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March 24 - 31, 2001
Saturday, March 24,
2001 Bryce Canyon National Park, UT
Such a fabulous day at
Zion. We got in about six miles of
rigorous hiking in this spectacular National Park. Christine and I were both awe-inspired by Zion’s
magnificence. Our first hike was up
to Canyon Overlook before descending into the valley.
With the morning sun at our backs, the canyon walls lit up with the
colors of ivory, oranges, reds, maroons, and shiny black.
The Canyon Overlook provided orienting perspective for the rest of the
day.
We took our specially
arranged drive down the middle of the tunnel as we descended into the canyon.
A brief stop at the visitor’s center encouraged us that we would find
reasonable spots to park our RV along the five-mile valley road.
In a week, the valley road will be open only to Park Shuttle traffic.
We were privileged to get to drive the RV along this road before the
mandatory shuttle service kicks in. Signs
educating us on the shuttle system were compelling.
The park averages about 5000 vehicles per day, but only has 450 parking
spots. The math is easy. The shuttle merely became necessary.
The park was well traveled
today, but never really seemed crowded. We
next embarked on a late morning hike up to Lower, Middle, and Upper Emerald
Pools. These all flow into the
Virgin River running through the valley floor.
Most of what makes Zion so impressive is that two and three thousand foot
vertical cliffs flank the narrow valley.
After a very satisfying
lunch of Christine’s reheated homemade chicken noodle soup, we set out on one
more hike. We climbed halfway up
the canyon wall to discover the Hidden Canyon.
The trail worked its way up such a steep wall that the trail had to be
notched out of the cliff face. Our
awareness of heights was ever present on this last hike of the day.
Worn out, we re-hydrated
and began are exit from the park. Leaving
the same way we came we passed herds of mule deer (wild) and bison
(domesticated). Then we turned
north toward Bryce Canyon National Park. The
green high valleys of this section of Utah were home to some splendid ranch
spreads. Christine and I took notes
of some of the ranch features that got our attention.
We returned to heavy
snow-cover in the higher elevations. Quite
a contrast from the low seventies that heated the Zion valley.
Here in a Bryce Canyon campground, there is over a foot of snow in most
places along the plateau. We came in too late to collect any park information, so
we’ll just have to do our planning in the morning.
Christine’s Thoughts: I loved Zion. The multiple shades of red in the mountains and the bright green of the new leaves on the trees and plants went together very well with the blue sky behind them. I think everyone should visit this beautiful park. It is the same cost as the Grand Canyon ($20 – free for us!). One note is that all the parks in this area are on the same visitor path. We see people at more than one park.
1) Zion; 2) A waterfall at the top emerald
pool; 3) The path on our hike to the Hidden Canyon.
Sunday, March 25, 2001
Escalante, UT
Wow, another awesome day
of retirement. We are loving this
southwest corner of Utah. Today we
hiked around Bryce Canyon National Park. The
first thing to be said about Bryce Canyon is that it’s not a canyon at all.
Extending for 20 miles along the eastern edge of the Paunsaugunt Plateau,
Bryce is actually a series of huge horseshoe-shaped amphitheaters.
The spires and pinnacles
that populate the park are referred to as ‘hoodoos.’ These formations begin as fins of eroded stone.
The cracks in the stones are subject to an average of 200 days a year
with freezing temperatures. The
constantly repeated cycle of freeze and thaw causes an ongoing process that
creates the hoodoos. Bryce Canyon
was named for an early Mormon carpenter, Ebenezer Bryce, sent to the area to
help create a settlement.
We went for a great three-mile hike along the Queen’s Garden, Navajo, and Rim Trails. The melting snow running off of the plateau created some pretty muddy travel, but hiking through the contrast of white snow against the red, yellow and white hoodoos was invigorating.
Bryce Canyon
We left the park early in
the afternoon seeking fresh water and disposal facilities for the RV.
Bryce Canyon is clearly on a different calendar than Zion.
Being 3000 feet higher, the park was barely open, and had no services.
We had boon-docked last night without hookups, and now needed to hook up
somewhere. The pile of dirty dishes
would have to wait.
Utah route 12 is one of
those scenic drives that has something new and exciting to offer with each mile
traveled. This drive took us back
through the Escalante-Grand Staircase National Monument on the northern side as
we ended our day in the clean quiet town of Escalante.
The national monument is named for the Escalante River, which flows
through it, and for a reference to the five visible geological steps (Grand
Staircase) that make up the formations in the area.
