Zion Another Pretty Place

We are on pretty place overload at this point. We arrived at Zion National Park on Saturday just after noon after travelling just a short distance from Bryce Canyon. We had originally wanted to go through Cedar Breaks National Monument but there was a music festival in The Zion area and we had to make our way to the RV park for “first come first served” space.

We were up before light and took the first shuttle from town “the Express” that picked us up from literally in front of the RV park at 6:40 and drove us up through Zion to the trailhead for our chosen hike “The Narrows” which is a riverwalk. We were a little under prepared for the amount of river we were walking in – the depth I mean. We balked about 1.5 miles in when we would have to wade chest high for me – neck high for Pam and made our way back to the shuttle stop for a short ride to our second choice hike “Angels Landing.”

Remember back to the Grand Staircase post when I talked about driving across a hogsback and that it was scary. OK I was a whimp then. This hike had a hogsback that you had to hike across and the a bunch of chain guardrail switchbacks up a ridge to a thin mesa “Angels’ Landing.”

 

The hike was not physically difficult at 5.2 miles round trip and a 1440 ft elevation gain, but the mental part and the waiting for up climbing hikers on the way down made it harder than it had to be. There are some great pictures of both hikes and here is a sampling. We will do a picture post the next time we have a good WIFI connection.

We headed to the North rim of The Grand Canyon today and stopped at Pip Springs National Monument. Tomorrow we see Vermilion Cliffs national Monument and Wupatki National Monument and end up at the South Rim of The Grand Canyon.

More soon….

Grand Staircase and Bryce Canyon - Eye Candy!

When we last spoke we were by Capitol Reef. Between Capitol Reef and Bryce Canyon is The Grand Staircase National Monument. This bad boy is half of Utah! There is one spot where they fashioned a two lane road that crosses a hogsback that is very scary - and Pam let me drive that day! Now you're all scared.

We arrived at Bryce Canyon in time to get a campsite in the park at the North Campground. That was cool because the hike we had planned for this morning started and ended right next to the campground so we didn't have to bother Athena - The Regal Beast - anymore than necessary.

Our hike was a little over 8.5 miles - The Fairyland Loop. If you go to Bryce you must do this hike! We were done in around 3.5 hours.

On arrival in Bryce we took Athena for a second walk as she had a 1.5 miler in the morning. This walk was 4.22 miles from the campground to Inspiration Point and back where she added two fans to her long list of "peeps."

Pam and I then took the shuttle to Bryce point and walked the rim trail back to the campground. All in all we walked 9.25 miles. Not bad for a day off from hiking.

Once again I will let the pics speak for themselves. We were in Zion for a couple of days so make sure your eyes aren't too tired as there will be more to gawk at soon. We have been fighting slow picture upload which is just slightly better than diphtheria so we may get Zion up today as our connection seems good.

More soon......

Four Sites, Three Parks, Two Days - Whew!

No post yesterday as we were out of every kind of range. No WIFI, no 3G, no nuttin. Tonight we find ourselves just outside of Capitol Reef National Park. In the last two days we have hiked both the Island in the Sky and the Needles area of Canyonlands National Park. We have also visited Natural Arches National Monument and Capitol Reef. We drove through Glen Canyon National recreation Area and Lake Powell as well - OK we crossed a portion on a bridge.

Canyonlands is really fantastic! It is right across Hwy 191 from Arches National Park and yet it has it's own character. There are some arches, but the massive canyons are what rules there. We did three trails at Island in the Sky totalling 7.25 miles and one trail at Needles of 7.5 miles.

Natural Arches and Capitol Reef we drove through and stopped for highlights. We have a ton of pictures to share and they tell the story better than I can.

Our Site at Needles Outpost

Sunset From Needles Outpost

Look close. You'll see the Natural Bridge.

More soon....

A Walk In The Park - Arches National Park

OK. Arches National Park is really cool and different from any other landscape  we’ve seen. The colors are great and it is rock formation after rock formation.

We headed into the park before sunrise so we could get the soft morning light and we ended up with that and so much more. We were greeted at the trailhead by deer who meandered by us later as well. It’s not hard to spot the protected wildlife.

Our goal was to hike the Devil’s Garden/ Primitive loop. There are arch after arch and hoodoo after hoodoo. The trail required you – once you were off the groomed part- to seek the next stack of small rocks which were the trail markers. What a gas! We were treated by a trail that was walking along the top of huge boulders at times.

I promise we’ll post more pictures when we get to a good WIFI spot. The 3G tethering to the phone is slow like dial-up only I think it costs more. Here is a representative batch for today including Athena being as patient as she is capable of being.

