Where to live?

The other day Mo' asked me where I would like to live after we retire and had a chance to volunteer for a summer at or around a national park. Initially I said Freeport. I guess I am missing home a little and do look forward to being back in Maine and to be reunited with our dog. But really I'm discovering that home has everything we really want and need as well as the lifestyle we like.

We have been to some amazing places, seen sights that none of our pictures really capture the beauty or splendor that we have experienced. I want to come back to many of the places to explore them more througholy. Mo said this trip is like a survey, or 100 level college class. We are just getting introduced. We, more importantly our kids are being introduced to these places.

To live in a place is a tougher choice, although now that we are in Washington, I think I could stay here for a much longer sojurn. I say this as we are in our first hotel on the trip. We feel a little wimpy about giving into our first bad weather of the trip by heading to a hotel last night instead of seeking out a camping spot somewhere near Olympic National Park.

After we headed out of Portland, Oregon we headed for the coast before crossing the border. It was Goonie day. A favorite movie of mine growing up and I have fully indoctrinated the kids into fans as well. Mo has been a tougher sell, but she kindly went along with our joy for this movie by visiting some sites were the movie was filmed back in the eighties.

Our first stop was on the coast for some of the dramatic landscape scenes for the movie. I did have to explain to the kids what little I know about movie making and that some things they saw were only built for the movie. Mostly the cave that the Goonies explored was only a set back in Hollywood.

What was real was the house the main character lived in up in Astoria. Kind of a sad town really as we drove in and could see the bridge that would lead us out of Oregon and into Washington. We followed directions toward the house and after a turn off the main road it was very easy to find as signs lead to a parking place just off the neighborhood and there were plenty of people walking toward the house. I was amazed that thirty years after the film was released that there would be that many people visiting on a random Wednesday afternoon.

We took photos from a respectful distance, as people do live in the house. And after I did the Truffle Shuffle on my own, I noticed people chuckling. So I invited anyone who wanted to join in to do so, and a couple other guys and I did a little more extended version. I think the video had since gone viral on facebook.

There was another spot in town to visit before we headed out of town, and out of state. We weren't sure where to stay for the night and although we had some GPS coordinates we were finding there was absouletly nothing in that part of Washington. We came upon a free spot, right on the edge of South Bend, no golden domes in sight though. This was right beside the road at a boat launch area. Since it was before five, we moved on. We couldn't imagine hanging out there for hours before it got dark.

Farther up the coast there was more civilaztion and we got a cheap tent site at a fully booked RV park. Super clean facilities but we were anxious to get moving in the morning to get to Olympic. Mo saw a sign at a conveince store that had shrimp and she thought it might be good to get some to go with our pasta for dinner. Unfortunately the shrimp they were selling was only for bait.

We got to Ruby Beach at low tide for the kids to explore some tidal pools. It was fun to find sea stars, hermit crabs and other living creatures. But the real fun was skipping stones. Quinn has already mastered the technique and Maggie finally got the hang of it after some work.

Camping looked like is was going to be a challenge, so we grabbed a spot early in the day at the Hoh River. A good spot from where we could head out on a hike through the rain forest later in the day. We followed the Hoh through an amazing forest and to a waterfall. The kids cranked it out and we were back to our site in plenty of time to make a relaxing dinner.

Of course the kids had to work on junior ranger badges and needed to attend a ranger lecture. Fortunately a talk took place within walking distance after dinner. The ranger was pretty corny but the kids loved it and learned a lot about moss, lichen and bugs. Maggie especially loved it as there were many Harry Potter references and she got to be a part of the show a couple times.

Rain was forecasted for the next day and did start to fall while I was out on a morning run following the same path as the day before, plus a little extra by going on the Hall of Mosses trail. Mo made pancakes for all of us later on as the rain was light but kept us mostly in the bus all morning.

We made a choice outside of the park when we got better internet service to be a little wimpy that day. The rain had also picked up and we were also in the town where the Twilight book/movies are set. I'm sure we weren't going to see any vampires or werewolves but why risk it! We booked a hotel on the other side of Pugent Sound and drove west to catch a ferry.

