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Above are pics of Lake Mead, the Canyon, the Colorado River, Hoover Dam, and clean green Boulder City! AND the man of the hour, the pilot, of course, and his trusty transportation!
Here's Heidi at a recent Fossil Show in Quartzite, Arizona, a famous place particularly in the month of January each year. It's a hard place to describe - National Geographic recently ran an article that skimmed the surface...a flea market free-for-all of every item under the sun, but particularly rocks, minerals and fossils hold an attraction for us. It's a major tent city with odd attractions that keep us coming back! Heidi's up to her elbows in petrified turtle poop that came from Washington State - we bought forty pounds of it! See the "Just Poop" pages for more!
NOVEMBER 2001
Here's the famous mesquite barbecue place in Quartzite we go to every year - it's right at the roadside at the main intersection...we needed our dose of carbon in the form of ribs, chicken and beef. See the look on Glenn's face? Memorable.
The bakery in Quartzite is the next gorge stop. These places are bursting with character and good stuff. In the back yard is more picnic tables for enjoying the bakery, plus the only "grape tree" in Arizona! (you'll see what I mean, only in fun)
This is (As Ripley said, Believe It Or Not) the OLDEST house in the WORLD - Made entirely of dinosaur bone collected from the area in the 1930's. REALLY. We traveled to Medicine Bow, Wyoming to check it out and possibly purchase it (still negotiating). How weird is that?
Notice dinosaur leg bones on either side of the Museum sign (close up in second picture) as well as the dinosaur bone in the showcase, found on the property. The Como Bluff Graveyard is not far away from this point - notice the sign on the property describing it. More later!
Of course, there are other attractions there - The Bull Chip Throw, for instance. Guess we missed that one! Medicine Bow is the location of the opening of Owen Wister's Best Selling book, "The Virginian". Also note the different brands from ranches in the area.
After the book "The Virginian" came out, a hotel was built in his honor in 1909 with the same name. It still has its Old World charm in the restaurant (3rd picture) and bar (4th picture). I assure you, the truck is NOT the hotel taxi. JUST for show!
Here's the "Owen Wister" Dining Room for special occasions. Then a sitting area outside the restrooms - hey, there's the second picture of Glenn in long pants! A real Kodak moment, as he ALWAYS wears shorts. It WAS cold that day. Fourth picture is a mural on the landing going up to the vintage hotel rooms. We stayed there that night.
A sampling of the suites available on the second and third floors. Cool place, don't you agree?
Is this a postcard or what? I took this in Glen Springs, Colorado of the Hot Springs Bath House and pool. WOW. I got this shot from the bridge, thanks to Glenn's driving expertise!
This is an impressive dinosaur museum in Fruita, Colorado, within a well-known "Dinosaur Diamond" area of fossils in Colorado. Unfortunately, it closes at 3 p.m. and we were there at 3:15 p.m. Cool dinosaur murals, dinosaur models around town, and even a dinosaur bike rack!
It turns out Fruita is ALSO the location of Mike, the headless chicken who lived an impossible length of time after his head was cut off. Here is a bronze in honor of him. They have a festival every year in his honor. We do seem to find the strangest places, don't we?
This surprisingly sophisticated museum is found in Green River, Colorado, a small town with big hospitality. History of the canyons including its neighbor, the Grand Canyon, were well displayed. This is the art museum where we were impressed with the bronze of the construction worker holding a tiny bird, an Indian bronze, and an awesome painting of lynx and badger. I hope you agree. It's a wonderful trip when you look for the unexpected!!
OCTOBER 2001
Is this a yacht? Nooo. Experimental aircraft? Nope! It's the NEW Milwaukee Art Museum at the Harbor. Vavavoom! What a place! Spanish architect outdid himself with this one! Sides open up to catch sunlight, close when it's dark. Fourth photo is one of two matching hallways lined with Dale Chihuly's work from Venice, with Lake Michigan outside the windows. Whattaview!
Below is the Dale Chihuly exhibit from Venice - these pieces were designed to hang over the canals in Venice - what an eighth wonder! For those of you that come to Las Vegas, PLEASE step inside the lobby of the Bellagio Casino and see another of this glass artist's creations in the ceiling there -it's a MUST SEE !
Okay, this one was for Glenn. By an American artist.
This resting workman REALLY FREAKED ME OUT! Even though I knew I was in the "Realism" exhibit, I had to go up slowly to see if he was real...whaddayathink?
I call this Smiley Art - in the Folk Art section. What fun!
