Manzanar

Nestled in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, is what remains of a Japanese relocation camp called Manzanar. In 1942, 10,000 Japanese, some of them U.S. citizens, were moved to this camp. They were moved there because we were at war with the Japanese. They left everything but one bag behind. Whole families were moved to this area during World War II. In 1992 President Reagan made an apology to the survivors and each survivor was given $20,000. He said it was a mistake. It was sad to look at the displays at this National Historic Site. The building is the auditorium where the interned could gather for special events. I am now reading Return to Manzanar which was written by a woman who lived in the camp.

Church

Sunday is still a church day for us. Yesterday we went to Galilee Baptist Church here in Williams. Ten churches can be found in this town of 3,000. The pastor preached on materialism. (We were surprised that there was no mention of Michael Jackson!) In these small towns the churches are small. What we have noticed is that the Mormon church buildings are very nice. They are made out of brick and the landscaping is beautiful. Today we head out to California. We loved our week here at the entrance to the Grand Canyon.

Grand Canyon-South Rim

Hiking down from the rim of the canyon to the Colorado River takes two days in the Grand Canyon. Some people ride burros down and up. If you hike, you need to follow the switchbacks on the trail because it is so steep. From the rim to the river is a one mile drop! When you get to the bottom you can camp or stay at the Phantom Ranch. You need to plan about a year in advance to get your hiking permit or reservations. Planning is important because people have died attempting to hike to the bottom. We only hiked 1 hour down and then it took us 2 hours to hike back out. The book Brighty of the Grand Canyon by Marguerite Henry tells the real story of a burro who worked in the canyon.

Sweater Weather

Tonight we are going to play UNO and we are comfy in our sweaters. The temperature is 69 degrees with low humidity. At night we sleep under the covers because it gets down to 50. We have been checking the weather in Minnesota-hot and humid! We are glad to be here. The IMAX theater is near the entrance to the Grand Canyon so we motorcycled up and saw the movie. It is called the Grand Canyon and it was exciting! It reminded us of when we rafted down the Colorado a number of years ago. Tomorrow we will leave early and spend the whole day at the South Rim.

Flagstaff, Arizona

There have been fires north of Flagstaff and it has made for spectacular sunsets! Today we visited Flagstaff which is a city a bit smaller than St. Cloud. It is similar to St. Cloud because it has a university there-Northern Arizona University. It was most interesting to tour the Riordan Mansion that was built in 1904. The house is a state historic park and is an "Arts & Crafts" style mansion. We also visited "America's Mountain Garden" which is also known as the Arboretum at Flagstaff . Our day ended with a dinner at the old Weatherford Hotel located in the downtown historic district.

Williams, Arizona

After our trip here on Sunday, we needed to rest on Monday! Al did go out on Monday and buy 4 new tires for the trailer. Today we hiked to the top of Bill Williams Mountain. It was the most strenuous hike so far. It was 7 miles long and we gained 2,200 feet in elevation in getting to the top. We met these 4 guys from the Forest Service who were clearing logs from the trail. Someday maybe you can come out west and work on the mountain trails!

Glen Canyon Dam

Sunday was a long travel day. It was windy which makes it hard to pull the trailer. We also came upon an accident. The police were there and flew in a helicopter to assist people. When we got to the campsite, we noticed that one of the trailer tires was bald. We are so thankful that it did not go flat while driving across the desert! We did have a good lunch at the dam. This facility dams up the Colorado River and makes a wonderful reservoir called Lake Powell.

Back to Zion

Watch out for the flashflood! You are warned about this whenever you hike in a canyon. Today it was raining as we hiked so you are cautioned to look for high land if you hear a sound like a train coming through. Luckily, there was no flood. We did see evidence that earlier there had been a flood with all the debris along the hike. Tomorrow we leave this area and will go to Arizona and the south rim of the Grand Canyon.

Motorcycling in the Staircase

225 miles of cycling today! We went to the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. No hiking just biking. The visitor center at Escalante is the best. There is a good 20 minute film about the area and very good displays. Did you know that there are 648 species of bees in this area? I also learned about cryptobiotic soils! The area is used to do research for the University of Utah. A good day to learn.

