the great Nampeyo herself.

 

The iconic potter Nampeyo (Hopi - Tewa, 1860 - 1942),  the first American Indian potter known by name, is on the right.  Look closely at her daughter Annie in this photo.  Stunning girl.

 

 

 

 

Ancient astronaut theorists would tell you that the guy shown on this Anasazi bowl is wearing a translucent helmet and a space suit.  But they are bonkers, of course.

 

 

 

Gila Bend, AZ

 

Stout's Hotel, constructed 1927 - 1929.  Steam heat!

 

 

 

This shot was taken through the window of the very much closed hotel.  They look ready for customers.   Or like a stage set for HOT-L Baltimore, equally ready to go.

 

 

There is still a website, which directs you to places to buy seafood on line, but apparently no desert sweet shrimp  firm still in  business.

 

Flying saucers are no surprise to those of us who have been to the UFO museum in Roswell, but flying cups and saucers are new.

 

 

I - 8

When people who  don't know about the Southwest imagine the desert, what they imagine the very dry, sand dune infested, Sonora Desert through which I-8 runs along the border with Mexico.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you look very closely at the dark line on the horizon, you will see that it is the border fence.

Abandoned buildings last for ever in the desert, every one with a story and probably not a happy story.  Please God Mr. Miller went on to something better, one way or another.  Those are truly gigantic wind turbines in the background and below.

 

And the last coastal hills before the descent into San Diego.

 

 

Tomorrow

Half a day in San Diego, then north to LA to be ready to meet the Mrs. Colonel at Mr. John Wayne's airport in Orange County Sunday morning.  Hooray!

Wellington Boot, Col.