Archive for March, 2005

Mon, Mar 28 (Santa Clara CA)

March 28th, 2005 by harlan

03.28.05

The pictures arrived and I have uploaded them.

There are new pictures in the Ladybird Johnson album in the Austin album, and 3 new pictures at the end of the Austin album (some clouds at sunset I really liked).

I’ve also added a bunch more pictures to the Chiricahua album.

I think that’s it for pictures…

We’re trying to decide if we’re going to visit Death Valley soon (probably not over a weekend) because we have heard so many amazing things about the wildflowers there.

Trip Itinerary

March 25th, 2005 by harlan

03.25.05

WhereOdometerAct. MilesEst. MilesDriveStayDateNotes
Home 5072         01/11 Tue Leave...
Petaluma 5169 97 81 1 0 01/12 Wed Gail/Joe
Chico 5423 254 177 1 0 01/13 Thu Susan/Bruce
Dunsmuir 5510 87 124 1 0 01/14 Fri Mt. Shasta
Ft. Klamath 5670 160 132 1 0 01/15 Sat Crater Lake
Ft. Klamath 5745 75 0 0 1 01/16 Sun Crater Lake
Bend 5944 199 106 1 0 01/17 Mon Beth/Kent
Boise 6278 334 318 1 0 01/18 Tue World Center for Birds of Prey
Twin Falls 6430 152   1 0 01/19 Wed Sun Valley/Ketchum
Twin Falls 6603 173   0 1 01/20 Thu Crater of the Moon Nat'l Monument
Idaho Falls 6785 182   1 0 01/21 Fri  
Jackson 6886 101 378 1 0 01/22 Sat Snowmobile Yellowstone
Jackson 6886 0 0 0 1 01/23 Sun Snowmobile Yellowstone
Jackson 6886 0 0 0 1 01/24 Mon Snowmobile Yellowstone
Jackson 6886 0 0 0 1 01/25 Tue Snowmobile Yellowstone
Jackson 6886 0 0 0 1 01/26 Wed Vegged
Jackson 6900 14 0 0 1 01/27 Thu  
Jackson, WY 7047 147 0 0 1 01/28 Fri  
Riverton, WY 7222 175 160 1 0 01/29 Sat  
Gillette, WY 7477 255 247 1 0 01/30 Sun See Devils Tower on the way to...
Keystone, SD 7694 217 202 0 1 01/31 Mon Jewel Cave, Wind Cave, Custer State Park
Keystone, SD 7839 145 0 0 1 02/01 Tue Mt. Rushmore, Some Cave, Scenic roads
Keystone, SD 8032 193 0 0 1 02/02 Wed Badlands on the way to...
Chamberlain, SD 8348 316 0 1 0 02/03 Thu Plan A: to Starved Rock
Plan B: to Des Moines or Iowa City or ... to ...
Davenport, IA 8950 602 0 1 0 02/04 Fri
Starved Rock 9063 113 913 0 1 02/05 Sat
Starved Rock 9093 30 0 0 1 02/06 Sun
Chicago 9262 169 103 1 0 02/07 Mon
Chicago 9302 40 0 0 1 02/08 Tue
Chicago 9315 13 0 0 1 02/09 Wed
Chicago 9315 0 0 0 1 02/10 Thu
St. Louis 9647 332 308 1 0 02/11 Fri
St. Louis 9681 34 0 0 1 02/12 Sat
St. Louis, MO 9753 72 0 0 1 02/13 Sun
Newport, TN 10337 584 0 1 0 02/14 Mon
Asheville 10428 91 600 1 0 02/15 Tue
Asheville 10451 23 0 0 1 02/16 Wed
Asheville 10465 14 0 0 1 02/17 Thu
Pinehurst 10739 274 216 1 0 02/18 Fri
Pinehurst 10743 4 0 0 1 02/19 Sat
Pinehurst 10747 4 0 0 1 02/20 Sun
Atlanta 11171 424 336 1 0 02/21 Mon
Orlando 11602 431 439 1 0 02/22 Tue
Orlando 11602 0 0 0 1 02/23 Wed
Orlando 11602 0 0 0 1 02/24 Thu
Tampa 11786 184 80 1 0 02/25 Fri
Marco Island 11979 193 180 1 0 02/26 Sat
Marco Island 11979 0 0 0 1 02/27 Sun
Marco Island 11982 3 0 0 1 02/28 Mon
Tampa 12232 250 180 1 0 03/01 Tue
Fairhope, AL 12773 541 499 1 0 03/02 Wed
Fairhope, AL 12796 23 0 0 1 03/03 Thu Resting...
Fairhope, AL 12810 14 0 0 1 03/04 Fri Resting...
Fairhope, AL 12810 0 0 0 1 03/05 Sat Resting...
Houston 13344 534 510 1 0 03/06 Sun
Austin 13504 160 163 1 0 03/07 Mon
Austin 13559 55 0 0 1 03/08 Tue
Austin 13623 64 0 0 1 03/09 Wed
Austin 13669 46 0 0 1 03/10 Thu
Austin 13742 73 0 0 1 03/11 Fri
Austin 13783 41 0 0 1 03/12 Sat
Austin 13795 12 0 0 1 03/13 Sun
Austin 13850 55 0 0 1 03/14 Mon
Austin 13872 22 0 0 1 03/15 Tue
Austin 13905 33 0 0 1 03/16 Wed
Austin 13955 50 0 0 1 03/17 Thu
Austin 14198 243 0 0 1 03/18 Fri
Austin 14256 58 0 0 1 03/19 Sat
Kerrville 14425 169 0 1 0 03/20 Sun
El Paso 14991 566 619 1 0 03/21 Mon
Lordsburg NM 15283 292 0 1 0 03/22 Tue
Tucson AZ 15513 230 0 1 0 03/23 Wed
Tucson AZ 15551 38 0 0 1 03/24 Thu
Home 16397 846 832 1 0 03/25 Fri
    11325 7903 31 42 73 days

