Zion National Park

We left the North Rim of the Grand Canyon on Sunday morning and drove to Zion National Park in Utah, one of Utah’s famous circle of national parks.

Zion National Park:  It is time to add a few superlatives – how about “Wow” or “Oh my gosh!”  After seeing so many national parks, we know that each one has its own unique characteristics and each is awe-inspiring in its own way (and they probably would not be national parks if they were not).  Even so, in our eyes Zion is exceptional and, admittedly, though we loved the Grand Canyon, we think we were even more impressed by Zion.  The towering Navajo sandstone cliffs are magnificent and formidable.

People have occupied the current Zion National Park area for thousands of years.  The original residents tracked mammoths, camels, and other game in the region.  Then came climate change, disease, and over-hunting, which forced them to become more agricultural.

The original farmers, the Ancestral Puebloans, developed the system for terrace farming at heights between 5,000 and 7,000 feet of elevation.  They were followed by the Southern Paiute people who came out of the desert with their own abilities to grow crops in a harsh environment.  Last, in the mid-19^th century, came the Mormons who built communities and farmed the river terraces.  They gave biblical-sounding names to many of the geological sites we see today, including the name of the park.  (Other names given to some of the formations are Angels Landing, Court of the Patriarchs, North and South Guardian Angels.)

Zion became a national park in 1919.  It is in the desert, and the temperature the day we were there reached 107 degrees F, but it was not terribly uncomfortable as it was dry heat and there was lots of shade.  Zion was formed by water, including the Virgin River that runs through the park (and much further – 162 miles in total), and it is water that shapes the land.

The park has a very good system of shuttle buses that go from one trail head to the next, which makes traveling through the park very easy, as they run every 10 minutes.  After parking at the Visitors Center, we took the shuttle from one trail to another.

We took four walks in the two days we were there: from the Visitors Center to the Museum where we saw the best introductory movie to a park that we have seen; Emerald Pools, a walk that started out easy and then became more difficult as we climbed to see pools of water nestled among the rocks; Weeping Rocks, where water that had been absorbed by the wall of rock was seeping out; and the very pleasant River Walk along the banks of the Virgin River.  There we met a trio of gentlemen in their 70s hiking with great energy, and going into areas that we did not try in the 107-degree heat.  We give them great credit and admire their attitude and stamina.

Weeping Rocks was about as inspiring a view of nature as we have ever seen.

The one negative was that the park was very crowded (although as one person said, “Just wait till summer”).  The parking lots were marked full at around 10 am but we learned to go around the signs, as there were always people who were there for morning hikes and were leaving.  Both days, we got lucky.

Leaving the park the first night, we had some difficulty finding a campground; the first we tried was full, but they suggested a campground at the end of the road that may have some availability.  It had full hookups, was very reasonably priced, and was owned and operated by the Best Western Hotel across the street.  The next morning, we decided to extend it to a second night and a second day in Zion.

Bryce Canyon National Park

A short drive from Zion National Park is Bryce Canyon National Park, established in 1928.  A very good introductory film at the Visitors Center said of Bryce that there is nothing like it in the world.  And, indeed, we think the photos will attest to that.

The most famous feature of the park is the Bryce Amphitheater, a canyon filled with unique rock formations called Hoodoos (no relation to the Paul Simon song), or Fairy Chimneys, or Earth Pyramids.  These are small, skinny spires of rock, crimson in color, that protrude from the bottom of arid basins.  These strange-looking geological wonders are formed over many centuries by wind, acid rain, and frost.  They are ever-changing, and what we see today will be entirely different in the future as the forces of nature will erode and break them down – and different-looking formations will take their place.

The park’s main road, 18 miles long, leads past the Amphitheater and has multiple viewing areas to show the different aspects of the formations, each connected by a trail that you can walk, drive to, or take a shuttle from point to point.  One of the nice aspects of Bryce Canyon National Park is that it is friendly to people with physical limitations.  There are many viewing areas with level, paved access and which are very popular with seniors, some with walkers, some with wheelchairs.

In our two days in Bryce, we took several walks including to Inspiration Point, a short but steep trail with a view that was indeed inspiring, and from Sunrise Point to Sunset Point, a trail of about one mile along the rim of the Amphitheater.

But Bryce is not just the Amphitheater and the Hoodoos.  We joined a ranger in a walk along the Bristlecone Loop trail, a 1-1/2 hour walk through some beautiful forest at over 9,100 feet elevation.  We had lunch and then attended a ranger talk where we learned about the Grand Staircase, an immense sequence of sedimentary rock layers that stretches from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, through Zion, and ends with the highest point of Bryce Canyon.  This region was conceptualized in the 1870s by geologist Clarence Dutton as a huge stairway ascending out of the bottom of the Grand Canyon northward with the cliff edge of each layer forming giant steps.

We had two full, thoroughly enjoyable days at Bryce Canyon National Park.  Upon leaving the park, we got a photo of one of the local residents, a wild turkey.

On the second day, as we drove back to our campground, we stopped at the Red Canyon Visitors Center and took a walk along the Hoodoo Trail.  We kind of missed the trail and ended up climbing a steep and slippery rock slope but scrambled down and got back to the RV and to our campsite and dinner.

Scofield State Park, Utah

The 3+ hour drive from Bryce to Scofield State Park was up and down a hilly and forest-covered winding road, turning and twisting along a narrow path with quick drop-offs into a deep ravine – and loving every minute of it.  We ended up at the park after passing through Scofield, Utah, site of one of the worst coal mine disasters in American history.  Over 200 miners died in 1990; hardly a family in the town was untouched by the loss of life.  A first for everything: we met a coal miner and his family in the park.

Thursday, Friday, and Shabbat we were camped on the edge of a pristine lake with mountains in the background; it was a serene environment.  Thursday night, when we first arrived, there was hardly anyone there, but the weekend was more crowded.  Most of the campers were into fishing (including the children) and enjoyed catching their meals.  To say we are in the middle of no-where is both desirable and frustrating: desirable, as in no crowds (as there can be in the national parks; for us, especially in the Grand Canyon and Zion), but frustrating as we had no internet connection.

