Bryce Canyon - Celebrating the World God gave us!

This last 4th of July weekend Andy, Vienna and I took our first road trip in two years. Andy was one day pining that we might not take another road trip again as a family since Vienna is engaged and an adult and in college and all those things that so often mark the transition away from family adventures with your parents - ok I have to stop that or I'll start crying. Anyway, Andy was pining this potential loss when Vienna piped in that she was up for a road trip. So, we put our heads together and after rejecting a few destinations, came up with one we could all agree on - Bryce Canyon in Southern Utah.

Southern Utah is, in my opinion, the most beautiful region in the entire world - at least so far as I have seen. It actually gives me a feeling of true awe - not the kind of the modern vernacular of "awesome, dude" but the kind of awe you would have if you were in the presence of angels. The scenery of huge red cliffs, monoliths and buttes towering over you is completely captivating. This trip, I was completely surprised, though by the 30-mile stretch of interstate 15 that cuts across the northwest corner of Arizona. I'd never noticed how beautiful the mountains were and you seem to wind right through them with no effort at all as they surround you as you go.

Plus, I absolutely love travelling in Utah. As a Mormon that has never lived there, I just love seeing the beehives on the state road signs and knowing what they mean. I loved the time I was walking through a small Utah town and saw a shop window decorated with a tree covered in popcorn and thinking "I get that!". It's just fun.

So, Thursday night we piled into the car and started the 14-hour drive. I won't give you too much detail about the trip. You can get that on Andy's blog if you like. But, anticipating the days ahead and the hours spent together was exciting and relaxing at the same time. It wasn't always like that for me, though.

Andy, Vienna and I have been on a lot of roadtrips - almost every year since 1996. Andy has created websites or blogs about most of those (I'll put some links below). When we first started doing roadtrips, I was not a fan. In fact, I put up quite a fight for a good 10 years or so. Fighting because they were a hassle, took time out of my oh-so-exciting life of work (sensing my sarcasm?) and meant less time for me at home - and for a homebody like me that's a big deal. I felt like I was taking time away from my goals and the money we spent couldn't be spent on what I wanted for myself.

But a few years ago something changed. I'm not sure what it was but I think it went along with a lot of other changes that were happening that I won't go into here. (I'm trying to keep this post light-hearted.) Somehow I realized that my job was just a way to earn money so I could have a home and do things with my family - that is literally why I had a job at all. I started caring less about how much time I took off work - who cares if I have to take time off without pay? All that pay is for anyway is to be able to do things just like this so stop worrying about it. Once I let go of the stress of taking time off of work, the other stresses went away and I started to not only enjoy the trips, because I always enjoyed them, but started looking forward to them more and being excited for the time with my family.

Then, I started realizing all of the amazing things we have seen on the road of the magnificent country. There is literally no part of this country that isn't wonderful for one reason or another. The South has such charm, fantastic BBQ and a homey feel you don't get in other places (and I really want to explore Louisiana more - what a different culture, there!). The northeast has amazing cities, lakes and gorgeous color in the fall. The mid-west has just so many trees and things that you don't expect- like the Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota. A building made of corn husks! Go figure! The northwest has vast expanses of sky and Andy's favorite landmark, Devil's Tower in Wyoming. And of course the Southwest is probably my favorite with deserts, mesas, native american food and culture, Joshua trees and Suaro cacti. Andy and I have been to every state in the lower 48 and Hawaii. And Andy's even been to Alaska - I can't wait until I can go via the Alaskan highway. How many people can say that?

And then there's the pop-culture that is always imbued in whatever locale you're in: the cowboy culture of Texas and the west, Route 66 which has probably more pop-culture icons associated with it than any other landmark in the country, the nautical theme that permeates Maine and the Northeast, and the New England states with American History represented in names, signs and businesses everywhere. And did I mention Louisiana? The French/Cajun culture is completely unique to anywhere else in the country. We truly have a great country.

