EPIBLOG.....

April 27, 2008

EPIBLOG (did we invent this word?)

So, here we are, 250 miles from home and we can’t believe our saga is almost over! It seems as though the most prevalent question asked of us along the way was, “How are you guys getting along?” Fifty days on the road have flown by and, contrary to some speculation, we are still getting along fine. Connie tried to lose her “teacher voice” and Peter tried to leave the toilet seat down in the hotel rooms! We have kept pretty detailed records of our expenses. Since we stayed in a hotel only 26 out of 50 nights (due to the generosity of our family and friends), our expenses could have been much higher. We’ve concluded that, if we sold our house and could continue to rely on family and friends, we could road trip for the rest of our lives, still not see all of this country, on the same income and, actually, save money! Don’t worry, family and friends, we’re not going to do it!

Our stats are the following: 50 days, 25 blogs, 30 states, 12,000 miles, 200 plus hours of driving, 372 gallons of gas, lowest cost of gas $3.09 in Belmont MA, highest cost of gas $3.89 in Shasta CA, high temperature of 90 degrees in San Antonio, low temperature of 16 degrees in High Timber Montana.

Pam asked what we missed the most (other than the obvious) and what we missed the least. We both missed our own bed, our own pillows and the window beside the bed to open each night. Connie also missed having a washer and dryer close at hand, her yoga classes and watching the garden begin to bloom. Peter missed his wireless mouse; he found the mouse on the laptop difficult to operate! He also missed his brick oven and cooking in general.

Because we learned how to pack the car efficiently, we didn’t miss having a larger car. We could pack the Celica (to the gills!) in record time! Peter didn’t miss being at home and constantly seeing all of the upkeep and maintenance a house requires! Connie didn’t miss having to clean the house and doing dishes!

We decided to take the Celica because we wanted to have the option of putting the top down. The back seat and trunk were packed full but we had plenty of room in the front seat. The car performed flawlessly. Peter kept meticulous records of gas consumption and mileage. At 55-60 mph, the car got 34 mpg, at 60-65 mph, the car got 31 mpg and, overall for the whole trip, we averaged about 32 mpg. Peter did all of the driving and, of course, never exceeded the speed limit. By doing this, he calculated that we saved between 35 and 40 gallons of gas. Because the weather was so fantastic for most of the trip, we had the top down numerous times and would recommend to anyone seeing the sights of this country to drive a convertible. It was a real plus to the road trip.

Marilyn was indispensable! She got confused once or twice but overall she got us in and out of wherever we had to go. She seemed to suffer a few minor “strokes” when we were above 6000 feet but with rest and resuscitation, she was fine! We constantly had a detailed Road Atlas at hand; a GPS does not replace maps but it sure is nice to have when you’re trying to find your way out of an unfamiliar city or when you’re trying to find someone’s home. We also loved knowing our altitude especially when we were driving in and out of the mountains. Marilyn also could tell us how far we were from our destination and what time we would arrive. Last, but not least, using the Points of Interest data base, Connie could always find a Starbuck’s and Peter could always find a McDonald’s!

The time zone changes would have been difficult without our cell phones. The time zone lines across the country are very irregular (complicated by a couple of states that don’t observe Daylight Savings!) and when nearing them it’s difficult to know which time zone you’re in! But the cell phones ALWAYS know!!! At each time zone change we had to update manually all of our other electronics. Knowing the correct time was especially critical when trying to get to a motel in time to see “American Idol!”

Other useful items with us were the laptop with a broadband connection, the digital recorder to record notes for the blog, a power converter to keep the computer charged, a coffee pot to ensure a consistent cup of java for Peter every day, binoculars (we forgot ours and had to buy a pair!),scissors to open packages, rubber bands to close packages, notebooks for record keeping, hand cream and hand sanitizer, plastic bags for trash, paper towels and Windex, oranges, pretzels and Snickers for snacking and, ALWAYS, at least a gallon jug of water and cups. .

THE FOLLOWING ARE OUR MUSINGS AND REFLECT ONLY OUR OPINIONS:

In general, we are overwhelmed at the size, beauty and diversity of landscapes our country has to offer. We traveled 12,000 miles and didn’t scratch the surface of what there is to see. Driving on beautifully surfaced roads through the deserts and the mountain passes we reflected on how difficult it must have been for people on foot, on horseback and in wagons, with no trailside facilities and no detailed maps. How difficult living must have been for these settlers and for the Native Americans. Their days were almost completely consumed trying to feed, shelter and defend themselves.

From east to west and back we passed through many Indian Reservations and we became more aware of the history and current situation of Native Americans. We had thought of Native Americans in terms of the movies, of Pocahontas, Squanto and Sacajawea whose history only goes back a few hundred years. We rediscovered that Native Americans lived here many thousands of years before the white man came. After seeing much of this country, it’s easy to understand why the Native Americans revered nature and all it has to offer. They felt that all of this natural bounty had been given them by the “Great One.” This was in conflict with the white settlers who saw this country as full of gold, land and opportunity. Through an endless series of treaties, and then broken promises by the US government, and then more treaties, the Native Americans were eventually relegated to reservations on diminished land and were not able to maintain their way of life. (“Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee” is an excellent history of the above.) It’s the National and State Parks that still preserve much of this revered land.

Since we spent as little time as possible on the interstates, through most of our trip we drove through hundreds of small towns. They ranged from “barely alive” to “thriving!” We’ve come up with the following rating system: if there was only a post office, then the town was “barely alive;” if it had a post office, a Dollar General and a bank, it was in pretty good shape; if it had all three plus an espresso bar, it was even better; if it had all four plus an Edward Jones Investment company, it was thriving! There were a few, however, that had only one of the above but had a SuperWalmart! A lot of these towns had obviously seen better days but with the advent of the interstates bypassing them, along with fast food and motel chains, they are dying on the vine. (Has anyone seen the animated movie “Cars?) One of the best gauges of a town’s well being seemed to us to be the overall condition of its churches.

Another observation we made, primarily in the Southwest, is the obvious low water levels in lakes and reservoirs. This is especially true at Lake Mead which supplies Las Vegas; everywhere in Vegas you see waterfalls, pools, running water, fountains……………it almost seems as if they flaunt the use of water. In the desert of California water is drawn from an aquifer that no one ever thought would be depleted. But now Las Vegas wants more water and they want to take it from this aquifer and there is concern that the aquifer will be greatly depleted. In some areas of the Northwest the locals all talk about the twelve year drought Meanwhile Oregon seemed to have an abundance of water and, this year, most of the country received a larger than normal snowfall.

Since we never get tired of seeing wildlife in natural habitat, we were excited to have numerous sightings on the trip. We learned to be very observant while driving so that we could experience this. Unfortunately we never did see an elk or a big-horned sheep but the mountain lion, the grizzly bear, the javalina, the prairie dogs, the many eagles, the desert tortoise and others more than made up for this.

IN CONCLUSION

Although we spent 7 weeks and traveled 12,000 miles, we feel exhilarated to have done what we did but realize that there’s so much more this country has to offer! We have always kept a journal of our trips and would have done so for this one. But the opportunity to blog a journal piqued our curiosity and actually involved the two of us as a team. We’ve enjoyed reliving each day or group of days and being able to share them with anyone interested.

We have both greatly appreciated the opportunity we’ve had to make this once in a lifetime road trip and we’re glad we concentrated on the reasons WHY we should make the trip instead of on why we COULDN’T.! In spite of the 200 plus hours of driving and 7 weeks away from home, it was wonderful not only to see the country that we’ve previously seen only from the air but to see it up close and be able to smell it and feel it. It’s also a testament to a relationship to spend 24/7 together and come home with an even greater appreciation of each other. We have found that this is true even after 40 years of marriage. It’s an adventure worth doing at least once in a lifetime.

It’s 4:30 PM, April 27, 2008, we’ve spent our last night away from home, we’ve filled the car with gas for the last time and we’re crossing the Sagamore Bridge onto Cape Cod. So, it’s time to sign off and get back to our real lives……………at least until our next trip!

30 States and12,000 Miles!!!

Peter got to see the "Grand Tetons" after all!!!

Anonymous: We think it’s you, Pam!!! Thanks for keeping up with our blog. We’ll try to answer your two questions tomorrow in our Epiblog!

