Truchas, Chimayo, and Ghost Ranch

When describing daylilies, most people talk about bloom season, bloom size, scape height, smell, etc. For me, I see places from road trips. I chose many of my daylilies because of their Southwest names, because that is where I go for my road trips.

Last week, I took a road trip through southern Colorado and northern New Mexico. My favorite hybridizer, Ned Roberts, lived in New Mexico and many of his daylilies find their namesakes in that State. When I shop for daylilies, I often get out the Google maps to see what it is named after. And, on this road trip I wanted to go new places and see things that I had never seen before.

I literally drug out the recreation map and looked for interesting places in northern New Mexico – because despite living not too far away, I know little about it (other than the 4-corners area). Anyway, I found something called the Enchanted Circle that sounded interesting and included Taos. The road between Taos and the highway east . . . well, there were two routes. I picked the High Road to Taos because there are two namesake towns on that road: Truchas and Chimayo

The next day, we visited Ghost Ranch, another daylily namesake. I had stopped there about 7 years ago on a road trip because of the daylily. It is a Presbyterian resort that is open to the public for hiking and other activities. It looks like home with the red sandstone. I stop not because I think it is unfamiliar, but because it is a daylily namesake! And, if any of you remember the old movie City Slickers, that is where it was filmed. So, if you have a Ghost Ranch daylily you be like me and think about that movie and the trail boss, Curly.

I have a bunch of premiers since my last post but I am drowning in vacation photos and daylily photos . . . it is going to take a few days to get the blog caught up. So, for tonight, lets look at the name sakes.

Truchas, New Mexico – A small mountain town on the High Road to Taos. I didn’t see a Truchas sunrise, more like monsoon over Truchas.
Truchas Sunrise 7.17.21 in my yard
Just a few miles down the road it Chimayo, famous for the Santuario de Chimayo. We didn’t see a moon over Chimayo, although I may look into camping here in the future. (the lead photo is also Chimayo)
This is Moon over Chimayo daylily from my yard last summer. She put out tons of new foliage this year, but no bloom. She looks a lot like Truchas Sunrise – probably why they are named for communities just a few miles apart. However, after the road trip, I think I won’t mix the two up any more.
Ghost Ranch is to the southwest of Truchas and Chimayo – an hour plus down the road and to the west. The land changes from Rocky Mountains to Colorado Plateau in those miles. So, the geography is distinctly different.
This is Ghost Ranch daylily from my yard this year. Distinctly different from Truchas and Chimayo namesake daylilies.

That is all for tonight folks. I am trying to stay adjusted to tent times and get to bed earlier at night. I will get caught up with the blog and the new blooms in the next few days. There are several – Skinwalker, Zuni Thunderbird, Desert Icicle, Purple Thunderbird, Cripple Creek, Glen Eyrie, Royal Palace Prince, Pizza Crust , , , I don’t even remember where I left off with the blog. I need to refresh my memory. Stay tuned!

Thanks for joining my journey!

Catching Up is Hard to Do

I spent some time today trying to re-orient myself to the new lot of daylilies that are in bloom since I got home from my road trip. I got the spent scapes cut off and tried to make a list of finales. I would like to make a list of all the ones with scapes not yet bloomed and all the ones that aren’t trying.

Anyway, I went back through the 7.8 and 7.16 photos and found more premiers. Plus, there were 5 premiers today (at least first bloom since I got home). The total is 114 that have bloomed. That’s a 67% bloom rate. To hit 80%, we will need 37 cultivators to bloom. Twenty-three more. That’s tight but we can hope. I’ll count unbloomed scapes tomorrow.

Here are the premiers from today:

Iktomi 7.18.20
Raven Woodsong 7.18.20
Fringe Benefit 7.18.20
Frans Hals 7.18.20
Orange Flurry 7.18.1
Baja’s last bud 7.18.1

And, to backtrack, here are the premiers from 7.16.20 that I finally had time to look at today. I always come home to rain – so these guys look like they just showered.

