Bryce Canyon National Park

Who Knew A Hoo Doo Would Be So Spectacular?

We left Zion National Park around 9:00 a.m. and headed out of the park towards Bryce Canyon National Park. The Zion tourist literature describes this route as windy and picturesque. We were not disappointed. We went through a one mile long tunnel that took us to the other side of the mountain which we discovered was completely different. The rocks were different colors and shapes. We stopped at the Checkerboard Mesa where you can see both vertical and horizontal patterns in the rock walls. It did resemble a checkerboard or a large quilt.

We arrived at Bryce Canyon National Park around 11:30 a.m. We stopped at the Visitor’s Center and then drove the 18 mile scenic drive into the farthest point of the park. From here, we reversed our path and stopped at each recommended overlook for a panoramic view of the canyon. The weather was mild at 44 degrees with some snow still on the ground and mountains. The highest elevation was at 9000 feet. It is truly amazing how the winds, rain, and erosion carved out a canyon that resembled giant sand castles with spirals, and towers. The small formations of rock are given the name of Hoo doo’s. The rocks are mainly red, pink and white. We decided to hike the Navajo and the Queens Garden trails. Contrary to yesterday at Zion where our hikes took us up into the mountain, today the trails lead down into the deep canyon. We hiked a total of three miles in two hours. We had to look up, down and all around so that we would not miss any of the spectacular sights. This caused me to take 272 pictures, a new personal record and each one worthy of a National Geographic cover. Don’t I wish!

We have found each national park to be unique and different from the next. This had made it difficult for us to say which park has been our favorite. Sequoia was all about the giant trees, Death Valley was about color and vast desert spaces, Zion was about mammoth mountains, and Bryce is about intricately carved rock formations.

Tomorrow we leave for Capital Reef National Park. We are looking forward to seeing how this park compares to the others.

I have posted pictures (no, not all of them) at http://picasaweb.google.com/tschick62/BryceCanyonNationalPark?feat=directlink

More later . . .

Zion National Park Day 2

We rode our bikes the 1 ½ miles from the hotel to the entrance of Zion today. We then rode the 1 ½ mile Pa’rus Trail which follows the Virgin River to the Canyon Junction shuttle stop. We got on the shuttle and rode to the Zion Lodge stop which is the trailhead for the Lower, Middle, and Upper Emerald Pool trails. We hiked these trails for a combined length of four miles. The emerald pools are the result of water seeping through cracks in the mountain and cascading down as waterfalls. The moss on the rocks gives the pools their green color. There were many large boulders in the area and hikers were climbing and resting on them taking in this setting. It was beautiful and we did not want to leave. We then returned to the Zion Lodge and had lunch on the outdoor patio while we planned the balance of our day. We decided to take another hike this time on the Angels Landing trail. This trail is described as strenuous and the description was accurate. The narrow and windy trail goes up 1488 feet and provides great views of the canyon. The hike was our most difficult to date with the last half mile to Angles Landing up the side of the mountain with chains serving as handholds for the narrow passage. We decided this section of the trail look too adventurous for us and elected to go an additional ¼ mile along the West Rim trail. The views were wonderful and all the effort of this hike was well worth it. The rock formations are beautiful with a mixture of red, green and white colors. We were surrounded by canyon walls during parts of the hike. To our amazement, there were two guys who were running up the trail. This could certainly be described as extreme training. Angles Landing is appropriately named as we felt closer to heaven. We returned to the stop and gather up our bikes for the ride back to our hotel. We stopped along the way to shop and browse at several stores. We ended up with dinner at one of the many restaurants.

Without a doubt, this was our most physically challenging day. So much for a relaxing day by the pool!!

We leave in the morning for Bryce Canyon National Park.

You can view pictures at: http://picasaweb.google.com/tschick62/ZionNationalParkDay2?feat=directlink

More later . . .

