5-30-16 Fossils and Volcanoes (NW Colorado, SW Wyoming, and SE Idaho)

 

We left the Colorado Plateau area and headed north and west from Moab, UT.  The Colorado Plateau was a great place for Linda (and Bob) to get a better understanding of geology. The entire area has been uplifted almost as a single unit and you can see the interrelationships of the various rock layers of the plateau at each of the national parks and monuments we visited from the Grand Canyon through Utah.  The brightly colored rock left bare by dryness, lack of vegetation cover, and erosion allow you to easily see the various rock layers.  The oxidation of iron (rust) gives rise to the famous “red rocks” along with all sorts of interesting and very photogenic features such as hoodoos, domes, goblins, arches, natural bridges, slot canyons, etc.  It has the greatest concentration of the US National Parks and Monuments, many which we visited.  See our two prior posts for details. If you haven’t been there, try to visit sometime – it’s fabulous.

 

NPS Picture of New Dinosaur, Utah Museum

Our first brush with fossils came while we were in Page, AZ, earlier in our trip; we had stopped at a Visitor Center for Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.  The various rock formations here document a time when southern Utah went from being underwater to a lush coastal and marsh environment where dinosaurs roamed.  The dinosaurs here are different from the dinosaurs that lived roughly at the same time in nearby areas. The exhibit was mostly about the dinosaurs that lived between 75 and 95 million years ago.  

 

 

Atrist Rendition of New Dinosaur, Mural at Visitor Center
 

The curator, an archeologist, Merle Graffam, gave a great discussion about the type of fossils to be found here.  In fact, he discovered a new dinosaur, with feathers, that was eventually named after him.   It was closely related to or the same as a dinosaur fossil found only in Russia.  

We headed into the fossil-rich areas of NW Colorado, SW Wyoming and SE Idaho.  Geologic conditions of shallow seas, freshwater lakes, ponds, bogs and streams were the environments for dinosaurs, fish and other vertebrate animals.   These conditions generated and preserved a lot of fossils from various geologic ages. Fortunately for us, only partial erosion of these fossil-bearing rocks and layers through geologic time have left many of the fossils in place and accessible to us in the 20^th century. 

Exhibit at Dinosaur National Monument

The geologically-oldest stop was Dinosaur National Monument in NW Colorado and NE Utah.  The fossils were discovered in 1909 and protected in 1915. It is very interesting to see the earliest photos of spectators traveling great distances in horse-drawn wagons and the earliest autos to this remote area to see these fossils.  The intense interest and efforts by these people was incredible, generated only by printed newspapers and magazines – this is true for all these discoveries of nature    These fossils are about 150 million years old. 

 

In_site (In Place) Dinosaur Bones in Quarry Wall. Exhibit Hall

 The largest fossil “quarry” there contains the most concentrated and diverse collection of Jurassic Period dinosaur bones, including complete skeletons which are now housed in several of the world’s greatest museums.  The fossil bones have been left in place so you can see over 1500 dinosaur fossils exposed on the cliff face inside the Quarry Exhibit Hall.  The hall was actually built around the quarry wall to protect and preserve it.  It is hypothesized that the quarry wall represents a deep pool on a stream that collected the larger animals that died quickly during a flood and swept into the pool, and that were then preserved as mud (now solid rock) covered the dead dinosaurs. This could explain the huge number and concentration of only large dinosaur’s bones….the smaller Jurassic dinosaurs would have been swept further downstream.

