We Survived The Winter!
We survived the winter! Years ago, BC (Before COVID), we had planned a long road trip across the country to see friends and family one last time before selling the car and setting off to other faraway places. We originally thought we would take 4 to 5 months to see the country but, with COVID many states were closed, many national parks were closed, and restaurants were closed, so travel was only marginally possible. We packed coolers with food, researched which states and national parks would let us in, got COVID tests for the fourth time and left our boat at the dock in Anacortes on October 28, 2020.
Our first stop was Missoula to finalize some business, meet with tax and financial people, and to see some dear friends. We also took care of some medical and dental checkups. Next we headed south to Moab and saw Arches national park. We literally jogged as many trails as we could by dark.
We then went on to the Grand Canyon for my first visit. WOW! Bill was able to find a room at the last minute at the lodge in the park. The next day, at 5:30 am and a freezing 13 degrees we climbed on the bus with 14 other crazies and got dropped off at the trailhead. We hiked the South Kaibab Trail (7 miles and 4700 feet down) all of the way to the river. It was really cold at the start and the trail had ice and snow on it, but by the bottom it was a nice 55 degrees and bright sunshine. We picnicked in shorts and t-shirts. After lunch, we climbed back up Bright Angel trail (9.5 miles and 4340 feet up). By 2:30 we were back at the top and about 200 yards from our lodge. The temperature was already down to 35 degrees. There was one restaurant open in the park. We donned masks and grabbed the hand sanitizer and ate inside a restaurant for the first time in 9 months. What a treat!(though we felt a little nervous.)
Next was a long drive through the desert of Arizona and New Mexico, and past cotton fields and over dry rivers of Texas for mile after mile. We stayed a couple of days in the Houston area to visit our daughter and her horses, then on to New Orleans. The whole city was pretty much shut down. It felt like a ghost town when compared to our last visit during Mardi Gras. We have been to this favorite city of ours once or twice a year for decades. We know it well, the restaurants and watering holes, where to find live music, and the best bread pudding. But, it is COVID time. Our hotel had a kitchen so we cooked and ate in. In New Orleans! The world really felt upside down.
Next stop Columbus, OH to see my folks! We stopped and got a COVID test before going over to their house, being cautious since they are in their 80s now. And we were positive. POSITIVE! Both of us. We called the hotel in New Orleans and they had a policy in place that rooms stayed closed for 3 days so no staff had been exposed. We called the gentleman we had met with about our timeshare and he tested negative. We called our daughter and she tested negative. Thank goodness for all! Over the next days we did get quite sick, but no hospital trips.
After a quarantine, we waved at my parents from the back porch through the glass door. We had ham sandwiches for Thanksgiving on that same back porch while they ate turkey inside, all of us watching the games together on separate TV’s and talking over a baby monitor.
It was exhausting just to drive over to their house and drive back to the hotel. We cancelled all trips to the northeast to see other family and friends because now we would test positive for 90 days even though we would not be contagious, and the New England states would not allow visitors unless they tested negative. This illness is frightening in its potential and fraught with social stereotypes. It is still hard talk about. I will leave it at that. After completing our 2 week quarantine, we moved on.
*Bill’s Note; We always wore N95 masks. Everywhere. With everyone, including our daughter. We washed and used hand sanitizer constantly. We took our own food on the trip so we wouldn’t need to eat out. When we stopped for gas and bathrooms we sanitized before and after. When we got a hotel we sanitized the room with bleach before we even brought our suitcase in. When we got food at the store we sanitized or washed all of it before putting it away in the car or cooler. We sanitized the pens we signed contracts with. As a surgeon, Kristin knows all about sanitary processes. We still managed to contract COVID. It is so incredibly contagious. It’s also incredibly potent. We had hiked 17 miles and over 9,000 vertical feet in a day at the Grand Canyon, and a few weeks later, even after our active symptoms had dissipated we walked a mile over flat ground and were exhausted. It took about six weeks for us to feel somewhat back to normal, and months to feel like we were back to a decent level of fitness. My point is, we tried to be responsible and avoid getting or spreading COVID, were very careful, and got it anyway. It can be contracted by anyone at any time. Quite frightening.
Each state had its’ own rules about COVID and those rules were changing daily. We made a loose plan and checked each evening during dinner and each morning before heading out to make sure we would have a bed for the night or at the very least a place to pitch our tent. We headed for the Blue Ridge Mountains. Bill said he had been on the Blue Ridge Parkway before and that it was worth a visit. I thought I had been on part of it as a kid but the memory was fuzzy. We started near Lexington, VA which had quite a bit of history to explore including George C Marshall’s Nobel Peace Prize Medal. We did a section of the parkway and pulled off at every single pull-off. I swear it was every quarter mile! It took a good part of the day to go 50 miles. It was wonderful to get some fresh air and be away from people.
Next we went to Nags Head, NC where I had spent many wonderful summers in the 1970s with the whole family (Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Grandma). My how time changes a place! I remember Kitty Hawk being all sand dunes and some grass. Now it is bushes, grass and some sand. The Wright Brother’s Museum is definitely worth a stop!
