August 30 & 31, 2009
Today we drove 500+ miles back to Emmetsburg, IA for two relaxing days with the Schads. On Monday we drove to nearby Spencer for a round of golf and Terry took time to read "The Shack". We always enjoy our visits with Jan and John in this bucolic small town.
North Dakota Trip - Day 9: Williston to Devils Lake, ND via Canada
Saturday- August 29, 2009
Up and on the road by 7:30 AM we decided that since we were so close to the Canadian Border, we'd just go there and through parts of Saskatchewan and Manitoba and then back into North Dakota at the International Peace Garden just on the border of Canada and North Dakota. Getting into Canada was fairly easy. We were greated by a friendly female border guard who took our drivers licence and disappeard into the little guard shack where I assume she ran a check on us to make sure we weren't terrorists or something. She came back out and gave us our drivers licenses and asked us if we were carrying any firearms, or pepper spray, or fruits or vegetables and then sent us on our way. Here we are at the border crossing. Terry asked if it was O.K. to get out and take a picture of our entering Canada. I'm sure she must have thought we Americans are very strange.
I don't have any pictures of our visit to Canada as we found the landscape was not any different than North Dakota. We only went a few miles into Canada and then turned due east and traveled for several hours until we reached the turnoff for the International Peace Garden which straddles the border.
The concept of the Peace Garden was intended to represent a celebration of the peaceful coexistence between the two nations, illustrating to the worl their commitment to world peace. The gardens are 2,339 acres in size and feature two fresh water lakes, scenic drives, formal and wilflower gardens, waterfalls and a large variety of American birds and animals.
It was all very lovely and after about an hour we left the gardens to cross the border back into North Dakota. Unfortunately, our experience with the U.S. border guards was not as pleasant as with the Canadians. Due to our own stupidity, we didn't even think before crossing the border that we would need our passports or at least a birth certificate to get back into the country. To make a long story short - after a lecture, another drivers license check, and a cursory inspection of "Big Red", we were sent on our way older and wiser. (We thought it wise not to ask if we could take a picture of our re-entering the U.S.)
Safely back in the U.S., we headed south and stopped for a Kodak moment at the Geographic Center of North America (not of the U.S.). A nice gentleman offered to take our pictures at the monument.
Up and on the road by 7:30 AM we decided that since we were so close to the Canadian Border, we'd just go there and through parts of Saskatchewan and Manitoba and then back into North Dakota at the International Peace Garden just on the border of Canada and North Dakota. Getting into Canada was fairly easy. We were greated by a friendly female border guard who took our drivers licence and disappeard into the little guard shack where I assume she ran a check on us to make sure we weren't terrorists or something. She came back out and gave us our drivers licenses and asked us if we were carrying any firearms, or pepper spray, or fruits or vegetables and then sent us on our way. Here we are at the border crossing. Terry asked if it was O.K. to get out and take a picture of our entering Canada. I'm sure she must have thought we Americans are very strange.
The concept of the Peace Garden was intended to represent a celebration of the peaceful coexistence between the two nations, illustrating to the worl their commitment to world peace. The gardens are 2,339 acres in size and feature two fresh water lakes, scenic drives, formal and wilflower gardens, waterfalls and a large variety of American birds and animals.
It was all very lovely and after about an hour we left the gardens to cross the border back into North Dakota. Unfortunately, our experience with the U.S. border guards was not as pleasant as with the Canadians. Due to our own stupidity, we didn't even think before crossing the border that we would need our passports or at least a birth certificate to get back into the country. To make a long story short - after a lecture, another drivers license check, and a cursory inspection of "Big Red", we were sent on our way older and wiser. (We thought it wise not to ask if we could take a picture of our re-entering the U.S.)
Safely back in the U.S., we headed south and stopped for a Kodak moment at the Geographic Center of North America (not of the U.S.). A nice gentleman offered to take our pictures at the monument.
From Rugby we drove east to Devils Lake for the night. After checking in at the Fireside Inn we checked out Sullys Hill National Game Preserve and see our last buffalo. We had a nice dinner at the Ranch Restaurant where a bottle of Shiner Bock hit the spot. Then it was off to Dairy Queen for a chocolate dipped cone for me.
North Dakota Trip - Day 8: Medora to Williston, ND
Friday - August 28, 2009
We left Medora and headed north to see the North Unit of the Theodore Roosevelt N.P. Along the way we stopped briefly at Ilo Wildlife Refuge. We didn't see much but have been surprised at all the lakes and ponds. Also noted was the lack of traffic and how few visitors we met at this time of year.
Soon we reached the north unit of the park and were excited to find a lot more buffalo activity. At one point on the scenic drive through the park they were all over the road. There was barely enough room to squeeze by. "Oh give me a home where the buffalo roam".
Our next stop is at Fort Union Trading Post just south of Willeston, ND and right on the Montana border. The fort was established by John Jacob Astor for his American Fur Trading Company. The for we visited is not the original, but a full scale partial reconstruction built upon the foundation of the original structure.
From Fort Union we continued our journey a few miles east to the confluence of the Yellowstone and Missouri rivers at which point the State of North Dakota has built an Interpretive Center which is part of the Fort Buford State Historic Site (a few miles down the road). Not much is left of Fort Bufort except for a few buildings which have been restored. The soldiers from Fort Buford policed the international boundary, guarded railway construction crews, and provided escorts for steamers and wagon trains. Sitting Bull surrendered here in 1881.
After Fort Buford we made a short drive to the Marquis Plaza Hotel (sounds fancier than it was) in Williston and Applebee's for dinner.
We left Medora and headed north to see the North Unit of the Theodore Roosevelt N.P. Along the way we stopped briefly at Ilo Wildlife Refuge. We didn't see much but have been surprised at all the lakes and ponds. Also noted was the lack of traffic and how few visitors we met at this time of year.
Soon we reached the north unit of the park and were excited to find a lot more buffalo activity. At one point on the scenic drive through the park they were all over the road. There was barely enough room to squeeze by. "Oh give me a home where the buffalo roam".
Our next stop is at Fort Union Trading Post just south of Willeston, ND and right on the Montana border. The fort was established by John Jacob Astor for his American Fur Trading Company. The for we visited is not the original, but a full scale partial reconstruction built upon the foundation of the original structure.
From Fort Union we continued our journey a few miles east to the confluence of the Yellowstone and Missouri rivers at which point the State of North Dakota has built an Interpretive Center which is part of the Fort Buford State Historic Site (a few miles down the road). Not much is left of Fort Bufort except for a few buildings which have been restored. The soldiers from Fort Buford policed the international boundary, guarded railway construction crews, and provided escorts for steamers and wagon trains. Sitting Bull surrendered here in 1881.
After Fort Buford we made a short drive to the Marquis Plaza Hotel (sounds fancier than it was) in Williston and Applebee's for dinner.
North Dakota Trip - Day 7: More Medora
Thursday, August 27, 2009
This morning we drive to and explore the South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. This park is in the heart of the North Dakota Badlands where we got our first siting of buffalo (officially known as bison). At one point along the scenic drive we stopped to take a foot trail. Just over the hill along the path we stopped to take pictures when we were startled by the fact that not 50 ft. in front of us was a very large lone buffalo. Fortuantely for us, he could have cared less that we were near by.
This morning we drive to and explore the South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. This park is in the heart of the North Dakota Badlands where we got our first siting of buffalo (officially known as bison). At one point along the scenic drive we stopped to take a foot trail. Just over the hill along the path we stopped to take pictures when we were startled by the fact that not 50 ft. in front of us was a very large lone buffalo. Fortuantely for us, he could have cared less that we were near by.
