Month: August 2021

So much to see…so little time. The truth is one can never see it all, especially considering the universe is constantly changing. For me, it’s not just about seeing. It’s about the whole experience. I have always been interested in nature and have tried to combine that with my interest in photography. The experience is different depending on conditions. The weather is always changing. Having a camera at the ready, or even the lens attached can influence the direction of interest. It seems that fixing your attention on what matters most (at the time) gives the best chance at achieving the warm feeling that comes with success. Sometimes I have to be in the moment without a camera. Often the experience is more about the people present at the time. I have been to the Big Five in Utah and the plus One (in Colorado) but not with any of my grandchildren. This time, they were to be the primary focus; as they were with the rest of this road trip. 

This will be the last post reporting the twins’ six-year-old adventure. As I write this, my thoughts turn to the limited number of adventures I have left with grandkids in their sixth year of life. I am pleased that I was invited to share these memories and look forward to two more with grandchildren on my daughter’s side. This adventure has to have an end though. Kids have to go back to school and parents have to make a living. 

Mommy and Nana were not going to be able to travel back with us across the country. The only park of the Big Five that they would accompany us to was Zion National Park, being the closest to Las Vegas. The rest of the way, only the five of us will see what we can see.

Zion is impressive. I have heard more than one national park aficionado claim it as their favorite. That impressiveness comes with challenges for children (and to the adults in charge; especially when trying to manage three children under eight who are active, not very cautious, and likely to run in three different directions at the same time).  Falling off a cliff, experiencing heat exhaustion, and being swept up by a flash flood are three dangerous challenges that come immediately to mind. Adding to that, is the stress our grandkids impose on themselves in their natural tendency to be competitive. Silly stuff, like being the first in the family to complete the tasks necessary to earn the Junior Ranger badge—which are not meant to be competitive; but rather educational, and fun. Even though this was an adventure planned for the twins, some activities were not suitable at their age. One such activity best left to the adults in the group was the hike up to Angel’s Landing from the canyon floor. I had never done it. My son and daughter-in-law–who hiked part of the Appalachian Trail for their honeymoon–were able to fit it into the itinerary. Nana and Popop helped make it possible by babysitting the kids. Honestly, it would probably have been too much of a challenge for either of us, and certainly too dangerous for the three children to go. You can see why in the photo above taken by my son as they were returning from the hike. It was something my son knew he wanted to do with his wife and we were happy to make ourselves available. He met a guy at Mesa Verde National Park who gave him some good advice. He said to rent electric scooters the night before and ride from the hotel to the trailhead by 5 in the morning to beat the crowd–the buses don’t operate at that hour and you are not allowed to drive to the trailhead during the busy seasons. They followed the advice and had the trail to themselves; not having to worry about waiting at the narrow parts, where you need to hold onto the chain (visible in the picture above…you might also see the little black dot that I believe is my daughter-in law holding the chain) so you don’t fall off the cliff. They hustled up the switchbacks, arriving at the top on time to see the sunrise without having to share the space until a man who ran the trail showed up. My son enjoyed telling us about the hike and said it was one of the most interesting and beautiful hikes of his life. I think he was grateful he got sound advice that made things go smoothly and pleased he could go without his little ones. When they get older, maybe another trip will be in order.

Later in the day, they hiked with the whole family, including us, on the River Walk and part of the Narrows trail. It was a great hike, and fortunately mostly shaded by the deep gorge cut by the North Fork of the Virgin River. Afterward, they took the kids back to eat and to swim at the hotel. My wife and I hiked the Emerald Pools trail. Zion, like Yellowstone is a park I hope to visit someday when snow is on the ground.

After two nights in Zion National Park, the ladies got up early and drove the car we rented in Las Vegas back to catch their flight home. Shortly after they left, we began our journey towards home in the truck, connecting Utah’s other four National Parks; Bryce, Capitol Reef, Arches and Canyonlands as we headed east. They are all worth seeing, as well as the scenery that you see along the way. I wish I had time to go into more stories and label all the photos that you can see by clicking here (A few taken by my son.) but even a retired teacher like me has to do things besides manage a website.

Oh, and the plus one…it was supposed to be Rocky Mountain National Park, but when we were heading up Interstate 70 in Colorado, just past Grand Junction, a wicked summer storm came through. It was exciting with all the lightning, thunder, a little bit of hail, and buckets of rain. The sky turned dark, and we ran into a traffic jam; which was not exciting or expected. Twenty minutes later, creeping along with the traffic, we were directed off the highway by flashing lights and police to a truck-stop parking area in Palisade, Colorado, along the Colorado River. Without further information, we waited awhile. Finally, I looked on Google maps and found that it indicated the road was closed for two days. This was supported by people who were waiting but had CB radios. The river needs rain delivered slowly from snow melt, not so much all at one time. The truck drivers said they heard a report that the storm had caused a landslide that covered the road. We were lucky we were not at the point of the landslide when it happened. We realized there aren’t many routes through this part of the Rockies, so we had to make a change of plans. We drove back towards Grand Junction on the interstate, until we could cut over to Route 50 east. This way brought us close to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. It is one my son had never been to and another one where the kids could possibly get another Junior Ranger badge. 

