Your animals get hot too

  It is May 29th, and for those of you that dont believe in climate change, ITS AWFULLY HOT in NC. Kids are still in school, but of course they have A.C. in our county schools now. We had huge fans in each classroom. I can't say they helped alot but then again hot weather meant we lived at the pool, or the campground. WE didn't have A.C. at school in the 60s and 70s, but then again we got out of school before June. I always said I Loved hot weather, but that was before I turned 30. And before our world got so polluted, and HOT. Before you stop reading climate change deniers this post isn't about climate change . Its about our animals and their inability to change the weather. Or their failure to have the instinctual knowledge to get out of the sun. 
 This year I have 3 long haired cats that mainly live outside, and 7 others who are short haired but black or white. If you know me, you know I'm an animal lover. I love all animals. I love my dogs and cats and of course all the other animals in this world, and feel compelled to take care of them. Their is nothing I hate more than people who willingly hurt animals. But its just been in the last few years that I have worried as much about them in the summer as I do the winter. Or maybe I have worried MORE. I mean I have always considered that animals are freezing their behinds off when its 10 degrees. Therefore I've always tried to take extra care in the frosty months. But after living the last couple of summers with a broken down central air conditioner,I am concerned about my cats health in the hot months. My 2 dogs (a pit bull mix, and a white lab) live inside and I dont leave them outside when its so hot. They have a nice fenced in acre that they would play in all day if I didn't know it might kill the dummies. They go out to potty when its this hot and then come right back in. Not because they want to but because I said so! No really, I have been trying to find a good way to care for my cats without sentencing them to cruel and unusual punishment. So I have been online looking up ways to tell if a cats too hot, grooming said cats, and trying to make sure thy're safe while remaining happy. I have found a few things that I think may be worth sharing.


Hyperthermia means a high temperature and occurs when cats are no longer able to self-regulate and keep their temperature at a normal level. This can occur when they are exposed to high environmental temperatures, for example  in a car. 
Although this generally only occurs on really hot days, it’s worth being aware of.  

Some common signs

• Stretching out on cool surfaces, like cement carports
• Skin feeling hot to touch
• Drooling, salivating
• Agitation, restlessness
• Very red , purple , or pale gums
• Bright red tongue
• Increased heart rate
• Breathing distressed or rapidly
• Vomiting ,Diarrhea (possibly with blood)
• Sweaty feet 
• Glazed eyes
• Constant grooming 
• Signs of mental confusion, delirium
• Weakness
• Muscle tremors 
• Seizures
• Collapsing and lying down
• Little to no urine production
• Coma

Also if you can do it check her rectal temperature. Anything over 103 is serious, GET TO A VET.
105 and over is life threatening and organs may begin to shut down.

After reading these articles I noticed all my outdoor cats were congregating on the carport, stretched out and the skin on their stomach felt hot to the touch!

 Ways to keep them from getting so hot. in the first place...When the temperature becomes extreme, here are some steps you can take to keep your cat safe and comfortable in the heat.

• WATER. Make sure your cat has plenty of fresh water. ...
• SHADE. Most cats will enjoy a snooze in the sunshine and then retire to a shady spot when they get too hot. ...
• GROOMING consider a professional--Brush your long haired cat daily  Matted hair traps heat  This is important for a long haired cat.
• Create a retreat  Cats are clever when it comes to comfort and they will seek out places such as the bath or sink as these often stay cool even when it’s hot outside. You could also try creating a cool and darkened indoor retreat for them to sleep in . A top tip is to place a cardboard box on its side and position it somewhere cool and quiet in the house, such as behind a chair or on a cool surface like a wooden floor. Line it with a towel.
• Keep Outdoor Cats Indoors -If the temperature soars it is worth keeping them inside. (This is easiest on me.)
• Close the blinds or curtains
• Circulate cool air. Open the windows, turn on a box fan or keep air conditioning at a reasonable temperature. Your cat will appreciate having a cool place to relax indoors if it’s scorching outside.

ALSO CATS CAN GET SUNBURNED

Don’t forget cats are susceptible to sunburn, particularly those with white ears and noses. This can lead to painful blistering and sores, and long-term exposure can lead to skin cancers. It is possible to buy pet sunscreen to apply to the hairless areas on the end of the ears and nose. It’s also advisable to keep white-faced cats indoors during the heat of the afternoon.

I did not know that cats could get sunburned!

After a day researching and writing this post I learned so much that I thought 58 years of having cats would have taught me. Tomorrow We will go over what to do if you suspect your cat has hypothermia! 

