Zion

The trip from Hoover Dam to Zion took about 3.5 hours. The heat was striking, peaking at 107 in the middle of the desert.

Mountain Along the Way to Zion. One of the first things to catch our attention was the different landscape as we dipped into and out of a tiny corner of Arizona, coming upon this giant mountain poking out of the middle of nowhere.



Rock upon Rock. Still driving along the road to Zion, we began to see very interesting rock formations and patterns.


Striations. Here we can see many layers of sand and sediment compressed into solid rock. These people apparently brought everything they own for their camping trip.


Zion. One of the first sights we encountered in the park was this lovely cliff.


Pink Wall. This typical cliff facing shows what happens when Navajo sand, heavy with iron oxide, becomes rock. The beauty and uniqueness of these formations reminded us of the Cappadocia region in Turkey.


Hanging Grass. Claire was taken by this clump of grass clinging to a vertical wall--one of our earliest discoveries.


Hanging Garden. The shuttle bus drivers and the film on Zion spoke of the hanging gardens in the Park. This was one sample we could see up close and personal. Overall, we were highly impressed with the amount of water and greenery surrounding us, here. But, early Mormon settlers had terrible problems with drought and flooding along with extremes of temperature.


Virgin River at End of Riverside Walk. We were tired when we first arrived here; but, we decided to do what we could, since we only had two days in Zion. This was a flat easy walk along a paved path (mostly covered in dust.) The walk ended where you could continue on to The Narrows; but, this could be a full day hike largely through water. And it was late, we were tired, and Claire did not have on waterproof shoes. There were constant reminders on the shuttle bus that "you are responsible for your own safety." They don't want people going into slot canyons during flash floods and they don't want people to be careless climbing or hiking up to the tops of peaks--six people have died here since 2004.


Specimen of Fawna. On the way back from the 3 mile (round trip) Riverside Walk, we encountered a family of 5 Mule Deer.


Orange Wall. This is one of many example of the color and majesty of the cliffs and rock formations.


Red Road. We found it fascinating that almost everything around Zion is some shade of red--even the roads.


Court of the Patriarchs. In 1916, Frederick Vining Fisher, a Methodist minister, named this area, calling the peaks Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. We first viewed them from the street level where we were dropped by the shuttle; we were then startled to see how much more impressive the peaks were from the slightly elevated vantage point of a viewing platform situated 300 steep, zig-zagging feet up.



On the Trail. We headed for the park so early this morning it was almost dark. We beat the crowds, the heat and managed to hike 4 trails before noon. As we hiked along our 3rd trail today, Claire picked up on the accent of a couple walking in the opposite direction, asking asking if they would take our picture. "Australian?" she asked. "No, they laughed, New Zealand." After chatting for a while about travel, Richard and Sandra said we should come visit them when we get to New Zealand; I gave them an American Adventures card and told them to email us, so we could keep in touch. We took their picture too.


Tree Frog. Canyon tree frogs are common by the Emerald Pools. They are supposed to sound like bleating sheep; but, we heard nary a peep from this camouflaged little guy.



Hornet's Nest? We are at a complete loss, here. We found this on the ground exactly as you see it. It must have been someone's home, but we dinna know whose. Any guesses or knowledge from out there?


Claire Hiking. Claire stopped to pose for this photo along the Upper Emerald Pool Trail.


Claire at the Upper Emerald Pool. We finally arrived at this lovely spot. We are no longer alone--there were about a dozen others here; thank goodness we like to travel early. This pool is surrounded on 3 sides by sheer cliffs and on the other by significant boulders; fortunately, the trail leads through the boulders to the beach.



Cliff Above the Upper Emerald Pool.


Path to Lower Emerald Pool. As I walked along the path to the lower pool, I stopped at the edge of the drizzle dropping down from the cliff wall. Note the damp ground. We were blessed with cool weather, today, during our time on paths--it never got above 80 degrees F. Temperatures and people are the primary reasons we like to travel early; but, today, we wanted to beat the thunderstorms predicted for afternoon. We did beat them. Later, reading, hot tubbing and swimming in the pool, I went into the lobby and the clerks instructed me not to return to the water due to the lightening. I had been watching it; but, it was so far away I was not concerned. I was struck (no pun, I swear) by the visual (not liquid) white lightening. I commented to several people about this, but they were not as impressed as I. I think of CA lightening as being quite yellow, but this seemed pure white.


Claire on the Trail to the Lower Emerald Pool.