North Dakota Trip - Day 6: Historic Medora, ND
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Today we drove west from Bismarck to Medora (passing through Mountain Time Zone and gaining an hour along the way). Our first stop in Medora is at the Visitors Center at Theodore Roosevelt National Park where Teddy Roosevelt's cabin stands (moved to this location from a few miles away). This cabin is unusual in that it has three rooms (most others of that day were just one room). The riting desk shown in the pictures is the actual one he used.
Today we drove west from Bismarck to Medora (passing through Mountain Time Zone and gaining an hour along the way). Our first stop in Medora is at the Visitors Center at Theodore Roosevelt National Park where Teddy Roosevelt's cabin stands (moved to this location from a few miles away). This cabin is unusual in that it has three rooms (most others of that day were just one room). The riting desk shown in the pictures is the actual one he used.
North Dakota Trip - Days 5: Bismarck & Lewis & Clark Sites
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
From our Hampton Inn we take a short drive to the North Dakota Heritage Center located on the grounds of the North Dakota State Capital Building, the tallest state capital in the U.S. Outside the heritage center are statues of Sacajawea (or Sacakawea, the spelling varies between Indian tribes; Meriweather Lewis spelled it 31 different ways in his journals) and a bison. Note especially the use of rebar around the eye of the bison.
The North Dakota Heritage Center traces the history of North Dakota from when prehistoric creatures roamed there, through today. North Dakota was home to great American Indian nations, 19th-centruy fur traders, cowboys, soldiers, sodbusters, and eventually modern farms and towns. North Dakota turned Theodore Roosevelt from a city slicker into the Roughrider known for conqueriing San Juan Hill and then eventually, the White House.
After a good two hours at the heritage center we drove north of Bismarck following roads along the west bank of the Missouri River, following the Lewis and Clark Trail route. We drove to Cross Ranch state Park (on dirt roads) to see a section of the river that remaines as it did during their expedition i.e. not dammed up and widened.
Observations noted so far are that North Dakota is full of wide open spaces with lots of wheat fields. What we didn't expect but enjoyed were all the lakes and ponds we saw along with totally unexpected flocks of gulls and white pelicans. Another beautiful sight was all the fields of sun flowers in full bloom at this time of year. Wild flowers were also prevelent.
Continuing north our next stop is at the site of the Knife River Indian Villages, a National Historic Site. It was here that Lewis and Clark arrived during the winter of 1804. With cold weater approaching they built a fort and spent the winter among the Mandan and Hidasta Indians. An earth hut has been reconstructed on this site, and Lewis and Clark's fort, Ft. Mandan, was reconstructed down river which we will tour later today.
Our next stop is at the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center and Fort Mandan. Our Fort Mandan guide is a full blooded descendent of the tribes in this area. Hard to tell but the Fort is triangular in shape. The fort was built in 60 days and completed on December 24, 1804. The corps wintered there and continued their trek west on April 7, 1805. Sacagawea gave birth to her sone here on February 11, 1805.
Finishing our sightseeing for the day, we drove back to Bismarck and had dinner at Meriweather's Landing Restaurant on the banks of the Missouri River.
From our Hampton Inn we take a short drive to the North Dakota Heritage Center located on the grounds of the North Dakota State Capital Building, the tallest state capital in the U.S. Outside the heritage center are statues of Sacajawea (or Sacakawea, the spelling varies between Indian tribes; Meriweather Lewis spelled it 31 different ways in his journals) and a bison. Note especially the use of rebar around the eye of the bison.
The North Dakota Heritage Center traces the history of North Dakota from when prehistoric creatures roamed there, through today. North Dakota was home to great American Indian nations, 19th-centruy fur traders, cowboys, soldiers, sodbusters, and eventually modern farms and towns. North Dakota turned Theodore Roosevelt from a city slicker into the Roughrider known for conqueriing San Juan Hill and then eventually, the White House.
After a good two hours at the heritage center we drove north of Bismarck following roads along the west bank of the Missouri River, following the Lewis and Clark Trail route. We drove to Cross Ranch state Park (on dirt roads) to see a section of the river that remaines as it did during their expedition i.e. not dammed up and widened.
Observations noted so far are that North Dakota is full of wide open spaces with lots of wheat fields. What we didn't expect but enjoyed were all the lakes and ponds we saw along with totally unexpected flocks of gulls and white pelicans. Another beautiful sight was all the fields of sun flowers in full bloom at this time of year. Wild flowers were also prevelent.
Continuing north our next stop is at the site of the Knife River Indian Villages, a National Historic Site. It was here that Lewis and Clark arrived during the winter of 1804. With cold weater approaching they built a fort and spent the winter among the Mandan and Hidasta Indians. An earth hut has been reconstructed on this site, and Lewis and Clark's fort, Ft. Mandan, was reconstructed down river which we will tour later today.
Our next stop is at the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center and Fort Mandan. Our Fort Mandan guide is a full blooded descendent of the tribes in this area. Hard to tell but the Fort is triangular in shape. The fort was built in 60 days and completed on December 24, 1804. The corps wintered there and continued their trek west on April 7, 1805. Sacagawea gave birth to her sone here on February 11, 1805.
Finishing our sightseeing for the day, we drove back to Bismarck and had dinner at Meriweather's Landing Restaurant on the banks of the Missouri River.
North Dakota Trip - Days 1-4: Columbus to Bismarck
Day 1 - August 21, 2009 - Columbus, IN to Rockford, IL
Cob and Sue gave us the grand tour of their beautiful condo. After the home tour Sue prepared a delicious crab and pasta salad for lunch before heading off to Anderson Japanese Gardens for the afternoon. The weather did not look promising, however the weather report predicted the rain would move in later in the afternoon so off we went to the gardens. The gardens were absolutely beautiful, so serene and peaceful. We did encounter a little rain, luckily there was a covered structure close by were we could wait out the rain. As we were standing under the wooden structure, employees came around and passed out umbrellas for the guests to use during their visit. The rain didn’t last long and we were soon on our way enjoying sights and sounds in the garden. For more information on the garden go to: www.andersongardens.org.
Day 2 - August 22, 2009 - Rockford, IL to Emmetsburg, IA
This morning we were up early and after a delicious breakfast of cantaloupe, grapes, homemade strawberry bread, sweet rolls, juice and coffee, we bid our hosts goodbye and we're on our way shortly after 7. Today our travels will take us to Emmetsburg, Iowa for a little R&R with our friends John and Jan.
The drive through northern Illinois was beautiful. Our travels took us through Galena, home of Ulysses S. Grant, and then on to Dubuque. From Dubuque we travelled west to Mason City, Iowa, home of Meredith Willson, author and composer of "The Music Man", but most recently of my good friend Marcia. We arrived in Mason City by noon, just in time for a pleasant lunch with Marcia and her mom, Lil and a couple of hours of catching up on old times and what's new in our lives.
By 1:30 we were back on the road bound for Emmetsburg and cocktails on the front porch of our friends home. After a few hours of reminiscing it was time for dinner - thick Iowa pork chops and sweet Iowa corn. After dinner and a little more pleasant conversation it was time to call it a night.
August 23, 2009 - Day 3 - Emmetsburg, IA
Today we woke up early to a big pot of coffee and a couple hours of catching up on what's been going on in our lives since we last were together. Eventually we got around to breakfast and then Terry and I took off for a couple hours to walk 9 holes at the local Emmetsburg Golf Course.
