Sandpaper Shoes - Vacation & Travel

Final License Plate Map 2011

2011-07-19T21:57:00.003-05:00

NYC - Day 3

2011-07-16T23:18:00.000-05:00

Empire State Building, World Trade Center, Battery Park, Top of the Rock... what a day!

We took the subway to the Empire State Building this morning and used our CityPass tickets to go to the observation deck. (The tour guide on our bus said the extra $15 for the higher observation deck wasn't worth it.) The CityPass ticket includes the audio tour, which is nice. You bypass the first line when you get to the building, but there are more than enough additional lines to make up for it.

At the top, it was pretty crowded, but good views. It was a hazy day, however.

After the Empire State Building, we took the tour bus to the World Trade Center. The new World Trade Center building is about 2/3 done. We got totally snookered by a hot dog vendor who charged us $23 for the same lunch that cost us between $6 and $8 down at Times Square. Oh well. From WTC, we walked to Battery Park, saw the bull statue near Wall Street. We navigated over to Canal Street where Diana did some inspired, nerves-of-steel haggling, and got a nice leather purse and sunglasses.

We went back to our hotel before heading out for our final NYC adventure. We walked to St. Patrick's Cathedral, then to Grand Central Station (wow!), and back to Rockefeller Center to visit the "Top of the Rock" observatory.

Top of the Rock is better run than Empire. Instead of standing in all these crazy lines, you get your ticket for a specific time. Then come back at your ticketed time. The result -- fewer lines. The view is great. Instead of railing and fences like Empire, there is thick Plexiglass around the observation deck (with slits where you can stick your camera to escape the glare). Then you can head up to the second observation deck for a similar view, and finally you can go to the third observation deck which is smaller, but has now surrounding Plexiglass.

And as they say, the view from Top of the Rock has something Empire's view will never have: a view of the Empire State Building.

NYC - Day 2

2011-07-15T23:40:00.003-05:00

Started off today with a bus tour that dropped us off at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

We have tickets for the double-decker bus tours that loop all over the city. We started with the uptown bus and stopped at the Met. The place is HUUUGE! We only saw a little of it, finding more of Diana's Ac-Dec artworks. Then completed the two-hour bus tour and transferred to the downtown bus loop for two more hours of NYC info. The downtown loop had a lot more shade, and was much more comfortable. It got us oriented around the area, and we kept track of what places we wanted to come back to tomorrow: Empire State Building, World Trade Center, Wall Street, Battery Park, Staten Island Ferry, Canal Street.

When the tour was over, we went back to our hotel and got cleaned up for the theater. We stopped and got Sbarro's pizza in Time Square and picked up our tickets to How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. It stars Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) and John Larroquette (Night Court), and was really good. Well, the first act was really good, the second act was awesome. The last couple of dance numbers get outrageous. Radcliffe's dancing was really good, and I kept thinking, "When in his career did he learn to dance?" It's not like those actors who are discovered later in life and cut their teeth on the stage or in vaudeville -- he has been Harry Potter since he was a kid.

After the show, we realized we were right next to Shake Shack's theater district location, so we stopped in. The food was just as good as last night in Madison Square Park, but they did lose our order and we had to wait about 45 minutes to get our food -- oops.

Walked back to our hotel and tried to figure out how much we can cram in to tomorrow.

NYC - Day One

2011-07-14T21:23:00.012-05:00

Took the train from Philly this morning (man, that Philadelphia train station is beautiful!) and arrived in New York City just a little after lunchtime.

We navigated the subway to our hotel (a tiny little place with tiny little rooms -- but very "efficient"), then walked a couple of blocks over to the Museum of Modern Art. Saw several very nice -- and many very famous -- works there, including Van Gogh's Starry Night.

Then we walked down to Times Square. Explored the Hershey Store, the M&M Store, the Toys 'R' Us... all the things you come to NYC for!

We met my cousin for dinner at Madison Square Park's "Shake Shack" which was really good. The line stretched forever, but moved fairly quickly. We ordered great burgers and shakes (Diana's burger had cheese-stuffed portobello mushrooms that she said were awesome). The park is beneath the MET Life building and within site of other great sites (Flatiron building, for example).

Tomorrow we're going to go see a show!

Philly - Day Two

2011-07-13T21:05:00.000-05:00

Best weather of the trip today, so we were able to do lots of exploring. Plus, here in Philadelphia, many of the sights are close together (and our hotel is in a good location).

I walked to the US Mint and walked through the tour right as they opened at 9. Had the place to myself. Several windows look over the production floor, and at the last window you could see the room where they produce the five-ounce silver bullion coins. Today they had a table of Mount Hood bullion "pucks."

Then Diana and I took the trolly to the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts. She was able to track down some of this year's Academic Decathlon artwork. Along the way, we snapped photos of the City Hall, a phenomenal and ornate structure. From there we walked to JFK Plaza and the LOVE statue.

We had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe and made our way to the Independence Park visitors' center to pick up our reserved tickets for the tour of Independence Hall. Today's tickets had been out of stock for over an hour, but evidently some people were missing from our tour because we were able to accommodate many walk-up guests. Tours can be as large as 80 people.

You have to pass through security to enter the majority of the city block where Independence Hall stands. Once inside the security fence (your bags are searched -- not too bad), you have access to the buildings and courtyard in that area.

The tour guide at Independence Hall was very knowledgeable. He asked us if we could name signers of the Constitution. As people would suggest names, we would respond with plenty of information: "Thomas Jefferson was in France at the time and did not sign the Constitution." or "John Dickinson did not actually sign, he was sick -- you see him in the painting here -- and left before the signing, but his name is on the document because George Read -- shown in the painting here -- signed Dickinson's name for him."

After the orientation, we visit the court room in Independence Hall, then we see the Assembly Room where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were drafted and signed.

In the building next door, I took a short tour of Congress Hall, where the US Congress met while the Capitol was in Philadelphia. The House of Representatives met downstairs, the Senate upstairs (lower house, upper house...). Much of the furniture is reproductions, so you actually get to sit in the House chamber -- pretty cool.

Then we walked out of the secure area and toured the Supreme Court Chamber.

Later for dinner, we went to Campo's, then walked around Penn's Landing.

Tomorrow, NYC.

Philly - Day One

2011-07-12T19:50:00.000-05:00

Took the train from Union Station (DC) to Philadelphia's Historic 30th Street Station. Wow, had no idea the Philly station was so cool. Great architecture, huge war memorial statue, old-fashioned flipping sign.

Once in Philadelphia, we dropped of our bags at the hotel and took the PHLASH trolley to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Diana was looking for more of this year's Academic Decathlon art, so she toured the museum while I explored outside. (She reports ~20 Picassos, a handful of Degas, Renoir, Monet, Manet, Rodin originals, Chegall, and other odds and ends. Who knew?)

In front of the museum are the famous "Rocky Steps." In several of the Rocky films, Sylvester Stallone's character works out (in part) by running up the steps in front of the museum. It was really fun to hang out at the steps. There is a a brass set of footprints at the top of the steps where Rocky makes his triumphant stance, there is a pretty steady stream of folks re-enacting the jog up the steps (and if you make the dash, a local hawker tries to sell you a t-shirt), and there is a larger-than-life Rocky statue to the right of the steps where plenty of folks pose for photos. So there are three important photo ops here. You are supposed to get a photo actually running up the steps, a photo at the tops with your arms raised high, and a photo with the statue. You got all that? It was so fun to watch everyone, they should totally put a webcam on this like they have on Abbey Road in London.

Then we headed back toward our hotel and stopped at the Liberty Bell Center. Crowds were light on Tuesday at 4:15. We also saw the Presidents' House, one of the precursors to the White House. Washington and Adams both lived here for a period. The original house has been long demolished, but excavation has revealed some of the original foundation.

DC - Day the Fourth

2011-07-11T19:40:00.000-05:00

Diana commented that in all our time in DC, today we took our first guided tour. We toured the Capitol Building. Our tour was at 9:30, and we showed up early to be sure we had time to get through the security line. The line wasn't bad when we got there (about 30-50 long on our side of the Visitors' Center), but it looked like the line does get nasty during the day.

