Pic of the Day

Capitol Gorge in Capitol Reef National Park. Really cool. 

Joshua Tree National Park

If you happen to be planning a summer road trip to national parks, try to avoid planning to camp in the desert in July or August. It won't work out for you. I learned this lesson the hard way as I left Arizona and headed into California over the Parker Dam; this is a beautiful route, but also very off the beaten path. Approaching Joshua Tree from here, as the afternoon sun wanted in the sky, was a little creepy. My entire time in the park, I saw one other car, and promptly abandoned my plans to camp in the desert (because I sure wasn't doing that alone). After a somewhat fraught-with-worry drive through the park, I hightailed it to Orange County and the ocean. I did get some great evening golden hour shots, and I hope to go back one day to camp and hike. In November or December, like normal people do.

Yes, I did stay mostly in my car. I was creeped out by the solitude. And the possibility of snakes.

Grand Canyon (South Rim) in Pictures

The Grand Canyon. It's a quintessentially American tourist destination, but most people don't spend too much time there. They, like Barbara Streisand and Seth Rogen in the recent flick "Guilt Trip," go to the edge, look down, say "Wow," turn around, get back in their cars and drive away.

I am guilty of having done the same on my first trip the the GC; it was somewhat out of necessity, since I arrived around 4 pm and had to be in Colorado Springs the next morning. But I knew I would go back one day, and I wanted at least three days to explore.

I entered the park through the eastern entrance, making my first viewpoint stop at Desert View.

At Desert View, you can see a gorgeous, Mary Coulter designed tower that looks as amazing from the North Rim (more on that later) as it does from the south. Once again, her design blends seamlessly into the environment.

The views from Desert View are amazing. You can see across the canyon to the flat desert plateau beyond.

It's also one of the few places you get a glimpse of the Colorado River.

See it there, flowing along?

You also get a pretty decent sense of the topography of the canyon, comprised of the outer canyon, the Tonto Plateau (where you see the green), and the inner canyon, where the river flows.

This is the sunset sky on the rim right near El Tovar Hotel.

Day 2 I headed off to Yavapai Point and the geology museum to catch a ranger program about the geology of the canyon. The panoramic views from inside the museum are amazing. You have an almost birds-eye perspective and can really see the side canyons and layers of rock.

You can also see on of the footbridges that crosses the river, making it possible for hikers to cross the Colorado safely.

Speaking of hikers, you can also some of the trails, which have pretty crazy switchbacks.

This is the view from Mather Point, further east along the rim. Same canyon, but once again a completely different view. You can really see the cut of the inner canyon from here. It's also very close to the main visitor center, which has a great movie about the canyon. (I love park movies; they make me happy).

This is the Kolb Studio, which is literally hanging off the edge of the canyon. There is a neat museum inside what used to be a photography studio. The Kolb Brothers came to take pictures of the canyon, and of tourists, but they also filmed river expeditions and other crazy shenanigans. Check them out over at the Grand Canyon Association's site.

Here's a few more trail views, this time of the Bright Angel Trail.

I had planned to hike a little ways down, at least to this arch. I gave it the old college try, but the drop-offs were too much for my fear of heights, so I turned around after about ten steps. Maybe one day...

To redeem my failure, I hopped the park shuttle out to Hermits Rest, at the end of the rim road. It's a super-cool old stone building.

With a super-huge stone fireplace. Can't you just picture Teddy Roosevelt sipping scotch in those chairs?

The real attraction for me was the sunset. Here are a bunch of shots, as the evening progressed. At some point, I rode the shuttle back one stop east, but the sky was still amazing there. These shots aren't the best, but I love that I was able to capture the purple sky. So neat.

This is one of the cabins that are part of the Bright Angel Lodge, which is about 100 yards from the Rim. I stayed in a basic room that had no air conditioning (which you don't really need in the summer anyway, because of the high elevation) and a bath down the hall.

Here's another amazing stone fire place inside the main lodge.

And here is the entrance. All of the buildings at the GC are unique and so well-suited to the area.

On Day 3, I took in a ranger talk about the California condor.  I didn't see one, but I learned a lot about them and got my last look at the canyon, on the rim right near my room.

The Grand Canyon was definitely worth a few days' stopover. I met several really interesting people, learned a ton about geology, and had time to just sit in silence and reflect about the massiveness of God's creation. I would like to go back one day and maybe do a river rafting trip. And possibly even hike partway down the canyon, if I can conquer my fear of heights (and do something about my woeful cardiovascular fitness). But even if I never go back, I hope the images of the shifting light on the rock, and the amazing formations, and the sense of peace stay with me always.

A Long Day in the Arizona Desert

Some days on a road trip are just a lot of driving to get somewhere. But this day was different, because I had so many different stops planned. As previously mentioned, the morning started early at the four corners. Then I headed across the Navajo Nation to the spectacular Canyon du Chelly.

I included it in my plans because  in addition to its national monument status, I had heard a glowing review of the place on NPR. It really is as beautiful as the Grand Canyon, just on a different scale.

All I had time for was a scenic drive along the south rim of the canyon. The red rocks in northern Arizona are so amazing. And the views were great!

The Navajo still live and use the land in the canyon, so in order to see it you need to hire a guide. I'd love to go back on a jeep tour one day.

And I'd love to check out these ruins one day, too. They look less scary than the ones at Mesa Verde.

After an hour or so exploring the canyon and checking out the visitor center, I headed back out on the road to reach my next stop, the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest National Park.

I was excited about this stop for several reasons: 1. My 6th grade teacher had also told us about petrified wood, which is basically rock that has turned to stone, which to my twelve-year-old ears was the coolest-sounding thing ever; 2. There is still an original Harvey Company store & cafe here; 3. Mary Coulter designed the Desert View Inn and her designs are amazing; 4. part of Route 66 passes through the park; and 5. I was going to see more petroglyphs.

The Painted Desert, which does change color with the light and is beautiful.

The Mary Coulter-designed building. I love how her work looks like it belongs.

More pretty desert.

Marking the old route

Old car from the Route 66 days

Telephone poles that used to line Route 66 but now stretch of into the desert oblivion

Petroglyphs on Newspaper Rock. Supercool.

Petrified wood. There used to be a lot more, but people have stolen it over the years. 

Close-up. You can see all the minerals.

And lastly, here are some desert wildflowers. Which always amaze me, because I wilt in ten seconds in that heat. But these little guys are hardy and strong.