Day 25 SLOT CANYON TRIP: JUNE 17, 2011

This was our final day of the 'Slot Canyon' Trip. We got awesome rock. Then I found a tick on the inside of my right leg just above the knee. Al got it out - but I was done! I don't like ticks.

We drove home, started some unloading, then took a shower. At about 8 p m we went to dinner with our youngest daughter and our former exchange student from Peru who was down for a conference and combined it with a visit.... We were afraid we were going to miss out on the visit - - but we got home just in time! I guess I was all 'funned out' and pictured out.... The only decent picture of the day was from when we stopped briefly at the Mt Hood Ski Lodge area.

Great trip! Lots of memories! And thousands of good pictures - just not from the final day!

Thank you, Lord, for your protection on the journey! Thank you for beautiful sights, the joy of friends old and new, and the joy of seeing family.

Day 24 SLOT CANYON TRIP: JUNE 16, 2011

We spent most of the the day hunting for green obsidian not far from Hines, Oregon. Then after receiving a call telling us there was going to be a surprise birthday party for Al's sister, we stepped up our return time and headed toward Glass Buttes so we could get some obsidian from that area for Al's flint knapping hobby and still make it back to Western Washington in time for her 75th birthday celebration.

The sunset photo is from our preferred camping spot on top of a knoll at Glass Buttes.

This has to be a very old antelope. Most of them run as soon as the vehicle stops - - but this one didn't.

Day 23 SLOT CANYON TRIP: JUNE 15, 2011

June 15 we took a road less traveled - the alternate Oregon Trail driving route, which kept us off the freeway, and took us through Homedale and Wilder (Idaho). My picture for the day is of Lizard Butte, which is where Dad took us for Easter Sunrise Services when we were kids. If you look closely you can see a cross near the crest of the hill. What a flood of memories it brought back.

As a kid, it was thrilling to climb the back of the lizard early Easter morning before the sun came over the horizon. And then, at break of day, to join with other early-morning worshippers in singing, Up From the Grave He Arose. I remember walking to the crest of the hill and peeking over. It seemed like a very tall hill when I was young! I'm so grateful that the Lord who loved me then, drew me back to him after I failed to remain true to him, and gave me a second chance. You are amazing, God, and it is amazing that you want a relationship with your created. Thank you for the reminder that you were there all the time! Thank you that you were faithful when I was faithless. Thank you for restoring me to faith. Thank you for your forgiveness - and even taking away the guilt of my sin. What amazing grace. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Day 22 SLOT CANYON TRIP: JUNE 14, 2011

What a delightful day!

We stopped to see one of my college roommates and her husband. It was my husband's first time meeting them - and I had only seen her husband on one other occasion - about 10 years ago....

We had a wonderful visit - then after we left their house, we drove to Shoshone Falls. My hope was to be able to get pictures of a rainbow in the falls. The falls were amazing. We had stopped to see them in the fall - - but now the water level was very high, and the amount of water coming over the falls made them absolutely spectacular.

And I got my rainbow photos! It was the perfect time of day - and I took lots of pics from lots of angles!!!! Thank you, LORD, for the amazing beauty of Your world - and for having eyes to see such magnificence.

The obvious poem that leaped to mind was one I memorized in High School, My Heart Leaps Up, by William Wordsworth

My heart leaps up when I behold
A rainbow in the sky;
So was it when my life began;
So is it now I am a man;
So be it when I shall grow old,
Or let me die!
The Child is father of the Man;
And I could wish my days to be
Bound each to each by natural piety.

I love rainbows and the promise of God they stand for! He destroyed the earth once by water and the rainbow is his continuing promise that he won't do that again. (Though this year there have to be some people who wondered....)

The only thing that affected the absolute perfection of the day were the malevolent mosquitoes at The Bruneau Sand Dunes Park where we camped for the night. They thought bug spray was a condiment!

Otherwise: a perfect day! Thank you, Lord!

Day 21 SLOT CANYON TRIP: JUNE 13, 2011

Another special day! We went antiquing for a few hours, got to go meet my great-niece's horses, then in the evening attended a wonderfully-done production of 'The Unsinkable Molly Brown', which was absolutely delightful!

The flowers in the photo were just outside the Theater.

Day 20 SLOT CANYON TRIP: JUNE 12, 2011

When we were leaving our campground June 12, we found out a cattle drive was headed our way - so we hung out and waited for it.

