Moab Trip 5-28-07

Our last day in Moab was spent cleaning up the house and loading up the car.
Once we were on the road, the miles just flew by. Before we knew it, we were back in Big Salty.

What can I say?
It was a great trip. Vincent shined like a bright star, bypassing all my expectations on the hikes. Lisa beamed with pride over Squirt's accomplishments and Kev loved spending time with his grandson. In a way, a lot of our enjoyment stemmed from Vince's experiences.
It seems only fitting. More and more, I find myself living my life for my child.
Now that I think about it, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Moab Trip 5-27-07 (After the hike...)

After the Delicate Arch hike, Vince and I went to thank Ranger Dorothy Harden. She was the Ranger that counseled us on the rigors we faced on our chosen hikes. Thanks to her, we knew what to expect. That's why she gets an honorable mention here. Heck, I can still hear her telling us that "It's not a walk in Disneyland!" We will always know her affectionately as "Ranger Brunhilda."




After we had lunch and washed up, we took a drive along the Colorado River. There was so much scenery, I couldn't take enough pictures to do it justice.

This is a shot from the Big Bend Recreation Area.



And this is a view of Castle Valley.
It was breathtaking.







Just like this one!








After our driving tour, Vince and I went to the community park to unwind.







The playground was awesome. It had a bridge, a winding slide and two different monkey bar sets!

Squirt definitely enjoyed traversing the playground's activities...





But wouldn't you know it? His favorite thing on the playground was the little ol' bench swing.
Here Vince and his new buddy, Warner, take a break from tearing through the playground. I can't say what endeared Vince towards this little guy, but I know he liked his company.
He's such a gentle giant.



From the playground, Vince and I made our way to the nearby stream. Mill Creek was clean and cool...not a piece of litter in sight.
We waded through the small pools and wound up on this slab of concrete.





Vince doing what he does best.
We built a small dam out of some of the bigger stones at first. That made a small pool for Vince to chuck stones into.

All in all, it was the perfect lazy afternoon.

Moab Trip 5-27-07 (Delicate Arch Hike)

(I took so many pictures on the 27th, I had to make this post in two parts.)
On Sunday, Kevin and Lis' motored the two valiant explorers to their next expedition, the Delicate Arch. Even though this hike was shorter than the Devil's Garden romp, I was a bit more worried because of all the terrain issues...namely changes in elevation and a substantial lack of shade. It didn't matter. Once we got to the trailhead, Squirt was ready to go.
We got to the trailhead a little before 0900. There were some hikers getting an early start. But for the most part, the crowds were pretty thin.






Right off the bat, we took some time to explore the Wolfe Ranch buildings. Vince really enjoyed exploring the root cellar.
(...at least, I think it was a root cellar.)






Farther on down the trail came our first big obstacle. No foolin, this was a solid slab of slickrock that acted as a 38 degree ramp up to the top of the mesa. I'm not too sure how long it was. But from the bottom it looked like one long climb.
Here, Vince took a quick deep breath before beginning the long schlep up the hill.



Half way up, Kimosabe and I decided to take a break. I don't know if it's because of my Army days or my Search & Rescue training, but I'm particularly paranoid about the equipment we bring on hikes. Squirt and I pack every possible piece of gear we might need for unknown hikes. I wish I could say the same for some of the other park patrons out there. They were dying right about this point. Betcha' wish you brought some water now, eh buddy?


For the most part, the trail was a flat and easy meander across the top of the mesa. The only hook we ran into was that a bunch of us got disoriented when some college jackasses thought it'd be funny to move the cairns in a wrong direction.
Anyhow, the part of the trail that lead to the arch was a four-foot ledge that wrapped around a fin. Vince took it in his usual stride, paying close attention and obeying my instructions. That's my boy!

VICTORY!!!
Once we finally made it to the arch, I took this picture right at the edge of the "bowl" that surrounds it. I think Vince was really impressed with the Delicate Arch. Whether because of all the fuss I made or the fact that everyone else was "oo"-ing and "ah"-ing, he kept pointing at it and saying "Lookitthat!" in his usual cute manner.


The arch was the perfect place for us to take in our snack. It was PB&J with a view!







Shade was a pretty rare commodity at the Delicate Arch. Luckily, a couple of gals offered us this spot when they saw us looking for a place to sit. Vince's boyish charm strikes again!






Once we were done eating, Vince and I got on with the photo ops.
One of our trail-buddies offered to take this picture of us before they began walking back. I think they were inspired to see Vince out there making it happen in spite of his disability. Yeah, I'm lucky enough to be the Proud Papa.




Delicate Arch is big. Damn big. I sat Vince on this small ledge to help gain some perspective on its size. He was such a good boy, diligently putting up with being posed for photos.






Here's a shot of the bowl that surrounds the arch. Vince is standing on the western base, facing South. What did I tell you? Damn big.






Once we had our fill, Squirt and I began our long trip back. Let me tell you, that slickrock incline was a welcomed sight when you're going downhill. And the view of the valley is gorgeous!






Vince had a great time during our hike. But I think his biggest reward was seeing Grandpa at the trailhead waiting for us!

Moab Trip 5-26-07

Vince and I took Saturday off to recover from our hike.
As for the family, we toured Moab's main street, hitting all the souvenir stores and taking in some of the local fare. Once we got home, Lisa and Kevin rested in the breeze of the swamp cooler while the Squirt and I went exploring. We wandered into Center Street Ballpark, where Vince had a blast on the playground. A great day all around!

When we weren't outside, Vince made the most of our comfortable accommodations. Here he is enjoying a riveting game of "Counting on Zero" on his Leapster L-Max. Save your energy, Bud. You're gonna need it.




