Here are the pictures from the tail end of our trip. Sorry, they're a bit more dull than the previous albums! This one covers the Northern California countryside (I was bored in the car...), the Pacific coast, Redwood National Park/Forest, and Crater Lake. Hope you enjoy!
http://picasaweb.google.com/Angie.Hinkle/NorthernCaliAndCraterLake
At some point, when our condo is unpacked, cleaned up, and maybe decorated a bit, I'll post some pictures of where we live. Supposedly, some people are curious...
Angie and Kayle :)
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Monday, July 28, 2008
Kayle's 1st Day of Work
Well, the good news is we finally got our stuff from the moving company. After about 10 phone calls (he kept requesting that we call him and get an update on his location) and finding out 5 minutes before he arrived that he was for sure coming that day, the big truck pulled up. I guess the driver was giving Kayle a hard time at first and couldn't show him a weight receipt that proved our load was 450 lbs overweight, so Kayle told me to call the non-emergency police line to have an officer there to facilitate the process. We ended up paying the amount the driver wanted anyway (since teh driver had no power to change it, and we planned to file a complaint on the company). The police officer didn't have to do much, but Kayle just wanted to make sure the truck wouldn't drive away with our stuff forever. We checked all the boxes as they came in and made sure we had every one (we did- they were all numbered). Overall, the driver was nice. We told him to go work for a different company, since he had plenty of experience driving. After a rocky start, we offered some water to the workers, helped with checking all the boxes, and everything went fine for the rest. The driver even said "God bless you" as he left. That made me smile.
After the moving company left, we headed to David and Megan's house for Joe's birthday party. We missed the BBQ (that's when the moving co. showed up) but had fun playing board games with the group that was there. They were mostly people we met last week at lunch after church. Angie played this bean-planting card game with mostly girls (plus Joe and Mike) and Kayle played Settlers with the rest of the guys. Both of us had fun but were exhausted by the time we got home.
On Sunday, we went back to Mars Hill's Bellevue church. We really liked the sermon the week before and decided to go there until the series was over and we could hear the local pastor preach one week (Mark Driscoll is the main preaching pastor and the sermon is recorded and sent to all the locations for most weeks; the rest of the time, a pastor assigned to each location gives their own sermon). I think we will try a few other churches before deciding on one. Bellevue Christian Reformed Church is near-by too...maybe we'll stop there next...
After church, we went out to lunch again with the same group as last week. This time, we went to a cool sushi place with a long conveyor belt which goes by every table. To "order," you simply take whatever looks good and the price, $1.50-$4, is indicated by the color of the plate. I ate yummy asparagus rolls and philadelphia rolls (smoked salmon, cream cheese, and something else in a rice rolls). Kayle didn't eat there- he said it smelled gross. But he sat and chatted with everyone. I admit, the restaurant did smell strongly of different kinds of raw fish and shellfish, and pretty much everything was wrapped in rice. Poor Kayle...he had to wait until we got home for lunch. :( We unpacked a bit in the afternoon and I gave Kayle a haircut for work. Mostly, we were exhausted and went to bed early.
Today was Kayle's first day of work at Microsoft. It was an all-day new employee orientation that explained company values, benefits, paperwork, and some new technology. Kayle said there were about 180 other new employees starting this week too (I guess Microsoft gets about 12,000 new employees every year!). Four of these were guys from Univ. of Michigan, and Kayle recognized one from classes together. He got home early (around 4:30), but I was already itching for him to arrive. I spent all day cleaning and unpacking. One more day should do it! Then, I'll have to find a job to avoid going crazy all alone in the house all day! It's nice to have a fully stocked kitchen. We were having a hard time cooking with only 1 small egg pan and 1 brownie pan. Now, we have our George Foreman grill, toaster oven, microwave, and lots of pots/pans to use! We celebrated by cooking chicken picatta over pasta for dinner. Yum!
Still no internet at home, but we should get it sometime this week. Let's just say, we're less than impresssed with the speed of Verizon's modem delivery.
We miss you all and love hearing from you! Don't be afraid to call and catch up! 616-826-4862
Angie and Kayle
On Sunday,
After the moving company left, we headed to David and Megan's house for Joe's birthday party. We missed the BBQ (that's when the moving co. showed up) but had fun playing board games with the group that was there. They were mostly people we met last week at lunch after church. Angie played this bean-planting card game with mostly girls (plus Joe and Mike) and Kayle played Settlers with the rest of the guys. Both of us had fun but were exhausted by the time we got home.
On Sunday, we went back to Mars Hill's Bellevue church. We really liked the sermon the week before and decided to go there until the series was over and we could hear the local pastor preach one week (Mark Driscoll is the main preaching pastor and the sermon is recorded and sent to all the locations for most weeks; the rest of the time, a pastor assigned to each location gives their own sermon). I think we will try a few other churches before deciding on one. Bellevue Christian Reformed Church is near-by too...maybe we'll stop there next...
After church, we went out to lunch again with the same group as last week. This time, we went to a cool sushi place with a long conveyor belt which goes by every table. To "order," you simply take whatever looks good and the price, $1.50-$4, is indicated by the color of the plate. I ate yummy asparagus rolls and philadelphia rolls (smoked salmon, cream cheese, and something else in a rice rolls). Kayle didn't eat there- he said it smelled gross. But he sat and chatted with everyone. I admit, the restaurant did smell strongly of different kinds of raw fish and shellfish, and pretty much everything was wrapped in rice. Poor Kayle...he had to wait until we got home for lunch. :( We unpacked a bit in the afternoon and I gave Kayle a haircut for work. Mostly, we were exhausted and went to bed early.
Today was Kayle's first day of work at Microsoft. It was an all-day new employee orientation that explained company values, benefits, paperwork, and some new technology. Kayle said there were about 180 other new employees starting this week too (I guess Microsoft gets about 12,000 new employees every year!). Four of these were guys from Univ. of Michigan, and Kayle recognized one from classes together. He got home early (around 4:30), but I was already itching for him to arrive. I spent all day cleaning and unpacking. One more day should do it! Then, I'll have to find a job to avoid going crazy all alone in the house all day! It's nice to have a fully stocked kitchen. We were having a hard time cooking with only 1 small egg pan and 1 brownie pan. Now, we have our George Foreman grill, toaster oven, microwave, and lots of pots/pans to use! We celebrated by cooking chicken picatta over pasta for dinner. Yum!
Still no internet at home, but we should get it sometime this week. Let's just say, we're less than impresssed with the speed of Verizon's modem delivery.
We miss you all and love hearing from you! Don't be afraid to call and catch up! 616-826-4862
Angie and Kayle
On Sunday,
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Furniture Coming In...Mice Going out...
Well, we've kept busy the last few days: opening a credit union account, dealing with our moving company (of whom we are growing less and less fond), searching Craigslist, getting a library card (yes, very important!), and hanging out with some new friends (we went to a GREAT bible study group on Thursday night). Our furniture count now includes a queen size mattress and boxspring, coffeetable, 2 end tables, 2 office chairs, and a nice wood desk. The dining room table/chairs and maybe a couch or two we have yet to find. Phew!
We went to Home Depot yesterday to find a solution to our mouse problem. We decided to invest in a live trap and a set of regular mousetraps. The deal I made with Kayle was, if the live trap didn't work the first night, then we have to try his traps next (and the mice might not live to see outside our apartment). Good thing we caught a live mouse on the first try!! The little (cute) vermin is now running free in the park with a big belly full of peanut butter.
Also, after failing our emissions test, we fixed our car and finally got it all set and registered with Washington plates. It took some convincing to avoid having to pay sales tax on our in-family transfer of the title, but the woman took pity on us eventually (saving us over $250!).
