Utah to Colorado – Sept. 2010

We ended up leaving Roosevelt after those two nights, but not before Joey determined I needed new tires for my car. (I sure am glad he thinks to check things like that.) While we waited for my tires Jewel spent her time in Dinosaur Country chasing Dinosaur Grasshoppers, and I got reacquainted with multi colored landscapes. Being in Hawaii all that time I forgot there were colors other than green and blue.

We decided to head to our familiar stomping grounds of Colorado and made our first pit stop before even leaving Utah. Since we were in no hurry we walked around this desolate spot along the small highway for a bit and found all sorts of neat things. One being this huge cave on the other side of a large wash:

Then there was a partially decomposed Elk

And a not so lucky Raccoon’s tail

When we crossed from the prehistoric land of northeastern Utah into Colorado it was like the landscape changed immediately. Along this two lane mountain highway Joey pulled over because he knew I would just love this view. He was right. I loved it so much I ran across the highway to snap a few pictures, only on my way back I wasn’t paying attention at all until I heard him scream at me….RUN!!….. Instead, I froze, but luckily the truck swerved, coming within inches of almost hitting me. As if I wasn’t shook up enough over that, the rest of the drive down this mountain was littered with falling rocks, and not just rocks, but large boulders.  Thank goodness we didn’t have any oncoming traffic during all the times we had to swerve to avoid the boulders.

Soon enough though we were down in familiar, beautiful, Grand Junction, CO. (I still have yet to climb that mountain!)

I just keep following my Man In His Truck toward one of our favorite places in Colorado, Parachute.

We have friends that are like family that live there, so we went to visit with them while we continue our hunt for the new RV.

Vegas to Utah – Sept. 2010

Before I discovered my missing camera bag, I had taken this one shot of Jonas, with my Droid, snuggled up on my cousin’s couch with her cat. After our sleepless night on the plane it took him less than five minutes to crash.

Then, after I finally uncurled myself off Amy’s couch (three days later) I got on Craigslist to find myself a new car. I was hoping to find a decent conversion van but ended up finding a cute little economical wagon instead. I bought it on the spot, in the dark, and even though they told me I had to go to the DMV in the morning and get my own plates since they were taking theirs, I said screw it and decided to take my chances driving up to Joey in Utah with no plates and nothing but bubble gum holding the Bill of Sale to the rear window.

Just getting back on the road really lightened my spirits and by the time we hit Antelope Canyon along the Arizona, Nevada, and Utah border I was pretty much recovered from my huge loss. I was happy to be back on the road again, and seeing this beautiful country. Plus, I still had the Droid to take pictures with so all was not lost. I also discovered on this trip what it was like to no longer have a gas guzzling Hummer, Dually truck, Bluebird Bus, or Excursion. What a treat! I probably paid less for this car plus the gas than I would I have paid in any one of my previous vehicles, just in gas to get across town!

I was so beat after the 523 mile trip to Roosevelt, UT that when the hotel clerk accidentally charged us for two nights instead of the one I asked for, we didn’t even make her change it. I remember the customer behind us saying, “wow, must be nice to be able to just be, ‘oh well…we’ll take two nights instead’.”

Little did he know that that was as far ahead as we had planned at that point. The next day began the search for a new RV since we were officially back on the road.

Bumper Stickers – Hawaiian Style

This is a popular bumper sticker we saw often on the North Shore. It’s the local’s way of saying they don’t want any more resorts, hotels, freeways, or apartment buildings built. Keep the country….Local!

 

 

 

 

This one is probably even more common, Hawaiian Kingdom.

This homemade billboard is on somebody’s fence right along the Farrington Highway, which pretty much sums up what the Hawaiian Kingdom stickers are for.

In case you can’t read it, the gist of it is: Shame on everyone who bought into the American philosophy. Anyone who accepts America as their statehood is basically working with the enemy. America has taken away their inherent sovereignty. Shame on those that celebrate Statehood and honor the thieves. Thieves that locked up their Queen. Stole their land and beat their ancestors for speaking their native tongue.

