Grand Canyon, Thursday & Friday, May 29^th & 30^th

Friday, May 30^th.   The boys are still asleep in the tent; the raven’s call woke me or was it the cold morning air?  I’m sitting on a wooden bench with a towel to keep my butt semi-warm, oh is it ever cold.  Yesterday we arrived at the Grand Canyon, obtained one of the few available tent sites and set out for a 6-mile hike along the canyon’s rim.  Michael declared that the canyon is too large, overpowering in size.  I enjoyed his description and added that it had way too many people too.  We walked to the Bright Angle trailhead and the boys were able to gaze upon the trail with its many switchbacks that I once hiked on a long time ago on a trip to the bottom and out.   I would have liked to arrange such a trip for us here but that would have meant having reservations months in advance and that’s not how we are running this trip.  I would also need to be in better physical shape to tackle such a hike too.

We also saw some really,  really stupid people at Grand Canyon.     Many were walking along the rim edge, or out onto rocks that even caused the boys to be concerned about.  The really stupid folks  were  the ones who went out to the edge with their little 2yo in an umberella stroller and the front wheels were out in the mid-air.  Have they never seen a little toddler  release himself from a stroller?   It was nerve-wracking to watch and thankfully they did move back to the rim trail and we walked off.   The GCNP policy is that as long as a person does not endanger someone down below then a person can go where they choose.  Not us, and I never had to caution or request my boys not to go out or ask them to move away from the rim.

We’ve seen some interesting license plates such as the one on the RV across from us; NONEEDS.  Very appropriate license plate on this RV –bus-size home.

We’ve seen enough of the canyon, did our laundry too so we are pulling out today and heading for Bryce.

Tuesday & Wednesday, May 26 & 27, 2008

Once packed we headed north to Phoenix, enjoyed a lunch with a nephew I hadn’t seen since ’89 and one that neither Mark nor Michael had ever met.  He’s a nice man, and Michael easily related to him.  Shame that he isn’t closer.

From Phoenix we stopped into Cabela’s to pick up some cold-weather gear for Mark.  Thankfully we found a $50 jacket reduced to $12 for him since he needed it at our next stop, Bonita Campground in Coconino National Forest.  Last night was COLD, and oh so windy. We’re talking near freezing cold!   At one point the wind was so strong that the tent and suitcases were lifted off the ground, stakes went flying and we had to set the tent upright from the inside since we had all been fast asleep.  Mark was sent to retrieve Michael from his bivvy tent while I laid close to the windward side and held the tent in place, from the inside, while I laid in my warm bag.  Mark and Michael exchanged many nasty words while they worked to reset stakes so this morning we will not travel anywhere until they are right with each other again.  Not a pretty scene at all last night but the sun is shining this morning, the wind is absent, and the hummingbirds are flying by.

Prior to the wind and the tent being ripped out of the ground Michael asked me to join him outside to view night objects.  The lack of a nearby city and since we were at 7000’ made the night sky crisp and filled with stars.  He pointed out objects and I used his strong bionicles to try and find the objects he pointed to.  Michael’s excitement for finding these objects was really fun to be around and I just enjoyed the moment as he enjoyed finding one distant object after another, ones impossible to find in our light-polluted eastern sky.

Several National Monuments sit around Bonita; Sunset Crater, Wupatki (an Indian Ruin), and Walnut Canyon (Cliff dwellings) and we visited each one.  On the suggestion of a friend we traveled east about 50 miles to Meteor Crater, a big hole in the ground, run by a private company.  While it was nice to see it was expensive to enter, $30, and their museum signage had grammar errors galore.  Rather fun to watch the boys pick out the errors as they read the information.   It’s a place we could have easily missed.

