Recap

5,042 - number of miles driven

770 - the value of the prize YD won on TPIR

486 - number of photos taken

44 - number of states whose license plates we saw while on the road (47 if we include
the ones we saw in parking lots)

37 - number of blog posts

27 - number of days we were away

17 - number of hotels we stayed in

10 - number of states we visited

6 - number of relatives we saw

4 - number of National Parks we visited

3 - number of friends we saw
- number of reservation screw-ups I made (none serious or not easily remedied)
- number of time zones we were in

1 - number of car problems we had
- number of items (and it was unimportant) left behind in any of the 17 hotels we
stayed in
- number of tolls we paid on our 5,000+ mile journey

0 - the number of significant disagreements between OM & YD

Trip cross-country with a mother and daughter - PRICELESS!!!

The last stop

Sadly, we have come to the end of our journey, here in Denver, Colorado. It was yet another spectacular ride from Bryce to Denver. We stopped in Grand Junction, Colorado overnight and enjoyed visiting a few of the wineries and took in a movie (Extract), and arrived in Denver on Thurs. and had dinner in LoDo. Fri was busy, first a well-deserved mani/pedi for the extremely hiking-callused and sore feet, then a lovely lunch with the Denver branch of the Plotkin family (see photo), followed by a stroll down the 16th St. mall. We finished the day with a trip to Colorado Springs for dinner with a dear camp friend of YD's who we discovered was at Colorado College.

Then back to the hotel to pack up and try to figure out how to get the 5 foot walking stick we bought in the Grand Canyon into a 4 ft long duffle bag. We said goodbye to some objects that we had become close to over the past month, like the $6 styrofoam cooler we bought at the Wal-Mart in Minneapolis, which allowed us to keep food in the car and picnic, etc., and only eat one meal/day, at most, out. Then we ended our trip by celebrating the new year with an apple and some vanilla bean honey (amazingly delicious!) we bought at on the wineries in Grand Junction and a Coors Light (my apologies to Andy, but we are, after all, in the Rockies!). All and all a happy and nostalgic end to a fabulous journey!

Hoo-Doo you do?

After having sore legs from our tour of Zion, we now have sore butts from our tour of Bryce. During our 1/2 day mule tour we were able to see the entire canyon from a really unique perspective from the bottom on the canyon floor, not to mention the rides down and back up. In the able hands of our guide Dave, and our mules, Croppy and Sidestep, who behaved quite well and lived up to their reputation of sure-footedness, we had quite an amazing tour. YD only cried in fright a couple of times on the quite steep switchbacks during the climbs down and back up. The Hoo-Doo is definitely my favorite rock formation.

Tomorrow we head back toward our final destination, Denver, from where we will head back home on Sat. Neither YD nor I can believe that our adventure is quickly drawing to close. As much as we miss our husband/dad and son/brother, not to mention our friends and other family members, we are SO not ready to go home. We thought we'd be tired of sightseeing, checking in and out of hotels, not to mention each other, possibly way before our trip was over, but we are none of the above. We are already planning our next road trip to the places we were unable to fit in to this one!

The answer to the question

This is the sign that greeted us at our hotel in Zion. Ho-made pies! Like I said, who knew there were ho's in Utah!

Are there really Ho's in Utah?

The answer to the title question will have to come at a later date when I get the photo posted.

In the meantime, here's some photos from today's hiking in Zion. We did the Canyon Overlook trail, followed by the lower, middle, and upper Emerald Pond trails (with a break for lunch in between). We had planned to do the Riverwalk or the Pa'nus to finish out the day, but discovered that was overambitious, after we both fell asleep on the shuttle bus back from the Emerald Pond trails, and had pinky toes that were threatening to defect from our feet if we didn't release them from those hiking boots ASAP.

We did see deer, lizards, a snake in the middle of lunch (we couldn't tell for sure if the tail still sticking out of it's mouth was that of a lizard or a rodent), and the ever present squirrels and chipmunks.

I think it's a good thing that we have pre-scheduled our tour of Bryce on horseback rather than foot tomorrow.

What do they do in Utah on Sunday?

