I Feel The Earth Move Under My Feet...

Well, I actually didn't feel it, more like heard it. I wasn't alone though... Emmah felt it too.

At 4:36am I was awakened by my closet door rattling. I wondered if someone, or something, was trying to get out. Emmah also woke up as she felt her bed shaking.

Naturally, I wondered what the hell was going on and was it an earthquake? Also naturally, now I'm awake and can't fall back asleep. So I did some investigating... here's what I found. Then I came across this as well.

You Can Stop Looking Now...

I found the key (my key) last night, or should I say this morning? It was 1:30am when it was located hiding out in a bag of something that was earmarked to be returned. Some nerve hanging out there instead of on the nail with the rest of the keys. I'm guessing that all the other keys were jealously wondering why they had to be on the nail and the Sequoia key didn't.

I singlehandedly unearthed three other missing things during my search. Emmah's camera, Emmah's flash drive, and the battery charger for our camera which had been MIA for a while.

So the kids didn't have to walk to school... more importantly neither did I.

You can go back to looking for your missing things now...

Carry on.

One Mystery Solved & One To Go...

That would be one mystery to go, but first the solved mystery.

The other day I noticed something peculiar in the garbage can in the bathroom... it was toilet paper. I realize that that in of itself isn't anything amazing especially given that we often use it for blowing noses too. SO... What made this interesting was the fact that it looked like it was used for a bloody nose... it looked brown... like blood looks after a few days. I asked Julie if anyone had recently had a bloody nose. She said not that she knew of. So I said look at this... we were both a bit perplexed.

Julie started to empty out the can as she always does, she takes it out by hand to make sure that nothing got dropped in there by little hands that wasn't supposed to be in there... like hair clips and the like. It was at that time that she mentioned that she doesn't understand why it's wet (that wasn't the first time that she's found it wet either) all the way to the bottom... all the tissue is on the damper side. We wondered if for some odd reason someone was using it instead of the toilet. That was yesterday... and it was also yesterday that it was completely emptied.

So this morning I used the bathroom and noticed some TP hanging over the edge, it was brown and wet. Again???????? Now I'm thinking it looks more like #2 than old blood. Plus the fact that we always know when someone has a bloody nose because the others (the ones not having the bloody nose) will run around screaming "SO & SO HAS A BLOODY NOSE! SO & SO HAS A BLOODY NOSE!"

Having the usual suspects (Jake, Rachael and Lyndsey) in one area, it was time to start with the inquisition. Before going any further... you've heard the phrase "If it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown flush it down"... well for some other odd reason, certain people in this house subscribe to if it's brown, it hangs around. A reason you will understand shortly.

I ask, "who pooped this morning?"
Lyndsey, "not me."
Jake, "me."
Rachael... nothing

So Jake, did you throw the toilet paper in the garbage can? No, but sometimes I do. Why? I'm afraid to flush, I don't want the toilet to overflow. (that has happened on more than one occasion... I know shocking) Anyway, he swears that it wasn't him this time. This also helps to explain why we find poo in the toilet without TP.

Meanwhile I catch a look at Rachael and so I ask her. She sits in silence... Your honor, I'd like to drop all charges against Jakob and Lyndsey. I'd like to call Rachael to the stand. So here's what I was able to find out/surmise.

Rachael too is afraid that the toilet will overflow... and let's be honest, we've all had it happen to us and there's a bit of panic that sets in as you watch the swirl slow down and the water level rise. You're frantically looking for the plunger in hopes that you can keep it down enough from the top so that when you "plunge" you don't send waves crashing over the side and onto the floor.

As adults, we know what to do, imagine what it's like for a five year old. Anyhow, I ask her, "so Rachael, why do you wipe and then toss it in the toilet and then fish it out?" Her reply was, "I wash my hands." So let me get this straight... what I got is a kid afraid to flush for fear of an overflow, so she takes it upon herself to take care of the "problem" by wiping, tossing, fishing and then disposing. At least it's no longer the poo she's fishing... read this.

One mystery solved... one pending.

We seem to have a poltergeist that has a penchant for keys. It started when Julie could no longer find her key for the Sequoia. I said use the valet key until we find it. Now it's missing too. So she started using my key off my ring. Yup... was here last night, she went to the store, but when I went to go run an errand tonight, it wasn't hanging up. As of my writing this, we have a very expensive paper weight sitting outside. If only she parked it in the lawn, then we'd have a very expensive (and big) lawn ornament. Do me a favor... if you see our Sequoia rolling around with us not in it, ask where they found my key.

