A Sunny Day in Utah

Day three took us to yet another national park here in Utah. The sun was out but it started as a chilly day, well below zero (that's 32F for some of you). It was better than last night with the howling wind! We hit the road early again and took the scenic route towards Capitol Reef National Park. On the way there we drove through lots of national forest, in particular Dixie National Forest.

The park itself was closed, which seemed strange to us seeing as it is a holiday here in the US. We thought more people would be visiting on a holiday so the park would be open. Either way we went in and did the scenic drive and two side routes. The Capitol Gorge and Grand Wash canyons were both amazing. At the end of the Capitol Gorge we had our picnic lunch and went for a hike. Isabelle, who isn't usually a big fan of hiking on a good day actually enjoyed herself. She said it was the best part of the day. Walking through the slot canyons was pretty cool, being hemmed in on both sides with several hundred feet of rock hanging over you is a feeling you don't forget. It was cold and breezy at times in the shade but nice in the sun.

At the midway point we climbed a secondary canyon and found "The Tanks" which are pools carved by water in the sandstone where prospectors likely collected water. The view was very good from up there and the exertion warmed us up a little.

The only disappointment, other than the park being closed so Isabelle couldn't do a Junior Ranger program, was the writing on the sandstone walls in the canyons. I looked for the original writing from 1888 but couldn't find it for the more modern graffiti. We did find the few petroglyphs in the canyon and stopped just outside the park entrance to see some more. Before coming into the town of Moab, after another amazing drive through some diverse topography and geology, we stopped at the Arches National Park visitors center. The girls picked up some brochures and a junior ranger book to plan for our day tomorrow.

Tonight we are in Moab and at the third best Western in as many nights. Best Westerns are everywhere here, and quite good by our standards. Tomorrow we will got to Arches in the morning and then probably head south and east towards Colorado and New Mexico, maybe stopping at Four Corners, before getting back to Phoenix on Wednesday, if all goes well.

Here are a few photos of our adventure today.

This video is a 360 degree view just inside Capitol Reef National Park at Panorama Point..

There are so many great rock formations it's hard to decide what to show. This one is called Cassidy Arch. Notice the arch in the top layer of rock. It was named after Butch Cassidy, who may have used the canyon as a hideout.

Me in Capitol Gorge, but was it ever cold in the wind.

A panorama from above the canyon. Note the trail on the creek bed at left and then again about two thirds across at the base of the cliff.

Isabelle after having climbed up to "The Tanks."

A silly photo showing the canyon wall.

Egyptian Temple rock formation

Another view in Capitol Reef National Park

Petroglyphs in the sandstone at Capitol Reef National Park

One more thing about today: yesterday at some random point in our travels, Isabelle announces that she is "Queen of the Backseat!" Well I can't disagree as she has her seat all set out with her snacks and entertainment, books and music. But now it seems to have become a recurring theme. At one point we were hiking back down to the canyon floor and Isabelle jumps off a rock and says: "I'm Queen of the Backseat!" I love my little girl.

We'll be back tomorrow with more from the "Queen of the Backseat" and her trusty tour guides.

Remember, if you are looking at this on my blog make sure to click on the pictures, especially the panoramas, for a better view.

Arizona to Utah

Today we hit the road again and headed to Zion National Park. Just outside of Page, AZ we stopped for a few minutes at the Glen Canyon Dam at the end of Lake Powell. I just can't get enough of these engineering marvels (even though this one is a little controversial). It wasn't Hoover Dam but it was still pretty neat.

The weather started off as a cool, gray day but quickly turned to snow. As we headed north we got more and more of it until there was at least three or four inches down. Thankfully the driving wasn't too bad.

The trip into Zion took us over the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway. It was beautiful in the snow an even better coming back out once the sun was out. We went through the 1.1 mile tunnel and made a quick stop at the visitors center to have a look around. The drive through the park was almost as amazing as the Grand Canyon yesterday. By the end of it the sun was starting to break through and the clouds were lifting. It turned into a great day. We saw some amazing sights.

We put in a few more hours on the road and got to Bryce Canyon about 2:00 or so. Little did we know that most of the park was closed due to snow (the roads hadn't been cleared). The part that was open was great. We hiked a little in the snow and saw some amazing views of Bryce Canyon with the mountains in the background. Isabelle played a little in the snow. The park is known for its hoodoos and it did not disappoint. They were particularly impressive.

One of the neatest things here on the Colorado Plateau is the the changes in geography and flora. We went from desert one to other so quickly and saw changes in terrain and color that were almost too amazing to be real.

I am looking forward to tomorrow. We heard Capital Reef National Park is one of the most underrated parks in this area. It should be good and the weather promises to be good.

Here are a few pictures of our day.

Glen Canyon Dam

 

 Driving along the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway

 In Zion National Park

 The Girl with one of many snowballs for the day

I forgot to mention the Mule Deer we saw last night leaving the Grand Canyon. We also saw some today in Zion munching away at their lunch.

 More of the views at Zion.

