'When the wind had wings"

A broken song beneath the snow,

the echo of a soaring joy,

a shape in the mist,

a touch in the rain,

in wilderness you came again…

you tell us what we used to know…

you speak for all the free things whose ways

were ours when the wind had wings.

'Wind the wind had wings' Bev Doolittle.

Final trip in numbers….

So here we are, last early morning call to fly back home.

•   travelled 10993 miles, (17590 km)

•   northern most point of the road trip, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, 47 degrees 41’ N

•   southern most point of the road trip, Salton Sea, California, 33 degrees 31’ N

•   been in 10 US states – California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, New York

•   explored 13 National Parks - Joshua Tree, Grand Canyon, Death Valley, Yosemite, Golden Gate Alcatraz, Lassen Volcanic, Redwoods, Lava Beds, Crater Lake, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, Bryce Canyon, Zion

•   visited 8 State Parks - Big Sur, Salton Sea, San Jacinto Mountain, Hearst Castle, Red Rock, Red Rock Canyon, Humboldt Redwoods, Valley of Fire

•   National Forests; 7 Sequoia, Sierra, Tahoe, Lassen, Fremont Winema. Mt Hood, Gallatin

•   slept in 24 beds; 7 hotels/inns, 8 motels and 8 timeshare units, 1 private home (make it 30 with Bahamas)

•   Shawni and Craig joined us for nights 10 nights

•   ate Ben & Jerry ice-cream, 13, Cherry Garcia; Chunky Monkey; Triple Caramel Chunk; New York Super Fudge Chunk; Americone Dream; Cheesecake Brownie; Everything but the….; Coffee. Coffee Buzz Buzz!; FroYo, Half Baked; Pistachio, Pistachio; That’s my Jam, Core; Red Velvet Cake; Scotchy Scotch Scotch

•   added 55 birds to my US bird list which is now 219 and my world list is 1502, top bird Roadrunner

•   popped into 5 museums, Palm Springs Art, Cable Car (SF), De Young (SF), Maritime Museum (Lake Tahoe), Latimer Quilt and Textile

•   farmers markets, 3; Oakhurst, Ferry Building (SF), Portland

•   decaprio 4 movie catch-up, Aviator, Gatsby, Departed, J Edgar

•   Oscar 6 movie catch-up, Dallas Buyers Club; Nebraska; August: Osage County; Zero Dark Thirty; Charlie Wilson’s War; Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

•   relished organic extra virgin olive oil, 3 farms 

•   walked 222 miles; beaches, mountain trails, coastal meadow, high altitude lakes, golf courses, climbing red rocks, national park trails, canyon rim, canyon trails, valley trail, river trail, desert paths, Las Vegas Strip, mountain hikes, many city blocks, Central Park

•   walking on schedule, no ways we were not going to meet this goal, so walked 12 miles in New York to ‘beat’ the car (for each 50 miles driven we want to walk 1 mile)

•   longest hike 10 miles on Four Mile Trail, Yosemite with 3200’ climb on steep switchbacks

•   took a bike, cycled along the Truckee River for 16 miles, (26 km)

•   canoed 9 miles along the Upper Klamath Canoe Trail

•   rode a horse on a high altitude trail, Big Sky, Montana, for 4 miles

•   watched 7 episodes of Game of Thrones, season 4

•   lowest driving elevation, 214’ below sea-level at Furnace Creek Golf Course, Death Valley

•   highest driving elevation, 9945’ Tioga Pass, Tioga Road, Yosemite

•   got cold at the lowest temperature below 40 degrees F in Tehachapi (3 degrees C)

•   was hot at the highest temperature of 115 degrees F while walking in Death Valley (46 degrees C). Car registered 125 degrees F at one point – over 50 degrees C

•   wine tasting, 2 at Tablas Winery, Paso Robles and Souza Family Vineyard

•   modes of transport, 14, helicopter over the Grand Canyon, ferry to Alcatraz, cable car, bus, metro, streetcar, bicycle, paddle boat on Tahoe, canoe, Big Pink Trolley in Portland, ski-lift at Timberline, Mt Hood, horse, taxi, subway

•   shows/events, 6, in Las Vegas, O Cirque du Soleil; in San Francisco, Beach Blanket Babylon, SF Giants baseball in San Francisco; in Reno Extreme Bull Riding, in Reno, Rodeo; in New York, Kinky Boots

…what a trip...

A sweltering, humid NYC, but still fun to be walking familiar and unfamiliar places.

Walking Central Park to 'beat' the car. 

New York: Brooklyn Bridge

CNN was covering a story about New Yorkers waking up today to a white flag flying from Brooklyn Bridge.
Outcry about lack of security.

By the time we got to the bridge today all was back to normal though.

1 WTC changing the skyline, looking dramatic from Brooklyn Bridge.

New York: roof garden at The Pod Hotel

Day started with reading birthday messages, coffee and pastries and the rooftop garden at The Pod, a respite from the busyness of the streets below.

