 |
| Zion National Park - Mom and Mother Nature |
 |
| Mom, look over your shoulder. Bison sighting at Antelope Island State Park |
 |
| Bison joining us for a picnic at Antelope Island State Park |
 |
| Down at the Virgin River at the Temple of Sinanawa at Zion National Park...we hiked here! :) |
 |
| Nature was calling ....and we found 15 Bighorn sheep grazing |
 |
One of the hundreds of flowers that we stopped or u-turned to photograph  |
 |
| Exploring the canyons of Zion National Park |
 | |
| The giant watermelon slice at Green River, Utah |
 | |
| Mom conversing with llama |
 |
| Only we can Prevent Forest Fires....a friendly reminder from Smokey the Bear |
 |
| Mom and me at Zion National Park |
 |
| Cedar Breaks National Monument where at 11,000 feet there was snow....and a speed limit sign that looks like it had a rough winter |
"Carking."
Should only be attempted by trained professionals. :) Yes, "carking". You are reading this correctly.
What is "carking" you may ask? It is when, usually toward the day's end of touring and exploring and seeing one-too-many-new-and-glorious sites during a given day, Mom just can't get out of the car or hike/walk one more step to get the quintessential photo of say, the hoodoos (vertical rock formations) of Bryce Canyon. So I position the car as best I can so Mom can get "the" photo. The interaction goes like this....
Mom: "Drive a little bit more....slowly....nope, tree in the way...a little bit more. Stop!!"
 |
| Overlooking the hoodoos at Bryce Canyon National Park |
Me: Slam on brakes. Put car in Park.
Mom: (rolls down window). Takes photo(s). "All set. Got it! Perfect. Let's go. Thank you."
And that, my friends, is carking at its finest :) "Carking" : a combination of car and hiking...or hiking with one's car. Yes, I predict it shall be the next "big thing."
I sometimes wish Mom and I knew the "right" people so we could have our own TV travel show or radio show. I think it would have to be called, "We meant to turn right but decided to go left" or "If everyone is going in one direction, that is a sign to go in the opposite direction." It is so difficult to explain our travel philosophy/strategy to others. We do have a strategy. Truly. We make plans. Mom still sends for tourist information the old-fashioned way, requesting information from tourist offices and Chamber of Commerce locations. Mom receives maps (yes, actual paper maps) from AAA. She plots out a route for us to follow, more or less, and we have a list of sites to see along the way. Seeing the world's largest watermelon slice crafted out of wood doesn't just happen (It can be found in Green River, Utah, by the way, in case you must see it). Goodness knows, we were not going to miss it!! During our 400 mile drive from Bountiful (the west side of the state of Utah) to Moab (in the eastern part of the state), we purposely detoured to find the watermelon slice. We were just getting ready to go into a local museum to ask where it was because we could not find it. We pulled into the museum parking lot and guess what we found? Yes, you guessed correctly. The larger-than-life watermelon slice. It was waiting for us.
That's how our road trips evolve. We plan (actually, Mom plans. I drive).
On a given Monday, we planned to go to the Arches National Park. It's famous! Everyone goes there! We are staying a mere 2 miles from the entrance to the Park. As the sun sets on Monday, ask me if we have seen this Park. Go ahead. Ask me. Nope. Not yet. There are a few reasons why. When we left the hotel in the morning, I thought, "Maybe it is best to do our touring a bit later in the day. Maybe high noon...when the sun is at its most intense is not the best time for us to go trekking, touring and "carking" through the Park". Mom agreed and we simply decided to see it later in the day.
In the meanwhile, I had read about the very Scenic Route 128 that hugs the Colorado River. That sounded like a cool option since it was a balmy 84 degrees in the shade on this given Monday. God bless all the people we saw hiking and biking through the canyons and up and down mountains. I am so happy for them that they see the world on their terms. I did want to shout out, "Try carking!" but I refrained.
Let me explain how we tour these scenic highways, byways, National Parks, National Monuments, State Parks and State Forests:
1. Rent a car.
2. Stay only on paved roads (although sometimes the paved roads disappears and turns to gravel as it did at about 9,000 feet in the La Sal Mountains; one's only choice is to continue on slowly and pray we do not get a flat tire).
Exception to this rule: sometimes an unpaved road just holds the promise of something so beautiful, we can not help ourselves. The Capitol Gorge in Capital Reef National Park is one of those roads. 2 miles in...2 miles back...all unpaved road but worth every slow and careful rotation of the wheels. A place where time has seemingly stood still. We are reminded of how truly small we are in the universe whilst standing in the midst of canyon walls that easily rise 4,000 feet up. Take the road less traveled if you are ever in the Park and be awestruck and humbled.
