11 May ‘08

Sunday

This morning we were out on the trails by 8.  We wanted to hike out to see the Landscape Arch in Arches National Park before we were to meet the ranger at 10am for our hike through the Fiery Furnace.  We’ve really been fortunate, the weather has been great for hiking and we’ve sure been doing a lot of that in the past weeks.  The fact is, when we missed a couple of days on the trails we really feel the difference, and that isn’t a good difference.  We had heard that yesterday a hiker came across a pigmy rattlesnake while hiking the trail to Landscape, so we kept our eyes and ears open while out there.  Well we still haven’t seen our rattler, but we did see the Landscape Arch and it was as advertized, amazing. 

 In 1991 a rock slab 60 feet long, 11 feet wide, and four feet thick fell from the underside of Landscape Arch leaving behind an even thinner ribbon of rock.  Even before reading about the slab coming off of Landscape, I’ve wondered if another arch might “calf” some rock while we’re walking across or under one of them…we pray a lot.  Ok, it’s 10am and we’re meeting 23 other hikers to meet and another hike to make.  The hike through Fiery Furnace isn’t for everyone.  If you are bothered by small tight places,

 or drop-offs, this may not be for you.  Louise joined more than half of the group by squeezing through one of the smallest “arches” in the Furnace…we saw a lot of butts while doing it. 

 But I think it is one of the greatest adventures I have ever been on.  Besides the beauty and the fantastic colors, it is a great challenge to get through.

  I watched many people doing things that they had never done before and being very proud that they accomplished them. 

Hike finished and our last day in the area, we decided to head into Moab, do a little window shopping, and have lunch.  Where we decided to have lunch happened to be the hot spot for bikers (the peddle type of bike).  The micro-brewery, Moab Brewery, was a good choice.  Both of us happen to like a good IPA and they had one, and besides they also had a good Ruben...    

10 May ‘08

Saturday

Yesterday we had planned to take a couple of hikes in the Canyonlands, but that didn’t work out.  Just as we pulled into the visitors center, we were met at the door by one of the “newbie” Park Rangers.  She was telling us that she was just about ready to put on an half-hour seminar and wanted us to join her.  I think she was afraid that she wasn’t going to have much of a crowd to talk too.  Well we couldn’t disappoint her so we walked across the street with her and found a rock to sit on.  Her talk was on how the different animals and insects adapt to the season changes in the high deserts of Utah.  The time taken with her was well worth it as we really learned a lot.  Now back across the street, we took the time to watch the movie on Canyonlands and pick up the information sheet for the area.  This area is still part of the Colorado Plateau.  The Colorado River runs down one side of the Canyonlands and meets up with the Green River that runs down the other side.  Where they meet is deep in the canyon and make up one of the most incredible “white water” areas for floaters and kayakers.  We gave a thought of taking our kayak down there but immediately came to our senses…  This is the same water that has created the hundred of canyons, mesas, buttes, fins, arches, and spires thought out Canyonlands.  At the far end of the road through Canyonlands, we ended up at the Mesa Arch.  After taking our picture under the Mesa Arch,

we decided to take time out and enjoy the view of the valley and ridges below us.  We could follow the Green River as it twisted its way through the jagged edges of the “new” canyons below. 

 After a couple of short one mile hikes, and stopping a couple dozen more times to see some different views, we headed back to the coach to rest up for tomorrows hike into the Fiery Furnace of the Arches.  Oh, by the way, yesterday evening Lou and I were out for a walk around our campground.  This campground is semi-primitive, as it is in the middle of no-where, has no hook ups, and is spread out so that just about every site is not within view of an other.  Well, on this hike we came upon a fox den. 

At the time we were walking by, there were up to 8 pups and 2 adult fox.  The pups were jumping and running around each other and having a great time and the other two were being aware of all that was around and being watchful...what a great find !!!

8 May ‘08

Thursday

We’re camped at the top of a plateau, just outside of the Canyon Lands National Park.  We tried to get into Arches National Park but they were all filled for the weekend.  About 20 miles from here is the town of Moab, Utah which we toured this afternoon while looking for the best price on gasoline…the toad was getting a little low, so if we are to do a little exploring around here, we’ll just have to pay the $3.87 a gallon and get over it.  After filling with the gas, we headed up to the Arches Visitor Center to see if there was still room for us to join the guided hike through “The Fiery Furnace” in the next couple of days.  Fortunately we were able to join them on Saturday at 10am for the 2 hour hike.  This is one of those “must do’s” when you get close to Arches National Park.  To fill in the rest of the day, we continued from the visitor center and drove the 24 miles to the end of the park. 

