Names will not be changed for protection of the not-so-innocent, but it has been long enough that my memory may be sketchy (at best.)
On Tuesday morning around 5:45 I stressfully and with great mathematical planning I attempted to load up my car in the most compact way possible to make room for the boys in my car. I drove over to their hotel to pick them up. My cell phone decided that would be a lovely morning to go berserk. I had no ability to call anyone, text, get directions, or relay and meet up with the boys. Luckily, I was on time and they were down in the lobby right as I arrived; this was surprising as I was supposed to let them know when I was on my way. Good timing all around.
Greg, the boys, and I loaded up my car (and we fit, but the person in the back seat had to beware of hazards falling on them every time we took a sharp turn, which on all of our whip-back roads happened often. Max had a "broken pelvis, legs, shattered knees...." before the trip was done. It is amazing how he could move on those shattered bones (I hope you know there was a great deal of exaggerating in those comments. He was fine; no broken anythings.) We then went to grab some breakfast treats at Starbucks and set off. We were on the road before 7 AM.
Our very first stop was at a solar power plant on the border of Nevada and California. It looked like a shimmering lake, in the middle of the desert. There were huge reflective mirrors reflecting light back down onto the solar panels. We attempted to drive as close as possible to them to see what they were. We wound up not getting very close at all, but we got out of the car for a while and took some pictures anyway.
Then, back into the car until we reached Bakersfield, CA. There we stopped at a Walmart Neighborhood Market to get some groceries for our trip. I reminded the boys, several times, that space was very limited and that they should only pick out food for three days. Whatever they thought they could eat: breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks. We had a whole system. One child would pick the hiking activities for the day and the other one got to pick the dinner meal. This worked great, until we went to implement that plan - and due to my own failings I had to mix things up. We worked it out, however, I would like to point out that I still have all 3 of the apples Max thought he would eat, and I have about 10 go-gurt tubes here in Karin's freezer. I have untouched hot dog buns, with the help of the Westerens just finished off a container of pringles... In other words, the three day planning didn't go so well. After getting our "goods" we stuffed them in odd little nooks and crannies in the car and set off again.
We stopped at a CA fruit stand somewhere in the mix that day and I learned the fruit an nuts weren't something the boys really desired. The candy and snacks, were more their thing. Um, we decided we could get that elsewhere, so I was going to just buy some oranges for myself. They were amazing! I went to buy my three little oranges and was informed I couldn't pay for them. The owner then went to get MORE oranges and filled a bag. Then, she handed me a flier and said, just order something for someone for Christmas and wouldn't let me pay! Those oranges have been amazing. I still have a few left, but I have loved them. Does anyone need fruit for Christmas?
Finally, we bypassed any of our other stops because we had eaten Subway sandwiches for lunch and were no longer needing a snack or ice cream. I thought that we were very close to our campground when we reached a candy store in Three Rivers (according to Gerty we were only 5 minutes away). I told the boys at that time that when we finished hiking the next day, we could take our trip into town for a treat. They likes that plan, so we pressed on. We entered Sequoia National Park about 4 PM. We stopped at what they term the "Foothills Visitor's Center" to look around and read some signs. It was at that time that I realized our campground was through a whole mess of whip-back roads. I was calling numerous speeding drivers "idiots" and feeling quite green around the gills by the time we finally pulled into our campground. I would truthfully be very happy to never drive on whip-back roads again!
The boys and I decided that we should probably walk around and see the General Sherman tree since it was on the way. We hadn't been out of the car much since lunch and I thought a walk would do us good. Johnny was very nervous that it would be too late; I have no idea what it would be too late for. He is extremely cautious about everything. I have no idea if he just didn't want to take the 1 miles hike, or if he thought I would get lost in the dark, or if he was afraid he wouldn't have time to build a boat at camp, or . . . I don't know, but Max and I had to really convince him that we should do this while we were there. He agreed reluctantly, but I think enjoyed it when we got going.
This, however, was my first experience of Max with a camera. I believe prior to us leaving the parking lot he had taken about 25 photos. To quote Johnny, "He already has his 100 pictures taken." The trees were awe inspiring and I loved the fact that he was interested, however, by the time we got to the VERY FIRST real photo stop, he could no longer locate his lens cover for the camera. We doubled back; we searched; we looked. We went all the way back to the car. I do not know where that lens cap went, but John was quick to point out to me (and only me) that Greg had mentioned that it was OK if Max causes some damage to the camera. He wanted him to have the learning experience of taking photos and caring for the equipment. I didn't get too stressed out at that stage, but I was sad to lose the lens cover. Oh well, we started over again and made our way through the massive giant sequoia trees down to the General Sherman tree and back to the car.
By that time, we had about 25 minutes to our campground, but we didn't know that at the time. We pulled into camp about 8 PM. We learned that our tent site was WAY up on top of a hill. We had to lug all of our supplies up the hill to the spot, but then even at that we didn't have a tent platform like every other site that existed. John and I liked a spot that pretty much covered part of a trail, but Max observed an equally sloping site that wasn't on the trail. His spot made more sense, so we set up the tent. The boys were great assistance. We had the tent up and all of our HEAVY gear pulled up that hill quite quickly. I told the boys that I didn't want to pull out the stove to cook that night, so we all just ate snacks or lunchables or whatever for supper. We were all too tired to even sit by the fire that night, so we just packed everything into the bear box and went to sleep.
That was the night I learned that Johnny grinds his teeth and sleep talks/moves/communicates. Sleep was in rather short supply. Oh, Max had also eaten almost an entire tub of pringles by himself (a mega tube nonetheless); he complained that his stomach hurt some that night. In the morning I suggested that we limit the chip intake from there on out.
The next day, was my first morning with chill in the air. I made a fire for the boys to warm up beside and pulled out breakfast for everyone. At that time I realized that we desperately needed more ice in the cooler to keep the foods safe. So, we drove first over to Kings Canyon, where they were out of ice. We then had to back-track and drive down into Sequoia again to get some ice. We did some shopping at the visitor's center and got the boys some junior ranger books (um, I think I was more into that than they were - as will become evident as this narrative continues.) It was late to mid morning by the time we hauled that ice all the way up the hill to the bear box and got everything situated for the day.
Max was in charge of planning our hikes that day. He wanted to hike Mist Falls, which was an 8 mile hike that started at the END of the King's Canyon road. We had to go all the way through the whole park to get there - all those windy roads...ugh. My teddy bear, Ronnie spoke for me as he complained about the twisting and turning and new to me, his lack of oxygen at the high altitude. Apparently he needed an inhaler.
To my sadness, and Max's, we were completely unable to make it over to the Mist Falls area until about 2 in the afternoon, or later, and it was quite warm by that time. John wanted his Mac and Cheese with hot dogs for supper, but if we took an 8 mile walk AND drove all the way back to camp for supper it would again be 8- 9 PM before we got there! I talked the boys out of the 8 mile hike, which made Johnny VERY HAPPY! We opted to hike about 5 miles along a meadow and along a rushing flood stage river to some waterfalls. It was a beautiful hike. Many pictures were taken, hankies were dipped into the raging waters when I said it was safe enough (both boys I am sure believe that I am TOO CAUTIOUS and I am sure they didn't appreciate my frequent reminders that we were about 3 hours away from emergency rooms, so some added thought thought should go into some of the climbing and jumping endeavors) and an adventure was had. At the end of the hike, I managed to talk the boys into eating burgers at the nearby lodge (discussing all the while that cherries don't have protein nor do chips and crackers - or nachos) and getting an ice cream treat there. I failed at getting them back to the candy store in Three Rivers, but they still got ice cream.
We then drove back to our campground where Max hung around in the hammock for a while and then pronounced he was TIRED! He went to bed. John roasted one marshmallow over the fire and decided he was tired too. We all turned in early that night and even sleeping on the sloped hard ground felt good.
The following day was to be our final full day at Sequoia/Kings - Dorst Creek. I told the boys that I would like to NOT drive all day long. We took the shuttle bus system around into the Sequoia National Park. We hiked a 2 mile loop up in some beautiful meadows - climbing on fallen trees and seeing yellow bellied marmots. The number of people up in the meadow was fewer than other places, so I really enjoyed the freedom we had to play there. The only downside of walking up there was that John wanted to ENSURE that we didn't walk too far yet Max wanted to explore. Then, disaster of disasters, Max's camera battery died. I was very sad for him, but we didn't have access to ANY WAY to charge it, as far as I was aware. He knew his dad had wanted him to charge it every night, but in a tent that is hard to do.
John's second stop for us, after the meadow was to climb to the top of Moro Rock. This was one of the highest points in the park. It offered views in all directions. There was a CRAZY amount of people just in a line waiting to climb. I had to remind a few times that we couldn't just charge in front of people that were already waiting to go where we were trying to go. After just a few reminders, however, both boys started to learn the trail ediquette that most adults could learn. While on the top, I knew that Max wasn't super happy about something; to this moment I don't know if he was tired, hungry, or sad that his battery had died on his phone. He never once complained, but I knew something wasn't quite right. John, on the other hand, mentioned that while he loved the hike the height made him a little cautious. He is not a fan of heights, so this was a pretty big deal for him!
Once down from the top, where there was absolutely NO POSSIBLE place to have our lunch (which was what the boys wanted to do) we found a log and had our lunch. All of our adventurous spirit and good attitudes returned after that.
We boarded the bus at that point and went to explore the "Congress Trail." We did the full loop, which John attempted to talk us out of many times yet he still had the energy to climb almost every rock and stump around.
We went back earlier to camp that night. We had Max's meal (fettuccine) and had some smores when done. We read stories around the fire and the boys played catch some.
The following morning we had to pack up everything and carry it ALL down to our car. I think it took us until almost 11 AM to get out of the campground and on the road up to Yosemite. On the way out of the park, however, we did stop at a Ranger station so the boys could turn in their books and get their junior ranger badges. The only time they worked on them was prior to breakfast in the morning. For me, it was a time where they were sitting still, asking questions, and busy. I thought it was great, but I think they thought it was homework. I will say, however, Max wrote a VERY FUNNY letter about his odd aunt. :)
We drove North in CA until about 1 PM when we stopped for groceries and lunch in Fresno, CA. This was the very first time we had any sort of cell phone service the whole time in CA, so we called the boys' mom to check in. We also got any remaining important groceries. I learned some very valuable lessons the prior three days in Sequoia: 1. I must eat EVERYTHING - I even gave Johnny a hard time because he took one bite out of his "favorite" jerky and threw it away because it was old and hard. Well, I told him that just because it wasn't perfect didn't mean it was garbage. The poor boy looked at me with huge eyes and tried very politely to inform me that it hadn't been refrigerated so it was bad. I scoffed at him and thought I'd try one myself. HA! Um, can you say drier than shoe leather? I had to throw the whole bag away. I guess the heat near the grand canyon, and I less than perfectly sealed bag did those jerky pieces in. NO MORE. I told him I was sorry for giving him a hard time. 2. Crushed pringles can't be eaten. 3. Crushed zebra cakes can't be eaten....basically, crushed foods can't be eaten. We had to be very careful when packing our food so it would remain perfect for consumption. Yeah, that doesn't happen in my world, but I will try to learn to do that for them! Anyway, I got tired of the pringles and zebra cake struggles so I bought travel snack packs for them and that solved some of the problems.
We got up to our campground near Yosemite (again through MANY twisting and turning roads) about 6 PM. Because I had purchased lunch for the boys in Fresno I asked if they would be content to eat snacks/lunch foods for supper. They were happy with that. Then, after setting up camp we had a discussion. We saw how long it took to tear down and get on the road that morning and I realized that it would be VERY hard to get on the road and all the way into San Francisco for the boys' flight home on Monday. The campground we were at had a river to play in, mini golf (which was so poorly maintained that the boys and I called it inim flog to make it a different game all together), pool tables, tether ball, etc. It was also supposed to have cell service and internet. HA! Johnny wanted clean laundry and Max needed his camera charged, so I asked if they could play out at the sports things so that I could work on some of that. I also needed to use some of the time to search for a hotel room a bit closer to San Fran making it easier to get to the airport. ON top of that, none of us had access to showers until this point. It had been three dirty sweaty days and I had two boys with me who had marshmallow and dirt on their faces - and didn't really seem to "NEED" a shower to stay happy. I had told them I wanted everyone showered before bed, but when we saw the terrible conditions of the shower rooms, and felt the CHILL in the air after I finally figured out how to get a hotel reservation (1.5 hours of trying to use internet that was there and then trying to use a pay phone to discover that the kind staff in the lobby would let me use their phone.) I finally managed to get a reservation for us and collected the boys to head us back to bed.
The following morning Johnny got to pick what he wanted to do. We all agreed that we would drive into Yosemite Valley. We wound up hiking up to the top of the lower Yosemite Falls. This was a lot further than John wanted to go, but they hadn't labeled the stop he had wanted us to stop at. We just kept going and had a snack up there. Upon getting down to the valley floor again, we did some shopping and looking around, but then decided we were done! We went back to our campground for the boys' version of olympic games.
While I made John's Mac and CHeese they boys played down in the river (they had all left their bathing suits in Las Vegas, so since we hadn't showered anyway I told them to just wear the clothes they had on.) They then came out to change and warm up some before we started the games. I was handedly defeated in mini golf, and squashed in the nose with tether ball - and again defeated there. I was also defeated in pool and finally I did win in shuffleboard. I could only do ONE THING!
After the major defeats, it was time for bed!
The next morning I promised the boys a mega breakfast. I made eggs, bacon, and pancakes for them before we broke camp and drove over to some town, whose name I have momentarily forgotten, between Yosemite and San Fran. We got a hotel for the night there. We checked in rather early, spent some time in the pool (blowing up my air mattress for the first time in the trip), ordered pizza, and had a movie night/pizza party in the hotel room. It was wonderful!
Monday morning we were in the car by 5 AM (significantly easier to do from a hotel room than from a campground) and we drove to a cloudy, COLD, and overcast San Francisco. We drove our way first to the Golden Gate Bridge. The boys rested in the car. It was a very quiet car ride, but I'm not sure they slept much. John was cold and NOT excited about us visiting and taking pictures of the bridge. He would have been fine with us spending about 5 minutes there, but then he wanted to be done. Max and I kept the poor boy out for about an hour and he wasn't pleased. I had intended to take them to see and feel the ocean, but it really was very frigid. They opted to just go to the airport and rest there. Max got Chinese food and John got something at Wendy's. We sat in the food court until I could take them to their gate. Because they were unaccompanied minors, they had to board the plane last. I thought they would have a lot of questions about the experience, but they seemed quite confident and excited about the whole endeavor. I was nervous sending them off, but it helped knowing that it was a direct flight home to MN, where their dad would be waiting for them.
Friday, July 14, 2017
Monday, June 26, 2017
Monday, June 26th
Wow! I don't even know how to describe my last couple of days. The imagery going through my mind, figuratively speaking and literally speaking, is astounding. I think it really was an accomplishment to hike down into the Grand Canyon and come back up. I may not have done it as a "rim to rim" hike, but I can say that I have done it.
I really didn't do a whole lot on Saturday after posting and catching up. I sat by the pool a while, but there really were a lot of bugs in/on the water and buzzing my head. There were enough clouds in the sky that I can't say I was super hot, so I just enjoyed reading by the pool. That was enough for me. After that, I walked the one mile trail down to the caverns building to order supper (which to the AZ time people was a late lunch, for me early supper). I guess it must have been about 2 PM for them, but it my mind I was pushing it to 3:30 or so. All I know is the food was NOT prepared by me, so again I was pleased with it. I walked back to my hotel room, showered and packed up all of my supplies for the trip into the canyon. I loaded as much as I could into the car and then called it a night. I think I did actually succeed in falling asleep by about 7:30 PM. That's good because I had an alarm set to go off at 2:00 AM. I woke up at about 1:30 AM and decided it was the Lord's prompting for me to get up. I was concerned about the heat and didn't want to hike in the middle of the HOT sun. Forecasts said that Supai (the town down in the canyon) was supposed to hit temps of 110.
So, by about 1:45 AM on Sunday morning I was in my car and pulling out of the caverns parking lot. I hadn't gone more than three miles on Indian Road 19 (or whatever one I was on) when I saw my first Elk. Their eyes do NOT glow at night like deer. This big hulk of an animal was standing right in the road! I was supposed to be able to drive 50 - 55 MPH on that road most of the way, but I couldn't make myself do it. I had to slam on the breaks to prevent hitting about 4 - 5 bunnies and I ended up seeing at least 2 confirmed Elk. If I had written this earlier I would have said 5, however, on the way out today I learned the there are free roaming cattle along that road. Some of the huge beasts that were lurking next to my car were maybe cows, but I thought I saw more sets of antlers. I just can't say with certainty.
Given that start tot he trip, I was more than excited when I actually reached milepost 60 which was supposed to be Hualapai Hilltop, or the starting point for this hike. I don't know how to pronounce that first word so from the start of the day on I came to think of it as hallelujah hilltop. Hallelujah I made it that far! As I approached the trail head there were cars parked all along the road starting a good half mile out. It was a sea of cars; people sleeping in their cars; people strapping on their lights to start the descent (it was pitch dark!); empty cars because people were down in the canyon. All I know is it was hard to find a safe parking place, but alas, I found one! I made use of the biffy at the top of the hill (which wasn't as bad at that time as all the postings said it would be).
Then, it was time to set out - in the dark - with my headlamp for guidance. Can I tell you what a daunting feeling it is to know and understand that I am descending into the canyon, but all I can see is about a 6 square foot radius of light in front of me? Your spacial awareness tells you things that you can't see. I could feel when I was enclosed in a canyon and I could obviously tell when I was going down switchbacks, but for me . . . that isn't something that I think is a super wise choice. I had to decide between hiking in the dark or hiking in the heat. I decided since I knew I wouldn't be on the trails alone, dark was better than heat. There are a TON of bats in that canyon and their eyes DO GLOW in the light. Very eerie!
I was cautious with my movements and can honestly say that I didn't have any concerns going down (as far as finding the trail was concerned). I was curious what I would see when I returned the next day, however, since I didn't know what I was traveling through.
The sun started to come up around 4:50 AM and I was able to turn off my headlamp. (That was almost 2 full hours of travel in the dark, however.) It was beautiful, since I was traveling East, to watch the sun come up through the canyon. I realized (well, I understood this due to just using my spacial senses) that I was traveling through a narrow canyon for part of the journey down. I didn't have a wide view of sky, but I did have some.
I made it all the way down to Supai (the village) by about 5:45 AM. All hikers are required to check into the tourist office, which opens at 6 AM (or whenever they decide to show up for work.) About 6:30 someone showed up and opened the office for us. He had my reservation, no problem, but wanted photo ID to allow me to check in. HA! I hadn't taken any more than I needed. I told him that I had a credit card with my name on it and that was about it. He said that would work and I was greatly relieved. No way on earth was I going to hike 8 miles back UP the canyon to get my ID. Uff da!
Anyway, after registering, I had to continue to walk through "town." Actually, while walking through town it, hmmmm...how do I put it nicely. I don't think I can. I gathered that the natives living down there were rather impoverished. They had trash heaps in the yards. Homes were run down. All the roads were that dusty film and I suppose that makes sense. There are no roads for vehicles. The only way they could get around was via horse. Almost all of the homes had horses in the yards. Many of them made their living by shuttling luggage up/down the canyon for tourists. No tourist transportation was an option, unless by helicopter.
Oh speaking of the helicopter. While waiting for the visitor center to open I visited with a group of about 5 college aged boys who were also waiting. None of them intended to hike back out of the canyon. They said it would be "too hard." They were talking about how the helicopter is "first come - first serve." People just start forming a line to catch it in the mornings, but they can be waiting until late in the day before they get their ride. Worth it for a lift and $80. I toyed with the idea, but that's all the further it got, especially when I didn't even hear a helicopter in the canyon until almost 2 PM that day. Nope. I didn't want to resort to that unless I needed it!
