Topskys Out West

"Eight miles?" we said. "We can do that." "Strenuous? Can't be that bad." So began our loop hike this morning. It was fantastic for the first 4.5 miles, but then we hit a 1.7 mile stretch that climbed relentlessly from the canyon floor to the rim. This proved to be a little to much for all of us, and we were beat when we climbed out of the canyon at Sunrise Point. Fortunately, we were able to catch a ride and then a shuttle back to our car. Normally, this hike wouldn't have walloped us like this, but I think yesterday's hike to Scout Landing took a lot out of all of us. When we got back to camp, we ate lunch then sacked out in the tent to read/nap. Anyway, the hike was spectacular. The trail winds through hoodoos and rock formations that seem too fantastical to be real. At a several points, the trail followed a narrow ridge line offering fantastic views into the canyon on either side. Tomorrow morning we're plan...

Leaving Zion today involved driving through this 1.1 mile tunnel. Judith was not excited. The tunnel is pretty narrow, so they have to stop traffic & escort oversize vehicles through. The ranger gave us this baton to give to this ranger at the other end. The baton means we were the last car to go through before they closed the tunnel for a big RV. We felt very special.

So, it turns out that huge numbers of tourists from Europe & Asia visit the national parks during the summer. I swear I've heard more languages on this trip than I did walking down Embassy Row in DC. The very nice family camping next to us is French. Yesterday, the family behind us at the grocery store was Australian. This morning, we drove by a group of German motorcyclists. This amused Caroline. At the Grand Canyon, we passed this young boy sitting in Supai Tunnel. "Nice spot to sit," I said. "I am from the Czech Republic," he said. A few minutes later, Annie walked by & said hello to him. "I am from the Czech Republic," he said.

Arrived at Bryce about an hour ago & set up camp. Off to visitor center & some hiking! Here's Sunset Point:

Judith did a great job describing the hike to Scout Lookout this morning. This was an extremely challenging hike, with almost all of the first two miles climbing upward. Before you even get to Walter's Wiggles, you climb up the series of switchbacks pictured below. Many of these switchbacks had a cliff wall on one side and a steep drop on the other. Fortunately, the trail was wide enough that we could stay well away from the drop! I didn't think all of us would make it up, but we all did!

Today we hiked two miles and about 1,600 vertical feet to get to Scout's Lookout. Scout's Lookout is the point right before the scary 0.5 mile hike to Angel's Landing. We hiked through some switch backs before we got to Refrigerator Canyon, a canyon that only gets about one hour of direct sunlight a day. This makes it cooler than the rest of the park. Then we got to Walter's Wiggles. Walter's Wiggles is a series of 21 short, steep switchbacks pictured above. It is considered a feat of engineering. Right after that you reach Scout's Lookout. It has an excellent view of the canyon and many signs warning you about how dangerous the rest of the hike is. Fortunately we did not do that part. It includes scrambling up rocks and walking 3 feet wide pathways with huge drop-offs. I wouldn't do it even if you paid me.

I think tubing wore us all out today. The river was very low (only 33 cfs - cubic feet/second), so the ride involved a lot of pushing off rocks and navigating around shallows. It was still a blast (especially when your tube  would careen off a rock and go spinning through a set of rapids), but it was not a lazy ride down the river. We did a few short hikes in the late afternoon. We took the shuttle to the Temple of Sinawava (don't ask, I don't know) and walked about a mile along the river to the entrance to the Narrows. The walk was beautiful but very crowded. The kids were happy to get one last chance to play in the river. We made one last stop at the short but steep trail up to Weeping Rock, where rainwater draining from the plateau  trickles in a long arch across the cliff. In the picture, Caroline's holding out her hand to catch the drops. The cliff walls are covered with "hanging gardens" where ferns, moss, and flowering plants grow in tiny c...

This morning we went to Zion Adventure Company and rented tubes so we could float down the Virgin River. It took us just under 2 hours to float 2 MILES. We saw lots of hummingbirds and the rapids were my favorite part. We got stuck many times and I guess you could call it bumper cars at the beginning. There were three other families with us, one family spoke German. We couldn't take pictures because the cameras would get wet. 

Don't know the date either!

Spent the last hour or so sitting outside watching the light from the rising sun creep down the side of Lady Mountain. As it moves, the light draws out the colors in the stone -- orange, pink, yellow, white -- and creates dramatic shadows. Nearly 7,000 feet, Lady Mountain is the most imposing of the peaks on the western side of the canyon, and it seems to spring up nearly vertically from the canyon floor. You have to believe that the picture completely fails to capture it.

