Southwest, 2005

Do a trip report here....go to another city and want to relate it to what KC is doing right or could do better? Give us a summary in here.
User avatar
Roanoker
Penntower
Penntower
Posts: 2199
Joined: Sun Jan 15, 2006 12:16 pm
Location: Kansas City, MO

Re: Southwest, 2005

Post by Roanoker »

moderne wrote: Brings back some vivid memories:  we hiked on foot to the bottom of the canyon.  It was a pleasant alpine day on the rim, by the time we got to the bottom it was a blazing desert inferno.
That's why my son planned the trip for the last week in April. It was actually snowing on the rim when we got back to the top. But the bottom was pleasantly warm and idyllic.
Going down was easy, uphill was a nightmare.  About a third of the way up I got shin splints and had to rest every 20 yards or so.  I wanted to drag someone off their mule passing us and hijack the beast.  Going down I was careful not to step in any mule droppings, going up I was doing good just to get a foot in front of the other, so I plodded through many a pile.
Ha! I can certainly sympathasize with you, somewhat in reverse. I remember looking at the hikers on foot with envy. I figured my butt would hurt. What I didn't count on was the excruciating pain in my legs. It was right up there with childbirth. We were told before we left that no complaining would be allowed. So I whimpered and moaned quietly.
Then about 2/3 of the way up a thunderstorm hit, it was like the music from Grofe's Grand Canyon Suite.  Wind about to blow me off the ledge, lightining strikes all around.  Finally make it up and back to the campground and my tent had blown over. 
It was raining--and snowing--when we got back up to the top. I just wanted to get off the saddle and into a warm vehicle.

Now for more pictures.

I cannot remember seeing a sandy beach next to a river before. Here is one.
Image

Fossil trails.
Image

I couldn't bear to crop this one to fit into a 4:3 space, so I framed it with a 4:3 piece of itself.
Image

Something dramatic must have occurred to get those giant rock layers to turn vertical.
Image

I cannot say that no human was harmed in the taking of this picture. Those cactus barbs were sharp!
Image

End of day. Had to get back to the cabin for a welcomed, long night's sleep.
Image

It is April 28, 2005, and we are waiting for the breakfast bell to ring. Best breakfast I ever had.
Image

I was already on my mule, Cricket, so I could take a picture of my husband getting onto Mutton. The mules are given names that cannot possibly be confused with people's names. Both mules and humans perk up when called by name.

Image

This is actually a small portion of the original picture. I'm including it so you can see the mules and riders on the narrow bridge. They began their ascent just before we did.
Image

Husband and Mutton with son and Sugar close behind. I liked this picture, but I didn't care for the unnecessarily busy background on the left side, so I cut it out.
Image

I managed to get a shot or two of the canyon on the way back up. I was in considerable pain until I learned to occasionally stretch my legs straight out. The wranglers didn't like for riders to do that. Too bad.
Image

The mules got to rest midway back up. So did we.
Image
“Give up money, give up fame, give up science, give the earth itself and all it contains rather than do an immoral act.” —Thomas Jefferson (1785)
User avatar
Roanoker
Penntower
Penntower
Posts: 2199
Joined: Sun Jan 15, 2006 12:16 pm
Location: Kansas City, MO

Re: Southwest, 2005

Post by Roanoker »

It is still April 28, 2005, and we are still making our ascent up and out of the Grand Canyon. We went back the same way we came (Bright Angel Trail) because the intended route back (Kaibob) had some kind of problem. Probably a rock slide. Therefore, we had to move aside on occasion to allow other groups to pass. (The trail was quite narrow.) A wrangler told our waiting group a few stories.
Image

A few shots as we continued. Notice the hiker at bottom right.
Image

Hey! I just now noticed a group of mule riders at bottom right! They were wearing their yellow raincoats because it was indeed raining.
Image

Mule rest stop. (For us, too.) My husband is leaning forward to look at something and and my son is taking a picture. I suppose that's a hiker in the background. The right half of this picture is the real, portrait-oriented one. I pasted it on top of a larger version of itself and then feather-clipped the hard left edge. Sue me.
Image

