Shenandoah National Park

Our last national park of the trip! We got on Sky Line Drive at the southern end and drove to Big Meadows campground which is at about the halfway point up the park. The view was so different from the Blue Ridge Parkway yesterday. Today we were at lower elevations and driving at tree line. The viewpoints flashed in and out between the trees. There were lots of wildflowers on the roadside including an unusual looking one called Black Cohash which had a tall white spiky flower.  We had dinner at the lodge--a nice change for us. The desserts were yummy-- blackberry ice cream pie and chocolate ganache.  Our excitement of the day were the bears we saw between the lodge and the campsite. First we saw a young bear foraging before dinner. Then after we saw a mama with her two cubs.  Thankfully all spectators kept their distance.

Great Smoky Mountain National Park

Verdant forests, mountain streams, cool temperatures, and yes, smoky mountains. Quite a drastic change from a week ago!!  This photo from taken from Clingman's Dome, the highest point in the Smokies at 6,643 feet. This national park is different from others because the land was purchased by state legislatures and private individuals and then donated to the federal government since the government was not allowed to buy land for national park use. Much of the early work done in the park was by the CCC.

After leaving the Smokies, we had to do some fancy navigation to get on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The southern section has several tunnels that we would not clear. Not wanting to leave the top of our rv behind, we got on the parkway at Balsam Gap and drove to Asheville, NC. The parkway is a narrow two lane road that John managed like a pro!  Turn after turn we saw mountains around us and valleys where they converged. This drive was different from the Smokies where we went over the mountains. Most of the time on the parkway was spent traveling along the ridge so we were up high. We were surprised to see all the evergreens. It seemed as if we should be much further north with the number of them on the mountains.

Our day ended in Virginia at Stony Fork campground. Some of our best drives have been on the smaller roads where we can really see the countryside. We passed some lovely rolling hills in a rural area this evening.  We are back to the basics for camping tonight though (well minus the rv for sleeping and the red box movie).  We have seen lots of fireflies this trip and while cooking on the fire we were serenaded by a whiporwill.

A little aside.. we realized we passed into Tennessee at least five times in the past couple of times from various borders. We left it for the last time this evening--at least for this trip!

Waiting for Isaac

Did he get stuck in that slide?!

Today was supposed to be a short day driving. Ha. We had hoped to find another small town local restaurant for breakfast. With that aim, we set our course on Google maps and away we went...down residential streets with low wires and one lane country roads. Neither of which make for easy rv driving.  We did finally arrive at our destination only to find the restaurant closed. Of course, then we had to make our way back to the main roads. We pulled out the trusty atlas for that. 

Today really was just a driving day. We crossed Tennessee via Chattanooga so we could cross into Georgia. We were in Georgia for exactly....wait for it...four minutes before we crossed back into Tennesee.  That was a hoot. It will also add one more state to our count which will bring us to 25 states we will have traveled through by our journey's end.

We broke away from our usual campsites tonight and are staying at Anchor Down RV resort in Dandridge, TN.  Very fancy. It is on Lake Douglas with the Smoky Mountains in the back. They have lots of amenities such as the above pictured pool, a beach with swimming area including big floats to play on, a boat landing, the much desired laundry facilities,  a pet park, tennis courts, and a camp store.  They also rent golf carts so people are constantly zipping around.  Even the showers are amazing. There are individual  bathrooms and the showers are free.  Our site has a big fireplace on it which seem to be highly coveted. We made good use of it.  It was a  beautiful night. As we were sitting around the fire we first saw fireworks in the distance and then a storm with lightning flashing in the clouds and  illuminating them. The moon was practically full and it was big and yellow in the sky.  The moon and the storm made quite a sight. 

Meriweather Lewis Monument

Our last stop on the Trace was the grave site of Meriwether Lewis who died on October 11, 1809. He was on his way to Washington DC  and stopped for the night at Grinder's Stand, an inn along the Trace. Although by most accounts Lewis committed suicide, there are some suggestions that he was murdered. He was 35 at the time of his death. Pretty incedible he accomplished so much and had such a lasting impact on our history and nation.

John braved city traffic and parking in Nashville for birthday dinner. We counted guitar and after guitar slung on backs as we walked downtown. Music came from every doorway. Quite the sight and sound overload!