Well, nothing is too exciting here (though sleeping on a bed instead of the floor is pretty great). We're going to a BBQ tonight for Joe's birthday and might get our moving company stuff dropped off tonight or tomorrow. Our house is finally feeling more like a home...now, we just need internet!!
We miss you!!
Angie and Kayle
We went to Home Depot yesterday to find a solution to our mouse problem. We decided to invest in a live trap and a set of regular mousetraps. The deal I made with Kayle was, if the live trap didn't work the first night, then we have to try his traps next (and the mice might not live to see outside our apartment). Good thing we caught a live mouse on the first try!! The little (cute) vermin is now running free in the park with a big belly full of peanut butter.
Also, after failing our emissions test, we fixed our car and finally got it all set and registered with Washington plates. It took some convincing to avoid having to pay sales tax on our in-family transfer of the title, but the woman took pity on us eventually (saving us over $250!).
Well, nothing is too exciting here (though sleeping on a bed instead of the floor is pretty great). We're going to a BBQ tonight for Joe's birthday and might get our moving company stuff dropped off tonight or tomorrow. Our house is finally feeling more like a home...now, we just need internet!!
We miss you!!
Angie and Kayle
Monday, July 21, 2008
Eek! A mouse!
We've been here a few days now, still undergoing the painstaking process of "settling in". After several shopping trips, we now have a stocked kitchen (well, one egg pan, a brownie pan, kitchen utensil set, steak knives, plastic utensils, cheap dishware set, and lots of food), a shower curtain, lots of trash cans, and two IKEA bar stools. It's a start. It seems like we run around all day and get little accomplished. Unfortunately, we're still working on getting a bed and an internet connection, both of which will be VERY WELCOME soon. But at least our bathroom and kitchen seem well-stocked now...
Also, we managed to fail our emissions test on the Cavalier. Our "blah blah blah solenoid thingy" was broken- about $200 to fix! Hopefully we pass next year or this car will be too expensive to keep for long...
Yesterday, we went to church with Joe and Brenda (who have been inviting us to eat meals and hang out with them and their friends lately- so nice!) at Mars Hill, the multi-campus mega-church here. The Bellevue campus is quite large and had a video sermon of the head pastor, Mark Driscoll, beamed in from the main Seattle campus. The sermon was about learning to pray like Jesus, and we both agreed that it was insightful and instructive- it went through the teachings and practice of Jesus on prayer and used examples from the pastor's own life regarding his 5 kids addressing their daddy with requests and companionship. The sermon was the first in a short series over the next few weeks. Mars Hill offers all sorts of community groups, bible studies, and service opportunities, but Kayle and I want to think a little longer about what kind of church to go to permanently. We will probably check out a few more before deciding and becoming members of one place.
Today, I woke up early (couldn't sleep) and decided to make a nice pancake and bacon breakfast while Kayle got ready for the day. As I started cooking, I noticed little black specks all over the perimeter of our countertop...mouse droppings, yuck! How dare the little intruder! This means war! I cleaned up the whole kitchen and made sure all the food was well out of reach (it didn't look like he got into anything- our pantry has pretty high shelves). Kayle wants to buy a mousetrap, but I don't really want to kill him... :( Then again, I really don't want mice in my home!!
We miss you all so much and love hearing from you! We relish every e-mail and phone call, so feel free to give us a ring whenever you have a few minutes to talk. Our cell phone number might change in a week or so, but I'll be sure to post the new one as soon as I can.
LOVE YOU ALL!!
Angie and Kayle
Also, we managed to fail our emissions test on the Cavalier. Our "blah blah blah solenoid thingy" was broken- about $200 to fix! Hopefully we pass next year or this car will be too expensive to keep for long...
Yesterday, we went to church with Joe and Brenda (who have been inviting us to eat meals and hang out with them and their friends lately- so nice!) at Mars Hill, the multi-campus mega-church here. The Bellevue campus is quite large and had a video sermon of the head pastor, Mark Driscoll, beamed in from the main Seattle campus. The sermon was about learning to pray like Jesus, and we both agreed that it was insightful and instructive- it went through the teachings and practice of Jesus on prayer and used examples from the pastor's own life regarding his 5 kids addressing their daddy with requests and companionship. The sermon was the first in a short series over the next few weeks. Mars Hill offers all sorts of community groups, bible studies, and service opportunities, but Kayle and I want to think a little longer about what kind of church to go to permanently. We will probably check out a few more before deciding and becoming members of one place.
Today, I woke up early (couldn't sleep) and decided to make a nice pancake and bacon breakfast while Kayle got ready for the day. As I started cooking, I noticed little black specks all over the perimeter of our countertop...mouse droppings, yuck! How dare the little intruder! This means war! I cleaned up the whole kitchen and made sure all the food was well out of reach (it didn't look like he got into anything- our pantry has pretty high shelves). Kayle wants to buy a mousetrap, but I don't really want to kill him... :( Then again, I really don't want mice in my home!!
We miss you all so much and love hearing from you! We relish every e-mail and phone call, so feel free to give us a ring whenever you have a few minutes to talk. Our cell phone number might change in a week or so, but I'll be sure to post the new one as soon as I can.
LOVE YOU ALL!!
Angie and Kayle
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Home, Sweet, Home At Last
After San Francisco, we pushed northward, through the California countryside (including a well-named "Hick's Valley Road") filled with those now-familar brown hills, green trees, and cattle. We took Highway 1 as far as we could, enjoying the view of the Pacific Ocean and getting out to walk on a beach for a while. We also drove through Redwood National Park at dusk with its huge redwood trees and stopped to watched a beautiful sunset over an ocean pier. We drove on until we were well into Oregon and finally rested at a Travellodge.
Yesterday, we drove the 1.5 hours to Crater Lake National Park, a giant, round, and dazzling blue lake formed by a collapsed volcano. We were told it is the 7th deepest lake in the world (around 2,000 feet deep) with some of the purest water (there are no streams flowing in or out; it was filled by rainfall and snow alone). The rim of the lake is steep with only one path to the water. There is also a small island (the result of the magma billowing up) called Wizard's Island. We drove around the west side of the lake, stopping to view the Visitor's Center video and see some of the viewpoints overlooking the water. It was quite cold there and snow was abundant on the hills. Kayle and I each threw a snowball before leaving the park. Finally (and quite exciting for Angie), we saw a real live black bear in the woods (looking out of the car). It was a small one and posed for a picture or two before running off.
We still had a long 8-9 hour drive after leaving Crater Lake, and we reached our long-awaited destination around 9:15 pm. Our condo in Redmond is plenty big for the two of us and we were pleased when we toured it. I especially liked having a master bathroom with two sinks and two walk-in closets. We each claimed one for our own. After lugging all of our stuff inside from the car, we ran for a late-night shopping trip to the grocery store to stock the fridge. As of right now, we have no furniture and the rest of our stuff won't arrive until sometime next week. We'll have to make due with sleeping on the floor for a while, but we plan to run some errands and look around the area today. Right now, our only internet access is the local library (which, thankfully, is pretty close), so it might take a while for me to respond to e-mails.
We miss you all!
Angie and Kayle
Yesterday, we drove the 1.5 hours to Crater Lake National Park, a giant, round, and dazzling blue lake formed by a collapsed volcano. We were told it is the 7th deepest lake in the world (around 2,000 feet deep) with some of the purest water (there are no streams flowing in or out; it was filled by rainfall and snow alone). The rim of the lake is steep with only one path to the water. There is also a small island (the result of the magma billowing up) called Wizard's Island. We drove around the west side of the lake, stopping to view the Visitor's Center video and see some of the viewpoints overlooking the water. It was quite cold there and snow was abundant on the hills. Kayle and I each threw a snowball before leaving the park. Finally (and quite exciting for Angie), we saw a real live black bear in the woods (looking out of the car). It was a small one and posed for a picture or two before running off.
