Photoshop Practice

This is my first attempt at using Photoshop's "photomerge" function. This is actually 6 pictures taken overlapping each other from left to right. Then I attempted to merge them together to form one panoramic photo. It would have been longer but I was a bit too cautious in my overlapping.

I'm pretty pleased with my first result and now know what I need to do differently for the next one.

Of course my Photoshop expert friends (Dale, Jan and um . . . Ben!) would do a much better job - but I'm learning!

This is at Sunset Point, Bryce Canyon, Utah. We hiked a bit down into the canyon on Peekaboo Loop but the temp was in the 90's and climbing and by the time we decended over 600 feet it was sunny and getting warmer (and this trail desends another 900 feet). I kept thinking about the ONE bottle of water I had already had half of (between us - Bill carry water?!?!?!?) and figured I needed to head back up. I know, wimp! The Navajo Trail is an easier hike and will be better in the cool of the morning. Hoping to do that Tuesday, early.

Shot tons of pictures - hard for them to do the scenery justice. It still surprises me when we meet people - especially RVer's who are on a trip to all these places who still carry film cameras!!! By the time you buy film, get it developed and make copies for everyone, you could have bought an entry level, good digital camera and shared them via e-mail to everyone and even printed a set out at Costco! And I think of all the photos you miss because you are conserving.

I felt so badly for this 8yr. old at Bryce Canyon yesterday. He had a digital camera and was having a blast taking all sorts of interesting pictures, including one of me waving at him! His father kept telling him it was enough and that he had already taken too many pictures! Isn't that the beauty of digital? What a spoilsport! OK, maybe he didn't have a way to save them off the camera . . . I just felt sorry for the kid. Just think if we all had had the opportunity to take a million pictures of family vacations when we were kids. Can you imagine the history we would have?

I'll try to post some of the canyon later.
have a great week!
Jody

Happy Dads Day!

Even though this is a unique card for my dad, the thought and best wishes go out for all those men out there who are very special dads to all sorts of people! You all are loved and thought of today. Hey, not to forget all those special moms, too!

Hope everyone enjoys their Fathers Day!
Jody

. . . all the nice places. . .

So here is a shot that might capture some of those really nice places Bill has taken me. I should start a link to all those really special places we have spent the night or driven through on this adventure. It is a really good thing I’m pretty flexible! I know many of my friends and family members who would be not quite as accommodating.

We stayed in St. George, NV last Friday (and actually Saturday) on our way to Hatch, UT, this was the view from my bedroom window. Tight enough spaces? This truck arrived after we parked. These guys at Flying J Truck Stop know what they are doing – backing right in there perfectly. Good thing we aren't claustrophobic.

I’m playing catch-up. Promise to post more tomorrow!
Have a great weekend,
Jody

The Odds of Winning

So as we were on our way out of NV and stopped in Searchlight (mentioned before because of The Nugget Casino and Restaurant) I ran in to get a pix of this antique one-armed bandit. It only takes nickles and a posted note asks you to only use one nickle at a time and to be gentle with this old guy.

Well, Bill fished a nickle out of his pocket for me and I gently pulled his arm holding the gun . . . low and behold - TWO nickles come tumbling down into the "you won" tray!!!! Whooo Hooooo!

Bill grabs the 2 nickles from the tray and says, "Good for you, you doubled your money!" and out the door he walks! What the heck????? I was thinking that meant I could go on . . . . guess not!

Later, Jody

I'm Back . . .

Sorry, had a week or more of hiding. Actually, it was more an Internet connection in hiding.

Anyway, a quick post today from Hatch, Utah. But the pictures are from Cottonwood Cove, NV (where I should have had the sense to realize we were headed to a "dry state" and any wine should have been purchased BEFORE crossing the state line.) You can buy it if you can find it! St. George had one package store for 50,000 people.

The Colorado River in Cottonwood Cove was amazingly clear and the carp liked to hang out at one of the docks. Just like the carp that reside in some of the touristy places in Myrtle Beach they wait to be fed. At Barefoot Landing in Myrtle Beach there are those machines dispensing pelletized food (like at the deer-petting resorts) so tourists can enjoy the feeding frenzy. At Cottonwood Cove you just bring out your stale anything and the fish go nuts. Above was taken upon my approach.

