The Teardrop Chronicles Part 4: New Orleans to Florida

Day 9

 Leaving New Orleans was bitter sweet, as a city with so much culture could never be properly experienced in just a few days. The short drive through southern Mississippi and Alabama was interesting, to say the least. The moment we crossed the border from Louisiana we really began to miss the perfect road surface and seemingly endless speed limits of Texas.

 I was able to convince Steffy to take a detour with me to visit Lakewood Park, where we climbed to the highest point in the state of Florida, 345 feet above sea level. Fun fact: Florida's highest point is lower than the lowest point of 16 other states. The rest stops in Florida, complete with staffed visitors centers, jets and astronauts came the closest to messing with Texas. We set up camp at the resort and before we could finish dinner we were greeted with the first of many Florida downpours.

Day 10

Our first stop was Disney's Animal Kingdom, This had been Steffy's dream from childhood, and unfortunately it did disappoint. The zoo portion was cool for a zoo, but the entire experience was underwhelming. Nearly all of the animatronics  were from the original park opening in 1998, and had clearly not been updated or likely even maintained since. I will say that we did enjoy about a half hour watching monkeys tease one another and swing around their enclosure.

Intent on salvaging the day, we hurried over to The Magic Kingdom. Steffy got her disney-star wars fix and I had satisfied my adrenaline craving just in time for another heavy Florida rain. We hid inside for a few hours at the World of Tomorrow, which reminded me of the Seattle Space Center.
Before we made it back to camp the rain had returned, and continued for nearly the rest of our 6 day stay.

Day 11-14

The rest of our stay at Disney was a blur. We had a blast at Epcot and Disney's Hollywood Studios, but there was so much constant rain coming down in sheets that we spent most of our time running from cover to cover. We had prepared for rain, but our elaborate tarp system required constant management due to the sheer volume. At this point I was very thankful that Steffy had convinced me to install the A/C unit. The lowest nighttime temperature we had was 86 degrees, and humidity was through the roof.

Our schedule allowed for two rest days amidst our Disney adventure, and we had also hoped to spend a day visiting the Coral Castle. The weather , however, was not cooperating so after 5 days of rain and an increasingly dismal forecast we bailed 2 days early. We both eagerly fled Florida, excited for anything else. Good Riddance!

Gothic Peak 1-3-2015

It was lightly snowing when we pulled up to the Monte Cristo trailhead around midnight. There was slush and ice on the mountain loop a few miles before deer creek, and about 2 inches of snow at Barlow pass. After 4 hours of sleep, we started down the trail at 5 am, uncertain of the snow conditions that lied ahead.




The trail to Gothic Basin was well packed until the first gully crossing about a mile beyond the Monte Cristo Trail. We put on snowshoes on the other side of the gully and continued climbing as the peaks to the east began to appear above the tree tops. Evidence of the trail could be seen occasionally through a foot of fresh powder. Sheep Gap Mountain came into view ahead as we crested the ridge into Gothic Basin. Clouds flowed through the peaks surrounding Monte Cristo and Sloan Peak appeared in the saddle between Sheep Mountain and Gemini Peak. We were moving very slow, though it didn't seem like it - in 7 hours we had traveled only 4 miles and gained less than 3000 feet.





Gothic Peak was shrouded in thin fog when we entered the basin. From the frozen shores of Foggy Lake we ascended the mellow east face, connecting with the SE ridge. I became disoriented a few times, uncertain of the angle of the slope ahead of me in the whiteout. Just before the lake disappeared below us, we heard voices and noticed two people following our path. We didn't see them again, but noticed their tennis shoe tracks on our return - wow!






The west side of the ridge was super steep near the top. As we traded snowshoes and poles for crampons and ice axes the clouds surrounding us dissipated, and the Cascades appeared. With renewed energy we kicked up to the summit block then carefully scrambled the last 40 feet of rock and loose snow. The wind was mild, so we took tons of pictures and enjoyed a lengthy summit stay.













We rapped down to the snow and made a long glissade into Gothic Basin before pulling the snowshoes back out. All of the hard work we put in on the ascent payed off - in just over 3 hours we descended what had taken us nearly 11 hours to climb. Someone decided to break the register box and tear down some postings at the Gothic Basin Trailhead. Brilliant.