I guess I've been all over the place in this post but my bottom line is this - if you haven't been out there, GET OUT THERE! Get on the road! If someplace is less than 2 days drive then don't take a plane - pack the car and go! You can't see the country from the air. You can maybe make out the plots of farm-land in different colors, but you can't see the trees and plants up close and guess what's being grown from that tiny window on the plane. If the thought of spending hour after hour in a car bores you just thinking about it, then remember that it is time with your family that you'd never have otherwise with everyone's hectic lives. You get to see so many beautiful things if you just watch out the window. A boring desert isn't boring when you contemplate what kinds of plants and animals can survive there, what it must feel like to walk through it (don't be afraid to get out and find out, either!), and the giant mountains that are coming up right in front of you.

And, there's always the opportunities to stop at the roadside diners, tourist traps and shops. Not only do they break up a long trip but you can get close to the local communities and people that make a trip memorable.

So, now when I take a roadtrip with my family, I am reminded of how grateful I am to my Father in Heaven for all that he has given us in this world - the beauty and variety, the people and my family. We really do live in a great land that has so much to see. I hope that if you haven't already, you can get out there and see it too!

Here are some of our previous roadtrips:

2009 Diner Tour

2008 Great Western Roadtrip

2008 Andy's Route 66 tour (Rt. 66 was our very first roadtrip in 1996 but it was before we started doing the websites. It is a definite MUST on the list of amazing US roadtrips)

2007 BBQ Tour

2006 Cross Country trip

2002 Hawaiian Holiday (While not fully a roadtrip, we definitely rented a car and toured the islands of Oahu and Kuai by road)

2001 President Trek (A Marathon trip when we visited a site for every President)

2000 Texas Roundup

My Sambos day

I don't know how many out there remember Sambo's from when they were young. I do and it was kindof a magical place. To think that you were eating special butter that came from tigers!! Of course this makes no sense to you if you haven't been to a Sambo's or don't know the story of Little Black Sambo, actually a children's book published in the early 1900s and adopted by Sam (Samuel Battistone) and Bo (Newell Bohnett) to be the theme of their restaurant.

Basically, Little Black Sambo gets a new red coat, blue trousers, green umbrella and purple and red shoes from his parents. As he strolls through the jungle with all his new garb, he meets 4 tigers on separate occasions. Each one threatens to eat him so Sambo gives each a piece of his clothing to trade for his life. Each tiger agrees, takes the article and goes off wearing it and thinking he is the grandest tiger in the jungle. When the 4 of them meet, they argue and fight over who is the grandest until they begin to fight. But, first they each take off their article of clothing. So, as they're fighting Sambo takes them back and leaves. The tigers begin to chase each other around a tree, holding onto the tail of the one in front of him, not wanting to let go. They start going faster and faster until they all turn into butter. Sambo's dad comes along, scoops up all the butter and takes it home where Sambo's mom makes pancakes with it.

What a charming story!! And, on the walls of the Sambo's restaurant are pictures depicting the main scenes with the tigers so even as a child you know the story and look forward to that delicious butter! It's a grand childhood memory.

But, somewhere along the line, maybe even before the restaurant - some racists started calling African Americans Sambo, and was adopted as a racial slur and so then all of a sudden, Sambo's began to disappear from around the country. Now, there is just one left - the original in Santa Barbara that still has the pictures on the wall and now sells memorabilia, including a reprint of the original story book.

This last Saturday, I got to go to Santa Barbara and visit this last Sambo's. I don't think I've been as excited to go anywhere in a long time. The pictures were there that I remember, I got pancakes with butter, and even got one of the storybooks and a stuffed tiger with a Sambo's t-shirt on. It was a childhood memory come true. I felt all whimsical and childlike again! What fun it was!

I am so sad that these special restaurants, telling this wonderful story, had to go because of the ignorance and hate of some people. But, I am really glad that I got to go to the original and last Sambo's which seems like it's still going to be there for a while. If you're ever in Santa Barbara, check it out and tell your kids that the butter is very special - made from tigers! They'll love it!

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.

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.