Change of photo format

We had a lot of difficulty getting our photos to upload to our blogger page, so have decided to go with a different format. We are putting links to a photo hosting page on each day's blog. Clicking on this link should take you to the photo album for that event. Please let us know if you have any difficulty viewing the photos. We have attempted to "test drive" it ourselves...but want to know if anyone else has difficulty. :-) Anyway, you may have already read the journal entry about a certain day, but we have added photos to some, so you may want to check back and see them. We still need to add some photos from the last few days...but Tanya's camera is still in the car tonight and so we will have to upload them tomorrow. :-D

Day 22: Monday, September 25, 2006

We left Columbia, MO this morning and headed towards St. Louis, MO. As we were passing through Kingdom City, MO we saw signs for the Missouri Firefighter’s Memorial/Museum. We decided to stop. The Memorial was recently built and they plan to break ground on the Museum next spring. There is a statue of a praying firefighter that is a replica of the statue they sent to FDNY after September 11. I would like to stop back some time when the museum has been finished.

(Click here for photos from the Missouri Firefighter’s Memorial.)

We then continued our trek towards St. Louis. Arriving at the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (aka the Gateway Arch), we were able to see 2 videos, one describing how the arch was built and one about Lewis & Clark’s expedition to explore the west. Additionally we were able to take the tram all the way to the top (630 feet, for those of you interested in that fact.) It is an impressive view from the top, made more impressive after having seen how the memorial was built.

(Click here for photos from the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial.)

We then headed south through Illinois (via Illinois Hwy 15 &13) and are now taking a break for the night.

-Lana

Day 21: Sunday, September 24, 2006

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We are on our way back East right now and this morning decided that we were bored with Interstate 70 so decided to take a detour.
Last night at the hotel we found a website stating the attractions in the area... Mmm well so far we hadn’t seen much, but anyway we found out about a little town called Cawker City on route 24 that is famous for having the world’s largest ball of twine. Yeppers, the world’s largest ball of twine! So we just couldn’t resist going to see this highlight of Kansas. ;-) And yes it is a LARGE ball of twine, and they even have a gift shop/inn alongside for touristy people such as us. ;-). However we refrained just this once and went along on our merry way. It was definitely worth the drive and we can recommend this famous town/attraction to any who are wondering where to go on their next vacation! ;-)

(Check back later for a link to our photos from Cawker City.)

This morning we were blessed and found High Plains Baptist Church and were able to go to Sunday School and the morning service. Both messages were very good and the people very nice.

The weather here is warmer than it was in Colorado (for which we are very grateful) but the wind is still chilly.

As a side note we were able to find Gas for $2.16 a gallon, so we quickly stopped and filled Theo up, even though he still hade ½ a tank. This is great compared to the $3.11 we paid at Bryce Canyon.

We are still in Kansas and have just decided that it is time to get off the back roads and hit the Interstate. So we are headed back to I-70.

We have found a new state name for Kansas too. “The bug state”. ;-) We have had sooooo many bugs smash themselves into the windscreen* today that we figure that it has to be a buggy state for so many to live still.
- Tanya

* Windscreen: Aussie term for windshield

Day 20: Saturday, September 23, 2006

We left the KOA in Colorado Springs and called the information center for Pikes Peak to see if we could go up there. The recording stated that the road was only open 6 miles from the entrance but they were hoping to have it open to 10 miles in a few hours, (it is 19 miles to the top). Because of the shorter distance they had reduced the entrance fee to $3.00 per person – down from $10. So we decided not to go as we really wanted to go all the way up not just half way.

We drove up Gold Camp Road this time in the hopes that we would be able to see some of the snow that had fallen the night before. Even the lower mountains were covered with snow when we got up this morning. Unfortunately most of it had already melted at the altitude for Gold Camp Road but we got some pictures ;-).

We decided to stop at the outlet mall at Castle Rock which is on the way to Denver and so spent some time there getting wind blown and finding some good deals ;-).

It was extremely windy and we could hear the wind whistling around Theo (car) as we were driving down the Interstate. Once we reached Kansas…well lets just say that Kansa is …mmmm BORING…. Sorry for all those who might read this who are from Kansas, but after being out west in the Grand Canyon and then Colorado, Kansas is just a little FLAT and seems very boring ;-).

We were able to find a moderate sized town called Hays which is just off the interstate and stopped there the night.
- Tanya

Day 19: Friday, September 22, 2006

Woke up and it was rainy and stormy most of the day. We were going to horse back ride through the Garden of the Gods but because of the weather we decided that we would just drive through. After all they were just more large red rocks and we had seen lots of them on the way out to Colorado ;-). No, actually we did enjoy the drive and still did the touristy thing by taking photos.

(Click here for photos from Garden of the Gods.)

After visiting the Garden of the Gods we meandered around Colorado Springs for a little while and then decided to try out a little coffee shop called Cowboy Espresso that is located in Fountain. They had lots of varieties of coffee and also wifi.