The Capitol Visitors' Center had some nice displays about the history of the Capitol and houses some of the National Statuary Hall Collection of statues.

The tour begins with a nice film about the Capitol and what is accomplished there, then a guide leads you through the Crypt, the Rotunda, and Statuary Hall. Now, think about the logistics for a second. The tour is about 20 or 30 minutes long. Tours begin every ten minutes. Each tour is split up and led by four or five tour guides. Do you have a picture of how many different tour guides are shepherding separate groups around the Capitol simultaneously? Well, each guide speaks in a normal speaking voice into a mic that is broadcast to headphones that his group wears. So the noise level isn't bad, but those headphones are kinda quirky. If your guide goes behind a marble column -- you've lost audio. If your guide gets too far ahead -- you've lost audio. Sometimes your headphones just don't work. I had to exchange my first set, Diana went through four sets before she got on that worked. The tour was quick but good. We didn't feel rushed, and the guide was very friendly and knowledgeable.

From the Capitol Visitors' Center, we took the underground tunnel to the Library of Congress (which meant we didn't have to go through security again... though the Library of Congress also inspects bags upon your departure). There were a handful of fascinating displays and great architecture/ornamentation. They are currently displaying Thomas Jefferson's library, which he sold to the Congress for $26,000 to form the original collection of the Library of Congress.

Next we walked to the Supreme Court. You can see the court room, walk the halls and see statues and portraits of many justices, and view the two spiral staircases (which are amazing pieces of architecture with no center support). The cafeteria here was really good. There's a salad bar, many ready-to-go meals, and custom-built hot sandwiches.

We took the Metro to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to see the Visitor's Center there (skipped the tour) and returned to our motel. For dinner, we went to the Hard Times Cafe -- a "Chile Parlour" -- which was pretty good. Tomorrow we catch a train!

This Year's License Plate Map

2011-07-11T16:39:00.002-05:00

so far...

DC - Day Three

2011-07-10T16:48:00.000-05:00

In which our heroes visit The White House, The National Museum of American History, and Ford's Theater.

We took the Metro to the Smithsonian stop and walked to the American History Museum. The Star Spangled Banner is in a new display (with no photos allowed? aw, man!) and they have Julia Childs' kitchen.

From there we took the Metro to Ford's Theater. We didn't tour, but there are tours every half hour. They seemed a little pricey, but your National Park Service America the Beautiful Pass may get you in.

Then we walked to the White House. There is some renovation going on (of course) at the Ellipse. We took photos on the north side and the south side, then walked to the Metro and came back to the hotel. Our subway was PACKED. More Dalai Lama classes and more baseball made for a hot and crowded subway car.

Tomorrow -- The Capitol.

DC - Day Two

2011-07-09T23:24:00.031-05:00

We did a lot today... walked a lot, saw a lot.

We started out at the National Archives. We had a timed entry pass, which lets you bypass the line and go right through security. We saw a replica of the Magna Carta (oh, sorry, it's out getting a new case), the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution (all four pages), and the Bill of Rights. We were some of the first ones admitted, and already there was a pretty good crowd around the documents. Also at the archives is a pretty nice display of the type of records they retain.

Then we got hot dogs on our way to the National Portrait Gallery. It shares a building with the American Art Museum, and there is quite a bit of nice artwork all over that building. Saw some great stuff. Spent a few hours there. Then we went to Union Station and explored for a while, eating at Johnny Rocket's. Then we went back to the Mall and went through the American Natural History Museum. It was kinda crowded there today!

We actually ran into crowds all day. The Dalai Lama was speaking at the Capitol this morning, there was a baseball game this evening. All that along with a nice Saturday made for LOTS of people.

We skimmed the Natural History Museum -- Fossils, Hope Diamond, Mummies... we didn't even go find the woolly mammoths.

From there we headed over toward the Lincoln Memorial. Along the way we stopped at the World War II Memorial for a while. It's very impressive and a nice addition to the Mall. Then we discovered more ugly, ugly construction. The Reflecting Pool is drained and is now a muddy, smelly mess while the renovate it. I'm kinda tired of this sort of thing -- Sorry, the Jefferson Memorial is half cordoned off by orange cones and hurricane fence; Sorry, there is currently no visitor center at Old Faithful; Sorry, you just get to see a facsimile of the Magna Carta; Sorry, Saguaro is a lame, ugly waste of a national park. But I digress.

We walked to the Vietnam Memorial, then the Lincoln Memorial, then the Korean War Memorial, then back to our Metro stop and the hotel.

DC- Day One

2011-07-08T22:50:00.002-05:00

Got to the airport bright and early with a ride from one of Diana's work friends (THANKS!!). The plane left 45 minutes late because of a "paperwork issue." The flight was good. We took the MARC rail to Union Station, had lunch in the food court, then took the Metro to our hotel. It's a nice little place. It's close to a metro station and it's priced well. We're in one of the "recently remodeled rooms," which means the bathroom, in particular, is quite nice.

Went to the DC Mall. The Smithsonian is hosting a Folk Life Festival all weekend which is kinda cool, but also kinda ruins the view of the Mall. HUUUUGE tents all over the entire place.

We toured the "Castle," then went to find some of this year's Ac-Dec artwork at the African Art Museum. Alas, none of the pieces are currently on display!! But Diana found very similar pieces from the same groups/time periods/etc.

Then walked around the Hirschorn Statue Garden and toured the National Air & Space Museum. By that time, we were starting to drag, but we pushed on! (uh-oh!) We decided to hike to the Jefferson Memorial. That wouldn't have been so bad, except the sea wall is under construction -- turning a 10-minute walk into a 20-minute walk after the detour.

Took a cab from there back to our Metro stop and took the subway to find dinner, then back to the hotel. One photo today, but I think it's pretty grand: (click the pic to enlarge)

Things to do in NYC

2011-07-03T13:02:00.000-05:00

Things to do in Philadelphia

2011-07-03T12:25:00.000-05:00

US Mint
Franklin Institute (Mummies of the World exhibit, Di Vinci Exhibit)
Rodin Museum
Penn Museum
Independence Park

Franklin's Press
Liberty Bell
Independence Hall

Philadelphia Museum of Art
LOVE Statue
Betsy Ross House
Presidents' House
Rocky Statue
Valley Forge

Things to do in DC

2011-07-03T09:31:00.001-05:00

Enchanted Rock... er... Cascade Caverns

2011-03-13T23:13:00.000-05:00

So from Llano we drove to Enchanted Rock. And they were packed. We detoured toward home and stopped at Cascade Caverns (near Boerne).

Now Cascade Caverns reminded me of a roadside attraction. The kind that's advertised with billboards on the highway: "Only 2 More Miles Until... THE THING!" There's a ramshackle gift shop, large campground, big fiberglass T-Rex (that appears in the Patrick Swayze film, Father Hood), and a limestone cave. That being said, Cascade Caverns was better than I expected.

The tour is 1 hour (and $11) and covers about a quarter mile. The cave is so small that you are much closer to the features than you are at other cave tours. And the cave does have many modest features. It claims to the "wettest" cave in Texas, which means that there are active formations. Plenty of "soda straws," a waterfall in the final (and large) room (which is dry due to the current Texas drought), and a few examples of "cave bacon."

There are a couple of Mastodon fossils in the cave, and we got a very close-up look at a hibernating bat (tiny little guy about the size of your thumb).

Fredericksburg... er... Llano

2011-03-13T22:40:00.001-05:00

From Austin, we drove to Fredericksburg. We drove around downtown and then looked for a hotel. Without any luck. Everything was full so we headed over to Llano.

There we went to dinner at Cooper's Old-Fashioned Pit Barbecue. So there are rows of pit barbecues under the front porch. You line up at the pit and point out what you want for dinner. Then inside you can add cobbler or other sides. Seating is family-style at long wooden picnic tables. We walked right up to the pit, but they said earlier in the day it was a 90-minute wait! Quite a unique place. We took the cobbler back to our hotel and picked up ice cream on the way.

The next morning we took photos on the steel bridge over the Llano for a while, then tried to drive over to Enchanted rock.

Rally for Texas Schools in Austin

2011-03-13T22:27:00.000-05:00

Saturday saw 13,000 people on the Capitol lawn to show their support for Texas schools.