Autumn Jewels looks sad but she bloomed 7.16.1
Desert Icicle 7.16.20
Indian Sky 7.16.20
Just Plum Happy 7.16.20
Lime Frost first and last bloom 7.16.20
Papa Long Legs first and last bloom 7.16.20

So, that is it . . . back to a normal pace except work starts Monday. However, I am suppose to have July off so I plan to work from home unless they demand otherwise. Plus, I am waiting out the two-week COVID risk.

I worked on transplanting succulent cuttings and transplanting a few succulents into larger pots. I don’t have tons of love left for my orchids . . . so I use those pots but fill the holes with moss. It takes a while but it is relaxing.

Just for the record, here is a list of all of the finales so far for 2020: Apache Uprising (I missed this one but it did bloom), Ruby Spider (today), Lime Frost, Return a Smile (unless she reblooms), Early Bird Cardinal, Prairie Wildfire, Catherine Irene, Thin Man, Comanche Princess, The Colorado Kid, Blue Beat, Mildred Mitchell, Mauna Loa, Mesa Verde, Heron’s Cove, Canyon Colors (today), Jungle Queen, Wineberry Candy, Just Plum Happy, Raspberry Propeller, Santa’s Pants, Red Mystery, Bella Boo, Nosferatwo, Coral Taco, Pink Enchalada, Pink Rain Dance, Zuni Eye (I missed this one but it did bloom), Papa Long Legs, Land of Enchantment, All American Chief, Purple Many Faces, Indian Love Call, Laughing Feather, Coyote Laughs, Kokopelli, Hopi Jewel, Mount Echo Sunrise, Holy Sombrero, Ojo De Dios, Rocky Mountain Pals, Kachina Firecracker, Kiva Dancer, Echo Canyon, Indian Giver, Funny Valentine, Wild Horses, Inwood, Primal Scream, Lacy Doily, Nurse’s Stethoscope, Canyon Colors (today), Kachina Dancer (today), Apache Bandana (today). Not bad for 6 weeks!

Coyotes and Timber Wolves in my Daylilies!

What a long day . . . meetings, packing, daylilies. The day before a roadtrip making I have insurance and AAA cards, etc. And, the first time I went into work since March 13! How crazy is that?. Gosh, I don’t miss spending 4-5 hours/week on the road.

Talon threw a double today 7.7.20

Anyway – let’s get today tied up since it is already tomorrow – which means I’m on vacation. Except I have to do some work before I leave tomorrow. But, well, who cares.

Coyote Laughs 7.7.20

Premiers – a huge event in the Southwest Garden – Coyote Laughs bloomed! After 4 years in my garden – she bloomed for the very first time. She looks like Winds of Love.

Lobo Lucy 7.7.20

And, speaking of 4-legged dog-type wild beasts – Lobo Lucy also premiered for 2020 today.

Nosferatu 7.7.20

The REAL Nosferatu also premiered – the Nosferatwo mystery is similar, but redder.

Lacy Doily 7.7.20

Lacy Doily is the cutest little mini double bloom. She also premiered.

Just Plum Happy photo from 2018

I am going to mention the elusive Just Plum Happy here because she is growing sort of under a shrub in the border garden and I missed her premier yesterday. This is the first time ever for her to bloom in the border garden (I have another one potted) – thank you drip system.

Ojo de Dios 7.7.20

Now, some finales 😦 Two Roberts Spiders – Ojo de Dios has been an amazing bloomer this summer.

Purple Many Faces 7.7.20

Purple Many Faces is also calling it a year.

Primal Scream 7.7.20

And, Primal Scream is going quiet until 2021.

Nurse’s Stethoscope 7.7.20

Last but not least – my Nurse’s Stethoscope is off-shift until next year.

It will be weird to miss nearly a week of bloomers – I hope I don’t miss any few-buds wonders all together. I will blog tomorrow, then break-time while I blog about my trip for my grands and anyone else who likes SW travel on my other blog.

