Matt Oliver – Page 4 – Pick-up and a Pop-up

Shenandoah National Park

Posted on June 26, 2022June 26, 2022 by Matt Oliver

Even though it is the closest national park to our home, this was our first visit to Shenandoah National Park. We’ve attempted to camp here on two other occasions but had to cancel our reservations due to bad weather. We arrived at the north end of the park in the afternoon and stopped at the Dickey Ridge Visitors Center. After learning a little bit about the park, we headed down to Mathew’s Arm Campground with my parents. The campground was pretty, and we enjoyed listening to the piliated woodpeckers as we played cards. That night, we had a nice steak dinner with rolls, potatoes, and a salad. Not bad for a camping dinner!

The next morning our family headed to the Old Rag Trailhead. We know a few people who have completed this hike and highly recommended it. The reviews online noted that the hike is a “brutally awesome, very strenuous, 9.4 mile circuit hike, elevation climb of 2,582 feet and features an adventurous rock scramble and a 360-degree view that makes you feel on top of the world.” Who wouldn’t want to hike the Old Rag after reading that? Matt and I knew that we hadn’t trained enough prior to this summer, since in February, we moved into the town of Lewes and took full advantage of the amenities including cookies, ice cream and fancy drinks. After about one mile into the hike, we were tired and we were paying for our cookie walks. Our bodies were chanting, “You’ve walked a mile, where’s the ice cream and cookies?” The kids were way ahead of us, and we kept hiking…plodding. After about 2 hours of uphill hiking, we arrived at the boulder scramble. This part of the hike was full body and seriously challenging. Samantha and I were at a significant disadvantage due to our short stature (or lack thereof) and we weren’t sure Matt would fit through the crevices. The bouldering required strength, problem solving, and for me, the occasional butt boost. Eli was our trailblazer and did a great job leading us. Once we reached the summit, we were exhausted, and the view was completely fogged in! On our way down, the fog cleared and we were able to capture a few pictures of the vistas.

Back at the campsite, we showered, ate dinner and a sat around the fire with my parents. Matt says he’d like to do the hike again sometime in the fall. I told him I’d think about going back with him, but I will have to lay off the cookie walks.

Overall, we had a nice stay in Shenandoah and we plan to visit again during a fall season. Having my parents with us made this stop extra special for all of us!

#46nationalparksasafamily

Eli waits for his parents to come up the trail.

Korin in the boulder section of the Old Rag trail

The fog finally cleared as we made our way down the mountain!

Grandma, Papa and our family posing for a quick picture together.

Home!

Posted on August 8, 2021August 9, 2021 by Matt Oliver

Blog post by: Korin

After another amazing summer road trip, we are back in our home state of Delaware. The end of this trip is bittersweet and I’m pretty emotional as I write the last summer 2021 blog post. Each summer we feel blessed that we can travel together. This summer was extra special as we saw our parents, grandparents, sisters, brother in laws, one niece and two nephews. We were also able to see my Aunt Judy and Uncle Joe as well as the Buss’, Rudys, Meghan C., Haulsees, Chus, Petersons and the LeMieuxs.

Matt drove 9,898 miles which included 19 states. We visited 4 state parks, 3 national monuments, and 15 national parks. As a family, we have now visited 45 of the 63 national parks (only 6 go in the lower 48 states). Let us know what your favorite places are and maybe we will visit them next summer!

Hot Springs National Park: AKA VD Treatment Park

Posted on August 7, 2021 by Matt Oliver

Blog post by: Matt

Five years ago, Samantha and I passed this park on our way to California and ever since, I wondered if it was worth visiting and was curious as to its history. On this trip, it was our final national park and it was…interesting. We sandwiched this park between two sets of great friends, the Petersons in Texas and Ken and Dayna in Tennessee. They were fabulous hosts and it was such a treat to see them and catch up.

The Hot Springs national reserve predates the National Park system and the formation of Arkansas as a state, and its uniqueness has been recognized since before the Civil War. In contrast to most national parks, this one does not focus so much on the beauty of nature but on the historical significance of the hot springs. Korin warned the kids that this was a national park in an urban setting and that the park focused on the history and architecture of the hot spring bathhouses, instead of the landscape like most national parks. We first toured the Fordyce bathhouse (considered to be the most opulent of the bath houses during its heyday) which is a museum and visitor center about an hour before it closed. We learned that some explorers in the early 1800s found hot water was flowing out of the Ouachita Mountains. In that period, there were small huts near the steaming springs that people came to soak in to improve their health and by 1876, the federal government began regulating private bathhouses and the distribution of the water. By the turn of the century, Hot Springs was the most visited health and wellness resort in the United States. We read that, “A visit to the hot springs was designed to treat not just the body but the mind and spirit as well. Visitors bathed in the thermal water and received massages and other therapies… Afterward, they could relax, drink spring water from tin cups, exercise in well appointed gyms or hike a series of fitness trails.” There are nine bathhouses that line bathhouse row and two are still open. Prior to our arrival, Samantha and Korin considered making an appointment to take a historical bath at the Buckstaff Bathhouse. As we walked through the museum, we saw the actual bathtubs that the men and women used. We also learned about the physical therapy and massages that people would be prescribed from their physicians. Samantha found the history of the hot springs and bathhouses interesting while Eli was perplexed on why this was deemed a national park and felt as if he was touring a YMCA locker-room. For Eli, it was a new low for the national park system and it was hard to blame him, considering some of the magnificent sights we have seen. Korin kept asking herself, “Who came to these bathhouses? Was it the wealthy on vacation? Was it like a club for people living in the city? Or, was it sick people searching for healing?” After the museum, we walked the promenade behind the bathhouses and saw a few of the small springs. They were hot indeed! As we left, we were still questioning what the motivation was for people to travel so far for a hot bath.

The next morning, we were back on the road and Korin started doing some research about the people who engaged in the bathhouse treatments. To our surprise, she read that most of the people who were using the bathhouses were being treated for venereal diseases, most commonly syphilis and gonorrhea. Apparently, the United States Public Health Service (PHS) had the facilities built to accommodate the great demand for treatment and had a full VD clinic to combat the large number of sufferers. This was not mentioned in our national park tour. Hot Springs was known as the mecca for syphilitics in America. Most bathhouses closed between the 1940-1980s when medicine improved and penicillin was available. This information certainly changed our view about the bathhouses and I think Korin was pretty happy with her decision on not making a historical bath appointment.

Eli gives his opinion about the historical bathtubs

A room to relax in after your bath experience

Buckstaff Bathhouse where you can presently take a traditional hot springs bath

The hot spring in the back of bath house row

I bet you can tell how Eli feels about Hot Springs NP!

Carlsbad Caverns National Park & Guadeloupe National Park

Posted on August 6, 2021 by Matt Oliver

Although we have been to numerous caves and caverns on our trips, we have unanimously decided that none of them compare to Carlsbad Caverns National Park. Although my dad and I had visited Carlsbad on our first camping trip, it was a new experience for my mom and Eli. As guided tours were not available because of COVID, we embarked on a self guided tour down into the mouth of the cavern. What we immediately noticed walking down the steep switchbacks was the song and the stench of the cave swallows who flitted eerily above us. The shadows began to swallow our path as we descended into the depths of the earth, yet seemed not of this earth. The gypsum formations draped the grande rooms of the cavern and glittered coldly in the display lights, putting all of the other caves we had been to, to shame. We gazed in awe at the stalagmites and stalactites. We decided to hike back up to the opening of the caverns instead of the elevator, even though the route up is incredibly steep. To make the ascent, we had to hike the equivalent of 80 floors in 1.25 miles, however, because it was late in the afternoon, we were the only ones on the trail and got to have the cavern to ourselves. We finished the day by attending the bat program, where, stricken into silence, we watched waves upon waves of the 450,000 Brazilian Free Tailed bats who live in the caverns emerge to feast on moths.

The next day after some delays, we went on a short nature walk in Guadalupe National Park, where we experienced the wilderness of Texas which was settled by ranchers and traversed by stagecoach drivers. After our walk, we inspected a ranch settlement which was built on a spring to protect the water supply and to keep the property cool. It was a wonderful experience to return to the caves and visit a new park, ones that I will always remember as the gateway to underground wonders and the beauty of the American South West.

The natural entrance into Carlsbad Caverns

White Sands National Park

Posted on August 5, 2021 by Matt Oliver

Surrounded by all sides by the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, White Sands National Park stands as the largest gypsum dunefield on Earth. White Sands was designated a national monument in 1933 and was upgraded to a national park in 2019. We decided to check out this fairly new park and David, a former student of Matt’s, and his wife Amber met us there.

It turned out that Amber grew up close to the park and had all of the local information and experience so we followed her and David through the park to a fabulous sledding sight. We waxed our sleds and started soaring down the dunes. We had a great time sledding, catching up with David, and getting to know Amber. The temperature was increasing and after several sled runs, we decided to go into town to eat. After a lovely late lunch, we had to say our goodbyes to Amber and David.

We headed back to the park during the early evening hours to go to the visitor’s center, do more sledding, go on a short nature walk and watch the sunset. Although we only spent a day at White Sands, we enjoyed spending time with David and Amber, learning about the formation of the dunes and playing in the sand.

Eli getting ready to hike up to sled down

Petrified Forest National Park

Posted on August 4, 2021August 4, 2021 by Matt Oliver

I know what you may be thinking, “Could there possibly whole national park to learn about and see petrified wood?” The answer is, yes. Arizona is home to Petrified Forest National Park which boasts pieces of wood that are remnants of a prehistoric forest. The trees were knocked down by wind or water, carried downstream and buried by layers of sediment. Then, the logs soaked up water and volcanic ash. Over time, the logs crystalized into quartz and the minerals created a rainbow of colors on the logs, and these pieces of fossilized cover the area.

Matt, Samantha and I had already been to Petrified Forest but this was Eli’s first visit. The painted desert section was beautiful and reminded us of Badlands National Park in South Dakota, and we stopped to see the original route 66 used to cross the park. An old 1932 Studebaker was put there to remind visitors of the historic highway, which fascinated Eli. We made our way through the park and enjoyed the Teepees, Blue Mesa and the Agate Bridge. The Giant Logs trail, outside the Rainbow Forest Museum was my favorite. Who would have thought petrified wood could be so beautiful!

Grand Canyon National Park

Posted on August 3, 2021 by Matt Oliver

We visited the North Rim of the Grand Canyon in 2016 on our first family cross country camping trip. Matt and I visited the South Rim years ago on our way home from Florida but I wanted to see it again. Using the lottery system, we applied to hike down and stay at Phantom Ranch which is a ranch at the floor of the canyon. However, we weren’t selected to stay there so my backup plan was for us to hike down part of the canyon via the Bright Angel Trail. I wanted to feel the vastness of the canyon by being in it but unfortunately, that didn’t happen either. We rolled into the Grand Canyon right before a thunderstorm. We were all pretty tired from having completed The Wave hike that morning and I realized that we had hiked 24 miles over the previous three days. As the night went on, I started feeling worse, had chills and what felt like a fever. Matt took care of the kids and I was asleep by 7:30pm.

The next morning, I felt a bit better but not great. We let the kids sleep in and made a big breakfast, a feast of pancakes, bacon and eggs. We decided to take it easy, complete part of the Rim Trail along the Canyon and hit the Visitor’s Center. The Grand Canyon is unlike any other canyon due to its sheer size; it is 277 miles long, 18 miles wide and more than one mile deep. Despite that this was my third trip to the canyon, it still made my jaw drop and my head spin. The backdrop simply looks fake. We even saw a California Condor soaring over the canyon. After walking the Rim Trail for a bit, we headed back to the camper for lunch and I took a nap in the hammock. Late that afternoon, we went to several lookout points using the truck instead of our legs and watched as another storm rolled in and provided us with a lightening show. Before leaving the canyon rim, we found Phantom Ranch using the binoculars and I decided then that I will continue to try and get the opportunity to hike down into the canyon and stay there.

Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness: The Wave

Posted on August 2, 2021August 2, 2021 by Matt Oliver

Blog Post by: Samantha

For the third day in a row, we awoke at half-light to drive down a secluded road, a rocky and haphazardness obstacle to our next hike. We clung to our rare and sought after permit (the Bureau of Land Management only gives permits to 3% of the requests) and began our journey to The Wave, a formation compromised of a rainbow of red rock, like a rainbow streaming out of the desert’s desolation. However, up to 30% of people granted permits are not able to find The Wave, and simply experience an unforgiving desert. Luckily, Dad loaded GPS waypoints so that we had an easier time finding the elusive formation. As we tracked through the sand next to mesas and searched for the waypoints, our legs burned from our hikes the previous days, making this one more challenging. When at last we climbed up a mesa to see The Wave we were thoroughly flabbergasted by the walls of the formation and its pristine pop of color in the midst of the desert. The Wave is truly a geological marvel; and even though we were on the brink of exhaustion, I will forever be glad we made the hike to see this psychedelic rainbow hidden among the mesas.

Zion National Park: Almost died, but the views were great!

Posted on August 1, 2021 by Matt Oliver

Viewer discretion advised.

Blog Post By: Eli

Before you question the title or assume I’m an adrenaline junkie, you have to understand that I had some VERY close encounters with death and medical bills during every hike we did in Zion National Park. Darn medical bills. I’d rather die than pay medical bills. *Someone in the crowd* “Don’t you know you can get medical insurance?” SHUT UP! IT’S ALL GOVERNMENT PROPAGANDA -NONE OF IT IS REAL! IT IS ALL THE GOVERNMENT! ALSO, THE WORLD IS FLA- *CIA agent stuffs writer in bag* *CIA agent throws writer in the back of a van* NO YOU CAN’T DO THIS. YOU CAN’T HIDE THE TRUTH. *CIA agents slams van doors* *CIA van burnouts and puts the pedal to the metal* *2 hours later* I’m coming to you from the CIA van. I found a laptop in the bag so I’m going to continue.

We arrived in Zion tired, hungry and restless from the long car ride. We set up our camper and we walked to the bike store. After 20 minutes in the grueling afternoon sun, we got to the bike store to get some pedal-assist bikes that have lot of interesting mechanics. However, all you need to know is that they went 20 mph and went VROOOM! We walked in to be greeted by a guy who seemed to be the stereotypical weed smoking college student just trying to get by and find something easy and relaxed to do. He was super nice and picked out our bikes and helmets and then we were on our way. We biked back to the camper and the through the canyon up to the hotel where I had a root beer and my family had lemonades. When we got back, we flopped on the bed and went to sleep.

