Wednesday turned out to be quite a day. We got up at 6:30 mountain time in Keystone, South Dakota. We drove all day, expecting to camp around La Crosse, Wisconsin for the night.
We made a side trip into Mitchell to see the Corn Palace, a building with Kremlin-style domes on towers painted in brilliant green and yellow, and the outside walls completely decorated in a mosaic depicting western scenes. The mosaic is made entirely of corn, and the scenes change periodically, or so I understand. I suspect that birds love to eat the walls, but wouldn't know for sure.
There was a street festival blocking off our access to the Corn Palace. We could drive past it a block away, but there was no way to even get a picture. Still, you can't make up something more unusual that this. Except Wall Drug, of course. We were there on Tuesday, I'll talk about it later.
Anyway, we hit the road at 7:50 AM from our campground, mountain time. By the time we got to La Crosse it was 8:45 PM, central time. We felt like we could keep going, so we zipped into the tourist information rest area, grabbed a campground guide to Wisconsin, and kept on driving. I contacted a place near Madison and they said they had spots, and we could set up and register in the morning. She warned me it was a little swampy in the second and third loops, but we could stay in the first loop. She joked that Wisconsin had been getting a lot of rain lately. We hadn't seen the news, we didn't know what was happening. We've been living in an area of the country that's on fire, for crying out loud!
We got there at 11:50 PM. Theresa and I walked through the first loop to find a spot and were amazed. The entire place was under several inches of water. There was intense lightning and thunder all around. There was no way we could drive back to any sites. We would never get out. It was insane.
We drove to a nearby gas station that was closed and took an hour nap. By then another intense thunderstorm was moving in. We had no way to camp, didn't care to buy two hotel rooms to put six people in a hotel, and didn't want to drive through Chicago during a storm during the day with all the traffic. So Theresa and I took one hour shifts and drove through the night. It was pouring so hard by the time we left the first toll booth in Rockford that you could hardly see. We rarely went faster than 50 mph, but there was almost no traffic, all the construction crews were home, and we could see our lanes without much trouble. Besides, it was just about as light as day, since the city lit up the sky so much.
I drove from the toll oasis by O'Hare through the Dan Ryan to Portage, Indiana. Despite the torrential rains and huge blasts of lightning it only took me about 30-40 minutes to get from O'Hare to the Indiana line. We kept up the one hour shifts until the kids woke up, just after 7 AM eastern time. When I bought gas in Portage we had traveled exactly 995 miles from our campground in South Dakota.
Theresa drove from about Saugatuck to home. We got here at 8:55 AM. The kids did all the unloading while I slept until 12:30 and Theresa slept until about 2. We're slowly doing laundry and some other chores, like buying groceries, getting the big box of mail from the post office, and getting the dog.
We're exhausted but home and safe. It has been an incredible trip. I'll put a few more entries up on the blog explaining some of what we did the last few days. We were gone until very late and were just too tired to do much on the internet after such full days of activities.
Back to work on Monday. I can't wait to go on vacation again.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
From Glacier to Laurel
We left Glacier Campground at 10 Sunday morning, filled up with gas, and headed south. Highway 83 was closed due to wildfire Thursday, but was reopened Saturday so we were able to go that direction. We had a long way to go before reaching the interstate; it took four hours of two lane road through forests and mountains before we reached the highway just before Deer Lodge. We saw lots of smoke, and lots of fire “staging areas” with National Guardsmen controlling access, but no active fires.
When we reached Deer Lodge there was a high wind and spitting rain. We decided to do McDonalds instead of making sandwiches, and took 45 minutes between our gas and food stop because “fast food” doesn’t mean fast service in Deer Lodge.
Our drive east on interstate 90 was difficult due to high crosswinds buffeting us around. We enjoyed the view as we crossed the Continental Divide past Butte (a pretty town in an industrial sort of way). Also around the divide we saw many towering rock formations interspersed in the woods, reminiscent of the campground we stayed at years ago near Butte with the “castles.”
There was an active grass fire along a ridge about 20 miles west of Laurel. We were chasing the rear of a storm and had a rainbow for about 10 minutes
We reached Laurel at about 7 and checked in to our campground. The campground was originally the camp for German POWs in WWII. There are several brick buildings in the park that were built by the prisoners. It was right across the river from an oil refinery which makes noise. According to the people next to us the noise keeps going all night. Actually, we had more noise due to the highway and train tracks next to us, but we had a decent enough night of sleep and got going early Monday toward the Black Hills. Through the smoke and fires in Montana and Wyoming.
When we reached Deer Lodge there was a high wind and spitting rain. We decided to do McDonalds instead of making sandwiches, and took 45 minutes between our gas and food stop because “fast food” doesn’t mean fast service in Deer Lodge.
Our drive east on interstate 90 was difficult due to high crosswinds buffeting us around. We enjoyed the view as we crossed the Continental Divide past Butte (a pretty town in an industrial sort of way). Also around the divide we saw many towering rock formations interspersed in the woods, reminiscent of the campground we stayed at years ago near Butte with the “castles.”
There was an active grass fire along a ridge about 20 miles west of Laurel. We were chasing the rear of a storm and had a rainbow for about 10 minutes
We reached Laurel at about 7 and checked in to our campground. The campground was originally the camp for German POWs in WWII. There are several brick buildings in the park that were built by the prisoners. It was right across the river from an oil refinery which makes noise. According to the people next to us the noise keeps going all night. Actually, we had more noise due to the highway and train tracks next to us, but we had a decent enough night of sleep and got going early Monday toward the Black Hills. Through the smoke and fires in Montana and Wyoming.
A Few Montana Pictures
On the way to Glacier, about 11 AM on a "cloudless" day. The only clouds are due to the smoke in the air from the fires.
I took this picture on the way to Glacier at about noon. You can see how hazy and smoky everything was.
This shot looking across the valley in Glacier was taken in the middle of the afternoon. The haze is all the smoke in the air from the forest fires around the park.
This bighorn sheep was eating the flowers right next to our trail
I took this picture on the way to Glacier at about noon. You can see how hazy and smoky everything was.
This shot looking across the valley in Glacier was taken in the middle of the afternoon. The haze is all the smoke in the air from the forest fires around the park.
This bighorn sheep was eating the flowers right next to our trail
Friday, August 17, 2007
Montana Burning
Check the wildfire reports and you'll see that large patches of Monatna are on fire. You don't have to go online to see this if you are in Montana, however.
