UPDATED - Colorado National Monument

UPDATE: Cathy read my original post and asked me, "Where's the picture of the bighorn sheep?" OOPS!... massive brain fart on my part.

As we were driving down from Colorado NM, Rich said, "Hey, check out the goats over there." It turned out that what he spotted was a small herd of desert bighorn sheep. I stopped in the middle of the road (no traffic!) and Cathy snapped this picture.

Here's another photo, a panorama, that I think better captures the beautiful, fantastic scenery found in Colorado National Monument.

We've been hanging out in Grand Junction, CO for the last week or so. Over the weekend, we managed to connected with our friends Rich and Lynn Johnson, from California. We both ended up in Grand Junction because the cold snowy weather forced us both to change our plans. Rich and Lynn are touring the West on their motorcycle; as you might imagine, they are fairly sensitive to cold and snowy weather.

A couple of days ago we toured Colorado National Monument, which is just a few miles from Grand Junction. I'm not positive, but I believe it is not named for the state; rather, it is named for the Colorado plateau. The Colorado plateau is the vast geological formation that also contains the Grand Canyon and the Mighty 5 Utah National Parks.

We've stayed in this area a couple of times, once for several days, and were never aware of Colorado National Monument; it's kind of a hidden gem. It contains several steep colorful canyons carved by wind and water erosion. It was well worth visiting.

When we started our travels we were really focused on hitting the National Parks. Since then, we've visited a number of National Monuments, National Historic Parks, etc. ALL have been well worth visiting. Colorado NM, very much like White Sands NM in New Mexico, really could be considered for National Park status.

Here's a few pics....

Cathy and her good friend Lynn Johnson

That's the city of Grand Junction and the Colorado River in the background.

Black Canyon

Update, in case anyone's interested: Our original plan was to leave Monticello, Utah and head north into the Wasatch mountains outside of Salt Lake City. We were going to explore that area for a week or so. Well, the weather in the mountain West isn't cooperating. It's cold and rainy everywhere, with snow in higher elevations - like the Wasatch mountains.

So, instead of heading north, we headed east a little bit, to Grand Junction, Colorado. We've spent some time here before and really like the area. Although it's cool and rainy here... it's not snowing! We'll be here through Memorial Day weekend, then back on the road.

We're some 70 miles from Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. Yesterday, we took a day trip to see it.

It is, of course, spectacular. One could simply describe it as a big canyon that the Gunnison river flows through. While accurate, that doesn't begin to describe what you see, peering over the edge. The last six National Parks that we've seen, starting with the Grand Canyon and including the Mighty Five in Utah, all show the effects of erosion, either water or wind, on sandstone rock in various forms on what's called the Colorado plateau. The Black Canyon shows a river that's carved nearly a 1/2-mile down through granite.

Actually, a geologist would say that we're talking about gneiss and schist, but "granite" is close enough. It's metamorphic rock, as opposed to the softer, sedimentary rock found in the Colorado plateau. So, instead of the convoluted spires, fins and arches found in sandstone, one sees instead sheer, near-vertical, foreboding walls. Standing on the canyon rim, you feel like you are looking straight down at the river flowing below. I'm not particularly scared of heights, but the heights involved here made me glad that the overlooks had solid well-constructed handrails along the rim.

It was a cloudy cold day when we were there; we actually had a few snow flurries at times. As such, I don't think our photos show all of the color and details that are present in this magnificent canyon.

Natural Bridges National Monument

We didn't have anything planned for Sunday. I scanned the map and found that Natural Bridges National Monument lies some 60 miles south of us... not too far away. A little reading showed me that it contains three large natural bridges, including the second-largest one in the US.

That was sufficient for us. We packed some food and took off.

 All three of the bridges can be seen from the road but they are not, quite frankly, much to look at  when viewed from above. Their height and span seem unimpressive; they simply blend into the massive stone walls surrounding them. So, there was nothing for us to do but hike down to them.