We looked through all the info that we had on Colorado Springs and decided that it would be in our best interest to try to head out early for Greenville. The drive out to Arizona at the beginning of the trip was hard on both of us and we really wanted to enjoy the drive back. The KOA was gracious enough to let us leave a night early so we went back and grilled out dinner and packed the car.
-Tanya

Day 18: Thursday, September 21, 2006

We have had an interesting day today. The wind howled and the rain pelted down last night. I think Theodore (the truck) enjoyed his bath though. Anyway, we had thought about going to the Garden of the Gods today, but as the wind was still howling around between 25 – 35 mph when we got up…we decided we really did not want to be outside walking around all morning. ;-) We changed our plans and headed towards Pike’s Peak. It had snowed on the higher elevations last night and the view of Pike’s Peak from Colorado Springs was gorgeous. We were looking forward to having a chance to “play” in the snow…and I was looking forward to driving in it. (Yes, I do miss driving in snow…and for you South Carolinians…there IS a difference in driving in snow and ice…snow actually is a fun challenge. ;-) Anyway, we arrived at the entrance to the Pike’s Peak Highway and the sign said that the road was closed 10 miles up, due to snow…and there were still an additional 9 miles before you got to the top. Well, we weren’t really interested in seeing “halfway” up Pike’s Peak…so we turned around and decided to go with plan “C” for the day. We went to Cave of the Winds and saw some cool things. I had not been to caverns since elementary school…so it was neat to see some of the formations again. On the weekends they have a Lantern Light tour, which looked really interesting…maybe the next time I am in Colorado Springs I will try to do that. (Click here to see photos from Cave of the Winds.)

After Cave of the Winds, we were pretty hungry…but didn’t want to ruin our plans for dinner at Flying W Ranch. We decided to stop in “Historic Manitou Springs” since we were right there and grab a bite to eat. We had a pretty good sandwich at some sandwich shop…can’t think of the name…and then meandered around town looking at all the tourist a”trap”tions. ;-) We were doing pretty well at not spending much money…and then we found this little shop that was going out of business and everything was 75% off! ;-) Ha, ha, so much for not spending money…well, we actually didn’t do too badly, both of us were able to get some presents for people…things that this place happened to have that we haven’t really been able to find anywhere else. So that was kind’a nice!

Then we headed to Flying W Ranch for dinner. They have chuck wagon dinners and a nightly show year round. I had been one time before, the summer I worked at the Wilds of the Rockies, and had an incredible time. It was a lot of fun, just as I had remembered it, and the food was good! I really enjoy their music and it is fun to see them play. We had incredible seats…front row table right in front of the stage. They did a great job as usual! We both bought several CDs…surprise, surprise. ;-) They also mentioned that next week in Kansas there is a “meeting” or whatever you call it, of all the chuck wagon bands I bet that is a lot of fun…all 7 of them in one spot. ;-) (Click here to see photos from Flying W Ranch.)

Well, it is evening again and we are tired. ;-) They are calling for the possibility of snow tonight…uhm…we were told it was still “summer” weather out here…so are trying to wisely use the few long sleeved items we did bring…well, and making sure our “souvenir” shirts are long sleeved and warm! ;-)
- Lana

Day 17: Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Today we went to the Ghost Town Museum in Colorado Springs. It was interesting and I even found some gold flakes when we went panning for gold. (Click here for photos from the Ghost Town Museum.)

After leaving there we decided to drive up Gold Camp Road. The map books all warn that this road should only be attempted by “experienced mountain drivers”. Well, anything like that is naturally going to attract our attention! Yeehaw!!! Actually it was not a really bad road and I think it would be fun in the snow. ;-) It did change to one lane dirt road after the first few miles…and we got to go through 2 hewn rock tunnels. Now, I have been through numerous tunnels on interstates…but this was much more interesting! It is still dirt road in the tunnel, and you can tell where they carved out chunks of the mountain so that you can drive through. We wanted to take pictures…but I had forgotten my camera and Tanya’s ran out of battery…oops…we will have to be better about that. Anyway, we may head up there some day later this week and get photos. It really was pretty up there…and we need a few more photos of rocks. ;-)

Next we headed to Wal-Mart and got some food for the rest of the week.

We were able to find a good church in Fountain, CO. The preaching was good and the fellowship was refreshing. I personally have really enjoyed the song services in the churches we have been to out here. They sing a lot of the “gospel” songs…and they usually sing most of the verses…and they sing with a lot of heart! They really mean it! I know I was blessed to see EVERYONE, from the adults to the teens to the young kids, singing out with all their heart. Anyway, if you ever are in the area, I would recommend visiting Fountain Independent Baptist Church.

After church we headed “home” and cooked a nice dinner. We decided to watch Wallace and Gromit while we were eating and enjoyed that bit of humor.

Day 16: Tuesday, September 19, 2006

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We are on our way to Colorado Springs now via the scenic byway route 141. Lana had looked up earlier a few highlights along the way so we decided to check them out.
The first one was at mile marker 139, and according to the info that we had we should stop at an old granite quarry and we would have an “amazing view of the canyon”. Well we drove up this lovely dirt road for a few miles and discovered that what the person must have actually meant was a campsite looking back over the road that we just got off. We were at 9500 feet so the view was nice ;-).
After returning back to 141 we stopped next at mile marker 129 and an old adobe style mansion built by a Mr. Driggs in 1914. The mansion is now in ruins but the sign says that it is an historical site now and they would like to rebuild to its former self.
Our next stop at was at the small town of Gateway. When you drive into Gateway it just looks like a tiny country town, but when you get to the outskirts of the town there is a huge new development in place with restaurant, gas station, and hotel. Apparently from what we were told back in Grand Junction this new development is owned by the guy who owns the Discovery channel and he is trying to make it “touristy”. We stopped here for gas as well as a lunch break and the food wasn’t bad. ;-)
Next on our journey today was mile marker 81 and the historic hanging flume, which was built by miners back around 1890. The flume was designed to carry water from the San Miguel River to the mining site where it was used to help separate the gold from the gravel. It is now in disrepair but is still hanging from the side of the cliffs along 141, and is impressive to see.
- Tanya

(Click here to see photos from our day.)

Day 15: Monday, September 18, 2006

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After a most relaxing day of sleeping in and then getting a few essentials (Sudafed) from Wal-Mart we are now sitting in the Grand Junction Laundromat doing over a weeks worth of laundry... Very boring for our vacation but alas a necessity.
We have decided to “take a vacation” from our vacation... ;-) and just relax today and hit the road again tomorrow morning.
Needless to say that is all for today and unless we do anything more exciting tonight that is it for this days blog.
- Tanya

Day 14: Sunday, September 17, 2006

After a FREEZING night spent sleeping in our tent. Lana and I emerged a little colder than the evening before, and I don’t know about Lana but I feel a little “less” rested ;-), and here I thought that it was supposed to be summer out here and warm. Ha ha ha.
After a very nice breakfast cooked on the camping stove we headed off to see the rest of the Arches National Park that we passed yesterday on our way up to the campsite. We all wanted to go and see the Fiery Furnace but it is a guided hike with no actual trails and the rangers lead the hike, it also costs an extra $8.00 each. So we just went to the look out point and looked from there. After looking at Fiery Furnace from the lookout, it didn’t appear that spectacular and we were glad we hadn’t spent the time and money for it. ;-)

Delicate Arch is one of the better known arches at the park so we drove to the trail head and hiked the rest of the way in. This was the most touristy hike that we have encountered so far, and it was a 1 ½ mile hike to the arch. Once we got there it was beautiful though. The wind had settled some and the sun was shining. Jason and Lana decided to be mountain lions and climb up on a “ledge” of sorts. Something that my short legs and faint heart decided against ;-p. According to them the view was fantastic though.

Once they came down from their precipice we decided to eat lunch and then Jason gave a nice Bible Study from Matthew 5.

We waited for a quiet time and were able to get photos of us all in the arch without lots of others tourists included.

We all went into town and downloaded photos from everyone’s cameras into the computers, and then Jason had to head back home and we headed out for Grand Junction via the scenic route 128. This road is much more interesting than the Interstate and didn’t seem to take us that much longer.

(Click here for photos from our scenic route.)

We tried to book into the KOA here and discovered that they are were all booked out, so we decided to stay in a hotel and relax. This works as we have internet access and can download / upload all information onto our blog. ;-)
- Tanya

Day 13: Saturday, September 16, 2006

Jason got up early this morning and went to Arches National Park to get us a camping reservation for tonight so that we could camp up there in the tents. He spent the evening being wind blown in his tent while we just felt the wind whistling though the cracks in our cabin... Brr it was a cold night
We checked out of the Moab KOA after a hearty breakfast, and went to the visitors centre* at the park to check out the various hiking trails there and also got Lana’s passport book stamped.
After we got to our campsite and registered we decided to go on the hike out to the Devil’s Garden area. The map said that it is about a 7 mile hike, but we took a lot of side hikes along the way to see more of the arches. The hike was great and after the first mile we were able to leave the more “touristy” part of the trail and venture off into “real” hiking. Well, real hiking meaning that we still had cairns to follow along the trail but it was a bit more challenging and there were not as many people along the trail.
The Arch’s that we saw along the way were; Tunnel Arch, Pine Tree Arch, Landscape Arch, Partition Arch, Wall Arch, Navajo Arch, Double O Arch, Dark Angel and Private Arch.
After getting back to our camp site we set up the tents and started dinner. Jason made us his special hamburgers ;-), and we had corn on the cob roasted in the coals (mmmm yummy and good idea Lana). I tried to turn over one of the hamburgers to see if it was cooked and uhm “dropped” it in the fire... needless to say that was now “my” special hamburger and I didn’t try my hand at flipping any more burgers… Ahh campfire cooking, what can I say? ;-)
The temperature all day had seemed to be warm to cool, I think mainly due to the wind, but after the sun went down it got really chilly. We were very grateful that we were allowed to have a campfire at our site and spent the next few hours in fellowship.
Lana had the very good idea of warming up some medium sized rocks in the fire pit just before we went to bed, (she had read in a book somewhere that that is how people used to stay warm). So right when we went to bed we grabbed some towels and wrapped the rocks in them and put them in our sleeping bags. WOW, did they keep our feet nice and toasty warm. Unfortunately they were only at our feet and as the night crept onwards and the temperature dropped so did our body temperature and it was really hard to sleep as it was sooooo cold.
- Tanya