Claire at the Lower Emerald Pool. The Emerald Pools get their names from the algae which color them.


Park Shuttle Bus at the Museum.


From March through October, there is a shuttle bus system in effect in the Park, run by the Park Service. This dates back to 2000. Each bus has two connected coaches and two bike racks--this one carried a wheelchair. They make about a dozen stops in just over an hour. The goal is to reduce confusion and pollution from passenger vehicles. There is a local system in the town of Springdale; it carries you from one end to the other, stopping at convenient points along the way every few blocks and ending at the entrance to Zion. You then exit, walk across the bridge and on to the Park shuttle service.

Two conveniences we especially appreciated were the frequency of bathrooms and the free Zion Spring water delivered by spigot to your own bottle.

We are finding a few kinks in our newly-adopted mode of travel. After traveling for a year in a camper, once we worked out the logistics we were able to sleep in the same, comfortable bed every night--and some afternoons. We also had easy access to refrigeration and cooking facilities--all within about 10 feet of us whenever we were "home."

We are finding it more challenging to figure out what we need to carry in to our motel rooms each day, and how few containers we can get by with. We are currently down, usually, to 2 trips to bring in a total of 2 suitcases, duffel bag, cooler and some external food items. With the heat, keeping our cooler in ice is problematic. Sleeping has been difficult for both of us. Claire finds that earplugs help a lot. I have been sleeping poorly and this impacts the energy I have--or don't--to carry me through the day. Last night our bed was lumpy, had ill-fitting sheets that did not hold the mattress pad in place; so we were aware of lumpy, sliding support.

Finding decent, healthy affordable food is not easy. When we have a fridge, it is often too cold--but, it would be worse to have it too warm. I did have to throw out a frozen hard-boiled egg this morning. On our way back from hiking today, we walked through town to scout out eateries for this evening. We really liked Blondie's Diner. It is a family-run restaurant with excellent food, casual ambiance, reasonable prices and extremely welcoming.

Inside Blondie's Diner


Wifi access has been free and nominally available, but access can be tricky. Still this is, so far, better than we experienced in Europe.

We have a long way to go and we are surely adaptable; so, please stay tuned...

Costs for today: $135. This is for food ($38) and lodging ($97). We don't have to pay, now, for entrance to National Parks, and we didn't do any tours. We did have some snacks.

In the American Southwest, I began a lifelong love affair with a pile of rock. ~ Edward Abbey

Hoover Dam

This was an exciting day for us--our first trip to the Hoover Dam and the official start of our trip through the Southwest.

Hoover Dam Bypass Bridge (Mike O'Callaghan - Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge). The desire to see this was the inspiration for our trip.



The Front of the Hoover Dam. The Hoover Dam was the largest construction project of its time, courting comparisons with the building of the Great Pyramids of Egypt. The project required the consolidation of Six Companies, Inc.




"Winged Victory." I don't know the official name of these statues, but they are in a lovely Art Deco style and have wings of eagles symbolizing power and men looking up with hope for the future. The dam was originally intended to be in Gothic style--fortunately, they changed to Art Deco and used bronze and aluminum decorator elements.



Winged Victory in Context. This shows the entire setting for the statues. The copper was so heavy and the stone supporting it so soft and fragile that they placed the statues on ice and let it melt to settle the weight softly.



Water Tower. There are four of these water towers on Lake Mead. They are the input source for water churning through the dam tunnels and generating 2080 megawatts of electricity.



Lake Mead Seen from Hoover Dam. Lake Mead is the largest artificial lake in the U.S. with 550 miles of shoreline.



A Long Way Down. Claire made sure she was first in line when the visitor center opened, guaranteeing that we would be in the first tour group of the day. We got to see the innards of the Dam, including several of the tunnels. This shows a gated entrance to the lower levels from about half way up the 726.4 foot Dam.



Worker Commemoration Statue. This statue greeted us as we entered the parking garage. It took thousands of workers working around the clock for almost 5 years to complete the Hoover Dam project.



They Died... At least 96 workers died at the project site. Those who were carried off-site and died later were not counted as project fatalities. A number of those who died were listed as casualties of pneumonia on their death certificates. Note that this would not count as a work-related injury and the deceased worker's family would be entitled to no benefits in such a case!



Claire's Dinner. We decided to splurge, tonight, and Claire ordered a Seared Ahi Tuna Salad. She declared it delicious.



