A Bit More Bryce

November 8, 2010

I had said earlier that I had not realized Bob used another camera to take some shots at both Bryce and Zion. When I finally remembered to download that camera, I found a couple of other things that were somewhat interesting.

First up, this was in Cedar City, UT. We saw this on one corner; the diagonal corner had an equally interesting pairing, but too many cars inbetween to get a clear shot.  Not on Halloween, so we guessed it had something to do with the University.

Next is a hoodoo shot. I'm not sure I explained hoodoos and how they are made. Bear with me if I did. The earliest settlers who saw these felt that they cast a spell upon you (by being so beautiful and mesermizing, not because they were magical) and called them "hoodoos" to express that feeling.

They are caused when a pillar forms wings, which eventually turn into windows. When the windows collapse, the two sides of the pillar are left, creating two hoodoos.

And, finally, a shot of an Albert squirrel. This was taken in Flagstaff, just as we were getting ready to leave. It's a bit blurry. Not sure if the squirrel moved or if I did. I'm blaming the squirrel.

Zion

November 4, 2010
Zion National Park, Utah

Even though it's only a few miles between Bryce and Zion, the rock formations, colors and types are very different.

We entered Zion through the East entrance and had to stop a few times for construction. The road is very narrow, even without the narrowed lanes for the construction equipment and switches back and forth to the floor of the canyon a lot---wish we had counted the switchbacks.

Then there is the tunnel....very long, with curves and a couple of "windows" that just let you catch glimpses of the scenes outside. The middle photo has a view of the mountain that you go through---see that oval hole? That's a huge window.

One of the neat things about Zion is that the rocks are more striated and often you can see four or five colored layers.

Again, a beautiful day with warm temps in the afternoon.

We're heading north tomorrow.  Not sure yet exactly where we are planning to stop, so we might not have a post for a day or two.

I just realized that Bob had used another camera for some shots at Bryce, so I will probably post them later, since I want a shower and we need to get on the road!

Bryce is Really Nice

November 3, 2010
Bryce Canyon, Utah

Just a short post today---the pictures speak for themselves.

When I went to Bryce as a teenager, we saw it before the Grand Canyon and I've always remembered it as being more impressive as the Grand. I think it is because you can actually see and absorb parts of it, rather than trying to appreciate the WHOLE of the Grand Canyon---there are no small views at the Grand. And while the views at Bryce aren't small, you can see a section and then go on to another.

We had another beautiful day.  It started out coolish and ended up in the high 70s, with clear blue skies.

We're in Cedar City, UT, home of Southern Utah University and a world-class Shakespearian Festival each summer.

Big Doin's in Boulder City

November 2, 2010
Boulder City, Nevada

We decided to stay a night or two right here in Boulder City so we would have some time to see the local sights, and WOW!!! They have a dam here! It's huge. They call it Hoover Dam and it is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year.

I have trouble figuring out how people paint murals on walls, so comprehending how to engineer a dam that will fit against the walls of a canyon, be tall enough and strong enough to hold back the Colorado River, and still remain standing years later is really difficult.

It is really neat, though, and close up seems larger than life. You can see the bridge we drove over yesterday from Arizona in the first and last photos. It seemed large as we were driving but so much larger today when we could see it from a bit of a distance.

The water level is really low, so the dam looks unused and over-sized for the job. The Colorado River is just a small ribbon of water and while Lake Mead is huge, the low water level makes it look shallow.

One of the great things about this is that so much of the construction was documented at the time---there is a time-lapse movie of the dam being built, plus a lot of still photos and objects. The new visitor center is really nice with some aural domes to "hear" the construction workers talking, and several hands-on exhibits. Turning a wheel to generate enough wattage to run a computer or lights in a room was a popular station.

Bob was intrigued with the pillbox on the Arizona side, used during World War II since the dam was providing power to the California shipyards and thought to be a possible target. It's being stabilized and roads that are compliant with current regulations are being designed so that it can be opened to the public. That should happen in a couple of years and then you can see what the sentries could see. Can you imagine sentry duty out here in the desert in the 1940s? I'm guessing air conditioning didn't figure in.

There were workers on the face of the far side of the canyon who seemed to be climbing down by ropes, but when we looked at them with binoculars, we saw that they had stopped for a sandwich.  Nice view while hanging from a rope and eating your PB&J.

It's warm here---78 at 9:30 this morning---and bright and sunny with just a little breeze. I love the warmth. Not the HOT, but the warmth is, well, you know, it's a dry heat, so it's just pleasant. We hear it's been raining and storming at home, so we will soak up as much sun as we can before we get back.

We'll leave here tomorrow morning and head north into Utah. No Vegas stop for us....can't afford to lose the pennies we have left. It's great to be in Pacific Time again, but we think we'll lose it for awhile in Utah, only to be faced with the daylight-to-standard time shift. By the time we get home, we may not know what time it is!

Red Rocks and Lowell

October 30, 2010

We drove through Oak Creek Canyon this morning to Sedona and Jerome. When they say "Red Rock Country" they aren't kidding!! These rocks in the photos to the left are just a few miles south of Flagstaff, but as you get south of Sedona, some of them are almost a rich mahogany color.

Oak Creek Canyon is a state park, with a lot of campgrounds, picnic areas, lodges and resorts, plus Indian artisans at every parking area. There aren't many pull-off areas to take photos. One good place was at Midgley Bridgely just north of Sedona.

