So What's Going On

A lot actually......some good things and some not so good - such is life.

We have exactly the same color blue eyes.

This handsome guy (my baby bro) got married in Morris, Illinois in June. We drove there from Rocky Mountain National Park. Yeah, it turns out that there isn't much in between Western Colorado and Illinois. We had planned to stop and enjoy the drive, see the sites along the way - but there isn't much there to enjoy. Sorry Nebraska and Iowa, you are really flat and boring.

Just a note to anyone not yet married - if you don't rock out at your wedding, what the hell is the point.

Rock it out!

After the wedding, we drove through two other fairly pointless states - North Dakota and  EASTERN Montana - on the way to Glacier National Park. Holy crap, Glacier is amazing. We did a 3 night/35 mile backcountry trip and it was spectacular, aside from the rain and snow.

At the top of Ptarmigan Pass

Oh and the giardia....... Turns out those little protozoa are highly resistant to iodine, which was our main form of water purification while in Glacier National Park. HOW DID WE NOT KNOW THAT GIARDIA IS IODINE RESISTANT! Thank god we didn't, uhmmmm how shall I say this, exhibit symptoms until we were out of the park and in a hotel. Lesson learned, and guess who bought a fancy new water purification filter for future use.

So ugly

Make it stop.

Post hike - yay for clean clothes, a shower, and a great view from the hotel.

After Glacier, we drove a few hours north to Canada for a visit to Banff and Lake Louise to see more spectacularness and beauty than your eyes can take. Also, loads and loads of tourists. Next time we will go in the off-season.

Handsome Ashton men

Turns out it can be freaking cold in Canada, even in August.

Moraine Lake, crazy water colors

We took a day trip to see the fast-melting Abathasca Glacier. Despite the cold week we had while we were in Canada, the glaciers there are quickly melting. Go see them now before they are gone. That is some scary crap.

Me getting clobbered by Canada.

Family togetherness, also huddling for warmth

Lately we have been in Tahoe. There is much working on our golf game and generally fooling about. Dave has been perfecting his homemade pasta and ice cream, and I have been working on my German and Italian for our upcoming trip to Europe.

We also managed to fit in a last-minute, absolutely amazing 3-night backpacking trip in the Emigrant Wilderness with our friends J.P.M. and C.M. It was 30 miles of tough terrain, alpine lakes, evening campfires, and beautiful surroundings. All this spectacular wilderness is about 100 miles south and west of Tahoe, and we had never been there. Who knew?

A typical campground, just beautiful

Dragons were slayed and dinner was had, aw look at Dave's wee fish.

Not lost, really

So what is next? We leave for Europe on Tuesday. It should be quite a trip. We will be gone for about 6 weeks. But more about that later.......

Beers, Bikes, Brats - Milwaukee Rules (no really)!

This was the surprise of the trip so far. Milwaukee! 

It was the highlight of our driving journey across the plains states to Illinois and back again. I could live in Milwaukee, **except for winter**. Who could not love a place where every major park, concert hall, or significant building is named after a beer brewing company. Within minutes of arriving downtown, I knew I was in love. 

Why you ask:

History

Since they don't really have earthquakes here, there are a ton of amazing buildings dating from the late 1800's and early 1900's. And the urban core is being revitalized right before your eyes. I love it! There are wide sidewalks and narrow streets. It is every progressive urban planner's dream - commercial/residential density and friendly streets for peds, bikes, and cars. They knew how to do it back then!

Food

And not just brats, though those were spectacular. We hit the Milwaukee Public Market each of the 4 days we were in town. TO DIE FOR! The market is like a not crowded, not expensive Ferry Building where people are very friendly and the food is great (the crowds and prices Ferry Building make me want to poke my own eyes out). There is a wine bar at the market called Thief Wine where Dave and I perfected something we like to call "Rosé All Day", all the while eating snacks from the local vendors.

