Friday, October 22, 2010
Lassen Volcano
We left Tahoe in sunshine and arrived at Lassen in the heaviest rain we have seen since we left Glacier Park. Not bad for a 5 week trip. I know US 50 is labeled as the loneliest highway in America but CA 89 from Truckee to Mt. Shasta has it beat. We didn’t realize how few cars we were seeing until we were several miles into the trip and so didn’t actually count oncoming vehicles – but there definitely were fewer than on US 50. But the road was beautiful. We were swinging through (I use swinging as the verb because of all the corners) ponderosa and fir forests. There were lots of little 50 cow towns along the way (I would have called them 1 horse but we didn’t see any horses, only cows). We were surprised how many golf resorts we passed. It seemed a long way to go for a game of golf.
All along the way we were seeing only a huge cloud where Mt. Lassen was supposed to be. When we actually got to the park the cloud was sitting at the same level as the Visitor’s Center. Perhaps another trip to actually see Mt. Lassen and the Park. There were a bunch of sulfur steam fumaroles right beside the road. And a giant bubbling mud pot. We weren’t able to get a photo of the mud pot because the steam covered the lens of the camera. We drove around the mountain and most of the way were only able to see about 25’ off the road. Just enough to see that there was NOTHING on the downhill side of the road. No trees, no shrubs, no earth. EEK! When we got around to the north side the cloud cleared enough to be able to see the bottom of Mt. Lassen – no top but the bottom.
CA 89 from Lassen to Mt. Shasta (on I-5) was more forests but dotted with deer. I have no idea what they were thinking! It is hunting season! And we even saw a 5 pt. buck! In the National Forest! Mt. Shasta also had its head in the clouds so no great view there. At Weed we jumped onto US 97 after about ½ mile on “Historical Highway 99” (I remember when historical was not the adjective we used for 99. @$%#^&, perhaps, but not historical.) Tonight we are in Klamath Falls and plan to be back in Seattle tomorrow.
All in all, a fabulous trip!
Dollars saved on this trip with Park Pass: $178.00 + 10 = $188.00
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
The Loneliest Road in America
When Bear heard about “The Loneliest Road in America”, US-50 across Nevada, he decided he had to drive it. And so we did. Since it is billed as the loneliest road we decided to count oncoming traffic to see if it really was. We started counting when we left Ely. The next stop on the road is Eureka. Between Ely and Eureka, 78 miles, we saw 59 vehicles. This included a 9 vehicle convoy transporting some really big round stuff. This makes about ¾ vehicle per mile. The next stop is Austin. Between Eureka and Austin, 70 miles, we saw 66 vehicles and one bike. This is .94 vehicles per mile. Next stop Fallon, 111 miles and 98 vehicles or .88 vehicles per mile. Pretty lonely, especially since many of the vehicles came in groups. I have to mention the stops along the way. Let me quote from the little book we got from the State of Nevada about Hwy 50. “EUREKA Few Nevada mining towns have survived the ravages of time as well as Eureka, a mid-19th century silver mining center. Visitors will find dozens of historic sites in one of Nevada’s best preserved mining towns.” It then goes on to list 4 “must see” attractions. The reality: 2 streets wide including Hwy 50. 8 blocks long, 3 of every 4 buildings boarded over with for sale or for lease signs. How ghastly. Then there is Austin: “Once one of Nevada’s most prosperous mining camps, Austin has managed to retain its 19th century character.” If what is there now is as good as it got at the town’s hey day, I feel for the poor folks who lived there. It is in a pass with 3 gas stations, 2 terrible looking cafes and many boarded up buildings.
One of the wonderful things we did find was the air. There is a shrub that grows all over the valleys mixed in with the sage brush. I think it was Nevada City Buckwheat (Eriogonum prattenianum for those of you into latin). It blooms with yellow flowers but this time of year the flowers are all going to seed and it smells wonderful! We got out of the car and I immediately started looking for the source of the wonderful smell. What a treat! We stopped at a couple of Pony Express way stations (now just piles of rocks). US 50 used to be the route of the Pony Express as well as the Overland Stage.
We stumbled upon Grimes Point/Hidden Cave archaeological site. There were rocks with petroglyphs dating between 7000 BC and 1000BC. They were wonderful and it was so much fun to run between them “Did you see this one?” or “How about this one!”. We got to drive by Fallon NAS, the home of the Top Gun School for Navy flyers and watch some guys out playing with their “toys”. The sound of freedom is very loud in Fallon.
We spent the night at our condo at Lake Tahoe. Did you know that Lake Tahoe has more water than Mead Lake behind Hoover Dam?
Monday, October 18, 2010
A Day of Strange Sights
Cedar Breaks National Monument
Today was a day of strange sights. We started our day with a visit to the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Visitors’ Center to see what they have for our next trip this way. In the yard was a huge weeping willow that was alive with yellow jackets drinking rain water from the leaves. You could actually hear the whole tree buzz. Then we unsuccessfully scoured the prairies on the sides of the road for the rare and elusive (at least for us) Utah prairie dog. Next we drove through the Red Canyon in the Dixie National Forest. It was beautiful with spires and hoodoos in bright red all over the place. Our next sight was the valley of the Sevier River. It was full of ranches with cattle grazing all over the place. There were beautiful cottonwoods in the most wonderful shade of gold/orange all along the river. We turned west onto Utah 14 and came across huge lava beds! They were like the ones in the Gifford Pinchot Natl. Forest in WA but even larger! Our next stop was the Cedar Breaks National Monument where we were in SNOW! At 10,000’. Cedar Breaks is a canyon of more columns and hoodoos. With the snow it was beautiful. We were on our way to Ely, Nevada on US 50. If you look at your map you will see that US 50 is quite a ways north of Cedar City with no real connecting roads so we went on the tiny red line roads. The surfaces were fine but there were not many people out there nor were there many curves in the road. We would go over a hill and see the road go absolutely straight across the next valley. It seemed that all the turns were on the hills. Rain storms were blowing through but didn’t hit us too bad. However they made the edges of the valleys all fuzzy. Very cool. Bear had his moment of aerobic exercise when two deer jumped onto the road right in front of us. I was so proud of him – he remembered not to swerve to avoid them, he just braked and held his line. At our motel in Ely we saw an absolutely brilliant rainbow with a very light faded one right next to it. Then it was dinner in a cell in the Jailhouse Restaurant. All in all, a day of strange and wonderful things.
Today was a day of strange sights. We started our day with a visit to the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Visitors’ Center to see what they have for our next trip this way. In the yard was a huge weeping willow that was alive with yellow jackets drinking rain water from the leaves. You could actually hear the whole tree buzz. Then we unsuccessfully scoured the prairies on the sides of the road for the rare and elusive (at least for us) Utah prairie dog. Next we drove through the Red Canyon in the Dixie National Forest. It was beautiful with spires and hoodoos in bright red all over the place. Our next sight was the valley of the Sevier River. It was full of ranches with cattle grazing all over the place. There were beautiful cottonwoods in the most wonderful shade of gold/orange all along the river. We turned west onto Utah 14 and came across huge lava beds! They were like the ones in the Gifford Pinchot Natl. Forest in WA but even larger! Our next stop was the Cedar Breaks National Monument where we were in SNOW! At 10,000’. Cedar Breaks is a canyon of more columns and hoodoos. With the snow it was beautiful. We were on our way to Ely, Nevada on US 50. If you look at your map you will see that US 50 is quite a ways north of Cedar City with no real connecting roads so we went on the tiny red line roads. The surfaces were fine but there were not many people out there nor were there many curves in the road. We would go over a hill and see the road go absolutely straight across the next valley. It seemed that all the turns were on the hills. Rain storms were blowing through but didn’t hit us too bad. However they made the edges of the valleys all fuzzy. Very cool. Bear had his moment of aerobic exercise when two deer jumped onto the road right in front of us. I was so proud of him – he remembered not to swerve to avoid them, he just braked and held his line. At our motel in Ely we saw an absolutely brilliant rainbow with a very light faded one right next to it. Then it was dinner in a cell in the Jailhouse Restaurant. All in all, a day of strange and wonderful things.
Bryce Canyon
Have I said before “what a beautiful place”! We have seen lots and lots of photos of Bryce Canyon but nothing is like seeing it for real. Bear didn’t begin to catch the beautiful nuances in the colors. We did the tour as recommended: drive to the end and then work your way back up. The brochure says it is so that you can make right hand turns into the lookouts (perhaps an issue in the summer but not now), I think it is so that you come upon the fantastic terrain gradually rather than being dropped into it and then going away. The formations are called hoodoos. In the early photos don’t focus just on them but be sure to notice the stuff in the distance. We could see FOREVER.
We went on two hikes. The first was the Bristlecone Pine trail on top of the mesa down at the south end. The second was down into the hoodoos to Queen’s Garden. They were both completely different. The Bristlecone Pine trail was through the woods (Doug fir, white fir, blue spruce, pinon pine, white pine) to the edge of the mesa. I spent much of my time in the woods rubbing my hands on the white fir needles – they smelled so good! The whole forest smelled good, like home. The Queen’s Garden trail went down the side of the mesa into the canyon full of hoodoos so we got to walk around in them. It was fantastic! But over 300’ down and then back up.
Bristlecone Pine Trail & Rainbow Overlook
Views from the Rim Road south to north
Queen's Garden Trail
Dollars saved on this trip with Park Pass: $153.00 + 25 = $178.00
We went on two hikes. The first was the Bristlecone Pine trail on top of the mesa down at the south end. The second was down into the hoodoos to Queen’s Garden. They were both completely different. The Bristlecone Pine trail was through the woods (Doug fir, white fir, blue spruce, pinon pine, white pine) to the edge of the mesa. I spent much of my time in the woods rubbing my hands on the white fir needles – they smelled so good! The whole forest smelled good, like home. The Queen’s Garden trail went down the side of the mesa into the canyon full of hoodoos so we got to walk around in them. It was fantastic! But over 300’ down and then back up.
Bristlecone Pine Trail & Rainbow Overlook
Views from the Rim Road south to north
Queen's Garden Trail
Dollars saved on this trip with Park Pass: $153.00 + 25 = $178.00
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
Another find! If we had gone to Arches/Canyonlands we would never have found this. We were peacefully driving along the side of Boulder Mountain enjoying the aspen, fir, deer and mesas in the distance when all of a sudden on both sides of the road huge white rock canyon systems appeared. We drove along the top of a ridge between them and then down into the river valley on one of the canyon bottoms. It was full of trees & grasses – beautiful. We went in and out of the edge of the Monument for about 50 miles until we got to our motel in Cannonville. The rock features were magnificent. We talked to our motel proprietor and she told us that most of what is in the Monument is on roads not designed for regular cars and that since the Monument is so big it takes a while to get to anything. We are now talking about how we need to rent a more off-road vehicle than our RedRoo and come back to Utah for 6 weeks or so and really see the canyon parks and monuments.