After a short but successful visit to the Black Canyon the next morning, we began the long drive home. Sometimes, a short stop to a place of interest leads to thoughts of trips there in the future. My son talked of revisiting the park again someday as we headed through the mountains. Though we brought fishing poles we never took the time to fish on the whole trip. My grandmother used to say, “maybe that’s on the next page.” We stopped for lunch where we discussed the route home, and decided to travel through the night while the kids were sleeping. During the daylight hours there was much to see and much to reflect on as we drove. As we headed east in Kansas the moon rose and it appeared as big and as red as I can ever remember–unfortunately, most probably due to the massive fires raging in the Pacific west. We made very good time and 27 hours later; (mostly driven by my son) traveling about 1700 miles, we made it home.

All in all, the twins’ adventure netted them eight national parks and seven Junior Ranger badges. I am grateful for the service and enthusiasm the park service employees displayed. The twins and their sister made many pledges as they received there badges from the rangers. Pledges I hope they will remember. The effort may lead to much more than just checking a list or getting plastic badges. Hopefully, their adventure helped foster intellectual curiosity that will live on, will provide material for stories of fond memories with family the twins can tell for years to come, and it instilled a sense of appreciation for nature that will eventually build to respect and stewardship of the Earth that will be entrusted to all of their generation. Maybe expecting all this from children is a tall order. If only they can learn from the mistakes of the people that came before them. The more I travel, the more I see the impact of our actions. I think there is time, but a little sense of urgency is in order.

If you are a family member and can remember your password, you can click here to see the family photos.

We only stayed in Las Vegas for a few days. We had a large and lovely three bedroom unit with a huge balcony overlooking the pools. This was the twins’ adventure and they love to swim. So, this was a good place to spend time with grandchildren; while their parents went to try their luck at the casino. I have been to Vegas probably too many times.  I no longer get excited about playing Black Jack. Though I have never lost money (gambling in Vegas at least), I value the time with family more than time spent at the table. However, it is a convenient place to fly into; and that made Las Vegas ideal for this six-year-old adventure—as a midway point to meet with the two people who were left behind when we started the road trip. 

The twins’ older sister has a photo of her with dad petting a dolphin when she was almost two. The twins thought they wanted to have the same experience, so we went expecting to repeat it for them. The problem was that in the roughly four years since then, it had gotten about four times as expensive. Thankfully, when posed with the question, “Would you rather pet a dolphin for a few seconds or buy a fluffy stuffed toy dolphin that you can keep?” they went with the much cheaper offer. They seemed happy to see the dolphins (and the tigers) in their enclosures. I am not so sure the happiness was reciprocated by the animals. It did remind me of a trip with my wife to a remote beach in Egypt years ago. We swam with a wild dolphin named Holly, who was known to regularly frequent the waters off the beach.  Recently, I looked her up and found two scientific papers that mention her. The articles are thought-provoking; which is certainly a goal of this website. There are probably more, but you can read the literature by clicking here for the one available through the NOAA site, or by clicking here to get to the one found on the website, Frontiers in Veterinary Science. You can use them to educate yourself and help form your own opinion on the topic if you wish.. 

My wife and I had hoped to make it to a few more attractions with the grandchildren, including the Bellagio Fountain Show, and maybe a Hoover Dam tour; but it didn’t happen this time. I hope there is still water in Lake Mead the next time we make it this way. The lake level is currently at an all time low since the dam was completed and allowed to fill. The last time it was full was 1983. Some scientists say it will probably never fill again. This has a lot of people worried. I may be asking myself, why Vegas? again someday–who knows when.

On our next leg, we headed to Utah to see the Big 5.

