July and August 2006 - Month(s) in Review

Victory lap? Do-Over? An excuse to take a few weeks off work? Whatever you want to call it, our return trip to several Mid Atlantic and New England destinations was fantastic. Some places we saw for the first time; others we saw with entirely new perspectives. We even remembered to take pictures this time around. Look for new and improved reviews of New Bedford Whaling NHP, Boston NHP, Minute Man NHP and Saratoga National NHP in the coming month as well as loads of brand new reviews. In the meantime, here is our totally biased assessment of the summer months.

Miles Traveled (in Altima) – 2,112

Most Interesting Sign – Mazel Wok, name of a Kosher Chinese restaurant in Woodbourne, New York.

Most Interesting Town Names – Drive east on I-84 through Pennsylvania and you will go through Promised Land on your way to Lord’s Valley.

We are quite happy that our mailing address is not Coxsackie, New York.

Best Opportunity to Test Michael’s “Jacket of the Year” (Worst Weather Day) – We may have had more days of rain on this short jaunt than in the entire trip. July 22 and 23 in Albany, N.Y. were particularly soggy. A thunderstorm soaked us and had us running for cover on July 28th in Boston. But what is the best surefire way to bring on a torrential downpour? That’s right, pitch the tent and build a fire! A short hike to a beaver dam near Chittenden Brook (Green Mountain NF, Vt.) turned into a cross country trail run when Michael’s barometer reading took a dive and we realized we hadn’t put the rain cover up yet. We made it back just as the first of many, many drops began to fall.

Highest Thermostat Reading – Holy heat wave! Temperatures were above 90 degrees almost every day in July. There were rumors of 100+ days in Hartford, Conn. but we don’t have any photographic evidence. Most Talked About Natural Phenomenon – The Raven. Michael had a rare chance to see his favorite bird inside Fort Warren on St. George’s Island in the Boston Harbor Islands NRA. The New England Aquarium and a local wildlife refuge were there to entertain weekend visitors. Kids flocked towards the tiny screech owl and starfish, crabs and other crustaceans in water-filled bins, but Michael only had eyes for the Raven.

"Are ravens rally as smart as they say they are? Can they really problem solve?" Michael asked as the raven tried to untie her bindings. We can’t tell if we entertained or annoyed the young volunteer from the refuge with our barrage of questions and commentary. Gab steered her eager partner away from the table as he was saying, Are ravens your favorite bird because they’re my favorite bird. I really like ravens…..

Most Talked About Unnatural Phenomenon – The influx of folks from “The City” and all that comes with it (more tourism and infusion of cash in local communities – good; increased cost of living and crowds – not so good) was a constant in most conversations we overheard in upstate New York.

Most Beautiful View – Sunrise Burlington! A corner room at the Wyndham Hotel in Burlington, Vt. gave us a stunning view of sailboats and Lake Champlain. We woke early to watch the sun come up and the city come to life. As good as any Sunrise Earth episode on the Discovery Channel.

Incidentally, a few days later we recognized the setting for Sunrise Earth’s “Milk Cows in the Morning” when we stopped at the Marsh Billings Rockefeller NHP in Woodstock, Vt.

Ugliest Park Site Surroundings – Steamtown NHS, Scranton, Pa. We guess there are worse things you can do with an abandoned train yard than make it into a National Park site. But the adjacent mall and parking garage do little for the aesthetics of an already dubious destination.

Most Beautiful Park Site Surroundings – Vermont. Yes, all of it. Before we reached the state, we didn’t want to buy into the all the hype about its lush greenery, rolling hills and striking mountain scenery. Consider us convinced. Vermont just may tie West Virginia as the most beautiful state east of the Mississippi.

Most Unusual Place to Upload www.usa-c2c.com – The one coffee shop in Quincy, Mass. That was not a Starbucks or a Dunkin’ Donuts. The place itself was not that unusual. The fact that it took us all morning to find it was.

Liveliest City Center (Towns) – Burlington, Vt. Have you ever driven into a town that seemed so darn near perfect that you wondered if you drove into a parallel universe? We immediately fell in love with Burlington, Vermont. Great food, friendly folks, restaurants and bars with plenty of outdoor seating, a lakeshore park, large pedestrian-only street in the middle of downtown…Man! Burlington is nice!

Dullest City Center (Towns) – Hanover, N.H. We drove to the home of Dartmouth hoping to grab some lunch, walk around campus and maybe even spend the night. We were surprised to find, well, we didn’t find anything interesting along the main streets of a city we thought would be fun to explore.

Number of Capitol Buildings Visited This Month – Six! (Seven including Harrisburg) Technically, we haven’t toured the inside of our Nation’s Capitol yet but we circumnavigated its grounds all day. That counts, right?

Most Beautiful and Ugliest Capitol Buildings – Nope. Not this time. The last time we called out a capitol of a state which was home to some of our friends, we never heard the end of it. All the capitols we saw this month were equally beautiful. Really they were.

Biggest Disappointment(s) – The Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial in Washington DC. I guess we expected more than walls and waterfalls. The tribute to one of our favorite president’s was probably our least favorite DC stop. Long, crowded, uninspiring. Sigh.

Finding the Zane Gray Museum in the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River closed until further notice was also a bummer.

Most Pleasant Surprise – On the way home from a long day at Harper’s Ferry NHP, we decided to stop in the small town of Brunswick, Md. where a passport stamp for the C&O Canal NHP was rumored to reside. While searching the streets for anything resembling a Visitor Center, we heard an ungodly roar. We turned a corner to find two NASCAR cars gunning their engines for eager fans. Yes folks, we had stumbled on to Brunswick’s “NASCAR Day” and were rewarded with up close and personal views of the car Tony Stewart ran last year in Chicago. Michael was a little more excited than he will admit.

Most Unpleasant Surprise – Tickets to the top of the Washington Monument were sold out by 9 am the Saturday we drove to DC. We hadn’t even boarded the metro at Shady Grove by then! The ticket attendant told us people often began lining up by 6:30 am on summer days. At that point, we were still in bed. Helpful hint: you can reserve tickets online at http://reservations.nps.gov/ before you go and pick them up at the small kiosk in front of the Monument. A small service fee applies.

Proudest Accomplishment – Filling the tank for under $3/gallon every time - no small task when traveling through Connecticut and Rhode Island, states infamous for pricy petrol.

Unsolved Mystery – Why is there no affordable place to stay between Narrowsburg, Pa. and Albany, N.Y.? Did you know that Poughkeepsie, N.Y. is a top tourist destination? We didn’t.

Mystery Solved – More like revealed in all its glory. We finally saw the inside of Fenway Park! More on this later….

The “Fancy Meeting You Here” Award – When Michael and the Ranger at the Martin Van Buren NHS started chatting while waiting for the next house tour to begin, we learned that he had been stationed at the Tall Grass Prairie National Preserve when we were there two years ago. He recognized Gab!!

Runner Up: A flooded basement and a found address book put one of Gab’s coolest friends back in touch with her a few weeks before this leg of the trip. We promptly took him up on his “if you’re ever back in Boston…” invitation and spent 4 fabulous days in Winthrop, Mass. With Bill and his fiancé Carol watching the planes go by.

Most Gluttonous Day – Even though we had already polished off a huge grilled steak dinner at Leunig’s Bistro (thank you, early bird special!) we simply couldn’t leave Burlington, Vt. without another taste of American Flatbread. We topped off the night with a small flatbread to go and savored fond memories of our days in Burlington.

Best Sporting Experience – Boston Red Sox vs. Anaheim Angels at Fenway Park. This is when having some friends who know a city really helps. We drove to the stadium and parked just steps away from Yawkey Way, where we stocked up with food and drink and chatted with the nice lady on stilts. After a few laps around the interior, we tried a few different views of the game: first in standing room only, then in our proper seats in the bleachers and then, into four impossibly empty seats in the loge level behind third base. We watched extra innings from padded seats in the shade.

Much as we hate to admit it, Fenway is a classic American sports venue, even better than Boston Red Sox fans tell you it is. And we all know how modest they are. July 29 was a perfect day. A million thanks to Bill and Carol for making it happen.

Most Scenic Drive (Highways) – Route 100 through Vt, along the Mad River. A rainy morning gave way to sunshine peeking through the clouds as we toured small towns, stopped at country stores and got out to take photos of covered bridges and waterfalls right next to the road. Route 100 was made for road trips and leisurely drives.

Best Day Hike – A 4-mile morning walk along the carriage paths at the Marsh Billings Rockefeller NHP. We had time to waste before the 10 am tour and hot coffee to drink so we set out into the woods and found ourselves at a duck pond just as the morning light was just right.

Highest Price for Gas – $2.99/gallon, Cumberland Farms, Foxboro, Mass. Phew! This price was actually 5 cents higher than its listing on http://www.gasbuddy.com/ earlier that morning.

Lowest Price for Gas – $2.57/gallon, Giant Foods, Hershey, Pa. Frequent grocery trips to Giant resulted in 30 cents off each gallon with our rewards card. Can’t beat that.

Most Out of the Way Site – Boston Harbor Islands NRA. Ok, it wasn’t that far, but you do need your own boat or a ticket for the ferry to get there. Any place where there is a chance of being stranded by water transport counts as out of the way.

Best Pizza – Any pie from American Flatbread, Burlington, Vt. You can’t go wrong.

Most Helpful Roadside Stop – The Ranger Station (give specific location) in Washington DC. You could track down each stamp and brochure from each DC NPS site, of which there are dozens. Or you could just GET THEM ALL RIGHT HERE. Michael distracted the Ranger with talk of the weather while Gab furiously stamped away and tried not to hyperventilate with excitement.

Most Inappropriately Named Rest Stop – State Liquor Store Rest Stop, I-93, N.H. How was that approved by the highway commission, we wonder?

Best Burger – CH Evans Brewing Company/Albany Pump Station, Albany, N.Y. Gab built her own with gorgonzola and bacon while Michael opted for the signature Pump Station Burger, a delicious concoction which blends beer, bbq sauce and scallions right into the patty. Mmmm…burgers…..

Best Smelling Factory – Ben and Jerry’s Factory Tour, Waterbury, Vt. Is this place really a factory? The tour was slick, perhaps a little too slick, and is it really a “free” sample when you paid 3 bucks to get on the tour? Either way, the scent of ice cream is in the air and it smells good.

Best Giant Statues – Uncle Sam, Santa Clause AND Mighty Mouse (on an elephant no less) are all standing tall in the parking lot to greet visitors at Magic Forest Park, south of Lake George, N.Y.

