It all Started ...
Just like the title suggested, it all started coming back from a weekend at El Rancho Cima... camping with the Boy Scouts my son just joined a few months prior.
It was my son, his friend, and another older scout, who were in the van with me, and we were just yards from where we were suppose to meet parents to drop the kids off from the camp out.
Then it happened.. the traffic was thick, for a Sunday afternoon, at the intersection notorious for fender benders... it happened to me. I went through the light, and slowed to a stop for traffic, and then BOOM... a jolt, a pop, and a few short moments collecting my thoughts... we were just rear ended by a pick up truck....
Not to bore you with the details of the wreck, we basically settled the information off to the side of the road...
Then we proceeded to our different destinations, one to the last home game for the Lady Longhorns basketball game against Oklahoma, and one to drop off boys from camp.
The following Monday, I proceeded to make a claim for the damage, and to put our van in the shop... well... at least as soon as possible, because we had a vacation to go to... on FRIDAY!
Well, thursday if you count sleep time as part of the previous day ;)
Took the van in on Wed, and tried to get the insurance company to get my rental for the trip... now the company I opened a claim against was top notch...they handled everything, and all was taken care of except... the rental.
Someone at corporate issued a rental, but for a car, not a van... well I am not taking the family on a cross country vacation in a car... kids would be miserable if they could not lay back to nap, or grab what they needed because it was in the trunk... plus with all our gear... heck no...
Problem.. well for me ... Austin's South By South West festival was coming up, and EVERY VAN in town was rented out... ugh...
after a few hours of waiting, finally getting a van ... a Dodge Van... dirty, and with 35K miles on it... I had to take it... took it home, cleaned it, disinfected the inside (not knowing what was or who was in there) and got it ready to go... think it was the first time the van was actually cleaned since it rolled off the assembly line.
So, we were ready to go... Bright Eyed and Early... my method to get a great start on a trip.. One factor I forgot about getting older... the hours between 3 AM and 7 AM are tough,.. really tough.
I had to slam a few energy drinks, and get some MOUNTAIN DEWs to get my self able to stay awake for those hours,.. think for now on, I will ask the family to leave at 6 instead of 3AM.
The first day was going to be tough... 15 hours according to the map and GPS to get to Flagstaff. Taking the old tried to true method, I totally ignored the GPS... opting to go the old way, via the interstate highway to get out of Texas... that was a mistake... it added 1.5 hours to the whole trip... mental note, follow the suggestions of the GPS... sometimes.. more on this later.
The van ? well, it worked out pretty well. The front end alignment was totally shot, but hey not my car... and it was manageable. It had some pick up..and it was fairly smooth, for a rental. Now everything was manual except the windows.. the first time we check on fuel economy, it was doing anywhere from 24 to 26 MPG, depending on how much I was gunning it...
OH, I have to tell you, we made it to El Paso from Austin in 8 Hours !!!! WOW... my new record.. had lunch at a Chilli's and off again. The Texas Highway speed limit was 80 MPH. 80. now what is what I normally go, and hoping not to get caught, but to drive it legally... well heh, I speed to about 85 at the max... did not want to push to hard...
After a salad and a few pork ribs in El Paso, we were off again, fueled up and running hard.
This time I was awake, refueled myself, with another Mountain Dew... and a happy belly..
SO this time the GPS said to go up vs go West.. well here is my poor lack of judgement on the trip... I decided to follow my old method of not listening (what a waste that is). it costed us again. another hour added to the trip.
Well, I was getti
ng tired... my lovely wife said she could drive a bit, so I can get a nap... a short nap. This time I said heck: follow the GPS, she is driving not me... so the GPS took us up US HWY 180.. the back roads of New Mexico... and to Arizona. That was a great decision.
Never saw the beauty of New Mexico. And boy did we see it. I was really really nice. The only disadvantage, no major cities... cities with only one gas station every 20 miles... places I did not want to stop. My wife was a trooper... she drove for 3.5 hours.. in the back roads of New Mexico. I got a nap, couple of them.
Here is where it got wonderful: the trip through
Apache National Forest. Now this portion of the trip was great... Now I figured out why there were only small towns and one gas station, it was because these towns were IN THE NATIONAL FOREST.