On Friday, we drove an hour to do some shopping and finally were connected, for a short time, to AT&T so we could reach the kids.  We also got possibly the best haircuts we have had abroad at Walmart.  As we have said before, Walmart has everything.

Petrified Forest National Park and Painted Desert

From our New Mexico campground to the Petrified Forest National Park in Navajo and Apache counties in northeastern Arizona is about a six-hour drive (mostly in New Mexico), and the park was the next thing on our list.  Although we did not think we would be driving the entire way in one day, the road just kept going on and on – very few cars, town names that appeared on the map – but we think just so the map would not look so empty, as we were through them before we even knew we were there.  The only feature we could see of one town was a junk yard.

Almost the entire way:  No Waze (back to paper maps).  No internet reception.  No phone calls.

We turned off the road, finally, at the Petrified Forest, which we visited for a few hours.  After viewing an introductory film, we took a 1/2 mile walk, the Giant Logs loop walk, which features some of the largest and most colorful logs in the park.  They are truly stunning in their various colors.

How does wood become petrified?  Over time (a long time) trees died or were knocked down, and the logs were buried beneath layers of silt, mud, sand, and volcanic ash which protected them from decay.  Water laden with minerals percolated through the layers, carrying silica (and other minerals).  The silica bonded with the cells of the tree, replicating the organic material in perfect detail.  Eventually, the silica replaced the wood material – and the tree has now become stone.  In the picture it looks as though the logs had been sawed into smooth-edged pieces, but we learned from a ranger talk that they broke off that way – on their own, like a piece of chalk.

As it was near closing time, we left the park for a free campground (actually a parking lot next to a gift shop) just outside the park entrance.  No hookups, just a dark and quiet night, us and one other RV.

Petrified Forest-Painted Desert Day 2

After a very good night’s sleep, we sat outside the RV and enjoyed the surroundings of flat desert scrub land as far as the eye could see in any direction.  The gates opened electronically at exactly 8:00 am, as did the gift shop we camped next to – guess which one we went to first.

There is only one road which goes through the Petrified Forest National Park and Painted Desert.  Just off the road are some fairly short hikes and lots of lookouts.  We took a few of the walks, stopped at some of the lookouts, and took many photos.

The Petrified Forest is not just petrified wood, although the trees-turned-into-stone is certainly the highlight.  But what was unusually inspiring (and not expected) is the badlands-type terrain which takes up a good portion of the park (not as large as in South Dakota, but very, very pretty).

We chose a few trails; the first was Crystal Forest, a .7- mile loop trail through a badlands landscape with many petrified trees.  Further down the road, we stopped at the Agate Bridge, a 110-foot long petrified log bridge.  It has been shored-up by a concrete column, but it is said that eventually, water will do its work and the bridge will collapse.

At 3.5 miles off the main road was the Blue Mesa trail head, a one-mile trail through vibrant badlands (blue, pink, grey) and colorful petrified wood.  The beginning was a very narrow and steep path at the side of a hill and, of course, what goes down.… The views were spectacular.

Next was a stop at Newspaper Rock (someone in the National Park Service has a sense of humor because over and over, we were fascinated by the names given to things we saw at the various parks), where we saw rocks that display more than 650 petroglyphs – picture carvings or etchings in the rock surface.  Many have yet to be interpreted and some are over 2,000 years old.

As we continued on, we drove through the Painted Desert (a section of the Petrified Forest National Park), where there are multiple viewing stops showing spectacular views of multi-hued landscapes.

In addition to the beautiful landscapes and petrified trees, the park is also known for many fossils of plants and dinosaurs of the late Triassic period.

We said goodbye to a wonderful experience and headed to one of our favorite hangouts, Walmart, to restock our supplies.  We bet you thought we were going to stay overnight in the parking lot, but no, avid reader; for us, more desirable than free accommodations with the hustle and bustle of city traffic all around, is the quiet of a good campground, and we were able to find it in Homolovi State Park of Arizona.  Again, we were in the peace and quiet of nature, with plains vistas as far as the eye can see.  A beautiful sunset, a full moon.

On to the Grand Canyon

A four-hour drive and we arrived at Kaibab Camper Village, one of the closest private campgrounds to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon; unlike campgrounds within the Grand Canyon, this has water and electric hookups.

The ride to the campground was absolutely stunning, and one which folks who go to the more popular South Rim (the part of the park with all the amenities and crowded with tourists) miss.  We drove past the multi-colored Echo and Vermilion Cliffs and through Marble Canyon, which had cliffs on both sides.  We also drove through a good part of the Navajo Nation Reservation (photo below is of the Colorado River near the Navajo Center) and the Kaibab National Forest – our campground was actually in the forest, nestled between trees.

We took an hour walk through the forest, enjoying the surrounding tall trees and trying to find Jacob Lake, a place so significant a small town was named after it.  Without being successful, we returned to the campground and inquired at the office as to the lake’s where-a-bouts.  It turned out it was just outside the opposite end of the campground and had barely enough water to float a boat.

A short hike from Jacob Lake is a small cabin – built in 1910 by the Forest Service – which served as a ranger station for the entire area.  The cabin, together with six other cabins built soon after, provided rangers with strategic locations to manage their programs and as a way to transfer supplies along the area of the North Rim, especially in winter.  The 1910 cabin, refurbished to its original look in 2014, is the only one still standing.

Our campground was about 45 miles from the entrance to the North Rim, and then another 12 miles to the Visitors Center.  The entire route is through the Kaibab National Forest (the word “kaibab” is derived from a Paiute term meaning “mountain lying down,” their name for the Grand Canyon), an hour of very, very pretty driving on a not-crowded road.  This is early in the season, so there was plenty of parking in the park and it was not crowded.

The Grand Canyon

There is so much beauty in the Grand Canyon that descriptions do not do it justice.  It is that big, and that beautiful.  What can one say about the world’s most famous hole in the ground?

To get a feeling of the scope of the Canyon: As the crow files, the North Rim and South Rim are about 10 miles apart (can be more – up to 18 miles, can be less).  It is also 277 miles long, and has depths of over one mile.

We spent most of the day in the Canyon and took two hikes.

