Amboy Crater

Just three or four hours east of the Los Angeles area is a quiet dark sky site great for car camping overnight, to view meteor showers or just general stargazing, as well as a unique and uncrowded hike into and/or around a volcanic crater.

Note: I hiked here alone, and it is NOT recommended to hike alone. I am an experienced hiker and was equipped with two means of communicating and several survival items as well as plenty of water and snacks. I do not recommend hiking alone.

I first went with my friend Nadine in October 2023 and we watched the Orionids. It was very hot when we arrived, but cooled down with the sunset and we were comfortable to slightly chilly as we sat and watched fireballs streak across the sky. The information online had mixed messages as to whether it was okay to car camp at the primary trailhead parking lot, but that's what we did and it seemed fine. There was also a man in a small RV and a couple who rolled in late and set up camp, so we weren't alone. I preferred camping there to the overflow parking lot, which the online info consistently says is ok, because there were toilets at the main parking lot. No running water, though, so be sure to always have hand sani or wipes for bathroom breaks. 

 

In the morning, I was hoping to do some hiking but Nadine wasn't up for it. So I told her I'd just go a little ways and come back, not wanting to leave her in the heat with nothing to do for too long. Since I could see that nobody had left their vehicles yet in the parking lot, it occurred to me that I was quite totally alone on the hike. I'm used to hiking on trails where there are definitely people ahead and behind me, and people coming back would be passing me. The eerie feeling of loneliness and the peril of hiking alone was exhilarating and creepy. I never really felt in danger, with two cell phones on different carriers (personal and work) and knowing Nadine was at the trailhead - certainly if something happened to me I could either contact her or she would eventually come out after me if I didn't return. Still, it was neat to feel like I was the only one on the trail. Of course, I had no idea if people had started after me, and sure enough, I did see people as I returned. Even though it was pleasant when I left the trailhead, it got hotter quickly and I made it only about 3/4 of a mile before turning back, and it got very hot by the time I returned. 

 

Since then, I'd been wanting to return when the weather was nicer to do the full hike. I got the chance a couple days ago (camping on Jan 5 and hiking the morning of Jan 6) - purposefully planning it when the moon was minimal and also would rise late in hopes of also seeing the Milky Way as I set up camp and relaxed under the stars. It wasn't as spectacular as the best Milky Way pictures, but sure enough I did see it faintly, and I got a couple decent pictures with my cell phone of Orion's Belt and other stars. 

Because it was cooler, I didn't do my full hatch-tent setup to let the outside air into my car. Instead, I slept in it fully enclosed, but with a view out the top through my sunroof. I was mostly comfortable until about 3 or 4 am when I started to get very cold, and I turned my car on temporarily to heat the cabin a bit. I woke up around 7 am as the sun was rising, and while it was still quite chilly, it was so beautiful I was ready to get going. I had a small, quick breakfast in my camping chair enjoying the view but sitting still was making me too cold, so I cut it short in favor of starting the hike. It was 40° when I started, and I layered two sweatshirts over my tank top, knowing that I'd like remove one or both sweatshirts as I hiked, and it was easier to wrap them around my waist than deal with a bulky jacket. 

The hike to the crater is very easy, with a bench at about half a mile (0.47 mi by my tracker) and another "last chance" bench at the end of the easy part, 1.1 miles from the trailhead. Most of the terrain is packed dirt and sand with sporadic lava rocks, but there are also patches of very loose sand and dirt, much like walking on the beach. There is next to nothing as far as elevation change. There is also zero shade, so be prepared to be blasted by the sun. If you're still a Pokemon GO player like me, there are Pokemon on the trail and a stop at the last chance bench!

