Stops along Scenic Highway 12

Aside from the major National Parks Marc has included in our itinerary, there are may smaller parks, with interesting hikes that he has managed to fit in along the way. Breaks up the driving and adds some spice as the attractions add some variation to the trip.

One of the stops on scenic Highway 12 is Calf Creek. We stopped here for an easy three mile hike along the path of a river to a beautiful waterfall. A trail guide alerted us to some interesting petroglyphs, the history of this area, as well as the flora and fauna.

The trail and the surroundings reminded us immediately of Ein Gedi in Israel, and the waterfall and pool at the end of our hike did not disappoint.

Calf Creek has a beautiful campground, which in hindsight we should have looked into. If we had, perhaps we would have taken a dip in the cool waters of the waterfall and stayed the night. But with plans to make it to Boulder that evening, and try the highly recommended restaurant there, we spent a short time admiring the waterfall, and hiked back to our car.

We arrived in Bolder, as the sun was just about to set and found to our dismay that there was only one hotel in town and of course it was fully booked. In fact, Boulder was not much of a town at all. The restaurant had a table for us, but with no idea where we were going to sleep, we opted to stay on the road until we found a campground. The area is full of cattle farms, so traveling the road after sunset was interesting to say the least. Cows and bulls appear out of nowhere. They don't seem to be bothered at all by the traffic. They can sit in the middle of the road munching on their last mouthful of grass, starring right at you as you almost drive into them. Luckily American National Forests are chock full of small wonderfully maintained campgrounds and as the sky turned black, we turned into a camping spot, converted our car into our motel and settled in for the night.

Kodachrome State Park — You decide!

We left Bryce Canyon refreshed and full after a night in the Best Western Grand at the entrance to the Park. Great room, great pool and spa and a wonderful buffet breakfast (buffet was the food theme for Bryce!). From there we headed to Kodachrome State Park.

The scenery is unusual here to say the least. 67 monolithic stone spires called sedimentary pipes dot the landscape. Apparently these pipes grow from the bottom up, getting taller as time passes. They are easy to distinguish as they are white stone as compared to the red sandstone layers all around them. The color and beauty found here prompted a 1948 National Geographic Society expedition to name the area Kodachrome after the popular color film.



As Marc and I hiked through the park, Our first association was not Kodachrome film ...

Marc decided the park should have been called "every woman's wildest fantasy". I, on the other hand felt that "penis envy" was much more appropriate!

Any ideas? If you send me your suggestions, I will send them along to National Geographic and maybe we can get them to throw in a free subscription for the winning name!

Hoodoo you love?

The geological formations you see at Bryce Canyon are called hoodoos. If you try to find a definition for the term hoodoo, you will find many conflicting stories. The one I find the most interesting is the Paiute Indian myth where the animal legend people who lived in the Bryce Canyon of long ago, displeased the coyote. The angered coyote, decided to turn all the people into rock to punish them for their evil deeds. Sodom and Gemorrah Paiute style.



When you walk between the hoodoos in the canyon or simply gaze upon them from the walkway on the rim of the canyon, it is impossible not to be affected by the spirituality of this place. Whether it is the wind and rain that have shaped these beautiful amphitheaters, or the gods, is really secondary.



We spent two days exploring Bryce Canyon. We learned about the Paiute myths and about the fact that Bryce Canyon is not really a Canyon at all, but Instead a series of breaks in fourteen enormous amphitheaters that extend down one thousand feet and span twenty miles long, encompassing 36,000 acres. We partook in the buffets at Ruby's Inn (such an institution in these parts that it is actually on our Road Atlas map as a city!) and took millions of photos of the incredible shapes and colours of this place.



Hoodoo or Voodoo? Like looking at clouds, abstract shapes suddenly transform into human or animal forms. And the eerie thing is that nothing stays the same here. Each day new hoodoos are being born and old hoodoos are dying. The landscape and the experience is always in flux. What an amazing place!

Monumental experience at Cedar Breaks

Cedar Breaks National Monument

I always thought a monument, was a statue, or a structure of some kind. But here in America, a National Monument is an area of land that is being protected. In many cases, it is a precursor for that same area becoming a National Park. You learn something new everyday!

We had a very pleasant overnight in Hurricane, and headed for Cedar Breaks National Monument the next morning. The Monument, which is a gigantic amphitheatre the size of a mountain, would be our first taste of what awaited us in Bryce Canyon National Park. The young Ranger intern who explained the geology of the vista in front of us, was very passionate about the place and it came through in his talk.

The road up to Cedar Breaks took us again to 10,000 ft, where the trees are stunted and the vegetation looked weathered and wizened. In addition to the geological information he passed on, the Ranger also told us the tale of the Bristlecone Pines here. They are suffering from some kind of beetle infestation, probably brought on by global warming and may not survive. We listened intently feeling quite attached to the Bristlecone Pines, after our visit to the Forest named in their honour. We also wondered why the place was called Cedar Breaks, when the trees were Bristlecone Pines (!). Probably a question we should have asked at the time …

Being up at 10,000 feet, the cooler temperatures mean the season is ready to change a bit earlier up there. The ride down from the Monument made that very apparent. We hit grove after grove of Birch trees with their white trunks and multicoloured leaves. Quite a sight.

