Travels with Matthew

This will be the last post for this trip. Our two days in Flagstaff have been enjoyable, but how many pictures of a moderately sized college twon does anyone really want to see?

During our last night at the North Rim night, Mark and I spent a half hour looking at the stars. In Columbus, between the light pollution and my eyesight, I can see maybe three to six stars. On the North Rim, I could see hundreds and also a ghost of the Milky Way. The light pollution, though minimal, prevented the view from being as awe-inspiring as it was in Costa Rica, but I was still happy to be able to see it for the second time in my life.

We checked out of our rooms the following morning, and though the accommodations were a bit rustic and, frankly, a little inexplicable (a coffee maker but no cups!?), it was a pleasant experience overall. The only gripe I have about the cabin is that Mark and I saw a total of four quarter-sized spiders in the room in two days; spiders totally creep me out. Along the drive to Flagstaff, we drove through some beautiful country—especially along the Vermilion Cliffs—and also some desolate land.

We’re staying at Flagtown Lofts. The condo  is close to the center of town, has a balcony, and is comfortable and nicely decorated and well-appointed. The layout is a bit odd, though; there’s wasted space in the entry hall, and arranging the living room furniture was obviously a bit of a challenge. Here’s what the building looks like from the outside. The balcony above the canopy is where I’m sitting as I write.

The building is located across from a homeless shelter, but that hasn’t been an issue. The drunk college students loudly stumbling their way back to their apartments, however, was not particularly conducive to a good night’s sleep. At one point, two men were arguing—part of a group with at least one woman—and I heard from one of the men, “Oh my God! Oh my God!” followed by a blood curdling scream from the woman. I waited for a gunshot that never came, and then all was quiet again. Did one of the men pull a knife? Did they all run off? I’ll never know.

Flagstaff is not new to Jeff and Kevin, so we ate lunch yesterday at a hotel that Jeff recommended—Charly’s Pub and Grill at the Weatherford Hotel. We checked into our condo and unfolded ourselves after five hours in the car. Mark threw in a load of laundry and then took a nap, snoring away on the couch.

We wandered through the city in the evening. It got dark really early here! The city is having its monthly gallery hop, so lots of people were out and about. We went in some galleries, and though I don’t want to sound uncharitable, the quality of the work we saw made me appreciate the art scene in Columbus even more than I already do. Sedona is not too far away, and I suspect all the really good art is shown there where it can command higher prices.

My lunch filled me up, so I skipped dinner, but Kevin, Jeff, and Mark had ramen at Big Bowl Noodles. It’s just as well that I wasn’t hungry. I’ve had ramen exactly once and really liked absolutely nothing about it; I just had a Thai iced tea.

We had tickets for the Lowell Observatory, so we ended our evening there. I did get to see the Milky Way (faintly) for the third time, and the observatory had three or four large telescopes (compared to a consumer-grade telescope) set up for visitors. I saw Saturn and a couple of its moons, the M15 globular cluster, and the Ring Nebula. We also got to hear the history of the discovery of Pluto and to see the actual telescope through which it was found. It was pretty cool. When I was in middle school, I thought I might like to be an astronomer. Then I found out that most astronomers don’t look through telescopes all night, and I lost interest. 😂

Mark took a couple photos.

This morning, Kevin, Jeff, and I walked a little through the campus of Northern Arizona University while Mark caught up on sleep after another fitful night. It seems like a nice campus with some interesting architecture.

And then there were the autonomous food delivery robots. Never seen anything like it.

We ate lunch at a sports bar (with a sign banning motorcycle clubs and emblems—weird), and they all went off to do a short hike at Walnut Canyon National Monument. Frankly, my feet are killing me after so much walking and hiking, so I opted to stay in. No plans for the evening other than Thai food, and then Back to Columbus tomorrow. Sigh. After seeing so many amazing mountains,  back to the mountain of work on my desk.

Apologies for posting this entry late. The cell service on the North Rim is weak, and the wi-if, which isn’t much better, is only available at the general store a mile from our cabin. Uploading photos was painful.

The boys got an early start today. They wanted to do a longer hike—Kaibab Trail—and I think we noobies are a bit of an anchor for them. I got up just before dawn and walked the Bright Angel Trail again. I got there just in time to see the sun crest the South Rim. The light in the morning is pretty different than the light in the evening, and it was nice to see the difference.

