Driving, Driving, Driving...

We're on the road again. Today we turned back. We came from California and passed through Nevada and we're now in Utah. We drove down extraterrestrial highway and passed by Area 51. Well we think we did at least, we're not sure because it's top secret. We met a man in Zion who told us about an incredible place we gotta see called Arches. It's a national park that is supposed to be filled with these rock formations shaped like arches, hence the name. We'll see what that's all about.

Snow, Rocks in the Crocs and the Tufas

Yosemite is huge! We've been trying to get out of this park all day. We were going to leaving from the north entrance of the park and we kept seeing these huge sheets of white on the mountains and thought maybe it was snow. It was maybe 70 degrees outside, but it really looked like it. Upon further investigation though we determined that it was not snow. But then upon further investigation (by jumping on it) we determined that it is indeed snow. We got and had a snow ball fight. When we left Florida we certainly did not think we could have a snowball fight on this trip. We slid in the snow a bit, got lots of snow in our crocs, and saved a snowball to take home. It was a great experience!

We kept driving until we finally got out of the park. A Muslim family we met in Yosemite told us about a gorgeous place they knew of that we had to go see, so that's where we were headed. The first place was an dormant volcano. This place was amazing! We hiked up the volcano, but pretty soon found ourselves up against an obstacle: rocks in the crocs. The volcano and area all around it were covered in pumice rocks, the same kind you buy to scrub your rough spots, and obsidian, what the local Native Americans used to use for their arrowheads. The pumice rocks were okay, they hurt but were tolerable, but the obsidian is sharp, shiny, and glasslike, and it was everywhere. We were planning on hiking all the way up and around the volcano, but the rocks in the crocs were a problem so we thought we'd just hang out and enjoy the view. I (Shezena) have always loved obsidian and wasn't going to let a little rocks in the crocs stop me from exploring everything I wanted to, and I have the cuts to prove it. Even from the trail you could see the obsidian shining brightly. It was gorgeous. There were parts where the obsidian and pumice were swirled together, and then huge chunks of pure obsidian, and large blocks of pumice.

Obsidian and pumice are chemically the exact same thing, even though pumice is light tan and so light it can float on water and obsidian is thick, heavy, black and glasslike. When the volcano exploded, the frothy lava that erupted quickly solidified trapping the air bubbles. The lava that erupted slowly though, the one that just oozed out was able to lose any trapped air, but it still solidified too quickly to form any kind of crystals. They look as different as can be, but they came from the same place, are made out of the same stuff, and are chemically identical. Cool, huh?


Next stop: The Tufas! (photo above) When we were done with the volcano, we went to a lake that had these huge mineral formations in the water. It was lake was three times saltier than the ocean, with a little baking soda bitterness that made it 100 times more alkaline than the ocean added for good measure. The formations, or tufas, form because of the springs underneath the lake. The spring water has calcium in it, and as the water seeps up through the bottom of the lake floor, the calcium collects and builds these huge columns of mineral deposits. They were beautiful beyond words. We came at the perfect time of day too, the sun was about to start setting and the sky was all kinds of shades of pink and blue. With the tufts in front and the sky behind, it was a sight not to be soon forgot. We prayed magrib in the RV, had a spot of tea and continued down the road. I think this was the best day yet.

Yosemite and Ayoub's Law

We are at Yosemite. Here is the tallest waterfall in North America and we got up and personal with it. There was a trail that passed by it, and then right up to the waterfall were huge rocks, great for climbing. All of us climbed all the way up the rocks and right up to the waterfall. It was slippery and some spots were tough, but we all including the kids managed. At Zion, Ameer kept noticing all these water backpacks that you fill up with water and it has a straw you drink through so you don't need to carry a water bottle. He wanted one, they were super cool, so Mom and Dad got Ameer, Anissa and Siraj one each. The great thing about that, is that instead of two of us carrying a backpack full of water, now we can just have the kids do it. Between all of them, they carry a gallon and a half of water and they were happy to do it. They have the straw right there though and are constantly sipping on it, which makes for more bathroom breaks, alot more. The plus is that they definitely won't get dehydrated! Aisha and I took the kids back to the benches and Mom and Dad finished climbing all the way up. They crossed the waterfall and came back around the other side. It was quite an adventurous hike!