Our first hike was a combination of two trails: The Transept Trail (about two miles) and the Bridal Path (a little less than two miles).  The Transept Trail goes along the edge of Transept Canyon, an inner canyon (between the north and south rims) and, as we walked along, we saw the canyon below and soaring ridges above.  The colors were gorgeous.

While on the path, we connected to the Bridal Path, a maintained path that was relatively easy and flat, (which together made a loop) – and was a good way to get back to the Visitors Center.

The second walk was Bright Angel Path – a short (1/4 mile), paved, steep, and narrow trail, which had a drop on each side – and which gave us a spectacular view of the canyon from three directions, south, west, and east.

Grand Canyon Day 2

We returned to the canyon for another hike but first indulged ourselves with coffee we made in the RV.  The day before, we had bought coffee from the coffee shop in the park but it left a lot to be desired; this time, we brought our own and it was far superior.  (One of the advantages of traveling in an RV and having your kitchen go wherever you go.)  We took our coffee to the patio of the Grand Lodge, which has Adirondack chairs overlooking the canyon, and soaked up the view.

Two pictures that we were hoping to get – and which we did get – were of rare sights in nature.  At the entrance to the park we came across a herd of bison with new born calves.  Spring is usually the time when calves are born and we were lucky enough to be there at the right time to see them.

Also, unique to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon (in all the world) is the Kaibab squirrel with its long ears and white tail.  We were about to give up finding this rare animal until, while sitting outside our RV on Friday afternoon, a man ran past asking, “Did you see which way it went?” When asked what, he replied, ‘’a squirrel with a white tail.’’  Bill ran for the camera and was able to capture it on picture; they are so fast that the shots are not great, but we got it.

We had no reception in our campground and there was none at the park, no matter how often we went to the edge of the canyon and held the phone up in the air.  A very kind person suggested we could get sketchy Wi-Fi in front of the general store at the North Rim campground, and we were thus able to get a few messages out to the kids to let them know we were ok.  [It seems that no one we spoke to could get internet.  A few did get phone reception (not always good) with Verizon.]

Shabbat was restful, and the way the campground is situated, we were able to take short walks into the forest.  We finished the cold cuts we bought in Houston and had fresh challah made in our bread machine.  Salmon patties for dinner and corned beef and turkey for lunch with salad, rice, Claussen pickles – a feast in the middle of the forest near the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.  Did we emphasize enough where we are?  Because even though we’ve been here for four days, it’s still hard to believe.

The Grand Canyon is truly inspirational.  Its immense size overwhelms the senses.

Dear Avid (at least we hope) Reader,

Due to technical difficulties beyond our control, we were not able to post most of our entries from the road.  We bought a new laptop computer specifically for the trip that worked fine at the beginning, but first stopped downloading our pictures from our cameras and then stopped accepting our cell phone as a hot spot.  Added to this, we were often in places where we had no reception from AT&T.  Even though we stopped at a computer store in Moab, Utah where they worked on the computer for over an hour, our problems were not solved and eventually we came to the realization we would not be able to post from the road.  However, we continued to write the blog while on the trip; now that we are back home in Israel, we will attempt to post our back stories and pictures.

And now we will continue with our previously scheduled blog.

Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico

How do you describe something that is indescribable?  There is nothing in our past experiences that even comes close to the uniqueness of Carlsbad Caverns.  You can walk down to the caverns (by way of the Natural Entrance, about a 1-1/2 hour walk in itself), but we took the elevator down, 800 feet below the surface, to the entrance of the subterranean chambers that make up the caves.

Carlsbad Caverns was discovered by explorer Jim White in the early 1900s and photographed by Ray B. Davis (with Jim White) in 1915.  When the photos reached the public, they created a sensation.  But there were people who would not believe that the caverns were real.  So, in 1923, the U.S. Department of the Interior sent an inspector and, in his report, he wrote: “I am wholly conscious of the feebleness of my efforts to convey in words…the feeling of fear and awe and the desire for an inspired understanding of the Divine Creator’s work….” ’מה רבו מעשיך ה (and not for the first time have we thought this).

Carlsbad Caverns was designated a national park in 1930, and a World Heritage site in 1995.

We first explored the Big Room (a self-guided tour), a 1.25-mile walk around the 8.2-acre chamber that takes about 1-1/2 hours.  Numerous stalactites, stalagmites, soda straws, draperies (look them up), and cave pools of water are the attractions, but any description cannot do justice to the scale of the formations.  Not sure the photos can do either, but we tried.

Among the things we saw: a bottomless pit (called that because the early explorers didn’t have lamps that could show the bottom), a giant dome, a formation called the Rock of Ages, and the Painted Grotto.

The second tour, of the King’s Palace, was led by a very entertaining and knowledgeable ranger.  It consisted of four rooms which are only accessible with a ranger (due to earlier guests taking home “souvenir” stalactites) who was a true educator.  We learned how the formations were created and the history of the caverns; one of the rooms has a still-active formation, as attested to by the dripping water.  We each received cave kisses, water dripped on our heads.  Though we only saw a small portion of the caves, we spent most of the day below ground, including having our brown-bag lunch.

[A very interesting piece of information that we learned after the tour from the ranger: For many years, explorers felt a strong breeze blowing from a small cave.  When they received permission to break through and explore, they discovered Lechuguilla Cave, which extends over 140 miles and holds a spectacular ecosystem not open – and never will be open –  to the public.  Within, scientists have discovered enzyme-producing microbes capable of destroying cancer cells.]

After we came up for air and natural light, we headed to one of our favorite campground chains, the parking lot of Walmart in Roswell, New Mexico.  It may not be fancy and it certainly isn’t cheap, as we went shopping for supplies three times.  And we were not alone there; at night it turns into a mini-RV campground.

The only aliens we encountered were on billboard signs.

Twin Spruce RV Park, Ruidoso New Mexico

Sometimes things are just meant to be.  Friday morning, we had no plans for Shabbat and were starting to think we would end up in a hotel (as it was Memorial Day weekend), but we found a place by looking through the Good Sam campground locator book and were fortunate enough to get a campsite in the shade of a beautiful wooded area.  Our campground, Twin Spruce, was crowded, but we were a reasonable distance from our neighbors.  It is near the town of Ruidoso, New Mexico, a tourist haven with a horse racing track that opened its season that weekend.  The population of Ruidoso is 8,000 residents with 20,000 tourists over Memorial Day.  Thankfully, we were not near the action, though we did walk through the main street, examined what the stores had to offer, and quickly returned to our RV to prepare for Shabbat.

