Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Post #6 - Southwest Utah & The North Rim
Bloggers,
The national park system keeps on giving. One breathtaking week after another. The last six days have been spent in Zion NP, Grand Canyon NP and Bryce Canyon NP.
From Moab we were spoiled with yet another beautiful drive through the middle of Utah on I-70. We went south on route 89 through mountains over 12,000 feet to Kanab, Utah on the Arizona border. We found a great 1950s motel on campsite prices and "camped out" for the week. Sun N' Sands Motel has been a perfect (if eccentric) break from our tent. The place is run by the affable Wayne and his wife. The sign in front has got to be from the Vegas strip circa 1959. We think Wayne is possibly a sex, drugs, and rock'n'roll love child of the original owner. No matter what he was a lot of fun and made our stay as enjoyable as possible.
The steep $25 a night price included breakfast, and we made our way to the office our first morning. There we met Murli, an Indian Singaporean who was on a three-week motorcycle tour through the west. We struck up a conversation, inevitably talking about our recent time in Asia and his time traveling America. The situation really was strange since the town of Kanab is maybe 1,000 people and it's surrounded by nothing. However, it's only 80 miles from the Grand Canyon and Bryce Canyon and only 40 miles from Zion. With its central location you get people from all over the world driving through at one time or another, and if you spend a whole week in a room at the Sun N' Sands you get to meet a few of them.
Anyway, we met Murli and ended up spending the better part of the next three days with him. First was Zion, where we took a 5.5 mile strenuous hike up Angel's Landing to a perfect view of Zion Canyon. The hike was fantastic, and thank god because the hordes of people along the main road made us want to kill. We're now into the major tourist season for the national parks, but it can be frustrating after the personal experiences we've enjoyed over the last month plus. With that said most of the Europeans and Americans couldn't do the Angel's Landing hike and it was great. We say Europeans first because we're almost positive there are more Europeans than Americans (and certainly Utahans) in the state of Utah right now. Pat can't remember whether it was like this in Yellowstone years ago but from Moab to Zion there are Euros everywhere. We suppose there is nothing like Utah anywhere in Europe and they can get their fix on the great outdoors in one shot, but it has been strange to be able to speak clearer English in Asia than in Utah.
Our second day was spent doing nothing. It was amazing. There have not been many days where we aren't either driving a long way or hiking and also have cell phone reception. We basically just caught up with what's going on in the world (why we did that, we don't know. Why are the ass clowns in Washington still not able to do anything, ever, even when the people are saying, DO IT!?). We enjoyed having a shower and cable and the Internet. We strolled the lovely if tiny main street of Kanab as well. It was an all around good time.
The next day we were back on the national park hunt and hit up the north rim of the Grand Canyon with our buddy Murli. We first went through the visitor center and the Grand Canyon Lodge, a beautiful hotel perched literally on top of the north rim. The views are incredible, but they are off of the main canyon. The Grand Canyon for us was honestly a little disappointing. We just came from there so maybe things will change in time, but we felt the dimensions were just too big. You look down and it's 1,000 feet down in any direction. You look beyond that and it's much further down than from the point you were looking at previously. It's just too big to see from the ground. For us it was that our eyes couldn't really grasp with what we were looking at. Of course it is magnificent, the north rim especially. Averaging over 1,000 feet above the south rim, you can see over the whole thing and view a further fifty plus miles into the desert of Arizona. It's not a desert on the north rim either. It's a high elevation forest that is reminiscent of an east coast landscape. The drive to the rim is almost as nice as the rim itself. Almost. The Grand Canyon is still the one thing every American should see. That's what they say, anyway. We hiked 4.5 miles down and it was steep coming back up, but having the trees as cover helped a lot.
Our next day might have been our favorite in Bryce Canyon. An almost impossible group of hoodoos in the Bryce Amphitheatre can make you quiver. We took a strenuous 6 mile hike through the Peekaboo Trail that brought us into the canyon. Since our experience with the parks are inexorably linked with the hikes we take, Bryce Canyon excelled. You have to see the pictures. Every park has been different and amazing, but as a full day experience Bryce might be the pick thus far.
