Today, I dropped my mom off at the Mesa Airport. She is flying back to South Bend; I'm continuing my road trip west. We spent the last day with my cousin Dan and his family in Phoenix. They showed us a great time. Mom really enjoyed visiting. He's older than me and grew up 5 hours away so this was the first chance I had to really get to know him.
It was a great way for mom & I to finish our time together. I was sad to see her go, but am looking forward to a little more time on the road.
On our way from the Grand Canyon to Phoenix, we went through the town of Sedona. Mom wanted to check out the shops. I was content to let her peruse on her own while I found a ice cream shop in which to read a newspaper for the first time in weeks. Ensemble, we made two stops in town: a viewpoint recommend by my cousin & the chapel of the Holy Cross.
Our first stop in Grand Canyon National Park was Desert View Watchtower at the eastern end of the park. It was a great place to get our first glimpse of the natural wonder. Located where the Colorado bends west, it allows you to see far in both the upstream & downstream directions.
We continues following the south rim downstream (west) stopping at some but not all the many viewpoints. We wanted to get to one lesser known spot in particular that required a mile hike. Once we reached the rim, it felt like we had the whole canyon to ourselves. We were both struck by the extreme silence of the place.
For sunset, we rejoined the crowds; this time at Mather Point near the main visitor center. After the last splash of sun left the farthest reach of the canyon, we walked a mile or two along the rim in the fading light to an excellent evening program whose topic was the introduction of condors to the canyon area.
Our route to the Grand Canyon crossed the Colorado River at Glen Canyon Dam, one of the last major dams built in the country. Comparable in size to Hoover Dam, it forms Lake
Powell, a resevoir that supplies water to 4 states in the upper Colorado basin. I remember reading a book on its construction in college. We stopped at a couple overlooks & the main visitor center. The last overlook on the way out of town was the best. From it, both bridge & dam were visible between the canyon walls.
We just left Coral Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, our last stop in Utah. The park's name pretty well describes the place. While I hiked out to the top of the two tallest dunes, mom walked the nature trail. On our way out, we stopped at the visitor center. Inside, they had had on display jars filled sand from all over the world including several from the great lakes.
From Kodachrome, we returned to the scenic byway proper and spent the rest of the day driving the last 90 miles of it. Along the way, we stopped at numerous pullouts & one more state park (Anasazi).
The scenery continued to get more spectacular as we went. One pullout in particular offered a panorama unlike any that I'd ever seen before. Barren white rock stretched out below, punctuated by canyons, gorges, mounds, & streaks of grays, reds, & pinks.
After the state park, the scenery changed entirely. As we ascended Aquarius Plateau, a forest of pines & aspens spread out on both sides of the highway. In an open range national forest, we also saw plenty of cows, one or two on the road itself.
At Kodachrome Basin State Park, we hiked out over a mile to a place called Secret Passage. It was a much tougher hike than either of us expected at the onset. Even though, we weren't that far removed from Bryce, it was a very different environment. It was very much a desert hike. Add to that a trail was constantly going up or down.
Despite the challenge, we did OK. The hike was well worthwhile. It took us passed sandstone formations that are unlike anything else on the planet. One named Ballerina Spire was especially impressive. Secret Passage was a gap in the rock formation just beyond a natural amphitheater that was very cool in more than one sense of the word.
Our next stop was a short trail to a waterfall & small cave. Mom got ambitious and hiked a social trail up the ridge further than I cared to go. The trail is actually in the national park, but is accessed from highway 12. It follows a man made stream built in the part 1800s to carry water to the nearby town of Tropic. It was a nice feature to follow a day after all that hiking in the arid main part of Bryce.
Today, we are going to drive along Scenic Highway Utah-12, stopping where ever suits our fancy. The first stop was Red Canyon, a kind of Bryce in Minurature. We had a nice wake up stroll along an interpretive trail that was about a half mile long.
