Thursday, May 22
We started at mile marker 45 today, with marker 60 as our goal. It was cold and cloudy this morning, with possibilities of rain and snow. We started walking and it didn't look good.
We were followed by a horse for about a quarter of a mile. He, or she, was fenced in and couldn't get out, but it was obvious the horse was well taken care of and was not afraid of humans. On we walked and it was getting darker and darker. Then the rain came, only it wasn't rain, it was snow. Lots of it and the wind was whipping it all around. It quickly covered the ground and John and I also. And as quickly as it started, it stopped. The sun came out and we thought we were going to have a pleasant day. About that time, Ruth came to rescue us. She said that it was snowing back at the RVs and she thought we might be in trouble. We declined her offer and kept on walking. Big mistake, for the wind picked up again and here came the rain/snow again. This time we had stopped at a general store and took shelter behind a bear totem pole. The store was closed. The wind let up some, so we started walking again. Big mistake #2. This time we couldn't tell if it was raining, snowing or sleeting. It was actually doing all the above. Carol came by this time and we accepted her rescue offer. We went back to the RVs, me to rest and for John to take a nap. Carol returned us to where she picked us off. Just 2 miles to Pie Town and the RVs,
It started snowing again and by the time we got back to the RVs, we were covered in snow. This time, we ate lunch. Remember, the elevation here is 6,879 ft. and weather conditions can change in a hurry, and they do. Not having much sense, we started out again, passed through Pie Town, crossed the Continental Divide and kept walking. The wind picked up again and this time we hid in a culvert. We didn't get wet, but it sure was windy. Just as we crawled out of the culvert, Carol came by to rescue us again. She said it was snowing fiercely back at the RV park. We declined her offer and kept on walking. Carol came back for us at marker 62 and picked us up. We had passed the 700 mile mark and had walked 17 miles today. Not bad considering today was by far the worst weather we have encountered. Today I found a Michigan and an Alaska license plate. John actually found the Alaska plate and gave it to me. I don't think he wanted to carry it. Stay tuned .....
1 comment:
Glad to finally find you are doing well. Hope you have a large box for all your treasures, I'd like to see a pic of your collected findings so far. Michelle and I hope to walk a day with you when you get closer to home. Good job so far! The homeboys and homegirls are proud of you!
Patrick
P.S. Petroglyphs are carved, pecked, chipped or abraded into stone. The outer patina covered surface of the parent stone is removed to expose the usually lighter colored stone underneath. Some stone is better suited to petroglyph making than others. Stone that is very hard or contains a lot of quartz does not work well for petroglyph making; however, a nice desert varnished basalt usually works very well.
Pictographs are painted onto stone and are much more fragile than petroglyphs. The paint is a mineral or vegetal substance combined with some sort of binder like fat residue or blood. If the paint was not properly mixed with a binder it would not adhere well to the stone and the pictograph would quickly flake away. Pictographs were painted in locations where they would be protected from the elements: in caves, alcoves, under ledges and overhangs.
I can google with the best of em.
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