Just Picts Side Trip: Monument Valley & Canyon de Chelly

On my latest drive from Phoenix to Salt Lake City I took a side detour and stopped to see Canyon de Chelly and Monument Valley.  It is only a couple of extra hours to drive this route but the sites are well worth it. Enjoy!

Canyon De Chelly

Monument Valley

Don't forget to stop at the "Forest Gump" stop!

Gooseneck State Park

If you want to see additional pictures I've taken please visit my photo album at TrekkingTrego Public Gallery. All pictures are available for purchase.

Yabba Dabba Doo: 1000's of years and 1000's of feet.

Many people have never heard of Vernal, Utah.  I don't blame them, for the most part.  Of course, most people haven't even heard of Utah!  Recently a friend introduced me to the Vernal area and I realized just how much of a hidden gem this location is.

Vernal Utah is over 3 hours drive east of Salt Lake City,  Utah. The drive is easy and uneventful.  There are several things to do in the area, more in fact, than I realized! We hit two main areas:  Dinosaur National Monument and Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area.

Dinosaur National Monument - 1000's of years
The actual monument area is one of a kind.  Not many people realize that Utah is one of the world's hotbeds for dinosaur bones and in prehistoric days Utah was the place to be - really!  I know it isn't now but things were different back then.  As a result, there are lots of fossil beds and areas with visible dinosaur bones.  I never imagined growing up that one day I could go somewhere and actually touch a real dinosaur bone which was just sticking out of the ground!

At the Quarry Exhibit Hall they have over 1500 bones visible and on display in their natural fossil bed area.  In addition they have lots of information on being an archaeologist and other types of scientists.  Its a ton of fun and makes Jurassic Park seem much closer to reality (well, okay, maybe not).  It didn't take longer than an hour to view this area but it was well worth it.

There are several hikes where you can see fossils as well as remnants of ancient civilizations in addition to settlers of the wild west.  I felt like the Flintstones were just around the corner, or at least the remains of Dino.  Doh!

The area is a wealth of history across literally eons of ages.

Flaming Gorge - 1000's of feet
North of Vernal, Utah about an hour is Flaming Gorge.  A dam was built in a deep ravine which created a beautiful 91 mile long lake in Utah and Wyoming.  The ledge of the canyon is 1400 feet above the water level at the Red Canyon overlook area.  There are several hikes which take off from this location which allow you to serpentine along the edge of the canyon peering down into the gorge just like you were a high soaring eagle.  It is an easy, level walk and you just go for as long as you want. We stopped along the way on a beautiful bend and just gazed down at the vista.  It is a spectacular vista.

All in all, this area has much more to see than anyone expects and in a way, that's great because there aren't any crowds and it really allows you to get away.  I just wish I had more time...I guess I saved some things for next time!

If you want to see additional pictures I've taken please visit my photo album at TrekkingTrego Public Gallery. All pictures are available for purchase.

Kanab Hiking Cheat Sheet - cuz I'm just not that lucky!

Hiking is one of my passions, and hiking slot canyons is definitely high on my list.  For spring break my friend Mark and I hit the trails near Kanab, Utah.  Most people go to the famous hike "the Wave."  Ever since Microsoft put it as a screensaver it is so popular that the BLM limits entry to just a handful of lucky people who win a lottery system.  As someone who has never won anything in a drawing - EVER - I figured my chances were slim to none.  I was right on that account - 4 days straight with no luck.  But, knowing my lack of luck we had planned other opportunities.  My favorites are below.

Wire Pass/Buckskin Gulch
This is by far one of the most spectacular slot canyons.  It is touted to be the longest slot canyon in the world.  It is about an hour east of Kanab.  A few years back I hiked Wire Pass and at the confluence of Buckskin Gulch I turned left (Slots - and I'm not talkin' bout Vegas).  This year I turned right and this is a much better option with more crevices twisting and turning through tight and tiny passages.  There are times of the year where wading through water is required but with no rain for the past week we walked about 2.5 miles past the confluence with no wading required.

We started at Wire Pass, awe-inspiring with the height of the walls, the tightness and the twists of rock.  Within a few feet of entry there is a large 12-15' drop.  Many people bring ropes to shimmy down.  That's the hard way.  Actually, just at the entrance of the slot canyon there is a small goat trail on the right side which allows you to rock scramble around.  This is an easy scramble and you are back into the slot in only 10 minutes.  It is way worth the scramble to not have to carry rope with you!  The other thing I like about this little bypass is that you get to see into one area of the slot canyon from above.

View into Wire Pass

With such narrow passage ways it is quite cold in the slot but about every half mile or so there are some bigger openings where sun filters down to the bottom and you can warm up.  I love this hike!

I hope I'm skinny enough to fit!

I'm glad I wasn't around when that logged jammed up there - high water!

After a long hike my favorite restaurant to refuel in Kanab is Escobar's.  Just be warned...it isn't open on Saturday or Tuesday of all weird days to be closed!

Paria History
There are a couple of short hikes in the Paria area which are fun and have some pretty cool sights.  Right off of 89 are the Toadstools.  The fun part about these hoodoos is you can walk right up and around them without being on a guided pathway.  Except for the electrical poles and freeway sounds you feel like you are in the wild (okay, not really). 

Next is a small hike to the Nautilus.  After walking up a dry riverbed for about a mile you come to this crazy rock formation that is in the shape of a nautilus.  Apparently the top fell down a few years back but it still interesting and bigger than you think as you walk through it. 

Swirly Whirly! (Thanks to Mark for the pict on the left)

Finally, the painted hills create a unique backdrop to some pioneer ruins.  Many of the painted hills can be seen right from the dirt road.  This is what I would advise.  Mark and I decided to be adventurous and trek over to get a closer look.  This wasn't a very good decision it turns out.  Let's just say that its a good thing that I know how to get out of a sink hole...the rest of the hike was a little squishy and muddy for some reason!? 

