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!