Homeward Bound: Nevada City, CA 6/27/08

We got up really early this morning raring to go! It was great to hang out in Zion for 3 days and get a chance to relax, but I was ready to be on the move again. At 8:15 we turned on the engine, fired up the ol’ girl and…she wouldn’t shift out of park. Mmmm. After futzing with it for awhile Ned decided to call our hero, Rick, in Macon, GA. If you recall, he checked us out a couple of weeks ago and gave us the thumbs up. Well, he remembered us right away and even better yet knew exactly what the problem was. Apparently, VW has a recall on a “brake light safety switch” thingy and he told us how to trick the engine into gear. It was kinda funky, but it worked! So at about 8:45 we roared out of Zion and headed for Kolob Canyon, the north part of the park. We only stayed for a few minutes and decided to keep moving. Our next stop was Great Basin National Park, the least visited park in the U.S. We got there about 12:00, took a lap thru the visitors center and just weren’t feeling the love. (By this time we were pretty much done with desert landscape.) Our camping spot for the night was just up the road outside of Ely, NV. We drove in, looked at each other, and both said, “Let’s go home.” It just felt like the right thing to do. We knew it was going to be a L-O-N-G ride home, about 12 hours all together, but we didn’t relish the thought of waking up tomorrow and driving thru more desolate landscape on the “Loneliest Road in America”, Highway 50. So, to pass the time we decided to put together our stats and list of bests. Here goes: And of course, the best traveling buddy EVER my hubby, Ned. You’d think that after 9,000 miles, and being together 24x7 for 35 days we would be sick of each other. Au contraire, I’m more in love than ever. He’s not only the funniest person I know, but the best ever at solving problems, remaining calm and always up for an adventute. Thank you Mom & Dad for keeping an eye on the place and thanks to our friends for keeping in touch. It’s good to be back home! (10:30 pm)

Family Reunion: Zion National Park, UT 6/26/08

We had another relaxed low-key day in Zion. We got up the usual mid-morning, rode our bikes into town and hung-out at an espresso café. They have a great internet connection and we were able to upload the blog easily. It was so pleasant that we stayed for quite awhile munching on muffins and getting caught up on the news. I was wondering how all the wildfires were doing in Nevada County and was relieved to hear that they were mostly under control. (Hope that’s true and not just what was reported in the news). By this time things were beginning to heat up so we thought we would explore some new swimming holes. I don’t know what changed overnight, but yikes, the water was freezing this morning! Our last swim was the night before, maybe 12 hours earlier(?) and I swear it felt great then. We kept trying different spots but the water didn’t get any warmer. We finally decided that the best way to get cleaned up was to go back to the campsite and take showers/wash hair using the outdoor shower on Winnie. (We were sure trying our best to look presentable for the family get together this afternoon). It felt great to finally wash our hair and soap up. The funny thing is just when I finished washing my hair our water ran out! Hard to believe we’ve run thru that much water in just a couple of days. Fortunately, the campground makes it easy to refill up. The rest of the afternoon was taking naps and reading trash magazines, (again thank you Megan. I LOVE that you now work for Entertainment Weekly. The only problem is that Ned and I are too old and too out of it to know who most of the “celebrities” are in the magazines…) We finally met up with Polly and Eric at the Visitors Center at about 3:00. It was WONDERFUL to see them. (Nancy we really missed you. It would have been great fun to have all of us together). We thought there was some symmetry in that we saw Polly & Eric at the beginning of our trip and now seeing them again towards the end. We had a fun afternoon visiting the Human History Museum, taking the tram up the canyon and having dinner and drinks at the lodge. (See photo). Afterwards, Eric and Polly stopped by our campsite and checked out our set-up. It was quite fun having “company” at our humble abode. They are just beginning their road trip – happy trails to you both! Afterwards, Ned & I rode our bikes into town to stock up on drinks for the ride across the desert tomorrow. We also wanted to post the picture as soon as possible so Nancy could see it. We are almost home (2 days) – looking forward to getting together with friends and family. I’ve missed you guys! P.S. Hoping to throw a big barbeque on July 5th for Ned’s birthday. If you’re reading this – you are invited. (Do you think the Mayor of Ville Platte will come? Come on down y’all, we’d love to show you our neck of the piney woods).

Lazy Days of Summer: Zion National Park, UT 6/25/08

Today was one of those perfect summer days. We got up about 9ish, made coffee, hung out for a bit and then decided to ride our bikes into town to find an internet connection. The wind had kicked up a bit last night, enough to really cool things down this morning. It felt great to go for a spin before the heat of the day made the ride unbearable. Because we are in a remote location and in a canyon, it was a bit tricky finding a reliable internet connection. We stopped by several motels and coffee shops before we found one that would allow me to upload our picture and blog from yesterday. By the time we finished it was close to noon, we hadn’t eaten anything yet today and were starving. We rode back to the campsite and decided to make our first official pancakes of the trip. For the record, they were blueberry and scrumptious! We hopped on our bikes again and rode along the Pa’rus Trail that parallels the Virgin River. We found the perfect swimming spot and spent the next hour or so just swimming and playing in the cold river. It felt marvelous. We so appreciate a nice cool swimming hole. One thing that was hard to get used to in the South were all the really warm and muddy lakes – and find one without gators! Ned suggested we hop on a shuttle and head up the canyon to do the Narrows Riverwalk. What a great suggestion. We spent 3 or 4 hours on this adventure. (See photo of us as we start up the Narrows). After a mile hike on a paved trail there is a set of stairs that lead into the river. The walls of the canyon become narrow and it is so much fun to walk up the river, over rocks and thru the fast current. At some points the river was up to about my mid-drift. This is a very popular activity in the park and we had a great time watching the human masses. I would say the majority of the people were visiting from other countries (Sweden, Germany, Japan, Italy) and it was very entertaining to see their different styles of negotiating the trek. Our favorite was the group of older Swedes, at least in their mid-70’s, who took on this hike with great earnestness and vigor. They were dressed from head to toe in long sleeve pants and shirts, floppy hats, scarves tied around their neck, all with matching walking sticks. They were determined to venture up the river as far as they could go. Meanwhile, Ned and I were wearing swim suits, carrying improvised walking sticks, stopping frequently to swim, and taking a break to munch on sandwiches at the bend in the river. These old guys were definitely showing us up! We eventually headed back to the visitor center, disembarked from the shuttle, hopped on our bikes and rode into town in search of liquor. (All in all, we rode about 13 miles today). One of the more annoying aspects of Utah is that it is really hard to find “adult beverages”. Ned finally settled on a great beer called “Polygamy Porter”. The tag line on the bottle says “Why have just one” and “Bring some home for the wives!” HA. I finally settled on ice tea – sigh. Back at the campsite, I took a nap in the hammock, Ned made us omelets for dinner and then we decided to go for another swim in the river before heading off to bed. It’s great because it stays light to well after 9. Was this a perfect day or what?! Tomorrow we meet up with Polly and Eric. I guess this means we are going to have to find a way to get cleaned up for company.

National Park Tour: Zion National Park, UT 6/24/08

We got up pretty early this morning (6:30ish), had breakfast on the picnic table outside of our funky motor lodge and then headed for the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. I really enjoyed being in the higher elevation among all the pine trees again. It reminded me of home and I realized, once again, how much I love living in Nevada City. We arrived at the visitor center about 9:00 and had a great time just hanging out and taking in the vibe of the place. We tried for a camping spot in the park, but were told that everything was booked solid. So, we decided to just hang out for awhile, go on a couple of short walks, scope out the views and visit the lodge. (See one of the few joint photos of us taken overlooking the canyon). It felt great to be in the cool mountain air once again. Knowing that we needed to set up camp somewhere tonight, we decided to venture on to Zion National Park. It was a gorgeous drive thru the mountains, down into a desert valley and entering into the Eastern side of Zion. Wow, the drive thru the park completely knocked our socks off! We were fortunate to get a camping spot in the park and decided to just hang out for 3 days! The challenging aspect will be no showers or electricity. We spent the rest of the day and early evening exploring Zion. This included visiting the Canyon Visitor’s Center, watching a movie at the Zion Human History Museum, and taking the shuttle thru the whole park. We were particularly interested in scoping out all the areas for biking, swimming and seeing if the lodge would be a fun place to have dinner with Polly & Eric when they arrive on Thursday. By the time we got back to the campsite it was a little after 8. It’s definitely hot here. It reached 98 degrees today and we are hoping that it will cool down this evening. The first thing I did upon returning to the campsite was put on my bathing suit. I figure that I will be living in my suit and t-shirt for the next 3 days. Ned just fired up the barby & I’m drinking a “bottled” margarita. Geez, it feels good to be settled in.