Yesterday when we were getting ready to leave Idaho it looked hazy and overcast. I had seen a weather report calling for a chance of rain, so we hurried to pack up and get on the road. The haze stayed with us as we drove. As we crossed the pass into Montana it started to get thicker. We could smell the smoke, like the smoke of hundreds of campfires. It was pretty obvious that we were seeing the haze of wildfires, not looming rain.
It got thicker as we moved East. Three large vans with Oregon plates passed us, heading into Montana. On their sides were "Forest Fire Brigade", on top were tooles and cans of chainsaw fuel; fifteen people were inside each van. By the time we left the freeway (33 miles into Montana), the smoke was irritating our eyes and throats. It got worse. As we drove north we had to slow down. The haze resembled the morning mist of the Blue Ridge or Smoky mountains, but this was not early morning mist. I timed visibility while driving a steady 60 mph. Less than 30 seconds, or under a half mile. The landscape looked desolate and barren, you couldn't see beyond the ridge just next to the road because the sky was so clouded with smoke. As we reached Flathead Lake there were white pieces of ash visible floating in the air. We stopped for gas and it was spooky, with ash fluttering down on us, no sun, and a strange orange glow to everything.
I asked the gas station attendant where the fire was. She laughed and said "Everywhere." A bit of an exaggeration, perhaps, but not much. We looked at the map later and there are thousands of acres on fire just east of where we were. In fact, the main US highway is closed between Missoula and the National Park because of the fires. Fortunately, we weren't going that way. We'll have no trouble with any of the existing fires during our stay here at Glacier.
What the fires are doing to our trip, however, is another thing. Views in the park are hazy. Heavily overcast, as if there's a dense fog over everything. It's very hard to see mountains, lakes, waterfalls, or glaciers. Hiking is complicated by the irritation of the smoke to our eyes and throats. Thin high-altitude air is even harder to breathe with all the smoke everywhere. It's strange, but we can still see things up close, so we're still enjoying ourselves.
Yesterday evening after supper we went into the national park to scout out the visitor centers and plan our day for today. This was a good idea, because we found a moderatly difficult hike we could do at the continental divide, which we would reach using the shuttle bus service.
To get to the Logan Pass Visitor Center you take the Going-to-the-Sun Highway. This road is incredible, a narrow ribbon of pavement that winds its way up the mountains with only one switchback. Vehicles over 21 feet long are prohibited. There are no real guardrails to speak of (one shirt we saw at a gift store says "Real Men Don't Need Guardrails"). We were glad to use the shuttle, to save our gas and our nerves. Plus we had fun talking with people from all over the world on the bus.
We planned a hike for tomorrow with the help of a park ranger at the visitor center, took the shuttle down the other side to the East side of the park, then went back to the top and took our hike. On the way back up the road was blocked by two bighorn sheep, standing there as if they owned the road.
Our hike started at the visitor center and went 1.5 miles uphill to the Hidden Lake overlook. It was a pretty steep trail in spots, but there were many Mountain Goats right next to the trail (including a mother and baby), as well as some bighorn sheep, again right next to the trail. We got some good pictures along the way. The view from the top was hazy and obscured by smoke. It's hard to get a good scenery picture in the tricky light caused by all the haze.
Our hike tomorrow is to three different waterfalls. Hoepfully there will be clearer air. The locals tell us that they can't remember fires this severe, or this much smoke. To put this in perspective, the nearest fire to us is at least 30 miles away, but when we were on the Going-to-the-Sun Highway at the end of the day we had about a tenth of a mile visibility. It was really that thick. I heard on the news as I typed this that Missoula (a hundred or so miles away?) is pretty much shut down due to the air quality alerts.
We leave here Sunday, through a pass that goes right next to an area where the fire was out of control a few weeks ago but now is "75% Contained." The pass is open and we've been assured there won't be any trouble with getting through. We'll see.
Yesterday when we were getting ready to leave Idaho it looked hazy and overcast. I had seen a weather report calling for a chance of rain, so we hurried to pack up and get on the road. The haze stayed with us as we drove. As we crossed the pass into Montana it started to get thicker. We could smell the smoke, like the smoke of hundreds of campfires. It was pretty obvious that we were seeing the haze of wildfires, not looming rain.
It got thicker as we moved East. Three large vans with Oregon plates passed us, heading into Montana. On their sides were "Forest Fire Brigade", on top were tooles and cans of chainsaw fuel; fifteen people were inside each van. By the time we left the freeway (33 miles into Montana), the smoke was irritating our eyes and throats. It got worse. As we drove north we had to slow down. The haze resembled the morning mist of the Blue Ridge or Smoky mountains, but this was not early morning mist. I timed visibility while driving a steady 60 mph. Less than 30 seconds, or under a half mile. The landscape looked desolate and barren, you couldn't see beyond the ridge just next to the road because the sky was so clouded with smoke. As we reached Flathead Lake there were white pieces of ash visible floating in the air. We stopped for gas and it was spooky, with ash fluttering down on us, no sun, and a strange orange glow to everything.
I asked the gas station attendant where the fire was. She laughed and said "Everywhere." A bit of an exaggeration, perhaps, but not much. We looked at the map later and there are thousands of acres on fire just east of where we were. In fact, the main US highway is closed between Missoula and the National Park because of the fires. Fortunately, we weren't going that way. We'll have no trouble with any of the existing fires during our stay here at Glacier.
What the fires are doing to our trip, however, is another thing. Views in the park are hazy. Heavily overcast, as if there's a dense fog over everything. It's very hard to see mountains, lakes, waterfalls, or glaciers. Hiking is complicated by the irritation of the smoke to our eyes and throats. Thin high-altitude air is even harder to breathe with all the smoke everywhere. It's strange, but we can still see things up close, so we're still enjoying ourselves.
Yesterday evening after supper we went into the national park to scout out the visitor centers and plan our day for today. This was a good idea, because we found a moderatly difficult hike we could do at the continental divide, which we would reach using the shuttle bus service.
To get to the Logan Pass Visitor Center you take the Going-to-the-Sun Highway. This road is incredible, a narrow ribbon of pavement that winds its way up the mountains with only one switchback. Vehicles over 21 feet long are prohibited. There are no real guardrails to speak of (one shirt we saw at a gift store says "Real Men Don't Need Guardrails"). We were glad to use the shuttle, to save our gas and our nerves. Plus we had fun talking with people from all over the world on the bus.
