Colorado

We were only in Colorado for about 20 hours but for me the trip went back more than 20 years. Good fortune allowed Paul and I to route the trip so that I could visit with some very good friends in Colorado Springs and Lafayette, a suburb of Denver. It was entirely too brief, but it was great fun.

Jamie and I actually met over 30 years ago in junior high school. We were close friends through high school graduation and kept in touch through college, but had a hard time keeping in touch after school as both of us relocated several times. Through the wonders of social networking we reconnected last fall and got together for dinner in December when he was in DC for work. It was great to be back in touch then and I really enjoyed hearing about his family and career. Yesterday was the first time I met his kids, Chris and Cassie (12^th and 8^th grade, respectively, and both very nice, funny, smart, cool, grounded and overall great people!) and to catch up with Aly, his lovely wife. The kids were disappointed that I didn't have any scandalous stories of their father from high school - please! I can't remember what I had for breakfast! As Paul noted, they provided a wonderful late lunch for us. We were only able to stay for about two hours, but it was fun to catch up and I look forward to our next opportunity to do it again.

After that we drove north to visit Janine and Greg and their boys, Ethan and Caleb. They provided another wonderful meal and we had a few hours in the evening to try to catch up on the past few years – an impossible task but we covered a lot of ground in the short time we had. Janine and Greg and the boys visited the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone about a week before Paul and I this summer, and it was fun to compare notes. They were able to continue north to Glacier National Park – it was on the wish list for us but we didn’t have the time to go that far north. Hearing their stories I wish we’d made the time to see it while we were in Montana.

It was a wonderful visit with both families. Paul and I were so comfortable and sated from the meals and hospitality that we forgot to get pics of our hosts and their families! My bad! We regret that our schedule didn’t allow us more time to hang out with both families and to explore more of Colorado – next time we’ll take in the Air Force Academy, Pike’s Peak, the Denver and Boulder, and such. We did drive by Mile High Stadium (I know, there’s an “Investco” in the name somewhere – whatever) as they were setting off the fireworks during the National Anthem of the Sunday Night game. If there was a blimp shot on SNF you might have seen us (I had a brown shirt on). It wasn’t as cool as being inside for the game, but hey, it’s something.

Driving east across Kansas today gave me a little time to think (yeah just a little, ahem) about the past weekend and the wonderful families we were fortunate to visit in New Mexico and Colorado – and really since South Bend for me and since Alabama for Paul. These families and friends opened up their homes to us – booting kids so we could sleep on their beds, delaying their meals to fit our whacky schedule, and extending generous hospitality in the short time we were together. What wonderful living-breathing examples of community! It’s very inspiring to spend time with folks who are so dedicated to their children and each other, who reach out to friends, who choose to care for the environment, who think beyond themselves and consider the world in which they live. This also describes our other friends back home and around the country and of course our families. You can never get too much of that, and it never hurts to be reminded that there are plenty of good folks out there working hard and trying to do the right thing. We are very blessed!

Quick shout-out to Kansas for the awesome wind farm we passed on I-70 this afternoon. The thing was huge – literally went on for miles and miles. Some of the towers were right up against the highway giving us our closest view yet of those amazing towers and propellers. Hope they are generating energy and such, but for me they are cool looking even when they are standing still. One thought, though, would it kill you guys to try a few different colors? Seems to me you could generate just as much energy if they were different colors – the white thing is pretty much played. Just sayin’.

Oh, and one more thing, am I the only person that doesn’t watch the Food Network?

B&B Appreciation

I've really enjoyed staying with family and friends on this trip and I'm very grateful for those that have taken us in and treated us like family. It's been nice to sample the different flavors in the cities we've traveled to, but it's always a bit better when you have a home cooked meal. However, the family and friends that have been cooking for us are darn good cooks anyways!

Most recently my friend Bryan in Santa Clara treated me to a couple home cooked meals and Logan and Eric fixed us a number of delicious meals while we were staying with them Friday night through Sunday morning. Chip's friends Jamie and Aly in Colorado Springs treated us to a late lunch with homemade appetizers, steak salad, and a ginger pound cake with fresh strawberries and ice cream for dessert! (I was happy and stuffed)

We then headed up to a town just northwest of Denver called Lafayette where we had dinner with Chip's friends Janine and Greg who have been following the blog for a while and were keenly aware of the food reviews, so they decided to kick it up a notch (perhaps their cooking just stays on that level for all I know). They prepared us quite a meal of smoked salmon over linguine in a butter cream sauce and teriyaki green beans. The acquisition of the salmon even had a story to go with it; a friend of theirs had gone on a fishing trip up to Alaska and brought back like 100 lbs of salmon and had given them a portion of the plunder. Greg, in the indigenous traditions of the northwest, smoked the salmon over alder wood and I believe even some apple wood. Janine then broke out some triple mud pie that she had crafted earlier in the day that was delightful. This morning Greg broke out the café latte skills and crafted us a couple brews.

Today we're headed back to my brother's house in Ft. Leavenworth for some more tasty spoils.

Green or Red?

Alright food fans, that is the question of the day:

No, this is not a question about which Christmas color you prefer. It is
actually the official state question of New Mexico, and refers to which type
of chile you prefer. Red chile is prepared from, well, red chiles, which are
typically dried and then reconstituted with water before being cooked. Green
chiles, on the other hand, are picked fresh and then roasted, peeled,
chopped, and used for the basis of the delicious dish known as chile verde.
As green chiles must either be used or frozen shortly after being picked,
they most often feature as a regional specialty, frequently used in the
cuisine of New Mexico (where many such peppers are grown), but not that of Mexico. ~Happy Living Magazine

If you can't decide you can just say you want "Christmas" and they'll give you both here in New Mexico. That was what I learned yesterday as we were having lunch with the Hornes at this awesome New Mexican restaurant in the town of K'uuyemugeh (the Indian name of the town) called Gabriel’s. I got a taco and an enchilada with green chile sauce which was awesome; it's nice hanging out with locals so you don't end up in a place whose food is just blah or ok. We were also served some great salsa and tortillas and sopapillas with honey.... mmm!!

Earlier in the day we spent a good chuck of the morning hiking through Bandelier National Monument home to the ancestral Pueblo Indians. As you walk through the park you see two different community set ups and historians aren't exactly sure why or if different tribes lived in the cave dwellings verses the clusters of stone built rooms about 50 yards away from the caves. The guide even gives you the historical freedom to kinda make your own educated guess and go with it. Regardless, the place is very well preserved and interesting to walk through to see the reminders of the Pueblo presence by climbing up into their cave dwellings, kivas, and keeping a keen eye to spot the petroglyphs.

After lunch we headed into Santa Fe and got to walk around and see a number of the different markets and eye shop through the different stores around the Zocalo or town center. One such store we walked into was a leather clothing shop and I remarked to Chip how much I like animals and I wasn't sure if I liked them more dead or alive, but I guess that depends on the animal and how tasty, warm, or comfortable they are. There was also a pre-fiesta concert happening in the Zocalo that started soon after we had arrived and were waiting for mass at the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi (number 9 if you're still counting). It was fun standing there to regain our bearings and then hear a blast from a trumpet as a mariachi band starts marching towards us and a woman comes over the loud speaker explaining why there are mariachi and other people dressed in traditional costumes from the 16 and 1700s. Just then Eric leans over to me to explain how there's always something interesting happening in Santa Fe, but it's hard to know what to expect.

