TGJFRT of 2012 - Day 8

On Thursday morning (day 8) we left Kennewick, WA, driving west through Yakima and lots of farm country, heading for the mountain. Mt. Rainer, that is. It rises to over 14,000 feet and its snow-covered peak can be seen from miles around. Produce stands line the roads in that neck of the woods (east of the Cascades); we snagged some delicious peaches and organic cherries...only $2.99/lb!  My mom grew up on a farm northwest of Mt. Ranier.  What a view. 

It was a long drive, but scenic, crossing through Wenatchee National Forest, with pull-outs where we could see Clear Creek Falls and another with a great view of Ranier. Once we actually drove into Mt. Ranier National Park, the view wasn't as good, seeing that we were actually driving up onto the mountain itself.  Along the southern portion of the park, Paradise is the highest point accessible by car; at that level (about 5,000 feet) the wild flowers bloom profusely.  We also found a patch of snow - well, ice mostly - and my Texans had a ball slipping and sliding around.

There was also some road construction going on throughout the park...the kind where the road is completely shut down for chunks of time and you just stop your car and get out and enjoy the view until they let you through again. Not too bad...unless you have to go to the bathroom, of course....

It took the better part of the day on the road, once we got through the park and then winding our way up through the country - actually not too far from where my mom grew up - and to the northern suburbs of Seattle where we were meeting one of my sisters and her family.

Tomorrow, the river. (Cue the music from Deliverance.)

TGJFRTO of 2012 - Day 7

XYZPDQ.  Okay, not that kind of zipper. Jack found a zip line company in Horseshoe Bend, about 40 minutes north of Boise, so in true spontaneous vacation style, he and the two big boys decided to go zip lining.  They had an absolute blast, and even captured it all on video by renting one of those helmets with a camera mounted on top. Since littlest brother didn't meet the weight requirements (and isn't all that wild about heights anyway), I found an indoor trampoline park that was just his speed.  He loved it.


Needless to say, all our morning adventures put us on the road later in the day, but we pushed on through Oregon, especially grateful for the modern transportation and conveniences of today as we sped over the Oregon trail travelled by long ago settlers. We stopped for dinner at an old west steakhouse in Pendleton, OR (home of the Pendleton woolen mills) thar pleasantly surprised us, and then drove another hour into Washington. Yay!


Today we head to Seattle via Mount Ranier National Park. Now to pack up and get on the road. Again. 

TGJFRTO of 2012 - Days 5 and 6

Boy, the days are beginning to run together into one giant vacation blur, and we don't even have a full week under our belt yet....


First thing Monday morning we headed to Arches National Park, just outside of Moab. This was also when a few days on the road caught up with me and vacation expectations clashed with reality. I'm fine now....and all family members are still accounted for.


Arches is amazing. (I'm using that word frequently on this trip....I may need to reference a thesaurus.) It's desert, although when I think of desert I tend to think of flat and sandy, and this is anything but. We drove to the farthest point of the park, climbing and winding most of the way; that probably took 45 minutes. We had a picnic, then set off on one of the easier hikes to Landscape Arch. (Oh, yes...I'm smart enough to avoid any trail that has the word "primitive" in it, thank you very much.) On our way down, we did another "easy" hike to Delicate Arch. I've learned that in park lingo, "easy" is relative. In one place it means longer and flatter (about an hour for the one we did, some inclines, but not too terrible), in another, shorter but significantly steeper (think stair-master). Hiker beware. This park is also home to Balancing Rock, which is just what it sounds like. Oh, and it's plenty hot up there out in the blazing sun. Water consumption is highly recommended and encouraged.


We spent the rest of the day driving along curving mountain roads, where train tracks tunneled through mountains, and rivers traced the road with us...destination Salt Lake City. One eagle-eyed passenger spotted a combined KFC/A&W, necessitating a snack stop. (Apparently someone (not me) hadn't had their fill of KFC.) (Original, please.) Of course, the boys thought A&W Root Beer floats were an awesome road trip treat.


We stayed the night in downtown Salt Lake City. On the way out Tuesday morning we drove by Temple Square for a peek...it's really quite beautiful...but didn't stop for the grand tour. (Gee, there's a shocker.) (But still, Go Romney.)


From there it was out to Antelope Island State Park to view the great salt lake, the largest lake West of the Mississippi, and the second saltiest lake in the world. (I think that's right, but don't hold me to it...you can google it if you're interested.)