Meanwhile there was a section of the river that was calm and the kids were standing in it. Ayoub stepped on a rock, slipped and fell completely into the freezing cold water. Ayoub's law is that if he could get wet, he will. He was fine, but immediately a bunch of people jumped up to help. People are good. He was soaked in really cold water and it was about 70 degrees outside. There was nothing to do except strip him down to the nip and hold him close so he won't be too cold. When Mom and Dad got back, they were wet up to their waists from crossing the river and Ayoub was naked. We got back on the bus to go back to the RV. On the way I (Shezena) saw a huge buck with enormous antlers. As soon as I said so, everybody on the bus stood up to see. Dad was so jealous it wasn't him who saw it. Whenever I see something, he announces it as if he found it. When we were at the Everglades, I found an alligator and a crocodile right beside each other, a rare find, and Dad told the tour guide he found it and she acted like he was the winner the whole time. We went back to the RV, got dry and went to the lodge for dinner.

The next day we took our bikes out and went for a scenic ride in the park. The bike trails are paved so it makes for an easy ride. The day before we had seen some people in a raft going down the river. We wanted to do that, and luckily we packed four or five inner tubes and a raft. We realized it might not be quite enough for all of us, but we'll make do. While we were blowing them up, a couple passed by us who had just finished going down the river and gave us their raft. Just our luck! Now we'd be perfect. It was already starting to cool down when we got in the water, but we were getting ready for a long time and we were going to go! Shezena, Anissa and Ayoub were in a boat, Mom and Ameer in another, so that left Dad, Aisha and Siraj on the inner tubes. We were all ready and we were just waiting for Dad to get in. I wish we had it on tape when he got in the water and laid on the tube. We've never heard such sounds! He screamed, yelled and yelped from the shock of the cold like no one was around, except there were plenty around. It was so funny I'm sure we would have won any funniest home videos contest. The water was really cold but we went along the river for a while until it was too cold to bear. We stopped by the side of the river and waited for Mom and Ameer who had lagged behind. When they got to us they were on the other side of the river and it was going too hard for them to be able cross and reach us. There was a guy fishing on their side though, and seeing their plight he waded chest deep into the numbing cold water and pushed them to the other side. It was very generous of him. This whole trip we have met nothing but nice, helpful and friendly people. We reckon America is filled with them. Tomorrow I think we'll be heading out. This was a great place, my favorite so far.

Prepare for Awesomeness

We went to a little Indian restaurant for lunch today and then went to the movies. We saw Kung Fu Panda. I admit, I wanted to see whatever that movie is by M. Night Shamalan with Aisha while they were seeing Kung Fu Panda, but I'm glad we saw Kung Fu Panda too. It was really, really funny, a feel good movie. We don't buy many movies, but we think we'll buy this one.

San Francisco

Unfortunately we learned that that water I drank from the waterfall yesterday has some kind of bug in it and was unsuitable for drinking. We all tasted it, but I drank it, alot, and I'm feeling it today. I've been unwell all day with nausea and stomach cramps. Oh well.

Today we drove into San Francisco! It was such a charming place. The streets were so hilly and everyone dressed so chic. It was kinda cold, everyone was in jackets and sweaters. We went to China Town and had the best Chinese food we have ever had. We drove around in the streets for a while. Some of the streets had such a steep incline that large vehicles were not recommended. San Francisco is not an ideal place to drive around in a RV. By that night, we were getting strong signals from the universe to move along and they were only getting stronger, so we listened. Our visit to San Francisco was cut short, but we were glad with what we got. We left that night, but before we did we crossed the Golden Gate bridge.

We Met General Sherman

We reached Sequoia today. Sequoia is known for their huge trees. In here is the largest tree in the world, and we visited him today. To get there you go down a trail. All along it are these huge trees towering over everything. The energy there was calm and quiet. Even all of us together wouldn't be able to wrap our arms around them. When we got to the tree, General Sherman is his name, it was an incredible sight. It was so huge and wide across. It said on the sign that looking up at the tree was like a mouse looking up at a six foot tall man. It's been there for 2,600 years. It is one of the oldest living things on earth and has seen humanity change, evolve and multiply in numbers. To be in front of it was to be in front of something miraculous and uncommon. He saw Prophets Isa (Jesus) and Muhammad pbuh come and go. He was majestic. There was a little barrier in front of the tree, but a barrier has never stopped us before. We had to touch him. It was magical.


