Paradise

We just spent 11 days at the Escapee Spring Escapade in Chico, CA. We went in early on Wednesday April 19th. We worked on the Sound Team and had to set up the sound equipment and work everyday of the Escapade in a couple of the seminars. Then on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning we had our VCR meeting to attend. Saturday night we moved from the fairgrounds at Chico to the ELK's in Paradise. Above is a picture taken on the way to Paradise. Beautiful. Today we traveled south to Visalia, CA where we will spend a few days with the O'Bosky's. Next Thursday we will travel to King City, CA to a SKP Ch 31 rally. Maybe I will get a few pictures there and put on the blog...just too busy at the Escapade to take pictures. Life is GOOD! 

O'Bosky's RV Park

Here we are in Visalia, CA at the "O'Bosky's RV Park". We arrived at our friends, Steve and Nancy's place last Wednesday. We are on our way to the Escapee's Spring Escapade. This seems to be a gathering place for several of us SKP's before heading north tomorrow. Spring Escapade starts Sunday, April 23 in Chico, CA, but we are on staff and need to be there Wednesday to start setting up the sound equipment so it is ready to go on Sunday. 

Petrified Forest in Northern Arizona

Here we are in the Petrified Forest National Park. The park has a 28 mile road that offers overlooks for the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest. All 4 of these pictures are of petrified wood. It took us 3 hours to stop and see everything. The colors are spectactular!! 225 million years ago, this area was a floodplain with tall pine-like trees, dinosaurs and other plants and animals. You can't see any of this from I-40, but only a few miles off the highway the sights are awesome! I'm glad we stopped for this! 

Painted Desert, off I-40 in Arizona

Here are a couple pictures of Painted Desert, Newspaper Rock (petroglyphs) and Blue Mesa. 

Beautiful mesa in New Mexico

We are staying in Grants, NM at Bar S RV Park. We spent the day today visiting Sky City of the Acoma people. This is one of the pictures I took of the area. We took a guided tour of this ancient Pueblo. While on the reservation we had to purchase a permit to take these photos. They do not allow video recorders at all and Photography is restricted, I was not allowed to take photos of the people or their art, unless I got their permission to do so. I was also not allowed to take pictures of the cemetary and the inside of the mission. Tomorrow we move on to Holbrook, AZ where we will spend another couple of days and visit the Painted desert. Life is good!

Sky City

This picture of Sky City was taken from theCultural Center. Sky City looms 370 feet above the desert floor. The history of the Acoma people and the Pueble reaches back to as early as 1100 A.D. You can see the buildings on top of the Mesa. There are over 300 structures made of adobe and white sand stones. Most of the Acoma people don't live at Sky City full time, they return for special and various cultural occasions to celebrate at their ancestral homes. Our guide told us that he lives there along with about 20 other people full time. They do not have any of the creature comforts we take for granted. No running water, no indoor plumbing, no electricity. The road to the top was not built until 1953. 

View from the Mesa

This is one of the views from the top of the mesa. 

Mica window

Mica was used for "windows" before they had glass. It allowed a little light into the buildings. Most of the buildings use glass now. 

One of the views from the top of Sky City

 

Water collection

Water is very scarce on the mesa and this is one of the places where water is collected when it rains. The mesa is mostly rock and this is a natural depression where rain run-off is collected. There are no wells here. The have a few cisterns and these natural depressions. Other drinking water must be packed in. 

Outside Oven

This is an oven. It is used to bake bread, roast meat and vegies. There are several around the pueblo that are used by the people to bake their food. If you wanted to bake in this oven, you would need to ask the person who owns it and then in payment for it's use, you would "share some of your baked food with them". 

Kiva's

The building with the ladders leaning on them are Kiva's. A place for sacred ceremonies. Only men are allowed in the Kiva's. 

The houses are in various stages of repair/disrepair. This is suppose to be the oldest area of the pueblo. 

Acoma pottery

We were not allowed to take pictures of the pottery/art work of the people, so I took this off the bochure. We saw so many beautiful pieces of pottery..large to very small. Lots of detail work. Glad we don't have the room in the motorhome or I would have been tempted to buy a piece. 

Native plaster

This is one of the types of plaster used on the outer walls of the houses. Dirt/clay and straw mixed with water...same as used to make adobe bricks. Rock houses are covered with this material which lasts about 10 years. 

San Esteban Del Rey Mission

Construction of the mission complex began in 1629 and was completed in 1640 by the Acoma people. Traditional Acoma building methods were used...sandstone, adobe brick, native plaster, dirt floors, and very large wooden beams at the top of the mission. Everything had to be carried on the backs of the natives up the side of the 350 foot mesa. 

Mission Bells

We were told that the bell on the left was given to the Acoma people in exchange for 8 children the Spanish took from them, 4 boys and 4 girls. The children were sent to Mexico. The Franciscan Friar, Juan Ramirez, was so mean to the children of the village (he struck one so hard the child died) that eventually the Acoma people threw him over the cliff and killed him.