Ears of my mule, Cricket. And a nice canyon.
Image

I noticed the temperature going down as we went back up.
Image

Here's a good view of Bright Angel Trail. You probably can't see him, but there is a hiker right on the hairpin curve at the bottom in the middle.
Image

It is raining.
Image

Scary turn.
Image

We made it to the top, and it was cold. We froze during our “graduation ceremony,” where we were given certificates with our names and our mules’ names to prove we actually did the mule-ride thing. Here is what we saw when we looked into the canyon afterwards.
Image

All tied up with a bow.
Image

This was truly the last picture of the day. You can see a hint of a rainbow.
Image

A normal vehicle looked--and felt--so good.
“Give up money, give up fame, give up science, give the earth itself and all it contains rather than do an immoral act.” —Thomas Jefferson (1785)
User avatar
Highlander
City Center Square
City Center Square
Posts: 10169
Joined: Mon Jun 28, 2004 1:40 pm
Location: Houston

Re: Southwest, 2005

Post by Highlander »

Absolutely fantastic Roanoker.  I love the Grand Canyon and think it's even more impressive up close and personal.  As a longtime visitor and onetime resident of the western US, your pictures make me homesick.  On of my longtime goals has been to do the rim-to-rim-to-rim hike and I hope I am still in good enough shape to tackle it when the opportunity presents itself. 

 
User avatar
Roanoker
Penntower
Penntower
Posts: 2199
Joined: Sun Jan 15, 2006 12:16 pm
Location: Kansas City, MO

Re: Southwest, 2005

Post by Roanoker »

Highlander wrote: Absolutely fantastic Roanoker.
Thank you.
I love the Grand Canyon and think it's even more impressive up close and personal.
It almost doesn't matter how close or far away you are. It is a beautiful place. I actually enjoy it more by looking at and and fussing with my pictures. Without them, I would remember almost nothing.
As a longtime visitor and onetime resident of the western US, your pictures make me homesick.  On of my longtime goals has been to do the rim-to-rim-to-rim hike and I hope I am still in good enough shape to tackle it when the opportunity presents itself. 
I hope your wish comes true. Or I should say, I wish your hope comes true.  :D

Now for the next batch. We're done with the Grand Canyon. We drove to Page, AZ the night before. It is now 4/29/05, and we will spend the day exploring Lake Powell.

Here we are on the the way to the boat.
Image

Lake Powell was created by damming the Colorado River and flooding Glen Canyon. The lake straddles the border between Arizona and Utah. Our primary destination on this day was Rainbow Bridge, which is in Utah. Page, AZ became a town in 1956 to accommodate Glen Canyon Dam workers.
Image

I took about 350 pictures that day, but I will show you only some of them.
Image

You can tell by the "bathtub ring" that the water level had been higher.
Image

You can rent just about any kind of boat, including houseboats.
Image

Here is one of many slot canyons, and a little boat.
Image

My son, who has a degree in geology, tells me that this is an example of cross-bedding.
Image

Photo ops at every turn.
Image

I think the rock is pretty.
Image

Notice the would-be arches in the rock "building."
Image

Rock "city."
Image

Notice the mountain in the background. My son knows its name, but I don't, and he's not here.
Image
“Give up money, give up fame, give up science, give the earth itself and all it contains rather than do an immoral act.” —Thomas Jefferson (1785)
User avatar
Roanoker
Penntower
Penntower
Posts: 2199
Joined: Sun Jan 15, 2006 12:16 pm
Location: Kansas City, MO

Re: Southwest, 2005

Post by Roanoker »

We'll be on Lake Powell for a while.

