Bowtie and Corona

Thursday the 6th, we made an early start and traveled across the Colorado, and then back down along the river to a trail that leads to Corona Arch and Bowtie Arch.  This is one of our favorite hikes of all time, and we have done it several times in the past.  Not in the National Park, it is a slick rock hike, with only cairns to mark your way.  It crosses a railroad cut, and then back around the cliffs a couple of miles, to reveal the two arches.  Along the way, you can see an additional arch called Pinto Arch, but no trail leads to that one.  There are hand rails, and a ladder to help you along in a couple of spots.  

The two main arches are actually only several hundred yards apart, but are very different.  Bowtie formed when a pothole in the cliffs above met a cave underneath.  It used to be called Paul Bunyan's Potty before that name was appropriated for an arch in Canyonlands National Park.  The hole is about 30 ft in diameter.  Corona Arch, eroded out of a sandstone fin.  The graceful span is 140 feet long, and 105 feet high.  

When we arrived at the two arches, we found a boyscout troop rappelling down from the top of Corona arch.  Pretty scary.  We learned that two folks have recently died trying the same thing, just within the last couple of years.  While searching for a cache behind some house sized boulders near the arch,  we found a bronze plaque in memory of one of the young fellows.  He had just returned from military service.  Too bad.

Below you can see a few pictures of the main arches along the trail, as well as some other shots of the river and of the railroad cut.

Backroads and Bridges

Yesterday, we cached in the back areas of Moab.   Hunting geocaches takes you out of the main tourist areas,  away from the crowds, into the neighborhoods,  the little local parks,  and to the outskirts of town.   You learn a lot about an area this way.  

During the morning, we climbed into the sandstone cliffs, enjoyed amazing views, toured a few exclusive neighborhoods,  some not so exclusive,  and came into a pretty little park with its own flowing spring. 

After lunch at a local micro brewery,  we continued caching in another part of town,  bringing us to a very cool little park filled with outdoor musical instruments that you could play to your heart's content.   I had a hard time getting Kathy,  my child bride,  back on the road from this park.  Later, our hunt took us under the main highway bridge that spans the Colorado River,  where Kathy made a difficult cache find,  and then skipped stones across the flowing water.

It was a fun day.

Traveling to Moab

Yesterday,  leaving Lake Powell,  we headed east,  then north into Utah.   Along our route we passed through little towns on the Navajo Nation with Navajo names such as Tsegi, Kaibito, Shonto,and Kayenta, and on into Monument Valley (a Navajo Tribal Park).  Then into Utah,  and towns that were named for geological features in their areas.   Towns like Mexican Hat,  Mexican Water,  and Bluff.  We crossed a very rushing San Juan River,  and so many huge rock outcroppings,  cliffs, and monuments that had no names on our maps.  Then after the little towns of Blanding and Monticello,  we passed by the southern entrance to Canyonlands National Park,  and on into Moab,  Utah. 

After checking out a few RV parks,  we settled into a rural park, the OK RV Park, about 5 miles south of town.   It is quiet,  peaceful,  and has many trees.   The views are of massive redrock cliffs,  and of the great  La Sal mountains.  Our plan is to stay a few days here and explore a bit.  It had been a long drive,  so we spent the late afternoon in camp, enjoying adult beverages and snacks for dinner.

Passing Powell

Yesterday, taking a route North from Flagstaff,  via a temporary paved bypass around a landslide damaged highway, we arrived in Page,  Arizona.   The temporary road proved satisfactory,  and we lost no time.  Just outside of Page,  we drove across the controversial Glen Canyon dam,  and set our eyes on beautiful Lake Powell.   It had been a decade since we had last seen it.
 
This was just a stopover for us on our way to Moab, Utah.  It was good to break up the drive, and we found another great campground for future trips.

Flagstaff - Day Two

Yesterday was our second day enjoying our old hometown of Flagstaff, Arizona.  The temps were nice, and the air dry and clear.  After a leisurely start to the day, we went on to visit many back roads and alleyways in the area, in search of geocaches.  Our hunt took us to a lot of areas that even we, after living here for fourteen years, had never been.  This is often the case with geocaching.

At one point by a railroad crossing Northeast of town, I stopped to gaze at the San Francisco Peaks to the West.  It was quiet there, and the smell of the pinyon/juniper landscape was strong.  Beautiful. Had to take a picture.

After having a great lunch at a local favorite, Mike and Rhonda's Cafe, we hunted a few more caches, and came upon an old truck parked near Sheep Hill.  Sheep Hill is a bit smaller than the last time I saw it.  This is the source of all the cinders that are spread on the roads in the area during snow cover for vehicle traction.  One day the red/brown hill here, part of the San Francisco volcanic field, will disappear altogether I am sure.

After caching, we did a little shopping, and then had a lovely dinner at a friend's house in our old neighborhood.  It reminded me of the value of friendships.  Priceless in a real way.

Back in Flagstaff

We are beginning our first summer trip,  heading to some of our favorite haunts in Southern Utah.

Arrived in Flagstaff yesterday in time to set up the trailer,  grab a few caches,  eat a great Thai meal,  and stroll a bit around the downtown area. So many old memories.  We both struggled with the altitude change.

Breezy and cool yesterday.  Angie seems to be enjoying the trip already.

