The Giant and Kings Canyon

We spent our free day driving up to Kings Canyon, roughly 60 miles outside of Fresno CA. Our goal…the Grant Tree…one of the five largest trees in the world.

Named in 1867 after Ulysses S. Grant, the Grove it stands in became protected and a national park in 1890,

We were surprised to find the Visitors Center (6000') unadorned with any snow. The park employees shared a photo that had a 2009 photo where the snow was so deep the human being shoveling the walkway was dwarfed by the surrounding snowdrifts and the 2013 view with barely a dusting of snow. They have had only 15" this winter....and it melts almost immediately. 

Squaw Valley is just down the road....no skiing this year it appears. 

General Grant tree

Inside The Monument Tree...
horses were kept here during increment weather as well as providing shelter to the lumbermen working the 160 acres owned by the Gamblin brothers.

This pine forest is big....always makes me happy to visit one. And I always look up!

~Ciao

The mess of weather we found in Texas

 

It's been a wild 2 weeks for sure. We left Tucson at the end of December searching for warmer weather in Texas...many had told us that the secret source of heat came from a glowing yellow orb that hung out along the border of Texas and Mexico. We were intrigued, due in large part to having spent most of December in the cold town of Tucson and frankly, we were tired of fighting the temperature as it continued to drop. I mean, we spent some cash last spring installing solar panels on this tin-house darn it! We want to use the power it is suppose to be generating....

First stop Balmorhea State Park. Population 479...

One day in we receive the blessing of 9" of snow

 

Nice 'hot springs' pool is located here. Nope, no shining yellow orb or warmth could be found!

 

Once the roads were clear we departed for the Davis Mt State Park and Fort Davis NP, hoping that moving even 50 miles down the road would provide more Sun and heat, and they stood between us and Big Bend National Park - our original goal. Little did we know that during the second evening in the park....snow fell. Again with the cold, damp weather..

  

Davis Mt State Park

If you get to Fort Davis, stop into the Old Texas Inn to at least have a soda - they have a fabulous old-time soda fountain, stools and all. Upstairs is a small, quaint art gallery.

Old Texas Inn/Drugstore Cafe and Art Gallery

 

The park is lovely, however there is no cell phone reception (at least not with our carrier) and the park wi-fi, when working, was slow....very slow. We did venture out to see the local towns, Marfa - yes we went to see the Mystery Lights - no sighting...and we had a good "that we got 'Punk'd" moment of laughter.

  

Marfa Courthouse and Palace Theatre

 

Marfa also has a beautiful historic hotel with a nice dining room where we had a delicious meal.

     

Hotel Paisano



Filming of the movie that starred Liz Taylor, Rock Hudson and James Dean, "Giant" took place in Marfa and Hotel Paisano  had the privilege of hosting the cast and crew. Cool.

 

Finally the road is clear to McDonald Observatory, 16 miles from the park and on one of the highest points in Texas and still no cell phone coverage....not even extended service Texas isn't doing much to  make me fall in love, that's for sure.

   Operated by the UT/Austin this is really impressive. We've been to Kitt Peak and this tour was far more informative....we thoroughly enjoyed our 4 hours there.

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2.7 m (107") Harlan J. Smith Telescope

 

Home of the 9.2m Hobby-Eberly Telescope

 9.2m Hobby-Eberly Telescope

91 hexagon mirrors make up the 9.2m Hobby-Eberly Telescope and are aligned by computers daily.

 

West Texas has interesting history, landscape and small towns that we are really happy we were able to tour it all. But the weather truly was barely bearable...I really do wonder what I did to make the weather gods mad.

 

We are passing on Big Bend until we can determine Sun/solar equality (no electric in some parts of that park) and are heading towards Del Rio....

 

Adios amigos~



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 



Dwellings with a view....

We decided to re-visit the Silver City area for the sole purpose of going to the Gila Cliff dwellings. We are so happy that we did too! In speaking with the park volunteers we learned several things that we were unaware of: 1) US budget cuts have increased the need for volunteers to serve as rangers and guides in our national parks;  2) this is the last cliff dwelling site to allow visitors the ability to enter and walk through the actual dwellings. All of the others are now just photo opps from afar.  We are so thrilled that we had already visited Mesa Verde and Canyon de Chelly back in 2000....we got to scamper around those sites like monkeys high on bananas!

Gila Cliff dwellings park offers a glimpse into the homes and lives of the Mogollon people who lived in this area over 700 years ago. By the time the area was "discovered" much of the artifacts documenting the Mogollon culture had been removed and so the photos below are considered to be examples only of what they may have used.


 








The monument is a mere 44 miles outside Silver City and the drive through the pine forest at 7200' is breathtaking, even the 18 miles of unmarked winding yet paved roadway is, with a few hairpins turns to does hold your attention.

My 3 min movie will take you through our visit to both the cliff dwellings and a spot down the road with pictographs and a dwelling that doesn't require hiking boots and a walking stick.

