Standin' on a corner, in Winslow Arizona. . .

Black Canyon, just east of Boulder Dam

We left Boulder City early, knowing we had a long day ahead. Driving over the new bridge at Boulder dam, through the craggy mountains, enjoying some incredible views of the mountains on both sides of the highway. Leaving the mountains, we went on down hwy. 93 and into Arizona, over rolling plains covered with rich grasses where we could just imagine buffalo roaming in days gone by, then up through the pine covered mountains of Flagstaff, and then down onto the desert, arriving in Winslow in the afternoon. Our final destination, for a two night stay, was Homolovi State Park.

Homolovi State Park protects the remains of several Anasazi pueblos, and serves as a research center for  the late migration period of the Hopi, from the 1200-1300s.

Homolovi II ruins

The remains of structures have pretty much begun returning to the earth from whence they came, though here and there bits of wall, subterranean rooms, and the overall structure of the settlements can be seen.

There are pottery shards everywhere, left as they lie for visitors to admire. The variety of pottery styles that are seen among the shards is interesting.


The visitor's center is small, but has informative displays, and there are several trails to walk, one of which leads to a few small examples of rock art.

The campground spaces are generously sized, plenty long enough for our setup, wide, with lots of open ground between, and many small trees here and there. The land slopes a little, so other campsites don't block the view of the open desert.

Walking up the gentle rise at the edge of camp in the evening we saw the lights of Winslow, sparkling like diamonds in the dusty twilight. At full-dark, those little diamonds moved to the sky. Surely there are more stars here than we've seen in a long time!

After touring the pueblo ruins we wandered into Winslow to see what we could see. The town has a couple of claims to fame. One is the mention of Winslow in the Eagles' famous song "Take it Easy". 

There's even a mural and a bronze statue on main street to commemorate the song. That "girl in a flat bed Ford is featured in the mural, and she's lookin' pretty good! The building that the mural is painted on burned, but they managed to save the wall. Now, there's a park where the rest of the building once stood.

There's an annual music fest too, inspired by the band. This year's is coming up soon, on Sept. 27. The event website has details.

The historic Route 66 goes right through Winslow, as does the Southern Pacific railroad. Because the town has been such an important cog in the transportation system a  Hardy House was built here in 1930. It was named La Posada, "the resting place."

The hotel has been lovingly restored and is a real treat to visit. We had a delicious lunch in the hotel's Turquoise Room, and after lunch wandered the hotel admiring the historic furnishings, art, and garden spaces. Their gift shop offers beautiful Native American jewelery, as well as other handcrafted items, and we really enjoyed browsing.

Last but not least, following the information on a little brochure I picked up at the Homolovi Park visitor's center, we found our way down to Winslow's First Street, where a very attractive little park has been built along the railroad tracks. Central to the park is a totem pole carved by Peter "Wolf" Toth. He has carved one in each of the 50 states (two in some states) and this was the location he chose for his work in Arizona. Photos of each of his carvings, as well as his life story, are in his book "Indian Giver".

The predicted winds had picked up during lunch, and by the time we reached camp it was a full gale. We settled down to take the afternoon off, huddling on the lee side of the trailer, watching the afternoon shadows lengthen. We plan an early departure so as to get out of the area before the strong winds kick up again.

The photo album has more shots of the area, and of the beautiful La Posada hotel.

Washburne State Park, Oregon

Tucked in between the third and fourth football games of the season we managed to tuck in a quick trip to the coast to meet up with a friend. Steve checked the reservation sites and everything was full, amazing this time of year! So, we decided on a no-reservation park, Washburne State Park, just north of Florence.

Before we reached the park we were met with a very strange site. Instead of a sparkling white lighthouse on Haceta Head, we saw a hulking black shape. We eventually found an explanation for the apparition.... they are doing major repairs and the whole lighthouse is enveloped in scaffolding and tarps. This pictorial article explains in detail all the work that is being done to restore the landmark.

Washburne State Park campground was fairly crowded when we arrived, but we were able to find a suitable full-service site, and after our four night stay we have dubbed it the friendliest campground in the state. We sat around a smoky campfire and chatted from folks from Wisconsin, California, in addition to the expected Oregonians. A musician/songwriter from Norman, Oklahoma serenaded the campground in the evenings, and he even gave us a CD of his music. Ferrel Droke as won Honorable Mention twice in the Woodie Guthrie songwriting contest. His music has a bit of an an Irish folk flare to it, worth listening to for sure!

