Winter water[falls]

We had a great Sunday paddle on the upper Guadalupe a couple of weeks ago. The company was great, and the water was clear and flowing at just about a perfect level.

There was even enough water to allow a couple of waterfalls to actually sport falling water! The first one we saw was on the paddle itself—the Travertine falls shown above. We have been past it before when it was dry as a bone, but not this time.

a closer look

The few little rapids along this stretch were fun at this level, too.

our visitor from the Great Northwest in mid-maneuver

And the water itself was gloriously clear. Which unfortunately you can't really tell from my pictures, since the bright sun bounces around on the surface too much...

...but you can take my word for it...

And of course the usual fabulous winter scenery of rocks and bare tree bones were very much in evidence...

did we have great weather, or what?!

Of course, you always have to be aware that the river's not always this congenial. Take a look at the picnic table (in the red box) here in a less-than-ideal position for fun picnicing...

We took out at Edge Falls Road, where we've started many a trip. Here's the little rapid just downstream from this bridge:

And since we had a little extra time before we needed to get home and ready for Downton Abbey, we thought we'd see if we could find the eponymous Edge Falls.

This is what we came upon...isn't it a gorgeous little spot?!

The main creek is Curry Creek, but there was so much moisture that water was feeding into the falls from several different little streams. 

It was enough water to fill the pool at its base to what looked like almost swimming-hole depth...

We spent some time here just enjoying this super-scenic falls, knowing that we were lucky to see it running so well.

Cool as this spot is, however, some research on Google Earth later (how did we know where anything was before this marvelous invention?!) showed us that it's not really Edge Falls. That is further downstream, away from the road and on private property, but a much larger falls with a much larger pool.

It's probably just out of sight around that last bend in the downstream shot above. 

Well, maybe someday we'll get to see the real thing!

Wordless Wednesday: let's explore!

The Maine idea: destination and return

After four days in the saddle, so to speak, Hal and I finally ended up at our destination—the title company in Portland where the little family formally took possession of their neat new (although 100-year-old) house. I snapped the shot above from one of their windows, showing our trusty steed near the end of its journey. 

Yes, near, but not at, the end. We still had some driving to do, back and forth to Winterport, to sleep in beds instead of on the floor, and to pick up more stuff. 

Here's a snap of Grammie and Nix taking a walk in an unseasonably mild Maine afternoon. Yes, there is some snow, but not as much as they're accustomed to having at this time of year.

Usually in February, Maine-rs want to stay inside next to handsome wood stoves like this one...

...and during the next week, I'm sure they all did, as temps dipped below zero. But for us and our loading/unloading chores, the weather was almost ideal.

New England is such an interesting place, as I'm sure I've mentioned before. A very pleasant area, certainly, but so different from my usual haunts that it's sometimes hard to remember that it's not a separate country. 

Even the pine trees look different here than those I'm used to seeing in Colorado, or in East Texas...

long needles!

perfect Christmas-tree shapes

But I'm sure I'll be getting more and more familiar with this part of the country in the months to come. Not only is it a fine place to visit on its own, but its newest citizen is a big draw...

...so in my soon-to-be-retired state I know I'll be making the Texas-Maine trip often in the future.

In this case, though, I was able to retrace my steps home a lot faster than going the other way (although I didn't have as nice a traveling companion). 

a different look at the snow left from the last big storm:
approaching BWI for my flight change

Chesapeake Bay? Atlantic Ocean?
I wish I had something like Google Glass when I have a window seat

Road trip diary: days 3 and 4

Day 3 is when we really started checking off our states list. Plus, while we had seen a small pile of very old snow in a Little Rock parking lot, this is when we really entered a winter landscape.

And even though we were traveling a densely-populated area on a heavily-trod roadway, we also got to see some pretty spectacular scenery...

Our highway (IH 81, otherwise known as semi-truck highway to heaven) runs parallel to the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia for a while. And the Blue Ridge is the elevation so spectacularly covered in clouds that you see above.

