Sand dunes!
Our tent in Glamis, nestled between three out houses
The Chocolate Mountains
We made it to Mesa, AZ! Soaking in the sun with my grandparents.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
More Pictures
Sand dunes!
Our tent in Glamis, nestled between three out houses
The Chocolate Mountains
We made it to Mesa, AZ! Soaking in the sun with my grandparents.
Pictures
Pictures:
At the ocean in Solana Beach
Our first night: camping at Lake Jennings
Tired
The sand dunes of Glamis
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Update
First, thank you for all the prayers and encouragement that you have sent our way.
Second, I am at the computer lab at the library in Blythe, CA and the computer does not have any USB ports (what???) so I unfortunately cannot upload pictures or videos...booo...
Friday January 11th, 2008 "Control Your Bob!" <-- That's for you Jill, Mitra and Al
I would call this day "Happily Ignorant." We woke up to a delicious breakfast, sunny skies and a palpable excitement. We left from the Geierstangers house and headed for the ocean. We took off from Fletcher Cove and very quickly had our first taste of hills. We toured around La Jolla (home of Dr. Seuss) and made our way through all the city traffic. I did not realize that "bike friendly routes" were on freeways.
Our first meal was at a Jack in the Box. We ate crappy grilled chicken sandwiches. After this, we started to climb and climb and climb. Finally, we made our way to the Lake Jennings campground. Beautiful. For dinner we ate Powerbars, Clif gel cubes and had Gatorade for dessert.
My Dad made a great campfire.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Breakfast: Burger King (our only option) We had odd tasting "ham and cheese omelette sandwiches," half of which we threw away. We spent the entire day climbing. Man oh man. We decided we couldn't stomach another dinner of Powerbars or fast food so we indulged with some homemade Ramen.
For lunch: Descansos Junction fish tacos. Amazing. I could go for one right now.
Sunday, January 13, 2008 My Grandma's Birthday
We decided this day should be called "More mountains, more wind"
We climbed ALL DAY LONG. We endured one soul-killing mountain after another. I went on the Historical Society's Homestead Tour this past summer and Lokey Lytjen explained how when homesteaders crossed over Togwotee Pass their initial reactions weren't necessarily "Yay mountains, so beautiful and lovely!" I could relate, my reaction to many of the strikingly awe-inspiring mountains was "NOOO! Mountains, so much suffering."
My Dad is my hero. The grade of one of the mountains was just about too steep for me with my 50 lb. trailer so once my Dad reached the top of the mountain, he unhooked his Bob (trailer), biked back down to meet me, attached my Bob to his bike and biked to the top of the mountain with all my luggage in tow. I'm still his little girl. Isn't he the greatest?
The one exception to the climbing was an extremely stressful 10-mile 6% grade descent. Bobs get squirrely at quick speeds.
On this particular day, we biked within about 100 feet of the Mexican border.
We spent the night in Ocotillo and met the James J. Hill of the city, Ed. He owned the cafe, the two-room motel, the RV park, the "Launderette," the bar, etc. He was awesome. In many ways, he reminded me of Fred Ziegler.
Monday, January 14, 2008
We started that day with an eight mile warm-up, in the wrong direction. Despite our detour and one flat tire, the ride was great. We laughed about the absurd scenery and ended up spending the night in Glamis. Glamis a city filled with NOTHING but amazing sand dunes. SO beautiful. Given the lack of motel and campground (and the roaring wind), we nestled our tent inbetween three outhouses. We were going to indulge in Ramen once again but decided it might be in our best interest to not light a flame so close to such smelly buildings for fear of a series of explosions. As my Dad said, "Glamis probably short for glamorous."
A reason my Mom is my hero... a couple summers ago she crashed while biking and basically shattered her tibia. A lengthy surgery and a new knee later, she is walking, fleurishing and being my Mom. She had her doctor's appt today and Dr. Biebl is in awe of her progess because they weren't sure if she would walk again. Not only that, her patella tendon does not work, so theoretically walking should be impossible. She's a fighter. Go Mom!
I once read an interview of the editor of National Geographic who said that the goal of each story was to create a series of contrasts. Old vs. new. Our home vs. their homes. etc. This trip creates these contrasts very easily. Ocean vs. desert. Wealth vs. poverty. America vs. Mexico. Free range vs. feed lot. Semis vs. bikes. Hills vs. downhills.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Great ride today. We are four miles away from Arizona! Wahooo! Rolling hills, diverse scenery. As my Dad sang, "Over the mountains and through the desert, to Grandmother's house we go..."
