Sunday, May 24, 2009
We Made It!
We've arrived in Seattle as of yesterday afternoon! We left Sacramento, made stops in Crater Lake, Roseburg Oregon, Nehalem Bay State Park, Cannon Beach, Mount St. Helens and finally stopped! It was an incredible trip, but we are happy to have landed and have nowhere to drive to for a while! More later on the final adventures of the road trip. We'll post pictures shortly as well. Stay tuned...
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Nearing the End
We spent the day in Sacramento yesterday doing almost nothing...and it was wonderful. I slept in until 9 AM which I haven't done in, well, I don't even remember how long. Phill and I lazed around the majority of the day until Garrett got home in the afternoon. We watched some episodes of That 70s Show, Price is Right...aw, midday television! Then Garrett took us down to the air station to give us a tour of his offices and the hangar. It was really impressive to see it all. The plane that was in the hangar was the plane that he just returned from deployment in. It was so much bigger than I imagined. We walked around the outside and then got a tour of the inside as well. I've never been inside the cockpit of a plane before, so that was pretty cool. There are so many dials and gadgets in there. I don't know how anyone keeps all of it straight.
Then we went grocery shopping in search of some Pacific Salmon for dinner. In terms of good seafood, it's nice to be back on the west coast again. We BBQ-ed some delicious Coho salmon. We lucked out too because Garrett forgot frosting for the cake he made, so Phill and I both got to ride in his little convertible Jensen Healey to get frosting. It worked out for us pretty well! What a fun little car. The whole stay in Sacramento was such a nice refresher to the busy-ness we've had going on. We both feel refreshed and ready to press on.
This morning we're getting packed up and ready to head further north. We'll be arriving in Crater Lake this afternoon and camping there. I still can't believe we're almost to Seattle. What a trip...
Then we went grocery shopping in search of some Pacific Salmon for dinner. In terms of good seafood, it's nice to be back on the west coast again. We BBQ-ed some delicious Coho salmon. We lucked out too because Garrett forgot frosting for the cake he made, so Phill and I both got to ride in his little convertible Jensen Healey to get frosting. It worked out for us pretty well! What a fun little car. The whole stay in Sacramento was such a nice refresher to the busy-ness we've had going on. We both feel refreshed and ready to press on.
This morning we're getting packed up and ready to head further north. We'll be arriving in Crater Lake this afternoon and camping there. I still can't believe we're almost to Seattle. What a trip...
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Yosemite, Take Two
Well, we made our second attempt at Yosemite yesterday. Success!
We hiked part of the trail around the Mariposa Tree Grove. You wouldn't believe the size of these trees, especially when compared to the already huge hemlocks in the grove. We stretched our arms across the width of many of the trees and it still wouldn't reach the diameter. One of the first places along the way that we stopped was a fallen tree. The root system on the tree was pretty impressive, but apparently the trees actually have really shallow root systems. The roots only go three to six feet underground, but can extend up to 150 feet horizontally. And the thickness of each root is crazy!
Sequoia trees reproduce via cones that contain 200 – 300 seeds. When we first drove into the park, you could see several of these cones hanging from the very ends of the branches and they're monstrous! They grow on the trees for 20 – 30 years before falling. And even after they fall, only one in a million may germinate. In order for them to do so, the conditions have to be absolutely ideal. They need soft, mineral soil; sufficient light, and adequate moisture. The tress rely on external forces to help the trees drop the cones and spread the seeds. Many of the trees in the grove have portions that have been burned by fire. Apparently the park used to work really hard to control natural fires, but later learned that fires actually help the trees reproduce. And in addition, other plants in the grove benefit from the fires as well because the burned out branches allow more light to get in.
A sequoia's bark is a real pretty red color that has deep grooves in it. It's a very distinctive bark and really beautiful. You can look up to see the tops of the trees and just about fall over backwards because of the height. We stopped at the Grizzly Giant tree and the California Tunnel tree. It's truly shocking to see the sheer size of both. The first branch (not the trunk) on the Grizzly Giant is seven feet wide! That's almost an entire foot taller than Phill. And then the California tunnel tree you can walk right through...easily! It's not as if you have to hunch down or anything. You just casually walk right through. The early pioneers used to walk their horses through. And as recent as the 1960s, people used to be able to drive their cars through a similar tunnel in a tree in the park that has since caved in. Obviously this was before the SUV generation, but even so, can you imagine!?!
After the hike, we drove to Glacier Point – a viewpoint at about 7200 feet in the park where you can see Half Dome (the park's most famous cliff) and the two waterfalls. Of all the viewpoints I've seen in my life, this one definitely makes it near the top. It was so spectacular! The contrast of what you can see from that point is unreal. You have gray and black mountain cliffs that have been rounded by glaciers, so they appear kind of like bald mountains. Then 7200 feet down you have a lush, bright green valley. On either side of Half Dome are two gushing waterfalls. And of course the blue sky. The panoramic view seems to go on forever on all sides. It looks so rugged and untouched in many ways.
American Indians believe that Half Dome and North Dome (the predominant cliffs in the park) were once a husband and wife that argued incessantly. As a result, the spirits turned each into stone at each end of the park to forever face each other. Geologists, on the other hand, are still wondering how the cliffs in the park have been formed. They believe that the walls of Yosemite formed into hard stone nearly five miles underground and eventually the top layers have been eroded away exposing what we see today. And it seems to be a work in progress. I'm not sure how part of Half Dome fell off, but I've at least heard that it was due to the immense weight of it that it eventually just fell. When you look into the woods, you can see these enormous boulders (like three times the size of a vehicle) that have just landed in the middle of the woods. Beware of falling boulders...
We came back down to the valley from Glacier Point and headed back to Sacramento. Somehow we managed to take the long way around. Oh well. It was beautiful and sunny out and the right temperate to drive with the windows down. It felt great to have some fresh air. There's so much more that we missed in the park due to our short time to be there, but we certainly feel like we got a good overview and would love to go back and explore more.
When we decided to take this whole trip, we promised ourselves that we would take our time places to explore and really see things rather than rush through. Unfortunately, the past couple of parks have been somewhat rushed, but overall, we feel like we've been true to our promise. Yosemite and Death Valley will have to be parks that we return to another time.
We hiked part of the trail around the Mariposa Tree Grove. You wouldn't believe the size of these trees, especially when compared to the already huge hemlocks in the grove. We stretched our arms across the width of many of the trees and it still wouldn't reach the diameter. One of the first places along the way that we stopped was a fallen tree. The root system on the tree was pretty impressive, but apparently the trees actually have really shallow root systems. The roots only go three to six feet underground, but can extend up to 150 feet horizontally. And the thickness of each root is crazy!
Sequoia trees reproduce via cones that contain 200 – 300 seeds. When we first drove into the park, you could see several of these cones hanging from the very ends of the branches and they're monstrous! They grow on the trees for 20 – 30 years before falling. And even after they fall, only one in a million may germinate. In order for them to do so, the conditions have to be absolutely ideal. They need soft, mineral soil; sufficient light, and adequate moisture. The tress rely on external forces to help the trees drop the cones and spread the seeds. Many of the trees in the grove have portions that have been burned by fire. Apparently the park used to work really hard to control natural fires, but later learned that fires actually help the trees reproduce. And in addition, other plants in the grove benefit from the fires as well because the burned out branches allow more light to get in.
A sequoia's bark is a real pretty red color that has deep grooves in it. It's a very distinctive bark and really beautiful. You can look up to see the tops of the trees and just about fall over backwards because of the height. We stopped at the Grizzly Giant tree and the California Tunnel tree. It's truly shocking to see the sheer size of both. The first branch (not the trunk) on the Grizzly Giant is seven feet wide! That's almost an entire foot taller than Phill. And then the California tunnel tree you can walk right through...easily! It's not as if you have to hunch down or anything. You just casually walk right through. The early pioneers used to walk their horses through. And as recent as the 1960s, people used to be able to drive their cars through a similar tunnel in a tree in the park that has since caved in. Obviously this was before the SUV generation, but even so, can you imagine!?!
After the hike, we drove to Glacier Point – a viewpoint at about 7200 feet in the park where you can see Half Dome (the park's most famous cliff) and the two waterfalls. Of all the viewpoints I've seen in my life, this one definitely makes it near the top. It was so spectacular! The contrast of what you can see from that point is unreal. You have gray and black mountain cliffs that have been rounded by glaciers, so they appear kind of like bald mountains. Then 7200 feet down you have a lush, bright green valley. On either side of Half Dome are two gushing waterfalls. And of course the blue sky. The panoramic view seems to go on forever on all sides. It looks so rugged and untouched in many ways.
American Indians believe that Half Dome and North Dome (the predominant cliffs in the park) were once a husband and wife that argued incessantly. As a result, the spirits turned each into stone at each end of the park to forever face each other. Geologists, on the other hand, are still wondering how the cliffs in the park have been formed. They believe that the walls of Yosemite formed into hard stone nearly five miles underground and eventually the top layers have been eroded away exposing what we see today. And it seems to be a work in progress. I'm not sure how part of Half Dome fell off, but I've at least heard that it was due to the immense weight of it that it eventually just fell. When you look into the woods, you can see these enormous boulders (like three times the size of a vehicle) that have just landed in the middle of the woods. Beware of falling boulders...
We came back down to the valley from Glacier Point and headed back to Sacramento. Somehow we managed to take the long way around. Oh well. It was beautiful and sunny out and the right temperate to drive with the windows down. It felt great to have some fresh air. There's so much more that we missed in the park due to our short time to be there, but we certainly feel like we got a good overview and would love to go back and explore more.
When we decided to take this whole trip, we promised ourselves that we would take our time places to explore and really see things rather than rush through. Unfortunately, the past couple of parks have been somewhat rushed, but overall, we feel like we've been true to our promise. Yosemite and Death Valley will have to be parks that we return to another time.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
No Room in the Inn
Well, we made it to Yosemite, but what a nightmare all of this has been.
We got to Yosemite around 5:00 and not a single camping spot was available. The park was insane with people! After being on the road for so many days, we've completely lost track of the day of the week. Note to self – do not visit Yosemite on a weekend. It's crazy! So, we drove to the south entrance to see if we could find a place to sleep. The campsite outside the park was full, hotels in the town 12 miles south were completely booked, hotels 25 miles south were booked...it was looking like we might sleep in the truck again. We finally found a state park with campsites available 45 miles south of the park. We set up our tent in the dark which really creeped me out because of snake warnings. I'm ready to get to the land where creepy things aren't as prevalent (no rattlesnakes in Seattle). We finally got the sleep around 11 and then Phill woke up around 1AM to a horrifying screeching sound as if an animal was being mutilated. Luckily I didn't hear the animal at all, but I did hear Bailey go nuts over it growling and barking. We both layed there quietly for a couple of minutes after it was over and I looked toward Phill and said - “are you asleep.” And he responded - “not a chance.” We were hearing every little noise at this point which was really creepy. So, we got all of our stuff and climbed into the truck to sleep a while. An hour later, we were sweating to death, so we ventured back into the tent. An owl was hooting at this time, which was a really nice sound to fall asleep to. I'm not sure if I've ever really heard an owl hoot.
