Driving through Texas

Friday, July 30, 2010
I opened my eyes to a beautiful sunrise! Wow, my breath was taken away as I noticed my tent faced the rising sun over the lake. The orange ball of fire begged to have its picture taken, but my camera was in the car, so I settled for some iphone photos.

I was up much earlier than expected (around 7am) and was able to pack up the campsite before my scheduled phone call with Mark. He was able to call my cell phone using his skype service and we managed to talk for a while before the reception got too bad.

Then, I was on my way, back on 287 going towards Amarillo. I passed the signs for Palo Duro Canyon State Park which Mark had recommended, but I thought that if I kept going, I had a chance to reach Great Sand Dunes National Monument in Colorado before dark, so I kept going. I did have to turn off the road to go see the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame and Museum.

Then, I saw Cadillac Ranch on the left side of the road and just had to turn around and go back to see it. I’ve heard of it and seen photos and I wanted to see it for myself. Unfortunately it was the middle of the day, so the harsh mid-day sun did not provide the best lighting for photos. But, you get what you get. I noticed that most people arriving brought spray paint cans to add to their own graffiti to the ten graffiti-covered cars that are half-buried, nose-down, facing west "at the same angle as the Cheops' pyramids."

I was excited to see the sign that I was leaving Texas and entering New Mexico. I was at the very north western most corner of the Texas panhandle and entering Mountain Time Zone. New Mexico was a short drive compared to crossing Texas and I only briefly stopped at a few places for rests. Then, I arrived in Colorado.
I’ve never been to Colorado in the summer and really have only been to Steamboat Springs for skiing. So, I was excited to be here in the state that hosts adventure, a multitude of national parks, the Rocky Mountains, and so much more. There is so much in this state that I want to do, but my main destination is Rocky Mountain National Park, so I will head there instead of going everywhere. =)
My goal was to hit the Great Sand Dunes National Monument before dark so that I could secure a campsite and set up my tent in the light. However, I came across a lightning storm in the distance and just had to stop before I entered the storm to try and take some photos. I thought for sure I’d be able to get a photo of lightning, but after spending a good amount of time trying and not succeeding, I decided to continue on.

I drove through a crazy storm to get to the park. While I was inside the storm I wished I could somehow take photos of the lightning because there was quite a show. Finally I passed through the worst of the storm and arrived at Great Sand Dunes NM after dark and in the rain. The campground was full. =( I drove out a little ways to a private campsite just outside the park that offered tent camping. However, it was dark, raining and their sign said that the road to the campsites had been washed out from the heavy rains and to go carefully. I decided to skip that in the dark.

I didn’t have much choice at this point. I could drive many miles to the nearest town, or I could just sleep in my car. So, I did. It wasn’t so bad and it was pleasant to be out of the rain while I slept. I do love my Prius as so much stuff fits in it and it is quite a versatile little car. Well, it works pretty well as a bed, too. Good thing I’m small.

Spontaneous Travel

Thursday, July 29, 2010

And so it begins. I am looking forward to this road trip. I am planning on being spontaneous for one week before I meet my college roommates in Denver, CO for our annual roommate reunion. I put my tent and sleeping bag in the car and I have no reservations to be anywhere until August 5th. My adventure starts today.
The drive north is so far mundane and uneventful. I started listening to Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince and this passes the driving time on I-45 quite nicely. Only when I exit 45 and go towards Fort Worth am I on roads I’ve never driven before.

In Fort Worth I passed a 7-Eleven and immediately exited to turn around and go back for my slurpee. Unfortunately my exit took me far out of the way and in attempts to get back to where I had been before I passed another 7-Eleven. =) That works for me. Slurpees are not available in Houston and have always been a part of our visits to Dallas.

After Fort Worth, I traveled northwest on US 287. For the most part I drove straight through looking forward to leaving the heat of Texas, but I did stop at rest stops to use the wifi and take frequent breaks. Most of the rest stops along this route had signs warning to watch for rattlesnakes.