And then it was on to Idaho. One of the things we've seen a lot on the roads up here are tandem trucks....semis pulling multiple trailers behind them. I don't recall seeing that at home; S says they're not legal in Texas. Don't know....but man, they sure do haul along those long stretches of open road in Northern Utah and Southern Idaho. Also, according to the road signs, those stretches are prone to high winds, severe rain and blinding dust storms (not necessarily at the same time, and which one should not drive into) (really...ya think?), and, last, but not least, wildfires. How's that for pleasant driving conditions?


We stopped in Twin Falls, ID along the Snake River, where I was ever so grateful for the cyclone fence running along the edge of the scenic view, which was a sheer rock canyon, then again at Shoshone Falls. Beautiful. And referred to as the Niagara Falls of the west, should you ever be faced with that question in Trivial Pursuit. On our drive there, we drove through lots of farm land, and as we got closer, drove by one house with apricot trees in front, ladders out and a sign that said "free apricots". Well, of course we stopped. I mean, free....why not? Not that we've ever eaten apricots right off the tree but there's a first time for everything.


Final stop Tuesday...Boise, ID. Stay tuned for more vacation adventures....

TGJFRTO of 2012 - Day 4

Sunday.  After breakfast at the hotel, and a little family church service (with a rather restless congregation), we got on the road.  My goal of minimal technology so we could watch all the lovely scenery has only been partly realized, since I guess even after a while mountains get a little boring.

Of course, we did the requisite family photos (sans me, of course, since I was the photographer) by the "Welcome to **enter name of state here**" signs. And stumbled across a town having a fair so stopped to play at the playground and let the boys do the "bubble" ride, which consists of crawling into giant clear plastic bubbles, which are then inflated, sealed, and rolled into a pool of water where the inhabitant spins, attempts to walk, but mostly flops like a giant human hamster. Good times.

We ate lunch at KFC.  Not that that's particularly exciting, but I happened to receive a text from a friend with a picture with of their KFC, assuming it was her Sunday lunch, and it prompted cravings among some of the passengers in our vehicle. (And maybe the driver too.) Turns out the text was from her trip to Kenya and was weeks old.  Don't know what that has to do with anything, but I thought it was funny.  And I don't need to eat there again anytime soon. 

The drive through Colorado was beautiful and Utah has some amazing rock formations. I totally get why folks in this part of the country are so into all their outdoor activities.  In fact, our waiter tonight (Blue Pig Barbecue, in case you're interested) told us Moab is the mountain biking capital of the world. Good to know. Still not doing it. 

Good night. 

TGJFRTO of 2012 - Day 3

Saturday morning we left El Paso headed for Albuquerque.  At one point traffic was diverted off the freeway by the Border Patrol and an officer with a large German Shepherd circled the car; fortunately for us, it was not trained to sniff out dirty camp laundry.  And the Border Agent at the guardhouse took our word for it that we are all American citizens.  Go figure.  (Could it have been our glow-in-the-dark complexions or the fact that we travel like the Clampetts, but without the rocking chair?)

We stopped in Truth or Consequences for gas, bathroom, and lunch. I don't know why it's called that...that would necessitate doing a google search.  We scored with customer appreciation day at Sonic and fed the five of us for $14. (Yeah, I know it's not organic, grass-fed, or sprouted, but I find that when we're on the road I forgo some of my high-falutin food philosophies.)

After checking in, we headed to the Sandia Peak aerial tram and took a 15 minute ride from the base (6559 ft) to the peak (10358 ft). If you don't like heights , do not get on this tram. Surrounded by windows, hanging from a couple of steel cables, with the occasional sway back-and-forth from the wind, looking down at the boulders and sheer drops below....  But the view from the top is amazing. And the temp 20 degrees cooler. Which we Texans appreciated. We hiked around up there for a while (avoiding the edge like the plague, cause nothing will put a damper on a vacation like someone plummeting down a mountain),  checked out the closed-for-the-season chair lifts on the back side of the mountain, and then trammed back down. Which was not as knot-in-the-stomach-inducing as the ride up...I assume because we weren't smack in the front of the tram car.

Next we stopped at Trader Joe's to pick up some stuff for dinner.  (And some stuff not for dinner.)  (Chocolate-covered almonds and dark chocolate mint creams, anyone?)

