"Pit Stop" 6.12.09

Today we continued our relentless pursuit of the Pacific Coast. We were on the on the road early and heading west. Utah is an amazing state. The drive on Interstate 70 is fantastic although I think my family had seen enough rock formations. After driving through Salt Lake City we began crossing the salt flats along the states western border.

We drove all day and began to get close to our Wells, Nevada. There we found a laundromat and decided to do the wash before it overtook the RV. While there I notice the back passenger side tire was low. The pressure was good but the inside tire was completely flat. After failed attempts to inflate the tire we decided we would have to have it worked on in the morning. We finished the laundry, found a campground and called it a night.

The next day we pulled into a local garage had them look at the tire. It had a gash in the sidewall and would have to be replaced. Fortunately they had one in stock. While putting the new tire on the mechanic noticed a crack all the way through the brake rotor. Wonderful. We would now need a rear brake job. Unlucky for us, it was Saturday. There would be no way to get the parts before Monday and I have reservations for Yosemite National Park. It did not look like a new crack in the rotor so I decided to continue west. I called ahead to a place in San Francisco and made arrangements to have the brakes done when I get there in five days.

As the day progressed we made it through the remainder of Nevada and through Reno. We then turned south to go around Lake Tahoe and down to the west side of Yosemite where we would camp for the night. Lake Tahoe was gorgeous but the next 100 miles of road where made up of hairpin turns and 8% slopes. (No pics because we were in a hurry and there were few places to pull off the road.) At one point we were on a road with nothing on either side. No guard rails, no side of the road. Just a white line and then oblivion. We took the next 4 hours to go a 100 miles and arrived at our campground at midnight. Everyone was asleep already so I quickly leveled the RV, put out the slides, hooked up the water and electric and got to bed. I was very tired but looking forward to tomorrow. Yosemite! Woo Hoo!

"The Canyonlands" - 6.11.09

Today the family headed to one of my favorite national parks. The Canyon- lands. The Canyon- lands are split into districts. The "Island in the Sky" and the "Needles." We packed a cooler, topped off the gas tank and headed south.

On the way we stopped in at Dead Horse Point. The Point is a small peninsula connected to the main mesa by a narrow neck of land. The story goes that cowboys used to drive wild horses onto the point and pen them there with a brush fence. Some were accidentally forgotten and left to perish, well in view of the Colorado River 2000 feet below.

Next stop: the Mesa Arch. The Mesa Arch sets atop a sheer cliff that drops nearly 1,000 feet to the canyon bottom. As you approach the arch it begins to take your breath away. It perfectly frames the scenic landscape below. Almost like looking through a crystal clear window. What a cool place.

The main thing on my list to do was to drive the Shafer Trail. This drive will forever have a place in my heart. Five years ago my father and I drove this trail and found it to be one of the most memorable trips we had ever taken. It was a special time as the shadows of the setting sun gave an added dimension to the canyonlands. We had a great time. We also forgot our camera. So for five years it has lived in my heart with hopes of returning. Today I did.

Through a series of very tight switchbacks we made our way down the side of the cliff. And I mean the side of the cliff. Elizabeth wouldn't even look. Ethan and I thought it was cool. We continued for the next few hours over rough roads and four wheel drive terrain. All this time taking in the sights of the enormous walls of the canyon. It was glorious. My family grew tired of the uneven road after a couple of hours and we were all thankful for a paved road.

Tomorrow we drive all day and spend the evening at a Flying J in Wells, Nevada. Please pray for safe travels for me and my family. -Alan

"The Devil's Garden" - 6.10.09

Got up early today and headed back into the Arches. I was interested in getting a few photos of the Delicate Arch as sunrise. I got to the lookout point, hiked about a mile and enjoyed having the area to myself. There was one in sight. It was very quiet and very peaceful. I took my photos and decided it would be a great time to spend talking to God.

You see, I worry alot about things. I've not always been this way, but it seems to be overwelming at times. God and I have been working on this. It's no fun always being stressed and I am tired of it wearing me down. Like I said, we are working on it. Pray for me.

We are staying at the Riverside Oasis RV Park. It's really is an oasis. In all of the desert surroundings you find this park with plush green grass and wonderful shade trees. (And mosquitos)

Our plans for the day were to hike the Devil's Garden Trail. This six mile hike took us past several arches. The Double O Arch and the Landscape Arch to name a few.

