Oregon, Bend - Visit from the Swans

We're back in Bend for a second visit. After checking into our hotel room, we heard honking from the patio door. As I peered out up came a big beautiful swan, then her buddy! They were looking for a hand-out which we happily provided. They stayed around looking for more, but they finally lost interest in us.

Oregon, Crater Lake National Park

We arrived in Klamuth Falls and decided to take the drive to Crater Lake NP. It is hard to believe how different the weather can be when there is a reasonably small elevation change.

The amounts of snow on the ground in the park are phenomenal! It was quite cloudy, cold, spitting rain, and the piles of snow drifted around the Visitor Center was huge! We presumed the weather would allow for a nice hike around Crater Lake, but we were wrong. I cannot recall the last time we were here, but it must have been in August or September because it was dry, clear and almost hot. Completely different today....we'll have to come back in the fall.

Nevada, Great Basin National Park

This little National Park is tucked away in the eastern part of Nevada. You will seldom find noisy crowds, long lines or traffic jams. The Park is filled with High peaks over 13,000 feet in elevation, cool high-desert streams, caves, hiking trails and amazing star studded night skies. This area is so remote, there is no light pollution to ruin an amazing display of the Milky Way! Few people will ever have an opportunity to see this constellation. We weren't here after dark, but it would be an amazing place to enjoy such a wonderful display of the stars.

We enjoyed a nice drive to 10,000 feet elevation of Wheeler's Peak. Up top we were amazed at the snow that is still here! We are told that here in Great Basin there is a possibility of snow at any time of the year.

We didn't have time to take the cave tour, but if you like being underground there are amazing formations to view.

As you drive through the Basin, long stretches of highway go on for miles in a straight line.....you can see amazing distances here. It is a fascinating region.

Utah, Kolob Canyon at Zion National Park

Today we left Utah for the Great Basin National Park. We'd been on the highway about half an hour when we noticed a sign for the Zion National Park - Kolob Canyon Visitor's Center. What the heck...we were in no hurry so we decided to stop by to see if there was something we missed. There was a five-mile scenic drive through Kolob Canyon and were sure glad we stopped. This is one beautiful canyon and it is not to be missed. It is located in the Northwest section of the park and must be accessed from Utah Highway 15. The canyon is lush and green, amazing geologic formations and the colors were stunning.

The drive doesn't take long, and we were able to snap a few photos even though the morning light was at the wrong angle to best capture the images. Soon we were on our way to Nevada.

Utah, Zion National Park and Kolob Canyons

The weather was perfect, clear and sunny. As we entered Zion National Park from the Southeast Corner, it was fascinating to see the amazing rock formations and drive through the long tunnel cut through the mountain.

As part of our usual introduction to the National Parks, a stop at the Visitor's Center was in order. The Park was crazy....it was the Memorial Day weekend and Zion set an all-time attendance record today. We'd had a long day in the car so we stopped by the Zion Human History Museum to watch the movie about the park. Next we were off to the Kolob Canyon section of the park to check out the Wildcat Canyon trail. We decided not to hike, but did drive to Kolob Reservoir. On our return we were fortunate enough to see four California Condors! We'd never seen the Condors before and it was great to experience them in the wild.

Next it was time to find our hotel and grab dinner. Because of the holiday, our accommodation was in Saint George, Utah - about an hour's drive from the Park. Oh well, we'll get an early start in the morning.

Utah, Bryce Canyon National Park

Bryce Canyon National Park is one of the most fascinating places we've ever visited. It is unique because formations of this type appear in no other place on earth - Now that's Special! The park was established in 1923 as a National Monument and in 1924 Congress passed legislation to create the park. The park was established to preserve and protect outstanding scenic and scientific values. Best known for the beautiful and bizarre rock spires called Hoodoos and the dark night sky. The lowest elevation in the park is at 6,620 feet in Yellow Creek. The highest elevation is at 9,115 feet at Rainbow Point.

Our day started at the Visitor's Center to discuss appropriate hikes with a Park Ranger. We decided to first take the scenic drive to Rainbow Point and work out way back toward the park entrance. We also took a lovely hike from Sunrise Point, through the Queens Garden, along a portion of the Navajo Loop returning to Sunset Point. Following our hike was lunch at the Bryce Canyon Lodge, then it was time to hit the trail again. We returned to Sunrise Point to hike a portion of the trail to the Tower Bridge. We didn't make it to the end of the trail, but we always have to remind ourselves it's a lot easier going down than up, and the entire track heads down several hundred feet. It took everything Nancy had to make it back up to the car. After our hike it was time for a couple of cups of coffee, a nice long shower and a comfortable chair and place to put our feet up.

Here are a few photos from our day. I am addicted to my camera, so there are many, many more posted on Flickr. Hope ya'll enjoy - we sure did.

Utah, Capitol Reef National Park and Scenic Highway 12

Today we got an early start as we make our way West! We are on a mission to visit as many National Parks as possible and today was Capitol Reef! You don't hear much about this park and it's not as big as many, but it is equally beautiful and not to be missed. The park has a lovely 10 mile scenic road that is paved, but Grand Wash and Capitol Gorge are maintained dirt roads, both subject to flash floods. You are warned at the visitor center to be aware of weather conditions prior to venturing into the park. As little as an inch of rain can cause major flash flooding in the canyons.

We hiked the Hickman Bridge Trail to visit a lovely natural bridge. All along the 2 mile hike we had clear skies, warm sun, gentle breezes and it goes without saying more natural beauty that you could ever imagine. After our trek we stopped for a picnic lunch, then it was on for our scenic drive. We did another short trek at the end of Capitol Gorge, but cut our walk short as we had a long drive to Bryce Canyon ahead of us.

Be sure to check out all our pictures on Flickr. The link is on the top of the blog.