After the winter in Arizona, we finally returned to our “normal” lifestyle of setting out in the camper. Our first leg was to go to southern California for two weeks to visit family and to check out the few remaining wildflowers and cacti blossoms. After that we set out excitedly on our planned itinerary; Sequoia, King Canyon, and Yosemite National Parks. Lassen and Shasta mountains, Shasta Lake, Hell’s Canyon, Bitterroots , …. (Well you get the idea).
After one nice day in the mountains of the Sequoia National Forest above 7000 feet, a freak, late in the season, snowstorm blew in overnight. Temperatures dropped to below freezing, rain turned to sleet, ice, and snow. Pat bounded out of the camper, slipped on ice, and went down. She immediately was fairly certain her left wrist was broken. The weather continued to worsen and we had no phone signal, internet, or TV to check on road conditions. We had to face a steep, windy road down 6000 feet to the nearest town, which was so small that the probability of having an ER or hospital was unlikely. Ron flagged down a driver (the only one we had seen that day so far) and learned that the roads were wet but not icy. The driver lived locally and knew the nearest ER which was another 10 miles after descending the hill. We quickly broke camp, wrapped the wrist in ice and took off down the hill. For some reason the C.W. McCall hit of the seventies “Wolf Creek Pass” comes to mind. An hour later we arrived at the ER to learn the wrist was in fact broken and would require surgery, follow-up, PT and that would require staying put for a 3 month (all summer) timeframe. Since this was a remote, small town and unfamiliar to us, after much contemplation and trade-offs, we decided to get to Colorado where we knew the infrastructure. The snow storm continued to plague us as it moved easterly with us and was so powerful that it covered most of the west. We pressed on hoping that we would arrive at least in as good condition as we started. We arrived safely with carefully driving, good fortune, and all of our support on high looking over us.
Jumping ahead, Pat had her surgery on May 23, which installed a titanium plate inside her wrist and is improving every day. With this situation dealt to us, we decided to sojourn in Colorado for an extended time. Pat can then heal properly with the proper medical care nearby and, we thought, we would take this opportunity to “toss” our storage area. In this case “toss” means to remove all those things that we couldn’t part with five years ago yet haven’t seen since, and reevaluate what things we kept and why. This would also allow time for us to visit family more often, visit longer with friends here, have a Colorado Christmas, and to hear the elk bugling in the fall.
SO we are taking a sabbatical from our nomad lifestyle. However, it is ONLY a sabbatical and we DO plan to resume again. We may also use this opportunity to do some international travel, shorter jaunts, or who knows what? This event has certainly underlined the notion to remain open, spontaneous, and flexible in life’s plans because anything can happen. Another lesson to us that we are doing what’s right for us: living and having fun in the present while making minimum plans for the future.
In these four years of our travels, we have been to 50 states and a dozen countries and provinces. We have driven very few miles, probably less than many of you in your normal year. We try to keep a low carbon footprint (i.e. not use much gas and fuel), so we drive short distances, see and do everything we want to in that area, then move on down the road and do that again. And, of course, we have rented semi-permanent places as snowbirds during the winter months. So there will most likely be few, wow- style, blog postings for awhile until we start rolling once again. We do plan on finding some new and interesting things to do and see here. Thank you all for your wonderful responses to our blogs and the support and encouragement to continue. Please keep in touch with us as we love hearing from you all!
Pat and Ron's Travel Adventures
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Friday, April 29, 2011
Feb- April 2011 Phoenix
After spending December and January island-hopping in Hawaii, we down-shifted to pick somewhere else warm to spend the rest of the winter. Since our national winter weather continues to be above average rain/snowfall and below average temperatures, staying in the Sonoran Desert seemed beneficial. Staying in the Salt River Valley area near Phoenix in a rental apartment allowed us to take advantage of the infrastructure of an urban area, such as having a TV, a washer/dryer, internet access, and having an actual address for shipments. We even joined Blockbuster-by-mail temporarily, all while enjoying temperate weather and maintaining our Hawaiian tans. The balmy evenings allowed for romantic experiences of patio dining, full moon hikes in the desert, watching sunsets, and gazing at starry, clear skies. Orion’s belt and Sirius have become as familiar to us as the Big Dipper and North Star.
In addition to the frequent pool time, we filled our days of fun with hikes in the desert (still have not found Lost Dutchman’s mine, but we did manage to avoid rattlesnakes, tarantulas and scorpions), listening to outdoor concerts in botanical gardens, seeing the desert scenery come alive with spring, listening to the many songbirds, smelling the orange blossoms and roses in bloom, feasting on fresh citrus right off the trees, and watching the Rockies spring training at the new Salt River Fields here in the Spring Training “cactus league.”
