Tadpoles

We have about a million tadpoles in our pond. There are tiny ones and big ones and in-between-ish ones. The biggest ones have bodies about the size of a dime and are already growing back legs. The little ones are about the size of ladybugs, with little wiggly tails.

I can’t wait for them to turn into grownup frogs and toads so they can sing me songs at night.

Emily

Paws up!

Ron and I were exhausted this afternoon, so we decided to take a nap after lunch. One of Ron’s main arguments against getting a cat was that he didn’t want to wake up every morning with a cat sleeping on his head, so I decided to use naptime as a “teachable moment” for Walter. I brought in a water pistol and kept it close at hand so I could enforce my tough new “no cats on the bed” rule if Walter tried to sleep with us.

No sooner had I settled in than Walter came toddling into the room … at which point Ron reached down, scooped him up, and put him on the bed with us.

Walter, of course, settled right in and made himself comfortable:

As they say on Cute Overload: Paws up!

Emily

Bottle Tree Forest

A forest of slender trees with strange, translucent leaves rises from the desert next to Route 66 in Oro Grande, Calif.:

The Bottle Tree Forest — which evokes memories of the late, great Hulaville — is the handiwork of Elmer Long, who spends most of his time expanding his recycled orchard of trees crafted from found objects; hunting for new specimens to display; and visiting with the tourists who come from around the world to photograph his creations.

Every now and then, visitors contribute to the display: A friend found the roadrunner-shaped piece of driftwood above and decided Long’s forest would make an ideal habitat for it.

The forest’s many branches provide a welcome perch for real birds, too, as the sparrow in the above photo discovered.

As with most magical places on 66, I can’t really explain the Bottle Tree Forest. I can only show you pictures — which can’t begin to do justice to the weird beauty of vibrant sunlight filtering through colored glass at every turn — and suggest that you put it on your list of future vacation destinations, because it’s a truly spectacular variation on your usual garden-variety dementia concretia, and its creator is one of those gloriously eccentric visionaries without whom Route 66 would be just another American highway.

Emily

Wild man

Walter was a very busy kitten this evening….

Emily

Cutest. Thing. Ever.

This will be the best eight seconds of your day. I promise.

(Hat tip to Cute Overload.)

Emily

The bright and terrible desert

“There’s California just over the river, and a pretty town to start it. Needles, on the river.”

– John Steinbeck

Top: 66 Motel, Needles, Calif. Above: El Garces Hotel, “Crown Jewel of the Desert,” Needles.

The Palms Apartments, Needles.

“But the river is a stranger in this place. Up from Needles and over a burned range, and there’s the desert. And 66 goes on over the terrible desert, where the distance shimmers and the black center mountains hang unbearably in the distance.”

– John Steinbeck

(Much more below the fold — please click over.)

Western Arizona photos

Here are a few photos of people and places on Route 66 in Arizona from Seligman to Oatman:

Chatting with the “Guardian Angel of Route 66,” Angel Delgadillo, at his barbershop/gift shop in Seligman.

Our evening’s lodging while we were in Seligman.

The usual shenanigans at the Snow Cap. The fake-squirting-mustard bottle is one of several long-running gags at the walk-up restaurant, built in 1953 by Angel Delgadillo’s brother, the late Juan Delgadillo. Juan’s descendants are carrying on the traditions, much to the delight — and occasionally befuddlement — of the tourists who come from around the world to visit.

Sign in the window at the Snow Cap.

Another lodging option in Seligman with a lovely neon sign. Both the Supai and the Historic Route 66 Motel get high marks from the National Historic Route 66 Federation’s Dining and Lodging Guide, which I highly recommend if you’re planning a trip on 66.

This neon cross, seen on a church a few blocks off 66 in Seligman, was an unexpected treat — and a nice addition to my ever-expanding collection of photos of neon church signs.

