90 days 9,700 miles

 Greetings from Oakland, CA!!

                                 

 This is where the epic cross country trip came to a conclusion at the end of September, the following entry will explore the 3 month journey that I shared with my friend Sash, it was his first time in this vast land of the United States...

and here we go!!!!

Endangered cypress forest on the St. John's river in central Florida.

alligator sighting

from the swamps to outer space!

Once Sash arrived from winter in New Zealand and acclimated to the heat of July in Florida mom, dad and I took him to the St. John's watershed for an air boat trip and then drove to Kennedy Space Center and toured our country's great space history.  Sash got to see and eat his first alligator in the same day - ah Florida!

Our next stop was New Orleans, there were several serious squaws that I drove through, classic southern storms that I grew up in, therefore I didn't realize that a white out of water from the sky should be at all alarming.

It was such a wonderful trip to see this grand country through new eyes!

 This was the 2nd line celebration for Uncle Lionel Batiste's life, the parade veered off course and started quite late.  We were waiting in Washington Square and may never had found the mobile party and then we found a drunken trombonist running down the road... he told us to follow him to the 2nd line - he peeled off of the celebration because he needed a cold beer!

following the trombonist and the sweet sounds to the 2nd line

as we were in the midst of the 2nd line we saw this fellow who had shimmied up a light pole to get a proper photo of the hundreds of people who were slogging through flooded streets to celebrate 

It was important to go to NOLA as Sash is a musician and I knew he would really enjoy the musical tradition of this unique city.  It was Bastille Day and we spent the day on Bourbon Street, couldn't have picked a better day to enjoy the French Quarter.  We were fortunate enough to stay in a beautiful old home with Franz and Nancy in my friend Beth's apartment since she was on MV while we were here. 

 It was wonderful to be able to stay with many friends as accommodation is certainly the costliest portion of a trip like this!

Atlanta was our next stop, we were able to stay with Hutch, Megan and Emmett in a central part of town.  Megan, who is a teacher with the public school system took us on the classic historical tour of the Martin Luther King Jr. trail and the Cyclorama at the zoo.  

with Megan at the MLK museum

one of the beautiful stained glass windows in Ebenezer Baptist Church
 There were recordings of Rev. King's voice piped into the sanctuary of his famous sermons, it was haunting and warm in the same moment...

The short trip from Atlanta to Hendersonville, NC was gorgeous - the 1st views we had of mountainous terrain and cooler temperatures!  We were able to stay with Nichols, Joshua and Finn and do lots of cooking, playing with Finn and gardening.... quite a comfortable spot they provided for us.  From Hendersonville we jaunted north into Asheville to visit with Karin and take in some of the local sites.

 

                                                     Finn in all his glory  

Joshua and Sash enjoying the clean garden beds and a beer

Joshua at his work site - Whole Log Lumber
they travel all over the country and dismantle old wooden structures and bring the wood back to their mill here and prepare it for it's next life, ultimate recycling!

Images from Whole Log Lumber     

                                               

enough said

view from Karin's front porch

on the side of the mountain with Adam and Erin in Weaverville, north of Asheville

Asheville was the launching spot for The Blue Ridge Parkway portion of the journey, one of my favorite places on the planet... we spent the night in Blowing Rock and continued onto the Skyline Parkway in Virginia where we exited and set off to visit the Natural Bridge, Dinosaurland and Edelweiss - a German restaurant that is a Clark family tradition.  From Staunton, VA we meandered into Amish country to visit with Kristin and Pete who literally live in the middle of the corn fields in Pennsylvania.

wandering in the fog at Craggy Gardens amongst the black eyed susan's

I know there were fairies in this tree...

rock cairn on the trail to Crabtree Falls

famous Arbor Vitae tree along the trail to the Natural Bridge - 1,500 years old

the Natural Bridge

many tourist traps along the way.....

a pitcher of Bittberger at Edelweiss in Staunton, VA


 

We enjoyed  the fine locally produced Amish foods in Cochranville, PA... fresh cheeses, sausages, vegetables, breads and heaps of honey!
The next leg of the journey was perhaps the worst day of the whole trip...
stuck in a terrible rainstorm, driving straight through the red satellite image portion of the storm from PA to CT.  A 6 hour trip turned into 11 hours of hell before we conceded and pulled over in CT for the night.  Stuck on I-95 in gridlock traffic for hours, scraping together morsels of change in the car to pay for the endless tolls, it was a true test of our ability to travel together and we survived!