Notice the would-be arches in this rock "building."
Image

Houseboat.
Image

Nice butte with reflection.
Image

Another boat. They draw my attention.
Image

You can almost miss this houseboat.
Image

I like reflections.
Image

Rock beach.
Image

Lucky shot.
Image

Interesting clouds.
Image

Slot canyon. Would be fun to explore. In a much smaller boat.
Image

I think we need to hang a right.
Image

Doesn't this rock look like a partially chiseled lion's face?
Image
“Give up money, give up fame, give up science, give the earth itself and all it contains rather than do an immoral act.” —Thomas Jefferson (1785)
User avatar
Roanoker
Penntower
Penntower
Posts: 2199
Joined: Sun Jan 15, 2006 12:16 pm
Location: Kansas City, MO

Re: Southwest, 2005

Post by Roanoker »

It is still April 29, 2005, and we are making our way to Rainbow Bridge.

All these rock formations begin to look like familiar things. Here is a polar bear's butt.
Image

Dominoes.
Image

This would have been an arch. Maybe it still will be, given enough time.
Image

Hershey Kisses, anyone?
Image

Maybe an ice cream cone.
Image

Here is a shoe you can wear.
Image

Maybe play a few records from this stack, if you can find a record player.
Image

Whipped cream! Yum.
Image

The channel is narrowing. The boat captain is navigating with great attention.
Image

This shot provides a good sense of scale. That's a man standing on a boat dock bottom left.
Image

This is the other side of the same channel. The dock is now to the right.
Image

And we have docked. As we all began our long walk to Rainbow Bridge, I swung around to get a shot of our boat.
Image

Next week, we will hike to Rainbow Bridge.
“Give up money, give up fame, give up science, give the earth itself and all it contains rather than do an immoral act.” —Thomas Jefferson (1785)
User avatar
Roanoker
Penntower
Penntower
Posts: 2199
Joined: Sun Jan 15, 2006 12:16 pm
Location: Kansas City, MO

Re: Southwest, 2005

Post by Roanoker »

It is April 29, 2005. We have left our docked boat, and we are making our way on foot to the Rainbow Bridge.
Image

Notice the hikers ahead of us. They are pretty small against the canyon walls.
Image

My son found a sea shell.
Image

In the absence of flowers...
Image

Is the boat still there? Yes. Way behind us.
Image

Husband.
Image

First glimpse of Rainbow Bridge.
Image

Notice how tiny the people look next to the bridge.
Image

Full span.
Image

Off to the left...
Image

Off to the right...
Image

Up close and through...
Image
“Give up money, give up fame, give up science, give the earth itself and all it contains rather than do an immoral act.” —Thomas Jefferson (1785)
User avatar
Roanoker
Penntower
Penntower
Posts: 2199
Joined: Sun Jan 15, 2006 12:16 pm
Location: Kansas City, MO

Re: Southwest, 2005

Post by Roanoker »

I stood under Rainbow Bridge for this shot.
Image

Maybe there are a few flowers.
Image

Would-be arches. And a hiker bottom right.
Image

Now for the walk back to the boat.
Image

This is one of those pictures within itself.
Image

Continuing...
Image

Moving along.
Image

Image

Nice star.
Image

Back on the boat and squeezing through the narrow channel.
Image

Image

Open lake.
Image
“Give up money, give up fame, give up science, give the earth itself and all it contains rather than do an immoral act.” —Thomas Jefferson (1785)
loftguy
Bryant Building
Bryant Building
Posts: 3850
Joined: Fri Sep 16, 2005 12:12 pm

Re: Southwest, 2005

Post by loftguy »

Leaving for Sante Fe Thursday morning.  It's their 400th anniversary as a city and this weekend is Fiesta (298th celebration).

For a curious look at one of the events, google The Burning of Zozobra.

Roanoker, the past few weeks I have been looking at your pics in this thread from time to time.  Just to tease myself.

Thanks for contributing to my anticipation.
User avatar
Roanoker
Penntower
Penntower
Posts: 2199
Joined: Sun Jan 15, 2006 12:16 pm
Location: Kansas City, MO

Re: Southwest, 2005

Post by Roanoker »

loftguy wrote: Leaving for Sante Fe Thursday morning.  It's their 400th anniversary as a city and this weekend is Fiesta (298th celebration).

For a curious look at one of the events, google The Burning of Zozobra.

Roanoker, the past few weeks I have been looking at your pics in this thread from time to time.  Just to tease myself.