3. Exit vehicle to take beautiful photos that make us look like quite the adventurers.
4. Re-enter vehicle and enjoy the lovely air-conditioning whilst sipping on our beverages of choice (usually coffee) and enjoying snacks. The car is well-provisioned because if I get hungry and there is no food to be found, things get ugly very quickly.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 frequently throughout the day.
It was in this way that we found another road to explore...the La Sal Mountain Loop. It was a 43-mile detour (did not know of this road so it was not part of the original plan) which took us to an
altitude of 11,000 feet (yes, we could still see snow which was a bit surreal considering we are in the desert!). This road afforded us beautiful views of Castle Rock and lots of other staggering gorgeous rocks and mountains and canyons and did I mention more rocks?! :)
Mind you, in the midst of all this rugged, natural beauty I resign myself to the fact that there will be no adorable cafes or eclectic coffee shops. That's okay. We are "carking!" We are roughing it! :) We have snacks in the trunk of the car ranging from puff-corn (yummy!) to tangerines. We will survive! We will not go hungry! Yet, in the midst of 50 miles of canyons...and rocks (did I mention the rocks?) and river views and snow-capped mountains, we stumble upon The Sorrel River Ranch. They have a sign which says they have a restaurant on the premises (the sign says they have a spa too...hhhhmmm....what kind of "Ranch" is this?). We are truly in the middle of nowhere so this reveals itself to us like an oasis in the desert. Restaurant? Here?! I am thinking they probably serve chicken fingers with french fries and fry sauce (it's a Utah thing....a combination of mayonnaise and ketchup).
 |
| Our lunch spot at the Sorrel River Ranch |
Oooooohhhh, I could not have been more wrong.
Nestled in the curve of a river, surrounded by canyon walls is the Sorrel River Ranch (where if one would like to stay as a guest, the room rates start at $600.00 a night). Lunch was outdoors. Our table was beautifully shaded. We could enjoy the beauty surrounding us (the smell of lilacs wafted through the air as yes, the lilacs here are blooming this time of year) whilst enjoying yummy iced tea, gazpacho and some of the best Angus beef burgers ever! Granted, lunch was a mere $75.00 but who cares? We dined amongst a little slice of Heaven that found us.
I find as I get older, two things resonate as my truth:
1. If hoards of humanity are heading in one direction, I want to go in the opposite direction. Seeking serenity and finding it defines happiness for me.
2. I have no qualms about blatantly using my Mom for what I would like to call the "senior citizen" advantage. As an example, we were at the City Market (a supermarket) in Moab. They have designated "senior citizen" parking spots. I thought I was meant to park my Mom there and leave her there. :) Okay, okay, I know. The space is meant for the car. I loved pulling right into that parking spot close to the market...so Mom would not have far to walk, of course. :). There is also the fact that we get into every U.S. National Park for free because she has the Golden Age Passcard so anyone traveling with her gets free entry to the Park as well. Best way to see our National Parks? Bring a senior citizen with you! :)
My Mom has a tendency to constantly apologize for "slowing us down." Why? The stuff we are going to see has been here for billions of years. It is not going anywhere soon!! And we have nothing but time. Truly. The pace is perfect. I have no idea if we will see all the national and state parks we intended to see when the journey started. I do not think it matters. From the bison and antelope we saw at Antelope Island State Park (in the Great Salt Lake...another place we knew nothing about as we sat planning our trip at Mom's kitchen table in Brooklyn) to the chorus and orchestral rehearsal at the Mormon Tabernacle to the "ranch" find to Fisher Towers, Castle Rock, the La Sal National Forest, the petroglyphs at Capitol Reef, the llamas, the desert wildflowers, the Bighorn sheep (we saw 15 of them all because nature called and we were just looking for some privacy)...I think our pace is perfect.
There is no one else I know that would put finding the world's largest watermelon slice before seeing the iconic Arches National Park or Bryce Canyon or Zion National Park. I think that is the secret to our travels. There is no one else I know that gets "it"; that it is not always about the destination but truly is about the journey along the way. There is no one else I know that would be willing to sit patiently and wait for a bison to cross our path, admire it for seemingly hours and then go eat a bison burger (sorry, but that is our truth, my vegetarian friends. I can admire Mother Nature but then I get hungry. The Island Buffalo Grill at Antelope Island State Park makes an phenomenal burger).
There is no one else I know that is willing to take the road less traveled...slowly. I am guessing we will make it to the Arches National Park tomorrow. But it is two miles away from our hotel and a lot can happen between here and there...but when we do get there, this I know for sure, it is because it is our time to be there.
Now about that mother/daughter travel show .... :)
Comments
Post a Comment