Sara's California Post:

We were just on a trail at Mill Creek Campsite. We have site number 55. Maybe it's 54, I can't remember. We saw giant trees and took some pictures of Ali and I standing in front of and on some. We also saw a different kind of slug than we have at home. They are called Banana slugs. They have flaps over their heads and have one long spike down their backs. So long!

Holy...Hole-y...Wholly Trees Fat Squirrel

We entered Redwoods National and State Park at dusk and by the serpentine scenic route. If the trees were going to be impressive in full sun they were surely ominous and surreal in the dim of the day. The gauze of filtered light that made it through the canopy had the effect of smudging the edges of the trees, making them seem less distinct and even larger than their true might. The twisty slalom of country road had us heading directly at these beasts at times and careening around them as we made our way to Mill Creek Campground.


Our first evening was uneventful except for the banana slugs that populate the forest. It seems that the only thing these slime-ball behemoths won't eat is Redwood trees. Every other plant or decomposing matter is up for grabs, so these guys breed (at least I think they do...perhaps they just divide or clone or xerox) like neon icky bunnies. Did I mention that they are huge? We saw one that was almost a foot long.

We woke and hiked for the first half of the day through incredible old-growth forest. These are the true elders of our planet and a powerful presence to be around. At every switchback we encountered a tree that was more grand, more stately, more prescient. I felt as though I was surrounded by my own ancestors and that all of the wisdom of the universe was right there, in my reach. This one day and hike was worth the cost of this trip.

We attended a hep little ranger presentation that night about the geology of the Redwood area and the Left Coast as a whole. Lots about plates and friction and volcanoes and tsunamis and the impending doom that will befall all of the critters living within the first hundred feet above sea level on the coast. The girls loved the whole talk, especially the part where Ali, as volunteer, handed out Oreos to all the participants. After using them as a prop to show how the plates move about and shove up piles of stuff (creamy filling) into mountain ranges, everyone got to eat their individual plates and their newly formed range.

In the morning, we would leave the park and head up the brief remainder of the California coast to Oregon...See you there.

Coasting, Drifting, Living on the Road

We did indeed coast downhill finding a fuel stop with local wheat apricot ale and a killin' stout...and diesel, too. We headed to the coast to make our way toward Redwood National Park. As we passed Arcata, our most rockin' friend, Jennifer Wennifer, came to mind. For a time we had planned to hook up with her in California for a week or so of our roadtrip. At one point the plan included her flying into the Arcata area to meet us. Had that plan worked out, 'The Lady” would have needed a pilots license or a hang-glider as the airport was about the size of our front yard and the windsock looked like it might have been one of my long lost woolies that seem to go AWOL in the washing and drying process. We had a hearty laugh and a quick but solemn tear that JW couldn't make the trip this year. Perhaps another year we will rendezvous in a leftist South American country and J Wo can sneak in under the cover of night by one-woman "nucular (ha ha Wubya)" sub.

Coming soon...adventures from the Redwoods National Park!

Leaving Utah for the West Coast: We're Hungry...Let's Go Left

On Sunday morning we bid the Mayer clan adieu and headed toward Reno. The map suggested that we would be in the desert but it didn't feel like we ever quite left the mountains. Though we drove on the flat for the majority of the day we were still surrounded by craggy hills, some with snow topped peaks, all the way till our stop a Lassen Volcanic National Park in Northern California. Fuel prices soared the further left we went. We stopped at a little hole in central Nevada, lots of gambling, not so many teeth, that wanted $5.85 a gallon for diesel. We didn't fuel up there. We found some for $5.05. Glad we did too.

As we entered California we had to stop at an Agricultural Inspection Station. They we're worried that we might be smuggling oranges back into Cali. They were also more than a little concerned that we might be harboring Gypsy Moth fugitives in our camper. Apparently Maine is a breeding ground for civil and agricultural disobedience.

We wound our way through the mountains toward Lassen passing super quaint little towns with low populations (my favorite kind of town) and fueling stations with prices under $6 a gallon. We got to the park gates a tad low on fuel (I take fuel responsibility for this as I assumed that we would see another fuel station in the next day) at a scoche under a quarter tank. Wouldn't you know that we had to climb Lassen mountain to get to our camp site. By the time we parked Biesel (our beloved Dodge 2500 truck) her computer showed that we had 28 miles of fuel left. We were at least 30 miles from any town that might have a diesel pump. Not very good expedition etiquette. I now truly understand why real expedition folks carry a few jerry cans of fuel with them.