There was a beautiful lake on the way and the rain was on and off so we also decided to drive up to Hurricane Ridge where we might get in a small hike. By the time we reached the ridge, about fifteen miles out of our way, we could barely see the lines in the parking lot. We agreed it was the only decision we've made on this trip that we actually regret.

Our ferry left out of Port Townsend, and although we saw very little of the town, we thought that this would be the place to move to if we had our choice. Mist covered mountains were in full view overlooking the inlets and outlets of the sound. It had seemingly everything we needed as well as enough civilization so as not to be isolated without the masses making commuting deplorable.

It took about half an hour to cross and it was like arriving back on the coast of Maine. Granted now we are staying in a more urbanized area here in Oak Harbor, but that's a little of what we were looking for, for the night.

Off to the Cascades after some more pool and tv time today for our most northern part of this journey before we start turning back east. I don't think in a couple more weeks we'll find someplace to replace Freeport, but that is not the purpose of this journey. It's to see and feel America. It's to catch up with old friends and hopefully make some new ones along the way. It's to get our children to look back at this trip and have them decide their future. If they decided to live in any of these places we've been, then we will be very happy to come and visit, for much more than a night.

I want to give out a added thank you to our most recent hosts. You've all been excellent hosts and we were really glad to spend time with you. Thanks!

Erin and two of her boys

Tripod, aka Chris 

Coming to you all from Portland. Portland, Oregon that is.

So yesterday as we were driving into Portland she asked me if it was Thursday. I said no, that it was Wednesday, and only corrected myself after checking my watch indicating it was actually Tuesday. When did we really lose track of time? I don't know. Maybe it has been since we entered into Oregon at the end of last week. Doesn't really matter all the same, how time is dictated by where we want to go versus where we need to be.

I wasn't really sure we were ever going to able to leave California last week. There had been a bad accident just on the border and we sat for nearly an hour and a half in traffic. We had spent the morning checking out a few last redwoods and had just stopped for a lunch break before hitting the standstill traffic. Very glad that we are all safe and we weren't too upset that our journey was delayed. We had thoughts of visiting some caves but later found out that we would have waited twice as long for a chance to explore the underworld, so we were glad to have chosen to drive on toward Crater Lake.

I had heard about the amazing colors of Crater Lake and was not disappointed in any manner when I got my first glimpse of the blue waters. We hiked up Garfield Ridge to get a better view and escape some of the quickly growing crowds. The crowds were in full force as it was a Saturday and although I wanted to escape, the kids did need to work on their junior ranger badges. I was amazed to learn that the mountain/volcano blew less than 8,000 years ago. Just a blip of geologic time.

It was hot of course and the best way to cool off was to do a mile hike down to the lake. Mo thought the water temp would be around forty but a ranger said it was closer to sixty. We saw some folks jumping off some small cliffs, one guy decided it was best not to jump off a really high cliff and I decided to slide into the cold water. The kids got in slightly. Maggie accidentally a little more than Quinn as she lost her footing. I told them I would take them to a water park back at home if they went in and it's tough to judge if they really went in. I'm not sure if they will even remember the deal, as they seem to forget many details of this trip but I'm sure they will remember any promises we've made.

Apparently Oregon is just full of volcanoes as we stayed south of Bend and explored a couple unactive spots in the area. The two beds of volcanic rock were distinctively different from one another but both very hot. We took a different strategy to cool off by heading into Bend and choosing the Deschutes Brew Pub from the among the dozen or more other breweries. Sitting there felt more normal than usual as it was kind of like being back in Freeport at Gritty's.

We were both pretty tired out from a bad's night sleep and as I got ready to drive north I couldn't buy myself a cup of coffee. Two different stores did not charge me for coffee refills and I was liking Oregon more and more. One town I learned was the hometown of Jacoby Ellisbury, Maupin, and although I wasn't wearing any pinstripes or Red Sox the people were very nice.

More nice people were waiting to greet us as Mo had a college friend waiting to host us for a couple of nights. Erin Kovalchuk and her husband Greg live on the Columbia River with their two sons, Connor and Oscar. They both work at a dam ensuring that fish survive their journey up and down the river.

