Days 13 - 16

It's been a while again, probably because we weren't doing much driving and that's when the posts get written.  So, we have days 13 through 16 to catch up on.

Day 12 ended very late with us checking into a cheap motel as soon as we could after leaving Colorado.  It was almost 11pm when we finally got into the room.  We decided that we weren't going to set our alarms since the kids would need to catch up on sleep.  Unfortunately, no one had told the cleaning lady that.  So, at 6:50 in the morning I heard someone trying to get into our room.  I woke Cliff up, who went to investigate.  He couldn't see much through the peephole, and the person wasn't listening to our request to "Go AWAY", so he opened the door to find that it was the cleaning lady for the hotel just trying to do her job.  Unfortunately, me and Cliff were already awake so we decided to start getting ready and were on the road before 9AM - a first for us!

Day 13 was spent driving through Kansas.  The road was very flat and very straight.  It was also very boring, though I did notice from the billboards on the side of the road that the cost of dentures got cheaper the closer you got to Kansas City. The first sign I saw said they were $459 for a whole set! After a few hundred miles I saw another sign that said they were $199 a set.  (After we left Kansas, on day 16, I saw a sign that said $99 a set - I hope Kansas folks do their research!)

Yeah, that was about as exciting as our trip got.  There were multiple potty breaks and stops to fix the bag covering the chair on the roof.  Other than that, it was pretty uneventful.

We finally got to my sister's house at around 5PM.  Hah!  Those of you who knew me growing up are now confused!  I have 3 biological half-sisters - they were the reason for the stop in Kansas City. Surprise!  Their names are Melissa, Toshia, & Heather.  We stayed with Melissa (Thanks, Melissa!)Somewhere in Kansas we had gone over another time-zone, which added an hour to the day, so we had really only been driving for about 7 hours including all the stops.

Melissa, Me, Toshia

I didn't get to see one of my half-sisters (Heather) while I was in Kansas City, but at least I got to know the 2 I did see a little bit better.  It's weird having these people you're related to, but know nothing about. 

Days 14 & 15 were spent in Kansas City, spending more time with my sisters.  On day 14 we went bowling with all of the kids (our 2, and 1 from each of my sisters that were there - all boys) and then went to a late lunch at a Chinese Buffet where I marveled at how my nephews could eat such a variety of foods (and so much of it! I hope the poeple who tell me that my kids will eventually eat me out of house and home are right!).

Day 15 was pretty boring.  We had a bunch of errands we had to take care of, so that's what most of the day was.  However, we were able to try some authentic Kansas City BBQ that everybody at home has raved about.  We all went to a place called Jack Stack's.  Either they were off their game that night, or we're just not BBQ people.  Don't get me wrong, the food was good, but we couldn't understand why it had been so hyped up.  After dinner we all went back to Melissa's house where the kids played while the grownups talked until after midnight!

For day 16 we had set our alarms for 9AM.  If we hadn't, we probably could've slept until noon after such a late night.  The kids were not happy when we woke them up only to tell them it was to get in the car for more driving, thankfully day 16's driving was only for 4 and half hours. 

Before leaving Kansas City we had to find a Post Office to mail another box to England so I don't think we actually got on the Interstate until after 11AM.  We had gone through our clothes again and decided we could do without a lot of it so we could make space in the trunk of the car.  Funny, even though we seem to be getting rid of a lot of the stuff we originally had in the trunk, it doesn't seem to be making a bit of difference!

Before leaving Kansas City we also wanted to find a bumper sticker for Kansas since we were going to be crossing the boarder very soon.  Unfortunately, we were not successful - ugh!  I'm really beginning to regret suggesting this bumper sticker business.

We made it to our hotel in St. Louis by 4PM.  Once we got in our room, we decided to veg out for bit and then went to dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe right behind our hotel.  After dinner we walked a little over a mile and a half to see the St. Louis Arch (aka - The Gateway to the West).  It was nice to get out and walk for a bit, even if it was still over 90 degrees and so much more humid than we're used to.  By the time we got back to our hotel we were all dripping with sweat - I'm sure we were quite a sight for the doorman. 

