Cedar City and Bryce Canyon National Park

September 14th and 15th-  We were late leaving Moab, due to a visit to a physician to get my eye checked.  Ended up being a waste of time, but needed to do it.
We drove north on 191 to get to I-40.  We had driven I-40 once before and knew it had spectacular views.  Lots of scenic pull-offs were provided, so we were able to get some shots.  The area where these photos were taken is north of Capital Reef National Park and it would appear that the evidence of the "reef" seen in one of these photos may be a continuation of the same feature in that park.  If you have never been to that park, it is worth going- very beautiful!

From I-40, we took I-15 south to Cedar City.  We had stayed in Cedar City once before, and it had two advantages- nice, modern city with good restaurants, and  a 45 minute drive from my nephew and his wife, who live in St. George.  Several texts back and forth set us up to meet for dinner on Saturday night in Cedar City.

The next morning we headed east to Bryce Canyon National Park.  We visited this park back in 2009 and loved it- one of the more spectacular parks in our system.  However, at that time we were unable to hike below the rim, and it had been on my bucket list since then to get back and do that.  We headed out early to get the better early morning light and arrived around 9 am- before any lines in the Visitor Center and with lots of parking in the lot.  We talked to the ranger about a below the rim hike, and he recommended the Queen's Garden Trail, which is not as steep on the return trip to the rim as some of the others.  With elevations of over 8000 feet, breathing could be a problem!  The high elevation and the clear, cool air make Bryce Canyon one of Earth's darkest places.

My first goal was to get to Bryce Point and Inspiration Point for some photos before the sun got too high.  Bryce Canyon is truly an inspiring location- deep amphitheaters with red and white stone formations known as hoodoos, fins, and arches - spectacular under changing light conditions.  Unlike many of the parks we have visited, flowing water is not the primary source of the erosion that creates these elements.  With its rapid, large swings in temperature, snow and ice melt with its freezing, thawing, and re-freezing cycles, has contributed to the changes.  It is amazing to think that Utah was once a mountain-encircled basin of water, depositing sediments such as limestone into the lakes.  When the Colorado Plateau began to rise, the lakes dried up, leaving behind a mixture of sediments that has contributed to the many beautiful sites we have as National Parks in Utah.

We stopped at Bryce Point first- the views just as breathtaking as I remembered.  From there we walked a section of the Rim Trail to reach Inspiration Point.  This area has the best overall view of the amphitheater.

After taking many shots, we drove back to Sunrise Point, the start of the Queen's Garden Trail.  Going below the rim offers the opportunity to see some of these unusual formations up close, as well as offering a different perspective looking back up at the rim.  We hiked down quite a distance, (keeping in mind the trip back up...) before turning around.  We did see one animal- a golden-mantled ground squirrel, which looks much like a chipmunk but larger.  We spoke to a number of people hiking the trail, including two young women who have been section-hiking the Appalachian Trail.

Hiking had worked up an appetite, so we decided to drive down toward Rainbow Point, where we had heard there were some bristle cone pines, not as old as those we saw at Great Basin National Park in Nevada, but still nice to see.  We spotted a ranger and she told us the best location to see the trees, but also that we couldn't get there- the road was closed at Farview Point due to wildfires.  We headed that way anyway, looking for a picnic spot, and decided to stop at the end to see the views.  We found a spot to eat, then went on, finding the road now open at least to Natural Bridge, which we had not seen on our previous trip.  Natural Bridge is really mis-named, as it is an arch rather than a bridge.  You could see the smoke from the wildfire from this location- and smell it, as well.

Not wanting to spend time in the Visitor Center when we first arrived, we decided to return there to see the movie and check out the exhibits.  After circling the parking lot three times (it does help when you arrive early), we found a spot.  The movie was, as always, excellent and informative.

Heading back to Cedar City, we drove through an area called Red Canyon.  The red cliffs hung over the road, and several tunnels were cut through the rock.  Another pretty ride to our destination!

As planned, we met up with Tim and Jen at a restaurant in Cedar City called the Depot.  The food and company were both great!  It was a nice opportunity to catch up with them, to see how they were doing as new "empty nesters", and to encourage them to come and visit us in South Carolina!  Back to the hotel after a long day, we made plans to go to Arizona the next day- exact destination unknown, but we would figure it out.

As always in visiting our beautiful parks, I am reminded of how special these places are, and how important it is to preserve them for future generations.  We are all owners of these preserved lands and have a responsibility to make sure they are protected for all eternity.

"If future generations are to remember us...We must leave them a glimpse of the world as it was in the beginning, not just after we got through with it."

