Fred & Joni’s Trip Ramblings

I remember years ago hearingg discussions about how the country was becoming overpopulated. NOT BLOODY LIKELY! We just finished our tour of Montana and North Dakota and except for a few isolated pockets (Glacier NP lodges, Billings, Fargo etc.) there is no one around! Miles and miles nad miles and miles…….of absolutely no human infestation. It was really a breath of fresh air for an antisocial like me. It is amazing to me that more Easterners would not vacate the 2 square inches they can call their own and move out to this gorgeous area.

Driving east through this country you go from one distinct zone to another. Montana starts out with snow capped mountains and clear blue lakes in the west to flat prarie land with enormous ranches in the east. North Dakota starts with steep cliffs and deep ravines known as the Badlands, awitches to rough prarie land and ends with the grass covered hills of the midwest farm belt. It was an interesting transition but it wasn’t a quick one. These states are so large that you seem to be in each stage forever.

One quick note about National Parks-They are amazing. Many are quite well known such as Glacier, which was incredible. Some are not so famous such as Roosevelt NP in North Dakota. But all National Parks received that designation for a reason. They are all very unique and deserve recogition.

Well, we are heading east in earnest now. It won’t be long until we end this trip. What a bummer!

We just left the northwest part of the USA and as far as we could see the stereotypes were accurate. Beautiful and soggy.

Oregon is one of my favorite states. The coastline, driving north, changes from enormous sand dunes to high craggy cliffs. There is virtually no development along the coast which is a far cry from the east where there is no virgin seashore.

The towns are all small, scenic and friendly. Even Porland, the only real city is s large small town filled with bikers, bridges and built for outdoor activity.

Which brings me to my second point. We had sunshine 2 days out of our 14 days in Portland and Seattle. When it was sunny it was glorious. The other days were not all filled with rain, but either foggy, drizzly or threatening those 2. I can’t imagine it is always like this or people would go nuts. For an area priding itself on being outdoors it is not an ideal climate. But I still loved it. I can’t imagine why more people don’t live in these 2 states.

The Seattle area is basically the same as above. Fantastic scenery (when you can see it), friendly people and a relaxed atmosphere. We wanted to see Mt Ranier and the views from Olympic National Park but, what a surprise, they were blocked by clouds. We had  a blast anyway.

As far as lodging in these 2 cities- WOW. We home exchanged with 2 families and I believe we got the best end of the deals. One home ws a wood A frame on a raging river and the other was a custom ranch home situated on an inlet of the Puget sound. They were both gorgeous homes and we hated to leave. Home excahnging has been a fantastic experience for us. More to come I’m sure.

One last note…..Thanks to the Millhouse girls (and guys) who came out to join us in Portland. We hope you had a great time inspite of the weather. And thanks to my niece Lauren for the hospitality in Seattle. We are looking forward to your wedding in October.

Thats all for now!

PS

Don’t forget, for all the boring details and pictures of our trip go to:

www.haucksite.com/parsandbars

Today is our last day of 2 weeks in California. That’s about 3 weeks fewer than the minimum needed to sample this state. We started in 108 degrees in Palm Springs and are ending in 55 degrees in the northern Redwood forrest.

The main thing that we noticed about this state is that there are mountains everywhere, even along the coast. The state is basically two mountain ranges with a central valley. No  matter where we drove, it seemed we were driving on switchbacks at 30 miles an hour.

The coast is quite different than our Atlantic variety. Rocky outcroppings and dramatic dropoffs are the norm. Also, other than the overpopulated LA area, there is very little construction right on the ocean. It is difficult to believe that the shoreline could be left this pristine and natural.

The central lowlands are home to, among other things, the southern desert area where Palm Springs is located. Also, the central valley, where Napa and the wineries are located. This is where all the extensive farming is done thanks to a statewide massive irrigation project.

Then there are the inland mountains. We did not spend much time on this side of the state but what we saw was amazing. I am talking about Yosemite National Park. This was our second visit there and we were more impressed than the first time. The scenery is of such a rugged majesty, it takes your breath away. We decided to get up close and personal so we hiked to the top of Yosemite Falls (the highest falls in North America). It took 8 hours round trip and was a 27oo’ foot uphill struggle, but WOW, was it worth it. My knees and calves don’t agree, but they don’t agree with me about much any more.

