Week Eleven

January 24-30

This was the hikingest week of this whole shebang. Dad and I hit at least one trail every day. I mean, can you even think of a better use of seven days? The Sedona area hikes absolutely dazzled me. I couldn’t get enough of the climbing and rich colors and enormous formations. Pure magic. And then Joshua Tree National Park? Oh. My. Gosh. Yeah, this was a good week.

Monday: Today started in a pretty spectacular way: a horseback trail ride. Yes, please!! The staffers at Wild Western Horseback Adventures in Camp Verde, Arizona were a delight. So friendly, funny, knowledgeable, and kind. The hour-long ride took us out on a desert plateau where we were surrounded by mountains on all sides. It was seriously dreamy. A fabulous start to the week! After another lunch with a killer view, it was time to hike. Our first trail took us toward Seven Sacred Pools. Along the way, we passed The Cibola Mitten, Morning Glory Peak, and Devil’s Kitchen. Those first two are huge, towering rock formations jutting up from the canyon floor. Sedona is cool, ya know? Devil’s Kitchen is the opposite. It is a giant sinkhole caused by the collapse of an underground cave. When the cave’s roof eroded beyond being able to support the weight above, it crumbled, creating a chain reaction that stopped when all the rock layers had fallen in. This pile of shattered rock begins 240 feet below the rim of pit! That’s wild!

The actual destination of our hike, Seven Sacred Pools, was not quite what I was hoping for. It was pretty, don’t get me wrong! But, the fuzzy green water sitting in the pools, scuzzy from lack of rain, didn’t quite give the beauty I’d anticipated. Oh well. The oasis below the pools was lush in fascinating contrast to the surrounding desert. The return hike provided some phenomenal photographic opportunities which my dad, of course, took full advantage of. (Okay, I did too. A picture is worth a 10,000-step hike, right? That’s how to saying goes, right?) The tiny let-down of this first hike didn’t bother me because we had great plans to catch our final Sedona sunset from the perfect spot: Bell Rock. Oh man, what a spot! The trail wound around the rock and up its side a bit. But do you think I actually stuck to the trail? Not a chance. I climbed straight up the side of that tower, scrambling up narrow rock piles and living my best adventure moment. It was the BEST! The sunset view from a few hundred feet up was a dream. To be able to see the hazy amber glow spill from between the spires and across the valley floor was something straight out of a Nicholas Sparks movie. When the climax of the show was over, I continued to climb, deciding to make my way around Bell Rock instead of heading back down the way I’d come. Good choice, Abigail. As I traveled around, I climbed higher, almost making it to the top. I technically could have crawled up to touch the top spires, but decided against it because it was too close to dark. You should be very proud of me for letting caution beat out my desire for adventure here. When I made it back to the ground and found dad on the actual trail, we headed for the car, the promise of burgers adding a happy little skip to our step. Our calculations, while we waited for our burgers, told us that we had hiked just under seven miles that day, in addition to the horseback ride. Not too shabby!

Tuesday: Today was a checklist day. I had two fairly hefty hikes I very much wanted to hit before we left Sedona. First up: Cathedral Rock. Have you ever been to Cathedral Rock? If not, I’m really sorry. Cathedral Rock is, well, Cathedral Rock. It’s unlike anything I’ve experienced before. When you arrive, you’re looking across this narrow plateau and up at this gigantic, what-feels-like-mountain-sized formation that shoots almost straight up from the ground. And there are people climbing it! If you’re like me, you know you have to join them. AllTrails rated this hike as “difficult” even though it is less than a mile round trip. The vast majority of hikes with that rating are ten miles or longer. One mile? I figured out why when I read more about the hike. In that single mile, a hiker has to ascend more than 800 feet and make it back down. For real? For real. Did I do it? You bet. And it was SO FUN. Dad’s not so much about that mountain goat-type adventure, so he waited at the base of the rock and enjoyed the view while I scaled the steeply sloping surface. It was surprisingly easy for most of the climb but grew more difficult as I moved higher. The normally-rough rock was worn slick by the thousands of crazies who had completed this hike before me. When I made it to the top and took a couple of minutes to catch my breath, I looked out at the valley sprawling before me and had my hard-fought breath taken right away again. Unreal. So many miles, so many rock formations, so much grandeur between here and wherever there was. I hope someday you get to climb Cathedral Rock and take in that vista and feel that pride in having conquered a mountain and feel the excitement of creation. I hope you do.

