Our Trip Out West, Day 7: The Rocky Road to…

We started out the day exploring the sites at Kelly Place: in-ground kivas in various stages of excavation, two of which had been fitted out for visitors to explore, cliff storage, and the remains of some small pueblos. There were also sites where the settlers of the late 1800s had set up shop, even using some of the old pueblo walls as the foundations for their own buildings.

An example of pueblo-style architecture - still in the open,

before the Ancestral Puebloans moved to the cliffs

(though there was an early in-cliff granary on the site,

so they must have been starting to think about it). 

This kiva was redecorated in traditional style.

Next it was off to Mesa Verde—no time for a tour of a ruin (the one we might have seen is closed because of the potential for falling rock), but Areg and I agreed by the end of our visit that doing the mesa-top loop road, which is set up to guide visitors through the Ancestral Puebloan’s architectural development and provide views of all the major cliff dwellings, was a much better experience than getting tantalizingly close to ruins on a tour without being allowed to go inside them. 

The last time I visited Mesa Verde, a wildfire had just swept 

through and burnt this whole hilltop. It's green again, 

but I was surprised that it hadn't grown back more. Guess

that's deserts for you--the east has spoiled me!

Okay, I didn't scale this photo down like I did all the others, 

so if you open it in a new tab you should be able to see the 

tiny little people down there doing restoration work. Pretty cool! 

Areg was wishing all day that he'd brought his binoculars on the trip, 

but especially at this overlook.

This place sparked my imagination as a child and still stirs

my spirit of adventure as an adult. But then, don't always act

like an adult. For instance, I'd totally call top "bunk" if I lived here.

We had fun discussing the mysteries of why the Ancestral Puebloans had chosen to move down onto the cliffs and then, not very long after, leave the area entirely, with Areg arguing for aggressive neighbors and me putting most of the blame on a drought.

Next it was up, up, up the mountain—time to head high into the Rockies on our way to the mile-high city. What better way to do it than on Route 550, known as the "million dollar highway"?We played Areg’s epic music on the way, a perfect accompaniment to the steep sides where the now-familiar smooth red sandstone gave way to jagged mountain ridges. 

Mugging with the mountain.

It's a bit hard to see in the lighting, but there's some

old mining construction down at the bottom of the picture.

If you look closely, you can see that this waterfall

runs down over the petrified ripples from what was once

the bottom of an ocean.

I spotted a whole bunch of old mines along the way and we stopped at one old major quarry, as well as taking a rest in Ouray, a lovely mining boom town that had managed to survive on tourism after the ore lost its pull. Another place I would have liked to stay, to take in the architecture (mostly) of the gold rush era and perhaps do a mine tour. Say it with me: oh well.

The old courthouse in Ouray. 

A very tall waterfall...and you can see right through that

metal deck below us! Not for those with a fear of heights.

We pose with the mountains we conquered. 

By the end of the day, we came down from the hills into Montrose for the night.

[I will finish posting these soon, darn it! It's almost a month now since we got back...]

Our Trip Out West, Day 6: Mittens, Vulcans, and the Two Towers

Anywho, on Monday we headed off toward Monument Valley. Unlike the day before, when the spectacular cliffs kind of shrank into the earth until they were just impressive bluffs, today the cliffs started breaking off, standing on their own—forming mesas and, eventually, buttes. (Alas, I had forgotten the difference and had to look it up.)

Before we got even that far, though, we had to pull over on a random turnout on the side of the road for…the eclipse! At first we were worried that we’d miss the whole thing because of cloud cover, but just as the eclipse was starting the clouds cleared right up for us. We whipped out the eclipse glasses we’d brought, leaned against the car and lay on the asphalt, and watched the wonder. The moon covered about 70-80% of the sun where we were, and we saw almost the whole thing.

Back on the road, we made it out to Monument Valley to eat our lunch while overlooking some of the most spectacular buttes in the west.

I couldn't bear to crop this one because of that beautiful sky.

Mittens! 

