One more...

It seems like we are starting a pattern...after the long trip, we just did not get enough so we returned to the Pinnacles National Park.

This time we chose to go in the opposite side of the park.  It was like going to a different park all together.

We drove almost right up to the trail head.  We would have been even closer but the road was closed.

 

We took the Bear Gulch Trail (a mile loop trail) through talus caves.  This type of cave is made when boulders fall into canyon and create crevices.  Although we did not see any, bats will take up residence in these caves just like other types of caves.  It was very interesting to see these large rocks overhead with little holding them in place.  Since this park is along a fault line, it seems to me that a hiker could be in danger at any given time.

Regardless of this danger, we hiked the trail along with other visitors.  We enjoyed the narrow spaces and small water ways throughout.  We saw many different kinds of birds and took a lot of pictures.

We had the privilege of two great scouts and one trainee scout to lead the way.  At one point toward the end of the trail, we were stopped by the youngest of these scouts to tell us to stop and wait for a snake to cross the trail.  You might think he was concerned about our safety...nope!  He knew it was not venomous...Amanda would be proud!  He was concerned that the snake would get hurt.  It was a pretty snake and we watched it leave the area.  We then continued on our way.

What a great way to enjoy the morning.  With a park this close, we will have plenty of time to explore new area often.  This park is known for its renewal of the California condor.  This was our second attempt to see these enormous birds.  We were told it was just too hot and they were enjoying the cooler temperatures near the coast.  I guess they have their vacation home too!

Chavez and Dean

Leaving Barstow, we were on the homeward stretch, but we had a couple of more stops along the way.

Our first stop was at the Cesar Chavez National Monument.  It was an oasis of beauty with a roses, grape vines and trees throughout the garden paths.  This was in memory of the man who loved nature and his faith.  He also loved his heritage and good work ethics.  He spent most of his adult life as an advocate for the fair working conditions for migrant workers.  We appreciated spending time learning about him and the historical nature of the park.

I think Zaira and I could have spent the entire day sitting among the roses.  Unfortunately, we still had quite a few miles between us and home.  To add to the fun...the van was well over due for an oil change, so we stopped in Bakersfield.  We had a longer wait than we really wanted but we pulled out the electronics for the first time on our trip while we sat in the waiting room.  Everyone was happy to not be on a trail for the time.

We did have a few extra stops with our geocaching.  One stop was at this park that had a 100 ton dump truck and an old fire truck.

The last stop before home was for a meal and a tribute.  We stopped at the place where James Dean was killed in a car wreck in 1955.  Not much there to let you know it is the place other than a small memorial next to a tree.  We ate at a diner near the location.  The children did not even know who this man was so we spent most of our time around a diner table talking to them about his movies (only 3) and the importance of not racing down a highway.



We spent the rest of our day driving home.  We were glad to sleep in our own beds and dream about all the many places and experiences we had along the way.

Which Way to the Mojave?

I have never been comfortable with using the GPS when traveling ... I want to map out my trip the old-fashioned way with a map and see the roads line up without question.  What happened to us on the way to the Mojave is a perfect example of why you cannot always trust the GPS to get you to the right place.

On our way out of Nevada, we followed the GPS blindly; however, I had mapped the route so after thirty minutes on the road I knew something was wrong.  So, we stopped and looked at our map to find the right path.  We ended up on a back road and over shot the side road because there were no markers on the roads.  This got us to the main highway and we decided to call the visitor center to find out the best route.  This visitor center was in the next town...not where we wanted to visit...but they should have known how to get us on the right road to the appropriate ranger station.  NOPE!!!  She did tell us that the ranger station would be open until 5 pm and it was only 2 pm so we had plenty of time to make it there.  So...we stopped on the side of the road and found a path that we thought was right.  We then reset the GPS to these coordinates.

Along the way. we realized it was meant to be this way...we discovered sights we would not have seen otherwise.  We found a World War I memorial and stopped to pay our respects for those who lost their lives in the war.  In the process of making our way to the memorial, Sean saw a kangaroo rat!  It was too fast for our camera but he was excited.

The GPS continued to be screwy in directions and said it would take us an hour to drive 8 miles.  It seems pretty ridiculous even if the road became a dirt road some where along the way.  AND IT DID...so we slowed down to a tortoise pace (We never did see one of these guys although there were signs to watch for them everywhere!) and found our way toward the center.  We never saw anyone while we were on the roads but we did scare two cows coming around a curve.  We were very thankful that they were scared enough to run away from the van!

No flag...sad face!

