Friday, Oct 14 - To Capitol Reef National Park

Jared outdid himself this morning by serving yogurt and jam, raspberry scones and eggs baked  in cream and cheese and served in individual tiny frying pans.  We left at nine and, following Jared’s advice, turned off Beehive 12 onto the Burr Trail, a small road through steep red walls where we stopped after 11.5 miles at an unmarked spot by a huge cottonwood tree in front of the entrance to a slot canyon.  We walked inside the spectacular narrow passageway and could see a small bit of blue sky high above us.  Jared told us to sing or shout which made a wonderful musical echo!

Slot canyon

 

We returned to the car and continued on through yet more beautiful scenery, some stretches of juniper/sagebrush, until the road became gravel and we arrived at a  steep drop off where we zig-zagged down six hairpin curves to the southern end of Capitol Reef National Park.  Hil drove north through this long, narrow park with very little traffic.  We were paralleling the monocline called the Waterpocket Fold, the largest geological feature of this type in North America, and the reason for the park’s existence, which appeared to me to be a long high ridge of beautiful rocky structures.  You have to remind yourself not to get blasé with all the endless beauty, but sometimes it really is too much!!  You can’t appreciate it all!!

 

The road goes outside the park and parallels it through farm and ranch land before turning left on Beehive 24 and going into the middle section  of Capitol Reef where the park buildings and  historic structures are.  We stopped at the Visitor Center and watched a 20 min movie which explained some of the geological features.  

 

In the Park

We drove out of the park toward the town of Torrey which consists mainly of tourist hotel and cafes with beautiful old cottonwoods along Main Street.   At 2:45 we pulled into the Capitol Reed Resort where we had reserved a two-bedroom cabin, but were told it wouldn’t be ready until 4 PM.  So we decided to drive through town, but we were delayed by so-called road construction of which we could could see no sign, but regardless, we had to wait for a pilot truck to escort us into town.  We found the Chuck Wagon market/hotel/laundromat, bought some toiletries and found a nice 4-machine laundry room.

We returned to the Resort and finally got into our cabin.  Unfortunately, we have to park almost 600' from our door …but a nice man with an electric truck hauled our suitcases, etc. to our very nice 2-bed 2-bath spiffy cabin with a great view of nearby red canyon walls! 

 

We needed to do laundry (our large resort only has One machine) so we decided to get dinner early and took our laundry bags with us.  Bob wanted a rib eye steak, so we waited for the pilot truck once again to get us past the non-existent construction and  pulled into the Broken Spur Steakhouse and ordered steaks.  Although there was a neon Bud sign on the wall…No beer!   New owners, so no liquor license yet!    Dinner was OK… we got back to the friendly Chuck Wagon, and threw our clothes into machines. Nearby was the Color Ridge Creamery where we got exotic (juniper berry/lavender & honey) ice cream desserts, and soon our laundry was clean!   Back to our cabin and bed. 

Thursday, Oct 13 - Exploring the Escalante

Annie's Place

We joined a group of bikers and another couple for Jared’s breakfast: yogurt with homemade peach jam, baked puffy pancake with buttermilk foamy sauce with fried eggs from our chickens who live behind the pig pen. Enough to keep us going for quite a while! 

 This morning we wanted to drive the Hell”s Backbone gravel road from Boulder (6700’) back to the town of Escalante (5800’) that we passed yesterday afternoon. Hell’s Backbone is mostly the original summer vehicle road which must have been quite an ordeal as it rises up almost 2500 feet to 9200’ and back down again almost 4000 feet! We wound up through piñon pine and juniper with flashes of golden yellow cottonwood leaves, until the forest turned to Ponderosa pine with rocky outcroppings. 

 Occasionally we enjoyed spectacular views northward to a thick golden band of aspens on the south slope of the Aquarius Plateau. Eventually we reached Hells’ Backbone, a narrow ridge that ends at a 1500’ drop off across from a rocky cliff. In the 30s a wooden bridge was built to cross the gap so as to speed up the route to Escalante. Two large Ponderosa pines were somehow laid across the gap, and a bulldozer drove across them to start construction. The wooden bridge lasted until the 60s when it started to groan and creak! The bridge is now concrete and metal, but still quite a spectacular sight.