Wildlife Observations     5/16/19

Tonights activities started at 8:45 and
Ended 10:35

You called it. Im a bad person or a crazy person. I gave the raccoon a cracker.
Im sure Ill get bad reviews because of it. Oh well.
If you know me you are sure to know I am an animal lover and am only afraid of spiders.. And then I am not so afraid as to KILL them when I come in contact with them. I also love camping.I am aware that I might love it so much because of the nearness of animals in their own environment. Years ago my family and I slept at Cades Cove with a few Black Bears after camping on  Cape Lookout with a mammoth injured Sea Turtle.
I recently made a nice place to sit on my breezeway with a table,plants and a few chairs.I should have done it 30 years ago but at that time I put my outside seating on the deck close to the hot tub. My partner and I have been enjoying the new area all day up until the evening.There are 10 cats here and they live outside on the property and eat on the handicapped ramp. I arranged a few pet food dishes down the ramp and they eat there during the day like cats do. Eating a few bites here and a few bites there. There is always a little left over in the evening but its always gone the next morning.
As we sat outside last night I got up and leaned against one of the brick columns.A noise caught my attention and I looked down the ramp.What I saw started this new occupation with observation. An adolescent opossum was right behind me eating cat food. As I quietly turned to look at it it looked right back at me but kept right on eating. The critter was tan with a yellowish brown down her sides. She wasn't as big as some of the opossums I've seen but certainly not this years opossum.Now I have had several interactions with these interesting marsupials before  , and upon seeing me they have always fell over, and played dead. The first time this happened I took it to a veterinarian! He taught me a few things about opossums. Therefore I always thought if I encountered one it would play possum (ha ha) not stand and look at me. Anyway I pulled up a chair and watched. She finished that small portion and moved one dish up the ramp. She didn't seem like she was in a hurry and I watched her for close to an hour.
I went inside to answer natures call,get a drink and a snack. My partner, not being that interested in nature watching ,went in to watch a ballgame. I quietly sat back down with my camera and notepad to watch some more.
The pretty opossum seemed ready to stop eating when I heard something that sounded like a canine and feline bark/growl. Looking back down the ramp I saw a much larger shape. It was darker in its coat and had a long tail. The animal turned around and I saw the mask. It was a raccoon that looked very fat and healthy.
Well as silly as it sounds I was thrilled to have another animal to watch. Over my long life watching wildlife has to be the thing most enjoyable to me. It is a feeling most people cant understand. It feels like my heart has swollen to twice its size. Its as if my soul has opened and is ready to fill that space with joy.
It has a way of lifting me out of sadness or despondency. The only way to describe how it makes me feel is to make comparisons that others can relate to.If you have children or grandchildren and you have saw the joy on their face
when they see a live starfish in a tide pool, or feel the soft coat of a kitten.
 I decided to sit and stay as long as the critters were here.
The raccoon found a dish of cat food and seemed to settle in to eat. I leaned on the column and settled in to observe.
The raccoon stayed at the bowl,but watched me as it ate. It was great the way it picked up its food in its tiny hands and rolled it around before putting it to its mouth. I know raccoons like to wash their food before eating it so I made the assumption that it was mimicking washing its food. Now this dish had held very little because the opossum had ate the majority before moving up one dish. When it appeared that the raccoon had finished this dish it looked at me,walked around the opossum and moved up 2 dishes. It growled when it passed the opossum and she moved over a bit to accommodate the larger animal. At this point the animals were maybe 3 feet from me. I cant tell you how thrilling it was to me. For 20 minutes they ate in silence with a few cats perched up on the wall watching their food be devoured.
Well as the raccoons dish was emptied  he looked to his right and took a swipe at the opossum .She backed up a little but didn't move or stop eating. She did get
through first and began to walk around the raccoon. I wouldn't believe this if I were the one being told this story, but she reached her snout out and bit the
racoon on its big bushy tail! Needless to say the raccoon was surprised and jumped straight up in the air with a cry of pain. When he came back down he growled at her and swatted her with a little hand, then bit at her. I dont think he got her though as she stayed where she was and continued to eat. The incident was over as quick as it started as they both went back to the cat food . This whole time I am trying to take pictures on a cell phone. I took a few decent ones but the animals wouldn't pose for me.
Not long after this and the opossum finished her plate and ambled off into the night. The raccoon stayed until his bowl was empty and it too ambled off.
Well I was ecstatic , and had to tell someone. I went inside and gushed all of this off of Eric but he was into the ballgame and was really not interested.I told my  mother who could only say "They probably have rabies.You shouldn't do that." LOL. So friends I am telling you. Needless to say I have been watching them
and I intend to write it down, every experience ,and I hope you come back so I
have someone else to tell.

Deep creek Camping, leads to At Hiking

Ok, calm down Ive bout got the chicken cooked, I said to my to rambunctious kids,who werent finished playing yet. The old man had found a nice yard chair under a high Carolina Pine, and was now smoking his cares away! Tabby my usual lazy girl got her and her dads plate,{already a good helper at 8} and went to sit down beside him. Kris and I ate on the picnic table studying the trail maps off Deep Creek. The Newest and our Favorite, camping spot in the Great Smoky Mountains. I had a new camera, in my 30s, energy, and I was determined to visit ALL the waterfalls at DEEP CREEK before we packed up tomorrow.
So it somewhat became our norm. Girl child stayed at the campsite with dad Dan Garner, that evening, and kinda cleaned up, but had a wonderful unforgettable bonding experience...watching a mother Hoot Owl far up in the Pine tree above there camp site. She was taking care of and teaching to fly 2 chicks. They sat very quietly and had this experience I only wish I had been there for.

But I, and the every growing salty son of mine went looking for the last waterfall on the camp brochure. The one to the left of the road that got the least amount of visitors! And while we walked we talked, because I discovered long ago to get them to talk to youANY time you could. What we had been doing all day is riding a round inflated truck tire down the side of this mountain creek. IT HAD TO BE the MOST fun ive every had.. the only problem was when the ride was over, you had to get out and walk about 2 miles STRAIGHT uphill beside the creek to the spot where you could get in again. Once, standing in line Kris saw "backpackers" skipping right over our mountain creek but turning left or right onto a well marked trail. That trail it turned out to be, The Great APPALACHIAN TRIAL!! The one that runs from Georgia to Maine. Well thats what we found ourselves talking about as we were looking for that last waterfall. (By then in the dark) Reading trail maps, finding out about that trail, where it was accessible from, and on and on, I got a great pic of the waterfall under the stars! But that trail was on our minds.we stumbled our way outa the foresta with two small flashlights, got to hear the owl asAndtaAory by the campfire and went to bed. But IAA lay awake thinking about Appalachian Trail Hiking with my hiking buddy.


