Hey, it's only been 19 months ...

Welcome back. My last blog entry was October 29, 2011. Mostly because 2012 sucked. Hard to believe I'm actually saying that about an entire year, but I am. The good news is that the healing has taken root and looks like we're back "on the road again." Yippee!

We just returned home from Memorial Day Weekend, mixing someplace Marg and I had visited before with an all-new journey. Just a short one, but quite memorable, nontheless. Two days in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and one night in a cabin at Kodachrome Basin State Park, both in Utah (our absolutely favorite scenic state).

Here are a few highlights:

The Toadstools just east of Kanab, Utah. It took is about 2 miles to hike the 1.5 mile roundtrip trail. (I think we missed a few rock cairns marking the way.) But the climb was sure worth it! We followed some dry washes and ended up on top of a plateau with some very strange formations (thus, the toadstools).

Marg under a BIG toadstool.

Toby under a short toadstool. Cousin Ellen, I thought you'd appreciate
TLGF (The Little Green Frog) under a toadstool!

We spent the rest of the day driving Cottonwood Canyon Road through the Grand Staircase. The rewards were the red, white, yellow and pink rocks, mixed with a variety of juniper, pinon pine and sagebrush.

Oh yeah, and the cow.

Just off the gravel and sand road was a short, paved trail to Grosvenor Arch; a rare double-arch within a monumental structure.




Grosvenor Arch



Us at the Arch. I love taking these awful self-portraits!

A closer view.

Last stop of the day ... Kodachrome Basin State Park. A really cool cabin, with lots of great amenities: comfy bed, full bath, microwave, coffeemaker, outdoor propane grill with all the necessary utensils, satellite TV, covered porch with picnic table, and a hiking trail just steps from the front door.



Cabin #4



View from the front porch. Just can't beat that, huh?

Morning got us on another backroad traveling south through the monument: Skutumpah Road. The second day's highlight was a fabulous 3-mile hike along Willis Creek in a slot canyon. The creek squiggled along the center of the canyon ... we just wished we'd worn our river shoes or flip-flops instead of sneakers so we could splash in the water all the way!

How about this fantastical tree dragon?

We finished the afternoon with a stop at a roadside park in Kanab for a late lunch and then returned to our RV in Hurricane, Utah. (Yes, even though we're back in our house in Las Vegas and I have a new Las Vegas job, we have kept our annual, leased campsite so we can visit any time.)

Well, friends and family, thanks for reading. Glad to be back sharing our outdoor adventures. The next big one should be our upcoming July vacation when we drive from San Diego to Morro Bay and Monterey, California.

Happy journeys!

Toby

You wouldn’t think you could set an inflatable raft on fire … twice.

A few weeks ago, Marg, Maija (the dog) and I took the raft out on the lake for the first time in three years (annual summer surgeries … you don’t wanna know). The 12’ raft has a trolling motor, so we don’t have to do any work (OK, Marg steers), just relax and float. A beautiful day. And, we almost made it. Until the dog started climbing around and maybe pulled on the wires that attach the motor to the 50 lb. battery in the raft. I see the smoke start pouring out. (I recognize this because it happened on the Colorado River a few years ago … the time we sunk our first raft.) I grab the wires off the battery. Marg tosses the wires into the lake to stop the fire. But they don’t quite make it into the water and we hear the “sssssssss” sound as the wire burns a hole in the vinyl raft. We make it to shore. Only a small hole this time, so we can repair the raft. Last time, the hot wires melted a giant gash in the side of the raft, we had to be carried ashore by the National Park Service boat, and there was nothing to do but drop the raft into a dumpster. This time we tried to focus on the lovely two hours before the accident. I’m beginning to understand why none of our family or friends will sail with us.

We’ve been living in the RV for almost two months and are truly appreciating being so close to the outdoors. Marg fixed up a nice patio for us (see photo below), so we threw a cocktail party for some of the other campground residents. We’ve had friends spend a weekend (yes, we do have room for guests). And we look at the stars at night.

Toby’s Best Bets: Thanks to my co-worker Chris, I have discovered the joy of the “Google Sky Map” app for my Droid. I just point my phone at the night sky and, magically (OK, it’s probably some kind of GPS coordinates), the stars and constellations in front of me appear in the phone window and tell me what they’re called. I’m in ecstasy!