We're going to look mighty funny pushing the Sequoia around Monday morning for school.

Finding A Really BIG Hole In The Ground...

Continuing on with the Great MAW Expedition, here's the link to the previous chapter Aiming For A Corner... Once again, you can alway click on the MAW label to the right and get 'em all.

We last left off in Four Corners helping out the Indian economy.

Time's A Wastin'...

<---- A Rock Formation Shot En Route To Grand Canyon... Making sure that everyone got a little something we prepared to depart for the Grand Canyon. We had a little over 225 miles to go, a short trip in the scale of things. Shockingly the hour was growing later than I liked, and what was supposed to be about a half hour visit turned into something between 2 and 3 hours by the time we visited all the vendors. Even more shocking was the fact that given our departure time from Four Corners, we'd be arriving at sundown at the Grand Canyon. In case you didn't know already, there is a town named Grand Canyon, Az... that's where the campground, the Mather Campground, our final destination for the evening was located. Once we finished squeezing everyone back into the truck, we headed on down the road... Grand Canyon bound! Since I can't seem to remember anything of significance from the drive, I will assume that it was uneventful. Hmmm... what do ya know... sun's started its descent toward the horizon, so that must mean... Ah! We're here.

As we entered Grand Canyon NP and got our map, I couldn't help notice that they had the weather forecast listed on a chalkboard at the entrance gate... with the high and low temperatures. It was going to be chilly... low 30's tonight. We didn't have time to stop and look at anything now, we needed to get to camp and get the tent set up. After winding our way around and eventually finding the entrance to the campground, we gladly pulled in to check in and register. One slight problem, we had some German tourists in front of us (they sounded pretty German to me) in their rented RV's and it didn't appear, to me anyway, that they had everything in order as the ranger... the lone-ranger, no, not that one, (he was working alone) had to work with them for a while to get them in. Things were in a holding pattern for the rest of us unfortunate ones that couldn't have arrived a minute or two before they did. As we waited, we re-discovered that Arizona doesn't partake in daylight savings time and even though that meant that we instantly gained an hour... well we had gained that hour earlier, but didn't know it... all it really meant was that it was getting dark that much earlier than we thought it was.

Night Time Is The Right Time...

We waited patiently as he got them in and the next RV and the next RV and... oh hell, I don't remember where we fell in the line, but eventually we got in. Naturally, the sun continued its descent and shockingly it got darker as we waited until we were setting up in total darkness. The campground is heavily wooded and that contributes to the darkness factor. Anyhow, it was like "in the middle of nowhere" darkness and we had to fire up the lamp and headlamps to even get around let alone set up. The solace and silence was definitely disrupted and disturbed once we pulled in to our spot. Julie asked if we were going to have a fire since it's early(er). Sure, why not... so she hopped in the truck and headed off to get some firewood.

I remember that in spite of the chill in the air, I ended up sweating anyhow while setting up the tent... hey, it's like erecting a small house. Julie, in what seemed like hours, finally arrived back with the wood and not a moment too soon for my liking since I was growing weary of keeping an eye on the kids while setting up the tent. The cooler needed thinning so we proceeded to eat a hodgepodge of things for dinner that night, but I didn't really eat anything as I went straight to getting the fire going after getting the tent set up and loaded with bags and pillows and kids and kids friends (the stuffed animals) and the fluorescent lamp and heater. An observation regarding campground firewood... it's the driest fastest burning wood on earth. They must (before selling it) have it imported from the desert where it's kept there for more than 100 years. I know... you'll go through wood faster the drier it is, the more wood you go though the more money the campground takes in. Plus who wants to spend all kinds of time trying to get semi-wet wood going?

Anyway, it wasn't long before we opened the second bundle and had it burning away. By that time though, the only ones still awake were Emmah, Julie and myself. We shut off all other light sources ('cept for the fire) called Emmah out of the tent as we had a great view of the night sky through an opening in the trees. We literally gazed at what amounts to an infinitesimal amount of an incomprehensible number of stars in the night sky. It's truly astounding to be away from the city lights as they hide and rob us of a truly remarkable sight... as beautiful as anything in nature. This was not the first time for Julie nor I, but it was Emmah's first... well first that she will remember anyway. I had the pleasure of enjoying my star gazing a little longer since I needed to stay up and make sure the fire was safely out.