Excellent Preserved Fish at Fossil Butte

Displaying even younger fossils, Fossil Butte National Monument, “America’s Aquarium in Stone”, is located in SW Wyoming. It has the best visitor center and fossil exhibition of all the places we visited.  A large lush lake in a warm, wet environment about 52 million years ago generated a plethora of life forms in an abundant ecosystem.  A single “limestone” layer captured the entire ecosystem, and the fine sediments, along with an anoxic and salty bottom environment, caused everything, including soft body parts, feathers, and scales to be preserved.  The fossils have amazing details and the plants and animals are preserved almost to perfection. It is estimated that over two million specimens have been found in the last 125 years.   Today, less than 1.5% of Fossil Lake is protected and managed by the National Park Service. Fossil Butte National Monument is a site that promotes the protection of this world-class paleontological heritage.  You can purchase excellent quality fossils in nearby Kemmerer, WY which have been dug out from the private (not protected) quarries in the area.

Bob with Hagerman Horse

The youngest fossils were found at Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument in SE Idaho.  The fossils found here are only about 3 to 4 million years old, and represent several different ecosystems: wetlands and grasslands. These fossils have been useful in helping to provide a record of evolutionary changes in the plants and animals as the landscape and climate evolved.  The fossil beds protect more than 220 fossilized species including the unique “Hagerman Horse”, the extinct North American horse (the wild western horses we know were from the Spanish conquistadors in the 1500s).  As a note, there also used to be a camel-like creature that is now extinct.

The visitor center at Hagerman was not up to usual Park Service standards, and with the exception of the horse, could easily be by passed. However, this visitor center also had a very interesting exhibit about the nearby Minidoka National Historic Site where thousands of Japanese Americans (and other Asian races) were interned during WWII.  We have heard of these activities, but this exhibit is the most graphic and informative we have ever seen.

Seeing various fossil beds so closely together gave us a greater perspective on the various geologic ages and how they relate to each other.  The most astonishing fact is that there have been at least 4 mass extinction events (at least 50% of the species extinct)  in the worlds 4.5 billion year history.  Most of us are aware of only the one that supposedly “destroyed” the dinosaurs. 

We departed the fossil fields and continued into Southeast Idaho and the famous Snake River Valley. On our first night in Idaho we parked at the Pocatello Elks Lodge located in downtown Pocatello near the once-huge Union Pacific Railroad yard. Interestingly, the city of Pocatello and the Elks Lodge have closely intertwined history related to the Union Pacific Railroad.  The City was established in 1860, as a stop on the Union Pacific Railroad during the gold rush.  During the railroad’s days of massive employment, the Elks Lodge had over a thousand members who found it convenient to use the facilities (bar) on their way home from work. Now, the Lodge has only 180 members.  We spent a couple of enjoyable hours at the bar talking with a few members about the Lodge and City history. One robust, sophisticated and very articulate and savvy member is noteworthy. He is a former railroad worker and is 90 years old and has been an Elk for 65 years and has many interesting things to talk about.  Bob told him that he hopes to be standing at an Elks Lodge bar (or any bar) when he 90 years old telling his life stories to anyone who will listen  This is just one example of the interesting and “informative” characters we are meeting on this trip

Linda at Shoshone Falls ID on her 65th

We visited Shoshone Falls on the Snake River in Twin Falls, Idaho which is nicknamed the “Niagara Falls” of the west (frankly there is little comparison). We were destined to see a lot of the Snake River over the next few weeks from here to its origin in Yellowstone National Park. Linda celebrated her 65^th this day.  

 The Snake River Plains in Idaho is much about volcanos, cinder cones, and lave flows. We drove north and east in the Snake River Plain across miles of older lava flows with shallow soil and heavily irrigated crops and progressively younger flows and cones that looked like they were deposited yesterday.  We spent two days camping and hiking in the Craters of the Moon National Monument where NASA actually trained for moon walks.  The Craters NM includes extensive lava flows and several cinder cones from volcanic eruptions over the Great Rift “hot spot”.

Craters Volcanoes and Lava Fields

This is an opportunity to see “Plate Tectonics” in action where the North American and Pacific plates are colliding and magma is relatively close to the surface. Over the past 18 million years or so, this hotspot in the earth’s mantle has remained stationary while the earth’s crust (North American Plate) has moved southwest “moving” the hotspot from under the Snake River Plains to its current location under Yellowstone NP.  This hotspot has generated the succession of violent eruptions with floods of lava flows and has the potential for eruptions in the great Yellowstone caldera. 