We still had a long 8-9 hour drive after leaving Crater Lake, and we reached our long-awaited destination around 9:15 pm. Our condo in Redmond is plenty big for the two of us and we were pleased when we toured it. I especially liked having a master bathroom with two sinks and two walk-in closets. We each claimed one for our own. After lugging all of our stuff inside from the car, we ran for a late-night shopping trip to the grocery store to stock the fridge. As of right now, we have no furniture and the rest of our stuff won't arrive until sometime next week. We'll have to make due with sleeping on the floor for a while, but we plan to run some errands and look around the area today. Right now, our only internet access is the local library (which, thankfully, is pretty close), so it might take a while for me to respond to e-mails.
We miss you all!
Angie and Kayle
Monday, July 14, 2008
Pictures from Jelly Belly Factory/San Francisco
Here's some more pictures... I try to take enough so you can see almost everything we see on the trip. Kayle is tired of posing for pictures and almost tired of taking them too! We have a one-picture-of-the-two-of-us-per-place rule now, so most of the people shots will be candid from here on out...oh well!
http://picasaweb.google.com/Angie.Hinkle
http://picasaweb.google.com/Angie.Hinkle
Summertime in California
Wow! Summertime in California is hot and dry. As Kayle put it, "California has brown grass, green trees, and big hills." Most of the wildfires in the state are out or under control (from 1000s to around 300) now, so we shouldn't have any detours as we move north. We've seen some blackened countryside but no flames. Every field sure looks like a fire hazard though!
On Saturday, we ended up hanging around our hotel for most of the day, just about tired of sight-seeing. We met Ben in the late afternoon to go to a free outdoor concert near some shops surrounding a movie theater. There, we met one of his Intel friends from Canada and another girl, Selah, that he brought along. The one-man band (named "Rock Minstrel") was disappointing, so we meandered along the little streetway, stopping in a coffee-shop and Bistro. We had fun, just conversing and walking around in the well-watered, scenic shopping center. It was a nice night.
On Sunday, we left Folsom for the San Francisco area, stopping at the Jelly Belly factory store on the way. We took the factory tour, learning about the 20-day process of making a gourmet jelly bean and preparing it for shipment. We got free samples of different flavors at the sample bar and purchased some "belly flops," jelly bellys that didn't quite pass the quality/shape inspection. The tour was fun, including the mandatory little hats we had to wear. They even had a little cafe where all the food served was shaped like a jelly bean (actually quite strange). Also interesting was the colorful jelly bean artwork, each piece of which comprised over 10,000 jelly bellys and featured famous people, eagles, Mr. Jelly Belly, and, even Donald Duck. It definitely looked tedious! Also, apparently Ronald Reagan was practically addicted to Jelly Bellys and made them a staple at all his meetings as governor and president. They even designed special containers to keep them from spilling on Air Force One! We left, sugared out and hauling 6 lbs of belly flops (buy 2 get 1 free 2 lb. bags)- basically, we're hoping some of you visit us soon and eat them for us! We got to the hotel in Pleasant Hills, a place where we could scarcely find a car comparable to ours (everyone seems to drive luxury automobiles, big trucks, and SUVs). Our hotel was comfortable, so we decided to just hang out again for the night.
Today, we made plans to pick up my friend, Hallie Brewster, from her house and go to San Francisco to tour the city. Hallie is an upcoming sophomore at Notre Dame and in my accountability group for bible study last year. We went to Fisherman's Wharf (lots of fresh fish and crabs...one guy tried to entice us to eat from his stand by sticking a moving crab in our path), the first Ghiradelli's store and factory (where we left with 5 bars of gourmet dark chocolate...yum!), and Pier 39. We stopped by Bubba Gump's Shrimp Co. but decided to eat at the Sea Lion Seafood Restaurant. Outside, we saw 6-7 sea lions sleeping on the floating docks and could watch them a bit during our meal. Apparently, summer is the off-season for seeing sea lions, since most of them migrate south for breeding. But we were happy to at least see a few! After returning to our car, we drove down the most crooked street in America, the super-steep and winding Lombard St., before driving through Little Italy and Chinatown. One funny thing to see was the segway tours through the city, 10-15 tourists all on segways behind a leader zig-zagging through the streets. The street cars and buses were also cool but a little scary to drive next to on the narrow, hilly roads. Saying "goodbye" to Hallie, we returned to our hotel and are looking forward to another restful night.
We are anticipating the end of our trip now, weary of traveling and anxious to finally settle in and get acquainted with our new surroundings. We plan to make it to Redmond, WA (and our condo) by Wednesday evening after driving up the coast, seeing Redwood National Forest, and, possibly, stopping by Crater Lake. Only 15-20 hours of driving left and we're both ready to put the open road behind us for a while!
We hope you're enjoying all these lengthy (and, at times, overly informative) posts. We wish we could tell all of you everything in person!
With much love and a slightly homesick heart,
Angie (and Kayle)
P.S. San Francisco was pretty foggy today, so we don't have many clear pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge. It looks much taller when the top is obscured by a giant cloud...
On Saturday, we ended up hanging around our hotel for most of the day, just about tired of sight-seeing. We met Ben in the late afternoon to go to a free outdoor concert near some shops surrounding a movie theater. There, we met one of his Intel friends from Canada and another girl, Selah, that he brought along. The one-man band (named "Rock Minstrel") was disappointing, so we meandered along the little streetway, stopping in a coffee-shop and Bistro. We had fun, just conversing and walking around in the well-watered, scenic shopping center. It was a nice night.
On Sunday, we left Folsom for the San Francisco area, stopping at the Jelly Belly factory store on the way. We took the factory tour, learning about the 20-day process of making a gourmet jelly bean and preparing it for shipment. We got free samples of different flavors at the sample bar and purchased some "belly flops," jelly bellys that didn't quite pass the quality/shape inspection. The tour was fun, including the mandatory little hats we had to wear. They even had a little cafe where all the food served was shaped like a jelly bean (actually quite strange). Also interesting was the colorful jelly bean artwork, each piece of which comprised over 10,000 jelly bellys and featured famous people, eagles, Mr. Jelly Belly, and, even Donald Duck. It definitely looked tedious! Also, apparently Ronald Reagan was practically addicted to Jelly Bellys and made them a staple at all his meetings as governor and president. They even designed special containers to keep them from spilling on Air Force One! We left, sugared out and hauling 6 lbs of belly flops (buy 2 get 1 free 2 lb. bags)- basically, we're hoping some of you visit us soon and eat them for us! We got to the hotel in Pleasant Hills, a place where we could scarcely find a car comparable to ours (everyone seems to drive luxury automobiles, big trucks, and SUVs). Our hotel was comfortable, so we decided to just hang out again for the night.
Today, we made plans to pick up my friend, Hallie Brewster, from her house and go to San Francisco to tour the city. Hallie is an upcoming sophomore at Notre Dame and in my accountability group for bible study last year. We went to Fisherman's Wharf (lots of fresh fish and crabs...one guy tried to entice us to eat from his stand by sticking a moving crab in our path), the first Ghiradelli's store and factory (where we left with 5 bars of gourmet dark chocolate...yum!), and Pier 39. We stopped by Bubba Gump's Shrimp Co. but decided to eat at the Sea Lion Seafood Restaurant. Outside, we saw 6-7 sea lions sleeping on the floating docks and could watch them a bit during our meal. Apparently, summer is the off-season for seeing sea lions, since most of them migrate south for breeding. But we were happy to at least see a few! After returning to our car, we drove down the most crooked street in America, the super-steep and winding Lombard St., before driving through Little Italy and Chinatown. One funny thing to see was the segway tours through the city, 10-15 tourists all on segways behind a leader zig-zagging through the streets. The street cars and buses were also cool but a little scary to drive next to on the narrow, hilly roads. Saying "goodbye" to Hallie, we returned to our hotel and are looking forward to another restful night.
