Simply Belle

On Halloween’s day, my husband and I decided to abandon the tricker treaters, left the house in total darkness, and headed up to the place called Monument Valley, located just south of Utah border and Arizona, near the four corners area, where Utah, Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico touch.

Monument Valley boasts of beautiful rock formations that were slowly revealed through erosion some 50 million years ago, producing one of the most majestic and photographed landscapes on earth. It’s where many motion pictures were filmed, like Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Once Upon a Time in the West, Marlboro commercials, to name a few.

We didn’t get to explore the valley because the tour cost a little too much, and we didn’t feel like spending our hard-earned money on pricey tour. Yes, there might have been more to see down the valley, but that can wait until later when we go back there again.

This time, I would like to share with you, my blogger friends and readers, the Monument Valley.

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The cheaper way costs $10.68 including tax, and

The expensive way cost $325 plus tax plus you get a free bracelet.

Get the drift?

My husband and I had been wanting to visit the Petrified Wood forest so we took advantage of the tail end of the warm weather to visit the place. There were only two entrances available to get to the place; the south side and the north side.  We entered the north entrance. The inspection lady at the entrance asked us if we had any petrified woods that we might have bought from somewhere prior to going in.  We said No! She reiterated that if we had them in our possession, she would like to put them in a brown bag and label them accordingly and hold them for us. Also, she gave us adequate warning not to pick up rocks, petrified woods, plants, or animals inside the territory.

Which got us to thinking.

We drove about 25 miles into the road, and saw tons of petrified wood scattered all over. Petrified wood is a wood that turns into rock through the process of petrification and it dates back millions years ago. If you look closely at the pictures, the original cell structure of the woods is retained; grain is very visible.  Petrified wood can be made into jewelry, and beautiful ornamental and decorative nicknacks and furniture like coffee table with prices ranging from $500 to $5,000.

In one instance, I had to make a little detour and walk closer to the wood to get close up pictures and to satisfy my curiosity if, indeed, the wood is as hard as rock by touching it with my bare hands. It was solid rock, alright, and very heavy. I was fascinated just thinking of the million of years it took for the woods to get petrified.

We saw rocks of all sizes. There were shattered logs here and there from the side of the road that one can easily get tempted to pick, and take them home for souvenirs.  And there were not a whole lot of people to deter one from picking one either. There were no barbed wires to stop people from walking close to the rocks. One can easily succumb to temptations at any given time.

The devil tried to persuade me, but the angel convinced me otherwise. All I took out were tons of pictures.

As we are nearing the exit gate, about 5 miles away, I saw a sign that said, “vehicle inspection ahead.” Had I picked one, I would have thrown it right away to the side of the road right there and then. I didn’t want to get caught with those rocks in my possession and go through all the humiliations, paying a harsh penalty, and maybe go into my record for federal offense.

We stopped at the gate, and expected to be searched rigorously by the guard. But, he just looked and smiled  at us, and said “have a good day!” Huh? How would they know we were not hiding something? That baffled me.

After we passed the gate, I asked my husband to stop at the gift shop, just so I could look at the gift items available for sale. I went in there with burning question in my mind as to why they didn’t search me. I posed that question to the sales lady at the gift shop. She said, “if you are not reported, they will not apprehend you.” “You mean, there are hidden people who are watching everybody in there?” I asked. “Yes, using all kinds of detectors and satellites, and what not”, the lady answered.  We were not informed about these surveillances. The visitors’ honesty was really tested, and in many cases greed wins out as the lady said that they nab gobs of people everyday. The government is finally running their affairs profitably, I must say…he he.

Phew! If you ever visit the Petrified Wood National Park, be aware of the costly consequences plus the humiliation, and the hand cuffing involved……even for a piece of little dark rock that is of no value.

By the way, I bought that piece of petrified wood that you see at the top of the page as souvenir. If someday, I acquire lapidary machines, I will have my husband carve it into jewelry.

