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Southwestern Summer 2011
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Monday, June 13, 2011
Home again, home again, jiggety jig.
Well, we're home. It's really cold and moist here! When we drove into town last night we were wearing shorts and t-shirts. We got quite a shock when we got out of the car and were hit with the cold San Francisco wind. Ugh, I didn't miss that.
So... our trip. We drove to San Diego via Palm Springs and the Salton Sea. Mike had never seen Palm Springs and was curious. It was as I remembered it; full of palm trees and well-heeled people. We didn't stop, we just drove through. When we got to the city limits of Coachella, I suddenly remembered the Anthony Bourdain episode where he had a date shake in Indio. Too late! We missed the date shake place.
I had read about the Salton Sea and was curious to see it. I wanted to see it for the same reason why I want to see Detroit. I'm interested in decay. I don't know why. The Salton Sea may be a depressing environmental disaster, but it's a fascinating disaster.
We stopped at Desert Shores, Salton Sea Beach, and Salton City. We drove around and looked at the ruined buildings and took photographs. Some people still live in these places within ramshackle trailers and mobile homes. And oddly, there was a large amount of newly built homes in Salton City. I don't know why anyone would want to live there. It's not a very nice place and stunk to high hell from all the dead fish.
We arrived in San Diego around 4. San Diego drivers are awful! There were several times where we were almost killed. I had to pull over and let Mike take over, I was so freaked out.
A friend recommended we stay in Little Italy at the boutique hotel La Pensione. We stayed in a very stylish room on the third floor. There was a balcony that overlooked the Little Italy sign and a bunch of little cafes. I couldn't stop sighing with pleasure when I took a hot shower and washed off all the sweat, sunscreen, and bug spray. And that bed! It was so white and fluffy...I felt like I was sleeping in a cloud.
Even better was that we each had our own bed. I was able to stretch out and hog all the covers and kick all I want. Yes!
We walked over to the Gaslamp District for dinner. It was not what I expected. I thought it would be a quaint little historical district with a few small quiet eateries. No. It was a huge area jam packed with loud people. It seemed to be the San Diego party zone. I was okay with that. After spending several days surviving on peanut butter and jelly eaten while driving and gas station jerky, I was ready for a nice dinner amongst a crowd of people. We walked around for about 45 minutes, trying to decide where to eat. At first I thought I wanted to eat Middle Eastern, but that changed once we saw this beautiful Indian restaurant called Masala. It was more about how the place looked than the food they served. It looked like an exotic palace.
The next day we took the train to Old Town. Again, it was not what I expected. I was hoping to see historical buildings but instead it was just a giant tourist trap full of shops. A guide I had read recommended touring the Whaley House. It was supposedly haunted and quite spooky. It turned out to be a bunch of old stuff behind glass windows. What a rip-off!
San Diego's mass transit is really nice and made me a little jealous. Their trains are so modern and fast. Not like San Francisco's crappy old light rail system that is constantly breaking down and stranding me in subterranean tunnels. But I am not jealous of San Diego's modern, boring architecture. San Francisco has them beat with our beautiful old Victorians.
After Old Town we went to Balboa Park. It was a really neat place. We walked around and looked at the old Spanish style buildings and visited the Botanical Building. There were a lot of really talented street performers we stopped to watch.
Grandma told us that we had to check out Hotel del Coronado. It was really impressive! We thought it was so lovely that we decided to have dinner there. After that, we went for a drink at bar near our hotel called Starlite. It had a 70's space age theme. Very cute.
Yesterday we left for San Francisco. Driving home was AWFUL! There were two terrible traffic jams on the 5. At several points we were at a stand still for an hour. It was a relief to finally get home.
Overall, it was a wonderful trip. The only thing I regret about it is not getting a date shake. We want to travel around the Southwest again soon. There are still so many places we have yet to see.
Check back later to see our photos. I'm going to be uploading them over the next several days.
Thanks for reading!
So... our trip. We drove to San Diego via Palm Springs and the Salton Sea. Mike had never seen Palm Springs and was curious. It was as I remembered it; full of palm trees and well-heeled people. We didn't stop, we just drove through. When we got to the city limits of Coachella, I suddenly remembered the Anthony Bourdain episode where he had a date shake in Indio. Too late! We missed the date shake place.
I had read about the Salton Sea and was curious to see it. I wanted to see it for the same reason why I want to see Detroit. I'm interested in decay. I don't know why. The Salton Sea may be a depressing environmental disaster, but it's a fascinating disaster.
We stopped at Desert Shores, Salton Sea Beach, and Salton City. We drove around and looked at the ruined buildings and took photographs. Some people still live in these places within ramshackle trailers and mobile homes. And oddly, there was a large amount of newly built homes in Salton City. I don't know why anyone would want to live there. It's not a very nice place and stunk to high hell from all the dead fish.
We arrived in San Diego around 4. San Diego drivers are awful! There were several times where we were almost killed. I had to pull over and let Mike take over, I was so freaked out.