 

Craters of the Moons Lava Field from Space, NASA

The lava fields are visible from space; large totally black areas in an otherwise green landscape. 

Spring flowers on 7000 yr old cinder cone, Craters

The lava fields from an eruption about 2000 years ago have almost no growth on them.  The cinder cones and lava fields from an eruption about 7000 years ago, have some low grasses, and a few trees.  It is hard to believe that it takes 7000 years for the lava to break down enough to support plant life. 

Bob hiking Lava Tubes Craters of Moon

We hiked the lava fields and saw cinder cones, splatter cones and even walked through lava tubes. 
As a pleasant attraction from black lava flows and fossil fields, spring continues to follow us as we travel….wildflowers everywhere.  Even the older lava beds had small plants with tiny flowers on them.   

We continue to be awe of these beautiful environments and how God used the natural processes of nature to shape and reshape this incredible and dynamic planet Earth.  We are blessed to be able to make this trip and follow in the footprints of the earliest explorers of nature. Everyone should be so fortunate.

We now head east to Jackson Hole WY and the Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks.  We are looking forward to our niece, Breanna Adams, visiting us in Yellowstone to share in the wonders.

The weather has been colder than we expected, and we have had to use our propane heat every night and buy an extra blanket.  The days are getting warmer, but it is still early spring most of the places we are visiting.  

5-24-16 Red Rocks, Canyons, and Buttes (Southern Utah and the “Grand Circle”)

We departed Page AZ after our trips to Tucson and Panama and headed north to Southern Utah and the “Grand Circle” of:  Zion, Bryce, Capital Reef, Canyonlands and Arches National Parks, along with a few other interesting state parks, and national monuments.  By the way, no more A-Fib for Bob – he is doing great.  Thank God! We are blessed. Thanks to many of you for your expressed concern and information about similar experiences. 

The Patriarchs, Zion

We first drove further north and west on the uplifted Colorado Plateau through the Grand Staircase - Escalante National Monument to Zion National Park. In Zion, the cliffs tower above you. The park has become so popular that cars are prohibited on the road into the canyon.  There is a very efficient bus shuttle that works better than driving and parking.  We camped in the national park and the sunsets and sunrises were beautiful on the cliffs. 

 

 

 

Entrance to the Narrows

 

 We hiked a lot (as we did everywhere) but unfortunately, the famous “Narrows” hike was closed.  The Virgin River was running high and strong and the hike through a 20-ft wide canyon in the river water was impassible.  It would have been fun in normal water flows but we did “hike” up the mostly-paved Riverwalk to the Narrows entrance.  Bob hiked the famous Angels Landing trail.  He made it almost to the top beyond where you have to hold onto a chain along the wall, but he needed enough “gas in the tank” and strong legs for the return trip so he stopped;  plus it was very crowded on the ridge chain with other hikers coming down and the faster hikers going up. 

Angels Landing Top in distance
 

 

 

 



Trail Chain on Angel's Landing Hike

 

 

 

Zion Tunnel - Tight Fit

When we drove to Zion NP from Page, we went the long way around to the south entrance at Springdale. We had been told that the tunnel through the mountain at the eastern entrance was limited to motor coaches less than 13’1” in height (we are 13’6” with our antennas).  However, once we were in the park, we saw that coaches our size had successfully traversed the tunnel.  Bob got a pass to use the tunnel and we took our antennas down.  Because of the steep slope up and tight switchbacks, we could not tow the car.  Linda drove the car and Bob the RV.  The Park Service stops the traffic coming from the other direction, and the tunnel becomes one-way for the larger motor coaches.  Bob drove down the middle of the road through the tunnel - no problem, BUT he had to stay in the middle of the road.  It did save us about 140 miles of driving to Bryce NP.  

