And Outside We Went: Part 3

Happy 2014 to our friends and family near and far!!  Before we go back in time to November of 2013 I will take a moment to give you a quick update on our whereabouts as of January 9, 2014.

After many interviews and lots of discussion Charlie landed himself a permanent job in Lewisburg, PA!  He is currently orienting at his new place of employment, Lycoming Physical Therapy, while I am keeping myself quite busy organizing our life, blogging, and searching for a job that will hopefully put me within or adjacent to Lewisburg, PA.  Charlie will be managing Lycoming PT’s new satellite clinic and is excited for the challenge. 

A few other things that some of you may be wondering:

(1) Is Lewisburg home to Bucknell University? 

- You betcha!

(2) Did Amanda go to Bucknell University?

- As a matter of fact I did!

(3) Where the heck are the O'Malleys living if Charlie's new job is in Lewisburg?

- Good question. The short answer is my grandfather's home in Bloomsburg, PA; however this is a temporary stop until I find a job and we figure out the best place to be (hopefully in or neighboring Lewisburg!). 

Now that we are mostly caught up on current events, it is time to return to the 8,210 mile road trip that we haven’t finished blogging about.

Here we go!  The date is now Friday, November 8, 2013.  We stepped out of our tent in Zion National Park and were greeted by a pleasant, but windy morning.  After a quick breakfast it was time to pack our belongings and head toward the mighty Grand Canyon.  A pleasant, uneventful drive southeast into Arizona wound us through the desert and a Navajo Indian Reservation.  We were surrounded by mesas, more red rock, and empty road side stands within the reservation.  By 1:30 pm we had arrived at the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park and were both viewing this impressive geological phenomenon for the first time. The erosive Colorado River, which has been carving the canyon for ~5-6 million years, cannot be seen from all angles.  Luckily we stopped at Desert View Point that allows views of the river from a watchtower located at 7,438 feet.

Desert View Watchtower
A re-creation of an Indian watchtower.

The North Rim (left) and Colorado River (center)
They say you can see about 100 miles on a clear day.

Planning the best way to experience the Grand Canyon was extremely difficult due to the time of year (off season), our limited time there (1-2 days), and having just a few weeks to compile an agenda.  With that being said we were unable to obtain a permit to camp in the canyon, which means we also couldn’t hike to the river.  They warn against attempting day hikes to the river due to “long distances, extreme temperature changes, and a near 5,000 foot elevation change each way.”  Plan B ended up being part educational, part active. 

After checking into our hotel and cleansing ourselves of Zion dirt we were off to an early dinner followed by an evening Ranger Program titled, I Can’t Get No Respect – All About Ravens.  Ravens and crows both fall under the genus Corvus and both are often associated with darkness and evil.  This is an unfair assumption due to their dark feathers and non-melodic caw, but believe it or not recent research considers them to be among the world’s most intelligent animals! 

The Common Raven

Keep alert around Ravens, they might unzip your backpack for a treat, respond or repeat your vocalizations, or put on an air show for you and your kids/friends if you routinely have picnics at the park.

With the educational component of our visit checked off the list we were up early the next morning to get our hike on.  We parked at the Visitor Center then hopped on a Grand Canyon shuttle bus.  Apparently when you visit the park during the regular season these buses are packed to the max, as is the entire South Rim of the park.  In November we had our choice of pretty much any seat, as did our backpacks.  The Blue Route shuttle bus conveniently delivered us to the Bright Angel Trailhead where we planned to hike 3 miles into the Garden Creek Canyon before driving to our next destination. 

Being shuttled to the Bright Angel Trail.

This trail is heavily traveled by humans and mules.

Fun fact about mules: Mules are the offspring of two different species (a male donkey and female horse) that have different numbers of chromosomes.  Thus, most mules are infertile.  Charlie says this is common knowledge.  I disagree, but think I might have known this fact at some point in my life.  Regardless, I thought it was worth sharing!

The first section of the Bright Angel Trail is moderately strenuous as you hike along a well maintained trail.  It provided great views of the geologic layers of rock and gave us a glimpse of just how massive the canyon really is.  Its true scale is hard for the eye and brain to comprehend, especially from the rim of the canyon. This is why Charlie and I want to return to the Grand Canyon some day and experience it from the perspective of the Colorado River. 

Looking up at the South Rim

We had time for a quick self-guided tour of the Kolb Studio.  The Kolb brothers arrived to the Grand Canyon in the early 1900’s as it was becoming a National Monument (1908) and then a National Park (1919).  They were there to photograph this beautiful place and the people who visited.  The brothers were allowed to build a photography studio on a specific plot of land within the park and this is where it remains, precariously positioned on the South Rim by the trailhead of Bright Angel Trail.  The photos and videos these men daringly took helped draw the public to this stunning land. 