The Parkway

The parkway came into fruition through efforts of the Mississippi Daughters of the Revolution in the early 1900s. The Trace was being lost and overgrown in some areas. It became part of the National Park service in 1938. It is a beautiful, scenic two lane road bordered by woods or fields. John read that the agricultural fields bordering it have to grow traditional crops.

John Explores the Old Trace

Exploring Cave Springs on the Natchez Trace

These two caves are believed to have been a place of shelter and a source of water for the ancient peoples of the area.  Isaac was keen to go in but not as excited about what he might discover inside so he stayed safely at the mouth. This area is full of limestone and a sinkhole is forming here. Our second sinkhole of the trip!

Natchez Trace Parkway

On July 9 we traveled the Natchez Trace beginning in Tupelo, Mississippi, crossing into Alabama for a short section, and ending in Tennessee. The Trace was a natural corridor for centuries- both for animal migration and human travel.  It went through the homelands of the Natchez, Chickasaw, and Choctow nations. With the westward expansion, these nations were pushed out with the familiar tragic stories of that time period. The Trace hit its heyday in the early 1800s. It was a national post road and was often traveled by Kaintucks--those who floated goods down the Mississippi River and then walked back. If you walked the Trace you had to watch out for robbers, snakes, mosquitoes, and mud.

One of our first stops was at the Pharr Mounds. These peoples were part of the Hopewellian trade culture. This was an interesting connection to the Hopewell Mounds we saw in Ohio last year.

Don't Blink. Don't Look Away.

Saturday morning found us finding a laundromat and having breakfast in Ozark. As we waited for the drying, we had breakfast at the Southern Grill. It wasn't long before word got around that we were rv camping.  The people were super friendly. Many of us in the family tried biscuits and gravy with our meal. How is it that southern biscuits taste so good?!

We asked the kids to do some research for interesting stops using roadtripper or atlas obscura. They found a cemetery in Ozark with a pointing angel. Apparently it is a Poke' stop with Pokemon Go. That worked.  John looked for a temporary parking place for our giant rv since it was not going to fit through the cemetery entrance.  Then we ran to find yet another angel (See The Real Weeping Angel) while making Dr. Who quips as we searched.

Our day brought "almost seeing cities, but not quite." Little Rock was very hidden from the highway. We took one of the last exits and swung back around but only saw the outskirts. Since no one felt strongly, we did not brave the city proper. We found several possible stops in Memphis but again we missed out. First we were going to find the Crystal Grotto in a Memphis Cemetery. Fortunately we called beforehand to find the cemetery closed at 5. Plan 2 was to see the model of the Mississippi River at Mud Island in Memphis. Sigh. The last tram over was at 4. Foiled again. However, we did park next to the 10th largest pyramid in the world which houses Bass Pro Shop! The highway blocked a photo op. Off to our campground at Wall Doxey state park.

Dam Fine Campsite

Welcome to Arkansas where it is steamy! We are camped right on the bank of the Arkansas river at Aux Ark Park. A little trivia: Aux Arcs means northern most bend in the river. This area was named by the French explorers mapping the river and it was anglicized to Ozark, the name of the town. The dam/hydroplant  behind us is one in a series along the river which were built for flood control and river navigation. We had heard barges often come through, but have not seen any. The campground is full of interesting birds...kingbirds, mockingbirds, and a beautiful white one that we see flying down the far side of the river.  We had an epic thunder and lightning storm last night. We could see and hear sheets of rain coming down. It just went on and on! We definitely were thinking tornado thoughts as we watched the trees blow. This morning it is cooler but already the temp and humidity is creeping up. Crazy us-- we bought firewood last night to have a campfire but it never cooled down enough to want to have one!! Tonight we camp Mississippi.

Get Your "Kix" on Route 66!

This morning we stopped at the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum in Clinton, OK. It was full of memorabilia, old cars, and historic information about Route 66 from its inception in the 1920s to its sad demise in the 1970s with larger interstates gobbling it up. The kids got a kick out of learning the diner vernacular. How about you Char 1, drag it through the garden and put a rose on it. You could have that with Frog Sticks sprinkled with Sea Dust. To drink, Adam's Ale. And for dessert you could order Nervous Pudding.  We also learned about Bob Waldmire, a cartoonist and mapmaker, who works to preserve Route 66.  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Waldmire

Cadillac Ranch

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2220

This has been one of our more interesting stops in our travels throughout the years. First we had to get ourselves on Frontage Road west of Amarillo, TX. It is apparently an old section of Rt 66 and parallels I 40. There in a middle of an agricultural field are eight Cadillacs buried nose down. The public is welcome to traipse across the field and spray paint the cars. Folks were kind enough to share their cans of paint when they were done with their masterpieces. John painted our family vacation name and before we left it was already being painted over! Thank you Atlas Obscura for another quirky stop!