We both felt pretty silly once we woke up and saw our surroundings (we didn't have a good sense of it since we set up in the dark). The site was right by the edge of a lake and the trashcans were close by with no lids. They obviously don't have a major animal problem. I don't know what Phill heard being eaten, but I don't think we should have felt as threatened by it as we did. Small children were walking around that had apparently slept soundly all night. Meanwhile, the two adults with their tent crawled into the safety of our vehicle halfway through. Yeah...we were feeling a little wimpy.
We got back to Yosemite around 9:30 AM and the park was packed! People were flooding in the gates. We couldn't drive to the giant tree grove because the parking lot was full, and the overflow parking lot was becoming too full as well. It was looking like it was going to be a miserable day fighting among people. So, we decided to can it and drive up to Sacramento to see the Faulkners. We'll be staying with them for a few days and will probably use one of those days to make a side trip down to Yosemite. I hope it's slower mid week so that we can actually see it. So, that's where we headed. It's probably good because we're ready for a nice bed, good company, and hot showers! Faulkers and your doggies...look out, here we come!
We got to Yosemite around 5:00 and not a single camping spot was available. The park was insane with people! After being on the road for so many days, we've completely lost track of the day of the week. Note to self – do not visit Yosemite on a weekend. It's crazy! So, we drove to the south entrance to see if we could find a place to sleep. The campsite outside the park was full, hotels in the town 12 miles south were completely booked, hotels 25 miles south were booked...it was looking like we might sleep in the truck again. We finally found a state park with campsites available 45 miles south of the park. We set up our tent in the dark which really creeped me out because of snake warnings. I'm ready to get to the land where creepy things aren't as prevalent (no rattlesnakes in Seattle). We finally got the sleep around 11 and then Phill woke up around 1AM to a horrifying screeching sound as if an animal was being mutilated. Luckily I didn't hear the animal at all, but I did hear Bailey go nuts over it growling and barking. We both layed there quietly for a couple of minutes after it was over and I looked toward Phill and said - “are you asleep.” And he responded - “not a chance.” We were hearing every little noise at this point which was really creepy. So, we got all of our stuff and climbed into the truck to sleep a while. An hour later, we were sweating to death, so we ventured back into the tent. An owl was hooting at this time, which was a really nice sound to fall asleep to. I'm not sure if I've ever really heard an owl hoot.
We both felt pretty silly once we woke up and saw our surroundings (we didn't have a good sense of it since we set up in the dark). The site was right by the edge of a lake and the trashcans were close by with no lids. They obviously don't have a major animal problem. I don't know what Phill heard being eaten, but I don't think we should have felt as threatened by it as we did. Small children were walking around that had apparently slept soundly all night. Meanwhile, the two adults with their tent crawled into the safety of our vehicle halfway through. Yeah...we were feeling a little wimpy.
We got back to Yosemite around 9:30 AM and the park was packed! People were flooding in the gates. We couldn't drive to the giant tree grove because the parking lot was full, and the overflow parking lot was becoming too full as well. It was looking like it was going to be a miserable day fighting among people. So, we decided to can it and drive up to Sacramento to see the Faulkners. We'll be staying with them for a few days and will probably use one of those days to make a side trip down to Yosemite. I hope it's slower mid week so that we can actually see it. So, that's where we headed. It's probably good because we're ready for a nice bed, good company, and hot showers! Faulkers and your doggies...look out, here we come!
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Record Temperatures
Things haven't gone nearly as smoothly for the past couple of days as they did for the first part of the trip.
Friday we left the Grand Canyon and headed to Death Valley. On our way, we stopped at Hoover Dam which is the state line between Arizona and Nevada. Oh my gosh it was hot! The radio was saying they were experiencing record heat and would probably hit triple digits by the end of the weekend. They wouldn't let us park and leave the dog, so Phill had to just drop me off and turn around and come back for me. I didn't see that much, but I got the basic idea. Damn...that's a big dam. Pressing on...
We got to Death Valley kind of late in the evening. We kind of went around Las Vegas and then through this tiny town called Death Valley Junction. It was a complete ghost town – I mean, completely abandoned. It was almost eerie. Since we got to Death Valley so late and it was so hot, we did a really rushed drive through the park. It was kind of unfortunate, but we haven't felt rushed through any other park yet. So, we're calling Death Valley the one that got away. But we did make it out to the first point which had an incredible view of the valley. The plaque up there said that the entire land is tilting. As the mountain tilt upward, the basin tilts toward (further below sea level). The only thing that keeps it from sinking too much is that the “stuff” eroding and blowing out of the mountains fills it up as fast as its sinking. The basin is 282 feet below sea level – the lowest elevation in North America. We raced from our viewpoint in the mountains down to the Badwater Basin itself. It reminded me of Yellowstone a little bit in terms of how harsh and strange the land is. And there's actually a kind of sulfur-ish smell there also, just like at Yellowstone. The sun had already set, and the temperature was still ridiculous. And there was absolutely no breeze whatsoever. It honestly felt like a consistent heat like you would feel with an oven door open.
The valley used to be an old minor's destination. Apparently there are still thousands of old mines in the park. We noticed remnants of things that looked like they could have been miner's equipment at one time. Apparently many were extremely successful at finding ore at one point.
When we read through the literature that you get at the front gate of the park, we learned that pretty much the only things that live n the park are kangaroo rats, scorpions, black widow spiders and rattlesnakes. Great.... I decided that it might be a good night NOT to camp. Unfortunately, we had a real challenging time finding accommodations. There's a reason this place is called Death Valley. We had to drive out of the park and just get out and ask every single hotel along the way. Finally, we found a place in Independence, CA. I feel like I've been a pretty good sport this entire trip in terms of “roughing it,” but I was clearly at my maximum for the night. I was tired, hot, nervous about critters, etc. So then the only motel left in townwas the Courthouse Motel which looked like the hotels you see in the horror movies – dark, U-shaped parking lots where you pull right up to your room and you're not sure the lock functions real well on the door or the window. I was being really judgmental about the place, but I felt really out of my comfort zone. However, when we woke up the next morning with a good night's sleep, a hot shower, continental breakfast and free internet, I was actually quite pleased with our choice. They're just little tiny fishing towns with old fashioned hotels. In the day time, it appears a lot less creepy!
Anyway, then we pressed on toward Yosemite. On the way out of town, we saw a sign that said the pass we needed to get to Yosemite was closed. Ugh! Instead of taking a straightforward route there, we had to go all the way north of the park, around the top and in toward the east. It wasn't quite how we had planned, but it worked out. And we tried to stop and see Devil's Postpile on the way, which was also closed. Goodness, things just aren't quite going right it seems.
We drove on the pass to where the closed sign was just for a nice side drive. There was a ton of snow up there and what a pretty drive! Bailey had a blast playing in the snow. Talk about extremes. We started in cold rain, then hot desert, beautiful lake front and now snow. What's next!?!
We'll hopefully get to Yosemite tonight around 4 or so.
Friday we left the Grand Canyon and headed to Death Valley. On our way, we stopped at Hoover Dam which is the state line between Arizona and Nevada. Oh my gosh it was hot! The radio was saying they were experiencing record heat and would probably hit triple digits by the end of the weekend. They wouldn't let us park and leave the dog, so Phill had to just drop me off and turn around and come back for me. I didn't see that much, but I got the basic idea. Damn...that's a big dam. Pressing on...
We got to Death Valley kind of late in the evening. We kind of went around Las Vegas and then through this tiny town called Death Valley Junction. It was a complete ghost town – I mean, completely abandoned. It was almost eerie. Since we got to Death Valley so late and it was so hot, we did a really rushed drive through the park. It was kind of unfortunate, but we haven't felt rushed through any other park yet. So, we're calling Death Valley the one that got away. But we did make it out to the first point which had an incredible view of the valley. The plaque up there said that the entire land is tilting. As the mountain tilt upward, the basin tilts toward (further below sea level). The only thing that keeps it from sinking too much is that the “stuff” eroding and blowing out of the mountains fills it up as fast as its sinking. The basin is 282 feet below sea level – the lowest elevation in North America. We raced from our viewpoint in the mountains down to the Badwater Basin itself. It reminded me of Yellowstone a little bit in terms of how harsh and strange the land is. And there's actually a kind of sulfur-ish smell there also, just like at Yellowstone. The sun had already set, and the temperature was still ridiculous. And there was absolutely no breeze whatsoever. It honestly felt like a consistent heat like you would feel with an oven door open.
The valley used to be an old minor's destination. Apparently there are still thousands of old mines in the park. We noticed remnants of things that looked like they could have been miner's equipment at one time. Apparently many were extremely successful at finding ore at one point.
When we read through the literature that you get at the front gate of the park, we learned that pretty much the only things that live n the park are kangaroo rats, scorpions, black widow spiders and rattlesnakes. Great.... I decided that it might be a good night NOT to camp. Unfortunately, we had a real challenging time finding accommodations. There's a reason this place is called Death Valley. We had to drive out of the park and just get out and ask every single hotel along the way. Finally, we found a place in Independence, CA. I feel like I've been a pretty good sport this entire trip in terms of “roughing it,” but I was clearly at my maximum for the night. I was tired, hot, nervous about critters, etc. So then the only motel left in townwas the Courthouse Motel which looked like the hotels you see in the horror movies – dark, U-shaped parking lots where you pull right up to your room and you're not sure the lock functions real well on the door or the window. I was being really judgmental about the place, but I felt really out of my comfort zone. However, when we woke up the next morning with a good night's sleep, a hot shower, continental breakfast and free internet, I was actually quite pleased with our choice. They're just little tiny fishing towns with old fashioned hotels. In the day time, it appears a lot less creepy!
Anyway, then we pressed on toward Yosemite. On the way out of town, we saw a sign that said the pass we needed to get to Yosemite was closed. Ugh! Instead of taking a straightforward route there, we had to go all the way north of the park, around the top and in toward the east. It wasn't quite how we had planned, but it worked out. And we tried to stop and see Devil's Postpile on the way, which was also closed. Goodness, things just aren't quite going right it seems.