Could not be more different from the weeks and months we have spent in nature but New York has an energy that could be addictive.

man-made hoodoos indeed.

Foodie Interlude: Dean & Deluca, Soho

No better way to celebrate on this steamy summer day, a visit to my favorite foodie store in NYC - Dean & Deluca. Bought sushi, caesar salad, baguette and stood at the window counter - watching the frenetic to and fro along Broadway. Would have loved to fill a basket with treats but flying tomorrow.

New York: 9/11 Memorial

I was moved to tears, the 9/11 memorial reflecting pools are magnificent.

1 WTC - changing the skyline

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from 9/11 Memorial website:

"The Memorial’s twin reflecting pools are each nearly an acre in size and feature the largest manmade waterfalls in the North America. The pools sit within the footprints where the Twin Towers once stood. Architect Michael Arad and landscape architect Peter Walker created the Memorial design.

The names of every person who died in the 2001 and 1993 attacks are inscribed into bronze panels edging the Memorial pools, a powerful reminder of the largest loss of life resulting from a foreign attack on American soil and the greatest single loss of rescue personnel in American history."

New York: High Line

Craig recommended a walk along High Line.  Its a trendy urban renewal project that has taken a former elevated railroad spur and turned it into a mile long aerial greenway along the lower west side of Manhattan.  A fresh perspective for me on NYC.

Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada

Switching from Mountain Time to Pacific Time we gained an hour and decided to say farewell to state parks by driving through the Valley of Fire in Nevada.

Such an appropriate name for the park, it was over 100 degrees, arid, with a ribbon of red rock that looks scorched by fire which dominates the landscape.

Intermingled with the deep red rock are strata of paler colors. All twisted and formed into strange layers and forms.

Another amazing road in an amazing landscape.

Shapes and forms of Valley of Fire

How is this for colorful strata!

White Dome in the Valley of Fire.

Interstate Driving: Monster Trucks

Mostly we avoided the Interstates, preferring the scenic byways.

Today is a highway day as we drive across 4 states to LAX and fly to New York this evening.

Interstate equals 16 litre engine, monster truck watching; they are awesome, fierce, arty, colorful, shiny, spotless, loaded, fast, expensive...

Zion National Park: final hiking day

Amazing trail to Lower and Upper Emerald Pools, cut into the overhanging rock.

I noticed how different I was feeling setting out to walk some of the many Zion trails, fragile rather than vital, it can only be about managing the end of this epic four month trip and thinking about re-entry.

Even though the walks were not tough nor was the altitude or elevation changes more than I can deal with, but my chest was tight.

Shew, heart both heavy and light if that is possible.

Canyon view from our trail

Beauty of a tree. New birds seen at Weeping Rock - Canyon Wren and Townsend's Solitaire.

Narrow valley floor with the steep cliffs make for great walks.

The Virgin River, looking innocent at this time of year.

Ice-creams on the lawn at the end of the day….

Zion National Park: hommage to the power of water

Our final park, number 13, Zion National Park here in Utah.

It is a large park, however the main action happens down the canyon, carved by the Virgin River, where the steep cliffs and the fast flowing river form a narrow, very scenic, canyon.

Power of water and time is yet again a wonder.

The park runs a free Canyon Shuttle to all the spots along the canyon drive and one hops on and off during the day.

Its  Sunday 20th, its July and the crowds are almost overwhelming and it took a lot to quietly cope with all the frenetic activity.

Strategy: look up and cliff watch….

Foodie Interlude: Springdale blogging

Motel sleeping can be tough - noisy air cons, road noise.

But the early morning light gets me going, as does finding the best spot in town for breakfast, coffee, and some quiet time to blog.

Time to plan and get on the road, Zion calls.

Such a great stop here in Springdale at the southern gate to Zion National Park.

Bryce Canyon National Park: Wildlife

Utah Prairie Dog

I reached a birding milestone in the park - 1500 on my life list and the bird was a Pygmy Nuthatch!

We watched the antics of the threatened Utah Prairie Dog and the minute Uinta Chipmunks, also called the hidden forest chipmunk, what a great visit, another trip highlight.

We now move on to Zion National Park.

Littlest of the chipmunks we have seen - Uinta Chipmunk.

Bryce Canyon National Park: holes and arches

The detail in the landscape is quite beautiful and demands you pay attention and notice.

Arches, bridges, grottoes, holes...

Man-made but as impressive, arch on the trail.

Bryce Canyon National Park: amazing Limber Pines

Clinging on for life has a new meaning when looking at the Limber Pines of Bryce Canyon.

They are a photographic delight.

Fred's exquisite photo with his zoom of a tree at the top of a hoodoo - incredible.

As always, in love with trees.

Huge in their quest for light in the dark of canyon walls.