Wry & Crusty Visit Jellystone National Park

Ok, Ok, OK, OweKay! so it's NOT JELLYSTONE, in fact it's called YELLOWSTONE National Park - who knew?  Being children of the 50's that grew up with Yogi Bear - (hey BooBoo!), we must admit to a certain prejudice against Yellowstone. We fully expected a tacky statue of Yogi to greet us at the entrance and for that theme to be carried throughout the park.  Sooooo, with great trepidation we made our way in.

This is a park for scenic driving, lookouts and overviews, museums and wildlife viewing.

Most travelers will only ever see views from the roadside.

HIKING REPORT: Bryce Canyon National Park

Well Utah continues to amaze!  Just when you think it couldn't get any better - it does! While you spend your time looking up to the magnificent peaks in Zion National Park, you can actually spend your time looking down in Bryce Canyon National Park - or hiking down into the canyon floor and back up to the rim.

Bryce Canyon is not really a canyon but a collection of huge amphitheaters overlooking giant hoodoos that were formed by frost weathering and stream erosion. The red, orange and white colors of the rocks provide spectacular vistas.

We were fortunate enough to share these hikes and views with our new found California friends Bill and Deborah.

I'll let the photos speak for themselves.  Hope you enjoy the show.

                 

HIKING REPORT: We Went for A Walk

in ............ ZION    NATIONAL    PARK

TRAILS: Emerald Pools (Lower & Upper),  Kayenta, Temple of Sinawave

           We did a few of the easier to moderate trails in ZION during our first hiking day.

At the main gate to ZION National Park at opening time, us and at least 100 other vehicles. It took 15 minutes to pass through the gate at that time and load us all onto the waiting shuttle buses. This is the ONLY way to access most of the trailheads if you are staying outside ZION. We were at the Emerald Ponds trailhead by 9:00 am. The shuttle service in Zion is superb ... buses run every 10 minutes or so.

Get here early .......    I mean, R E A L   early!    .... as    E A R L Y   as possible  ... set the alarm ... get a wakeup call .... just get here E A R L Y !!!. 

We had the route to ourselves up until 10:30 or so and then the trail filled quickly.

Above Lower Emerald Pond

HIKING REPORT: Part 2 - Exploring National and State Parks

May 13, 2014 - Dead Horse Point State Park and Canyonlands National Park

Another wonderful day to hike.  A side trip to Dead Horse Point State Park lead to one of the most beautiful hikes we've ever been on.  We hiked along the rim of a canyon with amazing vistas, enjoyed a picnic lunch with a never ending view, and concluded the day with a quick trip to Canyonlands National Park to view the Green River from above.

Dann On Top Of The World

HIKING REPORT: Part 1 - Exploring National and State Parks

May 11-12, Mesa Verde National Park

On June 29, 1906 President Theodore Roosevelt established Mesa Verde National Park to "preserve the works of man," the first national park of its kind.

Ancestral Puebloans made Mesa Verde their home from about A.D. 550 to 1300.  For more than 700 years they and their descendants lived and flourished here, eventually building elaborate stone communities in the sheltered alcoves of the canyon walls.  In the late A.D. 1200, in the span of a generation or two, they left their homes and moved away.  Today the park contains over 4,000 archaeological sites including cliff dwellings and the mesa top sites of pit-houses, pueblos, masonry towers and farming structures.  It is a truly magical place that tests your imagination trying to picture the ancient people living and thriving in such an environment.

The Cliff Palace – Contained approximately 150 rooms and 23 kivas (a subterranean structure used primarily for ceremonial or political gatherings).  Experts estimate that it was home to over 100 people.

Canoeing the Green River, UT, USA: Labryinth & Stillwater Canyons

It Was A GRAND Trip, But We've Never Felt Dirtier ... EVER!

LOGISTICS (UT, USA) 
Van Shuttle: With Tex's Riverways from Moab > Crystal Geyser, GREEN River

Tandem Canoe: Crystal Geyser > (near) COLORADO R. confluence - Labyrinth & Stillwater Canyons, CI+, 9 days, 189 kms

Jet Boat: on the COLORADO from near the confluence with the GREEN > Potash Landing - 2 hrs, 80 kms

Bus Shuttle: With Tex's Riverways from Potash Landing > Moab

DVD Available: Get copy from Store

View Green / Colorado River(s), Utah, USA in a larger map