We drove on the pass to where the closed sign was just for a nice side drive. There was a ton of snow up there and what a pretty drive! Bailey had a blast playing in the snow. Talk about extremes. We started in cold rain, then hot desert, beautiful lake front and now snow. What's next!?!
We'll hopefully get to Yosemite tonight around 4 or so.
Death Valley
We're kind of in a hurry to get to Yosemite today, so I don't have a lot of time to write. We spent the evening in Death Valley last night. What a weird place. More on it later...
Friday, May 15, 2009
One Huge Ditch
If anyone tries to tell you – “once you've seen one canyon, you've seen them all” - it's just not true. We've seen quite a few canyons in the past couple of weeks, and they are all so unique.
The interesting thing is that most of our sightseeing in the southwest area is interrelated and connected to one another. The canyons make up what is called the Grand Staircase. About 10 million years ago, the Earth pulled apart, moving huge blocks along the fault lines. Streams began to remove the sediment removing top layers and exposing bottom layers. The staircase begins with Bryce Canyon and makes it way down the Colorado Plateau (Zion Canyon, Vermillion Cliffs, Chocolate Cliffs, etc.) until the final “step” of the staircase – the Grand Canyon. And all of them are quite distinct.
I think the most impressive thing about the Grand Canyon is its sheer size. It has 277 river miles running through it, it's 18 miles across and a mile deep. And the land surrounding the canyon is flat as can be for the most part, so the stark contrast is almost eerie. It appears as if the Earth just opened up and swallowed whatever had been standing there prior.
We picked out our campsite (which Phill was pretty certain was the same site he and Garrett had the first time he was here), and then went to find a spot to watch the sunset. We were at the east end of the canyon looking west. I found the color of the rock formations in the canyon fascinating. Our eyes perceive the color as blue, with the darkest blue in the foreground and the lightest blue against the horizon. Once the sun started setting, some blue colors turned to shades of red and orange. It was spectacular! I don't know if I've ever seen so many layers of color. The canyon appears to go on forever until is sort of disappears into the horizon. It's just amazing how large – and old – it is. Some of the rock at the bottom dates back as far as 1,800+ million years.
After the sun set, we returned to our campsite, made a fire, poured ourselves some good ol' Carlo Rossi wine, and chatted until midnight. We talked about everyone that we wish was here with us seeing this stuff. We miss all of you and wish you could experience these things with us.
We left through the main entrance this morning and stopped at Mather Viewpoint on our way out. Phill remembered a ledge that he and Garrett had discovered last time that he wanted to get our picture on. Again, I'm not normally afraid of heights at all, but by the fourth or fifth picture, I'd had about enough fun for one morning. I heard a Ranger this morning talking to some tourists that were asking how many people fall into the canyon in a year. He said only two or three on average. I don't want to be part of that statistic! It's amazing – you're completely on solid ground, yet knowing how high up you are and how far you could fall suddenly makes you walk a little wobbly. I don't know what that phenomenon is, but I didn't like it.
We're headed now to Death Valley. It's going to start getting even hotter...
The interesting thing is that most of our sightseeing in the southwest area is interrelated and connected to one another. The canyons make up what is called the Grand Staircase. About 10 million years ago, the Earth pulled apart, moving huge blocks along the fault lines. Streams began to remove the sediment removing top layers and exposing bottom layers. The staircase begins with Bryce Canyon and makes it way down the Colorado Plateau (Zion Canyon, Vermillion Cliffs, Chocolate Cliffs, etc.) until the final “step” of the staircase – the Grand Canyon. And all of them are quite distinct.
I think the most impressive thing about the Grand Canyon is its sheer size. It has 277 river miles running through it, it's 18 miles across and a mile deep. And the land surrounding the canyon is flat as can be for the most part, so the stark contrast is almost eerie. It appears as if the Earth just opened up and swallowed whatever had been standing there prior.
We picked out our campsite (which Phill was pretty certain was the same site he and Garrett had the first time he was here), and then went to find a spot to watch the sunset. We were at the east end of the canyon looking west. I found the color of the rock formations in the canyon fascinating. Our eyes perceive the color as blue, with the darkest blue in the foreground and the lightest blue against the horizon. Once the sun started setting, some blue colors turned to shades of red and orange. It was spectacular! I don't know if I've ever seen so many layers of color. The canyon appears to go on forever until is sort of disappears into the horizon. It's just amazing how large – and old – it is. Some of the rock at the bottom dates back as far as 1,800+ million years.
After the sun set, we returned to our campsite, made a fire, poured ourselves some good ol' Carlo Rossi wine, and chatted until midnight. We talked about everyone that we wish was here with us seeing this stuff. We miss all of you and wish you could experience these things with us.
We left through the main entrance this morning and stopped at Mather Viewpoint on our way out. Phill remembered a ledge that he and Garrett had discovered last time that he wanted to get our picture on. Again, I'm not normally afraid of heights at all, but by the fourth or fifth picture, I'd had about enough fun for one morning. I heard a Ranger this morning talking to some tourists that were asking how many people fall into the canyon in a year. He said only two or three on average. I don't want to be part of that statistic! It's amazing – you're completely on solid ground, yet knowing how high up you are and how far you could fall suddenly makes you walk a little wobbly. I don't know what that phenomenon is, but I didn't like it.
We're headed now to Death Valley. It's going to start getting even hotter...
Thursday, May 14, 2009
One Dog Night
I think we just about froze to death last night. I woke up at 2:45 AM and Bailey was shivering. Here we have a one-dog night, and our one dog can't even stay warm. I had to tuck her under the blankets with me. Isn't that a sign to pack up and head to a warm hotel bed? Around 5:45, we finally decided we weren't going to be able to get back to sleep again, so we got up and went and watched the sun rise over the canyon. Several other people were already up and about watching the sunrise as well, but I was the only one toting a wool blanket to keep warm. Does that mean I'm weaker, or just more intelligent? I'll go with the latter. The light into the canyon from the sun was really pretty. It casts such interesting shadows and brings out a very orange color in the canyon walls.
We ended up looking at Lake Powell again, except we were in Arizona on the very south end of it. We stopped in Page, Arizona to get groceries and also took a mile and a half hike to Horseshoe Bend. It was hot! The river has cut out a huge gorge and left the canyon wall standing in a horseshoe shape. Looked kind of like a smaller version of Goosenecks state park.
Next stop: Grand Canyon.
We ended up looking at Lake Powell again, except we were in Arizona on the very south end of it. We stopped in Page, Arizona to get groceries and also took a mile and a half hike to Horseshoe Bend. It was hot! The river has cut out a huge gorge and left the canyon wall standing in a horseshoe shape. Looked kind of like a smaller version of Goosenecks state park.
Next stop: Grand Canyon.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Bryce Canyon
We packed up from Lake Powell on Tuesday morning, went for a swim and then caught the noon ferry across the lake. It was this tiny little ferry that took us across. Nothing was open on the Halls Crossing side where we stayed and the ferry only accepted cash. With only $17 in our wallets, we had to scrounge up the last bit in loose change. So, we paid our way with our $17 in bills and a sandwich bag of coins – complete with 45 pennies. Money is money, right?
We took this ridiculous road toward Bryce Canyon. It was so skinny and twisty with no guard rails on the edges. When you get to the top and see how far you've come...my goodness. I'm not afraid of heights at all, but at the edge of this gravel road mountain pass, you can't help but imagine all the 'what ifs'...
We got to Bryce Canyon Tuesday night. It was such a spectacular place that we decided we probably wanted an entire day here, so we explored today and we're camping here tonight as well.
We took the Navajo Trail Loop hike into the canyon this morning. It was only a mile and a half, but it was pretty much straight down the canyon and straight back up with tight little switchbacks. It's not what I expected at all. It reminds me of an exposed cavern with giant stalagmites as far as you can see. From a bird's eye view, it appears like castles in the sand, or like the remaining walls of an old cathedral or something. The columns are called Hoodoos. Frost and ice erosion cracks and breaks the canyon walls and flood waters go through and remove the loose sediment and create these spectacular hoodoos. The whole thing is really fantastic. This park is definitely highly recommended.
After our hike, we just drove around the park and stopped at the scenic outlook points. They were all very cool, but our favorite was Bryce Point. There are hundreds of thousands (if not more) of these columns sticking up from the bottom of the canyon everywhere – for as far as you can see. And what was amazing to think about was that earlier that morning on our hike, we felt so minuscule down among the hoodoos. And as we're standing there, now hundreds of feet above them, they look so tiny. I'm beginning to feel like a broken record with all of these sights we've seen, but it truly was breathtaking.
We took this ridiculous road toward Bryce Canyon. It was so skinny and twisty with no guard rails on the edges. When you get to the top and see how far you've come...my goodness. I'm not afraid of heights at all, but at the edge of this gravel road mountain pass, you can't help but imagine all the 'what ifs'...
We got to Bryce Canyon Tuesday night. It was such a spectacular place that we decided we probably wanted an entire day here, so we explored today and we're camping here tonight as well.
We took the Navajo Trail Loop hike into the canyon this morning. It was only a mile and a half, but it was pretty much straight down the canyon and straight back up with tight little switchbacks. It's not what I expected at all. It reminds me of an exposed cavern with giant stalagmites as far as you can see. From a bird's eye view, it appears like castles in the sand, or like the remaining walls of an old cathedral or something. The columns are called Hoodoos. Frost and ice erosion cracks and breaks the canyon walls and flood waters go through and remove the loose sediment and create these spectacular hoodoos. The whole thing is really fantastic. This park is definitely highly recommended.
After our hike, we just drove around the park and stopped at the scenic outlook points. They were all very cool, but our favorite was Bryce Point. There are hundreds of thousands (if not more) of these columns sticking up from the bottom of the canyon everywhere – for as far as you can see. And what was amazing to think about was that earlier that morning on our hike, we felt so minuscule down among the hoodoos. And as we're standing there, now hundreds of feet above them, they look so tiny. I'm beginning to feel like a broken record with all of these sights we've seen, but it truly was breathtaking.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Sun Soaked
We just hung around Lake Powell today and did nothing. We haven't had a day like this in quite a while. We got up this morning and read books, cooked breakfast, etc. until it got too hot to stand. Then we headed down to the lake. Lake Powell is a deep lake with canyon walls, so there aren't really any beaches like a typical lake, so finding a swim spot can be a bit challenging as we discovered. We parked near the marina and walked across the rocks to see if we could find a spot. The first place we found was this tiny sand pit deep in a hole in the rock. Bailey lost her footing and had no chance of recovery and just slid right in. So, we kind of followed suit – Phill being the most graceful of the three of us. There was a little ledge to get in the water, but it was going to be quite difficult to get in and out of (and had fish a little large for comfort for me swimming around). We decided it would probably be smartest to look elsewhere. Phill basically pushed me from behind until I could get up high enough to catch my footing to get out. Bailey was next and then Phill kind of ran and jumped and climbed his way out. I know it doesn't sound real graceful, but it was surprisingly impressive.