Back to the village. I wandered through town and stopped at the local school to use the public restroom. It was a nice novelty to have running water one last time when I didn't expect it. I then looked in the one and only store in town. I wanted to buy a post card and send it home because the only mail in town is the last remaining pony express route in the USA. I had brought a pen and stamps just for that purpose, but alas no post cards were sold. I then walked down to the lodge to see if they had post cards; that sounds like something they would sell at a lodge, right? Nope. No post card there. I only brought post card stamps too, otherwise I would have bought an envelope and just sent my map of the village out just to say I had pony express mail. I missed that chance.
My next stop was the local Christian Church. It had a sign in front that said "Visitor's Welcome." The serviced wasn't until 9:30 AM and I was sitting there with my full back pack a good 2 miles from my campground still. Was it worth it to wait 2 hours for church or should I press on. I KNEW I would NOT be walking BACK for church no matter what. I did wait and dilly dally for a while, but eventually decided that I would listen to a podcast of Chip Ingram later that day instead. I think the Lord understood, but it would have been a neat experience to go to church there. I rather regret that choice.
I continued the last 2 miles to my campground. Along the way I got my first views of some of the waterfalls. Navajo Falls were the first ones and I could only view them from up high. They had a lot of signs warning about the danger of descending to the base of the falls. With my backpack (which was obviously a pain to me by this time since I've mentioned it twice. It may not have been 35 pounds, but it was heavy and my shoulders were the only parts of my body that hurt) I wasn't about to do that anyway. The next falls, which were right outside the campground, were Havasu Falls themselves. It was one major water fall (probably the highest my eyes have seen, that I remember anyway) and it was glacial blue. I wondered the whole walk why on earth they were glacial blue like that (limestone in the water). The pools were roiling with the current from the falls and were already quite full of tourists down there playing. One group was doing yoga with a karaoke machine of sorts. It was very loud and distracting. I decided to come back later - after getting rid of the backpack!
I continued down the rest of the hill and entered camp. We had to walk through the burrow/horse pen to enter the campground. There were sites almost immediately to my left. They were shaded, near a water source and near a biffy. I decided that since I was leaving early in the morning I would rather have those conveniences than trapsing through the whole campground (which was about a half mile long running all along the canyon wall and the river). I chose a site and set up my hammock and bug screen almost immediately. I then set off with only a bottle of water to carry now to visit Mooney Falls on the other side of the campground.
As walking through the campground I saw that people were camping right by the river, some stringing hammocks OVER the river. Some had their own private wading pools right by their campsite. The downside of that, however was the constant sound of running water. Due to the speed that water travels any time that river is nearby we can hear it. Even at my remote donkey spot I could hear the rushing of the waters (but not enough to make me continually need to go to the bathroom.)
As I excited the campground on the far side, immediately I approached another cliff and saw that it was Mooney falls. Equally beautiful, but much quieter (fewer people). Again, frequent signs were posted saying that we descended at our own risk. I went down a ways and then decided that I needed to NOT do foolish things to get hurt. I didn't go all the way down, but rather took my pictures and came back up. They also had many signs posted saying that single travelers were not permitted to travel down to Beaver Falls. Those that were going needed to tell people when they were going and strongly adhere to the time they said they would get back. I guess it was a much more "challenging" walk down to those falls. While I would have liked to see them, I decided to follow the rules or suggestions. Instead, I went back to my hammock to take a nap.
I think I slept for a couple of hours and awakened in a pool of sweat! While where was a breeze blowing, during my nap the sun had poked through my shade and was heating my little cocoon along with the air around me. I decided to move sites; it is a lot easier to move a hammock and backpack than it is to move a tent! I tried two other spots and settled back on the second spot I tried. I then had some lunch and opted to walk back over to Havasu Falls for the afternoon. I didn't bring my floatie as I decided I was close enough to the falls that if I really wanted it I could just go back to get it. I did walk all the way down to the pools at the bottom of the falls. I walked in and got wet up to my knees, but how that water is so chilled, I do not know! It was cold. Because of the massive spray from the waterfall, and the wind, almost everyone was getting a constant cooling spray wherever we sat anyway. I decided that was enough. I must have sat and people watched for about an hour or more.
At that point, I found myself thinking, "Well now what?" I was done. I ALMOST decided to just hike back out right then and there. I was awake. It was kind of cloudy (however, the moment I left the cooling spray of the waterfall and got out on the cliff I realized that the sun was indeed beating down pretty hard and hot at that time.) I had to fight with my own desire to be done and hike out several different times that day. The winning thought was, if I hike out now it will be dark. I would have to drive that highway with the Elk again in the dark and NO WAY was I doing that again. I had also paid for the campsite. I didn't want to give that up to be homeless for a night.
So, I read my book and finished it. Then I listened to a Chip Ingram podcast and finally ate something for supper. I then decided I might as well attempt to go to bed (oh I also think I had another nap in there before supper). I had a hard time turning off my thoughts and falling asleep that night, but eventually I did. I awoke on my own about 2:17 again (about...and I give you that exact number.) I quickly got myself packed up and used the biffy prior to heading out. I had seen a couple leave when I got up and another couple was leaving along with me. There were two girls leaving right behind me. I thought that at least I wasn't out in the dark all alone.
After the first big hill I kind of lost everyone. I wandered that road to Supai with great caution. I knew there were drop offs, right off the cliff to my right and who knows what lurking in the brush to my left. I had pulled out a solar lantern to carry and I was using my headlamp, but even at that it was more concerning to try to see well enough to decipher the right trail. Look for the horse poop. That was the motto of the morning. I only had to turn around once in the trial to Supai. Once coming into Supai, I met up with another couple that stayed with me for a while. We talked about the need to follow the horse poop, but even at that with the extreme dark, and unfamiliarity with the trail we had to turn around a few times. We never went far before knowing we were off. I heard someone saying as they descended that morning, "There really isn't much concern with getting lost. You just have the one trail." I wanted to say, "Yes, that is very true, but finding that trail is a lot more challenging in the pitch dark with only a tiny headlamp." I stayed with that couple until we entered the first main canyon area. From there, it was supposed to be easier to stay on trail, so I got ahead of them again. (They were carrying more in their packs than I was and it slows you down. I know that!)
I found myself praying a lot. Occasionally I wondered if I should just stop and sit until the sun came out to show me the way, but then I realized the whole reason I was doing it that early was because there is no sun protection on the switchbacks up to the top. That last and hardest stretch would be very hard by mid morning, and I didn't want that. I wanted to stay as shaded in and cool as possible. So, I prayed for wisdom, open eyes, sturdy feet. I also prayed for the sun to come up quickly! I realized that it was kind of a benefit to not see what I was hiking because I realized that the uphill, well, there was a LOT of uphill for me happening on the return. Basically, it is uphill for all 10 miles and for some reason I hadn't realized how much that was until doing it. I only got turned around once on my own, but again I caught it very quickly. I backed up again and continued to pray for the horse poop. :) What an exciting feeling it was to meet the first group of descending hikers. It made me realize that I was on the right trail AND I was getting closer to the end.
The sun came up about 45 minutes after meeting that first group of morning hikes, and I met up with several more after that. In the dark the morning before, I had not been able to see what I was doing with the switchbacks, but I could clearly feel that I first went one direction with them (mainly facing north on the side of the canyon I suppose) and then in my mind I walked for a while and had a second set of switchbacks that faced east - then I kept facing east the whole rest of the way to Supai. So on the way back today I kept thinking - 2 sets of switchbacks . . .2 sets. I forgot, or was completely unaware of the massive uphill sections I still needed to travel prior to getting to those switchbacks. In the daylight it was plain to see that the switchbacks didn't even start until I was over 3/4 of the way up the canyon wall!
There was a beacon way up on a building in the parking lot on hallelujah hilltop. On the descent I had talked to some people that said it was a very reassuring site to see that light and know they were heading the right way, but that it was frustrating because it made them think they were at the end and still they had 3 miles left to go! True. While it was brighter for me, I could see that beacon (until it got too light and it got turned off). I asked some people how far I was from the switchbacks and they said, "Oh maybe 20 minutes." In my mind, I was thinking around the bend! HA!
Eventually, I inched my way up to the top. Hallelujah indeed! Inched isn't exactly true. I realized I did all 10 miles back up in about 4.5 hours. I was back at my car by 6:30 AM! I had wanted a hamburger and french fries at a little place on route 66, but realized that probably couldn't happen at such an early time. No matter what I was happy to be back up to my car. In hind-site, I wanted to go get my camera (at the last minute, I decided the camera would be too heavy to hike with on this trip and I left it in the car.) to take a photo of the sunrise over the canyon I had hiked, but I think I forgot about that plan. I'm pretty sure I did not take that photo. Oh well, I took one in my mind's eye.
From there, I uneventfully (unless you count several cows and a badger) drove my way off the indian highway band back onto route 66. I grabbed something more substantial for breakfast at a gas station (MN may have kwik trips, but they have Mavericks in the the south. They are good!) Once the sun had come up I saw that my hands were just muddy-dirty (my backpack had fallen on the ground overnight so I had tried to clean my water bag and probably dirtied my hands then and during the hike), my legs and ankles were all covered with dirt/dust, and I was a sweaty smelly mess. I didn't feel right going into Las Vegas still looking like that, so I cleaned myself up some (and put in my contacts) in the Mavericks gas station. It helped me feel a little more presentable.
I then proceeded to drive all the way to Las Vegas. My GPS (good Gerty) took me all the way to my hotel. I saw it and then turned her off, but I should have listened more to her. I am staying at Circus Circus. There are valet parking lots, bus parking lots and a few self-parking lots. I had no idea where to even go, so I just found a parking place and proceeded to take my laptop, purse, and toiletry bag with me thinking that I could take a shower before needing to get anything else. Well, after parking, I saw a sign that said check - in on other side of the building. So, with my shoulders sore after carting around my backpack two days in a row, I had to try to find a way to cart those bags (oh and one of them broke while walking!) all the way around the building in the 100+ degree weather and traffic. I trudged my way along and finally got to the correct entrance (only after following the wrong sign and walking at least 50 yards further than needed and then back-tracking that distance). I then got funneled into a line to wait to check in/check out. I pulled my bags along and stood there. Finally, glory - be, I got to go up to check in. There was a room ready. No, I didn't want to upgrade. I just want a clean, cool, dry bed to sleep in!
"Do you have your photo ID?"
What? I haven't had my photo ID with me at all during these national park visits because I need it to accompany my now bent (due to excessive heat) and warped National Parks Pass. I keep it in my car so I can grab it easily at the check-in gates. Sigh. No, now I have to trudge all the way back to my car - all around the building with my bags....I started out the door and headed to my car when I remembered that I was carrying my passport in my computer bag! Phew! I turned around and tried again. This time I got in and was told that I can move my car to park over nearer my hotel room!
I drug my current belongings upstairs and then went to move my car closer. Upon getting into my hotel room I immediately took a shower/bath and then proceeded to take about an hour long nap. It is amazing that the world looks a lot more comfortable after a little extra sleep and being clean! YAY!
Once I woke up, my brother-in-law and I connected and I decided to drive over the their hotel so I could talk with him some before he leaves tomorrow. The kids were swimming and having fun there. I didn't even take the time to grab my cell phone or my suit. I just left (they were in a time crunch to get to a show here in Vegas tonight. They needed to do that AND grab something to eat, so I hurried out.) After fighting traffic and the congestion with that (and going with them to eat, but not buying anything there) I am happy to be back safely in my hotel room. I may try to find something here to eat and then get ready for bed. Tomorrow will be an early morning (5 AM) because I hope to load up the boys and head out by 6:00. Next stop, CALIFORNIA! Wait, it should be California here we come!
I really didn't do a whole lot on Saturday after posting and catching up. I sat by the pool a while, but there really were a lot of bugs in/on the water and buzzing my head. There were enough clouds in the sky that I can't say I was super hot, so I just enjoyed reading by the pool. That was enough for me. After that, I walked the one mile trail down to the caverns building to order supper (which to the AZ time people was a late lunch, for me early supper). I guess it must have been about 2 PM for them, but it my mind I was pushing it to 3:30 or so. All I know is the food was NOT prepared by me, so again I was pleased with it. I walked back to my hotel room, showered and packed up all of my supplies for the trip into the canyon. I loaded as much as I could into the car and then called it a night. I think I did actually succeed in falling asleep by about 7:30 PM. That's good because I had an alarm set to go off at 2:00 AM. I woke up at about 1:30 AM and decided it was the Lord's prompting for me to get up. I was concerned about the heat and didn't want to hike in the middle of the HOT sun. Forecasts said that Supai (the town down in the canyon) was supposed to hit temps of 110.
So, by about 1:45 AM on Sunday morning I was in my car and pulling out of the caverns parking lot. I hadn't gone more than three miles on Indian Road 19 (or whatever one I was on) when I saw my first Elk. Their eyes do NOT glow at night like deer. This big hulk of an animal was standing right in the road! I was supposed to be able to drive 50 - 55 MPH on that road most of the way, but I couldn't make myself do it. I had to slam on the breaks to prevent hitting about 4 - 5 bunnies and I ended up seeing at least 2 confirmed Elk. If I had written this earlier I would have said 5, however, on the way out today I learned the there are free roaming cattle along that road. Some of the huge beasts that were lurking next to my car were maybe cows, but I thought I saw more sets of antlers. I just can't say with certainty.
Given that start tot he trip, I was more than excited when I actually reached milepost 60 which was supposed to be Hualapai Hilltop, or the starting point for this hike. I don't know how to pronounce that first word so from the start of the day on I came to think of it as hallelujah hilltop. Hallelujah I made it that far! As I approached the trail head there were cars parked all along the road starting a good half mile out. It was a sea of cars; people sleeping in their cars; people strapping on their lights to start the descent (it was pitch dark!); empty cars because people were down in the canyon. All I know is it was hard to find a safe parking place, but alas, I found one! I made use of the biffy at the top of the hill (which wasn't as bad at that time as all the postings said it would be).
Then, it was time to set out - in the dark - with my headlamp for guidance. Can I tell you what a daunting feeling it is to know and understand that I am descending into the canyon, but all I can see is about a 6 square foot radius of light in front of me? Your spacial awareness tells you things that you can't see. I could feel when I was enclosed in a canyon and I could obviously tell when I was going down switchbacks, but for me . . . that isn't something that I think is a super wise choice. I had to decide between hiking in the dark or hiking in the heat. I decided since I knew I wouldn't be on the trails alone, dark was better than heat. There are a TON of bats in that canyon and their eyes DO GLOW in the light. Very eerie!
I was cautious with my movements and can honestly say that I didn't have any concerns going down (as far as finding the trail was concerned). I was curious what I would see when I returned the next day, however, since I didn't know what I was traveling through.
The sun started to come up around 4:50 AM and I was able to turn off my headlamp. (That was almost 2 full hours of travel in the dark, however.) It was beautiful, since I was traveling East, to watch the sun come up through the canyon. I realized (well, I understood this due to just using my spacial senses) that I was traveling through a narrow canyon for part of the journey down. I didn't have a wide view of sky, but I did have some.
I made it all the way down to Supai (the village) by about 5:45 AM. All hikers are required to check into the tourist office, which opens at 6 AM (or whenever they decide to show up for work.) About 6:30 someone showed up and opened the office for us. He had my reservation, no problem, but wanted photo ID to allow me to check in. HA! I hadn't taken any more than I needed. I told him that I had a credit card with my name on it and that was about it. He said that would work and I was greatly relieved. No way on earth was I going to hike 8 miles back UP the canyon to get my ID. Uff da!
Anyway, after registering, I had to continue to walk through "town." Actually, while walking through town it, hmmmm...how do I put it nicely. I don't think I can. I gathered that the natives living down there were rather impoverished. They had trash heaps in the yards. Homes were run down. All the roads were that dusty film and I suppose that makes sense. There are no roads for vehicles. The only way they could get around was via horse. Almost all of the homes had horses in the yards. Many of them made their living by shuttling luggage up/down the canyon for tourists. No tourist transportation was an option, unless by helicopter.
Oh speaking of the helicopter. While waiting for the visitor center to open I visited with a group of about 5 college aged boys who were also waiting. None of them intended to hike back out of the canyon. They said it would be "too hard." They were talking about how the helicopter is "first come - first serve." People just start forming a line to catch it in the mornings, but they can be waiting until late in the day before they get their ride. Worth it for a lift and $80. I toyed with the idea, but that's all the further it got, especially when I didn't even hear a helicopter in the canyon until almost 2 PM that day. Nope. I didn't want to resort to that unless I needed it!
Back to the village. I wandered through town and stopped at the local school to use the public restroom. It was a nice novelty to have running water one last time when I didn't expect it. I then looked in the one and only store in town. I wanted to buy a post card and send it home because the only mail in town is the last remaining pony express route in the USA. I had brought a pen and stamps just for that purpose, but alas no post cards were sold. I then walked down to the lodge to see if they had post cards; that sounds like something they would sell at a lodge, right? Nope. No post card there. I only brought post card stamps too, otherwise I would have bought an envelope and just sent my map of the village out just to say I had pony express mail. I missed that chance.
My next stop was the local Christian Church. It had a sign in front that said "Visitor's Welcome." The serviced wasn't until 9:30 AM and I was sitting there with my full back pack a good 2 miles from my campground still. Was it worth it to wait 2 hours for church or should I press on. I KNEW I would NOT be walking BACK for church no matter what. I did wait and dilly dally for a while, but eventually decided that I would listen to a podcast of Chip Ingram later that day instead. I think the Lord understood, but it would have been a neat experience to go to church there. I rather regret that choice.
I continued the last 2 miles to my campground. Along the way I got my first views of some of the waterfalls. Navajo Falls were the first ones and I could only view them from up high. They had a lot of signs warning about the danger of descending to the base of the falls. With my backpack (which was obviously a pain to me by this time since I've mentioned it twice. It may not have been 35 pounds, but it was heavy and my shoulders were the only parts of my body that hurt) I wasn't about to do that anyway. The next falls, which were right outside the campground, were Havasu Falls themselves. It was one major water fall (probably the highest my eyes have seen, that I remember anyway) and it was glacial blue. I wondered the whole walk why on earth they were glacial blue like that (limestone in the water). The pools were roiling with the current from the falls and were already quite full of tourists down there playing. One group was doing yoga with a karaoke machine of sorts. It was very loud and distracting. I decided to come back later - after getting rid of the backpack!
I continued down the rest of the hill and entered camp. We had to walk through the burrow/horse pen to enter the campground. There were sites almost immediately to my left. They were shaded, near a water source and near a biffy. I decided that since I was leaving early in the morning I would rather have those conveniences than trapsing through the whole campground (which was about a half mile long running all along the canyon wall and the river). I chose a site and set up my hammock and bug screen almost immediately. I then set off with only a bottle of water to carry now to visit Mooney Falls on the other side of the campground.
As walking through the campground I saw that people were camping right by the river, some stringing hammocks OVER the river. Some had their own private wading pools right by their campsite. The downside of that, however was the constant sound of running water. Due to the speed that water travels any time that river is nearby we can hear it. Even at my remote donkey spot I could hear the rushing of the waters (but not enough to make me continually need to go to the bathroom.)
As I excited the campground on the far side, immediately I approached another cliff and saw that it was Mooney falls. Equally beautiful, but much quieter (fewer people). Again, frequent signs were posted saying that we descended at our own risk. I went down a ways and then decided that I needed to NOT do foolish things to get hurt. I didn't go all the way down, but rather took my pictures and came back up. They also had many signs posted saying that single travelers were not permitted to travel down to Beaver Falls. Those that were going needed to tell people when they were going and strongly adhere to the time they said they would get back. I guess it was a much more "challenging" walk down to those falls. While I would have liked to see them, I decided to follow the rules or suggestions. Instead, I went back to my hammock to take a nap.
I think I slept for a couple of hours and awakened in a pool of sweat! While where was a breeze blowing, during my nap the sun had poked through my shade and was heating my little cocoon along with the air around me. I decided to move sites; it is a lot easier to move a hammock and backpack than it is to move a tent! I tried two other spots and settled back on the second spot I tried. I then had some lunch and opted to walk back over to Havasu Falls for the afternoon. I didn't bring my floatie as I decided I was close enough to the falls that if I really wanted it I could just go back to get it. I did walk all the way down to the pools at the bottom of the falls. I walked in and got wet up to my knees, but how that water is so chilled, I do not know! It was cold. Because of the massive spray from the waterfall, and the wind, almost everyone was getting a constant cooling spray wherever we sat anyway. I decided that was enough. I must have sat and people watched for about an hour or more.