After the second bench, the hike gets exciting as you wind your way up onto the side of the crater and up and over into it. A half mile past the bench, at 1.6 miles from the trailhead, is a three-pronged fork at which you can go straight to basically head directly into the middle of the crater, or go left or right which will take you in a loop around the rim of the crater to the highest point just under 1000 feet. The Crater Trail taking you into the center is much more moderate and less dangerous, and affords a spectacular 360 view at a saddle point. If you turned around and went back from there, I'd say you thoroughly did the hike and saw what there is to see.

For more advanced hikers with confidence in their ankle strength, the Crater Rim Loop offers a steep change in elevation and unobstructed views from the top. I ended up taking the Crater Trail first and then continuing to the other side of the meteor, making my way up to the Crater Rim Loop. At the top, I had trouble deciding which way to turn, but ultimately turned right to hit the highest peak of the hike. I had to be very careful with my foot placement and took my time both going up and down, while along the rim it was fairly easy going. On the way down, I stopped for a snack to recharge and ensure I had enough energy and strength not to slip, especially since I was by myself. 

 

 

On my way down, I finally saw other people on the trail for the first time. Many of them did not have water. Please, people, do NOT go hiking in the desert without water!! Even in the winter, it is very dry and you need to stay hydrated. After making my way down from the crater rim, it was easy going headed back on the same and only trail back to the parking lot. It was about 50° by then so I stripped down to my tank top and had both sweatshirts around my waist - stylish, I know! With the very light breeze, it was perfect hiking weather. I really enjoyed myself but was pretty beat when I finally got back to my car. Luckily, I didn't have much to pack up so I was able to use the bathroom once more and then get on the road home. (And I got home just in time to do Pokemon Go Community Day on my couch - LOL!)

It was a great first adventure for the new year! I nearly procrastinated on going, but so glad I pushed myself to do it. It was just an evening and morning - hardly a big time investment relative to the joy and peace I got from it.

Recommendations for Amboy Crater

• Set up camp just before sunset and enjoy the stars
• Bring a headlamp as it is very dark and you'll especially want your hands free when going to the bathroom
• Bring hand sani or wipes for using the bathroom
• The bugs (specifically, tiny, little flies) are incessant at night - you may want to bring bug spray and/or a face net and have weather-appropriate clothes that cover as much as possible
• Bring good hiking shoes with ankle support - lots of opportunities to twist an ankle on the hike
• Bring a hat, sun screen, and lots of water! At least 2 liters of water per person is recommended. Even in the winter, the desert is dry and you need to replace the water you're losing as you hike.
• Give yourself a few hours to hike it before sunset - you don't want to be caught out there in the dark!

Christmas Letter 2018

Dear beloved friends and family,
I can't believe the year is already winding down! For Jaiman, Carly and I, this has been another year of big changes and big blessings, through another fantastic international vacation, a big move, new jobs, a hundred-year hurricane, and the outpouring of support to recover. 
We started the year off still living in Stamford, CT where Henkel had moved us to in June 2017.  From our nearby train station, we were able to get into Manhattan in about 50 minutes on the express train.  We took full advantage of our proximity to the Big Apple, from seeing Broadway shows including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Dear Evan Hansen (not to mention off-Broadway shows like Spamilton), to taking in the sites (and eats!!) of New York City.  We also used our location in the Northeast as a launching point for some fantastic road trips, including a very cold Ice Wine Festival in Canada in January! In April, we road tripped up to Bethlehem, New Hampshire for a maple sugaring experience that was truly magical, swinging through Vermont on the way back to stop by a favorite brewery of mine (Magic Hat) and a little ice cream maker called Ben & Jerry's.

We weathered the cold for maybe a bit too late into what should have been spring, but enjoyed walking around downtown Stamford, and we made some good friends through our Pokemon Go community. We had a great time when both my sisters and all three kids came to visit, treating them to the amazingness that is hot oil pizza (a CT special), doing Tim Tam Slams, visiting Stew Leonard's and a daytrip to NYC for off-Broadway shows and other touristy adventures. We also hosted my parents and took them to both Yale and NYC, although I think my Dad's favorite two things were the Black Raspberry Ice Water ("It's the perfect drink!") and hot oil pizza ("This is the pizza I always dreamed of but didn't know existed,") we introduced him to. We definitely made the most of our time in CT, and dearly miss a few aspects of it (like said hot oil pizza), but we knew long ago that we'd be moving back to warmer climates as soon as the right opportunity came. 

