"Home!"

Pennsylvania: Millbach, Womelsdorf, Bowmansville, Myerstown, Birdsboro, Adamstown

(& side trip to NYC more on that later...)

Miles; 6550

The saying, "Home is where your heart is" is definitely so true. When we moved across the country to Washington we certainly left a piece of our hearts in Pennsylvania and being here reminds us of how comforting it is to be home & much we miss everyone and this amazing place.

So...here it is, just some of the things we love and miss about PA:

Visiting with family and friends, all the smiles, hugs & inside jokes, the excitement of meeting new nephews and nieces, being in the homes we grew up in, feasting on our moms' & dads' home cooked meals, driving on winding country roads with no shoulders, the satisfaction of knowing all the shortcuts home on those same roads, the beauty and unique odor of the PA farmlands in spring, sunsets from the front porch of the Millbach homestead, bike rides around "the country block", the klip klop of the horse & buggies going down the road, shopping at B&B and Dutchway, the funny way the Amish girls in B&B are always humming hymns to themselves, the rainbows of clothing drying on the mile long clotheslines outside of farmhouses, the fact that people don't look at you funny when you say the name of a town like Kleinfeltersville or Knauers, or mentioning that you'd die for some red beet eggs, shoe fly pie, or Tastycakes! (especially Butterscotch Krimpets), sleeping in your old room, going for hikes up to the Stone Hut & Middle Creek, seeing the last of the snow geese of the winter at Middlecreek. Finding out that Beringer's in Denver is open and going to get ice cream with Dave, Chellie & the kids, walking in the fields of Millbach and getting utterly and completely muddy, they way that everything remains perfectly the same even if it changes. HOME! There's so much more we could go on forever...

We had a great time staying in Millbach with the Haags in their beautiful, serene limestone farmhouse. It was great catching up with some old friends and family at Ben's Mom's house for a shindig that she and Bob threw for us and had a great afternoon/evening. We even got to visit the old house in Bowmansville and got a tour, amazingly nothing had changed. Some other visits that were simply great were: Dinner with Glenn, Ben's Dad and sister Sarah, a visit to Sarah's house in Ephrata, Visiting Jessica's Great Aunt Annie, a visit to our old neighbors; Edgar and Cathy (greatest neighbors ever), dinner at Johnny's in Denver with our family and friends; Sara & Matt Murphey and little Murphey (so cute!).

An Old River Called "New"

New River Gorge, WV

Miles; 6150

Driving North from the Carolinas we were excited to see the scenery changing to what we are still, even after living in the Pacific Northwest for almost 5 years are accustomed to calling "home". The olfactory memories of fallen leaves drenched by spring rains started to come back to us. Our eyes wide with every turn in the increasingly winding and rolling hills and roads. The air was crisp as we rolled into West Virginia, the license plates read "wild and wonderful" and we agree. As we came into the New River area the hillsides were streaked with waterfalls from recent snow melt and rain. Once we reached the river itself, it was apparent even from a distance that it was engorged and raging. We were told that the river was at approximately 126,000 cps (cubic feet per second) several days before, normal rafting tours are regulated to under 10,000 cps. All of this was interesting, but we weren't there to raft we were there to climb and explore.

Day 1;

We set up our campsite at Chestnut Creek Campground, just over the bridge heading North past Fayetteville, WV which claims to be the "Coolest Small Town" we didn't spend much time there, but it was pretty cool. Brian, the campground owner greeted us at the entrance/office and went over the rules of his place, he is a matter of fact, no bullshit kind of guy. We respected him as someone who might be a bit quirky, but he ran a tight ship with his own set of rules, there were nice hand printed signs on everything (we found out he was a former teacher) spelling the rules out, we liked him. We got the special spring start-up price of $5 per person with the warning that not everything was up to par yet, no showers the first night and cool almost cold showers the second, but they kept getting better. We made ourselves a fire and enjoyed a cold (29 degrees) but really wonderful night with some beers and a pizza we picked up in town on our supply run.