Passing by a local resident

Today I was walking down a trail toward Pima Canyon...  after a geocache farther up the trail, of course...  and I was surprised to run into a local resident.  He was one of the really strange desert folks that you hear about.  These guys keep to themselves, and rarely come into town.  He was walking down the trail in the opposite direction from me.  When we came upon each other, we both stopped and looked each other over briefly.  Neither of us spoke, and after a little bit, I just brushed past him without a word.  I figured he was not in a talking mood.  As I continued on down the trail, I glanced back to see him also continuing up the trail in the other direction.

I hiked on down the path for a tenth of a mile or so, found the cache and logged it. Then I headed back toward my car, back up the trail the way I came in.  I hoped I would bump into the fellow again, but he had disappeared into the desert.  I don't see his kind often as I am out hiking around through the cacti and Palo Verde...  so it was nice to know these strange desert folks are still around.

Oh, and I also saw a turtle today.  Here are a couple of pictures.....

The encounter

Heading down the path

Just kidding...  of course the turtle was the local resident.  :-)

Ruby, and some recent geocaching

Ruby, AZ

We have had some interesting caching events of late.  Earlier this week, my friend Bart C and another friend, Mel H, (a N. Tucson cacher)... made a trip down south to Ruby, Arizona.  We did some caching along the way, but the real plan was to visit the old town.  Ruby is a real ghost town just north of the international border.  It is a mining town with a rich past, but has been deserted since the late 30s or so.  A lot of old buildings around to explore...   Below are a few pictures.

Rock Art near the "Turkey Lurky" cache, on the way to Ruby, AZ.

Fake tanks (used for Air Force target runs) in the desert near a cache on the way to Ruby, AZ.

Tailings "beach" from Ruby mining operations.  Tailings said to be 35' deep.

Bart inspecting the old bunk houses, Ruby, AZ

A little fellow hiding from the heat in one of the old residences

Child's slide behind the old school house, Ruby, AZ

Old piano in the school house, Ruby, AZ

Inside the Ruby School classroom

Old Ruby Jail house

Mel, looking through the old assay office

Also, of caching note....   Kathy and I made our 2,000th cache find today.  Kathy spotted the cache on this one. Afterwards, we celebrated with beer and pizza.  2K was our goal for the year, so hopefully we will log a couple more than expected considering we still have a few months  left in 2013.  Along the way to making this goal has been my good friend, Bart C...  (known as "AZ Sahara" in the caching world) who has kept me motivated.  It has been a lot of fun.

Just another beautiful morning

The Nature Trail at Catalina State Park

Took a brief walk in Catalina State Park, near our community today.  It was early, and a bit cloudy this morning, but cool.  As I walked the trail, I noticed that the desert was particularly alive and beautiful, with lots of animals, flowers, and gorgeous mountain views.  Saw a number of creatures including a small rat snake that quickly crossed the path in front of me, some leaping mule deer, some caterpillars, lots of ants working back and forth on their own paths, and many lizards.  Got the geocache I was after, but mostly enjoyed the couple miles of trail.  I never saw another hiker, never heard a car or train, just the breeze and peacefulness of the beautiful Sonoran Desert.  Here are a few other shots from the morning:

One of many active fellows along the trail

A vacant cactus wren nest in a cholla cactus

Along the Nature Trail in Catalina State Park

Snakes Alive!

While geocaching this morning in Catalina State Park, I came upon a small, 3 foot long, rattlesnake.  It was right in the middle of the trail, coiled, scared, and ready to strike.  The rattling alerted me to it's presence long before I saw it.  Unfortunately, it was right in the middle of the path, and just adjacent to a cache location I was trying to find and log.  

While I was inspecting the snake, another couple came down the path from the other direction, and also stopped short.  And, after that, two young ladies came up from behind me and also stopped.  It was an amazing sight to see this small snake, holding up five large humans.  We all just stood there, trying to figure how to get past.  Finally, I made my way around the snake by bushwhacking off the trail to the the left.  I kept careful lookout for other friends of the trail blocker.  As I looked back, I saw that the other folks were following my lead, and made it around.  I figured I would come back to the nearby cache after I went on down the trail to two other caches.  I hoped the snake would be gone by the time I returned.   When I did return, the snake had moved about 5 feet, but was still in the middle of the trail, rattling away.  Knowing I was not leaving without finding and logging the nearby cache, I carefully started looking around.  The cache turned out to be about 15 feet away from the coiled snake.  I signed the log, and headed back to the parking  lot, about half of a mile away.  As I walked down the trail,  I heard others behind me exclaiming about the little fellow.

It has been my experience that seeing a rattlesnake in the wild is actually pretty rare.  I do a lot of walking around in the desert here, and this is only the second rattlesnake I have seen.  I am pretty sure, it was more afraid of me, than I was of him.  Here is the picture I took this morning.

Seraphine Louis

This evening we watched a movie we received from Netflix called simply "Seraphine".  It was recommended to us by our sister-in-law, Peg.  It is the true story of a French housekeeper, who also paints.  And paints she does.  Here is an example:  

Wikipedia:    Seraphine Louis, known as "Seraphine de Senlis" (1864-1942), was a French painter in the naive style.  Self-taught, she was inspired by her religious faith and by stained-glass church windows and other religious art.  The intensity of her images, both in colour and in replicative designs, are sometimes interpreted as a reflection of her own psyche, walking a tightrope between ecstasy and mental illness.   

I had never heard of this artist, but her paintings are familiar for some reason.  The movie is worth a watch, especially if you are interested in art.  Here are a few other examples of her paintings: