Legacy Sailing
 Photo Gallery 14  
Spring 2004
Phoenix, AZ to Juneau, AK
Driving from Phoenix to Juneau gave us the opportunity to stop and enjoy the parks of the southwest.  We wanted to stop and see some of the puebloan sites off the beaten track.  We headed first to Homolovi Ruins State Park near Winslow, Arizona.  Then on Petrified Forest NP and Canyon De Chelly NM, Chaco Culture NHP, and Aztec Ruins NM.  We got a real fill of ruins in the desert.  We picked up speed then and headed for the Northwest.  When we hit Seattle we traded in our poor overloaded Subaru on a used VW Eurovan for grater comfort and carrying capacity.  Up into Canada and on to Prince Rupert where we caught the Alaska Marine Highway north to Juneau.  Once in Juneau we visited friends and Heather judged her first APDT Rally Obedience trial.

Photos Archived:  The high resolution photos originally linked to the thumbnails on this page have been archived to save space on our webserver.  If you wish to view the full size version of any of these images please email us with a request.
Kira enjoyed the pool at Christina and Bob's home in Chandler, AZ. An afternoon storm sweeps across the plains near Winslow, AZ at Homolovi Ruins State Park.
Homolovi has a trail which winds among rocks heavily covered with petroglyphs like these man figures. Rather than locking up the pot shards at Homolovi, visitors are encouraged to set them aside like this group.
The fossilized logs at Petrified Forest National Park are often beautifully colored by minerals. Chris poses by one of the larger fossil logs.  This one includes the base of the log.  Since these fossils are of downed logs piled up by rivers, should the park be "Petrified Logjam NP"?
Views from the top of Blue Mesa include close features, and really show off the big sky of this country. Views of Canyon del Muertos at Canyon De Chelly NM from the north rim overlooks give a real sense of the meandering nature of the canyons.
The floor of the canyons are heavily farmed by the Navajo residents.  This view looks at the end of Navajo Fortress, an isolated mesa used as a refuge. The overlooks in Canyon De Chelly Nat. Mon. are perched right at the edge of the sheer cliffs.  Not a place for the acrophobic.  Heather on the north rim drive.
The south rim drive follows Canyon De Chelly which is wider than Canyon del Muertos. A couple of the overlooks have these clever viewfinders that help you find the small, hard to find ruins.
Spider Rock is the tallest free standing monolith in the world.  In Navajo myths it is the home of spider woman who gave weaving to the people. Visitors are only allowed to visit the floor of the canyons with guides, except via White House Trail.  Here we look down about 450 feet onto the trail below the cliff face.
As we started down the trail we enjoyed the beautiful patterns in the De Chelly sandstone of the cliffs. The trail was obviously made in the "golden age" of trail building since the switchbacks are cut back into the sandstone cliff face.  No guard rails here!
Water eroding the De Chelly sandstone makes complex and beautiful shapes and patterns. Many of the Navajo people value their privacy.  This incredibly photogenic house and sheep herd at the bottom of the canyon are off limits to shutterbugs.
The White House ruins are split between the floor of the canyon and an alcove above.  Petroglyphs are common, like the one in the middle of this image. The bottom of the canyon is a floodplain, and is remarkably level and smooth.  Here Chris walks along the base of the cliffs rising 600 feet straight up to the rim.
In two places the trail passes through tunnels that bypass difficult spots.  This one near the bottom is long enough so you can't see both ends at the same time. The combination of desert varnish and the texture of the cliffs can lead to beautiful colors like this bronze coloration along the trail.
Approaching Taos from the south there is a spectacular view of the Rio Grande valley. The spectacular bridge over the Rio Grande canyon west of Taos.  The column are 8 stories high, the canyon more.
The tenting area at Chaco is at the base of the cliffs amidst giant fallen boulders. At the back of the campground is an alcove containing ruins. 
Looking out from the campground ruins the evening light falls on the east walls of Chaco Mesa. From the petroglyphs above Una Vida ruins one can see the ruins, visitor center and Fajada Butte.
This petroglyph seems to be of some weird turkey like bird...or perhaps a moa?? Rather than ugly "Do Not Enter" signs, the ruins in Chaco use these pictographs to bar entry to forbidden areas.
Pueblo Bonito is the most famous of the Chaco ruins. It was excavated in the 1920s by National Geographic and partly reconstructed, walls are buttressed and supported in a variety of ways. Heather and the girls pose on the rim of the canyon with Fajada Butte in the background. The butte is the site of the famous petroglyphs that predict the solstices with great accuracy.
The ruins at Aztec Ruins NM are unique in the amount of access allowed to the reconstructed interior of the buildings. Great for getting a feel for what life in the pueblo might have been like. A series of doors in the Aztec ruins leads into the interior of the building.
In Arches NP the attraction is the weird rock formations.  Here is a horizon silhouette of the Window Arches. The eroding sandstone takes on wonderful shapes like these hoodoos in the Garden of Eden.
Of course the arches are the main attraction.  Here is Double Arch, the highest of the arches. Delicate Arch perches at the edge of a high cliff falling away to a canyon.  It appears on the Utah license plate.
Our new VW Eurovan makes life on the road roomier and more comfortable for all of us.  The weather was beautiful as the ferry headed up Clarence Strait north of Ketchikan. 
Chris works on web updates and our Powerpoint presentation for the Yacht Club on the ferry Kennicott. The Wrangel ferry terminal is directly adjacent to downtown.
One of the Wrangel ferry dock crew tosses  a light messenger line to the deck crew. With a recommendation like this one it is a wonder that this B&B isn't packed all the time!
Martina, Glenn Miller's daughter visits with Kira at a Juneau barbeque. No trip to Juneau is complete without a walk out to the Mendenhall Glacier.  Heather, Lisa, Travis, and the dogs walk the beach at the base of the falls.
For Kira no walk in the woods would be complete without a bit of bear poop to roll in.  She got a quick trip to the car wash as a result!  (Low pressure only, no wax.) The Juneau Rally Obedience trial was Heather's first judging experience.  Here she poses with Chicory, Apollo, Jill, and Mac after awarding qualifying ribbons.
 
Updated 11/14/2006