View from Boulder Mountain
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
View from Boulder Mountain
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| From from Boulder Mtn |
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
Capitol Reef National Park
Our original plan was to go to Arches and Canyonlands National Parks but there was a marathon in Moab over the weekend and hotel rooms were going for $200 a night. We decided to come up with a different plan. I thought Bryce Canyon sounded good and as it happens Capitol Reef in on the way, so off we went. For those of you who have never driven I-70 west of Grand Junction you cannot begin to imagine how flat, dry and generally boring it really is. The single moment of excitement was when we saw the sign that said “No services for 110 miles” and our gas tank was at about ¼ full. We turned off I-70 at Utah Hwy 24 and, if possible, there was less there than on I-70. One, count it one, ranch and one turn off to a state park in 44 miles! At Hanksville U-24 turns west and everything changes. The scenery is surreal. Black mounds and gullies and then white ones and then yellow ones. It is BLM land and the big tourist attraction is off-roading. Our jaws were just dropped open.
(You probably want to enlarge these. They were taken from the car window while driving at dusk.)
Capitol Reef is a 100 mile long ”waterpocket fold” . U-24 follows the Fremont River across the fold. The river canyon is narrow and the canyon walls go straight up both sides in fabulous colors! What a find! And there are lots and lots of petroglyphs and pictographs. In the middle of the canyon the valley floor opens up a little bit and there used to be a small (10 families) orcharding community. What a surprise in the middle of what is effectively a desert. When you look at the photos be sure to enlarge them – there are more details than you can imagine.
Dollars saved on this trip with Park Pass: $148.00 + 5 = $153.00
(You probably want to enlarge these. They were taken from the car window while driving at dusk.)
Capitol Reef is a 100 mile long ”waterpocket fold” . U-24 follows the Fremont River across the fold. The river canyon is narrow and the canyon walls go straight up both sides in fabulous colors! What a find! And there are lots and lots of petroglyphs and pictographs. In the middle of the canyon the valley floor opens up a little bit and there used to be a small (10 families) orcharding community. What a surprise in the middle of what is effectively a desert. When you look at the photos be sure to enlarge them – there are more details than you can imagine.
Dollars saved on this trip with Park Pass: $148.00 + 5 = $153.00
Colorado National Monument
Just out of Grand Junction, CO on I-70 almost at the border with Utah is the Colorado National Monument. Many years ago my folks told me this was a must see. And then I read “The Serpents Trail” by Sue Henry and watched the movie “American Flyers” which features a bike race in the Monument and knew it truly was something I had to see. The road twists along the edge of Monument Mesa with fantastic views of the valley, the canyons in the Monument and the rock sculptures. Wonderful colors.
Dollars saved on this trip with Park Pass: $141.00 + 7 = $148.00
Out of Ouray
SewCrazyGurl and Rocky took us sightseeing in the mountains surrounding Ouray. First of all, Ouray is a little town tucked into a canyon between the mountains. It is about 10 blocks long and maybe 4 blocks wide and then you are at the canyon walls. We went to Box Canyon to see the falls. They were wonderful. The river drops into the rock about 200’ from the floor of the canyon, swirls around and comes out the bottom in a flurry of mist. Besides going into the crack in the rock to see the falls, we climbed up to the bridge over the falls. It was an open grate bridge so we could see the river go into the falls right through the bridge.
From the bottom of the falls:
From the top of the falls:
Our next stop was Yankee Boy Basin. It is at 12,000’ behind some of the mountains that surround Ouray. We went in Rocky’s “new” Volvo XC. He went over things I would be afraid to take my Subaru over. Someone else drove up in his Subaru while we were at the top so the fear might have more to do with the driver than the route. We were on a narrow, unpaved road with boulders in the middle of it. As with much of the mountain parts of Colorado there were abandoned mines everywhere. The smaller, falling apart, wooden mines with small piles of tailings were picturesque. The large ones that have filled the creek valleys with tailings were less so. But the mountains! And the aspen turning yellow and orange in amongst the alpine fir! And the mountain goats up on the hillside! And the creeks, rivers and waterfalls! And the meadows with the brush turning gold and red!
From the bottom of the falls:
From the top of the falls:
Our next stop was Yankee Boy Basin. It is at 12,000’ behind some of the mountains that surround Ouray. We went in Rocky’s “new” Volvo XC. He went over things I would be afraid to take my Subaru over. Someone else drove up in his Subaru while we were at the top so the fear might have more to do with the driver than the route. We were on a narrow, unpaved road with boulders in the middle of it. As with much of the mountain parts of Colorado there were abandoned mines everywhere. The smaller, falling apart, wooden mines with small piles of tailings were picturesque. The large ones that have filled the creek valleys with tailings were less so. But the mountains! And the aspen turning yellow and orange in amongst the alpine fir! And the mountain goats up on the hillside! And the creeks, rivers and waterfalls! And the meadows with the brush turning gold and red!
Black Canyon of the Gunnison
Another “must see”. We had two reasons to come to Montrose.
#1: to visit my friend, SewCrazyGurl, and her husband, Rocky. SewCrazyGurl and I started hanging out when she came to me for sewing lessons when she was 7. My bio-daughter, Bug, was happy to see her come because it took a lot of pressure off Bug to sew with me. I call SewCrazyGurl the “daughter of my heart”. She got married last fall and I was fortunate enough to get to come to Montrose to make her wedding gown and go to the ceremony. What fun!
#2: to see the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. A “must add” to your bucket list.
The Black Canyon is about 2000’ deep and very narrow. It is not called the Black Canyon because the rocks are black, although they are, but because the canyon is so deep and narrow that the sun hardly hits the bottom. We thought the canyon was much smaller than it actually is until we saw the climbers on the rock on the other side. They were so TINY. Perspective means everything. Running through the black rock are fissures of white rock. This is igneous rock that forced its way up through cracks in the original rock. It is harder and so does not wear away as fast so there are these fabulous spires and ridges sticking up all over the place. You have got to see it to believe it. SewCrazyGurl and Rocky were with us so Bear had someone to incite him into hanging over edges that on his own he would never have approached. SewCrazyGurl and I had to just turn our backs in places – it was too much to watch.
Dollars saved on this trip with Park Pass: $126 + 15 = $141.00
#1: to visit my friend, SewCrazyGurl, and her husband, Rocky. SewCrazyGurl and I started hanging out when she came to me for sewing lessons when she was 7. My bio-daughter, Bug, was happy to see her come because it took a lot of pressure off Bug to sew with me. I call SewCrazyGurl the “daughter of my heart”. She got married last fall and I was fortunate enough to get to come to Montrose to make her wedding gown and go to the ceremony. What fun!
#2: to see the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. A “must add” to your bucket list.
The Black Canyon is about 2000’ deep and very narrow. It is not called the Black Canyon because the rocks are black, although they are, but because the canyon is so deep and narrow that the sun hardly hits the bottom. We thought the canyon was much smaller than it actually is until we saw the climbers on the rock on the other side. They were so TINY. Perspective means everything. Running through the black rock are fissures of white rock. This is igneous rock that forced its way up through cracks in the original rock. It is harder and so does not wear away as fast so there are these fabulous spires and ridges sticking up all over the place. You have got to see it to believe it. SewCrazyGurl and Rocky were with us so Bear had someone to incite him into hanging over edges that on his own he would never have approached. SewCrazyGurl and I had to just turn our backs in places – it was too much to watch.
Dollars saved on this trip with Park Pass: $126 + 15 = $141.00
Million Dollar Highway
We drove highway 550 from Durango to Montrose, CO up and over three 10,000’+ passes (we don’t even count the 8000’ers anymore). It is a BEAUTIFUL road. If you ever get the chance you gotta drive it! The mountains were fabulous and I think we picked the best time of year because (besides the kiddies being in school and their parents being at work) the colors on the mountainsides were wonderful. If we had stopped and taken a photo every time we said “Oh, look” we would have taken all day and needed several more large memory cards for the camera. Just north of Ouray, a little town tucked into a canyon between very tall mountains, we saw what I thought were hairy cows in a field. They were YAKS! Never seen one outside of a zoo before.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Mesa Verde
What a beautiful park! Bear and I blew through here in 1973 when we were on our way home to Seattle from Newport News, VA, his last duty station with the Air Force. Amazing how much better it is when you actually have time to see what there is to see. We decided that Mesa Verde was worth a whole day and since we didn’t get there until noon we stayed in the Park Lodge at Far View (guess why it has that name) overnight and finished our tour the next morning. The Lodge was nice. The rooms are motel style and scattered up a hillside. The desk clerk gave us one with a spectacular sunset view over Sleeping Ute Mountain so we sat on the deck, drank wine and watched the sky turn beautiful colors. As the sun was setting the airplane contrails were lit up so there were little white and pink streaks across the sky.
We took the tour of Cliff Palace, the largest of the cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde. It was very spectacular. We heard all the explanations, but I still cannot imagine what would possess someone to move off the mesa top and build a place like this (where you go in and out by way of little tiny hand and foot holds cut into the vertical rock where if you miss your step the drop is hundreds of feet).
We also went to Spruce Tree House which is in a little more reasonable location – you don’t need a ladder to get to it. We had a great talk with the rangers there. They told us about the wild turkeys in the park. First off: the Ancient Puebloeans (Anaztazi is no longer politically correct) had two domestic animals – dogs and turkeys. Both lived with them in the cliff dwellings. Flash forward to today. The turkeys roam wild in the park, at Spruce Tree House the turkey buzzards used to hang out but one day they just moved out and the next the turkeys were hanging there. Now, as you recall turkeys don’t fly. So as dusk approaches they launch themselves off the mesa top and land in the big fir trees growing up from the shallow end of the canyon (occasionally in the morning the rangers find one that misjudged his flight pattern and splatted on the ground). They spend the night there safe from most predators and then in the morning launch out of the tree, land on the mesa top on the other side (it is a little lower) and then spend the day walking around the end of the canyon back to their original launch point. At Spruce Tree House there is a kiva that you can actually go into (by ladder through a hole in the roof). It was very interesting to actually be inside.
In the morning we went to see the remains of a large settlement in the middle of the mesa. It had been a large farming community. And then we did the drive around a mesa top. We got to see remains of dwellings/villages from the 900’s. And there were spectacular views of more cliff dwellings. We were struck by how similar the construction is between the ruins here and those we saw last spring in Europe that were built about the same time. Ancient North Americans did not come up with the wheel so the similarities to Europe of that same time stop there.
Farming village on mesa top
Views from the mesa
There are wild horses in the park – not mustangs, but horses that were released by the Indians at some point. And we saw a coyote! He looked back at us over his shoulder as if to say “You’ll never get your camera out in time.” and was off.
We did meet a tarantula on one of the overlook trails. Very large, very hairy.
Park mammal count: 13 – deer, chipmunk, big horn sheep, mountain goat, red squirrel, prairie dog, rabbit, buffalo, elk, red squirrel aka chickaree, pika, golden-mantled ground squirrel, least chipmunk, wild horses, coyote
Trip mammal count: 19 - deer, moose, chipmunk, big horn sheep, mountain goat, antelope, rabbit, mule deer, red squirrel aka chickaree, prairie dog, buffalo, ground squirrel, Abert’s squirrel, elk, pika, golden-mantled ground squirrel, least chipmunk, deer mouse, wild horses, coyote
Dollars saved on this trip with Park Pass: 116.00 +10 = $126
We took the tour of Cliff Palace, the largest of the cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde. It was very spectacular. We heard all the explanations, but I still cannot imagine what would possess someone to move off the mesa top and build a place like this (where you go in and out by way of little tiny hand and foot holds cut into the vertical rock where if you miss your step the drop is hundreds of feet).