Day 2;

Our normal camp morning: shivering as we made French press coffee and some egg sandwiches, then off for a walk down a few of the back roads and then a drive to get our bearings down into the gorge to explore. We drove across the river (at the bottom) and then into Fayetteville to buy the climbing guide book at the local outdoor outfitter. Back to the campground around 2:30 for the arrival of Dave and Joan Haag. Once they arrived and got situated we headed out to explore some more with the goal of climbing. We had a hard time finding climbing that we were comfortable with, as everything was a bit wet and looked more difficult than the guide book said, but eventually found an easy rock face that was a good starter climb. Jess and I played on the rock while Joan and Dave took a hike with Addy. Even at the top of the gorge, the constant roar of the river in the background is an amazing reminder of it's power in shaping this landscape of intimidating cliffs and washouts. Back to the campground for a campfire and relaxation. For dinner; red beans and rice and a salad. We were joined by a couple of climbers Alex and Eric from the Annapolis Naval Academy, who also staying at the campground and had a great time around the fire, guitar, singing, good conversation, and a bit of drunkenness from the Captain Morgan we used to warm us up, it was St. Patty's Day afterall, a good time was had by all.

Day 3;

Slightly warmer temps and some company for breakfast Joan, Dave, Jess, Ben and the midshipmen we met and partied with the night before, Alex and Eric from the previous night joined us to help in our search for potential climbing locations, their recommendation was the "Junkyard" an easy to reach cliff that could be "top roped" which instills confidence in part time climbers like us. So... off to the Junkyard.

On the cliff we found fantastic climbing at our level and beyond, we climbed for several hours before we tired out. The climbing here is amazing, gritty rock with interesting formations that create problems similar to those that are emulated at an indoor climbing gym, without the stale smell of sweat and old chalk, instead the invigoration of chirping birds, rustling leaves and of course the ever present roaring river below. We finished the day visiting Pies & Pints in Fayetteville for some mind blowing artisan pizza (reminding us of how much we miss really good pizza on the West coast). We returned to our campground after a little hiking and some more exploring of the waterfalls near Kaymoor trail head and called it an early evening after a campfire and some s'mores.

Day 4;

After a morning walk on the campground property we returned to our campsite to find Josh, (Ben's cousin) and a friend Dave had driven down to the Gorge and arrived early in the morning we found them in the campsite next to us! What a great surprise, we were super excited that they made the drive, we exchanged some climbing plans and made a decision. Gather the troops and ready the gear, we're off! Back to the Junkyard for some more exciting climbing with Josh and Dave. Perfect weather, awesome climbing and good friends what more can we say? Oh, peanut butter, Nuttella and jelly sandwiches when you really need them. Yummy!

Jess, Dave and Joan decided to head North to PA, to visit a friend near Clarksburg, WV along the way.

Day 5;

The sleep was the best yet, as Jess left her sleeping bag and I doubled it with mine, oh it was nice, warm and comfortable, aside of a little lonely. A bit of a late start we headed out to the Endless Wall for some slightly more difficult but really cool climbing. No "top ropes" here, Josh and Dave led the climbs and I followed as I'm a bit more out of shape and practice. It was still super fun. We climbed out instead of taking the long hike out, the interesting part was it was getting dark and by the time Dave climbed out the only remaining light was his headlamp.

Safe and sound we headed out for a little pizza and a beer in Fayetteville.

Day 6;

We packed up camp and headed toward Summerville, WV to go climbing at "Whipporwill". This was some of the coolest rock I've ever climbed on, big jugs like the handles on a western saddle mixed with cracks and sloping rock that made for some really amazing climbing. together with beautiful views of Summerville Lake which gets filled in spring limiting the climbing there, although I hear that you can climb out of the water (if you fall you get wet).

We got on the road around 3:30 and headed for "home". Goodbye for now old river, we hope to see you soon.

Southern Hospitality

Stuart, FL-Summerfield, NC

Miles; 5840

We left Stuart, FL and drove all day (14 hrs) to Summersfield, NC about 15 minutes outside of Greensboro to visit a dear friend from Millbach, PA, Kaitlyn, her kids & mom Kathy.

After a long day in the car we pulled into their gorgeous NC home and were greeted with open arms and lots of hugs and laughter. There is something very therapeutic about seeing an old friend, even after many years have gone and you can pick up just where you left off like no time has past at all. Kaitlyn is one of those special friends. Addy also made a friend, the family pooch who was a cool and friendly cocker spaniel named Draeger.