Fire is a real threat in much of New Mexico, and signs are posted in the campgrounds and along the roads indicating the severity of the alert.  In this part of New Mexico, it was extreme – no charcoal grills, no campfires, and even smoking a cigarette outside can get one a $500 fine.

White Sands National Monument, New Mexico

White Sands National Monument, in the Chihuahuan Desert at the foot of the San Andres Mountains, covers 275 square miles, and it is the largest gypsum dune field (a large area of dunes entirely composed of gypsum grains, a relatively rare constituent of sand) in the world.  As we drove through the park, there were miles and miles of soft white sand; the national monument encompasses 145,344 acres with shifting sand dunes of up to 60 feet in height.  The whiteness was blinding, and the temperature was 104 degrees F.  One of the interesting things we saw was a snow-white lizard, changing its color to match the surroundings.

Sledding down the dunes is a popular activity, although we did not partake in it.

In the background were the San Andes Mountains.

White Sands was proclaimed a national monument in 1933.  [As an aside: National monuments can be proclaimed by the president of the United States.  National parks must be voted on by Congress.]

The monument was a 1-1/2 hour drive from the campground, but worth the effort.

White Sands area is also known for being near the site (60 miles away) of the first detonation of a nuclear weapon (Trinity Site) in July 1945.  The White Sands Missile Range surrounds the monument and the area is closed off on average of twice a week for a few hours for missile range tests.

As we continued on our drive to Arizona, we passed the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, a federally funded research center of the National Science Foundation.  NRAO designs, builds, and operates high sensitivity radio telescopes for use by scientists around the world.  An impressive array, as the photo shows.  “ET call home.”

A day of driving and we are not far from the Louisiana-Texas state line.  We are staying for the night in the Sam Houston Jones State Park in Louisiana.  The drive was uneventful, though for a great part of the way — as we were driving along I10 West – we drove on bridges whose very columns rested in water.  Once, we crossed the Mississippi.

Although we connect Sam Houston with Texas, he traveled extensively in western Louisiana.  As for the Jones part – that is in honor of a former state governor who was instrumental in setting aside this land for the public.  It is a beautiful 1,087-acre park near the city of Lake Charles and a relaxing place to stop.

After setting up camp and having a snack, we set out for a river path hike along the Calcasieu River, which meanders southward to the Gulf of Mexico.  Hot, humid – yes; beautiful, pristine — also yes.

Sugar Land, Texas

We arrived at Bill’s cousin’s house, Burt and Ryva, in Sugar Land, Texas, just outside of Houston.  We haven’t seen them in over 40 years but a warmer, more welcoming couple you would be hard to find.

Burt is an internationally known miniaturist – most of his works are in bottles: ships in bottles, depictions of children’s fairy tales in bottles, and Judaica in bottles.  His research is extensive and his precision and detail are exquisite.  Many of his ships contain actual pieces of wood from the original ships, a project in itself as it often takes months to receive permission and procure the wood pieces.

Burt’s works are featured in museums all over the world; he has pieces in both Yad Vashem and the U.S. Holocaust Museum.

And he is also a certified master gardener, as his yard attests.

After spending the afternoon getting reacquainted, we made a short trip to a supermarket in a mall to stock up on supplies.  There were small islands of grass between some of the parking spots and, getting out of the van, Sima was treated to a Texas specialty: fire ants.  They stung, they burned, and then they itched.  We brushed them off but her ankle was full of welts, although it is getting better.

Burt and Ryva treated us to a dinner at a sumptuous steak restaurant called Genesis, known as the best kosher meat restaurant in Houston.  Sima had a steak and Bill had a most amazing hamburger with an egg, onion strings, and slices of pastrami on a bun, an unusual combination but totally delicious.  We also had a chance to meet Burt’s son Michael, who joined us for dinner and who, like our sons-in-law, is a programmer.  Genesis is indeed one of the nicest restaurants we have been in; the ambience, food, and service were extraordinary.

NASA

Today we travelled out of this world; we went with Burt and Ryva to NASA.  As children of the space exploration age, who can still name the various missions (Mercury, Gemini, Apollo…), this was a must-see.  To orient ourselves, we took a 90-minute tram ride which first stopped at both the Apollo Mission Control Center, where we sat in the room which we are all familiar with from TV and movies (and, spoiler alert, it is much smaller than it looks on screen). 

We moved then to the large warehouse-style room in which the astronauts train and test equipment before it is actually put into use.  NASA is already working on a Mars mission and will be using robots to set up a base before humans arrive.

Mars rover

Robot

Future Mars lander

We touched moon rocks and Mars rocks (came here by meteor); we walked through a 747 (the actual plane) and shuttle on top of it (a mock-up).

Of course, we could not leave without visiting the gift shop.

The George Ranch

An important day of the year, Sima’s and our daughter Tomi’s birthday; yes, they were born on the same day 30 years apart.

With our wonderful hosts, we visited the George Ranch Historical Park.  It is a trip through 100 years of Texas history.  The ranch is a working ranch, but also showcases four houses from four generations of the George family; the houses date from the 1830s, 1860s, 1890s, and 1930s.  Folks dressed up in period clothes, each acting the part of a family member, conveyed to us – in an interesting and knowledgeable manner – the story of their era.

The 1830s cabin was especially interesting: a pioneer brought to Texas by Stephen F. Austin with the promise of cheap land.  The house was a dog run (meaning there was a covered space between two sections of the cabin where the wind would pass through, cooling the people sitting there).  A historian-researcher dressed in clothes of the time told what it was like for the first residents of the farm to build, live, and operate the land claim.  He was excellent!

The home of the second generation followed.  We learned about cattle drives and how the George family got very rich by buying cattle for $4 a head, herding them north, and selling them for $40 a head.  The cattle drives lasted only about 20 years until the railroad was able to come south.  Think about all those John Wayne movies which represented only 20 years of history!  We visited an operational chuck wagon from the cattle drive era.