It was great getting to spend a good chuck of time with Eric, Logan and the two sets of twins; Helen / James and then Max / Isabelle. I really enjoyed spending time and getting to know them when they were living in Virginia and their presence is missed. I had met Eric through my first real experience of volunteering with the youth ministry program at All Saints and particularly through the middle school program called Prime Time. Logan I met though a couple visits to Mary Washington and even through the program at All Saints where she volunteered as well. The most important experience I came away / thing that I learned through seeing Eric interact with the kids was that you can't really control middle schoolers (their hormones are just going nuts!) and they'll resent you if you do try, but you can skillfully guide the mass chaos and every once in a while have a quick moment to tell them about God's love and encourage that budding relationship.

Random Stuff, Volume 2

·      We just surpassed 6,000 miles driven on the trip so far. 

·      Four Corners was a quick diversion.  We did the typical “stand in four states” thing and waited in line to take the requisite picture.  Then we drove the GOLF Cart all the way around the monument so we could legitimately claim it’s been in Utah.  Sweet!

·      The Navajo have something called “fry bread”.  If the Navajo were Amish they would call it Funnel Cake.  We approve.

·      We continue to pray rosaries each day with your intentions and ours.  Most recent rosaries have been for personal intentions.  We also continue to pray for the Youth Apostles and Women Youth Apostles communities, the CLCs we serve, for our families and the families we’ve been blessed to stay with, and for vocations.  Please let us know if you have an intention you’d like us to pray for.

·      I love buttes!  I realized driving through Arizona yesterday that they are one of my favorite landscape features, probably because there’s nothing like them on the east coast. I have way too many windshield shots of buttes, and continue to snap them when I see them!  And so far New Mexico has not disappointed.

·      The scenery in northern Arizona is dramatic and spectacular: first red cliffs and buttes, crazy cliffs and rock formations, then everything is yellow for a while.  Flat as a pancake, then incredible formations pop up out of nowhere. The desert is remarkable in the variety of textures and colors and shapes in the landscape.  It’s like nowhere else I’ve been and I understand why people are so captivated by this area.

·      Having said that, I will be very happy to get back to the eastern half of the country and see green again!  I’m craving me some deciduous trees!  Oh, and some shade would be awesome!

·      Beautiful scenery aside, I’m not sure how any one lives in northern Arizona.  We drove for nearly an hour today with nothing around us but red rock – no topsoil, so no plants, bushes, or trees.

·      I love air conditioning.  

Somewhere in Arizona

We just caught our last glance of the Grand Canyon and we’re heading northeast towards the Four Corners.  We have several long drives left in the last week of our trip, and today is one of the longest.  After we stand simultaneously in four different states for a moment and take a few pictures we’ll drive east to Los Alamos. 

The weather is beautiful again this morning (we’re in the desert, so I guess that’s not unusual, but it’s been so long since we’ve seen rain that I think we’ve got dirt on the GOLF cart from Iowa).  Last night we left the fly off the tent so we could see the stars.  It was awesome!  I was walking through the campground this morning and saw an 8-point buck munching on some bushes about 20 yards from a tent.  Pretty cool stuff.

I have a confession to make: I have no idea what time it is.  After the second week of the trip I had a tough time telling you what day it was, but I could still tell time.  Now I’ve lost that, too.  See, we thought Arizona was in the Mountain time zone, but all the clocks suggest they are on Pacific time.  It’s probably just a daylight savings anomaly, but the effects of going through four time zones in two weeks are taking a toll on my brain!

In the past three days we’ve visited Yosemite, Death Valley, and the Grand Canyon.  That’s a lot to absorb in a short amount of time, and I think Paul and I have run out of adjectives to try to describe what we’ve seen. 

We’ve been so fortunate to see so many of the wonders of our land.  And yet in some ways this last week of our trip is the one I’ve been looking forward to the most because we’re going to see so many great friends and have a chance to visit our families on the way home.  I can’t think of a better way to wrap up this trip than to share it with friends and family.

Welcome everyone. I am your dam guide, Arnie...

Last night we arrived in Las Vegas and went out to explore the strip once we had the cover of darkness, not to hide in the shadows, to see the city of lights in their full on glory. Our hotel was conveniently located along the monorail line so we were able to hop a quick ride up to MGM Grand to start our light show. As you get off the monorail you have to walk through the entire casino (a half mile to a mile inside most of them if not more) just to be able to get out to the strip. The insides of the casino were much of what I expected from the ideas that I had received from different movies set in Las Vegas; lots of slots, lots of people, big buffets, and tons and tons of shops. Outside was also very typical from the movie scenes with one exception…you don’t really take in from the movies the voyeurism of people handing out cards for call girls and how they get littered all over the street. Like I said it’s exactly what you would come to expect from the movies with the bright neon signs, Elvis impersonators, extravagant buildings, waterworks at the Bellagio, and pirate fights at Treasure Island. Other than the casino night life I couldn’t really grasp any other kind of culture or reason why Las Vegas should really exist, but gambling is a very big industry out there.

On the way out today we passed by Lake Mead and crossed over the Hover Dam that was impressive in it’s size, but also a little depressing as the Colorado River was very low (maybe 25’ or so). They’re also currently constructing a large single span concrete arch bridge that will over look the dam and I’m assuming the future construction that I’ve heard is down the line to update the turbine system that they use to generate power.

Now to what I’ve wanted to talk about since I finished eating about 20 minutes ago. Chip and I stopped in a little town on historic route 66 by the name of Williams, Arizona. The town itself is pretty quaint and has some fun historic buildings that are a snapshot of what one would assume it looked like in the 1920s-30s. We fueled up and then made way to the Pine Country Restaurant (we’re back into some greener vegetation), which seems to be one of the few restaurants that stayed open between lunch and dinner. I had checked them out on the internet before we got into town and already had my eyes and stomach on a certain menu item that caught my eye, the Texas Red Burger. As the waitress brought the plate of “hot mess” in front of me I have to admit that it looked even better than I had imagined. It consisted of an open faced burger on a slab of corn bread topped with a bath of chili with beans and shredded cheese and a side of battered freedom fries. I would describe the taste as a merry go round of enjoyment, not one particular item stood out or would have been pleasing by itself with the exception of the fries (they were quite good all alone). What I mean is that the burger wasn’t very juicy, the corn bread wasn’t sweet or moist (and it didn’t involve a guess the secret ingredient game, one of these days I’ll guess correctly Tommy D), and the chili lacked some kick. However, all together it worked for me and was very tasty and I was able to remedy the lack of kick with a bottle of my girl Cholula or as Jay likes to call it “Paulula”. For the work campers that went with me to Elmira, NY this summer the answer is no, it wasn’t my own personal bottle, like I brought with me then, although I should have now that I come to think of it.

The internet signal hasn’t been really reliable today, so I’ve been writing this post piecemeal. Right now we’re watching the sunset at the Grand Canyon at the Grandview Point and it’s quite the view as you can see in the video below and the pictures in the album. We’ve been in the park for a couple hours now and have been able to see how the canyons seem to change and shift as the sun rises and falls in the sky. Parts of the canyon that are hidden at one point are later revealed as well as the visibility of the red, grey, copper, and brown layers of the canyon walls. There’s quite a bit more vegetation around here once you step away from the canyon cliffs as well as being much cooler then what we’ve experienced in the last couple days (mid 80s was the high), but what isn’t really? We’ll camp here tonight and then tomorrow we’re off for Four Corners and then to Los Alamos, New Mexico to visit with the Hornes.

Dry Heat is Still Hot!

I would like to have a quiet moment alone with those folks who always say, “Yes, but it’s a dry heat”.  It was a very dry heat in Death Valley today, and yet, oddly enough, it was still hot.  Crazy hot!

We rose from our campsite in Yosemite early this morning to get a jump on the day.  The drive out of Yosemite was nearly as incredible as the afternoon spent touring yesterday.  At one point we crossed through a pass with an elevation of over 9,000 feet!  The views were spectacular, and the roads were nearly empty.  It was great fun.  Driving down the valley towards Bishop, California was also beautiful.  The Sierra Nevada Mountains are rugged and tall and a sight to behold.  Trees and even bushes were getting scarce.  At one point, however, we saw a herd of elk grazing in a green field (it was only green because it was irrigated).  That was cool!

