Spring Break - last NP in CA and more!

California has nine national parks.  For Spring Break we decided to visit our last one - The Channel Islands.  It's a little more trouble to visit this one because you have to take a ferry ride to get there.  There are actually 5 islands that comprise this park, but we just went to Santa Cruz.  We left on Saturday morning, drove out there, found the church, our motel, the ferry place.  We went to Costco and got Sunday dinner that we could warm up in the microwave and ate at In-and-Out Burger.  Sunday we went to church in a really friendly ward in Ventura.  Afterwards we visited the Channel Island Visitor's Center which is on shore in Ventura.  It was really cool.  The next morning we boarded our ferry to head out there.  It wasn't a really big boat, but it was very full of people.  On the way some whales and dolphins were sighted and I went out on deck to see them.  That was where my trouble began.  I was near the front of the boat where it was bucking up and down a lot!  Pretty soon, the breakfast I didn't eat was still trying to come out.  But, I did see the whales and the dolphins even though they were too fast to get pictures of.  It was worth it! When we arrived at Santa Cruz I was fine and we enjoyed a beautiful day of hiking there seeing lots of what there was to see.  We were lucky to see the Island foxes and bluebird that are only found there.  It was a wonderful day!  It was so green from all of the recent rains.  I got a great tip on where to sit on the ferry on the way back so as to be less likely to barf again...and it worked.  Back of the boat, eyes forward or closed.  It would have been nice to kayak in the ocean at the island, but it would have been so cold, and expensive that we decided against it.  We loved what we saw and did!  Had dinner at Carl's Jr. this night (Monday). We spent 3 nights at a cute little motel in Ventura.  

Tuesday morning we drove on to Long Beach and our next adventure which was a visit to the Queen Mary.  Wow!  What a giant ship!  Now it's been turned into a luxury hotel, tourist attraction, etc.  It was a slice of history/transitioned into today.  We looked around on our own and then went on a tour with a great guide.  We stayed until we had seen it all and then took a pretty long drive to get to the Macaroni Grill for dinner!  Was it ever good!  One thing we found so interesting while driving into the city was all of the port equipment.  Long Beach has a huge port with so much going on.  We walked city and the beach some in the evenings too.  

Wednesday morning we got off early on a ferry to Catalina Island.  We landed at Avalon which is such a different place than the Channel Islands.  It is pure tourist attractions.  It even has a casino.  It is a happening, bustling place.  Our main thing for the day was a little ride on a boat that had windows below the surface so you could look out and see the fish.  There was only one other couple on that time, so it was pretty calm.  I was a little worried that I might get sea sick, so I kind of sat still.  I did well on the ferry ride over because I sat in the middle, in the back and looked forward.  It was a much bigger and less bumpy ride than our ferry to the Channel Islands, thank goodness.  Did fine on both boats this day. Our underwater tour took us out into some ocean reserve area where they then proceeded cause a feeding frenzy and then told you about the fish you were seeing.  It was interesting, but not terribly exciting.  On the way back they let you come up and enjoy the views from the deck.  Nice, but probably not worth the price of the ferry or the tour.  But I'm glad I've seen Catalina, at least the Avalon City part.  We spent the rest of our time there seeing the town sites which was fun. When we got back we had dinner at Panda Express!  Yummy!  

Thursday, the very windy day, we went to the Huntington Library and Museums but not the Gardens.  (They were closed because of the wind unfortunately.)  We did see some of the gardens as we walked by them to different buildings/galleries.  We started by doing a little orientation film where we learned all about how the Huntington came to be.  Then we went to the Library and saw so many historical documents through the ages and LOTS of books.  The most amazing thing there was probably the Gutenberg and Tyndale bibles.  So much work and sacrifice to bring the scriptures to "the people."  After that we went to the Huntington Mansion Gallery and it was beautiful and full of furniture, books, sculptures and European art.  We also saw the Western Art Gallery which was interesting, but not nearly as good the Getty.  They didn't have nearly as much or as beautiful art (my uniquified opinion of course).  Then we took a green break and went to the Botanical Conservatory which was kind of like an indoor garden with all kinds of growing areas:  a rainforest, a bog, a cloudy forest, out door stuff, and all about seeds.  Some was pretty geared to kids since the closed Children's Garden was behind it, but it was a beautiful break from the art overload.  Then we visited a gallery (The Boone) and saw some black artists work.  One of my favorite things of the whole place was seeing Blue Boy!  Unfortunately Pinkie wasn't on display at this  time.  

Friday morning it was time to start home.  We had been driving the Pacific Coast Highway and backroads when we could to see more scenery and get away from the traffic.  We continued doing that on the way home and drove to be able to stop in at Death Valley National Park along the way.  The day turned very cloudy and we could see snow happening in the Sierra Nevada's along the way.  One road we had planned to take ended up being closed, so we had to reroute.  And then another road was closed due to a fatal car accident, so it ended up being a little longer than we planned, but we had a nice, rainy stop in at Death Valley.  We didn't stay too long because it was late and rainy, but it was beautiful in a desert way.  They have a great Visitor's Center that we spent quite a bit of time at too.  Our reroute took us to Pahrump for a delicious dinner at KFC.  We got home about 10 pm.  It was a great trip!!!  Not everything went as planned, but it was still great!  And for the most part, the weather, though cool, was pretty much ideal.  

Valley of Fire and Hoover Dam day trip!

 We decided to head to the desert again while the temps are still good there and warmer than the higher elevations this time of year.  We had gone to Valley of Fire in NV a few weeks ago and spent a great day there, but ran out of time and missed a couple more things on the map that we still wanted to see.  Today that was our first stop.  We came in at the west entrance this time and saw Atlatl Rock, Arch Rock and some amazing petrified logs.  We also checked out the campsites there which were really great!  

Next we drove a new, very beautiful and full of amazing geology highway down to Lake Mead and Hoover Dam.  We drove through the Lake Mead National Recreation Area for the first time I think.  We went down one road to view the lake and then stopped by the Visitor's Center and got more information and watched a little movie and found out about a Historic Railroad Trail Hike below the Lake Mead Visitor Center.  

The 2.6 (one way) Historic Railroad Trail takes us back to 1931 when the federal government partnered with Six Companies, Inc., a consortium of six major western construction firms, to build nearly 30-miles of railroad connecting the Hoover Dam and Boulder City with cement mixing plants, quarry pits, a gravel sorting plant, and other resources in Las Vegas needed to build the dam.  The railroad tracks were dismantled in 1962. This trail was established in 1992, and connection to the Hoover Dam became open to the public in 2007.  The trail includes 5 tunnels.  We loved doing it and the views of the lake from it are beautiful.  

After that we drove over to the dam and walked out onto Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman bridge to view the dam.  It is really amazing.  Then we tried to go to the dam visitor's center, but it is being remodeled and isn't open.  But, we did get to go on the last dam tour of the day which was really interesting and then we walked out on the dam itself!  It turned out to be a really fun, interesting day seeing new places and learning about them.  We stopped in Mesquite on the way home for dinner.  It was a full day that we really enjoyed!  

Kennis #20 and Anna Lou #92

 For Kennis it just had to be a birthday card since she's up north going to school now.  She's had a hard time figuring out where to go and what to study since high school and concurrent college graduations a few years ago.  At least she already has a head start with her Associate's degree from college already behind her!  Go Kennis!  Hope you find your niche soon!  She's such a smart, hardworking, fun, cute girl!  Paul loved having such a fun, strong, smart helper when she worked for  him for a little while.  Happy #20 Kennis!  She got to celebrate with her mom and sister up north!!!

G'ma Kurtz, Anna Lou - #92!  We had cake with her at Sunday dinner, then took her to see the new Red Cliffs Temple and then to dinner at Panda Garden for dinner on Monday.  Her actual birthday is today, Tuesday, but she wanted to be available to get birthday phone calls or visits on the day of.  Hope she's gabbed it up to her heart's content all day long today!  

Zade's Karate!

Saturday morning we finally made it to one of Zade's karate competitions.  It was a small, pretty local one, but a good way for us to start learning about this sport.  Trigg was supposed to compete as well, but he had sprained and ankle earlier in the week and was out of commission unfortunately.  Zade did really well and took three 1st place medals and one 2nd place medal.  It was really interesting.  We are proud of him for his hard work in the sport and in so very many other ways.  Love you Zade!  Way to go!  Forms, weapons, sparring and kicks . It was pretty cool!  

