Rock Climbing @ Red River Gorge

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"I'm really too old for this."  

Yes, that's me way up there.  

I was looking down the rock face to the bottom of the cliff, about 75 feet below me.  It felt like 175 feet.  For the first time in 20 years I was clinging to a sandstone rock face at Red River Gorge.  When I did it in college I prayed the the rope wouldn't break.  Now I was praying that the unused tendons in my legs wouldn't snap.  

We came down here for a work retreat.  

The idea was that I'd get a lot of reading and writing done for a big brief that I have due in a few weeks.  It didn't exactly turn into a super productive work trip.  But we met some cool interesting people and, after a couple of beers and tours of the van, ended up rock climbing with them the next day.  

 

If you get the chance look up Brian Gillespie at KRAG climbing down at the Gorge.  He's a great guy and climbed some of the most amazing places in the world.  KRAG's homebase is a bar/taproom/hostel/climbing store called Skybridge Station.  They had a ton of Kentucky brews on tap and cool funky vibe.  

 

Click here to get to their web site. 

Click here to get to their web site. 

 

In the end it was more of a two day jaunt than a work trip.  The road to missing deadlines is paved with good intentions.  And yet, I can't say for even a second that being in such a beautiful place and meeting such interesting people was anything but a huge success.  

 


Trouble at Red River Gorge

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"I've been a park ranger for 14 years, and I've never seen anything like that".  

The end of the road, down a steep embankment.  

He and his partner were looking at me and Kelly with a look that could have been amazement or could have been irritation.  We are at the very farthest reaches of Red River Gorge - end end of Road 9 along Indian Creek, where the gravel track turns into a muddy trail at a bridge over the creek.  

The road rises about 10 feet above one of the best camping spots I've ever seen down by the creek.  It's by the water, isolated, with cover.  The sound of the creek was amazing.  

But it was 11 pm, and the two federal forestry rangers were not especially amused.  Although there were numerous other no vehicle signs at pull offs along the road, there had not been one here.  Kelly really, really wanted to camp there.  So I put the Sportsmobile in 4wd low and took the roller coaster ride down to the creek.  Now they were walking around the van shaking their heads, trying to decide whether to hassle me, give me a ticket, send me to a lunatic asylum, or congratulate us on our daring.  

Beautiful night at Red River Gorge. 

I was friendly and offered to move the van.  They were poking around, looking for stuff like police do (even forest police).  There was a half empty bottle of Jim Beam by our fire.  

"You know, it's illegal to drink alcohol in the park", he said.  I almost failed to stifle a laugh.  I've been coming to the Gorge for 30 years now, and although my hiking buddies have changed, Mr. Beam or one of his relatives has been with me every time.  When you drive along the roads you can literally smell the bourbon in the air wafting from every campsite.  

In the end, it was our bear hang that saved us.  I had properly hung my trash by from a tree, maybe the only person in the Gorge that evening who actually followed the bear safety rule.  I did it in part because of Kelly's pathologic fear of predators.  I'm glad I did, because it somehow changed how the rangers looked at me.  No longer a drunken lawbreaker, I was now simply a daring outdoorsmen following universal forestry protocol.  

A beautiful view. . . 

They let us go without even a warning, but not after checking out the Sportsmobile and talking about it.  I thought about offering them some bourbon, then decided against it.  

It was a good thing that we moved that night - early the next morning (before we woke up) it started to rain, and I'm not sure we could have made it up the muddy bank.  The Beast would have sat there, helpless, as the creek slowly rose to engulf it's huge victim.  

There were a million shades of green. 

Live and learn.  That's what Beast is for - to get us to beautiful places that we wouldn't ordinarily be able to get to.  

Florida Camping

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Notes from our adventure trip to Southern Florida. 

January 30th, 2014

We’re in Florida, trying to beat back the darkness and cold of winter.  Camping at Colier-Seminole State Park, a little south of Naples, along the edge of Big Cypress National Preserve.  

I’ve never driven this far south before.  It’s beautiful country - a mix of touristy beach towns, everglades, island, and pine forests.  Best of all, it was 82 on New Years Day.  It’s bright  every day, even in the shadows of all the huge RVs from Canada that threaten to blot out the sun.  

