:: Current Location : Breckenridge, Colorado :.Back into the USofA
So across the Mexico / US border and we've finally
made it back to the land of accurate road signs and
fattening - sized portions of food. YEah! We miss
the Mexican food already.First stop - Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument - a
20 minute drive from the border. There's a loop dirt
road - closed. Okay then, we'll try the visitor
center. The nice ranger ladies advise us that the
eastern portion of the park is well open but that loop
road near the border is not - due to the current
"situation" w/ everything that is going on w/ illegals
in the US. President Bush - 1 / Mexicans - 0./
American tourists - negative 1. Even the paved roads
we hit up in the park had border patrol on them. We
head north after a nice hike and trip thru the park
and head to Why, Arizona. WHY? a simple name for a
town. But bound to get some jokes. Well there's the
Why Not Gift Shop - hahaha so clever! East of Why we
head back towards Tuscon, stopping for some $3+ a
gallon gas on the way of course. At the gas station
were 2 border patrol SUV's and a huge greyhound type
bus - but instead of Greyhound on the side it reads
"Department of Homeland Security". I was talking to
my friend Jon on the phone at the time and was telling
him about all this and he said we should go up to the
bus and ask for a T-shirt! We definitely should've.
$3.20 a gallon? That's the cost of a gallon of gas
these days!? No son - that's the cost....of freedom!
Oh - i never thought of it that way before. $3.20 a
gallon - that IS the cost of freedom!On the way to Tuscon we came across a search
helicopter hovering over us and the highway, making
circles wherever it spotted illegals. We saw a border
patrol van w/ 4 illegals sitting on the side of the
road and then one dude running about 10 miles up, just
jogging, he knew he was caught. The helicopter made
its circles and took off - then a humvee zooms past us
and catches up to the guy. Ever see the movie - "A
Day w/out a Mexican" where they act like Mexicans
don't exist ?? It's pretty good - and pretty much
documents the fact that half of our country would not
operate. Very true.Back in Tuscon, now hanging w/ Eric, his girl Evin,
and our old friend Nate. Go to
http://www.denenmusic.com to check out his stuff - a
good friend and saver of lives in lightning storms, he
was playing in Tuscon that night on his southwest
roadtrip of his own. We went to the Nimbus brewing
co. to hear him play and sample some delicious micro
brew.We said our goodbyes, bombed it back to Phoenix,
snagged the laptop and headed north thru Prescott and
actually drove thru the dark for a change just to make
it up north to Supai so that we could head out early.Havasu Canyon
----------------------------------------Why head out early?? Because we had the greatest hike
/ camp / outdoory thing you can ever do in your life
ahead of us for the 4 next days. We had heard the
stories, seen a photo or two in passing - but nothing,
i mean nothing will prepare you for the beauty you can
find just a few short hours drive from Phoenix,
Flagstaff or Vegas. We're talking about Havasu Falls
and the Havasupai Reservation. We had been saving
this for an end of trip thing and it worked out
insanely well.So if you come out here - rent a car, fly into one of
your destination cities i listed above, and pack up
some camping gear. Drive to Supai on a 68 mile road
towards the Grand Canyon and park at the parking lot.
You better get there early because you have a 10 mile
hike ahead of you - and out in these parts w/ the
heat, you don't want to start any later than 8am. So
we started at 9am. We hike down into a western
section of the Grand Canyon. Beautiful as any section
of this enourmous slice in the Earth's crust. Hike
past all the tourists clambering their way back up
from a long memorial day weekend. The parking lot was
packed to the brim. Luckily we were hiking down that
Monday of the Memorial Day holiday - the day all the
others were coming out. It's dusty, hot, you got
horses going by carrying gear, coolers, you name it.
Helicopters roar overhead, making back and forth runs
from the parking lot to the reservation 10 miles away.
Some people hike out w/ packs, some put them on the
mules. It's $75 per mule for 4 packs. I think the
helicopter transport is like $150 per person. What
would Abbey do? Say screw all of that and hike down.
