Remembering the Early Space Program and Neil Armstrong

Mercury-Redstone Launch

The early days of the space program in the United States occupied the attention of the public in a way I doubt many younger people can imagine today – what I mean is – back then we didn’t normally glue ourselves to the TV the way many people do now.  But when a spacecraft with an astronaut or two was launched, it was all-day news, and that is probably the first time we ever did that (as a nation).  We stuck ourselves to the chair in front of the old black and white TV and we watched and watched and watched. 

This was back in the early days of television when programming was only 18 hours a day (if that) and “news” (including sports and weather) was limited to 30 minutes at 6 pm and 10 pm and maybe a third broadcast in the am for the early risers (along with the “farm report”).  Most folks back then would not have considered spending an entire day in front of the television a smart, reasonable or sane thing to do.  It's not a very good thing to do today, either.

Today, many sit zombie-like and entranced by interminable, unending media coverage (to no positive end) whenever CNN finds out that a Hollywood actor sneezed, including “expert” analysis by several medical “professionals,” plus commentary from his Grandmother and a psychologist or two so that we can completely understand (and appreciate) what the long term effects of the sneeze will be on the psyche of the unfortunate Hollywood star, his family and neighbors and friends and his dog…?   And of course, we most assuredly provide counseling for anyone remotely connected.

Back in the early 60s, no one did that; not until Kennedy got killed in Dallas.  But we did watch the astronauts fly. In 1961, space was an unknown – a mystery we could hardly imagine traveling in or through.  No one knew what would happen when (or if) we went there – what physical or mental problems might be caused by exposure to the lack of atmosphere, or by weightlessness.  Traveling to another world was almost unimaginable – so much so that many ignorant people don’t believe that we actually have done it.  We quarantined our spacemen when they got home – put them in isolated quarters in case they brought back some new bacteria or germ that might quickly kill us all if it got loose.

So when NASA launched our first astronaut, Alan B. Shepherd, into low space, we sat and watched, with feelings of hope, fear, and anticipation.  I can still remember the scene – Walter Cronkite sitting at a desk in the open air at Cape Canaveral, with a Mercury-Redstone rocket and its gantry in the near-distance behind him with a little tiny black Mercury “capsule” perched on top, while we waited for the count-down to get to zero and the engines would light.  Tendrils and jets of steam vented away from the rocket in the early morning sunshine as we waited on the edge of our seats for the ignition and launch. 

[A note about the photos:  Take a look at the nice little Redstone rocket in the photo above.  Then scroll down and take a look at the difference in power evident in the space shuttle launch photo down toward the end of this essay, or the Saturn V under the Apollo 8 command ship...  What a difference 30 years of development makes.]

I’m not sure many of us knew at the time just how many of those Redstone rockets had previously blown themselves to bits on launch or within the first few seconds of flight... I know I didn’t.  I’m not sure whether these early spacemen were courageous – or simply thick, stupid and uncomprehending of the realities (I’m joking…).  But if I had personally seen those many recent catastrophic failures (as the Mercury 7 had seen), I don't think love of country, Mom or mankind could possibly have induced me to sit atop one of those big bombs while it was being lit.

Gagarin

Spam in a can... On that first day when we catapulted astronaut Shepherd out over the Atlantic in a “what goes up must come down” trajectory, Yuri Gagarin had already been launched and orbited the earth.  He was first. The United States was a little more conservative, or cautious, about those first flights.  We launched first Shepherd, and then Gus Grissom, up and down, first and second, before we orbited John Glenn on the third Mercury flight; none of them had more than a little control over their spacecraft.  That would come later, with the Gemini program.


One of my best memories from the first orbital flights was the sense of wonder evoked by the radio communications from the astronauts as they circled the Earth -- and the weird sense of connection we had with them even when they were so isolated from us all. I remember when the citizens of Perth, Australia turned on every light in their city, as a hello and "welcome" to the orbiting American astronaut as he passed overhead. I still have warm feelings for Perth and Australians today as a result; I cannot think of Perth without thinking of what they did.  

My first memory of the space program was being led into the backyard one evening, probably in the late 1950s, to see a Russian satellite pass overhead.  My memory of it was as a ball of fire -- I don't know if what we saw was a re-entry burn-up or if my memory is flawed -- perhaps we just saw it as we see any satellite - like a little moving planet.  But I clearly remember seeing it -- it passed from south to north, basically.  I've seen many more since, of course -- seeing a satellite is possible almost any evening if you know how to look for them.  One of the best was seeing the International Space Station followed by a space shuttle as they passed overhead after un-docking from each other a few years ago.  The ISS led the shuttle by a few hundred miles -- but from this perspective, way down here in Phoenix, they appeared to still be close together.  They were both about as bright as Venus.

The USA had no catastrophic failures in the early days, but Russia lost Valentin Bondarenko in a training accident early on. I cannot help but feel that their losses are our losses too; you know, a brotherhood of spaceman kind of thing. At the time, the loss of Vladimir Komarov hit me particularly hard - he died when his Soyuz capsule's parachutes failed to slow his descent. In the USA, while glitches and problems were frequent, the day only came two programs and roughly 5 years later when we lost our first NASA astronaut crew– and that was on the ground. Test pilot Michael Adams had lost his life prior to Apollo 1 in an X-15 flight over California– but today no one much remembers his “space” flight – or his death. We knew, though, even from the start, that the day would come when men would give their lives for the sake of space exploration. At the time we didn't realize that women would be astronauts too and would also give everything; to date, four of them (17% of our total losses). In 1961, that possibility was unthinkable (except to women, of course).

Liberty Bell 7 just before she sank...

