Sidetracked Charley

Goodbye October The last two days of October were punctuated with snow. The snow on the 30th was beautiful. Wet and heavy it clung to the trees and soaked the land as it quickly melted into the dry ground. The next day's snow was not nearly as beautiful and it came with a wind which closed you into the house. Halloween snows were once to be counted on here in the high country. Trick or Treating door to door went without protest to community parties, haunted houses, and going to businesses for treats. I live on one of those quiet little back roads with only two juveniles so it has never been an issue at my house. I think I got one party of ghouls after I first moved in and still had the two huge German Shepherds. On this first day of November I am told by a British friend I must say white rabbit for luck. Living alone that means typing white rabbit. And posting white rabbits. White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland The above image certainly seems appropriate. And it goes...

  I love Navajo silver work and am especially fond of feathers. I have pendants and earrings and a necklace of hand drafted feathers. But this story is about one particular feather pendant I bought in August of 2004. That was the year of my sister's and my first Thelma and Louise road trip to Utah. I had bought my Astro van of Vango fame the previous December. Debbie did not have her jeep yet. In fact she still lived in Texas and I picked her up at the airport and we headed to the canyons. There are a lot of memories of that 12 days in the wilds including the new alternator for the van, a new camera for my sister, barely making it out of Cottonwood comb before the rains hit, and the case of the vanishing lug nuts. The lug nuts came as we were heading back to the airport through the Navajo Reservation. We had stopped for lunch in Page, Arizona and noticed a lot of hostile Utes wearing anti Glen Canyon Dam t-shirts. But we were in a good mood and nothing was going to ruin it for u...