Cousins

This past week we had the pleasure of catching up with several cousins in Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota.    After visiting, we again realized that going 5 to nearly 20 years is TOO long not to see each other.  As the boys said "the only problem with visiting is that we have to leave again."

Warren and Coleen were great hosts and Warren took off the day to take us to the highlights that Jerry remembered from his visits to southern Illinois.  We had lunch at Wally's and had a tour of the Ski bottling company.  He took us to see Bob who has singlehandedly built a fort and reconstructed log homes that have been given to him over the years.  He had an amazing collection and we know that someday we'll be paying admission to see it.  Lastly, we went to the "ground" (their 60 acre hunting retreat) and the boys had a blast riding four wheelers.  We had some time with Aunt Loretta, Linda and Glen.  It was fun to watch the Cardinal games with the family!  Thank you for your amazing hospitality.  We walked out the door with an armful of food and pecans the boys collected.

We stopped at Lincoln's home (the only one he ever owned) in Springfield, Illinois on the way to Iowa.  It was good to learn more about this amazing man.  He hung strongly to his convictions despite much opposition.

We only had a little over a day in Iowa but really enjoyed our time with Merridy and Allen (and max!). Merridy took us on a driving tour of Wellman (so sorry we missed your parents, Sarah!) after a must-stop at the cheese factory in Kalona for cheese curds.  The highlight of our tour was Hickory Grove school.  Mom and Merridy's dad attended this one-room schoolhouse.  It is now a private residence and we pulled in the driveway for a picture.  Much to our surprise, the owner came to the door and invited us in for a look!  It was amazing to see how she has preserved the look of the main school room.  There are still names carved in the wainscoting and the original floors are intact.  Merridy and Allen made us feel so comfortable in their home.  Let's not wait so long for the next visit!

Next, we thought we should take in the Mall of America near Minneapolis.  The stores weren't so different, BUT, there is a huge amusement park and aquarium on the main level.  That was a sight!  The boys bought each other Christmas presents.  We'll see if they can stand the suspense for another 2 months.  We then traveled up to Duluth, MN to see Jerry's cousin Carl and family.  Duluth was a neat little town.  It sits on a hillside overlooking Lake Superior.  We managed to park George and spent a wonderful evening catching up.  We have it on our radar to return soon.

Farms, Elephant Rocks, and Orchards

We headed into the heartland stopping at Amy's Aunt Rachel and Uncle Don's farm in Newton, Kansas. The boys obviously had fun as evidenced by Jackson's journal entry… "Aunt Rachel and Uncle Don were awesome! We got to fish, catch a black snake 5 ft. long, look at his airplane, go to a kids' dragster racing place and a huge college, and even play with their Legos!  I was sad to leave them." Amy's highlight was hanging laundry on the line.  With their signature hospitality they generously hosted a bon fire/hot dog roast where we got to visit with cousin Karl and family.  In between all of that activity Don helped troubleshoot a slow kitchen sink drain in the motorhome. What a blessing they were to our family. We stopped in Independence, Missouri next to check out the jumping off point for the Oregon and Santa Fe trails.  Independence kept coming up in our studies, so we thought it was an important stop.
As we headed east Jerry was recalling some of his more fond memories of growing up in the St.Louis area and three things came to mind.  They were the Gateway Arch, Elephant Rocks State Park and Eckerts Orchard.  About 60 miles south of St. Louis is an old granite quarry with some uniquely large, rounded granite boulders.  So unique that they did not blow them apart, they created a State Park around them instead.  Jackson and Asa had as much fun as I did as a kid crawling around on the massive rocks.  The fall colors were spectacular with the hardwoods of the Ozarks turning brilliant reds, oranges and yellows.  We then drove downtown to the Gateway Arch and managed to find RV parking.  We arrived in the afternoon only to find out that they were sold out of tickets to ride to the top.  We were on a bit of a time crunch so it actually worked out well…on to Eckerts.
Much has changed with this seventh generation orchard since I was there as a kid.  It is a big operation with a restaurant, store, kids' amusement area, pumpkin patch and of course the orchard.  It is the largest u-pick farm in the United States so we joined the fun and picked some fuji apples.