When we got home a trip to the library was called for. I read several journals, which lead me to buy a few. Lots of people had been killed on The AT, especially where Kris wanted to do it. This would take a few years and alot more knowledge

The first book I read was " A Womans Journey". by Cindy Ross  I was truly inspired by this one womans account of her two-part 2,100 mile hike. She not only is an excellent spokeswoman for the close-knit group of trail family, but also an excellent artist. I was extremely interested to find out that the section of trail my beloved son wanted to take was full of BLACK BEARS!! and had to have the cabins reserved in advance because of this fact. All the cabins along this portion of the trail had chain link fencing across the front specifically for this threat. Most other parts of the trail you could just pitch your small backpackers tent under the stars and hope to be bothered by the occasional skunk, or maybe bobcat. But BEARS! Now Kris. But TheAnd heres where thee
 s GAreat Smoky Mountains held a sort of magic for me. We had visited every campground, done the entire Blue Ridge Parkway (which ends in the Great Smokies), and I had grown up camping. Later on in their childhood I even invested in the typical 1970 model VW camp mobile, Micro-bus. So I got over my fear of Bears as I swallowed each book on The AT.

I read "A Walk In The Woods" by Bill Bryson, which is absolutely hilarious. And convinced me that an overweight, not so fit, overworked mother of two COULD travel at least a 50 mile stretch of beautiful scenery with her son in her own back yard. Then there were countless books on trail foods, and easy ways to reduce packaging. And the ever friendly tip of freezing Gatorade "my sons favorite at the time" rolling it up in the sleeping bag, and having cold Gatorade for, believe it or not 4 days! "There Are Mountains To Climb" an inspirational journal by Jean Deeds, an exceptional book that inspirited me to start looking at external frame packs. Then I bought my first trail guide while visiting Roan Mt. with my mother. She had no idea what I was up to. Just looked at me sorta strange. See, trail guides tell you what to expect from what section to the next. They give you topographical maps so you can visualize the terrain, which I was beginning to be able to do. I devoured it. We began to camp around Roan Mt. Later as my son got a girlfriend (mother of two of my three beautiful granddaughters) we took them camping on Roan. I read "The Best Of The Appalachian Trail Day Hikes", and began to mark them off as we did them,"The Appalachian Trail Backpacker" by Victoria and Frank Logue an invaluable book about tents, tarps, boots ,clothing, food, eating utensils, backpacks, rain gear, hiking sticks, this book is a collection of the best gear for the trip. It is absolutely the best guide I found! AND ALL BUT Bill Brysons book comes in paperback. Something you want to consider when packing for a trip. Because believe you me WEIGHT COUNTS.Actually none of those books went with us when we did our hike. They are just a few that got me started.

Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park

Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, a photo by J-Fish on Flickr.

Pubahs Cross Country Camping Trip Part 3

7/10/2001   Day 11  The Pacific Coast

I climbed down the rocky cliff to the tide pools below, and was staring with amazement at the intertwined starfish. I assumed they were having sex all bunched together like that, but I had no way of knowing. So I balanced myself on the rocks and took a roll of pictures.I didn't want to leave but I had already experienced a 2 hour traffic jam outside of Santa Cruz. I'd wanted to stop at some of the hundreds of State Parks that seemed to dot California's coastline, but the traffic jam would put a damper on that. I was, however, going North to a Redwood Forest that had been turned into a state park.

As soon as I got up this morning, I drove the few miles to the ocean. I shouted "I made it!" and started taking pictures, looking for a way down to the ocean. The beach is different here than it is on the East Coast, or the Gulf Coast. Its very rocky, with cliffs, where the ocean comes up and crashes against the cliffs. I had to drive to find a way down. Then I followed people who looked like they were going out to the coast.

Dawnie had given me a baggie to get her some sand, but this wasn't the spot to do it. It was all rocks and cliffs. It was absolutely beautiful but the sand might have to come from Newport Beach.

Leaping from rock to rock was how I found the starfish. But the tide was washing over the rocks. I couldn't tell if it was going out or coming in, but that hardly mattered. I had on my Chocko sandals and a pair of hiking shorts with big pockets, so I was dressed for whatever nature threw at me. I turned my camera on a sea anemone for a few frames, the stood there, balanced on the rocks, looking west.......

I studied the map and decided on The Henry Cowell Redwood Forest (see pics below)





I am in love. I am in awe. This is where I belong, here in these forests, amongst theses ancient trees. I can understand why Julia Butterfly Hill sat in the tree she called "Luna" for 2 years, to protect it from being cut down. She took a stand to protect these trees, and were I young and in California I may have joined her.



Julia Butterfly Hill  dateline interview


After a few hours of walking in a daze through the forest, I reluctantly climbed back in the Jeep and headed for my last KOA on this part of the trip.

Studying the map, I decided to travel down Hwy 1A until time to find my camp ground. Wow! I had thought the redwood forest and the tidal pools were cool. Travelling this road was amazing.

It was messing with my sense of direction though. The ocean being on the right as I traveled south was something I had never experienced. My head told me North should be in front of me if the ocean was on the right. Maybe I just thought I had a good sense of direction!

I had never been on a road so gorgeous! It was even better than The Blue Ridge Parkway. The only problem was there was hardly ever a place to stop and take pictures. When there was a spot, it was a private driveway , and they all said, NO STOPPING!! NO PARKING!! I had to be happy with driving slowly and looking at the cliffs and what I could see of the ocean. At times the road was very curvy, and driving cautiously was a good idea anyway, but I kept having cars ride my bumper and of course there was no passing so they couldn't go around. I used those times to pull over in the less than friendly driveways and let people go around. Sometimes I would park and take a few pics. When I got far enough south I said goodbye to Hwy 1A and headed toward the campground.

