Canyon Overlook: Zion National Park

Checkerboard Mesa, Zion National Park

We arrived at our hotel, just outside the Zion National Park, late last night.  It was late and I had promised the kiddo that we would go swimming.  The pool, however, was an outdoor pool which had just been opened last week and I didn't relish the idea of 40-50 degree water.  So I passed much to my child's disappointment.  Perhaps we will find another pool to swim in during our trip?

Zion Canyon, Canyon Overlook Trail

Canyon Overlook Trail, Zion National Park

Our first order of business this morning, however, truly was business.  Duane has been unemployed for the past 2.5 months, and all of us have been on COBRA.  Thankfully, he starts a new job on Monday, May 2^nd.  Since COBRA doesn't allow prorating payments, we had to make a decision to either go without health insurance for a day, or pay for an entire month's worth of health insurance.  The decision was practically a no-brainer.  The employer controlled monopoly over health insurance means that rather than getting what you need for the best price, employees get the most costly, most all inclusive plans, which the employer writes off as a business expense, with the employee picking up only a fraction of the cost.  Until you are no longer an employee.  Then you get to bear the entire cost, which for a family can run in the thousands of dollars, when you can least afford it because you no longer have an income.  We decided to go without health insurance for a day, which saved us nearly $2,000.

Indian Paintbrush, Zion National Park

This had an impact on how long we would be able to stay in Zion.  We decided to drive home in one day, since we didn't want to be on the road on a day when we were without health insurance.  We would have to leave Zion at noon.  We decided to hike Zion's Canyon Overlook trail, see if we could catch a bus along the river, and then head home.  Duane drove, while I called the COBRA processing center to see about cancelling COBRA over the phone.  I found out, much to my dismay, that you can only cancel via telephone if you have gone on Medicare or have other coverage, neither of which exactly applied to our situation.  Obviously, they don't want to make it easy to cancel - they would lose a lot more money.  So, we would have to find a copy shop, download the form off the internet, fill it out and fax it in, somewhere along on our drive.  As long as we got the paperwork in by midnight, we would be okay.

Wildflower, Zion National Park

We drove up to side of the Canyon to the trailhead, which is immediately after the tunnel, but kept driving towards the Checkerboard Mesa.  We decided to stop by the side of the road so that the kiddo could climb up the rocks.  He was really wanting to climb up some large rocks, and given the disappointment over the pool the previous evening, it was time for him to have some fun!  The "rocks" here are actually petrified sand dunes, which geological forces have uplifted over time.  They make for easy climbing - perfect for a young boy! 

Canyon Overlook Trail (yellow), Zion Nat'l Park

We headed back to the Canyon Overlook trail.  It looked like we would have a lot of company today.  We headed up the stairs at the beginning of the trailhead.  It's a pretty short hike at only one mile round trip, but the view at the end of the canyon is simply breathtaking.  There were many wild flowers in bloom, it being Spring.  It's always lovely to photograph them. 

Prickly Phlox, Overlook Trail, Zion Nat'l Park

We returned to the car and drove down to the visitor center to possibly catch a bus into the main area of the park, along the Virgin River.  It was extremely crowded, however, and likely would have taken several hours.  We decided to save it for a future trip.

We started the long trip back home, stopping at the Kinko-Fed Ex office at the Las Vegas Convention Center in order to send in our COBRA cancellation form.  Just as we were getting into Vegas and needing the GPS to find the Kinko's, my Subaru's cigarette lighter plug broke and blew a fuse.  No electricity to anything running off the cigarette lighter and, even worse, no air conditioning.  We used Duane's cell phone and Google Maps to get us to Kinkos.  We got the form filled out and faxed in with 5 minutes to spare.  Then Duane came out and spent about half an hour finding and replacing the broken fuse.  The cigarette lighter still didn't work, but at least we had air conditioning on the long drive home!  A bit too much excitement, but we made it home by 12:30 am, just half an hour past being "Cinderella," and without any further incident.

From Monument Valley to Antelope Canyon

Ford Point, Monument Valley

Not a lot of hiking today.  Mostly just walking, but the scenery is indescribable, so I'll take it.

We arrived at Goulding's late last night, making our first stop ever at a Sonic Burger practically in the middle of nowhere, which was probably the worst burger we've ever eaten. 

I had tried to get a reservation in the The View Hotel, which is right in the park with a great view of the Mittens, but it was full and my attempts were too late.  No matter; Goulding's is right across the highway.  We ate a quick breakfast and decided to take Goulding's half day tour. 

