Hi this is Noga.
I am writing from the Navajo Indian Reservation in Arizona. Yesterday Mommy, Hadas and I went on a boat ride. At first we were in Lake Powell which was not so cool but then we entered Antelope Canyon which was the most beautiful thing on the boat ride. By the way, the boat ride was an hour and a half. We saw the most amazing sandstone cliffs in the world. Mommy, Hadas and I took lots of pictures. I will never forget that boat ride.
Bye for now,
Noga!!
Sunday, June 29
Saturday, June 28
The too Grand Canyon and weird Lake Powell
Our trip took us to the less-visited North rim of the Grand Canyon. I know there will be those who will be surprised at what comes next, but I must admit that I was not blown away. Sure, the scenery was beautiful, but I think the scale was simply too big for me. Because the canyon itself is so large, wide at the top and then narrowing and becoming steep further down, we couldn’t even see its entire depth from our vantage point. And since we weren’t able to actually hike into it (way way too difficult for the girls) I found myself feeling somewhat removed and not taken in by the view. More generally, I think I enjoy places where you can actually “enter into” nature, and not only appreciate it from a convenient scenic viewing point by the road. That’s probably why we insist on taking hikes, even very short ones, at every opportunity. Even if you can actually see a wider angle from the view point I truly enjoy getting further involved.
From the Grand Canyon we headed towards Lake Powell, which is actually a man made lake created by a huge dam built on the Colorado River at Glen Canyon. Surprisingly (well, at least to us – because we didn’t do too much research…) the drive there was amazing. The road took us along the Vermillion Cliffs – that true to their names, are sandstone cliffs in various shades of brown and red, sculpted by the wind and river into interesting shapes. On the way we stopped in Lee’s ferry, which historically was one of the only points for crossing the river. We got out to dip our feet into the ice cold water – a real treat with the scorching heat outside - and saw a group of people with rafting boats and heaps of equipment. They were preparing for embarking on a 16 day trip down the river, through the Grand Canyon and beyond. The girls enjoyed playing in the water while Kim, one of the rafters from Flagstaff, told us about everything such an adventure entails. I love it when you stumble across something like this, and get to meet people and unexpectedly be exposed to something you really know nothing about!
Lake Powell, as I said, is man made. And it really does look very weird and out of place – a huge body of sparkling blue water, plunked smack dab in the middle of desert canyons. Indeed, from what we were told the dam project was highly controversial due to the huge environmental impact. I found myself pondering this as well. On the one hand, hydro-electric energy is fairly clean and preferable to other options. On the other hand, a lake with a marina in the middle of the desert just looks very very wrong. We had hoped we would be able to enjoy some swimming and cooling off in the lake, but there are actually no real beaches, both because the water level is highly variable depending on rainfall, and because the lake’s status as a National Recreation areas prevents and development along the shore, i.e. no shade. It was too hot for hiking, so we mostly hung out by the pool and the girls and I also joined a short boat tour of Antelope canyon, one of the tributary canyons (see the post by Noga). Again, sailing down the canyon and the juxtaposition of the dry sandstone cliffs and the clear water was beautiful in a way, it just didn’t feel right. Not the way it was intended by nature. I hope this doesn’t come out pretentious, but I found myself mentally comparing the Native American stance of honoring the land (which I know very little about beyond that statement) with the more modern practice of molding nature to serve our needs. I know there are many advantages to the latter, but I found myself wishing we would find a way to practice a little more humility and try to refrain from actions that have such large-scale impact.
Anat
From the Grand Canyon we headed towards Lake Powell, which is actually a man made lake created by a huge dam built on the Colorado River at Glen Canyon. Surprisingly (well, at least to us – because we didn’t do too much research…) the drive there was amazing. The road took us along the Vermillion Cliffs – that true to their names, are sandstone cliffs in various shades of brown and red, sculpted by the wind and river into interesting shapes. On the way we stopped in Lee’s ferry, which historically was one of the only points for crossing the river. We got out to dip our feet into the ice cold water – a real treat with the scorching heat outside - and saw a group of people with rafting boats and heaps of equipment. They were preparing for embarking on a 16 day trip down the river, through the Grand Canyon and beyond. The girls enjoyed playing in the water while Kim, one of the rafters from Flagstaff, told us about everything such an adventure entails. I love it when you stumble across something like this, and get to meet people and unexpectedly be exposed to something you really know nothing about!
