Arches National Park 4/24 - 4/27/14

See the slideshow to the right for pictures of Arches Nat'l Park

ARCHES NATIONAL PARK

Day 1

Thurs 4/24/14

38° at 7 in Capitol Reef NP

In the Fruita campground at Captiol Reef NP, it got really cold over night.  Greg said it was 38 when he got up at 7, and it was only 43 when I dragged out of bed at 8:30.  We left the campground at 10:00 heading East to Arches National Park just outside of Moab UT.  We stopped on the way out of the park to look at some more petroglyphs.  They were along side the road and there was a nice boardwalk to use to view them.

We got to the Arches NP visitor’s center about 2pm.  We ate our lunch in the RV and hooked into the internet from the parking lot.  The campground in the park only takes reservations and it is full.  There are several BLM campgrounds in the area but all are first-come/first-serve.  We know there isn’t a chance to get a spot today at any of those.  We checked several other RV parks in the area but most were full.  We found one park 5 miles outside of town that had an overflow area with no hookups that we could get for 25.00 a night.  We booked it for one night.

After checking out the visitor center and buying a book on hikes in the park, we drove into Moab to get some groceries.   OMGosh!!!!!  It is a tourist town just like Sedona AZ.  It is crowded with traffic and pedestrians.  Lots of bistros, coffee houses, gift shops and art galleries line the main street.  There’s only one liquor store and one major grocery store.  I was amazed! 

After getting our shopping done, we headed out of town to Spanish Trails RV park.  It’s very nice park, except for the overflow parking which is in a dirt (red dirt) field.  It is located just off the main highway with lots of traffic.  BUT it has a great laundry and shower facilities and we have cell service and Wi-Fi!!!!!  We arrived and checked in at 5:30.  By 6, I had 2 loads of laundry started and Greg had gone for a run.  While the clothes were in the dryer, I took a wonderful long shower (with hair and shaving included).  I had clothes washed and dried and I was squeaky clean by the time Greg got back from his run.

We micro-waved left-over caribou stir-fry, quinoa, pasta with caribou pepperoni (all leftovers that we had frozen).  It was 8pm by the time we sat down to eat!  It was so late that I didn’t even get to use the internet or make any phone calls.  I’m hoping we’ll be as lucky in the next campsite we get.

DAY 2

Fri 4/25/14

61° @ 7am

We left the Spanish Trails RV park at 8am (we did find out that there is a classic car show in town this weekend which is why all the campgrounds are full).  We headed back toward Arches park and turned north along the Colorado River to check out all of the BLM campgrounds.  There are 7 of them along a stretch of about 8 miles.  We found that 2 of them are only for tent campers and of the 5 remaining we saw only a couple of sites that showed today was the day they were  being vacated.  Unfortunately, check out isn’t until noon and we couldn’t see that any of them were in the process of packing up.  If we had seen people milling about on the outside of the campers we could have asked them if they were leaving and if we could put our “paid stub” on the site post to show it was taken, but no-one seemed to be up or at their sites.  We did manage to talk to one camper who recommended another BLM campground West of the Arches on the way to Canyonlands NP which is relatively close by (20 miles or so).  We gave up on the search of Colorado River BLM campgrounds and drove to the other campground which is about 30 minutes from the Arches entrance.  It is Horsethief Campground and it is perfect!  We found a great spot (at 10:15), somewhat protected from the wind (it is blowing) and VERY level.  There are no hookups and once again, no cell service or internet.  The campground host saw us and talked with us for a while.  He and his wife lived in Palmer for about 20 years so he was glad to visit with some Alaskans for a change.

We drove back into Moab for gas (got a 10 cent discount using our Fred Meyer rewards card!)  We drove back into the Arches at noon to look around.  There are no significant hikes here; mostly everything is viewable from the road.  We stopped at almost all of the pullouts and did some short hikes.  The scenery is so much like the other parks, I think I am mostly interested in the arches.  We did hike for 1.5 miles to get to the “Delicate Arch” which is the most photographed arch in the park.  It was pretty amazing.  The hike to get there was pretty steep, walking on sandstone and along narrow cliffs but once you get to the arch, you’re breath is taken away.  We stayed up by the arch for at least 30 minutes just sitting there looking at it.  There were tons of people there also so lots of other stuff to watch also.  There is a 7+ mile hike that starts at a trailhead at the end of the park road which we will try to do tomorrow.  We ran out of time today.  We did hike a short way back to another arch (Sand Dune Arch) thru really thick sand and some slot canyons.  Once back to the arch it was so funny to see kids playing in the sand like a giant sandbox while parents sat relaxing (like at the beach?).  I guess the kids deserved it after being shuffled around all day looking at rocks!

We got back to our campsite at 7:05.  Greg grilled tilapia and I sautéed Sante Fe veggies and broccoli slaw, left-over Spanish rice, and baked beans.  The campground is a great place for sunsets and it looked like tonight was going to be a beauty.  We watched from the RV for a while then walked outside to get a better view.  It didn’t get as colorful as we had expected but it was still beautiful to watch. 

The temps today were in the 80’s with some wind.  Predictions for tomorrow are lots of winds and thunderstorms.

