On Saturday 18th April, We managed to get our convoy of two cars ready and off by about 8:30 or so. My hired Chrysler Cruiser contained me, James, Oksy and Chidi, our luggage, a small cooler box filled with beer, water and some little packs of apple juice, while the other hire car, now on its way to be returned to Show Low, contained Kate, Paulita, and the two girls. This time we didn't miss the road to Globe and made smart time on the first leg, so smart that Kate who was leading, decided not to stop there as planned, but to press on for Show Low, another 80 miles over the Apache reservation and the salt River Canyon, the site of our car trouble the previous week. I had planned to fill up my car at Globe, and it was slightly against my better judgement that we decided to follow our leader. We had a glorious drive over Salt River Canyon with a stop for views and leg stretches half way. Then, suddenly my fuel indicator light went on, 40 miles away from Show Low: we got nervous, and so I overtook Kate, and took the lead, thanking my stars that from the top of the canyon, it's almost all down hill to Show Low! Then like a miracle, we rounded a bend and there in the middle of nowhere was a Chevron Petrol Station. Joy of joys. After this, we carried on swiftly to Pine Tops, collected the now repaired Avalon, dropped the previous week's hire car at Hatch Toyota, and then took off across dusty unpaved roads to the Rock Art Ranch. Rock Art Ranch is quite remote - 13 miles or so of unpaved roads away from both Holbrook and Winslow AZ. It is a 60,000 acre working ranch (complete with both cattle and buffalo) owned by Brantley Baird, whose family acquired the ranch in the 1930's. The ranch was originally part of the Hashknife Gang Spread and you can see the last remaining bunkhouse beside the museum of cowboy memorabilia and amazing collection of old Native American pottery he has found during his rides around the ranch over the years. Brantley Baird has opened up his ranch to visitors, but strictly by appointment - and it's just as well as you need his directions to find it! The main thing we came to see on the recommendation of Vaughn (from Bluff) was his hidden private canyon covered in one of best stands of Anasazi petroglyphs in the world probably. This is an idyllic little wooded canyon, with a stream of green water that never dries up, wild roses, vines and walnut trees - our ramble up and down the canyon in the late afternoon sunshine gazing at rock art, was one of the special moments of our lives. Zaria and Freya caught a little frog, looked for arrow heads, and scrambled over the stones that lead you across the stream. As there was still an hour or so to sunset, Brantley then led us in our cars, over to his ranch, several miles away, to see the museum, and to show us the remains of an old Indian campsite with a sweat lodge, a stone corral and several stone and mud buildings. As you drive over the ranch property, you look out over the wide rolling ranch-lands and you can see the San Francisco Peaks, some of the buttes of the Navajo Reservation, and the colours (pinks and ochres) of the Painted Desert. It's ravishingly beautiful. Brantley himself is a real old time cowboy, generous and gracious to a fault. Dang me if he didn't win my heart the minute he called my grand daughters "purdy lil girls".
Now it was getting dark, and we drove carefully out of this magic place to the little town of Winslow, a famous stopping point on Route 66. We reserved a table at La Posada - a celebrated eating place (and hotel but it was booked up and we couldn't get in), and then set off to look for motel rooms. This was not at easy task - we checked several places before getting the very last three rooms available at Motel 6, plain and adequate. If you visit Winslow at a weekend, book ahead - it seems to be extremely popular! The meal at La Posada was really wonderful, and we enjoyed every bite and every moment. Chidi and Kate insisted on paying because Tom had instructed them to take me and Oksy out to dinner "on him". It was a really lovely "last night together".
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