View from Hell's Backbone Bridge

 We reached the crest and started down, finally seeing some other traffic as that side has several trail heads and campgrounds. The scenery continued to be outstanding all the way to Escalante, and we started back to Boulder on Beehive 12, which was also constructed in the 30s as Hells Backbone road has to close in the winter due to snow. 

 We came around a bend and once again my breath was taken away at the sudden sight of miles of the sandstone plateau above Escalante! We stopped at an overlook this time and tried to photograph it - not easy as it’s so huge - and drove back to Annie’s Place to rest for a bit. 

Escalante Canyon

 We set off at 2:30 backtracking on Beehive 12 again eleven miles to Calf Creek Canyon where Bob and I had hiked 20 years ago. I remembered it as one of the most beautiful hikes ever! The small parking lot was crowded, but we found a space and set off on a good trail along a bubbling stream with high red and white stripped sandstone walls. There are petroglyphs on the walls and other evidence of past habitation.

Bob & Hil at Calf Creek

We followed the numbered stations along the trail with explanations from the trail pamphlet, and managed to see, impossibly high on a wall, a small cave granary partially sealed off with a stone wall! We had to stop and return before we reached the petroglyphs as it was getting late, but had a lovely hike along this beautiful canyon. 

Granary high on Calf Creek wall

 We got back to Annie’s Place, cleaned up, had drinks and crackers, and went into dinner at 6:15. Some local ladies, friends of Jared’s aunt, were having dinner, also. Jared served us coleslaw with pine nuts, sliced tomatoes from his garden, followed by local pot roast, green beans, mashed potatoes and Yorkshire pudding! He brought us raspberry clafouti with just-picked raspberries on top! A lovely dinner!

Wednesday, Oct 12 - Through Bryce Canyon to Boulder - Our Spirits Revived!

 

Aspens

The breakfast room was only half full this morning!  And the traffic into Zion, after we checked out of the Bumbleberry Inn, was reasonable.  Not being parents, we aren’t tuned into school holidays, but perhaps yesterday’s chaos was partially the result of extended Columbus Day vacations?  We exited the park on Beehive 9 and all evidence of the soaring red walls disappeared as we drove through juniper forest and  ranch land until tuning north on US 89 at Mt Carmel Junction. Hilary drove us through small neat villages with green lawns and flowers, along the east fork of the Virgin River that winds through green meadows with happy cows and horse and apple orchards.  Coming from the desert of Santa Barbara, all this water is amazing!

 

Bryce overview

After 20 miles we turned east on Beehive 12 and on into Bryce Canyon National Park.  If it turned out to be crowded we were going to just drive through, but there was no problem!   I had forgotten how colorful Bryce is and how the light plays off the pink, yellow, and white hoodoos creating a fairy land of spikes and spires, so I was really glad not to miss it and to show Hilary this unique place!   (Hoodoos are delicate rocky spires carved by water that exist in various places in Utah, but are most amazing in Bryce).  

Hoodoos

 

We drove to the end of Beehive 63 that runs the 20 mile length of Bryce, along a steep ridge from which we could see dense green conifer forests with occasional flashes of bright gold of a changing aspen to the west. 

We turned around at Rainbow Point at the end of the highway and returned stopping at various overlooks to admire the huge valley of rock formations on the eastern side of the ridge.  There is a classic old National Park hotel, and a market where we got ice cream to fortify us until this evening.  On the way out of the park we stopped at some mounds of dirt and saw about 8 rare Utah Prairie Dogs munching grass and getting quite fat for the winter.