DAY 3

Sat 4/26/14

Howling winds from about 2:30 this morning kept me awake most of the night.  Greg said he only woke up for a short while at 3:30.  We got up to dark clouds and blowing winds.  We are staying put for a while to see what the weather does.

It started POURING rain about 9:00 and didn’t let up until after noon.  Greg read and I have been typing word documents of the blog entries so I only have to wait until I get internet so I can copy and paste my journals.  We did have a break in the rain about 12:30 but it started again at 1:30.  It was relentless all day.  Greg found a leak in the RV so that kept him busy tying to find where it was coming from then how to get it to stop.  I transferred some pictures to the laptop and read some of my old (already read) magazines.  It rained ALL day.  It was amazing.  There was some thunder about 5 but we couldn’t really see any lightning.  We waited for the rain to ease off before we started the grill to cook K-bobs.  About 2 minutes from when they were to be taken off the grill, the heavens unleashed more rain.  Greg had to stand in the pouring rain to finish up the grill (about 6:30).  About 7:30 the leak hadn’t stop so Greg decided to put blocks under one set of tires to raise that side of the RV up so the rain would run down the edge of the RV not right into the RV.  When we opened the privacy screen on the front windshields….there was SLEET on the windows!  By 7:30 it was 40 degrees.  The high today was only 48.  We are so lucky to be in the RV and not a tent!  Dinner tonight was caribou steak K-Bobs (marinated 24 hrs in wine, soy sauce, black pepper), sweet potatoes (nuked), spinach salad with green onions, cucumbers, grape tomatoes.  The K-bobs had poblano peppers and red onions on them.  It was terrific!  I know that I will sleep really well tonight especially if it continues to rain (I love the sound of rain on the fiberglass roof).

Grillin' in the rain

Charred but still delicious!

DAY 4

Sunday 4/27/14

34 @ 7:15 am

We woke up to bright, blue skies, with a little breeze and still cold.  It looks like a much better day than yesterday.  By 9:15 we headed back to Arches National Park to hike the 7.3 mile trail through Devil’s Garden.  We are staying at the same campground (Horsethief) for another 2 nights.  This campground is not far from the Visitors Center for Canyonland National Park – Island of the Sky so we will check that area out tomorrow and Tuesday.  

We arrived at Devil’s Garden trailhead at 10:10 and started our hike at 10:30.  It was an easy trail for the first .5 miles, then we got into some inclines.  At about 1 mile, around Landscape Arch, the trail started going up sandstone rocks.  There was actually no trail just pulling yourself up rocks then walking on their slopes.  We had to do this several times through out the hike.  It was tough going for me!  The arches we got to see along this “trail” were:  Tunnel Arch, Pinetree Arch, Landscape Arch (the longest arch in the world at 306 feet long), Partition Arch, Navajo Arch, Black Arch, Double O Arch, and Private Arch.  It was incredible to see so many arches within 3 miles of a trail.  We hiked to the end of the trail to see a monolith (single tall spire, not an arch) called “Dark Angel”.  I believe in the end we hiked more than 7.3 miles.  We got back to the RV at the trailhead at 2:45.  It was 4+ hours with lots of stopping and taking pictures and even stopping for a short lunch break.  The weather was windy all day and cool.  I kept my bike jackey on until about 2; Greg wore his polar fleece top all day.  After the hike, we drove about 30 minutes down to the visitor’s center.  We can get internet and cell service in the parking lot so we spent about 2-1/2 hours getting emails checked and phone calls made.  We got back to the campground at 6:30.  Still windy tonight with temps predicted to be in the 30’s.  We didn’t eat supper until about 8.  We had grilled pork chops with Cajun seasonings, brown rice, stir fry veggies, & spinach salad.   The sun was setting at 8:20 and the way the clouds had formed we knew we were in for a gorgeous sun set.  It was not….. the clouds somehow dissipated and the sun just set without throwing off much of a glow.  Oh well…. Maybe tomorrow.

DAY 5

Mon 4/28/14

34 @ 8, breezy

I slept really well in my long underwear, thermal top, and fleece hat.  It is another pretty day but the dang wind is STILL blowing.  We drove up the road to Canyonlands National Park (about 5 or 6 miles away.)  The temps are in the 50’s but the wind is making it feel much colder.  After stopping at the Visitor’s Center, we first checked out Mesa Arch trailhead at 12:15.  It was a very short hike (1/2 mile?) to the arch and WOW was it spectacular with the backdrop of the canyon behind it.  The arch framed the vistas beautifully.  It was much prettier than any of the arches we saw in Arches National Park.  By looking to the north of Mesa Arch, we could see another arch called “washer woman arch” which indeed looked like a person hand-washing clothes.

At 1:15, we parked the RV at the trailhead for Alcove Springs.  We ate lunch then walked up the road a few hundred feet to an unmarked trail.  This one was “False Kiva” and you have to specifically ask a Ranger about it.  It is “word of mouth” only because they don’t want lots of tourist trampling thru the ruins yet.  We found out about it on one of our hikes in Capitol Reef.  Someone heard we were going to Arches then possibly Canyonlands and told us we had to ask about the false kiva.  We did and got directions from the Ranger.  We were told it was about a 3 mile round trip hike.  It started out on a dirt trail then soon turned into walking on sandstone rock, then climbing down sandstone, then climbing up and over sandstone.  We were scrambling over rocks to find this Kiva.  We thought we were at the end of the trail under an overhang that could have been an ancient cliff dwelling but it didn’t have any of the characteristics that the Ranger told us to look for.  Greg left me there and went on a recon mission to see if he could find another trail or maybe even THE kiva.  He came back after about 30 minutes and said we were almost to it.  He had spotted it with binoculars while he was scouting the area below him.  We had to really do more rock scrambling to get up to the Kiva.  It was not anything that was impressive although the views were tremendous and the hike to it was incredible so it was well worth the trip.  It took us from 1:50 to 4:10 to make the trip.