Work trips have been keeping me busy. Montana, North Dakota, Bainbridge Island (across Puget Sound from Seattle).

Toby's Best Bets: If you're ever in Miles City, Montana, stop at The Cellar Casino (tell the owner, Denis Leidholt, I said hi!). Check out the huge collection of Jim Beam bottles. It's amazing.

This is just one section of the collection.

And then there's the fun stuff. Two recent trips have been highlights of our outdoor living …

LEAF-PEEPING FROM BRIAN HEAD TO LAKE PANGUITCH

The photos tell the entire story. Since I left New York in 1991, I’ve truly missed the fall colors. Colorado has aspen that turn yellow; Las Vegas has rocks. But after 10 years of camping in Southern Utah, we finally discovered that trees in the higher elevations DO wear all the colors of the autumns of my younger days back East. It was almost like taking a drive upstate NY on the Taconic Parkway.

MOAB, UTAH

Last weekend, after a 10-year absence, we returned to one of our very favorite haunts: Moab, Utah. We spent a day driving through and hiking in Arches National Park … as always, stopping to climb into Sand Dune Arch and taking the required photos of Delicate Arch (check out a Utah license plate) and Windows.

Marg under arch.




Sand Dune Arch. It's like a cool, red-sand beach under there.

 
The next day, we rented a Jeep and spent 8 hours 4-wheeling the back country on Chicken Corners Trail. Spectacular scenery and just plain fun climbing up the slickrock, driving around narrow curves overlooking scary drop-offs, and realigning every vertebrae over the rocky/sandy trail. Whoo-hoo!

Toby’s Best Bets: Since Marg is an Italian cook, we are often hesitant to eat at unfamiliar Italian restaurants. But when chicken parmigiana calls, it just does. Cassano’s, on the main drag in Moab, was outstanding! We shared the chicken parm and baked rigatoni … the sauce was delicious, they didn’t skimp on the mozzarella, and our waiter was charming. (The downside is that the chairs were super uncomfortable, but the tastiness of the food more than made up for the seating issues.)

On our last day, we were supposed to take a raft trip down the Colorado River. It was cancelled due to weather. The adventure outfitters must have heard that we are prone to setting rafts on fire.

Thanks for reading!

Toby

There’s No Place Like Home When It’s Colorful Utah!

To say I’m a stickler for beach vacations is an understatement. I like to save my time and fly to an outstanding beach where calm waters and snorkeling are the entertainment options. Like Hawaii, Belize, the Dominican Republic, the Caribbean, Maya Riviera in Mexico, the Florida Keys. All former choices. But with the recent RV purchase and all the downsizing and moving from house to RV over the past 5 months, it seemed that an austerity vacation was in order. So I swallowed hard, and my partner and I decided to stick close to home. Luckily, we were richly rewarded in so many ways beyond saving money!

I have never spent so little time planning a vacation. The only real choices we made were a couple of days in the Cedar City/Brian Head area (just 45 minutes from the campground) because we hoped to escape from the non-stop, over 105º weather we’d been experiencing, and a few days of tent camping at Lake Powell.

Day One:

With only one hotel night booked, we jumped in the truck (1996, 4-wheel drive, Dodge Ram Cummins Diesel, club cab, long bed, 20 foot monster with only 83,000 miles – Tim the Toolman, eat your heart out) and set out for Brian Head, planning to drive up to the ski resort and poke around. A stop for breakfast led us to …

Toby’s Best Bets: All American Diner, Cedar City. The prices were unbelievable, the portions huge, and the service outstanding! Good deals on the menu items for all meals, but we really enjoyed the breakfast experience.

We headed out, intending to drive the Parowan-Panguitch Scenic Byway, and took a short, recommended side trip to see the outstanding Parowan Gap Petroglyphs.

Back to the byway, we didn’t even make it to Brian Head (at least not right away); small, roadside signs on the right caught my eye. “Scenic Backway – Dry Lakes.” It was a beautiful, sunny morning, cool in the mountains and hey, we had a full tank of gas and 4-wheel drive. Three hours into the gravel and rock strewn, single lane, switchback laden, dirt road and we’d climbed to the top of the mountain (who knows what mountain?) for some breathtaking views.