While planning this journey, I had promised today, Sunday, 9/13, the first professional football Sunday, to YD. It was a travel day, Grand Canyon to Zion, a 5+ hr trip. Amazingly, the hotel we were staying at in GC had a sports bar, but we weren't sure exactly what satellite feed they had and/or which games they would be able to get, and neither did anyone working Sat night. Our options were to hang out in GC until 1:15 when the Giants game would be starting in our time zone and hope for the best, and then either have to start the long drive after the game, or worse yet, discover the game wouldn't be shown, and have wasted much of the day waiting, and then she would miss the game for sure.

We decided to try to catch the game on the road. If you check the route from the GC to Zion, you notice that it is so unpopulated that there is not a single town listed on the map for the first 80% of the drive. Which meant that in order to be in someplace that might possibly have the game, we would have to leave by about 8AM. YD is not fond of getting up early, to say the least, but for football, she said absolutely, we would hit the road by 8. We spend Sat night googling sports bars in the few towns that we would pass through right outside of Zion. Our best bet seemed to be St. George, Utah, which was somewhat out of the way, but I had promised her this day, and we did not have to be in Zion at any set time. We had found a couple of other options on the way that we would check out as well.

We got on our way right on time, and the long drive went by in a flash. The scenery on the drive is spectacular. From crossing the Colorado river in Glen Canyon by Lake Powell and the Glen Canyon Dam, to the painted desert and Vermillion cliffs of Arizona, we were mesmerized. True to form, we did not see a single town with more than a handful of shacks/trailers/houses along the route until we came to Hurricane, Utah, where we had found a sports bar listed on Google. It was just about game time and YD was getting itchy. We find the bar. It is closed. A sports bar that is closed on Sundays? What is the point of that? YD is panicking. We are only about 15 min out of St. George, we follow Lucille's (the GPS) directions, but she didn't like the address we had, and she hasn't been updated in 3 yrs, and the roads were new, and we can't find it. Then, like a beacon across the highway, I see a sign for the bar we are looking for. We follow it, and blessedly, not only is it open, but there is a big sign outside saying that all NFL games can be seen there. YD is ecstatic. As we run inside we see the Giants game on the first 2 big screens, and get a booth so each of us can see our own screen. Oh joy. This is a serious sports bar, there are a million TV's, both NFL games are on, as well as the US Open, and other stuff. A total of 2 booths are taken, plus some scattered people at the bar. On opening football Sunday, this place is nearly deserted. And it's a nice place. Not just a bar, a full restaurant, too. What do the people of Utah do on Fall/Winter Sunday afternoons? Whatever, since it was so empty they did not mind in the least that we sat at a booth for 3+ watching the entire game and only ordered a salad a small pizza between the 2 of us.

From there it was a relatively short ride to (and through, since we came in the west entrance and our hotel was on the eastern side, oops!) Zion, where we arrived at our hotel in time for the night game on ABC. Tomorrow, thank goodness, we get to get off our behinds and do some hiking in the park, which looked as spectacular as expected on our drive through.

Long live the Marines!

I have to say, that given the bright lights of Vegas vs the grandeur of the National Parks, and the great outdoors, I'd have to pick the latter. Although YD wouldn't say that she agreed with me totally, she did admit that they were at the very least equal.

After perusing the trail maps, we decided to attempt a relatively short, although exceedingly steep decent into the canyon along a trail called the "Oooh Ahhh trail" (seriously, how could we pass that up?). Everything we read and every sign we saw were designed to caution, OK, panic, hikers, from attempting hikes they were unprepared for. NEVER attempt to hike all the way down to the river and back in a single day, was the biggest warning we saw. Also lots of signs about how when the temperature is 80 degrees at the rim, it quickly rises to 105+ as you descend. Carry plenty of water, food, and other supplies.

We decided not to even attempt the trail until about 4PM, when the strength of sun decreases dramatically. We packed pb&j sandwiches and water, lots of drugs (epipen, benadryl, ibuprofen, bronchodilator), bug spray, sunscreen, and hit the park. We decided to hike along the canyon rim trail in the morning, have some lunch, and then tackle the oooh ahhh. We probably hiked about 3 miles along the rim trail. Flat, and a mix of paved and gravel paths. It was easy walking, but it was HOT. Instead of lunch, we stopped for ice-cream, and then set out for the main event.