This is after tossing in a handful of stale frosted flakes. I was laughing so hard it was hard to keep the camera from falling in. Mamas, hang on to your babies! Of course, I continued to toss handful after handful which was pretty much dust and sugar by the time I got to the bottom of the bag. They were so thick fighting to get a tiny morsel that the ducks were walking on top of the carp to get their share! Pretty gross - but obviously it didn't deter me!

I promise to post more later now that the satellite is up. We are headed out on the bike maybe through Bryce Canyon.

Thinking of you all,
Jody

Riding the Colorado River

WOW! Not what I expected. Vic rented a little fishing boat so we could tour a bit on the Colorado River. Carol wasn’t feeling well so she stayed behind. I packed a lunch and by 8:30 we were on board.

My first observation is that it is crystal clear – so clean. And at least in the marina, not very cold. I estimate the temp to be in the low 70’s. That is “swimable” or at least “wadeable”. We headed north with AZ on the right shore and NV along the left.

The terrain not only is different from one shore to the other, but it changed so rapidly as we headed upstream. One can only imagine the violence that had to have occurred for this water to cut such a path and for the upheavals in the ground to force so many layers of the earth to become vertical stripes in the mountains. I wish we could go to Blockbuster and rent the documentary (with real live footage), The Birth of The Colorado River. I’ll let you know if I find it.

Another interesting thing is that if you did not “know” the river, it would be difficult navigating it. OK, it is only so wide and only goes one way – so what do I mean? It isn’t straight. The mountains, coves, cliffs, dunes, vegetation jut out here and there with 3D illusions as to where the edge of the water really is. Put another way: your depth perception is askew maybe because of the grandeur of the whole thing. As Vic explained, there appears to be a dead end in every direction. So if you don’t know the different landmarks, you would be constantly heading back and forth searching for the shoreline to follow. At many places the river was in excess of several hundred feet. Guess that is why it is part of Lake Mojave for 67 miles.

We were fortunate that water traffic was very light. I know I would not have enjoyed it as well last weekend (Memorial Day) when hundreds (really) of boats and jet skis left this marina – many of which were rented by inexperienced boaters. There were some remnants of campers with tents still in some of the beachy coves. A few houseboats were docked in their own coves and we saw only a few jet skis. Although, a fireboat went by to tow back a stranded rental.

We fueled at Willow Beach, AZ about 20 miles into our ride. It is 12 miles from The Hoover Dam. On Sundays and Mondays, no motorized motorcraft are allowed past Willow Beach towards the dam. It is reserved for man-powered boats. Kind of nice.

We continued towards the dam, not sure of how close we could get. You be the judge! Since 911 commercial traffic is not allowed over the dam. A bypass highway/bridge project will carry non-dam traffic across the river without having to drive all the way down to Laughton/Bullhead City to cross – which is the way we drove. It includes a 1900ft bridge, 900 feet above the river. Completion is expected in 2008. They have a long way to go.

Driving over the dam no way compares to seeing it eyelevel from the water. If you look closely at the picture you can see the work trucks parked at the power plant down at the bottom of the dam. In the gallery of pictures (click on the pics at the right) I'm not sure if you can see the workers on the crane platform on the right side. We could see them moving around way up there. Whew – no thanks.

Another thing I found very interesting is the way the light played games with color and shadows. On our way out, looking towards AZ, the water appeared green (not because it is 180 feet deep in some places) and blue looking towards NV. Also, staring at the craggy mountains was like looking at cloud formations. Shadows played against the crevices forming all sorts of faces. Just moving along past some they disappeared into the mountain. I love the guy I spotted. Actually had to have Vic turn the boat back so I could get a better photo of him! Pretty cool.



Great day, great ride (7 hours), great country. There really are purple mountains majesty!

Nice Combo: Hot Desert & Colorado River

It feels wonderful to be back at almost sea level! I can breathe. About 14 miles east of Searchlight, NV (an hour south of Las Vegas) is this great National Park on the Mojave Lake. Cottonwood Cove is a campground right on Lake Mojave - a 67-mile stretch of the Colorado River.

