Las Cruces to White Sands

After a warm yet restful night in Las Cruces, we got up early, packed up camp, had a nice breakfast of yogurt, fruit and cheese, then headed up the road to explore more of New Mexico.  I wanted to visit the White Sands National Monument that is near Alamogordo, and also the UFO Museum in Roswell.

Our first stop was about an hour north, White Sands National Monument.  This is in the White Sands National Park, but also right smack dab in the middle of a very large military missile training area.  In fact, when we arrived at White Sands around 9:15, we were told by the guard that we couldn't get in to the park until 10:30 as they were doing testing.  We decided to wait.  I mean, when will we ever get back there?  Never any guarantees.  We hung around in the gift shop there, and sat outside on picnic tables writing postcards for awhile, and then all of a sudden, it was 10:30 and the gates opened!  

The White Sands are located in the Tularosa Basin in New Mexico.  Great wave-like dunes of gypsum sand engulf over 275 square miles of this desert, the largest gypsum dune field in the world.  They, as you can see from the pictures, are brilliant and white, and ever changing.  The relentless sand, driven by strong winds, covers everything in its path.  They were originally formed millions of years ago.  With no outlet to the sea, water that flowed from rains and rivers into the Tularosa Basin sunk into the ground, and would rise when filled with water again, then evaporate leaving deposits that then dissolved gypsum on the surface.  These cycles repeated themselves, creating what we see today.  

There are but a few plants that are able to grow and sustain themselves, as well as a few living animals.  The bleached earless lizard is one of these animals that can actually keep above ground during the day, but kit foxes, rodents, rabbits, coyotes and even porcupines (what?!) burrow underground during the day and emerge at night.

Grand Canyon to Las Cruces New Mexico

Day 3 of our trip meant a long drive from GC all the way to Las Cruces New Mexico.  A little over 500 miles planned and not all of those miles were interstate roads.  I had routed us over I40 to 180 East, hooking in to Highway 60 which would take us across the mountains eventually connecting to I25 and then down to Las Cruces.  I had wanted to pass through this silly named town called Truth or Consequences.  Having spent some time already in Albuquerque, another route to Las Cruces was in order. However, when it got later in the day, we changed plans a little bit and skipped Truth or Consequences, staying on 180 instead all the way down to I10 at Deming and then a short hop over to Las Cruces.

We did make a stop along I40 which caused us to delay our arrival in Las Cruces.  My friend Amy had told me about this meteor crater in Arizona that was supposed to be pretty cool, and lo and behold, access to it was right off of I40, near to Winslow.  We detoured out there and were glad we did!  It is the world’s best preserved meteor crater.  

Our route along 180 turned out to be a beautiful drive.  We were in the mountains along the Continental Divide and the highway took us all the way to over 8,000 feet in elevation.  The scenery was spectacular!

Our tent at KOA Las Cruces, New Mexico.  Looking good!!!

The KOA was a very nice place, actually.  It was my first time at one of these campgrounds.  The site had electric and water, there was an outdoor kitchen by our campsite, and the facility had really clean bathrooms with showers, a laundry room so you could do your laundry at $2 per load.  There was also a swimming pool available.

We had a very restful sleep, but it was pretty hot out that day, so we used sheets for covers instead of our sleeping bags.

Grand Canyon

Our drive from Flagstaff to the Grand Canyon took us about an hour and a half.  Once we got out of town, we drove virtually alone through miles of pine forests, changing to wide open prairie-like areas until we connected up with the 64 highway into Grand Canyon.  At one point, I looked down at how fast I was going and was surprised to see Indie was up over 90 mph.  She rides so smoothly it is easy to forget my lead foot.  At that point, I just pushed the pedal a tiny bit more and Indie broke her first 100!  

With the Labor Day crowds gone, it took no time at all for us to get through the main gates into the park, find our campsite and get the lay of the land that is the South Rim.  It is not really possible to see all of the Grand Canyon in a Day, so given our overall road trip route, the South Rim offered the best vantage point for us this trip.  The GC is over 700 miles long and 10 miles wide.  

We couldn’t set up camp until noon, so after confirming our reservation at the campground, we went to the Visitors Center and got some information on the area, watched a short movie about the GC, purchased a National Parks Passport, and promptly stamped them with the GC park stamp and date.  I felt like a kid at Epcot Center, where you get to go around the different countries and get your passport stamped!  Fun!