The Cause: The State legislature is facing a hefty budget deficit for the next two years. In addition, the 2006 "tinkering" with school finance has created a bad situation for public schools in the state.

The legislature is planning to cut school funds dramatically, and legislators are too distracted with other budget woes to address the underlying school finance issues that have gone ignored for five years now.

So Diana and I road tripped up to Austin to join the crowd. There was a march before the rally. Now, if you've never been to Austin, that town is filled with professional demonstrators. Since we didn't want to have much to do with the Socialist Party marchers (or even the "Our Governor Sucks" marchers), we climbed the nearby parking garage and tool pictures instead.

Then on the Capitol grounds, the rally went on for about two hours. We met up with about a dozen faculty members from my school. Our superintendent and our mayor were among the rally speakers.

After the rally, our group made went to Texadelphia for a laaaaate lunch, then split up in different directions. Some were staying in Austin, many were headed back home to San Antonio, Diana and I were heading to Fredericksburg for an overnight trip.

Calsbad Caverns

2010-06-25T22:21:00.001-05:00

We drove to Carlsbad this morning and got to the caverns shortly after noon. We walked to "Big Room" which we had not done last year. It was not too crowded for a Friday afternoon. The elevator means that the crowd comes in waves, so you can usually wait a few minutes for a group to pass you.

I took several photos that turned out well. Near the end of the loop of the Big Room, I came across a tour of the lower cave that was ascending back to the normal path. This tour of about 12 people requires a certain amount of spelunking. I took a couple of photos before a ranger came over and asked me not to take pictures. Not sure why. (You know, you can click on the photo collages on this blog to see a slightly larger version.)

Mesa Verde

2010-06-24T22:03:00.001-05:00

We stayed in Cortez, Colorado last night -- just down the street from Mesa Verde. We got there early this morning (to road construction as they improve the park road) and spent about five hours in the park. We stowed away on a tour of the Long House, but left Cliff Palace and Spruce Tree House for another day.

During our tour, we met a park ranger named Habenicht. Diana was quite excited, as you can imagine. We also saw a HUGE squirrel climbing the ladders of the cliff dwellings. (I don't think Diana will approve of that juxtaposition since the two events are not comparable in their monumental-ness... so, to the photos!)

Arches National Park

2010-06-23T22:23:00.001-05:00

By the way, last night's motel was across the intersection from BYU's LaVell Edwards Stadium. I'm sure they are booked all through the fall.

Today we drove to Arches National Park. We drove through the lower two-thirds of the park before hunger and exhaustion spurred us to leave. We saw north and south windows (I hiked the "primitive" trail around the back side while Diana hiked over to Turet Arch), and went to the lower viewing area for Delicate Arch.

The desert lizards here are much larger than the desert lizards elsewhere.

We're checking out Mesa Verde tomorrow.

On to Utah

2010-06-22T22:20:00.000-05:00

You are looking at the ORIGINAL nuclear power plant control room. (No Homer Simpson here.) We visited EBR-1 or the world's first Experimental Breeder Reactor. This facility was the world's first electricity-generating nuclear reactor.

Made it in to Provo, Utah. The fellow at the front desk is originally from Brownsville. Says he's worked here 7 years & has never met anyone else who knew where Brownsville was -- much less was from the same place!

Hanging out near Salmon!

2010-06-21T21:48:00.009-05:00

Uncle Jim & Aunt Debbie drove us around some of the great sites near Salmon. We drove up to Lemhi Pass and the continental divide along the Lewis & Clark Trail. We ran into some snow and some spectacular views. The skies were clearer than yesterday when we drove in.

Later, Jim took us up to go check on the horses (and a bonus, mystery mule had come to visit). In the evening, Jim gave me some Photoshop tips.

More of Idaho

2010-06-20T00:20:00.000-05:00

We saw the "50,000 Silver Dollar Bar" today. These guys have over 55,000 silver dollars fastened to the walls, and each one has a name and home town etched beneath it. Weird.

The clouds in Salmon were doing some impressive things today as well. We have so many awesome hosts in our families, we're enjoying the hospitality of everyone.

The Route of the Hiawatha

2010-06-19T23:42:00.006-05:00

We took at 15-mile bike ride! The Route of the Hiawatha. Along the Idaho-Montana border, an old railway has been converted to a bike trail (so there is a consistent 2% down hill grade). The route goes through several tunnels (including a 1.2 mile tunnel at the beginning) and across several trestle bridges.

Now, I did wipe out pretty spectacularly when trying to take a photo, but otherwise it was a delightful trip! The scenery was great and the weather beautiful. The tunnels were a pretty chilly 42 degrees, but otherwise very temperate ride.

We're enjoying more great hospitality from great family!

Panoramas online

2010-06-19T01:42:00.000-05:00

I've posted the panoramic photos from our current trip online. If you want more photos, that's the place to go.

Wild Mustangs! sort of

2010-06-18T10:21:00.000-05:00

We stopped along highway 90 at a scenic outlook near Vantage, Washington (just west of Lake Moses). We expected a nice view of the bridge & water. We were surprised by the wild mustang monument built on the top of a nearby hill. A (very) steep climb got us closer for a good look at the sculpture and a better view of the water.

Seattle Aquarium

2010-06-17T23:42:00.000-05:00

We met up with one of Diana's teacher friends and visited the downtown aquarium. Later we went back to Snohomish and Aunt Frannie took us to a delightful dinner at Anthony's. We had a great time visiting with her late into the evening.

Downtown Seattle

2010-06-16T22:11:00.001-05:00

We walked around downtown Seattle today. Our Aunt Sandy is an excellent tour guide (and a delightful host). We rode the bus, went to the top of the Space Needle (Sandy is posing with a $110 pepper mill that we decided to photograph instead of buy), walked around Pike's Place Market, rode a monorail, and had a great time.

Tonight we had dinner with many of Diana's dad's family at a restaurant closer to Everett. We walked along the river after dinner and had a great time visiting everyone.

Mt. St. Helens

2010-06-15T13:08:00.005-05:00

We drove from Roseburg, Oregon on up to Seattle today. We stopped at Mt. St. Helens to drive through the area. The top of the mountains was obscured by clouds, so you couldn't make out the distinctive top of the mountain.

I was last here in 1986, and a lot has changed. I did not see the massive log jam on Spirit Lake that was there before, but we may have been in the wrong place. The canisters of ash that the historical society sells used to be clear film canisters, now they are fancy glass bottles.

Crater Lake in HDR

2010-06-15T01:35:00.000-05:00

Crater Lake

2010-06-15T01:14:00.001-05:00

We drove to Crater Lake. Much of the park still closed to snow, but the views were still awesome. After hanging around for a few hours, we started zooming up toward Washington.

Sunstone

2010-06-15T01:11:00.000-05:00

We visited a sunstone collection area on Bureau of Land Management land near Plush, Oregon. (Did we mention that gas is full-service in Oregon?) You can stop at the store in Plush for directions, and then head 23 miles out to the site. Only six of those miles are paved, mind you. Most of the turns are marked. (!?) Once you find the place, the sunstone glimmers at you in the sunlight. They say to visit about a month after the snow melt (that about now). The water washes the dirt away and leaves the sunstone exposed. We found many many small pieces (about the size of half an M&M). We had a good time. And our odometer hit 88,888 miles on the trip back.

By the way...

2010-06-14T23:50:00.000-05:00

Did I mention that we stayed in a retired retirement home yesterday? The Fremont Inn in Lakeview, Oregon used to be a retirement facility. So the rooms were cavernous compared to a normal hotel room. And the breakfast was pretty good, too.

We also stopped for lunch at "The Olive Pit" in Corning, CA. This olive company sells all sorts of olives & olive related stuff. (I was actually hoping for some sort of factory tour, but Diana was in heaven!) She said her "olive burger" was the best burger she'd ever had.

Lassen Volacano & Oregon

2010-06-13T23:58:00.000-05:00

We left California today, but not before visiting Lassen Volcano. It was very beautiful, but we could not see much due to the snow. The road into the park was closed one mile in because of heavy snow. They tell me the roads are normally open by now, but not this year. The park has a small geothermal area that we were able to visit, and there was many pretty snow landscapes.