The next morning my dad greeted me with light in my face and ordered me to get out bed which I did not comply with. After a few minutes of relentless arguing, my dad finally pulled my blanket off and turned on the air conditioning which made me cold and want to put on pants, so I got up and got ready. You win again dad. We started to drive out of the park to go hike to the left fork trailhead to hike The Subway. The drive was scenic and magical. We started the hike on a flat high alpine trail which was easy and I thought to myself, “This will be an easy 10 miles.” That is until I saw a sign that said “Entering Zion Wilderness” and through the thicket we emerged to see the canyon from above, seeing the sunrise crack through the canyon. It was gorgeous. Then I looked down and saw the drop off into the canyon and my stomach churned and I backed away to the wall behind me, clinging onto it. I looked to my left to see the Gunnison like route and I felt like my entire chest do a somersault from getting a PTSD flash back of the Black Canyon of Gunnison. As we circled down the trail we hiked over boulders, fell into cactuses (mainly only me), and fell down the trail. We got bottom and WHOA! Sorry, the van took a sharp turn… continuing… we got bottom and saw the roaring river and we entered a bamboo forest. We hiked over slippery rocks through the river, over boulders and had to find our own trail. A half mile took us about half an hour so about 3 hours later, in the hot desert sun with trail finding and the bouldering, I was tired. I was ahead of my family so I kneeled down to the river and got my face wet. My dad turned the corner and saw what I was doing and yelled, “GET AWAY FORM THE RIVER!” I immediately got away from the river and asked why I had to. He asked if I drank any of it and I said no but started to second guess myself, did I drink it? What did it matter? My dad said there was a poisonous alga in the water! Then I started to really second guess myself, did I drink any of the water? Was my life really on a timeline? I continued on the hike trying to determine if I felt sick. Luckily, nothing ever came of it. We continued hiking our calves burning like a bonfire, our ankles aching and our legs begging and pleading for us to stop. We hiked onwards through the gorgeous canyon. We eventually had to hike through the river, up waterfalls through loose rocks, wading through deep water that that was up to our stomachs. We fought through the aching. As we went through the river, we found the rock got slick and every step had to be calculated and precise, or we may not ever see The Subway or the light of day again. As we made way through the river, we turned a corner and we saw The Subway. We saw its majestic curves and stunning formations. We hiked on through The Subway finding new energy in our curiosity and excitement. As we hiked through it, the rocks got more slick and it started to get more precarious. As I trekked on, the wet rock felt as slippery as ice. I started to climbed uphill when I felt my feet stumble and my balance crumble. I had slipped! It was all too fast to know what was happening. As I slipped, I felt my feet fly into the air and the last thing I heard was my head coming down on the angled rock with thunderous crack. The crack echo took my parents breath away. About a minute later I felt myself comeback to my body and I felt myself explode with pain but I was too weak to do anything. Then I felt a warm liquid spread down body. My head had been slammed to the side and hit pretty hard. I instantly thought, AM I BLEEDING? If I was bleeding from my head, it was bad. I opened my eyes to see my metal sunglasses twisted, the glass cracked and the rim broken. I was most definitely bleeding. I stared at my glasses as my head repeated the pain of the echoing crack of my head hitting the rocks. I felt if maybe my life was slipping away. As I stared at the glasses some more, I noticed they had flakes of water on the broken lenses, and I questioned, why? I gained the strength to look over to my other arm which I was sure was covered in blood but I saw none, I saw water! I felt a wave of relief wash over me and I let a breath out, a long shaky sigh of relief and happiness. My dad came rushing to my aide asking me a bunch of questions. After making sure I was ok, he helped me get up and I felt the sickening, relentless headache storm my mind. I got up and staggered to the side with my dad at the end of the tunnel and sat there dazed and aching. After a few minutes we had to get going through the gritty trail and we made our way back to the car the way we came in all the while in the grueling afternoon sun. We drove to camp and I hit the sack. I still had a terrible headache but the beauty of The Subway was worth the blood, sweat, and tears.

I awoke the next morning to my dad shaking me. I had much more energy than the morning before and got up and got ready. We got on our bikes and started towards the Angles Landing trailhead as it was still dark outside. I felt confident as I was dodging and weaving through turns at 20 mph. As I was biking, I went over a gravely part of the road and slammed the brakes so my family could catch up. The bike started drifting! I shifted my weight to the other side, flung my bike into TURBO mode, pulled myself out of the drift and cheated mortality by milliseconds. We eventually made it to the Angles Landing trailhead just as the sun was coming up. We gazed up at the mountain we were about to climb. We eventually got to Walter’s Wriggles which is a set of 21 grueling switchbacks. We hiked up the never-ending switchbacks; our backs aching our ankles sore, and our legs thirsting for rest. We yearned for rest as we huffed up the mountain. We hit a flat path and I got excited that we had reached the top only to find that we had only completed 14 switchback and I was greeted by 7 more switchbacks. A frown melted into my face. 🙁 I trailed on up the mountain. I started to lose excitement as my energy started to wither away. Then I passed a curve and there it was: Scout’s Point. Scout’s Point is a rest stop right before the last half mile of Angles Landing which is a knife edge trail with 500 foot drop on BOTH sides of you… Needless to say with my fear of heights I did not take this very well. My dad said I had to do it and I got furious at him and he furious at me. It was heated and it might have looked as if we were in the band The Eagles (when it was breaking up). Anyway, after I made tons of money on my own, then I got back together with the band, and we started the last half mile. The last ½ mile of the hike began as a slant with a cliff to our right so if you slipped, it was a slick slide and then you would fall off the cliff. We made it to knife edge where you have about a width of foot and there are 500 foot drop offs on either side of you. I couldn’t keep going I had to stop. In the middle of the knifes edge I sat down and felt horrible. My stomach churning, rolling over, doing somersaults. I felt light headed. Anxiety crept into me. I couldn’t do it. I sat there feeling as if I was defeated. I felt that fear had won. Yet I felt I had to do something. I couldn’t let fear be the victor. So, I picked myself up and told my dad who was staying with me that I was going to finish it. I used all of my strength to put one foot in front of another trying not to look down. With each agonizing step we got closer until, I felt my weight shift and I felt myself fall! I hit the ground but caught myself and turned myself vertically so I wouldn’t fall off the edge. The trail was only a foot or so wide and I landed diagonally. So, I could feel my feet off the edge and my head was dangling over the 500 foot drop. I was only a few centimeters from being muerto. I felt deaths chill go down my back even in 100 degree heat. I felt the reaper rapping at my door. The reaper’s scythe had missed me by an inch. I breathed out a long anxiety fueled sigh, got back up, questioned my mortality, and found my dad unaware of this happening because he was in front and didn’t see it. I walked toward him and clung to him the rest of the hike. Through the iron chains I was able to pull myself up to the top. The rustic iron felt like molten lava in the afternoon sun and felt like freezing liquid nitrogen in the morning. The chain was my friend for most of the hike. I got to the top and was greeted by all our hiking friends, my sister and mother. There were of hugs, fist bumps, and high fives, and I felt warm happy tears drip down my face. I was overwhelmed by the view, the support and love. It was magical. I had overcome Angles Landing and my fears. We went back down through the gritty hike and we got to Scout’s Point. I was ecstatic that I had survived. We took Walters Wriggles all the way down to the bottom and I gazed up at the peak I had just climbed. A warm smile appeared on my face and I said goodbye to Angels Landing.

