The healing power of Heal and a long journey home through the mountains

On Easter Monday, I was up early to enjoy the sun rising over Thunderbird Lodge. After my epic horse ride on Sunday, I was expecting to be sore, but I had applied Heal (http://www.healgel.com) to the tender areas, and wasn't daunted by the thought of sitting for the 413 mile journey back to Tucson ! Heal has been developed by a group of UK plastic surgeons to soothe, help in repair and work against scarring. It has been so successful that they have packaged it up and you can buy a small jar over the Internet, where I see a picture of Thandie Newton swearing by its anti-wrinkle properties! I don't use it for this, honest, but I have a jar by for this and for that (it soothes mild sunburn very effectively for example) and you use very little at a time: it's good useful stuff. Get some.

We were on the road before 8.30 MST, and soon speeding down the I 191 towards Ganado and the old Hubbell trading post. As before I was struck by the wide open spaces, the lack of human habitation. There were wild horses, and at one point, in the slanting early sun, I saw three Coyotes standing by the road. Chidi saw a prairie dog. We stopped briefly at the Hubell trading post - old Hubbell traded with the Navajos back in the 19th century and the old buildings remain in use as a sort of up market souvenir and sweet store, lovingly preserved. Then on and on, sticking to the I 191 all the way until you hit the I 10, mostly driving over empty countryside. Once we left Navajo country, we were driving down the Eastern edge of the Apache reservation with New Mexico not too far away. This was all beautful pine clad mountains, with swathes of snow here and there. James said "up state New York", Kate said "Oregon", but this was hot dry Arizona! The village named Alpine says it all. We continued up and up over the White Mountains and through extensive National Forest; at one point we travelled for over 60 miles of switchbacks with wild forest and mountains on every side, and saw only two other cars the whole way. We stopped for lunch at Hannagan Meadow, where there was a deserted guest house: the proprietor, rustled up from the back of the property, made us chilly dogs (which were actually dreadful in retrospect, but we were very hungry). While the girls played in the snow we sat sunning ourselves on his balcony enjoying the utter peace and beauty. From Hannagan Meadow it's about 5 hours to Tucson because of the mountain roads all the way through to Morenci, where the beauty ends with a terrible judder as you drive past this huge gash in the earth where they mine for copper and assorted other minerals.

Stopping to get a couple of packs of beer and some Tequila for Margaritas, we were in Chidi an Kate's house before 7:00 pm Tucson time. Today the resident family has all departed for school, I am doing laundry, and planning on a quiet day!