Lake Powell, as I said, is man made. And it really does look very weird and out of place – a huge body of sparkling blue water, plunked smack dab in the middle of desert canyons. Indeed, from what we were told the dam project was highly controversial due to the huge environmental impact. I found myself pondering this as well. On the one hand, hydro-electric energy is fairly clean and preferable to other options. On the other hand, a lake with a marina in the middle of the desert just looks very very wrong. We had hoped we would be able to enjoy some swimming and cooling off in the lake, but there are actually no real beaches, both because the water level is highly variable depending on rainfall, and because the lake’s status as a National Recreation areas prevents and development along the shore, i.e. no shade. It was too hot for hiking, so we mostly hung out by the pool and the girls and I also joined a short boat tour of Antelope canyon, one of the tributary canyons (see the post by Noga). Again, sailing down the canyon and the juxtaposition of the dry sandstone cliffs and the clear water was beautiful in a way, it just didn’t feel right. Not the way it was intended by nature. I hope this doesn’t come out pretentious, but I found myself mentally comparing the Native American stance of honoring the land (which I know very little about beyond that statement) with the more modern practice of molding nature to serve our needs. I know there are many advantages to the latter, but I found myself wishing we would find a way to practice a little more humility and try to refrain from actions that have such large-scale impact.
Anat
Wednesday, June 25
Zion National Park
Magnificent! Awe-inspiring!
In general, National Parks in the
We started from the eastern entrance, and a relatively steep hike (Canyon Overlook trail) that provided overwhelming views of the park.
Then, we settled in the fantastic Watchman Campground, inside the park, near its southern entrance. While somewhat rustic (no showers), this is exactly the kind of campground that makes me prefer camping over other accommodation options. It’s situated in a valley between two majestic mountain chains, hanging high above. It is also crossed by the swift
I find it hard to convey the exhilaration of gazing into the surrounding cliffs, so close that you can feel part of them. One specific cliff, visible directly from our tent, was my favorite. I could spend long minutes gazing at it, with a large V shape carved in its topmost portion, filled with sharp blue sky in the background. Each early morning stroll with Maayan, to get milk for her mandatory bottle, was filled with fantastic scenery.
And that’s only the campground, not to mention the
Interestingly, due to a very wise (and atypical in
The park does have a few weak points. For one, it’s too crowded to my liking, which is to be expected in light of the above. It’s very hot in the summer, making longer hikes too strenuous. And at least in our campground, you get very strong winds every night, leading to a less than perfect night’s sleep, when in a tent.
Recommendations:
I guess it’s clear by now – visit
Riverside Walk, at the end of the
As mentioned above, the eastern entrance is highly recommended, including driving through the long tunnel.
The lawn in front of the Zion Lodge (inside the
Giora
Traveling with Kids
Traveling with kids is not a vacation. It is rewarding, enlightening and develops deeper family relationships, but it is by no means relaxing. And at times it isn’t easy, especially if the previous night’s sleep suffered all sorts of interruptions.
With the current combination of ages and personalities in our family, Maayan (17 months old) requires constant attention, or else she’ll either hurt herself or demolish her surroundings. That typically leaves one parent to divide attention between Hadas and Noga, as well as fixing meals, washing dishes, doing laundry every now and then, packing, loading the car, building the tent etc. etc.
Both parents have very little time to relax and recharge. Not to mention things like a brief Yoga practice (Anat, not me…) or reading a few pages in a book. So, the fact that I write less than I would have liked stems not only from sporadic internet access…
One thing we had a reminder of is the importance of music on long drives with kids. The audio system in our tired mini-van ceased to work, which left us musicless. And storyless. Phew, that made the drives so much more difficult! Luckily, our unplanned stop in Kanab allowed us to have a mechanic replace a naughty fuse, and we were back to normal. I must admit that enjoying the dramatic eastern entrance to Zion National Park with the soundtrack of High School Musical 1 felt somewhat weird. But this soundtrack was infinitely better than a whining baby…
All in all, don’t get me wrong – traveling with kids is fantastic, and I wholeheartedly recommend it. As long as you don’t expect it to be a relaxing vacation.