Best Missing Statue – There are four alcoves on the Saratoga Monument but only 3 statues. The officer who, by most accounts, was the hero of Saratoga was purposefully omitted. Poor Benedict Arnold.

Almost Celebrity Sightings – Gab swears Gallagher and Dr. Z, Daimler Chrysler’s new spokesperson were sitting next to us at American Flatbread in Burlington or at least dead ringers for the two D-list celebrities.

There was a case of mistaken identity at the shipping docks in New Bedford, Mass. A fisherman saw us wandering around with cameras and asked, “are you guys from the newspaper?” He was absolutely baffled that we would choose to vacation in New Bedford and that we thought the ships were photo-worthy.

Best Campground – Chittenden Brook Campground, Green Mountain National Forest, Vt. Many thanks to the forest ranger in Warren, Vt for making the recommendation. Tucked away in the Green Mountains, this beautiful campground next to a babbling brook was shady, clean, comfortable, and hardly crowded. We spotted just a few other campers on our evening walk around the grounds. Even with the rain, we are glad we camped here.

Worst Driving Experience – Traveling north on Routes 9 and 9N alongside Lake George, N.Y. It wasn’t horrible, just unexpected. We expected a quiet scenic drive with a lake view, not a bustling, crowded chain of resort towns filled with factory outlets, mini golf, motels and boat rentals. Kids and families everywhere! Now we know.

Biggest Stretch – Scranton, Pa. as a National Historic Site. We won’t elaborate. This is kind of like picking on the scrawniest kid in class.

Harpers Ferry, WV • Dillsburg, PA • Brunswick, MD • Frederick, MD • DIllsburg, PA • Shady Grove, MD • Washington DC • Hershey, PA • Scranton, PA • Greentown, PA • Lackawaxen, PA • Narrowsburg, PA • Woodbourne, NY • New Paltz, NY • Albany, NY • Kinderhook, NY • Catskill, NY •Hudson, NY • Colonie, NY • Waterford, NY • Saratoga, NY • Schuylerville, NY • Lake George, NY • Bolton Landing, NY • Ticonderoga, NY • Burlington, VT • Waterbury, VT • Montpelier, VT • Inasville, VT • Waitsfield, VT • Warren, VT •Rochester, VT • Woodstock, VT • Hanover, NH • Concord, NH • Lexington, MA • Concord, MA • Winthrop, MA • Boston, MA • Cambridge, MA • Quincy, MA • Dorchester, MA • Foxboro, MA • Providence, RI • New Bedford, MA • Newport, RI • Hartford, CT • Scranton, PA •

Harpers Ferry NHP • Old Post Office Tower NM • World War II National Memorial • John Paul Jones Nacional Memorial • Department of the Interior Museum • Constitution Gardens • 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence Memorial • Vietnam Veterans Memorial • Lincoln Memorial • Korean War Veterans Memorial • DC War Memorial • Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial • George Mason Memorial • Thomas Jefferson Memorial • Ford’s Theatre NHS • Peterson House • Steamtown NHS • Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River • Martin Van Buren NHS • Thomas Cole NHS • Saratoga NHP • Marsh Billings Rockefeller NHP • Saint Gaudens NHS • Minute Man NHP • John F. Kennedy Birthplace NHS • Longfellow NHS • Boston NHP • Boston Harbor Islands NRA • Boston African American NHS • Adams NHP • JFK Presidencial Library • Roger Williams NM • New Bedford Whaling NHP • Touro Synagogue •

May and June 2006 - Month(s) in Review

We’re Baa-ack! Yes it’s been a while since the last compilation of all that’s good and/or unusual from our travels. But here we are. This edition of our Best Ofs includes highlights from Washington DC, Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia and of course, PA.Best Weather Day – Hard to choose, but probably May 4th, in and around Washington DC. We had nothing but sunshine and pleasant warmth, a perfect day to play hooky from work.

Best Opportunity to Test Michael’s “Jacket of the Year” (Worst Weather Day) – June 1st. We were fully prepared to camp along the Youghiogheny River, but 90+ degree weather, near 100% humidity and ominous skies made us think better of it. We had just finished our meal in Morgantown, W. Va. when the heavens opened and lightning blazed across the sky. We were soaked in the short distance between the car and the entrance to our hotel room, where we watched the nightlong downpour.

Thank God We’re Not Here Next Month Award – Washington D.C. The humidity was just starting to seep into our pores as we tried to navigate the Parkways and walked through Georgetown. Michael’s years in DC tell him that DC is one of the last places one wants to be in July or August. (But wait a minute, we will be here in July and August…)

Most Effective Billboard Slogan – “Free Beer Fridays”, Georgia Street BBQ, Smithfield, Pa.

Most Interesting Sign – “National Chainsaw Carving Contest, June 15th,” Somerset County, Pa.

Strangest Endorsement – Tie. Nate Dogg’s Beer to Go, along I-40 in Fayette County, Penna and the Samuel Hagar Post of the American Legion, Port Marion, Pa.

Most Talked About Natural Phenomenon – The rising Susquehanna River. Days and days of thunderstorms the last week in June freaked out those in flood-prone areas of Harrisburg, Pa. The first two days of Harrisburg’s American Music Fest were prematurely cancelled. City Island went underwater. The Harrisburg Senators were rerouted to their opponent’s field AND the Beach Boys concert was repositioned to take place right in front of our windows. We think Harrisburg may have overreacted, but better safe than sorry, we suppose.

Most Beautiful View – Great Falls, whether that’s the Maryland side or the Virginia side will depend upon which Sedor you ask.

Ugliest Park Site Surroundings – Claude Moore Colonial Farm (part of the George Washington Memorial Parkway). Colonial Farm Road is also the entrance road to the George Bush Center for Intelligence a/k/a CIA Headquarters. The CIA land forms the Park’s heavily guarded eastern border. The Farm Visitor Center is a non-descript and poorly marked mobile classroom unit. A flimsy red and white homemade sign labeled Colonial Farm should point you into the gravel parking lot. (We missed the sign and continued to an indomitable CIA entrance a few hundred yards down the road where we turned around).

Thankfully, the Colonial Farm is positioned so that once through its entrance gates, the high fences, paved roads and security check points of the modern world are undetectable.

Biggest Disappointment – Thomas Stone NHS, the only NPS site dedicated to a signer of the Declaration of Independence for no other reason other than he was a signer. Whoop de doo.
Unsolved Mystery – How do we get to Theodore Roosevelt Island from the George Washington Parkway!?!?

Mystery Solved – We leave the car at our friends’ apartment, take the metro to Rosslyn and walk. That’s the plan for the next jaunt down to DC.

Most Gluttonous Day – Did we really need a giant soft pretzel AND a BBQ sandwich AND a BBQ platter at Camden Yards? Well, yes.

Cheapest Ballgame Ticket – $17 for ridiculously good seats at Camden Yards, Baltimore, Md. We sat in the first row of the right field bleachers for Kevin Thompson’s debut as a Yankee and a major leaguer. He is now Gab’s new favorite Yankee.

Most Expensive Ballgame Ticket – $20 for mid-level seats at Yankee Stadium, the Bronx, NYC. Sure, the difference in ticket price is minimal. Add parking, lunch and a few beers at Yankee Stadium prices and we can see why Yankee’s fans make frequent trips to Baltimore.

Best Sporting Experience – Wait! We almost forgot! We got into a Harrisburg Senators Game for FREE. Gab’s cousin was in town as an umpire and got us tickets to a Saturday game on City Island. Even better, we persuaded Gab’s dad to come along. This was his first trip to the Senators Stadium since they added bleachers (that’s a looong time ago). He had such a good time we are hoping he joins us more often. What’s better than hearing an old timer yell out “that’s a can o’ corn!” every time an easy out pops into the outfield?

Best Short Hike – Along the boardwalks from the Great Falls Tavern and Museum to the Maryland side of the Great Falls of the Potomac. Great blue herons flew overhead, the Falls roared in the distance and everyone on the walk was celebrating the glorious spring day.

Highest Price for Gas – $2.88/gal, Citgo, Accokeek, Md

Lowest Price for Gas – $2.46/gal, Giant, Mechanicsburg, Pa. Note: accumulated points on our Giant Bonus Card got us a 30 cent a gallon savings. Fill ‘er up!

Most Out of the Way Site – Friendship Hill NHS. Poor Mrs. Gallatin. This young socialite was not the biggest fan of New Geneva’s rustic setting.

Best Ballpark Cuisine – Boog’s BBQ at Camden Yards

Best Bartender and Best Pizza - Scotty and pizza at the Subway Café, Herr Street, Harrisburg, Pa. are shoe-ins for these categories any time we are in Harrisburg.

Best Waiter/Waitress – Summer, on the deck at the West Virginia Brewing Company, Morgantown, WV. This sweet, dreadlocked darling steered us towards the best sandwiches, hooked us up with freshly delivered fries and gave a frank explanation of why there were no longer any beer specials – “you see, we are just starting to distribute and we need to make some money somewhere.” Fair enough.

Best Tour Guide – The NPS Ranger at the Clara Barton NHS. Her tour group consisted of a German businessman and us. Questions ranged from wartime logistics to internal workings of the Red Cross to international treaties and agreements both past and present. She tried to address each inquiry as thoroughly and neutrally as possible, never giving a hint of her own political leanings or preferences. A true professional.

Most Helpful Roadside Stop – The Youghiogheny Overlook Maryland VC on 68 towards Cumberland, Md. Finally, a chance to restock our supply of maps and hotel coupon books. Free wildflower seed mix!

Worst Acting in a National Park Service Film – The disemboweled head of Mr. Albert Gallatin at Friendship Hill NHS. The Ranger explained that there used to be a full bodied hologram projected in the middle of the VC lobby, but constant malfunctions shrunk this ambitious project down to its present state – a video of the head of the hologram.

Most Unexpected Local Pronunciation – The Youghiogheny (yuck-kah-GAY-nee) River, Western Pa. Actually, its not really unexpected since we are from P.A.

Best Fast Food – Regular Roast Beef Sandwich, Roy Rogers, Frederick, Md. There are no more Roys in Harrisburg so a regular RB and a red birch beer en route to DC are special treats.

Best Smelling Factory – Stroehmann’s Pennsylvania Dutch Bakers, Paxton Street, Harrisburg, Pa. This has been the benchmark for all other best smelling factories. It doesn’t smell all the time. In fact, the aroma of baking bread wafts onto the highway when you least expect it.

Best American Kabuki – Dizzy Rascal, he’s a dizzy Rascal!