PS – We have hit 80 cultivators for 2020. Fourty-seven percent. Seems like more when I am going through all the photos.

Fire Flowers of the Corona

A different kind of 4th of July. I slept in – no parade. Then, after taking photos of the 28 cultivators in bloom, I decided it was too hot to take the dogs downtown. So, I puttered around the yard a little. Then, came the weather warning on my phone – big thunderstorm. I quickly finished lunch on the porch and brought the dogs in.

All American Chief 7.4.20

As the storm passed, I worked on my daylily business. I mean – I found an Oh Erica for my yard!!!! One daylily nursery had one listed as display only (not for sale) – but that must mean they have some if they aren’t for sale, right? Turns out, right. He was willing to sell me a couple of fans this fall. I’ll also be adding Dr Doom for a memory I have with my daughter.

Thin Man 7.4.20

Once the business was done, I headed out to pot some of the succulents that I have been rooting. I use orchid pots and fill the holes with decorative moss. It is cute and provides a lot of ventilation. Except, I ordered the moss a month ago and I can’t find where I put it. I had enough left over from last time for today’s project.

Purple de Oro 7.4.20

The thunderheads continued to pass over, which means non of my yard work that involves power tools got done. Other than daylily business, plotting my roadtrip, updating my GPS, and baking a silly 4th cake, I got nothing done. But, maybe that is balance.

Aztec Firebird 7.4.20

I had a few premiers today – Let’s start with an alltime favorite Ned Roberts spider – Aztec Firebird. I love this one – it is so colorful – really stands out in the garden for all who pass by.

Passionate Returns 7.4.20

Passionate Returns is back for another year. She is a favorite among my Facebook followers.

Bella Boo 7.4.20

And, little $5 special, Bella Boo, made an appearance. She makes a statement for a simple flower.

Ruby Spider celebrating her independence today 7.4.20

So, tomorrow, that means lots of yard work and getting ready for my trip. Maybe today is Groundhog day and we can just get stuck on a lazy day for awhile. LOL – Groundhog day in the daylily garden is my life . . . maybe if I do that or that differently next time, it will bloom.

Comanche Princess also looking like the 4th 7.4.20

Oh – one Finale from yesterday that I forgot to mention – Echo Canyon.

Echo Canyon finale 7.2.20

Happy 4th! PS – Fire Flowers are a synonym for fireworks. This year, my daylilies are the only fireworks. Hopefully, next year things are a little more normal, again. Wear your mask! Get one with daylilies on it!

Fooled Me

Oh, daylilies. I was so clueless when I began collecting these circa 7-8 years ago that I did dumb stuff with them. I stuck them in shade with no water. I stuck them in the hard, clay soil. I put them in pots with no water source except when I remembered the watering can. It never rains here.

The mystery daylily that I almost killed but revived from seedling size. No idea on name so this year she is Nosferatwo because she reminds me a little of Nosferatu 7.3.20

A few years ago, it hit me that all I was doing was buying daylilies, watching them bloom for one cycle followed by watching them wither away. So, I put in irrigation and cut down trees. I broke a rib burying pots so the soil was more controlled. I put in more irrigation . . . and more, and more.

Stephanie Returns brightens the yard on her second day in bloom 7.3.20

I actually think I will have a decent bloom rate this year – and I think it is all in the water. Well, not all – but it is the desert.

Fooled Me

So, when I first xeroscaped portions of my front yard, I purchased 3 daylilies to be part of the design – Orange Vols, Lady Fingers and a cultivator named Fooled Me. The first couple of years, they all did fine. Then, Fooled Me started to fade. No bloom, shrinking (last bloom 2015). I know that spot gets dry. Two years ago, I put it in a buried put in the same place . . . it got bigger but no bloom. This year, with the added drip sprinkler, it bloomed – today, for the first time since 2015 -IT BLOOMED!!! I may know how to make daylilies fade, but I am also getting good at year-to-year resuscitation. NEVER GIVE UP!

