We set out on a Friday morning for our week long road trip with the final destination of Mt. Rushmore. Things were going smoothly for the first hour. Then it happened. The worst thing in the world. A CHP pulled me over and claimed I was speeding. How could that be? I don't speed. I'll fight this one. Cruise control never lies. Anyway we were back on the road in no time until we hit a slight traffic jam. Finally, we got through that. We decided to stop for the night at St. George, Utah. Luckily, the next day all National Parks were free, so we explored Zion National Park and then drove to Bryce Canyon where we camped. It was amazing. We hiked down in the canyon. The next day we explored some more and also went to the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Park and saw the Devil's Garden. Then it was back on the road. We didn't get too far, only to a place called Salina. Early the next morning we drove through Colorado and Nebraska where we encountered a thunder storm and box turtles in the road. It was a bit scary not to be able to see the road while driving. We decided against camping. The next day we made it to South Dakota. Mt Rushmore is pretty Fantastic. That night we camped on a lake. The ranger warned us it was primitive camping. HA HA To me, primitive camping means no facilities. But to them it means a paved road and a nice smelling pit toilet. We sleep under a beautiful tree listening to the squirrels and owls. The next day we saw Crazy Horse, which is not yet completed. That night we camped at another "primitive" campground in the Black Hills. On our return trip I decided to drive out of the way to see the Devil's Tower. It was cool and I found out the real story behind it, not just close encounters. I know I keep saying this is my last road trip, but somehow I just can't stop.

We left the house with all the excitement of a new adventure. As we drove north we made good time until we hit Baseline. It seems like there is always a traffic jam there for no reason. Once we got past that area an hour later it was smooth sailing, or so we thought. As we approached the California-Arizona border, my son's friend mentioned that he had never been out of the state, so we stopped on the side of the freeway, he got out and we took pictures of him hanging from the sign. Little did we know what we were getting ourselves into as we merrily drove off to the east.
Soon enough it started to get dark!!!! With the dark came....the cold! Not just any cold, but freezing to the bone-cold -19 degrees F. At Williams we stopped to get gas. There was snow all around. The foolish children put their bare hands in the snow as I pumped the gas as fast as I could. By the time I got back in the car I was shaking. Fortunately we have a wonderful heater in the car and warmed up in no time. Finally we arrived in Flagstaff. Our hotel had icicles hanging from the roof that looked like ice daggers two feet long. We turned the heater on full blast but I never did feel warm. My son was disappointed because the TV wasn't compatible with his X-box or Wii. The next day we visited the Meteor Crater. It was interesting but expensive. Even the foot-long subs were more that $5! Later we drove to Walnut Canyon to see the cliff dwellings. There had been a cave in so we could only see some of them from above. The trail we were on was very icy and slippery. No serious accidents happened at this time. We saw a beautiful gray fox. I couldn't get a picture but hopefully my daughter got one. That night we went to the indoor jacuzzi at the hotel. There is nothing quite like running across the parking lot in a bathing suite with snow and ice all around. Inside it was so steamy that we couldn't see two feet away. We met two nice young men from China. They asked me about the Grand Canyon, so I told them we were planning on going there the next day and camp at the Mather campground. They wanted to camp as well but were afraid they weren't prepared when I told them how cold it would be. They admired my insight and I was happy to share information with them. I thought we were prepared for camping. The next day we drove to the Grand Canyon. First we drove straight to the campground. There was no one else there. So we choose a site that actually had a patch of ground to pitch our tent. Then everyone wanted to play in the snow as I set up the rest of our camp. Hey where is the fire ring??? My daughter fell in the snow and managed to find part of it, so we dug it out like dogs. Then we built a snowman. The boys decided to walk to the village. Then later we did too. By then other people were also camping but most had motor home or RVs When we got back I decided to start the fire early way before dark. It didn't help though. It took twice as long to cook anything and it was very dark by the time we finished eating-burgers, tamales and asperagus yummmmm Where are the quesadillas??
