LEGOLAND!

So we last left off saying good morning (and good-bye) to the ranger in the Hawaiian shirt... I failed to mention (by the way) the Hawaiian shirt in the previous MAW post... Finding A Really BIG Hole In The Ground. Being us (naturally) we couldn't just pack it up and leave. Even with no gift shop to peruse, stopping for photos and bathrooms kept us going in a circle; it still took us an hour (or so) to get out of the park. Eventually circling our way around to the gate we were out... and on our way to Legoland! Well... more specifically to the Grand Pacific Palisades Resort (GPPR) then to Legoland.

Is This Heaven?

No... it's Carlsbad. We arrived at the GPPR to find that our backpack had made it... you remember the backpack right... left behind... way back in Cascade? I'd like to take a moment and point out that we're lucky that it made it since the day that we pulled out (and subsequently left it behind) was that last day of their season. Basically closing the gate as we pulled out. We realized that is was missing the next morning in Durango. Luckily for us they answered the phone when Julie called and were able to send it on ahead.

Okay... back to GPPR. We pulled into the front drive with one lump on the top of the truck and one lump hanging off the back... and a lump in the driver's seat. Julie went in to get us checked in and after a bit she came out with the backpack and a loaned screwdriver. The backpack had to be reassembled. So I sat there, in the driver's seat, putting the backpack back together and she went back in to finish checking in. I don't rightly remember what the hold up was, but as I sit and think back on it, I remember thinking "what's taking so long in there?" I can't rightly say either what the problem was, but only remember that our rooms weren't going to be adjoining rooms... there was a room in between us... this may have contributed to the delay since, I think, they were trying to accommodate us. Once we got our key cards, the next stumbling block was parking. Julie comes out and tells me that there's underground parking. Fantastic... what's the height clearance? I bet we're too tall with that lump on the top... we were. Now what? Well, you can park along this one side of the building, but just the one row adjacent to the building... in any other spot, you will be towed. We got lucky there was one open and it was just our size. The upside to where the GPPR was located was that it was walking distance to Legoland... it was right down the street... and I wouldn't have to relinquish my spot until it was time to leave for Disney. We unpacked what we needed and headed on up to our rooms.

"Daddy... what's this big square thing with the pillows and blanket?"
"That's a bed."
"What's a bed?"
"You sleep on them... remember?"
"Are you sure?", "They are so high up off the ground and... ohhhh... so comfy."

It was nice to sleep on a bed (which has to wait until later) and have a bathroom within fall out of bed distance. Mostly it was nice to not have to set up that damn tent!

Once we settled in, we made our way down the street for day 1 of Legoland. Not much to tell other than everyone seemed to have a good time... I will let the pictures tell the tale.



All that and another day to go, but not before Julie took advantage of a kodak? moment.
No Legos here... ploppin' and floppin' and yes... that's me in the corner there.







To be fair... we had all feasted on some really fine fare from the Karl Strauss Brewery (which was adjacent to the motel) Once the testing of the beds were complete (which was morning) we were hungry... to the brewery for the all you can eat breakfast buffet!













Now that we've feasted (again) it's time to get a start on day two of Legoland. Since Disney is tomorrow, we need to go back to the room... pack it up and check out for after Legoland we ride... as Disney is tomorrow!

But first, here are more photos (day two) warning: these photos may look strikingly like day one photos.



So with that we must bid the GPPR , the Karl Strauss Brewery and Legoland a fond adieu and make our way to the Sheraton Anaheim Hotel... and three more nights in a bed. I had thought that I'd add the Disney experience here as well, but I've decided to save it as it's own entry.

So next up then will be Disney.

KUIYTAP

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

Aiming For A Corner...

Needing to reacquaint yourself with the Great MAW Expedition? Then here's the link to the previous MAW post Mush! To The North Pole... of course, you can still just go to the MAW label to the right and reacquaint yourself that way too.

We last left our midnight ramblers cheesing off our camping neighbor, car camping and rustlin' up some grub.

Too Much? Time On Our Hands...