We are anticipating the end of our trip now, weary of traveling and anxious to finally settle in and get acquainted with our new surroundings. We plan to make it to Redmond, WA (and our condo) by Wednesday evening after driving up the coast, seeing Redwood National Forest, and, possibly, stopping by Crater Lake. Only 15-20 hours of driving left and we're both ready to put the open road behind us for a while!
We hope you're enjoying all these lengthy (and, at times, overly informative) posts. We wish we could tell all of you everything in person!
With much love and a slightly homesick heart,
Angie (and Kayle)
P.S. San Francisco was pretty foggy today, so we don't have many clear pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge. It looks much taller when the top is obscured by a giant cloud...
Saturday, July 12, 2008
More Pictures Online!!
Finally, I finished going through and uploading the pictures from Bryce, Zion, Vegas, and Yosemite! Here they are for your enjoyment:
http://picasaweb.google.com/Angie.Hinkle
http://picasaweb.google.com/Angie.Hinkle
To Las Vegas and Beyond!
It's been a while since my last post. Most of that is because Kayle and I were "roughing it" in Yosemite for a few days with....gasp...no internet connection (among other things). We're still keeping busy, though the relaxation times are spaced closer and closer together. Traveling the country sure is tiring!!
In Las Vegas, we had the privilege of seeing two friends: Claire (Angie's roommate) and Matt (a guy from the Dutch House). We arrived in LV to an overwhelming amount of lights and action and general busyness on Friday afternoon. It was the 4th of July, so Claire didn't have work and the amount of tourists in the city was through the roof! We stayed at a Mariott for two nights, since the casino-hotels were super-expensive over the holiday. That night, we walked the Strip, entering several different famous hotels and shopping/eating in the Venetian's mall. Las Vegas is insane! In the mall, the inside looked like the streets of Italy, complete with gondolas and street performers. It was so hot there, I can see why inside might look like outside...you'd NEVER want to go to the real outside during the day. (Las Vegas is insane for other reasons too...it seems people go there to go crazy for vacation.)
Now, we went on our tour with Claire, her sister Crystelle, and another friend from Guam, but, even with 5 of us total, we still managed to get lost about 4 times that night! Las Vegas is one of those places where you can often see where you want to go but have no idea how to get there. We even had a hard time getting to the Strip from Claire's house! We parked our car at Caesar's Palace and had to take quite a hike to find it again. Crossing streets involved lots of bridges and escalators and "shortcuts" through casinos turned into "longcuts" lost in a maze (we think casinos were brilliantly designed to keep moderately drunk gamblers inside...we could BARELY find our way out with a map, completely sober!). By the time we made it back to the car, we were all exhausted, hot, and ready for bed (preferably in air conditioning). Despite it being the 4th of July, we saw very few fireworks not obscured by buildings. We kept busy anyway and managed to catch glimpses of a water fountain show instead. We weren't too disappointed (dinner sounded better than fireworks anyway...).
Saturday was a more restful day. We woke up late and went to Claire's house where we lounged around some more and sang karaoke (the words scrolled on the TV and her family had a little handheld mic that scored your performance after each song). Next, we headed to the Venetian to pick up some tickets (last night's attempt was unsuccessful- got to the ticket office about 2 minutes late...no mercy!). Claire bought us tickets to "The Phantom of the Opera" show at the Venetian as a wedding present. We waited for the show and ate lunch at Wolfgang Puck's restaurant (apparently a famous chef) where Kayle had a gourmet hamburger and Claire and I shared some AMAZING halibut. While we ate, there was an opera/juggling/human statue/jester variety show going on in the courtyard. We parted ways soon after, Claire to a birthday party for a Guam friend and Kayle and I to our show.
I was SO EXCITED for Phantom of the Opera. Claire and I used to sing the whole CD in our dorm room as roommates, with harmony and different parts and everything. Like everything in Vegas, the show went all-out with the singing and special effects. The chandelier whirled around in the air before assembling its three pieces above our heads, there were indoor fireworks and flares, and people seemed to disappear under the stage and reappear moments later 20 feet up. Also, the boat to the phantom's hideaway really looked like it floated on the foggy mist of a lake onstage. All the actors/actresses did really well, and the singing was phenomenal! Even the ballet dancers who practiced in the background of a scene looked beautiful and graceful! Both of us enjoyed the show immensely.
Afterwards, we walked around a bit in the casino, people watching (probably the best place ever to see a wide variety), gambling (our whole trip we gambled and lost a grand total of $4), and observing the incredible amounts of money other people were losing. (We watched one woman go from $900 to $500 at a slot machine in about 5 minutes.) Another long day and restful sleep!
On Sunday, we finally saw Matt and his family! We went to church with them in the morning and visited their home in Henderson after for lunch and long conversation. (I took my Sunday afternoon nap in the middle and woke up to them all still in the living room, right where I left them...guess there was a lot to say! :) ) Using the computer, we shopped around a bit for rates on the bigger hotels and settled on a Stratosphere package that allowed us to stay, go up into the space needle, and ride two rides each for only $38/night. Our least expensive hotel yet! At the hotel, we ate dinner at a little 50's style diner where all the waiters/waitresses took turns singing solos, with a DJ playing other music in between. It was a lot of fun, especially the big redition of "Greased Lightning" that got all the staff singing and dancing at once! After, we wandered some more before watching the World Series of Poker on TV (which is way funnier than either of us remembered it) and falling asleep.
Monday was our last full day in Vegas. After another late start (Angie loves sleeping in!), we went to see the pool at our hotel. It was on the roof of one of the buildings, eight stories high. Deciding it was too hot, we went to a lunch buffet and played some online poker (with renewable play money). Later in the afternoon, we decided to make use of our ride tickets. Now, the top of the Stratosphere has an amazing view of Vegas, but the same height that lets you see far also makes the rides seem much more terrifying. Now, I love rollar coasters and thrill rides, but I was genuinely nervous. At the top of the space needle, there's three rides: one that shoots you up and down a vertical pole so you feel like you're floating for several seconds each time, one that hangs you over the edge facing the ground at a 70-degree angle and spinning, and one that races on a teetor-totter over the edge and stops abruptly facing downward. We rode the first two. I think we both agreed we got our money's worth, because the two rides were very scary and very fun! Phew! Thrill rides over, we hung around the tower until sunset, taking many more pictures and catching our breath. Then, it was off to see Claire (briefly) for the last time at her house and time for bed again.
On Tuesday, we left Vegas pretty early and made the long 8 hour drive to Yosemite. Once we got to the park's east entrance, we still had two more hours to drive to the west side and loop around to the middle of the park where our campground was (only one road...). At least the last two hours were scenic! We stopped at a few overlooks and saw Belvedier and Yosemite Falls among the canyons. Wow...Yosemite is so beautiful- there is such variety with super-tall trees all around, crystal-clear streams and waterfalls, huge mountains/cliffs, vast grassy meadows, and tons of wildlife. Simply breathtaking... It was late by the time we finally arrived, so we had to find our tent-cabin in the darkness (MUCH easier said than done!). About 4 loops around later, we made it to our lodging for the next 3 days, more tent than cabin but cozy enough. We had three concrete walls (the fourth was a shower curtain), with a full-size bed and twin bunkbeds (sporting those summer camp vinyl mattresses) and a fenced in picnic table under an roof. We had to keep all of our food and toiletries in a bear-proof metal box out back, and, believe me, we didn't want ANY BEARS in our camp. Already, the camp was infested with squirrels that are not supposed to be fed but clearly have tasted human food and try every trick possible to get more (they were naughty squirrels!). We woke up the next morning with a squirrel inside our tent-cabin, scratching on the mattress. AHH!!
