Almost three days of rain on the North Rim at 8250 feet (2499 m) equals snow on Mount Humphreys at 13992 feet (4265 m). This view is about 60 miles south of the North Rim.
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
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Friday, October 8, 2010
Promise of a new day
After three days of almost solid rain and up to 24 hours with no electricity many visitors left the park earlier than planned Wednesday.
Light in the sky showed itself about an hour after power was restored to the Lodge.
A couple hours later all that remained, or at least cared to look, were gifted by a glorious sunset.
It only gets better than this when the next one comes along.
Also the promise of another year. I’ve been blogging for two years as of yesterday.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
SWF – Walhalla stormy skies
Monday, plus Tuesday and Wednesday for that matter, we’ve experienced rain with thunder and lightning. But that didn’t keep us in the house on our day off.
On Monday we took a ride out onto the Walhalla Plateau in the rain and it was so amazing. I love being at a place long enough to really see all the many moods. Pure sunlight is not always the best.
We started to take a walk along the Point Imperial trail which leads through a decade old burn with walls of fall glow aspen and a few pines taller than I am.
Yet the dark and menacing clouds sent us back to the safety of the truck just in time to stay dry. The clouds built up and raced towards us from the southwest. But we continued to explore other viewpoints into the canyon.
And finally made it to Cape Royal where we sat out more rain waiting for a light spot that pushed the clouds towards us. Certainly worth it even though we didn’t stay too long at the end of the trail. A new storm approached.
To view more skies from around the world, or to share your own, go to Sky Watch Friday by clicking here.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
My kind of Wall Street, no banks and it’s all uphill
After hiking the .7 mile (1.12 km) downhill winding through the fins and hoodoos…
…we found a place a little off trail and across a dry wash to have lunch and enjoy the views looking up.
First part of the return hike was easy and took us past many awesome sights.
Then we came upon the start of “Wall Street,” a narrow crack between the fins to begin our assent.
And this our warning.
Yet I felt surrounded by an ancient serenity.
As the elders looked down upon us, the small.
And many of us walked this trail (some dressed for a casual walk along the NY Wall Street)…
…under arches…
…below more of the stone people.
I pause so often to take photos…
…I barely notice the climb as strenuous.
Maybe the ancients give me strength.
We neared the top and joined the heads of stone.
Mike said he had a stiff neck from all the looking up.
Now we looked back down.
Such a magical and captivating landscape that I want to return and immerse myself amongst these Ancients again.
The Navajo Loop trail is only 1.3 miles (2 km) long with a 550 foot (167 m) drop in elevation but it took us four hours to hike and over 1000 photos between us.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Trouble posting on blogger?
I’m reading a lot of complaining about problems posting on blogger. I too was tired of fighting with the layout. So I tried Windows Live Writer. If you’re a windows user, try it. I think you may be able to download it free. At least check it out. For you Mac folks, I don’t know what to say. Maybe Wordpress is the way to go, I haven’t looked into that.
Monday, October 4, 2010
MWT - Hiking Navajo Loop (downhill) at Bryce Canyon
After spending a day touroning around all the overlooks (more posts coming) and looking down on the hoodoos, fins, windows, arches and bridges the next morning we took a trail into the canyon.
The Navajo Loop trail is only 1.3 miles (2 km) long with a 550 foot (167 m) drop in elevation.
The trail winds under arches of orange and yellow…
…past windows to a blue world…
Thors Hammer
…and below towering hoodoos full of faces.
Then down switchbacks between the fins and into a different world.
Almost eye level with this amazing geology. Hoodoo, a pillar of rock, or, to cast a spell, maybe both.
Two Bridges
The oldest gray-brown rock at the bottom was deposited by repeated seaways during the Cretaceous Period between 144 to 65 million years ago.
For the next 25 million years, in the Tertiary Period, rivers and streams flowed into an ancient freshwater lake and deposited iron-rich, limy sediments that became reddish-pink rocks, the Claron Formation, from which the hoodoos are carved.
After uplift, the steep slopes along the plateau’s rim allow increased erosion scouring off softer rock, creating gullies with enough soil for pines and firs to reach for the sky.
…and leaving harder rock as fins…
…which continue to erode into hoodoos…
…of the most whimsical shapes.
Paiutes living in the area when settlers arrived from the east called hoodoos the “Legend People” whom Coyote had turned to stone.
Named after mormon Ebenezer Bryce who built his home and ranch in the Paria Valley in 1875 with the canyons in his back yard.
In 1923 President Harding proclaimed part of the area as Bryce Canyon National Monument and in 1928 legislation passed that changed it to a National Park.
After hiking down .7 miles (1.12 km) we began the assent into Wall Street. More to come.
To view more of the world, or to share your own, go to My World Tuesday by clicking here.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Scenic Sunday – Hoodoo you think…
The magic of hoodoos in Bryce Canyon National Park let the imagination soar. I felt an ancient presence of peace surround me.
Hoodoo you see?
To view more scenes, or to share your own, go to Scenic Sunday by clicking here.
To view more of the hoodoo magic come back tomorrow for My World Tuesday.