We planned a hike for tomorrow with the help of a park ranger at the visitor center, took the shuttle down the other side to the East side of the park, then went back to the top and took our hike. On the way back up the road was blocked by two bighorn sheep, standing there as if they owned the road.
Our hike started at the visitor center and went 1.5 miles uphill to the Hidden Lake overlook. It was a pretty steep trail in spots, but there were many Mountain Goats right next to the trail (including a mother and baby), as well as some bighorn sheep, again right next to the trail. We got some good pictures along the way. The view from the top was hazy and obscured by smoke. It's hard to get a good scenery picture in the tricky light caused by all the haze.
Our hike tomorrow is to three different waterfalls. Hoepfully there will be clearer air. The locals tell us that they can't remember fires this severe, or this much smoke. To put this in perspective, the nearest fire to us is at least 30 miles away, but when we were on the Going-to-the-Sun Highway at the end of the day we had about a tenth of a mile visibility. It was really that thick. I heard on the news as I typed this that Missoula (a hundred or so miles away?) is pretty much shut down due to the air quality alerts.
We leave here Sunday, through a pass that goes right next to an area where the fire was out of control a few weeks ago but now is "75% Contained." The pass is open and we've been assured there won't be any trouble with getting through. We'll see.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
California and Oregon Pictures
Packing to leave Heidi and Jeff's house
What happens after you drive through a cloud of butterlies in the Central Valley of California
Mount Shasta in northern Californa
Where I camped in 1971, and we camped on this trip in 2007
Our campsite at Emigrant Lake--2007
Pete the Flamingo goes with us everywhere we camp
The campground we stayed at in 1971 is in the trees above the road in this picture
Leaving a store in Ashland
What happens after you drive through a cloud of butterlies in the Central Valley of California
Mount Shasta in northern Californa
Where I camped in 1971, and we camped on this trip in 2007
Our campsite at Emigrant Lake--2007
Pete the Flamingo goes with us everywhere we camp
The campground we stayed at in 1971 is in the trees above the road in this picture
Leaving a store in Ashland
Slight Change of Plans
Theresa has a cold. Her voice was pretty much gone by Sunday night, and it didn't get much better Monday. Jeanette was not feeling well Monday either. Consequently, we decided to take it easy on Tuesday, and skipped our Crater Lake excursion. Crater Lake would have added several hours to our day, plus some hiking. So instead we took our time leaving Ashland yesterday and had a relaxing drive to Portland.
Our campground last night was a county park southeast of Portland. We were tucked in among huge old pine trees, in a very quiet area away from all the major roads. (But close enough to civilization to find gas for $2.59 a gallon!) It was a nice place to camp.
We were on the road by 9AM this morning. As we headed toward the interstate we had an impressive view of Mount Hood to the East. We drove through the Columbia River gorge, one of the most beautiful drives on any interstate highway in the country.
We got to our campground in Osburn, Idaho this evening at 5:15. It was hot today, up over 105 as we drove through Washington between Richland and Spokane. When we got here, it was still 97, but it was very comfortable in the shade. It's now quite cool since the sun went down about a half hour ago.
We don't have cell phone reception here. Tomorrow we leave for Glacier National Park, and I'm sure we won't have service there either. We might for a while on the interstate, so if you need to contact us, try calling before 6PM Eastern time. We'll be at Glacier for the next three nights. We will have internet access at our campground, but probably not phone service.
Thank you for keeping up with our trip!
Our campground last night was a county park southeast of Portland. We were tucked in among huge old pine trees, in a very quiet area away from all the major roads. (But close enough to civilization to find gas for $2.59 a gallon!) It was a nice place to camp.
We were on the road by 9AM this morning. As we headed toward the interstate we had an impressive view of Mount Hood to the East. We drove through the Columbia River gorge, one of the most beautiful drives on any interstate highway in the country.
We got to our campground in Osburn, Idaho this evening at 5:15. It was hot today, up over 105 as we drove through Washington between Richland and Spokane. When we got here, it was still 97, but it was very comfortable in the shade. It's now quite cool since the sun went down about a half hour ago.
We don't have cell phone reception here. Tomorrow we leave for Glacier National Park, and I'm sure we won't have service there either. We might for a while on the interstate, so if you need to contact us, try calling before 6PM Eastern time. We'll be at Glacier for the next three nights. We will have internet access at our campground, but probably not phone service.
Thank you for keeping up with our trip!
You Can't Go Back Again...
In 1971 my father spent a few months over the summer taking some Geology courses at Southern Oregon College in Ashland, Oregon. Our family lived in Ashland for much of the summer, and as we were planning our 2007 road trip I thought it would be fun to stop in Ashland and see if I could find things I remember.
Back in 1971 we spent the first week or so of our time in Ashland staying at Emigrant Lake, camping at an Army Corps of Engineers site. When I started planning our '07 trip I saw that the county now manages a full-fledged RV Campground at Emigrant Lake. Of course, I reserved a site.
As we pulled in I immediately recognized the lake. It is a reservoir, with steep sloping banks and an irregular shape. It seemed much smaller than I remember it, but as we drove in I saw the exact sites where we had camped in 1971. They have no hookups, and they're too steep and small for modern RV's (big motor homes), so the county had a new campground on the far end of the lake. It was right next to a beach of huge reddish rocks. If my brother reads that last sentence he'll know exactly what I mean, because he and I spent hours exploring those rocks from our canoe. I'm sure there was danger at every turnpoint back then...now we just saw the "Cougars have been spotted" sign and spent the evening making bad cougar jokes to scare Theresa.
In the morning Theresa and I drove around looking for the house we had rented after camping the first few weeks in 1971. It was gone. Not only was the house gone, but the street was gone, and the entire neighborhood was gone. What used to be a valley is now a hill, a hill covered in fake-old condos and a golf course. Ashland is now a town of 20,000 people. I suspect in 1971 that fewer than 10,000 lived there. The two lane main drag through town is now two roads, each a one way street. The library (a big old white frame house) is now part of the University (not a college) and there is a brand new library built. The mineral water fountain in Lithia Park has been removed "for restoration" and the big water fountain at the end of the park dispenses fresh city water. It was odd how things looked similar, but changed just enough to make it seem like a weird type of deja vu experience.
