April 30, 2009
Capitol Reef is one of the least visited of the national parks. The park is famous for its 100 mile waterpocket fold caused by the buckling of rock which produced ridges. Pioneers called these ridges ‘reefs’.
A section of the park used to be a Mormon pioneer community. The pioneers planted orchards of apples, peaches, cherries. The orchards still exist and visitors are welcome to pick fruits during the season (June to Sept).
We stopped at the Guiford house, a pioneer house inside the park. They sell pies, jams, ice cream. We had homemade strawberry rhubarb pie for our midmorning snack and vanilla ice cream for our afternoon snack. They were truly delicious. Bought some jams for pasalubong and their famous cheese bread to replenish our food supply.
The great thing about the park is that visitors can drive to the bottom of a gorge and hike onwards. The drive to the bottom of the gorge was via a scenic, maintained dirt road. We did an easy 2 mile hike in the Capitol Gorge which surrounded us with sheer canyon walls. Really impressive and made us feel small. After the hike we enjoyed our staple hiking food - peanut butter sandwiches and chips.
It’s funny how some natural structures in the parks are named - for example, Molly’s Nipple and Fern’s Nipple.
We went back to the hotel early, to rest. The next few days will be hectic.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
On our way to Capitol Reef national park
April 29, 2009
Our dinner at Ruby’s Inn last night was awful. We got the all you can eat dinner to be safe, but it was bad food.
We left for Capitol Reef National Park at around 9 am. We stopped at three state parks: Kodachrome Basin, Escalante Petrified Forest, and Anazasi State Park. We will tour the Capitol Reef park tomorrow.
What struck us most about Kodachrome is the number of phallic-like structures in the landscape - huge and tall. We did a nice, short hike and then drove to Escalante Petrified Forest. We did a one-mile moderate to strenuous hike which brought us to actual petrified specimens. This is the first time I’ve seen petrified forest specimens and they look and feel exactly like minerals. One of the best still had the tree rings and the barks of the tree. Next was the Anazasi State Park…this was a small museum with small displays of actual diggings. The ones we’ve seen in New Mexico were more impressive.
For lunch, the lady at the Escalante Visitor Center suggested Giorgie’s at the town’s center. She was right about the place having good food. This was the first decent meal we’ve had after 2 days. I had taco and Dek ordered burrito.
The drive from Escalante to Capitol Reef via Highway 12 is truly scenic with a lot of winding miles. Nangangatog ang tuhod ko. At one point, both sides of the road dropped hundreds of feet below.
We’ve checked in at the Best Western Capitol Reef hotel and ate dinner at the hotel’s restaurant. Dek ordered pork chops (swine flu?) and that was good. My grilled trout was not good at all, so I gave that to Dek and ate half of his pork chops.
Why can't people offer good, simple food in these areas? Maybe some fast food competition would help. The only fast food I've seen so far is Subway. Maybe we'll eat there tomorrow.
Our dinner at Ruby’s Inn last night was awful. We got the all you can eat dinner to be safe, but it was bad food.
We left for Capitol Reef National Park at around 9 am. We stopped at three state parks: Kodachrome Basin, Escalante Petrified Forest, and Anazasi State Park. We will tour the Capitol Reef park tomorrow.
What struck us most about Kodachrome is the number of phallic-like structures in the landscape - huge and tall. We did a nice, short hike and then drove to Escalante Petrified Forest. We did a one-mile moderate to strenuous hike which brought us to actual petrified specimens. This is the first time I’ve seen petrified forest specimens and they look and feel exactly like minerals. One of the best still had the tree rings and the barks of the tree. Next was the Anazasi State Park…this was a small museum with small displays of actual diggings. The ones we’ve seen in New Mexico were more impressive.
For lunch, the lady at the Escalante Visitor Center suggested Giorgie’s at the town’s center. She was right about the place having good food. This was the first decent meal we’ve had after 2 days. I had taco and Dek ordered burrito.
The drive from Escalante to Capitol Reef via Highway 12 is truly scenic with a lot of winding miles. Nangangatog ang tuhod ko. At one point, both sides of the road dropped hundreds of feet below.
We’ve checked in at the Best Western Capitol Reef hotel and ate dinner at the hotel’s restaurant. Dek ordered pork chops (swine flu?) and that was good. My grilled trout was not good at all, so I gave that to Dek and ate half of his pork chops.
Why can't people offer good, simple food in these areas? Maybe some fast food competition would help. The only fast food I've seen so far is Subway. Maybe we'll eat there tomorrow.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Magnificent Bryce Canyon
April 28,2009
We left Zion at 8:30 this morning. The drive to Bryce was scenic and easy, except for a few miles of tight switchbacks. We went thru the Zion tunnel which is over a mile long and was built in the 1930s.
