613 Pictures

Each state we've entered, we've read the Wikipedia entry for, which has been so much fun. We've learned about the mottos, demonyms (look it up!), state dances, and more; we've learned about all the famous people who were born or lived in those states; we've learned state capitols and vital statistics and economic drivers and histories of each one-- it's been great.

We arrived last night back in suburban Chicago after a mad dash across the country in six days. Last Friday, August 20, we reluctantly left the Left Coast, passed through Portland to pick up a few items we'd left there (subconscious desire to return), stopped in Pendleton, OR for ice cream, and stopped in Boise, ID for the night.

The next day we visited a great craft/farmer's market in downtown Boise, and then headed to the Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument. We stopped there at the National Fishery that raises one million steelhead each year that they then release into the Idaho River.

This was a particularly fascinating place to me, even though there's not a ton to see. That the place even exists is interesting; pretty cool that there's an effort to replenish the ecosystem destroyed by the damming of rivers. I also think a lot about industrial fisheries and have wondered what they look like-- now, I have an inkling.

At Hagerman itself, the little visitor's center turned out to be the most interesting part: it's the only place in the park where you can actually see fossils! Visitors are really only permitted to see much of the rest of the massive park from look out points and roads; we did see the remains of the ruts caused by wagon trains from pioneers on the Oregon Trail and read about those brave souls. Little did we know that the day after we visited, three quarters of the park would burn in a forest fire!

We ended the day in Salt Lake City, walking around the Temple by night,and saw some spectacular fireworks from the State Fair. Sorry once again that we didn't have more time to explore this interesting town. We thought about attending the performance of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, but Lev didn't quite make their minimum age, so we listened to the live broadcast on the radio on the way out of town!

Sunday, August 21, we drove to the spectacular Arches National Park, where we hiked around the North and South Windows, Turret Arch, and Double Arch, and took some great pictures of "The Three Gossips," "Park Avenue," and "Balanced Rock." What an incredible place... and we basically just happened on it as we glanced at the map a few days before looking for potentially interesting things to see. On the way out of the park, we chose to drive the long route on scenic route 128, which follows the Colorado River for more than 40 miles. It was another stunningly beautiful drive, and along the way we found Big Bend Bouldering area, a well-known place for rock climbers to practice their craft; we all tried out our skills and had a lot of fun.

We had dinner in Grand Junction, and drove into Aspen in the dark, arriving at a beautiful condo that some wonderful friends generously offered for us to use. We all collapsed, exhausted from another great day.

Monday the 23rd, we awoke to look out on the spectacular view of Aspen Mountain from our balcony. We headed to the Silver Queen gondolas to ride up the 3,000 feet to the top, where there were all kinds of fun kids activities. After a bit, it started to rain, so we went into the Sundeck to eat lunch and wait out the weather. When the rain stopped, we headed back down to town. We drove from there to Aspen Highlands. We took a shuttle from there to Maroon Bells park, site of stunning scenery-- some of the most photographed scenery in America, apparently, and we could see why. Heading back into town, we had dinner at Boogie's Diner, and ordered our milk shakes extra-thick. Back at the condo, the boys and I had a late night swim, and then warmed ourselves by the fireplace poolside-- what a great way to end the day!

On Tuesday, the boys surprised us by making breakfast. We poked around town for a bit, and then headed to Basalt, CO to see David Segal and Rollin Symmons. (David was our student rabbi for the past two years, and David and his wife were just hired to be the rabbi/cantor team at the Aspen Jewish Congregation.) We saw their beautiful new home, and had a great lunch at a local Mexican place. They showed us the library which has the best view in the world, and told us about a great playground where the boys let off some steam. We came back to Aspen, stopped by the synagogue for a little tour, ate some gelato at Paradise Bakery, and then went on a lovely hike on the Rio Grande Trail near the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies. We reconnected with David and Rollin for dinner at Little Annie's, then back to Paradise for more gelato (hey- we're on vacation!), and then brought them back to the condo for wine and more chatting-- it was terrific to see them and see their great new digs.

On August 25th we left Aspen, driving over Independence Pass at over 12,000 feet. We actually "lost" 11,000 feet as we ended the day in Omaha, NE at around 1,000 feet above sea level! On the way, we saw a marmot and a prong-horned antelope. We stopped in North Platte, NE at the Golden Spike Visitor's Center and Observation Tower-- the Bailey Yard of the Pacific Railroad-- in short, the world's largest rail yard. It was quite impressive; we all love trains, and this was a train-yard on steroids-- 8 miles long and 2 miles wide! The observation deck is staffed by volunteer train buffs who will talk your ear off about everything happening with the yard.

Thursday, we passed through Iowa-- our 18th and final new state on what will soon be 7,600 mile journey. Looking at a map, it didn't seem that there would be much to see along the road; what I really wanted to do was to see the Field of Dreams movie site, but it was simply too far off of Route 80. Elyssa located the National Balloon Museum and Hall of Fame, where we saw some cool hot air balloon related gear and memorabilia, and we also met some very nice people who told us about 10 more things we should see in Iowa-- turns out, there ARE things to see in this state; we'll have to come back. We had a dinner date to make with my mom back in Chicago!

Today we spent the penultimate day of the journey chilling in Chi-town-- got a long overdue oil change for the car, got hairs-cut for all the boys, took a lovely walk around Lake Katherine had dinner with my my aunt, my cousin and his kids. We just needed a relaxing day before the last long-haul-- 12 hours of driving to New Jersey tomorrow. We wanted to show my mom the pictures from our trip, so we took the SD card from our camera to Walgreen's to get the pics put on a CD. Turns out it took 3 CDs for all of them and, incredibly, randomly, there were a total of 613 pictures from the farm, camp, and our trip-- a very fortuitous Jewish number!

I've run out of superlatives to describe this journey, and this first summer of my sabbatical generally-- I know I've overused them all. It must be time for me to go back home, and to return to the work I love so much. I think it will truly take some time for all of these experiences to sink in, but I do feel renewed and refreshed for that great work and life that we've built these last 9+ years. Elyssa and I will celebrate our 18th wedding anniversary on September 6, and I am so thrilled that now more than half of those years have been spent in greater-Mahwah. I am immensely grateful for this time away, and will look forward to the second half in Jerusalem next summer, and I also feel blessed to be where I am in my life, both personally and professionally.

My staff gave me a bunch of parting gifts on my way out in May, but the one I've cherished most of all are a pair of little sparkly pink shoes. They told me that I should remember that "there's no place like home." After 6 weeks in a tent, 2 weeks at camp, and 4 weeks sleeping in some 14 different beds, I can honestly say that I'm ready to click those heels!