Back in 1971 we spent the first week or so of our time in Ashland staying at Emigrant Lake, camping at an Army Corps of Engineers site. When I started planning our '07 trip I saw that the county now manages a full-fledged RV Campground at Emigrant Lake. Of course, I reserved a site.
As we pulled in I immediately recognized the lake. It is a reservoir, with steep sloping banks and an irregular shape. It seemed much smaller than I remember it, but as we drove in I saw the exact sites where we had camped in 1971. They have no hookups, and they're too steep and small for modern RV's (big motor homes), so the county had a new campground on the far end of the lake. It was right next to a beach of huge reddish rocks. If my brother reads that last sentence he'll know exactly what I mean, because he and I spent hours exploring those rocks from our canoe. I'm sure there was danger at every turnpoint back then...now we just saw the "Cougars have been spotted" sign and spent the evening making bad cougar jokes to scare Theresa.
In the morning Theresa and I drove around looking for the house we had rented after camping the first few weeks in 1971. It was gone. Not only was the house gone, but the street was gone, and the entire neighborhood was gone. What used to be a valley is now a hill, a hill covered in fake-old condos and a golf course. Ashland is now a town of 20,000 people. I suspect in 1971 that fewer than 10,000 lived there. The two lane main drag through town is now two roads, each a one way street. The library (a big old white frame house) is now part of the University (not a college) and there is a brand new library built. The mineral water fountain in Lithia Park has been removed "for restoration" and the big water fountain at the end of the park dispenses fresh city water. It was odd how things looked similar, but changed just enough to make it seem like a weird type of deja vu experience.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Getting Ready to Go
It's time to hit the road again. We've had a wonderful time this week. After our trip to San Francisco on Wednesday, we spent the day relaxing Thursday. Friday Theresa and I flew to Seattle for our nephew Ryan's wedding.
We got to Seattle about 3, and headed to our bed and breakfast. It was a nice place. We had our own separate area in the house with our own entrance and even our own kitchen. We had a nice view of Puget Sound from the window. Since we hadn't gotten lunch, we went out for an early dinner to a seafood place just down the road. The food was outstanding!
We did some sightseeing around Seattle after supper. We walked through Pikes Place market, then saw the Seattle Center and the Space Needle. Since you have to spend $16 per person to go up the Space Needele, we stayed on the ground. Seems like a bit of a ripoff to me!
Saturday we went to the wedding. It was a lot of fun seeing everyone in the middle of our vacation, and both the ceremony and reception were neat. When we left we had a plenty of time to get back to the airport. The flight home was delayed by a little over an hour, and it ended up being after midnight when we finally got back to Jeff and Heidi's house.
Sunday morning after church we packed up a big picnic and went to the beach at Santa Cruz. The weather was just about perfect. It was sunny and clear but not too hot. We went swimming and explored the tide pools. We found starfish, crabs, snails, mussels, and anenomes.
We left the beach a little after five and went to a state park between Santa Cruz and San Jose. This park is in the redwood forest. We took a mile long hike through the redwood gtrove, seeing many of the huge trees. We also saw several deer. It was a great time, but we were pretty much exhausted by the time we got back.
This morninng we're packing up our stuff and getting ready to go. We'll be on the road for about 6-7 hours today, ending in Ashland, Oregon. Tuesday we're going to Crater Lake, then heading on to Portland. We won't have internet access until Wednesday, when we'll be camping in Idaho. I'll post an update then.
We got to Seattle about 3, and headed to our bed and breakfast. It was a nice place. We had our own separate area in the house with our own entrance and even our own kitchen. We had a nice view of Puget Sound from the window. Since we hadn't gotten lunch, we went out for an early dinner to a seafood place just down the road. The food was outstanding!
We did some sightseeing around Seattle after supper. We walked through Pikes Place market, then saw the Seattle Center and the Space Needle. Since you have to spend $16 per person to go up the Space Needele, we stayed on the ground. Seems like a bit of a ripoff to me!
Saturday we went to the wedding. It was a lot of fun seeing everyone in the middle of our vacation, and both the ceremony and reception were neat. When we left we had a plenty of time to get back to the airport. The flight home was delayed by a little over an hour, and it ended up being after midnight when we finally got back to Jeff and Heidi's house.
Sunday morning after church we packed up a big picnic and went to the beach at Santa Cruz. The weather was just about perfect. It was sunny and clear but not too hot. We went swimming and explored the tide pools. We found starfish, crabs, snails, mussels, and anenomes.
We left the beach a little after five and went to a state park between Santa Cruz and San Jose. This park is in the redwood forest. We took a mile long hike through the redwood gtrove, seeing many of the huge trees. We also saw several deer. It was a great time, but we were pretty much exhausted by the time we got back.
This morninng we're packing up our stuff and getting ready to go. We'll be on the road for about 6-7 hours today, ending in Ashland, Oregon. Tuesday we're going to Crater Lake, then heading on to Portland. We won't have internet access until Wednesday, when we'll be camping in Idaho. I'll post an update then.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Thursday, August 9, 2007
California Pictures
Shari is a great gardener. Here is one of the flowers in her back yard.
Mark and Shari with their boys. Shari is holding Collin, Braeden is standing next to Mark.
Here we are on a foggy and cool day at the end of a pier in San Francisco. You can see Alcatraz behind us.
Sea Lions on the floating docks at the end of Pier 39. You can just see the Golden Gate bridge through the fog over the bay.
The Golden Gate Bridge shrouded in fog from the park where we ate lunch.
Driving over the Golden Gate bridge.
Fog covers the north tower of the bridge.
Jeff and Heidi and their family from the bridge overlook on the north side of the bridge.
Driving on one of the steep hills in San Francisco.
Driving down Lombard street in San Francisco.
Mark and Shari with their boys. Shari is holding Collin, Braeden is standing next to Mark.
Here we are on a foggy and cool day at the end of a pier in San Francisco. You can see Alcatraz behind us.
Sea Lions on the floating docks at the end of Pier 39. You can just see the Golden Gate bridge through the fog over the bay.
The Golden Gate Bridge shrouded in fog from the park where we ate lunch.
Driving over the Golden Gate bridge.
Fog covers the north tower of the bridge.
Jeff and Heidi and their family from the bridge overlook on the north side of the bridge.
