The summer of 2005 is being spent on land. Our sailboat, Dream Chaser, is in dry storage in San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico. We frequent the weather websites to check and make sure that tropical storms are not venturing too close to her. But she is in a boat storage area with 500 other boats. She has steel pipes cemented into the ground, supporting her with cushioned braces, so that any winds won't knock her over. Also other boats around her won't domino into her. We wonder if the heat is too harsh on her. We are constantly thinking of her.
After our son Ted's graduation from UC Berkeley, we headed to Friday Harbor, Washington for June and July. Our condo at The Cannery Village Condominiums was between renters, and available for us, so we have enjoyed a reprise on the waterfront there. Family has come and visited a number of times, enjoying the island through biking, scuba diving, and hiking.
Over the end of July, Sue's parents (John and Phoebe), Sue and I chartered the 'Pacific Mariner', a 40 foot 'Mariner' out of Comox on the east side of Vancouver Island. With a 120 hp Lehmann diesel and a Genset, we had no mechanical difficulties during the week long charter. John and Phoebe used the aft stateroom while Sue and I were in the forward V-berth. The galley provided ample room for food preparation, as well as for games like Bridge and Mexican Train. We enjoyed sitting up on the flying bridge, and scanning the waters for marine life. Ultimately, we were rewarded with seeing orcas come by the boat in Frederick Arm. We turned the boat into their path, turned the engine off, and sat, watching with delight as one female turned upside down and passed length wise under the boat looking at the boat bottom. One of the three males in the pod was definitely the same one we saw in 2003 while with Pacific Dream's Jim and Judy Dodge. The crook on the high dorsal fin was an easy identifier.
Our stops included Prideaux Haven, Pendrell Sound, Frederick Arm, Teakerne Arm with Castle Falls, Squirrel Cove, Rebecca Spit, and a pass by the bird sanctuary at Mittlenache Island. By and large the weather was sunny for enjoying the islands, the mountains, and the steep valleys. The greenery was stunning, and a dramatic change from the previous six months of arid and dusty Mexico.
Montana
Ted and Christine invited us to stay at one of Christine's grandmother's properties near Lakeside, Montana and Flathead Lake. What a wonderful week it was to get to know Christine's relatives better. In addition we took trips to the National Bison Park where we saw bison, prong-horned antelope, elk, white-tailed deer, birds including blue birds, ferruginous hawks, Clark's nutcrackers, magpies, and so on. One day we drove to the Big Mountain ski area, rode the 13 minute quad seat lift to the top, and took in the overview: Canada to the north, Glacier NP to the east, Whitefish Lake to the south, and the Bitterroot Mountains to the west. Two other days we drove into Glacier National Park and hiked the Highline Trail along the Garden Wall near Logan Pass, and the Iceberg Lake trail out of the Many Glacier area. The flowers were beautiful along the Garden Wall. We keyed out 31 different flowers along the way. In addition we had close encounters with a mountain goat, three big-horned sheep, innumerable Columbia prairie dogs. We didn't see any bears, probably because these two trails were so heavily used by hikers.
After departing from Flathead Lake, Sue and I drove along parts of the Lewis and Clark Expedition Trail, including Great Falls, Three Forks, and Beaverhead Rock near Dillon. George has been reading the book, 'Sacagawea' by Anna Lee Waldo. Seeing some of the landmarks mentioned in the book brought to life some of the difficult passages, portages, and events that were encountered in that famous Voyage of Discovery in 1805-6. While in Great Falls we stopped at the informative and well-done Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center.
An additional highlight in Great Falls was seeing the Charles Russell Museum where many of his paintings and sculptures were exhibited. They have his studio on the museum grounds. Period photos show Chief Joseph, Sitting Bull, and others that he became friends with. His realistic style and sometimes humorous subjects were delightful. In addition there was an exhibit of 60 paintings by Charles Fritz that were done from 1997 to 2002 documenting the Lewis and Clark Expedition's Voyage of Discovery. This traveling exhibit piqued our interest as we were taking in some of the landmarks ourselves.
Arches National Park - 08/30/05
We are presently in Moab, Utah, having visited Arches National Park and
a few places around the area as well. On our way here, we visited the Oregon
Trail Interpretive Center in Baker City, spent the night in Ontario, and then
proceeded to Salt Lake City in the morning. Camping in a state park near a
wildlife refuge north of the city was a real pleasure except for the road noise
(trucks roaring down I-84 never stopped all night long). We set up our tent next
to a lake, then went birding in the refuge. We saw hundreds of White-Faced Ibis,
hundreds of Common Moorhens, and hundreds of Coots. The first two birds
mentioned we had never seen before. We also saw a raft of about 100 white
pelicans. We would really like to visit this place again on the way back as we
ran out of time before dark. With so few people in the campground before Labor
Day, birds were busy all around our campsite, just chirping to be identified and
appreciated.
