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Well in advance of our trip we signed up for a 4 x 4 tour in Arches National Park and today was our day.

Our guide showed up in a 1997 Toyota 4 wheel drive SUV in less than pristine condition and it didn’t take long to realize why. Our tour was taking us on the original roads established by the family who owned the property before donating it to the government. We are talking dirt roads, and because of the recent rain, complete with deep ruts, mud, and deep water.

Our first stop was to see dinosaur tracks confirmed by the Smithsonian found in this back country. Based on the size and shape they actually can determine the size and type which is amazing to me.

Then we ran into 3 vans of dirt bikers with insufficient knowledge of driving these roads who had gotten themselves stuck in knee-high water and mud. Lucky for them, our guide’s second job is pulling people out of the mud on this road, so we spent about 30 minutes helping these guys. Our guide, Justin, is another interesting Covid story as a double-degree college graduate (Business Management and Chemical Engineering) whose job disappeared before his first day of work. He decided to take his savings and travel and when he arrived in Moab, he decided to stay and train as a guide. Needless to say, his education lent a great deal to his ability to explain all the origins of the mountains and their current status.

After the rescue, the fun began. This is where we started the “rock crawl” where you literally crawl slowly up and down large rocks over roads marked only by tracks from other 4 x 4 vehicles. In fact, the only wildlife we saw during the 4.5 hour tour was a handful of Rubicons in various colors.

Justin took us to see arches you would never see except in this back country including Tower Arch and Whale’s eye.

by the way, Justin identified my “fake” plant as Desert Rhubarb which actually grows a fruit just like regular rhubarb.

It’s over 700 miles from Yosemite to Arches National Park, so we planned a stop in St George, Utah to break it up, an stayed long enough to eat dinner and sleep. The landscape driving from St. George was incredible and changed several times along the way.

Unlike the drive from Vegas to California where it looks the same most of the way, there were spectacular mountains of red sandstone, low desert areas, green mountainous areas and just lots of variety. We arrived in Moab early enough on the 28th to go into Arches mid afternoon and get to see the overall layout of the park and make a plan. Our Senior pass made entry free so it didn’t matter how long we stayed. We decided on a plan of attack and then we checked the weather (guess we did it backwards) only to find out tomorrow was going to be a washout with rain all day.

Time for Plan B. It turned cold (58 degrees) at night and the rain started around 4 a.m. but by 8 a.m. it was mostly gone so back to Plan A and off to Arches National Park. The Park touts over 2,000 arches and is divided into three sections taking in about 35 of the most interesting with hikes varying from easy to difficult. Of course, we were only considering the easy hikes knowing full well there would be some we couldn’t do. Here are pictures of what we saw:

One of the last arches we saw was Landscape Arch which is the longest in the park. In 1991 some hikers were resting under it and heard some crackling which was they thought was thunder. Turned out to be rock breaking away from the arch causing it to get even thinner. Eventually this will happen to all the arches and they will become U-shaped.

When all was said and done, we had walked 9.5 miles and had over 24,000 steps. Actually I wimped out before we saw the last arch on the plan. With all this hiking, we noticed some vegetation that looked almost artificial like something you would buy at Hobby Lobby. Any idea what it turned out to be?

Today starts the beginning of our Fall trip for this year and we are ready to see some sights, experience new restaurants and visit new places. Being locked down and staying home is taking a toll on our congeniality and this trip was not a minute too soon. Just passing the “thank you for visiting Florida sign” lifted pounds off our moods.

We stopped twice at Buc-ee’s Travel Stops because they have the cleanest restrooms on the planet and their chopped brisket sandwich is not too shabby either. If you haven’t visited a Buc-ee’s yet, make sure you do when you see one. They are a destination worth the stop. Be prepared, though. They are always crowded.

Because we crossed into Central Time Zone, it was only 4:30 when we arrived at our hotel. It turned out to be relatively new Marriott Residence Inn with all the amenities. Since we ate breakfast and lunch in the Eastern Time Zone, we were hungry and found our way to the Franklin Chophouse eating quasi healthy food and then a quick tour of downtown Franklin. What a cute town! No New York or Los Angeles but not too small either with lots of shops and restaurants with outdoor tables. This has just become a place on my future bucket list for Christmas some year. I didn’t notice until we started walking, but the humidity is much lower here as is the temperature. Tomorrow should be a good hair day!