It's a close call, however, since we got a completely different view of Zion on our last day. We went back into the park and took a hike that is unique for this part of the country. We walked 3.5 miles (7 round trip) up the Virgin River, at times the water going almost five feet deep. It's called The Narrows for how narrow the canyon walls get (straight up 1,000 feet), the "trail" aka river, is infamous for its flash floods. Luckily the weather has been dry for a while and we were able to get pretty far upstream. It was a different and welcome hike to end our on and off month trip through America's deserts.
A last note should be added here. We have now spent about a month where over fifty percent of the people speak Spanish. Of course we get the Mexican thing in NYC, but to get immersed in the Mexican-American experience is intoxicating. From Texas to Utah, and we're sure through California as well, the Mexican influence is everywhere. Every single Mexican we've met has been nothing but outgoing and friendly. At the Sun N' Sands alone we have met two groups of Mexicans doing hard labor for America's future infrastructure. One is putting in fire protection systems for a local office building, the other is putting stucco on the same building's walls. Just as we leave each morning to go hike and see America's beauty, they leave to make an honest day's buck ten to twelve hours a day. Every evening we cook our dinner on the single propane tank as Gino and his crew come in to hang out and exchange stories. Gino, the foreman of the fire protection systems crew, is a father of four and dedicated family man. He has traveled from Phoenix to get work and now has to spend three months away from his wife and kids. He's focused on paying off his home while supporting his brood. While Gino himself is safe, he told us terrible stories of friends and families that were sent back to Mexico after getting picked up on the street due to Arizona's now infamous new law. We're not sure sending these people back to Mexico after risking so much to get here is such a good idea. First off, if this trip has taught us anything it's that this country is huge, and there is plenty of room to share the same opportunities we've all enjoyed. Second, the Mexican people are good and necessary for the economy. If we remember correctly this country used to encourage competition. If Mexicans work harder than others so be it. Hard working and God fearing. Sounds familiar, doesn't it?
We can tell you that we are now canyoned out and need to see the ocean. Wayne offered to give us the room for another night at no cost, but we're ready for California. We drive through Vegas into LA to see a bunch of friends, staying in Beverly Hills with the always fun Laudan (Shauna's childhood friend) for a few days before driving up highway 1.
Until then,
S&P
The national park system keeps on giving. One breathtaking week after another. The last six days have been spent in Zion NP, Grand Canyon NP and Bryce Canyon NP.
From Moab we were spoiled with yet another beautiful drive through the middle of Utah on I-70. We went south on route 89 through mountains over 12,000 feet to Kanab, Utah on the Arizona border. We found a great 1950s motel on campsite prices and "camped out" for the week. Sun N' Sands Motel has been a perfect (if eccentric) break from our tent. The place is run by the affable Wayne and his wife. The sign in front has got to be from the Vegas strip circa 1959. We think Wayne is possibly a sex, drugs, and rock'n'roll love child of the original owner. No matter what he was a lot of fun and made our stay as enjoyable as possible.
The steep $25 a night price included breakfast, and we made our way to the office our first morning. There we met Murli, an Indian Singaporean who was on a three-week motorcycle tour through the west. We struck up a conversation, inevitably talking about our recent time in Asia and his time traveling America. The situation really was strange since the town of Kanab is maybe 1,000 people and it's surrounded by nothing. However, it's only 80 miles from the Grand Canyon and Bryce Canyon and only 40 miles from Zion. With its central location you get people from all over the world driving through at one time or another, and if you spend a whole week in a room at the Sun N' Sands you get to meet a few of them.
Anyway, we met Murli and ended up spending the better part of the next three days with him. First was Zion, where we took a 5.5 mile strenuous hike up Angel's Landing to a perfect view of Zion Canyon. The hike was fantastic, and thank god because the hordes of people along the main road made us want to kill. We're now into the major tourist season for the national parks, but it can be frustrating after the personal experiences we've enjoyed over the last month plus. With that said most of the Europeans and Americans couldn't do the Angel's Landing hike and it was great. We say Europeans first because we're almost positive there are more Europeans than Americans (and certainly Utahans) in the state of Utah right now. Pat can't remember whether it was like this in Yellowstone years ago but from Moab to Zion there are Euros everywhere. We suppose there is nothing like Utah anywhere in Europe and they can get their fix on the great outdoors in one shot, but it has been strange to be able to speak clearer English in Asia than in Utah.