It only took us 5 hours to get down to Moab on Wednesday, so we quickly went
into Arches to get brochures and plan our visit more carefully. After viewing
the overview film at the Visitor’s Information Center, we signed up for a guided
tour on Thursday of The Fiery Furnace, a section of the park with lots of slot
canyons, tall pillars, and a few arches. For $8 each, a ranger takes as many as
25 people into a rugged section of the park where no trails have been built and
sometimes there’s barely enough room to pass through.
George had reserved a little air conditioned cabin for us at the KOA campground
in Moab. Since the Arches campground was pretty small and took reservations, we
figured we would never get a space, especially over a popular week-end. As it
turns out, we probably could have gotten a space, but the KOA campground was so
comfortable, quiet, and friendly that we decided not to try. The cabin is a
little log structure with a queen sized bed and a pair of bunk beds. There is a
little desk, bench, and mirror but no bathroom at all. The public bathrooms are
very clean, however. With the campground filling up for the week-end, we’re not
sure if there will be enough rest rooms and showers for everyone during peak
hours. We shower at night so we’re ready to go in the morning after a quick bowl
of cereal. Other amenities we’ve enjoyed include the swimming pool and laundry.
It’s really like a little camping resort. We like the fact that we’re not packed
in as tightly as most of the other campgrounds.
Arches is truly a spectacular park. Red rock towers and walls in fantastic
shapes and sizes abound. And there are prairies too. The Utah State license
plate has an arch on it that is truly special in that the arch is like a croquet
hoop: it stands alone unlike any of the other arches we have seen. But I’m
getting ahead of myself. Thursday morning we went on the 3-hour walk with the
ranger through the Fiery Furnace. Fortunately, we were in the shadows of the
rocks most of the time. The ranger told us all about the geology of the area as
well as the plants and animal-life within the park. Geologists today think the
Colorado tectonic plate rose up millions of years ago, creating the great river
gorges along the Colorado and Green Rivers, and then this area actually began
sinking. The beautiful red rocks are two different kinds of sandstone, the lower
layer being weaker and breaking up as the tectonic plate sinks. The great salt
basin underground which Great Salt Lake is a part of, has dried up in this
region. The salts glued together the sandstone, but rainwater dissolves the salt
and erodes the sandstone. The lower section is a different kind of sandstone and
is breaking up, making the huge towers above tip to one side and eventually fall
over. Meanwhile, the rains continue to break up the sandstone and create these
gorgeous arches as the rocks fall apart. Some of the towers look like people
standing tall, others look like creatures. The ranger took us through narrow
draws, along ledges, up over rock ridges and into caves. One of the caves had a
very large arch inside it. It was like a maze, certainly a place we wouldn’t
have wanted to explore without a guide who knew his way around.
Yesterday we spent most of the day hiking in the Devil’s Garden area of the park
where the trail takes you to see a number of arches, each one very different.
Landscape Arch is 306 feet wide and about 100 feet tall. The trails expose the
hiker to dangers of falling off ledges and rocks, so there aren’t very many
children. It isn’t possible to protect the public from slipping and falling
without restricting everyone to their cars, so we found the hiking pretty
exhilarating.
Yes, it’s pretty hot. By 10:00 the temperature hits about 90, climbing into the
high 90s by 2:00, and not really cooling off until well after dark. The air
conditioning feels very good in the cabin. Getting back to our hike up to
Delicate Arch, we sweltered hiking uphill in the noon heat even though it was
only a mile and a half. But it was worth every ounce of effort. An amphitheater
quite deep sits in front of the arch. We walked along the side of it to get up
close to the arch along with most everyone else. People were taking photos of
each other standing under the arch. We left shortly, though, as there were about
4 children aged 3-8 from a couple of families who were running and jumping
around on the edge of this deep amphitheater, completely oblivious to the
certain death if they were to slip, trip or fall as young children often do. I
was so nervous about their safety (and parents weren’t taking them by the hand
either). I could hardly go to sleep that night thinking about it until I
remembered they were all in God’s hands.