We walked a little further and found a nice rock ledge that flattened out for us to swim off of. Bailey was having the time of her life. And she's discovered how to jump into the water, rather than slowly walking in. It's like a whole new world opened up for her. I think this has been her favorite part of the trip so far! It was the ideal picture of leisure for us today. Swim a little, dry off on the rock ledge, jump off the rock ledge, drink a beer or two...wish you all were here!
We got back to the campsite tonight and realized that the wind broke our stupid tent poles. First water leaks in when it rains, then it crumbles with wind...what a cheap tent. Phill took some cardboard and string and rigged it back together. We dubbed it Gimpy now.
We walked a little further and found a nice rock ledge that flattened out for us to swim off of. Bailey was having the time of her life. And she's discovered how to jump into the water, rather than slowly walking in. It's like a whole new world opened up for her. I think this has been her favorite part of the trip so far! It was the ideal picture of leisure for us today. Swim a little, dry off on the rock ledge, jump off the rock ledge, drink a beer or two...wish you all were here!
We got back to the campsite tonight and realized that the wind broke our stupid tent poles. First water leaks in when it rains, then it crumbles with wind...what a cheap tent. Phill took some cardboard and string and rigged it back together. We dubbed it Gimpy now.
Free Range
We had our biggest day yet yesterday in terms of sightseeing.
We started pretty early from our campsite in Cortez this morning and headed toward Four Corners Monument (where Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Arizona all come to one point). It's not much of a monument other than a plaque on the ground, but we did stand in four places at once, so that was kind of cool. It was a quick stop – get out, take a few pictures, use the bathroom and head on your way. Of the four states, we picked Utah.
We drove into Navajo country with huge red rocks and canyons. We stopped in Bluff City, Utah for a bathroom break and gas. The town is most famous for twin rocks – two practically identical rocks (fairly self explanatory). It's all part of the Valley of the Gods. It's amazing how small you feel in the universe when you see some of this stuff. I can't imagine the weight on the rocks that make up the formation. We took a tiny side road to the historic section of town. The old houses they had there were made with an orange adobe-type brick which had a very southwest-ie feel, but then they had these gorgeous Victorian-type shutters and porches. It seemed kind of out of place, but they were really neat houses.
As we pressed on, we got a glimpse of Monument Valley from a long ways away! You see these odd shaped rock formations get larger as you get closer. The road to drive through Monument Valley is off the beaten path a bit further into Navajo country. We stopped at a small town called Mexican Hat just before we got there. It's called Mexican Hat because they have a rock formation that looks like a head with a Sombrero on top. A little abstract perhaps...
One thing Phill pointed out was the swirls and zig-zags of color in the sand on the mountain sides. Their shapes are similar to the patterns in a Mexican blanket. You can't help but wonder if this might have been the inspiration for their designs.
Monument Valley was strange altogether. You see odd rock formations all over the southwest, but I think what's striking about these is how tall and thin some are, and how they all seem to be placed together in this otherwise open desert. Again, you can picture exactly how this used to be the bottom of the ancient sea that once covered the area.
We made a quick stop for a snack at Goosenecks state park. The pictures don't do justice at all to the scenery. The pictures look very gray and the water looks muddy, but the sight was awesome! Over time, the river has cut huge canyons out of the rocks and left “goosenecks” still standing. It's kind of a strange sight.
We got to Natural Bridges National Monument in the late evening. We were starving by this point, so we found a little picnic area and made ourselves some dinner. We got our little cookstove out and heated up our bag of pasta and meatballs. Why haven't all of our meals been from a bag!?! It was delicious one-pot cooking! Ants were all over the picnic area though. Don't red ants bite? We weren't sure, but didn't feel like risking it. So, we did this kind of synchronized dinner prep walking and sitting on top of the table in order to avoid them. Considering the circumstances, it was a pretty smooth operation.
Natural Bridges National Monument has three main natural bridge formations in it. Natural bridges of this size were formed millions of years ago when sandstone was deposited and slowly uplifted as part of the Colorado Pleateau. Moving water eroded away the center of the rock creating the massive bridge. Arches are formed in a similar way, but more by the erosional force of frost and moisture. The bridges have been named several different times, but most recently were named after Hopi words after the park expanded to protect nearby Puebloan structures.
The first bridge we got to was called Sipapu Bridge, which means “the place of emergence.” The Hopi believed that the bridge was an entryway from which their ancestors came into the world. I didn't realize how much of a hike it was, so we did it in flip flops. Considering the hike is along rock edges, it probably wasn't the best idea. I walked down to the overlook point and Phill continued to the bottom of the canyon. From the lookout, I had a great bird's eye view of the canyon and the bridge. It is massive! The bridge is 220 feet in height with a 268-foot span, 31 feet wide and 53 feet thick. Phill was just a tiny spec once he got to the bottom.
We both hiked to the bottom of the second bridge, Kachina Bridge. It's about a mile and a half round-trip, but the elevation change is pretty significant. We got to the bottom and stood under the bridge. I had that feeling ain agof being so small and insignificant in the universe. The expanse of these bridges is unreal. We walked around a bit and headed back up the canyon.
The sun was starting to go down and we wanted to do the final hike to the Owachomo Bridge. Luckily, it was a relatively short hike. This bridge is only 9 feet in thickness now. Streams no longer erode away at it anymore, but frost and snow does. It's possible that a crack could send the bridge crashing down – or it may stand for another thousand years.
We stuck around for another half hour or so to watch the sunset and then headed on our way to Glen Canyon/Lake Powell. It was not a fun drive for Phill. There's flashing signs every couple of miles for free range cattle. Imagine hitting some farmer's cow in the middle of nowhere. Within 20 miles of the park, Phill saw headlights a long ways in front of him make a strange sweeping motion across the sky and then stop. By the time we approached, another car had arrived and I noticed something large on the side of the road. Sure enough, someone had hit a huge, black and white cow. Fortunately everyone was okay and they were able to pull the car out of the ditch. But honestly, what do you say to someone in that situation? “Hey man...sorry that cow came out of nowhere. Hope your night improves.” We pressed on.
On a side note, a cow's eyes don't have that reflective stuff in them that make most animals' eyes glow in headlights. Tricky...
We chose our campsite in the dark last night and set up as quickly as we could because we were very tired. But we woke up this morning with a completely uninterrupted view of Lake Powell. I guess we chose well. I can't wait to spend the day here. We have no plans...finally!
We started pretty early from our campsite in Cortez this morning and headed toward Four Corners Monument (where Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Arizona all come to one point). It's not much of a monument other than a plaque on the ground, but we did stand in four places at once, so that was kind of cool. It was a quick stop – get out, take a few pictures, use the bathroom and head on your way. Of the four states, we picked Utah.
We drove into Navajo country with huge red rocks and canyons. We stopped in Bluff City, Utah for a bathroom break and gas. The town is most famous for twin rocks – two practically identical rocks (fairly self explanatory). It's all part of the Valley of the Gods. It's amazing how small you feel in the universe when you see some of this stuff. I can't imagine the weight on the rocks that make up the formation. We took a tiny side road to the historic section of town. The old houses they had there were made with an orange adobe-type brick which had a very southwest-ie feel, but then they had these gorgeous Victorian-type shutters and porches. It seemed kind of out of place, but they were really neat houses.
As we pressed on, we got a glimpse of Monument Valley from a long ways away! You see these odd shaped rock formations get larger as you get closer. The road to drive through Monument Valley is off the beaten path a bit further into Navajo country. We stopped at a small town called Mexican Hat just before we got there. It's called Mexican Hat because they have a rock formation that looks like a head with a Sombrero on top. A little abstract perhaps...
One thing Phill pointed out was the swirls and zig-zags of color in the sand on the mountain sides. Their shapes are similar to the patterns in a Mexican blanket. You can't help but wonder if this might have been the inspiration for their designs.
Monument Valley was strange altogether. You see odd rock formations all over the southwest, but I think what's striking about these is how tall and thin some are, and how they all seem to be placed together in this otherwise open desert. Again, you can picture exactly how this used to be the bottom of the ancient sea that once covered the area.
We made a quick stop for a snack at Goosenecks state park. The pictures don't do justice at all to the scenery. The pictures look very gray and the water looks muddy, but the sight was awesome! Over time, the river has cut huge canyons out of the rocks and left “goosenecks” still standing. It's kind of a strange sight.
We got to Natural Bridges National Monument in the late evening. We were starving by this point, so we found a little picnic area and made ourselves some dinner. We got our little cookstove out and heated up our bag of pasta and meatballs. Why haven't all of our meals been from a bag!?! It was delicious one-pot cooking! Ants were all over the picnic area though. Don't red ants bite? We weren't sure, but didn't feel like risking it. So, we did this kind of synchronized dinner prep walking and sitting on top of the table in order to avoid them. Considering the circumstances, it was a pretty smooth operation.
Natural Bridges National Monument has three main natural bridge formations in it. Natural bridges of this size were formed millions of years ago when sandstone was deposited and slowly uplifted as part of the Colorado Pleateau. Moving water eroded away the center of the rock creating the massive bridge. Arches are formed in a similar way, but more by the erosional force of frost and moisture. The bridges have been named several different times, but most recently were named after Hopi words after the park expanded to protect nearby Puebloan structures.
The first bridge we got to was called Sipapu Bridge, which means “the place of emergence.” The Hopi believed that the bridge was an entryway from which their ancestors came into the world. I didn't realize how much of a hike it was, so we did it in flip flops. Considering the hike is along rock edges, it probably wasn't the best idea. I walked down to the overlook point and Phill continued to the bottom of the canyon. From the lookout, I had a great bird's eye view of the canyon and the bridge. It is massive! The bridge is 220 feet in height with a 268-foot span, 31 feet wide and 53 feet thick. Phill was just a tiny spec once he got to the bottom.
We both hiked to the bottom of the second bridge, Kachina Bridge. It's about a mile and a half round-trip, but the elevation change is pretty significant. We got to the bottom and stood under the bridge. I had that feeling ain agof being so small and insignificant in the universe. The expanse of these bridges is unreal. We walked around a bit and headed back up the canyon.
The sun was starting to go down and we wanted to do the final hike to the Owachomo Bridge. Luckily, it was a relatively short hike. This bridge is only 9 feet in thickness now. Streams no longer erode away at it anymore, but frost and snow does. It's possible that a crack could send the bridge crashing down – or it may stand for another thousand years.
