Sunday, November 29, 2009

New Direction

My Christmas wish

So far November has been mild and unseasonal sunny. Wonderful! Today is the exception and the view is a wet gray in gray with some snow in the mix. A perfect day to write Christmas cards, bake cookies and wrap gifts. (Oh yes I was handed a list!) To add to the Christmas flavor quinces are boiling away on the stove until they have the right softness to be used for marmalade. No jelly this time, marmalade and quince paste it is. Have you tried quince paste with cheese? Goat cheese is recommended, but other cheeses will do too. Yummy!

Life back in BC is good! I love living with Helen and she likes it too, even her room mates do not mind having me around. It feels like having a family but I do not need to do their laundry or clean up after them. If it works out we do cook and eat together, but mostly it is just Helen and me. My house is still rented and this gives me a modest income. I am so grateful for this arrangement because it allows me to finish what I need to finish and pursue my new direction without the pressure to earn extra money.

One project is to choose my best pictures and put them into an album that will become a treasure for the years to come. I just like to make the photo album interesting enough to look through it more than once without getting bored. Some parts of me are still traveling, but mostly by setting all the different experiences into a bigger picture. Each part belongs into the bigger picture that is still revealing itself.

In October I had the chance to work with Glennie and Doug in their studio to learn about glass fusing. Glennie fuses glass and creates wonderful plates in all shapes, zipper pulls and jewelery. Her work includes dichroic (a glass with a foil), opaque, transparent, speckled and other art glass. She creates her functional art with lush colours , unusual textures and sells it at the Calgary Farmer’s market. Her website is still in the making, but I’ll post it as soon it is ready.

I had so much fun working with glass. I had so much fun I have to repeat it. The whole week was nothing but a pleasure and now I would like to make fused glass my medium.

The question is how and where.

Back in Kelowna I searched in the Internet and found Fusion Glass right across Highway 97, not far from where I live. Ken, the guru of glass I was told, is the owner and he invited me into the workshop. He made me a generous offer to use his facility and the tools for $ 20 a day. I thought this to good to be true and it was. The second time he already raised the price to $ 7.50 an hour and the following time he said, well since he has to show and teach me certain things he has to charge $ 50 an hour.

Well, he maneuvered himself right out of business and I will not go back. To top it off is that his glass selection is poor and the plates I made under his watchful eye did not turn out the way he said they would. This was a very disappointing experience.

Next.

I contacted some of the local glass artists, and they referred me to other artists to check them out. I am looking and researching and maybe I’ll find what I need.

My Christmas wish is, to find a glass artist’s studio, big enough to include me as an apprentice and I could work in that studio for a few months before I set up shop.

I am open to suggestions.

Below are some pictures of my so excellent week in Canmore AB, with Glennie and Doug.

Canmore

Annemarie working in Glennie's glass studio

gorgeous glass

A kiln full with Glennie's and my creations. Mine is the orange plate.

Calgary

Glennie McKirdy and Douglas Pickles in their shop at the Calgary Farmers Market

Monday, October 05, 2009

Back in BC

Tuesday, September 29^th I arrived in British Columbia, stopped by my house, visited Wendy and drove on to Kelowna. Here I am back in BC. It is cold or at least I think so after my endless summer in the desert. What a trip what a wonderful trip I had! Do I really want to come home? Take care of my Visa bill that got out of hand after my car repair in New York? Donations are welcome!

Enough of that. My trip from Quebec to British Columbia was as good as everything else before. Traveling by myself again, I missed my turn into Ottawa. Where is Derek when I need him? We traveled together for only one month and I got so used to him going ahead and navigating, while I just enjoyed traveling in his wake. Now I have to wake up! I decided to leave Ottawa and the beautiful art museum behind, and focused on Toronto’s multiple highways that twist and merge into four to eight lanes all directions.

The Lucas’s moved from Vernon to a high rise in Burlington ON. After five years living on the 18^th floor they moved to Campbelleville, ON into a house with a spacious back yard. The sun was just setting when I arrived at the Lucas residence. Luke handed me a beer, food and lit a fire. I mean a fire, a really big fire that reached up to the night sky. Who would have thought that Camp Lucas in ‘Camp Belleville’ felt just like the Camp Lucas in Vernon BC? It was so good to be with old friends!

Timing was good too, I arrived just in time to celebrate Michele’s grand opening to her very own art gallery ‘flat space’. The opening was to be held in two days at 4 pm. Still a few things needed to be done ... I mean we better pull up our socks, or sleeves to make this happen.

The platters of food were ready, the windows were cleaned, the track light was on, the entrance was swept, the paintings were numbered and priced, Luke went to work and Michele and I awaited the crowed. Four people dropped by early on, and then nothing. Michele was happy to have managed an opening day and sipping on a glass of wine, she considered to call it a day when the crowed poured in. 15 minutes before closing time they came, filled the place and bought art too! What a successful evening! Well worth the aching legs, the short night before, and the wine we drunk while waiting !Cheers to Michele!

I would have liked to stay longer with them, but it was time for me to head home. Next stop was 5 hours away in North Bay. Brian and Betty were waiting for me, friends from Vernon that moved there to be close to their son and his young family. My eternal summer suddenly came to an end and fall came overnight with colored leaves, misty mornings and warmer clothing.

Driving through Ontario was beautiful and endless. I picked up Emily and John, two young hitchhikers that kept me company for three days. I left them in Saskatchewan and I stopped in Medicine Hat and then in Canmore AB just outside Banff.

Doug and Glennie live in Canmore and run a very successful glass studio. Christmas is just around the corner and they are looking for help. This is my chance to learn about glass, and I offered to help in exchange for instructions. It will be for one week only, long enough to accomplish what they need done and l will get some training too! I am so excited to work with this beautiful, colorful, and transformable material.

This is it for today…

Take care and let me know what you are up to!

Lots of love to all of you

Annemarie

flat space

Opening night at Michele's art gallery

flat space

Luke is a happy man

Back in BC

Helen and Jonas are well and healthy

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Chez Patrick

Adventures with Derek

Leaving Taos was a smooth transition. The day when I decided that my mission was up a truck pulled into the parking lot. The truck was covered with peace signs and peace slogans. John and his young son got out looking for Nina. Nina is the only staff at the Peace House and just came back from her vacation. (That is why I was asked to house sit).

That day I decided that it was time for me to leave. I cleaned the Peace House one last time, just to make sure everything was clean and in good order. I sent an e-mail to Keith, telling him that I am ready to continue on my trip.

‘Are you Nina?’ John asked me. He and his son were waiting for Nina, to show them where they could stay. John lives as a healer in Alaska and took his seventeen year old son to the Rainbow gathering. Now they needed a place to stay, earn some money before they could go home to join the family - totally surrendering to the grace of God. I really wanted to give him something showing my appreciation of his commitment to the spiritual path. (I could not give him money, since every cent was accounted for and then I run out three days before home…but that is another story.) I decided to give him two of ‘my’ sacred feathers. He took them, looked at them, looked at me and said ‘I have been waiting for them, now I can finish my ceremonial rattle.’

Nina finally arrived. I filled her in about the last four weeks and said good bye to all. John was not ready and asked me to wait. He produced a beautiful crystal for me to keep. I thought that this gift was too big of a gift and felt the sting of tears in my eyes. He just smiled and said this crystal too is ready to move on. His sincerity touched me. This felt like a blessing and I was on may way to the east coast to meet up with Derek.

I mentioned earlier, that Derek and I met at the Forestry Campground mid June, just outside Taos. By talking about our traveling plans we discovered, that we both planned to visit New England, Maine and then Quebec. An approximate date was set to meet up somewhere at the East Coast.

Derek’s pilgrimage is not only about peace it was also about connecting with different communities of his spiritual friends. He invited me to come to a Quaker convention with him. The convention was held on a beautiful university campus in Providence, Rhodes Island. We stayed there for four days and I learned about the Quaker history and their practice and also about the people that choose to be among Friends. Leaders, called clerks, worked hard on new concepts and old values in a ever changing world. Everybody was invited to participate and decisions were made openly, a tradition among Friends.

There were many workshops, and I as a guest participated in some that looked like fun to me. Derek participated by talking to a youth group about his peace mission and the adventures he had while in Burundi, Africa. On another day he was leading a casual sing along circle which was really fun after all that serious talk that was going on. The weather got hotter and muggier by the day and I took advantage of the Olympic sized swim pool. Finally a huge down pour sent me running to my camper to close all the windows, but my bed was already soaked!

Then we went to NEW YORK! I never thought I would make it to the Big Apple. I VISITED NEW YORK. I have no idea why this excites me so much!

I made it to New York thanks to Derek. He has a good old friend that lives in Brooklyn. Peter and his wife Sharon were so kind to invite me along. From Brooklyn we took the Subway into Manhattan and visited the Metropolitan Museum until we could no more. We tried to recover in Central Park wondering where all the movie celebrities are that seem to populate these places in so many films. We had a coffee, mine was an iced mocha by the sailing pond which did pick me up some. Still, that night I had an early night while Derek did some catching up with his friend.

