Arches

For reasons we can’t quite fathom, neither of us slept particularly well last night. This was perplexing, as we had a nice room in a nice place. All was quiet, there were no issues. Nevertheless, we were up early and nearly the first ones in to breakfast. We got an early start on the day’s drive.

Our route today was not nearly as scenic as previous days. We crossed some of the most desolate, godforsaken land anywhere in the world. Some stretches, going on for miles, had the appearance of a gigantic gravel pit. The few settlements we saw appeared poverty-stricken and run down.

Things improved when we reached Arches National Park just outside of Moab, Utah. The line of vehicles to get into the park was two cars wide by more than a quarter mile long, so it took some time to get inside. Based on so many cars entering at once, we expected the crowds to be terrible. But all of those cars seemed to disappear once through the gate. The park absorbed them.

Although the barren surroundings continued, the rock formations were unique. There are more than 2000 stone arch formations in the national park, more than anywhere else in the world. The average tourist sees, perhaps, a dozen of the biggest and best. Even to see those requires at least a bit of walking.

It was a nice, warm, sunny day in the upper 60’s.We put in about 5 miles for the day. Our favorite arches were probably the Double Arch, Delicate Arch, and Pine Tree Arch.

One thing we learned is that all arches have life spans. They are created by erosion, and eventually erosion causes them to collapse.

We were near collapse, as well. We had planned another moderate 1-mile hike, but elected to leave that one out. Instead, we watched a movie at the Visitor’s Center, and then went into town to have dinner at a craft beer brew pub in town.

More hot tub time and early to bed in hope of better sleep.

Capitol Reef

We left Tropic behind as early as possible after one of the less memorable motel breakfasts we’ve encountered. Our route took us through the Grand Staircase - Escalante National Monument. This 1500 square mile tract was designated a monument by Bill Clinton in 1996. More recently, Donald Trump ordered it reduced in size by nearly half.

Our opinion is that this area is definitely worth protecting, despite what Mr. Trump says. He would turn it over the the mining interests, but it is far too beautiful to be destroyed. The terrain changes, it seems, at nearly every turn in the road. We drove slowly, far below the 60 mph limit, so that we could enjoy it. There was almost no traffic, and any locals in a hurry could easily pass us.

In addition to the scenery, there is history here — or rather, prehistory. The state park at Boulder, Utah along the way is devoted to an archaeological site that has preserved the remains of a pre-pueblo tribe that lived largely in pit structures under ground. The natural air conditioning of the structure kept them cool in desert heat, and was relatively easy to keep warm in winter.

In Boulder we also enjoyed an excellent lunch at Hell’s Backbone Grill, a “foodie” type restaurant in a most unexpected location. We then continued on through the mountains to Torrey, Utah and to Capitol Reef National Park.

Capitol Reef is one of Utah’s lesser known national parks, but that made it no less popular with the spring break crowds. The only difference was that we heard fewer international dialects. Many visitors we encountered were big families with five or six kids under age 10 (presumably Mormon families down from Salt Lake City or environs).

The reef is a “wrinkle” in the Earth’s crust where bedrock was pushed up above the surface. Over the eons water has slowly worked its magic here, carving the rock. There are several large, and many smaller, “washes” — gullies, dry runs, wadis, watercourses. By whatever name, they are bone dry at this time of year. When heavy rains come, particularly in late summer, they can become raging torrents in a matter of minutes. All sorts of signs warn of flash floods here.

More recently, humans have also done some carving. Mormon settlers made some of the larger washes into roadways, even though they had to be rebuilt after almost every rain. Some settlers left their names and dates carved into “register rocks.” Aware that the next flood might erase the memory of their passage, the creative ones managed ropes or ladders to write their memorials high up on flat stone faces that would be above the water line for all but the most severe flood.