Historic Route 66 also winds through a stretch of Albuquerque, and is lit up with neon lights, but unfortunately for us, they were either out of service or not on yet when we drove it at dusk. Also, it's a rather eclectic-artsy-sketchy part of town with lots of vintage (and some just plain old) style motels, restaurants and other businesses (slightly reminiscent of the Montrose area at home) so not really conducive to stopping with three boys for photo ops.

And we capped off the night by doing laundry.  Finally.  And our noses rejoiced.

Tomorrow, Moab, UT. 

TGJFRT of 2012 - Day 2

M & I woke up to rain in Fort Davis. Which made me wish I'd hit up the Historical Site the day before, but whatevs...we headed there after breakfast anyway. Fort Davis was an army post on the old San Antonio-El Paso Road during the 1800s. The army barracks have been restored and many of the old buildings, or in some cases the foundations, still remain. It also happened to be Junior Ranger day so M strung warrior beads and scored a Junior Ranger patch. From there we headed to Buffalo Trails Scout Ranch to pick up J and the boys. BTSR is back up the highway the way we'd come about 25 miles, then another 12 miles on a winding ranch road heading into the mountains. Oh, and did I mention the loose livestock? And the low spots where water may be running over the road from the week's rains? Cause, yeah, they have flash floods out there when it rains a lot. The first low spot was only about 300 yards off the highway, with water over the road. After reversing all the way back to the highway and weighing my options, which were few, I went back, got out, looked it over, and hoping the flood gauge by the side of the road was accurate, decided to try it...praying all the while. Oh, and absolutely no cell phone connection either, so no way to call if something happened. But, it was fine...as were the four or five other low spots. Needless to say, since it was still drizzling and looked like more rain was expected when we arrived, we did not stay for the scenic tour. We arrived in El Paso that afternoon, got settled into the hotel, and set out in search of the laundry room, because, hello, stinky camp clothes. Sadly, none was to be found, so the "no shoe removal" rules have been implemented until stink remediation has occurred. Also, I forgot a toothbrush or two at home (well, I forgot one; an unnamed scout forgot the other) but what's a road trip without a stop at the Walmarts, right? J's nephew, wife and kids also live in El Paso (at least for one more week...how's that for good timing?) so we met them for dinner at - what else? - a Mexican food restaurant. Isn't that what you eat in El Paso? I've got some tired guys on my hands, so bedtime will be much welcomed tonight. Tomorrow, on to Albuquerque.

The Great Jones Family Trip of 2012 - Day One

Seven-year-old M and I hit the road Thursday morning to begin our portion of The Great Jones Family Road Trip of 2012. Two almost miraculous things occurred in the launching of this journey, one of which is that I left with my house clean upon departure. It's always my goal to arrive home to order and cleanliness after a vacation; it just so rarely happens. As I am not always known for my early rising habits, the other borderline miraculous event was that I actually managed to get up at 5:00 am and pull out of the driveway at 6:07. I wanted to leave plenty of time for stops on our long drive to West Texas to pick up DH and the two big brothers who had left the Saturday before for a week of Boy Scout camp. I was a little nervous about the gas situation - it goes fast in a gas-guzzling SUV and there's not a lot to choose from when you're Deep in the Heart of Nowhere - so to be safe, we stopped to fuel up just about every time the gas gauge got below a half a tank. (And we may or may not have gotten a snack or two while we were at it.) After nine hours hauling west on I-10 (and you gotta love the 80 MPH speed limit out there), we finally exited at Balmoreah and stopped at the state park to check out the spring and pool there. Scuba divers in deep west Texas...who'd a thought? From there it was south to Fort Davis, which I though was a cute little town. Kind of in the middle of stinking nowhere, like everything else, but quaint. We got settled in our room (up narrow wooden stairs, no elevator) and ate dinner at the Fort Davis Drugstore. I was a little concerned about leaving some of our luggage in the car, but when I asked a woman if it would be safe, she said she didn't lock her car or her house. (And guess who's not from a big city?) Next on the agenda - is it just me or has this day been forever long? - we headed up into the Davis Mountains to a Star Party at the McDonald Observatory, where we were meeting up with the scouts. To say that M was happy to see J and the boys is an understatement. The night was quite cloudy, but thankfully it cleared up enough to get a good look at the moon and Saturn. And, finally, a little past midnight, blessed sleep back at our hotel.... More tomorrow as the vacation adventure continues....