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Two weeks ago, my husband, Lexi, and I went on a trip in a far-away corner of Arizona, about a day drive including bathroom and shopping stops. My husband had been wanting to see this mecca in the middle of high country of Arizona, kind of a wind-swift, treeless, nondescript countryside, with only occasional shrubs growing. I never heard or seen this before, unlike Grand Canyon which is famous worldwide.

We thought that it would help Lexi to get out of the house and get her mind occupied on something. We bought a tent for Lexi and I to sleep in while my husband had the car to himself. We brought everything we needed to get by comfortably including firewood.  We love sitting next to a fire, sipping a cup of tea and at the same time enjoying the dark surrounding with occasional uninvited visits from the bugs.

While I was preparing dinner, Lexi volunteered to assemble the tent, and my husband unloaded the truck. I was especially thrilled that Lexi offered to do a semi-challenging task of setting up a brand new tent given her condition. And she did amazingly well in no time with zero help.

Sleeping in a tent was quite comfortable with queen-sized air mattress spread over the tent floor and comfortable pillows, quilts and blankets to keep us warm. I was sleeping like a log until I heard this  squeaking noise from behind us at 3 AM.  It was my husband re-inflating his mattress because evidently it had a pinhole somewhere that deflated  the mattress slowly over the night.  I was pretty sure he wasn’t happy about it, but it was either get up and inflate the bed or sleep on the cold ridges of the truck floor in the wee hours of a very cold morning. What would you rather do?

Got up at 7:30 AM and shortly thereafter, we drove 12 miles to see Canyon De Chelly. Lexi didn’t want to wake up that early no matter how hard I tried to get her to come with us. We had no choice but to leave her in the tent with a promise to be back in 2 hours, instead of waiting for her to get up for who knows how long and by then it would be scorching hot in the canyon. It was so beautiful up there, so many interesting things to focus my camera that we lost touch of time, and before we knew it, the clock said 12:30 PM….oooopssss!!

Lexi was fuming mad and made us drive her up there again taking the south side route as we already covered the north side. It took a while before her anger subsided.

Canyon De Chelly is totally a wondrous place. I was mesmerized by its pure natural beauty. Nearly 5,000 years ago, Navajo Indians lived here.  It was such a beautiful place filled with spectacular rock formations, and green luscious trees in between canyons. So beautiful that I rank it second behind Grand Canyon. Sadly though when the Canyon was established as a monument in 1931, people had to be relocated in the higher elevation though some still own a farm where they grow apples, peaches, and corn. In fact, I had a chance to talk to one of the Navajos (picture below) who used to live down there and I could tell how proud she was of the place she called home many years ago.  She now sells affordable home-made jewelry made out of juniper seeds, and some stones.

Although, the Canyon is under the jurisdiction of the US government, it belongs to the Navajo people who I considered the most industrious, artistic, and skillful, of all the indians in the USA.

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Once in a great while, when our medicine cabinet is low on supply, my husband and I go for a long drive to Mexico. I happened to have long weekend this week at work so that gave us time to do some sightseeing on the side, as well. A drive to Mexico usually takes 6 hours including bathroom, rest, and lunch stops.

I was hesitant on taking the car across the border for fear that it might take us forever to get back as experienced in the past. Parking spaces in the US side were nowhere to be found, last Friday afternoon. But, before we knew it, we were suddenly on the Mexico side in our car. “Bahala na” (come what may), I mumbled. We didn’t need to ask for direction because we had been there before. I didn’t even have to speak Spanish because the salespersons had no trouble understanding English and sign language. Transaction went swift.

Then I proceeded to the next store that was totally new to me, to buy cosmetic stuff for my friends. I had no choice but ask for direction this time from some random guy on the street. I spoke to him in spanish and he replied in English. (Whoah, I could have saved those few spanish words for later…hehe.) I remember what my spanish teacher told us in our spanish class that Mexican are not the best people to ask for direction. I couldn’t make sense with his direction. Instead, we drove around in circles, read every name on the building, and finally spotted the place.

