Thread by @mjisbell, Thread: (Part 1) Got home last Sunday from a last minute family [...]

Thread: (Part 1) Got home last Sunday from a last minute family road trip. Thought I would share some of the adventure by way of thread. If you want the short version it is this:

We almost spent the night in a Breaking Bad RV, nearly got blown away by wind in our tent in Death Valley, and discovered the source of Arkansas mosquitos on a frozen byway along the continental divide. Some of that is hyperbole. If you want the longer version, keep reading:

Spring Break happened to coincide with my 40th birthday. We also finally got a Covid shot and too much rain at the farm to do any field work, so the stars were aligned to hit the road for a bit.

We headed #west:

We would eventually make our way through 5 national parks, but I think the kids were most impressed with the two-story #target in #Albuquerque We tend to build out instead of up here in #Arkansas.

Quick stop at #petrifiedforest National park.

One great highlight: I 40 led us straight by Holbrook, Arizona, so we took the opportunity to stop and visit @SakuraiAtsuo at Arizona Sake.

Then on to Meteor crater:

I will forever be impressed at how close that thing hit to the visitor center with no damage at all. #dadjoke

Then on to #Joshuatree National park:

We had intended to tent camp in Joshua Tree, but the weather didn’t cooperate. That is where the real adventure began. We found a stationary RV for rent on a website catering to hipsters. Did I mention it was my 40th birthday?

Viola:

The super cool LED’s almost won us over, but there was no plumbing/toilet, and the walk to the portable toilet accross the wind-swept dessert was further than we wanted to navigate during the night. We had already paid, so we decided to “drive into town and get something to eat.”

2 hours later we found ourselves in another town.

Wasn’t looking for anything swanky, but something with more familiar amenities like a toilet, and maybe even waffles:

Now on to Death Valley National Park:

Time to Tent

camp in Death Valley. What could go wrong?

Plenty. The tent collapsed in high winds,so we decided to get an early morning start.

Next stop, Tatooine. Did you know that some scenes from Star Wars were filmed in Death Valley National Park?

Tatooine:

To be continued..

Okay, time to wrap up this thread from last week: After Joshua Tree and Death Valley, it was time to wash off some sand.

And rest a few sore muscles:

Then on to Arches National Park.

The opening scene of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade where both scout Indy finds the Cross of Coranodo was filmed here:

I climbed to the top. The location is real, but the inside of the cave?

More of Arches:

And Canyonloands

Our #NationalParks really are a national treasure. We hope to visit as many as possible with our kids.

Side note: Road trip bathroom stop? Forget the gas station and pull into the nearest hotel. All of them have a lobby bathroom that is much cleaner than a gas station, and none of them seem to care. I have a name for this. It is not Twitter appropriate.

From Canyonlands, we decided to travel the norther route down I-70 through Denver rather than heading back south to I-40. Between driving a stretch of I-40 most days and traveling to my wife’s family in Oklahoma for over 20 years, I’ve seen enough of I-40 for a lifetime:

So we head toward Denver. The weather is mild (it is March after all), but after a bit, we encounter this:

Not a big deal until I-70 shuts down and our detour leads us down a byway heading up through the mountains. Before long, it looks like this:

Elevation? 11,260 feet.

Our path took us through Climax, Colorado, which at 11,360 feet was once the highest settlement in the U.S. They receive about 282 inches of snow per year.

Side note: There is also a molybdenum mine there. I’m not sure what that is, but it is fun to try to say.

Okay, if you’ve stuck with me this long, here is what I wanted to show you. Somewhere way up in the mountains we cross a river and as I look at the sign, I notice it is the #arkansas river. Turns out that this:

Is part of what eventually becomes this:

Everything has to start somewhere. A tiny drop can grow into a large river. And what happens in one place affects everything downstream. Mountains. Rivers. Life.

And one more thing: Turns out there is also a mountain there named Mt. Arkansas.