This KOA was hidden well. I had no reservations and wasn't sure if I would be setting up a tent or snuggling up in a warm Kabin bed, so when I got tired of searching (which didn't take long), I pulled over at a gas station where I saw a California State Trooper car and asked him. He was very pleasant and seemed kind of tickled by my accent, but his advice was great. He knew I was on the right road but didn't know the exact location, so he said, "Hey, just follow that RV." I jumped in the Jeep, following the slow RV, and arrived at the KOA right before dark. When I went in to inquire about a Kabin, the lady said she had 3 available but was going to put me next to the ladies that were camping with there kids so I wouldn't be so far from company. As soon as I got out of the car I was approached by a 10/11 year old Mexican boy who ask me to come over to his Kabin for dinner. I was famished! I threw my pillow and sleeping bag on the bunk, along with my sleep backpack and went to meet my neighbours. They were the nicest group of people I think I have ever met. 4 kids and 2 women, camping and making fajitas over a camp fire. It was all fresh, and home-made, and delicious! If the guy who had tried to steal my tire had made me think badly about Mexican people, this group of people changed it all, and it was just the next day. So I was prejudiced for a day. Just goes to show you that stereotyping is stupid. I drank a couple too many beers, said goodnight, and headed back to my Kabin to catch up on some postcards. Now this was before I had a computer and before everyone had email, so I had quite a few to do. In all I finished 16 postcards and lay down to sleep.

Sleep was elusive that night. Tomorrow I had to get to Newport Beach and switch modes. From explorer to judge. I had to learn new routines,and a new code of points. I needed to pass my film so I could stay a 7/8 judge and not fall back in ranking and in pay. These symposiums were always very stressful on me, and damn it...it was my birthday in 2 days!! Sleep finally came but the hour was late.

7/11/2001 - 7/16/2001 Days 12- 17 Newport Beach, California

                                        SYMPOSIUM


Good room-mates...Kathy and Claire...they got in last so they had to share beds! Everyone is on Eastern time and I had already adjusted so I wasn't ready to go as early as they were, but we went to the most expensive hotel buffet breakfast Ide ever eaten. I had forgotten its Kathy's birthday too. Classes, classes, classes. But we did get to ride bikes and ride the ferry to Balboa Island. We (Kathy and I ) took Stephanie,and Catherine out to Joes Crab Shack. We both got kinda drunk and had fun when the waitress had us dress up and run through the restaurant and yell and cheer.They were embarrassed.


We got back and went to the hotel bar and shot pool with 2 British guys on vacation from their wives. I cant play pool but Sue was there and she can. She showed them up! I took some pics of us on the beach. It was to cold to swim, (and its July!) but we did handstands!

More classes,classes,classes. and finally, tests. I took my practical and my film. I think I passed my practical but not the film.I know I got Bars wrong.After leaving Catherine at the airport for a standby flight I wimped out  and stayed at a motel. I went to Barstow and settled in a Days Inn for the night.I found a full service Shell station and am getting the Jeeps Oil changed in the am before heading East.I would love to see the North rim of The Grand Canyon and somehow get through Colorado on the way home. I'm going to study the map while I have an extra bed to spread everything out on, and no fear of losing my glasses are on my mind.

Pubah's Cross Country Camping Trip part 2

Day 6       7/5/2001      Grand Canyon KOA

I stood on the Kabin porch and watched the rain as the lightening crackled and threw temporary light over the Grand Canyon KOA campground. It had been raining since just after I walked back from the bath house. Nice fat raindrops. The first rain I had encountered since leaving home. How could that be, I pondered? I've been gone now for what, 5, 6 days? Yeah, it was 6 days. I guess I was still on schedule, at least my reservations had been right. This KOA was great! They had a covered hot tub, and I was a little sore from all my exploring yesterday. And if there was anything I missed about home, it was my hot tub. There was a band tonight called The Mule Skinners. There was food (that they cooked),a pool, and a bath house that was huge and very clean. It even smelled good.

There was barely any ice left in the cooler, but I wanted a beer, so I drank it warm as I sat on the bunk and tried to figure out this new cell phone. I was having trouble getting calls and could scroll through and see the missed calls but I just wasn't receiving them. There really wasn't a signal here either, and I wanted to get into that hot tub before supper, so I could dress and wear one of my nice pairs of shorts to supper. Washing clothes here seemed like a good idea. I had tried to pack for camping and Newport Beach in the same suitcase, so washing clothes was the only way to go. I laid the phone on the bunk bed and dug through my suitcase for my swimsuit. After shrugging it on I threw on a t-shirt and some flip-flops, took my small backpack and gathered my things. I thought I'd take the phone and see if it worked somewhere in the campground. As I walked to the hot tub I thought I should have brought a load of dirty clothes with me and let them wash as I soaked, but I was too far now. I would do it after while.

 I walked around the office to the back and found a spot to lay my stuff. There was no one around as I eased into the hot tub on this hot July day. There were a few kids at the pool but tuning out their noise was nothing for a grandmother and gymnastics teacher. I was used to children's noise. I laid my head back and let my legs float......... The day had started out fun with some back country 4 wheeling. I had talked to Dan round 8.....seems he and Fran just couldn't reach me because of my location last night. I had 5 voice mails....went on to Grand Canyon KOA after 4 hours of back country 4 wheeling around the Volcano and in the canyon. I had a terrific time although it wasn't much of a challenge for the Jeep.Small black cinders and of course I got a specimen.It wasn't in the park though. You never, never, take things from a Park.(you can buy things but you cant take things) Had driven straight to the KOA saying bye-bye to 40 till later. I may come back to 40 after Newport Beach but I planned to go back on 70 through The Rocky Mtn National Park.

