West Hawaii Today's own editor, Reed Flickinger, and publisher, Rick Asbach, and other WHT staff, just agreed to be in the dunk tank 5:00 p.m. Friday in the Safeway parking lot to raise money for West Hawaii Special Olympics. It's a great cause...AND...I know a few community members who would enjoy this opportunity. See you there.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Return to Winter
Going back to Glenwood Springs felt like a homecoming of sorts. I have had three previous visits and all are filled with fond memories. While moving from Indiana to Hawaii ten years ago we drove to Oakland, Calif. to put our cars on a Matson boat for shipping and a visit to Aunt Alice in Glenwood Springs was on the way. I still remember how close to God I felt as I hiked up the majestic mountains, being amazed that in the midst of all that splendor and beauty He cared about me and wanted to involve me in His plan of ministering to others. I thought about that a lot during my first trip to Glenwood for some reason, and I have since flown back twice to spend some time with my dad's super sweet older siste, Alice, and to get a taste of winter.
Well the three days Chris and I spent in Glenwood Springs did not disappoint. Alice is doing great, I finally met her son, Patrick, and we even visited with two Hawaii friends who moved to Colorado a year ago. Chris loved my favorite ski spot, Ski Sunlight, where a day of good snowboarding costs half of what it does down the street in Aspen. This is the kind of place where lift tickets are sold out of a single window by a friendly woman eager to answer questions, and locals are not ashamed to duct tape their jacket if it gets a tear. Our kinda spot! And on the second day it snowed constantly so we had about a foot of fresh powder on the ground. Chris amazed me with his skills- after not having skied for 15 years he was hitting moguls after his second run and he even pulled off a perfect helicopter in the terrain park. I felt so proud!
Too cool for school: Chis poses at the top of Sunlight Mountain with Mt. Sopris in the background. I married an amazing skier, and he even puts up with my silly snowboarding habit.
Hanging Lake: One of the most tranquil and beautiful spots I have been yet.
On the hike to Hanging Lake. The bridges in Hawaii never get this much snow!
Going back to Glenwood Springs felt like a homecoming of sorts. I have had three previous visits and all are filled with fond memories. While moving from Indiana to Hawaii ten years ago we drove to Oakland, Calif. to put our cars on a Matson boat for shipping and a visit to Aunt Alice in Glenwood Springs was on the way. I still remember how close to God I felt as I hiked up the majestic mountains, being amazed that in the midst of all that splendor and beauty He cared about me and wanted to involve me in His plan of ministering to others. I thought about that a lot during my first trip to Glenwood for some reason, and I have since flown back twice to spend some time with my dad's super sweet older siste, Alice, and to get a taste of winter.
Well the three days Chris and I spent in Glenwood Springs did not disappoint. Alice is doing great, I finally met her son, Patrick, and we even visited with two Hawaii friends who moved to Colorado a year ago. Chris loved my favorite ski spot, Ski Sunlight, where a day of good snowboarding costs half of what it does down the street in Aspen. This is the kind of place where lift tickets are sold out of a single window by a friendly woman eager to answer questions, and locals are not ashamed to duct tape their jacket if it gets a tear. Our kinda spot! And on the second day it snowed constantly so we had about a foot of fresh powder on the ground. Chris amazed me with his skills- after not having skied for 15 years he was hitting moguls after his second run and he even pulled off a perfect helicopter in the terrain park. I felt so proud!
Too cool for school: Chis poses at the top of Sunlight Mountain with Mt. Sopris in the background. I married an amazing skier, and he even puts up with my silly snowboarding habit.
Hanging Lake: One of the most tranquil and beautiful spots I have been yet.
On the hike to Hanging Lake. The bridges in Hawaii never get this much snow!
Tuesday, April 06, 2010
Knuckle Head
We drove out to an amazing overlook on our first day in the desert near Moab, and on our last night we ended the trip by camping in the bottom of the canyon viewed from the overlook. It was a peaceful ending to our fun in the desert. We also explored some mines in the bottom of the canyon. The letters AU were spray painted on the wall of the mine so we are guessing it was a gold mine.
Click on this video to see why a panoramic view of a beautiful canyon has been titled Knuckle Head.
We drove out to an amazing overlook on our first day in the desert near Moab, and on our last night we ended the trip by camping in the bottom of the canyon viewed from the overlook. It was a peaceful ending to our fun in the desert. We also explored some mines in the bottom of the canyon. The letters AU were spray painted on the wall of the mine so we are guessing it was a gold mine.
Click on this video to see why a panoramic view of a beautiful canyon has been titled Knuckle Head.
Sunday, April 04, 2010
Road on a Ledge
Our first night of camping may have been my favorite. Chris sure knows how to find neat roads and spots. Narrow switch backs descended into a canyon where we had dinner and camped near the river. The road was super fun with commanding views of steep cliffs and the Green River below. We chilled two local brews in a plastic rotisserie chicken box with some snow we had picked up earlier. Camping is all about improvising. Dinner, a quiet stroll, then it was time for a campfire as we watched the moon rise and light up the canyon walls surrounding us. This is what vacations are all about.