We also went to Spruce Tree House which is in a little more reasonable location – you don’t need a ladder to get to it. We had a great talk with the rangers there. They told us about the wild turkeys in the park. First off: the Ancient Puebloeans (Anaztazi is no longer politically correct) had two domestic animals – dogs and turkeys. Both lived with them in the cliff dwellings. Flash forward to today. The turkeys roam wild in the park, at Spruce Tree House the turkey buzzards used to hang out but one day they just moved out and the next the turkeys were hanging there. Now, as you recall turkeys don’t fly. So as dusk approaches they launch themselves off the mesa top and land in the big fir trees growing up from the shallow end of the canyon (occasionally in the morning the rangers find one that misjudged his flight pattern and splatted on the ground). They spend the night there safe from most predators and then in the morning launch out of the tree, land on the mesa top on the other side (it is a little lower) and then spend the day walking around the end of the canyon back to their original launch point. At Spruce Tree House there is a kiva that you can actually go into (by ladder through a hole in the roof). It was very interesting to actually be inside.
In the morning we went to see the remains of a large settlement in the middle of the mesa. It had been a large farming community. And then we did the drive around a mesa top. We got to see remains of dwellings/villages from the 900’s. And there were spectacular views of more cliff dwellings. We were struck by how similar the construction is between the ruins here and those we saw last spring in Europe that were built about the same time. Ancient North Americans did not come up with the wheel so the similarities to Europe of that same time stop there.
Farming village on mesa top
Views from the mesa
There are wild horses in the park – not mustangs, but horses that were released by the Indians at some point. And we saw a coyote! He looked back at us over his shoulder as if to say “You’ll never get your camera out in time.” and was off.
We did meet a tarantula on one of the overlook trails. Very large, very hairy.
Park mammal count: 13 – deer, chipmunk, big horn sheep, mountain goat, red squirrel, prairie dog, rabbit, buffalo, elk, red squirrel aka chickaree, pika, golden-mantled ground squirrel, least chipmunk, wild horses, coyote
Trip mammal count: 19 - deer, moose, chipmunk, big horn sheep, mountain goat, antelope, rabbit, mule deer, red squirrel aka chickaree, prairie dog, buffalo, ground squirrel, Abert’s squirrel, elk, pika, golden-mantled ground squirrel, least chipmunk, deer mouse, wild horses, coyote
Dollars saved on this trip with Park Pass: 116.00 +10 = $126
Shiprock
Bear and I are both fans of Tony Hillerman novels and I like the Ella Claw series by Amiee & David Thurlo so we wanted to see Shiprock on the Navajo Nation – both the city and the rock. Having been to Windowrock several years ago I was disappointed in the town. There was nothing there: a shopping mall and some housing and that was about it. No cultural stuff. The rock on the other hand was spectacular. It rises out of the mesa and is huge. (We actually could see it from Mesa Verde the next day.)
Chaco Canyon
We dropped GO Guy and Mona off at the airport so they could return to their jobs back in Seattle. Bear and SewDiva continued on with their adventure. It is sad not to have them to share the adventure with.
We drove across some amazing canyons and mesas with rock of all kinds of colors to get to Chaco Canyon by way of Cuba. What a beautiful and interesting place. The canyon itself is magnificent. The current thinking is that Chaco was not a place where people lived but more like a retreat center where various groups came together for ceremonies, trade and the like. Of course there were caretaker people who lived there full time. Chaco was occupied between 800 and 1200 AD. It had a dozen or so large Great Houses, each with hundreds of rooms and multiple kivas. They don’t think people lived in the rooms – they were offices and storage rooms. A typical great house would be 4 to 6 stories high.
We got to see several different types of petroglyphs. There were the ones scratched into the rock, the ones where the rock is carved away around the picture and the paintings (which technically aren’t petroglyphs, but whatever.)
Dollars saved on this trip with Park Pass: $113.00 + 3.00= $116.00
Santa Fe
Mona has done a great job as our tour guide for Santa Fe. We have seen just enough shops, just enough museums, just enough sights. We began our stay here with dinner down in the Railroad District. We walked and saw a little of the city at night. Santa Fe is sort of like a museum in the middle of a city. Old Town is very strictly kept old – cute little adobe houses, unpaved sidewalks just a few blocks from the Square – while the real city of Santa Fe is out closer to the freeway. Our condo is in the old part of town just a few blocks from the square. GO Guy and Mona got the master bedroom here with a bed out of some issue of House Beautiful. The condo is nice and has a kitchenette, a fireplace and skylights.
Day One
The first day we went down to the square to see what we could see. We could see lots of shops (most of which we only window shopped at – although GO Guy did find a $9000 sculpture he was thinking he couldn’t live without). Our first real tourist stop was the Cathedral. It was built in the middle/late 1800’s. The project was begun by Bishop Lamy, the bishop made famous by Willa Cather in her book Death Comes for the Archbishop. Bishop Lamy didn’t die like in her book, he retired and died of old age. It is a very beautiful church, quite different from those we saw in Europe this past spring. Most of those were about powerful people in the area of the church. This was very much about God. The only statues were those of Christ, Mary and the saints.
After good beer and great pizza on a balcony overlooking the square we wandered to the Loretto Chapel. This was the chapel for a girl’s school run by nuns. They needed a staircase to get to the choir loft and so prayed. A mysterious carpenter showed up and asked if he could do the job. He built a beautiful spiral staircase using minimal tools. When the staircase was finished he vanished without a trace and without leaving a bill for materials or workmanship. The staircase is lovely. It is freestanding and has no center support. It was originally built without a handrail but was just too scary for the girls to use so they added one.
We admired the “river”, really a sluggish stream running through town but with nice trees and wandered on to the “oldest church” in Santa Fe which is located next to the “oldest house”. Parts of both of them are alleged to have been built by Indians and were there when settlers first came to Santa Fe.
We had a fun wander up Canyon Road. This is a high-end gallery district and we saw several things that were a lot of fun but way too expensive. We visited Kakawa Chocolate House where we tasted some very unusual hot chocolate and bought treats for dessert. We finished our evening with a wonderful dinner at a restaurant called The Pink Adobe and a great walk home.
Day Two
We started this day with breakfast at Tia Sophia’s where we had eggs, beans, enchiladas and chili. It was very good. Then it was off to see museums. We cruised the gift shops at the Georgia O’Keefe Museum and at the Santa Fe Museum of Art. We have discovered that that is a great way to decide if you want to see what is inside. We are not really art museum people. We did, however, find a gallery of illustrated (think animated movies) art. We each found something that we loved. How can you not love Wiley Coyote and the Roadrunner. We ended up at the New Mexico History Museum and the Governor’s Palace. This was more our style. The History Museum was really well done with lots of interesting exhibits. After ice cream on the square and a visit to the Indians selling jewelry on their blankets in front of the Governor’s Palace we came home to collapse. The boys fixed us steaks on the grill for dinner and it was very nice to eat in for a change.
Day Three
Another beautiful sunny day. The nights are clear and coolish – the natives say COLD! But when the sun gets up the temperature does too. I am running around in sleeveless tops while some of them have on their wool jackets. We started the day with Starbuck coffees while SewDiva created two of her “rubbing” scarves. (For new followers: I find a manhole cover that is evocative of the place, rub it with color crayons onto a silk scarf – think leaf rubbings in elementary school – and then dye the scarf when I get it home. They turn out great.) We wandered through the square where GO Guy had a belt custom made (while we watched) to go with his new silver belt buckle. Bear almost got a new Stetson drover style hat but decided that it probably wouldn’t look quite as good in Seattle as it did in Santa Fe. We toured the La Fonda hotel – a 20’s style grand hotel and had another New Mexican yummy lunch on yet another balcony overlooking the square. We drove up to the ski resort to see the sunset. When we left Santa Fe it was warm and sunny so we didn’t have on toasty clothes. By the time we got to the sunset overlook at 10,000’ with the sun going down it was not warm any longer. The boys popped out of the car and started shooting pictures – how much do we love digital! About 20 minutes later two popsicles that resembled Bear and GO Guy popped back into the car. The sun was down and they were frozen so we figured the show was over – we were wrong! That is when the sky exploded into the most beautiful shades of everything between red and yellow. Instead of the clear view from the overlook we got to take pictures from gaps in the trees along the road. Dinner was at Maria’s back in Santa Fe. Talk about yummy!
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| From Santa Fe |
Day One
The first day we went down to the square to see what we could see. We could see lots of shops (most of which we only window shopped at – although GO Guy did find a $9000 sculpture he was thinking he couldn’t live without). Our first real tourist stop was the Cathedral. It was built in the middle/late 1800’s. The project was begun by Bishop Lamy, the bishop made famous by Willa Cather in her book Death Comes for the Archbishop. Bishop Lamy didn’t die like in her book, he retired and died of old age. It is a very beautiful church, quite different from those we saw in Europe this past spring. Most of those were about powerful people in the area of the church. This was very much about God. The only statues were those of Christ, Mary and the saints.
After good beer and great pizza on a balcony overlooking the square we wandered to the Loretto Chapel. This was the chapel for a girl’s school run by nuns. They needed a staircase to get to the choir loft and so prayed. A mysterious carpenter showed up and asked if he could do the job. He built a beautiful spiral staircase using minimal tools. When the staircase was finished he vanished without a trace and without leaving a bill for materials or workmanship. The staircase is lovely. It is freestanding and has no center support. It was originally built without a handrail but was just too scary for the girls to use so they added one.
We admired the “river”, really a sluggish stream running through town but with nice trees and wandered on to the “oldest church” in Santa Fe which is located next to the “oldest house”. Parts of both of them are alleged to have been built by Indians and were there when settlers first came to Santa Fe.
We had a fun wander up Canyon Road. This is a high-end gallery district and we saw several things that were a lot of fun but way too expensive. We visited Kakawa Chocolate House where we tasted some very unusual hot chocolate and bought treats for dessert. We finished our evening with a wonderful dinner at a restaurant called The Pink Adobe and a great walk home.
Day Two
We started this day with breakfast at Tia Sophia’s where we had eggs, beans, enchiladas and chili. It was very good. Then it was off to see museums. We cruised the gift shops at the Georgia O’Keefe Museum and at the Santa Fe Museum of Art. We have discovered that that is a great way to decide if you want to see what is inside. We are not really art museum people. We did, however, find a gallery of illustrated (think animated movies) art. We each found something that we loved. How can you not love Wiley Coyote and the Roadrunner. We ended up at the New Mexico History Museum and the Governor’s Palace. This was more our style. The History Museum was really well done with lots of interesting exhibits. After ice cream on the square and a visit to the Indians selling jewelry on their blankets in front of the Governor’s Palace we came home to collapse. The boys fixed us steaks on the grill for dinner and it was very nice to eat in for a change.