For Pat’s birthday, we stayed in a cabin directly on the south rim of the Grand Canyon with a big picture window framing a spectacular view of one of the Seven Wonders of the Natural World. We were blessed with seeing a pair of California Condors that have been introduced nearby and use the Grand Canyon as their home. California Condors were once nearly extinct and numbered a mere 22. They are coming back due to a captivity breeding program and reintroduction into the wild, now number ~175 in the wild. They have a 9-foot wingspan and can weigh up to 26 pounds and are the largest bird in North America. Since all of them have been tagged, we could look up the exact age and gender of the two that we saw (next to a Raven in our photo which is no small bird either.)
Other side-trips included a visit to Montezuma’s castle, a five story prehistoric Indian cliff dwelling, which is amazingly well preserved. We also went to Sedona to view the breathtaking red rocks and to feel the energy of the vortexes that Sedona is famous for.
All in all, this has been different for us to stay in one spot for so long. While there was a certain benefit and enjoyment to these few months, we do feel a calling to begin our travels again. This will begin our fifth year of this nomad lifestyle of following the winds of adventure that takes us on our random escapades. We continue to affirm that this lifestyle suits us well. Our enjoyment of freedom has not been tempered and our thirst for changing venues has not been quenched. We will soon be rolling once again, west to California then north, so stay tuned for the next chapter of Ron and Pat’s Greatest Adventures.
In addition to the frequent pool time, we filled our days of fun with hikes in the desert (still have not found Lost Dutchman’s mine, but we did manage to avoid rattlesnakes, tarantulas and scorpions), listening to outdoor concerts in botanical gardens, seeing the desert scenery come alive with spring, listening to the many songbirds, smelling the orange blossoms and roses in bloom, feasting on fresh citrus right off the trees, and watching the Rockies spring training at the new Salt River Fields here in the Spring Training “cactus league.”
For Pat’s birthday, we stayed in a cabin directly on the south rim of the Grand Canyon with a big picture window framing a spectacular view of one of the Seven Wonders of the Natural World. We were blessed with seeing a pair of California Condors that have been introduced nearby and use the Grand Canyon as their home. California Condors were once nearly extinct and numbered a mere 22. They are coming back due to a captivity breeding program and reintroduction into the wild, now number ~175 in the wild. They have a 9-foot wingspan and can weigh up to 26 pounds and are the largest bird in North America. Since all of them have been tagged, we could look up the exact age and gender of the two that we saw (next to a Raven in our photo which is no small bird either.)
Other side-trips included a visit to Montezuma’s castle, a five story prehistoric Indian cliff dwelling, which is amazingly well preserved. We also went to Sedona to view the breathtaking red rocks and to feel the energy of the vortexes that Sedona is famous for.
All in all, this has been different for us to stay in one spot for so long. While there was a certain benefit and enjoyment to these few months, we do feel a calling to begin our travels again. This will begin our fifth year of this nomad lifestyle of following the winds of adventure that takes us on our random escapades. We continue to affirm that this lifestyle suits us well. Our enjoyment of freedom has not been tempered and our thirst for changing venues has not been quenched. We will soon be rolling once again, west to California then north, so stay tuned for the next chapter of Ron and Pat’s Greatest Adventures.
Friday, January 28, 2011
January in Maui and Kauai
Maui is one of the most popular tourist destinations of any of Hawaii’s islands and also has many things to do. Maui, as with all the islands, has only a few, windy, narrow roads since access around the mountains can be limited. While we were there, rain storms, flashfloods, and rock slides closed the roads to Hana, Kihei, and Lahaina!
The remoteness and serenity of the Hana area on the east side of Maui is mainly due to the famous “road to Hana” which is not for the faint-hearted. But with road improvements many people have discovered its beauty and make the journey from the west side daily. It is still beautiful and serene and we were glad we chose to stay for a week there, getting ahead of the crowds for such sights as the lava flow in Haleakala National Park, Venus Pool and Seven Sacred Pools, Charles Lindberg’s grave, and Waianapanapa Black Sand Beach.
Kahanu Gardens, located on beautiful shoreline acreage, is one of the National Tropical Botanical Gardens and showcases native and Polynesian-introduced plants. A massive temple started in the late 1200’s and finished in 1570, called Pi’ilanihale Heiau, covers more than three acres itself. Notes of interest from a few plants there: Bamboo is the fastest growing plant in the world. The record is 4 ft in a 24 hour period! Breadfruit Trees have fruit that can get up to 10 lbs, and are 5-8” in diameter. The Hau plants have flowers that are yellow in the morning and turn red in the evening. Children are told to be home before the hau blossom turns red.
