2004 Tour home

April 8

After a quick dip in the pool, we were off to Taliesen West, Frank Lloyd Wright's architecture office, museum and school. "Taliesen" is from the Dutch word for "brow" which referred to Wright's "organic architecture" theory that buildings should never take over the top of the mountain, but be situated at the "brow".

With money from his first two lucrative commissions (c.1930s), the Wrights bought a square mile of Arizona desert and with 25 apprentices built the first buildings: tents with concrete walls-filled with 1-man, 5-men and 20-men rocks from the property. Half of the year was spent here, half in Wisconsin. When they left for the summer, the roofs were taken in, furniture put in the vaults and upon their return, the rattle snakes and other wildlife was shooed out and the canvas and furniture returned.

The angles of the roofs reflected the angles of the mountains and everything was created to a grid system (I would say a certain sized stripe more than a grid). Entrances were created to "compress"- to move people indoors quickly to that experience of "release".

Joel, our guide, had some great information on Wright. Wright had created all sorts of innovations in architecture and building, some of which included acoustical design, lighting, earthquake proofing and built-in air conditioning. Three basic rules which distinguished his work were (1) orientation around the horizontal, (2) sensitivity to the site, (3) compress & release.

Because they were very short on money, Wright relied on his apprentices for not just building, but also scrounging for materials. This became one of the experiences of the students who eventually came to the school as they were required in their second year to build their own homes.

Wright, whenever he could, would design the whole "package" for a client, right down to the jewelry and including, of course, the furniture. Each client would get an expensive gift a month or so after moving into their new home. THEN, a bill would come for it.

Another important experience imparted at the school to this day was the requirement to perform. To Wright, who was himself a concert pianist, presenting on stage prepared students to "sell the job"- an essential, or your project would sit in the drawer. To this end, a large concert hall was erected-the last building built before Wright died.

His legacy includes 400 buildings still standing, over 600 built and over 2000 designed! Some major projects have been built posthumously, which include the Marin Civic Center, for one.

I was intrigued by the art everywhere. Some of it was "junk art", stuff that was being thrown away because it was damaged and thus CHEAP or free. There were lots of goddess symbols both from Asia and from local artists. Joel didn't know much about them, but they might be interesting to investigate further-especially in light of Wright's bias toward the horizontal, over the vertical, even in his skyscrapers. (Photos of Taliesen)

I wanted to show Robin the Cosanti Foundation, which features the earlier work of Paolo Soleri. He was obviously tired and dragged his feet, but we spent a brief time there. I promised it would only be 5 minutes. It wasn't much more than that, but Rob spent most of it against the back wall of the book shop. I mentioned that he seemed to feel comfortable there. Ya.

It was late afternoon, so we were off to the market and the RV park for the night.

April 9

We left around noon and drove to see my friend Barbara Findeisen in Tubac, about 50 miles south of Tucson. She and seven others live on this beautiful former "dude" ranch, Kenyon Ranch, where they are offering a sanctuary for those who want to use their "crisis"(divorce, depression, mid-life, etc.) to evolve and transform their lives. I had known Barbara since 1979, when I did her Star Process, which was (and is) designed to clarify and release family patterns and help people take control of their lives. It was brilliant! Barbara has helped thousands of people over these decades and is highly regarded as a pre- and peri-natal psychologist. (www.starfound.org)

Lots off people love to visit Barbara and her husband Chuck and Easter weekend was, of course, no exception. We were invited to dinner and sat with some of Barbara's other guests. A couple, who were real estate agents, had heard of our church for sale and said they were would check it out more closely. Rob had a great time sharing jokes, mostly with the woman next to him.

After dinner, Chuck wanted to hear my harp and so I played for him and Ann (who I had met years ago during a Star Process) and then Charlie, one of the other guests. After I finished, I insisted that Chuck try playing and after some nudging he did. He had a wonderful time making pentatonic glissandos.