We bunked for the night and rose to take a five mile hike to Echo Lake, which was so much fun for the girls since we live right near Echo Lake in Mount Vernon. Lots of uphill, lots of dust and rocks, so many dragonflies that I thought my heart might burst with joy, incredible vistas, and lots of tinkle. The girls each have their own camel pack with water for hikes. Sara tends to drink a sip for each step or so even though she doesn't seem to really sweat any of it out. Inevitably she needs to piddle every five to ten minutes. She and her mother have the squat system all worked out. I guess we are just glad that she doesn't eat a prune for each step or so.

On the hike we encountered the rare and introverted tree dragon. We came upon her slowly and managed to convince her that she might enjoy spending some quality time with two young humans. She eventually came around to our thinking and took each of the girls for a short flight around the lake. After our hike we broke camp and cautiously and conservatively headed out of the park. Biesel's computer changed our potential mileage every few feet making the drive ever so interesting. Our only saving grace was that since we had climbed the range the day before most of our exit was to be down hill. By the time we reached the ranger station that had been rumored to have fuel (gas only as it turns out), we had a range of 17 miles. It was 17 miles to Shingletown and the nearest diesel pumps. Dun, Dun, Dun!!! Would they make it?... Would our intrepid travelers need to flag down assistance?... Would Biesel roll into town on fumes?... Would the fuel station also carry locally brewed organic beer?... Tune in next time for:Shingletown, Arcata, the Repetitive Stress Driving Course, Banana Slugs, and Really Big Stumps.

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July 3 - 11

At long last I sit down to write again. Tons have happened since the last entry and we've had a fair bit of down time, especially since we've been in Salt Lake with Shannon's dad. I just haven't been in the right frame of mind to sit down and blog. I think perhaps there has been too much to process and that the down-time forced me into some self-reflection that I've needed to do for quite a while. At any rate, if I had blogged during the last week it might not have been very pretty.

We spent the fourth of July in Fairplay CO, just south and over Hoosier Pass from Breckenridge. Breck is a town that is just a bit over the top for my taste. Lots of beautiful people, lots of money, lots of stuff. Once you go over the pass, over 10,000 feet up and twisty-turny switchbacks, you come to the most bad ass little town of Alma. We shopped at the Al-Mart. T-shirts for the girls. Pick 200 or so of the quirkiest, artsy, back-to-the-lander, sun and snow hardened folks you can imagine and those are the residents of this former mining beef raising town. They have refurbished all of the turn of the century downtown buildings and have opened the coolest bars, hair salons, art galleries, outfitters, etc. We camped in a little BLM campground called Horseshoe at about 9,000 feet up. Ali and I took a 3 mile hike up into the mountain and threw snowballs. We had to cross a fast flowing 30' wide snow-melt river to get back to camp. The BLM folks had laid some large timbers across the water but it was flowing too high to cross. So, somebody put large stepping stones every foot or so on top of the timbers. The water came over the top of many of these. Ali donned her Crocs and I went naked foot across. Man, was that water cold.

Our reason for being in the Breck area for this trip was to attend the wedding of our college buddy Laura Allen. Her folks have been heading up there from Plano, TX since the 80's and Laura is now living and teaching there. We had a great time meeting friends and family and her new husband, Bernie. The wedding, held at the home of a family friend, was beautiful. The view of the mountains was priceless and the weather held out until shortly before the reception then the cold rain came pouring in. We wish Laura and Bernie the very best.




We boondocked the night of the wedding at a rest stop in western CO. The next morning we headed to CO National Monument. What a beautiful place. Similar to Canyonlands National Park but just different enough make it a special day for us. We hiked a couple of the trails, explored a cave off the trail that we shouldn't have, and had a picnic lunch at the top of one of the canyons. We headed into Fruita, CO to check out the Dinosaur Museum. OK but not nearly as cool as the one at Dinosaur National Monument in Vernal, UT that we visited three years ago. We crashed at Highland Lake State Park in CO, a bit of an oasis in the desert with several bodies of water and lots of trees, grass, birds, and white trash. We slept fitfully through a raging wind storm and headed out first thing in the morning for UT.


Since arriving at Gary and Connie's we have slept, showered, read, relaxed, hiked, swam, eaten, cooked, caught a movie (Wanted), read some more, washed and waxed Biesel, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The girls have had an absolute blast hanging out here with the grands. In five minutes Kenny and Kristi and clan will arrive from TX and the girls are beside themselves with anticipation. We'll keep you posted.

Ali's Notes - July 3, 2008

I just bought a new iPod. I named it pPod because it is green. I have about 16 hours of songs on it, most of them are the same as the ones on Sara's iPod but I added some Beatles and Eagles. This morning we entered Iowa and at the welcome center we went on one of the balconies that overlooked the Mississippi river. That's all for now.
Ali