We stopped in Bishop for breakfast, to gas up, and to visit a photography gallery recommended by my nephew, Rob.  Rob used to live in Pasadena and spent most of his free time exploring the Sierra Nevada Mountains and California National Parks on his motorcycle.  He suggested the route we took today, and it was excellent!

From Bishop we headed for Death Valley.  We were already driving down a valley with rough looking brown mountains on both sides.  We had to cross over the mountains to our left to get into DV.  We passed a few strange looking cactus along the way, but other than that life was limited to some grass and small bushes – the stuff that tumbleweed comes from.  Driving down the road towards DV we were buzzed by two fighter planes that came up from behind.  Paul thought they were about 50’ or 100’ over our heads; it was hard for me to tell from my position under the front seat of the car (the first one startled me a bit, to say the least).

We arrived in the Panamint Valley but for a moment we thought we were in DV.  The temperature was hot, but in the back of my head was I thinking, “this isn’t too bad”.   We were Father Crowley Point, a bluff overlooking a desolate valley, thinking DV was below us.  We took a bunch of pics, then drove down into the valley.  We paused at the bottom of the valley to look at the map – there should be a road here!  Then realized this was the Panamint Valley, and that we had to cross yet another set of mountains to get into DV.  It was pretty hot down there.

Us being manly men and all, we decided to experience DV without air conditioning.  From the time we entered the Panamint Valley until we passed the “thanks for visiting Death Valley” sign we had the windows down and the AC off.  That was about three hours of blazing hot, scorching ouch.

We finally entered DV and stopped at Stovepipe Wells, currently a store, hotel and a campground, and one of the original tourist outposts in DV about 100 years ago.  We were now at sea level – a more than 9,000 foot change from this morning!  The thermometer on the shaded porch at the store read 115 degrees.  Porches are about the only shade in DV, so the heat we were feeling was much worse than that.  We quickly plotted out a course: south to Badwater and the Artist’s Palette, then west and out of there as quickly as possible. 

Amazingly, we weren’t the only ones in DV in August!  It obviously wasn’t as crowded as Yellowstone or Yosemite, but there were a surprising (to me, anyway) number of visitors there.  We also have a hunch that we saw a few vehicles being test driven by car companies – I guess if you want to see the newest model of your pickup truck or minivan can take the heat this is the place to be.

There are no words to describe how hot it was in DV in late August.  My head throbbed. The back of my shirt soaked through from sitting in the car, but after a minute of leaning forward it would be completely dry again because the air was so hot and dry.  It was basically like sitting in an oven.  Dry heat is still hot.

We saw Badwater, which is a salt water lake in the spring but basically a puddle in August.  The former lakebed turns to baked mud in the summer, with salt deposits covering everything.  This is the lowest point in DV and the lowest point on the Continent (and the hemisphere, I think):  282 feet below sea level.  There is a sign mounted on the canyon wall behind the parking area showing you where sea level is!  From there we drove through the Artist’s Palette, which is a road that takes you into the canyon and around colorful formations caused by the different mineral deposits in the rock.  It’s probably really beautiful when your brains are cooking in your head.  Paul enjoyed the windy, hilly drive, which was a sharp contrast to the ‘straight as the eye can see’ road on the valley floor.  We also drove by the Devil’s Golf Course, where the terrain is supposedly so rough “only the devil could play golf there.” Or so it says on the website – from the car it just looked hot.

From there we were done and about to head out of DV towards Las Vegas.  One last stop: I picked up a cheap combination thermometer/key chain at Mt. Rushmore so we could check the temperatures on our trip.  This poor thing is useless.  The morning we had ice on the tent it read in the mid-40s.  Today is was reading 95 degrees in DV.  We decided to put it on a rock on the valley floor for an hour and see what it said.  On the way out of DV we checked it (after about an hour in the sun) and it read 110 degrees.  Hot, but considerably below reality. 

Seeing DV in August in awesome – if you’re only going to do it once you should get the full experience of the heat.  And I promise you, unlike my nephew, I only plan on seeing it once!

Go Climb a Rock

Yesterday had its own fair share of interesting turn of events. I had a fairly early flight out of San Jose this morning to Sacramento that was never meant to be. As we were getting close to boarding time an announcement was made that there was mechanical problems with the plane and there would be a “slight delay” and that more information would be given to us as things developed. Well a slight delay turned into a 2 hour delay, which then without an announcement turned into the flight getting cancelled. I don’t know what instinct it was that made me get up and go check on how they were still feeling about the accuracy of their two hour estimate, but I came to find out that that almost immediately after making the announcement that the plane was delayed that they started ordering van shuttles to take people up to Sacramento. I had decided to go find a table down the terminal a bit to relax and came up and was able to get them to hold the last shuttle they had ordered by a hair. Someone must have put in a good word with the big guy upstairs and asked to get me the hook up. (Thanks by the way for the people that have been sending prayers our way…I’ve felt very blessed and things have really been coming together nicely)

The ride to Sacramento wasn’t too bad…to my right was a chatty college girl that had just gotten back from spending 3 months traveling in Europe and the woman to my left had just come back from seeing her first grandson come into the world. I also earned 2000 free frequent flyer miles and had the money returned to me I was suppose to pay to check luggage ($40), so not too shabby and I only ended up getting to the airport an hour and fifteen minutes behind schedule. The only odd thing was that the shuttle bus had to drop me off in the middle of the economy parking lot and I had to try and coordinate with Chip how to come and find me, which was successful.

Yosemite National Park is absolutely beautiful…up until this point it has been pretty hard to really say what has been my favorite city or place and I really think that Yosemite could be it or is definitely in the top 3. It has so many different things that it offers in just one park: river beaches, mountain streams, mountains, waterfalls, sequoia trees (redwoods), bears (at least enough signs to make you think there are bears, I haven’t actually seen one yet), hiking, mountain climbing peaks, lively camping villages, a cool lodge hotel, a ski lodge, and a number of different stores that could keep you well stocked including a grocery. I really wouldn’t mind coming back here and staying for a week or two…we only really spent 4 hours or so touring the park and taking in the sights, sounds, and excellent smells (the mix of camp fire and redwoods should be the newest old spice scent…I’d wear it).

As the night wears on the temperature has dropped to a nice cool 50 degrees or so and the camp sites have been getting less and less rowdy and people are bundling up near the fire rings and hanging out; even the Japanese guys at the camp site next to us with the miner’s helmets and lights. We also have these bear boxes next to our picnic table where we’re suppose to keep all food and aromatic items like soap, so the bears don’t try and break into the cars or the tents. Since I haven’t seen any bears on this trip besides the ones in the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago I was thinking about leaving out some of the smoked salmon I got back in Seattle and wait for one of the suckers to show their face. Chip didn’t like that idea so much and thought it would be rude if I didn’t run that by the other campers around us. I don’t think they speak much English so I’m in a bit of a snag…maybe if we head out early enough in the morning I’ll see one.

Those things we can't control...

Sitting in the Sacramento airport waiting for Paul.  Our plans meshed perfectly: my friend's flight out was at 11:15 and Paul's arrival was at 10:10, meaning I could pull up to the departures driveway and do the drop, then pull around to the arrivals driveway and pick Paul up.  Hahahaha!  The best laid plans, blah blah blah.

