Sun, May 31 – Waking up under the tarp, it was damp and uncomfortably cold. Condensation had formed on the inside of the tarp, and the blanket was starting to get wet. I still felt pretty crappy, but I tried to not let it bother me. I did a workout without getting out of my sleeping bag, then finally got up and went for a jog with Dazey.
Tyne was still sleeping in the van, so I drove out of the National Forest and to the Coffee Cabin, which is a cool little coffee shop in the tiny town of Alpine. I had visited this place before; two years ago I worked for a white water rafting company in Jackson and we went here for coffee every morning.
I waited 15 minutes for them to open at 7, ordered a hot cup of coffee and sat at a comfortable chair using their Wi-Fi. I noticed that there were a lot of new caches placed along the route from here to Jackson, so I plugged 10 of them into my GPS.
Setting off on the 40 mile drive through the Snake River canyon to Jackson, I started stopping off and finding the typically easy caches that were hidden not far from the road. By the 5th one, Tyne had gotten up. I found one at the "Lunch Counter," which I remembered was one of the biggest rapids on the river. I went to another cache site that was just a huge pile of boulders. The ammo can was tucked somewhere deep in a crack or crevice. It was probably the hardest cache I've ever found with such a large container, but I did eventually find it.
After a few more caches, we came into town. Tyne's best friend Bridget has a summer job an hour or so away from here, so she drove out to meet us in town. We sat in the ElkArchPark for a bit, talking and sitting on the blanket. Dazey enjoyed other dogs walking through and running after tennis balls.
We got up and took a stroll around the town. The girls stopped into a few shops to window shop while Dazey and I hung out outside.
It was almost lunchtime, so the girls wanted to go on a little hike and have a picnic lunch. I took them down to Cache creek, a nice park that I had lived near when I was homeless in Jackson. We sat at picnic tables and had turkey sandwiches, apples and chips, then walked a half mile along the pleasant but rapidly running creek.
They had gotten the idea that they wanted to go up into the Tetons and drink a beer on JennyLake overlooking the mountains. We rode the 30 minutes up into the National Park and the girls went down to the water while I waited in the car. I just was not feeling good today. I wasn't really tired, but just wanted to lie down. I hate when I feel like this, especially when I'm in such a great place.
After an hour or so, the girls returned and we headed back into town. Bridget had a couple errands to run before driving back to Dubois. In K-mart, I got a bottle of St. John's Wort to help with my mood problem. Bridget bought us dinner at Albertsons and we all headed back to Mosquito Creek to have dinner.
It was raining in town, and was on and off as we drove to the camping spot. It had stopped when we got there, and we quickly set up the tent. By the time it was up and ready, the rain had started again, so we put a tarp over it and sat inside to have dinner. Bridget had bought a whole roasted chicken, Cole slaw, dinner rolls, chips and salsa. I wasn't really too hungry, but tried to eat some. What I ate was delicious though.
After dinner we played some Uno. Tyne won 2 and I won 2, then we played a game that lasted nearly an hour. Bridget was trying really hard to get her first win, but in the end victory was mine! It was getting late, and she had work really early with a long ride ahead, so she headed out.
It was getting dark later and later. Tonight it was after nine and still bright enough to read by. I read a couple more chapters in my book while Tyne did some writing, then I fell asleep in the van and Tyne in the previously set up tent.
An hour later I woke up and didn't feel good again. I had an anxiety issue and couldn't get comfortable. It took awhile of me taking deep breaths to get back asleep.
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Tues, May 26 – It was apparent that we were coming out of the desert that morning. It was relatively late, almost 8 when I got up. The tent was still shaded by the canyon walls, but the tent and ground were wet. It hadn't rained, but dew had dropped pretty heavily. It had been awhile since it had been humid enough for dew, so it was a little bit of a shock.
I wasn't in any hurry though, I wanted to wait until the tent dried before heading into the city. I did some reading and eventually we got on the road. I really hate cities. Coming into any big one just makes me stressed out and in a bad mood. We followed Adams directions, and something wasn't adding up. We drove all the way to the east side of the city, where the road ended at a mountain. We drove a little way back, then pulled into a park.
We spent three hours at WestValleyPark, reading, writing, playing with Dazey, and dozing. Finally, Tyne said she would drive and we tried to find Adams house again. She wasted another 20 miles of gas before Adam called us and told us what the mistake was. Finally armed with the right directions, we made it to Adam's house.
Dazey wasn't allowed in the house, so we chilled on the porch while they talked inside. Tyne's other friend Fletcher was randomly in town, stuck at the airport for the night, so Adam and Tyne went to pick him up while Dazey and I waited on the porch.
When they got back, Adam told us that he was taking us out to this great pizza place. We tied Dazey in the garage, and headed to The Rusted Sun Pizza shop. Great vibe in there, good music, and excellent food. Adam ordered for us; pasta salad, killer cheese dip, 2 pitchers of some delicious micro-draft, and a large pizza with Canadian bacon, artichokes, portabellas, black olives and fresh tomatoes. We were all stuffed and there were leftovers in every dish.
We went outside to breath, stretch and smoke, and Adam quietly disappeared next door. 5 minutes later, he appeared with a paper bag and 4 cups. He had stopped at the Indian restaurant and gotten us all a little potatoes/pea curry treat and an Indian equivalence of a mango slurpee. Somehow, we managed to eat this too, but by now I was lethargicly full.
We got back to the house, and found Dazey had missed us bad. She had barked the whole time, and now wouldn't stand for more time in the garage alone. I went out there and sat with her while everyone else watched planet earth. Finally, I just said goodnight and took Dazey out to the Nar. I did some writing and internetting and watched an episode of SouthPark before turning in.
Wed, May 27 – I was awoken at 6am with my stomach not being happy with me. I ran into the house and took care o business, but it still wasn't right. I tried to lay in the van for awhile, but had to come back in for the bathroom again. Sleep was out of the question, so I just wrote until Tyne and Fletcher came out so he could get a ride back to the airport.
I gave him a ride there and he gave us $10 for gas. Tyne and I talked about what our plan would be for the day. We would take care of laundry and try to get a little done, then go downtown and see if we had any luck pan-handling. Dazey and I chilled in the garage while Tyne did laundry and made me some dank French toast with orange slices.
Dazey not allowed in the house had 4 options. She could either be in the garage, which she would bark and be freaked out if she was alone. She could be on the front porch tied up, but I needed to be out there with her. She was allowed on the balcony, but would scratch at the door if I wasn't within eye sight of her. The last option was the van. Why couldn't my little brat just go in the house!!
I was really tired from not sleeping much, so I took Dazey out to the van and tried to sleep. I was almost sleeping when I jumped awake all sweaty. The sun was over the top of the house! We went inside and into the garage. The concrete was too cold to sleep, and I could hear construction just around the corner. We tried the balcony. I laid on the floor inside while she sat outside. She didn't have much room and wasn't too happy, but I was able to almost fall asleep.. Until the drier turned back on and the TV got turned up and someone started hammering outside.
Realizing I wasn't going to be sleeping, we just spent the afternoon writing and lounging, something we have been doing too much lately. Its nice, but I can be lazy at home. I want to get out and experience the world more.Tyne made a lunch out of all the stuff we had that was going to go bad. She came out with an amazing lunch of spaghetti with alfredo sauce, chicken and pepperoni mixed in, along with a very garlicky cheesy toast. So good! I finally found the sweet spot outside on the front porch. Shaded and satisfying to both Dazey and I, we spent the afternoon out here. Adam came home and we had a bottle of wine with some yak cheese called Euphoric. It was interesting, but defiantly a wine that you have to drink with wine. Nothing much happened that night. I slept in the van again with Dazey.
Thurs, May 28 – We got up early to go down to the temp. labor office to try to get a job for a day or two to make some extra gas money. We figured that the office would open at 7, so we were there at 655. It didn't open until 8, so we went back to Adam's house for an hour before returning. Finally talking to someone, they informed us that they only did longer term work, weeks or months at a time. They gave us the address of another place that had work on a day to day basis.
At the second place, we were greeted by a very nice young lady who told us that they were out of jobs for the day, but if we filled out the paperwork and took a short test, we could have first pick the next morning. We took the 75 question test, which was really easy. They plugged in my results and it came back as a fail! Tyne finished 10 minutes later, and she failed as well! Something had to have been wrong with that machine, because I know I did good on it.
A little disappointed, we went to a third and final employment office. This one not only didn't have any work, but didn't even have any more applications, so even if we wanted to, we couldn't work. Disappointed, we decided to try to go and panhandle to make some cash.
Driving downtown, we found the center of the city pretty quiet. Considering the size of the surrounding suburbs, SaltLake doesn't have much of a middle. Looking to find a high traffic area, we pulled into a Wal-mart not too far away. The parking lot had a second story, so the big lot was shaded; a perfect place to panhandle.
I took Dazey and began asking people coming out of the store if they had an extra 34 cents. My story was I was short to buy dog food. 34 cents is a good number to use because it sounds like you are really close to having what you need, and its very easy for people to digest. It doesn't sound like a lot of money, but three people add up to a buck. Plus, a lot of people just ended up giving us a dollar, or if we talked to them a little more, sometimes more than a buck.
After 10 minutes, I had made $5. I was feeling pretty good about the situation when I asked a man if he had any change. He said he didn't have any change, but he had a debit card and he would buy me some dog food. He took me into the store and bought a $13 bad of food for Dazey. When he paid for it, I noticed it said, "Change - $40." On the way out of the store, he handed me the money and told me to get some food for myself as well. The man's name was Kirby, and he made Mormons all right in my book.
For some reason, Tyne wanted to go across the street and try to make money at a Lowes. Even though we were shaded and making a good return, she went out into the sun. I went back into Wal-mart and returned the dog food, taking a gift card that I will probably use for more dog food when I run out (no sense carrying extra weight)
Tyne appeared after 10 minutes, saying that the people across the street were cheap and some Mexican dude tried to get her into his car, thinking she was a prostitute. I spent another 20 minutes getting cash, while Tyne talked to some bums that were sitting outside. Their names were Wes and Josh, and they said we should go to "Sugar House" to panhandle more efficiently. They got in the van and we drove 10 minutes south.
The Sugar House was just a series of strip malls. We all split up and tried our luck at getting paid. I made a few dollars, but it wasn't as good as Wal-mart. We all met up and the guys said they were going to get a bottle of booze if we wanted to drink with them. We had been working for hours, so a break sounded nice. They got a bottle of whiskey and we walked down to a little wooded creek next to some stored. I had just a couple sips, Tyne a couple more, and the guys killed it.
One last round of panhandling after our drinks, I was making progress outside of a Taco Bell. A guy came out and he gave me a chicken taco to share with Dazey, then asked if I wanted a job for a few hours. I told him yes, that Tyne and I would love to work for him. He introduced himself as Lar and he gave me his number. Wes and Josh came up as we were talking. They were half drunk and very obnoxious. Lar looked a little worried, but I told him it was just me and Tyne that would be coming.
The guys got on my nerved more and more. They were rude to people and annoying, and I was embarrassed to be around them. Tyne was having fun with them, so I just bit me tongue and sat back.
