Welcome to Oregon!

We just crossed the border from Cali to Oregon and I am ready for this new state. We were in California over a week, the longest of our stays.

After San Francisco we continued to Napa with a short stop in Berkeley. We drove through campus via multiple bike paths (oops, again) and then continued to our Petaluma KOA. Napa did not disappoint as the sun shone (still cool) and rolling hills covered with vineyards greeted us. The median overflowed with flowering bushes and our KOA came equipped with a petting zoo that housed miniature ponies. We visited two vineyards, and Chandon was my favorite. We drove beside the vineyard, and then walked over a wooden bridge through the park to get to the tasting room. Kt joined the wine club which meant we received two free champagne tastings (sparkling wine since we aren't in France) and a massive discount. Let's just say the champagne was not too shabby and we left with our fair share.

From Chandon we headed North to Crescent City where we spent the next two nights. We arrived with just enough daylight left to set up our tent and bundle up before dinner and bed. Our campsite was surrounded by Redwoods and the most wooded of our sites yet. Of course, there were also massive bear warnings as one had been recently spotted. I almost slept with my bear whistle, but I was a little concerned about strangulation from the string. Instead, I slept with 2 pairs of pants, socks, 2 shirts, a hooded sweatshirt and a scarf, then wrapped myself in a blanket before crawling into my thermal sleeping bag. Thankfully, the sun came out the next morning and after a quick breakfast at The Good Harvest and gathering a few provisions we headed excitedly off to hike the Boy Scout Trail. Except, it was closed for maintenance. We opted instead for the Hiouchi Trail and hiked to Stout Memorial Grove alongside the Jedidiah Smith River. It was a beautiful hike to the biggest trees I've ever seen, complete with ferny undergrowth, speckled sunlight, and gurgling creeks. Once back at camp, we conjured some massive flames to stay warm and roasted 'mallows with our hot chocolate, before layering up for the night.

We headed out early this morning, northward to Portland then Seattle where we will stay with my good friend Nicole. I'm very excited to see both!

Almost as soon as we passed the border the temperature went from 51 to 74. The sun is shining, and I'm only wearing one shirt....

Oregon, I think we'll get along fine.

Pictures will be posted soon with a better connection.

And then there were pictures:

This morning we packed up our Grand Canyon campsite, waved goodbye, and headed south to Joshua Tree via Sedona. I will definitely miss Arizona and the GC especially.

Yesterday after we finished up our laundry, Kt and I hiked down South Kaibab Trail. It was such a beautiful and, at times, intimidating hike. We literally hiked into the canyon on a path that was at times no more than 3 feet wide without a rail. Due to some mapping issues, we miscalculated our distance and didn't go quite as far as planned, which was probably a good thing considering how steep the climb back up was. Remember that invincible feeling I mentioned? Imagine looking down and seeing birds flying below you. Make a little more sense now? The hike trumped our bike ride and was equally as intense, though I didn't urge Kt to leave me behind this time.

Last night as we lay in our tent waiting to fall asleep, we heard wailing that turned to howling and barking about 100 yds from our tent. Kt and I froze as we realized it was coyotes. Definitely gave us goosebumps (I had to hold Kt back from trying to get a picture). I got a little nervous because I hadn't planned on a coyote attack, but luckily they didn't come closer.

This afternoon after passing through the truly jaw dropping red rocks of Sedona we decided to head on to Prescott for lunch. Based on a recommendation from our friend Eddie, we stopped at the Prescott Brewing Company. By far, best meal yet. We also drove through the small mountain town of Jerome that sits on the top peak of a mountain. Though tiny (I guessed 35 people lived there, but I guess it's closer to 350) it houses multiple artists and wineries and was voted the "wickedest town of the west" in 1903.

From there, we drove out into the desert and into the 111 degree heat as we crossed California's state line. We are now tucked into our motel in Joshua Tree (ditched camping when we realized how hot it would be) and will check out the park tomorrow before we head to San Diego.

As promised, here is a sprinkling of pictures. Between the 4 cameras Kt and I have, these are only mine. Once we get more settled (or back home) we will try to consolidate, but for now, enjoy!

New Mexico Campsite KOA

Kt outside Carlsbad National Park after we went into the caverns.

The mouth of the caverns that we hiked into. We went 800 feet down.

In the Caverns

Leaving NM. Grabbed a map and some coffee.

The Indian Reservation we accidentally drove through.

Somewhere between NM and Arizona

Arizona!

First stop: Petrified Forest

Painted Desert=Beauty

Grand Canyon Site 148

The dog sized ravens attacked our water jug, pecked holes in it and drained it.

Kt cooking....or sitting by the stove.

First look of the Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon at sunset

Psalm 68, Hermit's Rest (where we biked)

Kt hunting elk...

...found one.

Our bikes.

Hiking Kaibab. At the top.

Looking down Kaibab.

Made it to Ooh Aah Point.

Looking back up. I'm in red (the dot) in the middle of the picture.

Back at the top, feeling like champs.

Then things started to get tents...

Pun intended.