In May, I had two such great opportunities presented to me.  I first flew to Dallas to interview with a dairy processing company for a job very similar to what I was already doing (Demand Management).  I got to have dinner with Jaiman's sister, ReAnne, and we talked about the possibility of us moving to Dallas.  I already had a flight booked to Florida when the offer came, but I was able to put making a decision off at least long enough to see what the aerospace company in Florida was all about.  I flew to Panama City, Florida and interviewed with a VP whom I had enjoyed working with 10 years ago at Honeywell, and a GM who also had come from Honeywell.  The job would be a HUGE challenge - building and managing the entire end-to-end supply chain for a greenfield site (basically, there was nothing in place yet).  Panama City was not exactly the location we had in mind when we considered moving to Florida, but it had some beautiful beaches that won me over. On my way home, I sat next to a local on the plane, and asked him about hurricanes. His words assured me, "That devastation you see on the news, that only happens to that area once every hundred years. So unless you plan to be here for a hundred years, chances are you'll never see that."  Without a second offer yet, I turned down the offer in Dallas. My risk was rewarded, I got the offer from GKN Aerospace Florida, and the gears started turning. 

The timing of the move was a bit awkward, because we had planned a European cruise and vacation with my sister and nephew. So Jaiman flew to Panama City Beach to look for our new home while I wrapped things up at work, and I ended up leaving my job prior to the vacation. The realtor loved the worksheets I sent Jaiman with based on my initial search online, but ultimately, it was Jaiman who did a great job finding a beautiful new construction house for us in a private beach community very near where all the action is.

Jaiman and I met up with Matthew and Christy in Venice, Italy.  I think Venice was my favorite European city; it just seemed like every direction you can look is a fresh, picturesque view.  We took a train from Venice to Rome where we stayed a night before checking into our cruise.  The cruise took us to a number of other Italian cities before heading to France and finishing in Barcelona, Spain.The highlight for me in Spain was La Sagrada Familia, it was absolutely breathtaking! From there, we flew to Paris and really nailed the tourist thing as well as visiting Disneyland. We checked a number of things off my Life List during our trip, including a gondola ride, walking the ruins of Pompeii, going to the top of the Eiffel Tower, and visiting the Coliseum. It was my and Jaiman's first time in Europe, and Jaiman's first time on a cruise.
Back in CT, we made our final preparations to move and had a few goodbye meals with our friends from Henkel and the Pokemon Go community, before making our way down south. I started my new job at GKN as Supply Chain Manager on July 16, and was already flying for work the following Monday. In fact, because I was traveling when our new house was ready, Jaiman got a great hand workout as he signed the closing documents for our house!

Since being in Florida, we've enjoyed not only swimming at the beach, often accompanied by the friendly fish, but also having dinner regularly at the many beachside restaurants, watching the sunset over the crystal clear water and clean, white "sugar" sand. Most places have some kind of a sunset celebration, either a sunset cannon or sunset bell, etc., and I like that they find a reason to celebrate something as regular as a sunset. It feels worlds away from the chaotic, maddening traffic and honking and screaming from downtown Stamford, and while work is hard, I can come home to a beautiful home and a beautiful beach.

