More wow

Looking out the restaurant window, across from our campsite.

Just wow

Behind our campsite at Zion.

Angel's Landing

Ok, this is for Emil, who suggested this hike at Zion. This is Angel's Landing, the top part. At this point, looking at that peak, we're already maybe 1,000 feet up. You get to this part and think you're at the summit, but think again. Take a good look at this picture. See the little people at the bottom? To the left of them is a smooth place in the rock. That's where I watched two climbers hanging out. To do this climb, they have to sleep in sleeping bags hanging on the side of the cliff. You can't do it in one day. I'm not sure where they got to in this picture, but they were very tiny, even from way up where I was sitting. Also watched a condor soaring around me here.

Now the little people there just finished hiking across a very narrow little bridge of rocks (just rocks, nothing manmade) with sheer cliff drops on either side. After crossing the narrow part, you get to basically climb the peak. The route follows the line of trees on the right. No nice trail, no elevator. And no ropes! Except there are these nice bolted chains going up along the way. Rand did this. I really wanted to, but my walking stick and I waited at Scout's Landing, rocks on the cliff looking up at this big rock face. You really want both hands free to do this. From my vantage point, it was like watching an escalator full of little people up and down, up and down the thing all afternoon. It's amazing how many people do this. It's seriously dangerous. You want your footing in the right place, firmly. Rand said it was mostly college kids and they just bounded up and down.

Now to get to that part of Angel's Landing, you must first go here,


and here,

and here,

and here,

and here (see people on the right).

But NOT here.

Rand did it.

I did too, mostly.

The whole valley is like Land of the Lost. Always expecting dinosaurs, or a Sleestack to jump out at any time.

At the end, waiting for the shuttle. Tired.

Rocky Mountain walk

Going back in time and place now to the Rockies and my favorite walk. It began at a very popular spot, Bear Lake and went on a fantasy way of beautiful alpine lakes: Nymph, Dream and Emerald. It was at the end of September and cold cold. I began at 10am and put on all my winter gear, law even longjohns and scarf and winter hat. It was beautifully overcast and lightly raining and sleeting. Yes, this was my favorite walk, all alone and hardly anyone on the trail. The lakes were all small, little ponds really and so magical in the mist and sleet.


The first picture is at Dream Lake. The last one is at the top, Emerald Lake. I met a woman from Seattle and she told me that the peak behind me on the other side of the lake should have much more snow on it. She her husband come every year to hike in the Rockies and she was grieved to see it to bare.
In the white space to the right of the peak is a glacier which we couldn't see for the mist. I hope it remains there to be seen.

Changeability

Here is the view from our campsite in Torrey, two days in a row. And me, when the weather was passing by. The last shows the weather line, over our campground. Snow and hail on one side, blue sunny skies on the other.

People too

Now I've mostly shared the gorgeous landscapes round here, but that doesn't mean we've been hermits (although that was kind of part of the point of this exercise). At Natural Bridges, we shared a campsite with this great couple from Eugene, Oregon. It was a pleasure to have some younger people to speak to for a little while. It sounds like Oregon is just amazing, but of course there is the rain. Bunches and bunches of rain.


In Durango, we ran into the Durango Cowboy Gathering and listened to cowboy poetry and stories in the Strader Hotel on Main Street. After one of the shows, we went to the French cafe, had some wine and croissants and met one of the cowboys. He said he'd been to Chapel Hill several years ago and appeared on UNC-TV on a folkways show as a "cowboy ambassador".


I have to add the French cafe hostess too. She was just adorable, a freshman at Fort Lewis ("the College in the Sky"). She loves horses and wants to be an adventure guide when she grows up. I hope she does.

And in Walsenburg we got way off the tourist path and met these two. They're not a couple and in fact didn't even know each other. A possible future? She was our waitress at the Alpine Rose Diner on Main Street. Kept our coffee cups full.

He told us all about Cuchara the tiniest village where an old couple owned everything and kept St. Bernards in all the doorways in town, the Spanish Peaks and the campsites 10,500 feet up which we had almost to ourselves. Steinbeck said if you want to know what's happening, have breakfast in the local diner.

Utah fabulous

Well we're finally in Utah so it is as weird wonderful changeable wild rocky green yellow beige purple red ochre as I thought. And two months ago I didn't know I wanted to come here. Good thing I created this desire so I could fulfill it. This is one place that needs pictures.