* Centre: Aussie spelling for center

Day 12: Friday, September 15, 2006

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We are now on our way to Moab and to the KOA there. We spent most of today at Bryce Canyon, and it is a beautiful canyon but doesn’t compare to the Grand Canyon.
Saw lots of hoodoo’s as they are called, which are large spires of rock just standing up in the middle of no where. These hoodoos are not just limited to Bryce Canyon though but can be found elsewhere.

While driving out to some of the lookouts we saw an antelope, unfortunately we were unable to take a photo of him as our camera’s were not ready at that point, and he was not there when we came back through.
We drove all the way out to the farthest point in the Canyon and took a short hike. We were going to take a longer hike but it was/is extremely windy today and so me being the chicken that I am I didn’t want to risk being blown off a cliff ;-) The hiking trails that we saw looked really easy and some had rocks lining the way so you couldn’t go off the trail. A little different from what we were hiking in the Grand Canyon.

We are driving out to Moab on Scenic Byway 12; it is a nice drive through the mountains and sure beats driving along the interstate the entire way. We are just commenting on all the “mountains” out here and the colors that are there and then are not there. On one side of the road we have large red colored mountains and on the other side we have grayish/white mountains… It is really weird. And then there are the mountains only a few miles away that we can see that are covered with trees..


1800’ish
We have passed many cattle grids* on the road and I just thought that it was to keep the animals off the roads and out of certain areas. Well that might have been true in some areas, I saw cows grazing on the side of the road and Lana informs me that these are “open range cows”. Now in Australia we herd our cattle and sheep along the side of the roads but it is called droving and we always have to be with the animals. So it is strange to see just stray cows along the side of the roads ;-).

We are still on Scenic ByWay 12 and have gone through desert, mountains, valleys, grassy areas, aspens and pine trees. Quite the diversification of environments.
- Tanya

* Cattle guards

We arrived in Moab, UT where we will be spending a few days. We have plans to go to Arches National Park this weekend. A good friend of mine from Ohio, Jason Axt, is currently out here in Salt Lake City doing an internship. He was able to get this weekend off from the hospital and met us here for some fun hiking this weekend.
- Lana

Day 11: Thursday, September 14, 2006

Left Sedona around noon, and headed out towards Cannonville, UT and the KOA there.
Before leaving Sedona we had to stop and take pictures of Snoopy rock, we only just got these as within an hour Snoopy was covered in clouds. We drove through Flagstaff and for once didn’t get lost ;-). It had become a challenge for us to be able to make it though Flagstaff just once without getting lost. ;-) The key is to NOT follow their maps!
Along the way we came across major monsoon weather and saw some of the dry beds running well due to the rain. It was probably a bit slower going than we had anticipated but we weren’t really in a hurry so it didn’t matter.

We drove out on 89 through Glen Canyon and stopped at the Glen Canyon dam. I didn’t even know about this dam. We went to go inside and the security there is tighter than anywhere I have ever been before. We could only take in our wallet and camera, we weren’t allowed to take in our purse!

When we got inside we found out that we had just missed out on catching the last tour of the dam for the day. If we have time and are going back that way it would be really interesting to go on a tour of the dam to see how it was built and how it runs. We were able to walk across the bridge that crosses the Colorado River and get some good pictures of the river and the dam. Just a little scary for me being scared of heights –especially as the trucks crossing the bridge make it “bounce” ;-).

Crossing the border into Utah we lost an hour, but still made good time. We got to Cannonville KOA and were able to get on the internet with a good connection for once.

- Tanya

Day 10: Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Day 10: Wednesday, September 13, 2006

We got up early this morning and went on the famous Pink Jeep Tour.


We had chosen the Diamondback Gulch tour and enjoyed seeing the area around the Diamondback Gulch.


Our guide got used to our questions, and was able to answer quite a few questions about the local vegetation, since he had lived here most of his life and graduated with a degree in Biology. We were able to see several Jack Rabbits, Cow Tongue Prickly Pear Cactus, and some other cactus we can’t remember the name of. ;-) We also saw several wildlife prints in the mud.