Largest Measuring Device – The canal water gauge painted right on the side of the Cushwa Warehouse, C&O Canal, Williamsport, Md.

Worst Driving Experience – Missing our exit at least three times on the George Washington Memorial Parkway. In our defense, the LBJ Memorial Grove can only be reached going northbound. The good news is we landed right in front of the Netherlands Carillon and the USMC Memorial – 2 other NPS sites on our list to visit.

Biggest Stretch – Trying to write a “Best of” for two months where we have seen more sunrises on the Discovery Channel than we have from a tent. We will be straying a little further from home next month. Stay tuned as we return to New England in July. New Hampshire and Vermont, here we come!

Harrisburg, PA • Frederick, MD • Glen Echo, MD • McLean, VA • Tysons Corner, VA • Arlington, VA • Roslyn, VA • Washington, DC • Oxon Hill, MD • Waldorf, MD • La Plata, MD • Port Tobacco, MD • Accokeek, MD • Washington DC • Harrisburg, PA • Somerset, PA • Farmington, PA • New Geneva, PA • Morgantown, WV • Cumberland, MD • Hancock, MD • Williamsport, MD • Sharpsburg, MD • Towson, MD • Baltimore, MD •

Clara Barton NHS • Glen Echo Park • Clara Barton Parkway • George Washington MEM PKWY • Great Falls Tavern and Museum • Claude Moore Colonial Farm • Great Falls Park • Wolf Trap Farm and Pavilion • Thomas Stone NHS • Piscataway Park • National Colonial Farm • Fort Washington • Fort Foote • Oxon Hill • Marine Corps War Memorial • Netherlands Carillon • Old Stone House • C&O Canal NHP • Fort Necessity NB • Friendship Hill NHS • C&O Canal NHP • Antietam NB • Hampton NHS • Fort McHenry NHS •

www.usa-c2c.com
© 2004-06

Bad News for Park Budgets

Happy Easter! We hope that you enjoyed the beautiful spring weekend. Sadly, an article in Sunday's Philadelphia Inquirer about severe budget cuts to the National Parks was anything but sunny.

Matt Stearn's article entitled, National Parks Ordered to Squeeze Budgets, Forcing Cuts in Services, reports that, the Bush administration has ordered the United States' national parks to show that they can function at 80 percent or less of their operating budgets, and that's forcing some parks to cut services for visitors as summer approaches.

80%! As you know from our Site Reviews, NPS sites already operate on shoestring budgets. In many sites volunteers take the place of, rather than supplement, park rangers. We have already encountered truncated seasons and limited hours of operations. Interpretive tours and ranger talks, once plentiful and free, are fading fast into memory like a $2 gallon of gas.

For instance, Gettysburg National Military Park..., which just began its core operations analysis, no longer has a historical architect or a monument preservationist...The park has 1,300 monuments and 148 historic structures.Are America's National Parks and the Great American Road Trip in danger? We know what we think; tell us your thoughts at gabandmichael@usa-c2c.com.

After

Gab:

- Is it over?
-How was The Trip?
-Did you get to all the places you wanted to see?
-Are you sad to be back?

I should probably have some standard responses by now. There has been no conversation/email/phone call since Christmas that didn’t include one or more of these questions. Most of the time all of them at once, showered on me like confetti.

The short answers:
-No, not yet.
-Great. Wonderful. Better than we ever could have dreamed.
-Kind of.
-No! Yes! Kind of….

I am flattered by the inquiries. They mean that my friends, colleagues and even acquaintances noticed that I was gone. In fact, many of them followed our adventures pretty faithfully, either online or via the Sunday Travel Section in the Patriot News every month.

But the newspaper gig ended in January and with such a backlog of site reviews, it is hard to tell where we are anymore just by checking the site. So, about once a week we get an email from one of our pals wondering,

“Where are you? Are you finished yet?”

It is a legitimate question. But I am never prepared to answer. Somehow, even after months of practice, I get caught off guard. I start to stutter and go off onto this long-winded explanation of the park sites that are remaining and how we have to wait until Memorial Day to go back to New England and the dozens of DC sites are just a short drive away and….At this point, my listener’s eyes start to glaze and I wonder if I am that person that people wish they never would have sat next to on the bus.

Why is it so hard for me to say that we are back to work full-time now? That we just rented a beautiful apartment in downtown Harrisburg? That the Nissan is in the parking lot getting some much deserved rest and waiting patiently for a car wash? Hey man, after a solid 18 months of living out of our car and sleeping on the ground and coming up with new stories as to why we are in This Town, Texas or That City, Iowa when it didn’t seem like the 2-year cross country road trip explanation was going to cut it with the audience, we are once again legit.

Sigh. A moment of silence, please.

Some days, most days actually, this is a wonderful feeling. I am a Taurus and a nester by nature. I am doing now what I longed to do many times at the end of a long drive: unpack, unwind, stretch out, relax in a space that was my own. Not worry about who might pull into the campsite next to us, where the car is parked or if our gear is safe in the cheap motel room while we go grab something to eat.

Other days, being “legit” doesn’t seem to suit me at all. Like today, as I sit at my laptop pounding out emails for work at 11 pm on a Sunday night and mentally preparing myself for what I know will be a grueling week. I think to myself, this time last year, I was in Arizona, watching baseball at spring training, exploring ancient cliff dwellings, hiking through fields of cacti and strange lava formations, getting ready to drive to Santa Fe to celebrate one year on the road with a delicious meal.

This week marks the two-year anniversary of USA-C2C.

I have to keep reminding myself that It Is Not Over Yet.

This is hard now that we finally have a couch, I found my favorite fuzzy bathrobe and I spend my Saturday morning, not mapping out the best route from the motel to the nearest coffee shop to the visitors center, but exploring alternate routes between the Ikea and the Trader Joes from the PA Turnpike.

It will be hard, but not impossible.

There are at least six large boxes of things we mailed home from the road. Pamphlets, maps, books we finished reading, coasters, magnets, free stuff we won in trivia contests. They are postmarked from Florida, Montana, Washington, California. I am trying to pick the right day to delve into those treasure chests and unearth the booty.

Would I be exaggerating if I said we had at least a hundred thousand photos of the trip? I don’t think so. The next step is to frame our favorites and cover these empty walls with the scenes I need to see again to know that they really happened.

Our acquired knick-knacks won’t be mementos; they will be miniature monuments to the places where they were found. The photos won’t serve as memorials to the last two years, but as motivators. Motivators to continue what we started, to practice what we have been preaching about making time not finding it, to finally visit every single national park area in the continental United States.

Whatever that number may be.

How Many Parks?

Michael:

How many National Parks Sites are we traveling to? The better question is how many are there?

388 National Parks Units. That’s what the cover of the “Official National Parks Guide” says. We have seen the same 388 in ads and park pamphlets and heard it quoted by Rangers and know-it-alls.

When we began the trip, we took out the “Official Guide” and subtracted the 30 sites in Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and the American Samoa. The book actually lists 31, but there is a Klondike Gold Rush NHP Unit in Seattle so at 30 it stood.

388-30=358.

Now the National Park Service, as you probably know from glancing at our website, breaks their Parks down into an indecipherable alphabet soup of classifications. NP, NPRES, NHS, NHP, WSR and NS to name a few. They stand for, of course, National Parks, National Preserves, National Historic Sites, National Historical Parks, Wild and Scenic Rivers and National Seashores respectively.

Luckily, the same “Official Guide” denotes groups of these classifications with six pictograms. We decided to travel to all but one group, the sunglasses group, defined as “set aside purely for recreational use”. At the time, we felt these were not essential for a ‘complete’ trip. This group of 44 included Nat’l Lakeshores, Seashores, Rivers and Recreation Areas.

358-44=314. That number is do-able in two years.

Early on in the trip, a surly Yankee Ranger taunted Michael, “Oh, so the Recreation Areas aren’t important enough for you to go to? Don’t they count?”

314+44=358.

Traveling to the Recreation Areas has brought its plusses and minuses. The Lakeshores, Seashores and urban NRA’s are terrific. Our trip would not have been the same without them. The NRA’s created by dams and the National Rivers, unnecessary, forgettable and out of our budget because we do not have a boat. There is nothing for us to do at most of these places.

The number wavers.

For sanity’s sake (or lack thereof), when you count the number of Parks with entries in the “Official Guide” you only come up with 377. Turns out, we shouldn’t have been counting down, we should have been counting up.

It is not just our number that wavers.

Either way, a goal is still a goal. To date, we have been to 290 of the 346 official Parks in the continental United States. Nearly 84%.

Somehow, we have managed to write 314 Site Ratings. Sure we have written about non-Park Sites like Presidential Libraries, Hall of Fames and doubled up with mega Sites like Yellowstone, but we have skipped writing a few reviews as well. Why are there 40 more reviews than places visited?

The NPS has these things called “Affiliate Sites”. They are a part of the park system but are under someone else’s jurisdiction. Most of the time, they are privately owned and you must pay to get in; sort of an outsourced National Park. (Get used to it; outsourced Parks are the way of the future). There are also National Heritage Areas and National Scenic Trails, which are kind of, sort of Parks but not really. Sometimes they get the brochure and more frequently, nowadays, they get the Parks Passport Stamp.

Check out the online list of National Park Passport Stamp locations. The list of Parks here easily tops 500 and it is growing. This list gives us nightmares.

But back to the pertinent questions. “How many Park Sites are you traveling to?” and “Are you going to get to them all?”

47 of the 56 remaining Sites are east of the Mississippi. Good news for gasoline use. Fingers crossed, we plan to hit them all within the next year. Ten in Maryland, ten in Pennsylvania and the entire District of Columbia. We will be busy.

That leaves nine.

Two are not open to public: Yucca House NM and Hohokam Pima NM, located in Colorado and Arizona, respectively.

Two are just west of the Mississippi and are definites: Ulysses S. Grant NHS, near St. Louis, and Effigy Mounds NHS in Iowa.

That leaves five.

Two are River-based Parks that we have already driven past but did not enter the water or go to a Visitor Center: the Missouri and the Niobrara NSR, both in Nebraska. We are not going back.

That leaves three official National Park Sites that we are not going to get to Lake Chelan NRA in Washington State, Rainbow Bridge NM in Utah and Gila Cliff Dwellings NM in New Mexico.

Lake Chelan and Rainbow Bridge require expensive boat rides down man-made lakes and are cost prohibitive. The road to the Gila Cliff Dwellings was washed out by a flood and we could not linger in Silver City, as much as we may have wanted to.