Snow!

2010-06-12T22:39:00.001-05:00

We drove from Madera, CA to Yosemite this morning. The drive there was short, a little curvy, and not too much traffic (that came later). We got to the park about 11:30 and entered the southern entrance. We stopped at the pioneer museum near that entrance for a while, then drove on to Glacier Point. The view were (of course) fantastic. We saw snow on the ground for the first time this trip as we wound our way to Glacier Point. Canon had a photo tent set up for some promotional, I asked for some tips on my camera. They kinda helped.

We took plenty of photos at Glacier Point, and Diana noticed the dense, dense cars in Yosemite Valley below. So we decided we would skip that loop. We drove out via HWY 120 and stopped to photograph El Capitan.

Diana got "buzzed" by a dear running past her. She got a much better photo than I did. (I spent too much time trying to decide if I wanted to take my camera off the tripod and interrupt the panorama I was in the middle of.) The GPS conked out all day. It was having trouble finding satellites last night, and it only woke up a time or two today. We're not sure if it's signal interference or if it needs some update/reboot. Hopefully it will get it's act together, it can be useful.

The drive to Sacramento was long and frustrating. LOTS of two-lane winding roads. Diana was kind and fetched dinner while I rested at the hotel.

Let's Go To The Movies!

2010-06-12T02:03:00.000-05:00

Got to Madera, California today. One of the few operating drive-in theaters is down the street from our hotel (though you'd never think it if you followed my directions!). We went and watched The A-Team. It was a fun experience.

Disneyland

2010-06-11T23:36:00.027-05:00

Thursday we spent the day at Disneyland. We drove to Anaheim early in the morning, and Diana braved heavy traffic and weird parking directions to get us there within an hour of the park opening. I was immediately surprised by the short wait to enter the park. Er, did I say wait? There was no wait. Which I'm sure meant long lines inside, right? No, not so much. The Peter Pan ride just inside the main gate is usually a long wait, I'm told. We waited about 15 minutes. Then Mr. Toad's wild ride -- 5 minutes. Buzz Lightyear? Five minutes. There was even a three-minute wait in there at some point during the day. The longest we waited was at the Finding Nemo Submarine Adventure. That one was a 20-minute line. We used a fast pass at Indiana Jones, and there was a bit of a wait there, but otherwise, the park was uncrowded.

The weather was very nice. It was overcast much of the morning and never hot all day.

Now, I don't recall visiting Disneyland, but I do have many memories of Disneyworld back when I was in second grade. Toad's Wild Ride and Peter Pan's flight were just as I remembered, but there were many new & different things. (Is it just me, or is the castle here much smaller than the one in Florida!?)

Changes:

There have been many changes to Pirates of the Caribbean since the films came out. There are many cameos of Johnny Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow, and some of the vignettes are removed or changed. This California version begins with a leisurely cruise through a bayou past real diners at a real restaurant. Pretty cool.
The submarine ride in Florida was based on 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. That ride is paved over now, but the California ride (which was always slightly different) is now a Finding Nemo adventure. They have a system for projecting animated clips that are visible from the sub's portholes. This was an interesting ride
The Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse is now Tarzan's Treehouse. Vignettes of cheetahs and gorillas have been installed and the transformation is complete. So it is completely unclear why the treehouse is made of ship parts. Odd.

New:

Indiana Jones is a new ride since I'd visited, and reminded me of a new-generation Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.
Buzz Lightyear was fun. In this ride, you use a joystick to spin your car (an updated Mad Hatter?) and use a ray gun to shoot at targets throughout the ride, collecting points. Very exciting.
Star Tours seemed very dated, but was new to me. A 4-D ride based on Star Wars characters.

We had a really good time and actually left the park about 5 o'clock feeling like we got to do everything we wanted.

Buuuuuuuuuzz Lightyear to the rescue!

2010-06-11T00:21:00.001-05:00

At Disneyland today, we rode the Buzz Lightyear ride twice. It's an interactive ride where you use a little ray gun to shoot at targets throughout the ride and earn points. It was pretty fun, and you can e-mail yourself a photo from the ride when its finished.

License Plate Update

2010-06-10T21:46:00.000-05:00

We saw "Wyoming" on our shuttle bus to take us from the parking lot to Disneyland. Weird.

Now entering California... High Winds Ahead

2010-06-09T21:46:00.022-05:00

We drove to Joshua Tree National Park in California. This park straddles two desert zones, features interesting geology and the eponymous Joshua tree cacti. We zoomed through this park pretty quickly since we were meeting friends later in the day, but the park was a winner. Lots of good views. The trees were very dense in several places. We entered by the north entrance (near Twenty-Nine Pines) and looped through the park to drive out the west entrance. That worked out really well, and I think we spent about an hour and a half driving through the park (fee $15 if you don't have an annual pass).

As we entered California, we encountered serious winds, then I noticed the massive wind farm. I don't know how those 18 wheelers handle it.

Then we met up with my college roommate who is now living near Palm Springs. They have a nice little house, and they have done a GREAT job of settling in since they moved their just about a month ago. Their toddler daughter was a lot of fun (very minimal whining... very impressive). My roommate gave us a tour of the projector room of the theater where he is general manager. That was interesting. I never realized that all of the projectors are contained in a single long room, not multiple rooms. His theater is a nice building that is in a very pleasant location. He says he's got some challenges there, but it sounds like a positive change from his previous location.

Volcanos, Indian Ruins, Grand Canyon, and London Bridge

2010-06-08T22:09:00.001-05:00

We headed north from Flagstaff to the east entrance of the Grand Canyon. We stopped along the way at Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument (which sits alongside Wupatki National Monument). There is a 31-mile drive that takes you through both sites. (It is not a loop drive, so it takes you about 15 miles down highway 89.

Sunset Crater Volcano was an interesting site. There is a large wash of volcanic rock that was impressive, and there are attractive views of the region. Lots of pine trees and mountains.

As you transfer over into Wupatki, there are a series of VERY impressive pueblo ruins. And even more impressive, the park service allows you to climb all over some of them. We really enjoyed the largest ruin with several rooms and a large tower.

When we left Wupatki, we drove on up to the Grand Canyon, driving in the East Entrance. We drove from the East Entrance to the South Visitor Center, stopping at most of the great views along the way. The canyon just goes on, and on, and on! We had intended to take the shuttle bus that takes you from the Visitor Center area to a couple of lookout points that are not accessible by personal car.

However, it was getting late in the afternoon (and the line for the bus was pretty long), so we headed on down to Havasu Lake City where we were spending the night. If you haven't heard of Lake Havasu City, that's the current location of the original London Bridge.

Tomorrow we head to Calfornia: Joshua Tree National Park, a visiting my college roommate!

In which our hero sees Castles, Wooden Rocks, and Meteorite Oxide

2010-06-08T00:49:00.001-05:00

So I've been experimenting with HDR photographs, and the images on the left show a comparison. The top image is an enhanced illustration of "Montezuma's Castle," a Native-American habitat near Camp Verde, Arizona, built in about 1250. The bottom image is the original photograph. How do you think they compare? I'm currently using the trial version of this software... is it worth $99 to register?

After Montezuma's Castle, we drove out to Petrified Forest and Painted Desert. A single 28-mile drive takes you through both parks. They were certainly worth the trip. Lots of neat rock formations and many petroglyphs.

Next we headed out to Meteor Crater, near Winslow, Arizona. The site was impressive. We took lots of pictures. Finally, we made our way to Flagstaff to spend the night. Our hotel chain has three locations in town, and we found the other two LOOOONG before we got to the correct hotel.

Missiles, Senor Saguaro, and Family

2010-06-07T23:43:00.001-05:00

We left Benson, AZ (near Tucson) and visited a decommissioned Titan II missile silo. It was a pretty fascinating visit. There is a short movie that talks about the site & the security that was in place when it was active. Then a short tour walks above ground briefly, then to the control room (where they simulate the lights and sounds that would accompany a launch), then across a looooong hallway to the silo site. They point out that this was a "single-use" facility, meaning once the missile was launched, they weren't going to reload this silo to fire again. So the power of this rocket (that was used to put men and satellites into space) would have destroyed the launch portion of the facility.