This is the outdoors, not Disneyland. It sucks that
there are so many people out and that we have all this
going on around us, but once camp is set up it more
than makes up for the sideshow. As you hike down thru
this canyon it gets narrower and narrower until it
fans out into the reservation. That's where cataract
creek comes flowing in and you have this oasis in the
desert.All the places we've been we've never seen such clear
enticing water in our lives. The reservation and
anything that borders the creek on the 2 mile jaunt to
the campground is dotted in greens of cottonwood trees
that create the utmost tranquility. We press on
through the sand and heat - pay our money at the
campground reservation area and hike down to the
campground. There are 4 main waterfalls in the
canyon, all w/in 4 or 5 miles of each other. The
first is Navajo, then Havasu, then Mooney, then
Beaver. We see the top of Navajo thru the trees
before the campground but press on to get the 30 lbs.
or so off our backs. We then come up to a rockface
that all of a sudden drops a few hundred feet - over
the side, roaring into an aqua blue pool below which
is Havasu falls. The sheer beauty of it makes you
want to weep - and we're just completely blown away.
We've been alot of places all over this world and seen
more than your fare share of intense and magnificent
waterfalls(Hanging lake in colorado and Erawan Falls
in Thailand have similar aqua blue waters from the
travertine in the water that creates the pools and
damns) - but this place has all of them beat -
combined - hands down.Giddy w/ what we know in our heads will be our
playground for the next 4 days we find a campspot
quick. We want it to be a good, tranquil spot, but
we're tired from the hike. We find a decent one near
the crystal clear creek and set up our stuff and head
back to the falls for a swim. The water is cold - but
we don't care one bit. It's heaven on earth at the
bottom of this towering falls. The surrounding
cottonwoods and grassy areas and beaches make for the
most enchanting oasis on earth. We can die happy.Ben's tired and goes back to camp. I press on towards
Navajo falls, cutting through the trees and find a
secluded oasis that most people pass up for the bigger
falls. The swimming here is just as good, and the
waterfall is still a little slice of visual heaven.We make an easy day of relaxing near the creek and 2
first falls, knowing full well the next 2 days we will
see Mooney and Beaver and explore further downcanyon.The next day we do just that. But first we are woken
up by church groups and obnoxious pre-teen boys and
girls making a commotion near our peaceful site.
There should be a code of ethics when you're in the
woods. Don't disturb your neighbors after the
sunlight is extinguished - and give them adequate rest
- lets say 9am before getting obnoxiously loud. We
prefer to gently awake by the sounds of rushing creek
water entering our dreams and maybe the smell of a
neighbors breakfast grumbling our bellies so that our
eyes open slowly.A man meets us at our tent when we get up. Tells us
that a group of 67 - yes, 67 people are all moving
w/in 20 yards of us and he hopes we dont mind. We
grin and make small talk "oh no, that's fine, sure,
yeah, we don't mind" then on the side "Ben - we're
moving, pack the tent up" Within 10 minutes we have
our tent and bags packed again and walking downcanyon
- "the site is yours now mister" "are you sure" yeah
- it'll give your group more "space".We walk another mile past everyone's campsite until we
reach the boundary, then find seclusion near the
river, noone will come down this far - and we throw
the tent there. no groups, no people - our site. And
what's this??? 1 minute walk from our site and we
come to another rock face w/ another sheer drop.
We've found the top of Mooney Falls!After this whole debacle with the moving sites we
started out later than we wanted to. Our intention -
walking the 14 miles roundtrip down the canyon, taking
in Mooney and Beaver falls as well as walking all the
way to the colorado river and the bottom of the Grand
Canyon.One of the indian kids about our age comes up to our
tent to check our camping permit. We ask him about
the hike down - he tells us he usually starts at 5am
as it takes all day. Oops! It's now 10:30 or so.
Late start - but we'll see how it goes. We head down,
take some photos of the top of beautiful Mooney falls,
almost identical to Havasu falls but as if the colors
are backwards. The canyon is different and the water
is more greenish. It's like the same but opposite.