A friend recommended we stay in Little Italy at the boutique hotel La Pensione. We stayed in a very stylish room on the third floor. There was a balcony that overlooked the Little Italy sign and a bunch of little cafes. I couldn't stop sighing with pleasure when I took a hot shower and washed off all the sweat, sunscreen, and bug spray. And that bed! It was so white and fluffy...I felt like I was sleeping in a cloud.
Even better was that we each had our own bed. I was able to stretch out and hog all the covers and kick all I want. Yes!
We walked over to the Gaslamp District for dinner. It was not what I expected. I thought it would be a quaint little historical district with a few small quiet eateries. No. It was a huge area jam packed with loud people. It seemed to be the San Diego party zone. I was okay with that. After spending several days surviving on peanut butter and jelly eaten while driving and gas station jerky, I was ready for a nice dinner amongst a crowd of people. We walked around for about 45 minutes, trying to decide where to eat. At first I thought I wanted to eat Middle Eastern, but that changed once we saw this beautiful Indian restaurant called Masala. It was more about how the place looked than the food they served. It looked like an exotic palace.
The next day we took the train to Old Town. Again, it was not what I expected. I was hoping to see historical buildings but instead it was just a giant tourist trap full of shops. A guide I had read recommended touring the Whaley House. It was supposedly haunted and quite spooky. It turned out to be a bunch of old stuff behind glass windows. What a rip-off!
San Diego's mass transit is really nice and made me a little jealous. Their trains are so modern and fast. Not like San Francisco's crappy old light rail system that is constantly breaking down and stranding me in subterranean tunnels. But I am not jealous of San Diego's modern, boring architecture. San Francisco has them beat with our beautiful old Victorians.
After Old Town we went to Balboa Park. It was a really neat place. We walked around and looked at the old Spanish style buildings and visited the Botanical Building. There were a lot of really talented street performers we stopped to watch.
Grandma told us that we had to check out Hotel del Coronado. It was really impressive! We thought it was so lovely that we decided to have dinner there. After that, we went for a drink at bar near our hotel called Starlite. It had a 70's space age theme. Very cute.
Yesterday we left for San Francisco. Driving home was AWFUL! There were two terrible traffic jams on the 5. At several points we were at a stand still for an hour. It was a relief to finally get home.
Overall, it was a wonderful trip. The only thing I regret about it is not getting a date shake. We want to travel around the Southwest again soon. There are still so many places we have yet to see.
Check back later to see our photos. I'm going to be uploading them over the next several days.
Thanks for reading!
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Friday, June 10, 2011
Salt
June 10th, 2011
I wrote the previous entry last night. We are currently just below the Salton Sea and headed towards San Diego. More later.
I wrote the previous entry last night. We are currently just below the Salton Sea and headed towards San Diego. More later.
Kielczyski
June 9th, 2011
We are currently in Joshua Tree National Park at Jumbo Rocks campground. This is one of the coolest campsites I've ever had. The campground is full of jumbo rocks and various desert plants like Joshua trees, cholla, ocotillo, and prickly pear. My tent is surrounded by giant sloping rock walls. Last night we climbed them and watched the sunset. In about half an hour I'm going to climb up those rocks again to watch another sunset. Yes! This is the life.
But before I get ahead of myself with extolling all the awesome virtues of Joshua Tree, let me tell you about what happened before we got here.
When I last wrote, I was in Scottsdale and just about to head out the door to see Grandma and Grandpa in Sun City West. It takes about an hour to drive there and we got there around one. Grandma was on a mission to fatten us up and served us a fun lunch of cheese, crackers, fresh fruit, chips, carrots, hummus, sausage, toast... and much more. Grandma gave us a tour of all the family member photographs in the house. Later in the afternoon, we took the golf cart to the swimming pool. I just love driving that thing. I don't know why. It felt really nice to cool off in the water. Also, I didn't feel insecure in a swimsuit for once since everyone else there was old enough to be my grandparent. Ha!
Grandma insisted I take some of their books before I left. I spent quite awhile looking them, picking out what I wanted. My favorites were the old ones. There were all kinds - comics from World War 2, a 1970's Chicago travel guide with really cool graphics I plan on using for inspiration in my own design work, a '60's era book full of gorgeous color illustrations about outer space... and lots more. Oh how I love books! When we moved to California we put most of them in storage which I regret. We would certainly have the room for them if we bought bookshelves.
It was hard to part from Grandma and Grandpa. I don't see them as often as I would like to due to the distance. I hope to visit them again soon.
One thing I regret about the Phoenix leg of our trip was not having enough time to explore the city proper. Most of our time was spent in the peripheral suburbs, so we didn't get the proper flavor of the city. One of the nights we were able to meet up with our friend Allison at her hotel in downtown Phoenix and from what we saw, it seemed pretty hip. We picked up the local weekly, and from what I read in it Phoenix seems to have lots of cool music venues, galleries, and restaurants. Maybe next time we'll have more time to explore.
