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.