After the Pink Jeep Tour we decided to hang out in the tourist area of Sedona and pretend to be tourists…okay, so we really were tourists. ;-) We found a spot with wi-fi and were able to take care of some business things online while we ate breakfast. After that we decided to just be “touristy” and browse through some of the shops and wander the streets. ;-) WE saw some interesting things and bought a few items. When we got thirsty we had some Prickly Pear Cactus Cooler. Interesting! ;-)

This evening we found a nice church, Faith Baptist Church, in nearby Cottonwood. We enjoyed the singing, preaching and fellowship. If you ever are in the area, I would recommend visiting the folks at Faith Baptist Church on the corner of Western St. and Union Dr.

I am falling asleep as I type this, so I suppose I should sign off for now. For those of you worried about our sporadic updates…we are having more difficulty than we hoped in getting access to internet and then when we do, we are having some complications uploading our photos. We are attempting to do a good job at staying in touch with people. ;-)

- Lana

Day 9: Tuesday, September 12, 2006

This post currently under construction. Check back later for more. :-D
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This morning we got up and checked out and drove out to the Canyon. We got there about 1030 and that was a good time as there weren’t as many tourists around from the big tour busses. We had decided that after spending 4 days hiking the Canyon we should check out the view from the top and see what 99% of the visitors to the Canyon see. David informed us that only 1% of the visitors to the park ever step foot on a trail, never mind hike it ;-). While it is very impressive from the top we both agree that nothing compares to actually being down in the Canyon and looking up at the majesty the Lord has created.

We checked out all the stores and got a few pictures of the Canyon from the rim, and one thing we did find amusing was the while down in the Canyon we had not seen any of the “larger” animals that are found in there. So while walking along the rim this afternoon Lana spotted some big horn sheep not far from the rim ;-)
- Tanya

After leaving the Canyon we headed towards Sedona. It seemed that the best way to get there was through Flagstaff. Well, we got “lost” in Flagstaff AGAIN!!! If you ever come to Flagstaff beware that the roads as they actually exist and the roads on the maps are VERY different! In addition to that…there are very few road signs and if they do exist they are usually in a spot that you cannot see them until you should have already turned. Anyway, we finally got directions from a person and were able to find our road, 89A south to Sedona. Once we found it, it was another BEAUTIFUL drive! Incredible scenery that the Lord has created out here! It is really indescribable!

We arrived in Sedona around the time that we had planned to and started looking for our lodging. We had made reservations at Sky View Lodge, which we found out is located next to the airport…and has an incredible view over Sedona. They made a few mistakes on our room, originally giving us a smoking room which we had to correct, as I had already been fighting a migraine today and did not want to risk sleeping in a room that smelled like smoke. Then when she gave us our non-smoking room…she accidentally gave us keys to a different room which cost more. Horror of horrors, that would be a great tragedy to let us stay in that room that is supposed to cost more, for a cheaper rate, I mean, the only difference was the fireplace and we might use that! ;-) So after try #3 we FINALLY were able to unpack our bags in our room. ;-)

We then met Steve Kramer, a friend from GCEMS who live in AZ now, for dinner at Oaxaca. It was good food and we had a great time chatting with him! It is always so good to see friends!

Then it was back to our lodge and sleeping time! ;-) We have an early morning planned, with a Pink Jeep off-roading tour scheduled for 0700.
- Lana

Day 8: Monday, September 11, 2006: Day 4 of Grand Canyon Hike

Got up around 0700’ish as we wanted to hike out of the canyon before it got too hot.
We are going to climb to the top of the Red Wall on the New Hance trail; it is 1.5 miles of supai traverse contouring the red wall. Then we are heading to Coronado Saddle which is about 3 miles and from there up to the East through the Coconino layer to the New Hance Trail Head and then back to the “real world”.

Shane (another guide) hiked down early that morning to meet us at our campsite and “relieve” us of some of our gear and bring us some cold water and frozen Gatorade. The Gatorade was delicious as it was still partially frozen and very refreshing. Shane took our tent and sleeping bags and sleeping mats from Lana and me leaving us feeling like we weren’t carrying much of anything. (Actually we were only carrying our clothing and water and packs, so it was light going for us this last day).
- Tanya

Yeah, we were glad to see Shane and the fresh water and fruit he brought…he even had brought a fresh raspberry Danish…however we weren’t too keen on letting them carry our gear…we felt like we were “wimping out”. Unfortunately, they insisted that they HAD to carry at least our sleeping gear…it was “their job!” and they packed it in their packs before we could get it in ours. Oh well…that was part of the “guided hike” we paid for. ;-) It did make our packs extremely light! (But I still think we could have done it!) ;-)
- Lana

We exited the New Hance Loop trail near Moran Point where Shane had parked his truck and was waiting for us to give us a ride back to the parking lot where we had started and left Theodore (the Trooper, Lana’s truck).
David had told us earlier that he thought this part of the trail was “easier” than yesterdays hike. While it was shorter it seemed just as challenging to me as it involved a lot of scrambling over large rocks where we had to use our hands instead of our poles.
Today’s hike was about 4 miles total, so in all the shortest day hike for us. We exited the trail at about 1300.
- Tanya