They wanted to go see a dollar movie, and I told them I didn't. Dazey wouldn't wait for us, and I didn't really want to sit in a theater anyways. It took awhile for it to sink in that we weren't going to go there. Finally they got the idea to go up to CottonwoodCanyon for a little hike.
I was not happy at all driving up into the Canyon. The guys were loud, drunk and making a mess in the backseat. I just wanted to drop them off and go home. We pulled into a campground to take a little hike, and were told that it was $6 to get in, plus dogs weren't allowed anywhere in the canyon because the creek was drinking water for the city.
Discouraged even more, we stopped at a little picnic area. Even though Dazey wasn't allowed in the canyon, we still stopped because it was pretty quiet. I wasn't really in a good mood at all, so I took Dazey and we did some climbing on the many rock ledges that led up to the mountains. The guys and Tyne were drinking another bottle of whiskey, but I was not feeling it at all. Finally, they smoked a bowl and got me to take a toke. I really didn't want to, but it kept them quiet.
A man riding his bike stopped and told us that we had to leave because of Dazey. I said ok, and was walking to the van within 10 seconds. Josh and Wes didn't like his attitude I guess, because they stayed back for a few minutes and argued with the guy. I didn't understand this at all, because it didn't concern them. Finally they showed back up at the car and we headed back into town. They got dropped off at Sugar house. I almost just left them on the side of the highway, I was so sick of them.
We headed back to Adam's and had a quiet evening. Josh kept calling Tyne, (why did she give her real number?) and for several days I got laughs at Tyne making excuses for why we couldn't go and pick them up again.
Fri, May 29 – I spent the night thinking about how crappy my life was and how I wasn't able to give anything back to society. I decided that I wanted to donate some time and just volunteer to help someone. If I cant be happy, I thought, then maybe I can make someone else happy.
I took off on foot around 10am, going door to door asking folks if there was anything I could help them with. I told them that I had some bad karma that was weighing on my soul, and I wanted to clean my slate and start fresh
I knocked on 10 doors, only two of them answered and neither had anything I could help them with. Pretty discouraged, I almost walked back to Adam's, but decided to try to help at a pet resort that I passed. The girl at the counter seemed very surprised when I asked her if they had anything I could do to help, but she soon found some work for me.
I spent the next three hours in a yard with 30 dogs, pulling weeds. Some of them were very thorny thistles, and it took some care to not get stuck. The sun was hot and I was sweating, but it felt great to do something that mattered. By 2pm, the yard was clean. I hauled out the 4 garbage bags of clippings that I produced, and was on my way.
I walked back to Adam's and was really thirsty. I wanted a drink, but only had 88 cents. I walked into a store, and low and behold one of my favorites was on sale. Dr. Pepper for 79 cents. Good karma pays.
Back at Adams, he came home around 4 and the three of us went to a little outdoor bar on the east side of town. I sipped a beer and hung out while they polished off a couple of pitchers and some nachos. 515 came around, and Tyne and I excused ourselves to go to Lars house to do some cleaning for him.
Lar was a really great guy. He gave me hope that Mormons were alright. He had us clean out his garage and front porch. It took us about three hours, and when we were finishing, he went to one of his favorite Mexican places and returned with some amazing dinner for us. He offered us some soda (7-up, orange, or strawberry; no caffeine for Mormons) and then paid us $60 for our time. He wanted us to come back the next morning to do more, and to help his parents, but we were getting low on time and had enough money for now, so we declined , thanked him and hit the road.
Back at Adam's around 930, we were rushed into some nice clothes, and herded onto the train towards downtown. Apparently we were going to Adam's friends art show. After a 15 minute train ride and a 5 minute walk, we came to what looked like a bar. I was asked for my id, which I didn't have. The "art show" was also a club/bar, so I wasn't able to come inside. Half an hour later, I was hanging out with Dazey back at the house. I guess I didn't miss much because I was told that the place was expensive and pretty lame.
Sat, May 30– I came into the house a little after eight. Adam was making a "last meal" for us, which was amazingly dank! He made an open faced sandwich on a croissant, two poached eggs on it with a piece of Canadian bacon and a roasted red pepper sauce over the top. Excellent! We started to get our stuff together to leave and spent some time getting music from Adam's computer. Finally we were ready to go, but before we left Adam gave us a going away present of two campfire Jiffy popcorns, a bag of Chex mix and a bottle of Fry Sauce.
Adam really is a great guy. I'm not sure if it's just because he loves Tyne so much, but I don't think that is the only thing. He is a very considerate and giving man, and I'm very happy I got to meet him.
We had some work lined up for the day, some more time with Lar and another guy that wanted us to do lawn work, but we had been in Salt Lake nearly a week now, and we were ready to move on. We had made more money that we had needed, so we just left town.
Tyne wanted to see the "Great" SaltLake before leaving, so we made a little pitstop over to AntelopeIslandState Park. Surprised to see it was a $9 entrance fee, we pulled over just before the ticket booth and had a look at the lake. It's pretty sad looking, very flat and shallow. There are miles and miles of dried up salt flats before you even get to the shore, and from the ground its very hard to get a good handle on how big the lake really is. Disappointment is the word I would use for the lake, but I had known this would be the case before I got there.
Driving on, it had been nearly an hour since leaving Adams, but we hadn't gotten out of the city. The interstate runs between two mountain ranges and the lake, and the valley between is a metropolitian area over 100 miles long, but only a few miles wide. We drove into downtown Ogden, and finally found our turn onto state route 39 headed up into the CacheNational Forest.
Up into the mountains, it got cool quickly. Every time I've driven into National Forest I stop seeing people immediately, but this was a little different. There were people and cars everywhere! It was probably the close proximity to the city and the fact that it was Saturday, but after we got to the pass there was barely anyone around.
At the top, I stopped along a huge snow drift and took Dazey for a walk. She loves snow and was very happy to run in this huge mound of it after being cramped on a porch in SaltLake.
Down the other side, the landscape began to look a lot like Wyoming. Tyne fell asleep, and an hour later we had officially crossed into Wyoming. The sky was darkening and I saw lightning in the distance, but I still drove the 15 miles out of the way to FossilButteNational Monument.
The Monument was tiny. There were about 10 people in the entire park when I walked into the visitor center. Inside, I saw a whole collection of fossils that had been extracted and put on display. It was very interesting, and I was looking forward to taking a walk and seeing some fossils in the "wild."
When I went back outside it was raining hard. Reading the park guide, I was disappointed to find the park only had two short trails, and neither featured any visible fossils. With the rain coming down in sheets and the girls still sleeping, I decided to just continue on the way. I wanted to make it to Alpine by dark.
Driving through the green rolling hills of southwestern Wyoming, I passed through a plethora of tiny sleepy ranching towns. Cokeville, Thayne, Smoot, Etna barely had a combined population of 1000. The road crossed into Idaho for a mile or so before coming back into Wyoming. 20 miles from Alpine, Tyne woke up. We gased up in Afton and finished the last leg of the day's journey to town. From Alpine, we drove a few miles into the BridgerNational Forest and spent the night at a campsite that I had been to a couple years ago.
The sky was still threatening, so I laid a tarp out, folded it over, and lay a sleeping bag and blanket in between. I really wasn't in a good mood that night. I was short and moody and didn't want to do anything but go to sleep, but that was pretty hard to do since it was only 9pm. I watched the sky darken and a couple skies peak through the clouds before I passed to the other side.
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Mon, May 25 – 5:30, it was getting light but not quite there. I got up and drove to the grocery store. I had been planning a special night for Tyne for several days, and tonight was the night. I did my shopping in town and got back to the house around 6am, arriving unnoticed. I passed back out in the van until Tyne came and woke me at 7:30.
Everyone was leaving. They all were planning on being on the road by 8, so we got ready quickly. They had a lot of extra food they were going to throw away, so we got some rolls, cheese, roast beef, pepperoni, spices, and an artichoke. We stopped at a Holiday Inn for some breakfast. They have one of the best free breakfasts I've ever had; Hot omelets, sausage patties, biscuits and gravy and some really good coffee. We were filled up and on the road north. A few minutes on the road and I gave Tyne the flowers I bought for her. I told her that I was supposed to give them to her later, but I didn't want them going bad and she would find out who they were from and why later.
Tyne apparently had drank a lot the night before and she was sleeping again a little out of town, by 9am. We drove an hour north, then west along the interstate, then north again to Price. It was noon and I had to do a few things in town. Got internet, gas, condiments, no post office, (memorial day) K-mart for a cup, then to a car wash where I sprayed out our next storage unit and refilled and retied it to the roof. I ate a sandwich for lunch, then continued north.
Tyne was still sleeping an hour later when I came into the National Forest. I stopped twice to find a couple of geocaches, one in a really cool cemetery where instead of big stone markers; they used a tree to signify the person. I really liked this.
The second cache was up a little dirt road. I got out and marveled at the towering rock formations on both sides of the canyon. I walked a quarter mile to the cache and realized how nice a camping area this was. I didn't want to drive any further; this was where we were going to spend the night.
Back at the car, I started to get some of Tyne's surprise ready. I climbed the canyon to a really cool looking nook. It looked like it could be a cave or an old Indian home. I left a note with Tyne's name on it and climbed back down. I collected firewood and started cleaning out the car. It was then, around 3PM that she finally woke up.
We cleaned out the car really good. Emptied it completely, packed stuff into the top, and had more space than we could ever dream of. It was getting to be 5o'clock so I told Tyne to climb up and check out "the Indian ruins."
She started the steep climb and I sprang into action. I tried to get the fire started – too windy! I tried to get the stove started – too windy! I got her cottage cheese and strawberry appetizer set up and ready, then kept working on the fire. The stove was lit for a minute and water started heating so I turned and started spicing the chicken and pasta, but when I turn around again the fire was out. Tyne was coming down and I didn't have nearly what I wanted done.
Just as she walked up to me and hugged me for the note and flowers, I got the stove lit. She ate her cottage cheese and danced around singing cheese songs. I got the food cooking on the stove good, then was able to start the fire. I showed her what was for dinner, and then opened a bottle of champagne.
I love Tyne. She is an amazing girl and I think one day we could be something great. She wants to spend some time living and not dating and I can totally understand that. I've pretty much accepted that I'm not going to find a real girlfriend anytime soon, but I still wanted to show her that I love her. That's what this night was about; to thank her for being such a fun travel companion and friend and showing me a great time.
The lemon pepper chicken and 4 cheese ravioli with alfredo sauce was amazing! The artichoke ended up taking almost 2 hours to finish, and by then we were on our 4th and final bottle of champagne and eating cheesecake with ice cream. (very melted)
Holding our full bellies and bubbling heads, we finished the last bottle and artichoke. There were s'mores too, but we weren't having any of that tonight. We had the big tent set up and filled with blankets. We were sleeping not long after the last bottle hit the ground.
Wed, May 20 – I had a headache when I woke up around 10am. I was expecting this, but didn't really remember laying down on the futon. It had been along time since I could sleep without the bother of the sun, so after letting Dazey out, I went back to sleep.
By 11, all three of us had gotten up. We wasted a few hours doing nothing.
Finally, we got our stuff together and made a list of errands that we had to run. Tim took us to thrift store where we bought a can open, new nalgene, bag for my tent, tote to sew into the van, new bathing suit and a cooler. Then we went to the grocery store and got a lot of groceries we needed.
