Sir Percival Bryce

The schedules at major points of interest are usually packed with time on the roads and trails and activities from early morning into the night.  Zion National Park was a wonderful playground, that kept Chris and Jay continuously entertained and substantially increased the volume of photos on the computer,  that they stopped at a small town called Hatch, for a few days, before continuing on to Bryce Canyon National Park.


To get there required a short stretch of interstate highway then turning, at Cedar City, onto a winding, two-lane road that ascended a 10,000 foot mountain.  Desert sage gave way to tall pine and the bleached bark of leafless Aspen.  As they neared the summit the harshness of the past winter was evidently displayed by the broken trunks of Pine and Fir.  The heavy winds and snow had bent the supple Aspen trunks into groves of pale arches.

The travelers arrived at an overlook where, far in the distance, they viewed the West Temple of Zion amongst the expansive mountainous terrain of southern Utah.  Amid the other visitors were father and son bikers.  The former sporting a long, gray ponytail and ribbons from his Vietnam service; features that Chris and Jay more or less expected in such a character.  What they didn’t expect was the tiny, but adorable dog attached to the leash he was holding and the equally tiny pet carrier lashed to his bike.  He and his son were cordial and engaged in light conversation and Jay thanked the elder for his service.

The mountain summit was unexpectedly flat with broad, snow-covered meadows, stretching to either side of the road.  They passed the entrance to Cedar Breaks National Monument and wondered what it was.  Thankfully the descent was much more gradual than the ascent and they arrived in the valley town of Hatch in good spirits.

This is what they found during a day trip to Cedar Breaks.

If the remoteness of the location and lack of “attractions” wasn’t enough to keep Chris and Jay holed up in the RV during their three-night stay, the weather certainly did.  The night of their arrival the temperatures dropped, the winds roared and precipitation of all types prevented them from stepping outside for anything other than a trek to the office for mail and to do laundry.

Caught up on e-mails and photo editing, they arrived at Bryce Canyon National Park on a gloriously sunny, blue-sky day and took up residence at Ruby’s RV Park, a mere two miles from the Park gate.

Chris was so excited to be back at Bryce Canyon.  She had been there with her daughter, Jessica, in 2007 when they turned transporting some furniture, from her home in Maryland to Jessica’s in Oregon, into a cross-country trip.  Jessica enjoyed their first day there so much that she insisted on doing the half-day horseback ride into the canyon, which they both thought was spectacular - until the saddle sores set in the next day.

A panoramic view of Bryce Canyon.

The 8,000 foot elevation at Bryce Canyon took some getting used to in more ways than one.  Several inches of snow fell during the freezing nighttime temperatures and although most days were sunny, Chris and Jay had to bundle up against the cool mountain winds.  Minimal exertion caused shortness of breath in the thin air making their first few trail outings much longer and slower with frequent stops to ease the gasps and prevent the need for CPR.

A view of the hoodoos from the canyon floor.

On Sunday, May 24^th, eight days into their two-week stay, Jay received a phone call from Kevin Evans, a Park Ranger.  He explained that one of the camp host couples didn’t show and couldn’t be contacted.  The Park was desperate to fill the position.  He had gotten Chris and Jay’s names from the camp host volunteer applications they had submitted at Zion and wanted to know if they were available until the end of July.  They were his thirty-first call!  Jay was taken aback at the request and shared the information with Chris.  They thought of the reservations already in place and how the commitment would change their summer and said they were interested and would get back to him.  Within minutes, Chris dug out the summer’s schedule and discovered the only deposit they’d paid was for the reservations at Yellowstone and all others needed just a phone call to cancel.  They eagerly accepted.

Within days they’d been issued uniforms, radios and keys and had moved into the Sunset Campground host site.  After two days of training, by their host counterparts, they were on their own and interacting with the hundreds of visitors that frequented the campsites.

The volunteers before the 4^th of July parade.

Chris spent the morning decorating the Polaris ATV they used for campground rounds.

Bryce Canyon National Park has two campgrounds – North and Sunset.  Sunset Campground has about one hundred campsites in three loops; two for tents and one for RVs.  At the campground entrance is a registration kiosk and a service road that leads to a loop containing four full-hookup campsites.  The first was occupied by camp hosts Liz and Gary Seaman and the second by Chris and Jay.  The others housed their new boss, Kevin Evans and his wife, Cheryl, who also worked for the Park.  Bob and Eva Safranek, Visitor Center Volunteers, had taken up residence in the fourth campsite. Via various meetings they attended, to become oriented to the Park’s policies and personnel, they also met one of the North Campground hosts, Chip and Jill Hayes.  Over the weeks to come they all became fast friends, getting together in the evenings for birthday celebrations, happy hours and going away parties.