We stuck around for another half hour or so to watch the sunset and then headed on our way to Glen Canyon/Lake Powell. It was not a fun drive for Phill. There's flashing signs every couple of miles for free range cattle. Imagine hitting some farmer's cow in the middle of nowhere. Within 20 miles of the park, Phill saw headlights a long ways in front of him make a strange sweeping motion across the sky and then stop. By the time we approached, another car had arrived and I noticed something large on the side of the road. Sure enough, someone had hit a huge, black and white cow. Fortunately everyone was okay and they were able to pull the car out of the ditch. But honestly, what do you say to someone in that situation? “Hey man...sorry that cow came out of nowhere. Hope your night improves.” We pressed on.
On a side note, a cow's eyes don't have that reflective stuff in them that make most animals' eyes glow in headlights. Tricky...
We chose our campsite in the dark last night and set up as quickly as we could because we were very tired. But we woke up this morning with a completely uninterrupted view of Lake Powell. I guess we chose well. I can't wait to spend the day here. We have no plans...finally!
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Ancient Ruins
We spent our entire day today looking at ancient ruins of Ancestral Puebloans.
Our first stop was Mesa Verde National Park. We really didn't know all that much about it and didn't really know what to expect. We were absolutely blown away. These people lived and flourished in this region over 700 years ago. They built stone communities in the cliffs of the mountains during the 1200s – much like the cliff dwellings we saw at Manitou Springs. They can use dendrochronology from the timbers in the dwellings to pretty closely determine the age of the building. Although there is very little known about these people, their craftsmanship and ability to build is amazing. They built phenomenal homes and communities in an area with a very difficult climate and landscape.
The dwellings that they built were beneath the overhanging cliffs. They were made mostly of sandstone that they shaped almost perfectly into bread loaf sized blocks. Their main staples were corn, beans and squash. They sometimes hunted for game, but archaeologists have since discovered that early years they hunted large animals, but that game appears to have been depleted in later years for these people. They used holes in the bricks to let in light a certain way as a means of a solar calendar, astronomy, equinoxes, etc. To think about the advanced society they presumably had. They think that prolonged drought was probably the primary reason that they abandoned their dwellings. Apparently one of the most important factors in selecting the location for these dwellings was where a seep spring was located, which is when precipitation goes into a rock and travels downward through the layers until it reaches clay and then has nowhere to go but out. In a drought prone area, this was essential. And we were also told that they selected the high up locations because average precipitation is actually higher there than in the valleys.
We took a tour of Balcony House, one of the two dwellings that you can actually go into. The views from there were gorgeous! It's a panoramic view of the entire canyon. We toured through a variety of rooms and saw a kiva – their ceremonial offering place. To get to the dwelling, we had to climb a 32 foot ladder. And then to exit, we had to go through this TINY tunnel. There was one section that was only eighteen inches across. Tight fit! The Puebloans used a variety of short ladders, but mostly used toe and hand notches in the rocks. You can see areas where the pecked out rocks exist. It's completely scary to think about. It's basically a tiny little hole in the rock for their hands and feet to scale the side of the mountain. Can you imagine? I wish I could go back in time and see these little monkeys all over the cliff sides.
After our tour was over, we just drove around the park a bit and explored. There are 4,000 dwellings in the park. At almost any given time, you can look out into the canyon and spot a dwelling. It's just very neat. It was a large civilization. At one spot we got out to see Cliff Palace. Oh my goodness! I don't even know how to describe it. It's just huge with countless rooms and kivas. We just couldn't take our eyes off of it. The most amazing thing about it though was its sheer size. We didn't take the tour to go inside, so I don't know a whole lot about it. I do know, however, that it was not actually a palace. It was a dwelling for many families and some level of government organization happened there as well.
After we left the park, we drove out to Hovenweep National Monument. It's ruins as well, but they're not preserved as well as they are in the park. The park has rebuilt some that have suffered damage. At Hovenweep, they are mostly in the condition they were discovered in. In some cases, very little of the original building is still standing. We took a great hike around the perimeter of the canyon to see the village. It was pretty hot out, but dry heat and bearable. We really enjoyed walking and see everything. Little lizards were running all over the place! The architecture is so good considering that they didn't have any tools for measurement.
We drove out to Canyon of the Ancients National Monument as well, but we were pretty worn out by then, so we only looked at Lowry Ruins. There were very impressive as well, but were mostly just a footprint of the building that used to stand there.
I'm writing this sitting in the truck so that I can hide from the mosquitoes. They're bad tonight. I don't think I'll venture out until Phill gets the fire started.
Our first stop was Mesa Verde National Park. We really didn't know all that much about it and didn't really know what to expect. We were absolutely blown away. These people lived and flourished in this region over 700 years ago. They built stone communities in the cliffs of the mountains during the 1200s – much like the cliff dwellings we saw at Manitou Springs. They can use dendrochronology from the timbers in the dwellings to pretty closely determine the age of the building. Although there is very little known about these people, their craftsmanship and ability to build is amazing. They built phenomenal homes and communities in an area with a very difficult climate and landscape.
The dwellings that they built were beneath the overhanging cliffs. They were made mostly of sandstone that they shaped almost perfectly into bread loaf sized blocks. Their main staples were corn, beans and squash. They sometimes hunted for game, but archaeologists have since discovered that early years they hunted large animals, but that game appears to have been depleted in later years for these people. They used holes in the bricks to let in light a certain way as a means of a solar calendar, astronomy, equinoxes, etc. To think about the advanced society they presumably had. They think that prolonged drought was probably the primary reason that they abandoned their dwellings. Apparently one of the most important factors in selecting the location for these dwellings was where a seep spring was located, which is when precipitation goes into a rock and travels downward through the layers until it reaches clay and then has nowhere to go but out. In a drought prone area, this was essential. And we were also told that they selected the high up locations because average precipitation is actually higher there than in the valleys.
We took a tour of Balcony House, one of the two dwellings that you can actually go into. The views from there were gorgeous! It's a panoramic view of the entire canyon. We toured through a variety of rooms and saw a kiva – their ceremonial offering place. To get to the dwelling, we had to climb a 32 foot ladder. And then to exit, we had to go through this TINY tunnel. There was one section that was only eighteen inches across. Tight fit! The Puebloans used a variety of short ladders, but mostly used toe and hand notches in the rocks. You can see areas where the pecked out rocks exist. It's completely scary to think about. It's basically a tiny little hole in the rock for their hands and feet to scale the side of the mountain. Can you imagine? I wish I could go back in time and see these little monkeys all over the cliff sides.
After our tour was over, we just drove around the park a bit and explored. There are 4,000 dwellings in the park. At almost any given time, you can look out into the canyon and spot a dwelling. It's just very neat. It was a large civilization. At one spot we got out to see Cliff Palace. Oh my goodness! I don't even know how to describe it. It's just huge with countless rooms and kivas. We just couldn't take our eyes off of it. The most amazing thing about it though was its sheer size. We didn't take the tour to go inside, so I don't know a whole lot about it. I do know, however, that it was not actually a palace. It was a dwelling for many families and some level of government organization happened there as well.
After we left the park, we drove out to Hovenweep National Monument. It's ruins as well, but they're not preserved as well as they are in the park. The park has rebuilt some that have suffered damage. At Hovenweep, they are mostly in the condition they were discovered in. In some cases, very little of the original building is still standing. We took a great hike around the perimeter of the canyon to see the village. It was pretty hot out, but dry heat and bearable. We really enjoyed walking and see everything. Little lizards were running all over the place! The architecture is so good considering that they didn't have any tools for measurement.
We drove out to Canyon of the Ancients National Monument as well, but we were pretty worn out by then, so we only looked at Lowry Ruins. There were very impressive as well, but were mostly just a footprint of the building that used to stand there.
I'm writing this sitting in the truck so that I can hide from the mosquitoes. They're bad tonight. I don't think I'll venture out until Phill gets the fire started.
Friday, May 8, 2009
On the Road Again
We got up at 5:30 this morning and headed out to the Dunes Overlook Trail to watch the sun rise over the dunes. It was about a two mile round-trip hike. Normally that wouldn't be so bad, but the elevation was kind of kicking our butts. We made it though in time for the sunrise. As the sun started to come up, it hit just parts of the dunes, so it cast really neat shadows and light spots. We saw what we think was bear poop on the trail. Those warm fuzzies are back again...
We ate breakfast at this tiny little restaurant just outside the park. Since we're currently exploring the southwest, it only seemed appropriate to order their southwest favorite – a breakfast burrito with either green or red chili. Best ever!
We also stopped at several interesting spots in Pagosa County on our way to Cortez, CO where we plan to stay tonight. There was a great scenic overlook of a pretty rugged valley. And then we also stopped at Treasure Falls and took a small hike up to the falls. They were rushing with water and would get you drenched if you stood on the mist platform for long enough. We snapped a picture of Chimney Rock along the road because we never did see what road you were supposed to take to get up to it. And now we're just 60 miles or so from our destination tonight. I think we might end up staying two nights. It's been kind of busy so far, and we're tired of packing all this stuff up every morning. We'll go explore Mesa Verde National Park tomorrow.
We ate breakfast at this tiny little restaurant just outside the park. Since we're currently exploring the southwest, it only seemed appropriate to order their southwest favorite – a breakfast burrito with either green or red chili. Best ever!
We also stopped at several interesting spots in Pagosa County on our way to Cortez, CO where we plan to stay tonight. There was a great scenic overlook of a pretty rugged valley. And then we also stopped at Treasure Falls and took a small hike up to the falls. They were rushing with water and would get you drenched if you stood on the mist platform for long enough. We snapped a picture of Chimney Rock along the road because we never did see what road you were supposed to take to get up to it. And now we're just 60 miles or so from our destination tonight. I think we might end up staying two nights. It's been kind of busy so far, and we're tired of packing all this stuff up every morning. We'll go explore Mesa Verde National Park tomorrow.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Castles in the Sand
We made our way slowly to Great Sand Dunes National Park (the truck was a little reluctant on the mountain passes). It's strange though because as you come out of the mountains, the valleys are flat (like Kansas flat) and then you almost immediately get back into large mountains again. The scenery changes dramatically, and quickly.
Just outside of the Sand Dunes National Park is San Luis Valley. It's very expansive and flat, yet surrounded an all sides by 14,000 foot mountains. We got to our campsite, set up our tent and cooked some dinner. This park had signs everywhere that say things to the effect of: “Bear encounters frequent. Use precautions to avoid bear problems.” If that doesn't give you warm fuzzies...
After dinner, we took a walking trail from our campsite out to the dunes and walked around a bit. It's so strange. There's 700 foot piles of sand that look like they've come out of the middle of nowhere and been placed right at the foot of the giant Sangre de Cristo mountains.
