The Map

I've created a map using Google Maps to show where we went, where we stayed, and where we ate. Incomplete so far, but you can watch the progress (I hope) at


View Go West! in a larger map

aka The Map

The last installment of the trip has stayed in Vegas so far, but should be here shortly as soon as bail can be arranged.

Today in Zion

We are down in Zion N.P. today. The difference between Zion and other canyon parks is that in most places, you enter on the rim and hike down to see things - meaning you end your hike by ascending a trail. At Zion, you come in the bottom of the canyon, so you hike uphill to see things, and downhill to get back. It seems easier that way, somehow...

We intended to climb to Angel's Landing this morning but it was closed; a hiker slipped from the top about two hours before we got there...I don't know if we will go up there tomorrowor not.

We did get to the Emerald Pools:



And we got to hike up the Narrows. At the head of the canyon, the road ends and the rock changes. The Virgin River, which has spent the last 12 million years carving the canyon, fills it from wall to wall. To go farther, you have to get your feet wet. And cold. Very cold. But it's OK - eventually they get numb, and you can't feel the cold any more. Definitely the toughest level hike I've ever done.


Tomorrow, we pack up and drift back downhill to Las Vegas. We'll see how many shirts I lose...

On the way to Zion

We left Bryce Canyon for Zion N.P., but not before enjoying a view of the hoodoos from horseback. We all survived, including the horses.



Took a trip over the mountains to Cedar City, Utah. This sign was reassuring, as we didn't want to be on that road anyway...


Stopped by the top of Brian Head. I thought there would be hair up there, but it looks like the surface of the Moon. Nice view, at 11,300 feet above sea level. Not much more air than the Moon.

We did make some new friends while we were up there.

Hoodoos!

First, the sign for the place we stayed last night. Kind of a Western version of Fawlty Towers. If you're ever in Kaibab, Utah, you ~must~ stay here.


This morning, we drove to Bryce Canyon. Then we lost our heads. Since we didn't hike to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, we thought we'd hike to the bottom of this one. First, note that the temperature was in the mid 70's with a nice 30 mph breeze. It gets a bit warmer down in the canyon, but you have to get down this trail first:


Yes, that's an all-switchback trail. Kind of makes you dizzy to walk down.

When we were at Arches N.P., my cousin the Park Ranger showed us how to kick over all the rock cairns that tourists build, spoiling the natural view. I gave up when I came to this spot:
Bryce Canyon, like all the Utah parks, is known for weird stuff. Like an elephant's head:


And a lot of general hoodooness:



But the park has some nice vistas...we are at 8000 feet above sea level, and can see all the way to Navajo Mountain.


We finished up the day with ice cream for supper, and a trip to the rodeo.



Because France has their vacation in August, they all come to America to do the Grand Circle. We've been surrounded by French-speaking people everywhere we've been, but being the only Americans at the rodeo was a new experience.

Tomorrow, we hope to take a horseback ride into the canyon. I hope to put what I learned tonight into practice tomorrow...

The North Rim is Windy

From Arches we went down to Page, Arizona for the night. The next day, we dropped in on the North Rim at Grand Canyon National Park. It's very different from the South Rim; one difference is the wind. The whole time we were there, it blew. Hard. It's a miracle some of the tourists didn't get blown over the side, climbing on the rocks. We stayed behind the rail.


We had lunch in the Grand Lodge. We didn't even look at the prices on the menu, because this was the view from our table:

Tonight, we are staying in the Parry Lodge in Kanab, Utah. See all about it here: http://www.parrylodge.com/ We've got the same room Black Bart stayed in...

Climbing

We arrived at Arches National Park near Moab, Utah. My cousin is a Park Ranger, so we got to do something different. He said he would show us "weird stuff". First thing we did is scramble up this crack.

This is what it looks like on top. Not unlike the surface of Mars, I think.

Here is the group of happy ascendants. Note that the rock we are sitting on is about the size of two sheets of plywood.

Did I mention it's up kind of high? We are sitting on the end of the point at the center of the picture below. It's about 600 feet down a sheer cliff on three sides of our rock.


Then it was time to climb back down. That may have been harder...


We all survived, and one of us got promoted to Ranger!


We celebrated by going swimming in the Colorado River. We started out on a rafting trip, but this looked like more fun...

Like a square room...

Four Corners...First, I threw Hannah out of Colorado.



We have been in the car so long, we had to move to different states.

I wanted to test the surveyor's accuracy....
The GPS says 36.99945N, 109.045345W. Looks like they were a little off...

A couple more Canyon de Chelly

A couple more pictures from Canyon de Chelly...first Spider Rocks. The Spider Woman lives up here, and keeps the bones of her victims buried here.



And another view up the canyon, showing the agricultural fields down there.

Canyon de Chelly

Morning at Canyon de Chelly, and a trip down to White House Ruins. Down there somewhere...

First of two tunnels...

The trail is carved out of the rock.White House Ruins. Though you can't see the white house in this view. Oh, well, you can Google for better pictures anyway.


We saw the rest of the place form the road, or short hikes to overlooks.

A Little More Canyon

Before we leave the Grand Canyon, a couple more pictures. First, the view outside our window on Friday morning...four elk grazing on the nicely manicured lawn outside Kachina Lodge.




And then our fond farewell...

I've re-edited the previous post to add some captions, so you might want to look at it again. Meanwhile, we're off to Chinle, AZ.

One big hole after another

Too many Grand Canyon pictures to sort through...I'll just add this one of The Watchtower. Part of the park that I suspect few people get to see...

And then it's off on another Blue Highway. This one was on Arizona 264 between Tuba City and Second Mesa.



Tonight we're in Chinle. And when we go in the grocery store, we look out of place...