After hours of driving through the mountains of the Mojave Desert and through a town of gold mining claims you think there is no way there is going to be anything worthwhile at the end. Then SURPRISE, the mountains seem to part, this amazingly blue water appears out of nowhere and the backdrop is the gorgeous purple mountains of Arizona. Unbelievable!

Our friends, Carol and Vic whom we met in Titusville are here as camp hosts. They lived in Vegas for 20 years (transplanted from Mass.). In fact, they took us for the best tour yesterday. Vic says he is nosy – which is why he tends to find out all there is to know about a place. And after over 15 years of visiting this area – he knows about things you can’t even imagine anyone could find out!

We started out with a miner's breakfast at The Nugget. Yes, it is also a casino - people were gambling while we enjoyed 10-cent coffee!! Huge breakfast for the four of us was well under $20. Then we took a ride through Christmas Pass (there are stretches where people decorate the desert bushes with "ornaments") to see the many faces of the desert. Silly me still thought the desert was just flat sand . . . HA!

After climbing mountains on the narrow, switchback part of Historic Rt. 66 (they actually crossed this way in a motorhome pulling a car not too many years ago - Vic is nuts!) stopping to check out abandoned mines and mining towns we ended up in Oatman.

This is a blast out of the past, for sure. Vic's brother used to own The Oatman Hotel whose claim to fame was that Clarke Gable and Carole Lombard supposedly were married in Oatman and spent their wedding night on the second floor of this hotel. The room is kept as a shrine with the door now part glass so you can see inside! Part ghost town, part tourist theatrics - it was a fun afternoon. The burros we met on the mountain roads come down into town to beg carrots from visitors. Conveniently, shops sell bags of them in big boxes outside their doors. Beers still cost $2.00 and "burro ears" are fabulous homemade dark fried potato chips! Yum!

The return trip included stopping in Searchlight at The Nugget again, this time to play cards! The afternoon draw is the $1.00 drinks and draft beers! If you are sitting at a game table or at a slot machine - the drinks are free!!! What? So, the boys sat at the bar shooting the breeze (!) with the locals while Carol and I played nickel poker - whoooo hooooo. Hey, I was up $20 a couple of times!!

The evening entertainment was watching all the families from Southern Calif. Arriving with their HUGE SUV’s and trucks towing trailers and boats and jet skis . . . The place filled up quickly. The crowds however, don’t compare to the steady line of people trying to get their boats through the public launch today. They have been dropping boats into the cove steadily the last 8 hours with no sign of the end of it. In fact, Vic is taking a shift driving a van several miles back to a primitive campground and parking lot where they have to park their trucks and empty boat trailers. He thinks he won’t be done until after 6pm.

The campground has already sold over 30,000lbs of bagged ice between yesterday and today! Nice racket. Why didn’t I think of that?

Happy Memorial Day! More later.
Happy Graduation Weekend, Kady! Thanks, Ali for filling in for us!
Jody

Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary, Ramah, NM

I’m backing up a little bit here. When we were in El Morro, NM last week, we visited Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary. This is a wonderful 80-acre refuge at the end of a 9-mile washboard dirt road for wolves and wolf/dogs. It is a non-profit organization where currently 62 animals are cared for, having been rescued from a variety of circumstances. The all-volunteer staff befriends these animals enough to care for them. Most of the volunteers are young people many of whom visited the sanctuary on a vacation and came back. They live in rustic accommodations (trailers and hogans) in this dessert terrain – literally in the middle of nowhere!

The day we were there, garden areas were being sectioned off, and large rocks dragged in, trenches were being dug and these young people gave tours. They love what they are doing and love being there.

The story: Insane families search out breeders (also idiots) of these wolves and wolf/dogs paying upwards of $3000 for this exotic pet! At 6 months, they are 75% full grown (85 – 115lbs). At almost 2 years (when most puppies are still growing and bouncing around being trained) they have “mature instincts”. This would include wanting to be the “alpha male” totally in control and tend to become aggressive and behave what is considered having turned against their owners.