Of course, you already know that our beautiful home and beautiful beach were threatened by what started as a tropical storm that was vaguely on my radar as I prepared to travel again. It became a hurricane with mandatory evacuation for our area while I was on the plane in Atlanta waiting to take off towards Kansas for work, and I was frantically trying to figure out what to do to help. It was terrifying and crazy stressful, but I did what I could to get organized so Jaiman could evacuate efficiently. I felt awful that I wasn't there to help him put up the hurricane shutters and secure our things, but he managed it and got out in plenty of time. He ended up evacuating to Mississippi, and my plant in Florida was shut down while I continued working in Kansas and bracing to see what would happen to our area. I was mentally preparing myself to have lost everything other than our lives, as our family and the whole country seemed to be anxiously watching the news of Hurricane Michael. When I was done in Kansas, I couldn't fly back to Panama City because the airport was closed, so I flew to Mississippi and joined Jaiman and Carly. The devastation was terrible in some parts, but within about four days I was getting info from our beach community about our neighborhood specifically, and it seemed as though we were very fortunate. The power provider map showed that our neighborhood had electricity!

So, we loaded up with supplies in Mississippi, and made our way back, ensuring we kept our tank pretty well topped off with gas. We took the route recommended by my neighbors, and after checking our IDs at the checkpoint, the police let us through to get home. We got home with plenty of sunlight to inspect things, and were relieved to see virtually no damage. We took the hurricane shutters down, and called it a night. We had power, but no cell service, internet or TV, and the water was about half-on and non-potable. When our Publix grocery store re-opened, they had trucks in the parking lot loaded with bottles of water and ice and were encouraging people to take as much as they wanted for free. Things started recovering slowly in the following days, but we continued under curfew and boil water notice for weeks.

We re-opened my plant, and most people returned to work, the remaining few were dealing with more severe personal situations. Many of our colleagues were displaced or living with no running water, and we offered hot showers, our guest rooms, food and bottled water and gas. FEMA set up near my work with camp sites, and the school across the street from our house became a shelter with mobile laundry and mobile shower units. In November, things started to get back to normal, but here I am a couple days into December, and I feel like it's still October because we lost so much time recovering. What continues to impress me, though, is the absolute outpouring of support from our global GKN family, from local businesses, from visitors, you name it. We were well prepared when we came back, and we didn't need anything, but we could have gotten whatever we needed. We were blessed, indeed!
One of the major reasons we wanted to move to Florida was for all the theme parks, especially Disney, in Orlando. So not too long after the hurricane, we decided to get out of town for the weekend and visit Disney World for the first time - for both of us - since we each had been in high school. We got to go to EPCOT's Food and Wine Festival, ride Space Mountain and get a lift on the monorail. It was a short but productive first trip, and we're looking forward to many more!

Well, that about wraps up our year to date! We are looking forward to having Christy and Matthew come to Florida for Christmas, hitting the parks again soon, and starting another year of adventures in 2019. We hope you have a very Merry Christmas and wish you the best in the New Year!

Cairns & Great Barrier Reef - Aussie Adventure Part 4

Life List Achievement #53 was snorkeling or diving in the Great Barrier Reef, and I was so excited for this focal point of our trip to Australia.  We had attempted scuba certification back in Arizona in the spring, but due to illness, neither of us were able to complete the certification before moving.  I was anxious that we wouldn't be able to enjoy the Great Barrier Reef just by snorkeling, but it turned out, I needn't worry! 

This being such an important part of the trip, I had done a bit of research, and had selected Silverswift for our tour, because it seemed to be one of the faster boats, thus allowing us to see more of the Great Barrier Reef in a single day.  They had scuba and snorkeling options at three different stops along the Outer Reef, plus food for the day.  The weather was beautiful the day we went out, and we hung out on the front of the boat enjoying the wind and the views.  We were provided wet suits, snorkels and masks, and they even had prescription masks, which Jaiman and I took advantage of and were really glad we did so.  On our first trip out, we saw a giant sea turtle, large clams and anemone fish.  The next two stops we also saw large clams and anemone fish as well.  The coral and the fish were so close to us, I couldn't even imagine diving much, since we could see it all from the surface.  Sure there were deeper parts, but I definitely didn't feel like I was missing out by snorkeling.  Lunch was a buffet that was nothing spectacular, but sufficiently good and fulfilling.  On the last stop, there was a guided snorkeling tour during which our guide dove down and covered up the part of the clam that made it sense a predator, and it would close up in reaction.  He also told us about some of the other creatures and critters.  Jaiman and I pretty much maxed out our time at each of the three stops, taking in as much of the beauty as we could - it was really beyond description.  I think the only thing I would have done differently would be to bring my own dry snorkel, because from time to time the snorkel would accidentally go under water and I'd suck seawater, not the end of the world but a dry snorkel is just a little bit better. 

