Unplugged and in perpetual motion

Where the heck have you been?!

2011-05-10T18:13:00.000-07:00

Hey! How’s it going?

We know… it has been MONTHS (five to be exact) since a post has been added to this blog. Frankly, we’re just so freakin’ busy that we’ve neglected this little corner of the interwebs. However, we are going to make a concerted effort to actually post again. With that we introduce the new “what the hell happened to the Haugens last month” format.

Starting with… April!

JoAnna

· Upon coming home from the Cook Islands, Jo was ready to take the plunge and get her first tattoo. She was very brave and has a beautiful piece of art on her shoulder. Learn more about the reason behind the tattoo here (be sure to read all the captions and look at all the pictures).

· Jo continues to write like crazy. She is working on everything from blogs to books (Go to your local book store and pick up the Idiot’s Guide to Barefoot Running, she has a mention in the acknowledgements).

Cory

· Successfully produced his first high school play. Survived.

· Spent a large chunk of April planning Prom. Survival yet to be determined.

Around Vegas

· We went to see the Jabbawockeez perform. I think we were both a bit hesitant about the quality of the show, but were both pleasantly surprised at the showmanship and artistry.

· We also saw V: The Ultimate Variety Show… this one was… not so good.

· Over Spring Break we went out to Primm and spent an evening goofing around on the roller coasters and at the outlet mall. We bought Star Wars pancake molds. So all in all, a total success.

· We also bought a new car! A Barcelona Red (you can’t make these color names up… I swear) 2011 Toyota Rav4… we call it the RavBerry.

Kittens

We had a long succession of foster kitties go in and out of the house in April, so many that I am only going to post the names of the babies and direct you to the Facebook page that Jo runs for the organization through which we foster. And the kitties were:

Emmy and Jewel
Benjamin (who was adopted), Sage and Monkey (who is still with us until Thursday).
Hallie, Oscar (so named because he is a grouch) and Melissa. All three of which are still with us as well.

*Please note that Oscar is the only one we named.

OK… we promise to do better and post about May the first week or so of June.

Welcome back!

Cory

Four days in Curacao

2010-12-11T13:43:00.000-08:00

Last June, Jo attended the Travel Blog Exchange conference in New York. While there she won a three night stay at a luxury resort in Willemstad, Curacao. So, over the long Thanksgiving weekend we flew off to Curacao.

The island is still a part of the Netherlands – The Netherland Antilles to be exact – and is inhabited by a combination of Dutch citizens and native Curacaoans. It is a very colorful, albeit small, island.

Our first night, Wednesday night, was an adventure. We arrived after dark and picked up our little rental car. We grew to love our Chevy Spark and called it The Speck.

We quickly realized that the streets on the island are poorly labeled, and what should have been a 25 minute drive from the airport to the hotel took roughly an hour and a half or so. Once we checked in to our first hotel we walked around Willemstad and found a nice little hole in the wall bar to have quick bite.

On our first full day we decided to walk around Willemstad and explore the little town. Unfortunately, we also had a boat load of rain. We spent time walking in and out of little shops, looking at the local market and the local floating market. We also spent time avoiding a downpour by crowding under the tarps that cover the floating market with the local shoppers. When it wasn’t raining, we toodled around town taking pictures of all of the beautiful buildings. We also checked in to our luxury resort and made dinner reservations at a very nice local restaurant.

The resort room was huge; with a bed on an upper level balcony and a bathroom as large as most living rooms.

Friday we went beach hopping but not before going to the Curacao liqueur plant. We were surprised by the smallness of the plant but enjoyed a few free shots of tasty liqueur.

Then we headed to the other side of the island. We started at a cute little local beach where we swam and took in a bit of sun. However, there were no frilly drinks available at the beach bar! So… we packed up and went to the beach that our resort had permission to use. They had frilly drinks! I spent a lot of time looking at all of the gorgeous fish hanging out along the wave breakers for the swim area. Jo read and hung out in the sun. When we got ready to leave the beach we discovered that someone (me) left the lights on in The Speck. Four young men from the landscaping department managed to jumpstart the car using a pair of screwdrivers to make a connection between the two batteries. We had a nice dinner, courtesy of the sales manager of the resort and prepped for the next day’s adventure.

Saturday we headed off to Christoffel National Park on the north side of the island. The park is a lot like our own Red Rocks in that it is a driving loop with hiking trails off of the road.

We took the chance to hike the trail to the top of the highest peak in Curacao. The hike was… well, more of a climb… up steep and jagged rocks. We had a great time but were surprised by the skill required to climb up to the peak. The view was definitely worth it, though. For the second part of the day, we thought we would go to the beach again. However, we did get swamped with rain so our trip to the beach was short lived. We ended our stay on the island by having a simple dinner at an outdoor diner.

Overall, the trip was nice. Curacao is not a place we would have gone without a little prompting – like a free room. Nor do I know that we would suggest it as a destination. While the island was nice, it wasn’t really overly…exciting?

Frilly drinks and sunshine,

Cory

Another Itty Bitty Kitty...

2010-11-13T10:52:00.000-08:00

Our last adventure in fostering was completely different than all the other adventures we have had thus far; this time our foster kitty was – almost – full grown.

Sweetie came to us as a very young momma. Basically, she had kittens as soon as she was physically able to do so. Her three week stay with us served two purposes: first, we had to fatten her up. Her litter of kittens really took a toll on her body. Second, we acted as a getaway from her kittens.

Sweetie lived up to her name. She was calm and loving. She and the other animals bonded quickly and well. She fit right in and just felt like a part of the household. It was nice to have an older kitten this time. While we love having babies, Sweetie was a lot easier to work with and fell in to the routines of the house a lot easier. She loved to sleep on the guest bed and take a nap. In fact, she saw the guest room as hers and would often go running into the room if one of the other cats entered.

I think the most entertaining part of having Sweetie stay with us was the fact that it was the first time Jo experienced the joy (?) of a cat in heat. Sweetie was very loving the last few days she was with us.

We don’t have any new kittens at the moment, and won’t be receiving any more until after Thanksgiving… a holiday we will be spending in Curacao.

Sending love from the Caribbean,

Cory

Itty Bitty Kitty Committee #4

2010-10-27T16:47:00.000-07:00

It's been a few weeks since we were living with the energetic bunch of Itty Bitty Kitty Committee #4, but we wanted to introduce you to these five (that's right, FIVE) little cutie patooties that called our house home for two weeks anyway.

We weren't exactly up for taking on five kittens at a time, and they offered to split up the litter, but how could we possibly split the litter? So, of course, we took all five. They were an incredibly large bundle of energy that tore through the house and caused mayhem in every sense of the word, but they were so adorable and absolute lovable balls of fur. I'm so glad they got to be part of our family, if only for a couple weeks.

And now, with no further adieu, I present the five members of Itty Bitty Kitty Committee #4:

Adelaide

By far the largest and most boisterous of the bunch, Adelaide was the first to approach us (which was just minutes after opening the kennel). She loved to be pet and would suckle when she was tired or scared. She also loved to play with all the kitten toys that we have, and if one of the other kittens had a toy, she'd often take it away so she could play with it.

In many ways, Adelaide had to be the center of attention. If one of us left the room she was in, she had to leave the room too. If one of the other kittens was being held, she had to be held too. There was never any question about where Adelaide was because she always made her presence known.

Berkeley

Berkeley was, in many ways, the perfect kitten. First of all, she was incredibly cute, with tabby stripes and long, soft fur. Second of all, she was extremely well behaved. She didn't meow for attention or try to be the center of attention. Berkeley was very much an observer, but once she started playing, she had a ridiculous amount of energy. One of her cuter habits was trying to meow, but all that came out was an itty bitty "meh."

We let the kittens sleep in the house a few nights (versus being shut in their room), and Berkeley just curled up on the bed and zonked. When the lights went out, she knew it was time to go to sleep.

We found out a couple days ago that Berkeley was adopted within just a couple hours of being up for adoption. I'm so stoked she has found a forever home!

Harlem

Harlem was incredibly soft and sweet. She loved to play with the other girls and frequently carried the toy mice around in her mouth. In fact, she thought she was quite scary and often growled at her toys as well. This was actually very funny coming from a skinny little two-pound kitten.

Harlem was hysterical when it came to going to sleep at night. While most of the girls would settle down for the night, Harlem went one step further and absolutely zonked out completely. She often slept between Cory and me, and I was afraid I would roll over her. Sometimes I'd wake up and she'd be on my pillow, her little paws flung up over her head. Seriously, this girl could sleep in any position with any sort of obstacle in her way. It was quite impressive.

I'm happy to report that Harlem has been adopted into a forever home already as well.

Juneau

Out of the five girls in Itty Bitty Committee #4, Juneau was the shyest. She didn't hesitate to play or snuggle with the others, but she just wasn't as outgoing as Adelaide or Mojave. That's okay, though, because everyone gets their time for snuggles in our house, especially if they're a bit quieter than the other kittens.

Juneau was definitely more independent than the others in that she would nap while the others were playing or go find somewhere else to hang out, but she also didn't like to be left alone. Like Adelaide, she would suckle when she was tired or scared. What was really cute about Juneau is that, even though she was a bit more aloof than the others, she still definitely had a streak of kitten in her, and, just like Harlem, she would growl at her toy mice.

Mojave

And then there was Mojave. Oh, Mojave. What a funny little kitten. Besides being undeniably cute, she was so pushy that we couldn't help but to love her. She might look small and innocent, but she would loudly and defiantly tell you who's boss. She actually has the ability to meow, chirp and purr at the same time, which is absolutely hysterical.

Mojave was incredibly affectionate and would crawl all over my lap for attention while I was trying to work. She would put her paws on my chest and nudge my chin. Every once in awhile I would scoop her up like a baby and just cradle her against me, and she'd fall right to sleep.

And that's it ... our five little girls who made up Itty Bitty Kitty Committee #4. It's hard to believe they're old enough to be spayed and adopted out already. *sigh*

Twenty Feet and Too Many Toes to Count ~
Jo

Jo Travels the World

2010-10-19T18:41:00.000-07:00

Hello World ~

I'm still alive. I know, hard to believe, but I've been busy tripping around the globe. It's not a good excuse, but when you consider that I've been pushing two blog posts a week live over at Kaleidoscopic Wandering and am still juggling a ton of writing assignments, maybe you can find it in your heart to forgive me.

If that doesn't work, I still have some chocolate in my refrigerator from Switzerland.

So where have I been?

I should back up briefly to our pre-Arizona road trip, when I made my first trip to New York City for a travel blogging conference. The conference was decent - I picked up a few good tips and met a lot of people that I've only ever corresponded with through social media and email. I even won a trip to Curacao (which Cory and I are going to take advantage of over the Thanksgiving holidays)!

But one of the most enjoyable parts of the trip was actually exploring the city a bit. I'm not going to mince words: New York City is overwhelming. But it was fascinating and interesting, and relatively self-explanatory to get around once I figured out how the commuter trains worked. I went to the top of Rockefeller Center, explored Times Square at night, ate some wicked food, stayed in a hotel that was designed after a ship and caught up with a friend of mine from Burning Man who lives in Brooklyn.

A few pictures from my trip to New York City:

(Seriously, what's with all these people? Yeesh.)

Home from NYC, Cory and I hit the road for northern Arizona, which he wrote about a few months back. Within days of getting home from our road trip, I was boarding a plane for Jamaica.

My trip to Jamaica was a blogging trip, and it was comped by the Jamaican Tourism Board. I stayed at the lovely Secrets Wild Orchid property in Montego Bay, Jamaica, which is adults-only and all-inclusive, so I could enjoy my frothy Bob Marley drink without any kids underfoot. Yep, kind of a little piece of heaven. I spent some time on the beach and indulging in delicious meals, but we also got out and did a few things on the island as well.

Anyone who goes to Jamaica has to check out Dunn's River Falls, a series of several waterfalls that people can walk up. So. Much. Fun.

Another one of the highlights of the trip to Jamaica was the opportunity to go dog sledding. Sounds weird, doesn't it? Remember, though, that this is the country that had a surprise bobsled team in the Olympics. Although the actual dog sledding part was a lot of fun, the part of the visit to the tour company that I most enjoyed was learning that the dogs trained to be on the dog sledding team are actually rescues from the local pound. How fantastic is that?

Here are a few of my money shots from Jamaica:

Shortly after arriving home from Jamaica, my sister flew into Las Vegas, and Cory, she and I drove to San Diego for a long weekend. Rebecca was there for a conference, but she still had lots of time to enjoy some of the city. Cory and I took full advantage of our time in San Diego. We hung out on the boardwalk, saw dolphins swimming off of the coast, visited Hotel del Coronado, explored Balboa Park and stopped at Cabrillo National Monument on the coast. Again, we indulged in tons of delicious food (especially one night, when we splurged at an awesome Indian restaurant).

We stayed downtown in the Gaslamp District, which was equivalent to party central every single night. The owners of the William Penn Hotel were gracious enough to grant me a comped stay at their hotel, which was right in the middle of the Gaslamp District, which meant that we were within easy walking distance to restaurants, clubs, shops and even the convention hall where Rebecca's conference was.

Good times.

A few photos to commemorate our time in San Diego:

We'd just dropped Rebecca off at the airport when I hopped on an airplane myself, this time for St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands as part of the #BloggersParadise that is sponsored by Marriott Resorts. There were nine bloggers spread out over the Caribbean, and I got to go to USVI. For this trip I stayed at Frenchman's Reef and Morning Star, which was a nice but unpretentious hotel that was out on a peninsula of sorts on St. Thomas, so it was surrounded on three sides by water.

The highlight of that trip was a day trip I spent on St. John, which can be reached by a 15-minute boat ride. Rebecca and I did this when we were in the Virgin Islands for our cruise earlier this year. This time, though, we had the whole day, so I got to see more of the island and go snorkeling at a beautiful beach (where I received my worst sunburn of the summer ... I still have the lines to prove it). I love Virgin Islands National Park. If you ever have a chance to check it out, do it!

Some pictures from my trip to the U.S. Virgin Islands:

As was the routine of my summer, I got home from the Virgin Islands and barely had time to say hello to Cory and the animals before I hopped on a flight to Vietnam. This is the trip that I won way back in January through a travel writing contest. It was a 2-week, almost all-expenses paid, luxury tour just for me, so I wasn't there for work per se, but I did pick up some great article ideas anyway.

I started my two weeks in Hanoi, where I stayed in the backpacker district for one night before moving to a hotel on the other side of the lake. My immediate impressions were regarding the incredible amount of traffic and the lack of English that people spoke. But I felt safe walking around the city and checking out the temples. It's an extremely cheap country to visit, which makes it easy to travel in.

From there, I went to Halong Bay, where I spent two nights on a junk and got to go sea kayaking. We had a bit of rain, but it didn't spoil the fun. After that, I went back to Hanoi and caught a flight to Nha Trang, which is the water sports and backpacker capital of Vietnam. I booked a tour to go snorkeling one day (which was actually a bit chilly, so I'm glad I had a wet suit), but if I were to go back, I would skip Nha Trang and spend a few days hiking in Sa Pa, located in the northern part of the country on the border of China instead.

After Nha Trang, I made my way to Hoi An, which, for me, was the highlight of my trip. Hoi An was a lot smaller - only about half a dozen streets - so it felt a lot more manageable. Hoi An is known as both the food and clothing capital of Vietnam, so I took a cooking class and had some clothes made! Seriously, though, the food in Hoi An is to die for! I think I could live on the spring rolls and white roses in this city. Definitely on the list of places to revisit.

My final stop in Vietnam was Ho Chi Minh City, which was like Hanoi on steroids. The traffic was INSANE! But I did visit a fun market where I bought Vietnamese candy to share with my neighbors. I also spent some time at the War Remnants Museum, which was truly eye opening. On my last day in Vietnam, I took a day trip to the Cu Chi tunnels, which is where people lived underground during the Vietnam/American War. I even got to squeeze through one myself, which was sort of terrifying.

I took more than a thousand photos in Vietnam, so choosing just a few to post is hard, but here they are anyway:

Once again, I made it home from Vietnam, just to turn around and head for Switzerland for a press trip sponsored by the Switzerland Tourism Board. As much as I've enjoyed every trip I've taken to Europe (which isn't very many), I find it to be incredibly expensive, so it was pretty nice to enjoy Switzerland for a week without having to foot the bill. Two quick observations about Switzerland: It is exceptionally clean and people really care about their country.

We spent our time in two distinct parts of the country: Appenzell and the Lake Geneva region.

Appenzell was absolutely fantastic. It really is the stereotypical Switzerland that people talk about, with men in leiderhosen and cows with large brass bells. I borrowed a bike from the hotel early one morning and rode through the hills around the Alps, and it was absolutely still and stunning, except for the hollow ring of cowbells in the distance.

In Appenzell, I got to do a lot of local, traditional stuff. I learned how to yodel and made a Swiss pastry called bieber. I also learned about leather craft and did some hiking. Truly a beautiful part of the country. I would go back in a heartbeat.

To get to Lake Geneva, we had to take the Swiss Rail System, which is super efficient and an awesome way to travel. I can't wait to go back and take advantage of it again.

The areas we visited near Lake Geneva were busier and more built up but had that old-world-meets-modernity feel. We drank a lot of wine and ate a lot of cheese. I gained four pounds in one week. No joke.

The thing I liked best about this part of the trip was the afternoon that I spent at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, where I got to check out Olympic memorabilia, touch an Olympic medal and learn more about the history and culture of the Olympics. I spent hours at the museum ... it was absolutely fascinating.

Again, I took a ton of pictures, but here are a few of my favorites:

And so now I'm home and have been for the past month or so. I'm starting to get a bit of the travel itch again, but I'm keeping it in check. I know that our trip to Curacao really isn't that far away, so it helps to see that on the otherwise blank calendar.