Day Three
Another beautiful sunny day. The nights are clear and coolish – the natives say COLD! But when the sun gets up the temperature does too. I am running around in sleeveless tops while some of them have on their wool jackets. We started the day with Starbuck coffees while SewDiva created two of her “rubbing” scarves. (For new followers: I find a manhole cover that is evocative of the place, rub it with color crayons onto a silk scarf – think leaf rubbings in elementary school – and then dye the scarf when I get it home. They turn out great.) We wandered through the square where GO Guy had a belt custom made (while we watched) to go with his new silver belt buckle. Bear almost got a new Stetson drover style hat but decided that it probably wouldn’t look quite as good in Seattle as it did in Santa Fe. We toured the La Fonda hotel – a 20’s style grand hotel and had another New Mexican yummy lunch on yet another balcony overlooking the square. We drove up to the ski resort to see the sunset. When we left Santa Fe it was warm and sunny so we didn’t have on toasty clothes. By the time we got to the sunset overlook at 10,000’ with the sun going down it was not warm any longer. The boys popped out of the car and started shooting pictures – how much do we love digital! About 20 minutes later two popsicles that resembled Bear and GO Guy popped back into the car. The sun was down and they were frozen so we figured the show was over – we were wrong! That is when the sky exploded into the most beautiful shades of everything between red and yellow. Instead of the clear view from the overlook we got to take pictures from gaps in the trees along the road. Dinner was at Maria’s back in Santa Fe. Talk about yummy!
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Jemez Mountain Trail
Guest posting by Mona
We continued along the Jemez Trail, viewing many sights that were formed by volcanic eruptions many moons ago. The Valles Grande is a beautiful valley inside of the caldera (think crater on the floor of a ring of volcanoes). The grassy valley is about 17 miles wide & has a working ranch in the middle. I have seen large herds of elk run through here on past visits. We were not disappointed this time. Sew Diva spotted the herd and our cameras started flashing. The ranchers are working out a deal with our government to sell the property for about $100 million so the area will be preserved for public use.
Leaving the grassy oasis, we began descending down the canyon along the Jemez River to visit Battleship Rock, a 200 ft structure jutting amongst a campground filled with juniper, cottonwood, pine, & oak trees. The rock was formed by volcanic eruption & was the source of much fun for our good friend SantaFeBoy, who has told countless stories of climbing to the top while at Camp Shaver when he was in an orphanage in the 1950’s.
The camp kids used to go to Soda Dam & swim in the hot springs below the structure. Driving further down the mountain, we were able to find Soda Dam on the left just before a cattle guard on the highway. The travertine structure has a ridge to walk on, a beach behind the dam, living rock being formed behind it in layers by the dripping water. Walking around to the front side of the dam, you see amazing formations and layers of rock—even a hole in the rock where the Jemez River flows through it, spilling into warm pools. (An interruption by Sew Diva (not a surprise, considering it is me): if you followed Bear and me on our Eastern Europe trip – this is the same stuff that the falls we saw in Croatia were made of. If you didn’t you can see pictures in my June postings for Krka, Plitvice and Rastoke.) Some of the hot springs in the area were about 100 degrees.
Near Jemez Springs, the rocks begin to be a beautiful red. We visited one of my favorite places on the trail, Wallatowa Visitor Center & Red Rocks. Jemez Pueblo runs a gift store where you can find bread baking outside in horno ovens on weekends. We did not score any of this so crossed the highway where cedar smoke alerted me to the place where Jemez women were making fry bread. A beautiful elderly woman was patting dough flat, handing it to a younger woman who placed it in a kettle of oil over a cedar wood fire. We enjoyed our bread with honey & sugar in the presence of red rock walls before heading down the road to Santa Fe.
Dollars saved on this trip with Park Pass: $113.00
We continued along the Jemez Trail, viewing many sights that were formed by volcanic eruptions many moons ago. The Valles Grande is a beautiful valley inside of the caldera (think crater on the floor of a ring of volcanoes). The grassy valley is about 17 miles wide & has a working ranch in the middle. I have seen large herds of elk run through here on past visits. We were not disappointed this time. Sew Diva spotted the herd and our cameras started flashing. The ranchers are working out a deal with our government to sell the property for about $100 million so the area will be preserved for public use.
Leaving the grassy oasis, we began descending down the canyon along the Jemez River to visit Battleship Rock, a 200 ft structure jutting amongst a campground filled with juniper, cottonwood, pine, & oak trees. The rock was formed by volcanic eruption & was the source of much fun for our good friend SantaFeBoy, who has told countless stories of climbing to the top while at Camp Shaver when he was in an orphanage in the 1950’s.
The camp kids used to go to Soda Dam & swim in the hot springs below the structure. Driving further down the mountain, we were able to find Soda Dam on the left just before a cattle guard on the highway. The travertine structure has a ridge to walk on, a beach behind the dam, living rock being formed behind it in layers by the dripping water. Walking around to the front side of the dam, you see amazing formations and layers of rock—even a hole in the rock where the Jemez River flows through it, spilling into warm pools. (An interruption by Sew Diva (not a surprise, considering it is me): if you followed Bear and me on our Eastern Europe trip – this is the same stuff that the falls we saw in Croatia were made of. If you didn’t you can see pictures in my June postings for Krka, Plitvice and Rastoke.) Some of the hot springs in the area were about 100 degrees.
Near Jemez Springs, the rocks begin to be a beautiful red. We visited one of my favorite places on the trail, Wallatowa Visitor Center & Red Rocks. Jemez Pueblo runs a gift store where you can find bread baking outside in horno ovens on weekends. We did not score any of this so crossed the highway where cedar smoke alerted me to the place where Jemez women were making fry bread. A beautiful elderly woman was patting dough flat, handing it to a younger woman who placed it in a kettle of oil over a cedar wood fire. We enjoyed our bread with honey & sugar in the presence of red rock walls before heading down the road to Santa Fe.
Dollars saved on this trip with Park Pass: $113.00
Friday, October 8, 2010
Bandelier National Monument
Guest posting by Bear
Views from White Rock on the road to Bandelier
I was a bit hesitant about the choice of trails that SewDiva chose for our exploration of Bandelier NM. I wanted to see more of the cliff dwellings and less of the “nature” trail. Boy, was I wrong (yet again). The trail led us through several ruins on the canyon floor; then took a distinct turn UP the face of the canyon walls to the ladders into the cliff dwellings. Most of the rooms were about the size & height of an REI dome tent. We had plenty of photo ops of faces sticking out the holes in the sides of the caves and people stacked on the ladders. Great fun!!!
As the trail dropped back down to the valley floor, a side trail led off to another structure called the Adobe House; half mile long and 140 feet up. Nobody else was even vaguely interested in looking at that, so while they headed back to the visitor center, I raced up the trail to see what was there. The trail was a wonderful little walk in the woods along the year-round stream that ran through the valley. Massive cottonwood trees, beautiful red ponderosa pines (my personal favorite), and other trees & bushes that fall under the general category of “scenery” to my ignorant eyes. Then the ladders – woo hoo!! Most of the 140 feet gain was climbing these seemingly cobbled together branches of wood. I especially liked the one that creaked & groaned as I climbed & descended. I was huffing a bit at the top where there was a fairly massive cave (the Adobe House) looking down the valley, along with a kiva (a hole in the ground generally used for ceremonial activities) in the middle that I climbed down into (another ladder!). The climb down was less strenuous, but the first step on any ladder is always a knuckle grabber for me. I raced back down the valley just as my partners laid out the picnic lunch. Perfect timing and a perfect hike!
-Bear
A fun trivia bit from SewDiva: did you know that Ponderosa Pine smell like vanilla? The older and redder the tree, the more pronounced the smell. Indians used to eat the inner bark as a treat.
Dollars saved on this trip with Park Pass: $108.00
Views from White Rock on the road to Bandelier
I was a bit hesitant about the choice of trails that SewDiva chose for our exploration of Bandelier NM. I wanted to see more of the cliff dwellings and less of the “nature” trail. Boy, was I wrong (yet again). The trail led us through several ruins on the canyon floor; then took a distinct turn UP the face of the canyon walls to the ladders into the cliff dwellings. Most of the rooms were about the size & height of an REI dome tent. We had plenty of photo ops of faces sticking out the holes in the sides of the caves and people stacked on the ladders. Great fun!!!
As the trail dropped back down to the valley floor, a side trail led off to another structure called the Adobe House; half mile long and 140 feet up. Nobody else was even vaguely interested in looking at that, so while they headed back to the visitor center, I raced up the trail to see what was there. The trail was a wonderful little walk in the woods along the year-round stream that ran through the valley. Massive cottonwood trees, beautiful red ponderosa pines (my personal favorite), and other trees & bushes that fall under the general category of “scenery” to my ignorant eyes. Then the ladders – woo hoo!! Most of the 140 feet gain was climbing these seemingly cobbled together branches of wood. I especially liked the one that creaked & groaned as I climbed & descended. I was huffing a bit at the top where there was a fairly massive cave (the Adobe House) looking down the valley, along with a kiva (a hole in the ground generally used for ceremonial activities) in the middle that I climbed down into (another ladder!). The climb down was less strenuous, but the first step on any ladder is always a knuckle grabber for me. I raced back down the valley just as my partners laid out the picnic lunch. Perfect timing and a perfect hike!
-Bear
A fun trivia bit from SewDiva: did you know that Ponderosa Pine smell like vanilla? The older and redder the tree, the more pronounced the smell. Indians used to eat the inner bark as a treat.
Dollars saved on this trip with Park Pass: $108.00
Los Alamos
Los Alamos
This was another place of history. I confess it looked nothing like the pictures I had in my mind. For those of you who don’t remember or who missed that day in US History class, Los Alamos is where the scientists gathered during WWII to invent the atomic bomb – the Manhattan Project. (And what a mixed blessing that turned out to be: millions of Japanese killed, millions of US soldiers saved, years of living in fear, medical miracles that have saved more millions around the world, relatively clean energy, holes full of waste so nasty nothing and no one can be near them.) I had visualized a couple of Quonsets in the hot dust with a few brilliant people wandering around sharing ideas. It was nothing like that! First of all it is on the top of a mesa about 8600’ high. This mesa has “fingers” extending out and the city is built on several of these with bridges connecting them – it sort of has the feel of islands – and it gets about 36” of snow in the winter. Now, of course, it is a real city (the Los Alamos National Laboratory is located there) with about 18,000 residents. But there were lots of pictures of what it was like during WWII. It was huge! Thousands of people worked there developing the bomb; guarding the site; taking care of those developing and guarding; being dependents of those developing, guarding and taking care. And while arid there were juniper and salt cedar on the top of the mesa and ponderosa pines in the gorges. We went to two different museums: one about the history up to and including the Manhattan Project, the other a science museum starting with the Manhattan Project and continuing with what is happening at the Laboratory now. Before the Manhattan Project took over the mesa the Los Alamos Boys Ranch was there. It was a boarding school for the sons of wealthy families who were in poor health. The curriculum and living conditions were quite rigorous. All of the boys belonged to Boy Scout Troop 22, the first mounted troop in the US, and had to be 1st Class Scouts in order to graduate. When the Manhattan Project came they used the school buildings for the dining hall and residences for the senior staff.
On the road back we saw an absolutely spectacular sunset.
Our last stop for the day was at St. Francis Church in Rancho Taos just south of Taos proper. This church was in an Ansel Adams photo and a Georgia O’Keefe painting.
