Oct 30, 2018 Westward home and trip summary

We had a lazy morning, then we took the scenic road home. Wright-wood is definitely the "land of four seasons," there was a good amount of fall color in the mountains, but more light yellows and golds than brilliant reds and oranges. Still, it was lovely.

We went by way of Jackson Lake, then down to the Mojave Desert with Joshua trees and a lunch stop in Littlerock, before taking the final ride home.

The whole trip: 7902 miles!

Randy's goal is to get to all 50 states, and to get the Sportsmobile van to all lower 48. Together with our 2009 cross-country trip, we almost made it!

The whole trip:  30  states!
Part 1: CA, AZ, NV, UT, CO, NE, IA, MO, IL, IN, OH, NY, VT, NH, ME, MA, RI, CT (return to NY & fly home).
Part 2: (repeat NY for Union Parent Weekend), PA, MD, VA, NC, SC, TN, GA, AL, FL, MS, LA, TX, NM, (repeat AZ, NV, CA)

New states for Randy, Bryn, van; IA, MO; new for Bryn and van: NC, GA, FL; new for van: LA.

Where ever we go, Bryn always wants to see family and friends if possible.

The whole trip:  50 people!

42 we knew:
Vanya, Shawn S, Elaine, Don, Cathy, Matt, Lynn, Tim, Elizabeth, Leo, Mark, Cindy R, Will, Catherine N, Tom, Vinny, Cindy, Maureen K, James, Matt, Patti, Chris, Roz, Steve, Philip, Mary Rose, Bret, David, Marco, Kate, Patrick, Jacob, Sophia, Scott, Donna, Lisa, Anna, Carlos, Maureen C, Catherine M, Ken, Clayton;

and 8 we me for the first time: Joy, Ethan, Melissa, Shawn F, Loretta, Johnny, Kris, Robin.

Regional food: NY apples, PA apples, NC bbq & hushpuppies, Georgia peach pie, New Orleans gumbo, jambalaya, muffaleta, po'boy, beignet, TX bbq, NM style Mexican (sopapillas)

Bookstores: 2. Going to used bookstores had been a favorite activity in the past, especially with the big barn bookstores in the east. Unfortunately, with Amazon and online shopping, these don't really exist anymore. Thank goodness for Bookman's in Arizona. There are several of them throughout the state, we were happy to be able to visit the Flagstaff store. We also went to a Barnes & Nobel.

What's next? Randy, Bryn, and the Sportsmobile have never been to one more state. That will be another trip, maybe next year?

Oct 29, 2018 Westward ho! NV & Wrightwood

It was a beautiful and hot morning in Laughlin, NV.  We saw quail and a roadrunner on our way out of town. We followed the Colorado River south along the Needles Highway, then were welcomed into San Bernardino County. It was interesting that there was not a "Welcome to California" sign on this road.  We went to Barstow and had Mexican food from Lola's for lunch, it was great!


From there, it was an easy ride from the desert to Cajon Pass to the Mormon Rocks, where we followed Lone Pine Highway to Wrightwood. We were back in the pines to decompress before returning home and dealing with unpacking the van, opening a big pile of mail, and getting back to the real world.  We'll have a final blog post tomorrow that will end this cross-country adventure.

Cajon Pass & the San Bernardinos

Mormon Rocks

Entering Wrightwood

Oct 28, 2018 Westward ho! AZ & NV

Randy found a quartzite core - raw material used to make tools.

Homolovi I site

After breaking fasts and breaking camp, we drove to the south end of the park to visit Homolovi I, a small archaeological site which was an excavated pueblo. The walk was supposed to be easy, but it was surprisingly hilly and very rocky. We were along the edge of the Little Colorado River. The river was fenced off, but there were warning signs of quicksand!


The second stop was the Tso'  Loop Trail. Bryn went on this and took photos of petroglyphs, lizards, and plants. We had talked to the archaeologist at Homolovi I, and he said that the petroglyphs were old, dating to 500 CE.

The third stop was Homolovi II, a larger pueblo ruin. There were views of the San Francisco Peaks to the west and the Hopi Mesas to the north.

We left Homolovi and drove to Flagstaff, going from the desert to the pines. There we visited Bookman's, a favorite used bookstore.

Ancient petroglyphs along the Tsu'Vo trail.

We continued driving west and returned to a desert landscape, and then a riverscape. We ended up in Laughlin for the night, along the banks of the Colorado River.

Homolovi II site

           

San Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff

 

Colorado River Sunset, Laughlin, NV

Oct 27, 2018 Westward ho! Gallup & Petrified Forest

As we drove west out of Albuquerque this morning, the autumn colors were stunning and there were four hot air balloons drifting above the city. We definitely need to spend time here...next time.
Our first stop of the day was in Gallup NM, at Richardson's Trading Company on the main drag. It is always a delight to see the jewelry and other art at this classic old trading post.  Yes, they have baskets.


