18 June Natural Bridges/Monument Valley

It has been quite a day and we are now nestled away in the Quality Inn in Page, Arizona, which will be our home for two nights. Man, is it hot! Bob and Tom will share some thoughts on our adventures the last day or two.
Bob's comments on Day 5: This has been our longest day (not to be confused with the efforts of our WWII veterans. Last night we visited the 2 Axes Saloon and Restaurant. We munched on the salad and pizza buffet while the Tribe got beat by the Rockies. I called Ryan Thomas who is in Alaska to share our blog site and in the process he told us all Utah brew is 3.2. After getting over the nausea I asked Greg and Tom to take me home. Wednesday we will leave Utah and it's archaic blue laws. We headed to Natural Bridges National Monument which is out side of Blanding, Utah by 34 miles. There are 3 bridges and Indian ruins in one "snaking" canyon of light sandy color. Bridges are different form arches. They are formed by rushing water. The three could be viewed from nearby parking areas and a short hike. The place is extremely isolated and it seems only the French have discovered its uniqueness. We pushed on many miles to get to Monument Valley. Along the way we stopped to photograph Mexican Hat and stopped in the town of Mexican Hat at the San Juan Trading Post for lunch and souvenir shopping. I still have not found a belt. Not far down the road we saw the Monuments of Monument Valley (a destination). It was the same highway Forrest Gump traveled on his long run and where he stopped to go home. People suggested we not pass through but rather go into the visitors center and drive the "rugged" loop. The Navajos operate the entire Valley (paybacks) and they charge per person. We challenged the 17 mile loop in our red Impala. The unsuspecting will encounter deep ruts, tire crunching rocks, steep inclines and hard turns all within the first 100 yards. As the road smoothed out we searched for the ghost of John Wayne. After all this place was Hollywood's back lot for many westerns. We pulled a Cooperstown and made the advertised ride of 2 hours in 40 minutes (our poor rent-a-car). The Navajos must have gouged out this beautiful valley and they are still gouging us tourist. Experience tells me you can get all your photos from the main highway. In one more hour we drove into Page, Arizona home of 5% beer alcohol content……whew! We have dignity in a Quality Inn with a view high over Glenn Canyon Dam and Lake Powell. Tomorrow you will know what we decided to do. Utah's beauty is 100 proof but that is as far as it goes.

Hey all, just another hot day on the road……..did some wonderful places today…..had lunch at a great off-the-wall place……road trip is going well…..spending the night in Page, Arizona…..real beer and bars….The magnificence of this is awe inspiring…..the tremendous size just cannot be expressed in a simple post card or picture….it has to be experienced…..God Bless…..enjoy life…..the mayor of lower Dogtown

When we found out we were drinking 3.2 beer, each of us had flashbacks…Bob thought he was at Tony's in Chagrin…Tom thought he was at a frat party at Mizzou when he was in high school…and I thought of college ID night at the old Agora, with ten cent drafts. Those were the days!
Greg

17 June Canyonlands/Arches National Parks

Today we hit two national parks near Moab, Utah.
Bob's notes on Day 4: After morning maintenance and breakfast we took off for Canyonlands NP north and west of Moab. The road (313) rises to 6000 ft and onto the Island in the Sky. Everywhere the traveler is surrounded by unsurpassed views of the distant canyons. What you see are canyons inside of canyons, inside of canyons and distant mesas. Finally the United States government got it right ……. If you want to be stupid around the edges no one is there to catch your 1500 ft plunge with the sudden stop at the bottom. It is like driving a car without airbags and seatbelts. If whoever named the Grand Canyon saw this site first they would have found another name for the Grand Canyon. The Colorado River has been a "Work-aholic" for millenniums, carving out awe-inspiring beauty. Greg, Tom and Bob have been earning merit badges by taking hot, dusty hikes and for capturing an Ansel Adams digital moment. Each park is surprisingly not crowded and every inch traveled brings you to a better view of the picture you just took. Arches NP is literally across highway 191. It turns out to be Garden of the Gods (Colorado Springs) times 1,000,000. We gazed upon Landscape, Delicate, Double and Windows Arches always the La Sal Mountains in the background. In 1991 Royce Morrison photographed a piece on the largest arch collapsing. The monoliths are impressive and they are named for places like Park Ave. In Devils Garden we were warned about Mountain Lions. Dignity and laundry waited for us back in Moab. Tonight you can find us at The Rivers and Woody's, Tom and Greg are members. Word out to Skip. Lets have our 40th reunion here. See you tomorrow.