As we boarded the shuttle bus for the trailhead, we noticed the large, black clouds blowing in, but we decided to give it shot. The trail descended at even a steeper grade than I had anticipated (see photos. One is view of trail going down, see people at the bottom on the trail. Other is view of the trail going back up. The dots on the side of the cliff are people going back up). Despite her fear of heights, YD was a trooper, and just as anxious as I to have a go at it. Of course, down is easy, as expected, but the trail is loaded with the warning messages of how hard it is to get back up. Looking back up at the trail, I did have a few moments of doubt. But the ooohs and ahhs just keep you going. The views are indescribable, and we were actually hiking down into the grand canyon, which is what I came to do.

The wind picked up and some drops of rain began to fall. Then we came across 2 young men resting on their way up. Let's just say that resting is a kind word. Recovering? Preventing total collapse, might be better ways to describe it. How much further to the top they asked us? Not far we told them, we just started out. They then told us that they had started at 6AM and hiked all the way down to the river and were having trouble with the trip back up. They were young and fit, and half-dead. I am old, but fit, YD is young, but not so fit, and I began to get a bit more worried, but we continued on. Then the clouds thickened a bit more, and we had to shield our eyes against the dust blowing up from the trail, and about 30 min after we set out, we decided we'd best turn around, so we did.

The hike back up that steep zig-zagging trail was much less strenuous than expected, and we were both a bit sorry we hadn't gone further, but the warnings had put the fear of god in us. Since we had gone to the trouble of making our sandwiches, we did stop and eat them, in the drizzle on the trail. We passed our struggling friends as we reached the top, and one was barely standing. The 4 of us hopped on the shuttle bus and it was clear that the older of the 2 men was suffering from heat stroke. They told us they couldn't believe the difficulty of their hike. The one with heat stroke had hiked up Mt Fuji with no problem. They were both Marines stationed in San Diego. They insisted they hadn't seen any of the warnings not to attempt the hike all the way to the bottom and back in a single day. When we got off the shuttle we discovered they had no way back to their campground, so we squeezed them in the back of Bobby, among the cooler, shoes, travel books, maps, and other detrius we'd collected along the way, and took them back to their tent. I hope they're OK!!!

But, we had the time of our lives, hiked into the Canyon (although not as far as we would have like to, given the weather conditions), and can't wait to get to our next 2 canyons, Zion & Bryce.

Canyon carousing

After a quick stop at the Hoover Dam (it was 109 degrees when we left Vegas at 10:30AM, I don't even want to know what the temp was an hr later when we got to the dam, suffice to say it was unbearable), we just had to at least dash into the park for a glimpse of the canyon when we arrived at Grand Canyon late Fri afternoon. It was all we expected and more. The view from the first place we encountered, which is as far as we went, went beyond our expectations, and then, just to make the experience complete, wandering in the woods next to the parking lot were a couple of deer. Can't wait to head out today to see what are supposed to be the most spectacular viewing points, and hike part of the way down. The biggest challenge right now is getting YD out of bed. LOL

Vegas lives!

Despite the 2-part story I read in the LA times, Vegas is not as dead as the article made it sound. Even during this back-to-school and back-to-work week after Labor Day, there are crowds. We could use the weather to back off a bit, as the 103-104 degree temperatures have made even lounging by the pool basically impossible, never mind strolling the strip. We are longing for the 5-degree with wind chill factor + snow we had the last time we visited, about 3-4 years ago, in January. Don't feel too badly for us; however, we are managing to enjoy ourselves!

Rachel Rosen....Come on Down!!!!!

Yes, it actually happened! Our wildest dreams come true!! Although I'm not good at making a long story short, I'll do my best. After arising at 4:30AM, we got to CBS Studios (see photo, still dark out when we got on line) only to be greeted by a long line of folks who had camped out all night to ensure their spots on the show (they distribute more tickets than there are seats, which are then assigned on a first-come, first-served basis). We were #'s 164 & 165, and told that anyone higher than 150 did not have a good chance of getting in. After many hours of nail-biting, at about 11AM we finally were given our name tags and assured of being in the studio audience. We were among the last 20 folks admitted. Whew!!