On one Mercury flight, astronaut “Gus” Grissom “lost” his capsule after splashdown – all our early spacecraft landed in the sea via parachutes.  The hatch on “Liberty 7” opened too soon and the craft filled with seawater and sank, while a Marine Corps helicopter hovered overhead, unable to lift its water-logged weight from the Atlantic.

Grissom was later blamed for popping the hatch prematurely – although he said he had not touched it.  He has been portrayed as panicked and cowardly by the media (in the film and book "The Right Stuff").  That’s nonsense. I have always thought he was due the benefit of the doubt – mechanical things do fail – and Grissom was known to be an unflappable and methodical test pilot – not the least bit incompetent or frightened, as he was portrayed. He was a “by the book” kind of a pilot, and a pilot’s pilot.  My thought has always been that he was criticized and denigrated by some who wouldn't have had the guts to stand in his shoes on even their best day.  And let's face it - they weren't there.  I don't believe for a minute that Gus Grissom didn't have "the right stuff."

Apollo 8 - Dec 1968

Everything we did on those early flights was aimed at one goal – to land us on the Moon, and to do that before the Russians could do it (and before New Year’s Day, 1970).  That was the goal President Kennedy set for us. In 1964 and 1965, we fired off two astronauts at a time in the slightly-larger Gemini capsules, on larger Titan II rockets.  We practiced docking maneuvers (using little unmanned spacecraft called “Agena” -- and space-walks. Astronauts like Neil Armstrong were finally flying their Gemini capsules like little space-sports cars – and sometimes they spun wildly out of control (before recovering and making NASA's first emergency landing).

Later, when the same pilot (Armstrong) had a need to suddenly find an alternative landing spot on the Sea of Tranquility, that experience in quick improvisation served him well. All of these exercises (and learned skills) were necessary for the Apollo flights and it turned out these were sound plans and preparations – Apollo unfolded just like we envisioned it -- and got us up there and walking around on the Moon’s surface before 1970, just like John Kennedy told us we would.  We had some problems along the way, like Apollo 13, but the Apollo program overall was a resounding success, and an awesome achievement by the standards of any era. The Russians never made it; after our success preempted them, they took their program another direction (which has also benefited space exploration and travel even today -- not just for them -- but for the rest of us as well).

Before we got Apollo 8 off to circle the Moon at Christmas, 1968, we had suffered the loss of our first crew on the pad in an oxygen-fueled flash fire – Gus Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee were the first astronauts to die in one of our spacecraft. So when Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders orbited the Moon and took photos of all of us back on planet Earth – many of us were thinking about the high cost we'd paid.  By then, in the Soviet Union, Cosmonauts Valentin Bondarenko, Vladimir Komarov and three others had also perished. 

Apollo 8, Earth and Moon

We were also thinking about the very real possibility that we might never see Apollo 8 again once it went around the Moon's back side… if they didn’t enter a lunar orbit precisely, the spacecraft could “glance” off and careen irrevocably into the far reaches of interplanetary space. Adding to the suspense, while they were behind the Moon we had no communication with them; we didn't immediately know at that critical point whether those men were coming home or not; what NASA and Apollo 8 were trying to do had never been done before. So we sat on the edge of our seats once again and we hoped and we waited.  But the NASA of the 1960s was a very competent organization and its people were brilliant.  Apollo 8 reappeared, in orbit, just as planned and the astronauts treated us to a moving scripture-reading for Christmas (a nice touch even for us non-Christians) and (later) one of the most famous photographs ever taken – Earthrise photographed from Moon orbit.

Apollo 8 Command Ship today (in Chicago)

My own family has a personal connection to those glory days of the American space program – my Dad was involved in the space program at two different times in his career as an engineer (or originally as a draftsman and design-checker).  In late 1965, he was hired as a draftsman by the Lockheed Corporation at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico (and later worked as a design-checker there). They were designing and building new tracking equipment – the existing gear (for Mercury and Gemini) wasn’t suitable for space flight that was leaving the confines of low Earth orbit – Apollo would be traveling nearly 240,000 miles out across the open sea of Space to get to the Moon, so we had to build new equipment that could track them way out there.  For those who think we didn’t really go to the Moon at all, my Dad thanks you (as do thousands of his similarly-employed peers) for letting him know that all his years of work in that program, including the design and the construction, as well as the later actual tracking of the Apollo space missions, were just a hoax and a fraud. Morons.

Later, when NASA was preparing for the Space Shuttle program, Dad, by then a mechanical and optical engineer, designed “steering” gear on the Solid Rocket Boosters used to help launch the Shuttles ("steering" does not regard direction of travel -- but a mechanism to control and equalize thrust through the use of rotating nozzles). 

I myself was also a "design engineer” in the early space program – helping further private rocket and spacecraft design with extremely sophisticated model rockets in my backyard… some of these reached dangerously high altitudes and although I am not certain any ever achieved orbit, a couple of them were still going up when they disappeared, so who knows… I was very famous in my neighborhood.

You could say that I was also personally inspired by the space program... In the summer of 1969, it didn’t seem real to us that our astronauts were going to the moon to land on it.  Some of us boys slept out in the yard during the Apollo 11 mission – and while Neil and Buzz and Richard flew, we looked at the Moon and we talked and dreamed about what it was like “up there.”  Later, very late at night, the heady atmosphere and the "euphoria of youth" got us into trouble – impersonating alien life-forms at two in the morning on the boulevards nearby, in complete alien costume, scaring bejeezus out of several drunk drivers, (we thought). That extra-curricular activity led to apprehension, detention, suspension... and “charges” of curfew violation. Our immediate travel arrangements were decidedly earthly; (police cruiser) transport to a nearby precinct-house... and my Mom didn’t speak to me for about two weeks… 

Buzz Aldrin on the Moon

But by the time Neil and Buzz Aldrin stepped down onto the surface of the Moon from Eagle, the “lunar landing module (or LEM),” we were all back in front of the TV; hundreds of millions of us. Even David Beaver, whose father had advised Phoenix PD to "let him sit down there [in jail] and rot" when he had been called at 0300...  We heard Neil Armstrong say “That’s one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind” on live television – all the way from Earth’s moon.  I did not hear the “a” he claims he spoke – but I believe him.  If he said it, he said it.  Period. Was it really a “giant leap” though?   