We did make it to the ranger station but we noticed right away that there was something wrong...no flag was waving in front of the building!  The ranger station is in fact open until 5 pm...but it is ONLY open on Saturdays and it was Thursday!  We would not be deterred...we noticed that there was a flag waving across the road so we made our way to this building...it was the fire station set up to fight wild fires.  It was open and a kind fireman allowed us to use the restrooms and find a map of the trails for us.  He made a couple of suggestions and sent us on our way.

We were at the Hole in the Wall trail and we were excited to make our way on the mile long trail to see the desert.  It was very different then Death Valley.  It was a "cool" 98 degrees and there was a breeze that was actually uplifting and refreshing.  Within a quarter of a mile we found ourselves at some large rocks that had petroglyphs!  We felt like we were discovering something for the first time!  It seems like they would be protected more but they were easily accessible and we enjoyed looking at the ancient drawings up close.

Then we got to the open area on the other side of the mountain and wondered if we would ever get to the name sake of this area.  Just when we were thinking the trail could not be any longer...we were there...and what a sight!  It looked like someone had taken buck shot to the wall of rock in front of us!  There were holes everywhere from top to bottom...the children were eager to climb the wall like a rock climbing wall, but then someone realized they could make echoes in the valley!  They did this for some time before continuing on our way.

We weaved our way through the trail and it was much cooler in the "holes" so we slowed our pace and enjoyed the area.  Then we realized that actually would need to climb the wall to get back to our van.  I was starting to wonder if we should go back the way we came.  The children had no fear...they pressed on and we "old folks" followed.  At one point we had to climb rings to go higher.  This led to another set of rings and then a steep set up steps formed from the rocks.  Even our Little Miss came out of the backpack (mainly because the gap between the rocks was too narrow for her to stay in) and was a trooper climbing up the trail.

It was actually quite fun...my only concern was that if we got hurt there was no one there to help us.  But we made it out and lived to tell about it.  Thankfully we did not meet up with any sidewinders or rattlers along the way...ignorance is bliss as we did not even think about this danger while we were there.  Most likely it was too hot for them to come out of the shade as it was the hottest part of the day.  Which we should also be thankful that I remembered to have sunscreen on everyone before we set out.

Once again exhausted, we climbed into the van and made our way to our hotel for the evening.  Now I have never needed the fanciest hotel to stay...we almost never stay in one place for more than one night when we are traveling.  However, I have learned over the years that some brands are better than others and when possible we try to stay away from them.  So as we got closer to the end of the day and I found out we were staying at one of these lesser hotels, I was not happy about it.  Everyone was tired and I had hoped to have a good place to sleep as we would sleeping in to recharge for our last long day on our journey.

I was quite surprised to find the hotel was very nice...even homey in its decorations and little touches.  The towels were folded into cute little elephants and there was a frilly cloth shower curtain.  The beds were comfortable and the pillows were fluffy!  The next morning we entered the breakfast room to find a full breakfast.  We found out the owners of the hotel actually run the hotel themselves living in one of the side rooms off the main office.  It was almost like staying at a bed and breakfast.  Even the locals came by to chat with the hostess who offered to fix them breakfast!

The hostess fell in love with our dimple-faced 6-year old because he made a bee-line to the jar of Nutella he saw on the breakfast counter.  He was determined to have this in some way for breakfast even though he did not want a waffle or toast.  We finally settled him at the table with a banana to dip in his Nutella.  Zaira fell in love with their dog who stayed behind the office desk.  He was a sweet lab mix that loved being pet.  I thought we were going to need to pull them away from each other.  The hostess sent us on our way with cookies and a smile.  I normally do not mention places by name but it was such a great stay that I thought someone else might benefit from the Rodeway Inn in Barstow.  I know if we are ever in need of a hotel in the area, we will be staying there again.

We left there and went toward the main visitor center for the Mojave.  We stopped to find out if there was a junior ranger program.  We found an interesting memorial on the way dedicated to firefighters.  Across the street there was a locomotive and a tank on display.  When we did make it to the center, it was in a large building but only a small areas was set up for Mojave information.  The woman was happy to share information.  She told us about many other areas of the Mojave Preserve we could have visited.  I guess we will just need to make another trip to the desert as it is only three hours from us.

Las Vegas and Hoover Dam

We did finally make it to Las Vegas.  Our first stop...

MY BIRTH PLACE!

That's right...if you did not know I was born in this crazy town...actually several miles away from all the flashy lights!  My dad built an amazing round house in the desert for our family, but we moved away to get away from the chaos when I was four years old.

Unfortunately, the house has seen better days, but it was still good to see it again and show to the children.  The funny thing is that the house is no longer in the desert away from it all...there are many homes in the area and quite beautiful too.  I pray that one day someone will see the beauty of our old home and fix it up as it should be.