Then we drove through Saguaro National Park. We were pretty underwhelmed, but they had just repaved the road!

Finally, we drove on to SURPRISE!!, Arizona, where Diana's cousin & her family live. We had a really good time. They have delightful kids (and they are great cooks). They were generous enough to let us stay the night with them.

License Plate Update

2010-06-07T22:52:00.000-05:00

License Plates we've spotted so far:

Rock Hound State Park

2010-06-06T10:56:00.000-05:00

We had such high hopes for Rock Hound State Park near Deming, NM. They encourage visitors to collect rocks, and many jasper and geodes can be found in and near the park. Unfortunately, the park visitors' center was closed Saturday afternoon when we arrived, as were all the nearby stores (that we heard often dispense rock hunting advice). So we had no real idea what we were doing.

We walked for a little while, crushed some rocks with a hammer, and left disappointed in our geode quest.

However, the views were very pretty (though the bugs were pretty annoying).

Lincoln National Forest, White Sands National Monument

2010-06-06T10:53:00.001-05:00

We drove through Lincoln National Forest, which had many forest-y mountains. The altitude change was pretty significant (4,000 feet in 25 miles as I recall). You could see the white sands of White Sands off in the distance.

Next we stopped at the Space History Museum in Alamogordo. It's an impressive facility and very interactive. (Ham, the first space-chimp, is buried on site.)

Then we went on to White Sands National Monument and drove through. It was very, very warm, so we did little walking. I did buy a used sled at the gift shop ($10 used, $14.95 new) and went down one dune. They sell sled wax. "It's supposed to make you go faster." The clerk claimed the green wax is actually the high-performance wax.

We drove the loop road, walked on the boardwalk (where I got impressive static electric shock from walking on the plastic boardwalk.... GRRR!), and took some photos. After our drive, I returned our sled for a small refund ($3 for used sleds, $5 for new).

Artesia, New Mexico

2010-06-06T10:40:00.000-05:00

We drove through Artesia, New Mexico Saturday morning on our way to Alamogordo. There are many HUGE bronze sculptures throughout the city. When we can across the largest in the town square, we finally gave in and stopped. The main sculpture is a section of an oil derrick (about 20 feet tall). One smaller piece nearby shows pioneers while the other shows two wildcatters talking on the hood of a pickup truck.

We stopped and played and took several photos.

Did I mention it was hot today?

2010-06-06T02:12:00.000-05:00

The sign at the Visitors' Center at White Sands National Monument. Bring a hat and some water!

License Plates 2010

2010-06-06T01:25:00.001-05:00

Just over one day into the trip and we've seen license plates from 21 different states (plus Guam?!).

Off towards Deming, NM.

2010-06-05T09:37:00.000-05:00

The Carlsbad forecast calls for a high of 111 degrees today. That would be good weather to visit the caverns, but instead we are headed to go rock hunting in the desert. 'Cause we're unconventional that way.

There are a pair of state parks near Deming, NM that boast great rocks & geodes to be found. Then we should be in Benson, AZ just outside of Tucson tonight.

Go team!

Carlsbad, New Mexico... we remember you!

2010-06-05T00:08:00.001-05:00

The Grand Canyon ad means we are headed in the right direction. We left when we got off work today and headed out of Texas. We made it to Carlsbad, NM, and the same Super 8 where we started last year's trip.

We stopped for dinner in Pecos, TX (along the irritating stretch of 2-lane road from Fort Stockton to Carlsbad). We at at Alfredo's Mexican Food. The nachos were good. The rest... asi-asi.

Never Heard of the Place...

2010-05-24T22:13:00.000-05:00

So on last year's trip, we visited a quiet little national monument, Agate Fossil Beds, in Nebraska. This was the place we found porcupines, rattlesnakes, jackrabbits, and an empty visitors' center (the rangers were in their weekly meeting when we showed up. They quickly come out to excitedly greet us... and turn the lights on).

Well, a recent article from the Chicago Tribune says Agate Fossil Beds is the fifth-least visited national monument in the country. In 2009, Diana and I were two of only 12,694 visitors to the monument.

See all of Disneyland?

2010-05-23T21:10:00.000-05:00

So Disneyland is popular and therefore crowded. It's tough to see everything you want and many visitors spend their whole day standing in lines. To the rescue: RideMax. These guys gather statistical data about lines and wait times all over the park. Then you tell them the day you're visiting the park and they give you a detailed guide to get around to the stuff you want to see with minimal wait times. The reviews are out-of-this world!

Trip Part One

2010-05-23T21:04:00.001-05:00

Proposed Phase I of tripishness:

Escape San Antonio and get to Sonora/Junction area for Night 1
Drive to Las Cruces, NM for Night 2
Drive to Phoenix, AZ to see fam on Night 3
Detour to

Stay in Flagstaff area for Night 4
Go to Grand Canyon. Phase I complete.

View Larger Map

How do we get there from here?

2010-05-12T20:18:00.000-05:00

Okay, so summer's only a couple of weeks away. This year we're planning to go up to Seattle for several days, then over to Salmon, Idaho, and back home. Where to go along the way? Here are some places on our list for consideration:

Grand Canyon
DisneyLand
Yosemite
Crater Lake

Yikes -- It's looking like 5,500+ miles.

Travel Reports

2009-08-06T16:28:00.003-05:00

Posted reports on our recent trip over at TexAgs.com in their travel forum. It has some different photos from the ones here.

Who Likes Ike?

2009-07-29T21:42:00.003-05:00

Today we visited the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum in Abilene, Kansas. And here's a quick study in contrasts:

1960s: Eisenhower's was the first presidential campaign to use the new medium of television ads, and after he left office, Ike continued to act as an adviser to future presidential administrations (Kennedy phoned him to ask for Ike's thoughts during the Cuban Missile Crisis, Johnson and Eisenhower conversed over the Vietnam War).
2009: I just received a message from a "Facebook" friend stating "I am in the process of removing all the conservative Republicans from my facebook account..."

It's a different era.

We spent a little over an hour at the Eisenhower Center. There was a small display on the Apollo missions since this month marks the 40th anniversary of our first manned mission to the lunar surface. Again, we were blessed with great timing -- reduced admission prices on Wednesdays!

Driving through Salina, Kansas, we saw a billboard for "The 2nd Friendliest Yarn Shop in the World." I figured that since Diana has been crocheting this whole trip, she might enjoy a stop there. The store is called YARNS, and it was an impressive shop. (If you're passing through Salina, it's downtown on Santa Fe Street.)

Porcupines and Rattlesnakes

2009-07-28T23:04:00.004-05:00

We went to Agate Fossil Beds near Harrison, Nebraska, this morning. There is a small visitors' center and a couple of trails. We walked a 2.5-mile trail to see the area where the fossils were originally found. Along the way, we saw three rabbits, a rattlesnake, and a porcupine.

Then we did lots of driving through nice Nebraska and Kansas grassy plains. Very little traffic, a little rain.

Tomorrow - the Eisenhower Presidential Library.

Mountains and Mammoths

2009-07-27T22:50:00.003-05:00

Left Wyoming today... went to South Dakota... then Nebraska.

Visited Mount Rushmore today. (Parking is private concession - what's up with that?!) The rain stopped just as we pulled into the parking lot. Did a self tour down the presidential trail and through the sculptor's studio. As soon as we got back inside the exhibit hall, the rain started up again. (Again, we were blessed with great timing.) At one of the gift shops, a gentleman who worked as a driller during the monument's construction was there answering questions and signing books.

We considered driving to the Crazy Horse Memorial, but it was pricey and we had some miles to cover, so we skipped it. We stopped at "The Mammoth Site" in Hot Springs, South Dakota. Here they discovered a bed of mammoth fossils that they are in the [slow] process of excavating. We made it on to Nebraska for sleepy time.

Out of Yellowstone

2009-07-26T22:25:00.004-05:00

We left Yellowstone this morning. We drove from Lake north to exit via the northeast entrance and the Lamar Valley. I wanted to leave early in the morning while the wildlife might still be active. Well, we had to stop for three (lengthy) bison jams. Several of the Hayden Valley bison decided to park in the middle of the road. And several reckless tourists got so close that we were uncomfortable.

