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!