Arches National Park; Moab, Utah

Moab, Utah, is a haven for mountain bikers and ATV riders. The myriad off-road trails cut through red sandstone known as slickrock. But Arches National Park, five miles north of Moab, is reserved for hikers and bikers to explore petrified sand dunes and rock formations known as fins.





Fins sometimes become arches when the salt bed, deposited 300 million years ago when a sea covered the Colorado Plateau, erodes from harder rock layers.



Many of the park's 2000 arches can only been seen by hiking to them. On the day of our visit, it was so cold and windy that we toured the 18-miles scenic drive by car. We were able to see the most famous arch, Delicate Arch, from about 3/4 of a mile away.



Balanced rock will make you scratch your head, trying to figure out how it seems to defy gravity!



The Cove of Caves contains arches and some future arches-in-progress.



The La Sal Mountains provide a glorious background.

Dead Horse Point State Park; Moab, Utah

The concentration of national parks and monuments in the "Four Corners" region of Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah speaks to the geology of the area. Canyons and mesas sculpted by the Colorado River and erosion of sandstone by ice, water, and wind have created a unique landscape. This region is known as the "Grand Circle". Some parks, including the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and Cedar Breaks, were closed in early April. At 8000' elevations, they were still snowed in. But while in Utah, after Zion and Bryce, we decided to visit Moab, gateway to two more parks - Arches and Canyonlands.

Our home base was Dead Horse Point State Park. Dead Horse Point sits atop a 6000' elevation plateau left between canyons carved by the Green River and the Colorado River.



The view from the promontory of the point is extraordinary. Two thousand feet above the Colorado River, Canyonlands National Park goes on seemingly forever.





In the other direction, a view of the snow-capped La Sal Mountains. These mountains also provide the backdrop to the formations of Arches National Park, our next stop.

Zion Mountain Resort ATV Tour

Ed & I are not what you would call avid hikers. But there is another way to experience the beauty of Utah's red sandstone canyons. Miles of public lands are open to all-terrain vehicles, otherwise known as ATVs or four-wheelers. Ed thought it would be a lot of fun to try it...and he was right!

We made a reservation for a 2 1/2 hr. personal guided ATV tour offered through Zion Mountain Resort. Our tour guide, Brady, showed Ed how to work the controls of the ATV and we took a practice run around the barn. Soon we were ready to pass by the horse fields and the buffalo meadow and head towards the forest.



The trail along the ridge led through a pine-scented forest of juniper and pinyin.



We took a break to get a view of the east side of the cliff face that we will be descending.



We also get a look down into the valley that is our destination today.



During the break, Brady took the time to describe some of the flora and fauna of the desert landscape. Ed tried chewing the leaves of "Mormon tea", reputed to contain an ephedra-like substance. He pronounced it "not bad". Early Mormon settlers boiled the herb and drank the tea, since they abstained from regular tea and coffee.



As we descended into the canyon over alternately rocky and sandy trail, the rock and soil turns from white to coral pink.



Finally, we reached the end of the trail. We parked the ATV and walked out to the edge to get a view of the Virgin River flowing through the canyon.





Brady took a souvenir photo of me and Ed. The white cliffs in the background are a part of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.



If we lived in Utah, we would have to get our own ATVs. They are a fun way to get off the beaten path and enjoy awesome scenery on our public lands.

Bryce Canyon National Park; Utah

Bryce Canyon National Park is located about 85 miles northeast of Zion. The major difference between the two parks is that the scenic drive is along the rim at Bryce, as opposed to down in the bottom of the canyon at Zion. To reach Bryce from Zion, you have to travel through the tunnel on Rt.9, then follow Rt.89 north, and then head east on scenic Rt.12, climbing all the way from 4000 ft. to 8000 ft. Temperatures are about 10 degrees cooler because of the higher elevation. Considering this, we decided to take a day trip to Bryce from our base camp at Zion rather than move the motorhome to Bryce.

The trip up took us about 2 1/2 hours and was so well worth it. Photos and videos can't do Bryce Canyon justice. But I'll share the photos that I took from various overlooks along the plateau rim, in order to show as much perspective as possible.

The best known section of the park is the Bryce Amphitheater, a semi-circular section of the eastern side of the canyon with the most spectacular hoodoos, pillars of rock created by erosion. The amphitheatre lies behind the historic Bryce Canyon Lodge.



We walked along the Rim Trail behind the Lodge and reached Sunrise Point for our first dramatic views of the hoodoos. This and other photos are best viewed by clicking on them to enlarge, then using your browser's "back" button to return to the blog.



From Sunrise Point, we decided to follow the advice in the tour booklet and drive to the far end of the 18-mile park road which ends at Rainbow Point. Views of southern Utah extend 100 miles on clear days.



Working our way back from Rainbow Point, our next stop was Black Birch Canyon. This close-up gives a better view of the sandstone hoodoos.



Look at the persistent tree growing up at the top of this hoodoo at Agua Canyon.



Natural Bridge is really an arch. It was formed by rain and frost erosion from the top of the rock, not flowing water underneath.



Back at Bryce Point, we have reached the opposite end of the Bryce Amphitheater from Sunrise Point, where we started our tour. At the end of this walkway, views extended almost 360 degrees.





The Under the Rim hiking trail connects Bryce Point with Rainbow Point. We opted to hike down a small section of the Navajo Loop Trail from Sunset Point, also part of the Bryce Amphitheater.





