Dave Does Zion....

To me, Zion is the reverse of the Grand Canyon. Instead of looking down from the ridge, one looks up and out from the valley floor. Your neck just swivels from bottom to top and side to side. It is beautiful; especially in the fall light. 


Zion is Utah's oldest national park. It began as a national monument with a much smaller footprint. It was designated as the Mukuntuweap National Monument in 1909 by William Hartley Taft. The area of protection was expanded in 1918 and renamed Zion National Monument. A year later it was designated a national park by the Woodrow Wilson administration. 



Center of Springdale, UT

The last time I had been to Zion was about 18 years ago. Dave has never been to the park. The drive to the SW entry of the park was enough to whet Dave's appetite for calling it a day and getting a room for the night...or two. Springdale, UT is our home for the the next two days! The park is just a mile down the road, making an awesome backdrop for our stay.  

Giant of the Patriarchs

The most popular part of the park is fairly compact. Once in the park, you take a left and drive up the canyon. The road ends in 6 miles at Temple of Sinawava. From there is a short paved walk into the canyon along the Virgin River. Beyond that, if prepared, you can walk the Narrows for quite a ways (16 miles one way).  Prepared means rubber hiking boots, waders as the "trail" is all water and the water is cold, and other appropriate gear. We were not, so we did not wander this part of the park.



The Organ (foreground),
White Throne (left background)

Normally you must take a shuttle up the canyon as cars are not allowed during the busy season. However, the weekday shuttle stops running at the end of October (runs on the weekends through November). We lucked out and had the freedom to roam the park at will as a result. 

 

Canyon reflection in
Middle Emerald Pool

As with many parks that we visited this year, the best way to see many of the park features is to hike. There are many hiking trails in Zion that take you into various canyons that are not visible from the road. We wandered up to the Emerald Pools (lower, middle, and upper) to quite a spectacular view both into the canyon that held the pools and outwards toward the main canyon. 

Virgin River from the Emerald Pools trail

You can also drive through the south end of the park via a 1.1 mile tunnel and out the east side (Zion-Mt. Carmel tunnel rout). For oversized vehicles like Tiny, it requires an escort through the tunnel and an oversize vehicle fee. We'll save that drive for another visit.

View South from Temple of Sinawava

There is another part of the park to the North that requires travel via freeway. The Kolb Canyon visitors center is off Hwy 15. A scenic road that will take you through the area and/or you can hike back into the arch area. The next visit!

We have run into many visitors from other countries that are in awe of our national park system. They are very thankful that our nation had the forethought to set aside so much land that cannot be developed but must remain as it is. I must agree. We have certainly enjoyed visiting many of those sites this year and hope to visit many more during our lifetime.



Great Big Trees! Grand Sequoias...

We started the second day of our venture into Yosemite by way of Oakhurst, which is 30 miles south of Mariposa. This entrance took us to the Mariposa Groves, which is home to some very impressive Grand Sequoias. What a beautiful area of the park! This part of the park was set aside by Abraham Lincoln in 1864, so it has been protected for quite some time. There is another grove in the park, just west of Tioga Pass, which we did not get to this time around. There is also Sequoia NP, which we will not make this trip.

The Grand Sequoias are huge by any measure, some are thicker than 25 ft  in diameter. Evidently their root systems are very sensitive to foot traffic; therefore, you cannot get close to the trees like in other forests as the trees are fenced off. The limbs are absolutely huge....like trees all onto their own. 

Grizzly (left) is just one of the many large trees protected from people. The deadwood around the tree are actually branches that have broke off over time. 

In the early years, the park included a carved a tunnel through two different trees. It was large enough for model T's to drive through; certainly, not for today's vehicles (not that you can get to this by vehicle any longer). The tree to the left is still standing. The other tree fell down in the1960's.

What a beautiful area of the park! If time had permitted we would have spent the entire day in this section hiking all of the trails and looking in awe at these grand trees. However, we had other parts of the park to see as this was our last day in the area. Another day (or 7)! At which time we will come back to Mariposa Grove, Tioga Pass Glacier Point, and the various waterfalls. Way too much to see in 1-1/2 days!

One off the Bucket List - Yosemite Park

Yosemite Park has been on the list of "must see" for a few years. Today is the day! 

We are staying in Mariposa, which is at the beginning of the middle entrance into the park.What better way to start the adventure than to take the shorter route since we were getting a late start.

This entrance brought us into the park via the Merced River valley. Along the way were incredible views from the valley floor up to the many rock formations that are part of this wonderful park. (FYI - there are two large hotels along the way for tourists to stay....bring your own groceries as there is NOTHING around for miles in the way of stores).

However, the real viewing didn't begin into we arrived in the Yosemite Valley.  The first amazing view was El Capitan. OMG! It rises over 3,000 ft from the valley floor, which is already at 5,000 ft. What an impressive monolith. This rock was first climbed in the 1950s. We didn't see climbers on this day, but they are there on a regular basis.