Making It Up as We Go: Lee’s Ferry Lodge, AZ 6/23/08

This is Ned again, taking my occasional turn as blog scribe. The sun woke us up this morning at 6 a.m. and we got up at 6:30, eager to explore the canyon on our bikes before the sun warmed things up too much. After breakfast, we drove Winnie down to the visitor center, and started our bike tour of the Chaco ruins. We almost had the place to ourselves. Walking around the ruins, especially Pueblo Bonito, was really magical. Having first visited here about 15 years ago, I am still amazed with the intricacy of the stonework. We both marveled at being able to walk through some of the actual rooms in the pueblo, with their very low doorways (actually, almost perfect height for Debi), and try to imagine what it would have been like to live here about 1000 years ago. About 10:30, having logged 10 miles on our bikes, we were ready to attempt our exit from Chaco over the dreaded 16 miles of washboard road. Rather than repeat the disaster of the night before, we stowed the bikes inside the van. With Debi praying the whole way, and me driving like an old lady (35 mph on our way in and 15 mph on our exit), we mercifully made it to the paved road after a very long hour without losing any parts or bikes. We made several comments for the rest of the day regarding the amazing technological marvel of asphalt roads. We drove to Farmington, a very large city seemingly supported by an economy associated with the creation and maintenance of oil wells and natural gas fields. The upside of this was that we were quickly able to locate an auto parts store where I purchased some very long stainless hose clamps. I set up shop in front of a nearby motel that offered free Wi-Fi, so that Debi could upload her blog and support her political junkie habit. After about 30 minutes of futzing, and only one failed attempt, I was successful in getting the mysterious smog control canister reattached to the frame of the van, where I trust it will stay for the duration of the trip. After stopping for gas, and getting an impressive amount of black grease washed off of my hands, we headed down the road towards the Grand Canyon. We drove past lots of very wide open landscape, most of which is in the Navajo Nation in the northeast corner of Arizona. Our plans were rather vague at this point, and upon reaching the fork in the road of Highway 89 reading “Grand Canyon, South Rim / North Rim”, we chose North Rim! Neither of us has ever been there, it is considered “the road less traveled”, and it is closer to Zion, where we are planning to meet Polly and Eric on Thursday afternoon. We drove past dramatic multi-colored cliffs, under fluffy white clouds, until we arrived at the Navajo Bridge, which crosses the Colorado River right at the beginning of Marble Canyon, just upstream from the Grand Canyon. Having not had showers or electric power the night before, and uncertain of the prospect of a campsite with showers tonight, we pulled into a funky little Route-66 vintage cabin motor lodge, called Lee’s Ferry Lodge. We decided to have a picnic dinner in front of our room with our leftover wine, cheese, bread, apples, and brownies. (See photo of me dining, while watched adoringly by the very mellow, resident dog, “Took”.) It still feels a little like camping, with the pine paneled walls, lack of TV, and microscopic shower, but Debi was VERY pleased to have a shower tonight! We hope to view the Grand Canyon from the North Rim tomorrow morning.

A Few Bumps in the Road: Chaco Canyon National Park, NM 6/22/08

This morning we got up a lot earlier - partly because I was excited about exploring so many new things, and partly because we hadn’t adjusted to the time change (gaining an extra hour). We were up at 6:30 and left the campground by 8:00. Our first destination this morning was Tecolate Café. We had seen Guy review this restaurant on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. It really impressed us and we didn’t want to miss it. I had the pine nut blue corn pancakes and Ned had a breakfast burrito with Christmas (red and green) chili sauce. This place knocked our socks off. One of the best breakfast places we have ever eaten. The staff was friendly, funny and amazingly attentive. The food spectacular! This is one of the few restaurants that actually live up to the hype. We got to the restaurant at about 8:30 and were seated right away. By the time we left, there were at least 25 people waiting to get in! Our next stop was exploring the neighborhoods of Santa Fe and the Old Governor’s Palace Museum. To tell the truth I was really disappointed in the museum. Ned and I have seen our fair share of museums this trip and this one was particularly mediocre, especially considering the $8 entry fee per person. It was two rooms of placards that really didn’t tell a cohesive story. I think back on the museum in Little Rock that was fantastic – it had history about Little Rock, all the governors, an amazing country music costume display, a women’s exhibit, and you also got to view the chambers of the senate and house of representatives. Heck, the Roger Miller Museum was even better. Sorry Santa Fe, you need work on this one…We then continued to stroll thru Santa Fe, checking out all the vendors that were set-up in the plaza for Sunday morning, and even strolled by the oldest house in the U.S. We decided we had enough of Santa Fe and headed for Bandelier National Monument near Los Alamos. This is the cliff dwellings of the Ancient Pueblo ancestors (used to be called Anasazi, but that term has fallen into disfavor by the Pueblo people). We had a fantastic time exploring the kivas, climbing ladders into the caves (check out the photo of me poking my head out), and viewing the petroglyphs. Of course watching the 15 Chinese Buddhist women in straw hats and long gray smocks giggling, singing, and exploring the caves was highly entertaining too. We then decided to do the long trek (4 hours) to Chaco Canyon. It was a stunningly beautiful drive thru a plethora of scenery. We went by a huge caldera, over a mountain range passing some of the first legitimate looking pine trees we’ve seen in weeks, passed by several Indian pueblos, descended to 7000 feet and paralleled the Colorado plateau over the Continental divide. Whew! We finally reached the turn-off point for Chaco Canyon. It’s 16 miles of the worst washboard road I’ve ever been on!! It was so bad that we passed a new pick-up truck that had broken down on the bumpy road. We offered to help, but they were waiting for a tow truck (how it was getting there with no cell phone service was news to me). We ventured on and finally made it to the park entrance only to realize that we had lost one bike (mine), were dragging the other bike (Ned’s) and poor Winnie had something shaken loose from underneath. The campground radio broadcast stated that the campground was full and there was no way in hell I was going to drive that bumpy ride back out the same day. So, we took inventory of Ned’s bike, decided it was ride-able and I hopped on it in search of a campsite while Ned returned to locate my bike. Turns out there were plenty of campsites (the radio broadcast was old). In the meantime, Ned located my bent bike and spent some time trying to tie up something underneath the car. We finally reconvened at the campsite, Ned jacked up the car and managed to secure what we think is the smog canister. (We donated parts of our campfire “toaster” for this). He also worked on straightening out my bike’s wobbly back wheel. Meanwhile, I worked on getting dinner together (grilled swordfish in mango teriyaki sauce, spinach salad, fresh sourdough bread, corn on the cob and if you promise not to tell the ranger, a bottle of wine). So, here’s hoping that we can take the bikes for a spin thru the park tomorrow and visit the Chaco Canyon ruins and more importantly be able to drive OUT of the park without losing any parts). Stay tuned for part 2. On the plus side, we are in the middle of the high desert with no civilization close by, and the stars are so bright you can touch them!

Land of Enchantment: Ranchero Santa Fe Campground, Santa Fe, NM 6/21/08

Once again we got up about 10ish. Geez, you’d think we were on vacation or something. By the time we left the campground and worked our way out of the canyon it was close to 12:00. Our first stop was Cadillac Ranch, and yep, it’s 10 cars stuck in the dirt. You park your car on a frontage road next to the freeway and walk thru a recently plowed (and muddy field from the rains) to get a close-up view of the cars. They are all heavily covered with graffiti, and it is encouraged for people to add their own markings. It’s a work of art in progress, so to speak. We continued traveling on I-40, getting off at various towns to pick up the Historic 66 route. My favorite town was Tecumcari, TX that seemed to have the most preserved/undemolished vintage architecture. The best was a motel called Blue Swallow wherein each unit came with it’s own one-car garage. It was also billed on the neon sign as “100% Refrigerated” – classic. We also had fun looking at Route 66 souvenirs and chatkis at the Tee Pee Curio shop. We finally made it to Santa Fe at about 5:30. We found a private campground that is fairly close to downtown that is pretty good. Turns out the state park doesn’t have showers and only has pit toilets. Yeah, that ain’t gonna work! The best thing about this campground is that it has free wireless and laundry facilities. After taking advantage of both, we headed downtown to check it out. I LOVE IT! This is definitely my favorite city of the trip so far. The architecture, artistic vibe, amazing history – this place has it all. Seems like everyone was out tonight and it was fun to ride our bikes around the Old Santa Fe square checking out all the musicians playing, people eating outside and strolling through the streets.(I snapped this photo when we first came into town). After riding our bikes for about 4 miles, we decided to stroll through all the courtyards and find a fun place to sit outside and have dinner. This place is really magical and I completely understand why New Mexico is called the Land of Enchantment. Ned thinks I’m just gaga over the place because there are no mosquitoes, no humidity, and it’s the summer solstice. (Yes, there was also some drinking involved). I’m liking it so much that I’m hoping to spend an extra day here. I really enjoyed seeing the Oldest Church in the US, and tomorrow we’d like to check-out the History Museum and some other churches. So, if you hear from me manana we stayed in town. If not, we’re headed to Chaco Canyon National Monument where there is no water, no electricity and obviously no internet. We’re playing on spending sometime exploring the Anasazi Culture. I’ll keep blogging and post when we reach civilization. In the meantime, Happy Summer everyone!

