Boondocking, Camping, Simple Living, Travel

Over The Hills And Through The Snow…

May 28, 2014 Keevan 1 Comment

To Bryce Canyon we go…

Via the scenic route.

(May 14-15, 2014)

Before leaving on this epic adventure, we had read and jotted down some notes of places to see along the way. Hwy 143 in Utah was one of them, supposedly one of our most scenic highways!

So off we go, looking for more scenic views! We hadn’t ventured far, when I spotted this little trail I had read about as being a good place to stretch tired legs. Hidden Haven it was called.

A bit more of beautiful cold fluffy snow to deal with, but nothing our trusty hiking boots couldn’t handle. It was a gorgeous sunny blue sky day, so we trekked on up to this lovely bench. (thanks to some random boy scout, getting his eagle badge)

As we continued to climb the mountain, we realized when the sign said “Road Open,” it was really just opened. With a 15% grade to climb, and the road sometimes one lane, we were sweating it out a bit. But lo and behold the Great White Van performed superbly, although at one point I really knew I could run faster alongside Ms. Keevan.

Brian Head. The top of the world! A very cute (what we could see of it) little community renowned for being the highest community in Utah. Obviously we were between seasons here, as it was deader than a doornail, and we saw I think one person in the whole town.

Brian Head 2 — Heading Down, Clean Plowed Road

One thing for sure, it was a picturesque and scenic drive.

Just one of those little surprises, venturing between desert and mountain ranges. The terrain changes so quickly. As do the temperatures.

Needless to say, all the side roads, and national forest service roads were closed, so um, no camping here.

Down we go…

and go, and go, until we are bombarded by more brilliant red rocks.

Which signifies the beginning of Red Canyon.

Welcome.

Drive right in and stay awhile.

Thank you very much, we’ve made to it our new home for a few days…

A bit of a challenge to get leveled up, but with a little effort, we settled in nicely for a tasty dinner and good nights sleep!

❧

Travel

Utah! First Up, Zion National Park

May 26, 2014 Keevan Leave a comment

5/13/2014

Zion National Park

We came into Zion National Park, mid-day and were met by more huge monolithic rock mountains…of a different sort.

The many differences in geological formations keeps amazing and awing us.

We were a little uncertain about Zion, as everything we read said how non pet-friendly the park is, and that you had to take a shuttle to see anything. The shuttle of course doesn’t allow pets, nor do any trails except one paved trail near the park center. Fortunately, it turned out not to be a problem. All the turnouts along the road had ample opportunities to hike and play and walk the dog. As for longer hikes, that will be another trip. And the shuttle just went up one scenic canyon…there was plenty to see without that shuttle trip. We’ve seen so much outrageous countryside, we didn’t miss that canyon. We know we can’t see everything there is to see on one trip anyway.

I always feel like it takes one trip somewhere, just to get your bearings, and to know what you really want to do and see the next trip.

We did get to encounter these majestic Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep climbing around on the rock hillsides!!

We went through the longest rock tunnel we’ve ever been through. The park monitors the traffic, and only allows one way traffic through at a time. The tunnel was blasted and carved through these massive rock mountains.

Hanging out around all these massive rocks is no place to think about earthquakes, but being from California, Fred and I both had just those thoughts creeping into our heads.

We tried to just put those ideas far far out of mind, so to chill from the earthquake images, we strolled among the slick rocks.

And checked out some other canyon life checking out us.

❧

Boondocking, Camping, Simple Living, Travel

Fred Puts on Shorts!

May 21, 2014 Keevan 2 Comments

Since I’m becoming quite behind in this blogging thing, I’m now adding accurate travel dates to the posts, as the posting dates seem to run about a week behind. Since I am doing this sort of as a reference, it seems like the weather should at least be when it really happened, instead of like the snow falling in the middle of June or something, when it actually fell in May…

May 12, 2014

We left Lee’s Ferry campground taking a scenic route into Utah through Jacobs Lake. We again decide to forgo the Grand Canyon, since the road to the North Rim (where we are now) doesn’t open for another three days, and we are anxious to get into Utah.

At the junction of our turnoff, we see this cute laundry, and needing to do some, stop in for a quick wash and dry, before heading out.

And this was next door!

It can’t get any better than being able to take showers, while the clothes are washing. Little did we know that 95% of the washing machines didn’t work, and 98% of the dryers were inoperable. And that the washers were sort of antiques and took forever…and the dryers took even more forever…

But oh well, while there we met two lovely ladies who were about to embark upon a six day river rafting trip down the Colorado. These ladies had been friends for over 30 years, have lived in different states for over 20 years, and decided to venture out together for this once in a lifetime trip together. They were awesome!!

We shared stories, histories, and soon photos and videos of our grandchildren. I can’t remember the names, but I’m sure they had a fantastic trip down the river, and have many many memories to share and take back to their families.

Hours later…we continue winding away from the Vermillion Cliffs, and head up to higher elevations. Much higher!

Those of you who know Fred, know he’s not much of a shorts kind of guy. In fact our kids have probably never seen this picture of their dad. So it’s pretty ironic, he decides to finally put on shorts…and we come across this. More snow. (O.k., he did just wash his two pair of jeans – which maybe explains it.)

Pia, on the other hand, rather enjoyed the snow.

We made it to Jacob Lake, at almost 8,000 feet, just as it was about dark, and the one and only campground wasn’t open yet. It obviously opens the same day as the Rim Road to the Grand Canyon. Anyway, we found a nice forest road that wasn’t too muddy, spotted a wide area, and pulled over, popped the top and yay…turned on the heater!!!

You see, our Eurovan has a propane heater with a built in thermostat, which we’ve enjoyed quite liberally with all this cold weather.

❧

Camping, Travel

Skipping the South Rim

May 19, 2014 Keevan 1 Comment

5/11/2014

Heading north we decided to make a detour and attempt again to enter the South Rim Grand Canyon this time from the eastern entrance. We camped a few miles outside the entrance gate planning to get up and go on in the morning. But…the next morning, as we were sitting in the LWV eating breakfast, I looked out the window, and calmly said to Fred. “It’s snowing outside.”

Within minutes, the snow was falling heavily and blowing everywhere. As we were back on a dirt forest service road, we quickly finished our breakfast, shoved our gear here and there, and scurried down the mountain, again, away from the Grand Canyon.

Vermilion Cliffs here we come!

But first a few stops along the way.

Painted Desert in the Navaho Nation Lands

Driving up 89, we took a little side trip into Tuba City. So glad we did this, as the drive was beautiful!! We gratefully filled up with gas while there.

Later, back on 89 again, we stopped at the Little Colorado River Gorge Navaho Tribal Park. Enjoyed these beautiful deep canyon views, and did a bit of impromptu shopping from the Navaho Artisan Booths selling custom arts, jewelry, pottery, and beadwork.

Immerse vertical cliffs down a steep canyon gorge — Little Colorado River Canyon

Came upon this…The Navaho Bridge.

The bridge on the left is the original bridge built in 1929. It is now closed to vehicle traffic and is open for pedestrians to walk across and peer down almost 500 feet below to the Colorado River .

As proof that we did indeed walk across even though the wind was blowing heartily, here is Fred and Pia.

No kidding…No jumping. We could hardly even look down!!!

We weren’t the only ones in the area. These majestic California Condors, once extinct in the wild, now thrive here on the ledges of the Vermilion Cliffs. They have been bred in captivity and released in remote areas not far from here. We saw at least six different birds while visiting, including one juvenile. (Obvious because the young birds have dark heads.)

Turning at the Navaho Bridge, we headed 6 miles up this scenic road to Lee’s Ferry…

Rock Sculpture Along the Vermillion Cliffs

Enjoyed these amazing cliffs…

Meandered among these tumbled down rocks…

IMG_9662 - Version 2 — Putting Things in Perspective

And realized how small we are compared to Mother Nature. Yes… that’s our LWV there below the shadow of the rock.

IMG_9666 - Version 2 — Solitude is a Word

A last breathtaking view…before winding up here…

At Paria Beach, where the amazing Paria River joins the mighty Colorado River. After a nice hike, and a bit of doggy play, we camped at Lee’s Ferry Campground, and were wooed to sleep once again by the ferocious songs of the crazy blowing winds.

❧

Boondocking, Camping, Travel

This And That Around Flagstaff

May 17, 2014 Keevan 2 Comments

Pulled into Flagstaff to be greeted by more cold weather and crazy wind.

We drove out to Sunset Crater to check out the lava beds and trails, but the wind was gusting so hard we could hardly stand up. Then the trails all said “no pets allowed.” It just wasn’t in the cards that day. Many of the Monuments and Ruin sites around here do not allow pets for some reason.

We decided to head back into town, and after a little bookstore browsing and some warm coffee, we thought we would head towards the South rim of the Grand Canyon. We drove about half way and took a nature hike in the cold breezy wind, got back in the van and were met with snow flurries hitting the windshield. It didn’t take long of looking at each other, to rethink those plans. Soooo, we both laughed and decided to head east where the temps were much warmer. Fred wanted to go rock hounding, and the place to look for rocks just happened to be about 20 degrees higher up on the thermometer!

