What a refreshing day yesterday was! We're nearing the end of our trip (I can't believe how the time has flown) and understandably, some of the natives are starting to get restless. Yesterday however was a terrific day. Everyone was in good spirits. Thanks to Nick, we planned to have Christmas in July and it turned out to be a tremendous success. The first thing upon arriving to Chino Valley, Arizona, we went to a thrift store. There we managed to find a Christmas tree, candles to set the table, a Santa suit, and several Christmas sweaters. All three of the girls picked out dresses to wear as well. The best part was that the owner was generous enough to let us borrow all of these things! Dinner was perfect. Mark and Mike cooked a delicious meal which was served on the church's flatware, complemented by warm apple cider. We opened our gifts one at a time and it seemed that for everyone we were either laughing or cheering. I was so happy to have Jon as my Secret Santa. On one of the particularly challenging rides, he was describing to me some of his favorite children's books to keep my mind off of the intensity. For Christmas, he gave me a few of the classics to start my own collection including the Tale of Peter Rabbit, Curious George Rides a Bike, and Love you Forever. He also gave me several pieces of fruit to enjoy presently. It was perfect.
Aside from the excitement of Christmas, so many outdoor adventures have been happening. Sandy, Jon, Nick, and I swam across Lake Powell (a dammed portion of the Colorado River) and jumped off of the cliff on the other side. We also climbed up Angel's Landing in Mt. Zion, visited the Holoo formations in Bryce Canyon, and travelled to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. All of the national parks are tremendous. Even after riding everyday, we still manage to wake up early and muster up the energy for a hike. When we first got to the Grand Canyon, I will have to admit I wasn't very impressed. Through Utah we passed so many amazing formations, it was a little anti-climactic. SeHee, Nick, and I, while riding to the campsite though, decided to pull over and see what the other parts of the Canyon looked like. Boy was it worth it. We climbed up under the pine trees to what we thought was the highest cliff and to our surprise found two even higher cliffs. The drop straight down never ceases to make your belly drop. You could see so far around you, a little of the river in the distance, the entire cliff capped with forest, and beautiful mesas jutting out against the sky. Every time the caboose decides to stop and explore I never regret it. There's no rush to get to our destination, we have all day (except in this crazy Arizona heat).
Well, the oven did not work yesterday, so I think I'm going to head over to the church and put the flour and sugar I bought to good use. Hooray for making day-after-christmas cookies!
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
I am hopeful...
So far today is our second day through the Rockies and we're still going strong! It really is incredible to finally be in the mountains. I can't imagine what the pioneers felt when they first saw the great shadows in the distance.
Yesterday was our rest day in Westcliffe, Colorado. It was perfect. I woke up with the Sangre de Cristo Mountains painting the horizon and cool, crisp mountain air blowing over my face. Sandy and I took a walk to Main Street where we had a delicious breakfast at the Sugar and Spice Mountain Bakery. The store fronts along Main Street had so much character, some with a north-woods feel and others with more of a wild-west feel. My absolute favorite place was the Courtyard Bed and Breakfast. It had a wonderful garden hidden in the back. The leaves of the Birch trees were twinkling in the wind, a calico was taking a sun-bath on a bench, and Frank Sinatra was playing in the background.
As far as riding goes, I cannot believe how quickly the landscapes change. No one had any idea that Missouri could be so beautiful. I haven't decided yet whether I'm a part of the "caboose" because of my pace or because we always manage to find some way to enjoy our ride. I like to tell myself it's the latter. Missouri in particular was quite adventuresome. Nick, Jon, Sandra, and I climbed way up a spindly little look-out tower, looked over a quarry filled with crystal blue water, and stopped and fed some horses grass, all in one day. That was one part of Missouri that I really enjoyed, all of the rolling pastures, especially when I would spot a mare and foal grazing.
Next up after Missouri was Kansas. We had a little variety going up and down the Flint Hills, but after that 96 went on and on, straight and flat for three days. The only way you could tell we were making any sort of progress was by watching the grain elevators slowly approaching in the distance. I'd always pictured Kansas as being a dry and barren-looking state but I really enjoyed seeing the splashes of yellow wildflowers across the fields. There also was a beautiful contrast between the bright green grass and the golden-yellow wheat fields. I'll have to admit though, I really did not like the huge combines. I'm not sure what scared me more, the great immensity of the machines or the fact that farming in America happens on such a great scale these days.
All-in-all, I know now that I can make it and am ready to conquer even the highest mountain!