It was all worth it as our next stop was Martha's Vineyard!!! Of course this time of year proves to be another test in patience in terms of traveling to the island, I had to leave the car on the Cape overnight and then take the boat back the next day to bring the car over, luckily the ferry trip is a beautiful ride!
Meredith and Damon opened up their splendid home for us, with bounties from the garden and a short walk to the beach on West Chop, it was an amazing get-away from the summer hustle and bustle that consumed the rest of the island!
We spent 10 days on the island, regrouping and exploring and planning the next portion of the trip... such a perfect venue for the vacation portion of the adventure.


The Slave Song Spirituals Choir, directed by Jim Thomas.  This is our annual engagement for Della Hardman day at the East Chop lighthouse in Oak Bluffs.
                                                                                                                    
                       the tenors                                                          Jim and me at the lighthouse




playing in the mighty Atlantic after canoeing across Abel's Pond, the waves were fierce!



wild hibiscus at Abel's Pond crossing
                                                                      







Damon with his crab harvest at Edgartown Great Pond  

                                                                                                        

yummy free range chickens on Jefferson and Zephir's farm

Pickle the piglet, the runt of the litter.....

Sunset at Lambert's Cove, just before we set off fire works!

After departing the island we hoped to make it all the way to Niagara Falls but only made it to Rochester, NY where we had to find a room.  When we arrived to Niagara the next morning we secured our campsite and took off for America's 1st tourist trap! 
The American side was quite disappointing, much like International Drive in Orlando, FL accompanied by muddy, over-run trails.  We realized the real Niagara we were seeking out was in Canada.  We walked across the Rainbow Bridge with our passports and enjoyed the fantastic waterside park and views of the falls from Canadia!

Rain(fall)bows of Horseshoe Falls from the Canadian side

polite Canadian sign

We awoke at our camp the next morning to ominous, looming black clouds, this was our cue to head west!  After stopping at a Cracker Barrel (classic Americana) we drove 15 hours straight to a rest stop in Iowa and slept for a few hours until the sun crept through the windows and prodded us farther west.

decisions, decisions.....

our Nebraska-scape

Middleton, NE was the next layover... remained here for 2 nights, negating our previous speed drive.  Sash was able to explore a super walmart - another aspect of Americana that had to happen...  

hanging with padddy's dogs!

The next stop was Denver, lucky to spend the night with my friend from the South Pole, Paddy.  She cooked a delightful meal, we regrouped and continued on into the wild west lands. 

this is the portion of the trip I was most excited for..... the SW is like nowhere else in the world.

we spent the next 10 days exploring amazing national parks...

balanced rock - Arches NP

Arches, NP

Hornita (the car) at Canyonlands NP

camping at it's finest....

 
road food...... the BEST!!!!

Bryce Canyon NP

lots of random road art

   
                                                                                                               

the lookout from a hike in the 
Capitol Reef NP  

                                                                                                                                    Grand Staircase - Escalante NM              

petroglyphs in Capitol Reef NP

Zion NP

so many rock shops!

Utah's National Parks, Monuments and Forests provide some of the most unique, breathtaking sights our country has to offer.  I purchased the $80 annual NP pass, it was more than worth it's value in just the parks we visited in Utah!  

The National Parks we visited in Utah included: Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Bryce and Zion.  We were able to visit Ashley, Dixie and Fish Lake National Forests and explored Cedar Breaks and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments. 

 As it was the height of summer, we were amongst the many thousands who were taking in these natural jewels... it was overwhelming at times!  Due to the masses of people, Sash conceded to visit the Grand Canyon on his next visit to the states, I did feel like a bit of a failure as a tour guide, but when I considered the multiple sights he was able to see that most visitors and citizens alike rarely get to view.... I didn't feel quite so badly!

Although, my guilt occurred when we pulled into Las Vegas to spend the night.... we made the best of it, got a room in a crazy casino and went zip-lining through the hot summer night air!

From here we spent about 100 miles on Route 66 and then continued on to Joshua Tree NP.

