California Here We ...Are!

We've walked along the beach and stuck our toes in the Pacific Ocean! We're back in California!!It was a thrill to cross the state line and know we are almost (well, not exactly) home. We're in San Diego now, and will be in Ventura/Santa Barbara the rest of June, but it sure seems a lot closer to home than we've been in 10 1/2 months!

We have been staying in an RV Park next to I-5. I pretend I'm hearing a babbling brook or ocean waves at night instead of traffic -- doesn't quite work, though! But it has been easy on and off the freeway to explore San Diego. We've loved Balboa Park, with its many museums and gardens, and one of the best zoos in the country. The vegetation in the zoo is as interesting as the animals. We also took in a terrific (free) outdoor organ concert on Sunday afternoon. We also enjoyed going to Old Town. The weather has been mostly wonderful and sunny, with some of the "June gloom" (coastal fog) that is common in this area at this time of year.

The best part has been seeing friends in the area. One evening we spent a very meaningful evening with my (Gayle's) childhood friends from Ki.ngsburg. Tom and Mary Catherine Swanson and I all graduated the same year from Kingsburg High School. Mary Catherine was one of my bridesmaids in 1966. They now live in a beautiful home in Encinitas. Since those Kingsburg days, Mary Catherine has become an internationally known figure. She created the AVID educational program -- a program that helps disadvantaged high school students who are willing to work hard so they can become eligible for college admission. She was listed as the outstanding educator in a 2001 issue of TIME, and has received numerous awards. We were so engaged in visiting that evening that I forgot to take a picture of them. Darn! But one of the web links about Mary Catherine is: http://www.avidonline.org/info/?ID=1023&tabID=0

Another afternoon/evening, we enjoyed hosting a seminary friend, Sue Berry, in our "home." We relaxed in the pool\hot tub at our RV park, then enjoyed local wine she brought with our appetizers and barbeque dinner. It is so much fun to re-connect with friends. That has been one of the joys on our travels this year!

Tonight may be our last night in our trailer on this trip. From now on we will be staying in homes with friends or family, or housesitting once we're back in Santa Rosa until our home is available again in August.

I'll have a few more blogs before our year's adventure is up -- some "wrap-ups" -- as well as commentary about the next few weeks. Stay tuned a bit longer!

Michigan & Graduation

We drove from Colorado to Las Vegas to fly to Michigan. Doesn’t make sense? Well, it originally did to us because the airfare was cheaper in Las Vegas than in Denver. Plus, we were going through Las Vegas on our way to San Diego after the Michigan trip. So we left our trailer in a “secure” storage area while we were gone. (We’ve left it five times during the course of our year’s travel while we went somewhere else or stayed with friends, and have never had a problem.) Bad choice! The storage area wasn’t so secure after all. We got a call while in Michigan that our trailer had been broken into. We knew there wasn’t much of value in it, but we weren’t sure what kind of damage we would find when we got back. Other than the broken window that they used for entry and exit and a couple other minor damage, it wasn’t too bad actually. They did find some money that we had left in a drawer, along with copies of our passport and driver’s license, which is our biggest concern. But all in all, we feel fortunate. (See photos of what the trailer looked like when we returned. We had left it neat, and cupboard doors closed!)

The purpose of our Michigan trip was to attend John’s grandson, another John Davenport, high school graduation. But we also got to spend time with Jennifer and Jerry again (friends who had moved from Santa Rosa) in their lovely home in Traverse City -- and help them try out their new barbeque grill! We were also able to attend granddaughter Natalie’s soccer tournament while in Traverse City the first weekend. She is an awesome goalkeeper and runner/kicker.

Michigan this time of year is really beautiful. The trees and fields are a brilliant green. Tulips and lilacs are blooming. The Lake is deep blue when the sun is shining – which was most days while we were there. Wasn't quite warm enough to get out on the water with the boats this time, though.

We stayed with Jim & Helen and family while in Petoskey, and also spent some time with Ann & James and family. Susan and Scott (John’s daughter from Santa Clara) also flew out. We celebrated John’s graduation with a party on Saturday, then we were all together for John’s graduation on Sunday evening.

The next big Davenport celebration will be in July when Susan and Scott will be married in South Carolina. While we were in Petoskey, John (the dad) got measured for the tuxedo he will need to wear to walk Susan down the aisle. Ann’s bridesmaid dress had arrived at the bridal shop, so it was great fun to be there while she tried it on. The Davenport women had an impromptu shower brunch at a golf club one windy morning -- in Susan’s honor. Special!