The town of Escalante gave
us a sunny warm afternoon in the sixties. Perfect
for some outside projects. I did
some maintenance on the skis, and then installed a switch on my dashboard to
control my rear floodlights. Previously,
the lights had been controlled by an inconvenient switch running off the coach
battery.
Christine’s Thoughts:
Bryce was definitely another beautiful area.
One item that received my attention on our morning hike was a plastic
container with a dirty diaper in it on the side of the trail.
People amaze me. I picked it
up and carried it out hoping to find the people with the baby, but never did
come across them. Lucky for them.
This afternoon, while Joe
worked on his “To Do” list, I worked on my paper and did some cleaning.
The paper is coming along nicely. We
were able to relax this afternoon and get some things done.
The RV is just like a house. When
you own a house you have to stay home every once in awhile for upkeep and
cleaning. In general we sweep out
the RV daily. It gets dirty fast as
we carry dirt in from hiking. It is
interesting that in the beginning we tended to shower in the campground showers
when they were clean. Now we almost
always use the RV shower. It is
familiar and more comfortable. I
know it is clean!
Monday, March 26, 2001
Salt Lake City, UT
We continued our drive along route 12 on up to Capitol Reef National Park. The drive was so inspiring that we lingered slowly to delay its completion. We spent nearly three hours to go about eighty miles as we once again covered another section of the Escalante-Grand Staircase National Monument. Seeing only about five other vehicles during that entire stretch meant that our enjoyment was that much more personal and intimate.
Escalante-Grand Staircase National Monument
Capitol Reef National Park is a long narrow wrinkle in the earth running north-south, named the Waterpocket Fold. This creates some very unique and eye-pleasing formations. We put on shorts and sunscreen for a nice sunny three-mile hike along the Cohab Canyon Trail, but were surprised by an unexpected cold spring shower. The hike was still great, just a little more exhilarating.
Capital Reef National Parkk
We readied some lunch to
be eaten on the road, as our goal was to get up to Salt Lake City for a couple
days. We ate lunch leaving the Park
as we celebrated a brief but exciting discovery of three wonderful National
Parks in three days. After
finishing lunch we came upon a cheese factory miles from nowhere.
Being a ‘Cheesehead by Marriage,’ I knew that I didn’t even have to
ask Christine whether we should pull over.
We grabbed enough great cheese to get us back to Wisconsin, and also
reveled in the find of fresh cheese curds.
Some of the squeakiest I’ve ever had.
Christine and I filled up
on cheese curds as we proceeded north. We
ate enough to put off dinner until after 8:00. Tired from all the cheese and
travel, we walked over to an area of restaurants for a small dinner out.
We chose seats at the bar (if you can call it that).
The bartender educated us on some of the peculiar differences of life in
Mormon country. The conservative
Mormon dominance in Utah has created some interesting ‘blue laws.’
Not unlike liquor laws that we experienced living in the ‘bible belt’
of the south.
No public restaurants are
permitted to display alcohol. All
items with alcohol need to be on a separate menu, presented only upon request.
Drinks are mixed out of sight of the patrons.
Our bartender, also a Mormon, was very generous with his explanations of
the Mormon culture and lifestyle. His
observation is that Mormons suffer some of the highest rates of obesity since
they are not allowed to drink or smoke. They
just eat.
Regardless of the drinking
ordinances, we were served some mighty fine Margaritas.
Christine’s Thoughts:
While Joe and I really try to eat in the RV and conserve money, sometimes
we just need out and tonight was one of those.
I wanted a Margarita as I’ve been suffering from sinus headaches for a
few days and I know beer will only make that worse –but- tequila usually
helps. Once again it did the job.
We really enjoyed talking with Mike, our bartender, while enjoying a
salad with our margarita’s. We
left in up moods both happy with the knowledge we had gained about the
Mormon’s and the Utah liquor laws and happy we only had a short walk home.
Tuesday, March 27, 2001
Salt Lake City, UT
Today I rode my
motorcycle. Oh, the joy!
But not until we got some work done.
I jumped out of bed and tackled the long overdue laundry before even
having my first cup of coffee. Later,
we got some grocery shopping in. Then
finally after lunch I suited up for a much anticipated motorcycle ride.
I left Christine behind in quiet to work on her paper.
The bike hummed with joy
(or was that me humming?) as I explored some of the canyons near the city.
The cool clear day was perfect for a ride as I cruised to the tunes of
Chick Corea. I drove up to four of
the nearby ski resorts. I was doing some advance work to decide where I should ski
tomorrow as my excuse for covering ground.
Who would have thought that one could mix motorcycling with skiing?