More soon….

Day Two Driving

Today we travelled from Glenn’s Ferry, Idaho to Arch View RV Park just outside of Arches National Park in Utah. The drive was mixed, but there were some very pretty parts and some weird stuff too.

 We have now driven 1092 miles and, luckily, we don’t have any big mile driving days for a long while. I guess we knew this place was fantastic or we wouldn’t have come here, but it really is pretty.

We weren’t able to stay at Devil’s Garden in Arches for the next 2 nights as they are still booked out, but we’re slummin’ it with full hookups (water, electric and sewer) and a tiny view.

I plan to bring you much better shots of great stuff tomorrow after we hike in the park. Yes! Finally we get to hike and not drive all damn day!  Our hike tomorrow takes us through many of the better formations at Arches.

Athena will likely be the happiest that we aren’t doing a long drive tomorrow or anytime real soon. She is done with the shaking and rattling that goes on as we motor down the road. I have designated a “drooliform” since I don’t need dog spit on all of my clothes.

More soon…

Day 1.5 Underway!

So we cheated a little because it was raining in Tacoma. We took off at 5:30 Saturday and made it to Silver Beach RV resort just over White Pass - 8 miles past. We arrived there at 9:15 and had a sip or 2 of wine and then passed out.

Sunday morning we headed off before 8. Our original goal was to stay at Farewell Bend State Park in Oregon, but it was before 1 PM when we were near there so we kept moving.

A stop near Boise at the Sierra Trading Post outlet store netted some boot laces for me, a bug off shirt and some liner gloves for Pam, and a snazzy liner jacket for Athena. I think I got jipped on that deal!

We headed from there to Glenn's Ferry Idaho and the Trail Break RV park for the night. So far we have booked 609.5 miles. That doesn't seem like a lot, but in the RV it is harder miles for sure.

Miss Athena was jacked up and ready to go, and woke this morning very much the same. Her problem is that she refuses to sleep while we are moving choosing instead to climb across my lap and drool.

It isn't very comfortable for either of us, and sooner or later the exhaustion WILL catch up with her. We are hoping for her to find a balance between sleep and bugging me. Hey, a boy can dream, right?

More soon....

Green Tomato Chicken Chili

As we get ready to head out for 5 weeks - I know 5 weeks- our tomatoes are coming ripe, but they won't all make it to the point where we can ripen them in the RV.  We have people coming over Saturday for a late lunch so I decided to make some Green Tomato Chicken Chili for the event. Here's what I did.

Ingredients:

Green Tomatoes - I used about 6 cups chopped small
Red Onion - I used one large onion
Chicken Thighs - I used 8 Organic thighs I took off the skin but started with the bones in.
Pinto Beans - I used 16 oz (dry) soaked overnight and rinsed
Garlic - I used 3 large cloves
Chilis - I used 4 small Aneheims and 2 jalapenos chopped fine after seeding
Chicken Stock - I used one box of Organic, Free Range Chicken Stock
Salt
Pepper
Chili Powder
Cumin
Olive Oil

Put 2-4 Tbsp of olive oil in a soup pot and add chopped red onion. Salt and pepper the onions and cook one minute on high then add the chicken thighs. HERE'S THE TRICK - Don't mess with the onions much while the chicken in cooking. It will add fat as it cooks off and the onions will get very well caramelized - they will almost look burnt. DON'T USE NO-STICK PANS for this. You want the onions to form a dark crust on the pan.

Turn the chicken every 2 minutes for 10 minutes. Pull out chicken and allow to cool until you can handle it. Meanwhile add a cup of the chicken stock and work the brown bits on the bottom of the pot loose. Add the tomatoes and chilis and cook down for 5 or 6 minutes. Add the garlic and beans and cook for a minute or 2 and then add the remaining chicken stock and season with salt, pepper, cumin and chili powder to taste.

Take the bones out of the thighs and chop to small pieces and add to the mix. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer for 1 or more hours until beans are where YOU want them. I like mine a little firmer than most folks so I was done in 1 1/2 hours.

You could just as easily use red tomatoes for this - just reduce the cooking time as they are softer to begin with. I used all organic ingredients, and my chili powder is homemade and 100% chilis with no salt or anything added. If you are normal and don't make your own chili powder you will likely want to use less cumin and salt as there is both in the powder.

This recipe makes 2/3 of a large soup pot of chili.

The RV is packed already and I am very bored and severely short-timing it now. Our plan is to try to post every day while we're gone. We will do our best to share the best pictures daily.

More soon.....