This dinosaur stands outside Grand Canyon Caverns near Peach Springs, Ariz. According to our guide, some scientists, trying to figure out how far the caverns extended, lit red smoke flares. Two weeks later, the smoke was seen emerging from a vent 60 miles away in the Grand Canyon — hence the name “Grand Canyon Caverns.” The dinosaur is a holdover from the days when the place was called “Dinosaur Caverns,” despite the fact that no dinosaur bones had been found anywhere near the cave. This photo was sort of an attempt to recreate a picture my dad took of me standing under a concrete dinosaur in St. Louis when I was about 4. If I ever get around to cleaning out the garage, I’ll dig that photo out and scan it.

View from below the dinosaur.

Dust devil seen on Route 66 east of Kingman.

The resurrected Cool Springs Camp. The building burned in the 1960s, and its remnants were blown up in 1991 as part of the filming of the movie Universal Soldier, leaving only a pair of stone pillars and the foundation behind. Chicagoan Ned Leuchtner bought the property in 2001 and began restoring it to its original appearance. It now houses a gift shop.

As you pass Cool Springs and head up the long, winding, and sometimes treacherous stretch of 66 leading into the old gold mining town of Oatman, you will see Thimble Mountain in the distance. I shot the first image out the window as Ron was driving. I shot the second from the steps leading to Shaffer Fish Bowl Spring. Other travelers coming down the steps reported that there were no fish in the bowl on this particular day, so I didn’t bother climbing all the way up, as I was eager to get into Oatman to see …

… the famous Oatman burros. Descendants of burros released into the mountains around Oatman when a nearby gold mine no longer needed their services, these “wild” animals have become professional panhandlers. They come into town during the day and bum carrots off the tourists; at night, they go back up into the mountains to sleep.

I’ll post California photos tomorrow.

Emily

By popular demand …

… Walter the kitten chases a laser dot.

He loves stalking the light from that laser pointer. I’m not sure he loves it as much as he loves clawing his way up my pantleg to demand attention, but he definitely enjoys it.

Emily

Such a fine sight to see

Here are a few images from Route 66 in eastern Arizona:

This bridge across Querino Canyon near Houck dates to 1930. My hat, which folds up for easy packing, was a souvenir from the Continental Divide gift shop.

We drove through the Painted Desert — an excursion that also included a walk on the Blue Mesa trail. Beautiful trail, but the steep switchbacks at the beginning could benefit from some guardrails….

Earl’s Motor Court offers travelers the chance to “Sleep on the Corner in Winslow, Arizona.” The bed wasn’t terribly comfortable, but the shower was wonderful.

The residents of Grand Canyon Deer Farm, a Route 66 petting zoo between Parks and Williams, were enthusiastic about the prospect of a free meal.

I’ll post more Arizona images tomorrow. I’m off to get an ice shaver so I can make treats with a young friend tomorrow evening. If I can figure out a good way to set it up on the front porch, we’ll make ourselves popular with all the neighborhood kids. I think there’s an extension cord under my desk.

KITTEN UPDATE: Walter thinks my bead curtain is the greatest cat toy ever. He entertains himself — and us — with it constantly. Funny little guy.

Emily

Route 66 in New Mexico

A few shots from the New Mexico part of our Route 66 trip:

An old friend: The Blue Swallow Motel on Route 66 in Tucumcari, N.M.

One of the roses in the extensive gardens at El Rey Inn, Santa Fe, N.M. This was the first time in several years that we’d had a chance to do the Santa Fe Loop, which was bypassed in the 1930s.

Not a great shot (I hate using the internal strobe on my Rebel), but I wanted to remember the painting around the door frame. I think it would be cool to do something similar at our house.

I’m not sure why, but I always look forward to passing through Bluewater and seeing this sign.

Ghosts of a long-gone era.

El Rancho Hotel in Gallup: Home of the stars, featuring the “Charm of Yesterday … Convenience of Tomorrow.” We stopped here on the way back to Tulsa. It’s a great old hotel.

Speaking of stars and bygone eras, I am thinking about getting a shag haircut just to protest the fact that Farrah Fawcett’s passing has been largely overlooked amid the media circus surrounding Michael Jackson’s Elvisian departure. I don’t mean to take anything away from the King of Pop, but answer me this: Was he ever one of Charlie’s Angels?

I rest my case.

Emily

P.S.: Ron has named the kitten “Walter,” as in Payton. I think that may be the best cat name I’ve ever heard.