Native Culture: National Parks

With five days off in front of us, we decided to hit Mesa Verde for two nights, and then stop through Canyon de Chelly and Hubbell Trading Post on the way home. For four years I've worked at visiting every National Park site in the state, and this trip finally completed my goal. For two seconds it felt awesome, and then I immediately began planning the next trip. This is the problem with National Parks. The more you see, the more you want to see. It's a good problem to have.

We arrived on Wednesday afternoon to a mostly empty campground, so we had our pick of the spots. Our site was surrounded by shrubbery which opened up to a wide view of the night sky. We listened to coyotes howl in the distance and sat drinking wine together under the bright moon. We both wondered why we can't live like this every day.

Because we only had one full day at Mesa Verde, we were out early the next morning so we could make our way into the heart of the park. We spent our day exploring the Chapin Mesa, and could have spent another whole day exploring Weatherill Mesa. We arrived back at camp at 6 pm not even having seen everything we planned. We know for next time that three or even four nights would have been better so we could have even gotten in some hiking or biking.

Mesa Verde is part of the Native Culture Parks which are mainly located in the four corner states of Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico. This entire list includes 24 parks, of which we've seen roughly half. You know what that means... more goals to accomplish! These parks are dedicated to the history and culture of the Native American peoples, which is fascinating and heartbreaking all at once. In Mesa Verde we saw some of the biggest and best preserved Ancient Puebloan cliff dwellings, dating back to over 800 years ago. It was simply awesome.

Even though the summer season is over at the Park, we were still surprised at the heat and the crowds. Because you can hit so many parks in so little time due to their proximity, many tour buses make their way through Mesa Verde for the day before or after hitting the Utah "Mighty Five" - Arches, Bryce, Canyonlands, Capital Reef, and Zion - and of course heading into Arizona to see the Grand Canyon. Pulling out at a view point only to be pushed out by large groups in the dozens is frustrating and disheartening when you are all competing for the same view in the same spot. All cultures do not practice "taking turns," which can add even more layers of disappointment to your experience as you may be physically bumped aside. For this reason, we decided to speed parts of our day up so as to get ahead of the buses and do as much as we could in the quiet and the tranquility that we seek.

The highlight of the day by far was a Ranger-led tour of Balcony House. Because the busy season is technically over, it was the only tour available. This tour is also listed as the most "strenuous" because it requires climbing multiple ladders, including one that was 32 feet tall, and crawling on hands and knees through a small tunnel. It was so cool! Aside from that, we did a self-guided tour of Spruce Tree House, and the Mesa Top Loop Drive. 

On the way home we acquainted ourselves with the Navajo landscape by catching some sights at Canyon de Chelly, and Navajo history at Hubbell Trading Post. It was a great trip.

Olympic National Park

This year's trip to Washington revolved around four days and four nights in Olympic National Park, in the upper left corner of the state.  Always on the search for new ground and new sights, this one has been on our list for a while.  Although the Visitor Centers and Interpretive experience was lacking in comparison to many other similar-sized parks we have been to, we tried not to let that and the rainy weather get us down.  It is, after all, a massive park, so there was a lot to do!

The park had an abundance of picturesque water falls and dense mossy forests to explore which we were really looking forward to since we live in the desert.

In the Quinault Rain Forest, where average rainfall is twelve feet, we saw the world's largest Sitka Spruce and Douglas Fir.  We also happened upon the world's cutest owl! This Northern Pygmy was separated from its parents and was calling to them across the trees as we stopped and observed in whispers for a long time.  He was so small and so beautiful.  

But trees and trails aren't all; this park stretches it's arms all the way to the seaside where miles of beaches form the border to the Pacific Ocean.  We watched incredible sunsets, saw whales jumping in the distance, and took peaceful moonlit walks after dark along the waters. 

While there I became an "Ocean Steward," which is the equivalent of a Junior Ranger.  To complete my book we walked out to the tide pools south of La Push, WA where we dodged jellyfish on the sand and searched for starfish under the watch of three Bald Eagles above.

We stayed in the Kalaloch Campground because it is the only campground in the park which takes reservations.  As we would not be arriving until late afternoon Thursday, we thought it best not to take our chances so we booked our spot many months in advance.  Unfortunately by the time our trip came around, Mom and Dad's van was in the shop getting work done, so they had to rough it with us in tents.  This was especially problematic without an EZup to shield us when cooking in the rain, but Brian and Dad rigged up a tarp so we could have some kind of shelter for our nightly happy hours! The campground is very family friendly and just a short walk to the beach, which we loved.  Dad drove us around everywhere and Mom did great even when we had to eat lunch standing up under the awning of a nearby kiosk.  There was wine, so when there's wine, there's happiness.

Cheers!

2015 Summer Road Trip Part III: Bits & Pieces

2015 Summer Trip Part II: Big Bend Birds (& Bugs!)

Believe it or not, Big Bend has one of the largest concentrations of bird species in all of the National Parks.  We endured temperatures over 105 in scorching sun, and bodies dripping in sweat to make our way through deep snake-paradise grasses, muddy river banks, and bug-infested tree canopies to catch glimpses of birds we'd never seen before.  And when I say bugs, I don't mean little ants or the occasional bee.  I mean the professionals.  Like these tarantula hawk wasps, for example.

Armed with Sybley, water bottles, binoculars, and wildlife lens in hand, (I forgot the bug spray!), we trudged and chased and stalked.  But it was worth it.  We saw close to 50 bird species when it was all said and done.

Turkey Vultures are everywhere!

Greater Roadrunner.  State bird of New Mexico.  Also everywhere!

Summer Tanager (F)

Yellow Billed Cuckoo

Vermillion Flycatcher (M)

Common Black Hawk

Northern Mockingbird.  State Bird of Texas.

Painted Bunting (F)

Varied Bunting (M)

Cactus Wren

Black-Headed Grosbeak