2008JeffJourney

Airport Adventure

May 15, 2009

For weeks we had planned our departure for a fun filled weekend to NY and CT with two of the kids.  C was flying in from CA on the red eye and would meet us at the airport. The rest of us would arise early and drive to the airport.  The debate was whether we should check one carry on bag.  It made sense to bring a bit extra and also to be able to bring our shampoo.

Morning came early and there was more to do than expected.  Running a bit behind we finally said our goodbyes to the remaining 5 and headed north.  Soon the calls beeped in from C who was beginning to feel we were cutting it very close.  I dropped the suitcase off at the curb along with the children and headed off to park the car.  Since I was sitting on my phone C's several phone calls went unnoticed as he anxiously waited by the curb.  When I was spotted, they all picked up the luggage and ran for the check in computer.  Two minutes too late!  The computer cut off our chances for checking in the bag.  Confident that someone would help a platinum frequent flier, C led us to several lines.  They all had the same shrug and inability to help.

The time came to begin stuffing all we had in the suitcase into our various bags.  The compassionate Delta employee offered a garbage bag for our belongings and stood over us continually offering suggestions.  The shampoo and other liquids went into the garbage can.  Leaving our suitcase behind and carrying a large green garbage bag as my carry on, we began our sprint for the gate.

Of course the flight had to leave from terminal D.  We checked our watches as we passed Terminals T-A-B & C on the shuttle train. Arriving in terminal D, C began to run up the corridor, only to turn away from the desk dejected.  The plane was closed to boarders.  Sigh!

The help phone was consulted with the option of guaranteeing 4 seats on the next flight (1:55 p.m.) for $100 each. Yikes.  We decided to wait.  The visions were that we'd all get to NY but on different flights.  D and I made the hike back to the entrance and rescued our suitcase to put in the car.  Sadly we were met by a very grumpy old man at the security when I tried to get my pock knife back.  He explained that the pocket knife was gone and that it was being crushed up and that there was absolutely NO way I could look through the confiscated items.

We enjoyed a morning in the Delta Crown Room working on work and school (much to the kids delight - NOT!).  Three hours before the flight was due to leave C called and was able to confirm the last 4 seats on the 1:55 p.m. flight. Hurrah!

Thankfully our day from there was fairly uneventful.  We made the flight.  D&E enjoyed the whole flying experience and we made it to NY before dark.

 

Next stop, Camp K-20 ....

June 13, 2008: We Adjust our Thinking To a New Plan

Location:  The same.

Weather:  Sunny, Dry and Hot (upper 80's)

We tried to squeeze in a tour of The Hole 'N The Rock (http://www.theholeintherock.com/) before we had to change our campsite this morning.  This unique 5,000 sq.ft. home was built into the sandstone rock.  The Christensen's started with a kitchen and a diner and slowly added the rest of the house.  There are a few rooms that have natural light areas, but mostly it is just all underground like a cave.  They hand carved it with chisels and dynamited out the larger sections.  It is very interesting.  If that isn't enough to attract the average tourist there is also a gift store, general store and petting zoo (complete with Emu, Ostrich, goats, pigs, wallabies and more).

***Meeting the Wallabies

By 11 a.m. we were "home" to move to our third campsite in the park.  We got settled in and decided to stay out of the heat for the afternoon by doing school in the camper.  The kids were thrilled - NOT!  But even still we were able to get spelling, journaling and map work done before they just couldn't be contained anymore.

We also began to wonder if Mr.Quality RV had made any progress on finding our part.  When I called he said, "Oh, they haven't called me back.  I guess I could call them again."  Eeekkk!  I was under the impression that he knew we weren't interested in moving into Moab. Craig came to the rescue and began to talk with Mr. Quality.  Craig then called Peco Campers (where we bought the RV) and they stepped up to the plate.  They found a part in CA and are having it shipped to Mr. Quality.  He said he'd do his best to squeeze us in when the part came.  As one camper said, "You are now stuck on Moab time."  Craig said, "Just have it in your mind you'll be there till next Friday."