Currently we are bunkered up in Harrisburg waiting for spring to come and the New England parks to open. That would be Labor Day. It no longer feels like a road trip but in actuality, the hope to see all the National Park Sites within a two year span is ongoing.
It is not going to happen within two years, but it will happen within two and a half. We guarantee that.

Er, except for those three we just mentioned.

October and November 2005 – Month(s) in Review

Ah October, ‘tis the season for “newlyweds and nearly-deads.” Retirees and honeymooners know that autumn months are just about perfect for traveling and day trips. As we try to digest our multiple Thanksgiving meals and get ready to get back on the road, we reminisce about our warm October days spent in Virginia and the Carolinas and hope that winter won’t come too soon to Washington D.C., our next destination.

Miles Traveled (in Altima) – 4,320 miles

Best Weather Day – October 17-19, Charleston, S.C. Sunny and 80+ degrees. We wore shorts and T-shirts and hundreds of bikini-clad College of Charleston coeds sun-bathed in Marion Square Park.

Most Interesting Sign - “Use less gas; tow your car,” Hitch World, Beckley, W.Va. Huh?

Most Interesting Roadside Attraction – “Vend a MOO.” Ever get a craving for an ice cold glass of milk after midnight? We don’t either, but if you lived in Blacksburg, S.C., you could hop in your car and stop at Vend-A-MOO, which is essentially a trailer the size of a small U-haul with several spigots parked alongside a commercial road. What did we ever do without a “24-hour milk service?”

Most Talked About Natural Phenomenon – Fall colors. October in the Appalachians means the reds, yellows and oranges of changing leaves as well as the highest motel rates of the year. We consulted leaf-changing web-sites, newspaper article and unending word-of-mouth but did not see the peak colors until we returned to Harrisburg, Pa. in mid-November. An unseasonably warm fall delayed western Carolinas leafy show until later in the year than anyone could remember.

The “Thank Goodness We’re Not Here Next Month” Award – All Blue Ridge Parkway Visitor Centers were closed by 5 pm November 1 st, even though the fall colors had barely begun. Ice from an early winter storm closed off two sections of the Parkway, forcing us to take some circuitous detours. Locals told us there is no winter maintenance on the Parkway; once winter hits for real, the “Road Closed” gates will go up until spring thaw. Good thing we got our Passport stamps!

Best (non NPS) Historic Site – Monticello, Charlottesville, Va. Virginia and the Carolinas have hundreds of top-shelf historic destinations: Colonial Williamsburg, various founding father plantation homes, Jamestown, Yorktown and innumerable Revolutionary War and Civil War battle sites. Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s home, stands above them all with its pristine grounds, World Heritage Site-level architecture, quirky interior touches and impressive storytelling.

Liveliest City Center (Towns) – Chapel Hill, N.C., or perhaps Charlottesville, Va. We have a hard time deciding which of these college towns wins the prize. Both have impressive college campuses and quaint main streets filled with restaurants and shops. We wouldn’t have minded 4 years in either of these towns. Charleston , S.C., Asheville, N.C. and Knoxville, Tenn. were also lots of fun.

Dullest City Center (Towns) – Spartanburg, S.C. The name says it all.

Strangest Claims to Fame - Middlesboro, Ken. is both the home of Lee Majors and the only town built inside a meteor crater.

Friendliest People – Kill Devil Hills, Outer Banks, N.C. We had very high expectations for the Outer Banks since thousands of Central Pennsylvanians vacation here every summer. What’s the draw? Well besides the world class fishing and pristine national seashores, it might have something to do with the friendly and laid back welcome we felt every place we went. Locals, renters, vacationers, snow birds: very rarely have we seen all of the above co-mingle like at Kill Devil Hills. Limited off-season dining options and a karaoke machine might have had something to do with it.

Longest Day – A 399-miledrive from Chapel Hill, N.C. to Charleston S.C. via Wilmington, N.C. with one Revolutionary War Park Site ( Moore’s Creek NHS) and at least 4 mugs of coffee in-between.

Most Beautiful Capitol Building – Columbia, S.C.

Most Mysterious Capitol Building – Richmond, Va. This big boy is under construction until at least 2007. Good luck getting anywhere near it.

Biggest Disappointment – Gab couldn’t stop sighing as we walked through the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill campus. Why oh why did you wait-list me, Tar Heels?

Most Pleasant Surprise – Finding a Hard Times Café in Fredericksburg, Va. Funny how a big bowl of good hot chili can soothe frazzled nerves after a long day.

Most Unpleasant Surprise – Mosquitoes at the Pea Island National Wildlife Reserve are ruthless! Our morning birding walk came to an abrupt end when we both realized we were covered in bugs and blood. We ran back to the car and watched our bites turn into welts as we vowed not to be lured back into nature without first finding the bug spray.

The “Fancy Meeting You Here” Award – We walked into Colonial Williamsburg and Gab was shocked to hear Michael say, “Hello, I think we’re related!” to a nearby volunteer. It was one of Michael’s mom’s cousins who had relocated to Virginia several years before. Michael recognized the name on the nametag and started up a conversation.

The “We Got Robbed!” Award – TIE
Both Manassas NBP and Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania Counties NMP have decided to waive their entrance fees and simply charge a “user” fee to watch any of the films at their Visitor Centers. Eastern National employees explained that this made the fee “optional.” We explained this made the fee a fee, since our Annual National Parks Pass covers the cost of admission but no additional park fees. We cringe whenever there is a price put on learning, no matter how small.

And speaking of education, did you know that Duke University charges $2 for visitor parking, even on Sundays?!? One would think that the university with the 5 th largest endowment in the United States wouldn’t need to nickel and dime those who want to see its campus. Don’t you guys have enough money?

Best Sporting Experience – October 10 th. Rafting the Upper Gauley River, W.Va.

Most Scenic Drive(National Parks) – The drive to the top of Clingman’s Dome, Great Smoky Mountains NP, Tenn. The dramatic changing fall colors gave way to a winter wonderland as we climbed in elevation; a freak late-October snow shower had draped the scenery with a glistening white coat.

Most Scenic Drive (Highways) – There is a reason the Blue Ridge Parkway (N.C.-Va.) is America’s most famous scenic drive; it is SOOOOOOOOO beautiful.

Best Day Hike – Through the Wilderness Area of the Fredericksburg NBP. Rustling autumn leaves and a light drizzle added to the mystique of the quiet walk through the woods where thousands of Union and Confederate soldiers died in a bloody tangle of bodies and underbrush. Although we had the trail to ourselves, it hardly felt like we were alone. Highest Price for Gas – $2.83 at the RaceWay, Fredericksburg, Va., October 6 th.

Lowest Price for Gas – $2.04 at the Kroger, Roanoke, Va., November 2nd. One mile further down the same road, we saw a $1.99 Petro price tag, the first sub-$2 rate we have seen since mid-March.

Most Out of the Way Site – Cape Lookout NS, Outer Banks, N.C. The closest we got was a sneaking glance through a telescope, located at the landlocked Visitor Center. The National Seashore is accessible only by a privately-hired boat, has no facilities and would have made a troublesome visit given the high winds and unpredictable temperatures of late-hurricane season.

Most Out of the Way Site (Landlocked Version) – Cape Henry NMEM on the Fort Story Military Base, Virginia Beach, Va. The guard at Gate 2 turned us around and sent us to Gate 1 a few miles down the road where our car was searched and our photo IDs were presented. They gave us a visitor’s pass and told us to keep it on the dashboard, next to the alligator.
We carefully kept our cameras pointed at the Memorial and the Cape Henry lighthouses – they are a little strict about these things on active military bases.

Best Local Cuisine – Brunswick stew, Old Dominion Ham Biscuits and Carolina BBQ met us at every turn. Not to mention the Black-eyed Pea Fritters, Low Country Boils and Cheese Grits. We put on a few pounds but it was well worth it.

Best Multi-Tasking – Asheville Pizza and Brewing Company, Asheville, N.C. offers delicious pizza and beer as its name implies, but also a massive game room and a $2 movie theatre. Both Halloween evening showings of the Rocky Horror Picture Show were sold out by the time we found this gem.

Best Tour Guide – Once again a guide from Appalachian Wildwater takes the cake. Kevin steered us safely down the Gauley River in West Virginia. It’s hard not to give this prize to someone who pulled you out of churning whitewater and back into the raft. Twice.

Worst Acting in a National Park Service Film – Michael Longfield was the star of a one man tour de force at Fort Moultrie, part of the Fort Sumter NM, S.C. Michael, listed as “Sergeant” in the credits, portrayed soldiers from the Revolutionary War all the way up to the closing of the Fort in 1947 - using a wide array of costumes, various modes of facial hair and no less than 8 accents. Never mind that the origin of the accent was usually unclear.

Most Disputed Historical Statement – Kings Mountain NMP, Cowpens NB Guilford Courthouse NHS and Ninety Six NHS all claim to be “The Turning Point in the Revolutionary War”.
Best Smelling Factory – The entire town of Winston-Salem, N.C. smells like tobacco, particularly around the RJR Road and King Tobaccoville exits. Just follow the aroma to Tobacco Road.

Best Giant Statue – The “Stonewall” Jackson Memorial at Manassas NBP, Va.. We were amazed by the general’s awesome Superman-like physique. A Ranger at Stonewall Jackson’s Shrine in the Richmond NBP confided that they called this the “Steroid Statue.”

Almost Celebrity Sightings – Who’s that on stage belting out Elvis? We can hardly see her over the dancing and singing crowd. Why, my goodness. Is it…no it can’t be. Yes! It’s GAB, debuting as a karaoke queen at the Jolly Roger in Kill Devil Hills in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Michael has a feeling this will not be her last time behind the mike.

And did you know that Cooter from Dukes of Hazzard fame has his own restaurant in Gatlinburg, Tenn.? We weren’t hungry so we didn’t stop, although the “Cletus here today” marquee was inviting. (now, which one was Cletus?)

Most Excessive Use of Public Funds – Give a Hoot. Don’t Pollute! Wartburg, Tenn. is serious about keeping their town clean of litter. So serious that its litter patrol actually has its own patrol car. Is that a Smokey? No, it’s Woodsy.