Tim headed into work around 4 o'clock. We stayed at his house while he was there and did laundry, writing, charged batteries and made a dinner of hash browns, eggs and corn on the cob.
After dinner, I wrote some more then we put in a movie. We made popcorn and watched "Renegade" which was a pretty stupid new age western movie. I passed out when it was done at around 11pm.
Thurs, May 21 – My alarm woke me at 445am. We were up and in the van before 5. Tim, Tyne and I drove a couple of miles out of town and into ArchesNational Park. After a mile and a half hike in the brightening sky, we reached Delicate Arch, which is one of the most famous arches and can be seen on the Utah license plate. About 5 minutes after we got there, the sun poked over the horizon. It wasn't visible THROUGH the arch, but it was pretty sweet regardless.
By 7am, we were back to the car. We stopped at the gas station and to the grocery store for bagels and cheese. Back at Tim's house, we finished our eggs by making egg and cheese sandwiches. We relaxed around the house all morning, and at noon went downtown to get Free Lunch. This was a program that volunteers run where they would collect food wastes from grocery stores, restaurants and gas stations, and serve a lunch to anyone who wanted it in the center of town. There were a lot of bums and tweekers there to eat, but also kids, young travelers and single parents. It was a really nice thing to see people from all walks of life lining up together for a bite to eat.
None of us really slept much the night before, so we cat napped through the early afternoon. Tim had to go into work in the afternoon, and we planned on going out and seeing canyon lands, but by the time he left and we got some errands done in town it was getting late. Instead we just hung out at the house and enjoyed the easy life. Some Latkes for dinner and we were asleep by a decent hour.
Fri, May 22 – The day earlier, Tim's roommate Joe had asked us if we could babysit his son for a few hours that evening for some extra cash. We gladly accepted the job, but then Tim found out he had the day off. No matter though, we still had until 4pm.
We got out around noon, stopped down at the free lunch again for some good grub, then hit the Colorado river canyon. We had a list of geocaches loaded, and the first stop was Negro Bill's Canyon to see a Natural bridge and hike the canyon. After finding the one cache and seeing the natural bridge, we were already almost out of time. We weren't able to even go down the side canyon to another cache because it was getting so late.
We pulled in at 2 minutes after four. Joe was a little worried, but very happy that we showed up. He was soon out the door and we were alone with Little Joe, age 3. We asked him if he wanted to go to a couple parks and do some "treasure hunting." Of course he said yes.
We went to the Moab Rottery park, which was a really amazing park with a big section of it devoted to xylophones. A dozen or more were set up, each made of different materials. We played some music for a while, then found a cache in the park. Walking a half mile along a bike trail, we found two more. Joe was loving the hunt!
One last stop at another park for a final find, the rain had started to pick up. After quickly signing the log, we headed to the grocery store for some supper ingredients and went back to the house to cook Joe something. We made some delcious chicken salad and more Latkes, even better than the first round the night before. After dinner, Joe played some video games and put himself to bed.
His mom came to get him by 10 pm, and we stayed up til around midnight having just a couple more rounds of drinks.
Sat, May 23 – We had spent our time great in Moab. The town is so chill and revitalizing after spending so much time in the desert. We hadn't done much, but knew we had to make at least one trip into Canyonlands for a good hike. Tim had to work today, but was going to try to get Sunday off so we could do something good.
We all got up at a decent hour and decided to go do the caches we had missed the day before down the river. We spent the next few hours going on short hikes along the river, climbing rocks and geocaches all the way to CastleValley.
Tim went to work, and we told him that we would probably go hiking the next morning, but we would check in before we left to see if he got the time off. He went off to work and we headed to see Tyne's friend Adam we was randomly in town biking. We drove down to his condo to see him, and I soon left to go and pick up a Storage unit for the top of the Van that I had found on Craigslist.
I got all lost and annoyed while trying to find the place, and I finally gave up. Not wanting to come all the way back out to Adams place and endure small talk with strangers while being pissed off, I parked behind a Days Inn and passed out.
Sun, May 24 – I woke up in a pretty bad mood, but did all I could (and succeeded) to make it better. I stopped at the Days Inn lobby for some coffee and breakfast, then drove down to the library for internet access and shade. I did some writing and thinking and started to plug in a couple of nearby geocaches when Tyne called. Adam and his friends were going on a 24 mile bike ride and they were leaving then, so where should she get dropped off at.
She came to the library and we tried to plan the day. I wanted to do an 8.4 mile loop in Canyonlands and do a couple other shorter hikes. Before leaving, we went back to Tim's house to see if we could leave Dazey there for the day and woke up Tim to see if he had the day off. By a stroke of god, he did have it off! The three of us were driving into the National Park by about noon.
After passing Arches and seeing a half mile line to get in, we got a little worried. It was Memorial day weekend, and as we pulled into the parking lot there wasn't a single spot open. We had to drive back nearly a quarter mile down the road to find a spot on the shoulder. Walking to the trailhead, the sign read, "Upheaval Overlook - 0.3 mile. Upheaval loop 8.4 miles. After turning onto the longer trail, there wasn't a single person. Everyone was there to see the overlook, not experience it fully.
The trail started by descending almost 2000 feet sharply, dropping us into a huge canyon about halfway down to the Green River. At the base of the cliffs, the trail followed a sandy wash gently downhill until we reached the halfway point. There was another trail intersection here, and we stopped for some fruit and water. A couple hikers passed us, proving that we weren't ALONE out here, but nearly. Under the ledge we sat on was some mud, a rarity in the desert. The past couple of days had given enough rain for the washes to run down some of the canyons.
We continued up another sandy wash, slowly rising into a vertical walled canyon. There was actually a little running water in the canyon here, and pools began to get bigger and more appealing as we went up. Finally the temptation was too much to take. We had found a perfect pool and proceeded to strip down and dip into it. Amazing! The sweat washed right off, cooling us instantly. A couple of there hikers walked by with a surprised look on their face. Haven't you ever seen someone swim before?
After drying off, we continued up the increasingly difficult trail. We were really headed uphill now, and took a minute to try to climb up a crack running up a wall. We made it most of the way, but soon realized that following it more would put us just over a big cliff edge. We quickly gave up on that side adventure.
The skies had been getting more and more dark all day, and now hell was letting loose. The wind picked up, the rain started falling and before long, hail was also in the mix. We jogged a quarter mile until we found an overhang, where we stopped for some food and to wait out the storm. After a couple cold Latkes and pretzel rods, we watched the rain slowly stop, then continued on our way.
We had a cold beer waiting for us at the car. We sat on the side of the road and rubbed our feet and drank the beer. It was starting to get late, but not dark yet, so we stopped at one more short hike. Mesa Arch is a half mile loop taking you to an amazing arch perched at the edge of a cliff. The view was amazing, but don't get too close to the arch because you can drop off the cliff on this side. We climbed over the arch and took some pictures. There were a lot of tourists hanging out and coming by, so we quickly moved on.
Coming back into town, Tim pointed out that you could see "The Windows," in ArchesNational Park a dozen miles across the desert. The Windows are matching arches nearby each other, and I could easily see why they called them the Windows.
We stopped at the market for some dinner, chicken wings, potato salad and cheese and went back to Tim's house to eat. Little Joe was there, and kept stealing and eating my wings. After we ate, we said goodbye to Tim's housemates and the three of us headed over to Adams condo. They were having a party on their last night in Moab. Just as we arrived, the rain started coming down lightly again. We put a couple logs in the fire and said screw it. We stayed up a couple hours, talking around the fire and drinking. Eventually, I got tired and went back to the van with Dazey for the night.
Tues, May 19 – In my dream, I was eating something very gritty. Then I realized I really was eating something gritty, woke up and spit out some sand. The wind had continued all night and the blanket I was sleeping on was half covered in a sand dune. The sun was still down, and I watched it rise from my sandy bed.
I got the camp cleaned up and got into the van. Tyne was still sleeping, (it was still before 630) so I just started driving to the arch trailhead. Dogs weren't technically allowed, but the trailhead was bare, so we took her with us. The trail was pretty level, and the sun didn't peak over the canyon walls until most of the hard hiking was done. The arch was really beautiful, and to have it before anyone else that morning was great. We took some pictures and started back to the car. It wasn't until we were more than half way back before another person passed us heading to the arch.
Driving west out of the park, we came to the town of Hanksville and tried the grocery store again. No artichokes, but they had some deals and we got some canned mushrooms and mandarin oranges.
The next stop was GlenCanyon and LakePowell, which is a huge lake made from damming the Colorado River. We slowly wound down to the lake and stopped at an overlook. The sign said that water was pretty muddy and smelly, and we really didn't feel like we wanted to swim in it. There wasn't really any good access anyways, so after crossing the DirtyDevilRiver, we began the long drive back up from the deep canyon.
Tyne fell asleep and I was getting tired myself from the early morning, but before long we arrived at another National Monument, "Natural Bridges." This park was pretty small, the loop was only 9 miles long and had viewing of three Natural Bridges. We stopped and looked at the overlooks of them, but didn't feel like climbing all the way down into the canyon to look at them closely. We also did a short hike to an overlook of another 700 year old Indian ruins. My stomach was hurting so we didn't stay too long.
On the road again, we stopped and checked out two more sets of ruins. Indian ruins are all very difference, but a lot of the architecture and pottery are similar. The second ruins required a mile and a half hike to get to, and although it was hot, there were a lot of scattered clouds to help block the sun now and then.
Finally we came to another junction. There were a lot of cars again, real grocery stores and fast food chains. We finally bought our artichoke in Monticello and continued on another 30 miles to Moab through the first rain in about a month, since Katy Texas. The electric storm was amazing, with red rock canyons and snow capped mountains in the distance.
Coming into Moab, we were tired of driving and just wanted to relax and find camp for the night. Before heading to the woods, we went to the library to get internet and was able to get a hold of my buddy Tim who lives in town. We met him at the restaurant/bar he works at (Eddy McStiff's) and he gave us directions to his house.
We relaxed indoors, made dinner (artichokes, spaghetti-o's and garlic bread) and enjoyed ice water and TV while we waited for Tim to get out at Midnight. At 11pm, I was half sleeping on the couch when Tim walked in with a 12 pack.
We ended up staying up until after 4am, drinking the beer and some Black Velvet. The three of us walked up a hill overlooking the town and looked at the little resort town of Moab and the stars. We drank and talked and philosophized until nearly dawn.
Mon, May 18– I hadn't slept very well. The van was parked on uneven ground and I was tossing and turning all night. Tyne heated up some water and washed herself and I had a very strong cup of coffee. We discussed the goals for the day, go to town (if Torrey was big enough) and get internet, groceries, water and advice on what to see down the road. Coming to the junction, we were happy to see Torrey was large enough to support more than one gas station and hotel.
Noticing a Days Inn advertising an excellent breakfast, we pulled in. I walked into the lobby and saw a big breakfast set up with barely anyone eating. I put some waffle batter on the iron and went back out to tell Tyne to come in. Pretending we were guests, we sat down to a superb breakfast of waffles, bagels, yogurt, coffee and juice. We also grabbed some nutria-grain bars and condiments for the road.