It was certainly a first step. Mankind must move beyond the Earth if we are to survive. While it likely won’t happen soon (more likely about 6 or 8 billion years from now), the Earth will eventually become completely uninhabitable, global-warming or not.  Eventually, the sun will grow old and as it runs out of fuel it will expand, and planet Earth will be engulfed and incinerated.  So before that day when we would become crispy critters, human emigrants must strike off in search of a habitable place to live.  Without a space program, how will we be able to do that?  And isn't the first step often the biggest?

Aside from that reality, we have gained hundreds of products and technologies through and from the space program.  Life simply would not exist as we know it today without us having launched men and women into space. The program jump-started the development of scratch-resistant lenses, Teflon, Velcro, memory foam, rechargeable batteries, miniaturization and microprocessors. Did you know that computers used to take up entire rooms and more?  Now, your little old laptop PC has many more times the computing power of all the equipment that sent the Apollo flight across space to the Moon! Many technologies used in the medical field, including that which is used to detect breast cancer, and digital technology, satellites, GPS, cell phones, satellite television, real-time and advance weather monitoring, microwave ovens, microwave communication equipment, solar energy, new pharmaceuticals, aircraft and aviation safety, and advances in firefighting technology, to name just a few – all of these things stemmed from space travel development and exploration. 

Both in the everyday, and in the big picture, the results of the space program have improved our lives – all our lives.  Many of us wouldn’t even have survived to adulthood without the benefit of the things we’ve learned while trying to get out there.

Neil Armstrong - NASA photo

This past week, our first man on the Moon passed away unexpectedly at barely past 80 years of age.  Neil Armstrong was by all accounts and appearances a modest unassuming guy -- but who did astonishing things.  He didn’t do them by himself of course – hundreds of men and women just like him helped him accomplish what he did. 

But I liked Armstrong because he clearly represented what I think are some of the best things about “us.”  He did his job well; he had a certain amount of courage.  He was positive, never negative. He was brilliant and competent.  He didn’t squawk much.  (Actually, he didn’t squawk at all, not publicly anyway.)  He was a great representative of all those just like him who accomplished so much in such a short time. 

I can’t but think that in the history of human endeavor – that which is past and that which is still to come – those early halcyon times in the space program will be among the times we think were most golden.  And Neil Armstrong was one guy who represented very well the magnificent people and program that started us down that road. 

We’ve lately lost sight of the place, even the direction, where they were leading us.  Perhaps someday we will regain that vision and focus.  Right now, I am remembering how exciting it was to be a witness to those early days – even if it was just being glued to the TV set, watching as brave men sat on top of white rockets at Cape Canaveral before being hurled skyward.  Thanks Neil, Buzz, Richard, and Alan, and John, Wally, Gordo, Sally, Yuri, and all the others who were “first.”  I won’t forget you. For the Mercury 7, the Gemini and Apollo astronauts, and particularly…

In Memory of

Valentin Bondarenko

Michael J. Adams

Virgil “Gus” Grissom

Edward White

Roger Chaffey

Vladimir Komarov

Yuri Gagarin

Georgi Dobrovolski

Victor Patsayev

Vladislav Volkov

F. Dick Scobee

Michael J. Smith

Greg Jarvis

Ellison Onizuka

Sharon Christa MacAuliff

Judith A. Resnik

Ronald McNair

Rick Husband

Kalpana Chawla

William McCool

Michael Anderson

David Brown

Laurel Clark

Ilan Ramon

"Non est ad astra mollis e terris via "

All photos courtesy of NASA except Apollo 8 Command Ship, by Bob Schaller

Uncle Bob’s Sonoran-style Enchiladas

Don't eat this late at night.

This is not your typical “rolled” enchilada – but a dish served in a more traditional way. Esto es especialmente bueno para el desayuno… While this is not particularly spicy, it is not mild either.  If you enjoy an average level of spiciness in your Mexican dishes, this one will be about right.  If on the other hand, you have a sensitive palate, it might be a bit hot.  One way to tone it down would be to eliminate the "duck" sauce, and instead use a teaspoon or two of "taco seasoning."

Ingredientes:

Sauce 

3 TB shortening

3 TB flour

2 TB chili powder

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp minced dried onion

2 cups broth

Fillings

1 lb ground round or chuck

¼ or ½ cup chopped sweet onion

1 can El Pato tomato sauce

Shredded Mexican Cheese

12 Corn tortillas

Eggs, to go on top.

Preparación:

Make a batch of enchilada sauce: Put all sauce ingredients in a sauce pan except the broth.  Make a roux and cook it for a few minutes, until it is all sizzly and bubbly, without burning it – med to low heat.  Add the broth all at once and stir/cook until thickened.  Set aside (keep hot). This will make a medium sauce -- if you like it thicker, add an additional tablespoon of flour and shortening.

Not this one, the YELLOW can.

Fry some ground round with some sweet onion, and when it is browned nicely, drain any excess grease and pour in 1 small can of El Pato Mexican-style tomato sauce (yellow can, we call it “duck sauce” around here – it has a picture of a mallard on the label, just like that one over there, except yellow...)   

Simmer the meat in the “duck sauce” until the sauce is mostly cooked off. Set aside; keep hot.

