My plan was to alternate my stays at flying J's for at least two nights and then a state park or some place with historical significance for the trip back from Arizona as I was so busy on the way down (scouting out real estate for my Canadian friends) I didn't get to see much.
Just before I left Meadview RV Park I leaned into the hot water heater, lit it and then moved to replace the cover when I froze. There flat against the metal was a opaque brown leggy spider right where my forehead had just been...then "the observer" said "its a scorpion" but he did not strike me. I still had not looked up scorpions or mohave green snakes on the net yet but everyone said as soon as you see li
zards everything is out. He scurried away and I never saw him again. When I left the desert was in full bloom and where it was brown was now fields of green with yellow and purple flowers everywhere People were sneezing from th
e blooming Joshua Trees.I was anticipating my first overnight stay at the Homo
lovi Ruins State Park with great excitement. It is (just heard thunder first time during this storm) an archaeological site of the Hopi Ancestors. The Navajo called them Anasazi meaning ancestors of our enemy. Well after my scorpion experience I had my work gloves ready and was wearing my high winter boots when I went into the visitor/ranger office. Opened the first door, walked through the alcove and in through the 2nd door into the museum/office..got all my stuff (audio tour head
set) and looked at everything going back and forth across the threshold of 2nd door until i was ready to leave. Stepped into the alcove and heard the rattle ...there 2 feet in front of me was a Hopi Rattlesnake, arched up and rattling at me but not moving. The ranger got the door in front of me closed with his rake and then went outside to open the outside door...reached in and grabed 
him with his snake catcher..but during this time the snake and I were eye to eye and he poked out his tongue once at me.. I nodded to him in acknowledgment and gave him appreciation for revealing himself to me. The ranger said it was the first one of the season..but didn't say whether they ever had one inside like that as they have preventative doors. He let me take a picture but didn't have time to set my little mpeg cam so a little blurry. I went on to my day at the Homolovi sites where I was alone and in Heaven. I picked up ancient pottery shards like the others before me and laid them on the flat rocks feeling for a moment like I became my early childhood dream of becoming an archeaolgist. Then I met a really nice couple from St Catherines Ontario in my dream vehicle, a Roadtrek, and had coffee with them at our campsite the next morning before we all started our trip back to Canada.