We stopped by the Provo Cabela's. Very different set-up from ours. When we came out there were two guys flintknapping so we talked to them/ watched them for about an hour. Then on to see my eldest brother, sister-in-law and other family in Brigham City, Utah!

They decided to take us to Bear Lake for the afternoon. Part of the lake is in Utah and the rest in Idaho. On our journey, we stopped to see the Paris, Idaho Tabernacle, built in the late 1800's. They couldn't agree on which design they liked better, so they compromised and built the two sides with different styles to make everyone happy.

Day 19 SLOT CANYON TRIP: JUNE 11, 2011

Even though we had been to Rochester Panel on a prior trip I wanted a picture with my new camera. Later in the day we went over a pass that was at almost 10,000 feet, and got snow pictures. I got them into the blog in the wrong order.... It seems to have a mind of its own.

Day 18 SLOT CANYON TRIP: JUNE 10, 2011

Our destination today was Caineville - and our goal was to find chert. We didn't find chert, and other than seeing a sign that said 'Caineville Wash' we didn't even see a roadside sign for what might have once been Caineville. The last time we were through that area, I thought I remembered a sign - - one of those 4 inch 'cities' that has the name of the town on each side of one post. Couldn't even find that this time....

The photo of the 'red' rock area is Capitol Reef from a distance. The larger formation is in Monument Valley - not far from Capitol Reef.

Day 17 SLOT CANYON TRIP: JUNE 9, 2011 - Petroglyphs

When we left Calf Creek we talked to some people who told us about some really neat Petroglyphs nearby - above the Escalante River. It was a hike up high to get to see them - but they were worth the climb. Zoomed in, the hands look like someone dipped hands into paint and then onto the cliff face.... The picture in the center shows where the hands are located.

We found a few petroglyphs on the hike. The one shown in the bottom photo is far more characteristic of others we have seen in the area, both on this trip, and prior trips. My favorites are Newspaper Rock and Rochester Panel, because they are so large, but seeing the smaller ones - little messages from the past tucked away in unexpected places - is neat, too.

Day 17 SLOT CANYON TRIP: JUNE 9, 2011- Calf Creek

Our first hike of the day was a 6 mile round trip jaunt up to the Lower Calf Creek Falls, where I had a lot of fun taking pics of a Chocolate Lab playing in the water. Al went in for a swim. It was cold. Hot day. Cold water. Great combo!

Clicking on the images should enlarge them.

Day 14 SLOT CANYON TRIP: JUNE 6, 2011

Oops! I missed a day! In the morning of Day 14, we hiked up to Eagles Landing at Kodachrome Basin State Park. Great photo ops. Bryce National Park is only 19 miles away, and is visible from the landing. There are also some great photo ops of dead trees - which is one of my favorite topics. Then - we hiked Willis Creek, another hike the gal back at Kanara Creek told Al about. It was fun. Generally there isn't water in the creek this time of year, but there was this year - - so we hopped across or waded as needed....

Sorry for being out of sequence on my reporting days....

Day 16 SLOT CANYON TRIP: JUNE 8, 2011, Big Slots

After hiking the 3 canyons in the Harris Wash earlier in the day, we drove back to the Bureau of Land Management Visitor Center at Escalante to ask about some other slot canyons we had heard about - Big Slots - - then we hiked out to explore.

We were the only ones out there. They aren't a common destination. But - the colors were spectacular, even though the other attributes of the canyons didn't hold a candle to the others we had already explored! We hiked up one- then Al took off cross-country. I went up the wash and entered the next slot. After awhile it opened up to an area of spectacular yellows and pinks - then after crossing through that area, there was another slot I hiked through - - and finally found Al, who wanted me to go up high on the sandstone areas to see what he had seen - - but I was just as excited about what I was seeing: stripes and swirls galore! And I wanted him to see what I had seen - so he joined me for the hike back. What an adventure! WE did a LOT of hiking and it is one of the few days my feet actually got tired.... But, it was a wonderful day!

Day 16 SLOT CANYON TRIP: JUNE 8, 2011, Dry Slot

Our next canyon of the day was Dry Slot Canyon - which was back toward where we hiked in. I found an accommodating lizard that let me take 16 pictures of him. I got my share of lizzie pics on the trip - - but they are often challenging to get pictures of. They run fast!

After we went through the most interesting part of Dry Slot Canyon, we found a place to climb out - then hiked cross-country by different routes back to our pickup. As is customary on our hikes, Al got there several minutes before I did!

