Sunday, September 25, 2005
Bryce Canyon - A Surprise
I always thought that Bryce Canyon Park was nothing but red rock spires and canyons, because that is all you see in pictures. Actually, the park road runs south on a ridgeline covered with pine forests. One striking feature about the forest is that almost all the trees have been burned at one time or another. It’s incredible. The trunk can be burnt black but the tree will still be alive. Some trees die, some do not. The western view is white mountains and valleys covered with pine, but this view is mostly obscured by trees. The eastern side of the road drops off into the canyon lands. The canyons are really a long series of cliff faces. There are several viewing points on top and many trails down into this land.
For the trails, we were told to go down the Wall Street side on the Navajo Loop and then go back up on Queen’s Garden Trail. This would be about 3 miles. The Wall Street side of the trail can be seen from Sunset Point which is just southeast of the park’s main lodge. It looks fascinating, but we were too
tired from our last two days of walking to attempt it.The trail descends sharply in a series of smooth-pathed switchbacks that are surrounded by dozens of closely packed rock spires. Apparently the trail leads through these down to the canyon floor. From there you pick up the Queen’s Garden Trail, which meanders north and then west with a gradual ascent to the canyon rim again.
Instead of going for a hike, Mark and I took the road and stopped at all the overlooks. We took many pictures, then went to the lodge. The Bryce Canyon Lodge, grounds and cabins are absolutely beautiful western architecture. The blue-green shingled roofs are done in a wavy pattern, and the cabins are log and stone. The peaked roof inside ours was made with huge bark logs and smooth roof boards. It had a working gas fireplace, which we enjoyed very much that evening. Little cement paths wind through the cabins, which sit in a pine grove.
We ate lunch at the lodge. The salad bar, which included taco fixings, was excellent. It was a beautiful, cloudless day, but the temperature here is colder. The highest point in the park is 9,100 feet. We wore jackets most of the time. Instead of dinner, we sat outside on our cabin porch with drinks and snacks and enjoyed the view of the other cabins under the pine tree forest. Later, we went inside near the fireplace. This is one of the most beautiful places we stayed on our trip.
Sunday, September 11, 2005
Angel's Landing, No Water. See God!
Arrived at Zion, fantastic scenery going up to Zion Lodge. We had a great room with a balcony overlooking the front lawn area of the lodge. There were deer grazing there in the evening.
Our first trail attempt was Angel's Landing, 5 miles round-trip and 1,500 feet high. About 10:00 AM we took the shuttle bus (no cars allowed) up to the trail start. The trail runs along a beautiful flat river valley and then starts snaking up the rocky base of the mountain. The mountain was on the west side of the valley in the sun and was already starting to get hot. We soon realized that we didn't have enough water, but I was stubborn and wanted to continue on.
The pathway's kind of comical for someone from Michigan. First of all, it's paved, and second, there are no railings. It does make sense to pave it, though, because millions of people walk the trail. The trail
was full when we were there. Another thing we noticed was the number of foreigners in both the national parks we've been to. Tons of Germans, I mean tons! Orientals also, but not as many.After several switchbacks up the base of the mountain, we came to a pathway through a narrow cravase which ran from the front of the mountain to the back. It was in shade at the time (about 11:00) and fairly level, so it was a welcome break. Then up the mountain again, with more switchbacks. One is a serpentine stairway called Walter's Wiggles which is pretty neat. The whole thing is constructed of rock blocks. The paths are beautifully made, with rock retaining walls that look like giant bricks. The rock is predominately red in the park.
We finally got to the top (we thought). It is a long, very narrow, rocky ledge, dropping off on both sides. Views of mountains are all around, and the place was packed with people. Mind you, this is an area where if you take two steps to the side, you're over the edge! It's 900 feet straight down at this point. There are no railings.Most people can make it this far. The next part is quite difficult. And we were almost out of water. The ledge dips down in a crescent shape, then goes back up to the final top of the mountain. It is narrow and you have to hang onto chains as you climb. It is interesting, beautiful, but dangerous. Everyone moves slowly.