Along the way we were entertained with more “arches”

than we had seen in total for the last month and of course some other spectacular natural rock and mud formations throughout the park.

  One thing’s for sure, if it’s going to be a spire or plateau of red, white, burgundy, or chocolate, you’re traveling in one of the 4 corner states.  While traveling today, we even came through a large area of black/gray plateaus and of course the rains and winds created their own spires, this was the first for our trip.  In some areas they were so black, that when the sun hit them straight on, they turned gold…unbelievable.  Well, we’re getting up early again in the morning.  We want to hike another canyon here in Canyon Lands.  Fact is, if we get it done early enough we will go for a second.  I have to get on-line and order some new hiking shoes/boots, I just about worn those that I have completely out. 

07 May ‘08

Wednesday

We started the day with a little cloud cover but by the time we got back to the coach the weather had deteriated (I can’t find how this is to be spelled, even in “spell-check”).  About 4 miles down the road, and into the “water fold” area, we approached the days hike.  It was to take us up to the top of the Cassidy Arch.  The Cassidy Arch was named after Butch Cassidy, the infamous bad guy of the West.  Our trail was to take us up 1600 feet in about a mile and a half, and then level off the rest of the ¾ remainder.  I’ll tell you what, those hiking sticks that we bought back in Indio this last December have really shown themselves to be a great asset…  We bombed up the hill…

I can’t say that we didn’t huff a little, but we really did get up there quick.  Unfortunately, we did miss our trail marker once we got up to the “Y” and we ended up climbing another ¾ mile before turning around and looking for the right trail.  Once we found our mistake we couldn’t have been happier.  The Cassidy Arch was more than we had expected, the size, the placement, and the beauty of the structure were really outstanding.  We were there when 2 young women and a guy started their repel from the top.  The young man was a little nervous,

 but in the end he dropped off the side with his companions.  To make it all the way down to the road, they had 4 more repels to make.  As for Louise and me, we had to hike allll the way back to our car.  I don’t know, but why is it easier to go up than to have to go down those steep inclines???  Well tomorrow we are out of here early.  Our next destination is Arches National Park….see you tomorrow.

5 May ‘08

Monday

Again, there is soooo much to see in this area that we decided to stay over one more night.  Heading southeast from Boulder, the Burr Trail Scenic Backway crosses some of the most stunning wilderness in the southwest. 

We were asked to “envision being on a cattle drive in the Old West and retrace the path of John Atlantic Burr, a rancher for whom the road was named”.  Our drive took us 66 miles, from the start of the Burr Trail in Boulder to our final destination of Ticaboo and the Bullfrog Marina on the shores of Lake Powell. 

Our ride took us through the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Capitol Reef national Park, and the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.  We had “improved roads” on both ends, but just over 10 miles inside Capitol Reef and 11 miles of BLM land were graded “dust”…The Burr Trail took us through some striking scenery.  We were blown away by the drive, especially through the Glen Canyon and then down the switch-back of the Burr Trail.  We made dozens of photo stops along the way and one stop to examine the Deer Creek Campground.  The shear rocks that towered above us by 100’s of feet,

and all with the most dramatic coloring you could imagine.  Driving down the Burr Trail was just a tad more exciting than Louise had wanted…  The road was dusty dirt, wide enough for one car at a time, either up or down, with a very few pullouts.  The drop was from the side of the roadway, the switchbacks, were “amazing”.  When we pulled into the park at Bullfrog, Arizona, they told us that the best place to launch the kayak was in their “primitive” campground.  We found the entrance to the campground and headed toward the water.  The “roadway” was nothing but 2 tracks that lead off into hundreds of different directions.  We tried a couple of them out before finding that each of them led to areas around the water that was of “high bank”.  There was a place that we wanted to find, as there were a few campers already there and they were right at the water’s edge.  What we finally found was a sign that said “For 4 Wheel Drive Vehicles Only”…Yep, that’s us…  We did find a place to park, get the kayak ready, and head out into Lake Powell again. 

 This time we were right across the bay from the ferry terminal.  There were quite a few houseboats out on the water this time around.  The water has warmed up considerable, although we didn’t get in ourselves to really test it.  I did put my hands and feet into it, but stopped at that. 

