Canyon Fever

Our first stop after leaving Las Vegas was at Valley of Fire State Park, north of Lake Mead and named after the bright red rock formations throughout the area. We did a couple of scenic canyon hikes (White Domes & Mouse's Tank trails). There were plenty of petroglyphs along the trails and another very well preserved set near our campsite at Atlatl Rock.

We then moved on to Zion National Park in Utah (west of St. George), a gem that we discovered last year, and one that we will continue to return to. It offers steep cliff walls, attracting the world's best rock climbers, and challenging hikes with dramatic elevation changes and spectacular views from the summits. This year we hiked to Observation Point through Echo Canyon, a 13 km round trip. It wasn't as technically challenging as the Angel's Point hike we did last year but we climbed to a higher altitude and the views were just as spectacular. Dinner at Oscar's (great hamburgers) was a well deserved treat for our efforts.

Then we discovered that the Grand Canyon North Rim road had not yet closed for winter and decided to drive down and check out the view from the north side. Pictures do not do justice to the panoramic views down this gigantic canyon. Unfortunately, other than some short rim trails which we did, the only way to fully experience the canyon is to hike down to the Colorado River and the round trip from the north side is 45 km's and two days (overnight at Phantom Ranch by the river). We weren't sure we were up for that, especially since the return trip is all uphill and had to be completed in the shorter daylight hours at this time of year. Without enough alcohol in the van to convince Rhonda overnight to take on this challenge we bypassed staying at the empty north rim campground (there was snow on the ground, 8500 feet elevation) and drove back to Utah where it was warmer. Our first stop was at Monument Valley where there are striking stand-alone rock formations that have attracted numerous Hollywood film productions (westerns). Then it was on to Natural Bridges NP which has some of the world's largest natural rock bridge formations. I unsuccessfully tried to climb the larger ones for the ultimate picture shot. It was fun trying however. See if you can find Waldo in the 3rd picture.

Monticello, an hour south of Moab, was our next stop, positioning us for some great hiking trips into Arches NP and Canyonlands NP the next few days. However, the overnight temperature dropped to -8C and our water lines froze in the van. With similar forecasts for the next few days we decided that it was best to skip Moab and head back home before we did any serious damage to the van's plumbing system. The Moab area looked lovely.............more red rock canyons to explore, so we will need to return when the weather is more agreeable with our home away from home.

We found a warm return route using the internet but it required a 14 hour drive yesterday from Monticello, Utah to Great Falls, Montana. That only left us with a 6 hour drive today and we arrived home safely this afternoon. It's hard to believe that 7 weeks went by so quickly. Hopefully the memories of our trip will last a little longer but I guess that is the point of keeping a journal (it's not just for family and friends!).

Cheers.

Rhonda's Bucket List Party

OK, this will have to be a short update because what happens in Vegas is supposed to stay in Vegas......but there are a few stories which must be told. First of all we had a fabulous time with our neighbours, Lorne & Sue and Dave & Penny, who flew down to be with us for 4 days to support Rhonda in achieving the first item on her bucket list, seeing Bette Midler perform "live". Her performance matched the build-up and it was a great way to start our 4 day party. The following night we had dinner at Casa di Amore, a small Italian family run place where we all had great meals and some had too much Amarone (on half price Monday it was hard to resist). It was a very entertaining evening, interacting with other guests and the staff, and the recovery time turned out to be significant for 'some' of the group.

We also went to see Cirque du Soleil's Zumanity (a disappointment), spent some time at the Bellagio pool, found time for afternoon cocktails and enjoyed fine dining every night. It was sad parting with our good friends last night but it will give our bodies a chance to recover over the next week.

Low point in our lives?

