CALIFORNIA!!!

I woke early again on Sunday the 24th. Today was going to be the last day in my big cross country adventure. I planned a few stops along the way, but my final destination was the city of angels. My little cousin whom turned 5 while I was visiting them in Vail earlier was finally getting his big DANCE birthday party!

Again, like most of the days that I was in Northern Arizona/New Mexico/Oklahoma it was snowing and COLD when I woke up. Remembering what I had experienced the day before in the Grand Canyon...I was ready to change my elevation!!! I needed heat! I drove due south towards Phoenix, I did not stop, but I did wave on my way by. I dropped a good 6k feet in elevation, you should have seen the gas mileage! I was beginning to feel the warmth. It must have been 60 degrees by lunch time which of course was at In N Out Burger. The best of the fast food burger places in the United States if not the world. Bold statement I know, but don't knock it until you have tried it. It is that good.

Before lunch I wanted to make sure I made a stop at Joshua Tree National Park. Little things that I would like to check off my list. I mostly drove through it, but I did stop at the Ranger station and did walk around a few of the main sites just off the road. I will have to admit this was not a necessarily planned excursion. I was not even sure what a Joshua tree was, but soon learned. My first impressions of the National Park was why should you get out of the car? It honestly just looked like a desert. The same desert that you see of either side of the highway coming in. A few more turns into the National Park and I saw why.. There are huge rock formations some of which are breath taking and the actual Joshua Tree Cacti were amazing! It was well worth the stop, but next time I am coming back for the music festival.

Well I had to hurry my way towards Los Angeles for my little cousins fifth birthday party. At that point I could use a familiar face. Traveling a lone well to say the least is lonely. I traveled west after Joshua Tree National Park and drove through Palm Springs, wholly wind farm! I have never seen so many wind turbines in my life. Must have been 500 of them. California, as poorly managed and in debt a state as it is, I have to admit is trying. I almost drove off the road looking at all of the turbines it was amazing! I arrived to my aunt and uncles place a little after 5 pm. I had missed the festivities, but made it just in time for the Oscars..party part two. Everyone was excited to see me and I them. Though some of them I may have scared with my out of control beard:) I caught up with my grand parents and family. It was a grand ol time. The journey was not over yet my final final destination was Newport Beach, CA. I made it safely..

This concludes my cross country adventure.. stay tuned for my three weeks in California, a week in Hawaii and finally Perth!

Grand Canyon! WOW The pictures do not do it justice

I woke up early Saturday morning and the only thing that I had on the agenda was the Grand Canyon! I knew that it was going to be a good day and an experience. The Southern Rim entrance to the Grand Canyon was about an hour from my motel in Flagstaff. Online the day before I looked up tours that I could do. Being on somewhat of a budget anything with the word free had my name on it. I set out trying to make the 10 am Rim Nature walk. A ranger led tour out of the Yavapai Geology Museum. I arrived with out  one minute to spare. I really lucked out traveling cross country when I did because the tour was relatively empty maybe 20 people in the group. The Ranger said that in the summer months they have as many as three hundred people on the same tour. The tour was great I learned a lot about the formation of the Grand Canyon and the types of rock that make up the layers that you see in the pictures. The way they set up the walk around the Southern rim was quite unique. Rather than walking down the thousands of feet on the tour to see all the different types of rock the Rangers brought large samples of the rock to the rim and you walked horizontally along the rim to see the history. They broke up the walk in to the types of rocks and the ages in which the rocks were formed. Geology is amazing and the Grand Canyon is truly a wonder.

When I first arrived to the Yavapai Geology Museum I looked through the glass, looked down at the floor and then looked out again. I could not believe my eyes. Staring out into the vastness that is the Grand Canyon it almost looks fake. I was talking to my cousin the day before and he said the best and worst part about the Grand Canyon is that it looks exactly like the pictures. I had seen many pictures and let me tell you there is no photo shop. It really is that unbelievable.

