Abbey's Road

After working on Friday I drove up to Page, AZ which is where Glen Canyon Dam is forming the base of Lake Powell. We got there kind of late so we just ate and went to bed soon after. On Saturday I was still feeling pretty tired and my cold wasn’t a lot better, but I managed to take Abbey on a couple of hikes, with a nap in between of course. First we went to the overlook at Horseshoe Bend. This is where the Colorado River makes a U-turn just south of the dam. We walked along the cliffs until I was too tired to go any further. Abbey still had some energy left, but I finally managed to get her back to the car. Later on in the afternoon, we drove down to Lake Powell on the other side of the dam. You can walk as far as you want along the shore. The shore is almost entirely made up of red sandstone (at least that’s what I think it is) that formed in layer upon layer that together look kind of like waves. I let Abbey off the leash so she could get more exercise without wearing me out.

On Sunday morning I took her down to Lake Powell again. I was feeling a little better so we went pretty far this time. Except for the time she was in the water, Abbey was moving non-stop for the better part of 2 hours. I keep thinking that she’s 13. She’s gotta slow down sometime soon. Page is mostly known for the Glen Canyon Dam and the major starting off point for houseboat trips on Lake Powell, but it’s also know for nearby Antelope Canyon. This is a beautiful slot canyon on Navajo Land. The canyon is 3 ft. wide at it’s narrowest and only about 18 ft. at its widest. On the surface it looks like no more than a slot in the earth in some places. It’s also called a corkscrew canyon because the walls of the canyon spiral around like a corkscrew. You can only go by tour and since it didn’t involve much of a walk I decided I had enough energy left over to do it. Unfortunately, I don’t have a tripod and I have a pretty shaky hand, but I did manage to get some good pictures nonetheless. The amazing thing about the pictures is the colors. It’s fairly dark inside the canyon because it’s so narrow so you don’t see a lot of color with the naked eye. But when you take a picture and leave the shutter open long enough the colors that come out are amazing – red, pink, orange, purple, and blue. I’d love to go back there with a tripod, but these will have to do for now.

On Monday morning I was feeling a lot better, but I decided to leave Page anyways. I had to work on Tuesday so it was either leave then or wait ‘til Wednesday. The campground was close to a road and a bit noisy, and that wasn’t a lot else to do there besides hike. I wasn’t really up for another hike so we took off and headed for Durango, CO.

Posted by Ed at 8:12 PM | Permalink

I couldn’t pass up the chance to stay at Michael & Diana’s again so I offered to cat sit for them again, when I found out they were going to be away for 9 days. The view is just too gorgeous. Sedona has some of the same elements that Saratoga, Austin and Woodstock have – most of the places I’ve lived in – and that made them more enjoyable. It has a lot of tourists, especially this time of year, but it has a lot of the quirkiness and unconventional charm that we had found in those other places. I think I need that to bring me out of the conservative shell that I sometimes fall into. I know now I am drawn to it even though I don’t immerse myself totally into it. I guess I need it to keep me in balance. If you didn’t see my Sedona entry from last year, the most noticeable thing about Sedona is the physical beauty of the place. It is surrounded by mountains of red rocks in all shapes and forms, and Michael & Diana’s house affords views of a large chunk of them.

Diana’s fears about the cats were all for nothing. Lily, who stayed upstairs in the loft for most of my visit last year, never ventured upstairs this year. Lhotse was still pretty leary of Abbey and I, but she got better after several days. Both cats ended up lying on my lap (not at the same time, of course) when I lied down on the couch to watch TV or read. Abbey and Lily seemed to get along pretty well, even drinking out of each other’s water bowls. Diana was really tickled to find out how well the “cousins”, as she calls them, were getting along. We even found Abbey and Lily lying on the couch together a few times, or sharing a nap in the living room chairs.