While we were at the Arch, we were able to get a bumper sticker for it.  Unfortunately, they did not have any for just Missouri on it, so when we left the hotel on day 17 we tried looking - no dice!  We're now in Illinois, and are without bumper stickers for Kansas, Missouri, and Illinois.  I'm not hopeful that we'll find any more, but we'll keep looking.  Here's what the car looks like now, with the newly added California and New Mexico stickers that we had sent to Toshia from some place we found online.

That's all for now!

- Mayzie

Days 10-12

Have been busy, and are just now catching up on our posts. Here's 3. Also I'm still having a few camera issues which I hope to resolve when we unload in Kansas City tonight, so there may be additional pictures still to upload.

Day 10

This was an uneventful drive. Driving through Utah was, however, very scenic. Not a whole lot of anything else. We stopped and made sandwiches midway at a scenic overlook and headed to Moab.

As we approached Moab we saw signs for Canyonlands National Park, as well as Arches National Park. Not for the first time we were both saying how we didn’t have enough time to see everything we wanted too. I suppose though at least we were/are able to see more than others.

As the campsite approached we saw the entrance to Arches and decided to make camp and then go for a drive into the National Park.

The campsite was…unimpressive. I think the worst thing was we were back on gravel. We had been spoiled at Beaver with a grass campsite. Beaver was the first night thus far we had been on grass. And we missed it. There also were ants EVERYWHERE. Unfortunately the grasshopper that had hitched a ride in our packed tent from Beaver wasn’t too impressed either. And hopped off.

The sunsets at Arches, indeed all of that area, are supposed to be gorgeous, so we picked up some snack foods, decided we would have a junk food dinner (no restaurants in the park), and headed to the park. It turns out I had broken the kindle when I accidentally closed the trunk lid on it when packing in Beaver.

Wow!

I was expecting to see more Arches. The visitor guide stated there are over 2,500 arches in the park. Of course we weren’t biking, hiking or 4x4’ing, so I suppose you can only expect to see so much from the car. We did take a short hike to the “Windows” but honestly we weren’t planning on going to the park anyway, so what we did see was a pleasant surprise.

To give the park a bit of reference, to those who are familiar with Garden of the Gods. Imagine the Garden on a significantly grander scale. Glad I hadn’t been here before we moved to Colorado Springs as the GOG would have seemed lame by comparison. Like the Grand Canyon the Arches were formed by the erosive power of the Colorado River, (unlike GOG).

The skies were cloudy and we were tired and hot. So a sunset picture was not going to be a choice for us so we headed into town to get dinner anyway (After Ryan proclaimed he wanted something “healthy” to eat) Oatmeal pies and Pringles just didn’t cut it I guess.

Back to the campsite we went. It was still about 95 degrees as the sun was setting. I should have taken the fly sheet off, but chose not to. That was a mistake. We roasted all night.

Day 11

Since it was still so bloody hot, and buggy, we packed ASAP and headed to a diner. I decided on a different route back to the Interstate than we took in to Moab yesterday. It followed the Colorado River. Again, spectacular views.

After rejoining the Interstate, we had a straight shot to Glenwood Springs.

After crossing back into Colorado we stopped for lunch and tried a Best Buy, with no luck, for our older version of the kindle. Guess we will try online, and have it shipped to a future destination. Again we had beautiful scenery, and were even “chased” by a tornado! At least now our car, festooned with bumper stickers, made sense!

(Behind the rocks in the mirror is a thin, dark, vertical line - Tornado!)

I was glad that as we drove through the town of Rifle the mountains were not close to us. As mentioned in a previous post I was a rock climber. When/if you look in climbing magazines (or other magazines for that matter) and you see pictures of people climbing, Rifle, CO is often one of the places these pictures are taken at. I have always been mad at myself for not visiting a climbing mecca when I was climbing, and had I seen the “rocks” as we drove past I feel I would have had similar feeling as I did when we drive through Ouray on day one of our trek.