Sipapu Bridge, the second-largest natural bridge in the US, is some 220 feet high and 270 feet wide. This was the one that we really wanted to see. The NPS warned in their brochure that the trail to Sipapu is the steepest one in the park. They also alerted us that it contains three staircases and two ladders; all of this allows the trail to drop some 400 feet in 0.6 miles. What they don't tell you is that in places the trail drops down the near-vertical face of the canyon walls. The brochure also stated that there was a very reasonable turnaround point about halfway down, where the trail gained a wide ledge that we could walk out on and see the bridge from face-on.

Walking down to this ledge was enough for Cathy; she's not crazy about a lot of exposure on a trail. I, on the other hand, couldn't let the trail go unchallenged. So, she headed back up to The Beast and I made a quick trip down to the base of the bridge and a somewhat less-than-quick trip back up the steep grade, the ladders, and the stairs.

It was worth it; this is a massive, impressive bridge, and seeing it was well worth the effort.

Supapi Bridge

We also visited Owachomo Bridge, which had a short 0.3 mile walk down, dropping only some 180 feet in elevation. This bridge is a real beauty, too; it shows a long, graceful span.

Here's a better shot of Owachomo, without the two old people in front of it.

This was a fun sidebar trip. It took a couple of hours and we managed to see some sites that not very many people get to.

Canyonlands

We were a little worried that we'd be disappointed in Canyonlands. First of all, most of Canyonlands National Park is really inaccessible unless you're hiking or four-wheeling. Secondly, we decided to enter the park via the lesser-known of the two roads that enter the park, taking one into what's called the Needles District. It's far closer to where we are staying. Lastly, this is the last of the Mighty 5 Utah National Parks; I was a little worried that we'd not really see anything new.

Not to worry. Canyonland ranks sufficiently high on the spectacularness scale. Canyonlands richly deserves its National Park status. 

We took a back road out of Monticello, where we are staying. This road winds up in the hills, passing through part of the Manti-La Sal National Forest. It was a beautiful drive, capped by a vista that could not be surpassed.

A few miles out we passed by Newspaper Rock, a rock wall absolutely covered in petroglyphs. We've been seeing petroglyphs all over the Southwest, but this was probably the clearest and most extensive collection that we've seen.

In the park we stumbled on a real gem. We took a short - less than a mile - trail that wandered around a spring, and some preserved Indian ruins and the remnants of a cowboy camp. 

After that, the trail climbed up on top of the slickrock dome, affording us with a 360° view of the whole basin. Here's a panorama shot I took on my iPhone; I think that the panorama function only allows for a 180° sweep. I don't think that this panorama does full justice to what we were seeing. 

We drove to the end of the road. There's a trail here, which we did not take, that drops ten miles down to the confluence of the Green and Colorado rivers. This'd make a great overnight backpacking trip... not for today. 

See the Wooden Shoe Arch?

We definitely want to come back to Canyonlands. There's another section accessible by road in the north end, near Moab. Since we definitely want to come back to Arches and do more there, a return visit to southeastern Utah is in our future plans. 

Arches National Park

There's no doubt about it, Arches National Park exudes spectacularness. I can't say we were surprised. Everyone that's visited it has told us so. Additionally, we knew that it contains more natural arches than any other place on earth, as well as the tallest and longest arches known.

Arches is really a victim of its own spectacularness; it's not geared up to handle the huge crowds that are descending on it. There's but one road into the park; it stretches some 18 miles from the entrances, with a couple of short spurs off it. We were warned that at times the line to get into the park can cause waits of one hour or more... just to get in. If I were king, I'd put in a ginormous parking lot at the entrance, install a shuttle bus system, and make everyone use it.

So, we went in expecting crowds, but were pleasantly surprised: it wasn't too terribly bad. We waited at the entrance for 10-15 minutes but, other than that, the crowds weren't horrible. The road itself was fine; traffic moved smoothly. Most, but not all, of the turnouts and viewpoints, had adequate parking. I'd REALLY hate to see the place on a weekend, though (we went on a Thursday).

