7.20.11-7.21.11 - Kingman, AZ - There is an old children's song that starts..."A hot, hot day in July..." After driving THROUGH the beautiful and mystical Mojave Desert in 112 degree sauna-like heat, we all agreed that Margaret had the most sense to dissuade us from adding Death Valley to our itinerary in the planning stages! We re-entered Arizona with great whoops of joy, ecstatic that we had made it back to our first state. We laughed out loud and "squalked" w/Gpa on the walky-talkies as we got on the Rt. 40/Historic 66 Junction, passing the green mileage sign saying "2954 miles to Wilmington, NC." Onward to Kingman, "Center of Rt. 66" Hot showers and hot ac and a few rearranged rooms and we were off to dinner to Dambar Steakhouse for a rousing dinner with a good-tempered server. Breakfast the next day was a table for 9 at IHOP - Oddly enough, one of Kendall's hopes for the trip was to eat a funnel cake (of all things!)...and IHOP...yep...had them! Check!
7.21.11-7.23.11 Oak Creek Canyon/Sedona/Jerome, AZ - Up...up...back to Flagstaff and the land of 7,000 feet and Rubio...This time, Rubio did not balk - "Gimme all you got!" Not to be bested by any "wiggly" roads along the trip, the drive into Oak Creek Canyon was likened (by Mugs) to the small intestines...whew! Understatement! The drive was beautiful with vertically corrugated clifts rising in tubular spires as we edged our way down into the Canyon. We unhitched at Pine Flat Campsite and did what every weary traveller does...NAP! Sedona was waiting for us as the heat died down and we shopped and snacked and dined on Sally's BBQ and overlooked amaking vistas at every turn...red rock..red rock...red rock. Bobby bought some art from recycled aluminum printing plates, JJ and KB jewelry and other sundries. A multigenerational game of Chronology back at camp and an early bedtime - exhausted!
Pancakes and Huckleberry syrup from Glacier NP for breakfast, leftover frittata and sausage, yum! No one went hungry as we continued to eat our way through our remaining food! Plenty of food to hold us over until Jerome....Ahhhh...Jerome....We (the ladies) had been to Jerome 2 1/2 years ago on a previous trip to Verde Canyon Railway (the boys had returned to Alexander's swim meet at the time)...and it was like visiting an old friend...the Artist Co-op (we all actually remembered the BATHROOMS! :) We bought beautiful hand-wrought metal jewelry and met Sarah, the artist. We inhaled the familiar scent of the Leather Store and mounted the acutely ascending town roads to Pura Vida Gallery. Grandpa kept the Flatiron Cafe in business as we all perused and perambled in this resurrected Ghost Town. A hilarious lunch was performed at the Haunted Hamburger - complete with "kisses, willies and teapots" ... and the food was good too! Mugs' favorite fish tacos! Delightful! We finished off by keeping the Flatiron running for ice for lattes and muffins and lazily headed back to the heat of Sedona to the artisan gallery, ice cream and naps.
Dinner of an "everything left in the cooler" spaghetti and salad proved quite filling (I imagine so since it had EVERYTHING, including the kitchen sink!) Alexander, Andrew and Bobby prepped the last campfire - s'mores, Jiffy Pop and reminiscing the trip - ahhh...what fun! All with 2 logs left!
A wonderful closure being at Oak Creek Canyon - One last pack-up...One last drive-out...One last drive through Sedona, Snoopy Rock, lots of breathtaking vistas of red rock mountains, thrust skyward in our paths. Back down through Saguaro Forests, their plump arms a welcome site to weary travellers...back to Phoenix...Back to Rubios!! Back to where it started with Rubio - parked...at Rubio's! :)
A journey completed....
An afternoon of cleaning, sorting, laundry, re-packing, heat, fridge organizing, Pesto's To Go...and pictures - laughs and oohs and ahs, smiles and snickers, giggles and guffaws....a tale so satisfied.
A journey realized...
3 1/2 y ago - Rubio!
3 y ago - idea for the trip re-born....
1-2y in planning - LOVE Mugs' notebook!!! Thank you to Mugs for ALL the reservations!
12 states for G/G/JJ to get here - CT, NY, NJ, DE, MD, VA, NC, TN, AR, OK, TX, NM
7 states - AZ, UT, WY, MT, ID, WA, OR, CA, and back to AZ!
11 National Parks
5 State Parks
Over 5,500 miles! (depending on which odometer and whos tires/rims you use as a reference!)
