Pow Wow and Diwali

Pow Wow in Mesa, Arizona

Our visit to the 20th Annual Mesa Pow Wow was a great treat as it did not require us to visit a remote reservation for a day of cultural celebration.

Pow Wow in Mesa, Arizona

This festival is held at Pioneer Park on Main Street in Mesa on Saturday and Sunday. With approximately 100 Native American vendors selling art, crafts, t-shirts, food, and various other items, there are quite a few things to check out.

Pow Wow in Mesa, Arizona

The music and dance are major parts of this festival, with dances including the Fancy War Dance, Grass Dance, Southern Straight, Northern Traditional for men, and Fancy Shawl/Jingle Dress, Cloth/Buckskin Northern, and Cloth/Buckskin Southern for women, along with special dances for the Tiny Tots.

Diwali Greeting in Phoenix, Arizona

Happy Diwali…

Sonal Patel on Diwali at Indo Euro Foods in Phoenix, Arizona

….from Sonal Patel at Indo Euro Foods and all of her friends helping celebrate this Hindu festival of lights.

Arches to Mesa Verde – Day 3

Southeastern Colorado

The car’s windows were iced over, not just a little, but a good thick coating of ice had to be scraped off of them. We are in the San Juan Mountains, and finally, we are seeing heartfelt emotions from our travel guest. Arturo lights up with enthusiasm feeling like he’s discovering a place he could call home.

Southwestern Colorado

Do wild waters also turn the colors of fall?

Southwestern Colorado

This mountain range never fails to impress us and begs the question, “Why couldn’t your parents have left you a huge inheritance so you could live here not worrying about making money?” The simple answer would be that most of them are still alive.

Southwestern Colorado

The changing of the seasons is certainly appreciated. I don’t know how many times I’ve lamented in my writing how Arizona has two seasons: hot and not so hot, while everything else remains the same.

Southwestern Colorado

I can’t tell you which stream Caroline is standing in. We never noted it, nor did I note which roads we were traveling so this is a mystery river for now.

Caroline Wise and John Wise at Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado

Good thing we take these selfies in front of all these signs, or we never know where we’ve been.

Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado

The drive up to the cliff dwellings high in the mountains at Mesa Verde National Park is a spectacular one.

Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado

Also spectacular is Cliff Palace. These ancestral Puebloan dwellings are well preserved and worth every effort to get out into another remote corner of America.

Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado

Some may marvel at the pyramids of Egypt, but I think these are just as worthy of our admiration. I’d imagine that some of these kivas had to be dug out of rock and that with primitive non-metal tools, it wasn’t the easiest of tasks, yet they persevered so they could bring order to their lives and evolve their cultures.

Canyon de Chelly National Monument on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona

Out of Mesa Verde, we aimed for the Navajo Nation; it’s almost impossible not to pass through it. In this case, we were looking to take a quick look into Canyon de Chelly National Monument. Turns out that there are Jeep tours down there. I put it on the list of things to do in the future.

Canyon de Chelly National Monument on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona

This is Mummy Cave and is off-limits to visitors. We can only look from afar. Even down on the canyon floor, you are restricted from getting too close.

Canyon de Chelly National Monument on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona

The one good photo I was able to take of Mr. Camera-shy Arturo. We had a lot more driving ahead of us today as we were going to be driving down to Tucson to drop the kid after we all stopped at La Parrilla Suiza for some dinner before trekking north again so Caroline and I could go home.