Thursday, Aug. 14 on the road

As the Woodland Family 2008 road-trip nears its end, I find myself cherishing every moment I can. I need to because these moments are fleeting – more-so now that I will be leaving Vienna at college in just two weeks. I am glad we’ve been taking lots of photos and video this time.

Since my last writing, we have left Yellowstone and explored Idaho which has been very interesting. We’ve seen some of the state before but this time we took a little more time. We stopped at a few towns along the way – mainly to take pictures of temples (there are lots of them in this area being so close to Utah). The one below is in Twin Falls, ID. We also stopped at an old fashioned root beer drive in called Frostop. We had root bear floats and enjoyed the small-town atmosphere.

The biggest adventure of yesterday was the Craters of the Moon national monument. When Andy first expressed interest in it I thought – “ok – just humor him. It shouldn’t take that long”. But as we approached the entrance we saw some of the park from the road. It looked like a vast landscape of charred ruins. We learned that this is the site of lots of volcanic activity thousands of years ago and it left the land desolate and black. But, life (as it always does) has found a way into the crumbled rock and lava. You see plants growing out of it and even animals have come to live there and survive. It’s its own ecosystem and when you start to explore it, it becomes more and more interesting.

The best part was the caves. These are actually lava tunnels that you can explore. You enter the caves climbing down rock piles, similar to those we’ve seen at Yosemite. It can be a bit dangerous but as long as you’re careful, it’s a lot of fun. The first cave was the Dewdrop cave which wasn’t very big but it was really neat and the light inside was quite artistic the way it played on the rocks. The second one we explored was the Indian Tunnel. This one is unique because you can walk all the way through it and not need a flashlight because parts of the roof have collapsed to make skylights. There was one part that was almost completely dark, though and we heard bats above us. When we got to the end it was a huge pile of rocks to climb up and we noticed that there was too much of a gap between the rocks and the edge of the opening so we worried that we’d have to go back to get out. But the map of the cave clearly showed an exit. So we climbed the pile and realized that the cave went on afterward – this was just a collapse to climb over. It was such an adventure and when we finally did come to the end, the cave became narrow and raised up to the roof where there was just a small hole to climb out of. Once we did we looked around and didn’t see any trail – just a wide expanse of black rocks. Then, we saw the sign telling us to follow the rock markers back. We ended up walking back over the length of the cave over the lava. What a weird feeling that was to be in the middle of all that where all you could see around you was black bumpy rocks. It was vast.

By the time we were done – it was way past our dinner time so we headed to Twin Falls – about 84 miles away. The best part was that it was sunset and a beautiful night. Both Andy and Vienna drove along with a gorgeous sunset all the way and a cool breeze– the colors were beautiful and we all just had a lovely tranquil feeling.

We are now in Twin Falls getting ready for our last day on the road. We’re going to see Nevada and then head home through California. I’m sure we still have some adventures left ahead of us.

August 13th on the road

Since I last wrote, we’ve seen a lot of great stuff. At Devil’s Tower, we not only saw the tower but also “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”, Andy’s favorite movie and part of going to DT and we saw the prairie dogs! We love the prairie dogs. Just inside the DT monument park, there is Prairie Dog Town – a giant field full of little mounds and holes with prairie dogs all over. They come out of their tunnels and bark at each other and eat the grass and other goodies around the field. They are the cutest things ever and we spent plenty of time watching and photographing them. Some are like sentinels that come out of their holes and when they see us (threats) they bark a lot to warn the others. Their barks sound like little yips. We always enjoy getting a kabin at the KOA just outside of DT. You can watch the sunset behind the tower and wake up in the morning to see it on your way to the bathroom. It’s pretty cool.

The second morning we were there, we got up super early – 4:00 am to see the Persiod meteor shower. We saw about 2 dozen or so shooting stars before we got too cold and had to go back to bed. They were very cool, though.

Now we’re in Yellowstone park, another of my favorite stops on this trip. Yellowstone is great for seeing wildlife – especially bison, this time. The bison is my favorite thing to look for up here – they are so majestic and to think that they were once on the verge of extinction just makes me so excited to see so many! Today, as we drove along, there was a herd of them by the road and at times, a few would just start crossing the road or even getting in the road and just walking along it. It slows the traffic way down but I just love the thought of these great animals taking charge of their world and not caring about these big cars on the road.
We saw them frolicking! They would chase each other, roll around in the dust and even play like they were children. We, of course got out of the car to take pictures and even though we were instructed quite a lot not to approach them – they approached us! Well, they got close to us because they wanted to get by us. They would stop and wait for us to move and then go past us. Many people in cars told us we were crazy and about to get killed but there were plenty of others doing the same thing and the bison were actually quite docile and didn’t care about us in the least. I felt very safe the whole time.