The third house was a Victorian mansion from the 1890s; truly beautiful rooms.  Near it was a working blacksmith shop.  We asked the young man who was making a set of tongs if he ever got used to the heat and flames near his face – and he said no.

The fourth house, from the 1930s, was a typical rich family’s house of the time.

The discovery of oil and natural gas on the ranch in the ‘20s and ‘30s turned the George family fortune into real money.  The family died out in mid-1900s but the foundation they created, the George Foundation, continues and supports this historical landmark.

We finished the day with a visit to Belden’s supermarket which carries a great deal of kosher food – we bought corned beef and turkey, hard cheeses (the smoked Gouda was excellent), a great challah and challah rolls.  And then to dinner at Saba’s kosher grill – nothing like Genesis, but when you are traveling, it looks good.

Shabbat and Shavuot

After a morning of talk and laundry at Burt and Ryva’s, we checked into a Hampton Inn which was walking distance from the Chabad, as Houston was in the middle of a record-breaking heat wave.  They say it was just as hot in Israel.

We were warmly welcomed to Chabad of Sugar Land for Shabbat and Shavuot by Rabbi Mendel Feigenson and enjoyed Friday night dinner at his house and luncheons at the shul.  The rabbi and his wife are gracious hosts, and their family members and guests were good company.  On Shavuot (or Shavuos as they say in the States), Bill was the only kohen and thus had to do birkat hakohanim by himself.  He very much missed the comradery of the early minyan priestly union.

Between the eloquent talks of Rabbi Feigenson, the great meal at their house, the very good lunches at the shul, and the unique and interesting character of the congregation, we had a very delightful holiday.

As preparation for and part of the chag, Sima brought with her Yael Ziegler’s book, Ruth (Maggid Studies in Tanakh) and has been reading it on and off.

Remember the Alamo!

It was not a long drive to San Antonio from Houston to see the Alamo.  And again, a piece of our education stood in front of us. The Alamo mission building and grounds, the site of the famous battle for Texan independence, is in the middle of downtown San Antonio.

Texas gained its independence during the revolt against Mexico in 1835-1836.  In the battle for independence, the Alamo – a mission turned into a fort – pitted 200 Texas civilians against 6,500 of General Santa Anna’s trained Mexican army.  Under the leadership of William Barret Travis – together with more well-known defenders James Bowie and Davy Crockett – the Texans held out as long as they could.  After three weeks, the final battle lasted 90 minutes, with all of the Texan fighters killed, though a few women, children and slaves were left alive to spread the story.  (Some families had entered the Alamo for safety when the news of Santa Anna’s approaching army reached them.  Most others fled.)

After the Alamo, in addition to walking around one of the cleanest urban centers we have ever seen, we took a stroll along the San Antonio River Walk, quite a long stretch of winding walkway right on the water.  Interesting, beautiful, and lots and lots of restaurants.

Afterwards, a short drive to the Guadalupe River State Park for a hike and an evening’s rest.  We have camped in three state parks so far this trip (Alabama, Louisiana, and Texas) and each was a place we would happily return to.

Guadalupe Mountains National Park

Did we say that Texas is a really big state?  Well, we wanted to see the Guadalupe Mountains National Park, so we drove.  We overnighted at a Walmart and drove some more – miles and miles at 80 mph (the fastest speed limit we’ve come across) with only two other cars on the final 50-mile road.  When we reached the park (switching over to Mountain time), we were in awe.  There are certain things we see on our travels about which we say, “This is truly stunning.”  This is one of them.

The park is surrounded by the Chihuahuan Desert which reaches hundreds of miles south into Mexico.  Its highest peak is Guadalupe Peak at 8,751 feet with a 3,000- foot elevation.  No, we did not take that strenuous 8-10 hour hike; we did two others.

The Pinery Trail (short, easy) took us to the ruins of the Pinery, a stagecoach station – and the way the mail first crossed the country.

The Devil’s Hall Trail (longer, more strenuous) took us up one of the mountains, a 500-foot elevation.  With the mountains in front of us, and riverbed below, it was beautiful – and restful; we were the only ones on the trail.

Back at the campground for a quiet night; no hookups but waking up to the sight of the mountains was wonderful.

We have heard from some folks wondering where our posts went.  Well… One of the things that we have had to deal with was our lack of connection with phone, internet, and WhatsApp; even our Waze crashed somewhere in Arizona, and we had to go back to paper maps. (Waze is back now, for today.)

But we have been conscientiously taking pictures  and adding to the blog,  So, when you get this, it will probably be a couple of weeks behind where we are now.  We have connection tonight (somewhere between Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks), and we hope to do some catching up.

Thanks to all of you who have sent e-mails asking if we are alright and, no, we have not fallen off the end of the world (CC).

“Kosher RVing is on the Air!”  Can any of you old timers remember which show that is a takeoff from?

Welcome back, readers; we have started our third adventure.  We flew into Atlanta, a 23- hour trip from house to RV, flying KLM to Amsterdam and Delta to Atlanta.  We have definitely decided that the designation “more leg room” is worth the extra money (just a few extra dollars) for the more spacious seating.  We had a wonderful trip on Delta with an excessive amount of really good kosher food out of Belgium.  Two main course meals, two snacks including a lox sandwich, and cookies with Starbucks coffee.  Much better than the peanut butter sandwiches on mezonot rolls we brought with us just in case.

Going through Customs and Border Protection at the Atlanta airport had an interesting twist.  After answering questions about living in Israel and traveling in the States in our RV, the young officer passed us through and said, “Thank you for what you do.”  Not entirely sure what he meant, but we would like to think he appreciated what Israel stands for and what she is facing.

May 8, 9, 2018

We spent two days in the parking lot of National Indoor RV Centers, recovering from jet lag and stocking up on supplies (Walmart, Publix, and the good coffee and kosher snacks at the facility).  We attach a picture of the lot; can you figure out which RV is ours?

Our first stop was Meaher State Park in Alabama, a six-hour drive from Atlanta and not far from Mobile, Alabama.  It is on the shore of Mobile Bay and our campsite was about 30 yards from the water.  The bay – which is an inlet of the Gulf of Mexico – and the spacious campsites made for a beautiful and comfortable place to relax in after a day’s drive – and provided the first of what we hope to be many sunsets.  We don’t seem to get tired of watching the sun go down in an exciting show of colors ­­­­­– no two are the same.