West Mitten, Monument Valley

Before taking us to Monument Valley, our tour guide first took us to a Navajo hogan, where an elderly Navajo woman showed us the art of weaving Navajo blankets, including the steps to card and spin the wool before weaving it.  Weaving is becoming a lost art.  There are few women left at home to weave as so many of the young women have left home to go to college and get jobs.   I had a real sense of hospitality and also of their sense of humor.

Ear of the Wind, Monument Valley

We drove the short distance to Monument Valley and got our first view of the Mittens and of The View Hotel, which hugs the contour of the bluff,  its sandstone-colored walls blending in perfectly with the surrounding landscape.  Someday, I would like to stay there. 

We were able to get out at several places and walk around.  The Navajo made sure that there were several shopping opportunities, mostly for buying Navajo jewelry.  Much of it was quite beautiful, but I was not in the market today.  The lookout for Ford Point was one such market area.  But there were also a few places where we could scamper up sand dunes, right under a natural arch, look at petroglyphs on the Navajo Sandstone formation, and see ancient dwellings.

Petroglyphs, Monument Valley

This really is one of my favorite places in the Southwest.  It is grand, sweeping, and majestic, but at the same time it's beauty is desolate and barren.  Hints of olive green from the sagebrush and other foliage give it a somewhat softer feel, but the landscape is always imposing.

Towards the end of the morning, the wind started to pick up.  Eventually, the wind became so strong that it whipped the sand up, scouring our bare knees.  That was uncomfortable, but we escaped inside The View for lunch, where I had a sampling of traditional Navajo food.  The restaurant is beautiful with incredible vistas of Monument Valley.  The View also has a very nice gift store with a good selection of both touristy knick knacks and authentic Navajo crafts.

Entrance to Upper Antelope Canyon

After lunch we piled back into the car and headed for Antelope Canyon, another one of my favorite spots in the Southwest.  The canyon is one of several slot canyons located along a large wash that drains into Lake Powell.  In fact, the entrance is not far from Glen Canyon Dam.  We managed to get one of the last tours of the day into Upper Antelope Canyon.

Slot canyons tend to form in soft sandstone or limestone rock and in areas where there is a paucity of rain.  Rainfall, sometimes from miles away, rushes through the rock so fast that it cuts a deep, narrow channel.  The danger of flash floods is ever present.  Water has been known to lodge fallen trees high up between the canyon walls.  National Geographic once tried to place cameras in Upper Antelope Canyon to record what it was like when the water rushed through. The force of the water was so strong that none of their cameras survived the onslaught.  Several tourists were killed at Lower Antelope Canyon during a flash flood in 1997 as a result of rainfall over seven miles away.   Warning sirens have now been placed at the entrance as a result.

Despite the possibility of danger, these slot canyons are a photographer's dream.  The light filters down to the bottom of the canyon in an amazing array of oranges, pinks and purples.  So beautiful!

We hadn't ever seen Lower Antelope Canyon, and since we still had a bit of time, decided to drive over to see what we could see.  Unfortunately, there were no more guided tours for the day.  So we continued on into Page, stopped at the grocery store for some supplies, and then continued our drive toward tomorrow's destination, Zion National Park.

Grand Canyon

When we originally participated in Team in Training, there were two choices of events: Yosemite and the Grand Canyon. Because we were aiming for Half Dome, we chose Yosemite. We had little time to spare for a week long trip, and didn't have backpacks at that time either. But many people in our group did the Grand Canyon event. There were fewer choices of hikes, but at least two of them were the South Rim walk and the overnight backpack into the Grand Canyon. That last was a three day affair where you hiked in one day, did a day hike on your day in the canyon, and then hiked out on the third day.

Two years later, armed with our day packs, poles and hiking boots, we decided to see how far we could get on the Bright Angel trail. We drove up from Williams, where we had stayed the previous night, and arrived at the South Rim at about 11:30 am. This was well past our normal start time, but fortunately, it was early in the season and there was high overcast. The weather was cool and breezy - almost windy, in fact.

We filled our water containers and headed down the trail. Since there was a rest area at the 1.5 mile mark, aptly named the Mile and a Half Rest Stop, we decided to make that our destination for the day. We figured it would take us about 45 minutes to hike down to the first rest stop (with many stops for our son to look at rocks and bugs) and twice the amount of time to hike back up.

When hiking the Grand Canyon, everything you think you know is wrong. It's all backwards. When hiking most trails, you wear synthetics to keep yourself dry and warm. Special synthetics wick the moisture away from your skin. But the Grand Canyon is basically a giant solar cooker, which focuses the suns rays. It gets hotter as you descend into the canyon. Because of this, you wear cotton fibers that don't wick the water away from your body, and which keeps you cool. Always, always take enough water with you. Indeed, if you don't know what you're doing, take extra!

