A Journey, Remembrances

As some may know, my son Eric Joseph Martin passed away on June 26, 2017. This was a major shock as he was not known to be ill in any way. Melissa, his soul mate of 18 years, was of course stricken. I was notified by an officer from our local PD at the request of Mel and the Maricopa County S.O.

His friends and Mel put together a Celebration of Life in Chandler, AZ and the Martin side of the family also held a celebration in Michigan. Nici and I made plans for a trip out to be with Melissa and his friends in AZ as she had time from her company, I have not returned to any full time work since my injury, and we had time to make a road trip out of it. Natasha had just delivered my fifth grandbaby on Tuesday so obviously was not going on any trips just yet.

Nici rented us a car [[to save putting excessive miles on her new one] and came to Rockport to gather me up, along with my briefcase of old school film cameras. She wanted to learn more “old school” photography from an old school 35mm camera. We planned a side trip for on the way back that included some of the most photographed places in the country.

Hitting the road in the late afternoon, we headed west through the long state of Texas, via San Antonio. About sunset we were just West of S.A. in the town of Boerne. [burn-ee]. We didn’t even slow down, snapped a couple sunset pics through the windscreen, and kept “picking them up and laying them down”. Driving all nite found us ready for breakfast at the Denny’s in El Paso, TX and a quick trip to Walmart for fresh 35mm film, then on the road for a sunrise just outside Las Cruses, NM as we headed to White Sands National Monument.

Nici really wanted to experience this park, and I had never seen it either, so we agreed the “side trip” would be worth the delay. White sands are formed by wind and sun from the selenite crystals evaporated from the waters of Lake Lucero, a “playa” desert lake. To quote the Park Service handout– “Like a mirage, dazzling white sand dunes shimmer in the tucked-away Tularossa basin in southern New Mexico. They shift and settle over the Chihuahuan Desert, covering 275 square miles– the largest gysum dunefield in the world. White Sands National Monument preserves more than half of this oasis, its shallow water supply, and its plants and animals living there” The winds keep the sands in a drifting dunes area in the valley better known for the missile and nuclear bomb testing than the benign sand formations. We took a good number of photos and proceeded westward towards Arizona.

Nici did her research, as usual, and found us a nice BnB in Chandler to stay for the two nights in the Valley, we arrived in time to nap a bit and then explore the East Valley area in search of a dining experience. The place we picked from Yelp reviews was called Grubstack, and it was located in downtown Gilbert, AZ. The area has been turned into a “foodie destination” with dozens of places all in one or two blocks with centralized parking and a considerable “party atmosphere”, folks out and about til late. [waiting until it cools off to venture outside]. A very nice meal and we were more than ready to get some much needed rest.

The “wake” was held at the local “Irish pub” that was Eric and Mel’s favorite hang out, the posters above were placed on easels in the room. Their friends were numerous and generous amounts of pot luck foods appeared as they came in on Saturday afternoon. Of course nobody mistook the “family resemblance” as they called it and expressed their regrets and condolences to “Eric’s Pops” and little sister. It was at times a bit hard to retain composure, especially when Melissa arrived and we reunited after over a decade. Eventually she and I “bore up” each other and mingled amongst the sizable crowd of well wishers. I am proud to say that Eric was known to be a honest and earnest man among his associates. That meant the world to me. Sean Ruetlinger, a long-time friend of the family flew in from Salt Lake City to be with us and we re-connected, went out for a bite together and then returned to the ongoing second shift of the Celebration. I was amused that it took 45 minutes for he and Nici to determine where we were to dine, as Sean is a trained chef, and Nici a definite “foodie”. We were not impressed with a wings shop, cant remember the name, but the dried out food was barely edible, and was cold. We returned to the pub for the “second shift” of friends, and a we bit of the foods. Finally fatigue took over and we said a tearful goodbye oto Melissa and Sean, returning to our B n B.

Sunday morning was a bit slow getting around, but we managed to get checked out on time and hit the highway to Sedona, AZ for the “photography expedition” part of our journey. Breakfast tacos at Del Rio in Cave Creek, then on to the land of the red rocks. Nici was hard pressed to keep moving, as the rock formations around Sedona are very appealing. The artsy, trendy, tourist town is one that merits a day long stay in and of itself, but we are on a short leash time wise and must push on up through the Oak Creek Canyon, into Flagstaff, west through Williams and north to the Grand Canyon.

The Grand Canyon is of course an international travelers destination, and very crowded this time of year. The south rim area is 31 miles long and has certainly grown since my last visit back in late 1980’s!! Gone is the park of years gone by where we drove our own car out to the various overlook areas, you park and ride the shuttle bus services to various areas for viewing of the canyon, and the “marketplace” for shopping, entertainments, foods, interpretive presentations, the like. The shuttles were often, no long waits, but walking fairly long distances was more difficult as the day wore on for me, my legs are still not back to pre-injury condition. Nici took lots of photos, I took a few shots close by and waited patiently, visiting with other “tired Gramas and Grampas like me. Getting every frame she could, right down to the last wee bit of twilight, I finally got her to help me struggle the last 300 yard walk to the car, collapsing in the seat!! We then drove out of the park, due east into and across the Navaho reservation through open range where cattle, deer, and horses wandered on the roads until we arrived at Thunderbird Lodge in Chinle, AZ at the Canyon de Chelly National Park. It was 2 am local time! And we were exhausted!

We barely made check out time at 11am, but scooted out in time to enjoy some Navaho food for lunch at the lodge cafeteria. Nici thought it a bit bland, she had a “Navaho taco” which consists of a fry bread, topped with pinto beans, lettuce, tomato, and a wee bit of grated cheddar. I chose a red chili, hominy and mutton soup which included a fry bread side. The soup was not bland, but not “hot” with chili like I expected. The mutton was tender, but also a bit “blah” in flavor dept. Having taken our time to eat, we explored the trading post, admiring the numerous wool rugs, shawls, and wraps. Those that were hand woven by the locals were very pricey [$1100] compared to those “Made in USA” but with Chinese characters on another label tag?? Still about $275 average price for a “shawl”, some fantastic patterns were offered, in fact some looked like good basis for a southwestern “kokapelli” themed kite. We booked a guided “lorry” tour through the bottom of the canyon, and then drove out to the series of overlooks that rim the upper canyon, taking several pictures at each. Nici bought some painted slabs of flagstone from a local artist, three pieces for $10. The figure of Kokapelli was the theme of two of the stones.