The Gathering of Nations: People at Their Best

My friend Robyn, who lives in Albuquerque, and I attended the Gathering of Nations, the largest powwow in North America.  There were reportedly over 3,000 dancers and musicians present.

The Grand Entrance

A powwow is a gathering of Native or First Nation people from one or multiple tribes to meet, dance, drum, sing, trade and celebrate.  This Gathering of Nations was attended by as many as 500 tribes from Florida to Alaska, including Canada. It is held annually in April in "The Pit," the athletic arena at University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.

 The young women's Fancy Shawl dance competition

The arena is huge and was filled to capacity with people of all ages, mostly in family groups, and mostly Native Americans. The great majority of them were involved in the festivities in some way. The bleachers were filled with families in all stages of dress for the dancing, with pieces of their regalia in suitcases, on hangers and a few in very special wooden boxes.  Some were putting on make-up of various sorts. Their actions reminded me a lot of the dance recitals I used to participate in as a child, or of a beauty pageant or a horse show, except for one major difference: the mood. 

Although this is a competition for many of the participants, I didn't sense any anxiety or nervousness. I didn't see young people with the jitters, trying to shake off their stage fright or nerves. I saw no parents yelling impatiently at their kids. I did sense good natured and contained excitement, but mostly I sensed and saw pride, joy, camaraderie, respect, appreciation, strength, confidence, and  bonds among friends and the broad extended family.  I'd say the mood reminded me of a huge family Thanksgiving: the kind of excitement that doesn't have to do with presents, but with company and tradition. 

Within the immense crowd there was honoring of individuals, such as the elder gentleman who led in the Grand Entrance, and the "head" man, woman, boy and girl dancers, last year's Miss Indian World and all the contestants for this year's honor.

The MC's made many comments about the youth of the community, commending them, encouraging them, appreciating their skills and the importance of their place. There were quite a few adolescents involved in the dancing and drumming.  Around the edges of the arena there were young men "strutting" their stuff in full costume, but with ball caps on their heads. I wish I had gotten a picture of that.

All in all, my overriding impression was of a massive number of people at their very best. There was no misbehavior, no rough-housing, no carousing, like there might be at a ballgame or maybe a rodeo. There were active roles for elders and children, and a place for young people to feel beautiful and proud. I felt safe, welcomed, but not particularly attended to. It was not about the tourists - it was about the community.

I thought I'd just close with a few more images of the people who surely must have been sharing their best as individuals in the company of their friends and family. 

Yá’át’ééh!

Blowing Glass in Santa Fe

Here in Santa Fe it's all about the arts. Galleries and museums seem to be on every corner, at least those corners where there isn't a restaurant or a government building. (Santa Fe is the capital of New Mexico so all it's administrative functions are housed here, in adobe buildings of course.)  Our new friend Kate, a fellow RVer staying next to us here at Santa Fe Skies RV Park, found a participatory art experience in town and we all joined in on the fun.

Ristra of blown glass chiles at Prairie Dog Glass

Kate, her husband John, Rick and I piled in our car and headed to Prairie Dog Glass for an active tutorial in glass blowing. The hour long class was $175 for all four of us. Each student gets to select a small glass design as a finished product to take home with them.  Prairie Dog Glass doesn't have a website, but it is located at the Jackalope Market, 2820 Cerrillos Rd. in Santa Fe. 

I'm going to try to explain the process and illustrate it with pictures of all four of us working on our glass pieces, so it may seem we were all working simultaneously. In reality, brave Kate went first and completed her piece, then we all followed one at a time. Our teacher Richard walked us through every step along the way.

The process starts by dipping the four foot hollow pipe into an oven filled with white-hot molten glass...

...and pulling a glob of it out on the end of the pipe.

The the glob is rolled on a metal table to smooth it out.

Smoothing the hot glass glob

Then you dip the hot glob into a dish of colored glass bits to add whatever color combination you choose.

John adding white to his Seattle Seahawks themed paperweight

My glass chile pepper gets a coating of red color

Rick remelting his glass

After adding the color crystals, the glob goes back in the fire to melt the color into the glass, softening it again in preparation for shaping the form of the finished piece.

I'm wetting down the newspaper pad between rollings

Forming happens in a series of steps, depending on the final product. For Kate's vase and my chile pepper, the forming happened by rolling the hot glass glob on a mat of wet newspaper until it was elongated. Then we blew the right amount of air into it to create the air space inside.

Because Kate went first, every step along the way was a big surprise.

For John's and Rick's designs, the forming entailed pulling the glass glob into a spikey shape to create the swirls inside the paperweight...