In this, the settlers were copying native peoples who carved sacred petroglyphs into the rock many hundreds of years ago using antlers or stone tools. This unique landscape was sacred to tribes who roamed here as long as 1000 years ago, and some of the petroglyphs have been dated back at least 800 years.

Reaching the trailheads involved driving a couple miles on unimproved roads. It was slow going to avoid rocks and ruts in the car — just as it is when walking in the wash. But the scenery made it worth the trip.

We totaled about 6 miles of hiking on the day, and ate only a picnic lunch before leaving the park in late afternoon (since we had already eaten lunch out). We spent the night in Torrey. The motel had an indoor hot tub of which we took advantage. It felt pretty good after the last few days of hiking.

Bryce

Our drive from Hurricane to Bryce Canyon was uneventful. Once on the interstate, an 80 mph posted speed limit kept us moving right along. The view got better after turning off onto the 2-lane road, as the topography became more varied.

The promise of the guidebooks was that Bryce would be less crowded than Zion. This was only true by matter of degree. We wanted to park at the Sunset Point area in order to find the Queen’s Garden trail head. There was no parking to be had. After a couple fruitless loops around that lot, it occurred to me that the Bryce Canyon Lodge was not that far away. From a corner of a Lodge auxiliary parking lot (which was nearly empty) it was only about a quarter mile walk on a path through the trees back to Sunset Point. (When we returned a few hours later, lots of others had figured this out, and the lot was full.)

The air was unseasonably crisp at 29 degrees when we started down into the canyon, but the sky was crystal clear and the sun was warming things quickly. We were layered up, with hats and gloves, on the descent. Those we met coming up had stripped to shirtsleeves. The way was steep, with frequent switchbacks. Any loose gravel underfoot could cause a slip, so one had to take care.

Much of Bryce Canyon is a desolate moonscape, although one can be surprised by the sudden cluster of trees. The rock has eroded in many locations as clusters of spires, which the early explorers called “hoodoos.” The hoodoos take on many and various odd shapes. One of the most famous is called “Queen Victoria” — an entirely natural formation that early arrivals thought looked uncannily like a sculpture of Britain's reigning monarch. Erosion has continued over the last century or so, thus one must now use a bit of imagination to see the likeness. The Victoria hoodoo is within a cluster of others of similar size. This comprises the “Queen’s Garden” for which the trail is named.

The trail continues between Sunset Point and Sunrise Point. Many try to go from Sunrise toward Sunset, but our guidebook suggested that the climb out would be less steep going in the opposite direction. You couldn’t prove it by us. At an altitude of just under 8000 feet, the climb up to Sunrise Point literally took our breath away. But with a few rest and water stops along the way, we finally made it, completing the 3+ mile hike.

Our lunch was a peanut butter sandwich picnic along the Rim Trail at the top of the canyon, on the way back toward our car. We then set off along the highway to the southernmost observation point in the park, some 15 miles away. Our strategy was to go directly there, and then see other viewpoints on the way back. It worked. We found a parking spot at Rainbow Point without difficulty, and walked an interesting 1.5 mile loop trail there. We had to be careful, not only for muddy spots caused by melting snow, but in the shade, for ice from snow melt that had refrozen overnight. At the same time, we were overly warm when in sunshine.

We worked our way back by stopping the car at nearly every lookout point along the road. Even when close together, each offered a slightly different view. When we finally got back north to Inspiration Point (just slightly south of where we had started our first morning hike) we were too spent to make the rather steep climb up to the actual point. We settled for a lookout that was just a bit lower on the trail.

We drove out of the park to our overnight spot at Tropic, UT. It would be interesting to learn how the place got its name, as there is absolutely nothing tropical about the place. It’s desert. It is small, with several “mom and pop” motels and a handful of restaurants. However, several restaurants were not yet open for the season, forcing every tourist in town to one spot. Fortunately we elected to eat early and beat the rush. The burgers weren’t bad, but the service left much to be desired.