After the False Kiva hike (rock climb) we drove to Upheaval Dome overlook.  This was a really short hike up sandstone to an overlook onto a huge crater.  Geologist are unsure as to it’s origin but it is incredible to see.  Unfortunately it was sooooo windy that we didn’t stick around long once at the top.  We were back at the RV by 4:45. 

On our way out of the park, we stopped at Green River Overlook.  This part of the Park (the Island of the Sky) is a huge plateau sitting between the Colorado and Green Rivers.  The Green River Overlook looks down into the canyon where the Green River flows.  It was very cool to see way down below to the river and where it winds it’s way through the canyon.  It meets up with the Colorado river not too far from this location.

The scenery for this whole section of the park is so much like the Grand Canyon.  It is breath-taking to see the expanse of the canyon valleys below the rim.

We left the park around 5:15 and drove a short distance to a parking space along the road.  We could get internet here so we did some checking for places to go next and where to stay.  The weather is not looking good for elsewhere in the park and even further to the NE.  We decided to spend the night tomorrow in Moab at an RV park with power and where we can dump our tanks and get fresh water.  On Wednesday, we’ll start our drive to Salt Lake City.  We had to drive 14 more miles to get cell service so we could make some phone calls so by the time we made it back to camp it was 7:30.  We did quick hamburgers on the grill and heated up left over baked sweet potato for dinner.  Another cold night ahead of us and we’re hoping the winds will die down.

view of Park Avenue at Arches

arches and caves at Arches

Landscape Arch
the longest arch in the world

Delicate Arch, the most
photographed arch in the US

Capitol Reef 4/20 - 4/23/14

See slideshow on the right for Capitol Reef pictures

Capitol Reef National Park

Day 1

Sun 4/20/14

41° at 7am in Torrey UT.  We left the RV park at 8:40, and headed into Capitol Reef.  We got to the campground at 9:00 (we were not very far away).  We lucked out once again because there are several campsites to choose from.  After we got settled in, we rode our bikes a mile down the road to the Visitor’s Center and caught the Ranger talk on geology of the area.  We bought a book on the hiking trails and then rode back to RV.  The park is famous for the “Waterpocket Fold” which is a 100 mile long “wrinkle” in the Colorado Plateau.  There is an underlying fault which when pressured by the Pacific Plates, caused the rock cliffs on one side to fold up against the cliffs on the other side.  One side is at an elevation of 7000 feet.  Most of the formations here are not much different than what we’ve seen in other parks.  There are some petroglyphs and pretty cool hiking trails.  So far the weather is pleasant in the 60’s and the campground is in a great location, nestled in an orchard.  We don’t have electric hookups, cell service or wi-fi but it’s only $5.00 a night (for senior citizens) so who can beat it!

After lunch it started howling wind and pouring rain.  We sat inside and downloaded pictures from the camera and chill-laxed.  About 6pm, after the rain stopped, we jumped on the bikes and rode a little over a mile up the road to the trailhead for one of the hikes we are looking at.  The ride was on a paved road with some hills and little traffic (no bike lane so we had to ride on the shoulder of the road).   Back at camp (which is now completely full) by 6:45 (temp at 71°).  It was so pleasant we ate dinner outside:  grilled chicken thighs, sautéed sweet potato fries, steamed mixed veggies, broccoli slaw.

DAY 2

Mon 4/21/14

53° at 7:30 am

Grand Wash Trail

Cassidy Arch

It looks to be a great day.  We rode our bike back down the road to the trailhead we rode to last night.  The trail is “Grand Wash” and is 2.25 miles with no elevation change but you hike down a dry stream bed in heavy gravel/sand.  The trail takes you through the canyon where the rock walls tower straight up.  It was the old wagon trail thru the canyon and at one section (the “Narrows”) the trail is only about 16 feet wide.  It’s amazing that wagons could get thru there.  We walked for about 50 minutes (maybe 1.75 miles) then turned around and headed back towards the trailhead.  Near the trailhead, we took another trail which lead us 1.5 miles UP with an elevation gain of roughly 1000 feet.  The trail takes you to “Cassidy Arch” named for Butch Cassidy whom it was believed to have come thru this area as he was being chased by the law.  He may have even taken refuge at the arch (although the literature we read said there was no known accounts of that actually occurring).  The hike was pretty difficult for about half a mile then it leveled off as we hiked along the rim of the canyon.  Most of the trail was marked pretty well with cairns until we got to the top.  From there we had to walk and scramble up rocks to just find the arch.  There were cairns placed around the top but it seemed they were placed nilly-willy and showed no general direction to go in.  When we finally got to the arch, it was pretty fantastic!  We hung around for a while talking to others and just enjoying the view.  We finished the hike and the bike ride back to camp by 2:30.  Total mileage:  6.25 miles hiking and 6.5 miles biking.  My knee was shot when we finished.  I relaxed by stretching and lying on the bed with my legs straight up against the wall.  That really helped the stiffness

Rain clouds had been rolling in as we hiked down from the arch and by 3:30 we had a nice little downpour which lasted only about 45 minutes.  We were going to do another short hike about 5 but the rain clouds were still lingering and we didn’t want to venture too far from camp if we were caught in a downpour.  Once again the campground is completely full.