When I first arrived here the thermometer was hitting the upper 80s, which is pretty warm for this time of the year. So I started taking Abbey for hikes early in the morning. By 9 it was already too hot for her, but I think we both felt good getting back into a hiking routine. In the afternoons, when it was starting to cool down I would take her to Red Rocks Crossing which has a stream running through the middle and she could go in and cool off when she needed. Wednesday morning we did the West Fork of Oak Creek, our favorite trail from last year. The trail winds through a canyon and alongside the creek the entire way. A good part of the time we’ll leave the trail and just walk alongside, or in Abbey’s case, in the creek. She’s like a puppy again on that trail. It was the last hike we got to take for a while, though, because I came down with a nasty cold or the flu that evening. I had hoped to get out some and get some yoga in, but I pretty much didn’t do anything until Sunday when they came home. By then I was feeling human again. I felt better for a few days and thought I was about over it when I started hiking again on Wednesday and Thursday. By Thursday afternoon, though, I had gotten worse again. I guess I was a little too quick to declare my cold done. I really don’t want to get these guys sick so I plan on taking off and heading up to Page, AZ on Friday after working for the day. I guess I’ll go into isolation for a while until I’m better.

West Fork of Oak Creek Canyon

Posted by Ed at 9:32 PM | Permalink

I left Ft. Davis and headed west on the 10th. I made it to Willcox, AZ. It doesn’t have a lot to get excited about, but it had a reasonably priced RV park with a laundromat. Unfortunately, there was no change machine and the office closed before I realized the drier needed more than 1 cycle to get my clothes dry. Luckily, the Arizona air is so dry it didn’t take long to get everything dry, though I had clothes lying all over the place for a day. My next stop was in a county park outside of Phoenix. I had planned to go to Joshua Tree NP, but I wanted to stop and order a part for my Subaru. While I was in Florida I found out I needed a new catalytic converter but they said it would take a week or two to order. I figured I’d get the order in, go to Joshua Tree and come back when the part was in. Well, the dealer in Phoenix said they could get it the next day so I stuck around another day. Unfortunately, they found another problem – a cracked CV boot. So I spent 2-3 hours two mornings in a row at the dealers. I was happy I had my new Verizon AirCard so I could at least get on the internet while I was waiting.

Each day in Phoenix the thermometer kept climbing and it was near or at record highs each day. March is a little too early for me for the high 80s and low 90s. The outlook for Joshua Tree looked like more of the same. So I talked to Diana up in Sedona and found out she could use my help sitting for the cats again if I wanted to. I’m certainly not one to turn down an opportunity to stay in a beautiful house, with beautiful views in the middle of Sedona. I had a couple of days to get up there so Abbey and I found a better campground in another county park on a lake on the northeast side of Phoenix. I tell you that county has some pretty nice parks. For $18 a night, we got water and electric and were within a short walk from the lake so Abbey could cool off. The AirCard came in handy again since I had to cover for Michael one of the days, as did the electric hookup so I could turn on the AC. I’m slowly getting used to working again. Of course, it’s not like I have to go into an office and thankfully my workdays are real sporadic so far. It’s was pretty funny sitting in the RV, overlooking a lake outside of Phoenix and IM’ing with Jesus (hay-zoos, as in the Spanish pronunciation, not the big guy) in Spain. When technology works it can be real helpful. On the 15th, I took Abbey for a walk, packed up, dumped the tanks and headed up to Sedona for my next cushy assignment – cat sitting for Diana’s 2 neurotic cats. Though I’m not sure if the cats are neurotic, or there mother is the one with the neuroses.

Posted by Ed at 10:34 PM | Permalink

I had only been to the South Rim before so when I heard the North Rim was opening on the 15th I couldn’t pass it up. I was able to get reservations in the campground for a couple of nights. I drove up to Lee’s Ferry on Sunday, the 14th, and went the rest of the way on Monday. Since Abbey wouldn’t be able to hike with me in the park I stopped in the Kaibab National Forest for a short hike before going into the park. It was pretty cloudy that day and I had already done 2 hikes with Abbey so we just did some sightseeing from some of the viewpoints. The North Rim is much farther from the Colorado River and there is only 1 spot on the rim that you can see the river from. As a matter of fact, much of what you see from the north side are actually side canyons of the main canyon. The views are still pretty spectacular though.

There is only 1 trail down into the canyon from the north side and it is quite a bear – the North Kaibab trail. It is 14 miles down to the river, but they strongly urge you not to do it in one day. Like I was even thinking about it! Since I couldn’t camp down there and leave Abbey in the RV alone overnight, my only choice was to go down part way and come back up. They recommend you get an early start so I got up at 5:30 (good thing I’ve been used to getting up early since the sun rises so early here) and took Abbey for a walk first. I made it to the trailhead by 7:15. At first I was bummed that it was so cloudy figuring that the color, and pictures, wouldn’t be too good, but later decided it was much better being cloudy and cool than sunny and hot. I took the trail down to Roaring Springs which is a mere 3000 ft. below the rim and 4.7 miles down the trail. It didn’t seem too bad until I had to turn around and come back up. I didn’t stop much for pictures on the way down figuring I’d be stopping a lot on the way up. It was good thinkin’ on my part as my legs were really hurting the closer I got to the top. For some reason one of my knees tightened up, which hasn’t happened in a long time, and it was definitely a hard climb back up. People on the trail kept saying “Good Morning” and I was thinking it’s gotta be afternoon by now. It sure felt like I had been up half the day by then. I was amazed at the age of many of the hikers. I saw 3 women who had to be in their mid-60s who were backpacking down to the river. They were going to camp down there for 3 nights. They weren’t the only ones. There was one big group of seniors who were spending the night at Phantom Ranch, a 14 mile hike in, though they only had daypacks. I keep seeing people in their later years still out hiking and backpacking which gives me hope that everyone in this country isn’t getting obese.

After a looong rest, I checked out some more of the viewpoints, but only the ones with very short trails from the parking lots. I tried to take Abbey for a walk around the lodge, but just as we got up to the lodge we heard thunder and that was enough for her. So I figured it was a good time to get a drink, sit on the porch of the lodge and watch the storms brewing over the canyon. I was pretty excited when I saw the saloon had Irish Coffee on special. So I got one to go and found an open spot on the sun porch and had a front row seat for the spectacle. Ya can’t beat that! I started talking to a group next to me and found out that they had hiked down to river from the South Rim, stayed the night at Phantom Ranch, and hiked up to the North Rim the next day. They were supposed to turn around the following day and do it in reverse again, but their bodies thought better of it and their minds agreed. There were actually 2 people in their group who did do it, and, believe it or not, they were the 2 older ones – in their 60s! I felt like a wimp only going part way down and back, but luckily I had Abbey as an excuse. But doing that hike, at least in one direction, is one thing that I’ve added to my list of things to do before I get too old. I think hiking just one direction, though and taking the shuttle back will be good enough for me. Wouldn’t want to get bored seeing the same thing twice.

Today we headed out of the park and back into the Kaibab NF. My knee was still sore and I wanted to get Abbey out some more. I did manage to get up at 6:30 to take Abbey for her morning jaunt. She seems to do much better in the morning. We ran into the 3 rim-to-rim hikers I met on the porch yesterday so they got to meet Abbey and see that I wasn’t lying about my excuse for not doing it too. On the way looking for a campsite this afternoon I saw a small pond off the side of the road. It looked like a good spot to take a break and eat lunch so I let Abbey out and she made a beeline for it. She finally came out of the water about an hour and a half later.

She didn’t even notice I ate my lunch. I felt like it made up for her being in all day yesterday. I found a decent place to camp for the night, and it turned out a few other people liked the spot too. There was plenty of room for all of us. It feels good to be boondocking again and not staying in a campground. Besides, it’s free. Tomorrow I start heading to LA. I am planning to arrive on Friday to see an old friend from college, John Daegele, and his family.

Posted by Ed at 7:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Michael and Diana got back pretty late on the 9th. I had originally planned to take off on the 10th or 11th, but I found out that the North Rim of the Grand Canyon opened for the season on the 15th so I stuck around til then. I have always wanted to go to the North Rim but I was never there at the right time as it is only open mid-May to Mid-October.