After taking a bunch of pictures so I could take the view home with me, it was time to explore. I couldn’t just climb all the way up this rock and stay on the trail, ya know? I started counter-clockwise around the pinnacle farthest from the trail. A great choice. The narrow trail took me down a bit, across some only-slightly-risky narrow walkways, and into the space between the main and outer pinnacles. It was pretty surreal to stand between these enormous pillars, place my hands on their mass, and know that from twenty miles away, I could identify the feature I’d touched. It was thrilling. I kept circling these pillars, ceremoniously placing my hands on each one that I passed (but it wasn’t weird, okay?) as a hello, goodbye, and thank you for the adventure. I felt tiny and bigger than life at the same time. I was as small as the rubble under my feet in comparison to these giants, but I had climbed up here all by myself, ventured out beyond the trail, and could easily imagine that I was the first to ever stand in this spot for all the solitude and rugged wilderness surrounding me. Then it was time to climb down. That was also not as difficult as it looked. I reached the base and found dad. We admired the scenery for a moment, I pointed out where I’d gone, and headed for the car, all before 10 am.

The next hike: The Sedona Subway. This wind-blasted cave is without a doubt the most unique cave I’ve encountered. I don’t even know how to describe the shape of the cave. You’ll just have to check out the pictures below, and the better-quality pics once I get them posted to my photo album. Okay, so the start of the hike: great, fantastic, easy. We set out from the parking area and walked beside this slope-cliff-thing, behind what appeared to be a fancy resort. It wasn't the most picturesque hike, because of the buildings, but it was fairly easy. Once we’d passed all the resort buildings, the trail improved, but our navigating did not. When the trail split to either head toward the back of the canyon or to head to the cave, I, of course, picked the wrong one. To be fair, the one that I picked looked more traveled and appeared to go in the correct direction. I’m blaming this one on AllTrails. The app steered me wrong. It was all okay because after a short huddle and examination of the map, we turned around, found the correct trail, and arrived and the mouth of the cave within half an hour. Once again, the risky hike encouraged dad to stay on the flat ground while I scrambled up to get the more adventurous vantage point. Worth it. Like, whoa. That cave is SO COOL. You NEED to go there. It’s… wow. I stood and silently admire for a while. The cave, or tunnel, or whatever it is, is so big. It’s incredible. And the whole thing was carved out by the wind. I stood at the back, then walked out to the mouth of the cave where the valley once again spread out before me. I don’t think that would ever get old. I marveled at the beautifully curving lines of the space, at the way the mouth of the cave framed the opposite canyon wall, at the way the slanted route up contrasted the amazingly flat floor of the cave and the graceful arch of the walls. The sunlight bouncing off of the warm-tinted stone created a cozy glow. Pure magic. Around the outside edge of the cave waited another cave, this one called the Vortex. The Vortex isn’t nearly as impressive, it but is no less mind-bending. To think that such a volume of stone could be whisked away, grain-by-grain in the wind is tough to fathom. Also on that cliff ledge were walls left standing from ancient cliff dwellings. I stepped inside and envied their view. What a remarkable place to call home. I don’t think I’d mind much.

After an easy climb back down and a beautiful but unremarkable hike back to the car, it was time to begin our goodbyes. First, our campsite. The closer I got to leaving, the more I felt like I could stay in Sedona forever. With that feeling sitting in the pit of my stomach, I worked with dad to clean and pack and hitch the camper. Time to roll out. The drive out of Sedona was nothing short of absolutely spectacular! Climbing out of that valley with a trailer in tow is not for the faint of heart. I loved it. We stopped for the night at Havasu Lake State Park, mere feet from the Arizona-California state line. With the red rock of Sedona in my mind’s eye and stir fry in my belly, I slept well.