Rosé All Day, Rosé All Day, Rosé All Day

There are also all manner of ethnically German, Serbian, Italian, and French restaurants, as well as some newbie eclectic mixes like my favorite Odd Duck. If you go to Milwaukee, eat there!!!!! There were less meals in 4 days than places I wanted to eat. My life is so hard.

Transit

Between the Bublr bike share, excellent bus system, and the River Walk, we didn't touch our car the entire 4-day trip. Thank you Google Maps because they give you a transit, walking, and bike option to get to your destination. It worked perfectly. I abhor driving - so I judge a city by how much I have to drive while I am visiting. Milwaukee gets five stars as far as I am concerned.




Baseball
First of all, there are free shuttles from the downtown bars to the Milwaukee Brewers baseball games. FREE - yes, I said FREE. OK you have to buy a $3 beer at the bar before you leave - yes, I said a $3 beer (nonexistent in the Bay Area)! And you can buy drinks from your driver to drink on the bus, just in case you get thirsty during the 10 minute drive to the park. Dave was in heaven. He took that (grainy) photo of the on-board price list because he didn't think anyone would believe him.

The game was good (though the Brewers lost). Miller stadium was the cleanest sports venue I have ever seen, weird. The crowds were super mellow and unpretentious, and the brats were fantastic!

Look how warm and happy they all are, probably a different picture in January.

What I am saying is that I would move here, **except for winter**. And as a lovely native of Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin (Miss Leslie A.) told me, " It's not really winter. It's March, April, and May when there is still a chance of winter." Therefore, I don't think I will be moving anytime soon.

Alas, I will remain in California and just look for reasons to visit Wisconsin in the future so that I can eat my weight in brats again.

Rocky Mountain National Park

First Stop - Strawberry Hot Springs

I have never been so excited to get to the mountains! After 3 weeks in the sweaty, dusty deserts of Utah, it was spectacular to finally see snow-capped peaks again as we crossed the border into Colorado.

Since we weren't technically in a hurry to get anywhere (the joy of unemployment), we took the scenic route from Arches National Park in Utah to Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado through the ski town of Steamboat Springs.

OK there are very few towns where the second I arrive I know I could live there, but Steamboat Springs was one of those towns. It is adorable with breweries, runners, cyclists, hikers, and great restaurants everywhere.

However, the best thing there is the Strawberry Hot Springs just outside of town. We stayed in a little rustic cabin for like $60 a night (see that photo above on the left), which included our entrance to the natural hot springs pools. The place is clothing optional, which I endorse given the really in-shape status of the residents of Steamboat Springs.

Sorry for the gratuitous bikini shot but I had to get a pic of our (completely legal) cabin graffiti. 

Second Stop - Rocky Mountain National Park

OK why does all of Texas invade Colorado? Is it because there isn't anything cool there? Once we waded through the crowds (remember the 90%-of-people-won't-hike-more-than-one-mile rule), Rocky Mountain seemed endless and crowdless. It actually reminded me a lot of Tahoe.

We camped for three nights at Glacier Basin within the park. Keep in mind that there are no showers anywhere in the park, which gets scary after 4 days in a tent with your spouse. Further, a lot of the campsites are completely exposed due to tree removal from extensive beetle kill. Shade is limited and the days are hot in the summer, be prepared.

You can't see the 800 other people that are at this lake too.

A Grignolino + Jambox + book = perfect end to a day of hiking

The wildlife viewing here at Rocky Mountain is spectacular. The elk are the size of small cars and they are not shy......

Not shy

Big horn sheep shedding their winter coats.

This rough-looking guy was keeping an eye on the sheep.

We are off to Illinois for my brother's wedding, then the adventure will continue back through Glacier National Park and Banff/Lake Louise!

Canyonlands Yurting and Arches

Canyonlands - Yurt Sweet Yurt

After camping, who doesn't love a yurt with a GRILL, ELECTRICITY, and a proper BED! We were so happy in that little yurt, which was technically located within Dead Horse State Park, immediately adjacent to Canyonlands. Note that there are only three yurts in the park, so book early if you ever plan to go.