The camp hosts were advised to keep the radios on during their waking hours, carry them even during their days off and while hiking, to contact a Ranger in case a Park visitor needed assistance.  Unfortunately the real juicy stuff was on the Law Enforcement channel to which they did not have access, but the transmissions became an unending source of entertainment.  There was always an unusual situation which required a call to the Rangers; from overpopulated campsites and loud and even nude campers to canyon rescues, lost pets and, sadly, several deer struck by speeding vehicles.  But, not all radio traffic was “official”.  Chris wanted to share her birthday pies (that’s right, not cake) with the on-duty Rangers.  The word was quickly spread and all three arrived at the appointed time for the evening’s sweets.

The work schedule was a little longer and harder than the new volunteers expected.  Gary and Liz had been there for a month and liked a four day on/four day off schedule.  Chris and Jay enjoyed the four days off but by the end of four fourteen hour days they were a little bit beat.  The schedule required them to be up and dressed by 7 a.m., then make rounds of the campground at 8, and 11 a.m. and 4 and 8 p.m. when they recorded what sites were occupied and with what, i.e. tents or RVs; and the most fun job of all – cleaning fire pits!!  Campers peppered them with questions but most of all compliments on how nice the campground was, how clean the bathrooms were and how grateful they were for the answers to all of their questions – especially the ones about the bears.

A prominently displayed notice on the Registration Kiosk warned of bears and it seems people actually read it – above all the foreigners.  One French woman was particularly concerned and with a French/English dictionary in hand, expressed her fears to Chris who explained that since the Park initiated strict trash disposal and food containment regulations, bears had not been seen in the campgrounds but they had been spotted in remote areas of the Park.  To further allay her fears, Jay offered her $1,000 if she saw a bear.  Thankfully she didn’t.

The most memorable question of the season came from a visitor at North Campground when they asked Chip and Jill “At what elevation do deer become elk?”  Who cares what they answered, the question was priceless!!

An unexpected reward for interacting with the campers was FREE FOOD!!!  Sunset campground had a group site that was reserved every Monday night by Backroads.com a worldwide outdoor tour company.   They filled the site with white vans for transporting the road bicycles, tents and carrying all the meals they prepared for their guests each night.  Any dinner fare that was not consumed was offered to the camp hosts – which they eagerly accepted.  They were treated to scrumptious lasagna, garlic bread, a moist, brownie-like chocolate cake and sometimes salad, in such quantities that it had to be shared amongst their NPS neighbors.

One perk of volunteering at a National Park is the opportunity for various types of training.   Chris and Jay were able to attend a CPR/First Aid refresher course to update their certifications.  A short time later there was a call on the radio for people to assist in a rescue.  A young woman had sprained/broken her ankle while hiking in the canyon and the Rangers needed hands to help carry her out.

Weeks earlier Liz had asked if volunteers could assist with rescues and was told they could not unless they’d had training.  As a result, Chris and Jay never responded to previous calls.  Having just received the First Aid training, Jay decided to ask if they could help, figuring that he’d get turned down if what Liz said was true.  The Ranger in charge said they could use all the hands they could get.  Despite it being a day off, within minutes Chris and Jay were in uniform, supplied with food and water and out the door.

The pace the young Rangers set hiking down the steep switchbacks into the canyon had the volunteers panting and literally jogging to keep up.  By the time they reached the injured visitor her ankle had been splinted and she was ready to be loaded into the litter, a contraption uniquely suited to the task with handles fore, aft and on both sides and a bicycle sized pneumatic tire directly under the middle of it to support most of the weight.  All the handlers had to do was guide and stabilize.

Chris and Jay were apprehensive about matching the pace out of the canyon, but  were relieved to learn that the route out was down – to Tropic a small town nearby.   It was a longer trail but they would go faster and boy did they!  Later Jay said he felt as if his feet were hardly touching the ground!
 

The Rangers held a going away cookout for the camp hosts that were departing and their arriving replacements.  It is customary to give a gift as a token of appreciation for the volunteers’ time and contribution to the Park’s needs.  Chris and Jay were expecting the obligatory NPS coffee mugs, which they got, along with a beautiful hardbound Bryce Canyon coffee table book, but Chris giggled with delight when Jay opened the box to reveal a Prairie Dog stuffed animal.  The Utah Prairie Dog is an endangered species that resides in the Park and one of the meadows where they live is frequented by shutterbug tourists.  The stuffed animals are sold in the Visitor Center to raise funds for their preservation.

Attendees of the going away picnic: L-R Chip Hayes (camp host), Rangers Katheryn Sommer, Peter Christianson, Dan Fagergren, Caleb Janda, & Duane Poslusny; Jill Hayes (camp host), Ranger Tyla Guss and Kemper Toller (camp host).