Wednesday: Another driving day and a few new friends! New friend #1: California! I’ve actually been to Cali before, but I like to make something special of each new place, so I celebrated just the same. I had some feelings, both happy and sad, about reaching California. I was thrilled to have come so far, seen so many new places, met so many new friends, and experienced so many states. Wow, I am thankful! I was also a little sad. California is the last state that I will really explore on this crazy adventure. Sure, we will go through a few other states to get back home, but Cali will be the last adventure until it’s time to turn homeward. While I’m missing home, routine, normal life, regular showers, electricity, and those sorts of minor conveniences, I’m not feeling ready to say goodbye to daily hiking, constant fresh air, daily challenges, and this sort of freedom. My frequent prayer lately has been, “Lord, please prepare my heart to go home.” I have faith that when that eastward journey begins, I’ll be ready.

New Friend #2: The Mohave Desert. Wow, the flat desert vastness from the California state line to Joshua Tree National Park is dizzying. It’s amazing. New friend #3: Joshua Tree National Park! Okay, I’m going to be honest here: I was not expecting to be terribly impressed by Joshua Tree. I thought it would probably be neat to see a bunch of these weird, rare plants. That was my expectation. The reality was that I was absolutely enamored of the Joshua trees, the rock formations, the whole thing. Like, oh my gosh. But first, a camping kerfuffle. I had picked out a first-come-first-served campsite that seemed like a safe bet. It’s January. Who the heck goes camping in January. Apparently, lots of people, because when we arrived at the park, there was a sign that said all campgrounds were full. Well then. We drove up to Belle Campground anyways because since the campground didn’t take reservations, that announcement probably didn’t apply, right? Wrong. It was full. All of the campgrounds in the park were full. In hindsight, that makes me very happy! The fact that there are so many people out enjoying nature and taking in its splendor is the best news. However, at that moment, I just wanted someone to go home. Because there is no cell phone reception inside Joshua Tree NP, we had to drive back out the way we’d come to search for a new idea. Almost as soon as I had access to the internet again, I found a dispersed camping area just ten minutes from the park entrance. It was free, it was available, and it was close. Thanks, God! We arrived there within a couple of minutes and without more than a few moments of looking, found a level spot to park the camper. We had camp set up in record time. We had a sunset to catch, after all.

Our sunset destination: Split Rock Loop. Um… are you kidding me? Is that place for real? That place is the actual coolest. Dad and I were absolutely in awe as we walked through the boulder field. These rock piles look like they are from a different place. Probably Mars. That was our best guess. It felt like we were on Mars. The look of the place is so other-worldly. The roughly textured surface of the rocks had me in climbing heaven. I ran and climbed and jumped and scrambled around on those boulders like a crazy woman. The sunset, brilliant pinks and oranges and reds, sinking down through the rock formations, was one of the best I’ve seen on this whole trip. The colors, the clouds, and the landscape worked together to create the perfect sunset. Thanks, Amazing Creator, for your amazing creation.

Thursday: Let’s go see more of Joshua Tree! Today was a big to-do day! We had a list of spots we wanted to see within the park, and we kept adding spots every time we looked at the map. First, we went to Wall Street Mill. This abandoned gold refinery was once a centerpiece of the area. Today, the once-state-of-the-art machinery lies in scattered ruins beside early model cars and other debris. The hike out to the mill was easy and picturesque, cut into the sand flat between hundreds of Joshua Trees. The ruins themselves were fascinating and eerie, laying where they had been left when the mill suddenly closed decades ago. Next, we drove up to Keys Viewpoint, a lookout at one of the highest points in the park. From up there, we could see across the Salton Sea (it’s not actually a sea. It’s just a big ol’ lake.) to the mountain range 90 miles distant. It was windy and chilly so we didn’t stay long, but I sure hope those images stick in my head, because man, oh man, what a view! Stop #3: Ryan Ranch. This homestead, once a thriving ranch, now exists as nothing more than a few crumbled outbuildings and the decaying adobe walls of the main house. Life in the desert isn’t easy. A life sustained by mining in the desert is even more difficult. I can’t blame the owners for simply giving up on their home when the gold and copper ran out. I don’t think I’d ever have the guts to endeavor such a life in the first place! The ghostly homestead is a testament to the gutsy people who tried to make a go at life where no one else even wanted to visit.