Bryce is unbelievably gorgeous and unique. You will not see anything like this in the world. This is my second trip to Bryce and I still say it is the most jaw-dropping beautiful park I’ve been to. If you haven’t been to Bryce, you just absolutely have to go…and do this when you’re young and able to hike the magnificent trails.
We explored all the view points. It was cold and windy and there were snow patches on the ground. We weren’t able to hike for lack of time, though Dek went partway down the Navajo trail…this trail brings you down the canyons. For lunch we had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, vienna sausage, mandarin orange, Lindt chocolate, and chips. We were too late for the lunch hour at the lodge and the restaurant was closed.
We’re staying at Best Western Ruby’s Inn which seems to be the most well-known inn in this area. It has it’s own restaurant, grocery store, and gift shop. I hope we get some decent food for dinner tonight.
We took hundreds of pictures and video, but I’m having a hard time uploading the pictures. Internet connection is slooooowww.
It’s just the 4th day of our vacation and we’re TIRED but enjoying ourselves! I guess we’re not as young as we thought. We’ll sleep in tomorrow before leaving for Capitol Reef.
We left Zion at 8:30 this morning. The drive to Bryce was scenic and easy, except for a few miles of tight switchbacks. We went thru the Zion tunnel which is over a mile long and was built in the 1930s.
Bryce is unbelievably gorgeous and unique. You will not see anything like this in the world. This is my second trip to Bryce and I still say it is the most jaw-dropping beautiful park I’ve been to. If you haven’t been to Bryce, you just absolutely have to go…and do this when you’re young and able to hike the magnificent trails.
We explored all the view points. It was cold and windy and there were snow patches on the ground. We weren’t able to hike for lack of time, though Dek went partway down the Navajo trail…this trail brings you down the canyons. For lunch we had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, vienna sausage, mandarin orange, Lindt chocolate, and chips. We were too late for the lunch hour at the lodge and the restaurant was closed.
We’re staying at Best Western Ruby’s Inn which seems to be the most well-known inn in this area. It has it’s own restaurant, grocery store, and gift shop. I hope we get some decent food for dinner tonight.
We took hundreds of pictures and video, but I’m having a hard time uploading the pictures. Internet connection is slooooowww.
It’s just the 4th day of our vacation and we’re TIRED but enjoying ourselves! I guess we’re not as young as we thought. We’ll sleep in tomorrow before leaving for Capitol Reef.
Monday, April 27, 2009
News from Zion
April 27, Monday
We arrived at Zion at 8:30 in the morning, driving right into the park. Zion suggests that visitors park in Springdale and take the shuttle to the park, but since we arrived early, we had no problem parking. Cars are not allowed inside the park; shuttles carry people from site to site. Zion was cold and windy in the morning, warm and sunny during the day, and cold and windy again in the afternoon.
We decided to hike the Emerald Pools, planning on taking the lower and middle pools only. But when we arrived at a junction that said that the upper pool was only .3 miles away, we decided to hike it. It was a steep climb, with narrow and slippery paths. It took us 4 hours to do the 3 pools (3 miles total). We took the paths slowly with the help of our hiking poles and took many rest stops. We ate our lunch of boiled eggs, ensaymada, and chips at the upper pool. It was 2 pm by the time we came back at Zion Lodge. We were tired…feet and bones aching. Fortunately, our late lunch of cheeseburger and salmon patty sandwiches at the Red Rock Grill in the lodge was truly delicious.
I almost ruined our vacation when I seriously slipped. Fortunately, no broken bones. Dek and I took Advil to counter the aching bones and muscles. I forgot to bring Salonpas and Ben-gay.
We’re staying at the Majestic View Lodge…pretty with logs for the bed and chairs. We have a balcony that looks at the magnificent views of Zion. We had dinner at the hotel’s restaurant, but it was awful. We should just have eaten the Cup-of-Noodles that I brought with us.
We arrived at Zion at 8:30 in the morning, driving right into the park. Zion suggests that visitors park in Springdale and take the shuttle to the park, but since we arrived early, we had no problem parking. Cars are not allowed inside the park; shuttles carry people from site to site. Zion was cold and windy in the morning, warm and sunny during the day, and cold and windy again in the afternoon.
We decided to hike the Emerald Pools, planning on taking the lower and middle pools only. But when we arrived at a junction that said that the upper pool was only .3 miles away, we decided to hike it. It was a steep climb, with narrow and slippery paths. It took us 4 hours to do the 3 pools (3 miles total). We took the paths slowly with the help of our hiking poles and took many rest stops. We ate our lunch of boiled eggs, ensaymada, and chips at the upper pool. It was 2 pm by the time we came back at Zion Lodge. We were tired…feet and bones aching. Fortunately, our late lunch of cheeseburger and salmon patty sandwiches at the Red Rock Grill in the lodge was truly delicious.