The nearest parking spot to the building required us to make a U turn on an L-shape road with a yellow solid line, and so we did just that. While my husband was backing up on a corner for a U-turn, we saw a police car approaching from opposite direction. For some reason, I always get bad vibes every time I see a police car. I didn’t like it at all. If I were the driver, I would have just dismissed the the idea of a U-turn, continue driving and make a turn somewhere that is safe. But, it was my husband driving, so…

While my husband was doing the parallel parking, the police car stopped parallel to the car behind us. Then the lights from the police vehicle started flashing. I knew from that moment that we did something wrong. As I got out of the car, two policemen with hands near their guns approached my husband. He spoke in straight Spanish as if my husband knew what he was saying. He then asked us if we spoke the language. We chorused, NO! From my little Spanish knowledge, he was saying that we were not supposed to make a U-turn on a curve (especially with a police car nearby) but there was no sign that said we couldn’t. My husband backed into a curve to avail of the nearest parking space right across the road oblivious of his surroundings. He wanted to get the job done and get out of there as fast as possible.

Due to the language barrier, however, the police officers weren’t getting anywhere with us. What, huh, were the few words we uttered back. After a while, out of frustration, I supposed, he had to let us go. Whoah, that was a close call.

Sometimes, it is best not to say a word when in some foreign country.

Beautiful cloud like this makes a good subject for photography, don’t you think?

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Not bad for a picture taken from inside the plane through a window pane.

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Hello everyone, I am back acclimatizing from a trip to the Philippines. Had a great time despite of the typhoon that hit the Philippines while vacationing. Earlier forecast said that it would hit Catanduanes by early morning of June 21st and we were staying in a hut just 15 meters away from the water. For some reasons, even if it was signal #3 already, I wasn’t scared and didn’t even think of leaving the area. People were typhoon proofing their houses already while I didn’t seem to feel the urgency to vacate the area. Fortunately, the typhoon suddenly changed its path and spared our place once again - hallelujah! Thanks Elaine, Pat, and Patty (my SIL) for the thought and concern. I appreciate it so much.

Anyway, the pictures above are of the boat named after me. My husband wanted the other end of the boat squared off so he could utilize his outboard motor that he shipped from the US two years ago so he doesn’t have to inhale the fumes if a regular diesel-in-board motor is used. Big mistake! When he tested the boat for a ride, water started splashing up from the stern and eventually got inside the boat. Which means the boat is not safe to take to the rough water but perfectly fine for a pleasure ride in a steady water around the bay. That is how good Bella is for now- just for rowing in the shallow water of the lagoon. That proves that I am indeed chicken in the water.

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While browsing my old pictures tonight, I chanced upon this picture taken 10 years ago in Hawaii. I looked so much like native here, more like Tahitian with long curly black hair and brown complexion, don’t you think?

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Two days before our trip, the forecast wasn’t that good. It said it was going to rain all day for two days in a row. I was having second thoughts about going, but my husband believed that the weather in where we were going is usually sunny when it is raining in our area. So, off we went.

It was unusually foggy the day we left. Rain started pouring when we were about halfway through our destination. There were pools of water on the road. My husband considered turning around, but we thought it was too much driving to do in one day to go all the way back. So, we just continued on and decided to get a hotel and a good Mexican seafood dinner.

It took us a while to pick out the best room in the hotel we stayed in. I wanted a good view of Sea Cortez, so the hotel attendant gave us the room facing the bay. But, when we opened the room, there was water all over the floor that entered under the door due to the storm. So, I went down and asked for another room, and it was just as bad. We then opted to get a room away from the bay, and this time, it was nice and dry. Hey, that is Mexico, by the way.

