Continuing our Travels

We took a brief break from National Parks and visited my brother in Tucson.  It's always great to visit with family and Tom's house is beautiful, peaceful and welcoming.  I was happy to be able to celebrate my brother's birthday with him - that hasn't happened in years. We visited the Pima Air and Space Museum and went up to Mount Lemmon for a refreshing break from the heat.  Actually, Tucson has really awesome weather.  The mornings are clear and relatively cool (78 degrees or so) and then it heats up fast.  But the evenings are also cool with a slight breeze.  I really love the Tucson area, but it does not have much water and the increasing population is putting a strain on the water supply.

When we left Tucson, we drove up I-25 to Taos, New Mexico.  We have never been here before.  It is a small city up in the mountains.  It doesn't seem to get really hot like some other parts of New Mexico.  The center of town is a historic Plaza - plazas are common in town - filled with shops, galleries, and restaurants.  Taos became an artist's mecca in the early 1900s and the city is still filled with beautiful and inspirational artwork of all kinds. 

We planned to visit an art museum today, but when we pulled in we noticed a sign saying the museum is closed today!  We will try again tomorrow.  So, we had to satisfy ourselves by visiting several shops and galleries.  We have a few more of those to check out tomorrow too.

I love the adobe architecture here.  The place where we are staying is fairly new, but is built in that old fashioned style.  The inn owners built four casitas - small houses.  Each one has a bedroom and an open living room/kitchen floor plan.  It has a real kitchen!  I'm very excited about that.  It is a trial for me to eat all of my meals in restaurants or hotels.  I am surprised that so many restaurants still do not regularly supply whole grains, vegetarian options, and fresh vegetables.  This casita also has a washer and dryer.  For folks who are traveling with one suitcase each, this is a huge benefit.  In fact, this casita is pretty ideal for  me.

Our hotel stays have left me with some notes and comments that I will share in a later blog solely devoted to lodging on road trips.

The road we took up Mount Lemmon.  Look at those tiny cars!

A meadow near the top of Mount Lemmon.  It reminded me of the opening scene of the Sound of Music.

Our casita.

Pictures of Bryce Canyon

We have been quite busy at each park .... from touring, walking and photographing.  We haven't had time to look at the photos we've taken... until now....
I uploaded pictures from Arches a while ago, so now here are some pictures from Bryce.

This last picture is of a tunnel outside the park as we left going to Zion.   It's the entrance to Red Canyon

Hope you enjoy these photos... we have many more, but I thought I would spare you the complete amount.   My next major upload of pictures will be of Zion .....
Peace to all!

Tunnels of Zion

One of the more exciting features of driving Zion are the tunnels.  I feel like a kid when I drive through them....   such a difference from side to side.  There are at least three tunnels.  The big tunnel is the largest.  It really can't be documented .... it's so dark and long.... over a mile long!!!

Note that all the tunnels were hand dug..... just jack hammers shovels and a little dynamite...

 

On the large tunnel they only allow one way traffic.  Although... our trip down we shared the tunnel with the opposite direction traffic. I was very surpised!

Here is one of the other tunnels....   love the coming out of the tunnel.  This one is cool because you can see the exit and you approach the entrance...

Another blog about today's activities will ensue ... but it's time to eat and relax here in Flagstaff...

Walking in Zion

Today was devoted to walking the trails to see some beautiful vistas in the park.  We drove into the parking lot before 10:00 am and hopped on the park shuttle.  It took us to the farthest stop, the Temple of Sinawava, so I could walk the Riverside Trail.  It was a 1.1 mile walk down to the Narrows, then I walked back to where Dennis was waiting for me.   With his bad knee, he thought a two mile walk might be too much -- especially since I wanted to walk two other trails.

The trail led through almost-tropical flora, past hanging gardens to a wide, shallow spot in the river, then into the narrows.  We were walking along the bottom of the cliffs and mountains.  It was shady and I was able to maintain a good walking pace.  As I walked, I noted places that I wanted to photograph on the way back.  Many hikers go on into the Narrows and hike through water to the Kayenta Trail.  That sounded like fun, but I just stopped there and turned back.  The path was wide and paved.  It was a great walk.

Beginning of the trail

 Hanging garden - flowers

 Hanging garden - hanging on for dear life

The Narrows

When I got back to Dennis, we boarded the shuttle and got off at stop 7 to walk up to the Weeping Rock.  It was a short trail, but when the trail description said "steep" it was NOT kidding!  We took pictures along the way and Dennis stopped about halfway up because it was so steep -- he was concerned about coming back down.  So we traded cameras and I reached the weeping rock all out of breath, but glad I came to see it.  The water seeps through the rock and it gently rains down inside a shallow cavern.  It was cool and shady and a welcome break after the climb.

