Saturday, September 01, 2012

Durango's Strater Hotel, Western History since 1887,Author Louis L'Amour,The Sacketts

WESTERN TRIP

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Louis_L'Amour “L'Amour began bringing his family to Durango in the summers beginning in the mid-1960s, and there he wrote the popular Sackett series of Western novels. The room, available to guests, still includes the desk on which he wrote.”Read More:

DSC_0146DSC_0147 Mr. L’Amour is probably my favorite author and I have read all of his books, sometimes more than once.

DSC_0164 I was told, “L'Amour would bring his family to Durango for a month or more and stay at the Strater Hotel room 222. His family would be in the adjacent room.”

DSC_0158 DSC_0155He wrote the Sackett series of Western novels from this table.

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“The trail is the thing, not the end of the trail. Travel too fast,and you miss all you are traveling for.” Louis L'Amour

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“Durango, Colorado – The Association of Library Trustees, Advocates, Friends and Foundations (ALTAFF) has designated the historic Strater Hotel Guest Room 222 a Literary Landmark ™ in honor of Twentieth Century American author Louis L’Amour.Saturday, August 25, 2012.” Mr. L’Amour credited his inspiration to the sounds of Honky Tonk piano emanating up from the Strater Hotel’s Diamond Belle Saloon.” Read More

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Waiting for a table at the Diamond Belle Saloon.

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“A little rest and meditation often saves a lot of riding over rough country.” ― Louis L'Amour

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“Anger is a killing thing: it kills the man who angers, for each rage leaves him less than he had been before - it takes something from him.”  Louis L'Amour

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“Too often I would hear men boast of the miles covered that day, rarely of what they had seen” Louis L'Amour

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“If you want the law to leave you alone, keep your hair trimmed and your boots shined.”
― Louis L'Amour, The Man Called Noon: A Novel

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Diamond Belle Saloon Gunfights, May 21 - October 12, 2012
Monday, Wednesday, Friday - approximately 7:00 p.m. out front of The Belle

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Some of the photos are more “scenic” than others LOL

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“Knowledge was not meant to be locked behind doors. It breathes best in the open air where all men can inhale its essence.” ― Louis L'Amour, The Haunted Mesa…(check out my blog post:: about Cedar Mesa and The Valley Of The Gods..Is this the Haunted Mesa..I think so..

westdurangokod2012 040 Thanks for stopping by. If you are ever at the Diamond Belle Saloon make sure to say Hi…. Joe Todd says, “Thanks for the great service.”

NOTE: All photos are mine except two.. One is from Wikimedia and the other is from The Strater Hotel Web Site. One other photo is from a dining establishment in Silverton…  Go back and look at the photos and see if you can figure out which is which… For more Louis L'Amour quotes CLICK

“Fully excavated, the kiva reveals itself as anomalous in having no sipapu” HAUNTED MESA”…

Do you see the sipapu in the above Kiva? (Mesa Verde)

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Western Trip: Monument Valley, Valley Of The Gods,Moki Dugway.. A Photo Journey

 

Map picture

The Push Pin shows the Moki Dugway. The Moki Dugway is a graded dirt switchback road that is carved into the face of the cliff edge of Cedar Mesa.The road was originally built to accommodate the uranium ore trucks in the 1950s.

DSC_0225 A view of the Garmin inside the car…

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The highway is part of the Utah section of the Trail of the Ancients

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A 1000 feet elevation change in 3 miles

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Cedar Mesa occupies 475,000 acres of high plateau country in Utah's San Juan County. Exploring Cedar Mesa Is Almost Like Standing On The Edge Of The World.

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The above photo is looking down from the top of Cedar Mesa into the Valley Of The Gods. The building is

DSC_0296where we stayed the night.More info in a later post

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This photo shows some of the underpinning of the road.

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Most of this post has been about the Moki Dugway. I will finish with some photos of The Valley Of The Gods and Monument Valley.

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Goulding’s is a must stop

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After passing the eroded mesas of Monument Valley, highway US 163 crosses 20 miles of rather flat landscape past scattered Navajo houses to Mexican Hat, a small settlement named after a curious formation nearby consisting of a large flat rock 60 feet in diameter perched precariously on a much smaller base at the top of a small hill. (We had a good lunch in Mexican Hat)

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mexicanhat Thanks for stopping by.. I’m thinking I may try to revisit this area.. I would like to do a little more exploring.

Sunday, August 12, 2012

TWO TRAVELING ANGELS

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DSC_0023Thanks for stopping by.. I had previously posted this story and thought I would again. I often need to be reminded.. Things aren’t always what they seem…

For instance ..do you know what this is????

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