The drive out the northeast entrance was very nice. It features some rolling hills and some rocky mountains. Then we drove across Bear Tooth Pass along US 212. This is advertised as the most beautiful scenic byway in the country, and it was certainly breathtaking. Plenty of great, panoramic views of forests & mountains. The road is only open for a few months every year, and as you can imagine, that means that road repair has to occur during those few months. Fortunately we were again blessed with great timing since we were leaving the park on Sunday, and road construction was not scheduled for Saturdays and Sundays. We still had two very short delays on one-lane sections of the road, but nothing major.

Our drive to Sheridan, Wyoming traveled through several national forests and another mountain pass. We encountered a lot of light rain and some very heavy winds.

New License Plate Update

2009-07-26T22:13:00.004-05:00

We've now seen every US state (plus D.C.) except for Massachusetts. We've only seen one Mexican plate, but about half of the Canadian provinces have been represented.

Lake

2009-07-26T20:19:00.006-05:00

We left Canyon this morning and drove to the Mud Volcano area. Along the way we saw a large heard of bison sauntering through Hayden Valley. We then went over to the West Thumb Geyser Basin. I don't remember visiting this area before, but it was amazing. This basin is nestled right along Yellowstone Lake. This makes for beautiful color combinations -- the green trees and grass, deep blue water, rust colored thermophiles, chalky white dirt... it was well worth the trip. There are many hot springs here that exhibit the deep greens and blues that Morning Glory Pool is known for, but these features do not show the signs of vandalism that you see at the Lower Geyser Basin. The pools and other features here at West Thumb are concentrated very close together as well, which means less walking.

We then drove down to Grant Village. We met some rain and a little hail there. Next, we drove toward the east entrance a little ways before heading back to Lake to check in to our cabin. We ate dinner at the sandwich counter at the general store at Lake. While we waited for our burger and roast beef sandwich, we realized the kitchen was contained in a small room the size of a little closet. When I went to counter for a refill of our sodas, I commented on the small kitched. The waiter said, "Oh, it's small alright -- it's just one pannini machine." He said that afternoon they had received a single order for 30 sandwiches, and it shut them down for most of the lunch crowd.

After dinner, I walked around the historic Lake Hotel for a while. It is the park's oldest operating hotel at over 100 years old. As I walked through the lobby, I noticed the pretentious classical music, then realized it was provided by a live string quartet. Beautiful colonial architecture, great views.

Canyon - 2000 miles and counting

2009-07-24T22:00:00.004-05:00

This is the only day of our trip that we won't be moving to a different hotel. So we decided to take advantage and sleep late. When I woke, I read through my copy of Yellowstone Treasures by Janet Chapple. Reading about the facilities here at Canyon, I saw that there is a trail near one of the cabins that leads to the Grand View area on the rim of the Canyon. So I set out to find it. Sure enough, behind the cabin is an unmarked trail that soon becomes paved. I came out right at the parking area for Grand View. I walked along the rim of the Canyon for a while, snapping plenty of photos, then headed back to the cabin.

Diana and I drove both rims of the Canyon and found some great views. Several places were crowded. We ran into several traffic jams where tourists were photographing bison near the road, but we were again blessed with great timing and always seemed to have much shorter delays than folks traveling the opposite direction.

Diana suggested we go to Lake and ask about fishing trips. We got to the marina and found that there were plenty of motorboats available to rent. Between the marina and the general store next door, we were able to get all we needed for a short, impromptu fishing trip. We rented rods, bought some lures, bought our licenses, and rented a motorboat. Neither of us had run a motorboat before, and the staff did a great job of showing Diana how everything worked. We went out and spent a little over an hour on the lake. We didn't catch anything, but we had fun playing around.

On the way back to Canyon, I had to stop for a jaywalking bison, but we made it back to the cabins just as a hard rain began. When the rain stopped, we went to the general store at Canyon and ate at the Soda Fountain there. My burger and Diana's bratwurst were great. We're talking about stopping there for breakfast tomorrow before we head out of Canyon and over to Lake.

Geysers, Paint Pots, and Bears!

2009-07-23T22:47:00.002-05:00

According to my pedometer, I walked a little over 7 1/2 miles today.

I got up early and packed quietly so Diana could sleep. Then after about 15 minutes of slathering on sunscreen. I finally left the cabin and walked down the paved path at the lower geyser basin toward Morning Glory Pool. Ran into a handful of people -- including four or five joggers. Every time I stopped in the shade, I wished I had put on bug repellent along with the sunscreen.

I stopped by Old Faithful's "temporary" visitors' center, studied the map for a while, then went back to the cabin. I watched Old Faithful erupt at 9:27 (and it was RIGHT on time). Diana & I loaded the car, visited the Old Faithful Inn, then walked the geyser basin again. Castle geyser was "unpredictable today" because of an unusual eruption early this morning. So it was spouting off fairly constantly. Grotto geyser was also very active as we walked past.

We then set out to drive north through the park, stopping at several places along the way. One section of the park road is under construction, and we were told to expect 30-minute delays. So we picked up sandwiches and planned to "picnic" in the car during our delay.

We stopped at Grand Prismatic Pool before we hit the construction. We broke out our lunch, and suddenly the line of cars was moving. Our 30-minute delay lasted about five minutes. Once again, we were blessed with great timing.

We stopped at Artist Paint Pots, Norris Geyser Basin, and Mammoth Hot Springs. Then we set out east and south along the perimeter of the park to get to Canyon, our site for the night. We stopped for a very large elk and for Tower Falls. Then we came across a mob of people and cars stopped beside the road. As we wove past the cars, we tried to see what the mob was focused on. I had about decided the only thing that could draw a crowd like this was a bear with cubs. Right about then, I spotted a sandy-brown grizzly wandering through the open field below the road. We found a spot to pull off and snapped several quick photos. (And for the record, a ranger showed up shortly after we did and said our car was parked "alright.") Shortly after that, we saw a wolf trotting along the road, and we finally made it to Canyon.

The cabins here aren't as nice as Old Faithful, and housekeeping here at Canyon doesn't leave the windows open. That meant our cabin was hot and muggy when we got there. We rigged up the fan, opened the windows, and headed to get some dinner. Then we saw a bison grazing by the stop sign on our way back to the cabin.

Remember, you can click on any of the photos here for a higher-resolution version.

Driving and Driving

2009-07-22T22:40:00.000-05:00

Long, long day. We left Laramie this morning, heading straight for the Park. Google maps said it's a seven-hour trip. Our GPS said nine hours. The GPS was dead on.

We stopped for lunch in Landers, WY, making great time, then we hit quite a bit of road construction from Dubois on. Outside Grand Tetons, inside Grand Tetons... plenty of road work.

We stopped shortly in Grand Tetons and made it to the Old Faithful cabins right at about nine hours of driving. We ate at the lodge cafeteria, roamed the geyser basing briefly, and went to bed.

Colorado Springs Photos

2009-07-22T08:38:00.000-05:00

Finally some photos from our day in Colorado Springs. We drove up Pikes Peak in the morning. Traffic was very light with lots of pullouts, so we set our own pace and pulled over if anyone in a hurry came along. Had a great time on a beautiful drive. Spent a while at the top, shopping, eating lunch, having those famous Pikes Peak doughnuts.

Later we went to the US Air Force Academy. The base/campus is huge (and has amazing views). We got to the visitors' center shortly before the center and the chapel were about to close, so we hustled over to the chapel to tour it while we could. It is well worth the trip. The interior of the chapel is highlighted by a huge pipe organ and stripes of stained glass that criss-cross the ceiling and run to the floor.

Busy day, busy day

2009-07-22T01:59:00.002-05:00

So it's after midnight and we're finally in Laramie, Wyoming (some construction in the north side of Denver). So I don't have all my great photos ready to post, but here are some of yesterday's highlights:

Drove up Pikes Peak... 19-mile drive (one-way)... at the base, it was overcast, by the summit, we were in sun, looking down on those clouds.
Lunched at the top
Went to Miramont Castle near the base of Pikes Peak. It was alright.
Went to the US Air Force Academy. WOW! Then we toured their chapel. Double-WOW!
Drove to Denver, had dinner.
Went to the Chamberlin Observatory in Denver... tour included the basement (cool!).