After golf we cleaned up and headed out to visit a reproduction of "The Little House on the Prairie" constructed by a local Emmetsburg resident, Howard Argabright. This is an exact replica of the Little House on the Prairie as seen in the TV series. It was completely constructed by hand and without blueprints. It is surrounded by several acres of natural prairie grasses. It is a labor of love in which he has reproduced the house, barn, and furnishings, and farm equipment as they would have been during that timeframe.
From the little house we came home and packed up a few supplies and headed out to Turtle Oaks, John & Jan's cabin on Ingham Lake. It wasn't long before we were out on the lake for a leisurely ride in John's pontoon boat, after which we spent time relaxing on the back deck with cocktails, conversation, and cuisine a la Jan.
We were up early this morning ready for Day One of our next trip. Terry had a hard time sleeping, no doubt excited about embarking on yet another adventure. This particular adventure has been in the planning stage for several years, to explore the one state Terry had never been to, North Dakota. As coincidence would have it, he just finished Stephen Ambrose’s book “Undaunted Courage”, the story of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Surprised to find that Lewis and Clark spent so much time in North Dakota, spending their 1st winter with the Mandan Indians near present day Bismarck, we decided to set out on this adventure sooner than later.
But I digress, before we explore new, uncharted territory of our own, we have a few stops to make along the way with dear friends. For the first leg of our journey we left the house at 7:40 for a 357 mile drive to Rockford, Illinois where we will spend the night with Terry’s fraternity brother, Bob, better known as “Cob”, and his wife Sue. The route we took to Rockford was by way of Champagne/Urbana, avoiding the Chicago area, and took us a little over 5 hours, arriving at Cob & Sue’s home by 11:45 (we gained an hour due to the time change between Indiana and Illinois).
But I digress, before we explore new, uncharted territory of our own, we have a few stops to make along the way with dear friends. For the first leg of our journey we left the house at 7:40 for a 357 mile drive to Rockford, Illinois where we will spend the night with Terry’s fraternity brother, Bob, better known as “Cob”, and his wife Sue. The route we took to Rockford was by way of Champagne/Urbana, avoiding the Chicago area, and took us a little over 5 hours, arriving at Cob & Sue’s home by 11:45 (we gained an hour due to the time change between Indiana and Illinois).
Cob and Sue gave us the grand tour of their beautiful condo. After the home tour Sue prepared a delicious crab and pasta salad for lunch before heading off to Anderson Japanese Gardens for the afternoon. The weather did not look promising, however the weather report predicted the rain would move in later in the afternoon so off we went to the gardens. The gardens were absolutely beautiful, so serene and peaceful. We did encounter a little rain, luckily there was a covered structure close by were we could wait out the rain. As we were standing under the wooden structure, employees came around and passed out umbrellas for the guests to use during their visit. The rain didn’t last long and we were soon on our way enjoying sights and sounds in the garden. For more information on the garden go to: www.andersongardens.org.
After the gardens Cob and Sue took us on a driving tour of some of the beautiful old homes in Rockford and their church. Then it was back to the condo for cocktails, grilled steaks, a wonderful strawberry salad with homemade poppyseed dressing (need to get this recipe), potatoes, cauliflower, red wine and great conversation. We called it a night around 10:30. What a terrific day... thanks Cob and Sue!
Day 2 - August 22, 2009 - Rockford, IL to Emmetsburg, IA
This morning we were up early and after a delicious breakfast of cantaloupe, grapes, homemade strawberry bread, sweet rolls, juice and coffee, we bid our hosts goodbye and we're on our way shortly after 7. Today our travels will take us to Emmetsburg, Iowa for a little R&R with our friends John and Jan.
The drive through northern Illinois was beautiful. Our travels took us through Galena, home of Ulysses S. Grant, and then on to Dubuque. From Dubuque we travelled west to Mason City, Iowa, home of Meredith Willson, author and composer of "The Music Man", but most recently of my good friend Marcia. We arrived in Mason City by noon, just in time for a pleasant lunch with Marcia and her mom, Lil and a couple of hours of catching up on old times and what's new in our lives.
By 1:30 we were back on the road bound for Emmetsburg and cocktails on the front porch of our friends home. After a few hours of reminiscing it was time for dinner - thick Iowa pork chops and sweet Iowa corn. After dinner and a little more pleasant conversation it was time to call it a night.
August 23, 2009 - Day 3 - Emmetsburg, IA
Today we woke up early to a big pot of coffee and a couple hours of catching up on what's been going on in our lives since we last were together. Eventually we got around to breakfast and then Terry and I took off for a couple hours to walk 9 holes at the local Emmetsburg Golf Course.
After golf we cleaned up and headed out to visit a reproduction of "The Little House on the Prairie" constructed by a local Emmetsburg resident, Howard Argabright. This is an exact replica of the Little House on the Prairie as seen in the TV series. It was completely constructed by hand and without blueprints. It is surrounded by several acres of natural prairie grasses. It is a labor of love in which he has reproduced the house, barn, and furnishings, and farm equipment as they would have been during that timeframe.
From the little house we came home and packed up a few supplies and headed out to Turtle Oaks, John & Jan's cabin on Ingham Lake. It wasn't long before we were out on the lake for a leisurely ride in John's pontoon boat, after which we spent time relaxing on the back deck with cocktails, conversation, and cuisine a la Jan.
August 24, 2009 - Emmetsburg to Bismarck, ND
We were up early this morning and on the road by 7:40 in search of new territory to explore. The trip was pretty much uneventful as our goal was to reach North Dakota, Terry's 50th state. We drove straight through stopping only for gas. When we reached the North Dakota state line we stopped for pictures to celebrate the momentous occasion.
After the state line celebration we enjoyed a picnic lunch at the ND Visitors Center and then moved on to Jamestown to visit the world's largest buffalo and Jamestown historic buildings, then on to Bismarck where we checked into our hotel at 4:40. We had driven for 9 hours, 560 miles. Time to relax and unwind during dinner at Red Lobster.
Day 14 - June 14th - Zion to Las Vegas
Today is Sunday, the last full day of travel before heading home in the morning. We are up at 6:00, eating breakfast at 6:45, and on the road by 8:00. Today we will be visiting the Kolob Canyon section of Zion National Park and Cedar Breaks National Monument. Both are part of the itinerary that we were going to do on the first day of our vacation, but had to re-schedule when my bag got re-routed by the airline.
We arrived at Kolob Canyon at 9:00. It is one of the most spectacular and most accessible regions of the park, and is also one of the least visited. Kolob Canyon is in the northwest corner of Zion National Park, easily accessible from I-15. The colors are so vivid, red canyon walls rising suddenly and spectacularly out of the earth against a bright blue sky and lush green vegetation. This section of the park is best viewed during the afternoon when sun is in a better position for picture taking. We were there in the early morning so for most of our pictures we were looking directly into the sun. Even so, there are some pretty awesome photos.
After Kolob Canyon we drove north on I-15 to Cedar City and then east on Scenic Byway 14 for approximately 20 miles, then north on SR 148 to Cedar Breaks National Monument. We arrived at the park by 11:00. The elevation of Cedar Breaks National Monument is over 10,000 feet, the highest elevation we have experienced on the trip. The temperature was 44 degrees and we were not prepared for the cold as we had just come from Zion NP where we were in shorts and T-shirts. I went to my suitcase and put on the two lightweight jackets I brought and made do. The park is a natural amphitheater very similar to Bryce Canyon. As with Kolob Canyon, there were very few visitors and this solitude was as welcoming as a warm breeze.
