I had Mother's Day pictures taken with the kids on the 13th.
The kids' last day of school was on May 14. On the 15th I drove to Joplin with Trusten and Elizabeth for their autism pre-screenings. They both qualified for the full four-hour screening, which I'm going to try to get very soon elsewhere. If I'm unsuccessful, they won't get screened until their appointment in August of
2019 at the same place! That is insane! The main reason I wanted them officially diagnosed is because they're in public school, and I truly worry about Trusten. Elizabeth is legally disabled now, and she gets upset about school, too, because of some kids being mean, but school is really helping her, and it's much more obvious she's different than it is for Trusten, so I'm more worried about him. It can seem to those who don't know him like I do that he's just a problem child. He's really a wonderful person, though, with so much potential; he's so intelligent. Public school simply isn't a very good fit for him. With that being said, if he had an official ASD diagnosis, he'd at least be met with more understanding by his teachers and be granted space for his needs. I've been debating back and forth whether to go have the other two pre-screened. They struggle with issues, too, but they are in the category with me in that they get by seeming more normal and being able to function as if they are.
I have to finish school and get through my clinical research program and get my career placement before Trusten can come back home, but Carissa and I have promised him that if he does his best in the public school system this coming school year, he can home school again. Carissa will home school only him. The girls will still have to go to school.
After we got back from the screening on the 15th, we got our things gathered and left out on our planned 10-day trip. We camped somewhere in Oklahoma, near Texas, the first night, after we stopped in Tulsa to eat with Carissa's mom. On the 16th, we arrived at White Sands National Monument in New Mexico. We got there near evening, then we camped at a campground not far from there, and we went back for a short bit the next day. It was HOT during that part of the day, so we were all glad we had that evening experience.
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| Lizard tracks |
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| Desert sand verbena (Abronia villosa) |
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| Soaptree yucca (Yucca elata) |
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| Jaden William made a lion out of the sand. |
We left the sand dunes on the 17th and drove to Kartchner Caverns State Park in Arizona, which is one of the darkest places in the nation (International Dark Sky). We walked trails.
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| See the bird inside? It was on its babies. |
On the morning of the 18th, we drove around an hour to the Tucson Botanical Gardens.
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| See the bird on its nest? |
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| A cycad! |
We drove from there into California and camped for free (dispersed camping) outside Joshua Tree National Park. Yep, we camped right in the desert wilderness.
The above pictures show our morning views (we'd arrived at dark, like many places), then we made it to Sequoia National Forest late at night. The kids were asleep when I caught my first glimpses of the magnificently-towering trees. I drove slowly and gazed up through my glass. I was awed. We let the kids sleep in the vehicle that night, and we had to get all food and hygiene products out of the vehicle and lock them up in a container to keep bears away before we set up our tent. Carissa and I fell asleep that night hearing bears roaring. I awoke in the wee hours of the morning to the sound of a mountain lion; it took me a few moments to determine whether it was that or a crying baby.
During that day, we drove slowly all the way back to the start of the redwood and sequoia trees and got out at several places, making our way back up the mountain. We were in both Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon National Park. We then took the Fresno highway late that afternoon and camped near Hollister at Pacheco State Park.
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| Sequoiadendron giganteum (sequoia) |
We woke up see that Pacheco State Park was the cleanest, best-kept, and a very beautiful state park.
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| Prairie dog on the picnic table (William took this photo.) |
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| Pica nuttalli (California magpie) |
We roasted hot dogs and s'mores for lunch and then took off toward Pfieffer Beach on the 21st.
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| My sweet navigator |
Yes!!!! You all ought to know I was in paradise getting to see all the new flora and fauna during our trip. Isn't this creature below just absolutely gorgeous?!?!?!?
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| Callipepla californica (California quail) |
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| Carpobrotus edulis (Hottentot-fig, highway ice plant, pigface) |
And these flowers! Oh my goodness, they were spread out in huge swaths, revealing themselves openly to me, paired with the red-tinged leaves, up and down along the cliff terrain and along the beaches while I drove along the coastal highway. What I know now is that the plant is edible!
Carpobrotus edulis translates as "edible fruit, edible." I did not have time to identify plants and animals during the trip, but if we ever go again, I'll let the kids sample it as they like to do many local plants we've learned about.
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| Lit ships off the coast where cattle are grazing |
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| Purple sands of Pfieffer Beach in Big Sur area |
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| Carpobrotus edulis (Hottentot-fig, highway ice plant, pigface) |
While the oldest three kids took off for the frigid, wavy ocean water, I sat down with Elizabeth. I was enjoying the views, then I noticed she'd made herself a circle then placed rocks a certain way inside the circle. I was enchanted by watching her carefully place rocks when all of a sudden the wind blew sand in one of her eyes. I was so sad for her! I had to get my eye drops and flood her eye. She didn't want to continue her rock play afterward, poor baby.