Not to be outdone, the famous half dome sit majestically at the end of the valley. Half dome is where hikers take a long trail to the base of the dome and then climb the dome itself. The climb is a cable route that can get quite crowded. Since I am afraid of heights at best, being in a cable track with hundreds of other people would put me over the edge! (pun intended). So no we did not hike to the base and definitely did not hike the dome.

The fall colors heightened the beauty of the area. Normally, most of the park is closed in November due to snow. However, with the extended drought the entire park has been able to stay open longer. We are so glad we came. Can't wait for tomorrow's trip into the park through the south entrance!  

Happy Birthday to.....

ME! Made it to age 62 upright, in good health, and retired. Trifecta!

Aside from jumping up and signing up for Social Security benefits (not now, thank you...), Dave wanted to know how I wanted to spend my day. Ta Da....another day in Bandon OR so that we could take in the wonderful beach and rocks. This would also be our first time on this trip to stay more than one night in one place. It feels good to not have to rush off in the next morning to a new room and location.

Penny walking the beach

Three hours walking on the beach, admiring the ocean activity, and taking pictures...that was my birthday treat. What's not to like! It was low tide, so we had lots of beach to roam and could easily walk around the multitude of rock formations that were "beached" until the tide rolled in.



 

The general rock formations in the water are known as haystacks. The general lore for this area (Indian and local) has identified the haystacks as Face Rocks. If you look closely, the Indian Maiden's can be seen. 

 




Then there is the not so obvious dog rock (looked like a wizard's hat to us). The dog's tail is in the air. Way in the lower corner is Dave standing next to the Dog's tail just to show how enormous these rocks are. 

I must admit, I will miss being close to the ocean. There is something about the thunder of the waves that puts the world back into perspective.   

The Slow Boat to Tucson

We are not in a hurry. So far, we have averaged about 150 miles a day. Kent to Cannon Beach; Cannon Beach to Yachats; Yachats to Brandon. Nope, not in a hurry at all.

This morning we started our day with a walk-about in Yachats, OR. We love this little village along Hwy 101. The town pretty much sits on the ocean. The rocks are incredible. 

After loading up the truck, we walked across the hwy and strolled along the cliff road, watching the waves crash against the rocks. At one point in our walk, we saw the waves spray up above the roof lines. We found the source.....a blow hole in the rocks right at the ledge. It's pretty weird and awesome to see all at the same time. 
 
On our way back to the truck, we visited a local bakery. They had awesome pastries and breads that are made on site. We indulged in a prosciutto and goat cheese croissant topped with a wonderful herbed salt and an apple/berry tart. There were so many good things to feast our eyes on. Great restraint was deployed to not just feast on it all!

Once on the road, we traveled a little ways (not far.... mind you we are not in a hurry) and landed in Brandon, OR. What a quaint little place! 

The old town area is on the water front, at the end of the jetty. Look what greeted Dave on the railing of the boat dock. The Pelican was definitely not afraid of people! 

One of our concerns is always where to park the motorcycle trailer at the end of the day so that it is not visible from the road. Side street, U-shaped parking lot, parking right outside the door works. 

Of course it must meet the other requirements - clean, queen bed minimum, fridge, coffee pot, close to a pub and grocery store. A breakfast in the morning is nice, but if not available we have our own breakfast foods (and lunch).  

Here is our travel survival kit. We've learned over time that rooms just don't come with enough coffee packets. Or there is no coffee at all in the room. Hence we have our own coffee pot, filters and coffee. Cereal, peanut butter, jelly and assorted other sundries and we manage quite nicely. Don't leave home without It!

New Chapter Begins!

What to do today! Hmmmm, let's walk the beach before we hit the road! Fortunately, the fog was not heavy so the beach was quite clear. Haystack Rock was very visible with the surf swirling around it. 

After walking the beach we visited the Sleepy Monk, a local coffee shop and bakery.  The bacon/blue cheese scone was to die for. (Good thing we only bought one!) This little shop bakes their own goods every day. Worth the calories! Oh, the coffee was good as well. They make their own whip cream for the coffees including chocolate whip cream!

Once on the road, we made the decision to visit the Tillamook Cheese factory. I had no idea that cheese making in this area began in the mid 1800's. There is quite a history to learn about how cheese became so prevalent in the Oregon thanks to some very enterprising and determined pioneers (yes, private businesses did create jobs even back then.....). 

Death by cheese is very possible. (Garlic white cheddar anyone?) Or maybe it is death by ice cream! Both can be accommodated in the visitors area. 

Ended our day at Yachats, a small little town along Hwy 101. A few games of cribbage at the Underground bar, a wonderful fish taco and halibut sandwhich at Luna's, and we were set for the night!