Thu, Mar 24 (Tucson AZ)

March 24th, 2005 by harlan

03.24.05

Brenda decided it was time to go home. We stopped off at the photo place and since the pictures had not been scanned in yet we asked them to mail them to us – they should be here on either Saturday or Monday.

We took I-10 to the outskirts of LA (the wildflowers were beautiful), and since it was about 3:30 and traffic was getting Heavy we headed north/west on 30, then to I-215, and then on hiway 138 to 14, and took Avenue D over to I-5 for the trip back. On the way, we drove by the Mormon Rocks, which were really pretty.

We picked up our favorite pizza for dinner when we rolled in to Santa Clara about 10pm.

We’re beat – we’ll add more details after we wake up.

Wed, Mar 23 (Tucson AZ)

March 23rd, 2005 by harlan

03.23.05

We slept in a bit this morning. Brenda woke up feeling pretty good, and Harlan was pretty stiff.

We dropped off the 35mm film at Photographic Works, which seems to be another top-end place for color film (they were recommended by Images, a B&W-only lab Harlan found on the net). The film should be developed and scanned by tomorrow lunchtime. We ran a few errands, and Harlan called around to find a Bowen practitioner for himself and a massage for Brenda. The Bowen person called back and had a time slot, the massage folks did not call back.

Harlan had a Bowen Technique session from Cindy Bruwer, which helped a lot. She recommended Le Bistro for dinner, and it was excellent. She also recommended we try the west bit of Saguaro National Park, as we could also easily visit the living desert museum and the old Tucson film set nearby. We’re going to these places tomorrow, maybe staying in Tucson another night, and maybe heading north.

Tue, Mar 22 (Lordsburg NM)

March 22nd, 2005 by harlan

03.22.05

We didn’t sleep all that well and decided to get out of bed early and get going. We finished breakfast and were on the road before 9am.