We then continued on to stay in a casino hotel on the old strip.  It was a little crazy getting everybody into the room but it had a lot to do with a trip around two separate towers to finally find our room.  We had a quick dinner and cleaned up from our desert adventure, then we ventured out to show the children the lights on Fremont Blvd.

They all agreed that there were bright lights...loud music...and chaos.  We watched people zip-line from one casino to another.  There was a concert at another casino.  We were glad to have the experience but also glad to be back in the hotel to go to sleep!

The next morning we slept in for the first time of our trip.  On the way out of the hotel, I put a dollar in the slot machine and doubled my money!  WOO-HOO!!!  I told the children the key is to walk away before it gets too exciting.  All the fun we needed with casinos.

Then we made our way to the Hoover Dam.  We took the power plant tour to the bottom of the dam.  It was amazing to see the workings of this famous dam.  I had no idea there was such controversy about its creation.  I think it was a good decision after all these years.  It was an endeavor that makes it one of the modern wonders of the world.

We thought it was funny that there was water seeping in the interior walls of the dam.  Edward posed for a picture because it reminded us of the story about the little boy who tried to save the dam by sticking his finger in the hole.

There was also a beautiful memorial dedicated to the 96 men who lost their lives building the dam. You can see how tall it is when compared to Michael and the children standing next to it!  These angels are a welcome sight that I consider protectors of the dam still today.

We stayed here for almost three hours going on the tour and viewing the exhibits.  We ended our visit by walking across the top of the dam.  We were actually in two states (Nevada and Arizona) while on the top of the walkway.

We left here to make our way to the Mojave Desert Preserve.

Old Trees, Death Valley and a Fish Tale

We woke up early to head north to the Ancient Bristlecone Forest.  We only stopped long enough to take a picture of the biggest knitted hat in the world and to fuel up praying it would get us to the other side of Death Valley.  I almost ran out of gas the last time I made this drive.  I definitely did not want that to happen again!

fallen tree that we thought looked like an elephant

We wound around the mountains climbing to over 10,000 feet before making it to the trails to find the bristlecones.  We really thought the trees would just be there when we arrived and never intended to hike.  The temperatures were in the 60s and we were prepared for the 118 of the desert.  However, once we started on the trail (hiking another 400 feet in elevation) we were dressed just right.  The trees were amazing...so small compared to our East Texas pines but knowing that most of these trees were over 4000 years old made it a special place.  I am so glad we made it to see them and once again for Ranger Mark for helping us navigate the hills to find them.

Then we wound through the hills to the east into Nevada and then back into Death Valley to Scotty's Castle.  This castle was a dream house when it was built and continues to be today.  A real oasis in this harsh desert but also a technological dream with many modern conveniences that are still desired today.  The dream of two men (Walter Scott and  Albert Mussey Johnson) came together to make it become a reality.  It made me think of my Dad who loved saving energy and creating homes that would work for us instead of draining from the environment.  I wonder if he had ever heard of this castle.  It was a very different side of the Death Valley National Park (literally and physically) than what we had seen before.  We were not able to take the full tour due to time but we did walk around the outer grounds and to the top of the tower.

Then we were on our way Furnace Creek area.  We stopped at the Harmony Borax Works to see the old mining equipment and where they processed the salt into the cleaning supply we know so well.  We would later see a modern day version of this equipment.  What a big difference 100 years makes!  Then we arrived at the second visitor center for water and a quick reprieve from the heat before heading deeper into the park.  It was already 116 degrees and took our breath away every time we stepped out of the van.

We made our way down to the Badwater Basin where it was 120 degrees!  We walked around the salt flats for about five minutes but that was all we could stand...the little ones were especially having trouble so we spent the rest of our time in Death Valley in the van touring the different areas like Artist's Palette, Natural Bridge, and Zabrinski's Point.    We also passed by Devil's Golf Course and Golden Canyon.  We would have liked to hike through the canyon as it looked interesting but it was just too hot!  We were a little disappointed that we did not make it to Dante's View, but the park is just too big to get to everything and it was too far out of our way to justify the distance as we were trying to get out of the park to make our next destination...Las Vegas!

We have now traveled through Death Valley twice and I do not think we will make it back here again.  It was a great experience both times but it is also hard on the body.  AND...there are so many more things to do in California.

When we were talking with the park ranger at Furnace Creek, Sean mentioned that he wished he could have seen the pupfish in the park.  She told us that we should try to make it to Ash Meadows-Devil's Hole on our way to Las Vegas.  I told Sean that we would try but it would be a difficult task.

