Homeward Bound

17 - 19 August 2010
Tuesday - Thursday

Left Liza's place with a BANG: Nancy backed into the car of one of the neighbors. Luckily all is well, reparable and no citations were issued.  However, there will be "points" on my insurance record for three years.

From there it was all downhill.

First day we traveled through New Mexico, eastern Colorado and Nebraska as far as North Platte. Everything is so very green and all the streams are flowing and the lakes look full.

Second day we finished our tour of Nebraska then South Dakota and Minnesota. Again all is green and lush and flowing. The cows are hard to see in all that grass.

Spent the night at Trina's because we needed a dose of grandchildren. Then to Lakeville to pick up Jim's motor and finally reached home at 2:30 PM on our 49th tank of gas.

The tour by the numbers will be posted soon.

areas traversed: MN-SD-ND-MT-AL-BC-YT-AK-YT-BC-WA-OR-CA-NV-AZ-NM-CO-NB-SD-MN

featuring: National parks [Glacier, Jasper, Banff, Denali, Pacific Rim, Crater Lake, Yosemite,Painted Desert, Petrified Forest], two new states [Alaska & Oregon], family, manyold friends and some cousins [Luella, Betty & Fred], the Lacey family, Tony & Mary,Jamie, Lisa & Jeff, Mim, Lori & Gordon and Liza], lots of rain and chilly weather

miles covered: 12, 568

dates covered: June 10 – August 19, 2010

who: Jim and Nancy Bambenek

by the numbers:

                           days on the road: 72

                           weeks on the road: 10

                           number of tanks of gas: 49

                           average cost of fuel:

                           most expensive: $ 5.28 [in Dawson City, YT]

                           least expensive:

                           most common temperature: 57°        

                           average mpg:

                           best mileage:

                           worst mileage:    

                           number of states:  13

                           number of provinces:  3

                           times through customs: 6

                           number of people visited:  26

Santa Fe

12 - 16 August 2010
Thursday -- Monday

Relaxing at high altitude: reading, urban hiking, eating, minimal shopping, lots of people connections and reconnections and gearing down for the final leg of the trip. Lots to mull over and consider. Lots to be thankful for. Lots to look forward to.

Jackalope, here I come, ready or not.

The Great Southwest 4

On the road to Santa Fe.  Loving these "Goergia O'Keefe clouds"

Our traveling vehicle "Rocket"  completely comfortable.

Hanging with Liza on Gomez Street in Santa Fe.  She just completed her new dining room table.  An awesome way to conclude our journey.

The Great Southwest 3

A little oasis in Western Nevada called Beatty which has an amazing and huge candy store.  The Death Valley Nut and Candy Co. Located on HWY95 next door to the Stagecoach Hotel & Casino.  A candy lover's dream.... the largest candy store in Nevada!

Driving through the Painted Desert.  A lovely throwback to a trip we took with Trina and Liza when they were  younger.

I wonder what is out there ? ? ? ? 

The Great Southwest 2

Lake Mead is pretty low this visit.

The new bridge that will span the Colorado River and divert traffic from crossing the historic  Hoover Dam.

The Hoover Dam--downstream view

The Hoover Dam -- upstream view

The Hoover Dam

The Great Southwest 1

Perfect Georgia O'Keefe or Ansel Adams clouds.

We have the time so we travel an unknown road to see Meteor Crater

The road there is scenic.

The crater itself is pretty amazing and so is its history

Always thought this was a National Park or Monument.  It is privately owned and maintained.  Now we know.

Standing on a corner . . .

11 August 2010
Wednesday

It's green! Arizona is green! When the sun set last night we were still in the desert and now we seem to have arrived on another planet where Arizona is green. And the dry washes are either wet or running! The landscape changes as if we are turning pages in a book. Vast fields of blooming flowers. Cattle barely visible in the tall grass. Trees, all kinds of trees. And they look healthy.

At mile marker #233 we played tourist and drove out to see the Meteor Crater. It's smaller than we had previously thought. It was rather like walking into the Johnson Space Center in Houston for the first time. "This is it?" Again, learned a lot going through the museum and reading the placards on the outdoor viewing areas. Things like: meteors, craters, astronaut training and other space objects; all very informative. We did walk around a bit along the rim where permissible and took pictures until the battery died.

OTRA*

Next we see WINSLOW, ARIZONA and of course, the lyrics burst from our lips:

Well I'm a runnin' down the road try'n to loosen my load
I've got seven women on my mind
Four that wanna own me, two that wanna stone me
One says she's a friend of mine
Take it easy, take it easy
Don't let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy
Lighten up while you still can
Don't even try to understand
Just find a place to make your stand, and take it easy
Well, I'm a standin' on a corner in Winslow, Arizona
Such a fine sight to see
It's a girl my lord in a flat-bed Ford
Slowin' down to take a look at me
Come on, baby, don't say maybe
I gotta know if your sweet love is gonna save me
We may lose and we may win, though we may never be here again
So open up I'm climbin' in, so take it easy
Well, I'm a runnin' down the road tryin' to loosen my load
Got a world of trouble on my mind
Lookin' for a lover who won't blow my cover, she's so hard to find
Take it easy, take it easy
Don't let the sound of your own wheels make you crazy
Come on baby, don't say maybe
I gotta know if your sweet love is gonna save me

Sorry, just had to do that.

Took another side trip into the Petrified forest and the Painted Desert. Happy to report that this park is still awesome. This park is Arizona's version of the Badlands.

Entered New Mexico and got to see Georgia O'Keefe clouds against a brilliant sky. Oh yeah, it's green here as well. So much for the hot desert in August. Another bubble burst; another stereotype busted.

100 degrees in Albuquerque as we maneuver our way through the city. Then it's off to one of our favorite places: Santa Fe, NM.

