A Fool's Journey: AZ

Showing posts with label AZ. Show all posts

San Diego Campgrounds All Full For the Entire Week

Day 15

The wind blew strong against the tent. I woke up many times. I also had a scary dream and woke up from that too. All and all it was a night of interrupted sleep. I packed the tent by 6:11am and rolled off by 6:30am. I made it to Las Vegas by 9am. I found a breakfast buffet at Harrah’s for $17 after tax. It wasn’t cheap or the kind of food for me. I forgot about the smoke factor in other states. Here in Vegas, all the zoned out souls, what a dark scary contrast to all the bright eyed happy people in the National Parks.

I head out to San Diego at 10:30am. I was sleepy and hot. I fazed in and out of focus on the road and even drifted in and out of lanes. I rolled into San Diego at 4pm into Carlsbad South Campground at the beach. I was unimpressed by the campground and the beach. I did stroll on the beach and watch surfers and families play. Then I head to Solana Beach, a spot for surfers. None of these beaches are for swimming. I laid in the sand and watched the sky. I was cold, same experience for San Elijo Campsites.

I did witness a beautiful sunset at 8pm today. A young youth got baptized on the beach. He had an emotional speech in the gratitude to his family, he was surrounded by 50 of his close peers supporting this motion forward in his commitment to a new way of life and living. It was a treat to be a part of this beautiful moment.

All campsites are full this week up the coast. This is bad. I had a lot of resistance to be here, I didn’t care to come, but I am here. Well, it’s a good thing I love watching the sea. I love being in the sea. I love to surf. I love being in the sand.

I pulled into Henry’s natural food grocery store to stock up on some supplies. I felt extremely tired at 9:30pm and went to use Jack in the Box restroom. I found a spot uphill to rest in the neighborhood. The uphill ended up being great for leveling of the feet. I put a blanket underneath the bum to fill in the crack of the seat to better support my spine.

This lack of campsite issue will be a determining factor how long this last stretch of my trip will be. It is looking like short. I can only sleep in my car for so many nights. I really have no idea where I am right now, no worries though.

People Who Love Their Work Are Radiating In Beauty

Day 7 National Park 2010

Kaibab National Forest was covered in snow.

I packed early and rolled off for Bryce Canyon National Park at 6:30am. My tent is wet form yesterday’s rain. I knew I had a lot of miles to drive so I left early. I drove through Kaibab Forest and snow covered the ground by North Rim Grand Canyon entrance just from yesterday afternoon. A part of the road had tire marks through the snow, enough clearance for me to drive on. It was all very beautiful. I am not great about paying attention to the road when it’s all very beautiful scenically. Super dangerous I’d say, glad it was early and no traffic.

I made it to Bryce a little after 11 am Utah Mountain time. Ranger Rebecca gave me a run down for the camp site.
1. Pick any open camping site.
2. Get to the billboard posting at the entrance of the gate and fill out the payment envelope.

3. Put money in and rip off the tag.
4. Post the tag on the site post.
5. Set up tent.

She also told me I didn’t need to backpack, all the trails can be hiked in a day, that they are not long to begin with. The all inter connect but can be broken up to be hiked in different days. Plus there is a bear issue. I think this is where the heart of the matter is. She is trying to keep me safe and to discourage me from bear encounter. She pretty much helped me line out an itinerary for my stay here.

So I did as she advised. I set up tent and ate a pack of instant noodles just to put something hot into my body without cooking. I drove all 17 miles to the end and went backwards and stopped at every vista point and hiked here and there. This way is in alignment to all the vista pull out parking lots.

The rain gave amazing clouds and interesting dramatic spot lighting. The Hoodoo are beautiful to see. I had fun with my eyes and they were wow’d.

I met lots of nice people who took care of me and chatted with me and took my photos. A couple with matching Harley’s from Phoenix, Az and another couple from Portland Or. They were all wonderful in taking care of me and just treating me with decent kindness and with class and dignity very stately.

I had plans to backpack this area but was advised to stay out that a bear had been sighted and it was not recommended by the rangers that I backpack at this time. And after looking at the trails I noticed it was mostly sandy trails of which I am not fond of hiking in or backpacking in.

To the right of my tent was a Japanese family with 2 bright eyes sons with healthy proper chi. They

didn’t speak English.