Even though the hour was not that late, it felt like I was the only one awake in the campground and looking back, it seemed that my hearing was on overdrive... I was hearing everything... it was like having two miracle ears. Admittedly I was a tad on edge, but eventually sleep overtook the sounds of the night and I drifted off. I'd have to say that one downside to camping is having to go to the bathroom. There's a lot to be said for being able to shuffle 'x' feet to the bathroom in your bare feet while at home. It's another thing entirely to have to lace up your boots and grab your jacket and headlamp and stroll a 100 yards or so in the pitch blackness... and cold. Making matters worse (at least to me) is the fact that the bathroom entrance (did I mention the cold?) isn't along the path side of the building. It's around the back... around the back hidden from view... G-U-L-P... and naturally the light on the men's side (over the door) is out. The woman's was not, but the men's was.

Every Picture Tells A Story Don't It?

If a picture speaks a thousand words, then sounds must speak a few too and what I was hearing at around 5am painted a picture in my head. I could hear off in the distance some wolves howling shortly followed by what was either an elk, or a deer, and then more howling. Painted the image of a early morning hunt.

Wolf: "Mornin', hey me and a... couple of buddies are meeting for breakfast, you uh... care to join us?"
Elk/Deer: "Yeah, sounds good... can I bring anything?"
Wolf: "Just yourself."
Elk/Deer: "What are we having?"
Wolf: "Oh... we're having elk/deer."
Elk/Deer: "I just had some last night, I was with this doe and..."
Elk/Deer: "OH!... HEY!... You know I'm not much of a morning person and besides, I got this thing in the morning" "Plus I gotta call that doe... you know how girls get if you don't call 'em... if ya know what I'm sayin'." "So I'm gonna hafta take a pass, maybe some other time."
Wolf: "There's not going to be some other time... not for you anyway."


<--- CAMP & SOME FLORA--->

Needless to say, I was awake now... not that it spooked me or anything, but it was light-ish out and we had a long day ahead of us... all the way to San Clemente Beach. It wasn't long until everyone had to get up and moving anyway. We feasted on bananas and some donuts as we broke camp and packed up. Julie had to take either Rachael or Lyndsey to the bathroom and while she was gone we had some morning visitors, three deer. One buck and two does strolled a mere 15' from us. Casually walked on through our camp as if to say "morning" and just kept on walking. It was pretty amazing actually to have them that close. Obviously, they've become accustomed to a human presence. That wasn't all. We had chickadees flying in and out of our opened (door) truck feasting on the crumbs on the floor. It was something out of Snow White as they fluttered in and out. Well, I say they, but I think that it was only one. One bold and hungry chickadee.


<--- THE G-GANG We're finally packed up and ready to roll, but all this means is a trip to the village gift shop and the post office. After spending too much time and money in the gift shop, we loaded up and left the village area to go and view the actual canyon itself. I'll allow the pictures to do the talking, but will add that it was indeed a glorious day and viewing was fantastic... it's truly a sight to see.

Tic Goes The Clock & What's That Smell?

As you might imagine, all this shopping and viewing and such is taking time away from driving. You may have also noticed a theme running through the MAW expedition posts here... we're either running late, or will soon be running late. This isn't something that's exclusive to our travels... sadly (for now) it's a way of life! I joke that we should start packing now for when we move, and we have no pending plans of moving just yet as we just talk about it in the "someday" tense. So after walking along a portion of the canyon, and taking our share of photos... it's finally time to load up, head south and make a right. California here we come, but first

... lunch!

I don't rightly recall anything of significance during this section of our ride to the coast, but certain things do stick out... I mean stink out. Cow poo.... lots and lots and lots of it. I am of the belief that most, if not all, of us have smelled cow poo as we've driven along. Pending where you live and drive those times may be few and far between... or not. Of those times, the smell usually doesn't last much more than a couple of sniffs. If you recall in a previous MAW post I spoke of the smell of the fresh morning air in Kansas... Kansas couldn't hold a candle to this. Now picture... actually, smell this... rolling along southern California going past a dairy farm or something with a lot of cows and their poo patties. These little steamers (having a certain odoriferousness to them) infiltrated the surrounding countryside's air, which included the stretch of highway we were on. They also permeated the truck's ventilation system and subsequently everyone's olfactory senses. This permeation lasted longer than the customary couple of sniffs. I won't say how fast we were going, only to say that we were traveling at a rate over the posted... some might even consider it a high rate of speed. I'd venture to say that the smell stayed with us for better than a minute (it was a large farm) which when you're traveling like that, seems like forever. It's not like you can even open the window to air-out either, like when someone inside (oh say... like Emmah) drops a bomb, since the outside air is the source.