This is when the disillusioned family calls Wild Spirit and asks for help. They receive between 1-7 calls each day for help. In many cases, the sanctuary arranges for transportation for these poor animals – the few they can help. The animals end up in wonderful spaces – usually with a companion or mate. They are fed 3.5lbs of fresh meat 5 days a week and the other 2 days receive vegetable and grain meals. This is in sharp contrast to the once a week meals they would receive in the wild.

They are beautiful animals you just want to climb inside the fence and rub. OK, not on the agenda. Contrary to popular belief, wolves do not like new changes – including people. They told us we have a greater chance of being killed by a coconut hit on our head than being attacked by a wolf!!!! They do have a couple of wolves that accompany them on community outreach field trips. But it takes the volunteers months to gain the confidences of the animals to be able to enter their space and take care of maintenance.

Crazy me loved the part when we (there were only 4 of us on the tour) started howling so the wolf (Ace - see his picture) would sing along. The longer we howled, the longer and harder he joined us. I probably could have stayed by him all day! A few of you will know of my problem at zoos trying to do this at any animal cage we approach!!!! I am proud to say, I usually have positive results! Now the rest of you know. Sorry, kids – the secret is out.

They do take short time volunteers, but since the space adjacent for camping is also within earshot of the half night sleeping animals (and the washboard entrance road) we decided not this time. Howling half the night . . . I was very close . . .

Now, as all public touring places tend to have, there was a gift shop. They actually SOLD little clumps of wolf fur. HA! I outsmarted them by collecting my own little stash as we walked along, stuffing it in my back pocket. I know, so weird! I had to have some!

In closing, I feel they were doing a great job with their resources. I really believe any $ or physical donations (see their website) are being used for the good of their cause. This is one of those places I put on my list of return and help out. The only drawback is you have to commit to many months before you will be trained to have close up contact with any of the animals.

You never know . . . it is a beautiful part of the country.

I’ll fill you in on The Grand Canyon and historic Williams, AZ tomorrow.

We leave in the morning for Searchlight, NV (50 miles south of Las Vegas) to visit Vic and Carol, our friends from Titusville. The campground is right on the Colorado River (!) but no cell service.

Have a great Memorial Day weekend. I’ll be posting a tribute to Kady and (even though she graduated early in Jan. taking extra classes) her UDEL graduation!!!!! Whoooo Hooooo! Congrats Kady!!!!! We are all so proud of you! We will see you soon.

Don’t make me feel guilty – she said she wasn’t “walking” though with all the festivities she is feeling lonely.

More later – thanks for checking in.

Jody

PS: If you want to post a comment (please do) click right here under this post. Thanks for all your thoughts!

Aren't Bluebirds Good Luck?

We had a persistent little visitor yesterday who has returned this morning determined to find a mate – on the bus! This Western Bluebird saw her reflection in the shiny stainless and has been pecking away at herself with no results, I might add. At 6:10 this morning, again she is “knocking” at the galley window.

Yesterday, she spotted the area between the rear and tag tires. Then she found herself in the bedroom windows, which offered a wonderful rubber seal where she could hang on. Too funny!

Bill was working on the trailer lights’ wiring and she stayed within 4 feet of him most the day. She hopped from engine door to bay doors. Actually, most the birds here don’t seem to mind us sharing their space. A White Breasted Nuthatch even came in for a visit! He also was curious about the Nuthatch in/on the windshield but decided to come around and meet him in person. Then he kept pecking at the reflection on the inside of the windshield. Only took a minute to get him out. Not enough time for the camera, though. I still would not want a screen door.

We leave for Flagstaff, AZ later this morning. There are tons of things in the Grand Canyon area (and it is a really big area) to explore. Between AZ and UT there are many places on our list - don't know how many we will check off: both rims of the GC, Meteor Crater (where the first campground is), Sedona, Painted Desert scenery, Grand Staircase- Escalante, Coral Pink Sand Dunes, Zion N'tl Park, Bryce Canyon, more petroglyphs and ghost towns . . .

Hopefully, today’s ride will be uneventful. That’s a GOOD thing.