We ended up stying a little longer than planned because of my van. Driving into Brooklyn was a little much for ‘Maxy’l and the constant stopping and going made her waaaaay tooooo hot. She was boiling over and in the process the steering fluid was affected and some other stuff too. I called AAA and got towed to workshop that was really close by. This was a Saturday and of course the repair had to wait until Monday. Peter and Sharon opened their doors again and it gave us another day to be tourists. This time we walked over the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan. We walked into China Town and had a gelato (Italian for ice cream) in Little Italy. A parade marched down the streets complete with Chinese Dragons and music bands. This parade turned into a Catholic procession with four priests following the Dragons. Two different statues depicting Madonna were propped on a car roof passing us by. What spectacle, and I am sure it was just for us.

Derek had some other connections in Maine where we were welcomed with lobster and other treats. Acadia National Park gave us a much needed brake of urban life. To camp between trees by a blazing fire by the ocean was just wonderful. The next morning we biked down to the beach. It was misty and rainy and the threat of hurricane Bill whipped the waves along the shore. Climbing over rocks and tidal pools Derek looks at mussels and snails with a hunter’s eye. ‘Oh, this is food,’ he said and takes off his ball cap. I just watched him wondering how I could eat that stuff. ‘I’ll try one maybe two snails’ I ventured and helped collect some more. Well, I have to say, they were excellent, most delicious, check out the picture.

Entering Canada, Derek had some unnerving moments with the border control. They not only checked his car, but also wanted to know his intentions with his Canadian travel companion. They questioned him, came to confirm his answers with me and then went back to him demanding to know if he wants to marry me. I think that questions makes any man nervous, but being asked by intimidating officials that are in power to let you pass the border or not ... but Derek was on his feet and said ‘not today’ and kept his thoughts to himself and we finally could move on.

Chez Patrick

Patrick, yes we found Patrick in Chertsey, pronounced something like tsherssy, one hour north of Montreal, Quebec. Patrick is a long time friend I met in Valemount B.C. He also worked for the Helicopter skiing business and he remembers the time when I just had Helen. That was 29 years ago!

He really showed his friendship five years ago, when Simone tried to find a place to stay in Montreal. Patrick was the one who said ‘mais, biens sure!’ and so Simone became his summer-daughter. He has one son, Didier who is now 16 years old. A very patient young man who is passionate about film making.

One year ago Patrick moved from Montreal to the Country. He bought the summer house his grand father built just above a small lake. His neighbors are his cousins and his workshop is right there too. Patrick is a furniture maker, called ‘maitre de chaise’.

The weather was sunny, amazingly sunny and clear and I was sad to say good bye to Derek. He had to be in Portland, Oregon by a set date and time became short.

I stayed with Patrick for three weeks, piling wood for the winter, hiking all over Mount Royal, paddle on beautiful lake water, hiking through a maple forest observing the changing color of the leaves. ‘Just for you’ Patrick would say, ‘the leaves change color just for you.’

One day we went to see Patrick’s friend Donald. Donald has some distant Cherokee heritage and prepared for a ‘sweat lodge’. Patrick brought him cedar branches that are needed to cover the dirt floor inside the lodge. Donald spontaneously invited me to participate at the sweat. This is not the first time I have been invited to participate in a healing circle at a sweat lodge, but I never felt inclined to accept. This time, after a short conversation with Donald, I accepted his invitation and Patrick accepted the job as a fire keeper.

To keep the fire is a big job. We started at 9:30 am to build a wooden base in the fire pit. Then Patrick piled the 42 rocks the participants brought to the fire pit, add more and more wood. Everything was done in a ceremonial way. When the fire was burning Patrick had to keep the rocks glowing hot until he was asked to bring them into the lodge. With a pitch fork he placed them into the pit inside the lodge and Donald put some herbs and water on it. The steam rose with the heat and I was glad to wear a t-shirt. Dress code for the women was a skirt, t-shirt and swimsuit underneath. Men wore just the swim trunks.

This sweat lodge was dedicated to the 13 grand mothers with the intention to heal the female side in all of us. To balance the yin yang and to open our hearts. Four times, four rounds of red hot rocks and we sang or chanted, played our drums or were silent; we also expressed our intentions. It was really hard work for some and one young woman who wanted to be extra brave fainted as soon she came out of the lodge. She woke up sobbing and a very supportive circle helped her to recover and finish the sweat. The men, all of them had a hard time, they were hanging on to any hand, in my case also a foot, to find support and balance in their endeavor.

This all day sweat is a fitting conclusion to my trip. I started my journey with a 10 day silent Buddhist meditation in Yucca Valley, CA went to Quaker Convention in between and now I conclude my trip with an American Indian sweat lodge ceremony in Quebec before I start my trip back to B.C.

There are still a few stops on the way, Michele in Toronto, friends from Vernon that moved to North Bay, Medicine Hat and another visit in Canmore AB with Glennie and Doug, creators of glass jewelry. One more entry and my blog is concluded.

Annemarie

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Manhatten

View from Brooklyn bridge

Acadia National Park

This looks like food

Montreal Quebec

Et viola les chaises

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Peace House

At the Peace House in Taos New Mexico

Finally an update ... and I am still in Taos NM…. the night of the benefit concert for ‘Food not Bombs’ Keith McHenry was still looking for a house sitter and gardener for the Peace House, 801 Paseo del Pueblo Norte, Taos NM, while he is baking bread in front of the White House in Washington D.C. For the cause of PEACE. Keith is also a sought after speaker and talks at different events, schools, and organizations. He has a whole tour lined up and will be back by end of July for a few days.

The Peace House is an old adobe structure with two small rooms and a large kitchen. Behind the house is a large yard with two big apple trees and a garden with five raised beds. There are three other organizations that make use of the house, but it is Keith who tends the garden and keeps opening hours.

I really like this small town close to the mountains and I offered to stay at the condition that I can use the bathroom with shower. ‘Of course you can’, Keith replied and so we met on Monday to go over the particulars and he gave me the key to the house and I started on Tuesday. I have to maintain the garden and be open on some afternoons and as a bonus, I have access to the Internet!

Life at the Peace House has been busy and interesting: first I met Pilar, a woman in her early forties from Bolivia, but grew up in New York. She volunteers sometimes at the Peace House but is not a ‘regular’. She came to check on me, if I do what she thinks I am supposed to do and introduced me to her definite views how the world should function, with no cars, no electricity but was raiding the fridge while talking. To my question what else she does in her life, her response was, that she does not answer to such questions. Oh, well then…. that ended our conversation rather abruptly.

Soon the Rainbow People poured in, group wise. The Rainbow People are hard core hippies, that still wave the slogan of ‘Peace’, ‘free love’, ‘we are family’, and do a lot of drugs. The annual Rainbow gathering attracts 30 to 40,000 people. I am not kidding. They gather usually in some more less remote area, organize tent cities, food, music and give each other Rainbow names and Rainbow families. (I saw an ad in the local paper promoting a midwife service and free pregnancy test for the summer of love!!!) I met people that were at the gathering for over a month and others just go for the most eventful days and others live off the vibe all summer long.

The people that flocked to the Peace House were mostly young people between 18 years of age and 30. They were all hungry, needed to regroup and were mostly disoriented and confused. That empty promise ‘we are family’ was devastating to some of the kids because their Rainbow family has left them stranded. Some cried, some called their real mother, others were okay and some have lived on streets for so long they were happy to receive that little bit of mothering I could offer.

I am so glad that I am an old mother. I knew what to do, and had enough food available to feed the hungry, enough experience to listen carefully and enough wisdom to give advise only when asked. Most of them were honest and came from an honest place and some of them came back to help with the ‘Food not Bombs’ cook-out.

They were coming and going for the past two weeks until panic struck. Police started to arrest some people; people that have been steeling from grocery stores and I guess some drug deals went on as well. Now Taos seems almost empty without this crowd.

To know intellectually how Americans live to excess and then to see it, is mind boggling. I have met so many damaged people, not only through drugs, but also through bad nutrition, bad health care, bad social care and also through greed. No wonder the Rainbow movement attracts so many people, they try to fill a need that is otherwise not met. People are disconnected from basic needs and the Rainbow people try to reconnect in every sense, physically (love), mentally (peace), and spiritually (drugs ... now I am being sarcastic. There is a lot of music, praying, healing arts etc.)

Two weeks were filled with youth and now the older generation drops by. They look as ragged as the young ones, but at least they have eaten. They look for contacts, look what the Taos Peace House is up to, but all look drug damaged and most have missing teeth.

Some are magical too and really live what they believe in, but it is a hard life and often without a bed at the end of the day.

I am grateful for my ‘road home’, it is wonderful to have a comfortable bed.

I have done some small paintings… thanks to a little room at the Peace House with good light.

Now I am ready to move on. My USA visitor visa runs out soon and I still have a long way to go. My plan is to cross all the way east, then head north into Quebec.