While at the Zion NP campground we met another couple, Ed and Mary Bowman.  We met because they have nearly the same Tiffin motor home as ours, and get this, they are also from St. Augustine, live in Davis Shores, and also belong to the St Augustine Elks (small world).  We spent time with them at Zion (including the Angel’s Landing hike together), and it turned out that we had reservations next to each other at Bryce – our and their next stop.  We enjoy making new friends and will be seeing them when we return home.   

Sand Dune, Coral Pink Sands State Park

From Zion, we headed to Bryce Canyon National Park, but on the way we stopped at Coral Pink Sands State Park.  The park is located between two large mountain ranges.  The prevailing winds funnel north through the “slot” and collect sand and dust from the red sandstone mountains on either side.  When the valley gets wider, the red dust and sand drop out of the wind and collect in high, pink sand dunes.  The sand is extremely fine and even squeaks when you walk on it.   



Hoodoos, Bryce

 

Bryce is the opposite experience of Zion; you are at the top looking down on the cliffs which have eroded into interesting “hoodoos” or vertical towers of red sandstone.  The hoodoos are everywhere along the cliffs on the eastern side of the plateau/park (Bryce Canyon is actually not a canyon).  Bryce was at the highest part of the Colorado Plateau, where all of these 5 parks are located.  

 

 

 

Snowing at Bryce

 
 
At 9000 feet, it SNOWED two of the days we were there.  The sunsets and sunrises over “The Amphitheatre”, which is a large area of hoodoos seen from multiple overlooks, are spectacular. We had a wonderful dinner with our new St Augustine friends, the Bowmans, at The Lodge at Bryce. 

 

 

 

 

 

Bryce Amphitheatre with Hoodoos
 

While at Bryce we visited the nearby Kodachrome State Park to see the sedimentary pipes/“sentinels” which are weird shaped columns of “extruded” hard cemented sand formed far below the surface and then exposed by erosion.  The tall white columns are striking among the red cliffs and buttes.

 

Pronghorn Sheep than almost ran over Linda

At both Zion and Bryce, we had reservations in the park itself.  It was great.  Lots of wildlife:  deer, elk, pronghorn sheep, antelope, even prairie dogs. Linda was almost run over by two pronghorn sheep that wanted to go where she was standing and taking pictures.   There are lots of small mammals and a plethora of birds – trying to build nests in the early spring.  The night sky is not polluted (no lights) and the quiet is wonderful.  On the whole, we are really enjoying staying in the parks when possible. 

 

Unlike last year’s sojourn with mostly developed campgrounds with facilities, during this year’s trip many of the parks are “primitive” sites – no or limited electric, water or sewer.  Our coach is self-contained and easier to manage than the boat at anchor (parking is easier than anchoring).  We have to watch our power usage, but the solar panels we installed over the winter are doing a great job.  We are using less than half the generator time than we did last year.  With management, we can go a while on a 100-gallon tank of fresh water.  On the whole, so far, it has been easy to “dry camp” as it is called.  We dry camped at Bryce and our next few stops in southern Utah.

 

Capital Reef Western Upthrust

From Bryce, we headed east to Capital Reef NP- not as well-known as the first two parks we visited.  However, in some ways we liked it better.  Unlike Zion and Bryce, we can see the cliffs of Capital Reef from a hundred miles away. (Zion is hidden until you enter the valley, and you cannot appreciate Bryce until you are close enough to look down at the hoodoos).   The Capital Reef National Park encompasses a 100-mile north-south “fold” in the earth, and the upthrust on the eastern side of the monoclinal fold is spectacular.

 

Canyon Gorge Rd (a wash)

 

 

 

 

 

Large, deep canyons traverse the fold from east to west, and we drove and hiked Canyon Gorge Road, a wash (dry river bed) through one particularly spectacular canyon that cuts all the way through to the other side. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Owachomo Bridge, Natural Bridges NM

From Capital Reef, we made a quick, two-night stop at Natural Bridges National Monument.  It is a small very remote park with the best “night sky” in the national park system.  There are 3 sandstone bridges in the park.  We drove the loop road to see them all, but hiked early morning to one of the them.  We finally found out the difference between a bridge and an arch.  A bridge is made by running water carving the “hole” in the rock, while an arch is made from the wind and sand eroding a hole in the rock.  The bridges are located below the rim of the plateau and not easily seen in the meandering, deep canyon of a small river.  This canyon is great for seeing the progress of uplift and river erosion.

Bob with Telescope, Natural Bridges

 

 

 

 

The best part of Natural Bridges is that we were there when 2 guest astronomers were doing night sky programs.  We had the opportunity to use very large telescopes to see Jupiter, and 4 of its moons, and our moon.  It was almost a full moon, so the stars were hard to see; the moon “pollutes” the sky even more that city lights.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

South Window, Arches NP

From Natural Bridges, we drove to Moab, UT, our base for visiting Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park.   Arches was visible from a distance, since the area towers over the local landscape.  There are over 2000 arches in the park, which consists of high red sandstone cliffs towering over the plateau.   We hiked to about 10 large arches in various locations.  For the first time we were not cold, and wore shorts and tee shirts.  It was sunny, and dare I say, actually hot on the hikes.  The most famous arch, Delicate Arch, we saw from a distance.  It was a 3-mile hike (after we had already hiked about 7 miles), and was PACKED with people.  Linda thought she would go back for a sunrise picture, but never got up early enough to do that.

Car on White Rim Trail, below the top, above the Colorado R.

Canyonlands NP is a huge park; we only visited the “Islands in the Sky” section near Moab.  The “islands” are the top of a large plateau between the confluence of the Green River and the Colorado River.  Both rivers were at flood stage, and very brown with mud, due to the heavy, recent spring rains and snow melt.  From the top of the plateau to the riverbed is about 2000 ft of elevation.  The canyons are not vertical like at Bryce, Zion and Capital Reef, but step down in terraces.  One of the middle terraces is composed of a very hard, white limestone, that defies erosion, so the terrace is very wide.  A very difficult 4X4 road goes along the rim called the White Rim Trail.  About 1995, Bob and Linda drove a Surburban and rode mountain bikes around the entire White Rim Trail (we were in better shape then) with a group of friends, camping for 4 nights – it takes that long to traverse the 100 mile trail from start to finish.  In several locations, we had to winch the vehicles over boulders, etc.  A ranger told us the trail is in much better shape now and a lot easier, but not ready for the family car…..   It was interesting seeing the trail from above and fondly remembering that trip with good friends, then and now! 

Canyonlands Sunset from Dead Horse Point SP

 

 

The day we visited Canyonlands was overcast.  But we had a second change to get some great photos.  We went back to Dead Horse Point State Park which is right next to Canyonlands Island in the Sky and got to take some fabulous photos of sunset over the Colorado River and Canyonlands.

 

 

 

 

Morman Homestead, Fruita, Capital Reef NP

 

The entire southern Utah area is very remote and undeveloped.  Even the large towns like Moab, are still very small.  In fact, this area of Utah was one of the last areas to be mapped in the US.   White settlers did not come to these remote locations until the late 1800s, and that was mostly Mormons, escaping religious persecution.  The historic homesteads you can visit along the way, like the one at Capital Reef, show a very rigorous life that many people could not survive. 

 

 

 

Petroglyphs, Capital Reef NP

 It is interesting that the same locations the homesteaders favored, were favored by the American Indians.  There are a lot of petroglyphs found there also.  Generally speaking, the ancestors to today’s native American Tribes, all declined in the 1200 – 1350 timeframe here, as in Arizona.  Apparently, the same mysterious environmental conditions impacted the entire region.