Driving through aspen groves, past sheer cliff drop-offs, greeted by open range cows and sheep, and only two cars and three ATVs, not knowing what was around the next curve or what we’d do on the narrow road if someone approached in the opposite direction … I love that stuff!

We had one scary moment as we hit the downhill portion of the trip, when the brakes started to heat up and really smell. Thirty minutes on the side of the road for a cooling off period and we were good to go. (Plus, for the first time ever, Marg peed in the bushes. It was an emergency.)

We did finally pass the Brian Head ski area, but after that dramatic back-road adventure, it was hardly worth stopping. A must-not-be-missed overlook at Cedar Breaks National Monument (the mini Bryce Canyon) …

… and we ended the day with a fun, teppanyaki dinner in Cedar City at Ninja Japanese Steakhouse. Now they know how to make an erupting volcano out of an onion!

Day Two:

Today was all about kayaking. Although we planned to go to Panguitch Lake (to finish yesterday’s scenic byway), we happened upon Navajo Lake, perfectly pristine on a Monday morning. We “set sail” around 10:30 and somehow, between paddling and drifting and spacing out, it turned into 3:30 pm.

Gotta love a day like that where you just get lost in the serenity of the lake.

Day Three, Four, Five, Six …

Tent camping on Lake Powell for three nights just turns into one, long, continuous adventure.

The highlights:

·    The new tires got us safely on and off the beach at Lone Rock (the west end of Lake Powell nearest to the Wahweap Marina).

·    We found the most amazing spot on the beach, inches from the water, isolated from the crowds of RVers. Marg spread out our stuff so nobody else would even think of barging into our camping area (don’t mess with her when she’s staking out her territory). Tent over here, cook stove over here, chairs over here, campfire over here.

·    The “new” tent we bought three years ago but never used, went up in a flash. (Good thing, or we would have been sleeping in the truck.)

·   We brought our classy, old-lady lounge chairs with the cushions instead of the roll-em-up-in-their-own-bags beach chairs. Well worth it, especially with our never-fail sunshades.

Toby’s Best Bets: We bought these Undercover Sunshades at the Thursday night VillageFest in Palm Springs a few years ago. We think they're great – used them in sun and wind. Looked them up to share this and they aren’t getting good ratings, but I can’t help but think it’s about putting them on the right chairs in the right way.  Just bought six more, on sale at RV Wholesalers.com.

·    The water was warm, the air was HOT, HOT, HOT. Swimming and floating in our inflatable chairs was a delightful necessity.

·    Kayaking in the daytime and kayaking at sunset with the full moon rising over the lake.

 

·    Campfires reflecting in the water.

 

And lastly, going to sleep on the beach and waking up on the beach. Very good.

A Few Lessons Learned:

·    Don’t let food slip out of the cooler and under the seat. After four days in over 100º temperatures, we discovered the bag of salad on the floor of the truck. Which wasn’t half as bad as finding the bag of “fresh” mushrooms a week later under the truck seat. Still smells.

·    Learn how to use dry ice before attempting it. I think you’re supposed to separate the dry ice from the rest of the cooler contents with some kind of brown paper. We didn’t. So the hamburgers froze to the bottom of the cooler and the fruit tasted like “Fizzies” (comment below if you don’t know what “Fizzies” are – picture Tums, in beverage flavors, that you drop in water like Alka-Seltzer).

·     Bring something pre-cooked in case you ruin the rest of the food. We managed to make six meals out of two steaks and one chicken. And pretzels and potato chips.

The week wasn’t spent on a tropical beach. But it was spent close to nature, in beauty and in very good company!

Thanks for reading and feel free to leave comments about your summer vacations,

Toby

Canada and Colorado, Eh?

A slightly delayed blog, but chock full of travel experiences, so welcome back!

July ended with a work trip to Manitoba (with Raving President Dennis), culminating in a solo, whirlwind weekend in Denver and Colorado Springs.