The next morning, we took a nice walk along the Alabama coastal birding trail which was connected to the park.  There were “beware” signs warning of alligators and snakes, which we doubted existed in Alabama, but we were wrong.  On our nature walk we saw three alligators, birds, rabbits, and an excessive amount of water-based vegetation.

May 10, 11, 12, 2018

What should have been a bit more than a two-hour drive from the state park in Alabama to New Orleans took about 3-1/2hours, mostly due to a huge traffic jam (which Waze was good enough to steer us around, when we finally decided to listen to it and not just wait it out); on the way we stopped at the state welcome centers in Mississippi and Louisiana where travelers were being greeted with free food and drink.  The coffee was fairly good.

Here in New Orleans we are staying at Pontchartrain Landing, a nice, not-too-crowded RV park about 20 minutes from the French Quarter on an industrial canal which eventually leads into the Mississippi River.  In August 2005 Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans – along with much of the rest of the southeast and Atlantic coast – and the city, which averages 2-1/2 feet below sea level, was heavily flooded.  Our campground (which was not built yet) would have been completely under water.  New Orleans has since built a levee that has kept the water on the other side, although the RV park is between the canal and the levee, so it would not have helped us much.  On the other hand, so is Folgers Coffee roasting plant – the largest roasting plant in the world.

The park provides a shuttle service to and from the French Quarter three times a day, so no need to move the van.

The first evening, we managed to get tickets to see a jazz set in Preservation Hall that was totally amazing.  Bill was a happy camper; crowded in a small, old, rundown room we enjoyed some of the best music we’ve heard in a long time – and he was able to check off one more item on his “to do” list.

A word about the French Quarter:  Old, gritty, full of bars and restaurants. OK so more than a word.  We enjoy people watching and there was a lot to see – folks in their chosen normal day costumes (can you imagine what Mardi Gras must be like), street entertainment including a marching band, and open-bar live bands.  On Bourbon Street, the street which we all associate with the Quarter, the seedier parts of life were on display.  A quick walk, though, to a different section of the Quarter, and we were in an environment in which we were more comfortable.

On our ride on the shuttle back to the campground there were a number of inebriated, loud, but good-natured riders.  All in the fun (we guess) of enjoying the experience.

Friday May 11

But New Orleans is much more than the French Quarter.

Today we took a 1-1/2hour walk from French Quarter, which is where the shuttle lets us off, to the Garden District.  Originally developed between 1832 and 1900, it is considered one of the best-preserved collections of historic mansions in the southern U.S.  And they are truly beautiful.  Also, in the District is the Garden District Book Shop; it was enjoyable roaming around a privately owned bookstore that wasn’t part of a chain, and where the owner was obviously really into what he did.  The shop has a very large collection of author-signed books for sale, and the general ambience – for those who love books – was enchanting.

Back at the RV, though we were tired from a hot day of walking, we prepared for the peaceful rest of Shabbat.  We had pre-ordered from Walmart grape juice and matzah (which we picked up near the RV facility).  Along with fresh pitot which we found, and the usual salmon, rice, vegetables…our meals which we enjoy on Shabbat when we are away from home.

May 13, 2018

We decided to stay one more day in New Orleans in order to visit the National World War II Museum (America’s official museum of the war), something we were told we should not miss.  It is located in the New Orleans historic Warehouse District, and we actually passed it on Friday when we walked from the French Quarter to the Garden District.

The WWII Museum is considered a top-rated museum and we were not disappointed.  It tells the story of the U.S. in World War II, and houses permanent exhibits on the U.S. before the war (isolationism); the European Theater, including a very thorough exhibit on Normandy; and the Pacific Theater, which provided us with a great deal of information on the part of the war which was not as well known to us.  We finished off with a 45-minute 4-D movie on the war produced by Tom Hanks, which was great.

The museum is a great educational venue; we spent the better part of the day there and we were never bored.

After walking back to the French Quarter, we stopped at the New Orleans Café Dumond for coffee and beignet, a delicious French pastry.  Though none of the costumers in the very crowded restaurant noticed, or even cared, there was an OU teudat kashrut hanging on the wall next to the cash register for the beignets  (the cafe serves only beignets and hot and cold drinks).  In talking to the waiter, when we mentioned the kosher certification, he replied – in a very Louisiana accent – that, “the other day he saw the rabbi messing with the flour.”

Afterwards, as we had some time before we needed to meet our shuttle back to the RV park, we walked along the shore of the Mississippi River and watched the steam paddle boats on their sightseeing cruises.  We then explored the Quarter once more and stopped to listen to an amazing violinist playing on a street corner.

We now say goodbye and thank you for a good visit to the city of New Orleans and all of its unique and interesting characteristics and head towards Texas, land of the Longhorn steer, the Alamo, and NASA.

Florida is unique among the U.S. states: It has the longest coastline in the contiguous United States, approximately 1,350 miles.  It borders both the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, and much of the state is at or near sea level, the highest point being 345 feet above sea level.  We chose to spend 3-1/2 weeks in February to explore the Sunshine State.

This trip was scheduled differently from our first RV trip last summer.  Then, we traveled as we pleased, stopping when it suited us, always finding a campground for the night.  This time around, we were tied to a schedule as we had made reservations for almost every night before we left Israel – and we were glad we did.  Most days, when we arrived at our home for the night, there was a sign saying “campground full” (except for those with reservations).

According to the news reports, Florida gets over a million new residents for the winter season, many of whom live in their large RVs in campgrounds for the entire season – a different version of snowbirds that own or rent condos and make Florida their home for the winter months.

The one time we did not pre-book was at the end of the trip, returning to Atlanta.  Driving from Florida through Alabama to Georgia during President’s Day weekend, we could not find an available campsite, so we just kept on driving until we reached the RV storage facility in Atlanta and slept there the last two nights.  The storage facility offers electricity and water hookups as well as complementary coffee, soft drinks, and packaged snacks (which happen to be kosher) during business hours.

