The end of our Fall 2010 trip to Four Corners

We arrived home, safe and sound, on the afternoon of Day 60.  The night before, we met up with friends in Forest Grove, OR, just west of Portland, to join them at the Verboort Sausage and Kraut Fest. New to us, but their 26th annual. Very fun. 

The whole trip was great. Would we do anything different? Not really...it was pretty close to perfect. Maybe slow down even more. We traveled 7,300 miles, which is a lot of driving, even spread over 60 days. We saw a ton of great sights, had no mishaps and yes, we still like each other. Our house on Bainbridge seems GIGANTIC after so many days in the van. Ruby agrees - she's having a hard time keeping her eye on both of us.

So, what now? Was I supposed to be figuring out the meaning of life, choosing my next career, finding my passion, or developing my creative side? There were no epiphanies, no light bulbs, but I'd say there were a few glimmers. I'm not putting any pressure on myself. Next up is organizing my hobby room and planning some holiday get-togethers.

The Blog has been great fun. I was surprised and truly gratified to see how many of you read and followed. It was incredibly helpful when you made suggestions about where to go and what to see. I will miss it!

 

Recap

Best Mexican Food: Taqueria Cuernavaca on the ave in Ventura. Yes, surprisingly, it beat out everything we sampled in New Mexico, and we sampled a lot. The tacos al carbon are unbelievable.
Best Farmers Market: Santa Fe, by a huge margin, for the roasted peppers and the blue cornmeal.
Best National Park: Capitol Reef, for the orchards and the hikes.
Most Scenic Stretch of Highway: three-way tie between Hwy 410 by Mount Rainier (the green lushness and the alpine lake next to the highway), the Moki Dugway in southern Utah (like gliding off a cliff), and Durango to Ouray (the aspens!!)
Most Impressive Natural Sight: tough decision...we'll go with the bridge at the end of the hike up Negro Bill Canyon near Moab.
Best Base Town: Moab because you will need the oasis - the ice cream, the filtered water for VanMan, the natural foods store, the restaurants, the river. 
Most Impressive Man-Made Sight: any of the many Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings.  
Best Brewpub: McCall, because it was funky and had great food as well as great beer.
Biggest Surprise: you can look for days in Utah without finding shade.
Best Thunder & Lightning Storm: sitting in the hot springs pool at Ojo Caliente (although they made us get out till it passed).
Worst Deal: $40/night at a state park in California (which had pit toilets).
Better Deal: $10/night at a New Mexico State Park (full hook-ups plus shower facilities).
Best Deal: no fee, at a gorgeous National Forest campground in Colorado (actually available many places, if you know where to look)
Best Small Town: Bisbee, because, remember, they have the best year round climate on earth. And a weaving shop.


No, we're not home yet. But today is Day 58, and we are on track to be home two months after we set out on September 8. Husband has driven nearly 7,000 miles (me, zero)!   
    

SoCal

Most of the places we visited on this trip were new to us. The Colorado plateau and its history require many adjectives to adequately describe: awe-inspiring, incredible, amazing, mysterious, grand, rugged-beyond-rugged, expansive. My vocabulary is limited; that is only a start. We enjoyed all of it, and we plan to return soon to see more.

But...there is no place quite like the southern California Pacific Coast. There is nothing that compares falling asleep to the sound of crashing waves or waking up to see porpoises playing in the surf. Incredible. 

Husband had not been to his hometown of Carpinteria (halfway between Ventura and Santa Barbara) since we left there in 1989. It's more beautiful than we remembered, though certainly more developed. It was fun to walk down Carpinteria's main street, once small-town-quaint, now more of a mini-Montecito. A visit with Husband's sister & family and then onward north. It's starting to feel like our trip is ending, but we are determined to have a few more adventures before we arrive back in our driveway on Bainbridge Island...so don't stop reading.