Pictures to follow.

Day 3: Santa Rosa -> Colorado Springs 1000+ miles

2009-07-20T22:33:00.005-05:00

Today we drove to Colorado Springs, Colorado. We stopped for a quick lunch in Raton, New Mexico. Once in Colorado Springs, we headed for Garden of the Gods, a city park. Our GPS unit actually had better directions than the city signs, but we didn't trust it initially, so it took us a while to find our destination. But when we did... WOW!

Garden of the Gods features some amazing stone formations that are striking against the lush greenery of the area. Most of the formations are a deep red, the plants are a lush green, and the sky was a bright blue. It was beautiful.

Then we had dinner at a nice local restaurant - The Mason Jar. Tomorrow we will spend most of the day in Colorado Springs -- Pike's Peak, Air Force Academy, and whatever else we find. Then tomorrow night we will visit an observatory in Denver.

Day 2: Carlsbad, NM -> Santa Rosa, NM

2009-07-19T19:55:00.007-05:00

We hit Carlsbad Caverns early this morning. We Showed up about 8:30, picked up our tickets for the 10:00 tour of King's Palace, and walked down via the "natural entrance." I thought the entry to the cave was worth the walk, but once you're in the mouth, there is a long, less interesting walk to the main room (where the elevator meets you).

It turns out, we picked the right day to visit. Since yesterday was the annual "Bat Flight Breakfast," and it was Fee-Free Weekend at several parks around the country, Carlsbad saw over 4,500 visitors yesterday. We heard stories about the wait for the elevators back to the top. Our visit was very un-crowded and nice, and we enjoyed lunch at the almost deserted underground lunchroom.

We did not do the self-guided tour of the Big Room. After the long walk in and the 90-minute guided tour of King's Palace, we were ready to hit the road. So we started of toward Santa Rosa, New Mexico... with a short stop along the way in Roswell. We hit the UFO Museum. Quite a hoot.

In Santa Rosa, we plan to see some of the city parks. The skies here are very gray and there are some impressive lightning displays in the distance.

License Plate Update

2009-07-19T19:53:00.003-05:00

Plus Chihuahua, Mexico... I'll update the map with Canada & Mexico when I get a better internet connection.

The Bats!

2009-07-18T23:49:00.004-05:00

We drove over to the caverns this evening to watch the flight of the bats. Tonight the bats started flying at about 8:20. The bats circle in the bowl of the cave entrance for a while before they take off over the hills. Almost like popcorn in an air popper -- swirling around until it's ready to fly out. This means the best seats are ones that give you a view down into the bowl of the cave entrance.

It was a great show. I felt it was more impressive than Austin's Congress Street Bridge bats have been recently, though the ranger says that colony is twice as large as Carlsbad's. There is a scenic drive from the park entrance to the parking area at the visitors' center. It is about a 6-mile winding drive. At the beginning of the program, the ranger warned us that the lightning detectors were picking up strikes 3-8 miles out, and if they got close she would call of the program. Well, all went well, and we were treated to a great light show on our drive back as lightning lit up the sky across the horizon.

People from all over!

2009-07-18T23:36:00.002-05:00

This map shows the states from which we have seen license plates, so far, on our trip. This is at the end of one day of driving from San Antonio, Texas to Carlsbad, New Mexico.

In other news, it's the end of Day One, and we haven't broken into the First Aid Kit, yet!

3-D Tour of Fort Stockton, Texas

2009-07-18T23:34:00.003-05:00

For those 3-D enthusiasts out there... grab your red/blue glasses for a quick tour of Fort Stockton, Texas. (You can also click on each photo for a slightly larger version.)

Day 1: San Antonio -> Carlsbad... 460 miles

2009-07-18T15:20:00.007-05:00

We left San Antonio early this morning. The city is in the midst of a drought, and it wasn't long before we saw much greener scenery. We also saw large wind energy farms on the West Texas mesas.

We stopped in Ft. Stockton for a break right around lunchtime. We stopped to visit Pete, the world's largest roadrunner. This weekend just happens to be the town's sesquicentennial (that's 150 years for those of you who haven't brushed up your Latin). Several people were in town for a big high school reunion and an all-day festival that included a parade.

We stopped by the Annie Riggs Musuem (those of you from Brownsville, think "The Stillman House," but three times as large. After our meandering tour, we took some photos out front, including the old courthouse across the street. There we met an older couple who asked me to walk across the lawn to take a photo of the courthouse cornerstone with their camera. Turns out, the gentleman's father was the builder of the courthouse.

We made it to Carlsbad, NM. It's still true, the highways aren't the same when you cross that Texas state line. (And the state line does jump out and surprise you.) From my last trip here as a kid, I remember the signs for White's City... they were a chain of billboards - like Burma Shaves, but bigger and less clever. Well the signs are still standing, but in terrible disarray. I don't know if a fire swept through the area at some point or if they have just not been maintained. One of the still legible signs boasts, "Kodak Film - Flashbulbs."

We got to our hotel, the first floor is half sub-terranean, and it has a convenient washer and dryer. We're planning to rest a while, then go to the Bat Flight Program at the Caverns this evening.

PS... after driving [a legal] 80 mph, 55 sure seems slooooow. How did I drive from Brownsville to College Station at 55 for all those years?!

2009-07-16T15:30:00.002-05:00

Beartooth Pass out the northeast entrance of Yellowstone straddles the Montana/Wyoming border. One of the most scenic drives around, it is only open from Memorial Day through Labor day due to snow and other weather conditions.

The Montana Department of Transportation maintains online information about conditions at the pass.

Pre-Trip Shopping Spreeeeee!

2009-07-11T21:40:00.002-05:00

Went to Wal*Mart today to buy odds and ends for the trip. Boy did I overspend! (And my wife will tell you how rare that is.)

I should have paid by volume... everything was little (and most of it was inexpensive -- just lots of odds and ends).

What stuff do you need for a trip? I got batteries, travel toothbrushes, sunscreen, batteries, band-aids, hand sanitizers, flashlights, batteries...

The trip is less than a week away!

Brownsville Trip - Not all Big Macs are created equal

2009-07-05T20:53:00.005-05:00

My wife and I went to visit my family in Brownsville, Texas over the 4th of July weekend. We stopped in Raymondville for dinner on the drive down. There is a convenient McDonald's attached to a gas station (but unlike the more modern buildings that are gas stations with a McDonald's attached, this is really a McDonald's with a gas station stuck on the end).

We got our order and sat down, and Diana discovered that her Big Mac was mis-assembled. (See photo!) She wasn't sure whether or not she should send it back (after all, the parts were all there... just in the wrong order). I offered to take it back for her, and she let me. I showed the employee what was wrong and asked if we could get a new one. He turned around and had a new one made. He handed me a fresh Big Mac (yes, I witnessed that it was a new one) and I returned to my table. Diana opened it and discovered the new burger was made exactly the same way!

This time she went to the counter, and showed the problem to a diffferent employee. He was mortified (or at least acted mortified for our sake). The new, third, burger was assembled well. In fact, it was the best looking Big Mac I remember seeing. In fact, it almost looked like the photo of a Big Mac you see on the ads. Here you can see my wife enjoying her good Big Mac.

Hotel Travel Pics

2009-06-30T22:23:00.002-05:00

When I scan Dad's slides, there are lots pictures of the motor home. When I scan Mom's slides, there are lots of pictures of hotel rooms. I often take photos of the view from my hotel rooms, but I rarely photograph the room itself.

Well Heather Powazek Champ has a creative way to photodocument her travel accommodations. She has created very striking photopanoramics of her hotel rooms. You can see several examples at her blog. (This photo is from her Flickr pages where she has more than two dozen of these.)

So what are some other creative ways to document your hotels on a trip?

Fried Doughnuts at 14,000 Feet

2009-06-28T19:25:00.002-05:00

The Food Network show Unwrapped recently included a segment on Pike's Peak doughnuts. I've read about them before, but the doughnuts at Pike's Peak are a tourist attraction in and of themselves. The doughnuts require a special recipe to rise & fry appropriately at that altitude (for example, they must use condensed milk since milk jugs would expand and pop). The result is a doughnut with a unique taste and texture.