We got up pretty early the next morning to pack up and tidy up the Scottsdale townhouse. Wayne, if you are reading this... you are either a popular guy or have neighbors who really watch your property closely. We must have met 6 different people who came over looking for you and introduced themselves to me. Or maybe people are just friendly in Scottsdale? I'm so used to living in the big city where your neighbors either totally ignore you or give you a brief "hello."
We took 10 to Joshua Tree. It was a pretty dull drive and I had to drink some diet soda to keep awake. Yuck. At least we had Uncle Keith's tales to keep us entertained.
We arrived at the southern end of Joshua Tree around 6. It wasn't impressive at all. But, we knew there had to be a reason why it was so popular so we drove on. Every National Park I've been to has some wow factor.
The first campground we came upon was Cottonwood Springs. I had done my research and knew JT had 9 campgrounds total. Only two of which had drinking water, and Cottonwood was one of them. We were not impressed with Cottonwood and decided to move on and check out the other campgrounds, even though we were losing valuable daylight. It was a decision that wasn't easy to make since water is so important to have in the desert.
I had read on Tripadvisor.com that Jumbo Rocks was both super cool and full of drunken dude bros so I knew it was a gamble. When we arrived, the campground was almost empty and we had a great selection of sites to choose from. After we set up camp, we climbed up the rocks to watch a very colorful sunset. It was the first time in my life I'd ever seen a purple sunset. I tried to photograph it but the color didn't turn out.
We were terribly low on food so we drove to the tiny town of Joshua Tree outside the park and found a dive-y taqueria. The food was cheap and excellent. When the cook started singing along with the Banda music we looked at each and remarked on how much we loved traveling.
We slept really well. I woke up at 6 am to eat breakfast and have my tea before the temperatures went into the 90's. Around 10 am the shade disappeared, the insects came out in full force, and it got ridiculously hot. We got in the car and drove into town to kill the time during the hottest hours of the day. Around 3 we hiked a bit around Keys View and Barkers Dam. We've seen a lot of guys on this trip; a sidewinder snake, a less harmful snake, jackrabbits, hummingbirds, lizards, some other crazy reptile, beetles, kangaroo rats, and pocket gophers. JT is abundant with life of all sorts. Don't be fooled by thinking that the desert is a wasteland.
I'm going to sign off now. Time to relax next to the fire and crack a beer. Tomorrow we leave for San Diego!
We are currently in Joshua Tree National Park at Jumbo Rocks campground. This is one of the coolest campsites I've ever had. The campground is full of jumbo rocks and various desert plants like Joshua trees, cholla, ocotillo, and prickly pear. My tent is surrounded by giant sloping rock walls. Last night we climbed them and watched the sunset. In about half an hour I'm going to climb up those rocks again to watch another sunset. Yes! This is the life.
But before I get ahead of myself with extolling all the awesome virtues of Joshua Tree, let me tell you about what happened before we got here.
When I last wrote, I was in Scottsdale and just about to head out the door to see Grandma and Grandpa in Sun City West. It takes about an hour to drive there and we got there around one. Grandma was on a mission to fatten us up and served us a fun lunch of cheese, crackers, fresh fruit, chips, carrots, hummus, sausage, toast... and much more. Grandma gave us a tour of all the family member photographs in the house. Later in the afternoon, we took the golf cart to the swimming pool. I just love driving that thing. I don't know why. It felt really nice to cool off in the water. Also, I didn't feel insecure in a swimsuit for once since everyone else there was old enough to be my grandparent. Ha!
Grandma insisted I take some of their books before I left. I spent quite awhile looking them, picking out what I wanted. My favorites were the old ones. There were all kinds - comics from World War 2, a 1970's Chicago travel guide with really cool graphics I plan on using for inspiration in my own design work, a '60's era book full of gorgeous color illustrations about outer space... and lots more. Oh how I love books! When we moved to California we put most of them in storage which I regret. We would certainly have the room for them if we bought bookshelves.
It was hard to part from Grandma and Grandpa. I don't see them as often as I would like to due to the distance. I hope to visit them again soon.
One thing I regret about the Phoenix leg of our trip was not having enough time to explore the city proper. Most of our time was spent in the peripheral suburbs, so we didn't get the proper flavor of the city. One of the nights we were able to meet up with our friend Allison at her hotel in downtown Phoenix and from what we saw, it seemed pretty hip. We picked up the local weekly, and from what I read in it Phoenix seems to have lots of cool music venues, galleries, and restaurants. Maybe next time we'll have more time to explore.
We got up pretty early the next morning to pack up and tidy up the Scottsdale townhouse. Wayne, if you are reading this... you are either a popular guy or have neighbors who really watch your property closely. We must have met 6 different people who came over looking for you and introduced themselves to me. Or maybe people are just friendly in Scottsdale? I'm so used to living in the big city where your neighbors either totally ignore you or give you a brief "hello."
