As promised, the trip to Bryce was different. We started out by taking I-15 north to Cedar City, a city I would like to live at least part of the year. Our visit was short - fill-up of gasoline, coffee, and ice followed by a trip to Lins Market for supplies. The route I selected took us up the mountains east of Cedar City to a National Monument named Cedar Breaks. This is also a favorite spots and Emily agreed, after a short walk to the view point. This could add another facet to our Sept 2011 trip as the fall colors at this altitude (10K) come early. We then headed to a place called Panguitch and a lake by the same name. The lake is not very picturesque and did not even generate a paddle ... read more

GC NR - Day 3 This mornings bike ride was shorter and sought out level roadways. This was also laundry and shower morning. We found the showers unique in that the shower heads were high pressure nozzles with no adjustment. The first shot felt like the top layer of skin was being peeled off, but as the screams fell on deaf ears, I realized the timer was running With clean bodies, we drove to Cape Royal. All of the roads in the park were under repair and this road was closed for the last day or so. The 20+ mile drive on a narrow roadway with several view points was a throwback drive with trees hanging over a roadway with no shoulders. Cape Royal did not disappoint. It was less hazy today and the big muddy ... read more

GC - NR Day 1 Our drive took us through the heart of Navajo Land - Kayenta and Tuba City. Northern AZ although desolate appearing has been a center of controversy as big biz is interested in the land because of mineral discoveries. The Navajo nation has allowed some access, but not nearly enough to satisfy the “greed merchants” (sorry greed merchants). The drive up the Kaibab plateau showed the vast difference between the 2 eco-zones that led to the creation of the Grand Canyon. A flat arid plain that seemed open to the eroding effects of any flow of water and the Kaibab plateau rising more than 5K feet above the plain. We got there about 4:30 MST as we change time zones gaining an hour, of course the sun did not realize AZ “don't ... read more

If you remember from my previous travel blog, Taos is one of my favorite US locations. Our drive up through the Rio Grande river canyon in bright sunshine did not disappoint. Even though Emily was not in great shape we had 4 possible destinations on the schedule. First was Taos Pueblo, but it was closed for several days. Next was the bridge over the Rio Grande canyon bridge on our way to Earthship. We drove slowly over the canyon which proved to be adequate. Earthship was a housing development stated in the 70's to create a community of structures that relied on environmental practices to heat, cool, water, and grow all the resources necessary to sustain life. The construction also included the use of glass, cans, plastic, and tires in order to utilize throw-away material. The ... read more

Our first morning in Santa Fe was a series of communication frustrations. Remember the doc orders from yesterday - call in the AM to get an MRI appointment. Frustration 1 - after first call earliest available appointment was 4:15 on Saturday and it was a first come first serve option. Emily declined and decided to go to the hospital and make an appointment in person. She then decided that Mr Calm and Peaceful who rarely becomes frustrated would handle the appointment process. Frustration 2 - I won't go into all the twists and turns of the getting an appointment, however the final result would have been an appointment some time this year if insurance approved it. I declined to play the game and Emily agreed. Because we were close to the Santa Fe Plaza and I ... read more