Jul 27, 2011
We are home safe. A wonderful trip! 6700 miles. 5 National Parks. 10 states. 15 RV parks. 1 near death river rafting experience. 10 mile/8 hour hike near raging waterfall. 1 Habiatat build. 1 traffic ticket (1 hour from home). Met countless new friends.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Alpine, TX
We brought the Good News UMC youth here several years on mission trips so this area has a special place in our hearts. We also have been here to pick grapes at Cathedral Mountain twice. We are mostly here just for r & r. Taking it easy. Pretty RV place with pool.
Small world story: the man who checked us in at the RV Park is from Waco. He and his wife were house parents at the Waco Children's Home (where the Davidian children and LDS offshoot children were taken) where Fred's grandfather worked. Fred grew up blocks from the Children's Home. This couple helped start the UMC in Lewisville and belonged to Tritsch UMC. So we had all kinds of friends in common.
We worshipped at Alpine UMC Sunday and a friend, Dick, preached. Dick, who is now retired, was the Wesley Foundation Pastor at Sul Ross University. We stayed at the Wesley Foundation when we brought kids here for mission trips. They had a lunch after church and we got to reconnect with Dick and his wife, Jean.
Small world story: the man who checked us in at the RV Park is from Waco. He and his wife were house parents at the Waco Children's Home (where the Davidian children and LDS offshoot children were taken) where Fred's grandfather worked. Fred grew up blocks from the Children's Home. This couple helped start the UMC in Lewisville and belonged to Tritsch UMC. So we had all kinds of friends in common.
We worshipped at Alpine UMC Sunday and a friend, Dick, preached. Dick, who is now retired, was the Wesley Foundation Pastor at Sul Ross University. We stayed at the Wesley Foundation when we brought kids here for mission trips. They had a lunch after church and we got to reconnect with Dick and his wife, Jean.
Chaco Canyon
We stayed in Gallup, NM several days and visited El Morro National Monument and Chaco Canyon National Park. El Morro consists of tall canyon walls where Zuni Indians lived around 850 A..D. They had built brick building 3 and 4 stories high over looking the canyon. We saw some workers putting mortar between the bricks to keep the buildings standing. One man was was a Zuni and talked to us a long time about his ancestors who lived there and stories that had been passed down to him. Fascinating. He was an employee of the park. We hiked up to the top of the canyon walls where you could see for miles.
We also went to Chaco Canyon which had dwellings that dated to 825 A.D. To get to Chaco you have to travel for about an hour on really rough unpaved road. The signs suggested you only use a 4 wheel drive. It is pretty primitive compared to most of the other parks we've seen. They are in the process of building a new visitors center which will be nice. I don't know why the road is still unpaved but I'm sure cost enters in. Our guide was a young woman in the YCC, Youth Conservation Corp. She was excellent and knew a great deal about the Canyon. She was also very honest about what thy don't know. The buildings were made of stone the Anasazi got off the top of the Canyons. Bigger stone at the bottom and smaller on the top floors. Most homes were at least 4 stories high. Unsure if Chaco was home/cultural/trade/religious area. There are 700 rooms! There are about 5 different areas of buildings. Amazing that these could be built so long ago and be so precise and still be standing. Amazing to hear about how they uncovered them and the problems encountered as they unearthed them, mainly keeping them standing as they pulled the hundreds of years of dirt off them. You can actually walk through the outlying dwellings and there are info guide books that tell you about each dwelling as you walk through. The Indians resent when we say: "the civilization just disappeared." They say; "we didn't disappear. Our ancestors are in towns all around the canyon." We spent the day at the Canyon and got some gorgeous pictures.
As we were driving out of the Canyon we encountered a young woman and her mother and two labs from NY who had lost a tire and had only the rim. We stopped and helped them. A ranger came to help while F was changing the tire. They had also called AAA but we were so far out they never made it. F told them them after preachiing on the Good Samaritan all those years, darn it, he felt he had to put it into practice! They were so nice and appreciative.
