Echoes of the Southwest

Sharon and I enjoying the sites and sounds of Oak Creek in Sedona, AZ.

On our way to Sedona, we took a detour to Mayer, AZ to get shots of the cemetery (which will be my next post).  I did get some nice pictures of this sweet little town. Lunch, pastrami sandwich and potato salad.  It was very good! This is where we stopped for lunch.

This week I will be relaxing under some of Mother Nature's interesting creations, the trees of Oak Creek in Sedona, Arizona.

In northeastern Arizona and in the heart of Navajo and Apache country lies the Petrified Forest National Park.  This over 146 square miles of desert/forest land is partially in the Painted Desert and got its names from the large deposits of petrified wood which covers the area.  In 1906, the site was declared a national monument and in 1962 a national park.  Inside the park you will find over 400 different types of plant life along with 200 various species of birds and other animals.  Half the park is designated wilderness.  The Petrified Forest has many fossils of trees which existed around 225 million years ago.  The colorful sediment from the fossil logs are what give the Painted Desert its name.  the earliest human inhabitants lived in the are over 8,000 years ago.  About 6,000 years later, they were growing corn, building pit houses, and above-ground homes called pueblos.  The climates changes made it hard for the people to cont...

What is the Thing?  Along Interstate 10, from Tucson, Arizona to El Paso, Texas, you see billboards with messages to tickle your interests.  One will say, "The Thing?", and a few miles more you will see "What is it?" and down the road a ways another might say "Mystery of the Desert".   Located on a hilltop between Benson and Willcox, Arizona, you will see a large red, yellow, blue filling station and gift shop.  Inside you will find the typical southwest roadside gifts such as bows, arrows, moccasins, baseball caps, turquoise  jewelry  and The Thing? shot glasses, T-shirts and other items with the logo on it. What is it?  I sounds like a  novelty  which peaks enough people's interest to get them to stop and check it out.  For a dollar, you walk past the register and into a tiny outside courtyard.  In the courtyard is three prefabricated corrugated steel sheds full of odd exhibits.  You will see unusual wood carvings...

He is known all over the world as different names, and has slightly different descriptions.  The hairy beast called Bigfoot, Sasquatch, Skunk Monster, or Yeti, just to name a few, has been seen by many but very little is known about this ape-like creature. In Arizona, we have many sightings along the rim country stretching from Prescott to Williams, Winslow to the Herber area, and into Payson.  (This is where the Finding Bigfoot team went hunting for Bigfoot.)  It got its name from the many sightings along the Mogollon Rim.  People have describe what they saw as around seven feet tall, hairless in the face, but with its body covered with hair.  The hair has been noted as being dark or reddish brown.  This creature has enormous strides when it walks and runs, leaving footprints that have measured around twenty-two inches. Those who had an encounter while in the forest have said there was a dead silence, and a foul odor right before seeing the Mogo...