Yesterday, we woke up early to see the sunrise from Bryce Point in Bryce Canyon National Park. Low clouds prevented us from receiving the full effect of the early morning light on Bruce's unique, colorful hoodoos, but we struck around and enjoyed the scene when the sun did emerge.
After breakfast, we split up for the really for first time on the trip. I hiked a series of trails that added up to about 14 miles. Mom did a few shorter loops & listened in on a couple ranger programs.
We rendezvoused about 5:00 PM & drove to Rainbow Point at the southern end of the park's scenic drive. There, we walked the Bristlecone Pine Loop through a pine forest to a great viewpoint looking. We stopped at a few more viewpoints driving back to the visitor center where we watched a short film about the park & bought souvenirs.
We left the park after sunset, having literally spent the whole day there. On the way back to the hotel, we detoured to try a restaurant recommended by the owner of th hotel, Hatch's Station.
Today was a transition drive for us roadtrippers. We finished the second half of the drive to Southern Utah, where we'll spend the next 2 or 3 days. But before leaving Salt Lake, we paid a visit to Temple Square, attended a wonderful mass at the Catholic cathedral, drove quickly around Utah's campus, and inspected This is the Place Heritage Park. The latter is on the site where the first Morman pioneers entered Salt Lake Valley.
Mom suggested, we use part of our time in the Tetons to join a float trip down the Snake River. We called a couple places in the morning and were able to secure a reservation for the same day. In total the trip allowed about two hours on the water. The company shuttled us 10 miles upriver & we floated back down in a rubber raft with 13 other people (including the guide).
The trip was great fun. It was a great activity for this time of year. The riverbanks were lined with golden-leaved cottonwoods. We saw 4 bald eagles including 1 pair. Mom made a new friend, a fellow educator, who once taught in Alaska. Oh and off & on there were these magnificent mountains visible to the west.
To be clear, we didn't take any long hikes in Yellowstone, not because mom was not capable, but because there were many other things to do & see. A decent hike however is a quintessential part of a trip to Grand Teton. We found a good challenge in a loop that used a couple different trails to circle String Lake, one of the glacial lakes at the base of Mount St. John, in about 4 miles. A more critical stat is that we climbed a total of 550 feet along the way.
From Yellowstone, we drove south in to nearly adjacent Grand Teton National Park, home to one of the most impressive mountain ranges on earth. The mountains rise in dramatic fashion 5,000 to 7,000 feet above the valley floor.
We stayed the night in a cabin in the northern part of the park; and used the early morning to drive to several scenic lookouts, late morning to hike a trail at the base of the mountains, and afternoon to enjoy a float trip 10 miles down the snake river. We ate diner at a tavern in downtown Jackson just off the main square before starting the long drive to Salt Lake City.
With the couple hours of daylight we had left, we stopped at three more geyser basins--Black Sand, Biscuit, & West Thumb--and drove a short distance along the shore of Yellowstone Lake. At the last stop, West Thumb, we got caught on the trail at dusk & had to slip out uncomfortably close to a grazing elk. When mom said she hoped to see more wildlife, I doubt this is what she had in mind.
The main reason for our return to Upper Geyser Basin was to see an eruption of Old Faithful. While we had seen a couple on Wednesday, they were either from a distance or in the dark. Today, we got to see Old Faithful up close & in full daylight. It was the last eruption we saw before leaving the area, but before pulling out for good, we took time to watch one of the park films & get a rare midday meal.
Grand & Castle's prediction times overlapped, but from the crowd gathered around, we could tell that Grand had not yet erupted. We weren't as lucky as at Castle. We found a spot on one of the benches & sat down for an eventual wait of two hours. The spectacular eruption was well worth it.
In a way, I think it is part of the experience to have to wait it out a while. It builds the anticipation & gives you a chance to interact with the people around you. That said I'm glad we didn't have to wait 5 full hours like some people did.
We returned to the Upper Geyser Basin today to catch some of the action we missed on Wednesday. Castle Geyser was the next scheduled major geyser to erupt. It was also the closest. It began to erupt right as we walked up to it.
