Tim McArthur

365 days ago I decided not to buy that next pack of cigarettes and today I still have not had a single cigarette. This is a big barrier for me to have broken, and some months ago I thought I might have a smoke on the 1-year date. I have chosen not too… mainly because I do not want 365 to be the end of the streak.

I may be picking up a smoking pipe some time this year, though I am in not rush. I rarely feel the urge for a cigarette, but I do still feel the urge to relax with some form of burning tobacco. Cigarettes are taboo and Cigars just seem so “it’s a boy!”, and I am looking more for the casual toke once in a while and a pipe fits that role. We will see if I get around to the tobacco store any time in the next 12 months :-)

Yesterday we spent the day at the Rocky Mountain Airport for the annual airshow (our 2nd time in two years). Though it was 90+ degrees, we suffered through a few hours of intense heat before the clouds finally settled in to block the sun a bit. It made all the difference in comfort, but the damage had already been done. We were all sunburned and exhausted immediately upon arrival, but we pushed through to see both the afternoon and the evening shows.

This was my first time viewing a few of these planes in flight; F/18 Hornet and the P51 Mustang were most notable. The F/18 was very unique with its aggressive direction changes quick controls, this thing could change directions in an instant. Not to out-do the F/16 though, as that little guy is like an 8-year old on an all-sugar diet. It just MOVES like nothing else, but the F/18 had it’s own unique things to make it a very interesting plane to see in flight.

In the afternoon show there was a jet-powered truck that put on a great show. The sounds of burping the afterburner as he taxied tot he end of the runway was unmistakable. Once he turned around and started his “at speed” pass, things got even more interesting. Just as he passed the crowd, the entire far side of the airport burst into a wall of flames. They had blown up the entire far side of the airport! The heat wave, while not welcome, was intense. The boys’ jaws were on the ground and eyes as wide as grapefruits on steroids.

I ate like the average American; Hot dogs, chips, hamburgers…. (in other words “fat on fat on fat”) which officially ended my month long no-meat diet (though it did end last week in all honesty). I believe I consumed more fat in that one day then I have been in an entire week.

View all the pictures taken

Last year we stumbled upon an ad for this airshow at the last minute and had a great time. Watching the planes fly at twilight was unique to say the least.

This year we have planned ahead (slightly) and will be attending the airshow again on Aug 28th. This time we will make it a whole day, not just the few hours at sunset. It looks like they have added a few more flights and planes to the schedule as well as some fireworks. It will be a great place to test the new camera.

The only reason I ever blog is for my Mother (and other family members in CA) to keep track of me and her grandson. Today, she finally made the digital trek to tmcarthur.net after many months of me posting my stories for no one to read. Finally, I have a reader!

Thanks Mom :-)

We left Great Basin Ntnl Park in the afternoon and expected a full 8 hours of driving to make it through Utah to Canyonlands, UT on the Eastern side of the state. Along the route, we took advantage of a few rest/view areas; Castle Valley and Spotted Wolf Canyon were both spectacular but we stayed only a few minute at each as we knew it would be well into the night before we made our destination.

As luck would have it, the closer we got to Canyonlands the clouds great larger and larger. By the time the sun was setting, it had begun raining. By the time we made it to our south-bound turn off towards Canyonlands, it was pouring. We stopped to research the weather and decided that a day im the mud at Canyonlands was not what we were looking for, so we continued East into Grand Junction were we stopped for the night.

In the morning, we were only a short 1.5 hour drive away from Black Canyon Ntnl Park. Arriving early in the morning, our excitement to visit this park was quickly trampled by the reality that the boat tour company takes a single day off each week; Tuesdays… and today is Tuesday!

We still took the time to drive the South Rim road and explore each of the pullouts and their view of the canyon. While the views were awesome, the fact that we could not do what we really came here for took a lot out of it. I’d like to come back here on any other day to truly see this park as it should be seen… from the bottom up.

We stayed only 4 hours before beginning our 6 hour drive towards home that would include 5 hours of driving up, on, and over the Rocky Mountains. We drove over Monarch Pass which is well over the 11,000 ft elevation mark and began our downward spiral into the flat lands of Denver just in time for rush hour traffic.

Just as we were leaving Denver, the brake pedal in the van began to feel mushy. I knew the brakes were on the brink so even through rush hour traffic I stayed off them as much as possible. The last 36 miles home I used the brakes only 3 times; once to get off the Interstate and twice more on my street and driveway. The use of the brakes on the off ramp lit up the BRAKE warning indicator on the van so the final 6 miles were spent puckered and grinding our teeth. We were NOT going to fall 6 miles short of home!

Obviously we made it home, and the brakes were repaired the next day. A simple problem that could happen to anyone, at any time; ruptured brake line. However, consider if that happened just an hour or two earlier as I was coming down the Rockies from 11,000ft! We definitely got lucky there.

We arrived at GBNP late on Sunday evening, just before the sun began to set. Just enough daylight still to setup camp, prepare a quick meal, and watch the sun set over the mountains.

Surprisingly, there is no fee to the park and camping was a mere $12 per night (about half that of all other Ntnl parks). The camp sites were very nicely spaced and you could easily say they were better placed in the landscape then most Ntnl parks. For the cost, this Ntnl park is in my top to re-visit next time we are heading anywhere nearby again.

It was a goal of ours to make it to the park and camp a night just for the advertised ‘darkness’ of night and it was worth it. The amount of stars clear and visible was unmatched. It is said you can view the Milky Way at the right times in this park, and I can see that they are telling the truth. Though my eyes are not up to the task anymore, and I could not get my camera to focus properly, the pictures I did get were amazing and worth the efforts.

After a few hours of sleep, we followed the 12 mile road to the top and hiked a quick 3 miles through the Mtn peak and past the two lakes up top. It did not take long for Timmy and I to realize that hiking up here was very different then we have hiked in the past. At 10,000 feet, we could only move a few hundred yards between short breaks to get breath. After an hour or so, we did get acclimated and things got easier.

It was not until well after our hike that we read about the trees along the *other* trail nearby. They are the oldest living trees in the world and we missed the chance to go see them. Turns out, an entire field of these trees still live up on Wheeler peak, just below the tree-line. It would have been amazing to see them in quantity.

After the hike, we made sure to visit the Lehman Caves, known for have the most pristine cave formations in the country, (Carlsbad Caves in NM has the largest rooms, while Mammoth Cave NP is the largest cave at 360+ miles long). This was both our first time in such a cave, and no doubt we will venture into more caves when we can. Just an amazing experience.

At the end of the day, we both agreed that GBNP is a park well worth the money and time. We would have been happy to stay multiple days and explore the other trails and caves within the park. We realized soon after that we hiked at 10,300 feet above sea level and only an hour later we were 200 feet below ground for another 1.5 mile hike in the caves. Pretty neat when you think about it.

Pretty easy day with just a few hours of driving and a couple stops to explore Camping World in Vacaville, CA and Boomtown in NV.  I expected a little more from CW, but Capella in Boomtown was more than I expected. Much like an amusement park, complete with zoo and rivers flowing through the store. There is even an archery range in store. Pretty cool stuff, though I’d never spend those amounts they ask.

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That’s it… we are outta here. The van is packed with all our belongs, food, and water for a 4-5 day drive and visits to the parks. Hopefully we can give updates as we travel…