Starting mileage: 19234, Distance travelled: 881 (new family record!)
On the road again by 8am, we were considering making the final push home from Hammond, Indiana all in one go. It would be a long day, but everyone was excited by the prospect of a full weekend at home. The early mornings were starting to take their toll.
We crossed Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. Our diets suffered as we resorted to road food.
We were pretty lucky with traffic and weather for the first half of the drive, but things went south in eastern Ohio. We drove the second half of the trip in occasionally torrential rain, which slowed us down a bit. The last hour was pretty grueling, with tense driving through dark, stormy construction zones with narrow lanes and erratic drivers. Finally we returned to Massachusetts and, at 11pm, we drove into our driveway, very glad to be home as you can tell by these faces.
We managed to get on the road with full bellies, a full tank of gas and caffeine by 7:45am. Sadly, it meant eating a gas station breakfast and only David showering. Kids were tired. By 9am, we were entering Brady, NE.
We spent most of the day passing countless cows, windmills, and acres of corn in Nebraska and Iowa. We stopped for about an hour for lunch at Culver’s, one of the best fast food places we experienced during last year’s trip. We crossed the Mississippi River into Illinois around 6pm and made it across the state to land in Indiana for dinner and sleep by 8pm. Despite how smooth the trip was for the vast majority of the day, the last 20 miles south of Chicago was a snarl of traffic. We were at least grateful we were not westbound where a multi-car and truck pileup closed off the highway entirely and blocked traffic went on for many miles.
We were lucky to find a relatively inexpensive hotel right next to a brewpub where we arrived just in time to get dinner before the kitchen closed.
Starting mileage: 18220, Distance travelled: 272, Miles hiked: 4
We had a lovely day hanging out with Jeff’s family. They fed us extremely well and we felt very much at home. After a leisurely breakfast, we drove to Lory State Park to hike to Arthur’s Rock, a 3.2-mile round trip with about 1000 feet of elevation. Rachel had to work and Naomi had camp in the morning so it was just Jeff, Lev, and Delta (their adorable rescue pup) with us. A wildfire had recently started on Alexander Mountain, about 20 miles away. On the way up, it was clear that we wouldn’t get a full view of the snow-capped mountains in the distance due to the smoke. We still had a wonderful view of the giant Horsetooth Reservoir below. About halfway down, the smoke thickened enough that we could smell and taste it in the air.
We headed back to Jeff’s house for some downtime. Since Brady missed out on the game store in Grand Junction on Sunday, we looked for one in Fort Collins and found several to choose from. Naomi recommended one and accompanied David, Laura and Brady there mid-afternoon. They came back with new purchases and were happy with the store. After a game of Clue and another delicious dinner, David convinced us to get a jump start on our long trip home. We loaded up the van and managed to carve three and a half hours and upwards of 200 miles off the total distance. That got us to a hotel just after midnight with the time change crossing into Nebraska. All attempts to capture the state line failed in the dark. One silver lining of the wildfire smoke was a spectacular sunset that followed us out of Colorado. There were a number of critters along the first stretch of our journey, including a near miss with a bunch of deer on both sides of the road, a bird strike (owl?) above our windshield, and several hundred murdered bugs, large and small.
We woke up in Carbondale and got ourselves on the road by 10am. We weren’t in a big hurry because we didn’t have to be in Fort Collins until the afternoon and only had a 3.5 hour drive ahead of us. The drive was spectacular, first going along the Colorado River with many white water rafters, then through Vail, where we saw off-season ski resorts, and finally directly through the Rockies, including more than one long tunnel. We got as high as 11,000 feet and David remembered traveling through the mountain when he was in college and getting passed in his VW Bug on a downhill stretch by a cyclist.
We checked off another fast food chain by eating at Which Wich, a sandwich shop in Lakewood, CO. We arrived at Susan’s friends’ Jeff and Rachel’s house in Fort Collins just about 3pm. It was wonderful to catch up with them and for the family to meet their 15-year-old kids, Lev and Naomi. They were amazing hosts and prepared a delicious dinner for us. Their house is lovely and well situated on a beautiful street within walking distance of the vibrant downtown. We walked for ice cream at the Old Town Churn, which was actually shaped like an ice cream churn. The ice cream was delicious too.
