I write of these two days together, as they were not specifically hiking or touristy days, but were intended to get me to gatherings honouring Abdu’l-Baha, on the Centenary of His visit to North America.  Specific to yesterday and this coming weekend, we commemorate His visits to Glenwood Springs, CO and to Salt Lake City.  Logistical concerns led us to observe the visits in reverse chronological order, so Salt Lake City had its observance last night.

I set out from Elko in early afternoon, after taking an hour or so to visit the area’s signature Ruby Mountains.  Enjoying a picnic lunch by a burbling creek or river is always one of my life’s pleasures.

Here are a couple of reasons why a trip to northeast Nevada is delightful:  The crest of the Ruby Mountains and Spring Creek, with its picnic ground at Power House.

The Ruby Mountains are the westernmost of three ranges that rise up from Nevada’s Great Basin.  Heading east to Wells, one encounters the Humboldt Range and near Wendover are the Silver Island Mountains.  From there, entering Utah, the mountains trail off to the north of I-80, and we are greeted by the Bonneville Salt Flats which, with the Great Salt Desert, make up the remains of ancient Lake Bonneville.

This area also fades, after about 50 miles, and scrub desert alternates with the foothills of the Wasatch, closer to Salt Lake City.  I was pleased to reconnect with one of our old friends from the Reservation days- who was actually with Penny, the night she and I first met.  About 120 people attended the commemoration event, held in a conference room on the fourth floor of Salt Lake City’s magnificent Central Library.  I give you a file photo of that structure.

After a great night’s sleep and hearty breakfast, we headed out towards Glenwood Springs.  I traveled alone, but no matter- we will all be together tomorrow and Sunday.

En route, I was amazed to see autumn foliage in Spanish Fork Canyon.

This sort of scene would repeat itself, along with stunning rock formations, in underrated, but fabulous Price Canyon, about sixty miles southeast of the Salt Lake Valley.

My lunch was at  a rest stop in Horse Canyon, just north of Green River, UT and I-70.

My journey through the rest of the Great Basin, in Utah and Colorado, led past the turnoff to the Utah of legend:  Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, etc. and thriving, lovely Fruita.  Then came Grand Junction, Grand Mesa and the winding Colorado River. These will have their own share of my time, later on.

Glenwood Springs will be my home for the next two days.

Yesterday, I spent the entire morning examining the course of my life, with the help of a dear friend in Reno, and while writing my post about Day 5 of this return trip.

Since Penny passed, I have been occasionally influenced by friends and family to attempt certain ventures or go in a certain direction.  Yet what remains most important to me is my relationship with the Creator.  All else needs to be weighed against that.  It follows that, since God and Baha’ullah value family, an ordered but inclusive society, based on justice and the unification of the entire planet, people need to follow certain basic rules.  We tend to not like rules.  They make us uncomfortable, often require sacrifice of individual wants, for the common good and sometimes appear, on the surface, to be at variance with individual freedom.

I long ago came to the conclusion that no freedom is without serious cost.  On planet Earth, and probably elsewhere in the Universe, wherever there are sentient beings living together, there is a medium of exchange.  Actually, there are several, money and barter being the pecuniary ones.  Courtesy and reciprocity are the social ones.  The medium of exchange between Creator and created, in my humble opinion, is the Creator gives us nearly limitless resources, opportunities to grow spiritually and boundless love.  We, in turn, listen to His Messengers, follow certain rules and desist from whining, cursing and rebelling when things contrary to our wishes are mentioned in those rules.

All this, and more, came out of the conversation I had with my friend, Michele, yesterday morning.  Had her husband, Tom, not been working, and been present, he would have most likely concurred with us.  Obedience to the laws of the Universe imparts benefits, personal growth and long-term happiness.  Rebellion and “the insistent self’ impart angst, doubt,depression and near-constant anger.  We have free will, though, so we get to choose which of the two paths to follow, and God won’t decide for an individual which path he or she walks.  Most of us dovetail between obedience and rebelliousness.  I know I have, and I also know which path has brought more satisfaction to my life.

So, that was the upshot of our discourse.  Having found this a lot more satisfying than a circumnavigation of Lake Tahoe, I leave that lovely spot for another journey.  The road yesterday afternoon led east, across the Great Basin of northern Nevada.  The beautiful spots in this sparsely-traveled area are largely in the interior, south of I-80.  Most of the countryside along the Interstate looks like this:

It has its own vibrancy, though, this seeming wasteland.  The people here are self-reliant and live by the type of sentiment I saw posted in a restaurant in the northeast Nevada commercial hub, Elko:  “The best place to be is together.”  I would say that’s true, both in terms of individual sensibility and of social connectedness.  It has its water sources, like the Humboldt River, and the Truckee.

