Road Trip, part 14

It was another big day in the cars for us - we drove from Salt Lake City (Provo) to Pendleton, Oregon. Good Lord - we have some empty spaces out west! The interstate was busy(ish), so still not anywhere as remote as most of New Mexico, but there are loads of wide open spaces.

We were up high in some mountains in eastern Oregon until the last 7-8 miles to Pendleton. The rivers looked like they would have great fishing, and the mountains are hopefully full of hiking and camping opportunities.

Catherine took a photo looking south from the hotel. 

Next stop, JBLM.

Marc

Road Trip, part 13

We had a pretty light travel day today. I was going to get up for some star and sunrise photos at Great Basin, but the weather had other ideas. So instead, I went to bed early and "slept in."

I took some time to edit and sort my photos, have a cup of coffee or two, and then we hit the road. We ended up in the Salt Lake City area; we had dinner with an old friend from my deployment to Iraq. It was great to see him and his family again, and to reconnect.

Cheers,

Marc

Road Trip, part 12

So we arrived at Bryce Canyon National Park with a bit of time to eat and walk on the rim of the amphitheater.

Even though we had a half moon, I got up close to midnight to go take some photos of the Milky Way and hoodoos. The Milky Way is a bit washed out, but I am otherwise pretty happy with how these turned out.

I went back to bed after taking my photos, and we all got up a bit after sunrise to get a family photo.

We then loaded up and made our way to Cedar Breaks National Monument, which sits at about 10,500 feet. You can't tell from the photos, but it was chilly!

Cedar Breaks seems to me like the west-facing version of Bryce Canyon - about an hour or so to the west. It was a beautiful drive, I'd like to see the aspens in the fall!

From there we drove in to Cedar City and had lunch with my cousin Kevin. He and I linked up during a trip to Zion a couple of years ago, and it was good to see him again.

We then made the 2-2.5 hour drive to Great Basin National Park through a pretty remote stretch of western Utah. I still think New Mexico takes the prize, but this stretch was a close second.

It was pretty cloudy when we got there, and the hiking trails start at 10,000 feet. Ian and I did a tiny bit of hiking, but that elevation is killer.

Cheers,

Marc

Road Trip, part 11

This was a BIG day. Two vehicles, 775 miles, 13 hours.

We didn't really stop to smell the roses, it was really a massive push to get to Bryce Canyon National Park before dark - which we did!

The route took us through a pretty remote part of the Navajo Nation. Once you get far enough north, the roads can be a bit bumpy/rough from time to time, like they scraped the earth of brush and slapped the road down on every bump, hillock, and dip that is out there. The particular road we were on wasn't that bad, but there was one part that tested the compression and rebound parts of my suspension on spectacular fashion! Catherine had the good sense to move to the inside of the lane.

We got to the Lodge at Bryce Canyon in time to eat a nice dinner, then unload the car. After that, Catherine and I walked the 5 minutes to the rim of the amphitheater to check things out. Pictures with the next blog.

Goodness, that was a looooong day in the car. Cheers,

Marc

Road Trip, part 10

We made it back to WSMR. 5,325 miles, with another 2k to go!

It was a long day in the car today, probably our second longest of the trip (10-11 hours, tomorrow will be #1). Luckily, traffic was just how I liked it . . . sparse.

We have an early day tomorrow. Going to try to beat AM rush hour in Albuquerque on our way to Bryce Canyon National Park. We have some pretty remote areas of the Navajo Nation to get through, should be another low-key (but the longest!) day in the car.

Cheers,

Marc

Road Trip, part 9

We made it to Dallas through some pretty heavy traffic. We had to route around a couple of construction delays since people loose their minds and forget how to keep moving safely, but nothing too bad. We did see an accident two cars in front of us in Dallas (it was raining and rush hour) that we were able to avoid.

This part of the trip was just so Leah could attend her Health Occupations Students of America's International Leadership Conference, where she competed in the Biotechnology division. She took a test which eliminated a large chunk of participants, and made it to the second round - a practical test! Catherine and I are both beyond proud of her for this accomplishment, she is the only one from her school to get past the first round, maybe New Mexico!

I forgot to add a photo of us at Mammoth Cave National Park between Kentucky and Memphis - hopefully better late than never.