Lyme, CT/Poquoson, VA/Chandler/Phoenix, AZ-Grand Canyon NP/North Rim, AZ-Bryce/Zion, UT-Provo, UT-Yellowstone, WY-Grand Tetons, WY-Jackson, WY-Great Falls, MT-Glacier, MT-Coeur D'Alene, ID-Spokane, WA-Columbia River Gorge, OR, Portland, OR-Crater Lake, OR-Redwoods, CA-Mendocino, CA-Napa, CA-Yosemite, CA-Sequoia/Kings Canyon, CA-Oak Creek Canyon/Sedona/Jerome, AZ-Phoneix/Chandler, AZ!
1920s - Gpa's Great Aunt Ruth takes Gpa's father on a National Parks Road Trip
1950s - Gpa/Aunt Ruth and their parents; Gmy/Uncle Bink and her parents - National Parks Road Trip
1981 - Gpa/Gmy/Bobby and Mugs - Vanagon National Parks Road Trip!
2011 - Gpa/Gmy/Bobby/Mugs/CC/Eric/Alexander/JJ/Andrew/Kendall - Rubio Vanagon National Parks Road Trip!!
What a great trip! "The Trip of a Lifetime! The Trip of a Generation!"
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Kingman, AZ Historic Route 66 7.20.11-7.21.11 - Oak Creek Canyon, AZ 7.21.11-7.23.11 - PHX 7.23.11
Leaving Sequoia! Hey! "Sequoia" would be a great word for Scrabble/Bananagrams/Wordswithfriends...with all those vowels and a Q!Overlooking the valley when leaving Sequoia...
Can you say HOT! Driving THROUGH the Mojave Desert, sans air-conditioning at 112 + degrees....OH! But it's DRY heat! THAT should feel better! Yeah, like a Vanagon Dutch Oven! ... On to Kingman!Beautiful desert scenery....
Awesome! Rubio has been on Rt. 66 from CA to IL! and everywhere in between!Holy Cow! That's a BIG WINDBLADE!!!
Yeah! Hooray! Welcome BACK to AZ!!
Funky roadside viewing on Rt. 66 on the way to Kingman, AZOak Creek Canyon....reminded us how beautiful our country REALLY is!
Heading in to Sedona from Oak Creek for the afternoon...red rock..red rock..red rock..Breathtaking Sedona!
Mainstreet Sedona here we come!Getting ready to shop in Sedona!...or...?was that eat ice cream?....
Funky statues in SedonaCute!...red rock...red rock...red rock..
Packing up on our last morning!! :(
All ready to go!Heading out through Sedona...
Back to where it started!! Rubio's!!!!!Now you see him...now you don't! (see above...ie. Gpa!)
Welcome home!!!
Back in Phoenix!!!Smooches from the pooches....
Glad to be back!Girls and their dogs...Home again...Home again...
Did someone say LAUNDRY!?Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Yosemite 7.15.11-7.18.11 Sequoia/Kings Canyon 7.18.11-7.20.11
As we headed into Yosemite, we looked back at our tortuously travelled road....
Yeah! Finally, we are here!Grammy, Bobby, Andrew and Kendall with the Upper Yosemite Falls cascading down.
Fun on the shuttle in Yosemite with Alexander and Kendall!
After a picnic walking to the Awahna Hotel with Half Dome prominently poised in the background.
The Awahna Hotel with The Yosemite Upper Falls as a backdrop. The hotel and grounds were beautiful with rough-hewn stone and colorful stained glass. The architect was the same as that of The Grand Canyon North Rim Lodge. What a gorgeous view of Half Dome seen through the window of the Hotel. Andrew was busy getting just the right pictures this day as we walked around the grounds. 
View of Yosemite Valley and Half Dome in front of The Green Chili Relleno.
Wow...the sheer face of Half Dome as seen from our walk to Mirror Lake. Amazingly beautiful. The full view of The Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls...breathtaking!
Andrew took this awesome photo with the reflection at Mirror Lake. What a cute photographer!
As we headed out of The Valley to Wawana, we drove up and up. We were treated to magnificent views of The Valley, capturing El Capitan and Half Dome. Heading into the Giant Trees!!
This tree had fallen perhaps 200+ years ago. Tannins prevent decay. This tree is actually hollow and was used by Troops as a shelter. This is in Grant Grove in Kings Canyon.General Grant Giant Sequoia in Kings Canyon.