I heard Basque men speaking in their unique and melodic language, and found out what happens to pigs who attempt to fly.  They become marvelous tasting pulled pork, like the kind served at Flying Pig Barbecue and Pub, in Winnemucca.  ( I misread the sign last night- and called it “The Pig Barbecue”.)

En route to Elko, I passed by Battle Mountain, a testimony to the struggles between the Shoshone and the Euro-Americans in the latter part of the 19th Century.

In Elko, I found a clean, friendly and eclectic community.  The Hall of Justice is its most prominent building.

Elko has its share of casinos and some hidden gems, like the restaurants on East Fifth Street, of which I chose Mc Adoo’s for breakfast, on this morning of Day 8.  The little sign in the photo, and the aforementioned quote, say it all about this unassuming little nook and the lovely couple who run it.

The chalkboard says “Happy Fall”.  Same to you, Elko! 🙂

Next up:  Day 8- On through the Great Basin, to Salt Lake City.

I did some thinking about Thursday, September 20- and my itinerary.  Vancouver, BC had beckoned, for quite some time.  I was to head up there yesterday.  Then came the  confluence of three fires in the Cascades above Wenatchee and Cashmere, WA.  Where there is smoke and fire, there needs to be spirit to counteract them.  A devotional meeting had been planned in the town of East Wenatchee for some time.  When I was told of it, on Wednesday morning, and saw the flames above Blewett Pass, the gathering became something I would not think of missing.  Vancouver, BC would wait until 2015.

So, I headed out yesterday, about noon, got the car serviced  in Issaquah, just east of Seattle and arrived in East Wenatchee at 5:15 P.M.  In between, was Nature’s fury.

We had all elements of a successful spiritual meeting last night- welcoming hosts, heartfelt prayers, a solid topic of focus, and a variety of age groups and perspectives.  Then, there was the 800 pound monster, hovering above us all.

The biggest impetus to praying and devoting spiritual energy towards curbing the excesses of nature is the presence of people like these:

The children created intense and detailed works of art, while adults discussed the nature of the soul and life after death.  They haven’t been in school for a week, due to the smoke.  More than anything else, the health threat to children and seniors is the biggest reason to do all possible to bring things back to normal in central Washington, or anywhere where there are natural disruptions.

People around Wenatchee said it is like the Mount St. Helens eruption, all over again.  I hope it doesn’t last anywhere near as long.  With hundreds of dedicated firefighters on this one, the hope has a good chance of coming true.

Seattle has nothing to do with the Land of Oz, though Dr. Oz is ubiquitous on the TV here.  I arrived by ferry, from Bainbridge, on Tuesday evening.  Meeting my friend, Ted, in Chinatown, I then went with him to a place called Mike’s Noodle House.  Brisket noodles hit the spot after the ferry ride and rather dicey drive up a 40-degree incline that leads from the Waterfront to Chinatown.

The view of Seattle’s stadia from Ted’s neighbourhood is awesome, even at dusk.

I digress, though.  It was Wednesday that was my main day to explore Seattle.  Ted and I started  at Lake Washington.

A short time later we stopped in Chinatown, and went to the Amitabha Buddhist temple, which is served by two nuns.  The nun who greeted us is from Burma (Myanmar).

We spent several minutes in prayer and reflection in that refreshing environment.  The nun graciously gave me several texts.  This is auspicious, as we Baha’is view Baha’ullah as the embodiment of the Buddha Amitabha (Future Buddha), Whose coming was foretold by Gautama Siddhartha.

We headed next to downtown, where I ensconced myself in the Library, whilst Ted tended to other business.  Along the way to the Library, there were some interesting sights, including China Gate, King Street Station, and the Smith Building.

No visit to Seattle is complete without a visit to a waterfall.  This park is just south of the Smith Building.

Upon finishing our individual business, we  headed towards Pike Place.  The intervening territory is inhabited by some curious beings.  Ted is the being on the right!

 Then, there is Maximus Minimus, the Barbecue Emperor.

Pike Place itself has a gazillion shops and eateries.  We chose  Athenian Seafood, with its harbor views, for lunch.  Of course, there were several stops for artisan cheese and other road food, afterward.  Below are three Pike Place scenes.

This last photo is a view of Puget Sound from Athenian Seafood.

Next up was the Waterfront, with its totem pole.

We spent about forty minutes at Vital Tea Leaf, at the north edge of the Waterfront.  Vinny graciously explained the tea preparation process and offered several varieties of tea.  I chose Puer, which helps with digestion.  The shop also has wood sculptures, which are one-of-a-kind.  Here are a dragon and a tiger, which represent my son and myself,  horoscope-wise, respectively.

Our last excursion was to Seattle Center, and the Space Needle.  I went alone to the Observation Deck.

There is a lovely outside garden, on the grounds of Space Needle.

Here are three views from the Observation Deck.