He really wanted to see these endangered rare fish.  The rest of our trip out of Death Valley and into Nevada was spent talking about them.  So I made every effort to make it to this spot.  We did make it to the park and to the Devil's Hole.  Unfortunately, the visitor center closed 30 minutes before we arrived!  So we went to the fish hole and peered deep into the dark hole...no fish to be seen...but we were there so we felt like maybe they were peeping out of the water to see us!  Maybe we can make our way back to this spot again.  Or maybe this piqued the interest of one of our children to help these fish one day.

Broke the "rules" and took Mickey into Nevada for a short part of our trip...
here he is at the Rattlers Hill in Ash Meadows NWR

Devil's Postpile and Manzanar

Now...yesterday was a famous national park but maybe you did not know...just on the other side of the mountain are two more parks that were quite interesting.  We had them practically to ourselves.

Now...to be fair...the Devil's Postpile is probably busier during the winter months for skiing.  However, it still should be viewed and I cannot imagine that it can be seen under a mountain of snow.

Actually, we had thought we would make a "quick trip" to this park the day before.  I am so glad our plans were changed (We just spent so much time enjoying our cache search.) and we were able to be at the park early in the morning.  Had we not done this we might have missed two special places along the way.

The first was an amazing statue of a mammoth.  It is just a replica but it was still fun to stop and take a photo of the family.  This was the base of the mountain and where most of the skiers use to access the slopes.  There were ski lifts in all directions.  Michael and the children are determined to make it back here in the winter.  I think they are crazy but will be glad to hold out hot chocolate from the warmth of the resort, if they want to do this.

my artsy view of the mammoth

We were on the hunt for caches again, so we left the hotel early (The hotel only had powdered donuts and cookies for breakfast anyway.) and went on the way to look for a fault line.  We would actually learn on location that it is a unique magma fissure as a fault line would have caused displacement...this site only had a widening gap in the ground that was about 4-20 feet wide depending on the area.  Very cool!

Michael's little friend posed for him

Then we were on our way to the park.  Now...normally we would have had to take a shuttle.  This adds an additional $50 to our day and also time waiting for shuttles.  Time and money we did not want to spend.  Then I noticed a little blurb on the website about disabled veteran parking at the ranger station.  One of the times we were glad to have this distinction.  We were able to drive right to the ranger station and walk the trails to the post pile of rocks.   We were able to see the rocks from the top and bottom.

This 'pile of rocks' as one hiker called it...is quite interesting if nothing else for its interesting views.  However, it is also amazing how it was formed.  A basalt volcanic eruption released air and then cooled forming these columns.  Then to add to intrigue a glacier smoothed over the tops to create a nice polished look.  These uniform columns come in 3-7 sides but look as if they are piled together.  When I saw it I was reminded of Aggie Bonfire.

On our way back to the van we stopped along a trail that took us to Soda Springs.  The cooling magma is still releasing carbon dioxide that bubbles to the surface in this springs.  Wow!  We saw the bubbling action for ourselves before heading on to the next destination.  Not without earning the children another junior ranger badge!

One other stop we had hoped to make was in the Ancient Bristlecone Forest.  However, this trip would not work out because we were determined to arrive at Manzanar Historic Site.  This was a disappointment but the history at Manzanar was more important to me for all of us to never forget this time in our history.  We would be rewarded for this decision...we just would not know that until the end of the day.

Before we made it there we stopped for a "quick" cache find that led us to Law's Railroad Museum.  They had a train from locomotive to caboose as well as the town rebuilt from vintage homes of the area.  We walked around the grounds for almost an hour before I finally grabbed everyone back into the van.


We arrived at the Manzanar National Historic Site visitor center by mid-afternoon.  I can only tell that this is a special place and you can feel it as soon as you are there.

We walked into the center and immediately saw 1000 cranes displayed in honor of the Japanese that were interned here during World War II.  We went straight to the ranger to ask about the junior ranger program.  I knew this would be important at this site to keep our focus on the history.  Well, this is true at most of the national parks but especially for places like this.

This is where we met Ranger Mark.  We have been to over 70 parks across the nation and he is by far one of the best we have met.  I think he was meant to be there for us.  He told us that a movie about Manzanar was about to begin and he encouraged us to watch it.  As I stepped away, I thought to ask him if he would be available to talk to the children after we completed the tour of the park.  He told me that he would be there and then pulled out a map to tell me exactly where to take the children and the order to take the tour.



The movie brought me to tears.  To know that our government took an entire group of people under the false pretense of saving them from danger is unthinkable.  In actuality, we did this out of fear which can be understood to a certain degree...it was a scary time.  The part that bothers me is that the government put them in such harsh conditions with little assistance.  Add to this the treatment of Americans by other Americans.  There was such cruelty and unfair treatment.