Our second day was spent doing nothing. It was amazing. There have not been many days where we aren't either driving a long way or hiking and also have cell phone reception. We basically just caught up with what's going on in the world (why we did that, we don't know. Why are the ass clowns in Washington still not able to do anything, ever, even when the people are saying, DO IT!?). We enjoyed having a shower and cable and the Internet. We strolled the lovely if tiny main street of Kanab as well. It was an all around good time.
The next day we were back on the national park hunt and hit up the north rim of the Grand Canyon with our buddy Murli. We first went through the visitor center and the Grand Canyon Lodge, a beautiful hotel perched literally on top of the north rim. The views are incredible, but they are off of the main canyon. The Grand Canyon for us was honestly a little disappointing. We just came from there so maybe things will change in time, but we felt the dimensions were just too big. You look down and it's 1,000 feet down in any direction. You look beyond that and it's much further down than from the point you were looking at previously. It's just too big to see from the ground. For us it was that our eyes couldn't really grasp with what we were looking at. Of course it is magnificent, the north rim especially. Averaging over 1,000 feet above the south rim, you can see over the whole thing and view a further fifty plus miles into the desert of Arizona. It's not a desert on the north rim either. It's a high elevation forest that is reminiscent of an east coast landscape. The drive to the rim is almost as nice as the rim itself. Almost. The Grand Canyon is still the one thing every American should see. That's what they say, anyway. We hiked 4.5 miles down and it was steep coming back up, but having the trees as cover helped a lot.
Our next day might have been our favorite in Bryce Canyon. An almost impossible group of hoodoos in the Bryce Amphitheatre can make you quiver. We took a strenuous 6 mile hike through the Peekaboo Trail that brought us into the canyon. Since our experience with the parks are inexorably linked with the hikes we take, Bryce Canyon excelled. You have to see the pictures. Every park has been different and amazing, but as a full day experience Bryce might be the pick thus far.
It's a close call, however, since we got a completely different view of Zion on our last day. We went back into the park and took a hike that is unique for this part of the country. We walked 3.5 miles (7 round trip) up the Virgin River, at times the water going almost five feet deep. It's called The Narrows for how narrow the canyon walls get (straight up 1,000 feet), the "trail" aka river, is infamous for its flash floods. Luckily the weather has been dry for a while and we were able to get pretty far upstream. It was a different and welcome hike to end our on and off month trip through America's deserts.
A last note should be added here. We have now spent about a month where over fifty percent of the people speak Spanish. Of course we get the Mexican thing in NYC, but to get immersed in the Mexican-American experience is intoxicating. From Texas to Utah, and we're sure through California as well, the Mexican influence is everywhere. Every single Mexican we've met has been nothing but outgoing and friendly. At the Sun N' Sands alone we have met two groups of Mexicans doing hard labor for America's future infrastructure. One is putting in fire protection systems for a local office building, the other is putting stucco on the same building's walls. Just as we leave each morning to go hike and see America's beauty, they leave to make an honest day's buck ten to twelve hours a day. Every evening we cook our dinner on the single propane tank as Gino and his crew come in to hang out and exchange stories. Gino, the foreman of the fire protection systems crew, is a father of four and dedicated family man. He has traveled from Phoenix to get work and now has to spend three months away from his wife and kids. He's focused on paying off his home while supporting his brood. While Gino himself is safe, he told us terrible stories of friends and families that were sent back to Mexico after getting picked up on the street due to Arizona's now infamous new law. We're not sure sending these people back to Mexico after risking so much to get here is such a good idea. First off, if this trip has taught us anything it's that this country is huge, and there is plenty of room to share the same opportunities we've all enjoyed. Second, the Mexican people are good and necessary for the economy. If we remember correctly this country used to encourage competition. If Mexicans work harder than others so be it. Hard working and God fearing. Sounds familiar, doesn't it?
We can tell you that we are now canyoned out and need to see the ocean. Wayne offered to give us the room for another night at no cost, but we're ready for California. We drive through Vegas into LA to see a bunch of friends, staying in Beverly Hills with the always fun Laudan (Shauna's childhood friend) for a few days before driving up highway 1.
Until then,
S&P
Thursday, July 14, 2011
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