Utah's Canyonlands: Please Release Me!

Cedar City, UT: Just a quick update before we finally leave Utah. We’ve been in the state since June 8. There is so much to see and do in this state that we could spend an entire month and still not see everything.

Our first stop was in Canyonlands National Park, where we spent a total of 8 nights, six nights in the Island in the Sky District and two in the Needles District. (The Park consists of three districts carved out by the Green and Colorado Rivers: Island in-Sky, Needles, and the Maze. Island in the Sky is actually a two-tiered mesa whose top tier is at 6,000 feet. It overlooks sheer sandstone cliffs over 1,000 feet above the surrounding terrain. We camped at Willow Creek Campground, which by National Park standards is rather primitive in that it has no water or other services. Just restrooms. But it did feature an overlook onto the cliffs that looked down onto the next tier of the mesa as well as the Green River Gorge. Our primary activity included some nice hikes and finding nice places to view the sunsets. It was here that we discovered an antifreeze leak in the Honey. Which meant, after leaving I-Sky, we had to stop over for a day in Moab to get it fixed (or so we thought).

After Moab, it was on to the Needles district, which I think is the nicer of the two districts that are accessible by paved road (the Maze, an area that lives up to its name, is only accessible by 4-wheel drive vehicles). At Needles, we spent one day riding our bikes through the Park, which was really nice because it has fewer people and hence, fewer cars on the road. The second day we hiked a nice trail that took us through the Needles, which are really colorful spires of Cedar Mesa Sandstone that dominate the area. And, it was here too that we discovered another antifreeze leak, so it was on to the next town south, Montecello, Utah, where we think the problem has finally been fixed (keep your fingers crossed!) We’re also discovering that part of the adventure of this trip is traveling cross country in a 1987 RV with almost 100,000 miles on the odometer.

While waiting for the Honey to be fixed in Montecello, we received good news from Jim’s doctor that the bloodwork he had done in Jackson before we left came back fine. His PSA is undetectable, so it looks like the treatments are keeping those nasty cancer cells in check.

After Montecello, it was on to Escalante State Petrified Forest and then Red Canyon which is adjacent to Bryce National Park. Since we’ve been to Bryce before, we decided to explore the surrounding area, which is in National Forest and just as nice but not as crowded as Bryce.

We spent our 37th wedding anniversary (June 24) at Cedar Breaks National Monument, which is a natural amphitheater canyon, stretching across 3 miles. The rim is at over 10,000 feet and the canyon drops down over 2,000 feet. The eroded rock of the canyon is similar to formations at Bryce. A 4-mile trail took us to some stands of Bristlecone Pines, which live longer than any other known thing. Some local specimens are known to be more than 1600 years old. Story is one was cut down a few years ago for study and found to be 4,600 years old! (oops!) We stayed until everything had closed and people had gone, and (illegally I’m sure) took our chairs, a bottle of wine, and the dog to an overlook on the trail to watch the sunset.

We are spending today in Cedar City, Utah, waiting to get Jim’s prescription filled and getting provisioned for crossing Nevada into California. All for now. Talley-ho!

Island in the Sky Overlook


Anasazi Indian Ruins in Island in the Sky


Needles Hike


Pertified Wood


Red Rock Canyon Formations


Cedar Breaks



Bristle Cone Pine

Hawaii May 2009: Sea turtles, surfer dudes, nude hikers, Oh My!

We’ve been back on the mainland since Wednesday, June 3, after taking the redeye late on June 2. All in all, it was a good trip; however Murphy’s Law prevailed at times, mainly concerning lodging. The original plan was to stay at a hostel for five nights on Maui, then fly to Kauai, camping one week on the beaches and then the final week at Gary’s timeshare. However, due to conditions at the hostel, and security concerns at the beach campgrounds, we opted to stay in condos during the entire trip (cha-ching!)