Thanks for contributing to my anticipation.
You are welcome. Thank you for viewing.

Did you see the pictures I took when I went to New Mexico last year? They may be more useful for your upcoming trip. Here's the thread: http://forum.kcrag.com/index.php?topic=16205.0. Santa Fe was the last place we visited, so you might want to go to page 3 and drop down a bit.

You'll have a great time. I was there last September and loved all the asters. Post your impressions!
“Give up money, give up fame, give up science, give the earth itself and all it contains rather than do an immoral act.” —Thomas Jefferson (1785)
User avatar
Roanoker
Penntower
Penntower
Posts: 2199
Joined: Sun Jan 15, 2006 12:16 pm
Location: Kansas City, MO

Re: Southwest, 2005

Post by Roanoker »

Shots of Lake Powell as we make our way back to the marina.
Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image
“Give up money, give up fame, give up science, give the earth itself and all it contains rather than do an immoral act.” —Thomas Jefferson (1785)
User avatar
Roanoker
Penntower
Penntower
Posts: 2199
Joined: Sun Jan 15, 2006 12:16 pm
Location: Kansas City, MO

Re: Southwest, 2005

Post by Roanoker »

We are almost back to the marina at end of day. This boat looks like the one we're on.
Image\

Boating is a big deal on Lake Powell.
Image

One boat for scale.
Image

Here is Glen Canyon Dam, making Lake Powell possible.
Image

New day. It is April 30, 2005 and we are on our way to something supposedly worth looking at.
Image

I'm more interested in all the wildflowers than wherever it is that we are going.
Image

Image

Image

Image

I guess all those people are looking at something that caught their attention.
Image

But I see more flowers. And that rock formation is interesting.
Image

Image

Maybe next week we'll see what everyone else was looking at.
“Give up money, give up fame, give up science, give the earth itself and all it contains rather than do an immoral act.” —Thomas Jefferson (1785)
User avatar
Roanoker
Penntower
Penntower
Posts: 2199
Joined: Sun Jan 15, 2006 12:16 pm
Location: Kansas City, MO

Re: Southwest, 2005

Post by Roanoker »

Still walking to the big destination, taking pictures along the way.
Image

An experiment of sorts.
Image

So I like grass.
Image

Image

Rock formations were odd.
Image

Husband is there for scale.
Image

Getting closer...
Image

Husband sees it...
Image

And there it is. Horseshoe Bend. Notice the full-sized boats that look so tiny.
Image

Son sees it.
Image

Another perspective.
Image

Here's a side view of Horseshoe Bend. With a boat.
Image
“Give up money, give up fame, give up science, give the earth itself and all it contains rather than do an immoral act.” —Thomas Jefferson (1785)
User avatar
Roanoker
Penntower
Penntower
Posts: 2199
Joined: Sun Jan 15, 2006 12:16 pm
Location: Kansas City, MO

Re: Southwest, 2005

Post by Roanoker »

Image

Image

Image

Image

Desert flowers were bountiful and beautiful in the spring of 2005 because of abundant rainfall that year. The ones in this picture appear to have been planted or grouped into a bouquet, but they were entirely natural. Almost unbelievable. It is one of my favorite pictures from that trip.
Image

This is Glen Canyon dam.
Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Glen Canyon dam from a distance.
Image

Image
“Give up money, give up fame, give up science, give the earth itself and all it contains rather than do an immoral act.” —Thomas Jefferson (1785)
User avatar
Roanoker
Penntower
Penntower
Posts: 2199
Joined: Sun Jan 15, 2006 12:16 pm
Location: Kansas City, MO

Re: Southwest, 2005

Post by Roanoker »

We are getting ready to enter Antelope Canyon. What a place!
Image

Going in.
Image

Antelope Canyon looks like a cave, with eerie, golden lighting. The sun shines in from the top, but you can see only its beautiful effects on the walls.
Image

I had to throw away most of my pictures because I didn't have a tripod. : (
Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image
“Give up money, give up fame, give up science, give the earth itself and all it contains rather than do an immoral act.” —Thomas Jefferson (1785)
User avatar
Highlander
City Center Square
City Center Square
Posts: 10169
Joined: Mon Jun 28, 2004 1:40 pm
Location: Houston