 

We returned to 12 and continued east through juniper and  piñon pine forests for 60 miles with the occasional huge slab of pink rock emerging from the ground!   Suddenly we crested a ridge and saw an enormous expanse of smooth rolling sandstone, or slick rock, in front of us!  Part of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, that Clinton created, Trump partially destroyed, and Biden reinstated!    We’ll explore this tomorrow and so drove through, past river-running outfits and hiking trails, finally coming to the tiny town of Boulder, pop 260, and found Annie’s Place, a charming B’n’B, run by Jared who hales from Newbury Park, CA, and whose Mormon family has lived in the area for 70 years.  His aunt owns this two-year old business, a very comfortable house overlooking farmland.  Our room is right next to a pig pen with two very furry, friendly pigs, Gus and Call, whose ears I scratched!

 

We got ready for dinner at Hell’s Backbone Grill, an award-winning restaurant  (James Beard, among others!) run by two women, Blake and Jen, located in this tiny remote village!  We arrived at six and walked around the area a bit and checked in on our reservation.  We were seated inside the small homey restaurant where most of the food is locally sourced and much of it grown on their own farm.   I got a Utah Negroni cocktail and a cup of pozole , Hil got apple/squash soup and Bob got spicy meatballs.  

Bob and I then had terrific enchiladas filled with meat and squash sitting in a sweet corn sauce, and Hil had pasta with veggies, and we finished with chocolate custard with a bit of chili and Hil and I split an almond bread pudding.   We drove home and checked out the dark sky where we could easily see the bright Milky Way! 

Tuesday, Oct 11 - Exploring Zion National Park

  

Today was a complicated day of amazing vistas and great frustrations!

 

We met Hilary at 7:30 on a chilly morning and walked over to Porter's Restaurant where we get our complimentary breakfast.  There was a line and the restaurant was full, but we moved up quickly and soon had a table and enjoyed huge breakfasts of omelets, and a chicken-fried steak for Bob!

 

We drove up to the Zion entrance station and waited in line to show our Golden Age Passports behind an enormous camper which had to be checked with a measuring tape to see if it would fit through the mile-long tunnel on Beehive 9.  We wanted to take Hilary to the Visitor Center to get an overview of the park, but the huge parking lot was Full!!   People must have come up in the dark and waited until the center opened.   We left the lot and Hilary drove us east on Beehive 9 which continues through the park.  We followed a camper through the tunnel which straddled the center line and managed not to hit the stone walls.  The tunnel was constructed in the 30’s, back when they did thing correctly, and it actually has windows carved into the walls at intervals with amazing views that you can glimpse as you whisk by! 

 

We approached the east park entry and found the trailhead for the East Rim trail with available parking.  We pulled in and loaded up our gear and took off.  The east side isn’t as spectacular as the west, but we were mostly alone on the trail and could stop and ID wildflowers and enjoy the views, butterflies, and lizards.

  We wished our geologist friend, Craig, were with us to tell us about all the geological wonders we were seeing!  We continued for a couple of miles, and returned to the car around noon.

 

Rabbit Brush

Broom Groundsel

We thought Hilary should see Zion Canyon which contains a major side road that we really enjoyed back  in 2002 when I was last in Zion. 

View through Hil's moon roof

The park service bans traffic from this narrow winding road and makes  visitors take shuttle buses up the canyon, which can be picked up at the Visitor Center.  They have also added a shuttle to the Visitor Center which can be picked up from several locations along Beehive 9 through Springdale.  So we returned to our hotel, parked, and caught one of the Brown buses which delivered us back, crammed full of passengers after several stops, to the Visitor Center.   We then changed to a Green bus, packed on and it drove us up Zion Canyon.  It stopped in several places for various hikes, but we stayed on until the end of the ride at a trail to the Narrows.  Zion Canyon has been carved out by the Virgin River with huge steep red/orange walls.  The Narrows is where the river enters a narrow slot.

 

The trail is paved, easy, but was absolutely packed with people!  In the 1.1 miles to the end Bob estimated about 800 people moving in the two directions along the trail!  We couldn't stop to admire the views, look at the ferns and mosses in the seeps dripping down the walls.  The areas around the trail are stamped into dust by too many feet.  Everyone was well-mannered and friendly, but in that concentration, overwhelming and frustrating!  Granted we are here in mid October, after the summer heat and before the winter cold, but even with the Park staffs’ best efforts, we found it impossible to enjoy! Thank goodness for our pleasant morning hike!

