Bryce Canyon

(Wednesday, June 9th)
 It is the day we leave AZ.  It has been oppressively hot during our stay here, much hotter than average.  We are traveling up into Utah, straight north from Flagstaff.  The trip takes us around the side of the Grand Canyon that we did not see.  Traveling through this beautiful area is fun because the scenery is so fascinating and wonderful!  It is almost like a new canvas for every break in the trip.  New canvas but the same beautiful pallet!

We were confused about the number of boats passing us during the morning.  (For those of you who have driven with Bingo, you read that correctly...we were passed by other vehicles towing boats.  She was very good about her speed this trip!)  We finally understood the reason when we drove through Page, AZ.  The area has a recreational lake and it is well used by people in the area.  We found this out just before we got to drive over the local dam.  So, while we decided not to pass near the Hoover Dam (my request was skipped due to concerns about the time needed for a security check), I did get to see a dam on this trip after all (albeit, a very small one)!

Entering Utah, I recalled a conversation with someone before the trip started.  He had lived in Utah previously and was very excited that we would be driving through Utah.  He exclaimed that it was the most beautiful place, exclaiming that we would love it!  I had not heard too much about Utah previously, but was curious about that claim.  We also heard from at least 2 other people that mentioned that, if possible, not to miss Bryce Canyon.  Bingo and I thought that this was an unusual statement coming from 3 different sources at three different times, all completely unsolicited.  Since I consider twice a coincidence, but three a trend, we planned an overnight stop at Bryce Canyon National Park. 

The scenery in Utah was much different than in Arizona.  It was indeed, beautiful, not more beautiful, just a different kind of beauty...and less dusty!  So, I spent the early afternoon finding a place to stop overnight.  The first place I found did not have any openings, but the second place did, it was less than 10 miles from the park!  As we made our way to the site, we passed Bryce Canyon and shortly afterward, realized that we were driving INTO the canyon itself (not the park, the canyon...).  For those who have NOT towed a travel trailer, inclines and decline are not our friend, especially anything over 3% grade.  The signs on the road casually mentioned a 6-8% grade for the next 2 miles...

Suffice it to say that Bingo was NOT thrilled with this situation.  Even as we were going through a small tunnel and she worried about the trailer fitting through (it did), the 2 miles down with turns and curves did not help her knuckles at all.  After we made it to the camp and unpacked, Bingo was noticeably upset.  Worried about leaving the next day, making the trip back UP that horrible grade in the poor SnowBus had her on edge!

We took a few minutes to allow her to get composed and then headed back to Bryce Canyon Park.  As the saying goes, you've got to get back on the horse, and this indeed was a good thing.  The drive back was not as bad on the second inspection.  Our conversation on entering the park was more reflective than hysterical about our chances of getting our of the canyon in the morning, whew!  Crisis averted for now.  Time to enjoy the canyon!

Bryce canyon is indeed a fabulous place!  I wish we had an extra day to stay and enjoy the area, but we had not planned on this.  Oh well, we enjoyed it while we were there.  We bought a CD tour of the park and drove to may of the stops.  We even got to hike about 1/3 way down to the base of the canyon at one point.  My brain was better able to comprehend the size of the canyon as compared to comprehending the size of the Grand Canyon.  We were able to see an excavation crew at work in a section of the canyon as well!  The one thing we did not get to enjoy was a night in the canyon, they are very proud of the darkness at the canyon.  This area boasts some of the littlest light pollution and so the night sky is abundant with stars!  That would be a sight!

We spend the better part of the early evening in the park, but left before sunset.  Another drive tomorrow and the driver wanted some sleep.  The kids went swimming until sunset (about an hour) then some basketball (until the bickering started), then ping pong (until dad was tired).  A Lot of driving, but a fun day nonetheless.  Tomorrow, we continue the trip towards Yellowstone!

The BirthDay

(Tuesday, June 8th)
Happy Birthday, Alex!  


 Alex turned 14 today.  The camper was decorated, just like any birthday at home.  This is the second of Alex's birthday in a row that we have been camping.  While we did not have cake for breakfast, we did let Alex open his presents!

Unfortunately for Alex, this was going to be a long drive day.  The Painted Desert and Petrified Forest were on the agenda, but the drive there was going to take time - over 2 hours!  He was not thrilled with that idea, but the kids came prepared for long drives and had books and games to play in addition to movies.  This trip, they played Nintendo DS and on this drive, they played NintenDogs.  Great...2 hours of training electronic dogs. 'Sit', 'Stay', 'Sit', 'Stay', 'No, Sit'...ugh!   Oh well, it kept them occupied.


I do not think that any one else was sure that the Painted Desert or Petrified Forest would be worth the trip.  When we got there, opinions did not change much, it is hard to get excited after being at the Grand Canyon and the comparison that brings.  The park is not as glamorous, or overwhelming.  Also, we did not get there at the 'best' time of the day to see the brilliant colors.  The park is set up for a driving tour with some short stops mixed in.  The views were great, but I wanted to see this, so, I took lots of pictures!  Interest was not at it's peak, early on, but started picking up after we stopped by the site where historic Route 66 went by.  After that point, the Petrified Forest started to take shape.

Now, we visited a petrified forest last year in Mississippi.  That memory is what the kids were anticipating seeing again.  Fortunately, this was the National Park Petrified Forest instead.  The magnitude and beauty of this park wiped out any preconceived images as soon as the first signs of large numbers of trees were visible.  The heat was now the big deterrent to any time spent outside.  We managed to spend a good 1.5 hours visiting the two parks combined.  The kids were excited by the end, so I think it went well.

We left the parks and headed to the nearest Walmart for food and supplies.  That store happened to be in Winslow, AZ.  Pretty cool to say we were there, since the line to a popular '70s song is 'Standing on a Corner in Winslow, AZ.  I wish we had more time to visit this small town, since Route 66 goes through it and it seemed like the town was emphasizing the historic area, kind of like Williams, AZ does.  However, the length of the drive and the packing necessary for tomorrow's trip out of AZ, prevented any tourist time.


Leaving AZ tomorrow, had a blast, loved the area.  Here's hoping the rest of the trip provides as nice an experience!

Away from the Canyon

(Monday, June 7th)
Today was an intentionally late morning.  Altitude, sun, heat, and attitude all helped us decide to sleep in.  That and I had to work...  I was up much earlier than everyone so I could work, but everyone else slept late, it was a good arrangement.  By the time laundry was done and lunch was over, I was done working!  The 3-hour time change worked in my favor here.  Lunch was a huge hit for the pies!  A little restaurant in Williams makes homemade pie.  They were massive, homemade pies of all varieties.  Very memorable!

After lunch, we headed for a day hike.  This came highly recommended from two of my cousins.  Tammy even had a nice map of the trail and directions to the Lava Tube.  It is a short distance from Flagstaff, but about an hour from Williams.  The drive was good up to the point where we entered the National park.  That is where the dirt road began.

I never consider Flagstaff a winter area, but driving to the Lava Tube made me rethink that impression.  There were plenty of signs for winter activities in the area!  The elevation was surprising, especially in the park.

The dirt road took us to the entrance to the trail of the Lava Tube.  The parking lot is a non-descript general parking, not many cars or signs.  Since we followed the published directions, we knew the trail was near, so off we went.  Of course the trail directions warn of the temperatures involved (all were below 45 degrees), but someone forgot their sweatshirt.  It is easy to understand if you consider that the temperature outside was 80 degrees.  The short hike to the cave entrance brought us to the realization that the temperatures were NOT a misprint.  The cool air coming out of the cave was certainly below 50 degrees.  So it ended up that only Ali and Dad went into the Lava Tube cave for the hike.

This is not a 'Show Cave'.  The entrance into the cave was dark, cold and very rocky.  The rocks were, oddly enough, large volcanic boulders.  We did a flashlight check (Ali brought her Carlsbad Caverns souvenir cap) and descended carefully.  Planning our early route around the ice that had formed on the rocks and careful not to fall and cut ourselves on the rough rocks, we went slowly.  After the first several hundred yards or so, the cave was less large rocks and more smaller, rocks.   The path was also less of a steep climb and more of a downward slope.  

