Nine Words of Wisdom

“See yourself and weep. See your God and rejoice.”

- Paul David Tripp

 

Red Canyon, Utah

National Park Reflections

Sorry I can't post a picture of sunshine and blue skies, but I can't because it's still raining here.  Not a good way to kick off the Memorial weekend camping season!

All seven of the national parks we visited were different from each other, even though all had the common theme of rock formations.  Our favorite park of the seven was Zion.  Is that because it was the first park we visited?  Is it because we had five days there?  Is it because we went on several walks there and pretty much explored all that we were capable of exploring?  I don't know.  All of those things could have biased us.  Generally, the more time we spend in a park, the more we like it.

Because of logistics, we were only able to spend a day at Bryce, Capitol Reef, Mesa Verde, and each part of Canyonlands.  Our time at the Grand Canyon was cut short because of Dave's problem with the altitude.  We both had a hard time walking there because of the thin air. 

Mesa Verde was the highest altitude park we visited, yet we were able to climb in and out of the cliff dwellings.  We were determined to do that, but it pretty much wiped us out for the rest of the day.  We didn't go on any walks at Bryce, but we got in and out of the car many times and walked to the overlooks.  That was tiring because Bryce, also, was at a high altitude.  Zion was the smallest of the parks that we visited, which gave it a more intimate feeling and gave us a sense of "knowing" the park.  The trees at Zion were in bloom and the greenery against the rocks gave it a special look that most of the other parks didn't have.

The Grand Canyon had the worst signs, especially directing us to Trailer Village.  Mesa Verde had the best signs.  The signs at Zion were also excellent.  Grand Canyon, Bryce, Zion, and Mesa Verde were the only parks where food was available in the park.  Grand Canyon was the only park where we were able to camp inside the park and have full hookups, cell service, and satellite reception. 

Zion and Grand Canyon both had excellent shuttle services which we took advantage of.   The Grand Canyon was the park that surprised me the most, because I didn't know there were so many trees there!  The trees never show up in anyone's pictures.  Also, the magnitude of the Grand Canyon just can't be experienced except in person. 

My final picture of wildflowers at Capitol Reef National Park. 

Capitol Reef had the best wildflowers, maybe because it was the last park we visited so it was later in the season.  Since we went on a long walk there it was easy to take pictures of the flowers.  Notice the dry soil in all the wildflower pictures.  I wish we could send them some of our rain!

Utah Reflections

It's raining here in Vancouver, WA again today.  The rain has really been getting me down since we got home.  I was so used to no rain in Arizona and Utah.  We exercised inside today and I'm glad we have that option, but it's not as satisfying or refreshing as being able to exercise outdoors.

Speaking of Utah, I was impressed with the wide, spacious streets of the towns that we visited.  I understand they were planned that way in order for buggies and wagons to be able to turn around on the streets.  The first town where I noticed the wide streets was Nephi.  We went for a bike ride there and we were able to ride on the main street because it was so wide.  Then I noticed the same thing in St. George, Hurricane, Bluff, Moab, Richfield, and Brigham City.  To me, it felt midwestern because that's the way my hometown of Osage, Iowa was laid out, even though it wasn't settled by Mormons.  It definitely made me nostalgic!

The other thing that reminded me of growing up in the midwest was that many businesses and restaurants were closed on Sunday in Utah.  Even the RV park office in St. George was closed on Sunday.  This used to be common when I was young, but gradually that custom has gone by the wayside, and we just expect that places will be open on Sunday. 

I also noticed the lack of litter and graffiti in those towns.  I'm sure the cities have their share of crime and drugs, etc., but it wasn't evident.  Theologically, I don't believe what the Mormons believe, but I do think they know how to run their cities and their states. 

Wildflowers at Capitol Reef National Park

Oddities

We see some odd things when we travel, but this was the oddest thing we came across during our recent trip.  We went to an RV supply store in St. George, Utah, to buy some light bulbs.  In a rack near the checkout counter, they had a few brochures about things to do in the area.  We were surprised when we saw the title of one of the tours:  "The Polygamy Experience".  The small print added more information: "Tour the World's Largest Polygamist Colony".  I know we were in Utah, but really, I didn't know the polygamist area was even open for tours!  What a find!

To take this tour, which left St. George at 10:30 am, you were advised to dress for light walking and to come with questions.  The tour would be of the Colorado City, AZ polygamist compound which has been in the news recently with the arrest of leader Warren Jeffs.  The tour offered a chance to "experience a day in the FLDS (Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints) life with former FLDS members who were born and raised in the Creek.  Stories of growing up in this unique religion, a picnic set in the beautiful Vermillion Cliffs of southern Utah and northern Arizona, and intimate view of markets, parks and cemeteries, frame the previously closed community with detail and respect." 