Greg took a "selfie"

We wound up taking a short walk around the campground about 5:30 and down a trail next to the Fremont River and fruit orchard.  We saw some mule deer, a rabbit, and a prairie dog.  Another pleasant evening so we ate outside again.  Stuffed bell peppers with taco flavored caribou ground meat, Spanish rice, and chips/salsa.  We sat outside until dark snacking on popcorn and watching the deer graze in the pasture next to the campground.

Bell peppers with caribou tacos

DAY 3

Tues 4/22/14

51° at 7:30 am

Hickman Bridge

At 9:00 we drove the RV a couple of miles from the Visitor Center to “Hickman Bridge” trailhead.  We hiked 4.5 miles up the “Rim Overlook” trail and the “Navajo Knobs” trail.  It was pretty steep with hiking on sandstone rock most of the way.  My hiking poles did not work very well at propelling my up the sandstone.  About 2.25 miles up we stopped at the Rim Overlook.  Stunning views of Fruita Valley with it’s orchards and the campground in the distance.  I brought my phone with me and YEAH we had cell reception!  We sent a few texts to the kids then continued on our hike.  The next 2 miles were still steep but it was the last ¼ mile that did me in.  We had to climb up rocks to get to the top of the Navajo Knobs!  The panoramic views were spectacular!  The wind was blowing so hard we didn’t spend much time on top (actually it reminded both of us of the top at Guadalupe Peak in Texas).  We crawled and hiked down about a mile to get out of the wind and eat some lunch.   On our hike back to the trailhead, we took a spur trail to the Hickman Bridge.  It was about a mile more with some steep steps in stone.  It wasn’t a difficult hike but after doing the 9 miles up and back from Navajo Knobs, my legs were about shot.  The bridge (or was it really an “arch”?) was really pretty neat to see.  We weren’t able to climb on top of it but got some good pictures all around it.   Total hike today:  10.5 miles; 6 hours; elevation gain 1600 feet. 

Climbing up to Navajo Knobs

View from Navajo Knobs trail

Back at the trailhead and the RV by 3:30; we changed clothes and I laid in the back with my legs elevated while Greg drove about 20 minutes into Torrey.  Brian was sending a package of mail to us via Fed Ex and it was to arrived about 4:30 at the RV park we stayed at the other night.  We got the package and drove into town parking at the general store.  They have public showers so we both took one….at a cost of $6.00 each!  I only showered, if I had known it was so expensive I would have shampooed my hair and shaved my body.   But after a 6 hour hike I was not in the mood to dawdle in the shower (a nice soak in a bath would have been much more to my liking!).

On the way back to the Park, we stopped at a restaurant for pizza and beer.  It was sooooo good.  They didn’t have wine so I shared a pitcher of Polygamy Porter beer with Greg.  I don’t normally drink beer, but it tasted so good with the pizza!

Pizza and Beer!

While we were eating, the wind began to gust and weather reports state it would get worse overnight.  I was so tired by the time we got back to camp that I had a very hard time staying up til 8:30.  It did not take anytime to go to sleep and I heard NOTHING all night!

DAY 4

Wed 4/23/14

45° at 7:30

Greg said he heard the wind blow a few times overnight but not me; I had a great night’s sleep.  It’s breezy and overcast this morning.  We walked across the street from the campground and hiked up the “Cohab Canyon” trail.  Stories state that the early polygamists hid in the canyon with their wives and families.  The first quarter mile was up about 400 feet in elevation gain, but the rest of the hike was relatively easy.  We took our time hiking thru soft sands and looking up at the pock-holed canyon walls.  It was like looking at a bunch of bird houses.  We took a side trip up to a couple of overlooks.  The hike was just over 2 hours long and maybe 3 miles.  It was something easy to stretch our legs and recover from the hard hike yesterday.  The temperature change was not that great from 9am to noon (51° and 58° respectively).  Not a great day to lay in the sun.  We relaxed in the RV until about 3:30 then drove down the road (the Scenic Highway) about 12 miles until it becomes a gravel rode.  We then rode our bikes another 2.25 miles down the gravel road to the trailhead for “Capitol Gorge”.  The hike into the gorge is on dry stream bed with soft sand and gravel.  A short hike in from the trailhead is the viewing spot for 1000 year old petroglyphs.  They were really faded and had so much graffiti around them it was hard to see.  Just a few feet up the trail and across the canyon on another wall and about 50 feet up is another carving with several names and the date of 1911.  This is the list of US geological survey members who were working in the canyon.  It is pretty amazing that the names are engraved perfectly at that distant above the canyon floor.  No one knows how it was done.  Further on down the trail is a historic register from early pioneers who traveled thru the gorge on wagon trains.  Some of the names date back to 1871 (this is like the “register” we saw at Hueco Tanks outside of El Paso).  Once again, there is so much graffiti that you can hardly read the older inscriptions.  I was almost over-come with emotion to see how present day tourists are so disrespectful.  Maybe in another hundred years someone will be teary-eyed over the 2014 inscriptions that make me mad today!  Back at the trailhead to the gorge there is another trailhead leading to the “Golden Throne”.  It is 2 miles up for an 1100 feet elevation gain.  The Golden Throne is a huge sandstone monolith that is only visible at the end of the trail.  We had waited until later in the day to do this hike because the guide book says that if you “hike towards day’s end you may see the golden cap glow with sublime salmon and yellow colors.”  Unfortunately, 5:30 pm in April is not late enough in the day to see the “sublime salmon and yellow colors”.  If we had waited until later, it would have gotten dark on us for the hike down and we still had to ride our bikes over 2 miles to get back to the RV….. oh well, we can only imagine what the colors of sunset on the Golden Throne look like.