After stopping at all the overlooks we headed back to Cedar City by way of Brian's Head, a popular ski resort in the winter. By the time we reached the bottom of the mountain, the temperature rose from 44 degrees at the summit to 66 degrees in the town of Parowan, a descent of 4,000 ft. in 16 miles.
We arrived in Cedar City at 12:30 in time for lunch at Wendy's and then it was on to Las Vegas where we would be spending our last night with Terry's nephew, Chad Forster and his lovely wife Kristen.
As we look back on this trip and these photos, the beauty of yet another piece of God's creation is evident. We were also awed by the flora, fauna, and fowl that we witnessed. Such wonders of nature included: a Hermit Thrush building a nest on the threshold of our lodge window, a mother Grace's Warbler feeding a nestling on the ground, a rare white tailed Kaibab Squirrel running around on the north rim of the Grand Canyon, the explosion of beautiful wildflowers at every park, the startling beautiful Western Tanager flitting among the juniper bushes, the brash Stellar's Jay squawking at human intruders. These, along with other sights, blending with the majestic scenery of these arid parks will pack our memories for years to come.
THE END
Day 13 - June 13th - Kolob Terrace Road, Zion N.P.
Up at 6:30 ready for another beautiful day in paradise. As we went to breakfast we were greeted by a flock of wild turkeys on the front lawn of the Zion Lodge. After fueling our bodies for the day ahead, we headed out at 8:30 for Kolob Terrace Road.
Kolob Terrace road is partially in the national park and partially on private land. To get to the start of the road we had to exit the park at the south entrance just outside of Springdale. We traveled west along route 9 to the town of Virgin about 15 miles outside the park. From here we picked up Kolob Terrace Road which headed north and east and eventually back into Zion National Park, then back out again on the other side until it terminated at Kolob Reservoir.
We started up the road but after going about 1/4 of the way we ran into some rain. Since the Ptarmigan was thirsty we decided to go back to town to buy gas and wait out the rain. By the time we got back to Springdale and bought our gas the rain had stopped and the skies were looking promising so we ventured back to Kolob Terrace Road.
The beauty of Kolob Terrace Road is it's solitude. Unlike the throngs of tourists vying for bus seats at the main section of Zion N.P. in Zion Canyon, we practically had this road to ourselves. There were some very dramatic overlooks, several hair-pin turns and a pleasant little reservoir at the end of the drive. We saw more wildflowers on this drive than any other day of our vacation. One other aspect which added to the beauty of area was the threatening skies which actually enhanced our photography opportunities. It made for some interesting pictures. You will notice in a few of the pictures what look like dead trees. It's just that it was still early spring and the trees hadn't put out their new leaves yet.
After this excursion it was time to head back to the lodge for lunch. At Zion Canyon (the main section of the park) the skies had cleared up and the afternoon turned out to be very beautiful. After lunch we headed out on the shuttle bus to view what we did not see the day before. We got off the bus at a stop called "The Court of the Patriarchs" to view the mountains named Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. A lot of the names of the features of the park are biblical in nature ascribed by the early Mormon pioneer settlers. Then on our next stop, "Canyon Junction", we got off and took a little hike along the Virgin River. Along our hike we encountered many birds, but the most interesting to me was a Scrub Jay and a Great Blue Heron. I was able to video tape the Scrub Jay preparing dinner. Didn't your mom tell you not to play with your food?. Not sure what dinner was but our guess is a small lizard, battered and tenderized to perfection.
Warning, viewing this video could make you dizzy. I had the camera on digital zoom and it is so hard to hold it steady in that mode.
I was really surprised to see the Great Blue Heron in Zion National Park. For some reason I thought that the GBH was a tropical/semi-tropical coastal bird whose territory would be places like Florida, South Carolina, Louisiana, etc. Obviously I was wrong. After checking the bird book, apparently they can be found all over the U.S. and parts of Canada. You learn something new every day, don't you.
We concluded our hike when it looked as though it might rain again and were back in our room by 5:00 to rest up and clean up for dinner at 6:30. Yes, we are creatures of habit. After a wonderful dinner and a good bottle of wine we were back in our room by 7:30 where I took advantage of the free WiFi and posted a few blogs that I had been falling behind on since WiFi was not available in some of the other lodges at which we stayed.
Day 12 - June 12th - Grand Canyon to Zion National Park
We were up by 6:00, ate breakfast at 7:00 and on the road by 8:00. "On the road again, just can't wait to get on the road again." Not much to see between the Grand Canyon and Zion National Park. We stopped for a few pictures of wildflowers along the way, but that's about it. We arrived at Zion by 11:15. Since we were staying at the lodge we were sent passes in advance of the trip to allow us to drive all the way in to the lodge, otherwise visitors are required to park at the visitors center and take shuttle buses throughout the park.
After arriving at the park, it was too early to check in, so we ate lunch at the lodge on the deck surrounded by the awesome beauty of the park. Zion is different from the other canyons we visited in that you are at the bottom of the canyon looking up, instead of on the top of the canyon looking down as was the case with Bryce, Mesa Verde, Canyonlands and Grand Canyon. After lunch we headed out for our 1st hike of the day - the "Emerald Pools", which were directly across from the lodge. During the hike I was busy trying to video the yellow warbler which was prevalent in the park. Unfortunately, warblers don't hold still for very long so it proved to be a very frustrating experience.
After the hike to Emerald Pools we took the shuttle bus to "Weeping Rock" where I was able to get a picture of a Black Headed Grosbeak.
Continuing on the shuttle bus route we got off at several scenic stops for pictures, ending at the River Walk, the end of the line. This is the trail to the "Narrows" where one could walk in the river with the canyon walls soaring hundreds of feet straight up. The canyon is only about 15 feet wide at this point. Many people were doing it but since we had so much camera equipment and the water was waist high we decided against it. It was a great hike to get out to that point nonetheless, very beautiful.
We headed back to the lodge and checked in at 5;00, showered, and made it to our 6:30 dinner reservation. We were back in our room by 7:45 to plan the next day's activities. By 9:00 we were ready to turn out the lights.
Day 11 - June 11th - Grand Canyon Scenic Drive
This morning we were up by 5:30, eating breakfast at 6:30, then off on our scenic drive of the Grand Canyon. There were lots of beautiful overlooks along the way, too numerous to mention, but at one of the stops, Greenland Lake, we took a little hike through the woods and I was able to photograph an Evening Grosbeak.
Continuing along the scenic road, we stopped at an overlook called Angels Window. On the walk to the overlook I spotted a Western Tanager. I must confess, that I had no idea what I had spotted, I just knew it was beautiful and I pointed it out to Terry as I was trying to get a picture of it. Terry told me what it was. Another bird for my life list as was the Evening Grosbeak. The picture is not very clear as I found that most of the birds don't hold still long enough for me to focus in on them.
Another hightlight of today's travels was our hike to Cape Final, so named because one more step and it would be your final. This was a 2 mile hike (one way), but it was well worth it. The scenery was marvelous and we saw lots of birds and wildflowers along the way.
