June 20, 2011
Our long slow journey was very enjoyable. It was so good to be out seeing some of the things that had previously been only word descriptions of adventures others had. No matter how much planning goes into it, it isn’t enough. Some of that couldn’t be helped because we didn’t really know how long we would spend at the different locations. There are so many things we wanted to see that we couldn’t on this trip, so we will have to plan another.
We made stops at 32 National Parks, Monuments, Battlefields, Scenic Riverways and Historical Sites, where we collected 104 cancellation stamps in our Passport Books. In addition to those we stopped at numerous state sites where we collected 7 cancellation stamps.
We saw springs bursting from the hillside above the Snake River at Thousand Springs near Hagerman, Idaho. We also saw springs gushing out of the ground at the bases of limestone bluffs in the Ozark National Scenic Riverways in Missouri. Those springs smelled much better than the water and mud erupting from the ground in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, though they were not quite as spectacular.
Our visit to Promentory Point, Utah and the Golden Spike National Historical Site was one that was very enjoyable and included at least a little blind luck. The joining of the Central Pacific and Union Pacific occurred on May 10, 1869. We were there on May 6, just as they were practicing for the re-enactment to be performed on May 10 and were able to see both steam locomotives rehearse the program. Is that lucky or what?
Canyonlands and Arches National Parks were a series of vistas that are truly awe inspiring. You can’t help but wonder at the power of creation in this land of rivers, rocks, and wind.
We wandered through the dwellings of the Anasazi (Ancient Pueblo People) in Hovenweep, Mesa Verde, Aztec, Chaco Canyon, Bandelier, and Pecos and went through the Anasazi Center and Alibates Flint Quarries, and wondered at the ability, ingenuity and tenacity of this ancient people. We also visited the Washita National Battlefield, Fort Smith National Historic Site, Homestead National Monument and Devils Tower. Through all this you wonder at our forefathers’ treatment of the Native Americans. You wonder if they had a written language with documented history, would the Indians have been treated differently.
Stops at the Loretto Chapel, the Oklahoma City Monument, Gateway Arch, Jewel Cave, Rushmore, the Badlands, Wall Drug, Cody, Wyoming, Yellowstone and Craters of the Moon are inspiring in one way or another. You do get the feeling there have been lots of people who were interested enough in posterity they were willing to take bold steps to insure our access to unique things and places. Also, lots of foresighted people were salesmen, hawking their country to their fellow countrymen and the world, and that we in the United States are fortunate to be where we are.
Many of the National Monuments we visited are fairly small units of the National Park system. They were not crowded, although I think Alibates was the only one we visited that we were the only ones there. Even there, we had to wait a few minutes for the Ranger to return from giving a tour, and someone else that was waiting left before he got back. The larger National Parks were much more crowded.
We didn’t make reservations anywhere except at one campsite. We called ahead to Canyon campground in Yellowstone. Having no reservations worked out okay in most cases. We had three days of travels that lasted into darkness. We don’t like that.
During the 41 days we were gone, we were on the road for 20 days, and traveled about 5,500 miles. In the middle of that, we were stationed in south central Missouri at Rubble’s #3 daughter’s place. We had just about every kind of weather you can come up with, and lots and lots of wind. About half of the time spent in Missouri was rainy, so not all planned projects were accomplished.
The tornado in Joplin was approximately 100 miles west of us. We had several afternoons and evenings of loud and powerful thunderstorms, but curled up in the cave undisturbed.
The cicadas were loud, and that’s putting it mildly. This was the 13 year hatch (or 17 year, depending on who you talk to) and they were everywhere. They buzzed 24 hours a day. Annoying, but not harmful to humans, unless they landed on Wilma or Betty. One night one got into the roof fan that was going in the cave, and it was annoying to hear it being splattered round and round! Reversing the fan to blow out helped a little, but pieces remained to still go clackity clack.
Mifi could normally pick up a signal in the cave because it was sitting higher than the house. Most of the time the signal made for a slow connection, but it was sure better than having no connection. Usually a computer accompanied us to town where we could get hotspots. Mifi was very nice to have if we wanted to look something up or post a blog while trucking on down the road.
The Flintstones and Rubbles know there will be many more adventures that we can enjoy and share with friends and family. We’ll catch you on the next trip.
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