However, in spite of this...the Japanese Americans and the Japanese who were here trying to make a better life for themselves....they were taken to this harsh desert and adjusted because they believed in a dream.  They adapted the environment and their lives in spite of the cruelty.

And...there were people in the community surrounding the area who helped.  Others came to them when they heard what was happening.  There was good in the world...good would prevail.  Schools were set up for the children...a lending toy library allowed toys to be borrowed since not a lot of toys were brought to the camp.  Many other amazing things happened to show kindness by the outer community.

After the short film, we walked around the museum.  The children were asked to choose a person to follow through the park learning about their lives.  We chose Ralph Lazo, who was an especially interesting person who lived in the camp.  He was NOT Japanese.  His heritage background was Hispanic and Irish.  However, when he found out all the people from his neighborhood were being relocated to Manzanar, he chose to go with them.  He was only 16 years old at the time.  He was very successful in school and later went to college.  He also joined the military and was highly decorated.

We left the museum exhibits to explore the grounds.  We started in one of the barracks where families lived.  There were two examples of these buildings on the site.  The first was in the original state when the people arrived.  However, it was actually not realistic because it would have been worse.  There is no way to show the actual conditions in a museum since the original buildings had holes in the walls and roof where the wind blew in sand constantly.  I thought it would have been more helpful to have openings in the building covered with glass to show this affect.  One thing that was constant was the wind...it blew with gusts up to 35 miles per hour throughout the time we were there.  You could hardly think with the sand surrounding you and blowing over you.

Just a short walk through the wind from one barracks to the other was almost unbearable.  I cannot imagine doing this all the time!  However, we did make it to the second barracks.  This example was showing how the people improved their homes to make it easier to live.  There was quite a difference in just a short period of time.



The next stop of the tour would show these improvements took place even in the landscape.  This sandy wasteland was given a face lift.  Many of those who came to this camp were gardeners and landscapers...their clients were the rich of California.  They knew how to work the land, even in these harsh conditions.  They created beautiful gardens with water features and bridges.  There were even markers set up to remind them to have hope and peace in their lives.  The conditions in this area were so severe that within just a couple of years after they left the gardens were covered again with sand.  The national parks services had to dig out the area to find the remnants of these gardens.


We were also able to visit the cemetery for the people of this time period.  We found a burial spot for an infant and others.  We also saw the large memorial monument for the location.  We then had just a few minutes to return to the visitor center to meet with Ranger Mark again.

He seemed to be waiting for us when we came back to the center.  He gathered the children together and talked about their books..adding to each activity a little more historical detail.  He also encouraged them to share their opinion on the information.  He was so enthusiastic that he drew a crowd to hear him talk to the children.  He realized it right away and brought them in to his talk.

One thing our family has tried to do for the last couple of years is collect the National Parks trading cards related to the Civil War anniversary.  They are really about the civil rights history in the United States.  We knew that Manzanar was one of the locations that might have the cards so we were going to ask after the children were presented their badges.  However, Ranger Mark even brought this aspect into his talk.  He took each card our individually (there were five) and talk about each person before giving out the card.  The first one just happened to be Ralph Lazo!  Ranger Mark that it was pretty cool that we had picked this person to follow in the museum as much as we were...his enthusiasm was contagious...when he was done...the crowd that had gathered clapped for Ranger Mark and the children!

As Michael got the children gathered into the van, I waited to talk to Ranger Mark and thank him.  There were several people trying to buy the typical souvenirs as the center was about to close.  I really thought he would rush us out the door but he did not.  I told him thank you and asked if there was any way to see a small portion of the Ancient Bristlecone before we continued on to Death Valley the next day.

He stopped everything to talk to us about NOT going to see the bristlecones...that night.  He had a better plan for us!  He strongly encouraged us to go to the Alabama Foothills which is the "Old West" in all the old westerns.  Then he gave us a route through the Ancient Bristlecone Forest that would lead us into Death Valley from the north for the next day.  This route would also lead us into Death Valley to see Scotty's Castle...a nice bonus!

A BIG thank you to Ranger Mark for making our time at Manzanar meaningful and then going above and beyond to make our next day special also!  We could not ask for a better park ranger!

We did make it to the Alabama Foothills where we found a huge beast, amazing rock formations, and an rock arch.  We drove around eating pizza for about an hour remembering the movies at the location where they were filmed.  We arrived at our hotel in time to set up on the porch to watch for the meteor shower, but we were so exhausted we fell asleep trying to see the beautiful sky.  We enjoyed the stars but then crashed in our beds!

What an awesome day!