April 26, 2008

Chicago is a great city!! We set out Friday morning to walk and tour the city. Although we were prepared for rain, the day turned out to be warm, windy and humid but no rain. At the Water House and Pumping Station (the only buildings to survive Mrs. O’Leary’s cow’s fire!), we boarded a double-decker bus for a leisurely ride through the city. We saw all of the highlights of the city: Sears Tower, Millenium Park, Grant Park, Soldier Field, Navy Pier, theatre district, the Loop, the Million Dollar Mile, etc. At the Art Institute we got off the bus to tour the fabulous Impressionist exhibit where we saw, among others, 5 views of Monet’s haystacks. Also at the Navy Pier we left the bus and did a history and architectural boat tour on the Chicago River. Picture Venice with skyscrapers; picture Paris with a river dividing a city in two. This tour guide was incredible! He knew the history of each building and landmark we passed and he also had some great and amusing tidbits of Chicago’s past. As a bonus, as we were docking, he took out a harmonica and sang a blues song about Chicago.

That evening we were treated to a theater performance. When we arrived at the Ambassador East on Thursday afternoon, there was a FedEx envelope waiting for us. It was an anniversary gift from our kids: tickets for “Jersey Boys!” The show was spectacular and the audience was a lot of fun. We never realized there were so many Frankie Valli fans: old, middle-aged and young. The music was, of course, familiar and the actors/singers did a fantastic job. Good old Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. What a great way to end our stay in Chicago. We loved Chicago and would like to return for a few more days to really get a feel for the city.
:
We left Chicago this morning for our two day trip straight home. Marilyn got us out of the city easily and we were on Interstate 90 by 8:30. The hotel staff at the Ambassador East, a boutique hotel, was extremely friendly and helpful. The room service food was good and not too expensive! The room itself was large, well-appointed and classy. We left well rested and eager to get home to Harwich. Many thanks to our kids for their thoughtful gift!

We ended the day’s drive in Botavia NY, just east of Buffalo. With an early start tomorrow we should be in Harwich by mid to late afternoon. Tomorrow on our drive we’re going to reflect a little bit on our trip, trying not to be too effusive, and then this blog will be finished!!

On to Chicago!

It appears from the above photos that even our brothers may be leading double lives!!

Mame: Peter has seen “Field of Dreams” so, since it was pouring rain, we didn’t stop there today.

APRIL 24, 2008

We finished our drive along Route 20 to Waterloo IA yesterday afternoon. Before arriving at Andy and Christine Sexton’s we saw more small towns including Rockwell City, the “Golden Buckle on the Corn Belt.” Here, as in rural America across the country, there is the omnipresent Dollar General; we saw one in almost every town we drove through. We had driven over 450 miles along Route 20 and there’s more to go!!! We did pass a large complex of windmills set in the middle of farm land; we wondered if the farmers get free electricity for use of their land.

Marilyn led us one house past the Sextons but Andy came out and waved us back! We got a great welcome from Christine, Andy, Zoe, Hazel and Hook (the Sexton dog) and a tour of their acreage and out buildings. They’ve obviously done a lot to their century old farm house and we were very comfortable there. We had a picnic supper at a park in Cedar Falls next to the Cedar River. The weather was picnic perfect! After the girls went to bed, we talked about kids, politics and technology. It was great getting to know Andy’s family without the usual mob scene!

After a delicious breakfast and some quality time with Zoe (she gave use a trampoline demonstration!), we left Waterloo in the rain. And the rain followed us into Illinois! It’s was the first time we’d seen rain since Texas five weeks ago. The weather we’ve had on this trip has been unbelievable: two days of rain and one day racing snow in 48 days!

Crossing the Mississippi for the second time this trip (first time was going East), we drove into Illinois and passed through some beautiful small towns and very green rolling hills and farm land. Galena, the home of Ulysses Grant, is a restored Civil War town. It reminded us of New England towns with their nicely restored mansions and houses. The rain had stopped but the wind was howling! The closer we came to Chicago, the heavier the traffic became. It made us long for those many miles we’d spent driving on beautiful, deserted roads. Marilyn did well and led us directly to the Ambassador East Hotel, two blocks from Lake Michigan.

The hotel is pretty elegant and our room very comfortable. We went for a walk to check out the neighborhood, the wealthiest neighborhood in the US, according to our concierge. Beautifully restored brownstones and elegantly restored apartment buildings line the streets for many blocks. The concierge recommended an Italian restaurant called Quartino’s where the food is served family style. It’s large, noisy, busy, local and the food is delicious! We even got a so-called brick oven pizza which was very good but, since Peter couldn’t see the oven, he was skeptical!

The Presidents and Crazy Horse

This is an unusual view of George W. without his compatriots at Mt. Rushmore!

Pam: Pronghorn does sound like a Fictionary word................we knew what it was because we had a picture!!! We'll be home on Sunday.

April 23, 2008


Yesterday morning we left the “shabby chic” Hotel Franklin in Deadwood SD. Peter thought that the dealers in the casino area of the hotel were the most professional and friendly he’d ever seen. The whole atmosphere of the hotel was very accommodating, we were happy to have stayed there and it was quite inexpensive. We took the scenic Route 385 through the Black Hills with remnants of snow on the hillsides but the weather was great with sun and blue sky, temperature about 50. We saw deer everywhere along the side of the road so we proceeded carefully.

Our first destination was Mt. Rushmore about halfway south on 385 back toward the Oregon Trail, Route 20. Mt. Rushmore is a National Park but our senior pass didn’t work there so we had to pay $10 to park. Bummer!! This is a “must see” for every cross country road trip and we understand why. Mt. Rushmore is an awesome sight! There’s a grand viewing area and quite a strenuous walk up and down stairs to reach the base of the monument but well worth the effort. It’s hard to believe that anyone could carve these likenesses out of rock. We were impressed with the detail of the carvings especially Teddy Roosevelt’s eye glasses! The whole area around the monument is “presidential:” full of flags and granite walkways and impressive buildings. And this area of the Black Hills has plenty of high granite precipices.

Back on Rt. 385, we again proceeded south toward the Crazy Horse Memorial, a monument in progress. It was started in 1947 by a sculptor born in Boston and has been continued by his family (he had 10 kids!) since his death in the 1980s. This monument, like Mt. Rushmore, is being carved out of a granite mountain. However, Crazy Horse will be “monumentally” larger than the presidents; we were told that the faces of the four presidents would fit on the head of Crazy Horse. The Black Hills is a Lacota Indian spiritual area and Crazy Horse, as a Lakota chief, is revered by the Native Americans because he never signed a treaty with the United States and he refused to live on a reservation. The head of Crazy Horse was unveiled in 1998; there’s no proposed date for the completion of the memorial. The work depends on private donations because the family feels that there should be no federal money involved in the project. The area also has an impressive Native American museum and cultural center. This was another reminder to us of how badly the Native Americans have been treated by the white settlers and the US government.

The rest of our drive through the Black Hills was very scenic and we could easily understand why the Native Americans consider this area spiritual! After leaving the Black Hills, we entered the Wind Cave National Park where we saw more bison and lots of prairie dogs. The scenery became more prairie-like as we descended into the National Grasslands and on into the Sand Hills of Nebraska. Turning east on Route 20 in Nebraska the land flattened out and the weather turned good enough to put down the top. It’s been several days since it’s been warm enough to do that. The road was straight as an arrow, the sun was behind us and, in spite of the boring flat landscape, was a beautiful afternoon for a drive. Soon the scenery became rolling hills and farmland but still not many other vehicles on the road. The rolling hills changed again to flatland and, in between towns, it’s pretty desolate. We had predicted that our road trip would be about 8500 miles but, here in western Nebraska, 2000 miles from home, we passed the 10,000 mile mark……..it’s hard to believe we’ve driven that many miles! Now we were passing wild turkeys and pheasants along the road! So we cranked up the CD player and just enjoyed the ride. We stopped in Valentine NE for the night just in time to get take-out and watch “American Idol” and the results from the Pennsylvania primary!

Today we’re headed across Nebraska into Iowa to Waterloo, still on Route 20 the Oregon Trail, to spend the night with Andy and Christine Sexton and their two girls. We passed through many rural towns, lots of farmland, saw more turkeys and more deer, still traveling at 65 mph on a lonely two-lane road.

We made a quick stop for coffee in O’Neill where the Giorgios lived for part of the summer in 1961 when Peter's father was involved in a government research project to study cloud formations. O’Neill was chosen because it’s located in a large, flat plain. Peter doesn’t remember much about the stay except that his mother used to buy fresh chickens and his father had to chop off the head before plucking the feathers! We saw the Catholic church where the family probably went to mass on Sundays. O’Neill has a population of 3000+ which is a lot higher than most of the other towns we passed through which have populations of 99, 71, 133, etc. It looks pretty prosperous with both a Catholic and a public high school and a couple of banks.