Weeping Rock

We reached the shuttle stop just as a bus was pulling in and we rode to stop 5 to take the Lower Emerald Pools Trail -- a half mile trek to another hanging garden and "waterfall."  This walk was a gradual slope up to a vantage point that overlooked some lovely, shady pools.  The waterfall, however, was slightly disappointing.  I did take a video because the sound of water raining down onto a rock shelf was pretty cool.

 Crossing the Virgin River toward Emerald Pools

 Waterfall

Waterfall up Close

At 1:30 we did some souvenir shopping and took a snack and water break.  That was quite enough hiking for Dennis, so we decided to take a scenic drive up Kolob Terrace Road on the far side of the Park.  The drive climbs steeply up through mesas to what looked like the edge of the world.  We climbed from 3500 feet above sea level to 8000 feet above sea level.  It was incredible!

 Lava Point overlook

Cloud shadows approaching Lava Point

Tomorrow we drive to Arizona.  We'll stay in Flagstaff and then go on to Tucson to visit my brother Tom and sister-in-law Betty.  It is always a delight to spend time with them in that amazing city.

Wild Life

We were lucky to be able to see some mule deer and mountain goats... as well as many other indigenous species.   Here are a couple examples:

One of my fave  mesa tops is the Altar of Sacrifice ... note the 'blood' running off the altar.

 and finally ... my favorite Wild Life:

More Zion Tomorrow

Pilgrimage to Zion

Today we toured Zion National Park with a park ranger.  About 30 tourists were on the shuttle bus.  We heard about the history of the park and of the Mormon settlers who arrived in this beautiful, barren land with the goal of being entirely self-supporting living off the land.

The park has such diversity of ecosystems that it offers stunning beauty and sere, high desert in a relatively short walk. We started our tour under the gaze of the West Temple and the Altar of Sacrifice.  The blood red stains gave the Altar of Sacrifice its name.

The settlers who were successful were able to create irrigation systems in order to produce enough food, but they also introduced non-native species, like peaches.  When Zion became a National Park, the NPS removed all of the non-native trees.

We understand that the terrain is changing, but that usually means that visible change happens over the course of centuries.  The second sight on our tour was a "slide" that is active and changing much more frequently.  In 2010 after a large storm and vigorous flooding, there was a significant landslide that destroyed part of the park road.  The hillside here looks raw.

The next feature we toured was the most surprising -- it was a waterfall.  It is called Menu Falls, odd name right?  So named because a picture of this waterfall graced the front of the menu at the Lodge at Zion.  That's what the locals began calling it and the name stuck.  The ranger explained that this was the oldest water in the park.  It has been carbon dated to determine that it is about 4100 years old.  I didn't realize that you could test for the age of water!  This water is held under the caps of the largest mountain peaks and it gradually seeps vertically through the layers until it encounters a barrier.  Then the water pushes along horizontally until it finds it way out.  The foliage surrounding the waterfall included maidenhair ferns and columbine.  It felt so familiar, but I'm sure our waterfalls don't have old water in them in Michigan.

We were able to get one question answered with a great story.  We saw this flower everywhere and admired it because it looks like moonflower -- but it seems to be very hardy.

This lovely flower is sacred datura and is not from the same family as moonflower.  It is poisonous.  Some people are highly allergic and react even to a small brush with the leaves.  Our ranger told us that it was used in Native American ceremonies and that it is hallucinogenic if ingested.  The hallucinations could last for up to three days!  When he told this to one of his tour groups, a woman drew him aside and said that she had consumed Sacred Datura when she was younger (a hippie girl); she told him that his explanation was completely accurate.  The things you can learn on a tour!

After the tour we walked a mile to the museum to check out the exhibits, but along the way we saw this mule deer and her kids grazing.  You have to look closely -- they are masters of camouflage.

Tomorrow we are going to do a couple of the easy hikes to some of the icons of the park - can't wait.

The Last Day at Bryce

Ok... so we spent three days here.   Barely enough.   Today was relaxed and as you can see from MaryAlice's post we still covered a lot of ground.  I had a minor issue with my knee... but it is what it is.