 Well, on to Oregon and Wahington. There probably won’t be much to see there.

Ahhhhhhh!

Thank goodness we got roped into buying a timeshare 16 years ago! (and we got a free breakfast out of it). We used three weeks we saved up to take weeks in Sedona, Scottsdale and Palm Springs. The great thng about them is that we would never stay three weeks in a row in places this nice.
Another great benefit is that we were able to have Barry and Jamie Finks stay with us in Scottsdale. Thanks guys for coming out!

Sedona was great because of the perfect weather and red rock formations. We really apreciated the time to lay back and not have to drive. Of course we did golf and hike a bit. We could only relax for so long. On the way out of town we went to the Out of Africa Safari park. This was a not miss stop on our trip for Joni. She just loves these animals.

Scottsdale was a chance to catch up with the Finks and play a lot of golf. We had a blast. We even played 36 holes in one day at We Ko Pa, one of the nicest golf destinations anywhere. These courses were on an Indian reservation and cut out of the desert landscape. It was gorgeous and we were beat when finished. Again the weather was perfect.

In Palm Springs the weather is not what you would call perfect so far. Today was our first morning and we woke up to a temperature of 94, going up to 108 today. Could hit the record high. We did our exercise this morning before the “real” heat hit. It is supposed to cool off to 90 later this week. Can’t wait.

By for now!

Hi there friends and neighbors,

We made it to Sedona Arizona in one piece. What an amazing 2 weeks! Since New Mexico we have been touring some of the most amazing parts of the country. The 4 corners area (NM, ARIZ, COL, UTAH) has the most fantastic and diverse scenery anywhere in this country.

We visited, in the past 10 days, Durango, CO, Mesa Verde National Park, Canyonlands NP, Arches NP, Natural Bridges NM, Lake Powell, Monument Valley, Zion NP and Bryce Canyon NP. This does not count the sights and sounds of the areas in between these stops. You would think that since these areas are so close together, they would be similar. Not true. All these area were totally unique. It is trully amazing.

We did try to go to the north rim of the Grand Canyon but the roads are snowed in until mid May. What a wacky part of the country, and my favorite by far.

To totally shock our system we followed these areas with a 2 night stay in Las Vegas. It took us a half day to adjust! In 3 hours we went from one end of the American experience to the other. We are flexible enough to enjoy both.

Joni and I sometimes question whether owning a time share is worth it. This is not one of those times. We are so thankful to be able to unpack our clothes, unwind, and not have an itinerary for a few days. It does not hurt that we are doing these things under the red rock mountains of Sedona. This town is perfect for this part of our trip, a small town in a beautiful setting with few distractions.

That’s it for now. I will leave you with a few pictures that I hope give you some sense of the beauty we experienced in the last few days. If you have never been to the 4 corners area you MUST plan to get there.

Over and Out.

 Durango Silverton Railroad

 Mesa Verde NP

 Canyonlands NP

 Arches NP

 Monument Valley

 Lake Powell

 Bryce Canyon

 Zion NP

We’re baaack!!!!

Greetings from sunny Santa Fe. This area is unlike any in the country. The spirit of the native American pervades this area. From the architecture to the food, it’s very obvious where you are. We visited pueblos and sacred sites and the Indian culture is everywhere. In Taos we stumbled upon a a group, mostley of native americans, who were walking across America to promote taking care of the earth. They were chanting and dancing. It was very moving (except when Joni and Darla decided to join in!)

Welcome to our friend Darla who joined us for this week. It’s great to see a familiar face, (even if it is her…..JUST KIDDING!) She is always alot of fun and this week was no diffferent. Thanks for coming Darla!

A surprise is the golf out here. Not only is it affordable, it is beautiful and challenging. We played 3 courses where the average greens fees were $35, and the courses were all fantastic. 2 of the 3 were on Indian reservations and were isolated and alot of fun.

Santa Fe is mostly an artist community but is steeped in history. It is a beautiful city where adobe style architecture is prevelant.

Well, one more golf course in Farmington and then we start our non golf, non sports bar piece of our trip.

Be back then.

BY THE WAY

To everyone. Please let us know what you guys are doing. Write to us!