That must be a typo... has to be. Right? Since we were backpackless, we had opted out of going to Mesa Verde. That meant that we had all kinds of time now and perhaps pleasing to my olfactory only... then again perhaps not... this meant (at long last) a shower for me. Yup, showers and sleep... two (of many) of life's grandest things. Wasn't really getting enough of either though. All this extra time is being brought to by the people of stranded backpack. There was no way we were going to be walking around carrying Ana as we climbed our way in and around Mesa Verde and since Mesa Verde was in between Durango and Cortez (our next camping destination) we were almost giddy with the notion of having the extra time as it's only about an hour drive between the two towns.

A rolling down the highway shot between Durango and Cortez...

Breathe in. We didn't rush though our breakfast. Breathe out. Nor did we rush through loading up. We savored the slower pace, but hey, it's not like we can hang out here all day long, so onward we pressed to Cortez. To say nothing of the rarity... while driving we thought it rather novel to actually be getting to the campground and be setting up in honest to goodness daylight. The genuine article where we didn't have to worry about a fading (or recently faded) sun. So that's what we did. C'mon... really? Really... We checked in and set up with daylight-a-plenty ahead of us.

But something was off... something wasn't right and I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Then it hit me... so this is what it's like huh? Boy it was weird not having to go to bed straight away after getting the tent up; so now what? This is uncharted territory for us. This is something that we've only read about but never personally experienced before. People setting up camp AND still having the rest of the day ahead? Absurd! Insane! We weren't prepared! We didn't plan for this! So now what indeed!

So Let's Eat!

When all else fails... eat! It was getting on about lunchtime anyhow and wanting to sample some local fare, we headed on into town to the Main Street Brewery. Unfortunately for us, too early for them to be open, so we stopped at a something we passed on the way into town and a staple of our camping excursions... Wal-Mart. Noticing that we were a bit light in the cutlery and flatware department while in Cascade, we thought it prudent to check and see what their camping area had. We found some all in one eating utensils and bought one for everyone as well as some enamel coated camping plates and bowls. Having previously noted that the snack bag was getting a bit low we restocked our rations and ran back to camp as things needed to be put in the cooler. In the time it took us to shop and unload it was late enough to go and drink... I mean eat... you know eat AND drink.

The Main Street Brewery raises it's own cattle, so getting a steak means some really fresh meat and as the name states... Brewery... they make their own beer too. I don't remember what I ordered to eat, but I do remember that the beer was really good. Don't misunderstand me, the food was really good too, Julie's steak was really tender and done well. They also make their own cream sodas, in about a dozen or so flavors.

It was an especially nice time knowing that there was no hurry to be gettin' along since we really had nothing better to do. That and knowing that our tent was just down the road and only five minutes away with the added bonus of it already being set up. It was one of the few times that we were able to relax a bit. Eventually we left to go back to camp and we contemplated a fire and some roasting of marshmallows. Well, I contemplated a fire and the kids contemplated the roasting of marshmallows, I for one was plenty f u l l.

The Night Brought The Rain...

Or perhaps the rain brought the night, either way, we weren't back to camp for very long when it started to sprinkle... a steady sprinkle... one that seemed destined to be staying for the night, or at the very least until we bedded down. Since it was raining and getting late(er) plus the more than customary one beer and the full belly was putting me in a relaxed, sleepy state, I figured since there will be no fire (I wasn't about to sit around a campfire in the steady drizzly rain) bed was fast becoming a strong option and perhaps in order. So bed it was to be.

The rain never did let up and in fact turned into a full throttle thunderstorm with BIG rain. It was kind of cool, to me anyway, to listen to the thunder rumble across the sky. It was somewhere around 3am again... the bewitching time for rain... as I lay there counting the time that elapsed between lightening and the thunder to see if it was coming or going. It was still coming. I don't remember how long it rained for, but it didn't matter the duration, what mattered was the amount of rain that fell. I'm only an armchair weatherman, but I suspect that around 2+" of rain fell, and fell rather quickly once it got serious about it. Of course being awakened at that hour usually lets you know that your bladder is full and in need of emptying and I for one was not going to walk the 100 to 200 yards or so to go to the bathroom, punch in a code while standing in the rain to open the door. So um... well... we won't talk about where exactly I went. Let's just say that I didn't have one drop of rain fall upon me and leave it at that.

Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow...

After the rain has fallen, things tend to be wet. This time there was no hurricane force wind to dry things off. So I took a towel and started beating the top of the rain fly in an attempt to speed up the drying process. After getting most of the water off, it was then removed and spread flat to dry in the sun as we packed up. While we were eating breakfast Lesley was telling us that as she went to the bathroom that morning she passed two people who camped that night by merely rolling themselves (individually) up in tarps. That's right, like human burritos wrapped in plastic.

Breakfast allowed us to break in the new flatware and cutlery. They worked flawlessly and everyone was excited to be trying and using something new... even if only being used for cold cereal. We had a fairly long day ahead and as expected eating and packing up took longer than desired. We still needed to get to Four Corners and make it to the Mather Campground in Grand Canyon. Checking out, a walk through the office/gift shop took some time and then you have to factor in the goodbyes that needed to be said since this the end of the line for Auntie Lesley. Pictures and long goodbyes and it's time to head on out. Let's all say goodbye to Auntie Lesley... goodbye, and sadly goodbye to Cortez... and in a matter of a few hours so long to Colorado.

Riddle Me This... When Is A Corner Not A Corner?

When it is Four Corners... and what is made with four corners... a big square... and that's what this was, a big square of cement surrounded by Indian peddlers which was surrounded by desert.

Nothing exciting to tell here, although you'd have to have a pretty low threshold for excitement to think that anything posted here is exciting. Just some more quality time packed into the Sequoia driving through essentially desert. Upon arrival, which is still more desert (Four Corners is in the middle of nothing but desert and is on Indian land) you have to pay to see the actual point. I will say this, the money that is being brought in isn't going for any enhancement of the immediate area there... as you will note in some of the pictures. This was our big chance to roll on some New Mexican land... that's were the entrance drive is, in New Mexico. So we paid our money and well... went to the point and snapped pictures like we were a bunch of stupid tourists.

It's a strip mall of sorts... actually more like adjoining 'L' shaped outdoor kiosks. This is where the Indians sit and peddle their wares. Hand made jewelry and such to which we visited each and every one. We did purchase some things, so we did our part to help the Indian economy. On the third side is a row of port-a-potties... hey, at least they were trying to blend them into the background... they were tan. The fourth side was the entrance/exit. That's about it... the Four Corners monument, many Indian peddlers and a row of port-a-potties... and if that don't scream yee-haw, then I don't know what does. In all honesty it was kinda cool, the actual point that is as well as the whole experience. It consists of a cement pad that has each state seal in it, the marker in the center and four lines in the cement going off into infinity to mark the state boundaries. It's someplace else to say I was there... I experienced it.

For your perusing pleasure, a photo album showing our Four Corners Experience...

Oh, I almost forgot, the backpack. Once we discovered that it was missing, Julie called the Duck to see if in fact it was at our tent site. It was, but now what? We weren't about to turn back and we were going to kind of need it for the rest of the trip... either that or we put Ana on a rope and drag her around as we did not pack a stroller for her. Since we felt that that would be frowned upon, we felt it best to somehow get the pack back, or would you say get the backpack back? It was decided that the Duck people would mail it on ahead of us to Carlsbad, Ca... to where we'd be staying for Legoland. Mailing it there put it far enough ahead of us that the only way it doesn't arrive before us is if someone or something screwed it up. Luckily for us this was not the case as it was in fact waiting for us when we arrived, but that's further on down the story road here. We still have to get through Grand Canyon and San Clemente Beach before we get to Carlsbad.

Next up: Grand Canyon, San Clemente Beach (and Leaving Four Corners). This will get you there... Finding A Really BIG Hole In The Ground...

KUIYTAP

Mush! To The North Pole...

Seeing as this stands as the third chapter in the MAW trip and for those that passed remedial math and are saying to yourself that that must mean there have to be at minimum two other chapters... you would be correct, there are. I haven't yet figured how best to link this all together. To have you go to the first one, or to the second one, or give you the option to go to either. You can see the potential problem here, the beginning of future chapters will be chocked full of links.