Cheers,

Marc

Road Trip, part 8

For the love of Pete - Kentucky needs to sort out their roads; I think they may have been worse than Arizona's (we'll call it a tie for now).

We made it to Christina's place in time to grab pizza and drinks at a local grocery. We then spent a fairly relaxed evening with Christina.

Next stop, Dallas.

Road Trip, part 7

From Bucyrus, we drove south to Columbus to have an early lunch with my step-sister Kim. We ate at a Cracker Barrel, which was fun since it has been a couple of years since we have eaten there. We then braved the rain and drove through Cincinnati to south of Florence Kentucky.

We met up with Debbie, a friend from our northern Kentucky days, who made us a very nice meal. She invited Alicia over too, another friend (her daughter babysat the kids!). All in all, it was a very nice time - thank you Debbie for opening your home and being such a great hostess!

Next stop - Memphis. Cheers,

Marc

Road Trip, part 6

I am running a bit behind on our travels - but will get caught up eventually.

We had a very nice visit in Maryland with some friends we had there - they were very gracious hosts.

We got a somewhat early start and rode through Maryland. We ended up taking a different route, part by choice and part by chance. We drove through some rain and took a detour through far west Pennsylvania/West Virginia to avoid some traffic. Along the one-lane road we came across a covered bridge, probably in West Virginia.

We got into Bucyrus in time for a late-ish dinner. Next day we went to Elkhorn's to shoot some clays. My friend Jason (from Moto Mountain Man camping fame) joined us. I think it is fair to say that we all had a good time.

Cheers,

Marc

Road Trip, part 5

After a quick visit with Catherine's side of the family, we drove north and boarded the train for Virginia.

It was an uneventful trip, but got in a bit late. We met some friends from WSMR who are now in DC for lunch, and then drove north to our old stomping grounds in Maryland to visit some other friends.

Cheers!

Marc

Quick Family Photo

Nothing much to say - other than a quick family photo with Catherine's side of the family from this afternoon.

Cheers!

Marc

Road Trip, part 4

I swear to all that is holy, there are more people driving slowly in the left lane on Florida's highways than there are in the entire state of New Mexico!

With that, we made it to Miami none the worse for wear. 2000+ miles with 4 days of driving. just under a third of the way for the road trip. We'll have a couple days here in Miami; Catherine's Uncle David and Aunt Lowell are here, as is her sister Christina. We'll have a busy couple of days here.

Cheers,

Marc

Road Trip, part 3

I have lost track of days - we made it to Dad and Pam's place in Florida, where we started the family part of the great road trip. 

We toured some of the newer parts of The Villages and took a couple of nice walks - as well as enjoyed the dining opportunities! Unfortunately, I did not think to get any family photos : (

Cheers,

Marc

Road Trip, day 2

Another 9 hours or so on the road yesterday, those make for long days in the car!

We drove through some rain, which coming from the desert these past 2 years (and working about a mile from home) made for a different experience. We stopped in Covington, just north of New Orleans. Catherine found us a nice restaurant to have some authentic Louisiana food.

Cheers,

Marc

ROAD TRIP!!!!!

We are officially on the road, in between duty stations. I had my change of command yesterday, and we hit the road right after it. 

We are headed to Joint Base Lewis-McChord . . . again. Though we ARE headed to the completely opposite corner of America before we go there.

I'll keep a running map going until we arrive - probably throw some photos in for good measure. We will be stopping along the way to see family and friends, but need to get Leah to Dallas for her academic competition. She is representing New Mexico for biotechnology.

Cheers,

Marc

Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument under stars

I almost forgot to post about my camping trip to Aguirre Springs!

So after my City of Rocks camping trip, I came home for one night which turned out to be a great idea due to torrential rains.

I loaded up the van for a little trip just up the mountains to Aguirre Springs. I had my eye on this gnarled, old tree as a potential backdrop for the Milky Way. The skies are nowhere near as dark here as they are at City of Rocks, so the Milky Way is a bit harder to pull from photos, but I am overall still pretty pleased with how these turned out.

I even turned around and photographed the mountains to the west without any hint of the Milky Way.

I am going to miss these mountains!

Marc