Colorado Plateau Odyssey- Terry and Judy
Pictures on picasaweb.google.com/terryw100
Pink bluffs behind me as I grip the steering wheel of the rig,
and drive out of the scenic overlook,
above Willow Beach on the Colorado River,
where a young Navajo man was selling museum quality pottery,
imbued with sacred symbolism,
and a key to their meaning.
As if one could capture the significance
of a centuries old culture
on a sheet of paper.
Terry’s back at the helm,
more equipped to handle cross winds.
As we approach Kingman,
Columnar joints (”verticle fractures in the lava flows”)
look like red men
shoulder to shoulder
preparing to march down the hill.
On the left, “the highway department”
unveiled “fault lines that would otherwise
be hidden from view.”
In Kingman, an anticipated restaurant
has gone out of business,
while on the other side of town,
via historic Route 66,
big box houses plopped down on the desert
like a malignant cancer.
With ascending elevation
is a crescendo of vegetation density
to a forest of pinion pine “on granite.”
Out on the Colorado Plateau
are periodic elk warning signs,
and magenta patches make me morn
leaving my wildflower book,
though not strictly for this environment.
Oh well, industrial tourism* is alive and well
as attested by the San Francisco Peaks
being known as a ski area.
jdw
3/29-30/11
*phase coined by Edward Abby in Desert Solitaire
Old Friends
Strong and focused
as a boatman running the Colorado River,
in a picture on the wall of his room
at the assisted living center.
His life did a 180
through no fault of his own,
and yet he’s grateful for what he has.
They share recollections
of intense river trips,
and a newly published Tuolumne guide book;
catch up on old colleagues,
and reconnect a worthy friendship.
jdw
3/30/11
Grand Canyon National Park
A thousand earth colors
“eroded over 1.7 million years”
Majestic towering vertical tilted rocks
dancing such slow motion
as seeming to be still.
Along “Bright Angel fault” and trail,
most popular in the park,
to contrasting Indian Gardens,
an oasis with 80 foot poplars
that appear miniature,
from where I drink
my coffee and the scene.
From Lipan Point
one can see the river that carves this gorge,
though the 20 foot drop off Hance Rapids
appears as a riffle.
Four boats make their way through Unkar Rapids.
jdw
Marble Canyon
Pink rocks appear to jut up out of an otherwise mundane landscape.
There’s something comforting
about a brown and gray mound, with periodic pink stripes,
“at an apparent angle of repose”.
Driving north, next to this line of pink “Navajo sandstone” hills,
I’m startled by the Vermillion Cliffs, encircling Marble Valley,
where the Colorado River is calm.
jdw
3/31/11
Terry's Pilgrimage
Over to Lee's Ferry,
beneath Vermillion Cliffs, buttes, mesas, plateaus.
Coffee on a rock by Paria's Riffle.
Refill the cup with river water.
Talk to old boatmen.
Circumnavigate Shiprock,
a 1700 foot landmark for pioneers,
sacred to the Navajos and geologists.
jdw
4/1-2/11
Northeast of the Continental Divide
past the Jicarilla/Apache Reservation
on New Mexico State Highway 96,
is ranch land of pinion pine & juniper forest
with red cliffs for accent.
A post Office is more surprising than llamas,
or cheaper gas than seen in days,
Santana's Weaving Shop's sign,
larger than the high school's.
A Spanish church,
houses of stucco and stone.
Ample hay and apparent well being.
People are settled here.
jdw
Lying by a cowpie,
y el Rio Chama,
on my loves tummy,
I hear gurgles and geese
and a somewhat familiar song of unknown bird,
Not far from the Abiqueque home
of Georgia O'Keefe.
jdw
4/4/11
Van der Plough
She's from the ground
solid and alive
in her adobe house
with it's Apache lookout,
or feeding her flocks
of geese, ducks & chickens,
therapy dogs,
including Jane the wolfe, retired,
the horse that she'll ride again this spring
and children (of any age) who are blessed to know
her deep love, good boundaries,
and role modeling health,
rather than perfection.
El Rio Grande in Taos New Mexico
"is a big rift zone,
where the earth is pulling apart."