Crowded Trail!

 

We got back to the Visitors’ Center at 4 PM, looked around and then stood in a long line for the return buses to Springdale.  We got on the second bus, and had a very amusing driver who cheered us up!   Back at the hotel we recovered on our adjoining patios.  Hil, in addition to being a great driver, had stocked her car with a cooler full of cokes, tonic, limes, gin and rum!!  We had cocktails and crackers and planned our dinner destination.

 

We went to the nearby attractive Camp Outpost Restaurant.  Bob and I ordered Saratoga roast pork on cheese grits and a bed of kale - just fantastic! - and Hil had a pork sandwich.   Back at the Bumbleberry Inn we stopped at the shop/ice creamery and found room for cones.  Finally bumbleberries in ice cream!   

Great dinner

Ice Cream!

Monday, Oct 10 - Hoover Dam & the Valley of Fire

 

 

Today was a busy day!!    We met at 7 AM and walked across the street back to the Southwest Diner where we could use our breakfast coupons.  Bob and Hilary had traditional breakfasts and I had Rhubarb Pie a la Mode!  A first-rate chef from Las Vegas has moved here to Boulder City and is baking great pies, or so we had heard.  It was first rate and, although I meant to leave some ice cream, it melted into the pie and was wonderful!

View downstream from Hoover Dam

 

We then packed up and headed back to Hoover Dam for the 9 AM Power Plant tour.  The tour started with an old movie showing  the blasting, hauling, and building that took place in the 1930s.  First, two huge tunnels (50’ wide) were blasted on either side of the narrow pass in which they planned to build the dam.  Then the blasted material was dumped into the river to divert the water into the tunnels so the dam itself could be constructed!  What an operation!  It took place during the Depression so a large number of men were available  to work on it 24/7  in three shifts (with only two days off a year!!).  Amazingly  many Art Deco decorative touches were beautifully added. 

Decorative floor in the Power House

We took an elevator down the equivalent of 50 stories into the bowels of the operation and saw the giant turbines that generate electricity.  We returned to the top and walked across the dam itself.  A really impressive operation, although, of course, it helped allowed the unfortunate overpopulation of the American Southwest with its many accompanying destructive activities.

 

Turbines in the Power House

Decorative Railing

We left about 10:30, heading to Zion National Park.  We drove along the west side of Lake Mead for many miles.  Bob had been intrigued by the name of a Nevada State Park: The Valley of Fire located along our way.  We debated whether we should stop there or just head straight towards Zion.  We finally decided to drive as far as the Visitors' Center, but the gnarled brilliant red rock formations (Aztec sandstone) were so fantastic that we decided to skip the center and head up White Dome Road instead. 

 A  wise decision as this must be one of the most beautiful roads in the American West:  incredible colored rock formations and even a herd of bighorn sheep!  We finally had to leave as it was getting late and we were going to lose an hour when we entered Utah. 

 

Hilary drove for miles on I-15 through Joshua trees and subdued landscapes, interrupted by ill-planned towns full of casinos, until after passing through the Virgin River Gorge we crossed into Utah.  We turned off I-15 onto Beehive 9 (Utah state routes have a beehive on the signs!)  through the really unattractive town of Hurricane, but then approached Springdale located right next to Zion.  Springdale must have a very strict planning process  as many  of the old simple Mormon houses still exist and the multitude of tourist hotels and restaurants blend  in nicely with the older buildings and with the scenery that was getting more spectacular by the minute.

 

We found the Bumbleberry Inn, a sprawling, but attractive motel and moved into our rooms at 5:30.  Bob pointed out that there seem to be more hotel rooms than restaurant seats in Springdale, creating a hassle when trying to get into a restaurant, and so we shouldn’t relax, shower, etc, but set off for dinner while we could.  We drove to Flanigan's Inn and went into the Spotted Dog Cafe where we luckily were able to get a table.  Utah has changed from my last visit about 20 years ago when you had to join a “club” to get some undrinkable wine.  I ordered a great Old Fashioned made with Utah rye!!  We had a delicious dinner of lamb shank and roast chicken for Hilary and Bob. and polenta  & veggies for me, plus a bottle of Oregon pinot noir.  Lemon cake and chocolate lava cake for dessert and we rolled back home for bed!