Many years ago, before my current traveling companion was even born (and well before digital photography!), Henry and I camped a night or two in Shenandoah National Park, anticipating some great views of these mountains. But most of the time we were there, it must have been as overcast as this. However, we found the cloudy hollows and mist-shrouded hills to provide scenery that was still well-worth visiting.

As we sped along the interstate, I hoped some other folks were enjoying their time up in those Blue Ridge clouds.

A good bit of our weather on this third day was rainy as well as misty, making driving more of a chore than usual. So we doubly enjoyed our lunch stop at this unassuming barbeque joint in Daleville, VA (thanks, Yelp!). Yes, it was in Virginia, but advertised as Carolina-style, and it was delicious.

Having been raised on Texas barbeque, I'd always been a bit suspicious about how a vinegar-based sauce would work, but I'm a believer now after my pulled pork sandwich at the Three Li'l Pigs.

Several states later, we stopped for the night in Pennsylvania. I have to share with you some of the majorly cool mid-century modern decor at this La Quinta...

lobby of the Hershey-Harrisburg La Quinta

there's even a water feature!

sculpture brightens up a corner

whimsical light fixtures in the breakfast area

Isn't it fun to discover this kind of creativity in one of the last places one would expect it?

The next morning was probably our coldest, and the leftover snow from the last big storm was very much in evidence, at least for the first part of the day. Oddly, the further north we drove, the less snow we saw, since that storm had veered out to sea before dumping much on New England.

steam and snow in eastern Pennsylvania

ice in a roadcut in New Jersey

Our most expensive toll was crossing this bridge over the Hudson, not far upstream from the Big Apple...

...and we were intrigued to see that it looks like they're building a whole new bridge here. So I guess they need the toll money.

After New York we had the little New England states to traverse, and I was so pleased to be able to check off the only one I'd never visited, itty-bitty-Rhode Island (what my Mom used to call it when we were working our state puzzle). We had a tasty lunch at restaurant just over the border, then experienced our first (small) traffic jam driving through Providence...

I was very impressed by the number of handsome churches visible from I-95 as we traversed RI's capital. This was just one of them.

I didn't get to snap any dramatic Boston skyline shots, since we opted for the 95 bypass that goes 'way out and around. 

And it was dark by the time we reached our destination of Kennebunk, Maine, but not all that late...sunset is dramatically earlier when you travel this far north in the winter. Next time I'll share some daytime views of our terminus state, and finish up the story of this monumental trek.

Wordless Wednesday: really? "life-changing"?

Road trip diary: days 1 and 2

On our UHaul cross-country trek, it took us almost all of day one to get out of Texas. But we're used to that. And in spite of having to spend almost 10 hours a day on the interstate, there's a lot to tell.

First, a caveat about my photos. I wasn't able to take pictures of all the neat stuff we saw. For one thing, we didn't have much time to stop and sightsee (although we had to stop depressingly often to get gas—for once, gas stops were often enough for bathroom breaks; that's a real issue when I'm driving my Prius).

Another problems was obstructions out my side window. In regular cars, I occasionally am able to snap pretty neat photos out the window and on the move. But it was a lot harder in the UHaul. To illustrate, here's my attempt as we were crossing the Mississippi in Memphis:

The large mirrors (definitely needed for safety when you can't see straight behind you) were often in the way. 

But I did the best I could and I hope I got enough good shots to give you a taste of our many-faceted adventure. And in Arkansas we did have some fun non-travel activities.

First off, though, I happened to like two very nicely decorated water towers—one just as we exited Texas, and another a ways down the road...

being in two states at once, Texarkana is "Twice as Nice"

also notice the great weather and lovely trees

Our first night on the road was spent in Little Rock, where we had first class lodging and got to visit with a couple of my adorable great-nephews...

...as well as sample some local culture, attending a UALR basketball game...

As you can see, it was a very nice, almost pro-level arena, and the level of play was also quite high. We mostly enjoyed getting to visit with our hosts, but the first half of the game against Georgia State was also fun, before we had to head home with the boys for bedtime. 