This was another place of history. I confess it looked nothing like the pictures I had in my mind. For those of you who don’t remember or who missed that day in US History class, Los Alamos is where the scientists gathered during WWII to invent the atomic bomb – the Manhattan Project. (And what a mixed blessing that turned out to be: millions of Japanese killed, millions of US soldiers saved, years of living in fear, medical miracles that have saved more millions around the world, relatively clean energy, holes full of waste so nasty nothing and no one can be near them.) I had visualized a couple of Quonsets in the hot dust with a few brilliant people wandering around sharing ideas. It was nothing like that! First of all it is on the top of a mesa about 8600’ high. This mesa has “fingers” extending out and the city is built on several of these with bridges connecting them – it sort of has the feel of islands – and it gets about 36” of snow in the winter. Now, of course, it is a real city (the Los Alamos National Laboratory is located there) with about 18,000 residents. But there were lots of pictures of what it was like during WWII. It was huge! Thousands of people worked there developing the bomb; guarding the site; taking care of those developing and guarding; being dependents of those developing, guarding and taking care. And while arid there were juniper and salt cedar on the top of the mesa and ponderosa pines in the gorges. We went to two different museums: one about the history up to and including the Manhattan Project, the other a science museum starting with the Manhattan Project and continuing with what is happening at the Laboratory now. Before the Manhattan Project took over the mesa the Los Alamos Boys Ranch was there. It was a boarding school for the sons of wealthy families who were in poor health. The curriculum and living conditions were quite rigorous. All of the boys belonged to Boy Scout Troop 22, the first mounted troop in the US, and had to be 1st Class Scouts in order to graduate. When the Manhattan Project came they used the school buildings for the dining hall and residences for the senior staff.
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| From Los Alamos |
On the road back we saw an absolutely spectacular sunset.
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| From 2010-10-5 Dave |
Our last stop for the day was at St. Francis Church in Rancho Taos just south of Taos proper. This church was in an Ansel Adams photo and a Georgia O’Keefe painting.
Chimayo
We took a back road out of Taos and stumbled upon a lovely church in a town called Las Trampas. The caretaker there was very kind and told us much about the church.
Then after rolling hills and valleys full of farms we ended up in Chimayo.
It is the home of the Santuario de Chimayó.
Many people believe that the Santuario was built on holy ground and that the actual dirt has healing powers – not just physical but spiritual also. I picked up this quote off the website (www.holychimayo.us)
"Let nothing disturb you.
Let nothing frighten you.
All things pass.
God does not change.
Patience achieves everything.
Whoever has God lacks nothing.
God alone suffices."
Saint Teresa of Avila
It was a beautiful rustic church, built in the early 1800’s, with a real sense of God’s presence. Yes, yes, I know, God’s presence can be felt everywhere but sometimes a particular place has an ambience that reminds me more clearly that God is with me.
Then after rolling hills and valleys full of farms we ended up in Chimayo.
It is the home of the Santuario de Chimayó.
Many people believe that the Santuario was built on holy ground and that the actual dirt has healing powers – not just physical but spiritual also. I picked up this quote off the website (www.holychimayo.us)
"Let nothing disturb you.
Let nothing frighten you.
All things pass.
God does not change.
Patience achieves everything.
Whoever has God lacks nothing.
God alone suffices."
Saint Teresa of Avila
It was a beautiful rustic church, built in the early 1800’s, with a real sense of God’s presence. Yes, yes, I know, God’s presence can be felt everywhere but sometimes a particular place has an ambience that reminds me more clearly that God is with me.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Enchanted Circle
Rio Grande Gorge
The Enchanted Circle is an 83 mile loop through the mountains above Taos. It passes three ski areas: Taos, Red River and Angel Fire. It was beautiful. At the beginning of the loop we took a side trip to the bridge over the Rio Grande Gorge. What a magnificent view! Our guide at Taos Pueblo told us that they had reintroduced big horn sheep in the gorge but we didn’t see any.
We were in the high desert with sagebrush and juniper trees for about the first third of the trip and then we suddenly switched to mountain canyons and high meadows. We passed a working molybdenum mine. What the heck is molybdenum you might ask. See, just like me you didn’t memorize the periodic table of elements in chemistry class.
It is an element that makes things hard so it is used in the production of steel. If you want more details try our friends at Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molybdenum ). Did you know that according to Congress, mining is the best use of any public land? So if a mining company wants a permit to mine something on/under public land they get to do it. That is why land in the National Park Service is not considered public land. There were literally mountains of tailings along the road near the mine.
Vietnam Veterans Memorial State Park
We stumbled across the Vietnam Veterans Memorial State Park. According to the brochure it is the first and only state park in the U.S. dedicated exclusively to Vietnam veterans. It was very moving. When David Westphall was killed in Vietnam in May of 1968 his family decided to use his life insurance money to create a memorial chapel to honor him. This turned into a chapel to remember all who fought there. It was very moving and very well done. Poignant without being schmarmy. A highly recommended stop. You can visit them on the web at http://angelfirememorial.com/.
We have a new desk clerk today and so are anxious to try out his recommendation for dinner.
The Enchanted Circle is an 83 mile loop through the mountains above Taos. It passes three ski areas: Taos, Red River and Angel Fire. It was beautiful. At the beginning of the loop we took a side trip to the bridge over the Rio Grande Gorge. What a magnificent view! Our guide at Taos Pueblo told us that they had reintroduced big horn sheep in the gorge but we didn’t see any.
We were in the high desert with sagebrush and juniper trees for about the first third of the trip and then we suddenly switched to mountain canyons and high meadows. We passed a working molybdenum mine. What the heck is molybdenum you might ask. See, just like me you didn’t memorize the periodic table of elements in chemistry class.
It is an element that makes things hard so it is used in the production of steel. If you want more details try our friends at Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molybdenum ). Did you know that according to Congress, mining is the best use of any public land? So if a mining company wants a permit to mine something on/under public land they get to do it. That is why land in the National Park Service is not considered public land. There were literally mountains of tailings along the road near the mine.
Vietnam Veterans Memorial State Park
We stumbled across the Vietnam Veterans Memorial State Park. According to the brochure it is the first and only state park in the U.S. dedicated exclusively to Vietnam veterans. It was very moving. When David Westphall was killed in Vietnam in May of 1968 his family decided to use his life insurance money to create a memorial chapel to honor him. This turned into a chapel to remember all who fought there. It was very moving and very well done. Poignant without being schmarmy. A highly recommended stop. You can visit them on the web at http://angelfirememorial.com/.
We have a new desk clerk today and so are anxious to try out his recommendation for dinner.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Taos Pueblo
Taos Pueblo is a thousand year old continuously occupied pueblo just out side Taos. Taos Pueblo is also the name of the tribe and the reservation. Most pueblo members live outside the ancient pueblo in typical Southwest style houses. About 150 still live inside the ancient pueblo and other than having propane for lighting and heat live much as their ancestors did. They carry water from the river to drink, cook, clean and bathe with. They have no indoor plumbing (in water or out water) and no electricity. They have their own school system for K-8 with Pueblo tradition and language built into the curriculum along side the curriculum used in the non-Indian local schools. Our guide was a young woman who is attending UNM Taos branch to get her degree in Applied Science so that she can use her knowledge to help retain and repair the traditional ways of the pueblo. They call themselves the Red Willow People because red willows grow along the river that runs through the pueblo.
There are lots of Native craft shops within the pueblo and most of them are run by a person who actually makes at least one type of item sold in the shop. It was fun to talk to each of them about what they were making.
Roaming Taos
This is a week of surprises. First the Balloon Festival in Albuquerque and then the Wool Festival in Taos! I think the guys would have left the ! after Albuquerque but they were good sports and did the Wool Festival also. It was all about weaving and knitting. Right from the animal to the finished product. We got to watch sheep shearing, pet angora bunnies and talk to alpaca. We watched ladies spinning the fleece and got to hear how it is all done. I bought Mother (mine, Bear’s is OtherMother) a souvenir at the Festival: wool and a pattern so she can knit me a beautiful scarf.
We spent the afternoon wandering downtown Taos. And, what do you know – it was full of shops and galleries. We watched a rug weaver in action and went wine tasting. Did you know New Mexico has wine? We didn’t but some of it is pretty darn good.
Albuquerque Old town and the Turquoise Trail
Let me start this by saying how glad I am that I didn’t grow up in Albuquerque. No matter how I put the letters together Microsoft still gives me the dreaded red underline indicating that I have misspelled it. It would be awful to live in a place where you could never get it right.
On to the trip. Our good traveling buds GO Guy and Mona flew down to Albuquerque to join us for a week. Foolish folks that they are, they think they still have to work. We keep telling them how great retirement is but they are just not buying it yet. While waiting for their plane to arrive we had a lovely lunch sitting in the shade outside a caf̩ in Old Town Albuquerque. We were right across the street from the square where a guy was playing music on his guitar. It was perfect. I do need to comment on the food. Very tasty but often very HOT Рand I am not talking about the temperature. Coming from the Pacific Northwest I like my food spicy but I want to still be able to feel the inside of my mouth when I am done. We had a great mid-day break. I found a new hat in one of the shops (Old Town Hats and Accessories) just off the main square so what could have made the day any better! I know, getting to take a nap at the hotel while we were still waiting (their plane had mechanical difficulties in Salt Lake City so they were 5 hours late). I do so much prefer to nap laying down rather than sitting up in the car.
After they arrived we went back to Old Town for dinner. It was also delicious but not quite as hot as lunch was. The square was all lit up and it was beautiful. We stumbled into the Balloon Festival so there were lots of people in town. It was fun to watch them all. A thunderstorm happened on our way back to the motel. Fortunately all we saw of it was the lightning. There was lots of it but too far away to even hear the thunder. It is fun to have our traveling buddies with us again.
Albuquerque Balloon Festival
When we got up the next morning we could see balloons in the air. They were too far away to even tell what color they were but, what the hey, they were balloons. We drove up closer to the Festival grounds where we could get a really good view. The locals are all saying that there are a lot fewer balloons than normal, but to us it still looks like lots.
View from Sandia Crest
Tinkertown
The next step on our adventure was to drive the Turquoise Highway on our way to Taos. Along the way we drove to the top of Sandia Mountain overlooking Albuquerque. It was a terrific view in all directions. We stopped to see TinkerTown on the way back down the mountain. I don’t know exactly how to explain it. This guy started collecting junk and then started charging people to see it so that he had enough money to buy more junk. It was amazing. He had made several miniature dioramas with moving parts and they were lots of fun to watch and to look for all the details he had included (it was sort of like Where’s Waldo except you didn’t know exactly what you were looking for). One of our favorite signs was “The first person who asked for a permit to build something on his own property should be shot for treason.”
I am not sure why the Turquoise Highway is named that. We didn’t see any turquoise so it must be so that tourists will drive on it and stop at the towns along the way. We stopped in Madrid (pronounced Mad-rid with the accent on the first syllable) for lunch and to see what was in the craft shops. There was a lot of interesting local art and crafts. I couldn’t help collecting ideas for when I get home. The green chili stew at lunch was so hot I could only eat ½ cup of the stuff – even with the glass of milk I ordered. Bear and Mona did OK with it and GO Guy didn’t even try (he was the smartest of us all by my reckoning). Even though not turquoise, the views along the road were great. The mountains here seem more like the Appalachians than the Rockies until you realize that you are starting at about 8000’.
When we arrived in Taos we got a dinner recommendation from our desk clerk, Marcos. It was fabulous. He gave Bear and me a really good one for the night we spent here on our way to Albuquerque. So he is 2 for 2 – I wonder what #3 will hold.
