K is for Kartchner Caverns

Awhile back when I was planning various travel itineraries, Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico was on the list. Ross has always wanted to go, and now that we are in Phoenix it is a much more feasible trip. Still, an 8+ hour trip is usually more than he has time for. So when my sister in law Jen told us about Kartchner Caverns south of Tucson, Ross was pretty stoked.

Just about with everything, it was a last minute trip but I made it work. Saturday morning I made some calls since it was too late to reserve tour tickets online. Once we had some assurance that the trip wouldn't be a total bust, we packed up.

In true Petersen (okay, Kristen) fashion we stopped and got some donuts at our local donut shop. Not quite as artisan as our L.A. shops. But this strawberry donut face still has be cracking up, so it was worth it.

It was a little after noon when we rolled through Tucson so it was the perfect time to pick up a Sonoran-style dog! This super small shack-like establishment serves up some pretty tasty dogs. Plus, when in Arizona, you must do as Arizonans. Normal hot dogs on normal buns are no longer acceptable.

After that we bore farther south to Kartchner Caverns State Park. Ross and I were both really confused and pleased to see the desert so... lush! I was expecting Breaking Bad style tumbleweeds blowing across the Sonoran desert.

The cacti were in bloom and the bright orange was definitely a little birthday gift to Ross! I guess this area is the site of the

Ross is such a sweet guy. He surprised me and bought ME a gift from the gift shop. On HIS birthday no less! Aren't they awesome?




After hanging out in the visitors center and checking out their awesome displays we headed out to meet our group for the cave tour.



Once you all gather you take this little tram up to the entrance of the cave. They give you this huge long lecture about not touching the walls of the cave, or looking at them too severely (kidding), and maybe if your body is on fire you still can't touch the cave walls because surely you will kill everything in the cave and the whole ecosystem will come crumbling down because you are a human and have hair and dead skin everywhere and shouldn't even be in the cave to begin with. Kidding. But not really. You are still a terrible person if you touch the cave walls. So they open this huge doors that protect said delicate cave ecosystem and it releases this hot stanky air that makes you feel like you might die. Then you go through these misters that wet down all your dead skin and hairs so that you aren't shedding everywhere in the cave. As intense as they were, I think that is a pretty clever idea!

Then you wind through this network of really nice paved trails to take you into the cave.

We took the Rotunda/ Throne Tour. It is an easy, paved 1/2 mile walk. And it was every bit as amazing as we had hoped. It was really dynamic. You start off seeing a few formations and they do their thing where they explain the different formations like sheilds, popcorn, bacon, stalctites (and mites) and my new favorite, soda straws! It is always fun to hear the science behind them. There was this wide, low room and the ranger tells you all about how the cave was discovered, and you can see a 45,000 year old pile of bat poop, if that is what you are into.

So you wind around a little and then you end in this large dark cavern and take a seat on one of the benches. And then the presentation began! There was audio and slowly, parts of this huge formation lit up to finally reveal "Kubla Khan," the largest natural column in Arizona at 58 tall! It was truly amazing. Of course you can't take photos in the cave (you'd probably send the whole state of Arizona into ultimate peril and eventual death), so I guess all my memories will need to stay in my brain and you can just go google it.

After the cave tour we hopped over to the local Safeway and picked up our absolute favorite travel food- fried chicken and massively large potato wedges! The whole state park area is very lush because it sits in a riparian zone. So we found a perfect picnic table and chowed down.



Since this is Ross's big 30th birthday I made it an even larger deal than normal. I gave him 30 presents leading up to the big day (including the cat shirt, pictured), and I went on Facebook and begged and pleaded all his friends to send him a birthday card. Since he isn't on Facebook he misses all the birthday wishes and I wanted him to feel loved and appreciated and missed on his special day!
It was so cool to see everyone send cards and presents. I felt loved too! My personal favorite is Asher's birthday card to him.

We poked around in the visitor's center a little bit more, and now there were no kids trying to get bat ear pictures I could get some with minimal shame. 