 

All these Utah parks, as does the Grand Canyon, owe their spectacular scenery to the uplift of the Colorado Plateau and subsequent erosion, primarily by entrenched meandering rivers.  It will be interesting to see very different geologic settings in the Tetons, Yellowstone, Idaho and the northwest, which are more related to “hot spots” and plate tectonics.   

Since Texas and our departure from St. Augustine in early April, it has been spring everywhere we have gone.   Almost everywhere we have been (with the exception of Bryce), there have been fabulous wildflowers everywhere. 

 
As we have moved north or to higher elevations, the burst of spring color has moved along with us.  It has been a very pleasant surprise. 




We are now headed north to Idaho and Wyoming….hopefully spring and warm weather will be found in the higher elevations and more northerly latitudes as we continue our journey in late May and June.         

5/13/16 Wildflowers, Deserts and Canyons (Texas and Arizona)







Pool and Beach Coronado Condo

After Christmas in St Augustine we left on December 30 for an anticipated 2.5 month stay in Panama to finalize our resident visa and enjoy the beach in Coronado and the mountains of Boquete. Unfortunately, after only 2.5 weeks in Coronado, Panama, we had to return home to St. Augustine for Bob to have rotator cuff surgery on his right dominate shoulder. We felt that the extensive recovery and Physical Therapy would be better closer to family and friends.  



 

The surgery went well except that Bob unexpectedly went into Arial Fibrillation (A-Fib) in the recovery room; thankfully, he converted to regular heart rhythm overnight in the hospital.  He had never had a heart issue before that.  Bob is still doing PT for his shoulder while we travel; and has good range of motion, although he is careful to not lift much weight with it yet.   

With all going well for Bob’s surgery recovery, and no more A-Fib issues as per the St. Augustine cardiologist, we departed on our 2016 RV Ramblin’ trip in early April.  Unfortunately, instead of a quick 4-day trip across the country to reach Tucson AZ, Bob went into A-Fib again and we ended up spending 4 days in Kerrville TX, 50 miles west of San Antonio. Bob went through a series of specialized heart tests in San Antonio. Fortunately, these tests eliminated all serious coronary heart diseases. The cardiologist there put Bob on cardiac medications to control his A-Fib and reduce the risk of stroke. 

"Memorial" Cowboy Boot and Texas Bluebonnets

While waiting for test results in Kerrville TX, we had the opportunity to spend some time in the  hill country.  We parked our RV along the upper Guadalupe River, a beautiful fast “stream” with banks shaded by “old” cypress trees.  Spring was everywhere, with the beautiful spring green colors in the trees, bushes and grasses.   The wildflowers were blooming everywhere, even along all the roads; the Blue Bonnets were especially beautiful. 

Texas Wildflowers

We spent two days just driving through the beautiful countryside and spending a little time at the cute towns, like Kerrville and Fredericksburg; the childhood home of US Navy Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz. There is a fabulous World War II Pacific War museum, locally known as the Nimitz Museum, in Fredericksburg.   It is incredible, so plan to spend a full day in this excellent museum if you go; after 4 hours we still had more than half the museum left  to see.  The hill country area has been inundated with retirees who love the area and we can see why.  If it wasn’t so hot in the summer, we might consider living here (yes, we know there is no ocean nearby).  



 

Saguaro Cactus Bloooming

After getting medications in Texas, we left for Tucson and the Saguaro National Park.  Unfortunately, we ended up in an emergency room in Tucson with Bob in A-Fib again, and Bob was admitted.  After 3 days and different medications, Bob was released.  Our cardiologist wanted Bob to come back to Tucson in 2 weeks for a follow-up.   