Another half mile into town, we turned in at a sign for free Wi-Fi. Tyne was using the internet for some necessary correspondence, so I went into the hotel we were parked in front of and used the bathroom. I went up to the front desk and asked advice on which route I should take to Moab, even though I knew which way would be better. Then I went into the breakfast room and grabbed a box of Frosted Flake and a couple little bags of Granola.
The grocery store was a disappointment, with a tiny produce section and prices still near double, we just pressed on. We stopped at the gas station and topped off at $2.33. Tyne went into a visitor Information office to get maps and advice, and after a few minutes waved me and Dazey inside so the ranger could give her a treat. He was really nice, made some great suggestions and even let us fill up our water in the delicious and cold water faucet outside.
We were only a dozen or so mile from CapitalReefNational Park, but we stopped for a little hike and geocache. There were three to find on the edge of a cliff, which we later learned was the waterpocket that makes the reef in the park. The first one was easy, 500 feet from the car. We hiked up the cliff along herd trails. We stopped at a tree covered with amber and got some of the biggest pieces yet. Continuing up the hill, we lost the trail and continued towards the cache.
After a while of hiking, we came to a 3 foot log of petrified wood that was balanced on a rock. It was nearly too heavy to even lift, and we think it had naturally been left like that. A few more paces and we came to a field of mica. The white stone shimmered at us as we trudged on up the hill.
Finally, we came to a cliff that was 30 feet high. There wasn't really any way up, so we continued along the edge trying to find a good route. We couldn't find anything and the cliff was only getting higher. Discouraged, we gave up on the cache.
Starting to climb down, I looked up and suddenly a route opened up to me. We were soon up on the edge of the cliff, (Dazey included) and were only a few hundred feet from the cache. After another find and rest in the shade of a rock overhang, we walked a little further to a supposed petrified wood field.
Sure enough, there was a lot of petrified wood on the ground. We collected a few pieces and decided not to go up to the third cache, which was still a long ways up. It was just too hot! We started back to the car and realized we didn't know how to get back down. After walking a ways, we finally found a way down, but not before crossing the ridge line of huge piles of gravel. The sandy rock was several difference colors, and it felt like we were running across the rainbow as the shaded changed below us.
Driving into the park, the cliff to our left that we had climbed on grew and grew. We stopped to see the panoramic view (decent) and the "Gooseneck" (Very cool – top view of a very windy creek deep in a canyon.) We drove into the historic Fruita district, which in the early 1900's was a Mormon village and orchards. Being at the intersection of two perennial rivers, the town site has been inhabited by Indians long ago, and then more recently by these Mormons. The blacksmith, schoolhouse and several farmhouses are still standing.
We drove down the scenic road south along the "Reef." At every turn, the view was breathtaking. We passed Fern's Nipple (obvious shaped mountain point) and The Egpytian temple, (side of cliff that looked like an ancient temple) and to the end of the pavement. Continuing down a dirt road into a canyon, we drove several more miles enjoying the views, got to the end, looked at each other and turned around with a shrug.
On the way back up to Fruita, we were going to stop and do a short hike in a large canyon called Grand Wash. However, the clouds were beginning to get dark and we could hear rumbles of thunder in the distance. The road turning into Grand Wash had a sign warning that the road turns to a raging river during rain, and if storms were threatening to not drive down it. We stopped and waited for a few minutes. Dazey found and ate a soft pretzel.
One last stop before we left the stop, a short walk along a cliff on a boardwalk. They weren't pointed out, but along the boardwalk were lots of pictographs. We slowly walked the trail, spotting ancient art and speculating what each of them signified.
We wanted to go on a two mile hike out to an arch, but it was getting late and we wanted to find a good campsite along and river and take a bath. We drove out of the park, took a right onto BLM land, and started looking. Being a little selective this time, we finally found a nice sandy spot along a creek. I walked down to the water planning on building a dam to take a bath in, and to my surprise one was already built. Instead of 4 inches of running water, I had a pool a foot deep.
An hour later, I had deepened the pool to two feet and I was cooled off and refresh. Tyne came into the water as well, and the two of us diverted the stream from one channel to another upstream, just playing in the water more or less.
As the sun dropped, it got cooler and we got hungry. We made some white rice and Vienna sausages, then poured in some maple syrup, oriental ramen spices, and hot sauce for a Asian sweet and spicy flavor. As bad as it sounds, it was amazing! It started getting really windy after we ate and the clouds weren't going away, but I decided to sleep outside anyways. I lay a blanket down in the sandy rut in front of the van, then got in my sleeping bag on top of it. It was very comfortable and I passed out in minutes.
May 16/17 - Grand Staircase Ecalante National Monument
Sat, May 16 – It was later than planned when we finally got moving. Tyne made some oatmeal and we shared a can of mixed fruit as we emerged from the National Forest and back towards Rt. 12.
The plan for the day was to go to Escalante, the biggest town from here to Moab and plan out a couple days hiking and sightseeing. We were going to get groceries, wi-fi and maybe catch a shower. As we were coming into town, a state park caught our attention on the right hand side. The Escalante Petrified forest enticed us to stop. As we pulled in, a lake appeared on the left and a ranger came up to the van with a smile and hello.
The fee for entrance to the forest was $6, more than we really could spend today. We talked to the ranger and he gave us some great ideas on what to see in the next few days. Tyne thought he was from Minnesota because he said "road" funny, but he turned out to be just a "Utah Boy" from Salt Lake City.
Thanking the ranger for his advice, he headed into the vistor center and we eyed the lake. It had been since Vegas since we had a shower, and we hadn't been to many bodies of water since then either. Tyne put on her bathing suit and jumped off the dock. I hesitated, but soon joined her, the old fashion baby step, gasp as you go method. The water was frigid, but very refreshing in the heating sun.
Escalante turned out to be tiny; two gas stations, one grocery store and a couple hotels and gift shops. This town was among the last in the country to get reliable mail service. Even less than 100 years ago, milk and mail were brought in via the single mule that made the trip. Most of the mail had milk stains and most of the milk had turned to cream or butter, but it was the only option the townspeople had. We didn't have much luck wit our errands. We did find wi-fi, and stopped at the grocery store. Just crackers, white rice and tortillas costs us nearly 8 bucks.
We almost stopped at the visitor center to get maps, water, and a backcountry permit in case we ended up staying a night in the bush. Tyne had dozens of spots that she wanted to check out, but unfornuatly most of the good stuff was off of miles of dirt, sand and rock roads that only a 4x4 could access.
After a couple of failed attempts at getting to a good hike, we settled on Phipps arch, which the guide paper said was about 5 miles round trip. Parking at the crowded EscalanteRiver trail access, we started off downstream through a wide red slickrock canyon.
The trail followed the river, and once even had a ladder to climb to get over rocks that blocked a narrow pass to the river. Within a mile, we had come to our first river crossing. The water was almost a foot deep in places, but it felt great after hiking in the sun. Dazey enjoyed the dip as well and we continued down the canyon.
On the left we heard running water, but nothing appeared around the bend. Then we realized that the water was running underneath the canyon wall and coming into the river below us.
The trail was not marked, and there technically wasn't a trail from the river up the side canyon to the arch, but many people had come through and a herd trail was easy enough to spot and follow. When we reached the side canyon we knew it because most of the tracks headed upstream.
Walking up the wash a ways, we came to a smaller canyon on the right with tracks leading into it. Taking the trail, we soon passed a lone women who said the natural bridge was just around the corner. We found something, even if it was something we were't looking for. The NaturalBridge was a 20 foot hole on the river bed, that dropped down and provided a sandy shaded area underneath over 40 feet wide. Every time heavy rains come to this area, the wash runs and this little hideout becomes a swirling torrent of water.
Back to the main canyon, we continue upstream looking for this arch. The guidebook says its up a canyon on the left, then you have to rock scramble to get there. We see a dead trail layed up against the small opening to a canyon and we carefully climb up it. A half mile up this canyon, it's a dead end. Luckily, I had a geocache programmed in my GPS that was just 50 feet from the arch, so after a check there, I knew the arch was 800 feet to the south in the next canyon.
Getting kind of tired now, we drink some more water and try this last canyon. After a good walk in, it dead ends as well. Looking at the GPS, I saw that we circled the arch, and it had to be "up there" high on the canyon walls.
Dazey was getting really hot, so we rested for 10 minutes under a juniper tree before scaling another rocky hillside. It took almost half an hour to climb this last bit, and soon Phipp's arch appeared before us. It was huge, nearly 100 feet wide and 40 high, and as it was so hidden and far out here, we were really impressed. We ate a life giving orange, and headed back to the trail.
We were going to go on a second hike, walk in a few miles and camp on Sandy creek, but by the time we made it back to the car it was after 6pm. We drove down a few miles to Calf creek campground but it was totally full. The camp host suggested we drive 5 miles back into town, cross the cattle guard, hang a left and across another cattle guard. This would be BLM land, free to camp on and boasted some incredible views.
30 minutes later we were happy that we didn't stay at the crowded Calf Creek. This spot was pretty touch to drive up to, but with my skilled driving we were out and looking at the views in no time. We could even see the rock formations where Phipps arch was and the canyon that we walked up along EscalanteRiver.
We made white rice with refried beans, and mixed in some Vienna Sausages to try to finish them up. (Vienna Sausages mysteriously appear, we somehow had three cans of them and neither of us had ever bought a can.) As the sun set, we found a tree that had some of the biggest and best amber ive ever seen on it. We collected some and sat out in the cool air as the stars appeared.
I had my little tent set up in a sand dune not far from the car and Tyne took the van so she could write tonight. My head was so filled with thoughts and ideas that I couldn't sleep. I went back to the van and got my notebook so I could at least write down some of the thoughts that came to my head.
Sun, May 17– The sun woke me at 630 am, but after 20 minutes it was high enough to be blocked by the little juniper I was under. By 8am though, it had gotten too hot to bear so I got up and took apart my tent. I cleaned up the site, made a cup of coffee, and tried to wake Tyne.
"I slept like crap," she said, "Let me have 15 more minutes."
An hour later, I was sitting against a tree in the shade reading and Tyne was still sleeping. Finally I woke her good, saying that she asked for 15 minutes and its been already an hour and 15.It wasn't til after 10 when we left the site, and the sun was already blazing hot.
Our destination for the day was LowerCalfCreekFalls. It started at the campground we had been at the night before, and followed the creek 3 miles up the canyon to a year round waterfall standing over 100 feet high. The trail was very hot and sandy, but had access here and there to the creek so it wasn't too bad.
We passed by ancient granaries that were used 800 years again by Indians storing their grains, and also spotted some pictographs on the wall of the canyon on the far side. Finally we reached the cool and shaded waterfall oasis. We waded into the water and slashed it on our faces. Dazey drank all she could while Tyne and I shared some saltines and cheese spray.
Starting back, we found a cache a few hundred yards downstream from the waterfall, not far from the trail but high up the side of the canyon, all the way to the vertical west wall. The view of the waterfall was great, a view that most people don't even know is possible. Dazey and I ran down the slope, "surfing" on loose gravel and jumping back onto the trail just as two foreign tourists hiked around the corner. They looked pretty surprised to see us appear from a steep embankment.