If I lived in Canada, I’d come to Florida in the winter, too.  

We will have put about 7000 miles on the Sportsmobile since November.  From California to Kentucky to Florida.  We’ve come to love it and the freedom that it represents.  It’s made me think about how people define our homes, and what the definition of home really means.  We sleep in the same bed every night, cook in the same place, and are getting to know every nook and cranny of this thing.  We know how to pull into a strange place in the dark and make our place with a minimum of cursing. 

Reflections on South Florida.  

It’s easy to get stuck in traffic in tourist towns like Naples or Ft. Myers, but there’s plenty of cool stuff in Old Florida.  Here are some of the highlights:  

Goodland Bridge at Sunset. 

  • We found a fishing village named Goodland that had a profusion of cool little bars and restaurants with the perfect Margaritaville vibe.  Great fish sandwiches and cold beer on a deck looking at the water, with reggae on in the background.  The perfect meal. Our favorite was Mile Marker 7.5.  There’s a crusty old WW2 Navy vet who eats there three meals a day.  Don’t ask him his opinion on Japan’s role in world affairs unless you want a long, expletive filled history lesson.  

 

  • One night we went running under the full moon here at the park. There’s a monument in an open field that looks like an old Greek temple, complete with doric columns under palm trees.  Under the light of the moon the trees cast almost fairy-like silhouettes across the field.  Cool.  

 

  • Traveling along the Tiamani Trail through Big Cypress National Preserve.  It’s all wilderness and palm trees, cut by canals full of gators.  For reasons I can’t explain it reminds of the desert, even with all of that water and life.  Maybe it’s the absolute flatness of the landscape.  There’s something stark about it.  Plan your trip so that you’re coming back west as the sun sets - you’ll have forever to watch the millions of shades of red.  

 

  • Kayak fishing the cypress liquid forests of the Ten Thousand Islands.  Catching redfish and snook while avoiding gators, bears, panthers, bull sharks, and feral wild hogs.  More on that particular adventure in a later post.  

 

  • Escaping the swarms of mosquitos in Ft. Meyers for a night or two at the Tiki Bar at the Outrigger Resort, which is like a 50’s throwback.  


More to follow. . . 



Vegas and Grand Canyon

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This is the last entry in our travel blog, about a week late after we returned.  

This is the last blog of the trip.  We’re heading home.  I’m typing this on the gray last stretch from Tulsa to Louisville.  We circumnavigated winter for a few weeks, but it was right back here waiting on us.  

Las Vegas Recap

The motto should be “the money you bring to Vegas, stays in Vegas”.  

We somehow thought it would be relaxing to stay in a hotel for a few days after camping.  Perhaps it was a misjudgment, or perhaps we had gone feral.  It’s silly to ever think of Vegas as relaxing.  I think we hiked more in Vegas on asphalt than we did in Yosemite.  

Here’s the highlights: 

  • We stayed at the MGM Grand, the biggest hotel in the world. 
  • Saw Criss Angel mindfreak magic show - second row tickets. 
  • Made the mistake of participating in a vacation timeshare orientation to get cheap show and food tickets.  There’s four hours of our life that we’ll never get back.  I think the kids learned valuable lessons about how sales people work. 
  • Enjoyed a Thanksgiving dinner at Las Pampas brazilian steakhouse.  Yes, there is such a thing as too much meat.  
  • Took a day trip to the Red Rocks recreation area in the Sportsmobile, found a great spot, popped the awning and a few beers, and enjoyed a pre-Thanksgiving day in the mild temperatures.  
  • Explored as many different casinos and hotels as possible, including Luxor, Monte Carol, Aria, Cosmopolitan, Caesars, New York New York, Paris, Tropicana, and Bellagio. 
  • Braved the Fremont Street Experience under the world’s largest TV screen spanning four blocks, and visited the older casinos like the Golden Nugget.  
  • Spent nearly all of our money.  Actually, we spent all of our money.  

Tip:  nothing is cheap in Vegas, even it seems so.  Here’s the perfect illustration. 