And there are no showers in any of these Utah parks (except for ONE we found at Bryce Canyon). We paid $20 for 2 showers at a random KOA outside the park after 4 days of dirt and sweat and it was the best $20 I ever spend.

I will give Canyonlands a "meh" score though. You pretty much drive from scenic viewpoint to scenic viewpoint, with few opportunities for actual hiking of any distance. While lovely, it was a bit boring.

If I had it to do over, I would have scheduled a Colorado River raft or something.

One of many many overlooks

Yes, that is a road we took.

We almost died.

Arches

And then we went to Arches National Park. It is shockingly beautiful, and freaking HOT. Again there is a lot of driving to see the cool stuff, and it gets crowded. Luckily you can escape the crowds by following the 1 mile 90% rule, meaning that about 90% of people in the world won't hike more than 1 mile.

There are a lot more trails at Arches than there are at Canyonlands. I highly highly recommend the Devil's Garden hike. Take the longer "primitive trail", you will not be disappointed - unless you drop your camera ad break it, which is what Dave did.

Right about here is where the camera was dropped........and not by me (this time).

Arches at Arches, they do not disappoint!

Climbing up

The elusive double arch.

Look, we don't hate each other yet.

New favorite camp dinner, we called it camping cassoulet (with spinach and minus the duck, oh and we used smoked polish sausage). Who is jealous?

Actually that looks pretty gross right now.........

Next stop - Rocky Mountain National Park!

Capital Reef and Backpacking the Lower Spring Canyon Trail

Since backpacking in Escalante was a bit of a bust given the impassable roads and crap weather, we decided to head 2 hours northeast to Capitol Reef National Park. With no reservation or camping permit, I was worried we wouldn't be able to stay there. 

However, this park is in the middle of absolute nowhere so crowds were thin (even in June). We walked right up to the permit desk at the visitor's center and got our free backcountry permit in like 10 seconds. 

Because the area had gotten so much unexpected rain, the dirt access roads to the northernmost and southernmost sections of the park were impassible. We had limited backcountry camping options given this road situation and given that we wanted to cover about 8 miles each day backpacking. At the advice of the friendly park ranger, we chose to backpack the Lower Spring Canyon Trail. The entire trail is about 10 miles long, so we could just backpack in as far as we wanted till we found a nice campsite. 

Done - we were off.

Yes, it is HOT out there.

But very cool stuff

We saw one other set of human footprints the entire trip down the canyon, they were Dan's (as evidenced by the "Dan was here" written in the sand halfway down the trail). Yup - we were ALL alone in that canyon except for Dan - oh and the lady we affectionately referred to as "The Doe". Whenever we weren't sure where or how to best get over an obstacle on the trail, we just said "which way did Dan and The Doe go".

After about 8 miles of walking down the dry canyon, which totally reminded me of something from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, we managed to find the only intermittent source of water on the trail. It was a tiny spring that percolated slowly out of the rocks, like magic in the desert. 

Then we found the perfect campsite on an elevated beach near the spring (NOTE - you are supposed to camp 100 feet from the trail but this was impossible pretty much anywhere in that canyon). Once established, we took off our packs and journeyed on a bit for fun and guess what??? We found The Doe.

Or rather The Bucks.....three of them. I think they were mule deer given their tails. I am quite sure one of my many biologist friends reading this will let me know exactly what these guys are.

They were skittish, sorry for the crap photo.....

Best campsite ever

Dave surprised me by packing in a bottle of wine. Hell yeah!

Trader Joe's Indian food packets, great for camping

After a night of listening to a very loud frog we named Franklin, we headed out early in the morning (well, it was 8:30 a.m. which is early since we don't have kids remember). Beating the heat was the name of the game that morning. Dave was on a mission and almost killed me with his speedy pace getting out of there.