The rest of our trip along Route 20 in eastern Nebraska and western Iowa can best be described by one of our books. “There’s not a lot worth stopping for in the 90-odd miles west of the Missouri River (which marks the beginning of Iowa, where there’s not a lot either). If you’re doing a long-distance haul along US 20, and time is tight, you can drive all night through northeast Nebraska and no one will ever point out anything you missed.” However, we always find it interesting to slow down to go through the small towns where you never know what you’re going to see from old buildings to quaint churches to abandoned structures to funny signs: Bacon Repair, Town Pump (gas station), Lube and Espresso, Motel & Storage, etc.

The Baaaaad........Badlands!

The above picture once again makes us wonder whether some of our family and friends are leading a double life!


APRIL 21, 2008

Last night we ended up in Deadwood SD and decided to stay at another downtown restored hotel, the Franklin, where Teddy Roosevelt and William Howard Taft once stayed. To cap it off, there’s a casino on the first floor where Peter found $2 black jack tables! We strolled around Deadwood, a town created during the Gold Rush, where Wild Bill Hickok was shot to death in Saloon #10. We actually saw the chair in which he was sitting when Jack McCall killed him! He’s buried in a local cemetery along side “Calamity Jane!” The whole place has the air of an authentic old west town although almost all of the establishments on the main street are now casinos.

We stopped in one casino that had a collection of Hollywood cars: an Aston Martin used in one of the James Bond films, one of the “Herbie” VWs, a 1983 red Ferrari 308 GT used in “Magnum PI,” a 1977 black Trans Am used in “Smoky and the Bandit,” one of the jeeps used in the TV show “Mash,” Evil Knievel’s first stunt motor cycle and a few other Hollywood items. We had dinner in the Gem Palace, built on the spot of the original Gem Palace that had been owned by Al Schweirgen (spelling?) who was the lead character in the HBO series “Deadwood.”

Since there’s so much to see in the area, we decided to stay there another night and headed out this morning for Badlands National Park. We keep thinking we’ve seen it all when suddenly something new turns up! The Badlands is a wide area of grassy plains with canyons, mesas, buttes, gorges, pinnacles and precipices all in muted colors. The whole place is pretty eerie and beautiful at the same time. Frank Lloyd Wright described is as “an indescribable sense of mysterious elsewhere…….an endless supernatural world more spiritual than earth but created out of it.” We saw a fabulous 20 minute movie about the park and the wildlife contained within it: lots of prairie dogs, ferrets, buffalo, pronghorn, colorful birds (we saw a magpie and a bluebird), big horn sheep and others.

As we drove the 31 miles through the park, we were struck by how similar but also very different the landscape is from others we’ve seen on this trip. The grasslands led right up to the edge of the gorges and were also evident along the base of the gorges and at the top of the mesas. Just as we were about to exit the park ,we encountered Prairie Dog Town. They were everywhere, sunning themselves, scurrying around and squeaking. What a sight! If you saw this in your backyard, you’d immediately call the exterminator but here, in the prairie grasslands, they’re right at home.

On our trip back to Deadwood we stopped at the world famous Wall Drug, started in the 30s using the gimmick of free ice water in an arid, hot area. It’s grown to an acre large emporium where the ice water is still free and coffee sells for five cents a cup. Like South of the Border in the Carolinas, it’s a tourist trap but has lots of Western “stuff,” much of it made in China!

Before arriving in Deadwood to call it a night, we drove the Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway (Route 14A), just off Interstate 90 and the plains and grasslands. We were, again, in another world: snow everywhere, a beautiful waterfall, Bridal Veil Falls, beautiful log cabin winter (and summer, I guess) homes, lots of deer, a meandering river with white water and gently glowing waters, high canyons and mountain tops. We keep waiting to see some elk but, so far, no dice! This is a winter recreation area, ski lift and all! This is Kevin Costner country; he owns a casino/restaurant near here and a lot of “Dances with Wolves” was filmed near here. Wonder if he owns one of these beautiful mountain homes in the Canyon?! We drove through the town of Lead, bigger than Deadwood and a rural ski resort town. Tomorrow we’re off to Mt. Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial before driving through Nebraska.

WOW..........Yellowstone!!!!

Liz and Ed: Glad you’re back in good health. Best of luck next Sunday in your ten mile race.

APRIL 20, 2008

Friday April 18, was mostly a travel day across the state of Idaho. We left Ontario OR and continued on the Oregon Trail, Route 20, to Sun Valley ID. Again we followed snow covered peaks and farmland in the valleys. The Saw Tooth Range is beautiful but desolate. We didn’t see many vehicles at all and actually saw a lot more cows than people. We saw another golden eagle perched atop a fence post; it’s always exciting to spot an eagle. We had to take a slight detour up Rt. 75 to go to Sun Valley. The approach to the resort area is full of new luxurious homes and beautiful farms. .Sun Valley is obviously a winter/summer resort, very upscale and lots of between season construction happening. The town of Hailey, just before Sun Valley, impressed us as a small town with appeal.

Back on Route 20 we had a “first:” a guy hiking along the road with hiking poles pulling a small trailer with all of his gear. Wonder if he was hiking the Oregon Trail. The road to Crater of the Moons National Monument was more of the same but the farms were definitely large ranches. As we approached Craters of the Moon we could see huge black lava fields in the distance. These lava fields were caused not by a volcano but by a fissure in the earth’s surface which spewed lava at certain hot spots. It was a unique sight with the black fields dotted with snow, unlike anything we’ve seen so far. The loop around the park usually opens in mid-April but was still closed because of the amount of snow that fell this year. It was cold and the wind was blowing at 40+ miles per hour. Uncomfortable but awesome. We spent the night at nearby Idaho Falls, a decent sized city on the approach to Yellowstone National Park.

We left Idaho Falls Saturday morning with a little trepidation. The weather report called for a spring snow storm in Wyoming and Montana so we weren’t sure what we’d be up against. But, onward!! Our goal was to see Yellowstone National Park and, hopefully, also Grand Tetons. We knew that some of the roads were not yet open so we headed for Yellowstone with hopes of then going south into the Grand Tetons. Route 20 out of Idaho Falls was a little dismal but we soon got back into the beautiful countryside we were used to. We headed up to the Targhee Pass and there was snow everywhere but the sky seemed to brighten a bit as we approached West Yellowstone MT. The snow on the side of the road got deeper and deeper until it was car high but the road itself was dry. We noticed replantings of lodge pole pines, each section had the year the trees were planted; it was interesting to observe the annual growth. At 7000 feet we once again crossed the Continental Divide just before the west entrance to Yellowstone.

Upon entering the park we learned that the southern entrance was not yet opened so that fact limited our access to the Grand Tetons. At that point, we had no idea that Yellowstone would take all day to traverse the limited number of opened roads. Even the roads we were on had only been opened the previous day. Obviously, there had been a lot of snow this season; as a matter of fact, there hadn’t been a winter like this one since 1995. Almost immediately we were amazed at the still evident effects of the 1988 fire that burned most of the western section of Yellowstone, the first established national park and the largest next to Alaska. Since the park was completely covered with snow, it was still breathtaking in spite of the devestation left by the fire. The park is definitely regenerating; there are lots of 1-2 foot trees poking up through the snow.

At the entrance, the ranger had told us that there had been numerous sightings of wildlife in the one day the road had been opened so we were anticipating various wild animals. All of a sudden, we came around a corner and encountered four huge bison in the middle of the road! Man, are they enormous! With large eyes and backs! As we slowly passed them, one of them was a foot from the car and totally unimpressed with us and was totally focused on eating whatever he could find! This was not the only time we had to stop the car for bison either standing in the middle of the road or loping down the center of the road. Next we saw some mule deer grazing at the side of the river which ran along the road and right after that a large animal with huge antlers; we’re not sure what it was! Then we started seeing large herds of bison grazing on flat plains with steam vents and hot pools of water.

When we got to Old Faithful, we waited about an hour and were treated to a classic eruption (it erupts about every 93 minutes). The steam and hot water shoot about 150 feet into the air for 2 to 3 minutes. An entertaining ranger gave an interactive talk about the formation of geysers and the history of Yellowstone. Under Yellowstone Park lies one of only 5 mega-volcanoes in the world. The last eruption was about 650,000 years ago and it erupts about every 700,000 years so if you want to see the park, go some time in the next 50,000 years!

The park ranger who spoke at Old Faithful told us that since there were 5 or 6 bison carcasses in the area, the bears had come out of hibernation….at this time of year they’re very hungry! Just after we left Old Faithful we saw another ranger pulled over to the side of the road and other people also stopped. So we stopped, took out the binoculars and, lo and behold, there, off in the woods, was a grizzly feeding on a carcass. He was hard to see with the naked eye but he WAS there!!! We were ecstatic to have had a sighting of a grizzly!