Made this quick stop in Winslow…there’s not a lot in this town, except for this one very famous corner. “Standing on the corner…in Winslow, Arizona…” A tribute to the song “Take it Easy” written by Jackson Brown and made superbly famous by the Eagles. The town now supports this bronze statue of a hitchhiker with a guitar, (donated by the band itself) and the mural painted in the background of the flatbed truck from the song, and the corner sign where tourists now flock to take memorable photographs. Amazing what a song can do for a rundown town.

We spent the night at Homolovi State Park, a park jointly operated by the state of Arizona and the Hopi Nation. It was abeautiful, sweet, immaculately clean campground, with oh such wonderfully free Hot Showers! Showers that one could stand in for as long as one wished! As it turned out, we were asked to partake in a Park survey, and for return were gifted a pass for a free camping night at any Arizona State Park, so we stayed another night.

We checked out these Ruins (pets were allowed on all trails here, go figure.)

Besides for the historical and cultural interests and significance, all the trails were again beautifully maintained, with benches, canopies, viewing areas, tables, and nice signage all well placed along side them.

A few short hikes were rewarded by more sweet birds revealing themselves in the desert shrubs, and this awesome jack rabbit I encountered under a bush.

I do believe he/she was equally surprised by my being as I was by it’s presence. It took quite a while for it to get up the nerve to scamper off.

We did do some rock hounding further on south around Woodruff, and found many beautiful chunks of different colors of chert, agates, and beautiful smooth lovely rocks. We each collected (allowable here) a small pouch, well, at least my pouch was small…for soveneirs and token gifts. It’s nice to take photographs in parks, but sometimes it’s nice to have something tangible to hold and remember good times with. The drive back into Flagstaff was a “Day of Clouds.”

We were graced with many beautiful formations all day long, as we went in to collect our forwarded mail. Our last night in the area, we found this lovely little park like setting to spend the night in.

It so reminded us of an alpine meadow like those in the Sierra’s. Onward north toward the Utah border we head. Hoping to glimpse the North Rim of the Grand Canyon this time instead of that Southern Rim, and to see the Vermillion Cliffs.

❧

Travel

Pia Goes 4-Wheeling

May 12, 2014 Keevan 3 Comments

IMG_9177 - Version 2 — Ready for Adventure

Our last night in Sedona we took a jeep ride on back country trails around the outlying rim of Sedona.

When making arrangements for the tour, we specifically asked about dogs, and were assured that it was fine if Pia went in the jeep. Dog’s have a special place to ride, the fellow told us…

Well, Tony, our driver and guide for the three hour trip was a crusty chap with lots of desert knowledge, great rock crawling abilities, and stories galore. But he didn’t seem so keen on the idea of the doggy, and was a bit put out at first, as we had to shift to a larger jeep to accommodate her. There were six of us going on the excursion.

Luckily, the other four passengers were all dog lovers, and once we got going, and Pia proved her ability to handle being bounced and jostled around and still remain calm, even Tony softened. After awhile, he kept asking “how’s the pup doing?” Everyone else, took turns petting her, holding onto her, allowing her to perch her head atop any body that was handy.

Secretly, we were not really sure how she would do, and three hours could become a hell of a long time, if things didn’t go right. It was a very rough and rugged trip, with many steep inclines and declines and very large rocks!

Pia was a champ! She came through it with flying colors, and I do believe she had a lot of fun! The wind was blowing through her long black hair and she seemed to be smiling, enjoying the journey.

The rest of us? We all had a blast! My personal thoughts that this was going to be boring, and a waste of time and money, were proven unequivocally wrong. This time.

Sometimes, you just have to get outside your comfort zone. If Pia could do it, certainly I could too.

A grand time was had by all.

Fred in Safari jeep — Fred Enjoying the View

Our return trip back to Sedona was met by lovely sunset orange glow colors.