We also went to Chaco Canyon which had dwellings that dated to 825 A.D. To get to Chaco you have to travel for about an hour on really rough unpaved road. The signs suggested you only use a 4 wheel drive. It is pretty primitive compared to most of the other parks we've seen. They are in the process of building a new visitors center which will be nice. I don't know why the road is still unpaved but I'm sure cost enters in. Our guide was a young woman in the YCC, Youth Conservation Corp. She was excellent and knew a great deal about the Canyon. She was also very honest about what thy don't know. The buildings were made of stone the Anasazi got off the top of the Canyons. Bigger stone at the bottom and smaller on the top floors. Most homes were at least 4 stories high. Unsure if Chaco was home/cultural/trade/religious area. There are 700 rooms! There are about 5 different areas of buildings. Amazing that these could be built so long ago and be so precise and still be standing. Amazing to hear about how they uncovered them and the problems encountered as they unearthed them, mainly keeping them standing as they pulled the hundreds of years of dirt off them. You can actually walk through the outlying dwellings and there are info guide books that tell you about each dwelling as you walk through. The Indians resent when we say: "the civilization just disappeared." They say; "we didn't disappear. Our ancestors are in towns all around the canyon." We spent the day at the Canyon and got some gorgeous pictures.
As we were driving out of the Canyon we encountered a young woman and her mother and two labs from NY who had lost a tire and had only the rim. We stopped and helped them. A ranger came to help while F was changing the tire. They had also called AAA but we were so far out they never made it. F told them them after preachiing on the Good Samaritan all those years, darn it, he felt he had to put it into practice! They were so nice and appreciative.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Bakersfield, CA
We went to Bakersfield to see a cousin of F's, Marti Barker. She is the sister of Fred's cousin, Clint. We had dinner with Marti, her husband, her two daughters and their families. It was great to see and meet them. Marti has two grandsons, each 6 years. The next night one of the daughters fixed us tortilla soup that was great and we spent time in their hot tub.Marti and Bridget, her daughter, took us white rafting on the Kern River. What fun! The
river is very high due to snow melt so the trip was fast with much white water. We had a great guide and loved the trip. I asked how old the oldest person to raft the Kern was and they said 86 so that gives me 20 more years!!! The last night in Bakersville we went to Noriega's Resturant. It is very famous in Bakersfield. You sit at long tables and for two hours they bring out food and wine, much more than you can possibly eat. Salad, green beans, tongue, lamb, cottage cheese, tomatoes and onions, sorbet. It was a great way to close out our enjoyable visit with them.
river is very high due to snow melt so the trip was fast with much white water. We had a great guide and loved the trip. I asked how old the oldest person to raft the Kern was and they said 86 so that gives me 20 more years!!! The last night in Bakersville we went to Noriega's Resturant. It is very famous in Bakersfield. You sit at long tables and for two hours they bring out food and wine, much more than you can possibly eat. Salad, green beans, tongue, lamb, cottage cheese, tomatoes and onions, sorbet. It was a great way to close out our enjoyable visit with them.
Earls and Santa Rosa, CA
We visited with Jill and Doug Earl in Santa Rosa. We met them at the Habitat Build in Santa Fe, NM and they diid a mission project with us in Matamoros, MX last year. They have a gorgeous farm house which they have restored and enlarged. We really enjoy them and it was so good to spend time with them.
The first day we toured the Napa Valley and wine country. One winery was a castle, Castella di Amorosa, and we toured it and tasted 10 different wines. F bought some and had them shipped to Leander. We had a treat at the next winery, Joseph Phelps Vineyards, because the Earl's son in law works there so our tasting was comped. Beautiful setting and Jill had made a picnic lunch. We enjoyed wine and food overlooking the grape fields. After lunch their son in law, Andrew, gave us a tour of the fields and explained what the winery is attempting to do. We were very impressed since they are trying to make it energy dynamic and have everything working together to benefit all the crops and animals at the winery, not just the grapes. So interesting.
We visited Charles Schultz Museum. He drew the Peanuts cartoon strips for years. He built an ice rink in Santa Rosa for his daughters. The museum was so intersting and showed not only how he drew the cartoons, the philosophies of each of the characters, but all Schultz had done for the Santa Rosa community.
