We spent the holidays this year with Rodney's family. Traveling at Christmas or Thanksgiving is always an adventure, some years more than others. This year, there was a huge snowstorm through the Rockies and into the Great Plains about Wednesday before we left. It closed the Denver Airport until Friday at noon. I made the mistake of saying how happy I was to not be flying through Denver since we had decided to fly to Salt Lake City (now known to us as "The Lake") and drive to Riverton, WY with Rodney's brother and his wife. When we arrived at the OC airport at 6:30 PM Friday, we were informed our flight was delayed and would not depart until 9:59 PM (it was scheduled for 8:35 PM). I should have suspected that time, as I later realized it was picked due to the fact that you cannot take off from the airport after 10:00 PM. As we waited, at about 8:00 PM, it was announced the flight was canceled. I have Delta's number in my mobile as I have had previous problems with Delta. I called as we walked back to the counter and finally got through. The earliest available seat was the 8:35 PM flight on Saturday. I was evidently being re-booked out of Palm Springs by someone else, so I had to have the agent work to book me as I wanted. As I went to ask about where to get my bags, the agent announced they had booked everyone on a flight out of Palm Springs and would bus everyone over in the morning. I thought I was glad I was not doing that, but maybe I shouldn't have been so happy. The next day, our flight got canceled before we left for the airport! We were now on the 9:30 AM flight Sunday morning.
Sunday morning was crowded at the airport, but we made it with relative ease, although we had to go in a special line because we were taking Ziwi. The only consolation was we had First Class this morning. We arrived about 1:00 PM, then left our skis and boots at Roger's house, then drove the 5 hour drive to Riverton, which put us in about 7:30 PM on the 24th. Rodney's brother Bob arrived about 5 minutes later from Billings, MT.
We had a nice Christmas, playing 9 different games (Harry Potter Uno, Yahtzee, Tripoly, Hearts, 5 Alive, Pass the Pigs, Gridlock, Dominos and one other, hmmm...), as well as getting 2-3" of snow, which delayed our drive back to The Lake by a day.
We drove back to The Lake on Friday, played Rummikube that night, then skied at Alta on Saturday. We played Sequence that night. The next day, we had a 8:10 AM flight to allow Roger and Julia to ski if they wanted, which had us arriving at 6:30 AM. We barely made it through the check-in line (once again, a special line due to Ziwi), and the baggage x-ray line, and the security line, to get on the plane at about 7:55 AM.
We arrived a little late due to needing de-icing on the wings, but spent 45 minutes waiting for luggage, which we received all except our skis. Delta thought they should have been on the flight, but couldn't tell us where they were, so they gave us a tracking number and promised to call when they arrived (don't want $1500 in ski equipment left on the sidewalk).
We hoped it would arrive on the next flight at 12:30 PM, but couldn't check the status on line, or on the phone. We ended up calling their main line and being persistent about getting help and eventually were told it should arrive on a 4:08 PM flight. It turned out the tracking number had the letter 'O' in it, not the number '0.' The online tracking never worked.
We headed to the airport about 5:15 PM to see if they made, which they had. As I claimed it, the guy told me he had just called. Turns out our skis flew United through LAX to make it home. Fun, fun.
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
Friday, December 22, 2006
Grand Canyon Last 4th of July
Since people are starting to look at this more as I mentioned it in our Christmas letter, I noticed I completely forgot to put an entry about our trip the Grand Canyon.
We drove over on Saturday, leaving at 6 AM and driving up I-15 to I-40. It was a relatively easy trip, making it to Kingman, AZ by lunch time. We hit some amazing rain storms through the mountains towards Williams, AZ. Williams was a neat little town that we stopped for coffee at. There was a significant line to enter, even the dedicated line for passholders. It took about 30 minutes to enter the park. We camped, and then hiked over to the rim for a look before heading back to eat dinner. It was a pretty good hike to the canyon rim, since it was about a mile just to leave the huge campground!
We hiked the rim towards the Bright Angel Trail the next day. Dogs are allowed along the rim, so we never went far down (although we went a little down to take a picture). We had deer run through the campground in the morning. The fire danger had lowered enough to allow us to have a campfire, but not all campers knew (we got berated by one, who I don't know if they believed me when I said it was ok).
The next day, we hiked the opposite direction and then drove to the Watchtower and back. Rasila also wanted to see the IMAX film, which she watched while Ziwi and I bought her some Indian earrings.
We took the scenic route back, driving down through Flagstaff, Sedona, and Jerome on the way to the I-10. It seemed like a good choice as the scenery was great and the traffic light. I always dread the I-40/I-15 merge at Barstow which we did sit through on the way back from the Great Basin.
