So now that you've all recovered from the holidays and that last lengthy blog post, it would be cruel of me not to put together another post and watch you all continue to salivate over the latest adventures. Are you not entertained?!
So we cruised, quite rapidly, out of the Pacific Northwest still moist from Oregon and with frost on our heels. We let out a huge sigh of relief as we crested the cascade mountains and set our eyes on less precipitous weather. Our intent directed us towards central Utah for Thanksgiving, but before we left, we made a brief stop over near Boise to visit the newest member of our family, daughter Allison's boyfriend, Wiley. Yes, Boise, Idaho is the main ingredient for a long distance relationship. We spent a few nights camping at a winery and explored the sand dunes nearby. We got to visit with Wiley over dinner and made plans for dinner at our place before we left for Utah. It was a short visit, but we couldn't leave the area knowing a pretty important part of our lives was around the corner.
As we have described in our previous posts, the landscape on every Journey, since we left South Dakota, has transported us to a wonderland of "never before" experiences and the trip from Oregon, through Idaho and Utah did not disappoint. We saw everything from lava flows to winding cliffs; through city-scapes set against snow capped mountains and over deep canyons carved from colorful stone.
Unfortunately, we've been dragging the cold along with us and it has been making for chilly days of exploration. Over Thanksgiving, we started tossing around ideas about how to attack next year's travel plans. It became apparent in Utah, that a long, statewide visit was necessary to experience every corner without having felt like we spent most of the day traveling. We will be looking into longer stays in a region to get every ounce of exploration that we can.
Arizona got the Christmas holiday and it took two trips to Phoenix to "wow" us with colorful light displays. The temps were a bit more palatable and gave us the opportunity to enjoy our adventure. The Grand Canyon is something that must be done in a few days. Maybe even a week. The North Rim was closed to the public and in a day trip, we really only got to see the eastern half of the canyon. It was, however, an unfathomable spectacle. Time must be taken to really take it all in. It's depths were surreal and it vastness hard to comprehend. The colors of the cliff face set against the electric blue sky was beautiful and another trip back will be hard to resist.
The cold, however, has been relentless. We traveled as far as Benson, Arizona; some 60 minutes from the Mexican border and the freeze was still sneaking its way in. We spent an afternoon in Tombstone, a place with so much history that the entire town is designated a historic site. It was wonderful that the some of the streets were kept just as they were over a hundred years ago. But, again, the cold chased us out of the state, through New Mexico and finally into Texas, where our rig sets today. We scuffled with Texas before and survived. We were enjoying the climb into the 70's until last night, then the jet stream turned our gentle breeze of southerly air, 180 degrees, into a pounding Arctic blast that dropped our temps by 40°. The North wind has been blowing since late last night and is due to end tonight. Recovery will be slow but the mid to upper 60's are supposed to return by mid week. This is the face of our planet and mother nature is fed up with the likes of us humans. She is desperately trying to heal herself from the neglect of mankind and, rightfully so, has no regard for us anymore. So we will endure while she gives us a lashing and continue east.
It is worthy to note, over the past few weeks, we have been outfitting the truck and Winnie with the tools to flat tow. We are hoping that by the time we leave Texas, Tez and Ken will be traveling together in the motorhome with the toad (truck in tow) cruising along behind chasing those 70° days. Until next time, stay warm where ever you are and have a great New Year!
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