If it wasn't for the volunteers this monument would most likely be closed...we were so happy we decided to take the time to tour it. There were several trails that begged for a hike, however, the park closes at 4pm daily. We will just have to come back. Dear Silver City maybe we'll see you next year.

~Ciao

Caving at Carlsbad Cavern in New Mexico





Mission accomplished....we found Carlsbad, New Mexico. Getting here from the highway was fun. (The main street is undergoing a complete repaving, including left turn lanes...must be driving the small business owners nuts.)  We can check this park off our bucket list....although we would have loved to have seen the night flight of bats...alas, they are in Mexico until late March when the weather warms a bit here.

We were so sad to see the area around the caverns...apparently a fire last June (2011) swept through the park and closed it for 2 days. New foliage is appearing so not all is lost, but it will be quite a while before the cacti and agave plants are back to their once former glory.

Today we 'just' walked the "Big Room" of the caverns....our self-guided tour took us 3.5 hours. We were just amazed, with every turn we came upon such exquisite "decorations" - the term the park employees use. For all the early "trampling" - way before the paved pathways, railings and curbs - it is astonishingly unmarred. Or, maybe I just wasn't looking far enough into the nooks and crannies.

We'll do the Natural Entrance and the guided tour of the King's Palace tomorrow.

So many photos, far too many to do justice here - do a short movie is before that will give you an idea we hope of some of the beauty we saw 750' below the surface. Short, only 1.42 minutes...enjoy.

Enjoy~~

~ Ciao.

To Yuma-through snow, Zion & Valley of Fire

What a journey we had to YUMA this week. We awoke to snow in Bryce Canyon. ..SNOW???  We couldn’t get our RV travel-ready fast enough, when we pulled out it was 22 degrees…just the day before we had admired the beautiful snow capped hoodoo photographs  we viewed in the Visitors Center…and my request that it would really be terrific to see the snow covered canyon would be “awesome” was really said in jest!

Red Canyon arch as we depart for Zion. Pretty isn't it...the last days of October and we were expecting an Indian summer. However, I am thrilled we got to see the scenery decked out in snow!

Next stop - Zion National Park and some hiking. Soon discovered Angels Landing is (not for the faint of heart) considered 'strenous' we got to Scouts Landing, had lunch and decided to fore go the last .05 miles pulling ourselves up by cables along the narrow ledge.  Walter’s Wiggles (23 switchbacks) was challenging enough and the view was spectacular!

This trail leads you to Scout & Angel
Landings....3.1mi to the top of Angel's Landing. At 2.6 mi you reach Scout's Landing where lunch and a respite. We did not use the cables to pull ourselves up the last .05 miles, along the very narrow, and in some places missing trail to the top. The view from our vantage point was just fine...

Angel's Landing is on the other side of that tree sticking up on the right side (middle portion of photo).....the 3-sectioned pipe fence is the only barrier between you and a 1200' drop straight down.

Chipmunks are friendly and not afraid....they check out everything, including your physical space.

We arrived with no reservations in the full-service campground, however we did have a spot each of the 4 nights we were in Zion...even the hassle of moving every day could not spoil the beauty and splendor that is Zion.

We did take the Emerald Pools hike although the pools were more mud-like this late in the season. I have included a short video of the waterfall that feeds the pools. Enjoy....

Valley of Fire State Park located (approx) between Bryce and Las Vegas afforded us the opportunity to see different formations of red rock up close and have lunch in the shade of a gigantic rock.

Lone Rock picnic area

Indian lore, interpretive programs and self-guided tours provide for activities young and old alike.

We are getting travel ready....stay tuned!

 We will be heading out soon to see Yellowstone National Park as we head to Alberta, Canada, the Rockies and points of interest along the way, including Lake Louise, Banff and Calgary.

Ciao~

The search for Apaches - the past in the present

FORT BOWIE - BOWIE/WILLCOX, AZ

Located approximately 14 mi from the I-10 Bowie exit, Fort Bowie has no park fee. The last few miles (8) to the parking area is on a gravel road that is well maintained, and the trail head has a rather nice restroom/picnic area. http://www.nps.gov/fobo/index.htm for more information. Apache Pass Through Time event will be on Saturday, February 12, 2011, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at Fort Bowie National Historic Site (NHS). Check the website for additional information.

1894 Photo



Our visit to Fort Bowie  - a moderately 1.5 mile walk through ruins of a miner's cabin, the Stage Station, replication of an Apache camp and what remains of the post cemetery. All of the military personnel and their families remains were moved to the San Francisco National cemetery within 6 months of the Fort's closing. Now only 72 civilian are entombed here.

Foundations from the fort and the assorted buildings cover a large area. Descriptive markers dot the

grass in front of each foundation.


When we spoke with Ranger Karen about the park, she noted that March and April was a busier time, as were September and early October.  This view is from the flag pole in the center of what was the Fort parade/exercise area.


Park Ranger Station today

One of the nice things about this trail was how well maintained it is, the distance markers are low-key and the area was positively beautiful. Remember to carry water. This is the view on the 'backside' of the ranger station on the way back to the parking area, which completes the loop trail.

Ciao!