TheClarkFamily – Wild Wanderer

Surprise Visit

When your Airman is stationed in Alaska but texts you to let you know he’ll be in Nevada for the weekend you use up all your airline miles and fly out to go see him!

Well, actually, at first I thought about driving out, but after doing the math realized if I did I would only have an hour to spend with him before I needed to drive back home, and that didn’t seem like enough time. So next I checked flights: Hey, flights from Colorado Springs to Vegas are supposed to be cheap, right?

They’re not. Well, they might be if you make them a couple of months in advance, but since it was last minute I didn’t have a lot of options. In the end I used up all my airline miles and still had to pay about $500 to fly Emily and I from Denver to Vegas (and back). Totally worth it! The downside? We had to leave at 3am for our flight in, and didn’t get back until 12am the next morning (and then I had to drive home from the airport and turn around and go to work). We did get to spend a lot of time with Thomas though, and my mom and Tom drove out so we got to see them for a bit as well.

First stop (after picking up our rental vehicle) was breakfast. Mom and Tom were picking up Thomas and meeting us at Eggscellent, a breakfast restraint with the highest ratings online (we all loved our meals!)

It’s weird seeing Thomas wearing glasses. Emily and Thomas spent a lot of time exchanging memes, but we got a lot of great conversation in with everyone as well. Thomas loves his job, has made new friends, and likes living in Alaska (it’s a lot like Colorado…)

After breakfast Mom and Tom drove back to California, and I took the kids to the Hoover Dam. I’ve been all over the United States, with extra emphasis on the Southwest, and for some reason I’ve never been to the Hoover Dam. I’m not sure why? Most likely because I thought it would be underwhelming (it was). We parked and decided to walk around for a bit…

There was a dedication area that intrigued the kids: there were bronze statues and the entire walking area was a map of the stars that would indicate to celestial beings the exact time and date the dam had been constructed. I thought this was a little self promoting, but realize it isn’t a new idea. Touching the toes of the statue(s) was encouraged.

There was a summit marker here, which I appreciated.

We crossed the bridge, and the ‘dam’ jokes began.

Don’t sit on the dam wall

Dam Tumbleweed

Dam fish

Dam birds

Dam boat

Dam tour

Dam project

Dam guard

Dam dog (yes, there’s an actual Dam dog that was portly because the 3500 workers all loved him and liked giving him treats)

(you get the idea)

The kids even started putting together memes…

There was a great joke made about Emily being in APUSH and Herbert Clark Hoover being the first president of the United States (don’t ask, but it was funny) and Thomas wished for a basketball to roll down the side of the dam (a dam basketball) to play physics games.

Of course we took some family photos (points to Thomas for taking as many photos as I asked for!)

Thomas asked me how the dam had been built and I didn’t know the answer (well, dam). It was getting warm so we decided to go to the visitor’s center to find out. Admission included a 10 minute (dam) video, explaining how the dam was built: They blasted huge holes in the mountain to divert the river, and then poured 3.25 million cubic yards of concrete to form the wall. It was way more complicated than that, but that’s the gist. It had some really bad grammar for a documentary (‘builded’ was one of the words used). Also, they didn’t explain how they re-routed the river back? All in all it was very (dam) educational, and the kids actually enjoyed the experience. I’m glad they’re old enough to appreciate learning, even when the way it’s presented isn’t fun. It was kind of cool being in both Arizona and Nevada and going back and forth between time zones. The entire experience from parking to leaving took about an hour and a half.

Next we drove to Red Rock Canyon. I’d been told this was the place to adventure in the Las Vegas area and had high expectations. Apparently so did everyone else: it took us 45 minutes to get through the admissions gate! Thomas had a military pass that got us in for free (thanks Thomas!). We decided to drive and look for some places to hike. There were so many people there this was more difficult than it sounds. The first three turnoffs held dozens of vehicles and they were all full, so we kept driving and looked for a less popular spot. There wasn’t one, so I parked about a mile away from a trailhead and we walked along a dirt road that would take us to look at White Rock.

We were already tired when we made it to the trailhead, and everyone there said there wasn’t anything to see, it was just a ‘hike’ so we turned around and walked a mile back to the car, intent on hiking somewhere with a destination.

Petroglyph Wall sounded promising, so we drove there next. Once again, there wasn’t any parking, but I found if I waited long enough someone would leave. This was a short walk from the parking area to the site, with dozens of social trails we could take to get there.

The site had a few petroglyphs, and we’d been expecting… more. They were blocked off and there were shrubs and bushes all around so there wasn’t a great view.

We are really spoiled with the petroglyphs we have at The Ranch , so the kids weren’t impressed here at all. We took a few pictures and decided to go exploring

I went off trail and found a place we could boulder for a bit. The kids were against it at first (“Mom! Don’t go off trail!”) but quickly followed, eager to boulder as well. I found a really good spot with a few crumbling petroglyphs and called the kids up.

