Rock Formation
Note: Photo captions are time and place of WiFi connectivity.

May 30th, Part One
Early! Apologies if y’all get two or three of these missives at once.  No WiFi the last 36 hours.

If any of you are familiar with the work of ‘The Brothers’ (Marx in this instance) you’ll no doubt remember their cinematic ’seige’ of the country known as ‘Freedonia’ in Duck Soup. Presided over by the always deadpan Margaret Dumont then, Fredonia lives now! And it’s here in Arizona.

The town of Fredonia was founded in the late 1800s by a break-away polygamist sect from Utah, only 8 miles from here.  Mormon apostle Erastus Snow thought the name was fitting since it reflected the theme and lifestyle of Mormon pluralism by combining two words: ‘free’ and ‘donia’.  The latter word being Spanish for ‘women’.  So, the town is literally called, ‘Free Women’.  True story.

Today this town has a population of 1500 - all Mormons.  Well, 1499 Mormons and me - I’m a Frisbyterian.  We believe that when you die your soul goes up on the neighbour’s roof and you can’t get it down!  Also, a true story!

Later. It’s 10:30am MDT in the non-thriving metropolis of Page, Arizona, and I’m stealing… sorry: borrowing WiFi from a Best Western Hotel in the parking lot.

It was 48 degrees fahrenheit when I got up this morning - fuckin’ cold in other words!  Remind me to tell you about my Navajo experiences - fascinating!

I seem to be WAAYYY ahead of schedule here.  Done a lot of driving, so I find myself only about a four hour drive from the Grand Canyon already.  So, I think I’ll take in the sites from the North Rim (just south of here), and then back up north to (’Hail, Hail’) Fredonia and then Colorado City.  The latter should be fun - might be able to pick me up a passel of young wives!

Weirdness here.  Big lake nearby and so this town seems to thrive on a huge houseboat business.  These things are massive floating structures and they’re all parked in a large compound on the outskirts of town.  Until you see the actual lake you scratch your head!  WTF…?  Oh yeah, there it is.

Just vegging with some of the local Navajo people here in Kayenta, Arizona in a restaurant attached to a really cool motel, The Anasazi Inn. Not far from the Grand Canyon. Jus’ chillin’. Driving in happy little circles, taking it all in.

If I don’t come back, just pretend I never went away and go on with your lives.

Reporting tonight from The Anasazi Inn, Arizona on Hwy. 64 at $50 a night because the bastards at the Holiday Inn down the road wanted $109 a night (fuck ‘em!) and I’d rather give the Navajo Nation the money anyway (not that they need it) rather than corporate America… well, really corporate UK in this case, because it’s a Holiday Inn, but it’s the principle of the thing.