Justin

Music at the Peace House

Taos Ski Valley

Hike up to Katchina Mt. 10000 feet

Keith McHenry

At the Plaza in Taos NM 'Food not Bombs'

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

New Mexico

Santa Fe, NM, June, 12^th 2009

Camper life is still fun. I am getting used to washing my hair in the sink and feel totally refreshed and clean after a sponge bath. Living in the desert teaches me not only to be frugal with water but also to refill my water tank whenever I get a chance. I am also becoming a pro at finding free places to stay. That part, where to stay for the night, takes still a lot of energy, and I am looking forward to parking somewhere, hopefully at a nice place to stay for a while.

The last few weeks have been busy - and then my credit card was blocked. It did not really matter since I was staying in remote areas. But now I found out that Walmart in Las Vegas took advantage of me and charged twice $ 120.00 in May. I was in San Francisco in May, bringing Simone to the airport. The people at Visa realized the unusual amount and stopped access to the card. Wow, they are good. I usually use the card for filling my gas tank, and when I shop for groceries I pay cash and seldom use plastic. Now I’ll be even more careful when I shop at Walmart. Another strike against them.

Santa Fe is loaded with art,.... art museums, art galleries, art shops, art centers. This takes up all my energy and I have no time to immerse myself in its rich history. People are of all colors; tourists are mostly white, craft vendors are Navajo. At the supermarket I see Asian and black people, lots of people speak Spanish but I also hear German and French. The architecture is kept in an adobe style with mostly blue doors and orchard walls. Very few houses vary, therefore all the streets have a similar feel to it.

At the center square, called ‘the Plaza’, is the famous Governor house, also a historic site. The house covers the sidewalk, a welcome shelter to the local Navajo vendors. They sit in a tight row offering bead work, necklace, ear rings belt buckles adorned mostly with turquoise and silver. Their merchandise looks all alike. It is all hand made, but it seems that those artisans copy each other. They also copy each other in asking astronomical sums for strung beads on a wire with a silver clasp. Still it looks very colorful with their ware spread out on Indian blankets and tourists bending over.

My pilgrimage to Georgia O’Keeffe started and ended at the Museum in Santa Fe. They showed a lot of her early work and then a painting that usually hangs in the White House D.C. It represents the trumpet of the Jimsonweed, a common desert plant. A subject Georgia kept repeating over many years. Beautifully painted, the trumpet flower exactly centered.

Visiting the complex of contemporary art was wonderful, clean lines, subtle colors, art work well spaced, lots of minimalist sculptures, all this felt like a real relief from crowded spaces.

After three days I drove the scenic route to Taos. Taos has crisp clean mountain air at 7 000’.

A little forestry campground with a creek running through has been my home for the last week, only 10 min out of town. Taos, like Santa Fe is full of art and music and I have indulged ever since. I met Derek, a guitar playing peace activist,  trying his best to put a fund raiser together, under the banner of the local Peace House. You can find out more about this peace movement under http://www.foodnotbombs.net/

Taos NM was the Mecca of the Hippies in the sixties….and lots of them stayed. I came here because it looked like a nice mountain town on my road map. I did not have the time to google it so I found out when I arrived, how active its members are. This year they have a special celebration to remember those hippie days and a ‘rainbow’ gathering is not too far away. I meet a lot of interesting people that are pro active in environmental issues, political issues, like the mentioned peace movement. I am also interested in visiting the Buddhist Monastery which is right on my way to the campground.

People who are in arts, religion, metaphysics, healing arts and just plain fools mingle at Coffee Tazza listening to accomplished or emerging musicians. Everybody talks to everybody and I have quite a social time when I am out and about. Then I love to go back to my campsite next to a very clear and clean creek and soak my feet.

I am still in Taos and plan to stay a little longer….

Santa Fe NM

Vendors, vendors selling traditional crafts

Taos NM

Typical Adobe architecture

Pueblo NM

Adobe housing of the Pueblo Indians

Wednesday, June 03, 2009

HOPI

HOPI LAND

I left Michele on the Sky Harbor in Phoenix and kept going North East towards Petrified Forest and a visit to the Hopi Reservation.

I saw more petrified trees in a rock shop than at the National Park. After our visit in the Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest was anticlimactic. Camping was free at the south entrance.

Back in Holbrook I got a haircut and then I was on my way to Hopi land as it is affectionately called by the Hopis.

Two different campgrounds were marked on the map. I stopped at the first one to find it closed. Keams Canyon is a small village with a post office where I could finally mail postcards and letters. At the local store I bought ready to eat mutton, two good size pieces for $ 3.00.

I found the next campground in the heart of Hopi land next to the Cultural Center with a nice looking restaurant. The campground had no water or toilet and no fee either and it was fairly clean. (I picked up some broken glass at my site.)

Vendors lined the parking lot between the Center and the Campground selling their crafts, either carved Katsina dolls (traditional), Katsina sculptures (interpretation of the artist, contemporary and traditional intertwined) or jewelery made of Silver and inlaid turquoise and other semi precious stones.

Not too many tourists were around and the focus was on me. I was pursued in a gentler way of what I have experienced in Mexico, still it was constant and every seller wanted me to look at his merchandise. Luckily my camper drew a lot of attention too and being old having a fixed roof and other imperfections I became a person and not just a tourist.

Adrienne introduced herself as a healer and medicine woman, she is also a Katsina carver. Her carving was one of the best I have now seen in the traditional style. The Katsinas are moving and dancing spirits and she captured the movement not only with the stance but also the carved clothing showed motion. Her doll wore a feather dress, each feather distinct. She was still talking to me while the other vendors packed up and left.

I was looking for closure to the conversation, well to her talking, but there was none. My mutton was waiting for me and I was hungry too and still she was talking. Finally I told her that I was hungry and I am inviting her to eat with me. Mutton, corn on a cob and bread was our meal. She could not get over it. ‘This is a typical Hopi meal!’ she exclaimed. White people usually do not like mutton. Well, I do and it was very good sheep too.

Adrienne talked into the night sharing her personal trials and tribulations. It was important to her to let me know how good and accomplished she is as the great granddaughter of Chief Joseph. A woman of knowledge.

The campground was small just with a dozen sites, most of them empty but another camper with two women from California. They asked me for mint for their tabbouleh. I gave her a couple of tea bags and had my coffee at their table.

Soon Marvin came by to check out if we are potential sellers, then Manuel and the Louis came by with his Katsina. Realizing that we are not buying he also offered his service as a guide $ 10.00 per hr. In that case I am not interested, I told him. He did not let go and offered a deal, he takes me to the petroglyph and I will give him a ride home down to another village.

The rock cliff he took me to it was impressive. The history and travels of ancient people carved into the desert patina of the rock stretched over a hundred meters. I looked at the designs and was grateful that Louis kept quiet. He never tried to impress me with knowledge stated what he knew and admitted with ease when knowledge eluded him.

We climbed the cliff and on the top he sang to me, wishing he could come to Canada with me. I asked him if he is not proud to be Hopi, and it was as if I hit him with a stick, he bent over and sadly said ‘no’.

There are political reasons, financial reasons and a hopelessness of change because of corruption and he is bound to his promise to live the cultural and religious life of Hopi.

Then he asked me ‘why are you here?’

I told him about the vision I had, about two years ago. In that vision I saw myself as a teenage girl in a barren landscape looking at a tepee with a design that looked strangely Greek to me. Next to me lay my dying father and my (older) brother sang to us. Father’s last wish and command to his children was an urgent plea that we promise ‘not to forget the teachings’. (What teachings?)

In a book I found the ‘Greek’ design that was painted in fours and four times around the tepee from my vision. It turned out to be Hopi design from the water clan. My reason to come to Hopi land is, that maybe through meditation, prayer or talking to people I would have an epiphany and wake up the memory of those teachings.

Louis stated that he is from the bear clan, and he too is a healer looking at me strangely. I knew what he was looking at, he was looking at my aura.

Just forget it, I did not fall in love with him! We had a good time though being honest and not burdened by racist crap. We left to see the prophecy rock and he told me how ‘rainbow people’ and other new age people would come here and have their ceremonies. Adrienne mentioned the rainbow people too with raised eye brows.

By the time we arrived at Louis’ house, and I run an errand with his wife it was getting dark and they offered me to park by their house to spend the night. I was glad, because the roads, except the main road, are unpaved and from the recent rain ruts were deep.

I informed Louis and his wife, that Adrianne invited me for the next day. Roanne pretended not to know who she is and Louis told me later, that the two of them do not see eye to eye. He too had his issues with Adrienne from long time ago. He pursued her as his love interest and she rejected him. He still talked highly about her.

Adrianne made pork chops and scalloped potatoes with broccoli from my fridge. It was all very good and we had desert too, a cake she quickly whipped up. Her husband Harlan was in the process to finish a sculpted Katsina which is already sold. We had a brief moment to talk about art. He is one of the lucky ones who has an education and works as project manager on construction sites. Right now he was jobless but has an interview coming for the next project. He seemed confident to get the job. (His brother is in politics and will pull strings. Not that they said so, it is purely my assumption.) Adrienne got all upset when the other vendors told her that Louis connected with me. She went on an rant and finally her husband reminded her, that I have my own choices and she should not mess with my destiny. Adrienne as the great great granddaughter of Chief Josef regarded Louis and his family as betrayers of the Hopi traditions. We talked until way passed midnight, when I finally crawled into my bed.