We drove over on Saturday, leaving at 6 AM and driving up I-15 to I-40. It was a relatively easy trip, making it to Kingman, AZ by lunch time. We hit some amazing rain storms through the mountains towards Williams, AZ. Williams was a neat little town that we stopped for coffee at. There was a significant line to enter, even the dedicated line for passholders. It took about 30 minutes to enter the park. We camped, and then hiked over to the rim for a look before heading back to eat dinner. It was a pretty good hike to the canyon rim, since it was about a mile just to leave the huge campground!
We hiked the rim towards the Bright Angel Trail the next day. Dogs are allowed along the rim, so we never went far down (although we went a little down to take a picture). We had deer run through the campground in the morning. The fire danger had lowered enough to allow us to have a campfire, but not all campers knew (we got berated by one, who I don't know if they believed me when I said it was ok).
The next day, we hiked the opposite direction and then drove to the Watchtower and back. Rasila also wanted to see the IMAX film, which she watched while Ziwi and I bought her some Indian earrings.
We took the scenic route back, driving down through Flagstaff, Sedona, and Jerome on the way to the I-10. It seemed like a good choice as the scenery was great and the traffic light. I always dread the I-40/I-15 merge at Barstow which we did sit through on the way back from the Great Basin.
Friday, November 17, 2006
College Football Season
Fall means another college football season and we did our usual buying of SDSU season tickets. Hope sprung eternal until the first game, where the starting QB went down and the Aztecs lost 34-27. The proceeded to lose the backup and the starting RB in the third game, against Utah. They didn't win until they played Air Force, which they followed up by losing to Championship Division (formerly D-1AA) Cal Poly. They have since beat UNLV and may actually end up with 3 victories by the end of the season.
Wyoming, in the meantime, started out 1-4 with overtime losses to Syracuse and Virginia, and 7 point losses to top-25 Boise State and to the Air Force Academy. They then won 3 in a row, before crashing back to earth with a loss at TCU. They have beat SDSU and lost horribly to BYU. They can become bowl eligible with a victory at UNLV this weekend.
The pictures are from Wyoming's Homecoming game, where Wyoming ended 6 years of futility against Utah by opening up a 31-0 halftime lead before coasting to a 31-15 victory.
Wyoming, in the meantime, started out 1-4 with overtime losses to Syracuse and Virginia, and 7 point losses to top-25 Boise State and to the Air Force Academy. They then won 3 in a row, before crashing back to earth with a loss at TCU. They have beat SDSU and lost horribly to BYU. They can become bowl eligible with a victory at UNLV this weekend.
The pictures are from Wyoming's Homecoming game, where Wyoming ended 6 years of futility against Utah by opening up a 31-0 halftime lead before coasting to a 31-15 victory.
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Hawai'i September 16-23, 2006
We traded our timeshare to Hawai'i, to the island of Hawai'i this year. We also upgraded temporarily to a 2 bedroom, so we invited Rodney's brother, Roger, and his wife, Julia.
We had purchased our tickets way in advance, and Aloha Airlines, which flies direct from Orange County, was $250/ticket more than flying Southwest Airlines, which has a code share flight from Oakland to Hilo on ATA Airlines. Roger and Julia could fly from Salt Lake City and join us on the flight to and from Hawai'i as well.The trip went well, with us doing some Coffee Tasting, Scuba Diving, Hiking at Hawai'i Volcanos National Park, and general touristing, visiting Hilo, Waimea, Polulu Valley, Waipi'o Valley, and driving completely around the island.We were there about 3 weeks before the big (6.7 magnitude) earthquake hit!
We had purchased our tickets way in advance, and Aloha Airlines, which flies direct from Orange County, was $250/ticket more than flying Southwest Airlines, which has a code share flight from Oakland to Hilo on ATA Airlines. Roger and Julia could fly from Salt Lake City and join us on the flight to and from Hawai'i as well.The trip went well, with us doing some Coffee Tasting, Scuba Diving, Hiking at Hawai'i Volcanos National Park, and general touristing, visiting Hilo, Waimea, Polulu Valley, Waipi'o Valley, and driving completely around the island.We were there about 3 weeks before the big (6.7 magnitude) earthquake hit!
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Great Basin National Park Sept 2-4, 2006
We spent Labor Day weekend at Great Basin National Park with Rodney's brother Roger and his wife Julia. We drove to Las Vegas on Friday night, spent the night at Motel 6, then drove the rest of the way on Saturday morning. It is located 300 miles (500 km) north of Las Vegas off US 93 and US 6.