We walked along another path and from it we saw a waterfall. We could walk to it and touch the water, so we did. The water was cold but refreshing. We made wudu in the stream, and I (Shezena) was thirsty so I drank from it. It was a remarkable experience.

Day 20

We're headed to Sequoia National Park. We left Nevada last night and drove into California today. We were greeted by a field of wind mills. There's a ton of recycling bins here right beside the trash cans, and on those it says, "Don't trash California!" I think I like this place.

Aunty Fe's House

We drove into Nevada last night. We are heading to Las Vegas. You know the saying what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas? Well it doesn't, we'll tell you all about it, because we like you. We found a really nice masjid for Jummah prayers. It was surprisingly big and there were alot of people there. Who knew there would be so many Muslims in Sin City. After Jummah, we went to Aunty Fe's house. It was our first time visiting her. Her house was really nice. Jahana was there visiting too. Aunty Fe made some delicious food, and Alia had been waiting for us to release some butterflies she had raised. It was so cute. We all went outside and very ceremoniously released the butterflies into the world. We really enjoyed that.


We stayed by Aunty Fe for three days. We had so much fun. Ameer and our cousin Tae who is about the same age played together the whole weekend. We stayed up late chatting and really connected. Chang took us out to this really fun hibachi restaurant. We meticulously avoided the strip. There is no need to expose ourselves to sin or temptation. On the last day we were there, Chang made some Korean barbeque. It was so, so good. I don't know what he did to it but it was delicious. We had that with some of his kimichee. The kimichee was so good, we had to steal some. Okay, we didn't really steal it, we are Muslim you know, but we invited ourselves to take some with us. Chang gave us a bunch to take. We'll enjoy that for a long time Inshallah. Farisha joined us for dinner. We were glad to see her. I think the last time we saw her was for Dad's graduation 10 years ago. She has a cute son that played well with Ayoub. It was nice seeing them before we leave for Egypt. I think we're going to miss them.

Zion

Utah! We are kinda weary of the vowel states, you know things are wacky there, but we'll make an exception for Utah. Before we got here we thought what's in Utah? Maybe some potatoes that took root from Idaho? We didn't see any potatoes, but we did see some incredible stuff. First stop: Zion National Park. We saw this place on TV, so you know it must be good. The ride there was tricky to say the least. I think when they made the roads they had only motorcycles in mind and the wind so strong I thought it would blow us off a few times. When we got to the park, we kept seeing signs that said RVs need an escort. Yikes. There was a tunnel that was about a mile long and so small that they had to close it so an RV could go though. The road after that was narrow and winding with cliffs along the side. We were scared to move lest we fall over the side of the mountain. Once we got in and settled though it was a different story.

The park was stunning! There was so many trails and activities to do. We had a blast. There was one trail that you hike up the mountain and on the way you pass by three pools of water and waterfalls along the way. Each of the pools was more spectacular than the last, and the last one was unbelievable. To top it all off, we got there just in time to see some rock climbers descend from the rock wall above the pool. Another one we went on was even more breathtaking. The trail was called The Narrows, and the trail was the river! It's called The Narrows because two mountains come together, and down the trail they get so close they almost touch. We got to the river part of the trail around 5 o'clock and the water temperature was about 56 degrees. It was really cold, but it was amazing. Ameer went all the way in! That boy is brave, it was freezing cold. Siraj decided to jump in too and they were both going along in the river like nothing. It was so cute.

We stayed there for three days, but it was much too short for this enchanting place.

