Practising my Орлёнок look
There was a storm in the distance and suddenly the sky turned black… (nothing to do with the picture above, of course)
This is the empty picnic area… Moonly!
Then we had a little fun with the timer of the camera!
Then there was the sunset pics but I’ll post them later… I’ve gotta go rafting on the Rio Grande…
I really don’t know how to start this entry. Today we went to one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen, and I’m still reeling with excitement. I took so many pictures. Be prepared for a long series of pics from the White Sands Desert in New Mexico. It was like being on the moon. We had the best day yet and just didn’t want to leave… Magnificent.
It seems this park isn’t very well known in the US, very few people had heard of it – which, in a way, was better since there was almost nobody there.
With a big load of water and our gear we went for a hike in the dunes, it was over 100°F (around 40°C) and it almost became scary at one point because of the isolation and all the dunes looked the same. It was like being in Lawrence of Arabia, lost in the desert.
The sand remains cool and is very fine. Some kids brought slides and were playing around, as if they were skiing. We stayed all day and sat on top of one of the dunes to watch the sunset. As the temperatures went down it became a dream and by 9pm we were still there, laying in the sand watching the stars appearing.
Just a perfect day.
More thrift happiness
This is the car we originally wanted to do this road trip in…
Thrift shopping gung ho!
And motel room dinner
American Indians of the South West:
The Seri (call themselves Comcàac or People)
The Raràmuri (or Tarahumara)
The Yaqui (Yoemem)
The O’odham (Akimel & Tohono)
The Yumans (including the Mohave, the Quechan and Maricopa)
The Southern Paiute (or Ningwi)
The Pai (Yavapai, Hualapai, Havasupai)
The Apache (Indé)
The Navajo (or Diné)
and the Hopi
A belief of the Yaqui – The five Enchanted Worlds:
Huya Ania The Wilderness World
This world is the source of all things of Yaqui life. Here, all beings – plants, animals and rocks – form one community.
Sea Ania Flower World
A part of the Huya Ania, this world ‘beneath the dawn” is the home of Saila Maaso, Little Brother Deer, who is represented in the deer dance. The flowers of the Sea Ania are metaphors for all that is good and beautiful in life.
Yo Ania Enchanted World
This realm of the Huya Ania, often associated with caves, can be a source of spiritual power for individuals.
Tuka Ania Night World
This world is marked by unusual occurences during the night.
Tenku Ania Dream World
This very private world involves the special dreams of an individual.
The Deer Dance:
“The dance started when a man who lived in the country saw the deer, mostly young ones, having a fiesta of their own in the woods. They were dance and gamboling. The man studied their dancing and was able to do it himself.
Therefore, the (Deer) Songs are like prayer. They come from the wilds – just like when you dream. When you dream you go to a place in nature. Nature is the source of inspiration and prayer.” – Refugio Savala
A Southern Paiute belief – The Children of Coyote:
In their traditional stories of their origins, many of the Southern Paiute peoples say that Coyote carried them to their homeland on the nothern frontier of the Greater Southwest.
They see themselves as the children of Coyote, resulting from his union with the daughter of Ocean Woman who lived far to the west.
“Ocean Woman placed the new human beings in a basket and told Coyote to carry them far away to a distant land. She told Coyote not to open the jar until he came to a good place. But, as Coyote walked along, he could hear sounds coming from the jar.
Finally, Coyote could stand it no longer and he opened the jar. People came tumbling out in every direction! These were the Havasupai, the Walapai, the Mohave, the Navajo, and the other peoples who live nearby.
Coyote quickly closed the jar, but only a few people were left. These were the Ningwi – the Southern Paiute. He carried them to where the agave, the deer, and the moutain sheep are plentiful. There they remain to this day.” – Southern Paiute origin story.