We retraced our steps on one of open roads and made our way to the Yellowstone River Canyon. We stopped at Grand View and, a short walk from the car, we came upon one of the most spectacular views of the trip. We did experience a little vertigo as we looked straight down over a thousand feet to the Yellowstone River flowing through the bottom of the canyon.. The colors were magnificent. As we drove along the Canyon Loop, we stopped at various lookouts but the best was at Uncle Tom’s view where we saw the Yellowstone falls roaring over the rocks.

The weather had turned very nice, sunny and warm, but we were still a little anxious about the impending snow storm and decided to leave Yellowstone by the North Entrance and make our way north to the closest interstate. On our way out, we passed more steam vents and surface hot water right next to the road. The sulphur odor was overwhelming! This section of the park had a different look, not as much snow, more mountainous and rocky. Even as we were leaving Yellowstone we had one last wildlife sighting by the side of the road; a trio of pronghorn was grazing in a field along the side of the road.

Yellowstone was utterly magnificent! We were fortunate to be there before the summer crowds even though some of the roads were still closed. It is a HUGE park with so much to see and do! If we were to recommend a national park for a week’s vacation, Yellowstone would be it! Hiking, wildlife viewing, rafting, fishing are all available. We tried, once again, to capture it all in photos but you have to be there in person to really appreciate the wonders of Yellowstone National Park.

After leaving Yellowstone, we proceeded north on Route 89 following the Yellowstone River. Gardiner MT, just at the North Entrance, looked like a nice little town and a great place to enter Yellowstone. Along Rt. 89 we were still treated to wildlife sightings and at one point we came to a complete stop because of mule deer in the middle of the road. What a beautiful road! Lots of cattle and horses along the valley surrounded in the distance by snow-capped mountains. Beautiful homes dot the hillsides! A bald eagle spread its wings and landed fifty feet from the car just as we drove by.

We turned east on Interstate 90 to head towards Billings MT. It had been a long day and, when we saw the Crazy Mountains and the town of Big Timber, we decided to stop and check it out. In the travel book “Road Food” there was a restaurant listed for Big Timber and it had a glowing report (it was Robert Redford’s favorite restaurant while shooting “The Horse Whisperer”). We decided to stay there, at the Grand Hotel, built in 1890, restored in the 1970s and located downtown. Our room was small but nicely redone, clean and modern. Dinner was downstairs and we were lucky to be there on prom night! What a view! There’s one high school in Sweet Water County, an area the size of Rhode Island, with 1700 residents. The kids looked and acted like any high schoolers; the girls were mature and well-mannered and the boys were just immature. We knew it was going to be a good local place to eat because the mayor of Big Timber and her family were seated at the table next to us! We both ate the local fare; Peter had local lamb and Connie had Montana buffalo tenderloin. Our meals were delicious1

Sunday morning we awoke to a dusting of snow and a temperature of 16 degrees! We went back down to the dining room, chatted with the owner, and, before we knew it, “Chef” (as the owner referred to her!) served us bacon, eggs and pancakes. We were offered just about every juice imaginable! Peter asked, kiddingly, if there were any more juices available and the owner replied that there was also Clamato juice which Peter thought was unusual for Montana. We left the Grand Hotel very pleased to have a chance to experience something other than a chain hotel. We’d return in a heart beat!

On the way to the Little Bighorn Battle National Memorial, still following the Yellowstone River, our fears were realized as we headed into a blinding snowstorm. Fortunately, we outran the storm and continued to Little Bighorn. When we got out of the car, we noticed that the car was covered with ice and we were VERY glad to be finished with that part of the trip. The area surrounding the battlefield is hauntingly beautiful with rolling prairies and rugged foothills. We drove through the Battlefield Park and stopped to view the landscape where the battle was fought. It was particularly somber because there are small white gravestones spread over a four mile area showing the exact spot where each soldier and Indian had died.

The weather was too “iffy” to take any back roads so we got back on the interstate and headed for Deadwood SD. Sure enough, within a few miles, we were again in the middle of a brief but blinding snowstorm. Eventually the weather became sunny and warmer as we headed through Wyoming, where the interstate is paved in red asphalt, and toward Deadwood SD, our destination for the day

HEADED EAST!

APRIL 18, 2008

We arrived at Matt and Leyla’s last Friday evening in time for Peter and Matt to drive to the airport to get John Mooney. Our stay at their new home was spectacular; we saw some incredible sights in the Portland area, met a couple of their friends, ate some fabulous food and enjoyed their company immensely. After John’s arrival, we relaxed on their new deck and then we all sat down for Leyla’s homemade turkey soup which really “hit the spot!” We went to bed fairly early in anticipation of a busy Saturday.

In the morning we packed a lunch and climbed into the mini-van that Matt had rented to make our travels in Portland extra comfortable. We headed for the Columbia Gorge, got off the main road in Mosier and went by a back road through cherry, pear and hazelnut orchards to arrive at Memaloose Outlook in Tom McCall Nature Preserve. We climbed Rowena Crest for our first hike of the day. The wild flower season was just beginning and the hills were covered with arrowroot leaf balsam root (yellow), desert parsley (green and purple) and avalanche lily (also, yellow) to name just a few. At about 500 feet, we stopped on a plateau to gaze at the view; the Columbia River and the mountains across the river in Washington. It was an unusually great day for April, blue sky, sun, warm temperatures; our luck with weather is continuing.

After lunch and a bit of relaxing and enjoying the sun and the scenery, we hopped back into the van and drove to Wahclella Falls for another short hike into the falls which were magnificent. We hiked along the river, climbed up to about 200 feet, encountered some small falls that flowed right by the trail which was bordered by a dense forest of huge Douglas fir trees. Everything was covered with thick moss and water was dripping from everywhere on the canyon walls. This is a coniferous rain forest and it sure had the look and feel of one. When we got to the base of the falls, the wind generated by the force of the water was swirling around and it got very cold and very damp. As you drive along the Columbia River Gorge, you see waterfalls everywhere but it was very special to be up close to one! After stopping at Bonneville Dam to see Herman the sturgeon (10 feet long, 55 years old!), we capped the day off with a walk to a new restaurant in Matt and Leila’s neighborhood where we had a great dinner that even included a very good brick oven pizza.

Sunday morning we packed the car for an overnight trip to the Oregon coast and did a little shopping at the the Portland street market. Before leaving town, we stopped at Matt and Leyla’s friend’s, Mary Dallas, to pick up Cooper, Mary Dallas’ dog and Leyla’s “goddog,” We drove to a little town called Oceanside where Matt and Leyla had rented a house high above the beach. On the way we stopped at Cape Meares for a quick tour of the lighthouse. At our beach house we marveled at the gorgeous view of the ocean, had a great lasagna dinner and some walked on the beach while others did the dishes. The weather was what you would expect the Oregon coast would be in April---cool, gray and misty. Matt and Leyla’s friend Denise who was biking the Oregon coast, was a welcome addition to our overnight excursion. And, of course, it was great fun having Cooper with us; John and Peter were in their glory!

On our way back to Portland on Monday, we drove along the three Capes Scenic Loop and stopped in Tillamook at the Blue Heron Creamery for lunch. Tillamook is the dairy and cheese center of the region and the restaurant had a wonderful array of cheeses. We cooked steaks on Matt and Leyla’s new grill and called it a night!

Tuesday morning we met Billy Norris, an old Beverly friend of Connie’s, for coffee in the Pearl section of Portland. Billy lives in this area which is quite near the river. We had a great hour reminiscing and “catching up!” Then we drove to the Ron Tonkin Gran Turismo Ferrari shop where Matt works. After lunch at a nearby Mexican restaurant, “our mechanic” changed the oil and checked over our car to make sure we were ready for the trip East.. That evening we went to “Justa Pasta” for dinner, a neat place with a wide array of pasta dishes!

On Wednesday we struck out on our own, following the Columbia River along its Oregon shoreline northwest to Astoria. In Astoria we spent a couple of hours at the fascinating Columbia River Maritime Museum. Outside, we saw a new pilot ship being christened, a two hundred ten foot Coast Guard cutter, an old pilot ship and a HUGE red nun buoy. Inside we saw a short movie depicting the Columbia and the danger of the bar here at the confluence with the Pacific. The exhibits were very interesting especially the one concerning the Tellamook Rock light station, now closed and used as a columbarium. We ended our day at Cannon Beach, a popular resort community with a cute downtown and a seven mile stretch of beach. Haystack Rock is its claim to fame.

Thursday morning we said goodbye to Matt and Leyla; what a great visit we had with them. They are wonderful hosts and we truly enjoyed out entire visit. Fortunately we’ll see them this summer and, hopefully, again, at Thanksgiving. We will miss them………..we’ll also miss the drive-thru espresso places which are EVERYWHERE!!!!

