Reunion

It was dreary foggy morning in Sacramento. Suddenly, Dad and Pam showed up to wisk me off to Point Reyes National Seashore. When we got to the beach it was (sort of) warm and very sunny. This is that time of year when sometimes the Central Valley is colder than the coast.

It was great to see them. I look forward to the next time.

This Is Not My First Rodeo

Well, I’ve never actually been to a rodeo before, but I’ve been to the hospital several times to have my teeth cleaned. I think I know the drill by now (that’s a bad dentist pun). The part I don’t like is going under general anesthesia. It makes me nervous thinking about it. One good thing: it’s nice to have clean teeth.

Dad and my care team always tell me how brave I’ve been after it’s all over, so I feel good about that. Maybe I can attend a rodeo sometime to see if it’s more fun than going to the dentist.

Going To California

This summer’s epic road trip is almost over. We’re driving from Ashland, Oregon to my home in Sacramento, California. Back to my “normal” life.

Here’s the stats from this trip:

56 days

12,491 miles

5 time zones

30 U.S. states

3 Canadian provinces 

15 National Parks and Monuments (including 2 in Canada)

16 state and provincial parks

14 family members visited

0 Starbucks visitations

What can I say? It’s been fun to experience so many places. Dad and I make a great travel team.

Until next time…

The Wizard

Crater Lake National Park. We were stopped at an overlook when a random child asked Dad how Wizard Island got its name. (I think the kid thought Dad was his father.) Without missing a beat, Dad explained that the cinder cone looks like a wizard’s hat. This seemed like a satisfactory answer to all concerned.

Nice job, Dad.

The Quiet Joys Of Brotherhood

Two of my favorite people met us on the Oregon Coast for a couple of nights of camping out together. My brother Jackson and my sister-in-law Wendy. I don’t get to see them very often and this was the longest time we’ve hung out together in quite a while. One of the fun things we did was to visit a really cool aquarium in Newport. One great idea the curators had was to make sculptures of sea creatures out of random plastic found in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The message was pretty clear: take better care of our oceans, folks.

Thanks for making the time to be with me and Dad, you guys. I love you both so much.

Color Bars

We checked out the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument in Oregon. There’s an area called the Painted Hills. I’ve seen pictures of it in calendars, but this is the first time I’ve been here in person. The area has layers of different colored soils that show evidence of climate fluctuations over the eons. Once upon a time, this used to be a temperate forest. Now it’s high desert. I guess the only constant is change.

As the name suggests, there are also lots of fossils to study in the region. Dad ask why I would be interested in fossils since I’ve been traveling with one all summer. Boy, his attempts at self-deprecating humor always land as bad dad jokes.

Even More Family

We stopped in Boise, Idaho for a visit with my Aunt Suzanne and Nana (my maternal grandmother). It sure was nice to see them. It had been a very long time, so we had a lot of catching up to do. Suzanne has a nice house with a beautiful garden in back.

I’m very lucky to have a loving extended family. One of the pleasures of road trips is getting to see those who live far away from me. I love you Suzanne and Nana!