I had a picture placed here that I just deleted, because I clearly chose the wrong one. Nothing but a hand grabbing something could be seen. William was playing with some sort of crustacean-looking creature on the beach, and he showed it to me and how it could jump. He recently told me that he found out they were "sand fleas," which I think is a poor choice of a common name, since there is also a true flea with that common name. Other common names for the Emerita analoga are mole crab and sand crab. They are a decapod crustacean that burrow in the sand and keep their antennae up to filter feed. They are a strange, somewhat creepy little organism. It was neat watching the one William showed me hop and quickly dig down into the wet sand.
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| Trust and Liv doing I'm-not-sure-what |
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| Trusten showing off his kelp find with the air bladders that I explained to him |
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| My big boy, who is taller than I am now, running excitedly to share something with me |
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| Not sure what these are |
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| Close-up of a Carpobrotus edulis flower; Lupinus arboreus the yellow lupine flowers |
So on the way down the narrow dirt path on which we had to drive to the beach, there was all this frilly plant that I was absolutely
loving, and I kept thinking to myself that it was familiar. Alas, when I was nearly
out, near the end of the road when we were leaving, it suddenly dawned on me... I pulled the car over, leapt out, plucked one of the shoots, and hurriedly got back in to excitedly share my good news. One whiff of the plant confirmed what I already knew. This fancifully attractive plant is wild fennel. Of course, everyone else was delighted, too, and I had to pass my prized possession around the vehicle for everyone to smell.
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Foeniculum vulgare (fennel)
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After we left the beach, I drove quite a bit. We sought out a certain campground and decided we did not want to stay there. I think it was in Monterey. I don't remember at this moment. We were hungry, though. I wanted something Mexican, something different. Carissa suggested a food truck, as I'd never eaten from one before. Wow, I will definitely say I was impressed. Definitely very different, but it was soooo delicious. I think I took an extra anthistamine pill to help ensure I didn't have trouble with the fresh tomato. I ate soft tacos. Then I just wanted chocolate. :-)
The next day we got to see some of the Tahoe National Forest as we drove out of California and into Nevada. We did drive through San Francisco, and Carissa and William (and I'm sure Trust and Liv, too) took pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge, but neither of them sent me any pictures as I requested. Oh well.
We camped in another dispersed camping spot this night, in some place called something like Wild Horses Loop. The next morning we drove a bit farther down the gravel road and saw some wild horses! I have a few pictures of a few different ones, but I certainly can't share all of my pictures. This post already contains a tremendous number.
Another big event on this day was visiting the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. Yes, I did drive across the salt, but I didn't go as fast as the boys would have liked me to. I am not even certain I got to 70. I was apprehensive, and it's a good thing I was, or else I'd gone too fast through some water. I got salt on the vehicle, as it was, and we stopped later that day to wash it.
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| Ew, dirty salt! |
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| A lovely break stop somewhere in Utah |
I had to stop a lot on the trip, but I did surprisingly well, really, considering that I dreaded driving it terribly and wasn't sure how my body would hold up. I'd never used my gabapentin prescription that I'd kept active for a year and a half until right before this trip. I started using it a few days before, just to make sure all would be okay and that my body would be used to it somewhat. I used it daily, as well as herbs, magnesium, and sometimes ibuprofen for my peripheral neuropathy (in both arms and legs) and joint and muscle pain. I also took along gel cushions and a neck pillow. I had to change out the various two cushions and one pillow, as all of them at once made things even worse. At times I'd be in so much pain and have so much nerve trouble that I could not handle it any longer and would have to stop sooner than planned and my foot would not work properly. I do not know how much longer I'll be able to drive a motor vehicle between the ever-worsening neuropathy and my rapidly-failing eyesight. However, I am planning another lengthy road trip (I think not as long) in the near future for our family. I've got to do it while I still can. ;-) I'm thankful I stayed free from pharma drugs for so long, so I don't feel as bad about having to use them in increasing amounts as my body and mind continue to deteriorate.
There were dinosaur statues and such in many places, and I'd stop and take Elizabeth out and get her picture with them. Although dinosaurs are not her obsession, anymore, she still likes them, and I still think of her when I see them.
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| I love this! She went right up to the baby dinosaur, and I got a picture of this. |
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| Gila monster! |
I'm so thankful I got to take this trip with my beloved family. It truly was a blessing, and seeing those trees was one of the top things I wanted to see before I die. I'll treasure the memories.
Trusten's birthday was the day after we got back. I let them go that whole day to stay with their dad, and we celebrated his birthday in June.
Until next time...