We started out on our return trip by retracing the original Oregon Trail from Portland. The weather was problematic and we were resigned to a trip back without any top down time. Boy were we wrong!!! About a hundred miles east of Portland the skies cleared and the temperature rose so when we got off the interstate we stopped and put the top down. The road we followed was route 20 through the Mt. Hood National Forest, the Cascade Mountains, the Warm Springs Indian Reservation, high desert, deep gorges and, finally, through the John Day Fossil Beds. We were mesmerized at the Painted Hills Unit where we viewed hummocks and hills in varying shades of red, pink, bronze, lavender, tan and black, many to a background of a turquoise lake. Truly fascinating to see these formations made 39 to 18 million years ago. The drive rivaled any we had been on to date! Further along we saw a true Oregon shoe tree----a leafless deciduous tree bedecked with hundreds of pairs of sneakers! Senior prank, maybe? The rest of our trip to the border was through lonely but beautiful farm land with loads of cattle. We ended the day in Ontario OR, just across the border from Idaho.

On the Road..........AGAIN!!!

Matt and Leyla: See you soon!!!
Mame: Our prayers for a BC WIN!!!!

APRIL 11, 2008

Our drive to the Osentons in the San Francisco Bay Area was pretty uneventful! We drove straight north on Interstate 5 through the smog and freeway system of LA. At one point we counted 5 levels of freeway as we went under the first one! We started traveling through farmland with fruit trees and cattle ranches; there was one feed lot with thousands and thousands of cattle. For the next hundred miles we followed a massive cement aqueduct used to irrigate all of the fruit trees and agricultural fields. The route to Tiburon was pretty simple although we got talking and admiring the scenery and didn’t hear Marilyn tell us to take a turn so we ended up going through downtown San Francisco at rush hour and crossing the Golden Gate Bridge! It is a classy way to enter Marin County!

Bill and Francine were ready for us with a spaghetti and meatball dinner after which we started our “Hand and Foot” tournament-----men vs. women. On Tuesday we traveled to Rachel and Larry’s by the scenic route through rolling hills and beautiful farmland including an olive farm. We had a great dinner at the Gradys in Petaluma where we admired their newly renovated home and enjoyed visiting with their family and also Jason and Lisa. Francine and Bill entertained the Flynn cousins (Patti Flynn Belleci and Russ and Diane Flynn-Fox and Alan), for dinner with a meal fit for a king! The Flynn girls are doing well and we caught up on all of their family news. One day for lunch we drove into San Francisco for lunch at A16, a pizzeria with a brick oven…….Peter thought the pizza was excellent! In our spare time, we continued the “Hand and Foot” four day tournament. We had some late nights (midnight!) and the Men, in the end, beat the Women 6 games to 4 games. We’ve scheduled a rematch for the fall! Heather Grady, one of Bill and Francine’s granddaughters, is currently living with them and going to high school at Marin Catholic. We loved getting to know Heather better and we were impressed with what a fine young lady she is. Our stay in Tiburon was relaxing and enjoyable but all too short!

We left Tiburon early this morning for, perhaps, the longest drive of our trip. It’s 644 miles to Matt and Leyla’s in Portland OR. Again we drove on the interstate since we had done the coast route a couple of years ago. The scenery on Interstate 5 was green, grassy and hilly between the Coast Range and the Sierra Nevadas. Along the way we saw lots of olive trees and fruit trees which are grown on farms in the area. Another great day to drive! A hundred miles before we arrived there, we could see snow-covered, majestic Mt. Shasta (in the Cascades) looming in the distance while we were driving along with the temperature in the high 70s. The most unforgettable sight on the trip was Shasta Lake. It is a beautiful blue color but the water level was obviously very low as we’ve seen in other reservoirs. And, Marilyn did redeem herself when she successfully led us to a drive-thru Starbuck’s just off the interstate.

We crossed into Oregon a little after two o’clock with a little over 300 miles to go to Matt and Leyla’s. John Mooney will join us for our stay in Portland; he’s due to arrive at 7:30 tonight on United Airlines after changing his ticket from American because his flight was canceled. He returns to Tampa on Tuesday on Frontier; hopefully they’ll still be flying!!! That’s it for now………………more to follow when we leave Portland on the 16th to begin our trip back to the East Coast via the Oregon Trail.

On the Road Again!

Sharon: we’d love to have you with us but there’s NO room in either the back seat or the trunk!

APRIL 7, 2008

We spent several days in the California desert with the Sextons and got to see all of the Scelsas for Uncle John Scelsa’s birthday celebration. Before leaving Las Vegas on April 1, we made a quick stop at the Liberace Museum; it was great fun to see all of his rhinestone studded cars, his piano collection and his array of elaborate even outlandish costumes. One of them had a cape made of pink turkey feathers decorated with butterflies!

On our way from Las Vegas to the Desert, we drove through the Mojave National Preserve which was pretty desolate. Bea had warned us to be sure to have a full tank of gas! Good thing we did; there was almost nothing along the way. We did see a tortoise crossing the road (but no hare nearby!). We stopped in Kelso at the renovated train station, now the visitor center for the Preserve. The ranger there told us that the next time we observed a tortoise on the road we should stop and help the tortoise to cross the road to avoid being hit by a car. There are still 27 freight trains a day that go through Kelso from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. Also, in Kelso, we saw the Kelso Dunes; it is so bizarre to see sand dunes out in the middle of nowhere! We were just ahead of the desert wild flower season but we could see that there were white and purple wild flowers budding. Also, lots of Joshua Trees.

As it became hotter and hotter, we saw a lake in the distance. The closer we got the more it was evident that the lake was dry; what we had thought was water was really salt deposits. Chloride is being mined here in the middle of the desert. The rest of the trip was hot, dry and dusty and, just as we saw a sign for a high wind area, we entered a valley where there were windmills as far as the eye could see. It was unbelievable, just miles and miles of white windmills lined up like soldiers. They added to the majesty of the hills upon which they stood!

Our stay in Indian Wells with Bea and Tom was a welcome respite from our weeks of driving. Once there, Tom did most of the driving and we gave Marilyn and the convertible a well deserved rest (more on Marilyn a little later!). We ate well, played a lot of cards (Connie and Bea were the winning team at the end of the tournament!), hiked in the Coachella Preservation along the McCallum Trail (the San Andreas Fault makes this a green oasis!), saw the simulcast of the Met production of “La Boheme” (Bea played Musetta in her college production of the same opera!), visited a gallery with Dale Chihuly glass sculptures like those he did for the Belagio, and met many of Bea and Tom’s friends. The weather was beautiful the whole time we were there although Bea complained from time to time about the wind. Whatever happened to the hearty girl from Iowa we had known so well! We discussed family, friends, politics and the general state of the world and reflected on our own good fortune. As usual, Bea and Tom’s hospitality was warm and generous. We got a good glimpse of how they now spend 6 months of the year in the California desert.

As mentioned before, this was the weekend of Uncle John Scelsa’s birthday. Uncle John and his wife Stella live a few miles from the Sextons. We first tried to see them on Friday night when most of the cousins were reuniting at the Dunes, a hotel in Bermuda Dunes where John and Stella live. We totally relied on Marilyn to get us there. Unfortunately, Marilyn doesn’t know about gated communities and she kept taking us to locked gates! We literally drove around Bermuda Dunes for the better part of an hour without finding the main gate and, finally gave up when all of the Scelsas were ready to call it a day!!! We did find them the next day for the birthday celebration at Mario’s Restaurant where more than 20 of us all toasted Uncle John and had a great time reminiscing and getting to know the newer generation of the Scelsa family. The Scelsas don’t often have the opportunity for all to get together since they come from the four corners of the country. It was fun for us to be a part of their reunion! We made multiple plans for a Giorgio/Scelsa reunion on Cape Cod and
all vowed to make it happen!

We’re off to San Francisco for a visit with the Osentons so it will be several days before we blog again. Until then………….

VIVA LAS VEGAS!

What actor occasionally stops in for a drink or two at this Route 66 joint?

Liz and Ed: Welcome home and, hopefully, back to good health!