The Land of Enchantment

All told, we spent 17 days in New Mexico, our record thus far.  It really captures you.  Even if you are not looking for any jewelry, you soon feel like you can't leave the state without a piece of turquoise!  The boys were not the only ones learning history.  We were reminded that the Spanish were in Santa Fe just about the time Jamestown Settlement was established.  Growing up on the East Coast, I remember thinking that we had all the "history."  Our favorite museum was the New Mexico History Museum in Santa Fe.  It is connected to the Palace of the Governors, the longest continually occupied public building in the United States.  If walls could talk!  It has seen Spanish, Mexican, Ancient Puebloan, and Anglo occupants.   We also enjoyed the many mission churches in Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Taos.  Thanks to a great tip from one of the moms of Jackson's classmates, we thoroughly enjoyed the Explora kids museum in Albuquerque.  Change is inevitable, but it was sad to go to Taos and find out that a bed and breakfast we've stayed at twice has closed because the couple became too elderly.  We tried in vain to find the house, but it's been too many years.  Also, the Taos Pueblo was closed on the afternoon that we were there.  We did however enjoy the old town shops and the beautiful drive on the "high road to Taos."
An event we had been waiting for since April came while we were in Albuquerque.  We finally saw the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta.  I say finally, but we haven't been waiting as long as my sister Betty who says she's been waiting 30 years to come!  Betty and Philip joined us from Virginia for a long weekend.  It was fun to have them along.  We started our time in Santa Fe then joined the hundreds of motorhomes in a big dusty lot for the weekend.
Unfortunately, a cold front came in on Saturday from Canada (thanks a lot, eh!) and the winds proved too strong to fly the balloons.  We were back at the motorhome very early in the morning with a whole day and no plans.  We decided to take the motorhome back North to the Bandelier National Monument near Los Alamos.  It was a great choice and we really recommend it if you are in the Santa Fe area.  You are much more free to explore the cliff dwellings than you are at other National Parks.
The scenery was amazing and the ladders were a blast. We were in a big wind storm on the way back, which blew us all over the road and caused some minor maintenence for Jerry and Philip.  We saw some fireworks that evening and said our prayers that the Lord would kill the wind the next morning.  Meanwhile, the forecasters were predicting greater wind speed than the morning before.  Our prayers were answered, and the wind was practically dead.  The balloons took off as scheduled and what a show that was.  Every time you looked, there was a new balloon in the sky.  It's a wonderful time because you are allowed on the field right where the balloons are being launched; you really feel like you are a part of the action.  Sadly, Betty and Philip had to catch a plane but got to see a majority of the launching.

We also took off that afternoon and made our way East.  Over the next few days we were able to see the Cadillac Ranch near Amarillo on the Texas Panhandle and see the sights of Oklahoma City.  Yes, I too was surprised that there were sights in OKC.  But honestly, we had a hard time choosing which things to take in during our day there.  We decided on the Oklahoma City National Memorial, which was a sobering, beautifully detailed memorial of the events of 1995, and the National Cowboy and Western Museum.  Definitely, definitely stop at this museum if you are ever traveling through.  It contains amazing western art, displays of all things cowboy, Old Western movie history, a kids' dress-up area and a mock 1800s town.  And soooo much more.  Most importantly, it has the best buffet we've ever had with home-made southern cooking.  In fact, someone asked for the recipe for the pineapple spoon bread while we were there and the waitress called out for the back staff to call "grandma" for her recipe!

Oklahoma has the most remaining miles (over 400) of Route 66 that is still drivable.  We really enjoyed stopping at the Route 66 Museum in Clinton, OK and learning about the history of the "mother road."  It was even more enjoyable to drive the road and imagine how it was for my two grandfathers and Jerry's father to travel possibly this same stretch of road so many years before.  I have renewed interest in digging up some old pictures and stories.  And we realize that our travel bug comes honestly!