We’d have loved to get a tour of the back country, but had to press on across those wide open spaces. We saw a ton of “watch for cattle” signs but very few cattle, and land became flatter and flatter as we took turns onto smaller and smaller roads.

When we were keeping an eye out for Mexican Hat, 

I was expecting it to look like a right-side-up hat, 

not too different from the other buttes we'd seen. Instead...

And here's a close-up since it's a bit hard to see in that picture.

I also found a butte that looked like the Vulcan salute

(my thumb is pointing at it),

so I did the polite thing and gave it back. 

Live long and prosper, Monument Valley!

(Bonus: the oft-seen open-range cattle warning.)

Our destination required some light off-roading but was really in the middle of nowhere: Hovenweep National Monument. Amazingly, the site hasn’t had much archaeological investigation (perhaps because it’s so far out from anything), but that’s probably a good thing given how close you can get to the ruins—which was pretty darn cool.

These are "the two towers." It was a pretty geeky day, wasn't it?

Being so close to the buildings was awesome.

The ruins at Hovenweep were mesa-top pueblo structures, unlike the cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde, with one exception: A boulder fallen halfway down the shallow valley had eroded into a “C” shape, and some enterprising member(s) of the tribe had built a pueblo into the missing section. Hey, it’s totally what I would have done!

The boulder with the building in it is in the top middle third--

--though it's hard to see the stones in this picture, I'm afraid.

This is a view up one branch of the Y-shaped canyon. 

There are at least four in tact ruins in here--can you spot them all?

(You'll need to enlarge the picture, obviously!)

Finally we worked our way out of nowhere into a beautiful, winding river valley and to our stop for the night: Kelly Place.

Oh my gosh, you guys. If you’re looking for a place to stay near Mesa Verde, look no further! This awesome retreat was like summer camp for grown-ups—a bit rustic, but plenty of charm. It’s an active archaeological site that frequently hosts activities to teach people about the life of the Ancestral Puebloans who lived at Mesa Verde: blanket and basket weaving, pottery making. Areg and I stayed at the same time as a group of grandparents and grandchildren, and we got to sneak into a presentation about the geography of the area, which came in super handy the next day. The only thing missing was, well, actual American Indians to offer their perspectives and ensure that everything was handled with respect. That fact was a bit uncomfortable for me.

To my extreme regret, I was so busy being impressed by Kelly Place that I completely forgot to take pictures of the compound. Grr… At least you can check it out on their website, if you’re interested.

Take a look at Areg's Facebook page for even more photos. 

Our Trip Out West, Day 5: We Really Hit the Road

This was the first day of the major driving that we’d be doing for the trip. Our first stop was Page, AZ, after driving through some lovely country with scattered houses and farms. Man, that drive took me back: sage brush, the occasional juniper or Joshua tree, unexpected washes, lovely streaks of red and white sandstone in the distance. I do miss the beauty of the West in all its many forms.

I was really fascinated by that freestanding butte for some reason.

Was it a butte? They're supposed to be taller than they are wide,

but this one doesn't quite meet that. So is it a mesa? 

An actual, mesa-sized mesa?

I can’t tell you exactly what time we got to Page because we must have crossed into different time zones four or five times the whole trip. First there was the divide between Pacific and Mountain time, then apparently Arizona doesn’t have daylight savings, but the Native American reservations do. So yeah, we pretty much confused until we finally hit Colorado.

Page has a dam too, the Glenn Canyon Dam that forms Lake Powell, so we had a bit more fun with that. Then it was time to head out to the Navajo Nation to see Antelope Canyon.

Yeah, it was a bit windy that day. More on that later.

Areg had been especially excited about this, and when we booked everything back in June we’d had no choice but to book a “private” tour—which ended up being pretty awesome. Antelope Canyon was crowded with tourists (hard to avoid that, given that it’s a slot canyon), but then we got to go to nearby Rattlesnake Canyon all on our own, with only the guide. Honestly, Areg and I both preferred that canyon for its beauty, the quiet and privacy, and the way that you could walk the whole thing end to end.