Someone asked me recently how the Hawaiians felt about America, or Americans. I hate to admit it, but once you get out of the tourist areas, the above is the general feeling we perceive. I always felt like I stood out, and wasn’t very welcome, but I just put on my rosy glasses and went about my business. I had no proof and some could say it was just my imagination but when I got on an elevator a little while ago and a woman looked at me, then gasped, and said…”wow. a blondie. we don’t see many of them around here.” I knew it wasn’t just in my imagination now. Eventually I broke down the cashiers at the local grocery store and had them laughing with me on occasion, but overall it felt like we were living in a foreign country. I can now say we know a little bit how it feels to be the minority and face discrimination. and it wasn’t very comfortable.

Who knows how many really feel that way, I know it wasn’t the majority, since the majority are mainland transplants anyway, but in the country and heavy Islander populated areas, it’s not uncommon to see Hawaiian Parking Only signs and We were born here, You flew here signs.

Of course, this was more of a silent prejudice for the most part, besides… it was much more fun to find and focus on the good, the beauty, and the funny:

*If you don’t get it, just ask.

Island-Tripping

Sometimes we do leave The Westside, not often, but….we do. It’s funny, while we were in Waikiki when we first got here, I was actually thinking that I could live there, amongst the hustle and bustle. Then I woke up on the westside, or leeward side, with it’s more laid back lifestyle. This side is considered the dry side, and I’m sure in the summer it is drier, but for now it’s still bright green and lush, and even greener than it was on the windward side the other day. The windward side is known as the rainy side, and it most definitely is…...and windy. Almost every single time we head to the east or north, we get rained on. We’ve been to Hanauma Bay twice….got rained on both times.

Hanauma Bay is a reef and fish sanctuary formed from an old volcanic crater, as captured from my cell phone. (I haven’t been using the camera much for fear of it getting wet, sandy, or stolen). It’s a long walk down into the crater, or for a couple bucks you can hop a ride on a bus, and you have to watch a video in a small theatre with a group of other tourists, and then once you get to the beach with your fifty two beach bags, you get to hunt for a space in the sand, which could mean even more walking through sinking hot sand. Snorkeling in the bay is okay. Mostly it seems you’re just inches above the corral and spiky urchins, making it hard to enjoy yourself when you’re worried about getting cut, or it’s not very good visibility. Once you get pass the surf break, it’s much better, but can also be dangerous……the waves could easily smash you into the reef. Jonas went out with me while we followed an underwater pipe as a guide, otherwise we would have lost our tunnel to get back in.  We saw some cool fish, but between the weather and the crowds, overall, I wouldn’t call it great. This day I also forgot to take the underwater camera into the water with me and I got attacked by corral, and Jake had a stomach ache. Enough said.

The windward coast is a beautiful one, though, as well is the drive getting there. (Once we’re out of The City, Honolulu, that is.)

We get to drive through mountains and jungles………. then miles of rocky coastline with loud crashing waves.

Once we get up to the northern coast it’s shallow turquoise water for what seems like half a mile out, then large rolling waves, perfect for surfing. We often drive along this coast dreaming that we lived in one of those houses right on the water, and saying untrue things like, we’d surf that everyday!

We rarely get out and enjoy the beaches for too long on this side, though. We stopped in gorgeous Lanakai the other day and made a mental note to come back after spring break and not on the weekend. After driving and stopping, and driving and looking, one day we did finally find a spot we all liked. It was tucked behind private property (no beach in Hawaii is allowed to be private so there always has to be public beach access openings). Coincidentally, this beach is along the other side of Kaena Point which is where our most commonly used beaches are. We basically are just around the point and down a few miles.

Past the friendly horses.

To a big empty sandy beach.

This beach is right near a small airport so not only did we have the ocean to entertain us, we had dozens of skydivers jumping from planes with the setting sun as their backdrop.

Sometimes I complain that we could waste all the daylight looking for a spot for the day, but in the end we always find something new and unique…..and exactly where we’re supposed to be.