King of the Road: Palo Duro Canyon State Park, TX 6/20/08

Well, it never did rain last night (poor Winnie could really use a shower), but it did cool down enough to sleep comfortably without the fan. We were all fired up to continue down Route 66 and left camp about 9:30. Ironically, we didn’t get very far because we were just having too much fun puttering around the old towns, spotting the bygone icons and stopping at museums and roadside stands. On a whim, Ned pulled into the town of Erick, Oklahoma to drive by the Roger Miller Museum. This is a one stoplight town and looks completely deserted. We thought, what the heck, let’s go inside and poke around. One of the best decisions of the trip! We were greeted by a very sweet woman who gave us a personal tour, including a description of every piece of memorabilia, and told us more than one could ever hope to know about Roger Miller. He’s from the town of Erick and they are VERY proud of this home town boy. We thoroughly enjoyed her stories, seeing original lyrics written out on scraps of paper, the clothes, posters, record albums, motorcycle – you name it. To fully appreciate the ambiance of this place, let me explain. The entire “museum” is one room and then we were lead into an adjoining room that had cloth covered card tables. We were asked if we would like a soda (served in a styrofoam cup with ice) and watched a 50 minute video on Roger Miller. All this for the price of $3! (Once again, Mr. Ned was singing along to the songs, even the more obscure ones.) By this time it was after 1:00 and we decided to eat lunch at the Main Street Café next door. The waitress took our order while holding her one year old daughter, Madison, on her hip. The good folks at the next table, two men dressed in denim overalls and baseball caps, struck up a conversation with us. They were telling us about the weather and how everywhere it seems to be flooding, but in this piece of the world they were experiencing a drought. They wanted to know where we were from, what we’ve seen and where we were going. They completely approved of us heading out to Palo Duro Canyon State Park, but thought we were crazy to want to see Cadillac Ranch. As one gentlemen put it, “It’s just a bunch of cars stuck in the dirt, what do you want to see that for?” By the time we left, we realized that we had traveled maybe 45 or 50 miles in 4 hours! At this rate, we were never gonna make Amarillo. Still not feeling hurried, we continued to explore the old Route 66 towns (while singing along to our new Roger Miller CD – “King of the Road” - and some Johnny Cash), seeing leaning water towers, 150 foot steel crosses, and old cowboy signs. Too much fun! We finally reached Amarillo and decided to visit Cadillac Ranch tomorrow and instead head straight for Palo Duro Canyon State Park. WOWZA! This place is amazing! It is 120 miles long, 800 feet deep and the second largest canyon in the United States. It’s so beautiful that you swear you are on a Disney wild west set and this is make-believe. (The photo really doesn’t do it justice.) The cool thing is that our campsite is way down at the bottom of the canyon and we are surrounded by these great, bright red claystone and white gypsum cliffs. We couldn’t wait to jump on our bikes and go for a ride. They allow bikes on the trails and we had a blast riding through the canyon floor, up and down trails, through Juniper and mesquite trees, and over wooden boardwalk bridges. We even passed a place called “Toad Suck Bog”, not sure about that one… At one point I had to get off and walk my bike up the trail it was so steep. (Ok little bro Scott, if you’re reading this I know you could have taken it straight up but I’m pleading girl and being 50). We only did about 6 miles, but it still felt good to stretch our legs. Turns out it was a good decision that we headed right for this State Park since there were only two spots left on this Friday night. It would have been a shame to miss this. There are a lot of activities to choose from this evening: a Texas Hoe-Down Bar-b-que, A Texas Musical put on at the amphitheatre, and an interpretive night hike along the canyon floor with flashlights. Of course, there’s also hanging up the hammock and doing some chill time. Right now this ol’ cowgirl is gonna hop in the shower and get rid of some serious road dust. Addendum: it’s the next morning and we had the most spectacular lighting and thunderstorm last night! The storm passed right over us and the blinding lighting, booming thunder and torrential rains were really thrilling. Ironic that we didn’t encounter any rain in the south, but caught up with it in the desert. It was also a bit of an adventure getting out of the canyon this morning. We had to ford through FIVE waterways where the flash floods took over the roadway. I was a bit nervous, but Ned calmly steered our way up and out of the canyon. Poor Miss Winnie is more red then white!

Getting our Kicks on Route 66: Foss State Park, OK 6/19/08

This entire road trip is really about the journey and not the destination. Nothing captured that spirit more than today. We did our best to leave the campground early (for us), and managed to be on the road by 8:30. We finally caught up with Route 66 just south of Tulsa at Sapulpa by about 10ish. We had a guidebook to point out some of the old icons on the Route, but half the fun was trying to spot them ourselves. On several occasions we did a couple of laps through the small towns to find the old gas stations or motor car motels that were hidden among the modern day logos. Today’s photo was taken of a gas station in Davenport, just sitting there by itself without any history markers. I kinda liked that! (BTW- this place is for sale if anyone is interested). Route 66 from Tulsa to Oklahoma City seems to be more in tact than other sections and it’s easier to follow. It was crazy trying to follow it through Oklahoma City, especially since the Route in this location is mostly expressways or freeways through the city. I am still quite surprised at how beautiful Eastern Oklahoma is! Everything is lush and green, with beautiful rolling hills and lots of rivers and streams. I’m really glad I saw this firsthand. I always imagined Oklahoma to be like the dust bowl in Grapes of Wrath, geez was I wrong. Once we finally got through Oklahoma City and connected up again with Route 66 we enjoyed stopping at the town of El Reno. We spotted several of the original road icons and, after consulting our “Road Food” book, we settled on Sid’s a true roadside burger stand. The big “thing” in this part of the country is onion burgers. Basically, it’s hamburgers with a baseball size of onions that are grilled with the burger. The onions and burger get all mushed together and the onions sticking out become carmelized. (Glad I tried it, but don’t see it in my future.) This was washed down with a chocolate malt. (burp). We proceeded to the town of Clinton, listening to some tunes on the ipod we thought were appropriate – Patsy Cline, cowboy singer Johnny Prine, and some other road tunes I put together. Ned, by the way, has kept me entertained for 6,000 miles with his singing. Once again, he surprised me with some cowboy and folk songs. Did you know he plays the banjo, too?! I think that’s where he got his hillbilly repertoire. We spent an hour or so at the Route 66 Museum in Clinton and boy, was that fun! Each room represents a specific decade of Route 66’s past. As you enter the room, the most popular song from that time period is playing, you can read about the road’s history (such as being built, the heyday of the route, etc) and tons of period specific items are on display. At the end there is a 20 minute movie about the Route. We really enjoyed this museum, especially playing with the old gas pumps, posing near the cars, and remembering are own family vacations as kids. Both Ned and I grew up doing family road trips/camping trips and have been swapping all our stories. (Yes, both our dads strapped the canvas water bag to the radiator on the car. We had an old Rambler Stationwagaon, Ned’s family had a Pontiac Bonnieville Stationwagaon.) We enjoyed ourselves so much puttering around all day that we decided not to push it and try for Texas tonight. We looked at our trusty State Park book and found a campground close by Clinton. It’s very much a “Home on the Range” type campground (i.e. camping in a grass field), but we are just enjoying hanging out, going for a bike ride and luxuriating in the cool evening. (It hasn’t actually rained, but the weather sure feels like it). Tomorrow continues Route 66 and more fun – perhaps the Cadillac Ranch.

Cherokee Nation: Sequoyah State Park, OK 6/18/08

Well, we were both exhausted and slept in until 10:00 this morning! By the time we left the campsite and moseyed on out it was close to 11:30. Mmm, this meant a slight adjustment in plans, most likely picking a different destination for the night. We also decided to drive some scenic back roads and possibly do a side trip to the Cherokee Heritage Museum. Driving thru the Ouachita National Forest (slightly lower than the Ozarks) was beautiful. I caught some really gorgeous photos, but decided not to post it tonight on account of something else that came up. (Keep reading). At about 3ish we entered Oklahoma, made a quick stop to the Visitors Center, and decided to definitely take the side trip to Tahlequah, which is pretty much the seat of the Cherokee Nation. I really wanted to see the detailed exhibit and learn about the “Trail of Tears.” We took an absolutely gorgeous road through rolling hills that followed creeks, rivers and lakes. I had no idea that Eastern Oklahoma was this gorgeous. We got to the museum at about 4:00. The host let us in for free (on account of it being only open for another hour) as long as we promised not to take any photos. I loved this museum and learned so much! For example, the written Cherokee language is based on a syllabary and not an alphabet; it was developed by Sequoyah in the early 1800’s; the forced migration involved 16,000 people of which more than 4,000 died; and the beloved Will Rogers is Cherokee and from this area. The individual stories of the migration were so sad, but what really brought tears to my eyes is the resilience of the Cherokee people. The museum also focused on the aftermath of the migration and how the different tribes assimilated and rebuilt their nation. I was also impressed with the emphasis on education, especially among the women. Very inspiring. My friend Julia Bushyhead is from this area and suggested we visit a Braum’s to get an almond chocolate shake and be sure to try out the local chicken fried steak. (Julia, if you’re reading this, duly noted – both were accomplished. Ned especially loved the shake). We drove to a nearby campground (Sequoyah State Park), which is about 30 minutes from Tahlequah and right on Gibson Lake. We pulled in around 6:30 or so and much to our surprise almost every campground was flooded! Apparently, there has been a lot of rain in Kansas, which has put a strain on the rivers in Oklahoma. (We’ve been blessed with great weather so far. I know the floods have hit other areas, but we only saw rain in the Great Smokey’s and a few drops at Balmorhea, Tx). This lake is based on a series of upstream dams and they are overloaded. We spoke with the local ranger and for every foot of water they let out of the first dam it translates to 10 extra feet here. They are now 24 feet above normal. Check out the picture of the campground sign. Needless to say ALL the camping sites were under water (completely submerged), including picnic tables, electric boxes, and grills. The ranger took us to an alternate campground, which is totally empty except for us - and about 200 Canada geese. Most of the campsites are underwater, but there were 1 or 2 where the electrical boxes still worked. Tomorrow we connect up with Route 66 out of Tulsa. (We are about an hour from there). Tonight, we are pouring over several maps and tourist books to figure out just what to see – so many road stops and options! We are anticipating a long 7-8 hours in the car so hopefully we’ll get up a little earlier tomorrow!

