Tuesday, February 06, 2007
zion pictures
Just pictures from today's hike through Zion. Tomorrow we drive to Vegas. This is probably the last posting until I get back to Seattle because internet access costs $$ in Vegas, and after that it will be a downhill rush to get on a plane and head back to Seattle.
Monday, February 05, 2007
last of GC and beginning of Zion
Greg and I traveled from the Grand Canyon to Zion National Park today, via scenic two lane (and extremely straight at times) highways.
In case yesterday's discussion of crampons was confusing, this shows what "instep crampons" are, they have a bent sheet metal plate that fits between the ball of your foot and the heel, and a strap that goes up and over your foot. They work great for the icy parts of the trail.
This is my last photo of the Grand Canyon. I forget which scenic overlook this is, we stopped at several. It gives a suggestion of how huge the canyon is, but is still just a picture. I don't feel like I have a good grasp of how big the canyon really is, I think to really appreciate it, you have to hike to the bottom and back. Maybe someday.
The road to Zion was through many different looking sections of the country. Away from the hole of the canyon, the land is flat and wide open. The road stretches out ahead of you in a very long straight line. After this shot, we climbed up and over a pass and down to Zion. Even this flat and this straight, it was much prettier than Kansas.
After 250 miles, we arrived at Zion. The rest of the pictures are from our evening arrival. We are staying at the town on the west side of the park, Springdale. This place is empty, we had trouble finding an open restaurant to eat at this evening at 6 p.m. I think the whole population of the town at this instant is about 20 people. It makes for little traffic, but when you are craving the "famous Bumbleberry pie", it is disheartening to discover they haven't been open since September and won't open until later this year (I think I am exagerating only slightly). Zion is beautiful, I am eager to start tomorrow's hiking.
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWVfi1RFPQMKWZiiLsbhn5UXWyTvSNn8eHfRwjo_48ynecbP_J1CpiGECugfroFgdj6_LPUFc1w4jRRveIPpcfrd30MZC6Hl7D083Rmez7v7yB22XD9hi9Xo44smnz_FmAe0GH/s1600-h/greg+zion.JPG">
The mountain looks perforated in this picture because the snow is the same color as the sky....
In case yesterday's discussion of crampons was confusing, this shows what "instep crampons" are, they have a bent sheet metal plate that fits between the ball of your foot and the heel, and a strap that goes up and over your foot. They work great for the icy parts of the trail.
This is my last photo of the Grand Canyon. I forget which scenic overlook this is, we stopped at several. It gives a suggestion of how huge the canyon is, but is still just a picture. I don't feel like I have a good grasp of how big the canyon really is, I think to really appreciate it, you have to hike to the bottom and back. Maybe someday.
The road to Zion was through many different looking sections of the country. Away from the hole of the canyon, the land is flat and wide open. The road stretches out ahead of you in a very long straight line. After this shot, we climbed up and over a pass and down to Zion. Even this flat and this straight, it was much prettier than Kansas.
After 250 miles, we arrived at Zion. The rest of the pictures are from our evening arrival. We are staying at the town on the west side of the park, Springdale. This place is empty, we had trouble finding an open restaurant to eat at this evening at 6 p.m. I think the whole population of the town at this instant is about 20 people. It makes for little traffic, but when you are craving the "famous Bumbleberry pie", it is disheartening to discover they haven't been open since September and won't open until later this year (I think I am exagerating only slightly). Zion is beautiful, I am eager to start tomorrow's hiking.
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWVfi1RFPQMKWZiiLsbhn5UXWyTvSNn8eHfRwjo_48ynecbP_J1CpiGECugfroFgdj6_LPUFc1w4jRRveIPpcfrd30MZC6Hl7D083Rmez7v7yB22XD9hi9Xo44smnz_FmAe0GH/s1600-h/greg+zion.JPG">
The mountain looks perforated in this picture because the snow is the same color as the sky....
Seven Sisters and the GC
The first photo is of the night sky at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff. I took a 15 second exposure with the camera pointing straight up at the sky. The dots are stars, and the cluster of stars near the center of the photo is the Pleides (Seven Sisters). When I looked at the picture on the video on the back of the camera, I thought it hadn't worked at all, so I didn't take any other photos. Now I wished I would have done a few more, of more recognizable constellations like Orion.
Here is the same image, zoomed in to the seven sisters. It is kind of blurry.
The remaining photos are the Grand Canyon. Greg and I hiked down the first 1.5 miles of the Bright Angel trail. It was a snow covered trail, but we had planned ahead and bought a set of inseam crampons for each of us and they worked like a charm. It is the best 11 bucks I have spent in a while. It would have been safe without them, but it would have required much more attention spent trying to stay upright.
Here is the same image, zoomed in to the seven sisters. It is kind of blurry.
The remaining photos are the Grand Canyon. Greg and I hiked down the first 1.5 miles of the Bright Angel trail. It was a snow covered trail, but we had planned ahead and bought a set of inseam crampons for each of us and they worked like a charm. It is the best 11 bucks I have spent in a while. It would have been safe without them, but it would have required much more attention spent trying to stay upright.
Sunday, February 04, 2007
Riordian Museum and Lowell Observatory
No new pictures today.
Greg and I went to the Riordian Museum and the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, AZ.
The Riordian Museum is the mansion of two brothers that owned the local lumber company. It was built in the Arts and Craft style and filled with period furniture. Here is a website
http://www.frommers.com/destinations/flagstaff/A28858.html
Later, we went to the Lowell Observatory which sits above Flagstaff, and it is the observatory that discovered the planet (?) Pluto. During the afternoon we did the tour of the various buildings that hold a couple different telescopes. After sunset we went back for the night program. There were a couple different telescopes set up, one to see the Orion Nebula, one to see Saturn and one that seemed to just be pointing up to the sky. It was neat to see the rings on Saturn, and one the moons. I have been spoiled by seeing the big color photos of Saturn, so was expecting something different. But it was neat to see it real time. Here is a website for the observatory.
http://www.frommers.com/destinations/flagstaff/A28856.html
Today we drive up to the Grand Canyon to hike and watch the Colts play in the Superbowl.
Greg and I went to the Riordian Museum and the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, AZ.
The Riordian Museum is the mansion of two brothers that owned the local lumber company. It was built in the Arts and Craft style and filled with period furniture. Here is a website
http://www.frommers.com/destinations/flagstaff/A28858.html
Later, we went to the Lowell Observatory which sits above Flagstaff, and it is the observatory that discovered the planet (?) Pluto. During the afternoon we did the tour of the various buildings that hold a couple different telescopes. After sunset we went back for the night program. There were a couple different telescopes set up, one to see the Orion Nebula, one to see Saturn and one that seemed to just be pointing up to the sky. It was neat to see the rings on Saturn, and one the moons. I have been spoiled by seeing the big color photos of Saturn, so was expecting something different. But it was neat to see it real time. Here is a website for the observatory.
http://www.frommers.com/destinations/flagstaff/A28856.html
Today we drive up to the Grand Canyon to hike and watch the Colts play in the Superbowl.
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