I almost ruined our vacation when I seriously slipped. Fortunately, no broken bones. Dek and I took Advil to counter the aching bones and muscles. I forgot to bring Salonpas and Ben-gay.
We’re staying at the Majestic View Lodge…pretty with logs for the bed and chairs. We have a balcony that looks at the magnificent views of Zion. We had dinner at the hotel’s restaurant, but it was awful. We should just have eaten the Cup-of-Noodles that I brought with us.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
St. George, Utah
April 26, Sunday
We arrived at St. George, Utah at around 2 pm after a leisurely drive from Las Vegas. Checked in at Best Western Abbey Inn…nice, new hotel.
Drove to Snow Canyon State Park…beautiful and gorgeous. Worth visiting. I thought the park was named snow canyon because of the huge white mountain in the park…found out it was named after the pioneering Utah Snow family. Hiked on sand dunes and had Mexican food for dinner at Pancho and Lefty's which is just across the street from the hotel. They actually have good food and service was friendly and fast.
We arrived at St. George, Utah at around 2 pm after a leisurely drive from Las Vegas. Checked in at Best Western Abbey Inn…nice, new hotel.
Drove to Snow Canyon State Park…beautiful and gorgeous. Worth visiting. I thought the park was named snow canyon because of the huge white mountain in the park…found out it was named after the pioneering Utah Snow family. Hiked on sand dunes and had Mexican food for dinner at Pancho and Lefty's which is just across the street from the hotel. They actually have good food and service was friendly and fast.
Mesquite, Nevada
Stopped at Mesquite for lunch...was expecting a dusty old town...was totally surprised. There are many retirement developments here, like Sun City. We managed to find free wifi at McDonalds. So I uploaded the Vegas blog.
Garmin GPS is great...looked for a Starbucks, called the place, and was told they don't have wifi but that McDonalds has it.
Will try to blog tonight from the hotel..
Garmin GPS is great...looked for a Starbucks, called the place, and was told they don't have wifi but that McDonalds has it.
Will try to blog tonight from the hotel..
viva las vegas
Day 1, April 25
The drive to Vegas from La Mirada was pleasant and uneventful. Stopped in Barstow for lunch at Panda Express and Baker for a restroom break. Dek and I took turns driving.
I haven’t been to Vegas for a vacation for at least 10 years, and I don’t think I’ll be back again for another 10. Traffic was terrible and the streets were very crowded. Everything was artificially over the top.
It took us 40 minutes to reach Polo Towers once we exited the 15. We initially had a problem checking in as my cousin was the one who reserved the room for us but that was quite readily resolved. Our room is a big one bedroom suite with a living room and a fully-equipped kitchen.
After unpacking and resting, Dek and I walked to Ceasar’s Palace to explore ‘The Forum’, a shopping and restaurant complex. Ate Maryland crab cakes and lamb chorizo pizza at Wolfgang Puck’s Spago. The food was good not really outstanding. And expensive. I thought my crab cake was $12 (I ordered from the appetizer menu) but turned out to be $20.
We then met Carlo for dessert. We had frozen hot chocolate and banana split at Serendipity. This is the same Serendipity as in New York, but does not taste the same, as per Carlo.
Looking forward to the real start of our vacation tomorrow….
The drive to Vegas from La Mirada was pleasant and uneventful. Stopped in Barstow for lunch at Panda Express and Baker for a restroom break. Dek and I took turns driving.
I haven’t been to Vegas for a vacation for at least 10 years, and I don’t think I’ll be back again for another 10. Traffic was terrible and the streets were very crowded. Everything was artificially over the top.
It took us 40 minutes to reach Polo Towers once we exited the 15. We initially had a problem checking in as my cousin was the one who reserved the room for us but that was quite readily resolved. Our room is a big one bedroom suite with a living room and a fully-equipped kitchen.
After unpacking and resting, Dek and I walked to Ceasar’s Palace to explore ‘The Forum’, a shopping and restaurant complex. Ate Maryland crab cakes and lamb chorizo pizza at Wolfgang Puck’s Spago. The food was good not really outstanding. And expensive. I thought my crab cake was $12 (I ordered from the appetizer menu) but turned out to be $20.
We then met Carlo for dessert. We had frozen hot chocolate and banana split at Serendipity. This is the same Serendipity as in New York, but does not taste the same, as per Carlo.
Looking forward to the real start of our vacation tomorrow….
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Start of Vacation
Dek and I will be starting our grand circle tour on Saturday April 25. Will be leaving for Las Vegas and staying at Polo Towers.
Am currently sick and really trying to get better for the trip...
Am currently sick and really trying to get better for the trip...
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