Paul's flight was delayed, then canceled.  He sent me a text saying he was getting on the shuttle.  Naive east coaster I am I thought it was like the New York/DC shuttle.  But no!  They are driving him from San Jose to Sacramento right now.  DRIVING!!  Shoot, I can do that.  Anyway, here I am sucking down way too much coffee and taking advantage of the free wifi.  Meanwhile the arrivals board still has Paul's flight listed as "on time" (see above - sorry it's shaky, and that was before the coffee! - he's the San Jose "flight").  Maybe if they had a board for drive up arrivals he'd be on that.

Ah, good times.

Monterey and Santa Cruz

I decided that my journeys today are best represented by a couple short videos. Also you can add San Francisco, Monterey, and New Orleans as three more Diocesan Cathedral seats that have been visited.



Monterey Bay


Wilder Ranch - Santa Cruz

The Capital Tour Continues

We enjoyed a casual day in Sacramento today (Pete:  for the record we drove through Olympia, Washington and Salem, Oregon on the way down here – those count, too!).  It was good to keep the mileage down after three 300-mile days in a row.  After a lazy morning I went to noon Mass at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Sacramento (that’s the fifth Diocesan Cathedral on the trip: Chicago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Seattle, and now Sacramento!).  After Mass I walked a block over and looked at the California Capitol building.  After that was a quick run along the Sacramento River past the historic portion of Sacramento – very cool, but I’ve reached “quaint fatigue” and can’t really handle any more historic downtowns for a while. 

We also did a bunch of errands today: post office, shopping, laundry, etc.  This afternoon we dropped everything and went to the California State Fair.  It was a hoot!  We ate junk food; walked among the cows, pigs, sheep and goats; watched a horse show, a hypnotist’s act, and some African acrobats; and heard Tonic warming up for tonight’s concert.  We did not get on anything that turned us upside-down or spun us around.  It was a great time, and a fun and simple excursion today. 

Tomorrow I pick up Paul at the airport in the morning and we head down to Yosemite.  

**Whoops!  Two things from the fair I forgot to mention in the original post: the entertainment while we ate dinner was a squad (?) of belly dancers.  No lie - see the pics.  Also, in the Candy Building in the Expo area (yes, California has an entire building set aside to highlight achievements in candy - how awesome is that!?) they had a portrait of Schwartzenegger made out of Jelly Bellys.  (We had hoped to tour the plant while we were here, but it was a bit out of driving range.)

They Prefer *Golden*

In August, California is brown.  They would like us to think it’s the Golden State, with golden hills, golden fields, and golden bears.  We see brown, brown, and, well, we haven’t seen any bears yet but I doubt they are golden.  California is a very brown place.

Leaving Blue Lakes it was foggy, thanks to the proximity to the coast.  As we climbed into the mountains we climbed out of the fog and into the sun.  The mountains near the coast were lush and green, covered mainly in evergreens.  However, they quickly transitioned to brown hills and mountains, and the remainder of the day our views were filled with “golden” vistas.  It’s fire season here in the west, and after driving here for several days it becomes obvious why all the signs in the national park warn of extreme fire danger. 

Turns out there’s a bunch of mountains between Eureka and Redding, California.  It took us over three hours (due, in part, to some serious construction on the mountains) to make the drive to Redding.  It was beautiful, particularly when we were paralleling the Trinity River.  However, we weren’t expecting several hours of mountains (our three previous passes through the mountains to the north during the zigzag tour of Oregon were much quicker) and at times it seemed they would never end.

We arrived in Redding around noon and headed to the Sundial Bridge, the last official stop on my Architectural Wonders tour.  It’s a beautiful walking bridge crossing the Sacramento River in Redding, and yes, it’s also a working sundial. 

After Redding we pointed south and drove to Sacramento.  For two hours we drove through an amazing variety of agriculture – olive groves, fields of sunflowers, tomatoes, and other plants we couldn’t identify from the highway.  Nothing grows here without irrigation, but with the addition of water this valley provides an abundance of food!  It’s the tomato harvest here right now, and as we neared Sacramento we saw tractor-trailers on the highway filled with tomatoes heading for processing.  More unusual still were the tomatoes lying on the shoulder of the road like litter – they had fallen from the open trailers in transit.  For several miles the road was spotted with red!

We had a wonderful dinner with friends in Sacramento – more former co-workers from our days at the TV station in Harrisonburg.  They were recently blessed with twin boys, so it was a fun night of juggling the boys while preparing and enjoying a wonderful dinner.  The unusually pleasant weather allowed us to eat dinner in the back garden, surrounded by lemon and lime trees.  It was a wonderful evening!

**Whoops!  Forgot to mention in the original post that as we drove through the mountains in western California we passed through Willow Creek, home of the Bigfoot Museum.  We saw the museum, but unfortunately the big guy did not make an appearance (he was probably at church).

The California Coast

We started the day in southern Oregon, and spent the first few hours checking out several small towns with quaint historic districts.  The weather started out dismal, but very quickly cleared to a cloudless blue sky.  The names of most of the small towns we saw are already a blur, but my favorite was probably Jacksonville.  The traffic moved slowly enough that we got a few pictures of the restored downtown from the car.

The purpose of our lazy loop through Oregon was so that we could visit a few chocolate makers and a winery – time well spent!  The wineries in southern Oregon are tucked into valleys surrounded by severe-looking hills – this time of year they are covered in dried out grass with a few scraggly trees.  The bareness of the mountains is quite a contrast to the lush vineyards.  While driving through these valleys we looked up and saw a group of skydivers that appeared to be circling endlessly in the updrafts from the mountains.

We eventually headed southwest and entered California at its extreme northwest tip in the Smith River National Recreation Area.  The views along Route 199 were jaw-dropping!  The river was clear blue and cut through a sharp valley.  It was ‘two hands on the wheel’ (and ‘both eyes on the road’) driving, but it was a blast!  Before long we entered Redwood country.  We took plenty of pictures of the massive trees, but there’s probably no way to appreciate their size or beauty without seeing them. We slowly meandered through the forest towards the ocean; when we reached Crescent City we were greeted with a beautiful view of the ocean. 

From there we drove down the coast on Route 101, at times passing through Redwood National Park.  Alternating between views of the ocean and the trees, there was never a dull moment.  At one overlook by the ocean we heard barking seals down below.  A few moments with the binoculars and we spotted them – they were huge and had climbed a good distance up some very steep rocks.  I wish we’d seen them make that climb!  In the Redwood National Forest we came across a herd of Elk – they were less than 20 yards from the car!

We reached Eureka, California at sunset and hoped to the stay the night but there were no rooms to be found.  We back-tracked north to Arcata, but had similar luck.  Driving east about 5 miles we found the Blue Lake Casino and Hotel, which had rooms.  Turns out, they’d only been open 2 months, so everything was nearly brand new and very nice.  It was also half the price of a room in Eureka.  So, we stayed in our first Indian Casino Hotel of the trip!  And, if we return on our birthdays they will give us $5 in free chips – Bonus!

 

The coldest winter I ever experienced was a summer in San Francisco

I'm really getting slow at writing these blog entries...I've been working on this one for two days now, so this will now cover San Francisco and Half Moon Bay...Friday was a fun adventure into “The City” as they prefer to call it; I also learned that it’s taboo to refer to the city as Frisco, but whatever. I started the day off with a walk up to the Cal Train Depot after a quick bowl of cereal to start my day off right and have energy for the list of things I had on my list. As I walk up to the platform to the station the train was pulling in and I thought great! I’m just gonna cruise through the day, so I go purchase my ticket and as it is printing the train pulls away without me. I was thinking come on that wasn’t even a full 90 seconds…30 seconds more and I probably could have been on the train and comfortably seated. I ended up going to a coffee shop around the corner to catch up on the morning news…nothing too exciting or weird, but I had about 30 minutes till the next train. The ride up was pretty relaxing like my other train rides were and even though it was about an hour and twenty minutes I had a map of the city I could study and some trip planning I could still do, so it seemed to breeze by.

