Memories Journal #24, #25, #26 & # 27- A desert road trip in 2021

 I have not updated my posts on the Memories Journal I keep for all of my travels, so here I am doing just that...

In the spring of 2021, I took my two older kids on a road trip to Arizona and California. We spent 7 nights traveling down through Nevada, northern Arizona, then south to Tucson, and back up into the lesser traveled parts of California. 

Our first night we spent in Tonopah, Nevada where the infamous Clown Motel is at. I could not convince my oldest to spend the night in this motel unfortunately. On our way south, we stopped in at the Area 51 Alien Travel Center, bought a few trinkets, got some photos of the alien locals and made our way south. Here is the journal entry for that stop-

The second, third and fourth nights we spent in Cottonwood Arizona. This was where we would venture into the Grand Canyon, spend a day in Jerome, and on my bucket list was to visit the vortexes in Sedona. I was able to escape alone to Bell Rock and walked around the area in total peace and bliss. It was April 20th, and the weather was perfect. If I ever get the chance again to hike the area, I will definitely do it. Parking at Cathedral Rock was full, but Bell Rock had plenty as I got there very early.

After we left northern Arizona, we headed south to Tucson. When I lived in Arizona, I never made it down there, and always wished I had. We toured the unique homes in the Catalina Foothills and dreamed of desert living. We visited the Tucson Mineral and Gem World and hauled away a lot of cool stones-plus visited with the T Rex outside the shop. But the real gem I had wanted to see was the Saguaro National Park because the desert was in full bloom! Hummingbirds everywhere, radiant red and yellow flowers blooming on the cactus plants..it was a feast for the eyes. While it's a small park, this was a real treat for me to indulge in, and grateful my kids tolerated an extra couple of days to visit.

Once we left Tucson, it hit me just how far we were from home. So, we headed out early on our last morning in Arizona for the grandest desert of them all-Death Valley National Park. This is an absolutely HUGE park. It took a long time to get into the The Ranch at Death Valley where we would spend a night at. For the cost of the room, I was not impressed with the quality. I do realize a) California is expensive, and b) we were hundreds of miles from anywhere. We did get time at Badwater Basin, which was surreal. The drive took a lot out of us, and we ended up resting more than sightseeing in the park unfortunately. 

The last day we decided to just get home. That was 15 hours of driving! We left early enough to watch the sunrise, and got home close to midnight. In hindsight, I would have left off Death Valley to save for another time and spent more time in northern Arizona. It is truly one of my favorite places to be in all of the U.S. 

Desert Rainbow, somewhere in Arizona

 The short dark days of winter are helping me recall my days of living in Arizona (21 years ago!). While living in Phoenix wasn't my favorite place, the sunsets were amazing. Outside of the metro area, into the mountains is where the stark beauty really lies. Continuing with my admiration of cactus plants, this is a watercolor of what I would think the Santa Catalina mountain near Tucson would look like. Saguara National Park is on my list of National Parks to visit some day, and I also imagine the scenery to be similar. Painted on paper in watercolor.

Cactus series - Gouache on paper

 November in the Pacific Northwest means gray skies, golden leaves and mud. After the September wildfires, I'm certainly not complaining! Just a few years ago, the fall was my favorite season. As I've gotten older however, I have a lot more appreciation for the sun-especially after vacationing in Hawai'i twice in one year. 

In 1999, I moved to Phoenix,Arizona with my young daughter to find a new change in scenery. Back then, I had also longed for sunnier winters and that motivated the move. We lasted just over a year as I discovered how much I missed the trees and green in Oregon after visiting Flagstaff in northern Arizona. We came home with one more family member-my 2 month old son!

These cool damp days have me thinking about Arizona lately, so I browsed through some cactus photos to paint. Losing the moment in these paintings as I day dream about the desert was a brief respite from the rain. These are two small painting in gouache on paper.

Americana series-9 mini snapshots of the USA

Working at an art supply distributor has its perks. I was able to score these 4 x 4 mini canvases as a discontinued deal for next to nothing, and I turned them into something! America is a diverse landscape that I have great appreciation for. I doubt just these nine paintings capture all of them, but here are my viewpoints of the landscapes of America. Notice I did not do a big city as these represent escapes to the beautiful American countryside. All of these painted with acrylics.

Starting from top left:

• The covered bridge can be found many places, especially in rural America.
• This is obviously O'ahu, but it is definitely an escape!
• The southwestern desert has amazing saguaro cactus.
• Lighthouses also can be found in many areas of America, including the Great Lakes.
• Route 66 is the all American road.
• The high desert regions of Native Americans is very sacred.
• The mountains and lakes of the western USA hold a special place in my heart.
• The Great Plains is our bread basket, usually not a destination but just as important to America.
• The beach, which also can be the ocean, lakes or rivers that Americans escape to for recreation.
  

Memories Journal #7

In 1999, I moved to Arizona thinking there would be a better life for me in the desert. I thought I would be tan all of the time, and never cold. Well, I stayed very pale and cold because being outside in 110 degrees was terrible. The air conditioning was constantly running, which is why I stayed cold. However, northern Arizona is absolutely stunning. I loved the red rock, the high altitude and cooler temperatures. A year after moving to Arizona, I moved back to Oregon as I was not cut out for all of that sunshine.

Traveling vicariously by Art Journal

Even though I am such a homebody, I fantasize about traveling to places that are majestic and stunning. This is another art journal by Pentalic that I am filling up with places on eARTh that capture my attention and longing to experience that nature. This is a long work in process, but here are the first 9. Number 1 (Kirkjufell, Iceland) I am hoping to see in person next month. 

Kirjufell, Iceland. Hope to see this mountain in March 2017!

Canterbury Plains, New Zealand

Southern France

Arizona-I have seen these cacti up close, and they are amazing

Redwood Forest, California. Mind blowing to see these gigantic trees in real life

Colonial Del Sacremento, Uruguay

Crater Lake, Oregon. This is an incredible sight in person, never get tired of see this work of nature

Sagano bamboo forest, Kyoto Japan

Cliffs of Moher, Ireland