Yes, it's hot. Could be worse though. Because we're in a canyon, we're shaded until late in the morning and again starting in early evening. Temps this morning and yesterday evening were great - our plan is to start early and take a break (inside) during the hottest part of the day. Because it's really hot.

I am tired of trying to find variations of beautiful, stunning, majestic, etc. Zion is amazing. The lodge is set beside the Virgin River between towering sandstone cliffs. From there, we hiked this morning to the Emerald Pools, a series of small pools set among the rocks and cliffs. The kids enjoyed spotting butterflies, lizards, and Canyon Tree Frogs. The Lower Pool was fed by a couple of small waterfalls - the spray felt good! After 3.5 miles of hiking, it felt fantastic to take off our dusty shoes & socks and wade in the cold water of the Virgin River. The kids had a great time wading and catching tadpoles. After that, we hiked another 1.6 on a hot sandy trail that led to a fabulous view of the Court of the Patriarchs, a series of towering sandstone peaks. Beautiful. I mean Majestic. Oh, never mind. Time for a break from the afternoon heat maybe a nap.

This morning after we hiked we went down to the Virgin River and waded. The sand was soft and the river was cold. There lots of little pools of fish and tadpoles. We had great fun and will probably go again.

On Wednesday we did another trail in the morning and left the Grand Canyon at around 2 o'clock. We drove to Jacob's Lake Inn around 3 (technically 4. Read other post) What ever meal it was, I had a grilled cheese and we all had milkshakes. Caroline bought a little carved and painted chicken from the gift shop.

Two of my favorites from the Grand Canyon.

We learned about seep springs at Mesa Verde, where the Ancient Pueblos chose their cliff dwelling locations based on access to these springs. The water drips from the rocks above you and seeps up from the ground at the base of the rock overhangs. We had this trail all to ourselves.  We loved it.

To show a few things that Jeff posted about: Here's a look at our hike down into the canyon.  The kids are at the overlook that Jeff mentions. The mules were carrying other tourists down and then back up the same two miles that we covered.

Here are Judith & Caroline after our first morning of hiking in the Grand Canyon, which involved 4 miles on the North Kaibab Trail. 4 miles isn't really that long for us, but the North Kaibab descends into the canyon. We hiked the first .7 miles down to Coconino Overlook easily, but the kids begged us to go another 1.3 to Supai Tunnel*. Only 2 miles of trail, but a descent of almost 1,500 vertical feet. That means . . . Although I am pretty sure Caroline actually hated me during some parts of the ascent, we were all really proud when we came back out on the trailhead. Rested a bit in the afternoon, then drove out to Cape Royal, which offers a spectacular view via a narrow rock spire that made everyone but Caroline a little queasy. On the way back, we saw that spire had a huge hole in it, called Angel's Window. More queasiness ensued. Did one more short hike that afternoon - my favorite. The Cliff Spring Trail winds through a pine forest, then open...

No Internet connection for a couple of days, so we have a little catching up to do. So, back to Monday: a long drive (350 miles) out of New Mexico, through a brief moment of geographical confusion at Four Corners, and through NE Arizona to the Grand Canyon. Most of this drive goes through the Navajo Nation & skirts the edge of the Hopi reservation that sits inside it. The landscape alternates between beautiful and horrifying, with long sections of the drive going through desert that looks like the surface of the moon. The desert section of the drive ends with a long loop along the Vermilion Cliffs, a towering line of vivid red stone. Things change dramatically when you begin the climb into the Kaibab National Forest; soon you're driving through a pine forest with wildflowers lining the road. The road to the park entrance gives way occasionally to green grassy meadows (with a large herd of bison grazing in one of them), and it's startling to see so much green after driving...

Arrived at Zion Lodge about an hour ago. We're on the 2nd floor facing the canyon. We haven't had Internet access for the last few days, so we'll follow up with posts from the Grand Canyon while we're at Zion. Might be confusing, but stick with us!

Would you like to know the reason that many unsuspecting tourists are confused as they drive through Arizona? This is why. So first you have Arizona. Arizona, in its grand weirdness, does not do daylight savings. Okay, not that confusing, right? Yeah, but inside of Arizona is the Navajo nation which does do daylight savings. And inside of that is the Hopi reservation, which does not. And inside that? Another teeny, tiny piece of the Navajo, which does. Let's have a round of applause for Arizona for being the most confusing state ever. Thank you, and goodnight.