Best Campground – umm, we only camped once this month. It’s getting kind of cold you know…

Manassas, VA • Dumfries, VA • Pope’s Creek, VA • Fredericksburg, VA • Richmond, VA • Kents Store, VA • Charlottesville, VA • Beckley, WV • Oak Hill, WV • Lexington, VA • Lynchburg, VA • Appomattox, VA • Petersburg, VA • Richmond, VA • Jamestown, VA • Williamsburg, VA • Yorktown, VA • Newport News, VA • Norfollk, VA • Virginia Beach, VA • Kitty Hawk, NC • Kill Devil Hills, NC • Nags Head, NC • Manteo, NC • Hatteras Island, NC • Ocracoke Island, NC • Beaufort, NC • New Bern, NC • Greenville, NC • Raleigh, NC • Durham, NC • Chapel Hill, NC • Wilmington, NC • North Myrtle Beach, SC • Georgetown, SC • Charleston, SC • Mt. Pleasant, SC • Sullivan’s Island, SC • St. Matthews, SC • Camden, SC • Columbia, SC • Ninety-Six, SC • Spartanburg, SC • Cowpens, SC • Blacksburg, SC • Campobello, SC • Flat Rock, NC • Hendersonville, NC • Asheville, NC • Cherokee, NC • Gatlinburg, TN • Pigeon Forge, TN • Knoxville, TN • Alcoa, TN • Oak Ridge, TN • Wartburg, TN • Oneida, TN • Middlesboro, KY • Greeneville, TN • Mars Hill, NC • Asheville, NC • Greensboro, NC • Mt. Airy, NC • Roanoke, VA

Manassas NBP • Prince William Forest Park • Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania NMP • George Washington Birthplace NM • Richmond NBP • Maggie Walker NHS • Gauley NRA • Appomattox Court House NHP • Petersburg, NB • Jamestown NHS • Yorktown Battlefield • Colonial NHP • Cape Henry MEM • Fort Raleigh NHS • Cape Hatteras NS • Wright Brothers NMEM • Cape Lookout NS • Moore’s Creek NB • Fort Sumter NM • Fort Moultrie NM • Charles Pinckney NHS • Congaree NP • Historic Camden • Ninety Six NHS • Kings Mountain NMP • Cowpens NB • Carl Sandburg NHS • Blitmore Estate • Great Smoky Mountains NP • Obed WSR • Big South Fork NRRA • Cumberland Gap NHP • Andrew Johnson NHS • Blue Ridge PKWY • Guilford Courthouse NHS • Booker T. Washington NM

August and September 2005 - Month(s) in Review

This Month in Review (which actually reviews 2 months) stretches from coast to coast, through our favorite time zone (Mountain) and even stops for a visit back home in Harrisburg. A pancake syrup spill almost wiped out our notes, (Note to Gab: waffles are perfectly ok without syrup, especially when eaten in a moving car) but they were recovered. We hope you enjoy this double dose of sticky fun!

Miles Traveled (in Altima) – 7,782 miles

Best Opportunity to Test Michael’s “Jacket of the Year” (Worst Weather Day) – a mid-afternoon, mid-August hail storm at Rocky Mountain NP caught us off guard. Good thing we had already packed up camp. We watched the heavens open from the comfort of one of the Park’s several Visitor Centers.

Most Effective Billboard Slogan – “Face It. You’re Too Old to Sleep on the Ground,” Arapaho Motel, just outside of Rocky Mountain NP, Granby, Col. Can’t say we didn’t think about stopping. And this was before the hail storm. But we continued up the mountain and into the park. We did camp, and were rewarded with a crisp and lovely night.

Best Day Hike – TIE.
Through the Lava Tubes at Lava Beds NM, near Tule Lake, Calif. We had minimal expectations and expected to spend no more than an hour or two at this small park, focusing most of our time at Captain Jack’s Stronghold, the site of several battles between the Modoc Indians and the U.S. Army. While that short hike was indeed fascinating, it didn’t hold a candle to the twists and turns of the several dozen lava tubes located in the south of the Monument. We chose 3 – Sunshine, Hercules Leg and Juniper. We donned our headlamps, put on our boots and crouched and crawled and wound our way through these amazing caves. This is the first time we have ventured into lava tubes or caves unescorted and it was scary and cool. Low effort; maximum reward.

To Dog Lake and Lembert Dome, in the Tuolumne Meadows portion of Yosemite NP. This strenuous high altitude hike culminated in a couple hundred yard scramble up a granite rock to what might be one of the nicest lunch spots in all of Yosemite. The top offers a 360 degree panorama of Tuolumne Meadows and the backside of the Yosemite Valley. In case you were wondering, Half Dome is just as impressive from behind.

Most Out of the Way Site – John Day Fossil Beds NM. This NPS area consists of three separate units, all found in the middle of nowhere.

Most Curious Billboard – “Come to Dumas, Texas. Home of the Ding Dong Daddy.” Do you know what a ding dong daddy is? We didn’t.

Most Interesting Sign – “Jim Ray Nissan - Home of the Trunk Monkey,” Fort Smith, Ark. Now we love monkeys as much as the next person, probably more. But we aren’t sure if this slogan inspires confidence in a used car dealership. Is a trunk monkey a good thing?

Most Pleasant Surprise – There is an In-N-Out Burger in Reno, Nevada!! In fact, there are two. These two sites were added to the In-N-Out roster in August of 2004, after our current In-N-Out location guide (yes, we have one. So??) was printed. This was a wonderful, glorious, surprise and made us love Reno that much more.

Here’s another surprise. On August, 15, 2005 we were exactly on schedule and where we thought we might be: Reno, Nev. We can count the number of times our actual location has matched our planned location on one hand.

Strangest Promotion – Happy Labor Day! To celebrate the holiday, a local orthodontist in Omaha, Neb. gave away free iPods with the first 100 sets of braces of the school year. It had to be true; we saw it on TV.

Most Vitriol Inducing Site – plastic bags covering gas pumps as the price per gallon jumped 50 cents in one day and several towns we were driving through started to run out of the cheaper octanes. This is the last thing you want to see over 1,000 miles away from home.

Most Interesting Name for a Roadside Attraction – “Fossil Fuel” is the name of a gas station in Fossil, Ore.

Most Talked About Natural Phenomenon – Up until, August 29th, it was the Perseid Meteor Shower on August 12th. Did you see it? We were fortunate to have clear skies and a campsite outside of Yosemite NP. We saw at least 4 huge shooting stars before our necks started to hurt from looking up.

Hurricane Katrina consumed all our thoughts in the last days of August and into the next month.
Most Talked About Unnatural Phenomenon – The hourly “Wilderness Show” at the pool at the Peppermill Casino and Hotel, Reno, Nev. A few minutes before every hour, we would hear disturbing noises, and then remember it was just the animatronic animals coming to life outside. Our 11th story room gave us a perfect view of the fake rock face, home of 2 bighorn sheep, a wolf, a mountain lion a black bear and dozens of pigeons. Unfortunately, from our bird’s eye view we could also see the steel rails and poorly concealed joints which moved the “animals” to and from their caves. It lost a little of its magic, but not much.

Most Beautiful View – My heavens, Crater Lake really is one of the most beautiful things we have seen.

Most Unusual Place to Upload www.usa-c2c.com – Michael’s parents’ living room. It felt odd doing our daily travel reports from the comfort of one of our old homes.

Liveliest City Center (Towns) – Harrisburg, Penn. Of course, we are going to give a shout out to our hometown. In the short time we were home, we sampled dinner from some of the city’s newer restaurants on 2nd street, visited some of our old favorites and even found ourselves at the opening social for a statewide conference for Pennsylvania young professionals. Not sure if we blended in at that last event, but it sure was fun.

Friendliest People – Grand Junction, Colo. Or maybe Joplin, Missouri. We can’t decide. Both towns greeted these weary travelers with smiles, large portions of food and spirited matches of NTN Trivia. It’s the little things, really.

Longest Day – September 6, 2005. Omaha, Neb. through Iowa, Illinois and Indiana to Columbus, Ohio. We traveled almost 1000 miles in one day – not a common occurrence for us.

Ugliest Capitol Building – Carson City, Nev. Is this the only U.S. state capitol situated in the same block as a casino?

Most Beautiful Capitol Building – Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Simple, elegant. One can never have too much white marble.

The “Fancy Meeting You Here” Award – The Master Brewer at Deschutes Brewery and Public House in Bend, Oregon shares our last name! We sent an email to Mr. Larry Sidor and received a very friendly response. And a t-shirt!

The “We Got Robbed!” Award – Devil’s Postpile NM, Calif. This is the first time, in the history of the USA-C2C trip that this award has been given to an NPS site. If one were to consult the 2005 AAA Guide to Northern California or inquire at any US National Forest Visitor Center en route to the Monument, one might think that it was free to view this elusive pile of rocks. WRONG. A mandatory shuttle (a/k/a repainted school bus) will take you down to the Postpile for $7 a person or $20 maximum per family. Have a National Parks Pass? So? Have an upgraded Golden Eagle hologram? Big deal. NO passes or discounts apply here. Not even a measly 10% off for AAA. Shame on you, Devil’s Postpile NM.

Most Gluttonous Day(s) – There were several. Remember, we stopped in Harrisburg to say hello. Would you say no to free meals?

Best American Kabuki – Maggie Moo, who posed with Gab during Adams Morgan Days in Washington DC.

Highest Price for Gas – $3.07 on September 2 at the Citgo, Lansing, Kans.

Lowest Price for Gas – $2.28 on August 2 at the Chevron, Beaverton, Ore. No commentary needed.

Best Pizza – Pizza Mondo, Bend, Ore. You know the pizza’s going to be good when there is a line almost out the door; you know it is going to be cheap when most of the customers are adolescents dressed in punk attire. We devoured our 15” pepperoni pizza in record time, searing the roofs of our mouths and impressing those seated nearby.

Best Bartender(s) – Scottie at the Subway Café, Harrisburg, Penn. who welcomed us warmly and ordered our favorite pizzas for us, even though it had been almost two years since our last visit.

Best Line Cook – The lady at Arthur Bryant’s who returned our jokes and smiles with double portions of the most delicious barbecued meat in the entire Midwest. BBQ doesn’t get better than Kansas City.

Most Helpful Roadside Stop – Powell’s City of Books, Portland, Oreg. We actually made a return trip to this awesome city to give this place the attention and time it deserves. Hours after our entrance we emerged with 6 (big) new books, a new crossword collection and a magnet all for under 40 bucks.

Best Ranger – Ranger Sarah from the Sheep Rock Unit of the John Day Fossil Beds NM. Not only did she sneak us into the new exhibit slated to open later that week, she led us through it, explaining the placement of the exhibits, what “testable hypothesis” means, the reasoning behind the murals and texture and color of the walls and even telling us a little about each of the Park staff that created each of the displays. We felt like VIPs. Thank you, Sarah, for sharing your enthusiasm and knowledge with us. It made the long drive well worth it.