We biked back to our campsite and hit the bed with mighty thump and napped. Later, I got up, broke down camp to head to The Wave! (Be ready for next blog post from my sister!)

Well, it’s been pleasure telling you all the adventures we had at Zion National Park but I think it’s about time I get out this van. I’ll be back, I just have to get out this van and take down the CIA and FBI. Until next time reader.

Wait! Remember they can’t hide the truc-! *CIA agent, knocks writer out* (CIA agent) “Or can we?” *Criminal outro music starts playing*

Eli in front of a waterfall on the hike to The Subway

Looking back at the Angels Landing peak!

Biking our first day in Zion

The Subway

Using the chains to come down the Angels Landing trail

Valley of Fire State Park, go see it!

Posted on July 31, 2021 by Matt Oliver

Located between Las Vegas and the Overton Arm of Lake Mead in the Moapa Valley is 40,000 acres red Aztec sandstone known as Valley of Fire State Park. Eli and I had intended to stay at this park on our westward leg, but we skipped it because of high temperatures (over 115 degrees F). We decided to hit it on our eastward leg, hoping for better weather. When we arrived in Valley of Fire on our eastbound leg, it was in the 90’s, which was warm, but manageable. The campground was very cool. Most of the sites back right up to twisted red rock. There are plenty of places to explore and rock scramble. It was pretty clear that wind and water erosion were at work creating otherworldly rock sculptures. We set up camp, and decided to set out for an evening hike, when we heard the roll of thunder and saw dark clouds coming over the horizon. This storm looked especially intense. Forks of lightning crashed all around us. We thought about doing one short hike to Atlatal Rock which included a walk up a metal staircase. But, with so much lightning, we headed for cover. We got back to camp just in time for 40+ mph winds and torrential rain. The sky was electric, and the wind and rain was whipping the rock formations surrounding our campsite. We saw other campers flee the area. Moments later water began to flow rapidly down the roads and next to our trailer. It was a first-hand experience of power of wind and rain to shape the landscape. Our trailer was fairly high, so we waited the storm out. After the storm passed, the roads were covered with sand, mud, rocks and other debris. It all happened so fast! We got the feel of what could really happen in a flash flood.

The next morning, the fragrance of wild rosemary and sage filled the desert. We headed for two short hikes White Domes, and Mouse’s Tank. On the way, we found a bighorn sheep inspecting the impact of the flash flood. White Domes was a pretty cool short hike through slot canyons and strange rock formations. Mouse’s Tank hike is named after a small perennial pool of rain water hidden in the rock formations. In the 1980’s an outlaw nicknamed “Little Mouse” used the tank as a source of fresh water for several years while evading capture for murder. If you are ever in the Moapa Valley, I would highly recommend taking a detour to Valley of Fire State Park.

Small flash flood next to our campsite

Time lapse of storm after the worst had passed us