Emery, Emery's wife (Blanche), & Ellsworth Kolb in 1904
(Picture from PBS.org)

Twenty four hours after our arrival it was time to move on.  The next leg would allow us to see the Colorado River in a different light.  We were heading about 4 hours west toward the man-made Lake Mead and Hoover Dam.  We had a great day at the Grand Canyon, but were now in a bit of a hurry because we planned to camp at Lake Mead.  The problem was we didn’t know exactly where we were camping and we were losing an hour of daylight thanks to crossing back into the Pacific Time Zone. 

Historic Route 66 - Williams, AZ
There is always time for a quick detour and a chance to fill our growler!

Highway driving through the desert warmed us up with temps hitting 75 degrees.  This felt amazing and was in stark contrast to the 30-40 degree temperatures we experienced during our morning hike.  The sun was setting as we arrived to Lake Mead, a huge body of water in the middle of rugged desert.  Hungry and slightly grumpy we found Boulder Beach Campground and RV Park, picked a spot and found the camp store where we purchased firewood and BBQ chips.  Our smiles returned as we sat by the campfire sharing a dehydrated meal of chili mac and beef and a large bag of BBQ chips.

Oh the little things...

The real reason we back tracked into Pacific Time was to visit our friend who was living and working in Las Vegas, Nevada.  Although we had both vacationed in Vegas about 5 years ago, this opportunity allowed us a chance to see more than the Strip.  We had planned to do some hiking with Scott in a state park just outside of Vegas; however, Scott decided to do a 24 hour relay race the day before.  As a result, he was having a hard time walking and in no shape to attempt a hike in the Valley of Fire.  We all agreed for Scott’s sake it would be better to spend the late morning and afternoon watching football at Wild Wings before hitting the town.

Charlie and I had one stop to make before indulging in city life – Hoover Dam.  Dams are truly an impressive human feat of man’s attempt to tame nature.  However, as we've experienced so much raw landscape over the last 22 months it didn't seem quite right to see tons and tons of concrete jammed between Black Canyon’s walls.  I understand the hard work that was set forth, its numerous benefits, and the purpose of the dam but it is still hard for me to accept that its construction was 100% necessary.  With this, I found the National Park Services explanation of Hoover Dam’s construction to be a bit presumptuous, “Humans, working feverishly over the last hundred years, remodeled and built a landscape better suited to modern needs and desires.”  Those needs and desires are now contributing to the Colorado River’s dwindling water supply. 

Sorry for the side bar.

Despite my conflicting feelings we were very glad to visit Hoover Dam and took time to walk on the recently constructed bridge (completed in 2004) that directs highway traffic around, instead of over, the dam itself.  The stop took a little longer than expected due to their hardcore security.  Who would have thought that after successfully crossing the US/Canadian border >5 times in the last 22 months Hoover Dam would be the place they insisted on searching our very full vehicle.  Luckily the officers were polite and only made us open one of the many boxes in our car.  Phew!

View from the Mike O'Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge

We had a quick, but great time catching up with Scott.  Our time included a lazy afternoon at Wild Wings, walking on the strip while soaking up the Vegas sun, a delicious sushi dinner at the Luxor, a bit of nightlife (we made it to one bar), and a stay at the classy Excaliber (aka Dutch Wonderland on steroids).  One night in Las Vegas was enough for me and Charlie as we said farewell to Scott.  Conveniently, Scott has since returned to his hometown of Pittsburgh.  See you soon Scott!

The Excaliber.
We got a picture of the hotel, but sadly forgot to take one with Scott.

We were psyched to head east, away from the hustle of Vegas, back to Arizona, and return to Mountain Time.  Our destination was Sedona.  This was a last minute addition to our agenda and we loved it.  We took the scenic route (89-A) south, descending ~2,000 feet of steep roadways surrounded by Ponderosa Pine Forests with reddish-orange rock formations jutting out here and there.  Sedona is a quaint, outdoorsy city of ~11,000 people that sits in a valley at 4, 326 feet among beautiful red sandstone formations.  There are great shops, unique restaurants, and plentiful recreation.  This is another place we’d love to return. 

Sedona, AZ
Did you know Sedona is known to be a spiritual power spot?
The effect is especially concentrated at specific vortex areas.
I'm not making this up.

