Arches National Park
Bryce National Park
Canyonlands National Park
Capitol Reef National Park
Cedar Breaks National Monument and Red Canyon
Grand Canyon National Park
Zion National Park
 

5/13/2000
Canyonland National Park
Spent 6 hrs. in the Needles District of Canyonlands.  Can't believe that we have been to three parks since we left Dallas and none of them resemble the others. Notice how the cliffs don't have sheer rock faces, for the most part.  The stone is red sandstone and white sandstone. Notice how the red and white are in layers. The colors of the rocks changed thruout the day. Notice also the spires,and mushroom shapes of the rocks in the picture with Al in it. This rock is between 250-300 million years old.
 
 

This picture is of an ancient grainery.  The lid is on the top and they close it with rocks.  We were surprised to have access to this. It was just off the road on a short trail and we could walk right up to it. I was surprised some fool hadn't destroyed it!

This picture of the largest panorama is from the Needles overlook.  It is 1500 ft. up from the bottom of the canyon.

So, those were our adventures this day.

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It was beautiful in the park today but had a few drops of rain at one point.  Naturally that occurred when we were on a walk about a quarter mile from the car.  Fortunately it was a short lived because I didn't see any way I could run up the hill!! It is about 6000 ft. there. By the time we got back to the rig in the afternoon it was absolutely beautiful.  We took our chairs and sat outside.  If we turned one direction we had the cliffs to look at and in the other direction was the mountains that are still snow capped.  The trees and roses in the RV park are all either blooming or filling out. I hated to give up and go in and fix dinner!
 
 

The picture of the arch is a small arch as you can see.  The 3 pictures were all taken in the same general area of Arches. This particular arch isn't as colorful because it is stuck in between a bunch of "fins" like you see in the other picture and the light wasn't very good at the time.  To get to it you have to walk up a short trail that quickly turns to sand that is the reddish color and it is like walking on the beach it is so deep.
  

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Well, we drove from Moab, UT to Torrey, UT yesterday.  It was about 175 mi. They should just make UT a Natl. Park and kick out all the residents!!  THus far we haven't found a place or road that isn't beautiful!! Anyway, we are NE or Bryce and Zion if you know where they are.

When we arrived we went to a tourist information place and picked up all the pamphlets!! You know how I love reading those..Al said he is glad because he isn't too fond of it.  I do the planning and he comes along.  Anyway, the lady said we absolutely had to go on Scenic Hwy. 12. I later read that it is one of the top 10 scenic drives in the U.S.  That hwy.
is south of here.  We drove about 30 miles to Boulder, UT. Talk about incredible.  The top of Boulder Mt. is almost 10,000 ft and the view is something out of a magazine.  The books say you see over 100 miles.  We could see Canyonlands (where we were the day before), Capitol Reef Natl. Park, a reservoir, several mountains that had snow on the tops, green farmland. The range of colors was amazing.  It was cold on top and, in
fact, we passed snow on the ground. The aspen were just leafing out and the pine trees were big and beautiful--those reddish trunks. We will see more of this road when we get to Bryce and go north on it.  We saw several mule deer..obviously winter wasn't over because they still all had their winter coats.

Today we drove into Capitol Reef Natl. Park.  Once again this park is different from all the rest.  It is called "capitol" because so many of the rocks are shaped like domes.  The reef part comes from sailors who came across the area and saw an area that blocked their way and sailors think of reefs as blocking their way.
 
 

	This picture with me in it isn't one of my best but it serves a purpose.  Notice how the rock in the background has so many colors.  Also notice the angle of the rocks. When we drive down some of the roads I feel like I am off balance (my feet, not my brain) because of the angle of the rocks. That is unlike the other parks we have been to.

Look at all the colors in the other pictures also...pink, purple, yellow, deep brownish red, orange etc. The obvious gray is volcanic ash.  The oldest rock is 300 mil. yrs. old.

We did drive 2 mi. down an unpaved but maintained road into Capitol Gorge.  The rocks were all towering above.  The colors, shapes, holes in the rocks were amazing.  Once we got to the bottom we took a 1 mi. walk into the canyon. (2 total mi.)  The "path" is actually the river bed and they warn you not to go down there if there is threatening rain.  We saw more petroglyphs. There was also areas on the walls that had been signed by people who had been into the canyon in the 1800's and early 1900's. Wagons use to use the path as did early cars when they were building the road. It was pretty amazing..and hot.  It must have been in the 80's...can't imagine how hot it must be in the summer.

Our view from our site is red cliffs.  Beats the house across the street in Dallas. Will be in this area again tomorrow and then to Bryce Canyon.