❧

http://www.safarijeeptours.com

Boondocking, Camping, Simple Living

Walker Creek – Wildlife and Cows

May 5, 2014 Keevan 6 Comments

We pulled into a beautiful little campsite and had it all to ourselves. Well we thought we did…until we realized how much life was here along this little red slick rock lined creek.

slick red rocks along walker creek. — Camp Area Below Where the Van was Parked

After spending time in the van, we were eager to relax for awhile on these beautiful rocks. Pia was enjoying getting herself cooled off in the water, and started exploring a bit upstream. Gladly I was following her very closely, (always cautious around these parts) as we were soon met by this big dude taking his daily bath…

apr. 4 foot long diamond back rattle snake. — Western Diamond-back Rattlesnake

He was at least 4 feet long, and when first spotted was in the middle of the creek, bathing, hunting, or just cooling off, not sure which. He was actually quite relaxed about having visitors, and we gave him a wide berth once we spotted him. And rest assured, I retrieved my camera with the zoom lens on it. No close up iPhone photo here. We spent probably about an hour, watching him make his way out of the creek, around a tree, under some rocks and across the road. (On the opposite side of the creek from where we are camped.)

Then the birds came out! We have been going wild with all the different birds here. Note that neither Fred nor I are expert ornithologist’s, but we do carry a good birding book, and a few bird apps on the iPhone. We love to just sit and watch them and try to identify the species. Since being here, we’ve seen: Summer tanagers, Northern Cardinals (a southwestern species) Bullocks Orioles, Yellow Warblers, White-crowned Sparrows, and I think a Lark Sparrow. That’s in addition to the normal Juncos, Jays, Ravens, etc. It is so fun for us seeing the red and yellow birds. There is so much variation here!

No photos of the birds, as I was just enjoying sitting and watching them flutter around. Sometimes it’s good to look at life without seeing everything through a camera lens.

When the days get hot here, the birds settle down, and out come the lizards. More new species to identify. We are like a couple of little kids in a zoo.

And…when all else is quiet, our camp is surrounded by cows. They too keep us entertained, coming to the creek to get water, mooing to each other, and generally being cows! It is amazing watching them maneuver their mass of hulk around on these slippery rocks.

Lizard peeking over the rock near Walker Creek — A Small Visitor

Golden calf posing for a photo — A Large Visitor

Fred sitting in a chair by the creek with dog pia by his side on slick red rocks — Fred & Pia Relaxing

Entertainment is quite cheap in the desert. ❧

Travel

Red Rocks and Ruins

May 2, 2014 Keevan 6 Comments

Red Rocks and Art

Enjoying the Red Rocks of Sedona and their mesmerizing call to climb, sit, and commune with them. The artist and galleries here are incredible, filled to overflowing with talent and creativity. It is so amazing what people can do with their hands and minds. We’ve walked the shops and enjoyed without spending too much; mostly because we don’t have room for anything extra. I like to entertain myself with window shopping, and play a game of picking out my one favorite object in the window that I would buy if I was a mega rich person. I not only have fun, but it also makes me look really closely at all the pieces and see the detail, time, and work that goes into each piece of art. It’s nice too, to go around closing time. There are fewer people, the light is usually beautiful, Pia can enjoy strolling, and there’s even less pressure to buy…

We’ve taken some outrageous hikes into some of the canyons here, hiking on this lovely slick red rock. In the late afternoon, the red colors cast a beautiful orange glow everywhere. And it is true what they say about the energy here. I’m not sure if you have to go to special “vortex” sites, but the energy definitely flows when you get into these rocks. More than once, I’ve had tears in my eyes from the blessed feelings and the intense beauty.

Ruins

We spent a day touring some of the ruins south of the Sedona area. Pia enjoyed herself…she was allowed to go everywhere we went. (We didn’t go to the places she wasn’t allowed into.)

Montezuma’s Castle is an ancient pueblo site built into the face of a majestic white chalk mountain. Folks lived here between the 12th and 14th centuries. This is the main building – it has been mud plastered over to preserve it. Some of the original’s remain, but this is the most impressive.

Montezuma’s Well was even more impressive. It is a natural limestone sinkhole over 450 feet across. It never dries up and over one million gallons of water flow into this well per day. Yes it really is in the middle of the desert.

Tuzigoot National Monument. An ancient Sinaguan pueblo overlooking the Verde River Valley. Think I would rather have lived here. The views are fantastic!

For more detailed info on these sites, please check out the following websites!

Montezuma’s Castle

Montezuma’s Well

Tuzigoot National Monument

Sending Sedona Blessings to All

❧

Keevan Soul

Monthly Archives: May 2014

Over The Hills And Through The Snow…

Utah! First Up, Zion National Park

Fred Puts on Shorts!

Skipping the South Rim

This And That Around Flagstaff

Pia Goes 4-Wheeling

Walker Creek – Wildlife and Cows

Red Rocks and Ruins

Red Rocks and Art

Ruins

Traveling and Living Simply in a VW Van