The other event of the evening were the three labs, including Lucky, who were all doing a springtime mating dance. The lineup: 3-year old blond virginal bitch in heat, her grandma and Lux (fixed male, but not until he caught on...) They ALL got in on the fun, in a somewhat clueless fashion and Lucky hasn't gotten over it yet! (Photos of Hotdogs-X-Rated)-taken by Rob

April 10

Robin wanted a little time to himself and so Barbara, Ann, and I went into town. Tubac was like a museum, a real art town with a few restaurants and probably 50 galleries with everything from paintings to lots of indian art which included kachinas not only in the traditional wood, but in handcrafted silver. One of my favorite things was work by a native in fine screen material of natives in typical poses. It was a silvery metal which made the figures translucent-as if the ancestors had returned in spirit. Just plain beautiful. There were some amazing T-shirts and of course the three of us were most intrigued by a couple of shops which sold used indian jewelry.

We returned in the early afternoon. I found Rob watching the Simpsons on the computer, of course. I took a few Photos of Kenyon, which was absolutely beautiful.

We did some housework and then went to visit a bit with Barbara and Ann in the kitchen of the main house. Barbara told us of a wonderful bookshop in Tucson and after they left for the Taste of Tubac, a prescheduled local fundraiser, we dashed off to hunt for used books on tape-our intellectual ammo for crossing Texas and other longer drives. On the way there, we finished THE STREET LAWYER. It had a FABULOUS ending and both of us cheered. We have been having an ongoing conversation about the role of fiction as a more real than life approach to sharing a story. The book made us both more aware of the plight of homeless people and the amazing work of the lowly-paid street lawyer. AND, it took place in the nation's capitol-land of the highly-paid lawyer. Grisham is a genius.

Bookman's was all Barbara said it would be: huge and with a great collection of used books on tape. I invested in about 10-12. Lots of variety, although heavy on thrillers. I insisted on some books which relate to our areas of homeschool study as well. They also had used books, computer software, music and movies, but we concentrated on the tapes.

The cashier told us about a Japanese restaurant nearby and we went off to dinner. Yoshimatsu's was an experience, with all sorts of Japanese ad boards and cheap plastic toys, as well as anime play figures and the original Godzilla playing on a distant TV. Food was OK-not inspirational.

April 11 Easter

None of us really felt much like acknowledging that it was Easter, for some reason, until friends of Barbara's brought over plastic eggs filled with candy and happy face stickers.

By then, we had had a nice visit in the morning and then Rob and I went over to Rex Ranch so I could have a massage. James did my massage and, I must say, had great hands! I am used to getting "rubbed" every week or two and it had been two months! (Photos of Rex Ranch) Robin was planning on swimming, but wasn't allow to do this alone. He sat outside and read HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY-Book 4(So Long and Thanks for all the Fish), which he was enjoying mightily!

After my massage, I drove Robin through Tubac to show him some of the indian art that we had seen the day before. We ate lunch and then went back to Kenyon Ranch to gather up the harp and say our goodbyes to Barbara, Chuck and Ann (Photos of Barbara, Chuck and Ann). We had a great time hunting for the eggs and watching the dogs getting sexy again. Robin got going on some jokes and we finally left around 4:30.

The plan was to camp at the campground next to Karschner Caverns, but the gate was locked. We had to drive 20-30 miles further south to find an RV park which was practically deserted. We couldn't find what to pay. This place was nice, but totally unattended. Weird. (Photos of the highway)

Today's book on tape: WATERWORLD -from the movie.

April 12

I got up early and got things going because I had been told that only 100 non-reserved tickets were sold per day at the Karschner Caverns. In fact, when I did get us there around 9am, we got some of the last tickets of the day-two that someone else had turned back in for 1:40pm.