Last gasp of payphones

Fun soda selection in Colorado

Happy 4th from Boulder, CO

After a beautiful drive over the Rockies, we arrived in Boulder. It was so nice to see green again!  We had a unique firework experience at the University of Colorado, Boulder stadium. Our hotel is close enough that we could walk there. That was so nice! No traffic worries. The pre-show featured students from the School of Rock--very talented. Then we witnessed the most unusual tradition:  the school mascot, Ralphie the buffalo, was run around the field! The crowd went crazy for it!  The stadium lights went off and sparkled with glow sticks. The fireworks were lit off at one end and exploded high above us. It was choreographed to music and had a huge finale! Quite an event!

Arches

We headed to Arches in the afternoon.  The park was only open until 7 due to construction.  There were signs at all the parking areas instructing visitors as to the time they must depart that area to be out on time. We made a mad dash from sight to sight.  This is a photo of pine tree arch. It was very hot--104-and it felt like it!  We drank lots of water as we took in all the interesting formations.  Although this park boasts many arches in one area, there were so many fascinating shapes. We had fun just imagining what we thought they were.

The night brought a startling experience. Our campground is right in the city of Moab. We were startled awake by a loud barking/growl and whimpers. It sounded like it was 5 feet from our tent! John went rushing out but did not see anything.  He saw the owner the next day who said the creek that runs next to the campground is protected land and there have been dead deer found there. Coyotes? Other Arizonian wildlife?

Rafting on the Colorado

The morning brought Nicholas and Mama frantically trying to hunt down orthodontia help for a broken bracket and a rafting trip for Papa, Adelaide, and Isaac.  Thankfully a local dentist was as to help Nicholas (Take out the bracket? Be our guest! We'll take anything on July 3 and in Moab where the orthodontist only comes 1x a month!). The rest of the crew had a fun ride on the Colorado. Adelaide hopped out of the raft and floated down part of the river! We met up again for lunch before heading to Arches National Park in the afternoon.

Bridging Four States

As we made our way north today, we couldn't resist stopping by The Four Corners. This is the only point in the U.S. where four states meet. Can anyone name them? We paid $5 person to stand in half hour line to spend 5 minutes ( or less) taking our photo. But we probably would have kicked ourselves if we had skipped it.  The Navajo Nation manages the monument and small arts & craft booths surround the exhibit.  We drove through Navaho lands on our way to Moab, Utah. It was such a desolate stretch with only a smattering of houses here and there. Such wide open spaces!  Not somewhere you want to encounter car problems! And one last side note to the 4 Corners. By modern surveying, the monument is actually about 1,800 feet east of the actually intersection. But by the original surveying back in the late 1800's to early 1900's, it was very accurate. Pretty good surveying work!

Sedona and Meteor Crater

Happy July 1!  Today we drove to Sedona via 89A, a mountainous route with some hairpin curves. It went through Slide Rock state park. Cars lined the road edge and waited to get in full parking lots. Off to the side, we could see canopies lining the rocks. In other areas families flocked to the river, staying cool for the day. In Sedona we took a jeep tour into the red rocks behind the town. It is a beautiful area. We learned about the flora & fauna, geology, and history of the region. To our amazement we were shown a giant sinkhole! We stayed clear of the red zones around it!  One rock area hosts a seasonal waterfall.  It was dried up.except for some shallow pools- some of which had tadpoles swimming in them. Given how warm the water must get, that was a surprise.  Sedona is definitely a tourist destination, but the town has done a great job in planning. All the homes and shops are the color of the natural surroundings. Our guide joked that there were six shades to choose from. It makes for an attractive town that blends in with its spectacular surroundings instead of detracts from it.

Our next stop of the day was Meteor Crater. This is the best preserved crater in the world. It is 4000 feet across (3/4 of a mile) and 550 feet deep. The meteor that created it was 150 in diameter and traveled 11 miles per second. That means if you got on a flight in Los Angeles, you would arrive in New York in 5 minutes!  At Meteor Crater, scientists learned a lot about cets and how to recognize a meteor crater from a volcanic crater. This was an interesting stop!