From Great Fountain Geyser, we drove to Midway Geyser Basin. Its best known feature is Grand Prismatic Spring, the largest hot spring in the park. It is deep blue in the center & a rainbow of colors along the edge. It is hard to really get a good sense of it from the boardwalk so we found our way up a nearby hillside for a better vantage.
This morning we got to see Great Fountain Geyser erupt. It was our first stop in the park for the day. We got there around an hour before the predicted time (9:30 AM). It was clear that it would be awhile before the show. I set-up camp and she headed off to explore a little part of the park on her own, but don't worry, she made it back in plenty of time to see the eruption. It was still pretty cold and the eruption was shrouded in a tower of steam.
We covered a lot of ground yesterday. I had hoped to leave more time for Norris Geyser Basin, one of my favorite places in the park. We got there just before sunset and only had time for a brisk walk around the outer loop of Back Basin. It is the best time of the day to be in that area of the park.
I pulled out the flashlight to finish the hike. Afterward, we drove a short distance to the nearby campground where the park held an night sky program that was very worthwhile even if it meant another late night.
Continuing our trip around northside of the park, we visited Mammoth Hot Spring. I dropped mom off at the top & shuttled the car down to the bottom. We met on the terraces. The colorful hot springs weren't the only delight. It also proved to be a great spot for bird watching. We were especially interested in a species of blue birds that were very vibrant in flight. We also laughed at a Magpie that hopped up to the Mini & smacked on some bugs in the grill.
We aren't going engage in any real long hiking, outside of wandering around the geyser areas, in Yellowstone, but I wanted to get mom out on at least one trail. Half-mile (one-way) Wraith Fall seemed like a good candidate. It leads to a lovely waterfall far enough from the park road to hide the sounds of traffic.
Sandwiched between our visits to the canyon, we stopped in at Mud Volcano area, small hydrothermal area with some distinct features. We walked the trail up Cooking Hillside, surveyed Sour Lake, took in the namesake attraction, and marveled at the sounds coming out of Dragons Mouth Spring.
One of yesterday's main destinations was the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. We visited Artist Point on the South Rim and a couple viewpoints on the North Rim, including Lookout and Inspiration Point. My mom was even up for a hike down part way in to the canyon & more importantly back out. The trail ended at one of my favorite views of the Lower Falls. I was really glad she got to see that view.
From 2:00 PM until about an hour after sunset, we explored the Upper Geyser Basin, the greastest concentration of geysers, hot springs & other hydrothermal features in the world.
We saw most of the major geysers erupt, including all the ones that the park posts prediction times, albeit some from a distance. We had to wait awhile to see Daisy erupt, even giving up at one point. When we passed by 20 minutes later, it showed more signs of life so we waited just a little while longer and received a spectacular, private show. Then, we walked over to Riverside Geyser, which was already erupting in great late afternoon fashion complete with a rainbow. On our way back theogh the basin, we saw Castle erupt from a distance.
We continued to explore the area; seeing a few more small eruptions; hiking up to Solitary Geyser, & finally at the end of the day, seeing an Old Faithful eruption. The last came well after sunset, with just the faintest amount of light left to illuminate the geyser.
Our first stop in the park was Fountain Paint Pots, a smLl geothermal area in the Lower Geyser Basin. It's signature feature is one of the best examples of bubbling, gurgling, slurping mud pots in the park. It is the first time my mom ever saw something like it. She also saw her first geyser eruption inq Clepshydra, which plays continuously.
Yesterday, I picked my mom up at the Salt Lake Airport. Were going to travel together for the next 10 days, first to Yellowstone and then Bryce & and Grand Canyon National Parks. We didn't have a lot of time after her flight arrived but we were able to drive most of Logan Canyon Scenic Byway including a hike around Tony Grove Lake before it got dark.
I spent most of yesterday morning & afternoom, driving to Salt Lake City & taking care of some travel errands (i.e. shopping, car wash). Along the way, I pulled over at a few scenic spots. Here are pictures of two; Starvation Lake and Devils Slide