The sun beat down on us pretty badly on the way back and Dazey was really starting to feel it. She would go from shady spot to shady spot, and eventually just sat down under a pinion pine and refused to budge. Even with lots of cool water, she took awhile before she was able to continue. I carried her over my shoulders for a while and she liked that, but after 100 feet she jumped down when she spotted a lizard in the bush. When we reached the creek again, I pushed Dazey in and to her annoyance, splashed her until she was soaked. I think she was a little mad at first but she quickly regained the energy she needed to get back to the Nar.
The Escalante area and Grand Staircase had treated us well. Driving north towards Boulder, Utah we drove up onto a narrow ridge with drop offs on both sides of the car. At one point, the ridge was only was 10 feet of ledge on both sides f the narrow two lane highway, with sheer canyon walls dropping hundreds of feet straight down into the shadows. The name of this feature was Hogsback, and the road had been built on it in around 1935 at a high cost. The nickname of the road that allowed mail service to Boulder was The Million Dollar Road."
Just as we came into Boulder, we turned onto an off-road to find a couple geocaches and check out a SlotCanyon that was suggested to us. A mile or two down the road, we stopped at the "Sugarloaf" to find a geocache. The huge rock formation was white, and looked kind of like popcorn with "bubbles" to cracked rock protruding in places. We climbed a fraction of the way up and found the ammo can. It didn't look like we got very high in perspective to the entire "loaf," but it was high enough to get us sweating.
Continuing another eleven miles down the scenic road, we came to the slot canyon. It was pretty short, but instead of a dusty, hot and little vegetated landscape, we walked into a very narrow canyon that was filled with tall shade trees and had an "other worldly" vibe. The ground was cool, soft sand and there wasn't anything sharp, unpleasant or ugly. This little haven was amazing. We looked forward to CanyonLandNational Park and the more impressive slot canyons that awaited us there.
We had intended on stopping at a grocery stop to buy an artichoke and some other food, but Boulder had nothing but a gas station/general store. Prices were double to what you would pay in a normal town, so we decided to just go with Mac N Cheese for dinner. We did buy a beer though, a "Captain Bastard's Oatmeal Stout," which was a very heavy and delicious dark microbrew. We sat outside of AnasziState park and drank in sitting in some lush grass. Being in Utah, beer is only 3.2%, but it was delicious anyways. We tried to get into the park to see the ruins, but they wanted $6 apiece.
It was getting late in the afternoon, so we made plans to camp in Dixie Forest Again. Driving into the mountains north, we drove into birch forest high on the mountain. The pass was 9600 feet, the highest we had driven at so far in the trip. After the pass there were a lot of turnoffs to good camping areas, but the roads on them were all torn up. We had to turn around a few times, but finally we found a good spot while pulling over to look at a view. It was a slow drive in and out because it was pretty rough, but we had a large camping area all to ourselves.
We made a small fire, keeping it very small because of the gusting winds and abundance of dry pine needles. Tyne cooked up some Mac N Cheese and I added a can of crab meat to my half. It wasn't all too great, but a change from the normal low grade noodle and processed cheese sauce. Tyne set up her Tent and did some typing while I sat out and read for a while.
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Fri, May 15– The tent was super comfortable. It was a little cold, but we cuddled and had plenty of blankets. We were also shaded, so the morning sun didn't wake us at dawn. It was after 10am when we finally emerged from our chambers.
Heading out of the National Forest and towards BryceCanyon, we drove near the CedarBreaksNational Monument without realizing how close we were. A few hours later, we noticed and kind of wished we had backed up and seen it.
No matter though, after gasing up and refilling our water in Panguitch, we headed back uphill into some beautiful red rock canyons and into another section of DixieNational forest. Within half an hour, we pulled into BryceCanyon.
You don't hear much about Bryce canyon, and it is quite far off the interstate, but the park is amazing. The main feature of the canyon are the hoodoos, which are tall tower like rock formations that crowd the canyon.
Stopping at one of the main attractions, Sunset point, we marveled at the colors and breathtaking views of the canyon and hoodoos. Dazey wasn't allowed down the trail into the canyon, but we walked a mile along the canyon rim to Sunrise point, another amazing view.
We drove down the 18 mile road and stopped at half a dozen other viewpoints. Each was more outstanding than the last. Finally reaching the end of the road, we were at over 9000 feet and had a great view south and east, all the way to Arizona south and across the Grand Staircase to the east.
After a romp around the overlooks, we headed back towards the exit. Stopping at inspiration point, we climbed a couple hundred feet up a steep trail for one last incredible view. Bryce canyon blew my mind away; it was much better than I had imagined. Then again, we were in Utah now.
After talking to the ranger in the visitor center and failing to get good advice on what sights we couldn't miss, we headed up into DixieNational Forest again to find camp for the night. After turning back a few times on roads that were too rough, we found one that wound up into some junipers, but no camping spots off the dirt road. After several miles, we disappointingly said, "1 more miles and we will turn around." Exactly one mile later, a barely visable but rockfree road opened up on the left. A few hundred yards down it and we were on the edge of an overlook and into the broad valley beyond it. Just as we were goin to turn around, a firering and camp site appear, just as we needed it.
Scouting out the area, we found some amazing "painted" rocks in the wash. Tyne set up her tent while I beamed in the fact that I was going to get the van to myself in this cool and shaded forest. We cooked prepackaged pasta alfredo on the grill and made tea. Hot drink in hand, we then walked back up to the overlook and sipped tea while the sun set. I got overexcited and climbed the butte to the top, with no payoff. Tyne and I watched as the sun slide in between whisps of clouds and away from our view.
Thurs, May 14– 4 am, I woke up shivering. I was only sleeping with a light blanket, and the chill was really setting in. I grabbed my sleeping bag and passed out again.
645, Tyne woke me up. "Let's go," she said, "We are supposed to get an early start today."
It was barely after 7am, and we were on the road to Zion. I stopped and bought a cup of coffee, but it didn't wake me up too much. Just before Zion, we pulled into the Library, found a quick geocache, and then emptied the car and repacked. We kept thinking of things we had lost, and promised to be more careful. Tyne went into the library to use the internet, while I stayed outside with Dazey and picked up Wi-Fi in the shade. We got a lot done, most of the items checked off our 15 point check list. It was time to drive into Zion.
Passing through the gates, the park was very full. The lots were full, the campgrounds full, and I wasn't happy about the crowd. We started making our way up into the valley. We passed through a mile long tunnel through the rock, then another and winded our way up the canyon. Miles later, we went through an entrance to the park. Confused, we looked at the map and realized we had driven out of the park.
Turns out that in the summer, the only way you can get into ZionValley is on a shuttle bus. We were supposed to leave our car in a lot and get driven through the park. This was miles back now, and I was pissed and tired. I turned onto a side street and told Tyne I had to lay down because I was stressed and couldn't drive anymore. I lay in the back and Tyne took the wheel for the first time.
I closed my eyes but didn't fall asleep. I just breathed and calmed down while Tyne drove. She didn't turn back to go into the park again, which I was happy for. She headed for DixieNational Forest to our North East.
Twenty minutes of Tyne driving, I sat up and looked around. We had driven way up into the hills and were in some very pretty birch and pine forests. Every hundred yards was another dirt road winding into the forest, revealing gems of camping spots. Tyne turned onto one, and we drove down road after road looking for a good spot.
Nothing too great came up, so we parked and decided to take a walk and decide what we wanted to do. We marked the van with the GPS, and aimlessly headed up the hill. After 20 minutes of walking, we turned to go back, but lost our way. We circled back around and got completely disoriented. Tyne finally found 6 cut stumps and christened them "landmark stumps." She knew the way from here and were soon back at the van.
We had seen what was around the van, and it was beautiful but we wanted something more. Running water or a cliff face or something fun. We drove another few miles and turned down another backroad towards an exposed rock cliff face. Driving by a smaller road, it looked good and we drove in. There were three fire pits back here and enough room to throw a kegger. We stopped for the night here.
The first thing we did was some yoga and crunches. We centered ourselves, relaxed and made ourselves feel great. Then we collected some firewood and set up the big tent, with all the blankets for extra padding and warmth. We then cooked an amazing dinner as the day ended; Broccoli Cheese rice mixed with fried potatoes and mushrooms, a can of cream of chicken soup and a can of tuna all mixed together.
I had been feeling pretty crappy during the days leading up to this night. Tyne and I had a good talk, drank some whiskey and I began to feel better. Writing this three days later, I still feel good and hopefully it stays this way.
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Tues, May 12 – I had slept in my little tent, and as soon as the sun hit the horizon, I was up. We were hoping it was going to be cooler today as we coasted down the hill into Vegas.
Vegas is always under construction. It is one of the fastest growing metropolitans in America, and the Casinos are constantly being torn down and rebuilt. The road we came in on was being widened to accommodate the apartment complexes and fast food restaurants that were also being built.
Coming to the strip, we drove down it past the Casino Megaresorts. The Luxor, MGM Grand, New York, New York, The Bellagio, The Wynn, Circus Circus, and Treasure Island just to name a few. We pulled into a parking lot in the shade of a tall hotel and found a Wi-Fi hot spot.
Checking the weather forecast, it was to be 95 today in Vegas and up to 100 degrees at Lake Mead. None of the couch surfers that we had emailed worked out, so we didn't have anywhere to stay. Sweaty, hot and dirty, we decided to get a cheap hotel and spend the night in luxury.
Checking out Vegas.com, we found rooms as low as $18/night!! However, since we had Dazey, we had to find a place that allowed dogs. The cheapest hotel that worked for us was the Boulder Station Casino and Resort, at $29.95.
An hour later, we pulled into Boulder Station. They didn't have our reservation, and told us it may not come through until 3pm. (check-in time) Annoyed, we did a few errands, Wal-Mart, smoke shop and thrift shop and then called Vegas.com. Somehow the reservation was put under my name, not the credit card holders, Tyne.
Back to Boulder Station, they DID have us, and we check in. All the way up to the 8th floor, all the way down the hall, it was a long walk but so worth it. To be able to sit in a chair with a nice desk and work on my laptop was great, especially doing it in my underwear. Television was nice at first, but even after going without for a month, it got boring after 20 minutes. We took showers, relaxed and unwound.
I had saved some of the doggy sedatives from when she broke her leg, and I thought tonight was the night to use one. Giving it to her with some peanut butter, Dazey got sleepy quick. She laid down for a nap, and we drove to the strip to see the sites.
We parked at the Hilton, which turned out to be several blocks from the strip still. We walked into a dead end, and jumped the fence into a constructions site. We were apprenhended by security within seconds and told to walk out "that way." "That way" was by another 4 guards, who all needed to know where we came from and what we were doing. Finally we got out of there and onto the strip.
It was hot so we bought a cold beer and started walking. Exploring the city from casino to casino, we drank some $1 margaritas and bought t-shirts for family back at home. Vegas is overstimulation central. Everywhere you look there is a deal or a bright shiny light or something else to make you say wow.
I wasn't feeling too good, so we left after a few hours and headed back to the hotel. Dazey had been really good, so we took another quick shower, and headed down the street to get the Advertised $3.29 steak, egg, toast and hash browns at Arizona Charlies.
After we pulled in, I knew I had been there. Joe Drago and I went there two and a half years before and got the same thing. Tyne signed up for a card (required for the deal) and we sat down.