Once back in camp we decided to hike to the fire tower on a nearby mountain peak.  When we paid our camp host for our two nights we asked our usual question; what would you suggest to do in the area?  In the course of our conversation he mentioned the five-mile hike to the mountaintop on a logging lane that isn’t used by truckers anymore.  The view from the top was going to be magnificent.  Although it was already 3:30, and really too late in the day to start on such on a long hike, we gathered up water, a few snacks, some warm jackets and headed up the mountain.  We also agreed that if we hadn’t reached the top by 6pm we would turn back.  We hiked, up and up and up, stopping for water, stopping to force Mark to eat a few granola bars when he took on his grumpy-attitude which he does when he is really, really hungry and even so hungry that he doesn’t realize he is hungry.  He improved and we walked always looking up at the blue sky and seeing the tower come closer and closer.

At 5:30 with about a guess of 500 vertical feet left and probable a mile more, I called us to turn back.  The sun was actually getting way too low in the sky for me, the temperature was dropping quickly and the wind was kicking up.  The way down, while we didn’t have to fight gravity, was difficult.  The wind was strong, 30-40mph, the temperature kept dropping and I had not had a snack since lunch.  My reserves were totally depleted and while munching on some raisins and nuts helped a bit we were all so very thankful to get into the camp by 7pm as we watched the sun set and darkness fall.  If we had proceeded to the top we figure at least an hour of hiking would have been in the dark, with a flashlight to guide us.  Eight miles was a good afternoon hike, don’t you think?

Sunday, Monday, Tuesday May 25 – 27

Sequoia National Park, outside Tucson, AZ   (Se-war-oh)

Moving on one of the tips the couple on Sugarloaf shared with us Mark navigated us to Pima Air Museum.  This is the largest private museum of aircraft in the world and holds a fabulous collection of WWI, WWII and other planes.   Michael did not want to stop but once there enjoyed the place.  My most often asked questions to others we meet in camps or trails or really, anytime we start chatting with others is a ‘what do you recommend we do in this area’ question.  Mark & Michael are learning that others are a wonderful source of information.  Michael remarked earlier that I was being quite chatty with the rangers and other folks we were meeting and he was finding it quite weird.  I explained that if I didn’t chat with others how would we learn which spots we should visit.  Believe me he does not hold back either when meeting others and inquiring as to where we should go.  On our last trip while on a tour through Mammoth cave he heard another adult mention that she was from Nashville.  Even though this woman mentioned this to another adult Michael remembered who she was and later when he could he started a conversation with her, asking her what we should see in Nashville.  Her tips made for an enjoyable 3-hr stop for us. 

Dry with a very strong sun sums up this place.  Last week’s rain enabled the desert plants to bloom and be green.  A green desert but not the green of the east since the gray and brown gravel ground still prevails. The campground, Gilbert Ray, is huge but empty and coming here without a reservation is not an issue.  We found a site with a pavilion too which kept the strong morning, afternoon and evening sun off us.  The night was cold, in the low 40’s and the wind kicked us giving us lots of worries about our tent staying in place.  The ground was too hard for stacks so we dropped our tent in the morning.

We spent our first full day here at the Sonora Desert Museum.  I really questioned myself before we spent the money, cause that’s what it boiled down to, whether or not the boys would gain anything from this museum. 

What a great place!   It was a mixture of nature field walk and a desert zoo.  Both boys really enjoyed the place and while their brochure suggests that one would spend 3 to 4 hours there we left after seven hours.  Great place.  My favorite had to be the hummingbird exhibit where we walked among the hummingbirds as they busily drank nectar, searched for bugs, and cared for their young.  It was also the place where we learned that their diet consists of 90% insects and only 10% nectar.  We had always thought that these tiny birds couldn’t exist solely on just nectar but needed protein somehow.  When the center first opened they found baby bird eggs were falling out of the nests.  The hummingbird center lacked spiders and sure enough the birds need the sticky spider web material to hold their nests together.   Great museum to go to and seems to run mostly on docents since we never saw a staff member.