We took 10 to Joshua Tree. It was a pretty dull drive and I had to drink some diet soda to keep awake. Yuck. At least we had Uncle Keith's tales to keep us entertained.
We arrived at the southern end of Joshua Tree around 6. It wasn't impressive at all. But, we knew there had to be a reason why it was so popular so we drove on. Every National Park I've been to has some wow factor.
The first campground we came upon was Cottonwood Springs. I had done my research and knew JT had 9 campgrounds total. Only two of which had drinking water, and Cottonwood was one of them. We were not impressed with Cottonwood and decided to move on and check out the other campgrounds, even though we were losing valuable daylight. It was a decision that wasn't easy to make since water is so important to have in the desert.
I had read on Tripadvisor.com that Jumbo Rocks was both super cool and full of drunken dude bros so I knew it was a gamble. When we arrived, the campground was almost empty and we had a great selection of sites to choose from. After we set up camp, we climbed up the rocks to watch a very colorful sunset. It was the first time in my life I'd ever seen a purple sunset. I tried to photograph it but the color didn't turn out.
We were terribly low on food so we drove to the tiny town of Joshua Tree outside the park and found a dive-y taqueria. The food was cheap and excellent. When the cook started singing along with the Banda music we looked at each and remarked on how much we loved traveling.
We slept really well. I woke up at 6 am to eat breakfast and have my tea before the temperatures went into the 90's. Around 10 am the shade disappeared, the insects came out in full force, and it got ridiculously hot. We got in the car and drove into town to kill the time during the hottest hours of the day. Around 3 we hiked a bit around Keys View and Barkers Dam. We've seen a lot of guys on this trip; a sidewinder snake, a less harmful snake, jackrabbits, hummingbirds, lizards, some other crazy reptile, beetles, kangaroo rats, and pocket gophers. JT is abundant with life of all sorts. Don't be fooled by thinking that the desert is a wasteland.
I'm going to sign off now. Time to relax next to the fire and crack a beer. Tomorrow we leave for San Diego!
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
It's hot in the desert.
June 7th, 2011
Wow, has it really been 5 days since I last wrote a nice long blog? I guess so. I have a lot to update you on.
When I last wrote, we were headed to the Grand Canyon. We woke up relatively early in Kingman and had a breakfast in our room of bagels, jam, and peanut butter. Let me tell you... after this trip I am done with the combination of peanut butter and jelly and Thomas brand bagels for quite awhile. When you're road tripping, you want to keep a supply of non-perishable food in the car during long drives to prevent having to stop to eat and waste valuable driving time. We've been surviving on the aforementioned pb&j and bagels, dried fruit, nuts, granola bars, apples, Nutella, cheese crackers, juice boxes, and LOTS of jerky. In fact, almost every time we stop for gas we pick up some jerky sticks. They're easy to eat and have lots of protein.
We've also been drinking gallons of water. It's very hot and dry in the desert so you've got to constantly be drinking water to stay hydrated. It seems like I can't drink enough. I'm always thirsty. The problem with this constant thirst is that I constantly have to go to the bathroom. Argh!
We got to Grand Canyon National Park around noon. By then the main campground Mather had filled up. The ranger told us there were 30 empty spots during last count in Desert View campground, which was about half an hour away from where we where. We debated for awhile about what to do... see if there were any spots left in Desert View and camp there for a few days or check out the canyon for a few hours and then head towards Phoenix. Mike had camped in Mather before and told me it was a disappointment. But, I really wanted to camp so we decided to chance it at Desert View. After all, our car was packed with camping supplies.
When we got to Desert View, we discovered it was really nice. It was very quiet and had lots of plant life. We chose a site that was relatively secluded and set up camp. The campground had a little general store where we picked up some firewood, beer, and weenies to roast for dinner.
We spent the rest of the day checking out the Watchtower and going on a little hike around the rim. Mike liked to scare me by walking perilously close to the edge of the canyon. I told him I was not ready to be a widow at the age of 34.
I had read on Tripadvisor.com that the Desert View area was a great place to watch the sun set. Definitely true. I tried to take pictures of the sun setting over the canyon but no still photograph can do justice to how the canyon looks in reality. While we watched the sun sink over the horizon, we took in a ranger talk about "park-itecht" Mary Colter, the woman responsible for designing the Watchtower and the Hopi House.
The wind died down after the sunset and we had a pleasant night's sleep. The next morning we had a leisurely pancake breakfast. By the time we were ready to go for a hike, it was about noon. As I am sure you all know, we both move at a slow speed. I even set the alarm for 7:30. I'm not sure why it takes us so long to get anywhere.
We wanted to hike down into the canyon, but it's not a good idea to hike down into it after 10 am. The unbelievably hot temperatures are very dangerous during strenuous hikes. We decided to deal with the hellish heat and walk down to the first station anyways. I wanted to be able to say I hiked into the canyon- yah know, check it off my life list.