Mark and I puttered around for a short time after I got back, and then we hiked the Transept Trail. Like the Bright Angel Trail, the Transept Trail starts at the lodge, so it was easy to get to. Unlike the Bright Angel Trail, however, the Transept Trail is much more of a walk in the woods. We got some nice shots of the canyon, but the interest was more in the flora and fauna. We saw five deer with ears like rabbits, though they stayed in shadow and the photos aren’t spectacular. I think the thing we appreciated most was the peace and quiet. Nothing but the wind for the most part, though at one point, we heard this spooky creaking; it turned out to be a dead pine tree leaning against a live pine and moving oh so slight slightly in the wind.

I noticed yesterday that I seem to have inherited my mother’s fear of falling. She once told me that she felt pulled to the left or right when walking down a straight sidewalk, and that made her feel unsteady. During the hike yesterday evening, I had to creep along because I was terrified that I’d stumble or misstep and fall over the edge or drop my phone. I felt much more steady on my feet today; I hope that sticks!

The boys are just getting back, so we’re off to have lunch and then perhaps another hike. We could only get dinner reservations for 4:45 tonight, but I suspect that the timing won’t work and that we’ll cancel and do something else.

…

Instead of another hike, we all decided to drive to some vista points. I think we’re all tired or have sore feet. Our dive was basically all a climb from the altitude of our cabins; I think we topped out at 8803 ft. above sea level.

You can’t tell, but in the photo of Mark and me with my neon yellow shirt, I was terrified. The drop off was around ten feet behind us, and I refused to get any closer. I crawled to where I am in the photo, and Mark had to help me stand up straight.

The food available here is not terribly satisfying. Unless we’re willing to drive 30 miles outside the park, we either eat in the dining room (expensive, and too fussy for me, though I admit my pork chop last night was tasty) or at the “deli” (low-quality food that none of us would recommend; nothing is made to order), where for lunch I had a hot dog and macaroni and cheese. Their chocolate chip cookies are good, though. Tonight, it’s probably going to be a slice of lackluster pizza at the deli for dinner.

Apologies for posting this entry late. The cell service on the North Rim is weak, and the wi-if, which isn’t much better, is only available at the general store a mile from our cabin. Uploading photos was painful.

Today is going to be mostly about driving again. We’re off to the North Rim for two days. We thought we’d stop along the way since it’s only a two-and-half-hour drive.

We planned to lunch at the Thunderbird Restaurant  and have a slice of the pie they’re famous for, but we were disappointed to find that they’re closed on Wednesday and Thursday. Maybe we’ll find pie further up the road.

We made a shortish detour to the Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park. I’m not sure why they’re called “pink” or “coral”; the sand was neither. Rather it resembled a more tannish version of the red clay you find in Georgia or Oklahoma. I suppose that in different light it looks pinker. The dunes did have a certain appeal, though.

The drive into the park was beautiful but also fascinating. We drove through areas—large areas—that had clearly burned recently and badly and were peopled with burned up trees. Other areas had burned recently but not badly; the pine trees were brown about five feet up but green above that, and charred pines punctuated the acres. And then there were areas that had burned ten or twenty years ago and were in recovery. Those were filled with aspens yellowing in the early autumn.

We even saw a couple of coyotes in the distance. They’re very small in the photo.

We got settled into our rustic cabins and walked the Bright Angel trail. Short, but lovely.

Ugh! Another early morning: 5 a.m. And I must be at the bottom of my depression cycle because I didn’t sleep much last night. When I can’t sleep, it’s usually ear worms. Last night (and still now), it was “Ruby” by Kenny Rogers and the First Edition. At least it was a song I like. It isn’t always.

We got up early to get onto the first shuttle into the park. We drove through part of the park yesterday and were surprised by how packed the place was in the middle of a Monday in October. Getting ahead of the great unwashed seems like a good idea. (Perhaps that’s not the most appropriate turn of phrase. None of us is showering before our hike.)

We rented water-resistant and hiking shoes, neoprene socks, and waterproof bib-overalls/waders yesterday to keep us dry. We’re hiking the Narrows (well, part of it) today, which is almost entirely wading through the Virgin River. A part of me is regretting our choice; I’m afraid we’re going to be hot and miserable in our gear. At least the forecast is for sub-60s temperatures while we’re on the trail. Also, the National Park Service lists this hike as strenuous, so I’m a little worried about Mark. And I’m not in my best cardiovascular shape right now either. We’ll just plan to stop as often as we need to and turn back when we feel like we’re getting tired or in over our heads. No reason we have do to it all. I’m hoping we come back and do more another time.