From the desert museum we took a little scenic drive to the top of Mt. Lemmon.  Standing at 9000’ above a 2000’ floor provides one with great views of the area.  Brown, lifeless was what we saw and while the geology is interesting the lack of greenery and the appearance of lifelessness is not at all appealing to any of us.  The drive to the top was far more difficult on me than the drive down—love that second gear—-and somewhere on the way down we all decided that we would leave this area in the morning.  We had seen enough of the dry desert area.

Friday, Saturday & Sunday, May 23^rd to 25^th

Chiricahua National Monument  (CH-ear-COW-ah)

Chiricahua Apache called these pinnacles “Standing Up Rocks”.  Their origins began 27 million years ago when eruptions from the Turkey Creek Volcano—that’s a SUPER VOLCANO the likes of which we have not seen—-spewed ash over 1,200 square miles.  These superheated ash particles melted together, forming layers of gray rock called rhyolite.  Cooling and subsequent uplifting created joints and cracks in the rhyolite.  Eons of weathering by ice wedging and erosion by water enlarged the4 cracks.  Weaker material was washed away leaving behind an endless v variety of spires, balanced rocks, and other shapes.  This sculpting by the forces of nature continues today. 

This was our next the national park destination and was found back when we were exploring national parks on the web many months before.  We had no idea how the place would be however we quickly fell in love with this remote little park.  The visitor center was smaller than most state park VC’s, the campground has only twenty-some sites and there are only 17 miles of hiking trails which we explored thoroughly.

Once camp was set up we headed up the mountain to Echo Canyon.  At 6780’ it was far above the campground and in the heart of the pinnacles.  We chose to do a little 3-1/2 mile hike on Echo Canyon Trail, Hailstone Trail—ironically little pellets hailed upon us— and Ed Riggs Trail.  On our second night we attended a rangers talk on the CCC and heard about the CCC boys, working from ’35 to the start of WWII, named the trails they built.  Of course once we completed that hike we couldn’t call it a day but set upon hiking the Silver Spur Meadow Trail.  We were treated to seeing turkeys and deer and added another 3 miles onto our hike total.

Our second day the park’s van picked us up and carried us to Massai Point at 6870’.  Even though we were not hiking at really high altitudes Mark and I felt the lack of air.  We were told that this hike was all down hill.  Well, do not believe everything a ranger tells you.  We hiked down a little bit and then up, and up before going down again.  The CCC boys named these trails Mushroom Rock Trail, Inspiration Point Trail, Big Balanced Rock Trail, Heart of Rocks Loop and Sarah Deming Trail.  I wonder who she was?  In all we hiked 9.44 miles and past one picture-perfect rock formation after another; Punch and Judy, Duck on a Rock, Mushroom Rock China Boy, Sea Captain, Thor’s Hammer and many, many more.  Of course once we completed that hike we couldn’t call it a day!  Oh no there was still the hike up to Sugarloaf Mt that Michael asked to do. 

Off we went for another 1.8-mile hike up to this mountaintop. Now that might not sound like much but we were hiking at altitudes where the air is thinner and us sea-living folks felt that.  Also,  I was exhausted but that’s what we do sometimes for our kids, and I’m glad we did.  The hike wasn’t too bad and at the top we struck up a conversation with another couple.  The lead in was their two dogs but we soon learned they were from Tucson, our next destination.  We asked what we should see and they poured out tips galore for us.

Serendipity.  We rely upon it often to assist us on what to see and where to go on our trip.

Lizards, well, there were way too many to count and Mark just had to take a photo of each and everyone.  Which brings up another ‘event’.   Mark is carrying an inexpensive digital camera and taking photos of everything he sees.  Somewhere during our visit at Chiricahua Mark decided that he wishes to be a photographer but not just any photographer.  He wants to work for the National Geographic Society.  We’ll see.   And the six turkeys and one very noisy male that came through our campsite were photographed dozens and dozens of times, along with the seven deer we spotted on our hikes,   Mark missed taking shots of the Acorn Woodpeckers but photographed many of the Mexican Jays trying to steal our food.