To pass the time, I have covered some well-known songs. Titles include:
"Check out my sweet tanlines" to Britney Spears' "Hit me Baby One More Time"
"I feel the earth move under my seat"
"I've lost that sense of feeling"
"Saddle sores" to "Tainted Love"
Allow me to share a verse from "Gatorade Lime" a cover of Deana Carter's "Strawberry Wine"
Been cycling cross-country
Just my Daddy and me
My biggest fear was that semi
But it has yet to kill me
A few pounds of luggage
And one trailer in tow
We've been traveling so long,
Oh don't ya know
But mile after mile I know I
won't be back to this place,
just to remember the taste of
Gatorade Lime
23
The grind of the mountains
I cried when it was steep
My first time in Cali
Oh Bittersweet
I hope to survive
Like Gatorade Lime
This trip has been challenging and amazing thus far. My Dad is a great travel companion. Words do not do him justice.
My cousin's daughter, Nichole, is having a very intense multi-organ surgery tomorrow. If you could remember her in your prayers that would be much appreciated by all members of my family.
Peace and love.
Second, I am at the computer lab at the library in Blythe, CA and the computer does not have any USB ports (what???) so I unfortunately cannot upload pictures or videos...booo...
Friday January 11th, 2008 "Control Your Bob!" <-- That's for you Jill, Mitra and Al
I would call this day "Happily Ignorant." We woke up to a delicious breakfast, sunny skies and a palpable excitement. We left from the Geierstangers house and headed for the ocean. We took off from Fletcher Cove and very quickly had our first taste of hills. We toured around La Jolla (home of Dr. Seuss) and made our way through all the city traffic. I did not realize that "bike friendly routes" were on freeways.
Our first meal was at a Jack in the Box. We ate crappy grilled chicken sandwiches. After this, we started to climb and climb and climb. Finally, we made our way to the Lake Jennings campground. Beautiful. For dinner we ate Powerbars, Clif gel cubes and had Gatorade for dessert.
My Dad made a great campfire.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Breakfast: Burger King (our only option) We had odd tasting "ham and cheese omelette sandwiches," half of which we threw away. We spent the entire day climbing. Man oh man. We decided we couldn't stomach another dinner of Powerbars or fast food so we indulged with some homemade Ramen.
For lunch: Descansos Junction fish tacos. Amazing. I could go for one right now.
Sunday, January 13, 2008 My Grandma's Birthday
We decided this day should be called "More mountains, more wind"
We climbed ALL DAY LONG. We endured one soul-killing mountain after another. I went on the Historical Society's Homestead Tour this past summer and Lokey Lytjen explained how when homesteaders crossed over Togwotee Pass their initial reactions weren't necessarily "Yay mountains, so beautiful and lovely!" I could relate, my reaction to many of the strikingly awe-inspiring mountains was "NOOO! Mountains, so much suffering."
My Dad is my hero. The grade of one of the mountains was just about too steep for me with my 50 lb. trailer so once my Dad reached the top of the mountain, he unhooked his Bob (trailer), biked back down to meet me, attached my Bob to his bike and biked to the top of the mountain with all my luggage in tow. I'm still his little girl. Isn't he the greatest?
The one exception to the climbing was an extremely stressful 10-mile 6% grade descent. Bobs get squirrely at quick speeds.
On this particular day, we biked within about 100 feet of the Mexican border.
We spent the night in Ocotillo and met the James J. Hill of the city, Ed. He owned the cafe, the two-room motel, the RV park, the "Launderette," the bar, etc. He was awesome. In many ways, he reminded me of Fred Ziegler.
Monday, January 14, 2008
We started that day with an eight mile warm-up, in the wrong direction. Despite our detour and one flat tire, the ride was great. We laughed about the absurd scenery and ended up spending the night in Glamis. Glamis a city filled with NOTHING but amazing sand dunes. SO beautiful. Given the lack of motel and campground (and the roaring wind), we nestled our tent inbetween three outhouses. We were going to indulge in Ramen once again but decided it might be in our best interest to not light a flame so close to such smelly buildings for fear of a series of explosions. As my Dad said, "Glamis probably short for glamorous."
A reason my Mom is my hero... a couple summers ago she crashed while biking and basically shattered her tibia. A lengthy surgery and a new knee later, she is walking, fleurishing and being my Mom. She had her doctor's appt today and Dr. Biebl is in awe of her progess because they weren't sure if she would walk again. Not only that, her patella tendon does not work, so theoretically walking should be impossible. She's a fighter. Go Mom!