Wednesday, we hiked to Yosemite Falls and climbed all over the rocks at its base. The water level was pretty high for the middle of summer due to a torrential rainfall that came the day before (we just missed it). This was my favorite hike by far, so much so that we did it again the next day! It was hot in Yosemite, like everywhere else this far West, so we escaped the 110 degree heat by riding the shuttle around for its full hour-long loop. Then, we went swimming in the pool for about an hour (the nicest pool yet...8 feet deep!), with some meals in there somewhere. That night, we played cards in the tent-cabin.
Thursday, it was even hotter outside, and I was quite sore from hiking/climbing/swimming. We thought about renting a raft to float the river until we felt the water. Being a snowmelt river, it was about 40 degrees....much, much too cold to be enjoyable, no matter how hot outside. We walked back to our campground, laid out by the river a while, wrote some postcards, and read a book/did a crossword (Angie the first, Kayle the second). At night, we ventured out for another meal, did a leisurely walk around Cook's Meadow, and went back to Yosemite Falls. This time, the water level had dropped about 2 feet. We were amazed at the change in water flow from one day to the next. There were even more rocks to climb on now, and we crossed the river several times (now that it was more tame). The final crossing, I reached to put my foot on a wet rock (Kayle said not to...) and fell into the river, getting my pants all wet. With nothing to lose, I jumped in later on to get wet to my shoulders, so I guess I can say now that I "swam" in the river under Yosemite Falls. Thankfully, it was still nice and warm outside in the early evening...though it did get cold on those air-conditioned shuttles!
Finally, on Friday, we packed up our car again and cleaned out the ol' tent-cabin. Then, we set out for our last hike. We hiked a short .7 mile trail (mostly uphill) to the bridge under Vernal Falls and then hiked to Happy Isles, where bridges crossed the beautiful, rocky streams several times. The nature center there was also cool, with lots of stuffed animals/birds on display (in a kind of Where's Waldo type scenery). Here we saw our only bears, unfortunately stuffed ones(Angie really wanted to see a real one, far off). The nocturnal animal exhibit was especially interesting with bats, mice, snakes, owls, skunks, and coyotes all posing there in the dark. Kayle and I sort of like the geeky, educational parts of the trip!! :)
We left the park around noon and headed for Folsom, CA, near Sacramento (about 3 hours away). Ben (another Dutch House boy) got a job here last year, so we went to visit him while we were close-by. He took us to dinner at a wonderful pizza place and gave us a small tour of the town (apparently, Johnny Cash sang a song at a prison here...). At night, Angie went through more vacation pictures (more posted soon!!) while Kayle played a game online.
Today, we're staying in Folsom again, but still trying to decide what to do... I'm sure you'll hear/read all about it soon!
Phew! If you made it this far in the post, you're a trooper! We love you and miss you!
Angie and Kayle
In Las Vegas, we had the privilege of seeing two friends: Claire (Angie's roommate) and Matt (a guy from the Dutch House). We arrived in LV to an overwhelming amount of lights and action and general busyness on Friday afternoon. It was the 4th of July, so Claire didn't have work and the amount of tourists in the city was through the roof! We stayed at a Mariott for two nights, since the casino-hotels were super-expensive over the holiday. That night, we walked the Strip, entering several different famous hotels and shopping/eating in the Venetian's mall. Las Vegas is insane! In the mall, the inside looked like the streets of Italy, complete with gondolas and street performers. It was so hot there, I can see why inside might look like outside...you'd NEVER want to go to the real outside during the day. (Las Vegas is insane for other reasons too...it seems people go there to go crazy for vacation.)
Now, we went on our tour with Claire, her sister Crystelle, and another friend from Guam, but, even with 5 of us total, we still managed to get lost about 4 times that night! Las Vegas is one of those places where you can often see where you want to go but have no idea how to get there. We even had a hard time getting to the Strip from Claire's house! We parked our car at Caesar's Palace and had to take quite a hike to find it again. Crossing streets involved lots of bridges and escalators and "shortcuts" through casinos turned into "longcuts" lost in a maze (we think casinos were brilliantly designed to keep moderately drunk gamblers inside...we could BARELY find our way out with a map, completely sober!). By the time we made it back to the car, we were all exhausted, hot, and ready for bed (preferably in air conditioning). Despite it being the 4th of July, we saw very few fireworks not obscured by buildings. We kept busy anyway and managed to catch glimpses of a water fountain show instead. We weren't too disappointed (dinner sounded better than fireworks anyway...).
Saturday was a more restful day. We woke up late and went to Claire's house where we lounged around some more and sang karaoke (the words scrolled on the TV and her family had a little handheld mic that scored your performance after each song). Next, we headed to the Venetian to pick up some tickets (last night's attempt was unsuccessful- got to the ticket office about 2 minutes late...no mercy!). Claire bought us tickets to "The Phantom of the Opera" show at the Venetian as a wedding present. We waited for the show and ate lunch at Wolfgang Puck's restaurant (apparently a famous chef) where Kayle had a gourmet hamburger and Claire and I shared some AMAZING halibut. While we ate, there was an opera/juggling/human statue/jester variety show going on in the courtyard. We parted ways soon after, Claire to a birthday party for a Guam friend and Kayle and I to our show.
I was SO EXCITED for Phantom of the Opera. Claire and I used to sing the whole CD in our dorm room as roommates, with harmony and different parts and everything. Like everything in Vegas, the show went all-out with the singing and special effects. The chandelier whirled around in the air before assembling its three pieces above our heads, there were indoor fireworks and flares, and people seemed to disappear under the stage and reappear moments later 20 feet up. Also, the boat to the phantom's hideaway really looked like it floated on the foggy mist of a lake onstage. All the actors/actresses did really well, and the singing was phenomenal! Even the ballet dancers who practiced in the background of a scene looked beautiful and graceful! Both of us enjoyed the show immensely.
Afterwards, we walked around a bit in the casino, people watching (probably the best place ever to see a wide variety), gambling (our whole trip we gambled and lost a grand total of $4), and observing the incredible amounts of money other people were losing. (We watched one woman go from $900 to $500 at a slot machine in about 5 minutes.) Another long day and restful sleep!
On Sunday, we finally saw Matt and his family! We went to church with them in the morning and visited their home in Henderson after for lunch and long conversation. (I took my Sunday afternoon nap in the middle and woke up to them all still in the living room, right where I left them...guess there was a lot to say! :) ) Using the computer, we shopped around a bit for rates on the bigger hotels and settled on a Stratosphere package that allowed us to stay, go up into the space needle, and ride two rides each for only $38/night. Our least expensive hotel yet! At the hotel, we ate dinner at a little 50's style diner where all the waiters/waitresses took turns singing solos, with a DJ playing other music in between. It was a lot of fun, especially the big redition of "Greased Lightning" that got all the staff singing and dancing at once! After, we wandered some more before watching the World Series of Poker on TV (which is way funnier than either of us remembered it) and falling asleep.