The weatherman had promised sun. Humpf! There's a saying in Oregon, "Only fools and Californians believe the weatherman". We bit. He lied. So, in a deep, dark, forested park we sat under cloudy skies. That's the Oregon coast, unpredictable, but beautiful under any circumstance.

The beach is easily accessed from the campground via a half-mile trail that goes under the highway. The trail leads through a mossy carpeted, tangled bit of forest that seldom sees the sun.

The trees are covered with draped ferns and layer upon layer of moss, and the canopy overhead makes he floor of the forest so dark that even the multitudes of mushrooms have a powdery blue mold on them.
Surely there are Nomes living here!

The beach wasn't crowded, so very dog-friendly and Shiner enjoyed a good game of tug-a-war with our friend's German Shepherd, Heidi.

As we watched the dogs romp on the beach I glanced over to the surf and noticed a seal waddling up onto the shore.

As soon as it spied humans and dogs moving on the sand it slipped back into the waves. The Sea Lion Caves aren't farm from the park, and seals are common in all the harbors here, but it's still unusual to see one on the beach.

The campground and surrounding forest are beautiful, but thanks to all the lovely trees there isn't any satellite service. A cell phone connection is possible out on the highway, but not in the campground itself.

Independence Day

Happy Independence Day!
Hot dogs on the grill, watermelon, parades, and, if there's no drought in your area, fireworks! Time to celebrate! And, time for a bit of a musical interlude. Just in time for the holiday, we've found a couple of great music videos that are definitely worth sharing.

Our typical Independence Day celebration of fun, parades and picnics is a wonderful American tradition that commemorates a very serious time in our history. The war that won our victory over the British government and the imposition of unfair taxation. That victory, over 200 years ago, enabled the United States to become an independent nation, and we continue to celebrate the unique American freedoms that have inspired so many of us, and generations of our ancestors, to leave the land of their birth and make America their home. The American Bill of Rights lists those freedoms, in case you've forgotten what they are. They're pretty important, and clearly came at a price.

The Revolutionary War, which eventually won us our independence from Great Britain, lasted eight years. It cost 8,000 lives, with 25,000 wounded. (1) It required a coalition of France, Spain, and the Dutch Republic. France's support for our efforts eventually drove their own economy into massive debt. (2) It was not only an expensive indevor, but had uncertain outcomes. Our founders believed their freedoms were worth fighting for however, and we reap the benifits to this day.

The outcome of the Revolutionary War changed the course of history for much of the world. Is it any wonder our national anthem pays tribute in to the military effort that won our independence?

Apparently some currently popular comedians think The Star Spangled Banner is "full of military jargon" and "stupid." A bit offended by that attitude a young rock group has released a new version of the anthem, and we like it! It even includes a new verse. Take a listen to Madison Rising performing the number.. . . . . then get the music on their site One Million Star Spangled Banner Challenge. 
Their goal is to get a million hits by election day. Help 'em out!



Despots being what they are, maintaining our freedom and independence is an ongoing struggle, and there are costs, not only dollars, but lives, mental health, and injury. We must remember to honor and pay tribute to the men and women who serve our country both at home and abroad in maintaining our freedoms, and aiding others in their struggles to throw of tyrannical governments.

Over time there have been hundred of songs written to honor our fallen soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen. Some hit closer to home than others. Angel Flight was written in honor of the crew of Red River 44.

'Red River 44'was the call sign for the Texas Army National Guard (2-149th Aviation Task Force 34) CH-47D Chinook that went down over Iraq in September, 2008, with seven men and 4,000 gallons of fuel on board. The fiery crash was the single worst loss of life for the Texas National Guard since the War on Terror began. Angel Flight is a regular on the radio around here, and a constant reminder that "Freedom isn't free."

This song is available on Radney Foster's album "Revival", on his website.

AMERICA - THE HOME OF THE FREE BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE!

Texas Music Theater - San Marcos

Live music is easy to come by around here, but not all the venues are really worth noting. Last night we attending the opening of the new Texas Music Theater in San Marcos, and it is definitely worth noting as a venue, in addition to the great performances.

