Arizona-Gold Canyon-16 May 2011

Photo 1: Wildflower--the roadside is a mass of white, blue, red, yellow, and orange flowers.

Photo 2: In the Painted Desert

We are nearing the end of our holiday and it has been spectacular. The weather was a bit cool the first couple of days but other than a few showers, we can't complain about not having enough sun. We are on the 'red-eye' tomorrow night and will get home early Wednesday morning.

In the past couple of days we've been to Canyon de Chelly, Petrified Forest National Park, and the Painted Desert. The highways between these fascinating places have revealed some wonderful and unexpected sights.

After having been to the Grand Canyon, The Arches NP, Glen Canyon and other places, Canyon de Chelly was a bit of a let-down but still worth the trip. The park is next to the town of Chinle and it was the town more than the park that created some thoughful discussions. It's in the heart of the Navajo Nation Reservation and other than tourists, is totally populated by natives. A great deal of effort has been made to built new homes to replace some of the terrible places they have lived in but unfortunately, as families move in to the new homes the old places are taken over by other people or left to deteriorate even more. Most natives not living in reserve homes live in trailers. I often wonder why someone hasn't come up with some kind of 'crusher' that can reduce one to a block of garbage...like those crushing machines they have for cars. Chinle has a beautiful big high school. Almost in it's backyard is the Youth Detention Centre. Clearly, there have been lots of good things happening in Chinle but I have to say I was left with a feeling of hopelessness.

The Petrified Forest National Park was amazing!! The visitors centre had a great short movie which provided some history and well worth watching. When Arizona (& the US) was part of one main land mass (255 million yrs ago), all of this area was part of a tropical forest. During a major climate change, a mega flood took thousands of trees out to sea and the trees sunk to the bottom where they were eventually covered with silt, dirt, volcanic ash, etc. The trees petrified but chemical changes also turned them into stone which also included precious stones. Over time, they have come to the suface and it's incredible to see what looks like a huge tree only it's stone! The NPs are very strict about removing it from their area but there are private companies which buy digging rights from citizens outside the park so it's not hard to buy.

The Painted Desert was a sight for sore eyes as well as the soul. It's Mother Nature at her finest and each time we turned a corner as saw another colour combination set in a different setting we has to stop and just stare. This area is different again from other parts of the Painted Desert further west where the cliffs are higher and have even different colouring. It's one of my favourite parts of Arizona and I could do this trip again next year and be just as amazed.

There's a huge, yellow full moon tonight. We are both a bit tired today and opted for an early check-in at a Best Western with a nice heated pool...or we might have gotten back in the car and found a nice hill with a big saguaro cactus for a photo op. Tomorrow we are going to a wonderful desert arboretum to get some photos of the various cactus in bloom. All of the wildflowers are in bloom and the saguaro cactus are in bloom as well.

No more blogging for this trip. Thanks for enjoying the journey with us. xx

Utah - Arches NP - 13 May 2011

Photo 1: Whatever type of bush this is, it has the sweetest smelling flower...wonderful!

Photo 2: What 'Arches' National Park is famous for.

Photo 3: One of the panoramic views through Arches NP.

We had another busy but relaxing day. The sun was shining, it was about 76 degrees with a nice wind, especially up in the mountain ranges in Arches and Canyonlands National Parks.

If there was any disappointment today, it was that most of the arches are well off the beaten path which means strapping a water bladder to your back and hiking for 3-5 miles in the sun. Well, that wasn't going to happen so I had to be satisfied with the smaller arches that were close to the road. Overall, it was a glorious park and I'm so glad we made the effort to see it.

The most dramatic scenes in the park were the massive boulders and rocks that seem to be balanced so precariously on top of one another and I can't help but wonder what the timeline is for some of these giants to slide off the base they are perched on. In some places you can see large slabs that have fallen and clearly see the area they used to occupy. Most of the large mesas have numerous slabs on each of them that are clearly cracked and it's the continuous rain/freezing/warming /wind that eventually causes them to fall. Had a Ranger been handy, I would have asked if anyone had ever witnessed something like that. Given that these rocks are thousands of years old, I doubt it.

Moab is quite the little town! It reminds me somewhat of Banff...lots of young people and even more mountain bikes, ATVs, hiking boots & climbing equipment stores and bars. The town is completely surrounded by huge red cliffs so sits in a bit of a 'bowl' and the Colorado River runs through it. We made a trek down to see the river...just because we could...and depending on where you see it, it can be a large raging river or a bitty stream. There are so many dams on this river that I'm surprised there's anything left to flow into the Gulf. I think Moab is a major recreation area for northern Utah citizens. I was keeping an eye out for a place to bungy jump over the Colorado but didn't see anything.........

We start heading back South tomorrow and will be spending the night in Canyon de Chelly (pronounced Shay). It's a beautiful area with more of those stripped colours all though the hills.