Day 16 SLOT CANYON TRIP: JUNE 8, 2011, Spooky

A lot of Spooky was narrow. Very narrow. To fit through the narrow slots, we had to ditch our packs, and squish through sideways, the canyon rubbing both our front and our back simultaneously. Needless to say, a lot of people can't go in very far. They said that if you get claustrophobia you shouldn't do Spooky, but as long as I have fresh air I'm O K. Another thing that probably helped is that we were alone in the canyon. There weren't many places to pass...and I hate to think what would happen if someone actually got stuck.... But - for us it was fun! Looking at some of the areas we had to go through, it seemed impossible - but we made it!

We didn't go on down to the next slot canyon, which is named Brimstone. It is more technical and requires mountaineering skills I don't possess. We thought about going in as far as we were comfortable - but it is a destination hike for the hearty, and we had lots of other slots to explore!

Day 16 SLOT CANYON TRIP: JUNE 8, 2011, Peekaboo

DAY 16: Another perfect day!

Since we were in the right area, we learned there are a lot of slot canyons in the Grand Staircase-Escalante Area - they say about 1000! Two of their most famous ones that are moderate hikes are Peekaboo and Spooky. Both lived up to their names. There are several slot canyons accessible from the Harris Wash. We visited Peekaboo first.

To get into the canyon the first challenge is climbing up 12 feet to the entrance. The 1st picture for today shows that. Thankfully there were some toe notches and enough places to hang onto to make it up pretty easily. We got out there early and were the only ones in Peekaboo during the time we were there...but lots of other people got there not long after we left...they are popular sites to visit!

Happy Birthday, Shayne! We had a terrific day on your birthday!

Day 15 SLOT CANYON TRIP: Devil's Garden

My blog only allows me 3 pictures for each post - and I just had to share a few pics of Devil's Garden, which is down 'The Hole In The Rock' Road. It's easy to miss, as it is not visible from the road - but it is fun. It reminded me of Goblin Valley, in fact, but with larger specimens. Wind, water and time. What a wonderful display of the effects the trio have, given the right medium to work with.

Day 15 SLOT CANYON TRIP: JUNE 7, 2011

Day 15 was another perfect day. We camped the night before at The Petrified Forest State Park and early in the morning I got some great pictures of the reservoir filled beyond the brim, as evidenced by the top photo for today. That was just a bonus!

This was the day we got to go to the canyon that was the catalyst for doing this trip, Zebra Canyon. A couple of years before we took a trip to the Southwest that included going to Goblin State Park, where we first heard about slot canyons. We hiked up Little Wild Horse Canyon, then back out another canyon - - and I was hooked!

There was a photo of Zebra Canyon in the Visitor Center at Goblin Valley State Park, and I added going there to my newly-formed 'bucket list.' I was enthralled by the pink stripes in the sandstone! Today was the day!

What I didn't know about Zebra Canyon when I determined to see it for myself someday, was that it is a long hike to a short canyon! It is a 6 mile+ round trip hike through a sandy wash to get to a canyon that is only about 1/4th of a mile long.... There was another couple there when we arrived - taking pictures, of course.... So they are in a lot of my shots - - but after they left I got some without people.... I actually like both. People in pictures provides perspective.

It's obvious how Zebra Canyon got its name! The stripes were wonderful! (If you click on a picture I think it will enlarge so you can see it better!)

Day 13 SLOT CANYON TRIP: JUNE 5, 2011

We hiked up Cottonwood Slot Canyon. The most beautiful thing about the hike was the wild flowers. Another hot day.... We stopped at Grosvenor Arch, then spent the night at Kodachrome Valley State Park. Gnasty gnats, but great showers!

Happy Birthday, McCain.

Day 12 SLOT CANYON TRIP: JUNE 4, 2011

On June 4 we hiked to the Wahweap Hoodoos. It was a 9+ mile round trip hike in the hot sun, up a nearly-dry wash. When we got back to the vehicle it was 95 degrees. It was definitely our hottest day hiking - - and I had come down with an acute sinus infection from the dust the day before in the Antelope Slot Canyons. I made a slight tactical error in carrying less water that day. On all our other hikes I had had never come close to using all the water I carried - and it is heavy to carry extra stuff....so I cut way back.... Bad choice. Wrong day for that decision. A good lesson. We made it by rationing our final water and guzzling like crazy once we were back at the pickup! Other than those little asides - - the hoodoos were interesting. They are the result of having a rock to protect an area from being washed away in the erosion process....and have taken many years to form. As they get too weak, they crumble...so they are the result of continual change. Some of their most delicate ones won't be there much longer....