Now it's tortilla time!  Make a batch of tortillas.  Oh?  you don't have a tortilla press?  Well, then you'll have to buy some at the grocery.  Pity.

Heat a cast iron griddle or skillet.  Pour a small amount of oil on the hot griddle – and fry each tortilla for about 35 or 40 seconds, turning once. Without a bit of oil, the tortillas won’t get a little crispy like we want ‘em to. If they don't sizzle briskly when you put them on the griddle, the oil and pan are not hot enough. Set each fried tortilla aside on a paper towel.  Fry about three tortillas for each serving (1 enchilada), adding oil as necessary. (I always cut a section of paper toweling in quarters, and place a piece of paper towel in between each cooked tortilla while I finish frying the others; this keeps them apart and soaks up a bit of the oil.)

Assemble.   

Heat a skillet with a bit of oil and fry an egg to desired doneness (I prefer over-medium so the white is cooked but the yolk runs all over my enchilada while I am eating it).

While it is cooking, place a tortilla on a microwaveable serving plate.  Spread it with a spoonful of sauce, and a generous amount of the meat mixture.  Place a 2^nd tortilla on top and heap a goodly amount of shredded cheese on that.  Top with a third tortilla.  Ladle a serving spoon or two of hot enchilada sauce over the stack (don’t skimp on the sauce), maybe a little more queso, and nuke the whole thing for about 30 seconds.  To serve, place the just-finished egg on the just nuked enchilada stack.

This is good stuff... You can also add things (or layers) like salsa, or chopped black olives, hot refried beans, or chopped fresh onions – some folks might also like sour cream on this but I think simple is best and I don’t usually add a thing. Maybe some chopped lettuce y tomato on the side...  One of these is enough for an adult-sized serving.  It might take two or three for a teenager, though.

Makes about 4 servings.

New form of birth control

Congressman
"Representative"

The congressman said that women who are really raped usually don’t get pregnant, that their bodies somehow “reject” the unwanted act!   Gosh, imagine that – the possibilities for effective birth control we’ve overlooked all these years… obviously, all women have to do is not “want” the pregnancy, to feel like it was against their will somehow... and magically, they won’t get pregnant.  And all we had to do was listen to Congress to figure this out.

And now everyone is screaming for his resignation, tar and feathering, stoning, etc.  This is just another massive overreaction by the American body politic and all the P. C. experts.  I mean, his comments were stupid, ignorant, misinformed, maybe mean-spirited and wrong, but since when is that illegal?  Since when is poor judgment a reason to dump a great politician?

He spoke what he believed, apparently – and we Americans, well, we admire that, don’t we?  The man or woman who always does (or says) what he or she thinks is right?  After all, we all have the right to our opinions – they’re always valid whether or not they are based in science or reality or whatever… because, well, it’s what we think that's right and that's all that matters.

It seems to me that this mentally-deficient man fits right in up on Capitol Hill; there’s another three million of them there just like him, one way or another (many of them from my own state).  Humorist Mark Twain once said... "In the first place God made idiots.  This was for practice.  Then he made politicians."

In the end, it is not up to all these experts to decide whether the congressman stays or goes – that is and should be up to the voters in his district (at least in a case like this one).  

But it is a sad reminder to me every time something like this occurs just how ignorant and ill-prepared the larger portion of the American electorate truly is, to keep choosing individuals like this to run our government and write our laws.  It's like Pogo said; "We have met the enemy and they is us."

Miles and Miles to the Falls - 2012 Trek to Supai

I survived another trek to Supai! I'm not a serious backpacker.  I am more of a faire-weather backpacker.  Strictly a light-weight. I take it easy and luxurious wherever I can. As you will see if you read on.

So, as a "shake-down" hike for a future Grand Canyon rim-t0-rim,  I thought I would be far enough along (by now) with my conditioning routine that I could once again successfully manage a jaunt to Supai, and the blue green waterfalls of the Havasupai Reservation. I was wrong about that.

I did make it, but I have a dreadful case of the Supai-shuffle and my knees may never be the same.  I say the same thing of course, after every visit there and this was my seventh.

The conditions were actually pretty ideal; they had had rain and cloudy weather the past few days, with intermittent sunshine and heat. It was our good luck that those conditions continued throughout our visit (friend Linda went along for her second trip to the village and the waterfalls).

We left Phoenix on Thursday afternoon and stayed overnight in Seligman, AZ.  We stayed at the Supai Motel in Seligman, which was plain but clean.  Check-in was friendly, the price was a bit high, but not terribly so; $75 inclusive for all.

The View from Hualapai Hilltop

To hike the trail from Hualapai Hilltop (the trailhead 60 miles north of old Route 66 on Route 18) in summer, you are smart to hike very early.  You want to be in the village and out of the sun on a summer day by 9:00 am if you can.  This means arriving the night before and sleeping in the parking lot in your car (I've done that, no thanks), or getting a room as close as you can and finishing the drive before your hike. That's what I like to do.  

There is lodging available in Peach Springs, which is the closest to Hualapai Hilltop (except for the motel at Grand Canyon Caverns), but my custom has been to stay in Seligman and that works OK as well and there are more choices there.  From Seligman it is about 90 miles to Hilltop.  Route 18 is not a terribly quick road and there are almost always cattle on the road at some point, so you have to allow yourself plenty of time.  I always plan to be on the trail at first light in the summertime around here -- and that's 5:15 am or so.  By the way, Hualapai is pronounced WAL-a-pie.

Headed down the Switchbacks on the Havasupai Trail

This time though, we didn't get there that early.  We arrived at more like 6:30 or 6:45 or so.  We got ourselves packed-up, trail-ready and hiking by 7:00 am.  It was a cool morning so we didn't suffer for the late start. 