I thought today’s hike was slightly easier that yesterday, even though it was still all “climbing”. It was nice to be in intermittent shade and not have the sun mercilessly beating down on you! There were quite a few large boulders and rock walls to clamber onto, so it was more challenging for those with shorter legs. ;-) When we stopped to eat a snack (yummy Danish and fresh berries) David showed us some petroglyphs that he had found. It was pretty cool.
- Lana

We both really wanted a shower by this point so tried to get a room up in the park, but they were all full. So we drove down to Williams, which is a small town about 45 minutes from the Canyon and booked into the KOA there. I have to say that it was very nice to take a shower and wash away what seemed liked over 4 days worth of sweat and grime and not put the hiking boots back on ;-) We went into town and had dinner and then went back to the KOA.

Lana and I both agree though that we would hike the Canyon again in no time and are looking forward to being able to go back again one day.
- Tanya

The hike was SOOO worth it! While it was challenging at times, it was incredible fun! I seriously think that we would have headed right back out onto another trail then and there…okay, so maybe after the shower. ;-) I will admit, there are some things that are nice about living in today’s society. ;-) I definitely plan to return to the Grand Canyon…and hike it, of course!
- Lana

*** We will never forget 9/11***

Day 7: Sunday, September 10, 2006: Day 3 of Grand Canyon Hike

Today we were able to sleep in later as we didn’t have to leave the river until around noon, due to the lack of water on the trail today.
We ate a yummy breakfast and Lana ate a plum. We were very blessed with our guide as he brought a lot of fresh fruit and veggies with him on the hike, which apparently most of the guides don’t do.
David filtered about 10 more liters of water today for our hike and we rested in the shade of a bank before hiking out. Lana was a good Dr. Seuss and Dr’d my blisters this morning so that I would be able to hike up the Canyon without them hurting too much. The hugemous blister from yesterday had since “popped” and now just needed to be kept clean.
We left the Colorado River around 1100 and arrived at the Red Canyon Spring around 1230 where we rested in the shade of a boulder and ate lunch while David pumped about 18 more liters from the spring for us to drink.
- Tanya

This water would have to last us for drinking, cooking, etc. the rest of today and part of tomorrow, as there is no more water between here and the top. Tomorrow morning another guide will come part way down and meet us with more water.
- Lana

We climbed some more and climbed out of Red Canyon to the east and up through the red wall on the New Hance trail, where we arrived at the top of the Red Wall around 1700. All in all it was only 5 miles up the Canyon today, but a very grueling 5 miles of climbing and hot sun.
- Tanya

Day 6: Saturday 9 September 2006: Day 2 of Grand Canyon Hike

We climbed up out of Hance Canyon through Mineral Canyon onto the Tonto trail. Lana took this photo just around the bend from where David and I were hiking.

This is our first view of the Colorado River on the hike.

This is the Boulder Garden where we ate Lunch. This was the only place that had enough shade for all of us to relax for a nice break.

Lana went exploring and found this cool rock. The photo doesn't do it justice but it looks like a throne. Very cool the way it is formed.

To give you some perspective, the large boulder in the bottom right of the photo is the same boulder as above. If you look really close you can see Tanya sitting on a smaller rock at the base of that boulder.

Day 5: Friday, September 8, 2006: Day 1 of Grand Canyon Hike

Tanya and Lana at Grandview Point on the South Rim. We are packed and ready to head down the Grandview Trail towards Horseshoe Mesa and eventually Hance Canyon where we will spend the night.


Looking down on the easy beginning of our trail. :-)


After we crossed over to the east side of Horseshoe Mesa we joined up with the Tonto Trail and hiked past 2 parts of the abandoned Last Chance Mine. Hance Canyon is named after John Hance, one of the owners of this mine. Here we are in front of one of the entrances.


The mine entrances are near Page Springs, where we were able to fill our water bottles with DELICIOUS, fresh spring water. Here you can see our guide, David. (We jokingly called him our "slave", as he insisted it was his job to do EVERYTHING for us! We sure weren't used to be waited on in such a manner, and it took a while to sit back and let him do the work...but we adjusted fairly well. ;-)


After a bit more hiking we arrived in Hance Canyon for the first night.Tanya and I were camped in the clearing near the rocks on the left. David set up the "kitchen" in the clearing on the right. Behind where Tanya and I were camped there was a pretty steep little wall that went down to a creek.