The Giant Sequoias are magnificent in their beauty, fierce in their strength and powerful in the girth of their trunk.The brouwn "fuzz" in the middle of the picture is the young cinnamon black bear we saw foragig in the meadow of The Tall Trees. The momma was around somewhere we were told....
Evidence! And the answer to the question "Does a bear poop in the woods?".....It was pretty big and fresh bear poop! 
Hard to see the 4 kids in this picture and get a scope of the tree...largest tree in the world by volume....huge!!
Yosemite 7.15.11-7.18.11 Sequoia/Kings Canyon 7.18.11-7.20.11
Yosemite 7.15.11 - 7.18.11 - None of us having ever been to Yosemite, we did not know what to expect from the most-visited of the National Parks with over 6 million visitors per year. Making reservations was our first indicator as Mugsy, Eric, Alexander and Jordan had all been logged in exactly 4 months to the minute ahead of our date, only to be ousted by others, equally as adventurous and somehow quicker on the clicker. This, however, proved to have its merits as we camped "just" 5 miles on a rigorous trek up Evergreen Rd outside the Northwestern Yosemite NP entrance.
Our first night following our drive from Napa, being waylayed by Costco pizza for awhile, was spent settling in and having Chipotle Lime Dutch Oven Chicken for dinner. Our campsite was generously wooded, albeit in bear country requiring clean packup at night again. The next morning rewarded us with a tortuous 45 minute drive into the Yosemite Valley complete with our first breathtaking view of Half Dome as we rounded one of the sharp turns. Soon, we came upon Bridal Veil Falls, careening over the granite cliffs, off to our right as we entered the Valley. El Capitan, a sheer 3500' wall welcomed us into the Valley floor as we continued on to Lower and Upper Yosemite Falls. The cascading water tumbled as if in slow motion, cartwheeling over the rim from an unseen source. Majestic and peaceful, it fell, bringing us a vista of cool mist in a timeless space. Kendall, however, seemed to have a different initial impression saying, "We came all this way just to look at a bunch of rock and a couple of waterfalls!" :) She did change her opinion over the next few days after refeulling her chocolate tank, thinking the falls and the cliffs were quite beautiful and dramatic.
We picnicked near the Awana Hotel...only $400/night!...and strolled the grounds, nibbled chocolate truffles from the Sweet Shop and enjoyed the exquisite stained glass and stone structure with dramatic backdrops of Half Dome and Yosemite Falls. Bobby and Clair were surprised the cashier at the Sweet Shop had lived in Lynchburg, VA from the 70s-90s and took French from Clair's old professor, Dr. White at Lynchburg College. Dinner was Tropical Pork, Dutch Oven-style, preceded by a rousing game of Bananagrams. Kendall managed to get stuck in the lovely vault toilet - poor kiddo! and was rescued by a random nearby camper.
The following day was started off with a hearty Grandpa breakfast of sausage and eggs and plenty of coffee. We headed back down into the Valley and took an incredibly inspirational walk to the Lower Yosemite Falls. We continued along the Mirror Lake trail, picnicked again near the Awana Hotel, ambled through the meadow and "Housekeeping Camp," shuttled to the Mirror Lake trailhead and made our way on up. Kendall's line drawing and Andrew's photo of Half-Dome reflected the spirit of the venture into this majestic vista. Dinner was enchanting at the Evergreen Lodge (Who would EVER think of putting a lodge there?!) out on the patio and preceeded by "sneaky" showers. :)
We headed south the last day in Yellowstone, toward Wawana, glimpsed the white clapboard old hotel and wiggled our way into our Junior Ranger Badges from Ranger A. Barta. We had to bypass the Mariposa Grove of Sequoias as it was not accessible from our caravan. Ever onward we rolled down to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks...."You can't get there from here!" This seemed to be the prevailing sentiment as we drove west to go east.
7.18.11-7.20.11 - Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks - After quite a treacherously windy road, we arrived first to Kings Canyon to Grant Grove (not to be confused with Grant Village Campground in Yellowstone!). Grant Grove houses one of the groves of Giant Sequoias that only grow in the Sierra Nevada in a narrow srip in California. The Twin Sisters, Lincoln and Grant are a few of the phenomenal specimens in this grove that greeted us after a long trek up the mountain. Their sturdy bases rise defiantly to stubbly dentate vegetation, looking like a shrubbery atop a plateau of a reddened clay tower. Our campsite at Dorst Campground was generously wooded and was a welcome respite. Being still in bear country, we were on our guard. Our campground had had over 60 episodes the season before, with bears even jumping INTO truck cabs, so we were a little edgy. Our dinner that first night of vegetable, three cheese frittata a la Dutch Oven and Grammy salad helped to calm the edgy nerves and the only bear we saw that night was the Grandpa Bear!
