Thursday, October 9, 2008 We awoke to increasing winds, lower temperatures, and a forecast of snow by the weekend, a sure indication that the winter closure of the North Rim was not far away. Being northerners used to just about any kind of weather, and delighted at the clear blue sky, we grabbed more layers of clothes and headed for a day of sight seeing, photography and walking along the accessible parts of the North Rim. The great thing about many of the National Parks we have visited is that they are well prepared for the crowds that visit, with many opportunities for short walks and longer hikes, cycling, and just about any other activity a visitor may wish to undertake. And there are displays about historical use of the land, ruins of early inhabitants, many ... read more

Tuesday, October 07, 2008 This was a day of mixed activities in the park. Kayla did laundry while Richard cycled into Springdale for some rock shopping. He picked up two more specimens for his collection. This afternoon, with our legs still feeling the after effects of yesterday’s hike, we decided to ride the park shuttle to the furthest point and hike a short trail into the canyon area known as the Narrows. Many people were intent on getting very wet by hiking further into the narrows than dry land would allow, and there is an adventure company here that will take groups into the narrows, providing everyone with water-walking sandals, neoprene socks and large walking sticks for balance. There is also a famous extreme sports hike here that starts some distance up the narrows, and is ... read more

Saturday, October 4, 2008 They say what happens in Las Vegas stays in Las Vegas. It’s a good thing too. We feel like we breathed in enough smoke today to last a lifetime, and it’s a good thing all that smoke stays in Las Vegas. Guess they haven’t heard of lung cancer here, although we saw plenty of cancer awareness posters and a billboard that said ‘we fight cancer here’. Ha! The air was ghastly in spite of attempts in the better quality hotels to scent the air with all sorts of fragrances - designed to subliminally encourage more shopping and gambling no doubt. Aside from the nasty air around us, both indoors and outdoors, we enjoyed seeing this fantastic city. Fantastic meaning too unreal to be real. Kayla hadn’t been to Las Vegas in almost ... read more

Wednesday, 1 October 2008 Did I say today is reserved for more rocks? Surprise, today is reserved for Peach Pie (and some rocks too). In the 1870’s Capital Reef National Park was the home of a community of Mormons who settled and farmed orchard crops along the Fremont River, a tiny stream but enough water for irrigation of grass and fruit trees. Now the area is within a beautiful rock canyon and hosts a visitors centre with daily fresh pastry and preserves. Who would have guessed among the desert, sandstone cliffs and sage shrubs that a community could survive. Peach Pie was stored for dinner and we took at 15 km one way drive through the centre of the park. Here peach and red cliffs and house sized rocks from the cliffs above kept the Sony ... read more

Monday September 29, 2008 The weather was beautiful, scenery spectacular, facilities pristine, campground almost deserted, campsite well-treed and shady all day. Why wouldn’t we stay another day? It’s so nice to get up whenever we want and not hurry through the morning! (Can you tell that Kayla is writing this blog?) Ahhhhh, just to kick back and admire the scenery while the rest of the world scurries around. We watched the school bus pick up the kids and remembered that this was a school day and some of the Navajo kids have to travel many miles just to catch the bus. They live all over the huge reservation. Well OK, so we did a little laundry - washed the sheets, towels and some clothes. Oh, and then we thought it would be nice to bike across ... read more