The Traveling Kiwi

Posted in Uncategorized

So at last we are on the way to Australia and New Zealand to see my family, I know this is my last opportunity for a long time to see Mum and all my brothers, sisters and their families and its important for me to spend some time with them while I can.

We left Seattle Monday evening on Virgin America and had a lovely flight, just as we landed I started to chat to the guy in the seat between Joe and I. He turned out to be a manager with Virgin Australia so I was able to ask him if I would be able to power my computer on the flight. Apparently not as we were in cattle class. When we found the checkin desk he was there waiting for us and instructed the girl checking us in to find us a good seat. When we boarded our Virgin Australia flight we found ourselves in Premium economy – the equivalent to business class on United. Woo Hoo – I will keep chatting up strange men 🙂 It was sooo nice, great food, great service, nice big seats and hardly anyone in the section so I snagged two seats and had lots of extra room to sleep.  What a wonderful start to our journey.

We woke to breakfast and the brightening sky and a strange colored storm, white fluffy clouds floating on a sandy sea. The captain came on and told us we were heading into a sand storm and that they would only be able to land if they had more than 600 meters of visibility. We started heading into the storm, outside it became redder and redder, an eerie light in the cabin but you could see nothing. We started watching the map in front of our seats, counting down the altitude, we were at 400ft from landing, still unable to see anything, when the engine roared and we headed straight back up. They told us if we would try again and if we couldn’t land then we would be diverted to Brisbane – exactly the wrong direction from where we were headed. The second time was a winner and we landed to sighs of relief and clapping from all the passengers.  As we taxied in we couldn’t even see the terminal or the other side of the airport. Only an hour delay and we were on our way to Melbourne. We listened to the news later that evening and found out that we were one of the very few flights that landed in a sand storm that was the worst they have seen in 70 years.

Posted in Uncategorized

Well I finally hit the road to head back to Seattle, the plan was to take it slow and take lots of photos. Joe left 2 days earlier to head up to Alberta and see Pete, then take the scenic route back though British Columbia and down into Washington. I left with high hopes looking forward to some time on my own and just the open road. As I headed into the Rockies the sunshine quickly turned to showers and by the time I got to Loveland Pass it was lumpy rain just this side of snow. The cloud cover stayed low and the radio promised thunderstorms for the afternoon. My plan to visit Maroon Bells ( the whole reason to take this route) was sidelined when I realized that I wouldn’t be able to see them through the cloud cover, so I just decided to drive out of the bad weather. I hit Grand Junction on the other side of the Rockies and just kept going. The aspen trees were just turning gold and combined with the rust of the dead pines it looked like it was already fall. I slid into Salt Lake city and just kept going across the Bonneville salt flats to see if the scenery was any better. It wasn’t. Although the salt flats are pretty amazing just in sheer size, people had used rocks and empty beer bottles to spell out messages in the white crusty salt. The California wild fires had created a haze that dulled the charm of the bleak landscape. Once I hit Idaho the rain started and continued on through Oregon. No photo opportunities and not much reason to slow down. Battling fatigue and unending roadworks I finally arrived in Seattle tuesday morning to find Joe had perfect weather for his whole ride and had travelled through some of the most beautiful scenery – mutter mutter mutter – hmmmm maybe the road less travelled really is better.

Posted in Uncategorized

We lost Cosmo and Aspen last year and they were cremated but we didn’t really know what to do with the boxes of their ashes. We also had the ashes of Brandy who passed away in 1999. So as we packed up the house the decision needed to be made as to what to do with them. We decided that since all three of the puppies loved Colorado and Round Mountain in particular, thats where we would scatter them. It was a sad trip up into the mountains behind Loveland, through the Big Thompson river gorge, to the trail we would go every weekend, sun or snow. We both made our way slowly up the trail with tears in our eyes remembering the puppies and their antics. Choosing the perfect spot was hard but we finally found a place where Cosmo would always find some water to jump in and where Aspen would race up the stream, beside it was a shady spot where the snow would last the longest and that would be where Brandy would like to lie. She never liked the water, just the cold snow on her tummy.  Somehow scattering their ashes and saying goodbye has helped a little with the sadness of their loss. Slowly making our way back down the trail we were reminiscing  the time Cosmo ran after a bear when we came across a fresh pile of bear scat. The two photos are of choke cherries – one before the bear and the other afterwards.

Posted in Uncategorized

We needed to go to Topeka Kansas to meet with our financial advisor (our spiritual advisor has already given up on us and this was our last hope) so off we went, skipping down the yellow brick road with hope in our hearts and our shoe box of receipts tucked under our arms. We left from Burns, Wyoming and the trip took us through Nebraska on the Interstate 80, mind numbingly boring and flat, then we dropped down into Kansas taking smaller back roads. The scenery changed from the dry flat plains of Nebraska to soft undulating waves of maize and small groves of apple trees. We found ourselves on the ” Road to Oz” and the Oz museum popped in to view. Still looking for the wizard we continued on to the big city.

Posted in Uncategorized

This morning we went to the Swetsville zoo, a sculpture park with all the exhibits made from old pieces of engines and farm equipment. An eccentric place of wonder and imagination. I loved the dinosaur of tomorrow with its engine, wheels and little driver in the mouth.

Posted in Uncategorized

Last time I was here in Rocky Mountain National Park it was the last part of the journey to Fort Collins and I was towing Hobbit Home through hail and torrential rain. This time the sun was shining and although the temperature dropped from 85 to 62 as we made our way up the mountains it was a whole different experience.  We saw chipmunks, ground squirrels, elk, pika and eagles. Joe ignored the signs and gave a squirrel an almond which allowed me to take some great close ups. The squirrels cheeks got fatter and fatter as he madly shoved the almond pieces in before the chipmunks could get them. We didn’t get close to a pika but we watched one climb a bush a tear leaves off then scamper to a hole in the rocks to store them. The photo of the pika is one we saw sunbathing on the rocks.

Posted in Uncategorized

We headed back to Fort Collins, stopping the night in Glenwood Springs for a swim in the hot pools. We had been in the pool for about an hour when an electrical storm blew over, they recommended everyone get out of the pool as there was forked lightening right above us. Many people packed up and went home as it started to rain. 10 minutes later it was all over and we had a wonderful time with lots of space in the pool. The campground was right on the river and the railroad tracks so we could see rafts floating past and every couple of hours a train….. all night…..

Posted in Uncategorized

Another Dinosaur place, this time its the Dinosaur Journey in Fruita just outside Grand Junction where we are staying. They had a place where you could actually participate in a dig but it was too expensive, instead the kids covered each other up and excavated live bodies. Dinner at a mexican restaurant close by had dinosaur chicken nuggets, will the dinosaurs never end arrggghhhh!!!!

Posted in Uncategorized

After we left our exploration adventure we headed to Moab for lunch and to fill up on water. Interesting place I would like to explore with more time and in cooler weather. There were not alot of people about and I am sure its only the crazies who head into this part of Utah in mid summer. So on to Arches National Park, the plan had been to get there late in the day and take photos with the sun coming in on an angle to the cliffs. Unfortunately after sweltering all day a storm came in about the same time as we got to the park so the skies quickly became gray and dark and the wind picked up scouring me with red sand every time I ventured out of the car. Even in this weather the part was spectacular and I am hoping I get the chance to return and really see it all.

I have not tried to straighten any on the photos taken on my new fish eye lens, I will at some point but for now they are more fun the way they are.

Posted in Uncategorized