Around the world and back again ~
Jo

Itty Bitty Kitty Committee part 3

2010-08-11T11:09:00.000-07:00

Our third set of kittens was only with us for two weeks. These little ones needed to get acclimated to living in a house and needed to fatten up so they made the weight required before they could be fixed.

These three came to us already named.

Adam was the biggest of the three and the bully of the group. We really had to watch him when it was feeding time because he would push the other two away from the food dish. Any other time he was a purr machine. You could just look at him and he would purr. He also squeaked when he ran. It was like throwing a squeaky toy down a hall… squeak…squeak…squeak.

Keenan was the smallest of the three. He too was a purr machine. He spent a lot of time on JoAnna’s lap helping her work. He was also the most vocal. He would walk up and squeak at me or Jo for no reason. He also slept on Bianca's bed right next to her.

Isabella (Izzy) was our shy little girl. She only came out for petting if she was jealous of the attention the boys were receiving. Izzy was a unique little girl in that she had extra toes on each foot. There were a few times when she actually got her toes caught on each other and ended up hopping around until one of us fixed it for her.

All three were cute in their own way and we definitely would have like to have them a bit longer but we did fatten them up and get them ready for new homes.

More toes = more love.

-Cory

AZ Road Trip Part 3: Flagstaff

2010-08-05T14:01:00.000-07:00

In between visiting the Hubbell Trading Post and Petrified Forest National Park Jo and I took a day and went to the Flagstaff area. We first headed to Walnut Canyon National Monument.

This monument only has two hiking trails and visitors are only allowed in a very small portion of the park. Most of the park is preserved for its archeological significance. The Parks Service was restoring one of the trails so we packed up and took the single trail that was open. It was very interesting. We were able to weave in and out of the cave dwellings that are the main draw for the park. It was a very nice walk and a very pretty park.

After Walnut Canyon we drove up to Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument. Sunset Crater was easily one of my favorite parks we visited. It was simple and well designed. There were a few hiking trails, both with great views of the Flagstaff area as well as the Crater. When we started the longer of the two hikes it began to rain. I ran back to the car and grabbed our rain jackets and we enjoyed a very nice hike in the rain. I think the best part of that hike was the fact the trail was empty of people except this small family. Both mom and dad were finding and sharing the great parts of hiking, even in the rain, with their boys. It was inspiring to see a pair of parents sharing the Parks with their kids in an appropriate way.

Sunset Crater loops up to Wupatki National Monument, one of the biggest archeological sites we had the chance to visit during the trip. It was very cool, but by this time we were a bit tired of ruins. We took the self guided tour and took some photos but I think we were both glad to be back in the car and headed to Flagstaff.

In Flagstaff we took some time to walk around the downtown/University area and peek in to the little shops. We had a lovely dinner at a nice little restaurant and followed that with a very tasty latte. We were both impressed with Flagstaff and we look forward to exploring it a bit more in December when we will be spending time with Jo’s family in Sedona.

Peas!

Cory

AZ part two!

2010-07-26T14:36:00.000-07:00

Jo and I decided to leave Canyon De Chelly a few hours earlier than we originally planned and hit the road so we could get to Holbrook, AZ a bit sooner and get a hot shower at the KOA that was to be our home base for the next few days.

Fortunately, we stopped off at Hubbel Trading Post National Historic Site.

The Trading Post almost defies description. It is a large complex that includes stables, a store, an art gallery and the Hubbel Home. The store is still an active trading post selling various goods. I bought a Navajo cake, a sort of chocolate/corn/raisin tamale snack, and ate it as we walked the grounds. We also took the park service’s tour of the house. John Lorenzo Hubbel and his family lived in the home while they ran the trading post. The home is a glimpse into life at the post and the relationship Hubble had with the local Navajo people as well as a gallery for the art he collected. It was an amazing stop and well worth going out of the way to visit.

We continued on to Petrified Forest National Park to pick up our map and then to Holbrook to set up camp. We took our highly anticipated hot showers and then collected a free piece of petrified wood (not collected in the park… we triple checked) from one of the local dealers and headed 20 miles west to Winslow, AZ. Yes, that Winslow, AZ.

Winslow sits right on Route 66 and the sleepy little town is trying to make the most of its historic location and a single line in The Eagles song “Take it Easy.” There is a Standing on a Corner Park with Route 66 stores on adjacent corners to the park. We, of course, had to stand on the corner and call our respective parents. We then sampled Route 66 sodas and headed back to Holbrook for dinner.

Our last day in AZ was spent at Petrified Forest National Park. We did every single hike available and enjoyed most of them. The highlight for us both was when a ranger explained that we could actually go down in to the desert via a path behind the Painted Desert Inn and Museum. It was nice because the park was busy and this got us away from the masses and gave us a much better glimpse of the park. Many of the hikes were paved and weaved in and out of the piles of petrified wood.

I think the hardest part was watching inconsiderate people trample off the trails to see pieces of wood. Jo and I had a long conversation about why we, as Americans, seem to think that ignoring the posted signs and requests to stay on the path and trundle off where ever we want is seen as our right? I love the parks, and I think they are amazingly important, but it really bothers me to see people treating them as something that are rightfully theirs and not as the gift they are. We tend to forget that the United States is fortunate that our government and a few private citizens were smart enough to preserve some of our natural beauty. Very few European countries have National Parks because they did not have the foresight to care for the land a bit better. So how about we appreciate what we have and not let our kids trample down the hill instead of taking the trail…OK… I feel better, mostly.

We also spent a day exploring the Flagstaff area – which will get a separate post after this, so stay tuned!

Standing on a Soapbox In Las Vegas, Nevada,

Cory

Northern Arizona Road Trip, Part 1

2010-07-16T10:57:00.000-07:00

Jo and I so enjoyed last summer’s road trip that we planned another tour of local National Parks, this time in Northern Arizona. We started last Wednesday and Northeast to Navajo National Monument just outside Kayenta, Arizona in the Navajo Nation. It is here we ran into Arizona’s kooky time issues. In a nutshell, the state of Arizona and the Hopi Nation do not recognize (celebrate? Conform to?) Daylight Savings Time but the Navajo Nation does. Ergo, on the Navajo Nation, during the summer, it is Mountain Standard Time; but everywhere else it is Pacific Standard Time.

Anyway, we spent the first evening hiking the two trails around the rim of the canyon and looking over Betatakin, the Anasazi – or Ancient Pueblo People if you prefer – ruins. The second day we broke camp and met a ranger at the visitors’ center to take the 5 mile, round trip, guided tour to Betatakin. It was, by far, the highlight of the entire road trip. We were able to walk gingerly around the ruins and our guide was extremely knowledgeable.

From Navajo National Monument we headed to Canyon De Chelly National Monument. Now, Canyon De Chelly is pretty in its own right but we had a few issues with the park. First, it sits on the very near outskirts of Chinle, AZ and the proximity of the Navajo town seems to affect the park. The canyon consists of two rim drives each with their own overlooks. The overlooks are nice and they give decent views of the canyons and the Anasazi ruins. The campground feels more like a state park grounds and there is a strange instance of the locals simply parking at open sites and...well... hanging out. This most likely goes hand in hand with the signs at the Visitors' Center that warned about a rash of robberies.

Our biggest issue was, as I stated above, the effects of Chinle. First, there are numerous merchants at every overlook selling Navajo tourist trinkets. That in itself is not bad, but they are a bit pushy about it and all the trinkets are the same. It distracts from the canyon. Second, and more irritating, is the fact that the only way to go in to the canyon for a majority of the year is by hiring a guide from town. Again, not a big deal, in fact we like the idea of the Navajo Nation working in tandem with the Parks Service, but the majority of those tours are done via 4 wheel drive. As you all know, we dislike the destroying of nature via wheels.

We did stumble upon a Ranger hike into the canyon, a rarity in the park. It was a good hike but we were still a far distance away from any ruins. We planned on taking another guided hike the day we left the park, but decided against it due to fatigue and disillusionment. From the canyon we headed to our final destination, Holbrook, AZ on our way we would visit Hubble Trading Post National Historic Site and would spend the next few days in the Flagstaff area as well as Petrified Forest National Park.

Stay tuned for the rest of the trip!

-Cory

Editor's note: If you don't have anything nice to say, 1) don't say it at all, or 2) be courageous enough to put your name to it. Anonymous comments will no longer be accepted. Have a great day!

The Itty Bitty Kitty Committee take two: The Gentlemen of the Shire

2010-07-06T19:05:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we returned the second of the Itty Bitty Kitty Committee to the Homeward Bound gang. This time we had four little boys with us:

Frodo(the striped one):

Gandalf:

Smeagol:

And Pippin:

They were a bit more of a challenge than Tara and Scarlett. The boys had only lived in a large crate and were basically in shock when we let them out the first night. It was a bit of a…. well… shitty mess. With a little guidance from Homeward Bound we decided to have them stay in the extra bathroom. Keeping them in a smaller room reduced the stress, both on them and us. After about a week they began to warm up and embrace their full kittenness (what… it’s a word).

As each week passed they became much more loving and playful. They would often spend hours in the front room pouncing on one another and playing with the numerous cat toys we have.

Frodo and Smeagol became great friends and were often found together (funny, no?). Gandalf, true to his name, was often the most curious and the first to explore. He was also very independent and would wander away from the group to find his own place to play or sleep. Pippen was very reserved and quite shy.

We’ll be taking a break from kittens for a few months as our travels will keep us out of the house for most of the rest of July and August.

In a quiet house once again,

Cory

The Itty Bitty Kitty Committee take one

2010-06-01T20:13:00.000-07:00

You remember the pictures I posted on Facebook of the Bare Naked Ladies concert?... you don’t? go check them out…

You with me now?

Well, that was an event called Pet-A-Palooza. It is a fundraiser for the local SPCA and other animal groups here in Las Vegas. Jo and I have avoided it for the past few years because we feared our lack of willpower when it comes to adopting new critters. Jo stumbled upon the possibility of fostering kittens and…lo! There are kittens!

We got the two little scamps eight weeks ago when they were four weeks old. They didn’t even have names; we spent the first few days calling them “the orange one” and “the white an orange one.” We worked hard on finding them a pair of literary names and finally settled on Scarlett and Tara (really? You don’t get the allusion?... try Wikipedia).

Scarlett came to us with a runny nose and a bit of an eye infection. We got the eye cleared up fairly quickly but she still has the sneezles.

Tara grows exponentially each day, both in girth and in fur. Scarlett remains hyper and wiry.

Tara purrs the minute you touch her; Scarlett likes to sleep in JoAnna’s hood.

They both sleep…. A lot. When they are not sleeping, they are attacking each other, JoAnna’s desk, Toby… but not Abby, never Abby.

On Sunday we take them back to the woman who runs the program… and pick up more.

In Love and Fur,

Cory

New Orleans Photo Essay

2010-05-17T18:37:00.000-07:00

Ok... we know... it has been way to long. Instead of taking forever to write a long post on New Orleans, we figure a photo essay might be better.

The Union Station in Los Angeles

Lamp lights in the French Quarter

The Corn Fence House

Cafe Du Monde

And again

Street cars- we took one to the Garden District

Katrina damage to Louis Armstrong Park

The cemeteries are one of the coolest parts of the city... all sorts of photo opportunities

So there you have it. New Orleans in a very small nutshell. That brings us up to the beginning of April! Crap...

Peas!

Cory

I'm on a train!

2010-04-11T20:14:00.000-07:00

Greetings Dear Readers:

The next few posts are going to revolve around a theme: that of our Spring Break trip to New Orleans. The first step in our epic Big Easy adventure was taking the train from Los Angeles to New Orleans.

Now, both Jo and I have been on trains in foreign countries (Kenya, Scandinavia, Korea etc…) but never here in the states. The trip takes 48 hours and we decided to skip the extravagance of a sleeper car and ride coach the whole way. The seats were huge and there was plenty of leg room but it was a tad uncomfortable to sleep two nights in a row in a semi-reclined position. We’ll definitely spring for a sleeper car next time.

A majority of our time was spent in the observation car simply watching the countryside roll by and pretending to read our books. We played cards and bananagrams, drank coffee, ate bagels and peanut butter, and took a lot of pictures.

Our day on the train began in El Paso, Texas. It was interesting because we could see the big brown fence that marks the border between El Paso and Juarez. The rest of the day was spent crawling across the vast expanse of Texas. We had a nice dinner in the diner car with a retired Air Force Chaplain and his wife. It was a decent meal and a lot of fun to meet a new people.

I think the most interesting thing about taking Amtrak is the obvious level of unhappiness amongst the employees. They were never outright rude to the passengers, but they were obviously surly and often told the passengers that “they don’t listen to us, so please complain.”

We would definitely take the train again and we got in to New Orleans right on time and got to see a lot of the lower half of the United States.

More to come!

New color!

2010-03-21T18:52:00.000-07:00

Hey!

Welcome back!

We painted the living room...well the two of the walls. Observe!

It took a week to decide on colors. We had about a dozen different and very similar shades of green and red. We're still on the hunt for a matching set of curtains but overall we're very happy with the change.

Hope all is well.

-Cory

A Caribbean Sail to Ring in 2010

2010-02-07T14:18:00.000-08:00

Once again, I'm late in posting about my latest trip, but it is what it is.

My sister, Rebecca, and I sailed on Holland America's ship, the ms Eurodam, the second full week in January. We rarely get to spend time together, so it was nice to just chill away from everything else for awhile. For the most part, we were unplugged for the duration of our trip, though we couldn't help but ring up the hubbies while we sat in the hot tub on the shore of Puerto Rico (technically U.S. land and therefore no international roaming charges). I was on the cruise for the International Food, Wine and Travel Writers Association 2010 conference, but for most of the time, we got to do what we wanted to do.

Some of the highlights:

Holland America paid for me to get a spa treatment. I got a seaweed wrap, which sort of made me feel like a baked potato. It was very relaxing, though, and, for a first-time spa experience, I give it two thumbs up. I will be writing about the experience on Kaleidoscopic Wandering within the next couple months.

The dessert extravaganza, which was held by the chefs one night, was by far more of an art show than a culinary marvel. Carved fruit and ice sculptures, beautifully designed bread art, a chocolate fountain, tiers of candied apples, dipped strawberries, mousse in every flavor ... truly stunning in every sense of the word.

Relaxing in the hot tub. I know, I know, not all that exciting from the sound of it, but it was so nice to be able to soak in the hot water with no where else to go or anything else to do. I really did enjoy the night we were sitting in the hot tub while we were in port in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The lights were colorful and the weather was warm.

There was a piano bar on board, and the piano man could plan hundreds of songs - everything from 1920s hits to modern gangsta rap. We spent a couple evenings in the piano bar and had a lot of fun.

The Exploration Lounge was actually a huge library with computers and a cafe. It was on the very top floor of the boat, overlooking the ocean. Very chill. A nice place to relax.
Rebecca and I were smart enough to pack a deck of cards (I never seem to have them when I want them), and we whipped through some serious games of War, including the shortest game ever. It lasted two rounds through the deck.

In the week we were at sea, we stopped at four ports: Grand Turk (Turks and Caicos Islands), Puerto Rico, St. Thomas (U.S. Virgin Islands) and Little San Salvador (Bahamas). Seeing as how our first cruising experience was pretty much a bust, I was definitely happy with our on-shore stops. Here's what we did:

It was raining when we left Ft. Lauderdale, and it poured rain the whole first day at sea. It also poured rain on Grand Turk, the largest of the Turk Islands, which are part of the Turks and Caicos Islands. Luckily, Grand Turk is a pretty small, fairly undeveloped island, and there really wasn't all that much to do. We stayed with the conference group the day we went ashore to Grand Turk, and that was fine with me. We had a car tour of the island (at 7 miles across, there's not much to see). The island is still trying to rebuild itself after a devastating hurricane that swept through in 2008, and there were a lot of buildings in shambles. I was most surprised by the garbage dump, which was literally a huge pile of garbage next to the side of the road - and next to a school and cemetery. We ate some variations of conch, which is a delicacy in the Caribbean, and which I fell in love with in Honduras. Overall, a pretty chill day - cold, rainy, but at least we got to get off the ship for a bit.

Our second port was San Juan, Puerto Rico. We started the day off with part of our conference group. We had a really knowledgeable guide who gave us a tour of Old San Juan. I loved the public art and fountains in the public spaces. The streets were narrow and paved with cobblestones or old blue bricks. The sun was hot, and Rebecca and I each got a bit of sun (Yay! Mission accomplished!). Once we reached El Morro, the famous fort in San Juan, we broke off from the crowd and decided to tour it. I was a fan because the view was superb, and there were aspects of this fort - like a triangular staircase - that I've never seen anywhere else.

Our cruise ship next docked at St. Thomas, one of the U.S. Virgin Islands, but Rebecca had found out that it's quite touristy and known for shopping. Not so much our style. So we hopped off the boat and caught a ferry to St. John, another of the U.S. Virgin Islands, but much more preserved for nature. Over half the island is part of the U.S. Virgin Islands National Park. The NPS office is right off the ferry dock, so we picked up a map and headed up the trail for a day of hiking. We only met a few other people on the trail. It was another warm day and sort of humid. I was sweating like mad, but it felt good to burn off some of those cruise ship meals. There were a couple places where we could look out over the island, and it was so green and beautiful. The sea was vivid blue, and there were itty bitty islands in every direction. Little white sailboats were floating around. Absolutely beautiful. Part of the trail went along Honeymoon Beach, which had very few people on it. It was a soft white sand, and little waves lapped on the shore. One of the stranger things on our hike was our discovery of hermit crabs, which, we learned after our hike, actually climb up into the hills of the park every year to live, then climb all the way back down to the beach and sea to mate.