So for the rest of the afternoon as A & M rested, the boys shot army men with their slingshots and the others found something to occupy themselves, I shuffled our schedule - canceling reservations and coming up with new plans for our days.

***Under the Pine Tree Arch

By 4:30 p.m. the heat subsided and we decided to head out to Landscape Arch, an arch that is 6 ft longer than a football field.  It was one of the arches that the Rangers say, "Go see," because they are unsure how long it'll be around.  In 1991 a big section of it cracked off and came down.  There are several arches out on the Devil's Garden Trail.  The Pine Tree Arch was our favorite. It is a large arch that we could stand under.  It had some fun places to explore as well.  A, M and E loved just playing in the red sand.  J, D and L had no lack of climbing opportunities. And N, K and I had fun photographing them all.

***Phooning on a Sandstone Fin

On driving the 15 miles back through the National Park, the views of the red sandstone structures was incredible as they were lit up with the setting sun.  It was another night where we forgot the time and stayed out till the sunset. Spaghetti Dinner was at 10:30 with another showing of a Buster Keaton movie.

May 23, 2008: Experiencing Death Valley

Location: Panamint Springs where gas will run you $5.27/gallon.

Weather: Cloudy and can you believe …. RAINY?!  With an average rainfall of .1 inches in the month of May and 2” per year, we were here on this day to witness it.  Our tour was probably more comfortable as the temperatures never got above the 80’s.  The wind was fierce though at times.

***Picture: Sand was being blown by the wind below and the thick rain clouds were above.  Both settled down by later in the afternoon.

Mileage:  Surpassed 4000 miles today

Jr. Ranger Badge #5: Death Valley National Park

With over 3 million acres to explore, the challenge was to pick which sights we should spend our time seeing today.  We knew that the first order of business was getting the Jr. Ranger booklets so the kids could start working on their badges.  In the Furnace Creek Visitor Center we enjoyed seeing the displays.  Especially the ones about the families that we had read about in the book mentioned yesterday.  It becomes more amazing to us that they traversed the land for months, the more of Death Valley we see.

Devil’s Golf Course became a play yard for the kids – one which would be rough on the knees and hands if they fell.  The Visitor’s Guide explains the area as an “Immense area of rock salt eroded by wind and rain into jagged spires.” The kids enjoyed climbing around and on the pillars, picking up loose stones shaped in odd ways and even tasting it to see exactly how salty it was (Yuck!).

 ***Kids coming in off the salt pillars

Natural Bridge Canyon was a different world than Devil’s Golf Course though only a short drive away.  We took the ½ mile hike up through the windy gorge.  Thankfully the wind was pushing us and we were not fighting it.  We entered the canyon through the immense Natural Bridge.  What fun the kids had running through the canyon and exploring little side crevices that were formed by wind and rain.

***Family under the Natural Bridge

The urgency to get the Jr. Ranger badges by 5 p.m. (when the Rangers punctually leave) made us travel back to the Visitor Center.  We have a habit of running in at the last minute, but the Rangers do not appreciate this as they usually take time with each of the kids to review the books and have them take the Jr. Ranger pledge.  We made it and they each received another patch for their collection.

We couldn’t leave without going to the lowest spot on the Northern Hemisphere – Badwater Basin at an amazing -282 ft. below sea level.  On the mountainside near the basin there is a plaque with Sea Level written on it.  That sure made it concrete how low we actually were.  The salt flats looked so much like sand it was hard to believe that it was all salt.  Here and there on the salt path people had dug holes.  The kids enjoyed seeing how the water seeped up in each of the holes. A, L and M sat down and started digging like they were at the beach. They had learned from experience and they didn’t taste here.

***J phooning at Badwater Basin

And what activities do the kids do in the car while driving around.  Among other things K torments D by making imprints of her teeth/braces in his silly putty.

On the Artist’s drive we drove the 9 miles that weaved by amazing scenery of eroded mountainsides and colorful landscapes.  Some of the road squeezed through canyon sides that made us really glad we didn’t have the camper in tow!

Our last stop at nearly 8 p.m. was Salt Creek, home of the Pup Fish.  Sadly we were too late in the season to get a sight of the fish, but what a view of the sun set on the desert mountains we had from the boardwalk.