If you’ve never had a chance to go to Sedona, you should try to someday. Not only is it a beautiful place, but just about anything goes here. There are crystal shops, psychics, vortex tour guides, and any number of different religious/spiritual groups. I didn’t go to any psychics but maybe I should have to see if they might know what my next job will be. The great thing about Sedona is that you don’t have to worry about that what you’re doing is going to look strange. Most people here are very open and accepting, and besides, there will always be someone who looks stranger than you. A lot of people think it’s the spiritual center of the country, if not the universe. In any case it is a very unique place and a very interesting one to visit. I certainly enjoyed it, met some nice people and saw some old friends. I also attended some interesting events. It never hurts to open your mind more.

Only in Sedona

I did a few more hikes but mostly in the morning with Abbey. I guess I was too busy doing other things. I didn’t even take any pictures on any of the trails, but with the views I had I didn’t feel the need to take my camera on the trails. Here are some more parting shots of the view. I’ll miss it. I think Abbey will miss the house too, though I don’t think the cats will miss her…and they’ll get to eat all of their food in peace now.

Posted by Ed at 7:30 PM | Permalink

I thought I’d give you a peak at the views I have here. The pictures don’t do it justice. The two of them combined give you the 270 degree view from the side and back patio. The “loft” gives you a 360 degree view, but that’s Lily’s domain. Lily is one of their cats. Poor Lily hasn’t really adjusted to having a dog in the house. She mostly comes down at night to go outside. The bad thing is that she stays out a long time and keeps me from going to bed. With the coyotes and other animals around here I can’t leave her out there over night. The only complaint I have about the place is that the pool isn’t heated and the water temp is still in the mid-60s. How do they expect me to swim in that?
Not a bad view for the cat, eh?
Well there’s not much to report here. Besides taking care of the cats, and, of course, Abbey too, I’ve been getting the RV back in shape. It had been getting a little beat up. I’ve also been trying to get myself back in shape going to the chiropractor and taking some yoga classes. Haven’t done either of those in a while. I’ve been taking it a little easy on the hikes for both Abbey and I. There are lots of beautiful hiking trails here, but it’s a bit hot and most trails are too dry for Abbey. I have taken her to Oak Creek Canyon, where we also went last year, a couple of times. It’s a great trail with water in the creek the whole way. Yesterday she was in the water most of the time, but she paid for it later. Her leg was pretty sore so I took it easy on her today. It got up close to 90 today, but I decided to do a hike anyways. I’ve been wanting to hike to one of the famous vortex spots here in Sedona. A vortex is supposedly a place where there is strong energy fields coming into, or out of, the earth. I actually went to 2 today, and even spent a bit of time there, but didn’t feel anything unusual. I guess I’m just not in tune with these things. There are 3 more, though, so I’ll keep trying. As one of the guide books says, whether you believe in them or not they are all beautiful hikes so it’s no loss.

Last weekend I went to Jerome, which bills itself as the country’s largest ghost town. I’m not sure why it’s still considered a ghost town with all the people living there. I had heard of Jerome from a number of people in the last few years and had been wanting to check it out. So on Saturday I drove down to see what the fuss was all about. It had been described to me as a funky little town. I was picturing a lot of “New Agey” type stores and psychics, but mostly what I saw were art galleries and tourists. It’s an old mining town, at one time known as the “Billion Dollar Copper Mine” and the “West’s Wickedest City”, that is perched on top of a mountain. The road in or out of town is pretty windy and steep so just about everyone in town has a great view and there’s not a flat lot around. I’m sure there are a few leftover flower children who live there. I did like one of the bumper stickers I saw – “Jerome, AZ – We’re all here because we’re not all there.” You gotta love a town that knows its place.

High-end real estate in Jerome
Didn't know they had a snake sanctuary...