To the left of me was a man from Canada partially blind.

And higher above my site was a Korean family from LA with 2 bright eyed sons. One is named “HeeChen” He was getting ready for his SATs. He was fun to chat with.

It was so cold that my food wasn’t boiling in the 30’s temperature with a gas stove. I so drove my car to the restroom and plugged my stove in the restroom and cooked outside the restroom with an extension chord. I ate out of my car so I didn’t have to haul all my things back to camp just to eat it and haul it back to the restroom area just to wash it.

Here at Bryce, I feel my back getting stronger and expansive, I feel wonderfully healthy. I am having a lot of fun. I am grateful for all the protection in staying safe and healthy and coming across nice people.

Tonight I went to the lodge and met with ranger Kassandra who helped me map out more areas to hike. I met the Portland couple who are professors and we chatted by the fire place. It was a lovely evening with them. I just enjoyed their company so much. I was there charging me electronics until 11pm. I missed my shower this evening. The showers closed. That’s okay, the conversations and company was worth it. I’ll have to do it tomorrow instead.

Feels really good to sit by a blazing fire

The staff had to physically walk into the fire place to get it all set up for fire

Awesome beautiful ranger who loves what she does and is drawing a map for me.

Here is the spiffy on the showers here:

1. It is at the laundry by the store

2. Two dollar bills gets you an arcade coin/tokin

3. Toss coin in like arcade machine

4. Shower shuts off on time

5. No hair dryer or hand dryer, so showering at night is a bad idea in the cold

The info on the Lodge, no heater in the rooms, it is only open March through October of each year.

Hail in June at Grand Canyons National Park North Rim

Day 6 National Park 2010

Let your imagination fly with this one! All natural no CGI.

I woke up from dreams of enjoying looking at photos of me in various places I have been, will be and the joy in my face and contentment was what made me beautiful and enjoyed to see.

Morning ceremony took longer than usual because I was distracted from worries of coming weeks. It was all useless, mostly distractions, drawing me into tensions and knots. I had to compensate and slow it way down and lots of restarts. So I was behind my schedule. What is this schedule, simple, I need to do laundry and go on a hike and make it early enough for the lodge $16. Pasta buffet at a window seat. Is it really that critical? Well, I really would like to feel what the big deal it is to get that window seat.

Met a neighbor who is from Europe and has been doing the Panamericana RV trails year after year. I asked them what happens when the RV breaks down? She said you have to stop and get it serviced even if you are in middle of Chile.

I came across Maya and her friend getting ready to hike 2 days into the canyon. A hike had to get air lifted out yesterday for dehydration doing the rim to rim hike. Honestly, I’ve seen too many episodes of “I shouldn’t have survived this” to scare me enough to not do rim to rim. I watch way to much TV. But I think such shows really do educate so I don’t end up dying or shattering all my bones etc…

The hike was lovely. It was crowded and full of very nice people happily helping me to take photos of me.

I found an ice machine at the village.

Trails in the village were lovely for strolls.

I made it to the Lodge to get a beeper. Here is the whole experience and it began like this and pretty much continued. I should have known. I inquired about seating at the window. The staff told me to return 15 minutes at 11:20am to pick up a beeper and then told a man behind me to come at 11:15am. When I returned a staff told me since I was single I should sit by the window in the back corner facing the wall. I think this whole ordeal was to get a window seat to look at the majestic mountains. So I insisted on sitting with the view and not one facing the wall. Well, the pasta had very simple sauce. I enjoyed the view and watched it change with rain, sun, clouds, blue sky. It was all very dramatic.

I insisted on eating with my left hand and taking my time to chew my food, a change in digestion attempt. I sat down at 11:30am and my bill landed on my table at 11:56am within 30 minutes after I got my table,….. really? …..Seriously? I let it sit there and went for a second plate and continued to enjoy this experience. I even contemplated ordering a blueberry pie. However, my server came to me at 12:48pm and publically made a scene and said I had been there for over an hour and half and there are guests waiting for my spot. He publically shamed me. I don’t know what was so shameful about eating my lunch and taking an hour to do it. I almost cried but I didn’t want to cry. I was happy, this is a happy trip, a happy experience. I did not know there was a time limit to my lunch. There is no sign nor was I informed. In truth, I had only been there for an hour. This was all and all turning out to be a disappointing experience. I paid for this???? I paid to be publically humiliated and put in a demeaning place. I didn’t want to make a fuss and get this man fired by filing a complaint. It’s not worth it. I cancelled my dinner reservation for tonight and just walked out of there super disturbed and in shock.