We're spending a couple of nights in strange Torrey, outside the Capitol Reef national park. We went through at least a dozen different landscapes today. It changes about every 30 or 40 miles. Aliens from several different planets must have created Utah. We went through long open areas with scrubby low-to-the ground desert vegetation and red rock mesas and strange rock columns off in the distance. Then we would pass through the red rocks up close on each side of the narrow road, very little green. Then the rocks changed to beige and became what I called rock rubbish piles. Just piles of fallen rock everywhere. Rand figured I wouldn't like it because it was just too disorderly. Later it was flat again, then the rocks became white, then we hit Glen Canyon and it was spectacularly panoramic, over the Colorado. Which has been drained by Las Vegas, right? A ranger at Natural Bridges this morning told us that when the river dried up, so did the camping there. Later the land changed again to these large gray piles that we couldn't figure if they were rock or softer shale? They looked like piles of gravel for sale in a quarry. Then the turned lighter cream colored and finally were ringed in large purple circles, like tie-dyed rock piles. See how strange?



Oh, and there was this:

The Road

As we came up to these barrier mountains, we puzzled where the road went.



This is where.





CamperVan made it. It's very proud.

Natural Bridges

Oh my, Natural Bridges is naturally amazing. It's the perfect park, small, quiet, not at all overrun, and full of the most fantabulous landscape. It's named for three hollowed out arches through the park named for Youth, Maturity and Old Age. Each bridge is in a different part of the park down in canyons formed by the Fremont River. They have Indian names and we hiked down the canyon to the steepest middle one, Sipapu. It's my favorite kind of hike, a real scramble down the rocks, with ladders, wide cliff ledges, smooth slanty large rocks, trees at the bottom of the canyon. Below is part of the trail.




We were ultra fortunate to take the hike to Sipapu Bridge as a potential storm passed overhead. We paused a while on the way down to the canyon bottom and watched the clouds of many gray hues slide toward us. We identified the many hollowed out spots along the cliff walls where we could shelter in case of rare rain. Turns out there was not a drop that we saw. We had seen the same storm earlier in the day from above (see future "The Road" entry for picture of rain over the Utah plain). We met this lovely couple from Eugene, Oregon and the guy told us if you're close to the rain, you see that it doesn't even hit the ground. It's so dry that it evaporates before it hits.





This is Sipapu bridge from underneath with the oaks above us.



Ummm, sunset.

Colors

I think this trip is about colors. This is what I keep noticing, all the fabulous colors of each place. Tonight it was the vivid aching colors of a lurid Arizona sunset over the desert, hot pink, pale white and pale pink, baby blue, violet, black, pale greenish-yellow of the cacti and bushes. Behind me, the periwinkle and slight pink of the east over the darkening brush.

In northern Colorado it was the dark green of the evergreens, bright bright yellow of the aspens, the same tone as the bright green of other trees. Beige of the rocks and bright blue of the sky. White white of the clouds.

New Mexico had the piercing blue sky again and the wonderful red of the rocks, mesas, cliff sides.

My favorite area was along the New Mexico/Colorado border, right near Chromo (English majors can appreciate). This morning we met a man on his honeymoon who had lived in Chromo in the 70's building HUD houses for Indians (believe me, there's no there there). See what I mean? Colors.

But also about sounds, of birds, squirrels, bugling elks, loud cars sounding like space shuttles from a distance on the reservation, fish jumping, trees blowing in the wind, a buzzing insect hitting my hat. Mountain Chill music in Ouray, CO. Classical music on Blue Lake. Native American peaceful music here. Sounds.

Continued stops and sights

After Blue Lake in Cucharra, CO, go to Great Sand Dunes National Park near Alamosa, CO (2,781 miles). Two nights here. These dunes are so cool, nestled against 14,000 foot peaks they look paltry at the highest 750 feet. Climbing them isn't so easy as it might appear.

To Taos, just drove through, then Santa Fe (2,984 miles). City. One night.


To Durango, CO (3,240 miles) through the most beautiful road, route 84 from New Mexico through Chromo back into Colorado. I loved this area, the mixture of the New Mexico red rock cliffs meshing into the greens and yellows of Colorado, spectacular and different at every point. Durango, very cool town, saw the Cowboy Gathering and met one live 'n in person. Yep, got appropriate Western hats. Stayed three nights.