The first part of the Havasupai Trail is down some fairly respectable switchbacks -- about a mile and a half of them.  Along these upper reaches of the trail, we got overtaken by a small herd of cattle being driven down to the village by some "outside" wranglers and some tribal members.  We stood aside behind a short retaining wall and we still weren't out of the way.  One errant steer came trotting down the narrow culvert behind the wall where we were cowering.  When he saw us, he ambled back over the wall at a low spot and went on by.  I knew he would do that. 'Cause I knows cows. Ain't skeered o' no dogie.

Along the Havasupai Trail

We hiked along at an easy pace and stopped about every 45 or 50 minutes for a short break, rest the shoulders and have a snack.  My day pack was cutting into my left shoulder a little and stressing my neck.  I regularly dosed the afflicted area with some pain-relief rub (good old Flexall 454) and kept plugging along, only complaining when someone was within ear-shot.  

My legs were kind of numb after the switchbacks. They weren't aching or hurting, but I stumbled quite a bit. I felt like they were flailing along like a windmill without much control.  I must've been OK though, because I didn't fall down more than a dozen times or so.  Truth be told, I didn't hike as quickly as I usually do on this trail, reflecting my low-level of conditioning at present. The hike to the village took quite a bit longer than what I could do if I were in better shape. I drank three 23 oz bottles of water and had a 4th along for a spare.

One mistake people often make when hot weather hiking -- they don't drink their water.  If you are moving downhill in shade, it is easy to forget to drink because you don't always "feel" thirsty; but be assured, your body needs that water.  Drink it regularly while you hike. On my first hike to Supai in the mid-eighties I made that mistake and was heat-sick by the time I got to town. People who over-exert themselves on Grand Canyon trails or don't drink enough water die occasionally.

It started to get more difficult toward the end; we hit the sun and by the time we reached the outskirts of Supai I was ready to be finished, no question.  We arrived at the lodge during their lunch hour, so we went back to the cafe for a rest and I had lunch. That was the only meal I ate in the cafe during this trip.  

Supai Cafe and Village Square

The menu is strictly "fast food" these days. There used to be chili and beef stew if I remember correctly, but not anymore.  The service was friendly but extremely s-l-o-w.  I ordered a burger and tater tots; there were a total of about ten tickets on the order board when I ordered and I was still waiting for my food about 90 minutes later.  That's just the way it is in Supai.  They only have two speeds -- if you don't like the one you've got, you sure as hell won't like the other one, so don't complain. Linda and I just sat there and chatted until the ordeal was over. With good company, the time goes quickly anyway.

For all my other meals, I ate a combination of my own snacks plus some items to supplement them from the Supai store - a loaf of bread, lunch-meat, fruit, DIET COKES (which were icy cold, by the way).  Prices are exorbitant in Supai, but remember that everything is either packed from Hilltop via mule or horse, or brought in by air.  So my "chopped ham" and bread were subject to the $600 per hour tariff of a helicopter ride.  In addition, all the trash is ultimately packed out so that's an added expense as well.  If you don't want to pay a share of the costs of your visit, DON'T GO.  Avoid disappointment, I always say.

After lunch and shopping at the store, we walked back to the hotel and got our room and I took a nice refreshing cold shower.  (Yes, there was hot water, but I wanted cold).  Then like a true vacationer, I had a nice nap.  Linda read her book, and she napped too.  We weren't planning on doing any further hiking that day; we just relaxed and kept an eye on "things" in town.

Supai Lodge

The room was clean and comfortable.   It occurs to me that the nicest person I encountered on this trip to Supai was the hotel maid.  She had a smile and a friendly hello every time I ran into her.  And I forgot to leave her a tip.  What a bum I turned out to be. The Lodge manager was also fairly friendly and helpful.

People who visit Supai often complain about how unfriendly the locals are. The only surliness I encountered on this visit was from a couple of young men (which has been the case in the past, too).  Injustice rests most heavily on the young, no matter where you are. Most of the time though, the Havasupai people you meet will return a hello, or give you a nod as they ride past on their horses.  People mistake a taciturn nature for hostility.  They are usually wrong.

If you are not familiar, the main attraction of a visit to Supai and the Havasupai Reservation is a series of several gorgeous turquoise-blue waterfalls.  The hike to Supai is about eight or nine miles from Hilltop depending on which sign you believe, but the waterfalls are another two miles or so farther downstream.  So if you are using the village lodge as a base (instead of camping), you have a roughly 2-mile walk each-way every time you want to go.  Campers, on the other hand, are located in the shaded land between Havasu and Mooney Falls.

Navajo Falls -- the trail below the village.

I figured we'd probably hike to the falls twice -- once for swimming, once for photos.  In the end we did everything in one trip and didn't go back the second time. The hike back to the village in the afternoon sun was uphill and blisteringly hot, so we only did it once. That was the only uncomfortable hike we had. The others were all in much cooler conditions, which is really unusual in the summer and we were fortunate in that regard.  

We could've gone back to the falls in late afternoon and walked back in the last light of the evening and it would have been much more comfortable.  But I was busy napping by then. Anyway, I took two bottles of water on the hike from the village to the falls and that turned out to be just about right. We spent a couple of hours at the falls, swimming and people-watching.

For this trip, we were more limited than usual because a flood had damaged things on Wednesday (the area is subject to frequent flash floods during the summer rainy season). So the trail below Havasu Falls was closed. If you hike about 1.25 miles farther down the trail from Havasu Falls, through the campground, you come to Mooney Falls, the tallest of all the falls in Cataract Canyon and named for an early "explorer" who fell to his death there. We missed Mooney this time because of the storm damage and resulting closure.