 The arch in Zion just before entering the tunnel as we were leaving.

Bryce Canyon

 Bryce Canyon and the hoodoos

 The Girls at Inspiration Point. She was dropping snow into the canyon.

 There was no-one to take the picture.

A picture Isabelle took of us. It was colder than it looks.

Day 1 in Arizona

We flew into Phoenix last night and after a little trouble in Houston made it in to the hotel. Isabelle was beat but we got a good night's sleep in even with the time change. In case you haven't heard Jane has another stamp show and we are along for the ride, this time out west. We have a little less than a week in Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and maybe a little corner of New Mexico.

My goal this trip is to try to post every day. Three paragraphs and whatever pictures look good. It is easier than trying to remember and figure it all out when I get home. Anyway, here goes.

First day was driving north from Phoenix (after a quick detour to Trader Joe's for some snacks) with a stop at Montezuma Castle. This site was pretty cool but very busy. Isabelle did the Junior Ranger program. We had a snack and then hit the road for the Grand Canyon. The weather here is pretty variable with warm spots and cold ones. In Phoenix it was a beautiful morning. One the south rim of the Grand Canyon it was very windy and cold. There is some snow here and there, especially at the higher elevations.

The canyon was absolutely amazing. I can't say anything else. Everyone simply need to see it to appreciate it. There is slots of culture and history here too. The second part of our day was driving to Page, AZ. It is at the bottom of Lake Powell. It was neat to see how dark it gets here. There is simply no light pollution from cities and street lamps. Sometimes we felt like we were the only people for miles and miles - simply amazing.

And now for a few pictures.

Montezuma castle

 The girl at the Grand Canyon

 The Colorado River that runs through the Grand Canyon

(This picture is from several miles away so you can imagine the size of it. We could hear the rapids.)

 A panorama of the canyon itself.

 

A decent picture, I think.

 Another panorama

Tomorrow is Zion National Park and hopefully Bryce Canyon National Park. Stay tuned.

Remember you can click on the picture for larger image.

A Good Geocaching Day at the Park

On Sunday we hit the road with Isabelle and one of here friends, Jean-Christophe, to do some geocaching. I had found a neat park about a half hour away with a few caches that looked like fun. We packed a picnic lunch and headed out.

The park is called: Cedar Falls Park and is part of the Greenville County Recreation system. It is a relatively new park and the playground, volleyball court, and other amenities are in excellent shape. I was there last spring and most of it wasn't even in place yet. It was nice to see the paths complete as well as the interpretive panels up. it is a little in the middle of nowhere but I'm sure it will draw people in from Simpsonville and other nearby areas.

Sunday was pretty nice down here in the south. We had some rain overnight and everything was wet but by the time we got to the park I was glad to have worn shorts. Short! in February, early February at that. In the end we saw 21C and had a great day (I hear it was -15C back in Nova Scotia, Canada, and in Clermont-Ferrand, France, where some of you are ready this).

The geocaches were pretty cool too. Two were normal/traditional caches and weren't too hard to find. The the third was a puzzle cache for the Geokids (a.k.a. Isabelle and J.-C.). They had to run around and answer questions about the park before we got the final coordinates. In the end we found an ammo box full of cool treats for them. We also left a "Travel Bug" that will hopefully find its way back to Canada and beyond. Have a look here for more on the Geocache and the type of questions Isabelle and Jean-Christophe had to deal with.

For those who don't know what geocahing is at all here is a video that helps to explain it.



Here are a few pictures of our day...

First, here is the "Travel Bug" we put in the cache. Hopefully someone else will pick it up and move it along. I will be tracking it online as it visits different geocaches along its journey.

The pictures above are of Cedar Falls. There used to be a mill here along with a penstock that directed water to an electric generator.

 The Geokids playing on the old supports for the penstock.

Here we are on our way to the playground through the woods on the trail along the Reedy River. If any of you have been to visit us or live in the area you'll know the Reedy River runs right through town. The park is on the river and downstream of Greenville.

Swimming

Isabelle has taken to swimming, in a pretty big way. She goes up to three times a week for practice at the Sportsclub here in Five Forks and really seems to enjoy it. She has improved lots since last summer and her best stroke still seems to be the backstroke. Last weekend she took part in a meet nearby in Duncan as part of the State Championship Qualifiers and finished first in her age group for backstroke and eighth for freestyle. She can't wait for the summer and the swim team here in the subdivision. I think her swim coach is looking forward to it too.

Here is video of her race in the backstroke. She is in lane 1 on the far left.

Now a shot of her time on the board. Lane 1 finished in first, not too bad for a meet she was pretty nervous about.

Her freestyle race was pretty good too but she blew the turn. She needs more work on the spin turns but is working at it. The video wasn't so good so I didn't post it.

The next big meet is in March here in town and should be fun. She's signed up for six races altogether. She'll be doing 25 freestyle, backstroke, and breaststroke, as well as 50s in all three. I hope to be at all the races but I have to leave on a business trip around that time.