Who could pass up this opportunity?  And for ONLY $69.95 each!  What a deal!  We passed up this wonderful opportunity, but if you are interested, here's the website for the tour: The Polygamy Experience

Warren Jeffs

If this guy gets out of jail and comes asking to marry your daughter, you might want to say "NO"!

From Brigham City, Utah to Caldwell, Idaho

I-84 Westbound in Idaho

After yesterday's rain, today was sunny and warm.  We left Brigham City a little before 9 am and arrived in Caldwell, Idaho, at 4:20 pm.  On the way, we stopped in Glenns Ferry, Idaho to tour an Oregon Trail Museum, but alas, the museum was closed on Wednesdays, so we didn't get to tour it.  It was located at Three Islands State Park, which offered water and electric hookups and looked like a great park for camping.  It was a beautiful setting right on the Snake River.  Sprinklers were running which kept the park green. 

Glenns Ferry, Idaho

Oregon Trail pioneers knew this spot well. It was one of the most famous river crossings on the historic trail. Pioneer travelers used the three-island crossing until 1869, when Gus Glenn constructed a ferry about two miles upstream. Click here for more information about this museum and the state park.

The Snake River in Glenns Ferry, Idaho. 

The Glenns Ferry water tower was located near the Snake River.

Tonight we are staying at Ambassador RV Park in Caldwell, Idaho.  It's a great new park with wide gravel sites which each have a concrete patio and a patch of grass at each site.  The streets of the park are wide and made for big rigs.  The park has a heated swimming pool and spa, playground, exercise room, and a lounge area where they offer free coffee and muffins in the morning.  Free Tengo wifi internet is included in the price.  We paid $31 after the Good Sam discount. 

Site 106--Home sweet home for tonight.

Tires!

Do you remember when I posted about going to Prescott Valley, AZ, to get an alignment for the motorhome?  We knew that both front tires were worn because of being out of alignment, probably since we got this new motorhome in October, 2009.  Dave didn't discover the problem with the tires until we were half done with our trip.  The alignment folks told him that the tires would need to be replaced soon, but we hoped we could finish the trip and get home before that happened.

This afternoon when we stopped for gas just north of Ogden, Utah, Dave noticed that one of the tires was even more worn and was getting hot.  So we quickly found a Les Schwab Tire Center nearby and got the tires replaced.  These tires are BIG and EXPENSIVE!  But it was a necessary evil and we were very lucky that we didn't have a breakdown by the side of the road.  The Les Schwab store had to get the tires from their warehouse in Salt Lake City and then install them, which took 2 1/2 hours altogether, which could have been a lot worse.  Thank you, Dave Ramsey, for your advice about having an emergency fund and about being debt-free!

We were soon on our way, as planned, to spend the night at Golden Spike RV Park in Brigham City, Utah, just eighteen miles away.  We had called for reservations when we found out about the delay, so they had our spot waiting for us.  Check-in was friendly and easy, and the price was right at $30 for the night.  Wifi is working a bit slower than we would like, but it's adequate.  We have 50 amp power, so I have a load of laundry going.  And, oh yes, just to welcome us on our journey back to the northwest, it's raining and has been raining off and on all day. 

Before we left the Richfield, Utah, KOA this morning I took a picture of the lovely lilacs that were along the entryway and throughout this park.  Lilacs are my favorite flower.  What a wonderful fragrance!

Capitol Reef National Park, Utah

During our visit to Capitol Reef National Park today, I took over 270 pictures.  I choose a few to share with you.  The drive to the park was about 80 miles each way, and we went on three hikes in the park, so we were tired when we got back to Richfield around 7 pm.

Chimney Rock near the west entrance of the park on Hwy 24.

View of a canyon from Goosenecks Point trail.

View from Sunset Point trail.

An interesting set of branches at the picnic area in the historic Fruita district of the park.

Fruita picnic area. 

The trees and greenery were a nice contrast to all the red and white sandstone rocks.

Fascinating 3 layers of rock.

Most rock at Capitol Reef is sedimentary, meaning it was formed in layers from loose materials like mud and sand.  In the hill pictured above, the bottom layer is thin beds of reddish-brown rock known as shale which were formed from silt and clay that came to rest in lagoons, mud flats, and coastal flood plains.

The gray band of rock just above the reddish shale is a greenish-gray shale that was once volcanic ash. Its one part of the Chinle, a complex, 700-foot thick formation that is rich in petrified wood. The Chinle ascends to the base of the reddish wall.

View as we drove the dirt Capitol Gorge road.

Capitol Gorge hiking trail.

We drove to the end of the Capitol Gorge road, which is at the end of the park's scenic drive, then went on a 2.5 mile hike along the bottom of the gorge.

Along the hike we saw petroglyphs.

Dave and I are intrigued by the holes in the rocks.