Copper was dealing with some health issues; because of this, we didn't want to leave the dogs at home all day long, so we ended up taking them with us. The weather was mild enough that we felt comfortable leaving them in the truck for brief periods of time. We didn't get to go on any long hikes, but took several short strolls.

Nonetheless, we greatly enjoyed the spectacular scenery.

The small arch shown is called Delicate Arch; it's what's shown on Utah license plates. Those are people on the horizon. 

We didn't plan on having the bird in the picture; we didn't see it until long afterward. 

Capital Reef

I think that Cathy and I were prepared to be underwhelmed by Capital Reef National Park. We had just visited both Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks, both of which are top-tier in spectacularness. Also, we'd heard several people mention that it doesn't really match these aforementioned parks, let alone Arches and Canyonland National Parks.

On Monday, we left Glendale, Utah and drove some 180 miles to Torrey, Utah. Torrey is just a few miles west of Capital Reef National Park. On Tuesday, we hit the park.

The headquarters area of Capital Reef is in a small valley watered by what is laughingly called the Fremont River - it can't be six feet wide and a foot deep. Nonetheless, it nourished a thriving farming community called Fruita. Today, the remnant fields and orchards are lovingly maintained by the National Park Service.

Capital Reef has a single paved road that runs some ten miles into the park. The rest of the park is only accessible by dirt road or by trail.

We scouted out a couple of fairly easy trails to explore the area. In our experience, getting away from the paved roads and the attendant crowds is the only way to see these magnificent parks.

The first hike took us down Capital Gorge. It was a very pleasant two-mile round trip down a wash through a narrow cleft in the Reef.

We were informed to keep an eye out for inscriptions carved into the canyon walls by some early Mormon settlers. One of them caught my attention....

See the circled name, "Elmer Huntsman Oct 5 1883"? The Huntsman family is a wealthy, influential and philanthropic Utah family. Jon Huntsman, Jr. was at one time the governor of Utah. Huntsman Chemical Company, founded by Jon Huntsman, Sr., was both a large supplier and a customer of the company that I retired from, Pilot Chemical Company. I wonder if Elmer Huntsman was an ancestor?

Walking down the gorge, we periodically encountered the most wonder floral fragrance. We finally connected it to these flowers - we have no idea what they are called.

Our nominal destination on this hike was a series of water pockets, which are depressions in the sandstone that capture rainwater or runoff; they obviously perform an essential function to sustain wildlife in this harsh and dry desert environment.

The second walk (sorry, no photos) was more of the same. We walked a mile or two down Grand Wash, which cuts through the Reef; one can actually walk some five or six miles all the way down the Grand Wash to its junction with the Fremont River.

All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed our time here. Capital Reef doesn't take your breath away like Bryce Canyon, but it offers a serene beauty all its own.

Sidebars

Cathy and I were talking today about some of the interesting and unusual things we've seen and done, besides visiting the large, well-known National Parks. Our pattern of living has been to settle in a place for a few days while we visit a National Park (or family, or whatever). While there, we inevitably get a little bored just sitting around and look for something else to see or do. There is so much to see and do in this great country of ours; we've had a ball discovering interesting, oddball, and out-of-the-way things to see and do.

I told her I was going to put together a blog post about some of the interesting things we've been doing in the last few days while we've been here in Glendale. I was kind of struggling with a name; I was thinking of "Odds and Ends", or maybe "Outtakes"... she suggested "Sidebars", which is an obvious winner.

A lot of our exploration is driven by finding a place to take the dogs on walks. We think that they get a little bored simply walking around an RV park; we know that we do. So, we usually pull out a map, or ask the locals, and set sail for adventure.

A few days ago we were looking for a place to go. I had spotted signs for "Pink Coral Sand Dunes State Park" a few miles outside of Kanab, maybe 20 miles away. It sounded intriguing, so we headed over. We found a beautiful little state park, complete with picnic area, campground and off-highway-vehicle (OHV) recreation area.