At that point, I found myself thinking, "Well now what?" I was done. I ALMOST decided to just hike back out right then and there. I was awake. It was kind of cloudy (however, the moment I left the cooling spray of the waterfall and got out on the cliff I realized that the sun was indeed beating down pretty hard and hot at that time.) I had to fight with my own desire to be done and hike out several different times that day. The winning thought was, if I hike out now it will be dark. I would have to drive that highway with the Elk again in the dark and NO WAY was I doing that again. I had also paid for the campsite. I didn't want to give that up to be homeless for a night.
So, I read my book and finished it. Then I listened to a Chip Ingram podcast and finally ate something for supper. I then decided I might as well attempt to go to bed (oh I also think I had another nap in there before supper). I had a hard time turning off my thoughts and falling asleep that night, but eventually I did. I awoke on my own about 2:17 again (about...and I give you that exact number.) I quickly got myself packed up and used the biffy prior to heading out. I had seen a couple leave when I got up and another couple was leaving along with me. There were two girls leaving right behind me. I thought that at least I wasn't out in the dark all alone.
After the first big hill I kind of lost everyone. I wandered that road to Supai with great caution. I knew there were drop offs, right off the cliff to my right and who knows what lurking in the brush to my left. I had pulled out a solar lantern to carry and I was using my headlamp, but even at that it was more concerning to try to see well enough to decipher the right trail. Look for the horse poop. That was the motto of the morning. I only had to turn around once in the trial to Supai. Once coming into Supai, I met up with another couple that stayed with me for a while. We talked about the need to follow the horse poop, but even at that with the extreme dark, and unfamiliarity with the trail we had to turn around a few times. We never went far before knowing we were off. I heard someone saying as they descended that morning, "There really isn't much concern with getting lost. You just have the one trail." I wanted to say, "Yes, that is very true, but finding that trail is a lot more challenging in the pitch dark with only a tiny headlamp." I stayed with that couple until we entered the first main canyon area. From there, it was supposed to be easier to stay on trail, so I got ahead of them again. (They were carrying more in their packs than I was and it slows you down. I know that!)
I found myself praying a lot. Occasionally I wondered if I should just stop and sit until the sun came out to show me the way, but then I realized the whole reason I was doing it that early was because there is no sun protection on the switchbacks up to the top. That last and hardest stretch would be very hard by mid morning, and I didn't want that. I wanted to stay as shaded in and cool as possible. So, I prayed for wisdom, open eyes, sturdy feet. I also prayed for the sun to come up quickly! I realized that it was kind of a benefit to not see what I was hiking because I realized that the uphill, well, there was a LOT of uphill for me happening on the return. Basically, it is uphill for all 10 miles and for some reason I hadn't realized how much that was until doing it. I only got turned around once on my own, but again I caught it very quickly. I backed up again and continued to pray for the horse poop. :) What an exciting feeling it was to meet the first group of descending hikers. It made me realize that I was on the right trail AND I was getting closer to the end.
The sun came up about 45 minutes after meeting that first group of morning hikes, and I met up with several more after that. In the dark the morning before, I had not been able to see what I was doing with the switchbacks, but I could clearly feel that I first went one direction with them (mainly facing north on the side of the canyon I suppose) and then in my mind I walked for a while and had a second set of switchbacks that faced east - then I kept facing east the whole rest of the way to Supai. So on the way back today I kept thinking - 2 sets of switchbacks . . .2 sets. I forgot, or was completely unaware of the massive uphill sections I still needed to travel prior to getting to those switchbacks. In the daylight it was plain to see that the switchbacks didn't even start until I was over 3/4 of the way up the canyon wall!
There was a beacon way up on a building in the parking lot on hallelujah hilltop. On the descent I had talked to some people that said it was a very reassuring site to see that light and know they were heading the right way, but that it was frustrating because it made them think they were at the end and still they had 3 miles left to go! True. While it was brighter for me, I could see that beacon (until it got too light and it got turned off). I asked some people how far I was from the switchbacks and they said, "Oh maybe 20 minutes." In my mind, I was thinking around the bend! HA!
Eventually, I inched my way up to the top. Hallelujah indeed! Inched isn't exactly true. I realized I did all 10 miles back up in about 4.5 hours. I was back at my car by 6:30 AM! I had wanted a hamburger and french fries at a little place on route 66, but realized that probably couldn't happen at such an early time. No matter what I was happy to be back up to my car. In hind-site, I wanted to go get my camera (at the last minute, I decided the camera would be too heavy to hike with on this trip and I left it in the car.) to take a photo of the sunrise over the canyon I had hiked, but I think I forgot about that plan. I'm pretty sure I did not take that photo. Oh well, I took one in my mind's eye.
From there, I uneventfully (unless you count several cows and a badger) drove my way off the indian highway band back onto route 66. I grabbed something more substantial for breakfast at a gas station (MN may have kwik trips, but they have Mavericks in the the south. They are good!) Once the sun had come up I saw that my hands were just muddy-dirty (my backpack had fallen on the ground overnight so I had tried to clean my water bag and probably dirtied my hands then and during the hike), my legs and ankles were all covered with dirt/dust, and I was a sweaty smelly mess. I didn't feel right going into Las Vegas still looking like that, so I cleaned myself up some (and put in my contacts) in the Mavericks gas station. It helped me feel a little more presentable.
I then proceeded to drive all the way to Las Vegas. My GPS (good Gerty) took me all the way to my hotel. I saw it and then turned her off, but I should have listened more to her. I am staying at Circus Circus. There are valet parking lots, bus parking lots and a few self-parking lots. I had no idea where to even go, so I just found a parking place and proceeded to take my laptop, purse, and toiletry bag with me thinking that I could take a shower before needing to get anything else. Well, after parking, I saw a sign that said check - in on other side of the building. So, with my shoulders sore after carting around my backpack two days in a row, I had to try to find a way to cart those bags (oh and one of them broke while walking!) all the way around the building in the 100+ degree weather and traffic. I trudged my way along and finally got to the correct entrance (only after following the wrong sign and walking at least 50 yards further than needed and then back-tracking that distance). I then got funneled into a line to wait to check in/check out. I pulled my bags along and stood there. Finally, glory - be, I got to go up to check in. There was a room ready. No, I didn't want to upgrade. I just want a clean, cool, dry bed to sleep in!
"Do you have your photo ID?"
What? I haven't had my photo ID with me at all during these national park visits because I need it to accompany my now bent (due to excessive heat) and warped National Parks Pass. I keep it in my car so I can grab it easily at the check-in gates. Sigh. No, now I have to trudge all the way back to my car - all around the building with my bags....I started out the door and headed to my car when I remembered that I was carrying my passport in my computer bag! Phew! I turned around and tried again. This time I got in and was told that I can move my car to park over nearer my hotel room!
I drug my current belongings upstairs and then went to move my car closer. Upon getting into my hotel room I immediately took a shower/bath and then proceeded to take about an hour long nap. It is amazing that the world looks a lot more comfortable after a little extra sleep and being clean! YAY!
Once I woke up, my brother-in-law and I connected and I decided to drive over the their hotel so I could talk with him some before he leaves tomorrow. The kids were swimming and having fun there. I didn't even take the time to grab my cell phone or my suit. I just left (they were in a time crunch to get to a show here in Vegas tonight. They needed to do that AND grab something to eat, so I hurried out.) After fighting traffic and the congestion with that (and going with them to eat, but not buying anything there) I am happy to be back safely in my hotel room. I may try to find something here to eat and then get ready for bed. Tomorrow will be an early morning (5 AM) because I hope to load up the boys and head out by 6:00. Next stop, CALIFORNIA! Wait, it should be California here we come!
Saturday, June 24, 2017
Saturday, June 24th
Page has come and gone, in a huge hurry.
First, a few thoughts on that "dutch oven" cowboy dinner. Now, this is just my opinion, but I would think that if you are going to charge someone $42 for this outstanding "dutch oven" dinner from a horse drawn wagon ride . . ., well, I don't know what I expected. Maybe I don't know how to start what I was going to say. We showed up at the "recreation center" as instructed and walked over to the barn to meet the "wagon." Amos and Andy (our horses) were getting connected as we walked up. It was covered and it was pulled behind, but the way that thing creaked and moved I was afraid we would all fall apart quickly. I also found myself thinking about the people who traveled all across the country in wagons and wondered if they were as fragile as that one seemed to be. Amos and Andy lead us (there were 19 of us on the trip. One 8 member family from the DC area who were on a 3 month journey accross the country to see as many National Parks as possible.) around in a big circle for about 45 minutes. They impressed me by running up some hills (as far as they could go) that my car really worked to pull itself up. We then returned right back to the barn where we started and walked up the hill to a tented area for the dinner. The food was good- no complaints - but it wasn't really what I was expecting.
After dinner, I went back down to my campground to attempt to organize and shake out my dust filled "clean" laundry. Yes, it had all dried, but even the items that hadn't tried to blow away still had dust in them. I think I spend more time organizing and reorganizing my car/laundry/bags than almost any thing else.
After finishing up with that, I walked back over to the recreation center becauseI had signed up to go on a star gazing tour. I met up with a group of people that were on some educational multigenerational bus tour from St. George Utah. They told me that they were all grandparents (or of that generation) and most had brought teenage grandchildren along. They would learn about the places, but then they had time to explore and "be active" for the kids. They actually were heading for Page after Zion as well. One of the ladies was from Wisconsin and she decided we should be fast friends due to our Lake Superior connection. I visited with them for about 40 minutes before our tour guide came out. At that point,I realized that some of the obnoxious children (teen aged boys mostly) that had been playing on the playground and making irritating LOUD comments at everything weren't the out of control boys (on a big boy scout camping trip or something like that) that were staying all around my over in the campgrounds, these were the grandchildren of these nice people. Oh no!!!
A note to grandparents. Your grandchildren are NOT cute and funny when they are teenagers and think that they should LOUDLY disrupt and talk over any presentation attempting to be given. A little discipline would go a LONG way, for some. I think one young man and I would REALLY struggle had he been in my classroom. Not sure any discipline would reach him. Anyway, our poor guide lead us about a quarter of a mile up the hill from our compound. We then want to sit/lay on the "water tower" (yeah, it was just a raised disk, but make a great viewing point). He let our night vision come in before starting, but by then the children thought they had the right to mess around and talk in whatever way/manner they wanted and at any time. Our poor guide! He tried SO HARD to keep those kids on track and to share information. The skies were perfectly clear and the stars were vibrant and beautiful. The air cooled off enough that long pants and a light jacket actually felt comfortable, however, I must have muttered "shut up!" about 5 times (and I don't even use that word any more). I was irked and angered and couldn't wait to get away from the naughty - naughty teens that were traveling with grandma and grandpa.
Once walking the VERY DARK trail down to my campground I encountered the boy scout troup running amuck and causing some sort of trouble in the bathroom area. There was no adult to be seen, but by their actions it was very plain for this teacher to know they were up to SOMETHING (again!) I figured I would take the out of control scouts (at 11:30 PM) to the undisciplined grandchildren, however. Next thing I knew, one of the boys crept out of one the the shower stalls with a horse-head mask on. I rolled my eyes and said, "Oh my...I teach way too many children like you all for that to have surprised me." The giggled and by the time I had come out of the bathroom someone must have moved the troups on to bed - or at least out of the bathroom area.
The next morning, I knew I wanted to shower before I headded out because I didn't know what the shower circumstance would be in Page. I opted to shower first. The first shower room that I looked at had dirt, water, "stuff" all over. It was very dirty. The only other open and available one had a bad odor. Ugh...I picked to smelly stall and got cleaned up. Most of the room was actually quite clean and it wasn't until I was getting ready to leave that I think I found the source of the smell. Yeah, I think the boys may have been up to more trouble that wearing a horse mask the night before. It looks like someone had thrown a bag of feces up high above the door and left the stain on the wall/ceiling area. At least there was nothing on the floor or the area that I had been using. Ugh...kids.
I then wandered back to my tent feeling nice and clean and started to pack up all of my belongings. UM??? Really? What was I thinking? Setting up that tent in the extreme dust, sand, and heat had been a horrid mess. What on earth made me think I could stay clean while doing that. My brand new, clean clothing was stained - stinky, and allow me to repeat stained by the time I had that tent put away again and everything loaded in my car. I looked at my dirty shirt and didn't have the energy to care of dig out more clothing. I wore the dirty shirt ALL DAY!
The drive from Zion down to Page was pretty fast. I was at my new campground (which was actually in Utah, but if I walked about a football field further I would have been in AZ) by about 11 AM (10 AM AZ time). I was able to set up camp early and I thought that given the prediction for a VERY VERY HOT day I should set up the tent earlier rather than later. My campsite was a picnic table, a fire pit (which was completely full of cigarette cartons, about 20 plastic water bottles, some pop/beer cans, and styrofoam cups), and one little bush- little (no shade). It was wide open sand perfect to bake the floor of my tent and provide no relief in the heat of the day. However, because it was so open and SO BIG I decided it would be a good chance to set up the BIG TENT again. I needed the practice and I was already dirty, so I set to it. The actual set up went much better this time around! I only struggle with the dumb tarp, but next time when I have more people that will go better. I felt very hot but accomplished after getting that done.
I went back down to the bautiful campground office: A. to cool off in the great AC, B. to look around, C. to get some maps of the park area and hiking trails so I knew what to explore. My intention at that time was to let them know about the mess in my fire pit, just so I wasn't blamed for it, but I forgot. I got all the other information I needed and set off.
Stop #1 was the resort where my boat tour on Saturday was supposed to leave from. I went to ensure that I had actually booked for the correct dates and make sure I knew what time to arrive. I had wanted to use the restroom, but there was some crazy nasty smell coming from the restroom all the way out into the lobby, so I decided I would wait until I got into Walmart, which I was SUPER EXCITED to see! One of my biggest complaints, or discomforts, on this trip has been that my heels are so beat up and dry that they catch every single night on my sleeping bag. I would like to sleep with socks on (and have tried most nights) but it just gets too hot. I wanted to get some sort of pumice and lotion to try to work on that. Also, due to the dry weather I keep getting nose bleeds (minor ones) but it makes my nose uncomfortable, so I wanted to get some nasal spray to try to work on that. I had also learned that the two bras that I had packed to come along on this trip were NOT enough. Given the amount of sweating and DIRT I was managing to get myself into I knew I needed a few more to wear between washes. Ideally I was going to wash things out at night and hang them out, but it wasn't like I ever had any privacy in any of these sites. I wasn't about to do that upon seeing where I was staying.
So, in the middle of the day, to avoid some of the heat I was going to head to Walmart for those very important items! However, on the way I found the Carl someone or another visitor center for the Glen Canyon Dam. I thought that I might as well stop in there to visit and look around (and cool off). I thought maybe I would use the restroom there before going on, but when I tried to come in a gal was trying to clean it. Instead of telling me, as any proper MN person would do, "I'm sorry if you could give me about 10 minutes I will have this cleaned and open for you." Her response was to wave wildly at me and say, "NO! GET OUT!!!! NO! NO! NO!" Good grief. OK! Glad I don't have to go that badly.
I walked through the exibit area and learned that they had a lovely theater that showed three different movies that I would have liked to have seen. Unfortunately, I didn't see the movie. The lights went down and I had a lovely 20 minute nap instead. OH well... I thought I'd hit the bathroom on the way out before continuing on my way. It should be clean anyway, right?
UGH! PEOPLE!!!! There was already toilet paper all over the floors! I saw a lovely blonde woman come out of the stall that I was planning to use. I thought, that she looked put together, so at least it should be clean. NO!! There was urine on the seat of the toilet. I got frustrated and decided that I didn't have to go bad enough to endure that. Walmart, surely, would be better, right?
Next stop was Walmart! I went immediately to the restroom where there was a line of people out the door AND I could already see the floors covered with toilet paper. I felt like I was back at school dealing with the kids! This is crazy! I left and decided to shop first. I went as slowly through the store as I could because by that point I had been listening to the radio. They were talking up the excessive heat warnings (109) for the day. They were also talking about how if you were out hiking on the sand that would amplify the heat making it seem even hotter from ground up! I agreed. So, I crawled through the store and found (as usual) there was a pristine restroom in the back. Aaaah! Yay, and finally!
I made my purchases (including a blow-up mattress to take with me into the grand canyon on Sunday. I see pictures of people floating by the waterfalls on their mattresses. I figured if it was going to be 110 down there and the water would be my only relief, well then I was going to buy the mattress.) and made my way back to the oven I call my car. I thought maybe I could find a movie theater because the thought of going to sit in my HOT tent wasn't appealing. I found a movie theater, but they weren't playing anything until 7 PM. So, I found some offices that represented the tours of antelope canyon I was taking the next day. I decided to stop in and verify my reservations. The first place I stopped in warned me that due to the excessive heat they had to cancel the afternoon tour that day and they expected that would probably happen the day I was taking my tour too. Uh oh...then what? If they cancel my tour I have more time to try to fill in an already HOT an unsheltered environment. A girl can only wander Walmart for so long! My morning tour was going to go no matter what, I did learn that much.
This caused me to really re-evaluate my time in Page. I came to the conclusion that perhaps it would be a better idea to cancel my boat trip and hike for Saturday and try to leave town after my morning tour on Friday. I could perhaps switch my tent site over to a hotel site at the "Grand Canyon Caverns" where I was supposed to stay Saturday night. I thought that maybe having TWO nights there - in a hotel instead of a tent - would be a better plan in the heat. In addition, leaving from a hotel room at 2 AM is a lot easier than leaving from a TENT at 2 AM. Yup! I then spent about an hour driving around - making phone calls and changing all of those plans! SO GLAD I DID THAT!
By the time I talked to everyone and arranged that, it was 6:15 PM, or so I thought. I had seen a sign saying that there would be a "Ranger Guided Hike" out the the "hanging gardens" near Glen Canyon (which was where I was camping) at 6:30 PM. I thought it would be close, but it was something I was interested in. I made sure I had water, used the restroom at the campground, and hurried on out! I made it to the trailhead by 6:31. Where was everyone? There wasn't another car in the lot. NOBODY! I waited a while and then though, hmmmm...maybe the ranger thought it was too hot and cancelled? I got out and decided I was going anyway. A car full of Europeans pulled in behind me followed by some Asians and then another car. Oh well, I guessed I would just go on my own. I couldn't find my map, once again, and had NO IDEA how long the hike was, but I was positive it was shorter than or equal to 3 miles. No worries there. Ranger guided hikes are usually short, so I set off. That was one of the easiest hikes I have taken this whole trip! I did meet one other couple on the trail and then passed one of the Europeans who had turned around (I learned later due to heat) with her friends before getting there. I was back to my car in about 25 minutes! SHORT! However, as I was pulling out in pulled a ranger in his fancy little ranger truck. I thought I would just find out why he wasn't there for his talk at 6:30. I told him that I missed his talk, but enjoyed the walk. He said, he was going to get ready to do his talk in about 20 minutes. WHAT?? I then asked him what time it was. Arizona is an hour earlier!!! Uff da! I missed the talk because I was too early! Oh well. That gave me time to go out to try to hike horseshoe bend (which I asked about an learned it was 1.5 miles total! Another "easy" one.)
I drove out there and explored that area. Unfortunately, the sun was starting to go down in the same direction that I wanted to shoot pictures, but at least I could say I had seen it. Upon walking back to my car, I looked to the North and saw that a big wall of smoke was just descending upon the whole area. I was aware of 3 out of control forest fires up in Utah, and my dad had mentioned one in AZ. I had driven by one on my way down to Bryce, but I didn't know where this one was. It got to the point that visibility was very low and the smell of smoke was heavy in the air. I asked about it at my campground when I got back there and they mentioned that it came in very fast and they hoped the wind would switch and move it out too. It was from one of the big fires in Utah.