Now, reading about the cave ahead of time, there is no way to get lost , however, it is still a dark, enclosed space.  I had not studied the 'map', but was confident that we could go in and get out without any trouble.   That does not mean I had any idea where I was in relation to the map.  I was completely lost in relation to the start, end, and any features on the map.  Ali, however, knew exactly where we were at all times!

The hike was fun, but uneventful.  The cave really IS a tube.  The ceiling was smooth, but the floor was like 'popcorn' carpet of rock. The volcanic rock caught on our shoes and made walking fast impossible, but we made good time anyways.  We just had to pick up and place our feet carefully with each step.  I still rolled my ankle a few times.  There were a few low ceilings, low enough for me to crawl.  Crawling was limited to bending very, very low, since the sharp edges of the volcanic rock would have cut me if I tried to use my hands and knees.  Fortunately, the low spots were few and short.  The temperature of the cave was as advertised, cold.  My ears and nose were cold, despite sweating in my sweatshirt.  Ali thought the water in her Camelback was too cold to drink!  At one point we turned out our flashlights to see how dark it really was int he tube, in case you wondered, it was D-A-R-K, very dark.  After over and hour hike, we came back to the entrance and climbed back out into the Arizona sun...and Heat!  There was a huge temperature difference.  That was a lot of fun!!!  Too bad Mom and Alex missed it.

The trip back to camp was cut short by a stop at 'Bedrock'.  The road from camp to the Grand Canyon had a tourist version of The Flinstone's Bedrock, complete with store, diner, and playground.  The playground had all the major buildings in the cartoon's plots!  After finding Alex a cowboy hat to keep the heat off, the kids convinced us to let them go in.  What a great picture opportunity!  The place in not in tip-top shape, but the buildings still compare favorably to the cartoon.  The kids had a BLAST running around to all the building and people.  Lots of good pictures!

That was all the excitement for a slow day, but enough to keep us going until the BirthDay!

Grand Canyon - day two

(Sunday, June 6th)
Today, we are prepared for a long day of hiking and sights.  We enter into the park and go straight to Grand Canyon Village.  The park has made this an easy visitor experience by providing free shuttle buses from the Village to most of the main viewing spots, so many people gather in this area.  The area also is the start of the main (day) hiking trail down into the canyon, Bright Angel Trail.  That is were we start the day.  Constant reminders are everywhere for hikers:  Water!  Hydrate or Die!  Alex's hockey coach would be proud!  Seriously, though, it is H-O-T hot and dry.

We started the day a little later than normal, so we begin the hike downward around 11am local time.  There is no thought of going all the way down, so we planned to turn around at an appropriate time.  After the first turn, we can see a pack of mules coming up.  Did I mention that this trail is the only one that the pack mules use to take supplies into the small stops on the canyon floor?  Pretty cool that we got a chance to see the mule train go by.  And go by they did, leaving presents on the dry, dusty trail.  avoiding the mules on the 4 foot wide trail was not too difficult, we just stayed against the wall while they went by along the edge.  Avoiding the mule presents was not that simple, we had to watch for other hikers, and the edge as well.  Fun!

We made it down, about a half mile or so, then back up...500 feet up, that is.  No damage done to the cranky teenager (is that redundant?).  He didn't 'slip' at all.  I am proud of myself for the restraint shown...  Back at the top, we had some lunch and discussed where to go next.  We decided to try the bus (Ali is always excited about buses) and go to the far west end of the South rim and hike between viewing spots.  BTW, did you know that the Grand Canyon attracts many foreign tourists also?  (It just seemed an appropriate time to mention this...).  The bus was packed, but most people got off earlier than the end of the line so we had more room by the end.

From Hermit's Rest at the west end of the park, we hiked to several different viewing points along the Rim Trail (flat trail, btw).  With the elevation and heat, Bingo and I kept onto the kids to drink.  Ali, with her Camelback was not as easy to convince as Alex with his water bottle.  How do we know Alex was hydrated?  Well, there is one thing that hydrated people do that dehydrate people don't.  And he had to stop several times more than anyone else - good for him!  Along the way, I took a couple of pictures of the canyon from various points.  In case anyone wants to see those precious few (lol) images, check out the album.