Skull Rock -  Joshua Tree, NP

before

the magical Joshua tree

after

Jumbo Rocks campground - Joshua Tree NP

street art in downtown LA

Our next stop was downtown Los Angeles, this is where we prepared for our week in the northern Nevada desert for the Burning Man art festival.  There really is no way to explain Burning Man, but if you're interested in it please check out the official website:

http://www.burningman.com/

We spent several days in Hank's loft in Los Angeles preparing food, freezing it and placing it into portioned packs so that we were able to pull the portions out of the coolers filled with dry ice and drop them into a pot of boiling water and... WALLA!  

Burning Man is the largest leave no trace event in the world, there is nothing for sale during the festival except for ice (YAY!) and some coffee, otherwise it is a pure gift economy.  Obviously each person needs to come prepared with everything they might need/fancy for the week where the day time temperatures often break 100 degrees F and night time cools right down to the 30's or below.

  We were part of a great group: Camp Anita.   We were in line for entry for about 10 hours... knowing we would be a part of the gate opening rush of people, we were prepared with full tanks of gas and hearts filled with excitement!

ZOA by the art collaborative, FLUX 

before  



and...





after









train with full moon at sunset

getting my lips caste to later be fashioned into a broach by the "Pucker Up" crew 

       EGO by Laura Kimpton and Mike Garlington... this burned    

our camp









heading out for sunset shenanigans!!!             

our camp's art car: Well Hung or Anita Costume, produced by our Australian camp mates!

 photo taken by Jen Debbane, hoop skirt and sunrise

Reno was where we found our first showers in 7 days, this poor city is descended upon by thousands of "burners" every year, we enjoyed a great dinner here with our camp mates Hank and Ted and then got on our way the next morning, San Francisco bound.  We came here to unload the burning man gear at Melissa and Robert's (where I now live) and got back on the road!

rare sunny day in SF bay with sailboats and Alcatraz in the background

the Golden Gate Bridge and view from Twin Peaks onto downtown

The next stop was the Monterrey Bay Aquarium, arguably the best aquarium in the world!  

jelly fish love 







glowing jelly fish










transparent jelly fish

       well hello!!!

The Santa Cruz boardwalk and famous Mystery Spot were our next stops as we journeyed northward on the scenic Highway 1. 

 Below is the sign for the antique wooden roller coaster at the boardwalk, sadly, many of the rides were closed since we arrived on a weekday in September...

There's some sort of weird magnetic field/vortex happening at the Mystery Spot, nestled in the coastal redwoods above Santa Cruz.  When we left we felt sick for hours.... 

We spent over a week meandering and camping up the California and Oregon coasts, nestled in the coastal redwoods.... there were many reports of bear sightings in the campgrounds we were staying in... we never saw one but as you can see below the berries were plentiful this time of year.... berries taste better than stinky humans!

so many roadside attractions!!

only $5 to drive through a tree... what a bargain!!!

When we hit the central Oregon coast we headed inland to spend a couple of days with my old friends Michael and Bill who own a gaming store in Sutherin, Oregon.  They love to cook and had a great garden and silly dogs... it was a welcome break to have a shower and a bed for a few days!!!

with Michael, attack of the killer tomatoes!

Crater Lake NP in Oregon, this is Wizard Island in the middle of the "lake" which is really a volcanic caldera, the lake is 1,943 ft deep, the deepest lake in the United States!

 

fire sunset leaving Klamath Falls, Oregon

We spent the final week in South Lake Tahoe, California.  Mom and Dad gifted us their time share week at a fancy resort, I was so grateful to be able to be still and review the previous 15 weeks of this wacky trip!  We did lots of exploring around the lake and also spent a few days doing absolutely nothing and enjoying the jacuzzi tub! 

rocks that have grown into a tree, found this on a hike by the lake

                                                                                                                      Tahoe toes!

1st day of Kokakee fresh water salmon spawn

boat house

view of Tahoe from Inspiration Point, one of the most photographed spots in the United States!

Well, this concludes the epic summer road trip of 2012, I had seen all of these sights in my previous travels around the US but relished experiencing the country that I love through new eyes!

I hope this finds you all well and enjoying a great autumnal day!!

take care, be well.

karengrace*