Road Trip: Horseshoe Bend & Navajo National Monument

June 29, 2015

Day three had us leaving Jacob Lake and travelling to Monument Valley on the Arizona/Utah border.  The drive took longer than expected, in part due to an unexpected stop at Navajo National Monument.

Jacob Lake Campground, AZ

Vermilion Cliffs

As far as scenery during the drive was concerned, this was probably the most impressive day of the trip.  The Vermilion Cliffs were on our left soon after leaving the Grand Canyon area.  Soon after we started to see canyon carved by the Colorado River above the Grand Canyon.

Cliff Dwellers, Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, AZ

Colorado Plateau, AZ

Horseshoe Bend was something I've been looking forward to seeing in person for some time.  It was much bigger than I had imagined.  Pictures can't do it justice.  I highly recommend the stop if you're traveling in this area.  There is roughly a one mile hike from the parking lot to the edge of the canyon.  The hike is never flat, you're either going up or coming down the large hill between the lot and the cliff's edge.  Take water with you if you go, The heat and altitude can hit you quickly.

Horseshoe Bend, AZ

Horseshoe Bend, AZ

Horseshoe Bend, AZ

Horseshoe Bend, AZ

Square Butte

After seeing the Colorado's gooseneck, we headed to Page, AZ.  We had lunch there at a ganky Chinese restaurant and I bought a new pillow.  I'd forgotten to pack one.  You've got to forget something or it wouldn't be a camping trip, right?  We continued on until we saw a sign for Navajo National Monument.  I knew nothing about this place.  We decided to check it out.

Navajo National Monument, AZ

Turns out Navajo National Monument has cliff dwellings made by the ancestral Pueblans.  That was definitely something Jim and I were both interested in seeing.  We hiked down a short trail--a bit less than a mile long--to a viewing platform where we enjoyed a view of the ancient village.

Navajo National Monument, AZ

Navajo National Monument, AZ

The Navajo monument was a nice surprise.

After that, we headed to Monument Valley.  Our camp site was at the Goulding's Campground which is a couple of miles away from the park itself.  It was behind the Goulding's Lodge in a canyon with a view of the Valley through the canyon opening.  The campground itself had the feel of a KOA campground but it was in a beautiful setting so we didn't mind that at all.  There was also a short trail next to our site that took us up to where we could explore a natural arch.  It turned out to be a nice place to stay and explore, so we decided to take it easy there and head into Monument Valley first thing in the morning.

Goulding's Campground, UT

Goulding's Campground, UT

Goulding's Campground, UT

Goulding's Campground, UT

Soundtrack:

• Gomez -- Out West
• The Police -- Regatta de Blanc
• Henry Nilsson -- Nilsson Sings Newman
• Oingo Boingo -- Dead Man's Party
• Sleater-Kinney -- No Cities to Love
• Bruce Springsteen -- Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ

Road Trip: Pipe Spring & the North Rim

June 28, 2015

Our second day of the road trip had us making a moderate drive from Las Vegas to the North rim of the Grand Canyon.  Along the way we stopped at Pipe Spring National Monument.  We took Interstate 15 up into Utah then drove Highway 89 down to Jacob Lake where we camped for the night after a brief visit to see some of the sights on the less-traveled side of the Grand Canyon.

Somewhere in Utah

Pipe Spring is an interesting little monument.  There are no wonderful natural features there.  In fact, it's really a museum of an old Mormon fort.  I'm using "fort" in loose terms.  It's much too small to have ever been used as a military station.  The fort buildings are called Winsor Castle, which is equally misleading.  It's basically side-by-side two-story sandstone buildings with gated walls connecting them.  One building is where the family that maintained the place lived, the other is where cheese and butter were stored and maintained.

Winsor Castle, Pipe Spring National Monument, AZ

Yes, it was basically a semi-fortified Mormon dairy farm that has been deemed a national treasure.

