I'm Not Afraid of Quicksand

Unstable Bank.... I thought all banks were unstable.  Quicksand....Not a problem, don't try to stand in it.  Swift Current.... Not a problem, stay out of the river.  Dust storms and high winds..... Now that's a problem.

Advise for life.

Yesterday was the worst driving day of my life.  We were headed to Winslow, Arizona. 

We were in no hurry so we went into downtown Gallup, New Mexico to have the front window of the Honda tinted.  While that was being done we walked around the old part of downtown. A nice old area that was like stepping back into 1955.

After a few chores in town including a visit to the bakery we were ready to leave around 11:30.  That turned out to be a problem.  Not knowing much about how deserts work I didn't know that wind storms kick up in the afternoon.  I hadn't paid attention to the weather reports of high winds. 

The great thing about a dust storm is that you can see it coming.  The bad thing is that you can't do anything about it if you are in the middle of the highway and there is no place to pull over.  I slowed down to 25 MPH under the speed limit but it was still white knuckle driving until we could find a place to pull over.

The problem was that eventually we had to drive on until we made it to the RV park.

We made it but I was so tired that I slept for the next 11 hours.  I was worn out.

This morning we moved 18 miles to Homolvi State Park, just outside of Winslow.  It is a high desert park so we can look for miles and see nothing but sagebrush.  We will be staying here for 2 days to explore the Homolvi Ruins.  Tomorrow will be better for pictures.

Broken pottery pieces can be seen by the thousands in the dig sites. 

They tell you not to even think about taking any of the pieces home with you.  Something about the spirits being ticked-off if you mess with them.  I don't know if I believe that but I'm not taking any chances.  My pockets are empty.

Terri never left the RV today.  She said she was hunkering down to some reading and napping.  I didn't do much more.  I went on a short hike through an archaeological site of a village of Anasazi's from the 14th century.  I was the only one there, sort of spooky in a 14th century kind of way.

The wind storms had subsided to the point that it was easier to stand up or breath.  Tomorrow it is supposed to be even better.  It blew so hard yesterday that the wind would lift the windshield wipers off the window of the RV, that's a pretty stiff wind.

So much for today.  More good stuff tomorrow.