"Hi" came a womans voice. As I opened my eyes I saw a short Native American Woman standing over me."Hey" I said to her as I pulled myself out of my daydreaming."Are you coming to the cookcout and singing tonight?" she ask me. "I had planned on it." I told her."Well you better get outta there and get your clothes on because we start cooking in less than an hour. I've got to get this place cleaned up after those kids!" I had not been paying any attention to the time, "Oh my!" I exclaimed "I totally lost track of time!". She laughed and said    "Lots of people say that in that hot tub, but I don't see how you can stand it. It's already hot out here." " It makes my sore muscles feel better."  I told her. As I climbed out and dried off,  I told her thanks for waking me and I hurried back to my Kabin.

Since I didn't do laundry, I had decided to wear my birthday outfit to the cook out. I had given myself two days at this KOA so I could relax for a day and explore The Grand Canyon thoroughly. I drove up to the store real quick and purchased some ice to ice down my beer. I hadn't had time to stop at a grocery store to reup on food. so, when I went in to pay for the ice I purchased a cold six pack and drove back to the cabin. I drank two beers sitting at the picnic table as I watched people slowly begin to wander toward the office. OK, I guess I was ready to socialize.

 "Man this is so good!" I said as I ate my steak. It had been cooked over an open flame and I had gotten a baked potato on the side. I had ordered it medium rare and it was exactly right. The band was setting up and I thought I was in for a good evening. The band was called  Mule Skinners. A woman with long black braids and an old looking man. I had been sitting with a woman and her 2 young children, a girl and a boy, on vacation from Las Vegas. They were staying in a RV and were going home tomorrow.The kids wanted me to see their cartwheels so while the band was setting up we went over into the grass beside the pool and I watched obvious dance-taught cartwheels. I showed them both a good cartwheel and to my surprise they both adjusted their cartwheels to more accurately reflect a gymnastics-like front cartwheel. We played around until we heard the band start up and scurried back to our picnic table. As the band started up I was thrilled to see a fiddle and an acoustic guitar. After they had played a few songs and started asking the audience where they were from. I hollered North Carolina. The woman said, "Well, we don't know any Beach Boys", to the laughter of everyone. I said "yeah, but you could play me some Rocky Top." and of course any good fiddle player knows Rocky Top. I also got a nice Tennessee Waltz out of them. They had their CD for sale but I couldn't waste a penny. After a very enjoyable night I said goodbye to (I cant remember their names) and walked back to the Kabin. I decided to drive down toward I-40 till I could get a signal on this phone.

"You haven't heard anything about Tabby?" I questioned him as our conversation became more strained."Well, did you ask Mark if he had heard from her or maybe seen her over there somewhere?" My husband found talking about our daughter difficult. Our kids, and the best way to deal with them was an ongoing battle between us. " I didn't go get Corban this weekend " he told me.
"why not?" I demanded "you know we have to stay consistent!"  I had driven down the road from the campground toward I-40 until I had enough towers on the phone, then found a safe place to pull over. I called, very well aware that 10 here meant 12 am at home. Dan usually fell asleep early in his recliner, but since he didn't work I didn't think there was a problem with waking him. And to my surprise he didn't grumble, he seemed happy to hear from me. He told me he was having a bit of car trouble and that he had arranged to get Corban next weekend. I spoke to him a while longer and made my way back to the campground. I needed rest. I was going to see the Grand Canyon tomorrow and I wanted to hike some, although i was really interested in getting some good pictures. The watchtower sounded interesting, with it's circular design and its wall paintings. There were also ruins that I wanted to check out so a good nights sleep was necessary.

                                         

 Day 7   7/6/2001   Grand Canyon National Park

 " Oh Man!" I groaned as I heard and felt my glasses crunch beneath my foot. My glasses had been hiding from me for most of an hour now. Breakfast had been the last of the cereal, because there was fresh milk and the open cereal box was driving me nuts! I just ate the banana instead of slicing it into the cereal because those glasses were nowhere to be found and i didn't want to walk to the bathhouse to put in my contacts until I was ready to go. Wearing my contacts had become very irritating because I was near sighted and they corrected my FAR vision. My glasses corrected that too but I could always take my glasses off to read. The only thing I could do if I wanted to read and wear contacts, was to get a pair of reading glasses and wear those with my contacts. I figured I may as well wear my prescription glasses and push them up on my head if I needed to read. Now I knew I would soon need to find an optometrist to purchase a new pair of glasses. Maybe they could fix this pair. Deciding to wait until I got back from the Grand Canyon I got my backpack and locked the cabin. Putting the ice chest back in the car, I looked around the campsite to see if it looked clean. Walking around the Jeep, I looked at the tires. I had driven close to a thousand miles and a flat would be a pain in the you know what. Getting the oil changed and the tires rotated was scheduled to get done after I reached Newport Beach, California, sometime during the week of Congress. Maybe I could schedule it when I got to the hotel. The tires looked good enough so I cranked up and drove to the bathhouse. Pulling in to one of the parking spaces, I  studied the map because once I got my contacts in there would be no reading it. It seemed to be a fairly straight shot and the National Parks were usually marked clearly on the road. I could always spot the nice brown signs.

My contacts swam in the clear solution. Fishing the left one out I popped it into my eye. The door opened behind me and a young woman and 2 little girls came in. Surely I looked funny standing with my face 6 inches from the mirror, and my eyes wide open as if terrified. She didn't speak so I went first. "Hi" I said and I continued to put in my right contact thinking that would explain my funny position and my scared look. "Hi" said the woman and the oldest of the children at the same time. They both giggled happily. "We are going to see The Grand Champion" said the child excitedly. " The Grand Canyon" said the woman. " Hi I'm Jo and this is Nell and Rachel" said Jo. " Hi I am Karen, I"m putting in my contacts, because I broke my glasses and I want to see The Grand Canyon too."
I smiled. Children always warmed my heart. I usually had a way with them too. It was nice to be off work, but I missed it too. Getting my stuff together I said goodbye to Jo and the kids, told them to have a nice day, and climbed in the Jeep.