My initial itinerary was to first start off with a trip to the chapel of St Francis of Assisi for mass and then peruse on up through the city to the wharf and rent a bike to get a quicker look at the whole of the city. (Ok maybe just the area closest to the land because the hills out here are nuts and I haven’t exactly been well disciplined lately about exercising). Then I was going to hop on a ferry boat ride in the bay and see the different sights up close and then perhaps get a nice meal and check out the aquarium and other tourist traps around Pier 39. Well it didn’t exactly go down like that much to my chagrin.

First off the chapel was closed for the day so there was no mass but I did end up checking out the Nuova Porziuncola right next door, which is a three quarters replica of the chapel that Saint Francis rebuilt by hand out near Assisi. Since August of last year it’s the 5th Papally declared Holy Place in the world, so that was a plus! I then scooted up to the famous Pier 39 and got a sourdough bread bowl of clam chowder at the famous Boudin bakery. Apparently the conditions with the air and the fog around the bay make the perfect conditions for sourdough and the bread was mighty tasty. I then realized that I wasn't going to have time to rent a bike and tour the city and go on the ferry boat ride around the bay, so I of course chose the better of the two and took a boat ride around the bay. I had found out how cool the weather was as I got close to the bay, but getting on the ferry and heading out into the bay and under the Golden Gate bridge I REALLY got a feel for the title of this entry and how cold it can get out in the middle of the bay. It was a really interesting ride however, it was narrated and spoke about the history of the city, the key infrastructure, people, and different eras the city experienced. After the ferry boat ride I went down to the Fisherman's Wharf and cracked me some fresh crab (apparently from Alaska and not from the Bay the Bay only does crabs in May and June) and it was pretty good. I still prefer to have my Crabs on a big ole table covered in newspaper and the Blue Crabs covered in Old Bay so when I get a cut I really feel the burn and then alleviate my war wounds with a nice cold beer!

I then did some window shopping around the city and stuck mostly to the bay side of the city. I made it through Soma, Union Sq., China Town, the Financial District, North Beach, and Telegraph hill...it was quite an evening of walking around and then I hopped on the train and made it back in around 1030 and ready to sleep.

Saturday I had a hard time deciding if I wanted to Muir Forest and Napa Valley or if I wanted to go to Half Moon Bay and a winery that was near there. I decided that I could make more of the day by going to Half Moon Bay and I'm a sucker for little fishing towns, so Bryan joined me on that adventure and we made it into town just before lunch. We walked through the Historic Downtown and into a couple little shops that made me feel a bit like I was walking through Occoquan and then into this really cool Art Gallery that I got a few pictures of the surfing style artwork that I really liked. The farmers market was also open and we got to sample some of the local fair...I had to try some of the peach and ended up coming away slightly disappointed I want to be able to find something that compares to the one I had in Seattle! Afterwards we went into this little bakery down the street that was just over flowing with people even at noon....I guess they sleep in late out here...but I got the hankering for a cup of coffee and a doughnut and Bryan wasn't resisting either.

As we're waiting in line for about 5-10 minutes this small group of people come in behind us with a pretty distinct New York / New Jersey accent and start referring to the place like it's just out of Seinfeld. Bryan does a better job of telling this story b/c I was a little more wrapped up in trying to decide what doughnut I wanted, so I'll tell it from his point of view. One of the ladies gasps and goes (the story is better if you imagine them talking like George's mother from Seinfeld) "oh my gosh this is just like the bakery in Seinfeld"...awkward pause to think...and then the woman next to her says, "no your thinking of the Soup Nazi." First Woman: "Oh YEAH, the Soup Nazi....Oh NO! They're almost out of the doughnuts"...another pause and a tap on the shoulder..."you boys weren't thinking about gettin cream filled doughnut weres ya? Cause theys bad for yas" I actually wanted a crueler that the guy in front of me snagged, but Bryan had been eyeing the Bavarian Cream doughnuts from the moment we walked in and being that he grew up on Long Island he had no hesitancy to enter into the conversation with them and be as super honest and straightforward like any good New Yorker is and told them how he was planning on getting one of the last two cream filled doughnuts. As we're ordering the man in the group hears Bryan order his doughnut and if you can imagine in a Jerry voice the man said "Hey! He took my doughnut. That was MY doughnut!" Bryan turns around and says "So what part of the Tri-state area are you from anyways" The guy sarcastically says..."what do you mean..San Francisco, Oakland, Los Angelis? ... No I'm from Manhattan!" Bryan whips back with "I know that....I'm from Long Island" The ladies then began to inquire as to what he was doing way out heres and Bryan says he's studying Theology and as we're leaving the store you can over here one of the ladies going "Oh he is such a nice boy"

Later we made our way up to the fishing pier and saw a couple families crabbing, which was really cool and then took in some air before heading up to Barbara's Seafood Parlor and getting some amazing fried seafood baskets. They had quite the variety in them too....Fresh caught Rock Fish, Calamari, Scallops, Prawns, Octopus and a side of fries. It was quite delectable and I would recommend you stop by if you're in town for maybe the Surf competition that happens just north of the docks. On the way back we dropped in at a winery that I wanted to stop by since we weren't going to go up to Nappa Valley on this trip and I wanted to get a bottle or two of wine for some very generous people back home who had requested some. The store front was unique....they had a little area for boccie ball, some tents to just hangout and sip wine, flower gardens to roam through, a glass blowing shop where they would teach you how to make glass, and then of course a wine tasting building where you could buy stuff. Well we were just gonna buy a couple bottles of wine and make our way with how packed the place was but the lady behind the counter convinced us to try out the wine and I'm really glad she did. I took a sip of the Merlot and felt like I got punched in the face with how strong of a flavor it was and then Bryan tried out the Syrah and commented on how strong that was too and then we switched and determined that the Merlot was ridiculous, so we just stuck to getting one bottle of the Syrah and nothing to take back home...I really didn't like the Merlot.

We then made our way back to Santa Clara and a friend of Bryan's came over and we did dinner, talked for a while, and of course had to finish off the night with watching some Seinfeld. Another great evening of friends and food.

Exploring Oregon

We ventured south and west into Oregon today.  It ended up being mainly a windshield day – we spent more time in the car than we expected – but we had fun and saw a few cool things. 

Heading down along I-5 we passed through “The Grass Seed Capital of the World” somewhere south of Portland.  It wasn’t as inspiring as it sounds.  The weather’s been pretty dry here (we passed through some forests that were on the highest forest fire alert), and most of the farmers were out plowing their very dry fields.  This created enough dust that we turned off the vents in the car for about 15 minutes and could see the dust hanging in the air like smog.  The only cool thing about this was it created dirt devils, which were fun to watch.  Unfortunately we had so much fun spotting them we forgot to get a picture. 

Then we turned west and headed through the mountains that separate the coast from the inland valley.  They were more extensive than they looked, but pretty.  Logging appears to be one of the main industries out here, and after a little while we almost got used to seeing mountains completely stripped to the grass of every tree.  These mountains are similar to the Blue Ridge in size (maybe a little bigger) and shape (just a tad more jagged) but they are covered nearly entirely in everygreen trees (if they haven’t been stripped bare).  We passed through Mapleton, Oregon, a town located in these mountains, but were unable to spot a Maple tree. 

Florence, Oregon was our first coastal town.  Much to our surprise, in Oregon, unlike California, Route 101 doesn’t actually hug the coast but is several miles inland.  So, we were allegedly near the ocean, but couldn’t see it.  Florence is a cute little town that clearly does solid tourist business – they’ve rebuilt a few blocks of their “Historic Old Town” and it is now reportedly “charming” according to them.  Actually, it is.  However, having lived in Old Town Alexandria for 3 years it’s hard for me to call anything old that Washington didn’t pass judgement on.  I need to adjust my perspective to the West Coast’s concept of history, which is much younger.