My feet hurt a lot and a foot massage sounded good.  As we were walking on the strip a guy wearing a sign that said “Foot Massage - $9.99” aggressively pulled us aside to sell us.  Cheap massage, sore feet - it seemed like a good deal.  As I sat down I said “$9.99, right?”, and there was a gesture on his part which, in the United States, was the universal sign of agreement, although it must have meant something far different in his native land.  A little into the footrub, the guy said “$15.99 per foot - you want other foot, too?”  They guy had hands that could crush steel, and they were right on the knot in my heel where my plantar faciatis is worst, but I salvages a total price of $20 bucks.  

That’s the thing in Vegas - nothing is as it seems, and you just get constantly ready to get screwed over at every turn.  Even the ATMs at the casinos, which are enabling you to spend all of the money you have, charge a $6 fee for withdrawing your money so you can give it to them.  

Airport security and Sportsmobile don't mix

We put Sebastian back on the plane to head home.  The airport in Vegas discourages any private drivers from dropping off passengers or waiting to pick them up.  Generally, airports and the Sportsmobile are a bad combination.  Low clearances.  The SM looks like it’s full of terrorists.  

Kelly was parked outside, against the rules, while I walked Sebastian in to get on the plane.  Some security ran over and started yelling at her to get out of there, that he couldn’t believe that Homeland Security hadn’t detained her.  She couldn’t get out because the clearance in the non commercial section wasn’t high enough.  More yelling ensued.  

I’m glad they didn’t detain her.  

So, although it was great to see Sebastian and McKenna, I was glad to leave and hit the open road and fresh air as we left for a side trip to the Grand Canyon on the way home.  

The Grand Canyon

 

When you look at a map of the west what appears to be a small detour is actually much farther than that.  It’s part of the charm of the west.  The scale of everything is bigger. 

We left Vegas for a quick “jaunt” to Grand Canyon National Park.  Arizona is beautiful and I’ll be back again.  As the day turned to twilight the dark blue of the sky contrasted with the red rocks and cliffs, and every spectrum of red and orange in the big bowl of the sky above us.  We made the last leg in the dark.  

It felt deserted as we pulled into the park - which, by the way, is really well kept, and felt less crowded than some of the other national parks we visited, with more privacy in the sites.  

Funny thing about National Parks - although they contain the most beautiful natural features in the U.S., they are not the least bit wild in the areas that you travel in.  There are tons and tons of people, at least half of them from other countries, and their are lines at everything from the restrooms to the ubiquitous gift shops.  It’s just the price for access.  

Most of the National Parks have National Forests around them.  The forests are a much different vibe - lots of dirt backroads, wide open spaces, fewer crowds.  I like to stay in them better.  

We came, we saw, we punched the Grand Canyon off our bucket list.  We could have stayed for days at the Park. But it was time to come home.  

 

 

 

Kern River Valley

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Kernville, CA - along the Kern River

The sound of the river.  The dry crispness of the air.  The rustling of the aspens.  

We almost didn’t come - we were going to head south to Pismo Beach, or some other spot, but then decided to come north.  It was the right decision.  

There’s no arguing that the coast was amazing.  The Pacific Ocean is magnificent and breathtaking.  But it’s also somehow impersonal.  Rivers are smaller, more affable, more inviting.  The constant gurgling of the Kern by our campsite is almost like a friendly whispering call to the hammock.  

The final night at San Simeon on Big Sur.  

The final night at San Simeon on Big Sur.  

 

More than any other, this spot reminds me of the places that I stayed on the Westward Ho fishing trip of 2013.  I like to stay  next to rivers the best.  Best of all, there will be fishing today. That doesn’t mean that there is going to be catching, but the fishing is a good start.  

The Camp James Campground is a good example of some of the benefits of a private campground.  There are hot showers, easily available firewood, running water, and electrical hookups.  We’ve been camping for more than a week straight now, and these little amenities seem like a room in a four star hotel.  

As we were heading into town, I asked Kelly if she would like to spring for a hotel.  We both agreed that we would really, truly rather sleep by the river than in a room. 

Funny - everywhere we go, we see big R.V.s.  Even though they are purportedly camping, the big RVers seem to never come outside and enjoy the scenery.  I know it’s comfy inside those monstrosities - but we love the concept of basically sleeping inside and living all of our waking moments outside.  