About an hour later, after following the brown signs I was slowing down and showing my 2001 National Parks pass. As i pulled away from the gate I spotted my first wildlife. A six foot snake making it's way across the road in front of me.

The animal you saw most in the park was the Black, almost blue Ravens that were posing on the rocks at the first pull off I found. I was taking pictures of the birds when I noticed everyone pointing in another direction. There was a huge bird that almost looked like a huge dionasaur turkey bird....(my word)...

It was the California Condor, North America's largest land bird weighing in at up to 26 pounds and living up to 60 years. They were introduced into the Grand Canyon in the hopes of saving them from extinction.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Condor

In all I shot 14 rolls of film. 4 black and white and 10 rolls of color. I got in 2 rolls of totally panoramic too. Thats sounds like a lot but this was before I went digital. I probably could have gotten better shots if I had a digital camera and could see what my shots looked like as I took them. I was really hoping the pictures of The Watchtower and of the Ruins came out good. There was a lot of people in The Watchtower and I hoped at least a few would come out without someone in them.  



The Watchtower from a pull off on the East Rim



The Watchtower in black and white during a storm



The Desert View in The Observation Platform


This painting tells the story of the Snake Leg-End—the story of the beginning of the Snake Dances (which may be more familiar to you as a Rain Dance). It is also the story of the first man to navigate the Colorado River.






A view of the Colorado River as it snakes through The Grand Canyon National Park. The colors of the desert are striking.

These are not my photos. They are all from Flickr.com. Scanning my pics would have taken me days so I improvised with better pictures. My pictures are in albums with post cards from this trip taped to the front of them.

After a long day on the east and south rim I headed back to the KOA. I stopped at the front desk to talk to the desk clerk and get their ideas on any good spots to go back country and ask about an optometrist.

My fire was roaring when I remembered to call Dan. Shoot! There wasn't a signal here and with a fire going it wouldn't be prudent of me to leave so I settled on an early morning phone call. Staring into the fire I decided to go west, through Las Vegas. The KOA man had said there were cheap motels in Vegas and I was ready for a bed. Plus I might be able to get my glasses fixed. The sky was huge out here, and the stars were filling up the sky. It wasn't long and the kindling that called itself firewood was burnt out and I decided to go to bed. Snuggling up in my sleeping bag, I was asleep in 15 minutes.

 Day 8  7/7/2001   Lake Mead, Nevada

Another sign for The Hoover Dam was appearing in the distance. The KOA man hadn't said anything about that and I couldn't read the map, but it seems I was going to drive right over it. I had always found dams fascinating, at one time tracking down all the dams on The Yadkin River back home. They were so massive. It was hard to imagine actually making them, and holding back such massive amounts of water. All of a sudden the traffic came to a crawl, and just as I thought there was a wreck or construction ahead I was driving right over The Hoover Dam. In the middle of it was a sign that said Welcome to Nevada! I looked for a place to park on the Nevada side. There was a sidewalk that you could take all the way to the other side.Walking on the east side was a beautiful blue lake. I had reason to believe this was The Colorado River damed up. After reading an informational sign I found out this was The Colorado River, the river that had snaked its way through the Grand Canyon. Lake Mead was the lake that it made. After visiting the hydroelectric dam I walked back down the other side toward the Jeep. Looking down at the canyon where the river was released far below was spooky. This had to be the biggest of all the dams I had ever seen. I wish I had studied the atlas a little better so I would have been prepared.



























I got in the Jeep and was continuing on to Las Vegas when right around a bend in the road I saw Lake Mead National Recreation Park Campground. Another brown sign. Well I had to check that out. No cabins that I could see, but the tent sites...right on the beach were beautiful. I went to the visitor center to pay for my site and gather any information about tent sites. They were $8.00. and I was told to" just pick one out and come pay for it tomorrow before I left. If I did!!" The lady laughed at me. Since I got here so late it I probably didn't have time to cook supper. Just set up the tent and got my thermarest laid out with my sleeping bag on top. This is a great tent. As long as I leave the rain fly off I can look up through the mesh and see the stars. I didn't even pull out anything for the kitchen, except the camp stove and the coffeepot for the morning. I found the small lantern I had been using as I found the bigger one to have a harsher light and I couldn't see the stars through it. As I was setting up the tent my neighbors,Bobbi and Darren came over and ask me over for supper. Grilled over the fire hamburgers with cheese, and hot dogs. With pan fried potatoes and corn on the cob. Ice cold beer. It was perfect! This is how I spent my time in Las Vegas...Isn't that funny.

I jumped in the car around midnight and drove up the road toward Vegas. Bobbi had told me the best exit to pull off and get a pic off the night lights of Las Vegas, and that was really as close as I wanted to get. Most people wouldn't understand, but that wasn't my style and not what this trip was all about. I couldn't really imagine a time that i would want to go to Vegas, anymore than I would want to go to New York City. But here I was, and I needed an optometrist. I just didn't want to go into THAT town in search of one so I had decided to wait till I got in to Ca. Thats assuming the desk clerk would be able to give me directions to Yosemite, where my next reservation was, since I couldn't make heads or tails of the map with these darned contacts in. Pulling off at the exit Bobbi had told me about, I crossed over onto the ramp to exit back onto the hwy and pulled off the road. Looking into the distance, I didn't see anything much more than a glow. I opened the passenger side door and climbed on top of the Jeep. I saw a distinct neon presence but nothing stuck out really, so I took a couple of pics. You know the kind that say. Ive been there but wasn't all that impressed! Got back in the car and back up the ramp. Crossing the bridge I took the Hwy back to the campground.

