If It Is Friday, Maybe It Is Utah?? :: Winter Sojourn 2014/15

Copyright 2015, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

Man and I have been state line jumping like crazy.  We have no idea what time zone we are in, we think today, we were in Utah.  Yesterday, some hours in Arizona.  Tomorrow, ditto.  Sunday??  Who knows??

I have taken hundred's of photos.  Yes, I have.

Did you know that during World War II they mined silica around here??  I didn't.  The guide today said they took to Salt Lake City and used for the war effort.  See those holes, that look like caves??  They are mine holes.

We have been driving around from 4500 feet to up to 6100 feet.  Above 5200 feet we have been seeing remnants of snow.  Today we even saw snow on sand hills.  Interesting.  But, the photo did not turn out, so, instead, I'll show you some snow on hard sandstone:

Looks like a prairie dog, doesn't it?  This photo was taken at pretty much 30X zoom with Sony Too.  We were at least 300 feet away.  He looked huge, I mean, we could all see him with our eyes.  We could not see what he was with our eyes unaided.  But, Sony Too could.  Trouble is, no one at the park we were at knew what it was. Really??  Yes.  Really.  Doing a bit of research, I see that prairie dogs are supposed to be about 12 to 15 inches.  I feel this critter was larger than that.  They can live at these altitudes. Looking at photos of prairie dogs on the internet and this fella (gal?) the ears on this individual do not look like those of a prairie dog.  SOOOO, what do you think???

Our day ended with a ride to some sand dunes near here.   They call it Coral Pink.  I call it beautiful.

The sand stone around here varies from almost chocolate brown to red to white.  My eyes cannot capture it all.  My soul is sucking it up tho, I can tell you that!

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How the West Was Won AND The Lone Ranger :: Winter Sojourn 2014/15

Copyright 2015, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

Today Man and I just kinda hung out, and drove about some, and imagined what it would be like to watch hundreds of movies and television shows being filmed in the area.  

We had lunch at the Parry Lodge, reasonably priced good tasting food and lots of photos of stars.  Their web site even claims that Clayton Moore stayed there.  Be still my little girl's heart.  

After lunch Man and I drove north out of town on the 89 and drove just a bit into what is called Hog Canyon.  I probably mis-understood, but, I thought the fellow at the Visitors Center said they filmed in Hog Canyon.  It is currently a 4-wheel drive or ATV type road.  Man put Jolly in 4-wheel drive and we drove in just a little bit. Found a place to pull over, took a short little walk and tried to imagine John  Wayne, George Hamilton, Gregory Peck, Charlton Heston, maybe Peter Lawford, maybe even Clayton Moore riding and shooting and oh, my - - 

See, they still have a corral for critters:

There was just a wee bit of snow left, but, the day was warm and sunny and no wind and fabulous.

And, I was stomping the ground that, maybe, just maybe, Clayton Moore stomped around.  (We also stopped at the Moqui Cave where the owner told us how Clayton would belly up to the bar in mask and full costume after filming. Tell me stories, I'll believe em.  I mean, Clayton Moore!  Wahhooo!

*  Photo found at wikimedia:  http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lone_ranger_silver_1965.JPG
Attibution:  By Pleasure Island Uploaded by We hope at en.wikipedia [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

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THE Trip, Salina Utah to Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah, By Way Of - -

CABS for Reflections From the Fence

The trip today was 143 miles, sorta.

And, I'll just bet by the title of this post you have already figured out we made a bit of a wrong turn (rather the lack of a turn) along the way.  You would be right.

We left Salina Utah around 11AM, since we only had that short run.  Jumped on I 70 west, no more real long long long hills today.  We were supposed to turn at Sevier and jump on 89 south, and eventually, we did.  But, we missed the turn for Sevier and realized it about 3 miles later.  Thank goodness there was another exit just a few more miles down the road.  Someone (err, Man) was a bit aggravated and snarled a lot.  Someone else (err, Moi) had a headache and was just not feeling at the top of her game, and the tension was measurable, and one could hear it as well.  It was rather loud!  LOL

Above:  I 70, west of Salina and 89, ooops.  Well, it is pretty enough to see again and again, right??  LOL  Below, almost back to 89, dramatic, isn't it??

Well, we got turned around, went back those 5 miles or so on Eastbound I 70, found the exit and headed south on 89, a two laner.

At Panguitch we hung a left to stay on 89 till we found 12 which we followed into the Bryce Canyon area.  By the way, my Microsoft Streets and Trips calls 12 the "A Journey Through Time Byway-Highway".

Below:  There it was, our first view of the hoodoos of the Bryce Canyon Area.  This actually is Red Canyon.

So, the trip should have been about 133 miles, but the odometer shows 143.  Our campsite is at 7600 feet elevation.  We settle in, get our bearings, and get ready to visit Bryce Canyon National Park.  Oh, and it is a bit chilly at night, dropping to about 35 degrees.  It will be coolish and more, yea, it snows, before our visit is over.  It is May 7, 2011.