We left Great Sand Dunes a little early, not because it wasn’t worth another day, but because rain was forecasted. Besides, the kids had already earned their junior ranger badge and my son had bought another park sticker to add to his collection. Packing up camp with wet gear in the morning did not seem like the best option. So, we gathered our stuff and headed off to the next national park in Colorado, Mesa Verde. Originally, my son did not have it on the itinerary even though he had never seen it. We stopped in the city of Durango hoping to find an affordable hotel, but decided the town was a little too crowded and expensive. We determined that we could make it to Mesa Verde before dark and so we took a chance that there would be a spot at the campground there. We were lucky and we set up camp, had dinner, and showered before we ran out of light.  We were ready for an early morning start not knowing if this sort of park was going to be as interesting to the kids. They were able to pick up their Junior Ranger booklets in the morning and were thrilled to have the opportunity to earn another badge. We didn’t have to worry about where we were staying the next few nights, because months earlier I had booked a timeshare in Las Vegas. All we had to do was get there. The kids would be eager to see their mother and Nana, who had flown there to meet us. We learned on the twins’ older sister’s adventure that the kids would really start missing their Mommy after a few long days on the road. (For some photos of that 2019 adventure to Michigan click here. For a look back to the post on the first adventure click here)

It was a lot to get done, but the scenery, not only at the park, but also along the route to Four Corners Monument and all the way to Vegas was rich, and so different to what the children were used to back home. The weather cooperated and I took quite a few photos, some of which you can see by clicking here. After this leg of the adventure was over, my son said it was quite possibly the prettiest long drive he had ever taken. The kids had gotten another badge at Mesa Verde. At the Four Corners Monument, they were finally able to comprehend how it was actually possible to be in four states at the same time. Sometimes you just have to be there.

We arrived in Las Vegas as it was getting dark. The oldest child, as we turned onto the strip, looked out of her window and noticed all the lights and exclaimed with joy, “I think I am going to like Las Vegas.” It was hot when we got out of the air conditioned truck, but Mommy and Nana were there to greet us with lots of hugs.

We had plans to see the Colorado Rockies play the Los Angeles Dodgers in Denver and then on to see the Great Sand Dunes National Park after traversing Kansas. Both planned stops were big things, but they were many miles away. There was no way to cover the ground from St. Louis to Denver in one day by road without stopping during daylight hours with three young children in the back seat. After a successful stop at the Gateway Arch, we had no plans along the route, other than to find a place to sleep in Kansas, possibly at a state park. Some additional planning would be in order. An adventure is not really much fun if all you do is drive. A major goal of a six-year-old adventure is to be fun and exciting. It will not be memorable to a child, in any favorable way, if all you do is point out the road signs that say Welcome to Kansas (with the motto in Latin “Ad Astra per Aspera,” which using my two years Latin study from nearly 50 years ago translates as, “to the Stars through ???” to be honest, I don’t remember the word Aspera)  or Welcome to Colorful Colorado (which needs no translation). Although, I do think children get some joy out of entering a state for the first time, and it can be motivating later when it’s time for a lesson in American geography. 

After driving through Kansas City, we stopped in Salinas, Kansas, for dinner, after which we started to plan on the go. Camping at a state park was no longer an attractive option. It was getting late, we did not have a campground reservation, and most importantly it was still pretty hot. Earlier, while still in Missouri, I had checked the rates on my app for a room in the town of Hays, Kansas. I saw rates no lower than $298; which is higher than I would normally pay for a room on a six-year-old adventure. About an hour after dinner at the smaller town of Russell (about 30 miles east of Hays) only minutes before pulling into the motel I made a reservation on Booking.com, choosing a place that had a pretty high rating and at what I thought was a good rate. Upon entering the lobby of the Lodge at Russell, a young lady cheerfully said, “Hello, I will be with you in one minute.” As soon as she was free, I said I just made a reservation for the night and she replied, “That can’t be. We are fully booked.” She then looked on her computer and said, “I see you here, but that is for next week.” I was pretty sure I had checked the date before confirming. She said that she would cancel the reservation and was confident that I wouldn’t get billed. She said, “Out of curiosity, what rate did they quote?” I said, $58. She said, “ If we had rooms, I would have only charged 50 bucks.” She apologized for the situation and made a phone call to a nearby hotel. It was a little more than $50, but they did have a room for us. The next morning, the app on my phone pinged and asked me to rate the Lodge at Russell which I had booked through Booking.com. To be clear, we did not stay there, and I hope I don’t get a charge on my credit card. 

Now to the reason for choosing the title of this post. Some people probably don’t like the word Bigness. They might prefer the word enormity, immensity, or maybe even magnitude. I think bigness is the right word in this case. It transferred from my brain to my mouth and was uttered as we crossed the western part of Kansas, and further discussed as we traveled through Colorado on our westward-bound leg of the road trip. It came to mind as we were traveling in my son’s double-cab Chevy Silverado with the twins and their older sister packed into their car seats behind us. I think it came to mind because I had recently traveled by jet plane (in the cheap seats) across an ocean where there is not much to see from that perspective. I was hoping that the road trip would impress upon my grandchildren the scale of the United States. Being a Virginian, it struck me that Kansas is different because of its bigness; a word that might translate easily to the mind of a six-year-old on their adventure now that they had seen it with their own eyes through the window of their father’s truck.

