Saturday, August 25, 2012
Friday, August 24, 2012
Welcome to the Rock!
Arches National Park turned out to be one of my favorite national park visits of the entire trip. It has some of the most striking scenery I saw. The landscape, at times, feels so alien that I felt like I was on another planet. The arches did not disappoint! They were grand, and I regret that we didn't get to see all of them!
An arch we found on the side of the road before even arriving at the park.
The universal sign of the arch!
I think this was the "Courthouse" formation.
Petrified dunes
Balanced Rock
Tunnel Arch
Pine Tree Arch
Landscape Arch
Partition Arch
Navajo arch. Are we done looking at arches yet?
Part of the trail was "primitive" and involved hiking along rock fins.
This was as far as we could travel on the primitive trail.
Awesome rock surrounding Delicate Arch - the most iconic arch in the park.
Delicate Arch
The traditional celebratory hat toss after a long hike.
I'm not sure what this was called but I think it looks like a rock palace!
Thursday, August 23, 2012
House Hunters, Ancient Edition
Yesterday we took a look at some properties in Mesa Verde National Park. Apparently they've been on the market for some time. The open floor plans were impressive, but dirt floors weren't really on our list of "must haves". Also, they needed some upgrades...like indoor plumbing. The views were stunning but the first step out of the front door is a doozy. One big plus was the quiet neighborhood. I think we might put in a low ball offer...
Cliff Palace, built 700 years ago by the Ancestral Puebloan people.
Ancient tic tac toe?
Ray standing next to a Kiva.
If you look close you can see some of the best preserved artwork.
Balcony House
To access these sites there was some tunnel crawling...
...and ladder climbing.
Coyote Village
Far View House
Far View Tower
A New Low for the Trip
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
DUDE, the Grand Canyon totally rocks!
There's a lot to say about the 2.5 days we spent in an around the Grand Canyon. First, it was much cooler and wetter than we expected. We are told that August is monsoon season -- a claim which appears to hold water. Fortunately, we placed our tent on high ground and averted a damp wake-up call on our first full day.
That first day we proceeded directly to the Bright Angel Transportation Desk where we were pleasantly surprised to find that due to a number of cancellations there were several cabins available at Phantom Ranch. Visitors to the canyon are CONSTANTLY warned that hiking down to the river at the bottom of the canyon and back on the same day is not a good idea (it's an intense 17mi round trip), so getting a place to stay at Phantom is a requirement.
With our accommodation secured we hoofed it down the picturesque 7mi South Kaibab trail in 3:21. We felt pretty good about that since the estimate is something like 6 hours. However, we must acknowledge the huge boost we got from the cool weather.
Phantom ranch itself was better than expected. We had a private cabin with air conditioning and were served a delicious meal of stew and cornbread. We attended a ranger talk on the geology of the canyon (Pre-cambrain to present) and learned that DUDE stands for {Deposition, Uplift, Down cutting and Erosion}. Alas, we didn't stay long -- the next morning we headed out at 5:30am to beat the heat.
The return hike up Bright Angel Trail was staggering in more was than one. The 10mi hike was certainly the most challenging single hike either Aubry or I have ever attempted (and this after completing the second-most challenging the day before). We hiked quickly but also took regular breaks downing 2+ liters of water each. At the mark of 4:51 we reached the south rim completing the round trip in just under 24 hours. The feeling in one's legs is not dissimilar from completing a marathon.
Since I doubt anyone is still reading at this point. Here be thar photos:
That first day we proceeded directly to the Bright Angel Transportation Desk where we were pleasantly surprised to find that due to a number of cancellations there were several cabins available at Phantom Ranch. Visitors to the canyon are CONSTANTLY warned that hiking down to the river at the bottom of the canyon and back on the same day is not a good idea (it's an intense 17mi round trip), so getting a place to stay at Phantom is a requirement.
With our accommodation secured we hoofed it down the picturesque 7mi South Kaibab trail in 3:21. We felt pretty good about that since the estimate is something like 6 hours. However, we must acknowledge the huge boost we got from the cool weather.
Phantom ranch itself was better than expected. We had a private cabin with air conditioning and were served a delicious meal of stew and cornbread. We attended a ranger talk on the geology of the canyon (Pre-cambrain to present) and learned that DUDE stands for {Deposition, Uplift, Down cutting and Erosion}. Alas, we didn't stay long -- the next morning we headed out at 5:30am to beat the heat.
The return hike up Bright Angel Trail was staggering in more was than one. The 10mi hike was certainly the most challenging single hike either Aubry or I have ever attempted (and this after completing the second-most challenging the day before). We hiked quickly but also took regular breaks downing 2+ liters of water each. At the mark of 4:51 we reached the south rim completing the round trip in just under 24 hours. The feeling in one's legs is not dissimilar from completing a marathon.
Since I doubt anyone is still reading at this point. Here be thar photos:
Sunset at the big ditch.
Aubry shows off her good side.
Starbucks(R) iced coffees to launch us into the big hike
Aubry poses near a warning sign as usual
Cheaters on the trail (we hate these guys) :P
Ooooh, what now?
Those 360 degree views ... thankfully we brought the wide angle lens
Aubry lunches near some rocks
Where are we going again?
Oh, right.
YOOOU
Our cabin in the woods.
Many mule deer can be seen at the bottom.
It's wide, it's fast, it's muddy, ... it's the Colorado.
Made it!
Yuppers!
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