The following pics are from Inspiration Point.   A perfect closure to our stay here.  So beautiful! 
I love how you can see the storm rolling in.... mind you, we're at ~8,000 feet above sea level.... lightning is a present danger!   
Oh.. and you can see one of the many trails on the second pic.

 Tonight dinner was at the Bryce Lodge.   Much smaller than the lodge in Glacier Nat. Park... and not as cool but still very nice.
Tomorrow to Zion! 
Don't forget that you can comment on our posts!!
Until tomorrow!

Stories from Bryce Canyon

Visiting Bryce Canyon has yielded some interesting stories along with our walking activities in the park.  We've mentioned the odd alcohol laws in Utah and this park is in a really rural area.  We wanted to buy a special bottle of wine (or champagne) for our anniversary and we knew we couldn't buy it at a grocery store - they sell only beer.  So, we stopped at the general store for a few things and asked the helpful person there where we could buy wine. 

He kind of chuckled and asked if we knew where Ruby's Inn was.  We did - it had grown from an inn to the largest hotel in the area located right outside of the park.  He told us to go there, not the the restaurant entrance but to the hotel registration desk.  We were to ask at the registration desk to purchase a bottle of wine.  He said the hotel clerk would take us to the locked, closet-sized space where the wine and other beverages were located.  This space is the official liquor control commission store for the whole area!  We were able to purchase decent wine (the only "champagne" was Andre) for a ridiculous price.  Welcome to Utah.  I can hardly wait to see what the liquor control commission store in Zion looks like!

Yesterday we learned more about Ruby's Inn.  We took a narrated bus tour of the Bryce Canyon park and the bus driver was amusing and informative.  He has lived in the area for many years and loves Utah and the beautiful area of Bryce Canyon.  We saw and heard the names of many plants and animals in the park.  It was fun and interesting and answered many of my questions.  As we were headed to the various drop-off areas of the various groups on the bus, the driver told us about Ruby's Inn.  The inn was first opened in the early 1900s, before Bryce Canyon was a national monument and before it became a national park.  He explained that a president can name a national monument, but it takes an act of congress to name a national park.

When Bryce Canyon became a national park, the National Park Service (NPS) told the Ruby's Inn owner, the Syrett family, that they wanted the land that the Inn sat on as part of the park.  They were willing to trade acreage.  The Syrett family traded for all of the land between the park entrance and the nearest main road (highway 12).  Brilliant move!  When you turn onto the road that enters the park, all of the businesses are owned by the Syrett family:  hotel, RV park (including teepees to camp in), gas station, car wash, three restaurants, general store, laundromat and small weekend rodeo.

Then, the Syrett family took advantage of a quickly passed state law that allowed the incorporation of communities between 100-999 people if the petition was drawn up by 50% of the landowners in the area.  They petitioned to become Bryce Canyon City and they have a big sign at the entrance of the property that proclaims the creation of the city in 2007.  The city is comprised of all of the Ruby's Inn businesses - truly a company town!  In 2008 the state legislature changed the law slightly so that this can't happen again.

Today we heard another story.  This one was from the two young ladies who do housekeeping at the Bryce Canyon Pines inn where we are staying (outside of Bryce Canyon City).  They also serve as waitresses at the restaurant onsite in the summer.  They live in Cedar City about 75 miles away but move here in the summer.  We had noticed the large number of visitors from other countries.  We were discussing waiting tables and tips and got into the discussion of who the best tippers are.  As it turns out, Americans are the best tippers in this area.  One of the girls explained that the European travelers are used to their system in which service tips are built into the menu prices.  So they have learned to note on the bill that service gratuities have not been added to the bill.  But they acknowledged that they don't want to discriminate against European guests - they just want to make a living wage.  Very interesting discussion!

We may add some more photos from our walks today.  We did a short walk from Sunset Point to Sunrise Point -- a beautiful train that hugs the rim of the amphitheater of stone hoodoos.  Then we went to Inspiration Point.  I did not walk the trail, but I climbed - and I do mean climbed -  to one of the overlooks to get a good photo of the basin with the mountains in the background and a huge thunderstorm coming toward us.  We were back in the car before the rain hit us.  What fun!

What the passanger sees

Here are a few pictures to add to what MaryAlice spoke to in the most recent blog. 

With this kind of expanse of nothing... it's amazing the world we live in is over populated.

 The Road goes ever on:

 The world's first Yurt???

 This was called Jacob's Chair..

mmmm Jacob was a big dude!

 You can wade across the Colorado River here

oh... and the bridge is cool too!

 Drop offs on both sides of the road... no guard rails...

D