I was hardly awake when I heard running footsteps, bells clanging and muffled shouts. Peaking out of my window I saw men disguised as Katsinas running through the streets and knocking on doors. About twenty men induced with the Katsina spirit milled between me and Adrianne’s house. (I parked next to the wood pile). As soon they were gone Adrianne came running advising me ‘don’t let the Katsinas see you and when they see you run! Run to any house they will give you shelter!’ With those words she ushered me into her house. Breathless she told me how Katsinas can whip and chase anybody and you never know when they might show up. She looks her door. This time they are collecting citizens for communal work. The source needs to be cleaned… I wonder if there are no other ways to get the people to clean their drinking water?

Louis and his wife invited me to the Katsina dance that was held that day at their village. On my way to their house more Katsinas were on the main road holding tight to their yucca whips, diverting traffic. As a tourist they let me pass, avoiding to look at me. Arriving at the village I did not recognize which side road to take to Louis’ house. All looked the same and then I was way passed. I just kept driving.

I had enough of Katsinas and their crazy making. I heard enough of the local conflicts, I saw enough of the disrepair each house was in, the dirt and filth everywhere, the kids having babies, like Louis’ 15 year old niece with her 17 year old boy friend. The drug and alcohol abuse even on a strictly ‘no alcohol’ reservation.

Coming back to the reason why I went to Hopi land and if I got what I was looking for my answer is yes. I think in those three days and nights on Hopi land I saw and got what I needed to see and get. Thank you Katsinas and thank you to all the people that shared my time.

Hopi

Katchinas run from door to door

Canyon de Chelly

The wall is looking at you

Chaco Culture

Kiva at Chaco culture centre approx 1400

Wednesday, June 03, 2009

Grand Canyon

I have been out of ‘range’ for a while now, not just by Internet by phone also. Northern Arizona and Indian land do not mix with technology. Here I am at Burger King in Chinle, close toe Canyon de Chelly, which has wi fi. That gives me much needed time to catch up with my writing.

Since Simone left I have not updated and much has happened since.

Leaving my Simone at the air port in San Francisco I crossed the State of California again also leaving the wet lush landscape behind. It soon changed to a pastoral landscape with farms and ranches, vineyards and fruit orchards. Soon the land became drier with golden grasslands cresting the hills and I was back in the desert again.

Crossing the Mojave desert for a second time, this time without snow and bumper to bumper trucks idling for hours, I could see it for what it was. Barren lands I did not wish to break down ever. I got through without any disturbances heading for Phoenix. I spent a couple of relaxing days at lake Havasu, another spot snowbirds flock to. The State Park in which I camped was almost deserted except some homeless people tenting and a couple of German Tourists in a rented RV.

Havasu City was also a good place to replace my old fridge which quit working when I was with Simone. I found a very good RV repair shop and with winter tourists gone, they had time to replace it right away. Now the cooling of my food is balanced, I can make ice cubes and do not freeze my vegetables anymore.

Phoenix is huge, well laid out and I found my way around easy. Michele arrived on May 14^th and stayed for 10 days. We had a chance to visit the Heard Museum which has huge collection of Indian artifacts new and old. I find the new stuff almost more interesting, maybe I already saw too much of the same old. At the museum was also a huge collection of Katsina dolls. Katsina, sometimes I see it spelled as Kachina, are personified spirits or heroes from times past in the Hopi Religion. Some of those spirits are scary, there is also a clown that tries to lighten up things and others reminded me of angels with a twist. The Katsina custom is still well and alive in Hopiland.

Michele and I headed for the GRAND CANYON. I think it should always be written in capital letters and bold. You know that hole in the ground that nobody wants to take home! WOW…

No picture can capture the awesomeness of that place. This place is one of those places that can handle the masses. Parking was not always easy to find and we by passed the visitor center at the south rim but found a good spot to camp. The nights were cool and Michele was calling for the hot sun to bake her body! We got enough heat hiking towards the bottom of the canyon and climbing back up! To answer your questions .... no, we did not make it all the way down .... and yes, you have to do it in two days .... unstable weather prevented us from making a reservation to camp below and time was also running out. Instead we went to the North Rim enjoyed a burger and fish and chips at the rustic old lodge with view over the rained on canyon. Between showers we hiked to a couple of view points to get in the grandness. We both really liked the feeling of the North Rim.

First of all there are less people than on the South Rim. The rim is higher with fresh mountain air and vegetation changed from juniper to pine trees.

We both would have liked to hike to the bottom and yelled down the Colorado River. Instead we yelled at the top of the rims, yelled half way down the path listening for an echo. No echo answered our calls the canyon swallowed our exuberance in its grandness. Later I read in a brochure of all the not to do while in the park, and yelling on trails was one of them…

Grand Canyon

Michele taking in the view

North Rim

Brighty, a very famous donkey

Crochet

A gay scarf created by Michele just for me

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Simone

I can hardly wait. I can hardly wait for my daughter to arrive. My Simone, my little one the one that wants to fly to China.

She spotted me first, of course, and here she is around my neck, slight, light her long brown hair tucked into a pony tail her skin winter white. Oh, it is so wonderful to have her, it made me long for Helen and Jonas so much more. But who has time to be sad when Simone is around?

The sun is setting over Las Vegas and the city lights paint excitement that cannot wait. The traffic is steady and the Strip, how the street with all the Casinos is called, shows off all the glamor there is. We park, we walk, we look, we get lost inside a casino, find a tram, see a show, walk some more, eat have a beer and are done with all the glitz and glamor. All in all three hours.

Simone’s flight to China is changed. We do not know if it has something to do with the Swine flue, but now we have to drive to San Francisco instead of San Diego.

A brand new road leads us through Death Valley. No wonder this is called Death Valley, this is now desert with absolutely no water, no plant life, a desolate, parched and bleached landscape by sun and wind. Tourists from all over the world are flocking to this place to take in the vista. Simone climbs a crusted sand dune and dances life. My Simone.

We spend this night at an almost vacant campground. The next night we camped at Darwin’s fall, a small secluded waterfall that fell nothing short of being magic. We were so eager to find the falls that we left the camper without our cameras! After a twenty minute hike we were rewarded with crystal clear water gathered in a pond big enough to take a dip.  Water, refreshing water is absolute bliss!

Driving west we gain on elevation, admire the funky shapes of Joshua trees along the way and finally stop at Isabelle Lake. A small dam creates this lake and we spend the night listening to pounding rain and wind that rocks the camper. Just day the before water was scarce and now I am concerned to get stuck in the water logged ground. A cool, sunny morning wakes us but we have not the time to linger and after a short hike along the shore we keep driving. The plan is to cross the State of California all the way to the coast and then drive up the coast to San Francisco.

After five months of desert the moist air feels suffocating, everything feels damp even the fog that rises from the ocean is spitting droplets. The sea lions are molting and lay on the beach like dead fish, except for the constant groaning, belching and the occasional shuffle giving reason to raise up an bark at a neighbor. Gross…awesome…gross…amazing…gross…huge…gross…what a sight!

Driving into San Francisco, city of the Golden Gate Bridge Simone’s first impression takes her by surprise: ‘Mom, there is a home less taking a dump on the sidewalk!’ I do not see it, I am busy driving. We decide to find a Parkade to spend the night, the problem is, my camper has a high clearance and after careful checking I still bump the roof. The attendant directs us to an open parking lot where we could stay. One problem solved… the next is, how big is the damage. But now we check out the city!

Just around the corner was the Art Gallery and lucky us, always on Tuesdays, is free! Simone has her own personal tour guide and I am in my element, we look at Motherwell, Rauschenberg, Rothko, Dali, Riviera, Kahlo, Magritte, Matisse just to name a few. Even Duchamp’s urinal is there. It always gives me a jolt when I see original work I love and have only seen in print. Simone’s jolt is a bookstore, “Citylights” founded in 1952 by a group of intellectuals with Ferlinghetti as driving force.

The night in the parking lot is disturbed by a man’s repeated shouting: “get out of my truck.” We hear crying and look out of our window. Finally we see a young woman emerging, he takes off, and she sobs ‘you can’t leave me here’ and cries harder. We watch her walking to the curb, crouching and waiting. We are also waiting and there he is, long enough to cool down but not long enough to be scary. Simone concluded that he drove around the block.

We are sleeping in and the park attendant reminds us, that our time is up and we have to leave. We are up and ready to take in some more of San Francisco’s art and cultur. This time it is the De Young Museum with an Andy Warhol exhibit. It is a bit costly for $ 20.00 each but we decide to go. Pop culture at its hight! Sometimes I regret that Art School came late in my life, but in hindsight I am really glad I had my children instead of hanging out at ‘the factory’.