Just south of Florence is the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area.  This is major cool!  The dunes are massive – think miles long and hundreds of feet high!  The inland dunes are open to off road vehicles, and dune buggies are zipping across these things like ants on a picnic blanket.  Once your mind gets past the “hey, this isn’t my idea of the beach!” you realize you are dying to ride one of those things!  The dunes along the shore are off limits to the machines, and once you cross them you are presented with beautiful, nearly empty beaches.  I, of course, chose the absolute longest possible walk to the beach, but enjoyed running through the dunes for about a quarter mile to find the beach (turns out that was the day’s workout).  We checked out the beach then went back and watched the dune buggies for a while.  They even have businesses that offer dune rides to folks like us (that didn’t bring our own machines) in things that look like dune buggy limos!

We continued to meander south along the “Coastal” road, trying to catch glimpses of the ocean through the trees and dunes, but instead just enjoying the views of the forests and small towns along the way.  We ended our southern trek in Bandon, another little town with a “Charming Old Town District” and briefly walked around the town and the pier.  It was after 6pm so the shops were closed but the restaurants were hopping.  In looking for a specific shop that wasn’t along the two-block Old Town section we accidently found an amazing Bird Sanctuary south of town.  What great luck!  Located on a bluff overlooking the ocean, there were unobstructed views of massive rock formations along the beach and the cliffs.  It was amazing, and in the fading light of the evening quite spectacular.  It was also freezing!  It will take me a while to discard all my Outer Banks notions of summer beach travel and embrace the Pacific – no warm breezes or 75 degree water here!  We enjoyed the views until we were too cold to take any more, then jumped in the car and headed east again.

We made a big “Z” across Oregon today, crossing back through the mountain range at dusk and eventually landing in Roseburg for dinner and to stay the night.  Tomorrow is the “eat your way through Oregon” tour – with luck we’ll tour Harry and David, a few wineries, and maybe even the Jelly Belly factory.  Whee!

Portland Too

Today was round two in Portland, and the time was well spent.  We visited the second location of Voodoo Donuts: Voodoo Too.  It’s a little outside of downtown and located in a former restaurant (we couldn’t figure out if it was originally a Denny’s or a fast food joint or what, but you get the idea).  In short, it’s just as scary as the original, but with more breathing room.  The seats inside range from old school desks (the ones with the attached chairs) to a bench shaped like a coffin.  The donuts, however, are just as good as at the original.  And just as funky.  Oh, and don’t look in the kitchen, it will just ruin the experience for you.

We also drove through downtown and saw a cool park with a great waterfall-type fountain that was popular in the midday sun and saw another building that was on my “to see” list.  The highlight of downtown was a trip to Powell’s Books; Mecca for the literary set.  Powell’s is amazing – it’s a full block in downtown Portland and four stories tall.  There’s a “menu” by the door when you walk in telling you where to find the books you want to peruse (cooking in the blue room, romance in the pink room, etc).  Yes, the rooms are arranged by color, which sounds goofy but makes it easy to get around.  They have new and used selections shelved together, so you don’t have to search twice to get a bargain.  It was amazing, and could have filled a day, but wisely we put a time limit on it (or we’d still be there). 

I also got the GOLF cart into the shop today for an oil change and tire rotation.  We were visited by the “check engine” light several times in Wyoming and Montana, and they fixed that too.  The GOLF cart is now officially ready for the rest of the trip.  Oh, it needs a bath, but that shouldn’t be too hard to arrange.

The overall impression of Portland was much more favorably yesterday.  That was due somewhat to temperatures that were about 15 degrees cooler than the previous day and blue skies.  It was mainly due to having expert guides, though.  I’m in Portland visiting with friends that I worked with in Harrisonburg over 20 years ago, but haven’t seen in over 15 years.  It’s been great fun catching up.  I’m quick to appreciate what a blessing friends are, and recognize how lucky I am to have friendships that have now lasted several decades.  Seeing the natural wonders of the country on this trip is something I'll always remember, but this time spent with friends will be one of my favorite memories from our adventure.  I came across this quote in my readings yesterday, which surely wasn’t an accident:  “Forsake not an old friend, for a new one does not compare with him.  A new friend is like new wine; when it has aged you will drink it with pleasure.” (Sirach, 9:10).  Indeed!  God is good!

Today we start exploring the Pacific Coast!

California Dreamin'

I know it's been a few days since I last blogged about the trip and probably because I felt like I hit a bit of a wall. The trip has been very rewarding so far but it's also been very fast paced and I've never traveled for this long of a period of time. I'm having a great time and it has been very rewarding for me, just haven't had the normal chunk of quiet time I'm accustomed to that helps me deal with life's bumps and bruises. Chip has also been doing a great job the last few days of really detailing out our days and even the things we've been tasting.

Today I'm writing from Sunny Santa Clara University, which is at the southern part of the bay area. I'm staying here with my friend Bryan Schamus that I met through the Newman community at Virginia Tech. Bryan was the music minister my last couple years at Tech and we got to do ministry together and he's a great guy and very talented. I really appreciated the work he did with the Music Ministry program, so if anyone out there is lookin for the real deal let me know and I'll pass that along.

We got to walk around campus this morning (B E A - utiful) before he had to go check in for Resident Minister training. They have one kind of weather out here ....NICE. The campus is on the same piece of land that Jesuits founded the Santa Clara mission. The campus is about 5000 people all together and Bryan figures it could probably be squeezed into the Drill field at Virginia Tech. As Bryan was giving me the tour all of the buildings he told me about he would draw a reference back to Virginia Tech (I love it!) so I could connect with him. I also got to go to mass today at the Mission Chapel, which is very well done itself.

Tomorrow I'm going to be heading up in to San Francisco and check out the sights and spend all day walking around and seeing what all the fuss is about, so stay tuned in for that.

As far as the last couple days I guess the things that pop out to me that I want to remember is first the peaches that Chip bought at the market in Seattle. It was THE best peach I've ever had...it was so juicy that I had to litterally eat it over a trash can because there was just juice overflowing and it will now be the mark that I measure every other peach I ever eat against. The doughnut at Voodoo doughnuts in Portland was also very good...I got the "Dirt Doughnut", which consisted of a vanilla frosting on a risen doughnut and topped with crumbled oreos.....mmmm!

Well I need to go out and play now, so I'll cya tomorrow or the next morning if I end up getting back too late.

Portland, Oregon

We arrived in Portland yesterday afternoon.  After getting settled we went downtown to check out Voodoo Donuts, a local donut shop that’s gotten lots of attention on the Food Network.  Their creations are unique (Captain Crunch on donuts!) and quite good.  In keeping with one of our new trends, the donuts served as appetizers for a late lunch at a local Tex-Mex place.  The burritos and such were great!  They were also huge, and the big lunch late on a hot afternoon put us away.  We went back to the hotel and crashed early.

This morning I dropped Paul off at the airport.  We’re traveling separately for the next six days – I’m visiting with friends in Portland and Sacramento while he catches up with a buddy in the Bay Area.  We’ll join up again next week and complete the trip back east together.  We’ll keep you posted on our separate adventures as they unfold.

Only in Seattle

I’m not making this up: on the way to Mass this morning we were passed by a jogger carrying a cup of coffee.  Not a guy running to work, but a guy in full running gear - with the same Garmin GPS watch I use - running down the street with a cup of coffee.  I knew they were serious about coffee here, but wow.  Just, wow.

Ah, Sunny Seattle!