Havasu Falls

But we hiked as far as Havasu Falls and spent about 3 hours there soaking in the fast-moving cool waters and watching all the other people who were doing the same thing.  Then I put my hiking shoes back on and bitched and moaned my way back to the village in the hot summer sun.  

Doing what people do at Havasu Falls

I planned on a cold shower upon arrival.  I lusted for it, I dreamed about it.  I stumbled along in the 100 degree sunshine positively feeling that cold water, refreshing me, soothing me, cooling me down after my hike, getting the dust off.  Alas. Upon arrival at the Supai Lodge, the water lines were empty.  They remained so for the next several hours.  The next time any water flowed through the Supai Lodge pipes it was late in the evening.  I had long since given up the idea and gone to bed.

At one point, I asked the hotel manager about the lack of water.  She gave me a blank stare and stated that she "didn't know anything about that." I have learned during my many visits with the Havasupai that the proper response at such times is silence and patience. After a few moments, she said "maybe the power outages had affected the pumps -- or something -- and eventually it would get fixed."  You just have to remain patient. This ain't the Waldorf Astoria. 

Eventually, we had water again, but it arrived on Indian time (that's not criticism). "Type A" people may not be able to enjoy the relaxed pace of a place like this, but I sure can.

Walking around Supai

We spent some time watching the village's stray dogs, reading books we found in the lodge "lobby" and playing cards.  I won the last round in sudden death so I am champion of the world in Crazy Eights.  We both laughed at my pathetic attempts to shuffle a deck of cards, an art I have never mastered.   There are no public telephones, no television, and no cell phone service in Supai. In Supai, you'd better know how to entertain yourself the old-fashioned way.

The last (third) morning, I woke up about 6:30 am and got up and moving -- finally had that shower, walked downtown to see what was "up," and waited around.

Waitin' around in Supai

We had decided to seize the opportunity of a helicopter ride out of the canyon.  The hike out wouldn't have been difficult except for the last 1.5 miles of switchbacks, which are always tough.  I have hiked them with pack and without, six prior times. But...

When I discovered (on arrival at the cafe on Friday) that a first-come first-served helicopter flight was only $85, there was no question in my mind what I wanted to do. I considered that price so reasonable that I offered to pay Linda's fare too if she was in some way reluctant or unable.  I was sold. I  begged, I whined, I pleaded and Linda finally saw the wisdom of my plan. How can you possibly spend four tortuous hours on a hot, dry trail when a four-minute helicopter ride covers the same distance for only $85.  Eighty-five dollars!  Woo HOO!  Especially when your knees are still suffering from the downhill hike.

The way it works is you show up at the designated time and you put your names on the list.  I hoped the guy-in-charge would show up early, but he did not.  I kept checking though.  The appointed time was 10:00 am.  The chopper would fly from 10:00 - 1:00 pm.

At about 9:30 am, Linda and I walked down to the plaza where the heli-pad is.  This is the hub of activity in Supai. The cafe is there, the store is there, the meeting hall is there. The school is there, the clinic, everything almost -- including the helicopter.  Only the lodge is a little ways away, around the corner and behind the Christian church (a surplus Quonset Hut).  Those wanting to fly were mostly already waiting. Those who were hiking were on the trail already, trudging up the dry, hot canyon toward the switchbacks. 

We went back and got our stuff together, turned in our room key, then returned to the "plaza"and waited by the "terminal" gate. There actually is no terminal but there is a gate in the chain link fence surrounding the grass patch that calls itself an "airport."

1st Class Transport at Supai

We put our names on the roster, paid our $85, and waited for the man to call us for our flight. The helicopter was a bit late, but no one seemed to notice. 

Each round trip to Hilltop takes 15 minutes.  About 7.5 min up, and 7.5 min back, including loading and unloading time. I think we got on the second "revenue" flight; the first flight was to drop the up-top staff at Hilltop, the second trip was the first revenue flight, and we got on the third one -- to the great consternation of some fairly pushy Germans who thought they should be first and shoved their way to the front of the line at every opportunity.  I grinned about that, but it wasn't personal, it was strictly a matter of weight and balance. Linda and I simply fit the load requirements on that particular flight better.  The German tourists got on the next flight, I think.

The ride out of the canyon was quick and spectacular.  It follows the general path of the trail below, so at certain points you can look down and see those poor souls trudging along in the sand and rocks.  Poor bastards.

On the Job at Hilltop

Once alight at Hilltop, we got into the cold drinks I always leave in the car, in an ice chest crammed with ice to the top (yes, it stays very cold for the three days of a Supai trip). We took a couple more photos and then hit the road for home.  It's about 250 miles, so while not a short drive it isn't a particularly long one either.  We had lunch along the way and we were home by about 4:30 pm or so.

I am now a veteran of 6.5 hikes (and one helicopter ride) to and from the Havasupai reserve, dating from about 1985 or so. I'm more than willing to answer questions about things I have learned from that experience. If you have stumbled across this essay and have questions about visiting the Havasupai people and their home in the Grand Canyon, you may send me a note at trafficschoolbob43(at)yahoo(dot)com.

There is no other place quite like it in the United States, perhaps not even in the world. 

Racism in America

Today from Dubuque, Iowa there is news about a teacher in trouble over her comments that Huck Finn is a "racist" novel.  She is both right and wrong.

If you put yourself back in Samuel Clemens' time and look at his attitudes and his actions (which we can because he wrote about these things much more than other white folks did back then), you'd have to say he was very forward for his time in terms of social justice, in race relations, and his stories quite often threw a spotlight on the problems he saw in race relations in those days. 

"Mark Twain" quite plainly lamented the way blacks were treated in his times and Huck Finn was a very anti-racist story for that day and time in our history.  But I suspect you would also find there were racist attitudes present in Sam Clemens' psyche.  He was a product of his time and environment - just like I am a product of my time and environment. 