So, where did it come from? Most of the sand originates in the San Juan Mountains, over 65 miles to the west. Streams, creeks, melting snow and flash floods bounced the sand grains to the foot of the mountains where they piled up. They're estimated to be over 12,000 years old. The dunes are the the tallest in North America and cover more than 330 square miles. And because of the winds, they're always changing. On any given day, they will never look exactly the same.
We walked around a bit and took tons of pictures. The wind was blowing pretty good when we were out there, so you could see how these are created and change. In the dry sand, your footprints are gone almost as soon as you make them. The sand itself is very fine too. You feel as if you're walking down a sandy, tropical beach. A bit further down we saw bear tracks headed in the same direction we were going (that giant paw was unmistakable), so we turned around and headed back. We made a fire with our eight pieces of kindling and went to bed.
Just outside of the Sand Dunes National Park is San Luis Valley. It's very expansive and flat, yet surrounded an all sides by 14,000 foot mountains. We got to our campsite, set up our tent and cooked some dinner. This park had signs everywhere that say things to the effect of: “Bear encounters frequent. Use precautions to avoid bear problems.” If that doesn't give you warm fuzzies...
After dinner, we took a walking trail from our campsite out to the dunes and walked around a bit. It's so strange. There's 700 foot piles of sand that look like they've come out of the middle of nowhere and been placed right at the foot of the giant Sangre de Cristo mountains.
So, where did it come from? Most of the sand originates in the San Juan Mountains, over 65 miles to the west. Streams, creeks, melting snow and flash floods bounced the sand grains to the foot of the mountains where they piled up. They're estimated to be over 12,000 years old. The dunes are the the tallest in North America and cover more than 330 square miles. And because of the winds, they're always changing. On any given day, they will never look exactly the same.
We walked around a bit and took tons of pictures. The wind was blowing pretty good when we were out there, so you could see how these are created and change. In the dry sand, your footprints are gone almost as soon as you make them. The sand itself is very fine too. You feel as if you're walking down a sandy, tropical beach. A bit further down we saw bear tracks headed in the same direction we were going (that giant paw was unmistakable), so we turned around and headed back. We made a fire with our eight pieces of kindling and went to bed.
Tap the Rockies
What a day! We've never seen and experienced anything like what we saw today. Where do I even begin...
We got up early this morning, cooked breakfast and packed up our campsite in dry weather. It's really amazing how much more fun camping is when it's not raining! The weather is great. In fact, Phill's realized that he has the beginning of a sweet farmer's tan on his left arm from the truck window.
We drove back into Colorado Springs to do some exploring. At the foot of the mountains, our first stop was Manitou Springs Cliff Dwellings. Protected under a red sandstone overhang, there are authentic Anasazi cliff dwellings, built more than 700 years ago. The Cliff Dwelling Indians that resided here roamed the entire Four Corners area of the Southwest from about 1200 BC to AD 1500. In fact, a three-story Pueblo (where the gift shop now is) was later built by the Pueblo Indians and was inhabited all the way up to the 1980s. The dwellings themselves were an architectural wonder. We were astonished to think that their only resources was what the earth had already provided, yet their dwellings are amazingly advanced.
There was nothing off limits in there. We brought Bailey in with us and explored the entire thing. You can touch anything and climb in and out of their tiny windows and doors. The dwellings included rooms, kitchens, storage rooms, water basins, watch towers, etc. The majority of the second floor timbers have since fallen down, but you can see how the original construction worked.
Our second stop was Garden of the Gods. I think it might be the most stunning park that I've ever been to. It is, by far, my favorite place on this trip so far. I grew up surrounded by mountains, but this was even more than that. At the foot of 14,000 foot mountains, there's also these spectacular red rock formations – some of which are over 300 million years old. There's almost nothing that looks natural about the formations, but they're entirely created by the forces of nature over many, many years.
The first stop when you enter is Balanced Rock. It's an entirely bizarre-looking rock that seems to, well, balance precariously on the rock below it. Over 300 million years ago, the Rockies were carved through erosion. Streams were full of sediment that was eventually pressed and cemented into solid rock formations. Those rocks were either sandstone, shale or conglomerate. Balanced Rock was formed when the more delicate shale below was eroded away much faster than the harder sandstone and conglomerate above. Amazingly, the narrow pedestal that it sits on has held the 700-ton weight for thousands of years.
From there, we just drove around and explored the park. Some of the rock formations we saw included Kissing Camels and Cathedral Spires. From the visitor center, there's an incredible view of Pike's Peak situated perfectly between giant red rock formations. Apparently the view from Pike's Peak inspired the song “America the Beautiful.” The peak was named for Lt. Zebulon Pike, an American explorer and Lieutenant in the army. He and his men attempted to reach the top and failed due to a snowstorm. He noted in his journal that he believed no human could ever reach its pinnacle. Despite the failed attempt, the peak was still named after him.
Once we left Garden of the Gods, we headed toward the road to Pike's Peak summit. When we got to the entrance, the sign said that only the first 16 of 19 miles were open because of snow. From what we had heard, the spectacular views aren't until you get to mile 17. We figured it would be a 2-hour round trip and we weren't sure the view would be as great as we hoped. So...we decided against it and continued on our way to the Great Sand Dunes National Park.
Interesting little factoid: The air at the top of Pike's Peak has only 50% of the oxygen as the air at sea level.
We got up early this morning, cooked breakfast and packed up our campsite in dry weather. It's really amazing how much more fun camping is when it's not raining! The weather is great. In fact, Phill's realized that he has the beginning of a sweet farmer's tan on his left arm from the truck window.
We drove back into Colorado Springs to do some exploring. At the foot of the mountains, our first stop was Manitou Springs Cliff Dwellings. Protected under a red sandstone overhang, there are authentic Anasazi cliff dwellings, built more than 700 years ago. The Cliff Dwelling Indians that resided here roamed the entire Four Corners area of the Southwest from about 1200 BC to AD 1500. In fact, a three-story Pueblo (where the gift shop now is) was later built by the Pueblo Indians and was inhabited all the way up to the 1980s. The dwellings themselves were an architectural wonder. We were astonished to think that their only resources was what the earth had already provided, yet their dwellings are amazingly advanced.
There was nothing off limits in there. We brought Bailey in with us and explored the entire thing. You can touch anything and climb in and out of their tiny windows and doors. The dwellings included rooms, kitchens, storage rooms, water basins, watch towers, etc. The majority of the second floor timbers have since fallen down, but you can see how the original construction worked.
Our second stop was Garden of the Gods. I think it might be the most stunning park that I've ever been to. It is, by far, my favorite place on this trip so far. I grew up surrounded by mountains, but this was even more than that. At the foot of 14,000 foot mountains, there's also these spectacular red rock formations – some of which are over 300 million years old. There's almost nothing that looks natural about the formations, but they're entirely created by the forces of nature over many, many years.
The first stop when you enter is Balanced Rock. It's an entirely bizarre-looking rock that seems to, well, balance precariously on the rock below it. Over 300 million years ago, the Rockies were carved through erosion. Streams were full of sediment that was eventually pressed and cemented into solid rock formations. Those rocks were either sandstone, shale or conglomerate. Balanced Rock was formed when the more delicate shale below was eroded away much faster than the harder sandstone and conglomerate above. Amazingly, the narrow pedestal that it sits on has held the 700-ton weight for thousands of years.
From there, we just drove around and explored the park. Some of the rock formations we saw included Kissing Camels and Cathedral Spires. From the visitor center, there's an incredible view of Pike's Peak situated perfectly between giant red rock formations. Apparently the view from Pike's Peak inspired the song “America the Beautiful.” The peak was named for Lt. Zebulon Pike, an American explorer and Lieutenant in the army. He and his men attempted to reach the top and failed due to a snowstorm. He noted in his journal that he believed no human could ever reach its pinnacle. Despite the failed attempt, the peak was still named after him.
Once we left Garden of the Gods, we headed toward the road to Pike's Peak summit. When we got to the entrance, the sign said that only the first 16 of 19 miles were open because of snow. From what we had heard, the spectacular views aren't until you get to mile 17. We figured it would be a 2-hour round trip and we weren't sure the view would be as great as we hoped. So...we decided against it and continued on our way to the Great Sand Dunes National Park.
Interesting little factoid: The air at the top of Pike's Peak has only 50% of the oxygen as the air at sea level.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
The Plains
We made it to Colorado Springs tonight. The weather is incredible. Much better than the awful rain we'd been having.
In western Kansas today we saw signs posted for something called Castle Rock that we were intrigued by. You must understand that there's very little else that's real intriguing about Kansas, so it really could have been almost anything that we would have volunteered to sidetrack for. But at any rate, we drove off the main road on a search for some rock. We immediately went from nowheresville to REALLY nowheresville. We were riding along this terribly rocky dirt road with nothing in front of us. I was beginning to get very skeptical about anything interesting ahead. However, we pressed on and finally found additional signs to Castle Rock. As we drove closer, it looked so completely lame that we were truly broken-hearted at how many miles we had driven toward something so uncool. But when we got to the top and looked over, it was amazing! In the middle of these flat flat plains, these strange rock structures stick out of the middle of nowhere. They're so strange looking. There's one grouping that's actually called Castle Rock, but the rest is similar formations that I actually found even more fascinating than Castle Rock. It reminded us of the Badlands in South Dakota. I know the Badlands at some point in history was ocean floor. So, I imagine it's the same case with these. It looks totally bizarre and out of place though.
As we were leaving Kansas, we went in search of an 8,000 pound prairie dog we'd seen on a billboard. No luck, but a valiant effort nonetheless. Might have been the second most exciting thing in Kansas!
Then we finally made our way into Colorado via route 94. We saw almost zero other vehicles and the scenery was exactly the same for miles and miles and miles... Impressive nonetheless, but...the same. After the first twenty miles, you get the idea. It wasn't until we had our first glance of mountains that we had a ray of hope. And they were HUGE! We were shooting pictures out the window every chance we got. We're staying at a KOA in Fountain, CO tonight. We'll explore the mountains a bit tomorrow I think.
In western Kansas today we saw signs posted for something called Castle Rock that we were intrigued by. You must understand that there's very little else that's real intriguing about Kansas, so it really could have been almost anything that we would have volunteered to sidetrack for. But at any rate, we drove off the main road on a search for some rock. We immediately went from nowheresville to REALLY nowheresville. We were riding along this terribly rocky dirt road with nothing in front of us. I was beginning to get very skeptical about anything interesting ahead. However, we pressed on and finally found additional signs to Castle Rock. As we drove closer, it looked so completely lame that we were truly broken-hearted at how many miles we had driven toward something so uncool. But when we got to the top and looked over, it was amazing! In the middle of these flat flat plains, these strange rock structures stick out of the middle of nowhere. They're so strange looking. There's one grouping that's actually called Castle Rock, but the rest is similar formations that I actually found even more fascinating than Castle Rock. It reminded us of the Badlands in South Dakota. I know the Badlands at some point in history was ocean floor. So, I imagine it's the same case with these. It looks totally bizarre and out of place though.
