The End of the Road?

The next day was also pretty much just a driving day as we headed toward our next destination: Bryce Canyon National Park. Since we arrived at our campground at dinnertime, we decided to wait until the next day to see the Park. We began that day with a promised finally fulfilled. Since the beginning of the trip, all Maria wanted to do was go horseback riding. Since we hadn't done it yet (and since the stables we found near Bryce were very reasonably priced), we all went for a half hour ride. Horseback riding? Check.
As all of the national parks have been, Bryce Canyon was just spectacular. Incredible hoodoos (tall, thin rock formations), arches and cliffs, all in vivid reds and oranges. We spent the day driving around and enjoying the views from the various lookouts. OK, let's be honest. Vicky and I enjoyed driving around and enjoying the views from the various lookouts. The kids enjoyed the first one and whined and complained the rest of the day. Since it was our 16th wedding anniversary, we weren't about to let them spoil the day. We just bored them all the more with "Sixteen years ago today, I was heading for the church. Sixteen years ago right now, we were taking pictures." Etc, etc. Between their boredom with the stops at viewpoints and their boredom with the "Sixteen years ago..." stories, I'm sure they were tempted to jump off the last few viewpoints.
We wanted to enjoy a special dinner to celebrate, but the remote road that connects Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks didn't offer many options. When we saw the "Buffalo Bistro" we were intrigued and stopped. It turns out there was much to be intrigued by. The menu included items like rattlesnake sausage and rocky mountain oysters. Vicky and I split the ribs while the kids split a steak. What she didn't know when she ordered them was that the ribs were either buffalo or boar. Though she couldn't get herself to try the buffalo, I found both very tasty.
We left there, planning on making a quick drive through Zion so we could get to Arizona a little earlier and get on with the business of figuring out where we're moving to next month. We got within a few miles of Zion and found out that construction on a tunnel meant our trailer couldn't make it. We were OK with that since we were only going to see it on a drive-through. It was then that the GPS sinned for the second straight day. I hit the detour button and stupidly followed its directions onto Sand Canyon Road. It looked like a shorter trip than following the highway detour and since the sun was already setting, a short cut sounded good. And for the first 20 miles of the 28 mile trip it was good. But when Sand Canyon Road hit the Arizona State Line, I had a bone to pick with the Arizona Department of Transportation. Right next to the sign that read "Arizona State Line" was another, very unwelcoming sign: "Pavement Ends Here." There it was, just a day's drive from the end our our trip. Literally, it was the end of the road. Not wanting to backtrack 20 miles, we kept going, bumping and shaking our way for the next 8. It reminded all of us of the road to the orphanage in Mexico, complete with fence posts made out of tree branches. After about 45 bumpy minutes, a quick refuel stop and a few hours on I-15, we made it to about an hour north of Las Vegas.
The next day, the last day of our three month journey was going to be just another day of driving, getting us from southern Nevada to southern Arizona. When I saw that our route took us within a few miles of Hoover Dam, I thought it'd be nice to stop and see something interesting. But after waiting for a half hour in traffic due to construction near the dam and not getting much closer to it, we decided it wasn't worth it. Turning south we made our way to Yuma by about 9:00. 85 days, 3038 miles, six states, two countries, but countless memories.
We intended the trip to be much more than a journey of distance, and I can say it certainly has been. Though every day brought the difficulties of the five of us living in about 80 square feet of space and the three kids sharing one row in the car, it also brought us much happiness. No, the road doesn't end here. Just a very special chapter of our story. A story that now includes memories of some of the most beautiful places on the planet, and most especially many new and renewed friendships.
So the journey continues. At this moment, we don't know where life will lead us next, but then again we left on this trip with nothing but a vague notion of where we'd go. The trip taught each of us, and all of us together, many things. One of the most valuable for me has been learning once again that in life you never really know where you're headed, even if you think you do. And while that might not be a comfortable thought for many of us, I learned once again that one of life's greatest joys is the experience of discovering what each new day will bring. We've enjoyed so many unanticipated joys on this trip that as I look forward to a road that leads to a place we can't yet see, I look forward with more anticipation of what this next leg of the journey will bring.
Because, no, we're not there yet.