                                                 Lyndon Baines Johnson

Arches National Park

September 13-  If you ever have the opportunity to drive to Arches National Park from the north or east, you will see lots of signs directing you to Rt. 191.  Don't take it.  Instead, opt for the scenic route 128, a little closer to the Colorado border than is 191.  This route takes you through the Colorado River Recreation Area, so it follows the river the entire way, driving through cliffs of red rock.  Just spectacular, and this is just the drive to the spectacular Arches! 

With so many photo ops, we arrived in Moab somewhat later than planned.  We were starving, so stopped for lunch before going into the park.  Back several years ago, we had visited this park and really liked it.  We had not intended to stop here again, but we would be passing right by here on our way to Bryce. 

Our first stop was the Visitor Center to ask about possible hikes. Not sure why we never saw the film about this park the last visit, but we hadn't, so took a few minutes to do that.  I am not sure who does these films, but they are always really well done and very informative.  This one was no exception.  This dramatic scenery was created by over 100 million years of erosion, water, ice, extreme temperatures and underground salt movement.  New features are being formed as old ones are destroyed.  Most of this change occurs slowly, but sometimes it occurs more dramatically- as in 1961 when a slab of rock 60 feet long, 11 feet wide and 4 feet thick fell from the underside of Landscape Arch, one of the longest arch features in the park.  It is now fenced in to protect tourists from being crushed.  We walked into this arch several years ago, a relatively easy hike, and certainly worth it.  There are lots of varied hikes here, from very easy to difficult. 

There were several hikes to different arches on our list when we left the center.  North and South Windows, an easy hike that attracted LOTS of folks, Turret Arch, then across the parking lot to walk into Double Arch- a dramatic arch that we had not seen on our last visit.  We drove out to Sand Arch, which is interesting in that you walk through fins- vertical slabs of rock- through red sand to reach the small arch.  We had thought to walk out to Broken Arch as our last of the day, but called it quits after Sand Arch.  It had been a long day but a great one!  Tomorrow we plan to drive to Cedar City, our base for going into Bryce.

Grand Junction and Rifle Falls State Park

September 11th and 12th-  Grand Junction, a nice small city located about 30 miles east of the Utah border, is named for the confluence of two well-known rivers, the Colorado and the Gunnison.  Its best-known attraction is the Colorado National Monument, a beautiful red-rock mesa with deep canyons, golden eagles, and big horn sheep.  Having visited there several times, we decided to do something different.  On Tuesday morning, we took a drive up to Rifle Falls State Park in Rifle, CO, about 50 miles outside of Grand Junction.  There are two state parks in that area, as well as a state-run fish hatchery. 

On arriving, we tried to find the fish hatchery.  My sister Linda and her husband had visited there many years ago, but we initially couldn't find it.  We found a sign for the hatchery, and walked in a short trail to find it, but instead found a nice little creek. 

Giving up on that trail, we continued up the road in search of the hatchery.  Larry remembered a paved parking lot, and being able to walk right in to where the fish tanks were located.  A short time later, there it was- the parking lot and the fish tanks!  This location raises several different types of trout, some they release as minnow-size, some they raise until they are large enough to be "keepers".  They release them into lakes and rivers all over the western part of Colorado.  I questioned why they needed to continually stock the streams, and why they could not eventually become sustainable, but there was no one around available to ask...

We continued back to Rifle Falls State Park, where there were camping and picnicking sites available.  The weather was beautiful, with temps in the 80's and a nice breeze.  The bad side of the breeze is we were under red flag warnings, as the area had been extremely dry all summer.  We enjoyed a picnic lunch, then hiked up to the falls- actually three falls.  The falls spill over a limestone cliff, that they think formed from stagnant water behind a beaver dam.  The water became saturated with minerals, forming thick limestone deposits that are now exposed as cliffs.  In 1910, the town of Rifle built a hydroelectric dam at the site of the falls, which changed the creeks natural flow from one wide waterfall to the three falls seen today. 

Behind the falls are limestone cliffs with dark caves, including a 90 foot room (which we did not see...)  Over all, this was a great way to spend a lovely day!

The next day, my sister and I just spent time shopping (of course!), while the guys stayed home and did some dog grooming and looking at Larry's collection of old cars- plus one classic Harley Davidson.  Tomorrow, Dale and I will take our leave and head to Arches National Park in Utah.

Fossil Butte National Monument

September 9th & 10th-  We spent the night in Fort Collins, CO.  Such a nice, modern city!  We continued to track Florence and discuss options.  We talked with friends at home and with our dog sitter, and decided to continue on our trip.  So, we backtracked into Wyoming and headed west, planning on visiting Fossil Butte National Monument. 

By the way, for all of you readers, you can double-click on any of the photos to enlarge...