Chokecherry Mountain 7.3.20

Other premiers today were Chokecherry Mountain – a Robert’s spider that reminds me a lot of Talon.

Route 66 7.3.20

And, my favorite early “Southwest name” daylily, Route 66. Roadtrip memories flood my mind when I see her. Love her classic colors.

Soco Gap in the gap between two big yuccas 7.3.20

Soco Gap – a big plant that was a bonus back when the Southwest garden was an experiment. I plunked the little fans in between two medium sized Yuccas thinking she was small. Well, she is a decent sized cultivator and the cactus have grown, too. No way I can dig her out and put her in a pot – but the Yuccas are likely pretty protective of her!

Purple de Oro 7.3.20

Little Purple de Oro also had a premier bloom. IDK how I ended up with her and she is likely one of my least favorites. I keep waiting to fall in love.

Early Bird Cardinal with her flag colored background 7.3.20

Tomorrow is the 4th and I hope for a big show in the yard because they will be my fireworks during the coronavirus year.

First of the Lasts

Today marks almost 3 weeks since the first bloom of 2020. I’ve had about 31 cultivators bloom so far. Not quite 20% of my daylilies.

Hopi Jewel 6.25.20

Today brought several new faces to the group – so the daylily epidemic is upon us. Hopi Jewel is a fun cultivator with an interesting shape. She was a bonus daylily for one of my Southwestern daylily name orders.

Echo Canyon 6.25.20

I did well with Robert’s spider daylily premier blooms. Echo Canyon came to visit for the first time of 2020. Such a lanky spider.

Coral Taco 6.25.20

Coral Taco also joined us today for the premier of 2020. She is another lanky Roberts cultivator.

Chaco Canyon 6.25.20

Chaco Canyon, a little less lanky spider from the Roberts group also showed up. I love the place Chaco Canyon. I wonder if I would favor these daylilies less if they had names that didn’t bring to mind my roadtrips?

Mini Pearl 6.25.20

Mini Pearl from my family name section also gave us a premier today. She was purchased because my grandma was named Mini Pearl.

Now, for my finales (OMG – the summer always goes too fast):

Mildred Mitchell 6.24.20 finale

I missed that Mildred Mitchell had a finale bloom yesterday. She was short lived this year – only one scape. I think my near blues need to be repotted in fresh soil, again. Bluegrass Music appears to be taking the year off.

Saratoga Springtime 6.25.1 finale

Saratoga Springtime also had her finale bloom. Springtime is gone, afterall. She gets a lot of attention because she has the yard to herself for a couple weeks. Well, she and the plainer yellow trumpets and Dream Keeper.

Jungle Queen 6.25.1 NOT a finale

Tomorrow, another day, another camping trip. When it is January, I think about summer and wonder how the he## I fit it all in. Mostly, no sleep . . . well, a little but not enough.

Holy Sombrero, Batman!

Sombrero – That is a Mexican Hat! And, so tonight’s vicarious road trip through the daylilies takes us to Mexica Hat, UT.

Mexican Hat Rock, UT

We camped near here last summer at a place called Sand Island Petroglyphs. The Mexican Hat is just a few miles from there – Iconic Utah.

Sand Canyon, UT

It was hot, early July. We got up early and did whatever hiking we were going to do for the day and then drove in AC the rest of the time. Having dogs on a road trip is a little like Corona virus in that you get your food to go and eat in the car with the AC rolling.

Kachina, Sazi and Maizzy at Monument Valley, UT

Bears Ears National Monument is in the area – Mexican Hat use to be part of that system.

Mexican Hat Rock, UT

Other favorite stops in the area are Goosenecks State Park and Moki Dugway. “Mokee” is derived from the Spanish “Moqui” meaning “small people” which referred to the Native American cultures (Navajo, Zuni, Hopi). I am naming my next dog Moki. Goes well with Sazi Ana and Kachina.