As we were leaving Kansas, we went in search of an 8,000 pound prairie dog we'd seen on a billboard. No luck, but a valiant effort nonetheless. Might have been the second most exciting thing in Kansas!
Then we finally made our way into Colorado via route 94. We saw almost zero other vehicles and the scenery was exactly the same for miles and miles and miles... Impressive nonetheless, but...the same. After the first twenty miles, you get the idea. It wasn't until we had our first glance of mountains that we had a ray of hope. And they were HUGE! We were shooting pictures out the window every chance we got. We're staying at a KOA in Fountain, CO tonight. We'll explore the mountains a bit tomorrow I think.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Trucking Along
Mrs. Faulkner didn't let us out of the house without a delicious breakfast. Eggs, sausage casserole, potato casserole, sausage, biscuits and gravy, bacon...the works basically. We certainly didn't leave hungry.
Phill's driver's license was set to be delivered to Mr. Faulkner's house this morning. But just after breakfast, Mr. Faulkner called us and said that the UPS truck had beat him into the office. Phill immediately got on the phone with the UPS store in Hopkinsville and a very nice woman helped him track down where the UPS driver was at currently with his package, so Phill went off on a UPS truck chase! At first he thought he might catch him at the factories in Pembroke, but by the time he got there, he had missed the truck. So he called UPS back again and she thought he might be able to catch him at the nursing center in Pembroke. He raced to make it there and caught the driver as he was leaving the building. Mission accomplished! Had we been in any other city, I'm not sure that we would have had as much help as we did in tracking him down. Good ol' Hoptown!
We finally got on the road around noon – a bit of a late start. But we didn't have a whole lot to see, so we just trucked along and decided that we would probably make it our longest driving day. We got to St. Louis, Missouri around dinnertime and decided to go into the city and walk around a bit. Right on the Mississippi River waterfront is the Gateway Arch Monument – a 630-foot arch celebrating the mind of Jefferson and western discovery. The arch is in a quiet park that used to be the site of historic St. Louis. Passenger trams go to the top of the arch and overlook for miles of the city. We didn't go up since we had Bailey with us and were a little bit limited on time. What I found interesting about the tram though was that although the arch slopes inward, motors keep the tram completely level as it ascends. Between the two legs of the arch, underground there is a museum and learning center devoted to history of the nation's march west – most notably the Louis and Clark expedition. And apparently it is made to withstand any foreseeable natural calamity. Engineers claim that in an 150 mile per hour wind, the top would sway about eighteen inches. That's good, I guess, but I don't think I'd want to be up there with wind like that.
If you're standing at the Mississippi waterfront and looking into the city, you can see the Old Courthouse and the Old Cathedral. We didn't get a chance to go into either, but the buildings were fantastic. It's a neat city because there's a lot of historical buildings mixed in with new modern buildings. You just don't see stuff like that the further west you go.
After reading more about the history of the city, we were amazed when we realized how much the country changed in just 100 years between 1800 and 1900. It was founded in 1764 and outfitted Louis and Clark for their expedition in 1803. When they came back and reported their findings, St. Louis became the trading port for beaver fur that the expedition had uncovered. Fur prices eventually dropped, but the new boom of westward emigration began. The city outfitted all sorts of pioneers from gold seekers headed to California to pioneers headed out on the Oregon traill. Go back to 1800 and a whole half of a country was undiscovered. Then just 90 years later, there was no longer a definable frontier. The century was one of western exploration, mountain men trading furs, Indians being displaced, pioneers on the Oregon trail, 49ers searching for gold, cowboys in the plains, etc. Pretty incredible to think about.
We're pressing on now. Not sure how far we'll make it, but we hope to get near central Kansas tonight. It's getting dark quickly, but since we had such a late start, we still feel energized and motivated to go.
Phill's driver's license was set to be delivered to Mr. Faulkner's house this morning. But just after breakfast, Mr. Faulkner called us and said that the UPS truck had beat him into the office. Phill immediately got on the phone with the UPS store in Hopkinsville and a very nice woman helped him track down where the UPS driver was at currently with his package, so Phill went off on a UPS truck chase! At first he thought he might catch him at the factories in Pembroke, but by the time he got there, he had missed the truck. So he called UPS back again and she thought he might be able to catch him at the nursing center in Pembroke. He raced to make it there and caught the driver as he was leaving the building. Mission accomplished! Had we been in any other city, I'm not sure that we would have had as much help as we did in tracking him down. Good ol' Hoptown!
We finally got on the road around noon – a bit of a late start. But we didn't have a whole lot to see, so we just trucked along and decided that we would probably make it our longest driving day. We got to St. Louis, Missouri around dinnertime and decided to go into the city and walk around a bit. Right on the Mississippi River waterfront is the Gateway Arch Monument – a 630-foot arch celebrating the mind of Jefferson and western discovery. The arch is in a quiet park that used to be the site of historic St. Louis. Passenger trams go to the top of the arch and overlook for miles of the city. We didn't go up since we had Bailey with us and were a little bit limited on time. What I found interesting about the tram though was that although the arch slopes inward, motors keep the tram completely level as it ascends. Between the two legs of the arch, underground there is a museum and learning center devoted to history of the nation's march west – most notably the Louis and Clark expedition. And apparently it is made to withstand any foreseeable natural calamity. Engineers claim that in an 150 mile per hour wind, the top would sway about eighteen inches. That's good, I guess, but I don't think I'd want to be up there with wind like that.
If you're standing at the Mississippi waterfront and looking into the city, you can see the Old Courthouse and the Old Cathedral. We didn't get a chance to go into either, but the buildings were fantastic. It's a neat city because there's a lot of historical buildings mixed in with new modern buildings. You just don't see stuff like that the further west you go.
After reading more about the history of the city, we were amazed when we realized how much the country changed in just 100 years between 1800 and 1900. It was founded in 1764 and outfitted Louis and Clark for their expedition in 1803. When they came back and reported their findings, St. Louis became the trading port for beaver fur that the expedition had uncovered. Fur prices eventually dropped, but the new boom of westward emigration began. The city outfitted all sorts of pioneers from gold seekers headed to California to pioneers headed out on the Oregon traill. Go back to 1800 and a whole half of a country was undiscovered. Then just 90 years later, there was no longer a definable frontier. The century was one of western exploration, mountain men trading furs, Indians being displaced, pioneers on the Oregon trail, 49ers searching for gold, cowboys in the plains, etc. Pretty incredible to think about.
We're pressing on now. Not sure how far we'll make it, but we hope to get near central Kansas tonight. It's getting dark quickly, but since we had such a late start, we still feel energized and motivated to go.
Junction City, KS
We slept in the truck last night.
A little background before I share this story: On our first road trip across country heading from Seattle to Key West, somewhere in Indiana we were tired and had been driving entirely too long already. It was about 2am and we felt like it was kind of a waste to pay for a whole night in a hotel when we'd be there less than 8 hours. So, I suggested that we just pull over and sleep in the truck. What a terrible idea! We were uncomfortable and cramped. And in the mid-morning it was terribly hot and humid, but raining, so we couldn't roll the window down for air flow. We basically just sat in the truck and baked. Needless to say, we were absolutely disgusting and still very tired when morning came.
So, why we wouldn't learn from our past mistake is a mystery to me. But for whatever reason, it seemed like a good idea at the time last night. We pulled into a Conoco Phillips, rearranged some things in the truck and slept. Bailey slept curled up in the front passenger seat while I kind of sprawled across the front seats with my legs around her. And then Phill slept in the back with his head squished between the giant computer box and the front seat. We were more comfortable than the last time we did it, but it was still nothing I'd want to do for a long period of time. I woke up several times having to situate myself again because of a seatbelt buckle in my side, cramped knees, crick in the neck...you name it. But now we're on the road again and should get into Colorado Springs in the early afternoon. Luckily, we have the remainder of the day to relax. I imagine we'll call it a night pretty early tonight.
A little background before I share this story: On our first road trip across country heading from Seattle to Key West, somewhere in Indiana we were tired and had been driving entirely too long already. It was about 2am and we felt like it was kind of a waste to pay for a whole night in a hotel when we'd be there less than 8 hours. So, I suggested that we just pull over and sleep in the truck. What a terrible idea! We were uncomfortable and cramped. And in the mid-morning it was terribly hot and humid, but raining, so we couldn't roll the window down for air flow. We basically just sat in the truck and baked. Needless to say, we were absolutely disgusting and still very tired when morning came.
So, why we wouldn't learn from our past mistake is a mystery to me. But for whatever reason, it seemed like a good idea at the time last night. We pulled into a Conoco Phillips, rearranged some things in the truck and slept. Bailey slept curled up in the front passenger seat while I kind of sprawled across the front seats with my legs around her. And then Phill slept in the back with his head squished between the giant computer box and the front seat. We were more comfortable than the last time we did it, but it was still nothing I'd want to do for a long period of time. I woke up several times having to situate myself again because of a seatbelt buckle in my side, cramped knees, crick in the neck...you name it. But now we're on the road again and should get into Colorado Springs in the early afternoon. Luckily, we have the remainder of the day to relax. I imagine we'll call it a night pretty early tonight.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Tennessee Pancakes
When we had told Garrett Faulkner that we were going to Gatlinburg, he told us that we had to go to “The Pancake House.” So, on our way out, were were looking for this famous restaurant. Well, these people must love their pancakes because there were about 20 places in town that served pancakes. We couldn't call Garrett to clarify because he just deployed for a couple of weeks and it was too early in the morning to call his wife, Kristin. So, we picked one of the few with the name Pancake House in the name. As soon as we walked in, we were fairly sure that it wasn't the right place, but we stayed and ate anyway. I got pancakes with Tennessee blueberries because it only seemed appropriate. It was good, but not quite the best I've ever had.
We arrived in Hopkinsville, KY tonight to stay with Garrett's folks. When we mentioned Garrett's recommendation, they said that it's actually called The Pancake Pantry. We were WAY off. We missed the greatest pancake house, I guess. At least we know for next time.
We made up for it with a delicious Mrs. Faulkner dinner. My oh my. I had heard wonderful things about her cooking and it turned out to be as good as it had been talked up to be. We had biscuits, roast, corn, beans, mac and cheese, etc etc etc! And then apparently we have great cake to look forward to tonight as well. Wow. Can we stretch out this stay a bit longer? Ha!