Gimme a sec to think about this...

Okay, I've decided, this is going to be the way I go... following this link (Finally) Here Comes The Sun will take you back to chapter 2 which near the top of that post (7th line to be exact... 7th line with text that is) is another link taking you to chapter 1. Going forward, each subsequent MAW chapter/post will have a link back to the previous MAW chapter/post at or near the top; then at the end of each post there will be a link enabling you to go on to the next once the "next" has been written and posted. Notice how I getcha going backwards and forwards? I will leave it to you the reader... all 3 1/2 of you... to decide how far back you want/need to go. Whether you need to go back one... if you are in need of a refresher, or you are hitting the MAW trip for the first time and you want/need to go back all the way... the choice is up to you. I recommend starting with the first entry... it's all so (yawn) captivating... and read your way straight through every time to get the full effect of the 21+ day trip... by the time I'm done, it may take 21+ days to read it. Okay, to the nuts and bolts of this chapter...

Ahhhhh' Picking Up Those Good Vibrations...

Where were we? Oh yes... falling asleep at the Mexican place and getting a generously donated and free meal. Needless to say, we were exhausted and we crawled back to our tent and promptly fell asleep. It felt too good to be lying down first of all, and secondly, it was nice to not be in the Sequoia. One drawback to driving for the equivalent of a double shift (and then some) is the body tingle. You don't notice it when you're driving since... well... you're driving. It's not until you stop and do something like lie down that you feel it... all 1,109 miles of of it. We've had plenty of moments in our lives (Julie and I) since we've been married that sleep felt really, really good. This ranks right up there near the top... well for me anyway!

Location, Location, Location...

When we set about booking out our trip and securing our tent sites at the various locations, we knew that there was a better than good chance that the nights would be on the cold(er) side. When we spoke with the owner of the Duck when booking, he told Julie that he normally is closed by the time we were going to be there, but this year, he decided to stay open another month because of the warm weather. Turns out that the day we pulled out was the day they closed for the season. Anyhow... we're in a pretty good location being near things like The North Pole and Pike's Peak, which incidentally, the Cog Railway wasn't running anyway due to some fires that were occurring on the mountain. Good thing that we didn't bust our hump to try and make it on time anyway. Truth be told, I don't think we could've made it if we wanted... but it all worked out in the end.

The North Pole ya say?

Yup, The North Pole... seems we were a bit further north than expected. It's basically Santa's Village (for those readers from/familiar with the Chicagoland area) in a much nicer setting. It's not the first time we've been to the North Pole, we've been there once before and the kids (half of the crew we now roll with) really liked it. Jake didn't know how much he liked it yet since he was only a few months old at the time. This time around Emmah and Nick were quick to let him (along with Rachael and Lyndsey) know how much fun it is there.

Morning Already?

We wake to a sunny, but crisp, morning and fire up the camp stove ready for a hardy breakfast of Mexican leftovers... for Julie and I that is. The kids were having oatmeal (as did I) and eggs. Julie got the water going on the stove and... hey, we don't have any bowls... a slight oversight. We thought it a good idea to use some kids cups we had picked up for the trip. We really didn't have much of a choice, it was either the cups or our hands. Dad... I need a spoon. Julie... spoons? Hmmm... no spoons, another slight oversight. (If we chose in our hands neither would be necessary) You ever try and "drink" oatmeal? It kind of slides down the cup towards you in glob to which you kind of suck a chunk off of. Mmm Mmm Mmm chunky.

Feeling somewhat recharged and ready to enjoy the day, we finished up our breakfast and proceeded to clean up, but not before the bees started showing up. As the sun's rays made their way to where we were, taking us out of the shadows, so too did the bees come. It's like the sunlight was harboring the bees... it wasn't like a swarm or anything, but it was more than a few. After duking and ducking it out, we managed to finish cleaning up which included making a clothes line to hang some towels from Julie's shower... we can't remember bowls or spoons, but we remembered our clothes pins damn it! So a couple of towels as well as Ana's sleeping bag was hung... it was wet, but we think it was from her sweating... that would be the sleeping bag's wet from sweat, not Julie's towels.