Our final cruise port was on Little San Salvador, an island in the Bahamas that is rented by Holland America for use as a cruise port. There were two Holland America ships in port that day, so the beach was packed (and the water was freezing cold!!), but we claimed our spot on the sand and did our best to soak up some sun on our last day on the cruise. In the afternoon, we went sea kayaking in a lagoon on the island. I've never kayaked before, and even though it was a hefty upper body workout, it was a lot of fun. I'd definitely do it again.

Overall ... a lovely week at sea. Here's hoping my sis and I get to vacation together every year!

Port and Starboard ~
JoAnna

2010-01-30T15:55:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone!

I made a video last summer for the trip that Jo, Leland and I took to some of the National Parks in California and Oregon. I found it whilst digging through my computer files and thought, "hey! I should actually do something with this." So I did.

Enjoy!

Late! But worth the wait?

2010-01-14T15:34:00.000-08:00

*Disclaimer: I fully realize that the Holiday Season is over and that this post should have been done weeks ago, but I had stuff to do (like finish watching all the seasons of ‘Friends’)!

Jo and I spend a majority of the winter break in Washington visiting my parents. We flew out on Christmas Eve and returned to Vegas on New Year’s Eve. We managed to keep ourselves busy while visiting the folks, what follows is a brief synopsis of the highlights:

Christmas Day

Mom made an excellent Prime Rib. Gifts were exchanged, including new WSU hoodies for both Jo and me (yes, that is grammatically correct…fyi). Wine was consumed, then rum. Cheesecake enjoyed.

Lake Quinault

Dad took Jo and me up to Lake Quinault to take some pictures and see the peninsula. Jo wrote a great piece on it for her travel blog. It was a beautiful day spent walking around the woods and the lake and enjoying each other’s company.

Zoo Lights

Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium, in a well planned effort to increase zoo attendance in the winter, decks the entire zoo out with holiday lights for the masses to enjoy. So we enjoyed. It was pretty and pretty crowded. A good time was had by all.

Seattle Underground

Jo and I spent a day in Seattle. We went to my personal Mecca (the new Starbucks flagship store), Pike Place, and did the Seattle Underground tour. It was a fascinating bit of Seattle history that I was unfamiliar with. We had lunch at a cute little Greek restaurant and tooled around Pioneer Square for a while.

New Year’s Eve

We got home just before midnight. There is a bridge near our house that offers a great view of The Strip. We sat on the bridge and watched the fireworks. It was a nice way to cap off the year.

Here’s to hoping you and yours had a great Holiday and that this year brings you as much adventure and excitement as you can handle…maybe more.

-Cory

Press Trip #2: Jo Visits Huatulco, Mexico

2010-01-04T19:03:00.000-08:00

I'm about a month late with this post, but better late than never, right?

I went on my second press trip in early December to Huatulco, Mexico, a resort town in the southern portion of Oaxaca. This one was only four days long and was really focused on site visits. We spent a lot of time touring the resorts along the bays and we ate every meal at a different resort. These places are high-class places, and the food was fantastic. My two new food experiences on this trip were eating grasshoppers and shark, both of which were tasty. The seafood was plentiful, and I loved the coconut shrimp I ate on our final night there. I also had a chilled cantaloupe soup which was delicious as well.

Because this trip was focused on site visits, we didn't do as much as I would have liked, but there were a few highlights:

Taking a catamaran out into the ocean where we saw a wild sea turtle swimming in the water. Even from a distance I could tell it was huge.
Spending the day beach hopping, which equates to sucking up some sun and floating in the bathwater-warm ocean.
Hiking up through an ecological park where we could overlook the river flowing into the ocean.
Discovering a "secret" beach located on the property of the resort we were staying at. It was small, quiet and void of beach chairs.
Jumping off a waterfall ... then really pushing the limits and swinging from a rope swing from a 20-foot platform into the water. Considering the fact that I don't like diving boards, both of these were scary and exhilarating.
Seeing a huge (2.5 feet long?) iguana in the wild.

Some of the more unusual parts of the trip included:

Realizing that Huatulco, while located on the ocean, is actually a desert climate, which means there were cacti growing on the beach.
Staying at a resort that was so large I had to call for a shuttle to take me to the lobby (a 5-minute drive away).
Navigating my way through the Mexico City airport, which is fairly confusing as it doesn't announce which gates flights leave from until an hour before the flight is scheduled to leave. And to find out what gate you leave from in the international terminal, you have to stand in a long line and ask a single woman sitting in a booth.
Touring an eco-archeological park that is not yet open to the public.

One thing that I really liked about Huatulco: It is an environmentally sound community built on sustainability and conservation. When Mexico decided to build it as a resort town, it built in plans to create schools and medical facilities that weren't originally there. It is the only city in Mexico that has received a Green Globe certification, and that was a city effort. In many places, different businesses work in isolation to achieve environmental certifications, but all of Huatulco is invested in the city's future. It has controlled growth and programs in place that ensure all aspects of the community are included in all the planning stages.

Though I haven't written specifically about Mexico at Kaleidoscopic Wandering yet, stay tuned for detailed blog posts to come.

And now the part you've really been waiting for ... a few choice pictures of the nearly 1,000 I took while there:

Sunshine and tropical climate ~
JoAnna

2009-12-21T09:20:00.001-08:00

Believe it or not, Jo and I have been married for six years. To celebrate we decided to use the gift card we received when we donated to NPR and go to Terra Verde at the Green Valley Ranch in Henderson and have a fancy pants dinner.

We got all dressed up (I even wore a tie!) and drove on down to GVR. The promenade was decorated for the Holidays with a big tree and a lot of lights along the walkway. It was really quite pretty.

Terra Verde was beautiful in its simple elegance and wonderful service. After browsing through the menu, we each decided to have the fixed menu: a pre-set three course meal that included $10 for wine. Jo had the caprese, linguini in clam sauce, and panne cotta. I had the bruschetta, chicken masala, and the chocolate indulgence dessert. Everything was amazingly well prepared and extraordinarily tasty. We spent a lot of time just chatting and enjoying each other’s company. There was no rush to eat and leave. In fact, our waiter told us just to let him know when we were ready for each course and he’d get it started. It felt as if we were his only table (we weren’t) and we noticed that all the staff treated every table the same way. We even overheard our waiter tell another customer that if she didn’t see what she wanted on the menu, just to let him know what she did want and the chef would happily whip it up for her.

This was also our first experience with the newest wine service style. You can still order wine by the glass or bottle, or they can give you a preloaded card that you slide in to a machine and select how much and what kind of wine you want based on price per oz. It was fun going around looking at all the bottles and deciding how to spend the $10 on the card. We saw one red wine that was $34 for two oz. Our waiter told us the restaurant often sells the empty bottles for $200. EMPTY. BOTTLES.

After dinner we drove down to the Bellagio to see the conservatory all lit up for the Holidays. They line out the small space with red and pink poinsettias and design small winter scenes in each section of the garden. There were scenes of Santa visiting a small cabin in the woods, polar bears at play and a model train weaving its way through the legs of a giant rocking horse. This year the Conservatory is dominated by a monstrous, yet elegant, tree. We took a long time walking around and taking pictures, both for this blog and for Jo's travel blog (where pictures of the conservatory abound!)

We’re off to Ocean Shores on Thursday to spend Christmas with my parents.

Here’s to you and yours during this festive season!

-Cory

JoAnna Takes a Press Trip

2009-11-23T19:35:00.000-08:00

Is it the sign I was waiting for to prove to myself that I am, in fact, a travel writer? Early in November I played the quick turn game - one day I'm not going anywhere, the next day I'm getting plane reservations to fly to Honduras and less than a week later I'm in a largely underrated Central American country.

And this is why I keep my passport handy and up-to-date.

The whole purpose of the press trip was to show journalists that, despite the travel advisory warnings on Honduras by many of the Western nations, it is actually a very safe place to travel. There has been some unrest in the capital city, but there wasn't a military coup as the Western media says. Also, anything that is going on in the country is happening in Tegucigalpa, and though that is very little, it certainly has no effect on tourists to the country. Most of the country has carried on with their every day lives. As we traveled around the country, I was shocked by how few people there were ... the restaurants were empty, the hotels were unoccupied, the beaches were bare.

In my own humble opinion, it's when tourists stop visiting a country that places have to lay people off. And when people are laid off, that's when they resort to violence and crime in order to feed their families. Honduran businesses are doing everything they can to draw people to their doorstep - 2 for 1 discounts, low season rates during high season, etc. So, for what it's worth, if you're looking for a great vacation destination for a low cost, I recommend Honduras. It's safe and interesting ... and I'm hoping to take Cory back with me soon.

Enough of that ... now on to my trip.

So a press trip is a lot of work. We went from dawn to dusk and beyond, and then, of course, I had to login to the WiFi and get some other work done. We met with representatives of the tourism sector in the country and had to take tours of some things the average tourists wouldn't visit (the new cruise port on Roatan, for example), but I also got to do a ton of really cool things that I might not have done on my own.

(Side note: I had a bit of a camera snafu on my first day, so a lot of the pictures I'm going to post were actually taken by a fellow travel writer, Katie.)

La Ceiba:

Billed as an eco-tourism destination. We stayed at a fancy-schmancy eco-resort that was located on the edge of Pico Bonito National Park, which has miles of hiking trails. We had crappy weather in La Ceiba, and I didn't have much time to hike, but we did get to go whitewater rafting, which was fun and redeeming since my last rafting experience was on the Nile River and left me a bit turned upside down to the notion of rafting. The water wasn't all that cold since we were being rained on. The rapids were class II to IV, so nothing too rough, and parts of the river were actually quite shallow. Here are some photos from La Ceiba:

The inside of a cocao plant.

Roatan:

Roatan is a part of the Bay Islands, located in the Caribbean. In fact, some people on Roatan believe it should be its own nation. A lot of cruise ships dock here, though I fear a lot of them barely get far from the dock. In fact, the person from the PR firm who was leading our group said that many of the people who dock don't even realize they're in Honduras.

We had some afterthought rain showers as a result of Hurricane Ida that came through a couple days before, so we never got to take the sunset sail that was on the schedule, but we did get to snorkel with dolphins and go zip lining, which were my personal favorites on the island. I wasn't such a big fan of the macaw and monkey experiences, as I'm just generally not a fan of zoos of sorts. A lot of the monkeys were free to roam the treetops, but not all of them. Nonetheless, I got a few shots of me with some of the free roamers.

The resort we stayed in was a 5-star beauty, and the rooms would more accurately be described as a condo. It had a bedroom, kitchen, living room and balcony. My favorite part of the resort was the infinity pool.

All photos are by Katie (except for the dolphin ... that came from Anthony's Key Resort):

Copan:

Copan is a quaint, quiet town seven miles from the Guatemala border. It is very different than either La Ceiba or Roatan. The streets are cobblestone and narrow. Cowboys lounge on the street corners. Women chill with their goods laid out on the blankets on the sidewalk. It's a very chill and laidback place.

Copan is best known for its Mayan ruins, which are some of the most intricate and finest examples of Mayan ruins in the whole world. When we went, there were hardly any people there. We had a guide, and anyone who visits the grounds would be wise to hire a guide as well. It provides a lot more context for the ruins. One of the coolest parts of the ruins is that it is home to the longest inscription of hieroglyphics in the world. That's what makes it an UNESCO Heritage Site.

We visited a macaw sanctuary as well, which I liked a lot better than the one on Roatan, because here the birds were actually free to fly away if they wanted to.

The other really fantastic thing we did while we were in Copan was go to a ranch ... my introduction to agritourism, which was fantastic. The farmer, Carlos, grows over 90% of the family's food on the farm. We got a quick introduction to some of the produce grown on the grounds in the morning, and nearly our whole lunch came from the grounds ~ produce, meat, butter, etc. He showed us all the workings of his on-site coffee plantation, and the "highlight" of our farm visit was the horseback riding. So it turns out that I'm not such a big fan of horseback riding ... My horse, Sol, was definitely gentle enough, but I guess I'm just not a big horse person. The countryside was beautiful, though. To top off our stay in Copan, we went to the hot springs (definitely needed after the jarring horseback ride), which were isolated and totally engulfed in the rainforest. Overall, Copan was a very relaxing place to end our stay.

(Look ... I got a loner camera!):

They allow liberals in Texas, right?

2009-11-17T18:00:00.000-08:00

Howdy Pard’ners!

Two weeks ago the planets aligned: I had Halloween (officially “Nevada Day”) off, the Cougs were playing Notre Dame in San Antonio, TX(more on that later), and we had tickets. So on Friday morning we loaded a plane and headed off to meet Jill and Leland (Jo’s folks) in San Antonio. Jo’s aunt and uncle (Mary and E respectively) have a house just outside of SA so we were able to bunk up with a couple of “locals” and not have to stay in a hotel.

Despite our reservations about Texas (we are tree-hugggin’, granola munchin’, gourmet coffee sippin’ hippies, after all) San Antonio was a great all-around city. We spent our first day going along the Missions Trail: the road that connects the Alamo to four other outlying missions just outside of San Antonio. Jo did a great job of describing the missions in her travel blog…So I am just going to post a few pictures.

We ended our first evening in Texas with a true Texan meal; barbeque. We went to Texas Pride, a little joint that was covered on “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.” Good? Yes. Great? Eh.

On Saturday we went to the Alamo. It was crowded…and in my opinion, overrated. The other four missions were much quieter and by far more interesting. We prowled around the river walk (an outdoor walkway along the river that boasts restaurants and boutiques) and made our way to the Alamo Dome for the game.

Ahh the game…At least I got to see Emmett, the band grad assistant from my last year at WSU. Other than that… it is still a rebuilding year?

Sunday we traveled out to the sleepy little town of Gruene (pronounced “green”) and walked around the boutiques and antique malls. It was a quiet time just hanging out, sipping local wines and walking through eclectic shops. I even managed to procure an Edgar Allen Poe action figure.

It was a whirlwind weekend. We’re not ready to move to Texas, but it was a nice place to visit.

Yeeeehaw!?

Cory

Concert time!

2009-10-29T00:06:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Cory and I ventured down to the Sam Boyd Stadium to watch U2 perform on their 360 tour. Two words: FREAKING AWESOME.

When they say 360 tour, they mean it. The stage was massive with a true 360 walkway all the way around it. We had cheap tickets, so we got stuck behind one of the structural poles, but with the walkway and gigantic stage screens, we actually had a pretty good view - and Cory took some killer pictures.
The Black Eyed Peas opened for U2, which we thought was a little weird at first, but I like the Black Eyed Peas, and they did a great job of warming up the crowd in anticipation for the main act. I had no idea the band was so big ... and that Fergie had such killer pipes. They played their most well-known songs, including a few Fergie-only tunes while the boys changed outfits.

The set switch didn't take long, so before we knew it U2 had taken the stage. I love U2's new album, so I was stoked that they opened with three songs off of it. Throughout the rest of the concert, they played new stuff mixed in with the classics - Where the Streets Have No Name, Beautiful Day, One. The platform bridges moved around the stage and Bono and The Edge made their way all the way around. I've got to say that they had killer energy for the entire 3 hours that they played.

I love hearing bands that meet or exceed the expectations we have of them based on their albums. U2 definitely did not disappoint. The crowd was clearly enthusiastic about their performance, and Cory and I had an awesome time. Definitely an evening well spent.

Love ballads and hard rock classics,
JoAnna

You ran how far?

2009-10-21T16:26:00.001-07:00

(Team Currently Unknown at the Finish Line)

Twelve people, 29 hours, 171 miles: a very simple definition of the Las Vegas Ragnar Relay. However, as we discovered on the weekend of October 9th, Ragnar is so much more.

JoAnna has wanted to run a Ragnar for quite some time now. Her chance came in June when we received a flyer for the first annual Las Vegas Ragnar Relay. Jo asked me if I thought I knew enough people to put together a team; I wasn’t sure but I figured we should ask our neighbors, Gregg and Jen. They were excited to participate and even knew another guy, Heath, who they thought might run.

JoAnna was pretty excited. She began checking around work and found Shawncee. Shawncee in turn, knew Katey, who knew Denise. We quickly had a team of 8 ready to go. On a whim, Jo e-mail Matt and Bethany, whom we met while hiking the Inca Trail, to see if they wanted to drive over from L.A. and run. Being the awesome adventurers that they are, they agreed. We then convinced Matt Miller, a friend from Wisconsin (now living in Vegas) that he should run. We picked up our friend Alice, who decided this crazy race should be her first big run. We had a full team by August.

After our first team meeting we discovered that Matt Miller had injured himself, but found a replacement runner named Marlie. Matt never actually met Marlie, he found her through a friend of a friend.

Due to the nature of our team not really knowing each other, we decided to run our relay as team Currently Unknown (the name JoAnna gave us as a filler when she had to sign us up, but didn’t know our official name yet… get it? It’s clever… trust me).

We all trained separately or in small groups of two or three; meeting only three times as a team to go over details for the race and have a huge pre-race spaghetti feed.

On the morning of October 9^th, van 1 (Myself, Jen, Heath, Shawncee, Alice, and Marlie with our driver Bev) rolled out of our driveway and headed up to the starting point at the Clark County Fair Grounds. Shawncee took off as runner 1 at 9 a.m. We each ran our 1^st leg of the race, and met Van 2 (Jo, Bethany, Matt, Katey, Denise and Gregg and their driver, Pete) in Valley of Fire State Park around noon.

(Van 1: Heath, Cory, Alice, Shawncee, Jen, Bev, and Marlie)

Van 2 had a much crappier first leg to run. Where our first leg totaled 24 miles between 6 people, theirs totaled 43 miles. It was mostly up hill and definitely hot. We met them again at Lake Mead around 9:00 p.m.