While I am writing this Simone is probably in her connecting flight in China. Tobi will greet her soon ... oh those girls! I am so proud of them and at the same time I miss my Simone. I decided to fix the damage on the roof and found a body shop. It will be done by today and then I am off to meet Michele, Tobi’s mom. Together we will visit the Grand Canyon.

Until then I send my regards

Annemarie

Simone

Sleeping in is Simone's forte

Sea Lions

grunting, belching, barking as far as the eyes can see

Citylight Bookstore

Simone's highlight in San Francisco

Monday, April 13, 2009

Tucson Arizona

I met Inge Larson in Yucca Valley CA, when she was passing through and was visiting her friend Rod. Remember Bob and Rod the Dreamcampers? She is also an entertainer and worked for a very long time on cruise ships throughout the seas. Without hesitation she invited me to visit her in Tucson, a city of about 200 000 people.

I arrived on Wednesday, March 18^th, mid afternoon and she took me for a drive to one of her favorite places, a ridge overlooking Tucson. The city was glowing under the setting sun and everybody confirmed ‘the sunsets in Tucson are really special’.

Soon Inge was not feeling so well, not sure if it was the drug she had from her doctor or something else. Well three days later I had it too, and I know that no drugs interfered with my system. I was as sick as a dog and and lay down next to the waters of Agua Caliente, an Oasis with warm water just outside the city. Still I needed rest and drove the next day to a place called ‘Las Cienegas’ a national conservation area. It was a historic ranch and there was grass! A sea of grass dotted by some mesquite trees. The trees stood gnarled and rigid and looking at them you would never guess that wind was blowing. Unmoving and black they formed a stark contrast against the golden grass and the green, green cottonwood that grew along the washes a little further away. This place was bliss to me, and I quickly nurture myself back to health.

Finally, Inge and I could do and go places Inge was eager to show and time passed quickly. I not only left Tucson I also left new friends behind.

Leaving this beautiful country in the middle of the Sonora Desert I took the Catalina Hyway north and came by biosphere 2, an experiment that took place 20 years ago.

Have you ever heard of BIOSPHERE 2? Where did my pamphlet go, so I can tell you exactly and not just approximately… well here it goes without pamphlet… and I did not make it up. About 20 years ago or longer, some filthy rich American decided to sponsor a scientific experiment, that is to built an artificial environment under glass where temperature, moister, air flow etc. is controlled. Keep in mind that this project is in the middle of the Arizona desert, high temperature in the summer and some snow in the winter. This project was an experiment to see if it is possible to create an earth like atmosphere somewhere in the Universe, like Mars (if there is water).

There were different sections to this building. A basement with all the machinery necessary, isolated from the earth by a thick metal wall. The second level was simulated earth life (biosphere 2) with selected plants, some insects, a deep tank filled with imported ocean water that simulated an ocean inclusive waves and fish, a tropical garden, a Savannah and desert like section, there was a regular vegetable garden (not in use anymore) and a place for small farm animals.

Eight people, four men and four women, were trained to live, work and control this environment without leaving the building for 2 executive years. Their living quarters reminded me of something out of Star Trek. Our tour guide was very scientific and would only answer questions in regard to science. How much the electricity bill is, or if the they eight people got along in those two years was not part of her routine.

Arizona amazes me. The landscape remains barren most of the time and yet it has a particular beauty. The wind has been relentless, and at my last campground tents have flown away or were torn. I met up with three women that also travel alone, one was visiting the other two and she invited me along. We stayed at Roper Lake State Park with a small hot spring.

One evening I decided to sit all by myself in the warm water. I watched the sun set and soon it was dark enough to watch the stars. It was quiet except for wind gusts that whipped through the bushes. Contemplating the stars and singing quietly but audible to myself I saw the silhouette of a head coming up the pathway. The head was round and stayed low and it was more a feeling of a presence than an absolute certitude. I said a friendly ‘hello, you’ when the silhouette rouse and turned in one fluid, smooth move showing off the shape of a mountain lion and the typical tail. Still I was not sure what I saw and crazy me got out of the pool and scanned with my flash light the surrounding bushes. Now I could really feel the presence and it exuded fear, something I forgot about. There was no thought of fear on my part. I grabbed my towel and walked elated to my campsite.

The days have been full, exploring, rock hunting, Agate, carnelian and petrified wood is to be found. The women brought their Ukuleles along and I have my rosewood recorder with me. It was fun to play and sing or more likely to belt out all those familiar songs.

Now I am on my way again. For the next three days I am at Roosevelt lake and will visit the Tonto National Monument were cliff dwellers used to live. Today is April 8^th 2009 and I do not know when I have the chance to post this.

I am posting this in Sedona Arizona. That will be my next story.

mesquite

The foliage will be a light green

Inge

After our visit to Nogales, Mexico

biosphere2

the wave maker for the simulated ocean

Friday, April 03, 2009

Arizona

From California to ARIZONA

Yesterday I crossed the border from California into Arizona. What a difference, I did not think that a desert to another desert in a different State would feel so different. Even the road side rest stations look different.

I left Joshua Tree National Park early in the morning. I was worried about my camper, there has been a drip, what looked like water, but I thought it might be oil. I found an auto repair place in Blyth that was open on Sunday. The owner checked everything and told me that there is that hose that will get rid of too much water. I was so happy about the good news, that I did not check carefully enough my turn on the parking lot. I backed up and I hit a pole, I imprinted the pole at the rear end of the van! Luckily the sign light did not break and no vital part was broken. First damage on my camper!

I was on my way to Organ Pipe National Park in Arizona. The air was clear and warmer than in the High Desert. I can use some warmer days again.

After the heat in Anzo Borrego I was happy to breath the cool air of the High Desert. Staying with Mary at Yucca Valley CA felt like going home. We spent some time together, cleaned up her front yard, a landscaped border with blooming rosemary, some cedars and other plants. We, Mary and I, went to La Quinta to take in the annual Art Show. It was a big event and is one of the 10 biggest art shows in America. Beside paintings, metal sculptures and cute art for the garden was a lot of glass art. Fascinating in form and shape, size and colors. I am sure no aspect of glass was missed. We walked and looked and it felt like eating desert all day!

A few days earlier I went to the Art Museum in Palms Spring, which was surprisingly big. I saw that the feature exhibit were portraits by Robert Maplethorpe. An artist from New York, he was gay and died not too long ago because of AIDS. It was an expansive exhibit of his work. He not only took pictures of the rich and famous in New York he also explored his own sexual orientation in his imagery. That is the infamous part of his work and for a while he became a refused artist. At one point he was commissioned to portrait some of the contemporary artists like Rauschenberg, Hockney, Nevelson, and of course also Andy Warhol. I really enjoyed those portraits, because I never imagined that Rauschenberg was such a home town boy. At least in that portrait.

The Art Museum also showed work by Anselm Kiefer, a spider by Louise Bourgeois, two Picasso s and a whole section with Mexican art, which was amazing.

It felt good to get some culture after all that nature. Now I am back in nature, looking at organ pipe cacti and sagoia cacti. Organ Pipe National Park is another amazing spot on this earth. Being here it is hard to imagine that there is snow in Vernon, and mountain streams running through the forest, lush dark green forest with cool swampy ponds, or cold clear lakes…. After a walk through the Sonora desert I couldn’t wait to be in the shade of my camper. At least there is potable water at this campground and washing by the faucet was the next best thing to a shower. Even the water was cold, it is never as cold as our mountain water.

Before I engulf myself into Arizona I have to mention some people I met in California. It is true what people say about Californians. They seem to march by their own drummer. But hardly anybody is really from California, they just end up there. Like Mary who is from the ‘windy city’ Chicago. She came to be with her son after her divorce. Or Bob and Rod who came down from Wisconsin. You better check them out at their website www.dreamcamper.com They are a couple entertainers playing to the whole family. Deputy Boots and Sheriff Britches have been in the show business for a looooong time. Now I am listening to their music and sing along while driving. They make me smile!

Rod’s girlfriend Inge is also an entertainer originally from Germany. She used to entertain on cruise ships and in her repertoire are all the songs I grew up with. It feels unreal to travel through the Southwest and listen to ‘Acropolis Adieu’, Edith Piaf’s ‘Rien rien de rien…’ as an example. She invited me to visit her in Tuscon. I am happy to oblige.

Now Arizona it is! While driving towards Organ Pipe National Park, right by the Mexican border, I got shot at!

At first I thought a bird hit my windshield, blood splattered my windshield. But the blood looked too orange to be blood and no mark of impact. My windshield did not brake, so where did I got hit? It was certainly loud enough. There was hardly any traffic and I thought it strange that I would get hit at the same moment this little dark sedan passed. There were a bunch of kids in it, and of course the window was open. I too have my window open. When I stopped I saw that the paint ball hit the corner below my hood, from there the paint splattered onto my windshield. I wiped all the paint off and was actually glad that there was no dead bird. Still, I am not to sure about the welcome to Arizona?

Sunday, March 08, 2009

Agua Caliente

Agua Caliente, warm water, hot springs are everywhere around here. Most of them are private and cost an arm and a leg to have a soak. Agua Caliente is a County Park within the State Park with a lovely campground. I decided to spend a couple nights there and take in the hot waters. What a treat to soak and swim here in the desert.