Monday was our last full day in Vegas. After another late start (Angie loves sleeping in!), we went to see the pool at our hotel. It was on the roof of one of the buildings, eight stories high. Deciding it was too hot, we went to a lunch buffet and played some online poker (with renewable play money). Later in the afternoon, we decided to make use of our ride tickets. Now, the top of the Stratosphere has an amazing view of Vegas, but the same height that lets you see far also makes the rides seem much more terrifying. Now, I love rollar coasters and thrill rides, but I was genuinely nervous. At the top of the space needle, there's three rides: one that shoots you up and down a vertical pole so you feel like you're floating for several seconds each time, one that hangs you over the edge facing the ground at a 70-degree angle and spinning, and one that races on a teetor-totter over the edge and stops abruptly facing downward. We rode the first two. I think we both agreed we got our money's worth, because the two rides were very scary and very fun! Phew! Thrill rides over, we hung around the tower until sunset, taking many more pictures and catching our breath. Then, it was off to see Claire (briefly) for the last time at her house and time for bed again.
On Tuesday, we left Vegas pretty early and made the long 8 hour drive to Yosemite. Once we got to the park's east entrance, we still had two more hours to drive to the west side and loop around to the middle of the park where our campground was (only one road...). At least the last two hours were scenic! We stopped at a few overlooks and saw Belvedier and Yosemite Falls among the canyons. Wow...Yosemite is so beautiful- there is such variety with super-tall trees all around, crystal-clear streams and waterfalls, huge mountains/cliffs, vast grassy meadows, and tons of wildlife. Simply breathtaking... It was late by the time we finally arrived, so we had to find our tent-cabin in the darkness (MUCH easier said than done!). About 4 loops around later, we made it to our lodging for the next 3 days, more tent than cabin but cozy enough. We had three concrete walls (the fourth was a shower curtain), with a full-size bed and twin bunkbeds (sporting those summer camp vinyl mattresses) and a fenced in picnic table under an roof. We had to keep all of our food and toiletries in a bear-proof metal box out back, and, believe me, we didn't want ANY BEARS in our camp. Already, the camp was infested with squirrels that are not supposed to be fed but clearly have tasted human food and try every trick possible to get more (they were naughty squirrels!). We woke up the next morning with a squirrel inside our tent-cabin, scratching on the mattress. AHH!!
Wednesday, we hiked to Yosemite Falls and climbed all over the rocks at its base. The water level was pretty high for the middle of summer due to a torrential rainfall that came the day before (we just missed it). This was my favorite hike by far, so much so that we did it again the next day! It was hot in Yosemite, like everywhere else this far West, so we escaped the 110 degree heat by riding the shuttle around for its full hour-long loop. Then, we went swimming in the pool for about an hour (the nicest pool yet...8 feet deep!), with some meals in there somewhere. That night, we played cards in the tent-cabin.
Thursday, it was even hotter outside, and I was quite sore from hiking/climbing/swimming. We thought about renting a raft to float the river until we felt the water. Being a snowmelt river, it was about 40 degrees....much, much too cold to be enjoyable, no matter how hot outside. We walked back to our campground, laid out by the river a while, wrote some postcards, and read a book/did a crossword (Angie the first, Kayle the second). At night, we ventured out for another meal, did a leisurely walk around Cook's Meadow, and went back to Yosemite Falls. This time, the water level had dropped about 2 feet. We were amazed at the change in water flow from one day to the next. There were even more rocks to climb on now, and we crossed the river several times (now that it was more tame). The final crossing, I reached to put my foot on a wet rock (Kayle said not to...) and fell into the river, getting my pants all wet. With nothing to lose, I jumped in later on to get wet to my shoulders, so I guess I can say now that I "swam" in the river under Yosemite Falls. Thankfully, it was still nice and warm outside in the early evening...though it did get cold on those air-conditioned shuttles!
Finally, on Friday, we packed up our car again and cleaned out the ol' tent-cabin. Then, we set out for our last hike. We hiked a short .7 mile trail (mostly uphill) to the bridge under Vernal Falls and then hiked to Happy Isles, where bridges crossed the beautiful, rocky streams several times. The nature center there was also cool, with lots of stuffed animals/birds on display (in a kind of Where's Waldo type scenery). Here we saw our only bears, unfortunately stuffed ones(Angie really wanted to see a real one, far off). The nocturnal animal exhibit was especially interesting with bats, mice, snakes, owls, skunks, and coyotes all posing there in the dark. Kayle and I sort of like the geeky, educational parts of the trip!! :)
We left the park around noon and headed for Folsom, CA, near Sacramento (about 3 hours away). Ben (another Dutch House boy) got a job here last year, so we went to visit him while we were close-by. He took us to dinner at a wonderful pizza place and gave us a small tour of the town (apparently, Johnny Cash sang a song at a prison here...). At night, Angie went through more vacation pictures (more posted soon!!) while Kayle played a game online.
Today, we're staying in Folsom again, but still trying to decide what to do... I'm sure you'll hear/read all about it soon!
Phew! If you made it this far in the post, you're a trooper! We love you and miss you!
Angie and Kayle
Thursday, July 3, 2008
First Photos Online
We finally had a chance to go through all the pictures, deleting the blurry ones and the repeats and narrowing down the numbers to the best ones. We are still probably posting more photos of canyons than anyone cares to look at, but we hope you enjoy seeing the highlights of our trip so far. Our new picasa album has pictures from Mackinac Island, Omaha/Denver, Mesa Verde, Canyonlands, and Arches. Photos from Bryce/Zion still to come...
Here's the link:
http://picasaweb.google.com/Angie.Hinkle
Here's the link:
http://picasaweb.google.com/Angie.Hinkle
As the Temperature Climbs, the Hikes Don't...
Today, we visited Zion National Park, easily the hottest stop on our trip so far. Temperatures reached around 105 degrees, so we kept in the shade as much as possible with only two short hikes in the "easy" category. The first hike took us along a ridge to a shallow pool filled by a small waterfall. Pretty interesting to have a waterfall in the middle of the desert! Our second hike was to the Weeping Rock, where we were glad to be sprinkled with the falling drops. This was easily our favorite place in Zion, since our water bottles were much less refreshing when the water inside reached about 90 degrees. For most of the short day, we rode the shuttle buses around from one end of the canyon to the other, though the nap under the shady tree was nice and cool too. It's only 6:40 and we're already back at our hotel, anxious for some rest and maybe a swim in one of the two pools. Overall, Zion was beautiful with more red and white canyons, a lovely river, and diverse habitats. It was much greener than most other places in the desert we've seen, further adding to its appeal.
Our animal sightings have been minimal but exciting (at least for Angie). Today at Zion, we saw a black-collared lizard, a ground squirrel, a male mule deer (with a decent rack), and lots of birds. Yesterday, a prairie dog (at least that's what it looked like) ran across the road. We also glimpsed more mule deer and multiple cute, little chipmunks (they made the long hike bearable) at Bryce. Buffaloes, cows, and horses are everywhere along the highways. We still hope to see an eagle or a large predator or something else unique, from a safe distance of course!
Tomorrow, we're off to Las Vegas, where Claire (Angie's roommate/bridesmaid) and Matt (friend from the Dutch House) live. We plan to see a show, relax, walk the Strip, and watch some pretty cool 4th of July fireworks. It should be a nice contrast to all the national parks. Still having lots of fun...
Angie and Kayle
Our animal sightings have been minimal but exciting (at least for Angie). Today at Zion, we saw a black-collared lizard, a ground squirrel, a male mule deer (with a decent rack), and lots of birds. Yesterday, a prairie dog (at least that's what it looked like) ran across the road. We also glimpsed more mule deer and multiple cute, little chipmunks (they made the long hike bearable) at Bryce. Buffaloes, cows, and horses are everywhere along the highways. We still hope to see an eagle or a large predator or something else unique, from a safe distance of course!