Our fourth adventure of the day was Arch Rock. I wasn’t expecting to love this spot since it’s a super popular tourist stop and photo op. I wouldn’t, of course, want to follow the trends. I’m very glad I did. That place is so cool!! Not only is the arch itself crazy awesome, but the surrounding boulder field is also the perfect climbing course. I found my way up to the tops of the rock formations while dad took pictures and admired the space from the ground. I, of course, had to see what the arch looked like from all angles, including the top. Definitely the best view available. We stayed on the Arch Rock loop trail for close to an hour, even though it was less than a half-mile in total. After a day packed with eye-fulls of Joshua Tree National Park, we still hadn’t taken in quite enough. Why not another hike? Destination #5 was the Forty-nine Palms Oasis. The National Parks app told us this would be a fairly easy hike with moderate elevation gain and a treasure at the end. The second part they were right about. The first part, not so much. That was a tough hike! From the start, it was uphill. To reach the oasis, we had to go up and around the side of a mountain. Now, don’t get me wrong, my mountain hiking muscles are in great condition. But. I might have chosen a not-so-steep path as the cap to a five-hike day. Call me lazy if you’d like. After a bunch of uphill, we started downhill. For a long time. Ya know what that means? This hike was truly uphill both ways. I’m not even going to complain though, because the final destination was so worth it. Right there, smack in the middle of the desert mountains is a lush oasis with palms trees and ferns and the whole deal. Right there! In the desert! The explanation is that a crack in the crust of the earth, not terribly far below the surface, allows an unusual amount of moisture to reach the topsoil, providing just the sort of conditions palm trees love. It was like spotting the emerald in the jar of sand. Simply delightful. We admired the sunset as we hiked back to the trailhead, completing our trek after dark. I didn’t mind too much. Usually, I really dislike hiking after dark, but this felt like the perfect ending to our adventurous day.

Friday: Are you tired of reading about all of these hikes yet? If not, I applaud you. I’m tired of reading about them, and I’m not even following this blog. Okay, Friday. We started this day early. Like, early early. We got up and out of the camper, with fresh hot coffee in hand, around first light and made it back to the Split Rock Loop just after sunrise. I’m really not a morning person, but this excursion was pure magic. I won’t really call it a hike because we walked less than a mile. I will call it an adventure, though, because it topped some other pretty spectacular moments. After the sun has fully risen, we headed back to camp to fix up some breakfast and hit the road. Joshua Tree is a spectacular place, but we felt we had seen all it had to offer. We chose to drive the scenic route toward our destination, taking the winding road through the heart of the national park. That drive gave us a glimpse of the sections of the park that we didn’t explore and offered a very complete picture of the area. I don’t remember whose idea that was, but I’m going to take credit for it since it was such a good one.

On the road again, we headed for San Diego. I was ready for a quieter urban day and we needed to be close to the San Diego airport by Sunday morning. The southern California coast seemed like a good final destination for this spectacular week with dad. Due to some really excellent planning, we rolled into our campground just a few minutes after campers were allowed to check-in, which allowed us afternoon and evening time to go find a beach. That was good news. We first tried to walk to the beach from our campsite in the Tijuana River Valley Regional Park Campground but found that a mile-wide estuary stood between us and the waves. Okie dokie, plan B. We hopped in the car to drive to some random beach that had a good rating on Google and was only 15 minutes away. That “random beach” ended up being Imperial Beach which is as majestic as it sounds. Dad and I started walking from somewhere insignificant on the beach, walked a mile south, and still had so much beach in front of us.

