I drive north to White Mountain Apache country, where I pass by the spaceship that brought Vincent Craig to earth and am greeted by Wild Woman

I knew that it was going to be a challenge to get a post up yesterday, but I had a plan and I thought it would work. I would take a few pictures with my iPhone from the car as I drove between Phoenix and Globe. I would get lunch in Globe and afterward would take a little time to make a post from my iPhone that would include some of those images. 

So here I am, following that plan, taking a picture of a Saguaro cactus as I cross the desert a bit beyond Phoenix.

And here I am, about to exit the tunnel that goes through a low mountain just north of Superior.

Now I am in Miami, a mining town just a few miles from Globe.

Miami, Arizona, as seen from my iPhone while I waited at a stoplight.

It had been years since I had eaten at a Jack-in-the-Box, possibly even a decade, although I doubt it. When we lived down here and had to travel often between Whiteriver and Phoenix, Margie and I would often stop here with the kids, so I decided that Jack-in-the Box would be where I would buy my lunch. Then I would put my blog together in my iPhone.

Now I am in Globe, passing by churches.

This is the last picture that I took in Globe. I then bought my Jack-in-the-Box hamburger. After, I opened up the Squarespace ap in my iPhone and set about to post my entry. I had used the iPhone to make a post once before, just a few days ago, but that post had no pictures in it.

But Squarespace has a horrible ap, and, after great struggle that resulted in not single picture being visible in my post, despite having been loaded, I gave up and drove north. From here on, I shoot with my pocket camera.

Here I am, going down the highway that winds its way through Salt River Canyon. Everything that you see to the left of the river is the San Carlos Apache Reservation, to the right - the north, is the Fort Apache Indian Reservation, home to Margie's White Mountain Apace Tribe.

In an earlier post that I made about Vincent, I recounted, among other things, the story of how I accompanied him on a rescue of a woman who had fallen on a cliff in this canyon and had broken her leg. That event took place up around a couple of the bends that you see before you.

Now I am on the White Mountain side, drawing near to Margie's home village of Carrizo. I will stop in Carrizo to see her mom, but she will not be home.

Now I am entering Whiteriver, passing by the old airport. When Dustinn was small, his dad would sometimes drive him past the airport and would show him the windsock extended in the wind. That was the spaceship that had brought him to earth, he would tell Dustinn.

One day, it would take him back again.*

This is the Whiteriver house where Margie and I lived. Jacob was a baby when we first moved in. Caleb soon followed and then Rex. Melanie came a bit later. Lisa was born in Alaska.

As I leave Whiteriver, this horse crosses the road in front of me. I drive on up the hill toward Hon-Dah.

Here I am in Hon-Dah, pulling into the driveway of Margie's sister, LeeAnn, where I am first greeted by her dog, originally named, "Wild Woman." When LeeAnn would step outside to call her in, she would shout, "Wild Woman! Wild Woman!"

She began to fear that someone might misinterpret the meaning of her shout, so she gave Wild Woman the nickname Wylie and that is the name she now shouts to call her in.

Next, Famous comes to greet me.

Wylie Wild Woman and Famous.

LeeAnn and Chewy. LeeAnn has rescued many, many, dogs over the years, several on the edge of death. She now has six dogs living with her.

Regular readers are familiar with the cradleboard that Jobe sleeps in and before that, the one that Kalib used. LeeAnn is the artist who made them, a talent passed on to her from her mother, Rose.

As you can see, I am way behind on my blogging. It has not been easy conditions to blog under and I have had unexpected tasks to deal with long-distance back in Alaska that have eaten up the time that I could have blogged.

And I have spent a lot of time just visiting.

I still fully intend to make a good tribute to Vincent. This will begin with my next post.

*I should note that this is stand-in windsock. Back then, there was a large, triangular, one that did, indeed, bear a strong resemblance to a spaceship.

Comments

[WhiteStone]

An interesting assortment of photos and thoughts.

We have similar roadside crosses on our highways here in the Midwest. I was thinking yesterday of all the accidents that have happened within a 10 mile radius of home the past 50 years here. I remember many of them.

Looking forward to your tribute to your friend, Vincent

[Funny Face]

Bill,

I so appreciate opening your blog and seeing the latest entry, but, RELAX, give yourself a break!!! Spend your time visiting with friends and loved ones...we will not abandon you in the mean time!!!

Take good care...

[ruth z deming]

enjoyed visiting arizona with you, bill, a different arizona than we usually see. lee an looks a lot like margie. if you get a chance would love to see a photo of margie's mom. she must be a similar age of my 87-yr-old mom.

[Alicia Greene]

Thank you for the photos and stories from a world I've never visited. It seems so harsh and austere in some of your photos but so welcoming and shady around your sister-in-laws home. Desert Southwest is part of my bucket list of places to visit, but until that time thanks for the photographic visit!

Take care and enjoy your visit, regardless of the circumstances that took you there.

[Michelle]

With you in spirit Bill.

[debby]

Lee Ann and Margie certainly do look alike. I liked traipsing back in time with you and your camera.