Giora
With the current combination of ages and personalities in our family, Maayan (17 months old) requires constant attention, or else she’ll either hurt herself or demolish her surroundings. That typically leaves one parent to divide attention between Hadas and Noga, as well as fixing meals, washing dishes, doing laundry every now and then, packing, loading the car, building the tent etc. etc.
Both parents have very little time to relax and recharge. Not to mention things like a brief Yoga practice (Anat, not me…) or reading a few pages in a book. So, the fact that I write less than I would have liked stems not only from sporadic internet access…
One thing we had a reminder of is the importance of music on long drives with kids. The audio system in our tired mini-van ceased to work, which left us musicless. And storyless. Phew, that made the drives so much more difficult! Luckily, our unplanned stop in Kanab allowed us to have a mechanic replace a naughty fuse, and we were back to normal. I must admit that enjoying the dramatic eastern entrance to Zion National Park with the soundtrack of High School Musical 1 felt somewhat weird. But this soundtrack was infinitely better than a whining baby…
All in all, don’t get me wrong – traveling with kids is fantastic, and I wholeheartedly recommend it. As long as you don’t expect it to be a relaxing vacation.
Giora
Monday, June 23
Quality Family Time
One of the disadvantages in long travels is that you’re bound to run into health problems here and there. Unfortunately, we got them early in the game, and upon departure from Bryce Anat got a (very) upset stomach. So, we had to trade a camping night at Zion National Park for a Motel in Kanab, a town in Southern Utah, which you’ve probably never heard of. I know I hadn’t.
The day seemed like it was going to be a nightmare – three young kids, a sick Mom and a dead tired Dad in a Motel room, more than 100 degrees outside (almost 40 degrees Celsius) and a nowhere town with virtually nothing to do on a Sunday afternoon.
Surprisingly enough, the evening turned out to be one of the nicest so far. By 5pm it cooled down a bit. We left Anat to recover and found a lovely city park with a shaded playground, and more importantly, a water splashing area. Noga, Hadas & Maayan were running, in full cloths, getting soaking wet, cheering and laughing as children do when they truly enjoy themselves. It was fascinating to see how much they missed the swings, slides and monkey bars, in the mere week of deprivation. Dinner in a Mexican restaurant, throughout which all three of them were extremely happy, concluded a cheerful and lovely evening. By the next morning, Anat was fully recovered.
So yeah, we have magnificent National Parks on our itinerary. But this evening further emphasized to me that this trip is first and foremost spending quality time as a family.All the rest is the backdrop.
Giora
The day seemed like it was going to be a nightmare – three young kids, a sick Mom and a dead tired Dad in a Motel room, more than 100 degrees outside (almost 40 degrees Celsius) and a nowhere town with virtually nothing to do on a Sunday afternoon.
Surprisingly enough, the evening turned out to be one of the nicest so far. By 5pm it cooled down a bit. We left Anat to recover and found a lovely city park with a shaded playground, and more importantly, a water splashing area. Noga, Hadas & Maayan were running, in full cloths, getting soaking wet, cheering and laughing as children do when they truly enjoy themselves. It was fascinating to see how much they missed the swings, slides and monkey bars, in the mere week of deprivation. Dinner in a Mexican restaurant, throughout which all three of them were extremely happy, concluded a cheerful and lovely evening. By the next morning, Anat was fully recovered.
So yeah, we have magnificent National Parks on our itinerary. But this evening further emphasized to me that this trip is first and foremost spending quality time as a family.All the rest is the backdrop.