Winsor Castle, Pipe Spring National Monument, AZ

Pipe Spring National Monument, AZ

Longhorn

Not to discourage anyone from visiting, but Pipe Spring is not a destination in and of itself.  At least, I don't see it working that way.  It was designed as a rest stop for people travelling between the Zion and North Rim parks.  Las Vegas hadn't been invented when Pipe Spring was established as a monument, but I can assure you it functioned quite well as a short stop between the sin city and the North Rim on our drive.  We probably spent about an hour and a half there and left refreshed and feeling like we'd had a memorable experience.  They have a nice museum and the grounds are scattered with equipment and wagons that helps visitors imagine what the place might have felt like one hundred plus years ago.  Also, the water from their drinking fountain is wonderfully cold.

Pipe Spring National Monument, AZ

We saw a lot of horses on this trip.  The strangest sighting occurred somewhere along this drive when Jim spotted a couple of horses loitering on a side street next to some houses.  We swung back around and took a few pictures.  They were beautiful horses.  Being city folk, we didn't know if this was something normal or not.

 

After Pipe Spring we drove to Jacob Lake to check out the camp site I'd booked.  Jacob Lake is about an hour North of the North Rim Visitor's Center at the junction of the 89 and 67 highways.  For us it worked out well because it put us right back on the road the next morning.  People wanting to spend more time in the park might want to look for something closer.  Our site looked nice and we liked the location so we decided to eschew looking for other options.

Grand Canyon National Park, AZ

One of the highlights of this trip was meeting the Geogypsy, also known as Park Ranger Gaelyn Olmstead.  I've been following her blog for a couple of years now and was excited to meet her in person.  I'm convinced park rangers are the happiest people on Earth and she did nothing to dispel that notion.

Point Imperial, Grand Canyon National Park, AZ

After stopping at the visitor's center, we drove out to Point Imperial for some late afternoon photos.  We had the place almost all to ourselves.  This was a very different experience from the crushing crowds of the South Rim and definitely more to my liking.  No crowds.  No kids.  No parents.  No strollers.  Wonderful.

Point Imperial, Grand Canyon National Park, AZ

Obviously, one afternoon on the North Rim didn't even scratch the possibilities of adventures that could be had there.  A longer return visit is definitely in order.

Point Imperial, Grand Canyon National Park, AZ

Soundtrack:

• Bon Iver -- Bon Iver
• Broken Bells -- Broken Bells
• Green Day -- Dookie
• The Cars -- The Cars
• R.E.M. -- Fables of the Reconstruction
• Gram Parsons -- Grievous Angel

Road Trip: Las Vegas

116 Degrees to Vegas

June 27, 2015

How do you kick off a two week road trip that will take you through the American Southwest and ultimately up to Yellowstone National Park?  It's obvious, right?  Las Vegas.

Mojave Desert, CA

Our first day of the trip was mainly a driving day.  Most days on the trip involved some amount of driving, but three days in specific were focused mostly on covering a lot of ground.  This was one of those days.  I never even broke out my big camera on this first day.  I shot with my little pocket camera through the window--or actually more often with my camera in my hand outside the window--as I drove.  Always watching the road, of course!

Mojave Desert, CA

Las Vegas is a weird town.  It's a great launching pad for a Southwest road trip, though.  There are a number of easily reachable destinations from there and it's fun to drink and gamble for a night.  I played roulette.  I was down a hundred at one point then up a couple of hundred at another point, and ultimately walked away up seventy dollars.  Jim played the plastic ponies at the MGM Grand all evening.  That's his happy place in Vegas.  Low stakes.  Free drinks.  I'm that way too, but I like the cold, simple odds of roulette and I love it when they shove a big stack of chips my way when I win.

Las Vegas, NV

And yes, it really did hit 116 degrees on the drive.  Hooft.

Soundtrack:

• The Shins -- Oh, Inverted World
• Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young -- Deja Vu
• The Clash -- Black Market Clash
• Morphine -- Cure for Pain
• Billy Joel -- Nylon Curtain

Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve

Soundtrack:

• The Decemberists -- The Hazards of Love
• Sleater-Kinney -- No Cities to Love
• Red House Painters -- Old Ramon

If you're in Northern California looking for a place to go kayaking, this is the spot.  There's a ton of wildlife, the waters are calm and while the current can be strong at points in the slough it's always manageable, at least from my experience.