Wonderful Trail Comments:

Mark — This is awesome.  This is so much fun!

Michael — You OK Mom?

Trail Education

As we hiked through Chiricahua I asked Mark if he could tell me what an igneous rock was, after all, his science this past year was Earth-Space Science.  He fumbled with his response, which didn’t surprise me.  He learns similarly to me; I need to hear, see, and hear and see again and again, many times before it really sinks in.  Since school is always in-session with us we used these hours upon hours of hiking time to review igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks.   I did not have to do anymore than ask the question since ScienceKid jumped right in and started the explaining, the quizzing or asking Mark to narrate back how these different rocks were formed millions of years ago.  Fun too to sit back and listen to these two brothers interact.  Mark would try too to change the subject to lizards, or military craft and after a little dialogue about this new subject Michael would bring the topic right back to igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks.

Today: Windy. Showers early. Isolated thunderstorms by the afternoon. High 68F. Winds SSW at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 50%. Winds could occasionally gust over 50 mph.

That’s the weather forecast for where we are headed today.  Rain? Rain in the desert?  And that’s just what it is doing here this morning too.

Thursday—May 22nd We listened to the weather report, high wind warnings. Yep, why don’t they tell me something I don’t already know? When we returned to camp last night we found our tent blown over but thankfully nothing was torn or destroyed. The night was cooler than the previous but the highway noise distrubed our sleep quite a bit. The boys packed up the campsite and off we headed, west again.

The wind howled at our car, pushed it sideways as we moved through the NM desert. Our first treat was driving through the Lincoln National Forest and watched the temperature drop and drop and drop and drop down through the 60’s, through the 50’s and then into the 40’s. The 40’s! SK remarked how in a mere 100 miles we had seen such amazing changes in the weather and terrain. Instead of looking out over rolling plains we were driving through hills, mountains, pine trees lined but dryness abounding everywhere.

Our first stop was White Sands NM and although SK wanted to hike through the whiteness I fought off his requests, too reluctant to risk being in a dangerous situation again. We took a safe boardwalk trail, and enjoyed the boys shocking each other from the static electricity built up from the boardwalk material. Oh, they also noticed the dune flowers, the movement of the dunes from the wind which pounded us at 40mph, and the plants being covered by the sand. Suddenly the rain began and we drove away from WSNM.

Close by is White Sands Missile Range Museum which not surprisingly was on MK’s list to see. We stopped in for an hour before heading further west and into Gila National Forest. Our path took us up and up and up, all the way to 8200′ before heading to lower ground. All through this drive the wind pounded us and then the rain came. Our destination was Gila National Monument but somewhere on this route SK and I chickened out, changing our route to Silver City, NM, and a hotel room. ahhh, the comforts of modern life. Personally I’ve had enough of hot, dry, windy deserts and so have the boys. SK has changed our route too, we are headed west to the coast, then north to cooler sites. We’ll still stop at the Grand Canyon, Bryce, and Zion but many of our plans will be just that, plans. Stay tuned to see where we really end up.

Oh, and DH sent me the most beautiful email. A photo of one of his roses, the ones he planted for us while I was on my last west trip. Isn’t it beautiful! Just like he is.

He knows that this is important too so he let me know that he’s working away on my kitchen, and I’m missing him too.

Wednesday, May 21st, Early morning the boys packed up the campsite in 40mph, 92 degree heat, and it was only 7am. I was never so happy to leave a campsite. It wasn’t the destination I had dreamed about, no, it was not Eden in the desert. The night had been rough, hot and the 40mph wind rocked our tent continuously through the night. Not a restful night at all.