L-R Ranger, Rayne Rohrbach, Vern & Jo (replacement camp hosts), Liz and Gary Seaman (camp hosts) and Ranger Virginia Thiel.

L-R Kevin Evans, Jay Crouthers and Cheryl Evans.

Each animal comes with a full-color frame-able certificate and owners are encouraged to name their new pet and register it.  Chris looked at the cute little critter sitting on her desk one day and the expression on its face screamed Percy!  She and Jay agreed it needed only a monocle to appear like a stuffy British aristocrat and played around with variations of the name.  They settled on Sir Percival Bryce; Sir Percival having been the Knight of King Arthur’s Roundtable that found the Holy Grail.

Sir Percival Bryce.

The six weeks of camp hosting passed all too quickly but Chris and Jay enjoyed the experience and decided to apply to other National Parks in the months to come.  Sad to leave Bryce, but eagerly anticipating almost two weeks in Yellowstone, they departed the morning of July 14^th to re-provision during a brief stop at Salt Lake City before heading to the nation’s first National Park.

The Land of WOW!

It was an easy, short drive from Page, AZ to Zion National Park but nothing had prepared Chris and Jay for the magnificent view they encountered at the Park entrance.  The afternoon sun illuminated the sheer, jagged cliffs at the entrance to the narrow canyon and all Chris could say was “Wow!”

The steep, granite cliffs of Yosemite National Park are world renown, possibly from the magnificent images of Half Dome and El Capitan created by Ansel Adams.  Zion was not a Park that Chris and Jay were familiar with until a few years before but they feel that it rivals Yosemite in more ways than one.  Although a narrower canyon, there is an undulation in the cliff walls that offer interesting hiking opportunities and views of crimson sandstone cliffs thousands of feet straight up; their crowns a variety of flat mesas, jagged peaks and rounded mounds surging up and down the length of the canyon.  Some crests are white which blended into the rusty oranges, reds and browns of the lower cliffs.

A glimpse of the canyon from the West Rim Trail.

To get an idea of scale, the trees on the slopes are at least 20’ to 50’ tall.

The Park keeps traffic to a minimum via a free shuttle system that runs from early in the morning to late at night, with stops at all of the overlooks and trail heads, enabling visitors and hikers a broad window to participate in all the Park has to offer.   The adjacent town of Springdale also offers a complimentary shuttle service that traverses the single road to the Park entrance.  Between the two services, Chris and Jay hardly used Big Red during their entire two-week stay.  After settling into their campsite they immediately boarded a bus for a tour of the Park. 

A disappointment to them was the massive number of tent caterpillars that had stripped the Cottonwoods bare of their fresh, spring foliage.  They covered walkways and roads, crawled up the walls of the Visitor Center and campground restrooms, clustered atop the campsite number posts and dropped from treetops onto passersby below.  Chris spoke with the camp hosts about the problem and was informed that the Park’s policy was that they didn’t harm the trees and although they had sprayed to control the caterpillars in the past there was no money for spraying this year.  Chris’ background is in horticulture, and she battled the Gypsy Moth infestation that engulfed the east coast twenty years ago.  She knew that complete defoliation of a tree over three to five years will kill it.  Mature Cottonwood trees lined the banks of the Virgin River that traversed the entire Park, through Springdale and beyond.  If those trees died, and their roots no longer hugged the riverbanks, the raging torrents that swell the river each spring would cause devastating erosion and loss of untold dollars in property damage.

The Camp Hosts tried to arrange a meeting for Chris with the Park employee in charge of the grounds but she was away for training and wouldn’t return until after Chris and Jay departed.  It was obvious to Chris that the problem was not just in the Park and that Federal, State and Local authorities would need to coordinate an effort to eradicate the pests.  She prepared a report outlining the problem, the effects of not controlling the critters, and offered to assist in a future program to halt the devastation, which the Camp Hosts agreed to pass along.  Meanwhile she and Jay squished all that came across their paths in their own personal effort to assist.

Wildlife abounded in the Park and although they didn’t encounter any on their hikes, while waiting for the shuttle buses they spotted deer, fox and turkey almost every day.

This turkey was strutting his stuff for all the lenses pointed at him.

They settled into a pattern of photographing every other day; allowing time for Chris to edit the photos she’d taken the day before.  But, like most plans it was difficult to implement and long after their departure, many photos still sat unedited on her computer.  As much as she wanted to capture views at dawn, their late, sunset-light capturing schedule just didn’t enable them to depart the RV before late morning.  But they enjoyed the photo ops the day hikes afforded so completely that there were few regrets.