Posted by Ed at 3:02 AM | Permalink

Last Friday I spent most of the day trying to get other things I needed since I was still in a decent sized city. Diana took off Friday for a business trip and Michael had class all weekend, so I headed out early Saturday morning. I had planned on going to Zion National Park next, but when I saw the weather was going to be in the mid-90's I decided to skip it for now and go back in the spring. So I drove all the way to Sequoia National Forest in CA instead. I got there at a decent time, but it took me a while to find a campsite that was suitable for the RV. I ended up parking in an open area after trying to squeeze in between some bushes and trees and scraping the side of the RV pretty good. I also had a hard time getting it level, but finally managed to find a decent spot overlooking the river, which was running really high. The campgrounds were all pretty full of people who had come up to run the river. I also managed to tear off one of my mudflaps backing over a big rock, but I somehow managed to not get too frustrated. After dinner and a beer, I fell asleep early after the long day's drive.

This morning I decided to try and bushwack up the hill across from our campsite. It looked like it would have a nice view. Well, that didn't turn out to be such a great idea. We found a road that started us out, but when we started to head uphill, things got much tougher. The scrub and bushes were much bigger than they looked from a distance. And there were a lot more ravines than I noticed initially. After getting only part way up, it was starting to get pretty hot and Abbey was getting pretty wiped out from the heat. So I decided to make my way across to where it looked to be a lot easier and then make our way down. Well, the brush wasn't as high, but the rock underneath the brush and grass was real loose. We finally made it back down after getting full of burrs and scratches. Gotta work on my bushwacking and route-finding skills.

I decided to take a drive back up along the river passed where we camped to the end of the road. It was a pretty windy and steep road but the views were worth it. We stopped to see the President George Bush (the first ' not W) giant sequoia tree near the top of the road. There was a short hike which supposedly went by the tree. Well the path wasn't well-marked and neither was the tree. I passed a pretty large sequoia so I assumed that was it. Meanwhile, Abbey didn't care so much about the tree. She was deeply preoccupied with going in the creeks and chasing lizards. We stopped to check out the views on the way back down and then found a real nice campground in a grove of evergreens pretty high up. It was more like I was hoping for up here, though I did break my string of 7 nights without having to pay for staying the night. Oh well, the site is worth it.
Kern River Campsite
Yucca on the Bushwack
Bushwacked
View Beyond the Canyon

Posted by Ed at 10:28 PM | Permalink

I tried to get going early on Thursday morning and we headed down towards Sedona. From Flagstaff to Sedona, you go down a winding road through a canyon. Part way down, we stopped and hiked the West Fork trail. It goes along the West Fork of Oak Creek through Oak Canyon. It's a great trail, even though it was a little crowded. Abbey was in and out of the creek for most of the trail - about 3 miles each way. Mary Beth and I, and Abbey and our other dog Buster, did this same trail about 8 years ago. With the heat, though, it seemed like the best trail for both of us since there was also a lot of shade on the route. On the way back to Michael & Diana's I took a detour up to the Snow Bowl, a ski area near their house, to check out a few trails. I ran into a guy just coming off a trail with his dog. I told him what I was doing and he told me that he is also in between jobs. He's changing careers and taking 9 months off before starting school. Of course, I thought that was great, except 9 months seems like such a short time ;-)
Oak Creek

Oak Canyon

Posted by Ed at 10:12 PM | Permalink

We left Muley Point early and went back down the Moki Dugway. It was just as cool going down as it was coming up. Next was Monument Valley. I decided to do the driving loop even though it wasn't recommended for RV's 24' and over. It turned out to be no problem, though I didn't do any of the scenic turnoffs. The road was pretty bumpy, but it was worth the bumps. Afterwards, we drove straight to Flagstaff. I stayed the rest of the week with Michael & Diana, old friends from Austin. Unfortunately, they have 3 cats and I didn't think Abbey would behave around them, so she had to stay outside or in the RV the whole time, and I slept with her in the RV at night. It was good to see those guys again, even though I just saw them in March. I was actually visiting them when I bought the RV. Not much to add for this day, except for some pictures.

Posted by Ed at 9:39 PM | Permalink