I once read an interview of the editor of National Geographic who said that the goal of each story was to create a series of contrasts. Old vs. new. Our home vs. their homes. etc. This trip creates these contrasts very easily. Ocean vs. desert. Wealth vs. poverty. America vs. Mexico. Free range vs. feed lot. Semis vs. bikes. Hills vs. downhills.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Great ride today. We are four miles away from Arizona! Wahooo! Rolling hills, diverse scenery. As my Dad sang, "Over the mountains and through the desert, to Grandmother's house we go..."
To pass the time, I have covered some well-known songs. Titles include:
"Check out my sweet tanlines" to Britney Spears' "Hit me Baby One More Time"
"I feel the earth move under my seat"
"I've lost that sense of feeling"
"Saddle sores" to "Tainted Love"
Allow me to share a verse from "Gatorade Lime" a cover of Deana Carter's "Strawberry Wine"
Been cycling cross-country
Just my Daddy and me
My biggest fear was that semi
But it has yet to kill me
A few pounds of luggage
And one trailer in tow
We've been traveling so long,
Oh don't ya know
But mile after mile I know I
won't be back to this place,
just to remember the taste of
Gatorade Lime
23
The grind of the mountains
I cried when it was steep
My first time in Cali
Oh Bittersweet
I hope to survive
Like Gatorade Lime
This trip has been challenging and amazing thus far. My Dad is a great travel companion. Words do not do him justice.
My cousin's daughter, Nichole, is having a very intense multi-organ surgery tomorrow. If you could remember her in your prayers that would be much appreciated by all members of my family.
Peace and love.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
In sunny CA
Pictures:
1- Building the Bobs (Not a flattering pic. We're in the garage of the Geierstanger's beautiful Mission-style house. Of note: their washer and dryer are in the garage. Since I've always lived in cold and wintry places, I had never seen this.)
2- Ocean background
3- Biking- see the hot air balloon?
Sorry I can't rotate the pic
My Dad and I, along with all of our luggage!, made it to San Diego. Upon arrival, we were told we would be facing the coldest days of the year. Thus far, we are tolerating the 65 degree and sunny weather quite well. It looks, smells and tastes tropical. We are staying with the daughter of our neighbors in North Oaks. The Geierstangers and their lovely daughters have been so hospitable.
I'm pretty sure that the number of convertibles I saw today equals the number of convertibles I have seen in my entire life. I have yet to see a Subaru.
Today we built our bikes and trailers and explored locally to make sure everything was functioning properly. We also biked to Torrey Pine State Park. Tomorrow morning we plan to start our journey and ease into the trip.
My poor mother. In a loving way, she threatened that I owe her 10 grandchildren for stealing my Dad away from her.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Heading to California...today!
Picture 1: My Dad packing
2: The flowers from Dale!
3: My Momma
So we're off to the airport in about two hours. Jill and her bf Al went back to Madison this morning. As Jill would say, our mom is a sad panda. I don't think I'm a bad daughter, but it certainly doesn't seem like a good daughter would abandon her mother and steal away her Dad for two months! She'll be so happy when we "return of our own volition." Keep her company if you're near her.
In other news, both Jill and Mitra got Teach for America. I'm happy and proud that they earned this opportunity, but I'm not completely convinced this is the right challenge for Jill. I 100% believe she is up to the challenge, but I think her strengths and passions are elsewhere. Should she chose to do it, she'll be in Atlanta.
Yesterday Dale sent me flowers. (Yesterday was HIS birthday.) My Mom, Jill and I had just finished fleurishing (it's what we Klosterwomen do) when the delivery man arrived at our door. The flowers are beautiful. So romantic, so thoughtful.
We've all been saying many prayers for discernment and safety.
Time for one more lunch.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Pictures
1. Doing things the way sisters do them.
2. Dale and the snow visited Minnesota!
3. My Dad and I posing with our fancy new bikes.
4. A family picture where none of us look particularly good.
Friday, January 4, 2008
Patterns
First, here are my answers to some commonly asked questions:
1. When do you leave? What are your initial plans?
My Dad and I will fly from Minneapolis/St. Paul to San Diego on Wednesday, January 9th. We are going to stay with Mark & Mary Peterson's (North Oaks neighbors) daughter. Since we will be taking our bikes on the plane, we will have them rebuilt on Thursday and will locally tour around to make sure they are structurally sound. On Friday we will likely start our journey by placing our tires in the ocean. From there, we will head east.
2. What will your accommodations be?
We plan to camp and stay in hotels. Numerous variables will influence our decisions.