Anyways - the trail down - i can't even describe, just
go there and do it. You will see. Basically it
involves crawling through dynamite blasted tunnels and
ladders wet from waterfall mist and clambering down
soaken muddy rock. It's the craziest thing. But once
you reach the bottom, it's once again heaven. Mooney
became our falls - Havasu was for the rest of the
campground, this one was ours. So great, and less
crowded. Downcanyon we go - trudging through the
water is the best thing on earth - its crystal clear
and there is beauty and small waterfalls around every
corner. The travertine terraces that make every
corner look like a chinese garden of picturesque
tranquility. Small fish are everywhere and the sand
down there is salmon colored. A feast for the eyes.We soon find a small grotto and are pretty hot at
midday at this point. Ben says, "I think I gotta get
in for a swim." I'm with him. But on - what is
this??!? Hell yes! It's a rope swing!!! I try it
out first. Tarzan in the desert - deep splash and
easy swim out. Can this get any better?? Ben grabs
it, does a huge looping swing and a backflip off of
the end. Screw the hike down, let's stay here!
Forever! We try - but the hike is still in the back
of our minds. Okay, later i say - we have ALL day
tomorrow for a lazy day, none of this 14mile hiking -
we're coming back! agreed.So we hike on down and across the creek again. By the
time we would eventually reach the colorado river in
the bottom of the grand canyon we would cross the
creek 11 times. The sound of lizards scurrying away
from the path through dried leaves sounds oddly
similar to a rattle snake. We were bombing it through
the high brush and couldn't see our feet, but we had
to make up time. We hike through wild fields of
grapevines (not yet in season) and across the creek
again and again, we come across some more swimming
holes with rock jumping and more enticing moments we
hit up to get out of the heat. At one point we have
to climb up a rock face using a rope because it's so
steep. (on the way back, we instead decided to use
the rope to lower our pack and then cliff-jumped into
a swimming hole below in order to return safely). We
pass by Beaver falls - a gorgeous spot but we need to
make time down to the river and its far down below, so
we skip it and press on. Eventually we reach the
confluence w/ the Colorado River and reach the bottom
of the Grand Canyon one last time - coming around full
circle in this trip and taking a dip in that fresh
water we did in the easternmost section of this great
chasm.We hike it back and make it back out of the canyon and
up the ladders and waterfall tunnels and back to
campsite before dinner. Hiking this much sure makes
dinner all that much better after a long day.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our last full day down in the canyon was probably the
most enjoyable of the whole trip. It wasn't strange or
adrenaline filled, just relaxing and tranquil. We
climbed down the jungle gym of tunnels and ladders of
Mooney Falls again and hiked to a side canyon we
called Fern Canyon. It was a short hike because it
choked off to an 80 ft climb up slickrock. There were
ferns and it reminded us of Ireland, minus the
leprechauns.Then and easy stroll back down through the pools to
the rope swing. When we had last left the rope swing,
it was an old rope with knots and a stick tied to the
bottom, but no someone had left springy rope with a
rubber loop to hold onto. I must have jumped 12-15
times, while ben was content to be the cameraman and
document my swings. After wondering back up through
the canyon, we noticed some steel ladders leading up
to what we assume were cliff dwellings. We could never
actually find the bottom of the ladders, and I don't
think the Indians wanted the tourists climbing up
there.The Mesquite Trees were in blossom and they smell just
like honeysuckles. Coming from a hot desert to a
tropical jungle is such a mindtrip, but we sucked in
every scent, sight, and sound there was in that place.
I wandered off back up to Havasu falls while ben made
dinner and suddenly people started showing up. One of
the scout leaders had about 100 kids in a little
amphatheater telling stories, and there were plenty
more running around the upper camp. I quickly returned
to end a relaxing day with a meal, a game of Rummi,
and finish a few chapters in my book.We hike it out, after 9am again, cuz it's too easy to
sleep in and stay forever. It's so hot at noon by the
time we finally get back to the car that we are happy
to pay $2 for a soda from the rasta indian living in
the RV in the parking lot.We continue on to Vegas....
______________________________________________
LLama Gratis a cualquier PC del Mundo.