The ranger said we don't need a campfire permit in New Mexico,
despite the drought and diversity of native vegetation:
Mt. Strawberry
squawberry
Gallele
Mt. Big Sagebrush
prickly pear
Indian ricegrass
needle and thread
low larkspur
Indian paintbrush
squirrel tail
Mariposa lily
lamatillo
sand penstemon
low flaxbane
plains daisy
spiny gilia
Kentucky bluegrass
hairy goldaster
pinque
plains flax
Above Taos' elevation is a winter white out,
an aspen fairy land with tall flocked pines
and no apparent tracks of man nor four leggeds.
On to Chama New Mexico
with it's Lobo Taxidermy and Game Processing,
and a relatively large one stop store
that's still delightfully locally owned.
'Welcome to Colorful Colorado'
with rich ranches and vistas
and Rocky Mt. Wildlife Park.
Past Durango silver and turquoise sellers,
ascend to Mesa Verde National Park,
where campsites are still closed for the winter.
Turn into the National Forest
for a perfect campsite
with a clear view of both buttes in the park,
littered with deer scat and juniper berries.
Enough rain to clear the air.
Settled in time for a nap
before preparing and enjoying supper,
and each finishing a good book.
Luscious, luxurious sleep in camper.
jdw
4/7/11
Fierce winds and snow at Geologic Overlook,
an expansive valley,
almost unfathomable space on all sides.
The farms in Dolores Valley looked prosperous
until we approached Utah.
The rangers warned us about cross winds
and dust storms
which impair visibility and a sense of elevation.
The rock turned pink
and occasional Buddah shapes appeared unending,
until we were flanked on both sides
by the red cliffs of a wide Colorado River.
Monument Valley
boggles the mind.
jdw
4/8/11
Red rocks surround us 360 degrees
and climb 700 feet from the river,
with its eddies and 2nd class rapids.
Desert varnish, "mangenese brought to the surface of the cliffs
by water, and polished by upstream winds,
provided a blank slate for petroglyphs.
A nearly 360 degree turn in the Colorado River
has white caps created by upstream wind.
In Arches National Park
More space between the cliffs.
Monuments of "Entrada sandstone".
Hard not to anthropomorpize:
a Parthanon
3 gossips
2 people hugging
a mother rabbit hugging her bunny,
some hugging bears
a buffalo
recalling the whale in Valley of the Gods.
Man can not make anything more magnificent!
Turn off to The Windows through the rocks.
Children scrambling happily
reveling in the echos.
Wind fierce through the window.
Precarious on slick rock,
grateful for the sun
providing warmth and a blue backdrop.
Sign on the road: Bighorn Sheep Crossing.
Nothing would thrill me more!
Teens rolling down a vertical sand dune.
Canyon Lands National Park
Island in the sky above the rim of the inner canyon
at the confluence of the Green and Colorado Rivers.
Shaefer Trail - a one lane road, with switchbacks
down 700 feet, and inches from the edge of the canyon.
Hard not to hold the breath on this "most exciting road in the universe."
With white knuckles,
I now understand why the pre-trip focus on improved suspension.
"Thrust fault coming right out of the clay bed and up to the surface line."
Out on Gooseneck Overlook Trail
several "reverse unconformities...slanted rock balanced on layered base:"
Rocks that look like piles of dripped chocolate.
Rock man ("with a Ph.D. in folds") and the river.
Then a butte with ruffles like a many tiered skirt
and "layers of green shale that pushed out the eroding water."
Striking contrast to the red rock.
13 Miles of rough dirt road, in an hour, rattle the insides.
To Potash evaporation ponds.
Welcome pavement, cottonwoods and willows along the river,
back to Moab, population 6,000,
with 3 million visitors a year.
jdw
4/9/11
To the Maze
Scenic from Green river to Route 24.
Then miles and miles of bleak BLM* land
with a few scragly cows and calves
that don't seem to know to get out of the road.
80 miles to the Maze Overlook is 4+ hours
to our home for the next 2 nights.
I'm ready for chocolate!
Instead I'm a milkshake rushing over washboard road
and can sorta knit with blissfully colored yarn.
A tree!
A few more trees...some grass...a veritable forest!
At higher elevation the color of the sand is brick red.
The sky unbelievably blue
with "alto cumulous clouds"
Warning: leave no footprints, which last forever on the desert
and destroy the fragile cover that slows evaporation.
OH! Here we go again!
A 700' drop via switchbacks...some turns more than 30 degrees down.
Good thing Terry's at the helm instead of Crash.
It only looks like we're driving off the cliff.
"If you can't abuse it, don't buy it."