We drove up to Jerome, but, again, nice sunny Saturday, limited parking, big truck. We had gone because the owner of Purl in the Pines said she thought the yarn store there was worth a look (it has the yarn arranged by color, rather than weight or fiber content). But we just couldn't find any parking, so we enjoyed our view and went back north.

Same thing for Sedona...we just aren't into high-end shopping, so we dropped into the library (gorgeous library) and cruised main a couple of times and then headed back because we had plans for the late afternoon and evening.

Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff is where Pluto was discovered. This dome  holds the historic  telescope that was taking visual images helping to look for what was then called Planet X, but the actual discovery was made in an office nearby, using the blink comparator. There was a contest to name the new planet and an 11-year-old girl from England had the winning entry.

Meet Clark...no, not the guy, he's Glen. The telescope!! Alvan Clark but for those of us on intimate terms, we just call him Clark. He's a refractor.

We had great tours, both given by Glen, who is an amateur astronomer/educator for Lowell.

It was a bright sunny day, but observatories are not heated (something to do with equalizing the temp when the shutters are opened) so it was a bit chilly. Between the first and second tours Bob went out and got our sweatshirts. The wind also was kicking up a bit.

I did mention that Clark and I are on intimate terms, didn't I? Well, here's what I got to do----I got to move it, and got to move the dome as well!!! Pretty cool, huh?

And Bob? Yes, he was there. And, yes, he got to move it too. In fact he was the first person to volunteer and almost knocked Glen over jumping down the three steps, so he forgot to give me the camera to take a photo. So, he may have a story to tell, but I have photographic proof!!

We went back after dinner for the night viewing and had a great time. The winds were too strong to open Clark's shutters, but we did get to see the Andromeda galaxy and Jupiter (with one moon). Very, very fun.

We leave tomorrow, heading further north. But to recap Flagstaff....I could live here. GREAT yarn store, lots of really interesting and neat things to see in and around the town (Grand Canyon is 70 miles, Sedona is 28, Meteor Crater is 35), a really terrific library, and, of course, Clark.

Grand Canyon

October 29, 2010
Grand Canyon, Arizona

We left early this morning and entered the park through the East Rim entrance. Our first views of "The Grand" came from the Watchtower, the building designed by Mary Colter in the 1930s. It's under renovation now, but still in use. It offers some spectacular panoramas of Desert View.
If you have time, read the link about Mary Colter (it's Wikipedia, but the most comprehensive bio I could find).  She worked for the Fred Harvey Co and designed several buildings still in use.  And Fred Harvey?  He's the "Harvey House" Harvey.  And don't forget the "Harvey girls".   Also an interesting person.

We wandered the entire south rim, stopping at just about every lookout--we missed two, including the last one, Bright Angel, due to increased traffic and no parking. While it was great to go in by way of a lesser-used entrance, it did make the most popular viewing sites more crowded.

It was sunny and a bit cloudy, so I'm not sure the colors "popped" as much as if the sky had been totally blue, but beautiful just the same.

We saw a mountain chickadee, first for both of us, and a flock of western bluebirds, not firsts, but neat to see anyway. The Steller's jays here have white streaks, sort of like eyebrows, here. And the ravens here seem a bit glossier and with more green irridescence than those at Mt. Rainier.

The funniest animals we saw were Albert squirrels. They have tassels on their ears and white edging on their tails. They eat truffles found on the Ponderosa pine.

Hard to find images to include.  I still can't seem to fit more than 4 on a page, if I'm lucky---sometimes it eats a picture and I often don't have time to go back and re-do it.

So, Colleen, I know you were interested in the restroom pictures and Bob took one, but it didn't make the cut---sorry.  He also says to tell you there is a wonderful bathroom here at the campground, one of the best he's seen.  No pictures, though.

Two Spot

October 28, 2010
Flagstaff, AZ

Bob's working on a model railroad layout of a 1940s logging town and camp, so when we saw that this was on display in Flagstaff, we decided to stop and check it out.

This is a Baldwin 2-8-0 locomotive, purchased in 1917 for logging and spent its entire career in the Flagstaff area. It is now restored and kept in very good display condition between the rail yard and Route 66 in downtown Flagstaff.

The canvas water bags hanging out the windows rubbed off the numeral 5 and so it became known as "Two Spot".

Oh, yes, in case you didn't know, Flagstaff is in the pines. Ponderosa pines to be exact and there are lots of them. It's hilly, just under 7000 feet elevation with the San Francisco Peaks on the horizon.

We actually knew this train was here because there is a geocache at this location and since Bob likes looking at vintage logging train-stuff, it was logical to attempt to find it.

This was geocache find number 52 for us and it's been fun and challenging looking for caches in unfamiliar towns.  We tend to look for ones that are small to regular size, so we can leave something, and in areas where we can find parking for the RV, or near campgrounds so we can unhook it and go look.

We have picked up a geocoin and moved it a bit further east (it is heading to North Carolina from California and we could move it one state further) and picked up another in Texas that wants to go to a border state, so we will drop it off when we get home. 

Geocoins are about the size of a silver dollar and are tagged with a note telling where it is going, and where it's from.  Many are commercially made and some are hand-crafted.  They are similar to travel bugs, which are not coins, but something else that is tagged to be moved, usually in a specific direction or for a specific reason.