While David set up camp, Tanya and I were tasked with "relaxing", enjoying ourselves and encouraged to go look around Hance Canyon, the side canyon we were in. We wandered down stream a bit and then were looking for a more secluded area. I wandered over a little knoll and suddenly heard a distinct buzz. Now, I have never before in my life heard a rattlesnake rattle...but my brain KNEW what that was! Sure enough, about 8 inches from my left foot was a Grand Canyon Pink Rattlesnake. Yikes! Needless to say, I made a hasty retreat, (Tanya claims I about knocked her over, but the truth is, she wouldn't move, just stood there laughing at me!) David thought it was really cool that I got to see one of the snakes close up...he spends about 180 days a year in the canyon and only gets to see about 8 or so. After the fact, I suppose it was cool, at least since snake behaved himself and didn't strike. :-)

(I am trying to upload some photos of the above incident...but blogger is not cooperating. Check back for more later.)

We are back in civilization

Greetings! We have just returned to civilization from a 4 day hike/camp IN the Grand Canyon. It was TOTALLY AWESOME!!! :-) We are sorry it is over...Well...mostly sorry...the hot shower was just nice. ;-) We are headed to town for some food and will try to get this blog updated tonight. We do have WiFi at the campground we are staying at, so hopefully we will not run into any snags. We will also do our best to upload some photos. So, check back later for updates on the adventures of the Faire Maidens! ;-)

Day 4: Thursday, September 7, 2006

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We are on I-40 just outside of Albuquerque and in awe of the scenery. It is absolutely beautiful out here. We stopped for petrol (gas) and were in awe of the price too ;-) $2.99 a gallon, and we were able to take pics of the old Route 66 Bridge outside of Albuquerque in a small town called Rio Puerco. They had a nice store there and Lana was able to pick up some great Christmas presents. ;-)

We have been listening to Dr. Berg’s newest set “Quieting a noisy Soul” and it is VERY good, I personally know that when we get back I am going to have to get one to take back to Aust.

We just pulled up at Grants NM, for Lana to get something to eat and found out that the McDonalds is 3 miles form the exit.. mmm well they didn’t tell us that before we got off the interstate. ;-) anyway I decided to take a picture of the Wal-Mart as it is probably the only Wal-Mart that we have seen that we haven’t stopped at. ;-) and we are now on Historic Route 66,. We are still driving and still havent’ found McDonalds! But we found a post office so we are stopping so that we can get some stamps to mail post cards and such to family and friends.. Ohhh we just found the McDonalds, it seems that we got off the interstate one exit too soon. Ah well, at least we got to travel on the Historic Route 66. If you don’t get one of the postcards from us it isn’t because you aren’t important to us it is just that we probably never got around to mailing them. ;-)

We are seeing an incredible rainstorm in the mountains from the interstate. It is just like a line of rain moving across the mountains.

At 1306 we crossed the continental divide, and Lana informed me that the rain on this side (western side) of the divide goes to the Pacific Ocean and the rain on the eastern side of the divide goes to the Atlantic Ocean.
- Tanya

Day 3: Wednesday September 6, 2006

Wow. Sleep was great and the beds were really comfy. Lana was able to get heaps of computer stuff done too. ;-)
- Tanya

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Okay, this is Lana here…I needed to let Tanya drive for a while as I am trying to get rid of a migraine. :-p Crazy headaches! Oh well…this one is sorta’ my fault, as we were busy at the Oklahoma City National Memorial and I neglected to eat when I started to get hungry. ;-( We basically spent the whole day in OKC…not how we planned, but what happened. ;-) We did enjoy resting in a bed last night, pretty comfy. Started out our day by heading to the Bass Pro Shop/Outdoor World hoping to get the remaining few items we needed for our hiking trip. There seemed to be a limited selection in the few stores we had at home. After paying for our selections at Bass Pro Shop/Outdoor World we can definitely say they had a greater selection! ;-) After finishing up there we headed to the Oklahoma City National Memorial. As with the monuments/memorials we visited in DC…it is really hard to actually describe how one feels viewing these. I know I felt a mixture of pride in being an American, sorrow for the great losses they represent and an incredible solemnness. My heart went out to the many emergency responders that dealt with the situation. I can only imagine what they went through responding to such a scene…
• EMSA transported 210 patients within the first hour
• There were 2 additional bomb scares within the first few hours, requiring temporary halts in the rescue efforts – that had to be incredibly hard, knowing you were within feet of a victim, yet having to clear out
• 9 floors of “rubble” had to be stabilized so that rescue efforts could be carried out safely

We are now on our way again. ;-) Just saw another beautiful sunset and it looks like it will be a beautiful night too, a full moon rising over the endless prairie. (How’s that for poetic? Especially as we are currently listening to Josh Groban sing in his incredible voice. ;-)

Before I sign off from this journaling, I know people are waiting for photos…we have not forgotten this, but we have been having some difficulty uploading them. Hopefully the next time we upload, we will be able to get some photos up for you all. ;-) I would hate for you all to miss the experience we are having. ;-)
- Lana

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We just passed through Amerillo, TX. Not much to see out here in the dark. ;-) The speed limit is lower at night than in the day time here…that seems odd…as straight and flat as the road is I don’t see why they have a speed limit. :-D We could almost get away with “auto pilot”. I am hungry again, we may have to stop for food if/when we come across another exit soon…or later for that matter…
- Lana

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We are stuck behind a VERY SLOW semi in a construction zone. Dear Tanya is worse than a horse chomping on her bit! Actually, it is very annoying as the speed limit is 55 mph and he is occasionally maxing out at 45 mph. Aha! The race car driver has just been let loose….construction over and she passes him at 57.6 mph in less than 0.4 seconds. ;-)

“Froggie went a courtin’ and he did ride…” We are listening to Kid’s Stuff by the King’s Singers. Fun CD.

