Page 39 - the NOISE September 2013

Grande Southern Route, and home of the famous Galloping Goose No. 5, a crazy cool train contraption made from an old school bus mixed with a locomotive and painted silver. There are seven Geese total, all built in Ridgway in the 1930s and all still opera- tional. The Galloping Goose was originally used to deliver mail between towns in the Southwestern Rockies. Goose No. 5 is parked outside its own museum in downtown Dolo- res, though on special occasions it goes jour- neying on the nearby Durango-Silverton and Cumbres and Toltec Railroads.
For a few nights we camped in a rustic cabin along the banks of the Dolores River. We spent every day hiking up on foot and floating down in rafts the rocky Dolores, and every night in a creaky old bed lulled to sleep by the river sounds as it hugged the edges of our rough hewn cabin home. The town is small, tidy and historic and claims a pretty decent brewery.
Assorted Dolores River Brewery ales can be purchased in canned 4-paks at the lo- cal liquor store. Also worth a try: Escalante Ruins at the Canyon of the Ancients visitor center. A mile hike up a sloping paved trail leads to a hilltop ruin and remnants of an an- cient kiva. From this vantage point you can also see that the Dolores is dammed. The ad- joining reservoir covers an old lumber town long gone called McPhee that gave its name to the lake that drowned it.
The most recent of stamps in our National Parks passport book was inked at Hoven- weep National Monument, a stop on our drive back home as we tallied time in each of the Four Corner states. Hovenweep is very remote, right on the Colorado/Utah border and about an hour from the closest town, Cortez, via the sparsely traveled Canyon of the Ancients route. What makes these ru- ins so impressive, in addition to their lovely
canyonside perch, is that they were never re- built, or reinterpreted by WPA crews. Hoven- weep is “stabilized” but original. Discovered in 1854 and protected by National Park sta- tus in 1923, these ancient towers and struc- tures straddling two states are original to the
13th century.
Through Utah we continued, a dot on the
map slowly meandering back to Arizona. We took a wrong turn out of Hovenweep and suddenly had no idea where we were. Lost in the scenic west, we drove along curving, rolling and very nameless roads. No shoulder, no pavement markings, no speed limit signs. No worry, either. Not yet. The day was far too magical.
We knew everything would work out. A promising intersection appeared, inspiring hopes of being back on a main road, back on route. The new highway is not marked ei- ther, except for two burros standing nearby, eagerly awaiting our arrival. “Wow, that’s how you know you’re REALLY lost. When the only ones you can ask directions from are a couple of donkeys.” We burst into laughter. This is somehow everything wonderful and lovely about the western roads we’ve just spent the week wandering. The sense of be- ing lost but not being scared. The open skies, beautiful rocks and the sun-baked surprises every mile. The feeling we’re just small pieces of something much grander and anything is possible. The sense of enchantment. Our eyes are wide open for the next bit of magic down the road.
For more information: silversaddlesan- tafe.com | doloresriverbrewery.com | nps. gov/hove
| ellen Jo roberts lives in Clark- dale Arizona with Chad, floyd, ivan, ned and Hazel. read
all about it at ellenjo.com
thenoise.us • the NOISE arts & news
• september 2013 • 39