Cohab Canyon

Golden Throne

Bike ride from parking lot to
Capitol Gorge trailhead

We managed to get back to the campground by 7:20.  Generator usage is from 6 – 8 at night so I had about 30 minutes to get dinner heated (we saved the left over stuffed peppers and Spanish rice for just this reason).  We did not get to eat outside tonight, but we did stay up until around 10.  Greg had to walk over to one of the neighbors RV and ask them to turn their music down.  They were having some kind of dance action going on that we weren’t invited to!  Even though the campground has been full every night, there has not been any noise or distractions of any kind until tonight.  Thankfully the music was immediately turned down and we didn’t hear anything else the rest of the night. 

Bryce Canyon Utah 4/16 - 4/19/14

Check out the slide show on the right hand side of the page for beautiful pics of bryce canyon

BRYCE CANYON day 1

Wed 4/16/14

40° at 7am….we are difinetly back into cooler weather.  We’ll be heading up to Bryce Canyon about 80 miles from Cedar City through mountains with elevations up to 10,000 feet.  Pulled out of the (expensive) KOA campground at 8:50; then stopped at the local grocery for some food.  We arrived at the Bryce Canyon campground at 11:40, where it was 54°.  We lucked out because there were several campsites available so we had a good choice of which one would suit us best.  The other campground in the park is closed so it worked out real good that we got here before noon.  After lunch and a nap (for me!) we walked a short distance (~1/4 mile?) to the Visitor’s Center to check out the low-down on hiking trails.  It was packed with tourists.  Amazing still is how cold it feels.  The temps are in the upper 50’s, maybe low 60’s, but with the wind blowing it feels much colder.  I am becoming a total wimp in regards to the weather.  I need to get back to Alaska to harden up a bit.

Greg at Sunset Point

View from Sunrise Point

After the Visitor’s Center, we walked further up the road to the park store where they sell a few groceries, touristy stuff, snack items.  It is also where the showers and laundry are located.  The showers cost and it seems they are only open from 8am to 6pm.  We don’t need one tonight since I had that really good one last night!  From the store, we hike a short ½ mile to “Sunrise Point” and another ½ mile to “Sunset Point” where the panoramic views of the canyon are fantastic.  We could also see some of the hiking trails far below.  They seem to be hard packed with no rocks to scramble over.  After checking out the views, we walked back to the campground via part of the “Rim Trail”.  We may have walked a total of 2miles this afternoon, just enough to stretch our legs and try out our new hiking boots.

Dinner was stove top halibut enchiladas with a spinach salad made with grape tomatoes, white beans, cucumbers, and red onions with a dressing of olive oil, lime juice, and garlic.  It all turned out really good. 

Halibut enchiladas, spinach salad

Sunset through "window" above camp

It was about 7:30 when we finished with dinner and still light out so we decided to hike behind the campground to a small hill to see the sunset.  I was still cold so I wore my fleece running pants, wind pants, long-sleeved T-shirt, fleece top, down coat, fleece hat, gloves, and scarf….and I felt really warm!  I checked the temp and it was only in the 50’s but the wind made it feel so cold.  I am a wimp.  The sunset was not that spectacular because there weren’t many clouds to disperse the sun’s rays.  It set about 8:15 and we were  back at camp by 8:30.  Nothing much to do after that.  We don’t have any power hook ups at the camp so I was in bed by 9:30 reading my kindle.

Bryce Canyon Day 2

Thurs 4/17/14

Trail to Fairyland Point

28° at 7am….. I am freezing my butt off!  I didn’t get much sleep last night because of the cold.  Today we are planning to do an 8 mile hike.  We left the camp at 9 with the temp getting near 50.  I wore my hiking pants, long-sleeve technical shirt, heavy polar fleece top, fleece vest, and fleece hat.  I was comfortable for about 45 minutes then I had to start shedding some clothes.  The trail (Rim to Fairyland Point) was really nice for the first couple of miles.  I was actually thinking it would make a pretty good running trail, if I liked to run on trails, and if I liked to run up and down hills on a trail.  It would have been an easy run for Greg.  After the first mile or so, we started descending into the canyon.  The trail was still not bad only some spots where the gravel was loose.  Along this stretch of trail there are lots of rock formations which the ancient Indians call “Hoo-doo’s”.  They are tall spires where the wind and water have eroded them. 