I had plans for another hike this afternoon, the cold was okay, but the rain, I was not prepared for. Due to the rain there was so much more traffic in the fire place that I had to put on ear plugs to block out all the people noise in this very echo wood room. At 3:30pm the down pour turned into showers that turned into sprinkles. The sky was so interesting I had to walk in the drizzle and get wet to photograph the dramatic sky and the canyons. I had to take cover underneath a boulder so I can stand in the cold and wind and wet to watch this scenery. I like breathing the cool air. I finally had to call it quits when my battery ran out.

When I went to the parking lot to pick up battery chargers, I saw cars pull up full of snow on their hood. I inquired. They said it’s a blizzard a mile out, pretty much where I camped at the National Forest Land area. I am glad I didn’t drive to those areas to hike. I would have been caught in a snowy blizzard conditions and I don’t have chains or anything for the snow.

Back at the fire place I met rim to rim people who do this every year from South Rim to North Rim 23 miles in 9 hours. They start at 5:30am arriving 3pm ish at North Rim. They get a place at the Lodge and stay for two nights and then they hike back from North Rim to South Rim. They had their luggage shuttled from south rim for this.

Here is Paul’s pointers:

1. Carry enough water

2. Wear comfortable shoes

3. Keep feet dry, will save toe nails, change sock and use baby powder

4. Stay on trail

5. Start early

I met another guy name Phil who is a grandpa with white hair in great hiking condition to backpack off road. He showed me how to read trail map and different trail conditions, sit, no campsite, water, no water and permits, etc… I really didn’t expect me to remember all that. But he was super excited to pass the info along. Maybe too excited because after that he followed me around or somehow we kept on running into each other. He wanted to know details of my car so he can track me down in Bryce. All sorts of alarms went off in my head and I ran for it. Was this guy just creepy or did I somehow not get a social cue somehow earlier. Really, does listening to someone talk about maps mean more than that? Am I really that dull and slow and socially out of it?

I went for a shower, the heater in the shower is a plus. It really is a draw, even when I am pooped out tired. When I went back to my camp site, I noticed the family left. A new neighbor told me they packed out around noon. So I didn’t get to give the little girl a stuffed horse I got for her as a gift, one of her favorite animals. I had to return it. I think they got stuck in the blizzard.

Where to dry your laundry when it's hailing, snowing, raining outside?

For dinner I had Spanish giant beans and Indian spinach paneer. The spinach was way too spicy. The beans were 200 calories. I filled water at the drinking water faucet and it tasted like rust. It tasted so bad I couldn’t even mask it. It’s a good thing I have 5 gallons of water in the car.

It’s so cold my skin hurts. It is going to be at a high of 32 degrees tonight. It feels cooler than that. I lifted my windshield wipers to watch for frost. I don’t know if I will get any rest tonight because I am so cold.

I went back to the Lodge for more star gazing. At 9:15pm stars appeared. I got to see Saturn at this elevation, clear, big and the rings were super beautiful to see. Where else can I star gaze like this? How could I have planned it better? It is just wonderful to marvel at the sky.

I left around 11pm after two hours of bone chilling cold, a sacrifice, all for the beauty of the night sky. I was tempted to stay in the warm lounge couch and sleep where there is heat. But I refused to wimp out. I prefer to camp and sleep in my luxurious tent even if it is in the low 30’s and feels more like 20’s.

On my way out I met a couple who is headed to Idaho. The female is from inner Mongolia and the male companion was eating instant noodles with beer bottle in the other hand and smoking weed all in the same time. They did not have a place to sleep tonight, all camps were full and the lodge is too. They plan on sleeping in their car tonight. I have no sympathy for people with such talents. The female wanted to follow me back to camp and offer to put up a fire for me. Nope! I don’t think so. A drunk, high weed smoking , synthetic carb loading couple to hang around with, dangerous is all I can think of. I referred them to the Kaibab National Forest. Super beautiful and amazing but they don’t seem to get that, especially not in the dark.