We spent one day in San Franciso, where I had never been and F had only been once 50 years ago. We went to Pier 39, which is filled with shops and resturants, mimes, musicians, artists. We took a double deckered bus tour of the town which gave a nice history and covered all the famous sights. The Golden Gate Bridge is spectacular. We ate lunch at Chinatown and supper at an Italian resturant. We saw Bikini that night. It is similar to Esther's Follies in Austin and makes fun of popular political and entertainment figures. Absolutely hilarious.
We got to meet the Earl's 5 children and spouses, and grandchildren. One granddaughter just graduated from college so we got to go to the party and meet everyone and enjoy great food. Jill is a fantastic cook so needless to say we ate way too much but, boy, was it good. We closed out most nights with dessert and playing Scattergories and laughting so hard we hurt.
The last day we traveled up the coast road and it is beautiful in Northern California. No sandy beaches but huge cliffs with big drop offs. The government has kept close tabs on the area and there is very little building. So no big signs or gaudy condos to block the views. Really nicely done. They took us to Sea Ranch which is a group of natural looking homes available to rent where they go at least twice a year. We ended the day by eating at The Tides, a wonderful seafood resturant..
Great stay in Santa Rosa with wonderful friends!
The first day we toured the Napa Valley and wine country. One winery was a castle, Castella di Amorosa, and we toured it and tasted 10 different wines. F bought some and had them shipped to Leander. We had a treat at the next winery, Joseph Phelps Vineyards, because the Earl's son in law works there so our tasting was comped. Beautiful setting and Jill had made a picnic lunch. We enjoyed wine and food overlooking the grape fields. After lunch their son in law, Andrew, gave us a tour of the fields and explained what the winery is attempting to do. We were very impressed since they are trying to make it energy dynamic and have everything working together to benefit all the crops and animals at the winery, not just the grapes. So interesting.
We visited Charles Schultz Museum. He drew the Peanuts cartoon strips for years. He built an ice rink in Santa Rosa for his daughters. The museum was so intersting and showed not only how he drew the cartoons, the philosophies of each of the characters, but all Schultz had done for the Santa Rosa community.
We spent one day in San Franciso, where I had never been and F had only been once 50 years ago. We went to Pier 39, which is filled with shops and resturants, mimes, musicians, artists. We took a double deckered bus tour of the town which gave a nice history and covered all the famous sights. The Golden Gate Bridge is spectacular. We ate lunch at Chinatown and supper at an Italian resturant. We saw Bikini that night. It is similar to Esther's Follies in Austin and makes fun of popular political and entertainment figures. Absolutely hilarious.
We got to meet the Earl's 5 children and spouses, and grandchildren. One granddaughter just graduated from college so we got to go to the party and meet everyone and enjoy great food. Jill is a fantastic cook so needless to say we ate way too much but, boy, was it good. We closed out most nights with dessert and playing Scattergories and laughting so hard we hurt.
The last day we traveled up the coast road and it is beautiful in Northern California. No sandy beaches but huge cliffs with big drop offs. The government has kept close tabs on the area and there is very little building. So no big signs or gaudy condos to block the views. Really nicely done. They took us to Sea Ranch which is a group of natural looking homes available to rent where they go at least twice a year. We ended the day by eating at The Tides, a wonderful seafood resturant..
Great stay in Santa Rosa with wonderful friends!
Yosemite National Park
We found out that good friends of Fred's that were in his Allen, TX church would
be in Yosemite the same time we were. So we caught up with them yesterday. We
got up at 5:30 am
to meet them for a hike. We took a bus from the floor of
Yosemite to the top, Glacier Point. We walked down to the bottom. It was
gorgeous! We walked to the top of one of the huge falls, the half dome and
overlook of the valley where we started. But....it was down and UP the entire
way. Including a walk down a rock slide. Including a walk paralleling the
falls where you were sprayed the entire time. One precarious section was
straight down on wet stones by a drop off into the falls. Water was flowing
very powerfully due to snow melt. They had only opened Park two days before due
to large amounts of snow. So park was packed since everyone was waiting for it
to open. Even on scary hike by falls there were families with kids and lots of
young adults. It is like the UN here with many different countries
represented. Amazing but very scary for this old couple. F's Achilles tendon
hurt him on some of the walk so we had to take it very slowly. We really
enjoyed Leta and Glen Andrew and the other couple with them. The walk took us 8
hours! It was 11 miles long. It was quite harrowing but so gorgeous and we really felt like we
accomplished something. Needless to say we are planning on doing nothing
today!