Driving on one of the steep hills in San Francisco.
Driving down Lombard street in San Francisco.
Our Week (so far) In California
Saturday we drove through the Mojave to Fresno. Sunday we went to Mark and Shari’s church, had pizza for lunch, and relaxed through the afternoon. Theresa and Jeanette each took long naps. On Monday Theresa and I took Mark and Shari out for lunch. After getting back, we finished packing, said our goodbyes, and started out for San Jose.
We got to my sister Heidi’s house at 4:30. We’ll be here until next Monday. Heidi has a large addition on the back of her house, and having six extra people in the house isn't too much of a hassle (at least, that's what she tells me). There are doors that close off the back of the house, and we’ve got our own little area to stay in, complete with a bathroom.
Tuesday we spent the day relaxing, doing some laundry and shopping. While the girls were at the mall I took the boys to a park nearby and we had fun there. Wednesday we toured San Francisco.
We started at Pier 39, next to Fisherman's Wharf. This is a large pier jutting out into the bay that has been built up with every conceivable type of tourist store you can imagine. At the end of the pier are many floating docks that sea lions climb onto and either sun themselves or fight each other, trying to push each other into the water. Just over the breakwater you can see Alcatraz. It was too foggy when we started out to see across the bay to the Golden Gate bridge, but things gradually cleared.
We ate a picnic lunch in a park across the street from the Ghiradelli Chocolate company, and had a nice view of the bottom 2/3 of the bridge from there. After eating we drove over the bridge to Marin County where we had a nice view of the bridge from the overlook. After returning to San Francisco (over the bridge again, thankfully Theresa was driving because I don't like driving on bridges) we went up Lombard Street. You've seen movies where people drive on the hills in San Francisco. Lombard street is probably the steepest street in the country. The speed limit on the way down is 5 mph. The street winds back and forth in very short switchbacks. The brakes on the van were squealing by the time we got to the bottom. We knew they were getting soft, but this noise had us concerned.
We went to Chinatown next, but couldn't find anywhere to park, so we decided to scoot out of town before the traffic got too bad. We were back in San Jose by supper time, and made plans for where to take the van today to get the brakes looked at. The squealing sounds we're hearing and the softness of the pedal mean we'll have trouble with the Rockies on the way home next week.
Today our van has been in the shop. Theresa and I borrowed Jeff and Heidi's van to bring our van in, did some shopping, and then came back home without our van, since the parts needed weren't available today. Our plan is to fly to Seattle tomorrow morning for my nephew's wedding. We've got a ride arranged to the airport with Connie, a friend of mine (and Heidi's) from when we were kids. Connie lives here in San Jose and does a lot with Heidi and her kids. Thankfully she is free tomorrow morning to drop us off. Either Jeff or Heidi will pick us up Saturday. Our kids will be staying in San Jose, helping out by babysitting for Jeff and Heidi.
We got to my sister Heidi’s house at 4:30. We’ll be here until next Monday. Heidi has a large addition on the back of her house, and having six extra people in the house isn't too much of a hassle (at least, that's what she tells me). There are doors that close off the back of the house, and we’ve got our own little area to stay in, complete with a bathroom.
Tuesday we spent the day relaxing, doing some laundry and shopping. While the girls were at the mall I took the boys to a park nearby and we had fun there. Wednesday we toured San Francisco.
We started at Pier 39, next to Fisherman's Wharf. This is a large pier jutting out into the bay that has been built up with every conceivable type of tourist store you can imagine. At the end of the pier are many floating docks that sea lions climb onto and either sun themselves or fight each other, trying to push each other into the water. Just over the breakwater you can see Alcatraz. It was too foggy when we started out to see across the bay to the Golden Gate bridge, but things gradually cleared.
We ate a picnic lunch in a park across the street from the Ghiradelli Chocolate company, and had a nice view of the bottom 2/3 of the bridge from there. After eating we drove over the bridge to Marin County where we had a nice view of the bridge from the overlook. After returning to San Francisco (over the bridge again, thankfully Theresa was driving because I don't like driving on bridges) we went up Lombard Street. You've seen movies where people drive on the hills in San Francisco. Lombard street is probably the steepest street in the country. The speed limit on the way down is 5 mph. The street winds back and forth in very short switchbacks. The brakes on the van were squealing by the time we got to the bottom. We knew they were getting soft, but this noise had us concerned.
We went to Chinatown next, but couldn't find anywhere to park, so we decided to scoot out of town before the traffic got too bad. We were back in San Jose by supper time, and made plans for where to take the van today to get the brakes looked at. The squealing sounds we're hearing and the softness of the pedal mean we'll have trouble with the Rockies on the way home next week.
Today our van has been in the shop. Theresa and I borrowed Jeff and Heidi's van to bring our van in, did some shopping, and then came back home without our van, since the parts needed weren't available today. Our plan is to fly to Seattle tomorrow morning for my nephew's wedding. We've got a ride arranged to the airport with Connie, a friend of mine (and Heidi's) from when we were kids. Connie lives here in San Jose and does a lot with Heidi and her kids. Thankfully she is free tomorrow morning to drop us off. Either Jeff or Heidi will pick us up Saturday. Our kids will be staying in San Jose, helping out by babysitting for Jeff and Heidi.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Hotter than...
On Saturday we drove from Utah to Fresno. This ended up being a 13 hour drive. After a full week of back roads we found the interstate. After leaving Utah we drove through the northwest corner of Arizona, through Nevada, and into California. If you see this route on a map you'll realize it goes directly through the Mojave desert.
The desert is like a completely other world. It is incredibly beautiful. It is also hot. Very hot. We stopped for lunch in Baker, California, in the heart of the desert. We wanted to give the van a little bit of time to cool down, so we sat in a Burger King for a half hour. When we turned the van off it was 111 degrees. That is not a typo. Baker is the home of the world's tallest thermometer. It showed a temperature of 107 as we left. Shortly after we left Baker the thermometer in the van topped out at 116 degrees. Even though it's a dry heat, it's still HOT!
We reached Mark and Shari's home in Fresno at 6:30. It was 108 in Fresno when we got there. Still hot. We had a great time catching up, playing some games, and just enjoying the rest of the evening.