Hoo-Doo's

There are no official names marked on the trail but we can see “sinking ship” in the distance, maybe “thor’s hammer” and “gossiping women”, although, maybe not, because they all start looking the same after awhile.  We did see “tower bridge” but didn’t get close enough to climb on it.  By mile 6, my knee was really starting to hurt and the next mile and half were straight up hill.  That last part Kicked My Butt (ok, not my butt, just my knee!).  We did the 8 miles with an elevation gain of 1710 feet.  Got back to the RV at 12:45 (65°); ate lunch, propped my legs up, took a nap (that was a given, right?). 

"windows" in hoo-doo

Trail toward the end of Fairyland

Slot Canyon

Around 3:30, we decided to hike the trail labeled the “World’s Best 3 Mile Hike”.  It is Queen’s Trail to Navajo Trail.  This is where we could see “thor’s hammer” and “two bridges”.  We were supposed to be able to see “Queen Victoria” but it wasn’t labeled so we don’t know if we saw it or not (no picture of it in any of our literature so we don’t know what it looked like).  We hiked though some slot canyons, then up a really steep trail (Navajo Trail) to get back to Sunrise Point.  We finished in time to get to the store and take a shower then back to the RV.  We wound up doing an additional 4 miles this afternoon making the total hiking for the day around 12 miles (in new hiking boots!!!). 

"Two Bridges"

Macaroni with caribou pepperoni

Dinner was gluten free macaroni with caribou pepperoni, spinach, peas, & mushrooms in a cream sauce with parmesan cheese.  I heated up frozen jalapeno cornbread (from a previous meal) and Greg grilled cream cheese stuffed poblano peppers.  I LOVE campground food!  Need I say I was ready for bed not soon after dinner was finished.

Bryce Canyon Day 3

Fri 4/18/14

46° at 7:30; definitely not as cold as the previous night.  We left the campsite in the RV and drove about 5 miles down the road to “Bryce Canyon Lookout”.  We hiked down the Bryce Canyon Trail to a section called the “Hat Shop”.  It was a steep downhill for 2 miles.  The trail took us through some pine forests with Ponderosa and Bristlecone Pines (the latter is the world’s oldest species of pines; some in the park are over 1700 years old).  The “hat shop” is a series of balanced rocks which are flattened and shaped to look like hats resting on stands (like in a store window).  It was really windy at this spot so we only hung around for pictures for about 25 minutes before starting our climb out. 

Hat Shop

"Natural Bridge"

Got back to the RV about 1; ate lunch then drove another 9 miles to the end of the park to check out Rainbow and Yovimpa Points which are at an elevation of 9115 feet.  It was 58° and very windy at these points so not a lot of walking around for me.  Some of the short trails still had snow on them.  Back down the road a few miles we stopped at a look out for “natural bridge”.  It was right beside the road so no hiking there at all.  The description of the “bridge” states that it isn’t really a bridge but an arch.  The difference is the way they are formed.  It didn’t say why the name wasn’t “natural arch” though. 

Caribou backstrap, mashed potatoes, with
stir-fry broccoli slaw

On the way back to the campsite, we saw some antelope grazing in a meadow.  It was still too windy to sit outside and enjoy the sunshine, so I worked on the blog and did some reading.  We had grilled caribou backstrap, mashed potatoes with cream cheese, and stir-fry broccoli slaw.

Bryce Canyon Day 4

Sat 4/19/14

39° at 7:15

Peek a boo Trail

Peek a Boo

We are leaving Bryce Canyon today but will do one last hike as we drive out.  We pulled out of camp at 9:30 and drove a short distance to “sunset point”.  We are hiking down Navajo trail then to Peek-a-boo Loop.  Navajo trail is the steep section we hiked up on our 8 mile hike on Thursday.  It is a .7 mile very steep switch-back trail thru a slot canyon then hooks up with peek-a-boo loop.  The loop is 3 miles with steep ups and downs.  We came to the conclusion that the name of the trail must have been because of all the “windows” in the rock formations.  It was a really great hike; I thought it was better than the “world’s best 3 mile hike” we did on Thursday.  It took us 2 and 1/2 hours to go just over 4.5 miles.  It was slow going for me because of all the steep ups and downs

More Peek a Boo

Got back to the RV, changed clothes, grabbed a snack and hit the road for Torrey UT.  We’re staying at an RV park in town, then going into Capitol Reef National Park tomorrow.  Once again the campground there is 1^st come/1^st serve.

Arrived in Torrey at 4:15 after driving over some mountains with elevation as high as 9680 feet and temps as low as 40°.  Torrey does not offer much here; not even a red light.  We stopped at the General Store for some groceries; not much of a selection and the prices were high.  We got gas (4.19/gallon for diesel…Outrageous!)  Checked into the RV park at 4:40 and I made a bee-line for the shower.   For dinner we had smoked salmon-cream cheese scrambled eggs, spinach salad, and garlic toast.

Scrambled eggs with smoked salmon
and spinach salad

The RV park is located at the junction of the main road that leads into the park and the road through the mountains.  Across the main road from where we are camped is a Days Inn/gas station/convenience store.  All night we could hear traffic (not a lot but enough to be annoying) and howling winds.  I slept with ear plugs in to drown out the noise.