Although the entire trip, down the eastern Atlantic coast, up the western Gulf coast, and across the Emerald Coast in the panhandle, was great, we especially enjoyed Shabbat in Delray, Key West (sun, fun, quirky), and the Everglades (an ecological system different from anywhere else in the world, where we were entranced by the large and many varieties of birds).  Add to that learning about American alligators and American crocodiles, throw in some incredible sunrises and sunsets, and you have the makings of an amazing trip.

The only down-side (and it worked out fine) was an Air France strike for one day – of course, on the day we were to return home.  Due, however, to the incredibly hard work and exhaustive efforts of Esther, our travel agent, we were able to get tickets on two United flights (Atlanta-Newark-Tel Aviv) – actually, a better combination and connection than the original flights.

As before, the following are a summary of our trip in pictures; we hope you enjoy.

1. Our itinerary

2. Mike Roess State Park, Florida

3. Mike Roess State Park, Florida

4. Mike Roess State Park, Florida

5. Everglades National Park, Florida

6. Everglades National Park, Florida

7. Everglades National Park, Florida

8. Everglades National Park, Florida

9. Everglades National Park, Florida

10. Everglades National Park, Florida

11. Everglades National Park, Florida

12. Everglades National Park, Florida

13. Everglades National Park, Florida

14. Everglades National Park, Florida

15. Everglades National Park, Florida

16. Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida

17. Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida

18. Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida

19. Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida

20. Key West, Florida

21. Key West, Florida

22. Key West, Florida

23. Key West, Florida

24. Key West, Florida

25. Shark Valley, Everglades National Park, Florida

26. Shark Valley, Everglades National Park, Florida

27. Shark Valley, Everglades National Park, Florida

28. River Walk, Bradenton, Florida

29. Manatee State Park, Florida

30. Manatee State Park, Florida

31. Manatee Visiting Center, Apollo Beach, Florida

32. Manatee Visiting Center, Apollo Beach, Florida

33. Hillsborough River State Park, Florida

34. Hillsborough River State Park, Florida

35. Hillsborough River State Park, Florida

36. Hillsborough River State Park, Florida

37. Hillsborough River State Park, Florida

38. TH Stone Memorial St. Joseph Peninsula State Park, Florida

39. TH Stone Memorial St. Joseph Peninsula State Park, Florida

40. TH Stone Memorial St. Joseph Peninsula State Park, Florida

41. Sunrise – TH Stone Memorial St. Joseph Peninsula State Park, Florida

42. Sunset – TH Stone Memorial St. Joseph Peninsula State Park, Florida

Once again, thank you for joining us.

Waking up in a very quiet campsite in the middle of a pristine forest, a time when few people are out and about, is a feeling we will long remember.  Though we spent only one day at Hillsborough River State Park, we left with a great appreciation for what the Florida forest service has accomplished in making room for people to camp and live in harmony with this protected reserve.

Today we drove 6 ½ hours, 332 miles, in order to get to our next destination, but it was not as tedious as it sounds.  In fact, not tedious at all.  Rather than taking the interstate highway, we chose to take the longer route and drove through the Florida Panhandle on two-lane forested secondary roads, a much more relaxing ride – talking, listening to music (the best of the ‘60s), and marveling at the scenery.

Around 3:00 pm we arrived at the T.H. Stone Memorial St. Joseph Peninsula State Park on the Gulf of Mexico, across the bay from Port St. Joe – a new experience to add to the many new experiences we have had on this trip.  On a very narrow piece of land, with the Gulf on one side and the St. Joseph Bay on the other, sits 9.5 miles of a white sand beach and sand dunes.  We walked the beach on boardwalks spanning the sand dunes; there were few people on the walk, to the point where at times we felt we had the beach to ourselves.  We examined sea shells, walked the nearby wilderness boardwalk (a different boardwalk) that is also on the peninsula, and took photos.

.

But the most exciting experience was the sunset over the Gulf of Mexico.  We will never get tired, or even used to the emotion, of watching a beautiful setting of the sun, providing an artistic picture of the sky.  And a bonus:  in addition to the sunset, the advantage of being on a narrow peninsula was that we also had an exceptional sunrise on the bay side the next morning.  These will be some of the cherished memories of a lifetime.

Sunset:

Sunrise:

After a morning of enjoying the symphonic sounds of an almost empty beach, we continued on our journey.  This was a slow but mostly lovely drive along the Emerald Coast, named because the color of the Gulf water which appears green.  We called the Chabad of the Emerald Coast and were directed by the rabbi to a supermarket that sold fresh challot.  We also double-checked Shabbat time, confirming that this part of Florida (the part south of Alabama in the Florida Panhandle) is on Central time, and thus we needed to set our watches back.  We then continued to Walmart to shop for other needed essentials and explored a section of Fort Walton Beach where we meet a very knowledgeable city manager who was happy to fill us in about the history and development of his area.

Next we continued to a Milton, Florida KOA where we set up camp for Shabbat.  This RV park was nice, friendly, fairly well-developed, and large enough for some good Shabbat walks.  Interestingly enough, they serve a continental breakfast that we were able to enjoy: coffee and milk from a carafe, paper cups and bowls, plastic silverware, and separate packages of cereal, Danish, and jams with a hashgacha;  even the bags of bagels (which we did not take) had an OU certification.

It was a nice relaxing Shabbat.

We are now back in Lawrenceville, Georgia, where we will get our RV ready for storage and prepare for our trip home.

After a restful Shabbat in Key West, it was time to hit the road again, driving through the multiple islands (keys) and over the many bridges.  We stopped along the way for lunch with a view of the ocean, and then drove to another section of the Everglades – on the northern side – called Shark Valley.  We were fortunate because until December this entire area was under water and closed to visitors.  We took a 2-mile easy hike along a paved road, looking at the flora and fauna.

It is astounding when one realizes that seeing the wildlife and beautiful plants of the Everglades has become an almost commonplace occurrence; they are just so plentiful.

We then continued on to Midway Campground – where we stayed just before our trip to Key West – in the Big Cypress National Preserve.  It is a small, well-kept campground and, as we find in most state campgrounds, campsites are nicely spaced with vegetation between each one.  Midway is a nice place to chill after a long drive.