We were back at the lodge by 3:00 at which time we headed for the gift shop to see about buying some books on the local flora and fauna of the area to help identify what we were seeing. On the way to the gift shop we were delighted with the sight of the rare and elusive white tailed Kaibab squirrel which is found only on the north rim of the Grand Canyon on the Kaibab Plateau. I was lucky to have my video camera handy:
After visiting the gift shop we took another nature walk around the area and was able to video tape the thrush that had been building the nest above our door. After reviewing the tape Terry determined it was a Hermit Thrush. We also captured on film a Pigmy Nuthatch.
By 5:30 we were ready to relax for the rest of the day. We headed to the "saloon" and had a cocktail before dinner. I had a "Canyon Coffee" which consisted of Baily's, Kahlua, Creme de Cocoa and coffee with whipped cream on top (I was in need of some caffeine - I was fading fast in that altitude), and Terry had a Maker's Mark on the rocks. After relaxing in the saloon for a while we headed out to the back porch of the lodge and sat in front of the warmth of the roaring fire in their huge outdoor fireplace until it was time for dinner.
At dinner we were seated at the best seat in the house - right in front of the big picture window overlooking the canyon - it was truly beautiful. After a big dinner of prime rib, baked potatoes and asparagus, a bottle of wine, and dessert of mint chocolate chip ice cream we were heading back to the room and ready to hit the hay by 8:00. The perfect ending to a wonderful day in God's country.
Day 10 - June 10th - Grand Canyon North Rim
This morning we were up by 6:00 to go on a short bird walk before breakfast. It had just finished raining and it was cool out. As a matter of fact, the whole time we were in Grand Canyon it was cool, sometimes down right cold. I wore my one pair of blue jeans the entire time I was there, and sometimes two lightweight jackets.
We ate breakfast at 7:30 and then we were off to meet up with our 1.5 mile ranger-led "Nature Walk" at 8:00. The route took us on Bright Angel Trail which is an easy 1 mile round trip hike out to Bright Angel Point and then through the ponderosa pine and aspen forests around the lodge. Bright Angel Trail was one of the trails we had done the previous afternoon upon arriving. It was interesting, though, to go with the ranger who gave us information on the different plants and animals on the north rim (the Kaibab Plateau) that we wouldn't have known about otherwise. One tidbit of info is that the Kaibab Squirrel, the elusive white tailed squirrel, is only found on the north rim of the Grand Canyon. Another is the Pinyon Jay is so named because it eats the seeds of the pinyon pines and stores them for winter. The pinyon pines then sprout from some of their hiding places, therefore ensuring there is alway a good supply of pinyon pines for food. We were back at the lodge by 10:00.
After a short break in our room, and wondering what should we do next, we decided to take the next ranger-led talk and walk on the geology of the Grand Canyon at 10:30. The talk by the ranger was very informative- different info from the previous ranger who was more into flora and fauna - and Terry took copious notes that I won't go into in this blog (you can thank me later). He gave a presentation of the different geologic layers of rock in the canyon and passed around samples of the different types of rocks. It turns out the ranger is a geology teacher in his "real" life. This was a summer job for him. He was really good with the kids. The talk was held at the lodge on the back patio overlooking the canyon. After the lecture we went on a walk, and as luck would have it, the walk took us down the Bright Angel Trail, again. That's three times in less than 24 hours. The walk ended back at the lodge just in time for lunch.
After lunch we headed back to the room to freshen up a little and decide what to do next. As we were walking we noticed that the sky was getting a little overcast so we decided to put off the scenic drive until tomorrow and today we would use the time to just rest a little. I took full advantage of the break; while Terry sat on the bed reading his USA Today, I laid on the bed a was asleep in no time.
After my nap we decided to venture out for some bird watching. Terry has really gotten me interested in bird watching. With video camera and digital camera in hand we set out, bound and determined to capture birds and wildlife on film. We walked along some trails back in the woods, we even sat still and quiet on a log waiting for something to come our way and nothing. I was somewhat disappointed but on our way back to the cabin, walking through the parking lot area, we stumbled on a baby bird who has apparently fallen from it's nest and the mother bird was flying in every so often to feed it. I was able to capture it on film and it was truly fascinating. After researching it in our bird books, Terry was excited to discovered that this bird was a Grace's Warbler, a bird only found in a very small area of the southwestern United States, and which was a new bird for his life list. The following is a short clip from the video:
After that it was time for dinner at 6:30 and then we were in bed by 8:00.
Day 9 - June 9th - Travel to Grand Canyon North Rim
Today is our longest travel day at 351 miles. The driving time between all the other parks was between 2 and 4 hours so it gave a lot of time to stop and sightsee along the way; however, today we had 6 hours of straight driving, so it didn't leave much wiggle room for side trips and still make it to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon by dinner time. We were up by 6:15 and on the road by 7:00, hit the McDonald's in Cortez for a little breakfast and back on the road by 8:15.
Just on the outskirts of Cortez, on US Highway 160, a bird flew in front of our car and Terry yells "That's a Phainopepla". "A what?" I said. "A Phainopepla, it's unmistakable!!" And there you have it, Terry had just added another bird to his life list, and thanks to him, so did I (although I don't officially have a life list, I've just been content to follow along and see what he sees). It was all about to change, though (more on that later).
A few miles down the road we ran into some roadwork that held us up for about 15 minutes. We used the time to chat with the flag man, a very friendly guy. He gave us a tip that if we were in the market for some Indian handicrafts that the best place to get them was at Four Corners Monument. They have the most reasonable prices. As luck would have it, we were heading there anyway so when we got there, after taking the requisite pictures of the monument, we checked out the Indian artwork, pottery, jewelry and crafts. There were so many beautiful things to choose from that I had a very hard time making a decision. We finally settled on a Wedding Vase. The two necks represent the two individuals in the marriage united as one.
This stop at Four Corners was one of Terry's favorite stops. He loved interacting with the Indians and talking to them about their art. I think we will have to be making another trip back there because he really wanted an arrow and has regretted not buying one while he was there.
After Four Corners we headed out for Monument Valley. Unfortunately we didn't have time (we thought - will explain later) to actually go into the Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park to take the 17 mile dirt road self-guided tour. We figured it would take at least 2 hours with all the stops for photo taking, besides the Ptarmigan was shuddering at the thought of another dirt road after it's experience on the Cottonwood Canyon Road (see Day 3 of our adventure). So we viewed whatever we could see from the highway and drove back into Kayenta, ate some lunch at the Burger King and were off again for Grand Canyon.
After Kayenta we continued along Hwy 160 for another 90 miles to Tuba City. After looking at the map and then looking at the gas gauge, I was sure we needed to stop and fill up our gas tank as the prospects didn't look good between Tuba City and the Grand Canyon. Well, after much, let's say, "discussion" about whether or not it was necessary to get gas, he accommodated my request. Unfortunately, the pumps were down at the first station we tried. We went across the street and they also had a problem, but this was with the "pay at the pump" system, so Terry went inside and paid for the gas, we pumped, and we were on the way.
A few miles outside of Tuba City we turned north on US Hwy 89 towards Page for another 42 miles. There was absolutely nothing along this road except for one lonely gas station in a place on the map called The Gap. The station actually looked like it had only recently been built. So once again, Terry was right, there were other places to get gas, but I'd much rather be safe than sorry.
We turned off of Hwy 89 onto Alt 89 and crossed the Colorado River at Lee's Ferry/Marble Canyon. We stopped and got out to take pictures. At this stop there as a huge pedestrian bridge across the canyon. We ventured out onto it, far enough for me to take a picture of the rafters in the river far, far below. As I was standing there on the bridge, with the wind blowing, thousands of feet in the air, I suddenly felt vulnerable. I couldn't help but think "this would be a terrible time for an earthquake".