We packed a lot of water and some snacks and made our way down. Watching the panting and sweating people hiking back up worried me. There were quite a few signs warning of death which didn't help to assuage my fears. After a very steep hike downwards, we ran into a ranger who told us were only half way to the first station. I didn't want to wuss out, but I felt like it wasn't worth it. Besides, we were both feeling a bit dizzy even though we had been drinking a lot of water. I had heat exhaustion once before in my life and I didn't want it again. We turned back. Once we got up to the top we decided to hike around the rim for a bit. It was blisteringly hot, but we got to take in some very dynamic views.
That evening we made Hobo Dinners. We cut up a bunch of vegetables and covered them with spices and a few pats of butter. We wrapped this all up tinfoil and stuck it into the campfire for awhile. Delicious! That's living, my friends.
On Sunday we hit the road. On our way out, we stopped in the Navajo Reservation to check out their handicrafts. I picked up a beautiful turquoise and coral silver ring. It reminded me of digging through Mom's jewelry box as a child. In fact, any Native American arts and crafts make me think of Mom.
As we drove, we continued to listen to Keith Richards autobiography audio book. It's been so entertaining and have made the miles fly by. Ask me to do my Keith Richards impression for you.
The Phoenix area is surrounded by National Monuments, Parks, and Forests. When we drove past Wupatki National Monument, We decided to pull over and check it out. I have never seen Native American ruins, a lava field, or a crater... and here was my chance! If you ever find yourself in that region, definitely check that park out. The lava was crazy. It was a large area of large, twisted chunks of lava and black fields of cinder. The ruins were fascinating and beautiful. However, do not hike up the crater. After spending half an hour climbing a steep grade in 100 plus degree heat to see a subtle depression in the earth, I was quite disappointed.
We drove through Oak Creek Canyon and had dinner in Sedona. I haven't been there since I was a teenager. I had hazy memories of it being very red and full of t-shirts shops and new age crystals places. My memory was correct. It was pretty awesome to be back among civilization and eat something substantial, but we were ready to go after some lady tried to put the hard sell on us to stay in a fancy hotel for the night for the low price of $14 in exchange for enduring a timeshare marketing pitch. Mike had no idea what she was doing but I saw right through her. Besides, all I could think about was getting to Phoenix to see Grandma and Grandpa.
It was quite a haul to Scottsdale to Wayne and Leslie's townhouse. We arrived around midnight, showered, and fell asleep right away. I cannot thank W&L enough for letting us stay in this great place. It's been so comfortable and nice.
Yesterday we spent the day with Grandma and Grandpa in Sun City West. It was wonderful to see them! Which reminds me... I need to finish this blog and get over to see them again today.
Blog at you again soon!
Wow, has it really been 5 days since I last wrote a nice long blog? I guess so. I have a lot to update you on.
When I last wrote, we were headed to the Grand Canyon. We woke up relatively early in Kingman and had a breakfast in our room of bagels, jam, and peanut butter. Let me tell you... after this trip I am done with the combination of peanut butter and jelly and Thomas brand bagels for quite awhile. When you're road tripping, you want to keep a supply of non-perishable food in the car during long drives to prevent having to stop to eat and waste valuable driving time. We've been surviving on the aforementioned pb&j and bagels, dried fruit, nuts, granola bars, apples, Nutella, cheese crackers, juice boxes, and LOTS of jerky. In fact, almost every time we stop for gas we pick up some jerky sticks. They're easy to eat and have lots of protein.
We've also been drinking gallons of water. It's very hot and dry in the desert so you've got to constantly be drinking water to stay hydrated. It seems like I can't drink enough. I'm always thirsty. The problem with this constant thirst is that I constantly have to go to the bathroom. Argh!
We got to Grand Canyon National Park around noon. By then the main campground Mather had filled up. The ranger told us there were 30 empty spots during last count in Desert View campground, which was about half an hour away from where we where. We debated for awhile about what to do... see if there were any spots left in Desert View and camp there for a few days or check out the canyon for a few hours and then head towards Phoenix. Mike had camped in Mather before and told me it was a disappointment. But, I really wanted to camp so we decided to chance it at Desert View. After all, our car was packed with camping supplies.
When we got to Desert View, we discovered it was really nice. It was very quiet and had lots of plant life. We chose a site that was relatively secluded and set up camp. The campground had a little general store where we picked up some firewood, beer, and weenies to roast for dinner.
We spent the rest of the day checking out the Watchtower and going on a little hike around the rim. Mike liked to scare me by walking perilously close to the edge of the canyon. I told him I was not ready to be a widow at the age of 34.
I had read on Tripadvisor.com that the Desert View area was a great place to watch the sun set. Definitely true. I tried to take pictures of the sun setting over the canyon but no still photograph can do justice to how the canyon looks in reality. While we watched the sun sink over the horizon, we took in a ranger talk about "park-itecht" Mary Colter, the woman responsible for designing the Watchtower and the Hopi House.
