Travels – Page 2 – Meanderings & Mind Munchies

Canyonlands National Park

Mesa Arch

This morning I hauled myself out of bed at 5:00 a.m. so that we could drive to Canyonlands National Park to see the sun rise through Mesa Arch.

Our first clue that this plan might go awry was the packed parking lot when we arrived. After walking the short trail to the arch, this is what greeted us:

To say that I was disappointed would be a vast understatement.

Not only was the arch crowded with people, but they were all simply standing in front of the arch chatting with one another.

There was no way to get close to the arch, much less take a photo. And no one showed the slightest inclination to step aside for those of us who might like a photo without strangers in it. I confess that I may have experienced a significant degree of rage.

One guy had a tripod set up in front of the arch, taking a video of the sun rising. It was impossible to get a photo without having that tripod in the frame. I was so tempted to give it a little push right into the canyon! 🤬

I was also tempted to stand behind them with my cell phone at the ready and shout, “Smile for the camera! I want a record of all the assholes here this morning!”

I didn’t do any of those things, of course. Instead, Greg and I slunk away and headed to Grand View Overlook to see what that might offer.

This photo was taken from an overlook on our way to Grand View.

I won’t lie. I will be very happy when we are done with canyons on this trip. I am tired of seeing Greg teetering on the edge of cliffs, praying that he won’t lose his balance or trip and fall in.

I’m not really worried about falling in, myself, since I never get close enough to the edge. But my fear of heights is always triggered, nevertheless.

Grand View Overlook

We decided not to walk the trail at Grand View. The position of the sun made it difficult to see into the canyon.

I wish park maps would tell you whether an overlook was east facing or west facing. It would be really helpful!

Mesa Arch–second attempt

After Grand View, we headed back to Mesa Arch to see whether the crowd had thinned now that the sun had fully risen.

Yay! I was finally able to get my shot of the arch. And to be honest, I don’t think it would have been much better if I had been able to take it at sunrise.

Lesson learned.

I did get at least one pretty photo at sunrise, though…

Dead Horse Point State Park

On the way back to the campground, we stopped at Dead Horse Point State Park.

This state park is a hidden gem, and I wish that we had visited it earlier so that we could have taken better advantage of everything it had to offer.

As it was, all we really did was drive to the end of the park road and take some photos of the canyon.

Arches National Park

The Windows

We were up early again this morning to see if we could catch sunrise on some of the arches in the Windows section of the park.

We were shocked to discover the parking lot nearly full at that hour of the morning. Dang! I had really hoped to get some pictures of the arches without a thousand people standing underneath them.

Oh, well. With a little effort, we managed to get creative with our photo taking.

That is Greg, standing on the ground waiting for me to quit fooling around.

Park Avenue

Next, we hiked the Park Avenue trail. Maybe we were spoiled from hiking at Bryce Canyon (or maybe we were simply in too much pain from all the hiking we’ve been doing), but neither of us found the views along the trail particularly breathtaking.

I’m calling this formation “The Nuns,” because it reminds me of a group of nuns milling about.

We didn’t go all the way to the Park Avenue Overlook, which we realized later that evening probably would have been a good idea.

Sunset at Arches

We spent the afternoon napping, doing laundry, and shopping for hair cutting supplies. (We both desperately need haircuts, and we haven’t been able to find anything like a Hair Cuttery.)

After dinner, we headed back to Arches National Park to see if we could catch the sunset.

Our first stop was Park Avenue Overlook. This overlook was so much better than the trail!

Our next delightful surprise was the view of the La Sal Mountains as the sun was setting.

And shortly thereafter, the full moon made an appearance.

All in all, it was a good day.

Colorado River rafting trip

Today was a relatively quiet day. We took our time getting ready this morning. So nice!

At noon, our tour guides picked us up at the campground for a 3-hour rafting trip down the Colorado River that included lunch.

Our tour guides serve up Chicken Caesar Salad in tortillas wraps shaped like ice cream cones.

Unlike the Snake River, the Colorado River was very muddy. One of the other tourists said it was like floating on chocolate milk. I would have described it more as café au lait.