I spent Monday going to Mt. Hood with Greg while Mo and Erin took the kids to a hike checking out a waterfall. Hood actually runs a ski lift all year long and we hiked up from the lodge where The Shining was filmed. Greg was pointing out mountains that surround Hood and noting that the snow did not extend down the mountain nearly as far as it did last summer. We watched mostly young kids come skiing or boarding down the mountain before they had to hike up and over the lava fields in order to get back to the lift. I was surprised no one was in shorts as the day was perfect but I could still make a snowball that I wanted to bring back with me to get the kids with it.

Erin and Greg treated us to another home made meal that night and the kids enjoyed playing video games with the boys. In the morning I got to go for a run just by climbing up a hill out their backyard. Great views looking over the Columbia and after turning north I was treated to a great view of Hood.

It was hard to decide which waterfall we were going to check out on our way to Portland, but Erin had encouraged us to stop at a nearby dam that had a very good visitor center. I expected us to just get in and out but once we found out their was a junior ranger program suddenly the plans changed. We did get a good dam parking spot and seemed to beat the dam crowd and got a dam nice greeting by a dam ranger. The kids got to work on their dam programs and we saw some dam osprey trying to catch some dam fish to bring back to their dam nest. There was a spot to get a dam good view of the dam fish trying to get up the dam river. Once the kids got done they did their dam oath to become dam rangers and the dam volunteer even made a dam announcement.

Done with our dam visit, a waterfall hike was just about across the dam road. Only a mile in were some wonderful falls, and we nearly had to ourselves. Back at the parking lot I was thrilled to find a car with Connecticut plates, and we are now down to only one state for our license plate game. Amazingly the missing plate is New Hampshire, as we didn't start the game until we left Indiana.

Coming into Portland we stopped for groceries and beer for our hosts Chris and Dawn Rinehart. Chris had hiked with both of us on the Appalachain Trail. Since then he and Dawn have hiked both the Pacific Crest and Continental Trail. Apparently they have also become huge Portland Timber soccer fans. People we saw at the grocery store totally fit the Portland fit our perceived image of Portland.

After a lovely dinner, we were taken into the city for a soccer game. The Timbers second tier, or minor league team were playing hosts to Newcastle United. Not second level Newcastle, but the English Premier team coming to America for warm up matches. I'm sure they weren't playing their best players completely but it looked like it was going to be a one sided game as they scored a goal in the first five minutes. The crowd was still very lively and vocal and lots of fun to be a part of, but even more fun when the Timbers surged to a 3-1 halftime lead. They scored an insurance goal right in front of us before Newcastle scored a couple spectacular goals themselves. So much fun. A 4-3 game and a very enthusiastic crowd.

Today will be our last day in Oregon before we start heading up the Washington coast. We will do a little Goonie Movie tour in Astoria today. I look forward to exploring more of the outdoors and sleeping in some beautiful spots but until then I will remain ever so grateful to our friends who have graciously opened up their homes to us.

Mo' thoughts...breaking all of Belinda's blog rules!

My visions of daily tutoring sessions with each of the kiddos must have flown out the window somewhere in Kansas.  Tom and I each brought quite a few books as well that mostly remained packed away.  What are we doing all day?  I am trying to figure that one out.  

We are driving/navigating, cooking, packing or unpacking the bus, eating, shopping, throwing and subsequently chasing a baseball with Quinn, hiking, doing Madlibs with potty words, telling stories...relaxing has been a rare moment.  This is theoretically a vacation, but not a relaxing one...an adventure would be a better word.  I had forgotten what traveling and making plans as we go and then changing them on the fly is like ...at times exhilarating and occasionally exhausting.  

There is this pressure that we have an ending date that casts a sense of urgency to the trip.  I don't know what it would be like to just go indefinitely.  I have read a few blogs that this is the case and a little envy creeps in...to totally let go of time.  I have certainly lost track of the days of the week and if I didn't check Facebook, I would not know anyone's birthday.  We often don't have Internet or phone access, but those that know us will realize this isn't unusual.  I have spent more time on a cell phone this trip than in the last decade.  