(Van 2 from top l-r: Gregg, Jo, Denise, Matt, Katey, Bethany)

We all ran late night runs. We all ran them extremely fast. By the time van 2 was done with its second leg, the team was 40 minutes ahead of schedule. We never looked back.

At 2:06 p.m. the next day the entire team waited by the pool area of Red Rock Casino as Jo, fittingly, ran the last leg of the race. As Ragnar tradition dictates, we all ran the last 100 yards of the race and crossed the finish line as a team.

Ragnar is an amazing activity. The thought of running 171 miles in 29 hours is astonishing and mind blowing. But a Ragnar Relay is so much more than running. Ragnar instills a true sense of community in its participants. You cheered your own runners along, but you cheered every other runner that passed you as you waited by the side of the road to catch a glimpse of your teammate. You made sure everyone had water, no matter the team. You slapped hands, you laughed, you cheered, you offered up your food.

There is so much more that could be said. So much more that was done. All 12 of us made life-long friends in 29 hours… and we’re crazy enough to ponder doing another Ragnar this June.

Sore feet and smiles,

Cory

The Magic Behind the Magic

2009-10-03T16:23:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Cory and I went to see Penn & Teller, one of the most popular shows in Las Vegas. We're friends with Mike Jones, who is the pianist for the show, so it was fun to see him in action.

There are a lot of magicians in Las Vegas, but this show is different because it's an interesting mix of comedy, magic and honesty. They perform the usual magic tricks that you might see somewhere else, such as the balls under moving cups trick, but then they heighten the trick by showing the audience how it's done. That is not the end of the trick, though. While the audience is getting the behind-the-scenes look on one of the most famous tricks in magic history, Penn & Teller are actually pulling another fast one on everyone.

We had a lot of fun laughing and watching in awe as these two guys moved from one act to another. We're very lucky to have met so many awesome people in Las Vegas who have given us the chance to see some of the best shows, eat some of the best food and done some of the most interesting things in town.

We planned on September being low-key and quiet. Not so much. So now a fast dash through October begins ... This month we've got the Ragnar Relay, a U2 concert and a trip to San Antonio to see WSU play (and probably lose) to Notre Dame. Time flies when you're having a good time!

Smoke and mirrors ~
JoAnna

Ugh my frickin' stomach!

2009-09-21T16:13:00.000-07:00

That's right. Beer and upscale breakfast is how we roll. Well...at least it is how we rolled last weekend. Before I share our gustatory adventures I must preface this tale with a big, fat raspberry to all of you who mocked the Haugen household for our slight addiction to Twitter/Facebook. See, both of last weekend's events were due directly to said addiction.

On Saturday Jo and I attended the Village Craft Beer Festival. This was an event co-hosted by Buckbean Beer out of Reno, whom I follow on twitter. Last week they asked who wanted free tickets, I responded, and Bam! said the Lady...two free tickets worth $40.

We sampled multiple beers from 17 Nevada brewers. We hung out on the lawn. We stared at Lake Las Vegas. We listened to a fair to poor cover band. We ate sammiches. Basically, we did nothing. Nothing with beer.

Then there was Sunday. And the Lord said "let there be brunch!" Last month JoAnna met up with a friend she had met...ready...that's right...on twitter, and had an amazing dinner at Simon, Chef Kerry Simon's restaurant at the Palms Place. While at this dinner she was invited back for brunch by the Vice President and Assistant General Manager for the resort.

So on Sunday we dressed up and went to Simon. And oh...my...God. Brunch at Simon is amazing. There is a full buffet of pastries, fresh fruit cut to order, hand rolled sushi, and a panini station. Not to mention the hand mixed cream cheeses, the peel-and-eat shrimp, and the Bloody Mary bar. There is also a selection available from the kitchen.

Jo had Simon french toast (brioche in Frosted Flake crumbs) while I had the breakfast prime hash.

Now, I will admit the crunch of the french toast was not my thing, but it was tasty. The hash, on the other hand, was amazing. The steak was tender, the egg and gravy seasoned to perfection with a hit of jalapeno puree to give the whole thing a kick. I thought I was in heaven. Fortunately, I had no idea what heaven was. As we sat back to let a bit of food digest, our waitress told us the special for the day. A crepe filled with roasted chicken and smoked ham covered in a cream cheese sauce. To quote my wife "when I dig into the chicken and ham crepe topped with a sunny side-up egg and a cream cheese sauce, I think there is a brief moment where I’ve actually died." (p.s. that is a link to her amazingly well written review of Simon on her newly minted, well read and reviewed travel blog).

We strolled in to Simon at 10 a.m. We slowly waddled out around noon. We didn't eat anything else for the entire day. It was glorious!

Kerry Simon is known for his whimsical take on upscale food. Simon's waitstaff all wear pajamas on Sundays. Included in the buffet line is a candy bar full of classic sweet tooth goodies. And his dessert plate is called Simon's "Junk Food." and has his famous cotton candy, a bit of caramel corn, and other assorted treats. It was a great way to end a fabulous meal.

So, to recap:

1) Ha ha...mock all you want but in two days Jo and I received 140 bucks worth of free stuff from twitter.

2) Beer is good. Craft beer is better.

3) Kerry Simon is awesome. So is his food.

4) go visit JoAnna's Blog

Peas,

Cory

Home from Burning Man

2009-09-18T13:42:00.000-07:00

I've been home from Burning Man for nearly two weeks now ... and it's really amazing how much a person can change in a week.

I wasn't really sure what to expect at Burning Man, and it is actually quite difficult to put into words, but let's just say that Black Rock City, the temporary city that is built to hold Burning Man, is unlike anywhere else in the world. It is a place where people are free to be who they want to be. Obviously the law still applies - drugs are illegal, underaged minors can't drink, harassment is prosecuted - but the laws that the "default" world places on us that are moral issues, seem to be left at the gate. People stroll around in the buff. People make love on the playa. And, perhaps most impressive, is that no one else really cares. Why should they?

Burning Man is a mecca of art, which can be seen on the people, driving around the city on the art cars (mutant vehicles) and in the art installations scattered across the miles of dusty playa. The city is composed of nearly 50,000 people who live by the motto of radical self-reliance. We all brought our own lodging (a tent for me), food, water, goggles, dust masks and bikes. Almost everyone lives in a camp - I was in the Camp Nomadia Annex with a great crowd of people who spend most of their time traveling and work when necessary. I made friends with a girl who's been hitchhiking across Canada and the U.S. for the last year and a half, several people who live out of RVs, a couple guys driving around North America looking for the next great thing, a girl who has spent the last year in India and is contemplating where to go next, a handful of guys representing Matador Travel Network and, of course, the other Digital Vagabonding Roads Scholars. It was a happy and free group of people ~ very inspiring.

While the entire week was memorable, if I had to choose specific highlights, I would probably pinpoint staying up all night to watch the sun rise on the edge of the playa, taking "wedding" photos of my friend Erin in the middle of a dust storm, dancing the night away (twice!) at Opulent Temple, watching the temple burn, biking across the playa looking for hidden art and just generally questioning the way we live life outside of Burning Man.

I've written about my Burning Man experience extensively on Kaleidoscopic Wandering, and I encourage you to check out these blog posts:

Burning Man: A Life-Changing and Magical Experience

6 Life Lessons I Learned at Burning Man

A selection of my photos can be found here:

Images of Burning Man 2009

Also, if you read this blog, also enjoy Kaleidoscopic Wandering and are on Facebook (whew ~ now there's an exhaustive list!), you are more than welcome to join the Kaleidoscopic Wandering fan page on Facebook to stay up-to-date on new posts to the site. You can find the fan page here.

Neon on lights, techno music, stunning works of art and a new outlook on life ~

JoAnna

Prepping for Burning Man

2009-08-30T13:05:00.000-07:00

This weekend has been a flurry of activity as I prep for my journey to Burning Man. There's so much to think about: extreme temperatures, transportation, water (both how much to take and how to collect and carry grey water out), costumes, wind, dust, etc., etc.

I ended up buying a bunch of random clothing pieces at second-hand shops and stuff I found around the house to put together costumes out on the playa. This includes a black leather corset, a black suede jacket with red fur, a crazy green shawl/cape with fringe, wings, a headband with devil horns, a hideous tie-dyed swimsuit pullover, a huge St. Patrick's Day hat and all the Hawaiian garb we used for the Mud Run a few months back.

We went grocery shopping yesterday, and since we usually stay out of the middle aisles where all the preserved foods are, I was surprised when we started walking down those aisles to discover how much stuff does NOT need to be refrigerated. Cory set me up with a few basic meals, and then we bought bagels, peanut butter, crackers, fruit cups and the like to keep me going. I've heard that people aren't normally very hungry once they get there, so I'm sure I've totally overpacked on the food, but better overpacked than underpacked, I guess.

I picked up a second hand bike to ride around the playa. Cory was AWESOME this morning replacing the tube in one of the tires, lubing up the rusty chain and wiping the whole thing down. He told me to go slow and coast ... apparently the brakes work about 75% of the time. That's pretty good for $10.00. My favorite part of the bike is the tag attached to it that says it was confiscated by the Las Vegas police department. I am the proud owner of either a stolen or drug bust bike. Go team me!

Finally, there are all these little details to think about. I've stocked up on ear plugs and dust masks. We bought water bottles to mix up a vinegar water solution to combat the harsh playa dust. I'm using rebar to hold my tent and shade structure down in the wind. I've got goggles to protect my eyes in dust storms. Again ... I've probably overpacked, but I'm okay with that.

My favorite part of everything I've packed is a postcard Cory created for me to pass out as my bartering tool. It's a collage of photos he took this summer as we traveled around ... me as a Roads Scholar, him as my favorite travel buddy and photographer. It's a great postcard, and I'm so excited that, even though Cory isn't going to Burning Man with me, I'll be able to share his part of my journeys with other people.

So that's where things stand now. Today is a whirlwind of last minute details, and then tomorrow I take off! In less than a week the Man burns. I'll be back a week from tomorrow with yet another exciting travel adventure under my belt.

(I wrote a bit more about the Burning Man preparation at Kaleidoscopic Wandering. Check it out here.)

Burn, baby, burn ...

JoAnna

Middle of Nowhere, Nevada

2009-08-22T14:44:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Jo and I ventured 5 hours Northeast of Vegas to Great Basin National Park. This was the last of our summer trips and we were excited to explore this under visited gem of the National Parks System. The drive was boring and long (think Pullman to Ellensburg for you Washingtonians), but we did listen to some good music and chatted about this and that on the drive.

When we arrived in Baker, NV (the gateway town to the park) we stopped off at the park's visitors' center and found out that there were very few camping spots left at the Wheeler Peak campground and that we needed to hurry up there to claim our spot (all sites are first come, first serve), but we also needed gas. Getting gas required an 8 mile trip out of town. Baker and Great Basin truly are on the edge of nowhere, Nevada.

We managed to get gas and secure our camping spot. The entire campground was gorgeous and there were very few spots that were not surrounded by beautiful pine trees. Wheeler Peak campground sits at the base of Wheeler Peak and is at a 10,000 ft. elevation. The 12 mile drive from the Lehman Visitors' Center (the one in the park) is straight up hill. After setting up camp we toodled on down to the Lehman Visitors' Center and scheduled our Lehman Cave Tour for Sunday morning. We also took our first hike along an interpretive trial just behind the center.

The little hike was nice and we learned a lot about the flora of the park and a bit about its history. Afterwards we decided to head back up to the hill and do the "Lakes Hike" that had a trailhead by the campground. The lakes were gorgeous and it was a beautiful afternoon. While hiking the lakes we decided that the next day (Saturday) would be best spent going up Wheeler Peak.

Now, Wheeler Peak is not just a little day hike. Scroll back up and look at the elevation for the campground ( go ahead)....

We started the hike at 10,000 feet. We ended at 13, 069 feet. The peak is the 2nd highest point in Nevada (the highest being 13, 149 ft.). From the trail head it is 4.1 miles to the top of Wheeler Peak.

The first mile and a half or so was a beautiful winding path with a very slight incline that went in and out of an aspen forest. However, once we stepped out of the tree line we had 2 miles of switchbacks and steep inclines all hiking on this:Talus (loose rock at the base of a cliff) is much like sand in that it is a 2 steps forward, one step back type of material. Not only was the terrain difficult, but there were parts of the hike that were buffeted by heavy, cold winds without any barrier to protect us. When we did make it to the top, there was a definite feeling of accomplishmentThe hike down was easily more treacherous than the hike up. We both spent time slipping and sliding down the hill until we hit the tree line. The rest of the day was spent relaxing and warming up. Little did we know that it was going to hover around freezing that evening at our campground.

On Sunday we broke camp and headed to Lehman Cave. The cave tour was about 90 minutes and was very interesting. Lehman Cave is a limestone cave, which tend to have some pretty spectacular cave formations. Lehman is rare in that it is one of the few caves known to have a formation known as shields. Shields occur when two formations grow together to make a circular protrusion

The tour was a nice way to end our trip to the park. We stopped and had coffee in the gift shop after the tour and then hopped in the car and headed home.

As an aside, how many of you read these? Could you let us know in the comment section of this entry? Thanks!

-Cory

Another weekend away - Bryce Canyon and Cedar Breaks

2009-08-08T11:13:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago, Cory and I took a weekend away to explore another one of Utah's famous national parks. This time it was Bryce Canyon, which is about an hour an a half further than Zion. We arrived on Friday afternoon and set up our tent outside the park in a sprinkle of rain. I was a little thrown off by our campsite because, although we had reserved a spot, it was sort of a first-come, first-served type of deal, nothing was numbered, there was only one potable water spout for the entire campground and two outhouses served everyone as well. It was all run out of a Cheveron station. Very strange.

Anyway ... we got set up, then decided to drive into Bryce Canyon National Park. It is a disorienting park because the entrance is at the north end, and you drive south to the furthest point in the park. It's a relatively small park - only about 18 miles from one end of the road to the other. The main portion of Bryce is serviced by a shuttle bus, but the rest of it can only be reached, but car, so we drove to the southernmost point - Rainbow Point - and began to make our way back north, stopping at every pull-off point along the way.

Bryce is at a much higher altitude than the other parks of similar structure (Zion, Grand Canyon), and everyone warned me to dress in layers because I would be cold, but I was surprisingly comfortable. I was also pre-warned that this was no Zion, and I agree with that as well. It took me awhile to realize that the reason why most national parks are spectacular is because you can look out at what makes them so fantastic; you are surrounded by the park's beauty. At Bryce, you stand on what makes Bryce so famous. If look out in the distance, you just see land and even small towns. So when we stood at Rainbow Point and other look-outs the first day, I wasn't all that impressed. It was beautiful - yes - but not spectacular.

There isn't a lot of hiking in the southern portion of Bryce Canyon National Park (though we do plan to return next summer to hike for a few days below the rim, a trail that winds all over the souther part of the park), so we sort of did the touristy thing, pulling off to take pictures of the delicate rock features along the road. I thought the natural arch was pretty cool, but I would have liked to have hiked below it and see it from below.

That night we got a touch of soothing rain, which sounded so relaxing tapping on the outside of our tent, but by the morning it was dry and the sun was out.

We got up and caught the shuttle bus and headed to Bryce's most famous point of interest: the Amphitheater. We rode the shuttle to the southernmost stop (Bryce Point) and began our day of hoodoo viewing. The hoodoos - the orange rock features that stick up like otherworldly creatures - are actually quite stunning. Very unusual and like anything I've ever seen before. We rode the shuttle from stop to stop, plotting our course for the afternoon's hike and taking an array of photos. We stopped to eat our picnic lunch at the Bryce Lodge, then headed toward Sunrise Point to begin our hike.

While most people drop down onto the Navajo Trail or make it below the rim just a couple hundred feet before realizing they'll have to hike back out, we headed in with full gusto. An afternoon storm was coming in, and lots of people rushed out while we just pulled on our ponchos for a few minutes of rain.

Being at the bottom of Bryce Canyon among the hoodoos is a lot different than being on top looking at them. In fact, my entire perception of the park changed once we had left the rim. (You can read more about this in my Kaleidoscopic Wandering post.) We wander thrugh a good portion of the Queens Garden Trail (the highlight of which was probably the fantastic cairn garden we happened upon), then bypassed the Navajo Trail and headed to the Peekaboo Loop Trail. This 3-mile trail was definitely a moderate hike, with lots of uphill and downhill. Once we hiked onto the trail and were facing the park to the west, we were completely surrounded by the hoodoos. It was absolutely stunning. The trail continues to meander through arches carved into the rock and into shaded areas where lone bristlecone pines grew. Cory took some really gorgeous photos of this hike.

We finally made it back to the Navajo Trail, the most popular trail in the park because people can walk through the hoodoos in an area called Wall Street. Basically the hoodoos are so close together that you can barely see the sky. I will admit, it was a very cool site, unfortunately there were a million and a half people there, so some of the grandeur of the occasion was sucked away by the masses. Nonetheless, it was fun to walk through the hoodoos and up the switchbacks (which we found surprisingly not steep at all - other people were truly huffing and puffing, though).

I'm glad we took the time to walk our seven miles through the Amphitheater. I think Bryce Canyon, while a spectacular park, is not fully enjoyed until leaving the rim.

We decided to take a different route home, which led us to Cedar Breaks National Monument, a little-known, under-visited beauty also located in Utah. Read more about Cedar Breaks in this post on Kaleidoscopic Wandering, but suffice to say that I agree with the statement that, if it was located anywhere else, Cedar Breaks would be considered a natural wonder. It's a small park and we didn't spend much time there, but at more than 10,000 feet in elevation, it was a refreshing stop before heading back to the Las Vegas heat.