Southern New Mexico

Greetings from sunny New Mexico!  Actually, we had a day of rain at White Sands, our third of the trip.  It helped us to slow down and spend some family time in the RV.  The boys are convinced that they do not recognize any difference between a house and the RV.  Makes all this togetherness go more smoothly!

On the way to southern New Mexico, we made a quick stop at Smokey the Bear Historic Site.  This is near where firemen found a little bear cub alone and burned in a forest fire.  He became the symbol of fire prevention.  It has been such a successful campaign over the years that now rangers have to convince us that it is good to have controlled burns.

We also made a trek to the UFO museum in Roswell…well, we were in the neighborhood!
Carlsbad Caverns was a real treat.  We took the self-guided tour of the Big Room and were amazed at the size and variety of cave formations.  The highlight, though, was the evening bat flight.  We gathered in the amphitheater at dusk and after a short ranger talk, watched as about 300,000 bats flew into the sunset skies continuously over a 30 minute period.  It was breathtaking!  We weren't allowed to take any pictures so you will need to trust us and take this event in someday.  

Finally, we made our way to Alamogordo and took in a tour of the Eagle Ranch Pistachio Farm.  This family business began as a second career for an air force officer and his wife over 40 years ago.  It was interesting to learn that pistachios need a very specific climate to grow in and are only grown in southern NM, California and a small portion of Arizona.  This morning we awoke to blue skies and headed to White Sands National Monument.  What a blast!  The hills are excellent (and fast!) for sledding.  We had to move on before the full moon but can only imagine how gorgeous that would have been.

Zuni

 We headed to Zuni Pueblo to visit with friends from Anchorage who now work on this Native American Reservation.  It took us back to our time in Port Hardy, BC and the strong sense of community we experienced there.  We are happy that these doctors could practice anywhere, but were led to serve here.  They are very involved in promoting health and help with youth sports programs.  Jerry was able to participate in a  7 mile run called Coronado's Curse on Sunday morning with Barb. We were blessed by the fellowship, conversations, and meals we shared together.

UFO?

We had a complete New Mexican experience in that we spotted a UFO in the skies above Route 53.  There were other cars pulled over watching it, too!

As we headed east we stopped at El Morro National Monument. We saw some of the over 2000 inscriptions and petroglyphs on the rock face of the mesa that dated from pre-Spanish contact to the early 20th century.  Our next stop was Acoma Pueblo, one of the longest occupied pueblos in the US.  The Acoma people are descendants of the Ancestral Puebloans who migrated south from Mesa Verde in Colorado.  Thirteen families have residences  live atop the mesa community which still functions without electricity or water and sewer systems. This was one of the Pueblo groups that received an ebony cane from President Lincoln in 1864.

Jamboree, Reunions, and Canyons

The big surprise for Asa was an early 10th birthday present.  His Father/Son getaway would be a Jeep Jamboree in Ouray, Colorado, the oldest running Jamboree celebrating it's 25th year.  He was ecstatic! The first day of trails covered California Pass/Corkscrew Gulch with a stop at the ghost mining town of Animas Forks. The second day of trails went from Ophir Pass to Telluride and then up and over Imogene Pass at 13,100 feet.  Needless to say the trails and scenery were spectacular.  We enjoyed breakfasts and dinners at the Ouray Community Center with lunches out on the trails.

Ouray is one of the most picturesque towns in America and is called "Switzerland of America" which was a perfect place for Amy and Jackson to explore while Asa and Jerry were out on the trails.  They went to the hot springs pool, visited nearly all of the historic downtown shops, hiked to Box Canyon Falls, and visited a very impressive Pharmacy museum.  Jackson even found a Carcharodontosaurus tooth at the local rock shop (think T-Rex but from the Late Cretaceous period).

Amy enjoyed two Providence reunions.  Sarah was "in the area" and acted as the Pony Express delivering our mail from Anchorage!  Traveling down to Durango after Ouray, we connected with Erin and husband Matt.  Jerry was treated to a local mountain bike ride…thanks Matt!

