Natural Bridges and Monument Valley

On Saturday, May 15th, I broke camp in Moab, Utah and headed south toward Monument Valley, Arizona.  The route took me near the Natural Bridges National Park so I decided to take the short detour and see what it had to offer.  It was worth the detour and I will certainly be back to hike the area.  Natural Bridges are similar to Arches, but usually more massive and can be walked on.  Not that I am anxious to do so, because the fall is usually pretty far.  For a better view of the pictures simply click or double click them.

This leg of my journey also took me through the heart of Monument Valley in Utah.  Much of Monument Valley lies in Arizona and it would take a couple of days to tour it all, but the views in this part are very awe inspiring.

Around five o'clock in the afternoon I checked into the Goulding's RV park located in MV just north of the Arizona border.  Harry Goulding and his wife Leone came to MV in the late 1920's.  Harry was a sheep trader and was able to purchase a substantial plot of land from the Paiute Indian Reservation when it was relocated.  When the Great Depression hit in the 1930's the Navajo Reservation suffered immensely and Harry Goulding was able to convince Hollywood to begin filming westerns in the area.  The movie Stagecoach (starring John Wayne), as well as many others, was filmed in this area.  The RV park also has hiking trails and one leads to very beautiful arch.

On Sunday, May 16th, I departed Gouldings and headed south through Arizona.  At about 3PM I checked into the Distant Drums RV Park in Camp Verde, Arizona (near Sedona).  The park also had some primitive trails through an old wash, so I hiked in this area for about an hour.  For a better view of the pictures, simply click or double click them.

Tomorrow, Monday, May 17th, I will head for Yuma, AZ.  Not looking forward to this part of the trip because the main road (Hwy 8) is so bleak and unattractive.  I expect to be at our daughter's house in San Diego on Tuesday, May 18th.

Canyon Lands

On Friday, May 14th, the two Jims, Mary Kay and Carol and I toured the Canyon Lands National Park.  There are several different areas you can visit (The Maze, The Needles and Island in the Sky).  We chose Island In The Sky.  In my humble opinion this display of nature is even better than the Grand Canyon, because it is not as crowded and the views are every bit as spectacular as the Grand Canyon.  Here are a couple of examples (for an enlarged view of the pictures below simply click or double click the image):

There is also a lot of beautiful wild flowers around the canyon rim.

This park also has some nice picnic areas that we took advantage of for lunch.  After lunch we hiked a short distance to "Upheaval Dome."  There are two theories on how this dome was formed.  One is that it is a meteor crater and the second is that it was formed by a salt deposits welling up from below.  Regardles it is a weird sight.

If your're interested, you can see all of the pictures of this area at the following link:  Island In The Sky

On Friday evening we all had dinner at the Desert Bistro which is an historic residence that has been turned into an excellent restaurant.  Sorry I didn't get any pictures of it, but here is their web site if you're interested.  Desert Bistro

We're all leaving for different locations tomorrow, Saturday, May 15th so we said our goodbyes after dinner and will meet again at home later this month.

Arches National Park

On Thursday, May 13th, the two Jims, Mary Kay, Carol and me visited the Arches National Park just north of Moab, UT.  It is a beautiful park sculpted by God and mother nature.  No need for me to ramble, the pictures will tell the whole story.

At noon we found a secluded little picnic area and enjoyed a nice lunch.

The "Delicate Arch" requires a 3 mile round trip hike and takes approximately 2 hours.  Mary Kay and I decided to do this hike while the rest of the gang toured around the immediate area.

This trail also includes a ledge trail that can be a little intimidating.  Notice how MK is hugging the wall.  I also hugged it.

Just before the ledge trail there is a hole that you can climb up to that presents an interesting view of Delicate Arch and the surounding terrain.  The drop from the hole would be no fun, so you can see from the photos that I did not get too close.

When you negotiate the last 100 yards of the ledge trail you are presented with a spectacular view of Delicate Arch which is standing on a precipice that drops about 500 feet.

Many of the other hikers were standing and taking pictures right under the arch with the cliff just a few feet behind them.  Mary Kay and I could only brave being near the arch where a fellow traveler took this picture.

If you're interested, you can see all of my pictures in this magnificent park at the following link:  Arches National Park

After spending the entire day in the park we had dinner at Buck's Steak House in Moab and celebrated Sharon's birthday.