Zion National Park Day 1

We left Las Vegas this morning at 9:00 a.m. and arrived at Zion National Park at 12:30 p.m. We checked into our hotel and then ate lunch. This national park is different from the others visited to date in that there is a shuttle bus service which takes you into and around in the park. No car traffic is permitted on the main roadway after April 4th. The shuttle was very convenient and easy to use. There are eight stops along the route and we rode the entire length of the park (about 45 minutes) to the last stop. We hiked the Riverside Walk trail which was 2 miles long and took about 1 ½ hours. The trail took us to the point called the Narrows where the canyon walls are met on both sides by the Virgin River. This is a popular hiking spot in the summer since you can hike up river in the river. This is the only way to reach up river since the canyon walls go right up to the river. We then got on the shuttle for a short trip to Weeping Rock trail. This short but steep ½ mile trail ends at a rock alcove with dripping springs coming down on top of you. We then got back on the shuttle and walked the Grotto Trail. This ½ mile trail was right on the Virgin Rivers edge. It was now after 5:00 p.m. and we returned to our hotel room for a swim in the pool and soak in the hot tub. This really wiped us out! We managed to get dressed and get dinner without falling asleep in our meals.

We have decided to spend another night here. We will take in some additional hikes in the morning and then relax the remainder of the day poolside.

I have posted pictures at: http://picasaweb.google.com/tschick62/ZionNationalParkDay1?feat=directlink

More later . . .

Death Valley National Park

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

We were up and gone at 8:00 a.m. for our drive to Death Valley National Park. On the previous day, we were traveling South on the West side of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Today, we traveled North along the East side of the range. It was very eerie when we arrived at the entrance of Death Valley National Park. The single lane windy road with numerous dips took us through a vast deserted land surrounded by mountains. We stopped in Stovepipe Wells at the ranger station to get park information. We then went to our first destination of Furnace Creek Visitor Center. We watched a short movie about the park, loaded up our water supply, and started out. It was 93 degrees. From there, we stopped at the Harmony Borax Works. This is the site where borax was produced from salt and then transported by the 20 mule teams which Borax made famous in their television commercials. We then went to Badwater basin which is the lowest point in North America being 282 feet below sea level. This was the site of a lake which evaporated leaving the fragile white salt deposits. We drove to Devils Golf Course which has salt deposits similar to Badwater basin. The difference is that these deposits are much higher and resemble coral reefs. It looked like a large field of frosted covered shredded wheat. We then drove the nine mile loop of Artists Drive. This is a very beautiful view of colorful mountains with unique formations the result of volcanic activity. The mountains were green, yellow, salmon pink, gold, chocolate brown resembling an artist’s palette. We then took a short hike into Golden Canyon. It was very hot and windy. The canyon walls were molded by rain runoff into spectacular shapes. We then drove to Zabriskie Point. This was a lookout point of a panoramic view of the valley. Our last stop of the day was at Dantes View. This lookout is located 5000 feet above the valley floor and provides a view of the lowest and highest locations in the park.

We then drove to Las Vegas where we spent the night. We will be on our way to Zion National Park tomorrow.

You can view pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/tschick62/DeathValleyNationalPark?feat=directlink

More later . . .

Kings Canyon Day 2

Monday, April 6, 2009

We drove South into Sequoia National Park to the General Sherman tree. This is the largest tree in existence. It was quite spectacular. While there, we took a two mile hike on the Congress Trail which was snow covered. There were waterfalls and streams along with special groupings of giant sequoias named after presidents and congressional branches of government including The House and The Senate. It was a very quiet and peaceful hike with few individuals on the trail besides us. We left and then drove to the Giant Tree Museum. This was also the trailhead for the three mile Moro Rock hike. Moro Rock is a granite dome 300 vertical feet up. There are 400 steps to get to the top which provides a 360 degree view of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. This was a strenuous hike, but well worth the effort. While on the top of Moro Rock, we met individuals from Paris, Switzerland and Slovakia. Throughout our entire trip we have met individuals from many different parts of the world.

We began our drive out of the park and encountered a very windy scenic road with spring wildflowers and blossoming trees. The road followed the windy bolder laid Kaweah River which was running forcefully.