#4 National Park-Zion

Have you taken a bus lately? We have two times in the national parks. It is becoming a trend and don't be surprised if in the future you will not be able to drive in the busy national parks. It was crazy busy at Zion today. We could not find a parking spot in the park so we had to leave the park and park in a neighboring city. We then took the bus shuttle into the park. You can only go to the visitor center and the only way to get north of there is to take the bus! We do like the idea. The bus driver told us jokes so it made it fun. Hiking was busy too. We climbed to the Emerald Pool along with about 100 other people. It is an awesome park even though busy!

# 3 National Park-Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon is split in two by the Colorado River. There is the North Rim and the South Rim. Both areas are distinct from each other. The North has more moisture and has pine trees. That is where we were today. Pictures can not really show what it is like. Again we had storms and rain. Lightening is a killer here and you don't want to be on the rim when it storms. We had to cut our hike on the Widforss Trail short. (Widforss was an artist who painted watercolors of the Grand Canyon in the 1930s). There are 4 1/2 million people who visit the Grand Canyon. 1/2 million visit the North Rim. We will report on the South Rim soon.

#2 National Park-Bryce Canyon in Utah

Ever heard of a hoodoo? After today we have! Hoodoo-a pillar of rock,usually of fantastic shape, left by erosion. The photo does not do the hoodoos justice! We hiked along the top rim and it made me dizzy to look down. There are many signs to warn about the cliffs. I am so glad I wasn't here on a field trip with 23 kids! I bought a new book today called Mormon Country by Wallace Stegner. It is about the early pioneers who came and claimed the "land who nobody wanted." Jenna, thanks for being a follower.

Kane County

Southwestern Utah is where we find ourselves. This is Kane County and we will be here for a week. There are many national parks, monuments, state parks and national forests. Glendale is the town where we are staying and there is a lot of traffic through here! Besides the traffic, it is kind of a dead town. The first night we took a walk down the main street and saw the sheriff's car. It looked like someone was sleeping in it. Look for yourself!

Colorado National Monument

What is the difference between a national park and a national monument? I asked a ranger today and he said politics. A president can sign on the line and make a monument but it takes an act of congress to make a national park. In 1911 President Taft made this area into a national monument. We watched rock climbers go to the top of Independence Monument. They had ropes, helmets and safety halters. We were not eager to join them on the top of this cliff!

Heading South

Today was a travel day. We are now in Grand Junction, Colorado. We saw some beautiful country as we traveled south. It is warmer here and we are sitting outside with no bugs. They only get 9 inches of rain per year here. In Minnesota we get over 40 inches per year. It is a cool place though. They have a national monument here not a national park that we will go to tomorrow. It is called the Colorado NationalMonument.

Today we didn't hike to a summit. We followed a white water stream to a waterfall.
After that we went to a small mountain lake surrounded by tall peaks and snow! The weather continues to be chilly and rainy so we will head south to find another national park. Hi Alex, glad you are a follower!

Day 2 Rocky Mountain Nat. Park

#1 National Park, Rocky Mountain

Deer Mountain was conquered by us today! There were great views of beautiful peaks and deep valleys. We gained 1,083 feet as we climbed to the summit at 10,013 feet. It took about 5 hours. What is amazing to us are the elk. They are everywhere and seem tame. Right now there are 7 of them 100 feet away from our trailer!

Estes Park

We are finally in the mountains which we love! Estes Park is next to Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. Tomorrow we will go into the park and explore. Today we biked 3.5 miles around Estes Lake which is in the middle of town. The weather is not the best-a little rain and chilly. Once in a while the sun wil peak out. We have rain gear so we will hike rain or shine!

When you travel across Nebraska you take interstate 80. Near Kearney you come under the Great Platte River Road Archway. Make sure you stop because it is a great museum. This route by the Platte River has been used for years. Indians, frontiersmen, pioneers and now me! I like to read books about an area when I am traveling. I am reading My Antonia by Willa Cather. The book was written in 1918 and it is about growing up on the prairie in Nebraska.

Go west young man

June 7

Hello, we left from Minnesota this morning at 10:00. This is a picture of the truck and the trailer. The trailer is 34 feet long and altogether with the truck it is 54 feet long. Take out a map and see if you can find Lincoln, Nebraska where we are tonight. Today we traveled 432 miles. It was rainy and cold when we started and it is sunny and hot now 80 degrees)! Our total trip will be about 5,000 miles when we are done.

Holdingford 3rd grade Ms.Nowachek's Class

Holdingford 3rd grade Ms.Nowachek's Class