Last Day

We had just a wonderful last day.  This map may be a little different that what we actually did because I'm not sure I'm using the same GPS but close enough.  The route was really pretty  up through Three Hills, to Trochu then over to Dry Island Buffalo Jump and home through Stettler and Camrose.  

Gary and I had gone to Dry Island with another friend several years ago. We got stuck in gumbo and had to be pulled out by tractor. I was anxious about Striders ability to handle rough roads or a long stretch of gravel so Ray and I left our Van's on the side of the road near a gas transfer station.  Of course I was also anxious about leaving them there, silly as there was little traffic along that road. And it turned out the road we went in on this time  was different and mainly paved. When we did get to the gravel and road down down to the river it was freshly graded and dry. A piece of cake.

We hiked along through the meadows and wolf willow then up a trail that lead to the top of Dry Island. The smell was wonderful and the quiet peaceful.  My companions made it to the top and I climbed most of the way. The formations and colours were other worldly and as we climbed the views were spectacular.  It was a beautiful day, cool, partially sunny day and we pretty much had the whole place to ourselves. 

The whole area felt other worldly, beautiful now. In the heat of summer not so much.

Photographers photographing each other

This is not the place to run out of water and when I dropped my bottle down this crevasse my friend climbed down to rescue it. 

The tenacity of life in such a harsh environment was amazing

A little bit of history on the way back to our vehicles

We drifted back down, drove back to our intact vehicles, said our goodbyes and the three vehicles caravaned together to Camrose.  Ray, Nancy and I went onto Edmonton, navigated our way through the Henday construction and home.

My yard was a welcome sight.  I left just as the first buds were coming out and now everything looks full and and in bloom.  In a re entry frenzy of activity I stayed up late filling bird feeders and clearing most of my things out of Strider.  It left him looking desolate and disheveled.  I will clean and spiff him up tomorrow.  He also needs a little TLC, a check up and an oil change after his long journey.

The 17 Mile Drop

After a much needed rest we were ready to hit the road. We came out to snow covered vehicles. The roads were wet as the snow melted as it landed.  Just outside of Butte there is another 17 mile long pass.  It started snowing again in earnest at the top.  It felt easier the second day, or I was more confident with Striders ability to manage the grades in manual and with the ability of our little convoy to navigate the curves.  As we came out onto the plane the clouds lifted and the snow stopped. The rest of the drive was fine, but long because we had had to go slowly.

We made it through customs in record time and it felt like such a relief to be back in Canada. The sun came out just across the border as if we needed reminding how lucky we are to live here.  It was still cold so we checked into another Comfort Inn, ordered pizza, Nancy made one of her famous salads and we had a picnic dinner so we could get to Eye in the Sky, a gripping movie about the ethics and cost of drone warfare.  Afterwords we celebrated the last night of our journey with ice cream and called it a good day. 

Bear Lake Bird Sanctuary to Butte

We left the Perry Campground in the sun and made it as far as Pocatello before the wind started up it buffeted us around and then things went from bad to worse on a long detour around some construction on the I15 which meant we were had the wind blowing against the sides of our vehicles both ways. It was nerve wracking and slowed us down. When we finally got onto the highway the wind got stronger.  We stopped for a break and a walk through the lava fields then I was tired, tried to nap, but the wind rattled the van so much it spooked me out. 

There were weather reports of rain and snow in the passes ahead and it just made me more nervous than driving.  We could see the clear line of the clouds and as we got closer the wind blew harder.  Once into the rain the wind died down so we really just traded one problem for another.  Then as we climbed up the Monida pass the rain turned to snow. The road down from the pass was really steep, thank god Strider has manual shift. It didn't help that there was a big sign that said 55 people have died on the highway since the beginning or the year. 

 The saving grace was having my friends driving in front and behind me.  At one point the snow was so thick I couldn't see ahead.  If Gary hadn't come ahead of me with his red truck and red flashing lights I would have been in big trouble. When we finally came out of the blizzard the valley was beautiful with snow on the dark evergreens and on the new green of the aspens and the fields. The saving grace was there was almost no traffic and Strider has manual shift which made it feel a lot safer driving. There was more snow after that but it was mostly wet and slushy and a slog to drive through.

All in all we were on the road for almost 10 hours.  My longest driving day. We stayed at the Comfort Inn.  I think they cater to snowbirds as they gave us a special deal, offered free fresh baked cookies and soup in lobby as well as a complimentary breakfast.  We were all tired and treated ourselves to an unexpectedly great dinner and a tour of the old town then crashed.  Just a couple of pics of the Lava fields. To get the real drama shots we had no safe place to stop and no inclination to do so.  

Moab to Bear River Bird Sanctuary

Moab to Bear River Bird Sanctuary

We packed up and were on the road by 10 headed for Bear River Bird Sanctuary just north of Salt Lake City.  It is one of the largest Refuges in N. America.  It rained most of the way up and I was tired by the time we got there.  The skies cleared just as we got to the Refuge.  We saw a lot of birds along the 12 mile route and took turns walking along the dikes but the view from the car seemed to work best as the vehicle acts as a blind.  