The Road Here

Our backyard went from this snowy mountain:

To this mountain in the clouds:

 

Before making it to Paradise we did have to work for it a little, as I’ve mentioned.

Jewel found laying face down in the snow was more fun than another minute stuck with her brothers inside.

After finally getting out of Tuba City we were a little surprised to see NO SNOW. We were stranded because of what? But not to fear, there was still some snow left.

Good-Bye Snow

Seminoe State Park

For a third straight day in a row we were heading out another excursion, which prompted Jake to say:

Every single day??

Apparently Jake forgot that road trippin is what we do. Who can blame him really, after taking a year off to help Dad heal from his accident on the mountain we became quite sedentary. Luckily those days are behind us.

We took a drive out to Seminoe State Park, in Sinclair, Wy. Passing by Sinclair with it’s GI-NOR-MOUS oil refinery would normally make one want to keep on going, but because there was a State Park out there somewhere behind it, we had to check it out. Along the way we were stopped by cows in the road, and antelope, deer and Elk in the prairies.

Jewel had the best viewing seat in the truck!

We drove straight to the reservoir which created this man made lake and had a tailgate picnic.

We meandered on the drive back and had to take dirt roads to actually get down to the lake, and then once we were down there Jewel was a little upset with us that we didn’t bring her bathing suit. At what point when we say we’re going to a lake will the kids think to bring their own swimsuits? At this point I’m thinking…never.

As amazing as the landscapes were, and as many pictures as I took, it was really hard to get a good picture of the lake. I stitched a few photos together in order to get this panoramic.

Jewel decided to take over the photo processing and came out with some colorful pictures of her own.

                

                

She showed me!

“This isn’t going to be some big romantic trip”

Now why would I think that? This was the first time we would be childless and we could take as much time as we needed. I must have missed the part where I would be driving the entire time. That’s all we did, drive, eat, sleep. Eat, drive, eat, drive, eat, sleep. Repeat three more times now.

Since our electric plug adaptor adaptors were stolen, and they’re a rare Canadian breed, we went without electricity the whole time. Also since I didn’t winterize before we left, we didn’t even want to find out if there was anything wrong with our water system until we got down to Texas, so we also went without water. And then, since I forgot to shut off the propane when we left in October, we were also out of propane. As if this all wasn’t joyful enough, our shit tank is still FULL. Five days of this, and no showers, ummm..yeah, not so romantic.

On the final day, our last two hundred miles, out of eleven hundred, I spotted diesel for only $1.99 and since Joey didn’t have his radio on I decided to pull up on his right (where he was making a right turn) and alert him to tell him to turn his radio on, and look..Cheap Gas! Only he didn’t see me and continued on with his right turn, right into me. Because of my brilliance and desperation to save a dime, we now need a new corner panel and lights for the truck, and the bus was seriously scraped between the front tires and the front door. I’m actually trying to forget the whole ordeal, so moving on…..

The kids did great with my parents, and really didn’t even miss us. I cried when we left thinking our plane might go down, and Joey had a talk with Jacob that if anything were to happen to us, they’d be living right there with Grama and Papa, and they DIDN’T have to go to school unless they wanted to. We like to cover our bases. :) My parents are really great for watching them and more surprisingly, respecting our wishes. I know it’s not always easy for them, especially when the kids stay up until four or five in the morning, or want mac and cheese at eleven at night, but they were super. Thank You, Mom and Dad!

In my last post I wrote so nonchalantly about First Class. I don’t know why I do that. It was actually kind of a big thing for me. I’ve always wanted to get bumped up to First, I hear about it all the time, but I’ve always been too chicken to ask. Since we were completely alone with this agent and there weren’t people waiting in line I felt brave. This is exactly how it went down: “Ummmm…uhhhh….I hear about people getting bumped up to First Class all the time…ummm…uhhhhh…..how could we do it?” I finally worked up the nerve, and then showed my ignorance by being on an airline that doesn’t even offer it. I just felt a need to clear that up.