Our campsite was again gravel. Oh man do I miss being in Beaver! We pitched the tent, found all our dirty laundry, and headed to the Laundromat.

Five loads later, a stop at the grocery store and back to camp. By now it had started raining and the wind had picked up. Mayzie cooked dinner in the rain, and we hung out in the tent till bedtime. First time we've all been cold since we left Colorado.

Day 12

Bacon and eggs was for breakfast. Did some organizing of the clothes and the car, we then headed to the hot springs.

The hot springs pool was huge, stupidly we didn’t take a picture. It was very crowded, and although I prefer the more serene atmosphere at the Cottonwood hot springs, they certainly would not be suitable for our little noisemaker – Tim. The “therapy” pool at 105 degrees was very soothing, and certainly relieved some of the aches and pains. We enjoyed the water till a thunderstorm began rolling in. Even though the pool stays open in all weathers, we decided it would be best to head out. It was about 3:30PM.

Our plan was to spend the night at Glenwood Springs, rise early and try and make Kansas City in a day. Since a storm was rolling in, and we knew what that would entail following last night, and we had visited the hot springs, we decided to head back to camp, pack up and leave early. We would be forgoing our camping fee or the night, but we would ensure we would get to Kansas City Friday afternoon/early evening.

By the time we got the car loaded and headed out it was about 4:45 PM. Mayzie drove first as we headed through the Rocky Mountains. I am still a bit confused however. As we headed down through some of the mountain passes, at some very steep grades, 5% - 6% in places, the river we were driving parallel with was also flowing downhill, but towards us. Yet the river always stayed below us.

As we drove past the exits for Aspen, Vail, Breckenridge, and Ski Cooper (Where I learned to snowboard) I started to feel the realization of what we will be leaving behind. Sure we have seen lots of great and beautiful places on our road trip, but that has kind of felt like a vacation. But now, as we leave behind places we have known about and visited for the past 13ish years, this saddens me.

We changed drivers after a quick gas fill up and drive through for dinner. Through the Eisenhower tunnel and down into Denver. We had discussed whether we should detour through Colorado Springs, so we could sleep for free in our house, but decided it would be too emotional, so we just kept heading East.  

As we left Denver and the Rocky Mountains behind us it really hit me that we are leaving. I again had that feeling of we are not just on a vacation. Not that we would have, but if we had decided to abandon our plans and stay in the USA all we had to do was continue on our journey till we reached Colorado Springs. But now we would have to turn around. I think we just reached another crossroads. And kept going.

My goal was to leave Colorado. Partly so we would only have a 7 or so hour drive in the morrow, but also a psychological one. Somehow leaving Colorado helped. Maybe these emotions will return again when we reach New York City and Jeffersonville, as we have lived there prior, but till then we will continue to enjoy our vacation.

Cliff

Day 9

Leaving Vegas was pretty uneventful.  We packed up our stuff in the hotel room, played $5 at a slot machine on the way to finding our car, and left the hotel.  We had to find a Target so we could refill some prescriptions, but that was pretty easy too.  Once we arrived at our campsite in Beaver, UT (Beaver, UT – known for their best tasting water in all of the country! (it actually was REALLY good)), Cliff set-up the tent and then we all went for a swim in the pool.  It very refreshing!  We don’t have any pictures from today, there just wasn’t anything too interesting to look at.  We’re heading east from now on, so that should change.

This road trip is going better than I expected.  I think I expected the kids to hate being in the car every day, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.  I expected to hear a lot of “are we there yet” and “I’m bored”.  The only time I’ve heard “are we there yet”, was from Ryan after being in the car for 15 minutes on the day we left Colorado Springs!  I don’t think I’ve heard “I’m bored” out of either of them.  Hopefully neither one of those will change, but we have a long drive coming up on Friday so I’m not hoping too hard.