There are about 4 different routes along the South Rim to various vista points.  There are also a number of trails down into the canyon as well as along the rim, meandering through forests and along the viewpoints.  While not especially hot for this time of year - it was only about 80 degrees -  it was still a bit warm for biking or trail running, so we opted for the car.  We walked out about a mile roundtrip on one route to Mather Point, and that was where we got our first full view of the GC. 

Saying that the GC is immense would really just not do it justice.  This place is simply jaw droppingly huge.  And such beauty!  It leaves you speechless.

We spent the majority of our day wandering from one vista to another.  We did drive back to the campground around noon and set up our tent at our space, so that when we returned later it would be ready and waiting for us.  It was good that we did, because we drove out to the east end of the park to watch the sunset, and didn’t get back until well after dark.  Having a tent already set up and ready to step into, proved to have been a wise decision.

Above are a few pictures of the GC at sunset.

The next morning, in order to get up in time for the sunrise at Yaki Point, we had to wake up about 4:00 AM.  The sun was to rise at 6:06 AM and we needed to drive to the Visitor Center in order to take the shuttle bus to Yaki point, as no cars are allowed there.  The first shuttle bus leaves at 4:00 AM.  I had wanted to maybe get the 4:30 shuttle so we would be there in time to watch the beginning of the sunrise, as it takes a little while for the sky to "wake up."  We had set our alarms on our phones the night before, but Adrienne's phone was having trouble deciding whether or not it was still Pacific Time or Mountain Time.  So,....... her phone woke us at 3:00 AM.  We had some trouble falling asleep to begin with, with some noisy campers around us, so the 3:00 wake up call was not much fun.  And I couldn't go back to sleep after this, so we ended up getting up early and were in the car just a few minutes past 4:00.  We caught the shuttle at about  4:15 and were the ONLY ones on the bus, and the first and ONLY ones out at Yaki Point.  It was a good half hour before another shuttle came, and even then, there were only 5 other people that showed up to this "really popular place to watch the sunrise" location.  In the end, we had a good time and the sunrise was worth the hassle we put ourselves through.

The Grand Canyon is truly a magical place, not to be missed!  

Road to Redemption - Day One - Los Angeles to Flagstaff

Well, we are officially on the road!  After spending a lovely long weekend visiting with friends and family in Los Angeles, Adrienne and I got up early this morning and finished loading my car (Indie) with the rest of our stuff, and after some gasoline and a visit to the market for ice and the ATM for some cash, we were on the road by 8:15.  8 hours later we rolled into Flagstaff, having driven about 500 miles.

Leaving Los Angeles on an early Labor Day holiday, the freeways were eerily quiet - like a ghost town!  It took us all of 20 minutes to go from Woodland Hills to Pasadena.  Amazing.  Indie drives and rides like a dream, so we were very comfortable being in the car all day.  We made a couple of pit stops because SOMEONE in my car has a tiny bladder........but it was always good to step out and stretch, grab some fresh ice for my water bottle, and breath in some fresh air while admiring the surrounding scenery.

We stopped in Needles for gas and decided to have a sit-down lunch.  There was a cute and well-rated (Yelp) diner called Juicy's Famous River Cafe.  After lunch we headed out again, in search of the state line into Arizona, and the Colorado River.  15 minutes down the road we struck gold.

Driving on towards Flagstaff, we were pleasantly surprised to see the landscape around us change as we slowly climbed up over the mountain passes, dipping into valleys - each cycle resulted in cooler and cooler temps until we at least reached Flagstaff in rainy 65 degree weather.  Ah, the air smelled so good!

When we checked into our hotel, the desk clerk told us that it is very common to get afternoon rainstorms here.  We never need an excuse to be happy about rain so it was just a lovely way to end the day.

Tomorrow, we will take an hour's drive to the Grand Canyon and spend the whole day there, and then tent camp at the campground at the Grand Canyon.  Good thing we figured out how to put the rainfly on our tent!!!

RETIREMENT!!!

I am retiring from my "working career" on Tuesday, September 1st.  I'm not quite 60.  It's been my long-term dream and plan to retire before the age of 60, so once again, I've completed my mission!

It takes a dream, careful and thoughtful planning, and continued devotion to realizing your dream to have it come true.  It means, sometimes, shifting priorities.  It means, sometimes, being selfish.  I've worked very hard for many many years, and I am proud of my career and all that I have accomplished.  I truly and completely believe that you CAN make it happen.   But you can't sit back and wait for life to happen to you, you have to be a willing and present participant.

I've got a bunch of trips lined up, so this blog is going to be getting some serious action!!