During our stay on Maui, we enjoyed the beautiful beaches and also a popular tourist attraction, the Road to Hana, a very winding and narrow coastal mountain road that rambles through tropical rainforest and features over 600 curves and 46 one-lane bridges. Along the way are stops at waterfalls, scenic views, and fruit stands as well as several quaint towns. Gary was having a great time pretending our Rent-a-Wreck was actually a Maserati sports car.

However, the crowning experience was hiking the extinct volcano in Haleakala National Park, where watching the sunrise on the top of this 12,000 foot high volcano is the quintessential Maui experience. But since it required a very early start in order to get a parking spot at the summit by 5 am, we instead opted to sleep in a little later and experience the volcano on a more personal level by hiking down into the crater itself. It’s a 12 mile hike that took us through a landscape of vast lava fields and lava domes colored in a range of reds, purples, and blues that looked as if they were airbrushed on the cliffs and ridges. Considering this otherworldly landscape, it’s not surprising that we met a professor from the University of Hawaii on the trail who is working with NASA, researching the geology of the moon. Hiking down into the crater was pretty easy. It was the climb out that was tough: the last four miles had steep switchbacks on rocky, uneven trail that seemed to go on forever. But the sore muscles were worth the experience. This hike ranks up there with some of the best I’ve done.

On May 18, we flew from Maui to Kauai, which is called the “Garden Island.” It indeed is beautiful. Not as developed as Maui, with more mountains and over 50 miles of beaches, more than any other Hawaiian Island. This has to do with the Maui’s approach to development. All development must include a buffer zone to the beaches and no structure can be taller than a palm tree.

The island of Kauai is about 5million years old, the oldest in the island chain, which is why it has more deeply carved canyons and sheer cliffs that majestically jut out into the ocean. These cliffs are located on the north shore, which is called the Na Pali Coast. We had wonderful views of this part of the island, thanks to a one hour tour in a helicopter (with no doors), a half-day catamaran tour along the coast, and a 8 mile hike on the Nu‘alolo trail.

I also discovered how much fun it is to snorkel, and see the amazing array of colorful fishes. On the catamaran tour, we docked at a spot and snorkeled off the boat. Besides marveling at the fish, I was thrilled to hover over a sea turtle swimming below. It was so graceful, and attracted several fish who served as vacuum cleaners for his shell. Also, snorkeled at Tunnels Beach, which has a large reef that attracts an amazing array of tropical fish.

We also enjoyed watching the surfers. And I especially enjoyed watching Jim, who took a surfing lesson. Did really well and enjoyed it immensely. Are we talking about a babyboomer surfer dude in the making here?

Gary and Ella flew out May 31, so Jim and I had two days to kill before our flight out. We spent it camping (at last) at Koke’e State Park, which lies at 4,000 feet and includes the Waimea Canyon that Mark Twain dubbed “the Grand Canyon of the Pacific.” An apt description. Enjoyed the quiet of the campground, and the cooler weather. At the campground we met a friendly and interesting German couple who were spending a year, traveling around the world. Both school teachers, they took advantage of a job perk in which they agreed to work for five years at 80 percent of their pay, saving every penny they could. They then were able to spend an entire year off, still at 80 percent of their pay. Those Europeans really know how to do things.

On our last morning, we opted for a short hike out to a view point, and on the way out we were greeted with an unexpected view on the trail: a young Anglo guy hiking completely nude! Not even shoes. Only had a small knapsack. What could you do but say “hi” and try to avert the eyes? Thank goodness he was going the opposite way.
That’s one of the things I like about camping. It seems there are more opportunities to meet a variety of interesting people (clothed and unclothed in Hawaii!).
Well, we are now wrapping up a week at Hannah’s. After Jim’s doctor’s appointment on Monday, we’re heading off to Utah, including Canyonlands and Coyote Buttes in the Escalante region. After that, who knows?
Will try to keep this blog updated as possible. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers, especially the Honey (our old RV) We may need them.


Black Sand Beach: A Stop on the Road to Hana


Hiking the Haleakala Crater


View of Tunnels Beach and Reef from helicopter


View of Na Pali Coast from helicopter


Waimea Canyon