We had brunch at Maryann's Bakery in the Broken Oar restaurant. Vince, in his usual culinary adventurousness..um..had the grilled cheese sandwich.






Moab's a great little burg. We were lucky enough to get our walking tour in before the Memorial Day crowds got there.
I love souvenir shopping.

Moab Trip 5-25-07

Here we are, posing in front of the Visitors Center. We went here to ask the Rangers about the Devil's Garden trail difficulty. They were very helpful in getting Vince and I ready.






Here we are, ready for the hike. It was a pretty hot day, but we were ready with plenty of food, water, sunblock and bug spray. Yeah, we weren't taking any chances.


All that damn walking, you think I'd lose some weight! ;-)



Vince and I saw some of the most beautiful scenery during our Devil's Garden hike. Here, we took a break in a small alcove just off the trail. Squirt loved drawing numbers in the sand.






Here's my buddy, mugging for the camera in front of the Landscape Arch. For the most part, Vince didn't pay too much attention to the distant scenery. Instead, he got a bigger kick out of scenery that was close and in his way...stuff he could crawl over and get shade from.




The trail got a bit tougher from the Landscape Arch. On the larger slickrock parts, the trail was marked by these stacks of rocks, called "cairns." Here's my little champ making his way up towards the Wall Arch.





Vince enjoyed the shade provided by the Wall Arch. As we sat, he would point with his finger and track the path of the arch over his head. From here, the trail ascended to an open area where it climbed on to a long fin...





This fin. We had to walk across this "Fin Bridge" to get to the Double-O. I was a little worried at first, but Vince did great. He followed instructions, paid attention and stepped cautiously the whole way. I was so proud.





Once across, Vince and I took a break in some great shade for lunch. There was a family from Florida there who followed our example and took a break too. They had a couple of daughters who fawned over Vince and helped us out by taking this photo. He's such a Casanova.




The trip back was a lot quicker. Part of it was because we were going downhill, but our pace had quickened a lot due to Vince's familiarity with the terrain.






Victorious at the trailhead, we had our picture taken thanks to a lady who thought Vince was a big cutie. I don't know how to explain it, but folks had a urge to cheer us on when they found out about Vince's autism. They praised his effort and asked me about how Lis' and I helped him live with his condition.

I gave them the usual answer: He's the one who teaches us how to live with Autism. It's a lesson he's always ready to teach.

Moab Trip 5-24-07

The trip to Moab was thankfully, uneventful.
I say this because Vince has a tendency of getting a little carsick on long trips.
Lucky for us, some kiddie Dramamine did the trick! Not a single hack. We're so proud.

Here we are at our favorite rest stop just before Price on State Road 6. It's pretty, with a little creek perfect for Vince's favorite pastime, tossing rocks. After a quick break, we were back on the road.




After a couple of hours, we finally made it to the house in Moab.
It was great, with two bedrooms and a foldout futon. Vince loooooved the bunk beds. He got such a kick out of sleeping on the top bunk that there was only one thing that could get him off it...





The bathtub!
Here, our little buddy took a victory bath after enduring the long road trip. After that, we all went out for dinner at the Moab Brewery.
Good times.

Moab Trip Prologue...

It's tough to describe how much fun we had in Moab.
Between Arches and the Town, we had one of the best Utah experiences yet.
The problem for me comes in how to effectively blog this mess so that all of you can enjoy it.
So here's the plan:
I'll do one post for each day of the trip. From 5-24-07 to 5-28-07.
Sadly, most of my pictures are from our hikes.
But I'll try to be descriptive as best as I can.

Right. Here we go.

A Visit from Grandpa!

This past week has been crazy.
Lis' and I have been cleaning up and making preparations for Amelia's arrival.
Grades have finally come in. (...and I'm the All-A Kid, once again.)
I've been offered a Research Fellowship for the Fall Semester. My mentor and I plan on researching the EU's use of economic sanctions. It should be very interesting.
As a final note, my Father-in-Law has come to visit us for a couple of weeks.
Vince is so thrilled.
We've been to the park, the pool, the playground...all of Vince's favorite places.

Yesterday, the four of us took a trip on the train to the Gateway Center:

Here we are, waiting for the train. I love the fact that TRAX is so close to our place. We can just hop the train downtown or South to Grandma Cheri's. It's very convenient. As for Vince, he could ride the train all day. Add that to a day with Grandpa and his happiness goes through the roof.





We had lunch when we got there. Vince had a huge slice of cheese pizza and a PB&J on top of all that. Truth is, he's been eating like a horse! We think he's getting ready for another growth spurt.






Afterwards, we went to the Discovery Gateway for chance to let Vince enjoy the exhibits. In this shot he was busy enjoying the Ball Beehive, his favorite.







The museum had a mock supermarket where Vince made a culinary masterpiece: a bologna, turkey, cheese, lettuce, tomato and cherry glaze donut sandwich on white.

Here's the Master at work...




...and the finished product upon completion.








After our trip to the store, we went outside to the Life-Flight helicopter exhibit. This was the coolest part of the museum.

Here, Vince and Grandpa take the controls. There was an intercom between the helicopter and an interactive "control tower" that allowed people to talk to each other. It was pretty squared away.



Here, Vince and I go through the Airborne jump commands as he prepares to exit the aircraft. He gets such a kick out of playing paratrooper. :-)







Even Kevin got a kick out of the chopper!








From the helicopter, we went to the media exhibits where Squirt and I took a shot at weather anchoring. They're right. TV does add twenty to thirty...um...pounds to the frame! ^_^;;






Vince and I also took a shot at being talk radio DJ's.








After our busy day at the Museum, Grandpa treated us all to some Ben & Jerry's ice cream.







All in all, it was a great day.
I just hope our trip to Moab will be just as fun as today!