We then grabbed a bite to eat. It took us a while to find a good restaurant. It was so dark and rainy that it was hard to see where we were going. One guy was going the wrong direction in a one-way lane. We were trying to gauge the restaurant by how busy they were inside, but since the weather was bad, most restaurants were empty. We saw this one restaurant, which was adorned with Christmas lights and had several cars parked outside. We decided to take it as we were getting hungry. I was craving for authentic Mexican food but the menu looked gringorized with french fries and boiled carrots on the side although the serving was generous. I ordered fresh fish pouched in its own juice, flavored with tomatoes and onions, while my husband went for the huge shrimps that the place is famous for. It was good but a bit pricey. We paid $16 per order.

These pictures were taken the next day when the weather improved but with gale force winds. It wasn’t easy taking these as the wind practically knocked us off from the balcony, but still, we managed to get some decent shots.

Can you see the Pelicans going against the wind? I thought it was weird.

The storm created pools of water everywhere.

This is the fish market where I bought fresh jumbo shrimps, scallops, chicken fish, and asparagus.

An orange house/structure that stuck out like a sore thumb in the middle of the desert.

I had to brave strong wind to take this picture.

Rocky Point Fishing Wharf

Fishing boat

After we finished taking the above pictures, we packed our bags and headed home as there was not much we could do with the prevailing weather condition.

It surely feels good to be home.

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A week ago, we had an excursion at Walnut Canyon with my daughters. It was our first ever visit here. The Walnut Canyon is located about 10 miles southeast of Flagstaff. The canyon rim is at 6,690 feet; the canyon floor at 350 ft lower. A 0.9 mile long loop trail descends quite a ways down into the canyon passing the cliff dwellings.

The exposed canyon rocks have eroded over time creating shallow caves. During the 12th or 13th centuries, the Sinagua Indians spotted this area, constructed cliff dwellings, and lived here for several centuries.

Because of the presence of water, this place was rich in flora and fauna- perfect place for farming community. Though, now, the walnut creek as you can see in the picture is dry because it is held back in Lake Mary which provides water for the city of Flagstaff. The creek rarely ever flows anymore except when it rains hard.

Can you see those shallow caves along the cliffs? The Sinagua people built a single-story cliff dwellings there from about 12th century AD.

Cliff dwellings up close.

No excavation was needed to build this shelter as nature provided the back wall, floor, and leak-proof ceiling. All the builders did was simply laid up the unshaped blocks of limestones for side walls, enclosed the front, leaving a teeny weeny doorway to the canyon. (I presume that Sinagua people were as small as me or even smaller judging from the size of the door.)

Overhanging ledges protected their rooms from snow and rain, and shaded them during hot summer days. Thick walls of stone and mud insulated their dwellings from harsh winter weather and retained the much needed heat in the cold winter days.

Not much left in this dwelling after such a long time or someone could have ruined this on purpose long time ago, looking for artifacts. Now, visitors are only allowed to take pictures.

This is how the rocks look like before walls are erected.

In response to Annamanila’s question as to why it’s called Walnut Canyon, I added this photo.

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my husband said that this shack is so ugly that it is almost pretty. oh by the way, that shack was mine but was recently renovated.

how can the guy sleep on the top and not fall off?

it is just me posing for my husband.

poor but happy and not a trace of fat in their body.

the prolific fishing village in Baras, Catanduanes.

a typical probinsiyana little girl in Catanduanes. i promised to send this picture to her by mail but i thought i would personally hand a framed 4 by 6 picture to her when i take my vacation again. she should be tickled pink.

beautiful rice terraces in San Miguel, Baras, Catanduanes where the little girl above resides.

Dororian falls located in Dororian, Gigmoto, Catanduanes.

my SIL carried me piggy back to the other side to avail of the spring water. i was trying to keep my upper body dry because i had a cold but i fell off anyway and got all wet, geeeessssh!

Virac market.

Mother and son relaxing on the beach ( my SIL and nephew)

wouldn’t it be nice if someone is kind enough to help this smart cute little girl out of poverty by supporting her through school?

if only her eyes are open, this photo would have been worth framing too.

Beautiful Puraran beach.

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