We couldn't linger too long in this breathtaking and relaxing place because we made plans to spend the afternoon visiting new friends in Flagstaff, AZ.  So we sluggishly worked our way back up the steep roads onto the southwestern portion of the Colorado Plateau where Flagstaff sits at 6,910 feet. 

At nearly 7,000' above sea level, this is a place where you follow the high altitude instructions when baking!

Roger and Mary (Darcy’s parents) greeted us at their beautiful home in Flagstaff, AZ.  They took us on a tour of their city, which they absolutely adore.  It was great to learn about and experience a new place with people who love it so much.  Other than being a high altitude city, Flagstaff is bordered by the largest contiguous Ponderosa Pine forest in the continental U.S., home to Northern Arizona University, Lowell Observatory (where Pluto was discovered!), the U.S. Naval Observatory, and the U.S. Geological Survey.  After a delicious, late lunch at Beaver Street Brewery we were off. 

Visiting with Roger and Mary.
Sophie is admiring Charlie

On the road again, we headed east on I-40 through Arizona.  We planned to drive through Petrified Forest National Park, which is known for its petrified wood.  At ~5,400 feet in elevation, the petrified wood is located among semi-desert shrub and eroded badlands.  However, when we were just 15 miles from the park we realized that they close the gates and park road at 5 pm this time of year.  The time was 4:50 pm (boo!), but we didn’t let this misfortune get us down.  Instead, we got our petrified wood kick from a tourist trap located in Holbrook, AZ.  This huge store was actually quite interesting with many varieties of fossils, furniture, rocks, a huge skeleton of a 2.9 million-year-old alligator (“Wild Bill”), and of course petrified wood. 

Who needs Petrified Forest National Park?
You can buy this beaut for just $480!

What is petrified wood? Here is my simple understanding.  Rather than being an impression like most types of fossils, petrified wood is a 3-D stone replica or mold of its original organic structure that results from the deposition of minerals in the plant’s cells. 

Following our failed attempt to visit Petrified Forest NP we drove a little further east to spend the night in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  The days seemed to be flying by so we had to keep moving in an effort to stay on schedule.  I don’t have too much to report about Albuquerque since we arrived around 9 pm, ate left overs, had breakfast at the hotel, did a load of laundry, then hit the road.  However, we did get two things out of this stop:

(1)   A drive through Old Town Albuquerque. (see pic below)

(2)   This is the city where the TV series Breaking Bad was set and produced.

Spanish origins are seen in the architecture of Old Town Albuquerque.
Please ignore the crooked photo.

By Thursday, November 15^th we’d traveled from the red rock territory of Southern Utah to the plains of Southern New Mexico.  After a night in White City, NM we were just 10 minutes from our next destination, Carlsbad Caverns National Park.  This is an underground world of subterranean chambers and cave formations that sit below the Chihuahuan Desert.  The very first park Charlie and I visited together was also a cave system (Mammoth Cave NP), so we were excited to see how this compared.

Welcome to the Chihuahuan Desert!

We were not disappointed.  We spent 2 hours on a ranger guided tour (Left Hand Tunnel) that was candle lit.  The young ranger was full of knowledge and thanks to off season travel our small group of 5 allowed lots of questions to be asked and much informal conversation to be had.  Visually the cave was magnificent with numerous cave decorations (speleothems), i.e. stalactites, stalagmites, helictiles, draperies, columns, soda straws, popcorn, etc. 

I've got my candle! Which way to the cave?

Historically this cave began as a 400-mile-long reef in an inland sea.  Eventually this sea evaporated and the reef was buried under salt and gypsum deposits.  Millions of years later this region underwent uplift with erosion revealing the ancient rock reef.  Due to a combination of rainwater seeping downward and hydrogen sulfide-rich water from surrounding gas and oil fields migrating upward, sulfuric acid formed and began dissolving limestone that helped create the large chambers and passages we see today. 

A little sulfuric acid goes a long way!

Our fun at Carlsbad Caverns continued with a self-guided tour through the natural entrance of the cave into the Big Room.  A lone ranger took us under her wing after we helped her remove coins (thrown by ignorant tourists) from a pool in the cavern.  She pointed out many hard to see fossils that are proof of the ancient reef that once covered this region.

Look at that!  A fossilized nautiloid!

Due to an early start we were able to leave Carlsbad by 1 pm and embark on the intimidating task of driving across the 2nd largest state.  Turns out Texas wasn't nearly as painful to drive through as we’d been warned.  But I'll let Charlie share those stories with you.   

So now we're officially caught up through week 3 of our 4 week road trip.  Stay tuned...one more week to go!!