We almost made it to the top. The final stage is a 100 yard almost vertical climb, which we were too tired to attempt. I was too weak, and Mark was too weak due to lack of water. Also the wind was blowing quite strongly. So--we went back down.
We went back to the hotel and got water and food. It was a tiring walk, especially only one day after the mule ride! But--what the heck, there were still a couple of hours of daylight left, so we went for
another walk! We did the River Walk, a beautiful path which undulates up and down along a large, shallow river. The side of the canyon near the walk is covered at times with hanging gardens of small plants. The path is fairly level and 1 mile long, longer than I thought it would be. At the end, if you are properly dressed, you can continue walking in the river itself for several miles. But not us!We had an excellent dinner at the lodge. The next day we saw Weeping Rock, a shallow crescent overhang with water dripping from the top. Very pretty and a short walk. We had lunch and then went to the Emerald Pools. These also have overhangs with tiny brooks (tiny in summer) flowing over into small pools. The pools are green with algee. It's a nice walk, not too vertical. We didn't do the higher, upper pool.
We left Zion and went to West Zion park (Kolob Canyons), a much less traveled park. It has some long hiking trails and a 5 mile drive to view the main mountains. We skipped the trails and took the drive. It was well worth it with a spectacular group of mountains at the end.
Next was Cedar City and our hotel for the night. Yesterday we walked 7 miles, 5 of them vertical, and today we walked 3 miles. I need a sick day!
Saturday, September 10, 2005
Mules, and you thought the MINI was bad!
Monday, September 5
We head over to Bandolier park, south of Los Alamos. We get there before the park office opens. The buildings are really cool, old wood and adobe squares with flat roofs. They were built by the CCC groups after the war. The park is one of the most beautiful we have ever seen. It is in the bottom of a long canyon with cliff dwellings on the sides. A stream runs thru woods on the canyon floor. There are large pine trees and tons of other grasses and plants. The air smells wonderful, like pine and some kind of spice, like sage.
Since we are the only people in the park, we can explore the cliff dwellings at our leasure, and take pictures with no one else in the picture but us. We explore the cliffs and take many pictures. Just as we are leaving, more people show up, and we are very glad we got there early.
We leave the park, come down west out of the mountains to a view of a gigantic grassy valley surrounded by pine-covered mountains. As we get out to look, we realize the tiny black dots in the middle are cows! There are also cowboys on horseback driving them along. We read the signs which say this is actually a gigantic caldera from a blown-out volcano!Next is the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest. This area is very hot in the afternoon and the colors are actually rather pale. Looks like a hot desert to me, and we are not really very impressed, although the landscape is quite wierd-looking in spots.
We drive over to the Wigwam and Curios Motel in Holbrook, a pretty neat old Route 66 town. The motel consists of about 15 restored concrete Tepees lined up around a central parking lot filled with old cars. It's really cool-looking and the rooms are quite nice inside.
Next day. Stopped at the Meteor Crater. Looks like a big gravel pit.
On to the Grand Canyon! Bigger gravel pit, but prettier! We check into the Bright Angel Lodge, which has a hotel and cabins. We were in a very nice old cabin on the rim of the canyon. All the cabins and area are very old-fashioned and cute.Next day we were up bright and early and eager for the trip down into the canyon.
Pound Me In The @$$ Mule Ride!
Hey! I got a good idea! Let's go outside, sit on a cement block, and pound our butts up and down on it for 5 hours straight. Sound good to you? Yeah!!! Thus the mule ride down into the Grand Canyon begins. Actually it begins next to Bright Angel Lodge where the cowboys (who know better) match the mules to the people and proceed to tell you all kinds of scary stuff about the trip. You know, like, maybe you could die. Then after they get all the stupid people matched up with the smart mules, they drive the whole lot right over the ridge into the canyon.