The vertical ascents of thousands of feet from the valley floor took some getting used to but, day by day and step by step, Chris and Jay could feel their leg muscles firming and their breath coming easier as they tackled ever longer and steeper trails.  The Emerald Pools trails were their first and the ones with a manageable vertical drop.  The series of trails led to several pools of water created by skinny, wispy waterfalls dropping a thousand feet or more in different places along the cliff’s edge.  As exotic as the trail name sounds, making one envision clear, green, water created by some phenomenon of the area, they were named for the green algae that collects in them during the warmer seasons.  It was evident to Chris and Jay that the real photo ops on this trail would be when the snow melts forced torrents of icy liquid over the ledges in showy displays of seasonal change.  But it was a good hike to get a taste of Zion.

A wide angle view from the upper-most Emerald Pool.

Most of the photos the travelers had seen of Zion were of visitors hiking in The Narrows.  It is reached via the famed Riverside Walk, a two-mile round trip, paved stroll over the flat terrain of the valley floor which ends at a viewing platform surrounded by sheer rock faces which “narrow” to a slot canyon.  The snow melt that spring was so voluminous that for weeks the river barreled out of The Narrows, at a torrential pace, carrying millions of cubic feet of sediment, collected along its path, making further exploration for Chris and Jay impossible. 

A portion of the Virgin River as it exits The Narrows.

Not all of Zion National Park can be reached from the main valley so, an hour’s drive was necessary to explore Kolob Canyon located in the northwest section of the Park.  The landscape was so different from Zion Canyon the area could have been hundreds of miles away.  Finger Canyons, created from eons of stream-caused erosion, sliced through the breadth of the massive, burnt orange escarpments. 

One of the finger canyons in the Kolob Canyon area of the Park.

Most of the trails, in this section of the Park, were rated moderate to strenuous so, Chris and Jay decided to do the short, flat, five-mile round-trip Taylor Creek hike, which led to the Double Arch Alcove, rather than the thirteen-mile treks.   When they arrived at the trailhead, the weather was heavily overcast with roaring winds.   Rain clouds threatened but had so far only dropped light showers.  They figured they would be snug inside a protective canyon and forged ahead. 

One of two settlers’ cabins along the trail.

Once inside the canyon they were protected from the winds but found they had to cross Taylor Creek repeatedly.  It seemed they were walking a fairly straight trail which traversed a winding stream.  Chris hardly slowed down at the crossings as she lightly stepped from water-washed stone to water-washed stone to cross the three-stride wide stream.  In contrast, Jay was like a little old man testing his footing on the rocks and planting his hiking poles solidly in the water before taking another step.

The showers increased in frequency and intensity preventing the hikers from making their destination.  Warnings of flash floods abound in the region and without knowledge of how much rain had fallen upstream, the steady rain spooked them enough to turn back.  Jay suddenly became much more skilled at stream crossing and in no time was keeping up with his bride.

Chris and Jay crossed Taylor Creek 46 times and didn’t even get to the end of the canyon.

The most memorable hike was the ascent to the West Rim Trail, considered a “Must Do” by the creators of a local trail guide.  The Easy Reference section of the guide also labeled it as having cliff edges and drops, blistering sun mid-day, and was “Stair Master” difficult.  Sounded like a good day’s adventure to Chris and Jay!  By the time they tackled it, late in their two-week visit, they’d toughened up quite a bit and were adequately prepared with plenty of water, hiking poles, sturdy boots and broad brimmed hats.  Frequent stops to catch their breath on the switchbacks eased the pain a bit but at the end of the day they boarded the bus home grinning with the self-satisfying sense of accomplishment that only a challenging experience can deliver.  Oh, and the views were spectacular!

The dip in the cliff face is where the switchback to ascend the mountain lies.

One can either continue up Angel’s Landing (on the right) or

hike to higher ground behind, which is not visible in this view.

Jay decided it might be nice to become Camp Hosts at the Zion campground and, before leaving the Park for points north, he and Chris submitted volunteer applications to host next spring.  Neither of them dreamt of the opportunity their applications would lead to a mere nine days later.

Turning to at Page

Page, Arizona was founded in the 1950s to house workers when the Glen Canyon Dam was constructed to provide electricity to Arizona and Utah.  Located near the northern border of Arizona, the dam spans the Colorado River canyon creating the Lake Powell Reservoir in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area a 1.2 million acre wilderness where desert residents ply the waters with recreational power vessels of all types. 

Glen Canyon Dam and a section of the Colorado River canyon.

Chris was so excited to arrive at Page, the home of the Navajo Reservation, Antelope Canyon, The Wave and many other neat rock formations to photograph.  Unfortunately, she learned that professional photographers need permits to photograph in Antelope Canyon, which can take two weeks to acquire from the Navajo Film Office, and some of the other more remote locations in the Vermillion Cliffs area required access permits from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) offices as they limited the number of hikers each day to minimize the impact on the sandstone treasures.  So, she regrouped and, after two days of internet and local information research, discovered other areas that weren’t so difficult to access. 

