Our Journey Continues

In the past 3 weeks, we’ve discovered a whole part of the country that is as foreign to us as any foreign country we’ve ever encountered. Having grown up and lived all of our lives in the Midwest and the East, we have never experienced, except for a couple of brief jaunts, the vast open deserts and rocky landscapes that comprise so much of these southwestern states. There has been one surprise after another; each day, it seems, we’re met with something to startle us and make us remember again how diverse and grand is the world we live in.

Somewhere In Colorado or Utah

As we walk among the red canyons and cottonwood trees, as we sit on high cliffs overlooking winding rivers, as we step upon the grassy land that is inhabited by the Native peoples, and as we spend time in small isolated towns sitting in river valleys, we are feeling blessed by the beauty and vastness of our country, while knowing that other people in other lands also hold dear to the beauty of the places they inhabit. As you can tell, this trip is, for us, not just a “vacation” but also a spiritual exercise of sorts, helping us to open up our hearts and minds as we journey. We are trying to practice some mindfulness amidst the adventures, and some meaningfulness beyond the historical markers.

So what have we been doing, you ask? Well, here’s a random selection that I’ll let you sort out for yourselves.

Small town in Utah

 For our visit to Arches National Park, we weren’t able to get a motel room at the nearest town because of several festivals that were going on so we ended up about 50 miles away in a small town called Green River Utah. Although it was right off I-70, it was quite remote. For example, just east of there, through western Colorado and eastern Utah, we drove 160 miles without seeing one house, animal or person; the few exits all had signs warning that no services were available. We stayed at a small, family-run motel called Robbers Roost (so named because that area had been the hideout of several well-known, old-west bad guys like Butch Cassidy). When we got home from dinner one night, we found a typed note on our bed that said…and I quote…”We wanted you to be aware that the power is going to be out tonight from 10 pm to 2 am. The power company is doing some maintenance on our substation during that time and the whole town will be turned off.” Sure enough, at 10 pm, bam!…our lights went out and the whole town became pitch black.


We’ve visited several National Parks on our trip so far: Arches, Canyonlands, Zion and Grand Canyon. Each has its own beauty and each is so different from the other. That surprised us. I think we had sort of lumped all of them together into this sort of amorphous blob of big red rocks and canyons. Sure, there were some of those but it’s hard to describe how different each one looks and feels. But I’ll try. Arches was majestic. It has a jaw-dropping entrance road that twists and winds its way up, up, up along a sheer cliff. There are huge red rocks, many sitting precariously on top of others, and of course loads of arched formations, something like 2000 I think. (See previous blog post for pictures of Arches). Canyonlands, just southwest of Arches, had beautiful red, striated canyons that we could view from the top. We walked a rocky trail lined with prickly pear cactus and small, scrubby brush, to the edge of a cliff where we watched the sunset. 

Canyonlands

Canyonlands

Canyonlands at Dusk

 Zion was our favorite park. Unlike some of the other parks, we were right in the canyon and it was filled, not only with the huge red-hued cliffs, but also with amazing bright yellow cottonwood trees and red maples.

Zion

Riverside Walk at Zion

Weeping Rock Trail at Zion

Finally the Grand Canyon. What can we say??!! It’s BIG. And GRAND. We spent several hours there, walking the South Rim trail and taking lots of pictures. One of our favorite things there was The Watchtower, a building from the 1930’s, in which we climbed the 85 steps to the top to view the Canyon from the highest point on the South Rim. The inside is circular and painted with beautiful artwork by a Hopi artist.

Grand Canyon South Rim

Inside Watchtower at Grand Canyon

Grand Canyon South Rim

 One day, on our way between Utah and Arizona, we were passing a national monument called Pipe Spring and decided to stop. And are we glad we did. It was a Mormon site, built as a bastion, to protect against the “Gentiles” who were persecuting and killing the Mormons, and also was, and continues to be, a part of the Kaibab Paiute lands. We were given a private tour by a very knowledgeable Paiute man who explained the life of the Mormon man and his three wives and 20 some children who lived there, as well as the relationship between the Native peoples,  the Mormons and the other whites who all vied for a place near the four springs that were in the area.

Covered wagon at Pipe Spring

Pipe Spring Mormon Fort

Inside Pipe Spring Fort

Benn Our Paiute Guide

We’re now in Prescott Arizona and enjoying 5 days in this beautiful lush area that is a vibrant city filled with restaurants, art galleries as well as the beautiful scenery we’ve grown accustomed to. We’ll keep you posted as we continue our journey to the sea.