Out West ~ Day 4, Vegas

To say I was ill-prepared for the grandeur that is the Grand Canyon is an understatement. It far exceeded whatever it was I had conceived it to be. It’s one thing to see the Grand Canyon on the pages of a magazine or view it on visual media, and it’s another thing to experience with one’s five senses. I was just thankful that having left the Grand Canyon area, there were roads, highways, and Interstates to take us to other destinations Out West. I surely cannot image how pioneers made their way across the vast stretches of dessert and mountains that we experienced in the comfort of an air-conditioned automobile while traveling hundreds of miles in a matter of hours.

Barbara and I had been to Las Vegas years ago on a SUPERVALU sponsored retailer trip. We had flown there and were bused to various shows on the company’s schedule of things to see and do. I think we each had a leather bag of nickels which were given to us on day one for us to feed into a slot machine, in hopes we’d catch gambling fever and wager lots more of our own money. Unfortunately for the gaming industry, I work hard for my money, and I’ll be darned if I want to throw it away in a casino.

On this trip, we had chosen a different reason to be in Vegas. Actually, it was on the short route we were taking to northern California, but as long as we were passing through, we purposed to visit the Gold and Silver Pawn Shop, the same one featured weekly on the History Channel in the form of “Pawn Stars.”

A retailer friend of mine got me hooked on Pawn Stars last year in its first season. If you aren’t watching it, consider this a warning…you too can be hooked. Barbara and I both enjoy the program, but I have trouble pronouncing the name of the show.

Two months or so ago Barbara had been on an overnight trip to Baton Rouge and was on her way home late the next evening. She phoned me to let me know she had just dropped off a friend in Jackson and advise me of her expected time of arrival. When the phone rang, the ringtone, as well as the caller ID, signaled me it was Barbara.

I spoke my usual greeting to my wife, “Hello, Dear,” upon answering.

True to her typical pattern, Barbara responded, “What ‘cha doing?”

“Oh, I’m sitting on the couch watching Porn Stars,” I calmly replied.

As Barbara’s brain processed my comment, my brain had time to hear what my mouth had just uttered.

There’s no taking back the spoken word, so I just laughed and corrected my mistake, “Pawn Stars…Pawn Stars.”

“Sure,” she retorted, “I leave you home alone for one night and you rent a movie.”

We’ve both had a few good laughs over my faux pas.

With a GPS it was relatively easy to find the Gold and Silver Pawn Shop on Las Vegas Boulevard. It looks exactly like it does on TV. Barbara and I took turns making our picture with the shop’s marque in the background, then we walked toward the entrance where a large crowd awaited entrance. We decided to wait and were glad we did, because in less than ten minutes everyone was counted and allowed to enter.

We scanned the workers at various locations, many already helping customers, but we didn’t see any of the TV stars, The Old Man, Rick, Big Hoss or his best friend, Chumley. But the huge black man that had let us in, we recognized as the Bouncer, and I asked if he minded having his picture made with me. He didn’t mind and Barbara snapped one of us.

My shirt had Ole Miss on the front of it, so I asked, “You know anything about this?” gesturing toward the script.

“Sure, I’m from Memphis!”

What a surprise…two thousand miles from home and I run across a neighbor!
I phoned my retailer friend who had told me about the TV program and asked him to guess where I was. I joked if there was anything I could buy for him that he’d seen on the program…we decided we didn’t have room in the car for a drink machine.

My son asked me to bring him back a card dealer’s visor with Vegas on it, but there were none in the pawn shop. In a newly added part of the shop, we found several items we had seen purchased, including a barber chair and a vintage coke machine, both of which now look like new and were priced in the thousands of dollars.

Having satisfied our curiosity about the pawn shop we walked to the parking lot to leave. Suddenly, a recognizable figure with three others was walking toward the SUV parked nose to nose with our car. Chumley was going to lunch with somebody, and try as we might to get a picture of him (short of walking up and asking for one) we only got the open door as he got in and a view of the side of the truck as it drove off.

We grabbed a bite to eat after leaving the pawn shop and set a course toward Reno, where we would spend the night in Fallon, NV, on our way to California.

Pics/comments can be found at http://rrnews.org/Day4Vegas

Out West ~ Day Three, Grand Canyon

With two GPS devices, a Road Atlas, and advice from a staffer at the Arizona Welcome Center, you’d think getting off the right exit from the I-40 to drive to the Grand Canyon, would be a breeze. Unfortunately, the GPSs could not agree on the route, and I may have misunderstood the staffer, all of which had us looping back to correct our navigational error and with construction delays, added about a half-hour to our travels.

I don’t know where all the visitors to the Grand Canyon were from the day we were there, but few of them spoke English. We heard, Spanish (expected), Italian (not expected), French, and German, along with some languages we could not identify. Apparently, word of the world’s biggest gully has spread far and wide.