The trail switchbacks all the way down to Bryce Creek.



We opted not to hike all the way to the bottom. But Bryce is a hiker's paradise. We appreciated this view from below the rim.

Best Friends Animal Sanctuary; Kanab, Utah

About 40 miles southeast of Zion, off Rt.89 south, Best Friends Animal Sanctuary is located in Angel Canyon, about 5 miles north of Kanab, Utah. I don't remember exactly where I first learned about this organization, dedicated to saving homeless dogs, cats and other animals. But about five years ago, I must have read something in the newspaper about Best Friends. Since then, I have been a member. Now, I jumped at the opportunity to learn firsthand how this organization has grown to support over 600 each of dogs and cats, as well as horses, birds, and other animals.

Our tour began with a short film at the Welcome Center, shown below.



The film featured Michael Mountain, President, talking about the growth of Best Friends over the last twenty years. Started by 25 concerned people who wanted to help abandoned animals, Best Friends now employs over 400 staff members. A nationally renowned organization, they provide disaster relief aid, helping thousands of animals in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Best Friends provides training for shelter workers from all over the country in areas such as starting a sanctuary, fundraising, behavioral training for dogs, and public relations.

After the orientation film, eight of us piled into the Best Friends van. Pam and her own rescued pet dog, Callie, took us to tour the facilities.



Pam drove us several miles back from the main road, past the horse pasture where we met a couple of horses grazing. Pam explained that horses are often given up when they can no longer be ridden either due to medical problems or old age. As we drove along, Pam shared that Best Friends owns 3000 acres and leases an additional 30,000 acres from the BLM. The space provides a great buffer between 600 barking dogs and the neighbors! We also drove past Angel's Rest, the pet cemetery. Hundreds of wind chimes tinkle in the breeze donated in memory of cherished pets. The graves are marked with stones. Pam warned us to bring a box of Kleenex if we visited the memorials with very moving inscriptions.

Our first stop was the Cat Headquarters.



We met some of the special needs kitties - blind kitties, tailless kitties, incontinent kitties, disabled kitties. Some were shy but most responded to our petting and demonstrations of affection.





Kitties are free to roam inside or outside. Attached to the buildings, enclosed patios have high rafters for kitties to stroll across, toys, kitty condos, and hide-aways.



Next stop - Dogtown. Thanks to a generous contribution from a couple from CA, the dogs have wonderful housing. Octagonal buildings contain separate pens, each pen holds a pack of four dogs who are matched for temperament to live together peacefully.



Dogs can go in and out as they please. Evaporative swamp coolers keep the building air-conditioned even through desert summers.



Back in November 2006, I wrote about our two week stay at Desert Haven Animal Refuge in Williamsburg, New Mexico. Desert Haven is modeled on Best Friends, although on a much smaller scale. I was inspired to help Eliana Aubin, President of the Sierra County Humane Society, by revamping their web site. Check it out at www.deserthavenanimalrefuge.com. Both Best Friends and Desert Haven need donations and volunteers. But Desert Haven doesn't have the high profile of Best Friends. If you go to southern Utah, check out Best Friends. In New Mexico, check out Desert Haven. Best Friends has just installed two RV sites and Desert Haven has a small RV park on the property.In either place, the animals need you.

Zion National Park; Part 1

From Las Vegas, we traveled northwest on I-15 to St. George, Utah, then headed east on Rt.9 to Zion National Park. We spent a week in the area, including day trips to Bryce Canyon National Park, Pipe Springs National Monument, and Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. Each will have its own post with pictures in the next few days.

If you have ever been to Sedona in Arizona, Zion National Park is like Sedona on steroids! Red rock canyons and weird sandstone formations create a landscape that is like no other. In fact, southern Utah and northern Arizona encompass the "Grand Circle" of National Parks with similar geological formations. Besides Zion, these parks include Bryce Canyon, Grand Canyon, Arches, Canyonlands, Grand Staircase/Escalante, and more. At Zion (named by the Mormons for the Hebrew word meaning "sanctuary"), you are able to tour the canyon floor and look up red sandstone cliffs towering 1000-2000 ft. above.

Zion Canyon was formed by the Virgin River, which is paralleled by Rt.9 running east-west. At the village of Springdale, at the entrance to the park, the river splits into the North Fork and the East Fork. At this junction lies Watchman Campground. Here is our campsite:



We enjoyed spectacular views of the red rock cliffs all around us.



Continuing on Rt.9 east, the road takes you up a lengthy series of switchbacks, culminating in a narrow one-mile long tunnel through the mountain. This view shows one of the side windows of the tunnel. (You can click on this or any picture to enlarge, then use your browser's "back" button to return to the blog.)



The tunnel is so narrow that RVs have to pay $15.00 to have the tunnel closed. Then they can pass through by running down the middle of the lanes. A line of cars begins to build as we wait for the tunnel to reopen.



East of the tunnel, the rock formations are red, white and sometimes both colors of rock.



At the Checkerboard Mesa overlook, I took a series of six photos to capture a 180 degree view of the landscape. Visualize these two photos joined to get a tiny sense of the landscape.





In Part 2 to follow, we'll take the shuttle tour in the canyon along the north fork of the Virgin River. Alert the media - Ed & Camille actually go on two hikes!