And I can’t say the scenery was especially thrilling, but it was still nice.

Canyonlands National Park

We woke up to rain this morning, but that did not deter us. We headed off to Canyonlands National Park at 7:15.

Again, the entrance gate to the park was unmanned, but the visitor center was open. We grabbed a map and trail guide, then headed to our first destination.

Upheaval Dome

In an effort not to overtax ourselves, we’ve been trying to keep any individual hike to 3 miles or less. Upheaval Dome was 1.4 miles.

What we did not count on today were the gale force winds. OMG! I’m not sure I’ve ever experienced wind as strong as what was blowing today.

And unfortunately, nearly everything in Canyonlands National Park involves standing on the edge of a canyon. The wind added a dimension of risk that I did not enjoy. There were times when I struggled just to stay on my feet.

What you can’t tell from this photo is how hard I was holding on to Greg.

Upheaval Dome is believed to have been created by a giant meteorite.

After our experience with the wind at Upheaval Dome, we decided to forgo any more hikes, since they were likely to involve fighting against the wind while balancing on slickrock at dizzying heights.

Instead, we chose to continue our drive along the main road leading through Canyonlands National Park, stopping at overlooks along the way.

Even the overlooks often involved teetering on the edge of a canyon.

Arches National Park

Greg decided to drive Route 24 from Capitol Reef National Park to our campground near Arches National Park. The scenery along Route 24 was varied, to say the least.

When we arrived at the campground, we were dismayed to discover that our site had no sewer. Since we are going to be here a week, that presented a challenge.

Luckily, the shower facility is top notch, and we appear to be the only ones using it. Also, there are lots of restaurants in Moab. I teased Greg that this would be a great excuse for not cooking!

Devil’s Garden

We headed off early the next morning to explore Arches. Because of the government shutdown, the entrance gate was unmanned and our timed entry ticket was not needed. But to our surprise, the Visitor’s Center was open.

We picked up a map of the park and a trail guide, then headed to the furthest spot along the scenic drive, assuming that the horde of other tourists would not have made their way there yet.

That section of the park is called Devil’s Garden, and it includes Skyline Arch, Tunnel Arch, Pine Tree Arch, and Landscape Arch (there are others, but those are the ones we saw).

By the time we finished our hike to see those arches, it was getting hot, and the sun was blistering. Greg lost interest in any more hiking. (Those of you who know him know how he feels about being hot!)

We decided to make our way down the scenic drive and stop at interesting-looking overlooks.

Heading toward Sand Dune Arch. A family had set up lawn chairs and sand toys for their little ones right in front of the arch, so I was unable to get a good photo of the arch without someone else’s kids in it. Grrr!

I won’t post photos of everything we saw, but suffice it to say that we still have a lot to see at Arches!

The drive into Arches National Park is probably my favorite part of the park so far.

On our way back to the campground, we made a detour to the emergency room so that Greg could get his hand checked out. Thanks to Patrick and our need to get Tdap shots after he was born, Greg was already protected from tetanus.

Tomorrow we will check out Canyonlands National Park.

Grand Wash Trail

In an effort to take it a bit easier today, Greg and I headed down Route 24 to hike the Grand Wash Trail, a flat and fairly short hike through a dry stream bed and canyon.

The views along Route 24 were beautiful in the early morning sunlight.

The hike itself didn’t get off to the best start.

As Greg was trying to descend a slight slope into the stream bed, he slipped on the sand, fell, and ripped open his hand on a piece of wire.

So we headed back to the car to patch him up before continuing on.

The trail was delightful, though.

Petroglyph Panels

After our hike, we headed down Route 24 to an area where Native Americans had carved petroglyphs into the rock walls.

There was another tourist there who had an incredible ability to spot the petroglyphs, despite how small and faded they were. If not for him, I suspect I would have missed seeing about 80% of them.

Fruita Schoolhouse

Next, we drove a short distance to the Fruita Schoolhouse. Unfortunately, it was locked, so we were only able to get photos from the outside and looking through the windows.