After Gallup, we drove through the Navajo Reservation, the stopped to tour Petrified Forest National Park.  The Painted Desert was spectacular, the vast landscape and multiple colors can't be captured in photos. We made several stops at outlooks and features, and really enjoyed going through the park at a slow pace. After leaving the park, we stopped at one of the several rock shops, and were amazed at the variety of petrified wood items, fossils, rocks and minerals available. If we win big in the lottery, there's a $29,000 petrified wood-inlaid dining room table that I would like to buy!

Petrified Tree

Puerco Ruins

Petroglyphs

Our final stop for the eveningwas Homolovi, an ancestral Hopi site that is now an Arizona State Park. We drove into Winslow, AZ to buy firewood, then had a nice evening at the campsite, including toasting marshmallows at the campfire and gazing in awe at the night sky and Milky Way.

Oct 26, 2018 Westward ho! Albuquerque

Tucumcari was fine for an overnight spot, but we were eager to get on our way to Albuquerque.
And what did we find - autumn, finally! The cottonwood trees were glowing golden. Albuquerque is a mile-high city plus 10 feet., and our timing was finally correct for finding fall color.



There are hundreds of things to do here, yet for this trip, the focus was on friends. We met up with Maureen at her house, and were delighted to meet her two-year-old grandson. We visited, went to lunch, visited some more. Randy had a bit of an allergy problem due to dogs and hay. Maybe also due to her horses, donkey, goats, ducks, and chickens! We were in a bit of a rural area.

For dinner, we met up with Ken and Catherine at Hot Tamales and spent a couple hours catching up. Later, Bryn and Catherine spent a couple more hours talking and seeing their new home. It was a splendid day of talking and laughing with friends!

Oct 25, 2018 Westward ho! TX - NM

We had another long driving day, moving from a central Texas landscape (cotton fields, corn fields, LBJ National Grasslands) northwest to the southern plains (more ranches and tumbleweeds). Our event of the day was a visit to the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum in Canyon, on the Texas A&M University West campus, just south of Amarillo. Amarillo is strategically placed on the map, it straddles Potter and Randall counties.


 At the same time we were visiting this museum, Bret was riding in an underground boat in Howes Cavern, NY, on a geology fieldtrip. We were sending photos back and forth. Technology is amazing! PPHM had gomphothere and eryops specimens on display, plus a lot of fossil bison. For some reason, Bret wasn't interested in getting photos of baskets.





Randy found an excellent Mexican/New Mexican restaurant for dinner, right around the block (Pepitos).  Next we were back in the car, where we enjoyed a spectacular Texas sunset.  And then we crossed the state line, and we enjoyed a magnificent New Mexico sunset.  We ended up in Tucumcari for the night.

Texas sunset, note the bugs on the windshield.

New Mexico sunset, getting too dark to see the bugs.

Oct 24, 2018 Adventures in the South 7 - NOLA - Texas

New Orleans in the early morning.

Louisiana sugar cane fields.

We left the land of bayous, but saw lots of black water swampy areas alongside the road as we traveled to Baton Rouge. We started seeing sugar cane farms around Shreveport, about when it started raining again.

And then we were into Texas and heading west.  This was the longest driving day of the trip, 8 hours not including stops. We kept going until we came to McKinney, where we met with friends Anna and Carlos. Bryn went to school with Anna from 4th - 12th grade. They took us to Hard 8 BBQ.  This is a big bbq place with big bbq cookers and big bbq dinners - Texas style.

Oct 23, 2018 Adventures in the South 6 - New Orleans

It rained, rained, rained all day. We left the van at the hotel, and took a Lyft ride across a bridge over the Mississippi River into New Orleans. Destination: the National World War II Museum.  The first stop was to see my dad's brick, which we bought last year. After it was installed, they sent us the location. And it is a prime location too - near two trees, the flagpole, and the street.

We spent the entire rainy day in the museum. There were a lot of interactive things, and many films, and several buildings. When you enter, you are randomly assigned a dog tag, which lets your follow a soldier (or sailor or marine) through his WWII career. Interestingly, I was assigned someone I once met! Barney Old Coyote, a Crow man who had dealings with the Southwest Museum. We ran out of time and didn't make it to the Boeing building that houses six airplanes, and we didn't see the submarine movie, but we were pretty thorough through the rest of the museum. A friend told me it takes a whole day, and she was right. The temporary exhibit about Bob Hope and his USO tours was great, he did so much to keep up troop morale during the war.