In the evening, we ate a wonderful home cooked meal, which is always very much appreciated and chatted into the evening. The next morning the kids were off to school then we took the dogs for a walk in a nearby field, the weather was chilly, but the day was wonderful. Kaitlyn took us out for some local flavor/brunch at a nearby diner. It was such a great visit, but we felt like we blinked and it was time to go already. We said our goodbyes and got back on the road to WV to meet up with the Haags and to do some rock climbing in the New River Gorge. Kaitlyn & family, thank you for everything!

Sun, Sol, Soleil!

New Orleans-Ft Lauderdale

Mileage; 5011

From New Orleans we drove towards some dark & ominous skies on into the pan handle of FL and through Ft Lauderdale. We watched the weather radar like hawks as there were tornado warnings in Northern FL! Fortunately, nothing except rain ever materialized and we finally arrived at Ben's cousin John's home, on what was one of our longest driving days during our trip, 14 hrs. We must say that the time rolls on easily, passing countryside that we've never seen and imagining what might lay just beyond what we can see and fantasize about the snake and gator laden land that would be about as alien to us as Mars.

Day 1;

After a good nights sleep in John and Joy's fantastically comfortable guest house bed, we lounged around, chatting and soaking up the Florida sun on the beautiful patio deck facing a shimmering canal lined with boats much like a suburban street, complete with a 12 ft coconut tree, that John actutally grew from a baby coconut. We finally met John and Joy's beautiful and content baby girl, Jillian, such a sweetheart!

Later in the day we ventured out to a local park and visited 12 of about 50 booths set up for Earth Day/Water Conservation. We each received 2 local trees/shrubs (which we left with John & Joy). Of course we had to put our toes in ocean, so we drove downtown through massive traffic (which we discovered was due to pre St. Patty's Day celebrations). And although it is officially Spring Break, we didn't really see any evidence of college students on the beaches perhaps they were all at the St Patty's Day party?

We all joined in cooking, snacking and sharing stories before sitting down to a fabulous home cooked sea food feast: king crab, clams & tiger prawns with fresh asparagus, roasted potatoes, salad and garlic bread.

Day 2;

Another good nights sleep! John and Pat (Ben's uncle & aunt) drove down from Stuart and Ben made an awesome Cioppino (sea food stew) using some of the leftover seafood from the previous days big meal and some fresh Cod, and we stuffed ourselves silly once again.

We said our goodbyes to John, Joy and Jillian and followed John and Pat back to their comfortable home in Stuart which is very peaceful and beautifully secluded in mature trees and palms. Addy loved their big back yard and enjoyed a late night frisbee session and of course another in the morning. We left before daybreak on our way to North Carolina.

Nawlins

New Orleans

Mileage; 4141

As we opened our eyes in our somewhat seedy hotel on the West bank (the only one we could find available that allowed dogs, most others were full due to a convention in town) we caught up on our internet and took our time getting into New Orleans, as we were sure that the city was still waking up just as we are.

Around lunch we made our way to the French Quarter, found parking and started walking with Addy excitedly jogging along side. It appeared to be restocking time in the party zone, beer and liquor trucks lining the streets and relatively quiet. It just wasn't going to work with Addy, so we took her back to the car (in a cool, covered, parking garage) to while we grabbed lunch. We stopped at the Cajun Cabin for some craw fish cakes, gator bites and a catfish po-boy and of course some drinks. From the corner balcony in the heart of Bourbon Street we watched life go by as seen from a corner in the home of Mardi Gras. The antics of the silver painted mime on the corner below us imitating a statue. Drama when a horse pulling a carriage got spooked from a passing motorcycle and jack knifed his driver's carriage and blocked the street. A crowd drew on the street and sidewalk as several random tourists tried their "horse whispering" techniques to get the horse "Ike" back in line, after about 5 long minutes Ike was on his way, on his own and the crowd dispersed.

Satisfied with our lunch we fetched Addy, on our walk back we stumbled upon a National Geographic moment and what we thought were 2 pigeons fighting, but turned out to be a hawk attacking a pigeon, Ben got some nice shots and there was a happy ending, the pigeon did get away. We continued on to the French Market, Cafe du Monde for coffee and beignets and the banks of the Mississippi absorbed in the culture and surrounding scene. By now Ben was sporting a nice fedora and Jess bought several great masks and beads.

During our wanderings we found a no-leash dog park for Addy to release some of her energy and as usual she made us proud as the best behaved dog in the park. We are constantly amazed at how she adapts to just about any surroundings. We ate pretty late and had a hard time finding a restaurant still open and stumbled upon the Bombay Club inside a hotel a couple of blocks off of Bourbon St. We had the best calamari ever, flash fried calamari with an Asian inspired spicy sauce (fried for 1.6 seconds, cooled for 10 minutes and then fried again for 1.6 seconds). Sooo delicious and highly recommended. After dinner we walked around in the chaos and party of Bourbon Street for a little while, but we had a long drive (14 hrs) the next day and wanted to be fresh enough to enjoy the drive.

There were so many characters and musicians on the street, that we tried to take some "Faces of New Orleans" photos.

Austin City Limits

Ozona, TX to McKinney Falls State Park Austin, TX

Mileage; 3620

We’re in the land of Texas, meaning that cowboy hats are becoming more common, accents are changing and a majority of the people we come across are incredibly friendly and gracious. We are finding ourselves starting to talk with a Texas drawl, just because it’s fun.

McKinney Falls State Park is an oasis 15 minutes SE of the city of Austin, it’s really hard to believe how close we are to the city. It is lush and green, trees everywhere (many are cypress). Its a birders paradise here too; Cormorants, ducks, hawks, herons, blue birds, cardinals, barred owl, and woodpecker. There are deer, turtles, big carp and we've heard, but have not seen the coyotes. The cherry blossoms are blooming and there is a familiar smell in the air that reminds us of home (PA). The temperature here is much warmer 64 degrees and layers of clothes are melting off. It has been raining, foggy and humid and the rangers have informed us that if there is a flash flood warning they will have to evacuate us, that sure makes for sound sleep.

We ate superb chile rellanos (one del mar and one with corn) at a wonderful place on Congress St. in downtown Austin called Manuele’s. Afterwards we went to the Elephant Bar just across the street and steeped ourselves in good, live progressive jazz and then called it a night.

We’re camping right next to the creek that runs through the entire park, there is a nice trail that loops around the park and passes by two falls the upper and lower. We’ve seen a lot of fish in the water and it appears to be a popular swimming and fishing spot. The trees overhanging Onion Creek are decorated for a fisherman’s Christmas, there are bobbers hanging from every tree.

Because of the wet weather our climbing plans have been spoiled, so far… however the rain has brought us back into the city earlier than anticipated and we had a late lunch at McCormmick & Schmick’s and a couple beers, it was great. We found a fantastic park down by the water across the bridge from 1st Street for Addy to get some of her pent up nervous energy out and ran her ragged, she also made several friends. Later we hit 6th street, played pool at Buffalo Billiards, ate some great crispy pizza and bar hopped to see different bands, it was incredibly fun, there were so many choices. Our favorite was a band called Green Diamond (reminiscent of Santana and Stevie Ray Vaughan) at the last place we stopped called Friends.

Day 2;
Everything in sight was still really wet, we were inspired to try out the overhanging bouldering walls in the park as they were protected from the rain and were mostly dry. The bouldering problems were pumpy and fun. It was a bit unnerving reaching our hands into holes once we found a scorpion and knowing that Black Widows like dark cool places.

Considering that we have an early morning start tomorrow we stayed in this night listened to the raccoons using their hands to find food and communicating with their little chirping coos from across the stream while the coyotes raucous yips and howls filled the night air, all while we had a nice dinner by the campfire with a nice Cab. Then we called it a night.

Despite the added struggles and sometimes frustrations of camping you just can't get the same experience from a hotel or RV.

Today We Drive

Cochise Stronghold, AZ - Somewhere in Texas (Ozona, TX)

Mileage; 3255

We finally got on the road and headed East on Highway 10. It is overcast, but there is a bright haze that makes you squint if you're not wearing sun glasses and there are funky puffs of clouds blanketing the sky. This particular leg of the trip was flat, dry and desolate. It consisted of the flattest brown desert with mountains in the distance, but pretty much nothing, barring the occasional dust devils, abandoned cement houses and billboards for as far as your eye can see. There was beauty to be found for those looking for it, the sky was big and layers of mountains reminded us of western paintings. There were also pairs of warning signs along the side of the road "Zero Visibility Possible" followed closely by"Do NOT Stop in Travel Lanes" the dust here must be bad! Just about all of the rest stop signs have CLOSED nailed on them, great. We got off at an exit that the CLOSED sign must have fallen off of and Ben joked, "We've just pulled into Hell" it was bad.