It is a great place to visit because it is a destination. There is no city of any size near there, so the only people at the park were there and camping (or close by and camping). We hiked to the only glacier in the lower 48 outside of the Rockies and the West Coastal Ranges. We also toured Lehman Caves and viewed some petroglyphs.
It is a great place to camp.
It is a great place to visit because it is a destination. There is no city of any size near there, so the only people at the park were there and camping (or close by and camping). We hiked to the only glacier in the lower 48 outside of the Rockies and the West Coastal Ranges. We also toured Lehman Caves and viewed some petroglyphs.
It is a great place to camp.
Monday, August 14, 2006
Camping near Idyllwild, CA Aug 4-6, 2006
Rasila and Rodney went camping in the San Jacinto Mountains, between Riverside and Palm Springs on Aug 4-6. We had a reservation at Boulder Basin Campground via ReserveAmerica. Since Rodney had been on a business trip, he didn't get a chance to do the pre-packing he normally does and we didn't get on the road until rush hour at 5:00 PM. Traffic ended up not being too bad and we made the 100 mile trip in about 2 hr and 15 min. We got dinner prepared, eaten and dishes barely washed before dark!
The next morning, we were up early to a chilly start. The campground is at 7300' (2225m), and it got chilly overnight, at least in the low 40s. We hiked to the fire observation tower on Black Mountain, where the volunteer guide helped us see the view, which was spectacular. We could easily see Mt. Palomar in San Diego County, as well as Mt. Baldy, Mt. San Gregonio, Mt. San Jacinto, and Saddleback in Orange County. The marine layer prevented a view of the ocean, but it was nice nonetheless.
We hiked a bit of the Black Mountain Trail down to CA-243, but turned around early. We drove into the town of Idyllwild to visit Rodney's old boss, who runs a couple stores there (the Gray Squirrel and the Pony Express), but he was sponsoring a rider in a rodeo and was not there.
We had a campfire on Saturday night and really enjoyed our S'Mores!
Sunday morning, we got up and hiked more of the Black Mountian Trail. We ater lunch at an empty campsite and headed home.
It was a great trip!
The next morning, we were up early to a chilly start. The campground is at 7300' (2225m), and it got chilly overnight, at least in the low 40s. We hiked to the fire observation tower on Black Mountain, where the volunteer guide helped us see the view, which was spectacular. We could easily see Mt. Palomar in San Diego County, as well as Mt. Baldy, Mt. San Gregonio, Mt. San Jacinto, and Saddleback in Orange County. The marine layer prevented a view of the ocean, but it was nice nonetheless.
We hiked a bit of the Black Mountain Trail down to CA-243, but turned around early. We drove into the town of Idyllwild to visit Rodney's old boss, who runs a couple stores there (the Gray Squirrel and the Pony Express), but he was sponsoring a rider in a rodeo and was not there.
We had a campfire on Saturday night and really enjoyed our S'Mores!
Sunday morning, we got up and hiked more of the Black Mountian Trail. We ater lunch at an empty campsite and headed home.
It was a great trip!
Monday, June 26, 2006
Sequoia and King's Canyon National Parks, June 9-11, 2006
Earlier this month, we made a trip to the 2 "forgotten" National Parks in central California, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. We drove up on Friday, stopping in Bakersfield for coffee with a high school friend of Rodney's that lives there. We left at 5:00 AM to avoid LA traffic and pulled into the coffee shop in Bakersfield at 7:15 AM!
The drive there to the entrance is about 90 minutes. We took CA-99 to CA-198 through Visalia. We bought a National Parks Pass so we could use it as incentive to visit other parks Rasila has not seen that are drivable from Southern California.
We camped in the Lodgepole campground, along the Marble Fork of the Kaweah River, which is the west drainage of Sequoia National Park. King's River is what drains Kings Canyon, and the Kern River drains the valley between the Great Western Range and Mount Whitney.
We did short day hikes and drove over to King's Canyon's visitors center, General Grant Grove, and the Panoramic Overview. There is so much wilderness there you have to see it to really appreciate it.
The drive there to the entrance is about 90 minutes. We took CA-99 to CA-198 through Visalia. We bought a National Parks Pass so we could use it as incentive to visit other parks Rasila has not seen that are drivable from Southern California.
We camped in the Lodgepole campground, along the Marble Fork of the Kaweah River, which is the west drainage of Sequoia National Park. King's River is what drains Kings Canyon, and the Kern River drains the valley between the Great Western Range and Mount Whitney.
We did short day hikes and drove over to King's Canyon's visitors center, General Grant Grove, and the Panoramic Overview. There is so much wilderness there you have to see it to really appreciate it.
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