Cathedral Rock

Bell Rock

Red Rocks

Sedona is a hip, New Age town between Coconino and Yavapai Counties in northern Arizona. Some who practice alternative medicine feel that the earth in this area has a number of healing "energy fields" or vortices (Bell Rock, Cathedral Rock, Airport Mesa, and Boynton Canyon, for example). Whatever the case, the red sandstone formations are beautiful! The pinks and reds were caused by iron from volcanic areas moving into areas of mudstone and sandstone and oxidizing as waters from the oceans moved in and receded millions of years ago.

Hardwood

Considering you need a diamond coated blade to cut this hardwood it's probably not good firewood material.

The wood in the Petrified Forest is actually from the Late Triassic Period(225 million years ago).
Over time, trees died or perhaps were knocked over by floodwaters or wind. Rivers carried the trees into the lowlands, breaking off branches, bark, and small roots along the way. Some trees were deposited on the flood plain adjacent to the rivers and others were buried in the streams and channels. Most of the trees decomposed and disappeared. But a few trees were petrified, becoming the beautiful fossilized logs we see today. Most of the fossilized logs are from a tree called Araucarioxylon arizonicum. Two others, Woodworthia and Schilderia, occur in small quantities in the northern part of the park. All 3 species are now extinct.

Some logs were buried by sediment before they could decompose while volcanoes to the west spewed tons of ash into the atmosphere. Winds carried ash into the area where it was incorporated into the deepening layers of sediment. Ground water dissolved silica from the volcanic ash and carried it through the logs. This solution filled, or replaced cell walls, crystallizing as the mineral quartz. The process was often so exact that replacement left a fossil that shows every detail of the logs’ original surfaces and, occasionally, the internal cell structures. Iron rich minerals combined with quartz during the petrification process, creating the brilliant rainbow of colors.

Info provided by: http://www.petrified.forest.national-park.com/

What's Your Canvas?

All of the colors you see are caused by different types of rock as well as different minerals in those rocks.

Taken from within the Petrified Forest National Park which is off I-40 exit 311 from the east or 285 from the west.

Long Trip

Blacksburg, VA to Phoenix, AZ- about 2100 miles.

Day one- Blacksburg to Conway, AR-777 miles

Day two- Conway to Acoma, NM and the Sky City Casino-907 miles (See left. Between the two of us we made $5.)

Day three- Acoma to Phoenix- 440 miles via The Painted Desert and The Petrified Forest

Dixie Caverns

A dog was the first one to discover this cave, falling in a hole at the top of the hill... followed by several inquisitive farm boys. That was in 1920. In 1923, Dixie Caverns was open to the public. There have been many changes over the years in lighting and passageways, but the beauty of this cavern is unchanged. Guides take you "up" into the mountain and then "down" underground — all the while stopping to show the splendor that thousands of years has created. For more info, see http://dixiecaverns.com/. This Western Virginia attraction was our first sightseeing this tour so far. Hopefully we'll have time for lots more.

Sidenote: If you are ever in Christiansburg, VA and expect to be hungry also expect to stay that way if you order pizza from Papa John's. I took a whopping 23 hrs to get our order. No that's not a typo: it took 23 hrs not 23 minutes. It was either the best or worst pizza we ever had. It was obviously free and by the time we got it we were so hungry it was gone in about 15 minutes.

James and the Giant Peachoid

For those who don't immediately recognize this South Carolina landmark, it's known as "The Peachoid." The Board of Public Works In Gaffney, SC built this elevated water storage tank in the shape of a peach in 1981.

You may be wondering, "How Did The Peachoid Come About?"

It began late one night when the staff of the Gaffney Board of Public Works was working way too late. A water study had pointed out that the town needed a new elevated water storage tank and the staff was wondering over ways to get Uncle Sam to pay for it.The "Peachoid King" Mr. Dick Crater, who at the time was Board Manager, said the immortal words that inspired a town, "Let's build it in the shape of a Peach !" Slowly the idea grew and captured the imagination of the Board members and denizens of the town. Soon, the project started coming together. Federal funds were acquired from the Appalachian Regional Commission and the South Carolina Appalachian Council of Governments. Ref. http://www.gaffney-sc.com/Waterpeach.htm

After working the Boston College / Florida State game in Boston, we learned our next stop would be Baton Rouge, Lousiana. After a great lunch (BBQ chicken, potato salad, tortellini salad, fresh breads, tomato and basil with mozarella, etc.) and visit with Sally and Cheryl Fogerty, and the Colleran family in Boston, we head on our way. (Plus about an hour in the Harvard Square Curious George bookstore for Baby Colton) In Atlanta we will accomplish some much needed maintenance tasks and continue on our way on Thursday the 22nd of September. Since the hotels in the Baton Rouge area are being used to house displaced Katrina victims, it looks like we'll be camping out in the RV. More to follow soon.