Anyway, it seems so crazy to pick and choose between such amazing natural wonders due to time and/or timing.  Today we sat for an hour and a half due to an accident.  I felt how lucky we are to have been safe so far and to have this experience.  Anyway, the Oregon Caves were stricken from the itinerary with a direct route to Crater Lake.  We will hopefully find a campsite before it is too late so we can have time to play catch and for Maggie to play by herself...she calls it "playing in her head" and this is a much needed regrouping activity for her.  The workbooks will probably still stay in storage and we will stay busy adventuring.

Leaving California

California is a BIG state! We have been here a little over ten days, seen so much and left behind even more untouched. There are so many different states of mind in this state, you really can't classify someone or a place as truly 'Californian'.
Yesterday was probably one of my most enjoyable days of the trip as we went on a hike in Redwoods National Forest. I do hope you enjoy some of the photos, but in no way do they do the area justice. It is incredible to stand among the giants and look into the ravines to see others growing and all complimented by the pre-historic ferns filling in the gaps. The kids enjoyed pretending to see Ewoks while we have sore necks from looking up so much.
The day before was pretty mellow as we did some beach combing in Fort Bragg. An extremely large amount of sea glass is deposited upon it's beaches, which are beautiful enough as there are many of those classic California rocks just off the shore. We seem to time things a little wrong, as we missed some photos of these driving along the shore before heading slightly inland.
Last night we stayed in Crescent City, CA on the beach. Well actually closer to the road than the beach but cold winds all the same. Inland to Oregon today, and sometime we will head back to the coast.

Trying to pick out the biggest

A walk amongst giants

Picking out sea glass

Not the Westport that I grew up in

Heading North

Did we leave our heart(s) in San Francisco? I don't think so. We did leave behind some good company as we had stayed for a couple of nights at one of Mo's good childhood friend Cindy and her husband Brian and their soon to be three year old son Andrew. Also we got to go out for dinner with another friend of Mo's, Belinda, who met us outside the city close to where we were staying.  We toured the city on Monday and headed out Tuesday morning along the coast of California. Kind of different to be heading north after driving west for just about a month now.

Mo and the kids at the Japanese Tea Garden

Mo and Cindy

Of course we didn't have very many concrete plans other than a general direction so after less than a couple of hours driving the winding hills we pulled off to Point Reyes National Seashore. A town just south of the park is named Inverness, and I was reminded of visiting a town in Nova Scotia of the same name on our honeymoon twelve years ago. The landscape on our hike reminded me of what I imagine some of the coast of Scotland is like, with rolling hills, high grass, crashing surf and tucked away beaches. We were also treated to seeing some elk. Granted from a little distance but still very cool. There were a couple of coyotes crossing a field on our drive back to the visitor center for the kids to earn yet another junior ranger badge.

The drive up the coast has been very beautiful. Lots of winding roads and sheer cliffs leading to the crashing surf below. It was a little difficult finding a spot tonight, as there was absolutely no internet signal anywhere.  I'm getting some wi-fi at our campground here somewhere near Fort Ross State Park. The lady taking care of the campground told me she needs to be up a 4:30 in order to drive to the hardware store in the morning. I asked if we were really out in the middle of nowhere then and she said yes as the nearest grocery store is nearly an hour away.

We plan to follow the coast for another day or so cutting a little inland before heading to Redwood National Park and the border of Oregon. We're still flying a little by the seat of our pants. In a week or so we hope to catch up with some other friends in northern Oregon. Until then we'll just have to see what happens next on this adventure.

Road Thoughts by Tom

"I hope the bus can make it back over these hills alright tomorrow," Mo said to me as we were winding through some hills in the middle of California on our way to the coast.

"What do you mean back? Doesn't this road take us all the way to the coast?" I asked. A couple hours earlier she had asked me my opinion on where we should look for a free camping site for the night, and when I chose the one only an hour away versus one two hours away, I didn't realize I was choosing one that may require some backtracking. I was a little frustrated. Mo has been doing a great job navigating and finding free camping sites for us, and I guess I should have asked more in-depths questions before answering her question, but I was getting a little tired of driving as we had left Sequoia National Park a few hours ago.