Worst Acting in a National Park Service Film – Hot Springs NP, Ariz. The instructional How to Take a Bath video takes one step by step through selecting and then enjoying a bath package at one of the still functional bath houses in the Park. If the actors’ wooden and uncomfortable expressions are any indication of what we can expect for our money, we think we’ll pass.

Best Burger – J-Town Billiards, Joplin, Missouri. These half pound handfuls were real, hand-molded patties. Thick and juicy and full of flavor. These are the best burgers we have had since Harrison, Neb.

Best Campground – Great Basin National Park. Our quiet spot next to the swiftly running glacier stream was exactly where we wanted to end our day. The weather was more mild than we anticipated; the views were prettier. A perfect place to sit and read a book. What makes it even better? The Ranger told us the water from the campground faucets is among the purest and best tasting in the United States. We don’t disagree.

Greatest Altitudinal Difference in a 24-hour Period – Reno, Nev. to Great Basin NP, Nev. From sea level to nearly 13,000 ft. Bring a sweater.

Worst Driving Experience – Through Arkansas during the last week of August, as the sounds from our brakes evolved from a squeak to a very unfriendly and metallic grinding. A quick trip to Midas and a new set of brake pads did the trick. Phew!

Biggest Stretch – Route 50, America’s Loneliest Road stretches across Nevada desert and into the horizon. What appear to be lakes are actually salt flats; that hill in the distance is really hundreds of miles in the distance. This wasn’t our longest day, but it felt like it.

Most Appropriately Named Town – Sulphur, Okla. Inhabitants claim water from the sulphur springs have medicinal purposes and several filled their bottles and took their daily swig from the local fountain. We tried. We really did. But it smelled like, well, sulphur. As did the whole town.

Most Inappropriately Named Restaurant - Re-Pete’s Place, Fort Smith, Ark. No offense to Pete, but we try to avoid places which refer to gastrointestinal distress in their names.

Hillsboro, OR • Portland, OR • Bonneville, OR • Hood River, OR • The Dalles, OR • Government Camp, OR • Fossil, OR • Kimberly, OR • Dayville, OR • Mitchell, OR • Bend, OR • Elk Lake, OR • Crater Lake, OR • Klamath Falls, OR • Tulelake, CA • Reno, NV • Carson City, NV • Lee Vining, CA • Mammoth Lakes, CA • Tuolumne Meadows, CA • South Lake Tahoe, CA • Reno, NV • Eureka, NV • Ely, NV • Baker, NV • Delta, UT • Nephi, UT • Provo, UT • Heber City, UT • Vernal, UT • Dinosaur, CO • Rangely, CO • Grand Junction, CO • Clifton, CO • Montrose, CO • Gunnison, CO • Leadville, CO • Georgetown, CO • Grand Lake, CO • Estes Park, CO • Fort Collins, CO • Denver, CO • Colorado Springs, CO • Capulin, NM • Amarillo, TX • Fritch, TX • Cheyenne, OK • Oklahoma City, OK • Moore, OK • Norman, OK • Sulphur, OK • Ada, OK • Fort Smith, AR • Hot Springs, AR • Gould, AR • Little Rock, AR • Leslie, AR • Silver Hill, AR • Harrison, AR • Eureka Springs, AR • Pea Ridge, AR • Branson, MO • Springfield, MO • Diamond, MO • Joplin, MO • Fort Scott, KS • Kansas City, KS • Beatrice, NE • Omaha, NE • West Des Moines, IA • Peoria, IL • Brownsburg, IN • Columbus, OH • Zanesville, OH • Wheeling, WV • Bentleyville, PA • Shanksville, PA • Harrisburg, PA • Dillsburg, PA • Washington, DC

John Day Fossil Beds NM • Crater Lake NP • Lava Beds NM • Devils Postpile NM • Yosemite NP • Great Basin NP • Dinosaur NM • Colorado NM • Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP • Curecanti NRA • Rocky Mountain NP • Alibates NM • Lake Meredith NRA • Washita Battlefield NHS • Oklahoma City NMEM • Chickasaw NRA • Fort Smith NHS • Hot Springs NP • Arkansas Post NMEM • William J. Clinton Presidential Library • Little Rock Central HS NHS • Buffalo NR • Pea Ridge NMP • George Washington Carver NM • Wilson’s Creek NB • Fort Scott NHS • Homestead NM of America • Flight 93 NMEM •

Flight 93 National Memorial

near Shanksville, Pa.
NPS Website; Local Website

Four years ago a plane carrying 40 people crashed into a rural Pennsylvania field located adjacent to an abandoned strip mine. It is unnecessary to elaborate; the events of September 11 2001 are etched indelibly into our collective psyche.

In September 2002, Congress and the President set aside the crash site land for the purpose of creating a memorial to honor Flight 93’s heroic passengers and crew.

The National Park Service seems to have done little since. There is no official memorial. There is no museum facility, no bookstore, no exhibits and no displays to distinguish the hallowed ground. There are no brown NPS signs to help the visitor find this out-of-the-way Site.

There is no visitor center, only a barren weather shelter donated by the staff at the Assateague National Seashore. Local residents designated as “Ambassadors” man the shelter and answer questions. They provide a first person perspective of the day that only Shanksville, Pa. residents could. No Rangers staff the site.

No matter. 100,000 people somehow find there way here every year. Busloads travel down the still unpaved Skyline Drive. The temporary Memorial that they find is elaborate, heartfelt, haphazard, overwhelming, organic and highly personal.

Both sides of a ten-foot high, thirty-foot long chain link fence are littered with thousands of personal items, donations and remembrances: a local firefighter’s jacket, license plates, flags, personalized crosses, quilts, hats, photographs and thankful letters.

Park benches emblazoned with the names of the deceased face the crash site. In between stands more remembrances: 40 individualized hand-painted wooden angels, granite blocks with biblical verses, crying ceramic angels, the American flag, a Pennsylvania flag and an eight-foot high cross, its horizontal section draped with a white cloth.

The parking lot’s guard rails have been inundated with magic-marker written notes of thanks, Support Our Troops magnets and bumper stickers.

A permanent Memorial is years from reality. In fact, the design contest winner was announced the day of our visit, September 7; local news stations filmed segments during our stop. Their conclusion was, “citizens want to know why the plans for a permanent Memorial have taken so long.”

We initially felt the same way. Heck, the Oklahoma City NMEM broke ground in 1998, just three years after that tragedy, and its massive interactive Museum opened on the bombing’s five-year anniversary. Is September 11th still too fresh in our memory? Are its implications still too powerful? Can we understand it objectively and analyze the situation like other NPS historic sites?

The temporary Memorial achieves a level of individuality that cannot be realized at an official federal government site. The religious paraphernalia on Site is astounding. Passionate crosses, angels and Christ figurines could never appear at a National Park Site.

As Americans, we are a very religious people. Most of us cannot understand the events of Flight 93 without our belief in God and/or Jesus Christ. In that sense, this National Memorial feels real, as if it is a spontaneous response from the masses. It feels powerful, so much more than a stylized walkway or artsy symbolic granite monoliths.

The Flight 93 temporary Memorial is more a pilgrimage spot than Park site. The emphasis stands more on what people have brought and given than on the distant fallow field.

If you wish to make the pilgrimage, be careful. It is very easy to get lost. Take PA Turnpike Exit 110, Somerset. Go northeast on Pa. Route 281, Stoystown Road, for about 10 miles until you reach U.S. 30, the Lincoln Highway. Turn right. Travel east for 2½ miles on Route 30, then turn southward, right, onto Lambertville Road. A makeshift sign should point you in the correct direction (if you have quick eyes).

Travel southward on Lambertville Road for about 2 miles until you reach Skyline Drive. Another makeshift sign should point you towards the memorial. Skyline Drive soon becomes unpaved. No worries, the Memorial is just 1 mile from the turn.

www.usa-c2c.com
© 2005

Traveling in Katrina's Wake

Michael:

Our Site Ratings indicate that we are in the Pacific Northwest but, in actuality, we are over a thousand miles to the southeast, in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Our day began with thundershowers. We emerged from our rain soaked tent with the sun, at 6:00am, packed up and left the sweltering confines of Hot Springs National Park.

We spent the drive riveted to the radio and the exploits of Hurricane Katrina. We listened to the live CNN feeds, from Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Gulfport and Biloxi. Last December we spent 10 days in the affected area. We knew the Mississippi Gulf Shore motels and the levees that line the delta. We had been to the Superdome. We had spent time with the people who were bracing themselves for the worst.

That same December we did not head eastward to the Gulf Shore Islands NS in Pensacola, Florida. A Ranger told us that 2004’s string of hurricanes had wiped it out. Instead, we continued on to Orlando, Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte and saw their yet-to-be-cleaned-up devastation. At the time, Gab’s brother was working in Orlando with friends in the roofing business.

People in Alabama and Florida saw our out of state license plates and assumed we were relief workers. And this was months after the hurricanes hit. Now it is happening again.

We did not expect to be affected by Katrina. Maybe a shower here and there but Little Rock is more than a stone’s throw from New Orleans. We have a Park Site, a Presidential Library and a State Capitol to see while we are here. All are indoors.

But first, we needed a motel room. We pulled into a Comfort Inn to use their wireless internet. Our attempts to Priceline a room failed, as it had the night before. Odd. And why was the hotel parking lot full at 2:00pm? Usually all motel parking lots are empty until much later in the day. We looked at the plates. Louisiana, Mississippi, Mississippi, Louisiana, Louisiana. Could they possibly be evacuating this far north?

Plan B: bring out the coupon books. There were plenty of options so we headed to North Little Rock, an area rife with cheap hotels. Parking lots were full. Kids, dogs, trucks brimming with clothing and personal items, families, adults chain smoking outside and men returning to the motels with six packs.

Holiday Inn. No Vacancy. Red Roof Inn. No Vacancy. Travelodge. No Vacancy. Calls to five other motels. No Vacancy. “Do you have any suggestions”, we asked. The response, “I reckon every hotel in town is booked. Maybe you could find a room in Clinton.” “That’s 20 miles to the north.” “Yep.”

We imagined this scene in every city outside of Katrina’s wake. Shreveport, Lafayette, Houston, Monroe, Port Charles, Jackson, Memphis, Vicksburg, Montgomery, Texarkana, Greenville and every other city within 500 miles of the Gulf coast. Heck, Little Rock is 450 miles north of New Orleans. The mass exodus breaks your heart.