Margaret Bradley, who was extremely fit and who had recently run the Boston Marathon finishing 31st, decided to go for a 15 mile run into the Canyon. She wasn't from the Southwest and wasn't familiar with the area or the high temperatures. The 15 miles that she thought she was going to run, was actually 27 miles. She carried only 1.5 litres of water, an apple, and two trail bars into the canyon. She had no map. She left about four hours after sunrise. She died of dehydration in 105 degree heat and her body was found a day later. Her photo is now plastered on many trailheads and her story serves as a warning to hikers.

One of the most interesting things about hiking the Grand Canyon is being able to see all the different geological strata. One not only loses elevation, one descends backwards in time. Most of the geological formations in the Southwest have a limestone cap on their top. The softer sandstone underneath remains because the limestone is harder for the elements to penetrate. We started at the South Rim (6,782 ft. elev.) and the Kaibab Limestone layer, which is 250 million years old. Fossils such as mollusks and brachiopods can be found in this light gray layer.

We descended a little further and came to the darker, Toroweap Formation, which is also limestone and only just slightly older than the Kaibab Limestone at 255 million years. Soon we come to the very large and very solid Coconino Sandstone layer. The Coconino Sandstone layer is 260 million year old petrified sand dunes! It presents a solid vertical wall. Apparently, no fossils have been found in this layer.

As we completed our 1.5 mile hike to the Mile and a Half Rest Stop, we entered the Hermit Shale. This strata is a rust colored, iron-rich formation, which is 265 million years old. Ferns, conifers and other fossilized plants have been found in this layer.

We had descended 1,062 ft. into the canyon by the time we reached the rest stop. We sat and ate some trail mix and drank some water, refilling our water bottles before heading back up the Bright Angel Trail.

The ascent took us twice as long as the descent, which was just as we expected. We arrived back at the South Rim about about 2:45 pm. We had a wonderful lunch at one of the lodge restaurants, before getting back into the car and heading east along the South Rim towards the Desert View. After that, our next stop is one of our favorite places: Monument Valley.

Disneyland & California Adventure

After Easter Sunday's baseball game and dinner, we took off for Southern California and Disneyland. We planned a two day visit before departing for the American Southwest. This would give us one day at Disneyland and another day at California Adventure.

We had initially planned to drive as far south as possible Easter night and stay at a motel off of I-5. This changed when we crossed the Grapevine into the Los Angeles basin at around midnight. We decided it would be better to spend a little extra time getting to tomorrow's destination rather than fight the Monday morning infamous commute traffic. We pressed on and, fortunately, the hotel that we had reservations at for tomorrow, had a space for us tonight.

Our son was thrilled with the bunk beds. We slept in (for us) and didn't even miss the opening of the park. Our hotel came with a complimentary breakfast, which was about as bad as could be. Still frozen sausages just don't do it for me. I didn't eat breakfast that morning. Our hotel was right across the street from Disneyland, so all we had to do was walk to the entrance. This was much more convenient than having to drive, then park, then take a shuttle.

We spent the rest of Monday walking all over Disneyland. We rode Space Mountain (several times), Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blaster, Autopia, and even managed to get on the Matterhorn Bobsleds before the line got ridiculous. Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Railroad and Indiana Jones were exciting, but my favorites are still It's a Small World, Pirates of the Caribbean and the Enchanted Tiki Room. The Swiss Family Robinson's treehouse has been transformed into Tarzan's treehouse, but even so, it was fun to walk up. We also went to Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, which I had not seen in over 20 years. It had just been redone and the animatronics is even better than before.

Again, this is not a conditioning hike, but it's still a lot of walking! We met up with some friends who have children in the same school as our son and had a nice dinner at the Blue Bayou with them. We were fortunate in that we were able to get the last available space at 7:15 pm! After dinner, we went to the Haunted House together and then our friends went to see World of Color, the water show that is currently playing at California Adventure. Our tickets were for Tuesday evening so we stayed at Disneyland for the rest of the day and watched the fireworks before going back to our hotel for the evening. It was nice not to have the explosions happening right overhead, as happened the last time we were at Disneyland!

The following day, Tuesday, we went to California Adventure. Our favorite ride there is California Screamin', a huge boardwalk style roller coaster. It's really my second favorite after the Giant Dipper at Santa Cruz Beach and Boardwalk. California Soarin' is also a wonderful ride which simulates flying over California. Our son likes Toy Story Mania which, like Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blaster, is a moving shoot-the-target ride. We also went on the Monsters Inc. ride, saw a parade near the Aladdin theatre, and then went on the Hollywood Tower Hotel ride. I had completely forgotten that this was a freefall style ride. Had I remembered I would have passed. I white knuckled it during all three freefalls, which probably was a good thing since our son was so concerned about me that he forgot to be scared.