On the western side of Maui is the center of the island’s activities, the most popular being whale watching boat trips this time of the year. They did not disappoint! We saw the whales up close. There were breaching over and over so many times that we lost count, fin slapping, travelling with their young, travelling alongside the boat, and diving (showing their humpback posture and tails.) There are ~20,000 humpback whales in existence and they are still an endangered species, although increasing in number. 60% of them winter in Hawaii. Japan and Mexico are the other main breeding areas. Norway, Japan, & Iceland still hunt whales and do not abide by the International Whaling Commission’s ban on commercial whaling, calling their kills “scientific.” The area in-between Lana’i, Maui, Moloka’i (leprosy settlement in 1800s), and Kaho’olawe is the primary Hawaii winter area, as the water is shallower and warmer (no predator orcas or sharks) for their birthing and breeding. Only the males do the singing and each group (Hawaiian, Mexican, Japanese) sing their own group tune. The whales do not feed while in Hawaii and lose much weight before their trek back to Alaska or Russia. Gestation is nearly a year, and calves weigh 2 tons at birth, are nursed for 10-12 months, and double in length their first year. Whales do not mate for life, or for very long for that matter.
We attended a Luau that was more native than touristy. They served potent mai tai’s, as well as traditional cuisine including poi, Kalua pork (cooked in underground oven lined with banana leaves and covered with burlap and sand,) Polynesian Mahi-Mahi, Kuili chicken, Ahi, taro salad, and much more, earning praise from Zagat Survey and Emeril Live and many guidebooks. The entertainment portion included Tahitian drumming and showed the migration of the hula dancing starting with ancient hula, the changes with the Polynesian’s arrival in Hawaii, going through the missionary period, and up to today’s contemporary version.
Kauai is the most northern island and, as such, receives the brunt of the oncoming weather. The Hawaiians believe that the 7th chakra is located there and the energy from the gods for the islands passes through here. It is the oldest island, the most mountainous, and, as a result, has the most inaccessible amount of land area. The famous rugged Na Pali Coast is viewable by boat, airplane, or the famous 11 mile Kalalau Trail.
We decided that a helicopter trip around the island of Kauai was the best way for us to experience these mostly inaccessible parts of the island. It was an overcast day but the clouds were higher up so we still were able to see the island. We couldn’t even imagine how many waterfalls could be on one island as they were falling all over each other. The Wai’ale’ale Crater is a 3-sided wall of waterfalls 3,000’ high with a lushness that is beyond comprehension. It gets an average of 440” rain/year and is the rainiest spot on the planet. The top of the peak was covered in cloud as it almost always is. Kauai is so green and is like no other place in the world. Over 90% of the Kauai is completely inaccessible and this trip showed us why. The beauty of the backcountry is beyond description in its lushness, greenness, and primitiveness.
Kaliuea Lighthouse National Wildlife Refuge is where we saw many spouting and breeching humpback whales, red-footed boobies covering nearby cliffs, albatrosses dancing their mating dance, and frigatebirds in flight. These birds have 6, 7 and 8 feet wingspans respectively and are amazing to watch soar.
It is impossible to talk about any island in Hawaii without mentioning the beaches. There are red, black, and white sand beaches. Some beaches are protected by bays or coral reefs providing calm water for swimming and snorkeling. Others have high waves and rugged coasts. Some are tough hikes to access and some can be driven to. All are beautiful to visit. There is a wealth of choices from which to swim, snorkel (once with a large sea turtle), watch waves, watch surfers, look for whales, or just lie in the sun. Many of these beaches have been used in Hollywood films (as have the lush valleys and waterfalls on the islands) such as “South Pacific”, “Jurassic Park”, “Six Days, Seven Nights”, “From Here to Eternity”, and “Raiders of the Lost Ark.”
Our two months in Hawaii have gone by quickly. A more adventuresome winter with great weather could not be imagined. The people were wonderful and the aloha spirit was seen everywhere. While we have done so much, we still have things on our list saved for the next time. We will return someday. Until then we had to say Aloha and mahalo to our only state that was once a kingdom.
We are in the Phoenix area now through the end of April catching up with friends, playing tennis, working out, hiking, sightseeing in the state, seeing the desert in bloom, and, in general, having a great time until the weather warms up elsewhere.
Until next blog, Happy Trails!
Pat & Ron
The remoteness and serenity of the Hana area on the east side of Maui is mainly due to the famous “road to Hana” which is not for the faint-hearted. But with road improvements many people have discovered its beauty and make the journey from the west side daily. It is still beautiful and serene and we were glad we chose to stay for a week there, getting ahead of the crowds for such sights as the lava flow in Haleakala National Park, Venus Pool and Seven Sacred Pools, Charles Lindberg’s grave, and Waianapanapa Black Sand Beach.