Ready or not North Pole here we come!

Everyone Knows It's Windy... I Mean Lesley...

For whatever reason, we had yet to make contact with Lesley.

< < < < < < That's (Auntie) Lesley... she's the old(er) one.

By the time we reach the Pole a gusty wind has arrived with us. As we press on against some pretty B I G gusts (we'll hear more about them later) we're left wondering if we're going to even see Lesley. Perhaps she will blow in on a gust ala Mary Poppins. She knows where the campground is located, after all she reserved a site. So our thinking is that if nothing else, if we fail to make contact, then we hope to see her at the campground come evening. After a couple of hours of walking around (all the while I kept pulling out the phone looking to see if I can get even one bar) we hold on to the hope that with any luck we can squeeze out one quick call... just one. For the record here... this is not the place to be a T-mobile customer... specifically the North Pole. I kept on waiting for an icon of a confused guy shrugging his shoulders with a bunch of question marks encircling his head to pop up.

The kids are throughly enjoying themselves...

No spinning the tubby thingy...

<<<<<<

First mate Lyndsey and Captain Rachael, or is that First mate Rachael and Captain Lyndsey?
>>>>>>

Like who's ever heard of a green ladybug?
<<<<<<

Hey! Who's driving this thing anyway?
>>>>>>

Not watching the road & one hand on the wheel, not exactly textbook driving.
<<<<<<

That's when I fell for the leader of the pack!
>>>>>>

After we break for lunch we press on... pressing on

Can You Hear Me Now?

As we do we come upon a spot that I have a signal (one bar) and I literally freeze in my tracks and punch the buttons... please stay connected long enough. This hot-spot is smack in the middle of a walkway intersection. I stop. Julie and the kids keep going. It took a second or ten to notice that I was no longer with them... lucky for me I didn't drop off a mountain. Anyhow, I manage to make contact which allows us to let her know where we are and where to meet us. Whew... glad that's over with!

Okay... Lesley arrives (see picture above) and now we are one big happy mixed up mass of people. She had mentioned to me on the phone that there are hurricane force wind warnings out for the area... no joke! It was insane. Now that we have Lesley, we have a phone that gets a signal and now have the ability to make contact with Scott.

Scott? Now who the heck is Scott?

Not only were we trying to reach Lesley, we were trying to reach another of Julie's friends... Scott. Scott also lives in Colorado and we visited him and his wife a long time ago. We were going to try and hook up with him as well. He (through email with Julie) was going to try and come down (with his kids) to our campsite for a fire and roasting of marshmallows. We did manage to make contact and plans were made for the evening.

North Pole

...check.

Blowin' In The Wind...

Knowing what I know about weather... I am an armchair weatherman after all... I know that winds like these are likely ushering a front through. They were. I am well aware of how fast the weather changes in the mountains having personally experienced it few times. This was shaping up to be one of those times. As the day wore on, the sun had given way to clouds and with that the winds had started packing a bit of a chill in them. By the time we were getting ready to leave, (the park closed at 5pm) we were all rosy cheeked as it was downright chilly... especially if compared to the weather from earlier in the day. Chilly with drizzle and gusty winds... a most desirable combination if I do say so myself. Fortunately, the campground is just down the road as it was no big deal making it back to camp... 'cept for the fact that Lesley still had to set up her tent. That and we realized as we turned on to the campground drive that the sleeping bag and towels were hanging up. Well, they were hanging up when we left them.

Now no one should have to set up a tent in the rain, so we were not about to buck conventional wisdom. I know, you all are saying... Jeff, what could you possibly know about bucking wisdom? I'd have to say that I don't have a bucking clue about bucking wisdom, furthermore I am not bucking wise enough to know how to bucking answer that. Meanwhile, as we were waiting it out... for it to stop spritzin'... some of us packed into Lesley's caravan for some munchies. Turkey jerky, pretzels and peanut butter, chocolate teddy grahams and peanut butter and some cherry tomatoes. Little did I realize that this was going to be what was to sustain me through the night or I might've had a few more tomatoes. The rain stopped and so it was time for Lesley's tent to go up. Done. Now it's time to figure out what we're going to be doing for the rest of the night.