A lazy second morning with a big Grandpa breakfast had us headed down 15 minutes to Lodgepole for hot showers and plenty of coffee. We meandered down to the Big Tree Museum and 1 mile meadow/Big Tree walk. We encountered a young cinnamon brown bear lounging and eating in the meadow! We cautiously continued the loop and have photographic proof to answer the rhetorical question, "Does a bear poop in the woods?" Perhaps, if we had been 5 minutes sooner on our jaunt we would have crossed paths with the larger momma bear also roaming in the area! A quick retreat to the vehicles and back up to General Sherman Tree walk and we found out quickly, what goes down must go back up ie. walk back up from the tree! An early retreat back to camp to regroup, eat soup, get the scoop...a rousing campfire to use up a lot of remaining firewood, many s'mores and new camp friends, horseshoes, pingpong and eventually sleep was found by all! Everyone agreed the "Scamp" camper was definitely a cutey!!
7.20.11 Mojave Desert - HOT - We amazingly woke up and headed out 15 minutes ahead of ETD of 7:30 am! (WOW!) and down, down, down, out of the cool mountain climate and into the desert! We are currently headed to Kingman, AZ on Route 40 - only 2954 miles to Wilmington, NC from here the sign says where Route 40 started! We are parallelling Historic Route 66 and having a heated good time! The temp in Rubio is 110 w/no ac for much of it to not overheat the engine...but hanging in all the same. A long driving day today of 9-10 hours leaves plenty of time for napping, movies, reading and catching up on journals and blogs. On the homestretch! :) Hot showers and a HOTEL tonight! That is, if they will let us in smelling the way we do :)
Our first night following our drive from Napa, being waylayed by Costco pizza for awhile, was spent settling in and having Chipotle Lime Dutch Oven Chicken for dinner. Our campsite was generously wooded, albeit in bear country requiring clean packup at night again. The next morning rewarded us with a tortuous 45 minute drive into the Yosemite Valley complete with our first breathtaking view of Half Dome as we rounded one of the sharp turns. Soon, we came upon Bridal Veil Falls, careening over the granite cliffs, off to our right as we entered the Valley. El Capitan, a sheer 3500' wall welcomed us into the Valley floor as we continued on to Lower and Upper Yosemite Falls. The cascading water tumbled as if in slow motion, cartwheeling over the rim from an unseen source. Majestic and peaceful, it fell, bringing us a vista of cool mist in a timeless space. Kendall, however, seemed to have a different initial impression saying, "We came all this way just to look at a bunch of rock and a couple of waterfalls!" :) She did change her opinion over the next few days after refeulling her chocolate tank, thinking the falls and the cliffs were quite beautiful and dramatic.
We picnicked near the Awana Hotel...only $400/night!...and strolled the grounds, nibbled chocolate truffles from the Sweet Shop and enjoyed the exquisite stained glass and stone structure with dramatic backdrops of Half Dome and Yosemite Falls. Bobby and Clair were surprised the cashier at the Sweet Shop had lived in Lynchburg, VA from the 70s-90s and took French from Clair's old professor, Dr. White at Lynchburg College. Dinner was Tropical Pork, Dutch Oven-style, preceded by a rousing game of Bananagrams. Kendall managed to get stuck in the lovely vault toilet - poor kiddo! and was rescued by a random nearby camper.
The following day was started off with a hearty Grandpa breakfast of sausage and eggs and plenty of coffee. We headed back down into the Valley and took an incredibly inspirational walk to the Lower Yosemite Falls. We continued along the Mirror Lake trail, picnicked again near the Awana Hotel, ambled through the meadow and "Housekeeping Camp," shuttled to the Mirror Lake trailhead and made our way on up. Kendall's line drawing and Andrew's photo of Half-Dome reflected the spirit of the venture into this majestic vista. Dinner was enchanting at the Evergreen Lodge (Who would EVER think of putting a lodge there?!) out on the patio and preceeded by "sneaky" showers. :)
We headed south the last day in Yellowstone, toward Wawana, glimpsed the white clapboard old hotel and wiggled our way into our Junior Ranger Badges from Ranger A. Barta. We had to bypass the Mariposa Grove of Sequoias as it was not accessible from our caravan. Ever onward we rolled down to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks...."You can't get there from here!" This seemed to be the prevailing sentiment as we drove west to go east.