For three bucks, you cant expect much. The service was excellent; quick, friendly, attentive. The eggs, toast and hash brown, amazing. The steak was tasty, a little chewy but for the price, an unbeatable meal. I gambled away $5, the only money I spent on gambling in Vegas.
After the awesome meal, we drove down to the strip to see it lit up. The traffic was unbearable because of another road work project that turned 5 lanes into 2. We struggled through and headed back to the hotel.
Sleep was great. A real bed, clean sheets, curtains and ice water! Such a treat compared to our normal living conditions.
Wed, May 13– We woke up relatively late, around 9am. For an hour we lay in our beds, basking at the joy that is a hotel room. Finally, we got up and started getting ready. It wasn't until quarter to noon when we actually left. It was hot as hell again, and our plan was to go to the Hoover dam and then camp on Lake Mead.
The Hoover dam was a disappointment. Its smaller than it looks on TV, and more crowded that I could understand. With the temperatures hovering around 100, the dusty dam was not where I wanted to be. We got our pictures, and sped away to the solitude of Lake Mead.
Presenting our park pass to get into Lake Mead free, we drove by the crowded campsites and beaches that dotted the first few miles of shoreline. We wanted to drive a little bit, then find a secluded campsite on the lake. This wasn't going to happen. The road had decent views OF the water, but not much access to the water. The only places we found were pay sites a mile up from the water. No running water, barely any shade, and filled with sweaty tourists. We drove on.
Coming out of the park, we stopped at St. Thomas Cemetary to find a geocache. The cemetery was originally located downriver, but when the hoover dam was built, the headstones were relocated so they wouldn't flood. The road down to the cemetery reminded me of a horror movie, but the cemetery was nice, tucked away back there.
Reaching the interstate, we sped through the last bit of Nevada and into the Northwest corner of Arizona. Driving up an amazing canyon with the Virgin River flowing under us, we came into Utah. The temperatures were finally getting back to a comfortable level as we came into St. George.
Grabbing some gas, we tried to find the road leading to the National Forest. All we found were newly built developments on the hillside. Asking a couple of guys on bikes how to get there, they said that they blocked the road now because too many people were dumping up there, but they knew of a good place to camp nearby.
Thirty minutes later, we were at a campsite in RedRockCanyon. We had driven north to Leads, right, right and then right again under the single lane bridge under the highway. This led up to a little canyon, brilliantly red, with a spring giving some water and vegetation a chance.
Our site was ok, it was right next to a group of high school age kids repelling down a cliff face. They were noisy and annoying while we cooked dinner, but we ignored them for the most part. We ate a dinner of Alfredo pasta, and split an artichoke, a kiwi and an orange. Tyne set up her tent and I worked on writing in the car. As the sun set, most of the people, including the annoying rock climbers left. We fell asleep in peace.
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Monday, May 11– Down we went, from nearly 8000 feet, down into the town of Bishop. At noon we came into the town of Bishop, and at over 4000 feet, it was already 88 degrees. It was going to be a hot day in Death Valley.
Continuing to drive downhill, we turned off at LakeOwens at headed into the National Park. Lake is an overstatement. Like many of the lakes in Nevada and this part of California, the water had run dry years ago.
We continued into the park and started climbing the first of many mountain passes of the day. Driving up through Joshua trees, we summated at 4900 feet, and began to wind down into the Valley. At the first pull off with a view we stepped outside and were blasted with heat. Looking over the canyon leading down into the valley, we were suddenly surprised when a jet dropped down from the sky and flew into the canyon. A few seconds later it reappeared on the other side of the valley. As we left, another jet pulled the same maneuver.
We found a cool dirt road leading to what we believed would be an amazing lookout, but the road was really bumpy. We turned around after a few dozen yards, thinking if we got a flat tire we would die out in the sun. The temperature rose above 100 degrees as we continued the last feet thousand feet into Death Valley.
Pulling into what we believed was the registration and park information to receive a map, I went inside to find myself in the wrong spot. This was the Xanterra general store. Xanterra is the company that runs the concessions for the National parks. Don't let their association with beautiful places fool you. They are an evil corporation, and have even been ranked the number 1 worst employer. I had worked for them for two summer in Yellowstone, and they treated me as if I was a piece of meat. Eying the goods of the store, I noticed everything was double the price you would pay anywhere else. I headed back outside and noticed the thermometer on the side of the building reading 110 in the shade.
We pressed on, got maps from the real registration office, and headed down below sea level. Passing the Devils Cornfield, (grass clumps feet above the ground, the roots holding the structure together) we took a right and started heading south.
Deciding to try to take a little hike, we turned and drove down a long dirt road to Salt Creek, which is one of the only running water in the park. The only problem is it's just a trickle, and saltier than the ocean. Millions of years ago, this entire section of the country was a shallow sea. Pupfish were one of the dominant species. As the sea dried up, Pupfish have been retained in smaller and smaller areas. There is a sub-species of this pupfish that is surviving in this little creek.
As we walked the ½ mile trail along the creek, we could see the pupfish swimming. They used to be so big, and now they are reduced to inches. The hot sun beat down on us. We took off our shirts. The sun beat on our skin. Tyne's back starting blistering. Halfway through the hike, we had to turn back. It was too hot. The official temperature that day was 113 degrees.
Sweating even with the AC on, we continued to Badwater, which is the lowest point in the USA. At 282 feet believe sea level, this salt flat was as hot and desolate as Mercury. We took a couple pictures and rushed on to try to find relief from the blazing fire ball.
On the way out of the park, we stopped at the site of an old Gold Mill. 100 years earlier, the hardiest gold prospectors processed the ore right here in Death Valley. Money will make a man do some crazy stuff.
Finally heading uphill, we came to sea level, then up another 2000 feet. With the sinking sun and rising elevation, the temperature quickly dropped. We almost stopped at a hot spring campground, but figured that $16 was too much to spend on a crappy unshaded campsite, even though bathing in the hot spring was included in the price.
In the end, we drove another 50 miles into Nevada, and headed up into the National forest. With Vegas just over the hills, we found a decent campsite in the near dark and settled down for a quick night.
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Sunday, May 10 – I slept in my tiny one man tent, with see through tops and sides. I slept good next to the running water, and the view going to sleep was amazing. I was awoken though at some point before dawn from a nightmare. I don't really remember what it was about besides a skull coming to get me, but after I fell back asleep I dreamt I was telling someone about the skull dream. Weird how that works.
The road into Yosemite was as I would have expected, twisting up and up through pine forests. Suddenly a line of stopped cars appeared ahead. Stopping behind them, we speculated that it was a bear jam. Fifteen minutes, we arrived at The Yosemite National Park ticket booth. A line just to get in!
After showing our passes and entering, we were immediately disappointed that the entire Sequoia Grove area was closed. Continuing down a winding mountain road bumper to bumper with families from Fresco, we headed into the Yosemite Valley. We passed a wild fire on the side of the road, not too big, but who knows what could happen with a little wind. After driving by the flames, we entered a long tunnel and came out at a viewpoint of the valley, waterfalls, El Captain and the Half dome.
Trying to stop there for a picture took a few minutes. The 40 car parking lot was full and everyone was quick to steal a spot. Tyne jumped out to just take a quick picture and I was going to wait, but suddenly a spot opened up. Dazey and I got out and both our breaths were taken away. Mine taken by the scenery, hers by all the other dogs to say hello to.
Continuing down the valley, we attempted to stop at BridalVailFalls, but there was a line just to get into the parking lot! Another mile down the road, we stopped at the Cathedral beach picnic area, where we managed to find a spot and take a close look at El Captain and the swift YosemiteRiver. Dazey got into the water a little, but we dried her off with the doggy towel.
A few minutes later, we stopped at another picnic area with a bridge over the river. From the bridge you could see 3 waterfalls, and most of the canyon sights. We tried to walk from there to one of the waterfalls but a granite wall appeared in front of us and prevented us from getting close at all. This was probably about a mile or two, the best little walk we were able to get in for the day.
Down to the end of the valley, we went past the mostly closed campgrounds and headed back on the other side of the valley. We made a couple quick stops on this side, but we were planning on driving up to the mountain pass that runs west to east across the park, and find a good hike to do up there, away from the crazy tourist mob in the valley.
We made for the pass. Figuring this would be the last time we would have a chance to get gas for a long time, we topped off the tank at an incredibly high $2.82! A mile on the road up to the pass, a sign informed us that the road was closed 4 miles ahead! No way, we had to get over. 4 miles ahead, the road was indeed closed, so we looked at the map and decided to head back west and then north to another pass.
Leaving the park, we were mad that we filled up with such expensive gas, but we saw $2.99 and $3.10 at the next few spots, so we weren't too upset. As we were exiting the park, the ranger told us that the pass we wanted was still closed, and we would have to go even farther north! Reluctantly, we continued out and down out of the mountains.
We got to the town of Sonora at around 3pm. It was 84 degrees and hot. Topping the tank off again at the lowest price in miles, $2.33 we got water and attempted to get internet (to no success) and then again headed up into the hills.
From under 2,000 feet, we slowly climbed out of the heat and into The Stanislaus National forest. We pasted a state park advertising Giant Sequoias and continued to over 7000 feet. Up here the trees started to grow stunted and snow was making its comeback. By the time we reached the 8,314 foot pass, there were drifts of over 6 feet all over the place. We passed a half melted alpine lake, and then another that was completely frozen still with a cabin buried in snow as well. Towering SierraPeaks surrounded us in a winter dreamscape.
The other side was not nearly as wet. The snow quickly vanished as we twisted and turned down into ToiyabeNational Forest. After a few miles, we started to smell the brakes and took a 10 minute break. Dazey was anxious to get to camp and we were too. It was getting late and we wanted dinner.
A few minutes before 6, we came into a large pine forest and watched the terrain start to level out. Still up around 6000 feet, it was cool but not bad. Turning into a designated camping area, we found home for the night. We cooked some Cajun rice with Vienna sausages, a can of mackerel, and a can of peas and carrots. I thought it was awesome. Tyne had to open a can of Spaghetti-o's.
A strange atmosphere dropped upon the evening as the sun went down. Dazey was well aware of some animals in the darkness, and she didn't go to sleep for some time. Tyne slept in her tent, and I in the van. Both of us were haunted by scary dreams.
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Thursday, May 7– A cold morning and a slow start. Waking around 830, I look out of the tent to see a guy by the van. I looked again and it was a ranger filling out a paper and was about to slip it under my windshield. "what's up?" I ask just as he puts in on. Turns out we didn't display our camp receipt on the dashboard, but he was nice. We showed him we did have it and we put it on the board. He then said it was the most crowded it's been in the campground this season, and this was the first time there were no sites left. "Season's starting," he said with a shrug.
The animals don't appear to think the season is starting either. On the way to the bathroom 10 minutes later with Dazey, we ran into a coyote just 50 yards away. It looked at Dazey and Dazey at it, but neither made the implications of a fight. We walked on as it watched, then went back to eating garbage.
We made a breakfast of pancakes with syrup and strawberry jam, coffee and some coffee berry drink we got in VeniceBeach. Propane ran out on the third round, but we were already pretty full. It was 1030 when we left the campground and headed to the visitor center to catch a hot shower. It had been 9 days since we'd had showers, since Matt's in Phoenix. It felt so amazing; I almost had forgotten what clean feels like.
