Cynthia, at The Rimrock Toadstools BLM Area near Paria in southern Utah
Utah, Spring 2010
First the story, then the photos
In late April of 2010, David and Cynthia take a trip to explore the canyons,
buttes, and remarkable rock formations of southern Utah. To keep the
journey from being a one-shot grueling slog, we break the drive to
Utah up into smallish chunks, with planned overnight stops and frequent side
trips to interesting features we notice on the maps as we drive.
Our trip starts out with a 5-hour cruise through the California Central Valley and incorporates an overnight visit with David's mom near Visalia. On our second day, we drive about seven hours on backroads southward to the Mojave Desert, where we spend a night at the seriously disjointed yet oddly charming Hotel Nipton. On our third day, we finally make it to Kanab Utah, where we've rented a cabin for a week.
From Kanab, we explore Zion and Bryce national parks, as well as the southern end of the massive Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. We also visit Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, the largest such facility in the United States. It's probably best known for 'Dogtown,' the National Geographic television show about Best Friends' work with the pit bull dogs rescued from NFL player Michael Vick. (And yes, we get to meet one of Michael Vick's former dogs, though we're not allowed to touch.)
Our next leg of the journey takes us northward through Kodachrome Basin State Park and on to Boulder, Utah, where we stay at the Boulder Mountain Lodge. Our room abuts a large pond on the lodge property where migrating birds stopover for a day or three to rest. The birdwatching from our room's window is superb. We also spend a couple days checking out the northern parts of the Grand Staircase/Escalante.
We finish our two-plus week trip with three nights at a hotel in Torrey, Utah, which is perfectly located for easy access to Capitol Reef National Park. For Cynthia, who is still recovering from a badly sprained ankle, Capitol Reef is an ideal place to explore. The terrain is rife with dry sandy river beds that meander through narrow canyons, walls towering hundreds and hundreds of feet above us. The firm sand is the perfect medium for strengthening an injured ankle and by the end of our stay there, my lingering limp is entirely gone.
Throughout our journey, we carry a handmade, button-eyed, tutu-wearing frog doll our friend Sandra has made and given us. The doll is created from a pair of David's old socks, which he has given Sandra for her doll-making project. During our trip, we intermittently put the froggy sock doll into our photos in unlikely places and positions. At Capitol Reef National Park, David take a lengthy uphill hike with the doll to photograph her at a place called 'The Tanks.' The Tanks are a collection of bowl-like holes in a plateau of rock. During rainstorms, the holes retain the rainwater so well that local frogs have evolved to use these water-filled holes as part of their life cycle. The adult frog lays her eggs in the dry bowl, where they lay dormant until the next rain, at which point a new generation of frogs is born.
Somehow, the frog doll does not come back down the hill with David. We decide she has chosen to stay there, to deposit her eggs in The Tanks, and to lay down for her final rest. Rest in Peace, lovely sock frog.
Spring wildflowers
A peek at Utah's wildlife
Kanab: Our first week (plus a few days)
Boulder and northern Escalante
Torrey and Capitol Reef
The drive home: Extraterrestrials, Mono Lake and
more!
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