This was a difficult hike. You start out on nice trail that leads you through some incredible rock formations. In fact, the entire hike is through this "rock maze." The trail is marked with rock cairns and its usually a good idea to find the next one before moving on. We decided to take the primitive loop part of the trail which was sand for quite some time. Loose sand is a pain to walk in after a mile or so. Praise God the landscape was very diverting.

The boys did great for such a tough trail but decided they wanted a break after doing the Delicate Arch trail the evening before. Fortunately the weather was unseasonably cool. We experienced a little rain while we were on the trail but took shelter against one of the stone cliffs. We also encountered some heights as we traversed over a long rock "fin." They view was amazing.

We were all tired when we got back to the campground. Elizabeth made a great spaghetti dinner for us, we cleaned up and then went out for ice cream.

"Glenwood Canyon and The Arches" 6.9.09

We stayed the night at a nice campground in Gypsum, CO. It sat right on the Colorado River. We awoke the next morning to warmer weather. A very welcome sight. We took our time that morning, broke camp and continued west to the Arches National Park.

Once on the road we soon came upon Glenwood Canyon, one of the country's most scenic roadways and one of the last sections of interstate to be built. The 16 mile long stretch of highway, completed in 1992, snakes through the canyon with a series of 39 bridges and 3 tunnels as it follows the Colorado River. The engineering feat itself is remarkable. The highway just seems to "fit" the canyon. It is a place I will visit again.

About 30 miles into Utah we exited onto highway route 129, the scenic byway that would take us to the city of Moab. The drive starts out rather uneventful but soon you find yourself in a series of canyons and red rock formations. The color is so vivid. For 50 miles we enjoyed the winding road to Moab. When we arrived we set up camp and decided to enter the park and hike to Delicate Arch.

Delicate Arch is the premiere symbol of the Arches National Park if not for the entire state of Utah. It is tall enough to shelter a 4 story building and frames the La Sal Mountains in the background. The trail to the Delicate Arch is a 3 mile round-trip. Part of the trail involves a long walk up a steep grade of slickrock. (In the picture you can see Elizabeth and Noah coming down.) The trail passes along the edge of cliffs with no railing. Very cool and very careful. We arrived at the Arch and hoped for the clouds to clear so the sunset would cast shadows across the rocks. No such luck. We waited but the sun never came. It was great evening though. On the way back down the imagination of God just made me smile. I had witnessed completely different landscapes within a 24 hour period and yet all were breathtaking in their own way.

All Ethan wants to do is climb on steep rocks, Elizabeth wants to move rocks, and Noah... well, Noah just rocks!
I can't believe I get to live this life. - Alan

"Trail Ridge Road" - 6.8.09

We broke camp early at the Elk Meadow RV Park and was entering the Rocky Mountain National Park for the last time around 6:30 am. Our plans? Get across Trail Ridge Road before any bad weather set in.

Trail Ridge Road is the park's star attraction and the world's highest continuous paved highway. It tops out at 12,183 feet above sea level. It's 48 miles long and connects the east and west entrances. It climbs 4,300 feet in elevation.

As we began our ascent the views were beyond description. (click on the pictures for a larger image) Again, every turn was something different and wonderful. We had just passed the 10,000 ft. mark when we saw something we could not believe. "ROAD CLOSED" was on the gate before me. My heart sank for a couple of reasons. First of all, this is one of the premiere drives in United States. I had looking forward to it for months. Second, we were heading west. We would take Trail Ridge Road out of the west side of the park and down to Interstate 70 where we would head for Utah. With the road closed we would have to head back down off the mountain and backtrack through Boulder, etc. That would take hours.

I spoke to a ranger there and he felt confident that the road would open that day but could not say when. There had been snow the day and evening before, (which I got caught in - check last blog entry) and the 1.5 foot drifts had to be cleared off the road.

I decided to wait. Going back was not an option. I had waited a long time to drive this road and was going to do it today. So we waited... and waited... and waited... and finally we waited some more. We were the first ones at this checkpoint where the gates were closed. Over the next several hours we saw tour buses come up the mountain and then turn back. We invited some motorcyclists from Germany to warm up in the RV, and I had the opportunity to meet a nice gentleman from Maine who was visiting the park, like me, for the first time.

