Infamous Vail, Colorado

On Halloween day, I crossed Utah State line and entered into my new home state. Welcome to,

In route to Denver, I stopped at the infamous Vail, the second largest ski mountain in North America. Whistler is the largest....I knew you were curious! Strolled through Vail Village and had lunch outside. Beautiful crisp fall day, in the 50's, sun on my back. Ahh, I can get used to this.

Notice the headline. The interstate was closed the day prior and as it turns out, crazy the following day due to a snow storm. I traveled through just in time!

Two for the Price of One

Day 5:
On my way from Bryce Canyon to Arches National Park, a scenic byway provided an additional National Park.

Capitol Reef is a narrow 100 mile long "wrinkle" in the earths crust. It travels north and south; I was crossing it west to east, so only saw a glimpse. However, I did have the fortune of seeing these petroglyphs from 1200's marked by the Fremont Indian population.

Arrived in Arches National Park by the afternoon on 10/30. There are over 2,000 preserved arches within the 76,000 acre park. I only had time to see four!

 The arch above is the longest arch. Base to base, it spans nearly 300 feet across.

The arch above is named the Skyline Arch. Notice the pile of fallen rock beneath it that created the arch. The placard below shows the difference from present day vs. 1941, when a large chunk fell.

Hoodoos

Day number four,

national park number three.

Hiked an 8.2 mile hike today called the Fairyland Loop. I think it's the land of Dr. Seuss, especially with the name "hoodoo" to describe these structures; limestone rock formations shaped by rain and the freezing and thawing of water.

In addition to tall hoodoos and picturesque views, rock structures called the China Wall and Tower Bridge were the highlights.

I arrived here yesterday and started a hike in the afternoon. Even though temps are reaching mid to high 50's, there is still a dusting of snow and frozen waterfalls.

This 6.4 mile hike was steep with winding hikes between tall canyon walls, under arches and peekaboo views. 

 
Enjoying the drive and long hikes. Lots of time for this.

National Park #2

Day Three: North Rim, Grand Canyon.

Wow! I think "grand" may be an understatement of this canyon.  Immense, expansive, breathtaking, are words that come to mind. This is the unsuspecting drive to the North Rim.

It isn't until you step around the back of the lodge that you get this eye-full. 

It's amazing that trees take root here at all.

 

Had time for a couple hikes. One took me out to a ledge where I soaked up the sun and sketched.  The day started at 21 degrees and reached only into the mid 40's. The North Rim is 1,000 feet higher in elevation compared to the South Rim and about 10 degrees cooler.  

The other hike lead me down along the canyon walls and under a ridge line. 

Gradually reacquainting myself with land-life conveniences...this cabin had its own bathroom! 

On to Bryce Canyon....

Zion National Park

Day Two.

After crewing with s/v Pearl for 2 months, I thought it best to gradually acclimate to the conveniences that living on land has to offer. Therefore, this is my first stop. They call this a cowboy cabin. No phone, cell or internet service and shared bathrooms and showers are a walk up a gravel road.

The first hike of the day, the Canyon Overlook Trail, exemplifies Zions reputation of dramatic views.

Note the gloves--It's cool here; lows around 25 and highs in the mid to high 50's. Fortunately, I had layers from our offshore leg when coming down the coast on s/v Pearl.

Zion has a great shuttle bus system to reduce the number of cars in the park. The second hike, the Riverwalk Trail, was the last stop at the tip of the canyon. Prepared hikers can continue by wading in the water and traverse many miles in until the canyon walls are as narrow as 20 feet.

 Given the temps and my limited time, I chose to take a seat here and watercolor instead.

The views are endless and the rock faces dynamic. The color changes as the day progresses. Here are a couple shots from other short hikes.

Zion or Bust

Day one: San Diego to Zion National Park.

After 60 days of not driving a car and tackling LA traffic, my hands are ten and two. Here I am after belting out "I'm still alive", Pearl Jam.

The drive is a healthy 8 1/2 hours, so these are views from the inside of my windshield.  Yes, this is all I saw of Vegas.

Loving this heat. Windows are down!