Enjoy your Sunday! Good luck in the morning, Mom. xo
Jody

El Morro National Park

WOW!! I’m so excited to hear from old friends (not forgotten) who are checking in with us. Thanks for your e-mails and comments. Over 100 hits today. OK, so 20 of them are probably from my family ☺

This morning we visited El Morro National Monument (www.nps.gov/elmo) using our almost paid for itself See America the Beautiful pass. I can be quoted as of yesterday that I think I have had enough hiking up mountains to see more ruins . . . ate my words today and have a renewed appreciation of these national parks and monuments.

Inscription Rock (sandstone bluff) holds carved signatures of those passing through (yea, right) to stop at the only watering hole for more than 30 miles. HOW did they KNOW this was there? Some of these inscriptions looked like lettered tombstones or beautifully penned signatures. I can’t imagine how long they had to stand there to complete these.
Then we ascended over 400 feet to the top of the mountain – tons of switchback paths. Hardly a railing and steps carved into the mountainside by WPA work groups of the ‘30’s. Unbelievable! The “trail” is hard to follow once you are on top. “Just follow the carved sides, you’ll be able to see it.” say the rangers at the visitor’s center. It’s hard to stop and take pictures when you are trying not to fall into the canyon! We still are impressed with the fact that the general public can still enjoy these things without signing a waiver or photocopying your insurance card. The park ranger at the Anasazi ruins said no hazardous incidents in the 8 years he has been there.
Amazing that in the 1270’s aprox. 1100 Anasazi’s dwelled in 875 rooms all the way up here! They have only excavated a handful of these tiny rooms. Harder
yet was not digging a little hole into the ground in the hopes to uncover a fragment of pottery . . . good thing there was a ranger up there. He is a Zuni Indian who graciously spent over an hour sharing Zuni history and tradition with us. One of the benefits of visiting off-season. Some of my friends from Crossfield would have never left the mountain – or taken him home for dinner. He was great. Melopia (Zuni for my pleasure).

Long winded, again. Google’s web album is having issues as I am trying to upload some pictures to share.

I'll catch on to this formating thing and make this blog look a little better.

Tomorrow is another day.

Until then, thanks for dropping by. Thinking of you all.
Jody

Jumping In or Off the Cliff

OK, here I go . . . off the high dive . . . or maybe it is that mesa above!
As many of you may know, when Bill and I started this crazy fulltiming thing in April of 06 we set up a website. And as those same people know, never did anything with it.

Which leads me to this. At our 1 year on the road anniversary I signed up to have this blog: a place to finally record and share some of what we are doing. Now, over a month later I have yet to make my first entry.

A fellow POG (Prevost Owners Group) member, Dale, sent a msg today asking if we have a website so people can find out about us. Hmmmmmm . . . well . . . sort of.

Thanks, Dale. So here I am at elevation 7200ft in El Morro, NM actually beginning to chronicle some of this.

As a preface: anyone on the receiving end of a letter or e-mail from me or partnered in a writing group (Debbie from Crossfield!) knows I tend to ramble stream of conscience. My apologies in advance. But then again, you don’t have to read on!

My hold up here seems to be that writing tool: consider your audience. Well, I usually know who is reading my words and "speak" accordingly without hesitation. When I knowingly put my words and photos out here it becomes a different story.

It is hard to think about others passing judgment about what will be my observations, my opinions and my photographic eye. We have met some amazingly talented people whose judgments I respect and to whom I’m mildly anxious to expose myself, if you will.

But if I hear my own words with my children or in front of my 6th graders, “If you always worry about what others will think, you might miss out on what amazing things are ahead. Stay true to yourself, try not to hurt others and trust you will do the right thing.” Jump in, Jody.

I’m holding my breath (which is really hard for someone used to breathing at sea level) and leaping off the high dive. I hope you will jump in with me. Bill is still inside the bus; he doesn’t really like to swim so we are on our own in the water.

I humbly await your comments (kind and gentle, please.) Pardon the grammatical errors (my pet peeve) and just try to enjoy.

Thanks Dale for the push!
Most importantly - thanks Bill for this amazing year! xo
Jody