4 May ‘08

Sunday

Yesterday we were camped at Tropic, Utah.  Tropic is located about 12 miles southeast of Bryce and is a place that offers a good motel for those that need one while visiting the canyon.  For us, it was a close campground at a decent price for the night.  We pulled out of Tropic about 9:30 this morning taking highway 12. 

Highway 12 is a small 2 lane road that at times was so narrow that we were wishing we were back in the Baja driving better roads.  I’ve never felt like I was getting “sea” sick, but today was a first.  The first 2 hours felt like the coach was in a bowl of jelly, swaying one way and then another…sometimes it felt like it was swaying all ways at once.  Just prior to noon, and seriously, out in the middle of nowhere we came upon Kiva Coffee House. 

 The setting was unbelievable, and the structure of the coffee house, absolutely perfect.  This coffee house is located no closer than 15 miles from any other commercial establishment, and it is located at the edge of one outstanding canyon wall. 

This is a place that I would put very high on a “must return” status…  Further up 12, we came upon a state park that we had heard some exciting things about.  This is the location of the “Calf Creek Falls”. 

 The hike into the falls was about 3 miles and follows a beautifully clear stream.  Unfortunately, they don’t have room for us to get in because of our size.  So the only option we had was to continue on.  Hwy 12 continued to “surprise” us.  The views were outstanding and the road is still extremely narrow.  As we climbed at 14 degrees and then dropped at 8 degrees, only to find ourselves at the top of a ridge that was so narrow that I was hoping not to have any on-coming traffic.  This was a “ridge”… both sides of the roadway plunged several hundred feet to the canyons below.  Continuing another 8 miles further down the road from Calf Creek, we found a small campsite that we could stay over-night at.  It happens to be at Boulder, Utah and at a “Mini-Mart” that has 4 electric and water hookups right next to the store.  After unhooking the “toad”, we drove back to Calf Creek to take that hike to the falls, and are we happy we did as they are as wonderful and advertized. 

3 May ‘08

Saturday

Unfortunately we didn’t get our hike in yesterday.  When we arrived back at the coach from Bryce on Thursday, we found that our “house batteries” had apparently gone bad (at least that’s what we think had happened).  Anyway, we ended up having to go back to Cedar City, some 120 miles away, to try and find replacements.  After stops at NAPA and CarQuest, we found that we were coming up short.  Then one of the guys at CarQuest gave us a name of a company that might be able to help…Battery Exchange.  A couple of hours later, we were able to have our lunch, pick up our new batteries and head on back to get them installed.  It’s been a full day, a total of 225 miles round trip, and a receipt for 4 new batteries.

Well today we were able to start our hike at Bryce.  Last night we moved the coach a little closer to the park and that gave us the opportunity to get an early start.  Bryce Canyon has always been a special place.

  The original inhabitants, the Paiutes, believed that the rock figures were people turned to stone by angry gods…well we see them a little differently now, but it does seem that there still is a little magic there. 

 Our hike took us down into the midst of these delicately colored spires, and let me tell you, you can let your imagination run away with you with all the different figures that these spires make up.  We even saw the one that they call “Queen Victoria”. 

 It really does look just like all the pictures I’ve seen of her over the years.  We were able to see the famous “Hoodoo’s” as well, and then hike down into the middle of all the spires.  The tougher part is the hike back up the “switch-backs” to the top of the cliffs. 

 Overall our hike took us just over 2 ½ hours, and it was, “The Most Beautiful Canyon” in the world.  By the way, Ebenezer Bryce, whose cattle grazed in the mazelike twists of the canyons, once said, “a hell of a place to lose a cow..”.  I’ll bet it was… 

1 May ‘08

Thursday

We’ve got to get our tire repaired this morning, but the question is where???  Kodachrome State Park is out in the middle of “no-where”, so we’ve got some exploring to do.  After asking the camp host, ranger, and a stranger, I got the idea that we would have to drive up to the entrance of Bryce Canyon.  Up there they have a “garage” that could do the job for us, so Bryce Canyon, here we come.  $15 and 45 minutes later and we were the grand tour of Bryce Canyons Rim.  After a stop at the “Information Center”, we found out that Bryce “Canyon” is 18 miles long and the best way of seeing as much as you can is to drive down the 18 miles to see the first “over-look”

 and then as you are returning to the main gate, you will have 9 more stops to enjoy. 