This is where the small Mormon community of 10 families that lived in Fruita schooled their children and held community events.

Behind the schoolhouse is this rock. Someone carved “Fruita Grade School” into it, and generations of children carved their names into it as well.

After stopping by the schoolhouse, Greg and I headed back to the campground, where we enjoyed a very relaxing afternoon and evening doing absolutely nothing. (Well, except for grilling beef tenderloin for dinner. Yum!)

Cohab Canyon Trail

Capitol Reef National Park

This is the first time Greg and I have hiked a trail where I have found myself saying, “Nancy, you are an absolute idiot for doing this.”

It wasn’t because the trail was particularly difficult. It wasn’t.

I was simply feeling tired and shaky. The beginning of the hike involved climbing 440 feet up a mountain, and there were times when I paused on the trail and tried not to let dizziness overcome me.

That said, once the hard part was over, we had a great time wandering through the canyon.

Through the canyon and heading toward the last 300-ft climb to the overlooks

After we finished the hike, we stopped by the Gifford House and purchased one of their famous pies (we bought cherry).

Scenic Drive

Next, we hopped in the car and drove the 8-mile scenic drive.

Capitol Gorge Road

At the end of the Scenic Drive is a gravel road called Capitol Gorge Road. Thankfully, it is only about a mile long because it is narrow with blind corners and rock walls — not Greg’s cup of tea.

Capitol Gorge Trail

At the end of Capitol Gorge Road is Capitol Gorge Trail. This is an easy and fun hike through a slot canyon.

Along the trail, Native Americans carved petroglyphs into the canyon walls.

And pioneers carved their names into the canyon walls as they passed through.

There is a list of names about halfway up the rock wall. Who knows how they managed it!

It’s hard to get a sense of how tall those rock walls are without people in the photo to add perspective.

I took a few more photos of the scenery on the way back to the campground.

The Mossy Cave Trail

We did not set our alarms last night because the weather forecast predicted a greater than 50% chance of rain until 11:00 a.m. this morning.

The weather forecast was wrong.

When we woke up, the chance of rain had dropped dramatically, so we got ourselves together and headed to the Mossy Cave Trail, which is a short trail just outside Bryce Canyon National Park. It leads to an unspectacular small cave and a quite lovely waterfall.

Navajo Loop Trail and Wall Street

I finally got my wish to do Wall Street.

Greg had decided that he should not do any more hiking, but he agreed to drive me over to Sunset Point so that I could hike the Navajo Loop Trail and Wall Street.

On the way, he told me that if he could find a parking place, he would join me on the hike. Yay!

Miraculously, we found a parking spot, so off we went!

It was SO. MUCH. FUN.

We made it!

After our hike, we headed over to Bryce Lodge to check it out. There was a pizza restaurant there called Valhalla Pizzaria, and we couldn’t resist treating ourselves to pizza for lunch.

Tomorrow we head to Capitol Reef National Park.

Bryce Point

We made a spur of the moment decision this morning to stop by Bryce Point before heading to our next destination, Willis Creek Slot Canyon.

No wonder the parking lot was full yesterday. This overlook provides an amazing view of the Bryce Canyon Amphitheater!

We got there a little late. The sun was already up. And to make matters even more annoying, a group of folks who must have been on a photography tour had set up their tripods all around the overlook. Despite that, I got one or two photos that pleased me.

After Bryce Point, we stopped at Upper and Lower Inspiration points to take a few more photos.

Willis Creek Slot Canyon

Okay. I recognize that no other slot canyon can compare to Antelope Canyon in Arizona, but since I haven’t been there yet, forgive me for saying that Willis Creek Slot Canyon is awesome.

To get there, though, was no easy feat. It involved a seven-mile drive down a teeth-jarring BLM dirt road with a washboard surface, sharp turns, and steep inclines. Greg handled it like a champ. (There may have been moments when I shrieked.)

We also encountered a cow in the middle of the road at one point.

I had hoped that since we got there early, and since it was not an easy place to get to, we would be the only ones there. No such luck. Despite that, there were many times as we were walking that we were completely alone.