My daughter set her mug of cranberry juice down for ten minutes...it was frozen solid when she came back!!!!!!
We tried to hunker down in the tent and for a while I felt warm enough, but honestly as the night dragged on, I just kept getting colder and colder and I don't think I slept more that 20 minutes at a time. My daughter woke up several times complaining that she couldn't feel her toes. I would have to rub them to get them warm. Anyway, the next day we decided to go on the rim trail. It was very beautiful and although I was tired I thoroughly enjoyed it. However, I didn't want to camp that night so we managed to get a room at the lodge(it didn't have phone service, so there was a discount) Who cares, the TV was X-box and Wii compatible! And I used my cook stove in the room for our dinner. Shhhh, don't tell anyone. The next day we hiked down into the canyon on the Kaibab trail. At first it was very icy and slippery. I was really nervous about falling very far....Both of the boys slipped at some point and my son's friend lost his water bottle...oooppppssss.
Later as the sun came over the ridge it got muddy, very muddy. I found out my hiking boots are nice and water-proof but all that going down at first was so painful to my big toe and both knees that it is still bruised and I'm still having trouble walking. We made it to a place called Skeleton Point, had lunch and then headed back up. Going up is always easier for me or so I thought. I slipped a couple of times too. Soon a mule team passed us. It's funny how stupid people can be sometimes. There were signs explaining to move out of the way of the mule team to allow them to pass. Duh! So as this mule team was fast approaching we got out of the way. Two men who happened to be coming down stopped in the middle of the trail and asked us what we were doing. I told them a mule team was fast approaching. They just stood there. Finally they got out of the way. Duh! After the mule team passed we continued hiking up. About two hours from the top we caught up to my son and his friend, about 20 other people and the mule team. Apparently, a woman had fallen and broken both of her arms. There we were waiting for the paramedics. Finally, 45 minutes later they managed to get her to the side of the trail but we were still instructed to wait for the mule team. That didn't seem to stop some guys from trying and the mule team leader had to tell them several times to stay back. I guess they are lucky the last mule didn't kick them off the cliff. As the mules started to move forward one was spooked. For about 15 seconds we held our breaths as the team leader struggled to get the mules in line and moving. It was at that moment I secretly thanked my dad for not letting me ride the mules as a 5-year-old so many years ago on my first visit to the Grand Canyon. Wow. As we finally started moving it was then that I had some serious trouble. My legs were cramping, but I overheard someone mention that the woman with the broken arms was being airlifted out and it would probably cost about $7,000!!! That was enough incentive to keep me moving no matter how painful. Inch by inch, step by step I made my way to the top. That night we drove to Williams for what I thought would be our last two nights of vacation. However, when I arrived at the hotel and gave the clerk my credit card. It came back DECLINED!!! Could it have been worse? I have never been so happy to come back to sunny San Diego in my whole life. The end.

The past two days have been draining to say the least. It was bad enough the two 16-year-old Japanese girls had been missing for a day, but what was worse was the part I had to play when they were eventually found. At first, they had an advanced Japanese student to translate for them. All the stories started to conflict, though. The Host Families said one thing and the girls said another thing. Finally, the advanced student needed to leave. Everyone looked at me except my Manager. She had no faith in my Japanese ability, but they were now desperate. I started talking to the girls. One was very calm and showed almost no emotion while the other cried buckets. We were going to cut their program short and send them home for what they had done! They disobeyed the rules and spent the night in LA without permission. It's amazing they are safe. This is what I told them in my broken Japanese. Suddenly, my manager changed her opinion. Although she didn't know how terrible my Japanese really is, she was impressed with the sound of it. The next day we relented and gave them strict rules to follow if they wanted to stay. Again, I conveyed this to the girls, but my Japanese was even worse today. I apologized for my lack of words and they seemed forgiving and at least happy I was trying to help them. Nevertheless, the most humbling part was having my Japanese grammar corrected by a 16-year-old when correcting grammar, even if it is English, is what I normally do for a living. I keep telling my self no one is perfect, especially me. P.S. If you find any grammar mistakes in this, well, I don't care to know about it.