My mule's name was Gator. Gator either had emphezema or was a heavy smoker, because he coughed all the way down to the ranch. Pa Hah! Hack! Hack! Gasp, Wheeze!Mark got Pac Man. We were told to whip our mules rigorously to keep them close together, or else they would start to trot or run later on to catch up to the group. Believe me, you do not want your mule running down a 45 degree incline with a 1,000 ft cliff on one side and you pounding away on top of that saddle! No siree bob!
But Pac Man was a little slow. Apparently he's a mellow kind of guy and likes to stroll along and take in the view as he's walking down to the ranch. So Mark got out his motivator (whip) and decided to apply it to Pac Man's backside to move him along a little faster. According to the cowboys, this does not hurt the mule one bit. They kick each other in the sides with their hooves all day long. Pac Man, however, got a little cross, lowered his head and tried to buck Mark off! Mark, being the nice guy he is, held on tenaciosly and whipped that mule all the harder! After a while, the two of
them came to an understanding and Pac Man kept up with the group, mostly. All that "alpha male" theory didn't stop Pac Man from leaning back every now and then to try and bite Mark's foot, though.You know, they just don't tell you everything up there at the canyon rim. They'll tell you that no mule has ever gone over the side with a person (Stupid) on his back, but what they don't tell you is that they often stumble, slip, slide, and almost fall down (like Mark's did) on the way to the bottom.
When I first felt my mule stumble, I thought, "Hey, aren't these things supposed to be sure-footed? Did he just trip?" Sure enough, he did it again,
along with a nice, hard jump to get himself back in balance. That felt good! Then I looked closely at the other mules. They were all tripping and skittering along the trail! Finally, about an hour into the ride, I learned to lean back, point my feet out and up and stand in the stirrups a lot. I actually started to relax and enjoy the view, which was spectacular. The saddle and the stirrups (which are completely enclosed on the outside with heavy leather) made me feel pretty secure. Besides, the mules are self-guiding anyway. Other than moving them along with your motivator every now and then, they just follow each other down the trail all by themselves. And, amazingly enough, they really don't fall over the edge.
After a while, it was time for our first pee break. For the mules! A mule can walk down the trail and poop all day long, but when he has to pee, the world stands still. The whole train stops. Then the other mules see what's going on and they start getting ideas. Each one pees a couple gallons, seems like. Mind you, while all this is going on, hundreds of hikers are also walking up and down this same trail. Fortunately, the pee sinks into the dirt right away, so they just have to hop around the poop. The farts are harder to avoid, though. They can last for up to a minute and be very expressive.
Ok! So much for the mules!
We are using the $10 an hour hotel computer, so I'll shorten this story. We got to Phantom Ranch, which is on a side stream of the Colorado River. The valley is tree-covered and quite beautiful. We had a cabin which was made of stone and very old fashioned. The place was great.
I would like to continue, but we must close for now, storey to be continued later!
Sunday, September 04, 2005
Disasterous Data Dump Delays Digital Details
A disaster has struck! While working on the blog Friday morning, we took a break for breakfast and came back to the blue screen of death! We are using the detestable hotel computers now, so future postings will be sporadic.
On Friday we continued to follow Route 66 on our way to Tulsa. Just outside of Tulsa, at Catoosa, the Blue Whale appears, looking cute as a button in its own swampy little pond! We pull off into a small treed picnic area beside it.
It looks just like it did in the pictures, bright blue with its concrete mouth open and smiling, awaiting any would-be swimmers.
These days, however, the ol’ swimming hole is closed. So
much for the good old days when you could open a fun spot like this without worrying about getting sued if someone fell off the dock the wrong way.The whale has many entrances and exits, and is great fun to visit, whether open for swimming or not.
You walk through the whale’s mouth on its big red tongue, and out onto the open back with the high-tail diving platform. There are ladders into the water on either side of the whale’s body and water slides on either side of the head. Inside the head a ladder goes up to the second floor where you can look out any one of several portholes.
We take several pictures, and then move on to downtown Tulsa and the Double Tree Hotel where we had a great view of the city and a fine dinner.