As sunset approached, I exited US 287 to find a good spot for a photograph. I did find a decent spot with little passing traffic to set up my tripod.

With darkness approaching, I started watching for camping signs. I saw a sign for Lake Arrowhead State Park near Wichita Falls and decided to take a chance on it. Luckily, the park did offer overnight camping and was fairly empty. I drove around in the darkness looking for a decent campsite and found one that I knew I didn’t want. There were two skunks fighting each other with tails raised and everything! It was too dark for photos, and I moved on.

When I did locate a campsite, I was happy to note that I was in a nice open area perfect for taking star pictures. While taking star photos, a skunk wandered by and I spent the whole night worried about skunks. The moon rose over the lake, dark orange, and about three quarters full. There was a nice breeze which cooled the temps down into the high 70s and I had a wonderful night camping in Texas. Usually Texas camping involves sweating on top of a sleeping bag. Tonight was perfect temperature. Clear skies and no rain meant no rain fly on my tent, too, so I felt the breeze through the tent.

MS150 is finished

We had a blast on the 2010 MS150 as usual.

We biked with the Schlumberger Team for the second year in a row. The start point was behind the main start line, so we had to wait in line for about 30 minutes until we actually got on the road.

We encountered a little bit of drizzle on the way out of Houston, but the rest of Day 1 was awesome. We had a great tailwind taking us all the way into LaGrange. We rode our first century (100 miles) on day 1. I was very excited to make it to LaGrange and find that I had trained well this year. I had no pain or really any discomfort. I think my training on the San Antonio rolling hills helped a lot this year. Also, all that training into the headwind, in the rain, and in cold weather helped us become quite tough. =)

We felt like there were less cyclists on the road than usual this year. I do not know the actual numbers that biked, but perhaps the prediction of heavy rains scared some away.

The second day of the MS150 started out rather cold and wet. All night it stormed and poured, but when we left the tent at 5:30am, it wasn't raining. Once we got in line, however, it poured on us. So, we got a wet start. Luckily we had no rain on the actual ride and no rain for the rest of the day. Mark and I took the Challenge Route through Bastrop Park again this year. The park route is very challenging with many hills and technical turns. We made it through and only fell behind Erik by about an hour for the rest of the ride. After lunch the headwinds picked up, but they were fairly light and we'd trained so much in the wind this year that we could keep a good pace even in the wind.

Arriving in Austin is always an amazing rush. All the volunteers and spectators make me feel like a hero. I always get a little choked up biking into the finish amidst all the cheers. We found out that the ride ended exactly at the parking garage where my car was! So, we went ahead and put our bikes away. Once they were packed up we realized we couldn't take the customary bike-over-our-head photo in front of the Capitol. Oh well, we've got plenty of those photos.

At the Schlumberger tent we caught up with Erik and his family and had yummy burgers for our after-ride meal. We had a great time on the ride. I can't wait for next year, but I'm sad that Mark will have to miss it. He's schedule to be in Algeria for next years MS150.

See all our photos here:
http://www.photobooksolutions.com/personal/2010/MS150_2010/

See three videos here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gumchain/sets/72157623782392081/

2010 MS150

The 2010 MS150 is right around the corner. In fact, here's the countdown timer:



I only have a few training photos from this year. We've had lots of very windy rides, rainy rides, and chilly rides. With these conditions, I don't pull out my camera often. Anyway, enjoy.

Smart Car

Here's a photo showing the dimensions of the Smart Car. Mark could sit inside the car and touch both the front windshield and rear windshield at the same time. However, we definitely both had adequate room inside the car both of us and our luggage. See the second photo to see how much luggage we brought.

Day 6 - Transportation

Day 6, February 2, 2010

Happy Groundhog Day. I don't actually know if we are in for 6 more weeks of winter or not, but I'm hoping for an early spring.

Today was a great last day in San Francisco. We got a somewhat early start from the hotel and headed out on the F-line (street car) along The Embarcadero from the hotel to the Ferry Building. We were hoping to catch the Tuesday morning farmer's market, but it didn't open until 10am.