Re: Southwest, 2005

Post by Highlander »

Those slot canyons can be surreal.  You should read  "Between a Rock and a Hard Place" for some real and rather grotesque adventure from a Utah slot canyon.
User avatar
Roanoker
Penntower
Penntower
Posts: 2199
Joined: Sun Jan 15, 2006 12:16 pm
Location: Kansas City, MO

Re: Southwest, 2005

Post by Roanoker »

Highlander wrote: Those slot canyons can be surreal.   You should read  "Between a Rock and a Hard Place" for some real and rather grotesque adventure from a Utah slot canyon.
For sure. I'll let my son take a look at that book. I'm still bothered by the fact that a group of people went into Antelope Canyon a month or so after we did, ignoring the warnings of possible flooding. The canyon looked perfectly normal, as did the skies. But water rushed through the canyon, killing eleven people. Only the guide survived.

More pictures from that day.

This is the "back door" of Antelope Canyon.
Image

This is a kind of back yard.
Image

Nice wall.
Image

Son taking a picture.
Image

I wonder who took this picture.
Image

We're there for scale. Gorgeous place.
Image

Image

Image

Back where we went in. I wish I could fit into those jeans again.  :(
Image

Little son in the opposite direction.
Image

Next day. 5/1/05. Always time for flowers.
Image

Image
“Give up money, give up fame, give up science, give the earth itself and all it contains rather than do an immoral act.” —Thomas Jefferson (1785)
User avatar
Roanoker
Penntower
Penntower
Posts: 2199
Joined: Sun Jan 15, 2006 12:16 pm
Location: Kansas City, MO

Re: Southwest, 2005

Post by Roanoker »

We drove to Bluff, Utah and through a Monument something or other. It is May 1, 2005.
Image

Image

Image

Can you believe all these flowers on the desert?
Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

I guess I got carried away with this "monument" scene.
Image

Image

Image

Image

But it did have several moods.
“Give up money, give up fame, give up science, give the earth itself and all it contains rather than do an immoral act.” —Thomas Jefferson (1785)
User avatar
Roanoker
Penntower
Penntower
Posts: 2199
Joined: Sun Jan 15, 2006 12:16 pm
Location: Kansas City, MO

Re: Southwest, 2005

Post by Roanoker »

Rafters on the San Juan River in Utah.
Image

The nearby town is called Mexican Hat. I wonder why.
Image

Aren't these hills pretty?
Image

Notice the chevrons.
Image

Image

Now for a look in the other direction.
Image

We climbed up a hill and found...flowers!
Image

Image

Image

Image

See the mountains through the rain.
Image

Twin Rocks in Bluff, Utah. They look like doorknobs to me. That's my son, trying to take a picture of them.
Image
“Give up money, give up fame, give up science, give the earth itself and all it contains rather than do an immoral act.” —Thomas Jefferson (1785)
User avatar
Roanoker
Penntower
Penntower
Posts: 2199
Joined: Sun Jan 15, 2006 12:16 pm
Location: Kansas City, MO

Re: Southwest, 2005

Post by Roanoker »

It is the next day (May 2, 2005) and we are driving through the Valley of the Gods.

This giant formation reminds me of the seven dwarves.
Image

Nice mesa.
Image

Son, taking the same picture as I am.
Image

The formation on the right reminds me of a doll cake like all the other little girls used to get for their birthdays.  :(
Image

Certainly as pretty as flowers.
Image

This one reminds me of a big ship at sea.
Image

Square butte.
Image

Image

Many formations, like this one, looked like hands reaching up.
Image

This looks like a military parade.
Image

A real flower, with a real bug on it. (I spent some time trying to remember how to convert a pen-tool path to a selection.)
Image

More flowers. There weren't many.
Image
“Give up money, give up fame, give up science, give the earth itself and all it contains rather than do an immoral act.” —Thomas Jefferson (1785)
Post Reply