Last night was no fun, though. We camped at the Bay Bridge campground, which would have been fine except the temperature was in the 30’s – not at all fun. Vienna slept in the car but Andy and I spent the night curled up together and rolling over at the same times so that we could maintain body heat. It was freezing! Andy was quite smart this morning and switched our reservation to a cabin at the Old Faithful lodge. Much more comfortable!

Speaking of Old Faithful, Andy and I spent the evening watching it erupt and touring the geysers and hot springs in the area. They are quite beautiful in the sunset. Andy, in particular loves the geysers. He got some great footage of Old Faithful erupting.
He also got to swim, today in a river at the Firehole area. He’s been looking forward to swimming here in the park and at first it didn’t look possible. It was cold, today and cloudy. When we got there, it started to drizzle, there were a lot of rocks to step on the current was pretty strong. But, he saw some kids jumping right into the white-water and getting whooshed into the current and just had to do it. Vienna didn’t like that idea at all after her experience in the tube the other day but no one can stop Andy when he gets an idea in his head. Luckily, he didn’t get hurt and he said he had a great time. We may go there again in the morning if the sun is out and it’s warmer.
The only thing we haven’t seen that we wanted to was a bear. We’ve been trying to see a bear the whole time here in Yellowstone with no luck. Vienna especially wants to see one. We’ll try again in the morning but I think it’s really hard to see one. Apparently, there are only about 600 or 700 of them in the whole park – and it’s a huge park. Otherwise, we have seen mule deer, chipmunks, antelopes and birds like geese and ravens. The mountains, lakes and other landscapes are gorgeous, too. Just a few more days left of this trip. I have to say, I’m going to be sad to see it end.

Still road-tripping Aug. 6th

Once again I was awed by the beauty of the land that is in our country. Today, we drove through a gorgeous section of Colorado – highway 550 going north from Durango to Montrose. Though the road was much curvier than most roads I’ve been on, it was worth it to see the tree-covered mountains, occasionally showing the red and brown earth underneath. You could literally see cascades – layers of mountains in the distance, just like the poems, songs and movies we’ve all encountered them in. Still, not as awesome as Monument Valley (I tend to prefer jutting rocks and sand to the green trees) but I thoroughly enjoyed the drive.

But, I promised to talk about Mesa Verde. In case you haven’t heard of Mesa Verde, it’s a National park in southern Colorado, dedicated to actual cave dwellings that were found in the cliffs of the mesas. Anasazi or Ancestral Puebloans as they are called, built homes in the sides of cliffs within natural alcoves. They are a fascinating sight and learning about the people and how they lived was very interesting. The biggest cave dwelling in North America is the Cliff Palace at Mesa Verde. Over a hundred people lived in this home with over a hundred rooms built from bricks and mortar. We enjoyed exploring it and a few other dwellings at the park.

Of course, last night was also quite an adventure. We camped in the park, apparently during monsoon season. So, we set up our tent in the afternoon and Vienna reminded us to put up the rain cover. We almost didn’t but figured it only took a few minutes so we did. Thanks to Vienna we avoided a flood in the tent. We still spent the night in the tent with the wind and rain alternatingly keeping us awake. It sounded a lot worse than it turned out to be but it was scary while it lasted. At least we know we have a good, sturdy tent!

The next couple of days are going to be much more relaxing. We’re in a lovely hotel in Gunnison, CO, surrounded by mountains and fresh air. We’ll be driving little and relaxing a lot.

Another day of the Wood 2008 Road-Trip

Whenever I take a road-trip through different parts of the country, I am always amazed at the incredible beauty that God has put on this earth. Yesterday and today, we drove through and photographed Monument Valley, which I have never seen before. It was truly magnificent. Only in other parts of Southern Utah have I seen such majesty. If you haven’t been through southern Utah, it would be the first place I would recommend. Every time I go through, I am stunned by the buttes, mesas and gigantic ridges all around. Yes, I like it even better than the Grand Canyon. Maybe, only because I’ve never been down to the bottom but, I prefer immense things towering over me. They fill me with awe.

So far, we’ve seen the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Four Corners and are now at Mesa Verde. Grand Canyon was beautiful, as always. The only drawback is that when you look down at it, it doesn’t seem real. Maybe it’s the haze that was there but it flattens out the scenery, like a photograph. Andy and Vienna went to see the sunrise early in the morning – good for them. I just thought they’d like some daddy-daughter time so I slept in – purely selfless act on my part :-).

We did hike down into it – some. We are real wimps when it comes to strenuous activity. We went down about ¾ of a mile, but it seemed like 2 miles, easily. Of course, coming back up was harder but we managed well, taking very frequent but short breaks. All in all it took us only 1 ½ hours so not too bad. But, we were worn out and ready for lunch.

That afternoon, we drove out the east entrance, stopping at spots along the way to see different vantage points. It was gorgeous. This time, it was Vienna’s turn to sleep in the back seat. After GC, we headed toward Monument Valley. I was very excited at the prospect of seeing it as I’d seen the pictures and they were all stunning. Sure, enough – we weren’t disappointed. The late afternoon sun shown brightly and red on the faces of the East and West Mittens, the three sisters and all the other huge monuments jutting out of the desert. At one point, I could imagine that it was once a city for giants that had long been deserted and left to disintegrate. Truly, one of the most beautiful sites I’ve ever seen!

Then, this morning, Andy and I woke up very early to go photograph the valley by morning light. This was one of Andy’s dreams since he’d seen some beautiful images in that light. Again, it was beautiful but in a totally different way. The monuments so brightly lit the day before were now in silhouette and the other side that was in shadow the day before was now bright yellow. We could also see for miles the lights and shadows created by many layers of other monuments as far as the eye could see.

After picking Vienna back up at our hostel room in Bluff, UT we headed out. But, not too far because only 2 blocks from where we stayed at the Far Out Expeditions guest house, there is a rock formation called the Navajo Twins and right beneath it is a lovely café with a gift shop – too much for us to resist.

Then it was on to Four Corners – a necessary stop as we passed only 5 miles from it anyway but not something you would want to go too far out of your way to see. Literally, it’s just a platform with a cross cutting it into quarters with the four states listed in their appropriate section. There is a small tower to climb to take pics and then all around the platform are little flea market shops with Native Americans selling jewelry, figurines and other folk art. Vienna and I did enjoy getting some jewelry.

More about Mesa Verde, soon!

Day 1 of Roadtrip 2008 with the Wood Family

August 2, 2008

Today we left Scotts Valley for our last roadtrip before Vienna goes off to college. We are going to see several national parks – Grand Canyon, Mesa Verde, Devil’s Tower and Yellowstone. We’re also seeing Monument Valley, which isn’t technically a national park but supposed to be awesome. I can’t wait. I’m especially excited to spend these two weeks just me and my family on the road.

Today we drove to Needles – about an 8 hour trip – 9 with stopping for lunch, and mostly through the central valley of California and the Mojave Desert. I am sure the temperature topped 100 degrees though I don’t know for sure. Most of the drive was uneventful but we were expecting that. We did take a detour through Amboy on route 66, which was cool. Route 66 seems to attract the strange, unusual and often goofy. We stopped by a shoe-tree - a tree on the side of the road that people have thrown many pairs of shoes into. We’ve seen one before on route 50 up north so it’s not unique to 66 but then we saw another shoe-tree and then a bra-tree. Now, that was unique.

Amboy, itself is a ghost town that has one famous attraction – Roy’s Café and gas station. A very famous 66 landmark, it is in the process of being renovated along with the motel on the property. Apparently, someone recently bought the town and wants to make it a thriving community. Good luck. It’s a long way off but it would be great if it works.

Just past Amboy we saw the stretch of road where people have spelled their names and made other things with rocks. It was very neat. We thought about getting out again, but after enduring the oppressing heat for the shoe-tree and Amboy we couldn’t bear the thought of getting out again.

We enjoyed the time in the car, chatting, listening to cool music and enjoying the scenery as we passed by. We made it into Needles at about 5:30 and cooled off in our air-conditioned room before heading off for dinner at a local 66 tourist restaurant – the Wagon Wheel. Good food, service and a little gift shop – all requisites for a good 66 place. After a good walk in the evening heat, I took a cold shower – not by choice and am now relaxing and getting ready for tomorrow’s adventure – the Grand Canyon.