Mormon (and Arabic) Hospitality

(Today's blogger: Fr. Michael) After leaving Vicky's aunt and uncle's, we headed south and did something we really haven't done very often in this trip: spent the day driving. Typically, we've done a morning routine of getting ready, breakfast and some school work, driven no more than a few hours and stopped to see someone or something for the day. Which is why it took us 2 1/2 months to go north from Southern California to Vancouver, Canada. The trip south has been a bit different. We drove all day from Clarkston (where we had stayed with Vicky's aunt and uncle near Moscow, Idaho), getting as far as Boise, Idaho at about 9:00 PM. The next morning Vicky went to do laundry while I took the kids to the Idaho Discovery Center, a nice kids' science center, and by mid afternoon we were on the road again.
The completely-direct route would have taken us to Salt Lake City with a VERY long drive, but with a little detour we could break up the trip by visiting Craters of the Moon National Monument. The many lava flows and dormant volcanoes make it a very unusual landscape. We camped there overnight and spent the morning driving around and exploring. The kids most liked exploring some caves made by now-empty lava tubes.
The other benefit of routing the trip through Craters of the Moon was that our trip took us through Pocatello, Idaho, where our friend Fr. Steve Ziton has been serving a parish since last year. And really, when would we ever again be passing anywhere close to Pocatello, Idaho. Not only was it a treat to see him, we very much enjoyed his cooking, complete with hushweh (an Arabic rice and meat dish) and all the trimmings.
After dinner we were on our way again and since we left late we weren't sure how far we got. I was feeling good and the kids were hoping to get some miles past us, so they went to sleep and I kept on driving. We got through Salt Lake City and about an hour south before I started to get tired, so I punched in "RV" into the GPS and followed the direction to what was supposed to be an RV park.
Nope. In spite of the GPS's assurance, "You have arrived," it just wasn't true. No RV park. And no other RV park for another 45 miles. Hmmm. Should we just park there at the spot where the RV park was supposed to be? The neighborhood was already asleep and no one would have known or cared. But then I spotted a church, and we figured we'd enjoy some of their hospitality. I drove to a far end of the parking lot and the kids--though horrified with the thought of us staying in a parking lot--were so tired that they went right to sleep. As we drove out of the parking lot, I noticed a spire on top of the steeple instead of a cross and smiled at the thought of enjoying such gracious Mormon hospitality right there in Utah.

Much more than potatoes

(Today's blogger: Fr. Michael) After leaving the Seattle area, we did something we haven't done since the trip began--headed somewhere besides north. We headed east and got about 3/4 of the way across Washington, crossing the majestic Cascade mountains. We were headed toward Idaho and stopped a few hours away at Moses Lake. We later heard this was considered by some to be the "arm pit" of Washington. Since it was actually a pretty area, you can begin to imagine how beautiful this part of the country is. After overnighting there, we drove through Spokane and arrived in Post Falls where we had planned on visiting and staying with Fr. Nicholas and Malvi Neyman, our "camp parents" from our many years at Camp St. Nicholas in Frazier Park. They had relocated there, along with all of their kids except for Juliana, with whom we visited, and revisited, and revisited in San Jose. It was great to see Joanna, Marianna and Richard and their beautiful families.
Although we only planned on staying a day or two, we enjoyed our time so much that we stayed longer. We were so happy to see them so happy in this beautiful area, with its mountains, lakes and trees everywhere. All I ever knew about Idaho before this visit was potatoes, but I learned what a great secret Idaho's beauty really is. The Neyman family spoiled us with wonderful meals, a visit to the falls of Post Falls, a trip to Cabela's, a huge outdoor activity store, and the kids' favorite, the Kroc Center with its huge aquatic area with water slides and lazy river. We also really enjoyed a great visit with Vicky's nephew Eric, his wife Meg and their beautiful kids. The other highlight was a boat trip on Lake Coeur d' Alene on Uncle Eddy Corey's boat. The kids each got to steer the boat and had a great time.
The other reason we stayed in the area was to serve Liturgy at the mission in Moscow, ID, a few hours south, since they've been without a priest since Easter. We drove down on Saturday and stayed with a family that's part of the mission who were kind enough to host us. Liturgy was beautiful, and it was great to see Jed Bartlett, his wife Tatiana, and his their newborn son, Tristan. We had met Jed during some of his visits to the orphanage in Mexico.
While in the area, we stayed with Vicky's Uncle Don and Aunt Edith who lived about a half hour south of Moscow, in Clarkston, WA. Clarkston, WA is just across the river from Lewiston, ID (can you guess which intrepid explorers passed through the area on their way to find a passage from Missouri to the Pacific?). They were wonderful hosts, even though Aunt Edith was getting ready for back surgery. Thankfully, the surgery went well and Vicky was able to see her in the hospital before we headed in yet another new direction, south!

The Biggest Building in the World!

