eagletravels

The best part of travel is the little thing, that small event or anecdote that is unanticipated, unpredictable, and utterly memorable. The big things are easy, and Bryce Canyon, which we visited yesterday, definitely fit into that category. Renowned as one of the world's spectacular spots, it did not fail to live up to its glorious billing (and more on that in a minute). But as we sit in the Las Vegas airport waiting out a flight delay, the Carlos / Ania clan already safely home in Boston and the Lily / Alex group (hopefully) well on their way to Arnold, it is the little things that make me smile: Sasa, proving that she doesn't cheat at Marco Polo by swimming head on into the pool wall as she pursued one of the other kids. She wore the red welt in the middle of her forehead with pride for the rest of the week, the other kids thinking that maybe cheating just a little bit isn't such a bad idea. Alex eats lunch for breakfast and is very impressed by children who are so d

Serendipity is the hallmark of a good trip, and today we had the serendipity to find Snow Canyon state park. When your mind conceives of southern Utah, this park is what you imagine. Red rock, narrow canyons, petrified sandstone, cacti, dunes, all just a short drive from Dairy Queen and Baskin Robbins (ice cream selection being another hallmark of a good trip). In 1993 Alex, Carlos, Ania, Becky (not in Utah!) and I went to Africa, and a highlight of the trip was a magical day we spent at Sossusvlei in Namibia, a park of red sand dunes that went on as far as the eye could see. To say that Snow Canyon equaled that would be an exaggeration, but running down the dunes brought back those memories. After the dunes we went on a hike and climb, ending up high on the sandstone boulders. We had ice cream for lunch and lunch for dessert, and are now back at the house, lounging in the hot desert wind and reading books.

It was exactly 27 years ago - the summer of '82 - that friends Carlos, Alex, and I set out from the Bay Area for Baja in a '75 baby blue Ford wagon, loaded down with water, tents, and boxes of cassette tapes. At that point we had been friends since high school and had already done one excursion together - a ski trip to Salt Lake a couple of years before. But it is the Baja trip that resonates: our wives pale when we say "remember in Baja ...?" Which we often do. We talked about our futures that week (but mostly we talked about food, beer, banditos, mythical sorority girls, and how to get the car out of axle-deep sand) and tried to predict them. I don't recall what we said, but I'm pretty sure we didn't foresee meeting up 27 years later in southwestern Utah, replete with wives and kids (2 each), to hike, camp, and listen to kids playing in the pool. Ava, Will, Andie and I flew into Las Vegas on Saturday afternoon, the first time for the kids. We hus