Last Day Of Hiking

After a great breakfast in the hotel—free—we took off for Bryce Point and our hike for the day, Peek-A-Boo trail, a 5.5 mile hike with ups and downs in elevation.  It was another breathtaking, in more ways than one Jill said, trail.  We again saw some stunning country, blue skies and sunshine.

We finished the hike around 1pm and headed back to the hotel.  Jeane wanted one more glimpse of the “queen” rock hoodoo and her garden so she took off back into the park while Jill and I removed our hiking boots and put our feet up. 

Here are some of the photos from today:

Two young couples from Germany were hiking the trail in front of us and having a ball.  They stopped to make this little snow man—he was melting fast!

We are having dinner at the Bryce Canyon Lodge and hope to see the sun set over the canyon.  Tomorrow morning very bright and early we will point the car toward home.  It has been a wonderful week but I am ready to see Michael and Emmi!

Bryce Canyon National Park

We gazed at Zion National Park splendor one more time this morning before driving out of the park, through the mile long tunnel that was built in 1927-1930.

  The tunnel has viewing windows along the outside wall—traffic is stopped at either end of the tunnel when a tall vehicle such as a motorhome needs to go through.  The taller vehicles must drive in the middle of the road to avoid scraping their roofs on the tapered side walls.

 Viewing window photo taken from the overlook outside the tunnel.

On the east side of the tunnel is a half mile hike which looks back over Zion Canyon.  As we were getting out of the car we spotted these guys:

On to Bryce—there are no words to describe Bryce Canyon National Park—awesome, spectacular, gorgeous—none of those words give voice to its incredible beauty.

We took about a 4 mile hike to the bottom of the canyon when we first got here which meant we had to climb back out to the top again, huff, puff.  Our hotel is very nice, new.  After dinner we drove out to the canyon again to watch sunset but were just a little late. 

Tomorrow we are off on our last hike of this trip, Tuesday we start home.  It has been an awesome week!

Critter Day

Jeane is our early riser and was so gracious—she got up, dressed, and drove up to the little coffee shop bringing us all back some of the delicious coffee they sell.  We took our time getting ready before walking uptown to have a great breakfast of french toast—delicious! 

On to the Visitor’s Center where our hiking guides (Jeane & Jill) had chosen the trail we would hike today—the Watchman Trail.  A nice, not so steep almost 3 mile round trip hike up to a plateau.  Before long we were back in the Visitor’s Center parking lot boarding the shuttle for the Human History Museum—watched a short video about the geology and early settlers of Zion Park.  Back on the shuttle to Zion Lodge where we had a spectacular lunch sitting outside on the deck. 

After lunch the plan was to take the shuttle up river to one more stop and then walk back down along the river.  We hiked along for about a hour and a half before I pooped out—the last part of the trek was on the horse trail and in very deep sand.  Jeane and Jill went on while I caught the shuttle back to the hotel.  I’m having a glass of wine and writing a blog!!

Hey what happened to my tail????

To get to where you see all the people in the second photo you must hike up the very narrow ridge  shown by the red line in the first photo below:

Six people have fallen to their deaths from that trail but as you can see from the number of people on top of Angel’s Landing it doesn’t seem to deter many!!! 

This critter was hiding in the hole of a fallen tree.

OK Bird Lady Judy, help us out here with these birds!  We think the top photo is a Cooper’s Hawk?? and the bottom a blue heron??

Didn’t see these critters but saw lots of evidence.  We are off to find some dinner, our last night in Zion National Park.  On to Bryce tomorrow.

A Mouse Update

Mouse 0, Us 1 !!!  Yep, we caught that little critter!

One Major Hike

I think my hiking companions thought we were goats today.  You should have seen the trails those two ladies came up with for today’s hike!  If I had known what one trail’s topography was going to be I would have declined to accompany Jeane and Jill.  You see, I have a healthy fear of heights—yes, I’ve hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon twice and the hikes here in the park aren’t exactly on level ground but I do fairly well if the trail is wide enough.  Today we were skirting a cliff using chains attached to the rock wall to pull ourselves along.  The trail was NOT wide and the drop offs were significant.  But, we made it, we reached Hidden Canyon and I have a wonderful sense of accomplishment!

YIKES!!

There is a trail here in the park called Angel’s Landing which is the “hike” to do if you have any guts at all.  I was edgy about this trail as the park literature states, “not for the faint of heart, chains will assist you in crossing a VERY narrow ridge…”  We met some people who told us the views from Observation Point were even better than Angel’s Landing so off we went.  They also told us we would be able to look down on Angel’s Point once reaching the summit of Observation Point. 