My upgrade technology to stay warm tonight, 2 beanies and 6 layers of clothing for the top and two sets of cotton leg warmers and two pairs of pants and two pairs of sock. It’s all I’ve got, it’s all on me.

I learned quickly what camper language is today and it goes like this:

“Hi I am Sandy” , shake hands

“I am from….” Wait for your neighbor’s info, length of stay , number of people, know your neighbor and make proper assessments

“That’s my set up over there….” Short talk about gear, equipment

And to conclude,

“If you need anything, just let us know….” Yes say ‘US’ especially as a single female traveler, ALWAYS say US or WE

Guide Books Can Be Wrong

Day 5 National Park 2010

I went to bed at 8:30 last night right after dinner, I just pass out, I was so tired. I got up at 7amish and slept for 11 hours straight. I did morning ceremony and cooked instant noodles for breakfast. Then it was a quick take down on the tent to drive into North Rim to get a campsite. I was distressed over the packing and unpacking of tent that I decided I would just fold it and shove it into my car so I can just pull it out and unfold it to the next site. This turned out to be an excellent discovery. I rolled all my sleeping pad, bag into a giant jellyroll and into the car it went. It’s camping, the car does not have to be perfectly organized nor does my tent have to be perfectly rolled.

I saw at the North Rim gate with the sign “all campsites are full”. I was shocked. Why am I so shocked? I feel like a kid who learned the things learned in books and schools can be wrong. The guide book said you never have to make reservations because the campsites here are never full and not as popular. I didn’t make reservations because of that. I pulled into the registration and tried to get a camp site. It was all full and they just gave away their last site. Ranger Susan was tough with talking to me, she can’t offer what she doesn’t have. I put myself on a waitlist for cancelations. I asked if I can drive by the campsites and see if anyone is willing to share. Ranger Susan was tough and unbending. She was caring like a stern parent and concerned for my safety, wanted to know why I was traveling alone and was probably staring the bleeding sore on my lower lip from the burning summer temperatures of south rim and now the very cold winter weather of north rim. She finally agreed for me to drive around the campsite and made sure I understood I will not harass anyone for me to crash with them. I wouldn’t do that.

I pulled over at site #33, most people were not at their site and there was no one to ask. It was their tent on top of the trailer that captivated me. A couple and a little girl with red hair green eyes and freckles had just gotten into their suburban and was about to roll off. I rolled my window down and asked knowing they were not using their site for tent if I could use it. I offered to pay for the site and it was already paid through reservation and they refused to take my money. Dave was the husband and Naomi was the daughter. Dave turns out to be an anesthesiologist and his wife is a nurse and the daughter was adopted. The family is from Flagstaff and is staying 2 nights. I tried to pay for the two nights camp fee but they family refused to take money from me.

I rushed back to Ranger Susan with excitement on scoring a site and she kindly gave me a run down on campground rules etc… She took down information on where I was from, etc… since I was traveling alone. I felt safe in the grounds she watched. I was super excited to know there is access to hot shower, laundry access and internet by the general store.

After setting up my tent I strolled around to see how others traveled and camped. I thought I would learn from others what is good gear for me since I am new to car camping. I know right now I want a hammock. This is important. I wondered why people brought giant propane with homemade wok set up ring. I later learned at this elevation and in this cold, it takes forever for my water to boil. Mosquito and rain, yup, I don’t have anything for me to avoid the mosquito and rain while I cooked or sat. It’s really too much work to put up a mosquito picnic bench covering for one. But really, it would be nice to be able to cook dry and mosquito free. This summer, I want to learn how to set up fire and a BBQ.

Why didn’t I bring a comfortable lawn chair?

Why didn’t I bring a clothes line with clothes pin for laundry?

Why didn’t I bring a folding table for one?

Why didn’t I bring a hair dryer?

Why didn’t I bring more food?

Why didn’t I pack a cooler with ice?

Why didn’t I pack more snacks?

Why didn’t I pack more cookies?

Why didn’t I bring a tripod?

I thought I packed food for 3 weeks but I am eating more than I thought. It usually is the case when camping, why did I forget? It’s a good thing I stopped at Williams Safeway and bought random canned food. It’s turning out to be a wise choice. Everything is triple times the price here at the national park store.

