An Eastern Migration

After a too short visit with Amanda's family, Team Jones started the long drive East. The caravan included: Joe in the completely loaded 4-runner with a kayak mounted on top and Amanda and Foxie in the low-rider Fit, also completely loaded (including 4 cases of CA wine). With a coffee gift card from Sharla, two-way radios from Amanda's dad and the Team Jones AAA membership card, we were prepared for whatever I-40 could dish out.

October 4-5: After a long day of driving, we finally pull into the Mather Campground on the Grand Canyon's South Rim.

The Time: 2am

The Plan : To wake up after a few hours sleep and start the day with a view of the sun rising over the Grand Canyon.

We put up the tent, set our alarms and quickly fell asleep.

The Time: 4:30am (Good Morning!)

The Weather: Howling winds threaten to blow away our tent if it is not held down with our bodies! (We did not bother to stake the tent when we set it up just a few short hours earlier.)

The New Plan: To go back to sleep until the winds die down. The Grand Canyon will still be beautiful bathed in the light of a more reasonable hour.

At A More Reasonable Hour (warmer too!): The Canyon was breath-taking-ly gorgeous! The first teeny glimpse I caught through the trees literally took my breath away! Every view was just as beautiful- and there were a lot of them, as we stopped at almost every viewpoint between the campground and the East entrance to the park.



Our favorite part of the day (excluding the views) was learning about the Native American cultures that have inhabited the Grand Canyon for the past 12,000 years. The picture above is of a ceremonial kiva and the picture below is of some more recent art work on the walls of the Desert View Point Watch Tower. We also enjoyed some delicious vegetarian chili at Desert View Point, which hit the spot after a full day of exploring!

October 5-6: Thursday night and Friday morning were spent with Amanda's cousin Megan, Chris and their daughter Janice. Chris' parents were in town for the start of Albuquerque's Hot Air Balloon Festival and Chris led all of us on a hike with views overlooking the city. It was a gorgeous and windy day. Thank you Megan and Chris for your warm hospitality and the fun visit!



October 6-8: The next night we were able to stay with Dylan and Susan in their new home in Norman, Oklahoma. (We had promised that we would stop and visit when we moved east- though I don't think Dylan believed us.) The directions seemed pretty straight forward, so we were surprised when we were unable to find Dylan and Susan's house. It was well after midnight when we called Dylan who graciously offered to drive into town and find us. After a few more phone calls and some more driving around it was determined that we were in fact not in Norman! Turns out that many towns have a Main St. and Broadway and brick homes with perfectly manicured lawns. We returned to the highway and tried again. Soon we were pulling into a gas station and relieved to see Dylan waving us down.



Sunday we stayed in Norman and Dylan and Susan gave us the grand tour and treated us to lunch at The Mont, a "Norman institution." (I recommend the swirl- a tasty adult beverage.) What a treat to spend a day with good friends (and off I-40). Monday morning Joe logged in a couple of hours meeting some of the researchers at the University of Oklahoma before we had to say goodbye and get back on the road. (picture: Joe and Dylan survey the backyard)



October 8-9: Everything was going fine until we pulled off the road in Arkansas to find a place to camp for the night. Joe picked up a nail in his tire and the air started gushing out! This was no ordinary nail, but a humongous thing that you would find in a railroad tie or in Frankenstein's head. But at that point it was getting dark and we were getting close to the campsite, so we decided to limp on in. When we peered out of the tent in the morning, the tire was completely flat. Faced with unloading the packed 4-runner to find the jack, we decided to call AAA instead. Within a few hours we were back on the road! I still plan to send in the comment card for the campground- the facilities were great and the staff were so friendly and helpful.



October 9: After setting up camp in Tennessee, Foxi e is ready to go to sleep- no doubt excited that w e are reaching the end of our trip.

October 10: After 10 days of driving and visiting with family and friends we finally made it to South Carolina and were warmly welcomed by Joe's family. Check back soon to see pictures of our farm house all cleaned out!