On Saturday, we traveled from Tulsa to Tucumcari. On the way, we ran across a giant cross sticking up out of the plains. It is the latest tourist attraction in the area, and is 19 stories high. Incredible! Also incredible are the life size figures of the Stations of the Cross at its base, the three crosses on the hill, a replica of the Shroud of Turin, and Christ’s tomb!
Ten miles west of Amarillo, we come to the Cadillac Ranch. They are ten Cadillacs buried at an angle in the ground. They are mostly pink with graffiti written all over them.
After this, we stopped for the night in Tucumcari on Route 66.
On Sunday, we left Tucumcari for Santa Fe and Los Alamos. We head North West on scenic highway 104. All of a sudden, Mark shouts “Tarantula!” We stop, and sure enough, a spider is crossing the road. As we continue driving, we see more tarantulas. They are all over the place!
Highway 104 continues northwest towards Las Vegas (New Mexico). About 20 miles from town, the land flattens out into pure, gently rolling grassland as far as the eye can see. The short, soft grass is gray-green with small patches of light blue here and there. Some areas are covered with yellow mustard. You wouldn't think that just grass could be so pretty, but Mark and I are amazed at how absolutely beautiful these grasslands are. The grasslands end at Las Vegas where the mountains begin again. As we are approaching the town, a badger crosses the road in front of us and disappears into the grass!
We arrived at Santa Fe which had a street art fair going on. It was very politically correct western art a la Ann Arbor. We found one artist whose colored pencil we bought. She was 11 years old and the best artist in town!
After that, we went to Los Alamos and saw the Manhattan Project Museum. The area around Santa Fe and Los Alamos is surrounded with unusual plateaus and mountains. We ended up in White Rock near Los Alamos.
That’s it for now, on to Holbrook, Arizona tomorrow. Next posting will be in about 5 days because we will not be staying in Hamptons. Mark will be very happy not to sit next to a computer!
We found out how to better post pictures, click for larger view.
Friday, September 02, 2005
Thursday, September 01, 2005
Route 66 - First Day on the Road
4:00 AM, September 1, 2005. The starting gun has sounded, and we’re off! The car was successfully packed the night before, and the cat dropped off at kitty prison (the vet’s). $500.00 for room, board and shots, thank you very much.
First major stop, Cracker Barrel (still in Michigan) where we acquired our first souvenirs.
Then on into Illinois to Mother Jones Memorial. She was a crusader for the miner’s union, and is buried in a cemetery in front of a memorial to them. The political Mother Jones magazine is named after her.
Henry’s Rabbit Ranch on old Route 66 near St. Louis was next, complete with live rabbits and old Rabbit cars. We were met by Montana, the greeter bunny, and received a personally autographed (gnawed) brochure.
Arrived in St. Louis around 4:00 PM. Not a bad ride. Car held up well and so did we! We checked in at Hampton at the Arch, then went out for the evening with Becky from NAM (North American Motoring, the North American MINI Club). We went to a very good local Italian restaurant just up the street. Later, she took us to Ted Drew’s Frozen Custard on historic Route 66. Really great custard, the place was packed. 
First major stop, Cracker Barrel (still in Michigan) where we acquired our first souvenirs.
In Highland (Gary) Indiana while pumping relatively cheap gas, we met Leo and his wife and got several great tips on things to see on our trip.
Then on into Illinois to Mother Jones Memorial. She was a crusader for the miner’s union, and is buried in a cemetery in front of a memorial to them. The political Mother Jones magazine is named after her.
Henry’s Rabbit Ranch on old Route 66 near St. Louis was next, complete with live rabbits and old Rabbit cars. We were met by Montana, the greeter bunny, and received a personally autographed (gnawed) brochure.
Arrived in St. Louis around 4:00 PM. Not a bad ride. Car held up well and so did we! We checked in at Hampton at the Arch, then went out for the evening with Becky from NAM (North American Motoring, the North American MINI Club). We went to a very good local Italian restaurant just up the street. Later, she took us to Ted Drew’s Frozen Custard on historic Route 66. Really great custard, the place was packed. 