Still in Vegas!

Tues 4/15/14

Greg went to bed early last night but I stayed up to see some of the lunar eclipse.  I only made it to 10:30 just as the moon was waning.  I did get up again at 12:30 to catch a glimpse.  Sure enough it was partially covered and it had a reddish/copper color.  We both slept in (I got up after 8 so I guess it was close to 7:30 when Greg got up.)  We decided to find a Sportsman Warehouse to look for new hiking boots before heading up to Bryce Canyon.  It’s funny how 10 miles takes an hour to travel when you’re in the big city!  We are convinced our GPS took us the long way instead of the shortest way.  But we found the store and both got new light-weight hikers AND I got a new pair of hiking socks and a pair of cheap flip-flops.  We then HAD to stop at Walgreen’s so I could get a lounge chair for sun-bathing plus nail polish, magazines, hair bands, a hand held mirror for the sun visor of the RV….. it was my first time “shopping” in a LONG time.  I needed retail therapy badly!!!!!

We finally hit the highway out of Vegas at 1pm.  It’s almost a 4 hour drive to Bryce Canyon and Utah is one hour ahead of Nevada so it’ll be close to 6pm before we get there.  We would still need to look for a campsite and we need to stop and eat lunch at some time!  We decided we’d better stop before we get there and spend the night somewhere.  We thought the town of St. George UT would be a good spot but it was still early in the afternoon when we got there so we drove on up the interstate to Cedar City.  We got a site at the KOA in town with electric hookups.  Arrival time was 6pm (MDT).  We didn’t start dinner until 7 (late for us!).  We had grilled caribou burgers, lentil tabbouleh, mixed veggies, & dinner rolls.  We’re getting up early for the 80 miles trek to Bryce Canyon.  Both campgrounds in the park are 1^st come/ 1^st serve.  The earliest we can get there the better we can snag a site.  (FYI….. this KOA cost 47.00 including hook ups and showers; no discount given for AARP; BUT the best showers EVER!  It was worth the high dollar amount.)

Dinner in Cedar City:  grilled caribou burgers,
lentil tabbouleh, mixed veggies, and dinner roll

VEGAS, BABY!

Friday 4/11/14
We pulled out of the South Campground at Zion National Park at 7:30, heading for Las Vegas, NV.  Greg's brother Anthony, nephew Chris, his wife Shelly, and their son Sean are all there with Chris' hockey team from Soldotna AK.  We are going to hook up with them for the weekend and watch some hockey (among other things).  We got to Vegas at 11:05 and went directly to the Ice Center for Chris' 11:15 game.  They lost :( and I forgot the score.  After the game Greg and I drove around looking for the rental car office to pick up a car.  After driving thru the Strip traffic (multiple times) we finally found the Enterprise office we were looking for.  Grabbed the car and we headed to our RV park; Greg driving the Rig, me driving the Jeep Compass.  We're staying at the Riviera RV Resort about 15 minutes from where Anthony and the gang are staying (Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino).  It is over 90° by 2:30 so I took advantage of the nice showers since it had been a couple of days without one at Zion.  Back at the ice center for another game at 4:30.  The ice arena was only 8 miles from the RV park but it took us almost an hour to get there because of all the traffic.  I DO NOT miss big city traffic.  This was their 3rd game and they lost it (they lost all 3) so now they are out of the tournament.

Anthony's humongous turkey pot pie

Friday night in Vegas....whatever shall we do?????  We went back to the Golden Nugget which is on Fremont street which apparently is part of old-time Vegas.  On the street right outside the hotel, Fremont St. is blocked off for a long distance (maybe a mile or maybe only a 1/4 of a mile; I couldn't tell).  It is for pedestrian traffic only with a million casinos, hotels, restaurants, sidewalk acts to include several singing groups.  There were people in all sorts of costumes and panhandlers asking for money.  The lights were amazing and along the skyline above the street was a canopy that flashed lights as well.  Every hour on the hour at night all the lights along the street go out and only the canopy lights flash with some type of display for about 10 minutes.  It is totally incredible.  All I can say is Vegas is for young people and those who don't need any sleep and for people who aren't afflicted with migraines or seizures (the lights would totally set you off!!!)  We had a great time walking around and people watching.  I lost 10.00 gambling but got a free drink and Mardi Gras beads.  We ate a late dinner (got seated at 9pm!) then walked around all this amazment.  We weren't even on the actual strip and there was so much activity going on.  Greg and I left about 12:30 to get back to the RV, the rest of the gang (except Anthony) stayed up until 5:30 IN THE MORNING!!!!  I can tell you that by the time we got to the RV it was 1 am and it took exactly 30 seconds for me to fall asleep!