I remember thinking, as we got out to stretch and gas up, that it was nice to feel the warmth of southern California. We stopped around dinner time and contemplated what to about dinner, we couldn't agree on what to do, so we decided to press on and see what the evening/night brought. It brought miles and more miles of more road. I know that at some point I relinquished driving duties to Julie for a spell, but I don't remember the changing of the driver, but I do remember changing back. Julie drove through a pretty open and windy stretch of I-10, but as we approached the outskirts of southeastern Los Angeles, her more than passive approach to driving was all I could stand... that called for another switching of the driver. Just as well as we were having a bit of a discussion regarding the map as I couldn't clearly see the path she mapped out... in her head.

Hurry Or We Won't Get In & There's A Rumbly In My Tumbly...

The other part of the reason for the switch was that we needed to get to San Clemente State Beach by 10pm... afraid that if we didn't get there by 10, we'd be gated out... and my driving style is more apt to get us there when there is a time constraint involved. I mean the constraint has to be doable... it's not like I can bend time... we usually stand the best chance with me behind the wheel is all. We did in fact make it by 10, but it's not like there was a gate keeper sitting there waiting to close up the beach. It was more of a self serve type deal... take your site ticket and we'll see you in the morning and getcha on the way out.

Is that the ocean, or the highway I hear... it's hard to tell through all the darkness even though darkness improves ones hearing and so by the time we pulled in we should've been able to hear radio Tokyo. There was a lot of grumbling about and Julie put her best foot forward (and not up anyone's behind) and set off to getting everything unloaded. There was even more grumbling as Julie tried in vain to get everyone motivated, but we weren't having any of it. I for one did not want to get out and set the tent again, I was perfectly content to sit in the truck and call it a night right there. I mean didn't I just take the damn thing down? Oh wait... I did... like 14 hours ago and it was only going to be up for like 8 or so (if even that) before we needed to head on out in the morning. AND... we still had the issue of dinner, specifically the lack thereof.

When we opted out of stopping around the time we gassed up, we anticipated that we'd find something suitable along the way. As it turns out, we ended up being under that time constraint and couldn't really afford to stop somewhere. So at some point along the way the decision was made that we'd eat at the beach... just nobody said what. So... hmmm... it's after 10pm, it's a totally dark beach (at least I think there's a beach) and the food supply was a tad thin since we knew that the next four days were going to be spent in Legoland and Disney... not to mention motels/resorts. Everyone's a tad on the grumpy side... let's eat!

Okay... what do we have beneath cooler lid #1... milk and some orange juice and some water. What do we have in food bag #1... cereal and munchie food.

S-I-G-H... I guess I need to get out and set up the tent.

So let's see here, we have the fixin's for some cereal... everyone grab your headlamps, a bowl and your super multi-purpose plastic flatware... it's cereal for dinner and straight to bed! (Julie sez that the headlamps added a certain ambiance to the meal... that would be in addition to the ambiance already being supplied by the droning of I-5.) As you can see from the pictures, the cereal for dinner idea was not well received by everyone. Perhaps the overall mood of grumpiness had more to do with the fact that it was fast approaching midnight... and not so much do with the dinner selection. They ate and I set up the tent... again! So we made the best of the situation (I even gave it a try) and finally by the time I put myself to bed, it was well past midnight. My thoughts as I drifted off to sleep drifted over to "I can't believe in a few hours I will be breaking this down again... I feel like a flippin' nomad!" I took solace in knowing that when I pack it in the morning, it will be packed for a few days and I will get a break from it... this brought a sigh of relief and a smile.

Sunshine On My Shoulder...

Means that it's morning and I'm outside of the tent and hey, there is a beach here after all. It's just down the cliff. Ahhh... smell that clean ocean air. S-T-R-E-C-H... what next. Oh yeah, the tent needs to be put away, but it needs to be cleaned out of sand first.

A Few Pics From San Clemente Beach...


I took a short walk to a lookout point and was enjoying the view and the morning ocean breeze. I took in all I dared but I couldn't help notice (as I looked down and around) all the cigarette butts strewn about. *sigh* After 15 minutes or so, I headed on back to the site to tend to the putting away of the tent. Rest well my tent, I will see you in four days.

During the de-tenting exercise, the ranger showed up and introduced himself and proceeded to say they thought they missed us, are we just getting here now? Uh, no... we're uh... packing up and hitting the road, we got in late and are on our way to Legoland. As we have said in the past to many of the places we've set up tent, we wish it was more than a one nighter... this was no exception.

Hey, what's for breakfast?

Breakfast????

Why leftovers from that last night!

Next up Legoland and Disney...

KUIYTAP