This visit really was all about the Pelicans

Not only were they photogenic but they had personality

Gary found his own little ducky

We were staying at the Perry KOA which was just a mile or so from a movie theatre. We skipped dinner and went to see the Jungle Book.  A great show to use as a mental break from the driving. It was also a community experience going to a small town theatre.

Great Last Day in Moab

A great last day in Moab. We worked on our photo's in the morning took our lunch break and Ray who is fighting off a cold took a rest.  Gary and I explored the neighbourhoods of Moab to get our 10,000 steps in.  I didn't take my camera as I wasn't expecting a lot of photo opportunities but was I wrong. Unbeknownst to us there is a beautiful multiuse path along a creek that winds its way through the town.  We came upon a wonderful little music park filled with zylophones, chimes, pipes and steel drums.  A family, who played well made the most beautiful sounds.  I've never seen a music park before but I think it is a great idea.  In all the years we have been to Moab we haven't been in the residential neighbourhoods and I'm glad we discovered them.  On the way back we stopped at our favourite bakery to put in an order for scones tomorrow morning on our way out of town.

We returned just in time to pick up Nancy and head back to Courthouse Wash.  The creek was higher than a few days ago and we had to scramble up and down the rock to get around.  I had forgotten how good it felt after I got over my initial nervousness. We made it up past the waterfalls before turning back so we could get further into Arches.  High up in the park the sky was dramatic.  Dark rain clouds next to puffy white cumulus and rainbows linking them.  We seemed to miss the rain even when we could see it all around us.  It was a beautiful last evening here and we got almost 20,000 steps in by the time we got home.

We went back to our favourite Italian restaurant good evening.  The weather is turning colder so it is a good time to head home.

The Best and Worst of Moab

Woke up to another sunny day. Worked on our computers then Nancy and I went shopping  stopping in at  our favourite wood, photo gallery and yarn stores. They had a group of old timers using the spinning wheels and the owners young daughter was playing between the stacks of yarn. It felt warm and welcoming and the yarns were gorgeous. A successful trip.  

Home in time for lunch and a nap before we headed out on a road that along the Green river and then climbs into the hills a bit to Hunter Canyon.  

People were camping and squatting all along the river portion. Some pretty run down trailers mixed in with some creative back to the lander type structures.  Lots of jeeps and ATVs on side trails. When we got to the canyon it started out as a lovely walk then we started to hear what I thought at first were gun shots.  When we rounded a corner there was a couple of young guys up on the ridge throwing boulders crashing down towards the trail and a small group further along egging them on. We chose discretion turned around and headed back to the truck. The whole experience the antithesis of what area has been about for us. 

The best part of the road was that there were a lot of petroglyphs on the rocks. We found the most amazing and complex set on what is called The Birthing Rock.  The rock is visible from the road and unprotected yet there is little or no vandalism on it.  I think it speaks to the respect for the subject matter and the power of the images.  

The Birthing Rock

Maybe the midwife or shaman with woman giving birth?

The delivery

We think this may be the placenta linked to the umbilical cord and infant

This rock was in the middle of Uranium country and this six toed food may have been a result of exposure

Time to move on to appreciate how determined life is in spite of hardship

We headed back to Arches and had a great photo shoot going down Park Avenue and over behind one of the monuments until sunset.  There is a lovely little Thai restaurant close to our condo where we had a late dinner and home to an early night.    

Sunset on Park Avenue

Arches Before the Storm

 A lovely mostly relaxing day. We have set up our computer lab around the dining room table and worked together on projects waiting.  I had a dental appointment to fix a broken tooth.  Given my dental phobia it was really nice to have someone accompany me. The dentist did his job and I was glad to have the support and get it fixed.  

Later in the day we headed up to Arches as the clouds came in and the temperature cooled off a bit.  We drifted down the wash and found lots of opportunities with good skies.  Just as we were ready to head back it started to sprinkle.  We thought going late to dinner would be a good idea but Moab wakes up and night and there were wait times at almost all the restaurants.  Found a good little Mexican one for a good end to a great day.  

The scale puts our lives in perspective

I love these Junipers

Moab's Dessert in Bloom

As aways a dramatic entry to one of my favourite places. Colorado ironically bills itself as 'the colourful state'  although filled with grey mountains, rock and high plains scrubland. Maybe they were thinking of their colourful history. Anyway at the state line the shift into Utah  dessert is dramatic.  You crest a hill and on the other side is the most desolate, empty and starkly beautiful valley with only the road curving through it. For those early settlers on wagon trains the sight  must have been overwhelming.  For us we flew down the valley and less than an hour and turned south towards our reunion.  The fields on either side of the highway were full of orange mallow, a beautiful welcome. The familiar red rock drop into Moab felt like a homecoming.  

We were the first ones there, back in the same complex as last year. We unloaded our gear, got settled then went for one of my favourite walks up Courthouse Wash. No one else around and few footprints. There were signs of big rain earlier this season including minnows in the creek and Herons feeding on them.  The weather is hot 31+.  A ways upstream we found some shade to rest, unwind from the long journey and appreciate why we came.

We passed fields of  these orange mallo

This tiny tree growing at the top of the cliff could be 50 years old

The first Herons and there were hosts of small birds escorting us in and out

When we got back our friends soon arrived and we had a great dinner and time to reconnect.  I feel so happy and relaxed to be here.