After a long drive day from Las Vegas, we have now arrived back in California!!!! We'll be in San Diego area for a week.

Colorado & Rocky Mountain High

We had four lovely days in Fort Collins, Colorado with our friends -- former members of Christ Church -- Ron and Ruth Chappel. We left our trailer in Utah, and drove over the Continental Divide in the Rockies in the pickup. There were snow flurries and snow on the trees at the summit -- it was beautiful, and felt like Winter! But the best part was arriving at the Chappels beautiful home. We had our own downstairs private bedroom and bath -- a spacious luxury when we're used to such small quarters. Ruth was a former preschool teacher (at Christ Church's Nursery School), and has their house well set up for the two grandsons that come to visit often.

I'm sure we gained back whatever weight we may have lost from the earlier hiking -- they fed us way too well! They were also our personal taxi/guides as we explored the area and went up to Rocky National Park and Estes Park on a gorgeous day. We met their good friends one evening for dinner, their two sons and families for another super dinner, and enjoyed several meals out in the downtown Ft. Collins area. We also went to the church they belong to, and saw Teacher Ruth in action in the Sunday School. All in all, a terrific visit.

The drive back to the trailer was on a sunny, beautiful day. It was 95 F when we hooked up with our trailer again, so we're enjoying the air conditioner now -- one of the few times we've used it on the whole trip. Tomorrow we drive to Las Vegas, then fly to Petoskey, MI. John's grandson (John Davenport) will be graduating from high school. We're looking forward to more family time.

Arches & Canyonlands National Park, Utah

The national parks in Utah are something else! Each one is different, but all have wonderful red, massive rock foundations, multi-layers of different colors of rock and sediment, hoo-doos (self-standing formations), arches, buttes, domes, canyons. We are constantly amazed around every corner. We have enjoyed drives, hikes, (probably 2-3 mile moderate or easy trail hikes every day), picnics, and more photos than I know what to do with! The vivid color does't get picked up by these photos -- they range from a chocolate red to blood red, burnt orange, yellow, green-blue, grey, beige, white -- layered sediment or rock everywhere. Walking in the fine red sand is a treat, until the wind picks up, that is. Then it stings as it blows in our faces, and "tastes" crunchy, which was one afternoon's experience. Mostly the weather has been pleasant and sunny during the days, with some light winds in afternoon.

The wildflowers and natural "landscaping" have been so appealing--I'd love to create a backyard with red rock, weathered wood, yellow and purple wildflowers. Unforutunately, can't take the weathered wood pieces home with me, so I keep photograhing them! And the red rock--not too abundant in Santa Rosa area!

Moab, where we are staying (between Arches and Canyonlands) is an outdoor sports paradise. From here, people rent 4-wheel jeeps to get into the back country or go backpacking on foot, bicycling, white water rafting (Colorado and Green Rivers converge near here), canyoneering, horseback riding, sky diving. The highest mountains in Utah, which still have snow on them, are visible from Moab, and our RV park.

So much more to see -- we just don't have the time to get to more now. We could spend many more weeks exploring these wonderful national parks; we love all these natural wonders. But we will be leaving Utah now for a visit with friends in Colorado.

Capitol Reef National Park

Another wonderful national park is Capital Reef! We can't believe the amazing geological formations in Utah. We camped in the National Park, which was located in Fruita, surrounded by orchards where Mormons had settled in the early 1900's. We could even have picked fruit, if it had been in season--unfortunately, we were a little early. But the view from our campsite was of amazing rock formations. We were constantly amazed with the rocks -- truly remarkable, with their millions of years of formation. We hiked in several canyons, seeing unbelievable geological wonders.

Bryce Canyon National Park

One of my favorite places in the world is Bryce Canyon. My family came to Bryce several times when my dad had a ranch in Utah. I used to think I would like to work at the Bryce Lodge. The college-age young adults used to wait tables, then sing to the tour buses as they would arrive or leave. They looked like they had so much fun. I never did get to work there because I needed to make more money for college by the time I was old enough. But I did get information now about how to apply to work or volunteer there. Not sure John was as interested as I was! We also looked into camp hosting. But it is still rather chilly. It snowed lightly one night so we were glad we had extra blankets.