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Anyway, come to find out that was the last day they were allowing private vehicles to drive the scenic drive.  We were told it would be the 25th, so we went ahead and went as we had planned.  They have just completed a new shuttle system and I think it will be great.  You get a special pass if you have reservations at the lodge, otherwise, you take the shuttle. The campgrounds come before the scenic drive so they are not affected.  They even have 6 shuttle pick up sites in a nearby town and a new visitor center with a lot of parking. They figure that in the height of the season they will probably be able to pick up passengers at each site every 6-8 min. You can get on and off as often as you like.  I don't think that will be the case during the "off" months but I can tell you it isn't a bad idea now.  This is the most crowded park we have been to and we went on a Mon. and got there early.

THe host at the RV park where we are told us we should go on a couple specific hikes so as soon as we drove into the park we drove straight thru to the Riverside Walk.  The entire scenic drive is only  6 miles.

Let me back up a minute.  If you come in from the east (we did) there are 2 tunnels that were built in the early 1930's.  One of them is 1.2 miles long. Obviously they didn't build tunnels as wide then as they do now to accommodate the size cars and trucks and RV's we have now.  They have solved that problem by size, length, ht. restrictions.  We could not have gone thru the tunnel pulling the trailer because of the total length of both. We could  have fit height wise.  What they do is shut off traffic entering the tunnel at one end until all of the cars coming thru have exited and then they let the other side go. The oversize vehicles drive down the middle. They also charge an extra $10 for you to enter..it also covers the exit.  We had purchased a Golden Access Pass(or whatever it is called) for $50 when we entered the first Natl. Park and we have already saved money.  The extra $10 didn't count.  So, we discovered we would not have wanted to pull a trailer thru the tunnel anyway because the road is narrow and very steep and winds around with switchbacks until you get to the main roads in the park.

The canyon has 2000-3000 foot high walls and the colors vary from place to place as they have in the other parks but it is so different from the others.  The river was not very high but it had some rapids and was so clear. There are beautiful trees all along the banks.
 

	This one with me next to the cliff and flowers is on the Riverwalk.  The cliffs are sheer but there is water seeping down so the flowers and ferns grow.
This picture with Al is on the same walk (2 miles) but the picture shows the cliffs and the river and some of the trees.

	This is called Court of the Patriarchs.  Note the difference in color.
	This large white rock with all the cracks in it is called Checkerboard Mesa.  That is on the east side of the tunnel.  It is so strange how the landscape changes so quickly.  Anyway, it is sandstone.  Notice the horizontal and vertical cracks.
The picture of the whitish coral vertical rock is also in Zion near the exit.  The geology of the park is 250-150 mil. years ago with "some recent volcanic activity in the form of cinder cones and lava flows. Evidence of Ancestral Puebloans, formerly known as Anasazi, date from 2000 years ago.  The Mormons settled in the 1860's. Zion was established as a Natl. Monument in 1909 and expanded into a Natl. Park in 1919. In 1997 there was 2.5 mil. visitors.

Anyway, we also went on a 1.2 mile hike up to a small waterfall.  It was pretty but not as fantastic as the Riverwalk.  Between the altitude and the inclines and declines and the temperature I took plenty of short breaks.  We really enjoyed Zion but then again we have enjoyed all of the parks.  You cannot assume you have seen all the Natl. Parks in UT just because you go to one or two.  You really have to see them all.

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Lake Powell is 185 miles long and has over 1800 miles of shoreline--the second largest man made lake in the world. That means stretched out it would cover the entire west coast from Vancouver, B.C. and into a little of Mex. It isn't very wide but it has all  kinds of canyons off the main lake--I think they said 96. The water is a deep blue and in shallow areas is green.  Made me think of the Caribbean. The cliffs are about 300 feet high and the white of the cliffs is where the water level usually is.

We went on a 2 and a half hr. boat tour which took us past the damn, a little into the main lake and into 2 canyons.  The boat was BIG and the female captain did an awesome job. In one of the canyons the boat was no more than a foot from the wall on either side.  She had to ask people to shift places because she could feel the boat was not level and she didn't need movement when we were going thru the narrows.  It was so great.  I kept wondering, as she blared the horn, where the other person was going to go if they were headed for us.  She had to turn around in a small place and here again, I couldn't believe she could do it.

Apparently houseboats are a big deal on this lake.  She showed us one that is 4 thousand sq. feet and cost $4 mil.  Can you believe that?  Maybe we will return to Lake Powell some day and rent a houseboat for a few days.  It would be such a great experience.  You can't imagine how neat it was with those canyon walls on either side.

Well, guess I had better close this chapter of the book and get to bed.  Tomorrow we are going to the N. rim of the Grand Canyon.  We were to the south rim many years ago.

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As you know there has been a fire on the N. Rim.  The park was just reopened a couple days ago.  THere was still signs up saying to watch out for smoke and not all of the park is open.  When we went up one of the major roads we could see smoke and areas that were still burning just  a little.   When we came off that road a few hrs. later it was burning on both sides of the road and there were still fire fighters there so I don't know if it was "controlled" or not.