Twists and turns, we drove on, up and down, left and right, then the snow. Yeah the snow. We started to see white patches in the tree line, but dismissed it... I mean come on ... it was March, it was Spring Break... and I was thinking Texas weather... how silly of me. We got stopped at several places to look at the sights... what a thrill it was to see the sights.
Well, on one stop, and it did get cold, we stopped to take some more pictures of the area. AND IT SNOWED. not just a few flakes, but a mound of snow. First thought, to be prepared, do we have enough blankets and such to keep us warm while we wait to get pulled out of the snow. Well, that never happened, and yes we did have enough blankets. Since the weather was warm, we saw the snow melt when it hit the road, so we were safe for now, at 8500 feet above sea level.
What a blessing to see the National Forest. The trip took us through the park, into Arizona.
On our way to Flagstaff. We made it there around 8pm... what a ride. Oh, I did take the wheel after that snow shower in the National Forest.
Have you ever been to
Flagstaff ? You should go. We plan on going back. Not just for the
Grand Canyon, but for the other things around there we want to visit again.
Lowell Observatory, Meteor Crater,
Petrified Forest, and to camp at one of the camp grounds in the many National Forests there around Flagstaff. Just know we will be back... for sure.
So where did we stay ? The
Hilton Garden Inn... I used my Hilton Honors Points to get 2 free nights stay there... good people and great service. They even threw in free breakfast for both mornings. The kids enjoyed the indoor pool. It was small, but warm, and wet...
Saturday AM, early... well not that early... it was 8 AM when the Alarm went off... it was tough to get up ... but did anyway.
Sat and ate breakfast, could not find any tables with just 4 chairs, so we sat at a long table that seated 12... and glad we did... ate breakfast with folks from Toronto... and thei
r tour guide. The guide gave us hints and tips for the trip. He even recommended the scenic route, up US HWY 180 again, and we saw some great sites... the great hills and mountains there... the snow caps, and the trees ... all those trees.
We finally made it to the site. Grand Canyon. Any hints ? no, just take the scenic route, and see if you can get a park permit before you show up ... but you can buy them at the gate.
Parking at the Grand Canyon is crazy.. but not so bad you cant just find a spot, and take the free shuttle around the park. We parked at Mathis Point, which fills up quickly. And with a beautiful day like we had (no clouds, and 50 degree weather) we were lucky to find a spot at 10 AM.
What did we do ? well, we did what everyone else was doing... soaking it all it... how wonderous it was, but how small I felt.. there is more to this world than I will ever know...
We decided to walk the rim from mathis point to the park market place... about 3 miles... it was great.. you see all sorts of people, folks who like to share stories of their first trip, and find interesting facts. Met a couple of boy scout troops who were going to
hike to the base, and stay a few days then hike back out over 2 days... you can hike down in 1/2 day, but climbing back out, it a 2 day affair.
We saw hikers, tourists (yes, we all are, but there are some real tourists out there), old, young, and some right in between. Some folks were telling us stories on burro rides down to the base, and we even had a pair of binoculars to see a train of mules bringing folks back. We even saw some rafters... crazy knowing that the water was cold from the mountains, but hey, they were having fun, and that is what counts.
It was amazing. Totally. I cant describe the feeling you have when you see it for the first time.
Today, I am writing from the balcony of our room over looking Huntington Beach in California. Great place... staying at the
Hilton Waterfront Resort . I will add more, as I reflect on this great family vacation...
More adventures to write, as we bond and do more as a family on this trip.
Finally here at Huntington Beach... not a bad drive from Flagstaff. Actually only took us 8 hours with stops... and the scenary was not that bad. Got to see lots of mountains and boulders along the way that we will never see in Texas. The boulders that we really thought was neat looked like a Giant picked them up and placed them there... sorta like stacking stones to mark a trail.
rant... not a bad place, and the food was good.... the kids got pizza (surprise surprise) and my wife got a hamburger... which she really enjoyed. Me, well the Wild Salmon was good... could of used a bit more brazing, but that is just me. BUT the coolest thing... my kids got to try babaghanoush, and yeah, they liked it... finally some other things besides Hamburgers and Pizza.