I opted to have some dinner and then try to sleep. I had left my windows (with a very fine mesh) open while I was out exploring hoping that it would keep some cooler air moving through the place. HA! It maybe did, but EVERYTHING in the tent had a fine layer of that red clay dust on it now; my floor was all gritty and so was the top of my sleeping bag. Ugh...I felt as thought I had in-floor heating in my tent as everything was radiating heat from the day. What would be the point of showing now? I would only get dirty again. I thought it was cooler and that I would sleep fine, but alas I didn't know that it was still about 80 degrees and there were a large group of drunk partying young people who would descend upon the campground at about 10:00 PM. This time, I wasn't the one muttering "shut up". One of my neighbors was YELLING it and I think there was some sort of confrontation that occurred. The music quieted down, but the partying continued until very late into the night. While I didn't hear any coyotes (like I did at Zion), I did have that almost all night. It was another hard night to sleep.
Friday, June 23rd
The sun was up bright and early and since it started heating up pretty quickly I was already up and packing things up by about 6:30 (along with most of my neighbors). The smoke had indeed cleared out and it was looking very beautiful. My phone rang (which surprised me because I didn't know I had service and it was pretty early). It was one of my tour providers for the day worried about the heat and trying to shuffle my tour to a different time. I couldn't come when they wanted me to, so I was more convinced that my choice to duck out of town was the right one. This time, while putting away my tent I was smarter! I decided to wear the same dirty clothes I had worn the day before to pack up! SMART ME! :) I did one thing right. I got everything cleared up and then went to shower. Ugh, this was a pay shower! For 10 minutes I could pay $2.00. Really? I knew I was staying in a hotel that night and I would be in the flying sand/dust all morning, so . . . . I took a wet-wipe shower, got dressed, and headded out for the day.
My first stop of the day was a "Photography Tour" of Upper Antelope Canyon. Um, I knew there were requirements: I had to have a special kind of camera, I had to have a tripod, and we would get special treatment in the canyon. I have a newer to me camera; I have never taken a photography class, AND I haven't even read the whole instruction manual for the camera. I spent 10 minutes before the tour trying to figure out how a tripod works. Oh no. . . I was the special needs student in the tour! Everyone was talking "F-stops" and "exposure" and . . .other stuff that I knew nothing about. I had a tripod without a screw (apparently I don't have one of the screws to keep the camera safely mounted on the tripod - - must have left that in Fergus Falls or Silver Bay) and I didn't have a clue what all these people were saying. I had one girl set my camera to what she felt was the right mode and I pretended I knew what I was doing. They would line us all up according to whether we were "high shooters" or "low shooters" . .. yeah whatever. I just went where the guy told me to do. Then, they would set a timer for 2 mintues and we were supposed to just take the same picture over and over and over again for 2 minutes!!!! Really? Why? I pretended I knew what I was doing and trying to look professional, for the first hour of the tour. Then, I gave up. I admitted defeat with the dumb tripod (since I would trip on it and continually struggle to move it an set it up when we were told to move). I took my cameral off and then switched over to automatic mode and just shot normally. Since I didn't need the 2 - 4 minutes of each shot, I then visited (some) in Japanese with a lady standing next to me. She was carrying some of the big important lenses for her husband. They lead us to the SAME PLACES about 4 times, but lined us up in different angles. What on earth? I am NOT a photographer. I don't even know if I got any good photos because I don't know what I'm doing! By the time we were given the all clear to go - I couldn't wait. Whatever. We saw about 4 chambers in this TINY TINY little canyon. While we would be shooting, they would parade these other tours (hundereds and hundereds of people) through so they wouldn't obstruct our shots. The canyon itself isn't as long as a foot-ball field (probably. I wouldn't know since we really only got to enter the 4 chambers) I just happily went and loaded the truck again.
Oh and that truck ride!!! Our tour guide loaded us all in the back of this truck (kind of like a safari vehicle) and then sped through very very sandy roads. We bounced and spun and tottered and jostled our way into and out of the canyon. I did feel like I was back in Africa on the roads there. I was glad to make it safely back to my car. I was so done that whether the weather cancelled my next tour or not, I knew I was done! I cancelled it myself and set off for the Grand Canyon.
I made it to the Grand Canyon National Park about 4 - 5 PM. I was able to walk around some and take a few pictures, but I was ready to get to my hotel. I decided I will officially be in Grand Canyon National Park when I hike into Supai Village and the campgrounds on Sunday, so I am good with that.
I think the most exciting part of my trip was when I hit Route 66 and was able to drive along that reading the fun signs. About 7 PM I pulled into Grand Canyon Caverns Inn. Oh, no . . .what have I done? It was missing letters on it's sign. There is junk all over the front of the building - excuse me, ART. It looked very run down, but unique. I learned the restaurant closed at 8, so if I wanted food I should go immediately to get that. I decided that for the first time on the trip I would actually eat out - buy a meal. I ordered a cheeseburger and french fries, to go, for my room. :) It was lovely!
My room is very outdated, but clean. It had the the world's most comfortable bed (at least to my liking last night) and no phone, no internet, and no cell service. Oh well. It has a covered courtyard with internet access. While it didn't have a tub for a bath, it did have a clean enough shower to wash the day away! :)
Today, Saturday, June 24th
After a heavenly night of sleep I have embraced the uniqueness of this place. I had a free breakfast that someone else set out for me. I can get free ice for my cup (I will have to pay 5 bucks for a bag of it later tonight, however) AND they had a free laundry! I was the only there. I was able to go wash a small load of laundry for FREE!
Now, I have been sitting here for about 2 hours catching up on this blog. My plan is to go to the swimming pool soon and just relax. I will walk to the restaurant later today for another meal and try to go to bed by about 7 PM - - I will leave at 2 AM for the hike into the canyon!
First, a few thoughts on that "dutch oven" cowboy dinner. Now, this is just my opinion, but I would think that if you are going to charge someone $42 for this outstanding "dutch oven" dinner from a horse drawn wagon ride . . ., well, I don't know what I expected. Maybe I don't know how to start what I was going to say. We showed up at the "recreation center" as instructed and walked over to the barn to meet the "wagon." Amos and Andy (our horses) were getting connected as we walked up. It was covered and it was pulled behind, but the way that thing creaked and moved I was afraid we would all fall apart quickly. I also found myself thinking about the people who traveled all across the country in wagons and wondered if they were as fragile as that one seemed to be. Amos and Andy lead us (there were 19 of us on the trip. One 8 member family from the DC area who were on a 3 month journey accross the country to see as many National Parks as possible.) around in a big circle for about 45 minutes. They impressed me by running up some hills (as far as they could go) that my car really worked to pull itself up. We then returned right back to the barn where we started and walked up the hill to a tented area for the dinner. The food was good- no complaints - but it wasn't really what I was expecting.
After dinner, I went back down to my campground to attempt to organize and shake out my dust filled "clean" laundry. Yes, it had all dried, but even the items that hadn't tried to blow away still had dust in them. I think I spend more time organizing and reorganizing my car/laundry/bags than almost any thing else.
After finishing up with that, I walked back over to the recreation center becauseI had signed up to go on a star gazing tour. I met up with a group of people that were on some educational multigenerational bus tour from St. George Utah. They told me that they were all grandparents (or of that generation) and most had brought teenage grandchildren along. They would learn about the places, but then they had time to explore and "be active" for the kids. They actually were heading for Page after Zion as well. One of the ladies was from Wisconsin and she decided we should be fast friends due to our Lake Superior connection. I visited with them for about 40 minutes before our tour guide came out. At that point,I realized that some of the obnoxious children (teen aged boys mostly) that had been playing on the playground and making irritating LOUD comments at everything weren't the out of control boys (on a big boy scout camping trip or something like that) that were staying all around my over in the campgrounds, these were the grandchildren of these nice people. Oh no!!!
A note to grandparents. Your grandchildren are NOT cute and funny when they are teenagers and think that they should LOUDLY disrupt and talk over any presentation attempting to be given. A little discipline would go a LONG way, for some. I think one young man and I would REALLY struggle had he been in my classroom. Not sure any discipline would reach him. Anyway, our poor guide lead us about a quarter of a mile up the hill from our compound. We then want to sit/lay on the "water tower" (yeah, it was just a raised disk, but make a great viewing point). He let our night vision come in before starting, but by then the children thought they had the right to mess around and talk in whatever way/manner they wanted and at any time. Our poor guide! He tried SO HARD to keep those kids on track and to share information. The skies were perfectly clear and the stars were vibrant and beautiful. The air cooled off enough that long pants and a light jacket actually felt comfortable, however, I must have muttered "shut up!" about 5 times (and I don't even use that word any more). I was irked and angered and couldn't wait to get away from the naughty - naughty teens that were traveling with grandma and grandpa.
Once walking the VERY DARK trail down to my campground I encountered the boy scout troup running amuck and causing some sort of trouble in the bathroom area. There was no adult to be seen, but by their actions it was very plain for this teacher to know they were up to SOMETHING (again!) I figured I would take the out of control scouts (at 11:30 PM) to the undisciplined grandchildren, however. Next thing I knew, one of the boys crept out of one the the shower stalls with a horse-head mask on. I rolled my eyes and said, "Oh my...I teach way too many children like you all for that to have surprised me." The giggled and by the time I had come out of the bathroom someone must have moved the troups on to bed - or at least out of the bathroom area.
The next morning, I knew I wanted to shower before I headded out because I didn't know what the shower circumstance would be in Page. I opted to shower first. The first shower room that I looked at had dirt, water, "stuff" all over. It was very dirty. The only other open and available one had a bad odor. Ugh...I picked to smelly stall and got cleaned up. Most of the room was actually quite clean and it wasn't until I was getting ready to leave that I think I found the source of the smell. Yeah, I think the boys may have been up to more trouble that wearing a horse mask the night before. It looks like someone had thrown a bag of feces up high above the door and left the stain on the wall/ceiling area. At least there was nothing on the floor or the area that I had been using. Ugh...kids.
I then wandered back to my tent feeling nice and clean and started to pack up all of my belongings. UM??? Really? What was I thinking? Setting up that tent in the extreme dust, sand, and heat had been a horrid mess. What on earth made me think I could stay clean while doing that. My brand new, clean clothing was stained - stinky, and allow me to repeat stained by the time I had that tent put away again and everything loaded in my car. I looked at my dirty shirt and didn't have the energy to care of dig out more clothing. I wore the dirty shirt ALL DAY!
The drive from Zion down to Page was pretty fast. I was at my new campground (which was actually in Utah, but if I walked about a football field further I would have been in AZ) by about 11 AM (10 AM AZ time). I was able to set up camp early and I thought that given the prediction for a VERY VERY HOT day I should set up the tent earlier rather than later. My campsite was a picnic table, a fire pit (which was completely full of cigarette cartons, about 20 plastic water bottles, some pop/beer cans, and styrofoam cups), and one little bush- little (no shade). It was wide open sand perfect to bake the floor of my tent and provide no relief in the heat of the day. However, because it was so open and SO BIG I decided it would be a good chance to set up the BIG TENT again. I needed the practice and I was already dirty, so I set to it. The actual set up went much better this time around! I only struggle with the dumb tarp, but next time when I have more people that will go better. I felt very hot but accomplished after getting that done.
I went back down to the bautiful campground office: A. to cool off in the great AC, B. to look around, C. to get some maps of the park area and hiking trails so I knew what to explore. My intention at that time was to let them know about the mess in my fire pit, just so I wasn't blamed for it, but I forgot. I got all the other information I needed and set off.
Stop #1 was the resort where my boat tour on Saturday was supposed to leave from. I went to ensure that I had actually booked for the correct dates and make sure I knew what time to arrive. I had wanted to use the restroom, but there was some crazy nasty smell coming from the restroom all the way out into the lobby, so I decided I would wait until I got into Walmart, which I was SUPER EXCITED to see! One of my biggest complaints, or discomforts, on this trip has been that my heels are so beat up and dry that they catch every single night on my sleeping bag. I would like to sleep with socks on (and have tried most nights) but it just gets too hot. I wanted to get some sort of pumice and lotion to try to work on that. Also, due to the dry weather I keep getting nose bleeds (minor ones) but it makes my nose uncomfortable, so I wanted to get some nasal spray to try to work on that. I had also learned that the two bras that I had packed to come along on this trip were NOT enough. Given the amount of sweating and DIRT I was managing to get myself into I knew I needed a few more to wear between washes. Ideally I was going to wash things out at night and hang them out, but it wasn't like I ever had any privacy in any of these sites. I wasn't about to do that upon seeing where I was staying.
So, in the middle of the day, to avoid some of the heat I was going to head to Walmart for those very important items! However, on the way I found the Carl someone or another visitor center for the Glen Canyon Dam. I thought that I might as well stop in there to visit and look around (and cool off). I thought maybe I would use the restroom there before going on, but when I tried to come in a gal was trying to clean it. Instead of telling me, as any proper MN person would do, "I'm sorry if you could give me about 10 minutes I will have this cleaned and open for you." Her response was to wave wildly at me and say, "NO! GET OUT!!!! NO! NO! NO!" Good grief. OK! Glad I don't have to go that badly.
I walked through the exibit area and learned that they had a lovely theater that showed three different movies that I would have liked to have seen. Unfortunately, I didn't see the movie. The lights went down and I had a lovely 20 minute nap instead. OH well... I thought I'd hit the bathroom on the way out before continuing on my way. It should be clean anyway, right?
UGH! PEOPLE!!!! There was already toilet paper all over the floors! I saw a lovely blonde woman come out of the stall that I was planning to use. I thought, that she looked put together, so at least it should be clean. NO!! There was urine on the seat of the toilet. I got frustrated and decided that I didn't have to go bad enough to endure that. Walmart, surely, would be better, right?
Next stop was Walmart! I went immediately to the restroom where there was a line of people out the door AND I could already see the floors covered with toilet paper. I felt like I was back at school dealing with the kids! This is crazy! I left and decided to shop first. I went as slowly through the store as I could because by that point I had been listening to the radio. They were talking up the excessive heat warnings (109) for the day. They were also talking about how if you were out hiking on the sand that would amplify the heat making it seem even hotter from ground up! I agreed. So, I crawled through the store and found (as usual) there was a pristine restroom in the back. Aaaah! Yay, and finally!
I made my purchases (including a blow-up mattress to take with me into the grand canyon on Sunday. I see pictures of people floating by the waterfalls on their mattresses. I figured if it was going to be 110 down there and the water would be my only relief, well then I was going to buy the mattress.) and made my way back to the oven I call my car. I thought maybe I could find a movie theater because the thought of going to sit in my HOT tent wasn't appealing. I found a movie theater, but they weren't playing anything until 7 PM. So, I found some offices that represented the tours of antelope canyon I was taking the next day. I decided to stop in and verify my reservations. The first place I stopped in warned me that due to the excessive heat they had to cancel the afternoon tour that day and they expected that would probably happen the day I was taking my tour too. Uh oh...then what? If they cancel my tour I have more time to try to fill in an already HOT an unsheltered environment. A girl can only wander Walmart for so long! My morning tour was going to go no matter what, I did learn that much.
This caused me to really re-evaluate my time in Page. I came to the conclusion that perhaps it would be a better idea to cancel my boat trip and hike for Saturday and try to leave town after my morning tour on Friday. I could perhaps switch my tent site over to a hotel site at the "Grand Canyon Caverns" where I was supposed to stay Saturday night. I thought that maybe having TWO nights there - in a hotel instead of a tent - would be a better plan in the heat. In addition, leaving from a hotel room at 2 AM is a lot easier than leaving from a TENT at 2 AM. Yup! I then spent about an hour driving around - making phone calls and changing all of those plans! SO GLAD I DID THAT!
By the time I talked to everyone and arranged that, it was 6:15 PM, or so I thought. I had seen a sign saying that there would be a "Ranger Guided Hike" out the the "hanging gardens" near Glen Canyon (which was where I was camping) at 6:30 PM. I thought it would be close, but it was something I was interested in. I made sure I had water, used the restroom at the campground, and hurried on out! I made it to the trailhead by 6:31. Where was everyone? There wasn't another car in the lot. NOBODY! I waited a while and then though, hmmmm...maybe the ranger thought it was too hot and cancelled? I got out and decided I was going anyway. A car full of Europeans pulled in behind me followed by some Asians and then another car. Oh well, I guessed I would just go on my own. I couldn't find my map, once again, and had NO IDEA how long the hike was, but I was positive it was shorter than or equal to 3 miles. No worries there. Ranger guided hikes are usually short, so I set off. That was one of the easiest hikes I have taken this whole trip! I did meet one other couple on the trail and then passed one of the Europeans who had turned around (I learned later due to heat) with her friends before getting there. I was back to my car in about 25 minutes! SHORT! However, as I was pulling out in pulled a ranger in his fancy little ranger truck. I thought I would just find out why he wasn't there for his talk at 6:30. I told him that I missed his talk, but enjoyed the walk. He said, he was going to get ready to do his talk in about 20 minutes. WHAT?? I then asked him what time it was. Arizona is an hour earlier!!! Uff da! I missed the talk because I was too early! Oh well. That gave me time to go out to try to hike horseshoe bend (which I asked about an learned it was 1.5 miles total! Another "easy" one.)
I drove out there and explored that area. Unfortunately, the sun was starting to go down in the same direction that I wanted to shoot pictures, but at least I could say I had seen it. Upon walking back to my car, I looked to the North and saw that a big wall of smoke was just descending upon the whole area. I was aware of 3 out of control forest fires up in Utah, and my dad had mentioned one in AZ. I had driven by one on my way down to Bryce, but I didn't know where this one was. It got to the point that visibility was very low and the smell of smoke was heavy in the air. I asked about it at my campground when I got back there and they mentioned that it came in very fast and they hoped the wind would switch and move it out too. It was from one of the big fires in Utah.
I opted to have some dinner and then try to sleep. I had left my windows (with a very fine mesh) open while I was out exploring hoping that it would keep some cooler air moving through the place. HA! It maybe did, but EVERYTHING in the tent had a fine layer of that red clay dust on it now; my floor was all gritty and so was the top of my sleeping bag. Ugh...I felt as thought I had in-floor heating in my tent as everything was radiating heat from the day. What would be the point of showing now? I would only get dirty again. I thought it was cooler and that I would sleep fine, but alas I didn't know that it was still about 80 degrees and there were a large group of drunk partying young people who would descend upon the campground at about 10:00 PM. This time, I wasn't the one muttering "shut up". One of my neighbors was YELLING it and I think there was some sort of confrontation that occurred. The music quieted down, but the partying continued until very late into the night. While I didn't hear any coyotes (like I did at Zion), I did have that almost all night. It was another hard night to sleep.
Friday, June 23rd
The sun was up bright and early and since it started heating up pretty quickly I was already up and packing things up by about 6:30 (along with most of my neighbors). The smoke had indeed cleared out and it was looking very beautiful. My phone rang (which surprised me because I didn't know I had service and it was pretty early). It was one of my tour providers for the day worried about the heat and trying to shuffle my tour to a different time. I couldn't come when they wanted me to, so I was more convinced that my choice to duck out of town was the right one. This time, while putting away my tent I was smarter! I decided to wear the same dirty clothes I had worn the day before to pack up! SMART ME! :) I did one thing right. I got everything cleared up and then went to shower. Ugh, this was a pay shower! For 10 minutes I could pay $2.00. Really? I knew I was staying in a hotel that night and I would be in the flying sand/dust all morning, so . . . . I took a wet-wipe shower, got dressed, and headded out for the day.