On the walk back kids were playing in a water feature in one of the pedestrian walkways, and our kids joined right in to play chicken with the spurting water.
Starting mileage: 17842, Distance travelled: 148, Miles hiked: 5
Although we didn’t get to hike all the way to the Gunnison River, we did hike down into the canyon a bit on today’s adventure. We parked at Tomichi Point and jumped on the Rim Rock Trail to the Visitor’s Center to see the amazing views from there, including Gunnison Point. We continued along the Oak Flat Trail which dipped down into the canyon by about 500 feet. The Oak Flat Trail connected us to the Uplands Trail through a flat, brushy meadow, which connected back to Rim Rock Trail back along the canyon to our van at Tomichi Point, for a total distance of about 3.8 miles.
There was more flora than fauna along the trail but we did see several birds and David caught a photo of a baby bunny.
After completing our hike, we drove the remainder of the scenic South Rim Road, stopping at various overlook trails. The most impressive was the Painted Wall, a 2,250-foot sheer drop on the north rim. It is one of the largest vertical cliffs in the country, almost twice as tall as the Empire State Building.
We left the Black Canyon to head for Carbondale, CO to have dinner with David’s college friend, Lisa and her family. That also shaved off a couple of hours from our drive to Fort Collins. David surprised her by contacting her after nearly 20 years when he realized how close we were to where she lived. We enjoyed a lovely evening meeting everyone, including Lisa’s husband, Jeff and their 13-year old daughter Madeleine. David and Lisa had fun reminiscing about their college days and he was pleased to find her doing well. We found Carbondale to be a lovely little small town and we enjoyed Thai takeout and a drink from the local distillery.
We had another lazy start to the day after staying up to watch the Olympics and more National Parks documentary…only one episode left! For the first time in 4 mornings, we ate breakfast together as a family, not running up and down stairs with coffees and breakfasts back to the room to trade off shower and bathroom time. We checked out of our hotel and were on the road by 10am. We were hoping to stop in Grand Junction, CO for BOTH a board game/coffee store AND a used video game store, but apparently the entire state of Colorado shuts down on Sunday…and we thought Utah was religious! We ended up going straight through to Montrose, CO, the gateway town to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (longest NP name ever!) On the way, we ended up returning to Mars before entering Colorado. It turns out Elon Musk had already beat us, erecting a city of silver silos for a mysterious purpose.
We ate lunch at Starvin’ Arvins, a breakfast/brunch place with yummy food and enormous portions! Susan’s bread options with her spinach omelet, which was slathered in hollandaise, was a cinnamon roll. Seems innocent enough…but no! It was the size of her head and everyone had to pitch in. But then Laura and Brady’s meals arrived, three stuffed crepes, swimming in berries with sauce, plus two eggs and a mound of home fries. David got a very sensible salad, but the rest of us couldn’t finish our meals…breakfast leftovers for tomorrow. Even David’s salad came with a half cup of salad dressing…at least it was on the side. From lunch we headed straight to the Visitor’s Center, because major construction is starting tomorrow and the VC will be closed, along with most of its parking.
Brady really wanted to try getting one of a limited number of Wilderness permits that would allow us to hike down into the 1800-foot canyon to the Gunnison River below. They actually HAD permits left for Monday, but we decided it was a bit too much for us at the end of 7 days of pretty intense physical demands. It involved a 1.5-mile pretty much vertical rock slide without marked trails in both directions. With Laura still not at 100%, Susan with a bad knee and hip, and David’s worrying about his 57-year-old self making it back in a reasonable amount of time, we decided against it. After getting our passport stamps (and trying on silly bear hats), it was only 3pm, so we decided to get to the bottom of the canyon the only way we could, by driving down the East Portal Road, a 15% decline through switchbacks galore, that ended up burning our brakes!
Driving down the East Portal Road to the Gunnison River.
The views were spectacular and we were able to put our toes in the Gunnison River at the bottom. Sadly, we didn’t catch Brady’s initial reaction on camera…needless to say, it was chilly.