We passed through some state park whose main gate was open but the sign said all campsites were taken for the night. No problem for us as we would just be passing through and at our free site in less than half an hour. No problem until we got to the back side of the park and found the road gated off stopping our progress. UGHHHH! What to do now. We were out in the middle of nowhere. Hard to believe that being in California, but there was very little around. It had been a beautiful drive. After we left the mountains we traveled through valleys of fields growing as best as I could tell apples and other crops I really couldn't recognize. Then we were up in the hills again, now a lovely light shade of brown and the hills much tamer which was nice for Bam Bam whose brakes were pretty tired coming out of the Sierras.

Calmly we decided to head for the coast even though it was getting close to dark, we had no place to stay but fortunately still had plenty of gas. The kids didn't have a clue as to what was happening, as they had been plugged in watching Tom and Jerry cartoons for the afternoon. I would prefer that they take in the scenery around them a little more but we decided anytime we drive more than two hours they can watch movies. There have been a couple times the video player hasn't been able to get enough juice from the auxiliary battery and they handled the situation just fine. Quinn falling asleep and Maggie playing with a sticker book.

I think the kids are having more fun on this trip than they'll admit. Right now, they have a tendency to tell anyone that they are never allowed to watch television or play video games at home versus the fact that they have been to ten national parks seeing more in this three weeks than some people see in their lifetime. We sat down for dinner together at a restaurant in King's Canyon for pizza and beer after another long drive a few nights ago and asked the kids things they had seen or done. After Quinn said he remembered going to the bathroom, as potty humor is very prevalent, we challenged them to come up with twenty memories. The list went well past twenty, and I was impressed by some of the minor details they could remember about this trip.  Yes some of it was potty in nature, literally, as Quinn remembered urinating behind a large fallen tree near the top of Mist Falls in Yosemite, but he remembered!

They have also really enjoyed becoming Junior Rangers at nearly all the parks. At each park we pick up a packet for them to complete, according to their age, in order to earn a badge and learn more about a park and the nature around it. There have been times when it has been a struggle, as they can be too hot or tired to want to complete one, or we have to hustle in order to make a ranger talk. But they have been learning to be good stewards to our land. In King's Canyon, they had us tell a couple of young men to stop carving into a downed sequoia. The next day we saw some kid beating the Roosevelt sequoia  with a stick that we were about to stop when his mother finally noticed him before we stepped in. I've learned a few things about the nature around us as well. I'm sure they will remember more as their little sponges between their ears absorb everything.

We had hopes that we would be able to spend a little more time with them at the end of each day at camp doing some math work or having them read to us. One of my favorite memories was having Maggie read some Alice in Wonderland to me on the top bunk of Bam Bam while we camped outside of Mesa Verde. But we have been rolling into camp so late that there is only enough time to make camp, make dinner and clean up before it is time for bed. Either of us will still generally read to them, but then they aren't getting to sleep until almost ten some nights, then it is hard to get them going in the morning. They have taken over the bottom bunk after Maggie had fallen out of the top, and although we don't have head room, we actually have a little more space and more air flow on the top bunk. As we look to travel north along the coast, we think we are going to be able to find many more campsites, maybe even pay for a few, and can get to camp earlier in the afternoon.

From the middle of nowhere California, we continued our beautiful drive towards the setting sun, which unfortunately set before we hit the coast. We did find a campground in Carmel Valley. Kind of a crazy place as it was set on a steep hill and nearly impossible to find the sight we paid for. Although it was a little chilly in the morning, I still hit the pool with the kids, after all we did pay for it. Besides, we didn't have very far to go to get to Mo's cousin's place in Carmel by the Sea.

We found her cousin Colleen's place with no problem and were met by her significant other Steve who kindly welcomed in a group of strangers into his house. We are very thrilled to be here, getting some laundry done, sleeping on a bed, being a short walk from the beach and having good company.

I look forward to being here in the bay area for the weekend and possibly staying away from the crowds at the national parks. I knew the parks would be busy, but I never thought Disney like busy could be possible. Mo asked me if this is what John Muir had in mind originally as we darted through people while at Yosemite, with the occasional person lighting up their cigarette near a trail head.  King's Canyon was probably the least busiest but we didn't explore that too much as we only walked on trails that we could walk to, giving Bam Bam a rest and ourselves a rest from driving. I had beaten many of the low numbered crowds that morning by going on a run near the Grant sequoia, running across a mom and her two fawns more than any other person. We did avoid some crowds at Sequoia by going out when the weather was less than perfect and walking past the Sherman sequoia, the world's largest tree by volume, and seeing many more giants in the mist covered forest.