We got super lucky and happened to be there on one of the few weekends they offer night hikes. We were pretty excited about that and signed up right away. 

Yes, I did make Ross carry around that Happy Birthday balloon on his backpack. 

The hike was so pretty, and if I may reiterate- LUSH! The ocotillo were covered in leaves and there were tons of them. 

During the hike you had really great views of the area and we wound down near a little creek bed. 

Of course we had to Pokemon Go at least a little.



During the hike there was this optional portion where you could hike up a ridge/ foothill and see the entire valley below! Everything was glowing as the sun set, and you could spot little clusters of rainstorms in the distance.





It was a great spot to take pictures too! Every one was taking turns taking pictures for each other. I love hiking because you meet really friendly people. Notice Ross proudly holding his birthday balloon (probably something I made him do).

We had to eventually climb back down to meet the rest of the group who didn't come up with us, but it was pretty difficult when all we wanted to do was stay up there and marvel and feel the cool breeze.

It has to be one of my favorite hikes ever. We had fun talking to the park ranger for the rest of the hike and we ended in complete darkness. Funny how quickly it can close in on you. Overall the hike was about 3.2 miles. 

After a very full day we still hadn't sang happy birthday or had any birthday treats. Birthday chicken and potato logs just doesn't really count. So back to Safeway we went and we picked up some cupcakes! 

Back in our motel room I sang happy birthday and we enjoyed a cupcake. Then we attempted to hang out in the hot tub only to realize it was never actually getting warmer and we had been sitting and conversing with strangers in lukewarm water form probably an hour or so. I don't know why hotter water makes that situation more appropriate but somehow it does. The people were funny though, and the man was telling us all about how he grew up in the area and spent his childhood discovering caves and ditching school to swim in the underwater pools. That's legit. 

I really hope Ross had a fun day, even if I always force him to go on adventures every spare minute we get. Tomorrow we want to head to Tombstone before we head back home. 

A couple full-size photos since the collages are poor quality.

A Love Affair: Joshua Tree National Park

Remember my drama-packed love affair with Joshua Tree National Park?

Yeah that one. And almost every weekend after that when I thought I might make it happen. 

Well, earlier this week I took a look at the week's forecast. I saw it was supposed to be in the mid-70s.... in the middle of the desert... in May. Pretty much a sign from the heavens above that it was do-or-die. After the heatwave we had I thought I had missed my chance and that all the wildflowers would be gone anyways.

I guess the previous suffering was worth it, because Ross and I were in for a treat! 

Like we do, we packed a lunch and plenty of water and headed out... on the all too familiar road down to Joshua Tree this time just for a day trip. Here is quick recap of the day.

Our first stop was the "World Famous Crochet Museum." Funny, I had never heard of it until I dove into Yelp one day.

But being the world famous crocheter that I am, I figured it was worth a look. The museum is a tiny little closet shed. You walk in and... holy crochet Batman (there probably was one)! 

We are talking thousands of crocheted things. Kachina dolls, mushrooms, gnomes, tacos, oreos, flowers, frames, mermaids and poodles. Oh the poodles! A whole wall of them. 

It was awesome, my new goal in life. We poked around the area, where there were other art umm.... projects? 

Including a wall of hubcaps and a trailer full of busts. And never to be forgotten -but impossible to explain- "art" involving at least a hundred brightly colored and different sized dildos. 

We headed into the park, pretty cocky (oops) that we already had an annual pass. Ross picked out the "Dead Horse Mine" hike for us. 

The park was pretty busy but I guess our hiking trail was long enough and deep enough in the park where it wasn't packed. It was a beautiful day.

Surprisingly not as many Joshua Trees in this part of the park, but still beautiful.



Cactus in bloom!



And there were still tons of wildflowers (wildflower junkie).



I don't know how recent the fire was, but you could see the landscape trying to recover. It was kind of crazy to see that definite parts had burned. One side- lots of vegetation, the other- recovering.