Chuck's Burger. I ordered a Cheese and Bacon Burger with fries. We both had iced tea, which cooled us down perfectly after a warm day. It was 88F by 9:30am and reached 107 as we drove toward Zion. However, by the time we ate the weather was perfect.



The expenses for the day were the highest, yet: $233.21; but this did include $30 each for the tour of the Hoover Dam.

The Democrats are going to change the name of the Hoover Dam. That is the silliest thing I ever heard of in politics . . . Lord if they feel that way about it, I don't see why they don't just reverse the two words. ~ Will Rogers

The American Southwest - From Beatty to Boulder City

This city was originally built to provide housing for workers engaged in the construction of the Hoover Dam. We have no idea why the place is still booming and beautiful, but, I suspect a number of retirees.

View from the Motel. Today was an easy 2.5 hour trip for 143 miles. We stopped only for lunch, to gas up, and to wait in line for the road crew to let our lane pass the stopping point. Although the sign warned us that we could wait up to one-half hour--Groan!--we only had to wait about 12 minutes--Yeah!



Checking Out of the Casino. Here is Claire with her stripped down, space-saving fully equipped travel gear.


In reality, we had a much larger stash to drag along and hoist up to our room each day, including items such as our electric kettle, coffee, mugs, a giant (fully loaded) cooler, containers of muesli and granola, laptops, Kindles, electronic cabling and gear, camera, iPhones, binoculars--don't want them stolen out of the car, Claire's memory foam pillow and yoga mats with Qi Gong DVDs.



Leaving Beatty. I believe the population here is well under 100; here is a typical street scene of this very small NV town.



Typical Desert. Just a little bit of the passing scenery as we slice through NV.



Lake Mead from Our Motel. Once we arrived at our Quality Inn in Boulder City we looked out upon the lake created by the Hoover Dam.



Claire by the Pool. We tried to arrange to stay in motels with pools to compensate for the high temperatures. Today reached 107 F, which is as hot as it has been so far. The humidity in our home town of Davis, CA, is 44%, but it is only 17% here. So far, they also have hot tubs.



Evans Grill. We drove a few minutes up the hill to Old Town to eat at this delightful restaurant. We each had the Seniors Chicken Breast Special; Claire had veggies and Greek salad with hers and I, UNcharacteristically, had cottage cheese and fresh fruit with mine. The straight (non-flavored) iced tea Really hit the spot. As I was quite full, I foolishly passed on dessert in the desert. (But, the Mississippi Mud Pie sounded quite tempting.)



Lake Mead. We missed the spot to stop to take a picture of the Lake on the way to dinner. We did stop on the way back; but, as you can see, it was a little dark by then; it was 6:30pm.



Costs for today: $136--same as yesterday. This includes gas, motel, dinner and ice.

And all around is the desert; a corner of the mournful kingdom of sand. ~ Pierre Loti

On the Road Again - Day 1

Last October we got our Via magazine with a picture of the new Hoover Dam Bypass Bridge (Mike O'Callaghan - Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge), whose construction was almost complete. We immediately decided we wanted to see it. And, since we were so close, why not drive on to the Grand Canyon. Since neither of us has seen either site, and had dreamed of these destinations since childhood, a road trip was born. Oh, and since we were going anyway, why not take in both North and South Rims of the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Zion, Monument Valley, Glen Canyon, Mesa Verde, Canyon de Chelly, Flagstaff, Sedona, Prescott, Joshua Tree and San Simeon--in 4 weeks.


On The Road Again

"We're on Vacation!" This is how Claire always greets me as we begin a new holiday or adventure. Today we covered 435 miles from Davis, CA to Beatty, NV, mostly driving down highways 99, 120 and 95 going in and out of CA and NV, and ending in beautiful downtown Beatty. We could have made better time; but, we opted for the scenic route--and we weren't disappointed.

We went from suburban to urban to forest to desert terrain, within a context of overriding grandeur of scene and scale. I know that Montana is "Big Sky" country; but, Montanans have nothing on Californios. We drove for miles and miles seeing nothing but plains and valleys reaching out to range upon range of rolling mountains. There was oak, sagebrush, granite, mesquite, one coyote roadkill and another live one trotting along through the desert--and the occasional oasis of an agricultural ranch. We did see a few cows in this Western country, but actually too few to mention in more than passing.

The Waving Wheat It Sure Smells Sweet. This is not Oklahoma, but, it sort of looks it from here.