This morning in the car, the hurricane was just a topic of conversation. Tonight, we drove behind cars hastily packed, parked next to trucks filled with makeshift suitcases and coolers, watched people walk their dogs in any available space outside the motels and make conversation with other unwilling travelers. Katrina became real.

In 1979, during the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island, my family left Harrisburg. We journeyed to my grandparents’ house in New Jersey. We had somewhere to go in that time of stress, anxiety and uncertainty. We are fortunate that during TMI we did not have to find a motel room in strange city and did not have to drive 400 miles to find vacancy.

Eventually, we found a room here in Little Rock, but it does not feel like a motel. No one wants to be here. They want to be home. Tomorrow they will begin their return. We can only pray that everything will be OK.

July 2005 - Month in Review

Songs from Pearl Jam and Nirvana wafted out of every shop, storefront and car window, making us nostalgic for our college dorms in the early 90s. Where are we? The Pacific Northwest: Home to hundreds of coffee shops, birthplace of grunge music, final destination for both Lewis and Clark and thousands of settlers who set across America on the Oregon Trail.

Our adventures this month took us through Oregon, Washington and throughout Northern California. Here are highlights from our stops in July.

Miles Traveled (in Altima) – 2,933 miles

Best Opportunity to Test Michael’s “Jacket of the Year” (Worst Weather Day) – The weather forecast for July 17th and 18th wasn’t just for rain; it called for “substantial precipitation.” We don’t know what that means but we guessed we didn’t want to be camping in it. We decided against a backcountry trip into the rainforests of Olympic NP and opted instead for a warm and dry motel room in Anacortes, Wash. Sissies. We know.

Most Talked About Natural Phenomenon – ORCAS! We saw hundreds of killer whales from the cliffs of San Juan Island, Wash. We just pulled over along the side of the road and there they were. Here’s a free whale watching tip: just point your binoculars towards the swarms of sight seeing boats. They know where to find what they are looking for.Funniest Billboard – Next to the Mount St. Helen Hotel, Wash: “Hope You Had a Blast!”

Most Out of the Way Site – TIE

San Juan Island, Wash. Accessible only by ferry. Luckily, Washington has a great ferry system specializing in frequent and affordable trips around the Strait of San Juan de Fuca.

Getting to the North Cascades NP isn’t a problem. But getting to the actual Cascades is, at least when you are driving a Nissan Altima with very low clearance. 18 miles of steep unpaved road lay between us and the most accessible trailhead leading to a peak. Don’t worry ‘Tima, we wouldn’t do that to you, especially since you need to get us home

Funniest Slogan – TIE

Seen on the back of a bakery delivery van near Mount Vernon, Wash: “Drive Carefully. The Loaf You Save Could Be Your Own.”

Shultzy’s Brats and Beer, Seattle, Wash: “Seattle’s Wurst Restaurant.” Get it? Don’t worry. It took Gab a minute or two.

Strangest Endorsement – “John Wayne’s Five Star Mufflers,” Port Angeles, Wash.

Most Pleasant Surprise – Watching people net smelt at Beach 4 in Olympic NP. We went for a drive to escape the sounds of the crowded campground and came upon a beach full of families and fishers taking advantage of high tide to pull in buckets of tasty little fish. An informal survey of beachgoers told us that most people enjoyed their smelt smoked or fried. Smelt are also super for freezing. Say that 5 times fast.

Most Unpleasant Surprise – July 8th at the Covered Bridge Station, Sunny Valley, Oregon. Gas prices rose 15 cents in 2 days! Ay yay yay.

Best Adopt-A-Highway Sponsor – A section of route 101 east of Sequim, Wash. is maintained “In Memory of Jerry Garcia.” Oh, Jerry! Fare you well, my honey. Fare you well my only true one….

Most Ineffective Spokesperson – Seen in Port Angeles, Wash. We didn’t have the heart to tell the rotund teen wearing the dirty “I Fling Poo” T-shirt that he might not be the best person to stand on the roadside and advertise his school’s car wash.

Strangest Roommates – The Bean Espresso Coffee Shop shares the same roof as High Caliber Guns on route 101 outside of Port Angeles, Wash. We wonder if caffeine and high caliber rifles are really the best combination.

Most Beautiful View – Mount Rainier NP.

Ugliest Park Site Surroundings – Clear cut forests and tree farms line the roads leading to Olympic National Park. While we understand that people need wood, seeing fields of once towering trees razed and swerving to avoid debris from lumber trucks was hardly the introduction we wanted for one of our most anticipated destinations.

Most Beautiful Capitol Building – Salem, Ore. We are suckers for art deco. Betcha didn’t remember Salem was the capital of Oregon, did you?

Most Beautiful Park Site Surroundings – San Juan Island NHP. The San Juan Island is one of over 700 islands and reefs that make up the San Juan Archipelago, half of which are set aside as wildlife preserves. 240 days of sunshine shine on 3 resident pods (groups) of Orca whales. Bald eagles share the skies with gulls, murres and rhinoceros auklets. And that sky is almost as blue as the deep channels in the Juan de Fuca strait. Need we go on?

Liveliest City Center – Portland, Ore. We recommend the Nob Hill neighborhood on a Monday evening. 23rd street was filled with people strolling along enjoying Alotta Gelato. Miser Mondays and a lovely patio at the New Old Lompoc Brewing Company is within walking distance from 50 cents taco night at the Nob Hill Bar and Grill which is located right next door to aforementioned gelato café. Lots to do (and eat) in this lively city connected by a comprehensive public transportation system. It is easy being green!

Longest Day – 331 miles on July 5th. We started in Paradise and ended in Eureka. California is a big state.

Biggest Disappointment – July 14th. Our morning in Oregon spent searching for Lewis and Clark stamps for our NPS Passport book proved fruitless. Dismal Niche? Rest area was closed. Station Camp? Can’t find it. Fort Columbia? Not paying the parking fee. Chinook County Camps? Can’t find the Visitor Center. Is there one? Cape Disappointment? Not developed yet. A disappointment indeed.

Most Gluttonous Day – July 16th. As if Michael’s bourbon burger and Gab’s Dungeness crab chowder at the Port Townsend Public House weren’t enough, we just had to top it off with ice cream at Ebey’s Landing, Wash. Everyone, we mean everyone, was carrying a cone from K’Paws Iskream Worldwide Headquarters. Who were we not to conform?

Cheapest Ballgame Ticket – $10. Family night at SafeCo Field. We watched the Seattle Mariners beat the Detroit Tigers 5-3 and saw the sunset over downtown Seattle from our seats on the east side of the stadium. As an added bonus, we found a space for the ‘Tima on the street, saving us well over $10 in parking fees. We would have tried some “Ichirolls” at the sushi stand, but we already ate.

Best Sporting Experience – Emerging from the Eugene Emeralds Front Office in Eugene, Ore. with an armful of baseball goodies and Gab’s dad’s pitching stats from 1962. A phone call from the parking lot revealed that Mark conveniently forgot his ERA but was able to name most of his fellow players and the league’s top pitchers. Not bad, dad!

Most Scenic Drive (National Parks) – Lassen Volcanic NP. Snow covered slopes and ice encrusted lakes were exactly what we wanted to see after 100+ degree days in Sacramento, Calif. It felt like a breath mint commercial.

Best Long Hike – July 26th. Starting at the Sunset VC in Mount Rainier NP, we took the trail to the second Burroughs Peak, back down to Frozen Lake, up to the Mount Fremont Lookout then back to the Sunset VC using the Sourdough Ridge trail. When we weren’t staring at Rainier’s largest and most impressive glaciers, we were distracted by fields of wild flowers and rolling glacier meadows. Driving to Mount Rainier NP, we anticipated a big mountain formed by a volcano and not much more. We arrived and found hundreds of miles of trails that could be connected and combined to hike as much or as little as we wanted. Mount Rainier is a hiker’s paradise.

We planned this 8.5 mile hike with the help of the lovely Ranger, who graduated from Brown University last year. Here’s to go ol’ Brown!

Highest Price for Gas – $2.69 on July 6th at the Shoreline Market, Onck, Calif.

Lowest Price for Gas – $2.19 on June 13th at the Chevron, Beaverton, Ore. and full service to boot!

Friendliest People – Anacortes, Wash. We met an unforgettable cast of characters at the Rockfish Grill. Michael chatted with a wonderful couple from Bellingham and listened to bad jokes from Salty, the fisherman while Gab and Vanessa, a local baker, discussed cakes. (FYI - Gab loves cake.) Irish Mike, you were right. The Seattle Public Library is amazing. A postcard is on its way.
Best Coffee Shop – RayJen Coffee Cafe, Crescent City, Calif. Each table has a DSL plug for your computer and ample space to rest your locally roasted coffee and homemade scone. We spent hours here and they didn’t mind. Good coffee, good vibes – RayJen gets Michael’s vote for favorite coffee shop of the trip.

The Blue Bottle Coffee Shop in Yelm, Wash. deserves a mention here, not necessarily for its coffee or free wifi, but for the girls behind the counter. When a hungry traveler came in and asked for the special of the day, a tuna sandwich, they told him they were out, but offered to make him one if he ran to the store to get tuna. Shortly after that, we overheard their conversation which contained, in no particular order, the following topics: details from one girl’s wedding (occurred a few days ago), underground shelters (“they’re everywhere, you know”), explanations of an unspecified religion, the end of the world (“I’ve done my research, you know”) and Selma Hayek. What a trip.

Most Helpful Roadside Stop – The Six Rivers Brewery, McKinleyville, Calif. All we were hoping for was a lunch special. But when fellow patrons saw us pull out our map of the Redwoods NP, we received great hiking (go to Fern Canyon) and camping (Mill Creek is the best) advice AND a tip on where to find the cheapest gas in the area (Klamath).

PS – the meatball sub special was great.

Most Unexpected Local Pronunciation – Willamette, Ore. Pronounced Will-AM-ett

Best Giant Statue – Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox, greeting visitors outside the Trees of Mystery, near Klamath, Calif. Paul towers at over 49 feet. Babe stands tall at 35. What are these Minnesota legends doing so far from home?

Almost Celebrity Sightings – Astoria, Ore. Does the Walsh’s house from Goonies count?

We also almost saw the Governator at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The throngs of reporters and cameras posted patiently outside the closed doors of the Governor’s Chambers told us that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was in the building. We waited around for a while before we got bored and left.

