What happens in the car

Wheeling through the Southwest

    So we have had some LONG days behind the wheel --- actually.... every day, so far, has been a bit too long behind the wheel.  I guess we are not as young as we used to be, and maybe were a bit too optimistic about how much mileage we could put on the old speedometer before we started getting worn out. Yesterday we landed in Santa Fe and we are here for two nights, so we can unwind a bit before we hit the road again for a pretty long run to Oklahoma City on Friday. Since my hubby has been doing such a splendid and descriptive job of describing our voyage so far, I thought I would ramble on a bit about some of the things that happen in the car for all those hours.

The View Hotel at Monument Valley

     We had a discussion about ambivalence and the Navajo. We learned that the Navajo are descended from hunter/gatherers and this seems to be reflected in the choices they make (or were inflicted upon them by us whiteys????) in their choice of residences. We passed many of their living quarters, out in the middle of nowhere and in the midst of small towns or settlements, and almost without exception, there was not a  plant, or a tree, a flower pot, or a garden or anything green anywhere near any of their buildings.  To us it looked unbelievably bleak and barren. Extreme poverty. Is this due to lack of water, lack of choice, or the fact that they are descended from nomads and don't want to grow anything? Does the setting seem as bleak to them as it does to us?  Does anyone know? They seem to be a culture that isn't very materialistic or concerned with externals. They are not keeping up with the Joneses, or the Ortegas. So the ambivalence part comes in when we stayed at their new, somewhat fancy hotel at Monument Valley. It is called The View and is right there amidst the incredible stones. It is Navajo owned and run. On some level they must want to market themselves and be appealing to tourists - - or do they want their privacy and space to live their lives?  Probably some of both. Their fancy hotel did not have that much curb appeal, but inside it was quite nice and everyone was very accommodating and pleasant. They have a road that winds for 17 miles through the Monument and is open to tourists but they warn you that the condition of the road is very rugged --- do they not really want you to go on it? If they did, surely they could make it easier to access - - they must have a bulldozer or two around.  This all was part of a larger discussion about ambivalence and how annoying it is.  Life seems so much easier when one isn't ambivalent .... jeez..... just make up your mind already.

Robert Johnson

     Other things that happen:  Despite the extremely small and limited space in our car, we spend an inordinate amount of time trying to locate items we might need --- they are always in an inaccessible spot or simply disappear.  We occasionally listen to oldies music --- when I can prevail on JD to let me -- and yesterday we were  comparing Robert Johnson's original Sweet Home Chicago to Freddie King's, and discussing Michael Bloomfield's Electric Flag version of Killing Floor vs. Howling Wolf's.  For the run to Oklahoma City we are planning to download some NPR podcasts and some more music.

    Okay... the altitude is getting to me.  Can't go on anymore.

xxx Andrea