The sand dunes? Judge for yourself. To me, they're more orange than pink. Not surprisingly, they are largely made up of eroded Navajo Sandstone that the prevailing winds have blown into this spot. The sand dunes are comparable in extent to White Sands National Monument... just not the same color.

Would you call these Pink?

The next think I want to talk about would NOT have been a sidebar... if we had pulled it off. Coming through Kanab on our way here last week, Cathy noticed a road sign stating "Grand Canyon North Rim 75 miles". We knew we could easily do that. Having just been to the South Rim, we were really keen to see more of the Canyon, especially the much-less-crowded North Rim.

Alas, it was not to be. The road is still closed for the winter... and won't open until the 15th. Oh well... the Canyon's not going anywhere.

Because that trip got aborted, we stopped at Pipe Spring National Monument on the way back. This rather small monument (40 acres?) preserves a spring that the Mormons stole from the indigenous Paiute Indians. Eventually, the federal government mandated that half the water belongs to the Paiute and half to the current landowners. (Sorry, no pics.)

While looking for a place today to take the dogs, I noticed that Dixie National Forest was only about 10 miles north of us. I found a trail that looked interesting, but we ended up not going there; it was covered in snow! We found a snow-free area lower down. Before we hit the trail, we were having a snack in the truck. While there, a small herd of pronghorn wandered by; Cathy snapped this fabulous shot right from the truck!

Pronghorn, the fastest land mammal in North America.

Tomorrow, we hit the road for Capital Reef National Park, some 160 miles away. We'll be in the area for two days, then headed east for Arches and Canyonlands.

Zion and Bryce

After spending a couple of weeks in Las Vegas, we hit the road for points north. Specifically, we are spending several weeks exploring Utah, more specifically the five National Parks in Utah.

We are spending nearly a week in Glendale, Utah; Glendale is some 30 miles from the east entrance to Zion National Park and some 50 miles from Bryce Canyon National Park. Glendale is just a wide spot in the road; it sits in a canyon formed by the East Fork of the Virgin River; some miles downstream, this river joins the North Fork of the Virgin, after it flows through Zion.

On Wednesday May 8 we visited Zion. It is spectacular; more specifically, it ranks very high on the spectacularness scale.

This is the start of the famous Virgin River Narrows. The river was
flowing too fast on this day, and access to the Narrows was closed. 

The next day, we drove up to Bryce Canyon National Park. Despite its name, Bryce Canyon is not a canyon. Ironically, Zion National Park is (largely) a canyon... go figure.

Bryce is even higher on the spectacularness scale. I think maybe that's at least partially because in Bryce one is mostly at the top of all of the spectacularness, looking down over a vast vista of spires, hoodoos, fins, columns, arches and bridges. In Zion, one is largely mostly down in a deep narrow canyon, looking up at soaring canyon walls.

The other reason is the crowding. Zion was packed; we ended up parking outside the park and availing ourselves of the free - and excellent - shuttle bus system within the park. Not only was parking limited, but there were crowds everywhere: the buses, visitor centers and trails were all crowded. The crowds we saw were nearly of the same magnitude as what we saw at the Grand Canyon. Bear in mind: this is on a Wednesday in May. I'd hate to see the place on a Saturday in July.

Bryce by contrast certainly had people present, but we never felt crowded. We again used their shuttle bus system, which covers only the central part of the park. There were people on the bus and along the various vista points, but nothing like at Zion.

After wandering around the rim a little, we decided to take a hike. A number of the more desirable hiking trails were closed because of unrepaired winter storm damage. We ended up taking a 3-mile hike down to a formation called Tower Bridge:

The weather had been threatening all day. On the way back up to the rim, we hit some bad weather. The blurs in the photo below are from falling hail. All in all, though, the weather wasn't too bad; we'd rather walk through hail (or snow) than rain.

Lake Mead... and Another Fred Shook Story

Dear Readers: I realize that many of you never met my dad and therefore probably don't care too much about reading stories about him. However, most of my family does read this blog; these stories are for them. Lastly, this is my blog, and I want to write these stories... so I will.