This chair belongs in the Kohler CHAIR-ity auction, don't you think? (see below)
Glass sculpture of flowers - roots are people. Awesome detail - sorry I couldn't get it clearer - I was photographing through a glass case.
Slumped glass rods - pretty neat!
DIDGERIDOOS
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Above is Glenn's own didg made from a trunk/part rootstock, which is fairly rare to find. Lewis Burns is the Aboriginal artist who signed this one, in "native" dress, though he can slang with the best of us. Way to go, Lewis! For those not familiar, a didgeridoo (or didjeridu or didjeridoo) is the oldest instrument on earth, purported to be 40,000 years old, tracing the ancestry of the Australian native Aborigines. They are used in tribal ceremonies. The authentic didges are made of eucalyptus tree limbs or trunks that termites have naturally hollowed out. When harvested, further cured, painted with scenes from Aborigine "dream time" of water holes and animals that migrated to them, and sealed with fungicide and sealant, they produce a wonderful sound. For those of you that watched Australian Outback Survivors, the background music contained didgeridoo, and Mad Dog learned to play one too! A circular breathing is learned, so an artist may play up to 90 minutes at a time without stopping. |
| For all your didgeridoo and instructional videos and music CD's, we recommend you go to the good people at LA Outback in Los Angeles, California: |
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good friends Dann & Cyndi in Nevada decorated their office wall
with their didge, boomerang and significant sign:
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| DOUG'S
DIDGERIDOOS:
Here's our dear friend Doug in Nevada with a few of his favorite new "toys": The twisted birch didgeridoo below is from Cloud Nine, banded with copper, what an EASY didj to play!
Below is one he purchased from Allen Shockley, note the colorful dot painting and the face surrounded by blue boulder opals from Australia:
Doug also acquired a clay didgeridoo from the last Didj Fest gathering in Joshua Tree CA (below):
But the beaver slippers he wears are pure Alaska:
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Our largest didgeridoo that we sold, this Great One measures 5'7" long x 3 1/4" average width. It is a natural eucalyptus limb, naturally eaten out by termites (not hollowed by man), topped with bees wax that can be molded to your own mouth by heating with a hair dryer. Hand painting has been done by Aborigine friends in Australia, notice the close up photos of the iguanas that tell a story of their own, life at the watering hole, it is named "Iguana on the Hunt". It has been nicely finished and makes a great playing piece or just a decorative piece. |
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Our small didgeridoo Heidi kept is easy to play, it is also eucalyptus limb naturally eaten out by termites, hand painted by our Aborigine friends in Australia with their traditional raised dot painting - COMPLETELY covering this instrument - it is Heidi's favorite. Topped with bees wax, ready to play. |
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The 2nd Annual Joshua Tree Didg Fest was held Sept. 28-30 in Joshua Tree, California. Here are a few highlights... Experience it here with us... 2ND ANNUAL DIDGE FEST, JOSHUA TREE, CALIFORNIA We have attended concerts where didgeridoos were paired with bagpipes, Middle Eastern instruments, African drums, guitar, synthesizers & high tech sound changers, with jazz bands, with crystal bowls, with Native American flute, YOU NAME IT! We consider it a "tofu" instrument to be played alone (meditatively or with a brisk rhythm) or with anything else!
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This is Lewis Burns, native Aborigine, as part of the Didg concert Saturday afternoon. He's an average guy under all that paint, I assure you! Great sense of humor too! The didg at the top of the page is his work. An honor to see him again this year! |
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Didg artist David Blonsky is experimenting with his "drainpipe" didg of PVC pipe. Great sound! |
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One of the more colorful additions to the fest. One of the vendors there. |
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An awesome yucca didg that's over 13 feet long! Hooyaaa! |
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This is Glenn, lost in the Didgeridoo Forest! Lots of styles to choose from. Didg heaven, actually. |
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The most beautiful piece we found. Croc design using the natural shape of the eucalyptus, and a snake carved 3D in its length. |
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Another awesome 3D snake carving on this very long didg with rough bark left on the end. Lovely piece! |
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DIDGE WORKSHOP OCTOBER 6, 2001
Here's a Didge Workshop we just had in our shop October 6th. Ed Drury, renowned didg artist from Portland, Oregon taught the class. We all learned new tricks! Ed's website - check it out! www.mp3.com/EdDrury
We look like we're trying hard, don't we?
One of our "raspberry" exercises. First rule of thumb is getting over looking foolish!!!
Believe it or not, Dann just finished giving a great wild monkey rendition for us all, and is now translating it to a didge sound. Way to go, Dann!
A little jam session with Ed Drury and Rick Dusek, who helped us set up the workshop. Great sound, guys! |
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