On to see Sequoia, we first climbed up Moro rock; a huge granite tower overlooking the south side of the park and a river valley thousands of feet below. We could see the high Sierra peaks just over the range, some of the snowcapped peaks over 13,000 feet. Dazey raced up to the top of Moro rock and looked like she enjoyed the view as well.
Continuing down the road, we stopped for a short walk to the "Dead Giant" and Huckleberry Meadow. The walk was short but we took Dazey because the trail was empty. The Dead Giant is exactly what you would imagine, a huge Sequoia that had died, burned, and only the bottom 75 feet or so remained.
Down the road, we pass under a fallen Sequoia that they had cut out partially so cars can drive under it. Reaching the end of the road, we went on mile hike to see Thwarps log. This log was naturally hollowed out and had fallen next to a meadow. A guy named Thwarp made the hollow log into a cabin and lived in it from around 1860 to 1890. A few hundred yards before we got to it, we heard a noise over to the right in the meadow. I jump forward and hide behind a tree to see if I can sneak up on the deer or whatever it was. Then Tyne said, "Oh Jay, come back."
Confused, I look around the tree into the face of a black bear about 50 feet away. It was small, probably only three years old, but looked pretty healthy and was not what I wanted to mess with. We hiked back a safe distance and watched it from up the hill. After amazing over the bear for ten minutes, we continued by the bear, only 100 feet farther up the hill from the trail.
After checking out Thwarps log, which was really cool, we pasted by the bear again. Some foreign tourists were amazed that we came so close to it. They were 500 yards away and were too scared to go closer. We encouraged them, "you can look but just get too close. Don't mess with him and give him room." They looked happy and shuffled 30 feet closer. Down the trail, we gleefully told everyone we passed that there was a bear up the trail.
We had been gone about 30 minutes. Dazey had to wait in the car because it was a crowded trail, and dogs were not allowed. Coming back to the car, we heard her howl again and knew she was upset with us. Getting into the car, we saw she had pulled down another chuck of the fabric and insulation from the roof. No longer is she allowed in the car alone! Driving back to the main road, we spotted another bear off to the left in another meadow. This one was not nearly as scary as we were in the car.
On the way out of the park, we stopped at the General Sherman Tree. It's the largest living object in the world. The base of the tree is about 103 feet around, over 40 feet in diameter. Its over 300 feet tall, 3000 years old and weighs over 2 million pounds. Standing with all the tourists, this tree is the focal point of the park, much like the Old Faithful is in Yellowstone. It was cool to see, but I prefer the backcountry secret spots to it any day.
Coming down out of the mountains, we pass through some more large Sequoia groves and into the SequoiaNational Forest. Instead of squeezing in a few more sites, we decide to find camp a little earlier that night. Asking for advice in the Kings Canyon Visitor center, we were recommended a few pull offs on the way up into KingsCanyon. We got a fire permit, firewood and cigarettes, and up to the hills we drove again.
Just a few miles back into the National forest, we see a small dirt road going up a hill. Following it a mile, we come to a decent campsite. Pushing on over the bumpy road we find one that is even better, but we decide to continue a little more. It crossed the top of the hill and starting down the other side, with a drop-off and a view of the Sierra Nevada's to our left. After another quarter mile, there was a bank of snow in the road three feet high.
Turning around, we went back to the camp on the hill. We took a few walks around the area, to the very top of our little mountain, and down into a small Sequoia grove. Dazey was running around like she had never run before. We sat down with the fire and had some incredible conversation. We told stories and shared feelings and became closer than ever. It wasn't until 1am when the fire died down enough that I shook Tyne awake. We got up off the blanket and headed to the tent. Although it was around 40 degrees, we were warm and super comfortable with all the blankets and padding.
Friday, May 8– I slept good, waking up around 9. I reflected on the night before as I read and ate some breakfast in the sun. I did some writing and cleaning as Tyne was still sleeping. Tyne got up around 10 and we lay out in the sun for an hour hanging out. We didn't feel like doing anything or going anywhere today. We decided to take the day off and relax.
We cooked grilled cheeses over a fire for lunch, and Tyne laid out more in the sun tanning. Dazey and I hiked around our spot, and I burned 50 ants with my magnifying glass. They were engaged in a war between two colonies so I killed all the fighting ants. After 10 minutes, the fight had ended and ants were running for their lives.
I finished reading 1984 and we cleaned out the van and reorganized. We wrote letters home and cooked hot dogs and a can of pork and beans over the fire. Watching the sun set, we enjoyed the fire and a couple of shots of Seagram's 7. A good day, very revitalizing and much needed. Off to bed at a decent hour under the cool mountain sky.
Saturday, May 9– I woke up at about 7am, just as the sun broke the horizon. Next to me, Tyne started moaning. She had burnt herself really bad the day before, and her time of the month came early. Plus she was dirty and had a deep cut in her foot. She was not a happy camper this morning. I also wasn't feeling all too hot. I had a headache and my stomach hurt.
We got over our morning ails and proceeded to packed up our campsite. It was still early morning when we started driving up into KingsCanyon. Starting at over 7000 feet, we wound down into the canyon. The views were breathtaking; towering snow covered granite peaks, canyons dropping for thousands of feet, and of course the swollen and overflowing Kings River.
We drove until we reached Grizzly falls. The 70 foot waterfall misted us with some fresh mountain water. This river starts high up in the Sierras and only a few people have made it to the source. The terrain is so extreme, and snowdrifts remain year round in some spots.
Turned around and driving back out of the canyon, we stopped atBoyle caverns, which turned out to be a disappointment as you had to buy tickets to take a guided tour. They even had an ice cream stand and gift shop, which seemed out of place so far from civilization. Welcome to California.
Tying to escape the tourist hot spots, we turned down a dirt road in search of the "Chicago Stump." After several miles on a bumpy road, we came to it. A giant Sequoia that had been cut down 100 years ago when logging was allowed in these parts. They cut over 1000 giant Sequoias over 10 years, and only left the largest standing in the entire grove. A sad story, but its good to hear that no Sequoia will ever be allowed to be cut down again.
One last stop in KingsCanyon, I went to see the General Grant Tree. Named the American Christmas tree, this living memorial is to remember all who died in wars. It's the second largest tree in the world after the General Sherman tree, and is even larger around the base! The trail took me through a nice grove of mature Sequoias, and reading the guide as I walked, I learned a lot about the giant trees. Dazey and Tyne waited in the car and ate candy.
Down we came, from over 7000 feet in the national park, to 4000 feet in the national forest, then under 1000 feet as we came back to irrigated fruit country. Palm trees and prickly pear made their appearance as we came into the town of Fresco.
We had planned this day out before hand, and the trip into town wasn't painful or long. We stopped and got gas ($30 @ $2.33) and Tyne bought tobacco. (cheapest yet - $2.99 for Bugle) We asked for directions to a laundry mat, and before long Tyne was doing loads while I worked on finding internet. I found connection nearby at an Elementary school, checked the weather, my e-mail and tried to find another couch surfer to stay with in Vegas. I filled up water for us from a water machine, and headed back to the laundry mat.
Tyne was done and we only had two more stops to make. Using Google at the internet hotspot, we found where a Wells Fargo was and where a Wal-Mart was and made haste to them. We deposited the check that Kirby had given us a few days earlier, then to Wal-Mart for some groceries, hair product, sandals and dog food. Satisfied with our quick trip to town, we put the last 4 hot dogs in tin foil, on the engine and then hit the road north.
We passed through some very interesting country. In one spot, I could see flat grasslands that looked like Kansas, Buttes that looked like Arizona, Shrubby canyons that looked like California, and snow topped mountains that look like they belonged in Colorado. We stopped at a McDonalds so Tyne could eat an Ice Cream that she was craving, ate our hot dogs from under the hood, and continued up into the SierraNational forest just outside of Yosemite.
Being that Yosemite is the most crowded national park in the country, and we were coming up into it on a Saturday, we didn't expect to find good camping. We were soon surprised though, that barely anyone primate camps in these parts. We turned down a dirt road and soon found a nice little spot next to a healthy flowing brook. Tyne called the van so I set up my little one man and we relaxed as the light slowly faded to black. Nearly a full moon tonight, if not so tonight then tomorrow for sure.
Tuesday, May 5 - The chill returned to the air that night. It wasn't COLD, but after days of heat, just a touch of winter remained here in the high country. We slept through the worst of it though, and woke well after sunrise. It was nearly 11 when we came down to the house and started working. We knew some of the stuff Kirby wanted us to do, so we got right to work.
He came out from his room around noon, and gave us directions for a few other things he wanted done. Tyne did a ton of laundry while I organized and sorted his back porch and camping stuff. Around three, he came out and asked if I could ride with him into town. He had a couple of errands to run and needed me to help carry some furniture. Tyne stayed at the house and did laundry while we were gone.
We left for town, heading down through Three rivers and into Vitalia. We stopped at a gas station for gas and he told me to pick out a drink and ice cream. I felt like a little kid, but had no complaints to free ice cream. We stopped at the bank and money order store, then picked up some furniture from the storage place and loaded it into the truck. It was a little hard to get it in, and I took us awhile of rearranging stuff before it all fit in. Our last stop was the grocery store, which was a very interesting place. It was like a Sam's club and a grocery store put together; lots of deals and big bags of stuff and a huge bulk food section. Finally, we left and headed back to Kirby's house just as it was getting dark.
Tyne had been a little worried, but happy to see us. She had the laundry done, kitchen and dishes clean, and most all of the work finished. We did a few more things for Kirby while he cooked us dinner. At 11, we sat down for a feast that blew our minds! The menu was barbequed baby back ribs, garden salad with strawberries, potato salad, an artichoke apiece, and a beer to wash it down. Then for desert chocolate malts, which was almost too much. It was after midnight when we finished eating.
He asked us if we wanted to do a second day of work, and we agreed to stay for another half day, then get into the park Wednesday evening. We headed up to our camp for a second night and slept great.
Wednesday, May 6 – I woke to a beautiful sunrise. The air was fresh, I was happy and life felt great.I filled the bath tub with cold water, and took a slow bath while watching the sun coming up over the mountains. I emptied the bath and refilled it for Tyne. I got her toothbrush, clothes and a towel ready, then woke her up and let her have a bath.
We came down to Kirby's house again around 11. We started working, finishing cleaning the house and getting stuff back together. Kirby heated up leftover ribs from the night before along with a whole roasted chicken. He stuffed ourselves again and then sat outside to let the food settle. Kirby wrote us two checks for $120 each, and gave them to us along with a few other things. He thanked us for coming when we did. He said that he was really stressed out from work and this was the first time he had not felt uptight and overworked. We met his friend Greg who randomly showed up. He was a pretty cool guy. We got some pictures taken and turned uphill into SequoiaNational Park.
The ride up into Sequoia was fantastic. We started at around 2000 feet in elevation, driving along the river valley. The entrance to the park was almost 3000, and we continued up to 4, 5, 6, and finally 7,000 feet! The temperature was 15 degrees cooler up here by default, and a strange and mystically tree grows up here; the Sequoia.