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My Mom said Jewel told her she missed Dad the most.

Because he’s funnier.

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I discovered Windows Live Writer before I left, and I just knew it was the answer to my blogging dilemma. Then I decided it wasn’t because I didn’t always have an internet connection to blog while I’m traveling (with Live Writer I can be offline), I really just needed something interesting to blog about.…THEN I invented Mind Writer. When I’m driving I come up with the BEST blog posts, now if someone could just figure out the mechanics of Windows Mind Writer, I’ll be all set. In the meantime, for some real family adventure involving poop icicles you should check out Bluebird Family while they make their way up to Alaska. One storm at a time.

Happy Travels!

Wrapping up AZ

We left Arizona late Monday morning, taking the same route through Payson and Route 191 across the Navajo Indian reservation. Lately we'd been having bad luck traveling during holiday weekends, mostly because we didn't even know we were traveling on a busy weekend until we were stuck in the middle of it, but this trip we knew ahead of time. We knew we'd be against traffic heading out of metro Phoenix for the weekend, but it was never more obvious how against the majority we were until we hit the mountains in Payson, and the bumper to bumper stream of cars and travel trailers trying to get back to the city.

It probably took those people five hours to do the ninety miles down the mountain.

Since we got a late start most of our drive across the Navajo Reservation was simply, beautifully......illuminated.












For the rest of the picnic pictures, check out Flickr. I wasn't intending to skip over so much of the weekend, but as I type this we're in a hotel outside Rocky Mountain National Park, eager to experience it tomorrow, and I know me: If I didn't get something posted tonight, it'd all be ancient history after the excellenceness that we're sure to behold tomorrow.

Never too old to cry to your Mama

We started off driving west on the I-80, but about sixty miles into South Dakota Joey made a last minute decision to head South and visit his friend in a small town in Nebraska. The same small town we were in last year when the boys met a pair of sisters, so we told them we'd try to get in touch with them and arrange to see them. What does Jonas say? "Why was I cursed with such good looks?"

We pulled in really late to the campground to find it was one big mud pit. We ended up staying in a road side picnic area just outside of town and in the morning a different friend of Joey's recognized the bus and came over to say hello, so while the kids and I hung in the bus at the local laundromat, doing laundry and trying to reach the girls, Joey got to spend the afternoon with the guys, playing drums, cussing, talking story and talking welding. Eventually we moved over to the local park, and spent the rest of the day perched in our lawn chairs watching the kids play.

One of Joey's friends (and brand new dad) also hung in the park with us and picked our brains on unschooling and living on the road. It's great to see somebody else so excited for their kid's future.

Before long we gave up on connecting with the girls (they were on a beach vacation) and just as we were about to leave, a nice lady from across the street knocked on our door to let us know there had been spotters in the area and if needed we can join them in their basement.

"What are spotters?"

"Tornados"

"Holy Crap! We're outta' here, thanks for the offer, though!"

We stop for gas outside of town and when I told the clerks we were heading south they said they wouldn't, they'd wait it out first. I told Joey that massive tornadoes hit Kearney and it's headed this way. He decides that's far away and we're not in danger, so we're going. By now I turn off the satellite radio to hear local news and I'm hearing nothing but scary weather reports. The skies look fine, though, and I guess since Joey didn't get the info himself off the weather channel, it wasn't true. Then it started raining, and I called my Mom.
"Mom, I just want to let you know we're heading straight into a tornado. If you don't hear from me, at least you'll know where to find me."

Then the rain started falling harder and horizontally and I made the fastest U-turn in history...right through someone's yard. Joey, couldn't turn around there and had to keep on going until he found a safe enough spot. I called my Mom back...bawling like a baby now. I repeated to her all the damage the tornadoes had already done and how we were headed straight into it's path. Just what she wanted to hear, I'm sure. We ended up waiting it out back in that town we had gotten gas in, the one that I tried to wait it out to begin with. After about thirty minutes we headed back out, now having to avoid huge downed trees on the highway. We wanted to get to a rest area along the Interstate because they have shelters, but the Interstate is shut down, so we have to continue on this small highway that is now also full of Interstate traffic. I gave Jacob my camera and asked him to get a shot of the skies over Kearney.