One last trip for 2019 with three stops designed to celebrate the season.  The first stop was in Concord, North Carolina where the Speedway is turned into a Christmas Wonderland.  They have taken over 4 million lights strung across a remarkable 3.75 mile drive-thru course.  Many of the lights were set to music you could hear on your car radio.  Half way around the track you stop at the Christmas Village with food, firepits, Festival of Trees, and a Christmas Movie Theatre.

Light show in the grandstands

Tunnel into and out of  the infield of the raceway

Even though Speedway Christmas was lots of fun, it was not the main reason we left sunny Florida for the rain and cold weather of Mid-Atlantic region.  Our main stop was Arlington Cemetery in Washington, D.C.  For several years, we have been contributing to Wreaths Across America which is a not-for profit organization that puts Christmas wreaths on the graves of service men and women buried at Arlington.  This year we decided to go in person and help put out the wreaths.  It was an incredibly moving experience and when it was over just under 40,000 volunteers put over 257,000 wreaths on the graves.

We were instructed to lay the wreath at a 45 degree angle to help prevent the wind from blowing them over.  Once you positioned the wreath, you were to say the persons name out loud and thank them for their service or whatever else you wanted to say.  The premise behind saying their name is the philosophy that every person dies twice; once when their physical body dies and a second time when no one ever says their name again.  Many of the graves that I saw were young soldiers when they died during WWI, WWII or Vietnam and it made me feel proud to say their name again to keep their sacrifice alive.  We will let the pictures tell the rest of the story.

Entrance to Arlington National Cemetery

Opening ceremony at the McClellan Gate within the cemetery

Stood in line to get wreath then you placed it on any grave stone without wreath

Guard at Unknown Soldier’s Grave

Our final stop on the way home was Charleston.  We walked along the Battery and saw some beautifully decorated old homes before headed back to our beloved Florida and 81 degree temperatures.

Since Thanksgiving is so late this year, like many other people we started preparing early.  Before we left for Texas for Thanksgiving, we managed to decorate two Christmas Trees and the outside of our house.

When we arrived at Debbie and Kerry’s home, we were whisked off to College Station, Texas to see and experience Santa’s Wonderland.  And it was, in fact, a “wonderland” complete with snow falling from the sky as we entered the main gate.  Not real snow, but nevertheless, snow.  After Santa made his big entrance, we were free to roam the huge grounds complete with ice slides, firepits for toasting Smore’s, shops and a 20 minute hayride through their elaborate light display.  What a great way to start the season.

Santa Arriving

The following are the light displays we saw from Hay Ride

After the Hay Ride we saw these sights

Gingerbread houses of all types

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

Entrance of Santa Wonderland  all lit up

Thanksgiving was a wonderful time with great food, prepared by Chef Kerry, family and friends on a perfect weather day.

So perfect we could even sit around the firepit to end the day.  Great Thanksgiving.

Saturday morning was a scenic sail on the Rhine with views of castles and wineries at every turn.  The wind made sitting on the top deck difficult but that was the best place to see these old castles, each with its own story.  Unfortunately, I can’t remember any of them.  It was nice to be able to be on the top deck again now that it has been re-opened.  During two days sailing on the Main, the deck had to be closed down and literally flattened to be able to pass under some of the bridges.

By 2 PM we docked in Braubach and were transported by motor coach to Marksburg Castle which is one of only two castle not destroyed.  The value and the significance of Marksburg Castle can be found in particular in its complete preservation as a medieval fortress.

Marksburg Castle from Rhine River

Although it was a challenge to get to with uneven walkways, narrow stairways, and multi-levels, it was an excellent representation of buildings dating back to the 13th to 15th century.  This castle was built more for protection than as a residence for a royal family with cannons and protected entryway, etc.  But it did contain some interesting interior rooms such as castle kitchen, great hall, bedchamber, chapel, armory, wine cellar and battlements.

Entry into Marksburg Castle

Kitchen in Castle

Icebox

Master Bedroom

Dinning Room

Chapel in Castle

View of Rhine River from Castle

It currently serves as a museum so it included a display of armor through the years and also a torture chamber.

Our motor coaches took us to Koblenz, where our ship had docked for the night.  We were able to walk around Koblenz if we wanted because the ship was not leaving until 3:30 AM.

Tram to mountain to get a view of Koblenz