Kernville is a cool, cool town.  An outdoor sports and action town.  There are rafting, climbing, and biking stores everywhere.  It’s off season, and the river is low, but I bet it’s full in the summers.  A young, outdoorsy vibe that reminds me a little of Colorado towns like Winter Park.  

Most importantly, it has a microbrewery within walking (stumbling) distance.  The Kern River Brewing Company, home of an excellent blonde lager with a nutty finish.  The fish and chips warmed my soul last night.  

Today we’re heading a little north into the mountains, following the Kern River though Sequoia National Forest.  Most of the campgrounds are closed this time of year, and the river is low, but there are supposedly big fish up there.  We may also take some of the four wheel drives trials that I’m seeing on the topographic map.  

Off Road Report

That was the scariest thing that I’ve done in a long time.  

We’re driving down the forest road along the Kern River.  It’s rough, rugged country.  National Forests are a lot wilder than National Parks.  There’s a dirt road to the right that basically went, well, up.  So we took the turn.  

Keep in mind that I don’t know anything about four wheeling.  Until they showed me a Sportsmobile, I would not have known how to shift, lock hubs, or anything else.  My past experience is limited to driving the tractor on the farm growing up and hauling loads of hay.  

But I know that we paid good money for these monster tires and the dream that you could get to places off the grid.  So we took the road.  

Up. And up.  And up some more.  Way up the mountain, over brought and rugged terrain and deep ruts.  Up high enough that we could see the whole Kern River Valley.  

I was terrified going up.  It felt like a roller coaster.  Coming down was worse.  I had visions of rolling the van all the way down the mountain.  Somehow it all turned out fine, and we had the adrenaline rush of the trip.  

Sportsmobile delivered.  A house on wheels that can go anywhere.  We’re going to see some amazing places whether there are roads there or not.  

 

Big Sur Report - November 19, 2014

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Big Sur Report

(Written on 11/19; posted on 11/21).  

We’re at Big Sur on the California coast.  

The Pacific Ocean stretches for thousands of miles to our West; the mountains rise thousands of feet to our east.  There’s very little in between except a narrow strip of road and the occasional turn off to a beach.  


In a lifetime of camping, this may be the most beautiful site I’ve ever had.  At Kirk Creek we are nestled cozily into the jagged cliffs above the beach. The huge waves are constantly breaking against the rocks and cliffs.  We listen all day and all night.  That sound would never get old.  

It’s amazing how long and desolate this stretch of coast is.  Sometimes there’s nothing for fifty miles at a time except for travelers.  There are vagabonds with guitars and matted hair walking up and down the highway.  

Kelly said that this road attracts wanders, and I think she’s right.  

 

The Couple From Berlin - and the Barter Economy. 

We’ve met interesting people along the way.  Last night a young German couple walked to our site looking a little forlorn.  Their new stove wasn’t working and the husband (ironically, an engineer) was asking for a little advice.  I couldn’t fix his stove - but we invited them to stay for dinner.  

We had a bottle of wine, but no corkscrew.  They had a corkscrew, but no wine.  An ideal scenario for making new friends.  We ate and drank into the night.  This morning when I woke up the beer and wine were gone, and the bourbon was half gone.  I’m telling myself that this queasiness this morning sea sickness from the sound of the surf, but I know better.  

The strange circles and parallels that connect people never fail to amaze me.  They were on their honeymoon; had been to San Francisco when we were there; and were ending their trip in Vegas, just like we have planned.  Our paths are basically the same, discounting their flight from Berlin.  But, in another bit of strange serendipity, I’ve lived in Berlin where they live know.  

I guess if you live long enough, you live in a  lot of places.   

(Travelers’s Note:  the raccoons at Kirk Creek are legion and fearless.  And, judging by their size, extremely well fed.  Legends at camp is that they can actually unzip tents with their strange, oddly delicate fingers.  When we arrived the first night I walked to the bathroom in the dark, and saw Kelly looking somewhat frantic when I returned.  She was surrounded by glowing, baleful eyes reflecting back from her headlamp.  They gave her a bit of a start.)