We headed back into town and landed at an excellent KOA, with one minor exception, that wasn’t really their fault. After getting sunscreened and into our suits, some kind folks in the hot tub tipped us off to a poop in the pool, obviously made by a child with irresponsible parents. David suggested that it might just be a Baby Ruth but we weren’t risking it. Instead we wrote yesterday’s post, ate leftovers for dinner, and played some more Quixx. We had planned to take a walk into Montrose to check out the main drag and get dinner, we had an attack of the lazies and didn’t make it. Although we saw an amazing sunset from the campground, there wasn’t a great opportunity for night sky watching when Laura and Susan attempted it. Sadly, our greatest regret of the trip after visiting 6 night sky parks, we didn’t once see the night sky.
Starting mileage: 17523, Distance travelled: 102, Miles walked: 4.8-5.4
The day started out slowly with everyone sleeping in. Susan was up at 7am but let everyone sleep in and they didn’t wake up until after 8:15. Canyonlands National Park was 45 minutes away so we didn’t hit our first trailhead until 11am. Laura was feeling under the weather with a sore throat and fatigue despite the good night’s rest. The temperature was slightly cooler due to the elevation. We were on top of a giant, flat Mesa (redundant?) called Island in the Sky. It overlooks enormous, elaborate canyons formed by the Colorado and Green Rivers. We started at the far end of the scenic road with a hike to Grand View Point and it lived up to its name.
By the end of the 2-mile hike, Laura was definitely flagging so she and Susan hung back on the next vista. Brady and David hiked a short 0.6-mile trail to Upheaval Dome, a 2-mile wide crater with an uplift in the center. Scientists debate the origin to be either a salt dome or meteor strike, with the latter gaining more support recently.
We made quick stops at Buck Canyon, Candlestick Tower, and Green River Overlooks.
After some lunch and a rest, Laura was a good sport, and after some bribery agreed to one short 0.6-mile hike to view Mesa Arch and the view was worth it, but Laura begs to differ. When you look through the light sandstone arch, it frames red mesas in the background.
We got back to the hotel around 4pm and rested up a bit. David got sunburned for the first time, probably due to our later start time. We were out in the 10am-3pm range rather than 7am-1pm range when the sunlight isn’t as direct. We walked into downtown Moab again for dinner at Dewey’s Restaurant, named after a historic bridge that spans the Green River.
Starting mileage: 17483, Miles travelled: 40, Miles hiked: 4.5
This morning we were more prepared for a pre-7am arrival and we saw the sunrise and made it with 10 minutes to spare. We headed straight to the last stop on the scenic road, the Devil’s Garden trailhead. We made one pitstop at Balanced Rock, which Laura and Brady tried to balance on their hands.
Our first hike was to Landscape Arch, the longest span in the park. The hike was through a set of large fins, which created narrow canyons and lots of sand hiking.
Upon completing the hike, we slowly made our way back down the scenic drive, stopping at several views/hikes along the way. First, we stopped for a 1.6 mile hike to see Pine Tree Arch and Tunnel Arch.
Next we pulled off for a short walk to see Skyline Arch.
The next hike was 2.3 miles to Broken Arch, which we pretty much had to ourselves for a change. Despite the name, it looked more stable than Landscape Arch. There was a short side hike to Sand Dune Arch.
Our next stop was an overlook of Fiery Furnace, a maze-like array of pinnacles that apparently lights up in the sunset like a burning furnace.
Our last stop was a rather underwhelming Panoramic Point viewpoint. It lived up to its name but the details of all the formations was lost in the distance. We may return here for stargazing tomorrow when the weather is supposed to be clear.
After our final stop, we were feeling a little arched out so we returned to the Visitor’s Center to view the exhibit and film and escape the afternoon heat and sun. See if you can pick out which photo of Brady and Laura above is the fake, actually taken in the exhibition. We returned to the hotel for lunch, a nap, and a swim. We went out to dinner at the Trailhead Public House where we sat outside and Laura braved the tomato jalapeño bisque and even liked it. The food was delicious and interesting, including Brady’s pork green chili poutine and the Wagyu burgers. We had yummy cinnamon bread pudding and churros a la mode for dessert.
We once again crashed early after playing some Quixx and watching more of the 6-part Ken Burns National Parks documentary that we’ve been working on since last summer’s adventure.