Park mammal count: 11 – deer, chipmunk, big horn sheep, mountain goat, red squirrel, prairie dog, rabbit, buffalo, elk, red squirrel aka chickaree, pika, golden-mantled ground squirrel, least chipmunk
Trip mammal count: 17 - deer, moose, chipmunk, big horn sheep, mountain goat, antelope, rabbit, mule deer, red squirrel aka chickaree, prairie dog, buffalo, ground squirrel, Abert’s squirrel, elk, pika, golden-mantled ground squirrel, least chipmunk, deer mouse
Dollars saved on this trip with Park Pass: $96.00
On to the trip. Our good traveling buds GO Guy and Mona flew down to Albuquerque to join us for a week. Foolish folks that they are, they think they still have to work. We keep telling them how great retirement is but they are just not buying it yet. While waiting for their plane to arrive we had a lovely lunch sitting in the shade outside a caf̩ in Old Town Albuquerque. We were right across the street from the square where a guy was playing music on his guitar. It was perfect. I do need to comment on the food. Very tasty but often very HOT Рand I am not talking about the temperature. Coming from the Pacific Northwest I like my food spicy but I want to still be able to feel the inside of my mouth when I am done. We had a great mid-day break. I found a new hat in one of the shops (Old Town Hats and Accessories) just off the main square so what could have made the day any better! I know, getting to take a nap at the hotel while we were still waiting (their plane had mechanical difficulties in Salt Lake City so they were 5 hours late). I do so much prefer to nap laying down rather than sitting up in the car.
After they arrived we went back to Old Town for dinner. It was also delicious but not quite as hot as lunch was. The square was all lit up and it was beautiful. We stumbled into the Balloon Festival so there were lots of people in town. It was fun to watch them all. A thunderstorm happened on our way back to the motel. Fortunately all we saw of it was the lightning. There was lots of it but too far away to even hear the thunder. It is fun to have our traveling buddies with us again.
Albuquerque Balloon Festival
When we got up the next morning we could see balloons in the air. They were too far away to even tell what color they were but, what the hey, they were balloons. We drove up closer to the Festival grounds where we could get a really good view. The locals are all saying that there are a lot fewer balloons than normal, but to us it still looks like lots.
View from Sandia Crest
Tinkertown
The next step on our adventure was to drive the Turquoise Highway on our way to Taos. Along the way we drove to the top of Sandia Mountain overlooking Albuquerque. It was a terrific view in all directions. We stopped to see TinkerTown on the way back down the mountain. I don’t know exactly how to explain it. This guy started collecting junk and then started charging people to see it so that he had enough money to buy more junk. It was amazing. He had made several miniature dioramas with moving parts and they were lots of fun to watch and to look for all the details he had included (it was sort of like Where’s Waldo except you didn’t know exactly what you were looking for). One of our favorite signs was “The first person who asked for a permit to build something on his own property should be shot for treason.”
I am not sure why the Turquoise Highway is named that. We didn’t see any turquoise so it must be so that tourists will drive on it and stop at the towns along the way. We stopped in Madrid (pronounced Mad-rid with the accent on the first syllable) for lunch and to see what was in the craft shops. There was a lot of interesting local art and crafts. I couldn’t help collecting ideas for when I get home. The green chili stew at lunch was so hot I could only eat ½ cup of the stuff – even with the glass of milk I ordered. Bear and Mona did OK with it and GO Guy didn’t even try (he was the smartest of us all by my reckoning). Even though not turquoise, the views along the road were great. The mountains here seem more like the Appalachians than the Rockies until you realize that you are starting at about 8000’.
When we arrived in Taos we got a dinner recommendation from our desk clerk, Marcos. It was fabulous. He gave Bear and me a really good one for the night we spent here on our way to Albuquerque. So he is 2 for 2 – I wonder what #3 will hold.
Park mammal count: 11 – deer, chipmunk, big horn sheep, mountain goat, red squirrel, prairie dog, rabbit, buffalo, elk, red squirrel aka chickaree, pika, golden-mantled ground squirrel, least chipmunk
Trip mammal count: 17 - deer, moose, chipmunk, big horn sheep, mountain goat, antelope, rabbit, mule deer, red squirrel aka chickaree, prairie dog, buffalo, ground squirrel, Abert’s squirrel, elk, pika, golden-mantled ground squirrel, least chipmunk, deer mouse
Dollars saved on this trip with Park Pass: $96.00
Friday, October 1, 2010
Great Sand Dunes and more
Views as we approached the park
Our hike
We stumbled across another great find: Great Sand Dunes National Park. It is tucked up against the Sangre de Christo mountains almost to New Mexico. It sits at the end of a road in the middle of NOWHERE – and yet there were people there. First a little Great Sand Dune history. The sand comes from rocks in the San Juan mountains on the other side of the San Luis valley in southern Colorado. The prevailing winds blow it across the valley until it comes to the Sangre de Christo mountains where it piles up at the base. The dunes are about 30 square miles and the highest point is 795’. This makes them the tallest dunes in North America.
I was all set to climb up to the top so I could see the whole dunes. After we left the parking lot and started walking towards the dunes I realized that perhaps this was a bit ambitious. What looked like a great (perhaps a little strenuous because of the sand) trek from the visitor center didn’t look so good when I realized that the little tiny isty-bitsy flecks I was seeing on the top of the dune (and not even the highest one at that!) were not floaters in my eye but people! We pressed on and I made it about ¼ of the way before my knees pooped out and I decided to enjoy the sand where I was rather than the view from the top. The sand is beautiful, very soft and fine. Amazing was that even up on the dunes where we were there were wet patches in the sand! This in a pile of sand 100+ feet deep and in the middle of a desert! We found tracks for what we think was a kangaroo rat. He was all over the place.
We followed the dotted “scenic” route south to Antonito where it continued on over Wolf Creek Pass and we wanted to go south into New Mexico. Some of the scenic routes we have followed on this trip had unconventional beauty but it could always be seen. On this road though . . . . not so much. Flat, dry, long, straight. That pretty much sums it up. We did see a ranch where they were raising water buffalo. If you want to read about water buffalo I recommend you go to Chalupa’s blog: http://talesfromtheeastcoast.blogspot.com/ and read her posting Italy - Water Buffalo. It is in her June postings.
Remember the trailer trash town we saw on our way south through the Colorado Mountains? Well, their cousins have moved to northern New Mexico and set up shop alongside Hwy 64. I would love to have some photos to show you but it was all too scary to even think about stopping.
Outside Taos we saw some really strange looking structures. We thought perhaps they were mines but then we got a closer look at one and decided they were underground houses. I did some web searching this morning and discovered that they are, in fact, houses and that what we saw was a subdivision of them. Here is a link to one of their websites. Very strange. http://www.sangres.com/newmexico/taos/earthship.htm
Park mammal count: 11 – deer, chipmunk, big horn sheep, mountain goat, red squirrel, prairie dog, rabbit, buffalo, elk, red squirrel aka chickaree, pika, golden-mantled ground squirrel, least chipmunk
Trip mammal count: 17 - deer, moose, chipmunk, big horn sheep, mountain goat, antelope, rabbit, mule deer, red squirrel aka chickaree, prairie dog, buffalo, ground squirrel, Abert’s squirrel, elk, pika, golden-mantled ground squirrel, least chipmunk, deer mouse
Dollars saved on this trip with Park Pass: $93.00
NOTE: IF YOU WANT TO SEE AN INDIVIDUAL PHOTO LARGER JUST CLICK ON IT AND YOU WILL GET IT LARGER IN A SEPARATE WINDOW.
Our hike
We stumbled across another great find: Great Sand Dunes National Park. It is tucked up against the Sangre de Christo mountains almost to New Mexico. It sits at the end of a road in the middle of NOWHERE – and yet there were people there. First a little Great Sand Dune history. The sand comes from rocks in the San Juan mountains on the other side of the San Luis valley in southern Colorado. The prevailing winds blow it across the valley until it comes to the Sangre de Christo mountains where it piles up at the base. The dunes are about 30 square miles and the highest point is 795’. This makes them the tallest dunes in North America.
I was all set to climb up to the top so I could see the whole dunes. After we left the parking lot and started walking towards the dunes I realized that perhaps this was a bit ambitious. What looked like a great (perhaps a little strenuous because of the sand) trek from the visitor center didn’t look so good when I realized that the little tiny isty-bitsy flecks I was seeing on the top of the dune (and not even the highest one at that!) were not floaters in my eye but people! We pressed on and I made it about ¼ of the way before my knees pooped out and I decided to enjoy the sand where I was rather than the view from the top. The sand is beautiful, very soft and fine. Amazing was that even up on the dunes where we were there were wet patches in the sand! This in a pile of sand 100+ feet deep and in the middle of a desert! We found tracks for what we think was a kangaroo rat. He was all over the place.
We followed the dotted “scenic” route south to Antonito where it continued on over Wolf Creek Pass and we wanted to go south into New Mexico. Some of the scenic routes we have followed on this trip had unconventional beauty but it could always be seen. On this road though . . . . not so much. Flat, dry, long, straight. That pretty much sums it up. We did see a ranch where they were raising water buffalo. If you want to read about water buffalo I recommend you go to Chalupa’s blog: http://talesfromtheeastcoast.blogspot.com/ and read her posting Italy - Water Buffalo. It is in her June postings.
Remember the trailer trash town we saw on our way south through the Colorado Mountains? Well, their cousins have moved to northern New Mexico and set up shop alongside Hwy 64. I would love to have some photos to show you but it was all too scary to even think about stopping.
Outside Taos we saw some really strange looking structures. We thought perhaps they were mines but then we got a closer look at one and decided they were underground houses. I did some web searching this morning and discovered that they are, in fact, houses and that what we saw was a subdivision of them. Here is a link to one of their websites. Very strange. http://www.sangres.com/newmexico/taos/earthship.htm
Park mammal count: 11 – deer, chipmunk, big horn sheep, mountain goat, red squirrel, prairie dog, rabbit, buffalo, elk, red squirrel aka chickaree, pika, golden-mantled ground squirrel, least chipmunk
Trip mammal count: 17 - deer, moose, chipmunk, big horn sheep, mountain goat, antelope, rabbit, mule deer, red squirrel aka chickaree, prairie dog, buffalo, ground squirrel, Abert’s squirrel, elk, pika, golden-mantled ground squirrel, least chipmunk, deer mouse
Dollars saved on this trip with Park Pass: $93.00
NOTE: IF YOU WANT TO SEE AN INDIVIDUAL PHOTO LARGER JUST CLICK ON IT AND YOU WILL GET IT LARGER IN A SEPARATE WINDOW.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Colorado north to south through the mountains
After getting up and enjoying the sun rising over the ski slopes at Steamboat Springs we went on a drive to Falls Creek falls. Such a beautiful falls. 160’ high with 40’ of free fall.
And then we were off to south Colorado. The drive was mainly through high valleys (8000’+) between non-rugged mountains. The tree line here is very strange – it has both a bottom and a top. So you have scrub running across and up the sides of the valley then mixed evergreens and aspen and then barren rock. The colors are great. We crossed 3 major rivers: the Colorado, the Arkansas and the Rio Grande, and 4 major economic zones: ranching north of I-70, separating skiers from their money along I-70, mining and then ranching again south of I-70.
