Musings

This penultimate week of vacation indulgence takes us from mere miles from the Mexican border to mid-Oregon, from cactus and tumbleweed to forests of pine, from shirt-sleeve heat to turtle-neck cold.  

The small frontier town of Ajo California welcomes visitors with eye-catching murals, some even
extending across the sidewalk.  The second shot below, a close-up of part of the first photo, 
shows the fun and somewhat disorienting sidewalk.

Many murals express the sentiments of the artist as in the mural below.

From Ajo we began the long trek north, stopping to linger in Las Vegas for a day trip to the 
Valley of Fire.  The valley lives up to its name - roads and trails through fiery red rocks 
rivalling the grandeur of the park's nearby cousins - Bryce and Zion. Even a smaller desert-
variety of bighorn sheep!

Those 'slits' through the rock piles are part of the roadway in and out of the park.  Below - even
a slot canyon!

And, not far north of Vegas, Death Valley.  Our third time, and the vistas as gripping and
mesmerizing as the first.  Love the curvy one-way road though the aptly named
"Artists' Palatte Drive'.

We hit a bit of a wall on the west side of Death Valley when we encountered foreboding winter
storm warnings in the High Sierra Mountains.  "Carry chains" - like we'd even be able to mount
them if we had them!  We diverted east to Nevada where we found no snow but considerable
rain and significant winds buffeting us with frightening strength - didn't seem to bother the
big-rig driver passing us.

After that long and challenging day, even awakening to snow on a subsequent morning was
welcome - that's our motorhome reflected in the lake. Knowing the wind had dropped and the sun 
would quickly melt the snow was comforting, as was being being back in familiar vegetation.

Next time I post will be from home.  Happy Easter wherever you are!