The lodge is built  on the rim so that you can sit at dinner and look at the colors of the canyon change. The lodge is beautiful and has some features of the lodge at Glacier and some of the other parks. We happened to meet the guy who seats the dinner patrons.  He has worked in this park in varying positions several times so we learned a lot about it. It was like having our own tour guide!!  He said they are taking reservations for dinner for Oct.  Do you believe that?  I thought that only happened in Disneyland.

We walked 2 trails plus into the observation areas...someplace around 2 miles at least. We had lunch at one of the picnic areas.  The pine, juniper etc. were so beautiful with the canyon as the backdrop.

The N. Rim is only open part of the year because of the weather--snow and cold. The elevation at the N. Rim averages 8000 ft.  THey usually open in mid May to mid Oct.  Al happened to meet one of the guys who is an RVer, but not on the road fulltime.  He and his wife work here 6 mos.  and then travel 6 mos.  THey pay about $38 per week for their trailer site and they have full hookups.  THey just love it.  We also learned that you can go thru the concession owners rather than the park service to apply.  Not thinking about doing that anytime soon, but it was interesting.
 

Tomorrow we move on to Bryce Canyon and will be there thru Mon.  Do have a great Memorial Day Holiday.

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We arrived at a campsite 1/2 mi. outside of Bryce Canyon yesterday.  The forecast
was for rain today so once we checked in, set up and did the laundry, we headed for Bryce. We saw about half of the park and went back for more today.  Once again, this park is entirely different from the others.  We managed to get in and out both times before the crowds got there and parking became impossible.  Like Zion, this park is starting a shuttle system and it will begin in June.  Unlike Zion, it will not be mandatory but if you use the shuttle it will cost $5 less to get in.  Don't know how they will figure out who is part of a "carload" because the parking will be outside of the park and then there is a shuttle into the park plus 2 others that take different routes.  Bryce scenic drive is 18 mi. long and Zion is only 8.

When you look at the pictures be sure to look for the different colors--white, pink, reddish,orange, yellow, brown etc.  As the sun changes places during the day and/or if there are clouds, shadows, the colors are different--even in the same place.  It is really amazing.  They suggest you come at sunrise but I figure it can't be that different, esp. since we saw them when there was clouds.  I have been getting up sometime around 8-9 and for me that is pretty good. Al didn't seem too excited about a sunrise visit either.

This must be foreign tourist season--Germans and Japanese all over the place.  Have also heard French and Italian.  Maybe we are in Europe or the Orient and just don't know it!!

The pillars you see are called Hoodoos which means "a pillar of rock, usually of fantastic shape, left by erosion.  Hoodoo--to cast a spell.  At Bryce erosion forms an array of fantastic shapes known as hoodoos.  The Paria River and its many tributaries continue to carve the plateau edges. Rushing waters, carrying dirt and gravel, gully the edges and steep slopes.  With time, tall thin ridges called fins emerge.  Fins further erode into pinnacles and spires called hoodoos.  These in turn weaken and fall, adding their bright colors to the hills below."  So much for your geology lesson.

Our camp is at 7600 ft.  The highest point on the  places we walked was almost 9200ft.  Needless to say, we weren't walking very fast and there was a need for numerous air breaks.  We haven't taken any long trails and don't plan to.  Breathing is too much of an effort when it is that high.  Al has walked around the campground a few times but he has
figured out which route is flat!!
 

	Bryce Point
The second picture you see is called the Amphitheater.  That is the most photographed area of the park.
	Hoodoos and vista.
	The picture with the arch is actually called Natural Bridge.
	The fifth one is of Hoodoos.  At the base in the middle is a small black spot.  That is a personwho is on a trail.  Gives you a feeling for how tall some of these hoodoos are.  Some are short also.
This last picture is of Thor's Hammer. That is one of my favorite hoodoos.

We met some really nice people in Glendale who are also Escapees and fulltimers.  They are from AZ but have registered their vehicles etc. in Livingston so they save on taxes etc.  We saw them at Bryce today and we will probably keep up with them in the future.  We seem to have lots to talk about and are very comfortable with each other. We even have pictures of each other at Bryce.  People who are fulltimers are a different breed and have so much in common.  Seldom do we meet any who aren't really friendly and helpful. Bill and Al have been comparing trucks and Al has really learned a lot from him.

Just heard a bunch of horses walk past our rig.  They must be coming back from a ride into the canyon. THis place really offers a lot of opportunities.

Well, will continue the saga later.  Have a great day.

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	We had to drive thru the arch to get to our campground near Bryce. Actually there are 2 arches just a couple hundred yards apart.
	The fourth is of Al trying to hit me with a snowball while I took a picture of the snow. We were on our way to Cedar Breaks Natl. Monument which is about 60 miles to the west and south of here.

The picture of me is at Cedar Breaks.  There were spotty areas of snow on the ground.  We weren't moving too fast, considering the altitude.  We went a couple stops farther and it was about 60 ft higher.  The HIGH temp.there last summer was 73.

The other three pictures are of the amphitheater at Cedar Breaks.  Notice the snow and the colors.  Pretty awesome, huh?
 

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