Category Archives: Uncategorized

What a glorious Sunday it is in southern Utah!  We drove from the cold mountains of Bryce Canyon to a hot day in crowded Zion National Park. But before we even got there, we happened upon a herd of buffalo.  You know how that works – you are driving along, minding your own business, and thereContinue reading “Easter in the Land of Zion”

More on Hoodoos in a moment. As we left the Boulder Mountain Lodge this morning, they were preparing for an Easter egg hunt, with children from all over being grouped by age for the big event.  One young man caught our eye, as he was no Eastern dude wearing brand-new cowboy boots.  No, this young manContinue reading “Who knew about Hoodoos?”

We are beginning to understand how much those early pioneers suffered.  Can you just imagine being without WiFi for a whole day?  I mean, it’s just amazing that they all didn’t turn back to a major city with decent connectivity, rather than stay at the Boulder Mountain Lodge in Boulder, UT.  Thank goodness they movedContinue reading “Stupifying and Petrifying”

We learned two things today.  First, we are unable to describe the real distinction between a bridge and and an arch that one could travel over.  We also determined that we are not Jeep people, and that while we are interested in foreign cultures, some cultures are just too foreign.  

No, didn’t make that up.  That’s the Utah state slogan these days, and it can certainly be interpreted many ways.  We chose to relate it to the Natural Bridges National Park, which we toured today. Since we all know about the water and wind erosion of sandstone, and we all believe that the earth has been hereContinue reading “Life elevated!”

The Immovables are what the Navajo people poetically call the monuments after which we Anglos named Monument Valley.  Whatever you call them, they are too astonishing to absorb from photographs, but that won’t stop me from sharing them, now that I have a decent Internet connection.

We started early in the morning to reach Mesa Verde, site of the cliff dwellings of the ancestral Pueblo people, who made it their home for over 700 years, from 550 AD to 1300.  While heavily pillaged in the 19th century, today they are some of the best preserved in the US.  The mesa itselfContinue reading “Hail to the Pueblos”

The day started peacefully enough in Gunniston.  It was a bit cool, but it warmed up as we found our way to a lovely national park – Black Canyon of the Gunnison.  This is an amazing gorge formed by the Gunnison River, with views many believe rival the Grand Canyon.

Here we are in the heart of the West, and there is just no Indian presence and only a very few references to the invisible Ute tribes.  And then the (copper) penny dropped and we realized why. These mountains are just full of valuable minerals, and that meant the Indians just had to go. Why,Continue reading “The riches of the Rockies”

Okay, couldn’t resist that title.  Today was our day to drive in the Rockies and it was spectacular. The spring weather meant that the sun was quite warm, but in some places the wind and elevation made the weather a bit nippy.  The end result was that we saw some people wearing shorts and othersContinue reading “Rocky Mountain High”