On Saturday we went into Everett, WA. My cousin Jared and his wife Sarah live with his brother Jon. When we got to their house we met Conner, our first cousin once-removed. Mom said he looks just like his dad when he was a baby. I said he was the cutest baby ever.
On Sunday we went to church at St. Thomas Church in Snohomish, WA, close to Everett. After church we had lunch in the parking lot. It was a small church and they eat out there for their coffee hour. I played with my new friend Ephraimia, the PK (priest's kid).
After lunch we dropped Dad and Joshua off at the Boeing airplane factory for a tour. It is the biggest building in the world. Then the rest of us went to the laundromat. While the clothes were in the washing machine, we headed over to Fred Meyer's. We shopped for a bit, picked up the clothes and picked up the boys.
Since we don't have many pictures of this part of the trip, I'll show you what life is like in the car, including our view of the GPS from the back seat.

Seattle

(Today's blogger: Joshua) The day we arrived at Seattle it was already 5:00 in the afternoon, so we just walked around. The place we walked around was called Pioneer Square, the old part of Seattle. We ate at Mediterranean Mix.
The next day we went to Pike Place Market for breakfast. We ate at a place called Lowell's, which was right on the water. Then we went to the first Starbucks. Then we went to the Space Needle. It was super tall! I could even see our trailer from there a few miles away. Later we went to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner. After that we went to the original Nordstrom's.
The next morning we went out for breakfast and drove Sitto to the airport. Everyone said goodbye and she got on her plane. Then we went to this cool science center. They had a ton of cool stuff but a really small planetarium. All in all we had a lot of fun.

Canada

(Today's blogger: Maria) On Saturday, May 29, we got to Seattle and went to the airport to pick up Sitto (that's "Grandma" for all you non-Arab speakers) and drove straight up to Canada. We had been excited for a few weeks once we knew she was flying up to meet us for part of our trip. Once we got into Canada, we went straight to Fr. Michael and Bonnie Gillis' house in Langley, British Columbia. We had met Fr. Michael when he came to Mexico and Bonnie is the person who illustrates all the books we have written by Mother Melania, who we got to see last month. We stayed there overnight and in the morning we went to their church. At church we saw Nick and Kristy Duran, who are friends of ours that used to live near us in Mexico and came to church there. They moved out of Mexico a little before we did. After church, we went to the ferry that would take us to Vancouver Island. We parked the car on the lower level of the ferry and walked up to the upper levels. It's like a mini cruise complete with great views of the ocean and all the islands we passed.
When we got to Vancouver Island we checked into our hotel in the town of Victoria. The next morning we went to the Parliament building (Victoria is the capital of British Columbia). We hooked up with a tour and after that we sat in on the afternoon question session. That's where these adults who are supposed to be leaders get up and argue.
The next day we went to the famous Butchart Gardens. It was really pretty so you can't blame us for taking 200 pictures. At the gift shop we bought some seeds to plant in our new house (no, we don't know where that will be yet).
The next day we picked up and left Vancouver Island on the ferry and spent the rest of the day in the city of Vancouver with Kristy Duran. We walked around and saw Gastown and the big torch stand from the Winter Olympics. We spent the night at the Gillis' again and the next day headed back to Seattle and the U.S.

Mt. Saint Helens

(Today's blogger: Fr. Michael) We left Portland and headed north. While I'm sure Washington has many things to see, there was only one place I knew of: Mt. Saint Helens. I remember when it erupted back when I was in high school. Coincidentally, we were visiting one week after the 30th anniversary of the eruption. Unfortunately, the weather was so rainy that even if we drove the 40 curvy miles from I-5 to a viewpoint 4 miles from the base of the mountain, we wouldn't have been able to see it. So we just spent some time at the visitor center 5 miles from the highway. It was interesting to talk to one of the staff who told me her memories of the eruption. She was five years old and couldn't understand why her mom wouldn't let her out to play in the "snow." It was actually a foot deep layer of volcanic ash.
Besides having nothing to take pictures of, our camera had been dropped a few days before and was no longer working. So instead of pictures, you can enjoy a little video clip of our time in the visitor center.

Portland bound...

(Today's blogger: Vicky) Our next leg was not very far at all. We drove up to Portland, which was only about an hour from Albany. In Portland we stayed with some old friends, Fr. Alban and his wife Krista and their two girls. We got to enjoy pizza and movie night with them after we had walked over to their church to see the new iconography in their church. The next day we left their home to travel over to the OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry) We all had a great time there. They had a traveling exhibit on Space which was great and we enjoyed all the hands on exhibits there. We also saw the Imax movie, "Hubble" (well, they saw it, I "rested my eyes" for a lot of it) which was incredible to see and the kids enjoyed it a lot.

