Description

I own no land, instead I have wheelestate. I’ve been a full time RVer since 1997. Working summers as a Park Ranger takes me to many beautiful places and playing during the winter takes me to many more. This blog is simply the story of my life's adventures.

Moved

Thank you for stopping by. Just to let you know, I'm still blogging but have moved to Geogypsytraveler. Hope you'll follow my adventures. Just click here.

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Cedar Canyon Breaks for City Utah


After I left Navajo Lake I headed to Cedar Breaks National Monument. Unfortunately I couldn’t stay long as I still needed to get to Cedar City to shop and get an oil change.

So I continued west on scenic State Route 14.

Which lies north of Zion National Park.

The road continues downhill through forest that shows the standing dead of a bark beetle kill off. Yet there are also trees decades old to carry on.

Continuing west I drop off the Colorado Plateau through Cedar Canyon which follows Coal Creek.
Cedar City lies in a valley below at almost 6000 feet (1829 km). Of course it took me longer than planned to get all my stops made in this unknown town.

Because that’s four hours from the North Rim and I prefer not to drive in the dark I decided to camp in the Dixie National Forest at Cedar Canyon campground then return to Cedar Breaks National Monument the next day. (I will post Cedar Breaks soon, I promise.)

Friday, August 7, 2009

Fire updates at Grand Canyon National Park

For original fire post click here.



When I drove up to Cedar Breaks (post coming) I passed through the mop up from the Ridge Fire along Highway 89 north of Jacob Lake about 6 miles. It really didn’t look too bad from the road. Many tree survived to continue life in the forest.

Although the Aspen Fire still burns on the Walhalla Plateau, now over 2,000 acres, the road to Cape Royal is reopened from 8am to 7pm with possible delays. I’d really like to get out there but my busy work schedule just doesn’t take me that way.

The three fires on the South Rim are still being monitored and meeting resource expectations.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Sky Watch Friday - Navajo Lake Sunset


7:11pm

7:22pm

7:38pm

7:41pm
It seemed to go on forever as I stood by the lake slowly being covered with tiny mayflies. Couldn’t get a pic of them.

To see more skies from around the world, or to share your own, go to Sky Watch Friday by clicking here.

Camping at Navajo Lake


Navajo Lake formed when lava flowed across the east end of this valley thousands of years ago.  Read more.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

I gotta' get out of this place....

Hey it’s not like being at Grand Canyon is all that bad. But I have three days off. And if I stay home I know I’ll be working. Not so good. Also need a change of scenery. Plus HAVE to go grocery shopping where there’s more selection than Kanab or Page. And it’s HOT in both those places. So, I’m heading further north into the Dixie National Forest to camp tonight near Cedar Breaks National Monument. Then tomorrow shop in Cedar City and back home. I have CouchSurfers from the Czech Republic coming tomorrow night to crash in my camper. Probably have to get some work done on Thursday.

Monday, August 3, 2009

My World Tuesday - Fires at Grand Canyon National Park


Last week we experienced several exciting thunder storms with great lightning displays, but not much rain.

Arizona’s 11 years of drought has left the land dry and parched. Add to that 100 years of fire suppression which has allowed an unnatural build up of dead wood and pine needles. A perfect combination for fire.

Three small (several hundred acres) lightning-caused fires have been slowly burning on the South Rim southeast of the park for several weeks. They are being managed to meet resource objectives including “returning fire to a fire-dependent ecosystem, recycling of nutrients, protecting cultural sites, improving wildlife habitat, and reducing the risk of future severe fire occurrence.”

Last Wednesday, the Aspen Fire on the North Rim’s Walhalla Plateau was reported and expected to burn for several weeks, also being managed for the above reasons. By Sunday the fire had grown to almost 1700 acres and crossed the Cape Royal Road which was closed to visitors beyond the Point Imperial turnoff.

Firefighters are working on suppression on the northern and eastern flanks of the fire in an effort to reopen the road. The rest will be managed for resource benefits.

Also on Sunday, firefighters worked to suppress a 400 acre fire along Highway 89A north of Jacob Lake which closed that road from 5pm until noon Monday.

For more about fire on the North Rim check out FabGrandma’s post.

To get more glimpses of life around the world, or to share your own, go to My World Tuesday by clicking here.

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Special Events at Grand Canyon National Park


photo copywrite Nancy K Varga

Grand Canyon North Rim Native American Heritage Days

Come Celebrate the Cultural Connections between Native People and Grand Canyon
Been way busy bringing work home with me. I’m helping with Heritage Days by designing promotional flyers, schedules and signs. I had a great image idea for the masthead, but alas, I would first have to learn new software and there’s no time for that. (Put on list of things to do.)


Wedding and Storyteller pots no more than 4 inches tall
Saturday night a large crowd showed up at my campfire program. When I roved the campground to invite visitors to the 7:00 p.m. program a lot of kids got excited about “getting dirty playing with clay.” After my story of Old Clay Man and Old Clay Woman I distributed a handful of clay to at least 25 kids and they worked their magic. These are two of the best.

August 13th & 14th you should come to the North Rim to enjoy flute music, dancing and song along with cultural demonstrations by Hopi, Navajo and Lakota Native Americans. I’ll try to keep you up to date.

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