"In my opinion..." by Jody Lemke
Copyright
April 11, 2008
Hitting the Open Roads
For nearly a month, from mid-March to
mid-April, my husband and I traveled throughout the West and Southwest, soaking
in as many National Parks as possible. It was a glorious trip from beginning to
end: we traveled safely and managed to keep our daily expenditures down to a
minimum most of the time.
We faced a few snow concerns (well, actually, I faced them; Bill leaves all the worrying to me) but avoided unpacking chains or driving more than a few hours in snow flurries. Only once did I actually worry that we might have trouble. Driving slowly and carefully between Weed, California and Susanville, we watched a motorcyclist, coming from the opposite direction, careen out of control on the snow because he was driving too fast. He wasn't hurt, but as I tried to start up again, there was a moment when it looked like we might be stuck. Fortunately, our little Scion maneuvers well, and we were on our way again to Reno and then Death Valley.
Our week in Death Valley proved to be all we hoped. This year's bike club crowd was large (there were twelve of us together for hikes, rides, and meals), and Bill and I decided to splurge and stay down in the Valley at Furnace Creek Ranch instead of 30 miles away. It was GREAT! We called it my Christmas and birthday gift, and being right near the main rangers' station/visitors' center and close to the campground where everyone else stayed was just wonderful. The weather cooperated the whole time (never more than the mid-80s), and plenty of flowers bloomed this year. Naturally, I left the photography to our more capable friends, so I know I'll have great pictures to share eventually.
We left Death Valley in time to reach Tucson, Arizona for Easter with relatives. Although it seemed like all of us were temporarily ailing (flu, strep throat, bruised ribs, and a few other maladies), it was a great stopover on our road trip. We had fun with our family and REALLY appreciated the chance to do two weeks' worth of laundry. We visited the University of Arizona campus, the DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun, and Kartchner
Caverns State Park, among other sights. As we left Tucson and continued our
trip, we discovered that we would pass Biosphere 2, so we ended up spending a
half-day touring nearly every inch of the scientific site. Really cool.
From
then on we ambled north along the eastern edge of Arizona, experiencing some of
the most amazing sights (and I actually photographed much of what we saw since
we had no one else to depend on). We ran into relatively few tourists, which is
just as I like it, and the weather continued to cooperate. All the time it was
dismal and raining in Seattle we were driving and hiking in nice warm sunshine.
We traveled through the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert, Canyon de Chelly, Natural Bridges, Canyonlands/Needles, Arches, and Canyonlands/Island in the Sky. Each place held special treasures of nature, and we simply couldn't get enough of the panoramic views. Canyon de Chelly's rim can be reached by anyone, but to go into the canyon requires a guide from the Navajo Nation. It was worth every penny and then some for the two of us to have a personal Jeep trip through the canyon. We saw ancient ruins and petroglyphs up close, and our guide Lee was a fount of information as well as a masterful driver—much of our trip was through watery washes.
We stayed three nights in Moab, using it as a base for our
Arches and Canyonlands excursions. Since it was still early in the season, we
avoided the hoards of people who mob Moab from May to October, but we still got
a good feel for the area. When we finally hit the road and headed back towards
Seattle, we made sure to stop briefly in Salt Lake City and Boise. We spent nights
and did some sightseeing in Twin Falls, ID and Baker City, OR before our last
leg home. By keeping an eye on the weather channel each night, I managed to
avoid a sudden snowstorm in Salt Lake City and any snow in Snoqualmie Pass, so
our trip was a total success.
Oh, there was one small glitch: After returning home we tried to start the old Buick that had been sitting in the driveway for four weeks, but it was deader than a doornail. That was our only need for "Triple A"! Hopefully, we'll have as much good luck on our next big road trip in June when we hit the open roads again in our trusty little Scion XB and travel from Seattle to Cape Cod for a family wedding. Woo-hoo!
