Not a fribble shop

Traveling we frequently get in a discussion (actually a fight) about The Commander's desire to stop at various shops. From my observation this is common among married couples. Most of the time the shops end up being "fribble" shops. Fribble shops cater to tourist and have the same genre of crap which consist mostly of T-shirts, Indian Jewelry made in China, etc.

However, we do occasionally find someplace that has gone to the effort to offer very carefully selected local art. This morning we visited a very nice art gallery in Bluff. From the outside you would not have guessed the wonderful job they did with the inside. The gallery was converted from an old sandstone Mormon home. The home itself was worth the visit. The owners had done a wonderful job of restoring and rebuilding it. Cissie was enthralled with the art objects, I very much liked the architecture.

One of the blessings of travel is the people you meet. If you take the time to engage the local people you can learn a lot. The gallery owner was a very nice woman who gave us a good synopsis of local politics. People here are not divided along party lines, but sewage lines. There are two factions, those that want septic systems, and those that want city sewage. Now this may seem like a strange thing to base political parties on, but it works. If the city puts in sewer lines, the town will turn into a typical tourist trap and loose its charm. If septic systems are used the big hotels, and fribble shops will not be able to come in. So after you think about it, it all makes sense. Unfettered development is the bain of the Southwest.

You could also divide the world into those who hike, and those who must ride a motorized device everywhere they go. Urban sprawl, off road four wheel vehicles, and off road two wheel vehicles are the biggest threat to public lands. Walmart would also have to be on the list. Once a town has a Walmart, the game is over. I was amazed in Page Arizona, there is now a Walmart Super Center.