WINDING DOWN

It’s hard to get excited about anything after The Wave, but the trip continued. From Page we headed to Canyon de Chelly for one night. http://www.nps.gov/cach/index.htm Back in the tent, we survived a balmy 29 degrees, and actually managed to stay warm. We didn’t venture into the canyon as a guide is required, but drove both the south and north rims, peering over the edge at every turnout.

Next up, Chaco Canyon. http://www.nps.gov/chcu/index.htm We’ve been there a couple of times before, but never for an overnight stay. I wanted to be there for both the sunset and sunrise in an attempt to get photographs in the subdued lighting conditions. After setting up camp, we went to Pueblo Benito, the largest ruin in the Chaco complex where once again I took way to many photos. After another cold night, this time 19 degrees, I left Cathie in a warm bed and went to Pueblo del Arroyo and took a whole bunch more photos as the sun came up.

After defrosting with a warm breakfast of oatmeal, we headed to Rio Rancho on the outskirts of Albuquerque to stay with friends for 3 nights. We had a great visit and ate way too much food and drink. Back on the road, we stopped at the Grand Canyon for one night. http://www.nps.gov/grca/index.htm I don’t think we’ll be coming back to the Grand Canyon again unless it’s on a raft going down the Colorado. This place is way too crowded with a never ending line of tourist buses arriving all day long. We stayed in Mather Campground and for most of the night you could hear the drone of vehicles on the nearby roads, not to mention the idiots with their car alarms going off with the slightest hint of a breeze.

We are now in Prescott for our last stop of the trip. We are staying at a very nice bed and breakfast. http://www.prescottpinesinn.com/index.html This morning after a great breakfast we drove to the old mining town of Jerome and walked up and down its steep streets. Tomorrow we’ll head home, where after recuperating for two days, we’ll head for the beach for a week.

No new adventures are planned in the immediate future, but who knows. I’m sure something will come up.

CHACO AT SUNRISE
CATHIE AND FRIEND

RUIN IN CANYON DE CHELLY

HOTEL IN JEROME

WHAT DO YOU MEAN OUR ROOM'S NOT READY?

PRESCOTT PINES B&B

CHACO CANYON PHOTOS

SOME MORE WAVE PHOTOS

WOW, THE WAVE

After freezing in 26 degree weather, we abandoned the tent for the night and stayed in a motel in Kanab. We got up early to drive the 40 miles to the trailhead for our hike to The Wave. We have been looking forward to this hike for months after being successful in obtaining a permit for 2 hikers out of the 10 given each day on the internet. An additional 10 are given out the day before the hike at the ranger station. These permits are extremely hard to come by and we were very lucky to get ours.

We started the 3 mile hike to The Wave at 9 AM and passed a couple of others on the way. Most of the trail is not marked and permit holders are given a map and directions. After 1-1/2 hours we were the first ones to arrive. Upon casting our eyes on this natural wonder we immediately understood why so many try to get the limited number of permits. We both agreed that this was the most beautiful piece of landscape we had ever seen. It is doubtful we will ever see anything like this again, unless of course we manage to get another permit. We spent the first 30 minutes or so alone in the silence, in awe of the scene. Others began arriving and we learned one group was from North Carolina, a couple from Scottsdale, and a couple from Germany.

We couldn’t stop taking pictures and between us we manage to snap just shy of 200 photos. It was hard to stop taking photos as the light changed the hews and shadows. It was also very difficult choosing which photos to post here on the blog as they all turned out pretty good. After several hours snapping pictures and exploring the surrounding area, we managed to pull ourselves away and headed back to the car.

We are now in Page, AZ at a motel (a planned stop) before heading to Canyon de Chelly tomorrow. We have already decided to try to obtain another permit for The Wave in the future. Yes, it’s that impressive.

THERE ARE NO CAPTIONS NECESSARY

JUST SOME PHOTOS

THE BURR TRAIL

COTTONWOOD CANYON ROAD

SWITCHBACKS ON THE BURR TRAIL

THE BURR TRAIL

BURRRRR ON THE BURR TRAIL

IT'S NOON AND THIS IS WHY

WE'RE IN A MOTEL

SUNRISE AT KODACHROME BASIN STATE PARK

AND ITS 26 DEGREES

GROSVENOR ARCH NEAR KODACHROME BASIN

PICKING UP WHERE WE LEFT OFF

After a week in San Diego and with Cathie’s mother in the hospital, but on the road to recovery, we decided to continue the road trip with the week in the middle missing. We left home early and drove straight through to Escalante, Utah. We will spend a couple of days here before our scheduled hike to The Wave. Due to the emergency at home, we missed the White Rim Trail in Canyon Lands National Park, but we probably would have had to cancel anyway due to lots of rain. We will explore Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument as long as the weather holds. Rain and snow are expected tonight so we opted for a motel. Hey, we like adventure but draw the line a 25 degrees! BLM web site is here: http://tinyurl.com/4x78b7

While still in Zion, one evening we decided to have dinner with a view. We drove to a view spot on the Zion Tunnel Road and with our new camping kitchen prepared a dinner of salad, Jambalaya with the appropriate wine. An enjoyable meal with the best view in Zion.

Stay Tuned............

Next stop and we’re in Moab where we’ve been many times before. With its close proximity to both Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, it is one of our favorite places in the Southwest. On our last trip here in the fall of ’06 we were caught in a severe thunderstorm when we attempted to photograph Delicate Arch at sunset. Read about it here: http://tinyurl.com/43n8ud This time the weather cooperated and we managed to get some good photographs of the arch in the late afternoon glow.

DELICATE ARCH







A POPULAR PLACE AT SUNSET

Another reason for coming to Moab is the abundance of 4-WD trails. With names like, Steel Bender, Metal Masher, Cliff Hanger and Hell’s Revenge you immediately get the idea that some of these trails just might be a tad bit difficult and evidenced in this video: http://tinyurl.com/4j579d We opted to try out some of the more tame ones given our desire to drive home in the same car we arrived in. One of those roads took us to Gemini Bridges, set of natural stone bridges, while another took us into the La Sal Mountains for some striking fall color.

PUCKER PASS

THAT'S CATHIE OUT THERE

IN THE LA SAL MOUNTIANS

We managed to get in a great hike in the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park, south of Moab. We hiked to an area called Chesler Park, a 6 mile round trip hike with some really striking scenery. It rained on us some during this hike, and the forecast was calling for rain over the next several days.

CHESLER PARK

CHESLER PARK

When we arrived back in Moab and the cell phone started working, we were notified that Cathie’s mother was in the hospital in San Diego. After several phone calls we learned that she was in the ICU at Kaiser Hospital and we decided to head for home. The next morning we hit the road at 5:30 AM arriving in San Diego about 8 PM. Although it was touch and go, Cathie’s Mom now appears to be out of the woods.

Not ones to let a little emergency put a total kibosh on things, we intend on returning to Utah once everything is OK on the home front.

PER YOUR REQUEST

I've had several request for photos of the scabs, so here you go. The ones on the hands don't show well. Don't I look happy?