Sequoia National Park

Sequoia National Park is a beautiful national park.  We rode in from the South entrance on very nice tight twisties. Just inches from sure death most of the way up the mountain gives you a sense of adrenaline overload. 

 This young buck was just outside our tent the first morning.

Sam is in the red circle...

 Last year one of these fell on an unoccupied parked jeep. See attached video.

Caught a whiff and then spotted smoke from the controlled burn just within the forest boundaries.

This is really a magnificent park with some of the most awesome trees and certainly the oldest in the world. As a whole, the park is well organized and maintained.  However, sanitation facilities are not very good - bathrooms are in disrepair, showers are not all able to be used, and even the laundry room had two machines out of order.  They are making thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands, a day on the park with fees and souvenirs.  It may be a case of money being collected by the Federal Govt. and not being redistributed back into the park system.  Kinda wondered if maybe it could be handled better at a state level.

I could return many times and still look up and stare at these giants for hours!

Family in Phoenix

I really enjoyed spending time with my Aunt & Uncle and Cousins in Phoenix. Hope it isn't another 30 years until we can all get together again.  I don't think I can make another trip to the desert.  I don't know how they do it. It's just so hot!

I love hearing Uncle Joe's stories of our family.  The best one from this trip was hearing him talk about my great-grandfather and how he was the mediator for the community encouraging debate and discussions rather arguments and fighting.  He said it was common to see the mayor of Rome and police chief at the house discussing issues. We need to get him to write this stuff down. 

AZ Petrified Forest

Picture a lush forest with pools of water lined with vegetation. 225 million yeas ago this is what Arizona looked like.  Petrified Forest National Park

Petrified log still lies where it fell over 200 million years ago.

Petrified log rests upon a petrified sand dune

Very hot. We explored the miles of park helmet-less & protective gear-less. Hey, if your not living on the edge you're taking up too much space!

Ancient graffiti (petroglyphs) from the hood. I'd love to know what these say.

Route 66

Route 66 cuts through Arizona.  This is a remnant of a car left off Route 66 just outside the petrified forest.

Sahuaro in the heart of Phoenix.  Hard to imagine all the produce, cattle, and crops harvested in the desert.  We had a hard time walking in the sweltering 105 degree Phoenix heat.  Can't imagine doing any kind of work in it.

Sahuaro Ranch

Met some new friends (treatment went well in AZ)

Met some great people last week.  For the first time in fifty years I was treated outside my home area and all went well.  There are a lot of great caregivers out there and these are three I am pleased to have met.

Turns out Dr. Gomez (left) served his residency at Oakland Thalassemia Center. I so appreciate the time he spent with me and letting me pick his brain. Very interesting talking with him and discussing some different treatment options which may help long term.

No worries finding a vein and the stab as my nurse was quick and precise (both eyes open).  They were all so professional yet human.  Can tell they do what they love daily and do it well!  I have one more stop in St. Louis for a refill.  I'm much less stressed about it now that my Arizona stop for a top off went so well.

I hope other patients read this and are encouraged to get out there and see their world.  If I can help, just add a comment to this post or message me, I'd be happy to help in any way I can.  Do what you need to do for a good quality of life but don't let Thal hold you back. No matter how much time that encompasses, enjoy and just do!

Day 8, Arches Moab, UT

Utah is an amazing state to ride through.  Around every turn is something new. Never seen by many Easterners before.  For at least these two from the Northeast, these valleys filled with amazing rock formations is very exciting. 

Hard to imagine how the formations evolved over the past millions of years.  

Unreal riding in hot (HOT!!!) dry conditions yet seeing the snow capped mountains.  They don't seem to be that far away.

Day 10, Bryce Canyon, UT

Incredible Arches

 Not sure what a "Hippy Form Hell" is but may have been fun meeting these guys.