The wind died down after the sunset and we had a pleasant night's sleep. The next morning we had a leisurely pancake breakfast. By the time we were ready to go for a hike, it was about noon. As I am sure you all know, we both move at a slow speed. I even set the alarm for 7:30. I'm not sure why it takes us so long to get anywhere.
We wanted to hike down into the canyon, but it's not a good idea to hike down into it after 10 am. The unbelievably hot temperatures are very dangerous during strenuous hikes. We decided to deal with the hellish heat and walk down to the first station anyways. I wanted to be able to say I hiked into the canyon- yah know, check it off my life list.
We packed a lot of water and some snacks and made our way down. Watching the panting and sweating people hiking back up worried me. There were quite a few signs warning of death which didn't help to assuage my fears. After a very steep hike downwards, we ran into a ranger who told us were only half way to the first station. I didn't want to wuss out, but I felt like it wasn't worth it. Besides, we were both feeling a bit dizzy even though we had been drinking a lot of water. I had heat exhaustion once before in my life and I didn't want it again. We turned back. Once we got up to the top we decided to hike around the rim for a bit. It was blisteringly hot, but we got to take in some very dynamic views.
That evening we made Hobo Dinners. We cut up a bunch of vegetables and covered them with spices and a few pats of butter. We wrapped this all up tinfoil and stuck it into the campfire for awhile. Delicious! That's living, my friends.
On Sunday we hit the road. On our way out, we stopped in the Navajo Reservation to check out their handicrafts. I picked up a beautiful turquoise and coral silver ring. It reminded me of digging through Mom's jewelry box as a child. In fact, any Native American arts and crafts make me think of Mom.
As we drove, we continued to listen to Keith Richards autobiography audio book. It's been so entertaining and have made the miles fly by. Ask me to do my Keith Richards impression for you.
The Phoenix area is surrounded by National Monuments, Parks, and Forests. When we drove past Wupatki National Monument, We decided to pull over and check it out. I have never seen Native American ruins, a lava field, or a crater... and here was my chance! If you ever find yourself in that region, definitely check that park out. The lava was crazy. It was a large area of large, twisted chunks of lava and black fields of cinder. The ruins were fascinating and beautiful. However, do not hike up the crater. After spending half an hour climbing a steep grade in 100 plus degree heat to see a subtle depression in the earth, I was quite disappointed.
We drove through Oak Creek Canyon and had dinner in Sedona. I haven't been there since I was a teenager. I had hazy memories of it being very red and full of t-shirts shops and new age crystals places. My memory was correct. It was pretty awesome to be back among civilization and eat something substantial, but we were ready to go after some lady tried to put the hard sell on us to stay in a fancy hotel for the night for the low price of $14 in exchange for enduring a timeshare marketing pitch. Mike had no idea what she was doing but I saw right through her. Besides, all I could think about was getting to Phoenix to see Grandma and Grandpa.
It was quite a haul to Scottsdale to Wayne and Leslie's townhouse. We arrived around midnight, showered, and fell asleep right away. I cannot thank W&L enough for letting us stay in this great place. It's been so comfortable and nice.
Yesterday we spent the day with Grandma and Grandpa in Sun City West. It was wonderful to see them! Which reminds me... I need to finish this blog and get over to see them again today.
Blog at you again soon!
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Back on the grid!
It's 11 pm and we just arrived in Scottsdale. I haven't posted since Friday since we didn't have phone service or an internet connection in our Grand Canyon campsite. I have a lot to blog about- stay tuned!
Thursday, June 2, 2011
I've been told there are catfish the size of VW buses at the base of the Hoover Dam.
June 2nd, 2011
Unfortunately we didn't make it to the Grand Canyon. Tonight we're staying at the Silver Queen Inn in Kingman, Arizona. It was 9 pm and we were still driving so we decided to pull over and find a place to stay for the night. We were hoping we'd find a campground but no such luck. Kingman is the opposite of Baker which only had two sketchy motels to choose from - Kingman has too many hotels to choose from. It was hard to decide on which one. Mike told me I was in charge of picking, so I settled on a place called The Silver Queen Inn. I liked the name, it didn't look too creepy, but most of all I was tired of driving around. It's ok. It passed the bed bug test but it stinks of fake chemical cleaner. Eh well. You can't have it all.
Today was great. We started off by checking out the alien jerky place. Clearly the guy who ran the place was not a fan of our president since there was Tea Party crap everywhere like "Obamacare Hot Sauce" that had a ridiculous label depicting Obama in an unflattering manner. We picked up some space cowboy jerky, an Area 51 mug, and Dublin Dr. Pepper, which we've been looking for forever! It's apparently quite delicious.