Some of our billboard favorites consisted of: "FIREWORKS-EXIT NOW! VOLUME DISCOUNTS", "Jesus Christ is Lord (not a swearword)", "Agate Bookends" (had about 50 billboards just for the bookends), "Snake Stuff -Snake Eggs, Buckles and Bolos", "Lotsa T-shirts", the billboards give this landscape some depth.

Oh but we did see the Javalinas (spanish pronunciation) (the wild pigs) along the side of the road, that was exciting! We didn't make it to Austin which was a lofty goal so it is Ozona for the night and a hot shower and comfortable bed.

Off the Beaten Path

Grand Canyon, AZ to Cochise Stronghold, AZ (near the town of Dragoon, AZ)

Mileage; 2645

We left Grand Canyon relatively early and set out across some beautiful countryside most of which was National Forest land, particularly cool were the Saguaro cactus like toy soldiers spread across the scrub land. Driving into the park was interesting with five stream crossings.

Cochise Stronghold named after "Chief Cochise the greatest of Apache warriors who died on June 8, 1874 in his favorite stronghold. Interred secretly by his followers the exact place of his burial was known only to one white man - his blood brother Thomas J. Jeffords." When you stand among the craggy rock laden terrain you can just imagine why why it would be a great place to hold up and defend yourself against an attacker.

The morning camping routine is setting in, the ritual hiss of the cook stove and the intoxicating smell of coffee wafting over the camp is pure bliss. The sun is rising and sparkling through the Juniper trees, doves are cooing and there is a small stream trickling away near our site. The air is chilly 46 degrees, but not cold (especially after last night). We packed up our camp this morning intending to leave early, but were drawn to stay and explore the rocky trails and towering boulders that rise above us and all around us. The whole place is various shades of green, brown and orange. Even the giant rocks have a green glow from the lichen.

We were enamored with Cochise Stronghold, even the plants and animals have fantastic and exotic names that are unfamiliar to us like: The turpentine bush, beargrass, Alligator Juniper, Shin Dagger, Desert Spoon, Javalinas (wild pigs), Kuatamunde (some sort of bear?) and the Ring tailed Cat. It is a shame that this campground is actually closed. Although there are pit toilets, there is no running water we had to bring our own. We are definitely planning on coming back to this area to climb and explore further, it was simply magical.

Isn't It Grand?!

Vegas-Grand Canyon Village

Mileage; 2240

After saying goodbye to Rae, we had a leisurely 6 hr drive from Vegas to the Grand Canyon. The anticipation of arriving at the Grand Canyon grew as we turned North toward the park and drove for 1.5 hrs, getting closer and closer, but seeing no visible cues of the grandeur and earthly wonder that was ahead. Upon arrival we literally raced to the South rim to catch a glimpse of the famous sunset views. Unfortunately we missed it by just minutes, but glimpsed the canyon drenched in the suns warm afterglow and speckled in white. About 2 feet of snow on the ground and Addy is beside herself crazy with a new found joy of deep snow. Hmmm, does she know something we don't about where we are going?

We headed for our campsite in the Mather Campground (the only campground open year round) and were surprised by how many people were camping because of the time of year, forecast for snow tomorrow and low temperatures. After we set up camp we headed to the Bright Angel Lodge for some food and listened to some live music "Silver Shoes" a duo from TX. We shared travel stories with John and Maureen during their set break.

The next morning, French press coffee and egg burritos at about 30 degrees then off to the South Rim trail to take in the views in the day light. We had already decided we were not trekking into the canyon (no dogs allowed and no crampons) so we walked the rim 6 miles (round trip) from Bright Angel Trail to Hopi Point, windy and cold but what a fantastic day! Addy was quite popular and several tourists from the tour bus actually snapped shots of Addy before they took their canyon shots, we think all the attention she's getting from strangers is going to her head.

The day was fairly cloudy with snow squalls blowing through the canyon that looked like veils draped from the clouds, toward the end of the hike and into the sunset the skies broke and the changing light on the canyon walls was simply breathtaking while we enjoyed a beer at the El Tovar Hotel.

We made it through the coldest night either of us have ever spent in a tent. We discovered two things the next morning, that the low temp last night was 12 degrees F, and that we have a new limit on how cold we can handle with our current gear.