The newly remodeled theater is located on the square in downtown San Marcos, Texas, between Austin and San Antonio. In 1941 the building opened as the Plaza Theater. It was remodeled in 1958 as a movie theater with two screens and renamed Holiday Theater. Most recently, it was a venue called Gordo’s that featured live music. Not having experienced any of its previous incarnations we can't compare, but we can say they've done a nice job with the remodel and there's plenty of dance floor, 3 bars, and a great view from the upper level where we were lucky enough to get a corner table overlooking the stage. Looking down on the dance floor we could survey the crowd - mixed ages, but largely the college set. Guys in crisp plaid shirts and cowboy hats skillfully twirled young ladies across the floor, and they had plenty of partners to choose from. The show on the floor was as good as the one on the stage!

The opener for the show was Eagle Eye Williamson. This guy gives new meaning to the concept of "one man band", playing the guitar, drums and maraca at the same time, while also singing, and then later switching up to a lap electric slide. Truth be told, he was our favorite performer of the evening, maybe because his sound reminded us of the early '70s stuff we listened to while in college. Watching him perform is by turns distracting, and then mesmerizing. His so adept at switching up instruments all the while singing, it's an amazing experience to watch him perform. Williamson is from the Austin area so we may get a chance to see him again.

The Dirty River Boys were next on the bill. The bio page of their website states "The Dirty River Boys make music with the type of sound and texture that is soaked in the realities of the hard-scrabble city they call home in the far west Texas desert." (That's El Paso, in plain English.) They're classified as "Americana", but I rather like the term they used, "Outlaw folk".

Whatever you call them, they were pretty good, but as is usual in this type of venue the instrumentals drowned out the vocals, which is a shame as creative lyrics are what they are particularly noted for. Headliner Cory Morrow popped on stage to do a number with the Boys, followed by three more numbers before they finished the set.

Cory is based here in the Austin area too, with an extensive discography to his credit.

Part of the Texas Red Dirt scene, Cory denies the typical image of "country" performer, and puts on a lively show bouncing around the stage sans cowboy hat, and barefoot! Kevin Fowler was in the audience, and joined Cory on stage for a number. Again, the instrumentals drowned out the vocals - we know they have a great sound system in the theater, and we love the band, but we also want to hear the vocals!

All things considered, great music all the way around, and a grand start for the theater.

We had arrived before the doors opened, so took the opportunity to walk around the town square. A classic bronze statue of John Coffee Hays, for whom the county is named, occupies one corner.  It's classic Texas - an elaborate county courthouse (topped by Lady Justice) surrounded by other classic buildings and, as this is a college town, lots of pubs!

Lot's more pics of the evening here in the album.

Out of hibernation - at last!

Happy Valentine's Day! The sun is finally out, and the cold front is (we hope) gone for the year! In fact, we'll have weather up into the 70's today!

We celebrated Valentine's day early, with a night out at the Rascal Flatts concert, on one of the coldest iciest nights of the winter. When we arrived the parking lot was circled with 11 large trucks, all displaying the Rascal Flatts group photo.

It's amazing the amount of equipment and people it takes to put on productions like that. There were also several other large trucks and motorhomes. Like a small city on the move!

It was great fun, as they put on a good show, and had two other great acts with them - Luke Bryan and Chris Young - as warm up acts. The Cedar Park      is a nice place for a concert, not too big, and the lighting effects the bands used were very effective for this size facility. 


 They're good at predicting the weather here, so we left home early enough to get to the venue before the snow started, but coming home was another story. Drivers here are unfamiliar with icy roads and there were cars all over the place. Off ramps were closed, as well as sections of the freeway in some places. With the icy roads and all the wrecks it only took us twice as long as usual to get home, so we didn't get home until around 2 AM - that's late for us old folks!

The next morning we woke up to a real winter wonderland. Not much to get excited about if you live where it snows regularly, but folks in these parts don't quite know what to make of it. Schools and many businesses were closed and towing companies and body shops undoubtedly did a booming business.
Within a day all was melted off and things went back to normal.

All the critters are starting to move around as it warms up. While closing the blinds at dusk yesterday Steve noticed a small fox checking out the ground under one of the bird feeders. He'd clearly been here before, as we watched him confidently make the rounds of the compost heap and other feeders, then trot off into the deep woods.
This morning the hackberry tree out in front was filled with a flock of small birds with yellow tummies (we haven't identified them yet), readily gobbling up all the little "berries" from the branches. All the cardinals are out staking out their territory, and I do believe it's Spring! The weather man says he expects one more freeze, so we'll see.