The only problem was, on the 6^th stop, we found out that our newly repaired flat tire had decided to go flat again…  OK, let’s not go and dig out the jack and remove the spare tire cover again, let’s just try out the air pump.  After all, we’re only 3 miles away from the garage this time.  Tire pumped up again, back to the garage, more time with them, and we’re on the way again.  Because of the time, we decided not to take a major hike in the canyon but there is one that we will make.  It’s located just outside of the park, a hike of about a mile return, and takes in a small waterfall and a snow cave.  It was OK but I probably wouldn’t stop again…  Tomorrow we’ll take a hike into Bryce Canyon that has been billed as “The Most Beautiful Hike In The World”.

30 April ‘08

Wednesday

Today has been quite an adventure… first, we drove out the same route that we drove last night to find and hike the Shakespeare Arch Trail. 

 It was a dusty 3 mile road to the trail head, but once we got there we kind of ignored the wind as much as we could.  The hike to the arch was easy so we decided to take the full circle trail.  The whole hike was about 2 ½ miles so it should have been pretty easy.  Once we got around to the opposite side of the arch, we found that the trail had been covered with sand.  Not only was it covered with sand, it was on a very steep grade.  Again, we are very glad we made the purchase of these walking sticks.  With them, it gave us the grip on the sloping hill side that we sure wouldn’t have had without them.  It wouldn’t have hurt either one of us if we had slipped in most of the areas, but on a couple of them…well, it wouldn’t have been so much fun.  The sights from the height of the hills and the Shakespeare Arch itself really made the hike worthwhile.  We had heard of a couple of other places we must see while here in Kodachrome.  There’s a dirt road here that runs 60 miles to Page, Arizona. 

  Well we decided that we haven’t had enough of dirt roads yet so we turned left and headed out.  That’s just a part of it…at the 3 mile mark, we had to ford a river.  The road split into an on-coming and on-going lane, just in case someone didn’t make it across.  At the 9 mile mark we took a right and headed off to see the magnificent Grosvenor Arch. 

 This is one site that we could just drive up to.  The wind was still blowing like hell, but seeing the arch was well worth it.  OK, now let’s really do a hike…Cottonwood Narrows is a narrow Navajo Sandstone canyon that we can pick up 4 miles further down that dirt road.  After finding a spot off the roadway to park, we grabbed our hiking sticks, slid through a small rock crevasse,

and found ourselves surrounded by 1000 foot high granite walls.  The floor of the canyon was mostly deep sand and larger rocks.

  With that kind of canyon floor, our leg muscles are going to get a good work-out, which they did.  Driving back to the coach, we had to pass through the water hazard again, only this time we had to use the other “lane”.  A couple of different things happened… First the water was much deeper and hit just above the bumper which splashed water over the top of the car.  Next, we must have hit something like a nail sitting under the water because we had no sooner made it to the other side and I noticed that it felt like we were riding on a very low tire…yep, here we sat, in the middle of nowhere and we had a flat.  Now I’m getting a little upset…wind, water, completely wore out from a strenuous day, and now a flat tire??? 

30 April ‘08

Tuesday

11am was check-out time and by the time we had packed up, filled the freshwater tank, and said our “Good-bye’s” to Bob and Laurie it was 10:48.  I wanted to top off our fuel tank before we left town so we headed into Hurricane.  With the prices of all the fuels going through the roof, I decided that after filling, we would try to find a place we could purchase lockable gas and diesel fuel caps.  Just as we were leaving the edge of town, I spotted a NAPA store but the only parking for us was about 50 yards past them.  Not seeing a problem with that and noticing a light pole that I would have to work around, I edged over to the curb.  All of a sudden I hear this scrapping sound…  I looked out of the passenger side mirror and saw that because of the steepness of the incline that was built into the shoulder of the road, we were now leaning into that damn light pole.  The shoulders of the roads were made this steep as to allow a lot of rain to run easily to the storm drain system.  Well fortunately, I was able to pull away from the pole without a scratch.  Don’t ask me how, but luck was with me.  Now what about the fuel caps???  Heck with it, I’ll find them somewhere else.  Our drive took us back over to Hwy 15 and then continuing on east to Cedar City.  At Cedar City, we took Hwy 14.  This highway took us high up in the mountains. Fact is, when we finally stopped just a ½ mile short of the summit, our GPS told us we were at 9,987 feet.  I knew we were high, but that really surprised me.  The views from up there were amazing but unfortunately I don’t think the camera shots did them justice.  Then it was on to find our campground.  We will be (are now in) a state campground in Kodachrome Basin State Park.  Prior to getting to Kodachrome, we had to pass through Red Canyon.