With blue sky in the background and dark red rocks filling the landscape in
innumerable shapes, it’s easy to understand why so many people come here. Today
we went hunting for petroglyphs. We watched the mountain bikers and the off-road
vehicles with high clearance tip-toeing along very rough roads we would never
even want to attempt. But that’s the rage here in the desert. Most of the
campers here bring along 4-wheel drive jeeps to run along the back roads that
are in horrible shape with boulders and huge pot holes to navigate. They enjoy
solving the problems and coming back in one piece. 4-wheeled
all-terrain-vehicles abound too, their drivers wearing dust masks and goggles.
Motorcyclists wear special boots, gloves, and other protective gear, and they
all wear helmets. Yesterday and today, afternoon thundershowers brought everyone
back into town to browse the shops. It was pretty busy. We drove north through
the rain to see yet another display of Indian rock art, driving back along the
Colorado River with canyon wall ruins all around us, just like we’ve seen in the
movies, but have never actually seen them ourselves.
Tomorrow we’re heading into Canyonlands National Park, taking a jet boat ride
down the Colorado, a jeep trip up onto the cliffs, and lunch in between. Should
be fun.
Canyonlands National Park - 9/06/05
We moved out of the cabin when the bugs moved in, so we haven’t had a plug-in
for the computer or the camera batteries until tonight. Tenting at the KOA
proved quite comfortable, especially when the campground managers let us stay
there for free two more nights when they heard of our midnight flight from cabin
to tent. Our jet boat trip took us along the twists and turns of the Colorado
River. The river is so muddy there aren’t many fish, so few birds live along the
edge. Our jeep tour guide spends his free time in search and rescue so he had
lots of stories about people getting lost or hurt out in the wilderness. Both
guides gave us more details than we cared to hear about the young man who got
lost in the Maze of Canyonlands and had to cut off his hand when a rock moved
and pinned him down. Both had more information about the geology of the area to
share, but neither guide actually took us into Canyonlands. We got to see
magnificent views from Twin Bridges, two natural arches only a few feet apart,
views of the Colorado from the top of the canyon walls, the rock Tom Cruise
climbed in the opening of the latest Mission Impossible movie, and the cliff
that Thelma and Louise drove off at the end of their chase scene. Our river
guide makes Styrofoam rocks for movie sets in the winter. Over 250 films have
been shot in the area.
Having decided we had seen enough canyons and arches without actually getting
into Canyonlands National Park, we decided to go to an outpost yesterday of
Canyonlands: Horseshoe Canyon, where you can see some significant rock art
walls. It was an adventure getting there, I must say. The 2-wheel drive road had
been washed out after 45 miles of ruts and gravel. Recent rains had created a
2-3 foot canyon in the middle of the road. Fortunately we were able to drive off
the road in the sagebrush to get around it in two places. Yes, we took pictures!
Our Explorer was in 4-wheel drive the whole way and got us through many sticky
situations from muddy flash-flood stream beds to sand. You should have seen the
car when we got to the trailhead: red mud splashed all over the car and caked to
the tires and mud-flaps.
Then we had a 3-hour hike down to the bottom of the canyon. Yes, the rock art
was wonderful: whole walls of pictures, some painted over 7,800 years ago. Since
a flash-flood had occurred 2 days earlier, cairns marking the trail had been
washed out, but we followed the river bottom, following a few fresh footprints
hoping they knew where they were going. Turned out a ranger had taken a few
people in just an hour earlier. We saw her at the Grand Gallery where she spent
about an hour explaining the pictures to us and showing us some very faint
wolves with teeth carved into grey rock. The painted figures stare down at you
with scull-like faces, no arms, no legs, but intricately designed dresses
covering their bodies. No horses appear in these ancient works of art, but
big-horned sheep and dogs abound. Some of the figures had been damaged by later
Natives, probably as a means of negating any powerful, evil spirits represented
there. The sun went behind clouds as we hiked back to the car uphill. We were
grateful it didn’t rain and the temperature was cooler. The ranger told us to go
back to Moab on a different road so we had no troubles there. Still, a much
longer day than we had planned. Getting back to the tent by 9:00, we quickly
took the car through a carwash and went to bed.