MARCH 30, 2008

Time to leave Williams and the Southwest and trek on to Las Vegas and California. Instead of taking the interstate all the way to the Hoover Dam, we decided to take a loop of the “Mother Road,” Route 66, from Seligman (pronounced sligmun) to Kingman. What a great decision! The old 66 is a delight………….a lonely, peaceful two-lane highway through sleepy towns trying to keep the spirit of Old Rt. 66 alive, through pastureland and also through some of those renowned Burma-Shave ads that have several signs. They were a hoot! “If daisies are…………your favorite flower……………..keep pushing up……………your miles per hour!” Lots of tumbleweeds stuck in the roadside fences and some tumbling across the road. Five hundred acres for sale for $58.000….what a bargain! Coming into rocky and arid mountains, we approached the suburbs of Kingman. When we got to Kingman, we were surprised at its size but there was NO ONE around!! Maybe everyone was home enjoying a quiet, peaceful Sunday dinner!

On to Hoover Dam! On the approach on Route 93 N, we turned down a long, windy road and ended up at a beach on Lake Mead where we stopped for lunch. At Hoover Dam we were overwhelmed by the crowds in cars and walking across the dam. It was extremely windy but a beautiful day nonetheless. We parked, walked across the dam; it was hard not to notice how seriously the level of the water had receded. The original water line is many feet below the current level. There is a new road being built which will mean that vehicles will no longer cross the dam. The bridge over the canyon will be mammoth but may relieve some of the security issues; we went through police stops both approaching and leaving the dam.

Henderson, a suburb of Las Vegas, loomed ahead in the dust. It is a city of subdivision after subdivision on both sides of the highway, no trees, just brown house after brown house in brown dirt as far as the eye can see. Soon after, we arrived in Las Vegas and drove straight to the Silverton Lodge and Casino to check into our room. Great room, large with a sitting area and other amenities. We decided to chill, get room service and visit the casino that evening.


MARCH 31, 2008

This was our day to explore “The Strip!” After a late, great breakfast, we headed into Las Vegas, parked the car at the Belagio self-park log and began our tour. I was bowled over by the Belagio; we entered at the conservatory and the floral gardens, statues and live and glass flowers were something to behold. We wandered through the shops and casinos and went on to Caesar’s which was another opulent and magnificent site. The Forum Shops were unbelievable under the painted sky; the waterfalls and statues were so much like Rome. On to the Imperial Palace where Peter went to a Classic Car Museum and I went to the Venetian to see the Guggenheim/Hermitage art exhibit. There were only 35 paintings at the exhibit but they included some of my favorite Impressionist painters. After the Venetian we wandered over to Bally’s and then to Paris. I have to admit that my favorite was the Belagio but they were all incredible!

We had some R & R and a light dinner before heading out to see a show. After contemplating all of the shows that were available, we decided we wanted to see an old-fashioned Vegas review. So we went to the Tropicana to see “The Folies Bergeres” at 10 PM, the “adult” show. Our seats were so close that I was actually leaning on the stage. It was fantastic! There were lots of performers, beautiful sets and scads of “quick changes” into fabulous costumes with feathers, swinging capes, headdresses, etc. It was exactly what we’d had in mind and we left raving about everything in the performance!

Tomorrow we’re off to cross the Mojave Desert and then on to the Sextons in the California desert in Indian Wells. We’ll be taking a short hiatus from the blog; we’ll be back when we’re on our way to San Francisco on Monday, April 7.

THE GRAND GRAND CANYON!

Bea: We’ve also noticed lots of families and with we’d see more wildlife!
Gigi: You’re right! It was Butch Cassidy and the movie was “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Congrats! Gas prices have gone from a low of $3.13 to a high of $3.39 where it’s been for the past week. Peter’s the driver, Connie’s the navigator and Marilyn is our guardian angel.


MARCH 28, 2008

We awoke to another gorgeous day, blue sky, sun, and temperature in the upper 60s. We’ve said it before but it bears repeating………..we’ve certainly lucked out on the weather! It’s also time to introduce our newest piece of technology. Prior to a couple of days ago, Connie had been taking sketchy notes so we could relive our day on the blog. Peter decided there must be an easier way to do this so he purchased a digital recorder. We’ve mastered this piece of equipment so now we note everything we pass on the recorder and use it to write our blog entries either on the road from one place to another or in the evening as we’re putting the finishing touches to the day’s posting.

We had coffee on a terrace in Sedona but the hordes were still there……..it’s definitely not the time of year to be a tourist here! Before exiting Sedona we averted a near tragedy:………couldn’t find the camera! So we pulled over, searched the car, our pockets, and our bags before finally finding it when we put the top up. It was folded in the convertible top! Phew!! Peter had left it on the roof when getting into the car and then putting the top down.

As we drove along another scenic route we’d read about, Red Rock Scenic Road AZ 179, we encountered construction and traffic and although the views were spectacular it wasn’t up to the level we expected…………..just too crowded! From AZ 179 we wended our way via interstate 17, through Flagstaff and up the other side of Humphrey’s Peak. Marilyn again saved us as we had to find our way through Flagstaff to AZ 180, the back way up to the Grand Canyon through the San Francisco Mountains. We did make one quick stop in Flagstaff to take a picture of the San Francisco de Assis Church with its pink gargoyles. We climbed to 8000 feet, went through two National Forests where we observed some forest fire damage and even passed a pickup truck, the first vehicle Peter has passed!!!! Lunch was another picnic at the side of the road amidst all of this fabulous scenery.

As we approached the Grand Canyon, we stopped at the National Geographic Visitor Center to see an IMAX film on the history of the Grand Canyon. Great movie, well worth seeing, a great introduction to the park!! Our park pass didn’t work at National Geographic but it did when we entered the Grand Canyon where the regular admission is $25 per car.

The Grand Canyon, as we expected, was very congested; we had a hard time finding a parking place along the rim and finally parked with others along the road. It was Connie’s first glimpse ever of the Grand Canyon and she was absolutely speechless! The height, the depth, the breadth, the colors, the majesty, the contours were totally breathtaking. When you stop to contemplate the awe that the first explorers must have experienced upon their initial view, it’s almost incomprehensible; the beauty, the grandeur, the ruggedness; how to get across, how to get down one side and up the other, how to navigate the rapids…….too much!!

We walked a little bit along the rim trying to see everything and feeling overwhelmed. There must have been a French tour going on because every other person was speaking French, the first French we’ve heard on this trip! There were lots of folks around also trying to take in everything; lots of Asians, lots of families, many tourists our age. After our short walk, we decided to head for Williams AZ, 54 miles away, where we had booked a room. It’s hard to find a place to stay any nearer that’s affordable. In Williams we had dinner at the renowned Rod’s Steak House, opened in 1946 along the then prosperous Route 66. Interstate 80 has replaced most of Route 66 in this area although Williams still touts its Route 66 heritage.


MARCH 29, 2008

For some reason this morning was a time of several incoming and outgoing phone calls, mostly family stuff. We finally got to Old Smokey’s just across the street from our motel for a big breakfast to start the day. Like Rod’s last night, the restaurant has been in Williams since the mid 40s and like Rod’s is a Route 66 institution. Both of these great eating places were mentioned prominently in ROADFOOD, a book Kathleen and Mike gave Peter for his birthday.

On our way back to the Grand Canyon, we stopped at the Planes of Fame. Peter toured the museum while I did some blogging. It was fairly small but very interesting at least for an aviation buff. Back on the main road, we were surprised at the lack of traffic; we figured a Saturday would be extremely busy. The cars and RVs we saw entering the park as we were leaving yesterday must have been full of weekend campers! Yesterday we went to Mather Point so today we decided to try Yavapai Point.

We walked about half a mile to the rim……………and there IT was again!!! Wow!!!! Did I say “WOW!” yesterday, too? Then we walked about a mile to the point, stopping along the way to ogle the Canyon. Like yesterday, we were overwhelmed with the magnificence and grandeur. We walked out on the rocks at the edge of Yavapai Point and the canyon walls and sat quietly for quite a while just taking it all in. A couple from Toronto was sitting near us and told us they’d been here many times just to enjoy the canyon and occasionally to hike the canyon. They were full of National Park information since they’ve been doing the parks of the Southwest for many years. When asked if there was one viewing point they thought was the best, they replied by asking if there was one view on Cape Cod we thought was the best!

Back in the car, we drove to Grandview Point for another perspective of the canyon (On the way we spotted a coyote along the side of the road. We never tire of seeing wildlife!). This was the site of the first hotel, built for the first tourists from Flagstaff who rode a stagecoach for 12 hours (Flagstaff is 70 miles away1) With the coming of the train further along the canyon, the hotel proprietor began mining copper down in the canyon. With the binoculars we could make out the remnants of the mine. Here, again, as yesterday, there were many French tourists……….Grand Canyon must be a big draw for the French or is it the dollar? But, we do wonder what’s happening to tourism in France and elsewhere in Europe.

Well, we couldn’t absorb any more! We headed back to Williams, did a little window shopping, had some dinner and called it a day……………. but what a day it was. What better way to end a trip around the National Parks of the Southwest than with the King of the Parks! This is Peter’s third visit to the Grand Canyon and he still can’t believe it!