Hope Spring is in full swing when I get home and while I hate to have missed the Tulip Festival, I think the 15,000 tulip photos I already have will get me through. Until next time, love and hugs to all. xx

Utah - Moab - 12 May 2011

Photo 1: Back off...get your own mouse

Photo 2: Getting it down

Photo 3: Tummy will soon be full.

Most people hate snakes. You see one or nearly step on one when you least expect it. In my world, seeing a snake is like sitting through all the Chainsaw Massacre movies in one stretch. They were in the water, the outhouse, and the fields at the cottage when I was a kid and watching one slither through my legs while sitting in my Gramma’s outhouse traumatized me. However, today's experience has set the ‘trauma’ bar at a whole new level.

We left Monument Valley and headed up Hwy 191 towards Moab, Utah. There’s not much civilization along that 200 mile stretch but once again, the scenery was stunning. On of the only large towns was called ‘Mexican Hat’ and it wasn’t until we were through town that we saw the reason why. At the far edge of town is a balanced rock, which is quite impressive and gives the town its name.

I had to have a photo of course, and there was a turn-off which looped around the rock. Wayne pulled the car over to the side of the road and waited while I got out….quick picture…in and out.

As I walked around the front bumper, I heard the first ‘rattle’. It took about 2 seconds..literally..before my brain registered the sound and then I heard the second rattle. The reaction was immediate!! I did some impressive ‘air running’ and somehow found myself on the other side of the car trying to get enough air out to tell Wayne I’d had a close encounter of the rattlesnake kind. I hadn’t looked down so didn’t know exactly where it was but knew by the sound that the snake and I had gotten really close to one another.

I peeked around the front of the car and saw that the snake had been coming down the small embankment on the side of the road. I always look for snakes in Arizona when I’m walking off the highway but it blended in so well with the dirt that I would never have seen it. It had killed a mouse (which I must have almost stepped on) and was no doubt warning me to ‘back off and get my own mouse’. Once it realized I wasn't going to have the mouse for lunch, it proceeded to ingest the rodent and then slithered off to find some shade. The photographers instinct kicked in and I dove into the back seat to get my other lens and the rest is photographic (& Lynne’s) history. The previous encounter with the killer black bear at the lake has dropped in significance.

I know now that my heart is as sound as an anvil…and that’s a good thing. Wayne and I are having a on-going debate about the size of that bugger. I say at least 36 inches...he estimates it to be somewhat smaller. He's never right.

Our next stop was as Newspaper Rock near the Canyonlands National Park. It’s a big slab of rock that has petroglyphs dating back BC to 1024 which are still very clear…amazing stuff. We continued up the road towards the park and saw incredible rock formations that we’ll revisit as we had to turn around...low gas gauge levels ‘rule’ in this environment.

Tomorrow we head to the Arches National Park and into Bryce Canyon country. I hear they have cougars there. Wonder if the ‘bear bell’ will work? Until next time, hopefully, love and hugs to all. xx

Arizona-Monument Valley-11 May 2011

Photo 1: Sunset in Monument Valley

Photo 2: Storm clouds over Sentinal Mesa

We arrived in Monument Valley from Page and to say the scenery was majestic would be, like so many other descriptions of scenery on this trip, a huge understatement.

We stopped at Gouldings Trading Post which dates back to the early 1920s. The original owner got to enjoy all the publicity of hosting John Wayne’s movie career while he made a number of films there. A small museum on the site of the original trading post was amazing and for a place in the middle of nowhere, was very comfortable. We had a nice lunch and were anxious to get to our hotel in Monument Valley itself.

I knew it was going to be awesome but it far exceeded my expectations. The hotel is built on a cliff overlooking the valley. The hotel’s façade has been painted the same colour as the surrounding cliffs and except for a swimming pool, had every modern amenity including a beautiful gift shop and restaurant. It is owned and operated by Navajos and was extremely clean and well run.

But the view is what brings people to this location! Every balcony faces the valley and most of the hotel is all windows on the east side…even the elevators! We had an hour before we could check in and decided to take the 15 mile loop around the valley floor around some of the monolithic rock formations. The road was awful and we almost stopped a couple of times but trudged through and were so glad we did. As Wayne said, “We are so small!” As the sun changed position, the shadows on the rocks changed colour and it was really mesmerizing.

The clouds moved in before we could enjoy the sunset but it was interesting to see the rain falling in some parts of the valley as well as sun shining in others. I got up this morning for the sunrise, camera in one hand and coffee in the other, and spent most of the time just basking in the scene before me. It is so easy to understand why the natives have such a spiritual connection to this land.

We are heading for Southern Utah and some of the wonderful canyon lands and National Parks that I’ve read about for so long and finally getting to enjoy. Until next time, love and hugs to all. xx

Arizona - Antelope & Glen Canyons - 10 May 2011

Photo 1: Below the Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado River.