The highlights in Canada:

An evening with the Manitoba Blue Bombers and BC Lions. That’s right, all you sports fans, I finally made it to a professional football game (albeit CFL, not NFL). Thanks Dave Z., from Manitoba Lotteries Corp, for the tickets. Two incredibly exciting Bomber plays (first a 200-yard, touchdown run, tightly along the sidelines, that had the crowd on their feet and banging on the metal bleachers; followed by a game-winning long pass, caught dramatically in the end zone) made up for the nosebleed climb up the circular, cement walkway to the top of the stadium. (Didn’t think the air was so thin in flat Manitoba.) A Smirnoff Ice and a hot dog (real football fare) clinched the deal, along with the touching chivalry displayed by Dennis when he made the guy behind me quit kicking me through the bleachers. Not so great was the TRAFFIC! Took almost 2 hours to get out of the nearby parking lot and complete the less than 20 mile drive through the city and back to the hotel.

A thousand steps. While we’re waxing athletic, thanks also to Dave Z. for his Jack Lalanne/Richard Simmons stair-climbing commitment. Our 3-day visit included two corporate buildings and two casinos around the city with offices on second and third floors. No elevators for Dave and his visitors … oh no. I haven’t climbed that many steps since I hiked up the Washington Monument about a million years ago (or maybe it was the ruins in Guatemala). Appreciate the workout. (?)

Toby’s Best Bets: When in Manitoba, plan lunch at Julia’s. It’s a Ukranian breakfast/lunch joint that Dennis and I ate at during our last Manitoba visit in 2004. (Being half Ukranian, Dennis wanted to eat there again, but it was closed for renovations when we arrived.) Luckily, it opened the morning of our departure, so we popped in for a quick pre-flight lunch – delicious cheddar cheese and potato pierogies with sour cream. Mmmmm.

The highlights in Colorado (what a fun-packed weekend!):

Friday night out: A visit with the boys in Denver. Michael and Jeremy took me for drinks with some friends at Kona Grill and then we had a tapas-style dinner (and more drinks) at a funky place called Root Down. Check out the room filled with old rotary phones (in every color imaginable) and the wall entirely made from the tops of cans.

Seein’ the baby: On Saturday morning, I got to hold a 3-week old baby (gotta love that baby smell)! Congratulations Nicole, Dave and big sister Aly and thanks for sharing baby Ben! He’s beautiful.

A birthday party: Saturday afternoon, I surprised my Rotary buddy (Rotary the organization, not the phone) Scott at his 60^th Birthday Celebration in Monument, Colorado. Saw and met lots of family and friends (thanks for the hospitality and laughter Darlene, Brooke, Brady and all), plus a group from my old North Colorado Springs Rotary Club where I was President in 1996-1997. Haven’t seen them in 10 years and even Sherm Connolly was there (she’s 93!). Dinner with Scott’s family followed a side-trip to my old homestead in Colorado Springs (the first house I ever owned – 1992 to 1998). The “new” owners have done wonders with the property and I met their son, who wasn’t even born when they bought the house from us 13 years ago. A whole lifetime since then!

Toby’s Best Bets: Never miss a chance to start your morning (Sunday) with a visit to Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. The crisp, cool air was a welcome change from the stifling heat of Las Vegas in the summer. I think the photos tell the story. It is a magnificent city park – free – with glorious scenery. 

My absolute favorite view.

Kissing Camels (although from this view, looks more like Kissing Sheep - top, just right of center).

Me!

Another of Toby’s Best Bets: Eat at La Baguette in Old Colorado City! They make the most delicious rolls, baked on-site in brick ovens – crusty on the outside and chewy on the inside. Breakfast was a roll with butter and a hot chocolate – sitting outside on a sidewalk bench, reading my Kindle. When my friends Lori and Tina arrived, I had to join them for lunch – yummy French onion soup and another roll (thank goodness I climbed all those stairs a few days earlier!). Marg is still thanking me for the half-dozen rolls I brought home to Las Vegas.

La Baguette, Old Colorado City

 Afternoon with Linda and Deb: Long-time Colorado Springs friends treated me to dinner after a visit with them and their dogs. Check out their beautifully landscaped backyard (take some tips, you do-it-yourselfers). I even got to bring home a garden-fresh zucchini!

Waterfall!

The crazy week ended with a traffic-less drive to the Denver airport (hooray!) and then, a 3-hour delayed flight (boo, hiss!) You just gotta love the airlines.

Tune in next week for my vacation blog: There’s No Place Like Home When It’s Colorful Utah!

Here's a preview photo ... and Thanks for Reading!

Toby

Scenic Backway near Brian Head