GeoMeandering

Leaving the Golden Gate area, we headed north on the Redwood Highway (the 101), a twisting and hilly route leading us to Redwood National Park on the coast of Northern California. We gave the van a rest and took a hike in the Prairie Creek section of the park, famous for its trees and the Roosevelt elk herd. Sadly, we saw no elk, but a Stellar’s Jay joined us for a few paces before loudly squawking at us. Later, driving up the road we did pass a young black bear meandering along the road.

We picked up a patch from the park - I think this is my 39th national park - but will struggle with where to display it on the van’s ceiling. That’s a good problem. Oregon next!

Back to travels, before the USA vs Paraguay match…. Leaving Utah in the mid afternoon, the outside temperature rose to 107 degrees. We found a shaded campsite near Lake Mead amongst a landscape that looked parched and bleached out compared to our prior winter time visits to this area. There were not many travelers exploring the National Recreation Area, the vultures circling overhead were curious why we were there.

As the photos show, Lake Mead’s level is well below the top of the “bathtub” ring evident in the rocks. Vegetation grows on land the reservoir’s water formerly covered. The lake has dropped about 3 feet in the past month, and is only about 15 feet above the level where impacts to electricity generation at Hoover Dam are reportedly significant. Makes you wonder why so much new development is occurring in Las Vegas (we drive down the Strip!), St. George, and other nearby areas, and why farmers in the region are growing crops, like alfalfa, that require a lot of irrigation.

But, unlike the elephant seals we saw along the California coast after the game, we have no time to lie around and wonder. Many more miles are ahead as we cross the Golden Gate heading to the Pacific Northwest.

WOW! What a night!

Sports have provided me times of great joy
- not a result of my skills (my lifetime sports achievement may be the winning game I pitched for my summer camp against our rival when I was 12 years old), but due to the outcome of players or teams I was rooting for. I’ll never forget watching the Miracle on Ice with my parents, or hearing my father happily cheer when Amherst scored a touchdown. When my daughter scored in a field hockey game or my son won a sprint at a track meet, I’ve jumped and cheered loudly, hopefully respectfully but no doubt embarrassing them.

Last night, my son and I jumped up and down with happiness after each US goal, high-fiving strangers, yelling at the top of our lungs with tens of thousands of fanatics. It was amazing. The country and world are pretty messed up right now. FIFA is corrupt. But we were happy last night, really happy. The In-N-Out Burger after the game was good too.

Time to find a gas station for the camper van and a doughnut shop for me. Onward to Seattle.

Over 2,000 miles into this adventure, we entered Utah and took a left turn off I-70 towards Arches NP and Moab. Arriving at the park in the late afternoon has the advantage of no lines and open parking spaces. We took short hikes to view Double Arch and Delicate Arch, then showered in the van while parked in an empty visitor center parking lot. Picked up a pizza, and headed back toward I-70 as the sun was setting to find a dispersed campsite to spend the night. Our travel speed prioritized a location close to our route, not scenic beauty. But the camper van gives us flexibility to sleep, clean, and eat wherever. And it fits in a typical parking space, as we are taking advantage of right now waiting to board public transportation to get to the stadium, but I’m jumping ahead.

After Moab, we continued west on I-70, then southwest on I-15 to a quick stop at the Kolob Canyon section of Zion NP. Another short walk and a few stops for photos, before resuming onward. Less than 500 miles to SoFi Stadium! Spoiler alert, we’re going to make it!

Continuing west, we climbed into the Rockies after driving through the outskirts of Denver and a quick stop at Red Rocks to see the Fountain Formation (red sandstone and conglomerate) angling skyward. Next up a hike to tree line (about 11,500 feet elevation) shortened due to thunder in the area. Probably not the smartest to hike at altitude after leaving sea level a few days ago and sitting for long periods while driving, but we did fine. Returned to the van just before the rain started, then off to the continental divide as the sky cleared. Windy and brisk at the pass, but not much snow. We ended the day at a campground in Dillon, CO (nice not to be overnighting in a parking lot) where the temperature fell into the 40s overnight. The water level in the Dillon Reservoir is low, thus impacting its potential recreational use.

Windy next day (gusts well over 30 mph, glad we didn’t have the kayaks on top of the van) as we beelined to Moab, the subject of the next post.

Here’s some of what’s happened on our cross country trip so far: driven through torrential rain in Ohio and Indiana, admired big clouds in Illinois (after the typical traffic slowdowns in Chicagoland), intersected a towboat and barges heading down the Mississippi, downed a DQ Oreo Blizzard at the I-80 truck stop in Iowa, walked around the Nebraska State Capital Building in Lincoln, crossed the 100th Meridian in Nebraska, entered colorful Colorado (but I can’t be the first person to note that the sign is pretty drab), and raced the Pony Express.

The 100th Meridian has historically been the divide between the humid east and the arid western plains. Climate science is finding that this divide is migrating east. On this trip, we observed flooded streams in eastern Nebraska and lots of irrigation occurring in the dry Colorado high plains. We know the Colorado Rockies had a historically low snow pack this year - what are we going to see? The mountains are next.

It started with what I thought was an innocent idea last year from my son Tom: “Let’s go to a soccer game next summer.” I responded “Sure, a New England Revolution game would be great.” “No, a World Cup match” Tom clarified. “Okay, when are the games here in New England?” I asked. “No, let’s roadtrip in the camper van to LA to see the US men (USMNT) play” Tom further explained. After a long pause, I think my response was a long “ohhhhh”.

Fast forward to today and Cape Cod/Boston are in the rear view mirror as we drive to LA for the USMNT opener against Paraguay AND then to Seattle for the second match against Australia before returning home. So, for the immediate future, this father son team is traveling more like a soccer through ball, not like our typical geomeandering.

Enjoyed great weather and calm conditions during our Key Largo kayaking - within mangrove-lined channels and through mangrove tunnels. Even saw a few rays!

The start to our sixth year of camper van travels began with uncovering our van in frigid, snowy Vermont. We’re off to achieve one of our travel goals - seek 75 degree weather - by breaking one of our travel rules - go slow and meander! We’re on a fast journey down the east coast to Savannah, then on to Everglades and the Keys.

With help from a few wild friends we made while
traveling this year, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!