Here and There Blog

It's a giant ground sloth! No wonder they took to trees instead, much safer in the long run.  The ancestor of Jaws  The lobby area of the museum Dinosaurs on the ground, dinosaurs above. With 60 complete skeletons you have to look every where. The museum even hosts sleepovers and offer various hands-on learning activities.

A hands-on, user friendly dinosaur exhibit awaits you at Thanksgiving Point, Utah. Located in Lehi it's only a 15/20 minute drive south of Salt Lake City. As you walk through the museum, a range of dinosaurs are there from the common ones we've all heard of to ones that haven't made their way into movies or our imagination.  This guy we all know. But no danger here!  A giant ground dwelling sloth!  That's Mr. Eremotherium to you and me.  Going to Utah and like dinosaurs? http://www.thanksgivingpoint.org/learn/museum_of_ancient_life/exhibits.html

Or no rest for the weary. Being on the road is great. Work cuts you some slack since you're far off and extra busy with big picture stuff. But once back home, it's the land of 1000 details waiting and all of them urgent/asap/need yesterday. It's taken 4 solid days to get 900 of them under control. But as I think about where I wish I was (on safari in Kenya) and where I just was (Riobamba, Ecuador) I found this photo. And it made me wonder - how was it possible that a tent shower with hand pulled water buckets, in the middle of no-where, could give me a wonderful HOT shower and yet at a basic hotel in a city, hot water was almost non-existent?

OMG and this is in Carlsbad! After 6 weeks in the theaters, I decided I wanted to see The Hunger Games last night. Secret Theater had it at 7:30 and the new Cinepolis in La Costa had it at 5:00 pm. I hadn't been to the La Costa theater since the rebuild so I decided to check it out.  First sign of trouble, nice plush seats in a waiting area where the old box office used to be. Second sign of trouble, a bazillion employees. Fatal sign, $19.50 please! Well I was there. What you get for $19.50 is to choose your own seat. That's great if your group arrives together not so great if you are buying separate and planning to meet. Seats are big and plush, aisles are wide. Less seats means less people so that's why you pay for two.  Theater ushers now double as waiters and take food orders and bring it to you. That means lots of walking, stalking, and talking going on around you. Luckily for me, Hunger Games was way over 2 hours so I got my money's worth and stubbornly stuck a...

It's Saturday somewhere between 4 and 5 pm. To me, it's a cold, wet day and not one I want to be outside in. To the people who live here, it's a day off from school and work and this is life. The children don't mind the rain as they play outside their home. Waiting for a ride. If you don't get the bus, hitchhiking is the other transportation method  There's always fresh pork if you're hungry It's raining. I can't decide if all the laundry is optimism or if everyone is used to wet clothes?  Ah, in case you missed the first opportunity, more fresh pork!

This area of Ecuador is beautiful. The drive, while half the time you think you're about to be head crashed by the on-coming cars swerving around blind curves to pass trucks, the other time you stare at the mountains and jungle for their beauty. Starting at 9,000 feet the road takes a steep elevation incline before you begin the two hour drive to get back to sea level. At times the fog is so dense that you can't see the car in front of you. This is when drivers decide to pass on the blind corners without the headlights on.  More fog as we go from mountain top to the jungle climate.  And near the lower part of the drive all the downhill rain and run-off leads to the river. This was the reverse drive, Riobamba to Guayaquil. I recommend doing this drive in daylight. The road is sometimes washed out, rarely has legitimate passing lanes and everyone is passing into oncoming traffic anyway.

Broken glass and barb wire. You see rows of it on the walls around homes, businesses, and even our hotel garage. Making the most of recycling but don't walk barefoot around the walls.

Riobamba has more than enough fog, rain, and clouds. As I mentioned earlier there is a large volcano (Chimborazo) nearby. I've only glimpsed it once and if I hadn't seen it, I would have not believed it existed. Same for this church and grove of trees that is right in the center of Riobamba. My window looks right at it but this escaped my notice until day 11. Wow, have I already been here 11 days?

Both Riobamba and Guano have clown heads on top of most of the trashcans. I've seen a few variations but clown is the most popular. Gaudi inspired tilework in the park. I'm not sure if he's falling down drunk or playing. And a place to sit if needed.

An old stone sculpture up on the hill The entrance into Guano. The main street has several shops featuring hand woven rugs and you can watch the women as they weave the rugs on the looms.  Another church, still in use Hey! Guano has it's own version of Zorb balls although you stay dry and propel yourself in the water.

The church of Franciscana de las Asuncion and Monastery date from 1550 - 1560. Located in Guano they are part of the tourism in the city, mainly for the mummy of one of the Franciscan monks. Sadly, the day I was there the museum was closed and it was no mummy for me. The ruins still contain a wall fresco, though faded and a few statues.  

In contrast to the nice, safe looking Teleferico in Quito, the one in Guano seemed dubious and on my own, I would have never entered. But half the group wanted to go up and we had nothing better to do, so we climbed on in.  The car even creaks. Notice the laundry drying out behind the car.  And off it goes! Me at the entrance. Walking on gravel to what looked like a partially abandoned building. I'm smiling because we are off that ride!

Riobamba, Ecuador - it's been cloudy all week but right before sunset the sky cleared a bit. I didn't even know that I had this view until today!

Corn country with the corn queen on top of a silkworm and to the right  - corn. After the last hour of solid mountain driving we arrive in Riobama. At 9,000 feet we are all having our ears pop and going through altitude acclimatization. So far Riobamba has statues or busts of military generals on many of the intersections. This sculpture (no sign, so no idea what it represents) was along on of the roads.  Then we passed a military installation. This wins for favorite sculpture so far! Glad to be here after the drive.

Reaching the base of the mountains, the towns start to change in character. Compared to what we'd seen this was a happening place. One of the hazards of driving is all the dogs that are running in the road. Another hazard are the rock slides.  Moving more into nowhere, Andean families walk along the road to/from school and work.  Homes in the valley. The banana plantations have given way to corn fields.  The road stretches on. This was one of the few times we weren't stuck behind a truck.  The map will show this as an easy 3 hour drive. It took us almost 4 and on traffic days it can be up to 5 hours. Tomorrow - the final hour

Rainy season has turned brown dust bowls to tropical vegetation with new rivers and lakes. Once you get out of Guayaquil and start the drive to the mountains you see the usual houses along the roadside. Even a church or two pops up among the banana trees.  Many of these dwelling double up as roadside fruit stands, fresh from the fields. This stall had a good variety of fruit that looked colorful and fresh.  Moving out of the banana trees, the landscape turns to rivers within the valleys. Tomorrow - Second hour of the drive.