My first stop of the day was a "Photography Tour" of Upper Antelope Canyon. Um, I knew there were requirements: I had to have a special kind of camera, I had to have a tripod, and we would get special treatment in the canyon. I have a newer to me camera; I have never taken a photography class, AND I haven't even read the whole instruction manual for the camera. I spent 10 minutes before the tour trying to figure out how a tripod works. Oh no. . . I was the special needs student in the tour! Everyone was talking "F-stops" and "exposure" and . . .other stuff that I knew nothing about. I had a tripod without a screw (apparently I don't have one of the screws to keep the camera safely mounted on the tripod - - must have left that in Fergus Falls or Silver Bay) and I didn't have a clue what all these people were saying. I had one girl set my camera to what she felt was the right mode and I pretended I knew what I was doing. They would line us all up according to whether we were "high shooters" or "low shooters" . .. yeah whatever. I just went where the guy told me to do. Then, they would set a timer for 2 mintues and we were supposed to just take the same picture over and over and over again for 2 minutes!!!! Really? Why? I pretended I knew what I was doing and trying to look professional, for the first hour of the tour. Then, I gave up. I admitted defeat with the dumb tripod (since I would trip on it and continually struggle to move it an set it up when we were told to move). I took my cameral off and then switched over to automatic mode and just shot normally. Since I didn't need the 2 - 4 minutes of each shot, I then visited (some) in Japanese with a lady standing next to me. She was carrying some of the big important lenses for her husband. They lead us to the SAME PLACES about 4 times, but lined us up in different angles. What on earth? I am NOT a photographer. I don't even know if I got any good photos because I don't know what I'm doing! By the time we were given the all clear to go - I couldn't wait. Whatever. We saw about 4 chambers in this TINY TINY little canyon. While we would be shooting, they would parade these other tours (hundereds and hundereds of people) through so they wouldn't obstruct our shots. The canyon itself isn't as long as a foot-ball field (probably. I wouldn't know since we really only got to enter the 4 chambers) I just happily went and loaded the truck again.
Oh and that truck ride!!! Our tour guide loaded us all in the back of this truck (kind of like a safari vehicle) and then sped through very very sandy roads. We bounced and spun and tottered and jostled our way into and out of the canyon. I did feel like I was back in Africa on the roads there. I was glad to make it safely back to my car. I was so done that whether the weather cancelled my next tour or not, I knew I was done! I cancelled it myself and set off for the Grand Canyon.
I made it to the Grand Canyon National Park about 4 - 5 PM. I was able to walk around some and take a few pictures, but I was ready to get to my hotel. I decided I will officially be in Grand Canyon National Park when I hike into Supai Village and the campgrounds on Sunday, so I am good with that.
I think the most exciting part of my trip was when I hit Route 66 and was able to drive along that reading the fun signs. About 7 PM I pulled into Grand Canyon Caverns Inn. Oh, no . . .what have I done? It was missing letters on it's sign. There is junk all over the front of the building - excuse me, ART. It looked very run down, but unique. I learned the restaurant closed at 8, so if I wanted food I should go immediately to get that. I decided that for the first time on the trip I would actually eat out - buy a meal. I ordered a cheeseburger and french fries, to go, for my room. :) It was lovely!
My room is very outdated, but clean. It had the the world's most comfortable bed (at least to my liking last night) and no phone, no internet, and no cell service. Oh well. It has a covered courtyard with internet access. While it didn't have a tub for a bath, it did have a clean enough shower to wash the day away! :)
Today, Saturday, June 24th
After a heavenly night of sleep I have embraced the uniqueness of this place. I had a free breakfast that someone else set out for me. I can get free ice for my cup (I will have to pay 5 bucks for a bag of it later tonight, however) AND they had a free laundry! I was the only there. I was able to go wash a small load of laundry for FREE!
Now, I have been sitting here for about 2 hours catching up on this blog. My plan is to go to the swimming pool soon and just relax. I will walk to the restaurant later today for another meal and try to go to bed by about 7 PM - - I will leave at 2 AM for the hike into the canyon!
Sunday, June 18th
I am sitting in yet a different laundromat today. I found an outlet to plug into and I have seen basically everything I feel the burning need to see here, so I thought I would charge everything up and get ready to move on tomorrow. I do not really have big things to report after yesterday, but I will keep a running journal.
Last night I had the grand idea that I wanted to go to a star gazing activity. Nothing like that was listed, but there was an astronomy program listed to start at 9 pm. I geared up and went. Everything here is quite evolution - old earth - centered. Sometimes I have a hard time getting past that to enjoy what is being said, and at 9 PM at night after hiking 10 - 11 of challenging miles I was struggling. I made it through the program and learned that there would be stargazing in the visitor center parking lot, with a massive telescope going on until 11 PM. I made the hard decision to go to bed instead, or should I say go to tent and hard ground sleeping bag instead.
In spite of my fatigue, I had a hard time sleeping last night. The road was noisy. There was a cow, or bull, having some sort of fit nearby. My neighbors packed up to leave around 3 AM . . . it wasn't a restful night. I was hoping to sleep in and rest up since I didn't really have huge plans for my day, but that didn't work. My body said it was done sleeping by about 6 AM, so I got up. While taking care of my morning ablusions I wandered into the local laundromat. There I saw a poster notifying of Sunday services in the park. WHAT? I had asked about that yesterday. I guess the group has a hard time getting people to promote or listen to their options. No matter what, I decided I would drive myself into the park (shuttles don't start until 8 AM and I was ready to go by shortly after 7.) I parked over at sunset point and decided to hike the Navajo Loop before breakfast and before church.
I was quite worried when we did the crazy switchbacks in the beginning. I started thinking that I had just done another hike like I did yesterday. Nope! It was a beautiful hike. Yes, it was all the way down in the canyon and back out again, but it was far easier. It was beautiful and I was back up on the rim about 50 minutes later. It was MUCH tamer than the Fairyland loop trail.
(I found this file in my "draft" folder. I don't know why it didn't publish, so I am going to do my very best to even remember what I did that day - it is Saturday, June 24th as I write this - so I probably have forgotten a great deal! I recall sitting in the laundromat for quite a while working on everything, so maybe it will come back to me).
I had time after that to wander around to attempt to find where "church" was going to be held. I looked in the "General Store" for a while, refilled water bottles, and then found the same ampitheater I had been at the night before. I guess that was the only ampitheater I could have made use of, so I eventually wandered up there. I found 4 college aged students there - one had a mandolin and the others were just hanging out on the benches. I knew I was about 20 minutes early, but was hoping I wouldn't be the only attendee that day.
I learned that the kids leading the service were just on a summer break and were working at the park. As part of their service the kids joined a ministry that leads worship services in most of our national parks. They were all from different parts of the country. Eventually one other family came and an older single woman from Austria (that will be me someday, I'm sure...just a random single traveler in a foreign country showing up for a tiny worship service. For now I am the "middle aged" random single traveler . . .) It was truly a casual worship experience with not a TON of depth, but it was a nice break and chance to remember my Creator, with others.
After church, I decided that I was done hiking in the park for the day and drove back out to my campground. Once there, I decided I wanted to walk out to the "hidden waterfalls" that the resort mentioned. It was a 2 mile round trip hike and was truly much easier than any of the others I had experienced. In hind-site, I thought the heat was bad that day (so I took things a little slower), but I didn't know what heat was at all yet at that point! HA! The "hidden falls" were indeed hidden to the point that I couldn't even get a photo of them, but I heard them. I guess that was good enough.
Upon returning to "Bryce Canyon Village" (which was where the trail left from) I wandered through the shopping centers and thought I was cooling off while window shopping.
I returned to my campsite where I took a little time to have some lunch and attempted to catch a short nap in my hammock before catching the "Rainbow Bus Tour."
This Rainbow Bus was something I had to call the park visitor's center to reserve a place on. I don't know why more people don't do that! It took me all the way up to Rainbow point and had a guide to tell us all about the history of the park and the local flora and fauna. My guide was 80 years old! He used to run a specialy grocery store, but had sold the store earlier so he and his wife could travel. He has driven busses (etc.) for several of our national parks. Now, this is his main gig. He impressed me. He was funny, sharp (thank goodness since he was driving my bus) and lead us on some walks trails that I am quite sure most 80 year old men wouldn't want to do in that heat. He made visiting all the scenic places even more interesting.
One highlight for me was Rainbow Point itself. Years ago, my parents had taken a trip to Bryce Canyon and they had taken my mom's picture by an elevation sign at Rainbow Point. My dad said it was unique because his little plane had never flown as high as mom's car had just taken them. I like that story.
After my (sing with me here) "three hour tour" I returned back to the campground where I parked in the laundry room to charge up all my technology devices, and I thought I had posted this update. Apparently something happened and that did NOT take place. I worked at packing up my car and got thing sready to move on to Zion the next day. Now,6 days later, I do NOT remember anything important about the rest of that day.
Last night I had the grand idea that I wanted to go to a star gazing activity. Nothing like that was listed, but there was an astronomy program listed to start at 9 pm. I geared up and went. Everything here is quite evolution - old earth - centered. Sometimes I have a hard time getting past that to enjoy what is being said, and at 9 PM at night after hiking 10 - 11 of challenging miles I was struggling. I made it through the program and learned that there would be stargazing in the visitor center parking lot, with a massive telescope going on until 11 PM. I made the hard decision to go to bed instead, or should I say go to tent and hard ground sleeping bag instead.
In spite of my fatigue, I had a hard time sleeping last night. The road was noisy. There was a cow, or bull, having some sort of fit nearby. My neighbors packed up to leave around 3 AM . . . it wasn't a restful night. I was hoping to sleep in and rest up since I didn't really have huge plans for my day, but that didn't work. My body said it was done sleeping by about 6 AM, so I got up. While taking care of my morning ablusions I wandered into the local laundromat. There I saw a poster notifying of Sunday services in the park. WHAT? I had asked about that yesterday. I guess the group has a hard time getting people to promote or listen to their options. No matter what, I decided I would drive myself into the park (shuttles don't start until 8 AM and I was ready to go by shortly after 7.) I parked over at sunset point and decided to hike the Navajo Loop before breakfast and before church.
I was quite worried when we did the crazy switchbacks in the beginning. I started thinking that I had just done another hike like I did yesterday. Nope! It was a beautiful hike. Yes, it was all the way down in the canyon and back out again, but it was far easier. It was beautiful and I was back up on the rim about 50 minutes later. It was MUCH tamer than the Fairyland loop trail.
(I found this file in my "draft" folder. I don't know why it didn't publish, so I am going to do my very best to even remember what I did that day - it is Saturday, June 24th as I write this - so I probably have forgotten a great deal! I recall sitting in the laundromat for quite a while working on everything, so maybe it will come back to me).
I had time after that to wander around to attempt to find where "church" was going to be held. I looked in the "General Store" for a while, refilled water bottles, and then found the same ampitheater I had been at the night before. I guess that was the only ampitheater I could have made use of, so I eventually wandered up there. I found 4 college aged students there - one had a mandolin and the others were just hanging out on the benches. I knew I was about 20 minutes early, but was hoping I wouldn't be the only attendee that day.
I learned that the kids leading the service were just on a summer break and were working at the park. As part of their service the kids joined a ministry that leads worship services in most of our national parks. They were all from different parts of the country. Eventually one other family came and an older single woman from Austria (that will be me someday, I'm sure...just a random single traveler in a foreign country showing up for a tiny worship service. For now I am the "middle aged" random single traveler . . .) It was truly a casual worship experience with not a TON of depth, but it was a nice break and chance to remember my Creator, with others.
After church, I decided that I was done hiking in the park for the day and drove back out to my campground. Once there, I decided I wanted to walk out to the "hidden waterfalls" that the resort mentioned. It was a 2 mile round trip hike and was truly much easier than any of the others I had experienced. In hind-site, I thought the heat was bad that day (so I took things a little slower), but I didn't know what heat was at all yet at that point! HA! The "hidden falls" were indeed hidden to the point that I couldn't even get a photo of them, but I heard them. I guess that was good enough.
Upon returning to "Bryce Canyon Village" (which was where the trail left from) I wandered through the shopping centers and thought I was cooling off while window shopping.
I returned to my campsite where I took a little time to have some lunch and attempted to catch a short nap in my hammock before catching the "Rainbow Bus Tour."
This Rainbow Bus was something I had to call the park visitor's center to reserve a place on. I don't know why more people don't do that! It took me all the way up to Rainbow point and had a guide to tell us all about the history of the park and the local flora and fauna. My guide was 80 years old! He used to run a specialy grocery store, but had sold the store earlier so he and his wife could travel. He has driven busses (etc.) for several of our national parks. Now, this is his main gig. He impressed me. He was funny, sharp (thank goodness since he was driving my bus) and lead us on some walks trails that I am quite sure most 80 year old men wouldn't want to do in that heat. He made visiting all the scenic places even more interesting.
One highlight for me was Rainbow Point itself. Years ago, my parents had taken a trip to Bryce Canyon and they had taken my mom's picture by an elevation sign at Rainbow Point. My dad said it was unique because his little plane had never flown as high as mom's car had just taken them. I like that story.
After my (sing with me here) "three hour tour" I returned back to the campground where I parked in the laundry room to charge up all my technology devices, and I thought I had posted this update. Apparently something happened and that did NOT take place. I worked at packing up my car and got thing sready to move on to Zion the next day. Now,6 days later, I do NOT remember anything important about the rest of that day.
Wednesday, June 21, 2017
Wednesday, June 21
I probably should have looked to see when I last wrote in this blog, but alas I was in a hurry and decided to just give this a go. I think I left off my last evening in Bryce Canyon, so I will begin the morning I set off for Zion.
Monday, June 19th
I woke up pretty early and was able to pack up all of my stuff (and get a shower) in about an hour and a half. That was an improvement on the time before.
I set out for Zion and my new resort/campground. I wanted to make sure I knew where I was staying before I went into Zion. I knew I would get there early, but decided that I had not more reason to delay departure, so I might as well go. I programmed Gerty AND my cell phone. They actually agreed with each other this time, so it made finding everything much easier. It was a non-eventful drive; wait, that should say uneventful, right?
Well, I got to my campground at about 11 AM and check-n wasn't until 4 PM. The gals at the front desk attempted to give me some suggested "shorter" hikes in Zion that I could try.
OK, I forget how much I dislike switchbacks while driving until I am in there. I was OK in Arches with theirs, and Bryce was NO PROBLEM AT ALL, but Zion? Yikes! I was dizzy and I was the driver! My car was reading 104 at 11 AM that day. I was a bit worried about getting out and conquering anything while feeling a big wonky from the drive. I decided that I would like to try, however, because it might help to clear my head.
So, they had circled a place on the map and mentioned that I would need to stop "RIGHT BEFORE" the tunnel. Well, uh oh. I went through a tunnel and hadn't seen the sign for the walk I wanted. I looped back and actually DID find a parking place. I could tell that other people had been down walking around, so I followed the prints and set off. Yeah, people are dumb (me included.) I determined after getting all the way down a wash that I was simply following tracks into a HOT - Breeze-free wash. Not worth it to me, so I climbed back up and out and reclaimed my car.
I started back into the park only to learn in about a mile that there are TWO tunnels into Zion. The second on was labled with the hike I was encouraged to take, but traffic was backed up about a quarter of a mile behind that stop AND the lot (or pull off) was beyond full. I couldn't have stopped there if I had any energy left to try it anyway. I decided that I would just drive into the park, find a shuttle and just explore a little to make a plan for the next couple of days. I would "get a feel" for the place.
HA! By the time I reached the visitor's center (3 million switchbacks later), there were cars parked along all of the roads. All of the lots were full and people were just stumbling along in the heat. No thank you! I drove OUT of the park on the back side and thought I would try to park in Springdale and catch a bus from there into the park. Yeah, that was also a good idea, but there weren't any parking places in Springdale either! I stopped about 1:30 in a park (about a mile up a hill from a shuttle stop) and decided to just eat my lunch in the shade. I thought maybe some better plan would come to me at that time. It didn't.
It was still too hot to function on a good hike while fighting all those people and trying to get parking and there was NO WAY I wanted to walk 2 miles just to go in and catch a packed shuttle in that heat. I decided that I would just go back to my resort and see if I could just check in a bit early to set up my tent.
It took an hour and a half to get back up OUT of Zion and up to my campground, but I got there. The gals at the front desk gave me another hike that wouldn't involve going down into the park that I could try (before checking in). I wasq questioning the wisdom of their advice in sending me on a 6 mile hike in that heat, but thought . . .eh? At leats I can go look at it. I got there and learned by the sign in the parking lot (By the way, it was a driving adventure just to get up to that lot. It was ALL DUST, dirt, pot-holes . . . I went about 10 miles per hour or less the whole way. It was like driving into "First Water Road" in AZ, only longer!) that the trail was actually on the Zion National Park map. I was up on the "East Rim" of the canyon and the East Rim trail was what I would follow to get out to Obervation Point (which was where I was headed) but I knew that there was a spur trail that would veer off to the left that would take me all the way down into the canyon and the park propper (shuttle busses and all). I took it VERY SLOWLY. I had a lot of water and stopped OFTEN in the shade to slow down my heart and just make sure I stayed hydrated.
Eventually, I got to what looked like the rim of the canyon, but there was no overlook. The trail just kept going. Because I was stopping often, I didn't have a good indication of how far I had gone. The trails in Bryce and Zion are very sandy in places. It is kind of like walking on a beach - but that's an aside comment I think. Anyway, I had plodded along and suddenly my trail started snaking around and down the rim that I was on. I kept thinking, "Oh no! Did I miss the overlook or take a wrong turn?" I followed this trail until it took a much more serious downhill turn. Then, I decided, "Well, it is hot anyway. If I am on the right trail, I will just make it a priority to come back some morning when it is cooler to do it again."
I turned around and meandered my way back to my car. I noticed many pretty flowers on the treck home, which was almost all downhill (once I climbed back up onto the rim). It was enjoyable if not hot.
By the time I made it down to my campground it was 5 PM and I could more than check in at that time. I decided it was time to try setting up my brand new tent (purchased for when my nephews are with me so I could have some more room with them.) HA! The whole campsite is this fine red sand. THe wind was blowing, the flies were dive-bombing me, the tent was huge, it was still close to 109 or higher, and I guess my patience wasn't really very good. It didn't go well, but an hour later (after deciding the people who wrote the instruction booklet should not have passed thier instruction English exam. It was a disaster.) the tent was standing (and two days later it still IS standing). I don't know if it is right, but I got it up. It is like a castle compared to the more cramped space I was in before.
After finishing that, I was dusty and hot! I decided I wasn't in the mood for dinner so I would walk over to the pool and cool off that way. It was lovely and COLD (the heater broke on the pool) but it was exactly what was needed.
Once cooled off, I went back to prepare my dinner for the night, clean up, and then just head to bed for the night. My neighbors opted to have a bon fire and talk until about 3 AM, but I had determined that I would catch the VERY FIRST shuttle in the morning (6 AM) and I had at least a half hour drive to get there. I attempted to sleep; I think that's all I've done for a week anyway. (I told my neighbor that I missed my bed. She said, "Your legs would be too tired to climb into it anyway." HA! I have a lofted bed that has 3 stairs up to it.)
Tuesday, June 20th
I awoke at about 5:15 and realized that I needed to hustle if I was going to get down to the visitor's center by 6 AM. I grabbed a power bar and some snacks/lunch for my hiking back pack. I made sure I had plenty of water, and then I set off! I was surprised by the traffic on the roads at that time. I was even more surprised when I pulled into the visitor's center at 6:30 and there were very few spots remaining. I waited an hour or more to catch a shuttle! They were packed as full as commuter trains in Tokyo! Crazy!
I jumped off along with about half the shuttle at the "Grotto", which is the start for the hike up to Angel's Landing. OK! John Sandstrom is a gentelman who lives in Silver Bay who was giving me all sorts of advice on which hikes I would love. As I was doing Fairyland Loop in Bryce I kept thinking that John was trying to kill me, but he was right. It was beautiful and I LOVED it! I was a little hesitant as the shuttle recording said that people have died on this hike. It is high, unprotected, and unsafe if it is too windy. Um...what is "too windy." There were many signs posted before beginning to explain the risks. I decided that I was there and I was going to do it. I don't have a fear of heights and I know what I am capable of doing - it is the crazy others around me I can't control. Oh well.
It was about 69 degrees when I started the hike. It was very comfortable, but within the first 20 minutes the switchbacks began! (Now, I don't dislike switchbacks when hiking like I do when driving, but wow they can wind a person!) There was one gal near me who was convinced that we would have 21 switchbacks, so she was counting them. Most people would hike a while and then stop to regain their breath and continue on. I decided I was NOT in a race, but I certainly moved better than I had a week prior at Rocky Mountain National Park. All of a sudden, we entered this amazing walled canyon (They call it the refrigerator canyon). It was cool and mostly flat and lovely, however, upon coming out of the canyon there I looked up and said, "You've got to be kidding!" That girl counting switchbacks was WRONG! I have never seen a set of them quite like that. There were probably 21 right in that section! They were short, however, and I didn't mind them too much. When they ended, I could tell I was near a rocky top. There were a few chains secured in the rock to help us pull ourselves up and give us grip. I got up to the top and asked a few people which way I was supposed to go, as the trail went to the left and to the right. Nobody actually knew, so I guessed left and was pleased. It was this amazing overlook over the whole canyon area. I thought, "I made it!" Yeah, right! I decided before headding down that I should really follow the other path to see where it went. THe people along with me were as surprised as I was as we looked up and saw the peak before us - covered with chains and a very narrow trail with steep drops on both sides. OK, I guess I wasn't there yet.
I set out and was already stuck in traffic. Some people were coming down as we were going up. It was a maze and a challenge, and I loved it! I stopped an extremely congested point and had a lovely conversation with a gal from Oregon. She showed me pictures from Canyon Lake and we chatted some. Then, when traffic had cleared I pressed on. I made it to the top along-side a gal that had been on my shuttle from the visitor's center that morning. This gal, upon first sight, reminded me of Lori Draxten. She had been with her husband and two children earlier in the morning, but now she was only there with her son. We started visiting and I realized that she was from Scandinavia (somewhere), but her personality was as bubbly and enchanting as Lori's. She was making friends with everyone along the mountain. We stayed together quite a ways down. I learned that the other half of her family had a fear of heights so they had been left back somewhere else. I also learned she and her son took a lot more pictures than I did, so after a rousing conversation about California Condors, I bid them farewell and pressed on.
I made it down to the bottom of the mountain and decided I needed MORE water and a potty break before setting out again on a different hike. I also felt like I should reapply my sunscreen before setting out in the heat of the day. I sat on a park bench and pulled out my sunspray (I can't really reach my back by myself without using the spray kind.) Oh there were some European tourists watching while I did that! They started shielding and protecting their son. They were talking harshly about "chemicals" and I felt like a was some drug dealer out on the streets poluting society. Um...well, I would rather be protected than get a major sunburt, so I continued, but I may NOT be using the spray bottles any more if that makes me such a horrid person.
I knew there was a loop from that same sight that would allow me to go to Emerald Pools, so I thought that might be easier than trying to shuttle back over there. So, after visiting with a few other people who had been on the hike with me, I set off again (back UP the ridge). This one was only a 2 mile hike, however, and it was much easier. The only downside was that the temps had increased greatly. None of us knew how hot it was, but it was no longer comfortable. They were surveying and monitoring traffic on the trails up to the highest emerald pools so I asked some people of they thought it was worth it. Given their response I happily decided to only hit two out of the three. They were fine, but I wasn't nearly as wowed by them. Getting dripped on by the falling water was pleasant, however. :)
Next, I did catch a shuttle and I didn't even care which direction it would take me. This one took me back a stop, towards the visitor's center, to the Court of the Patriarchs. I learned there were three mountains: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that were named after the patriarchs in the Bible. Interesting. I did the little hike (very little) up to an information board about them and took a picture.
Next, I hopped back on the shuttle to go further into the park. This time I got off at Weeping Rock. This was actually part of the trail accessable from the Observation Point look out that I had attempted to do the day before. I decided if I saw it, using the short hike here, I wouldn't feel the extreme need to do the long one tomorrow. Upon coming down from that hike, I knew I was starting to melt. Fatigue and heat were starting to get me. I was going to attempt to stop at the next two stops to take pictures and maybe go up to try to see the Narrows. When I learned the extreme number of people there and how far I would have to walk to even make it too the Narrows, I decided . . .eh? I don't need to do it. I simply rode the bus all the way back to the visitor center. WHile riding our busdriver told us that 5 ambulances needed to be called that day due to heat/dehydration. She cautioned us to KEEP DRINKING! We asked if she knew the temp and all she said was, "Hell." HA! It was 109.
I claimed my car when getting back and drove up to my campground. My tent was like an oven, so I put on my bathing suit and went to the very crowded pool! It was cool and refreshing at least. I then decided to go prepare my dinner and take a shower. By the time that was done, so was I. Bed time!
Today, Wednesday June 21
I may be staying in a very nice resort/campground, but par for the course internet service and connection is very spotty. I couldn't even access my cell phone at my tent, so I hadn't done very much for the past two days. My plan was to have an "easier" day today.
I ate a hard boiled egg for brekkie and then decided to go reconquer the Observation Point trail. It went much better in the chilly morning air and now that I had studied the map even more. I pressed on past where I had turned around before and made it to the dramatic overlook. I could look and see Angel's Landing and the whole canyon floor. It was great.
Upon getting back to the campground it was about 11:30 AM and I decided to do some laundry, sit at the pool, and then find this charging/internet area (I am writing from a bar in the restaurant -- not eating here, but sitting here).
I was able to find a nice shady table to sit at while waiting to gain access to the only two washing machines for the whole compound! 2! There was an Austrian woman there who was finishing her loads, or attempting to, and then I could wash. We learned the driers didn't work - at all.
Great! The red, silty clay . . .and clean laundry? Wet, clean laundry? Really? Sigh, I had not clothespins, but I lugged my wet laundry back to my tent and started to hang it in trees and on the line. I sat there just picking up random clothing items every time the wind blew for about 30 minutes. By then, many of my rayon items had dried enough for me to throw them into the tent. THe rest, well . . .I abandoned them to come here. I have been on my computer ever since.
The plan now is to go back to rescue what I can of my slightly clean laundry and get ready for a "Dutch Oven" cowboy supper! I may end the night with some stargazing and hot cocoa too (hot cocoa doesn't sound good now, but it does cool off thankfully when the sun goes down.)
Tomorrow, I load up to head to Page.
Monday, June 19th
I woke up pretty early and was able to pack up all of my stuff (and get a shower) in about an hour and a half. That was an improvement on the time before.
I set out for Zion and my new resort/campground. I wanted to make sure I knew where I was staying before I went into Zion. I knew I would get there early, but decided that I had not more reason to delay departure, so I might as well go. I programmed Gerty AND my cell phone. They actually agreed with each other this time, so it made finding everything much easier. It was a non-eventful drive; wait, that should say uneventful, right?
Well, I got to my campground at about 11 AM and check-n wasn't until 4 PM. The gals at the front desk attempted to give me some suggested "shorter" hikes in Zion that I could try.
OK, I forget how much I dislike switchbacks while driving until I am in there. I was OK in Arches with theirs, and Bryce was NO PROBLEM AT ALL, but Zion? Yikes! I was dizzy and I was the driver! My car was reading 104 at 11 AM that day. I was a bit worried about getting out and conquering anything while feeling a big wonky from the drive. I decided that I would like to try, however, because it might help to clear my head.
So, they had circled a place on the map and mentioned that I would need to stop "RIGHT BEFORE" the tunnel. Well, uh oh. I went through a tunnel and hadn't seen the sign for the walk I wanted. I looped back and actually DID find a parking place. I could tell that other people had been down walking around, so I followed the prints and set off. Yeah, people are dumb (me included.) I determined after getting all the way down a wash that I was simply following tracks into a HOT - Breeze-free wash. Not worth it to me, so I climbed back up and out and reclaimed my car.
I started back into the park only to learn in about a mile that there are TWO tunnels into Zion. The second on was labled with the hike I was encouraged to take, but traffic was backed up about a quarter of a mile behind that stop AND the lot (or pull off) was beyond full. I couldn't have stopped there if I had any energy left to try it anyway. I decided that I would just drive into the park, find a shuttle and just explore a little to make a plan for the next couple of days. I would "get a feel" for the place.
HA! By the time I reached the visitor's center (3 million switchbacks later), there were cars parked along all of the roads. All of the lots were full and people were just stumbling along in the heat. No thank you! I drove OUT of the park on the back side and thought I would try to park in Springdale and catch a bus from there into the park. Yeah, that was also a good idea, but there weren't any parking places in Springdale either! I stopped about 1:30 in a park (about a mile up a hill from a shuttle stop) and decided to just eat my lunch in the shade. I thought maybe some better plan would come to me at that time. It didn't.
It was still too hot to function on a good hike while fighting all those people and trying to get parking and there was NO WAY I wanted to walk 2 miles just to go in and catch a packed shuttle in that heat. I decided that I would just go back to my resort and see if I could just check in a bit early to set up my tent.
It took an hour and a half to get back up OUT of Zion and up to my campground, but I got there. The gals at the front desk gave me another hike that wouldn't involve going down into the park that I could try (before checking in). I wasq questioning the wisdom of their advice in sending me on a 6 mile hike in that heat, but thought . . .eh? At leats I can go look at it. I got there and learned by the sign in the parking lot (By the way, it was a driving adventure just to get up to that lot. It was ALL DUST, dirt, pot-holes . . . I went about 10 miles per hour or less the whole way. It was like driving into "First Water Road" in AZ, only longer!) that the trail was actually on the Zion National Park map. I was up on the "East Rim" of the canyon and the East Rim trail was what I would follow to get out to Obervation Point (which was where I was headed) but I knew that there was a spur trail that would veer off to the left that would take me all the way down into the canyon and the park propper (shuttle busses and all). I took it VERY SLOWLY. I had a lot of water and stopped OFTEN in the shade to slow down my heart and just make sure I stayed hydrated.
Eventually, I got to what looked like the rim of the canyon, but there was no overlook. The trail just kept going. Because I was stopping often, I didn't have a good indication of how far I had gone. The trails in Bryce and Zion are very sandy in places. It is kind of like walking on a beach - but that's an aside comment I think. Anyway, I had plodded along and suddenly my trail started snaking around and down the rim that I was on. I kept thinking, "Oh no! Did I miss the overlook or take a wrong turn?" I followed this trail until it took a much more serious downhill turn. Then, I decided, "Well, it is hot anyway. If I am on the right trail, I will just make it a priority to come back some morning when it is cooler to do it again."
I turned around and meandered my way back to my car. I noticed many pretty flowers on the treck home, which was almost all downhill (once I climbed back up onto the rim). It was enjoyable if not hot.
By the time I made it down to my campground it was 5 PM and I could more than check in at that time. I decided it was time to try setting up my brand new tent (purchased for when my nephews are with me so I could have some more room with them.) HA! The whole campsite is this fine red sand. THe wind was blowing, the flies were dive-bombing me, the tent was huge, it was still close to 109 or higher, and I guess my patience wasn't really very good. It didn't go well, but an hour later (after deciding the people who wrote the instruction booklet should not have passed thier instruction English exam. It was a disaster.) the tent was standing (and two days later it still IS standing). I don't know if it is right, but I got it up. It is like a castle compared to the more cramped space I was in before.
After finishing that, I was dusty and hot! I decided I wasn't in the mood for dinner so I would walk over to the pool and cool off that way. It was lovely and COLD (the heater broke on the pool) but it was exactly what was needed.
Once cooled off, I went back to prepare my dinner for the night, clean up, and then just head to bed for the night. My neighbors opted to have a bon fire and talk until about 3 AM, but I had determined that I would catch the VERY FIRST shuttle in the morning (6 AM) and I had at least a half hour drive to get there. I attempted to sleep; I think that's all I've done for a week anyway. (I told my neighbor that I missed my bed. She said, "Your legs would be too tired to climb into it anyway." HA! I have a lofted bed that has 3 stairs up to it.)
Tuesday, June 20th
I awoke at about 5:15 and realized that I needed to hustle if I was going to get down to the visitor's center by 6 AM. I grabbed a power bar and some snacks/lunch for my hiking back pack. I made sure I had plenty of water, and then I set off! I was surprised by the traffic on the roads at that time. I was even more surprised when I pulled into the visitor's center at 6:30 and there were very few spots remaining. I waited an hour or more to catch a shuttle! They were packed as full as commuter trains in Tokyo! Crazy!
I jumped off along with about half the shuttle at the "Grotto", which is the start for the hike up to Angel's Landing. OK! John Sandstrom is a gentelman who lives in Silver Bay who was giving me all sorts of advice on which hikes I would love. As I was doing Fairyland Loop in Bryce I kept thinking that John was trying to kill me, but he was right. It was beautiful and I LOVED it! I was a little hesitant as the shuttle recording said that people have died on this hike. It is high, unprotected, and unsafe if it is too windy. Um...what is "too windy." There were many signs posted before beginning to explain the risks. I decided that I was there and I was going to do it. I don't have a fear of heights and I know what I am capable of doing - it is the crazy others around me I can't control. Oh well.
It was about 69 degrees when I started the hike. It was very comfortable, but within the first 20 minutes the switchbacks began! (Now, I don't dislike switchbacks when hiking like I do when driving, but wow they can wind a person!) There was one gal near me who was convinced that we would have 21 switchbacks, so she was counting them. Most people would hike a while and then stop to regain their breath and continue on. I decided I was NOT in a race, but I certainly moved better than I had a week prior at Rocky Mountain National Park. All of a sudden, we entered this amazing walled canyon (They call it the refrigerator canyon). It was cool and mostly flat and lovely, however, upon coming out of the canyon there I looked up and said, "You've got to be kidding!" That girl counting switchbacks was WRONG! I have never seen a set of them quite like that. There were probably 21 right in that section! They were short, however, and I didn't mind them too much. When they ended, I could tell I was near a rocky top. There were a few chains secured in the rock to help us pull ourselves up and give us grip. I got up to the top and asked a few people which way I was supposed to go, as the trail went to the left and to the right. Nobody actually knew, so I guessed left and was pleased. It was this amazing overlook over the whole canyon area. I thought, "I made it!" Yeah, right! I decided before headding down that I should really follow the other path to see where it went. THe people along with me were as surprised as I was as we looked up and saw the peak before us - covered with chains and a very narrow trail with steep drops on both sides. OK, I guess I wasn't there yet.
I set out and was already stuck in traffic. Some people were coming down as we were going up. It was a maze and a challenge, and I loved it! I stopped an extremely congested point and had a lovely conversation with a gal from Oregon. She showed me pictures from Canyon Lake and we chatted some. Then, when traffic had cleared I pressed on. I made it to the top along-side a gal that had been on my shuttle from the visitor's center that morning. This gal, upon first sight, reminded me of Lori Draxten. She had been with her husband and two children earlier in the morning, but now she was only there with her son. We started visiting and I realized that she was from Scandinavia (somewhere), but her personality was as bubbly and enchanting as Lori's. She was making friends with everyone along the mountain. We stayed together quite a ways down. I learned that the other half of her family had a fear of heights so they had been left back somewhere else. I also learned she and her son took a lot more pictures than I did, so after a rousing conversation about California Condors, I bid them farewell and pressed on.
I made it down to the bottom of the mountain and decided I needed MORE water and a potty break before setting out again on a different hike. I also felt like I should reapply my sunscreen before setting out in the heat of the day. I sat on a park bench and pulled out my sunspray (I can't really reach my back by myself without using the spray kind.) Oh there were some European tourists watching while I did that! They started shielding and protecting their son. They were talking harshly about "chemicals" and I felt like a was some drug dealer out on the streets poluting society. Um...well, I would rather be protected than get a major sunburt, so I continued, but I may NOT be using the spray bottles any more if that makes me such a horrid person.
I knew there was a loop from that same sight that would allow me to go to Emerald Pools, so I thought that might be easier than trying to shuttle back over there. So, after visiting with a few other people who had been on the hike with me, I set off again (back UP the ridge). This one was only a 2 mile hike, however, and it was much easier. The only downside was that the temps had increased greatly. None of us knew how hot it was, but it was no longer comfortable. They were surveying and monitoring traffic on the trails up to the highest emerald pools so I asked some people of they thought it was worth it. Given their response I happily decided to only hit two out of the three. They were fine, but I wasn't nearly as wowed by them. Getting dripped on by the falling water was pleasant, however. :)
Next, I did catch a shuttle and I didn't even care which direction it would take me. This one took me back a stop, towards the visitor's center, to the Court of the Patriarchs. I learned there were three mountains: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that were named after the patriarchs in the Bible. Interesting. I did the little hike (very little) up to an information board about them and took a picture.
Next, I hopped back on the shuttle to go further into the park. This time I got off at Weeping Rock. This was actually part of the trail accessable from the Observation Point look out that I had attempted to do the day before. I decided if I saw it, using the short hike here, I wouldn't feel the extreme need to do the long one tomorrow. Upon coming down from that hike, I knew I was starting to melt. Fatigue and heat were starting to get me. I was going to attempt to stop at the next two stops to take pictures and maybe go up to try to see the Narrows. When I learned the extreme number of people there and how far I would have to walk to even make it too the Narrows, I decided . . .eh? I don't need to do it. I simply rode the bus all the way back to the visitor center. WHile riding our busdriver told us that 5 ambulances needed to be called that day due to heat/dehydration. She cautioned us to KEEP DRINKING! We asked if she knew the temp and all she said was, "Hell." HA! It was 109.
I claimed my car when getting back and drove up to my campground. My tent was like an oven, so I put on my bathing suit and went to the very crowded pool! It was cool and refreshing at least. I then decided to go prepare my dinner and take a shower. By the time that was done, so was I. Bed time!
Today, Wednesday June 21
I may be staying in a very nice resort/campground, but par for the course internet service and connection is very spotty. I couldn't even access my cell phone at my tent, so I hadn't done very much for the past two days. My plan was to have an "easier" day today.
I ate a hard boiled egg for brekkie and then decided to go reconquer the Observation Point trail. It went much better in the chilly morning air and now that I had studied the map even more. I pressed on past where I had turned around before and made it to the dramatic overlook. I could look and see Angel's Landing and the whole canyon floor. It was great.
Upon getting back to the campground it was about 11:30 AM and I decided to do some laundry, sit at the pool, and then find this charging/internet area (I am writing from a bar in the restaurant -- not eating here, but sitting here).
I was able to find a nice shady table to sit at while waiting to gain access to the only two washing machines for the whole compound! 2! There was an Austrian woman there who was finishing her loads, or attempting to, and then I could wash. We learned the driers didn't work - at all.
Great! The red, silty clay . . .and clean laundry? Wet, clean laundry? Really? Sigh, I had not clothespins, but I lugged my wet laundry back to my tent and started to hang it in trees and on the line. I sat there just picking up random clothing items every time the wind blew for about 30 minutes. By then, many of my rayon items had dried enough for me to throw them into the tent. THe rest, well . . .I abandoned them to come here. I have been on my computer ever since.
The plan now is to go back to rescue what I can of my slightly clean laundry and get ready for a "Dutch Oven" cowboy supper! I may end the night with some stargazing and hot cocoa too (hot cocoa doesn't sound good now, but it does cool off thankfully when the sun goes down.)
Tomorrow, I load up to head to Page.
Saturday, June 17, 2017
Saturday, June 17th
You know what I learned today? My watch has the day and the date on it! I maybe knew that before, but wow am I having a hard time figuring out what day it is when I am not in a normal schedule.
Yesterday, June 16th
Gerty the GPS is officially fired! She has more special needs than I was aware of! I had double checked her settings earlier to ensure that she was set for fastest route, and she is. I looked online before leaving to ensure that I knew the general route to go. I knew I needed to get out to the interstate and then head west "for a while" and then go south. That didn't seem too hard. There didn't appear to be many other options (HA) so I thought that Gerty could handle the job. Oh dear.
I got on the interstate perfectly fine. I wasn't on for much more than an hour and she told me to exit. I felt like that seemed kind of early, but I decided to trust her. I didn't hit any major towns - EVER! I hardly saw another car for quite sometime and the landscape looked like something I have NEVER seen before. I felt like I had somehow landed on Mars and was no longer traversing the roads of Utah!
I had been told earlier about another National Park here in Utah, "Capital Reef". I had never heard of it before, nor did I have a whole lot of intention of going to see it, but after deciding that Gerty had me 100% in the wrong place I all of a sudden saw the sign that said Capital Reef National Park. Hmmm, well I guess I hit another national park!
