Sometimes you have to leave the beaten path to find the best trail

Today, my 51st birthday, we decided again to avoid the heat. This time, instead of down to the river, we went up to the nearby La Sal mountains and canned canyonlands.  We found a trail that started at Miner's Basin and ended at a lake, 2 miles each way but 2000 feet of elevation change from 9000 to 10000 feet and  back to 9000. Unfortunately Miner's Basin  was closed,  but we were able to start at the end and work backwards. But it was 30 degrees cooler: low 70s.

We started up through a forest,  then along an icy stream where we dunked our bandanas. It got very steep,  12% grade. Through a meadow, sprinled with aspen, switchbacking along, then past the remains of Schuman's cabin (miner from the 1880s), then up a 30% grade to a pass filled with pines. We passed several melting patches of snow. The kids ambushed us with snowballs.  Then at the pass in the mountains, we decided enough was enough and didn't quite make it down to the basin,  which was a bummer because there was supposed to be a ghost town there. ..after another 1000 feet of elevation change. Phil and the kids found a peak to reach,  making our destination.

The kids ran down the mountain while my 51 year old knees required a more careful picking my way down with hiking sticks.  My legs were at that point shaking with the effort. We finally reached the car after 5 hours of walking, to find the kids waiting at a picnic table with the food carefully laid out.  It was the best birthday lunch ever.

The afternoon was spent at the KOA pool (it was 100 degrees off the mountain ), and then out to a celebratory dinner at the broken oar.

Cooling Off

It has been hot and the desert views are losing their luster for the kids, so we decided to step it up a notch and took a half day rafting tour of the Colorado River. But we insisted on a bike ride first. The bike path began at a BMX bike trail, which the kids loved.  The dirt hills gave plenty of opportunity to test out their mountain bikrs and was conveniently located next to the Moab regional hospital. The path continued along Mill Creek and took us to Roundabout Park. The path was great, cool and pretty flat.  We passed a community garden and schools along the path (what a great idea!). At the park, one section, called Harmony Park, had a whole range of percussion instruments, from drums to marimba to xylophone and everything in between. The mallets were attached to cords, and most were still there. We were all mesmerized.

We tore ourselves away  and headed to Adrift Adventures. They made us sign our lives away and took our car keys and bussed us 45 minutes to a spot on the river where the rafts were waiting for us. The first hour was peaceful with some small rapids, but a lot of time to float or swim along the boat. Our guide, Everett, was knowledgeable and sweet with the kids.  And he could haul even the adults back into the boat when we were done! Then came the class III rapids. Ellie and Jeremiah were in the front of course. The smile on Ellie's face was ecstatic. That girl has no fear. Phil and I were less excited, not being fans of roller coasters these days.  We stopped at a beach for a picnic lunch. The last hour included more swimming and some time playing on a beach where there was a drop off from ankle to neck in 2 steps. The kids came back wishing we has class IV or V rapids. Best day of the trip, they said. Thrill seekers.

No photos of the river trip as we left phones and cameras behind.

Hot Arches

Today was hot. We got up early to try to beat the heat,  but Moab is like Florida: it didn't get below 70 until just before dawn and was back at 100 by 11am. It is a dry heat,  but at some point that doesn't really help. We went to Arches National  Park by 8am. We hiked the delicate arch trail first thing, then the landscape arch. The arches are interesting, or perhaps it is our interest in then that is noteworthy as Phil pointed out. Why are we so fascinated by them?  Phil thought perhaps because we think of that form as man made,  not natural.  Natural arches maybe suggest a creator. I struggled with the heights and steep drop offs, but persevered. My favorite part were the petroglyphs. Sheep and a shepherd on horseback.

Weird formations and beautiful views, but the kids prefer biology to geology...they miss the animal spotting of the more northern parks. Today offered only bunnies at the KOA we are camping at.

We explored Moab in the late afternoon  (ice cream hunting), set up some adventures  for the next couple of days to compensate for the heat and the KOA parking lot campsite,  and hit the pool. It was too hot and cramped at the campsite to cook out,  so we treated ourselves to a brew pub.  Ellie wanted to eat at the most popular spot. ..she is definitely our daughter!

Unexpected delights

After a relaxed morning sleeping in and enjoying pancakes and bacon, we packed up and hit the road. The kids rebelled against the pace, so we said we would take the scenic route. This turned out to be a terrific idea.
We went from rt 12 to rt 24 which took us past Red Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Grand Staircase Escalante,  the aptly named Hell's Backbone, and through Capitol Reef. Mom has been hunting for that sign of hipster eating, the elusive kombucha, but despaired of finding any in the empty landscape. Suddenly, at 12:30 in Escalante a mirage appeared...an organic grocery, The Merc. It proved to be an oasis of organic picnic food and mom had her choice of kombucha flavors. Capital Reef was also unexpected. We passed by the orchards of Fruita, which were fruiting, but didn't have  time to stop, though we made time for the petroglyphs.  We hit a peak of 9400 feet and had to stop because a cowboy on horse back and 2 dogs were driving a herd of cattle across the road. Jeremiah, the wildlife spotter, saw 5 deer, but it was elk we were after.  We left disappointed on that score, but saw dozens of prairie dogs later to make up for it.