Page is within minutes of the Utah border and their first trek was to the White Rocks in the southern part of the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, in Utah.  The road to them is not marked and the only way they knew about them was via a visit to the BLM Visitor Center where the helpful staff gave them directions to turn at mile marker 13 and follow the road 4-5 miles to “the gate”.  In possession of this detailed information they set out for their afternoon hike with high expectations of capturing some unique photos. 

A view from Page of Glen Canyon and the gray cliff level of

the Grand Staircase Escalante NM.

The semi truck in the foreground gives you an idea of the
 immensity of the cliffs.

Well, they found the road and passed through what might be considered several gates and after the allotted distance came to “The Gate” which was no more than a “U” shaped passage that allowed people through but not the cows who observed them from the other side of the fence.  Donning hats and backpack and camera equipment, Chris reached for her camera only to find it wasn’t there.  In the hustle to leave the RV and collect equipment, food, water, sunscreen, hiking poles, etc. the most important device had been left behind.  In seconds her mood deflated from eager expectation to  disappointment.  Undaunted, they stowed “the gear” and with only the handy point-and-shoot, decided that it was a good day for a hike and ambled off determined to not waste the day.

The White Rocks created the northern border of a shallow, dry canyon occupied by a small scattered herd of cows and their offspring.  The floor was covered in dry scrub and the hikers wondered what the bovines ate, much less drank.  They followed a dirt road about a mile into the valley and came upon the unusual rock formations they’d anticipated.  Some looked like wet, gray clay that had been whipped by beaters and left to dry into a stiff, swirly mound.  Cliffs of petrified white sand, sporting web-like etchings from eons of summer rains, supported darker brown layers of stone, and irregularly pocked walls resembled Swiss cheese in the amber late afternoon sun.  The relaxing hike and diverse sights were an ideal introduction to the offerings of the area and herding the cows was kind of fun too.

The White Rocks Canyon topped by another “step” of the Grand Staircase.

This formation looks like gray clay that has been whipped by a beater.

Petrified white sand etched by rivulets of rain.

The gorgeous weather of their first hiking day quickly turned foul with gray skies and gusting winds.  They decided to stay close to home and drove the few miles to the iconic Horseshoe Bend.  Chris was uncomfortable with the ideal positioning required to capture the view, sans foreground rocks, which entailed literally hanging the camera over the edge of the almost two thousand foot tall cliff, so she did the best she could with the lens that she had and they called it a day.

Chris would have preferred not to have the rocks jutting in from the left of this photograph but, you get the idea.

Jay felt compelled to complete several “must do” projects that had been plaguing him and he stayed behind a couple of days while Chris explored on her own.   The horticulturist in her was intrigued by the nearby Hanging Garden, a rocky outcropping that sheltered fern, columbine and other shade loving plants from the intense desert sun and she decided to check it out.  The expected green foliage turned out to be very sparse, with most of it brown and dry due to the lack of winter rain but she was entranced with the diversity of the surrounding rocks.  The afternoon was spent capturing abstracts of sandstone above and below her and wandering the red, rocky terrain in search of unusual compositions.

Beyond these rocks resides the Hanging Garden.

One of her abstracts from the day’s meanderings.

The road from Sedona to Page ascends a sheer cliff across the valley from the easternmost side of the Vermillion Cliffs National Monument and when Chris and Jay stopped at the overlook, tears welled in her eyes at the surrounding beauty.  Red faced mesas thousands of feet tall stretched before her as far as she could see and the green valley floor was slashed in two by the jagged canyon of the Colorado River as it coursed toward the Grand Canyon.   On Jay’s second day of project catch-up, Chris decided to find out what the area had to offer photographically. 

An idea of the vastness of the area.

This is one small portion of the Vermillion Cliffs.

Grand vistas are difficult to capture and convey to the viewer the immensity of what is before the photographer.  That is why Chris usually focuses on the decorative and interesting details of the western terrain and she certainly had food for her photography fodder at Vermillion Cliffs.  Fortunately the road at the base of the bluffs abounded with pull-off areas offering ideal vantage points for her lens.

The Marble Canyon area of Vermillion Cliffs are near the Navajo Bridge,

one of the few places to cross the Colorado River.

As the sun tracked west and rocks reflected less light she happened upon a house of rock built in the 1930s by Blanche Russell.  While traveling through the area in 1927 her car broke down and she was forced to camp overnight.  She liked the scenery so much she bought property and built her home around a massive rock at the base of the escarpments.  The roof had collapsed and only wood-framed holes remained where doors and windows once protected the occupant from the elements but to Chris it was her favorite type of subject – old and decrepit!!   She snapped the shutter until the sun dropped and couldn’t wait to tell Jay what he’d missed!!