Big River and Little Rock: Petit Jean State Park, AR 6/17/08

This is Ned filling in for Debi again. Turns out one of the disadvantages of T.O. Fuller State Park in Memphis is it’s proximity to the airport. Guess who makes (what seems like) hundreds of take-offs and landings around 3 a.m. in Memphis? You guessed it: FedEx, because Memphis is their national hub. Anyway, Debi says she didn’t get a lot of sleep last night. Meanwhile, I apparently slept through all the noise (possibly from my years of training near the Oakland airport?) Anyway, this morning began with us riding our bikes on the pedestrian walkway above the monorail tracks over to the River Walk at Mud Island. The advantage of being one of the first people there after they opened the gates at 10 a.m. was that we got to ride all around and scope out the whole place with almost no one else around. My sister Polly had recommended that we see this place. It’s a half-mile long, concrete scale model of the Mississippi River running all the way from it’s head waters to the Gulf of Mexico. Fascinating! The other fun thing about it, besides being very informative about many geological and historical facts about the river, is that little kids just LOVE to wade in it! There was one group of moms who had a group of about 10 very little kids, every one of them intently wading around the curves of the scale model river with their little Crocs on! While on our bikes, we also checked out the housing on the north end of Mud Island. It looks like a very tastefully planned community with many great looking houses. Debi thought it would be a fun place to kayak from every morning, if she lived there. While we were overlooking the Mississippi we also saw acouple of huge tug boats pushing about 10 barges each up river. It really gives you an appreciation for the strength of the river’s current to watch the mammoth wake churning up behind those tug boats to make very modest progress upstream. After leaving Memphis, we headed into Arkansas, speeding along Interstate 40 past lots of rice, corn, and sorghum fields. It made us appreciate the back roads that we normally drive, since the number of Eighteen Wheelers on this stretch of highway was phenomenal. Most of them seem intent on driving about 75 miles an hour too, which makes it a little difficult, if you happen to be trying for a relatively fuel-conserving 65 mph. Once we arrived in Little Rock, we went directly to the Visitor’s Center, where we got lots of great ideas from a very helpful woman. We then took our bikes and found the Farmers Market along the river. We found a great place for lunch called the Flying Fish where we both had a different version of catfish. (See photo of me in front of their wall of fanciful artwork waiting for my lunch to arrive.) Debi had catfish grilled with veggies, while I had mine fried in a Po’Boy sandwich, accompanied with fries and hush puppies. Both were delicious. Debi says she has missed eating real vegetables! (No, fried Okra doesn’t count.) After that we spent quite a while in the Old Statehouse Museum, which had some really excellent displays, but which the most noteworthy were Bill Clinton’s running shoes (New Balance) and saxophone, along with Hillary’s Inauguration Ball dress, when Bill became governor of Arkansas (really matronly!) We also biked and drove around some of the rest of Little Rock. Debi was especially impressed with what a pleasant looking little town it is, with lots of very stately older homes. We then headed along the back roads toward Petite Jean State Park, passing through some very beautiful wooded countryside, and along some spectacular lakes. Right before arriving at the park we pulled into a little overlook which gave us an amazing view of the Arkansas River meandering below with lots of lush farmland spreading in all directions. This park was the first state park in Arkansas, established around 1928, with the registration headquarters having the rustic look of something made during the 1930’s by FDR’s CCC. We don’t know yet whether we’ll hang out here for just one night, or maybe two. We plan to play it by ear in the morning.

Going to Graceland: T.O. Fuller State Park, Memphis, TN 6/16/08

We headed out of Nashville and onto the Natchez Trace Parkway early this morning, around 8ish. If you haven’t checked this little gem out, I encourage you to google it and read about it. It is a remarkable National Parkland that is actually a road that goes for 440 miles from Nashville to Natchez, Mississippi. It follows the original trace or trail that the Buffalo/Indians/Traders used. (Check out the photo – it’s pretty typical of the drive). There are no towns, billboard signs or anything commercial on the parkway. The history and the way it is laid out are really well done. We were on the parkway for 100 or so miles and saw: an Old Tobacco Farm, the original trace (and took a couple mile drive on it), the Gordon Historic House, Merriweather Lewis’ death and burial site, and even checked out some campgrounds. Ned and I had read the book “Sea to Shining Sea” about the Lewis & Clark expedition. It was somewhat bittersweet seeing the site of Lewis’ mysterious death. We made a vow to come back someday and do the entire scenic parkway. (I feel another road trip coming on…) While we drove this stretch of road for several hours we saw maybe a dozen cars and about 10 bicyclists. It was like having a beautiful private road to ourselves. This experience definitely goes to the top 10 list of our trip. At the very southern part of the state we left the trace and cut across Tennessee hugging the Alabama and Mississippi borders. Most of the way was dotted with Barbeque joints, Baptist Churches and small towns. We eventually arrived in Memphis after a very long day in the car. We are staying at T.O. Fuller State Park, which is in Memphis, not too far from Graceland. (It’s surprisingly nice considering that as we approached it we drove by several refineries on the Mississippi River. However, the park is tucked in several hundred acres of lush woods. Go figure). The first thing we did after checking in was to drive by Graceland. It’s in a really tacky area and costs about $64 to tour. We did the obligatory photo shoot from the outside and decided to spend the evening exploring downtown Memphis and of course, tasting the barbeque - after all, Memphis is known as the barbeque capital of the world! We ate at “Interstate Barbeque” and had the best ribs of the trip so far. (This entire city smells like barbeque, as does our campground). We then made a tour of Beale Street, checking out the Blues blaring from every bar and perusing tacky Elvis chatchkas. Ned bought me this amazing tshirt that has a picture of Martin Luther King and Barack Obama on it. It says “The Dream…one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. The 2008 Democratic Presidential Nominee.” How fitting to buy this in Memphis. We can’t decide whether to head for Little Rock, AK first thing tomorrow or head back to downtown Memphis for a tour of the Gibson Guitar Factory and Mud Island. P.S. Big Happy Birthday to Polly!!

Singing the Country Blues: Bledsoe Creek State Park, Gallatin, TN 6/15/08

Before we left the Smoky Mountains for the flatlands, we thought it would be fun to visit the Clingman’s Dome, the highest point in the park at about 6600 ft. (Yes, I know, nothing like our Sierra’s). It was a cool morning, about 60 deg., and it felt good to stretch our legs on the trail to the dome. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to see the 7 states or the advertised 100 miles because we were in the clouds! It was still a gorgeous walk and it was fun to see some backpackers come off the Appalachian Trail. According to the park literature the visibility in the summer is down 80% from when the park first opened in 1948 - thanks to pollution. Even on a clear day it is supposed to be extremely hazy. How sad. As we drove down the mountain, we descended thru breathtaking beautiful broadleaf forest and suddenly emerged into abject tackiness. We’re talking Dollywood, and the town of Pigeon Forge that has every conceivable carnival type amusement for miles. It’s really bizarre. The North Carolina entry to the park is kitschy Cherokee trading posts gone berserk and the Tennessee entry is just amusement park on steroids, and in-between is some of the most gorgeous mountain forest land you’ll ever see. Thank you federal government and park service for keeping it this way! In fact there is no cell phone coverage, electrical & water hook-ups or showers available. This seemed to attract a much more down to earth crowd. We continued thru Knoxville (didn’t see much) toward Nashville, our destination for the evening. At the last minute, we picked a different state park than originally planned because we thought it would be easier access to Nashville. It’s a small, quiet park, but feels more like a county park than a State Park. We picked out a site and then headed for Nashville. (We also gained an hour back so it was nice having that extra time to play). We toured Music Row, checked out Opryland and “The District” (see photo), ate a bar-b-que restaurant and for the first time in weeks saw beef on the menu. (It’s been fried chicken or pork for ages!) We also had two choices of sauce, mustard and molasses, and we were given toasted bread, not plain white bread. Times they are a-changing. Upon arriving back at our campsite, at about 9:30, we noticed that our camping chairs were missing. In all my 50 years of camping, this is only the second time that I’ve had something taken. Maybe I should write a Country Blues song about our chairs being stolen. (Ex. “How can I get buzzed, when my buzz chair is gone…”) Tomorrow is the Natchez Trace Parkway. Really looking forward to that!

Coming Home to the Mountains: Great Smoky Mountains National Park, NC 6/14/08

We left Modoc around 9:30 and decided to continue on the Heritage Corridor Nature Trail until Clemson. We still weren’t sure of our exact plans, but were leaning toward heading for Asheville to see the Biltmore Estates. The drive thru the South Carolina foothills is stunningly beautiful. It’s hard to compare all the back roads we have been on, but this particular stretch of road is truly picturesque. We traveled up and down rolling hills, thru broadleaf forests and really quaint southern towns. We passed a Dairy Festival (I couldn’t believe Ned didn’t want to stop for free ice cream), a couple of Black History Festivals, a Scottish Festival and several other small town celebrations. Most of the time we were hugging the Georgia border. We were on a quest to fill up our propane tank in the Winniemobile, and after several false stops finally came to a small campground run by two woman who had the propane AND the right nozzle. While striking up a conversation with them, and discussing where we were headed, they suggested an alternate route to the Smokey’s. Basically our choice was to turn right and visit Biltmore, or turn left and go through some remote areas, including the river spot where the movie “Deliverance” was filmed. Well, you probably guessed our decision. We scrapped the house tour and headed for Bluegrass Country. We were definitely not disappointed in our choice. The benefits were incredibly beautiful mountains and wildflowers, mainly daylilies, and the weather cooled down immensely- 70’s. We stopped for lunch at a roadside diner, and this time, were pleasantly surprised. It was the usual selection of one meat and several “vegetable” side dishes. We choose ham, black-eyed peas and cantaloupe (Ned also had mashed potatoes and gravy). It was delicious! (Note: the vegetable side dishes are usually a choice of fried okra, collard greens, macaroni & cheese, potato salad, coleslaw, black-eyed peas, and an assortment of fruit cobblers). Yesterday I mentioned that I was a little sad about our return journey. However, upon reaching the mountains this afternoon, and experiencing the absolute joy of being IN the trees and seeing the endless mountain ranges, it made me nostalgic for home. I realized how much I love living in Nevada City and having the Sierra’s in our backyard. We expected the most visited National Park to be packed with people, especially on a Saturday night. We didn’t have reservations and really didn’t know what to expect. Apparently, the North Carolina side is less visited than the Tennessee side. We really lucked out and have a gorgeous creekside campsite. BTW - Did you know that this National Park is free? We spent some time visiting the Mountain Farm Museum at the park. A light rain fell most of the day in the Smokey’s, so we decided to eat inside. We popped a bottle of red wine and munched on cheese & cantaloupe that we bought from a roadside stand. It’s beautiful sitting here listening to the creek and being surrounded by this luscious forest.

Days of Discovery/Nights of Thunder: Hamilton Branch State Park, Modoc, SC 6/13/08

Today officially begins the migration back home. For the first time we began looking for road signs that said “West”, it made me a little sad as I don’t want this trip to end. Before we left the campground this morning we looked at the mileage and noticed that we have traveled 5050 miles and biked 110 . We decided to drive the “Discovery Trail” thru the heart of South Carolina towards the Uplands. The South Carolina Tourist Bureau put together a series of discovery roads to learn about the local history. One can either do the “Discovery Route” or the “Nature Route.” They issue a map with corresponding events or sites for suggested viewing. One can choose to see the African-American Heritage, Civil War Memorial Sites, Plantations & Gardens, etc. We spent the day seeing a combination of most of the above, including the first “company town” in the South. The adventures of eating our way thru the South was a little too, - how should I say - “real” for me today. Within the first hour of our drive, about mid-morning, we stopped at a roadside stand selling fresh green hot boiled peanuts. They were okay. Glad I tasted them, but won’t be craving them anytime soon. They were hot, salty, wet and a little mushy. About 1:00 we decided to stop at Duke’s Bar-b-Que, an all you can buffet. There was fried chicken, chopped pork, fried gizzards, fried okra, hush puppies, black-eyed peas, pork skins, cracklins (hard & soft), mac n’ cheese, collard greens, rice & hash. I’m still cracking up at Ned. After being much braver than me and trying a small sampling of everything, he said, “What do you mean that was hash? I thought I was eating Brunswick Stew!.” He scrunched up his nose and said, “What do you think I ate?!” He then went on to list all the ingredients in what he knows is in hash and couldn’t recognize anything in what he had eaten. Can I just say that I think I will officially be done with tasting bar-b-que when this trip is over? We eventually worked our way to the Piedmont area of South Carolina and camped on Strom Thurmond Lake. It’s in a remote area right between the Georgia and South Carolina border. We have a beautiful campground right on the lake. (See photo taken at sunset). We did our usual floating in the lake to cool off and hanging out in the hammock. We popped a Bacardi “mojito”, nibbled some left-over fruitcake (weird eating day for sure) and were becoming one with nature when all of a sudden the sound of cars revving their engines jolted us. Soon after the national anthem began playing. We assume stock car racing is happening close-by. Perfect end to a very southern day. Ned really wants to check this car thing out. – gotta run. Addendum: It’s about midnight and we just got back from the “Modoc Friday Nights of Thunder”. It was a BLAST!! Stock car racing on a dirt track. The stands were filled with mom & dads, little kids with blue snow cones running down their faces, and lots of beer guzzling. It was so much fun watching all the posturing, car spin-outs, fan cheering and ear splitting noise of the cars while hanging out on a warm night. I’ve decided to embrace the southern culture and become a Nascar fan!

Old World Charm: James Island County Park, SC 6/12/08

Ned here, filling in again for Debi tonight. We decided to take the coastal road to Charleston. Our big challenge this morning was to locate a restaurant for lunch that Debi and I had seen on the food or travel channel called Gullah Grub. It’s located on Saint Helena Island. Gullah is the name of a group of people unique to this coastal area of South Carolina and Georgia who have maintained a strong connection to African cultural heritage, including their own language, due to some interesting history of the African slaves which were brought to this area in the mid-1700’s. Debi ordered crab soup with collard greens. I had catfish chowder, with lima beans. We both had red rice and corn bread with our meals, washed down with “swamp water”, a blend of sweet tea and lemonade. Both of our meals were good, and quite spicy, and we particularly enjoyed the welcoming attitude of Dot, who runs the restaurant. She was very sweet and patient in explaining to us about her Gullah culture. After lunch we headed toward Charleston, along some very beautiful back roads that crossed through lots of wooded and marshy lands. We found the county campground at Saint James Island (complete with splash park, climbing wall, but great biking trails) and then headed into Charleston to explore. Debi had seen Charleston before, and remembered loving all the beautiful old houses and gardens. We parked along the sea wall and took our bikes on an eleven mile tour criss-crossing all the beautiful old historic neighborhoods. I had to agree with Debi that this town has by far the most fascinating and beautiful historical housing district we had seen on this trip, compared to both New Orleans and Savannah. The well preserved architecture, gorgeous and fragrant gardens, and rustic brick and cobblestone streets dating from as early as the late 1600’s were truly amazing. (See the photo of Debi and I toward the end of our bike tour.) We had planned to eat at another recommended restaurant in Charleston tonight, but we realized that both of us were still really full from our Gullah lunch, so we settled on stopping at a little café where Debi ordered a decaf mocha, and I had a Reggae Rum Runner. We reviewed the map and decided on some interesting spots when we got back to the campground, but now we’re ready to get some sleep for the night and head out tomorrow on the South Carolina Discovery Heritage Trail.

Living the High Life: Skidaway Island State Park, GA 6/11/08

It was such a gorgeous morning and this flora is so different than we are used to, that we decided to take a bike ride thru one of the park’s nature trails. We rode under palmetto trees, and gigantic live oak trees draped in moss alongside salt marshes. (See photo). We saw a variety of birds, read about civil war battles that didn’t work out so well on this island and saw the remnants of an old moonshine still. We even climbed up an observation tower to see a nice overview of the marsh and slough area. Even though it was close to high noon about then (and hot) we decided to head into town and ride our bikes thru the Bonaventure Cemetery. For those of you familiar with the movie “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil”, you can appreciate how fun this was! We checked out lots of old and exotic headstones and monuments, some of them dating back to the late 1700’s. I believe the entire cemetery is about 600 acres, so we had quite a lot of fun zig-zagging about the different lanes and reading about those of nobility, and celebrities such as Johnny Mercer. We then decided to head to the historical district and continue to ride our bikes past all the grand old homes and garden squares. Savannah is really a gorgeous, genteel city. Well, by this time, about 2ish, we had ridden close to 13 miles and were famished! We decided to head for Tybee Island and check out the Crab Shack. It’s supposedly a local favorite and is highly recommended for the “Low Country Boil.” We each ordered up a plate along with some beers and margaritas and settled back on the deck, overlooking the marshes and ocean. We both agreed, this is the best meal yet that we have eaten on the road!! It’s a plate heaping with fresh wild Georgia shrimp, red potatoes, corn on the cob and sausage. Apparently, it’s all boiled together then some kind of “special” seasoning is sprinkled over the top. The tables all have big holes in the middle wherein you peel and shuck your shrimp, crab legs, oysters, etc. At this point, feeling nicely satiated, it was close to 4:00 and we decided why not go swimming in the ocean? The great thing about traveling with your home is that you can be quite flexible. We changed into our swimsuits (in the van), parked at the beach and played in the ocean for several hours. We even blew up our swim rings and had a blast being silly in the water, trying to “catch a wave”. When we finally got back to the van, we were hot, salty and sticky, but never fear Winnie is here!! We used our shower off the back of the van, stood out in the middle of the street and took showers. I think everyone dealing with the sand getting in their cars were quite envious. When we got back to the campsite, Ned whipped us up some mochas and we are having a quiet evening at home: Ned is swinging in the hammock, I’m writing blogs (yeah wi-fi here) , and we’re catching up on some much needed laundry. (Yep, the campground has a washer/dryer located near the showers). There is hardly anyone around us at the campground so we are enjoying our home of the great outdoors - Loving the high life. The question is will I ever be able to sleep within 4 walls again?!

From Sea to Shining Sea: Skidaway Island State Park, GA 6/10/08

We left Veterans Park knowing we had a long drive across Georgia. Confident that the Winniemobile was purring along just fine, we stuck to the two lane highways, choosing to see the countryside and small towns through the heart of Georgia. We traveled by pecan trees, sugar cane & cotton fields, skinny pine trees and lots of logging trucks. We stopped at a roadside barbeque, Harry’s, to continue our quest for the perfect barbeque. Ned had ribs, (with the obligatory 3 pieces of white bread & pickles) and I had a sliced barbeque sandwich. We liked this one better than Chuck’s. It was still a mustard based sauce, but less “mustardy.” Our next stop was in the town of Claxton, which proudly proclaims itself to be the “Fruitcake Capital of the World.” We couldn’t let THAT one go by, so we circled around the town until we found Claxton’s Bakery. They make something like 86,000 lbs. of fruitcake a day during their busy season. Yikes! (Okay, secret confession time. I think my dad and I are the only people in the world who actually like fruitcake). Of course, we had to venture inside and test it out. The person who helped us out was very friendly and was rather pleased that we were from California. We finally reached Skidaway Island State Park, outside of Savannah around 3:00. It’s a beautiful park with lots of oak trees dripping with moss. Very picturesque. We signed up for a spot for 2 nights and quickly left to explore Savannah. We walked cobblestone streets along the Savannah River, visited the famous City Market, toured the mansions in the historic district, and finally drove out to Tybee Island and stood in the Atlantic Ocean at about 8:30 pm. (See photo of Ned celebrating our triumphant arrival at the Atlantic Ocean). Tomorrow marks 3 weeks to the day that we left Nancy’s place at the Pacific Ocean. The best part of being on the Island is that the temp dropped to about 86 deg., was breezy, and boy did that feel good!! The ocean is the first body of water we’ve been in that is not uncomfortably warm. We have a lot of options tomorrow: swimming in the ocean, riding bikes through Savannah to get a close-up look of the houses, visit some museums and cemeteries – not really sure what we are going to do. Stay tuned!

Peaches, Plains & Passing the Test: Georgia Veterans State Park, GA 6/9/08

We had a bit of a late start this morning. We didn’t get up til 8:30 and didn’t roll out of camp til past 10:30. I think this heat and humidity just makes you take life easier. Our first stop was at a Volkswagen Repair Shop in Macon, GA. It felt great to have someone look at the car that was knowledgeable in Eurovans. He ran some tests, poked around and said “everything was within specs”. We passed the test with flying colors, let out a big sigh and luxuriated in the air conditioner running full time. We decided to take some country roads and our first stop was a peach packing plant. It was interesting to see how the peaches were labeled, sorted and packed. Better than that was stopping at a local farmer’s fruit stand and getting a “lecture” from him about peaches and how they should be picked and packed. He selected some for us that were picked this morning and said they should be perfect by tomorrow morning. Guess what’s for breakfast tomorrow? We drove for miles thru peach and pecan orchards & peanut & cotton fields. Our next stop was Andersonville National Historic Sight, the Prisoner of War Museum. The museum was done really well, but it was way too depressing for me and I couldn’t wait to move on. We continued driving thru the country amongst the deep red Georgia clay dirt and pristine homes. Every home seems to have the ubiquitous long front porch, with tall rockers set on them. We eventually made our way to Plains, Ga and spent the rest of the day exploring. Our first destination was the National Park Headquarters set-up in the old Plains High School. It had a very informative and sweet display on Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter’s life in Plains and his presidency. My favorite thing was the ½ hour movie that was shown in the old school auditorium. It was really fun to visit the old classrooms and read about history in this setting - much more fun than a typical museum. We drove by the train depot, which served as the campaign headquarters of Jimmy Carter. Did you know it was chosen because it was the only available building in Plains that had a bathroom?! We eventually drove out to Jimmy’s boyhood farm (about 3 miles outside of Plains) and spent a good couple of hours exploring. We had just finished his book, “An Hour Before Daylight” the night before about his life on the farm. It was so much fun to walk thru the farm, his house, the outbuildings, look at the fields, see the blacksmith shop and commissary, and relive 1930’s rural Georgia. (The photo is me standing in his backyard). What I really appreciated was that you were completely free to walk in every building, explore and not have things “behind glass” or park rangers following you around. In fact, we and one other park ranger were the only people there the entire time! I really liked the level of openness and trust that was placed on the public. To me if exemplified Jimmy Carter and what he believes. No matter what one thinks about his presidency or politics, you have to admire him for his integrity and deep religious convictions. We hadn’t eaten much (if you don’t count the scoop of peach ice cream at the peach factory) so we decided to just eat at The Old Bank Café in Plains. We got a patty melt for $3 and a salad for $2, served by a very sweet, but toothless young woman. We then ventured to our night’s destination, Georgia Veteran’s State Park. It’s really more of resort, with a fancy conference center, golf course, marina & country club. Our camping spot is right on the lake! I asked our neighbor if it was okay to just go swimming from here. Her reply, “Sure, go right ahead. There’s gators, but they hardly pay any mind to you.” It was the “hardly” part I had trouble with. We decided to hop on our bikes and go to the public swimming beach. As usual, we blew up our rings and floated around this huge lake (seems like the size of Lake Tahoe), but once again warm as bath water. After swimming we took a bike ride exploring this park. There are half a dozen army tanks, artillery guns, planes & helicopters on display. There are several memorials through-out the park dedicated to the various veterans of war. Right now, it’s about 9:30 and the wind has suddenly come up, lighting is flashing across the sky and the temperature feels likes it’s dropping (we just checked it’s 87 deg.) Down right chilly!

Georgia On My Mind: Indian Springs State Park, GA 6/8/08

We got up this morning and explored, on bike, the beautiful area of Chewacla State Park. It is in a heavily wooded park around a picturesque lake. Apparently, this is THE place to hang out before Auburn Univ. football games. In fact, some people store their huge RV’s here just for game day. We also noticed that many campers brought their own barbeques – you know those huge ones that most people have bricked in their backyards. These people take their barbequing seriously! We packed up and headed for Georgia, our first stop Warm Springs, FDR’s “Little White House.” It is very charming, and the museum is really interesting. Lots of history, films, memorabilia and very informed park rangers. I really enjoyed seeing FDR’s cars and how they were set up for hand controls. His house was much more simplistic than I imagined, but somehow I really enjoyed that. Ned particularly liked the “Stone Walkway of the States.” Each state donated a sample indigenous stone (2’ x 2’) often in the shape of the state. A plaque described the type of stone, the date the state was admitted to the union, and the state motto. It’s definitely hot here – mid to high 90’s. We decided to just go for it and drive the country back roads to our next destination with the air conditioning on. So far, the Winnie has been just perfect not showing any signs of low battery life or alternator trouble. Go figure. This part of Georgia is postcard beautiful. There are lots of rolling hills, pristine white houses with black shutters and big wrap around porches, and charming antique towns. Even though the pine woods are gorgeous, I do find them amusing. This Northern Sierra Girl is used to tall redwood and big fat cedar trees. The pine trees here are tall, but very skinny. They actually look like tiny Christmas trees on stilts. We only ate a light breakfast this morning, the usual cup of yogurt/bowl of cereal because we were holding out for a very special Sunday supper. Our 4:30 destination was “The Whistle Stop Café” in Juliette. It was the actual town and café where the movie “Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café” was filmed. I LOVED this place. It’s a tiny little town on the outskirts of a national forest. The café is located next to the train tracks and depot. It is exactly like it was in the movie, very homey, low key and just ordinary folks relaxing. (See photo of me hanging out on the front porch). There were only about 6 people in the café and the young women serving us made us feel so welcome with their southern hospitality. They sat down and talked with us, answering all my questions about the movie, the history of the town, the abandoned factory, etc. We were encouraged to walk around the back and make sure we visited the “barbeque pit”. If you saw the movie, you know what I’m talking about. The food here is FABULOUS. I had fried chicken, fried green tomatoes, collard greens & corn bread. Ned was less of a pig and just hand the fried green tomato BLT with a side order of onion rings. Let me tell ya – the best fried chicken I have ever eaten!! Of course, we split some peach cobbler for dessert. It was quiet warm and we couldn’t wait to get to the night’s destination, Indian Spring State Park – the first state park in the US! As usual, we were definitely not disappointed. Soon after pulling in, we blew up our swim rings, hopped on our bikes and headed for the lake. All the lakes so far have been really warm – close to 85-90 degrees. Sure makes me appreciate swimming in the Yuba River!! Anyway, we stayed in the lake until after 8:00 just floating around and gabbing. Damn it felt good. I think we did close to another 10 miles on our bikes today. I have to justify this southern home cookin’ somehow…