Four hours later, the gates opened. Everyone made a dash to get in line. Not me. I am 50 feet long and slow. We were happy to be underway. As we headed above the treeline, the terrain becomes rather barren, but the sheer size of the mountains is... intimidating. As you can see in the pictures, there were snow drifts taller than the RV and no guard rails along the road. You may also notice the long poles sticking out of the ground on each side of the road. The poles are there so the snow plows can know where the road is when there is 10 ft. of snow.

Just after we passed 12,000 feet the snow hit... and it hit hard. The winds picked up and again the mountains and a good part of the road disappeared. We crawled our way down the mountain very carefully. I don't want to give the wrong impression. We weren't in any real danger but it was unnerving. As we dropped in elevation the snow began to let up. The scenery began to come back into focus through the white snowy haze.We missed many of the views that Trail Ridge Road had to offer but we will always remember the experience.

After climbing a few more mountains south of the park we made it to Interstate 70 and headed west. I was exhausted, but in a good way. We thanked the Lord for keeping us safe... and in awe. -Alan

"Bear Lake" 6.7.09

We headed up to Bear Lake today. (on the left) It was too cold and we did not wear enough layers. So after a quick walk around the lake we headed back to the campground.

Back at camp, I decided to go back too the trail by myself. Beyond Bear Lake the trail would take you to Nymph Lake and then Emerald Lake. It would take about 2 hours round trip and would be a chance for me to spend alone. I dressed in a few more layers and took off for the
trailhead.

I was having a wonderful time heading up the trail and keeping an eye on the weather. I had my rain poncho but wasn't really interested in walking in the rain. As I approached Nymph Lake (right) the snow began to fall. Not much, so I pressed on looking forward to reaching the beautiful Emerald Lake. That would not be happening today.

Another mile into the trail and the mountain disappeared in front of me. The snow was falling so hard that everything whited out and the winds were blowing about 40 miles an hour. I decided to wait behind some pine trees and see if it passed. The return trail was still very visible but the trail ahead was heading higher in elevation and into the snow storm. After about 15 minutes and no change in the weather, I decided to head back. With the snow at my back and the cover of the trees the trail back was uneventful but beautiful none the less. I made this video in case I was never found again. Just kidding. - Alan note: You can click on the pictures for a larger view.

"Hiking in the Rockies" 6.6.09

Woke up this morning to the beautiful view of the Rockies outside my front window. I gathered my Bible and devotional book and had a wonderful time with God. "He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Jesus Christ" - Philipians 1:6

After breakfast, we got our things together for our afternoon hike. We filled our water containers, packed trail mix (with extra M&Ms), some Clif bars and of course a camera. It was a windy day in Estes Park and the temperatures were running in the high 50's to low 60's. We put on a few layers and headed out after lunch.

Our trail of choice was the Glacier Gorge Trail. We entered the park and took a shuttle to the trailhead. On the way we spotted several elk and deer but we were hoping to spot some "many much moosin." (Brian Regan quote)

The trail to Mills Lake is 5.2 miles round trip and is has an elevation gain of 700 feet. It starts at about 9000 feet above sea level and the air is definately thinner than in Kentucky. About a mile into the trail we came up on the roar of Alberta Falls. We climbed to the top of the falls, had a snack and a drink and enjoyed the raging water. The rivers in the park are all running at full throttle as the winter snow is melting.

Ethan and Noah spent most of the time on the trail listening to their ipods. Noah said the music helped him hike. He has discovered TobyMac. Hey, when your the guy with the shortest legs, go with what works.

We kept going up and the air kept getting thinner. It didn't seem to effect us much but we kept drinking water and paced ourselves. The scenery was incredible. At ever turn in the trail it seemed the world would just open up. As we got closer to the end the trail became covered in snow and after two hours we made it to Mill Lake where we rested and celebrated reaching our destination.

The trip down the mountain was much easier but still brought breath-taking views. Back at the trailhead we found that we had completed the 5 mile jaunt in 3.5 hours. It was a glorious hike and a completely marvelous day. We all slept well that night. - Alan

"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever." - Psalm 107

Mill Lake