Giora
Sunday, June 22
Getting into the traveling mood
First off, photos. They say one picture is worth a thousand words… We’ll try to regularly update photos in our Picasa site (http://picasaweb.google.com/AnatGiora). The latest crop, mostly from Bryce, is available at http://picasaweb.google.com/AnatGiora/FarewellPicnicLasVegasToBryce. However, I think that when it comes to nature and scenery the above saying is not always true. In many cases, I feel that photos simply can’t convey what the eyes see in reality, if only due the limited angle it can capture.
Anyway, today we took our first serious hike (almost 4 km) with the girls, and everybody seems to be settling into the traveling rhythm. We are still experiencing some beginning-of-trip adjustments and difficulties, which are to be expected, but we’re getting there.
We were hiking inside the canyon amongst spectacular Hoodoos - the magnificent rock formations that are the result of natural erosion. There are other places in the world with similar geological phenomena, but in few places if any the concentration of such formations is so impressive and beautiful. Add the strong colors, mostly shades of red, and you’ll get a truly spectacular view.
A few folks asked me for specific recommendations for future reference, so I’ll establish a recommendation corner. I’ll be sure to leave it at the end of posts, so that the uninterested reader will be able to easily skip it.
Bryce Canyon recommendation corner
The trail I mentioned above starts at the Sunset point, goes downhill through the Navajo Loop and ends in the Sunrise Point. It is highly recommended.
The view from Rainbow Point (the furthest in the canyon) is nice, but not nearly as spectacular as the view from the two points mentioned above.
We haven’t tried horse-back riding, but it’s available.
Ruby’s Inn campground near Bryce’s entrance is a fine one, with very nice log cabins. Like every privately owned campground it’s not as pure nature as the ones inside the National Park, but accordingly it has more elaborated facilities. We enjoyed it a lot.In general, three nights in Bryce Canyon seemed like the right choice for us.
Giora
Anyway, today we took our first serious hike (almost 4 km) with the girls, and everybody seems to be settling into the traveling rhythm. We are still experiencing some beginning-of-trip adjustments and difficulties, which are to be expected, but we’re getting there.
We were hiking inside the canyon amongst spectacular Hoodoos - the magnificent rock formations that are the result of natural erosion. There are other places in the world with similar geological phenomena, but in few places if any the concentration of such formations is so impressive and beautiful. Add the strong colors, mostly shades of red, and you’ll get a truly spectacular view.
A few folks asked me for specific recommendations for future reference, so I’ll establish a recommendation corner. I’ll be sure to leave it at the end of posts, so that the uninterested reader will be able to easily skip it.
Bryce Canyon recommendation corner
The trail I mentioned above starts at the Sunset point, goes downhill through the Navajo Loop and ends in the Sunrise Point. It is highly recommended.
The view from Rainbow Point (the furthest in the canyon) is nice, but not nearly as spectacular as the view from the two points mentioned above.
We haven’t tried horse-back riding, but it’s available.
Ruby’s Inn campground near Bryce’s entrance is a fine one, with very nice log cabins. Like every privately owned campground it’s not as pure nature as the ones inside the National Park, but accordingly it has more elaborated facilities. We enjoyed it a lot.In general, three nights in Bryce Canyon seemed like the right choice for us.
Giora
Saturday, June 21
Las Vegas to Bryce
We arrived in
The final leg of the drive took us higher and higher up towards Bryce. The air gradually became cooler, and the landscape changed from arid desert to cliffs covered with lush green vegetation. We arrived at the campground and settled down in our cute log cabin. As the day progressed, I felt that this is the real start of our trip, with
Anat
Tuesday, June 17
Taking off
It's that weird feeling which wraps you just before a big transition in life. The sadness of leaving people and places you love, mixed with the anticipation and excitement of what's coming next. Everything feels so surreal.
This is our last night in Pittsburgh. I don't think I fully grasp it yet.
This is a major event in our lives, amplified by the tough decision to leave the US and build our future in Israel.
3.5 years are a substantial chunk of life for everyone. For Noga, less than 8 years old, it means most of what she remembers. Not to mention 5 year old Hadas and 16 month old Maayan. Noga is having a very hard-time, and at times it is heart breaking for us parents to see. I hope that traveling as a family and spending a lot of quality time will help her overcome the difficulties.