I lay on my back looking up at the stars, listening to the nearby hoot of an Owl. This was a great tent, bought on a whim while judging a meet far from home. I had a 2 hour break and gone shopping at a REI. The tent was a light backpackers tent, suitable for one person (and a small dog), and had been on an out of season 75percent markdown. It was easy to put up with no help and easy to carry adding only 2 lbs to the weight of your gear. And I had always been able to roll it up and get it back into its carrying case, which in itself was amazing. I had called mom and dad and Dan while I was setting up camp so everyone was satisfied. I hadn't told mom that I was close to Las Vegas because my mother didn't really understand me. She always assumed the worst and would assume I was out gambling the night away in Sin City. Of course I had told Dan who had laughed at me and cracked a joke about me going to gamble but finding a campground instead. He knew better! I didn't even gamble playing cards. I fell asleep to the tune of cricketts and the hooting owl.

Campgrounds come alive right after the first rays of sunshine warm the Earth. You can smell the drifting aroma of coffee and hear the distant (and sometimes near) sounds of children playing, the smell of bacon frying, and dogs being walked. I had picked out a campsite on the beach at Lake Mead National Recreation area, but I had no idea how great a campsite it was until I awoke in the am.

 Day 9 7/8/2001  Death Valley California

 I rolled over on my stomach and stared out my door. This is what I saw.

 


Another great campsite! I could have stayed here for a week, going swimming every day. (I did not know until recently that it is one of the most polluted bodies of water in the USA.) Still in my night clothes (a pair of cotton shorts and a worn out t shirt) I strolled down to the beach and watched the sailboat pass by. Turning around I surveyed my campsite. It was pretty large, and with no specific tent pad I had set up with my tent as close to the water as i thought was prudent.  But it had been dusk and I hadn't been able to get the tent spikes to stay in the sandy soil. My body had held the tent down overnight but there was a gusty breeze and I didn't want to chance my tent blowing away while I cooked breakfast. I looked around for something to hold it down. A large flat rock, probably used for just that thing was on the picnic table. I laid it on top off my sleeping bag and made some breakfast; cereal, scrambled eggs, and pop tarts. I ate breakfast at the picnic table, gazing out onto that lake....this is the most beautiful lake... it's like the desert meets the mountains with a lake in the between. I'd love to take a riverboat ride, but I have to remain "thrifty," so I will be satisfied just looking at it. I wish I had a couple days here to explore this lake  and the surrounding desert, but I had only a few days remaining to get to Newport Beach. I was going to have to leave the exploring to do until the return trip. But I would always remember this campsite.

I was soon breaking camp, and after talking to the desk clerk and finding a way across Death Valley, it didn't look like I would be getting my glasses fixed today.
Yosemite National Park was on the other side of Death Valley National Park, so I would be going in to one wilderness area after another and I didn't think I would run into any eye Dr along the way, unless, of course, I wanted to go into Vegas. Not!

In less than 30 minutes I was passing Las Vegas. The city that never sleeps was very busy and as far as I was concerned off limits, although if I had any sense at all, I probably would have gambled on an eye Dr!! The city looked sleepy but the traffic gave that away, the traffic was busy and I was thankful to get away from it. I would find an optometrist in California.

It wasn't long before I ran right past the road I needed to turn on to cross Death Valley. I had missed a brown sign. Not being able to read the map was having it's downfalls. If this had not been the middle of July, I may have camped but the temperature was already around 100 and I hadn't even gotten into the park yet. I expected it to be hotter at this time of year, but I wanted to camp close to water and trees, so I was just hiking a little and taking pictures. This landscape was more like the moon than anything I'd seen so far. I thought the Volcano in Arizona and the Painted Desert looked like the moon but this was wild. The sand dunes were surreal and the salt flats were scary to me. There were even places I would say, yes, they faked the moon landing and filmed it here! Not really, but it would have passed for the moon. There were water barrels, for overheated cars (and overheated people too, I assumed), on the side of the road. My volkswagen microbus wouldn't run here. It was aircooled and overheated just climbing Black Mountain back on 1-40 in N.C. I correctly assumed I shouldn't run the air conditioning, so I rolled the window down and watched the temperature climb. Of course I was listening to Pink Floyd...Ill fetch you a tune!



I hope I did that right. Its my first time embedding into the post. Hmmm seems I embedded the whole album. Well you can just cut it off whenever  you want to. I need to show you a couple of pictures from Death Valley National Park. I apologize in advance for these not being my pictures, but these are so much better.



I know this one is a little different, but I thought it was a cool picture so I  I would slipped it in. It was taken in a salt flat, and I saw and took pics of salt flats so I included it. I don't know how they got her dress to float like that because when I was there there was absolutely no wind. No humidity either. 



Here is one of Badwater Basin. I was in love with Badwater Basin. It was 102 at 152 feet below, yes, I said below, sea level! Take that New Orleans! After a long day attempting to get good black and white and panoramic pictures, and a temp. that topped out at 111 degrees, I finally exited Death Valley. I immediately started looking for a motel and a place to eat. I wanted a shower and a cold Pepsi. I found a place to eat called Jackie's Diner. Then I found this cheap motel and watched tv till 1 am. I had not missed the tv. Dan and I fought over his tv viewing habit all the time. The late night life and world news, seem to disappear when there is no tv. I am not nearly as stressed when the tv is in the off position. And my goodness what did we do back then without the internet to keep us informed? We slept better at night! This is 11 years later and  I don't know about you but I wrote things down...I am cheating as I write this story now by reading out of one of these things I like to call journals! After taking a hot shower, I curled up with this journal and caught up with the day.


Day 10  7/9/2001 Yosemite National Park and Yosemite Koa

After watching the tube until 1 am and feeling the warmth of a cheap motel bed I slept late and moved slow. Check out was 11 and I was using all the time I had paid for. I was taking my time packing, I wanted to be able to reach right in the car when I got to congress and get the right bag. After driving past the entrance to Yosemite and being surprised and distracted by Mono Lake (which I had to stop and explore!) it was close to noon before I turned into Yosemite National Park. Another brown sign.