Rolling thru the Deep South: Chewacla State Park, AL 6/7/08

We showed up at the Midas shop at 10:30 hoping that the much coveted alternator would be there. No such luck. (Godot never showed – imagine that!) The worst part is that no one had any idea where it was. All they knew was that it was someplace between Atlanta and New Orleans. So, we waited, and waited, and waited. The one silver lining is that Hillary’s concession speech was supposed to be televised around 12:30. The other customers hanging out in the waiting room were mostly African-American. We struck up a conversation about Obama and were all glued to the set during the speech. We had a really interesting chat with one particular gentleman who was quite informed and had been keeping abreast of the Hillary-Barack saga. It was so touching to share this moment with someone who was as enthused as we are. I’ll always remember not only this incredible historic moment, but exactly where we were and who we shared it with. (Molly, I know you are feeling my energy!) When the 2:00 closing time for the shop rolled around, and still no alternator, we decided to take our chances with the original alternator and continue on our journey. The other unthinkable option was to stay in New Orleans until Monday. We looked at the map, made a couple of adjustments and decided to head for Chewacla State Park in Alabama. This meant that we would travel thru Mississippi, along the Gulf coastline, but not spend the night. In our quest to reduce the load on the alternator, we decided to forego the air conditioner. At one point, when we were feeling quite warm and had consumed gallons of ice tea, I decided to check the temp…the outside temp registered 95 and the inside temp registered 102! Yep, we’re official stinky road warriors. (thank goodness for campground showers). We were hoping to accomplish two things: 1) get to the campground before 8:00 and 2) get to Chuck’s Barbeque before 9:00, closing time. I’m happy to report that both goals were met – with minutes to spare. We had watched a TV program about Chuck’s Barbeque on the food channel. It was recommended as one of the best of the smoked, mustard based barbeques. I had chopped pork with a side of beans (didn’t eat the mountain of pickles or 3 slices of white bread that came with it) and Ned had the chipped pork with a side order of brunswick stew and coleslaw. The owners are proud of their born again status, as testified by the “Jesus is the Bread of Life” t-shirts worn by all the employees and the scripture prominently displayed on the walls. (I snapped a pic so you can get a flavor of the place). Anyway, the first of the barbeque tasting has begun. By the end of this trip we hope to be aficionados on mustard, vinegar, tomato and sweet style barbeques. We pulled in the campground at dark, and are looking forward to exploring it in the daylight. (We’ve been averaging about 10 miles a day on the bikes and anticipate continuing that trend tomorrow).

Waiting for Godot or the Right Alternator: St. Bernard State Park, 6/6/08

Well, we biked over to the Midas dealer only to find out that the wrong alternator was delivered. One was finally located (hopefully the right one) and it should arrive tomorrow – from Atlanta. So, knowing that the ORIGINAL alternator was at least working, we asked them to re-install that in the Eurovan and decided to go back to St. Bernard’s State Park. At least that place has a pool, free wi-fi and is a lot more enjoyable than hanging around the hotel. New Orleans has been fun, but I’m ready to rumble again!! We indeed spent the day swimming and just hanging out. It was nice to have a quiet dinner “at home”, get a pedicure (thank you, Ned), wash the van, read aloud and surf the internet. (The photo is Ned making dinner after we washed the car). This State Park has hundreds of bunnies that are always running around and gorgeous bright red cardinals. It’s fun to just watch them. Here’s hoping that tomorrow brings the right part and it works! The big decision we are making tonight is whether to keep to the original schedule and head for Jackson, Mississippi or stay along the coast and then head for Auburn, Alabama thus pretty much by-passing Mississippi. I guess we’ll wait til tomorrow and see what happens with the Eurovan to decide.

Hard Times in the Big Easy: Avenue Garden Hotel, New Orleans 6/5/08

We got up this morning and headed over to the Midas shop, hoping that the alternator was delivered by 10:30 – it was! We left poor Winnie at the shop and biked thru the city, We had a great time biking at the Riverwalk, along the banks of the Mississippi. We eventually made our way to the French Market and decided to have lunch at the Market Café. The one thing we hadn’t yet tried was a muffuletta. We ordered one, thinking we would split it. This thing is huge! It could easily feed a family of four. We sat outside , listening to live jazz, sipping iced tea and eating the best thing yet in New Orleans. The breeze was blowing off the Mississippi and I was thinking that this was the best time I’ve ever had getting a car fixed. We eventually headed back to Midas and had to wait until about 2 for the car. Finally, everything seemed to check out okay and we were on our way. We thanked the mechanics, they waved us off and wished us well on our journeys. We traveled about 10 miles on I-10 when suddenly the Eurovan lost all power and the instruments froze-up. Ned remained completely calm during the ordeal, got us safely off the freeway. We literally coasted into a gas station. We called the Midas shopand after a bit of a wait, Jim the mechanic, drove to us and checked things out. Turns out the NEW alternator was faulty – DOH!!! We called Triple AAA and had the Mighty Winniemobile pathetically towed back to the shop. (See photo of the magnificent Winnie going down…) So, we now need to order another alternator and hope it arrives by tomorrow morning and it works. The Triple AAA tow driver, Melvin, was a reas gem. He also did some diagnostics and agreed that the alternator was dead. We enjoyed his company (and air conditioned cab) as we traded scary alligator stories. While Ned was dealing with car issues, I went into event planner mode. I called the State Park in Mississippi and changed our reservations from Thurs. to Friday night. I also called my assistant – aka Dad – to help us locate a cheap, safe, clean hotel within biking distance. We settled down in a quaint hotel in the Garden District. I tried getting used to the luxuries of air-conditioning and a private bathroom. To tell the truth, I’m feeling a little claustrophobic and am missing the great outdoors and social camaraderie of camping at State Parks. (Seems weird to walk a few feet to the restroom and not hop on your bike waving to other campers along the way). Well, here’s hoping the Winnie hits her stride again soon and we are on our way.

New Orleans – Dead People and Dead Cars: St. Bernard State Park, LA 6/4/08

We had a really late night last night hanging out in New Orleans, so we took it a bit easy this morning just hanging around the campsite until noonish. When we finally headed into the city, we decided to have lunch at Jacques-Imo’s, famous for it’s fried chicken and cornbread. (Thanks Alan for that tip). It’s located a little out of the way, but on a really charming, funky street. When we got there we discovered that it was open only for dinner, so we walked around and ate a little neighborhood café. Afterwards, while still strolling around we came upon a gelato pazzo. Not one to pass up ice cream, we headed in amongst all this commotion. Turns out the owner was having a portable ice cream freezer delivered, but it was delivered upside down on a pallet. She was very much “atwitter” and stressing way too much. Ned scoped out the situation and figured out a way to fix it. Kinda funny, Mr. Handyman can’t even go on vacation! (No, she did not offer to give us a free gelato, but we decided it was good karma anyway). We then headed over to the Garden District, unloaded our bikes, and rode up and down the streets checking out the grand old homes. We both commented that the neighborhood reminded us very much of Alameda, especially the Gold Coast area. Seriously, the architecture and trees were just like our ol’ digs. The best part of the ride was checking out the cemetery and exploring all the really old crypts. Most of them were completely dilapidated, but beautiful nonetheless under all the old magnolia trees. We then headed back to the French Quarter, I ran into a local post office to drop off some postcards and when we went to restart the winniemobile – nada, nothing, zilch. We used our deep cycle battery to jump start the car and were able to go on our merry way. Ned thought it best to have it checked out, since we were in a major city and not stuck in the middle of nowhere. We found a Midas dealer down the street and turns out the alternator needs to be replaced. The bad news is that we can’t get the part until tomorrow noonish, but good news is that we are stuck in New Orleans (it could have been El Paso!!!) So, tomorrow we’ll hop on our bikes and do some more exploring while the car gets fixed and then decide to either make a late night run for Jackson, MS or hang out for another night. We headed back to Jacques-Imo’s for that much awaited fried chicken dinner. It was tres magnifique!