Every trip has its ebb and flow.  We’ve slid into the rhythms of ours.   Learning how to camp in the Sportsmobile was frustrating at first - everything done for the first time takes twice as long, and seems longer when done in the dark.  Now all systems are go.  We’ve figured out the toilet, the water tank, the electrical system, and the bed.  Everything is stowed away, in its place, and we have room to move.  

We even took a hot shower outside today.  

This is the point in the trip that was unplanned.  We don’t really know where we’re staying tomorrow, or for the next several days.  The coast is so beautiful that we’re thinking of continuing to meander down and around it.  See the Hearst Castle, maybe. 

Or, test out the four wheel drive and go off the grid along the Kern river in Sequoia National Forest.  National Parks are highly regimented and controlled.  National forests are more sparse, and there are fewer people, and you can basically camp wherever you want.  I’d like to get some fishing in.  Their’s a trout called the Golden trout that only life in California.  

As I type this we have covered many miles of coast today, and we’re safely ensconced near Hearst Castle.  The sounds of the sea are still audible a mile inland.  The waves in the Pacific do not mess around, and are not to be confused with the gentle lapping of the Florida gulf coast.  They don’t like the rocky cliffs and are determined to wear them down.  In a couple million years, they undoubtedly will.  

But we will be asleep under the stars long before that.  

 

 

 

Yosemite Recap

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I've been to Glacier National Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons, and state parks throughout the West.  I've never seen anyplace like Yosemite.  

We drove into the park in the dark.  I’ve done that before on trips, and I hate it, but the silver lining is that when you wake up the next morning it can take your breath away.  

We walked out of our room and looked up.  Granite, everywhere.  Unimaginably sheer rock faces.  As I sat there and stared I tried to articulate what made it so different than all of the other mountainous parks I’d seen. 

This view is almost a cliche, but it never gets old. The photo is finished with the "tilt shift" filter, which creates the impression of a miniature or diorama effect. 

This view is almost a cliche, but it never gets old. The photo is finished with the "tilt shift" filter, which creates the impression of a miniature or diorama effect. 

It's the light.  

Ansel Adams knew it.  The light changes from minute to minute and place to place.  When it hits right it's like a combination of the warm glow of the Italian sun and the clear blue sky.  The light and the granite combine almost magically. 

Kelly in the Meadow. 

See what I mean about the light? 

A digression on the National Parks. 

People do all sorts of stupid things - wars, pettiness, and general ugliness.  But somewhere in our past people found places like Sequoia and Yosemite and did something right.  They decided to keep these special places intact, forever, so that we would all remember how small we are and how beautiful the world is.  

What's Next? 

As I write this we are getting ready to leave San Francisco and head down the coast to Big Sur, where we'll be staying at Kirk's Creek Campground overlooking the Pacific for a few days.  I doubt if there will be internet access, and I'll probably be off the grid for a while.  We're looking forward to slowing down, just a bit, and enjoying a little bourbon by the campfire.  

Fresno to Yosemite to San Francisco, Oh My!

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The Latest News - After a long internet hiatus. 

Sunday, November 16, 2014.  

I have always wanted to use the word "hiatus" in print. 

So much for regular blog updates.  Who would have thought that there would be limited internet access in the middle of Yosemite National Park?  We have a lot to catch up on.  Here's the recap: 

  • Last Tuesday we flew into Fresno, went straight to Sportsmobile, and  survived orientation.
  • Ran  running errands all day Wednesday, including another morning at Sportsmobile on the punch list.  
  • Thursday we drove to Yosemite (via the long way), where we stayed until this morning. 
  • Today (Sunday) - left Yosemite and drove San Francisco.  


Kelly and I at  one of the most iconic natural views in the world - the Yosemite Valley.  

Kelly and I at  one of the most iconic natural views in the world - the Yosemite Valley.  

The Road to Yosemite. 

The best part of road trips is, well, the road. 

It was good to get out of Fresno and hit the highway.  Fresno was not what I had imagined - no offense to Fresnoians, but it seemed like one big industrial complex, with the saving grace that it's only a few hours from lots of other beautiful places.  