Llamadas a fijos y móviles desde 1 céntimo por minuto.
http://es.voice.yahoo.com
.: Ben Hansen :: 5:56 PM [+] 0 comments
:: Current Location : Breckenridge, Colorado :..AFOOT.and.light-hearted,.I.take.to.the.open.road,.Healthy,.free,.the.world.before.me,.The.long.brown.path.before.me,.le ading.wherever.I.choose....Henceforth.I.ask.not.good-fortune-I.myself.am.good.fortune;.Henceforth.I.whimper.no.more,.pos tpone.no.more,.need.nothing,..........Strong.and.content,.I.travel.the.open.road....The.earth-that.is.sufficient;.I.do.n ot.want.the.constellations.any.nearer;.I.know.they.are.very.well.where.they.are;.I.know.they.suffice.for.those.who.belon g.to.them.......Still.here.I.carry.my.old.delicious.burdens;.I.carry.them,.men.and.women-I.carry.them.with.me.wherever.I .go;.I.swear.it.is.impossible.for.me.to.get.rid.of.them;.I.am.fill'd.with.them,.and.I.will.fill.them.in.return.)....You. road.I.enter.upon.and.look.around!.I.believe.you.are.not.all.that.is.here;....I.believe.that.much.unseen.is.also.here... .Here.the.profound.lesson.of.reception,.neither.preference.or.denial;.The.black.with.his.woolly.head,.the.felon,.the.dis eas'd,.the.illiterate.person,.are.not.denied;.The.birth,.the.hasting.after.the.physician,.the.beggar's.tramp,.the.drunka rd's.stagger,.the.laughing.party.of.mechanics,.The.escaped.youth,.the.rich.person's.carriage,.the.fop,.the.eloping.coupl e,....The.early.market-man,.the.hearse,.the.moving.of.furniture.into.the.town,.the.return.back.from.the.town,.They.pass- I.also.pass-anything.passes-none.can.be.interdicted;.None.but.are.accepted-none.but.are.dear.to.me..You.air.that.serves. me.with.breath.to.speak!.You.objects.that.call.from.diffusion.my.meanings,.and.give.them.shape!....You.light.that.wraps. me.and.all.things.in.delicate.equable.showers!.You.paths.worn.in.the.irregular.hollows.by.the.roadsides!.I.think.you.are .latent.with.unseen.existences-you.are.so.dear.to.me....You.flagg'd.walks.of.the.cities!.you.strong.curbs.at.the.edges!. You.ferries!.you.planks.and.posts.of.wharves!.you.timber-lined.sides!.you.distant.ships!....You.rows.of.houses!.you.wind ow-pierc'd.façades!.you.roofs!.You.porches.and.entrances!.you.copings.and.iron.guards!.You.windows.whose.transparent.she lls.might.expose.so.much!.You.doors.and.ascending.steps!.you.arches!.You.gray.stones.of.interminable.pavements!.you.trod den.crossings!....From.all.that.has.been.near.you,.I.believe.you.have.imparted.to.yourselves,.and.now.would.impart.the.s ame.secretly.to.me;From.the.living.and.the.dead.I.think.you.have.peopled.your.impassive.surfaces,.and.the.spirits.thereo f.would.be.evident.and.amicable.with.me.....The.earth.expanding.right.hand.and.left.hand,.The.picture.alive,.every.part. in.its.best.light,.The.music.falling.in.where.it.is.wanted,.and.stopping.where.it.is.not.wanted,....The.cheerful.voice.o f.the.public.road-the.gay.fresh.sentiment.of.the.road....O.highway.I.travel!.O.public.road!.do.you.say.to.me,.Do.not.lea ve.me?.Do.you.say,.Venture.not?.If.you.leave.me,.you.are.lostDo.you.say,.I.am.already.prepared-I.am.well-beaten.and.unde nied-adhere.to.me?.O.public.road!.I.say.back,.I.am.not.afraid.to.leave.you-yet.I.love.you;....You.express.me.better.than .I.can.express.myself;.You.shall.be.more.to.me.than.my.poem....I.think.heroic.deeds.were.all.conceiv'd.in.the.open.air,. and.all.great.poems.also;.I.think.I.could.stop.here.myself,.and.do.miracles;.My.judgments,.thoughts,.I.henceforth.try.by .the.open.air,.the.road;)....I.think.whatever.I.shall.meet.on.the.road.I.shall.like,.and.whoever.beholds.me.shall.like.m e;.I.think.whoever.I.see.must.be.happy.....From.this.hour,.freedom!.From.this.hour.I.ordain.myself.loos'd.of.limits.and. imaginary.lines,.Going.where.I.list,.my.own.master,.total.and.absolute,....Listening.to.others,.and.considering.well.wha t.they.say,.Pausing,.searching,.receiving,.contemplating,.Gently,.but.with.undeniable.will,.divesting.myself.of.the.hold s.that.would.hold.me....I.inhale.great.draughts.of.space;.The.east.and.the.west.are.mine,.and.the.north.and.the.south.ar e.mine.......I.am.larger,.better.than.I.thought;.I.did.not.know.I.held.so.much.goodness....All.seems.beautiful.to.me;.I. can.repeat.over.to.men.and.women,.You.have.done.such.good.to.me,.I.would.do.the.same.to.you....I.will.recruit.for.myself .and.you.as.I.go;....I.will.scatter.myself.among.men.and.women.as.I.go;.I.will.toss.the.new.gladness.and.roughness.among .them;.Whoever.denies.me,.it.shall.not.trouble.me;.Whoever.accepts.me,.he.or.she.shall.be.blessed,.and.shall.bless.me... ..Now.if.a.thousand.perfect.men.were.to.appear,.it.would.not.amaze.me;....Now.if.a.thousand.beautiful.forms.of.women.app ear'd,.it.would.not.astonish.me....Now.I.see.the.secret.of.the.making.of.the.best.persons,.It.is.to.grow.in.the.open.air ,.and.to.eat.and.sleep.with.the.earth....Here.a.great.personal.deed.has.room;.A.great.deed.seizes.upon.the.hearts.of.the .whole.race.of.men,....Its.effusion.of.strength.and.will.overwhelms.law,.and.mocks.all.authority.and.all.argument.agains t.it....Here.is.the.test.of.wisdom;.Wisdom.is.not.finally.tested.in.schools;.Wisdom.cannot.be.pass'd.from.one.having.it, .to.another.not.having.it;.Wisdom.is.of.the.Soul,.is.not.susceptible.of.proof,.is.its.own.proof,....Applies.to.all.stage s.and.objects.and.qualities,.and.is.content,.Is.the.certainty.of.the.reality.and.immortality.of.things,.and.the.excellen ce.of.things;.Something.there.is.in.the.float.of.the.sight.of.things.that.provokes.it.out.of.the.Soul...Now.I.reëxamine. philosophies.and.religions,They.may.prove.well.in.lecture-rooms,.yet.not.prove.at.all.under.the.spacious.clouds,.and.alo ng.the.landscape.and.flowing.currents.......Here.is.realization;.Here.is.a.man.tallied-he.realizes.here.what.he.has.in.h im;.The.past,.the.future,.majesty,.love-if.they.are.vacant.of.you,.you.are.vacant.of.them....Only.the.kernel.of.every.ob ject.nourishes;.Where.is.he.who.tears.off.the.husks.for.you.and.me?....Where.is.he.that.undoes.stratagems.and.envelopes. for.you.and.me?...Here.is.adhesiveness-it.is.not.previously.fashion'd-it.is.apropos;.Do.you.know.what.it.is,.as.you.pass ,.to.be.loved.by.strangers?.Do.you.know.the.talk.of.those.turning.eye-balls?....Here.is.the.efflux.of.the.Soul;....The.e fflux.of.the.Soul.comes.from.within,.through.embower'd.gates,.ever.provoking.questions:.These.yearnings,.why.are.they?.T hese.thoughts.in.the.darkness,.why.are.they?.Why.are.there.men.and.women.that.while.they.are.nigh.me,.the.sun-light.expa