Goosenecks State Park, UT
Moki Dugway, UT

The Bears Ears themselves are cool to see – which can be done from the top of Moki Dugway and down the road a bit.

Bear’s Ears National Monument

Then, there is Natural Bridges National Monument.

Natural Bridges National Monument, UT

So, Holy Sombrero is a big, yellow daylily that I got as a bonus after ordering a bunch of Southwest named daylilies. I guess the hybridizer knew what I was doing with my garden.

Holy Sombrero 2019

The cultivator has bloomed every year without fail. Interestingly enough, it hit peak bloom when we were visiting Mexican Hat last summer. It is suppose to be taller than it is, so I have to dig in the tall daylilies to find it.

Holy Sombrero daylily – 2019

A few more scapes today. It is another drought this year and my water bill will show it soon. Hopefully the monsoons kick in. Half the year, I live outside in my yard or on a road trip. The other half, I spend doing warm things inside – well, I hike but not during the coldest days. I am so glad it is spring . . . almost summer.

Holy Sombrero daylily – 2018

Adios, Albuquerque

This year, there was no spring break road trip – adios, Albuquerque.  Adios to the best week of the year.  Adios to the canyons of the Southwest.  The only novel adventure this year is named Corona – and I don’t mean the arch in Utah.

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Petroglyph National Monument HQ – 2014

Albuquerque is about 6-8 hours down US Hwy 550.  In fact, that highway starts in Montrose and ends in Albuquerque.

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Petroglyph National Monument near Albuquerque, NM – 2014

When I think of Albuquerque, I think of my 2014 road trip with my new dog, Maizzy, and my new Honda Fit, Mini Pearl.  I had plans for Chaco Canyon and for Route 66, and what lie in between was a mystery – my choice of which way to turn on the open road.  The first couple of years, I didn’t get reservations until the day I left the previous motel.  More dogs = more planning.

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Petroglyph National Monument – 2014

I don’t like cities, so I was zooming as quickly as I could from US Hwy 550 to I-40 (Route 66) when I noticed a sign for Petroglyph National Monument.  I was like – “Well, that sounds interesting”, so off I went.  There was a dog friendly section where we hiked until mid afternoon.

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Maizzy – my non-desert dog in the desert at Petroglyph National Monument

Road trips through the Southwest are geology on wheels.  I found these petroglyphs stunning because they were on volcanic rock and not red sandstone like I am use to.  This one looks like Charlie Brown with a baseball cap to me.

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Charlie Brown Petroglyph and Petroglyph National Monument

 

From there, we headed west on I-40.  I saw signs for El Malpias National Monument, so we stopped there for a short scenic drive.  It was like a combo of volcanic rock and red sandstone.  I realized they what I realize most everyday of every road trip – that I play too long and run out of time before I want to stop.

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El Malpias National Monument – 2014

The other cool place near Albuquerque is Salinas Mission Pueblos National Monument.  We didn’t run into these 2016.  That was another serendipity where we were on a stretch of highway with nothing to do between point A and point B – then there was this photo on the wall of ruins – and I had to find them.

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Maizzy at Salinas Mission Pueblo Ruins – 2016

Last year, our trip took us through that area, again – so I went with all three dogs.  I love the big old mission buildings as a background for my small dogs.

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Kachina, Sazi, and Maizzy at Salinas Mission Pueblo Ruins National Monument – 2019

These trips to me are Albuquerque – unique in culture and landscape.  Adios Albuquerque was added to my daylily garden in 2016, I think.  After these trips that are forever engraved in my memory.  I put it in my Southwest garden with (mostly) other Ned Roberts spiders.

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Adios Albuquerque daylily – 2019

The garden was put in where there was only rock garden – on the easement between the sidewalk and the street.  I have no back yard, because it is a split lot – so I actually have almost all of these daylilies in buried pots in case the water main ever busts there.