Here's Antelope Canyon. 

Rattlesnake Canyon is after the next paragraph.

Can you see the heart?

This one looks a little bit like a certain "monument" 

that we'd be seeing the next day.

Our guide was young, and getting information about the canyon out of him was a bit like pulling teeth, but he definitely knew all the best spots to take photos and even knew how to help Areg adjust his cell phone for the best lighting. He did share that his people actually avoided the canyons in the past, as they were bad luck—not only because the overhangs blocked the sky, but because they’re a favorite spot for owls, which are considered unlucky. He shared that the woman who owns the land has a ceremony for all the guides at the beginning of the season to counter any bad luck. He also told us that he, along with many of the Navajo who were not working, would spend the following day of the eclipse indoors with family and friends, being careful not to sleep until the event was over (not too big an issue, since the eclipse was in the middle of the day).

Rattlesnake Canyon

Areg just looks awesome in all his pictures from this trip. 8-)

We ended up taking the long way around on our way back to Page. First, we stopped at Horseshoe Bend, one of the places that Areg had been before but I hadn’t (I don’t think—I saw a lot of awesome squiggly rivers in Utah and its area, but don’t think my family ever made it that far). The wind was picking up and it below a bunch of sand into our hair. It made picture taking hard, but I’ve had a weird soft spot for picking sand out of my hair since I lived in Singapore, since it reminds me of the best parts of a vacation.

 Horseshoe Bend

Next we took a scenic drive along the edge of Lake Powell, just to take a closer look. It’s hard to imagine that it was basically like Zion Canyon, but much longer, before the Glen Canyon Dam went in and formed the lake. As with Lake Mead at Hoover Dam, the lake was down almost 80 feet. Still, we couldn’t have picked a better time of day to visit—the storm in the distant south turned the sky spectacular red, blues, indigos, and violets, and the setting sun to the west lit up the stone cliffs across the lake.

Sunset over the cliffs across the water.

An awesome sunset with a rainbow, lightning storm, 

and incredibly rich colors.

If we’d had more time, I would have loved to spend an extra day at Lake Powell—to take a boat tour up the lake along the tops of the still-impressive once-towering cliffs, hike to see Rainbow Bridge, and visit Lower Antelope Canyon—apparently you can do that last by kayak, starting from the lake! 

For more pictures, see Areg's Facebook. 

Our Week Out West, Day 4: Water, Water Everywhere

We started out with an easier hike to warm up: the Emerald Pools. I was honestly a bit surprised to find that after more than ten years, this is easier trail is still probably my favorite hike in Zion (of those I’ve done, obviously). It did show a little more wear and tear than others, since it was accessible to many more people, but it was possible to find quiet spots and actually hear a bit of nature around you. Plus the pools are just beautiful.

The waterfall at the lowest of the three pools

The view up from my favorite little clearing, 

which had a little 12"x6" channel cut into the rock 

where the water ran out of the second pool and, eventually, 

over the waterfall. Erosion in action!

This is, however, one place were the disadvantage of letting someone else take most of the pictures becomes obvious, because Areg apparently didn’t take many pictures at all here. Sigh. Well, that’s what I get, I guess. Still, there was one odd occurrence: the last time I was there, when I was maybe 11 or 12, there were gigantic icicles falling off the cliff wall onto the stones around the pool. This time, there was a huge crack and the sound of falling stone. I think that cliff has something against me, even though I love it.

Maybe the cliff doesn't like us,

but now we don't like the cliff.

Beautiful view down Zion canyon.

Next we hopped the canyon shuttle to the very last stop for…the Narrows! Like Angel’s Landing, this is one of Zion park’s most famous hikes, and for good reason. It’s gorgeous the whole way, with surprisingly varied scenery, some greenery up overhead, and towering cliffs on either side. Again, it was busy but not so busy that we were annoyed, even though we arrived later in the morning when more people were headed out. In the early afternoon we found a lovely little side canyon to explore. It required a bit more athletic maneuvering, which we weren’t quite prepared for, so we found a lovely little dry spot for lunch before heading back downstream.