Well, we knew Scott was on his way and that we were going to be having a fire... in spite of the wind. Yeah, but what are we doing for dinner? How about some pizza? Okay, but getting pizza away from Chicago is a risky proposition at best. Well, the Duck Dude did all right by us last night, let's tap him again. So it was off to see the Duck Dude! He recommended a couple of places based on what we were looking for in a pizza. He let us take his menu book back with us... like this was going to help us!

Decisions, Decisions... Say Goodnight Gracie.

Figuring out where from and what kind of pizza to get proved to be too much for our soggy wind battered brains to figure out... so pizza was losing out to time. Graham crackers... check. Chocolate... check. Marshmallows... check. Fire...? Fire...? Fire... check. Dinner...? Check!

By this time night has fallen and I'm working on getting the propane lamp going so we all don't have to look like a bunch of misplaced out of work miners walking around with all our headlamps on. Hey... Scott's here! The trick to getting the lamps to work is to burn the mantles first... it's not really a trick per se, but more like a tricky necessity. You have to tie the mantles on, (I needed to replace the old ones since they were torn) put the lamp together, strike the match, get it inside the glass (before the winds blows) and get the mantle to ignite. Actually, that's not the hard part, getting the damn mantle to stay lit proved to be the trick. For those that don't know, the mantles have to be pre-burned (without gas) before they will work... kinda crazy if you ask me. About a box of matches later... we have light! Now we can look at each other without squinting at the light being shone at each other in order to see. It was like talking to a light beam.

Boy this bundle of wood burned really fast... time for another bundle... you would think that at the higher elevation (around 7500') it would burn slower due to the lack of oxygen. I will attest to the lack of oxygen as I huffed and puffed pushing the stroller around the North Pole... it's rather hilly, some fairly steep. Old(er), fat and grossly out of shape... the last place you want to go and push a stroller around is at around 7500'. Anyhow, the wind is really becoming more constant with the gust intensity increasing. It's like placing a jet turbine on one of the tornado siren poles. You know how the sound gets louder as it, the siren, is facing you? The wind was like that... semi-moderate wind, then W H O O S H... big sustained gust. As the gusts would hit, they would blow embers towards the tent... not the kind of thing you want being rolled toward your tent. "Daddy, my sleeping bag is REALLY warm!" Fortunately nothing was burning that wasn't supposed to be burning.

After several hours of talking, laughing, roasting and eating the gooey concoctions, it was time to say goodbye to Scott and his kids. After all, we were pulling out in the morning making our way to Durango with a short stop at Garden of the Gods. We cleaned up and I waited until the fire was out (out enough that there was no danger of us going up in flames as we slept) before turning in. Funny how an air mattress and a sleeping bag can feel so good. I turned off the tent heater and went to sleep.

Gudemans Gudemans Let Me Come In...

Not by the graying hairs on my chinny chin chin. About 3am we were awakened to the sound of some light (but heavily wind driven) rain on the tent. Julie recalled thinking "great, now we'll have to pack a wet tent". Well mother nature took care of us because the winds that started earlier in the day actually saw the gusts persisting well into the night. It's just a guess on my part, but the tent was dry within seconds of the rain stopping. That night was one of the windiest I have ever experienced. Perhaps it was because we were "in it" as opposed to being in a house. It sure felt like we could have been blown away. I wasn't worried that the tent was going to fail as much as I was afraid that the wind might topple one of the trees that was towering over us... I could kind of hear them creaking. It was THAT windy! Adding to the uneasiness of the strong winds was the air had chill in it... it was quite coldish and I imagine the wind chill was in the 20's. Since I couldn't sleep, I played with the notion of getting the heater going again... I figured that it couldn't hurt. I'm not sure that it helped, but at least this way if someone were to complain, I could say "heater's on".

When I woke to the gentle wind slapping at the tent, I discovered that nature was calling from within. I was not about to walk across the campground to the office building where the bathrooms and showers were to take care of my business... not with the chill and the wind. The tree right outside the tent will do for me. I collected myself, got my boots on and made my way outside the tent... and that was bad enough. The sky was clear as a bell... there was almost a full moon out (not mine) and it was actually quite bright and quite beautiful outside, in spite of the cold wind. I'm sure me relieving myself along side some tree in the moonlight was only enhancing the splendor.

