May 23-24 - To Bryce

Sunday morning, we took advantage of a lull in the winds to explore the beach together.

After about an hour walk, Mom & Dad started packing up the camper and I ran back to the lake for a quick dip.  The water was chilly but refreshing, as the day was already getting hot, and no creepy fish or lake monsters brushed up against my leg which was much appreciated.  

We had a fairly long drive to our next destination in Cannonville, UT, near Bryce Canyon.  We arrived at our campground for the next three nights (what a treat!) - Bryce Valley RV Park.  It’s a brand-spanking-new site for both humans and horses (horses must be accompanied by a human.)  Three of Mom & Dad’s fellow volunteers, Kim, Mark, and Montel, from Koreshan State Park in Florida are working there for the season, taking care of much of the initial set-up of the entire business - and doing an amazing job at a huge undertaking.

We settled in and I laundry while Mom & Dad rested.  The laundry rooms and shower houses are PALATIAL by any standards.  

Because I’d worn my boots into the lake (to deter creepy fish), Dad rinsed the mud off and set them to dry in these slots on the truck bed, which looked like we’d landed on an enormous Wicked Witch.

Close to sunset, we walked around the creekbed behind the campground with Kim and then all had an early bedtime.

Also, out of desperation to do something about the dry air that was turning our sinuses into desert hellscapes, I researched makeshift humidifiers.  I tried this setup from the Bob Villa website, and it seemed to work brilliantly at first, kicking the humidity up to 35% in a few minutes, but even running it all night, the hygrometer was back to a steady 16% the next morning.  Turns out you can’t beat a simple boiling pot of water (unless you want to, you know, just buy a humidifier.)

Monday our friends were working, so the Isaacs took off to Bryce Canyon for the day.  Josh & I came here back in 2015 with Mom & Dad on our honeymoon, and it was a favorite spot for all of us.  It was super crowded and took a while to find parking, so I suggested we try a less-popular trail called Tower Bridge trail.  It’s part of a total 8 mile loop, but this section is supposedly only 1.5 miles down to the Tower Bridge hoodoo, and then we planned to turn back from there for a 3 mile total hike.

I don’t know who measures the distances on these trails but I think they’re playing a practical joke. Maybe it was just the constant descent, but it took well over an hour 

and we were all wiped by the time we got to the Bridge formation.

Daaa Bridge

This chipmunk mocked our exhaustion with his adorable cavorting.

After a lunch break at the bottom of the trail, Mom & Dad started off on the uphill return journey to the car, but I hadn’t had quite enough physical distress for the day so I opted to speed-hike the next segment of the loop, the 4 mile Fairyland View Trail, and wait for a pickup at a different parking lot along the canyon rim.

It was probably one of the best hikes I’ve ever taken, particularly because I only encountered a handful of other hikers.  The path winds in so many unexpected ways and there’s a new incredible view every 5 minutes.  I made it to the top of Fairyland Point in 1 hr 45 min just as Mom & Dad got back to their parking lot (poor things) and with just a drop of water left (although I still had the cherry tomatoes that Mom insisted I take as an emergency water source.)  Survival skillz, ya’ll!

The hoodoos at Fairyland Point are stunning, but similar to those in the central trails, so I’m not really sure why it got that name.  

Fairyland Point

Although just around the bend, there’s this strange lumpy lawn-gnome guy.  I guess he could look like a  magical sprite to a bunch of dehydrated pioneers.

 M&D picked me up at the other lot and we headed back to the campground to nap.  That evening, we had a lovely potluck dinner outside with our friends and hit the hay early again, because there’s a whole lot more rocks to climb out there!

May 22 - Horseshoe Bend & Hanging Gardens

 Now that we’re getting into the nitty-gritty (pun intended) of Southwestern sightseeing, I’ve been having trouble finding time to update this between all the hiking, sleeping, and hiking.  So expect some more delays along the way, but I’ll keep this up the best I can.  My wrist tendonitis is acting up more, too, so since the last few days’ adventures have been pretty straightforward see-amazing-sights-and-enjoy-amazing-sights, I’ll probably keep the narration to a minimum and let the photos speak for themselves.  Naturally, I took 50000 words to explain this, so... starting... now.

Saturday May 22, we had a full afternoon of sunshine and low winds to enjoy the area around Lake Powell.  First we headed to Horsehoe Bend, a scenic curve in the Colorado River canyon.

Nearby, we hiked to Hanging Gardens, a natural fern grotto created by a seep spring.  Because the droughts have been so bad here lately, we thought the plant life might be suffering, but it’s figured things out pretty well over the last few millennia.

This is the only Garden that’s accessible from the trail.

You can see just a smidge of Lake Powell in that canyon near the horizontal center of the photo.

*** Bonus Walmart Selfie ***

The winds returned as the sun started to set, and lasted well into the night with gusts up to 55 mph.  We watched through the camper windows as newcomers pulled in and circled dazedly through sheets of sand, trying to figure out what on earth they’d got themselves into.  Springtime on Lake Powell is not for the faint of heart!

May 21 - Lake Powell

 Crossing into Arizona towards our campsite just across the border in Utah, the skies promised us a beautiful day.  But we didn’t know that the skies had formed a devilish pact with the wind and sand to betray us!  Winds were already so high by the time we pulled in to Lone Rock Campground, that it was iffy whether we’d stay.  But finding a spot without high winds wasn’t really an option in this area, so we figured we might as well have a cool view!