And ... though the camping stuff is unpacked once again, the summer is still filled with exploration and wonder. Check back for upcoming trips to Great Basin Natonal Park and Burning Man. Not to mention our usual array of Las Vegas fun and interspersed craziness. Gotta love life!

Canyons and cliff faces,

JoAnna

Crater Lake

2009-07-29T09:38:00.000-07:00

OK…we’re almost caught up here. After Yosemite, Jo and I parted ways. She headed home and Leland and I continued north. The plan was to stay at Lassen Volcanic National Park; however, that ended up being a 415 mile trip and getting out of Yosemite and then around Tahoe takes forever! We stayed in Quincy, CA that night and enjoyed an evening in a hotel. The next morning we cruised through Lassen Volcanic National Park. Lassen is one of the least visited parks in the U.S. and is absolutely gorgeous. After spending a few hours in Lassen we headed to Crater Lake National Park.

Crater Lake was our home base for the next five days. There is a reason Crater Lake is a National Park, it is, without question, the most beautiful place I have ever seen.

We spent our first day riding the rim of the park and stopping off at the viewpoints. Now, when I packed I planned for California and Reno, but not cold a$ Oregon. The second day was spent remedying that problem. We motored off to Bend to get a new rear tire for Leland and a sweatshirt for me (thank you REI!).

We went to Oregon Cave National Monument the next day. Now, I was not expecting much. I thought that if I’d seen one cave I had seen them all. However, it was a really cool experience. We stopped in a large chamber that had amazing acoustics and our Ranger guide convinced two of the Korean ladies in our group to sing a traditional Korean song to show off the acoustics. The song was beautiful and the sound was amazing. Along with the cave being beautiful the ride from Crater Lake to the cave and back was also stunning. The only unfortunate part is my camera broke the night before...boo!

The last day at the lake was spent climbing Mt. Scott, the highest point in the park. It was a great hike that gave panoramic views of the lake, the Klamath Valley, and even Mt. Shasta in the distance.

On our way to Reno (I had a state education meeting to attend) we stopped at Lava Beds National Monument just on the California/Oregon border. Lava Beds has 24 caves that are open for exploration by visitors. All of the caves have some special feature that makes them worth exploring.

Overall I put 3,000 miles on the motorcycle in 18 days. I saw some stunning scenery and became very confident and comfortable on the motorcycle. A heartfelt thanks goes to Jo for putting up with the pets for 10 days by herself and to Leland for going with me.

Yosemite

2009-07-27T13:14:00.000-07:00

After King’s Canyon and Sequoia we ventured north to one of the most visited National Parks in the system: Yosemite. We actually stayed just south of the park in a Forest Service campground because the park was so busy. From our campground it was about 45 minutes to the Yosemite Valley. Our first drive down to the valley was slow due to a prescribed burn. Little did we know how much that burn would affect our trip. We first spend some time floating down the Merced River, it runs through the heart of the valley and is the ideal way to see the whole valley: El Capitan, Half Dome, the Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls, Sentinel Dome and all the others. The float was relaxing and provided spectacular, if not smoky, views.
After the float we spent some time doing the typical, touristy crap. We took the shuttle and went to the lower falls, as well as the visitors’ center, walked Cook’s Medow and watched climbers on El Cap.

On our second full day we returned to the valley and took the five mile, uphill, slog to see both the Vernal and Nevada Falls. The biggest issue, in my opinion, with Yosemite is all the flippin’ people. In almost any other park (Yellowstone being one exception) a hike listed as “five miles, strenuous” would not be taken by the common visitor. However, at Yosemite said trail was inundated with visitors that were not prepared for such a hike.

Despite all that, the falls were beautiful.

Our Third day was spent on the Glacier Point road. We climbed to the top of Sentinel Dome (the second highest point in the park) and looked at…smoke. Remember that prescribed burn...it was so hazy due to the burn that you couldn't make out any distinct scenery.
We motored out of Yosemite that last day, going through the Tuolmne Meadows and out of the park.

Overall, I don’t think I feel the need to return to Yosemite, except maybe to go up Half Dome. It was crowded and difficult to appreciate due to the crowds.

Back to Our Regularly Scheduled Programming - California Part Two

2009-07-26T19:25:00.000-07:00

Okay, faithful readers. Stick with me here. We've been so busy that we have to back up, post a bit more about our trip to California and Cory's trip to Oregon before we move on to our latest getaway this past weekend to Utah. Yes, this has all happened in the month of July. Stick with me ... the next few posts are going to fly by fast.

So ... I take you back to California. We were near Mojave eating Mexican food and visiting exotic cats ... remember?

I’ll be the first to admit it: If I’m a sucker for national parks, then I’m definitely a sucker for those national parks that float under the radar. Well, it doesn’t get much more under-the-radar than Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, two joined parks that live in the shadow of the famous park to the north, Yosemite.

We arrived at the southern entrance to Sequoia National Park well into the afternoon, and knowing we were looking for a first-come, first-served campground, we took off up the windy road into the park at a 35 MPH clip. I fumed in frustration as we passed one full campground after another as we drove all the way through Sequoia before finding one lonely, vacant spot in Kings Canyon. I was quickly rewarded with a stunning sunset as the boys set up shop at our campground.

Our first full day in the area was spent exclusively in Sequoia National Park, south of the Lodgepole Visitor’s Center. Sequoias are the largest trees in the world by sheer volume (not by height), and the largest of all is the General Sherman. It’s a big tree, to be sure, but the three of us (Cory, my dad and I) found more solace on the less crowded, more spectacular Congress Trail. Once we got off the beaten path, we were able to wander up to, around and between the trees. In two places along the trail we came upon mini “groves” of sequoias, which were called The House and The Senate. Cory took some spectacular pictures of the light coming through the canopies.

I’ve tried to pinpoint what it is that really makes these trees so magnificent, and I think that it’s that every one of them, while all sequoias, are very different from each other. Because they’ve survived thousands of years of forest fires, disease and harsh weather, some of them are hollowed out in parts or grown over rocks and other natural barriers. One of my favorites had partially swallowed up a gigantic rock and it looked like the tree trunk was blowing a piece of bubble gum.
In an area called Crescent Meadow we saw a bear scratching on a log (thanks to Cory’s good hearing), and happened upon Tharp’s Log, a fallen, hollowed out sequoia tree which this guy lived in for 30 summers while his cattle grazed. We also climbed the 400 steps to Moro Rock, which looks out over the Sierra Nevadas. While it has the potential to be beautiful, there were somewhere close to a gazillion people on the trail (including a really stupid woman wearing high heels and a short skirt smoking a cigarette … really? Really?).

Kings Canyon was a lot less crowded. It also has a large grove of sequoia trees, including the second largest tree in the world, the General Grant. Near this grove is an area of sequoias that were pillaged way back in the day. The trail that runs through here is actually called Stump Trail because that’s all that’s here. You can get on top of the Mark Twain Stump with a ladder, and it’s impressively large, though quite sad.

One of our favorite sequoias was an oversized snag, which means it was dead and burned out. It was off a dirt road and unmarked, but what made it so special is that John Muir had removed pieces of it to study once it had died. You can still see where his ax marked the tree. It was very cool to think we were standing where John Muir once stood.

To really escape the crowds, we took the Kings Canyon Scenic Byway to Road’s End where … well … the road ended. This far back in the canyon we ran into backcountry hikers and anglers. Once here, we decided to take a long hike—nearly 10 miles round trip—to this gorgeous waterfall called Mist Falls. We met this guy there who hikes out to the falls up to ten times a year to try to take the perfect picture of the falls, which he hasn’t achieved yet. The hike was totally worth every step, and we were lucky (?) to see four snakes, two of which were rattlesnakes. Though none of us is particularly fond of snakes, it is pretty cool to come upon them in the wild—especially the rattlers.

The other really spectacular thing we did in Kings Canyon National Park was drive up to Panoramic Point. I guess you could liken the overlook point to Moro Rock, but it was far less crowded and I, personally, thought the view was much more rewarding.

Like any vacation duration, our time in Sequoia and Kings Canyon was, of course, too short. But we had to move on to bigger, though not necessarily better, and more popular places.

Sweeping vistas and camping under the stars,

JoAnna

Interlude

2009-07-18T15:56:00.000-07:00

Jo and I went and saw Le Reve last night. We got a great deal on the tickets and it all benefitted the Human Rights Campaign. Part of the ticket price included cocktails at XS, a new hotspot at the Encore Casino down on the north end of the strip. We met our friend Alice at the club and had a few glasses of wine before heading in to the theatre.

There was not a single bad seat in the house. As you can see Le Reve (French for The Dream) is a water based show. The first thing you see as you enter is a bed floating in the center of the stage.

From there it is 1 1/2 hours of pure amazement. Synchronized swimmers stay under water for inhuman durations. Performers dive off of different parts of the theatre and different apparatus as well as swing from the ceiling. The water level rises and falls to allow for parts of the stage to be revealed and danced upon. The highlight of the show (for me) is when one performer drops 96 feet from the top of the theatre straight in to the dead center of the pool of water. You could hear the crowd exhale in relief when he emerged from the depths of the pool.

The one thing I really enjoyed about Le Reve was the fact that there was no "wasted time." Often when watching shows I can tell when they are doing a big scene/act shift because the clown character trots on out and does a shtick. Usually the shtick is funny, but more often then not it drags the pace of the show down. Le Reve moved and by the time it was done I was amazed by how much the production had accomplished in such a short time. The show ended with a beautiful display of giant flowers blooming from the ceiling and the sides of the stage.

Le Reve has quickly placed itself in my top five shows on the strip, falling only behind KA for its beauty and showmanship. A definite must see.

Dreaming of Water in the Desert,

Cory

A Trip to California - Mojave Area

2009-07-14T19:25:00.000-07:00

I promise, we haven't fallen off the face of the earth! Instead, we took a vacation to California where we stood face-to-face with endangered wild cats, ate Mexican food at a restaurant made famous by astronauts, hugged some of the largest trees in the world, encountered not one but two rattlesnakes, heard a bear sniffing around our campsite and braved the crowds to visit one of the country's most famous national parks. ... WHEW! ...

So, where to begin?

This was the first leg of my journey as a 2009 Roads Scholar. This was also Cory's first journey by motorcycle. This meant that I drove alone, learned how to charge my computer via cigarette lighter and posted blogs on my travel blog, Kaleidoscopic Wandering, where I could. Cory boosted his confidence aboard his Honda Shadow. We had great fun ... see ... here's us smiling:

Seriously, though, we discovered so many places that this will have to, again, be split into numerous blogs. For now, let me tell you about Mojave, California.

Mojave itself is known for its air and space port. We had coffee at a little cafe in the air port, and it was fun to watch little cessnas come and go as people flew in for breakfast. Apparently Mojave has ideal conditions for testing aircraft. I'm sure it's seen more than one plane crash in its day. It also has such neutral weather that it's one of those places where planes are parked when they aren't needed. There are acres of planes just hanging out in Mojave. It's a little bizarre, actually.

The most interesting parts of our time in Mojave weren't actually in Mojave at all. We ate at Domingo's in Boron for dinner. While appearing to be a run-of-the-mill Mexican restaurant from the outside, the inside is basically a museum for air and space memorabilia. Domingo Gutierrez has been in business for more than 30 years, and his restaurant is where nearly flight members eat before they depart and when they land. The walls are covered with signed pictures, flags, buttons, patches and posters—all significant in air and space history.

He was kind enough to share more of his goodies with us, which he keeps in his back office. My favorite thing was a picture of the crew from ST-112 wearing Mexican garb. Domingo has even been invited to the launch of STS-128, which is happening in August. He will dine with the crew at their pre-flight meal then watch the lift-off from the VIP section. I wrote another blog about Domingo's at my travel blog, which you can check out here.

The second really cool thing we did in the Mojave area was go to the Exotic Feline Breeding Compound, which is in Rosamond. This facility is home to more than 75 different wild cats of 17 different species and it was FASCINATING! Sandy, the director of the EFBC, gave us a tour of the compound and took the time to answer all of our questions.

The primary purpose of the EFBC is breeding endangered cats to ensure their continued existence in the wild, which means these cats are definitely wild animals. They aren't imprinted by humans (though they know Sandy's voice), and they have very cat-like characteristics and defense mechanisms. Although I'm a softie for anything "cat," I think I liked the fishing cat, Frisbee, the best (though the jaguarundi were very interesting as well). If you're interested in reading just a touch more about the EFBC, feel free to check out my travel blog posting here.

I'll leave you with that tonight. In short order we'll post stories and pictures from our time in Sequoia National Park, King's Canyon National Park and Yosemite National Park. Cory extended his trip with a motorcycle ride into Oregon with my dad, so I'm sure he'll have plenty to share from those adventures as well.

I also know we still owe you all the full portfolio of pictures from Peru. We'll get everything up at the same time. It's on the list ... you won't have to stay tuned forever.

Leaving you with a California sunset ...
JoAnna

Playing in the Mud

2009-06-17T13:42:00.000-07:00

Welcome back to your regularly scheduled programming! While you were reading about Peru, Jo and I continued to do random activities for you're (and our) entertainment. One of those activities occured 3 weeks ago. We participated in the first Las Vegas Mad Mud Run. The run consisted of a 5 mile course studded with obsticles and ending with a crawl through a mud pit. One of the prizes given out during the event was for "best costumed team" so Jo and I went to Savers and the Party Store and came up with a Hawaiian theme.

Along the run we faced hay bails, a large mountain of dirt, balance beams, an over and under and a 5 ft wall. Overall we did well on the obsticles ( I struggled a bit with the wall) and ran it in to plunge in to the mud. As we couldn't take the pictures ourselves, Jo's friend Peter showed up and took photos as well as video of us running.

We had a great time running this little race and getting dirty.

Our next planned run is the Ragnar Relay in which a 12 person team runs 180 miles relay style. More on that in October.

Peas!

-Cory

Cusco- The Final Peru Post

2009-06-11T13:37:00.000-07:00

Bloggers' note: we relize how long it has taken us to get our Peru posts all up and ready for your hungry eyes. We apologize to our patient readers.

Cusco is the ancient capital and current heart of the Inca Empire. It is the starting point for all things Machu Picchu. It has the potential to be a mess of tourists and cheap, shlocky crap for those tourists. However, Cusco avoids being cheap and fake and instead is wonderfully quaint and beautiful. Cusco is built in a series of interlocking plazas, the main plaza being the Plaza de Armas (shown above). Each area of Cusco is kept, for the most part, amazingly clean and despite what the guidebooks tell you, it is a very safe little city.

We stayed right on the Plaza de Armas and were therefor in a central location that allowed us to go exploring the city with a great amount of ease. We got in to Cusco fairly early on the 3rd and were able to go check out a large selection of the cathedrals and churches in the area. We also went to check out the local market.

Our first stop was Qorikancha (Cory Kahn Cha) an ancient Incan temple that has been converted into a Catholic monistary. There were beautiful ruins of ancient temples as well as an amazing Incan harvest calendar right next to its corresponding Incan ritual calendar.

We spent a lot of time wandering the church/ruin before deciding it was time to have some lunch. One of the great things about Cusco is that if you get away from the Plaza de Armas you can eat and be entertained for a lot cheaper than expected. Meals in Cusco come (for the most part) in a set menu that includes soup, a main course, and some form of fresh juice/beverage. Most of the time we had no clue exactly what we were eating, but it was always good and always very fresh and, most importantly, usually no more than 3-5 bucks.

We toured some of the other churches but none were as amazing as Qorikancha. We also hit up the local market where we tasted fresh cheese, saw fruit smoothie stands apleanty and, oddly enough, saw a bucket of live frogs next to a bucket of not-so-alive, skinned frogs. No one was manning the buckets so we could only guess what they were for.

When we returned to Cusco from the Inca Trail we were fortunate enough to do it on Good Friday and the Saturday before Easter. No one parties better than Latin American Catholics on a religious holiday. We saw huge processions on Friday night of the Virgin and Christ being taken in to one of the cathedrals. On Saturday we were treated to a parade celebrating the cultures of the Andean people and their customs and history. It was, by far, one of the coolest things we have seen. The parade went for hours and involved dancers and warriors, bands and the clergy.

Everyone was welcome at the parade, Cuscoian and Tourist alike. We were not hounded by street hawkers or stared at by the locals. We were simply a part of the festivities. That sums up Cusco in a nutshell; you're not a tourist, your a global member of their community.

As always, there is so much more we could share about our trip. We simply do not have the time to write out all of the stories. Jo has had an article published with Donne Tempo about Cusco that you should all read. I will do my best to get the rest of the pictures posted shortly. This is the last of the Peru posts, we have had other adventures and we are planning even more. Until then...

Peas!

-Cory

Strength of the Trail: All About the Porters - Post #7

2009-05-21T19:39:00.000-07:00

“Hablas espanol?” he asked.

“Un poco,” I answered.

Our porter then proceeded to launch into a long Spanish conversation, to which I had little choice but simply shake my head and respond “no, no” over and over again.

The porters for Llama Path, as I would assume is the case with most of the tour companies on the Inca Trail, are born and raised in the Cusco area. Alex explained to me that many boys see their fathers and uncles become porters and make a living off of it, so they quit school and do the same. It’s akin to the kids here in Las Vegas who want to work in the casino cages just like their parents. Because of this, many of the Llama Path porters are family members—fathers and sons, brothers, uncles and nephews. In my quest to find all things gender friendly, I asked if there were women porters. Alex said no, though occasionally there is a woman chef.