The hikes helped us work up a healthy appetite, so we picked the far east end of the park to find some food.  After the sandwiches from the cooler in the afternoon, almost anything would be good.  We found the general store at the area and quickly went in to see what food was available.  Just like any convenience store, there were pre-packaged foods (burritos and sandwiches) as well as frozen foods and canned goods.  Not much of a selection, but we were too far away from anything and had plans to stay in this area for a ranger talk at sunset.  We each grabbed something and went outside to eat on a bench.  When we were done, we wandered in the area and came to a 'tourist' store.  As I looked around, I noticed a nice little cafeteria.  Just the place for a nice little dinner, if we had looked first and eaten later!

The ranger program at sunset was nearby, so we headed that direction.  The ranger explained some of the history of the canyon and park.  He talked for about an hour, ending as the sun was setting over the canyon wall opposite us.  It was a beautiful sight (more pictures!).  We were very excited about the scene (except for Alex, who was just bored by now).

Only one more thing was on the list for today, the Flagstaff amateur astronomy association was having a slide show and stargazing opportunity back near the village at 8pm.  Since sunset was around 7:30, we were already going to be late for the start.  So we hightailed it out of the east end and hoped to get to the stargazing soon.  By the time we got there, We could find no parking anywhere close!  Cars were lined up n the road 1/2 mile away from the parking lot for the activity.  Quickly rethinking our plans, we headed back to camp.

It was another full day at the park.  We have seen almost everything we wanted to there, even if it was slightly rushed sometimes.  The kids are tired of 'more canyon', so that was the end of our Grand Canyon experience.  I was delighted with everything surrounding it!  It will be hard to top.

Not to say we won't try, of course...

Grand Canyon - day one

(Saturday, June 5th)
Awesome and inspiring!  The day is finally here for one of the main stops of the trip.  I have been waiting for this day for a long time.  Growing up, I was always interested in natural sciences.  Geology has always fascinated me and the Grand Canyon is all about geology.  Well, maybe not all...  it is also about art.  Colorful, dry, desolate, hot, empty, huge, insignificant, dusty, brown, blue, and green are all adjectives that describe the canyon.  Though some may seem polar opposites, my experience at the canyon could use any or all of these!

As always, we started early and since we had some time to kill before our tour, we went to the National Geographic IMAX showing a Grand Canyon film.  I was unimpressed, even though the flying portion was exciting.  We made our way over to the Jeep Tour.  This is a 2 1/2 hour tour around the Grand Canyon.

The beginning of the tour went on a dirt road into the 'woods' around the canyon.  This was a surprising thing for me.  I always assumed that the land around the Grand Canyon was simply flat, open desert.  To my surprise, the land surrounding is a coniferous forest, complete with some extremely old Ponderosa Pines.  The land supports numerous plants and animals, including elk, mule deer and, of course, mountain lions.  This is not to say that there is a lot of water available, but there is enough to support a large ecosystem.  The dusty trail we were on wound through towards the original entrance of the Grand Canyon, the Stagecoach trail.  This dirt road from Flagstaff is still open for use, but is not frequented often.  We did not get to see much wildlife since the tour was in the beginning of the hot afternoon sun, but Bingo did see an elk!  That was exciting!

The tour was just the four of us, so when we got close to the canyon, the guide took us to see the canyon at Grandview Point.  Words are difficult to put together to describe the Grand Canyon.  I was prepared for the sights, but it was still beyond what I had imagined.  Our guide pointed out several cool thing, an old copper mine, some fossils, but nothing outdid the view itself.  Colors like blue sky and green vegetation stand out against the brown and red backdrop of the canyon's rocks.  As we were told, pictures do not do the canyon justice (though I DID try...just look at the pictures!).