Zion

After being the first in line for the typical motel breakfast, we loaded our rental car and joined Las Vegas rush hour traffic to get out of town as quickly as possible. It felt rather strange to be listening to an NPR news report of yesterday’s memorial service for the victims of the October mass shooting in Las Vegas, just as we were driving past the MGM Grand on the freeway.

Heading north on I-15, I cursed our rental car for being pretty much the first car I’ve seen in the last 20 years NOT to be equipped with cruise control. As other car makers work on self-driving vehicles, how is it that Hyundai has omitted this rather basic amenity?

All of that waiting practice we got yesterday in the Las Vegas airport came in very handy today, as we  arrived at Zion National Park. We learned to drive endlessly around the Visitor’s Center parking lot before creatively making a parking spot where none was intended to be (in this, we followed the lead of many other drivers). We also got to wait in line for more than an hour for seats on the park shuttle, which advertises “you never have to wait more than 15 minutes.”

We learned that Zion is the third most visited of all the national parks in the U.S. It’s a very accessible park, with lots of short, easy walking trails. The crowded trails were a veritable United Nations: We heard many speaking Spanish (both South American and European accents), German, French, Chinese, Japanese, Italian, Greek, various south Asian dialects, and quite a bit of Scandinavian (my ear cannot discern Swedish from Norwegian from Danish). It seemed that the number of international visitors equaled or exceeded U.S. visitors. Spring break in Europe can sometimes be the entire month of April.

Zion canyon is breathtaking. The rock faces are so sheer they look as if they were sliced off with a giant knife. The cliffs rise to as much as 2000 feet, straight up, above the canyon floor. At this time of year there is quite a bit of water from snow melt higher up. The “weeping rocks” were really crying.

With few exceptions, such as guests at the Lodge, private vehicles are not allowed on roads in Zion. A shuttle bus system moves people from one end of the canyon to the other. Unfortunately, the crowds can overwhelm the shuttle system. Waiting in line for the bus can be the larger portion of the experience, and so it was for us, at nearly every stop along the way.

Our three short, easy hikes were a good warmup for the rest of this trip. Our fourth and final hike of the day was a bit more difficult, and undoubtedly the most scenic. We hiked the Canyon Overlook Trail at the eastern edge of the park. It’s not terribly long, but more rugged than the others. It also provided spectacular views all along the way — so much so that the actual overlook, at the end, was something of a let-down. The journey was more than the destination. Near the end, we even saw a couple of big horn sheep grazing near the edge of the rim.

We spent the night in Hurricane, UT, about 30 miles from the park. A Mexican restaurant there was highly recommended. Again, we waited in line. Food and service were entirely average, not at all worth the wait. A quick run to Walmart was necessary to get glue to repair the sole of my hiking boot, that was the excitement for the evening.

Overnight we had a front move through. The wind really howled, but in the morning the sky was crystal clear, even if the air was crisp.

Dreaming of a White Easter

On Easter Sunday we attended church with Mary’s brother and sister-in-law, then immediately headed back toward Kansas City. Our goal is to fill two weeks between this, and another event in the Omaha area in mid-April, without having to return to Minneapolis. But we got a cheaper flight out of KCI than out of Omaha.

One expects a normal drive of a couple hours or so between Omaha and KC, especially in April. Some snow was in the forecast, with most reports suggesting something between flurries and an inch. But we were surprised by a major snowstorm that slowed our progress to a crawl at some points, and had us passing multiple accidents and vehicles in ditches. Fortunately, we had left ourselves plenty of time.

We had hoped to spend the extra time eating Easter dinner at a nice restaurant. Instead, we ate a quick Mexican enchilada. We parked our car in the lot of our daughter’s workplace — on a good day, about 15 minutes from the airport. Then, I had my first experience with Uber. It worked well, but the driver had a long, slow trip of it in the snow. Our plane, however, was right on time.

