Family Feathers: Wild West Journal

Day Before Trip

Allie is still doing laundry at midnight. We have to be up by 4:00 a.m. for flight. Mom retrieves the cupcake bucket o' cash. Joey sick in Nashville with sore throat and ear ache. Praying this goes well.

Day One - Saturday, June 13, 2015

Allie's laundry is still wet. Makes for interesting packing.

Arrive at airport. After saying, "Allie, make sure you bring your ID" a hundred times, Allie makes a last minute decision to ship her purse with her luggage. Arrival at the Security checkpoint brings on sudden panic as I hear my child whisper, "Oh no....."

It could not be more humid on this day. The heat has taken its toll on Mom before we even start. To avoid further heart racing episodes, I opt for a wheel chair to help her get down the long terminal to the gate. My own heart racing episode ensues as the handle of the wheel chair comes off as we are headed down the ramp to the Security Check point. Weighted down with carry on bags and purses, mom is unaware she nearly becomes a missile headed straight into the TSA agent.

Looking out the plane window, we are certain the first canyon we see must be the Grand Canyon. With each progressively larger hole in the Earth, we declare "That must be the Grand Canyon." Realizing our topographic ignorance, Allie asks if there might be a geographer on the plane.

Vegas! We've arrived. Look up to see Joey walking down terminal. Planes arrived at same time! My heart jumps!

National Emerald Club sends us around the hundreds of people waiting for rental cars straight to our waiting vehicle. Free upgrade plants us in an SUV needed for the steamer trunks Allie travels with.

Hoover Dam! Dam Hot! Quick pics. Walk to center of dam. Touch the toes of the twin winged figures at the dam and make wishes. Selfies, Selfies of Selfies and more Selfies. Back to air conditioned vehicle.

Bellagio fountains and late night swim. (not in the fountains) Great day!

Day Two, Sunday, June 14, 2015

Mike and Sam arrived and we all headed west towards Lone Pine. The kids and I turned up the music in our car and listened to Hunter aka The Boy Jones sing "Heaven, Leave Your Light On" as we headed into the mountains. Stopped at a small cafe at Death Valley Junction for lunch. Made another stop at a Marta Becket's Amargosa Opera House in the middle of Death Valley, an odd sideshow in the middle of nowhere. Allie drove us out of Marta's across the flats to Furnace Creek. What sixteen year old doesn't want the bragging rights that they drove across Death Valley? The temp at Furnace Creek - 126. Continued on to the sand dunes where Star Wars was filmed and walked across the hot desert sand for a few quick pics. Entered the Owens Valley and soon landed at the Dow Villa in Lone Pine, CA, a small motel straight out of the 60's. Dinner and drinks poolside after a long day's drive was the perfect ending to a beautiful day.

Day Three, Monday, June 15, 2015

Breakfast on the patio outside of our room. Allie and I walked to the market for oranges and water. Stopped by the hostel to buy a new hat. Quick tour of the movie museum and then a beautiful drive to the Mt Whitney portal. Paradise is the best word I can use to describe this place. Either a peace of Heaven fell to Earth or it was a forgotten page out of a fairy tale. This picnic stop at the trail head was breath taking. Sam, who is always prepared, brought chairs and blankets and a cooler of treats. Mom napped under a canopy of pines as the rest of our party climbed up the trail. After an hour or so in, I returned to the base to join Mom in a midday nap. The kids, Mike and Sam continued forward and took the express route down. They looked like the Von Trapp family as they walked off of the mountain back to our small piece of paradise. After a small rest and a bit of refueling, we walked over to the waterfall and stuck our tired feet in the ice cold waters.

Back to the Dow for a late day swim and rest in the hot tub. After dinner with Mike and Sam's lovely friend Maggie, we returned to the pool where we met Mary, a star in her own right. An elderly woman who lives at the Dow, she spoke in song, using only the best known choruses one would want in their pocket. Proudly, the daughter of a Stanford Chemist, Mary now sat poolside with new friends singing chorus lines on her 1930's Martin guitar. Mary's face lit up when Allie answered her with, "Yes, mam." Mary instantly channeled Scarlet O'Hara and said, "You're from the South!" After a few more rounds of We Are the World and A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes, we were certain we had made some beautiful new friends.

Still wet with pool water, we traveled out to the alkali flats and sat under the stars. Joey's Stargazer App was amazing as it clearly showed Venus, Saturn, Jupiter and the various constellations in what looked like a touch screen sky. Our night sky seemed as if you could wave your hand across it and move the heavens. As our eyes adjusted, the stars began to twinkle. As we lay there, alone in the dark, on the flat floor of the desert, Sam announced, "There is something out there." It was just the right mixture of excitement, fear and laughter that conjured up the new mythical creature, the Chippery, a desert monster sure to eat star gazers who are distracted by the beauty of the western sky. With a new moon hiding from view, Allie demanded to know why Uncle Mike did not have a moon. We watched Venus disappear into the horizon and saw the tiny distant lights of the cars coming down the portal road on the mountain. As we left, we stopped to listen to the whirring sound of a windmill, that faded out of view into the dark sky above.

We returned to the Dow and fell into our beds. It was one of those days we will talk about years from now.

Day Four, Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Took the kids to see Manzanar, Japanese Relocation Camp. Museum was very nice. The film was excellent, but hard to watch knowing that such a wrong was done to so many. Very windy at the camp. Sand and wind. Endless.

Drove to L.A.

Staying at Mike and Sam's (and Brian's) beautiful apartment in Culver City. Had a lovely pasta dinner and stayed in for the evening.

Day Five, Wednesday, June 17, 2015

My little surfer girl....