Packing the car after camping doesn’t appear to be getting any easier, though Cliff is doing most of it so I’ll let him tell you if that’s an accurate statement.

I think we’ve found the solution to all of Tim’s horrible behavior – feed him.  Apparently, he needs to be eating at all times, otherwise he turns into a grumpy monster.  It’s almost guaranteed that Tim will be buckled into his car seat after eating a large meal, and no more than 10 minutes later will declare that he’s hungry.  He’s back there right now chowing down on a bag of grapes after having 3 pancakes for breakfast!  I’m pretty sure he’s grown 2 inches in height since we left the Springs.

Today we’re headed to Moab.  We should get there by mid-afternoon (just when it’s hottest!).  I’ve heard that the sunsets there are gorgeous, so we have plenty of time to do other stuff before that happens.  Hopefully it cools down once the sun goes down there like it has been at our other campsites.

I can’t believe it’s only been 10 days, it feels like much longer.  Not because the trip is so unbearable it feels like time has gone slower.  Quite the opposite.  We’ve seen so much in the last week and a half, it doesn’t seem possible.  Hey, at least we’re not ready to kill each other.  Yet.  : )

-          Mayzie

Days 7 and 8

Day 7

Ryan slept for 11 hours. I guess playing in the ocean wore him out. We had breakfast, and had a little hike.

The hike made me realize how out of shape I really am. True it was hot, and a little humid. But certainly not enough to be a viable excuse. After the hike we headed toward the beach and stopped for lunch. During lunch I remembered I had left the backpack with the laptop, Ipad, kindle, my wallet and some spare cash in the tent. Not wanting to tempt fate we went back to the campsite, fortunately only about a 30 minute round trip, and then returned to the beach. On the way we noticed a “Souvenir” shop, figured it would be a good place to pick up a CA bumper sticker, and perhaps a Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) one too. It was also near a few Mexican restaurants so we figured we would stop by after dinner and get our sticker(s).

Also saw a Fisker Karma. Which if you’re interested is an expensive electric car.

We arrived at the beach, a different one than yesterday, and Ryan was suddenly afraid to go in the water. It wasn’t the boogie board he was afraid of, but the seaweed. His fear of bugs is spreading. After a while, and with Mayzie assisting, he got in, (between patches of seaweed) and did a pretty good job with his board.

(Ryan is in about the middle of the screen as the video starts)

Tim and I didn’t even get our feet wet. I have decided I don’t like the beach. When I told Mayzie that she proclaimed “Then I can’t be married to you” So I have now decided I don’t like the sand. Sand everywhere. I did, however, spend most of the afternoon looking at the ocean and wishing I was in one of the sailing boats. I used to love sailing. And although I haven’t been in one for probably 15 years, I still miss it. I think I will take up sailing when we get settled in the UK. I am also seriously considering building my own boat. I really enjoyed building the bunk beds (see earlier post) and figure I can combine the two activities. Or maybe I just watch too much NCIS.

After the beach we headed to dinner. We were told the wait would be about 20 minutes. Just enough time to get our bumper sticker. Alas no. The store was closed. Not to worry though we were confident a gas station would have one, maybe not of the PCH, but at least a CA sticker. At least dinner was a success..

After a quick stop for oatmeal and firewood, and back to the campsite, we started a campfire. The boys were excited and happy. When we get more time I am going to show Ryan how to start a fire. I think he will be fine. We shall see.

We have also heard from Becky that our mattress has sold. Yay. And also that the wildfire in Colorado Springs, whilst not “out” has moved from the city so much that most of those that were evacuated have been allowed to return. Unfortunately 350+ homes were lost, but it could have been MUCH worse.

Clif

PS. I have lost the cable needed to get some of the pictures off of the camera. I will update when I have found it.

Day 8.

We are now officially headed East. Although our car won’t make complete sense to the un-educated till we drive back through CO.

Today we head to Las Vegas. We set our alarms and got up at 7. By the time we packed, woke the kids, ate, packed some more and got on the road, the day already seemed like it was half over.