We also saw the Pioneer Register, where pioneers carved their names and the date into the rock wall.  Now there is a $250 fine if you do any carving!

After the long hike in the Capitol Gorge, we drove to the east side of the park and saw yet more impressive rock views.

This concludes our Grand Circle tour of national parks.  All seven parks were so different, yet similar in that they all contained mammoth rocks.  We saw very little wildlife in these parks, but we learned a lot about geology and the Colorado plateau.  It has truly been a trip of a lifetime!

Tomorrow we will drive to Brigham City, Utah, on our way north and west back to Vancouver, Washington.

From Moab to Richfield, Utah

San Rafael scenic view area westbound on I-70.

                                           

Today was a day of travel from Moab, Utah, to our new home base of Richfield, Utah.  We are staying at a KOA in Richfield and it's a good campground with lots of trees and with excellent free wifi.  Tomorrow we will go on a day trip in the car to Capitol Reef National Park, the final Grand Circle national park that we are touring.  We chose to stay in Richfield to tour the park because this was the town with the lowest elevation we could find that was somewhat near Capitol Reef.  Richfield turned out to be a nice small town with a mid-western feel.  It's at an elevation of 5280 feet and mountains loom all around the town.

The drive to Richfield took us west on I-70, where we discovered some more spectacular scenery, right along the freeway.  In fact they had both rest areas (which were open, unlike Arizona's) and scenic view areas, most of which had restrooms also.  In many cases, they were only ten miles apart. 

Spectacular Utah rocks along I-70 westbound.

San Rafael Reef scenic view.

Black Dragon Canyon scenic view. 

Here the freeway reached an elevation of 7270, and climbing through the Wasatch Mountains, we reached almost 8000 feet.

Across the freeway, this was the eastbound scenic view.

As we drove further west along I-70, the scenery changed to multi-colored hills.

To quote a t-shirt seen in a national park gift shop, UTAH ROCKS!

Canyonlands National Park--Needles District, Utah

    Wooden Shoe Arch in Canyonland Needles area

We went on a drive in the car to the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park.  Canyonlands is divided into three districts, Island in the Sky, where we went on Wednesday, the Maze, which is inaccessible by car, and Needles, which we visited today.  It's less accessible than Island in the Sky, but was worth a visit. 

As usual, interesting rock formations appeared before we even entered the park.

After going to the park's visitor center and watching the movie, we ate our picnic lunch and then set off to see the park and to go on some of the easy hikes.  First we went on the Cave Springs trail.  We saw the area under a cliff which cowboys used to use as a shelter for themselves and for their horses.  Then we reached an area which contained Anasazi petroglyphs.

Cowboy relics along Cave Springs trail

One of several petroglyphs

Some people are much more daring than we are!

We did not climb up to the top of this rock, which was reachable by climbing two ladders.  I don't have too much trouble going up, but coming back down is another matter.  Better to be safe than sorry!

Then it was on to Potholes Point trail.  Potholes are depressions that fill with water when it rains (which it did last night) and small creatures can be seen in the pothole.  The rocks are known as slickrock and are walkable, but you have to watch your footing so that you don't twist your ankle. 

One pothole with water, one partly dry

View from the Potholes slickrock

After driving all the roads in the park, which didn't take too long since there aren't too many paved roads, we went on our final hike (walk) of the day, the Roadside Ruin trail.  This was a short nature trail, with the additional bonus of seeing an Anasazi (oh, excuse me, Ancestral Puebloan) granary where they stored corn, grain, etc.  That was interesting to see.

Granary

More desert wildflowers

A Day at Arches National Park, Utah

Delicate Arch

Delicate Arch is the most famous of the arches and Utah's trademark.  There are three trails to see this arch and we did the two easiest, one of which was still steep and slow-going.  We encountered no-see-um bugs and humidity on this trail, but the view of Delicate Arch was worth the trouble.

Dave at the Fiery Furnace overlook.

Fins near Sand Dune Arch

One of the passageways into Sand Dune Arch.  This was a short trail, but very sandy, like walking at the beach, but we didn't see any water!

Sand Dune Arch was spectacular. 

This arch is not visible unless you take the sandy trail.

Families playing in the sand at Sand Dune Arch seemed to be having lots of fun.

Broken Arch

We reached this arch after a long trail through the desert, with a fairly steep ascent at the end.  Again, the view was worth the walk!

Skyline Arch

This arch was visible from the road.

Cars parked at Devil's Garden.  The park was very busy today!

North Windows Arch

South Windows Arch

These two are part of the "spectacles" arch that we saw on our first day at the park.

Double Arch

This one and Sand Dune Arch were my favorites.  Well, I liked Broken Arch, too, and Delicate Arch.  Oh, they are all my favorites!

Click on Dave's blog to read more about our day at Arches National Park.