The tour took about 60 minutes. The big take away from the tour on how the Grand Canyon was formed can be remembered using the simple letters.. DUDE; Deposition, uplift, down cutting and erosion (DUDE). After the tour I chatted with the Ranger who had led the tour about a good hike to go on while I was there. I would be kicking myself if I did not go at least part way into the Grand Canyon. I wanted the full experience or at least as much as possible. I could read about the history, but physically walking on the canyon floor is not something you can just read about. The Ranger told me that it was about ten miles (one way) from the top of the southern rim to the Colorado river (the bottom). I thought twenty miles was a little much for a day hike and asked about something a little shorter. He suggested I hike down the Bright Angel Trail to what they call Plateau Point, visible from the rim. There I would be able to get a better look out at the Colorado river which you could barely see from up above on the rim. The Bright Angel Trail was 6 miles (one way) which I knew would be pushing it as far as a day hike goes, at least for me, but it was doable. I did not think too hard about it I was wearing my boots, had a muffin and water bottle from the awful motel breakfast, as far as I was concerned I was good to go. I started walking towards the trail head which I did not realize at the time was another mile and a half down the road...round trip this was going to be a fifteen mile adventure. Had I been with anyone else I may have been talked out of it:)

As I reached the trail head I was so excited I was almost running or sliding really. The first mile or so of the trail was covered in snow! I have to hand it to the Rangers out there for not closing the trail. It was to say the least dangerous. I being a somewhat athletic, fairly coordinated individual was admittedly nervous. Steep switchbacks in the snow with a cliff on one side? Regardless, I saw others on the trail, if they could do it, I could do it. Walking down the trail it reminded me of that scene in Hook where the "man" peter pan (Robin Williams) slides down a hill through four climate zones and experiences what looks like three seasons in NeverNever Land (childhood memories). It was roughly 30 degrees at the top. I was dressed appropriately; I had gloves, a jacket and a beanie on. I wasn't cold at all and I knew that it was going to warm up, I could see that there was no snow where I was going. The snow covered switch backs lasted about a mile and a half then it turned to thick mud! Not light sliding mud, but thick lucky to keep you boots on you feet kind of mud. Then the trail turned into what I assume the entire trail looks like during the summer months, a nice even dirt trail. To be honest it was quite an experience and I wouldn't of had it any other way.

I was hiking fast on the way down it took me roughly two hours to reach Plateau Point from the trail head (3 mph). I spent some time at the bottom taking in what I had just accomplished, admiring the beauty of the Colorado river, and trying not to think about the long journey back up. At the bottom it was 70 degrees? It was at this point that I learned there are two ways to get warm in Northern Arizona; Change your latitude or change your elevation. Something I knew, but rarely had the chance to experience.

*The last time I experienced such a drastic change in temperature was when I climbed Ol Donio Lengai in Africa with my father (2004). I honestly thought I was going to freeze to death hiking up the mountain that night, but when we got to the bottom later that day it was 90 degrees. Hard to believe.


After catching my breath and conversing with a ranger that was down there studying Condor activity, I was on my way back up. I knew that it was going to be a rough go back up the Canyon, but I had no idea how rough. I decided to save my muffin until I reached the steep part of the switch backs, when I really needed it. It took all I had in the tank to make it back up the Canyon. By the time I got back to the rim I do not think I had, but maybe ten more steps in me. I was trying to make it back up by sunset because I heard that was quite an experience at the Grand Canyon, but as I reached the top I saw large storm clouds rolling in and being as exhausted as I was I passed. Need to have a reason to come back anyway, right?

Once I got to the car, after the never ending (1.5 mi) walk along the rim, food was the next thing on the agenda. I folded and went for fat..I mean fast food. I needed a quick pick me up for the hour or so drive I had back to the hotel. I did not want to drift off the road so I even opted for a large soda, needed the sugar buzz. I made it back the hotel safely, thought about writing this blog post... didn't, and fell asleep.  I had a lot of miles to cover Sunday so having an early night was probably for the best.