We drove west-northwest to Carlsbad City, NM only about 120 miles away. About 20 miles away from Belmorhea the air temperature dropped to 72 degrees! It felt so refreshing and I was still feeling a bit weak from the previous days ordeal. By 9:30 we were in NM and setting up a new campsite under a tree in cool 72 degree warmth.

Our next stop was Carlsbad Caverns NP and a hike into the cave’s wonderful 56 degree surroundings. Carlsbad is different than most other caves since it wasn’t formed by flowing water and as such the rooms are huge. SK convinced us to walk in using the natural entrance and I hid from him that I was worried about whether or not I had the strength to walk for an hour and whether my knees would hold out. The cool air of the cave was so refreshing and the first treat was watching Cave Swallows dart in the cave and their nest and back out to collect insects. We walked, we ohied and aied and walked down and down 850 feet where we walked around the BIG ROOM. The boys know their cave structures and pointed out cave popcorn, draperies, soda straws, columns, stalagtities, stalagmites, and compared what they saw to Mammoth Cave, Wind Cave, Jewel Cave, and the other caves we’ve visited over the last several years. We also joined a tour group into the Kings Room, gorgeous.

Back outside the boys agreed to sit around and wait for the bats to emerge from the cave. What wonderful boys I have. I had shared that one thing I always wanted to see were bats exiting from Carlsbad Caverns. I had seen photos of such a sight but here we were and I wanted to see it in person. The only problem was the 3 hour wait and what to do during all that time? We sat in the park’s book shop until it closed, had a dinner of summer sausage and water, and sat on a stone bench for the rest of the time.

Finally the ranger came and shared the rules; no electronic, no photos, no phones, no noise, and fingers-crossed the bats would appear. On cue the bats began to emerge, wave upon wave upon wave upon wave upon wave upon wave,….. for a full 25 minutes, thousands and thousands and thousands of bats flew out. We estimated that evening that we saw at least 200,000 bats exit that cave. What a grand sight!

Bats, a cool cave, and wonderful sons to share it all with. Only one thing would have made it better, having DH with us to share it too.

Tuesday, 20th

Out the door at 5am we were on our way to Balmorhea State Park. It was nice to have control of the air conditioning as we drove through 99 degree heat sitting in 75 degree comfort. No one was telling us that we should just toughen it up and learn to deal with the heat, no, we were riding in comfort.

At the little town of Midland, TX (home to Pres and Laura Bush) we stopped to visit the C.A.F. (another air force museum). This little museum had a wonderful explanation of the events leading up to WWII and the events of WWII. I really enjoyed reading their displays while MK pointed out one weapon after another. His favorite item was the B29, but he also liked looking at the nose art, what little of it we permitted him to see. If someone from the movie industry gave it a rating I think it would have an R or maybe an X. SK moved him out of the room really quickly, very protective of his little brother’s innocence. SK favorite was the FE4.

As we continued to drive across the flat, dry area of SW TX we spotted Dust Devil after Dust Devil, finally chasing one down the highway and passing it by just a few yards.  What a huge cloud of dust swirling up and up in the air.  The boys took turns taking photos and discussing what causes such a sight. 

Finally we arrived at Balmorhea State Park as the outside air reached 107 degrees. The boys quickly set up the tent while I pulled the kitchen gear out of the car. We changed into our suits and drove over the pool. The water was a cool 75 degrees and felt oh so refreshing. It was now 5pm. SK and MK shared goggles to examine the fish and I took a turn with them swimming across the pool. This pool is fed by 3 million gallons of spring water everyday and the pool covers 1-3/4 acres of land, 25′ deep.

Suddenly my skin started itching, my legs, arms, back,… it felt like it was on fire and my wrists felt swollen. I headed out of the water, fought off nausea feelings, and dizziness while I laid my upper body onto a picnic table. I called for SK to get me help before collapsing to the ground. While I didn’t pass out I thought I would if I didn’t lay down. Was I having an allergic reaction? What was going on with me? I never felt so instantaneously ill — no, that doesn’t even come close to describe how awful I felt.  