An unexpectedly extended stay....

(Today's blogger: Vicky) So, on Wed. May 19th, we pull up to Fr. Stephen and Mona Soot's home in Albany, OR. Elena had requested to visit them because she had made friends with two of their girls last summer at Camp St. Nick's. We originally had planned to stay with them for two nights before continuing north. As we first got there, one of the first things Mona said was that we were welcome to stay as long as we wanted. In fact, she says, "why don't you stay and celebrate Pentecost with us?" We all kind of laughed because we all thought we were going to move on before then. Well, God had other plans for us. Michael took our car into local mechanic because he heard a funny noise in the engine. Thankfully he did at that time because the transmission was in terrible condition and needed to be rebuilt. I say thankfully that he took it in at that time, because if he hadn't the car would be in much worse shape and we could have gotten stranded in some isolated place. Instead we were blessed to be able to stay with the Soots for an extra 5 nights. They were so gracious to open their home so completely to us. The kids all played great together and enjoyed the great selection of books to read at their home. The grownups all enjoyed the talks and lots of laughs that were had with our friends. The kids got to have "sleepover" in their house, which they loved, except the one night Onyx, their adorable black kitten, decided he wanted to pounce on Elena and woke her up in the middle of the night. After that, Onyx was banished from their bedroom at night. The Soots have 7 kids, so I felt right at home with all the "craziness" of so many people around. It was great!! On Sunday we were able to celebrate Pentecost with them. That morning Fr. Stephen was blessed to receive 9 new people into his church through Chrismations and Baptisms.
Fr. Michael was able to catch up on some writing and the kids did a lot of schoolwork. While we were staying with the Soots, we took a couple of day trips. On Friday the 22nd, we drove to Clackamas, which is just outside of Portland to visit with an old school friend, John Wengel and his wife Cindy. John played tour guide and took us around. I had been wanting to go to the museum at the end of the Oregon Trail. So we went there, only to find out that they had closed last summer due to government cutbacks. I was disappointed to find that out. John then took us to Multnomah Falls, which was awesome, but we didn't stay long because it was raining. We then had dinner with the Wengels and we enjoyed catching up and looking back on "the good old days." John was even able to pull out some pictures from high school days. Wow, how we have changed since then...
On Saturday the 23rd, we drove to Salem to visit with Fr. Michael's cousin Linda and her husband Tim. It was great to spend the afternoon with them and their grandkids. On Tuesday, 25th, we drove up to Silver Lake State Park and explored there for the afternoon. We were so lucky, it rained on the way up and when we first got there, and on the way home. But for the actual time we hiked, there was no rain. The waterfalls there were beautiful. But I have to admit the kids complained a lot about it being too far to hike. So Fr. Michael and I told them maybe we shouldn't visit any more amusement parks then, because "it's too far to walk." That same day we got our car back. We spent one last enjoyable night with the Soots and then took off on Wednesday for our next leg of the trip.

Crater Lake

(Today's blogger: Fr. Michael) We woke up on our first morning in Oregon, unhitched the trailer and drove the truck solo up into the mountains to see Oregon's only national park, Crater Lake. I knew it'd still be cold, so we all brought heavy jackets. I didn't read the "current status" on the park's website close enough to see that there was about between 5 and 15 feet of snow on the ground still. Oh, no, not inches. Feet. Right.
So we weren't prepared for snowball fights but that didn't stop us from having a few, although with really cold hands. Most of the roads around the park were closed due to the snow, but we were able to enjoy the visitor center and Elena was able to do her Junior Ranger activities. We drove the one mile of the rim road circling the lake and enjoyed the beautiful views. Crater Lake was once a mountain that exploded a la Mount St. Helens and eventually filled in. The water is crystal clear and deep, deep blue. I wanted just one more quick view before leaving and pulled the car over to the side of the road. Or what I thought was the side of the road. Turns out I was just parking in snow. Ya....we got stuck. It gave Vicky and the kids the utmost pleasure to see me explaining our predicament to the ranger that was sent to pull us out. Hey, anything to bring joy to my family, right?
Once we got pulled out, we drove back to Grant's Pass, following the Rogue River valley. At a few points, the river is funneled through a thin, deep gorge, and at other points it disappears underground into underground lava flow tunnels. We stopped at a few points and enjoyed some short walks along the river just to take in the beauty. We planned to share some of that beauty with you through the pictures we took. That was before one of the kids dropped the camera. OK, she didn't "drop" it. It was more like it fell. Sort of. You get the picture. Well, actually, you don't get the picture. Get it? "Get the picture?" Broken camera? OK, time to end this blog.