The tour ended by taking us through the Grand Canyon Village (i.e. tourist portion) which the park service requires all tour operators to go through.  Then, back to the start of the tour.  We had lunch and went back to view different portions of the canyon.  Several small hikes and view points took the rest of the afternoon. Then, Bingo decides that she wants to see more wildlife, so we drove back to the Stagecoach trail (not that this surprises anyone, it IS a dirt road).  We go and sit by a water hole during about 1/2 hour of twilight.  We don't see anything beyond a few birds, and since the light is declining, we head out.  We continue back down the road back to where the tour started, only 15 miles.  That 15 miles, though is all dirt road in the middle of elk country, a nice note is that we did see a lot of elk on the way!  The concern of elk made this longer than a 30 minute trip...  We emerge from the 'woods' as darkness hits, unscathed.  It was an interesting ride.

The drive back to camp was uneventful from there.  We expect another fun day tomorrow!

A different kind of beautiful

(Friday, June 4th)
Friday was a work day for me.  I got up early (local) and started as soon as I could log in.  A couple meetings and some other miscellaneous tasks occupied my time.  Bingo took the kids on a necessity shopping trip.  They also picked up a straggler, Normy the Gnome.  You may see him is future pictures...

Pulling out of the RV place was as exciting as pulling in...

We got on the road later than normal, but early enough to get to Williams, AZ in the later afternoon.  The trip ended up being longer than I expected, by a LOT.  The trip is straight up the mountains, well, not quite, but it felt like that towing the trailer.  The driving was slow and not so steady.  A hot day in Phoenix created a little concerned about the bus.  Up, up, up we drove, we didn't pass many drivers, but there was a lot of traffic.

The scenery is beautiful.  We are still in awe of the beauty of mountains.  The view was unbelievable.

On the advice of Merrellene, we stopped at Montezuma's Castle.  The short side trip was worth the time.  Very cool place.  Lots of questions and the cliff house is fascinating.

Back on the drive, Bingo and I are impressed by the long flat, plains in between (and in) the mountains.  Cool farms.

We found the KOA in Williams and checked in.  I think we beat the rush as the are was mostly empty when we pulled in, but nearly full when I closed up for the night!  There are LOTS of things to do and see here, close to the Grand Canyon.  We chose to go to Williams for dinner and a shootout.

We LOVE Williams, AZ.  Even the teenager thought it was cool!  We wandered around and found a cool 50's restaurant, Crusier's.  The kids got to go on stage and play backup for the singer!  After dinner, we wandered historic Route 66, found the shootout, then an ice cream parlor.  Big hit!

Ping day

(Thursday, June 3rd)
The kids were very excited about the tour of the Ping campus.  We were up bright and early, though, and Ali wanted to go swimming, especially since we did not go yesterday.  So, at 7am local time, we went tot he pool and the kids swam for an hour.  A good way to start the day, even though I am still mad at this place...

We got cleaned up and ate, then made our way to the house to meet Tammy, Anthony, and Vanessa.  All seven of us were going to meet Bob at the Ping facilities.  The campus was only about a 10 minute drive from the house.  Bob has taken time out of his busy day to show us around on a private tour.  We got to see a video about the history of the company (51 years old!) and then saw how the irons are made and put together.  Very, very cool stuff, and long.  I can't beleive that Bob took all that time (over 2 hours!) to show us around, we were very grateful.  The best part of the tour was being able to see the gold room.  Every tour winner (PGA/LPGA) who uses a Ping club, gets their putter (or maybe iron if that was the last shot) in a gold version.  The company makes a second one to keep and we got to see the store room for all of these.  Amazing!

After the tour, we went back to the site for lunch and some fix-it work.  One of the camper tires was low and that stupid stabilizer needed something.  I took the tire off and went to a nearby tire shop to have it looked at.  The stem had a slow leak, so they fixed that and I was able to put it back on with not problem.  I had to go find the RV dealer we passed on the way in.  I took the broken bar and hoped the part was in stock.  Fortunately, it was.  The attachment, was slightly different, but I bought it anyway, hoping to borrow a drill and bit to drill through the frame.  Bob and Tammy had the tools I needed and allowed me to borrow them.  I drilled the holes, but did not attach the part, because I was worried about the exit.