nds.my.blood?.Why,.when.they.leave.me,.do.my.pennants.of.joy.sink.flat.and.lank?.Why.are.there.trees.I.never.walk.under, .but.large.and.melodious.thoughts.descend.upon.me?....I.think.they.hang.there.winter.and.summer.on.those.trees,.and.alwa ys.drop.fruit.as.I.pass;).What.is.it.I.interchange.so.suddenly.with.strangers?.What.with.some.driver,.as.I.ride.on.the.s eat.by.his.side?.What.with.some.fisherman,.drawing.his.seine.by.the.shore,.as.I.walk.by,.and.pause?.What.gives.me.to.be. free.to.a.woman's.or.man's.good-will?.What.gives.them.to.be.free.to.mine?.......The.efflux.of.the.Soul.is.happiness-here .is.happiness;.I.think.it.pervades.the.open.air,.waiting.at.all.times;.Now.it.flows.unto.us-we.are.rightly.charged....He re.rises.the.fluid.and.attaching.character;.The.fluid.and.attaching.character.is.the.freshness.and.sweetness.of.man.and. woman;....The.herbs.of.the.morning.sprout.no.fresher.and.sweeter.every.day.out.of.the.roots.of.themselves,.than.it.sprou ts.fresh.and.sweet.continually.out.of.itself.)...Toward.the.fluid.and.attaching.character.exudes.the.sweat.of.the.love.o f.young.and.old;.From.it.falls.distill'd.the.charm.that.mocks.beauty.and.attainments;.Toward.it.heaves.the.shuddering.lo nging.ache.of.contact.....Allons!.whoever.you.are,.come.travel.with.me!....Traveling.with.me,.you.find.what.never.tires. ...The.earth.never.tires;.The.earth.is.rude,.silent,.incomprehensible.at.first-Nature.is.rude.and.incomprehensible.at.fi rst;.Be.not.discouraged-keep.on-there.are.divine.things,.well.envelop'd;.I.swear.to.you.there.are.divine.things.more.bea utiful.than.words.can.tell.......Allons!.we.must.not.stop.here!.However.sweet.these.laid-up.stores-however.convenient.th is.dwelling,.we.cannot.remain.here;.However.shelter'd.this.port,.and.however.calm.these.waters,.we.must.not.anchor.here; .However.welcome.the.hospitality.that.surrounds.us,.we.are.permitted.to.receive.it.but.a.little.while......Allons!.the.i nducements.shall.be.greater;....We.will.sail.pathless.and.wild.seas;.We.will.go.where.winds.blow,.waves.dash,.and.the.Ya nkee.clipper.speeds.by.under.full.sail....Allons!.with.power,.liberty,.the.earth,.the.elements!.Health,.defiance,.gayety ,.self-esteem,.curiosity;.Allons!.from.all.formules!....From.your.formules,.O.bat-eyed.and.materialistic.priests!...The. stale.cadaver.blocks.up.the.passage-the.burial.waits.no.longer....Allons!.yet.take.warning!.He.traveling.with.me.needs.t he.best.blood,.thews,.endurance;.None.may.come.to.the.trial,.till.he.or.she.bring.courage.and.health.......Come.not.here .if.you.have.already.spent.the.best.of.yourself;.Only.those.may.come,.who.come.in.sweet.and.determin'd.bodies;.No.diseas 'd.person-no.rum-drinker.or.venereal.taint.is.permitted.here....I.and.mine.do.not.convince.by.arguments,.similes,.rhymes ;.We.convince.by.our.presence.........Listen!.I.will.be.honest.with.you;.I.do.not.offer.the.old.smooth.prizes,.but.offer .rough.new.prizes;.These.are.the.days.that.must.happen.to.you:...You.shall.not.heap.up.what.is.call'd.riches,.You.shall. scatter.with.lavish.hand.all.that.you.earn.or.achieve,....You.but.arrive.at.the.city.to.which.you.were.destin'd-you.hard ly.settle.yourself.to.satisfaction,.before.you.are.call'd.by.an.irresistible.call.to.depart,.You.shall.be.treated.to.the
