California, pt 1

Alright... We know we have been bad and not updated at all. We do want to finish this up though, so hang with us!
After waking up for the last time in Phoenix, we made our way west to California. The border was littered with windmills, which we didn't really expect, but there was definitely wind to warrant them!
On our first night, wet made it to some free campgrounds in the San Bernardino National Forest. It was quite the drive up into the trees to get to the campground, but it was sure a  beautiful place to be!

To make it all the way to the coast, we hopped onto Highway 1 and found Pismo Beach and our first view of the Pacific Ocean! Pismo Beach is a cute, little, fairly touristy town with shops lining the street leading to the beach, including one that sold chocolate covered crickets...! (We weren't brave enough for those though).

We also came across a few spots with lots of sea lions, lined up, relaxing on the beach. Some were throwing sand on themselves, and others were facing off and talking to each other. We spent quite a bit of time hanging out with them. :)

After a quick stop, we continued north on Highway 1 to hunt out a place to camp near Big Sur. We ended up finding a steep turnoff which looked like it was about where our researched campground was. We got settled, made some sandwiches, and took our books across the sort road to a huge rock overlooking the ocean. It was completely relaxing and gorgeous. (We may have spent the night hoping that we were camping legally... Nothing was really marked).

The ocean was just to the left, down a steep hill

Just across the road from our tent was a big rock that we climbed on and sat at the ocean, reading. Seriously beautiful.

-Allie

Arizona

Our trip to the Grand Canyon did not start out very smoothly. As it turns out, the north entrance, which we blindly selected from the GPS only leads to cabins. 

After another  4 hours, we arrived at the main entrance. We decided to take a quick stop at the Grand Canyon, since we wanted to make it to Phoenix by dinnertime. This was Allison’s first time visiting the canyon. It is very difficult to capture the beauty of the canyon in a photograph. It is a one of a kind, and needs to be enjoyed in person, but we did try our best to get some pictures! 
 

Our next destination was Phoenix. Allison and I both were anticipating this stop. I have several family members who live in Phoenix and Mesa. We don’t get to see each other as often as we would like. Duane greeted us when we pulled up. He asked “Is it hot enough for you?”  I would say 110 degrees was pretty hot! After catching up with Duane and Wink, it was dinner time. Allison helped Duane prepare dinner. Wink and I were given difficult task of shucking pistachios. We continued to catch up over dinner. Duane and Wink gave up some ideas for additional stops in California. Duane and Allison made a delicious meal of grilled chicken with Brussels sprouts. After dinner we took a dip in Duane’s hot tub. It was the perfect cure for our sore feet! 

The next morning we slept in, which is very rare. We took it pretty easy that morning. Duane invited us to his work for lunch. He is a cook at a small restaurant called The Cafeteria. They serve one of the best burgers I have ever eaten. 

After lunch we visited a few used book stores. We didn’t find anything too exciting, but it’s always fun to browse. Next, we headed to Mesa to visit my cousin, Shona. Shona and her husband, Chad, just had their second son, Jake, last month. It was great getting to meet him. Catching up with Shona was a blast. We are both broke and busy, so we don’t get to see each other very often. I had a great time hanging out with her son, Gage. I can’t believe is going to turn four soon. Gage and I wrestled while Allison and Shona talked about stuff. Gage convinced us to stay at their house for dinner. He later extended the invitation by saying, “You guys can stay for five months.” 

We headed off to the grocery store for dinner supplies. The store Shona took us to was super-affordable, so Allison and I took the opportunity to stock up our food box. After a delicious pork chop dinner, I couldn’t stay awake. While I rested, Allison and Shona whipped up a batch of peanut butter sweet and salty cookies! The next morning Shona made delicious breakfast burritos. Gage reminded us of his offer, but we sadly had to leave. We headed back to Duane’s house in Phoenix. We spent most of the afternoon indoors, to hide from the sun. We cooled off a bit in the pool, walking quickly over the hot concrete. For dinner that evening, Duane and Wink took us to an amazing Italian restaurant. It was a small, family-run restaurant very close to their house. Duane told me that this restaurant was very similar to the ones they ate at in Italy. Allison and I don’t normally eat pasta at restaurants. But if they were all as good as this place, I would throw that rule out. After dinner we finished packing up our things, and left very early the next day. 

I had a wonderful time in Phoenix. It was great getting to see my family. I was also glad that Allison got the chance to get to know them better- we haven’t had the chance to hang out with them on more of a one-on-one (or two-on-two) basis. We both hope we get to visit Phoenix/Mesa again, very soon!

-Marc




The McDonalds near the Grand Canyon is one of the most expensive in the country. A double quarter pounder with cheese meal is almost $10!

Cactus, Cactuses, Cacti.



Allison likes taking pictures of people taking pictures with iPads.