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Adios Albuquerque daylily – 2019

I like the bloom – it is subtle.  Albuquerque was Ned’s home until he moved to Colorado for treatment – at least that is my understanding.  He, no doubt, loved the New Mexico culture.  It is different from Colorado . . . it must have been hard for him to say Adios, Albuquerque.  Fortunately, I have his daylilies to take me on a road trip on the year of the pandemic.

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Adios Albuquerque daylily 2019

 

 

Chaco Canyon

A daylily by any other name would smell as sweet . . . maybe, maybe not.  Chaco Canyon is a beautiful, spiritual place in New Mexico.  It is not easy to get there – the road is dirt, not improved – many ruts for miles and miles.  But, it is worth it because it was an empire of the Ancient Pueblo Indians.

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The road to Chaco Canyon before it turns to dirt

I have been there twice.  The first time, I had no idea what the road was like but I am persistent.  I was on my way home from a conference in Albuquerque and had seen the road signs on my way down.

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Hungo Pavi – one of the many Chaco buildings

I was instantly taken by the place, but it was late so I didn’t get to see much.  I bought a book and loved looking at the pictures.

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The walls of the Chaco ruins blend into the background of the canyon walls

 

So, six years ago when I had decided to travel for my spring road trip and got me a fine dog (Maizzy) to accompany me . . . we headed back to Chaco.  This time, we met an old friend of mine.  We hiked and caught-up with each other after several years.

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The canyon walls tower above the ancient ruins

Chaco Canyon was a huge trade center that is linked to the stellar world in crazy and mysterious ways.  I am no expert, but many of the buildings are aligned perfectly north/south – and you can follow the north line miles to the next building.  The buildings are aligned to both sun and moon cycles.  There are petroglyphs that light up like Las Vegas on Solstice and Equinox each year.

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The round petroglyph on the right reminds me of my daylily bloom

My trips to the Ancient Pueblo ruins remind me how humanity has lost touch with our connection to nature. We drive in cars, leave the lights on 24/7, and argue with strangers about wearing masks.  We have become so disconnected from the messages from our planet and solar system – it makes me sad for all of our advancement some days.  The message of Chaco is sacred and special to me.

 

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Petroglyphs and wasp nests cohabitate on the walls of Chaco Canyon

So, when I happened to see a daylily named Chaco Canyon – just after I discovered one named Kokopelli (and by the same hybridizer, Ned Roberts), I ordered it instantly.  Not only did I like the name – It is a striking daylily.   I wonder what about this daylily reminded Ned of Chaco Canyon – maybe the red color?  Maybe because it blooms around summer solstice?  Maybe because it looks like the sun or the stars?

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Chaco Canyon daylily soaking up the sun – 2019

My Chaco Canyon grows in a big pot on my back porch.  I moved a couple fans to the Southwest garden last year to extend the bloom season (the two gardens have slightly different peak bloom times).  It is getting big and I am watching for scapes now because it blooms on the early side.  I can’t wait to be stunned by the first flower!

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Chaco Canyon daylily shines in the sun – 2018

I thought I had lost the photos of my trip to Chaco  – but silly me, I uploaded them to Facebook 6 years ago.  Taking a road trip vicariously through my daylilies makes me want to go back to this place, again, when COVID-19 clears.  It isn’t all that far away.  In the meantime, I wait for it to bloom in my yard.

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Two Chacos dancing in the breeze

Getting My Kicks With Route 66

Route 66 is due South of Montrose, CO.  You can get to the New Mexico one by just driving south on Highway 550 until you hit Route 66 in Albuquerque.  Or, you can take Highway 491 and catch-up with it in Gallup.  You can also catch it in Arizona – we often drive by Monument Valley to Flagstaff and catch it there.  Of course, you can also catch it in Holbrook at the Petrified Forest.  We have done all of the above plus more. I have always said that it must have been a pretty amazing highway in its day – the road to the Southwest – the ruins and rock structures.