I wasn't planning to stop and hike at all that day, so I was wearing flip flops and who know where my tennis shoes were burried. I found this major pull of (by the way, where were all these cars and people earlier? It was like they just appeared out of nowhere. I did learn, upon leaving the National Park that there is more civilization on the other side, however, so they must have come in from that direction.) I decided that since I still had some water in my backpack I would just hop out and hike a short mile in my flip flops and see where it took me. I can say I saw Capital Ridge now. I didn't make it to whatever arch I was supposed to get to, but I got up high enough to see some great views. Honest response, however, at this point I don't feel the need to return to Capital Ridge National Park.
I loaded back into my car and started praying that I could find a town SOMEWHERE to get gas. I hadn't seen a town with a gas station since I left Moab! I needed gas! Shortly out of the park, I saw where all those vehicles were coming from and got my gas. I think it might have been Petticoat Junction that I stopped in, but I managed to get gas and ice (ugh that dumb ice).
Around 4:30 PM I pulled into my new campground. I am staying at Ruby's Inn Campground. I didn't know that this was like a town on its own. It is crazy and there was some mega marathon going on today so there were cars parked everywhere. People roaming around every corner and basically any open spot of grass that people found was fair game to set up a tent. They told me that since I had reservations I surely could find SOMETHING. Ha! I drove all around once - no numbered spots or anything (but don't get me wrong, it is a nice place). I finally called and said that I would really like a little guidance on where I should find a place. A nice gal came out and helped me find a group camping spot. I'm about halfway between the bathrooms/showers/registration area and the pool area. I'm also about 30 steps from the highway, oh well.
It took me forever to unpack my car and then decide where I was supposed to put my tent. I didn't want to take someone else's spot, but I also wanted room to hang my hammock (I had not trees at the other campsite to try that with). I think around 8 PM I was finally done organizing and setting up!
Today, Saturday, June 17th
Because my campground is so close to the national park the shuttles into the park depart right from the main parking lot. I decided after fighting with Gerty and gas yesterday, and the joys of Arches' traffic I wanted to take the shuttle. My goal was to take Fairyland Loop Trail - 8 miles.
You know, at some point, I really should read about the trails I am taking before I do them. It is amazing how altitude does NOT show up on normal maps, or I conveniently pay no attention to that. I knew I could have driven into the park and taken the trail, pretty close here on my own, but if I was willing to walk just a bit further (about 1.5 miles total) I could just take the shuttle to a different overlook and take some different trails there. That is what I opted to do. I shuttled over to sunset point and then took the trail around.
It was amazing! I had no idea that I would be seeing things like that and then walking through the whole canyon. It ranks up there as one of my favorite hikes! It was great! However, the last 4 miles (Or more) were coming up out of the canyon and then following the "rim trail . .. which was even more UP) all the way back to sunset point (Yeah, in hindsite I could have caught the shuttle earlier, but by then it was a flatter trail anyway and I enjoyed it again. I did have to stop to breathe quite often coming up out of the canyon! I was so grateful for an amazing breeze.
I ate my lunch at the shuttle stop after finishing the hike and went to the visitor center to check out potential programs and better read a map.
I learned - no church offerings in the park. Waah. There is however a 3-hour astronomy deal that I am going to tonight. I also learned that an airconditioned theater with a movie about Bryce Canyon - yeah - it is a great place to fall asleep!
I then hopped on the shuttle and did all of the other overlooks and small hikes around to see everything. I was back at camp by about 3 to take a nap (yeah, right), hit the pool, shower, do this, grab dinner, and then get ready for the program tonight! That, my friends, is my day so far!
Yesterday, June 16th
Gerty the GPS is officially fired! She has more special needs than I was aware of! I had double checked her settings earlier to ensure that she was set for fastest route, and she is. I looked online before leaving to ensure that I knew the general route to go. I knew I needed to get out to the interstate and then head west "for a while" and then go south. That didn't seem too hard. There didn't appear to be many other options (HA) so I thought that Gerty could handle the job. Oh dear.
I got on the interstate perfectly fine. I wasn't on for much more than an hour and she told me to exit. I felt like that seemed kind of early, but I decided to trust her. I didn't hit any major towns - EVER! I hardly saw another car for quite sometime and the landscape looked like something I have NEVER seen before. I felt like I had somehow landed on Mars and was no longer traversing the roads of Utah!
I had been told earlier about another National Park here in Utah, "Capital Reef". I had never heard of it before, nor did I have a whole lot of intention of going to see it, but after deciding that Gerty had me 100% in the wrong place I all of a sudden saw the sign that said Capital Reef National Park. Hmmm, well I guess I hit another national park!
I wasn't planning to stop and hike at all that day, so I was wearing flip flops and who know where my tennis shoes were burried. I found this major pull of (by the way, where were all these cars and people earlier? It was like they just appeared out of nowhere. I did learn, upon leaving the National Park that there is more civilization on the other side, however, so they must have come in from that direction.) I decided that since I still had some water in my backpack I would just hop out and hike a short mile in my flip flops and see where it took me. I can say I saw Capital Ridge now. I didn't make it to whatever arch I was supposed to get to, but I got up high enough to see some great views. Honest response, however, at this point I don't feel the need to return to Capital Ridge National Park.
I loaded back into my car and started praying that I could find a town SOMEWHERE to get gas. I hadn't seen a town with a gas station since I left Moab! I needed gas! Shortly out of the park, I saw where all those vehicles were coming from and got my gas. I think it might have been Petticoat Junction that I stopped in, but I managed to get gas and ice (ugh that dumb ice).
Around 4:30 PM I pulled into my new campground. I am staying at Ruby's Inn Campground. I didn't know that this was like a town on its own. It is crazy and there was some mega marathon going on today so there were cars parked everywhere. People roaming around every corner and basically any open spot of grass that people found was fair game to set up a tent. They told me that since I had reservations I surely could find SOMETHING. Ha! I drove all around once - no numbered spots or anything (but don't get me wrong, it is a nice place). I finally called and said that I would really like a little guidance on where I should find a place. A nice gal came out and helped me find a group camping spot. I'm about halfway between the bathrooms/showers/registration area and the pool area. I'm also about 30 steps from the highway, oh well.
It took me forever to unpack my car and then decide where I was supposed to put my tent. I didn't want to take someone else's spot, but I also wanted room to hang my hammock (I had not trees at the other campsite to try that with). I think around 8 PM I was finally done organizing and setting up!
Today, Saturday, June 17th
Because my campground is so close to the national park the shuttles into the park depart right from the main parking lot. I decided after fighting with Gerty and gas yesterday, and the joys of Arches' traffic I wanted to take the shuttle. My goal was to take Fairyland Loop Trail - 8 miles.
You know, at some point, I really should read about the trails I am taking before I do them. It is amazing how altitude does NOT show up on normal maps, or I conveniently pay no attention to that. I knew I could have driven into the park and taken the trail, pretty close here on my own, but if I was willing to walk just a bit further (about 1.5 miles total) I could just take the shuttle to a different overlook and take some different trails there. That is what I opted to do. I shuttled over to sunset point and then took the trail around.
It was amazing! I had no idea that I would be seeing things like that and then walking through the whole canyon. It ranks up there as one of my favorite hikes! It was great! However, the last 4 miles (Or more) were coming up out of the canyon and then following the "rim trail . .. which was even more UP) all the way back to sunset point (Yeah, in hindsite I could have caught the shuttle earlier, but by then it was a flatter trail anyway and I enjoyed it again. I did have to stop to breathe quite often coming up out of the canyon! I was so grateful for an amazing breeze.
I ate my lunch at the shuttle stop after finishing the hike and went to the visitor center to check out potential programs and better read a map.
I learned - no church offerings in the park. Waah. There is however a 3-hour astronomy deal that I am going to tonight. I also learned that an airconditioned theater with a movie about Bryce Canyon - yeah - it is a great place to fall asleep!
I then hopped on the shuttle and did all of the other overlooks and small hikes around to see everything. I was back at camp by about 3 to take a nap (yeah, right), hit the pool, shower, do this, grab dinner, and then get ready for the program tonight! That, my friends, is my day so far!
Friday, June 16, 2017
June 16, Friday
I can't believe that it has been a week since I left "home" already. Yet, a lot of miles has passed under my feet. I have spent a little time posting pictures on facebook for people to see what I'm doing but people asked me if I was going to journal. My original answer was, yes! I thought that would be easy as I would have all of this time on my hands in the afternoons, and it would be hot, and I wouldn't have anything else to do. Well, let me just say, it is hot and I find myself exhausted about the time I should WANT to write. I guess the only time I will ever get it done is if I have rain, and I no longer want rain! There is too much to do/see. As I type, I am sitting with sweat pants and two sweatshirts on, in the shade, by the swimming pool at my campground. It sounds ideal, especially if I add the fact that I am looking out over the red rock cliffs in the background. However, the mosquitoes are tormenting my hair - does that make you feel any better?
Saturday, June 10th - The long drive to CO.
Really, that is almost all I can say for that day. I left Fergus Falls at 6 AM. I never struggled much with falling asleep while driving. It was VERY windy, so I had to pay pretty close attention until I reached South Dakota. I can't say that the scenery really wowed me until I reached a short stretch in South Dakota - lush rolling green hills. If I hadn't been in such a "hurry" to get down to Fort Collins, I would have stopped somewhere to take a picture. I stopped several times to get gas, use the restroom, and just get out to walk (usually that coincided with go to the restroom). I made it to Fort Collins by 7 PM (8 PM in Fergus Falls).
Debbie, Hayden, Lizzy and Katie were home. We talked some, caught up over the past year, and had a great meal of grilled chicken and salad. It was wonderful. I think, however, after that long on the road I was just fatigued and tired. I didn't feel hungry, but I hadn't really eaten all day. I felt like I had rocks in my tummy, but figured it was all the driving.
Sunday, June 11th - Estes Cone
Debbie and I were up and talking at 7:30. We were going to have church with God out in His creation. The night before we had looked at the forcase and it was supposed to be a hot beautiful day. However, upon waking up that morning in Fort Collins, it had switched. It was windy, cold, overcast, and threatening! It wasn't supposed to improve for Monday either. We finally decided - it was now or never. We loaded up the car, Debbie's car - left Hayden with the girls - and took off for our little adventure.
Once we reached Estes Park, the sky was bright blue without a cloud in the sky! We decided to try Estes Cone after all. It was a short 2.7 mile hike up (and 2.7 miles back). SHORT! I was thinking, what's the big deal? I think I was thinking "cone" - some boring little mound of dirt that we would climb and call good. As we pulled into town and Debbie pointed up at this large MOUNTAIN, I thought, "Oh dear. That's high!" I knew she had mentioned a 1,500 foot elevation change, but thought, "I do that other places. What's the big deal. Besides, I climbed Hallet last year with a 35 lb pack. This won't compare." Um, reality check. It was rough. Last year, I had spent the summer in HEAT of Okinawa and I had been walking or exploring almost every day. This year, I am coming off a very busy school year and rather brisque MN temps. Let's just say, before we had gone a quarter of a mile we had stopped twice for me to remove layers of clothing. It was a WARM day, but not compared to what I have here in Utah. I guess it was good training.
As we accended the first mile I was breathing hard, but doing OK. I still felt as though I had rocks in my tummy. I had awakened not feeling great, and then the windy car ride (which I hadn't even paid attention to) probably didn't help. I just felt off. With the added altitude (we started at 9.000 + feet that morning) I was rather off my game. I kept appologizing to Debbie as I would stop. She told me she would push me off the top if I said "Sorry" any more. :) She's a good friend that way! No, she was very encouraging and happily endured my numerous stops and breaks. At one point, I wasn't sure I would make it, then I caught site of where we were going. "Wait! We are going all the way up there?" Oh dear. Do I cry uncle and admit defeat? No, I've done it before and I don't have a 35 lb pack.
In Debbie's downstairs basement there is a poster of a lighthouse completely surrounded by water. THere is a man standing in the doorway of the lighthouse and a tremendous-storm-churned wave is engulfing the lighthouse. The spray and water is about to wash all around and the man will only remain safe from the power of those waves because he is in the door of that lighthouse. That morning, I had looked at that poster and thought that's life. Jesus is my lighthouse! He is the only secure foundation that we can build on. He is our refuge, our fortress, our strong tower! My home may be shaken by the storms and waves of life, but I will stay safe in His stronghold.
Dwelling on those thoughts from earlier that morning, I thought, press on. I will quit if I can't do it! For now, as long as Debbie is willing to take it slow (and those ominous looking clouds gathering on the mountain beside us, Long's Peak, don't make Debbie hesitate) I will press on. We met some people on the trail who were coming back down already. They were coming up a little stretch that we were going down. I had been breathing hard earlier, but for the life of me I couldn't figure out why they looked so exhausted, hot and tired coming down. HA!
Then, we met some more people who said, "Yeah, that last half mile is pretty rough. All you do is go straight up." I was thinking, "That's all I have been doing and it isn't going well!"
We hit it! While I wasn't feeling great, I didn't want to quit. (I am glad I am writing this a few days later because my prediction was true. I told Debbie that next year I won't remember feeling poorly, but I will remember climbing to the top and making it.) We crept,climbed, rested, and breaked out way to the very top where we took in a fabulous an amazing view! It was spectacular! Due to a cloud rolling in, Debbie wanted to get a little closer to shelter prior to eating lunch, however, so we did that. I didn't feel like eating, but knew I needed more food in me to keep going. I ate a piece of beef jerky and decided then and there (and throughout the rest of that day) that I would NEVER eat beef jerky again.
When we started the decent, I thought things were going pretty well until stomache cramping or waves of nausea rolled over me. At one point, we stopped on this fabulous sunny rock outcopping. We just lay down to enjoy the view. Next htink I knew, I asked Debbie, "Wait, was I just snoring?" Apparently I had falledn asleep immediately! We rested a while longer and then continued the torturous treck back down to the parking lot. I made it but poor Debbie. All I thought about on the way down was throwing up, needing a vomit bag in the car for the windy trip home, sleep, shower . . .
Once we made it safely down, I immediately rummaged through my medicine supply in my backpack. I found some antihistimine pills; I knew what they were. I found "Meclizine" and thought it MAYBE was something like dramamine. I also found my Japanese "anerone" - sea sickness medicine. I wanted to be knocked out! I popped the meclizine and didn't even care what it was! Debbie was worried about what I had just taken, but I didn't care. The put me to sleep part of it worked very quickly! I wasn't much help to Debbie on the treck home. I was alert enough to go in and buy some gingerale at a grocery store in Estes Park, but I think I only drank three swallows. I am still carrying that with me in my cooler.
We got home, I immediately went downstairs (with Debbie's blessing) and took a wonderful shower. I felt very good as soon as that was done and crawled immediately into bed. All memories (or almost all) memories of feeling ill were gone. Sleep welcomed me quickly in Carolynne's Den (bedroom). I slept all night!
I don't know if it was all altitude, fatigue, or what. All I can say is I do not really want another experience like that, however, the view and the hike DID make it worth it!
Monday, June 12th
I awoke feeling much better, still not very hungry, but much better. Debbie and I left to go clean house for one of her clients and then we stopped at a couple stores on the way home. I am carting my nephews sleeping bags and pillows with me on this trip and I find that I was always afraid of ripping the bag and then having overflowing sleeping bag in my car. I wanted to buy compression sacks to contain the sleeping bags in a tighter more compact space. I did that at JAX, in Fort Collins. I also bought my first replacement ice for my cooler at Walmart, as everything else had turned to liquid. I was still afraid of my jerky sicks and gave them all to Hayden and Carolynne. I also brought in some cheese that I was carrying with me for lunches. After my episode the day before, I wound up leaving the cheese as well - I don't want to tempt more troubles!
Mid afternoon Debbie let me know that a storm was on its way to us with large hail. There was no place to protect me car, so we consulted a weather map and in a matter of two minutes she told me to go to Walmart again, to avoid the storm. I took Katie with me and booked our way to Walmart. I kind of felt like a storm chaser, only I was going the other way!
While Katie and I sat in the car I tried to put one of the boys' sleeping bags in its compression sack, but it broke! The eyelet was loose and caused it to rip! When Debbie gave us the all clear, I had to turn around again and go back to JAX to exchange the bag. That time in the parking lot at Walmart was good, if only for that reason! Bag exchanged and all was good.
Upon getting home to Debbie's, Hayden was home from work and her parents had just arrived. We were going to have a Norwegian celebration. Debbie's family has connections to the same little community that my dad was raised in, in Iowa. We have similar heritage foods! We made Kumla (potato dumplings) and Kumkakke. We enjoyed an evening of talking and memory food. I was worried on a questionable tummy what the kumla rocks would do, but they were great! It was something I hadn't had in years and loved it! Debbie and I did go for a walk after supper, with Lucy the hound, to help it settle!
Tuedsay, June 13th - Fort Collins to Moab Utah
Debbie and I visited for a while before I left that morning. It was a sweet time of reunion with a treasured friend. I feel very blessed to have been given the opportunity to go to Bethel College. THe friends that I met there, are friends for life! Better still, we all have maintained a close relationship with the Lord, so we can still connect on the items and things that truly matter. That makes for true fellowship!
Then, I loaded the car for the first solo part of my journey. The trip took me through Denver (traffic traffic traffic) and on through the Rocky Mountains! It was absolutely beautiful, but I felt like I always needed two hands on the wheel. There was NEVER any danger of me getting sleepy in that environment.
After I got through Vail, the landscape started to change and got more flat. I felt I could relax a little more. I pulled into the Moab area around 4 PM and had programmed Gerty my GPS with the address of my campsite. I hadn't bothered to look at the name because I had an actual address. I should have questioned more as I drove right past Arches National Park, saw numerous RV parks and actually read one that said "No Vacancy". At that point, I thought, "Glad I have reservations." I drove all the way through Moab and Gerty still said I needed to go 9 more miles! I drove those nine miles and arrived at my destination, a dusty road to nothing. Um....not quite right. I pulled out my paper and pulled the site up on my phone using google maps. I had passed it. I had passed it, according to my phone by 45 minutes!
Well, turns out my phone is no smarter than Gerty. As I came back through Moab, I again saw the "No Vacancy" sign. That was my campground! I turned in and checked in with no issues at all. I set up my whole campsite and then booked it back over to Arches to try to make reservations to go on the "Fiery Furnace" guided hike. They told me the visitor center was closed and that I would need to come back in the morning. Gates would open at 7 AM (they are having major road construction at Arches right now).
So, instead, I settled in here at camp. I charged some electronic devices and learned how to downlaod pictures from my camera to my computer. Tell me, why didn't I do that when I was at home? It took me at least an hour to make that work! By the time that was done, I gave up and headed to bed! The ground is hard, but I was tired enough that I slept fine. (noisy cars on the highway and car doors slamming being just commen background noise)
Wednesday, June 14th
I was up and ready to go quite early. It was chilly in the morning, so I had my jacket and sweatshirt on. I sat in my car for added warmth to do my devotions before driving to Arches! I am only about 2 - 3 miles from Arches here, so it wasn't a long drive. I was one of the first few cars allowed to enter the park and realized that I left without the map I had been given the day before. Oh well, just follow everyone else, right? They must know where they were going, since the visitor center (which I wanted to get to) didn't open until 9 AM anyway. Traffic lead me to delicate arch. Fine by me. I had that on my list somewhere, so I guessed that was as good a place to start as any.
I had already applied my sunscreen at camp, my backpack was ready, so I just locked the car and took off. There were already a SEA of people ahead of me and a larger sea swarming in behind me! I felt like I was in one of my marathons and just wanted some space from all these people. I had no idea where I was going or what the trial would be like, but I took off. I took off, fast! Maybe too fast.
All of a sudden I looked up and saw that the sea of people before me were forming a parade up this crazy steep mountain. What? Again? OK. Buck up buttercup, away we go! I have to say that I shed most of my layers on that steep incline AND found myself thinking about the song that talks about how God hides me in the cleft of the rock. Let me tell you, I LOVED the cleft of the rock. It was the only shelter and cool on those mountain hot trails.
I made it successfully to Delicate Arch and I alone hold the title of being not the first up, but the first DOWN from the arch that day. I was in a hurry to get back to the visitor's center and didn't know that the trail up was 3 miles like that.
I made it to the visitor's center by 9:05 AM and stood in line long enough to learn that the guided tours to the fiery furnace were sold out until Sunday. I could, however, pay $6 to go explore in there alone. I watched a video and decided that it was worth $6 to try it, but couldn't do that until the next day.