Tomorrow, we're off to Las Vegas, where Claire (Angie's roommate/bridesmaid) and Matt (friend from the Dutch House) live. We plan to see a show, relax, walk the Strip, and watch some pretty cool 4th of July fireworks. It should be a nice contrast to all the national parks. Still having lots of fun...
Angie and Kayle
National Parks, Here We Come!
Hello again everyone!
When I left off, Kayle and I had passed through Omaha and were on our way to Denver. On Saturday night, we finally arrived (another 8 hour drive) at Nate Falstad's house (a guy who lived in the Dutch House with Kayle). That evening, we took it easy and relaxed around the house. We played Settlers, which started and ended poorly (Kayle won AGAIN!).
The next morning, we went to church and then to Chipotle's for lunch. We had a tough time trying to decide what to do near Denver (too many choices) but settled on “Garden of the gods” and “Royal Gorge”. At the Garden of the gods, we climbed on some giant red rock formations (little did Angie know that the red rock formations would continue later on and get much bigger!!) but mostly drove through.
Royal Gorge was even cooler with the world's highest suspension bridge, which spanned the canyon. We took a hanging tram over the canyon, saw a small animal park (buffalo, mountain goats, some kind of antelopy thing), and walked back across the before-mentioned bridge. After, we waited in line for the world's steepest railroad, which would take us to the bottom of the canyon (as the corny video we watched said, “an engineering marvel”). To Angie's GREAT delight, there were hummingbird feeders next to the line at which around 10 hummingbirds flew in and out, buzzing and chirping away. A few times, one nearly missed running into our faces as they zoomed around. Angie took WAY TOO MANY pictures of hummingbirds! At the bottom of the canyon was what is at the bottom of almost every canyon, a river. While Kayle took pictures by the river, Angie stood near another set of feeders. This time, the tiny birds were only about 1 foot away, and I could even reach out and touch them a few times (when their backs were turned). Then, a flash of brilliance struck! "If I stick my hand under the feeder with my fingers curled up, maybe the hummingbirds will land on them when they come to eat..." Voilá! The plan worked and several different hummingbirds sat on my fingers and thumb (probably the highlight of the whole day for me). I hope Kayle enjoyed his river... When we left around 6:30pm, we still had a long drive ahead, arriving at our hotel right around midnight, after a harrowing nighttime mountain drive. (Don't worry, Moms, Kayle drove safely.) We both slept well. :)
On Monday, we went to Mesa Verde (also in Colorado), where the Puebloan cliff dwellings hide in the rocky faces. We drove to (almost) all the usual lookout points, taking hundreds of pictures/videos (literally). We learned a lot about the advancements of ancient cultures, from little pithouses (exactly like they sound, pits in the ground with some straw overtop) to basic one-story dwellings to complex, multi-story and multi-room towns in the cliffs. Kayle and I bought a $3 ticket to go down into Cliff Palace, the most ornate example of primitive architecture. Boy, were we impressed- I can hardly believe that native Indians could accomplish such a feat without any metal tools! While waiting for the tour, we experienced our second hailstorm of the trip...thank goodness the car was near-by! On the ranger-guided hike, a Navajo tribe-member explained that the Puebloans farmed on the tops of the mesas (plateaus, or tables), domesticated turkeys, hunted in the forest of the canyon floor, and worshiped in deep pit-rooms called kivas. The lineage was passed down through the mothers, who pretty much were held in highest authority, as far as archaeologists could tell. The path into and out of the cliff dwelling required scaling a ladder and some (convenient) stone steps carved for tourists. Apparently, the natives often relied on little toeholds to move up and down. Phew! Our first national park definitely lived up to high expectations...
On Tuesday, we hit national parks numbers 2 and 3 in the barren, arid state of Utah: Canyonlands and Arches. The first, we decided, is well named. We drove through lots of canyons, stopping at lookouts for pictures and snapping even more out the open window of the car. We also saw another video (guess the educational video is a “must” for us...) which explained how the canyons developed from solid sedimentary rock and further eroded into multi-colored formations. Our first hike was a gentle one that featured a lone cowboy camp (for long cattle runs), a shady overhang (much appreciated in the desert!), a shallow cave, one of the only continuously flowing springs in the whole park, a short climb up a ladder, and a panoramic view. Even though we drank all of our cold water-bottles and stayed in the shade as much as possible, we were sure glad to have a car with air-conditioning when we returned!
The Arches had many similar rock formations as Canyonlands (they are only about 30-40 minutes apart), but featured many more, you guessed it, rock arches. Here again, we drove to lots of viewpoints. This time, our 3 mile hike was so-called “moderately” strenuous. Boy am I glad we waited until the sun was going down to start off!! Refilled water-bottles in hand, we hiked up and up onto one of the plateaus where, exhausted, we reached a spectacle that we agreed was worth it. Delicate Arch towered over us and offered a spectacular view of the surrounding area and a distant thunderstorm. We have a picture of Angie standing under the arch like a tiny speck. We reached our car again when it was nearly sunset, taking pictures of the beautiful rocks as colors and shadows moved in. Another late hotel arrival and another deep, deep sleep...
Finally, today (Wednesday) we moved onto Bryce Canyon, stopping first at the Visitor's Center for an “award-winning” video (actually, it was by far the least overly-dramatic and overall quite good) and a stop to fill up water bottles. This time, we rode a shuttle bus between viewpoints, stopping at Bryce and Inspiration points. Here at Bryce was a unique landscape of hundreds of rock spires (called “hoodoos”), towers, ridges, and grottoes. Our hike was 2.5 miles, looping from the canyon rim to the floor (surrounded by the towering pinnacles) and back up again- from Sunrise point to Sunset point. What a tiring yet fitting way to end the day! We barely caught the VERY LAST shuttle to the Visitor's Center (where the car was still parked) and started the 2.5 hour drive to the hotel in St. George, UT. On the way, we happened to pass right through Zion National Park around sunset. We plan to come back to see Zion in greater detail tomorrow.
Well, that's all for today. I can hardly believe I'm not sleeping already (it's 11:30pm)! Hopefully, we'll soon post a link for a Picasa account to view the pictures from our trip. We miss you and love you!!
Angie and Kayle
When I left off, Kayle and I had passed through Omaha and were on our way to Denver. On Saturday night, we finally arrived (another 8 hour drive) at Nate Falstad's house (a guy who lived in the Dutch House with Kayle). That evening, we took it easy and relaxed around the house. We played Settlers, which started and ended poorly (Kayle won AGAIN!).
The next morning, we went to church and then to Chipotle's for lunch. We had a tough time trying to decide what to do near Denver (too many choices) but settled on “Garden of the gods” and “Royal Gorge”. At the Garden of the gods, we climbed on some giant red rock formations (little did Angie know that the red rock formations would continue later on and get much bigger!!) but mostly drove through.