After a good nights sleep, we got up early heading west toward Denver for the ballgame. We made a gas stop in the small town of Oakley, named after Annie, the woman famous for her sharpshooting, and a star of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show of old. There were signs from the interstate that directed us to The Fick Fossil and History Museum, a free museum which looked like it might be interesting. It was. It was also complete with very welcoming folks. Upon exiting the museum, a woman at the desk gave each child a fossil shark tooth as a gift (a big bonus to a six-year-old adventurer). Outside was a playground which still had a few old fashioned things including a seesaw. Obviously, the twins were not familiar with it but with a little instruction they mastered it. Unfortunately, they soon realized that if they jumped off while on the low side, it caused their sibling to plummet to the ground. No one got hurt, but it may have caused some hurt feelings. I think they still appreciated the playground stop. Just a few blocks away, we pulled into the parking lot of the Buffalo Bill Cultural Center, where we met more welcoming and knowledgeable folks.

We made one more stop in Kansas; the Prairie Museum in Colby, the next town west off the interstate. The kids danced on a stage set up in the old hayloft of a barn that was advertised as the largest wooden barn in the state. They pretended they were students and teachers in a one room schoolhouse. They visited a prairie house made from sod.

I think it was one of those three places in western Kansas, where in conversation I learned that one of the folks had formed an opinion about Virginia and its natural beauty after living there for a short while. She was awed by the greenness of my home state. She then said she started to miss Kansas because she longed for the ability to see things from a distance. She said a person could see a tornado coming from a long way away because there were not so many trees in the way as there were in Virginia. The trees made her feel a little claustrophobic and she had to move back home. That may illustrate the draw of the bigness of the west for some. I have to admit that while she was saying that I was thinking I was glad we don’t have as many tornadoes in Virginia to look out for and my mind wandered to the classic movie The Wizard of Oz. I knew I was only a few hours away from saying Dorothy’s line: “We aren’t in Kansas anymore.”

That said, talking to the people I met confirmed that I will need to return to Kansas again. I still have not seen the Capitol in Topeka, and there are some wildlife refuges that I would like to visit. By no means can I say I have seen all of Kansas.  

I did not take many photos of Kansas on this trip other than those of grandchildren enjoying themselves. The same is true of Denver and the baseball game. I encouraged my son to put Great Sand Dunes National Park on the plans for the road trip, even though I had been to the park twice before. I thought the kids would enjoy what the park had to offer and I believe they did. The photo above was taken at Great Sand Dunes National Park. The Park was where the kids learned about the Junior Ranger Program that the National Park Service offers to educate young visitors. This was the first time I camped at Zapata Falls just outside the park on Bureau of Land Management property. It was the first camping trip that we did on this adventure. It was also the first time I tried to hike up the dunes, which was much harder than expected. As we approached the dunes, I asked the grandchildren which was taller; the Gateway Arch or the highest of the Great Sand Dunes. They all laughed and thought it was a silly question, but they guessed wrong. Although they are both about the same height, the Dunes are slightly taller.

The photos I took on this part of the adventure you can see by clicking here.

If you have been reading my posts from the beginning you know I instituted a thing called a six-year-old adventure when my oldest child was six. He is about to turn 39. (For an old post about that first adventure click here.) He has twins that turned six in June and he planned an epic trip to see a few National Parks with all three of his kids. We are calling it the twins’ six-year-old adventure to the West. The first planned stop was the Gateway Arch (photo above) on the Mississippi in the city of St. Louis. I had seen it a few times before (so had my son), but never had taken the time to go into the underground museum or up on the tram to the top. Of course, the twins had no real idea of what they were to see and that is at least part of the point of a six-year-old adventure. Like most adventures things do not always go exactly to plan. While traveling through Kentucky, one of the kids said they had to go to the bathroom and as we pulled off the interstate, my son saw the sign for a national historic landmark. At the stoplight, he was able to check on his phone that it was still open; so we headed for The Buffalo Trace Distillery. My son took it as a sign that because his daughter had to “tinkle” that he should use the opportunity to visit one of his favorite brands. An unlikely stop for a six-year-old adventure, for sure, but one the twins seemed to appreciate. It was remarkably kid friendly, and it had an amazing playground where the kids could burn off a little energy after a long car ride. Thankfully, they had nice clean bathrooms too. 

We stopped again after we made it to southwestern Illinois where we stayed the night. In the morning we crossed the mighty Mississippi into Missouri, and made our way to the first planned landmark. The kids could not imagine going inside and up to the top, and frankly were a little scared at the prospect; but they had a good time doing it. For a few photos of the first part of the adventure click here. As is always the case, I am trying to keep recognizable images of family members out of the public domain. I hope to get private photos uploaded soon for people who have membership privileges. Stay tuned for more pictures from the trip, and family members can expect that there will be many that include faces of people they know.