I decided that since I had to come back into the park the next day I would go explore and do some of the hikes outside of the park that the people at my campground had suggested. First I took a highway along the Colorado River (Potash Road) and drove to a place where I could hike in to see 2 different arches. The crowds weren't a large there and I really enjoyed the hike. I think the arches were bowtie and ...hmmm, I forgot the name of the other one right now. It was about a 3 mile hike and again had quite the elevation changes. The hike involved some rock scurrying and even climbing a ladder at one point. It enjoyed it!
When I finished there it was about noon and my campground was nearby. I decided to prepare my lunch at that time and buck up for the next adventure. I had some thai noodle stuff that I had mixed up before leaving and decided it was tolerable, but not order worthy ever.
I then adventured out again to go do what was billed as a 5 mile hike, but according to my GPS it was closer to 7. It was morning bridge arch or something like that. It was HOT. It followed a creek and I found that wetting down a bandana and using that to keep me cool was a life saver! All I wanted was something cold to drink, but most of my stuff (even the stuff in my cooler) wasn't all that cold. The hike was beautiful and well worth it!
After that, I was finished for the day. I wanted to go swim at my pool at the campground. I stopped at our little store and bought my 8 lb bag of ice for $3 and then gave up on other beverages - they were too expensive. I jumped into the pool briefly, as it was so full of people that there wasn't extra room for me to even sit. I then went down to my tent, sat in my chair and read a book. That's it. I read a book! I forgot how much I loved to do that! I wound up going to be pretty early.
Thursday, June 15th
I awoke early again and followed my same routine as the day before. I was at Arches by the time the gates opened and drove as far into the park as I could go. This time I had my map with me, so I knew what I was doing. Devil's Garden is currently closed so I could only drive to the Sand Arch parking lot, but according to my map it looked like I could walk all the way over to something called Tapestry Arch and through Broken Arch. That, actually, was my favorite hike of the whole arches experience. I didn't see another person until I got all the way back to sand arch. The birds were singing, the lizzards scurrying, and I even saw a few jack rabbits. It was quiet, peaceful, and a nice morning walk. Beautiful weather. Again, it warmed up enough during the hike that I shed extra layers! :)
Then, let the hoards of people begin! Sand arch was the end of that trail, back near my car. I should have gone to visit that first! There were just line after line of people going in there. It was a very different and unique arch - very sandy, obviouly - but quite easy to reach from the parking lot.
I then backtracked one lot to the fiery furnace. They don't have maps of that fiery furnace area. They just want you to explore and come back out. I wasn't supposed to join any other group or tag along. A ranger guided hike was leaving right as I got there, so I let them get ahead of me. I spent about an hour and a half in there, but explroing that alone didn't seem very safe, or as enjoyable as it could have been. I scurried through a rock hole and got up on top of another vista point, but decided . . .eh? Maybe not. I then shimmied up and through a couple other rocks and then decided that some other time would work. I walked back out to my car and had a snack.
The next area for me to explore was supposed to be windows arches, but there wasn't even a parking place in the lot. There were busses and so many people that I knew I wouldn't enjoy it. I can say I have seen both of the arches from the road and called that good. I got out to explore a few other vista points and the "Garden of Eden".
I decided at that point to go into town and buy some ice from the local "Julie's" equivalent. There was a market, a True Value, and something else all together. It reminded me of Zups - our shopping center area in Silver Bay. I got the things I needed, and cheaper ice!
I then thought I wanted to go hiking on another trail that had been suggested to me. I drove for about 25 minutes to get to the lot for this hike. I made a lunch and ate it in the parking lot. I then walked to the start and though . . .eh? WHY?
I drove back to my campground, put on my bathing suit and had the pool all to myself for almost an hour. Then I visited with a couple from Cloquet, MN. I went back to my tent - took a shower - went to do my laundry - caught up on pictures, and then . . . it was time for supper/bed!
Today
My plan was to just take care of some details around camp (calling my cable company) and packing up. I decided to update this blog, so moved over here near the pool for better service. A lovely couple from North Carolina came and talked with me for about an hour. Turns out the guy was crew on the William A. Irving - the ore boat in Duluth that we can tour. He was telling me all about his experience and then his wife was talking to me about their travels. It was a lovely visit!
I am a bit later in getting on the go now, but oh well. I don't have much on the agenda for today!
Saturday, June 10th - The long drive to CO.
Really, that is almost all I can say for that day. I left Fergus Falls at 6 AM. I never struggled much with falling asleep while driving. It was VERY windy, so I had to pay pretty close attention until I reached South Dakota. I can't say that the scenery really wowed me until I reached a short stretch in South Dakota - lush rolling green hills. If I hadn't been in such a "hurry" to get down to Fort Collins, I would have stopped somewhere to take a picture. I stopped several times to get gas, use the restroom, and just get out to walk (usually that coincided with go to the restroom). I made it to Fort Collins by 7 PM (8 PM in Fergus Falls).
Debbie, Hayden, Lizzy and Katie were home. We talked some, caught up over the past year, and had a great meal of grilled chicken and salad. It was wonderful. I think, however, after that long on the road I was just fatigued and tired. I didn't feel hungry, but I hadn't really eaten all day. I felt like I had rocks in my tummy, but figured it was all the driving.
Sunday, June 11th - Estes Cone
Debbie and I were up and talking at 7:30. We were going to have church with God out in His creation. The night before we had looked at the forcase and it was supposed to be a hot beautiful day. However, upon waking up that morning in Fort Collins, it had switched. It was windy, cold, overcast, and threatening! It wasn't supposed to improve for Monday either. We finally decided - it was now or never. We loaded up the car, Debbie's car - left Hayden with the girls - and took off for our little adventure.
Once we reached Estes Park, the sky was bright blue without a cloud in the sky! We decided to try Estes Cone after all. It was a short 2.7 mile hike up (and 2.7 miles back). SHORT! I was thinking, what's the big deal? I think I was thinking "cone" - some boring little mound of dirt that we would climb and call good. As we pulled into town and Debbie pointed up at this large MOUNTAIN, I thought, "Oh dear. That's high!" I knew she had mentioned a 1,500 foot elevation change, but thought, "I do that other places. What's the big deal. Besides, I climbed Hallet last year with a 35 lb pack. This won't compare." Um, reality check. It was rough. Last year, I had spent the summer in HEAT of Okinawa and I had been walking or exploring almost every day. This year, I am coming off a very busy school year and rather brisque MN temps. Let's just say, before we had gone a quarter of a mile we had stopped twice for me to remove layers of clothing. It was a WARM day, but not compared to what I have here in Utah. I guess it was good training.
As we accended the first mile I was breathing hard, but doing OK. I still felt as though I had rocks in my tummy. I had awakened not feeling great, and then the windy car ride (which I hadn't even paid attention to) probably didn't help. I just felt off. With the added altitude (we started at 9.000 + feet that morning) I was rather off my game. I kept appologizing to Debbie as I would stop. She told me she would push me off the top if I said "Sorry" any more. :) She's a good friend that way! No, she was very encouraging and happily endured my numerous stops and breaks. At one point, I wasn't sure I would make it, then I caught site of where we were going. "Wait! We are going all the way up there?" Oh dear. Do I cry uncle and admit defeat? No, I've done it before and I don't have a 35 lb pack.
In Debbie's downstairs basement there is a poster of a lighthouse completely surrounded by water. THere is a man standing in the doorway of the lighthouse and a tremendous-storm-churned wave is engulfing the lighthouse. The spray and water is about to wash all around and the man will only remain safe from the power of those waves because he is in the door of that lighthouse. That morning, I had looked at that poster and thought that's life. Jesus is my lighthouse! He is the only secure foundation that we can build on. He is our refuge, our fortress, our strong tower! My home may be shaken by the storms and waves of life, but I will stay safe in His stronghold.
Dwelling on those thoughts from earlier that morning, I thought, press on. I will quit if I can't do it! For now, as long as Debbie is willing to take it slow (and those ominous looking clouds gathering on the mountain beside us, Long's Peak, don't make Debbie hesitate) I will press on. We met some people on the trail who were coming back down already. They were coming up a little stretch that we were going down. I had been breathing hard earlier, but for the life of me I couldn't figure out why they looked so exhausted, hot and tired coming down. HA!
Then, we met some more people who said, "Yeah, that last half mile is pretty rough. All you do is go straight up." I was thinking, "That's all I have been doing and it isn't going well!"
We hit it! While I wasn't feeling great, I didn't want to quit. (I am glad I am writing this a few days later because my prediction was true. I told Debbie that next year I won't remember feeling poorly, but I will remember climbing to the top and making it.) We crept,climbed, rested, and breaked out way to the very top where we took in a fabulous an amazing view! It was spectacular! Due to a cloud rolling in, Debbie wanted to get a little closer to shelter prior to eating lunch, however, so we did that. I didn't feel like eating, but knew I needed more food in me to keep going. I ate a piece of beef jerky and decided then and there (and throughout the rest of that day) that I would NEVER eat beef jerky again.
When we started the decent, I thought things were going pretty well until stomache cramping or waves of nausea rolled over me. At one point, we stopped on this fabulous sunny rock outcopping. We just lay down to enjoy the view. Next htink I knew, I asked Debbie, "Wait, was I just snoring?" Apparently I had falledn asleep immediately! We rested a while longer and then continued the torturous treck back down to the parking lot. I made it but poor Debbie. All I thought about on the way down was throwing up, needing a vomit bag in the car for the windy trip home, sleep, shower . . .
Once we made it safely down, I immediately rummaged through my medicine supply in my backpack. I found some antihistimine pills; I knew what they were. I found "Meclizine" and thought it MAYBE was something like dramamine. I also found my Japanese "anerone" - sea sickness medicine. I wanted to be knocked out! I popped the meclizine and didn't even care what it was! Debbie was worried about what I had just taken, but I didn't care. The put me to sleep part of it worked very quickly! I wasn't much help to Debbie on the treck home. I was alert enough to go in and buy some gingerale at a grocery store in Estes Park, but I think I only drank three swallows. I am still carrying that with me in my cooler.
We got home, I immediately went downstairs (with Debbie's blessing) and took a wonderful shower. I felt very good as soon as that was done and crawled immediately into bed. All memories (or almost all) memories of feeling ill were gone. Sleep welcomed me quickly in Carolynne's Den (bedroom). I slept all night!
I don't know if it was all altitude, fatigue, or what. All I can say is I do not really want another experience like that, however, the view and the hike DID make it worth it!
Monday, June 12th
I awoke feeling much better, still not very hungry, but much better. Debbie and I left to go clean house for one of her clients and then we stopped at a couple stores on the way home. I am carting my nephews sleeping bags and pillows with me on this trip and I find that I was always afraid of ripping the bag and then having overflowing sleeping bag in my car. I wanted to buy compression sacks to contain the sleeping bags in a tighter more compact space. I did that at JAX, in Fort Collins. I also bought my first replacement ice for my cooler at Walmart, as everything else had turned to liquid. I was still afraid of my jerky sicks and gave them all to Hayden and Carolynne. I also brought in some cheese that I was carrying with me for lunches. After my episode the day before, I wound up leaving the cheese as well - I don't want to tempt more troubles!
Mid afternoon Debbie let me know that a storm was on its way to us with large hail. There was no place to protect me car, so we consulted a weather map and in a matter of two minutes she told me to go to Walmart again, to avoid the storm. I took Katie with me and booked our way to Walmart. I kind of felt like a storm chaser, only I was going the other way!
While Katie and I sat in the car I tried to put one of the boys' sleeping bags in its compression sack, but it broke! The eyelet was loose and caused it to rip! When Debbie gave us the all clear, I had to turn around again and go back to JAX to exchange the bag. That time in the parking lot at Walmart was good, if only for that reason! Bag exchanged and all was good.
Upon getting home to Debbie's, Hayden was home from work and her parents had just arrived. We were going to have a Norwegian celebration. Debbie's family has connections to the same little community that my dad was raised in, in Iowa. We have similar heritage foods! We made Kumla (potato dumplings) and Kumkakke. We enjoyed an evening of talking and memory food. I was worried on a questionable tummy what the kumla rocks would do, but they were great! It was something I hadn't had in years and loved it! Debbie and I did go for a walk after supper, with Lucy the hound, to help it settle!
Tuedsay, June 13th - Fort Collins to Moab Utah
Debbie and I visited for a while before I left that morning. It was a sweet time of reunion with a treasured friend. I feel very blessed to have been given the opportunity to go to Bethel College. THe friends that I met there, are friends for life! Better still, we all have maintained a close relationship with the Lord, so we can still connect on the items and things that truly matter. That makes for true fellowship!
Then, I loaded the car for the first solo part of my journey. The trip took me through Denver (traffic traffic traffic) and on through the Rocky Mountains! It was absolutely beautiful, but I felt like I always needed two hands on the wheel. There was NEVER any danger of me getting sleepy in that environment.
After I got through Vail, the landscape started to change and got more flat. I felt I could relax a little more. I pulled into the Moab area around 4 PM and had programmed Gerty my GPS with the address of my campsite. I hadn't bothered to look at the name because I had an actual address. I should have questioned more as I drove right past Arches National Park, saw numerous RV parks and actually read one that said "No Vacancy". At that point, I thought, "Glad I have reservations." I drove all the way through Moab and Gerty still said I needed to go 9 more miles! I drove those nine miles and arrived at my destination, a dusty road to nothing. Um....not quite right. I pulled out my paper and pulled the site up on my phone using google maps. I had passed it. I had passed it, according to my phone by 45 minutes!
Well, turns out my phone is no smarter than Gerty. As I came back through Moab, I again saw the "No Vacancy" sign. That was my campground! I turned in and checked in with no issues at all. I set up my whole campsite and then booked it back over to Arches to try to make reservations to go on the "Fiery Furnace" guided hike. They told me the visitor center was closed and that I would need to come back in the morning. Gates would open at 7 AM (they are having major road construction at Arches right now).
So, instead, I settled in here at camp. I charged some electronic devices and learned how to downlaod pictures from my camera to my computer. Tell me, why didn't I do that when I was at home? It took me at least an hour to make that work! By the time that was done, I gave up and headed to bed! The ground is hard, but I was tired enough that I slept fine. (noisy cars on the highway and car doors slamming being just commen background noise)
Wednesday, June 14th
I was up and ready to go quite early. It was chilly in the morning, so I had my jacket and sweatshirt on. I sat in my car for added warmth to do my devotions before driving to Arches! I am only about 2 - 3 miles from Arches here, so it wasn't a long drive. I was one of the first few cars allowed to enter the park and realized that I left without the map I had been given the day before. Oh well, just follow everyone else, right? They must know where they were going, since the visitor center (which I wanted to get to) didn't open until 9 AM anyway. Traffic lead me to delicate arch. Fine by me. I had that on my list somewhere, so I guessed that was as good a place to start as any.
I had already applied my sunscreen at camp, my backpack was ready, so I just locked the car and took off. There were already a SEA of people ahead of me and a larger sea swarming in behind me! I felt like I was in one of my marathons and just wanted some space from all these people. I had no idea where I was going or what the trial would be like, but I took off. I took off, fast! Maybe too fast.
All of a sudden I looked up and saw that the sea of people before me were forming a parade up this crazy steep mountain. What? Again? OK. Buck up buttercup, away we go! I have to say that I shed most of my layers on that steep incline AND found myself thinking about the song that talks about how God hides me in the cleft of the rock. Let me tell you, I LOVED the cleft of the rock. It was the only shelter and cool on those mountain hot trails.
I made it successfully to Delicate Arch and I alone hold the title of being not the first up, but the first DOWN from the arch that day. I was in a hurry to get back to the visitor's center and didn't know that the trail up was 3 miles like that.
I made it to the visitor's center by 9:05 AM and stood in line long enough to learn that the guided tours to the fiery furnace were sold out until Sunday. I could, however, pay $6 to go explore in there alone. I watched a video and decided that it was worth $6 to try it, but couldn't do that until the next day.
I decided that since I had to come back into the park the next day I would go explore and do some of the hikes outside of the park that the people at my campground had suggested. First I took a highway along the Colorado River (Potash Road) and drove to a place where I could hike in to see 2 different arches. The crowds weren't a large there and I really enjoyed the hike. I think the arches were bowtie and ...hmmm, I forgot the name of the other one right now. It was about a 3 mile hike and again had quite the elevation changes. The hike involved some rock scurrying and even climbing a ladder at one point. It enjoyed it!
When I finished there it was about noon and my campground was nearby. I decided to prepare my lunch at that time and buck up for the next adventure. I had some thai noodle stuff that I had mixed up before leaving and decided it was tolerable, but not order worthy ever.
I then adventured out again to go do what was billed as a 5 mile hike, but according to my GPS it was closer to 7. It was morning bridge arch or something like that. It was HOT. It followed a creek and I found that wetting down a bandana and using that to keep me cool was a life saver! All I wanted was something cold to drink, but most of my stuff (even the stuff in my cooler) wasn't all that cold. The hike was beautiful and well worth it!
After that, I was finished for the day. I wanted to go swim at my pool at the campground. I stopped at our little store and bought my 8 lb bag of ice for $3 and then gave up on other beverages - they were too expensive. I jumped into the pool briefly, as it was so full of people that there wasn't extra room for me to even sit. I then went down to my tent, sat in my chair and read a book. That's it. I read a book! I forgot how much I loved to do that! I wound up going to be pretty early.
Thursday, June 15th
I awoke early again and followed my same routine as the day before. I was at Arches by the time the gates opened and drove as far into the park as I could go. This time I had my map with me, so I knew what I was doing. Devil's Garden is currently closed so I could only drive to the Sand Arch parking lot, but according to my map it looked like I could walk all the way over to something called Tapestry Arch and through Broken Arch. That, actually, was my favorite hike of the whole arches experience. I didn't see another person until I got all the way back to sand arch. The birds were singing, the lizzards scurrying, and I even saw a few jack rabbits. It was quiet, peaceful, and a nice morning walk. Beautiful weather. Again, it warmed up enough during the hike that I shed extra layers! :)
Then, let the hoards of people begin! Sand arch was the end of that trail, back near my car. I should have gone to visit that first! There were just line after line of people going in there. It was a very different and unique arch - very sandy, obviouly - but quite easy to reach from the parking lot.
I then backtracked one lot to the fiery furnace. They don't have maps of that fiery furnace area. They just want you to explore and come back out. I wasn't supposed to join any other group or tag along. A ranger guided hike was leaving right as I got there, so I let them get ahead of me. I spent about an hour and a half in there, but explroing that alone didn't seem very safe, or as enjoyable as it could have been. I scurried through a rock hole and got up on top of another vista point, but decided . . .eh? Maybe not. I then shimmied up and through a couple other rocks and then decided that some other time would work. I walked back out to my car and had a snack.
The next area for me to explore was supposed to be windows arches, but there wasn't even a parking place in the lot. There were busses and so many people that I knew I wouldn't enjoy it. I can say I have seen both of the arches from the road and called that good. I got out to explore a few other vista points and the "Garden of Eden".
I decided at that point to go into town and buy some ice from the local "Julie's" equivalent. There was a market, a True Value, and something else all together. It reminded me of Zups - our shopping center area in Silver Bay. I got the things I needed, and cheaper ice!
I then thought I wanted to go hiking on another trail that had been suggested to me. I drove for about 25 minutes to get to the lot for this hike. I made a lunch and ate it in the parking lot. I then walked to the start and though . . .eh? WHY?
I drove back to my campground, put on my bathing suit and had the pool all to myself for almost an hour. Then I visited with a couple from Cloquet, MN. I went back to my tent - took a shower - went to do my laundry - caught up on pictures, and then . . . it was time for supper/bed!
Today
My plan was to just take care of some details around camp (calling my cable company) and packing up. I decided to update this blog, so moved over here near the pool for better service. A lovely couple from North Carolina came and talked with me for about an hour. Turns out the guy was crew on the William A. Irving - the ore boat in Duluth that we can tour. He was telling me all about his experience and then his wife was talking to me about their travels. It was a lovely visit!
I am a bit later in getting on the go now, but oh well. I don't have much on the agenda for today!
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