Royal Gorge was even cooler with the world's highest suspension bridge, which spanned the canyon. We took a hanging tram over the canyon, saw a small animal park (buffalo, mountain goats, some kind of antelopy thing), and walked back across the before-mentioned bridge. After, we waited in line for the world's steepest railroad, which would take us to the bottom of the canyon (as the corny video we watched said, “an engineering marvel”). To Angie's GREAT delight, there were hummingbird feeders next to the line at which around 10 hummingbirds flew in and out, buzzing and chirping away. A few times, one nearly missed running into our faces as they zoomed around. Angie took WAY TOO MANY pictures of hummingbirds! At the bottom of the canyon was what is at the bottom of almost every canyon, a river. While Kayle took pictures by the river, Angie stood near another set of feeders. This time, the tiny birds were only about 1 foot away, and I could even reach out and touch them a few times (when their backs were turned). Then, a flash of brilliance struck! "If I stick my hand under the feeder with my fingers curled up, maybe the hummingbirds will land on them when they come to eat..." Voilá! The plan worked and several different hummingbirds sat on my fingers and thumb (probably the highlight of the whole day for me). I hope Kayle enjoyed his river... When we left around 6:30pm, we still had a long drive ahead, arriving at our hotel right around midnight, after a harrowing nighttime mountain drive. (Don't worry, Moms, Kayle drove safely.) We both slept well. :)
On Monday, we went to Mesa Verde (also in Colorado), where the Puebloan cliff dwellings hide in the rocky faces. We drove to (almost) all the usual lookout points, taking hundreds of pictures/videos (literally). We learned a lot about the advancements of ancient cultures, from little pithouses (exactly like they sound, pits in the ground with some straw overtop) to basic one-story dwellings to complex, multi-story and multi-room towns in the cliffs. Kayle and I bought a $3 ticket to go down into Cliff Palace, the most ornate example of primitive architecture. Boy, were we impressed- I can hardly believe that native Indians could accomplish such a feat without any metal tools! While waiting for the tour, we experienced our second hailstorm of the trip...thank goodness the car was near-by! On the ranger-guided hike, a Navajo tribe-member explained that the Puebloans farmed on the tops of the mesas (plateaus, or tables), domesticated turkeys, hunted in the forest of the canyon floor, and worshiped in deep pit-rooms called kivas. The lineage was passed down through the mothers, who pretty much were held in highest authority, as far as archaeologists could tell. The path into and out of the cliff dwelling required scaling a ladder and some (convenient) stone steps carved for tourists. Apparently, the natives often relied on little toeholds to move up and down. Phew! Our first national park definitely lived up to high expectations...
On Tuesday, we hit national parks numbers 2 and 3 in the barren, arid state of Utah: Canyonlands and Arches. The first, we decided, is well named. We drove through lots of canyons, stopping at lookouts for pictures and snapping even more out the open window of the car. We also saw another video (guess the educational video is a “must” for us...) which explained how the canyons developed from solid sedimentary rock and further eroded into multi-colored formations. Our first hike was a gentle one that featured a lone cowboy camp (for long cattle runs), a shady overhang (much appreciated in the desert!), a shallow cave, one of the only continuously flowing springs in the whole park, a short climb up a ladder, and a panoramic view. Even though we drank all of our cold water-bottles and stayed in the shade as much as possible, we were sure glad to have a car with air-conditioning when we returned!
The Arches had many similar rock formations as Canyonlands (they are only about 30-40 minutes apart), but featured many more, you guessed it, rock arches. Here again, we drove to lots of viewpoints. This time, our 3 mile hike was so-called “moderately” strenuous. Boy am I glad we waited until the sun was going down to start off!! Refilled water-bottles in hand, we hiked up and up onto one of the plateaus where, exhausted, we reached a spectacle that we agreed was worth it. Delicate Arch towered over us and offered a spectacular view of the surrounding area and a distant thunderstorm. We have a picture of Angie standing under the arch like a tiny speck. We reached our car again when it was nearly sunset, taking pictures of the beautiful rocks as colors and shadows moved in. Another late hotel arrival and another deep, deep sleep...
Finally, today (Wednesday) we moved onto Bryce Canyon, stopping first at the Visitor's Center for an “award-winning” video (actually, it was by far the least overly-dramatic and overall quite good) and a stop to fill up water bottles. This time, we rode a shuttle bus between viewpoints, stopping at Bryce and Inspiration points. Here at Bryce was a unique landscape of hundreds of rock spires (called “hoodoos”), towers, ridges, and grottoes. Our hike was 2.5 miles, looping from the canyon rim to the floor (surrounded by the towering pinnacles) and back up again- from Sunrise point to Sunset point. What a tiring yet fitting way to end the day! We barely caught the VERY LAST shuttle to the Visitor's Center (where the car was still parked) and started the 2.5 hour drive to the hotel in St. George, UT. On the way, we happened to pass right through Zion National Park around sunset. We plan to come back to see Zion in greater detail tomorrow.
Well, that's all for today. I can hardly believe I'm not sleeping already (it's 11:30pm)! Hopefully, we'll soon post a link for a Picasa account to view the pictures from our trip. We miss you and love you!!
Angie and Kayle
Stormy Weather in Omaha, NE- First Trip Update
We left good ol' Caledonia around 10:30 am on Thursday, 6/26, after some last-minute packing and a big breakfast. Our first stop was shortly after Chicago. Destination: Walmart...our mission: sunglasses. Mission accomplished...though we have one pair to share between the two of us. Hmm.... Then, we got back on the road and pulled off at a nearby rest area to eat our packed lunch (thanks mom...it was delicious). After lunch, we had no more stops except for gas and for a "scenic overlook" (that we climbed to the top of without really seeing the point...Iowa = not too scenic).
However, Leanna's house was fun! On Friday, we got a tour of Leanna's life story as she grew up in Omaha, ate a big breakfast (again), took a nap, and then set off for the downtown art show. Here's where the "plan" flops...almost as soon as we got out of our car downtown, the tornado sirens went off. The funny thing is that VERY FEW people looked worried at all. We just calmly pulled out our cell phone, called Leanna's house, and received confirmation that we weren't in any danger. Nonetheless, we went straight to our restaurant for a pasta dinner. Soon later, the big storm hit. Just before, we went outside to see the big cloud that was pictured on the television. It was dark and ominous all right, with the sky green behind it (sure enough, we found out later that all kinds of powerlines were taken out by the wind. The waiter moved us away from the window table for dinner. WOW! The storm was awesome! All in all, it lasted only 15-20 min., but there were 80 mph winds, penny-sized hail, and torrential rain. Dinner and a show...lucky us!
When we left the restaurant, we got a first-hand look at all the damage. There were trees down everywhere- in the roads, on people's houses, in the park. We walked around for a while to avoid the roads until most of them were cleared. It was my first hail fight ever...and in the middle of June no less! Luckily,neither Paul nor Leanna's house was damaged (just some tree limbs down). We came back to Leanna's house and played board and card games by candlelight (since their power was out, for the first time in about 10 years). It was a lot of fun. Then, off to bed for another long day of driving! Today, we plan to stop at Denver...
Note: This post is from an e-mail sent on Saturday, 6/28.
However, Leanna's house was fun! On Friday, we got a tour of Leanna's life story as she grew up in Omaha, ate a big breakfast (again), took a nap, and then set off for the downtown art show. Here's where the "plan" flops...almost as soon as we got out of our car downtown, the tornado sirens went off. The funny thing is that VERY FEW people looked worried at all. We just calmly pulled out our cell phone, called Leanna's house, and received confirmation that we weren't in any danger. Nonetheless, we went straight to our restaurant for a pasta dinner. Soon later, the big storm hit. Just before, we went outside to see the big cloud that was pictured on the television. It was dark and ominous all right, with the sky green behind it (sure enough, we found out later that all kinds of powerlines were taken out by the wind. The waiter moved us away from the window table for dinner. WOW! The storm was awesome! All in all, it lasted only 15-20 min., but there were 80 mph winds, penny-sized hail, and torrential rain. Dinner and a show...lucky us!
When we left the restaurant, we got a first-hand look at all the damage. There were trees down everywhere- in the roads, on people's houses, in the park. We walked around for a while to avoid the roads until most of them were cleared. It was my first hail fight ever...and in the middle of June no less! Luckily,neither Paul nor Leanna's house was damaged (just some tree limbs down). We came back to Leanna's house and played board and card games by candlelight (since their power was out, for the first time in about 10 years). It was a lot of fun. Then, off to bed for another long day of driving! Today, we plan to stop at Denver...
Note: This post is from an e-mail sent on Saturday, 6/28.
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