Hey one and all……the doctor of dogtown writing from Moab…..tourist trap of eastern Utah….but there are bars here!!!!!! Great day…..hot…..but we had a wonderful trip through Canyonlands and Arches…..I am forever amazed at the panoramic scenery we have experienced……the shear majesty. Ever step we take traces millions of years of Earth's evolution--growth and erosion. Well, for now, we close this short bio……take care, God Bless. Tom….ps…..instead of packing up the Vista Cruiser with the kids and jaunting off to Micky Mouse land or the beach……try this area……it will re-juvinate the heart…….Salaam ala meine.

16 June Capitol Reef National Park, Utah

Day 3 finds us at Capitol Reef National Park, another beautiful place.
Greg's misc. thoughts so far…
Gas has been north of four bucks a gallon so far, and I think it has greatly affected people's travel plans out here. In Las Vegas last Friday night we were able to get a room on the strip in a casino for $71 a night. We walked through several other casinos and the minimum bets on the roulette tables were all five or ten bucks. The blackjack tables were just as cheap. None of the casinos, or the sidewalks connecting them, were crowded. We didn't even see a lady of the evening anywhere, business must be slow for everyone.
Saturday night near Zion was the only night we had trouble finding lodging, and that was because they had their annual arts festival going on up there. But so far we haven't had to spend more than $80 on a hotel room, and we haven't stayed in any dumps. The highways have been empty, the parks only moderately crowded, and a great deal of the tourists are from Europe or Asia.
I've been really impressed with the National Park Service. All the parks are very tourist friendly without being over bearing. Trails are marked, rest rooms are clean, travel centers are informative, all the higher help has been friendly and helpful.
Thank God for digital cameras! We have each taken hundreds of pictures, with hundreds of more to go. We've seen some unbelievable sights. There will be a full moon the next few nights, so we plan on being out and about with our cameras at sunset and beyond to take advantage of it.
Hope you are enjoying our blog, don't be afraid to post a few comments. Also, if you want to enlarge any of the pictures, all you have to do is click on it.


Bob's Notes on Day 3…what a day. We cannot start Monday without putting the finishing touches on Sunday. After checking into the Days Inn in Torrey Utah we pushed down the road to The Rim View Inn for dinner. A majestic view of the Capitol Reef NP Mesa rising 2000 ft., meant dinner was served by Karla and Krista (please see picture) on the patio as the sun cast a red hue upon the scenery. Day 3 began with a 6:30 wakeup call and an early dash into Capitol Reef NP. We were awed by the shear size of the wall that makes up the western face. Red in color, with crumbling rocks below we drove into the park after photos of Chimney rock and the Gooseneck. The journey on the one way scenic track south took us ten miles into an incredible canyon drive. It reminded me of Phantom Canyon, Colorado (Howard). We did a neat hike into the area they call the narrows complete with the signatures of the pioneers carved into the walls of the canyon. We took off for Moab. Utah on Hwy 24 that include a dip into the Fremont River and a view of the Capitol Dome (name of the park is based upon 2 things….the formation that looks like the US Capitol Dome in DC and the fact that at one time this giant formation was a reef under a gigantic ocean millions ago. Out of Capitol Reef the canyon walls melted away into true desert as we pushed onto I-70 and the Moab exit. The route was rife with desert scenery and desolate landscape. It was hot and air conditioning is a must. We entered into the Moab valley that included an historic site where Japanese detainees were held during WWII. This site is a great story, please ask us later about it. After arriving in Moab we found The Rios Sports Bar and from there we called hotels for two nights of dignity. We found the Virginian. Greg bought membership into The Rios so they could serve us (Mormon Rules). We are good for the next few days. We are about to check out the town. Hello to all who might be reading and viewing By the way we are here to visit Arches NP and Canyonlands NP.

