September 6: Road Kill :0(

Today's post is dedicated to the artists of the world I think that everyone has the potential to make art, but some people have a real gift for it. Today I met many Native American artists on my journey along I160. Some were at the four corners area and others were in shops and scenic view roadside stands along my way. One that I met was named Abraham Benally. He worked with silver and bronze. He told all of the people looking at his artistic merchandise that Navajo actually means horse theif, because they were mistakenly seen as horse theives by the settlers. They pronounce it (no bu ho: first o is short and the last o is long) accent on the first syllable, second syllable is softer than the third. His jewelry was awesome (a word I use a lot, but especially today). I enjoyed listening to him talk about what inspires him - meditation - the elements.

"thousands of light-years away lives a butterfly constructed of stars - it is home to souls who were too bright for our world." - Vic Lejon

"The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls." - Pablo Picasso

"I shut my eyes in order to see." - Paul Gauguin

This is the view from my camper window. Say what? Gorgeous

They are stunned by the view

This was my desperate margarita. Nothing but two shots of tequila and a splash of the Dole Orange, Pineapple, Banana drink I had left in the fridge. Not bad. It would have been much better if I had ice.

Such a handsome guy

My what big teeth you have

Weird day. I haven't been able to sleep for two nights. I mean I have literally slept about four hours total in the last two days. I'm not crying, I'm not feeling sorry for myself - I am simply pie-eyed, restless, nervy/jumpy legs. So I left Comfort Inn, Durango, Colorado at 9:30.

Our first stop was the Four Corners Monument. I couldn't take the dogs past a certain point because I lost their credentials. I tore the trailer, truck, and flatbed apart looking for them. It was okay. There really is only one great picture opportunity there and the line went all the way out to the parking lot. I've been there before with Ben and the boys in 1991 and got those precious photos. Anyway, while I was tearing the camper apart, Bobby got out of the truck. That means he had to jump over Ben, the plant to get out of the back. Little sneak. He was fine. He always comes when I call. I'm pretty sure he was just looking for me. Jean-Luc kept barking, I assumed he was barking at people and the stray dog that was roaming around, but no, he was trying to tell me Bobby got out. Silly me, even Timmy, the dopey boy on T.V always listened to Lassie. Lesson learned.

So, I went in talked to the artists and looked at all the beautiful items. I bout a few small things for gifts. Forgot to say that it now costs $5 per person to see the monument. In 1991 it was free and the Native American artists set up their own shade - now they have assigned stalls. I also forgot to say (four hours sleep in two days) that I drove through Monument Valley to get to the Four Corners. The rock formations were... AWESOME - each more AWESOME than the last. But, there are very few places to pull over and take pics. I was going the speed limit, 65 mph and everyone was passing me. One guy in particular was very upset with how "slow" I was going, he even honked at me before he passed me. Karma is a B**** I later saw him pulled over by a state trooper. :0) I was able to pull off at one scenic view point and I talked to the lady there who was making jewelry. Her name was Joanna and she was there by herself. Her husband and she are separated sometimes six months out of the year because they each go where the work is. He is in Georgia. She has three kids. We were talking about our children and my grandchildren. Her daughter was born on 9/11. It makes me sad to hear the stories I've heard throughout my travels of families separated from each other, just to make ends me. I can name three right now, just off the top of my head from talking to people on my way. Ben and I really did live a charmed life. We had each other, we never lacked for food, health care, or a place to live. We had love. We were able to raise our sons without too much struggle. Our struggles now seem so insignificant. There is a world of hurt out there. I don't know how, but somehow, I'm going to find a way to help.

I tried calling the number for a campsite every time I had service today, which wasn't often, but when I got to Antelope Point Marina and RV Park there were plenty of spaces. The view is... AMAZING - gotcha! Haha. When you look out from my site, it is hard to imagine a river just out of view due to the angle. Sooo mnay boats here. Our God is an AWESOME God whomever he or she is to make such an AWESOME place to rest my head tonight. Just hope I can sleep.

So now you've probably been wondering when I'm going to get to the "Road Kill" part of today. This is something I've been thinking about and working on for some time. The following is a list of animals I've seen as road kill along my way. Two young male deer beginning to get their antlers, One alligator (yep), One turkey, Two porcupine, Ten armadillos, Countless - I mean soooo many raccoons, and today I saw a cat, a dog :0( WaWaWa, and a cow. These last two just really got to me. We are here on Native American land and many dogs are strays that just roam around. The cow was just outside of Durango. There was so much blood on the road. It was all brown and had that passive cow face - if not for the visible damage, it might have looked like it was sleeping. I've seen a lot of road kill that was not identifiable - probably rabbits or other rodents. The crows are always in the road getting their meal spoiled by passing motorists. Can you believe that I've seen two snapping turtles make it successfully across the road? Speaking of success stores -- like that segue? I saw an eagle today. It was not a hawk. First - it was enormous, but second it landed in the grass right off the side of the road and it was in the mountain area of Colorado. It was so...AWESOME and did I say, ENORMOUS? In our world today when an animal this close to civilization grows to be enormous - that is a success story.

Another success story, found the dogs' credentials. Okay, so when we were in New Orleans one of the fasteners for their badges broke -so I took them both off my backpack and put them somewhere so I wouldn't lose them. I found them! They were in the back pocket of the backpack. I never cease to amaze myself with my depth of stupidity (four hours sleep in two days.) Goodnight!