Toward the beginning of the hike. 

Everyone seemed to have rented long wooden walking poles/staffs 

and wet suit-type shoes, but we were fine without. 

I guess the staffs might have made slot canyon maneuvering a little easier.

A cool part of the canyon where the water had undercut the cliff.

If Sarah fits into small places, Areg fits into big places!

Getting narrower up the Narrows. 

This was about where we found the first side slot canyon.

I like our power poses here!

Up the slot canyon.

On our way back down, we found that someone 

had built these little stacks of stones.

Areg and I had opted to wear our sneakers instead of our hiking boots, and I also wore the brace I’d brought. My sneakers were toast by the end of the day—but then, I have had them since 2009. As for the ankle, since the water was nice and cool, it was like a day-long ice. The only problem with that, though, was that I probably went further than was wise. Ah well, it was totally worth it.

Fortunately, this was not my ankle by the end of the day.

I have no idea whose ankle/leg it is. Deer, probably?

Finally, we rounded out the day with a delicious, well-earned meal at the Whiptail Grill, which I think has been converted from an old gas station. Cool venue, awesome outdoor seating, and good food with the added spice of hunger—a good end to a good day.

My phone's not the best at pictures in the dark, 

but hopefully it gives you an idea of the setup.

Funnily enough, this was not the only gas station we saw

that had been converted into a restaurant!

For more pictures, check out Areg's Facebook.

Our Week Out West, Day 3: Above and Below

Wow, are we only on day three already? So much for “short”!

Right, so this was the day we hiked Angel’s Landing. It’s a pretty scary hike for most, with narrow paths and steep drop-offs. I chickened out when dad took me on the hike back in 2002 or so, and then conquered my fears and completed it on my own in 2012. Now it was Areg’s turn!

We try to convince ourselves we're not nervous to be going 

all the way up there--to the top of that cliff above our heads

A quick look back at the trail below

That rock ledge right up front is the edge of the cliff. 

Then nothing but air until you reach that valley floor.

The trail, as expected, was pretty crowded—but we got lucky and didn’t have to deal with the Disneyland-like crowds that Felicia had warned me against. Yeah, there was a bit of waiting for others to scramble in one direction or another on the narrowest section, the last half mile, but I think all of us were happy to have a moment’s break to collect ourselves.

Areg and I with just the last, most difficult half-mile to go

(one of my favorite photos from the whole trip)

Areg and I celebrate our victory

(Today, he's sitting next to me while I prep these pictures:

"I wonder which is higher--the cliff or your hair?")

I swore I wasn't going to post much person-less scenery,

since far better photographers have already been here, 

but I can't help it

We paddle our feet in the Virgin River and celebrate our complete survival.

The river makes a great "ice" bath for me.

Once that was over, we were done with hiking for the day. I haven’t mentioned yet that I’d actually hurt my left ankle earlier this summer—pretty badly, since it had been bothering me since July. The pain wasn’t so bad that I couldn’t hike, but going down steep hills did aggravate it quite a bit, so we decided to do some scenic driving instead of any more walking. I strapped a bag of ice to my ankle and we set off for the Mount Carmel Highway.

Folks, this part of Zion is less seen than the main but it is absolutely gorgeous. After passing through the Mount Carmel Tunnel (and dang but wouldn’t I like more information on how that particular feat of engineering was achieved!) we stopped at almost every single pull out to admire the gorgeous rocks…and compare them with tiramisu, among other treats. Yep, I was hungry.

A gorgeous blind arch on the way to the Mount Carmel tunnel

This may have been the tiramisu mountain, but it's 

properly known as Checkerboard Mesa

Oh, the many faces of Areg 8-)

Chillin' in Bruce* while Areg hops out for some pictures

We had a spot of adventure when we got back to Rockville that evening—the power was out! Fortunately by the time we finished our salad, it was back up and running, so that we could order our entrees.

*Why did I name the car Bruce? It's big and grey with a tiny fin on the top. 

What, can't you see the similarity?