...dipping it again in the molten glass, and then rolling it in a wet wooden bowl to create the round shape.

The paperweight gets finished with a final blast of fire before squashing it into a flatter globe.

Kate's vase took a few more shaping steps and more blowing to create a large hollow shape, breaking the shape off the pipe and then reattaching it to create an opening at the other end. 

Richard performed the finishing step of the vase, a quick and dramatic swing of the pipe and the hot glass, that created the rippled fluting of the vase mouth.  We were all in awe of the process and Richard's skills.

We were all pretty happy with our finished products too.

Now what are we going to do with them!  : )

Three Views of the Grand Canyon, Part Three: From on Top of a Mule

I've always wanted to go down into the Canyon on a mule, but never imagined it would really happen. I had heard that reservations were required 13 months ahead of time, and we're just never sure of where we're going to be that far ahead. But I had also heard that there was a day-before waiting list for cancellations, so I thought I'd give that a shot. When I called the reservation desk they said there were also some other openings! Four, in fact, for a few days away. So I snapped one up, complete with an overnight cabin at Phantom Ranch, and began my preparations. (Rick wasn't so interested so he volunteered for puppy duty. Thank you, thank you, thank you Rick.) 

I found this map of the route we took, with the vertical profile in the upper lefthand corner. Many thanks to the Chronic Climber Chick, who created the map and hiked the whole thing. I knew I couldn't do that and I was so grateful there was another option. It is a very popular hiking route, but only 1% of the almost five million people who visit the Canyon every year get down to the bottom by any route or means.

Well, what does one bring on a mule ride into the Grand Canyon? All mule riders get about a two gallon sized plastic bag to carry anything you want to bring, so one must think very basic. Required is a wide brimmed hat with a chin strap, sunglasses, gloves, a bandana, long pants, long sleeved shirt and appropriate footwear. Obviously sun screen is a good idea, and dressing in layers. At the top it's a lot cooler than at the bottom. All food and water are provided, as well as bedding, towels and soap. Bathing suit and water shoes are also recommended for a cooling dip in Bright Angel Creek after a long ride down. I took all advice offered.

Two days before the ride Rick and I went to the park to scope out the check-in process and location. Check-in requires getting weighed, as there is a 200 lb. limit for all riders. They also want to give you all kinds of warnings and have you sign all kinds of informed consents and liability waivers. That done, all I had to do was stop at the Bright Angel Lodge registration desk to pick up my rain slicker before arriving at the Stone Corral at 7:50 AM, Monday morning. 

The morning of I drove myself there and had a heck of a time finding parking. For anyone considering this trip, have someone drive you there, or stay at the lodge so parking is not an issue the morning of departure. I arrived late but it all worked out. It turned out there were only three of us on the ride that morning. A typical ride is 10-12.  What a luxury!

(BTW there is no cell phone or internet coverage in the Canyon. Yeah!!! I brought my phone for its flashlight and alarm functions. Turns out an alarm was provided.)

My mule's name was Pauline. Here she is all loaded up with my stuff.

I learned a lot about mules on this ride. We spent about 12 hours with them over two days.

Mules are always the offspring of a donkey father and a horse mother. They are different from horses in many interesting ways. They have larger ears and smaller feet. They are strong, sure footed, calm, observant, smart, thoughtful and not easily spooked. All things you want in your mount under these extreme conditions.  The guest and pack mule trains travel into the canyon 365 days a year, in snow, sleet, rain, hail, and sweltering heat.  They are stopped only by rock slides that block the trail. Everything for Phantom Ranch that goes down or comes up does so on the back of a mule.

A pack team going down

These mules know every inch of the trail by heart and notice everything. 

They follow one another and need almost no direction - just a little motivating now and then. Like everyone, they'd rather take it easy, take a drink, a nibble or a pee occasionally when the opportunity arises.  But Pauline gave me absolutely no trouble at any time.  I have to say I felt more confident on the back of a mule than I would have on my own feet when we were on very narrow and precipitous trails.

People always want to know if it's a scary experience.  Being on top of a mule gives you a unique vantage point. When a mule makes a hairpin turn, his or her head sticks way out over the edge, giving you the feeling that you and the mule are just about to go head over heels down the canyon side. However, when their heads are sticking out over the edge, their feet (and the very substantial back 4/5th of their bodies, and yours) are still firmly on the trail. Once you understand and believe this, those hairpin turns are less frightening. But I'm not going to lie, those trails are narrow in some places, there is rarely anything resembling guard rails, and the mules sometimes like to walk very close to the edge. But as our most excellent guide Allison says, mules are seriously into self-preservation. They are not going to risk their lives. 