be in Yosemite the same time we were. So we caught up with them yesterday. We
got up at 5:30 am
to meet them for a hike. We took a bus from the floor of
Yosemite to the top, Glacier Point. We walked down to the bottom. It was
gorgeous! We walked to the top of one of the huge falls, the half dome and
overlook of the valley where we started. But....it was down and UP the entire
way. Including a walk down a rock slide. Including a walk paralleling the
falls where you were sprayed the entire time. One precarious section was
straight down on wet stones by a drop off into the falls. Water was flowing
very powerfully due to snow melt. They had only opened Park two days before due
to large amounts of snow. So park was packed since everyone was waiting for it
to open. Even on scary hike by falls there were families with kids and lots of
young adults. It is like the UN here with many different countries
represented. Amazing but very scary for this old couple. F's Achilles tendon
hurt him on some of the walk so we had to take it very slowly. We really
enjoyed Leta and Glen Andrew and the other couple with them. The walk took us 8
hours! It was 11 miles long. It was quite harrowing but so gorgeous and we really felt like we
accomplished something. Needless to say we are planning on doing nothing
today!
NV to CA
Beautiful country, green rolling hills. Lots of farm land. Then desert. Rest
stop has to haul water 20 miles. Flat like west TX and scrubby vegetation.
Brothels are legal and show up on our GPS! As many Casinos as McDonald's. We
stayed last night in town that feeds Reno. Spent last night washing clothes.
Ugh!
stop has to haul water 20 miles. Flat like west TX and scrubby vegetation.
Brothels are legal and show up on our GPS! As many Casinos as McDonald's. We
stayed last night in town that feeds Reno. Spent last night washing clothes.
Ugh!
Grand Tetons
Sunday after worship we went to the historic Irma Hotel in Cody WY
for lunch. They had done a great job preserving the integrity of the hotel with
the original wood on walls, original bar in saloon, etc. Buffalo Bill Cody
built it and it's named after one of his daughters.
Grass here is so green it looks fake. They
had a draught for the last 7 years and now are having flooding. The weather has
been so cold the snow on mountains is just starting to melt. When it is late
melting it all melts at same time. The snow melt is then too much and causes
flooding. They had 200-300 percent more snow than
usual!
Monday we left Cody and drive through
Yellowstone for the last time. We went to Grand Teton National Park, WY. It is
very different from Yellowstone. The mountains are closer to the road and go
straight up and are covered with snow not just the tops. Makes for post card
type views. Gorgeous! We saw many other nationalities especially Asians.
We took 3-4 hour hikes in the mountains both days. It was great to be in the
midst of such beauty. The weather was great both days. We found several
museums that were outstanding. We ate at the Jackson Lodge, Mural Room, the
last night and had elk and buffalo which were so good. Both are sustainable. I
also discovered huckleberry: margaritas, syrup, vinegarette. So good!
Beautiful view of sunset at Lodge. Great way to close out our visit. Seeing
these two Park, the quality of grounds, trails, buildings and museums, really
makes you proud of our National Park system and even more hopeful the budget
doesn't get cut for the park system.
for lunch. They had done a great job preserving the integrity of the hotel with
the original wood on walls, original bar in saloon, etc. Buffalo Bill Cody
built it and it's named after one of his daughters.
Grass here is so green it looks fake. They
had a draught for the last 7 years and now are having flooding. The weather has
been so cold the snow on mountains is just starting to melt. When it is late
melting it all melts at same time. The snow melt is then too much and causes
flooding. They had 200-300 percent more snow than
usual!