Harlan’s plan was to take I-10 west and then go south on 80, and approach Chiricahua National Monument from the back roads at Portal AZ. Brenda vetoed the idea because it is a 24 mile/1.5 hour journey over bumpy, winding, unpaved, and very scenic road. Instead we continued in to AZ, turning south at Bowie to pass by Fort Bowie National Historic Site, and then taking 186 east to Chiricahua. This mostly dirt road was pleasant, and it was a beautiful drive.

We got to Chiricahua around 11:30, and checked with the rangers to see where to hike. We drove to the end of the scenic road to the Massai Point, and prepared for something between 2 and 10+ miles of hiking. We’ll update this with better information when we find the maps, but for now know that Harlan had a mostly fresh roll of 36 exposure film in the camera and another roll of 27 exposure film with him. It wasn’t enough film. After a little while, Brenda took over the digital camera for the hike.

Amazing place – we would love to come back and spend several days here. As we were hiking out, the moon was rising in the east as the sun was setting. Astonishingly beautiful.

We walked about 8.5 miles, and considering it was our first day of hiking since we got sick and we were at 6000-7000′ elevation, we did OK.

We finally found a hotel in Tucson, and will spend at least one more night here. Tomorrow we have some errands to run and want to visit Saguaro National Park.

Mon, Mar 21 (El Paso TX)

March 22nd, 2005 by harlan

03.22.05

We woke up and decided to head toward White Sands National Monument. The wind was pretty stiff in the afternoon, and the sand was blowing pretty hard. We learned that the best time to visit is in October and November, as the winds have stopped, the weather is mild, and there is still a good chance of seeing (as opposed to being in) a thunderstorm. Also, every month there is a guided trip to Lake Lucero, and that sounds interesting. We did walk the short Big Dune Trail, as by then the winds had calmed a bit even though it was still a bit cool. On our next visit we’d like to hike the Alkali Flat Trail (this time it was way too windy and cold).

We looked at the map and decided to stay in Lordsburg NM so we could visit Chiricahua National Monument as we head toward the Grand Canyon. The hotel there had no internet access and there was not local AOL modem access either.

Sun, Mar 20 (El Paso TX)

March 20th, 2005 by harlan

03.20.05

We woke up around 9, had breakfast at the restaurant next door, and were on the road by 11:30.

We took I-10 to US 17 toward Ft. Davis, and just before Ft. Davis we took 118 to the McDonald Observatory. We got there too late to do much, but the nice lady at the information desk told us lots of things to do in the area, including visiting Imperial Texas, which sits on top of a salt-water aquifer and they are using that water to grow really good shrimp (she was from New Orleans and knows her shrimp), taking 17 farther south to Marfa, seeing the “Marfa Lights”, taking County Road 2810 SW out of Marfa as far as it goes (the first half is paved, the last half is not) and visiting the border areas around there before heading SE to Big Bend National Park. She said that when we return to the Observatory we should get there on a Tuesday afternoon at 1:30, as there were things to do there until pretty much 9pm on Tuesdays.

We didn’t get to do the 166 portion of the scenic drive that would take us back to Fort Davis, but just stayed on 118 back to I-10. Brenda really liked the road, it was well-paved with no traffic and very nice views. We even thought that heading north of I-10 on 118 would be interesting.

Brenda arranged for a free night (reward points) at a Comfort Suites NW of El Paso (for the usual number of points), and about 45 minutes before we hit El Paso Harlan asked what we should do for Dinner, so Brenda opened up the AAA guide book, and noticed the Cattleman’s Steak House and had the recollection that this was one of the places Jarrett suggested we visit when we were here. Brenda had the best ribeye she has ever had (and Harlan thought it was tops, too, as if that mattered). They have an a mushroom appetizer where the mushrooms are cooked in some white wine and herbs and stuff, and they were also amazing. Definitely a place to visit again.