Hiking a total of over 10 miles today we saw some of the most spectacular scenery on this earth.  It was a long, grueling up hill hike taking us 4 hours to reach the summit and Observation Point.  The views were worth every last step we took.  To Jill’s left is a narrow ridge just visible—that is Angel’s Landing.  With the camera zoomed we could see people out on that narrow ridge.  Not a hike for us, not happening!

From Observation Point you could see the trail we took this morning to Hidden Canyon—can you believe we did that?????? 

At Observation Point we were at 6500 feet, far, far above the canyon floor, we gained 2148 feet in elevation from the start of the trail to the point!!!  On the Hidden Canyon trail we gained 850 feet in elevation in one mile. 

Although it was a grueling day we all have such a sense of accomplishment.  My hips hurt, my knees hurt, my toes hurt—I think every bone in my body aches but we did it!!!  YES!! 

Twelve Miles

We had dessert with dinner tonight without a stitch of guilt after hiking 13 miles in Zion National Park!  It didn’t seem like 13 miles as we did the walking in different sections.  First, never listen to a young waitress when she tells you, “the best place to have breakfast is just up the road, less than a mile.”  Well, it was 2 miles ONE WAY!  And we walked!  But we sure enjoyed our breakfast and coffee when we got there!

The shuttle system which takes you from the town of Springdale into Zion works wonderfully.  Then inside the park the shuttle system is perfect.  You can get off and get back on at any of the stops.  Our first hike was up the river walk to what is called the Narrows.  Normally you can walk in the river to the slot canyons but the Virgin River is running too high.  The park ranger told us today the river has to be running at 150cfps or lower for hiking to be allowed—it is currently running at 174cfps.

Got back on the shuttle and headed for the Weeping Wall.  It had begun to rain by this time.  The rock formations and geology of this park are amazing.  All that water “weeping” out of the rocks and ground.  There were a few flowers blooming, growing from the wall but not many.  The park is not nearly as crowded as we expected.

Ate our lunch at the trailhead for Weeping Wall while deciding what hike to take next.  We chose the Kayenta Trail which takes you to all the Emerald Pools.  The pools aren’t emerald colored, more iron ore colored???    The beginning of the Narrows.

Looking out from the Weeping Wall.

The Emerald Pool trail was by far our most challenging hike today and by the time we were finished with that trail, it was time for the hiking boots to come off and for us to sit back, prop our feet up and have a glass of wine. 

Al and Kelly from the Bayfield Bunch, do you recognize those people??  We were standing at a trail sign trying to decide which way to go.  I turned to look at the people standing behind me and it was Jeane and Ray from Arizona.  What are the chances of that happening??  We had hugs and a great chat before we parted ways!

Got in the car to go to dinner tonight and I sat in the back seat.  Jeane had left a bag of apples on the seat and I noted a rather large hole in the bag and a huge chunk of one of the apples was missing.  Uh Oh!!!  We have a mouse in the car!!!  After our great dinner we stopped by the grocery store and purchased some traps—hopefully in the morning Mr. Mouse will have gone to the happy hunting grounds for mice!

A wonderful, wonderful day of hiking in a gorgeous spot.  More to come tomorrow and the sun is supposed to shine!

We Are In Zion Or At Least Close Enough

Did my alarm really go off at 3:30am????  Yep, I’m afraid so.  As I was going to bed last night I thought to myself, why didn’t I spend the night at Jeane’s house and save myself a hour of sleep???  But I didn’t and it was a very early morning.  My sweet husband was good enough to get up with me and drive me out to Jill’s where we loaded up all the luggage, hiking boots, backpacks, water bottles, etc. until Jeane’s Prius was groaning!  Off we go.

Almost 14 hours and many giggles later we arrived at the Driftwood Lodge right outside the gates to Zion National Park.  We checked into our great room and headed down to the hotel restaurant for dinner.  Oh, my!  A wonderful, perfect dinner—we all had appetizers as entrees due to the lateness of the hour and a great bottle of wine.

  Jill and Jeane’s dinner—the photo of my entrée was fuzzy but the food was equally as good!

While it was a long, long day of travel the time seemed to go by quickly—laughing at Jeane trying to get a drink from her “free” water bottle which had these weird stopper things which stuck her in the nose every time she tried to drink—that bottle went in the trash.  Jeane and Jill both deciding I was doing the driving through Salt Lake City.  An iffy looking restaurant with really great food for lunch.