After Durango, we continued southwest to Mesa Verde and went on Ranger guided tours of two impressive cliff dwellings, Balcony House and Cliff Palace.  The ladders and carved steps are on the cliff walls about 700 feet from the canyon floor which had the boys a little nervous, but they forgot all of their fears when it came time for action.  We all enjoyed learning more about the Ancestral Puebloans (now the PC title replacing Anasazi) and their farming communities from 800 years ago. One of the most impressive displays in the museum was a clay pot with 30 pounds of perfectly preserved ancient corn that was found buried in a local cave.

Not letting the grass grow under our wheels we headed on to Four Corners Monument and then to Canyon de Chelly (pronounced d'SHAY).  We hiked into to canyon to the White House cliff dwelling. We never tired of the magnificently carved sandstone canyon walls.  Navajo farmers still graze sheep in the canyon.

An unexpected, and perhaps best, stop on our trip was the Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site.  It is the longest continuously operating trading post in the country.  The tour of the Hubble house revealed the most amazing art and craft work from the 19th Century. Instead of payment for lodging from traveling artists, Mr. Hubble would ask for a piece of their art work.  This practice is still in effect today as visiting artists can stay for up to two weeks for the cost of one of their works of art.

Colorado

The mountain bike trails around Fruita are world class.  We headed to the Kokopelli trail head area and found some beginner to intermediate trails to ride…unfortunately we hit a hot, sunny afternoon so we only lasted a couple of hours.  We had great vistas of the Colorado River and Amy found a beautiful yellow-headed collared lizard along the trail.  We love the wildlife surprises that we have had on this trip.

We made a day of traveling north to Dinosaur National Monument, probably THE highlight of the trip for Jackson. They just finished building a new structure over the quarry last year (NPS had to close it in 2006 due to a crumbling structure.  We felt grateful for our timing).  The quarry has an impressive "wall" full of dinosaur fossils that measures about 150 feet by 30 feet.  The best part was that they let you actually touch the fossilized bones!  It is an old quarry that was first excavated in the early 1900's.  Some 300 tons of dinosaur fossils were taken out by horse and wagon by the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh, PA who had the original claim to the quarry. When the excavation began the area in the quarry was some 50 feet higher than it is today.  WOW! The fossil trail that leads back to the visitor center also has actual fossilized bones that you can "discover" as you hike.  Cool stuff.  Jackson (and Asa) had a day they won't forget.

We also made it a point to drive to the rim of the Colorado National Monument for some more amazing views of the Colorado River basin.  It was only 2 miles from our camp site and definitely worth another visit when we return to mountain bike again!

Tarantula's, Trilobites and Trees, Oh My!

We have visited a couple of parks in the southwest but never Zion and Bryce Canyons.  They did not disappoint.  Zion's steep canyon reminded us a little of Yosemite and there were plenty of hiking opportunities. Since we only had a day we chose the Angel's Landing hike.  After about an hour of climbing and switchbacks called Walter's Wiggles we reached the section of trail that has chains installed due to the extreme pitches.  Jackson's fear of heights kicked in, and Amy and Asa decided they would go the final half mile up the ridge to summit.   The wildlife in Zion was interesting as well.  There were the expected deer, sheep, and lizards, and then there were the unexpected turkeys and a tarantula! That was a first.

Bryce Canyon was by far our favorite place to hike and offered the most amazing scenery.  We traversed the amphitheater from Bryce Point to Sunrise Point winding through the hoodoos, windows, tunnels, and dry washes.  With every step we were treated to amazing formations and colors that we never tired of seeing.  One of the boys' favorite activities was stargazing.  Bryce boasts one of the darkest skies in the US.  We laid under the Milky Way with our binoculars and could hardly believe the number of stars that appeared.

We then headed North to Delta on a tip from a good friend and co-worker of Amy's, Sarah, who told us about a great place to dig for trilobites.  U-Dig-Fossils is an ancient shale-bed quarry about 50 miles outside of Delta.  The folks there were super helpful and encouraging, especially for the boys.  We found dozens of trilobites of various sizes and varieties, but we also left with a couple of non-local fossils thanks to the generosity of the U-Dig-Fossils staff.