We arrived in Hopkinsville, KY tonight to stay with Garrett's folks. When we mentioned Garrett's recommendation, they said that it's actually called The Pancake Pantry. We were WAY off. We missed the greatest pancake house, I guess. At least we know for next time.
We made up for it with a delicious Mrs. Faulkner dinner. My oh my. I had heard wonderful things about her cooking and it turned out to be as good as it had been talked up to be. We had biscuits, roast, corn, beans, mac and cheese, etc etc etc! And then apparently we have great cake to look forward to tonight as well. Wow. Can we stretch out this stay a bit longer? Ha!
Rain Rain Rain
As for our time in the park...it started raining around midnight on Saturday and didn't quit. Sometimes it was raining so hard that I couldn't get back to sleep because the pounding on the rain fly was so loud. It let up a little bit right when we got up so that we were able to stay dry for the most part while we cooked some breakfast and made some coffee. But then it picked right back up again. Most of the people that had camped the previous night had all packed up and left, so we had first choice of campsites that were remaining for our Sunday night stay. So, in the rain, we packed everything that we could into the truck wherever it would fit and left the tent all constructed. We picked it up by the poles and walked it down the road about six sites. I was cracking up the entire time. I can't imagine what we must have looked like jogging this 5-man tent that's all set up down the road. It saved the hassle once we got it there, but I'm sure we looked absolutely ridiculous!
We spent the next hour or so setting everything back up again and it was absolutely pouring on us the entire time. Who said camping was fun!?! This is a pain in the butt, we're filthy, soaked...are we having fun yet? We finally got everything put up and got in the truck and headed out to see the park. Of course, almost as soon as we got into the truck, the rain stopped. Go figure.
The Roaring Fork Nature Trail is a driving trail that you can get on from Gatlinburg. We figured that our best bet for the day would probably be a driving tour since the rain was kind of unpredictable and the weather station was talking about potential flooding. And the ranger that I talked to at the station thought that the view from the top would probably be too foggy to see much of anything. I'm sure it would have been beautiful! It's hard to describe what the park was like other than to say that it was very green! I imagine that it must rain there a lot because there are all sorts of waterfalls and everything is just covered in moss. There was one point on the way back down the trail that there was a really old mill on the edge of a river. We pulled over to take a better look at it. It was an old wood building with a water chute going down below the mill house in order to turn the wheel. We thought that the wheel had since been replaced just for looks because it didn't actually turn and it seemed too small to do much of anything. But we think the chute was mostly the original thing. Phill noticed that there was a removable piece of wood that served as a type of dam mechanism. When he pulled it out, the water really started churning out. We got out at one other spot to take a look at a river and to take some pictures. Of course, it started raining as soon as we got out of the car. But we hopped around on the rocks a little bit and played in the river until we started getting too wet from the rain. We had thought about doing a hike, but we were really hungry and tired of being drenched.
Once we came out of the trail, we drove into Pigeon Forge to get a few groceries before heading back to the campsite. On our way back, we spotted a black bear on the side of the road trying to get into a soda bottle. Although it was neat to see him, I was glad we didn't see any others on the way to our site. The only other wildlife we saw was a whole bunch of wild turkeys. One was a male that was really fluffing himself up a lot to impress a hen that was nearby. She didn't seem to notice he was even there.
Got back to our campsite and cooked hobo meals and had our first real camp dinner. It was delicious! Sat around by the fire for a bit until it started raining again and we retired to the tent. It rained all night long. Since we were so close to the river, I woke up several times throughout the night to make sure we weren't going to float away in the river.
Packed all of our stuff away soaked and headed toward Kentucky.
We spent the next hour or so setting everything back up again and it was absolutely pouring on us the entire time. Who said camping was fun!?! This is a pain in the butt, we're filthy, soaked...are we having fun yet? We finally got everything put up and got in the truck and headed out to see the park. Of course, almost as soon as we got into the truck, the rain stopped. Go figure.
The Roaring Fork Nature Trail is a driving trail that you can get on from Gatlinburg. We figured that our best bet for the day would probably be a driving tour since the rain was kind of unpredictable and the weather station was talking about potential flooding. And the ranger that I talked to at the station thought that the view from the top would probably be too foggy to see much of anything. I'm sure it would have been beautiful! It's hard to describe what the park was like other than to say that it was very green! I imagine that it must rain there a lot because there are all sorts of waterfalls and everything is just covered in moss. There was one point on the way back down the trail that there was a really old mill on the edge of a river. We pulled over to take a better look at it. It was an old wood building with a water chute going down below the mill house in order to turn the wheel. We thought that the wheel had since been replaced just for looks because it didn't actually turn and it seemed too small to do much of anything. But we think the chute was mostly the original thing. Phill noticed that there was a removable piece of wood that served as a type of dam mechanism. When he pulled it out, the water really started churning out. We got out at one other spot to take a look at a river and to take some pictures. Of course, it started raining as soon as we got out of the car. But we hopped around on the rocks a little bit and played in the river until we started getting too wet from the rain. We had thought about doing a hike, but we were really hungry and tired of being drenched.
Once we came out of the trail, we drove into Pigeon Forge to get a few groceries before heading back to the campsite. On our way back, we spotted a black bear on the side of the road trying to get into a soda bottle. Although it was neat to see him, I was glad we didn't see any others on the way to our site. The only other wildlife we saw was a whole bunch of wild turkeys. One was a male that was really fluffing himself up a lot to impress a hen that was nearby. She didn't seem to notice he was even there.
Got back to our campsite and cooked hobo meals and had our first real camp dinner. It was delicious! Sat around by the fire for a bit until it started raining again and we retired to the tent. It rained all night long. Since we were so close to the river, I woke up several times throughout the night to make sure we weren't going to float away in the river.
Packed all of our stuff away soaked and headed toward Kentucky.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
In the park
We're in the park, but we don't have cell phone or internet service, so more on these adventures later. Just thought we'd post some pictures of our drive around the park today. Incredible scenery!
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Plans are made to be broken
We left the Tallman's house this morning and headed toward Gatlinburg and Smoky Mountain National Park in Tennessee with news that we might encounter heavy rain. We stopped for gas about 40 miles from the park and Phill noticed that his wallet seemed a little smaller than normal. He realized that he had left his driver's license in the pocket of his motorcycle jacket at his parents' house in New York. So, we spent some time making some phone calls and figuring out where it was and how to get it to us. We finally decided that the best bet was to have it overnighted to the Faulkner's house in Hopkinsville, KY since that would be the last place that we would be at a residence for quite some time. However, our original plan had been to stay the night with them on Sunday and take off Monday morning, but the license couldn't be shipped until Monday morning. So, we decided to stay two nights at Smoky Mountain National Park instead. We figured we'd get to relax and camp and see more of the park anyhow.
Since Phill was without his license, I drove the remainder of the distance through Gatlinburg and into the park. The roads were terribly curvy with steep edges and no guard rail. I can't say that I was in love with it, but what are you going to do? Gatlinburg is the small, tourist town just outside the park. We were shocked at how busy and commercialized it was. Some of the shops reminded me of what you might find on Duvall Street in Key West, complete with Ripley's Believe It Or Not and a wax museum. They even had some amusement rides for children. It looked like a pretty happening place, but it just wasn't quite what we were looking for. We just wanted to get settled into our campsite, so we pretty much did the drive-by and that's about all we experienced of Gatlinburg. We heard later that there was a huge Coleman camping store. That might have been dangerous...
Right before we got into the park, I pulled off into a hotel parking lot to get a view of the mountains. We understand why these are called the Smoky Mountains now. The clouds sit right on top of them and into the valley and they're real whispy clouds. They look just like they're smoking. The fog gets real settled into them.
We finally got to our campsite around 8pm. The Elkmont campsite where we stayed had a great river view. We picked one that was on the river, but it was the very very tail end of the river, so it wasn't as great of a view as we might have hoped, but still beautiful. We set up our tent and ate what we could find in the small amount left in our cooler – hot dogs with cold english muffins as buns and chicken pot pie soup. However, we didn't have a pot to heat up the soup, so we used our coffee percolator, ha! It did the trick I guess, though it wasn't quite heated through right. I can't say tonight was our best night of eating.
They're threatening rain and thunderstorms tonight, so we have our rain fly up, but so far nothing but a little drizzle here and there.
Since Phill was without his license, I drove the remainder of the distance through Gatlinburg and into the park. The roads were terribly curvy with steep edges and no guard rail. I can't say that I was in love with it, but what are you going to do? Gatlinburg is the small, tourist town just outside the park. We were shocked at how busy and commercialized it was. Some of the shops reminded me of what you might find on Duvall Street in Key West, complete with Ripley's Believe It Or Not and a wax museum. They even had some amusement rides for children. It looked like a pretty happening place, but it just wasn't quite what we were looking for. We just wanted to get settled into our campsite, so we pretty much did the drive-by and that's about all we experienced of Gatlinburg. We heard later that there was a huge Coleman camping store. That might have been dangerous...
Right before we got into the park, I pulled off into a hotel parking lot to get a view of the mountains. We understand why these are called the Smoky Mountains now. The clouds sit right on top of them and into the valley and they're real whispy clouds. They look just like they're smoking. The fog gets real settled into them.
We finally got to our campsite around 8pm. The Elkmont campsite where we stayed had a great river view. We picked one that was on the river, but it was the very very tail end of the river, so it wasn't as great of a view as we might have hoped, but still beautiful. We set up our tent and ate what we could find in the small amount left in our cooler – hot dogs with cold english muffins as buns and chicken pot pie soup. However, we didn't have a pot to heat up the soup, so we used our coffee percolator, ha! It did the trick I guess, though it wasn't quite heated through right. I can't say tonight was our best night of eating.
They're threatening rain and thunderstorms tonight, so we have our rain fly up, but so far nothing but a little drizzle here and there.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Summertime
We spent the night at Chris and Colleen Svencer's house last night. We had a great time. Bailey hung out with their two dogs, Wasabi and Murray. As Colleen puts it, they're small, medium and large. It's such a funny dynamic! We were entertained just watching them run all over the place. We had a great sushi dinner last night and then Phill and I spent this morning relaxing around the house. We met Chris for lunch and he recommended driving out to Sandbridge Beach which is south of Virginia Beach and much less commercial. It was beautiful! It was pretty windy, so the waves were really crashing. And not too many people were out there either, so we just let Bailey run. I just talked to my sister and she mentioned that it was snowing where she is at in Montana. Hard to believe there are such drastic weather changes throughout the US because it sure feels like summer here. Staying the night with Dan and Pam Tallman tonight. Should be a nice and relaxing BBQ dinner.
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