DARQ: I’m reporting on the last leg of what Catherine calls our “grand tour.” After leaving Las Vegas,we headed through the desert southwest to Lake Havasu City to see the London Bridge. Why anyone would transport a bridge across the Atlantic Ocean to the middle of a desert, dig a canal under it, and fill that canal with water from the Colorado River boggles my mind, but that’s what they did. Of course, Catherine and her husband made a stop to see the bridge. Those black specks on the left lower forground are pigeons.
Then it was on to Flagstaff and The Grand Canyon (which was “the major” destination of the trip).
Catherine and her husband didn’t drive themselves about the canyon area–they took a tour bus tour and had a great tour guide–I listened in. You see, I was chauffeured about by my Men In Black escorts. And, of course, I was incognito–the invisibility gadget I wore insured no one saw me. And no one noticed the guys in their suits because they, too, wore an invisibility gadget.
At any rate, Catherine took way too many photos–par for the course for her, right? LOL. Here’s a sampling–and, of course, she took more still life photos then she did of the canyon itself. Not that I minded, mind you. It was a very nice day for we could see all the way across the canyon to Utah (a hundred miles away–or so the tour guide said).
Despite the triple digit heat that grips such arid environments in summer, life clings to life, and next on this road trip we traveled through Scottsdale and Tucson. But the huge saguaro cacti–awesome!
Catherine took the photo above, turned around, and spotted a critter–a bird, a roadrunner. I still don’t get the joke–there was no Wile E. Cyote chasing it.
I also got to see barrel cactus in bloom and prickly pear. We have nothing like this on my homeworld. Simply beautiful (okay, so it’s a prickly cacti, but it’s the flowers that counts, right?)
Our next stop was the White Sands–it isn’t sand but gypsum. That’s Catherine’s husband standing at the corner of their camper.
And a little farther down the road we came to Catherine’s most-desired stop– Roswell, NM.
Of course, I tagged along (invisibly) when Catherine and her husband went to the UFO Museum in Roswell. And let me tell you, I was shocked. No self-respecting alien would go unclothed in outer space (and if you tell me they wore green space uniforms–no way will I believe that. I’ve flown in outer space, remember.) Nor are any species green–after all my race has been scouting and trading among planetary systems for quiet some eons. You humans have such vivid imaginations . . .
But this item in the museum was a hoot–
I also have to say that Roswell had it’s quirks-–
When Catherine saw the sign, she asked our campground host about the dairy cows. Seems there are 100,000 of them in the area and their milk goes into making cheese for Domino’s pizza. (It’s shipped nationwide to the stores.)
Now, as we left Roswell, I looked long and hard across the flat, arid landscape, and although I spotted lots of farms, I didn’t see dairy cows en masse. So where were they hiding? And, Catherine was adamant that I not make any “alien” jokes about cows and UFO milk.
Our trek then took us through Texas.
We visited San Antonia, the Alamo, the Buckhorn Saloon, took a tour of the San Jose Mission, and rode a barge on the canal called the River Walk. Of all the cities we visited, I liked San Antonio best.
The Alamo monument. Optical illusion of background hotel superimposed onto the monument. This is the actual photo–it has not been manipulated in any way. @ 2013 http://www.CatherineEmclean.com
We left San Antonio for home. Crossing the Mississippi, the countryside views changed dramatically. Gone were the flat plains. Gone were the immense skies. Gone were the 90 degree plus temperatures. And, crossing into Pennsylvania, Catherine and her husband better appreciated the terrain of home which is blanketed with green trees and grasses.
So, that’s the wrap-up on the trip of a lifetime. And I’m glad to be back in a cooler clime.
**** HALLOWEEN is coming. Stop back on Oct. 30 (Halloween Eve) and see Darq in her Halloween costume — trick or treat?
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All photos by Catherine E. McLean * http://www.CatherineEmclean.com @ 2013 All Rights reserved
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BOO! Guess who? It’s me, Darq. Happy Halloween!