Monday we left Cody and drive through
Yellowstone for the last time. We went to Grand Teton National Park, WY. It is
very different from Yellowstone. The mountains are closer to the road and go
straight up and are covered with snow not just the tops. Makes for post card
type views. Gorgeous! We saw many other nationalities especially Asians.
We took 3-4 hour hikes in the mountains both days. It was great to be in the
midst of such beauty. The weather was great both days. We found several
museums that were outstanding. We ate at the Jackson Lodge, Mural Room, the
last night and had elk and buffalo which were so good. Both are sustainable. I
also discovered huckleberry: margaritas, syrup, vinegarette. So good!
Beautiful view of sunset at Lodge. Great way to close out our visit. Seeing
these two Park, the quality of grounds, trails, buildings and museums, really
makes you proud of our National Park system and even more hopeful the budget
doesn't get cut for the park system.
Twin Falls NV- Cloud speaks
The best part about this trip so far was seeing the really big
animals with skin falling off their bodies and hair all over their face up close
just outside the window in our big truck. They even turned and looked at me
when I made a noise. I was really glad to be in the truck because they looked
like they could be mean but I could still act like I was
brave.
What an absolutely boring day. All day
in car on my blanket. Oh yeh every once in a while Mom and Dad would remember I
was laying in the back seat of the truck and let me out for a walk or other
things. I don't understand why I can't get some of their food every time they
stop. It's not fair!
At the RV Park last night was the best part of the day. Mom let me run and this guy brought out Dino to play with me. Dino was a black poodle just like me only younger and not nearly
as good looking. Boy did we have fun running and barking, just like Cooper and
I do. I know Dino thought I was really tough stuff and I bet the other RVers
loved all the noise we made! Then the man's wife brought out a brown poodle
like me. But that wasn't so much fun because they ganged up in me. But I
didn't back down. I stood up to both of them and I know Dad was really proud of
me. Boy did I sleep well last night. I had to get off the couch very slowly
this morning.
Mom and Dad got all excited about this: when we told Dino's dad who we were going to see in Santa Rosa, CA turns out our friend was the basketball coach at Sonoma College when Dino's dad went there. They knew each other! Yawn, but Mom and Dad thought it was as good as any treat they give me.
animals with skin falling off their bodies and hair all over their face up close
just outside the window in our big truck. They even turned and looked at me
when I made a noise. I was really glad to be in the truck because they looked
like they could be mean but I could still act like I was
brave.
What an absolutely boring day. All day
in car on my blanket. Oh yeh every once in a while Mom and Dad would remember I
was laying in the back seat of the truck and let me out for a walk or other
things. I don't understand why I can't get some of their food every time they
stop. It's not fair!
At the RV Park last night was the best part of the day. Mom let me run and this guy brought out Dino to play with me. Dino was a black poodle just like me only younger and not nearly
as good looking. Boy did we have fun running and barking, just like Cooper and
I do. I know Dino thought I was really tough stuff and I bet the other RVers
loved all the noise we made! Then the man's wife brought out a brown poodle
like me. But that wasn't so much fun because they ganged up in me. But I
didn't back down. I stood up to both of them and I know Dad was really proud of
me. Boy did I sleep well last night. I had to get off the couch very slowly
this morning.
Mom and Dad got all excited about this: when we told Dino's dad who we were going to see in Santa Rosa, CA turns out our friend was the basketball coach at Sonoma College when Dino's dad went there. They knew each other! Yawn, but Mom and Dad thought it was as good as any treat they give me.
Friday, June 10, 2011
Yellowstone
Each day while Janet, Fred's sister, was here we drove from our RV park in Cody, WY to Yellowstone, about an hour. It rained and sleeted with cold wind each day except one. Yesterday was beautiful. We have seen gorgeous falls, bubbling mud, Old Faithful and other geyers, Sulphur Springs, historic Yellowstone hotel, and the historic Yellowstone Hotel. You can't begin to explain the scenery. Seeing Old Faithful erupt with hundreds from all over the world waiting quietly is almost a holy moment!