Maizzy, my crazy old chi-hound and I met up with it in Gallup on our first road trip (after a trip to Chaco Canyon and El Malpias). We rode it all the way to Petrified Forest.  Well, we took the sections that we could and were mostly on I-40, a place full of big, fast semi trucks.  We got to Holbrook, where we hung out on Route 66 for a bit. Then, back home through Monument Valley and Canyonlands.   That was 2014.

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Maizzy on Route 66 marker in Holbrook, AZ – 2014

Our road trip is South, so we almost always cross Route 66 – well, always because we have to cross it to get to the other side of the Southwest.  The next year, we traveled from down to Catalina State Park, AZ and back up to the Grand Canyon and Horseshoe Bend.  We went out for a night on the town at Route 66 in Flagstaff.

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Maizzy, Route 66, Flagstaff, AZ – 2015

The following year, 2016, we went down to Lost Dutchman State Park, AZ and on the way, we stopped at the Petrified Forest – where we walked in the Crystal Forest and crossed the old Route 66. We headed home through Socorro, NM and up through Farmington, NM.  Good grief, I can barely remember these amazing routes!

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Maizzy hiking in the Crystal Forest at Petrified Forest National Park, AZ – 2016

Where did 2017 take us? From the Four Corners to Flagstaff and down to Gila Bend and  Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.  We came back and visited Casa Grande – then back up by Route 66 at the Petrified Forest.  By then, I had acquired dog #2, little once-feral, Kachina.

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On that bench on Route 66, Flagstaff, AZ, again – 2017

Soon enough it was 2018, and a new adventure came when spring warmed the earth.  This year, we left on Friday the 13th and took the Devil’s Highway (once numbered 666 because it was the 6th spur off Route 66) all the way to the AZ/Mexico border. We visited Canyon de Chelly and headed south to Chambers, AZ, which is smack-dab on Route 66. We drove to Clifton on the long, winding road and ended up in Tombstone.  We stopped at the Petrified Forest on the way home.  It was a horrific windstorm that day – but my dogs managed a photo at the Route 66 turnout.  Oh, and another dog joined the family – my little disabled chi rescue, Sazi Ana (think Anasazi).

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Windstorm at the Route 66 turnout at Petrified Forest National Park, AZ – 2018

And, my last road trip in 2019 was super awesome to start.  We went through Shiprock, NM and then down through the badlands to Grants, NM – which is on Route 66.  It is a long story that I forgot to get gas on the way to El Morro National Monument, so I was too tired to stop at any of the Route 66 attractions.  We headed south (I can’t stand I-40 in a Honda Fit with all those semis) after Grants and stopped at Salinas Pueblo Mission Ruins near Albuquerque – then to White Sands.  We did a long sprint to Tucson, Catalina State Park,  then back up to . . . um, drum roll . . . Petrified Forest.  You see, it’s dog friendly so we stop most years.  Except, last year I got Noravirus the day we were suppose to go.  We went – but I was too sick to do anything but pray for a motel bed ASAP.  We cruised (wanting to upchuck) I-40 (the new Route 66) and turned off to get to Window Rock.  The scenery in that part of the State is worth posting, except I was too ill to get pictures.

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El Malpias National Monument Near Grants, NM, off of Route 66 – 2019

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The motel in Window Rock, AZ, a few miles from Route 66 – 2019

Why am I talking about Route 66 on a daylily blog?  Because I am taking a road trip vicariously through my Southwest named daylilies while we wait for COVID-19 to settle down.  (Maybe Noravirus helped me to see how serous it is to catch a virus when you are traveling – all those restrooms, hotels, eateries, gas pumps – not safe yet).  Route 66 is a cultivator that I picked up years ago at the local greenhouse – long before I started collecting daylilies with Southwest names.  Long before I started taking road trips.

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Route 66 Daylily in bloom – 2019

However, now the blooms are more special.  I think of our trips to Gallup and Grants and Chambers and Holbrook and Flagstaff.  I think of the colors that are on the tee shirts – the red and black.  When I see the blooms, I think of my goofy dogs and all of our fun times, getting our kicks on Route 66.