All this while, Rob was asleep. I got him up, we ate and then went over to the visitor center. I had seen some incredible hummingbirds over there and wanted to get some photos with the big lens. Rob got bored with this after a time, so I sent him for some water while I sat quietly waiting for the birds to settle down. Meantime, a massive bumblebee and two orioles came by and for a moment, no other humans. It was ideal! (Photos of Kaschner Birds and Bee)

Then we went for a hike along one of the trails. The countryside was very dry looking and not as colorful as places we had been, but it was around the Whetstone Mountains, where the caverns were lurking inside and the walk gave us an amazing panorama of the area. The coolest thing we saw was a horned lizard (we identified it later from a postcard), which, according to Rob, I almost stepped on. (Photos of Karschner Lizards) (Photos of Karschner Cactus & Flowers) (Photos of Karschner Landscapes)

Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take photos of the caverns. Inside, it was 70 degrees and the humidity was 99%. These are some of the best preserved and cared-for caverns in the world, according to K.C., our guide and the 15 minute movie we saw before the tour.

The growths inside were amazingly varied and the caverns were quite large. The biggest stelioform was what they called Kubla Kahn, which was over 6 stories tall. There were also straw formations, which could have been broken if we breathed on them. One of the two caverns is closed for several months a year to provide privacy for the colony of bats which returns to nest. Evidence of ancient bat colonies still blackens the ceilings in some places. Also, where the cavern floor is still mud, you can see the footprints(more like channels) of the discoverers from the late 1970s-there for eternity.

There was a light show in the big room, which Rob and I decided was a silly tourist thing and actually cheapened the experience. We both preferred the funkiness of the Mitchell Caverns tour back in Mojave. This place was much more put together for the tourists and much more accessible from the highway.

We were both too tired to put the miles on which we had planned, so we went over to Tombstone-20 miles in the right direction, land of the staged gunfight. There were two RV parks listed and others on the way. We pulled up to one of them and found a real gem: Russ Jennings. He was a charming man, probably in his 60s who told us all about the town and who even gave us a ride in for dinner at the Longhorn. His store had a few food items, but the chief find were some humorous books a friend of his had written. I went off with the laundry as my traveling comic dove into them.

The sun was golden on the old downtown and I felt as if I had just found myself in an old western movie. (Photos of Tombstone-Sunset)

The Longhorn served the kind of meal I would have expected in the 1950s, with an iceberg lettuce salad and bottled dressing, white roll and excellent steak and prime rib and deep dish apple pie for about 1/2 of what you might expect. The main virtue of this place over the three others was that it was nonsmoking. Rob asked if I liked biscuits and gravy, which was advertised on the wall. I described it the best I could and he said he wanted to try it for breakfast. Anything once, I guess. If it is junk food, he's open to trying some. He commented that over the course of his life, I had filtered his intake, sheltered his diet. 13 and yes, isn't that part of a mom's job? (I eat all sorts of things he won't try, of course).

There were interesting old wanted posters and other assorted antiquities under the glass on our tabletop and on the walls. My favorite was a pamphlet cover on the ills of LIFE in DORMITORIES. It referred to fragile young ladies meeting men without proper introductions or chaperones and other ungodly exposures (and pleasures-even smoking and cards!).

After dinner, we walked along the main street where everything was closed except a bookshop where we found a small pamphlet on the history of the local stars: Bat Masterson, Wyatt Earp and others.

Russ picked us up-right on time, and we spent some of the evening watching a movie on ghost towns, which seems to have been made by the past owners of the RV park. After nearly an hour, we were both bored out of our minds and knew more than we cared to about ghost towns. Good. Subject closed.

I was feeling as I did when we were about to leave California: anxious to get up and get going. Time to put some miles on. Arizona had been fascinating and beautiful, but it was time to roll on towards the east. We fish are getting a bit tired of this dryness and lust for the ocean. I also yearn for the color of the eastern south. It should be a good contrast.

April 13

We got going in late morning and went into Tombstone for a little sightseeing. As we were doing the morning ritual of preparing for the day, our humor got kinda goofy. This place is a bit goofy and I guess it was inspiring us. It went something like this. "We need to get this thing a bath." "Well at least we have a ladder so we can do the roof." "Ya, I bet there are all sorts of things up there: bird's nests with dried yokes, tumble weed stuck in the TV antenna, low branch pieces, turkey vulture droppings, dead bugs...boggles the mind and I'm not sure I want to know." The sides are awful gray..