Naked Fish

Who knew Donny would really enjoy this swordfish steak so much? The fries and platanos weren't bad either. Naked Fish is just around the corner from our hotel in Waltham, Mass. We were finally able to go there after receiving our last package of the day at 9pm. For more info on Naked Fish or fine cuban cocktails click http://nakedfish.com/home.html

Donny finally let me drive

All the excuses have been tried: "Too much traffic." "You don't like to drive at night." "Looks like rain." "I'm not tired yet." Finally I got my chance to shine. A few hundred miles across New York State. Donny even felt confident enough in my skills to catch a nap...

RV Picnic

Our first meal in the RV, ham and cheese on pumpernickel-mmmm. As you can see there were a couple of sides to go with the main course.

Columbus, OH- You thought fast food was easy, check this out.

Just in case anyone was unaware, it is possible to check into a hotel without getting out of your car. As if we weren't lazy enough. America's Best Value Inn, $35 a night.

Groundhogs

There is a groundhog living right down the street from our hotel in Greentree, PA. We're pretty sure it's not Punxsutawney Phil, since he lives quite a ways away, but perhaps an uncle or cousin. We've seen him three times...a real cutie!

From Wikipedia: "The Groundhog (Marmota monax), also called a Woodchuck or Whistlepig, is a rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots. Most marmots live in rocky and mountainous areas, but the Woodchuck is a creature of the lowlands. It is widely distributed in North America, from Alaska to Alabama and Georgia. In the west it is found only in Alaska and British Columbia and northern Washington.
Groundhogs are typically 40 to 65 cm long (including a 15 cm tail) and weigh 2 to 4 kilograms. In areas with fewer natural predators and large quantities of alfalfa, they can grow to 24 inches (80 cm) and 30 lb (14 kg). " (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundhog)

A Beaut Isn't She??

Halfway thru the graphic application. Big & Rich are prominently featured, sweet!

SOLD!!! Look at that proud new owner. Can't you see all his future hopes and dreams reflected in his eyes? 

Donny spreads the good word about Cingular to fellow Winnebago lovers. 

Tamara with some tailgating friends at the Pitt game 

On the road again... 

Pittsburgh Wedgie

Tonight's dinner was a taco wedgie. Wedgie -- Who else but a Pittsburgher could invent a sandwich encased in pizza crust and name it after a nightmarish underwear prank? Fox's Pizza Den owner Jim Fox -- based in Pitcairn -- began making the wedgie for customers who wanted all the fixins' of a sandwich but didn't want the "breadiness" of a bun. Incarnations of the wedgie can be found at dozens of local pizza shops, but just a word of advice: Make sure it's on the menu before asking the counter help to give you a wedgie.
click here for me Pittsburghese-http://pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/trib/newssummary/s_329279.html

Turtle Creek Hero

Today we spent some time with Mr. Patrick T. Lanigan the funeral director of Lanigan Funeral Home. He was quite the expert of the local history of the town of Turtle Creek. The photo above is of Leon Hart who is a graduate of Turtle Creek High and was the only player to win 3 national championships in college and 3 more in the NFL; won his titles at Notre Dame (1946-47,49) and with Detroit Lions (1952-53,57); 3-time All-America and last lineman to win Heisman Trophy (1949); All-Pro on both offense and defense in 1951.

ps. There is some local chatter about a turtle store being opened by year's end.

Dash ornament....the dashboard is HUGE!

Movie night at the Loew's Pittsburgh Waterfront

Four Brothers...a pretty good flick...especially since we used free passes about to expire. Andre Benjamin did a surprisingly good job breaking into acting from his music career with Outkast.

RV Exterior...before being wrapped. 

Saturday, September 3, 2005: Pittsburgh

It was our first event of the tour: Pitt vs. Notre Dame (kicked their butts). Things went smoothly all things considered, after a parking crisis first thing in the morning. That got fixed with a $75 spot behind the Science Center.

We'll be stuck here in Pittsburgh all week as the RV has to get wrapped Tuesday-Thursday. Now we're looking for something fun to do around town. It will be easier tomorrow with a rental car, instead of having to come up with a destination we can drive the RV to.