The height of the evening came with World of Color, but also the most annoyance. This water show is a medley of all of the great Disney animated movies. The show is absolutely stupendous BUT you have to watch it standing. In fact, you pay extra to watch it standing. There is no where to sit down, not even a park bench. The show lasts about an hour and it's another hour before the show starts, so that's a total of two hours of standing. Whoever planned this out obviously did not think this through.

It was a wonderful two days and we all managed not to get too sunburned! We headed back to the hotel for a good night's sleep. Tomorrow will be a long drive to Williams, Arizona - our jumping off point for the Grand Canyon.

Easter Baseball

Today we headed to my brother and sister-in-law's home for Easter dinner and a family baseball game. Shortly after arriving, we all headed out to a nearby park with what baseball equipment we possessed. Unfortunately, the only bat we had belonged to my niece which, of course, was on the short side. Good for the children; not so good for the rest of us. I was happy just to hit the ball while my brothers competed to see who could hit the farthest home run (into the parking lot) with my niece's small bat. Stephen won easily, but John was a close second. We had a lot of fun and exercise (though not hiking). I hope this will become a new family tradition

And Now For Some Real Hiking...

Great news! My husband, who lost his job just before we all got the flu last February, will be reemployed again as of May 2nd. Our trip to the Southwest and Disneyland that we canceled on account of the flu, we can now do over our son's Easter break! We plan to go to Disneyland, then drive east to visit the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, and then swing by Antelope Canyon, Zion National Park on our way home. It's a lot of driving, but I think we can manage this inside of a week and get some really awesome hikes in!

Springing to the Top of Kennedy Trail

This morning, I decided it was time to go to the top of Kennedy Trail. I've gone halfway twice for lack of time, and it was time to make time to get to the "top", i.e., the junction with Priest Rock Trail. This time I would be armed with my camera! Spring is definitely in the air.

We set out at 7:30 am and arrived at the trailhead a short time later. I forgot my fleece at home, but I didn't need it. I wore a short sleeve hiking shirt underneath a long sleeved hiking shirt, as I usually do unless the weather is really hot. It was cool and overcast due to the marine layer, but it wasn't cold.

The first couple of miles or so were done underneath the marine layer, but eventually we punched through. Not much of a view - other than fog - from the trail.

Spring, however, had sprung as I anticipated. The trail was lined with various types of wild flowers.

There was the usual Scotch or Common Broom (planta genista), an ubiquitous foreign weed bearing yellow flowers that is difficult to eliminate and takes over wherever it roots. (How it came to be called "Scotch" Broom in this area when it was associated with the Angevin (French) Plantagenet royal family, I have no idea.)

The orange blossoms of Sticky Monkey Flower were also in evidence. Local native American tribes used to use the leaves to make a medicinal tea.

The Kennedy trail is not terribly long at only 4.1 miles, but it is steep. It is as challenging as the Stanford Avenue approach to Mission Peak, though with more shade. And, if you wanted to make it a longer hike, you could continue on past the Priest Rock Trail junction. Eventually you wind up on the Woods Trail and you can even take the trail up to Mount Umunhum (though not to the summit). I managed to catch the California Poppy, native to California and its state flower.

We continued up the trail, though it was very foggy. We continued to see many beautiful wildflowers out in force. Wild iris were abundant, as was ceanothus (usually blue, but this time white) and Blue Lupine. There was also a beautiful red Indian Warrior. I could have picked a magnificent bouquet!

Eventually, we hiked through the fog and had a wonderful view of ... the marine layer. This is, of course, perfect hiking weather which only slightly makes up for the lack of a view. We continued to hike until we reached the tree - the halfway point in our hike.

We continued up the rest of the trail. There were fewer wildflowers in this hotter, drier part of the trail. As we neared the junction, the trail got quite a bit steeper. (Why does it always do this near a summit?) After a last steep section, we reached the junction - and sign. Shortly after that, the fog began to burn off and we finally had a great view of the valley below! We turned around and hiked down the mountain - another conditioning hike under our belts!

Up the Kennedy Trail - Redux

A very busy day today, but squeezed in another conditioning hike up the Kennedy Trail with Chris. This is quickly becoming our favorite training ground, because of the elevation gain, but also because it provides more cover than do the trails up Mission Peak or in Alum Rock Park.

Unfortunately, I left my camera at home today so was not able to take any photos. There was a much better view than last time!

As with the first time I hiked the Kennedy Trail, we didn't go all the way to the road but to the tree that marks the approximate half way point.

Sometimes there just aren't enough hours in the day, but at least some conditioning is better than nothing!