Corona Arch

Having scouted out the trails along SR279 on Tuesday, I headed for the Corona Arch trailhead on Wednesday morning (May 12th).  As usual the rock climbers were testing their skills on the sheer cliffs, but I didn't stop to watch.  This hike was moderately strenuous, but well worth the effort.  Corona arch and a companion "hole" are very spectacular as was the scenery along the trail.  For a larger view of the photos on this page, simply click or double click the picture.

If you're interested you can see all of the photos of this hike (and the photos that I took along SR279 yesterday) at this link:  Corona Arch.  These photos also include "Jug Handle" arch that you can see from SR279.

At 4PM Mary Kay and Jim checked into their hotel in Moab and we hooked up for a glass of wine.  I got a pleasant surprise because they were traveling with Jim and Carol, their usual traveling companions.  After some pleasant conversation (and 1-2 glasses of wine) we all went to dinner at the Sunset Grill. This restaurant is on a hill overlooking Moab and the Colorado River.  It is in the former home of the man who discovered uranium in Moab back in the 1930's.

Tomorrow (Thursday, May 13th) we will sightsee in the Arches National Monument park.

Moab, Utah

I almost forgot to mention that the Shiloh Restaurant in Cortez, CO, has some wonderful food and I tried their country fried Elk steak while in that area touring Mesa Verde.  If you're in the area I recommend this restaurant and the Elk steak.

I arrived in Moab on Tuesday, May 11th, and checked into the Spanish Trails RV Park.  This is the sister park of the one I stayed at in Mancos, CO, near Mesa Verde.

I will be meeting Mary Kay and Jim our long time friends from our gourmet group that has been together for forty years.  It will be refreshing to see some old friends who can help me celebrate Sharon's birthday on May 13th.

After checking into the RV park I scouted out some hiking sites along SR279.  This highway runs west along the north side of the Colorado river and Moab.  Much of the route is dominated by sheer sandstone monolithes which to the naked eye appear to be unstable.  Nonetheless I found rock climbers trying to scale the cliffs and it gave me the "willies."  Check out this young lady (for a larger view, simply click, or double click the photos).

 

I didn't wait around to see if she made it past the overhang.

Here are a few more shots of the scenery along this route.

After scouting out a hike that will take me to Corona Arch I retired to my trailer for a little wine and snacks.

Sand Canyon

On Sunday, May 9th, it was off to Sand Canyon.  What can I say.  This area turned out to be just as beautiful as Mesa Verde or Dolores Canyon and the trailhead is easy to find.  For a better view of the pictures on this page, simply click or double click on the image.

There is no reason for me to ramble on about this spectacular hike.  If you're interested you can see a slide show here:  Sand Canyon

It was Mother's Day and a particularly hard day.  I miss her terribly!

Tomorrow, Monday, May 10th, I plan to give my feet and lungs a rest.  The altitude around this area is 7,000 feet; you can feel it and three days of hiking have given me a few blisters.

On Tuesday, May 11th, I will head to Moab, Utah, to meet up with Mary K and Jim on the 12th.

Dolores River Canyon

This hike was described in one of the brochures that I picked up in the RV park.  However, while it described a beautiful hike it did not provide any directions on how to get to the trailhead and no one at the park had a clue.  Never fear GaryTheSpy found it after an hour and a half of searching and driving several miles on gravel roads and then a dirt road.

I had driven down the dirt road (that you can see leading from where the Durango is parked) about 1/2 mile before turning around and parking in this wide spot just off of gravel Road 10.  I thought that the dirt road led into the canyon, but was afraid that I wouldn't be able to turn the Durango around as the road narrowed.

After parking I began hiking down the dirt road and in about 30 minutes discovered the beautiful park, trailhead, and turn around.

Oh well, I still got 30 minutes of hiking down to it and saw some beautiful scenery, even if it wasn't as spectacular as it is from this point on.  From the park pictured above the trail runs for another 11 miles along the Dolores River and through the canyon.  You get a twofer on this hike because your right next to the river and can cool off if you want.  I talked with several of the ATV riders that you see in the above picture and they advised me that it is prudent to carry either bear repellent spray or a gun in this area because there are a lot of bears.  They also described seeing big horned sheep on the cliffs and along the river.  I confess that hiking down the Canyon for another hour and a half before turning around to head back up (another two hours) and never saw a big horned sheep or a bear.

Following are a couple of pictures of the beautiful canyon and river.  For a better view of the pictures shown on this page simply click or double click on the photo.  If you're interested you can see all of the pictures here:  Dolores River Canyon

Tomorrow, Saturday, May 8th, I plan to hike some of the Sand Canyon trails.  See you there.