Lunch today, I had the rest of the dolmas, along with a tomato, and roasted eggplant. Today it is windy and cold. I then made tea, had it with cookies and mochi. What I thought was a lot of mocha and cookies is running short.

I came across Maya from Pennsylvania who is taking 7 weeks off with her friend to do this. They dehydrated 7 weeks worth of vegetables, they are super prepared for this road trip. One thing they weren't prepared for was 24/7 with each other for 7 weeks. They are thinking of cutting the trip shorter. They say their major expense is gas. Road trip, yup, lots to negotiate and take with care when doing road trip with people. I shared my cookies and tea with her. I told her about Sedona and she told me about Glaciers National Park, Yellowstone, Tetons, Zion, Bryce. They are backpacking tomorrow into the canyon from North Rim to South Rim, it is downhill for the North Rim stretch. They brought a hammock, a very light weight one made of polyester, weighed a pound. Why didn't I think of this? I shall put this on my wish list and be on the lookout for it.

It then hailed in the afternoon. I was not prepared for the cold or the hailing. It then snowed. I was so not prepared for this. I took the trail from campgrounds to the lodge. The clouds from this amazing weather was super dramatic to look at. The colors bouncing off the clouds was just an amazing show to witness. I saw rainbows in the sky. I enjoyed the trail. I walked with leg warmers on. Glad I had them, I so needed something to keep me warm.

I went to the lodge to warm up and looked around the area to acquaint myself. I considered having dinner at the lodge, they were all full. This place is the only place to eat within 50 miles. At the gift shop I discovered I didn’t bring my wallet. It was good thing the lodge was full. It would have been bad to have ordered, eaten and discover I didn’t have my wallet to pay.

I decided to head back to camp, since I forgot to bring my headlamp and it was getting dark, I decided not the take the trail back. I decided to walk along the road instead, it would be more straight forward in dim light conditions. As I walked an retired couple from Florida with miniature poodle pulled up and insisted on giving me a ride back to my camp because I was walking alone and they just wanted to do something for me to make sure I got home safely. They were so sweet. I am meeting amazing people who are decent and do small acts of kindness that warms the heart and brings smiles to my each of my brain cells.

I was dropped off at the general store and on my way back to camp I chatted with Sadie and her guardian. He lives in TX in the winter and the rest of the year he travel in his RV. He wanders with his dog. He seemed lonely.

I chatted with Naomi and her family about their camp setup. They have a 2^nd hand, imitation off another original brand. The top and bottom are two separate companies. The whole set up is $10,000. Plus the accessories it comes out to $20,000. Naomi loves horses and cats. Her favorite colors are blue and purple. She loves camping and she runs her mom’s life. Dad is the cook and the organizer. Mom seems to be easily fatigued, excited to chat but timid and shy that she was vegetarian for a few years but did not continued. I then made instant noodles for dinner.

I got into my car to shower. Just as I was about to shower I noticed the stall I was in was out of order. It was a good thing I did not first put the money in. I might have lost the money since the stall was broken. I switched to a functional one. The shower head I got was not the best. Somehow the whole shower process took over an hour. It was warm in the showers. Fortunately there was a hot air hand dryer and I used it as a hair dryer to dry my hair.

Then I went back to the lodge to wait for the star gazing for the night to begin. Yes I packed my headlights this time and all electronics to recharge while I waited for the stars to appear. Tired though, I really don’t know if I will last. Instead of the star shower, there was a thunder shower lightening show. I sat inside by the fire and waited for the sky to clear. I left at 11pm. I didn’t realize how tired I was until I began driving back to camp. My eyes had trouble with focusing. It was also partly due to my eye lids puffed from mosquito bites.

I did decide to stop at the general store parking lot to check email. I was so tired, disoriented, unable to focus, that when I was in the camp loops, I couldn’t figure out which was my camp so I went round and round, looking for my tent. I felt bad for the disturbance to others and more for the kind neighbors who let me camp.

The temperature was below 40 degrees. I went to sleep with layers on me to stay warm. I could not warm up fast enough in the sack. I was cold. I was not prepared for this cold. Why wasn’t I prepared? Why didn’t I know it snows in the Grand Canyons in June?

Here are some of my fellow neighbor travelers and how they roll. Most people show up at Grand Canyons National Park South or North Rim with RVs.