I'm Back!

Sorry everyone for not posting anything for awhile.  I got caught up with the break at home in AZ.

For those that don't know, since Oct. 1 and the shutdown I have been staying at my Dad's in Phoenix.  While most of it has been relaxing, we did take a trip up to the Flagstaff area and have done some odds and ends things while I waited for the parks to reopen.

Now that they are open, I will be doing what I can of my remaining trip.  Since I still wanted to be home by Nov 1, it will be shorter than originally planned.  I only have 5 days until I meet up with my brother and family in San Luis Obispo, CA.  In that time I will swing through the 5 Utah parks, some of the most famous in the country.  Unfortunately, I will have to skip the 4 parks in Colorado and Great Basin in Nevada (for now).  I will only spend about a day in each park, which is less than ideal, but it will give me a taste and motivation to return.

I probably won't update again until I am back in Davis.  Thanks everyone who has followed my trip and I hope you were able to get a bit of the enjoyment of it.

The Big Bend

Quick update before I head into Guadalupe Mountains.  I'll post pictures of Big Bend in a few days.

The 3 days I spent in Big Bend were fairly full, and were exactly what you imagine when you think of the desert.  Big Bend sits right on the Rio Grande River, and therefore the Mexican Border.  The biggest highlight of the trip was simply the scenery.  The first few nights I camped in Chisos Basin, in the middle of some spectacular rock cliffs.  It was by far the prettiest campground I have been in on the trip.  I took a hike to Lost Mine Peak as well, which offered great views.

The next day I headed to the eastern end of the park, right on the river.  Instead of going straight there, I took a roundabout way along the primitive Old Ore Road.  It was a pretty hairy road with constant steep hills, sandy washes and rock ledges in the road.  A few times I had to get out to survey the road before I continued on.  It was a fun experience, but I don't think I would want to drive the road regularly.  The afternoons were warm (low to mid 90s) so I usually settled into camp by 2 or 3.

At night, though, I would go driving along the roads looking for snakes, just like I used to do as a kid.  The park was deserted (heh) and it was rare to even see a car on the road after dark.  And I had a lot of success, both at night and in the morning.  I saw a total of 8 snakes, including 5 different species.  The rattlesnakes were much more feisty here, and they would rear up and rattle like crazy when they saw me.

I spent my last day in the western, more remote section of the park.  During the day, I got to witness lots of different wildlife: tarantulas, giant millipedes, roadrunners, and even a few groups of javelina.  The heat kept me in the shade in the afternoon, but it was still fun.  And, I had the campground that night all to myself.  This morning, I got to experience a bit of the desert rains (right as I was taking the tent down too) before heading out.  Now, I'm on my way North to Guadalupe Mountains NP, just south of the New Mexico border.  Carlsbad Caverns are only 45 minutes away, so I will hit both parks while I'm there.  Then on the 1st, I make my way to Phoenix and my dad's for a much needed break (hopefully not too long of a break as long as the govt doesn't shut down).

Cold Caves and Hot Water

Here's a two for the price of one post!  I just finished with Hot Springs National Park and before that, Mammoth Caves.

Cave Entrance

Signatures in the cave, some almost 200 years old.

I found Mammoth Cave to be really cool: it wasn't too crowded and the caverns were really impressive.  Given that its hard to take a picture of a giant empty cavern, and that flash wasn't allowed, I don't have any great pictures, so you'll just have to take my word for it.  I spent two full days at the caverns, longer than I expected, but it was worth it.  The first day I got to take a couple of the more basic tours.  One took me through the natural entrance to the cave down all the way to the bottom where the underground river (River Styx is flowing.  There isn't much flow and you can't get close enough to see the cave fish, but it was still cool to see a river all the way down there.  The second tour was through the "New Entrance". blasted in the early 1900's.  The highlight of this one was the Frozen Niagara, a section of cave formations which are rare in Mammoth.

Salamander friend

The second day I took a couple of the less popular tours.  Both would be by lantern light this time, too, which added to the experience.  The first one was actually in a smaller nearby cave, Great Onyx, and had more formations and lots of white Gypsum crystal covering the walls (200 years of tours and use by Native Americans had stripped or tarnished all the Gypsum in the main caves).  The second tour followed a similar route from the natural entrance.  But with kerosene lanterns and a rather eccentric guide telling stories, it was a very unique experience.  That night, rain storms soaked my campsite, which was a pain, but I did have a really cool visitor come by.  Check the picture, he's a Marbled Salamander.

Bathhouses

I then headed to Arkansas and Hot Springs National Park.  The highlight of this park are the bath houses, but me being more of a nature person, I just looked around.  I did get to drink some of the hot springs water (perfectly safe and has no taste), so maybe I'll get some of the healing effects...  This park is small and urban, and like Cuyahoga Valley in Ohio, it doesn't quite live up to the expectations of a National Park.  it was fun, but I wish there was more "nature".




I'm now in the great state of Texas.  It's starting to feel like home too; lots of familiar stores and restaurants are popping up now.  I'm heading out to Big Bend NP now, one of the more rugged and remote parks.

The Smokies

You can see why they call it The Smokies

I just finished my 3 day trip in Great Smoky Mountains NP, the most visited park in the country.  It was more crowded then I expected (and much more than any of the last few parks) but that didn't make it any less enjoyable.  The whole time I was amazed at how green the park was, much more so than the forests we have out west.  Since the trees are just starting to turn colors, the slopes were dominated by green hardwoods.

The old Mill in Cades Cove

On my first full day in the park I took the drive over the ridge and stopped at the highest peak in the park, Clingman's Dome.  Unfortunately, the top was covered in clouds, so no great views, but what I could see was nice, and I got a couple hikes in (one to the top and one to a nearby baren peak, Andrew's Bald).  Then I took a driving tour through Cades Cove, one of the most popular areas in the park.  Between the animals (deer, turkeys, coyotes) and the lush forests, as well as a visit to a historic mill site, I could see why the area was so popular.  I even got a visit from a bear in the campground that night.

GREEN!

Yesterday, I headed out to the eastern side of the park, which is much less crowded.  The Cades Cove area was crawling with people even though it was a weekday during non-peak season, and I was itching to get out on my own.  I explored some of this area and stopped at Greenbriar for lunch before camping in the Cosby Campground.  There were only a handful of people here and it was a pretty (and green) area, so I took the opportunity to relax.

I'm now continuing on to the next park, Mammoth Cave in Kentucky.  I'm really heading west now, and am starting to see the end on the distant horizon.  While I'm looking forward to being home, part of me wishes I could keep doing this forever.

In the Swamp

The Boardwalk

The last couple of nights I stayed in one of the smaller and newer National Parks, Congaree, in what is one of the last old growth forests in the southern floodplains (i.e. swamp).  It was hot and humid when I got there, but my full day there was nice and cool.  The park isn't very big, so it only has one set of trails, which was my bit endeavor for the day.

This is the "trail"

The trail takes you along a boardwalk through the floodplains.  It is almost completely flat, but a change in height of a few feet made the difference between dry forest and bottom of a lake.  Near the farthest part of the 7 mile loop, an area few people traveled, the trail would dissapear among the fallen leaves.  I had a fun time scrambling around fallen trees and searching for trail markers that made the hike more interesting.  Again, the park was fairly empty, so I had the trail mostly to myself once I left the boardwalks.

Wise "Lake"

With the good weather I had, Congaree was actually more fun than I expected.  Even though it was small, it still live up to the National Park distinction (unlike another smaller park I have visited).  It was a great visit, but arachnophobes beware; I have never seen such a high concentration of big and colorful spiders.  They in the other bugs that came out at night were fine with me, as long as they stayed outside the tent.

I'm now heading to Great Smoky Mountains NP, on the border of North Carolina and Tennessee, for a few days.  It is the countries busiest park, but hopefully, like the last two parks, the crowds won't be too bad.

Battlefields and the Virginia Mountains

Independence Hall

Hey everyone!  I'm on my way down to Congaree National Park in SC and figured I would update everyone on the past few days I have spent in the Northeast and beyond.  After leaving Acadia, I made a stop in Philadelphia to see Independence Hall.  I only had a couple hours there, but I managed to see the Liberty Bell and tour the inside of Independence Hall.  I thought about trying to climb around on the roof of the Hall a la National Treasure, but the amount of security there made me doubt I would be able to get away with it.  I managed to get a real Philly Cheese Steak too while I was there, which was as good as expected.  Luckily Philly was much easier to navigate (Boston and the GW Bridge in NYC were both nightmares).  I then headed East into Amish Country for the night.

Cannons at Gettysburg

Hazy Shenandoah Valley

The next day I decided to make an unplanned stop at Gettysburg to see the Civil War Memorial.  Turned out to be a great decision.  The US History buff in me had an awesome time exploring the field which is much the same as it was 150 years ago.  There were hundreds of different monuments to the different regiments (on both sides) and I found it hard to only spend 4 hours there.  I wish I had more time to explore more of the historical places in the Eastern US, but I have to keep going.

That black smudge is a bear

After my stop in Gettysburg I made my way down to Shenandoah National Park in the mountains of Virginia.  When I got there I found it...empty.  There were only a few people in the park while I was there, and it made everything more peaceful.  I spent four nights there, slowly making my way down the 105 mile Skyline Drive that runs the length of the park.  Each full day I did a hike, too, (seeing maybe one or two people on each trail).  On the first hike, I heard a rustling next to me and turn to see a black ball of fur: a bear cub!  It took me all the way to Virginia, but I finally got to see a bear.  Little did I know I would see a total of 5! of them on my hikes in the park, all young ones.  I didn't get any good pics of them though unfortunately, as they all ran off pretty quick.

Bridge in the Woods

View from Mary's Rock (I'm sitting on the edge)

Shenandoah ended up being one of my favorite parks, mostly because of how peaceful it seemed.  Good weather and few people helped, but the deep green (and hints of fall red and yellow) and the constant sounds of birds and insects made for a serene few days.  I understand now why so many people enjoy Shenandoah and wish I had two weeks to spend there.  Instead, I am now on my way to a smaller park in the South Carolina swamps, Congaree, before heading to the most popular park in the country, Great Smokey Mountains.

"Heading Back"

I have made it past the halfway point!  I spent the last few days in Acadia National Park on the Southern coast of Maine.  It was too early for the fall colors to be out yet, but the park was still very pretty.  I spent the first full day exploring the park proper, which has a 25 mile one way loop running through it.  Being right on the edge of the Atlantic in the middle of a very green forest added for some amazing scenery.  I was surprised by how different the Atlantic Ocean is; it doesn't have the big waves or salty smell that you get on the West Coast.  Although, the Maine coastline islands offered some really cool ocean views.

I also took a day to head out to Quoddy Head State Park to see the Eastern-most point in the continental US.  There was a lighthouse there (red and white like out of a story), and it was surreal to realize how far I had come in the last few months.  Then, I turned around and headed back.  From here on out, everyday I get a little closer to home.  This trip has been amazing and I am really looking forward to the second half, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit tired.

Quoddy Head Lighthouse and the edge of the US

Right now, I'm exploring some of the historical sites in Pennsylvania, like Independence Hall and Gettysburg, before heading down to Shenandoah National Park in Virginia to start off a stretch of 3 parks in a row (Shenandoah, Congaree, and Great Smoky Mountains).  Then, I turn West.