We purchased a Golden Passport at the headquarters/ visitor’s center of the Grand Canyon National Park and received parking instructions. I’m glad Barbara was along to help me navigate to the right parking area and to figure out the color-coded shuttles that would transport us to specific points of interest. She reads brochures better than I do, and what’s often Greek to me she grasps clearly.

The more scenic and grandiose views of the canyon’s South Rim were closed to automobile traffic and accessible only by walking or by shuttle. I doubt I would have enjoyed these to any greater extent than the one at Hermit’s Rest, for even there I could not get within twelve feet of the railing that protects the foolhardy from falling. Believe me; I could see plenty from a much safer vantage point.

Were Barbara and I to have ridden a shuttle to see other sights along the South Rim, we would have waited one or two hours in a line that backed up against the rail for sight sighters, the same rail I could not get close to for fear of falling into the Grand Canyon. Thus, my sweet wife said it was okay with her to go back to the visitor’s center and watch the National Geographic version of the Grand Canyon in the Imax Theater.

Luckily, we made it in time for the 4:30 showing. The man selling tickets stated our total was $27.30, so I gave him thirty dollars. We made small talk about Barbara and I being from Mississippi.

As he was about to tell me the amount of change I would receive, I asked, “Has anyone ever told you to keep the change?”

“No, they haven’t!” he smiled.

“Okay then, keep the change.”

He looked dumbfounded as I reassured him of my intent, but he managed to say he’d use the extra money to help someone else.

I would later tell Barbara, I should have given him one of my “Bodock Post” cards so if someone asked him who that “unmasked man” was, he’d have a ready answer.

I’ve seen a couple of Imax shows before, so I knew I wouldn’t fare much better in a theater versus the real thing. Thank goodness, the film had a lot of historical information about the discovery of the Grand Canyon by explorers and settlers . The filmed reenactment of Powell’s successful navigation of the deadly rapids of the Colorado River that runs along the canyon’s floor added a sense of danger in a new form. Still, the sensation of drifting in a glider over canyon rims was sufficient to make me close my eyes or to look at the nearest wall, rather than endure the stress I feel when exposed to great heights.

Leaving the Grand Canyon we saw a small herd of elk that others were stopping to photograph, and as we crept along we took a few pictures, too.

Each day we had a fairly good idea where we would spend the night based on the amount of distance we planned to cover on a given day. We typically lodged in mid-priced Choice Motels, of which Comfort Inn, Quality Inn, and Econo Lodge are members. Each stay is worth so many points toward a free night’s stay or some sort of gift card that can be redeemed whenever a qualifying level of points is reached.

On Wednesday night we found ourselves at the most unusual Quality Inn in Williams, Arizona, which in every aspect but the sign looked like a dude ranch and did seem to function as such. We dined in a plush restaurant on the premises where the food exceeded our expectations.

We were quite tired from the rigors of the day, but with only three days of travel behind us, we still had a long way to go.

Pics/comments can be found at http://www.rrnews.org/Day_3/

Out West ~ Day Two, Albuquerque

After having had a great time meeting and dining with Arni and Nina Anderson in Oklahoma City, OK, Barbara and I started out early the next morning, Tuesday, on our way to spend the night in Albuquerque, NM, with plans to see the Grand Canyon the following day.

We have a friend, who lived in Pontotoc a few years ago and later relocated to Claude, Texas, which would not have been very far off our planned route, but unfortunately Linda Maddox could not be reached by phone, so we stopped in Amarillo, TX for lunch at a Cracker Barrel restaurant and then continued our leisurely drive across the northern Texas Panhandle and were into New Mexico by early afternoon. We enjoyed seeing the changing landscapes from state to state and photographing items of interest along the way.

The mountains on the west side of Albuquerque are truly beautiful. I was not intimidated by their height, probably because the road into Albuquerque was cut along their lower ridges.

After checking into our motel, I phoned my cousin, Ken Gaillard, whom I had spoken with earlier about getting together for dinner. Generally, I stay away from Mexican restaurants, but at Cousin Ken’s suggestion I decided the adage “when in Rome, do as the Romans do” should apply. After all, he and his wife Pat stated the best food in town could be found at Sadie’s restaurant, where authentic Mexican cuisine was the daily fare.

As there was a Sadie’s adjacent to our motel, I thought we would simply meet them there, but Ken said the original Sadie’s was a few miles away, and they’d pick us up at our motel.

“Pat says the food is better at the original one,” Ken explained.

Ken was driving Pat’s relatively new PT Cruiser. I was impressed with its pep, as Ken accelerated into Interstate traffic, and the ride was comfortable, at least from my perspective on the passenger side.

Though the restaurant was crowded, we were soon seated and Ken and Pat advised us concerning what to order, especially with regard to the “red or green” question. The red chili sauce has less heat, but the green is more flavorful. I chose the green to go with my burrito. I think it came with a pound and a half of ground beef inside as it had enough meat to have feed tacos to Barbara, Jason, and me (family at home) with meat to spare.