Porters are a vital part of a successful Inca Trail hike. They are each allowed to carry 29 kilograms (almost 65 pounds!)—and that includes all of the tents, cooking gear and food. Cory and I wanted to focus on our trek and not the weight on our backs, so we hired a porter to carry our stuff. For every one hiker, two or three porters are needed.

Llama Path is a sustainable tour company, and the porters are all outfitted in proper hiking shoes and wear matching red outfits. They hike and take breaks together. They carry equipment in actual backpacks topped with rain gear. Other trekking companies’ porters wear worn clothing, torn up shoes (or sandals … or Chuckies!) and have equipment tied around their backs with oversized blankets and tarps. The further along the trail we got, the more appreciative I became of how well the porters at Llama Path were cared for. As we hiked along the Inca Trail, passing over peaks and making it through long and strenuous days were exciting milestones for me. I’ve referred to them as mini Everest achievements. Well, if this is a mini Everest achievement, the porters must be the next greatest thing after sherpas. Let me tell you, these guys can HAUL! We would leave camp in the morning while the porters were breaking down tents, washing dishes and packing. About an hour later, they would pass us as we labored on. By the time we reached our lunch stopping point, our porters and chefs would have a meal tent set up, water boiled and a full-spread buffet completely prepared. After lunch we would leave again while the porters cleaned up after us, and an hour later, our porters would pass us again. Within minutes they would become a microscopic line of red-colored ants running away and we would continue hiking. Once we reached camp for the night, not only would the meal tent be pitched and the food prepared but all of our tents would be up and our belongings were tucked inside. It was like camping at a 5-star hotel!

The other truly incredible thing about the porters is how fast they can climb. We struggled up the path to Dead Woman’s Pass with virtually nothing on our bodies, and the porters pushed on and passed us. Even more impressive was their technique to descend the mountainsides. They ran. Yes, you read that right. They ran down the steep, slippery stone steps, their feet barely touching the ground before they leapt onto the next one. Both Matias and Klaas tried this strategy and they said it worked well, but I was more interested in checking out the flowers and waterfalls.

Each porter had a particular duty to perform in the group. In addition to our chef, we had a waiter, men that were in charge of pitching the tents, assistants to the chef, etc. This whole porter thing runs like a well-oiled machine, but I guess when there are so many people on the trail, there is little choice but to be.

The saddest thing about the porters is that few, if any, of them have ever been to Machu Picchu. After the final morning on the trail, they rush down to Aguas Calientes to catch a porter train back to Cusco so that they can prepare for the next hiking group to hit the trail. I think there should be an option to donate toward a pool of cash that allows for porters to visit this World Heritage Site that just hangs out in their backyards. Our journey to Machu Picchu would have been drastically different without the strength and abilities of our porters. I might not hablo any espanol, but I did learn enough to tell each and every one of them gracias.

Seeing red ~

JoAnna

We're in some Hot Water- Peru Day 5

2009-05-10T18:46:00.000-07:00

After we had our fill of Machu Picchu we hopped on the bus with our entire group and headed down a series of steep switchbacks on our way to the town at the bottom of the mountain, Aguas Calientes.

Alex and Eddie had left a few hours before the group and Alex gave us directions to the restaurant where we would all be eating our final group meal. As we arrived in Aguas Calientes we realized it was a one street town.

Alex, showing exactly how clairvoyant he is, was waiting for us when our bus arrived in town. We all headed off to the restaurant and ordered burgers and pizza. Jo and I thought it was a luxury to have burgers, we would find out later that Augas Calientes was full of burgers and pizza. After lunch Alex, Eddie and Matias hopped on the train and headed back to Cuzco. Bethany, Matt and Klaus were scheduled for a later train and headed off to find an internet café. Jo and I had decided to stay in Aguas Calientes that night so we headed to our hostel (which Alex had already found for us and drawn us a map). We originally reserved a four person room, but the hostel was light on customers so we received a two person room! It was freaking sweet! We took some time to hang all of our wet clothes aroun

d the room. It was only 3 in the afternoon so we decided to head up to the city’s namesake, the local hot springs (Aguas Calientes = Hot Waters).

The hot springs were great. We had a wonderful time just soaking in the natural springs. There were a lot of familiar faces from the trail hanging out in the springs. It was extremely relaxing and we could feel our muscles relaxing as we sat in the warm water. After the springs we went back to the hostel and had a nice hot shower. We decided to head out and find some dinner after our shower and came across another pizza joint just down from the hostel. It was actually really good pizza, wood fired and very fresh ingredients. We retired early that night, I read a bit on my iPod touch (hooray for Kindle apps!) and Jo wrote in her journal. We slept the sleep of the dead that night. It was really nice to sleep in a soft, comfy bed after four nights of tent floor.

When we got up the next day we had about 5 hours to kill before we caught the train back to Ollyantatambo. We left our stuff at the hostel and went walking around the town. There are really only two streets in Aguas Calientes and we took the back street down from the Hostel to the train tracks. There was a very pretty fountain in the center of the plaza.

We then trundled on through the huge market (which was well situated for the locals…you had to walk through it to get to the train station). Jo bought herself a necklace and I bought a head band to keep my hair out of my face. We then sat at a coffee shop for about an hour or so, watching tourists walk up and down the road in their khaki safari pants, linen shirts and multi-pocketed vests. One group seemed to get a cell phone as part of their trip.

The train ride back to Ollyantatambo was fairly uneventful. We were in the “backpacker coach” which is the nice way to say “the cheap seats.” We slept a lot of the trip and pretty much stared out the windows. When we got to Ollyantatambo we still had a 2 hour ride back to Cuzco. We were expecting to take a Llama Path bus, but what we got was a small car that we shared with another couple from Montreal. One of the best moments of the whole trip happened about 20 minutes outside of Cuzco. We were driving through a hail storm and our driver could not get his window rolled up…it was freaking hilarious, there I am, right behind the driver, getting pelted with hail the size of quarters.

Overall, Aguas Calientes was touristy and boring but exactly what we needed to unwind from Machu Picchu.

Inca Trail Day 4 and Machu Picchu - Post #5

2009-04-28T20:13:00.000-07:00

I stayed awake almost all of our third night on the trail, listening to the rain and making silent pleas to Mother Nature to stop it. I finally drifted off when the rain slowed to a drizzle but I didn't sleep long because our wake-up call came at 3:30 a.m. The ground was damp but the sky was dry. The early hour didn't lend itself to breakfast, but our chef had baked a cake (!) overnight which wished us luck on the final leg of our journey to Peru's Wonder of the World and we ate it while we drank tea. The porters had our tents down in no time and were practically packed up before we were because they had to take a different path down to Aguas Caliente to catch the porters' train.

As for us, we ate and hit the trail. We could feel the sense of urgency in our guides and took off in the dark for the checkpoint which marked the end of the Inca Trail and the entryway for the path to Machu Picchu ... which we ran into in less than five minutes. We had no idea we were so close. It was 4:30 a.m., and we were the second group in line (behind another Llama Path group).

Fifteen minutes before the gate was set to open, it began to rain. Not just any rain, but big, bulbous rain drops. Chaos reigned (rained?!) until 5:30 as everybody tried to squeeze into the covered shelter.

At 5:30 the guides sorted things out, the first group pushed through the gate and then the six of us took off ... and I mean, we booked it. Forget the altitude sickness, forget the sore muscles, forget the exhaustion and fatigue. The fire to reach the Sun Gate first and the excitement of seeing Machu Picchu took hold and we took off at a ridiculously fast pace. The rain sloshed, our pants soaked through (lesson learned: never wear cotton pants in the rain), our feet slid across the rocks and our poles struggled to hold us upright. My headlamp bumped the bridge of my nose every time I took a step and I tore it off before the sun came up. I also felt my passport turning into a soggy mess in my pocket and I transferred it to an inside pocket of my rain jacket (another lesson learned: keep passport in a Ziploc bag).

Three individuals passed us before we reached the monkey stairs, a set of extremely steep steps that almost require the use of hands and feet to climb. As we ran up the stairs, we passed the group in front of us. The six of us hiked like we hadn't hiked in the previous three days.

And then we reached Intipunta - the Sun Gate - the first place where you can see Machu Picchu. We were the first full group to reach the Sun Gate that day. Unfortunately, as you know from my first post, the weather was not cooperating and our view was completely obstructed by fog. As disappointing as the situation was, it was sort of funny too. We'd come all this way and it was pouring rain. We took the obligatory picture anyway.

There was no reason to hang around at the Sun Gate, so we took off on the final leg of our journey ... this time at a significantly slower pace. We had achieved our goal of reaching the Sun Gate, but now the hikers began to mingle with tourists who had gotten off the bus at Machu Picchu and were hiking up to the Sun Gate for a view. There was a clear difference between us and them. Us: Wet, dirty, stinky, bundled up. Them: Pressed khakis, bulky video cameras around their necks, sandals, umbrellas.

When we reached Machu Picchu, it was so foggy we could barely see anything. We walked down to the entry gate and found an umbrella to huddle under as we ate our snacks. Alex told us that he'd just found out that it rained at Machu Picchu the entire day before. "Do you think it will burn off?" we asked him. And as optimistic as Alex is, he shook his head ever so slightly.

I looked down into the parking lot where buses were dropping people off and already picking up people who had given up on the weather. We stood near the site's cafe, which served up coffee and candy like a stadium. And then I looked out toward where Machu Picchu was supposed to sit, sprawling down the mountainside, and all I saw was fog. A heavy disappointment fell on me, and despite the amazing journey of the last few days and the achievement of hiking such a challenging trail, I had to fight back a few tears of frustration.

Alex suggested we take our tour of Machu Picchu in the drizzling rain, and we all hoped that in that time the weather would change its mind and the sun would burn the clouds off. Despite the situation, Alex and Eddie did a great job sharing the story of Machu Picchu with us. They led us into rooms and explained the significance of why certain windows and fountains had been placed where they were.

The higher class lived on one side of the site (about 200-300 people) and the workers lived on the other side (600-800 people). When Hiram Bingham found Machu Picchu in 1911, only two families were living there. The important buildings and the buildings at the top of the site (vs. the lower buildings) were made of perfectly fitting rocks which were rubbed smooth by the workers. Everything on the site was created from rocks pulled from three on-site quarries.

I thought the most interesting room was the Sun Temple, which was sort of located in the middle of the site. It has two windows, and on June 21 the sun shines directly in one of the windows and on December 22, it shines directly in the other. It's easy for me to believe that those buildings were built with the summer and winter solstices in mind, but the Inca history wasn't written down so it's hard to know for sure how much of the Inca story is true versus not, but it's a wonderful story of cross-mountain routes, spirituality, energy stones and levels of leadership spread out across the Andes anyway.

Once our tour had ended, the rain had let up a bit, and though the fog still came and went in waves, we began to see Machu Picchu in all its larger-than-life glory.

We wandered out to the old Inca bridge, a rickety structure that had been used by people on the Inca Trail. Apparently they used to let visitors walk across it, but someone fell off and died a few years back, so now people are held back with a simple "Prohibited" sign in Spanish. In the United States, there would have to be a guard stationed on the path, signs in a million different languages and a big ugly chain restraining people from wandering out to the bridge. But here, people just know and respect the trail.

When we returned to Machu Picchu, the clouds seemed to lift like magic and we eagerly took the moment to take in the massive, expansive civilization before us. The buildings escalated down the mountainside and the greenery of the surrounding mountains and terraces drew out an astonishing array of color from the site. I was so excited to be there at that moment. Despite the cool dampness, wet boots and pants, dirt and sweat, everything about the previous three days now seemed completely worth it.

From our vantage point high on the hill, we began wandering around the rest of the site. Machu Picchu is huge. We spent a couple hours peeking in the rooms, walking up and down stairs, looking through windows, feeling stones and gazing in awe at the fountains and flowers ... and yet I feel like I could have spent several more hours peeking, walking, looking, feeling and gazing and still not fully comprehend the enormity of this structure.

The sun never fully came out and we still had a few moments of light rain, but we definitely enjoyed Machu Picchu in all its glory.

One Wonder Down, Six To Go ~

JoAnna

Inca trail day 3 - A walk in the rain

2009-04-23T15:50:00.000-07:00

When we awoke on day 3 we were greeted with a great view (below) and a sick group member.
Matt had apparently spent the night rather ill and was not looking to good first thing in the morning. To make matters worse, Matias was also feeling ill. I was feeling much better and was able to give Matt our extra bottle of Gatorade to help him through the morning. Matt and Matias were both fairly lucky; where day 2 was a flat out test of endurance, day 3 was a gentle stroll through the cloud forest above Machu Picchu. Day 3 was all original Inca Road. Every stone we stepped on was laid by the Inca Civilization.
As you can see, the road was beautiful. It was a bit damp the entire day, with intermittent moments of heavy rain. Our first Inca site of the day required a small climb to reach the ruins of Phuyupatamarka. It was misty and a bit eerie to sit atop the ancient site. Alex taught us about the ritual sacrifices that the Incas did and Matt managed to purge his system while being respectful of the site. Eddie and Matias decided to skip the site and head straight to camp to give Matias a chance to rest and be ready for Machu Picchu the next day.
After Phuyupatamarka we had another 45 minute walk or so to our next Inca site, Yunkapata. Klaas took his usual trail blazing pace while Jo, Matt, Bethany and I strolled casually with Alex. We walked through hand carved tunnels(below) and Alex stopped and showed us every different orchid he could find, of which there were dozens. It was a beautiful little walk and quite a difference from the day before. When we reached Yunkapata we were all feeling a lot better and the mist had (mostly) lifted. We breezed through Yunkapata because we were running behind schedule due to our botanical bliss. On our way to camp we saw a bit of wild squash.
We headed down to camp to have lunch, and I have to admit, I was a bit disappointed that we didn't spend more time at Yunkapata. However, our 3 minute walk to Winaywaya after lunch totally made up for it. After Machu Picchu itself, this is the most amazing site we saw.
Winyawayna is a monstrous concave set of terraces that run up a very steep hill. The site had a beautiful room with seven windows, meant to represent the 7 colors of the rainbow. It also had a complex system of fountains that ran down the side of the buildings. We had a lot of time to explore the site and really got a feel for the architecture and skill of the Incas. We returned to camp just as it started to rain and were treated to happy hour (popcorn and cocoa) and a few card tricks from Klaas. This 3rd camp had a small cantina/restaraunt and there were a ton of people enjoying cold beers for most of the evening ( Kenya friends, it was a lot like the little bar at the campsite on our Nile trip). Matias was feeling better and he joined us for happy hour and dinner. After dinner we had our formal goodbye with our porters. Matias really saved our bacon by giving our respects in Spanish to the porters on our behalf. One of the tragic bits of information we learned at dinner was the fact that none of the porter had ever seen Machu Pichu. They take a different trail down to Aguas Calientes and do not go through the city of their ancestors. It is roughly 80 U.S. dollars to visit the site and none of them can afford it. We had an early dinner and the Chef went all out for us (I'll do a whole post on the food, no worries). We headed off to bed around 8 a.m. due to our 4 a.m. wake-up call. We all slept soundly, dreaming of then next day and our first view of Macchu Picchu.

Inca Trail Day 2 - Post #3

2009-04-18T21:00:00.000-07:00

We awoke on our second day feeling not nearly as sore as we expected, and, for Cory, much better than the night before. Thank God for altitude sickness pills! We were greeted by a stunning view of the world and were both excited and apprehensive by the day before us (promised to be our hardest day on the trail).

We had already had a chance to get to know the people in our group on the trail the day before, but in the morning we got to meet our eleven porters, one of whom was also our chef. They all only spoke Spanish or Quechua (the native Andean language), so we were lucky to have two guides and one person in our group who were able to translate for us as needed. We'll write a post specifically about the porters later, but suffice to say that this incredible group of guys were our lifeblood on our trip and without them the second day would have been significantly more difficult than what it was.

Luckily for us, we had started the uphill ascent the day before. Cory and I are fairly seasoned hikers and aren't afraid to push ourselves when it comes to a challenging climb, but this was much more strenuous than just about anything we'd climbed before. Most of the path is made of ancient stones, so going up the path isn't just about climbing uphill. We actually had to climb ancient, uneven Incan stairs. One hiking pole in front of the other, we forced our legs up the steep, narrow steps. It was a day of halfways: We were halfway to the halfway point, then halfway up the hill, then halfway past the halfway point. Our first break was halfway from our campsite up to Dead Woman's Pass, the highest peak of our trip at 13,782 feet (4,201 meters) in elevation. This picture is us at our morning break point. You can see Dead Woman's Pass behind us. It is so named because it looks like a dead woman with her head and nose on the left side of the picture and her breast on the right side. The pass is through the saddle between the two (essentially where her neck would be).

The goal of the second day's hike was just to get past the hard part, but we were encouraged to take our time. At such a high elevation, it was not just the challenge of the hike but the exceptionally high altitude that made the climb difficult. It took us most of the morning to reach the top, but once we did, it really felt like we were on top of the world. This picture is the six of us and our two guides at the top of Dead Woman's Pass as the fog started to roll in. It was so cold we could see our breath and had to put on hats and mittens. This photo is looking back at where we'd just come from. You can see people coming up the trail on our right and the path we'd just climbed trailing down the hill behind us.

The other side of the trail was a lot different. Steep steps, lush green foliage and waterfalls that fell down the cliff sides. It was almost more difficult going down than it was going up, and I fell once on the way down. No worries ... only my pride was hurt. Cory and I took the slow, gentle footing way down the hill while our friends Klaas and Mathias made like the porters and ran down the steps. I'm glad we took our time because Alex and Eddie pointed out all kinds of fantastic flora and fauna, including a golden hummingbird and her tiny nest of even tinier baby birds.