  Going into Red Canyon was like driving through a private gate and then….BAM !!!!  The most unbelievable red rock formations…yep, again with the red rocks and the formations.

  There was a sign that told us we were about to enter this area, and that there would be a “scenic view” in ¼ mile…we saw the same sign every ¼ mile for the next 2 miles.  You couldn’t believe the beauty of this place…it was something else.  Well like I mentioned, we are now in Kodachrome Basin State Park. 

 Our campsite is surrounded with natural rock formations of red, white, pink, and dark burgundy.  The trees and plants all complement the formations. 

 We have already taken a short 1 mile hike and a 6 mile off road ride (the car is again one big dust ball) to see some of this Kodachrome area.  Tomorrow we will be doing a lot more of both if the wind will let us.   Yep, the wind had found us again, blowing this red sand into every crevice available.  Lets just say it’s tough to stay clean.  The days are staying light well into the 9pm area, but after that…boy, do the stars make their appearance here.  It’s hard to believe there are that many stars in the sky above.  

29 April ‘08

Monday

Well it’s time to do a little shopping…this morning, following breakfast, we headed over to St. George for a visit to Wal-Mart and Costco.  It wasn’t that we needed so much but for the coming week to 10 days, we’ll be away from the closeness of these two stores and we just didn’t want to fall short. 

When we got back, we joined Bob and Laurie for a great paddle on one of the local reservoirs.

  With the weather holding to “PERFECT”, we just couldn’t pass it up.  Tonight, as well as last Saturday night, Louise joined with a group from the campground for a night of Texas Holdem…she had a good time, but not a winner, damn.  Now on the other hand, Bob came home with $35 for coming in 3^rd. 

Well it’s time again to move on…we’re heading to Bryce Canyon National Park.  The weather report doesn’t look good.  Today it’s supposed to be in the low 70’s but Wednesday drops to the mid 50’s with the night temp at 16…BRRRRRR….

27 April ‘08

Sunday

I forgot to tell you about yesterday’s cinnamon rolls.  When we checked into this campground, we received the usual list of “what’s happening in the park”.  Listed on that list was the Saturday morning cinnamon rolls that “are the best you have ever tasted, and you had better come early as they sell out”… Seeing as how we had checked in last Saturday AFTERNOON, I didn’t have a chance to get mine, so I had to wait for AWHOLE week.  Well yesterday morning finally arrived and I was one of the first to get into the line (well, I didn’t want them to sell out…).  Remembering how good these cinnamon rolls are supposed to be, I bought 3…one for now, one for Louise (knowing darn well she is on a diet and would pass) and one for tomorrow’s coffee.  Now I’ve paid my $3, have them in my hand, and heading home to my patio and my fresh cup of coffee.  I can just taste that treat I’m about ready to enjoy….ya right !!!  Without a doubt, these cinnamon rolls are the worst pieces of pastry that I’ve ever put my mouth around !!!  Oh well, lesson learned. 

After breakfast this morning, Louise and I decided to hike into the Red Hills, those red hills that rise across the valley from us.  Last week we walked over there and did some hiking, but this time we drove to the base of the hill and started there.  After paying our $1 fee, we checked out the different trails and decided to take the one that ran up one of the canyons.  About the first mile we were walking the red sands of the area, and when we rounded the first bend, we found we would hike on shear rock that lined both sides of a stream.  This was really a beautiful scene and we were just about the only hikers around.  A little bit up stream we did come across another couple and being Sunday we just knew we would see a lot more soon.  At one point, we got to where the water and the steep walls came together.  The only way around to the other side was to slide your belly up close to one of the large rock slabs, put your foot into one of the many foot holds that were dug out of solid rock, and grab a hold of a knotted rope. 

 This rope was anchored at the top of the rock, and was long enough to swing completely around to the other side.  In getting around to the other side we found that the stream went around and through another canyon.  A second choice was a hiking trail that would lead us up and into a second canyon.  After about the first 100 yards, we found ourselves climbing through and over rocks that took us to a wonderful overlook.

  Actually, this “overlook” was a good stopping area.  It gave us a good place to enjoy the canyons far below and contemplate what path would take us back down safely.

We made it down just fine, but picked up some red dust on the bottom of our shorts in doing it.  After reaching the bottom we decided to hike up the second canyon.  In doing that we found that we would either have to wear our hiking shoes in the stream or go bare foot as the walls of the canyon were too steep to allow us to walk around.