Thrilled to just be there, it was beyond our comprehension when Rachel was called down as one of the first 4 contestants. She won the 2nd round of bidding, and an electric guitar and amp, and played push-off, which, despite choosing the price overwhelmingly approved by the studio audience (including myself), she did not win. As great as that would have been, the prize was a trip from Los Angeles to San Francisco. Being that we had just come from San Fran, and live in Phila, not winning that prize was not devastating.

The next heart-stopping moment was when she won a spot in the Showcase Showdown by getting .95 in 2 spins of the big wheel. In the Showdown, the first showcase was passed to her, a set of Viking kitchen appliances, that would have neither fit in my kitchen, nor matched, a set of THE ugliest dining room furniture that I have EVER seen, plus groceries for a year(the only part of the prize that was appealing). Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately?), due to some very bad advice from OM screaming from audience, winning the showcase was not to be either. But, she got on the show, and got to the Showcase. Wow!!! What a day!

Look for the show to air on Thanksgiving, or the day before.

The Holy Grail of our journey

Tomorrow is the day. We made our t-shirts. We bought our little gift for Drew. We discussed our strategy. Now we just have to take a deep breath and hope to make it work, for tomorrow, at 5AM we head to CBS Studios for a taping of the Price is Right. As I can't imagine anyone not knowing, contestants are chosen from the studio audience. As with all TV shows, not to mention airlines, more tickets are supplied than there are seats available, so admittance is first-come, first-served. Just having a ticket does not ensure admittance. Order-of-admission numbers begin to be distributed at 6AM, so we plan to be there shortly after 5AM. The network representative I spoke to assured me that tomorrow, being a Monday, not to mention a holiday, is sure to be a very busy day. If we don't get in, we will be devastated. Although we dream, of course, of hearing one of our names being called to "come on down," just screaming in the audience will be a treat for both of us, for whom coming to be a live part of TPIR has been a dream for much of our lives. Wish us luck!

My apologies to YD

After spending a wonderful day/night in some place other than a hotel for the first time in almost 2 weeks, and armed with half a Weinberg cake (thanks again, Janice for the hospitality!!), we hit the road for LA. Although it is within a day's drive of Santa Clara, I really wanted to drive the Pacific Coast highway, which would take much longer than I-5 or even 101, so we decided to make it an overnight trip.

The road was all I hoped it would be. As had happened for just about every part of this excursion, I had gotten conflicting advice about making this drive. I can clearly tell the personalities of my friends/relatives based on whether or not they advised me to do the Pacific Coast drive. Some advised against it, saying it's too long and/or dangerous. Others said be sure not to miss it. I have to go with the latter camp. It was a dream come true for me. Not just the breath-taking scenery, which really has to be seen to be believed, but for the sheer fun of the drive.

Everyone recommended doing the 17-mile Pebble Beach drive. I had done this with Andy several years earlier and really didn't remember much about it, except a vague recollection of being somewhat bored. But, since YD had never done it, we paid our $9.25 and did the drive. This time, I was even more bored, and so was she. The part along the coast, is beautiful, but overall, it's a long and boring drive, whereas you can just drive Rte. 1 for free, for a much, much, much more impressive experience. So my advice to people in the future will be, screw Pebble Beach, find the time and just drive the Pacific Coast highway.

Route 1 was curvier, steeper and longer than either YD or I had expected. After getting into the groove, I was literally able to figure out the pattern of the road to a certain extent. The rise and fall, the turns and curves of the road are repetitive and somewhat predictable and if you can get the feel for it, you can just flow with the twists and turns. It was amazingly fun driving.

I had 3 regrets about today's drive: #1 having to concentrate so much on the road, I didn't get to concentrate as much as I would have liked to on the views. I'd love to do it again as a passenger. #2 I wasn't in my little top-down Audi #3 YD was not enjoying the ride, at all, to say the least, as the twists and turns were more than her motion-sickness tendency could handle.

