BRANSON, MO

Leaving the dry of Santa Fe, we headed East, past Tucumcari, NM, across Amarillo near the tip of Texas and into Oklahoma. Wishing we had time to stop in the Oklahoma panhandle to see my niece, but didn't have time.

Made it to OKC and booked a room at Best Western for the night. Contacted our son, Matt about getting together.  We also ended up going to visit our Nephew, Ryan, and his family, then out for dinner with Matt that night.  Also went to our Motel and visited with Matt for a while. Had a good visit.

We left out the next morning, heading to Tulsa.  It was a two hour trip along the Turnpike.  It felt strange to see our old stomping grounds again.  We had lived in Tulsa from 1975 - 1988, prior to moving to Portland.

Once again our Japanese GPS in the Sienna let us down.  The address we entered was correct but it took us to a Bank a few blocks away. Perhaps it assumed we needed a loan, or something. I have to give this GPS a 2 on a 10 scale.

Using my head for a change, we soon found the apartment complex where our daughter lived with our Niece. She was excited to see her Granddaughter!  We were apprehensive about leaving our Great-Granddaughter behind.  She was a great little traveler and we've really enjoyed having her along with us on this road trip.  Tulsa was the end of the road for little Rosie. She will be spending the rest of the summer with her Grandmother and Mother (who is also visiting).

We enjoyed a short visit before we left for Branson, MO.  We headed for Kimberling City to see Debby's Mom and let her know we made it alright. After a while, we drove unto Branson where we were staying nights with Debby's Uncle.

We had a great week of spending days with Deb's Mom and nights with her uncle and aunt. I spent a day or so helping Phil with some things around his house and going golfing with him a couple of times.

On Thursday, I went Trout fishing with My Brother-in-law, Sam. We only had a couple of hours to fish because Sam had to go to work. I caught two and one got away as I was lifting it out of the water. Sam spent the day telling everyone  I "skunked" him.

SANTA FE, NM

After a looooong dusty drive across parts of Nevada and New Mexico, where miles long dust storms moved across the parched land, where horizontal dust blew steadily across the highway, we made our way towards Santa Fe, our next destination.  It was a long time to be stuck in the van but because of the terrible wind and blowing dust, our hopes of a serene picnic spot along the highway never materialized.

The Navaho Reservation was quiet. The roadside sales booths were empty because of the severe wind.  The land was parched and dry, a very sad legacy of what this American government did to the American Indians to justify stealing their land.

It was late evening when we arrived in the Santa Fe Worldmark Resort.  It felt great to finally step out of our Sienna and head for bed. The Adobe style architecture of our resort was beautiful. The whole city was adorned in a Southwestern motif.

The next morning we took a walk to the main square, only 4 blocks away.  We walked the area, in and out of shops of all kinds. Along one side of the square, Pueblo Indians sat under an overhang, side by side with their blankets spread out before them.  Each of them were selling their own creations of necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and other things including weaving and bead work.

There were many other shops on several levels that sold most everything. Cafés and restaurants boasted "New Mexican" food. It was good.  Little Rosie and I treated ourselves to a pedal cab ride around the area. The old Spanish Cathedral at the end of the street was beautiful. Inside, the artwork and stained glass windows were incredible. The design of this church building reminded us of other Spanish Missions we have seen across the Southwestern United States.

We chose a restaurant called The Crib for our lunch. It was great!

There was much more to see in Santa Fe but it will have to wait until another day. Tomorrow morning we head for Oklahoma!

Zion National Park

It was Sunday evening when we arrived in St George, Nevada at the Worldmark Resort.  Our Condo was waiting on us.  It was a step up from our tent camping site in Yosemite. We unloaded our Sienna and relaxed with an evening Devotional and Communion.  Little Rosie enjoyed the "kid's class" and singing.  We were not able to connect with a church service in any of the tiny towns we sailed through today, so we had our own.  "Where two or three are gathered together in my name..."