Thomas decided to bushwhack his way up and ended up tearing a 4 inch hole his shirt! He took it well but was disappointed since he really liked that shirt. I told him we’d go shopping on the way back and get him another shirt (somewhere…). In any event, bouldering was fun

On the brochure they gave us at the entrance gate there was a picture of some bighorn sheep petroglyphs, but no information on where they were in the park. It would have been fun to find them, but they looked really well preserved and I’m sure they weren’t in an ‘obvious’ place or they would be behind fencing (etc). We now had a plan (Thomas needed a new shirt) so we left the park and went to a shopping area.

Thomas found a shirt and a pair of shorts at the first place, and Emily found a shirt at the second. Satisfied we’d shopped enough for today we went in search of dinner. The kids both wanted In n Out, so we found one close to Thomas’ hotel and went in. There were so many people there (most in less than appropriate bathing suits). The food was good though

There was an ‘In n Out store’ nextdoor and we had time so we decided to take a look. They had a bunch of In n Out merch (obviously) and while we were there Thomas decided to buy a shirt and hat: his Halloween Costume is now taken care of.

Next we drove to the strip and parked as close as we could to Thomas’ hotel. It took us a while to find a parking spot, and the lot was intended for customers only so we went inside and bought a pack of gum for the flight home. The security guard talked with us and said it was ok for us to park there while we walked around for a bit. We only had half an hour before we needed to leave.

None of us are big fans of Las Vegas. It’s just not our style, but that’s where his hotel was and Thomas wanted to see the Bellagio Water Show (his roommates weren’t interested). It was a close walk, and the show went on every 30 minutes.

We found a TAC military store, which was great because Thomas’ initials are TAC

And of course took a picture by the Eiffel Tower and had to quote Gru: “We stole the Statue of Liberty – the small one, from Las Vegas! I won’t even mention the Eiffel Tower… also Vegas.”

We ended the day at the Bellagio water show, which was only 3 minutes long but a highlight of the day. The kids and I sat on the fence to watch it. We were all impressed, and I’m sure Thomas will go again to see it before he leaves.

Goodbyes are always hard. We walked back to the car, Thomas gathered up all his gear (new clothes, costume, leftover cinnamon roll from breakfast) and we hugged goodbye, not sure when we’d see each other again. It could be months or even years. I need to find a way to get to Alaska to visit him…

My favorite part about the day was being together. I loved seeing the kids laughing and joking and having fun!

The flight home was uneventful. Emily and I both tried to sleep but that’s more difficult than it sounds on a plane. Vegas is beautiful from far away

Emily had a lot of homework to do this weekend she wasn’t able to get done and she didn’t get a lot of sleep, but I believe bringing her to see her brother was more than justified: we may not see Thomas again for another few years and my kids are all best friends. It was so cool seeing them interact together: I only wish Rebecca could have made the trip as well.

When we got home Emily had tons of homework to do, but since it was 2am I told her to go to bed. The next day she was anxious because she had a lot of homework to catch up on. I told her to explain to her teachers it was a last minute trip to see her brother who’s stationed in Alaska and who she might not see again for a few years. She’s in honors classes and doesn’t think her teachers will buy it, but she’s also a good student and I think they’ll be lenient this one time…

Shark Diving

Shark Diving – June 9, 2018

As we were planning this trip to Hawaii last March, I came across an ad for shark diving. I’ve been on a reef dive with sharks before, but it’s always been on my bucket list to swim with sharks in the open ocean. I did some research, and unfortunately the only island in Hawaii that did shark diving was Oahu, and we were staying on the big island.

I’ve always loved sharks, and it seems my kids do too. When I was younger I’d wanted to be an Ichthyologist for a while, my goal being to study sharks and teaching people not to be afraid of them. When I was I the 3^rd grade I checked out the same book every time my class went to the school library: a black and white book on sharks written by Jacques Cousteau.

I told the kids about it, and they were all extremely excited with the idea in general, so I decided to crunch some numbers to see if I could make it work. If I used all of my hotel points from work and we brought our own food on the airplane it was doable. It meant leaving a day early and island hopping, but it was something we all really wanted to do and I hate to miss this type of opportunity, so I booked the tickets and made it my graduation gift to Thomas. The only thing to decide now was which company to go through.

There were several to choose from, but the deciding factor was the shark cage. Only one company didn’t require a cage, and it was important to us we went on a free dive (no cage). This company also put a huge emphasis on education and conservation, so we went with One Ocean Diving.

After a very late arrival the night before we woke up in Honolulu. This was Hawaii as I’d never experienced it before: a big city. Everyone seemed to be in a hurry and there was no Aloha spirit here. There were excessive signs with instructions (from closing windows to only 20 minutes on exercise equipment to no parking and security had to be asked before attempting to do anything).

Our first stop was a Starbucks, which was inside of a hotel. There was no parking, and we got into a bit of an argument with the valet guy before solving the parking situation by sending in one person at a time to get their coffee while the rest of us stayed in the car. This meant we were in the area a lot longer than was necessary, but it got the valet attendant to stop yelling at us.