We didn't know a lot about the Great Basin National Park in Nevada, but since we were within an hour of the park we decided to spend the rest of the day exploring there.  What a great place!  We drove up to the 10,000 foot parking area and hiked the Bristlecone Pine Grove trail to see the oldest trees on earth.  The oldest trees in the grove are between an unbelievable 3,000 to 5,000 years old! By overlapping the growth rings they have a climate record dating back to 10,000 years before Christ.  It was so beautiful that we would love to come back and hike to the summit of Wheeler Peak someday.  Amy read that the Pinon pine-nut harvest began in the fall and, given the elevation, fall had begun!  We collected about a pound of nuts, far from the 25 pound limit that the Park Service places on those that want to harvest on NP land. 

Awesome Arizona

Ah, yes, the temperatures in Flagstaff were what we were looking for.  We decided against going to Sedona on this trip since the temps there were at least 20 degrees hotter than Flagstaff.  We instead checked out 3 National Monuments that we had never heard of:  Walnut Canyon, Sunset Crater Volcano and Wutpatki.  Wonderful stops!  We enjoyed learning how early Native American inhabitants built their cliffside and adobe dwellings and were in such sync with the weather cycles.  Asa fell in love with the homes and wanted to move into one.
We then took off for the Grand Canyon.  That first view tends to take your breath away.  Again, the temperatures determined our plans.  We knew ahead that the floor of the canyon would be over 100 degrees so planned not to hike; however, we still wanted to stop since we're not sure when we will return. We are fortunate to be traveling with our bikes so we biked out to Hermit's Rest and took in many beautiful viewpoints along the way.  We have gotten used to the late afternoon thunderstorms and actually went biking despite rain.  No cars are allowed on this route, only shuttle buses so it was a peaceful ride.
It was a quick visit and we left the next morning at 5:30am to make it to Page, Arizona for a tour of Antelope Canyon.  What an amazing day.  Before leaving the Grand Canyon, we took in the sunrise at Desert view.  Then close to Tuba City we stopped on Navajo land to see dinosaur tracks.  Who knew that was possible?!  Jackson was thrilled.  We just happened to see it on our map.  Our native guide did not charge for the tour but strongly suggested that we could buy some jewelry.  Poor me!  We made it to Page, AZ by 10am and got set up for our tour of Antelope Canyon.  A big thank you to some co-workers at PAMC who told me about the canyon.  What a treat!  But the secret is out and it is getting more and more visitors yearly.  It is on Navajo land and you are required to go with a tour group.  Five tour groups take up to 1500 people through daily and it is crazy busy!  Originally I was going to go by myself due to the cost, but then the rest of the family decided to come along.  I was so grateful.  Jerry took over taking pictures.  We were on a 2 hour "photography" tour but there was no time to set up the tripod properly or adjust the settings.  We had to constantly move along and "hurry up."  Jerry was so stressed!  We hope you enjoy the shots.  There are a lot, but we weeded down from over 200!
We had no lodging plans and thought we might spend the night at Walmart but the good people at the visitor center told us about Lone Rock, a campground in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area 10 miles out of town.  It was a beautiful area on the shores of Lake Powell and only cost $10 per night.  Bonus!  We enjoyed swimming in the lake and watching the afternoon thunderstorms, sunsets and sunrises from the comfort of George (the motorhome).  It was George's maiden beach trip.  Page has a nice rim trail on the edge of the mesa which surrounds the town and we tried that out.  Two miles into it, Jackson had 2 flats from numerous thorn bushes along the route.  Jerry used the opportunity to teach the boys how to change a bike tire.  We were able to worship this morning at one of the Page churches, stop at Horseshoe Bend and Glen Canyon Dam,  and then sadly left.  We recommend a stop in Page if you're ever in the area.
Family life is good and we're all coping well with being on the road together.  The boys spent about 3 hours today talking as we drove about an imaginary lego universe.  Asa even had a sore throat by the end of the day.  Besides all the things they are seeing and learning, we hope that they will take away an even closer relationship from this adventure.