Moving on, pushing steadily towards the Grand Canyon, the road followed alongside the Vermillion Cliffs for miles and miles.
We finally reached Jacob Lake and turned south through the Kaibab Plateau toward Grand Canyon. We finally arrived at our destination at 4:45 with plenty of time to rest up before dinner.
Immediately upon parking the car, Terry made a beeline towards the canyon edge. I was really hoping that he would go directly to the lodge because I had heard the view from the lodge looking out into the canyon was jaw dropping, an "Oh my God" experience for people who had never seen the canyon before. So much for that idea. Anyway, just as we reached the edge of the canyon I spotted a beautiful blue bird that Terry advised me was a Stellar's Jay (another first for me). I tried to photograph it, but found out quickly that birds are not very cooperative. But that gave me the idea that maybe I should use the video camera to try to photograph birds and wildlife, that way I would have more frames in which to catch them on film.
Moving on from the canyon edge we headed to the lodge to check in. Upon checking in we got a big surprise when we found out that Arizona was on a different time zone from Colorado and that it was actually 3:45. We would have had time to do Monument Valley Tribal Park after all. Oh, well. Another reason to return to the southwest.
We sent the rest of the afternoon hiking the trails around the lodge, working up a big appetite for the wonderful dinner that awaited us.
Day 8 - June 8th - Colorado Scenic Byways
Today we got up and decided we would change our itinerary a little. Instead of viewing the rest of the sights in Mesa Verde, which we figured would be much of the same, we decided to take a leisurely drive through Colorado's beautiful scenery. We headed out of the park and headed for Durango where we ate breakfast at McDonalds. The McDonalds was right next to the train station for the famous narrow gauge railroad that runs from Durango to Silverton. It looked like something worth doing and would love to do on another trip, however this trip we decided to do on our own by car since the train ride to Silverton and back would take most of the day.
From Durango we continued on to Silverton, Ouray, and then on into Telluride were we ate lunch in the Foradora Saloon. After lunch we continued our scenic drive back down the other side of the mountains and on into Cortez and back to Mesa Verde in time to view a few more sites that we had missed the previous day.
We were back in our room by 5:30 and dinner at 6:00 and ready for bed by 8:30. Enough for one day.
Day 7 -June 7th - Moab to Mesa Verde National Park
This morning we were up and on the road by 8:15. We drove straight to Mesa Verde National Park and arrived there at 10:15. We spent the rest of the day touring the park. The highlight of the day was our tour of the Cliff Palace. This is a special tour that you can only go on when lead by a ranger. Our ranger guide, Sara, was excellent and very informative. After Cliff Palace we visited a few more sites that you can do on your own including Spruce Tree House.
We checked into our room at the Far View Lodge which is in Mesa Verde right across the street from the visitors center at 5:45 and were cleaned up and ready for dinner at 6:30. The restaurant in the lodge was excellent - expensive, but excellent. We ordered a bottle of wine with dinner and since we only drank half of it, we corked it up and took it back to our room where we sat on our balcony and drank wine and watched the sunset. Perfect ending to a wonderful day.
Day 6 - June 6th - Arches National Park
It was another early morning for us. We thought we'd beat the crowd to the free hot breakfast buffet by getting there at 7:00. NOT! So much for that idea. Everyone else seemed to have the same idea. So we got in line with the rest of the tourists, ate our breakfast (which was not worth writing about except that it was free) and got on the road to Arches National Park by 8 a.m. We picked up some cookies, crackers, fruit & nuts at the local drug store for our picnic lunch later.
We spent all day in the park going from one end of the scenic drive to the other, stopping at all the viewpoints and hiking many of the trails. We walked over 5 miles before we finally stopped for lunch. After lunch we walked some more and viewed some more until Terry was tired of looking at arches.
For a respite from our tour of the arches, we headed off to Scott M. Matheson Wetlands Preserve outside of Moab. We had read in our Fodor's guidebook that it was a good place for birdwatching. It was a nice pleasant stroll along a boardwalk (until we were attached by mosquitos) but we didn't see a single bird except for a hummingbird which we saw in the parking lot but couldn't identify because it got away too quickly.
Then it was back to the motel where we showered and changed for another dinner at Eddie McStiff's. And, you guessed it, early to bed.
Here are a few pictures from our Arches N.P. visit.
Day 5 - June 5th - Capitol Reef to Moab
This morning, Ty again treated to a sumptuous breakfast of a cheese and vegetable frittata with all organic ingredients. Along with the frittata was sausage, orange juice, fresh fruit and toast with jellies. After breakfast we packed and on the road by 9:15. Our first stop was Goblin Valley State Park. The landscape is strange and surreal and as the name implies, the park is filled with hundreds of gnome-like rock formations. The wind was blowing a bit strongly so we opted not to go down and walk among the gnomes, but just view from the observation point. The following photos will give you some idea of the weird formations.
After the park we continued our drive northward along State Highway 24 north toward I-70. The road from Hanksville to the interstate is pretty much a straight, flat, wide open nothing. No towns along the route - an open invitation to speed, and speed we did. Well, sure enough, a State Trooper caught us going 82 in a 65. Thankfully he took pity on us and only gave us a warning. I guess he thought it bad for business to give the tourists tickets. So anyway, from then on we obeyed all speed limits.
We finally got to the Canyonlands/Arches are by lunchtime and since there is nowhere in the parks to buy food we decided to stop at a little place called Archview Resort. Calling it a resort is a stretch. It's nothing but a gas station and general store with souvenirs but at least they sold hotdogs and cokes. We ate our hotdogs in the car because the wind was blowing up so much dust that it would have been impossible to eat at their picnic tables. They also had restrooms where we paused to refresh ourselves and then off to Canyonlands National Park for the afternoon. We saw everything in the Islands in the Sky district of the park that can be seen from the overlooks. Most of the park appears to be for 4-wheel drives and off road vehicles. It was very hazy in the park that day due to the wind blowing up a lot of "particulates" the ranger told us. I think that's a fancy word for dust. Anyway, here are the pictures from the park.
As you can tell, I was really getting into photographing the flowers. You will see this theme a lot as we travel along.
It was now late in the afternoon and time to check into our hotel in Moab. I chose the Best Western Canyonlands for our room for the next two nights. It had all the comforts of home - WiFi, flatscreen TV, a laundry facility for the guests, and comfortable beds and a free hot breakfast. We asked the desk clerk where a good place to go for dinner was and he suggested the place across the street called Eddie McStiffs. We took him up on his suggestion and were not disappointed. After dinner it was early to bed again. You may notice a pattern by now - big dinner and then early to bed. Yeah boy, we are real party animals. The sun barely sets before we are sawing logs.
Day 4 - June 4th - Capitol Reef National Park
Our breakfast at the B&B was served at 8:30 and it was absolutely delicious - fresh honeydew melon, grapes, bacon, poached eggs with cheese on top, and blueberry pancakes. By 9:30 we were off to spend the day at Capital Reef. There is no place in the park to get food so we picked up some sandwiches from the local general store in town before heading out to the park.