The inside of the restaurant had the “southwest” look, and there were native American and Mexican blankets hung from the ceiling, of which Ken explained.

“The original owner, Sadie, two generations removed, would take product in exchange for food, so she accumulated a number of woven items through the years. Some of those blankets you see are quite valuable on today’s market, fetching $10,000 or more.”

I’m pleased to say I suffered no gastronomic issues following the Mexican meal and on our way back to the motel, Ken suggested a trip to Old Town, Albuquerque. Old Town sprang up around the first Roman Catholic Mission built there in 1793, a structure that remains a prominent feature even today. Old Town is best enjoyed afoot, so we parked and strolled the streets and window-shopped for a half-hour or so.

As darkness began to settle over us, Ken asked if we’d like to see the lights of the city from the nearby Sandia Mountains. Sandia means watermelon in Spanish, and the mountains do have a reddish hue about them at sunset. In explaining the name associated with the mountain range, some historians suggest Spanish explorers mistook local gourds for watermelons, but of the two schools of thought, I like the sunset reasoning the better.

Soon, we were high above the city of Albuquerque enjoying the expanse of lights below and toward the west. Ken offered to take us even higher up into the mountains, where suddenly the roads became more like paved trails…more precisely, narrow trails. I felt a growing sense of unease as Ken zipped through the darkness with only automobile headlamps to lighten our pathway. And, it didn’t help that Ken shared how one of Pat’s nephews had plunged his small pickup a short distance down a steep slope when the road he though was there, wasn’t.

Ken found the lookout he was looking for and we parked momentarily for an even better view of the lights of Albuquerque. I took a couple of pictures, but without a tripod, the best of the two was but a blur of lights, unworthy of being reproduced.
As we descended, I was glad Ken knew where we were and how we got there, and in no time at all we were back on a real road heading to our motel.

Apart from family funerals, I seldom see my Albuquerque relative, so I was glad we had the opportunity to visit on his turf. If he doesn’t move east, one day, perhaps we’ll return there for another visit when we can stay longer, and I can arrange to have Ken take me on one of his famous fly-fishing adventures.

Pics and comments at http://rrnews.org/Day2

Out West ~ Day One

Sometime last year, Carl Wayne, sent me an article about bodocks that he’d read online. It came from a blog by Terry Thornton of Fulton, MS. Terry’s blog had an unusual name “Hill Country H.O.G.S. Webpress.” The “H.O.G.S.” part stands for History, Observations, Genealogy, and Stories. I contacted Terry about sending one or more of his writings to be shared in The Bodock Post, and he indicated he would. Sadly, Terry, passed away while Barbara and I were on our Out West trip, recently.

Terry was passionate about Monroe County, Mississippi and would frequently share something of interest about this area of Northeast Mississippi. Earlier this year, he mentioned the work of an artist and included a picture of an old home the artist had painted in Aberdeen, MS, where beautiful old homes abound.

I followed the link Terry provided to the artist’s blog and discovered the world of art through the eyes of Arni Anderson. Arni was in the middle of a year-long project to paint one picture each day of the year in 2010. What fabulous pictures he had, including great portrayals of landscapes, houses, barns, many from Mississippi. The great part about Arni’s blog is that he explains the color medium used, the type of paper or canvas it’s on, and something about where the subject is located.

At some point, I left an appreciative comment on Arni’s blog, and soon he had asked me to be one of his many Facebook friends. One day I read that he would be in the Aberdeen, and he invited his Facebook friends near Aberdeen to join him at a popular eatery one Friday night. I had a Class of ’60 dinner that particular evening and felt obligated to attend it rather than make the trip to Aberdeen. Yet, when I began to look at the route Barbara and I would take for our Out West trip, I realized we would spend our first night in Oklahoma City, near Arni. I contacted him, and he seemed delighted.

Arnie suggested he and his wife meet us at Cattleman’s restaurant in OKC. According to Arni, Cattleman’s is about the best place to eat for miles around. The food was excellent, but the opportunity to meet Arni and Nina was better, still. She’s an Aberdeen “girl” whom Arni had met in college and determined to marry, so determined in fact, that he moved to Aberdeen and worked there until he could talk her into marriage. (I saw on Facebook today, 8/27/10, that he and Nina are celebrating their 45th wedding anniversary.)

I was amazed at the many different jobs Arni has done throughout his life to support his family. He’s currently an art teacher in Edmond, OK, and has a few, hand selected private students, too.
Arni and Nina were the first of several folks we would encounter along our route to tour the West by automobile. I feel our friendship is now stronger than ever with our having met face to face. Arni tells me he’s planning an art showing in Northeast Mississippi next year. I hope to see Nina and him, then. Meanwhile, I’ll be keeping a close tab on his blog, www.arnisart.blogspot.com, and following his posts on Facebook.

Additional pics and comments at http://rrnews.org/Out_West