Allison, our guide

So, although the mules were the stars of the show, we were there to see the Canyon, and boy did we see the Canyon.  I would have taken about 100 times more pictures, (and would probably still be down there if I did) but photography is hard on the back of a moving mule.

Most photos were taken during rest stops, either on or off a resting mule. 

We took the Bright Angel Trail down, a trail dating back to the ancient people who visited or lived in the Canyon. Our first real rest stop was Indian Garden, an oasis along the way with composting toilets and water to refill our bottles and to hose ourselves off from head to foot.  Staying hydrated and cool is a big deal in the Canyon. Getting off the mules was a blessing for our legs as well. Going down is surprisingly hard work in the saddle. 

Indian Garden

With our first view of the Colorado we spotted a group of rafters. (They were much further away than this zoomed-in photo suggests.) This first raft was the scout, carrying much of the rafters' supplies. He's checking out this rock, as the water level around it helps him decide future routes through the upcoming rapids.  We saw five other rafts follow him down the river, with more supplies and groups of 2-3 passengers each.

Once at the bottom, we rode the cliff edge above the Colorado on the narrow River Trail for about a mile. There are only two bridges crossing the Canyon in this area: the Silver and the Black Bridges.(The Navajo Bridge crosses Marble Canyon at Lees Ferry.) The Silver Bridge is for hikers only. We went over the Black Bridge, passing through tunnels before and after. 

The Silver and Black suspension bridges

Once on the north shore of the river we entered the heavily vegetated Bright Angel Canyon and approached Phantom Ranch, the only lodging in the Grand Canyon. It took us about six hours to travel the 9.3 miles from the South Rim.

The cabins 

Phantom Ranch has about 15 cabins of different sizes, a bath house and a canteen. All are very basic accommodations, but completely sufficient. Mule riders, hikers and rafters must make reservations months ahead of time, unless like me, they get lucky a few days ahead. There is no room for walk-ins. The Bright Angel Campground is also an option for hikers and rafters.

The bath house

The Canteen

Where our steaks were cooked

Bright Angel Campground

I was tired and very wobbly when I slipped off my mule and stumbled to my cabin.  But after a short nap I was ready to explore. The North Kaibab Trail starts at Phantom Ranch and follows the Bright Angel Creek all the way to the North Rim. I followed it far enough to find a nice place to walk into the creek and soak off the dust and the heat. It was in the 90s down there and dry as could be. The water was just what I needed.

Bright Angel Creek, looking back at the South Rim

A very pleasant family style steak dinner was served at 5:30 and 7:00. After my 5:30 seating I had enough time to explore a little further up the N. Kaibab Trail as the sun set.  

Snapdragon vine in Bright Angel Canyon

Veins of granite and schist in Bright Angel Canyon

View from Phantom Ranch to South Rim at sunset

Next morning, after a bright and early 7:00 hearty breakfast we saddled up and headed out on the 14 mile South Kaibab Trail back to the South Rim. I had a very important role to play today. Pauline and I carried the US Mail out of the Canyon! Just like the pony express!

Two saddle bags with the US Mail, plus my souvenir water bottle

The ride up is very different from the ride down. First of all, the mules have to work a lot harder, so we stop and rest more often. Sitting in the saddle is very different too. Going down, you have to lean back. Going up, you have to lean forward. Mules, or at least my mule, was not a smooth walker. That meant a lot of active adjusting with my back and core muscles to stay in the saddle, but it felt easier on my legs. 

The S. Kaibab Trail is a newer trail than the Bright Angel, being built to bring materials down into the Canyon for the bridges and the water pipe. Oh, here's an interesting fact. All the water for Phantom Ranch and for all the development on the South Rim, comes from Roaring Spring on the North Rim! Yes. That means it flows all the way down the north side and is pumped up the south side. Seems impossible, but its true.

I'll try to give you a sense of the trail in relation to the surrounding canyon in the next few photos. In  most of them you can see the distinction between the upper Canyon, which is all sedimentary layers, and the lower Canyon, which is metamorphic, very irregular and much harder. The dividing line is the pale green gently sloping area called the Tonto Plateau. Although in these pictures we're looking back at the North Rim, the same geological structure is present on the South Rim.

See the little ribbon along the bottom of the photo? That's the flattest section of the S. Kaibab Trail

These switchbacks are called the Red and Whites I think

When we reached the end, we each received one of these funny certificates to commemorate our accomplishment. I am now a Master Mule Skinner Cowgirl! 

 This was kind of a long post, but it was kind of a long ride. Thanks for riding along. Talk about adventure. This was the best so far. Now I want to do more. Rocky Mountains here we come! 

Happy Trails Everybody!