Capitol Reef is a beautiful park with lots to see and do. We started by taking the scenic drive and a few of the easier hikes in the park. We started out to do a hike to see an arch named Cassidy Arch (named after Butch Cassidy because he used to hang out around there), but the climb was so steep and on the side of a mountain that half way up to the arch I chickened out and said it wasn't worth it. After completing all the hiking and picture taking we wanted to do on the scenic drive it was time for lunch so we went back to a picnic area in the park in what used to be the town of Fruita. Fruita was a Morman settlement from the late 1860's thru around the 1960's. It's abandoned now but the NPS has kept as much as possible preserved for everyone to see. The park, surrounded by fruit orchards which were planted by the residents of Fruita, was so peaceful. We found that deer enjoyed the park as much as us. Our sandwiches that we had gotten from the general store were nothing short of gourmet, much to our surprise. We had chosen their chicken salad which had fresh cranberries in the salad and it was delicious.
After lunch we continued on with the sightseeing and visited some other historic sights left by previous residents, these however predated the Mormans. These were petroglyphs left by the Fremont Indians, ancestors to the current day Hopi. The petroglyphs dated over 700 years ago. After the petroglyphs we explored a few more of the historic buildings left behind by the Mormans, then returned back to our B&B to prepare for dinner and another early night to bed.
Following are the pictures from Capital Reef N.P.:
Day 3 - June 3rd - Bryce to Torrey, Utah
This morning we got up early, ate breakfast, packed, and were on the road by 7:30. We set out for Capitol Reef National Park, taking time to enjoy several stops along the way. Our first stop after leaving Bryce was to the Post Office at Ruby's Inn. Immediately upon arriving at the inn we realized how lucky we were to have stayed at Bryce Canyon Lodge. I can't say enough about how wonderful it was to stay at the lodge. It was so quite and peaceful, we were literally 500 ft. from the rim of the canyon. At night after all the tour buses left for Ruby's we who stayed at the lodge had the park all to ourselves. It was truly a wonderful experience.
Next stop on our journey was a state park named Kodachrome Basin State Park just outside Cannonville on Route 12. It was a very nice state park with some interesting formations with very well maintained dirt roads and very walkable trails to the formations. The first first thing we did was to take a nice little hike to Shakespeare Arch. It was a small arch, but an enjoyable hike none the less after they previous day's two grueling hikes. After taking in the arch we drove to Chimney Rock, another interesting formation in the park, and various unnamed rock formations. Altogether we spent about 2 hours in the park. Pictures follow, be sure to check out Terry's wild shorts.
Just outside Kodachrome Basin State Park was the entrance to Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and the Cottonwood Canyon Road. My friend Laurie told me about this great arch by the name of Grosvenor Arch which was off of Cottonwood Canyon Road so we headed out to see it. Although I believe she took the road from the south end, outside of Page, and worked her way up about 30 miles to Grosvenor Arch, we decided to take the shortcut and go from the north end. The ranger at the park's visitors center told us we wouldn't be able to come up from the south anyway because the road was impassable. We only had 9 miles on this not so well maintained dirt road. There were a number of times I was ready to turn back the road was so bad. At one point we had to ford a stream. Actually it was one of the washes that had not dried out from the rain they had a few days earlier. The sign at the entrance to Cottonwood Canyon Road had these big warning signs that 4-wheel drive was highly suggested. We finally made it and were rewarded with a wonderful sight. Anyway, attached are pictures of our adventure.
Next stop on our journey was a state park named Kodachrome Basin State Park just outside Cannonville on Route 12. It was a very nice state park with some interesting formations with very well maintained dirt roads and very walkable trails to the formations. The first first thing we did was to take a nice little hike to Shakespeare Arch. It was a small arch, but an enjoyable hike none the less after they previous day's two grueling hikes. After taking in the arch we drove to Chimney Rock, another interesting formation in the park, and various unnamed rock formations. Altogether we spent about 2 hours in the park. Pictures follow, be sure to check out Terry's wild shorts.
Just outside Kodachrome Basin State Park was the entrance to Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and the Cottonwood Canyon Road. My friend Laurie told me about this great arch by the name of Grosvenor Arch which was off of Cottonwood Canyon Road so we headed out to see it. Although I believe she took the road from the south end, outside of Page, and worked her way up about 30 miles to Grosvenor Arch, we decided to take the shortcut and go from the north end. The ranger at the park's visitors center told us we wouldn't be able to come up from the south anyway because the road was impassable. We only had 9 miles on this not so well maintained dirt road. There were a number of times I was ready to turn back the road was so bad. At one point we had to ford a stream. Actually it was one of the washes that had not dried out from the rain they had a few days earlier. The sign at the entrance to Cottonwood Canyon Road had these big warning signs that 4-wheel drive was highly suggested. We finally made it and were rewarded with a wonderful sight. Anyway, attached are pictures of our adventure.
After we made it back to Utah Scenic Byway 12 we decided to take it easy for the rest of the day and just take a leisurely drive to our next stop - Torrey, Utah. This scenic byway is names one of only 20 All-American Roads in the U.S. by the National Scenic Byways Program and it didn't disappoint. We stopped at every scenic overlook, and some that I'm positive were not actually "official" overlooks. There were a lot of places where the scenery was so beautiful but there was absolutely nowhere to pull off. Here are some pictures from the drive.
We arrived in Torrey and found our accommodations, Torrey Schoolhouse Bed & Breakfast Inn. We didn't need any directions to find it, the town is rather small and it was the 2nd tallest building in the town, the first being the new Morman temple they are building. Our B&B was a converted schoolhouse that the new owners lovingly restored. Ty, the proprietor, was such a gracious hostess, and her breakfasts were outstanding, all organic items. She grew the herbs and vegetables in her garden out back. In addition to the above link to her website I am also attaching some pictures I took of our room, the Grand Room where guests could gather to relax and also where breakfast was served, and the garden.
Since we had arrived early at our accommodations for the next 2 nights, Ty gave us some suggestions on what to do with the rest of our afternoon, and a suggestion on where to go for dinner as well. Both suggestions turned out to be wonderful. First we went into Capitol Reef and did a few of the overlooks and trails in the late afternoon between 4 and 5:30 PM. We were back at the B&B by 5:45 where we changed and went to Cafe Diablo for dinner (Ty's suggestion). I am glad she had suggested it because I had also read about it in my Fodor's guidebook and it is apparently one of the best restaurant's in the state of Utah. Dinner was fabulous. Who would have thought that a little town like Torrey would have such an amazing restaurant. After dinner we waddled back to the B&B and got a good night's sleep.
Day 2 - June 2nd - Bryce Canyon National Park
Thanks to our early to bed, we were also early to rise, both awake at 5 AM. We dressed and took a short walk to the rim of the canyon for our first view. The first thing you need to understand about Bryce Canyon is that it is not a canyon, it is more properly called an amphitheater. Which means you are on top of a giant precipice looking out over an immense amount of eroded sandstone. We walked to Sunrise Point joining many others to await the suns first appearance over the horizon illuminating this incredible sandstone phenomenon. The sun appeared at 6:20 AM. It was worth the early arising. We strolled along the rim and took several pictures before returning to the lodge for breakfast.
After breakfast we piled into our PT Cruiser which has been christened multiple names, not the least of which is “Pretty Tame”, “Pathetic Torque”, and “Ptarmigan”. We settled on Ptarmigan as the car is snowy white just like the Ptarmigans we saw in Alaska. We spent the morning driving the 36 mile round trip scenic drive, stopping at all of the overlooks. The elevations along this trip ranged from a low of 8,000 ft. at the lodge to 9,115 ft. at Rainbow Point. Not only were the views incredible but we were also able to take pictures of wildflowers, deer, chipmunks, and one very tame raven at Ponderosa Point. The most prevalent bird in the area is the Violet Green Swallow which are flying all over the place. We finished our drive back at the lodge in time for lunch.
