Behind again on the blogs - other than the planned delays in posting, I have passed in to areas with no internet access. Gasp! Imagine that!! It was wonderful :). Ok, left off in Zion National Park... the pictures from there were not as easy. Taking them from the bottom of the rocks and cliffs looking up just didn't do them justice. Most of them did not turn out well so instead I am posting a few examples of the different kinds of rock there. There is both Navajo sandstone (the white with red streaks) and the... I think it's escalante... sandstone which is more red. The pictures I am posting are some nice examples of the formations. The standstone weathered so it almost looks like they were man-made structures. I am also posting the "checkerboard ... read more

Sedona, cont’d… A hot day - in the high 90’s- but I did not do what I knew I should which was go hide in shade until later… Next stop: the Palatki Red Cliffs heritage site - the ruins of a cliff dwelling and some cliff art. Driving down a dirt washboard road (my poor car… it still has to go across the country!) The picture is at least one shot of the ruins -very cool, 900 years old. I could walk inside the rooms. The volunteer from the forest service is a retired archaeologist and was just full of information and history. He found some of their woven fibers and he had recovered pottery pieces and an obsidian blade that day! (or at least that is what he told we gullible people). I was holding ... read more

2nd day in Grand Canyon I woke up at 5 am to catch the sunrise over the canyon. I was thinking “come on, is it really worth it?” but I was up so off I went… I missed the first shuttle that would bring me directly where I wanted to go and if I waited for the next one, I would definitely miss it so I hopped on one that went to a different look-out. First thing were several elk having breakfast off the road - pretty cool… Then sunrise- I missed it when it was just below the rim which was probably some of the best light… and once it came over the rim, it was so bright that everything else was dark. Who said sunrise was the best time for pics?? Ok - some ... read more

Day 3: I woke up very early this morning planning to see the sunrise over Mono Lake because everything I read said it was a "must see." I woke up to overcast skies and relatively cool weather and left the hotel room before 7 am. Ouch. I don't even get to work that early!! I should have slept in. Mono Lake has no outlet so through evaporation, the lake has become 2.5x more saline than the ocean and 1000 x more alkaline. They call this the "sister lake" to Salt Lake in Utah and I think this is even more saline.. These pictures are not so bright because of the clouds. The first one shows Buzzy in front of volcanic lslands that became visible as the lake decreased in volume. Fresh-water springs bubble up from below ... read more