But nothing like the sight awaiting us just a few minutes later.

There were many cyclists on the road, and we noticed, as we were quickly approaching them, that they all had their hands in the air alerting us to come to a full stop. They were laughing, so we knew there was no emergency, but we couldn’t see until we got a bit closer, what all the fuss was about.

Within moments we saw a herd of sheep clogging the highway for as far as the eye could see. And in the middle of it all, a grizzly looking cowboy right out of a John Wayne movie screaming at us (the people in cars on the highway) to get the hell out of the way. We were a bit confused as to why it was our fault that he and his thousands of sheep were on the highway, where we were supposed to be, but we all did as we were told and got the hell out of their way!

There was a lot of laughing and picture clicking, as the grumpy cowboy finally got his herd and his sheep dogs under control. With all of the excitement, the sheep decided that the highway was as good a place as any for a bathroom break, so by the time they had all mosied on by and the highway was ours once again, there were several miles of sheep poop for the cyclists and the rest of us to maneuver through.

The laughter — and the aroma of the unique experience was with us all the way to Bryce Canyon, and frankly — the air quality in our car/motel has never been quite the same!

Conquering Zion one day at a time

Almost from the first moment we crossed into Utah, it was very clear to me why the Mormon pioneers that originally settled here, fell in love with this place. We left the purple mountains of Death Valley behind for a landscape of terracotta and burnt sienna. The combination of rust coloured sandy mountains, blue sky and the greens of the vegetation dotting the landscape, are so inviting, it is intoxicating.

Zion National Park is postage stamp sized compared to Death Valley. Yet there seemed to be an endless number of activities on Marc's list for the three days we had allotted for this park. Because Zion is so small and so popular, a shuttle system was instituted several years ago, dropping you at trail heads and sites throughout the Park. It is both convenient and instructional, as your ride around the park includes commentary about all of the areas you are visiting. We parked our car each day at the Visitor Centre and took full advantage of the shuttle system.

We managed to fill three days with a multitude of interesting walks, drives and hikes. Although everything we did was memorable, two of the experiences stand out as being truly amazing.

On our second morning we nervously set out to hike Angel's landing. We had been told it was one of the most difficult hikes in the park, and if you have fear of heights, to think carefully about attempting it. This short description will give you an idea of what we were getting ourselves into: 

The Angels Landing Trail is one of the most famous and thrilling hikes in the national park system. Zion's pride and joy runs along a narrow rock fin with dizzying drop-offs on both sides. The trail culminates at a lofty perch, boasting magnificent views in every direction. Rarely is such an intimidating path so frequented by hikers. One would think that this narrow ridge with deep chasms on each of its flanks would allure only the most intrepid of hikers. Climbers scale its big wall; hikers pull themselves up by chains and sightseers stand in awe at its stunning nobility. The towering monolith is one of the most recognizable landmarks in the Southwest.

Although quite nervous, we were both feeling confident about the first part of the hike. As far as the intimidating second part, we decided we would play it by ear. The switch backs are called Walters Wiggles and they were really steep, but definitely doable. after the switchbacks is the hard part — the scramble to the top of Angel's Landing. When we got to the start of the scramble, we took a look at all of the people ahead of us already scaling the side of the mountain, looked at each other and said "let's do it!"

The scramble to the top was both challenging and exhilarating. It took about an hour to do the deed, with the help of chains embedded into the rock and guide rails to hang on to. There were a large number of other like minded visitors (all sizes and shapes I might add) climbing with us, which made it a lot less scary!

The view from the top was worth every perilous step. We took a few minutes to take in the view, had a small lunch and prepared for the hike down. Round trip it was about five hours, and of course the way down was a piece of cake after the climb up. We felt really elated by our accomplishment and were ready to take on the world.

The next morning we had another adventure planned. Completely different, but just as challenging. The name of the hike was called the Narrows.

Hiking the Narrows can be done in several ways with varying degrees of difficulty. From the top down, from the bottom up and a third option (the easiest) which is from the bottom going as far as you feel you can and then turning around. This is what we decided to do. The Narrows by the way, is no ordinary hike — it is a hike through a river that is running between two narrowing walls of a canyon. The deeper you go into the canyon, the narrower the space between the walls.

I rented water shoes and socks and a walking stick. The shoes and socks to keep your feet warm and the walking stick to navigate the river which at it's deepest comes to your shoulders and is 55 degrees F! Marc had water sandals with him and he picked up a walking stick at the side of the river, so we were both geared up and set to go.

Are you still with me?

The mornings in Zion are cool and windy, and the Narrows is at the top of the park where temperatures are cooler than at lower elevations, so we decided to wait until 9:30 to begin the trip. The idea of being in freezing water up to our shoulders any earlier seemed a bit too much even for Marc!