It’s a loose relationship, but I did connect the two.
A couple other unrelated
errands kept me out on the bike for over three hours. It was hard to leave Christine behind, but I do need to ride
more. Christine is not yet ready to
embrace motorcycling again, even as a passenger, so my riding opportunities are
harder to come by. But I’ll
continue to capitalize on them when I can.
Dinner tonight was a
grilled salmon salad. It served as
desert for the fulfilling day I’d had. With
luck, I’ll be back on skis tomorrow … and a possible six fresh inches of
mountain powder tonight.
Christine’s Thoughts:
It was a much-needed quiet afternoon for me.
I need quiet in order to put my thoughts together in print.
Especially when it’s something I’m not necessarily using outside of
class right now. For those of you
who aren’t that close to us, you are wondering what all this talk about a
paper is. A short update – I am
taking Masters Classes on-line with a fully accredited on-line university called
Capella University, Capella.
I am enjoying these classes and hope to be able to continue as we keep
traveling. I am signed up for two
classes next term as I continue working on my Masters in Education.
As far as Joe motorcycling today, I was very happy he was able to enjoy his ride. I am not quite ready yet, but the feeling was there as he took of and I hope to be on the back of his bike soon. We won't start looking for another bike for me until my wrist is healed, although I think his bike is lonely in the back.
Wednesday, March 28,
2001
Salt Lake City, UT
It rained most of the
night and into the morning, which was good news for me. We packed up the RV and I drove Christine to the library with
the hopes that she might finish her paper today.
After dropping her off I swung by a grocery store to pick up a discount
lift ticket to SnowBird ski area in Little Cottonwood Canyon.
The same road that I’d
motorcycled up yesterday in the sun was now covered with snow.
I was able to park the RV right by a lift, and then get ready for a day
of skiing. The weather was not
letting up any at all. The snow was coming down like crumbs of Styrofoam, and the
wind was really kicking. It made
for some interesting ski conditions. The
previous sunny warm days had left a melted layer of snow that had now frozen to
a hardness of concrete. The 4-6
inches of fresh powder above that was great, if you could stay in the powder.
The wind was blowing it all over the place.
The end result is that it made for some very challenging skiing.
I went back to the RV for
a nice lunch break before taking in a full afternoon of skiing.
Following the skiing, I went back to pick up Christine who had finished
her paper. We tackled a few small errands before returning to the RV for some
homemade chicken and rice soup. Christine uploaded her finished term paper with relief, and
then completed a good update to our website.
All in all, a pretty productive day.
Thursday, March 29,
2001
Grand Teton National Park, WY
We explored Salt Lake City
this morning, particularly Temple Square. Salt
Lake City is a very clean and conservative city dominated by the social and
religious culture of the Mormon Church (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day
Saints). We took a tour of the
Tabernacle area. Christine and I
got a private tour lead by two Mormon sisters working in SLC on missionary
assignment. One was from Thailand
and the other from Hong Kong. They
were two of several like-dressed young woman monitoring the area to ensure that
all visitors were getting an abundance of charitable attention.
It was a bit overwhelming, but in a positive way.
The guides were very well versed in the recent history of the Mormon
Church in America.
The Tabernacle is a
beautiful building, yet not overly opulent for a place of worship.
The acoustics of the construction permit speaking from the dais without a
microphone. The organ here is
ranked as the 12th largest in the world.
This is home to the oft-recorded Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
The grounds around the Tabernacle were lushly landscaped with fresh
flowers in bloom.
The tour did not include a
walk through the temple, but it is an impressive structure even from the
outside. The tour was intermixed
with some witnessing as Christine and I both had to put up a little guard to
keep from being recruited into the Mormon Church.
After the tour and walk
through town, we hopped into the RV and drove up to Antelope Island State Park.
Antelope Island is a large mountainous island in the middle of Salt Lake.
We pulled over at the edge of the lake for a lunch of re-heated soup.
The smell coming off the lake was putrid and offensive, but otherwise the
view was pretty.
We finished lunch and
began the 250-mile drive up to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. We took the mountainous route up past Bear Lake along the
Utah-Idaho border. We stopped in
the small town of Garden City on the shore of Bear Lake for a raspberry shake.
This area is famous for its raspberries.
The lake was still frozen, but the scenery remained very pleasing.
We continued on through
the southeast corner of Idaho into Wyoming and up to the Snake River valley.
Just before reaching the town of Alpine we saw a very large herd of elk.
Apparently the herd was being managed and was protected in a preserve
area. There had to be over a
hundred of them along the hillside.
