Louis L 'Amour and The Strater Hotel

Above, smoke from the Durango train drifts towards The Strater Hotel. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

20+ years ago, my mom, daughter and I were touring around Forest Lawn - Glendale cemetery. While we were walking around, we came upon the final resting place of the famous western author Louis L 'Amour.

I have a few L 'Amour books. One of them was made into a movie, Hondo, starring John Wayne and Geraldine Page. 

Above, Louis L 'Amour.

L 'Amour did much of his writing in Durango, Colorado in room 222 (now named in his honor) at The Strater Hotel.

The Strater Hotel was built in 1887 in Downtown Durango. It is a 3-minute walk to the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad and Museum.

According to Durango.com:

The Strater Hotel has been a second home to many special guests over the years. One of the most notable visitors was western author Louis L’Amour. L’Amour would take his family to Durango and stay in room 222, which is now named after him. The room was situated above the Diamond Belle Saloon. L’Amour credited the saloon for setting the mood of his Old West Novels, many of which were written inside the Strater hotel.

Today, guests can stay in room 222 and get a feeling for what inspired L’Amour in his writing career.

From LouisLamour.com:

Starting in 1966 he would take his family to spend the summer in Durango, CO, a place he had visited briefly with a mining buddy in the in the late 1920s. For over ten years they spent the month of August at the Strater Hotel, Louis dividing his time between writing in a corner room over the Diamond Belle Saloon and hiking in the La Plata or San Juan Mountains. In later years he participated in the Presidential Committee on Space, a Ute/Commanche peace treaty, and was on the National Board of the Library of Congress' Center for the Book.

Above, yours truly at The Strater Hotel's main entrance. Photo by Mitch Geriminsky.

When departing or arriving at the Durango train station, the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad trains pass The Strater Hotel.

Letter Supporting Keeping John Wayne Airport Name

Above, John Wayne and Geraldine Page in Hondo (1953). 

The debate over John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California rages on.

The latest is a letter from Mission Viejo City Council Member Greg Raths to Michelle Steel, Chairwoman of the Orange County Board of Supervisors.

Here's the letter (I think he meant to say "Marine" Corps Officer, not "Maine" Corps Officer):

Shopping and Apache Chief Victorio

Following the Rush Limbaugh Show (and a nap), I headed off to Continental Divide (8 miles east) to the Indian Market.

The new side table needed a little color and I went there to see if they had small Indian blankets to accent the table.

Sure enough, they did and, which is "icing on the cake", they were 20% off the marked price. I looked through them and found one I liked and bought it.

Here's what the table looks like with the blanket:

While at the Indian Market, I noticed they had a collection of historical photograph postal cards on a rack. They had photos of a variety of people including Chief Geronimo and Wyatt Earp. They also had one of Apache Chief Victorio. A fictional Victorio appeared in the John Wayne movie, Hondo. Actor Michael Pate placed Victorio. He didn't look anything like the historical Victorio.

Above, Apache Chief Victorio.

According to Wikipedia:

Victorio was a warrior and chief of the Warm Springs band of the Tchihendeh division of the central Apaches in what is now the American states of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and the Mexican states of Sonora and Chihuahua.

God's County

Earlier this evening, after re-filling the food container for P.K. and her kittens, I noticed how the light was hitting the mesas across the valley from the lowering sun. So I took some pictures of the mesas with my phone.

Later, as I wasn't in the mood to do any cooking, I went down to the Flying J to have dinner at Denny's. Instead, I decided to take-out a half chicken, green beans and mashed potatoes from the Flying J to bring home. I ate while watching Hondo.

On the way, as the sun was getting lower, I noticed how the sunlight was hitting the mesas and the rock cliffs with the storm clouds above. So, I pulled over to the side of the access road and took a few photos from the car window with my phone.

Both sets are posted below.

From Home:

From the Flying J access road:

Note: Gary Julian of The Federalist blog calls his area of Tehachapi, California, "God's Country". I decided to have fun with that with "county", instead of "country".