Sequoias are Redwood trees, but not the coastal variety. The coastal redwoods are taller and a little wider at the base, but Sequoias are special in that they have NEARLY the height and diameter of a Coastal, but the diameter stays fat almost all the way up. Most trees taper quickly, but these massive trees are the largest living organisms on the planet!
There are only a few dozen groves of these beasts in the mountains of California, and we were entering one of the largest. Giant Grove blew our minds as we passed trees 30 feet in diameter. It was getting late, so we headed to Lodgepole campground on a recommendation. The campsite turned out to be mostly closed because the snow was still present and melting. The few spots that were open were completely taken. We talked to an old couple that were spending the night in their RV on the edge of a large campsite and asked if they minded if we set up our tent 50 feet away from their vehicle. "Why not," he said.
We had camp set up before long and took Dazey on a little walk over the bridge of rushing water to the closed section of the campground. We were still full from lunch at Kirby's, so dinner was just a few Ritz crackers. We fell asleep in the tent listening to the rushing stream of snow melt.
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Monday, May 4– When we woke up we were in Hungry Valley National Recreation Area. We had driven through Malibu and north away from the coast. The landscape was hilly, but lacked vegetation and there were only a couple trees that we could see. Dirt bike and 4-wheeler trails criss crossed the land.
We went to start the van and noticed we had a flat tire. Thinking it wasn't too low, we tried to start driving to at least the paved road, but could only drive a couple feet before metal was grinding. Luckily, we had AAA and phone service, and within 20 minutes a tow truck was turning into our pull off. He was a nice guy, got us quickly attached and let Dazey Tyne and I ride up front with him. He towed it to the closest town, Gorman.
Unfortunately, Gorman was a tiny crappy town. The service center didn't have my tire in stock, (how can a tire place not have any tires?) but was able to do a patch job for $20. With our van moving again, we came down into Bakersfield to get some errands done.
Bakersfield is a black hole. I've heard this before. You get into town and everything looks the same. There are no easy ways to leave any of the shopping centers, and even when you finally try to leave, something happens and you get stuck again. We stopped into the grand opening of a grocery store, and walked into a zoo. The prices were great! We got some amazing deals, but was overwhelmed with people.
Finishing our business in town, we tried to hit the road. The familiar sound of metal scrapping stopped us again. The patch had already come off!
Hoping that it would last more than 20 miles, we had just bought a new tire at Wal-mart (worst Wal-mart ever) and were going to strap it on the roof for the next time we got a flat. Now we were in the middle of town, but somehow no where near an auto repair store. Tyne jumped out and asked someone where to go, and we were instructed to go just over the railroad tracks.
It seemed like miles, but we finally pulled into the service station. The guys in the bay watched as we squealed into the lot. Tyne did the talking, "We have a tire already and just need the tools to put it in." She worked her magic and the owner told her the job was on them. Sweet, a free flat fixed!
Finally leaving the black hole, we took a wrong turn and nearly came back into town. Straightened out once and for all, we passed through fruit country again and slowly make our way to the mountains in the distance.
The road leading into Sequoia is pretty impressive. Leaving behind the flat, hot and dry fields of central California, we rose into a green canyon with a river flowing down out of it. Passing a dam, the river gets backed up into miles and miles of artificial lake. Although it's not natural, it was still beautiful.
Looking for a spot to camp, we approach the entrance to Sequoia. We have a choice here; either drive into Sequoia tonight and pay for camping or turn down Mineral King road and try to find a spot up there.
Opting for the free choice, we drive up a windy road past summer cottages and small houses overlooking the valley. Miles pass and it doesn't look good. Seeing a guy parked on the side of the road, we stop to ask if he knows of anywhere good to camp.
"Well, there really isn't anything up Mineral King. And its closed 20 miles in. Well, I guess you could camp on my land if you would like. Yeah, let me show you what your options are."
He had us follow him another mile uphill to his house, a pretty nice one tucked away far from the road with an excellent view of the gateway to Sequoia. We followed him up to another flat spot up the hill from his house. The view was better, plus there was a water tower with a faucet with cold drinking water.
"The landlord put a tub up here I think," he muttered. "There it is!"
In the bushed was an old bathtub, a little old but nothing more than a little dirt on it. The man told us we could flip the bath tub and fill it with water if we wanted a bath in the morning. We were ecstatic. One of the coolest camping spots to date. The man introduced himself as Kirby and told us he had to go back to the house to make some calls, but he would be up in a little bit with a fire pit so we could have a fire.
While he was gone, we set up our tent and cooked some potatoes. I filled the bathtub and took a chilly bath in nothing but my birthday suit. What a crazy feeling it is to be scrubbing yourself outside in a bathtub with a view like this.
Before long Kirby showed up again, with lawn chairs, a fire pit and wood, sausage sandwiches and drinks. Although we had just eaten, sausage was too good to refuse. Tyne drank a bottle of wine that he gave her, and we each had a couple Wild Turkey and Cokes. We talked while the flames danced until a little after dark, when Kirby said he had to go and make some more calls.
Before he left us for the night, he asked if we were on a tight schedule, and if we wanted to make a little extra money, he had some stuff around the house that he would pay us for. We accepted his offer, and agreed to come and meet him in the morning to do some work.
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Saturday, May 2– Morning traffic woke us a little after 6am. The sun was just coming up as we were getting our wares ready for the day. We filled our arms and a bin with everything we needed, and walked down to the beach around 8am. Not knowing what the deal was with being a vendor, we just looked for an open spot and started setting up.
We were told that people rented out the spaces, but if they didn't come then pretty much anyone could set up there. This old Jamaican dude, Abraham told us that the spot we were in wouldn't work because it wasn't an official spot and that "God will show you the right spot to be in." He let us leave our box of stuff with his stuff while we searched for a spot.
Moving only another 50 feet down, we found a spot that wasn't taken yet near a water fountain and some benches. After being told that we had to wait until 9am before setting up or face a ticket, we relaxed on the grass. Tyne being a very friendly and pretty girl had already made friends with a lot of the local bums. One of them asked her for a cigarette and then he offered her some wine. We sat on the beach drinking wine and some brandy until 9 am.
The next spot over, a guy named Ram showed up and started setting up his stand of leather belts that he made. He also just "squatted" and didn't pay for a guaranteed spot. More and more of the local "bums" were showing up and we had developed into quite a crew. Besides Tyne and I, there was also Sean, Bob, Mike, Crazy old Bill, Sheryl, Viny, Julio and others. Mike gave us a big bag of pretzels and peanuts and we all shared and munched on some salty deliciousness as the streets started getting busy.
We started doing some business, selling some conch shells and hemp jewelry mainly. There are a lot of non profit groups that come to the people with food and feed the bums. A women handing out bagged lunches offered us one. It contained Vienna sausages, an entire envelope of Saltine Crackers, an orange, some cookies and a bottle of water. Everything was good until a lady told us we were in her spot.
It was pretty crappy, but we started to pack up our stuff. She watched us for a few minutes, then said to stop. They had two spots and weren't going to use it all, so she was really nice and offered to let us use about half of one of her spots. We just slide the blanket down, set up our goods again, and were ready to keep selling.
As the day wore on, we met a lot of interesting people and sold a bunch of stuff. Crazy old Bill showed up, an old hippy who didn't have much memory left. He had family in northern cali and had traveled his whole life, but his stories keep repeating. After an hour, he asked us to watch his beer then disappeared forever.
Tyne started making jewelry as an eye catcher and I did the same with my magnifying glass, burning designs into coins of wood. People stopped a lot and looked at us work, and we both ended up selling some stuff.
Then along came a fellow named Vinny. He was "an artist," but I think he was just a creep. He had on stained and dirty clothes and long hair neglected into half-dreads. He instantly took a liking to Tyne, and after awhile of talking, then took a walk down to the beach. Julio said what I had been thinking, "I don't like the vibe of that guy, what are his motives." So he took off on the bike to watch them from a distance to make sure Tyne was ok. They came back after awhile, and everything was cool.
After she came back, I took Dazey for a walk while she stayed at the blanket. By 5pm, it was about time to close down. We had made $58, not too bad for the day of hanging out. We packed up the stuff pack at the van, then treated ourselves to a slice of pizza and a small bottle of rum.
Venice beach closes down pretty quick. There was a drum circle and little dance party on the beach, but it was getting broken up as we approached it. We drank the rum and walked around, stopping outside a bar playing live music and listened for a while. We were all tired and planned on doing it again in the morning, so we said our goodnights and headed back to the van. It was pretty crowded in there, and noisy and bright in the city, but we managed to get a few hours of sleep in.
Sunday, May 3– It was super early again when we started getting our stuff together. We were a lot more prepared and organized today. The girl who had the two spots next to us had told us that she wouldn't be coming, so we could use the whole spot if we wanted.
At the beach, a lot of our friends were already there by our spot, getting free breakfast and bumming cigarettes off each other. We messed around with them until 9am, when we opened for business. We worked harder today, trying to make as much money as the day before in just a few hours of time. It was working too; Tyne making jewelry and me burning designs with the mag glass. We had a nice crowd gathered at points, and we kept getting free food all day long. Even Dazey was given a couple of cans of Alpo by a nice lady. (Her sign must have helped though, "My name is Dazey, I'm a nice Husky Hound. Please buy from my owners so I can eat good tonight.")
Vinny showed up again and started painting on a canvas. Most of the people on the beach were drinking, so Tyne and I said why not and had a few as well. Eventually a crazy looking man came up and talking to our friends. We were introduced to Kelly, who apparently is a famous surfer from Lords of Dogtown. The afternoon went by quickly as we met a lot more people and made more money. A guy from Solvay, NY gave me $10 just because I was from Syracuse and told me not to ever go back.
With help from several people, we got everything back to the van after we closed. We had made a total of about $80 over the day and a half, made a lot of friends and saw some really crazy stuff. Trying to get a few beers for a few bucks, we walked to 3 different stores, trying to find one that wasn't a complete rip off. Finally, get got them, went back to our spot and sipped on beers as it got darker.
I was getting pretty annoyed with Vinny and his creepy advances on Tyne, and finally said screw it, let her do what she wants. I took Dazey back to the van and we relaxed for a couple hours, wrote and napped. Tyne came by once to get a sweater, but soon disappeared back into the night.
Around 10, I couldn't sit around anymore. I took Dee down to the beach and looked at the few stars that the city allowed us to see and did some deep thinking. I was ready to go. The city was terrible. It was super crowded and filled with so many weird people; and not weird in a good way. Weird like you want to go and see the worm man at the circus, but not go back a second time. Most of the people that we met were pretty cool, interesting, but I have a feeling that the motives of some were not good. Neither of us saw this at first, and I don't think Tyne ever did.
I did a lot of thinking that night as we drove north. I have a terrible habit of falling in love with people I cant have. For some reason, the women that I think are amazing don't want anything more than friendship from me. When I do find someone that is into me, it turns out they only want a one night stand. Since I meet Tyne two years ago, I thought of her as a girl I could see myself with, but after tonight I know that it won't work out, no matter how much I want it. I wish I could find a girl I can spoil., someone who will be there waiting for me when I get home, and someone who gives a damn about my hopes and dreams. I'm sick of being the "nice guy" that all the girls want to share their guy problems with. Help me change my ways. I need to become an asshole.
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