LOWER ANTELOPE CANYON TO LEE VINING, CALIFORNIA

At the Antelope Entrance Ladder

It was so windy on Sunday that I actually considered skipping Antelope Canyon – which is something I was really looking forward to.  In the end, we decided to go (Tom even came with me!).

So here we are – this is what happened in Antelope Canyon:  We climbed down the ladder into the canyon, and the red sand just RAINED down on us!  I took a couple of pictures & put my camera away so it wouldn’t get buried in sand.  We decided we would just walk through the canyon (as Tom hadn’t been there before), and that way I would save my camera gear from the sand storm!

We hadn’t walked too far when we reached an area where the winds must have changed because there was much less sand to deal with.  Out came the camera and I was able to photograph the rest of our time in the canyon. 

Antelope shapes and Colors

At The Zion Park Sign

There was so much sand in my hair after Antelope that I needed to shampoo 3 times!!  It was positively gross.  But, that’s the great thing about soap and water – it cures a lot of ills.  Dinner at a local Mexican restaurant put the finishing touches on our day.

Monday took us to Zion National Park – somewhere we didn’t even have on our schedule-but we’re retired so we decided we could do whatever we wanted to do!  We stayed on the East side of the park in a funky little 10 space RV park.  At the time, we thought it was about as bad as an RV park could get… (Note the picture of Mount Carmel RV Park & Campground.)

Mt. Carmel RV Park & Campground

Zion was wonderful – but what National Park isn’t?  We saw the sights, took some pictures and managed to complete a 5 mile hike to the Double Arch Grotto.

Double Arch Grotto

And FYI:  Tom decided that our new trailer was just too heavy to be pulling up and down the mountains, so we traded it in on this smaller model below…

Our New Camper

At The Death Valley NP Sign

On Wednesday we made our way to Death Valley National Park.  It was only 93 degrees when we arrived in the valley – quite the shock to our systems!  We were only here for a few hours when the winds came up – that is they came up even more than they were during our drive from Zion to Death Valley!  There was so much dust in the air; one could barely see the shapes of the mountains surrounding the valley.  Talk about nasty – I much prefer snow to dust!  Remember the RV Park in Mount Carmel that we thought was so bad – hah!  That one can’t hold a candle to the national park campground in Death Valley!  It is a big gravel parking lot – note the picture.  It has bathrooms – that’s it!  Because of the wind, we had to have the camper totally closed up – remember its 93 degrees.  It probably cooled down to about 70 around midnight! 

Stovepipe Wells Campground

Desert Dunes

On Thursday, the dust storm stopped and we could see the mountains again - which is a good thing.  Early in the morning I took pictures on the sand dunes – Tom came with me and while I pushed the shutter button, he followed an industrious bug around the dunes!  After the dunes, we returned to the camper for some breakfast, and than headed up into the mountains for a hike.  The fact that we started out at see level and drove to about 5 or 6,000 feet in approximately 30 miles was really amazing.  Everything totally changed in that short distance.  It was 45 degrees at our mountain destination.  And while it wasn’t 93 degrees in the valley on Thursday – 0nly 77 degrees – that’s quite a difference! 

Death Valley Moonrise

Thursday evening we drove this cute little scenic drive called “Artists Drive”.  It was a tight little road through these beautiful & colorful hills.  By a stroke of good luck, we came upon the moon rise at just the right time!  (See the photo above.)

Sea Level

Tom's Handiwork

On Friday morning after catching the sunrise over Zabriski Point, we packed up and headed for Bishop, California.  It was a day to clean out the dust and sand and do some laundry.  Darn, I hate doing that house keeping stuff while I’m traveling!  (Even more than when I’m at home!)

Mono Lake Curve

Saturday and Sunday were spent in Lee Vining, California.  When the pass is open (which is wasn’t), one can access Yosemite NP from here.  We spent our time at Mono Lake and Bodie Ghost Town.  Mono Lake is this incredible “salt” lake with these forms rising up from the lake called Tufa.  Bodie has been designated a state historic park and is now maintained in a state of arrested decay.  Apparently, in its heyday, Bodie boasted a population of about 10,000 people!  Following is a quote taken from the guide to the park.

“Killings occurred with monotonous regularity, sometimes becoming almost daily events.  The fire bell, which tolled the ages of the deceased when they were buried, rang often and long.  Robberies, stage holdups and street fights provided variety, and the town’s 65 saloons offered many opportunities for relaxation after hard days of work in the mines.  The Reverend F. M. Warrington saw it in 1881 as “a sea of sin, lashed by the tempests of lust and passion.”