Fremont St. in the daylight

On Fremont St. during the day

SATURDAY 4/12......Greg and I up by 7:30 and had laundry done by 9.  I wanted to get back to the hotel and lay out by the pool.  By the time we got there it was a little after noon.  We had to circle the hotel a couple of times until Anthony could come down with a room key so we could get a parking spot in the hotel garage.  Got in the hotel and the pool area was so packed that there was no way I'd find a chair, let alone find one that was in the sun!  Gave up my dreams of a tan and went with Greg and Anthony to get some lunch.  Had a nice sandwich at a bistro a few blocks from the hotel and got to walk around the area for a little while before meeting up with the others (not until after 2pm).  We hung out in the casino of the hotel for a while watching Shelly win tons of money.  I lost 50.00 playing slots and spent another 4.50 on a Starbucks latte;  I'm finding it hard to part with our money when I can't see an immediate return on my investment!  Later in the evening we all drove over to the real Las Vegas Strip and parked close to the Flamingo Hotel and Casino which happened to be next to another pedestrian walk area called the Linq.  This area also houses the tallest ferris wheel in the world-- the High-Roller -- our destination for the night.  After walking around the walk area and checking out the Flamingo (watching the end of the NCAA hockey championships) we met for dinner at the Yardhouse and then headed to the ferris wheel.  There were about 25 in our group (Chris' hockey team and wives) so we got a group discount (a little less than 35.00 each).  The ferris wheel has at least 20 "pods" that hold up to 40 people each.  Our pod only held our group of about 25.....we had a blast.  The ride itself lasts 30 minutes.  There's a bar before you get on so you can get a drink (they don't allow you to bring in outside beverages) and restrooms!  The ferris wheel never stops.  It moves so slowly that you can easily get on and off as it is moving past the platform.  It reaches a height of over 500 feet and you can see all of Vegas.  Did I mention we rode this at 10:00 at night?  The lights from the city were fantastic.  Unfortunately the camera battery died so we didn't get many pics, but we had a blast!

Greg with High-Roller in the background

High-Roller in the background

platform for getting on and off

Inside the pod with the party people!

coming up on 500 feet above the city

high above Sin City!

SUNDAY 4/13/14.......This morning is windy and not as hot.  Greg went for a short run; I went to the pool.  I was not going to miss out on sunning today so I decided to take my chance at the RV park pool.  I had the whole pool to myself for almost an hour then it was only 1 other person.  I got to lay out for 2 hours before we met up with the gang for an afternoon golf tourney.  It was another late night for the party people so we met at the golf course at 1:30 for a 3:00 tee time.  We are playing "best ball" with teams of 4.  Greg and I are paired with Anthony and Sean (Chris' son).  Both of them actually play golf; neither Greg or I do.  The rules of the game went as follows:  each team gets a 5 card draw to begin with; after the game additional cards are added to your hand depending on # of pars and  birdies.  The best 5 card hand from all the cards you wind up with wins 1/2 of the pot (each person pays 10.00 to play + they can "buy" mulligans and throw-ins for 5.00 more dollars per mulligan and throw-in).  The team with the best score at the end of the game wins the other 1/2 of the pot.  To mix things up again, on 1 hole, we had to draw a card to see which club we would use for each shot we make.  For example, if I draw an ace, then I'd have to use my putter to drive with, then a new card is drawn for my next shot, say a 5, then I'd use a 5 club.  Since we don't play, it didn't matter to Greg and I what clubs we used.  Another hole, one person on the team drew a card and this was the club we all used for the entire hole.  For another hole, we had to use our putter like a pool cue.  I was so proud of Greg, he knows how to play pool; he sank that ball from a long way from the hole.  We used Anthony and Sean's shots for almost all the holes.  My drive was used once and Greg had several putts that were used.  We played really fast so we could get all 18 holes in.  There was only one other team (out of 5 teams) who finished all 18.  Even as good as our team was we didn't win -- either pots-- but we had a good time.  Greg and I finally got into the "swing" of it by the back 9.  Maybe that was due to a couple of alcoholic drinks.  Not many pictures today because on the 3rd hole I accidentally shoved the camera in a whole on the golf cart that I didn't see and it fell into the front fender and we couldn't get it out.  Fortunately an employee retrieved it after we were finished playing....whew!  Oh yeah, as warm as it was during the day, as soon as the sun went down, it got COLD!  I was freezing while waiting for the other teams to bring their carts in (the club house was closed so we had to wait outside for everyone).  Had another late dinner and Greg and I booked it back to the RV.  Greg changed the oil in the RV once we got back (under cover of darkness because oil changing is prohibited in the park).  It was after midnight before bedtime again.

Greg getting pointers from Anthony

Look at that form!

Anthony and Sean after a great game!

  On MONDAY 4/14/14.... we left the Riviera RV park about 10:30.  We don't know where we are going next....so we went to Walmart to get groceries.  We ate lunch in their parking lot while we discussed out options and Greg helped me get the shellec off my finger nails.  I let him know that it saved him about 50.00 for him and I to do this, but he reminded me that I had already lost 60.00 gambling not to mention the money we put into the pot for the golf tournament.  Oh well, I got the dreaded polish off.  By the time all of this was done (we're still in the Walmart parking lot) we decide to spend another night in Vegas.  This time we drove out to Nellis AFB and got a nice spot in their campground.  We scratched our heads:  "why didn't we stay here for the weekend?"  It was a few more miles out of town and with all the late nights it wouldn't have worked as well for us.  We decided to head for Bryce Canyon in Utah tomorrow which is about 4 hours from here.  For dinner Greg grilled ling cod (from our freezer, caught in Alaska) and we had quinoa, brussel sprouts, and brocolli slaw.  I tried to stay up to see the lunar eclipse but only made it until 10:30; Greg hit the bed much earlier than that.  We have a long drive tomorrow so I can nap!