ON TO SEDONA ARIZONA!!

The above is a picture taken of the train we took in Durango, CO. It was used in a scene in a movie when a famous outlaw jumped from the rocks onto the roof of the train. We mentioned his name in a previous blog. Does anyone know who he is?

Mame: It HAS been a trip of a lifetime!
Anonymous: The Senior Pass “rocks!”


MARCH 27, 2008

This was to be mainly a driving day to get us close to the Grand Canyon. Little did we know what was in store for us. We left Hurricane UT at a decent hour and, still taking scenic back roads, we headed for Page AZ and Lake Powell on UT 59……..another beautiful day, no rain since Fort Stockton TX. We zigzagged into Arizona and then back into Utah and turned south on Route 89 toward Page AZ. The scenery was still magnificent and some of the towns seemed to be prospering with new housing developments. We continued to see cell phone towers but the service does get spotty when going into the mountains. Along the road we did continue to see a few random small areas filled with old cars, trucks and machinery……….doesn’t seem as though there are as many zoning restrictions around here as we’re used to having.

Bits of Lake Powell soon emerged in the distance, the blue water an amazing contrast to the red rock canyons. We approached the Glen Canyon Dam and pulled off the road for a better view. At the visitor center we had to go through a metal detector, Peter had to be patted down and I had to take my back pack back to the car; it was more extensive security than we’ve seen at many airports. The view of the dam from the visitor center was spectacular. The river water is a brilliant green before the dam and a deep blue on the other side. The town of Page was built in the 50s to support work for the dam and is now a thriving community; it even has a brand new Walmart and a lush, green golf course, all in the middle of red, ragged, rugged rocks (how’s that for alliteration!). Just outside of Page we encountered a police officer rounding up a couple of cattle that were loose on the road!

We soon entered the Navajo Nation Indian Reservation, the whole upper northeast corner of Arizona, about the size of West Virginia. After passing through more canyons and prairies and mountains, we descended into an isolated arid desert area with canyons still visible but very far away. After passing several outdoor Native American souvenir shops, we stopped at one that was open and spoke with a lovely Native American lady selling jewelry made by her niece. We ended up getting several items among them a beaded bracelet for me and I love it! Rainah (spelling?) said that it takes her niece “a lot, a lot” of hours to make each bracelet.

Our next stop was Tuba City, the oldest trading post in the reservation; it’s now the largest city in the reservation. There was a lot of construction going on in the city, all fenced off with many houses boarded up………….what’s happening? We did stop at a very nice trading post chock full of Native American goods. In the trip back to AZ 89 we glimpsed a part of the Painted Desert.

The scenery still kept changing but always with the snow-capped San Francisco Mountains in view, especially Humphrey’s Peak, the highest in Arizona. On a lark we decided to backtrack a bit and drove to into Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument. Just when we thought we’d seen it all we entered an area where a volcano had erupted in the early 11th century. We were surrounded by a black volcanic landscape; the mountains are bare but black with sparse patches of low growth………..amazing! We traveled along the road toward the Wupatki National Monument and went from lava covered mountains back to an arid desert landscape called the Saltbush Desert covered with soft, warm grasses. We even got a bonus view of the Painted Desert; but because the sun was shining directly on it, the colors were a little washed out but beautiful nevertheless. Peter commented, “There’s nothing like having the top down, late in the day, a good road with beautiful scenery and a beautiful woman beside me.” The whole area looked like what you would see in an old cowboy movie! We even came to an area named Antelope Valley and wondered if this was where “the deer and the antelope roam.” What a serendipity to wander into an area so different from everything else we’ve seen so far………….another “must see!”

Back on track on AZ89 we ended the day with a 30 mile drive to Sedona through Oak Creek Canyon. Once again the road had hairpin turns along canyon walls as we descended to Oak Creek where there were many campsites. And just like that, the canyon walls turned red once again with many prominent sandstone formations. It was a spectacular drive into cute, artsy and crowded Sedona. Apparently this week, the week after Easter, is one of the busiest for this resort. Lucky us!

SO LONG, UTAH!

Here are some more pictures that show the diversity of the scenery we are driving through every day.


MARCH 26, 2008

So……….I misdated yesterday’s blog………yesterday was March 26 but I was describing March 25!!! Anyone catch me?

In any case, we left Tropic later than we had intended. The service in Clark’s restaurant was slow………..the waitress said they were waiting for the water to boil for Connie’s soft-boiled egg!!! It IS harder to boil water at a high altitude but that was a pretty lame excuse! Our first excursion of the day was a trip back into Bryce Canyon; although the entrance fee is $25, we could afford to enter two days in a row since we get in FREE!!!! The hoodoos were as spectacular during the daylight as they were at sunset. The amphitheater glowed with all of the castles and gardens in salmon, red and gold. We took a short hike from Sunset Point to Sunrise Point where we could see deeper into the amphitheater. Again we were amazed at the sight of these unique sandstone formations. Peter stopped for a bit to take it all in with the binoculars and commented that this, although hard for him to say, was probably the single most awesome sight so far. Connie decided that yesterday’s drive through the national parks, along Scenic Byway 12, through several national parks and into the Bryce Canyon amphitheater was the most awesome day so far.

Leaving Bryce we continued on Scenic Byway 12 toward Zion National Park. We put the top down, drove through Red Canyon, through red stone arches along the canyon wall: red, red, red!!!! Every time we came around a corner we wanted to stop and take a picture but it’s impossible to capture what we see, especially with our inadequate camera. We turned on UT 89 and saw another convertible with its top down, probably only the third one we’ve seen with the top down…….they don’t know what they’re missing! Believe it or not, on this 65 mph two lane road we were passed by a HUGE Japanese tour bus. We’ve noticed lots of foreign tourists, mostly German and Asian. Given the state of the dollar, traveling in the US is a heck of a bargain these days.

Along this drive we passed through several small towns where the speed limit dropped from 65mph to 35mph. Sure enough, we saw the sheriff waiting at the middle of each town, looking for speeders. In a red convertible, with out of state plates, you have to be very careful to observe the speed limits.

Near the entrance to Zion we passed a herd of buffalo grazing in a field. In the park we drove through some HUGE canyons, a thousand plus feet above us, with striated and weathered walls on each side of the road. Before paying the entrance fee ($25 dollars per car, free for us!) the road changed to the same dark red color of the canyon. Peter commented that it was just as beautiful as he remembered. We pulled off the road, took our blanket, found a spot on the rocks and had our lunch while taking in all of the surroundings.

Approaching the mile-long tunnel built in the 1930s when cars were much smaller, we stopped dead! The large RVs and tour buses have to be escorted through the tunnel because of its size. We didn’t mind waiting; it gave us more time to observe the area. The tunnel is completely dark inside but every .2 mile there was a large opening on one side with a view of the canyon; the only tunnel we’ve ever been in that had windows! As we exited the tunnel we were again surrounded by canyon walls that went straight up a thousand or more feet. We parked at the visitor center to catch the shuttle because cars are not allowed in the main part of the park.

Zion was by far the most crowded national park we’ve encountered this whole trip. It was school vacation week and there were lots of families vacationing there. The double shuttle had people on and off constantly at each stop. The bus itself was fine but we missed the open convertible; it was impossible to see some of the canyon tops from the bus window. We did manage, however, to see two climbers in the second day of a three day climb (they climb about 400 feet a day). The surroundings were very spectacular but it felt crowded and busy and didn’t seem as serene. In the other parks we felt like we needed to whisper because of the natural beauty and aura. In Zion it was all hustle bustle!

We decided to knock off early and stayed in nearby Hurricane UT to do a little laundry get caught up on some chores and get to bed early. Tomorrow we're off to Sedona, Arizona.

A NATIONAL PARK BONANZA!

We have two Mimis in our family. Which Mimi is running which business in her other life?

Suz: We like your title, literally or whatever. And we DO need to watch “Cars!”
Pete M: We look forward to following your recommendations. We’ll be in WY after we leave Portland.

MARCH 26, 2008

Today, we decided early, would be a day of reflection. Little did we know that the sights we’d see would lend themselves so readily to thoughtful consideration. Connie started the day with the best latte of the trip, not at a Starbuck’s but at a local, drive-through expresso stand. Anyway, we’d run out of adjectives and superlatives about everything we’ve seen; we even thought of accessing an online thesaurus! Then we entered Canyonlands National Park, once again saving the cost of the entrance fee and once again driving through a national park with the top down on another perfect day.