Bodie Methodist Chursh

Bodie Bank Vault

It is now Tuesday morning, and we are settled in at a nice little RV park in Chico, California.  We came here to visit some friends I met at a photo workshop in April, 2011.  More on Chico and what’s coming up later…

Melissa

The Phoenix Experience

It has been over a week since my last post – I am so delinquent!  So, it’s time to play catch up once again.

Sammie Having Fun With Her Minnie Birthday Card

We did have a birthday party for the twins last Tuesday, on March 20^th.  By that time, Cooper was sick with the stomach flu and by Wednesday – the very next day, 5 of the group had the full fledged thing and Tom and I were not feeling well, but managed to escape the severity of what the others experienced.  So not much to report for the rest of that week, other than everyone did get well & all were able to enjoy at least a few days of their vacation.

Tom and I left for Denver Friday morning, the 23^rd where we picked up our travel trailer and headed to Phoenix.  We stayed in Las Vegas, NM on Friday night where we had dinner (Mexican, of course) with our friend Sue Strebe.  And darn, I forgot to get a picture of the 3 of us – it is one of my goals to get a photo of everyone we visit on this trip – and I failed at the very first stop!  So, no picture with Sue, but we did have a yummy dinner and a very good time.  Sue is a bee keeper and she gave us a delicious jar of real “home grown” honey.  Thanks Sue!

Saturday night we stayed in Flagstaff, AZ.  Our dinner at The Olive Garden was spectacular – at least mine was!



Tom At Rancho Manyana

On Sunday we continued south to Phoenix.  It’s been a great week here – lovely weather – which means “not too hot”, time to relax, and time for each of us to do our favorite things.  Of course, that would mean that Tom played a lot of golf and I took a fair number of pictures! 

Self Portrait At "The Town Dump"

We also managed to spend some time with friends and relatives.  On Tuesday afternoon we drove north to Cottonwood, AZ and visited Carolyn Sommers.  Carolyn has been a friend for over 30 years, and she and I used to have a wallpaper hanging business together.  That was a long time ago, and we’ve both agreed that it’s not something we want to do anymore (or probably ever again, for that matter)!  Hah!  We had a yummy dinner (there’s always a yummy dinner involved), some good laughs, and I even remembered to take a picture!

Carolyn, Melissa, & Tom

Wednesday afternoon we visited my sister, Bev and her husband Chuck.  They live in Goodyear, which is on the west side of Phoenix.  We enjoyed the beautiful Arizona weather on their patio and of course, had another yummy dinner!  Thanks Bev and Chuck for the very warm hospitality – we appreciated and enjoyed it!

Bev, Chuck, Melissa, Tom

On Thursday night our friends Nancy & Dean Elofson drove up from Tucson.  They spent both Thursday & Friday nights here which enabled Tom and Dean to play a round of golf on Friday.  While the guys were playing golf, Nancy and I went hiking at The Lost Dutchman State Park.  (Neither of us is a golfer & we both only shop when we absolutely have to – so not for pleasure!)  At the risk of sounding like all we do on this trip is enjoy yummy dinners, I must tell you that on Friday night we ate at probably one of the best restaurants we’ve ever had the pleasure of enjoying.  “The White Chocolate Grill” – an unbelievable dining experience.  The desserts are listed FIRST on the menu.  We actually did have an entrée first – incredibly delicious – and the desserts that followed – exquisite might begin to describe the desserts

Nancy & Melissa At Lost Dutchman State Park

Tom & Dean on the Faldo Course at the Marriott Canyon Villas

Melissa, Dean, Nancy, & Tom

We have other friends, besides the ones we were able to see, in the Phoenix area.  I’m so sorry we didn’t have time to visit everyone, but the time simply zoomed by!

Tom golfed both here at the resort where we are staying and at Rancho Manyana – a golf course located in a suburb called Cave Creek.  My two most memorable photo experiences were the Phoenix Zoo and the village of Cave Creek.  There is this store at Cave Creek called the “Town Dump” – really!  There are several buildings and lots of outside space – every nook and cranny is crammed with “stuff”.  I’m not sure what else to call it, but they had everything from pots and pottery to iron works to antiquey things to well it’s indescribable!  I’ve included a few pictures – maybe you’ll get the idea.