Lone Rock is a formation in a section of Lake Powell, which was formed by damming off the Colorado River.  It really looks like something out of a sci-fi movie.

Winds continued to gain speed as the day went on.  I think it was gusting at ~40mph.  It made it feel even more like another planet.

 Mom & Dad elected to stay in and rest, but I will not allow the elements to be the boss of me!  I wrapped myself in as many fabrics as I could find and walked along the beach and climbed around one of the inlets (mostly dried up - the lake is at record lows this year).

Tumbleweeds are way bigger and way thornier than they look in the cartoons.  They will also full-on body slam you!  I just barely got out of the way of this one.

As forecasted, the winds died down a bit towards sunset, so we pulled out our outdoor chairs and settled in for the show. 

 But not to be outdone by mere meteorologists, they came back with a vengeance after just a few minutes.  We hunkered down for the night and finished 2001.  Surprise - Mom & Dad still not fans.  Can’t win em all!

Tomorrow - Winds vs. Humans Round 2 

May 20 - New Mexico Part 2: The Return!

Thursday morning, we had a yummy breakfast at the Casino cafe and got back on the road before our willpower could give out and we’d lose everything just to get Five Jeff Goldblums.  Our route dipped back into New Mexico, and we arrived at our next Boondockers site in the afternoon - a church parking lot in Shiprock, NM.  

Bethel Christian Reformed Church

Shiprock is on the Navajo Lands, and you can see the town’s namesake in the distance from the lot.

Shiprock was the name given to the ancient volcanic formation by Europeans, of course.  The original Navajo name is Tsé Bit’ a’í —“Rock with Wings.”  It’s considered sacred to the Navajo and has been off limits to outsiders since the 60s, after a serious climbing accident.  One legend says it is a giant bird that carried the Navajo ancestors to New Mexico, after which it turned to stone.

Our host, the pastor of the church, was originally from the Netherlands (the Christian Reformed Church was founded there) but he and his family have been living in the US since he graduated college - 20+ years in Shiprock alone.  He’s a very kind and light-hearted guy who seems to have endless energy, despite the many roles and projects he’s juggling.  One of them is running a thriving plant nursery:

You’ve heard of Fishers of Men, this guy’s also a Planter of Peppers!  And all kinds of squash, melons, tomatoes, etc.  During the pandemic (which sadly hit the Navajo nation very hard) they ran a food distribution, but now that demand has lowered, he’s growing extra food-bearing seedlings to give away in lieu of processed or packaged foods.

We also met his three cute dogs, but only one would stay still long enough for a photo.

Mrs. Pastor also raises hens and sells eggs at their nursery.  We weren’t able to meet her, but we of course grabbed a lovely pastel dozen.

On the pastor’s recommendation, we stopped in Nataani Nez, a diner with Navajo-American dishes like burgers with frybread instead of buns, and tacos with frybread instead of tortillas.  We would have gladly ordered frybread wrapped in frybread on a bed of frybread, but we opted to take it easy and get the Burger and the Lamb Stew with, you guessed it, frybread.  Soooo good.

As the sun lowered, we drove out closer to Shiprock.  We’d heard that the gravel road leading to it from the paved access road was also off-limits, but there was no signage or man-made barriers at all, and several other cars pulling off towards it, so we got a smiiiiidge closer.  The naturally-formed barrier of a very bumpy and pitted road is probably enough to keep most people away from the base.

The formation is so other-worldly, it’s really seems impossible that there couldn’t be some spiritual or supernatural significance to it.  

We got as close as our consciences and the truck’s four-wheel-drive would allow, which wasn’t terribly far.  Honestly, viewing it from a distance kind of enhances its mystery.

Goodnight, beautiful bird.

Tomorrow - Lake Powell and Attack of the 50 MPH Winds!

May 19 - High Mountains & Low Rollers

After the heavy snows, we were worried we’d get stuck in the thick mud we’d found ourselves surrounded by in our host’s backyard.  He and his wife were at work, but with a little advice from their teenage daughter (who also let me meet the dozen or so newborn kittens from three different momma-cats in their garage!) we made it out with no serious trouble.  

We headed further west in Colorado through the Rio Grande National Forest.  

There was still heavy snow higher in the mountains (which may not have actually been the Rockies, but I’m just gonna believe they were because it’s more fun)

A very accurate sign!

We pulled over at the base of Treasure Falls just long enough to get a photo.  

Looking back to the mountains from the roadside.

Our accommodations for night were at the Sky Ute Casino & Hotel RV Park in Ignacio, CO, owned and operated by the Ute tribe.

The sites were well-kept and comfortable.  We’d been avoiding more commercial/developed RV parks in favor of more scenic or remote areas, but we all had to admit that it was nice to have prime hook-ups and perfectly level ground for a night.  We kind of wished we’d been able to stay another night!

The camp hosts were so sweet and they helped us get access to the laundry room, which had restricted access due to covid-closures because of its proximity to the pool (which was gorgeous and sadly, still strictly off-limits.). We’d accumulated an impressive collection of damp smelly socks after our snow adventures, so we needed it DESPARATELY.

After laundry and naps, we hit up the casino, where we almost immediately lost a combined $25 at slots and chickened out.  

I lost most of mine to the Jurassic Park machines, which awarded fewer credits for three Jeff Goldblums than for three Sam Neils, so it was clearly malfunctioning.

Dad almost walked away with a whopping $2.50 in profit early on but he decided to go big or go home!  

Turns out, you can do both.  We went home in short order, had dinner and hit the hay.  Better luck next time, Isaacs.