We paid $3.09 per gallon for gas today as we drove south towards Monument
Valley, a place you often see in the background of movies, once again. But here
the mesas and buttes rise up all alone from the valley floor. We were
disappointed the sky was cloudy, unlike all the scenes in the movies we have
seen. Having decided to head this direction, we ended up at the Grand Canyon’s
South Rim! Yes, we’re in a little town just outside the south entrance of the
park, having been to the rim this afternoon in the fading light. But the
batteries in our camera were almost completely dead and there were no plugs in
the campground in the park. Knowing we would want 2 full batteries before really
seeing the Grand Canyon, we settled into a motel and had dinner. My, everything
is expensive around here, unlike Moab! The cheapest motel room was $87 and the
grocery store charges more than Strohecker’s for everything. We’ll camp in the
park for a couple of nights before we head north towards Zion and Bryce. Hope to
go hiking at least a little ways into the Canyon. The weather forecast calls for
showers and high winds by Friday.
Grand Canyon - 9/07/05
Our first full day in the Grand Canyon National Park, we spent riding the
shuttles, walking along the rim, attending a talk about the resident California
Condors, and generally getting acquainted with the complex shuttle system. Our
first look across the canyon brought chills to see this natural wonder in the
flesh for the first time in our lives. Ten miles across, with canyons running
along the sides of the big canyon, you can only see the river at certain places
east and west of the Canyon Village. Colors of the rocks go through the spectrum
from dark red to light beige. It truly is a magnificent place on Earth.
There are 5 major lodges on the rim to accommodate as many as 5 million guests
every year, half of whom come from outside the US. We also saw a number of
historic buildings built 75+ years ago, now used as shops, bookstores,
information centers, and observation points, some of them overhanging the canyon
rim. We heard so many languages everywhere we went, we thought the percentage
was more nearly 80 percent foreigners, including the campers in the campground.
One night I heard and observed two young men struggling with their motorcycles
across from our campsite. One of these enormous road bikes fell over as the
driver put the kickstand down over the edge of the pavement. After the sound of
metal scraping, I heard a language probably from eastern Europe. I guess you can
rent bikes like that as well as RV campers, and we see as many rented RVs as
privately owned rigs.
A short hike took us up to an overlook along the road to Hermit’s Rest. From
there we could see a trail snaking down, down, down into the canyon. Lots of
people hiked in both directions, some standing off while mule trains worked up
towards the rim. It was the Bright Angel Trail, the most popular, and the one we
decided to take the next day. Signs along the rim warn visitors that hiking down
all the way to the water and back would be foolhardy. Brief descriptions of
various depths told us the length and grade, whether easy, moderate, strenuous,
or extremely strenuous. Of course, we planned on the extremely strenuous hike.
Although walking along the rim was tough enough at 7,000’ elevation, sleeping
overnight at this elevation would give us the needed acclimatization. In the
Park Guide Newspaper as well as on signs at the trailhead we read of people who
had recently died hiking this trail, the most unbelievable being a marathon
runner who undertook a route 27 miles long. And she only took 1.5 liters of
water, a granola bar, and an apple. Her friend made it out, but she died before
help could arrive.
After dinner we took the car out to the east end of the park to see the sunset
colors on the canyon walls only to find we were too late. Before sunset, the
whole canyon goes dark in the shadows. Two days later, however, we did catch the
sunset early enough, but clouds covered the sun most of the time.
We got up at 5:30 a.m. next day, caught the 6:30 shuttle, and were on our way
down the Bright Angel Trail by 6:40 a.m., well ahead of the heat of the day. A
number of tourists were walking up the trail as we headed down, having walked a
short ways to enjoy the early morning light. We passed a few hikers heading in
our direction, but there were still others ahead of us at our destination.
Working hard to avoid knee fatigue, we made our way down over the ruts created
by the mules, through 2 tunnels cut into cliff buttresses, first through yellow
rock, then through intensely red rock, then down into Indian Gardens where water
flows freely from springs in the rocks and the trees gave wonderful relief from
the scorching sun. We were lucky, thought. An overcast hung over Grand Canyon
all day, keeping the temperatures 10-15 degrees cooler. Once past Indian Gardens
(also a campground for backpackers), we headed out onto a mesa ending at Plateau
Point. Arriving at 10:20 a.m., another couple was already there, and two more
couples joined us within a half hour. From this point, we could see the river
very well, rapids roaring here and there to the right and to the left of us.