This tiny abode is built around the huge boulder visible at the top of the structure.

Big Red finally got to show his traveling buddies what he was made of when Chris and Jay decided to photograph Padre Bay on the north shore of Lake Powell.  The overlook is accessed from a winding, rocky road that threads through terrain that seemed more appropriate for the moon.  They cavorted up, down and around mounds of gray and yellow pumice-like soil that swelled around them as they pressed toward their afternoon destination.

They drove through miles of this moonscape terrain.

The pumice gave way to low scrub and then to bare rock on the peninsula near the bay.  They resorted to 4WD low-range and Red expeditiously rose to the challenge of scaling foot-high rocks on a steep slope with Chris at the wheel and Jay out in front providing guidance.  The road ended but the water far below them was not Padre Bay.  Scanning the horizon they saw a road to the left ascending a distant ridge but nothing to connect them to it except a field of rock. 

The outing had taken longer than anticipated and the sun was low on the horizon.  Even if they managed to get to the bay, time would be spent photographing and it would be dark upon their return.  Unfamiliar with the territory and without guidance the adventurers decided it was a little too adventurous for them to press on and reluctantly retraced their way home stopping briefly for Chris to photograph an interesting area she’d spied on the way.

A small section of the Lake Powell shoreline.

To the Southern Paiute Indians wahweap means cedar or pinyon pine canyon while the Utes defined it as salt canyon which is an apt description of where they found the Wahweap Hoodoos.  Chris had seen photos of them and decided it was worth the 3.5 mile hike to capture for herself.  The man at the BLM Visitor Center supplied her with a map which included photos of landmarks and she and Jay set out much earlier than usual to catch the morning light. 

They lied.  The people that made up the maps lied.  Chris and Jay are not prime physical specimens but they are in better shape than most their ages and they do their fair share of walking.  It would normally take them about 40 minutes to briskly walk two miles.  They set out walking at 8:45 a.m. and by the time they reached the Hoodoos it was almost 11 o’clock!   They met a couple returning to their car who said their hand-held GPS declared it was over 5.5miles one way.  Since the dry stream bed they were instructed to follow squiggled through the valley floor like a sidewinder Jay surmised the 3.5 miles was “as the crow flies”.   Unfortunately, the added miles delayed their arrival and by the time they reached their destination, the best light for the view she wanted had passed but Chris found other angles and the outing was salvaged. 

The most iconic of the Hoodoos.

Their novice hiking legs manage almost without effort on flat terrain of 3 to 5 mile trails.  But, more than twice that distance in hot, dry, desert conditions was laborious especially when they were laden with twenty or more pounds of photo equipment, water, snacks and clothing.  On the return trip, rather than follow the long, winding path of the creek bed, they blazed trails through the scrub cutting off precious yards as their water was running low and each step was becoming increasingly more painful to toes, knees and hips.  After what seemed like hours of tramping over river rocks and chaparral,  Jay looked ahead and saw a bright reflection in the distance.  It was Big Red’s windshield reflecting the sun like a lighthouse beacon guiding them home.  It was well more than a mile away but the vision encouraged them forward.  Finally they glimpsed a red roofline, then a door.  They climbed up the creek bank and plodded the last 50 yards to “home” where they revitalized their exhausted bodies with food, drink and a place to rest their weary, dogs.

Fortunately they were not scheduled to leave for two days allowing them a day to recover and do something a little less strenuous – like cleaning Sonny.  Then on Saturday, April 30^th they made the three hour drive to Zion National Park and the land of “WOW”.

Arizona's Jewel

Over the last decade the name of Sedona, AZ has surfaced in conversations with Chris and Jay’s friends and in publications they have read.  They first heard about it from friends that had visited there in the late 90s.  As Chris expanded her knowledge of spiritual information, she learned that Sedona was known as a metaphysical Mecca because of its many vortices.  And lastly, during their cross-country trip in 2007, it was to be a good halfway meeting point for them to meet Helen and Janet, cousins of Chris’ who lived in Tucson.  Chris and Jay made it there but the blistering hot triple-digit temperatures in early July of that year prohibited the cousins from making the trip.  Everything happens for a reason and the experience of the setting was not wasted on the travelers.  Its rugged, red rock beauty rivals that of any place on earth and they decided a return trip was imperative.  Thus, on Thursday, April 14^th, the voyagers re-entered the valley and were just as mesmerized by the enchanted beauty of the late afternoon sun setting afire the red cliffs of Courthouse Butte and the iconic Bell Rock as they were on their first visit. 

During their stay in 2007 they were strolling through the Tlaquepaque Village and met Carol Hazelette at a shell shop where she worked and discovered that she and Chris shared the same birthday (but not the same year).  After settling in, at the only RV Park in town, Chris immediately called Carol and, to her surprise, received a dinner invitation for that evening.  None of them could believe that three years had passed since they had met and the conversation was filled with events transpired and learning more about each other.  Having worked for a local photographer in the past, Carol was helpful in suggesting locations that Chris would be interested in capturing.