We had a nice dinner of Mexican food at Manual's with Merrellene, Tammy, and Bob - delicious!  Another great day!
 

Relative Day

Arizona is beautiful.  We got our first glimpse of Cacti and more sand and rock than we could have imagined.  Not the earliest start to the day for us, we were trying to avoid Tucson rush hour.  The Interstate through Tucson is nicely landscaped.  Very well done by the city.

We were going to Phoenix for a couple days to visit my Aunt and Cousins.  I have never been here before, so I was excited to spend some time with them!  They have always traveled to OH, and while my parents and sisters have been in Phoenix, I have not...until today!

The drive was pretty uneventful.  It was a little more of a climb than we anticipated, the city sits higher than I expected.  we made good time and even found a couple RV places near my Aunt and cousins to park the trailer.  There are many RV parks int the area, but more than half are 55+ only (imagine that!).  The first place we looked at seemed full, so on to the second one.  That one seemed ok from the start, but...when we pulled in, we scraped the bottom of the camper!  Ugh.  Not amused at all.  The back 2 stabilizers were bent, one soo bad it was unusable.  Not much we could do, the entrance had a zillion cuts in the road and the entrance from others like us.  Didn't make me feel any better.  Despite that, we stayed here, and will hope for the best on the way out.

After setting up the site, we went to visit my aunt and cousins.  The house was only about 10 minutes away.  The is a beautiful area, we were very impressed by the city.  We spent the afternoon and evening catching up and just visiting.  Our gracious hosts provided dinner and company.  Very relaxing for us, hopefully we were not too intrusive. 

We got back to the site late (for us) and went right to bed.  Looking to tomorrow and a tour of the Ping (golf company) facility.   Thanks for the visit, Merrellene, Tammy, Bob, Jesse, Becky, Shelby, Brian, Anthony, and Vanessa! 

New picture album

There is a new Picture album of the Grand Canyon pictures from today.  I still had trouble with the time on the camera, I figured it out though, and tomorrow will update the time so that the order will be correct between the phone and camera pictures.

btw, for the questions about the mapping of the pictures, most were done automatically be the phone.  It can be done by hand, but I have not done that on this trip.

Grand Canyon

Leaving New Mexico

The day after Memorial Day, we got an early start on the road to Phoenix.  We planned on a 2 day trip, so we want to get near the NM/AZ line today.  There are several routes from Carlsbad to I-10, but since we got an early start we decided to take the long (but flatter) route. 

Have I mentioned that Texas is a desolate place?  Well, New Mexico is too.  At least there were oil rigs periodically earlier in TX, NM and this portion of TX doesn't even have those!  We had several hours of driving to reach I-10, but it seemed longer than that with nothing to look look at.  We did get the 'fun' of traveling back into Central daylight time for a bit, then back again into Mountain daylight.

The most exciting part of the trip was the dust devil we saw.  Well, we saw quite a few, but one in particular was in NM near the AZ boarder. We watched in fascination across the interstate as the wind picked up dust and started swirling, then spinning, finally going as a twister on its own!  Pretty cool, unless you are driving towards it...and it starts to cross into YOUR lane...just a few hundred feet in front of you! 

Not being familiar with these buggers, we slowed down drastically and it passed in front of us with just a bit of debris hitting the bus.  We watched it dissipate just off the passenger's side doors.  Neat experience, but not sure I want to try that again.

We ended the drive for the day in Willcox, AZ.  Laundry and swimming took up the hour gained.  Pretty boring day, but they can't all be spectacular - otherwise when would you know the cool stuff was cool?

Wednesday was Relative day!

Note from the blogger

I am a little slow with the updates here.  I promise to get more days out soon. 

I have also found a technical issue with the blogger album.  I have added a new album for more recent pictures.  Please look for the Northward Ho link on the Pictures page as well.

Memorial Day fun

Memorial Day was a slow day on the trip.  Oil change and late breakfast started my day.  Kids got up late, though.  We have been having fun with the time changes, I keep referring to Eastern Daylight time, while Bingo keeps referencing Mountain daylight time.  We are going to bed 'late' edt and getting up 'late' mdt.  It is keeping Alex on his math toes this summer ;-)  More fun news, was a reminder that AZ does not participate in daylight savings time.  We gain another hour traveling into AZ!

We decided to handle extermination today (bug bomb) and while that was working it's magic, take the kids swimming.  This park, while it has water, does not allow swimming.  Boating and fishing are permitted, but not swimming.  We had seen a nearby river (Pecos River) that had several small groups of people swimming and thought this would be a good place to go for a couple hours.

The water was cool and the company was interesting.  Lots of Mexican music, but featuring what seemed like an accordion - it would have done the North Coast proud!  The kids and I played Frisbee in the small river while Bingo relaxed.  Alex need work on his Frisbee-throwing skills...

After a couple hours, we returned to camp to remove bug carcasses and start preparing for the next meal.  However, all the power in the camp was out by that time.  This was the second time in 2 days this happened.  It would not be so bad, but the weather was changing for the worse as we waited.  Then, of course, it rained.  For those who are not in on the secret, it always rains on Bingo and I when we camp.  So, of course, it rains in the desert when we camp.  We wouldn't have it any other way.

There are some good pictures of the rain coming in and even some rainbows.  Several more pictures of the Road Runner (my personal favorite find).  The rest of the day was spent cleaning camp and getting ready for an early start the next day.  Getaway day - traveling to AZ!  Quick check with Merrellene in Phoenix and she reminded me that AZ is NOT on daylight time...we gain another hour...I can probably get another weeks worth of amusement just from the time!

Picture help

I added a new page (left side of this page) with a link to the pictures.  This is updated frequently, with or without a blog entry.  I will try to post to the blog when I update pictures from now on, though.

A photostream is also available on the left hand side of the page.

It wasn't as bad as I expected

It wasn't as bad as i expected
On the trip back to camp from Carlsbad Caverns, that is how Alex described the day.  Leave it to a teenager to see a spectacular natural wonder and expect boring.

The whole experience at the Caverns on Sunday was remarkable. The drive into the Guadeloupe Mountains was picturesque.  And smooth, in spite of the road construction.  The view at the top was wonderful and provided a nice backdrop to the views to come.  The park is clean and new and the visitor's center was efficient and well staffed.  LOTS of rangers everywhere.

We had reservations  for one of the tours through King's Palace, one of the large, individually named caverns.  The tour starts 750 feet below the surface of the Guadeloupe mountains.  We took the elevator down for this, since the trail takes 1.5 hours and we had 45 minutes before the tour started.  The elevator opens into a wide expanse which holds the old restaurant.  Only cold food and drinks are served now.  It is the starting point for all tours, including the self guided tours.  We were able to relax for a little bit and get our bearings before the Range tour guide gathered everyone for the start.  Ranger Rick was our guide, pretty funny.  The formations in the caverns are all limestone and mostly white in color.  The limestone by the restaurant was coated in black.  The restaurant used to be full service, hamburgers, hot dogs, etc. and that left residue on the 'ceiling'.  The caverns have all natural ventilation, no air is pumped in or vented by man.  Carlsbad Caverns is a 'show cave' with electrical lighting and paved walkways in a large portion of the cavern.

The limestone formations in the caverns are spectacular, but very difficult to describe.  Robert Holley said in 1923 "...I am wholly conscious of the feebleness of my efforts to convey in the deep conflicting emotions, the feeling of fear and awe, and the desire for an inspired understanding of the Divine Creator's work which presents to the human eye such a complex aggregate of natural wonders...."

http://www.associatepublisher.com/e/c/ca/carlsbad_caverns_national_park.htm
 This may be one place (haven't hit the Grand Canyon yet) where neither words nor pictures can adequately describe the scene.  Not to say we didn't TRY to click our way through it...

The tour allowed us to experience the total blackness of the cavern.  During a planned part, Ranger Rick had the lights in the cave turned off for this experience.  D-A-R-K dark...pitch black is not even close...and quiet (except for the 3 year old).  RR said that people lost in caves without lights can handle the dark fairly well, but the silence makes the mind loopy.  The coolest part of this experience was at the point where the lights were out he lit a small, cigarette lighter.  The whole cave was lit by this small light!  It's amazing what our eyes can do once adjusted to the light level.