Eugene, Oregon - and Willie in the Rain

We're back in Eugene for a Duck game - and rain. This must be the northwest.

The final score was Ducks 69- Portland State 0 - another blow-out. The scores will undoubtedly be more balanced once we start the conference games, so we aren't getting over confident. It rained most of the day so by the time we got back to camp we were somewhat waterlogged.

We got our gear dried out just in time to leave for the Willie Nelson concert at the Cuthbert - an outdoor theater here in Eugene. It rained all day again, and though the clouds started to break up in the afternoon they got productive again as we arrived at the amphitheater. Happily shrouded in our ponchos and sipping a micro brew we enjoyed the opportunity to people-watch before the show. Comparing notes later we couldn't decide who was the most interesting - the guy with the all tye-dyed outfit, or the one with the blue beard to match his blue granny glasses, or the lady with waist length dread locks, or..... well, you get the idea. This is Eugene after all! Folks here do dress a bit differenly than in Austin. We saw about three real Cowboy hats, the rest were the drugstore type, but at least they were trying to get in the mood. Toby Keith describes Willie as the "original herbal American", and that's the aspect most folks here identify with.
As show time approached we settled in to our seats, the rain had slowed to a gentle mist, so we weren't getting soaked, and it wasn't especially cold. Judging by the cloud of pot smoke hovering over the crowd there were a lot of people not too concerned about the weather anyway (this is Eugene after all!)

The warm-up act was Ryan Bingham and the Dead Horses. When we left Texas Bingham was the talk of the town. Here's the music video of the number they were playing at the time: The Weary Kind (There is an ad first but it's worth the wait, it's the best version online.) The song is the theme from the movie Crazy Heart. Ryan had a large role in the movie, and co-wrote the  song with T-bone Burnett. The song won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe, so he's definitely a "name" in the business now.... but I got the feeling from the tepid response from the audience that a lot of folks didn't know who he was. I'm sure the rain didn't help the mood either. We haven't listened to a lot of his music, and I have to say that after hearing The Weary Kind so often, the loud rock style of his Dead Horses band wasn't easy to listen to. The music totally drowned out his voice, which is soft and a bit gravely but has some very nice tones. Perhaps as his style evolves he'll learn that "less is more". We could see that with Willie Nelson's band.

Willie and the band put on one heck of a show - singing non-stop for over an hour, sometimes combining multiple favorites into a medley so there's no break at all. He plays lead guitar too, which we never realized. For all the years we've listed to his music, we can't remember ever seeing him on stage. He is a master with the strings, and has very minimal back up otherwise. The band consists of "Little Sister" on the piano, a snare drum, a base guitar, and then there's the harmonica.
Willie's harmonica player Mickey Raphael is outstanding - he can push tones out of that small instrument that you'd never imagine. The richness suggests a sax, a flute, an accordion, you can't put your finger on it, but - - - no it's just the harmonica. All the pieces ebb and flow, each has an opportunity to shine in the spotlight, and then when Willie sings, they fade to the background. Quite a contrast to the Dead Horses style that pretty much drowned out Bingham's vocals. We don't have any great photos from the event - that's what happens when you "follow directions". The Cuthbert's guidelines clearly state "no cameras" ... so all we had is a cell phone ... uh.... guess they forgot to tell that to all the folks that were hovering around the stage snaping pics. No prob - to tell the truth, Willie sings great but he isn't that photogenic! He is a great performer however, who appreciates his fans. He tossed several of his famous red bandannas into the audience, briefly wore most of the hats that were tossed on stage, and stayed for a long time after the conclusion of the concert signing people's hats and bandannas, or whatever they handed over to him.

Home base while we're here in Eugene is Armitage Park. This was a day-use county park for years, and our friends who grew up here reminisce about the time the Sheriff chased them out when they tried to stay past dusk when the park closed. Now it's a fully developed area with 37 spacious full-service campsites and other amenities, including a dog park and free wi-fi. Many of the sites are nice and open others have really old trees for shade. It makes for a nice mix.

We had friends over for dinner and there was plenty of room for them to park two cars in our space, avoiding the "day use" charge. It's nice to be able to entertain friends even while "on the road".