Turkey Vultures, Ravens, and small birds flew overhead. We did see the
California Condors on our way up, however, 4 huge birds with their 9’ wingspan
soaring above a rocky projectile where they had nested last year. A squirrel
wanted our peanut butter sandwiches. A half eaten Cliff Bar had fallen out of my
pack, unbeknownst to me. The squirrel found it and ran off with it in spite of
my protests. Fortunately, George was able to corner the thief and retrieve his
booty. (It is against the law to feed wild animals in any of the parks.) After
this little incident, we quickly put on our packs and started up the trail. We
kept a slow but steady pace, stopping frequently for a quick breather. We had
taken 3-4 liters of water and Gator Ade each even though water was available
along the trail at 1.5 mile intervals. By the time we reached the rim, we had
each eaten 2 sandwiches and drunk all the Gator Ade and most of the water. The
sun came out briefly as we ascended, but the temperature was also getting cooler
as we gained altitude. We felt pretty good when we emerged on top at 4:25 in the
afternoon. We leap-frogged with many hikers who hadn’t gone as far as we had,
but some of the others who had been all the way to Plateau Point passed us.
There was a group of Japanese kids running up the trail. They would run out of
steam and stop, watching us slowly pass. They spoke very little English, but
understand when George spoke to them: “I’m OK.” It soon became a joke for us
all, causing much laughter each time they passed us or we passed them. Something
we all had in common going up was fatigue, making it easy to strike up
conversation with others resting, then trudging upwards once again. This hike is
one we will remember for a long time for its strenuousness, its history, its
strange beauty.
By the way, we heard you need to make reservations to ride the mules into the
canyon at least a year in advance. They take one mule train down to Plateau
Point (they arrived just as we were leaving, thank Heaven), and another to
Phantom Ranch, on the north side of the Colorado River bank.
We spent one more day in the park, resting, reading, doing laundry, and then
taking the shuttle all the way out to Hermit’s Rest. Through binoculars, we saw
rafters going through some pretty tough rapids. There were 7 rafts, easily
identifiable in bright red and yellow. We also spotted two very large rafts
propelled by two engines (probably jets) which ran slowly alongside the smaller
red and yellow inflatables as they drifted in calm water. They probably don’t go
through any of the rapids at all, just a sight-seeing tour on the calmer waters
of the Colorado.
Zion National Park - 09/10/05
Zion National Park was such a blast! Quite different from our experiences
everywhere else. We arrived too late to find any hotel rooms, but there was room
at the campground in Springdale, just west of the park. The campground jammed
everyone together, but we really didn’t mind. There was just enough room for our
car, the picnic table, and our tent. The showers were small and pretty dirty
from all the use, and no soap by the sinks for washing your hands. Grand
Canyon’s rest rooms were better, their showers about the same, but located
outside the campground. But the river flowed along close by providing sweet
music for the few hours we spent there, and we enjoyed the towering cliffs
glowing red in the sunset each night before climbing into our tent. We were able
to stay there quite cheaply, eating breakfast and dinners at our picnic table,
fixing lunch for the trail during the day. A shuttle picked us up in front of
the campground and took us to the Visitor’s Center inside Zion where we caught
another mandatory shuttle for the main canyon.
George chose a “Must Do” hike from a brochure: Angel’s Landing. We got an early
start which turned out to be a good idea when we saw how many people like to do
this hike. In 2 miles, you gain about 800’ elevation, switch backing up the
sides of rock faces, the trail dug out of the rock in some places. The final
half mile was a 4th class scramble up rock with lots of exposure to a relatively
large, flat area on top of a pinnacle in the middle of Zion Canyon. 4th class
rock climbing means you need to use your hands to scramble up over boulders and
up short chimneys. No ropes are necessary for protection. The National Park
Service had installed a chain railing most of the way up to the top for the last
half mile. Many steps had been cut into the rock to avoid slipping on a slanted
surface. At one point, we walked across a cat walk only 3.5’ wide, dropping off
1500’ vertically on both sides. But with the hand rail, no one had any problems
with it. We had such fun doing this hike! We hadn’t seen any trails since
Switzerland like this one. And the view from the top was simply magnificent with
steep rock walls all around us well over 1000’ tall. The Virgin River snaked its
way through it all with Big Bend at our feet.
After descending the trail, we took the shuttle to the end of the road, the
River Walk. Here the canyon narrows. Trees and plants grow along the banks and
up into the rocks providing wonderful shade on a hot day. At the end of the
trail, people were wading in the water, many with their hiking boots on. We
could see that people of all ages were enjoying the water and walking up the
river. Back in town, before dinner, we poked our noses into an Outfitter shop,
wondering what kinds of things they had for sale or for rent. They told us they
rented boots especially made for walking in water, that you could walk up the
Virgin River 5 miles. So we rented boots, wetsuit socks, sturdy walking sticks,
and a dry bag for our camera. Returning to our campsite, we found our tent had
blown over, caught by a neighbor’s tent and their barbeque stand. Unfortunately,
the floor of the tent ripped when it hit the BBQ. George found some duct tape
for a temporary repair.