You can print some coupons that are available online.

USPS Issues New National Park Stamps

2009-06-28T19:08:00.004-05:00

The US Postal Service just issued two new National Park stamps -- Grand Tetons and Zion. The image here shows the current stamps from some of the parks we will visit this summer. The image on the Grand Tetons stamp is beautiful.

You can see many more images of Yellowstone and other geysers on postage stamps at my brother's website, JohnstonsArchive.net.

Garden of the Gods -- Top Free Attraction

2009-06-23T17:27:00.002-05:00

TripAdvisor listed the top "unheralded" free attractions in the U.S. Garden of the Gods was #2 on that list.

To see their list, visit the link and scroll past the list of "germiest" tourist stops (a list that leaves of the Burger King bathroom in Victoria, Texas, for some reason).

What are your most memorable "free" stops?

In our family, the continental divide is memorable (for good and bad reasons -- we had to visit the hospital in Jackson Hole after one stop to sled in the snow).
The bats under the Congress Street Bridge in Austin, Texas used to be really spectacular in about 1992. You could see a stream of them heading off to the horizon. But over the past several years, development in the area has made it less impressive (and there are a lot more people there to watch them... some nights it's downright crowded).
Public beaches (in Texas, the beach cannot be privately owned... this is not true in all states)

Whoosh! To Dallas!

2009-05-20T22:37:00.000-05:00

In May, 2009, my oldest brother earned his doctorate in physics from the University of Texas - Dallas. I drove up to help the family celebrate. Between San Antonio and College Station are some of the prettiest sections of Texas highways. I love the brown guardrails, the overarching huge, green trees. Very nice.

Panoramic Photos

2009-04-05T17:30:00.003-05:00

When the views are too big for your viewfinder, I like trying to create panoramic photos by splicing together a few pictures. With digital cameras, it's easier than ever. In fact, you can do a websearch to find software that will piece the photos together for you. The picture above is 12 photos taken in Big Bend National Park (sorry, I can't remember which mountain we're at the top of, there).

The photo below is two pictures put together. El Capitan is on the left. I didn't use any fancy software here, just overlapped the photos in PhotoShop and adjusted the levels manually to make the colors match a little better.

Big Bend December 2005

2009-04-05T17:25:00.002-05:00

Over Christmas break 2005, my father-in-law took me hiking in Big Bend National Park. I took tons of photos, but my computer broke down shortly after the trip. This weekend, I was able to recover the photos (and thousands of others) from that hard drive!!!

You can see a photo album of some of the best photos Big Bend photos that I took. It is an album on FaceBook (you can view the pics, even if you're not a member).

How do we get back?

2009-03-30T20:33:00.002-05:00

So... new idea: We can visit Mt. Rushmore on our trip back without taking more time. It means seeing some different states and ordering more travel guides:

Moose/Elkey Thingy

2009-03-27T19:26:00.002-05:00

Today's Mammoth webcam... Looks like an elk has posed itself right in the camera's view. (photo... lower left)

It's Here!

2009-03-24T21:55:00.002-05:00

Ordered a hotel directory from Choice Hotels (Comfort Inn, Clarion, Rodeway, Econolodge, etc.) and it arrived in the mail.

Ordered it at least four weeks ago, so it took a while to get here (which is fine... I ordered it well in advance).

What Did The Buffalo Say When His Son Left For College?

2009-03-22T13:02:00.004-05:00

"Bye, Son!"

Images from the Old Faithful Live Streaming Video Cam.

Familiar Haunts

2009-03-19T22:28:00.002-05:00

I've been scanning in my Dad's slides from previous trips. Our family had a tradition of stopping at the Continental Divide to play in the snow. In the slides, here are some of the places we crossed "The Divide" and stopped for a bit:

Berthoud Pass

Shoshone National Forest Picnic Site

Day Trip to Fredericksburg

2009-03-13T16:02:00.009-05:00

Yesterday, a couple of friends and I went to Fredericksburg, Texas, to visit the National Museum of the Pacific War, also known as the Nimitz Museum. The museum is on the site of Admiral Nimitz' childhood home.

You can see here some 3-D images I created from photos of our trip. The artillery image can also be viewed in color and 3-D.

Boston Market

2009-03-11T14:58:00.003-05:00

Woo-Hoo! There are four Boston Markets in Colorado along I-25.

What food do you enjoy while you're traveling that you can't get back home? Leave a comment below.

Traveling with the Interweb Thingy

2009-03-11T11:21:00.003-05:00

While we're on the topic of cell phones, there is a company that rents data cards -- the cellular wireless cards for your laptop. RovAir ships you a card for about $6-12 a day, depending on the length of the rental (plus shipping and optional insurance). They carry Sprint and Verizon products.

Cell Phone Coverage

2009-03-11T10:23:00.003-05:00

Can you use your cell phone on your trip? Here are some links to different carriers' coverage maps. Are you as surprised as I am?

Colorado's Highway of Legends

2009-03-09T21:00:00.008-05:00

You can drive from Trinidad to Walsenburg, Colorado along I-25, or you can take the 84-mile Highway of Legends. This National Forest Scenic Byway loops past Monument Lake, through San Isabel National Forest, and along many scenic drives. The drive takes about two hours.

You can request a map and brochure of America's Scenic Byways from the US Dept of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration.

Other 3-D Roundup

2009-03-09T19:49:00.003-05:00

I mentioned before that the USGS has 3-D images from several national parks. Here are the links to the image collections from the other parks my wife and I may visit this summer.

3-D Tour of Yellowstone

2009-03-09T17:17:00.005-05:00

More goodies from the USGS Volcano Observatory. They have a collection of 3-D images from around Yellowstone NP. They have several sets of images. There are vintage red/cyan 3-D images and some red-cyan 3-D images taken with a modern camera (that means full-color). The vintage images are made from old black-and-white stereographs. Having the original stereographs, of course, would allow us to view them without red-green glasses.

They also have 3-D tours of other national parks. I'll create posts for the other parks on our trip that they cover.

You can do a quick web search to find suppliers of 3-D glasses. These guys look competent.

Alternately, you can enlarge these squares and print them on a transparency. (Hold the cyan over your right eye, the red over your left eye.)

Aerial Images of Yellowstone

2009-03-09T17:06:00.003-05:00

The US Geological Survey has plenty of information about Yellowstone National Park. Some of it's pretty cool even if you're not a scientist. For example, there's a page full of Aerial Photography of the Norris Geyser Basin. They used a radio-controlled camera attached to a helium-filled weather balloon. They were looking at cracks in the earth's surface around the thermal features at Norris.

Visit the USGS Yellowstone Volcano Observatory for more!

More Webcam Fun

2009-03-09T16:40:00.004-05:00

The Live Old Faithful Streaming cam was showing a "small" herd of bison today. I don't think I've seen that many bison outside of the hike I made with my dad and brother through Hayden Valley.

The image on the right may take a minute to load... it is a 300 kb animated .gif file.

Pikes Peak on a Bicycle

2009-03-08T13:09:00.004-05:00

Here's an interesting company. Challenge Unlimited offers a Bicycle Ride Down Pikes Peak. They insist that you don't have to be an experienced bike rider in professional shape. In fact, their line is, "if you can sit on a bike, you're in."

Here's how it works: They serve you breakfast, and fit you for a helmet. Then drive you to the top of Pikes Peak (in 15-passenger vans... your group can be up to 35 people). After some quick instruction, you start the 3-hour bike ride down. They serve you lunch and you're done. Cost, $110 per person includes meals, guide, and rental of bicycle, helmet, and "all weather gear."

They offer many programs. Their Gold Camp ride is also downhill, but starts at a lower altitude to avoid altitude problems. Children who are too small for the bicycles are allowed to ride along in the support van.

Name That Geyser...

2009-03-07T15:58:00.002-06:00

I visited the Old Faithful Live Streaming Video site today, and caught an eruption. At about 3:50 Central time, March 7, 2009. I think it's Beehive geyser. Can anyone confirm or deny? (You can leave a comment by clicking below.)