We’d secured a rental car for the day and were about halfway across the island on our way to see the sharks when my phone rang. I only answered it because it was a Hawaiian number.

They were sorry, but they were going to have to re-schedule our tour because the current and wind were too strong today. How did tomorrow look for us?

Ah!!!!! No! This was the ONLY day we could do this, as our flight left at 7pm tonight to bring us to another island. I begged and pleaded with them to see what they could do to get us in, letting them know we were strong swimmers and pretty adventurous. The person on the other end said they’d talk with the captain and call me back.

I drove to the north shore anyway, just in case we were still able to do this, but it honestly didn’t look good. I’ve never known a company to cancel a tour unless they absolutely had to. We arrived 30 minutes before we were supposed to board and headed to the kiosk to see what was up. They agreed to take us out today to see some sharks, but we would have to leave an hour later than we’d scheduled and we’d be going to a different location. But we’d still see sharks! We were thrilled!

This meant we had an extra hour to do something with. We walked up and down the small town window shopping, and then went to a small beach. We actually found a few pieces of sea glass here.

We were anxious, so we walked back to the place where we were planning on meeting our boat and sat and watched the other boats pull in.

Woohoo! It was finally our turn to go! When the boat pulled up I could see why they were so worried: it wasn’t very big. It would be easy for the Pono Kai to be pushed around in the current or with strong waves. We had 3 crew members on board and just the 4 of us diving, so it was like having a private charter. The captain took us about 4 miles off shore while we all applied sunscreen and had a safety briefing. They told us what kids of behaviors to look out for, and what different behaviors and postures meant.

We donned our flippers and snorkel gear, and one by one walked down the ladder and into the water.

I let the kids go first. As soon as we entered the water we were asked to hold onto the rope on the side of the boat until we were all in, and then two at a time could go swim with the sharks. It was very important we stayed near the boat because the current was strong. Heading in was a surreal experience!

As soon as I was in the water I looked down and immediately saw a shark below me. I’d been expecting to feel fear or some other strong emotion but I only felt calm. I positioned myself in the water so I could float and watch for a bit. Very soon more sharks became visible, and they began swimming closer and closer. It was obvious they were swimming in a column. I could only see about 80 feet down, but I saw several rows of sharks at each depth.

The whole experience was peaceful and even a bit calming. The sharks were Galapagos Sharks, anywhere from 6-10 feet in length. As time went on they became more curious, some coming pretty close to us. If I held onto the side of the boat and floated with my body parallel to the water a shark would swim directly underneath me. This shark was sizing me up to see if I was a predator. I enjoyed watching the shark move from side to side back and forth. It was like they were floating instead of swimming (like I was).

Every once in a while I’d change my position and be surprised to see another shark right next to me.

I didn’t just stay to the side of the boat however. I also dove down to actually swim with the sharks. Since I only had snorkel gear I could only dive down about 20 feet, but it was still a really neat experience to be surrounded by sharks. Every time I turned around I’d see more.

In the beginning of one dive I came up to ask the captain a question but didn’t get the chance: “Head gear on and face in the water!” he shouted to me before I could say anything. Oh yeah, right, this was dangerous. Head back down and in the water it was.

The most difficult part about this dive was indeed the current. Every time I dove down I’d come back up about 40 feet away from the boat, and I’d have to swim against the current to make it back to safety. This became tiring quickly, but it was and expected inconvenience and worth it to dive down and swim with the sharks. We had at least a dozen sharks swimming around us.

The kids seemed to enjoy the experience as well. They weren’t scared, and took turns diving with the sharks. Check out Rebecca!

Emily liked hanging onto the back of the boat, which was really the best and least physically taxing position to see the sharks: they liked riding in the boat’s wake. She commandeered this position for most of the trip, and we all envied her for it.

Thomas was all over the water, taking dozens of dives and making the most of his experience.

We were in the water for over an hour, and when our time was up it really seemed like it was over all too soon.

On the boat ride back I discussed the experience with the kids. They’d loved it! I asked them if they ever felt afraid or scared, and they did not. They also said if they ever found themselves in the water with a shark unexpectedly they wouldn’t be afraid. Woohoo! The excursion was a success!

Side note: I paid extra for the photo package (quite a bit extra) and it was totally worth it! I was told I’d get about 100 photos of everyone together and the sharks, and they couldn’t guarantee equal numbers of photos of everyone. It took them 3 days to get me the photos, and when they came I was delighted to find out they’d taken 760 photos! Woohoo! They came unedited, but that didn’t matter. They got some great shots! If you decide to use One Ocean Diving, get the photo package, you won’t be disappointed!!!

When it was over we came back to the dock and saw someone sawing up a Marlin they’d just caught. That was pretty cool. We made our way to the restrooms and took a bird bath in the sink before heading back to the airport and our flight to Hawaii.