Lincoln National Forest

Yesterday Kt and I left Carlsbad around 9:30 hoping to arrive in the Grand Canyon before dark. We got some sparse directions from someone at the KOA who suggested we drive through Cloudcroft instead of Roswell for a prettier route. Her advice did not disappoint as each mile grew more beautiful. It's almost as if God was hearing our exclamations and saying, “Oh yeah? You think that's cool?” and then around the next curve something even more astounding would come over the horizon. While we were silenced into a reverent state by the natural beauty around us, we noticed far less natural things happening with the technology in front of us. We had lost service, lost the power to charge anything through the cigarette lighters, and were quickly losing charge. Directions were not existent, contact was lost and power was gone.

I had picked up a map of New Mexico at the KAO by chance (you taught me well mom) and had also grabbed a KAO guide that included basic maps of each state. Using a combination of the two we somehow managed to find our way. Yep, I am now a professional cartographer. I will not say we did not miss a few road signs or that we smiled beatifically the whole time, BUT we did make it to the GC safely. Albeit 14 hours later. To be fair, we drove blue highways and mountains and weren't afraid to stop for a picture or two. We drove through the smoky mountain-esque Lincoln National Forest, saw White Sands, past the Valley of Fire, the site of the first atomic bomb, the Malais Mountains, the village of Tularosa (twice), stopped at the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert State Park, onto the Coconino State Forest, through a few restricted Native American reservations (oops) and crossed into a new time zone (who knew Az (only parts mind you) didn't do day light savings time?).

We made it to Flagstaff around 9:30 and headed up more mountains and into Kaibab State Forest. Kt saw 4 deer (I only saw 3) one of which was a 6-8 point buck about to cross the road. I don't think we are in West Palm anymore. The higher we climbed, about 8,000 feet, the cooler it got. By the time we reached site 148 we were exhausted and ready for those KOA yellow shirts to greet us. Except we aren't staying in a KOA. As we set up the tent, things got increasingly tense. A word of advice to those who may follow our path: it's not the dark that makes putting the tent up hard, it's 14 hours on the road, dark, cold, and exhaustion that make it difficult. Though we alienated all of our camping neighbors, we did manage to finally set ourselves up and were giggling while we fell asleep. After all, we are in the Grand Canyon.

Today we are taking it slow and getting settled. We will be here four nights and could use a little relaxing. We had our first glimpse of the GC today and....it deserves it's own post.

Pictures are coming, I promise!

***Special thanks and a note: Kt drove the ENTIRE way to the GC. I think she deserves a few woot woots (it's the farthest she's driven in one stretch!). Also, I still don't have service and we are having a hard time charging so the blogs may be few and far between as well as the phone calls.

Desert by night. And by blur

Without Adequate Words, Without Adequate Service

"I have just been 800 feet underground....I have just gone through something that should not exist in relation to human beings. Something that is as remote as the galaxy, incomprehensible as a nightmare, and beautiful in spite of everything."-Ansel Adams after experiencing Carlsbad Caverns

Today Kt and I went to the Carlsbad Caverns and toured the natural entrance and Big Room. I cannot find words enough to explain the feelings that repeatedly washed over me as we experienced more and more miraculous things in the cave. Though we took what seemed to be 200 pictures, I know they will not do it justice, but will hopefully serve to remind us of how small we felt in such a grandiloquent place. Approaching the entrance was possibly one of the most wonderful things I have ever seen. It seems that almost out of nowhere a giant crater is revealed that appears bottomless. Looking back up at the entrance while we could still see the natural light was emotional in a way I can't explain. Perhaps I will try again tomorrow.

The KOA we are staying in is fabulous. Nice bathrooms, nice people, nice isolation and nice hairy tarantulas (I'm not making that up). Tomorrow we leave for the Grand Canyon and it almost seems incomprehensible to imagine that the beauty we will see will continue to awe and amaze us. While Kt's technological devices seem to be serviced nicely out here, mine remain off while they search for a signal they can't find. If a beacon of service returns on the road I will update with pictures.

6 states, 5 days. Tomorrow marks our 7th state.

Pink Flags, Tents and Bears, Oh My!

Last night I came home to find this on our living room wall:

Kt found these maps that she had collected for her classroom and started marking out our trip in pink sticky flags. So exciting to see a large, paper version of our plans. Obviously, we've only gotten to San Francisco thus far. The return trip is still in the works.

This weekend my goal is to get hiking boots and a coat/jacket; Gander Mountain here we come! Too bad we don't have one of these nearby. Any suggestions for relatively inexpensive yet high quality gear?

Confession time: I don't have massive amounts of camping/wilderness experience. I've definitely had my fair share of roughing it and camping and rafting etc, but never at the Grand Canyon in the middle of the summer with myself as one of the "responsible adults". So many things keep running through my mind that we need to get or read about or research. I'm really looking forward to just sort of experiencig thing as they happen, but then I get the "second guesses"and the "unprepareds"and my mind begins its flurry of activity again.

I started googling weather conditions, hiking trails, tips etc. (google=wealth of knowledge at your fingertips, right Dana?) and found this pretty helpful website. I'm sure there are many more out there. So for those of you experienced wilderness adventurers, what kind of advice can you give us? If you have any suggestions for gear, places to visit, tips, checklists, books, websites, leave a comment for me.

Please pray this doesn't happen to us! The Worst!

Also, (FYI) if I ever figure out to set it up, you should see some ads on this blog. For every click/visit the ad gets I think I get like, $0.003, so help a girl out and click away (maybe I'll make $0.63 to go towards gas!).