Even after Capitol Reef, the drive was stunning. We listened to Sherman Alexie's Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian as we drove, and unexpectedly, the kids loved it, though it was depressing. We stopped at a store looking for dinner fixings, but walked out with 4 stickers that Ellie bought for us. Hers was "Spicy". Leslie's was "Girly." Phil's was "Muy caliente." Jeremiah's was "Cupid." Fitting. The machine knew us.  We made it to Moab by dinner, and at 100 degrees,  decided to try the local cuisine instead of building a fire. The Spoke had food for everyone: mac and cheese, ribs, fish tacos, and beet, goat cheese, and spinach salad. You guess who got what.  Tummies full, we are ready to pitch our tents.

Hoodoos

Today was a day of hoodoos. Worried about the smoke, we went early to the park. These parks don't seem to have opening or closing hours,  exactly.  You are encouraged to go early ....pre-dawn for some hikes.Bryce has astronomy programs that  start at 9pm because it has the darkest skies in the US. We have not yet managed to get to a park much before 8, but we tried a couple of times. The kids (Jeremiah ) say they would rather deal with heat than early wake ups. But this time it was OK to be a little late. The smoke wasn't particularly bad and it was only in the 80s. It wasn't crowded to the degree the other parks were. What a joy! We hiked the Navaho/Queens Garden loop down among the hoodoos, which are the weird rock formations caused by the erosion of softer underlayers. I tried out my new hiking sticks, which was good because it was a bit slippery with some very sheer drop offs. I get terrible jelly legs and vertigo on cliffs. The kids shield me as I creep across.  I conquer the vertigo and they conquer their embarrassment.

Hoodlums

Aside from the viewa, we are amazed by the American ability to be dumb. We saw one mom get her three kids to stand on an outcropping with sheer drops of hundreds of feet on 3 sides and no rails she could take a photo. A young guy lay down on one with his head over the edge, hanging head first trying to impress his girlfriend. Lady, find someone else. This one won't make it. Another woman was trying to pet a wild squirrel.  We also saw either an ambulance or rescue helicopter in action at each park. We don't see this disregard of risk on Greece. The parks are so amazing: in our litigious society there is a public place where you can test your physical limits (I was reading about free solo climbers in Yosemite ).  But so many ordinary people seem to think it is Disney where the thrills are so carefully curated, so if there is no fence or harness, it must be ok.
Rant over.

Cold

I am snuggled deep in my sleeping bag avoiding getting up. It must be about 50 degrees; could even be in the 40s. We have hit 106 at  Zion in the day and worried about heatstroke,  drinking gallons of water,  but the nights are deliciously cold. Today we decided to sleep late. We have all been battling a cold. Ellie started sneezing on the second day, then Phil and Jeremiah,  and by day 4, I joined the competition for the remaining tissues. Last night, too, we decided to take it easy and got back to our cabin by 6. Phil cooked steak, beans and salad while I vacuumed the car with our nifty car vacuum. The kids swam in the pool briefly before the bugs freaked them out. We ended the day with a ferocious game of national park monopoly. Ellie won by bankrupting Jeremiah. She owned the entire most expensive side of the board. The 7500 stars came out and so did our sweatshirts and we went to bed.

Friendly Fauna

Lots of flora and fauna today at Zion. Giant lizards which Ellie wanted to catch,  overly-friendly squirrels which other idiots wanted to pet, several deer including a baby faun, and an out-of-place panda. At the very end,  a skunk or two startled Phil by scuffling under the deck. Lucky he was scared and they were not.

Zion

Two hikes and a bike ride later,  we are back in our cute little cabin. It is a dry heat, but still heat.  Might have hit 106? Pockets were desert, others were lush, wet, cool...an amazing place.  We liked being down in a canyon looking up more than being up looking down. Ended at a Thunderbird Inn for "ho-made pie" or beer, depending on our ages. Going to sleep with a skunk or two under our deck.

Bloomin' desert

Just a few more photos of the desert in bloom.

It's a grand canyon

We are back camping after two nights of cheap hotels. We arrived at about 6, got set up and made dinner. Then the stars came out.  Millions. ..way more than we can see at home. We downloaded a sky map and found both dippers, draco, scorpio, saturn, jupiter, and the Corona borealis. Ellie saw a shooting star.  The temperature dropped 30 degrees and we snuggled into our sleeping bags looking at the sky.

The next morning,  we woke at 4:30 due to a bright sky and some campground noise. With all the crazy time zones (Arizona is not on daylight savings) we had been through we were time-confused anyway and there had been warnings about heat, so we decided to get an early start. We got there so early that no one was there to take our 4th grade pass. Yesterday we skipped Meteor Crater because they are now charging $18/person, but the Grand Canyon is free if you go early. And the Petrified Forest was also,  because they were on lunch break. Go figure. 

The Grand Canyon. What can you say?  I have been here before as a kid and I remember the feeling of jelly legs as I saw the distance down. That is worse now,  as 50 year old. Ellie says it is cool: very deep and a lot wider than she thought. Phil says it was cooler and less crowded and more interesting where we were on the north rim. Jeremiah has no comment. It is hard to fathom the mile down and 10 miles across and the millions of years it took for water to carve the landscape. It is literally awesome. But also inaccessible. I wanted to go down,  not just admire the view. We are listening to Tony Hillerman's Skeleton Man which is set in and around the canyon. I wish we had more interaction. But we are doing broad strokes this year. A bunch of first times.