The next day the first order of business was to locate a detailed trail map and create a plan for the rest of their sojourn.  The woman in the RV Park office recommended The Hike House, a hiking equipment and apparel store that was within walking distance.  Chris found exactly what she sought and the staff was wonderful at explaining the types of views and terrain at each trail. 

Feeling a bit out of shape from lack of activity over the winter, and with Jay’s back still tender, the low altitude, less strenuous Thunder Mountain trail seemed the best to begin their series of hikes.  It didn’t disappoint as Chris was taking photos from the trail head parking area and continued practically non-stop until the sun was setting and they were snugly back in Big Red.

 

Part of the Capitol Butte rock formations.

A Prickly Pear Cactus found along the trail.

The weather was ideal with sunny skies and soft breezes, but the hikers know from experience that the weather can turn hot or cold, windy or calm, sunny or rainy, within minutes.  Thus when one dresses for what they expect the weather to be, as in this case, sunny but cool, and it becomes sunny and hot, long, dark jeans tend to be burdensome and raise the body temperature to an uncomfortable state.  While in Phoenix Jay had bought a pair of convertible pants, (you know the ones that have the zipper just above the knees so that you can remove the lower leg portion when it gets too hot).  Chris decided that she needed the same considering the projected hiking schedule through the summer and that many times they start a hike in the warm afternoon and end it after dark when the temperature can drop 10 degrees or more.  So the next morning, back to The Hike House they went and stocked up on convertibles for both of them.

Decked out in their new duds, Cathedral Rock was the day’s destination.  It is a massive mound of red stone capped by jagged white capped rocks resembling –you guessed it- a cathedral.  They got a late start and mistakenly got off their intended path, wasting valuable sunshine but getting some great photos.  As they neared the crest of the mound, the “trail” became almost a vertical ascent with foot and hand holds in crevices containing potentially slippery gravel.  Heavy shade surrounded them and was fading fast with the setting sun. Mindful of the entire summer of wonderful adventures ahead of them they decided that reaching the summit was not worth the probable slip, fall, sprained or broken body part they might suffer if they continued so heavily laden with equipment and they backtracked to a lower level trail to see what photo ops the setting sun offered.

View of Twin Buttes from Cathedral Rock.

Chris came across a cluster of large blue agave and took several photos.

She applied a filter to this one to give it a painted appearance.

Brandishing flashlights on their way back to Big Red they passed a small group of the younger generation going the other way.  One young man stopped and asked them if they were going to the drum ceremony, which he explained they did on the night of the full moon during warm months.  Chris was interested in participating but all Jay wanted was food, drink and a place to lie down.  Maybe next time.

One of the things Chris and Jay learned about Carol was that she had owned a company which provided a hiking service for children.  She led hikes several times a week for groups of children ages 6 to 12.  Over the last few years Carol suffered a detached retina in one eye making it completely blind, and some retinal damage in the other causing mostly blurred vision.  As a result she no longer drives and seldom hikes the area’s trails – a pastime she cherished.   So, on Sunday Chris and Jay had her over for lunch and an afternoon hike.  They let her decide on the trail and off to Soldier Pass they went.

Carol did not act as though she had limited vision.  She took the lead most of the day, kept up a brisk pace with sure strides and was the consummate tour guide.  To keep things simple, light and fun, Chris left the photo gear at home and carried only the point and shoot but was still able to capture some photos of the trail’s interesting oddities including the Devil’s Sinkhole, Seven Sacred Pools, massive arches in the adjacent Brin’s Mesa and spectacular views.  Chris and Jay were pleased that they could treat Carol to an outing that she now seldom enjoys.

The Devil’s Sinkhole.

Three of the Seven Sacred Pools.

One of the beautiful views from the trail.

The Sedona area contains over one hundred trails through some of the most beautiful geography in the country.  The travelers planned to stop again in the fall on their way south and drink in more of its splendor.  But the schedule demanded a departure for Page, AZ and new adventures.

Phoenix Rises

When planning travel and destinations Chris and Jay try to stay near friends to visit, when possible.  Phoenix was one of those places.  In fact, three friends lived there and having plenty of time to share with all three is always a scheduling problem, especially when those friends most always have their own lives and that terrible, 4-letter word: WORK to deal with.  Thus it was with Matt & Sandy Hankerd.  Matt was Jay’s 20^th and last cook on his charter boat in the Caribbean and spent more than a year together both in charter and cruising Honduras and Belize and many fun adventures too numerous to mention.  Matt now is an Assistant Manager of a very posh restaurant in Scottsdale so has a non-standard work-week.  As luck would have it he was off on Tuesday and Wednesday as Chris and Jay were arriving.  This good news was made even better by Matt wanting to show off his culinary skills by inviting the weary travelers to join them for dinners and fed them profusely for nearly the entire week they were there.  The only downside was that Sandy was ill so Chris and Jay didn’t have near enough time to enjoy her company. 