The Grand Canyon and Scrambled Ostrich Egg

Remember the ostrich egg? We had it for breakfast today. Mom, Shezena and Aisha went out to the grocery store this morning, and Dad stayed in the RV to make breakfast. He made eggs, or really, egg. We had kinda forgotten about the ostrich egg and thought Dad had just made regular eggs. When we got back he said he made eggs and asked if we were ready to have breakfast. We said yeah and sat down to eat. It looked a little strange, but we didn't say anything. It tasted good, but something was a little bit different with it. In the middle of eating we realized we were eating the ostrich egg. He thought it was pretty funny. When you cook it, ostrich egg is a little clearer than chicken eggs and it has a meatier texture. We all liked it. One ostrich egg is equivalent to about two dozen chicken eggs though, so we have more to cook for tomorrow. Dad took the egg out in such a way that the egg is preserved and we can keep the egg as a souvenir. We got back on the road again today. Today's destination: The Grand Canyon! We were going to skip this one, but who can skip a national landmark? We got in the park around noon and it didn't seem like anything special until you get to a point where the trees clear and everything comes into view. Oh my God! It was incredible! You really cannot describe the view, and a picture does not do justice. It was breathtaking.

We went to a few viewpoints and there was one with a short trail that you could go down and see the canyon unobstructed. The kids wanted to go down and see it, so Dad took them but just a few minutes later they came back. Ameer was looking glum and we asked them why there were back so soon. Ameer said, "We can't go down there because Dad is scared." Every time someone went near the side to look over Dad nearly had a heart attack.

We spent the whole day there. It was gorgeous. This trip just keeps getting better and better.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day! Today is Father's day. Thank you Dad for give us the wonderful gift of this trip and for being such an awesome dad. We love you.

We slept a little whiles away from the park and as were were coming back to it today we stopped by a tourist shop by the side of the road. They sold petrified wood and other stuff, and for some reason had a bunch of ostriches outside with a big sign that said, "CAUTION OSTRICH BITE". They do indeed. While Mom and Dad were perusing the petrified wood, I (Shezena) wanted to go see the ostriches. On my way out the lady informed me that I could feed them if I bought some ostrich food from them. I bought a few cups, gathered the kids, and walked to the ostriches. They are aggressive things. As soon as they saw those cups they started fighting to get as close to the fence as they could. I didn't know whether I wanted to feed them anymore or not. No one else wanted to do it first, and I thought other people must do it and not die so I might as well just go for it. I held the cup up and immediately they started pounding their heads into the cup, all at the same time. "Hold the cup tight, or they'll take it from you" the lady told me, and they did try. And bite. They bit me, on accident I'm sure, and broke my nail, and then they bit me again two more times. Yes, I know they couldn't have kept bitting me if I just stopped feeding them, but it was so much fun.


Mom and Dad came out of the store with a pretty piece of petrified wood and an ostrich egg. Yes, that's right, an ostrich egg. What for? To eat of course! We'll have that tomorrow for breakfast and tell you how it was.

We got back to the Petrified Forest and continued on our exploration. This time we got to finish the whole thing and we saw the friendly ranger again. We went to this one section of the park where there the trees used to be huge and many, not only wide around but incredibly tall. They were all petrified now and fallen of course, be you could just imagine what it must have been like all those years ago. The wood, you can find some pieces that are pink, purple, red, orange, and even clear. It was mystifying and beautiful. This place was well worth the two days.


After we were done with the park we were tired and hungry. Since we've hit Texas, we've been craving one thing: Jack in the Box. Now was a great time to get some tacos. Not too long later we found one, just the drive through was open but it was about to close at 11. Dad assessed the situation and determined that the RV would not be able to fit through the drive through. So for the sake of his hungry family, he got out of the RV and walked up to the box to order in the drive through. Unfortunately, even after Dad got out and stood in the drive through, the person in front of us was the last person to be able to order before they closed. A lady can out though and told Dad that there was another one down the street that was open 24 hours a day. All was not lost. We drove on down and this one's drive through was a lot bigger and taller so we went through it. Dad ordered and we very carefully drove up to the window with the RV. Or we tried to at least. Dad started to go through but it was looking smaller and smaller. He told me to hop out and make sure he could fit. As far as I could see, he could, but that was as far as I could see. I stood as far back as I could to see the top of the RV, and I thought I could see all of it, but there was a big ditch behind me and I couldn't go back any farther. If I had been able to, I would have seen on the top of the RV in the middle, there's the air conditioner, but I couldn't so I gave him the okay. He started going and stopped asking if the top was hitting anything. I didn't see it hitting anything so I told him. He tried again but said no he couldn't go any farther because he felt like he was hitting something.