A "sun star"? wall hanging (for sale) at the Town Dump

A Classic Golfer (for sale) at the Town Dump

Coca Cola Chairs (for sale) at the Town Dump

Happy Photographer (painted on the wall)
at the Town Dump

It is now Sunday afternoon and we are in Page, AZ – and finally we are living in our camper.  No more 5 star resorts – just a 5 star camper!  This morning Tom joined me at Lower Antelope Canyon for 2 hours of picture taking.  He was a real trooper to put up with all of my craziness!  I will include some Antelope Canyon pictures in a future blog. Until Next time…

Melissa

TIME TO CATCH UP

At Breckenridge Nordic Center

                                  

                                                         

       

So, I guess I’m a little behind on this blogging stuff and it’s only my first entry!  (After the initial test entry, that is.)  We left home 6 days ago, which makes for plenty of catching up to do!

Gunflint Trail departure day was Thursday, March 15th.  After completing several errands in Duluth, we finally arrived at our daughter & son in law’s home in Apple Valley about 8pm.  Friday was spent doing more errands in the Twin Cities, picking up our camper from winter storage, and than loading everything from the car into the camper.  Phew!  That was quite a challenge.  (But, actually, it was more challenging to pack it all at home with the idea in mind that it was going to go into the camper later!)  Of course, everything got done and we were on the road early Saturday morning.

Saturday was spent driving south through Iowa and west through Nebraska.  With winds 25-35 & gusts up to 40mph the entire day, the trailer didn’t want to follow the Tahoe in a straight line!  We, but especially Tom, were happy to reach our destination in Kearney, Nebraska that night!

Shortly after getting on the freeway Saturday morning about 7:30, we observed thousands of Sandhill Cranes flying over the freeway.  Unfortunately, I don’t have a picture of this amazing sight.  You’ll just have to take my word for it that it was truly incredible.  As you probably know, Sandhill Cranes spend about 6 weeks in the Grand Island-Kearney area while they put on weight for their trip north to their summer breeding grounds.  I googled some info about them and was astounded to learn that they eat about 1600 tons of waste corn in the Nebraska cornfields during their layover time there.  They also add about 2 pounds to their little 12 pound bodies during this time.

After dropping the trailer off at a storage facility in Denver on Sunday afternoon, we arrived at our Colorado mountain location in Eagle Vail.  Including the twins and Brandon, there are 11 of us staying here for the week. 

View From Our Colorado Home

                                     

On Monday, Tom and I did some cross country skiing at a Nordic center in Breckenridge.  It was ok, but the trails and conditions didn’t come close to what is offered on the Gunflint Trail!  So Bruce & Sue Kerfoot, you can be very proud of the Gunflint Trail cross country system! J

Tonight we will be celebrating the twins second birthday, along with their daddy’s 43^rd birthday.  If things work out as they should, maybe I’ll have a photo of the twins to attach to my next entry!

Melissa

My New Blog

Grosvenor Arch

With a little help from my friend, photographer extraordinaire, and computer wizard, Travis Novitsky, I've managed to set up a blog.  Who knew I would ever advance this far???  But here I am!  This idea actually started to take form as Tom and I talked about the spring trip adventure we will be embarking upon in just a few weeks.  I wanted a way to connect with family and friends as we traveled throughout the west.  So, if you want to follow us, all you need to do is follow my blog.  Now I just need to make sure that I follow the blog, myself, with some entries!
                                            
Here is a synopsis of what we will be doing:  Our plan is to leave the Gunflint Trail on March 15th.  We need to rescue our camper (which is stored in the Twin Cities) on the 16th and on Saturday, the 17th, we will leave for Colorado.  After storing our camper in Denver, we head to the mountains for some skiing with the kids.  After that we will be spending a week in Phoenix (storing the camper again) as we will be staying at a golf resort for that week.  (While Tom golfs, I'm sure I can find something to photograph!)  Finally, after Phoenix, we're off to live in our camper for the next 4-5 weeks!  We will be visiting northern Arizona, southern Utah, Death Valley, the Mono Lake area in California, Crater Lake, the ENTIRE Oregon Coast, the Columbia Gorge, along with stops to see some friends and relatives!  It should be quite the adventure, and I hope you can join us once in awhile along the way!

Of course, I didn't have any trip pictures to show you yet.  But, as you've probably guessed, it's really difficult for me to think in any terms other than visual!  Therefore, the picture that greeted you at the top of this entry is one from our spring trip to the Southwest in 2011.  Grosvenor Arch is located along the Cottonwood Road in southern Utah in The Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument.  What an amazing place - truly a national treasure!

Hope you enjoy!
Melissa