We got an early start, trying to get our most strenuous hiking done before the temperatures soared and crowds got crazy. We had a timed-entry ticket for 8am but attempted to get to the park before 7am when they the timed-entry ticket is required. Only David understood that this was an unrealistic goal and calmly tried to explain that while everyone else frantically tried to get out the door. We didn’t quite make it but arrived at 7:30am and they let us in anyway. We selected the most popular hike to start so we could ensure that we got parking. We hiked 3.5 miles to see the Delicate Arch and it didn’t disappoint. Coming around the corner when it came into view was breathtaking.
David got some nice portraits here too.
At the trailhead, there were also petroglyphs and Wolfe Ranch, a one-room cabin dating back to the early 1900s.
Our next stop was Double Arch Trail. We went by the Elephant Arch and Parade of Elephants before arriving at the double arch. Susan climbed up into the second of the arches, not an easy feat, but worth the photo op.
A short distance across the parking lot was the Windows trailhead, which lead to the North and South Windows and Turret Arch.
Unfortunately on our way back down the trail to the parking lot, Laura slipped off the edge of the walkway, gouging her knee with gravel on the way down. She was fine but her left knee sustained a significant wound that we needed to get cleaned out and bandaged. Susan did some quick and dirty first aid on the spot but we needed a pharmacy for more supplies. We were pretty much done hiking since it was after noontime and everyone was hungry. We returned to the hotel, ate lunch and took care of Laura’s injury, getting out all the gravel and disinfecting it. We chilled out in the hotel room most of the remainder of the afternoon, went for a swim in the pool before dinner, then went out for gelato. As soon as we stepped out to walk to the gelato place (located in the Moab Food Truck Park), we feared the worst. The darkest cloud was forming over the canyon wall behind us and it followed us all the way to the gelato place and home, without ever raining more than a few drops…but we did get a gorgeous double rainbow out of it.
We went to bed early so we could get up even earlier on Friday to get into the park before 7am. Our reserved ticket was for 9-10am which was way too late to avoid crowds and heat so we planned better the second day.
We got an early start, heeding warnings that trailhead parking lots would fill by 9am. We were out by 7:40am, the earliest so far. Our first stop was Gooseneck Point, where we were surprised to learn that Sulpher Creek which ran through the bottom of the canyon was at the same level as the top of the Grand Canyon so if we wait some unknown millions of years we could find another Grand Canyon here.
After that quick stop, we headed for the main event, a 2-mile hike to Hickman Bridge, a natural bridge spanning 130 feet long and 125 feet high. From the trail we also saw a smaller bridge, several holes to hide in, and the Capitol Dome, a formation that gets its name from the iconic building top in Washington, D.C.
We stopped at Gifford House, an historic building from early Mormon settler time for pie and a cinnamon roll (which were both delicious). On our way out of the park, we made stops at the blacksmith shop, schoolhouse, and petroglyph panel, evidence of the Fremont people.
Our road to Arches was about as uninhabited/uninhabitable as it gets. It looked like a Martian landscape. Brady was so proud that we beat Elon Musk to Mars.
After a couple of hours in a literal and cell signal desert, we emerged in Green River, the land of civilization, fast driving, and 5G. We ate lunch at Tamarisk Restaurant overlooking the Green River, itself. We finally got to try traditional Navajo fry bread, which was delicious and similar to fried dough, but more airy and flavorful…bonus, better dipping sauces.
With only an hour left to drive, some green returned to Mars. We arrived at Sun Outdoors, our home for the next four nights…or so we thought. Susan quickly put in all the laundry upon arrival, because it was so hot, we were going to go directly to the pool. By the time Susan returned from the laundry room, the writing was on the wall. The van’s AC could not keep up with the 104-degree heat in the blazing sun. Everyone hid in the van sweating while we booked a room in a nearby hotel and waited for the laundry to finish. Our new home for four days became the Sleep Inn, with its pool and hot tub and free breakfast. On the way, we stopped by the Arches National Park Visitor’s Center for the obligatory passport stamps, and some t-shirts. After a swim in the pool to cool off, we got dinner at Canyon Pizza Co., just a short walk down the street from our hotel. We had the lights out by 9:30pm so we could get an early start on Thursday morning.
Dave's Place/Metamusing 