February 12, 2018

Another day’s driving through scenic byways and highways, a stop at Walmart for supplies, and arrival at our destination, Manatee State Park – beautiful nature and trees but no manatees. There is now a dam between the Manatee River and Lake Manatee which prevents this unique mammal from migrating to the lake.  There are bobcats, rattlesnakes, cottonmouth snakes (both poisonous but we happily haven’t seen any), owls, and very large turtles (those we’ve seen).

There was a controlled fire at Manatee State Park about a year ago, and we saw both the charred trunks of the trees which burned together with abundant new growth – an interesting combination which leads us once again to marvel at the wonders of how nature replenishes itself and in what ways the expert forest rangers are helping to develop/keep the areas as they are meant to be.

During our second day at the park we drove to a river walk in Bradenton, just north of Sarasota and the city nearest to the campground.  We followed the artistically created Riverview Boulevard along the freshwater Manatee River which leads into Tampa Bay.  Along the way, we saw many people fishing – some didn’t seem to be catching anything, although one gentleman had two large fish in a bucket when we walked the trail and six or seven when we returned about an hour later.  We are not sure if the success is due to the spot, luck, or the fisherman’s ability.  We have heard that many of these people are fishing for food more than for sport.

From Bradenton we crossed over the Manatee River to an island (one of a series) with some beautiful white beaches and many, many resorts.  We followed the Gulf of Mexico Drive which divides the Sarasota Bay from the Gulf of Mexico for a bit, stopped to enjoy a view of the bay, and returned to the campground in late afternoon.

February 14, 2018 Manatee Viewing Center and Hillsborough State Park

This morning, on our way to our new campground, we made a side trip to the Manatee Viewing Center in hopes of getting a better glimpse of a manatee.  When we arrived, we were happily surprised to find that the folks from the viewing center and marine biologists from Orlando’s Sea World were releasing a manatee that they had saved into the waters. This 825-pound mammal was rescued in November near Sarasota with boat-caused injuries on its back, taken to Orlando for treatment and rehabilitation, and just today reintroduced into the water.  The manatee has only one creature that threatens its existence and that is careless boaters; even sharks are not natural predators of this adorable mammal.

The viewing center is a project of the Tampa electric company where warm water discharged from the power station meets the colder water of the Gulf of Mexico.  This is an ideal environment for the manatee as they need warm water to survive (not less than 68 degrees F). Though we didn’t see any other manatees in the water, the weather was quite warm, and we were told that dozens came last month when the weather was colder.

Speaking of weather, this has been an extremely warm February, the warmest in the Tampa area on record.  For the four days we have been in the area, the temperature has been consistently in the 80s.

The viewing center complex also includes a nature walk and a 50-foot observation tower overlooking beautifully kept areas, including a mangrove forest.  Mangrove forests provide food for a large variety of fish, nesting areas for large coastal birds, and help prevent erosion with specialized root systems.  They are found along the coasts of Florida and the Florida Keys.

After the viewing center we headed to Hillsborough State Park where we are stayed for the night.  This is a very large and beautiful park – one of the nicest we’ve been to – with a flowing river filled with vegetation and wild life.  We had a nice, long hike through the woods along the Hillsborough River; we even saw a couple of gators and really cute squirrels.  And our campsite was beautiful.

We will be on the road again tomorrow, going into the Florida Panhandle.

Key West is the southernmost point in the United States, only 90 miles from Cuba.  Though we had been to Florida many times visiting Bill’s parents after they retired, we never made it to Key West.  Now it is a fulfilled dream.

The road from Miami to Key West, the Overseas Highway or U.S. 1, is 113 miles long and passes through more than 40 islands connected by 42 bridges, the longest of which is the 7-mile bridge.  We had heard that this bridge is daunting for some, but from our point of view, it was not nearly as scary as a bridge we crossed over the Chesapeake Bay last summer.

On one side is the Atlantic Ocean, on the other, the Florida Bay leading to the Gulf of Mexico.  When driving on one of the narrow roads or on one of the bridges, the view of the two bodies of water – from the right and from the left – is beautiful.

The campground we stayed at was one of the few that are open; when we were looking for places to stay, many of the campground websites said they were rebuilding following Hurricane Irma.  Being a private campground, the spaces are close together (the more campsites, the more money), and not an inch of space is wasted.

We weren’t sure what we would find in Key West – other than a marker at the southernmost point – except that we knew that it was not a nature environment.  Not exactly true: in the two days we spent in Key West before Shabbat, we had the opportunity to examine the human species in their various flavors.  Though there is a population that lives in Key West year round, including the servicemen and women stationed at the Truman Annex Naval Air Station (after all, we are only 90 miles from Cuba), mostly we observed the “tourists.”

The main activities seem to be drinking, eating, shopping, fun in the sun, and water sports.  Though neither of us are drinkers, we did have some eating opportunities (we, however, marveled that so many restaurants and bars could all stay in business).  There is Starbucks, a Häagen-Dazs with an OU certificate on the wall for its ice creams, and a small Israeli fleishig diner we found on the Chabad website.  Thursday evening we had dinner at the diner, and Friday lunch was at Starbucks and Häagen-Dazs, not as healthy but a lot more fun.

Not surprisingly, the main languages we heard were English and Spanish, but we also caught quite a bit of Hebrew.  We struck up a conversation with an Israeli who ran a T-shirt store (he was surprised that we understood a conversation he was having with a friend), and walking along the street we heard a number of vendors speaking Hebrew.

Every tourist town has its own unique personality; some are more interesting than others.  We would call Key West interesting.  As usual, we walked a lot and enjoyed experiencing the town on foot, getting our picture taken at the southernmost marker, walking past Hemingway’s House (below), visiting an ecological museum – did you know that Key West has the largest coral reef in North America, third in the world – experiencing Mallory Square (a town square with food, entertainment, and a great view of the sun setting), watching street musicians, visiting some shops (they mostly seemed to have the same things), and seeing cruise ships that are as large as small cities.  But the very best was watching the sun set over the ocean.

We returned to the campground Friday afternoon and spent a nice, quiet Shabbat there, taking a few walks to the ocean only 10 feet from the RV.