After that we drove into the Mojave National Preserve. What a beautiful place! The Kelso sand dunes were incredible. You're driving through a brown and red hued desert and all of a sudden you see giant beige sand dunes rising up in the distance. I had no idea sand dunes like that existed anywhere outside beaches or the Sahara desert. We hiked through the dunes and saw lizards, a small groundhog type guy, and an adorable little fox. They were all the same beige color as the sand. There was a movie crew filming a scene with what looked like an Arabian ninja and a snake oil salesman from an old time medicine show. We saw the Arabian ninja guy from a distance and thought it was some guy LARPing in the middle of the desert. Ha.
Did you know the Mojave National Preserve contains the largest Joshua Tree forest in the world? It's true. We drove through it and wow, what an incredible and odd sight. Miles upon miles of those bizarre Dr. Suess trees.
Driving through Las Vegas was hard for me. You know how I love to look at things and Vegas has lots of bizarre architecture and interesting billboards to gawk at. Advertisements for bankruptcy lawyers, magic shows, bunion removal, and strip clubs...Las Vegas is not my bag but I still find it interesting to look at and wonder about. A place where "sin" is sanctioned. America's puritanical uptightness manifests itself in the weirdest of ways.
We spent so much time messing around in Mojave that we missed the last 2 hour tour at the Hoover Dam. We made it to the last minute 30 minute tour at 5 without a minute to spare. It was still fascinating though. What an incredible feat of engineering! Good job, humanity! And the Art Deco design is perfect. We both love Art Deco so we spent a lot of time ooh-ing and ah-ing over the architectural details. I think if they built that dam today they would have designed it to be built in the most ugly, inexpensive, and utilitarian way possible. Sigh.
Alright. I'm tired. Time for bed. Tomorrow the plan is to wake up early and hit the road and get to the GC before all the good camp sites are gone. Wish us luck... and stay tuned.
Unfortunately we didn't make it to the Grand Canyon. Tonight we're staying at the Silver Queen Inn in Kingman, Arizona. It was 9 pm and we were still driving so we decided to pull over and find a place to stay for the night. We were hoping we'd find a campground but no such luck. Kingman is the opposite of Baker which only had two sketchy motels to choose from - Kingman has too many hotels to choose from. It was hard to decide on which one. Mike told me I was in charge of picking, so I settled on a place called The Silver Queen Inn. I liked the name, it didn't look too creepy, but most of all I was tired of driving around. It's ok. It passed the bed bug test but it stinks of fake chemical cleaner. Eh well. You can't have it all.
Today was great. We started off by checking out the alien jerky place. Clearly the guy who ran the place was not a fan of our president since there was Tea Party crap everywhere like "Obamacare Hot Sauce" that had a ridiculous label depicting Obama in an unflattering manner. We picked up some space cowboy jerky, an Area 51 mug, and Dublin Dr. Pepper, which we've been looking for forever! It's apparently quite delicious.
After that we drove into the Mojave National Preserve. What a beautiful place! The Kelso sand dunes were incredible. You're driving through a brown and red hued desert and all of a sudden you see giant beige sand dunes rising up in the distance. I had no idea sand dunes like that existed anywhere outside beaches or the Sahara desert. We hiked through the dunes and saw lizards, a small groundhog type guy, and an adorable little fox. They were all the same beige color as the sand. There was a movie crew filming a scene with what looked like an Arabian ninja and a snake oil salesman from an old time medicine show. We saw the Arabian ninja guy from a distance and thought it was some guy LARPing in the middle of the desert. Ha.
Did you know the Mojave National Preserve contains the largest Joshua Tree forest in the world? It's true. We drove through it and wow, what an incredible and odd sight. Miles upon miles of those bizarre Dr. Suess trees.
Driving through Las Vegas was hard for me. You know how I love to look at things and Vegas has lots of bizarre architecture and interesting billboards to gawk at. Advertisements for bankruptcy lawyers, magic shows, bunion removal, and strip clubs...Las Vegas is not my bag but I still find it interesting to look at and wonder about. A place where "sin" is sanctioned. America's puritanical uptightness manifests itself in the weirdest of ways.
We spent so much time messing around in Mojave that we missed the last 2 hour tour at the Hoover Dam. We made it to the last minute 30 minute tour at 5 without a minute to spare. It was still fascinating though. What an incredible feat of engineering! Good job, humanity! And the Art Deco design is perfect. We both love Art Deco so we spent a lot of time ooh-ing and ah-ing over the architectural details. I think if they built that dam today they would have designed it to be built in the most ugly, inexpensive, and utilitarian way possible. Sigh.
Alright. I'm tired. Time for bed. Tomorrow the plan is to wake up early and hit the road and get to the GC before all the good camp sites are gone. Wish us luck... and stay tuned.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Alien Fresh Jerky
June 1st, 2011
We are currently in Baker, California at the Wills (not Wells) Fargo Motel. It's a tiny town right on the edge of the Mojave National Preserve. Blink and you miss it. It's a bit of an odd place. Next door is a store called Alien Fresh Jerky. Across the street is the tallest thermometer in the world, which happens to be only half functioning. Ha.