On Monday, we drove from Mesa Verde to the Grand Canyon. Much of that drive is through the Navajo Nation. One highlight of that drive was a stop at Four Corners where you can stand at the spot where Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah come together.  The photo of the girls shows them standing on that spot. The rest of the drive felt a little long for all of us. There are a lot of miles and only a couple of towns to speak of between Mesa Verde and the Grand Canyon. The 30-minute stop for road construction probably didn't help. The reward for the drive was a tremendously beautiful campsite here at the North Rim (pictures to follow later) and some awe-inspiring views such as the one I'm posting here. On to Zion this afternoon.

You know what I love best about Colorado? Cactus, as food, in a grocery store.

250 miles on Sunday through New Mexico & into Colorado. A lot of the road goes through tribal land, a mostly desert landscape dotted with piñon, juniper, and red rock outcroppings. Everything is dry, except for the green trees and fields that blossom around the banks of rivers & streams. The area around Mesa Verde is much greener (and cooler). Found a great wooded campsite in the park campground, then drove the long, winding road up to the top of Chapin Mesa. The mesa top gets hit by lightning pretty regularly, and we drove through a couple of places where gray, scorched trees were standing above the vegetation growing back. We visited a couple of cliff dwellings: Spruce Tree House & then a guided tour at Cliff Palace. The climb up from Cliff Palace was 100 vertical feet up wooden ladders & narrow stone steps. Along the way, you could see the toe- and hand-holds carved by the ancestral Pueblo, who took the hard way up. The ruins are really breathtakin...

This is the tent we set up at Mesa Verde in a perfect campsite. We can't wait to go see the cliff-dwellings!

Our bike ride took us past the zoo where we saw the elephant.  The Botanical garden featured a lot of cactus plants.

This morning we rented bikes after a great breakfast of pancakes and sausage. We biked 2 miles down to the river and then 5 miles along a paved path that passed by a park full of geese and the zoo. We were lucky enough to see an elephant! At the end we turned around and headed to the Botanical gardens. We had to cut it short because of he rental time but we saw lots of amazing plants. There was a Japanese garden with a pond full of koi fish. There was also a desert and Mediterranean section. After that we biked 5 miles back to the rental store. In all we biked 10 miles!!

290 miles today, from Amarillo TX to Albuquerque NM. Thankfully, no driving tomorrow. We checked into our B&B, which has a beautiful patio where I'm writing this right now. Albuquerque is a mile above sea level, at the foot of the Sandia Mts. Few buildings are more than a single story, and a lot of the architecture is pueblo style. It's lovely to be in a city that looks so different from what we're used to. In the afternoon, we drove a few miles to Petroglyph Natl Monument, which was a truly bizarre landscape. Paths wind through black basalt boulders that were coughed up by a line of volcanoes along the western edge of the mesa. Many of the boulders are covered with petroglyphs carved 400-700 years ago. Stark, kind of eerie, and amazing.

We visited an amazing site today, Petroglyph National Monument. The rocks are all black because of a volcanic eruption.  The petroglyphs are everywhere you look.  And all just a few miles outside of Albuquerque. The photo shows the girls climbing a trail cut up through the rock. 

After we ate at The Back Street Grill for lunch and visited the petroglyph national monument that had maybe the coolest sights I've seen in awhile, we headed to our lodgings for the next few days. It's called The Cinnamon Morning Bed and Breakfast and its everything I could have dreamed of. Cool colors, beautiful courtyards, and awesome furniture. The picture is of the futon and the main bed. There is also a mini kitchen, bathroom, and small courtyard.

We're going to pull into Albuquerque in about 10 minutes and we're driving through mountains covered in nothing but dirt, rocks, and sparse trees. We've also seen a couple of funny signs warning us about gusty wind and rockslides.

This is the lovely place where absolute strangers can make whatever they want on expensive cars sinking into the mud. Really, it's quite awesome.

580 miles today - about 10 hours through Arkansas, Oklahoma, and the Texas panhandle. Saw some tornado damage in OK: mangled billboards, fields strewn with debris. Not much else to see - a lot of OK looked like it was ready to dry up & blow away. This actually started to happen in Texas, when the sky filled with dust from strong winds. The sky was a weird brown color when we drove into Amarillo. Ate dinner at Cowboy Gelato downtown - great funky little place with good food, live music, and (duh) gelato. My mouth was burning for 10 minutes after my scoop of strawberry habanero. Some rain, clearing skies, and amazing double rainbow on the way home. Off to Albuquerque tomorrow.

As we're driving back from dinner guess what we see? A DOUBLE rainbow. It's so pretty. The picture doesn't look like the real thing. It was way brighter and bigger in real life.

Here is a lovely picture of the Texas welcoming sign. Tonight we're staying in Amarillo. The weather is windy and dusty. The terrain is basically flat with a bunch of cows and windmills. The picture makes it look better.