The desert is like a completely other world. It is incredibly beautiful. It is also hot. Very hot. We stopped for lunch in Baker, California, in the heart of the desert. We wanted to give the van a little bit of time to cool down, so we sat in a Burger King for a half hour. When we turned the van off it was 111 degrees. That is not a typo. Baker is the home of the world's tallest thermometer. It showed a temperature of 107 as we left. Shortly after we left Baker the thermometer in the van topped out at 116 degrees. Even though it's a dry heat, it's still HOT!
We reached Mark and Shari's home in Fresno at 6:30. It was 108 in Fresno when we got there. Still hot. We had a great time catching up, playing some games, and just enjoying the rest of the evening.
Pictures of Zion National Park
The first couple of these were taken from the van as we drove into the park.
This is a flower we saw on the path on one of our hikes.
This is water dripping out of the mountain side. There are plants growing upside down on the undercut "cave" in the side of the mountain.
Here are some of us walking in the river on our hike up to the Narrows. We didn't go into the narrows itself because of the flash flood danger.
Our family at the park entrance. Some tourists from Japan who spoke no English took this for us.
This is a flower we saw on the path on one of our hikes.
This is water dripping out of the mountain side. There are plants growing upside down on the undercut "cave" in the side of the mountain.
Here are some of us walking in the river on our hike up to the Narrows. We didn't go into the narrows itself because of the flash flood danger.
Our family at the park entrance. Some tourists from Japan who spoke no English took this for us.
Catching Up: Friday
It's now Tuesday morning and I'm writing this on the dining room table at my sister's house in San Jose. The past few days have been terribly busy, so busy that I haven't had time to post to let people know what has been happening. Today we're not doing much besides getting caught up on visiting, doing laundry, and doing a little shopping since there are eleven people in the house this week. Fortunately, there's plenty of room for everyone here.
Friday we went to Zion National Park. When we were putting this trip together we included Zion because it was so convenient. We knew we wanted to see Bryce Canyon, but we didn't know much about Zion or what was even there. We were completely overwhelmed with Zion. It's one of the most beautiful places on earth.
From the park entrance to the visitor center is about a 15 mile drive. During this drive you go through a stunningly beautiful series of mountains that have been carved into lines and shaped by water and wind erosion. There are arches in the sides of mouuntains where huge sheets of granite have fallen away due to freezing and thawing. There are two tunnels you drive through on the way in, and the scenery gets more stunning after each one. As Theresa drove the kids and I were oohing and ahing about the views. I shot over 100 pictures from the windows of the moving car as we entered the canyon.
The front of the park, which is the most accessible and the part we toured, is essentially a canyon. Unlike the Grand Canyon or Bryce Canyon, however, at Zion you are viewing the canyon from the bottom up, instead of from the canyon rim. To tour the canyon you get on a shuttle bus. The shuttle busses run every 7 minutes. If you got on a bus and simply rode to the end of the canyon and back it would be a 90 minute ride. There are many stops along the way, however, where you can get off the bus and take a short hike.
We stopped at a couple of these stops. The first was a steep uphill trail to a viewing area for some of the mountains. Another was to a spot where water drips out of the side of a mountain. This water has seeped into the sandstone of the mountain and slowly drains through the porous rock. The hike ends at an undecut bank, where there are plants growing upside down on the rock in the moisture. I can't fully describe it in words, but it's really neat.
At the end of the canyon is the river, and you can hike up the canyon into the "narrows" where the canyon walls come together and you end up hiking up the river itself because the rock walls come together, several hundred feet high. With all the rain we had been having we didn't feel safe hiking this area because of the flash flood danger. The National Park Service makes a big deal about warning you about the danger of floods, and we took them seriously. We spent most of Friday at Zion, and when we left decided this was definitely a place we need to see again.
Friday we went to Zion National Park. When we were putting this trip together we included Zion because it was so convenient. We knew we wanted to see Bryce Canyon, but we didn't know much about Zion or what was even there. We were completely overwhelmed with Zion. It's one of the most beautiful places on earth.
From the park entrance to the visitor center is about a 15 mile drive. During this drive you go through a stunningly beautiful series of mountains that have been carved into lines and shaped by water and wind erosion. There are arches in the sides of mouuntains where huge sheets of granite have fallen away due to freezing and thawing. There are two tunnels you drive through on the way in, and the scenery gets more stunning after each one. As Theresa drove the kids and I were oohing and ahing about the views. I shot over 100 pictures from the windows of the moving car as we entered the canyon.
The front of the park, which is the most accessible and the part we toured, is essentially a canyon. Unlike the Grand Canyon or Bryce Canyon, however, at Zion you are viewing the canyon from the bottom up, instead of from the canyon rim. To tour the canyon you get on a shuttle bus. The shuttle busses run every 7 minutes. If you got on a bus and simply rode to the end of the canyon and back it would be a 90 minute ride. There are many stops along the way, however, where you can get off the bus and take a short hike.
We stopped at a couple of these stops. The first was a steep uphill trail to a viewing area for some of the mountains. Another was to a spot where water drips out of the side of a mountain. This water has seeped into the sandstone of the mountain and slowly drains through the porous rock. The hike ends at an undecut bank, where there are plants growing upside down on the rock in the moisture. I can't fully describe it in words, but it's really neat.
At the end of the canyon is the river, and you can hike up the canyon into the "narrows" where the canyon walls come together and you end up hiking up the river itself because the rock walls come together, several hundred feet high. With all the rain we had been having we didn't feel safe hiking this area because of the flash flood danger. The National Park Service makes a big deal about warning you about the danger of floods, and we took them seriously. We spent most of Friday at Zion, and when we left decided this was definitely a place we need to see again.
Friday, August 3, 2007
Bryce Canyon Pictures
Bryce is much smaller than the Grand Canyon, but shallower and more intimate. It's possible for you to wander down one of the many trails and get deep into the canyon without too much trouble. The scenery is like nothing else I've ever seen. There are hundreds, no, thousands of rocky spires called "Hoodoos" sticking up everywhere. An easy drive along the plateau road takes you to most of the viewpoints, where there are nicely developed areas to look out and take pictures. As you can see from the pictures below, the sky was incredible yesterday, providing an accent to the incredible landscape below us.
Grand Canyon Pictures
There is no way to describe your first experience of the Grand Canyon. None of our family had ever seen it before, and after we set up hurriedly on Wednesday, just after a torrential rainstorm, we rushed to the north rim before sunset. These pictures were taken Thursday, when it was sunny and bright. Wednesday evening it was sunny but getting dark.