Our route to Vegas took us awfully close to the souvenir shop we saw yesterday, so we figured we would try that again, and if they did't have any stickers then we needed some gas anyway and we could pick them up then. Store was closed. Oh well.

Off to Vegas we headed. We stopped at a Golden Arches to use the restroom, but we made PB&J and Nutella sandwiches for lunch. We have actually done pretty well about not eating junk food. The amount of smog that was just everywhere was such a shame. The mountains did look like they would make for a nice view though.

As we got near the border of CA/NV we came across a town with a plethora of gas stations. We were successful in getting a Nevada (NV) bumper sticker, but no CA. I think we will just order one online (along with New Mexico) and have it shipped to one of the people we are visiting in Kansas.  It might seem like cheating, but we have been trying. So leave us alone.

As we entered NV Mayzie noticed that again no “Welcome to” sign. I don’t actually remember seeing any. Glad we didn’t decide to stop and photograph ourselves along the way. Perhaps they have removed the signs because of all the idiot tourists stopping and taking photographs? :)

As we approached Las Vegas we saw our hotel in the distance. The Stratosphere. The hotel was easy to get too, especially when I turned SIRI off who was inept. I think the firmware update Mayzie did a few days ago has scrambled her pixels. (SIRI’s not Mayzie’s :))

Pulled in to valet parking. Checked in to the room (what a zoo) and found the room. I had grandiose visions of what the room would be. I was mistaken. We got what we paid for. Two beds and a bathroom. It was certainly nice, but not the extravagance I was expecting. Too much TV and movies for me.

We had dinner at a typical diner, and then took a taxi to “Circus Circus.”  The kids had a good time is about all I can say about that. We did take a goofy picture of all 4 of us in a photo both. Unfortunately we don’t have a scanner to upload. Then sun was starting to set by this time so we took another taxi back to the Stratosphere, retrieved our car and took a drive down the strip.

I really am amazed at how big the movies make Las Vegas appear. Don’t get me wrong, many of the hotels and buildings are big, it’s just that the city as a whole doesn’t seem as grandiose as the movies make it out to be.

We parked at the Bellagio, and walked to see the dancing fountains. Pretty cool. Also saw the Eiffel Tower, Bert and Ernie and two Flamingo dancers in their full get-up strolling along the road!

I don’t know if the Casino’s pumping oxygen into the casinos is a myth or not, but it was either that or the efficient A/C that made me have extremely dry eyes, and Mayzie feel really dizzy. Vegas seemed full of kids. Perhaps that’s because we have kids and went to the kid friendly places. My advice would be if you’re going to go, go without the little ones. We did no gambling, and got to bed.

Cliff

Day 6

So it turns out Tim had a rough night, and therefore so did Mayzie. There was so little wind at Joshua Tree when we put the tent up last I decided not to use the guy lines. I guess the wind picked up in the night as Tim got scared with the rustling of the tent.

As a result of that, and the early morning heat we were all up early. We assumed this would be good; Breakfast, strike the tent, pack the car, 2+ hours of driving and then the Pacific Ocean. Of course that was too much to hope for.

We wanted to get a “Joshua Tree” bumper sticker. The town we were camping at, Yucca Valley, they didn’t have any. Not even at the visitor center. Although the lady there was kind enough to call around some local businesses and check for me. She was also rather amused when she asked if we would be” …decorating our car with bumper stickers and then selling the car in Boston?”, and I replied “Yes.”

After driving 30 or so minutes out of our way to obtain an elusive Joshua Tree bumper sticker, we headed to our next campsite. All I really have to say about the drive is that California drivers are idiots.Bloody tourists. 

When we arrived at the campsite it was nice and quiet. Our site was in a good location. Mini lizards scurrying around all over the place. We knew it would get busier, unlike Joshua Tree, but didn’t realize how busy.

Have neglected thus far to mention how scared of bugs Ryan is. He really needs to get used to them as they will get worse the further East we head. Every time he sees one he makes a silly noise and flaps his arms around. Oh boy.