SK ran, retrieved the park manager who took me to his very cold office and offered to get the ENT but thought I was just suffering from heat exhaustion. I honesty do not see how it could be that since I wasn’t out in the heat for anytime at all. I had been drinking water and was in a 70 degree car all day and then into cool water. Perhaps it was just dehydration although I really wondered if I wasn’t reacting to something in the spring water. We’ll never know since SK wouldn’t allow me back in the water before we left the following day.

Almost immediately after going into the cold park’s office I started shivering. Uncontrollable shivering. What was going on with me? It was a very worrisome hour but finally I was back at our campsite, laying in the tent, shivering in 105 degree heat, drinking water and trying to figure out whether or not I should go to the hospital. It reminded me of the experience Frankie at Kitchen Table Learners had when she was away from home and sick—what would happen to her child? And now here I was, dizzy, nausea, shivering, and worried about my condition and the situation I had gotten my boys into. WTF was I thinking taking them so far away from home and from their dad?

SK heated up a couple cans of ravioli, forced me to eat a couple spoonfuls along with a liter of water and spoke to his Dad every few minutes giving him an update. Finally we agreed at around 10pm that I should stay in camp, drink water and get away from this heat—-92 degrees and very dry wind even early in the early morning hours.

What would I have done without his help? Somewhere between those yesterdays of a Spirited Child, and now this son has become a very responsible young man.

Dehydration or allergic reaction? or was it both? I really would like to know!

We are in TX at my sister’s and having a nice time.  Bit warmer today; 91 degrees here but without the humidity of Delaware.  Yesterday we visited the Scarborourgh Renaissance Fest, saw a few acts, and some very strange folks.  At noon I picked up an orange ice to cool me down—think softball size solid ice—I either got frostbite or had a reaction to it.  My lips swelled so much that I had trouble talking and moving my tongue.   I even stopped eating it with over 3/4 of it left.  The boys laughed quite allot at me and even 9hrs later they were still swelled.  By morning they were ok. 

Today we visited the Grassy Knoll in Dallas, skipped the Book Depository Museum, and went over to Love Field to tour an air museum.  MilitaryKid, outfitted in his camo wear,  was placed into a pilot seat and received his first flight lesson from a Docent who served as a fighter pilot in WW2.  The plane was one used in WW2 to teach new pilots how to fly.  The docent was a wonderful older gentleman who spoke to MK as an adult to another adult.   MK moved the controls learning what each did to the plane in flight, learned what the different instruments meant and was totally non-emotional and indifferent about the entire experience.   UGH!!  Why can’t he show some excitement?   

Tomorrow we are off to the Ft Worth Stock Yards and zoo. Tuesday we leave for SW TX and the beginning of our2 months of camping.  

Day 1 completed.   808 miles driven including one 2-hour stretch that I never, ever want to repeat around DC where we moved 2 miles.  IN 2 HOURS.   UGH!!!!! 

I also learned a new motel trick tonight, is that the right word?   SK wanted the hotel to have an exercise room but I did not want to pay big bucks for our room.   The exit we took had a dozen hotels and was in the middle of no where.  And it was after 9pm.  The hotels know that if they don’t rent a room then they do not have any funds coming in.   I stopped into the Holiday Inn, asked about their price, and when the clerk told me $99.99 I said that maybe I would be back since I was going around checking out the other hotel prices.   She said she could do better and immediately dropped the rate to $69.  Sweet.

SK is working out, MK is watching TV, and I’m relaxing.  Tomorrow it is off to Texas and my sister’s home.

KITCHEN UPDATE

My dear sweet husband is home, working so we can pay for this trip and in the evening and weekends he will be working on our kitchen.  He is so sweet, and nice, and I love him so much.   Tonight he brought down the kitchen ceiling so he can easily install all my new lights.  Ahhh, to work in a kitchen not bothered by shadows.