I’ll report more after the hike and, I hope, post some nice pictures. I’m not taking my good camera for fear that I’ll fall in the river and ruin it, so I’ll be using my iPhone camera today. I’m also taking my ID in case they need to identify my body. (You’ll feel bad that you laughed at that if I die.)

…

Back from the hike. Kevin asked me if I liked it, and I didn’t give him an answer other than to say that I didn’t need to do another river hike. “Water-resistant” shoes are not the same thing as “water-proof” shoes; water still got in. The neoprene socks helped, but my feet were wet for four hours, and that river is cold. And because we were walking over wet, rounded rocks that varied in size from large potato to large suitcase, I had to be constantly looking down instead of up at the beauty.

The further in time I get from the hike, though, the easier it is to admit that I really did enjoy the adventure. My feet are warm and dry again, and we stopped often enough that I got some great pictures, albeit with my iPhone. And there were some great characters along the way, like the Polish couple who were totally under equipped for the hike. Neither had waterproof clothing or sturdy shoes. In fact, he was wearing sandals and shorts. It was 43 degrees when we started. Or the young guy in shorts that sped past us only to return ten minutes later admitting he was unprepared for what lay ahead. Or the pretty foolish couple, also under dressed, who brought their two under-ten-years-old daughters along. We hit one stretch of the river where the water was up to my belly button. In the center of the river, it would have been up to my neck. I hope they turned back before getting there. We chatted briefly with a number of other folks. Lots of European visitors. And it’s funny how it always happens that when total strangers encounter a hazard or challenge or crisis—like the aforementioned deep water—they bond, even if only temporarily, to help each other through.

I lost my balance several times, but I never fell. Kevin nearly fell (Oh shit! followed by flailing arms trying to hold himself by grabbing my arm), and I think Jeff fell, but he sat on a rock and didn’t go into the water. As worried as I was about Mark, he did really well. He rarely, if ever, faltered, and though the hike is described as strenuous, it never got our heart rates up. The only thing really strenuous was keeping you balance on round rocks while fighting the current.

And it was beautiful.

After the hike, we returned our gear then grabbed lunch at a restaurant right near the park entrance: Zion Canyon Brew Pub. Now, we’re back at our rental and in various states of cleanliness and relaxin and napping. We’re goin to go out later to walk through the town and hit some galleries. We may do an evening hike, but I’m insisting that this one be dry.

Today, we drove to Zion National Park. On our way out of the casino, I decided to blow $20 on slots. I walked out with a net gain of $0.08. Yay me!

I spent much of the drive trying to get WordPress to behave, but I finally wrestled it into submission before we made it to the park. Other than to say it was overwhelming and beautiful and humbling, I’ll let photos speak for themselves.

After we checked in to our AirB&B (see the first picture below for our view), we drove to a ghost town called Grafton. It wasn’t much of a town—a couple houses and a school/church—but the setting and evening light were unbelievable.

We rented some gear for our hike tomorrow because we’ll be wading through a river. Afterward, we had dinner at MeMe’s Cafe then wandered a bit and returned to our place. Tomorrow, our first hike.

Today officially started at 6:40. On a bus. Oh joy.

After dragging ourselves through a shower at 5 a.m. (!), we moseyed down to “American”—one of the few restaurants in the hotel that remains open for 24 hours—and ordered breakfast through our lovely waitress, Ness. Ness works from 11 until 7—the drunk shift. We didn’t envy her.

At 6:30, we boarded the bus that took us to the airport where we’d start our helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon! We thought we were going to be the only people on a bus built for 30 or so until a transfer bus pulled up, and our bus rapidly filled up.

Our pilot was Nate, who was pretty fun and knowledgeable. And happily, only our group was on the copter. Nate distributed us by weight, so Kevin got the front seat, but really there were no bad seats. This was our helicopter.

And this is us with Nate.

And just after takeoff.

Aside from the history and geography at the area, we talked with Nate about UFOs (he hasn’t seen any but is interested in the subject and hopes some day to see something he can’t explain) and the strangest thing to be revealed by the low water level in Lake Mead—a small Navy plane that had crashed in the lake in the 50s but that was kept secret until last year.

I know it’s a cliché to say, but pictures really do not do the Grand Canyon justice. Yes, you can get a sense of the colors, the play of light and shadow, the plant life, and all that from pictures, but the sheer scale of the place and the sense of the power and time it took to be born is overwhelming once you see it in person, especially from above.