There were three pools, all had a different temperature. One was hot, a big hot tub and then there was the swimming pool and the old little pool with the water straight from the source, with a hint of sulfur. This spot became my favorite soaking place. The water was nice and warm and not too hot. There were only a few people at the campground and soon we got to know each other.

An older German couple was parked right next to me. They too are Canadians and have been living in Edmonton since 1952. She came as a young nurse and he came on a whim. Then I met a couple from Austria. Vienna to be exact. They were on a holiday and it was a real treat to meet people that are the same age as I am.

At sunrise we all went up a hill and greeted the sun with some Tai Chi exercises! I love Tai Chi, I just keep forgetting it. Then the Austrians went further west and I took the road a little more east. At Mt. Palm Springs I stayed at a primitive campground.

A primitive campground has vaulted toilets, but no water and there is no charge to stay. It was in the middle of a field of chollas. Called also the teddy bear cactus. The cacti only look soft and cuddly but their needles are wicked. I stepped on a appendix and the needles went clear through the rubber part of my shoe. I had to use tweezer to pull them out. Luckily non went through. Everybody was telling me their cholla stories. Sometimes they are also called the jumping cholla, because they seem to jump at passerby s.

Like usual I woke up by sunrise and decided to hike up the nearest trail. It took me up a wash and into a small grove of palm trees. The path was wide and I followed in awe of the beauty of the morning and soon came to a second much larger grove. The valley narrowed and I saw movement on the right side above me on some rocks. There was a big bird, and then I saw another bird. There was a whole row of turkey vultures warming up in the morning sun.

That was when I lost the trail. I kept following the wash but there was no trail in sight. So I decided to climb up the rocks up to the ridge hoping I would spot the trail from there. And I did! The trail was on the other side of the gully and carefully I picked my way down passing some beaver tail cactus in full bloom. What a sight. Scarlet blossoms on each paddle protected by nearby rocks. Just to see this was worthwhile my climb. I came back to my camper feeling exhilarated and over heated.

My fridge is equipped with a small freezer compartment and I placed a wet tea towel to freeze. This half frozen wet towel finally helped me to cool down. I washed my whole body with this cold bliss and put a second clean wet towel in the freezer.

The next day I followed the path and hiked all the way to the next campground and walked back along the wash at the bottom of the hill.

Along the hillside where wisps of the yellow Californian poppy bravely decorating the rocky soil overshadowed by cactus barrels and Ocotillios scattered all over the landscape. All of them are in bloom. The barrel cacti sport a crown of yellow flowers on the head and the Ocotillio have a red ‘feather’ on top of each branch. I picked the best way to walk through the wash keeping he hill to my left. I read somewhere that the problem with the desert is that there is either not enough or too much water. Washes are the evidence of too much water. The sand is molded by the water flow and rocks are left here and there as accents. Creosote bushes are said to be century old and have survived the oncoming floods and were scattered throughout the wash. Other plants only thrive around the protective rocks. With everything blooming those washes look like arranged gardens.

Then I met Bob, he was looking for solitude and parked hes camper not far from me. The wind blew and the breeze picked up the music he was listening too. He played classical music! a real treat after all the Mexican tunes, folksongs or western and country music I have been listening to at the radio. I told him how much I enjoy hearing in on his music. He was concerned that it might be too loud, which it was not. That evening after I came back from a little walk with my other neighbors, he came over and handed me an old ‘walkman’ with a box full of tapes. ‘Nobody should be without music’ he said, then added that I can keep it until the batteries run out. I was speechless, thank you, what a gift!

It was too dark for me to read the small print on the cassette tapes, so I simply picked one and put the cassette into the player. I sat in my comfortable camping chair, the moon smiling above me and Venus blinking in a still luminous sky. Around me the crickets just started chirping when the piano was slowly picking up the ‘Moonlight serenade’. Wow - WOW -

That night I could not stop to listen. Early morning I grabbed my sketch book and pencils and hiked up to the Oasis back in the valley. Listening to Bach, Haendel, Beethoven, Vivaldi, Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff I sketched palms and palm leaves and the day flew by. The next day was not much different, instead of sketching I took out some paints and painted a desert scene, a wash on piece of palm.

While slowly filling up with music and painting my landscape I became more aware of my surroundings. I realized that I felt like being under a spell. That place took hold of me and I wondered why. Looking up to the mountains I could not see anything different from other rocky piles here in the desert. Observing the sparrows darting in and out of the thickest chollas, it was also no different than other corners in the desert. But something was different!

That night Bob came over for a cup of tea. He comes to Mt. Palm Springs two three times a year. It is his thing to come to the desert and in earlier years he did some archaeological digs in this area. We talked about this and that and I confessed, that I feel that this place put a spell on me. Oh, he said, there is a vortex close by. He found it and to him this is the most peaceful place. I felt, that he did not want to share were exactly that special place is, but I did not need to know. Just to know there was a vortex was enough and the spell lost its hold. That night I cleaned the camper did all my dishes and I was ready to move on.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=97155&id=695607588&l=2b063

there are more pictures on facebook. If you cannot click on this link copy and paste

Agua Caliente

Mineral waters flow in this medium tempered pool

Beaver tail cactus

Amazing flowers between rocks and a hard place

Annemarie

The washes were like carefully planned gardens

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Moving into the State Park

February, 23^rd 2009

Clyde had a swollen knee and it kept him up at night. As soon the medical clinic opened in the morning he went to see the doctor. It must have been a lazy doctor and looking only at Clyde’s age decided it must be arthritis and gave him some pain killer. The next day Clyde’s leg was blue, still hurting and he left for home.

So, there I was all by myself in this beautiful spot – just me, the sea and the pelicans in the rain. I was bored and what do you do when you are bored… I was too bored to paint, or read or go to town, so I watched. I was watching a couple walking along the beach path. Watching their dog, who was glad to be out and watching that pink umbrella forming a pink halo around the couple, the only color in that rainy gray.

That was fun to paint.

A few days earlier I met Dave and he came to visit with his wife. Both are in their sixties and have just retired, but have been traveling, camping and Rving all their lives. They camped at an RV Resort not far and invited me to enjoy the mineral pool at the resort. At the Resort were only a few tourists and we had the pool to ourselves. The Resort looked worn and tired and I wondered if that was the effect of the ill years of fish stink at Salton Sea. There was no advertising and if I haven’t met Dave and Linda, this secret mineral water still would be a secret to me.

The standard conversation between campers is always the same to similar:

Where are you from BC? - We are from…

How long are you staying? - We have been here a few weeks, a few months…

Where have you been where will you go?

Oh, it is your first trip….

YOU have to see this, and go there, and be careful of this, and such and such place has really cheap whatever.

I get some really interesting pointers and people like to go to fairs, bicycle races, air shows and I went to the archaeological weekend at the State Park’s Visitor Center. There were lectures, basket weaving, punch bowl making with clay and information on how to keep those archaeological sites safe.

That evening a young woman danced the story of Coyote and the seven sisters, and why the little boy that always forgot became the forever hopping roadrunner and some other stories. She danced like a bird and moved like coyote told the stories accompanied by Jessie and his drums, rattles and whistles. It was really well done and I am glad I went. And I decided to stay at the park.

I am now camping at the Peg Leg Smith campground, at no charge. Both my neighbors are Canadians ... what a surprise – not - and we got talking about birthdays and astrological signs. I meet a lot of Pisces on that trip, it must be a fish thing to travel like that. So I chuckled and said that it is my birthday! We had a pot luck together in no time with a glass or two of wine. It was fun!

On my hike earlier that day I talked with a couple from San Diego, right at the top of the pass. They wanted to keep going because they had to be at their nieces birthday party. I told them, well it is my birthday too and Dianne (with two ns, she pointed out) sang to me ‘Happy Birthday’ while her husband Steve looked on.

I love this park. There are so many hikes I can do, I mean I can do them without feeling concerned of getting lost. Like in Switzerland there are always people on those hikes, not like in Canada where you are by yourself, granted. There are hikes through canyons, washes, up the mountains through Ocotillo forests, teddybear (cholla) and barrel cacti and I even saw a Big Horn Sheep! I have the picture to prove it!

Check my face book for more pictures!

So long for now and thank you to those that stay in touch with me. It is much appreciated!

Annemarie

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Anza Borrego State Park CA

Anza Borrego State Park is famous for its desert bloom. The town of Borrego Springs is sourrounded by the park and high mountains. It has the best visitor center! The building is placed in a beautiful desert garden, built with rocks into the earth. It all seems done with love and care and the staff was super friendly. They have a really good program and I went on a nature hike up a wash.

Anza Borrego

Paul, our naturalist

Anza Borrego

California Fan Palm at the visitor center

Anza Borrego

Thorns,leaves and flowers on Octillo shrub

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Salton City CA

The sea called me and before I went to Anzo Borrego State Park in California I turned right, right down to Salton City CA by Salton Sea, drove by a jammed packed RV park and ended up on a dry campground with only one other camper.