The summer here west of the Rockies has been very dry.  We were seeing lots of blowing dust.  We were also seeing a lot of pronghorn antelope, not an animal we usually spot as we drive.  We stopped at a truck stop for lunch and, as we were leaving, spotted two antelopes trying to cross the entrance road into the truck stop area- very strange given the number of people and large trucks moving around.  Suddenly, we realized what was happening- employees had just power washed the sidewalk, and I am sure these two animals had smelled the water. They had to be pretty thirsty to try to come in that close to all the activity.  Eventually, a truck blew his horn at them and they ran away.  We felt really bad for them- certainly if I lived in that area, there would be a big trough of water in back of my house for them...

We made our way to the western edge of the state- again without benefit of navigational GPS- and arrived at Fossil Butte mid-afternoon.  Fossil Butte has been preserved primarily for the quality and number of fossils found here.  Fifty-two million years ago, this dry area was a large lake- Fossil Lake, the smallest of three such lakes in Utah, Colorado and Wyoming.  When the lakes disappeared, they left behind a wealth of perfectly preserved plant and animal life.  The lands surrounding the old lake eroded away, leaving the old lake bed elevated above the surrounding plains- the Butte referenced in the name. Some examples of fossils found here include plants, crustaceans, spiders, insects, reptiles, birds, mammals, and fish!  There is even a small dog-sized horse and an alligator!

The most interesting part of this monument is in the Visitor Center.  The center itself is very modern, with part of the exterior walls underground.  It really fits well into the environment of the park.  Inside the center are numerous fossils- some actual fossils and some are casts made from fossils.  Some are extremely detailed.  Apparently, the amount of detail is dependent on how quickly the dead animal is covered with sediment.  Those who are not covered right away show signs of decomposition or being eaten.  Those covered quickly have extraordinary detail- one fossil of a fish eating a smaller fish showed detail of scales and fins, as well as what was inside the fish!  Experts were even able to determine what killed the larger fish-greed!  The smaller fish was too large to be swallowed by the larger fish, it compressed his gills, and he suffocated.  Science is really amazing!

The National Park Service always does an excellent job on their introductory movies, and this was no exception.  It really helped to understand the process of what happened here, and why this spot is so valuable for understanding our past.  After seeing the movie and wandering the visitor center looking at the fossils, we spent a few minutes talking to the ranger on duty.  This was his first posting, and was making the most of the location, central to many of the other parks.  He recommended we drive up to the top of the bluff and take a short hike.  We took the drive, but passed on the hike.  We did spot another antelope, bringing our total to close to 30. 

We spent the night about 40 miles away in Evanston, WY.  Great minds think alike- we both woke with the same idea.  Dale headed to a nearby Walmart (they are everywhere) to purchase a dashboard Garmin.  No more wasting time getting lost!  We used it to get to the route for Grand Junction, south and then west through Utah- beautiful country!  Even spotted three sand-hill cranes!  We arrived at my sisters late in the day, spent the evening chatting, and decided to act on Larry's idea of going to Rifle, where there are several state parks.

Scotts Bluff National Monument

Sept. 7th & 8th- We left St. Louis in overcast weather, thanks to remnants of Gordon.  We assumed we would drive out of it as we headed West, but drove in drizzly rain most of the day. The views of corn fields, soy bean fields, and beautiful sunflowers were still enjoyable.  After an overnight stay just west of Lincoln, NE, we headed to the western border to see Scotts Bluff National Monument.  We also intended to see Agate Fossil NM, but did not get there.  Why?  Well, file this under "lessons learned". 

We recently purchased a new vehicle, and opted to go with the latest technology, which was to use the navigation feature of our smart phones with the blue tooth technology of the vehicle, allowing it to be viewed on the vehicles' screen.  We had played with it at home, using it to drive to Florida and other local areas without too many problems.  It was limited in terms of finding hotels, restaurants, etc, which we did not like, but the navigation to addresses seemed fine.  However- and we should have thought of this, having traveled out West in the past and experienced the spotty cell service in some areas- if you have weak or no cell service, you have no navigation!  Even with enough signal to make calls, the signal may not be strong enough to allow data transmission.  Scotts Bluff area was where this first reared its ugly head.  We did find the monument, after some driving around, arriving mid-afternoon. 

On the way to the bluff, we passed another interesting feature, known as Chimney Rock.  We did not go in to the site, but it can be seen for miles around.

Imagine you are traveling West back in the early 1800's, traveling in caravans of oxen-drawn wagons, on horseback and on foot.  You are following the North Platte River, which has carved a pathway through the plains that has been used for at least 10,000 years, known as the Oregon Trail. In the distance, you spot a huge bluff, over 800 feet high, in the distance.  It had been known for years by trappers and the American Indians as "hill that is hard to go around".  The large formations were able to be seen days before the caravans reached them, and often appeared as castles or fortresses in the distance.  By 1867, much of the emigrant traffic had waned, and the trail was no longer used for the Pony Express.  Telegraph and railroads took their place.