[aside only of interest to Spurs fans; apologies to my other readers]
There was, however, a big surprise in the arena, and not a very pleasant one. When we first entered I took a look at their championship banners and happened to see the retired jersey number you see on the right. Surely that couldn't be Spurs ultra-nemesis Derek Fisher, could it?

Unfortunately, yes! A little internet research (such burning questions can be answered almost instantly in our wonderful world, isn't it great?!) confirmed that he did in fact attend UALR. If you want to see why this is kind of a big deal for Spurs fans, you can see the whole heartbreaking story of his most famous shot (2004, but we have long memories when it comes to pain) in this video.
[/aside]

Little Rock is a neat little city with a great physical location. Hilly, with loads of gorgeous trees...

...it is also bisected by a river we're particularly fond of—the Arkansas. Although we're much more familiar with it 'way upstream, in Little Rock it's getting close to its confluence with the mighty Mississippi. And it needs a lot bigger bridge to cross here than it does in Salida...

Next up was Tennessee, which we spent most of day 2 traversing. The only photo of interest I was able to take here was of the impressive pyramid that is just on the Tennessee side of the Mississippi in Memphis...

The rest of our trek across the Volunteer State was pretty uneventful, and seemed even longer than it was, since we lost an hour before stopping for the night in Knoxville. That meant more after-dark driving than we liked, but Hal handled it like a champ and we had a nice dinner at a Knoxville brewpub to celebrate making it to the halfway mark.

Next up, the 11-state run of days 3 and 4.

Wordless Wednesday: what a windfall!

Road trip!

When is a vacation not exactly a vacation? Maybe when you zip through 14 states in four days, covering more than 2200 miles, and when this is your chariot...

What made the trip almost as much fun as a real vacation was my traveling companion—son Hal, otherwise known as Super-Dad. Although he wouldn't ever let me drive, I like to think I was helpful with navigation, selecting brewpubs for dinner via Yelp, finding NPR stations, operating our audiobook, and otherwise providing moral support.

The truck was full of Austin-stored household goods, bound for the kids' new/old home  (new for them, but first built a century ago!) in Maine. 

We thought the fact that our randomly-assigned truck advertised a Maine tourist attraction was a good omen to start the trip. And it must have been. We slipped in between two winter storms and had a relatively smooth and easy trip north. 

Next time I'll share more details about the ride. But for now, I want to brag a bit about the large number of states we crossed. Of course, it's a lot easier to tot up a long list of states when you head east rather than west, but it's still such fun to acknowledge numerically what a big, beautiful, and diverse country we live in.

First up, after several hours of northeast-trending travel, is our neighbor Arkansas...

That was all for the first day, and Day 2 only gave us one more, since Tennessee is so danged long, and we traversed it pretty much from tip to tip. Here's the western border, on the bridge over the Mississippi in Memphis...

But we started to add to the list in major fashion during a rainy Day 3. First came Virginia. You can't tell from this photo, but soon after crossing the border we started seeing more and more snow, leftovers from the previous week's big winter storm...reminders of our good timing!

we weren't in West Virginia long, but it still counts!

not long in Maryland, either...

then Pennsylvania, our destination state for the night

Sadly, I started our biggest state count day (#4) with a miss. I wasn't ready for our cross from PA to NJ, and our windshield had gotten so dirty from traffic throwing up muddy water that a quick snap wasn't properly focussed. But I thoughtfully had earlier taken this shot...

Then, the little states come quickly; however, not quite quickly enough, since for the last two, as you'll see below, it was already too dark to take photos (although that didn't stop me from trying!).

we just saw a small section of NY, too

we drove all the way across CT, but it still didn't take long...

new state! Hal figured it would only take us 20 extra minutes to let me check off RI

last state welcome sign before dark, thanks to the long by-pass around Boston

I think the sign in the red box is welcoming
us to New Hampshire...

...and finally to Maine, our destination state! (trust me)