After our two concluded and we were shuttled back to our hotel, we walked around a bit, looking for dinner and Pokemon, and actually found a Corsola which we hadn't anticipated catching in Australia.  We ended up catching two during our time in Cairns, and would have loved to catch more, but were happy with our catches. Just outside the McDonald's was a group of young boys apparently from an Aboriginal tribe performing some of their dances and songs for tips.  We watched them for a bit and tipped them before moving on.  Later, we'd see an Aborginal show that was very much the same dances, so it appeared they were legit.  There was also a fire dancer performance going on, but it was actually kind of silly, so we moved on quickly from that. 

At the time I was booking our trip, I wasn't sure if we'd end up scuba diving or snorkeling, so I had left an extra day after the Great Barrier Reef tour before flying in case we did scuba.  However, that was months prior, and I could barely remember what the next thing on the itinerary was without looking.  Jaiman and I were using TripIt, as we normally do, to track our progress through our vacation.  The one downside to this app was that if you don't book something for a particular day, it just shows the next thing without showing that there was nothing booked on a particular day.  We'd been traveling so long I suppose that we weren't really aware of what day it was.  So, the next thing on our itinerary was a flight to Sydney, so the next morning we packed all our things and tried to check out.  The front desk attendant informed us that we still had another night, and then it dawned on me that I had booked the extra day.  Feeling foolish, we headed back upstairs to figure out what to do with the extra time in Cairns.  On the suggestion of a couple we had brunched with in Melbourne, we used the extra day to visit the rain forest, specifically the Kuranda Village. 

By the time we were up and ready to go, we had apparently missed the train into Kuranda, so I decided we should take an Uber.  Our Uber driver was an absolute delight, and I honestly would have been more than happy to have him just drive us around all day.  He took us up into the rain forest and dropped us off in the Kuranda Village.  We weren't quite sure what it was we wanted to do, but we got our bearings and figured we'd catch the train back to Cairns later that day, and with that, we were on our way to wander the wildlife park of Kuranda.While cuddling a koala had not been on my list of things I had to do, the opportunity presented itself at Kuranda, and I decided it was a great touristy thing to do.  However, it wasn't quite time to hold the koalas when we arrived, so we went to a little wallaby enclosure and fed the wallabies by hand, which was adorable.  Then we went back up to get in line for the koala cuddles, and got our picture taken holding a koala named Yoshi.  We walked around some more, visiting Bird World where all sorts of exotic birds flew around us in close proximity, even landing on Jaiman a couple times (but I was too slow with the camera to capture it). 
When we were happy with our time with the animals, we headed over to the other side of the village for the Aborigine experience at Rainforestation, where we saw a spear throwing demonstration, and a brief introduction to the didgeridoo to start.  Next, we learned how to throw a boomerang and each got at least one chance to try it out with supervision.  Finally, we were ushered into an outdoor theater where they put on a show for us, demonstrating their dances.  With that complete, we caught the shuttle to the train station and boarded the scenic railway that brought us over the mountain and back to Cairns, with one stop for a photo opp overlooking a huge valley and waterfall.  Cairns, you delivered a dream come true, and so much more!  I will never forget my time spent there.  And then we were off to our final destination in Australia, Sydney, where one of the most awkward travel moments of my life awaited us…