It's Grand!





Isn't it Grand?

National Parks in UTAH!

I had no idea Utah was so beautiful. For some reason, I thought it was a big, flat desert. Arches National Park totally changed my perspective of Utah. I had never heard of Arches before visiting here. Allison tells me that it is pretty famous. Am I the only one unaware of it? This national park features great hiking trails, interesting wildlife, and of course arches! However these are no ordinary arches. They are created naturally through years of erosion. They are truly a spectacle. This is another example of something that is very difficult to express in writing. Please enjoy some pictures from our time at Arches.

We took a 2 mile hike in Arches through a little valley, and it was pretty!

The Balanced Rock at Arches- way cool

At arches- I don't remember which one this was, but we really liked it

Standing in an Arch!

Our campsite near Arches was beautiful!

Our next stop was further west. We arrived at Zion National Park around lunchtime. I am very grateful Allison booked a campsite in advance. Every single campsite in the park was booked! After a quick lunch, we changed into our hiking gear and went exploring. We braved a long, steep hike to the top of a mountain. At the top was a beautiful pond, called the Upper Emerald Pool. Along the hike we also saw the Lower Emerald Pool, and a waterfall! 

At the lower Emerald Pool- the water fell from the ledge above, all along where the gate is

After a long, hot hike to the upper Emerald Pool- it really was beutiful

A pretty pile of rocks on the trail

These pools are very special, given the desert climate. After taking some time to relax and reflect, we hiked back down. Our after-hike treat was a delicious soft serve twist cone. Hiking in the desert makes ice cream taste extra sweet. The guy ahead of us in line was very particular about his ice cream. He wanted the bottom half of his cone to be chocolate, and the top half to be vanilla. The employee informed him that they couldn’t do that. So, he settled for a twist cone, but not without giving the poor employee a little ‘tude, first. Weary from our hike, we hopped on a shuttle bus. The bus took us around the rest of the park. We were able to hop off and explore as we wished. Allison and I went for a few more small hikes in between sightseeing. One stop was the Weeping Rock, which was a big soft rock. The rock absorbs water, and slowly drips it out. I guess it is sort of like a giant rock sponge? Our last destination was the riverside walk beach. We didn’t feel up for hiking the whole riverside walk. 

A pretty little river at the riverside walk- this guy was very opinionated about how his subject was standing, and was very noisy, so I just took a picture of him! -Allison

We also found some kind of eggs in the river!

If memory serves me, this trail was pretty long. Allison and I were both tired from the last few days. Between Colorado, Arches, and Zion, we did a lot of hiking! It was dinnertime when we got back to our campsite. Allison whipped up Velveeta Shells and Cheese, with some black beans and a can of Rotel. Delicious! Just as the sun was setting, a family of six pulled up to the campsite next to us. I believe they hold the Guinness World Record for the LOUDEST children. One kid was placed in the car for time-out. He proceeded to roll down his window and yell “Hey killer!” to his dad. Geeze. Shortly after this happened, we went to bed. Somehow, we were able to fall asleep, despite all the noise. Since our day at Zion was so productive, we decided to cut our second day. We proceeded to the Grand Canyon, in favor of seeing our family, sooner.

-Marc

Up, up, and up! To Telluride, CO!

After camping at Cow Creek, we made our way northwest to Bandelier National Monument. Since we got there before 9, we were able to avoid the shuttle and drive right up to the visitor’s center. Bandelier National Monument shows off an ancient Pueblo civilization that used to live first in the mountain sides, and eventually moved into the valley below. We took a self guided walking tour and forgot to actually buy the pamphlet, so I can’t tell you much more about the monument from memory, but it is believed that the Pueblo people carved their houses in the rocks by hand, which had to have taken quite a while- the rooms are actually decent  sized!

Explaining that the insides of the homes were fire blackened

We wanted to show you just how big some of these homes were- this one continued to the last hole in the picture on the right, and also on the left side of the ladder

Looking down at the ground level civilization remnants

Lots of holes in the rocks

After spending time at Bandelier National Monument, we started to make the climb into the mountains, north and into Telluride, CO. It was extremely beautiful, but required lots of water and gum chewing to deal with the increased altitude.

Standing right outside of Dan's apartment looking at the mountains

When we got to Telluride, we met up with another wonderful host- Dan! We got unloaded, ran to the local grocery store, and had a delicious stir-fry.

During the rest of our 2.5 day stay in Telluride, we got the chance to window shop in the downtown district, but didn’t end up buying anything- it is a very expensive place to shop, but again, perfectly beautiful.

We rode the gondola over the mountain to mountain village, reaching a top altitude of 10,500 feet. 

I will just tell you- I was gripping the edges of the seat- still not a big fan of heights..