It's 6am now and nature's calling again 'cept now the lights are on outside which meant this time I was going to HAVE to walk to the building to go. After TCB... I sat on a couch that was in there to warm up a bit. As I did Lesley walked in with a look on her face like was the heck was that? I asked her if it was windy by her, to which she laughed and then replied that she had to go since 3am, but was afraid to get out of her tent for fear that it would be gone when she got back having been blown away. To put it another way and perhaps in perspective, when everyone was up and moving, including the owner of the Duck, he mentioned that that was the windiest he's ever seen it there. He said that he's never seen anything like that since he's been there. It's us I tell ya... it follows us, we are the bad karma team. It's like those ugly extra pounds... no matter how fast I move, no matter how fast I turn around, they are still there.

Wagons Ho...

Now that everyone is up and moving, it's time to get this show on the road. Eat, break camp, pack up and roll on out. It's a difficult task to pack up if you have to spend better than half your time looking for and watching wandering kids... to say nothing of how long it's going to be to pack up in it's own right. Lesley being a single traveler was done and ready.

We were not.

Three air mattresses to deflate, fold, roll-up and pack. Eight sleeping bags to stuff. Six pillows to pack up, three blankets to fold and roll and pack. When we travel, we allow each kid to take a "friend" if they want to, some decided that they needed to take several... they too needed to be packed. This was just what was inside the tent itself... there's still the matter of breakfast clean-up, cooler and so on. To help ease the strain of keeping an eye on the little kids, we thought it a good idea to sit them down in the truck and pop in a DVD for them to watch as we packed. This naturally requites the truck to be "on" in some capacity... not running, but on... which means the keys (my keys) were going to be inside the truck.

In my haste to get on the road when we were leaving home, I perhaps didn't pack wisely. That is to say that in order to get to the tent, the bags and mattresses and such, I was going to have to literally unpack the entire truck. A new order had to be put in place since I didn't want to have to do this every single time we set-up and broke camp. Setting up and breaking down... even in the best of conditions/situations was at minimum one hour. Breaking down this time wasn't one of those times. Like I said, keeping an eye on the kids prompted us to toss 'em in the truck and throw in a DVD. The ones to get "tossed" were Lyndsey, Ana, Rachael and Jake. Emmah and Nick were helping best they could. We went about trying to re-pack as swiftly as we could... as we really need to get on the road since we still had a bit of driving ahead; imagine that.

At some point Rachael and Jake had had enough of Blue's Big Musical and opted to get out leaving Ana and Lyndsey behind. I went to get something out of the truck, or needed to put something in the truck, I can't recall which. Anyhow, I went to open the door and hmmm... locked. Hey Jule, where are your keys... the truck's locked. A bit of a contemplative pause follows. You don't know where they are do you? No, I do... they're in the truck. Hahahaha, Hohohohoho, Hehehehehe... Waaaaaaaah! We're never getting out of here.

Is There A Locksmith In The House?

Seems that Lyndsey had grown tired of sitting and watching the movie and in the process of moving about in her boredom, locked them in and us out. She was moving about in there like a monkey in a pen... moving from front to back and back to the front again. Lyndsey... Lyndsey see that button? Yes, that one... put your finger on it. Push it. No, Lyndsey, push it harder. No the other side of the button. "I can't!" This wasn't working. Lyndsey, can you open the door? She put her hand on the lever and, well gave a half hearted yank. Nope... Now Julie and I are pressing our foreheads to the window of the truck trying to encourage her to open. This was not working and I wasn't having a good feeling about this. Julie then had a divine manifestation. Lyndsey, you want some juice? And with that the door flung wide open. Behold the power of juice.





At long last, we are packed and ready to roll... yes, later than planned. Say good-bye to Cascade and the Lone Duck... look out Garden of The Gods and Durango.