 

 

Coral Pink Sand Dunes
The sand dunes allow you to feel like your in a desert...wait...you are in a desert!  It is a few miles of large dunes as high as 100 feet high.  I brought a sled and some folks had snowboards, just make sure to wax them so you actually slide.  I didn't slide.

Red Canyon - Peek A Boo Slot
Timing couldn't have been better to hit Red Canyon, just a few miles north of Kanab.  This slot canyon requires you to hike (or drive if you can handle it) 3 miles through seriously deep sand to the mouth of the slot canyon.  By the time we got to the mouth of the canyon the sun was just at the perfect angle to filter down into the canyon and create some amazing colors.  The slot isn't very long and it isn't nearly as deep as Wire Pass but that allows the sun to beam in a give you the rich red coloration southern Utah is famous for.

We were also lucky enough to run into a really nice local who gave us a ride back in her jeep (Thanks Denise).  The 15 minute better than Disneyland ride vs. 120 minutes of hiking in the hot sand made our day!

My friend Mark taking some pictures - yes, this is the true color!

 

No, we didn't hike the wave but it wasn't for lack of trying.  In the end, these other options provided beautiful hikes which I'm sure I'll do again while I wait to find my luck.

You can view these and additional pictures in my Public Gallery or by clicking on the Photo Gallery Tabs above. All pictures are available for purchase.

 

Raptors Up Close - Winterfest Falconry

I really enjoy nature and am always marveled by the intricacies and beauty that God created for us to enjoy.  I had the chance to get up close and personal with raptors.  I didn't know until just the other day that in Sandy, Utah there is a winter festival where individuals who own raptors come and display their birds for the public to see.  It's amazing what you can find on Facebook, and apparently this is the 14th year of this event.  I'm glad I heard about it!

While the day of the event there was a huge winter snow storm which came through the area it was still really neat to see the birds.  Many of the owners would let you come within feet of their raptors and answer questions that you may have.  It was informative and fun to have time to just study the birds.  They also flew the birds in some timed trials for fun but it didn't last long as the weather was so bad (okay, I have no idea how long it lasted...I didn't last very long though).

There were golden eagle, harriers, red tail hawks, falcons, and owls there.  Of particular interest to me were the owls.  I hadn't thought of owning an owl, not even when watching Harry Potter films, but there were people with owls.  Now, I'm not expecting that these owls deliver mail or even want to cuddle with you but people had them!  I figured it was like people who have pet tigers or something crazy. While you can't technically "own" an owl in the US you can "possess" an owl.  It seems like semantics to me as you still have to do the same things: license them, take care of them, feed them, clean them and even clean up after them.  Of course, I'm a concept person and not so much a details person.  But, I'll tell you that the "possessors" of owls really harp on you when you talk to them about their pets.  I'm just saying...don't call them pets!  (again, let's face it - they are!)

Below are a few pictures of some of the "possessed" Great Horned Owls.

Check out the size of those eyes!  They are twice the size of a humans!

The Great Horned Owl

Okay, if this doesn't say Crazy Eyes I don't know what does!

You can look at other pictures from around Utah in the Photo Gallery By Location.  You can also view all my pictures in my Public Gallery.

Ice Ice Baby...Midway Ice Castles

Utah has the greatest snow on earth (and we are getting lots this year).  And as such, we tend to be on the cold side of things for a few months.  This makes for a great environment for ice.  As Vanilla Ice use to sing "Ice Ice Baby."  You can do some really amazing things with ice.  You can eat ice, you can slip on ice (that's not so fun), you can cool down drinking ice and you can sculpture with ice.  Some guy (Brent Christensen to be exact) right here in Utah started creating massive ice castles for people to go see during the winter months after making an ice cave for his daughter.  I've been wanting to go see it for a couple of years now and it just hadn't worked out until this year.  My longtime friend Alice and I ventured out recently to explore this unique site.  Why we had to pick one of the colder nights I'm not sure (17F) but the stars were beautiful above the ice features. 

My friend Alice and I wandering the Ice Castle

 

After you save a few bucks by buying  your tickets online (http://icecastles.com/midway/) for a specific entry timeslot you can go enjoy the castle for as long as you like.  I'd suggest going mid-week as weekends tend to get really crazy.  Some week nights they have an ice princess which looks suspiciously like Elsa from Frozen which also draws lots of families. 

The castle appears pretty small when you first enter into the courtyard and you wonder if it was worth it.  But then you start walking around the walls and you see that not only are there lots of various tunnels (slot canyons) but there is also a walkway to a much larger inner courtyard with fountains and even a big ice slide!  There are tons of little nooks and crannies to explore.  It took us an hour, but again, it wasn't packed on the night we went and we would have stayed longer had it not been so cold.  Notice I say packed because even though it wasn't packed there were still significant crowds so don't expect to have a quiet serene time here.  That being said it is really neat to see the various ice formations up close and personal along with the different lighted areas which give fun hues to the ice.  Enjoy the pictures. 

Massive walls 10' thick and probably 20-30' high.

Really interesting ice formations

The lighting makes for some really cool colors

Looking straight up in one of the many tunnels

This slot canyon isn't as warm as my other adventure (http://trekkingtrego.blogspot.com/2014_08_01_archive.html) but it was just as narrow and fun!

 

Ice and blue light are crazy interesting right?

Various lighting displays on the castle walls.

 

You can look at other pictures from around Utah in the Photo Gallery By Location.  You can also view all my pictures in my Public Gallery.