Canyons
Wednesday evening we reached Jacob Lake, Arizona, 45 miles north of the north rim of the Grand Canyon. We arrived in a torrential thunderstorm, sat for an hour at the Jacob Lake Inn and ate supper at the diner there while the rain subsided.
We had a short window of time with no rain to set up, then took a chance on there still being daylight and took off for the canyon, 50 minutes away. The road cut through a dense forest that had recent fire damage, and there were literally hundreds of mule deer on the roadside.
When we arrived there was still about 30 minutes of daylight. Our first views of the Grand Canyon were near sunset, and it was simply amazing.
After returning to our campground we had a very quiet night of sleep. We were almost two miles off the highway, and it's very lightly travelled anyway. We made another run to the Grand Canyon in the morning, and had a few hours of bright sun to marvel in the sheer size and majesty. Yes, we took a lot of pictures...I shot two rolls of film and over 100 digital pictures.
After lunch we drove north a couple of hours to Utah. We set up our camper at a KOA in Glendale, about midway between Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks. We left for Bryce Canyon at 3:30.
Bryce Canyon is almost as incredible as the Grand Canyon. In fact, if I were to travel out here again, I think I'd almost rather go to Bryce. The towers of rock (called Hoodoos) formed by the erosion of water and wind are accessible.
The boys and I hiked down one trail about half way down the canyon. The colors of the rock were incredible.
The weather in the afternoon was amazing. About 70 degrees with huge clouds, making an outstanding backdrop for the hundreds of pictures we took. By the time we left we were all exhausted. It was only 65 degrees when we got back to Glendale, but the kids still went swimming while Theresa cooked supper.
Today it's off to Zion. The weather looks like it will be another great day. The sky is an impossible blue, and the clouds don't look like they contain rain. Hopefully it will be dry for us today.
We had a short window of time with no rain to set up, then took a chance on there still being daylight and took off for the canyon, 50 minutes away. The road cut through a dense forest that had recent fire damage, and there were literally hundreds of mule deer on the roadside.
When we arrived there was still about 30 minutes of daylight. Our first views of the Grand Canyon were near sunset, and it was simply amazing.
After returning to our campground we had a very quiet night of sleep. We were almost two miles off the highway, and it's very lightly travelled anyway. We made another run to the Grand Canyon in the morning, and had a few hours of bright sun to marvel in the sheer size and majesty. Yes, we took a lot of pictures...I shot two rolls of film and over 100 digital pictures.
After lunch we drove north a couple of hours to Utah. We set up our camper at a KOA in Glendale, about midway between Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks. We left for Bryce Canyon at 3:30.
Bryce Canyon is almost as incredible as the Grand Canyon. In fact, if I were to travel out here again, I think I'd almost rather go to Bryce. The towers of rock (called Hoodoos) formed by the erosion of water and wind are accessible.
The boys and I hiked down one trail about half way down the canyon. The colors of the rock were incredible.
The weather in the afternoon was amazing. About 70 degrees with huge clouds, making an outstanding backdrop for the hundreds of pictures we took. By the time we left we were all exhausted. It was only 65 degrees when we got back to Glendale, but the kids still went swimming while Theresa cooked supper.
Today it's off to Zion. The weather looks like it will be another great day. The sky is an impossible blue, and the clouds don't look like they contain rain. Hopefully it will be dry for us today.
The Road Less Travelled
The process of getting from point A to point B can offer almost as much interest as point B itself. The scenery outside the windows as we travelled through the Arizona desert has been breathtaking. Huge expanses of open range, far distant mesas of gorgeous red, brown, yellow, or green, huge granite or red rock mountains. Your sense of distance is distorted, as what seems almost there only looms a bit larger 30 minutes later.
Huge storms are visible from miles away. You see roiling black clouds riddled with flashes of lightning. You see regular bolts of lightning hitting the mountain tops. At times the storms are both massive and minuscule, as the wide angle view of forever gives full perspective to both beginning and end of a storm. You can see wide swaths of mist extending in a column to the earth some twenty miles distant, while immediately before and after this deluge are sunny skies.
As you travel you watch for the intersection of your road and the storm. Will it still be raining there when we reach it? Will we slip past it, either ahead or behind the driving rain and hail? Or will we be hit by the next one, barely visible miles behind this one?
Another part of the process is seeing a different side of America. Towns that consist of a few tired old mobile homes, a closed gas station, a weathered wood corral, and a dirt crossroad. Instead of finding corporate conformity, you find shops, stores, and restaurants that are unique and different without trying to be. Like the two scraggly dogs that live at the Chevron station in Tuba City, Arizona, spending their days sleeping in the shade of the canopy erected to protect customers from the relentless sun, and wandering over to sniff and greet tired travellers as they refuel.
Huge storms are visible from miles away. You see roiling black clouds riddled with flashes of lightning. You see regular bolts of lightning hitting the mountain tops. At times the storms are both massive and minuscule, as the wide angle view of forever gives full perspective to both beginning and end of a storm. You can see wide swaths of mist extending in a column to the earth some twenty miles distant, while immediately before and after this deluge are sunny skies.
As you travel you watch for the intersection of your road and the storm. Will it still be raining there when we reach it? Will we slip past it, either ahead or behind the driving rain and hail? Or will we be hit by the next one, barely visible miles behind this one?
Another part of the process is seeing a different side of America. Towns that consist of a few tired old mobile homes, a closed gas station, a weathered wood corral, and a dirt crossroad. Instead of finding corporate conformity, you find shops, stores, and restaurants that are unique and different without trying to be. Like the two scraggly dogs that live at the Chevron station in Tuba City, Arizona, spending their days sleeping in the shade of the canopy erected to protect customers from the relentless sun, and wandering over to sniff and greet tired travellers as they refuel.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Mesa Verde
This is the laddder to get up to Balcony House, one of the cliff dwellings we toured today.
A view out over the canyon from the Cliff Palace overlook. There was a thunderstorm starting so the picture is dark.
This is Cliff Palace, the other cliff dwelling we toured. Within minutes of the start of this tour the sky opened up in a massive thunderstorm. We huddled under the cliff face as much as possible, but still came out of the tour drenched to the bone.
Huddling under the overhang of the cliff waiting for our entire tour group to get to the bottom. It was COLD!