Some information on Mono Lake

North of Mono Lake, in the Bodie Hills, there are 28- to 8-million-year-old
andesitic lavas.[3] These lavas, and at least one caldera (Big Alkali Flat),
were part of the last phase of subduction zone-related volcanism in the
area.[note 1] At that time, the Sierra Nevada was an eroded set of rolling hills
and Mono Basin and Owens Valley did not yet exist. About 5 million years ago,
Basin and Range crustal stretching spread to the Mono area.[4] From 4.5 to 2.6
million years ago, large volumes of basalt were erupted around what is now
Cowtrack Mountain (east and south of Mono Basin); eventually covering 300 square miles (780 km2) and reaching a maximum thickness of 600 feet (180 m).[4] Later volcanism in the area occurred 3.8 million to 250,000 years ago.[5] This activity was northwest of Mono Basin and included the formation of Aurora
Crater, Beauty Peak, Cedar Hill (later an island in the highest stands of Mono
Lake), and Mount Hicks.

Mono Lake is believed to have formed at least 760,000 years ago, dating back to
the Long Valley eruption. Sediments located below the ash layer hint that Mono
Lake could be a remnant of a larger and older lake that once covered a large
part of Nevada and Utah, making it among the oldest lakes in North America. At
its height during the last ice age, the lake may have been 900 feet (270 m)
deep;[6] prominent old shore lines, called strandlines by geologists, can be
seen above Lee Vining (near the white "LV") and along volcanic hills northeast
of the current lake.

(wikipedia - of course)

As soon as I entered Yosemite, I could tell that it would take a solid week to explore this park, so this would be a quick day and a half picture taking driving tour. It was a misty rainy day in the park and the pictures all came out with that foggy quality. I didn't get any hiking in, I was in a hurry to set up camp at the next KOA because after staying so many nights at a KOA you get a free nights tent site and I had scheduled mine for this KOA. I could not have picked out a worse spot. The tent site wasn't as big as the jeep and was right on a duck pond. After trying to get a better site and finding the staff very uncooperative, and then finding out reservations had to be made in advance for the Nat. park campground I went back country to check out a few campsites. I found a wonderful one, right on a beautiful mountain stream, but.... the neighbors were 6 drunken young men. My better judgment told me not to camp there. I should have stayed and explored other back country campsites but I was afraid that drunken climbers were all I would get for neighbors. I called my next reservation; Montery Bay, California and checked to see if they had a kabin available. They did. Maybe I could make it that far. If only i could read the stupid map! Here are a few pics of Yosemite, and a campground map.


 Vernal Falls

Tunnel View

Tunnel View in Yosemite National Park as depicted in watercolor. Bridal Veil Falls can be seen on the right with El Capitan protruding on the left and Half Dome in the background

Below Nevada Falls

All of these are things I did not get to see. The pictures I did take were good. Rainy, misty looking with low lying clouds. But I didn't get to hike to any waterfalls. I would love to go explore Yosemite again. Although I'm afraid my knees and my heart would give out before I got to any waterfalls. I was in much better shape when I went on this adventure, than now when Im writting about it.

yosemite park campgrounds

I hated to leave Yosemite but I didn't have anywhere to stay so I took off for the next KOA, hoping a paid for site would be a better one. Now I had to hurry. If only I had known that this was going to be my first shitty day since leaving home.

Crossing these mountains (hills?) in California was crazy. I had my Jeep at 90mph and was having trouble keeping it in the road when a car pulled up beside me and started waving at me. I reluctantly rolled the window down. A young women screamed slow down you have a flat tire!! I took my foot off the pedal and started to drift to the side of the road. The Jeep had been hard to handle but I had put it off to the winds. The Jeep had not been washed since leaving home and it had a nice coating of back country dirt on it. I did not want to remove all the vacationing stuff out of the back to get at the jack and spare. AAA had been purchased for just such an occasion. One problem though - they don't speak southern in Northern California. The girl on the phone was Spanish and simply did not understand me. I was asked what I was talking about three times and then I was transfered to a southern California man who had no better time understanding me. This was a simple flat tire! What I would have given for the simple act of a text message back then! Finally, I was transfered to a woman in Atlanta who said that it happened all the time and she would have someone out in about an hour. Well, I was frustrated by then, it had already been an hour, so I got the jack out (after taking all the crap out of the back) and loosened the lug nuts and jacked up the car. About that time, I got a friendly visit from a what I could only assume was a Mexican man who wanted to take my tire down to the next exit and get it fixed. I could "come along if I liked" he told me. I was angry, frustrated, and beginning to get scared, and I had decided to cancel AAA when suddenly the tow truck appeared. The nice man got out and ran the Mexican off with a wave of his hand. He told me I was lucky I didn't give him my tire. He would never come back and I would be riding on my spare all the way home. He patched my tire right there on the side of the road, extracting 2 nails. I must have picked them up when I went off road in Yosemite.

Finally, with a patched tire, I made my way to the next exit that said food and gas. There was a Chevron station and of course I went in and ask directions. The attendant informed me that " I should buy a map". Exasperated I tried again before climbing back in the Jeep...a surfer looking dude told me, I had come too far and politely (if not amusedly ), gave me directions back to the most expensive KOA on my trip. I had paid less for the motel the night before. Arriving after 9 pm the place was huge and so far out of my price range it may as well have been the Hilton, but I got a good nights sleep. I was glad of the 0 degree sleeping bag though because it was cold. It's 2 days before my birthday and Ive been from 111 degrees to now shivering with cold. Im heading SOUTH tomorrow.....