This park is the compilation of everything we’ve seen already in the Southwest. We drove through the high desert where cows were grazing on the grasslands right next to the road and where we could see snow-capped mountains a hundred miles on the horizon in all directions. There was the Colorado Plateau, river-carved red rock canyons, immense mesas, and sandstone buttes. Help! We need the thesaurus NOW!!! Canyonlands also includes the Colorado River to the east and the Green River to the west; the two rivers meet in the middle of the park at one of the greatest river confluences in the Southwest. One guidebook describes the park as “mesmerizing and nearly incomprehensible in its extent and complexity.” How can we compete with that description! Most of the park has to be explored in four wheel drive vehicles; there are over a hundred miles of back country dirt roads so we’ll have to return with our Jeep. We had thought it might be more of the same but little did we imagine that it would be more of EVERYTHING!

Throughout our trip we’ve seen contrails of jets flying at 30,000 feet some even crisscrossing each other. How many times we’ve seen America from one of those jets!!! It’s such a totally different perspective and so much more interesting to drive through all of the areas we’ve only seen from 30,000 feet. And we’re not even seeing anywhere near all it. We’ve also noticed lots of cyclists on the roads in the national parks. It looks like these would be great bike rides but, given the hills, pretty tough. Yesterday we followed one cyclist coming down a long hill as we left Arches. We were doing 45 mph and he was staying well ahead of us even in the hair-pin turns. It was his reward for having climbed that hill earlier in the day.

Another good way to see these parks would be on motorcycles. At the hotel this morning we met a group of motorcyclists from Canada—all men and all our age who were doing a 4000 mile tour of the Southwest. They had done many of these trips before and looked like they were good old buddies! We thought packing and unpacking our car every day was a chore until we witnessed how carefully each cyclist had to pack his gear. Peter especially liked them because they complimented him on his car and said that next to a motorcycle, a convertible would be the next best way to see the world.

Would you believe that the scenery completely changed again several times as we headed toward Bryce Canyon National Park on UT 24 to Utah 12? UT 24 was long, straight and pretty much lonely……..there were few vehicles and no towns!!! At one point Connie’s hat blew onto the road; Peter did a U turn, picked it up, did another U turn and continued on……….no one saw us and we saw no one for miles! The speed limit was 65 mph and as we came around a corner just after Hanksville (pretty grim), there were 5 or 6 big bulls walking down the road! We almost came to a full stop before they sauntered over to the side of the road! Between the rocks, the wildlife, the tumbleweeds and the cattle you really have to watch yourself on these high speed back roads. Every time we came around a curve we saw sheer rock canyons, mesas, buttes and sandstone rock formations. It turns out that Butch Cassidy and his gang hid in these canyons; it’s not hard to see why he hid here because without this road, it would be very hard to find anyone or anything. The road has sheer canyon walls on each side which we could see very well with the top down.

We approached Canyon Reef National Park and saw fruit groves that had been planted by the early Mormon settlers. We stopped to see the crude but interesting drawings that had been carved into the canyon walls by early Native Americans. Next to a carving of a big horn sheep, “Marie” had carved her name………more graffiti!!! We passed the remnants of the early Mormon settlement, everything fairly well preserved, and stopped at a historic farm where an ancestor of the original Mormon settler sold us some home made ice cream.

In Torrey we turned onto UT 12, aka Highway 12 Scenic Byway, one of 27 nationally designated All-American Roads. It starts at the entrance to Capitol Reef National Park, winds through the Dixie National Forest, over Boulder Mountain, through the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and finally ending at Bryce Canyon National Park. We had both read about this road and had decided to do it regardless of its rigor. At the funky Flute Shop in Torrey, Peter told the proprietress we were “taking our time” on our trip. She said that was obvious, “You wouldn’t be on this road if you were in a hurry!” Again, we met a very nice young couple who had been canoeing and fishing at Lake Powell and we enjoyed exchanging travel stories. The vista where we had our chat was unbelievable……..8000 feet, snow around us and a view over the cliffs and canyons “to die for!” Traveling further, we reached 10,000 feet and saw snow covered meadows.


The most amazing sight in the Grand Escalante-Staircase National Monument was the road across the ridge at the very top of the canyons on both sides. It was very narrow and, once again, no guard rails. The wind was howling as we stood on the ridge on either side of the road looking down at least 1000 feet. Apparently as I took Peter’s picture, a raven was hovering about 2 feet above my shoulder………..good thing I didn’t know! Is that a sign of something? Further on, Peter spied a golden eagle feeding on some road kill at the side of the road. We stopped to get a picture, the eagle flew to a fence post as if he was posing and, as Peter was readying the camera, another car drove by and scared the eagle away. A school bus drove by and we wondered how far kids who live out here have to travel to get to school.

After meandering in and out of the Dixie National Forest and passing through the town of Tropic, we arrived at Bryce Canyon National Park. We had read that this park is particularly spectacular at sunset so, instead of finding a motel for the night, we entered the park and drove to Sunset Point. What we saw was an amphitheater carved into the face of a plateau and filled with hoodoos, “fancifully eroded pillars of rock.” They were every shade of red, pink, orange; it looked like a fairyland full of castles. Many people were sitting on top of rocks, meditating; we felt like we had to whisper! WOW!! So much to see and so much to say!

Back in Tropic we stayed America’s Best Value Inn and Suites, next to Clark’s Market, Clark’s Restaurant and Clark’s Gas………….we think Clark owned the motel, too. In any case it was great from dinner to the room to breakfast. Thanks, Clark!

March 24th

These photos give an overview of the varied landscapes we’ve seen so far on our trip. Amazing, isn’t it?

MONDAY, MARCH 24, 2008

We got a fairly early start out of Durango in 29 degree weather and another gorgeous day. Drove on Rt. 550 north up into the San Juan Mountains toward Silverton and the Million Dollar Highway. Throughout the trip we’ve been having great difficulty describing the unbelievable vistas and scenery we drive through; today proved to be even more difficult. After climbing to 10,000 feet on a winding road surrounded by snow-covered mountains (the snow at the side of the road was as high as a car!) we descended into the valley where the town of Silverton is located. Silverton is an old mining town with one paved street, the main street, and snow everywhere; people were hardly even shoveled out! Today the town is mostly for skiers who go to the nearby Silverton Ski Resort.

We continued on Rt. 550 out of Silverton and climbed to 11,000 feet at Red Mountain Pass. As we drove we could see many back-country ski tracks and snowmobile tracks. It was a smooth road with many switchbacks but hardly any guard rails. We descended down through the Uncompahgre Gorge. The road hugged the mountainside and the views were incredible. We again had to be careful of rock slides because, apparently in the spring, when the ice on the canyon walls melts, it dislodges the rocks which then fall onto the road. We went through a couple of tunnels and descended into the town of Ouray, a bigger, better laid out town than Silverton. Actually there was less snow here and all of the streets were plowed! We stopped at Box Canyon Waterfalls but the falls were completely frozen with icicles, drove through town, and stopped at the hot springs and were disappointed because of the commercialism. This was the end of the Million Dollar Highway but we thought it was worth a billion!

Still on Rt. 550, we left Ouray, climbed up to a plateau where there was much less snow, with lots of ranches with cattle and horses. The scenery changes often and dramatically. Next it was rugged, red, rocky mountains. We turned onto Rt. 62 and then Rt. 145 as we drove along the San Miguel River up into the San Miguel Gorge and stopped for a picnic lunch; it had warmed to about 55 degrees so we put on our jackets and put the top down! We had to stop twice while road crews cleared rocks from the road. The road climbed up to the Uncompahgre Plateau, meandering through the sleepy towns of Norwood, Redvale, Naturita and Bedrock (we didn’t stop to see Wilma and Fred!). We crossed into Utah on Rt. 46 and immediately the landscape was much more arid. Still spectacular views! Once again we were headed toward snow-capped mountains in the distance on a road that was straight as far as the eye could see. Arrived in Moab, got a motel room for the night and headed for Arches National Park

Arches was different from everything we’d already visited. Magnificent red rock structures of all shapes and heights, pointed pinnacles, 2000 natural arches, one of the greatest concentrations of these structures anywhere on earth. The arches stand amid a high desert that ranges from 4000-6000 feet in elevation. Peter named one group of pinnacles “The Three Wise Men!” We took a couple of short hikes and stood beneath one of the larger arches to try to get some sense of the scale of all of these structures. The weather was now 80 degrees in the sun but with the cool dessert breeze. As we drove through the park we commented to each other that it was next to impossible to take it all in!!! We read in a guide book that Arches was given a 5+ rating and we completely agree.

The combination of our drive through the mountains and our tour of Arches National Park made for another spectacular day! We keep saying this; it’s a can’t miss trip!!