Spams of the Southwest

When we left Truth or Consequences it made me smile to think I have wanted to go to T or C for so long and it is so “less” than any place we’ve been. Yet we were there a week and loved it. There is a sweetness to this withered community, peopled by folks who really want to live here. There is no grocery store (Although Pixie’s is a good mercantile), no fresh or even frozen fish (sorry, Cathy, we don’t count Catfish), the art community is mostly sagebrushers, stores open and close at a whim with a note on the door, and prices are as high as anywhere else.

Yet the rodeo grounds are built so you can sit right in the beer garden and be on top of the action. I use the word “action” pretty loosely but the burger was truly memorable. We stayed over in T or C to help celebrate Fiesta, the town’s weekend when Ralph Edwards used to come with any stars he could round up (Tab Hunter, Jayne Mansfield, Andy Devine, Rose Marie, etc.). Ralph is too old to come anymore but the town still does its best to turn out for an old fashioned parade and activities in the park.

Still smarting from my run-in with the Big Indian at the Casino golf course, I was somewhat shy about entering the Spam-Tastic contest. I debated on entering my Cram-spacker creation, a big hit in the Cook Islands, or my molded ham of Spam, scored and garnished with cloves and a nice glaze. Davey and I laughed for days, in anticipation.

As it happened, I got sidetracked by a 3-hour documentary on Ayurvedic treatments and didn’t get my Spam entry to the park. When we got there we were truly dumbfounded to realize this contest had not a whiff of humor to it. There were six serious entries and three serious judges eating and making notes. The winner was a hotly seasoned tidbit, “buffalo wings,” with obviously no points for presentation – sticky chunks in a bag. It won over Spam rellenos, Spamish rice, burritos, and a couple of beer battered Spam numbers. Thank GAWD I wasn’t up there with my Spam Ham, red-faced and not knowing the rules again. I know you all would have been supportive but you’re not HERE!! (Keep this contest in mind for a party, though.)

Overall, the Fiesta days were a wash. We learned what funnel cake was but couldn’t get one because of equipment malfunction. The duck race was late and the junk boats didn’t show. I won a beer cooler at the rodeo raffle but couldn’t climb the announcer’s ladder to get it. Ted Turner couldn’t make it, but he donated the bison.

We’re now, as of May 10th, settled in Bluff, Utah, at the Cadillac Ranch RV Park. This is the only real destination we’ve had on our trip, and we based it on the recommendation of Rachel and Larry Baker, who were here a couple of years ago. So it just seemed natural that we should see Larry soon after we pulled in! He and a couple of buddies (Sterling Williver and Don Corn) are here with motorcycles, seeing the ruins. We had a great dinner last night at the local cafe, with the local Ranger and his wife, who had pulled Sterling’s bike out of a ditch somewhere. The bike and Sterling are okay.

After we left Truth or Consequences we spent four days at Canyon De Chelly, dry camping at the Cottonwood Park. Mothers Day we hiked down into the canyon (1-1/2 miles) to see the famous Anasazi Ruins called White House. It was amazing. The Canyon itself almost brought me to tears the same way my first trip to the Museum of Modern Art in NYC did. It is so staggeringly beautiful and even having seen pictures does nothing to dilute the overpowering force of its beauty. We shared the trail with many Navajo families making the trek with kids and even strollers – amazing, given the fact that the trail is not difficult but it is long and steep and full of rocks. The Canyon is obviously an important part of their spiritual heritage. We were surprised to find the bottom of the Canyon very green and being actively farmed and a little herd of goat kids running on it, They are only loosely penned so they get out and climb the trail, or the steep cliffs along the trail, challenging each other. It was a day of things I never expect to see again, or at least anywhere else. A wonderful Mother’s Day.

We send our love,

Sam