After Bob’s hospital stay in Tucson; we finally got to spend one day in the Saguaro National Park and at the Desert Museum - an excellent museum that covers all aspects of the desert.  As in TX, the AZ desert was in bloom.  Everything that blooms in the spring was in color – even the Saguaro cactus had flowers on the tops.  The weather was perfect – not too hot or cold and we enjoyed our shortened stay.  We had to leave on time as we had campground reservations at the Grand Canyon NP which were made over 1 year ago.  While driving north, we had the opportunity to have dinner in Phoenix with Linda’s niece, Kristin Puma.  She has two beautiful sons and our visit was much too short.  

Casa Grande 4 Story Pueblo

 

 

 

We stopped at Casa Grande Ruins, between Tucson and Phoenix, which is one of the largest prehistoric structures ever built in North America.  Archeologists have discovered evidence that the people who built Casa Grande (Great House) and its surrounding compound also developed wide-scale irrigation farming and extensive trade connections which lasted over a thousand years until about 1450 AD.  It is thought that climate change which caused the area to become drier, and their own success which caused overpopulation, both contributed to the rather rapid demise and dispersing of these people and other similar civilizations in the SW. 



Yearling Elk Grazing by our RV

As everyone knows, the Grand Canyon is awesome, but to a geologist and his interested wife, it is really something special.  It is impossible to see in a picture or a video of the enormous scale of the place….it is 1 mile deep and over 10 miles wide. The “trail of time” walk that runs along the rim helps to put the timeline of the rock layers and geology into perspective.   The sunsets were fabulous, but it got cold quickly at night.  We wore winter clothes at night and Linda had to wear gloves in order to take pictures.  Our campground was full of elk - they lay down beside the RVs and cars, and we saw a California Condor in action!   Even this early in the season, the lodges and campgrounds were full; however, not as busy as during the summer.  We really enjoyed seeing the South Rim from the top this time – the last time we were at the Canyon was in 2000 (or 2001?) when we did a 10-day raft trip down the Colorado River.  Both were marvelous experiences.  The North Rim was still snowed in and closed, so we plan to go there next year, during the summer.

 

Grand Canyon near Sunset

 

Lake Powell Early Morning Reflections

From the Grand Canyon, we moved east and north of Flagstaff to Page AZ and Lake Powell.  Lake Powell is a reservoir, formed by flooding Glen Canyon with the construction of the Glen Canyon Dam, upstream of the Grand Canyon, and is the second largest man-made reservoir in the US.   In order to build the dam, a bridge had to be first built; the nearest river crossing was over 70 miles upstream, a 200 mile trip to get from one side of the dam to the other.  That bridge is now Rt. 89, just below the dam.  The Lake took 11 years to fill.  When we were there, the lake was about half way between its high water in 1980, and it’s low water in 2005 – about a 400 ft difference.  The high water mark is seen as a “bathtub” ring around the lake; discoloration of the rock due to water incursion.  The lake is beautiful and HUGE; from the dam it extends 186 miles long (when full), has over 1960 miles of shoreline and over 96 major side canyons.  It is a house boaters dream (need at least 2 weeks to really reach some of the more remote areas).   

Rainbow Bridge 1983 (NPS)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of our best days, was the boat ride on Lake Powell to Rainbow Bridge National Monument: it can only be reached by boat.  It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day with no wind when we took our ride to see it.  Rainbow Bridge is one of the world’s largest known natural bridges, and is considered sacred to American Indians.  When Lake Powell is full, the water extends right up to and even under the bridge.  When we visited, we had a 1.5 mile hike uphill to reach the bridge.   

 

Monument Valley

We left our coach in Page and we spent a day visiting Monument Valley, Valley of the Gods, and the San Juan River Goosenecks.  Monument Valley is one of the definitive images of the American West.  The isolated red mesas and buttes surrounded by empty, sandy is entirely within the Navajo Reservation.  There is one main road through Monument Valley, US 163.  There are dirt roads that can be taken to see the more remote buttes; but this must be done with a Navajo guide and a permit.  We only traveled along Rt. 163 on our way to see other sights in the area.  In the morning, it was so windy that there was a sandstorm and we couldn’t see anything.  Thankfully, by the time we returned, the wind had died and we got a good look at it. 