The Desert From the Road. Just part of the varied and multicolored--well, mostly yellow flowers and pink mountains--scenery along the way.

Mono Lake. This is just past the point where we turned south and then east after coming out of Yosemite.

Lunch by the Road. We forgot the bread for our turkey sandwiches! Despite elaborate planning preparations, we drove off without it. Turns out lunch was delicious without it. And, we don't have to worry about what to do with all our stale bread.

The journey, today, took about 9 hours, which is longer than we anticipate for most driving days. We had to make one stop for gas because we were nervous--we were down below a quarter tank and had not seen a gas station for over an hour. We stopped at Esmeralda Market at mile marker 8, Dyer, NV. The clerk was very friendly, cheerfully pointing me toward the restroom--for which I was desperate by this point. This was the cleanest gas station restroom I have seen in 60 years. But, the gas was $4.39 a gallon! This is NV, and we were remote--and glad to have the peace of mind of a full tank.

Government Work. Can you spot what is wrong with this partial image of a government sign?

We were disappointed to learn that our Motel 6 swimming pool is actually in another Casino/Motel about 100 yards back down the road. But, it was walkable, and refreshing--both the pool and the hot tub; best of all, we had the entire place to ourselves. This will also be our dinner venue--they seem to have the only cafe within walking distance. We were shocked to find that we could scarcely breathe in the casino on the way to the restaurant--this was the strongest concentration of the odor of smoke that we had ever encountered.

Claire's Meal

Chuck's Meal

For dinner, Claire planned to have salad and a bowl of chili. The chili came with a half inch layer of melted cheese and tasted like it came out of a can--this after asking for just a light amount of cheese. She forgot to ask for dressing on the side and the Caesar salad came so drenched in sauce that she couldn't eat much more than the chicken. I fared much better, ordering the special--roasted pepper hamburger, medium rare, with deep fried potato chips. It doesn't get much healthier than this. I found it delicious but so filling that I did not have room for dessert at the ice cream parlor on the way back to the motel. This place is destined to become a Denny's--a card at the table informed us of this; I think, sadly, this will be a step up.

Dinner came to $27.56 with tip; the motel was $57.87; gas was $41.48. So, breakfasting at home, purchasing a Senior Lifetime National "Park" pass for $10 in Yosemite and lunching out of the cooler on the way, the day cost us about $136.91. I guess this is going to add up quickly, with a month on the road.

A word on the lifetime pass for seniors: This is good for free entrance for the cardholder and three guests into any National Park, Monument, Forest or Bureau of Land Management property for life--such a deal! (This does not include access to the sovereign domains of Native Americans.) Now, if we can only manage to keep our parks open.

Thanks to the Interstate Highway System, it is now possible to travel across the country from coast to coast without seeing anything. ~ Charles Kuralt

Alaska - Day 11 - The Long Way Home 5/28/2011

We were "all at sea," yesterday, all day. No pictures, no port, no excursions, nothing new, beyond eating, reading, sleeping and people watching. Sorry. [This is included solely for the sake of completeness.]

Today we spent a lot of time waiting in lines in Vancouver, either queuing up to get on the bus to the airport or passing through security checks. I (Chuck) wanted to be sure I did not get the same intense physical search as on the way up, so I took the stabilizing boot off my left foot and put it in my carry-on bag. It worked. Nevertheless, the checks were far more thorough on the return--presumably because another country--Canada--was involved. I was surprised on each end of the trip to find a note in my luggage indicating that my bag had been checked. Claire was spared that indignity.

Vancouver from the Diamond Princess

The highlight of our time in Vancouver was the narrated bus ride through downtown and out to the airport--about 45 minutes. The bus driver-guide was excellent--informative and humorous. At one point, he had an "equipment malfunction" while we slowed down enough [for some of our fellow tourists] to be able to take pictures of buildings and objects left over from the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

The city is lovely and the weather was fine. We had originally discussed staying over, but decided to do that, perhaps, another time. We were sorry to hear that it is one of the most expensive cities in North America. It has a very large Asian community and it may be that enough of them are wealthy expatriates driving up living and housing prices with their purchasing power. According to Sacha Peter, a financial analyst, "...geography, immigration, culture, historical performance, and interest rates are all contributing to a very high degree of real estate price inflation..."