Out of context photo, I had just never seen a hummingbird nest.

So it was out of Capitol Reef and on to Canyonlands National Park for our stay at a KICK ASS yurt in the adjacent Dead Horse State Park. I will let you know how it was in a few days.

I could live here, I could probably live happily in my car too - but that is beside the point.

Seven Things I Learned About Escalante

I have a very brief interlude of wifi here at the visitor's center. Our backpacking and sight-seeing plans have been a little up-in-the-air due to weather. However, we are making the best of it - as always. In the meantime, here are a few things I have learned during our time here in the greater Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument area.

1) Have a Paper Map
No thanks Amie - my phone has GPS, I'll be fine. Google Maps will tell me everything. Well guess what - your fancy phone won't work here. No wifi, no email, no web-enabled anything. You will be very lucky if you can make an old-fashioned call on your cell phone. So be prepared and buy a very good $6 map of Utah, trust me.

2) Have a Full Tank of Gas
That may look like an actual town on your paper map, but guess what - it is just a few houses and MAYBE a scary restaurant. There will be no gas there, or anything else for that matter. Fill your tank whenever possible, even if you have a half-a-tank and you think that next town is only 40 miles away. Again trust me, just do it and save yourself some worry.

3) BYOB

Seriously.....lots of it. I needed half-a-cup of white wine for a meal I was planning to cook (yes white wine - we take our cooking very seriously while car-camping, dehydrated meals are for BACKPACKING only). Just try and find a state-run liquor store in rural Utah (the only place to get wine is a sate-run agency). I dare you. We managed to find a liquor "closet" with a very limited stock of about 10 bottles of wine for sale at a small camping store. Thank the maker! We also stocked up and bought a case of "real beer" (not that dirty 3.2% stuff) because we knew there was nowhere else to get booze within about 250 miles. For the love of god people, be prepared.

4) State Route 12 is the Most Beautiful Drive in the U.S.
The brochure says it is the second-most beautiful drive in the world - and I had never even heard of it. Dave the Utah "expert", you are holding out on me WTF. This drive is spectacular. Stop at the Kiva Coffee House on the way. You will not be disappointed.

Random roadside beauty, the photo does NOT do it justice.

5) The Food is Pretty Bad
Universally, the food in this part of Utah has been a step above dog food. All the restaurant reviews from Bryce Canyon to Escalante get about 3 stars with the average reviewer saying, "well - I didn't leave there hungry". And there are SO many French tourists, they must think we are Neanderthals. One notable exception was the Burr Trail Trading Post and Grill (with REAL beer) in Boulder, Utah. A lamb-burger to die for!

One of our many roadside picnics because the restaurants were total crap.

6) Everyone is Really Friendly
More friendly than anywhere else in Utah. We went for a walk around Escalante one evening and ended up meeting a couple that had moved there from Sebastopol. We chatted away on their front porch for an hour. When driving anywhere in this area, everyone waves or throws the peace sign. Be ready for niceness. We were even besties with our innkeeper at the kick-ass Slot Canyons Inn.

Yes, that is the road under 3 feet of water.

7) Don't Ignore the Weather Forecast
Apparently a 50% chance of heavy rain means lots and lots of heavy rain. Pay attention because roads can wash-out in the blink of an eye and your camping plans are not feasible, or worse - you are stuck on the wrong side of a washed-out road or canyon. All our camping options along Hole-in-the-Rock Road in Escalante were quickly off the table because the road had washed out.  Poor us, we had to enjoy the thunder and lightning show from our warm, dry hotel room in Boulder, Utah (not to be even remotely confused with Boulder, Colorado).

The rain does create spectacular impromptu waterfalls along the roadway though.

As I mentioned, we are making the best of things. The weather has mostly cleared out and get area getting right back on the camping track. More to come from Capitol Reef and Canyonlands soon!