Back at the camper we had waiting for us - a Dinner A’Fare meal that took 20 minutes to whip up.  D, my pickiest eater, made the comment that he’d rather have a Condor’s meal. (This meal was graphically described to us by the Grand Canyon Ranger and it is not too pleasant.)  He was sent to bed for his negativity, though told if he thought about it and apologized he may be able to rejoin us.  He chose to go off to bed…. Until he overheard a conversation about how sad he’d be in the morning when we pulled out his dinner and we went off to the local restaurant (yes, there is one in Panamint Springs across the street from the campground).  My lover of pancakes was out in a few minutes (he couldn’t just jump up and look like he overheard.) apologizing, eating his meal and uttering thankfulness.

In the morning the plan is to be off for the coast of California to see C’s sister and enjoy Memorial Day Weekend.  I’ll be taking a break from the blog till we get back to school on Tuesday. 

May 16, 2008: North through Arizonia

Location: AZ, Flagstaff, Route 66, Route 89 North, Sunset Crater, Wupatki and Grand Canyon

Weather: A frigid 42 degrees at 6:30 a.m., Sunny, 80’s

Junior Ranger Badge #3: Wupatki National Monument

Favorite Find:  A children’s book find at Wupatki was the book, The Three Little Javelinas by Susan Lowell  (http://www.amazon.com/Three-Little-Javelinas-pequenos-jabalies/dp/0873585429).  This creative southwest version of the three little pigs had us all laughing.  The story is engaging and the illustrations are great – read it to your kids if you can find it.  You’ll learn about the southwest and have fun doing  it!

5:30 a.m. We were awoken by the clicking noise of our refrigerator trying to light the gas to keep running.  Our battery had worn down in the night. Once out of bed, Craig began to pack us up.  By 6:30 we were on the road toward Flagstaff to do laundry and shop.

Across the street from the Laundromat was a little deli/bakery, Malone’s.  We were reminded of the delis that we get great bagels in NY.  The kids feasted on bagels and cream cheese.  And since they ran out of plain bagels the owner gave us a half a dozen donuts for free.

With much moaning the boys took the laundry into the Laundromat. (C wants you to know that he did not moan at all.)  They were convinced that the laundry is the women’s work.  The women were off to gather the food supplies.  We were treated with views of the San Francisco Peaks covered with snow.  L wanted to go right up and play in it.  We also made our first journey on Route 66.  For all those Cars fans out there, L declared, “This doesn’t look like Radiator Springs at all.”  We were able to gather the food and make it back to rescue the boys from folding the mounds of laundry.

Sunset Crater was a fascinating stop.  The now inactive volcano erupted about 900 years ago and left a trail of lava flows.  Our first stop was the visitor center which had the main attraction of a few snow piles here and there.  It was hard to drag the boys (including C) from their snowball war to come in to see the displays.  The trail took us through the lava flows witnessing the destruction to the landscape that hasn’t changed much in the last 900 years.  There are a few trees, but little vegetation can grow in the lava rock with the desert conditions.

***Picture: To the right of the family is the lava flow and in the distance are the San Francisco Peaks.

 

Our third Jr. Ranger badge was done at Wupatki National Monument – ruins of a 100 room Sinagua pueblo. The pueblo is in an excavated state so you can see into many rooms. The most interesting thing is a blow hole that sucks air in when the air pressure is high and blows air out when the pressure is low.  The kids had fun feeling the air flow (sucking in today) and experimenting with it.  There also was a large round sports arena that had great acoustics.

***Picture: C, A and M phoon with the backdrop of the painted desert.

As we sighted the canyons of the Little Colorado River everyone got excited to get to the Grand Canyon.  Once at the gate we still had another 25 miles to go to get to Trailer Village.  Not able to wait anymore to see it, we stopped at the Grandview Overlook.  As Craig says, “That sure is a big hole in the ground.”  The sunset cast a reddish glow over the inner gorge.  It is incredible!

We pulled into the campsite as the sun was setting happy to have full hook ups and vying to be the first in the shower!