Tonight we’re checking out the maps for New Mexico and Arizona to figure out where we are going next.

Oh, I’ve uploaded more pictures to the Austin gallery.

Sat, Mar 19 (Austin TX)

March 19th, 2005 by harlan

03.19.05

We woke up late this morning and Brenda was feeling fine, so we decided to head out today. We packed up and visited Mary at work on the way to pick up the pictures of Enchanted Rock (which are uploading as I am typing). We spoke with Tom a couple of times, and both Tom and Mary warned us about driving west around sunset because of the large number of deer that decide to grab their evening meal on the side of the road. After we got the pictures (and more film), we headed over to Cheryl Gallagher’s house to pick up her latest CD so we’d be able to listen to it on the trip (Harlan met Cheryl on a plane ride a few years ago). Beautiful house and view, west-southwest of Austin. Great album – Brenda loves it.

We decided to take I-35 to San Antonio and pick up I-10 west from there, just to avoid the deer. We made some calls while we could (Cingular service was sometimes unavailable for miles) and discovered that there isn’t much in the way of places we like to stay between San Antonio and Fort Stockton. In fact, the pickings can be so slim that the Comfort Inn properties routinely charge almost triple the reward points for a free stay. We stayed at a Holiday Inn Express in Kerrville, using the ordinary number of reward points for a free stay.

We’re planning to drive to El Paso tomorrow (about 490 miles), and we might decide to take some scenic routes along the way. As this is also the height of the season in Moab and we spent all of our “extra” days recovering in Austin, we will soon be deciding how we’re going to spend the rest of our time here (things like the wildflowers in Death Valley).

Fri, Mar 18 (Austin TX)

March 18th, 2005 by harlan

03.18.05

We woke up this morning (OK, it was Late morning) feeling pretty well, and headed off to Austin Java for lunch before driving around. Brenda says this is now her favorite restaurant here. We headed west toward Fredericksburg and followed the signs to the (Ladybrd Johnson) Wildlife Center. Not much was in bloom, but it was still a pleasant place. We stayed there long enough that we decided not to head to Fredericksburg today.

We headed back toward Tom and Mary’s, stopping off at the new downtown Whole Foods to pick up some supplies. That is one impressive store. We also stopped off at Fry’s Electronics on the way back to pick up a new disk drive for one of Tom’s computers. We also learned that the pictures will be ready by 3pm Saturday – if we leave before then we’ll have them mail the pictures back to us.

Doron is also visiting Tom and Mary this weekend (Doron worked with Tom and Harlan at Trilogy here in Austin, several years ago), and we all chatted a bit in the evening.

We’re surprised at how tired we got after walking around the wildlife center – Brenda is considering taking another day to try and regain more energy (several friends have said they had this bug, and while they got over their symptoms in 2-3 weeks’ time, it took longer for them to get back to full strength).

Brenda and Harlan finished their laundry and began preparing to leave. If we feel up to it we’ll take off tomorrow (Saturday), otherwise we’ll see how we feel on Sunday.

Thu, Mar 17 (Austin TX)

March 17th, 2005 by harlan

03.17.05

We woke up and headed to The Kitchen Door for lunch, on the way to Enchanted Rock State Natural Area and perhaps a quick tour of Fredericksburg. We took a roll of film at the park (it’s been left in the night slot for development) but got to Fredericksburg too late to visit there. On the way back we saw more bison, along with Texas Longhorn cattle, goats, sheep, llamas, deer, and other critters. We’re planning to go back again tomorrow, and visit some other places along the way.

We tried to have dinner at Stubbs but with SXSW in full swing the entire area was mobbed so we went to Asti’s instead, followed by La Dolce Vita for dessert. On the way back to Tom and Mary’s we dropped the film off for developing.

We’re now chatting with Mary and thinking about watching South Park in a minute or so.