We arrive at Liza's at 5:30.

Loverly to see you, Sweet Pea!



*On The Road Again

Those desert days 2

Traveling through California just north of Death Valley.  Someday we will go there but right now we don't have the time.

The road goes through some amazing scenery.

Who knew the desert could be so beautiful.

Getting closer to Nevada.

Those desert days 1

On our way to June Lake

A striking pine

What is out there?

Warm and scenic

It's a trail that we opt NOT to follow.  Rocket needs asphalt.

Road Trip: deserts, Vegas, Hoover Dam

10 August 2010
Tuesday

Reconnecting with the main road we discovered a quaint little village called June Lake: quite the alpine tourist town; it looks like fishing and skiing are the big activities here.

We stopped at a National Forest Service info center to get a BIG map for the BIG picture from here to Santa Fe. We were not quite sure what our options were. Our plan was to come in from the Four Corners area but we were already too far south and then we heard from Liza that the area is closed; apparently there is some discrepancy as to where the 'four corners" actually are. We also wanted to avoid the Mojave desert and Death Valley at this time of year. Think: HOT.

So we angled east toward the Ancient Bristlecone area. We had also picked up a "milepost" style guide book to narrate us into Nevada. We traveled through the lands of the ancient and current Paiute Indians. Whatever did they live on here? As we were still in the mountains we constantly did the up-and-down thing.

We left the Inyo National Forest. Now we saw lizards darting across the highway instead of wee squirrels. Bad karma: got a bird and a squirrel today. We are now east of the Sierra Nevada mountains.

In Nevada the scenery never changed: lots of Joshua trees and other desert flora. We traveled just north and then just east of Death Valley. Same experience with more towns. We had filled up the 5-gallon water container and continued to hydrate ourselves and check the radiator temperature. We must be going up again because our ears are popping and the temperature is dropping.

In a cute little town called Beatty, NV, we stopped for gas and lots of bags of snacks from the Death Valley Nut and Candy Company. Then we saw some interesting items: lots of yucca and a big dune [looks like a windstorm blew some sand over the mountains from Death Valley and deposited it like a big drift].

We got to go through Las Vegas at rush hour. Such fun and I will spare you the details. We saw trees disguised as cell phone towers--wait! it's the other way around.

Hit a temperature of 108! Thank you for AC!

In Boulder City we got a great view of Lake Mead. Then it was off to the Hoover Dam. Holy Hoover Dam! They're building a BRIDGE over the chasm. Now only visitors will be on the Dam which will alleviate all the vibrations and traffic jams on the historic structure. However, it is still a work in progress so we got to cross the dam once again.

Next stop: Kingman, NV.  We found a great Mexican diner right on Route 66 and enjoyed dinner at El Palacio. The heat made us decide to continue driving on the Interstate until well after dark. We were stunned to learn that Arizona closed all of its state parks and rest stops in order to keep their schools open during the budget crunch. Apparently the parks and rest stops are slowly being opened as money becomes available. On the other hand, finding a place to rest one's weary head and half-closed eyeballs becomes a little tricky. We found an interesting spot at a Texaco gas station and listened to freeway noise all night.

Not exactly a 5-star location.

Views of Yosemite 4

Tenaya Lake on the Tioga Road 

The northern road through Yosemite is quite scenic

Supper at our June Lake campsite.  Check out those incredible pine cones.  At first I felt guilty picking them up until we noticed that there were billions of them.  We discover that they are from the Coulter Pine.

Lots of climbers rock scrambling in Yosemite's northern sector.

a waterfall in Yosemite Park

Views of Yosemite 3

On the way out of the Park via Tioga Road heading to  Tuolumne Meadows.

 Tuolumne Meadows.

 Tuolumne Meadows.

Snow!  even in August!

Bristlecone Pine

Views of Yosemite 2

Half Dome from the backside

Views of Yosemite 1

Bridle Veil Falls

Can you find Rocket in the parking lot?

Yosemite National Park

9 August 2010
Monday

First stop, the visitor center to get the requisite maps, postcards and brochures. The drive along the Big Oak Flat Road revealed the remains of a recent forest fire: a controlled burn that got away. We crawled along the side of the mountains, going up and down and around and around. By 5000 ft. we are in bumper-to-bumper traffic and then we went around a corner and there was Half Dome. Then through a tunnel and we could see the Merced River below us.

The first side trip was a hike to see Bridal Veil Falls followed by our first view of El Capitan and a walk on Sentinel Beach through giant ponderosa pines and the sequoias.

We learned the difference between a meadow [diverse life forms] and a field [a monoculture].

We toured the Ansel Adams Gallery and another Visitor Center. Back at Curry Village we got a better and closer look at Half Dome.

The number of people and cars and buses and campers and bicyclists in this park was horrifying. It was like being in a parking lot at Christmas time. Let's just say that we are not good in these conditions. We need to get back to wilderness, or at least our version of it.

So we headed off to explore the northern parts of the park by driving the Tioga Pass Road. Soon the views were too spectacular for words and the sun made the ponderosa pines smell like a million dollars. And talk about a LOT of granite. At Olmsted Point we were afforded a view of the BACK of Half Dome. At Lake Tanaya and the Tuolumne Meadows we realized that this area of the park had opportunities for hiking in peace and quiet and also rock scrambling and climbing.

At 9000+ feet we exited the park and entered the Inyo National Forest where we began our daily quest for a campground. The view of the controversial Mono Lake was like a moonscape so it fit right in with the recent day of boulders in Yosemite. On a whim we took a loop road called June Lake and were rewarded with a campground site at 7610 feet of altitude for the night. Our site was loaded with giant cone-bearing pines and during the night we were serenaded by a pack of howling coyotes. It was actually quite cool.

Tomorrow, the deserts.

From Mendocino through Napa