Our red car blends in with the rocks on the switchback into the canyon:
In the bottom of the canyon, we had dinner and set up camp among the cottonwoods.
Our first night of camping may have been my favorite. Chris sure knows how to find neat roads and spots. Narrow switch backs descended into a canyon where we had dinner and camped near the river. The road was super fun with commanding views of steep cliffs and the Green River below. We chilled two local brews in a plastic rotisserie chicken box with some snow we had picked up earlier. Camping is all about improvising. Dinner, a quiet stroll, then it was time for a campfire as we watched the moon rise and light up the canyon walls surrounding us. This is what vacations are all about.
Our red car blends in with the rocks on the switchback into the canyon:
In the bottom of the canyon, we had dinner and set up camp among the cottonwoods.
Dinner in the Desert
After driving around the desert looking for a way to drive to the backside of Arches National Park, and exploring what we were conviced were old Uranium mines, the time got late. So we pulled off a dirt road and set up camp next to this pond. These still waters beautifully reflected the majestic hills surrounding them. Strangely, it may have been the muddiest water I have ever seen. (and Chris bravely used it to wash our dishes) We took a peaceful, evening hike and hit the sack.
Taking a Break on the Slick Rock Trail
We rented mountain bikes and rode Moab's famous slick rock trail. I think Chris really bonded with the sport. He likes exercise, challenge, working the controls, going fast, and the thrill of always being on the verge of crashing. I used to mountain bike a lot in Indiana and had high hopes but the trail was just too darn hard for me. The downs were so steep I was afraid to ride down them, the ups so steep I could hardly push the bike up them. The wind howled consistently and it always seemed to be a headwind. Whoever designed the trail chose absolutely the most difficult route navigating through miles of petrified sand dunes, so it seemed. Even the practice loop kicked my butt.
The scenery was beautiful and it was amazing to see how well bike tires gripped slick rock. I can see why the trail is world famous- it's kind of like a roller coaster on a bicycle. Skill, nerves, and muscles necessary. Later in the week we found a trail that better suited me. Weeeeee!
Brrrr.
Temperatures dipped below freezing a few nights during our stay in Utah. After two nights, I purchased a new sleeping bag: the North Face Goliath model, which is rated to 0 degrees Fahrenheit. Look at all the junk inside our car! Even with the new bag purchase, we were able to pack all this up into two suitcases for the plane ride home. United charged us $20 per bag each way so we were careful what to pack, which was a bummer because I really could have used more, warm clothes!
Temperatures dipped below freezing a few nights during our stay in Utah. After two nights, I purchased a new sleeping bag: the North Face Goliath model, which is rated to 0 degrees Fahrenheit. Look at all the junk inside our car! Even with the new bag purchase, we were able to pack all this up into two suitcases for the plane ride home. United charged us $20 per bag each way so we were careful what to pack, which was a bummer because I really could have used more, warm clothes!
Mess:
Frost on the car:
Stuck!
Against our better judgement, we headed out into the dessert on what was considered an easy off road trail to find a remote camping spot for the night. Around 11:00 a.m. I struck a patch of wet, green clay that was the slickest, stickiest mud I have ever seen. The road was on a ledge heading down into a canyon and the road was sloped the wrong way. I knew if we did make it down the hill without going over the edge, there was no way we'd ever make it back up. Too scared to try, I asked Chris to try backing up. Precise driving was required because I had just driven around a large rock lying in the road with only inches to spare between the rock, our car, and the edge. It was immediately apparent that backing up was not an option - we had absolutely no steering in the mud, and any attempt to go down caused our car to slide closer to the edge of a slippery slope slanted the wrong way. We did rent a 4X4 this time, but the grocery-getter tires and lack of a limited slip differential dampened our fun several times during the trip.
Being the start of the Jeep Jamboree week in Moab, we decided to wait for a Jeeper with a winch to come by and un-stick us. So we read books and waited. And waited. When the rain stopped, we got out and scraped half of Utah's desert off our tires and made a cobblestone path in the mud to direct our tires in the right direction, and off we went. The mud dried faster than my soil scientist husband expected and we were able to make it down and back up the hill with aid of our homemade rocky road. Total stuck time: about five hours.
Crawlin', Crawlin', Crawlin'
Chris found this awesome place for serious offroaders just outside of Moab. Area BFE is someone's private land where folks are allowed to check out gnarly trails and they hold events and concerts and such. We drove out there hoping to spectate, and man, did we hit it on the right day. A group of people from Colorado were out there putting their rock crawling buggies to the test! They could drive straight up cliffs and over rocks that are bigger than my whole Jeep. After a while, Mike offered us a ride in his buggy (pictured above) What a thrill! This vehicle absolutely defied gravity. I crossed my arms near my chest to be sure they didn't come outside the car. I have no idea why the vehicle didn't roll over.
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