We took several hikes along the rim, but didn't go down into the canyon this time like we did several years ago. It was threatening rain, and when the lightning and thunder came along, we were glad we were back in our trailer by then. Camping in National Parks is the way to go -- we get into the National Parks free with our Golden Age Pass, and camp for half-price. ($7.50 a night!) No hook-ups, but the natural setting is wonderful.

One of the surprises was meeting up with my cousin, Jack and Wilma Pickrell, at one of the scenic viewpoints. I had just commented that we hadn't seen anyone we knew unexpectedly on this trip, and there they were! What a surprise! We had a nice short visit!

We enjoyed the ranger talk on geology -- amazing stories about how the earth has been shaped in this part of the world. An evening program had beautiful photographs of various Utah landscapes -- the photographer went into out-of-the-way places, and yet still hasn't seen it all. Neither have we! We wish we could spend several months here visiting all of the national parks, staying much longer than we have been able to do! So much to see -- so little time!

Cedar City, Utah

We spent several days in the Cedar City area of Utah. About 35 miles from here, in a community (Newcastle) so small there are no stores, my dad had a ranch, the Bar V Ranch. He drilled wells for water and turned a fair amount of desert acreage into farm land with cattle, alfalfa, and eventually a pellet mill. We spent several summers here during my high school years. I was able to find it, especially when we saw a road sign that said "Bar V Rd" and the old pellet mill, now abandoned. We talked with an older couple still on the property who remembered stories about my dad, saying he was known as a progressive farmer with some of the things he did. Since my dad died last year, it was good for me to get stories about him.

Even though I never enjoyed the Newcastle area much, I did love going camping and fishing in the mountains nearby. John and I found out we really do like Cedar City. It is high desert, with red rock and views of hills with snow still on them.

We drove about 45 minutes up into the mountains to a lake to go fishing -- a wonderful way to spend a Sunday. It was a beautiful drive, with snow everywhere at the 9000 ft summit. We felt like we finally had winter! The lake was lower, with just a little snow. There are so many outdoor sports people do here -- year round.

The best part -- we caught about 12 rainbow trout between us. The worst part -- we had to throw all but 3 of them back because they were over 15". And even worse than that? We didn't know exactly how to measure them correctly, and when the Fish and Game Warden came by, and measured our fish, one of them was 16". So now I have a criminal record in Utah! I have to call the court to figure out what my fine will be! And on top of that -- he took the 16" fish away and gave it to someone else! But we did enjoy two fresh-caught trout for dinner, even though it turned out to be an expensive dinner!

Zion National Park

Zion National Park is the only national park we've been to before that we've now returned to. It is one of our favorite places.

It is said to be one of the most beautiful places in America and is a masterpiece of towering cliffs, deep red canyons, swirling rock, and massive monoliths.

We stayed at a campground in the park with a fantastic view of the majestic rocks, and the Virgin River just below us. Because we are Golden Eagle pass holders, we camp at half price -- $8 p/night. We took hikes every day. We loved seeing all the wildflowers, red rocks, water falls, water drops seeping through the rocks that were 120,000 years old.

Zion is high desert and cool at night, but was very comfortable during the day, except one afternoon/evening when the winds were ferocious. Gusts up to 65 mph; branches and sticks blowing everywhere, along with dust. We rescued one of the tents that was blowing across the campground, and we were more than happy to be enclosed in a camper! A couple of the evenings we did enjoy eating outside, though, with a great campfire. The stars were very bright.

The geology of Zion is very interesting -- about 2 billion years in the making. At times it was covered by the sea; at other times broad rivers traversed its surface; at still other times it was swept by desert winds with huge sand dunes. Rocks were consolidated into conglomerates, sandstones, shales, and limestones. Later, underground forces uplifted rocks more than 10,000 feet. The Virgin River worked its magic with erosion. Many of the cliff peaks were named by a Methodist minister, with religious references. The name Zion was coined by Mormons, a biblical reference of the "everlasting home." It felt like home to us.

The first photo was from our camp site. The photo with John in it is on top of a mesa we climbed with an overlook -- a "moderate" hike. The unbelievable site was rock climbers up steep vertical cliffs. We took the shuttle up the same path twice to see them. We counted 6 -- (not visible, but they're on the last photo--different sides of the cliff.) We can't wonder what motivates rock climbers for those life-threatening thrills!