He had to back out. By now we had already been at this for a few minutes, and there were a few people in their cars behind us. Funny. We were going to have to ask all of them to back out of the drive through so we could get out. I walked up to each of the cars, explained to the strangers what happened and told them they were going to have to back all the way out. Luckily they thought it was kinda funny and gladly obliged. We got our food, backed out and got out of there.

After our Jack in the Box adventure, we found a nice place to pull over and sleep. We gave Dad his Father's day present, drank our tea and went to bed.

Petrified Forest

We drove into Arizona today. There is something strange about this place. The ground is pink, and it's getting pinker. We were driving along, minding our own business when we saw a sign for Petrified Forest National Park. We were debating whether to go or not, but being the curious people we are, we had to take a look, just a quick one, we had places to be, people to met and adventures to have. It was a drive through park, you drive through and see the sights and then get out. We went in, and oh my goodness, it was an incredible place. It was amazing. We couldn't believe that we were thinking about skipping this place. Do you know what a petrified forest is? We know you don't, so we'll tell you because now we do. It's a forest that has had some kind of exposure to certain extreme conditions, such as a volcano, and instead of the forest just burning to smithereens, it was fossilized and all the tree's wood was preserved (in a way) and now turned to stone. There were huge, long trunks of trees all petrified in this way on the ground. When you touched them they hard and cold, it was stone, but it looked just like wood. Our 45 minute detour turned into several hours and it got dark. The park closes at sunset and we were still there and not done yet. A very polite and friendly ranger pulled us over and told us we gotta be heading out. We still hadn't finished going through the park, and couldn't bear the thought of leaving this magical place without seeing everything to be seen, so we resolve to come back tomorrow.

Day 10 ~ Albuquerque

I knew we should have made that left turn at Albuquerque. Dad has been waiting to utter these words made famous by none other than the infamous Bugs Bunny, and today his wait ended. We're in Albuquerque, and it is cute here. We've been driving down Route 66. We found a masjid to go Jummah prayers here, and alhumduillah, it was really nice. Lavender grew outside the masjid and it was so fragrant. It seems like they have a very active community here and have lots going on. Afterwards, we went downtown and walked around. We went into a few Native American stores and met some Indians. Someone who used to live here told us about a restaurant that was really good so we thought we'd try it out. We got directions, and it didn't seen that far so we decided to walk. It turned out to be a walk and half. It was a lot, a lot, farther than we anticipated. We were starving when we got there. It was cute little place known for their chili. After we finished eating, we walked to another historic downtown area. We went into the world's largest collection of rattlesnakes exhibit. There were tons of them and if you got too close to the glass, they would start rattling their tail. It was cool.

Roswell

We're in Roswell! Yes, we saw a bunch of aliens. We rolled on in this morning and had to see what all this alien stuff was about. We went to the Roswell Historical Museum. It was very informative. It told us all about what happened that day, who was involved, and how big brother covered it all up. They really believe something happened there, and after much research in the museum's library, it looks like something did.


We saw an alien sitting at a table apparently having a party or something so we decided to have the kids take a picture with him. As you can see in the photo, Siraj did not like him.

New Mexico

We've been driving and driving and entered New Mexico last night. The road here is so open and empty and the land is flat. We're in the desert. Who knew vast places of emptiness could be so beautiful. Occasionally we see a train going though and we wave at the conductor and he waves back. We've seen lots of deer and cactus and tonight we saw more stars than we've ever seen before. There are no lights around. We pulled over to pray, and we got out of the RV. It was so still and quiet, I could hear someone stepping 200 feet away. It was a little creepy, but in cool way. :)

Day 7

We've left our family behind and are going on with our travels. We're in West Texas now and stopped at a little Mexican restaurant in the middle of the desert. It was filled with cowboys. I've never seen so many cowboys in one place at one time. Our next destination is Zion National Park in Utah. We hear it's gorgeous out there. 

The Dairy Farm and San Antonio

This morning got up and made some korma. Well really, we mostly got up and watched Aunty Bobby make the korma. We're great at that. We have been missing korma (or Grandma candy as it's been referred to) for a long time and were glad have some again. There is nothing like watching Aunty Bobby finishing stir the korma and then very carefully picking up a piece of the pipping hot sweet and enjoying it before anyone else even knows it's there. All eight of us were watching and waiting for her to finish stirring, but the more people to share the first taste with, the sweeter it is. 