We were met with a huge lunch once we reached the bottom of the hill, but the day wasn't over once we finished our meal. We had to climb again, this time to 11,876 feet (3,620 meters). We passed by Runkuraqay, one of the ruins, before we reached the crest of this climb. One of the things I enjoyed most about the Incan ruins was the ability to wander through them. We were often either one of two or the only group at any given site, so we could poke around in the ruins, look out the windows and enjoy the amazingly green and luscious views. There is so much rain that the stones are overflowing with moss and brilliantly colored flowers. Some rooms are so overgrown we couldn't even walk into them.
Just past the "false top" of the second pass, the sky cleared just a bit and a rainbow opened up behind us. Spread across the backdrop of the Andes and the Inca Trail, it felt a little bit like being in a dream. Even though we were tired and damp (from rain and sweat), we were so excited to be in this place, experiencing this moment. We had so many moments like this on our hike, where, even though we felt uncomfortable or worn down or stiff or cold or wet, we still felt so lucky to be in such a beautiful place.

We crested the pass and continued on down the Inca Trail, tired and accomplished. Day two had been a tough one, but not one that took us down. It only led us closer to our ultimate destination ... Machu Picchu.

Beautiful violet flowers and crystal clear waterfalls,

JoAnna

Inca Trail Day 1 - post #2

2009-04-15T17:39:00.000-07:00

Our first day on the trail started in Cusco at 5 a.m. We met our guide, Alex, and our porters outside of the Llama Path offices to catch the bus to Ollyantaytambo for breakfast. Our bus was crowded with our group of 6 and a larger group that would be hiking a two day trail called the Larges Trail. I slept most of the bus ride to the trailhead for the Larges group, once we deposited them and their porters we headed 20 minutes down the road to Ollyantaytambo. We stopped at a little hotel for breakfast which was really the first time we all met each other. Our group consisted of Jo and me, Matt and Bethany (from CA), Klaas (from Holland) and Matias (from Argentina). We had a light breakfast and got to know one another. Matias was not originally part of our group, but his company had booked too many hikers for his group and so he and another guide, Eddie, was sent to join our smaller group.

After breakfast we left Ollyantaytambo for Kilometer 82(2570 meters/8431 feet in elevation), the starting point for the Inca Trail. At KM 82 our porters packed up their goods (and ours) and headed down to the scales. They can only carry 29 kg (roughly 64 lbs) each. This weight limit is a wonderful recent development as Alex recalled stories of carrying 40 kg (88 lbs) on the trail when he was a porter.

While the porters were weighed, we waited in line to get on to the trail. After getting our passports checked and stamped we crossed a small bridge and headed slightly up hill. Jo and I quickly took to the back of the pack although the first half of the hike was pretty easy. The trail is pretty much all uneven and cobblestoned, which provides a separated challenge all together; and one none of us had prepared for. Getting footing tended to be difficult and the danger of twisting an ankle or slipping was very real. Alex and Eddie took their time to point out flora and fauna on the trial including tobacco plants, agave cactus and a small parasite, cochineal, that the Incas used to dye fabric. When crushed the cochineal produce a deep red (carmine) color.

We also got a look at our first few Inca sites. Q’Anabamba(to the left) sat across the river from the trail and was visably being restored. It was nice to see our trail money going toward restoration of these amazing sites. Out first close-up view was of Wilkarakay. We sat on a grassy patch and Eddie explained the timeline of Incan civilization as we stared at this amazing ruin. From Wilkarakay we walked on a flat, even path toward Patawasi, our last ruin for the day. After Patawasi we had lunch.

Lunch (the view from the camp to the left) was amazing, spaghetti, marinera sauce, alfredo mushroom sauce, garlic bread, and an iced, corn-based, tea called chicha morada that was very refreshing. It was around lunch time that I started feeling a bit ill, almost like I was hung over. We left the porters after an hour to finish our hike to the 3^rd available campsite for the day. This last 2.5 hours of the hike was fairly uphill. Alex called it “the beginning of the climb” which was a touch disheartening, as it was harder than heck. I lagged well behind, the mix of feeling ill and the uphill causing me to move slower than expected.

After a solid slog uphill, all of us needed a break (except Klaas, he flew up and down hills as if on a Sunday stroll. He had recently climbed to a much higher altitude and felt pretty good at our “lower” elevation). When we got to camp we were all visably tired and I retired to bed for the night, no dinner. Jo said the dinner was amazing; the chef actually carved a mouse out of a radish to garnish a rice dish. Bethany, who became the group’s pharmacist, gave Jo some Diamox (altitude sickness pills) which helped me sleep. I was glad for the meds and by the end of Day 2, glad for the sleep.

A Sneak Peek at Peru - Post #1

2009-04-13T20:25:00.000-07:00

Hola!

We arrived home from Peru last night and have hours of stories and stacks of pictures to share with everyone. We had a spectacular time - words can't begin to describe the challenge of our hike, the beauty of the cloud forest, the amazing people we met, the culture we experienced and the memories we have. Right now we are unpacking, doing laundry, wading through email and settling back in. We promise to tell you all about our trip, but to make it a little easier, we've decided to share our stories and pictures with you in shorter posts over a period of a few weeks. I won't reveal anything this evening, but I will share with you our very first view of Machu Picchu from Intipunta (the Sun Gate) as a teaser:

Stay tuned ...

Mysterious fog and ancient ruins ~

JoAnna

Pre-Peru Preparation

2009-03-29T18:40:00.000-07:00

And the countdown begins!

Cory and I leave for our trip to Peru on Friday, so this weekend has been a flurry of activity putting together the last minute details. Since we both work through the week, we also packed our bags. First we set everything out and took stock of what exactly we had.

We tried really hard not to overpack. It is okay (we told ourselves) to wear the same pair of hiking socks for three days. In order to make room for some of our larger things (like the sleeping bags and hiking boots), we had to sacrifice some standard items.

No worries. We got everything to fit ... and we already have our clothes picked out for the plane ride on Friday.

We are a bit worried about transporting the hiking poles, but we're told they're practically a necessity when hiking the Inca Trail because the trail is exceptionally steep in parts and the altitude is so high. Other than that, everything seems to fit well ... and we even have some room to spare (if something the size of a peanut wants to squeeze in).

This trip is the first time either of us has been to South America, and after we return, I will have been to six continents. Cory will have been to four. We're both super stoked!

We fly through L.A. both coming and going, and though our flights to Peru all work out well, it's going to take us a long time to get home. We have a seven-hour layover in Lima on a Saturday night, and we're thinking about maybe taking a whirlwind tour of the city (though nothing has been confirmed yet). And, after spending eight days trekking and exploring (and spending seven hours in Lima), we have a 13-hour layover in L.A. on Easter. Luckily for us, some friends have opened their doors so that we can have Easter brunch with their family and visit Hollywood (or other Orange County highlights) before we hop back on a plane for our final flight into Las Vegas.

The goal is to stay unplugged while we're traveling, but as soon as we return, I'm sure we'll have stories and photos and videos to share with the world. Stay tuned ...

Tevas and Keens,

JoAnna

Not So Much

2009-02-06T16:22:00.000-08:00

Hello gentle reader:

I had an unfortunate experience this afternoon. You see, due to JoAnna's increased need for time on the laptop we decided to buy a second laptop last weekend. This beautiful little blue Dell is considered my laptop. Well, my laptop served as quite a breakfast time distraction for me this week. I usually check my e-mail, update my status on facebook and check the weather to determine if I should ride the motorcycle or not. This week I also wasted time on twitter and read the morning news. Yesterday I left the house a full 20 minutes later than usual due to my Internet shenanigans.

This morning I fought the urge and simply sat at the table and ate my cheerios. I left on time. I had a beautiful early morning motorcycle ride and I got a lot done at work before the kids showed up. I walked out the door this afternoon to find that, oops , I forgot to check the weather and it was raining like a *insert expletive of choice here*. Imagine my dismay when I check the radar and noted that no, in fact, the rain was not going to blow over quickly. In fact, it appeared I only had a small window of reprieve to get the hell out of dodge and avoid rain for the entire trip home.

Needless to say, I was not enthused. I suited up, went out into the rain, and sat my butt on my wet seat. This being my first, and hopefully last, journey on the bike in the rain I thought it prudent to take the side streets and stay off of the freeway. The only problem with this is it makes a 15 minute drive take 25 minutes or so. I had to wipe rain off of my goggles at every stoplight and by the time I got home my pants looked like I had gone for a swim. On the bright side I didn't tip my bike and eat pavement and my leather jacket kept my upper body nice and dry!

So, the moral of the story is that I need to check the weather before I leave but stay away from the other Internet crap that distracts me.

On another note, Jo and I will be headed to Peru in April to hike the Inca Trail for spring break. We bought a flip camcorder a few weeks ago so we can capture that trip in a movie format as well as pictures. As we get closer, expect more posts on Peru!

Peas,

Cory

Kids These Days

2009-01-18T10:34:00.000-08:00

In the spirit of all of our friends posting about their kids, we wanted to put up a quick update on how ours are doing.As always, Abby is the boss. She still sleeps above my head and the matress has a permanent indentation claimed by her. She loves to sit in the sun in the morning, chittering at the pigeons in the backyard. We've even had a few instances of her lunging at them and running into the sliding glass door. In addition to watching for birds, she likes to sleep, eat, wait to eat and avoid all attempts by her brother to play. She is definitely aging well as she enters her senior years. Butch Mbwa is as cute as ever. We've started going to the dog park about once a week, and he joins us in the little dog area. This works a lot better for him, and he's starting to inch away from our sides to meet other dogs as well as other humans. We recently took him into the vet and he has a touch of arthritis now, but it's nothing a couple pills haven't been able to help. He got a teddy bear for Christmas which he snuggles with at night - gotta love a man with a squishy heart.

Our little man Toby is happier and healthier than ever. He loves to entertain himself, but when he's looking for a lap, he is all purrs. His most awake hours are between 3:00 a.m.-6:00 a.m., which can make for some challenging early mornings, but once we finally get out of bed, there's nothing he wants more than to play with us in his cubes. He's particularly static-y, so in the dark, he sparks green. Good times.

Bianca has settled well into the family. She's our little shadow and will follow humans around for hours, just to keep them in sight. She is almost completely deaf so she needs to be able to see people; hearing us talk isn't enough. The shelter called to check up on her the other day, and I was happy to report that she also loves the dog park, though she just spends her time running around the perimeter and isn't much of a social girl. The other people at the park think she's adorable though, and they always ask if she's a puppy. I guess that's proof of how spritely she really is at her ten-year mark.

Barks and meows,

JoAnna

Christmas at the South Rim

2008-12-29T11:27:00.000-08:00

Hey! Welcome back... hope you enjoyed the time away. I know we did.

Jo and I spent the Christmas weekend in a small cabin on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. On Thursday we got up and had breakfast before heading out of town. We dropped off Bianca to stay with some friends and began our 5 hour journey to the Grand Canyon. The drive was pretty dreary; there was a lot of rain and fog, and snow once we hit about 6,000 feet in elevation. We arrived at the park around 5:30 and drove to Bright Angel Lodge to check in to our cabin. It was a snowy, windy mess of a night and we slogged our way from the car to the cabin, fighting the stinging sleet that was hitting us in the face. Once we settled in we went to the El Tovar Lodge (the most famous lodge on the rim) for dinner. We were a bit disappointed because the restaurant was only serving their Christmas Menu and it was none to appetizing. Although we wanted the "fancy" dinner we decided to opt out and head back to the Bright Angel Lodge restaurant and have a more Perkins-style dinner. After dinner we settled in for the night, hoping the weather would be better on Friday.

We woke up on Friday to find that the weather was indeed better. I was able to get a clear picture of our view from the cabin door. We ate a quick breakfast and got all bundled up and ready to go hike the South Rim. Hiking on the South Rim is extremely different from hiking on the North Rim. The South Rim has one major trail, the Rim Trail, that runs for roughly 18 miles from Pipe Creek Vista in the east to Hermet's Rest in the west. We decided to catch the shuttle from the lodge and head to Mather's Point (Jo's picture here) and the visitors' center to get some advice on where to hike and what the weather was supposed to do.

One of the rangers was fairly pessemistic about our chances of hiking any of the Rim Trail. They were expecting a storm to roll in around noon and dump another inch or so of snow and he figured we couldn't make the four miles or so back to the lodge before the storm hit. The other ranger at the center was more upbeat and told us he had hiked in from the market center and, though a bit slushy, the trail was in good shape. We decided to take the risk and hike the trail back to our cabin. It ended up being a beautiful hike. The weather stayed nice and we were able to enjoy the canyon. The Rim trail is set up for tourism, so every major vista had a parking lot or gift shop attached to it. Jo and I stopped and enjoyed those scenic overlooks, but we found other areas on the trail, off the beaten path, that were far more beautiful and far less crowded.

About half way to our cabin we took the off-shoot trail to the Village Market Center and stopped at the Yavapai Lodge cafeteria to have a warm drink, read the paper and eat a bit of trail mix. we then headed back to the Rim Trail and stopped off at all of the visiting areas on the way back to the cabin. We made a side trip to the Kolb studio to get on the list for the next day's tour of one of the canyon's more unique and historic sites. We took advantage of our westward view of the canyon and watched the sunset as it hit the north rim before heading out of the cold and in for dinner and relaxation.

On Saturday we decided to hike from our cabin westward to Hopi point and back before our 2 pm tour of the Kolb studio. It was much warmer out and we could tell by all the people on the trail as well as the wildlife. The Hermet's Rest portion of the Rim Trail provided some beautiful views of the interior of the canyon as well as an amazing view of the Bright Angel Trail; the most famous of the two trails leading into the canyon. Once we made it past the first major overlook we were pretty much alone. We chatted and stopped and looked into the canyon, but most of this hike was spent enjoying the sunshine and the peace that comes with being away from the crowd. We made it out to Hopi point in plenty of time and headed back via the Hermit's Rest road. We noticed that the plow trucks were running up and down the road and were suprised to return to the village to see the road open to traffic. What we thought was a crowd on Friday had truely turned in to a crowd. The one way road around the village was backed up with traffic and tourists were crawling all along the rim.

We went to the tour of the Kolb studio at 2 pm and really enjoy the story of Ellsworth and Emory Kolb. I suggest you google them and read up on these two unique and eccentric brothers. After Kolb studio we decided to catch the shuttle to Pipe Creek Vista and hike back to the visitors' center along the Rim Trail. By this time the park had become extremely crowded and the busses were running behind. What should have been a thirty minute trip took us about an hour. We were crammed on to the busses and had to deal with a ton of people who avoided the canyon on Friday because of the ominous weather report.

Once at Pipe Creek Vista we quickly set off along the trail to get away from the crowd. We were rewarded with our own personal view of the sunset. We arrived at Mather Point just before the sun went down and were greeted by a far different scene than we saw on Friday. The point is the first major stop for tourists in the canyon and they were now out in full force. We loaded the bus, stopped off at the market to get dessert, almost froze to death waiting for the bus again, and went back to the cabin for dinner.

On Sunday we set the alarm to get up and watch the sunrise. We hit the road around 9 am after breakfast at the Yavapai Lodge cafeteria and were home by 2:30 a bit tired but feeling rested and ready for the week ahead.

To see all 150+ pictures from this trip go here.

Peas!

Cory

'Sno Joke

2008-12-15T16:58:00.000-08:00

We may be in the Southwest, but it wouldn't be winter without a bit of snow! We'd heard there was a chance of snow today, and we walked the dogs in minor snow flurries this morning, but the snow just got heavier and bigger as the day progressed, particularly on the west side of town, which is where I work. We got nearly two inches of snow outside of my office window, which wouldn't be big news anywhere else I've lived in the United States, but it was huge news today!

Here are a couple of pictures from right outside my office:

In a city that sees minimal precipitation, let alone any snow, today was a big deal. Kids were pulled out of school to play in the snow, people stopped on the side of the road to take pictures and throw snowballs, and work was let out early. And without any sand or road salt to melt the ice on the sidewalks, our facilities guys at work took a box of table salt and sprinkled it lightly across the concrete. This is certainly not the Midwest!

The strangest part of this whole thing? The palm trees!

Dreaming of a white Christmas ~
JoAnna

Frickin' Sweet!

2008-12-14T18:22:00.000-08:00

Yuletide greetings gentle readers!

It has been a very productive weekend in the Haugen House. Much cleaning, grading of papers, and writing has been accomplished. More importantly, we christened the first Holiday season in the new house by making Holiday goodies!

Jo and I went to the grocery store yesterday and bought all the accouterments to make fudge(chocolate and peanut butter), peanut brittle, snowballs (think round sugar cookies with coconut and orange peel), and white chocolate pretzels with peppermint sprinkles.

Jo valiantly took on the task of hand dipping each individual pretzel over a hot homemade double boiler.

I worked on the fudge and the cookies as well as the peanut brittle. Note the rock hard abs and marshmallow fluff. Don't stare at the goods, thanks.

After much hard labor, Jo rested with the dogs and I took an artsy picture of all the tasty treats.

After a dinner of pizza and beer we loaded plates for the neighbors. Behold the glory that is Holiday treats!

6-8 pounds of fudge, 1 bag of pretzels, 1 jar of corn syrup, 1 16 oz jar of peanuts and 21 snowballs later and I will be taking plates to work as will Jo. Here is to hoping all our friends' teeth don't fall out!

Happy Holidays!

-Cory

The Big Finish

2008-12-07T15:23:00.000-08:00

Hello gentle readers,

(From Cory:)

It is with some muscle stiffness and a touch of chafing that I bring unto you the story of our day. But first we must go back in time; back all the way to September and Labor day weekend when JoAnna suggested we do the Las Vegas half marathon. We started training that next week. We ran 3 days a week, alternating between 3 and four mile runs on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and doing larger runs each weekend. By the time all is said in done we ran 195 miles in preparation for today's 13.1 mile odyssey.