The helicopter ride wasn’t cheap, but it was worth it!

A quick apology for the photos. It was hard to hold my camera steady with the zoom lens extended, so some are out of focus. Additionally, WordPress has changed their interface (or something is wrong with my theme), so some basic functions seem to be hidden, and I haven’t been able to figure out how to delete the bad images. I’ll try to take care of that on the drive tomorrow and also add some of Mark’s iPhone pics, which are better.

We got back to the hotel a little after 10, but since we’d all eaten breakfast at 5:30, we were hungry and headed out to explore and get an early lunch. We first tried a kind of Italian food hall called “Eatily,” but Mark and I couldn’t find anything that sounded good. While Kevin and Jeff ate there, Mark and I wandered the strip for about an hour then just ended up at Hard Rock Cafe. It was easy, and there was no wait. I had a vanilla milkshake. I also had a pretty good pulled pork sandwich, but the shake was the main attraction for me. It was around 1:15 when we got back to New York New York. The boys texted us to say they were going to the pool, but we stayed in the room and napped or read for a bit.

We had an early dinner and then went to a Cirque du Soleil show, KA. It wasn’t the best Cirque show I’ve seen, but it was still enjoyable. I’m really happy Kevin and Jeff liked it. I picked it out but didn’t know what their reaction would be. Afterward, we people watched for a while, and I had another milkshake.

Tomorrow, we drive to Springdale, Utah and get ready to hike Zion National Park. This should be interesting. At least the pics should be better.

Today was another travel day—the drive from San Diego to Palm Springs to Las Vegas. We stopped at a viewing area but didn’t stay too long because it was cold and windy, as evidenced by Jeff’s hair.

It rained for most of the drive, which delighted Jeff (it’s dry here right now) but made me feel like I was back in Ohio. Definitely unlike Ohio, however, was the astounding number of enormous boulders. There were thousands of them as big as small cars scattered everywhere. The landscape for much of the drive looked like a giant child had dumped a toy box full of them all over the place. None of us could really figure out how they got there. Glacier retreat seems unlikely because they are so distinct from one another. Maybe tectonic activity? I’ll have to research that.

It was a bit of a challenge to take pics from the back of a moving Toyota FJ, but I did manage to get a few.

We stopped in Palm Springs for a quick tour and then lunch. Many of the homes were screened from the street by tall shrubs, but we did get to see a handful of mid-mod homes. It’s a nicer, homier city than I thought it would be, and I could see myself living there as long as I had friends there, too. I wouldn’t want to move there (well, anywhere, really) without a social network of some kind. Mark has always been much better at making friends than I, but we’re such homebodies now that it would be a challenge for both of us.

We had lunch at the Chicken Ranch, which was pleasant enough. The food was good. The staff was friendly and attentive. Despite the rainy drive, the weather in Palm Springs was perfect, so we ate on their patio. I decided to have gelato for dessert, and because it took longer to bring it than it should have, they gave me a double helping! There was more than I serve myself at home, and you know how large my bowls of ice cream are. The four of us ended up sharing it—a wonderful salted caramel.

The restaurant fronted a cute courtyard, so I took a couple photos of that, especially a really fun sculpture of Don Quixote. Mark also made a friend.

I have no idea how I managed to take this photo, but it’s kinda fun.

We did finally arrive in Vegas around 5:00 and got checked into our rooms.

After about a half hour, we went to dinner at Chin Chin in our hotel. Mark and I split a tasty dish of orange chicken, but after dinner, we decided not to explore tonight. We’ve got an early day tomorrow, so we called it a night. He’s already in bed, and I’m heading that way. I hope to have some fun things to report tomorrow. Until then, good night.

Mark and I flew to San Diego yesterday to begin a tour of the southwest with our friends, Kevin and Jeff. Other than the fastest, simplest check-in we’ve ever had (thank you TSA Precheck) not a lot to report about the journey. Air travel just sucks.

We arrived around 5:00 yesterday, hung out at the house for a bit, then went to a Mexican restaurant, Ortega’s, for dinner. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to find anything to eat, but I ended up with steak tacos that were deliciously spicy. And I discovered a new drink— horchata. Yum! Milk or some kind of creamy base with vanilla and cinnamon. I understand that there are a lot of varieties, many including rice, and I’m sure I’ll love discovering them all.

Just a photo of Kevin and Jeff’s back yard (where we got married in 2014) before we get on the road.