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THE Trip, Mexican Hat, Goosenecks State Park, Painted Rocks, Valley of the Gods, the Drippy Tour Day

Copyright 2011, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

Sadly, the day after our guided tour of Monument Valley the weather was still wet, drippy and gloomy.  However, since our time in this area was limited we decided to go for a ride and see some of the other highlights of the area, better to see them drippy wet, if possible, than not to see them at all.  We drove north on 163 and further north on 261.  We ended up coming back the same way, because our hoped for drive of the Valley of the Gods road was just not to be, you are advised by very strongly worded signs not to drive it if it is wet, and, it was wet.  Even with the less than stellar weather and photographic conditions, I took over 130 photos.

Just north of the town of Mexican Hat, is the formation known by the same name.  We are again amazed and mesmerized by the forces of Mother Nature and her brats and the outcome.

We saw more stunning, breath taking formations:

Still further north, more painted rock hills.  There is that word again - - stunning!  Looks like a child's painting to me, the striking layers of colors jotting up and down the hills.

Our next destination was Goosenecks State Park, where the scenery is the draw, although there is a small primitive campground (no water, no power, outhouses) there as well. One of our MOC fulltiming friends makes this a regular stop/stay, and I have to say, their campsite has fabulous scenery!  WOW!  So, I have two panoramic photos to share with you.  You know the routine, click on the image to go to a larger view, click your back button to return to Reflections.

Back out on 261 driving north again, it won't be long before you start spotting more monument type formations, which are on the east side of 261.  These monuments are part of the Valley of the Gods.  The best way to see all of the Valley of the Gods is via CR 242, which was our hope.  But, it was wet, and it is one of the regrets of our trip, that we could not make this drive.  You can see from this photo, the conditions were tanking, foggy, but, in some way, rather mystical.  This photo has NOT been edited, this is how it looked to me and to Sony.

So, we sadly turned around and went back towards our campsite, stopping for just a few minutes at a artist trading center type collection of stores.  From that vantage point I took just a few more photos of the monuments in Monument Valley.  Not the best photos due to the weather conditions, but, I just could not stop myself from trying to capture the beauty, even when raining.

We head towards Moab next.  Days and days of photos, using up two sets of batteries for Sony in a day.  Click, click, click!

I have not taken Monument Valley off my bucket list, I would love to do it all over again, with sunny days.  And, that Valley of the Gods road really is screaming my name!  This is such a special place, what a fabulous introduction to Utah.  I could spend weeks in this area, and take thousands of photos and never get enough!



* Our soggy day at the Goosenecks and beyond was April 24, 2011.
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THE Trip, Monument Valley, Arrival

Copyright 2011, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

Did I mention that I took over 215 photos on the ride from Grand Canyon Arizona to Monument Valley Utah? Well, I did. Seems from now on, I will take more and more photos each day, easily taking 400 and more in just a few hours. Breathtaking and crippling for my trigger finger! LOL

So, on April 22, 2011 at 3:58 P.M. (believe that is Eastern time zone, as we have never reset the camera time) we arrived in UTAH!!

Utah, site of just a few national parks, monuments and memorials, site of the genie research mecca in Salt Lake City, we are going to spend considerable time here, in fact, we do not leave until June 19th, 2011.

We have only 3 nights at Monument Valley.  Our next stop on THE Trip will be Moab, and we have snagged 4 nights at a campground there, we cannot move the reservations around at Moab, campsites are at a premium there.  But, stay tuned because we actually do manage to extend our stay in Moab, much to our TOTAL delight!

We stay at Gouldings in Monument Valley, Harry and Leone (Mike) Goulding came to the area in 1924 and opened a trading post at this location in 1928.  At the location has now grown to include a campground, a lodge, a museum, small theater, restaurants, gas station, grocery store and even medical services.  And, yes, they run tours of Monument Valley as well.

After getting set up in our campground we wandered over towards the lodge and restaurant, paid a quick visit to the museum, watched a movie and took in the views.


Left:  How's this for a stunning campsite??



(Note:   the red dirt is beautiful, but a bit annoying when it rains, drag that into your home with pale gold colored carpet, ya,  ewww. LOL  Tis a tough job, but someone has to do it, I would willing volunteer to do so again, anytime!)

While in the lodge area of Gouldings, the sun began to set, colors, shadows, views change dramatically.

Takes a big hunk of country to show off this HUGE hunk of beauty.

I need to remind myself to breathe!


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THE Trip, Monument Valley, Almost

Copyright 2011, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

Well before you get to Monument Valley, even before you get to Utah, you start seeing these fabulous formations sticking out of the flat valley floors, tall, magical, stunning, HUGE.

All photos taken while moving along at about 60 MPH, through Big Butt's windshield, a few bugs, or side windows, sometimes focusing through that shading on the windows.  This causes some variations in the colors not correctable with my limited photo editing skills.

For the next several weeks we will be continuously amazed, stunned, and totally affected by the formations and colors we will see.  Tis not a bunch of rocks tossed about, it is somehow almost spiritual how nature has produced these marvels.  My eyes just cannot get enough.



This drive was done on April 22, 2011.
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