TravelStream™ news feed for member troycar4444 on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/troycar4444 en-us Copyright ©2010 TravelPod.com Sun, 09 Aug 2009 13:23:10 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/troycar4444/1/1248077080/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/troycar4444/1/1248077080/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/troycar4444/1/1248077080/tpod.html Sun, 09 Aug 2009 13:23:10 -0400 Western United States Road Trip

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Michigan, United States

insert

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/troycar4444/1/1247817659/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/troycar4444/1/1247817659/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/troycar4444/1/1247817659/tpod.html Sun, 09 Aug 2009 13:22:19 -0400 Western United States Road Trip

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Badlands National Park, South Dakota, United States

Insert

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/troycar4444/1/1245682904/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/troycar4444/1/1245682904/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/troycar4444/1/1245682904/tpod.html Sun, 09 Aug 2009 13:19:35 -0400 Western United States Road Trip

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park, California, United States

Hola,

Death Valley is, unsurprisingly, very hot especially in July. The thermometer was over 100 in the Shade of a building and that was on an overcast day. Luckily we didn't have to worry about melting our car tires or anything along those lines because there temperatures weren't at there highest yet. Hydration in Death Valley is a serious issue too. We were told a story of a gentleman who only had to walk about 3 or 4 miles and had a liter of water with him. Sadly, 1 liter isn't nearly enough and his wife grew very concerned when he was a few hours late. She sent for rangers to help but by the time they found him, he was already dead after being out in the valley for about 5 hours. If White Sands looked like Arrakis, Death Valley felt like it. The rising heat distorted your view and the landscape was treacherous. It may look flat and easy to walk across but it was very bumpy and hard and an excellent place to sprain an ankle. To our surprise, despite being the driest place in America, there is an area of standing water at the bottom of the valley. Needless to say, we didn't plan on camping in the valley itself.

However, where we camped we didn't feel very safe either. We arrived in the later evening and set up camp around late dusk. Tom went to the restroom and was unsettled that it had been used as target practice. As the evening progressed Tom was awoken by the sounds of a small mammal screaming/squeaking in fright/pain which was suddenly cut off by what we can only assume was death. After somehow being able to fall back asleep we were awoken again by a police officer shining a searchlight into our tent. Apparently there were complaints of fighting happening at our campground. This was news to us as we thought we were only 1 of 2 occupied sites in a campground of only 12 or so sites. Finally morning came and we quickly packed up to leave. We did notice the tell tale signs of a car robbery with broken glass on the ground at our site which did not help settle our nerves.

We couldn't leave our campsite soon enough to go to Sequoia National Park, one of the oldest national parks. As soon as we arrived, we saw a small black bear wandering the area. Sequoias only grow in a very particular set of altitudes and rainfall conditions and we had to drive a long way up. However, when we reached the Sequoias it was well worth hit. Its hard to put into words how massive the trees were. They make other trees look like shrubbery. The General Grant Tree, the largest in the park, in one year puts on enough mass to be equal to an average 60 foot Douglas fir. In addition, the trees are extremely tough to kill, they resist both fire and fungus extremely well. They only die as a result of being too heavy for the ground to support them properly (they have no taproot). Even when they do fall, they don't really follow the normal decomposition period and can lay in the forest for hundreds of years and still look like they just fell yesterday. The pictures don't really do the trees justice. Its hard to capture the enormity of the trees, especially the vertical dimension.

Love,
Tom and Christine



]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/troycar4444/1/1244865600/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/troycar4444/1/1244865600/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/troycar4444/1/1244865600/tpod.html Sun, 09 Aug 2009 11:27:24 -0400 Western United States Road Trip

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

Welcome,

After leaving the creamsicles of Bryce we arrived at the rising rock of Zion. Our first night there was a little rough as the entire park was full except for a few sites that were 20 miles away from the visitor center. To get to our campsite we had to drive out of the park and through some really rough roads until we reached the area where the sites were suppose to be. However, every site there was also full meaning we had to drive further into the area until we reached a reservoir that allowed camping around it. While the site looked beautiful, it was full of mosquitoes and fishermen with ATVs. The next morning we woke up with sunrise to get a spot within the main Zion area. The Zion area is full of many biblical names due to a few religious men who just started naming everything. Since many of the formations had no formal names, the religious nicknames stuck. However, some anthropologists have discovered what the native peoples called some of the formations and Tom found the names to be significantly more awesome. One cliff with red spatterings on it was known as something along the lines of The Sacrificial Altar. The park is known for its world class climbing opportunities and there was no lack of climbers around the area. Perhaps the most interesting thing was that the entire park was carved by a tiny river flowing through the center. There toddlers just playing around in the river that couldn't have been more than a few feet deep in the center. A rainstorm had recently passed through which provided fuel for many waterfalls. Unfortunately for us, the park doesn't offer as many options in the way of hiking unless you wanted to hike in the river through the rocky chasm.

Leaving Zion we visited Christine's Aunt Linda and were able to shower again (we hadn't been able to shower in 7 straight days). We grabbed dinner at one of Aunt Linda's favorite spots and then turned in for the evening. The next morning we had an extravagant buffet on the Vegas Strip. We gorged ourselves on all sorts of world foods. It was the first time in a long time we were able to eat with reckless abandon. After all the food we rolled ourselves onto the Vegas Strip and explored the many casinos in the area. In an effort to maintain our low budget we only played a few dollars worth of slot machines. Each major casino also seems to have a decent size mall and much of our time was devoted to shopping for small gifts or watching the shows that draw people into the casinos. We weren't able to see the Treasure Island show unfortunately due to high winds. We'll have to catch it next time.