Valley of the Gods

We much preferred Valley of the Gods, near Mexican Hat.  It is a hidden gem with scenery similar to that of nearby Monument Valley, but without the tribal restrictions; isolated buttes, towering pinnacles and wide open spaces that seem to go on forever.  A 17-mile drive dirt road winds through the valley; it is bumpy with steep sections.  We loved the fun drive in our Jeep Cherokee and it was mostly deserted.  We started out with an overcast and windy day, which limited visibility, but by the time we had finished, the weather cleared and the views were fabulous. 



Moki Dugway 11% unpaved road with switchbacks



We stumbled onto the Moki Dugway, just past the Valley of the Gods, north on Rt. 261.  It is a staggering, dirt switchback road carved into the face of the cliff edge of Cedar Mesa.  It consists of 3 miles of steep (11% grade), unpaved, switchbacks, which wind 1200 feet down to the valley floor.   We had originally planned on coming south to Monument Valley on Rt 261, but the Moki Dugway would not have been passable with any RV.  It was lucky that we ended up doing it as a day trip from Page in our Jeep rather than later in our RV.

 

San Juan River "Goosenecks"

From the top of Cedar Mesa, we had fantastic views of the Valley of the Gods, and the Goosenecks State Park, where the San Juan River winds and carves it way through the desert 1200 feet below.   Here, you can see a rare geologic formation, known as an entrenched meander; a meandering stream that has cut deeply into the landscape.

 

 

 

Antelope Canyon Ray of Light

Antelope Canyon Sand Fall

One of the most photogenic locations in Page was a trip through Antelope Canyon, a slot canyon.  Except for mid-day, no light enters the canyon, but at that time you can see light shafts shine into the slot.  Linda got some great pictures at noon on a photographic tour.  The photography of the smooth water-worn walls of cross-bedded sandstone is an indication of the danger during a rainstorm, and in fact, during the rainy season, the tours are often cancelled due to flash flood dangers. 

Just like during our sailing and cruising adventure, we have to fix things in “exotic” places.  In Tucson, while Bob was in the hospital, we had a mobile mechanic replace our aging 6-year old house and starting batteries (we should have done it in St Augustine). In Page, Bob replaced the in-dash back up camera monitor that failed in Texas.  We did a few other repairs so our coach, and it should be really ready for the next segment of our trip. We feel sorry for cruisers (sea and land) who do not have some self-maintenance capabilities or easy access to replacement parts.



Panama City

While in Tucson, we finally heard from our Panamanian lawyer that we had been approved for our resident visas in Panama, and that we needed to return to finalize the documents.  We arranged to travel to Panama from Page AZ in conjunction with our return to the Tucson cardiologist for Bob’s follow-up thread mill stress test. Bob’s meds are working great and the Cardiologist gave us a “good to go” report.    

 

Petrified Forest Logs

 

We left our RV in Page to go back to Tucson and Panama.  Along the way, we stopped at the Petrified Forest NP and enjoyed a few good meals along the historic Route 66 (we forgot about Winslow).  Driving through Salt River Canyon on the way to Tucson was impressive. After a 3-day trip to Panama, we returned with our permanent resident visas.  No illegal entry for us!

 

We are now headed to Utah and the “Grand Circle” of:  Zion, Bryce, Capital Reef, Canyonlands and Arches National Parks, before we head further north.  We hope that we will not have any additional significant diversions, now that health, coach repair and legal requirements all seem to be in order. 

In spite of the health issues (no A-Fib since Tucson) and travel delays, we are having a grand time seeing this fantastic country.  We are immensely grateful to God and good doctors. We feel truly blessed that Bob’s medical situations are being managed and we are looking forward to less stressful adventures as we move north into Utah and then Wyoming, Montana and Canada.  

Let us know how you are doing and keep in touch.   

Best, 

Linda and Bob