After lunch we got adventurous. We put on our hiking shoes and hiked the Navajo Loop Trail. This trail is described as “moderate” in difficulty. It is 1.3 miles in length which is .7 miles down 520 ft. and then, groan, .6th of a mile back up. It was worth the trip. We were able to walk through a very steep and deep, narrow canyon gorge named “Wall Street”. Looking up the walls did not look 10 feet apart, but were 500 ft. high. Awesome! On the hike back up we saw another rock formation by the name of “Thor’s Hammer”. These narrow rock formations are sandstone eroded remains which have been named “hoodoos” and they are many and plentiful. Back at the top we realized that this hike was breathtaking in more ways than one. Not only did the view take our breath away, but so did the hike. The hike took us an hour and a half and we were back in our room by 3PM.
Well, apparently that didn’t satisfy us and 15 minutes later we set out again to hike the Queen’s Garden Trail. This was easier going as it dropped only 320 ft. and was not nearly as steep as the earlier hike, but due to the earlier hike we were just as tired. This trail was actually longer than the previous one at 1.6 miles. On this trail we say a mountain bluebird, many hoodoos but much closer up than on the previous hike, and had to walk through several manmade arches. It was quite breezy on this trip, but temperatures were probably in the mid 70’s. We were back in our room at 5 o’clock. We then showered and spent a pleasant hour on our deck planning our next day’s activities. We ate dinner at the lodge at 6:45. Dinner was excellent especially so for a couple of really tired hikers, bringing to a happy end our first sight seeing day.
Day 1 - June 1st - Travel to Bryce Canyon N.P.
Our day started out early, we woke up at 5 AM and was out of the house by 6 AM for a 9 AM direct flight from Cincinnati to Las Vegas. Now, I thought 6AM was a little early to leave the house considering it's only an hour and a half to the Cincinnati airport, but thank goodness we left early because going through security took a very long time. By the time we got to our gate and sat down, they started calling for boarding of the plane.
The flight was particularly uneventful and we arrived in Las Vegas at 9:40, 45 minutes ahead of schedule. Only one problem, my bag didn't arrive. For some unknown reason it took a detour through Atlanta and was not scheduled to arrive until 3 PM. The baggage agents were very nice and tried to be helpful and said that they would drive to bag to us. This wouldn't have been a problem if we had planned on staying in Las Vegas, but we were planning on renting a car and driving to Bryce Canyon right away. After they researched how they would be able to get my bag to Bryce Canyon it became obvious that I might be without a bag for the night as there were no flights that would connect together to get it there by that evening. So we made a slight revision to our itinerary and went to Hoover Dam to kill some time until 3 PM when we could reclaim my bag.
We had actually planned on going to Hoover Dam anyway, but not until the end of the trip when we returned to Vegas to catch our flight home. Hoover Dam was awesome. While there we couldn't help but notice that a new bridge is being built across the canyon. It is going to be a new interstate, and once completed, in 2010, people will no longer be able to drive across the dam. We are so thankful that we decided to go when we did because driving across the dam is truly a marvelous experience.
We were back at the airport by 2:45 and it wasn't long before my bag came down the chute at the baggage claim area. I went over to the baggage agents who had helped us earlier and thanked them for their assistance. Being nice pays off sometimes. She gave us a voucher for $50 off our next flight, that's on top of the meal vouchers she had given us earlier this morning to get something to eat.
We finally left the airport at 3:15 and were on our way. After 3 hours of driving we pulled in at Cedar City, Utah to get a bite to eat at Applebee's, realizing we could not make it to Bryce Canyon Lodge in time for our dinner reservations there. From Cedar City we continued our drive to Bryce Canyon along the very picturesque Scenic Byways of SR14 and SR12, finally arriving at Bryce Canyon Lodge in the dark at 9PM. It was a very long day and we hit the sack immediately.
My new RAV4
This car really turned out to be much more car than I originally was looking for. I started out looking for a 2-wheel drive with leather seating, then Terry wanted a moonroof and V6, and then I just had to have a navigation package (that's another story), and it had to be red. With the options we wanted it kind of narrowed it down to either the Sport or the Limited model. Since the Sport model only came with black interior, which I did not want, my choice was simple, it had to be the Limited. The problem was that apparently Toyota doesn't make very many Limiteds and when they do, the vehicles are usually loaded out to the max with additional options such as 4-wheel drive, tow package, backup camera, etc., etc. Our salesman was only able to find one Barcelona Red Limited with the options I wanted, plus it also had the aforementioned extra options I didn't necessarily want but am sure I will enjoy them none the less.
Then there is the story about the navigation system. A year and a half ago Terry and I went on a two week trip through California with our friends Martha, of "Armchair Travel with Martha" fame, and her husband Jim in their Prius and Daisy, their onboard navigation system. I knew right away that I just had to have a navigation system in my next car. It was just too cool how it guided us all over California. I could already see how useful that would be to us since we were planning a lot of road trips now that I'm retired. It was a small price to pay if it helps keep the peace. It's not easy trying to be the navigator when we are speeding along at 80 miles per hour and the road signs are going by so fast it's hard to read them, all the while trying to read a map where the print is getting exceedingly smaller and smaller the older I get. I can see how it would be extremely helpful in the bigger cities where we are totally in unfamiliar territory (it is otherwise useless in our small town of Columbus). Now then, I think I have thoroughly justified the extra expense of the NAV package, don't you?
It Beats TV
Once again I find myself snowed in, this time only for a short while. The snow wasn't bad enough to completely shut down the town. But for a few hours there wasn't much activity except for the feeding frenzy outside our dining room window. The birds and squirrels didn't seem to mind the frigid wind and snow. They appeared to be stocking up on groceries the way we do when we hear a winter storm is coming. We had to go outside and "restock the shelves" for them as their feeders got low. One of the squirrels was especially comical as he dangled from the shepherds hook and stretched out his body to eat from the bird feeder. He later uncovered an ear of corn we had thrown out there for him a few days ago so he'd leave the bird feeders alone. The birds seen in the photo album are: cardinal, downy woodpecker, red bellied woodpecker, purple finch, and flicker.
Winter Wonderland
Yesterday was such a beautiful, sunny day. The snow sparkled in the sunlight like millions of tiny, tiny diamonds blanketing the snow. The high for the day was 35 degrees. Today promises to be just as beautiful of a day, although it started out much colder. We awoke to -14 degrees but it has since warmed up to 16 degrees. The high is supposed to be around 33. I've attached some pictures of our beautiful sunny day. The last one is of Terry making a snow angel.
The rescue team has arrived
We have been released from the bondage of our home. I'm not sure that's a good thing since I no longer have an excuse as to why I can't go to garden club. I was really enjoying being cooped up in the house with my new found hobby - my blogspot. I have been working on it for days and find it a bit of a challenge. I have managed however in these few days of captivity to learn how to change colors in the template and add a picture and embed a slideshow. Who knows how much more I could have learned if I were shut away from the world for a few more days. I'm attaching a few more pictures of the snow. The sun did come out and it really was beautiful.
Let it snow
We've got snow. Lots of it too. Being from Miami and living in warm climates all of my life, this is exciting to me. It's day three of our midwest winter storm and we are still snowed in. The snow plow hasn't been in our neighborhood yet although I hear rumors that once one makes it out of the neighborhood the main roads have been cleared. This is a first for me....."Hey world, I'm snowed in".
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)