Weed's #44!

 In Memory from Juge FB:  Celebrating the happy day of Weed’s birth today! From our baby journals I think she had a hard time giving up her baby status 18 months later when I arrived, but luckily she apparently forgave me before too long and we got to be the best of buds. She was a one in a million friend who made you feel great just being around her.

This month I’ve been thinking about ways that she is still “in the game” here with us even though we might not be aware of it and also about the really awesome things she might be experiencing that she didn’t have a chance to experience before.

Thanks to another sister for this beautiful picture of Juge and Weed in our natural habitat.

It was nice to gather with those who could make it (on the 24th) to remember Lenae at a Pizza Factory buffet. Not any from our family could come unfortunately, but Paul and I were able to make it and enjoyed touching base the lots of the Smith family that were there. We love you and miss you Weed! And we are so glad you're up there helping out where you can with the things that need your loving touch. (Derek took this BeReal picture for me with his usual nasal flourish! And my eyes are closed as usual too.) The boss/owner of the Pizza Factory where Weed worked, is always really nice and tries to help us have this chance to gather. He remembers Weed and that's enough for him to want to help.

Some sweet memories that people shared about Weed on Juge's post on FB.

Kali Pollock Baumgartner

I am a firm believer that our closest loved ones are back in our lives often once they go to heaven. I bet she is right along beside you and your kids through most of your adventures.

Nonie Cottam Gay

Happy birthday to the one and only Weed! To the amazing girl who saved this lonely and friendless seventh grader and invited her to join her and her ninth grade friends everyday for lunch and was one of the three people who showed up to my rather pathetic sweet 16th party. I’m super grateful for those two cute girls in that picture for being my friend when it was probably easier not to be. Love you both! 

Capitol Reef - for real this time!

We have been to Capitol Reef NP a few times; some on our own, and once with the University for a geology field trip/class, but we have never really "explored" the park as we would have liked to.  This time we still didn't have lots of time, but we took 5 hikes that totaled up we did about 13 miles in the 2 days we were there.  It was wonderful and oh so beautiful!  We hiked:  Goosenecks, Sunset Point, the Grand Wash (just shy of the end since we had done it before with the University and Paul's foot was hurting), Hickman Bridge, Chimney Rock Loop and Cassidy Arch.  Each one was amazing in it's own way.  It was also wonderful that even though it is President's Day weekend, there were not very many people in the Park.  Some places we didn't even see people for most of the hike (Hickman Bridge).  It was cold, and some places were a bit muddy from the recent rains or from recently melted snow, but we wore our long underwear under our hiking clothes and were really comfortable with jackets/gloves only sometimes. We spent the night in Torrey (Friday) and ate at a very expensive restaurant on Friday evening.  It was good, but no very much for the price.  Lots of things were not yet open.  We had a great time!  On the way home we stopped at Ruby's Inn at Bryce canyon and made up for our bad food experience with a great dinner!  

"...the light seems to flow or shine out of the rock rather than to be reflected from it."  Clarence Dutton, geologist and early explorer of Capitol Reef, 1880s

"Geology knows no such word as forever."  Wallace Stegner  

As we went up the Hickman Bridge trail we came to this little Native American structure up on a ledge  (top left pic). We were able to scramble up close enough to take a good picture of it. Pretty cool! After that, we came to these two little bridges.  At first we thought this was Hickman Bridge and we were just a little disappointed that it wasn't bigger.  Then we decided to keep going up the trail a bit further, and Paul spotted the REAL bridge, which is huge.  Glad we kept on going!  

At Cassidy Arch we saw a grandfather, son, daughter and 4 very small kids doing a rappel down from the arch and then they were going on down the canyon with 6 more rappels to go.  The first rappel was 180 feet and looked really scary. I looked it up after we got home and it is really a neat place with several more arches/bridges that you rappel down through to get to the bottom of the canyon.  Not something I would want to do with little kids.  The older ones were pretty excited to go, but some of the very little ones were howling about for a while.