  I did take my walking sticks with me for balance, but I also found them handy to measure the depth of the water.  About 75 yards into our walk in the water we found a deeper hole that made us either get out on a sloping wall or go swimming…we chose to try the sloping wall bare footed…not a good idea.  It’s been a long time for my poor ole bare feet to have been put to this kind of torture so we made our turn-around and headed home.  We had a great hike and I guarantee you, we’ll feel it for a few days.  Tomorrow we will be joining Bob and Laurie on the water…one more kayak outing before we head off to Bryce Canyon National Park on Tuesday. 

25 April ‘08

Friday

Last Friday we pulled into Hurricane, Utah after a great drive through desert, valleys, and some wonderful mountains that took us up to 7,800 feet.  We found ourselves driving through a large area of tall Pine while in the mountains, something we haven’t seen for quite some time.  Coming out of the mountains we found ourselves driving down a 6% grade and the final altitude of 3,400 feet.  About 3 miles before coming out of the pass, we started to see a sign that warned us of a “Stop Sign and SCHOOL” at the bottom of the hill….”30 MPH Maximum”…  “What a hell of a place to put a school…” It wasn’t until we finally got to the bottom (and we still had our brakes), that we saw the school.  Fortunately it was still 3 long blocks away after the STOP SIGN, which makes much more sense.  Now we’re in Hurricane and on our way to our campground.  Western Horizons St. George is located about 5 miles west of Hurricane in a now extinct, but historical, town of Harrisburg.  Harrisburg was a silver mining area but now, a “Ghost town”.  Just around the corner we’ve got 2 reservoirs to kayak and the Red Mountains to hike in…which we’ve done, and 25 miles east we have Zion National Park and Zion Kolob.  On Tuesday Bob and Laurie joined Louise and me for a day in Zion NP.

  On our drive up to Zion,   we came upon a beautiful little town called Springdale.  At the end of town, we were attracted to a “tourist” attraction…this beautifully built store that was nestled into an apple orchard and just said something to me…COME IN!!!  I like being the driver…  We pulled in to have a cup of coffee and to see if there might be a treat for us as well.  Yep, there was, lots of them but we decided on a Raisin Oatmeal cookie and a guarantee that we would be coming back at the end of our day in Zion.  You see, they make their own Italian Gelato… Continuing our drive into Zion, we found that we had to park our car and take a shuttle bus.  The shuttle buses travel an 8 mile loop that takes you into the most popular areas of the park.

  We first took the shuttle all the way to the end of the loop to see the sights and get the lay-out of the park before returning to the lodge.  At the lodge, we again take another shuttle and head off for our first hike of the day…Emerald Pools.  We did two hikes to two different pools at Emerald and found not only the golden colored pools but some spectacular waterfalls as well.

  Having taken our lunch with us, we found a flat rock under one of the falls and beside the larger of the two pools. Settling down in the rays of the sun, the water, and the splash of the falls, we enjoyed our home-made meal. 

 Back to the next shuttle and onto our next hike…Weeping Rock.   Weeping Rock was a short hike up to a large rock alcove with hanging gardens.  Although it was a shorter hike, it was worth the stop and exercise to get to it.  Now you can see why we waited to get our Gelato…we need the nourishment for the drive home (or back to camp).  The next day the four of us was off to Kolob.  Kolob is at another entrance of Zion NP and offers a lot more options to hike.  By the time we arrived at the visitor center, we found that it was much cooler than any of us had anticipated.  But, now that we are “here”, we will not be deterred.  Our planned hike was about a 4 mile round trip that would take us up and through a canyon and cross over a small stream, back and forth over 60 times each way.  On top of that, we were constantly climbing up the river bank to reach the next spot to which we dropped down into the river again…lots of good exercise today. 

 Thursday Louise and I decided to take a hike into the Red Mountains, which just happen to be across a small valley from the campground.  Grabbing our hiking sticks and our backpack, we hiked out.  Our hike took just over 3 hours but could have been done in 2.  Louise wanted to take a “short-cut” through the valley. Well we knew there was a small river we would have to cross, and maybe a couple of small crevices we would have to go down into and back up from, but we were ready for this small challenge.  We came across an archeological dig that turned out to be an Anasazi occupation.  There was a small placard there that gave us a little information about the site and the approximate timing of the site…600-1000 AD.  Now to find our way out…we had to back-track and go out the same way we hiked in.  Well, it could have been done, but I just didn’t want to push our way through some deep brush and cactus and a possible hidden snake just to find out.