It was a cold foggy morning, but the hum in the distance was clear. It was a hum that drove the life from my family. One by one they fell. We felt their terror and empty death as the hum continued on and on. We were helpless against it. There was nothing we could do to stop it. Was this the end of all, then? We had all lived good long lives-600 years or more, some less. I was resigned at last to hold on to my dignity while some of those around me panicked and shook in the wind. The hum was getting closer every day. The cold winter sun did little to reassure us. The pounding of animals fleeing past us only deepened our sorrow.
New sounds hummed near us now. Small vibrations, some angry, some peaceful came to us.I felt a small creature climb up on me, limb by limb. A soothing voice called to me, "Luna". I feel safe for the moment. Other things came eventually. I felt the weight of it much more so than my bird nests, but I was not afraid. If I died I would stand tall and proud to the end. And if I lived I would continue to be grateful all of my days to Mother Nature.
However, this new life form living in my boughs was unlike any other creature that had taken refuge here. After 600 years, I have known many kinds of birds, insects, rodents and bats. I have always willingly given myself to shelter them. This time was no different and yet on cold windy nights, I would strain to teach this creature of the ground to let the wind flow through her. "I will keep you safe from the harsh elements", I whispered.
She lived with me for what must have been a long time for her. But in the end the evil humming went away and we are all safe for the moment. When will we realise that life- all life- is important?

After working late the whole week prior to Memorial Day weekend , they said I could leave at 2:00 on Friday. They knew I was going camping. Hell I had even loaded my car the night before. I was ready for a wilderness adventure. 2:00 came and went, but they knew they had to let me leave soon or later. 2:15 wasn't bad or so I thought. The first thing was I missed my trolley. That hour long ride would take an hour plus the 20 minutes more waiting for the next one.I finally arrived home finished loading the car with the food and fire wood and we were off. That is until we hit the parking lot on 1-15 North.We only managed to get half way there which was normally 3 hours. Our six hour drive to our destination was not going to happen that night. We had to spend the night in Hesperia near Victorville. As we were checking into our room the Sheriffs were banging on the door above our room."We know you are in there. Come out with your hands up!" This is what we dealt with the rest of the night . I was happy to leave that place. So we set off early the next morning, the traffic was gone, the air was crisp and cool and the rain had disappeared. Later we arrived at Grand view campground which is exactly that. However, when we arrived there was no grand view to be seen this time at all. It snowed the whole weekend. We even put up our tent in the snow.It was snowing too hard to make a fire so we went for a hike. The Bristle cone pines were nobly guarding the White mountains in spite of the snow. They seemed so much at peace that I felt contentment for them. Finally there was a short break in the snow so I made a fire and we roasted hot dogs. We were both exhausted and decided to go to sleep early. The snow and cold will get to you if you are not used to it, which we are not. The next day my little bundle of joy proclaimed she had had enough. That was fine with me. We left the Bristle cone Pines for the second time, promising to return again. As we drove the 6 hours back home. We made a short stop at a place called Fossil Falls. It was very cool. Of course we had taken off our boots. I was wearing sandals with socks and she was wearing sneakers. Not appropriate for hiking but when she saw the rocks we absolutely had to go down the rock falls. They were truly a marvel. Unfortunately, we managed to get stuck in one of the ancient dry pools. As we were wondering how we would get out, a man and his two daughters appeared above us. "Hello" they said. "Hello" we said back"We are stuck" I said. " I'm not joking" The man helped pull us out. Yes it was a little embarrassing to say the least. However, it's not the first time I've had to be rescued and I hope it's not the last time either. It means I'm still crazy after all these years and I'm still living life like no other!