It's a Whole New World

Yesterday was an interesting day. One of the things I enjoy about traveling,especially by car is viewing the way the landscape and geology changes. I also enjoy slipping in and out of different cultures. When we drive south to Alabama the cultural changes are mostly due regional idiosyncrasies. The dialect changes but the faces are basically the same.  In the southwest,especially in western New Mexico and Arizona, you really begin to see the influence of different cultures. I can't say that I experienced them but I definitely observed differences. For example, at the Arizona welcome center there were three Navajo ladies making and selling Indian Fry Bread. The coolest part was listening to them speak Navajo to each other while they worked. A little thing, but now a fun memory that I can share when we read Navajo Code Talkers in two weeks.

My three geology classes as well as Mrs. Jones' geology units in elementary school came in handy as the mountains, buttes, mesas and rock formations changed. In some places the rocks were sandstone, in others limestone and some were a mix. In one spot in New Mexico called "The Land of Fire and Ice" the ground was covered with what looked like Scoria or basalt. I wanted to stop the car and go exploring. I wonder if any of my ALC friends experience the desire to go climbing around on rock outcroppings as they drive down the road? The flora changed as well. One minute there were scrub oak and tumbleweeds and the next minute you'd drive over a hill and there would be pine trees. As you enter the Phoenix area you drive down a mountain. As you near the bottom it's as if someone drew a line because Saguaro cacti suddenly start growing. Of course we noticed a 15 degree temperature difference from the top to the bottom so I'm sure that has something to do with it. I've never seen Saguaro in the wild so it was pretty cool. I saw one that was taller than a house.

We drove in 50 mph winds all day. Dust was everywhere and tumbleweeds rolled across the road. We skipped our stop at Meteor Crater because we didn't want to be sandblasted. That was not an interesting part of the day.