Salton City

an almost empty campground

West shore Salton Sea

Bad weather is threatening

Salton Sea

Pelicans taking flight

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Social Life at Slab City

Visitors stay at the Slabs because of the people and for the weather and not for the breathtaking scenery. Some visitors stay for good. I met people that have been living here for 18 years or longer and some stay even during the very hot summer months. Those are the ones that have semi permanent buildings, some under trees and others use camouflage tenting nets to give shade.

The reason I stayed was because of Sandra and Lorne Falconer, they welcomed me with such warmth and introduced me to their friends which made me feel as I belonged. They are the typical snowbirds flocking together with other snowbirds. They meet up with them year after year visiting the same places and staying at the same campgrounds. All of them are retired or on disability and look for a place where it is warm and cheap. ‘Snow-birds’ are people from snow countries that decide to winter in a warmer climate. I hang out with them since this was also the cleanest looking part of the slabs

But they are not the only ones that winter at Slab City.

A crazy mix of people are up at the slabs. Outsiders or retired people that choose to live a nomadic life stile or just outside of society. There are also people without means or eccentric people taking advantage of the free land. For such a ‘free’ place life at the slabs was very organized. In one section where the ‘loners’ and in another section were the ‘traveling pals’ not to be mixed with the ‘loners’ and the insider club was the ‘Oasis’. The library was and oasis in itself put together and maintained with a lot of love.

A state prison is close by and I heard that ‘Ever Green’ an old hippie decided to stay at the slabs after her stint in prison. She is legally blind and plays love and peace songs on her guitar. Then there is ‘solar Mike’ and his partner Julie. He sells solar panels and organize a weekly pot luck lunch to feed all that come. And they came, some in in winter coats and flowing beards, some in their fancy dresses and some in normal, temperature appropriate clothing.

In front of me at the food line up was Rhino Joe, because he used to be from Rhino. He lives in a modified School bus and reminded me of Jonny Depp as a pirate . Flashing a smile with perfect white teeth, black ponytail gray at the temples he entertained me all the way to the tables. And then we both looked at ‘Moth’ in his skirt. A young man with dread locks, (he told me later that he is 33) was in demand by everyone. Joe thought if he would wear a skirt his popularity might rise, but he just can’t see himself wearing a skirt.

A few days later I saw ‘Moth’ in Niland and he asked for a ride back to the slabs. He told me that he is practicing shaman and came here for a vision quest. He got some pretty strong mushrooms and got some visions too. I did not ask what he saw, because he was busy telling that he saw some people up here, that do not look like people anymore.

Ron lives in the same section as the snow-birds but he is a ‘full-timer’ and retired into his fifth-wheel. That means he is living full-time in his camper and stays except for the hot summer months at Slab City. He has a thought out setup with a patio and back porch, grows tomatoes and has a fire pit to entertain friends. One night he invited me to the ‘Sticks’ where live music was played. He introduced me to all his friends ‘full-timers’ like him, that make Slab City their home. Looking at their living conditions and hearing them talk with toothless smiles United States seems to be a third world country. Those people have no social assistance no medical coverage their kids have no education and their best friend is the drug dealer.

And then there were the dogs, some free some tied up, some dead dogs, buried and remembered at the dog cemetery and most of all some hauling dogs. A never ending yelp all through the night, luckily far enough for me to tune them out.

Sandra and Lorne made their plans to go to their next destination and after 10 days I decided to leave this experience behind.

Outdoor library

Looking through art prints

Sandra

Sandra walked with me to the Kamasutra Tank

Johns birthday

Pot luck at Slab City

Saturday, January 31, 2009

Slab City

Did you ever hear of a place called ‘Slab City’? It is the last free place in America, they proclaim and the population fluctuates constantly. Summers are hot and people migrate to cooler places.

Slab City is place near Niland CA, at the east end and above Salton Sea. When the haze that drifts up from Los Angles is not too thick you can see the sea looking south and the Chocolate mountains are north of Slab City.

The whole area used to be training ground for the army and the slabs are left behind of an army camp that was in use about 50 years ago. Concrete slabs as foundation for their buildings.

Now the army trains north of Slab City in and around Chocolate Mountain. Yesterday I heard fighter planes hissing over the mountains.

The people that live or stay at Slab City are from all walks of life. Quite a few Canadians that escape the cold Canadian Winter and Americans from northern Regions migrate to this place. Old hippies and other drop outs from society make this place home and have lived here for many years. All you need is a licensed vehicle. There is no camping fee no running water, no electricity available, but a lot of space and an old sewer system, to which you can hook up.

People use solar panels to generate power or have a generator. The generators are noisy and despised by fellow campers.

I met a Canadian couple I became friendly with. Sandra and Lawrence from Victoria B.C. They have two dogs, Zip, a border collie and Mea, a mix. Sandra is a retired nurse and invited me to walk with her. We walk up and down the country, she shows me the local golf course, we walk through washes (dried up runoffs) look at the vastness of the camp, find amazing rocks and admire desert flowers. She is a good walker and became now my trainer, she does not know that I am taking shameless advantage of her and I just follow her lead. Thank you, Sandy, you are the reason I get up that early in the morning.

Sandy also showed me the local spa. From a small hot spring a pipe runs water to a concrete chamber, about 2.5m deep and ca. 1.6m2. A ladder takes you down the hole and you can step under the ‘shower’. The mineral water is by now tempered and pours out the pipe with enough flow to give you a good bath. The hot spring has about 42 C and is contained in a ‘mud hole’, basically a sand ditch. People put carpet on the ground to make it less muddy.

I came to Slab City because of Salvation Mountain. Leonard Knight is now in his seventies and has been working on ‘his’ mountain for over 20 years. He crashed with a hot air balloon who advertised for Budwiser. Leonard survived the crash and decided the message should read GOD IS LOVE and not Budwiser. This mountain is his salvation and he decided to put the message God is Love on the mountain for all to see. I have more pictures on facebook. Check them out.

Salvation Mountain

Folk Art greets you at Slab City, Niland CA

Salvation Mountain

Leonard Kneight is the artist and guided me personally through his cration.

Salvation Mountain

Work in progress...

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

10 days of Vipassana meditation

I am back from a 10 day meditation experience ...So, would you like to hear about the 10 day cloister like retreat? It was pretty trippy too, to sum it up it was a real American experience. Helen worried that I might not come back and end up in a cult. She should know me better. But all in all it was really good and the message was really good.

Meditation is a science of the mind. The teacher, Mr. Goenka, said, you give food to your body to keep it healthy and give meditation to your mind to make it sharper. People often mistake meditation as contemplating, or following a fantasy or daydreaming, but actually meditation is focusing.

Everything Goenka taught I already knew, but this kind of focus and discipline I have never applied before.

To give you an idea check out their website http://www.dhamma.org/ that gives you an idea about it all. Auf Deutsch http://www.sumeru.dhamma.org/deutsch/willkommen.html

There was a good mix of people at the course of all ages and nations: Chinese, and whatever Asian, black people, Hispanic and white people. All together about 140 participants. I shared the room with two other women. One was a black girl, same age as Helen and just went back to school to become a fashion designer. She grew up in Toronto, but lives now in San Francisco. Stephanie with the long legs… the other woman I shared the room with was Polish (my age). She is an architect and her husband, an English man, is a business or science prof at the University in L.A. She invited me to visit.

I am very happy to accept, because she is really interested in art too.

The retreat center we stayed at was built by and with Frank Lloyd Wright in the 1950s. It was one of his last projects he built, and my new friend pointed out the typical characteristics of the architecture. We were busy talking the last day and half. Before we had to abide to the ‘noble’ silence.

Now I am getting ready to go to Salton Sea, visit Salvation Mountain and continue on to Anza Borrego Desert State Park. The weather should be good!

Saturday, January 03, 2009

The snow is all gone

The snow is all gone and temperature rises up to 19 C during the day. Really lovely. As soon the sun sets the cold and dark set in fast.

Finally I find myself more rested and ready to explore my surroundings. Yucca Valley is a small town of a population of 17 000. The city of Joshua Tree and the Park are only 6 miles east and Palms Springs half an hour drive west.

In this amazing desert, which is littered with rock sculptures, and tree formations are hot springs.

I so long to soak in a hot spring and they are right here and there and everywhere, but which one to choose? Most spas are in a hotel and of course they want to sell a room, restaurant food, massages, a life change. Yes, most hotels advertise, come to this life changing experience….with pictures of all kind of deities!

- I just want a soak in hot mineral waters – not a life change! A spa, a day spa without a room, meals, yes, maybe a massage.

This is what I found, sorry no wild spring with naked people, just a good old bath. http://www.dhsspa.com/spa.html this is where you will find me. Check out the rates too, Friday is $ 3.00 for us, women.

Here is some information for the ones that asked: Yucca Valley (1,027 m) is in High Desert country, surrounded by stark hills and the snowy peak of Mt. San Gorgonio with his 3 505 m (11,499’) is overlooking the valley from the San Bernardino mountains.