Sunday, Oct 9 - Driving to Hoover Dam

 We set off today on our first adventure of the Covid era.  Yesterday I took Miss Maddie down to the Cat House Hotel, and she sauntered right into her regular Junior Suite and settled down.   Great having a confident, fearless cat!  

The alarm went off at 4 AM and our Rose Cab picked us up at 4:45.  At that hour it only took 15 minutes to get us to the airport, and, as the long-term parking lot was full, I’m glad we chose a taxi!    We shared a latte and croissant and boarded our American flight to Phoenix.   Little over an hour later we landed, picked up our luggage and called Hilary.  She had driven up from her home in Green Valley, AZ, and spent the night at an airport hotel so as to be more alert then Bob and me!  

 We set off in her Subaru, driving north on US 17, through the endless slurbs of Phoenix, leaving it to continue NW on scenic AZ 74.  We drove through miles of beautiful Saguaro cacti, merging onto AZ 93, until we reached the quaint western town of Wickenberg.  We were looking for a “sincere” (non-chain) brunch spot as none of us had eaten much today.  In the tiny downtown we found Deb’s Horseshoe Cafe, a very noisy, amusing cafe with lots of unique stuff on the walls (cowboy chaps wearing a g-string!).
  We ordered from one of the harried waitresses and waiting, watching the crowd of bikers (“Bikers for Trump”!! T-shirts).  After we noticed that people, who had arrived after us were eating, we got worried.   Bob said, “Maybe they lost our order?” And just then our waitress arrived and very apologetically told us they had found our order on the floor!    Not to worry - our food shortly sped out and  was very good with hot  chilies in the fried potatoes!. 

Cowboy Chaps

  We continued on 93 (Joshua Tree Forest Parkway) for 100 miles, wondering why it was called that when we were suddenly surrounded by a dense forest of these weird-looking agaves, the largest of which are over 500 years old!   (Protected in CA, but not in AZ!).   Really lovely and interesting, and in some places mixed with the most northern Saguaro we have ever seen. 

 93 joins US 40 for a ways west and then leaves to continue NW to Lake Mead and the Hoover Dam.  Bob was really interested in seeing the inner

workings of the dam.  We got caught up in a traffic jam into the Inspection point where we were asked if we had any guns and then waved though.  The dam, built in 1931-35, has beautiful Art Deco decorations and a magnificent arch bridge.  We went to a few overlooks but felt pretty tired, decided to catch it tomorrow and drove into the town of Boulder.  

Joshua Tree

Lake Mead with large bath tub ring

 We expected the usual chain stores, but it turned out to be a very neat and tidy town of lush green garden and lawn - I guess they have first dibs on the lake water!  We checked into the Best Western, unpacked, organized gear and napped.   At five we walked over to Hil’s room where she had set up a bar where we could make gin ‘n’ tonics. and rum ‘n ‘ cokes.  Pretty good service!   

We walked across the street to the Southwest Diner where we sat outdoors and had a filling meal of cucumber salads with yogurt - surprisingly good! - and bowls of chili.  Back to our rooms to get a good night’s sleep!

Exploring the Parks and Monuments of Utah and Arizona

We're finally going on an adventure as we learn-to-live-with-COVID - starting small and traveling in the US.    Bob and I will fly from Santa Barbara to Phoenix very early on Sunday morning, Oct 9, and meet my sister, Hilary, who will be driving up from her home in Green Valley, AZ.  She recently got a Subaru and outfitted it with a real spare tire, and an air pump, so we feel ready for driving into the wilds of Utah. 

 Bob has been to most of the places we will be visiting, I've been to many of them, but not for decades, and, for Hil, this will be new territory!  So it should be exciting and fun! 

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