Yesterday was our rest day in Westcliffe, Colorado. It was perfect. I woke up with the Sangre de Cristo Mountains painting the horizon and cool, crisp mountain air blowing over my face. Sandy and I took a walk to Main Street where we had a delicious breakfast at the Sugar and Spice Mountain Bakery. The store fronts along Main Street had so much character, some with a north-woods feel and others with more of a wild-west feel. My absolute favorite place was the Courtyard Bed and Breakfast. It had a wonderful garden hidden in the back. The leaves of the Birch trees were twinkling in the wind, a calico was taking a sun-bath on a bench, and Frank Sinatra was playing in the background.
As far as riding goes, I cannot believe how quickly the landscapes change. No one had any idea that Missouri could be so beautiful. I haven't decided yet whether I'm a part of the "caboose" because of my pace or because we always manage to find some way to enjoy our ride. I like to tell myself it's the latter. Missouri in particular was quite adventuresome. Nick, Jon, Sandra, and I climbed way up a spindly little look-out tower, looked over a quarry filled with crystal blue water, and stopped and fed some horses grass, all in one day. That was one part of Missouri that I really enjoyed, all of the rolling pastures, especially when I would spot a mare and foal grazing.
Next up after Missouri was Kansas. We had a little variety going up and down the Flint Hills, but after that 96 went on and on, straight and flat for three days. The only way you could tell we were making any sort of progress was by watching the grain elevators slowly approaching in the distance. I'd always pictured Kansas as being a dry and barren-looking state but I really enjoyed seeing the splashes of yellow wildflowers across the fields. There also was a beautiful contrast between the bright green grass and the golden-yellow wheat fields. I'll have to admit though, I really did not like the huge combines. I'm not sure what scared me more, the great immensity of the machines or the fact that farming in America happens on such a great scale these days.
All-in-all, I know now that I can make it and am ready to conquer even the highest mountain!
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Across the Mississippi
Good Morning! It's 5:30 am and I'm writing from the top of a hill in Eminence, Missouri. All of my bags are packed, my water bottles filled, and the directions are written down! I've been pretty good about keeping my journal updated, but this is the first online entry I'm doing. Gosh, I'm not even quite sure where I want to start...
First and foremost I would like to say hello to my beautiful aunt, especially because I know she checks the blogs all of the time and I miss her!
Recently my grandfather passed away. The team was just south of Chicago though, so I only had to hop on a train to get home. Nick's sister was graduating too, so not only was it easy to get home, I also had good company on the train ride back! Aside from the reason I had to go home, I actually enjoyed myself quite thoroughly. My aunt, my uncle, and my mom and I got to spend some good time together looking at old pictures and I got to catch up on sleep. The nap that I was planning on taking at 6:30 pm ended up lasting until 6 am.
Being with my family for a week though, kind of gave me a new perspective. I don't think that the team realizes what a great job we are doing working with each other. We are constantly eating, sleeping, and riding together and somehow manage to still enjoy each other's company!
On my first day back, the very first thing we did was cross the Mississippi River! It was an amazing feeling to be back on my bike and an amazing way to start my second leg of the trip. Missouri is a bit more topographical than we thought though and no exercize for a week and lots of hills didn't really agree with one another. My left knee wasn't very happy and with only ten miles left to go, I jumped up and down on my right foot until a lady pulled over was kind enough to drive me the rest of the way. The next day (yesterday) I drove the car, and today I'm going to let optimism overule riding in the car again. Well, it's time for breakfast and another wonderful day!
First and foremost I would like to say hello to my beautiful aunt, especially because I know she checks the blogs all of the time and I miss her!
Recently my grandfather passed away. The team was just south of Chicago though, so I only had to hop on a train to get home. Nick's sister was graduating too, so not only was it easy to get home, I also had good company on the train ride back! Aside from the reason I had to go home, I actually enjoyed myself quite thoroughly. My aunt, my uncle, and my mom and I got to spend some good time together looking at old pictures and I got to catch up on sleep. The nap that I was planning on taking at 6:30 pm ended up lasting until 6 am.
Being with my family for a week though, kind of gave me a new perspective. I don't think that the team realizes what a great job we are doing working with each other. We are constantly eating, sleeping, and riding together and somehow manage to still enjoy each other's company!
On my first day back, the very first thing we did was cross the Mississippi River! It was an amazing feeling to be back on my bike and an amazing way to start my second leg of the trip. Missouri is a bit more topographical than we thought though and no exercize for a week and lots of hills didn't really agree with one another. My left knee wasn't very happy and with only ten miles left to go, I jumped up and down on my right foot until a lady pulled over was kind enough to drive me the rest of the way. The next day (yesterday) I drove the car, and today I'm going to let optimism overule riding in the car again. Well, it's time for breakfast and another wonderful day!
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