Still looking for food…Tanya claims it will be over 70 miles away before we come to any place large enough to have food…of course, listening to the menu of the frog and mouse wedding only makes me more hungry.
- Lana

Day 2: Tuesday, September 5th

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Well we are headed north on I-75…we made an unexpected visit to the Atlanta area and have decided it is still in our best interest to return to Chattanooga and go on our originally intended route. ;-)

We have been swapping off driving and sleeping. The worst conditions I had were slight fog on 76 in northern GA. Tanya had to endure the monsoon as she drove while I slept. As most of you know…I can sleep through anything…monsoons included!

We are thankful for safety so far. We also have had very little construction to worry about. Well, signing off for now…as we listen to sappy lovey dovey songs from the Cinderella soundtrack. (Thanks Holli)
- Lana

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We finally found I-24, hmm very large road and hard to miss. Oh well. We made it to just inside Tennessee and decided that we needed a nap (both of us), so we pulled up to the first exit and parked in “Big Daddy’s Fireworks” store parking lot. We got a great deal getting 2 hours sleep for the price of one. ;-) We had just crossed into Central Time and had forgotten to account for this in our times so we are “gaining” a few of the lost hours from last night…
- Tanya

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We were hoping we would find something around here to upload our first journalings, but so far nothing... We are currently in Huntsville, AL. I really wish we had time to go visit the Air/Space Museum…that is something I have always wanted to do ever since I was a kid. Well, we just acquired a “hit” on our “hotspot” search so will try to upload.
- Lana

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We have just passed over the Mississippi River into Arkansas. We got to see the Mississippi for quite a while, as it was stop and go traffic on the bridge. We have now stopped off at a Flying J for dinner. It is very yummy! In light of the fact that we have pretty much only “snacked” since leaving Greenville…”real” food is scrumptious! Especially the salad and veggies! (Cheese puffs are only so nutritious.)
- Lana

Lana states that the carrot cake is “ok” but she isn’t going to finish it.
- Tanya

Midnight
Well, we have decided to turn in for the night. We are just outside of Oklahoma City and need a break. G’night.

Day 1: Monday September 4th, 2006

Lana got home around 0750 and took a nap with Shadow while I got ready for the day. After getting up and getting everything ready for the entire 3 ½ weeks away we finally got away from the house at about 1907.
We didn’t have time in the few days prior to pick up our camping chairs from Eleanor so we called and stopped by her house to get the chair. When we were on Blythewood Lana had a hypoglycemic moment :-) and totally drove past our old house, lol, we got there finally and had a really nice chat with Aunt Shirley. Apparently Eleanor looks after her full time now as her health was deteriorating, but she now looks really well.
Earlier in the day I had called a lady from Creative memories about some journal paper for our scrap books so we went to her place which was just around the corner from Aunt Shirley’s and picked up 20 pages of journaling paper.
Because it was now past dinner time we really needed to eat and so on the way out to Simpsonville we stopped at Wendy’s and got a couple of burgers and fries. Lana’s Dr Pepper was yucky so we had to throw it away but I think it is yucky anyway. :-)
We ate on the way out to Simpsonville to drop off a wetsuit that Lana had from her ERT training, and talked to Scott Krein a little, then we were off to Wal-Mart.
We needed to go to Wal-Mart to return a heap of stuff that didn’t fit and we had planned to just return the stuff and leave, but then we remembered that Lana needed some socks as hers were packed, needless to say we ended up buying more than just socks and spent more money buying stuff than we did getting back on our returns. :-) Oops.
Eventually checked out of Wal-Mart around 2235, filled up both coolers with ice and “reorganized” the back of the car. Then Lana was a bit peckish* again (surprise surprise) so ate a plum that we had bought previously. I decided that now would be a good time to take some pics of her and the packed car. So we have nice ones of that and of course another one of the Wal-Mart sign, this time in Simpsonville.
After lots of laughter and frivolity and more mayhem and carnage going on we finally made it out of the Wal-Mart parking lot about 2255.
At 2315 while I am typing this days journal and Lana is talking on the phone to her brother John we finally made it out of Greenville County :-)
We are heading out of Greenville on 85 then getting on to Hwy 76 to Chattanooga, TN.
Have to do lots of driving so I am going to take a nap now so I can take over from Lana when she is tired.
- Tanya

* Australian word meaning hungry

Welcome

We welcome you to our site. We are feverishly working to finish packing and head out. Check back for updates once we hit the road. ;-)