After the camp was setup we headed to the Pacific Ocean. It was about a 20min drive. First time I have ever seen it. Bloody cold. The air temperature was only about 80. I got my feet wet. Tim didn’t even get that far. Mayzie ventured in a bit further than I. Ryan, however, was a complete daredevil and practically laid down and let the waves cover his body. We purchased him a boogie board. See how he does tomorrow.

Since we had emptied and left the roof bag back at camp, we took advantage of a car wash. Surprised and happy the writing stayed on.

After dinner we returned to the campsite, and oh my how it had changed. People everywhere. Scratch that, LOUD people everywhere. Because of all the wildfires in Colorado and how dry Arizona is, we didn’t even consider campfires would be allowed. We were wrong. Ryan was a little sad as he wanted me to start one, but we got back too late – Tim was asleep in the car all ready. So we will purchase some wood (no gathering allowed) and have a fire tomorrow.

This campsite had showers and we took advantage. Unfortunately cold water only and a push button for 30-60 seconds of water at a time. I could feel my chest starting to tighten up with the cold water (I’m asthmatic) but I was OK once I got used to it a bit. Ryan was fine. Mayzie was a little shocked by the cold water too. We let Tim sleep. So he is still dirty. Really dirty. Really really dirty!

Day 5

Left the heat of Phoenix and entered the heat of Southern California. Not sure what the high was, but I did see 113 register on the car thermometer. Not really much to say about the drive. It was longer than anticipated as the maps on the blog pages were just to the general vicinity of Joshua Tree. It turns out we were camping on the West side of the park, thus a longer drive. It really is amazing how much the landscape can change in just a few hundred miles of driving. The 12,000’+ peaks of Colorado to the desolate, dry, arid desert of Arizona.

There is an inspection when entering California. You cannot bring in fruits or plants! Not sure why, and it seems an awfully big expense to “man” the checkpoints. Mayzie made the point that surely CA has better ways to spend money it doesn’t have. Trying to stop the illegal smuggling of Oranges and Hydrangeas can’t be the best option?

As we approached the turn off of the highway we entered Palm Springs. There must be well over 500 wind turbines in this town. Wonder how much electricity they produce?

We got to the campsite, which was “self-service” because we were out of season. I guess only idiots camp in Joshua Tree National Park in the summer months! However, it turned out to be not too bad. Especially when the sun set. Because we were off season, the campsite was barely occupied and we really did feel like we had the place to ourselves. See below for a select few pics. And yes, those funny looking trees are Joshua Trees.

I was hoping to see more stars as there was not a cloud in the sky, but the moon was too bright. Maybe in a week or so there will be less moonlight and more starts. Perhaps at Moab.

 

Day 4

Day 4 was spent in Phoenix. We all slept late, but were still awake in time to take advantage of the “free” hotel breakfast. All I can say is the food was edible. After breakfast Mayzie and the boys took advantage of the pool, and I started the laundry (not really a pool person) and took out the items from the car that we would send to VT and the UK. I then joined in the pool time.

Lunch was partaken at In and Out Burger. Although I had been there once before, Mayzie had not. The chocolate shake was good, the rest of the meal left us both disappointed.

After lunch we got a tarp for the chair which is attached to the top of the car. We did this as the plastic bags we had been using were being shredded at highway + speeds and resulted in a really annoying whistling noise. Hoping the tarp doesn’t shred too.  We then decided on a movie for the kids – it was about 110 degrees, and the AC was well received. Unfortunately the movie, Brave, was too scary for the kids so we left. This did, however, allow us to meet our good friend Nicole.

Nicole joined us for dinner and the kids behaved well which allowed us all to catch up. She also told us that what we were experiencing was a Haboob. See picture.   

Not sure if I prefer the 110 degree heat or the 100 degree heat and duststorm more :) We  said our goodnights to Nicole and headed to bed. The hope was we would rise early and begin our errands and driving to Joshua Tree early. Tha did not happen.