Soon thereafter we arrived in the resort city of Jackson. We had several surprises. First we discovered a beer and wine store that carried the beers of the Alaskan Brewing Company, very hard to find in the lower 48. Next we went to an outfitter to get some hiking items, and learned that Yellowstone National Park is closed to traffic for another month, and that Grand Teton National Park is barely open, with no services. We were right back into winter and hadn’t considered all the consequences of it. Our final surprise was the Snake River Brewery right there in Jackson. We enjoyed some good food and great beer for dinner before heading north to our campground just east of Grand Teton National Park. By now it was so dark that we couldn’t see any views of the park.
1) At the door of the Snake River Brewing
Company. Life is good. 2) Elk
By Christine:
We are constantly seeing elk, mule deer, and antelope, but sometimes my
favorite sites are the fields full of cows with their little calves.
The calves are a playful group. I
also enjoy the large fields of horses. My
favorite site the other day, was a white horse rolling gleefully on his back, in
a big bunch of mud, hooves in the air. He’d
probably just gotten brushed and was showing them!
Well, Grand Teton National park was a bust. Whatever views we might have gotten, were to be had last night. We awoke with fresh snow on the ground and more still falling. We drove on into the park to hear the conditions from a park ranger. There were only a few miles of park road open to traffic, and the park was still covered in snow. The mountains were completely socked in by the clouds and fog. Any hopes of a nice hike were dismissed when we were told that snowshoes or skis were about the only way to travel. Instead we settled for a few miles of road walk as the conditions worsened.
Do you see those amazing Grand Tetons back there???
We decided to move on east
toward Casper. We had one
snow-covered pass to cross as we went over the Continental Divide between the
Absaroka and Wind River Mountain Ranges. There
were still a slew of snowmobilers taking advantage of the spring snow.
After crossing the divide we had a beautiful descent as we followed the
Wind River all the way to Riverton. I
had not been through this section of Wyoming before, but it pleases me, as does
the rest of Wyoming that I’ve seen.
Once out of the mountains
we lost our tailwind and met the clear blue skies of the jet stream delivering
us gusting winds out of the north. Driving
required both hands thereafter to keep the RV in its lane, much less even on the
road. All along the road we saw
several herds of wild antelope grazing on cattle land.
We pulled into the modest
city of Casper for the evening. Our
campsite was right next to a busy railroad line, which caused a little concern,
but a few Alaskan Ambers (beer) ensured that our sleep would not be interrupted.
Saturday, March 31,
2001
Hill City, SD
We got an early start this
morning as we worked our way toward the Black Hills of South Dakota.
The skies were mostly clear and the wind was out of the west giving us a
little push for a while. We crossed some gorgeous grasslands and passed several more
herds of antelope as we said goodbye to Wyoming and crossed into South Dakota
(our home state … ha ha).
Our first stop was to check on the progress of the Crazy Horse Monument near Custer. I had visited this work-in-progress on a trip through the area in 1987. Crazy Horse is the world’s largest mountain carving. Begun in 1948, its progress is very slow. In the thirteen years since my last visit the face has been completed. It is clear that this will be an overwhelming exhibit when complete, but that is unlikely to occur in our lifetime at the current rate of carving.
Crazy Horse.
From there we drove up to Mount Rushmore Memorial. Relative to Crazy Horse, Rushmore seems like a small undertaking, but it is finished. Rushmore took only fourteen years to complete, between 1927and 1941. There has been a lot of development at this site in the last thirteen years, including a parking garage, amphitheatre, restaurant, and visitors center. I hardly recognized the park except for the carving.
Mount Rushmore
Next we drove around the
area looking for an outfitter that could sell us a trail map.
Almost every single establishment displayed a “Closed” sign in their
window or on their marquis. This vacation area is just beginning to come out of
hibernation. We finally landed a
trail map and a good weather forecast for the next couple days, so we are
planning an overnight backpacking trip for tomorrow.
I am very excited. I’ve
been itching to get out and do some good hiking.
A one-night trip won’t require us to pack much weight, so Christine
should be able to manage her backpack without bothering her arm.
The proprietors of the campground at which we are staying have agreed to
give us a lift to a trailhead tomorrow morning, and we’ll just leave our RV at
the campground.
By Christine:
I am likewise excited to do some hiking tomorrow.
A note on Crazy Horse, it is a private park and wanted to charge us $8
per person to enter. The picture
you see below was taken from the road. Close
enough for us. Mount Rushmore was neat,
I'm glad we stopped and walked around to see this National Monument.
Continue on with April 1, 2001.....