As sharp contrast to the blizzard in Kansas City, it was 85 degrees when we landed in Las Vegas. I should not have been surprised that the first thing encountered upon stepping from the jetway was a block of slot machines, but it still seems out of place at an airport. Even Dubai, the Las Vegas of the Middle East, is not so crass.

Vegas allowed us to practice waiting: Waiting for our luggage at the baggage claim, waiting in line for the shuttle bus to take us to the car rental center, waiting in line to claim our reserved vehicle. It also allowed us to practice driving the same route multiple times: the GPS was a little slow giving us a turnoff and I missed it. Thus we had to take a ground tour around the airport once again before finding out hotel.

Once checked in, we ventured out to a nearby supermarket to stock up for our journey: bread, peanut butter, fruit, beer, wine — all the essentials. Does peanut butter go best with red wine or white? Vegas itself will have to wait. We have other destinations in mind.

Wedding Bells

Travel continued from Des Moines on to Kansas City where our older daughter is still on maternity leave following the birth of their third child in January. Her husband has to be away for extended periods for his work, leaving her alone with a 5 year old, a 3 year old, and a newborn. Even though the two older children are in pre-school/day care, we decided she could use some help.

There weren’t a lot of activities planned, nor were there lists of things to do around the house. Simply taking care of a newborn is time-consuming enough. So aside from taking the older kids to a museum one afternoon, we pretty much stayed at our daughter’s home Monday to Friday and assisted with basics such as meals and laundry.

On Friday I had to return to Des Moines — primarily to collect the clothing we had inadvertently left there, but also to help begin the moving process. That included meeting the realtor, helping fill a trash bin, and doing some painting.

Also Friday, Mary, our daughter, and the three grandkids traveled to Omaha. Mary’s niece would be married Easter weekend, and the festivities were getting underway on Friday evening. I joined the party on Saturday morning, continuing to Omaha from Des Moines.

The wedding was held at a “venue” in Downtown Omaha. The bride’s older brother, armed with mail-order ordination papers, officiated. The bride’s youngest brother, an accomplished oboe player, provided music. A reception followed at the same venue. It was good to see relatives on Mary’s side of the family, especially Mary’s brother and sister-in-law, who hosted us at their Omaha home, while daughter and grandkids stayed with one of her college friends who also live in the city.

Busy Spring

The latest round of travel began with a trip to Des Moines. The errand was to bring my aged parents back home with me for a weekend family event. I departed Thursday afternoon, stopped briefly near Albert Lea to conduct some ham radio business (selling a piece of equipment to a guy from Austin), and arriving in time for dinner.

My surprise for my parents was that I had made an appointment on Friday morning, before our departure for Minneapolis, at a “retirement community” near their home. They have been talking about this for months, but never seem to get around to it. I’ve seen too many families who waited until a crisis to make any arrangements, and as they are in their 90s, it’s time to consider the day when they might not be able to maintain their own home.

The surprise for me was that there was an independent living apartment open and available that day. I had expected to get them on a waiting list. They weren’t certain about it, so we continued north without a decision.

The weekend family event was a “couples” baby shower for our daughter, hosted by her sisters-in-law at the home of her parents-in-law. It was a good event and they received lots of nice gifts.

After the shower, my aunt and uncle invited us to see their new condo. My mother’s sister is only a few years younger, but she and her husband are much more physically able to get around than my parents. Nevertheless, they have recently put their town home on the market and are moving to a smaller condo in a “55-plus” building. Stairs in the town home are getting to be too much for them. Seeing the condo, I think, was a further stimulus to my parents’ thinking.

By Sunday afternoon, it had been decided that we would try to go back and see the apartment in Des Moines on Monday morning. We did, and they made the decision to move, no later than July 1 and possibly before.

Thus, the coming weeks are going to be very busy! We have travel planned, a new grandbaby is about to arrive, and now my parents need considerable help in getting their house ready to market. This is going to be an interesting — and busy — spring!