After crossing I-70 the mountains became more rugged and we crossed the continental divide again (west to east) at Tennessee Pass. On our way up to Tennessee Pass we went by a large mine that appeared to be deserted followed almost immediately by an abandoned town hanging on the edge of nowhere. We went over the Eagle River bridge which, except for the surrounding mountains, the road and railroad running under it, could have been anywhere along the Oregon coast. It was built in 1933. Then down (if you can call 9200’ down) into the Eagle River Valley where we found Camp Hale. Camp Hale was built over the summer of 1942 to house and train the 10th Mountain Division in skiing, snowshoeing and sleeping out in the snow without cover. For those interested in such things, the 10th Mountain started as the 87th Mountain Infantry at Ft. Lewis and trained on Mt. Rainier.
Our next stop was Leadville. I am not sure what to say about Leadville. The architecture was very interesting. It is like a place frozen in time. Main street and most of the houses in town date from the late 1800’s and have been refurbished to look really good. But all the tourist kitsch along the main street and, to my Western Washington tuned eye, barrenness of both the surroundings and lots around the houses (a lawnmower salesman would go broke overnight) left me with a totally empty feeling. Perhaps you should come see for yourself.
As we came down (again, a relative term) out of the mountains we came across what I can only describe as trailer trash city. The landscape was studded with trailers which, except for the obvious signs of life, you would swear had been abandoned for at least a decade. They were surrounded by . . . . .what to call it . . . .TRASH. Broken things large and small. I have never seen anything like it and I have seen some truly bad stuff. Dave thought it looked like where they had the big fight with the aliens in Independence Day, I thought the movie didn’t even hold a candle to this place.
We didn’t have any new live animals to add to our list but there were lots and lots of antelope in the late afternoon in the cattle pastures.
Park mammal count: 11 – deer, chipmunk, big horn sheep, mountain goat, red squirrel, prairie dog, rabbit, buffalo, elk, red squirrel aka chickaree, pika, golden-mantled ground squirrel, least chipmunk
Trip mammal count: 17 - deer, moose, chipmunk, big horn sheep, mountain goat, antelope, rabbit, mule deer, red squirrel aka chickaree, prairie dog, buffalo, ground squirrel, Abert’s squirrel, elk, pika, golden-mantled ground squirrel, least chipmunk, deer mouse
Dollars saved on this trip with Park Pass: $87.00
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Rocky Mountain National Park and beyond
Views from Old Fall River Road
Grand Lake and our $30 condo
We decided to come across the Rockies on a different road, though still in the Park. We took the Old Fall River Road from the east side of the park to where it connects with the Trail Ridge Road at Fall River Pass. The Old Fall River Road is the original road across the Park and was built in the early 20’s. After digging it out and cleaning up the avalanches they decided they needed a different path so they built the Trail Ridge Road which follows the trail the Utes used to get across the mountains. Need I comment on the lunacy of building a road full of switchbacks up the side of vertical mountains when right next door is a path that has been used for hundreds if not thousands of years? All that aside the Old Fall River Road was a delight. Although not paved it is not very rutty and the surface is packed rather than gravel. It is a one way road with a 15 mph speed limit and no one on it is trying to make time. Other than the switchbacks used to gain elevation it follows the Fall River which tumbles and falls from the pass to the valley floor where it becomes a marsh before returning to its identity as a river. It was a very low wildlife day. We did get to add deer mouse to our mammal list – not because we saw one but because we were able to identify one that we saw the day before – and we got to see a nice beaver dam – not as good as seeing the beaver but beggars can’t be choosers.
We followed Trail Ridge Road down the west side of the mountains and picked up the headwaters of the Colorado River. After a wonderful ice cream stop at Grand Lake we followed the Colorado west to the junction with Hwy 40. At that point we decided that since we weren’t in a giant rush, the weather is fabulous and distances aren’t as great as we thought, we would see what Steamboat Springs is all about. As skiers we have heard about it forever and wanted to see for ourselves. Of course there is no skiing going on right now but . . . . . We found the library in Kremmling (with some help from the Chamber of Commerce) and used their wifi to check and see if Worldmark had a condo open for last night. They did (for about $30) and off we went to Steamboat Springs. It is beautiful. Not high rugged mountains like the park but since we are in the middle of northern Colorado everything is high. The aspen are turning and mixed in with the pines and alpine fir it is beautiful. Another place to return to.
Four trivia items for today:
1) Did you know that most libraries have wifi so if you are traveling with your computer you can find the library and log in.
2) How does water from the Colorado River flow into the Atlantic Ocean, especially with the continental divide in the way? They built a tunnel from Grand Lake (at the southest westest corner of Rocky Mountain Park) to Estes Park (near the north east corner of the Park) to feed the reservoirs near Denver.
3) Those wire boxes of rocks they use to shore up roads are called “Gabion”s.
4) The stunted shrub like trees up in the alpine areas are called “Krummholz”.
Park mammal count: 11 – deer, chipmunk, big horn sheep, mountain goat, red squirrel, prairie dog, rabbit, buffalo, elk, red squirrel aka chickaree, pika, golden-mantled ground squirrel, least chipmunk
Trip mammal count: 17 - deer, moose, chipmunk, big horn sheep, mountain goat, antelope, rabbit, mule deer, red squirrel aka chickaree, prairie dog, buffalo, ground squirrel, Abert’s squirrel, elk, pika, golden-mantled ground squirrel, least chipmunk, deer mouse
Dollars saved on this trip with Park Pass: $82.00
Grand Lake and our $30 condo
We decided to come across the Rockies on a different road, though still in the Park. We took the Old Fall River Road from the east side of the park to where it connects with the Trail Ridge Road at Fall River Pass. The Old Fall River Road is the original road across the Park and was built in the early 20’s. After digging it out and cleaning up the avalanches they decided they needed a different path so they built the Trail Ridge Road which follows the trail the Utes used to get across the mountains. Need I comment on the lunacy of building a road full of switchbacks up the side of vertical mountains when right next door is a path that has been used for hundreds if not thousands of years? All that aside the Old Fall River Road was a delight. Although not paved it is not very rutty and the surface is packed rather than gravel. It is a one way road with a 15 mph speed limit and no one on it is trying to make time. Other than the switchbacks used to gain elevation it follows the Fall River which tumbles and falls from the pass to the valley floor where it becomes a marsh before returning to its identity as a river. It was a very low wildlife day. We did get to add deer mouse to our mammal list – not because we saw one but because we were able to identify one that we saw the day before – and we got to see a nice beaver dam – not as good as seeing the beaver but beggars can’t be choosers.
We followed Trail Ridge Road down the west side of the mountains and picked up the headwaters of the Colorado River. After a wonderful ice cream stop at Grand Lake we followed the Colorado west to the junction with Hwy 40. At that point we decided that since we weren’t in a giant rush, the weather is fabulous and distances aren’t as great as we thought, we would see what Steamboat Springs is all about. As skiers we have heard about it forever and wanted to see for ourselves. Of course there is no skiing going on right now but . . . . . We found the library in Kremmling (with some help from the Chamber of Commerce) and used their wifi to check and see if Worldmark had a condo open for last night. They did (for about $30) and off we went to Steamboat Springs. It is beautiful. Not high rugged mountains like the park but since we are in the middle of northern Colorado everything is high. The aspen are turning and mixed in with the pines and alpine fir it is beautiful. Another place to return to.
Four trivia items for today:
1) Did you know that most libraries have wifi so if you are traveling with your computer you can find the library and log in.
2) How does water from the Colorado River flow into the Atlantic Ocean, especially with the continental divide in the way? They built a tunnel from Grand Lake (at the southest westest corner of Rocky Mountain Park) to Estes Park (near the north east corner of the Park) to feed the reservoirs near Denver.
3) Those wire boxes of rocks they use to shore up roads are called “Gabion”s.
4) The stunted shrub like trees up in the alpine areas are called “Krummholz”.
Park mammal count: 11 – deer, chipmunk, big horn sheep, mountain goat, red squirrel, prairie dog, rabbit, buffalo, elk, red squirrel aka chickaree, pika, golden-mantled ground squirrel, least chipmunk
Trip mammal count: 17 - deer, moose, chipmunk, big horn sheep, mountain goat, antelope, rabbit, mule deer, red squirrel aka chickaree, prairie dog, buffalo, ground squirrel, Abert’s squirrel, elk, pika, golden-mantled ground squirrel, least chipmunk, deer mouse
Dollars saved on this trip with Park Pass: $82.00
Monday, September 27, 2010
Rocky Mountain National Park
Bear Lake
Trail Ridge Road
Animals in the Park
What a beautiful park! Have I said that before? The mountains are spectacular, the colors outstanding and we are seeing lots of wildlife. On our way into the park a black Abert’s squirrel (the kind with ear tufts) was in the road in front of us. And he was BLACK. Bear was feeling a little under the weather today so we did shorter, flatter hikes than we might have otherwise. We drove on the Trail Ridge Road which goes across the park from east to west along the top of the ridgeline. The road is over 12,000 feet high for the middle section. I guess that takes the punch out of me saying I hiked to the top of a 12,400 foot ridge. (That is higher than Mt. Adams) We saw three separate groups of elk.
Park mammal count: 11 – deer, chipmunk, big horn sheep, mountain goat, red squirrel, prairie dog, rabbit, buffalo, elk, red squirrel aka chickaree, pika, golden-mantled ground squirrel, least chipmunk
Trip mammal count: 16 - deer, moose, chipmunk, big horn sheep, mountain goat, antelope, rabbit, mule deer, red squirrel aka chickaree, prairie dog, buffalo, ground squirrel, Abert’s squirrel, elk, pika, golden-mantled ground squirrel, least chipmunk
Dollars saved on this trip with Park Pass: $82.00
Trail Ridge Road
Animals in the Park
What a beautiful park! Have I said that before? The mountains are spectacular, the colors outstanding and we are seeing lots of wildlife. On our way into the park a black Abert’s squirrel (the kind with ear tufts) was in the road in front of us. And he was BLACK. Bear was feeling a little under the weather today so we did shorter, flatter hikes than we might have otherwise. We drove on the Trail Ridge Road which goes across the park from east to west along the top of the ridgeline. The road is over 12,000 feet high for the middle section. I guess that takes the punch out of me saying I hiked to the top of a 12,400 foot ridge. (That is higher than Mt. Adams) We saw three separate groups of elk.
Park mammal count: 11 – deer, chipmunk, big horn sheep, mountain goat, red squirrel, prairie dog, rabbit, buffalo, elk, red squirrel aka chickaree, pika, golden-mantled ground squirrel, least chipmunk
Trip mammal count: 16 - deer, moose, chipmunk, big horn sheep, mountain goat, antelope, rabbit, mule deer, red squirrel aka chickaree, prairie dog, buffalo, ground squirrel, Abert’s squirrel, elk, pika, golden-mantled ground squirrel, least chipmunk
Dollars saved on this trip with Park Pass: $82.00
Travels across Nebraska
We made a semi-bomb run north to south across Nebraska on our way to Colorado. Much to our surprise we ran into several interesting sights.
In southern South Dakota we found ourselves driving through the edge of Wind Cave National Park. While the cave is underground the surface is a wildlife preserve where we saw buffalo roaming about. They were not worried about the cars going through on the highway but just “buffaloed” their way across the road. The rolling prairie in the park was beautiful. The grasses are starting to change colors so there were bands of red, gold and green. And then when you throw in the aspen turning gold. . . . .