The best time I had avoiding the crowds was back at Zion on the Fourth of July. We had gotten in the night before and I was immediately turned off by the crowds. Tired of driving Mo found an RV park just outside the park, and she encouraged me to get up early and go on a hike by myself. So up at five and I walked into the park to catch a shuttle, somehow I walked past the visitor center and shuttle stop and had to turn around, so I had to catch the second shuttle leading to trail heads. Fortunately shuttles ran every fifteen minutes. I was heading to do Angel Falls Landing, a five and a half mile out and back up some really narrow ledges that we did NOT want to bring the kids up. I was a little bummed that much of the trail leading to the ledges was actually paved. Many switchbacks and some great scenery but I kept a fast pace. When the pavement stopped the chains began. Chains were bolted into the sand stone to help keep anyone steady and prevent most from falling to their doom. I met one woman who had turned back and I was a little uneasy and just had to focus on moving forward while not letting go of the chain. Much more frightening than going on Katahdin's Knife Edge but I made it to the top in about an hour. I took less than five minutes to enjoy the views into the canyon before heading back. Still kind of frightening coming down and generally people were very courteous in letting me pass. There were hundreds of people coming up the switchbacks and I couldn't imagine being on the ledges with that many people. I got back to the shuttle stop in an hour and there was just one couple on the bus back to the visitor center with me, as they had hiked only up to where the ledges had started. Back at the visitor center the line for the shuttle looked like a line at Disney for one of the most popular rides. I was so glad to have gotten in that incredible hike so early as I spent the rest of the day relaxing around the RV park.

I have gotten a little running in here and there. Colleen and Steve encouraged me to run at a local park yesterday afternoon. Point Lobos was only a ten minute drive away and I got in nearly eight miles along the Pacific coast. It was a joy to actually run again at sea level and I stopped frequently to take pictures or gaze at seals resting in or around the water.

It is nice to get a little alone time on these runs as it can be a challenge to parent 24/7. The kids do get along really well, there are times of course when they don't. It can actually be a little more challenging when they get along too well. They came up with a secret club of their own while at King's Canyon and some evil plan to get rid of us parents. Bad news for them, they are still going to be stuck with us for more than a month.

A quick look back in the rear view mirror has me seeing the Atlantic, the plains, the mountains, the fertile valleys and some rolling hills and looking forward to the Pacific. I look forward to reversing the order over the next month while being unsure of what lies just ahead of us.

I'll give more of a narrative sometime after I've had a few cups of coffee after an extra long drive last night to arrive in Carmel, California. For now, I'll put up some pictures of some of our adventures.

 Quinn practicing his swing on the east side of Yosemite.

 Talking a stroll around a lake in Yosemite.

On our way up Mist Falls, Yosemite.

 Looking into Yosemite Valley.

 Bam Bam and our resting spot for two nights in Kings Canyon.

 Maggie thinking up verses for a new song.

 There's actually room inside this sequoia trunk for more.

 'Hanging' around camp at Kings Canyon.

 Walking among the giants at Sequoia National Park.

It was a beautiful drive from the mountains to the sea in California.
Again, I'll get up more information later.

New update...finally!

Wow, it has been awhile and we have many adventures under our belt since last we posted.  I will give highlights to catch up.  Feel free just to skim.  I won't know the difference.

So last I wrote we were going for a last hike in Bryce Canyon hanging with the Hudus.  The scenery was amazing, but the kids renamed the Peekaboo trail...peekapoop trail because we followed very poop filled horses for our entire five miles. 

