Northern AZ roadtrip part 1: The Navajo Bridge, and a condor nest

Condors!!

My husband Eric & I were on walkabout yesterday, wandering around the northern part of Arizona. We started in Flagstaff and headed north, first driving through the Navajo reservation.

We turned, and then headed to the Navajo Bridge across the Colorado River.

It gives an incredible bird's eye view of the river below!

There is both a foot bridge, and a larger bridge for motor vehicles. We walked across, and perused the visitor station. Of course I had to look at the Navajo rug loom on display, with an eye toward figuring out how to set up the warp.

And I also had a look at the plaques that were around telling the history of the ferry that was in place before the bridge was built.

I particularly appreciated seeing both of the wives, Permelia and Samantha, recognized by name, and their multiple marriage matter of factly recognized instead of glossed over. No invisible women here.

On our way back across the bridge to the car, I thought I saw someone sitting on the structure underneath the car bridge. On closer look though, it was a huge, huge bird! Yes, I had spotted a California Condor!!

Back in 1987, there were only 27 of these birds left in the world. They were removed from the wild, and a captive breeding program was started. In the late 90's, the results began to be released back into the wild. As of last year, the population had rebounded to 446: 276 in the wild, and 170 in captivity. 83 of those are in the Arizona/Utah area.

There was another couple also watching Mr. 54 here, who let me know that he and his mate evidently had a nest on the cliffs upstream, visible from the bridge. So I began to scan the cliffs...

Ah ha! The droppings gave it away.

Condors lay their single egg in cavities, right on the floor or in a loose pile of debris. I tried blowing up the picture and lightening the shadows, to see if I had caught the egg in the picture...

I don't see it, but I think that black blob back in the cave is probably the mother condor at work. Wow. Just wow. I'm crossing my fingers that this nest produces a live chick!

I'll write another entry about the rest of our day's travels tomorrow. Stay tuned!

Flagstaff Fiber Festival, and escaping the heat

I had a great time this afternoon, wandering around the Flagstaff, AZ Fiber Festival with my sweetie. We went a couple of years ago, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that the event had about doubled in size from then. There were all sorts of vendors, selling everything from roving to handspun yarn to finished objects of art.

I enjoyed seeing some of the native arts from the area represented as well.

Fiber artist Jeanne M. Salt.

And then there were the critters. Most of them were sporting their lovely coats, showing what our fiber looked like on the hoof.

A few of them got to get their coats sheared off though. They looked much happier once they were cooler! And they were surprisingly calm during the procedure. The shearer was quite skilled and quick.

When we were done at the festival, my sweetie and I drove further up the mountain to the Snowbowl ski resort. It is pretty lovely in the summer time. And much cooler! Phoenix was about 115F today. Flagstaff was in the 90's. And up here in the pines and aspens, it was down in the low 80's. I'll take it.

All in all, quite a lovely way to celebrate our 27th wedding anniversary.

Hohokam Indian Petroglyphs

My sweetie has been getting cabin fever recently, since he's been cooped up recovering from fixing his leg. However, the weather was awesome yesterday, he was feeling stronger, and we knew there was the handicap accessible Black Rock Trail at the White Tanks Park about a half hour drive from us. So we grabbed some chicken for a picnic dinner, and headed out for a lovely sunset stroll after his work.

I'm originally from the midwest USA, so the spiky texture of the plants out here is always kind of odd to my eyes. But there is definitely beauty when you know to look for it.



The Hohokam Indians lived in this region from about 500-1100 AD, and they left petroglyphs scattered behind them. Actually, some of the glyphs in the park are suspected to be up to 10,000 years old. I use some of the symbols in my gourd work, taking inspiration from my adopted home. So I took some time to carefully clamber around the rocks, not touching the images (the oils from my hands could damage them) but capturing them in picture for future reference.



















































It was getting dark by the time we made it around our little loop. There was a slight chill in the air, and all you could hear was the whisper of the wind and the occasional bird call.



I really appreciate having this peaceful refuge so close to home. And by the evidence left on the rocks, people have been enjoying this pocket of beauty long down through the ages.

Turn of the Century Navajo Weaving

I'm still out on the road. This time, I'm writing from a hotel room in Gallup, NM. This morning though, we were in Durango, CO, looking at Fort Lewis college for my daughter. Durango is nestled in the Rocky Mountains, in a beautiful territory full of mountain peaks, pine trees, wild flowers, and tumbling streams. The college itself is on a hill above town, giving the students an incredible view. My daughter has pretty much decided that she can get comparable programs closer to home, so she probably won't be applying to the college. But the territory is stunning. We may come back some time for a vacation. I could see spending a week tucked back in the woods, happily treadling my spinning wheel to the music of bird calls and burbling water.

The college does have a Center for SouthWest Studies though, and we got to peek inside one of their display rooms while we were on school tour. After seeing the rug weaver yesterday, it was fascinating to see a handful of weavings from around 100 years ago. Some of the pieces on display were the rugs that I am used to seeing. Some represented other weaving techniques. That plain looking brick red panel in the back is actually intricately patterned with twill weaves, in blocks.

What fascinated me as a weaver though, was that fuzzy orange mat in the front of the display. I had never thought of the Navajo weaving shag rugs!

In the moments I had, I took a closer look at that one, and an even more spectacular example that was hung on the wall nearby. They were made around 1890. The warp is cotton. The weft is native wool and Angora goat fleece. The fleece is pulled through the weave so it only sticks out on one side. The pattern was striking, and it looked really plush and comfortable.

So, what did the Navajo use shag rugs for? These were weaver's mats! If you've seen older depictions of native weavers at their rug looms, they are usually shown sitting on the ground to weave. Now I know what they were actually sitting on. That looks a heck of a lot more comfortable than bare dirt, especially for extended weaving sessions!

Hmmmm. Maybe I need to weave some shag, to pad the weaving bench for my floor loom. I've got some mohair tucked away...