Today was another really long day in the driver’s seat, hundreds and hundreds of miles. It starkly illustrated why some people hate convertibles, as the temperature started cool, got too hot, and then got close to my cold limit. I put up with this because the views are well worth the lack of comfort. I started driving out of Holbrook heading southeast. This road crosses flat empty desert. It’s one of those drives where measuring progress is nearly impossible because the scenery never changes. Locals react as one should expect, by driving as fast as their skills allow (and sometimes faster). Prepare to either join them or pull over on occasion. Petrified Forest National Park The scenery abruptly changes when a sign for Petrified Forest National Park appears. The side road immediately passes be... read more

This morning, my alarm clock went off very early. I tried to ignore it. When the noise insisted on continuing, my brain finally acknowledged its consciousness. The time reads 5:05 AM, hours before sunrise. Today is definitely balloon day. The Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta started as a promotional stunt in 1972, and became the largest festival of its type. It now features hundreds of balloons from around the world. Some are regular hot air balloons painted all sorts of colors, while others are shaped like everything from cows to alien monsters. Balloon pilots love Albuquerque thanks to unusual air currents around the Sandia Mountains. Winds low to the ground gen... read more

This morning, it’s raining. Normally, this doesn’t matter much. Today, that rain is falling in a desert, where it can wreak havoc with travel. Large amounts of rain can also ruin some things I have coming up that I won’t be able to rearrange, unlike Chaco Canyon. Zuni Pueblo Gallup sits on the western edge of the Pueblo Indian reservations in New Mexico, so that is where I ultimately went. These reservations, like other Native American reservations, have widely ranging policies on visitors. Some welcome them, some ban them completely, most are in between. The pueblos themselves range from sites that clearly evoke the past as seen at Mesa Verde to ones that look downright dull. Before visiting, it’s important to study the history. That certainly applies at my first site, url=http://www.zunitouris... read more

Today, I got to experience some of the best of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, and some of the worst. It says something about the scenery around here that the latter had little effect on the former. I woke up to pouring rain. Not just any rain, the continuous sheets that only seem to appear in the spring and autumn. The temperature has dropped too, so it was noticeably colder than yesterday. The dirt streets have turned to mud, with water flowing in big ruts. The rain and cold are a serious problem, because I booked a jeep tour today. I ultimately went anyway, and it was still worth it. San Juan Jeep Tour Dirt tracks cover most of the Rocky Mountains. Miners showed up in southwest Colorado looking for gold in the 1860s. They found ... read more

At first glance, the Southwestern deserts seem like the worst place on the continent to settle: hot in summer, cold in winter, and incredibly dry. In reality, several ancient tribes set up remarkably sophisticated civilizations here. They developed the large scale social organizations needed to build large scale irrigation works, plus remarkable stone settlements. Their remains now cover the region, haunting reminders of ancient humanity. The dry environment ensures that all is remarkably well preserved. I plan to see many of these sites over the next month. Cortez sits near one of the most famous. Mesa Verde A long low sandstone mesa rises south and west of town. It’s covered in pine trees. From a distance... read more