Marin Headlands

Road Trip: Death Valley and Yosemite

Friday & Saturday, May 25 & 26, 2018

Friday and Saturday turned out to be big driving days as I headed home.  I had planned to stay on the road until Monday, but things didn't work out that way.  Pongo was dead tired all day Thursday and continued to be tired on Friday in spite of our relaxed schedule the previous day.  I decided to get closer to home rather than stay in Utah.  If he bucked up we'd stay where we were and if not we'd head home.

Capitol Reef National Park, UT

We drove through Capitol Reef on our way to Panamint Springs in Death Valley, which was our ultimate destination for the evening.  We only stopped for a few pictures.  This is one of my favorite parks.

Capitol Reef National Park, UT

Koosharem Reservoir, UT

From there, it was a long, straight shot to Death Valley, which is another of my favorite parks.  We booked a campsite in Panamit Springs for two nights.

Mesquite Flat Dunes, Death Valley National Park, CA

In the morning we drove up a rough road to an old mining site.  It was pretty cool.  Pongo wasn't any better, though, and the campsite felt small and cramped with the Memorial Day weekend crowd there, so I decided to head for home up 395.

Death Valley National Park, CA

Death Valley National Park, CA

Death Valley National Park, CA

Rainbow Canyon, Death Valley National Park, CA

Death Valley, CA

Owens Valley, CA

We lucked out on the drive home.  Highway 120 through Yosemite had been closed the week before.  My friends had tried to use it on their trip out to Canyonlands and had to turn around.  My plan was to take it if it was open, figuring the park folks would push to get it open for the big holiday weekend, or I'd go on up to Tahoe and take I-50 into California.  Well, 120 was, in fact, open.  We saw some spectacular views before driving into fog near Olmstead Point.

Yosemite National Park, CA

See how much nicer it is when there's a few clouds in the sky, or even a lot?  Makes me happy.

Yosemite National Park, CA

Yosemite National Park, CA

Yosemite National Park, CA

All in all, it was a good trip.

Road Trip: Goblin Valley

Thursday, May 24, 2018

Canyonlands is an amazing place and I've hardly started to explore it, but it's not exactly dog friendly.  That's the case for most national parks.  The South Rim of the Grand Canyon is the great exception.  Dogs can walk pretty much the entire rim there.  So, as much as I would have liked to spend more time there, I wanted to get to a place where Pongo and I could move around with a little more freedom.  The nice thing about Utah is that their state parks allow leashed dog to go pretty much anyplace people can go.  With that in mind, we left Canyonlands early in the morning to get a campsite at Goblin Valley State Park.

Canyonlands National Park, UT

We took a spin around the short scenic drive on our way out of The Needles.  Unfortunately, we were cursed with clear blue skies that lasted most of the day.  Stupid nice weather.  There's nothing worse when taking photos.

Canyonlands National Park, UT

We were able to snag the next-to-last available campsite at Goblin Valley.  Pongo was very tired, so after I set up the tent we just chilled out for a few hours.  Then we made the short drive to Little Wild Horse Canyon to explore the slot canyon.

San Rafael Swell, UT

When we got to the canyon we discovered that large puddles blocked the entry.  We could have gone in, but with both a camera and a dog in tow and assuming even more pools would follow, I thought it might not be the best idea I've ever had to continue.

Little Wild Horse Canyon, San Rafael Swell, UT

We went back to Goblin Valley, which is one of Pongo's favorite spots to visit.  He loves poking his head around the goblins.  He hopes to surprise unsuspecting lizards, I suppose, and there are a lot of lizards to be seen.

Goblin Valley State Park, UT

Goblin Valley State Park, UT

Goblin Valley State Park, UT

Goblin Valley State Park, UT

Goblin Valley State Park, UT

Goblin Valley State Park, UT

Goblin Valley State Park, UT

Goblin Valley State Park, UT

Goblin Valley State Park, UT

Road Trip: Canyonlands

Wednesday, May 23, 2018

We started our morning near the visitor center at Dead Horse Point State Park.  That little park has more than its share of amazing views.  Since it was early in the morning, we had the place to ourselves.  We sat for a while and just soaked up the view.  Well, I did.  Pongo checked and rechecked every bush for lizards.  He's never even come close to catching one (if anyone is worried about that).

Dead Horse Point State Park, UT

Dead Horse Point State Park, UT

Dead Horse Point State Park, UT

We next headed to the Island in the Sky area of Canyonlands.  Of course, before we got there we had to stop a number of times for Pongo to look at the free range cattle.  I have to admit, they're awfully cute at times.  I saw three pronghorn out in this area between Dead Horse Point and Canyonlands, but was never in a good position to take a picture.  I usually get a lot of wildlife photos on these trips, but didn't have much luck this time.  Out of practice, I guess.  Plenty of cow photos, though.

Cow, Dead Horse Point State Park, UT

Calf, Dead Horse Point State Park, UT

Canyonlands National Park, UT

Canyonlands National Park, UT

After a brief tour of Island in the Sky, we set out for The Needles area of Canyonlands.  We stopped a few times on the way for photos and brief exploration.

Cattle, Utah State Route 313, UT

Utah State Route 313, UT

Utah State Route 313, UT

As we neared The Needles, we stopped at Newspaper Rock State Historic Monument to take a few photographs of the petroglyphs.

Newspaper Rock State Historic Monument, UT

Newspaper Rock State Historic Monument, UT

Newspaper Rock State Historic Monument, UT

We went to The Needles to meet up with some friends.  We were gathering to remember a friend who passed a year ago.  We camped in a cool group site inside (and outside) a cave.  It was a memorable evening.

Canyonlands National Park, UT

Canyonlands National Park, UT

Canyonlands National Park, UT

Canyonlands National Park, UT

Caanyonlands National Park, UT