Petrified Forest National Park

This morning we set off early to find some petrified wood.  The Petrified Forest is part of the Painted Desert. Around 217 million years ago this area was near the equator and very tropical. It has slowly moved north and east.  The petrified trees are conifers.  It is surmised that the trees died, fell into a stream and were carried downstream where they were covered by sand and mud which prevented decay.  The silica in the water caused the organic material to be replaced by quartz crystals which fossilized or petrified the trees.  We saw stumps where the tree rings were so clear amd huge trunks just laying om the groumd.  There were a lot of places selling petrified wood. The park service assured us that this as being collected on private lands so we bought a few small souvenirs. John was angling for a big stump piece but we just couldn't figure how to fit it in our packed minivan-ha ha!

Family Time!

Thank you to Charlene and Darlene for making the drive up to see us (without AC even)!  We so enjoyed our time with you! Sending you lots of love!

DeLorean and Dinner and DeLorean

On the highway headed to Flagstaff, Isaac spotted a shiny, cool looking car.  "That's the car from Back to the Future!". I explained the little I knew about it, e.g. how the stainless steel resisted rust (Probably a moot point in Arizona), and how the designer was later charged with drug charges. 

We got off the highway in Flagstaff, found our hotel, and unwound.  We hunted out this great resteraunt, the Pita Jungle.  Delicious gyros and hummus!  And the temperatures were finally cool enough for outdoor dining.  

After dinner we sought out a highly ranked frozen custard shop near our hotel.  And to our surprise... we see the very same DeLorean parked outside for their 'old car night'!!  We told the owner how we spotted him earlier in the day on the highway.  He answered every possible question we had about the car, and gave us some great stories about the developer, and its role in the movie.  

The rest of the night included different fsmily members swimming in the hotel pool, running on their treadmill or reading up on the day's sites.

Arizona Explorations

We departed the Grand Canyon today by the Desert View Drive. It was much less crowded than the South Rim and we had some great views along the way.  We stopped at the Watchtower designed by Mary Colter. She designed a series of structures in the Grand Canyon. The Watchtower was completed in 1932 and was designed to reflect the architecture of the Ancient Pueblo Peoples.  At this stop we also were introduced to the air crash tragedy of 1956 in which two planes had a mid-air collision. This event was a catalyst for the formation of the FAA.

Our next stop was the Wupatki National Monument. See above photo. Wupatki means "tall house" in the Hopi language. This ancient Pueblo dwelling was made up of over 100 rooms and was several stories high. It was inhabited in the late 1100s. The building itself has been partially reconstructed by archeologists using the same methods as the original builders.

Further along the road we came to Sunset Crater. This volcano erupted just prior to the settling of Wupatki. Some theories have suggested that the ash made that region more fertile resulting in that settlement. As we drove we saw A'a lava fields which reminded us of our Hawaii trip. It seemed so strange to see this in AZ!  

 

Off to Flagstaff for the night.

Rim to River

On Wed (Jun 28) I left Michele and the kids at the tent site and headed down into the canyon at 6am.  This was something I had been planning and training for during the winter.  At the time we planned the trip back in January, no one else wanted to enter the lottery to get the overnight hiking permit.  

The trip down was 7 miles of trail descending a full vertical mile to the Colorado river on the South Kaibab trail.  The scenery was stunning, with the sun coming in at such a low angle.  

I stopped briefly at the Colorado to gather some sand for my collection.  I got down to the Bright Angel Campsite by 9:30 am ... well before the heat peaked.  With temperatures of 115 degrees in the shade!  I spent the day trying not to lose my energy or getting sun burned!  There were lots of other early morning hikers to chat with, spending our day chasing the shadows and staying hydrated.  My tent was nothing more than a screen, and worked adequetly.  Sleep was still not easy to come by with the temperatures still in the nineties well into the night.

For my hike up the next day, I decided to again depart early.  This time I broke camp at 3:45 and trekked under the stars with my headlamp.   I can tell you that crossing the roaring Colorado on a suspension bridge in the pitch black is a little nerve wracking!  The Bright Angel Trail seemed to go on forever, winding back and forth to scale the steep inclines.  The sun started peeking into the canyon by 6:30, making the effort all the more hot and exhausting, but providing the inspiring views.  By 8:45 I was all the way up to the rim - exhausted, but really satisfied to have completed this challenge.