Again, my Codger Card covered the $25 entrance fee.  Driving inside the park is restricted so the free Tram was the way to go!  The Tram stopped at several places long the Park road.  The hop on/hop off stops provided many opportunities to explore the various places within the Park. Hiking trails went off in many directions to allow hikers to explore the Park.

The massive sandstone mountains were awesome to see. We were only there for a couple of days; not near enough time to fully explore the 229 square miles of the Park. The North fork of the Virgin River ran through the park offering many places to stop and cool your feet. The lazy calmness of the clear water could turn into a raging river flooding over into the valley during times of heavy spring runoff or flash flood conditions.

We enjoyed the River Walk, a mile long trail that followed the Virgin River upstream towards The Narrows and beyond. Along the trail we spotted a couple of Buck Deer and a few wild flowers.

My hike to a small waterfall near Emerald Pools was fun.  I left Debby and Rosie there while I continued hiking the trail. I passed by various wild flowers, Cactus and scenic views, making my way to The Grotto where a foot bridge crossed the river and the trail passed through a park-like landscape.

Weeping Rocks was another hike we enjoyed.  Near its end, mountain ruwater dripped and fell from, and within, overhanging cliffs as we walked beneath them.

On our last day, we drove through the mile-long tunnel that connects the Park. The tunnel was built around 1936 and still very usable today.  My Macular was enough that I let Debby drive the tunnel. Although I live in the dark, I don't need to be driving in it if I don't have to!





 

Thursday, June 12, 2012

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK

Today was devoted to sightseeing in the Park. The $25 entrance fee was waived because I possessed a Senior Pass, what I usually call, my "Codger Card", available to codgers beginning at age 62. The cost was a one time fee of $10, for life.  Such a deal!  I have used mine for more than 5 years and have saved over $400 in National Park fees and Northwest Forest Pass fees.  Well worth the investment of ten bucks!

Yosemite was ever bit as beautiful as we've heard!  Very pristine once you get past the hoard of tourists invading Bear country. The granite mountains reminded us of Mount Rushmore in South Dakota.  The famous, 8,842' Half Dome, was more majestic in person!  Mere photographs fail to capture its true essence. Majestic El Capitan, a 3000' Granite monolith is another mountain climbers challenge.

Upon arriving, our first sight was the Upper Yosemite Falls tumbling 1,430' down the high granite cliff, the first of three levels, dropping a total of 2,425' to make it the tallest waterfall in the U.S.  One of the Ranger volunteers told us that, due to the lack of snow pack this year, they feared Yosemite Falls would soon go dry.

The free Park Tram provided a convenient method of transportation throughout the Park. The tram stopped at more than a dozen sites for a hop on/hop off experience. Many hiking trails offered off-road photo ops and scenic vistas to more remote parts of Yosemite. Lakes, water falls, old growth timber and cliff-side viewpoints were abundant.  Hikers, walkers and backpackers were afforded many opportunities to fill their senses.

Grammy took the time with little Rosie to help her get her Junior Ranger badge.  She was very proud of it, especially when she saw other Junior Rangers wearing their badges.  Range staff personnel would spot it right away and congratulate her achievement.  Grammy also helped her keep a journal that documents her exploits. We will send her some photos to add to it after we get home.

We spent a full day exploring several places within the camp. In the evenings, we spent time around our camp enjoying foil dinners, campfires and s'mores. Our camp ground, Yosemite Pines RV Resort, was about 30 miles away from Yosemite Park, but the drive was beautiful and it didn't seem that long.

Our second day came quickly and we opted to drive to the top of Glacier Point, a 30 mile, two-lane highway that twisted and turned until we reached its top.  The views were awesome.  El Capitan and Half Dome were in full view. Yosemite Falls, Middle Falls and Lower Yosemite Falls, as well as other prominent falls could be seen from this 7,214' elevation point. It was a beautiful day to see the high, snow dotted, mountain peaks, waterfalls, lakes, meadows and vistas.

Two numbs up!