Photo 2: Light shaft in the Antelope Canyon.

The first time I saw photos of Antelope Canyon was in a National Geographic magazine and I couldn't believe that anything could be that beautiful. It was everything it promised to be and more.

Wayne dropped me off at the Antelope Canyon Tour office at 11 am and the photo tour took off at 11:30. There were 12 of us sitting on benches in the open back of a truck with giant wheels and no muffler. I figured if the freezing wind didn't kill me, the carbon monoxide fumes would! The canyon is on the Navajo Nation reservation and you must have a Navajo guide to visit the canyon. After about a 20 minute drive, we turned off the highway and went in to the river bed which leads to the canyon. Given that the fine sand is about 3 feet deep, I understood the need for the giant tires!

Our guide Bruce told us that we'd have to fight the bus loads of tourists that were also there but we would have an extra hour alone to take photos. Thank goodness we had extra time as there were times when a person (me) could get crushed when a 7 ft, 250 lb German insisted she was going to get past me, despite the corridor being 2 ft wide! The first half of me photos will need some PhotoShopping to get rid a elbows, ankles/boots, and hat brims. Bruce was patient as a saint as there were 'photographers' with point-and-shoot cameras as well as Hasselbad's and he helped everyone regardless of equipment.

From the moment we entered the canyon, it was magic. There are many open areas above the canyon floor so that the light reflect off the walls and creates incredible waves of colour on the 20-30 ft canyon walls. There are ceiling 'holes' where the sun creates pillars of light and admittedly, the guides will throw handfuls of fine sand in the air to enhance the pillar which makes for a spectacular photo. My dream would be to have a few hours alone in the canyon to take my time and really appreciate what I'm taking a photo of. I can understand why people return over and over as the light changes and the desire to get better and better shots can be addictive. I see a new camera in my future next year so.......

It was only 2 pm when we got back so after a quick lunch, Wayne and I did a bit of driving to see what else was in the area. He had hiked in to Horseshoe Bend which is a loop of the Colorado River. In order to take photos, he had to 'belly crawl' to the edge and hang the camera over the ledge! We found a turnoff for a walking trail and beach and decided to investigate. What a find it turned out to be!! Directly below the Glen Canyon dam was a area that looked like the land had been folded over and over on itself as it's limestone so was layered rock in shades of red, pink, and white (which indicates where the water levels have been in the past). It was fun to climb pinacles that looked like they shouldn't be there.

From there we drove to the Glen Canyon Recreation Area to have a look at some of the huge houseboats at the marina. The scenery is beyond description and it's frustrating that photos just don't capture the majestic beauty of the reds, greens, pinks, beiges, and other colours of the mountains and hills along this area of the Colorado River. This area crosses into Utah and I'm hoping that we will have time to see more of this area after visiting Monument Valley.

It was another busy day and no doubt we'll sleep well tonight. Until next time, love and hugs to all. xx

Arizona-Pueblo's, Painted Desert, and Page, 9 May 2011

Photo 1: Sunset Crater Volcano

Photo 2: Glen Canyon Dam/Lake Powell

Photo 3: Wupatki Pueblo Ruins

We were up early and after a hearty breakfast hit the road for the 200 mile trip to Page. It was really, really windy and a bit cool this morning but the sun was still shining.

A short time after turning onto Hwy 89A, we were on the Navajo Nation Reservation. The whole drive was incredibly beautiful and if I said ‘WOW’ once, I said it a thousand times. It reminds me of driving through the Canadian Rockies, minus the snow of course but there is a vista of some sort at every turn in the road. While it should have only taken 3 hrs to reach Page, a number of stops meant we didn’t get there until 4 pm.

Our first stop was to take the 21-mile loop which has the Sunset Crater Volcano and the Wupatki and Wukoki Pueblo ruins. About 3 miles in to the loop we started to see massive piles of something that looked like big pieces of black asphalt which was the lava flow from the volcano that erupted about 1000 years ago. There were huge cinder dunes for 2 miles or so until we came to the volcano cone itself. It was amazing to see how nature takes back the landscape—there were large aspen and fir trees but it will taken another thousand years, or more, before volcanic evidence is erased.

The pueblo ruins were amazing…I love that kind of stuff. The Wupatki ruin is the largest and was probably a community of single family dwellings with the largest having up to 100 rooms. Built from sandstone slabs, limestone blocks, and chunks of basalt set with a clay-based mortar, the ruins are still there 700 years after the inhabitants left. We were so lucky to see it today as there were very few people in either location which made photo taking much more pleasant. The Wukoki ruin was very large as well and built on top of a huge boulder.

The loop borders on the Painted Desert and some of the landscape is beautiful beyond words. It was interesting to see the low clouds over this area tinted with the pink/red sand blowing off the desert. We’ll spend more time here after we have visited the Page area and some of the National Parks in Southern Utah.