Another couple who were hiking the slot canyon showed us how to take vertical panorama shots, which give a much better sense of how tall things are. Some of these photos were taken using that method, and some were not, which explains why some of the walls look taller than others. Plus, there were about four slot canyons in all on the hike, each a little different than the one before.

This was a tiny little waterfall in one of the crevices of the canyon wall.

At one point a hummingbird flew in front of Greg. It paused about a foot in front of his face and looked him over before flying away. I was standing right behind him and got a really good view of the hummingbird. It was so cute!

Scenic Byway 12

Next, we decided to drive down Scenic Byway 12 to Devil’s Garden. Along the way, we encountered beautiful views and hail.

Devil’s Garden

Devil’s Garden is a small area of hoodoos out in the middle of nowhere.

To get to Devil’s Garden, we had to drive 12 miles down another BLM dirt road. When Greg realized that, he almost turned around to head back to Bryce Canyon, but it had taken us an hour and a half to get there, and I didn’t want to leave without seeing what we had come to see.

By the time we finished driving that 12 miles, Greg’s good mood was gone.

On top of that, thunderstorms were looming. After 10 minutes of wandering through the hoodoos, Greg decided it was time to head back. He didn’t want to be stuck on that dirt road during a downpour. I didn’t blame him.

I would have loved to have spent a little more time wandering through the hoodoos, though. It was fun!

And just to prove that there were indeed thunderstorms…

On the way back, we got to see a different angle of the hoodoos in Bryce Canyon National Park.

Navajo Loop/Queen’s Garden Trail

This morning we hauled ourselves out of bed at dawn (I’m not a fan of these early mornings) so that we could get to Sunset Point before the parking lot filled up.

From there, we hiked the Navajo Loop trail down into the Bryce Canyon Amphitheater.

Then we hooked up with the Queen’s Garden Trail.

And ended up at Sunrise Point.

Sometime before we leave, I would like to do the Navajo Loop Trail to the Wall Street Trail. I really want to wander through the maze of hoodoos.

Rainbow Point

After lunch, Greg decided it was time to terrify me again.

We drove the 18 miles to Rainbow Point, the highest point in Bryce Canyon National Park, at over 9000 feet above sea level. I had to keep my eyes closed for the last eight miles.

To our annoyance, the parking lot was packed. Greg ended up parking illegally in a “government vehicles only” slot. (He claims he didn’t see the sign. Ha!)

This was one of the rare times I didn’t mind breaking the rules. After that hair-raising trip up to Rainbow Point, I was damned if we were going to leave before seeing it!

It was interesting, but nothing I would have been devastated to miss.

After snapping a few photos as quickly as we could, we headed back down the mountain, stopping at various overlooks along the way.

My favorite by far was Natural Bridge.

We wanted to stop at Bryce Point as well, but there was a ranger blocking the road and a sign that said “lot full.” Argh!

Ugh. Crowds.

We have discovered that if we want to find parking at any of the lots in the national parks, we need to arrive by 9:00 a.m.

That’s no problem for our first stop of the day, because we’re usually arriving between 7:00 and 8:00 a.m. But anything we want to do after that becomes a challenge.

It’s really annoying.

On the other hand, the weather has been absolutely beautiful, and if we were doing this in the summer, we would be fighting both heat and crowds.

Foreign tourists

For those of you who might be wondering what it is like to tour the national parks while Trump is gleefully antagonizing non-Americans, let me say that it seems to have had little effect on tourism.

I would guess that between 15 to 20% of the tourists in the parks right now are foreigners. People are speaking French, German, Asian languages, and lots of languages that I can’t identify.

Today we met someone from Belgium, and we camped next to an Israeli family when we were in Zion. (They were absolutely delightful!) After they left, several young Germans took their place. On our other side were some middle easterners.

I have loved hearing all the different languages and chatting with people from all over the world.

Oh, and I haven’t noticed a decrease in service within the parks. I can’t say that the rangers in the visitor centers have been all that helpful, but there doesn’t seem to be a shortage of workers.