Instead we tried the streetcar museum right there, but it didn't open until 10am either! So, then, we opted to walk along the Embarcadero towards Fisherman's Wharf. We started at Pier 1, and ended at Pier 47. The sun was out and the weather was perfect for a stroll.

We stopped to read some of the history signs along the way and learned that the coastline as we walked on it today was actually 100 feet farther into the ocean than the coastline during the Gold Rush. Apparently, there was such a rush to get more land, that the settlers dumped everything they could including old ships, trash, and other junk into the ocean to create more land. Well, that just made me feel safe standing there. =) I'm sure it's more stable now.

We went out along Pier 39 and watched the Sea Lions bark at each other for a bit. Afterwards we started our history lesson of the shipyards. We viewed the SS Jeremiah O'Brien submarine and then the only Liberty Ship still in existence. We walked over to the NPS Hyde Street Park and Maritime Museum area. There were quite a few ships and boats to look at.

By then it was lunchtime, so we headed back to Boudin for another clam chowder bread bowl. Mmmm, still tasty. We had to be back at the hotel to pick up our bags at 2pm, so we had just enough time to take the cable car to the Cable Car Museum and marvel at the huge spinning wheels that pull the cables across the city. I wish we had more time to spend there and I took pictures of the signs I didn't have time to read so I could go back and look at them later. All the cables go through this building. We learned how the cable cars operate and how the accelerate and slow down for stops. The brakes have to be replaced every 2-4 days!

Alas, we had to leave, so we took the cable car back to the hotel, grabbed our bags, and then hopped on the BART train that took us to Oakland and then the AirBART bus that took us to the airport.

Today was definitely a day of public transportation. We made it to the gate with 15 minutes to spare before boarding time, so good timing. =)

The flight home was uneventful and now we are back in Houston. It's always good to be home after a trip. Hopefully I'll be able to spend some time sorting through my photos and let you know when they are posted for viewing.

Thanks for reading and as always, visit http://markandjoannatravel.blogspot.com for the full blog.

Day 5 - Car Travel

Day 5 - February 1, 2010

We woke again to a slightly foggy and overcast morning. I think this is a pattern for the area. ;-) We checked out of our Motel Inverness with no problems and decided on the stop to drive south on Highway 1 until it was time to turn around. The rental car needed to be back by 5pm.

So, onward we went and the more we traveled the more sun came peeking out of the clouds. Once we were south of San Francisco it was even at warm 56 degrees outside! Most of our stops were simply to view the ocean from various road turnouts. We did get a chance to photograph the Smart Car as well.

More notably, we stopped at the Pelican Point Lighthouse. Just as we parked a school bus arrived full of children and their overnight bags so they could stay in the hostel there. It turns out many lighthouses in the area are also hostels. Luckily we were able to steer clear of the crowds while they ate lunch and we learned about the perils of working this lighthouse. This one seemed less dangerous than the one out in Point Reyes, but of course operating a lighthouse is still a big job.

The drive was beautiful. Many fields were colored bright neon yellow with some type of blooming flower. The yellow was very brilliant in color and many hillsides were covered. We tried to go to Anos Nuevo State Park to see the elephant seals there, but the parking was priced a little too steep for what would be only a 30 minute stay at best. Finally we turned around at a cement plant north of Santa Cruz and came back towards San Francisco.

Once our car was returned to Avis and we checked into our hotel room, we took the cable car down to Fisherman's Wharf. Our Parc 55 hotel is right on the cable car line and the BART line in Union Square. We learned about the cable cars last time we were in San Francisco, but this time we got to ride them. I am really amazed at how they work. Hopefully tomorrow we can make it to the cable car museum.

We started in Ghirardelli Square with dessert and then took an evening stroll along the main street in Fisherman's Wharf to Boudin Bakery. At the bakery we were able to get our clam chowder in sour dough bread bowls. =) As I mentioned earlier, this was my main goal for San Francisco.

And now we are back in the hotel winding down and getting ready for tomorrow. Our flight leaves at 4pm, so we'll have the morning to be tourists.