The route to Sacramento on US Airways took us from Vancouver to Phoenix and from there to Sacramento. There were delays, of course, including a problem with our land shuttle, and we did not arrive home until almost midnight. I guess we should have paid more attention to our travel agent's actions. And, we resented the $25 per bag that we each had to pay for our check-in luggage. But, we arrived home safe and sound and ready to continue plans for a month-long driving trip through parts of the American Southwest in September.

Claire was justifiably proud of actually losing a pound on the cruise! This was due to always taking the stairs, walking for an hour each morning, and eating (almost) exclusively off the spa menu. I actually gained 5 pounds; in my defense, let me say that I was unable to walk as far or as fast, due to my foot injury; further, I was unwilling to sacrifice my principles and change my diet to anything other than what I damned well pleased to eat--this was a cruise, after all! Happily, I have lost the 5 pounds again, thanks to no particular regimen and a robust metabolism.

I must comment upon the excellent service we received in almost every instance. We received no towel animals this trip, but our room was always shipshape and our steward was very friendly and responsive. Early on, Claire was uncomfortable on her side of the mattress; but, she had read in a forum about the mattress toppers; we requested one and it was in place the next time we entered the room. We actually thought they should probably replace the mattresses throughout the ship.

The food was quite good and the variety offered was pleasing. It was possible to get any combination on the menu and substitutions were allowed. For example, I frequently asked for two desserts--a main offering and a side dish. We only ate a full meal at the buffet once; we prefer table service for our meals. Although there were two formal dress nights, there was lax enforcement; so our concern over this was not well-founded. I managed to pass with either a shirt with a collar or my black Smartwool long-sleeved shirt with a sports coat. Smart casual standards were in force the rest of the time--I never figured out what that meant; but, I did wear a pair of slacks rather than my customary jeans for all our dinners. On our last night on board the dessert was Baked Alaska! Delicious.

We made a conscious decision to have no alcohol on this trip; we don't need it and don't really miss it. Just as important: there is an automatic surcharge on each already expensive drink. We know of a couple who went on a 10 day Alaskan Cruise, taking along their own case of wine, and still had a bar bill of $800!

There was a first run movie available each night; but, you had to brave the weather to enjoy them. Free blankets, popcorn and soft drinks are provided. We stood and watched a few minutes of Toy Story 3 one night.

There are several outdoor swimming pools and hot tubs. We were tempted to try the hot tubs--we even ordered bathrobes; but, we ultimately declined to face the brisk weather.

One of our favorite activities was walking around and people-watching. We were a little surprised at the ages of the passengers--we were among the younger and trimmer voyagers! There were few younger couples and almost no children.

The daily newsletter, The Princess Patter, was helpful in orienting us to the current activities--entertainment, dress code, activities and generally helpful information.

The tips are conveniently calculated for you at $11.50 per day per person. You are not forced to pay; but, this is a customary and expected expense. I am sure the staff would be hard-pressed to survive without this benefit.

See ya later...

I'm living in L.A. but my heart's in Vancouver. ~ Nicholas Lea
[Apparently, many actors and musicians either work here, wish they did, or wish they didn't.]

Alaska - Day 9 - Ketchikan 5/26/2011

Sunset From the Ship On the Way to Ketchikan

Actually, we got 3 sunsets--each more lovely than the preceding--as the ship moved south and the sunshow varied magnificently, while we viewed the declining orb through different levels of undulating mountains in the Inland Passage.

Ketchikan is the fourth largest city in Alaska and a popular port of call for cruise ships sailing the Inside Passage. It is also the rainiest city in the US, with over 162 inches each year!

Typical Ketchikan Weather

Ketchikan is located on Revillagigedo Island, and fishing, timber, and mining were once the most prevalent occupations. Today, tourism is just about the only thing going on. There are numerous trinket and diamond shops. Many of the buildings still have a turn-of-the-century look, and there are shore excursions; we passed on these.

A River Runs Through It

Creek Street is Ketchikan's historic shopping and entertainment area, and its stilted houses are very picturesque. Like most Inside Passage communities, Ketchikan is not accessible via car, and even its "international" airport is only accessible via a small ferry.

Old Town on Stilts

Central Park

It's a bridge to the future of the people of Ketchikan. ~ Lisa Murkowski, Republican Senator from Alaska
[Dubbed the "Bridge to Nowhere," the bridge in Alaska would have connected the town of Ketchikan (est. population 7,400) with its airport on the Island of Gravina (population 50) at a cost to federal taxpayers of $320 million, by way of three separate earmarks in a highway bill in 2005. It was never built.]