Epic Road Trip 2017 - Day #7

Today we got to have breakfast with friends in Moab!  We met up with Juan Carlos, another recently graduated residency classmate of mine, and his sister Karina.  They are also on a road trip and we happened to be in Moab on the same day.  We met up at the Moab Diner, just on the other side of our Airbnb and had a great breakfast together.  After breakfast, we packed up the truck and headed out toward Zion National Park.  Along the way, we stopped at a viewpoint for Capitol Reef National Park and saw some of the stunning and unique geology there.

About the time we stopped for gas 200 miles down the road, we realized we still had the key for our Airbnb that we forgot to put back in the box before we left.  We called and told them we would drop it in the mail and they said it was no big deal and they had extras.  We stopped at Cedar City, Utah and mailed the key back.  A few miles outside Zion National Park, we stopped at the River Rock Roasting Company and got Katy a coffee, me a Diet Dr. Pepper, and shared a delicious lemon cookie.  The shop was a drive through only that was made out of an old shipping container.  In the afternoon, we got to Zion National Park and parked at the Visitor Center.

The main road in the park is not for private cars, and you have to take the shuttle, so we went all the way to the end of the road and back on the shuttle.

The views of the park were spectacular!  Zion is a steep canyon carved out by the Virgin River with a multitude of different ecosystems all within a relatively small area.  Some of the sheer cliffs are over 1000 feet high.

We were originally planning on hiking to the narrows, but there were rains in the area and we didn't want to get stuck if it were flooding.  We settled for the tour via the shuttle and we also stopped at the Human History Museum where we watched a video on the park and saw exhibits about the history of humans in Zion National Park.  From the Human History Museum, we walked the last mile out to the Visitor Center on the Pa'rus Trail.  After our few hours in the park, we struck out for St. George, Utah, just an hour down the road from Zion.  We stayed at the Comfort Inn and had dinner at Sakura Japanese Steakhouse.

What We Learned: Today we learned about weeping rock at Zion National Park.  Weeping rocks occur when water seeps through rock in a cliff, meets a layer impermeable to water, and travels out laterally to the vertical edge of the cliff.  After a time, the water erodes the edge of the cliff and a recess is formed, with the water still dripping from the top of the recess, hence weeping rocks.

For the day we traveled 392 miles and saw 40 state license plates, Quebec, Sonora, and Cherokee Nation.

Epic Road Trip 2017 - Day #6

We have really enjoyed our stay at Creekside @ Moab Cowabungalow. This morning we set off for Arches to do a little hiking. We drove up to the Devil's Garden Trailhead and set off to see the Landscape Arch. This arch stretch the span of more than a football field and is incredibly thin. A large section of this arch fell in 1991 and since then visitors have not been allow to stand under the arch.

 

 On the way back to the truck we took a small detour to the Pine Tree Arch and the Tunnel Arch. I think I should mention that it was a little warm and we definitely were glad we brought the water backpack.

On the way back down the road from the Devil's Garden, we made a stop at the Sand Dune Arch. This short hike was a great break from the heat. It was a short walk into a cool deep sand canyon. The arch was perfect. There was a small chip in the side wall of the arch due to a piece that fell in 2014. We saw some really cool animal tracks on the walk out.

                                  

We went to lunch during the hot part of the day from 11 to 3. Lunch was at Jailhouse Cafe, Moab's breakfast only place. It was really good. After lunch we went back to the bungalow and took a lovely nap in the air conditioning.

After a fantastic nap we wanted to go back to the park and do a couple more trails. A quick stop to Walker Drug/General Store provided me with more sunscreen and we were off. We snapped a few pictures at signs before setting off to see Delicate Arch from one of the viewpoints (not the hike).

 View from Panarama Point:

It was hot (108°F) when we set off to see The Windows.We only did the 1 mile hike seeking shade when we could find it. 

We decided it was too hot to do any other trails (and we had seen several of the features before on our previous trip). A quick stop at the visitors centers completed our visit to Arches and we were off to Moab Coffee Roasters for some gelato, smoothie, and coffee. For dinner we ate at Fiesta Mexicana (delicious!!) and then took a walk around Moab enjoying the sights.

What We Learned: Today we learned more about the geology of Arches and Utah rocks in general.  We knew some about the source of the rock coloring, but we were curious about the green coloring we saw occasionally.  Turns out the green coloring is due to iron in the soil as well, like the red coloring.  In the green areas, the iron was deposited in an anoxic environment (e.g. boggy, swampy) instead of under open air where it could be more easily oxidized and turned to a red color.  Some of the white colored areas occurred where rock rich in oxidized iron (red) formed, but over time fluids (e.g. groundwater, natural gas) flowed through the rock that leached out the iron and "bleached" the rocks.