Hey Tom here, the other guy on the trip….aka…..Akhem Allah Bibi Boodlite…….the trip is just going fine…..hot at times, but OK…….the scenery is just incredible….tall majestic buttes, mesas, and wonderful plateaus. Our National Park system is incredible….Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef..….wow….we are so lucky……everything is going so well….great travel miles and long-never-ending ribbons of highway….met some nice people…..ps….Utah is a semi-dry state……we have to buy beer and bring it back to our hotel…..and today, membership into private Clubs…….the La Sal mountains to the east are snow-capped and magnificent. God Bless America! Never forget our troops that are abroad and those that have made this trip possible…….pss…..Happy Father's Day, a day late…….the Doctor of Dogtown.

15 June 2008 Bryce Canyon

Day 2 of our trip was spent in and around Bryce Canyon.
Bob's Notes: Day 2 out of Vegas and we find ourselves in Torrey Utah, the gateway into Capitol Reef National Park and Butch Cassidy hideout country. Here is how we got here: After a restful night in Hatch we had breakfast at the Cowboy Inn Restauant and journeyed just below to take a peak at a beautiful trout stream. We took the short ride into beautiful and inspirational Bryce Canyon National Park famous for its Hoodoo's (sculptured spires and Grottos (cave like indentations in the rock formations). We visited the lodge, and various vistas along the rim. Tom and I hiked into the canyon along the 1.3 mile Navajo loop. For a short time we walked behind an Asian Gasser (65 yr old Japanese tourist who was passing wind). We wandered among the towering hoodoo's into places like 'Wall Street' that includes 2 tall Douglas Firs and the 'Twin Bridges'. Stosh read while we hiked. From the rim we saw in the distance smoke from a wildfire north and east of Bryce. We saw the intense smoke from the fire for most of our journey as we headed east on highway 12 for the next 90 miles all the way to Torrey. We passed through Ebeneezer Bryce's home town of Tropic and if you look on a map this road is a scenic byway that goes through Grand Staircase National Monument - Escalante filled with mesas and canyons all viewed from a winding road that eventually took us up 9600 ft and over Boulder Mt. The Alpine forest was a lush green and the temperature cool. Tonight we have dignity at a Days Inn. Hi to all.

Zion National Park 14 June 2008

Here's some photos from our 2008 road trip to the National Parks in Southern Utah. We met in Vegas Friday night and left early this morning for Zion National Park. We spent the day there, and are spending the night in the middle of nowhere somewhere between Zion and Bryce Canyon. We've only faced one serious challenge, most of this part of Utah is dry! We might have to change some of our travel plans...

A new CD from Denny "Deadly" Earnest and friends

Denny Earnest and the Hot String Trio
Atomic Bar & Grill
2007 Denny Earnest (601693000249)