After staying at the museum until closing, we took another Lyft trip which was ridiculously long, it took nearly an hour to go the approximately 5 miles to the French Quarter. It was rush hour, but the driver also didn't exactly follow the GPS instructions. We saw a lot of back streets on our way.  We visted some shops, tasted some pralines, had some typical and wonderful New Orleans food for dinner, and we topped it off with a stop at Cafe du Monde. Magnifique!

Oct 22, 2018 Adventures in the South 5 - Biloxi and NOLA

We had a planned slow and lazy start this morning, because we had a relatively short drive from Spanish Fort, Alabama to Biloxi, Mississippi. The delta region started in Alabama; we crossed Mobile Bay, an estuary filled with golden-green grasses and a plethora of birds of many types. There were few autumn leaves seen, but many wildflowers. Fall has not yet hit the Mississippi River delta region.

Originally, our plan for today included Randy working a day in the Destin FL office. Due to Hurricane Michael, the office is closed as families are dealing with the aftermath, and Randy's appointment was cancelled. So we chilled out in Biloxi, along the West Beach Boardwalk.  This was Bryn's first visit to the Gulf of Mexico, so there was no doubt that feet were going into the water.
After Biloxi, we crossed Mississippi and entered Louisiana, state #47 for the Sportsmobile. We rolled into New Orleans at the beginning of rush hour, got to our hotel, then went out for dinner. The photo is of Lake Pontchartrain from the Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge. Unfortunately, no photos of birds because the camera on my phone is too slow to catch them.

Oct 21, 2018 - camera & bad grass

Somewhere in Alabama yesterday, near the mass plantings of horribly invasive Pampas grass along Route 80, between Pratt & Whitney and Tuskegee, my camera came up with the "Lens Error" message of doom then ceased to cooperate.  Last night, Randy went on You Tube and found out how to fix it, yippee it is fixable, and my photos were salvageable. The fix involves removing many, many, tiny screws and blowing in some canned air. So we will be setting that camera aside for now, and waiting for the best in-house IT guy and computer repairman to practice his skills when we get home. What do you say, Reed?



Note: Pampas grass is a South American import with razor-sharp long leaf blades and huge plumes of seeds which spread everywhere. It has been battled in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area and other wild lands where people, who live nearby and are ignorant of the problem, use it for landscaping. Please look at other native grasses as alternates instead of planting this.
https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Plants/Dont-Plant-Me/Pampas-Grass


In the meantime, I must admit, and now do so publicly, that you were right, Randy, Reed and Bret for insisting that I upgrade to a smartphone. Thank you for getting me one. Now I am dependent on it for my photos for the rest of this trip. And yes, it has been very handy for texting sons, cousins, and friends along the route.

Now...onwards to Biloxi for lunch!

Oct 21, 2018 Adventures in the South 4 - Ocmulgee & Florida

Sunday morning, bright and early, we went off to Ocmulgee National Monument outside of Macon, GA.  This is a mound site, but much more. It was once home to Paleoindians who hunted Pleistocene megafauna such as mammoth, back when saber-toothed cats roamed the forests (17,000 years ago). We enjoyed talking with Ranger Jim at the Visitor Center, and touring the museum. They claim there are 2,000 objects on display. With an exhibit such as this one, with an open cabinet drawer overflowing with collections, it is easy to get the number of displayed artifacts up! [In museums, on average only 2% of collections are on exhibit at any one time.]

Bryn downslope from the Earth Lodge Mound

Exibit showing a museum storage cabinet
full of boxed and bagged artifacts.

The Great Temple Mound. 82 stairs.

Can you spot Randy? He's on the bridge, wearing a blue shirt, walking toward the Visitor Center.

How do you build a mound? One basketful of dirt at a time! The soil in this area contains a lot of clay. This is a contemporary basket of the type which would have been used (although this wasn't really addressed in the exhibit label). The mounds were built during the Mississippian Period (900CE-1600 CE).
 For more info:  nps.gov/ocmu

Lunch time! Some of the best
fried chicken Randy ever ate
came from BIG CHIC in
Reynolds, GA.

We drove through Alabama, we saw a lot of cotton fields. Then we crossed into Florida! Bryn's 49th state, and the Sportsmobile's 46th state, and a return visit for Randy.  After a quick stop at a grocery store, and a look at another cotton field, we returned to Alabama for the night.

Here's another spectacular Southern sunset.

Oct 20, 2018 Adventures in the South 3 - New Echota

It started raining around 11 p.m. last night, and it rained throughout the rest of our time in Tennessee.  Luckily we were snug and dry inside the Sportsmobile. We made some hot chocolate and had an easy breakfast, then packed up to go. The rain was light as we drove away. The wetness made the trees look brighter, and the creeks were more full and more swift than the previous day. We exited the park on the Tennessee side of the mountains, through Townsend and Maryville, then choo-chooed to Chattanooga.