Because the first 5 miles of the race ran down the strip, the start time was 6:07 am. This, my friends, means we were up at 4 am and on the road at 4:30 am. parking was a mess, as usual, but we managed to get to the starting line with about 5 minutes before the buzzer. It was surreal to hear Robin Leach welcoming us to the race. As we took off the casinos let off fire works and we were surrounded by Elvi (plural for Elvis, note the shiny cape in the picture to the right.)

We split each mile in half; the first half we walked briskly the second half we jogged. As we walked by the starting line at Mandalay Bay we saw they were wishing us good luck.

(From JoAnna:)

At other races I've been in there have always been more spectators, but with us taking off in what could arguably be considered the middle of the night, we were happy to at least see many of the casinos wishing us the best of luck. They actually closed Las Vegas Boulevard for a few hours, which probably explains why we started so early in the morning. As we made it down The Strip, the few people out cheering for us appeared to have been up all night in their uncomfortable dress shoes, still sipping bottles of beer.

I love to see the get-ups people put together for these things. In addition to the plethora of Elvi, we saw some people wearing remnants of costume from the Santa Run (held yesterday), a handful of folks in holiday-related gear (like reindeer antlers and hats with mistletoe), a woman in a sparkly red dancer costume, people in flamingo and Nemo hats, and a woman dressed in some goofy clothes wearing white strappy platform heels. There were a lot of people running for charities or in memory of people, and I always like to read the t-shirts the people have made for these races filled with funny and inspirational messages about why they're running. I read an article once about how marathons should be kept sacred for elite runners because "the common man" has tainted this sport that is about athleticism and endurance for something it isn't: fun, achieving unsurmountable odds, doing something good for other people. Cory saw a shirt today that said "If it was just about running, I wouldn't be doing it." It's a philosophy that keeps so many feet plodding on ... just one more step. It is truly inspiring to see so many people who clearly aren't "runner shape" complete a 13.1- or 26.2-mile foot race.

If it wasn't fun, why would we do it? In the city that is Las Vegas, what would a marathon be without a place to stop and get married? In addition to the folks in Elvi gear, there were women in veils and guys wearing tux shirts who stopped ever-so-briefly around mile five to get hitched. If we'd known, we would have renewed our vows for our fifth-year anniversary. Only in Vegas ...

The sun never came out in the city today, so it was a little chilly, but it was decent weather to run in. Once we turned a corner around mile seven in downtown, we started heading back along Industrial and Frank Sinatra, the roads that run parallel along the western side of The Strip. We conserved our energy throughout the race, so we brought in the last half-mile at a really strong pace. By our clock, we finished in about two hours and thirty-six minutes (this accounts for time running and not stopping to take pictures, so our official time was a little longer).

We had a blast doing this together, and though we could stop here, we're now considering the options of running others located in other locations near ours. Who knows where our next adventure will take us?

Stiff hips and happy smiles,
Cory and Jo

He's one bad mother...shut your mouth!

2008-12-06T18:56:00.000-08:00

It has been slightly over a week since we all stuffed our faces with Turkey Day Cheer. I was fortunate enough to not only avoid a turkey induced coma, but also have my motorcycle delivered by Leland on the eve of the bird carcass-filled festivities. We spent all day Thursday working on getting the engine guard or "crash bar" put on the bike. This entailed some drilling, basting of the bird, more drilling, cussing, more drilling, more basting, and finally a trip to Home Depot. By Friday I was ready to ride. Leland was kind enough to take pictures of my maiden voyage.

I now officially have 100 miles under my belt. All of which were gained driving to and from work as well as running a couple of errands. I filled up on gas again yesterday to get an estimate of my miles per gallon and am pushing 64 mpg. That should bring my gas bill to about 6 dollars a month.

As for the hair, Rebecca, what started out as laziness this summer (not feeling the need to cut it) has turned in to a goal. I am growing it out to donate to Locks of Love. So there!

Peas,

Cory

A Full Four Days

2008-12-01T20:24:00.000-08:00

'Tis the season to get in the holiday spirit.

My parents came into town for Thanksgiving, and the 4-day weekend went by too fast. Cory made a fantastic dinner. It was by far the easiest and fastest Thankgiving dinner I've ever seen put together. For the first time in my life I watched the entire Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, and I followed that up with the Purina dog show.

Mom and I went shopping the day after Thanksgiving - what a zoo! We were really on the hunt for a new dishwasher ... happy holidays to us! Luckily there are even sales on appliances the day after Thanksgiving, and we can stop washing by hand in just a few short weeks. We also got to introduce Dad to REI.

I was really excited to put the Christmas tree up this year. Our new house has an exceptionally high ceiling so we decided to get a bigger tree than the 6-foot tree we've been putting up since college. We decided to get a 7.5-foot tree with pine cones and berries on it, and we strung lights up and down every branch. Fast fact: Our tree has 600 lights on it. Another fast fact: Our cat, Toby, thinks he can eat the berries.

We did a little bit of the tourist thing and went down to the Strip to watch the Bellagio fountains one evening. The weather was beautiful and it was a great evening to walk through some of the shops and watch the dancing water.

We closed out the week with a hike up at Red Rock. We haven't been there since last spring, and we had a fantastic time. We took the Pine Creek Canyon trail and stopped to watch some rock climbers spider their way up the rock face. We love to go hiking with Dad. Our next big group hike? Rim to rim of the Grand Canyon next spring.

Busy and festive ~

JoAnna

Reasons to Love Las Vegas

2008-11-10T12:54:00.001-08:00

It's 65 degrees out and sunny, and we're entering our second week in November. What a good reason to love Las Vegas.

We have almost everything we need within the city limits, and everything we could possibly want that we can't find here is within a couple hours by road to California, Utah or Arizona. What a good reason to love Las Vegas.

We rang in the weekend with the grand opening of the new REI store, which has opened down the road in Summerlin (which is also where I work). We did the hardcore fan thing and arrived early so that we were rewarded with free schwag - t-shirts, water bottles and gift cards. This REI is so much closer than the one in Henderson, and we're really stoked about being within such close proximity to the free classes now. And, of course, we're already looking forward to the first garage sale at this REI. We may have to become truly hardcore fans and camp out the night before like our friends Chris and Dee did in Portland a few weeks back. What a good reason to love Las Vegas.

Yesterday afternoon we went to a choreographer's showcase at TI. The Nevada Ballet teamed up with Cirque du Soleil to put on an intimate, eclectic and wildly entertaining show. Locals came out in their Sunday finest, and I was excited to be part of this hidden corner of the city that tourists don't even know about. What a good reason to love Las Vegas.

It's getting to be off-season in the city. Locals tickets are 2-for-1 at many of the big shows. What will we see this year? It doesn't matter, really. It's just one more good reason to love Las Vegas.

Thinking of casinos, scantily clad girls and all that glitters ~
JoAnna

The Newest Member

2008-11-02T19:46:00.000-08:00

Jo and I have been pondering the idea of a new dog to keep Butch Mbwa company for the past few weeks. We thought perhaps we would adopt from Best Friends, but they had very stringent requirements that even we did not meet. On Friday (Nevada Day = no school!) we went down to the local SPCA shelter with full intention of getting one of the many boxer or bull dog mixes they have at the shelter. As we walked through the tight corridor of kennels the cacophony of dog barks assaulted our ears. We looked around for dogs that met our criteria: 1) 7 or older 2) good with other animals and 3) not barking when every other dog was barking.
We saw a few puppy mill mommas that broke our hearts but could not live with other animals, so we had to pass on them. All the boxers or bull dogs seemed to be too big for Butch Mbwa and we worried about putting our timid Kenyan with a dog bigger than he. Then we stumbled across Bianca. Huddled in the front corner of a kennel with 3 other dogs was a small brindle chihuahua/terrier mix. She met all our criteria: She is 10, she was reportedly good with dogs and passed her cat test with flying colors, and she didn't seem to even want to bark when other dogs walked past.
We went and ran a few other errands on Friday with plans of taking Butch down yesterday to meet Bianca. On Saturday, when the two met sparks did not fly per se. This is mostly due to the fact that neither cared that the other was around. We payed our adoption fee and brought Bianca home on Saturday morning. Waiting for her at the house were her new bowl and new bed.
She is doing well, in fact she is asleep in her bed right now. She seems to be warming up to Jo and me and really seems to like going on walks.

Here are a few photos:

Bianca roaming around the living room. She likes to do laps before going to sleep.

Bianca in her bed. Notice the lovely pink blanket.

Bianca and I snuggling.

They See Me Rollin'...

2008-10-26T20:03:00.000-07:00

I spent the first weekend in October learning the ins and outs of a Honda Nighthawk 250, and, more importantly, learning how not to kill myself on a motorcycle. The class was taught by two men who very obviously had great skill on a bike. I had classroom time and on bike time each day and on Sunday I had to pass a written and riding skills exam to pass the class. Well...needless to say:I passed. That is my kick a$$ helmet, my Motorcycle Safety Foundation card, and my new license with the official "M" endorsement.

After receiving my card Jo and I set out to find a bike. I looked at a few different bikes and decided to go for a Honda Shadow VT750. One of our local dealers had just the bike I was after, but after much waiting, chatting, waiting, walking around, waiting, and looking at papers, they were only able to get me a 13% apr for the bike. This would mean paying twice what it was worth. I was a bit disappointed and called Leland (my father-in-law) to see what other options I had. He pointed me to www.crashedtoys.com, a website that auctions bikes that have been totaled by insurance companies. He said if we found a bike he could fix it up no problem.

We found another Honda Shadow VT750 American Classic Edition and decided to bid on the bike. Leland took care of the bidding as I was at work. At 11 am I clicked on the auction and we had won!...at 11:04 I refreshed the page and we had lost?! Apparently there was a glitch in the system at Crashed Toys and two people won the bike. Leland and I assumed that the other bidder had won as he was the last to bid. We went on our way to check for other bikes.

Then......on Friday Leland got a phone call from Crashed Toys asking if he was going to come pick up the bike he won! WOO HOO! Leland got the bike back to his place and we got a steal. He needs to replace the front headlight, the windshield and fix the rear turn signals. He is also going to do a full fluid change but it runs well and will be ready to get inspected for a clean title shortly.

The bike in this picture is having its battery charged, hence no seat, but it is my bike. So, soon I will be rollin' on my Honda, getting 60 mpg, and enjoying the Nevada sun.

Coasting on two wheels,

Cory

Knee Deep in the Creek

2008-10-25T09:29:00.000-07:00

One week ago today Cory and I stepped into the cold running water of the Virgin River in Zion National Park. We were compelled to make it out to Zion one final time this year to hike the Narrows, the slot canyon at the northern end of the shuttle route in the park. The Narrows is no ordinary trail. This hike requires water slogging - A LOT of it - and it can be quite chilly in a space that can easily be a wind tunnel and gets little sun.

Our goal was to hike five miles upriver to the campsites that hikers stay at when they through-hike the river from the top. For the first two miles we were joined by hordes of day hikers in everything imaginable - bikinis, barefeet, and even a big guy wading in his skivvies. Like I said, this is no normal guy's hike and it was frightening to see the number of people on the river unprepared. While you can rent special boots and pants for the Narrows hike, we outfitted ourselves and did pretty well. I wore: a sweat-wicking sports bra, a sweat-wicking tank top, Under Armour long sleeve shirt and tights, UV tank top, fleece sweatshirt with hood, light-dry cargo pants, wool hiking socks and Keens. We also brought along hats, gloves, extra clothing to keep our cores warm and extra socks.

At two-and-a-half miles, we came to a point where a second canyon joined the Narrows. After that, the hikers became scarce and the scenery became even more exquisite. Unfortunately, it is so dark in the canyon that it's difficult to take pictures, but the walls were covered in thick moss and ferns and waterfalls that sounded like timpani drums ran out of cracks in the canyon walls. We even found one section of the wall covered in insect exo-skeletons.

Around three miles into the hike we came upon Wall Street, an amazing portion of the hike where the canyon narrows significantly and sheer canyon walls rise straight up on both sides. It's the part of the hike where I really felt at the mercy of nature. If anything had happened at this point - flash flood, rock slide, etc. - we would have had nowhere to go. There were no sandbanks on either side of the river, and we had to carefully navigate our way up the rushing water through slippery rocks. At one point, the water was nearly up to my waist.

Four miles in we hit a portion of the river filled with huge boulders we had to scramble over and navigate around. At this point, we were only sharing the river with a few interspersed hikers and a significant number of trout. Not knowing what time it was, but knowing we'd been on the river for quite some time, we stopped at four-and-a-half miles to eat our sandwiches before turning around and heading back. Only two other groups of people passed us as far as we could tell.

Now, I would have thought getting downriver would be easier than the trek up it, but it wasn't at all. In fact, I moved so slowly and had to concentrate so hard on getting my footing that, once we were back in a place with other people, hikers were passing us right and left. Going back down the river I fell twice, but luckily just my arms were wet from catching myself and not my actual core.

Triumphant, we made it back to camp in one piece, though a bit stiffer than when we'd left. Who knew we had all these unknown muscles? We can check the Narrows off of our list of things to do in this lifetime - though now we're talking about taking the through-hike from the top of the river. Another day...

See more of our pictures from the Narrows here.

Wet and dirty,
JoAnna

Redefining Garage Sales

2008-09-23T20:15:00.000-07:00

Cory and I made an incredible discovery this past weekend...the REI garage sale. We knew it had to be good with the long line wrapped along the side of the building waiting to get into the roped off area, but we didn't know how good until we got in. What a treasure trove! Bikes, tents, sleeping bags, GPS systems, sunglasses...you name it, it was there at a significantly discounted price. Since we were the third group in, shoes and clothes were fifty percent off the sales price because there were still so many left. This was a "bruised and battered" sale, so these were returned items, but they weren't necessarily damaged. The pair of Keens I bought for $2.50 (you read that right) just didn't fit the first owner comfortably - the same is true for the other four pairs of shoes we bought - so nothing was actually wrong with any of them. We walked away with those Keens, a pair of Tevas, three pairs of Merrells, a sweater, a sweat-wicking shirt, a cute beanie and a fanny pack/water bottle holder for my dad all for the low, low price of $75. We love REI...and we love REI garage sales! Yippee for great deals!

There and Back Again, or up the hill and back down

2008-09-08T16:22:00.000-07:00

The day did not start out well at all. We were all soaked from the pouring rain and I was frustrated at my sopping wet french toast. We had spent the night around the campfire talking about the hike and were all excited about going up “the hill”. We took our moisture soaked hearts to the Ranger’s station to get an update on the weather.

“Gunna rain hard all day.”

“All day?”

“Yup. Look here at the radar.” The screen was green with a monstrous rain cloud covering most of the park. “But hey, this is Zion, anything could happen.”

We decided to go to the Zion Human History Museum to see if we could wait out the rain. We looked around at the exhibits and walked through the art gallery, all a bit dejected. Leland and I looked outside and noticed the rain was letting up.

“Lets go check the radar again” he said.

“Looks like it is going to clear up” young, blonde haired ranger told us.

We went in to the Zion introduction movie with a twinge of excitement. Twenty-two minutes later we stepped outside to sunshine and no rain.

“Well, let’s go up the hill” I said while pointing at the looming rock known as Angel’s Landing in the distance. We climbed on to the shuttle and headed off to the Grotto stop and the Angel’s Landing trailhead.

Angel’s Landing is a 2.5 mile path that winds its way 1488 ft. up to the top of a large sandstone monolith that lets you see the whole canyon. The book had warned of narrow pathways and “areas where chains bolted to the side of the cliff face may be needed for assistance.”

At the bottom of the path we stopped to look up at the overbearing piece of rock we were going to climb. The path started out as sand and was a fairly steady climb for a quarter of a mile until it became a paved path. We passed three young women, one poorly shod; an Indian couple using two hiking poles a piece, and a small family of Germans. We stopped often to catch our breath, take a picture or six, and just enjoy the view.

Before the path curved into a crevasse between Angel’s Landing and the rock wall next to it we stopped and looked down at the path we had traversed thus far.

“Wow.” I said.

“Look how far we have come already” this from Jo.

“Let’s get to Walter’s Wiggles” said Leland.

We made it to Walter’s Wiggles, the series of 21 switchbacks that takes you to Scout’s landing, in about 10 minutes. It took us about 15 more to clime the wiggles. It was once we reached the landing that we saw what was ahead…or thought we did. There was a fairly steep sandstone cliff face in front of us with people scrambling up, using the chains to haul themselves along the side of the face. Others were looking down from the top waiting for their chance to return from the Landing. We took our place in line and climbed/hauled ourselves to the next landing, The Chicken Out Point.

As we turned the corner and truly faced our last half mile we had very little to say.

“Oh shit.”

“Holy balls.”

“Holy balls!”

The guy sitting on the landing laughed at us. “I love hearing peoples’ expressions when they turn that corner.”

What was facing us was a ridge that ran from The Chicken Out Point to Angel’s Landing. It was about a half mile to the top.

I looked at the ant like people scrambling up and down the ridge. “I’m not giving up”

“Let’s go then” Jo and Leland said in unison.

We crawled, pulled, climbed and slid our way that half mile to the top. On our way we stopped for water, to catch our breath and take a picture of rare wildlife like the California Condor. It took us almost an hour to get to Angel’s Landing. Once there we had a stunning view of the entire Canyon from the Altar of Sacrifice all the way to the mouth of The Narrows. We sat down and had a lunch of chips, apples, and cookies. We took the appropriate pictures and looked at each other.

“So, lets go down the Hill.”

Toeshoes and Keens abide,

Cory

Pictures linked below in Jo's posting.