I suspect I can find elements of racism in my attitudes -- any time I see another human being as different, or separate, from me (whether this is overt or subconscious), this is racism.  Am I a racist? I work very hard not to be -- I try to remain very aware of my attitudes and feelings about others. I think you could say the same thing about Sam Clemens - his writings show much evidence of that truth.

It is up to each of us to examine those attitudes and feelings -- and get over the fear of the "other" that we all tend to have.  I don't know about you, but I came to realize long ago that people are just people -- there is not a human being on the face of this earth who does not have the same feelings I do, the same wants and needs, the same fears. While there are differences between us, the reality is that we are more the same than we are different.

We need to talk about these things -- and Sam Clemens' books and stories provide a very useful framework for that discussion.  What's different between then and now?  What's the same -- what hasn't changed?  No one can possibly argue that we haven't made millions of miles of progress, but there are still millions of miles to go.

I'm not commenting about the plight of the Iowa teacher -- I don't know anything about that and I sure do not trust the media to portray her situation with any real truth (is that bias creeping in there?).

I do know that taking Mark Twain out of the canon of a school (or even seriously calling it a racist work) are the wrong things to do.  Even if it is a racist work in your mind, we still want those ideas and attitudes exposed. No one has ever been harmed by the exchange of ideas -- it is only when the opposite occurs that we suffer. We cannot improve the situation by hiding from it.  Let's get it out there in the light.  Let's talk about it.

Concert mic shut off in London

Guitarist Steve Van Zandt commented "who in the world wouldn't want to hear one more McCartney or Springsteen tune" after officials shut off the sound system at an outdoor (Hyde Park?) concert -- at about 30 minutes after its scheduled end and a London "sound curfew."


Uh, I can think of a few MILLIONS of people who don't care for that music -- and which several thousand of whom may live in that immediate area and probably wanted to get some sleep.  Concert-goers aren't the only ones with rights, you know.  The officials (or organizers) who shut off the microphones and sound shouldn't have to defend their actions.  They weren't heavy-handed; they were only doing what was right.  Perhaps the only thing they might have done better perhaps would have been to communicate the requirements a little more forcefully beforehand.

Just my opinion.

Arizona Motorcycle Tours – The Back Road to Prescott

Photo by Linda

Arizona is motorcycle country.  By the time summer rolls around, lots of folks think our riding season must be over but that’s not really true – you can ride year-around here and even when it is blisteringly hot; you just have to prepare yourself and take precautions to survive brief exposure to the heat!  Of course, October/November and March/April are the prime times for glorious riding, no one is arguing that fact.

There are any one of a hundred different possibilities for great motorcycle touring choices – some of my favorites are the Sonoita/Sierra Vista area of southeastern Arizona, Route 66 from Seligman to Oatman, Route 87 from Phoenix to Payson (and beyond, and the Coronado Trail in far eastern Arizona (US Highway 191 from Clifton to Springerville).  You can’t beat the Rim highway either, from Camp Verde along the Crook Trail over to Payson and out to Show Low on SR260.  Think “Blue Ridge Parkway” with high speed two-lane blacktop and Arizona’s old growth Ponderosa Pines.  It’s a “sky highway” for much of its length with expansive vistas over the mesas, canyons and valleys below.  Even the superslab from Phoenix to Flagstaff (I-17) is a gorgeous ride, even if we Arizonans take it somewhat for granted because it is so familiar to us.

Linda at Wickenburg - 06/03/12

Today, my friend Linda and I rode the “back-road” to Prescott – Phoenix to Wickenburg via US60/93, then SR89 up Yarnell Hill and through the woods to Prescott, with a return via Cordes Junction on SR69 and I-17.  It is roughly 210 miles and it took us 7½ hours, with a generous amount of time for stops and stretches; my “south end of the northbound” is not as, shall we say, resilient as it was in years past?  The ride could be done quicker by aggressive riders who do not need to stop quite so much – and some of the blacktop begs to be burned a little bit – if you like twisties.  Our pace today was more sedate.

The ride out to Wickenburg is on a divided highway – called Grand Avenue (in Phoenix) and is stop and go for about the first 30 or 45 minutes, depending on where you start from.  It’s flat, quite developed, and is skinned off Sonoran Desert for much of the distance.  It is the least interesting part of the ride. 

The "Some Like it Hot" Cafe in Wickenburg

Wickenburg, on the other hand, is a fun place to stop and eat… Hey, eating is important.   We discovered that my favorite little Wickenburg café has changed hands since last I was there – it was the “Cowboy Café” but is now the “Some Like it Hot Café.”  They told us a lots of folks think this means Mexican cuisine – but not so – it is just a neat little breakfast and lunch kind of place with a Marilyn Monroe theme.  It was clean, the food and service were good, and the prices were fair.  I guess the Cowboy Café is re-open on the near side of town these days so perhaps I will stop there again on another trip.  I have my loyalties.  But, this new little place was friendly and I am sure I will keep stopping there also.  They have fresh pies on the menu, and I will need to try some of those. Didn’t have room today after the eggs, sausage, biscuit and gravy, browns and toast for 6.95, plus a side of mac salad (just to see).

Linda riding up Yarnell Hill

Linda’s little bike can only get down the road about 100 miles on a tank, so we gassed her up there on the way out of town, and skeedaddled over (and up) to Yarnell.  Yarnell Hill was a legend back in the day of the two-lane blacktop – as famous as the Grapevine and other truck-stop horror-story hills.  

Today on the road leading up to the base of the hill, we paced a Burlington Northern - Santa Fe freight headed up the Peavine to the main line at Ash Fork -- he must have been dragging a load of empties because he only had two locomotives pulling up that long grade.  The tracks run off to the north and away from the highway - and these days the whole system bypasses Prescott altogether and rejoins SR89 north of Prescott in the area of Chino Valley.