One thing I didn’t expect from this evening's beach walk: it made me very emotional. I realized, as I stepped toward the lapping waves, that I had arrived. I started this journey in Minnesota and made it to the most southwestern point in the country. That’s not nothing. As a matter of fact, it felt very significant. I began this journey without any idea how it would go, or even really where it would go, and here I was, as far away from home as I could be (without leaving the country, obviously). Gratitude and awe and elation and peace don’t really describe the moment, but that’s the best I can do.

I made it.

Slightly less awesome were the signs that stated possible sewage exposure if we touched the water. So, we didn’t touch the water. We did appreciate it from the sand with our shoes on, and from the Imperial Beach Pier, with our shoes still on. Sunset over the Pacific deliciously hit the spot, as did the Sloppy Joes I cooked up back at camp. We ended the night with our favorite game (Cribbage) and looked forward to exploring Sand Diego when the sun returned.

Saturday: An urban adventure day! First stop: The USS Midway Museum. Have you ever been? ( I know I ask that a lot. I just want you to experience all of these amazing things, so I have to ask the important questions.) First, that ship is huge. Like, what the heck? How does that even float? Science, I know. I know how it floats. But also, what the heck? Simply mind-blowing. We toured the ship for nearly three hours, and we still hadn’t seen everything. The museum tour takes visitors through the labyrinth of rooms above and below decks. We must have walked through hundreds of rooms depicting and describing what life was like for the brave men and women who inhabited the floating city. There were deeply moving displays telling of the heroic actions of the Midway’s sailors and airmen. There were retired airplanes to sit in. There were galleys and births and staterooms and command centers and engine rooms to walk through. On the flight deck stood every model of airplane and helicopter ever flown off the aircraft carrier. We toured and read and marveled until our brains were ready to explode and then we went in search of ice cream. We walked along the pier, enjoying the energy of the city and her people, found an ice cream shop, then headed back to our car. We had picked out a couple more stops for the day, but the USS Midway Museum took much longer than expected so we rearranged our plans and headed towards Children’s Beach to find some seals. Oh boy did we find them. We found seals and sea lions galore and were in absolute bliss watching the goofy creatures blubber around, play with each other, sunbathe, swim, and settle back in for another much-needed snooze. The rich golden-brown of the sea lions’ hides made them perfect sunset photo subjects. It was gorgeous. Nearly perfect. Goodnight San Diego.

Sunday: Today was, unfortunately, a goodbye day. Dad had to go home because apparently normal adults have jobs. That was news to me. Before sending him into the air, we spent the morning exploring Balboa Park. Wow, what a gem!! We first walked through the artists’ market, a small cobblestone square surrounded by private art studios. Too cool! With a fresh cup of coffee in hand, we headed deeper into the park. Somewhat by accident, we found ourselves walking between the buildings artfully erected for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition. The stunningly ornate facade of every building in that corner of the park is remarkable. We marveled at the marble and simply enjoyed the sunshine, the coffee, and the energy of our fellow park-goers.

After a picnic lunch on the green grass, we headed toward the airport. First stop: a hotel with my name on the reservation. I had a couple of nights alone before Isaac joined me, so the camper was getting a little break. With the camper parked and a hotel key in my pocket, I drove dad to the airport, hugged him goodbye, and geared up for my days of solo adventure. My first solo adventure: laundry. Yee-haw. I spent that first evening working on blogging and Instagramming and looked forward to some beach time after a comfy, warm sleep.

Oh wow. I didn’t even realize how jam-packed this week was until I sit writing it now. It took over 4,000 words to tell you the story of week eleven. Insane. I told you it was the hikingest week! Thanks for hanging in there.

Until next time!