And here is some information nobody asked for: I went to Pioneertown! Yes, the place is called Pioneertown. It was built in 1946 by some movie company and used for B Westerns, with movie greats like Roy Rogers. The movie set is still maintained by private people who own and live in some of the buildings. During the summer months every wannabe cowboy can be part of a shoot out or re-enactment of the wild, wild west, organised by the Pioneertown Posse - fun for the family. Check out the pictures on my facebook too.

Before I close this chapter I want you to know, that from Jan 7^th to Jan 18^th 2009, I will be at the Southern Californian Vipassana Center for a 10 day meditation course. I signed up regardless of the red very long wait list sign and I did also not realize, that the deadline was way passed.

Yesterday I received an email saying that they are happy to welcome me. These ten days I will spend at the other end of Yucca Valley. http://www.vaddhana.dhamma.org/index.htm

Pioneertown

Tracks in the sand

Pioneertown

clappety clap

Pioneertown

The bath house

Monday, December 29, 2008

Still in 2008 for a little while longer

Joshua tree National Park is everything and more, absolutely spectacular! As soon you enter the Park it seems the air has changed. Clear, fresh, crisp and the sun is beautiful intense. The clear air carries the voices from climbers even when the climbers are out of sight and a good distance away. You can hear them when they arrive happy at the top of a boulder or when they express anguish. Help is usually at hand with advise ‘put your foot in this hold, then your hand goes there, yes put your foot right there!’

With the sun shining everybody is out too. Lots of people take the time between Christmas und new year to visit the park. It almost feels like being in Switzerland, only the landscape does not match. Parking lots are full, but the crowds quickly disperse on the trails. Today I visited Barker’s dam. An already natural waterhole was damed by an early settler to increase the source of water. I watched a family with three kids, all school age, and they had a lot of fun jumping over the rocks, picking up some ice that was still in the shady areas. Lots of laughing, screeming and of course one of them fell into the water.

Mom said nothing, dad kept on taking pictures and grandma… you could hear her miles away!

I saw some other wildlife too, lots of little birds, some had a black head and some didn’t. Ravens swooping and eying whatever garbage they could scavange and then I saw a hawk! I was at least 30 min. away from the people, when I saw the hawk circle and dive. I do not know what he got. Check out the pictures on facebook, this time I have more plants, than rocks.

Happy New Year to all of you

Annemarie

Rock pile

what a strange sight

Joshua trees

a forest in the desert

Rock on top

Rock on top

huddled together

more rock formations

Afternoon sun

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Arrived in Yucca Valley

I arrived in Yucca Valley allready a week ago on Dec. 19th after a very exhausting drive from Redding to Sacramento to Lost Hill to Victorville and finally Yucca Valley. Here I booked a RV spot for one month to get some rest. In Redding I reassessed and got the waterworks in my camper checked out and working. The weather was rainy and freezing, but I walked to the sun dial bridge, a monumental sculpture spawning the Sacramento river. Check the pictures on my facebook. Then I was lured to Sacramento and was too tired to look up the Californian Art Gallery and spent a most expensive night at the KOA. Back onto Hwy # 5 I met a lot of traffic and stopped over in Lost Hill, number one in oil production. The landscape was divided into fields of crops, vegetables, orange trees etc. or oil pumps. What a sight!

People talked about the snow  coming all the way from Las Vegas, but I enjoyed a clear sky and sunshine. I chose a minor Hwy to avoid all that traffic, but was I ever wrong. Right after Bakersfield the big rigs overwhelmed. What was supposed to be a 2 to 3 hr drive turned into a 7 hr drive, because we idled for hours and moved very little. Finally  right after nightfall I found a campground in Victorville. One foot snow, some cars in the ditch, trees broken and roads closed, that was the reason of all the big rigs on that road. I have never seen that many in one spot! As far as I could see, there were the rigs! Luckily the next day was bright and sunny and I made my way to Yucca Valley to visit the Joshua Tree National Park.

Tomorrow I’ll finally go. So far I have checked out the small town, walked to a sculpture garden and saw Jesus, Mary Magdalen, all the disciples and other folk, all made of concrete life size and bigger.  Christ in the Desert was the name of the garden and there were olive bushes too. Then I walked into an ‘everything’ store,  furniture, clothes, lamps, carpets, drums, insence, paintings… there was also a group of artist working and I got invited to join.

The snow is all gone except for the piles. There is more bad weather in the forcast, but at least it is not cold.

I wish you all a merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year!

BigRigsBigRigsBigRigs

7 hrs on Hwy 58 between Bakersfield and Kramer Junction

Mojave

Snow covered Mojave desert

In Yucca Valley

First snow fall in five years and never ever that much

Christ in the Desert

Sculpture garden overlooking Yacca Valley

Joshua Tree

not meant for snow

Monday, December 15, 2008

Huge Snow Storm in Ashland OR

The prediction was for a huge snow storm in Ashland OR and I thought I will sit it out there. To my surprise I woke up to barley 2 cm of snow but it was cold, something like 7 C below. So I braved the pass, which was just fine! There was a little snow on the road right at the pass, but almost equal amount of red sand.
 
I stopped then at Mt. Shasta City CA to breath in the spirit of Mt. Shasta and found peace in some art supply store! It was such relief from all the incense drenched metaphysical stores, and the creeps in the rock stores who all try to pull the wool over your eyes.

My first day in California!
 
I am still in Redding CA and decided to do some errands. I bought a ‘to go’ cell phone, I still need to figure that one out…. I got my water system working and still have a drip, but I do know where; at least I do not have to worrie that the pipes will freeze. I got some information at the Visitor’s center and did sone sight seeing too. Redding has a cool bridge, the sun dial bridge. I’ll post pictures on my face book until I have figured out how to do it here.

Thanks for the emails, much apreciated!

Sun Dial Bridge in Reding CA

The glass tiles on the bridge are meant not to cast a shadow so the fish will not be frightened

Sun Dial Bridge

There was no sun that day

Inside my camper

This is the kitchen taken from the living room

Christmas decoration

no words

Friday, December 12, 2008

Already Four Days Since My Last Entry

It has been already four days since my last entry. I was hoping to drive down # 101 and enjoy the waves at the coast. The sand dunes at Florence blocked the view to the ocean, but they were a view in itself. Thank goodness there were only a few ATVs left, those same offroad vehicules that tear up the land in our neighborhood. Here at the dunes they tear up just the sand. A volunteer told me that there are many accidents with those ATVs, because people do not reckon with nature. The sand can be tricky and the dunes are often not stable. I walked along a lake that was formed by a dune blocking the way of a creek. Now the same dune is filling the lake… walking along felt like walking in spring snow. The sand is fine and each step slides a bit back. That was the last sunny day I had and I walked for over two hours…

In the weatherforcast they call for a huge snowstorm and strong winter storms along the coast; the weather looks better inland and I decided to travel Hyw # 5. Just before the snow I pulled in a RV Campground in Ashland, OR. This is the first campground where there are people!! Everywhere else it was just me and maybe another big rig. Of course they would not talk to me, me in my little Dodge Camper Van. But I tell you my camper is warm and runs well, the fridge is cooling and the food is good too.

Now I’ll see about the weather, if it is really bad, I will hang out here for the next two days. Monday should be sunny again.

Monday, December 08, 2008

Columbia Gorge

I woke up to a sunny morning and made my way to the Columbia Gorge. At the Klickitat view point I saw Mt. Hood, Mt. Helen, and in the distance was also Mt. Baker visible. Today I really feel on my way and started to relax, I can stop whenever I want to and took some pictures on the way. What a pleasure.

For the ones that like to know where I am, I am in a luxurious RV campground across the Columbia river from Hood River. Few campgrounds are open and here I have wireless, power, hot showers and other stuff I do not need.

Sunday, December 07, 2008

Dead Battery

This morning started with a dead battery. Not a sound. Then I remembered, that I left the fan from the heater running. That was it, Helen and I heard the noise, but we were not sure where it was coming from. Now I know and Barb got her jumper cables out and then there was a lovely ‘wrumm’ from the motor. Note to myself – I need to buy jumper cables and I forgot to buy a kettle to boil water….

By the way I started without Barb. Barb I miss you!!

Finally I left Winfield BC (9 am, not much delay) and had a smooth ride, mostly sunny, all the way to Yakima, Washington. I arrived at 5 pm and darkness came fast. My plan was to go to the KOA campground but being in the dark I decided to stay at the one I found first. Now here I am at the Sportsman campground without wireless but with power. Oh well, I will write you all soon.

The campground is almost empty. I saw two more campers and me is three. There are large trees and open spaces. The half full moon is clear and the night is clam, some leaves rustle once in a while but it is certainly less cold than in the Okanagan; still I have my little electric heater on. Perfect.

That was a long drive and I’ll have a glass of wine. Cheers

Annemarie

Dodge Ram 1979

My road home in front of my Vernon home.

Columbia River

Second day of my trip

Ashland OR

I woke up to snow... Ashland is proud host to an annual sommer festival of Shakespeare plays