A good, good day spent with such good friends!  Here is the view from our hotel windows:

Off on more adventures tomorrow.  OH and the news from home—the Ford F350 is running!!!!!!  Good job husband!

Sandhills and Packing

This time of year the sandhills are serenading us and today we were able to get some photos of three cranes hanging out in our hayfield.  If I read Bird Lady Judy’s blog correctly these are not the same type of cranes located on the refuge where she is working.

I spent a large portion of my time today packing.  Jeane, Jill and I are leaving tomorrow morning before the crack of dawn heading to Bryce and Zion National Parks.  Do you know how much room hiking boots take in a suitcase???  Boots had to go in the backpack.  We are taking Jeane’s Prius for gas mileage, I may have to ride on the roof if the other ladies have as much stuff as I do!!  I am so ready for this trip and time with girlfriends!

Sue from Big Dawg and Freeway commented yesterday she hoped I got the book she was sending before I left on the trip.  Well, Sue, we live in the boonies!  We are not part of the US postal service money problems.  We save them money here in our neck of the woods.  There are not enough people living in this community year round to justify six day a week mail delivery.  We only get mail on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.  So, no, I won’t get the book before I leave, shucks!

Michael spent the day hauling dirt again from one place on the East Boulder to another place on the East Boulder.  And yes, Rene’, Michael likes to play in the dirt!  Mike is leveling a portion of Geoff and Nancy’s yard using dirt from a place they lease a few miles down the road. 

And Emmi played ball.

Another Warm One

When we drove through town a hour or so ago, the bank sign showed 86 degrees!  Not as much sunshine but overcast with big dark clouds forming this afternoon.  We went into town to mail a quilt, drop off our absentee ballots for a school levy election and to get Emmi a rattlesnake vaccination. 

Mom and Chuck headed down the driveway just after 9am this morning off on their new adventure.  I sure hope it works out for them this summer!

Spent some time packing, getting ready for my hiking trip with Jeane and Jill.  We are going hiking and sightseeing in Zion and Bryce National parks.  Someone asked me if we were backpacking and camping out.  Not hardly!  This is a girl’s trip which includes hotels and restaurants!

The last two days of really warm weather are making the chokecherry leaves pop out.

It was a quiet day around here, not much going on, not much to blog about. 

A Beautiful Sunday

For the end of April, today was a perfect day!  80 degrees and until this afternoon not a cloud in the sky!  We all took advantage by being outside.  Michael and Chuck worked on getting the engine back into the Ford pickup.  I manned the backhoe while Michael provided directions—I didn’t squish any fingers or anybody.  By late afternoon the engine was kind of secured back in the truck.  Mom and I cleaned up all my flowerbeds—looking pretty spiffy!

Nat came for lunch and we grilled some more hamburgers and served them with leftovers from last night.  Because the guys were outside in the sun most of the day Mom and I decided ice cream would be a good treat when they came in side.  Got out the Cuisinart ice cream maker for the first time this season and made some chocolate ice cream. 

The guys came in late this afternoon looking kind of sunburned and tired—showers and ice cream—a perfect treat!  Before we ate ice cream Michael and I took the little Toyota Spyder out for a spin—couldn’t resist the warm weather! 

Just a perfect spring day here in Montana.

Beautiful Sunny Day

We woke to clouds and a little wind—but before lunch the sun came out and the temps rose to nice spring time warm!  Turned out to be a beautiful day.

Michael headed over to Lonn’s to help him with some digging and the rest of us stayed home to hold down the fort.  We did go for a walk before he took off for the West Boulder. 

I finished the quilt, attached a label and will post photos when the recipient receives the quilt.  It is beautiful, beautiful—I need to learn how to photograph quilts better! 

Mom and Chuck made a run to town to pick up a couple things I needed for dinner.  Joe, Tammy and Jeff are coming for dinner.  They own our former ranch and house and are in town for the weekend visiting Jeff who goes to college in Bozeman.

Dinner was fabulous, hamburgers on the grill, a garden salad and fruit salad.  Apple/almond crisp with ice cream for dessert.  We had a great time visiting with good friends—very good to see them!

Here is a photo of my Mom and Chuck at Pikes Peak—they road the cog railroad to the top.

And here’s a photo of my oldest nephew Trent and his date for the prom, Kerston—looking good—Trent’s Mom Vicky takes awesome photos—this is one of several she took for the occasion.