Are they STILL in California??

(Today's blogger: Fr. Michael). I imagine that those of you who have followed this journey for a while now have probably whispered to yourself at some point, "They're still in California?" Seeing that we'd traveled almost two months and still hadn't managed to leave the state where we began the trip from, I was also very surprised that we were still in the Golden State. Like most southern Californians, crossing California is what you do when you go to Vegas or Phoenix, and you count the time it takes in hours (about 4) not months. It is true that we've been in no hurry, but it's also true that California is one darn LONG state. Not so wide, but LONG. I would get so frustrated when we were in the Bay Area and I'd open the Northern California map only to find it didn't include the Bay Area. Really now: what kind of Northern California map doesn't include San Francisco. From my experience up until recently San Francisco WAS northern California. In fact, in my 44 years, I'd never been farther north in California than San Francisco.
Then came this trip. We left San Fran heading north (quite the novelty), only to find there was MUCH more California to go. If you don't believe me, look at a map. All the Southern Californians will be surprised to see that the San Francisco bay is barely more than halfway up the coast. Who'da thunk it!
Anyway, all that long rambling is a prelude to our accomplishment on May 17, when we saw the "Welcome to Oregon" sign. We had left that morning from the Klamath River, heading north on the 101 through Crescent City where we bid farewell to the highway that has brought us on most of the journey up to this point. Heading up Route 199, the momentous event occurred. Cheers went up, some hoots and hollers were heard. And then Vicky went back to sleep and the kids went back to their books and Nintendos (if you think none of us have any alone time on this trip, guess again). Anyway, it was nice to see some tangible proof of the length of our travels. We made it to a campground near Grant's Pass, OR (that's right: no CA in that address!) and enjoyed some Oregon beauty.
Since this was mostly a driving day and not much to take pictures of, I'll put in a few more from the stop at the "Trees of Mystery," including one of Muskini enjoying the sky tram through the trees and another posing besides Paul Bunyan's dog. Muskini is the smaller one.

The Redwoods...and other "mysterious" trees

(Today's blogger: Fr. Michael) We left Eureka on Saturday afternoon, after enjoying the Arcata farmers' market with Josh and Amy (complete with barbecued oysters--yum!), and enjoying an authentic lumberjack meal at the Samoa Cookhouse, an actual mess hall used by loggers for decades and now open to the public. We feasted on pork steaks, mashed potatoes, calico beans, salad and finished it off with peach cobbler. I chugged a few cups of coffee to avoid the food coma that would have been my fate during that afternoon drive and we headed up the coast.
We made it up to our next national park, Redwood. We pulled in just before sunset and after a quick supper, we all went to sleep early.
Sunday morning found us without a nearby church for the second or third time this trip, so we defrosted some Holy Bread we had saved from Pascha night, said some prayers, and read the readings for the day. After that it was a day exploring the beautiful redwood forests. The kids were pretty grossed out by the banana slugs. Our highlight of the day (OK, my highlight--not the kids' so much) was hiking Redwood Creek. For those of you who've been to Disney's California Adventure, that's the creek where you fly right over the rafters. In typical Disney fashion, the ride has a stronger scent of pine trees than the real thing, but it was beautiful nonetheless. So why wasn't it a highlight for the kids? Let's just say they're not much for hiking. They're REALLY good at complaining about hiking--and actually they're really good at hiking--they just don't like doing it very much. And they love to tell us how much they really don't like doing it very much.
After a day of hiking around (and visiting the obligatory Visitor Center to watch the obligatory movie) we headed a bit further north, staying in an RV park right on the shore of the Klamath River. It was one more of those "this is too beautiful to be true" places, and we felt very blessed to be able to enjoy it.
We woke up the next morning and headed north, not entirely sure where we'd end up. Our first stop was a whole 3 miles up the road from where we camped. It was a classic 1960's/70's tourist trap called "Trees of Mystery." The owners were smart because they must have known that when you're traveling with kids, they're usually so bored that they beg and plead for you to take them to any place that looks like it was made for kids to enjoy, even if the name is "Trees of Mystery." Fortunately, this one had been updated with a sky tram through the redwoods, and that made the stop worth it for everyone. The dozen or so carved scenes from the story of Paul Bunyan might not have done the trick if that was all that was there. My accomplishment of the day was getting out of "One of Northern California's Largest Gift Shops" without having to pay for a bag of rocks or a cheesy snowglobe. After being mystified (not so much) by the Trees of Mystery, we headed north and then did something we hadn't done since we began the trip. Which you can read about in my next post!