Tried to go to Mesa Verde (30 minutes from Durango), instead took the scenic route. Took two full days. Fabulously beautiful road, constantly changed through the whole loop. Stayed one night in Ouray (3,319 miles), unbelievable peaks closely surrounding it. Passed through old mining town Silverton. Passed beautiful Red Mountains, snow-covered.




To Mesa Verde National Park (3,464 miles), finally made it. Left the green mountains behind, now more in reds, beiges and dark greens. The road through Mesa Verde is carved and looped along the top of the mountains, great for the Vespa!

To Canyon de Chelly, Chinle, Arizona. Now, Oct. 12, staying by the canyon in the Navajo (Dine) nation with Howard at Spider Rock campground. Great dogs follow us on our canyon hikes.

Follow our route (or Find Waldo out West)

Begin in Chapel Hill, NC on Sept. 15, final lunch at Ming Garden at Timberlyne. My Chinese fortune: "Go for it. You never know whom you may run into." Vespa made it ok strapped on.

To Marion, NC (197 miles) to visit family. Mom already flew in from California. Dad in moving truck driving across the country. Left opposite end of the continent from us. Three nights here.

To Tennessee (475 miles), stopped for the night at Edgar Evins State Park, beautiful bluffs overlooking the lake. I sat here and meditated in the evening and early morning, looking far below over the rocks to the dark water and watched the fish who swam close enough to the rocks to see their outline. Heard many types of birds. Did morning yoga also before we left.

To Memphis, TN (758 miles). Stopped in to see Henrik and Lacey's family. Lovely visit, had real Memphis bar-b-que ribs at a dive in midtown.

To Devil's Den State Park, West Fork, Arkansas (1,089 miles). We walked across a stone dam built by the WPA during the Depression (water was low and there were no ubiquitous American warning sign). That was very cool. Left the park by a state road which turned out to be 8 miles of gravel road. The Vespa was no longer green by the end of that part of the ride.

To Boiling Springs State Park, Woodward, Oklahoma (1,529 miles). Didn't see it, came in late in the dark, left early in the morning. The area around Fort Supply, OK was quite pretty, scrubby land with little hills, yellow flowers and cows. My favorite sign, "Hitchhikers along highway may be escaped inmates."

To Lake Pueblo State Park, West Pueblo, Colorado (1,972 miles). Finally made it to Colorado! Rand and I getting on each other's nerves! Park full of redneckish people but beautiful. Saw our first cacti.

To South Meadow Forest Service campground, north of Woodland Park, Colorado (2,053 miles). First real Colorado mountain camping. Beautiful spot in a meadow right behind our campsite by a small creek, meadow with cows and peaks in the distance. Perfect place to sit. Had our first campfire here. Little fox ran around the campground.

To Boulder, Colorado (2,173 miles). Stayed at a hostel-type place, Boulder Mountain Lodge, loved it. Boulder is a fabulous, nearly perfectly planned yuppie/college/freaky/eco/liberal town. All the details are perfect and the landscape around the town is beautiful. We walked the whole Boulder Creek Canyon Trail -- about 7 miles. Stayed here four nights.


To National Parks Reserve private campground, Estes Park, Colorado (2,184 miles). We didn't like Estes Park -- a tourist zoo. But that evening saw the elks in Rocky Mountain N.P. Heard them bugling. The next day hiked in the early morning by myself in the cold rain and sleet up to Bear Lake, Nymph Lake, Dream Lake and finally Emerald Lake. I had it largely to myself and loved it. The lakes were so beautiful. I met a Seattle woman at the top who told me that the peak across the small lake should be much more covered with snow. Another sad sign of the warming.


To Lathrop State Park, Walsenburg, Colorado (2,274 miles). Saw rainbows in the park. Tried to get as far from Estes Park down toward New Mexico that day. Lathrop is on a lake. Lots of wind buffeted us in the camper.


To Blue Lake Forest Service campground, near Cucharra, Colorado (2,554 miles), two nights. We found a totally local diner, Alpine Rose on Main Street in Walsenburg for breakfast. This was where we met a man who explained the winds we were having and asked us if he could take two hours out of our day. He told us about the 12 loop from there down to Trinidad. He told us about Cucharra (the Spaniards called the valley the "spoon"). Said it was one of the most beautiful parts of Colorado. Turns out it was. We loved it and camped at Blue Lake, 10,500 feet up. Saw the Milky Way. No one there the second night camping.

To ...

For Bill

Beware of warning signs. Danger-fatigue may set in and could be fatal to living.