When we got to the mine we stopped for a cold pizza lunch. Only the best lunch ever.



Then walked around the mine. I could only think of Zorro.


It was kind of breezy up there so we had to bust out the sweatshirt and jacket.
Ross gave me crazy eyes when he saw me staring at the rocks. Sorry I am a weirdo that things rocks are cool.



Speaking of rocks... After our hike we drove through the park a little bit



and found a big ol' pile o' rocks.



I mean really big.



I also found a little billy goat who loves to scale rock piles.



This slow-mo video isn't nearly as hilarious as I think it is.

But it looked like so much fun I thought I would try some climbing too.



We got a little scripped and scrapped up, but it was pretty challenging and really fun.
Next we made a little walk to a lookout point. It's crazy. You can see all of the Coachella Valley. The Salton Sea, Signal Mountain (close to the Mexico border), Palm Springs, Mount San Jacinto, and San Gorgonio. 

We decided it was time to head home, mostly because we were pretty worn out from all the hiking and climbing. But we couldn't resist one more pile of rocks on the way out.

Ross caught me in my zen place. The air was so cool and fresh, it was nice to just lay down and zone out.

And no trip to the desert would be complete without someone standing next to a joshua tree. So there you have it!

Holiday Break Wrap-up

Well, it has taken me long enough to catch up on posts of all the adventures the Petersens Beyond the Sea had over the month break from medical school.

Still I can't believe all the things I didn't write about in the blog. I realize that I have been blessed with amazing friends that can make anything and everything fun. Flexible friends, spontaneous friends, friends who always have space in their car no matter how many children and adults are already in there!

One of our first adventures after midterms was to hike to Hog Island. We went with some friends and just explored. It was great to finally get out! The island is just  small with some fun hiking trails and a cool little beach. It is kinda funny because during break I ended up hiking to Hog Island 3 TIMES. The second time with some SOs on a morning walk, and the third time on a New Year's Day hash with some other med students.

Photo compliments of the talented Brandon

On the way home from Seven Sisters with the Fergusons we saw my favorite guy.

Brandon pulled up beside him and asked him if he was selling. 

SNOW CONE MAAAAAN!

Of course! So we both pulled to the side of the road and he whipped us up some snow cones. We got to talking with him and he made this contraption and brought it over from Guyana, where he is originally from. This time I got my snow cone "Grenada Style" = half yellow, half red with a green strip going across it. Haha. 

Photo compliments of Brandon, yet again!

When Brandon went to turn the car back on the brakes were out. Someone was looking out for us though, because we were right across the street from a gas station and we maneuvered in to figure out what needed to be done. A guy saw us struggling and he came over and helped the Fergusons bleed the brakes. It was just the thing because we were able to get back on the road and pick up their son from school in time. Thank goodness for the Brakes Samaritan!

Break also involved one or two trips to one of my favorite places... The Merry Baker!
It is a neat little bakery located in the ever fancy Port Louis.

The owners moved here not too long ago from South Africa. They are super friendly and they always recognize me and Patty. I guess you could say we are regulars. Haha.

Anyways, on Fridays around lunch time they do a $10EC burger bar! You can get a ground beef patty or a fish patty and Nigel, the owner, has a tiny BBQ grill and cooks up a patty for you. Then, inside, you can layer on the toppings! The best part is the homemade bakery style bun. :)

Last time I was putting some pineapple on my burger and this chap comes up to me and exclaims, " I have NEVER seen anyone put pineapple on a burger!" *laughs and walks away*
Us silly Americans will layer anything on a pile of meat! What a spectacle to see!

Break was awesome! It was so much fun to hang out with friends and play games and eat desserts and just be lazy. Ross had the great opportunity of going to the beach multiple times! How often do you get to swim in warm crystal clear waters at this time of year?
The weather has cooled down so much from when I first arrived in August. It is more temperate and there is a nice breeze. I can actually see myself enjoying living here. :) I wish it was like this all year!