Jenna, Steve, Ted, and Christine, we’ve got to do this hike together someday. It
was such a blast! Since mornings were cold, we didn’t get into the river until
about 10:20 a.m. Round stones cover the bottom of the river so having the sturdy
shoes was truly a big help. The water came up to our knees in the deepest part
of the river when we first started out. Some of the time we walked alongside the
river on a trail, but most of the time we walked along the shallows in the water
or crossed over when it got very deep. Unfortunately, within 20 minutes of our
start, the walls of the canyon closed up so we had to walk in water up to my
armpits. George pulled me along with his stick so that I wouldn’t float down
with the current if I started to float. All my clothes were in a plastic bag
inside my pack, so only the outside of my pack got wet and quickly dried in the
70+ degree weather. The sticks were a big help whenever we crossed as there was
always quite a bit of current. Sometimes we had to climb over rocks to avoid
deep pools. The canyon walls rise vertically above your head for as much as 500
feet, sometimes close to together (as in the Wall Street section), sometimes
further apart allowing the river to flow more gently. It simply took our breath
away with each curve in the river, the beautiful rock walls sometimes dripping
with plant life, sometimes burbling from water running down inside the rock.
After the junction with the Orderville River (a small creek with only a few
inches of water, but a very narrow canyon), the going got a little tougher. At
one point I did have to swim. I held onto the wall as my feet left the bottom,
my pack providing the floatation. The current was not very swift, so it was
possible to inch my way forward for a few feet until I felt the bottom once
again. Thank Heavens the water wasn’t very cold--probably around 70 degrees.
After making our way up for about 4 hours, we felt we had gone far enough. We
met some backpackers coming down the river who said the 1st campground was still
another hour away, the point where day hikers had to turn around without a
permit. So we ate lunch and turned back. Going downriver was a little more
difficult because the light wasn’t good enough to see the rocks in the river.
Following the style of other hikers around us, we soon found that simply
relaxing and taking big steps enabled us to move along pretty freely. I still
fell into the water twice and George fell in once. The first time I lost my
balance, the river swept me down a couple of feet before I was able to stop and
stand up again. I never felt in any danger and I knew my clothes would dry.
Of course, just before we approached the River Walk Trail, we had to walk
through chest deep water again, thoroughly soaking us. By this time it was 4:00
and the air temperature was dropping. Walking back to the shuttle didn’t dry us
off completely, and the shuttle was AIR conditioned! By the time we got back to
camp I was freezing. A warm shower didn’t help due to a cold draft in the
shower. I didn’t really warm up until after dinner when I climbed into the tent
to go to bed. My feet and hands tingled for several hours.
Around midnight, a stiff wind began to blow, keeping us from sleeping very much
the rest of the night. We determined with the cold weather upon us that we
should find a motel for the next few nights. We hadn’t come prepared for such
cold in the mornings and evenings. Going to bed at 8:00 on a full stomach wasn’t
much fun either.
Bryce Canyon National Park - 9/13/05
So we drove to Bryce Canyon the next morning, on the 13th, finding a cheap motel
not far from the park entrance. The rock formations in this park look like sand
castles built on the beach from wet sand dripped from your hand. Besides the
lovely irregular formations, the colors fade from white to pink to peach to
orange-red. Great white stripes can be seen along the landscape from a distance.
We enjoyed hiking among these strangely shaped spires, joking about their shapes
and what they reminded us of. Wednesday, we hiked down into the spires on
the Fairy Land trail, covering a total of eight miles. Today, Thursday, we
hiked down the Navajo trail to Peek-a-boo Trail and up to Bryce Point.
Then we hiked to a place called “The Hat Shop” in the afternoon. Imagine spires
of many shapes and sizes, each sporting a top wider than the column supporting
it, a top made of grey stone, much like granite atop this crumbling hardened red
mud. Great fun!
Now back to Brigham City to a bird refuge, then to Promontory Point where the
Golden Spike joined the first continental railroad, then to Malheur
Wildlife Refuge in SE Oregon for more birding, then driving up to Portland
through the Painted Hills portion of the Fossil Bed National Monument in Central
Oregon and Prineville.