It was like getting a letter from a long lost friend when the CD Atomic Bar & Grill by the Hot String Trio arrived in the mailbox last week. Two thirds of the trio is made up of Denny “Deadly” Earnest and Kenny "KD" Jones, who both were part of Deadly Earnest and the Honky Tonk Heroes, a popular Northern Ohio band from that time in the 70’s and early 80’s when country and rock music collided. But they were never a Lynyrd Skynyrd or Marshall Tucker cover band, but featured there own original material that was more on the Bob Wills side of country music. At the time, they were one of the only Cleveland based bands that had, at least for a while, a real national record deal with Mike Nesmith’s Pacific Arts Records. But then MTV came along, country rock faded from the airwaves, local bands like Flatbush and Buckeye Biscuit drifted apart, and Deadly packed up and moved out west, to that wide open cowboy land that he had spent years writing and singing songs about.
There are thirteen tracks on Atomic Bar and Grill, twelve new songs plus “Stray Cat’s Home," a cut from the 1980 album Deadly II that features Ernest in a bluesy duet with country Diva Starr Smith. The new songs all have a swing beat to them, and feature Earnest on vocals and guitar; Jones on fiddle; and Bill Watson on upright bass. Also featured on several tunes is New Orleans swing clarinetist Jim Frigio. With titles like “Wake Up and Smell the Coffee,” Bartender Lou,” “Hot String Swing,” and “One Day at a Time,” Earnest still shows that he can write a tune and play the guitar, and still loves that part of the country where the Great Plains meets the Rocky Mountains. The CD also features Jones's fiddle playing, and why he still ranks up there with the Johnny Gimbles of the world.
I sat on the front porch and listened to this CD from beginning to end twice, and for a moment I was back at the Greenville Inn on a hot summer's night, and the place was packed and everyone was drinking Pabst Blue Ribbon and there were people swing dancing Texas style out in the parking lot to Deadly and the Honky Tonk Heroes up on the stage. Now if we can only get the three Deadly Earnest and the Honky Tonk Heroes albums from back in the day put out on CD I would die a happy man.
To purchase a copy of Atomic Bar & Grill go to http://cdbaby.com/cd/hotstringtrio, for more about Denny "Deadly" Earnest and his music visit www.dennyearnest.com.

Jonah Koslen at Brothers Lounge 30 May 2008

Last Friday night I checked out the first set of the Jonah Koslen album release party, which also gave me an opportunity to look over the newly remodeled and reopened Brothers Lounge on Detroit Avenue near West 117th Street.
Koslen‘s new CD Telling on Myself features eleven tunes, all originals written by him, including new versions of a couple of old MSB songs, “Ladies Choice”and “Waste a Little Time on Me.” Both songs were featured in the first set, one done solo by Jonah and the other backed by a three piece band. The slightly reggae beat he has given to both of them, a by product of his summer job entertaining up in the Lake Erie Islands, put a fresh spin on each. The rest of the first set featured several old Breathless tunes (“Walk Right In,” “Wild Weekend,” “Heart is in Hiding”); a couple of covers (including Paul Simon’s “Me and Julio Down by the School Yard”); several lost gems out of the past (“Blue Jean Boy” from MSB’s Ladies Choice album and “Two Hearts Beating as One” from the Ghost Poets album); and several very good new tunes from his new CD, especially “When Did All My Good Times become Heart Aches.”
The new Brothers Lounge really looks good. In front is both a long bar and a wine/martini bar, each with its own entrance. Down a long hallway in the back is the music hall, with a stage, another bar, and seating for maybe eighty or so. There is also a patio out back. All of the remodeling looks first class. I even checked out the kitchen and had a very good chicken sandwich, definitely a cut above usual bar fair.
The opening act was Aphrodite’s Heroes, and they did a good job with some classic rock covers (“Statesboro Blues”and “Into the Mystic”), and threw in a couple of good originals.
O.K., with all of that going for it, and a night of music featuring one of the icons of Cleveland rock, why did I stay for only the first set? There was one very large negative to the evening and that was the bar noise that kept most of the small but enthusiastic audience, as well as the band, from enjoying the show. I don’t know if it was because it was a Friday night or what, but when people are paying ten bucks to hear live music, they should be able to hear it. I moved my seat twice and still couldn’t enjoy it. If there was no cover, or even an inexpensive cover, I could’ve lived with it. But I paid ten bucks to see one of my favorite singer/songwriters do a night of his own music, something you get a chance to do once a year if we are lucky, and I just couldn’t handle it. I know it also upset Koslen, and he deserved better. He is as classy and affable as a person as I have ever met in the creative arts.
I hope it was just an off night at Brothers, because I really like the venue and think it has a ton of potential.