Desert Southwest Vacation (Day 10)

Day 10 (Monday, June 25th). Okay, today was the last day of vacation or almost the last day since our flight home didn't leave until 1 am on the 26th. We knew we had an approximately 5 hour drive back to Las Vegas and we didn't really have a plan to do anything specific. Jane did some serious shopping in Flagstaff, purchasing among other things a traditional Hopi Indian Kachina doll as a momento of the vacation from Jonathan Day's Indian Arts, a nifty native arts store in Flagstaff.

The "Old Style" or traditional Hopi Kachina dolls are wonderfully simple, carved of cottonwood root and colored with natural pigments. The store clerk explained that Hopi Indians had precarious lives farming in the arid high desert of northeastern Arizona. They grew corn, beans, squash and melon without irrigation and less than 12 inches of moisture a year. To survive, a complex religious system evolved to aid in bringing water to this dry land. One aspect of the religion was the Hopi Kachina society. Kachinas are benevolent spiritual beings, representing everything from ancestors to animals, and function as intermediaries between the Hopi and beings who control the weather, insuring a successful harvest. Kachina dolls were also valuable teaching tools and a spiritual link between the children and the Kachinas.

Here's a picture of the Kachina (see above right) we got which is now hanging in the family room. The Kachina is called Umtoinaka, and is the thunder god or making thunder boy. Umtoinaka usually apears at the bean dance to help open the kivas. So now we have to start hosting bean dances.......and opening kivas. Anybody have any idea what a bean dance is?

He was made by Darance Chimerica, a member of the Fire Clan who lives on Münqapi (Moencoupi) on Third Mesa. Darance's Kachinas are easily identified by his painting and the way he carves his feet. Darrance also makes his paints from rocks he gathers himself. I think it will be nice to get a few more to keep Moencoupi company.

After contributing to the Flagstaff economy, we decided against heading in the opposite direction to tour Wupatki National Monument..........another lost opportunity. Instead we decided to head back to Las Vegas. On the map we saw that a ghost town called "White Hills", AKA Silverado, was on the way and we decided to stop by only to learn later that Silverado was washed away in a flash flood and although it still appears on maps, no longer exists. Read the sign in the picture at left. Oh well......we thought we would have better luck visiting the Hoover Dam. Afterall, rising more than 700 feet above the raging waters of the Colorado River, it was called one of the greatest engineering works in history. Hoover Dam, built during the Great Depression, drew men desperate for work to a remote and rugged canyon near Las Vegas. There they struggled against brutal heat, choking dust and perilous heights to build a colossus of concrete that brought electricity and water to millions, in the process transforming the American Southwest. Well, all was fine when we stopped at one of the scenic viewpoints and took a couple of pictures (see picture at left). Although we thought it would be bigger, it was scenic. However, they also charge $7 to park in the garage and $11/person to go on the tour, which included access to the visitors center.......what a rip-off. We didn't do the tour, but I did pay $7 dollars to park, which hurt almost as bad as the $60 I paid for breakfast at Mr. Lucky' (refer to Day 1 and 2 of vacation posting).

After leaving (what Judy referred to as Hoo-Gives-a-Dam), we slowly made our way back to Las Vegas and hung-out at the Venetian until it was time to return the rent-a-car and wait for our flight. The Venetian is another of the newer Las Vegas Casinos decked-out like Venice and it was interesting. The Grand Canal Shoppes at the Venetian is a large shopping complex that re-creates Venice's Grand Canal with reproduction storefronts (see picture above) while gondolas transport shoppers around. And yes, the gondoliers were singing and I was ready for the vacation to be over.