We left Sequoia for our drive to Death Valley National Park. Along the way we saw miles of fruit and nut trees. We stopped in Tehachapi CA for the night.

I have posted pictures at:

http://picasaweb.google.com/tschick62/SequoiaAndKingsCanyonDay2?feat=directlink

More later . . .

On the Road Again

Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Park

Ellen and I left Los Altos for Ohio on Saturday, April 4th. We were able to see Elise’s first T-Ball game of the season. What fun!! They play 3 innings with each player getting to bat during their half of the inning. There are no outs. The last batter is the “home run “hitter which means she/he can run all the bases instead of stopping at first. Elise and Ella (her teammate) made the play of the game. A groundball was hit to Elise who caught it and threw to Ella playing at first base. Ella caught the ball as well for the only true out of the entire game. We were all quite proud of Ellie’s hitting as well.

Saying our goodbyes was difficult for everyone. The kids did much better than me. I really do not like it when we must leave Jen, Dan, Elise, Thomas and Julia. We had a great trip. I could not have asked for a better way to start my retirement. We have built many memories. We are already looking forward to our June return trip to California.

We drove four hours to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park. The drive east of Fresno, CA was through an agricultural area with many fruit and nut farms. The road up and into the Sierra Nevada mountain range was beautiful. We have been on a number of windy roads with beautiful scenery on our trip. This was no exception. We checked into our room at the John Muir Lodge and enjoyed dinner. This morning we began our exploring of the area with a drive to Hume Lake. This manmade lake was built in the late 1800’s for the logging industry. There was a three mile trail around the lake which was very nice. We are able to use for the first time our walking sticks (thanks to our son-in-law Dan) which we really like. We left Hume Lake for General Grant Grove to view the General Grant Tree which is also known as “The Nation’s Christmas Tree.” This tree is the second largest tree in the world and is named after Ulysses S. Grant. We then drove a short distance into Sequoia National Park and stopped at an overlook of the Sierras. Later, we hiked most of the way to Panoramic Point. This was quite strenuous and uphill all the way. After that, we were done for the day.

Tomorrow we will drive 35 miles South into and through Sequoia National Park. We have plans to visit several recommended points of interest before moving on to our next destination.

I have posted pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/tschick62/SequoiaAndKingsCanyon?feat=directlink

More later . . .

Return Trip to Ohio

We start our return trip back to Ohio Saturday after being away for 75 days. It is hard to believe the time has gone so quickly. Our road trip out to California was great. We were able to see many interesting and beautiful parts of the country.

Our time in Los Altos with Jen, Dan and the grandchildren was memorable. We were able to walk Elise to school in the morning, read to her class, pick her up after school or her art class, help with homework, take Thomas to school, take Julia to Gymboree, go to ice skating lessons, soccer lessons, hikes, bike rides, and a trip to Monterey Bay Aquarium all with our family. It was great! Being able to stay 9 houses down from Jen and Dan's was very convenient. Elise and Thomas were able to spend the night with us and use the hot tub and pool. The pool water was cold but, we went in anyway. Thomas and I scored a 1000 from judge Elise for our dual cannonballs. We have watched Julia change each day with new words that often amaze us. She seems to understand everything we tell her. I love it when she runs and jumps into my arms.

Jen and Dan have been great and recently treated us to an overnight stay in San Francisco. Ellen and I walked the city, took a ferry boat sightseeing trip, and had a wonderful meal overlooking the Pacific and a beautiful sunset. It was another great memory of our stay in California.

As much as we want to stay here, we also know that it is time to go. We will return to our new lives at home with me retired and Jen, Dan and the kids back to their routines without us, at least for a few months. We have plans to be back in CA in June for a week. I am already counting the days.

We have an ambitious return trip planned with stops in a number of national parks in California and Utah. We are committed to remaining flexible with our travel plans and will take it as it comes. We think it will take about 14 days to get back to our house.

More later . . .