Thursday June 12, 2014

JELLY BELLY FACTORY

I was surprised that the free breakfast at Best Western was very good this morning.  I was also surprised to see such light freeway traffic!  It was about 180 miles to Fairfield.  Our destination this morning was the Jelly Belly Factory.  We arrived without fanfare; apparently new management at the Welcome Center was never informed of my arrival.  No matter.  I often enjoy the "incognito" gig, where they pretend they don't know me.

We eased into the next tour group for a look at the birth of Jelly Beans. The old guy with the thinning Mohawk haircut and the oversized earrings reminded me of Portland.  We were surprised to learn they make all kinds of candy!  Their recipe for Candy Corn has been the same as when it was brought from the old country.

After the tour we loaded up on Belly Flops and a few souvenirs.  Once we reached the car, we set our GPS for the nearest Chic Fil A.  It wasn't long 'til we were consuming vast quantities of chicken nuggets and Peach Shakes!

Next stop.....Yosemite Pines Resort.  We found a great campsite and set up the big cabin tent, ran an extension cord over to the tent and aired up the air mattresses.  I lit a charcoal fire in the fire ring and started dinner.  Tonight we are having Salisbury Steak foil dinners and corn on the cob.  The steak was surrounded with onions, potatoes and carrots, topped with country gravy and slow cooked on top of the charcoal, along with unshucked sweet corn on the cob.  Mmmmmmm, good!

It was pretty quiet around our campsite until a troop of Boy Scouts showed up.  They are camping a stone's throw away.  It reminded me of all those years I took my Scouts out camping.  Ha Ha!  PAY BACK!!!  They quieted down about bedtime, so it wasn't bad.

It's 10:00 PM.....Lights out!

ROAD TRIP!!

Tuesday morning I hand washed the Sienna, buffed out the ugly car door dings that Toyota haters gave us, and took care of some paint touch-up from flying road gravel.  I removed all the non-essential items stored inside the van and cleaned the floor. A clean car is a mean car. This should increase fuel mileage, as well.

Afterwards, I installed the upstairs cargo deck and filled it with much of our camping gear. I bought an 18" Queen size air mattress to go inside our oversized Cabin Tent. It's one of those easy-to-assemble tents that boasts a one-minute setup with two people. And that's about what it takes! Where's my "that-was-easy" button?

Today is Wednesday the 11th. We drove away about 0620 to go pick up our Great-Granddaughter a couple of miles away. She was ready to go. We finished loading up her favorite things, buckled her in behind the driver's seat and headed South. Today's destination will be some place in California, near Sacramento where we will spend our first night.

Our first necessary stop was at IHOP where we enjoyed a hearty breakfast of delicious pancakes. My banana cream pancakes, topped with bananas, strawberries and whipped cream supplemented my bacon and eggs. Melody Rose had whipped cream and chocolate chips on hers.

Back on the road, we drove a while; stopping a couple of times to let the little Rose run off some energy, apparently caused in part by whipped cream. It could have been the chocolate, I suppose. Her unsuccessful attempts at catching Sea Gulls begging for food at a rest stop in Weed, California, was instrumental in helping to burn up most of that energy! The Gulls were only interested in the food. Had they gotten hold of one of those little Cutie Oranges, I'm sure they would have spit it out and started a fight!

On the road again, we headed for a lunch spot. The big place implanted on our minds was none other than the infamous IN AND OUT BURGERS. The food was delicious! In and Out is a REAL hamburger joint. They don't have no stinkin' tacos, chicken or shrimp! They have hamburgers with, or without, cheese. They not only COOK their own fries, but they CUT their own fries! Deb said the only part they DON'T do is GROW their own fries!

Tonight, about 475 miles later, we are hold up in a Best Western in Corning, CA. Deb and little Rose headed for the swimming pool while I went downtown to get my two Honey's some white, and fried rice.

Tomorrow morning after breakfast, we are heading to the Jelly Belly Factory to surprise out little girl before we drive to Yosemite National Park.

Life is good!