These days SR89 is a divided road over Yarnell Hill, and the curves have been ironed out a bit – but it is still a little bit fun.  You’ve got your uphill grade, some broad to not-so-broad curves (and hairpins) and as you reach the top, the air temperature has begun to cool. Take it easy and relax on this stretch; the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Dept. knows you like to drive it fast.  They are out there.  Don’t speed through Yarnell either…

Yarnell Hill

Now you’re on top and in ranch country – the Maughan Ranch(es) were some of the ones I saw up there today.  The air was cool, the road was good and you’ll want to let it breathe a little bit.  It’s cool…  just watch out for da cops.  It's really beautiful landscape, with wide-open views, a green "ranchey" look to it and long stretches of straight punctuated by curves leading you into the next stretch. I don't know about you, but I like that kind of road.  You will be pleased to note that I took no photos of cows today.

Across the valley as you approach the next range, you see the community of Wilhoit up ahead.  You pass Peeples Valley and Kirkland Junction.  At Kirkland, you could take an alternate back-back road around to the north and into Prescott (County Roads 15 and 10 through Skull Valley), and while that is also a pretty area and a nice drive, the main route on SR89 is better for motorcycle fun (my opinion).  Had I been train-watching, the 15/10 route follows the Peavine the closest.

You climb out of Wilhoit and the rest of the way into Prescott is Arizona mountain highway - by the time you reach the divide you'll be above 6100 ft msl.  Some of the turns are deceptively tight (so don’t get carried away).  You will be twisting your ride from one side to the other as you work your way through these curves and grades.  

I saw one guy today on a Suzuki rat-bike and he was running from apex to apex about 10 or 15 mph faster than my pace (and everyone else's) – and while I am sure he was having all sorts of fun all I wanted to do was stay away from him – he was a persistent tailgater and a little reckless otherwise as well – for as long as he was in view.  I don’t care to ride in close proximity to those guys, but most of the other riders I saw today were a bit less crazy than that.

You enter Prescott on White Spar Road and then Montezuma Street -- but you are always still on Highway 89... In Prescott, I looked for evidence of the recent fire on Whiskey Row but didn’t see any of it.  There was (as usual) some kind of carnival or something going on at the Courthouse Square with the resulting crowds of vehicles and pedestrians.   I also watched for smoke or crews from last week's forest fire on top the Bradshaws, but apparently that has subsided.  The sky was clear and blue.

We rode on out of town on Gurley Street and stopped in Prescott Valley for Linda’s fuel-up.  Then it was down SR69 to I-17, with a stop at Sunset Point to stretch and relax.  I soaked my water vest and put it on – from that point it would be over 100 degrees the remaining 60 miles or so.  The water vest is a quilted vest that breathes – you wet it and the evaporation cools you as you ride – it gets your shirt a little bit damp, but makes riding in hotter temperatures a bit more bearable.  Today I wore a long-sleeved shirt for sunburn protection but I did not wear my summer jacket.  I did OK, with just a little discomfort from the wind whipping the shirt sleeves and collar.  It wasn’t too bad.  I usually do wear the jacket (it’s a mesh affair with Kevlar) and this is the first time I have ever gone (on a road trip) without it.   I had misgivings about that decision even before I got out of town, but the reality is I did alright.

Sunset Point Rest Area

From Sunset Point it was a quick run back into North Phoenix.  Sunday afternoon traffic is not the best on that road – but it wasn’t too crazy today.  There were your usual cages whose drivers think everything is related to NASCAR – but whose skills as drivers are far from NASCAR level – or even go-kart level.  There were also a lot of motorcycles today – it seems like there were a lot of others who had the same idea we did!  So my “waving to motorcycles arm” got its exercise!

I stopped at the neighborhood corner to refuel – and from Prescott Valley to Phoenix, I got 53½ mpg – the best I have ever gotten with Big Blue.  I knew it would be (good) – since the route between the two points is significantly downhill.  So I figure that will be about the best I ever get – which means normal mpg will be between 40 or 43 (town and freeway) and 53 on the road with the wind behind me and from high ground to low ground.

This is a very pretty and spectacular route – desert, woods, Arizona high country as well as low – and a good mix of the kinds of roads we love to ride.  If you want to go, take US60 (Grand Ave) northwest out of Phoenix to Wickenburg (about 60 miles); turn north on US93 in Wickenburg and follow that a few miles to a right turn-off onto SR89 to Congress.  In Congress, you make a right turn to keep following SR89, and take that up Yarnell Hill and on into Prescott (total of about 60 miles).  In Prescott, turn right up Gurley Street and follow that as it becomes SR69 out through Prescott Valley, Mayer and at Cordes Junction, bear right onto southbound I-17 and back to Phoenix (90 more miles, Prescott to Phoenix).

If you happen to be doing this ride at a time of day that gets you through Dewey, AZ (south of Prescott Valley) close to lunch or suppertime, then you're a fool if you don't stop and eat at Leff-T's Steakhouse and Grill.  It's one of Arizona's best (IMHO).

One note of caution… many Arizona communities are using photo enforcement for speed and for red light violations.  Prescott Valley is [was, the PV cameras have been removed as of 2015] one community that has several set-ups – also El Mirage along US60 as you depart Phoenix.  Even the locals forget these cameras are there and get nailed – don’t let it happen to you.  The speed camera set-ups give you a tiny bit of “grace,” but not much.  Keep it within 5 mph and you should be OK.  Should.  (No guarantees, mate.)  For a red light, you cannot enter an intersection against a red signal.  Don't say I didn't warn you...

Keep the shiny side up!