Worst Campground – TIE. Kalaloch Campground, Olympic NP, Wash. and Altaire Campground, Olympic NP, Wash. Two nights at the Olympic NP developed campgrounds had us running for a cheap motel room for a good night’s rest. At Kalaloch, we were kept up all night by no less than a dozen partying teens with an affinity for bad country music crammed into the space (made for no more than 8 people) behind us. One of our other neighbors warned us his cooler was pilfered not by raccoons but by other campers the evening before. The next night, we retreated to a much smaller and allegedly more remote campground, only to hear generators and the sounds of Fleetwood Mac all night long. If only the former were louder.

Best Campground – Mill Creek Campground, Redwoods SP, Calif. The guy at the Six Rivers Brewery was right – this campground is sheltered among majestic trees and rarely fills. We especially liked our site – site #19 – which was raised like a loft above the road.

Best Hotel Experience – Larkspur Landing, Sacramento, Calif. The Larkspur Landing calls us like a siren song. We can’t resist its pull – especially when we can get a suite for $40 or less via http://www.priceline.com/. Kitchens stocked with snacks, free high speed internet and VCRs are standard in every room. What sets Larkspur apart is its free video and board game library, free Starbucks coffee available at all hours, its quality breakfast and FREE LAUNDRY machines. Oh man, we love this place.

Most Anticipated Purchase – Hair Clippers, Target, Sacramento, Calif. Michael was looking a little shaggy, don’t you think?

Saddest Realization – July 19th. Boarding the ferry from San Juan Island back to Anacortes, Wash. This was our final Western stop. All remaining sites send us eastward, closer and closer to the close of USA-C2C.

Sacramento, CA • Marysville, CA • Paradise, CA • Chico, CA • Mineral, CA • Redding, CA • Arcata, CA • Eureka, CA • McKinleyville, CA • Orick, CA • Klamath, CA • Crescent City, CA • Cave Junction, OR • Grants Pass, OR • Eugene, OR • Salem, OR • Beaverton, OR • Portland, OR • Seaside, OR • Astoria, WA • Warrenton, OR • Ilwaco, WA • Aberdeen, WA • Quinault, WA • Forks, WA • Port Angeles, WA • Port Townsend, WA • Coupeville, WA • Anacortes, WA • Friday Harbor, WA • Roche Harbor, WA • Mount Vernon, WA • Marblemount, WA • Newhalem, WA • Winthrop, WA • Twisp, WA • Bridgeport, WA • Grand Coulee, WA • Electric City, WA • Ephrata, WA • Renton, WA • Seattle, WA • Enumclaw, WA • Longmire, WA • Olympia, WA • Toutle, WA • Hillsboro, OR • Portland, OR

Lassen Volcanic NP • Whiskeytown NRA • Redwood NSP • Oregon Caves NM • McLoughlin House NHS • Fort Vancouver NHS • Lewis and Clark NHP • Olympic NP • Ebey’s Landing NHR • San Juan Island NHP • North Cascades NP • Ross Lake NRA • Lake Roosevelt NRA • Klondike Gold Rush NHP • Mt. Rainier NP • Mt St. Helens NVM •

Channel Islands - Day 4

Michael:

We arrived on Santa Rosa three days ago at 11:00am. The Captain assured us that the boat’s schedule would be identical on Wednesday, our departure date. Be at the pier by 2:00pm. From the beach near our campground, we watched the Islander pull away from the pier and give a farewell toot of its horn. It was 2:56pm.

It is now Wednesday. We have had a lot of time to think about a lot of things. I am already on Page 350 of Moby Dick. I started the book yesterday. It is 11:00am and we decide to read some more. We walk to one of Santa Rosa’s beautiful white sand beaches.

It is a little windy today. Pages 351-360 are slow going. Sand has wedged in between those pages and has wallpapered my back. There is no boat at the pier. It is 11:45am. 12:00 noon. Still no boat. Binoculars are out. Nothing in the horizon.

I do not need to go there but I do. I turn to Gab, with my most sincere voice, “What if nobody picks us up?” At this point, I just want to make her nervous. It is 12:15pm. Then I get to thinking. We are the only ones on Santa Rosa getting picked up. There are obviously no day-trippers. Would I travel two hours out of my way to pick up two people? With gas prices what they are nowadays?

No, I wouldn’t. I would tell them we had boat troubles, or something, and pick them up on Friday when I have a full boat of tourists coming to Santa Rosa.

OK, maybe I wouldn’t be that unscrupulous but I sure would think about it.

It is 12:30pm and I am starting to get nervous. Gab is nearing full panic. There was no need for me to even think about the boat not coming. It was a bit sadistic to mention it, out loud even, to someone prone to worrying. But it happened and now I’m worried.

Let’s go back to the campsite. We need to pack up and hike the mile and a half to the pier. It is 12:45pm. We need to get moving.

Now there is a Ranger at the campsite. Phew. He is unloading bags of concrete. Is that a good sign? Gab asks him about the boat. He tells her that it left late and just arrived on the Island. We must have missed it. That is odd. It is 1:00pm.

We pack up the tent, clear the campsite and load our packs. I am still not sure about the boat. Gab seems a little relieved. I try to pull my backpack straps tighter. Too tight in fact. I break one of them. Now I am anxious and angry. It is 1:20pm and we have to get moving.

After some tense words, we get to a vista point, a place where we can see the pier. We simultaneously rip our binoculars from our hips. It is 1:30pm. We already know what we see. No boat.

Gab has a theory. “There are no passengers coming to Santa Rosa, right.” “Right,” where is she going with this? “Well, they probably are just docked around the corner, surfing.” This makes more sense than anything I can come up with. I am a little at ease and I think she is too. Maybe.

We get to the pier at 1:59pm. There is no one here. No boats. No Rangers. No Archeologist Passengers (They came to the Island with us). No nobody. Nothing on the horizon. Nothing in the binoculars. Nada nada nada nada nada. They wouldn’t leave us, would they. I think that it is a good thing we did not make hotel reservations for tonight.

2:15pm and still nothing. “Gab, maybe you should go to the main road and see if there is anyone, Ranger or whatever in sight.” “OK,” and she leaves. I wonder why I still have my backpack on. So I take my pack off and sit on it.

I stand up. Something is moving in the distance and its coming fast. Could it be. It’s 2:25pm. I look through my binocs. Yes, yes, yes, it is! I am an idiot, why did I even think…

…where’s Gab. She left ten minutes ago. I hope she didn’t walk back to the campsite or even worse, the two miles to the Ranger residence. I sprint back to the crossroads. She is not there. I yell, “Gab, Gab, Gab” and whistle loudly. No response. It is so windy she couldn’t hear me if I tried.

Oh no, oh no, oh no. The boat’s gonna be here soon and Gab’s gone. It is 2:30pm. I stop to think, ‘this is pretty funny’. Deserted in multiple ways at multiple times on a deserted island. I laugh to myself. Serves me right.

Then Gab comes around the corner. “It’s here,” I say. “It’s almost here!”

“Really, you mean it?” she says as we both run back to the pier. “Where is it? I don’t see it,” she says.

“Get out your binocs and look there,” I say pointing towards our savior.

“Ooh. I see. Thank heavens. I really thought we were going to be here ‘til Friday.”

“Me too.”

2:40pm and the boat arrives at the pier. We hop on and we leave at 2:42pm. Copies of Surfer Magazine are spread out on a table in the galley. The crew looks tan, happy and a little worn out.

Channel Islands - Day 3

Gab:

Loggerhead shrikes and stellars jays woke us with their shrieks. Thank you, birds. Yesterday morning we watched the sunrise from the comfort of our tent and then regretted the missed photos all day. Today, we rise.

Blurry-eyed and half-dressed we stumble through the canyon and up to a ridge that overlooks the ocean. Pairs of California quails scurry out of our paths, throwing us annoyed glances. Deer watch us from their own elevated perches. Ravens have congregated and are holding conference on a flat piece of rock. I always forget that I love mornings. I usually love sleeping more.

From the ridge we can see the cloud-shrouded island of Santa Cruz, another Channel Island. Within minutes, its curtains unfold, the sun emerges, and then it’s over. Good morning!

The afternoon holds even more delights. An eight mile hike takes us to the eastern end of the island and a rocky shoreline filled with hundreds of little pools.

Tide pools! Is there anything I like more than a sandy beach? Yes! A rocky beach filled with tide pools. Just stand still and look down. Peer into any water-filled nook or cranny. Even my less than 20/20 eyes can see hermit crabs, snails, sea anemones, little fish and sometimes, if I am really lucky, a starfish.

I first discovered these microcosms at Cabrillo National Monument in San Diego. I had no idea the creatures that filled so many aquariums’ “touch me” tanks could be found so readily outside. This was a whole new world to me.

At Cabrillo, I had to watch my step. Not so much because of the thousands of nickel-sized hermit crabs but because of the dozens of other humans sharing the same slippery rock surfaces, peering into the waters and (gasp) sometimes sticking their hands in. Today, Michael and I share the rocks with sunbathing seals and oystercatchers or, as we like to call them, demon birds.

The seals are a distance away and occupied with games in the surf. The red glowing eyes, bright red beak and red legs of the black demon birds are all focused on one task. Catching, picking apart and eating oysters. Michael is in search of the biggest crab. My eyes are fixed on the splendid orange starfish clinging to the underside of a rock that is getting pummeled by the incoming waves.

Being near the ocean is a joy in itself. But searching for creatures and colors in the pools gives me a reason to lengthen our visit to the beach. A purpose in my step as I scramble from rock to rock. What’s in here? What’s over here? Exploring tide pools is better than beachcombing; (here I’ll whisper so Michael won’t hear me) even better than birding.

Concentrated, slow moving, brightly colored, beautiful and unique. These are adjectives that someone with bad eyesight and an old pair of glasses can really appreciate. Tide pools were made for me.

**

As I squat and squint into yet another pool, I wonder if I’ll see any abalone. That’s what the girl in Island of the Blue Dolphins used to eat. In fact, the entire time we have been on the island I have been thinking about her. I can’t remember her name but I remember how she was left behind as her village moved away, how she overcame her fear and loneliness and learned to love the island. Today, I love this island.

Santa Barbara, another Channel Island, is the setting for Scott O’Dell’s children’s book. But that’s close enough. This is only our third day on Santa Rosa. Three long days filled with walks, talks, observations. It seems there is a choice here. You can go crazy with the solitude and sounds from the wind, water and wild. Or you can accept them. Embrace them. Enjoy them. Like the girl in the Island of the Blue Dolphins did. Like I am learning to do.