I put a lot more miles on my car than I could ever imagine. I predicted 8 or 9,000. Total mileage for this trip -- 14,302 miles.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
8/19 HOME! - NJ
I'm home. Back to reality! Normally, coming back from vacations are difficult... but I feel this trip revitalized me and I feel great right now. I recommend long, extended road trips to anyone... especially out west. In the meantime, so that I don't have withdrawals from not being surrounded by beautiful nature, I need to start planning some weekend hiking trips.
Monday, August 16, 2010
8/14 - 8/15 Carlsbad Caverns National Park, NM
I came here last night to view the bats leaving the cave, and then spent today hiking through the caverns. The caverns are deep.... I walked over 800 feet down (and took an elevator back up!)
This is one of those places that is very difficult to describe. Some of these incredible formations might be considered creepy and grotesque... yet, they are also stunningly beautiful. I can't think of anything else that would fall into this unusual category.
We weren't allowed to take pictures of the 1/2 million bats leaving the cave in the evening. It's strange; the bats all swarm out, and once they exit the cave, they circle a few times in a counter-clockwise motion, then all leave in the same direction to find their evening meal. After viewing their ritual for about 10 minutes, I rushed back to the car to get my camera to see if I can get a shot of some of them from a distance.... it's hard to tell, but there's some specs of bats in the air above the tree.
And this is where the bats exit at dusk/enter at dawn.... and where we enter during the day. I'm sure glad the bats are nocturnal and didn't decide to leave at 11 a.m. today, the time I went down that cave.
Right in the middle of that picture is a petrified bat. According to the Ranger, he's been stuck on that wall for around 20 years.
It doesn't look like it, but the park ranger said that pool of crystal clear water in this pic is close to 8 feet deep.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
8/14 White Sands National Monument, NM
White Sands was a beautiful place. It was hot out, but surprisingly, the smooth sand was much cooler, and I could easily walk barefoot. There were a few locations where I expected to hike up over the hill and find the ocean.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
8/7 - 8/13 Phoenix (and surrounding areas)
I had a fantastic time spending the week in the area, visiting with old friends and my favorite sites. I sure do miss it here!
It was amazing to see how much The ACES (the school where I taught) has grown since I've been gone. It was like old times seeing Paul, Nancy (and her two adorable twins), and the rest of the ACES crew. I miss those guys! Carol and Erik are doing quite well and are now living out in Miami, AZ in what seems to be a sanctuary for dogs, cats, birds (canaries, finches, cockatiels), and chickens; although they do provide a bunch of free eggs and are a great garbage disposal, I must say that I'm not a fan of chickens. I also had a great evening over at Mike and Jen's place and meeting their two little ones... and was highly impressed with his 3-year old boy's communication and vocabulary. It blew me away when he used the word "otherwise" correctly in a sentence.
I suppose I picked the worst possible time to visit Phoenix, where the high temperature ranged from 101 to 111 while I was here. But it certainly could be worse -- I remember when I moved here back in '97 in the middle of the summer. I spent all day hauling my stuff from the moving truck into my apartment in 116 degree heat. That was brutal!
Driving through the Superstition Mountains and the Apache Trail:
Tortilla Flat, a tiny old west town that has bar/restaurant, country store, post office, a museum.... and has a population of 6.
The Apache Trail is a 40 mile stretch of road through the Superstition Mountains, 23 miles that is unpaved. The name is true, as the Apache developed this trail as a path through the mountains.
This is about 2 hours east of the Valley (away from city lights)... and many times, I used to drive out here in the middle of the night to star gaze and listen to the coyotes. You truly feel as if you're in the middle of nowhere, since not many cars drive the unpaved stretch of road. I recall one night, where I spent about 5 hours relaxing in the back of my truck and not one car passed.
The fruit of the prickly pear cactus. People out here often make jams and candy out of it. It's quite good!
The Roosevelt Dam. At the time it was built (early 1900's), it was the largest dam of it's type. It's no Hoover Dam, but it is quite impressive.
Miami, AZ:
Out near the copper mines in Miami, they are cleaning up much of the land and soil. They use an interesting technique to help revitalize the damaged soil on those hills... they fence off cows in little rectangular areas... the cows eat hay and the manure enriches the soil. When that grassy area is doing well, they move the cows to another rectangular area of the hill.
The Valley:
The view from South Mountain looking down on downtown Phoenix.
From South Mountain, looking towards Camelback Mountain. I used to live just to the left of Camelback... near where it looks like the head of a camel lying down.
From Camelback, looking at the little Papago Mountains.
The new stadium for the Arizona Cardinals. Very impressive... but it looks like it's about ready to take off into outer space.
My favorite restaurant while living here. Guy Fieri's show, "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" did a feature on this place.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wkg6sKz7FnY
If you were a fan of the cartoon Family Circus, you might know this place. Bill Keane used to live in Scottsdale... and featured the Sugar Bowl in his cartoon whenever the family went to get ice cream.
Sun Devil Stadium at Arizona State University.
ASU's Gammage Auditorium, which was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
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