Flagstaff or Bust

In early October Than and I drove to Flagstaff, AZ so he could attend a conference.We went through Durango on the way there and Moab on the way back. These are photos of Wolf Creek Pass in southern Colorado as you travel west towards Durango. The fall colors were spectacular, although these tiny photos hardly compare!

 

 This is a photo of the Southern Ute Museum, a new museum to the southeast of Durango. Built by the Southern Utes (and opened Spring 2011), this museum is an amazing testament to the ability of First Nation peoples to care for their own artifacts. Designed to look like an eagle opening its wings to the sun, the museum building includes a giant exhibit area, a state-of-the-art collections management facility, and a workshop area where community members can learn the Ute language. Some of the objects on display were loaned by community members and out-of-state museums and schools while others were repatriated from the Smithsonian. It is a bit of a drive to get to, but if you have the time I highly recommend visiting this museum. 

This statue is completely unrelated to Southern Utes...it is a giant Kachina doll we found in Sedona, AZ. I really wanted to take it home and put it in our yard, but after poking around the art store we realized its approximate price was $60,000. I decided I could live with just a photo of the statue instead...

 

Sedona was very beautiful and we tried several times to photograph the landscape, but that is one thing iPhones are definitely NOT good for. The town was pretty touristy, but no worse than Crested Butte or Aspen. We would both like to take another trip to camp, hike, and bike in that area.

Enjoying a Moscow Mule at a wine bar in downtown Flagstaff. Technically the whole point of the drink is that it is served in a copper cup, which gives it a distinct flavor. This cup is only copper plated on the outside, which kind of defeats the purpose!