We were able to visit Mom in Hilton Head and we found an outside restaurant for lunch every day. Mom is still talking about it! We continued on down the coast to Daytona Beach, then Orlando to visit Bill’s cousin, then Fort Lauderdale, and finally Key West. It will be so much fun to sail into Key West some day! We rented bikes for the week in Key West and saw the whole island. There was a curfew for New Years Eve – fine with us! We had Champagne on a picnic table at our hotel and waved a hearty good bye to 2020! Good riddance. Jeeze! I had looked forward to July 1, 2020 (my long awaited retirement date) for so long and here I am glad to have the whole year in the rear view!!!
It was time to start heading back west and north. We were hoping to see Highway 1 along the California coast but that will have to be observed from the sea since California was closed. We went back through Texas. We made a quick stop in Austin to visit a college buddy of Bill’s for an outdoor lunch, then on to Big Bend National park for some remote camping and hiking. As we entered the park January 6th, Bill got a text from his friend warning the Capitol had been breached. We drove until we had a tiny speck of cell service and scanned the news to see if we should escape the US into Mexico. We opted to stay north of the border and continue our trip with hope that it would all settle down, and a heightened awareness of those around us. It was sad and scary to realize that people who we might not agree with about political issues might suddenly become armed adversaries to try to avoid.
After 3 days of exploring this huge beautiful park, we drove on to Guadalupe Mountain National Park. We were able to secure a camp site just before dark. In the morning, we climbed about 3000 feet up to the highest peak in Texas at 8751 feet. A beautiful day!
We continued our trip through Tucson and visited the old Saguaro Cacti in Saguaro national park. I learned that it takes about 50 years for the first branch to begin to form. Many of these giants are 200 or more years old!
We went on to Phoenix, AZ where we were able to catch up with a couple more old friends from Lake Tahoe. Of course we hiked up Camelback Mountain, and small world that it is- we ran into a friend from Missoula there!
Next stop was Las Vegas but just outside was Red Rock Canyon where neither of us had ever been. We lucked out on some perfect weather as we explored this really interesting landscape.
We spent that night in Las Vegas, again surreal. Our footsteps echoed in the halls lined with closed shops and the Casinos had empty tables.
We travelled through the back roads, the only roads, in Oregon heading for the coast. There were no gas stations for over 100 miles! We were almost on empty when we finally found one at a convenience store near a lake that was clearly visited only in the summers. We thankfully paid the $6.00 per gallon to fill up. We used the outhouse across the road and I went in and paid double for some unnecessary sodas and snacks hoping we could help this place survive. We made it to Portland for the night!
The next day, January 26, we ended our road trip after 11,000 miles and with about that many pictures!
We had secured a slip in Cap Sante Marina until March 1st, at which point we would need to leave the dock. By then it would be spring? We had plans to get the bottom paint redone and basic engine maintenance as well as new throttle cables and steering cables and pulleys (we noted in September that the pulleys were frozen and the cables frayed). Spring was slow to come around. It was cold and everything was damp. It was like living in an inside out glass of ice water in summer. The walls dripped with sweat and mold and mildew were our constant enemy! We were more than looking forward to heading south in August! Just to make sure we wouldn’t change our minds, Mother Nature threw a full-on snow storm at us on February 13. The dock was covered in snow, temps were in the teens and the wind howled for days!
The yard called and would be able to accommodate us on March 17. Dressed in our finest St Patrick’s Day green, we motored Sacagawea out of her slip and a few miles across the bay to the pullout. It was cold, damp, and grey at 7am, but I feel like I brightened the yard-worker’s day with my outfit!
We were told it should be a 2 week job if the rain could hold off and temperatures stayed above 45 so the paint would dry properly. Fingers crossed! After this, we shouldn’t need to be rock boaters for about 3 years when we will need to repaint again. Woohoo!
What adventures! And such flexibility! Forward ho! 👏👏🍾
Hi Janet! Yeah, it’s been two years of “flexibility”, and this fall heading out of the US to Mexico is looking like it could be in jeopardy now as well. Sheesh, wish we could just start to do the things we planned to!! How are we supposed to get you and Nelson to join us aboard for some fishing if we can’t get to exotic places?! 😉
Great update and amazing pictures! We miss you guys, hope you are doing well, and hope we can figure out a way to see you soon!
We miss y’all too! We will keep you posted, maybe you’ll want to escape the hurricane latitudes next summer… 🙂
I could go on and on about your trip. Just, Holy Cow. What a great adventure. Steve
Thanks for being a part of our crew! Hope we keep you entertained with many more adventures!
WHAT A FUN AND PHYSICALLY EXHAUSTING TRIP…….WITH YOUR BOTTOM PAINTED, I EXPECT MORE SEA ADVENTURES AWAIT YOU TWO……ANXIOUS TO HEAR MORE……SAFE TRAVELS FRIENDS…..OXOXXOXOOX….STANLEY
Glad to see you are still aboard with us Stanley! We will be posting another update very soon, and are looking forward to our imminent departure south… 🙂
What a trip of a lifetime! Such beautiful places, some I have been too and others I have never seen. Great pictures! Sorry to hear you got covid, but very happy to hear you made it through and hope there are no lingering effects. Can’t wait to catch up with you two in a beautiful location in the future!!
Thanks Cindy! We are looking forward to having you join us in future beautiful locations! 🙂