May 13, 2008: Tucson

Location: Beaudry RV Resort: The fanciest place we’ve stayed so far. It is big, clean, manicured and has cable TV. The kids are ready to go back to the woods where they feel comfortable. C and I enjoyed the exercise room this morning.

Weather: Windy, chilly, and rainy in the afternoon (very unusual AZ weather)

Lesson Learned: “Crocs are not good shoes to wear in the desert” – Micah who was often pulling the spines from his shoes and feet.

Lesson Relearned: Consult the map BEFORE you set out!

In anticipation of a visit with Aunt Peg (C’s Mom’s sister) and Uncle Duane we hung out at the campsite this a.m. What fun to see them after 10 or so years. Their daughter Nancy also stopped by on her lunch break. C hadn’t seen her for 30 years! Her comment was, “You’ve grown up!” It’s funny how that happens. We enjoyed eating lunch together, catching up and hearing about their travels in their camper. A threatening thunderstorm rolled in and ended our time together quickly.

For the afternoon we opted to head to the other Saguaro National Park on the west side. The wildlife did not disappoint us once again. We saw a coyote trotting on the side of the road on the way in. In the Red Hills Visitor Center the kids began their Junior Ranger Booklets which the ranger kindly said we could work on and mail back in. This directed our hikes as we were pushed to find the answers to the questions. M, E and I sat for a while watching as a Gila Woodpecker couple flew in and out of a hole high on a Saguaro feeding their young and as a White Winged Dove fed off the Saguaro’s blossoms. We also hiked to Signal Hill to see the petroglyphs. The scenery does not cease to capture my attention as it is different in every place we visit. One of the books we bought before the trip was a photo book of many different Saguaro with comic book style comments describing what the different shaped cactus were saying. We had fun doing the same. The kids found twins, moms hugging their little ones, girls holding flowers and many more. Perhaps the most memorable part of the afternoon was the kids’ delight as C sped out of the park on a straight country road with many deep dips. The giggles abounded. Even A was joining in. As we realized we were speeding away in the wrong direction, they were gleefully begging for us to turn around and go back the way we came.

***Phooning near Signal Hill

With being on the road for more than a week now we are coming up with lists of things that we need. There was an hour till the closing of the malls. We split up and tackled our lists. You'll be happy to know that Micah got a pair of shoes that fit (it seems he outgrew his sneakers and hiking shoes overnight!) so he’ll no longer need to hike in Crocs.

We feel we are leaving Tucson with so much more to be done. It is a place that we could stay a week or more and not run out of things to do. We would have loved to spend more time with extended family, see the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum and visit Old Tucson. We’ll definitely have to come back for another visit!

Monte Sano State Park, Huntsville, AL

Go there if you can.  http://www.alapark.com/parks/park.cfm?parkid=6

D's meet brought us to this mountain top campground loaded with bikes.  We spent Saturday exploring the mountain bike trails (mostly the 2.9 mile, relatively flat family trail that is a single track that weaves it's way around the top of the mountain).

Family phoon overlooking the Tennesse Valley.

N's puppy Gangster has no problem taking to camping.

Are you an Uniformitarianist or Catastrophist?

 

Hmmm… Since most of the museums we’ll see will be influenced solely by the uniformitarian view, we toured one of the few museums in the U.S.that wholeheartedly embraces the catastrophist view - the Creation Museum in Northern KY (http://www.creationmuseum.org/).  On the car ride north, we boggled our minds with the audio version of the Apologia General Science chapters on geology.  This museum presents an abundance of information favoring the catastrophism view.

One of our favorites is the fish fossil caught in the act of eating a fish.  Could this have happened in a catastrophe or in a slow process over time?

 

 

**Phooning on a suspension bridge on the grounds during our lunch break.  The kids' enthusiasm was caught by my sister's family as well.

Phooning

Searching for information on visiting Whit's End in Colorado Springs, CO I came across this man who "invented" phoons.  Take a look at the website to see what it is all about. http://www.phoons.com/mostlikelyto.html
Photo:  Kids phooning on a cliffside on a hiking trail in Palisades East, Atlanta.