What can I say? The whole thing was amazing! We got past the first dip to our shoulders in as little clothing as possible, and then put on our fleeces and carried on. There were a large group of people in the river when we arrived and as the day progressed, we saw many people ahead of us, many on their return trip, as well as many starting their trip behind us. Every step was thrilling and by the time we decided to turn around and retrace our steps four hours had passed! So eight hours later and enough memories for a lifetime, we concluded our third day in Zion National Park.

Zion is a small park, packed with activities for every level of fitness. We took advantage of everything the Park had to offer and were rewarded with a very memorable experience.

We left the park that evening, headed for Hurricane, Utah for the night, with a full day of activities the next day, which would land us in Bryce National Park by night fall.

But that my friends is a story for another day!

Shana Tova from Bryce Canyon, Utah

We are sitting in our wonderful hotel room in Bryce Canyon, after a glorious day in this amazing National Park. As the sun sets tomorrow, the eve of the Jewish New year, we will dip our apples in honey and wish all of our friends and family a sweet, prosperous and healthy New Year. And hopefully before that, I will find the time to finish my blog posts covering the last 6 days! Oy!

May the new year provide me with the time and energy I need to document this trip of a lifetime —and provide all of you, with the patience to read it all!

Happy holidays!
xoxo

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas

Well that would have been an easy way out of blogging about Vegas. And don’t think I didn’t think about it. But honestly, I do have some things to say — and probably not what you would expect.

We had a bad start. The route we chose (our GPS’s choice) from Death Valley to Vegas was fraught with problems. Almost immediately we were sitting for half an hour at a one-lane road construction zone. Did I mention it was 108 degrees outside and keeping the car running for that length of time would cost us a tank of gas, never mind the damage to the ozone? Lovely. We got past that and it was smooth sailing until we hit the outskirts of town. That is where we hit more construction and an accident on the exit just before ours. The last 5 miles took an eternity. Finally out of the mess, we were hit with the metropolis that is Las Vegas head on.

We were booked at the Flamingo, one of the original casinos, from when Vegas was about half the size. It ended up being a perfect choice as it was really cheap, but centrally located so that we were steps away from the Bellagio, MGM Grand, Mirage, Wynn, Mandalay Bay, Venetian, Paris and Caesars Palace. But somehow the noise and the hustle and bustle of this crazy place was more than we could digest. Maybe it was the past two weeks of communing with nature. Not sure. Needless to say the rest of that first night in Vegas definitely stays in Vegas.

Our room was spacious and had a view of the pool area and the real flamingos. The hotel was full of ordinary people (which was great) here for a holiday. The casinos were not packed, but there were multitudes of people everywhere, sipping margaritas in all sorts of shaped glasses. All the lounge chairs at the pool were filled with people also sipping something or other, with a cigarette in the other hand. Surprisingly, you could almost not smell the smoke anywhere. Not sure how they manage it. We realized that we were actually inhaling the second hand smoke, but at least we were not gagging.

BTW we woke up just fine and back to ourselves on day two.

First thing on our list was finding a coin laundry that didn’t take us back onto that crazy highway. Cora’s coin laundry fit all of the criteria and we plugged the coordinates into our trusty GPS. Within 5 minutes we were transported to the 1950’s. Cora’s must have opened around then. The pink wall of dryers was certainly installed when they opened and they looked as shiny today as they must have then. The man behind the Formica counter assured me this was the cheapest coin laundry in Vegas. $1 for each load and $1 for each dryer. By far the best deal in Vegas! And of course, since it was in Vegas, there was a row of slots for anyone wanting to pass the time.

We thought cleaning the car was a much better use of our time, and we tasked ourselves with cleaning two weeks of shmutz out of all of the creases and crevasses of our car. We left Cora’s clean through and through, smelling like oranges (thanks to the car air freshener we bought at Von’s!)

Dressed like normal people and smelling like clean people, we spent the second night frequenting the upper class casinos. We dined at the Bellagio and were treated like people who actually came to Vegas to spend their money. It was fun, and we had a lovely dinner. At 8:00 we watched an amazing water show in the artificial lake outside the Bellagio. We both agreed that the Bellagio is by far the classiest Casino on the strip.

So here’s the deal. I don’t know. After spending the past two weeks in the most authentic of authentic natural surroundings, this place really seems like an abomination. Knowing that all of the water in that artificial lake has to be piped in from somewhere (we are in a desert remember!!!), and that there is another casino that sinks the Titanic every night (we were told the number of gallons it takes) — and that they still allow smoking everywhere, when it is illegal everywhere else in the free world — and ordinary people who may even be unemployed, sit in front of blinking machines and pour their money into them for hours, well I’m having a hard time with all of this.

Bottom line, we are part of the problem. We had no trouble with the room for $40 a night. It was a great place to get clean and reorganized. God bless America!