When we hit Baker at 8 pm the sun was going down. We debated for awhile... keep driving another hour or two and miss all the beautiful scenery and set up our tent at 10 pm? Or check into a motel and check out the lava flows, cinder cones, and 700 foot tall sand dunes tomorrow? We opted for the latter and I'm glad we did. Mike is reading a park brochure and just informed me that the highly venomous Mojave rattlesnake is most active at night. Wills Fargo has a bit of a no tell motel vibe, but at least I don't have to worry about a snake chomping down on my hand. We did a thorough bed bug inspection and the room appears to be clean.
So... our day. We got a later start than I had hoped for. After my sister left early afternoon yesterday, we did laundry and grocery shopped. I got half the packing done before I went to bed. This morning we packed up our clothes, loaded up the car, and got on the highway at 10 am. I was shooting for 8:30 am, but anyone who knows us can attest to the fact that we move a little slower than most people.
Traffic wasn't so bad. There was a storm at our backs as we drove out of the Bay Area. I felt like every time I turned around and looked out the back window, the black clouds seemed to be following us. We lost them once we hit the 5 or as the locals call it "The Grapevine." Along 5 is miles and miles of farm fields. Occasionally we'd pass a small town or a field of oil rigs. We listened to Keith Richards audio book for entertainment. Interesting stuff.
We hit the mountains around Tehachapi. I saw a billboard proclaiming it "the wind capitol of the world" or something. I'd say that's true. There were hundreds of white wind turbines of all sizes lining the ridges of the mountains. It was hard for me to focus on my driving at this point. Watching those giant turbines spinning in unison was hypnotizing.
We had dinner in Barstow, wondering why someone would live there... or any other tiny desert town for that matter. How do people end up in these places? For the mining jobs or something? It seems so boring. I wonder if it's the truckers that keep the economies here going since there seems to be nothing but fast food joints and truck stops. Eh, what do I know. We are just passing through, and I wouldn't be surprised if the people who live here think we're crazy for living in a place like San Francisco.
Tomorrow we're going to check out the Mojave National Preserve and the Hoover Dam and hopefully set up camp at the Grand Canyon. Let's hope the weather is nice. This may sound odd, but it was kind of cool in the desert today. Definitely too windy. Tomorrow I want sun, temperatures in the upper 70's, and NO WIND.
We are currently in Baker, California at the Wills (not Wells) Fargo Motel. It's a tiny town right on the edge of the Mojave National Preserve. Blink and you miss it. It's a bit of an odd place. Next door is a store called Alien Fresh Jerky. Across the street is the tallest thermometer in the world, which happens to be only half functioning. Ha.
When we hit Baker at 8 pm the sun was going down. We debated for awhile... keep driving another hour or two and miss all the beautiful scenery and set up our tent at 10 pm? Or check into a motel and check out the lava flows, cinder cones, and 700 foot tall sand dunes tomorrow? We opted for the latter and I'm glad we did. Mike is reading a park brochure and just informed me that the highly venomous Mojave rattlesnake is most active at night. Wills Fargo has a bit of a no tell motel vibe, but at least I don't have to worry about a snake chomping down on my hand. We did a thorough bed bug inspection and the room appears to be clean.
So... our day. We got a later start than I had hoped for. After my sister left early afternoon yesterday, we did laundry and grocery shopped. I got half the packing done before I went to bed. This morning we packed up our clothes, loaded up the car, and got on the highway at 10 am. I was shooting for 8:30 am, but anyone who knows us can attest to the fact that we move a little slower than most people.
Traffic wasn't so bad. There was a storm at our backs as we drove out of the Bay Area. I felt like every time I turned around and looked out the back window, the black clouds seemed to be following us. We lost them once we hit the 5 or as the locals call it "The Grapevine." Along 5 is miles and miles of farm fields. Occasionally we'd pass a small town or a field of oil rigs. We listened to Keith Richards audio book for entertainment. Interesting stuff.
We hit the mountains around Tehachapi. I saw a billboard proclaiming it "the wind capitol of the world" or something. I'd say that's true. There were hundreds of white wind turbines of all sizes lining the ridges of the mountains. It was hard for me to focus on my driving at this point. Watching those giant turbines spinning in unison was hypnotizing.
We had dinner in Barstow, wondering why someone would live there... or any other tiny desert town for that matter. How do people end up in these places? For the mining jobs or something? It seems so boring. I wonder if it's the truckers that keep the economies here going since there seems to be nothing but fast food joints and truck stops. Eh, what do I know. We are just passing through, and I wouldn't be surprised if the people who live here think we're crazy for living in a place like San Francisco.
Tomorrow we're going to check out the Mojave National Preserve and the Hoover Dam and hopefully set up camp at the Grand Canyon. Let's hope the weather is nice. This may sound odd, but it was kind of cool in the desert today. Definitely too windy. Tomorrow I want sun, temperatures in the upper 70's, and NO WIND.
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