For the day we traveled 91.4 miles and saw 45 state license plates and 4 Canadian province license plates.

Epic Road Trip 2017 - Day #5

Today we woke up in Salida.  I woke up early and spent some time reading before Katy got up.  Once we were ready, we went out and walked around downtown Salida some more.  When we were hungry for breakfast we headed to Seasons Cafe, which turned out to be fantastic!

We got to sit outside down by the river and the service, food, and location were perfect.  After breakfast, we walked around the rest of the downtown area and picked up a couple of items.  We visited the local yarn store, Fringe, where Katy bought some yarn that was hand-spun and dyed in Salida.

Once we were done, we turned in our key and hit the road for Moab, Utah.  On the way out, we stopped by Sonic for a cold slush.  We went over Monarch pass, like we did back in 2010, and once we got on the other side of the mountain it started getting hot.  We stopped at Starbucks later in the afternoon and were part of a pay-it-forward line where someone in front of us paid for Katy's drink and we paid for the person behind us.  We were pleased to see that the speed limits in western Colorado had been increased to 80mph.  We got into Utah around 4pm and started to see some of the rock formations unique to the state.

Our final destination for the day was Moab, Utah, just outside of Arches National Park.  We arrived at our Airbnb, the "Cowabungalow" around 5:30.  We were pretty tired, so we picked up Pizza Hut for the evening and chilled out for the rest of the night.  Tomorrow we will head to Arches National Park for some hiking and hopefully stay cool in the 100+ degree temps.

What We Learned: Today we learned about Mike the Headless Chicken.  We periodically look up things about the towns we pass through while driving.  Today, as I was looking up information about Fruitas, CO, I found out about Mike.  Apparently in 1945, a farmer was trying to behead a chicken for dinner and was unable to dispatch the animal.  Much of Mike's brainstem was intact and he was able to stay alive and be fed by an eye dropper.  After this happened, Mike was taken around the country to be shown off, and made large sums of money for his owner.  Today, the town of Fruitas has a "Mike the Headless Chicken Day" the third weekend in May every year.

For the day we drove 298.8 miles and saw license plates from 27 states and a new one for us from the Canadian Northwest Territories!

Epic Road Trip 2017 Day #4

This morning we got up earlier than yesterday and started to break down our campsite before we went hiking at Bear Lake. While my water for coffee was heating to a boil we got everything put away in the truck except the bed and the tent. Another excellent cup of coffee for my morning drive up the mountain to Bear Lake, but once we got to the parking lot at the top it was full. There is a cool shuttle bus that takes hikers to various trailheads, but I get very motion sick on buses. We decided instead to stop at one of the smaller trailheads along the way from our campsite up to the top of the road.

We pulled into Sprague Lake picnic area and were excited to see a short walkway circling the 13 acre lake. We very much enjoyed our walk around the lake and took in the Bob Ross- esque views of Hallett Peak and the surrounding peaks. A deer even joined us on the path for a few moments.

After our short hike, we finished up our campsite and headed to Estes Park for a nice brunch. We chose Claire's on the Park and had no wait for a lovely outdoor table. Dean went out of his comfort zone and ordered the Cuban Benedict (and loved it!) and I stuck with a reliable favorite of Blueberry Lemon  Pancakes.

On the way down from Estes Park, it started to rain and continued for most of the day off and on. We made a quick stop in Boulder at Shuttles, Spindles, and Skeins. I found one of my favorite yarns, Chalet, in a couple of colors and decided they would make a great hat this winter.Then we tried the coffee at Cafe Sole. It was excellent.

On the road again we had to make a pit stop in Conifer, CO to get gas. As we were exiting town, I noticed a knit store in one of the little shopping centers. We made a u turn and visited Knit Knook. I chatted with the owner while she prepped a lovely cup of Red Rooibus for me and picked out a couple of specialty size circular needles and local made stitch markers. Absolutely adorable little shop!
When we finally reached Salida, we got checked into our AirBnB in the back of Howl Mercantile and Coffee. Kimi was an excellent host! We wondered around Salida visiting the Arkansas River and picking places to check out Saturday morning. Dinner was at Great Wall. The service was ok but the food was excellent. Then we had dessert at Here's the Scoop.(The blackberry ice cream was to die for!)

Tomorrow its off to Moab!


What We Learned: Today we learned that there is a whitewater slalom course on the river at Salida, CO.  We had been down to the Arkansas River the last time we were in Salida in 2010, but had not seen the course.  This time the kayak course was set up, and a person was even training for kayaking by repeatedly rolling over underneath the water and back up a full 360 degrees.  Whitewater slalom is definitely fun to watch, especially come time for the summer Olympics.

For the day we drove 212.8 miles and saw license plates from 43 states and British Columbia