The kids posing at the park entrance sign. You can see how wet they still are, even though it had stopped raining an hour before I took this picture.
A view out over the canyon from the Cliff Palace overlook. There was a thunderstorm starting so the picture is dark.
This is Cliff Palace, the other cliff dwelling we toured. Within minutes of the start of this tour the sky opened up in a massive thunderstorm. We huddled under the cliff face as much as possible, but still came out of the tour drenched to the bone.
Huddling under the overhang of the cliff waiting for our entire tour group to get to the bottom. It was COLD!
The kids posing at the park entrance sign. You can see how wet they still are, even though it had stopped raining an hour before I took this picture.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Mountains!
We left Dodge City at 7AM Central time. We left this early because there was a thunderstorm rolling in and we wanted to drop the camper before it started raining. We had a great time travelling west into Colorado. It was a beautiful day, never getting hotter than 80 degrees. Most of the time it was in the mid '70s. We never ran the air conditioner, instead spent most of the time with the windows partway down.
Theresa and I, paying attention, first noticed the shadowy outline of the approaching mountains almost 30 minutes before the kids did. They were busy watching what was outside the sides of the van. Eastern Colorado is greener than Kansas, with sagebrush and small pine trees, things we didn't see in Kansas. We saw several deer. I'm not sure what kind they were. They had single spike type antlers. Were these mule deer or pronghorn antelope? We also saw two elk.
Once we reached the mountains the kids' excitement level really cranked up. The scenery was absolutely amazing. We had to climb over a mountain pass over 9000 feet above sea level to reach the San Luis valley. The van did fine, slowing just a bit, but really not having any trouble.
We reached Alamosa around 1, Mountain time. My grandmother lived in Alamosa as a child, and I drove through here once before, for a family reunion at Beaver Creek. I remember Alamosa as a city in a valley surrounded by mountains. I was right. The San Luis valley is about 80 miles across. We stopped in Alamosa for Frostys from Wendy's, then pushed on.
On the west side of the valley Wolf Creek Pass takes you over the Continental Divide. The road down is incredible, with switchbacks and steep grades, runaway truck ramps, and, to top it off, driving rain and lightning strikes hitting the mountain tops around the top of the pass. At one point we were above a cloud, and the road looped around the sheer rock wall where the cloud was hanging, so we drove 3/4 of the way around it. Really neat.
We got to our campground at Mesa Verde about 5 Mountain time. A total of 11 hours today, which is pretty good considering we lost 20 minutes at Wendys and 30 minutes getting gas and making a picnic lunch in Walesenburg (?). This is a really nice campground. They have two hot tubs, a pool, a strong wireless internet signal, and bathrooms that look like they came out of a luxury hotel. It's our most expensive place to stay, but with our Good Sam discount it's still under $40 per night.
Sam ran about 4 miles while Theresa and I did some laundry and Jeanette got online. There's no cell service here for us at all. I hope there will be service before we reach California, but I'm not holding my breath. Getting off the interstates onto the back roads is a fantastic way to travel (we took lots of pictures out the car windows today), and I guess no cell phone service is the trade off. I'll take that trade.
Tomorrow we're touring Mesa Verde National Park. We're not sure what we'll see there yet, but we know it will be fun.
If anyone needs to reach us, you can email any of us at any of our addresses. We've got internet through Wednesday morning (if we think to check it then) and then will have internet again on Thursday.
Theresa and I, paying attention, first noticed the shadowy outline of the approaching mountains almost 30 minutes before the kids did. They were busy watching what was outside the sides of the van. Eastern Colorado is greener than Kansas, with sagebrush and small pine trees, things we didn't see in Kansas. We saw several deer. I'm not sure what kind they were. They had single spike type antlers. Were these mule deer or pronghorn antelope? We also saw two elk.
Once we reached the mountains the kids' excitement level really cranked up. The scenery was absolutely amazing. We had to climb over a mountain pass over 9000 feet above sea level to reach the San Luis valley. The van did fine, slowing just a bit, but really not having any trouble.
We reached Alamosa around 1, Mountain time. My grandmother lived in Alamosa as a child, and I drove through here once before, for a family reunion at Beaver Creek. I remember Alamosa as a city in a valley surrounded by mountains. I was right. The San Luis valley is about 80 miles across. We stopped in Alamosa for Frostys from Wendy's, then pushed on.
On the west side of the valley Wolf Creek Pass takes you over the Continental Divide. The road down is incredible, with switchbacks and steep grades, runaway truck ramps, and, to top it off, driving rain and lightning strikes hitting the mountain tops around the top of the pass. At one point we were above a cloud, and the road looped around the sheer rock wall where the cloud was hanging, so we drove 3/4 of the way around it. Really neat.
We got to our campground at Mesa Verde about 5 Mountain time. A total of 11 hours today, which is pretty good considering we lost 20 minutes at Wendys and 30 minutes getting gas and making a picnic lunch in Walesenburg (?). This is a really nice campground. They have two hot tubs, a pool, a strong wireless internet signal, and bathrooms that look like they came out of a luxury hotel. It's our most expensive place to stay, but with our Good Sam discount it's still under $40 per night.
Sam ran about 4 miles while Theresa and I did some laundry and Jeanette got online. There's no cell service here for us at all. I hope there will be service before we reach California, but I'm not holding my breath. Getting off the interstates onto the back roads is a fantastic way to travel (we took lots of pictures out the car windows today), and I guess no cell phone service is the trade off. I'll take that trade.
Tomorrow we're touring Mesa Verde National Park. We're not sure what we'll see there yet, but we know it will be fun.
If anyone needs to reach us, you can email any of us at any of our addresses. We've got internet through Wednesday morning (if we think to check it then) and then will have internet again on Thursday.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
How 'bout some Pictures?
It's late afternoon, and we're relaxing after a great supper. The kids have been swimming this afternoon, so I'll try to figure out how to upload pictures.
This is as we're starting off on the trip, leaving home.
Here's Jamie at Auto Source fixing our A/C for us.
Now a few of the kids...
Our Campsite here in Dodge City
And a Kansas Sunflower to wrap things up for the day.
This is as we're starting off on the trip, leaving home.
Here's Jamie at Auto Source fixing our A/C for us.
Now a few of the kids...
Our Campsite here in Dodge City
And a Kansas Sunflower to wrap things up for the day.
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