I noticed that he was zooming in, and I wanted him to zoom out to get the whole thing, but what he got was ten times better! I'll never try directing him again, I think the boy's got a good eye.

We did finally make it to the Interstate, and spent the rest of the night watching the lightning storms. Other than one storm hitting us during the night, it ended up being a nice, safe, quiet night.


The next morning we saw some of the damage that was done outside of Kearney and saw first hand how close we'd come to ending up just like that barn.


Lesson learned: Trust my instincts and run like hell!

San Rafael Swell

We're still in Utah's Castle Country, and no visit to Castle Country would be complete without exploring the San Rafael Swell. With over 2000 miles of trails, I chose a loop that took us on 100 of those miles, including four different trails. The kids were armed with three Nintendo DS's, two Gameboy's, twelve games....but best of all, an explorer's spirit. No matter what, it was going to be a good day.

We hiked to the top of the viewing area off I-70, taking in the massive views of the reef, but being unable to get fifty miles of reef into one shot....didn't even try. Did take advantage of everyone being in one spot together, though. Smile.



After driving right through the center of the reef westbound on I-70, we got off at the Cottonwood Wash exit, and began our stirring of dust for the next eighty miles. We saw lots of dirt, monoliths, including the tallest free standing monolith in America, cows, sagebrush, a large sinkhole, and then out of nowhere the lovely San Rafael river appeared.


We're really getting into the good stuff now.


No more dusty desert. Looks like someone actually oiled down the roads.


Watch out for the bicyclists!

I know, I didn't see them coming, either.

According to my guide book, there was a large pictograph panel at mile 22.7, and since we figured out how to set the tripometer (by pushing the button, just like every other car we've owned), I was pissed when we passed mile 23 and didn't see the pictographs and someone wouldn't turn around to go look again. As I'm pouting, we hit mile 24.7 and....


Archeologists say these pictographs were painted by a culture of peoples known as "Barrier Canyon Culture", over two thousand years ago.

Next stop I wanted to make was to find a large dinosuar track, but we got all the way to the end of the trail and never saw where it could be, so we continued on to the next trail, Wedge Overlook.

We came up out of the canyon to see Utah's Little Grand Canyon. The views were spectacular!

The walk out was only for the brave.

Can you say vertigo?

I had the same feeling the other day when I'd swing real high, then lean way back tilting my head upside down, and then come up real fast. I did that three times in a row and thought I was going to throw chunks. That's kinda how standing on those rocks, looking down, made me feel.

We had to pass within two miles of the dinosaur track on our way back so we decided to give it an honest try. We were looking for a sandstone ledge 10-15 feet above the road.

We found it!


The track was hiden under some big boulders. I remembered reading that people often do that thinking they're preserving it, when in fact it's "sanding down" the edges. It was surreal to step into the track and know we were standing in the exact same spot as this dino. It's a much bigger impact than just seeing their fossils in a museum. I love my life!

The last leg of the day was back home via the Green River Cutoff Road, and along with views of the familiar Bookcliffs we see a U.F.O.

Or as someone so kindly pointed out to me on Flickr, it's a lenticular cloud, but it's really much more fun to think you're following a U.F.O.

For a minute we got side tracked by these odd huge black boulders, totally out of place, hiding a cactus that I almost sat on while taking this picture....

Of a Claretcup Cactus.....I only saw flower....that's my life in my rose colored glasses, I only see the pretty, and not the thorns. Luckily, I'm fast.


This Desert Paintbrush could be the exact same flower the Indians used to paint their pictographs.

It was another great day, learned some geology and history, and plain wore ourselves out. You'd be surprised how tiring bouncing down eighty miles of gravel can be, especially when mixed in with a couple miles of hiking in, around, up and down boulders.

Our people guided us safely home.