In Tombstone, the high point was a visit to the Bird Cage Theater-funky and full of dusty stuff from the past 100+ years. The place had been a bawdy venue for everything from "dancers" to magicians in its heyday in the 1880s and early 90s. At one point, they offered a "ladies' night" to see if they could get the local hoipoiloi to come. No ladies showed up because they didn't want to associate with such a place or be seen there. (Photos of Bird Cage Theater)

We were told there would be a staged gun fight, but decided that wasn't our priority. ALSO, we got photographed in vintage foofoo. (Photos of Rob and Marnie in duds) According to Russ, the town is about 1500 hardy souls, but unless you own or run a local business, stage gun fights or are retired, it is a difficult place to make a living. Surrounded by ghost towns, this is the town which was "too tough to die". (Photos of Tomstone)

We finally got on the road around 1:30 and fetched up at an RV park in Los Cruces, New Mexico around 8pm (now Mountain time).

We listened to another John Grisham novel: THE BRETHREN, about a ring of x-judges in a light-security prison who are running a con on closeted gay men and a guy who has been set by the CIA to run for president on a platform of doubling the military budget. As was the other Grisham novel, this one is tight and spellbinding. We listened far too late into the night as the two plot lines finally twisted together. WOW!

April 14

We went into Las Cruces (land of THREE Wal-Marts and Mall-Ville to the MAX) to buy dog food from the one source I had found on the net: Petco and get a bite of lunch. Then we were off to Texas and back in the Grisham book which we finally finished not long before we took the exit to Balmorhea State Park. (New Mexico will be a future journey.)

We followed a sign through a long no-man's land. There was no sign which told us how far a drive it was or whether there were overnight accommodations. We had heard there was a wonderful swimming opportunity, but weren't even sure if this was the park. We debated and then continued. After several miles, the sign said 10 miles. (Oh, by the way, we were in the Mountain Time zone for just a few hours, so by now, in Central, it was getting late, even though the sun was still blazing.)

While walking Lucky, I saw some amazing snakes swimming in the canals which went through the park. What a contrast this was to the greenish landscape of fields and hills with only occasional hints of ranches on the way in. After the noisy highway of the night before, the quiet was a real relief.

April 15 Tax Day

We awakened to the sounds of lots of bird tweets and a bit of wind. We had a typically late morning, thanks in part to two quickly passed time zones. However, I had been assured that the park was very laid back and indeed it seemed to be. Checkout time: 2pm

Balmorhea State Park was oriented around a late 1930s natural spring-fed pool which was 3-4,000,000 gallons of clear water-constantly running, with several species of fish, including some sort of minnows, shiners and large purple catfish, turtles and, from a claw that Rob found, some sort of crab. It was a blissful 78degrees when the air was a few degrees warmer. We had brought our snorkel gear for use in Florida and we had a great time swimming with the fish, diving for trash and just enjoying the clear water.

The bottom of the pool(parts as deep as 25 feet) was partly covered in glasses which gave the shiners and the turtles a place to hide. This was a great way to start the day.

We got going around 2pm, east on 10 again and a wild goose chase looking for a place to stop for the night at Ozona. The only RV place was right on the highway. In looking around, we discovered a row of mansions which seemed totally out of context. We discussed what sort of industry might support such affluence. Must be oil.

We got back on the highway and a half an hour later found an amazing place which was connected to another caverns. We could hear the oil pumps working from the adjacent hills. At first, I thought the sounds were from a freight train, as there was a low hum. There was also a relentless squeak back and forth, almost the alto version of a five year old on his first violin.

The host was just closing up the store. He said, "I seen you come through and you're already checked een. Jes see me in the morning." Tours of the caverns are every half hour or so. No check out time.

A note on Texas. For some reason, my past journeys to Texas have included an incredible variety. In 1971, I came to sell the toys I had designed in my first job to Neiman Marcus. In 1980, I was hired to drive Euclid coal trucks (tractor-trailer rigs looked like Tonka Toys on the way home) in the Laredo desert for a human factors study. In 1988, I opened a peace conference for 1000 women (and 15 men) from 55 countries with my music. What is it about Texas? So far, my two favorite overnights have been here.

2004 Tour Home