We finalized all the farewells, and there were many of them. We hugged and kissed and said goodbye to all the people who made us part of a fabulous social network here in Pittsburgh. I truly believe that we were lucky to meet so many wonderful people. And we'll miss all of them.
All the technicalities are behind us, our apartment is emptied and our luggage is packed. We were lucky to have the comforts of an amazing home (thanks a million Einat & Yoni!!) instead of camping in our living room for several days. Even our mini-van is expected to be waiting for us in Las-Vegas when we get there tomorrow night. We took an ambitious risk with that, but I'll spare you the gory details.
Let the journey begin...
Giora
This is our last night in Pittsburgh. I don't think I fully grasp it yet.
This is a major event in our lives, amplified by the tough decision to leave the US and build our future in Israel.
3.5 years are a substantial chunk of life for everyone. For Noga, less than 8 years old, it means most of what she remembers. Not to mention 5 year old Hadas and 16 month old Maayan. Noga is having a very hard-time, and at times it is heart breaking for us parents to see. I hope that traveling as a family and spending a lot of quality time will help her overcome the difficulties.
We finalized all the farewells, and there were many of them. We hugged and kissed and said goodbye to all the people who made us part of a fabulous social network here in Pittsburgh. I truly believe that we were lucky to meet so many wonderful people. And we'll miss all of them.
All the technicalities are behind us, our apartment is emptied and our luggage is packed. We were lucky to have the comforts of an amazing home (thanks a million Einat & Yoni!!) instead of camping in our living room for several days. Even our mini-van is expected to be waiting for us in Las-Vegas when we get there tomorrow night. We took an ambitious risk with that, but I'll spare you the gory details.
Let the journey begin...
Giora
Thursday, June 12
Packing stuff. A lot of stuff.
We started packing today. Considering that on Friday the shipping company is coming to pick up all our stuff, you might think that starting to pack on Wednesday is last minute. However, in light of the weird feeling an empty-house-full-of-boxes induces, postponing that as much as possible was the right thing to do. Noga was really sad when she got back home today, realizing that it had turned into a bunch of boxes in her absence. But I guess this is inevitable when transferring one's life across the ocean. At least both Anat and myself have already finished working, so the whole ordeal is not too hectic. And yet, it's almost unbelievable how much stuff we have accumulated in our 3.5 years here. There is certainly a liberating feeling in throwing away or giving away a lot of the unnecessary items we own.
While speaking with several people, it occurred to me that some of you are unaware of our next steps. So here goes. We'll be leaving Pittsburgh in a few days - after shipping our belongings to Israel, we'll ship ourselves to the western US. We'll spend about 80 days hiking and camping in Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon and California.
In early September we'll fly out from San-Francisco to Israel and start a new phase in our lives, in Haifa. After a few weeks of settling down (mostly helping the girls to get used to the new environment), we'll start our new jobs. Anat is going to be a faculty member in the department for learning disabilities, which is part of the school of education of Haifa University. I will be working for Google, in the Haifa office. We've rented an apartment in Ramat-Begin neighborhood, and Noga, Hadas and Maayan are enrolled in the relevant schools.
But frankly, all this seems very distant right now. I'm much more focused on all the beautiful nature attractions we're about to visit starting next week. We'll keep you posted...
Giora
While speaking with several people, it occurred to me that some of you are unaware of our next steps. So here goes. We'll be leaving Pittsburgh in a few days - after shipping our belongings to Israel, we'll ship ourselves to the western US. We'll spend about 80 days hiking and camping in Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon and California.
In early September we'll fly out from San-Francisco to Israel and start a new phase in our lives, in Haifa. After a few weeks of settling down (mostly helping the girls to get used to the new environment), we'll start our new jobs. Anat is going to be a faculty member in the department for learning disabilities, which is part of the school of education of Haifa University. I will be working for Google, in the Haifa office. We've rented an apartment in Ramat-Begin neighborhood, and Noga, Hadas and Maayan are enrolled in the relevant schools.
But frankly, all this seems very distant right now. I'm much more focused on all the beautiful nature attractions we're about to visit starting next week. We'll keep you posted...
Giora
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