Before we booked in to our hotel, we went to the Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell (remember the Lotto 649 commercial with two guys playing hide-and-seek in the power boat and helicopter—that’s Lake Powell). The lake is a maze of canyons with 100-ft walls and quite a site to see. You can rent a houseboat here for $1000+ a day but we’re not talking your ordinary houseboat! These are luxury boats for the rich and famous. However, kayaks are also popular and I’m told there are canyons that are so narrow, only a kayak can navigate. We are in Page for 2 nights so perhaps a raft trip down the Colorado River is in our future. The advantage of taking these trips is that you can get to see some amazing places only accessible by boat.

Tomorrow is my photo trip to Antelope Canyon. There’s a 30% chance of rain and I’m hoping it holds off until that ends (can you spell ‘flash flood’?). Until next time, love and hugs to all.

Arizona - Mother's Day at the Grand Canyon, 8 May 2011

Photo: "Lady, do you know how to bake biscuits"? Had the answer been 'yes', I'd have been kidnapped.

It was a beautiful day—perfect for a trip on the Grand Canyon Railroad.

We were at the train station by 8:30 am to pick up our ticket for the dome car. It’s about a 3 hr trip and I wanted to make sure we saw everything there was to see, whether it was left, right, or above us. It was a sold-out trip so there were probably 3-400 people on 7 cars. About 45 minutes before the trip, a trio of very talented ‘cowboys’ put on a great show at the western village. They were hilarious and the crowd was very entertained until we heard ‘all aboard’.

The trip was less than I expected (given the cost) but very enjoyable and we certainly arrived much more relaxed than if we had driven. I think I expect to see a much more rugged landscape but it was a lot of miles of scrubby flatland until we got closer to the canyon and began to see large fir trees. A nice continental breakfast buffet was served and the time went quickly.

We had about 3 hrs at the canyon and Wayne opted to do the walk around the farthest part of the South rim. I went the opposite way along the nice, flat path and really got too close once or twice to the unfenced ledge. Except for a few clear patches, it was overcast with a solid white cloud cover which didn’t make for a great photo day but I got a few good shots. The Grand Canyon is definitely one of those places that falls into the photo category of “sunrise or sunset” shooting only.

We boarded the train back to Williams and after some nice snacks and sparkling wine, we settled in. About a half hour from home, the train was ‘robbed’ by the same cowboys from the morning entertainment. We had lots of good laughs…I’m not sure how they do this twice a day, every day and still keep it fresh—but they do.

The temperature has dropped and showers are forecasted for tomorrow. It’s hard to get cranky over rain when this is a desert and any bit of precipitation is welcomed.

Till next time, love and hugs to all.

Arizona-Sedona/Williams - 7 May 2011

Photo 1 : Desert Daisy

Photo 2: Enjoying coffee in Sedona.

We arrived in Arizona yesterday and it was a bit of a shock to walk out of the airport to 99 degrees! Spring in Ottawa has not been great so far and once we got over the initial shock, it was rather nice—without humidity it was quite pleasant.

I’d made a reservation for a hotel in Cottonwood, about 75 miles from Phoenix and between a long day in airports/planes, and a 3-hr time change, I think it was lights out for both of us by 9 pm. We woke up to more glorious sun and after a mondo breakfast, we headed for Sedona. The drive up 89A was so nice and that first glimpse of the red rocks was beautiful. As many times as we’ve been here, that first sight of red always takes my breath away.

I had a list of places in Arizona where there were petro glyphs and rock drawings and we chose one in Sedona. The drawings at Palatki date back 10,000 years and are notable because archeologists have determined that during that time, 7-8 different native cultures have contributed to the drawings on the grotto walls. The volunteer guide was extremely knowledgeable and it was so interesting seeing the various drawings or scratchings and learning the meaning of them (e.g. a line of diamond shapes represents diamond back rattle snakes). Various native groups have been consulted wrt interpretation of the drawings and it’s still a sacred site for all the various native groups in the area. Many of the desert wildflowers are in bloom. The day was starting to get really hot so we headed for town and a patio in the shade.

We are staying in Williams tonight and we made a spontaneous decision to take the train to the Grand Canyon tomorrow vice driving. It’s a 4 hr trip up, 3 hrs at the Canyon and then 4 hrs back to Williams. Besides seeing lots of beautiful canyon country, it makes sense as we will be doing the long drive the next day to the opposite side of the GC and up into the Navajo Reservation. I hope the steam engine is pulling tomorrow as it would make the whole experience perfect.

Tomorrow is Mother’s Day and although I won’t be with my kids in body, I’ll sure be with them in spirit. I am so fortunate to have my sweet boys and I’m very proud of the men they have become and the women they chose as life partners. Mother’s Day is every day for me!

Until next time, hugs and kisses to all.