3. What is your final destination?
St. Augustine, Florida
4. Can I still donate to CES?
YES! DEFINITELY. If you would like to improve the living conditions of the developmentally disabled adults that I serve, please send your checks, payable to CES, to:
PO Box 4259 Jackson, WY 83001 Memo: Dreams on Wheels
Thank you for your donation if you've already given!!
5. Are you ready?
Yes. But really, what else would I say? I have a travel companion, maps, a one-way ticket, a brand new bike and a strong sense of adventure... this is going to be great.
I titled the name of this post "Patterns," because I feel a pattern of my life will repeat itself. Before every major change in my life, I have cried. My parents have reminded me that after every first day of school I cried. Not because it was bad, but because it was change. I am leaving behind my Mom's DELICIOUS food, a real bed, jobs I enjoy, co-workers I adore, a Mom, a Sister, friends, DALE!...the temporary absence of these things is very bittersweet. Ironically, I have always cried at the end of every year of school, job, etc. I'll cry, but this change is something that I want.
6. What have you been up to lately?
Eating. My parents have clearly mastered the art of portion control because they smother their food with copious amounts of butter, cream, etc. They regularly use a full pound butter dish. We've also gone through multiple gallon-size pails of ice cream in the past couple weeks.
Cooking. This is not a shock for anyone that knows my Mom. We have used her oven more times in one day than I use mine in an average month.
Being outside. Cross-country skiing, walking, running, sledding
Organizing. Sorting things for the bike trip. Deciding that I'm not going to haul make-up (darn!- sarcasm). Getting rid of childhood junk.
Talking endlessly with my Mom and Sister. Jill has a big life. My Mom is very wise and gives me heaps of advice about everything. I mean everything.
Watching the news. Minnesota is a great place to live.
Petting Swede, the rotund cat.
Socializing.
Talking to Al, Jill's new boyfriend. He's made a good impression thus far (He's been here for about 10 hours).
Talking to Dale on the phone. It sucks that he went back to Wyoming.
Good night!
1. When do you leave? What are your initial plans?
My Dad and I will fly from Minneapolis/St. Paul to San Diego on Wednesday, January 9th. We are going to stay with Mark & Mary Peterson's (North Oaks neighbors) daughter. Since we will be taking our bikes on the plane, we will have them rebuilt on Thursday and will locally tour around to make sure they are structurally sound. On Friday we will likely start our journey by placing our tires in the ocean. From there, we will head east.
2. What will your accommodations be?
We plan to camp and stay in hotels. Numerous variables will influence our decisions.
3. What is your final destination?
St. Augustine, Florida
4. Can I still donate to CES?
YES! DEFINITELY. If you would like to improve the living conditions of the developmentally disabled adults that I serve, please send your checks, payable to CES, to:
PO Box 4259 Jackson, WY 83001 Memo: Dreams on Wheels
Thank you for your donation if you've already given!!
5. Are you ready?
Yes. But really, what else would I say? I have a travel companion, maps, a one-way ticket, a brand new bike and a strong sense of adventure... this is going to be great.
I titled the name of this post "Patterns," because I feel a pattern of my life will repeat itself. Before every major change in my life, I have cried. My parents have reminded me that after every first day of school I cried. Not because it was bad, but because it was change. I am leaving behind my Mom's DELICIOUS food, a real bed, jobs I enjoy, co-workers I adore, a Mom, a Sister, friends, DALE!...the temporary absence of these things is very bittersweet. Ironically, I have always cried at the end of every year of school, job, etc. I'll cry, but this change is something that I want.
6. What have you been up to lately?
Eating. My parents have clearly mastered the art of portion control because they smother their food with copious amounts of butter, cream, etc. They regularly use a full pound butter dish. We've also gone through multiple gallon-size pails of ice cream in the past couple weeks.
Cooking. This is not a shock for anyone that knows my Mom. We have used her oven more times in one day than I use mine in an average month.
Being outside. Cross-country skiing, walking, running, sledding
Organizing. Sorting things for the bike trip. Deciding that I'm not going to haul make-up (darn!- sarcasm). Getting rid of childhood junk.
Talking endlessly with my Mom and Sister. Jill has a big life. My Mom is very wise and gives me heaps of advice about everything. I mean everything.
Watching the news. Minnesota is a great place to live.
Petting Swede, the rotund cat.
Socializing.
Talking to Al, Jill's new boyfriend. He's made a good impression thus far (He's been here for about 10 hours).
Talking to Dale on the phone. It sucks that he went back to Wyoming.
Good night!
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