Checking out Bridal Veil Falls

 Another activity that we did was a hike. Oofda! Once we got to the top- Bear Creek Waterfall, it was completely worth it. However, the combination of the high altitude, and our not being in awesome shape, it was a tough hike, particularly for me (Allie). But we all made it!!

Big mountain with fresh snow on top

On our hike, we found an awesome rock garden- this is only a portion of it

Friends at the top of the waterfall

We made it!

Instead of spending a lot of money on overpriced restaurants, we mostly just bought groceries and beer, and prepared meals at Dan’s apartment, including pizza one night. (I had moderate success baking with yeast at high altitudes- score!)

-Allie

(Also- a HUGE thanks to a good friend who provided us with a netbook so that we can work on blog posts, complete with pictures, and homework! You’re the best, Curtis!)

Carlsbad Caverns

After leaving Austin, we headed for the Guadalupe Mountains National Park. This beautiful park is located in northwestern Texas, along the border with New Mexico. It was a very long drive to our campsite, but it was worth it. We pitched our tent in the shadow of the Guadalupe Mountains. We made dinner, had a few beers, and went to sleep.

Sunset behind our tent

The next day we made the short drive to Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico. This attraction was underground, unlike any of parks we have previously visited. We hopped into an elevator that took us 780 feet underground. The temperature in the cavern was about 55 degrees, which was much more pleasant than the 90 degree weather on the surface. 

The main attraction at Carlsbad is the Big Room. The room is made up of natural limestone. The limestone make up forms of various sizes and shapes. The room its self is 4,000 feet long and almost 300 feet tall! It is the third largest chamber in North America. Unfortunately, it is easier to show you with photos rather than explain it in writing. I was able to take a ton of pictures of the cavern. As soon as we fix our computer problem, I'll post them here. (UPDATE- pictures are up at the end of the post!)

After Carlsbad, we started heading to our campground. Along the way we passed through Roswell. This town is famous because a UFO "allegedly" crashed here in the 1970s. Most of the town is decorated with alien imagery (even the KFC.) We didn't stop anywhere in Roswell,  but the Alien Museum looked neat.

We continued to our campground, which was outside of Pecos, New Mexico. After traveling down a long, bumpy, road we arrived at Cow Creek Campground. There weren't any cows,  but there was a nice creek. We  set our tent up by the creek, and prepared for the next day.

-Marc

 

Just inside "The Big Room"

Lion's Tail (or as the little girl next to us declared it- Giraffe Tail)

The three biggest structures in the caverns

This guy reminded us of Marc's drawings

This guy is actually called "The Cave Man"

Crystal Springs Dome- One of the few structures in the caverns that is still being formed- it was white and very shiny, and we watched water drip onto and off of it, helping to continue to form this.

A better picture of "The Rock of Ages"

Austin, TX

Until we hit Austin, we are proud to say that we stuck to our food budget pretty well.
However, when we hit Austin, we went over-budget, and we were totally ok with it. Our first night in town with our wonderful hosts (thank you again Kristin and Alex!), we visited The Salt Lick, which was a wonderful local BBQ place. We brought our own beer, and sat down at the ridden picnic tables inside. Marc and I both had a combination of brisket, pork ribs, and sausage (with sides of course). There was so much food, and it was all so delicious, so we stayed and cleared our plates (or at least the meat..!). We even took some of the delicious looking pecan pie home for later.
Unfortunately, we ate so quickly that we forgot to take any pictures there. But I promise, it was deliciously beautiful!
We rode back to Alex and Kristin's and promptly passed out, our bellies stuffed to the brim.
The next day, our first goal was to visit the Daniel Johnston mural. We got there while it was raining, but braved the rain and took our pictures! 

We spent the rest of the morning comic book shopping and shopping for cheap books. For lunch, we decided we had to try out the southern chain Whataburger. The food was pretty decent, and we were definitely glad to try out out!
After lunch, we visited the humane society for a puppy/kitty fix, and found a stunt double for the puppy version of Maggie.

During our stay, we also got to hang out with Alex and Kristin's dog, Ziggy. He was pretty neat, except that he want our biggest fan. By the end though, he started to like us. :)
For the afternoon, we continued thrifting with Alex.

Alex and his thrift store purchase

We ate at Trudy's, where we had fried chicken avocados, and chicken fajitas, both of which were delicious, and when split, were easily enough for the three of us.
We roughed it with our air mattress in their almost empty house (we happened to come on their move-out weekend), and got up early to continue our journey, after passing though "soco" to see the unique shops, capital building, and abundance of food carts.
Sorry for the lack of cool pictures and inability to format those we have into the actual post- we are still mourning the loss of my computer, and didn't happen to take many pictures on our phones... Hopefully we can get our stuff together soon- thanks to our amazingly generous friends!!
-Allie

Ziggy!