Love,
Tom and Christine

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/troycar4444/1/1244692800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/troycar4444/1/1244692800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/troycar4444/1/1244692800/tpod.html Sun, 09 Aug 2009 10:55:52 -0400 Western United States Road Trip

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Bryce National Park, Arizona, United States

Hello,

We reached Bryce in the evening and set up camp for two nights. The first morning there we drove south to Grand Canyon to see it from the North Rim side. The North Rim is far less commercial than the South Rim and the weather is a bit cooler. It felt much more serene in comparison. Perhaps the best part of the North Rim is their large old fashioned lodge which houses an ice cream shop. After walking around the area and taking in the scenery we relaxed in rocking chairs eating ice cream.

Following our day at the North Rim we took several small walks/hikes through Bryce. Bryce must be one of the top vacation spots for Michigan Alumni because Tom in his sweater elicted 6 or 7 responses from fellow Wolverines. The colors at price are just spectacular with every shade and hue of orange available in the landscape. As you walk down into the formations it feels like walking through some sort of creamsicle garden. As we walked the formations cave way to narrow inlets in the rock face. However, there were massive Douglas Firs (we believe) growing right inbetween the walls. How they manage to survive or propagate astounded us.

Love,
Tom and Christine

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/troycar4444/1/1244606400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/troycar4444/1/1244606400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/troycar4444/1/1244606400/tpod.html Sun, 09 Aug 2009 10:33:57 -0400 Western United States Road Trip

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Arches National Park, Utah, United States

Greetings,

After leaving the Grand Canyon we headed towards Four Corners.

I don't know what I was expecting but Four Corners was very anticlimactic. Its not run by the National Park service, so we had to pay to go in. Once in, there really isn't much to do besides stand in 4 states at once (We had someone take a picture of us but they captured it in movie mode so we don't even have proof we did it besides a 10 second video of some guy telling us to move around for what should have been the picture). There are a large number of Native American artists and such (they run the site). However, most of the merchandise is overpriced. The best part of the site is the food. They were offering a type of frybread that was sort of like an Elephant Ear but with less sugar. After buying a few trinkets and checking Four Corners off our list we were off to Mesa Verde.

Mesa Verde houses many Native American Dwellings from before the European Discovery of America. Each house centered around a prayer room that was underground. We found it interesting that every prayer area included a hole in the ground that is speculated to have been for letting in the spirits and Gods of the earth. They would have a fire burning in these underground areas but they built the roofs and topside portions of the structures with wood and other flammable materials. As a result they often had fires that would burn down large parts of the community and then they'd have to rebuild. Many of the dig sites had evidence of several newer dwellings built on top of older remains. Another interesting tidbit is that many of the cities were built right into rockwalls and the only way to get in or out was to climb the sheer rock walls.


After our short trip in Colorado (we didn't camp in Colorado) we drove to Arches National Park which is just outside of Moab, Utah. We would not recommend driving through Arches in the dark looking for first come - first serve camping. We ended up getting in pretty late and discovered that the first come sites were occupied. Fortunately we were helped by the camp host who was able to find us a site. After a quick breakfast we took a hike through the Devils Garden. The hike starts easy by taking you by the largest Arch in the park. However, just past the first Arch you have to start climbing over rock formations and boulders. Tom would climb up the rock, Christine would hand up the backpack and then climb the rock face. This rigorous process was well rewarded with a rather isolated path. We were able to see the sprawling structures from many different angles. The path was marked by little piles of rocks that you would walk to and once you reached it the next one was within sight. The whole hike was about 9 miles long. After the hike it started to rain sporadically which cancelled any plans of further hiking trails. We drove around taking a few more pictures before heading for Bryce Canyon.

Love,
Tom and Christine

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/troycar4444/1/1247594559/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/troycar4444/1/1247594559/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/troycar4444/1/1247594559/tpod.html Sun, 09 Aug 2009 09:10:58 -0400 Western United States Road Trip

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, United States

Sorry all, we have the text and pictures but not enough time to upload them all while at the libraries and random wireless locations. I will try to put up some pictures soon. As for the text, we need to convert it from good old handwritten and will try to have it all done asap.

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/troycar4444/1/1246969051/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/troycar4444/1/1246969051/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/troycar4444/1/1246969051/tpod.html Sun, 09 Aug 2009 09:09:46 -0400 Western United States Road Trip

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Glacier National Park, Montana, United States

Insert Text

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/troycar4444/1/1245931943/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/troycar4444/1/1245931943/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/troycar4444/1/1245931943/tpod.html Sun, 09 Aug 2009 09:06:31 -0400 Western United States Road Trip

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Redwood National Park, California, United States

Insert Text

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/troycar4444/1/1246104647/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/troycar4444/1/1246104647/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/troycar4444/1/1246104647/tpod.html Tue, 14 Jul 2009 14:33:31 -0400 Western United States Road Trip

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Portland, Oregon, United States

Insert Text

]]>