We headed to Grand Canyon North Rim.  I had found a free campsite right outside the park, but decided to check with the Forest Service people where I was shown a map where we could camp for free on the rim of the Grand Canyon with no one around.  I explained that when driving on rough roads the bus sounds like bolts are going to fly off and she assured me we could do it.  We felt like we had completely scored and the map looked quite clear.  Anyway, after an hour and a half and a Very harrowing navigating experience with prescribed forest fires and taking the bus through huge puddles, we did find our site at a really fabulous overlook. The Grand Canyon was right there...no fences, no people.  We stood there for a few moments and heard people drumming on another canyon point and proceeded to turn around and go camp right back at the original boring spot I had first found.  We were too freaked out about Quinn's desire to play baseball that close to the edge and being that far out and isolated In a 20 year old bus, and we didn't want to make the hour and a half ride in the morning.

On the way to the park in the morning, we saw buffalo...thought we would have to wait for more northern environs.  At the park, We hiked a little less than mile into the Grand Canyon, and we encountered MORE poop, mule this time, much to the kids chagrin.  We hiked about three miles around the edge as well and Tom and I both feel like we need to go back and hike the canyon.  I want to go across and Tom wants to go across and back...next trip.  

Because we don't plan this trip ahead, we wound up arriving at Zion National Park on Friday, July 3rd.  This happens to be the busiest of Utah's parks.  We were hungry and not at all certain we would be able to find a camping spot.  We debated not even going and cruising right through, but we found a brew pub and after a beer and food, we were in much better states of mind.  An RV park had a spot available a half mile from the Zion visitor center and we jumped on it.  RV parks now feel very luxurious because our fridge only works if we are plugged in.  It is the little things. Tom got up early and did the Angel Falls Landing trail which he said made Katahdin's knife edge look pretty safe.  The skies were overcast all day which really kept the temps pretty comfortable.  I was able to go and do an overlook trail and I was able to run much of it with only minimal rib discomfort...Whoohoo.  The kids swam a ton and made friends with sisters and played with them most of the day.  We had s'mores with their family for the fourth and had a really nice visit.  The girls exchanged addresses to be pen pals and the parents offered a spare room outside of Vegas if we come back that way.  

Watching the Women's World Cup was very important to Tom and the kids and on looking at the map, it seemed that the only place we could guarantee this, was Vegas and this happened to coincide with our friends the Mulligans stay there.  Maggie stepped out of the bus in the Ex calibur  parking lot and said, "I miss Maine!"  Anyway, I had done a ton of research about kid activities in Vegas and thought we would have fun.  On the map it all looks so close and we can walk...usually...Vegas is a complete maze!!!  And felt a bit like a hell we couldn't get out of or find what we want...at least we had lovely company!  Maggie's flip flop broke so I carried her around while Tom and Patrick went to get shoes out of the bus, but we ended up seeing the Bellagio Fountain four times because they got lost in the maze on their way to meet us.  None of my research bore fruit, but we finally found Margaritaville to watch the game and get out of the crowds.  Thank goodness for a fabulous game, a strong margarita, and great company.  

As we headed north into Nevada, we watched these crazy lightning storms all around us. Pretty amazing, and thankfully we never experienced the brunt.  We camped near the highway right next to a beautiful pond that we didn't see until the morning.  

The next morning held many firsts- first vomit (Quinn car sickness), kids first time to California, first time we were inspected for what we were bringing into the state, first gas over four dollars a gallon.  We found a beautiful campsite on a lake just before the Yosemite entrance which was crazy backed up with traffic.  Quinn and I skipped stones, Tom and Quinn played baseball, Maggie played by herself happily and did some math.  I got to read some.  We had an early dinner and headed into the park.  We hiked around Tenaya lake and took in the granite rocks.  On our drive back to our campsite we got stuck in stand still traffic.  There had been a number of thunderstorms and A large rockslide was blocking the road outside the park.  Everyone was walking around outside their cars conferring on how long this was going to take.  When the ambulance went through, we decided that we would bail on our lovely campsite and head to the eastern side of the park.  The drive and ensuing sunset were Spectacular, but as it grew darker, and I could make out the several thousand feet drop offs to our right, the adrenaline was pumping.  The kids were so tired and we ended up just popping the top on a pullout to the side of the road across from a hotel.  The kids kept saying, "Why can't we just stay there?"  I explained that when we decide to splurge on a hotel, we will check in early and check out late...not arrive at ten o'clock only to get up and hike very early to beat the crowds.  We roused the kids early and hiked five miles of the Mist Trail.  They did so great!  The waterfalls and stairs were both marvels.