We stopped at the first place we saw that looked like it might have a vacancy (there aren't many places once you get rte 1 until San Luis Obispo, about a 150+ mile drive, I believe), which was a group of motels near the Hearst Castle. The first 2 were full, at the 3rd, the Courtesy Inn, we got the very last room, (2 couples who were in line immediately after us were turned away), from where I am writing. Yes, it has free Wi-fi, an indoor pool/spa, supposedly a tennis court, and free breakfast, but the room smells so strongly of chlorine, you would think there was a pool in here. Hopefully that means it's clean, it does look that way, although the chain lock on the door is broken, as is the lock on the window, and the mattresses have seen better days. So, I'm not sure I would stop here again without having someone in the car who was on the verge of being ready to hurl.

The California Cafe at the little motel next door to this one, where we had a bite to eat, also provided some entertainment. Looking like nothing more than a little coffee shop, it presented an ambitious menu with entrees costing >$30. We were seated by a young man with a cropped white afro and no front teeth, and waited on by a middle-aged gentleman who appeared to have even fewer, if any, teeth. When I inquired about wine, he gave me quite a bit of information about those they had, and steered me toward a glass of a local 2006 Zinfandel that was really quite impressive. Just goes to show you, you can't judge a book by it's cover!

Old home week (days?) in San Fran

Time to reconnect 3,000 miles away from home. For our first night in SF, my amazing cousin Bob, (who will always be my baby cousin Bob to me after I spent the summer of 1971 as his mother's helper at the Pine Knoll bungalow colony in Monticello, NY), whom I haven't seen in I-don't-know-how-long, and his indescribably delicious son Jonah, drove down from his home in San Rafael and treated YD & I to dinner and tour of Fisherman's Wharf. I cannot even to begin to describe Bob's accomplishments in the field of computer programming. YD couldn't wait to meet this famous relative she had heard so much about, and I couldn't wait to see him after many years and especially to meet his son. The only regret of the evening was that we missed out on meeting his wife and younger son Archer, as Archer woke up with a fever that morning.

YD and I spent the next day doing a whirlwind tour of Nob Hill, Union Sq., the financial district, & Chinatown, before heading out for our next taste of home, which was an overnight in Santa Clara with Janice, a dear friend of YD's from middle/high school days, who moved to CA to start a new, exciting job at Adobe about 6 weeks ago.

Being exactly halfway through our trip, reconnecting with family and friends is just what we needed to get refueled and re-energized for our trip to The Price is Right!!

Best of both worlds

Now I know why both YD and I love Lake Tahoe so much. As I explained in an early post, we each have somewhat of a split personality. Split between wanting to commune with nature, and with Dolce and Gabbana. A need for REI and Saks. A love of hiking boots and Jimmy Choo's. This place allows people like us to indulge in both. Last night we found YD a pair of fabulous Hudson's for which she had been searching for years. This morning, we are hiking down to Emerald Bay. Here you don't have to be a tree-lover or a JAP. You can be both. A veritable dream come true.

Alas, tomorrow we do take our leave of this paradise. Although we will be sad to say goodbye to Tahoe, we know what is coming next is worth the departure. Next challenge, finding a place in San Francisco that can give a sleek, slick blow-dry to our Jew-fro's which got all out of control due to the hiking. Told you we're weird like that.

We have come to an obstacle

After traveling 1,800+ miles basically event-free (the flat tire hardly counts) on our journey, we have come to our first real problem that could derail the rest of our plans from here on out. We don't want to leave Lake Tahoe. This place is heaven on earth. We just want to stay here. Not to mention that YD found the Hudson's (jeans) that she has been looking for for 2+ years in a store in town here. This is our new favorite place.

If it's Tuesday it must be....

....Wyoming? Utah? Nevada? Is it 7AM, 8AM or 9AM? Mountain time or Pacific time? Is it Sept? We no longer have any idea what state we're in or what time it is. We gave up on keeping track of what day of the week it is a while ago. Now it seems we have also lost track of the month. Sounds like the perfect vacation to me!