The SK6ERS concert was great. While they shared the bill with Tyrone Wells the packed bar at Slim's (owned by Boz Scaggs) seemed wired for Stephen Kellogg and they rocked........still can't figure out why they haven't been discovered by more people. While we were in San Francisco we also had time to re-visit Sausalito (where we previously had a wonderful houseboat holiday with our neighbours), and toured around the city by foot and cable car. Then it was off for a quick trip through Yosemite NP and Mammoth Mountain where the ski season was already underway (with limited conditions).

We then spent 4 fabulous days in Death Valley. The daytime temperature was consistently in the mid-20'sC and the night-time skies presented a spectacular star show (since there were no city lights for hundreds of miles) with the milky way very visible. We hiked every day and really enjoyed the myriad of rock formations and colours in the canyons and on the steep walls. Our favourites included Mosaic Canyon (near Stovepipe Wells), the Ubehebe Crater rim trail (near Scotty's Castle which we also toured), Golden Canyon / Gower Gulch, Natural Bridge and Dante's Ridge (near Furnace Creek). We also made brief stops to tour the Devil's Golf Course (salt deposits) and Badwater Basin where the elevation is 282 feet below sea level and it was smoking hot during our short hike....I can't imagine how anyone could spend more than a few minutes there in the summer. It turned out to be a perfect time to visit Death Valley.......great weather, no crowds and our pick of sites in the national park campgrounds. With minimal services available it was just us and nature, and we had a wonderful time exploring and getting in good shape before heading on to our next adventure in Sin City.

Hotel California

The weather remained lovely (sunny and warm) as we drove down the California coast so we made numerous stops for short hikes out to lighthouses and sightseeing. The sea lions and surfers were also enjoying the moment, especially in the Port Arena and Salt Point beach areas. We stopped staying in State Parks once we arrived in California because the daily rates jumped from $12-17 to $35.........with the state nearing bankruptcy Arnold wanted to close some of the parks to save money but protests started and the decision was made to hike the rates at all state parks in order to increase revenues that would then offset the losses. Unfortunately, it has had the opposite effect.......people like ourselves don't see much point in paying more to stay in a state park when they can stay in a RV park where you also get all the services that the state parks don't provide (electrical, water, cable, wi-fi). We can get by without those extra services, and did so in Washington and Oregon in order to appreciate the nicer scenery and hiking that is often available, but Arnold has found the breaking point where it seems to be a lose-lose situation. He has fallen out of favour (with the locals we talked to) and people seem to be looking forward to the end of his term a year from now.
We have spent the last 4 days in wine country. The Russian River and Sonoma areas continue to be our favourites, moreso than Napa. The wineries are smaller and the conversations with the hosts are more sincere which seems to make the wine taste even better........at least for Rhonda on this trip as I continued in my role as DD with some tastings of the sweeter varietals (and perhaps a few others for a taste bud sense check!). Our best experiences were at:
- Family Wineries, near Healdsburg, a co-op venture of 4 smaller family wineries, where we had a very entertaining time with our host Sean and a pair of lifelong buddies from Atlanta (Eddy and Dan). The wines were lovely and we had lunch in their picnic area which had a great view and included a bocci area and a garden where guests were encouraged to pick the flowers.
- Chateau St. Jean in Sonoma, a return visit to one of our favourites. After keeping Rhonda under control for a few days (buying several bottles a day), the Cinq Cepages Cabernet won her heart (I was even able to get a little enjoyment out of a brief taste....an encouraging sign), and a half-case of the 2005 vintage was purchased.
- Jessup in Yountville, a very small winery in the Napa area. Our complimentary tasting, becoming more rare all the time, included a tray of cheeses and dried fruits to pair with the $30-60 wines we sampled, and some chocolate to go with the 2 port style wines that they produce. A bottle of the zinfandel port was acquired to help me along with my taste bud journey.
We have settled in for the night at an RV park a few miles north of the Golden Gate bridge. On Saturday we will drive into San Francisco for the day and walk around the city before heading to the Stephen Kellogg concert in the evening which we are looking forward to. Our next post will likely come from the Death Valley area where we hope to do some hiking (to help work off the chocolate and port).

-