After descending from the spectacular height, I spent a little time looking at some aphorisms that are engraved into stones in Seattle Center’s plaza.

Here is a parting thought for this very special day’s post.

There are few places that outmatch the great cities of the Northwest- Seattle and Portland, each vibrant and forward-looking, in different but complementary ways.  I am grateful for having had time to get to know each of them better.

Now, it is time to head slowly back towards Arizona.  I will see Vancouver, God-willing, in 2015.  Spokane, too,will wait until another time, as my friend there has different plans for the weekend.  Next is Wenatchee, suffering and determined to get through the tests of fire.

I spent the day Monday reaching one of my primary destinations, the Northwest tip of Washington State, which makes Neah Bay the northwest tip of the contiguous United States.   Day twelve started in Aberdeen, at the aformentioned Tomahawk Motel.

 My  online friend in Aberdeen was silent, so I stopped briefly at Hoquiam’s Polson House, after breakfast, then moved on along the Ocean Beaches.

The Burton Ross Memorial Garden has a small, but well-arranged, collection of roses.

Ocean Shores is a lovely, somewhat swanky, resort area along the coast, just north of Hoquiam.  Gulls and people generally get along well.  It was disturbing, though, when a rowdy driver aimed his car directly at a large nesting area and laughed uproariously at the frightened, scattering birds.  No one else was much amused.

I drove inland a bit, past Humptulips,

to Lake Quinault, and the first of several beautiful temperate rain forests that are offered by the Olympic Peninsula.

Above, is a view of Lake Quinault.

After walking a bit near the Lake Quinault Lodge, a Victorian-style hotel, and having a very leisurely lunch at Quinault Cafe, I walked along three rain forest trails.

After walking a bit near the Lake Quinault Lodge, a Victorian-style hotel, and having a very leisurely lunch at Quinault Cafe, I walked on three rainforest trails.

This is, purportedly, the world’s largest spruce tree.  There are four species of evergreen in Quinault Rain Forest:  Red hemlock, red cedar, Sitka spruce and Douglas fir.

Here is a full view of a Sitka spruce.

There are numerous small waterfalls along Quinault Creek.  Here is Marriman Falls.

The Kalaloch (“Easy living”) area has one of the Washington coast’s largest piles of driftwood, and again purportedly, the world’s largest red cedar tree.

I stopped at the Forks Visitor Center, more out of homage to the town’s timbering heritage than to its most recent claim to fame.  “Twilight” references here were tongue in cheek, and there is a display inside, dedicated to the series.

After using the WiFi to post about Day 11 of this trip, I inadvertently left my camera on the ground, under my seat.  When I got to Seqiu, up the coast a ways, I found- No CAMERA.  Driving immediately back to Forks (20 miles, or so), I was greeted, on the opposite side of town, by about five high school-age boys, one of whom called out- “Ha! He came back.  Hey, dude, your camera’s on the clip.”  So, I drove back to the Visitor’s Center, and voila- there it was.  Only in a town like this could such a thing happen.  I celebrated with a clam strip dinner at this fine Forks establishment.

I went on to Lake Ozette, down the hill from Neah Bay, and spent a restful night, under the stars.

Next:  Day 13- Lake Ozette, Neah Bay and the Straits Coast

Day 14- The Emerald City

The day started with the mundanity of laundry, and a delicious breakfast from Coffee Time, in the Portland suburb of Tualatin.  My spirit guide set me on the way to Astoria, bypassing most of Portland.  I made three pit stops along the Columbia, first at Sauvie Island, just west of the city.  Here, there are large family-run fruit and vegetable farms, and a thriving sport-fishing enterprise.

The second stop was in St. Helens, the largest Oregon town on the Columbia, between Portland and Astoria.  This is a busy port and a welcoming recreational center, especially for weekenders.  I was fortunate to find Hawaiian Islands Cafe, where it’s easy to connect with the Internet, using the town’s WiFi from the city’s riverside park.  They also have great food.

My last stop before Astoria was at Rainier.  Here, a long bridge spans the Columbia, to connect with Longview, WA.

I last visited Astoria thirty years ago.  Astoria Column was the town’s centerpiece then, as now.

The heat does this sort of thing, but you get the idea.  Below is a distant, but somehow better view of the Column, taken from the Riverside Park.

In turn, the column affords views of all four directions.  Here are two of them.

From Riverside Park, one also gets a clear view of the mouth of the Columbia River.

I then crossed the westernmost bridge spanning the Columbia River.

That was my day, crossing one of our great riparian systems.  It seemed a bit long to cross the Columbia, because there are repairs being done to the bridge, so it’s a one-lane structure, in its midsection.  That’s okay; the Columbia is not one of those places into which I’d want to go car-diving.

Tomorrow, more from Washington State:  The ocean beaches and Olympic Peninsula.