4/27/12 - Red Rock Canyon NCA (Revisted)

Although I went to high school in Las Vegas, I really don't care much for the place--but we keep coming back since it's on the way to or from so many other places.  (There's also a 1000 Trails park here, which really helps the budget.)  First time we were here, we went to Red Rock Canyon on a weekend, with scads of other people!  I negotiated for a return visit on a weekday. 

We stopped at the visitor center for a map.  They have a chuckwalla in a terrarium.

George's daughter suggested I stop taking so many pictures of her dad's backside as I follow him up the trail.  (How's this, Judy?  Cute, huh?)

The hike I wanted to do was Calico I.  I really like scrambling around on those red rocks.

 

 

We didn't go all the way to the top, but it's a lot cooler in January than it is the end of April.  The drive is a loop so we stopped to take pictures of wild flowers.  Click on the link below to go see more pics of Red Rock Canyon and the flowers:

Red Rock Canyon NCA (Revisted)  

4/22/12 - Zion NP - Kolob Canyons

Way up in the northwestern corner of Zion National Park is a section that doesn't get the traffic or publicity that Zion Canyon does.  The Kolob Canyons are south of Cedar City, just off I-15.  The red road up the canyon has bright yellow stripes and lots of turnouts to stop for pictures.  Good thing--I always need more photos!

The red Navajo sandstone mountains and sheer cliffs flow down into deep pocket canyons that the locals call "Kolob Fingers". 

The tilted layers of the rocks are a fold of the "Hurricane Fault".   I think it was probably more than a 6.0 earthquake though!

There are a couple of longish trails through the wilderness that we weren't up for, so we took the mile-long Timber Creek Overlook Trail that follows a ridge to a point for views of Timber Creek, Kolob Terrace and the Pine Valley mountains.   (I was told not to use pictures of George's backside, but I usually let him take point so that's what I see.  I told him if he scares up a wild animal, it'll eat him first!  ) 

For more pictures of Kolob Canyons, here's a link:    Kolob Canyons / Zion NP

4/20/12 - Silver Reef Ghost Town



Our neighbor Jay sent George an e-mail suggesting we should go visit Silver Reef Ghost Town while we were in southwestern Utah and say "Hi" to his cousin Eric, who's the director of the museum there.

Silver was discovered in the White Reef sandstone in 1866.  As the miners came to make their fortunes, a town popped up nearby.  There's not much left:  just the Wells Fargo Express Office, the rebuilt Cosmopolitan Restaurant and Rice Bank Building, plus a lot of crumbling walls and foundations.  There are some very expensive homes nearby that tend to spoil that old west flavor, but maybe the ghosts share addresses with those folks. 

The Wells Fargo Express Office has been turned into a museum, gift shop and art gallery.  There's a huge sculpture of a stagecoach done by a local artist (if you like this, I think the price is $350K!) 

       

There are some interesting pieces in the museum, but the best part is Eric himself.  He gives tours of the museum, and casually gears his spiel to his audience.  He goes into as much history or detail as people care to hear.  He intersperses corny jokes for the kids as well as the adults as he explains the exhibits or history of the mines and town. 

Click the link for more pictures from Silver Reef.  (My favorite thing in the museum was a pair of high-top button shoes for a baby!)  Silver Reef Ghost Town & Museum