One cold rainy day we drove into Cody and visited the Wild Bill Cody Museum in Cody, WY. Really well done. It also had info on Yellowstone and Indians and art and photography. We spent hours there. Cody not only had his Wild west Show but promoted women's rights, conservation, started Cody, WY and a newspaper. Very interesting afternoon.
Janet has been such fun. She took off work to spend the week with us. She and Fred have enjoyed talking and remembering their parents and their trips as children. I can't believe tomorrow is her last day. We plan to make one last visit to the park.
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| Sulphur Caldron |
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| Mammoth Springs |
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| Sunset in Park |
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| Historic Yellowstone Hotel |
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| Cascade Falls |
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| Snow in June |
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| Mammoth Springs |
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| Steamboat Springs at YNP |
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| Mudpots |
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| Fred and Janet at Cody Airport |
Fred's sister comes to visit
We are in Cody WY just outside Yellowstone National Park. Janet is here for
a week. The wind is blowing so much it shakes the trailer. Rain is
expected. The weather had just now gotten hot enough the last few days to
melt the snow on the mountains so they are worried about flooding. But it is cold and windy now! But with all this good news we don't want you to worry about us!!! :) We ate at a
Mexican Restaurant in Cody last night and sat on the patio. Weather was
perfect. The views everywhere you look are spectacular similar to Big Bend.
F had to get new glasses in Sheridan. He lost his other ones. We have a great RV park with 360 degree spectacular views. We opted not to stay in Yellowstone and pull our RV up the steep mountains so we will drive into the park each day.
a week. The wind is blowing so much it shakes the trailer. Rain is
expected. The weather had just now gotten hot enough the last few days to
melt the snow on the mountains so they are worried about flooding. But it is cold and windy now! But with all this good news we don't want you to worry about us!!! :) We ate at a
Mexican Restaurant in Cody last night and sat on the patio. Weather was
perfect. The views everywhere you look are spectacular similar to Big Bend.
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| Janet and Fred at museum |
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| Buffalo Bill Cody |
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| Historic Irma Hotel |
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| Elk along road |
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| Totally frozen Lake Yellowstone |
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| Old Faithful |
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| Bear in park |
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| Buffalo grazing |
Habitat in Sheridan, WY
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| Family of red house |
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| Red house |
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| Fred and friends plotting |
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| Sharon working on details |
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| Us, staff, Americorp team |
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Little Bighorn Battleground
On Memorial Day we visited Little Bighorn Battleground, previously called Custer's last stand. Very impressive! Acres and acres of rolling green hills. Nice museum and a talk by a ranger that was enlightening and entertaining. You could almost see Indians coming over the hills. At each battleground there is a speaker you can touch that gives a recording of info about battle at that site or you can listen on your cell phone. Really well done. It was pouring down rain so we didn't get to walk any of the battleground but it was still impressive just driving to each site. The name was changed when someone realized there were other Americans who were involved besides white men! So now they have markers where Indian bodies were found as well as markers for the white soldiers. Great piece of history.
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| Soldier's uniforms |
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| Battleground on rainy day |
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| Memorial and markers where bodies were found |
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| Spirit sculpture |
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
First Day of Work
We met with Habitat staff yesterday for a briefing. Only one other couple with RVs signed up and they cancelled yesterday. There is a group of Americorps young adults who signed up for 10 months with Ameticorp and will be here for 2 months. There are 12 of them working with us. Neat kids. Most have finished college but aren't ready for graduate school so this gives them time to regroup with their life plans and make a little money. It has been raining most of the time we've been here and it rained today. Site was muddy and full of puddles. We worked all day but we got filthy. Dead tired but good day.
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| Mae, Americorp worker |
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| Fred cutting and measuring |
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| Putting up wire before stucco in mud |
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| Muddy site |
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| Fred working on shed |
Amarillo to CO
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| Amarilllo sunset |
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| Our "old" dog having fun |
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| Beautiful sights |
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| Ice in Denver |
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| Gorgeous vistas |
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| Beautiful rest area in Texas |
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