 The crowds and the kid's Junior Ranger tasks were leaving Tom a bit crabby.  We decided to beat feet to Kings Canyon.  During that drive, Quinn was in meltdown mode and Tom and I agreed we needed a break from our traveling.  We arrived at Kings Canyon National Park and asked for the closest campground with room...they all had room.  We had left the crowds behind!  We found a great sight.  I went exploring and only a trail away was a restaurant with beer and pizza!  The next day was a driving free day.  We walked to see the majestic sequoias, (Tom likened this to walking through a living, breathing cathedral), got fresh food, played ball, laid on our hammock.  I even got a three minute shower!  The day felt very luxurious.  

This morning we woke to thunderstorms and temps in the 40's.  My Maine packing of warm clothes finally paid off.  We drove to Sequoia National Park, checked out many more trees.  I wimped out about driving the bus through one.  We walked up 339 steps to Moro Rock.  The kids seem to hike much faster on steps than plain old trail.  There was another harrowing mountain road drive.  We are still unable to put the bus on lower gears and have to be very careful of overheating our breaks.  

Traveling with the Internet is truly incredible...a far cry from all of my other cross country treks.  I am able to plug in best restaurants in Lemoore, CA and find an amazing Taqueria.  We stopped and are now headed to camp in the Arroyo Seco for the night wherever that is...free camping near the coast of Cali!!!  Yikes, drove a long way for a road closure.  The glory of traveling without a plan...now at a site perched on the side of a mountain....very scary, hope it will be less so tomorrow and we even paid for this one!

We will be hanging with our cousin Colleen in Carmel tomorrow!!!

More Utah National Parks!

We are currently hunkered down all cozy in the bus enjoying listening to thunder, playing Uno and writing in the blog.  This is our second night in such a majestic spot with mountain views and no one around for free.  Tom and I woke to coyotes howling with puppy howls as well last night.

On Monday we rented a car while Bambam had some work on the brakes which was successful and not so successful work on the lower gears, but she has been driving fine and we are doing without shifting her into the lower gears.  Anyway, our rented Toyota Camry with over 200,000 miles did well driving up to explore Canyonlands and we enjoyed about ten degrees cooler temps.  We hiked A Whale and a rim hike.  The kids have been really pretty amazing hikers, but the vistas are completely lost on them.  Completely unimpressed and much more interested in the micro parts of the trip...rock scrambling, hunting for lizards, watching Ravens, crawling through caves, etc.  I have taken to telling them they must act excited at viewpoints for our sake.  We picked up the bus and drove to another gorgeous free site outside of Goblin Valley State Park.  I have learned that what we are doing is called disperse camping...I love it!  I don't think I will ever quite enjoy a filled up campground again.

Goblin Valley State Park has just some of the weirdest rock structures I have ever seen.  We played some hide and seek and climbed all over.  The only unfortunate part is while in Indy I managed to walk into a parking meter which for most would not be such a big problem, but with my pace and the way it jutted out has left me with bruised or cracked ribs.  They are getting better and I have gone on about three runs before the kids get up, but that day my ribs really felt awful after the run so we didn't stick around or do the slot canyon I had picked in the area.  I don't see a slot in our future for this trip.

We hiked the Queens garden/Navajo loop trail this morning as well as the rim trail at Bryce Canyon.  The trail work is phenomenal so that people can enjoy such a spectacular area.  We plan to do a longer harder (more elevation gain/loss) trail tomorrow morning.  We haven't been good with consistent eating and so the kids have been getting quite hungry/emotional around lunch time.  Today they were on a rant about how deprived they are with no Kindles, video games, movies AND we are the only parents in their whole grades that make them do chores like clearing the table and cleaning their rooms once a week.  I said you don't have to do any chores on this trip and Maggie said, "Yeah, but we have to hike."  This is true we make them hike and I was thinking today how it would be nice at times if there were babysitting services at National Parks like on cruise ships so Tom and I could go do a few of the tougher trails at our own pace, but really they have been awesome as long as remember to feed them.

Can't believe it is July.  I have nicely lost track of time...off to the north rim of the Grand Canyon tomorrow.