Moss Landing, CA

Jim and I drove down Moss Landing on Saturday for a little kayaking excursion.  We spent a couple of hours on the water with the seals and sea otters.  Unfortunately the traffic was nasty getting there, but it didn't mar the experience.

Harbor Seal -- Moss Landing, CA

As usual, the seals were hauled out in the sandbar in the harbor.  The tide was sort of low making the passage to the back of the harbor narrow.  Even as we hugged the opposite side of the passage we ended close enough to the seals to smell 'em.  They stink, if you were curious.  Cuddly looking, though.

Harbor Seal -- Moss Landing, CA

Harbor Seal -- Moss Landing, CA

Harbor Seal -- Moss Landing, CA

Harbor Seal -- Moss Landing, CA

A sea otter had hauled out near the seals.  Their size is deceptive.  They look a lot smaller in the water, I suppose because their heads don't seem to match the size of their bodies.  This particular otter was almost as large as some of the smaller seals and much larger than the little guy in the photo above.

Southern Sea Otter -- Moss Landing, CA

Southern Sea Otter -- Moss Landing, CA

A raft of otters has always been present every time I've visited Moss Landing.  This time was no different, although this time they weren't lacked closely together.  From what I've read it's only the males that gather together in groups like this.  The ladies tend to keep to themselves, especially when they have youngsters.  There was at least one mother and pup in the estuary and later in the harbor.  She and her young one seemed to keep their distance from the rough and tumble groups of what I presumed were males.

Southern Sea Otter -- Moss Landing, CA

Southern Sea Otter -- Moss Landing, CA

Southern Sea Otter -- Moss Landing, CA

We saw a lot of birds as well.  I don't take a lot of pictures of gulls, mostly because they're so damned hard to identify.  Heerman's gulls are easy, though, and they're pretty in a way most gulls aren't, so I don't hesitate to fire away at a heerman's.

Heerman's Gull -- Moss Landing, CA

There were a few common loons hanging around as well.  They're sightly birds.

Common Loon -- Moss Landing, CA

Common Loon -- Moss Landing, CA

We encountered a number of otters in the slough.  They seem to have life figured out.  Float around on their backs.  Eat fresh seafood.  Primp.  Float some more. Not a bad life, if you ask me.

Southern Sea Otter -- Elkhorn Slough, CA

Elkhorn Slough, CA

Southern Sea Otter -- Elkhorn Slough, CA

Southern Sea Otter -- Elkhorn Slough, CA

After kayaking, I took a leisurely drive up the coast to Half Moon Bay where I cut over on 92 to get home.  All in all, it was a pretty great day.

Pigeon Point Lighthouse, CA

Crissy Field

Soundtrack:

• R.E.M. -- Murmur

I had to stick close to home this weekend because I was on call for production support at work.  I'll have to do the same next weekend.  It's a bummer, but there are plenty of places to explore close to home, so it's not too bad.  On Sunday Pongo and I went into the city for a walk at Crissy Field.

California Street, San Francisco, CA

I love the city.  It's about a fifteen minute drive for us if the traffic is good.  That's the trick, though.  The traffic is often not so good.  Still,  a fastrack will usually get you around the bottlenecks on the weekends.

San Francisco, CA

I don't have much of a story to tell for this particular day.  Pongo had a great time on the walk.  He also enjoyed driving through town, or at least he seemed to be interested.  He's not used to being in among the big buildings.  He's more used to big trees.

Red-throated Loon -- Crissy Field, San Francisco, CA

We saw a red-throated loon in the big pond at Crissy Field.  That's the second one I've seen this year, the first I've ever seen in breeding plumage.  So, yeah, that was kind of cool if you're into that sort of thing.

Crissy Field, San Francisco, CA

Crissy Field, San Francisco, CA