The ride from Spokane to Seattle was yet another experience of contrasts – from the vast high plain of eastern Washington to the jagged Cascades east of Seattle. We briefly caught a glimpse of Mt. Rainier, which was extraordinary! It was a real ‘fish or cut bait’ moment for me, because we had a view of Mt. Rainier on the left and a huge wind farm on the right! I hope we see more of Mt. Rainier on the way to Portland tomorrow.

And before you knew it we were in Seattle. If the weather was like this every day in Seattle I’d be moving here (well, you know, if things were different and all…). If the weather was this nice in Seattle all the time we would have completely missed grunge music in the 90s – nobody can be sad or angry on a day like this!

We arrived in the early afternoon, and after checking into the hotel we got our bearings and headed out to see the city. Actually, we headed down, because our hotel is at the top (or very nearly) of a very steep hill. Possibly a mountain. I’ve never seen a city road so steep; it makes the 10% grades we encountered in the Big Horn Mountains look like the beginners’ slope at Massanutten. And they have traffic lights at every corner! If I lived here I’d open a brake repair shop at the bottom of the hill.

Our first stop was the Seattle Public Library, a somewhat famous building by an interesting and obscure (at least in the U.S.) architect, Rem Koolhaas. This being my first Koolhaas I had to get some pictures and go inside. The building is ugly as sin, and saying that probably wouldn’t upset Mr. Koolhaas, who is too much of a vanguard to care about appearances, despite the fact that appearance is one of the cornerstones (thank you – it just came to me! I’m here all week!) of his profession. It might be a good library – don’t know, neither of us needed a book – but as a building it’s a stinker.

Then it was off to Pike Street market – about the coolest place around. It’s a wild, crowded, exhilarating public market where folks are selling everything you can imagine, but the best part is the fish market. They’ve got every kind of seafood there is (fresh whole squid anyone?), and it’s all ready for you to take home for dinner (or take on the plane – they boast being able to pack fresh fish in ‘smell proof’ containers that are good for up to two days and airline-friendly). It was fascinating to see, and even more entertaining when the guys started throwing fish to each other. They were very entertaining and worked the crowd like pros. I think Paul and I briefly considered buying a big tuna just because it looked like so much fun. In addition to fish there were several flower shops, produce shops, and even a few butchers. It was great fun to walk through.

Next we walked halfway up ‘the hill’ to catch the monorail to the Space Needle. The monorail was fun; the park it took us to is wonderful. The monorail actually passed through the Experience Music Project, a rock and roll museum. The museum was designed by Frank Gehry and is really wild looking – possibly ugly but more funny than anything. It looks right at home surrounded by a monorail and small roller coaster. But I digress again. We didn’t go up in the needle, but spent about an hour in the surrounding park. In addition to the amusement park rides there are several other museums and theaters and a wonderful fountain that was getting plenty of use on this hot day.

Eventually we made our way back to the Pike Street market for dinner. We found a small restaurant with windows facing the Bay and had a wonderful seafood dinner. The restaurant was about 100 yards from the fish market, so there was no questioning the freshness of the fish. Paul’s mixed seafood plate and my salmon were both amazing (see the pics – they were beautiful, too!). It was a great meal in an unpretentious environment; it was the perfect end to the day. It was followed by a long walk up a steep hill, but who cares? I’d have dinner there again in a heartbeat.

Paul will be back tomorrow with fewer architecture lessons and more of his mouthwatering restaurant reviews.

MT-ID-WA

We drove across a large swath of Montana yesterday and across the top of Idaho to get to Spokane. We attended Mass in Bozeman and stayed for lunch (not at the church, though we were invited to their parish picnic later that afternoon). It was another beautiful church and great Mass. Bozeman was having a car show downtown yesterday, so we strolled a few blocks of Main Street among the cars before landing at Plonk, a very cool wine bar and restaurant. We both had a great tomato basil bisque and a funky but good pizza. The soup was just what we needed as our bones were still a bit chilled from the night before. The pizza was based on a thin “cracker” crust and had pesto, cheese, some veggies (including red onions, much to Paul’s consternation), and some sort of meat (that doesn’t sound right – it was legit meat, I just can’t remember if it was ham, salami, pepperoni, or what). It was good. The only problem was they dumped a salad on top of it. It was a great salad, but I prefer my salad and pizza separate, so I ate them that way. Paul seems to think this is a trendy thing right now; I think lettuce on pizza is goofy. (This is why Paul writes the food reviews.) Anyway, fat and happy we hit the road.

It was a driving day – we covered about 450 miles. There was one quick diversion in Butte, Montana when we stopped to see the visitor’s center for the statute of Our Lady of the Rockies. The statute is 90 feet tall and stands on a ridge overlooking the city (she sits on the Continental Divide, according to their literature).

It takes several hours to visit the actual monument because they drive you up and back, so we settled for the shop in the mall where they explain the statute and how it got there. It’s pretty amazing, particularly the shots of the various pieces being flown by helicopter up to the site. The picture of Mary’s head flying over the city of Butte was pretty cool, if a little odd. Butte itself looks like a very humble town, and calls itself as a mining town. There’s a huge copper mine that dominates the landscape to the east of the city. There’s also a University, too, so it’s probably more of a college/mining town. The visitor’s center info suggested building the statute was a community effort, and they had shots of regular folks (including off-duty police officers) mixing concrete and assisting with the construction. Pretty cool.

Montana was nice. It definitely has a Big Sky, and while I see what they mean I have no idea how to explain it. The weather was funky – sunny and rainy all day (sometimes simultaneously). The mountains were beautiful, and the ride was pleasant. Weird western trend: putting huge letters on hillsides/mountains outside of cities. Both Butte and Bozeman had big “M”s on the hillsides, presumably because they both have campuses of the University of Montana. Another town we passed had a huge “F” on the hillside behind it; the letter was nearly bigger than the town (the name of which, of course, starts with a “F” Frenchtown). Not waiting for this to catch on back east.

We crossed into Idaho and the Pacific Time zone. Somewhere in Idaho I looked up and saw a jet contrail, which was slightly startling. We haven’t seen anything in the sky since South Dakota, so it’s been several days since the sky’s had anything but clouds in it. We’re so used to seeing the lines across the sky in Northern Virginia – the last time there were no jet trails back home was in the days following 9-11, and no one wants to see that again. So, I guess we’re getting closer to civilization again, or at least in between two points of civilization!

An hour after crossing into Idaho we were in Spokane, Washington. We were both pretty beat, so we dumped our stuff in the room, Paul started a load of laundry, and we ventured out for food. Our hotel was adjacent to the University of Eastern Washington campus, and the first few restaurants were college dives. I liked the one with the sign on the window that read, “High Prices. Warm Beer. Lousy Food.” We passed that one by and ate at a local joint. We both had pub food: fish and chips for Paul and a chicken wrap for me. The food was fine. No pictures, no review this time, though. It was a nice night so we ate outside. Afterwards we walked back to the room and crashed. The trip caught up to us a little last night.

I got up for a short run this morning, and discovered that Spokane actually has a very nice downtown. There’s a river running through town, and they built a beautiful bike trail along the banks (it goes for miles – I passed mile post 22 on my run). There’s a great park downtown where the Spokane River drops in elevation (they call it the ‘Spokane Falls’, but think ‘Great Falls’ not ‘Niagara Falls’). There’s a carousel, a Ferris wheel, an IMAX theater, lots of trails and benches, public art and fountains – it’s really quite beautiful. We caught daily Mass at St. Aloysius Church on the Gonzaga University campus across the river from us. Another beautiful old church (built in MCMIX according to the cornerstone – need a little help here!) and another great Mass.

Sorry, not many pics of Spokane. No camera on my run, and no camera at the church. Took a few shots downtown while we were circling madly looking for a Post Office on the way out this morning.