Our next “stumble across” was Fort Robinson State Park in Nebraska. It is the largest state park in Nebraska and the scenery has beautiful sandstone bluffs. Fort Robinson was a cavalry fort and was home to the Buffalo Soldiers (black cavalry soldiers). Crazy Horse died here. The official story is that he was killed while trying to escape but the Sioux claim he was killed in his cell. It was in use as an Army base until after WW II. During WW II there was a German prisoner of war camp there. The parade grounds were beautiful and the buildings are now available to rent for retreats and the like. (Another reason to stop here is because my maiden name is Robinson.)
Then we stumbled over Agate Fossil Beds National Monument. No, the fossils there are not contained in agates. That was what we thought also. The fossil beds are located on Agate Creek. This is the site of one of the most important fossil beds in the US and is still being worked on. Also contained in the Visitors Center is a collection of Sioux artifacts. James H. Cook, who owned the ranch on which the fossils were found, was a great friend of Chief Red Cloud and received many gifts from him.
Our last stumble was over Scott’s Bluff on the North Platte River. It was a major landmark and resting place on the Oregon, California, Mormon and Pony Express Trails.
Park mammal count: 8 – deer, chipmunk, big horn sheep, mountain goat, red squirrel, prairie dog, rabbit, buffalo
Trip mammal count: 11 - deer, moose, chipmunk, big horn sheep, mountain goat, antelope, rabbit, mule deer, red squirrel, prairie dog, buffalo, ground squirrel
Dollars saved on this trip with Park Pass: $62.00
Mount Rushmore
What a glorious sight! They have done a wonderful job of setting the monument up to help you focus on the carvings from the moment you enter. What is to say – 4 of my favorite presidents memorialized in the top of a mountain. You can see pictures of it from now until forever but it isn’t the same as being there.
Mt. Rushmore is in the Black Hills, which I must say are green, not black. They are rolling hills covered in pine forests right until you get close to Mt. Rushmore and then they become granite pillars. In the 20’s they imported some mountain goats to hang out in the rocks. There is at least one who has decided that hanging out in the parking lot provides for better, easier foraging.
Park mammal count: 7 – deer, chipmunk, big horn sheep, mountain goat, red squirrel, prairie dog, rabbit
Trip mammal count: 10 - deer, moose, chipmunk, big horn sheep, mountain goat, antelope, rabbit, mule deer, red squirrel, prairie dog
Dollars saved on this trip with Park Pass: $52.00
Devil's Tower
We got ready for this sight by watching “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” the night before. We were worried about not being able to see it well on my 14” computer monitor until we remembered our much loved Sony Trinaton TV with the 13” screen. We used to watch it from across the room. Hard to believe since we now have a 42”.
What a cool thing! Just standing up out of the middle of nowhere. We took the 1 ½ mile walk around the base and enjoyed watching all the climbers. They were everywhere. We added to our mammal count a red squirrel who was flitting all over the place. He was so light on his feet – even more so than the squirrels at home. The Tower is made of columnar rock (we thought maybe basalt but they called it something different) that was formed by magma making a bolt for freedom through other rock which is why it stands by itself unlike the columnar basalt in Eastern Washington where it makes walls.
We had lunch in a prairie dog village at the base of the Tower. The little tykes were everywhere and totally fearless. The signs all say not to feed them but based on the way they came running whenever a car stopped I think some visitors must belong to the 20% of the population that is illiterate. They were so cute and fat. Woe to the prairie dog that encroached upon a neighbor’s begging area.
Park mammal count: 7 – deer, chipmunk, big horn sheep, mountain goat, red squirrel, prairie dog, rabbit
Trip mammal count: 10 - deer, moose, chipmunk, big horn sheep, mountain goat, antelope, rabbit, mule deer, red squirrel, prairie dog
Dollars saved on this trip with Park Pass: $52.00
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Little Big Horn Battlefield - Custer's Last Stand
This afternoon we visited the Little Big Horn Battlefield where Lt.Col. George Custer’s soldiers were wiped out by Indians who were not interested in living on a reservation. It is a beautiful place for so many to die. There are markers where each of the soldiers fell and they are currently putting up markers where each of the Indians who died fell.
I’m glad we came although I can’t really explain why. There don’t appear to be many really good or really bad players in the story. The Indians may have won the day but they definitely lost the war. Custer’s actions don’t seem to make a lot of sense but since he died there no one will ever know what he was thinking. And the soldiers who died were, like all soldiers, following the orders of those in command.
Park mammal count: 4 – deer, chipmunk, big horn sheep, mountain goat
Trip mammal count: 8 - deer, moose, chipmunk, big horn sheep, mountain goat, antelope, rabbit, mule deer
Dollars saved on this trip with Park Pass: $42.00
Friday, September 24, 2010
Pompey's Pillar
What is Pompey’s Pillar you might ask – I did. It is a bluff on the Yellowstone River a little east of Billings, MT. Capt. Wm. Clark, of Lewis & Clark fame, explored the Yellowstone River on his way back to St. Louis. Capt. Meriwether Lewis was busy looking for a more northern pass across the Rockies and running into Blackfeet Indians. Anyway, Clark saw this pillar of stone alongside the river and decided to climb it and see what he could see. He could see a long way in every direction. While he was climbing he decided that since the Indians had already defaced the rock with drawings, paintings and such that he should put his name on it also. It is the only permanent marker of Lewis & Clark’s trip. Oh yes, and why did Clark call it Pompey’s Pillar? He named it for Sacagawea’s son whose nickname was Pompe.
Park mammal count: 4 – deer, chipmunk, big horn sheep, mountain goat
Trip mammal count: 7 - deer, moose, chipmunk, big horn sheep, mountain goat, antelope, rabbit
Dollars saved with Park Pass: $32.00 ($25 @ Glacier, $7 @ Pompey’s Pillar)
Housekeeping
A couple of random things I want to cover.
Do you love the slide shows in my blog? I can put in so many more pictures! Thanks to Chalupa for giving me a step by step tutorial on how to create them. And to Bear for troubleshooting the inaugural posting.
As a celebration for our trip I got Bear the new CD by Jerry Lee Lewis Mean Old Man. It is fabulous. He is doing duets (and trios) with lots of fun folks. If you like rock and/or country, give it a try.
This is our inaugural trip with the National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Senior Pass. What a deal! It makes getting old almost worth it. For a one time fee of $10.00 it grants you admission to all sites run by the National Park Service and to many other federal sites like those run by BLM for the rest of your life! And if that isn’t enough, it is a trailhead parking pass for the National Forests. We are keeping track of our savings on this trip. So far we are up to $42.00 - $25 for Glacier Park, $7 for Pompey’s Pillar and $10 for Little Big Horn Battlefield. If you know anyone 62 or older who doesn’t yet have a pass let them know what a great deal it is.
Do you love the slide shows in my blog? I can put in so many more pictures! Thanks to Chalupa for giving me a step by step tutorial on how to create them. And to Bear for troubleshooting the inaugural posting.
As a celebration for our trip I got Bear the new CD by Jerry Lee Lewis Mean Old Man. It is fabulous. He is doing duets (and trios) with lots of fun folks. If you like rock and/or country, give it a try.
This is our inaugural trip with the National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Senior Pass. What a deal! It makes getting old almost worth it. For a one time fee of $10.00 it grants you admission to all sites run by the National Park Service and to many other federal sites like those run by BLM for the rest of your life! And if that isn’t enough, it is a trailhead parking pass for the National Forests. We are keeping track of our savings on this trip. So far we are up to $42.00 - $25 for Glacier Park, $7 for Pompey’s Pillar and $10 for Little Big Horn Battlefield. If you know anyone 62 or older who doesn’t yet have a pass let them know what a great deal it is.
Glacier Park - the east/eventful side
The Going To The Sun Road was closed part way up the west side because of some construction they are trying to squeeze in before the snow hits hard (They had better hurry up because some fell on Tuesday) so we drove around the Park to come in from the east side. It is a beautiful drive even if not actually through the park. The aspen stands were fantastic, especially when surrounded by the dark evergreens. When we got to the Visitor Center at St. Mary (the east end of the Going To The Sun Road)the sun was shining. We found out that the road was closed right before Logan Pass because of snow but that they expected it to be cleared by 1:00. So we lunched at Sun Point and enjoyed the fabulous views up and down St. Mary Lake. We took a short hike to another beautiful falls and then up the road to the pass.
The mountains were all out and it was even warm in the sun. We hiked along the Highline Trail which is cut into the wall above the Road on the west side of the pass. Did I say “above”? I meant “overhanging”! Part of the trail is a narrow catwalk literally cut into the rock wall. Fun!
Our next and final stop in the Park was at Many Glaciers. Seems like a cutesy name until you see it – there ARE many glaciers visible from the deck at the lodge. The lodge had just closed but the mountains and lake were still there for us to see. On the hillside we saw more big horn sheep and some mountain goats.
Park mammal count: 4 – deer, chipmunk, big horn sheep, mountain goat
Trip mammal count: 5 - deer, moose, chipmunk, big horn sheep, mountain goat
Glacier Park - the west/wet side
Lake MacDonald Lodge
Hike to Avalanche Lake
Waterfalls on the MacDonald River
We arrived at the Lake MacDonald Lodge in the rain. I was disappointed because I wanted Bear to see the mountains for his first trip to this glorious park. Instead we had to satisfy ourselves with the wonderful colors of the trees and waterfalls everywhere. Up as high as we could see (which did occasionally include the top of a mountain) all the way down to Lake MacDonald. We went for a hike in the not-yet-rain to Avalanche Falls. The access is by way of the Trail of the Cedars, a level boardwalk less than a mile long and a definite must see for everyone who comes this way. At the falls we left the boardwalk and hiked another two miles up to Avalanche Lake. Along the way we passed wonderful places to look down on the gorge for Avalanche Falls before turning into the forest and the rain. I confess to wondering if the whole thing was worth it – uphill and in the rain. It was! Avalanche Lake is one of those alpine lakes surrounded by mountains and this one had at least 4 visible waterfalls .
On the way back to the Lodge (wet, cold, hungry and tired) the rain had stopped so we pulled over at each overlook on the way. They all turned out to be waterfalls on the MacDonald River. They were fabulous and I had a nice chat with some folks from Western North Carolina – where my Dad was raised. One of the best parts of the National Parks is meeting all the people who have come here from around the world. We had dinner in the bar at the Lodge and met some interesting folks from near Manchester, England. He is a retired physics teacher and they came here to see Glacier and Yellowstone and were having a wonderful time.
On the way back to the Lodge (wet, cold, hungry and tired) the rain had stopped so we pulled over at each overlook on the way. They all turned out to be waterfalls on the MacDonald River. They were fabulous and I had a nice chat with some folks from Western North Carolina – where my Dad was raised. One of the best parts of the National Parks is meeting all the people who have come here from around the world. We had dinner in the bar at the Lodge and met some interesting folks from near Manchester, England. He is a retired physics teacher and they came here to see Glacier and Yellowstone and were having a wonderful time.
Park mammal count: 2 – deer, chipmunk
Trip mammal count: 3 confirmed - deer, moose, chipmunk
Bear thinks that whatever the owl was eating doesn’t count.
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