For the past several weeks, Robin and I have been working on the movie version of our Epic Western Adventure story. Mostly Robin, but I was roped in to collaborate on the script and provide the narration. I can now report that the movie is complete (YES!) and we are still married.
Here's the movie! Get your popcorn ready.
To recap, we drove from Sarasota to New Mexico, Colorado, Utah and Arizona to visit eight National Parks in May. The movie highlights some of the great places we visited, which were, as you’ll see, dry. That was then.
Yesterday, flash floods hit the area. You might have seen some clips on your favorite news source since it’s a big story. It looks like whoever was directing the rain decided to follow our route through the Southwest. Flooding washed out the road leading out of Carlsbad Caverns, stranding hundreds at the park for hours.
Moab, where we visited both Arches and Canyonlands, apparently now resembles Lake Moab. The main road through town, Utah 95, is under three feet of water. Luckily, kayaking is big in Moab.
Zion is partially closed due to the high water. The Virgin River flooded its banks and swept away some the hikers who braved the Narrows despite the forecast. One hiker is sadly still missing.
We traversed Interstate 20 across Texas heading out and back. I20 south of Dallas is now flooded and the storms are heading eastward toward Shreveport, Mobile and the Florida Panhandle (our route!).
Our timing in May was impeccable. Hopefully, that will hold true as we start packing for the next trip. At the end of September, we’ll be heading to Namibia, Botswana and Zambia for a safari. From the detailed itinerary, it looks like our primary activity will be getting on and off small airplanes in places near nothing at all.
Because we’ll be on all these small planes, we are limited to 44 pounds of luggage per person (which includes the luggage itself). Robin has his camera bag packed and ready. After our trial weigh in, it looks like he’ll be able to fit in a change of socks and a toothbrush as well. I’m hiding my bag until we’re done packing.
I am having trouble with the color schemes allowed: no white (too bright), no black or navy (attracts Tsetse flies), no bright colors (scares the animals), leaving, you guessed it, tan or khaki. Which I have none of.
We also can’t bring things like hair dryers (camps don’t have enough power) or internet devices (camps don’t have internet). Even though we will be staying in the Four Seasons of thatched huts and pup tents, there is no air conditioning and average daily temperatures will be about 90 degrees. I’m not complaining though! Just mentioning.
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