Aunty Bobby, our cousins Amelia and her baby and all of us went to go visit Khalil and Mandy at their house. We picked up our second cousins Marryyam and Leena on the way. When we got there Mandy was busy, busy, busy making all of us a wonderful dinner. A while later our cousins Tamara and her five kids, Aseyah and husband, and Adam joined us and Mandy entertained and fed 22 guests with grace and ease. 

Khalil came home, everyone else left and that's when the real fun started. We stayed up until fajr talking, laughing and sharing jinn stories. It was great. Mandy made the most delicious and elaborate breakfast I have ever had. We had more fried roti! After we ate, all twelve of us got ready and hit the road for San Antonio with detour to a dairy farm. 

We drink only raw cow's milk. That means it's straight from the cow with no pasteurization or homogenization. It's delicious and incredibly good for you. Well we ran out, and they don't just sell it at Publix's, so Mom hopped on the internet and found a place near us that sold it and we went on down. It was so much fun. The cows were so cute. I didn't know a cow could be cute, but these were adorable. We pet the baby calves and climbed on top a huge stack of hay. We even milked a cow! We watched as the cows lined up to be milked and then went into the milking room and watched as the guy cleaned and hooked up the cows to the machines and milked them. We even tasted the milk warm when we milked it. It was a extraordinary learning experience. 

When we got to San Antonio it was maybe an hour before dark. We walked around on the River Walk for a couple hours and then had dinner at one of the restaurants. The company was much better than the food. It was a very nice visit.    

Saturday, Sunday and Adam's Graduation Party

Last night we stayed up late chatting, but as always, Aunty Bobby got up early to make us a delicious breakfast. She told us what she was planning on making for lunch and we tactfully pointed out to her that her making a lunch with curry anything sans roti was a outright insult to us. She remedied the situation by having us make the roti. 

We went to Aunty Zio's house in the afternoon and saw everyone there. Another late night of chatting with the girls and then a late morning after a breakfast of bake and other goodies. We had never had bake before and immediately fell in love. 

Adam's graduation party was on Sunday. Congratulations Adam! He graduated from high school. It was at the masjid, outside in the field. It was such a beautiful day, cool and breezy, and made for a great party. May Allah send him far with many achievements in this life and give him Jannah in the next. Ameen. :) 

Friday

Today is Jummah! We rolled into Houston just in time for Jummah prayers. We went to our masjid. The first person we saw was Marryyam, our cousin's daughter. We saw Aunty Bobby, Amina, Aseyah, Adam, Uncle Kamal, Zachary, Jamilah, Mandy and Khalil. You can see why this is our masjid. It must be so cool for them to see each other every Jummah because it was really cool for us. After we went to Aunty Bobby's house and had dinner with family. It was very nice. This is what we came for. 

Us in the RV after Jummah  

Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana

This morning we woke up bright and (too) early and headed straight to the Florida Caverns. Very cool. Really it was cool in there, the temperature was 64 degrees. Outside was high 80s. 

We drove from Florida, through Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. We stopped in New Orleans and hit the French Quarter. Of course we had beignets and hot chocolate in Cafe Du Monde. We're very chic you know.

We had a great time. There was a bunch of strange ducks there. They wear whatever they want. It's wacky and weird and charming and cute all at the same time. Mom and Shezena loved it, Dad and Ameer, not so much. We think they got the tense Katrina vibes. We drove a while longer and stopped somewhere outside New Orleans. Tomorrow is Jummah and inshallah we'll be in Houston for it. :) 

Day 1 (again)

Okay we didn't make it out yesterday. It got late, we got tired. We thought if we start going then we might end up spending the night in our driveway. We started this morning though, and logged our first mile at around 9:30 in the morning. First stop: Wal Mart, in the wrong direction. We finally got on the road for good at around 12:30. Our adventures would finally begin! And they did, we passed through Orlando and stopped for some curry chicken and roti at a Trini shop and then continued on our cross-country travels all the way up to the panhandle. We drove until 1 in the morning and spent the night in Tallahassee at a truck stop. It wasn't too bad, and not nearly as creepy as you would think. First night in the RV: pretty good.

Day 1

We got the RV today. We've been packing up all day and we're getting ready to go. It's late and way past dark but as soon as we're done we'll hit the road!