A whirlwind tour of the canyon country was made by Myself and daughter Lauren in early July. Taking two weeks off from her work and busy schedule Lauren made her second visit to Idaho. Her first was when she assisted in the mammoth move from Virginia back over two years ago. After picking her up at the airport (Dad, that cowboy hat looks ridiculous!), we spent two days adjusting to altitude here at Streagle Ranch (4800 ft.). After that it was off to our first stop, Canyonlands National Park. A favorite of Karren's and mine from our 2007 world tour, we made the trip in about 6 hours to Moab, Utah in the hopes of finding an empty campsite at the park (there are only 12). I could only chuckle as we headed for the dry desert when Lauren kept taking pictures of various canyons, mountains and rock formations - what she would soon see would blow away anything she had encountered yet.
What luck! With only four or five sites taken we had the luxury of choice! I especially appreciated the upgraded sites a la the pole shelters added since my previous visit. Having a way to get out of the sun is an essential tool to surviving the high desert in the summer. I love to visit these places that are higher than 7000 feet during the hot months because they keep high temperatures moderate (80's to low 90's). Even the slight drop into the valleys and desert floor results in temps averaging 100 or better. Sleep is much more comfy when in the 50's or 60's as well.
Canyonlands continues to remain my favorite Nat'l Park. If you want to know why I just have to say, "Go there and find out!" The views are superior to virtually anywhere else in the lower 48. Here is a shot of Lauren and me at Mesa Arch, a rather picturesque photo op. It's nice having other tourists around for those times when you want to capture the whole group:
Hard to tell but those mts. in the background still have some snow! We ended our tour of the Moab area after a couple of days that included Arches N.P. and Zack's Pizza (and Laundry) by setting our sights on Mesa Verde, a four hour jaunt into southwest Colorado. We arrived and had absolutely no problems getting a site at the campground. It has over 450 sites and was less than half full.
Mesa Verde is a wonderful place. Lots of history, ruins, terrifying mountain roads, and a relaxed pace that most parks don't come close to matching. We toured all four available (ticketed) ruins over a two day period and managed to avoid the bear that happened to be cruising the campground during mealtimes. We did see him, but he was on the mountain road doing his business - I really mean doing his business (obscure scatological reference).
I have more pics of us in the ruins but here is one that I took of some guy hamming it up in Cliff Palace:
I think those early Americans must have had an issue with completion? Anyway, it is a spectacular place that we spent two days visiting. Here is Lauren pointing out yet another hidden ruin to her rather clueless father:
That's quite a happy expression for a woman that has had one shower in the past week! Water is at a premium in canyon country, but MV has the best shower complex of any N.P. I have visited. Be sure to take advantage of it - we did!
From MV to Grand Canyon is another four hour trip across 3 states, so we left early. Along the way we encountered the highest temps of the trip at Navajo bridge (101 deg.) but immediately began climbing up to the high mesa for the North Rim. Temps there were 30 degrees cooler by the time we found our campsite! A quick camp set-up and we were off to the canyon rim for our visit.
Having seen GC before my comments were, "It's a big ditch with bright colors." You can see most of the North Rim in about two hours. Lauren actually had a similar reaction and we were finished ogling over the views before dinner. Here is an obligatory GC pic:
A beautiful place for sure, but we were off to other places, namely Bryce Canyon. Bryce is another good place to be when the summer heat is upon you, as it is up there at 9000 feet. That's cool weather altitude! We were able to find a campsite there as well although the place was PACKED! Once off onto the trails down in the canyons the crowd thins out and things get more private. I had a heck of a time hauling my large posterior out of said canyons and we ended up staying two nights there, taking one day just to relax in camp. Ruby's Inn certainly makes it more civilized with their lunch buffet and store. I attempted a cobbler from scratch and we stuffed ourselves - at that point I believe anything sweet would have hit the spot.
Then the all important question arises; It's been a week and a half of constant traveling. Are you ready to go to Zion or do you want to head back to Idaho? The consensus was taken and to Idaho we went. I will remember the shower I took when we arrived for a long while. Thus ended the visit of Lauren for this epoch. I will miss her greatly and look forward to the next time I get to spend some quality time together. You can't replace it and you don't like saying good bye either. (sniff...)
In the next installment you'll hear of the epic journey attempted by Karren and Tim on their very rare opportunity for a real vacation. What is work anyway but a bridge between hours of enjoyment?
No comments:
Post a Comment