Road Trip: Kanab to Canyonlands

Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Tuesday was a big day for driving and sight-seeing.  We left Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park early in the morning and headed South in Highway 89.

U.S. Route 89, UT

89 is an incredible drive.  No state throws away as much beautiful scenery as Utah.  It can't help it, there's so much to be had.  Turn after turn exposed one amazing scene after another.  Anywhere else these places would have been parks in their own right, but in Utah they're just . . . y'know . . . Utah.  We stopped at a random turnout for Pongo's breakfast and a brief walk and I took a few pictures.

U.S. Route 89, UT

An unmarked roadside turnout.  Crazy, right?  This is just a taste of what that drive holds.

U.S. Route 89, UT

Our next stop was the Glen Canyon Dam.  I have such mixed feelings about this dam.  It's a marvel to behold and I suppose necessary for people who live in the area, but much like the Hetch Hechy Dam in Yosemite, it comes at a terrible cost.  Everything I've heard about what this area was like before the dam was built suggests a lot of natural and archeological wonders are buried under that water.

Glen Canyon Dam, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, AZ

Glen Canyon Dam, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, AZ

Glen Canyon Dam Bridge, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, AZ

No condors on the bridge when we crossed.  Bummer.

Monument Valley Tribal Park, UT

Our next stop was Monument Valley.  Love this place.

Monument Valley Tribal Park, UT

Monument Valley Tribal Park, UT

Monument Valley Tribal Park, UT

Monument Valley Tribal Park, UT

Monument Valley Tribal Park, UT

Monument Valley Tribal Park, UT

Monument Valley Tribal Park, UT

Monument Valley Tribal Park, UT

We headed North after visiting Monument Valley.  As we drove through a town called Mexican Hat I wondered why in the world anyone would name a town with such a silly name.  Then we came around a corner and I totally got it.

Mexican Hat Rock, Mexican Hat, UT

Well, it's a little small in that photo, but hopefully it gets the idea across.

Cow, Dead Horse Point State Park, UT

Our final stop was Dead Horse Point State Park near Canyonlands.  We would camp there for the night.  One of the highlights for Pongo on this trip was the free range cattle on the drive into the park.  He loves looking at cows from the safety of our car.

Colorado River, Dead Horse Point State Park, UT

The park overlooks the same canyon as Island in the Sky in Canyonlands.  It has a nice view of a bend in the Colorado River.  It's not a huge park, but it has a number of exceptional views of the river and canyon.

Dead Horse Point State Park, UT

Colorado River, Dead Horse Point State Park, UT

Colorado River, Dead Horse Point State Park, UT

Dead Horse Point State Park, UT

Road Trip: Vegas, Zion and Coral Pink Sand

Sunday & Monday, May 20 & 21, 2018

Pongo and I headed out for a week-long road trip on Sunday.  Our destination was the Needles district of Canyonlands National Park to meet some friends and reflect on the life of our friend Malcolm who passed away a year ago.

Las Vegas, Nevada

We started our trip with a drive to Las Vegas.  We took I-5 South to Buttonwillow then cut over to Bakersfield, then through the Mojave Desert.  I love driving through that desert.  I think it's beautiful.  I've never been successful with photos of the place, though.

Las Vegas, NV

As is usual when I have Pongo with me, we stayed at the Motel 6 on Dean Martin Drive.  No trips to the casino or anything like that.  We go for a walk once the lights go down and that's about all of the excitement for the day there.  Well, except on this trip there was an EDM festival going on so the motel parking lot was full of young women walking around in lingerie.  I guess that's what folks wear to these things.  I wasn't complaining.  The motel has thick walls and loud air conditioning so we always sleep well there.

Zion National Park, UT

The next morning we headed East with the intent to camp someplace in Southwest Utah, with a handful of potential destinations in mind.  I figured we'd drive until it felt right.  I wasn't even sure which route we'd take.

Zion National Park, UT

As is obvious from the pictures, we took Highway 89 through Zion National Park.  That narrowed our cmping choices down nicely.  It also made for a nice scenic detour through the crowded national park. 

Zion National Park, UT

It's funny, I don't have a favorable impression of Zion.  I've driven through it twice now, once in Spring and once in Fall, and both times it seemed insufferably crowded.  However, everyone I know that has visited the park absolutely loved it.  So, I guess at some point I'll need to join the throng and see what this park is all about.  It certainly has amazing scenery.

Pongo Wants to Drive, Zion National Park, UT

After driving through Zion, our camping choice was obvious.  Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, which was about an hour East.  The state parks in Utah are great for the way we travel.  Camp sites are usually available if we get there early enough and they allow dogs on leash everywhere that people can hike.

Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, UT

Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, UT

The sand definitely is an interesting color.  After a while my eyes got used to it and it just looked like sand.  This place is big with dune buggy folks.  Most of the dunes are open for riding on off-road vehicles, so it was a little noisy.  It was fun to watch them driving around.  Pongo and I had a nice nap on the dunes.

Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, UT

Pongo, Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, UT

Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, UT

Thanksgiving 2017: Seeing the Three Sisters

Friday, November 24, 2017

Pongo and I headed East on Black Friday.  Our goal was Bend, Oregon and possibly Newberry National Volcanic Monument.  We didn't get that far.  I lost interest just past of Sisters.  We got some nice pictures along the way and had a couple of nice walks, and that turned out to be enough for me.

North Santiam Highway, OR

North Santiam Highway, OR

North Santiam Highway, OR

North Santiam Highway, OR

We drove Highway 22 over the Cascade Mountain Range into Eastern Oregon.  Although less formidable than the Rockies or the Sierras, the mountains of the Cascades are in some ways more impressive.  This is a volcanic mountain range.  Each mountain stands out on its own, not blended together like the taller peaks of the Sierras.  The Cascades separate the Willamette Valley from Eastern Oregon.

Three Sisters, OR

We stopped at Detroit Lake on the way back into Salem.  Pongo enjoyed exploring a small creek near the old town site.  We expored the ruins of the town and the ghosts of the submerged forest.  I marvel at the fact that the stumps of the trees here are older than I am an yet they still stand as sentinals of a gone-by era.

Detroit Lake, OR 

Detroit Lake, OR

Detroit Lake, OR

North Santiam Highway, OR

Soundtrack:

• American Music Club -- A Toast to You
• XTC -- The Black Sea
• Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds -- Push the Sky Away
• Jane's Addiction -- Strays
• Pearl Jam -- Ten

Thanksgiving 2017: The Oregon Coast

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

It was unusually warm when we woke up Tuesday morning at our campsite in Jedediah Smith State Park.  It had rained steadily until the wee hours of the morning, so we slept in the car rather than in our tent.  I prefer the tent because there's more room.  Pongo's a bit of a bed hog.  The car is nicer for bad weather, though.  It's very comfortable when it's just me but get's a little tight with me and the dog and all of our camping gear.  Plus, I packed too much stuff for this trip.  I need to weed some stuff out before the next road trip.  Anyway, it was so warm that morning I was in short sleeves all the way up to Bandon, OR.

Smith River, Jedediah Smith State Park, CA

Smith River, Jedediah Smith State Park, CA

The campgrounds at Jedediah Smith State Park are fantastic.  The site is in the middle of a redwood forest along the banks of the Smith River.  A number of the campsite look right out onto the river.  I prefer the ones across the road from those which are under some really big trees.  It makes for a dramatic place to wake up in the morning.

Jedediah Smith State Park, CA

Jedediah Smith State Park, CA

Jedediah Smith State Park, CA

We drove up North to Pistol River in Oregon where we stopped for a walk on the beach and dunes.  Pongo particularly liked the dunes, where he could poke his head around dunes and tall grass looking for little critters.  We didn't find any.  It reminded me of his adventures at Goblin Valley in Utah, where he had great fun sneaking around the sandstone structures.

Pistol River State Scenic Viewpoint, OR

Pistol River State Scenic Viewpoint, OR

Pistol River State Scenic Viewpoint, OR

Harbor Seal -- Pistol River State Scenic Viewpoint, OR

Pistol River State Scenic Viewpoint, OR

We made our obligatory stop at Gold Beach to photograph the sunken tugboat in the Rogue River.  I never miss that opportunity.

Rogue River, Gold Beach, OR

Prehistoric Gardens, Port Orford, OR

We took a short detour in Bandon, mostly because I had to go to the bathroom.  It took us out to the Coquille Lighthouse, which was pretty cool.  The thing with driving up the Oregon Coast on 101 isn't the Oregon Coast itself.  The highway actually spends a lot more time out of sight of the ocean than within it.  It's the rivers.  A hundred miles or more can be driven on the California coastline without crossing a major river.  In Oregon, they come one after the other.  The rivers and the bays make the drive up the Oregon coast the unique drive that it is.  There are more spectacular coastlines.  My dad would probably argue that point, but IMO California and Washington both have Oregon licked in that regard.  It's the preponderance of big rivers that makes Oregon unique on the American West Coast.  I don't know any other coastline, so I can't speak in more general terms.

Bullards Bridge, Coquille River, Bandon, OR

Coquille River, Bandon, OR

Coquille Lighthouse, Bandon, OR

It rained for the rest of the drive up the coastline.  We were going to camp if the weather permitted.  It didn't.  So, at Lincoln City we cut over to Salem and had a nice dinner with my parents before settling in to a nice warm bed for the night.  Well, more of a mat on the floor of my sister's old bedroom.  Close enough.  I actually sleep very well on that mat.  So does Pongo.

Steller Sea Lion -- Sea Lion Caves, Florence, OR

Steller Sea Lion -- Sea Lion Caves, Florence, OR

Heceta Head Lighthouse, Florence, OR

Soundtrack:

• Elvis Costello -- The Man
• Ryan Adams -- Heartbreaker
• Sonic Youth -- Murray Street
• Loretta Lynn -- Van Lear Rose
• Erykah Badhu -- New Amerykah Part One (4th World War)
• LCD Soundsystem -- This Is Happening