The Lone Duck
< < < < < <

Okay, one of the only reasons we were going in the first place (it's not like there was time to get out and see any sights) was so that we could get a picture on the bench in front of the Trading Post... aka the gift shop. The few times we've been here, in our varying stages of children, we've sat on the bench and had snapped a photo. We now take up the whole bench! Tensions started running a little high since we were taking W A A A A Y too long in the gift shop and with the photo shoot. Time was running on by with daylight hours burning.

Garden of The Gods... check.

And You Run & Run To Catch Up With The Sun, But It's Sinking... Racing Around To come Up Behind You Again...

And in this case we were driving trying to catch up with the sun. As stated in an earlier post... you can't outrun the sun... you can't catch up with it either... in case you were wondering.

The sun's not sunk yet... rolling down the highway on the fly car photography.

< < < < < <

We are way behind now since we left the campground so late and then added to our delay with taking too long at the Garden of The Gods. So we press on and on and on and on. We are doing exactly what I didn't want to be doing... heading on to and into mountainous roads with heavier timber chasing a fading sun and fading temps. Knowing that another tent set-up is looming.

By now it's getting on dinner time and well, it's a Sunday and we are in the middle of neither here nor there Colorado. Upon looking at the atlas, we saw some towns that we thought that might be large enough to support some type of food place. They were not and did not, besides, I don't imagine that here's much call for staying open late... let alone staying open late on a Sunday. So when we came upon the Junction Restaurant in Pagosa Springs it was like a beacon calling and drawing us in. The light was on and it was open, SOLD! I believe they went to the school of "taking creative liberties" with their descriptions of the meals, but don't get me wrong, it wasn't bad, it just was midland at best. The reality was that we were in a pinch and it saved our butts cuz by the time we were going to be pulling into Durango, there was going to be no making of anything but sleep.

A Marvelous Night For A Moondance...

Not so marvelous if you were in the cabin next to our tent sight. We arrived at the Durango KOA late... like after 11 and bordering on it being Monday.Toyota in their infinite wisdom designed the Sequoia so that you can't turn off the headlights unless you turn off the truck.

Ladies -n- Gentlemen I give you the Durango KOA upon our arrival.
< < < < < <

Well, you can turn off the headlights, but the daytime running lights remain on and the only way to get them off is to turn off the truck. It's never been a problem per se around home, perhaps more of an annoyance than anything but this design flaw was brought to light (no pun intended) when our neighbor in the cabin wasn't too thrilled with the light that was entering his cabin. He actually came to the door in his robe and looked to be a bit perturbed. It's not like the cabin was totally awash in our light, it was more of an indirect lighting effect. Nonetheless, he didn't appear too chipper about it. Setting up our tent at this hour with a disgruntled neighbor was not going to happen. It was around this time that we decided that it would be best to car camp... something that was discussed earlier at dinner, but now was being put into action.

Lesley opted to set up her tent since hers set up like in five minutes... her site was across the road from ours and not in any danger of cheesing anyone off. We still needed to pullout blankets and some sleeping bags though. I slept in the drivers seat of Lesley's caravan with Lyndsey sleeping on the little middle bench seat. Emmah slept in the passenger's seat while Nick and Jake both slept in the back on the floor of the van. Julie slept with Ana and Rachael in the truck. I was the only one to sleep without any kind of bag or blanket, I slept in my hat and gloves and layered up. It's about 6am and my legs are COLD... I need to start this van up for some heat. Hopefully, I won't be pissing anyone off... actually too bad if I do, I'm ch-ch-ch-chilly!

Grub rustlin'...

< < < < < <

It's all good with Lyndsey... as long as there's milk in the cup.

> > > > > >

Time to do some grub rustlin' and then hit the shower before we head on out to Cortez... merely a short hour away. It will be nice to just drive next door and have all kinds of time on our hands. We were going to go to Mesa Verde, which was en route in between Durango and Cortez, but that plan was abandoned once we found out that the backpack carrier (for Ana) didn't make the trip to Durango and got left behind at the Duck. Arrggg...

Whew! That was a long one... lemme ice down my fingers here.

Next up... Cortez and Four Corners (and about that backpack)

Next Chapter ---> Aiming For A Corner...

KUIYTAP