Evening Day 1 When I left you last, I was headed out for an evening adventure. My goal was to stay up until 10pm, to help alleviate jet lag. I ended up sitting in the hotel terrace, which is on a major pedestrian way, having a glass of wine and watching the Madrileños walk by. Lovely! Day 2: Biking Madrid So, I have this thing for taking bike tours in a new city. It is an easy way to see all the sites, get an insider's view of the city, and figure out what to go back and explore more thoroughly. [View Full Entry]

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Arrival The sunrise was a pinky-gold, fading to bright pink. It was gorgeous. Going through customs, I started talking to a woman in a western shirt, hat, and boots with a *huge* belt buckle. She is a champion rodeo rider, and was with a team having a Rodeo here in Madrid. She is also working on her International Communications Masters, and using this experience for her paper. I told her she sounded busy, she agreed. I got through customs, and headed down to the Metro. Was buying my tickets, and talking English to the computer (English text was available, I successfully [View Full Entry]

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Spain Prep Making my list, and checking it twice to insure I can just do carry-on luggage for this trip. Usually I take twice the clothing I need, don't wear half of it, and end up wondering why the heck I brought half the stuff. I am working hard to make sure I do *not* do that this time. Hard habit to break, I keep wanting to throw more things in. I have to remember: it is Spain! They have cooler clothes. If I need something, I can buy it. I did end up buying a Rail Pass. I went back [View Full Entry]

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Current plan for Spain trip Getting quite excited about Spain in September. I will be flying into and out of Madrid, and am planning to visit: San Sebastian Barcelona Granada Cordoba Ronda Tarifa Tangier, Morocco (day trip via ferry from Tarifa) Sevilla and back to Madrid Much of this will be via train, with a few bus trips thrown in. Spoke with an agent about purchasing a rail pass today. My research showed that it would save me about $20, and I would still need to go to the train station the day before leaving each city to reserve my [View Full Entry]

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Kolbob Canyon Dad and I were both tired today. Having spent nearly 6 hours in the car yesterday, and been on the go all week, we decided to find something close by. We settled on Kolbob Canyon in the NW corner of Zion NP, which is only 15 minutes from St George. Kolbob is not as popular as the other parks we've visited this week; we were quite pleased with the peace and quiet. My inner geologist was oooh'ing and aah'ing over the clear definition between the sediment layers, and the clear example of a canyon in the making. I think [View Full Entry]

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North Rim Grand Canyon Today we drove to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. It was grey when we left St George, and the cloud cover was with us most of the way. Dark clouds threatened when we arrived at the canyon. We packed up for our hike, looked at the clouds, grabbed our rain jackets, and headed off. The plan was to hike North Kailbab to the Supai Tunnel. We agreed that if the weather took a turn for the worse, we'd head back up. We arrived at Coconino lookout, chatted with some fellow hikers and took pictures, and [View Full Entry]

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Multi-National Zion Dad and I went to Zion NP today. We were amazed by both the geology and plethora of languages! We spoke with people from Spain, Switzerland, Germany, The Netherlands, and France. Before traveling to Zion today, I'd been mixing up Zion and Bryce. No more!! Bryce = fantastic stone sculptures; Zion = amazing colors, and the juxtaposition of water and desert. The footbridge into the park was a very nice transition. There is something more I want to say here, but can't think of it at the moment. We went on several hikes; River Walk, Temple of Sinawava, alon [View Full Entry]

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Bryce Canyon Drove to Bryce canyon early this morning; words cannot describe it. Green flora backgrounded by red rock and blue sky, it was immense and indescribable. I think my favorite picture is of the Hoodoos, but the huge erratic and staircase turned out quite well, too. We took Queen's Garden trail to the Northern part of the Navajo Loop. The hike out kicked both our butts; gorgeous day, amazing scenery. We were starving when we returned to St. George, and went to the Brazilian grill. Too much wine, and lots of great conversations followed. I am sleepy, and it is [View Full Entry]

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Lava and sandstone and petrified dunes, oh my! Dad and I drove up Snow Canyon and went for a hike this afternoon after the heat died down a bit. It was beautiful, and I was quite sad that I did not remember to bring my 'Roadside Geology of Utah'. It was a very curious combination of eroded pink-red rock, black pyroclastic looking lava, and white petrified dunes. Forgot the camera, but brought the phone (which takes some amazing photos, yay!). I will have to upload them when I get home. The views of the canyon from the top of the trail [View Full Entry]

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Arrived in Lost Wages Arrived in Vegas safely last night. I like Jet Blue; usually my knees hit the seat in front on airplanes, but was able to stretch out on this flight. Most happy making. The red rock, the geology, and the dry warmth all conspired to make for a lovely drive yesterday evening. Highway 15 goes through a pass referred to as 'Purgatory Canyon' on Google maps; I really wanted to be a passenger so I could just look at the scenery. Gorgeous pinky-red rock formations the size of a semi, with wonderful layering. I really want to know [View Full Entry]

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