10.5 miles round trip 5000' elevation gain 15 hours trailer to trailer

The Teardrop Cronicles Part 3: Palo Duro to New Orleans

We rolled into Palo Duro Canyon State Park just after closing time, and set up camp in the late arrival area. We gave up on cooking dinner within seconds of turning on a light, as stick bugs and giant mosquitos swarmed the trailer in biblical fashion. The next morning we entered the park and set up in our reserved campsite on the canyon floor.



Day 6

It was already blazing hot by 9:30am so we started with a hike on one of the shorter trails, planning to visit the air-conditioned visitors center during the hottest time of day. The deep red walls of clay in the canyon provided stark contrast against mostly clear, blue skies. Over the short hike we encountered a bearded dragon and a tough little praying mantis that seemed ready for a fight. Returning to camp soaked in sweat, we raced back up to the visitors center at the canyon rim.




The Palo Duro Canyon visitors center is filled with interesting exhibits covering prehistoric geology and formation of the canyon, local flora and fauna, conservation efforts, and native american history. This was the site of the historic battle which forced the last rebelling native tribes in America onto reservations. A 20+ year old documentary playing in the center is filled with suspicious interpretations of the events leading up to and during the infamous battle.



While looking around, we heard several people mention their concern over what they called storm clouds moving in. All Steffy and I could see were a few fluffy white clouds, but considering the warnings of "when it rains, it floods here" we proceeded to camp for some lunch and continued keeping an eye on the sky.
Sure enough it was pouring a few minutes later and we quickly agreed to get the hell out while we had a chance. We had payed for two nights, neither of which we would use, but there were no regrets when rain turned to hail about a mile outside of the park. We decided to get as far as we could toward Louisiana and after about 3 hours of driving, we finally outran our scary Texas hailstorm.
We stopped outside of Wichita Falls for dinner at the Rib Crib. Steffy and I don't eat much meat, and we are somewhat choosy when we do, but we could not visit Texas without eating some Texas barbeque. The Rib Crib delivered that, with a side of everything in the house. We drove well into the night and stopped after Houston for the first of many stays in what we came to call "Chateau Walmart".



Day 7

Besides the road quality off the interstate, Louisiana is a pleasure to drive through. In particular, I enjoyed the parallel raised roadways that seemed to stretch straight out forever over the endless bayou.



We pulled into New Orleans in time to check in at our awesome camp on the canal. After set up and dinner we headed downtown to explore NOLA night life. Even on a Thursday the French Quarter was popping when we arrived. We started with "the strongest drink in the French Quarter" which was more than enough to take us through the night, seeing how an open container on the street is completely legal here. There are solo cups at the door of every bar, so you can leave the glass behind and take your drink with you. Every bar had a live music act, as did nearly every corner. Everywhere we looked, there was something interesting to watch. We finished the night fairly early with a gator dog and some french fry nachos, which we ate on a balcony overlooking the party in the streets below.






Day 8

We spent the entire next day exploring New Orleans starting with a stroll through Audubon Park. If you can block out the houses lining the edge of the park and ignore the hordes of runners and families at play, and focus on the overwhelming sound of waterfowl and insects - Audubon Park feels like a jungle. The trolly ride into downtown was spent people-watching (We have decided that NOLA is the people-watching capital of America) and gawking at the massive plantation style homes lining St. Charles Avenue.






In the daylight, Downtown was nearly unrecognizable from the night before. A different kind of tourist filled the sidewalks and shops while crews scrubbed down the alcohol stained streets with soapy water. One thing that hadn't changed were the live music acts which appeared in every bar and on every street corner.




I found it somewhat disorienting walking around Downtown NOLA, as I have never been somewhere so close to a large body of water while unable to see it from anywhere more than 100 feet away. We made a quick visit to the shores of the Mississippi River, then explored historical Jackson Square and Lafayette Square before heading to the Civil War Museum at Confederate Memorial Hall. While worth the trip and entrance fee, I found the museum to be lacking in historical context. The exhibits seem to have been diluted of depth and meaning in an effort to maintain political correctness, very much the opposite of what we had come to expect from our time in New Orleans.