Kahanu Gardens, located on beautiful shoreline acreage, is one of the National Tropical Botanical Gardens and showcases native and Polynesian-introduced plants. A massive temple started in the late 1200’s and finished in 1570, called Pi’ilanihale Heiau, covers more than three acres itself. Notes of interest from a few plants there: Bamboo is the fastest growing plant in the world. The record is 4 ft in a 24 hour period! Breadfruit Trees have fruit that can get up to 10 lbs, and are 5-8” in diameter. The Hau plants have flowers that are yellow in the morning and turn red in the evening. Children are told to be home before the hau blossom turns red.
On the western side of Maui is the center of the island’s activities, the most popular being whale watching boat trips this time of the year. They did not disappoint! We saw the whales up close. There were breaching over and over so many times that we lost count, fin slapping, travelling with their young, travelling alongside the boat, and diving (showing their humpback posture and tails.) There are ~20,000 humpback whales in existence and they are still an endangered species, although increasing in number. 60% of them winter in Hawaii. Japan and Mexico are the other main breeding areas. Norway, Japan, & Iceland still hunt whales and do not abide by the International Whaling Commission’s ban on commercial whaling, calling their kills “scientific.” The area in-between Lana’i, Maui, Moloka’i (leprosy settlement in 1800s), and Kaho’olawe is the primary Hawaii winter area, as the water is shallower and warmer (no predator orcas or sharks) for their birthing and breeding. Only the males do the singing and each group (Hawaiian, Mexican, Japanese) sing their own group tune. The whales do not feed while in Hawaii and lose much weight before their trek back to Alaska or Russia. Gestation is nearly a year, and calves weigh 2 tons at birth, are nursed for 10-12 months, and double in length their first year. Whales do not mate for life, or for very long for that matter.
We attended a Luau that was more native than touristy. They served potent mai tai’s, as well as traditional cuisine including poi, Kalua pork (cooked in underground oven lined with banana leaves and covered with burlap and sand,) Polynesian Mahi-Mahi, Kuili chicken, Ahi, taro salad, and much more, earning praise from Zagat Survey and Emeril Live and many guidebooks. The entertainment portion included Tahitian drumming and showed the migration of the hula dancing starting with ancient hula, the changes with the Polynesian’s arrival in Hawaii, going through the missionary period, and up to today’s contemporary version.
Kauai is the most northern island and, as such, receives the brunt of the oncoming weather. The Hawaiians believe that the 7th chakra is located there and the energy from the gods for the islands passes through here. It is the oldest island, the most mountainous, and, as a result, has the most inaccessible amount of land area. The famous rugged Na Pali Coast is viewable by boat, airplane, or the famous 11 mile Kalalau Trail.
We decided that a helicopter trip around the island of Kauai was the best way for us to experience these mostly inaccessible parts of the island. It was an overcast day but the clouds were higher up so we still were able to see the island. We couldn’t even imagine how many waterfalls could be on one island as they were falling all over each other. The Wai’ale’ale Crater is a 3-sided wall of waterfalls 3,000’ high with a lushness that is beyond comprehension. It gets an average of 440” rain/year and is the rainiest spot on the planet. The top of the peak was covered in cloud as it almost always is. Kauai is so green and is like no other place in the world. Over 90% of the Kauai is completely inaccessible and this trip showed us why. The beauty of the backcountry is beyond description in its lushness, greenness, and primitiveness.
Kaliuea Lighthouse National Wildlife Refuge is where we saw many spouting and breeching humpback whales, red-footed boobies covering nearby cliffs, albatrosses dancing their mating dance, and frigatebirds in flight. These birds have 6, 7 and 8 feet wingspans respectively and are amazing to watch soar.
It is impossible to talk about any island in Hawaii without mentioning the beaches. There are red, black, and white sand beaches. Some beaches are protected by bays or coral reefs providing calm water for swimming and snorkeling. Others have high waves and rugged coasts. Some are tough hikes to access and some can be driven to. All are beautiful to visit. There is a wealth of choices from which to swim, snorkel (once with a large sea turtle), watch waves, watch surfers, look for whales, or just lie in the sun. Many of these beaches have been used in Hollywood films (as have the lush valleys and waterfalls on the islands) such as “South Pacific”, “Jurassic Park”, “Six Days, Seven Nights”, “From Here to Eternity”, and “Raiders of the Lost Ark.”
Our two months in Hawaii have gone by quickly. A more adventuresome winter with great weather could not be imagined. The people were wonderful and the aloha spirit was seen everywhere. While we have done so much, we still have things on our list saved for the next time. We will return someday. Until then we had to say Aloha and mahalo to our only state that was once a kingdom.
We are in the Phoenix area now through the end of April catching up with friends, playing tennis, working out, hiking, sightseeing in the state, seeing the desert in bloom, and, in general, having a great time until the weather warms up elsewhere.
Until next blog, Happy Trails!
Pat & Ron
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