Fall has arrived in the northwest, and since the park is right on the river it is a fly way for geese as they start to move south. I just love to hear them honky as they fly over, but it means summer is over - too quickly!

We'll be here a couple of days to catch up on some business matters, then wander over to the coast to camp with friends for a few days.

Cheatham Street Warehouse

The small tin shed beside the railroad tracks, across from the burned out shell of a feed store, is bigger inside than you'd expect. A weathered, hand lettered sign over the door says " beer joint". Inside, a small stage is "set" with two neon beer signs, a Texas state flag which takes the spotlight, and in case you forget where you are, a green street sign stating "Cheatham Street Warehouse". 

The low ceiling reflects the glow of a dozen other neon signs, most of them sporting some version of the Texas state map or state slogan. Humble indeed - BUT - we didn't come here for the decor. The Cheatham Street Warehouse is renown as the starting place of many world famous country and western entertainers. George Strait and his Ace in the Hole band played their first 50 or 60 shows here, with other performers and writers too numerous to mention also on the list. It's really the writers that this place was created for, back in the early '70's. We came to see a musician we'd only heard on the radio, Jason Boland.

The warm-up act was Jordon Minor. If you check his MySpace page you'll see he's a busy guy. . .His forte is writing as far as we could tell, and we really liked his songs. He was accompanied only by his bass player, and the two of them put on quite a show.

Jason came on at 11 PM, and keeping in mind we're old folks, it's saying something that we didn't even think to look at the time when he finally finished up at 1 AM. What a great show - he left the Stragglers (his band) at home and performed only with a fiddler, a friend he "talked in to" accompanying him. The friend was Brady Black, fiddler with the Randy Rogers band, which was a nominee for this year's best vocal category for the Academy of Country Music awards. What a show! It was hard to know which of the two to watch, as each put on such a great performance. Jason's lyrics reflect the region, so the folks in the crowd were happy to join in with a lot of the songs they know and identify with. We had a table right up front, closer than we've ever been at a live performance before, so caught all the action (including the groupies!) All for $15.00 a person (plus cheap beer in long neck bottles or a mason jar).

Another great addition to the evening, while waiting in line before the Warehouse opened, we met Machelle Dunlop, a live-music photographer and writer for the Examiner. She knows the venues and entertainers in the area and was a wealth of information and idea for future performances to watch for.

Night on the town

 We were out late last night, late for us anyway, but more about that later…. Suffice it to say we weren’t hitting on all cylinders when early this morning, barely halfway into the morning coffee I stepped out the back door to hear a loud beeping coming from the RV.

We have all kinds of alarms – propane, fire, and who knows what else, so I hurried over to investigate. The specific cause of the increasingly irritating sound was not to be traced. First the sound seemed to be coming from one corner, then another, then through the ceiling vents. Steve remembered we’d removed the smoke alarm, though I distinctly remembered putting it back, it wasn’t on it’s bracket, so we were that far in identifying the cause, but we still couldn’t find it. We worked our way through every cupboard inside and out, but the little thing eluded us. It seemed to be coming from the roof! Not possible…. So we tore apart the cupboards again….. finally Steve climbed up on a ladder and looked on top of the living room slide. He instructed me to pull the slide in a few inches and reach up, and there it was. Apparently I HAD reinstalled it, I just didn’t do a very good job of it! It must of popped off when we hit a bump and landed on the slide, and then when we pushed the slide out here at home it ended up outside. What a way to start a Monday!

Now, about our evening out.

We had tickets for the Texas Heritage Songwriters Association Hall of Fame Awards Show, so had an early dinner here and then headed up to Austin. We picked up the tickets at will-call just as  they were opening the doors, and a gentleman looking remarkably like the Master of Ceremonies, Red Steagal, opened the door for us and motioned us through. Of course, everyone was dressed in western hats and boots, so he could have been anyone….. only when he walked out on stage did we realize it really was Red Steagal!! Not surprising I guess as western entertainers seem to be a very friendly lot. The show was a great combination of interviews with the award recipients and live music.  The show featured interviews with all of this year's recipients, and ended with a session featuring Lee Roy Parnell, Clint Black and Mac Davis playing some of their own favorites of all the songs they've written interspersed with telling stories. Very informal and great fun! Hey Grayce! I had a Makers Mark at the bar before the show just for you!