We completed the tour and headed up to the new lunch facility.  We had burritos and quesadillas, of course.  Alex decided to stick his tongue to a fudge bar, just because we said not to...well let's say that we have pictures of that!

After lunch we wanted to go back down to the caverns to do a self guided tour of the big room (it's the only one that people are allowed in themselves).  We decided to walk down to the huge cave opening, dodging cave swallow bombs as entering the big black hole in the ground.  It's an impressive sight all by itself.  The trail goes down 750 ft but the walk is over a mile.  The deeper you get the more formations you see.  This hike was well worth the energy!  The tour of the big cave was spectacular as well.  This is a great place.  Ali's favorite part was when a different ranger picked her out and showed her a fossil shell in the limestone.  This limestone was deposited on as part of a prehistoric reef.  Fossils can be seen, but are not usually seen in the main sections of the caverns, since the formation of cave dissolves the rock.  The place opened by dynamite still have the fossils showing (ironic, I thought).

After exploring the big cave (and purchasing the requisite t-shirts) we had a couple hours before the next activity, the bat flight.  We rested and walked through a couple small wall presentations.  The most interesting one, explained the new theory of how the majority of the cave was formed.  Hydrogen sulfide (from oil tables) combined with ground water to form sulfuric acid.  The sulfuric acid ate away large portions of the limestone.  The typical  cave formation (slightly acidic ground water seeping through cracks and dissolving limestone) also played a role int he formations, but the huge caverns were probably opened by the hydrogen sulfide/water method.

We watched a short presentation on guano.  That was cool, since the kids were getting tired and this provided an energy boost!  We learned some more about J. White and also how the Guano miner's were partially responsible for the Caverns and how we see them now.

The caverns are home to bats, as you might suspect.  The Mexican free-tailed bat migrates (yes) here every year starting around Memorial day.  The population fluctuates, but can be many hundreds of thousand bats.  The bats are the reason the cave was explored in the first place.  Every evening, around sunset, the bats leave the cave, en mass, spiraling out of the big black entrance (counter-clockwise, seven times) before heading off to the find water and the night's meal.  The park built an amphitheater for the evening 'show' for people to sit and watch the Bat Flight.  Sure enough, about 8:15 mountain daylight time, near sunset, the bats came out.  Only a few at first, flying in their distinctive, erratic, flight pattern.  Then more and more came out together, the pattern really looked like a black whirlwind ending in a line of black all heading in the same direction.  There were only about 10,000 bats the night we saw, but I expect it is even more amazing with several hundreds of thousand bats going at the same time.  They say it can last up to 2.5 hours.  There are no pictures of this, all electronic devices and all cameras are banned from even being turned on starting before the bats might come out.  At least one person that night got a ticket for not listening.  Apparently, the bats can detect noises from electronic devices and it throws off there direction and can even cause them to change their feeding behavior, in some cases.

Anyway, no tickets for us, but we have sponsored a bat, just ask Ali to see the picture (a postcard).  It was a busy and exciting day, despite Alex's teen-aged angst.  I will update our Memorial day a little later.  Hope you enjoyed! 

Missed update

Sorry everyone waiting for an update yesterday.  I wrote it, but did not have time to update the blog yesterday.  Please check the periodically, though, writing takes more time than uploading pictures.  Going to upload the Caverns post now and will get to Memorial Day, getaway day, then Relative day maybe tomorrow.

Being there

Stopping on Willcox, AZ tonight.  On to Phoenix tomorrow.   Look for updates on prior days later tonight.

Dust Devil!

Is it considered good luck when a dust devil crosses your path?
It is for us since it crossed the road only 100 feet in from of us driving across I-10 nearing AZ.

Camping and rain!

Imagine that.....we're camping and it's raining!!
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Good Morning, Carlsbad

Gooooodddd MOOORRRNNIING Carlsbad!!!!

Off to a day at the Caverns!  l8r

Sunset over Brantley Lake

Nature talk and sunset