A couple of days ago we put the trailer in the shop to have the wheel bearings and brakes inspected and serviced. Keeping the wheel bearings greased and adjusted is a recommended annual service. We had a wheel bearing fail on a trailer we previously owned, and it was a very unpleasant experience.

So, with our home in the shop for the day, we decided to head to Lake Mead for some entertainment. Lake Mead is some 25 miles from Las Vegas. It was a beautiful spring day, clear and breezy with the temperature in the low 80's.

We took the dogs on a couple of long walks and, of course, let them go for a swim in the lake. Afterward, we drove around the lake to the Callville Bay marina for some lunch. This brought back memories to both of us. My family went boating here a lot, starting when I was in high school. Mom worked with a guy, Peyton Mackay, that owned a boat; the Shooks and the Mackays became good friends and both families did a lot together.

It's also where Cathy met my parents, after we started dating. That's the Fred Shook story.

Cathy and I had our first date on May 5, 1972. Several weeks later, our family was going waterskiing to Callville Bay over the Memorial Day weekend; I invited her along. She and I and my mom all had to work on Friday; everyone else went up on Thursday night. So, on Friday night we drove up together. She met my mom for the first time then; mom was the rational, predictable one of the parentals, so there was no drama in Cathy's meeting her.

Not so my dad. We didn't leave town until after work, so it was very late in the evening before we arrived at the lake. Dad and Peyton took the boat up to the marina from our campsite in the evening to meet us. They of course brought along several adult beverages, which they managed to consume while waiting.

We pulled in, spotted the boat tied up at the marina dock and grabbed our gear. As we started walking out the dock, Dad and Peyton got out of the boat to meet us. They walked a few feet from the boat, and Peyton pushed Dad into the water! Peyton started screaming at Dad, "Hey, buddy! Can't you read the signs? There's no swimming from the dock!" Both of course were laughing hysterically. Additionally, Dad was trying to keep his can of beer, which he managed to hold onto, out of the water.

Despite that rather unusual introduction, Cathy married me anyhow, and grew to love Dad as much as anyone did.

The Blond-Haired Girl

We had our granddaughter Madeline stay with us last week. She was on her spring break, and neither Jill nor Joe could afford the time off work to stay home with her.

This wasn't exactly a hardship. At nearly six years old ("I'm five-and-three-quarters, Gramps!") she is an absolute delight to have around. She's very bright, inquisitive and awed by things we grownups sometimes take for granted.

She's learning to read - not fast enough for Cathy, who is a world-class expert in teaching kids to read; she spent the last 30 years doing just that. Additionally, Jill asked if we could teach her to tie her shoes which is actually an item on her kindergarten report card.

We decided to leave the Grand Canyon and head to Las Vegas, not because we love Las Vegas (we don't!) but because there's quite a bit of inexpensive stuff to see and do. Unfortunately, we spent most of the week in a heat wave, with temperatures in the mid-90's, some 15 degrees above normal for this time of year. However, the RV park we stayed in had a pool, so we managed OK.

We drove over to The Strip one evening to take in the lights, have dinner, and primarily to show her the light/fountain show at the Bellagio. This was kind of a mistake: it's been 15 years or more since we were last in Vegas, and The Strip has gotten significantly more "adult" in its atmosphere; it's no place for a six-year-old, even early evening on a weeknight.

Madeline and Gramps watching the water show at the Bellagio

I mentioned Cathy's activities with Madeline; what about Gramps? I did important stuff. We made crystals (rock candy) - a fit activity for a retired chemist. We made Mickey Mouse pancakes twice, and s'mores using pink Peeps as the marshmallow source (also twice).

Peeps make the best s'mores!

We met Jill and Joe on Saturday in Barstow and dropped Madeline off; this was roughly halfway for each of us. We're staying in Vegas another week. We need to get the trailer serviced for its annual wheel bearing and brake inspection. Also, we're flying to New York City this coming weekend for our niece Lauren's wedding, and Vegas typically has inexpensive flights to everywhere. Once we return we're headed out to visit the Utah National Parks.