A word about driving in the east - it is different than driving in the west. Beginning in North Carolina, most of the highways are two lane, and many drivers don't respect the "slower drivers use right lane" rule of the road. Slow vehicles, including big rigs, will move to the left and stay there, forcing others to weave in and out and pass on the right; it's ridiculous.

The two-lane road heading into Cherokee NC yesterday, and then into the Great Smokey Mts National Park, was very narrow. And instead of having a shoulder, there was usually a deep rut (it looked like an axle-snapping rut) right alongside the road. That made for some harrowing driving with a large van, especially as it was a steep and winding road. Anyway, we made it both in and out without any problems. We don't have any photos of the ditches, but here's an example of the narrow road - the fog line is the edge of the cliff!


Another thing we noticed in Tennessee, which continued into Georgia - the roads are very poorly marked, as in signage. It would have been difficult to navigate without a GPS telling us to "turn here." See the above photo - do you see the road sign? The ONLY sign is that tiny one between the two red lights, it says "US 11" - if you blink, you'd miss it!

Georgia was a new state for Bryn and for the van. Randy had previously been to the Atlanta airport, but he'd never really seen the state. Georgia had the most police (in souped-up Dodge Chargers) and state troopers (in very cool Mustangs) than any other place; in fact, we saw more law enforcement vehicles in Georgia than in the rest of the states on this trip combined!

Next stop, New Echota. This is the Cherokee city which was much-coveted by the Americans, so Andrew Jackson took it and the rest of Cherokee territory by making the Indian Removal Policy and sending 15,000 Cherokee people to Oklahoma in a death march known as the Trail of Tears in 1838-1839; 4,000 of them died. Their prosperous farms and plantations, taverns, meeting houses, and even the printing press were all taken.  Anyway... New Echota is now a Georgia State Park.  The Vann Tavern and the Worcester House are the only original structures remaining, the rest have been restored or recreated. The small museum is also nice but very light in its representation of what actually occurred. The ranger gave a nice history of the Cherokee Phoenix newspaper, and he demonstrated how the printing press was used (the press in the print house is a period piece, but not the original Cherokee press).

Vann's Tavern original structure above;
Trail of Tears Memorial below.

Outside the Supreme Court Building 

Inside the Supreme Court Building

Ranger giving a talk about Sequoyah's syllabary and the printing press.

Following our tour of New Echota, we went to Macon for dinner, a gorgeous sunset, and the night.

Oct 19, 2018 Adventures in the South 2 - Cherokee & Great Smokey Mountains

This was a very long and eventful day!  We started in North Carolina, then headed west towards the Great Smokey Mountains But first we drove a bit in South Carolina, a first for the van. Then to the Cherokee Reservation.  Here we visited the Qualla Arts and Crafts Mutual, where Cherokee artists sell their work. It was unbelievable - hundreds of baskets for sale!  Plus the Gallery, which featured historic baskets and stories of the weavers.
 .Left: Qualla store. Below:Gallery.
Next, we crossed the street to the Museum of the Cherokee Indian. Bryn spent a lot of time looking at the baskets there as well. There were some great pieces by new artists as well as older pieces. So we went back to Qualla. Which one to buy? Luckily Bryn started talking to the man at the counter, and she recognized his name as one of the artists in the museum, and asked him which were his. After talking about his basket in progress, she went home with the little basket made of white oak, pictured on the counter in front of Gabe Crow.

       And then, as if there wasn't enough excitement already this day, we went to the Great Smokey Mountains National Park!  The mountains are so named due to the fog and low clouds, which we went through, and then we had blue skies.  We stayed at Cade's Cove campground, in the Tennessee part of the park. Randy cooked spaghetti, and we turned it into a gourmet meal with our New York sharp cheddar and orchard-fresh apple. And we saw wild turkeys roaming around the campground!

    

Oct 18, 2018 Adventures in the South - Shenandoah Valley & Lisa

Sunset, Belmont water tower.

Virginia is part of the American South. Now we're continuing our southward journey to what I think of as The South. We drove south through Virginia to North Carolina, paralleling the Blue Ridge Parkway as we traveled through the lovely Shenandoah Valley.  The trees here are just beginning to turn - mostly a montage of greens, with some golds and reds thrown in here and there. Photos cannot do it justice, especially pictures taken from a moving car!

Susquehanna River

The Blue Ridge as seen from the Shenandoah Valley.

We met Bryn's childhood friend Lisa and had a great North Carolina-style bbq dinner - pulled pork, cheesy grits, hushpuppies and fried pickles!
Then Lisa and Bryn sat in the hotel lobby and gabbed for a few hours while Randy snuck away to sleep!