As we drove north it became more and more arid.  Then the foothills began.  Then the mountains, cliffs, walls sheer granite.  We made most of the final leg of the trip in the dark - which made for  nice surprise in the morning when we woke up in the Yosemite Valley.  

I have a lot more to say about Yosemite - but not enough time to get all of the photos for it edited.  


"sportsmobile.  It doesn't drive like an infiniti".  

That should be their ad tagline. 

As we drove down the highway the other cars (especially the nice ones) parted like the Red Sea. 

The tight curves on the mountain road evoked even more dramatic responses - other drivers see the oncoming behemoth and their widen like saucers. When we're stopped there are plenty of curious glances.  

As much reading and research as I had done on this thing, I failed to appreciate how imposing and large it is when you're standing beside it.  By far, the largest thing I have ever driven, but I'm getting the hang of it, after a couple of lessons.  

The view from our kitchen, at Upper Pines Campground in Yosemite.  

The view from our kitchen, at Upper Pines Campground in Yosemite.  

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This thing is going to need a nickname.  The winner gets a free camping or tailgating expedition.  All we can think to call it so far is "The Beast". 

We picked it up at Sportsmobile in Fresno on Tuesday night after flying in.  I'm pretty sure that I missed most of the most important technical points about how things work.  We'll just figure it out along the way.  There's no black water sewage tank, so we have some margin for error, and any messes should be manageable.  
 


On our way to Yosemite. (From Thursday)

We're just now leaving Fresno for Yosemite, and we haven't had the chance to stay in it overnight - that comes tonight for Kelly and I.  Dad is staying in the lodge.  I can't wait to see the night sky with Kelly as we sip bourbon tonight, and to watch the sun rise over Half Dome and flood the valley as we sip our coffee tomorrow morning. 

This whole adventure (all my adventures, really) are excused to drink coffee and bourbon in beautiful places by a fire, and, if I'm lucky, to catch some fish in between.  


Countdown. . . Two Days

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Interior rear view.  Lots of room in back to stash gear.  That carpet looks awfully clean. . . 

We're almost there.  

The team at Sportsmobile is furiously putting the final touches on the van.  

On Tuesday, they pick us up at the airport in Fresno and take us straight to the facility for a 5 hour orientation on how all the systems work.  It better be more of an indoctrination, with lots of easy to follow instructions.  

Built in cabinets and fridge, with microwave up top.  Those unfinished benches in front will be leather upholstered and act as either individual beds or push together for a larger bed.  

It's well known that I am the least mechanical person in the world, and I don't think that Kelly is much better.  She doesn't know how to use jumper cables.  I can see us mixing up the sewage drain with the fresh water input, or something similarly disastrous.  

The pop up top - Sportsmobile's signature feature.  

We got a few pics from Nick at Sportsmobile showing the final stages of the build.

I think the bottom photo is older, before the four wheel drive system was installed, so it should be jacked up quite a bit.  

On Wednesday we're going to take the beast out into King's Canyon National Park and test out the four wheel drive.  There's a Sportsmobile forum at http://www.sportsmobileforum.com that's been incredibly helpful suggesting places to go.  The forum is a group of like minded, outdoorsy people who love camping and adventure.  

In fact, there's another couple who picked up their Sportsmobile for their honeymoon and took off wandering like we're planning to do.  They sent fantastic photos and maps of a hard to get spot up a mountain by an abandoned fire tower.  We're going to be there soon.  

Thanks to Laura and Geoff for sending us some good vibes and inspiration.  You should check out their travel blog at www.octopup.com.   

Thanks to Laura and Geoff for sending us some good vibes and inspiration.  You should check out their travel blog at www.octopup.com. 

 

 




Welcome to the SchadPad.

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Follow Matt and Kelly Schad on their honeymoon and wanderings to California - and beyond.  

The adventure began on October 25, 2014.  The wedding started off with a surprise.  A strange sound piercing the warm afternoon sun as I was standing waiting for my bride.  

My mom had arranged for a highlander to play the bagpipes for the wedding processional.  

In ancient Scotland, the bagpipes were used on the field of battle to terrify the enemy into running away.  They almost worked.  

But I'm glad that I stayed put.