Gators, Plantations & Obama: St. Bernard State Park, LA 6/3/08

We woke up early this morning, about 6:30, and sat out on the deck overlooking the bayou. It was so peaceful watching the fish jump and feeling the coolness of the morning. At first we couldn’t believe it, but we saw two alligators swim right by us. Yikes! Really, this place is just amazing. This inspired us to take a swamp tour, so by mid-morning we were at McGee’s Swamp Tours on a boat cruising thru the Atchafalya Basin. Our guide was a darling old Cajun who had a very strong, lilting French accent. (See photo of Curtis and me after the tour). Unfortunately, I only understood about half of what he said. We went on about a two hour tour and saw osprey, egrets, cypress trees hanging with moss, and yes – even another alligator. We stopped at a little town in the heart of Cajun country, called Breaux Bridge and had lunch at Café Des Amis. (Crawfish pie for Ned, grilled crawfish on a croissant for moi). After that we headed for New Orleans via the Great River Highway and Old Plantation Road. It was so beautiful to drive thru miles and miles of sugar cane fields. We stopped along the way and saw some of the stately old plantations. Our favorite was Oak Valley Plantation. What was really bizarre was driving down this windy river road, with the mighty Mississippi on our left with the huge tanker ships poking up over the levy, the plantations and sugar cane fields on our right, and an occasional big industrial refinery every so often. It was weird having all these worlds collide. We pulled into St. Bernard’s State Park, about 18 miles outside of downtown New Orleans and were pleasantly surprised by how beautiful and new it is. Apparently, it was totally rebuilt after Katrina. The best part – it has free wi-fi!!! Well, the first thing I did was fire up the computer to check on the election results. It was great to sit at the campsite and watch the early results. Ned had to pry me away with promises of touring the French Quarter (oh – all right). We went to Mother’s Restaurant and had a cup of jambalaya (for me) and a cup of gumbo for Ned. We then walked all thru the French Quarter, stopping later on at Café Du Monde for a cup of café au lait and beignets. Absolutely delish!! We continued strolling thru the French Quarter and eventually ended up on Bourbon Street, getting caught up in the vibe of music and people. Every bar had sports playing on the tv, but we actually managed to find one that was playing the election results on CNN. Does it get any better than this? Hanging out in New Orleans, after an incredibly wonderful day of seeing gators and graceful plantation homes, and then watching Obama secure the nomination

Cajuns & Bayous: Lake Fausse Point State Park, LA 6/2/08

First of all, congrats to Josh for getting the internship at KPBS! He'll be a news reporter for the summer. Way to go!!! Today was the day for sinking our teeth into Cajun culture, both literally and figuratively. We started our day in Opelousas, the “Birthplace of Zydeco Music”, “Birthplace of Swamp Pop Music”, “Capital of Louisiana during the Civil War” and just about the capital of everything Cajun including “Home of the International Cajun Joke Telling Contest” – I kid you not. We skipped breakfast at the campground and instead ate at the Palace Café in Opelousas. (Yes, biscuits were part of the egg breakfast.) We spent the next several hours on back roads driving windy roads thru sugar cane fields and lots of bayous. We spent a lot of time in Iberia Parish, playing tourist to such places such as “Evangeline” the historic site that commemorates Longfellow’s poem of the same. We eventually made our way to Avery Island, to visit the Tabasco factory and explore Jungle Island. The Tabasco tour was interesting, but nothing compared to the country store where we sampled everything Tabasco: Tabasco ice cream (2 varieties), Tabasco soda, all different sauces and were even a product development test panel for Raspberry Chipolte Tabasco. We gave it a thumbs up, so if it hits a shelf near you, thank us. We also tasted boudin, but neither of us much cared for it. From there we took the tour of Jungle Island and saw exotic birds, a stolen Buddha statute (in my mind bad karma) proudly displayed, tropical flora all meandering next to Petit Bayou Anse (the original name of the Tabasco product). From there we drove thru more Cajun country where every street corner had someone selling some form of crawfish. My favorite sign was “Drive thru – live and boiled crawfish. Now accepting food stamps!” We were hoping to get in a tour of the Konriko Rice Factory, “America’s Oldest Operating Rice Mill” (and it looked it), but were too late. We did manage to visit their country store and sampled their rice with all kinds of seasonings to choose from. Our favorite Road Food book suggested some local restaurants, but we either couldn’t find them or they were closed. Let me digress and explain the roads here – NOTHING is marked or labeled. Often we found ourselves driving down a windy road only to find that it dead-ended at a bayou or became another road. I’m working between two maps, the one given to us at the Louisiana Visitors Center and a Triple AAA map. Neither map matches up. Anyway, I asked some guy walking down the street if he could recommend a local restaurant, so we took our chances with “Lil River”. It was pretty good. Between the two of us we sampled etouffee crawfish, fried crawfish, bisque crawfish and bread pudding in rum sauce. From there our travels took us to Lake Fausse State Park. I picked this camping spot because it was the most remote one I could find situated in a bayou wilderness. All I can say is that it is UNBELIEVABLE! This is the most gorgeous, wild camping spot I’ve ever experienced. The camping site comes with a “deck” right on the bayou. (See photo. Ned taking a moment when we arrived to experience the beauty). I couldn’t wait to get on our bikes and begin exploring. There is a 3 mile mountain bike trail that goes thru the bayou so even tho it was dusk (about 7:30 – 8ish) we decided to go for it. What started out as beautiful and exhilarating soon turned to sheer terror. I am not kidding. We are literally in the thick of the bayou, the insects are making a deafening sound, several are buzzing our heads and body, and you cannot veer off the path one inch or you will be IN the friggin’ swamp. Before we took the trail it warned us of: alligators, water snakes, 200 lb. snapping water turtles, armadillos, coyotes, bobcats, red fox, & poison ivy. They were not kidding! The first couple of armadillos were cute, then as it got dark they were just plain scary. The snake that slithered on the path inches from my bike was terrifying (I think this is the place where I started crying), and an owl flew over our heads and began hooting. As I was peddling like hell, Ned was behind me reassuring me that everything was okay. Needless to say, when we finally returned to asphalt I was ecstatic. It was a lot like taking an E ticket ride at Disneyland, but without the safety net of knowing it would work out okay. I can happily report that I’m writing this in the safety of the locked winniemobile, as possums wander by.

Louisian Man: Chicot State Park, LA 6/1/08

I skipped the complimentary waffles this morning for my usual cup of yogurt. I figure Cajun’ country is just around the corner and I’m holding out for boudin, bignets, crawfish and other savory delectables. We did one last spin thru Galveston and I have to admit I really enjoyed this populated beach town. (Things I learned: Galveston is the oldest Texas city and the average water temp of the Gulf is 87 deg.) We took the ferry from Galveston to Point Bolivar. It was great to feel the warm breeze, see all the shrimp boats surrounded with birds and watch the hubbub of the port. We drove along the spit and for miles and miles saw sherbet colored houses on stilts and enjoyed the wildlife. At one point, Ned spotted a flying pink flamingo! We stopped at a beautifully arranged fruit stand, selling everything from tropical fruits to hot peppers and green tomatoes. We were blown away by the sweet aroma of the strawberries and peaches. Yep, we had to buy some to add to our papaya, apricot and apples previously purchased. Ironically, we came upon the town of Winnie and had to stop for several photo shoots of the beloved Winniemobile posing near her namesake. We finally crossed into Louisiana and Ned broke out in song, “Louisiana Man.” That boy had been holding out on me!! Who knew he had a Cajun-zydeco song (and several stanzas too) in his repertoire? We spent the next several hours exploring some of the back roads and finally stopped to eat at a local restaurant, Fauste. Ned settled on a crawfish po’boy and I had some tasty chicken-sausage gumbo. It was a wonderfully spicy smoky soup. We took another back road, called the Old Spanish Trail, to our night’s destination of Chicot State Park, in Ville Platte. For most of the time we drove thru flat lands of rice fields and what we guess were crawfish farms (flooded fields with traps). The unexpected beauty of this state park is that the terrain suddenly changes from open fields and flatlands to “pineywoods” (what the locals call it) and hardwood forests. This heavily wooded state park is 6,400 acres situated around a multi-fingered lake. We threw on our bathing suits, hopped on our bikes and headed toward the closest water – the Olympic size pool. It was fairly empty (in fact, this whole park is almost completely empty. There is only one other camper in our section of the campground!). I asked the teenage lifeguard if “the lake was a boating lake or a swimmin’ lake.” He chuckled and said, “You definitely don’t want to swim in that lake. ¬I wouldn’t swim there. There’s gators and stuff in there.” We also were asked not to swim in the deep end of the pool on account it was too cloudy and there wasn’t a clear view of the bottom (ha-ha). After cooling off, we just had to check out the lake. It’s truly something out of a movie-set. The water is deep green, big cypress trees are populated through-out the lake, more of a bayou, the insects periodically make a deafening sound and then are eerily quiet, a bullfrog is bellowing, and the birds make it sound like a tropical paradise. I think we are more aware of nature here because there are so few humans! Everything in Ville Platte is closed, on account of it being Sunday and all, so Ned and I will conjure up a meal of fruit salad, peanut butter and crackers, a glass of viognier, (beer for Ned) and read out loud Jimmy Carter’s ‘An Hour Before Dawn.’ Tomorrow we will begin exploring deep Cajun country, including the capital of the confederacy during the civil war. We ain’t in Kansas anymore.