2015:
9/3 - 9/26 - Road trip from Sacramento across the U.S. to Georgia and back.
10/16 - 11/5/1 - Panama Canal cruise from Boston to San Diego.

2016:
1/16- 2/27 - South America adventure - Hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu; visit to Easter Island; cruise from Santiago Chile to Buenos Aires via Antarctica; visit to Brazil
4/1 - 5/7 - South Pacific cruise - from San Diego to Seattle

2017:
1/4 - 4/26 -- World Cruise.  Roundtrip Ft. Lauderdale.  111 days of sea bliss!!

Come and join me in my travels!

Newfoundland and Nova Scotia

The morning we sailed into St. Anthony it was sunny and getting warm.  It was clear we were out of the stormy seas and cold and damp weather we had experienced in Greenland!

We had no immediate plans for St. Anthony.  The biggest draw for this port stop was a UNESCO rated Viking settlement called L'Anse aux Meadows, which is an archaeological site and discovered in 1960.  Outside of Greenalnd, it is the most famous site of a Norse or Viking settlement in North America.

According to Wikipedia, L'Anse aux Meadows dates back to 1000 BC and is the only site widely accepted as evidence of pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact.  Experts believe it is very probably an attempted colonization of Vinland that was established by Leif Ericson.  It was named a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1978.

Adrienne and I decided that we would skip the trip to L'Anse aux Meadows and just enjoy a leisurely day around the little town of St. Anthony.  Both of us had missed internet access, as Greenland is just too remote, so we hightailed it into town once we got off the tender and went in search of a Tim Horton's coffee place.  Like Starbucks in the U.S., Tim Horton's is a terrific coffee and pastry shop and also has free wireless access!  

It was a good 20 minute walk to the Tim Horton's and by the time we got up there, the place was already packed and finding a seat at a table was almost impossible.  However, Adrienne had got there a few minutes before me, and snagged us 2 chairs at a small table for 4.  I purchased a coffee and a donut and we sat down with our laptops and set to work trying to catch up on our emails, etc.  The problem, however, is that everyone else in the shop was trying to do the same thing - we had over 100 people in there accessing Tim's wireless and guess what?  Access slowed to barely a crawl.  It took us over 2 hours to get through just some basic access.  But, I was able to upload a group of pictures (posted here) and Adrienne was able to catch up on her emails with friends and family.

We finished up our laptop chores and headed back towards the ship - The ship was supposed to leave port at 2 PM so it was a short day anyway.  Back on board, we had lunch and then spent the afternoon at the Thermal Suites.

Newfoundland and Nova Scotia

The morning we sailed into St. Anthony it was sunny and getting warm.  It was clear we were out of the stormy seas and cold and damp weather we had experienced in Greenland!

We had no immediate plans for St. Anthony.  The biggest draw for this port stop was a UNESCO rated Viking settlement called L'Anse aux Meadows, which is an archaeological site and discovered in 1960.  Outside of Greenalnd, it is the most famous site of a Norse or Viking settlement in North America.

According to Wikipedia, L'Anse aux Meadows dates back to 1000 BC and is the only site widely accepted as evidence of pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact.  Experts believe it is very probably an attempted colonization of Vinland that was established by Leif Ericson.  It was named a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1978.

Adrienne and I decided that we would skip the trip to L'Anse aux Meadows and just enjoy a leisurely day around the little town of St. Anthony.  Both of us had missed internet access, as Greenland is just too remote, so we hightailed it into town once we got off the tender and went in search of a Tim Horton's coffee place.  Like Starbucks in the U.S., Tim Horton's is a terrific coffee and pastry shop and also has free wireless access!  

It was a good 20 minute walk to the Tim Horton's and by the time we got up there, the place was already packed and finding a seat at a table was almost impossible.  However, Adrienne had got there a few minutes before me, and snagged us 2 chairs at a small table for 4.  I purchased a coffee and a donut and we sat down with our laptops and set to work trying to catch up on our emails, etc.  The problem, however, is that everyone else in the shop was trying to do the same thing - we had over 100 people in there accessing Tim's wireless and guess what?  Access slowed to barely a crawl.  It took us over 2 hours to get through just some basic access.  But, I was able to upload a group of pictures (posted here) and Adrienne was able to catch up on her emails with friends and family.

We finished up our laptop chores and headed back towards the ship - The ship was supposed to leave port at 2 PM so it was a short day anyway.  Back on board, we had lunch and then spent the afternoon at the Thermal Suites.