We grabbed breakfast at a local(ish) place this morning. Paul had something that closely approximates a Cheesy Western, so he's in his happy place again (though they need "Mojo Sauce" according to Paul). We’re on the road to Seattle right now. It looks like we’re back in the Plains again (flat and brown as far as the eye can see), though we have to cross the Cascades to get to Seattle so there are more mountains in our future!

Ugh, gas is $2.99 a gallon. Ouch.

Recent Mass Intentions:

Friday: YA Community at Mt. St. Mary’s in Maryland

Saturday: our families

Sunday: personal intention for a friend

Today: GMU, VT, and Marymount College Campus Ministries and their staffs as they prepare for the new school year

Wonder Fatigue

The past two days took us across Wyoming, through Yellowstone and the Grant Tetons, and into Montana.  The scenery has been spectacular and the contrasts are amazing.  We went from desolate to lush, flat to mountainous, from shear rock cliffs to tree-covered vistas.  You couldn’t buy a tree in most of Wyoming, while Yellowstone is populated with wonderful Ponderosa pines, whose verticality is peculiar (but beautiful) to my East Coast eyes.  In Yellowstone we also saw bubbling pools, hot oozing mud, geysers, steam beds, rivers and waterfalls, and everywhere mountains – smooth and jagged, small(ish) and massive.  Don’t like the scenery?  Wait a second: it’s bound to change.

All this eye candy has been such a treat, but I worried that I might become dulled to its beauty.  Can you get used these magnificent mountains, beautiful rivers, and gasp-inducing views everywhere?  Do you reach a point where you fail to see them anymore?  Is there such a thing as ‘wonder fatigue’?

I think the same question applies to those of us who live in Northern Virginia.  My daily commute for the past year took me down the GW Parkway past the Lincoln, Washington, and Jefferson Monuments, views of the Capitol dome, the Pentagon, and Arlington Cemetery.  Fortunately, those never cease to induce awe for me.  But I know it’s easy enough to forget how lucky we are to live near such a special city, and that most of the people out here (for whom these mountains might or might not be invisible) may never see those sights many of us take for granted. 

Paul started this blog out over a month ago by answering the “big questions”: the who/what/why/when/how questions.  I deferred on the “Why?” at the time, because a month ago all I could think about was getting away from the crazy for a month and clearing my mind before my life moved into it’s next exciting stage.  The past 2,500 miles have given me a few opportunities (!) to think more about why this trip is so important to me now.  Paul and I were talking the other day and he pointed out that part of it is patriotic – to appreciate the purple mountains’ majesty and fruited plains it helps to have seen them (though it’s clearly not a requirement).  Agreed.  And wow!  Talk about majestic.

I still don’t have a concise answer, but the past few days have taught me a lot about humility.  Humility first in the presence of God’s magnificent creation – to see this is to scratch the surface of His extraordinary power and His love.  You can’t look at all of this, not just the beauty, and not even just the size of it, but the variety – the ‘all’ of it – and not see an Awesome God.  And in that moment, I challenge you not to be humbled.

For me, a similar sense of smallness, blessedness, and humility accompanies my upcoming consecrated commitment.  I am amazed and overwhelmed that God is calling me – me! – to serve Him in such an incredible way.  I can’t do it, not on my own, anyway.  Only through Him is any of this possible.  That call humbles me.  I know this isn’t something I just dreamed up; I joke about this being my mid-life crisis – my convertible – but I know it is something much more than that.

And so, driving along the Gallatin River this morning, watching the steam rise off the water as it ran down the mountain (trust me: rivers in Montana run, there’s no meandering around here), seeing the mountains cloaked in fog yet sparkling in the golden glow of the early sun, and enjoying each new view as it takes my breath away again, I am humbled.  I am thankful.  I am amazed.  God is good!

Post Camping Report

Well I feel I have to say something about last night b/c I raised the white flag to the cold and retreated with my bed sheet and thin blanket between my legs into the GOLF cart. I wasn't exactly ready with what I packed for this kind of weather in the middle of August. It was 35 degrees this morning with ice crystals on the tent and I just realized I forgot to mention that it SNOWED as we were leaving the park yesterday. Yikes!

Chip was better prepared with a sleeping bag and roughed it the entire night. I on the other hand had enough nights a couple years back of sleeping in a house in the middle of winter with no heat, so if I'm freezing and there's a warmer spot near by I'm going there.

Today we'll be driving up to Bozeman for Sunday Mass and then on towards Missoula through the Rockies breezing through Idaho and into Spokane, Washington for the night.

I really wanted to use that John Denver quote from Dumb and Dumber today, but the mountains really are that big! Today also marks the beginning of week 4.

A River Runs Through It

I'm blogging tonight from Big Sky, Montana which is situated along the Gallatin River in the Rocky Mountains. It was awesome to drive north on highway 191 with the river running right along next to us the whole time and have mountains surrounding us on both sides. It's quite a view from out here as you could probably guess from the name and there are plenty of guys out here spending their entire vacation camping out during the evening and fly fishing during the day. It feels a bit like camping out in the Appalachians in the late fall considering it's in the low 40's right now and it's suppose to drop in to the low 30's tonight. However, we do have hot chicken and vegetable soup in our bellies and a fire to keep warm by.

Today was another awe inspiring day of nature and I got to reflect on a few different things about her. Her majesty, power, history, periods of recovery, beauty, and also how ugly and smelly she can sometimes be....seriously some of the off shoots off the geysers like the mud pots and the sulfur pits were just nasty to look at and smelled like rotten eggs. Most of it however was just beautiful and breath taking.

We left Cody in the late morning and came into Yellowstone from the east through the Shoshone National Forest and had a great view before we even got to the park. We decided that since Obama was going to be in the park at the same time as we were (I think he's been stalking us on this blog) we probably wanted to stay as far away as possible considering it was already free admission to National Parks this weekend on Saturday and Sunday. We passed along the southern loop along the Yellowstone Lake to the Western Thumb Geysers and then on down South of the Park to the Grand Tetons National Park.

It wasn't suppose to be such a haul down to the Grand Tetons as they are only about 60 miles south of Yellowstone, but we came to find out that 30 of those miles is under construction and the asphalt has been ripped out and made for a much bumpier and slower ride. They love to rip out the asphalt around here and rework the roads for some reason; my only guess is that the winters are pretty rough on the pavement and it's hard to make a Superpave  ® binder that can handle the swings in temperatures. (I appreciate when I get to use my undergrad knowledge for something)

We ended up stopping at the first overlook and got some great pictures and then had a simple lunch. PB&J for Chip and Ham and Cheese for Paul along with some tasty snacks that Helen packed for us before we left. Thanks Helen.

After lunch we headed back up into Yellowstone a little quicker than the ride down and made our way over to Old Faithful. Throughout the day I was pretty surprised at the lack of people in the park...you would see a car pulled over here and there and there would be some slow people driving around in RVs but all in all there weren't quite the amount of people I was coming to expect when I heard today was going to be free. That was until we pulled off the road to the "Old Faithful Village"....you would have though we were pulling into the County fair with the amount of people running around and then gathering along the boardwalk to view the geyser. After about an hour of very patient waiting and some more waiting and then about 20 more minutes of waiting Old Faithful finally decided she was in the mood and put on a very impressive show. Then after about 4 minutes of waterworks she calmed back down and people scattered and the park emptied out.

Since it took so long to get to and from the Tetons we only got to see the bottom loop of the park, which is HUGE (about 220 miles round trip), so we had to be satisfied with the pictures in the brochure of the northern half of the park. I'll try and post a part of the Old Faithful video later, but for now here is some bubbly from the Western Thumb Geysers.