After Matt left the boat he attended the Culinary Institute in Scottsdale and though he never worked as a chef after that he loves to cook.  Words simply cannot describe the scrumptious delights he can conjure up.  Chris took notes and asked many questions while Matt created his gastronomical treats.  Even Jay was attentive as Matt revealed many secrets to preparing incredible food.  When Matt wasn’t cooking he played tour guide and showed them the local spots including the best place to watch landing F-16’s at Luke AFB and the best grocery stores and cheapest fuel.

An F-16 preparing to land at Luke AFB.

Although Jay’s back was somewhat improved by the Tucson traditional Chiropractor, there was no way he would be able to function normally without further professional help.  The priority during the Phoenix visit was to find an A.R.T. (Active Release Therapy) Chiropractor that could actually correct the problem and get Jay back to one hundred percent.  The frustration is that finding ART Chiro’s is difficult; there just aren’t many of them around.  Four were found close to the RV Park in the Phoenix area and with the price of diesel near $4.00 per gallon finding one that was geographically desirable was imperative.  The nearest one was on vacation but the next closest was available.  Jay called and spoke to the most helpful Doctor's Assistant, Melissa, whose smile was evident in her voice, and happlily scheduled a Thursday appointment.  Dr. Michael Jarembek (or Dr. J, of Phoenix Sports & Spinal Medicine www.phoenixssm.com, 602-212-1122) a young, strapping, good-natured guy who performed the most thorough skeletal examination Jay had ever had.  Dr. J then proceeded to adjust things Jay didn’t even know he had; much less knew could be adjusted.  When finished, Jay arose from the adjustment table as if a Phoenix being reborn and at least an inch taller.  After witnessing the nearly magical results Chris immediately made an appointment for herself and they decided to stay in Phoenix an extra two days to allow time for more adjustments from this man with the magic hands.  They even video-taped the next sessions so they would not make a mistake while doing the exercises and ART therapy Dr. J taught them to keep them in good shape for the summer of hiking that was scheduled.  Between Matt’s food and Dr. J you can bet Chris and Jay will return when their summer activities are terminated in Utah and Montana.

The RV Park in Phoenix was chosen partly for its location but mostly for its price.  It seems most RV parks in the area are set up for winter “snow-birds” with “frosty” prices to match and it turned out the park’s heated pool and hot-tub were perfect for jay to relax his tortured muscles as his back was healing itself.

 As Chris was tending her garden, which travels with us, a rather well-fed Road-Runner paid her a visit walking right up to her and looking around.  All was well as Chris got some photos of the bird until it flew up on the table with her herbs.  All Chris could envision was the bird eating her garden that has had to endure creatures of all descriptions at all locations doing just that.  Needless to say the Road-Runner was given a quick flying lesson as Chris chased it away with great enthusiasm.  A few days later, as Jay’s former Commanding Officer from Houston, Dave Ciancaglini, visited for dinner, the bird dropped by for another visit.  Dave informed Jay that the birds were carnivores and would probably not bother the plants.  As if on cue the bird flew up onto the table and walked through all the planter boxes investigating what was there but then, showing no interest in the vegetation, flew away looking for a more pleasing hand out.

The visiting Road Runner.

Rounding out the triad of friends to visit with was a day spent with Tom Luttrell and Val Cialkowski who operated the Charter Boat “Prego” in the Virgin Islands when Jay lived there.  They had become good friends over the years and Chris had met them several years ago when they were all in Colorado together.  Jay only learned they had moved to Phoenix while in Tucson so it was an added plus to see them while there.

While traveling the country Chris wants to visit galleries that may show her work and there is one in Scottsdale that she has had contact with so a meeting with them was advantageous.  It so happened that Matt’s restaurant was only a few blocks away and he wanted Chris and Jay to visit him there.  Now chain restaurants aren’t usually on the list of places for them to patronize but they were completely blown away by the décor and quality of food.  Grand Lux Café would rival any restaurant anywhere in the world and FORCED Chris and Jay to over-eat to the point they not only took doggie bags home but had to walk off dinner at a nearby mall before they could climb into Big Red for the journey back to the RV Park.

The Grand Lux Café, the restaurant where Matt works.

On Thursday, the 14^th of April, the well-adjusted (chiropractically speaking) and stuffed (gastronomically speaking) travelers departed Phoenix heading to Sedona, AZ where the spring and summer of serious photo work was to begin.