7.18.11-7.20.11 - Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks - After quite a treacherously windy road, we arrived first to Kings Canyon to Grant Grove (not to be confused with Grant Village Campground in Yellowstone!). Grant Grove houses one of the groves of Giant Sequoias that only grow in the Sierra Nevada in a narrow srip in California. The Twin Sisters, Lincoln and Grant are a few of the phenomenal specimens in this grove that greeted us after a long trek up the mountain. Their sturdy bases rise defiantly to stubbly dentate vegetation, looking like a shrubbery atop a plateau of a reddened clay tower. Our campsite at Dorst Campground was generously wooded and was a welcome respite. Being still in bear country, we were on our guard. Our campground had had over 60 episodes the season before, with bears even jumping INTO truck cabs, so we were a little edgy. Our dinner that first night of vegetable, three cheese frittata a la Dutch Oven and Grammy salad helped to calm the edgy nerves and the only bear we saw that night was the Grandpa Bear!
A lazy second morning with a big Grandpa breakfast had us headed down 15 minutes to Lodgepole for hot showers and plenty of coffee. We meandered down to the Big Tree Museum and 1 mile meadow/Big Tree walk. We encountered a young cinnamon brown bear lounging and eating in the meadow! We cautiously continued the loop and have photographic proof to answer the rhetorical question, "Does a bear poop in the woods?" Perhaps, if we had been 5 minutes sooner on our jaunt we would have crossed paths with the larger momma bear also roaming in the area! A quick retreat to the vehicles and back up to General Sherman Tree walk and we found out quickly, what goes down must go back up ie. walk back up from the tree! An early retreat back to camp to regroup, eat soup, get the scoop...a rousing campfire to use up a lot of remaining firewood, many s'mores and new camp friends, horseshoes, pingpong and eventually sleep was found by all! Everyone agreed the "Scamp" camper was definitely a cutey!!
7.20.11 Mojave Desert - HOT - We amazingly woke up and headed out 15 minutes ahead of ETD of 7:30 am! (WOW!) and down, down, down, out of the cool mountain climate and into the desert! We are currently headed to Kingman, AZ on Route 40 - only 2954 miles to Wilmington, NC from here the sign says where Route 40 started! We are parallelling Historic Route 66 and having a heated good time! The temp in Rubio is 110 w/no ac for much of it to not overheat the engine...but hanging in all the same. A long driving day today of 9-10 hours leaves plenty of time for napping, movies, reading and catching up on journals and blogs. On the homestretch! :) Hot showers and a HOTEL tonight! That is, if they will let us in smelling the way we do :)
Friday, July 15, 2011
Mendocino 7.12.11 Napa 7.13.11-7.15.11
CeeCee says to Bobby, "I think we've been here before! Arghh!"
The Pacific Coast of Northern California...a welcome rocky site after 22 miles of hairpin turns and switchbacks of California Hwy Rt 1. Beautiful rocky coastline.![]()
Dippin our toes in the Pacific Ocean! "O mar, que pacifico!"![]()
I think we've arrived!!
Van Damme State Park...flat at last!Grammy in her element :)
Breakfast of champions at the Mendocino Hotel
I love my cousin!
One of the many picturesque water towers of Mendocino, overlooking the rocky coast below.Got wine? We MUST be in Napa!![]()
Sunset over the vineyards from our campground Skyline Wilderness Park, Napa, CALaundry-time for JJ!!![]()
All the kids after lunch at Angele, the French restaurant in Napa - Kendall, Alexander, Micala, Andrew and Jordan!Clair and Darilyn :)![]()
Micala's got the BEST seat in the house!Opus 1....very cool architecture...very snooty people![]()
Silver Oak Winery - 2nd stop on the bike ride - nice folks, pretty stone walls and wooden towers. The "girls" are sitting on the fountain taking a break before the long haul! Right after this is when Darilyn and Clair ALMOST ran into a rose bush on the tandem :)Silver Oak Winery tower![]()
Beautiful girls!Sunset in Napa.....![]()
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