A road trip in the time of COVID

Great Wash in Capitol Reef National Park

We were supposed to hike Zion and Bryce National Parks with Road Scholar in April. The trip was, of course, cancelled. It was rescheduled for the end of July. Cancelled again, of course. So my friend Heidi and I decided to explore these parks on our own without the aid of a tour company. And to do it during the pandemic.

Mesa Verde

So after a very enjoyable Labor Day weekend spent with my daughter's family at a resort near Manhattan, Kansas, we headed southwest for a 4000 mile road trip through Kansas, Colorado, Arizona, Utah, Nebraska, and South Dakota that took us two weeks.

The primary activity on the trip was doing hiking in each park we visited (along with the major scenic drives). We hiked Mesa Verde, Zion, Bryce, Red Canyon, Capitol Reef, Arches, Canyonlands, and, for good measure, Blue Mounds State Park in Minnesota on the way home. We were treated to primarily fine weather (some snow and rain on the drive through eastern Colorado going out and a lot of wildfire haze on the way home) and jaw dropping scenery. We stayed in motels and hotels, ate in restaurants, and popped into souvenir shops now and then.

Riverside Trail in Zion

Line waiting for shuttle from Riverside Trail! Most crowded park of our trip.

States varied in their reaction to the pandemic. Colorado and Arizona felt more like Minnesota in their indoor mask mandates and social distancing protocols. In Utah, Kansas, Nebraska, and South Dakota, there was no uniform mask use, even by staff at restaurants. National Parks had shut down many services and areas due to both COVID and a high fire danger in the overly dry West. There were no guided tours or access to ruins in Mesa Verde, the shuttle buses in parks had half the seats removed, and most visitor centers were closed with access to park information usually at tables outside the building. And the park rangers often used rather long pointers to indicate locations on a map.

Hoodoos at Bryce Canyon

Both Heidi and I are part of the "at-risk" 60+ age group when it comes to serious health risks for the coronavirus. So it was not out of denial or carelessness that we made this trip. I'd like to think we took a common sense approach to reducing our exposure to the virus: 

• we chose hotels/motels with outside entrances from the room so we spent little time in lobbies or on elevators
• we wore our masks indoors, regardless of whether others were doing so
• we drove our private vehicle instead of taking mass transit, except when unavoidable
• we maintained our distance when on trails or in public places
• we tried to eat at less busy times of the day, often eating outdoors when the option was available
• we got to the parks early - usually between 6 and 8 - when they were less busy. Not only was it safer, there were always parking spots and not much, if any, wait at the entrance station

Cabins in Kanab

I suppose everyone from the person who has not left their house since March to the motorcycle rider in the middle of the pack at Sturgis, all believe they are taking "the common sense approach" to the pandemic. If neither Heidi nor I contract the disease as a result of these travels, I suppose we will never really know if it was because of precautions we took or just dumb luck. And while there is a possibility that we may have been asymptomatic carriers and unknowingly infected others, most of the folks with whom we interacted chose to be fellow travelers. 

Grand View Trail at dawn in Canyonlands

Anyway, it was a great trip and I am glad we took the risk. I hope I feel the same way if I am on a respirator tomorrow!

Delicate Arch in Arches National Park

Other photos can be found here. 

Habla Espanol?

Old riddle: What do you call a person who speaks multiple languages? A polyglot. What do you call someone who speaks two languages? Bilingual. What do you call a person who speaks only one language? An American.

Buenas dias.
Buenas tardes.
Buenas noches.

Hola, Pacho. Como esta?
Bien, gracias. Y tu?
Bien, pero Luis tien catarro.
Lo siento.

This, as I remember it, was the opening dialog from my Spanish I textbook in 1968. I did not start taking Spanish until I was a junior in high school, having used my elective spot to take Latin as a freshman and driver's education and personal typing as a sophomore. I remember the bulk of my classmates being very pretty freshman girls. Ancient Nellie Kingfield, who also taught Latin and knew Caesar himself, was our instructor. Her classroom had a slightly elevated stage in the back. We often shared our learning my writing on the board, conjugating verbs, etc., and giving short performances. I actually did quite well and took Spanish II as a senior. I scored high on national Spanish exams.

I did not use my Spanish for over 20 years. Finally, I got to practice some of my Spanish when in Mexico on vacation now and again. However what was once a fairly good grasp of grammar, sentence structure, vocabulary, and even a few idiomatic expressions had devolved into very rudimentary "Tarzan" speech. "Me go swim" "Me want water." "Me talk Spanish very little and very bad." Most of the places I traveled, Cozumel, Isla Mujeres, Tulum, were sufficiently touristy that English was widely spoken - thank god. 

After a few days in a Spanish speaking country, I generally find a bit of my high school Spanish returns. Each trip it seems I pick up a couple words or phrases that become mentally embedded. I have enough Spanish, at least, to have impressed my grandsons when visiting Costa Rica last year. (I hope they were impressed.)

Here in the U.S., I make it a habit of embarassing anyone with whom I may be dining by speaking Spanish to the staff in Mexican restaurants. "Dos personas, por favor." "Me gusta mucho, gracias." "Un margarita mas!" "Hasta la vista." One evening I must have been particularly undecipherable so the waitress shot me a look and grumbled, "Just speak English, please!" 

One of my retirement goals is to be a snowbird in a Spanish speaking country for a month or two and while there, take some formal Spanish language classes again. I've never found translation apps on my phone to be particualry effective (could be user error) and I don't have much desire to buy an online language class. But given the opportunity to actually practice in real time what I learn in a class, is appealing. "Dos cervezas muy frio, por favor." "Donde esta el bano?"

Personally, I enjoy hearing the diversity of languages spoken at my YMCA, the grocery store, and along park trails here in Minnesota. As my community adds more people of color with diverse languages and cultures, I'm hoping that my langage skills will improve as well. I still shock Somali folks when I speak my few remembered words of Arabic from my stint in Saudi Arabia. Hamdullah!

Do you value having a second language and how do you practice using it?

Oh, I know I am leaving off diacritical marks from letters and beginning punctuation from Spanish expressions. Not figuring out the keyboard shortcuts to make these on the Chromebook. And please forgive my spelling.