This part of the Great Plains used to stand hundreds of feet higher than it does now.  Erosion of the materials making up the plain occurred faster than new material was deposited.  Some of the land was protected from erosion by cap rocks of harder material- these areas eventually towered over the plains.  In the Visitor Center, we watched a very well made film of the history associated with the monument.  Unfortunately, many of the displays of tools, etc. from the time of the emigration were in process of renovation, so not much to be seen. 

We drove the scenic road to the top of the bluff area, where there were several walks with great views of the surrounding plains and the bluffs themselves.  As you can see by the photos, we enjoyed a sunny day with temps in the 70's- very nice! 

We opted out of trying to find the other monument in the area, as it was getting late.  We also had concerns about the next hurricane heading for the Carolina coast, so opted to head for my sister's in Colorado sooner than planned.  We headed for Fort Collins.

The Road to St. Louis

September 4th- 6th

We left home on Tuesday morning, heading west/northwest towards St. Louis, MO with the intent of seeing the Gateway Arch.  After spending our first night on the road in Chattanooga, TN, we had an easy drive to our destination. 

We had pre-booked tickets on the tram ride to the top of the arch for 9:50 am and, concerned about rush hour traffic, we left early.  No traffic- we arrived at the National Park before it even opened!  We parked down on the levee, and walked through the lovely park area to the entrance.  Once in, we had lots of time to see the newly-renovated underground museum.  What a great job they have done!  For anyone with any interest in the history of the westward expansion of our nation would be thrilled with the exhibits.  We were pleased to see the diverse perspectives offered- not just focusing on the brave pioneers, but also on the Native Americans displaced in the process, the wars and associated deaths associated with them, the impact on women, and the role of slaves that enabled much of this effort.  There were so many interesting exhibits, there was not time before our tram ride to see it all.

Gateway Arch National Park, newly renovated and re-opened just this year, commemorates the role of St. Louis in the westward expansion of the United States back in the 1800's.  St. Louis was originally established as a fur trading post, the location chosen near the confluence of the nation's two longest rivers- the Mississippi and the Missouri.  When the Louisiana Purchase nearly doubled the size of the country, St. Louis was uniquely positioned to assist in westward expansion, and grew rapidly. 

The arch was built in a forested park, part of a national historic site created in 1935.  In 1947, there was a national competition to choose a design for the memorial.  The arch design of the renowned architect Eero Saarinen was chosen, but was not built until 1963, opening to the public in 1965.  The arch stands 630 feet high, and 630 feet wide from leg to leg.  The tram consists of a series of "elevator cars" that climb inside each leg, tipping occasional to keep the car level while climbing the curved legs.

The cars of the tram are quite small, the doors entering the tiny, 5-seat cars, are only 4 feet high.  When five people are seated inside, knees are definitely touching!  There are no windows in the tram itself.  After climbing to the peak of the arch, we climbed out and were able to look out the small windows to the views- the Mississippi and the Illinois shoreline out one side, the city of St. Louis, including a nice view of the historic Old Courthouse, out the other. 

We grabbed some lunch at the museum following our tram trip, and walked over to the Riverboat dock- we had booked a trip on the Mississippi to see the waterfront.  We had an opportunity to see more of the lovely park associated with the national park. 

"The Mississippi is too thick to drink, and too thin to plow..."  according to Samuel Clemons.  The river was running high, about 9 feet over normal according to our captain, chocolate brown in color, and carrying lots of flotsam and jetsam...  It was predicted to be 12 feet over by the weekend, due to rains from tropical storm Gordon.  We lucked out, however, and had clouds but no rain.  It is always nice to see a city from the waterside.  The riverfront here in St. Louis, however, is not particularly pretty.  Definitely a working waterfront.  The river is crossed by many bridges, some built years ago and still in use.  We saw a lot of barges being loaded, some with grain and one with scrap metal.  All though nice to be on the water, the trip was not anything special.

We headed back to the hotel to get ready to go out to dinner.  We were excited to be reminded my great niece Lexi, was in college just outside St. Louis, and we had arranged to meet she and her boyfriend Phil, for dinner.  We met at a unique BBQ restaurant on the outskirts of the city.  Had great food and a chance to catch up on her life.  It is always special to be able to reconnect.  We had not seen her since 2011, when we met up with her and her family in St. George, Utah. 

Tomorrow we will leave the city and head to Nebraska, where we will visit a couple of national monuments.

Here We Go Again!

Sept. 3, 2018-  In keeping with our motto of "Never Stop Exploring", we will be headed West again, visiting cities, relatives, friends, national monuments, parks, and other special places.  Follow us and we will share our experiences!