This would not have been possible without
high suspension and super size tires.
12 miles at 1mph.
Shadows are getting long.
We're on our way to one of two campsites in this whole district:
The Maze
Now I understand the name.
The way in here is like a labryinth.
Amazing campsite at the edge of the canyon.
Vast and deep...sheer rock.
Not suitable for children!
Sunset diminishes the depth.
With no light pollution, the vastness of the night sky is astounding!
At 2:30 am, I awoke, aware how vulnerable we are.
I can't imagine driving out of here, across those treacherous roads.
Ho oponopono, and a promise that we won't do anything dangerous.
jdw
4/10/11
*BLM - Bureau of Land Management
A hike down 1000 foot, into the canyon.
My God, I should have known, when he put the trucker's rope in his pack.
Then, thank God, he decided NOT to belay below the shelf.
The challenges, especially for two almost 70 year old people,
would be on the return.
Instead, we lunched and napped about 700 feet down.
Work-out enough for me.
The sky is different tonight.
Cloud wisps dancing around a half moon.
jdw
4/11/11
Dawn is slow coming over the rise.
Rocks redder than the sky.
Distance returns with the light.
Just a walk around the rim of the canyon was scary,
when Terry got close to the edge.
Then a luscious nap, snuggled in a nest in the camper,
while Terry made some repairs for safe return out of the maze.
Sun shower felt better than even imagined.
Moonlight tonight obliterates most of the stars.
jdw
4/12/11
Who'd have thought...sparkles in the sand
like dewdrops in the grass, that catch the morning sun.
"Calcite, as known by a rhombo hedron, squished rectangle."
Hard for the geologist to leave this place.
"I don't know if I'll ever be back."
Back on the road, "rougher than a cob."
Just before the vertical climb,
the camper slipped about 18 inches from the front of the pick-up.
All of the turnbuckles were loose!
First suggestion is not always the best.
Rather than back it into a tree, physics were utilized:
Run it over a small hill, and brake it as quickly as possible, several times.
Bend the turnbuckles back in shape through the holes of an industrial jack.
Empty the camper,
Replace the 3 remaining turnbuckles, nap and note the porta-potty top blew away.
Repack the camper, and tie the it into the pickup with the trucker's rope.
3 hours.
Crisis averted.
Fortunately there's a flatter route out (than the vertical one),
along the rims of several exquisite canyons.
Encounter a local good ole boy, who informed us about a camping spot near a spring:
Cave Canyon turned out to be a nugget,
with ample trees, song birds, campfire set up,
and multi-colored rocks that reflected the setting and rising sun,
and at midnight, the waxing moon, nearly as bright as daylight.
Though shivering, it was so enchanting, I found it hard to get back in the camper.
A day to be cherished.
jdw
4/13/11
4/14/11
Hard to leave this camping spot.
On the way out, we found a primitive and charming corral.
Snow on the Henry Mountains ("last to be discovered in the U.S.")
offer another contrast to red rock cliffs.
Then in 20 miles of sparse open range, I saw 19 cows, 2 calves,
and about a third as many vehicles.
Hanksville, Ut, population 230,
one high school for the whole county.
Scenic route, not so much.
Cliffs are battleship gray instead of red.
Desolation broken by irrigation system of the No Tom Ranch,
my yarn and reflective snow of Henry Mts., visible through the dust.
A gully full of tumble weed,
then blessed green: a juniper, pinion and Ponderosa pine forest.
Another amazing camping spot, snugged next to a corral
between the Burr Trail and a valley of subtle colors, including grasses,
which invites a photo shoot walk before supper,
and provides a vista for breakfast,
complete with several happy bird songs.
jdw
4/15/11
On the way out of camp, a meadow of purple flowers,
through an imposing pass, up 1,000 feet of switch backs,
along slanted rocks, "a monocline, folds under which there's a fault",
a photo op at every turn.
Down the Grand Staircase
into the Escalante Monument Wilderness.
No services. No collecting (water - a rare commodity in these parts).
Good thing the camper holds 22 gallons.
No gathering allowed, despite lots of shrubby trees and gnarled dead wood.
Lots of beauty.
Multi colored layers of rock cliffs with juts - "fractures in sandstone."
Further down in elevation,
each red rock in Long Canyon is a focal point my camera won't capture.
Along the narrow unnamed creek,
is a cottonwood forest bearly leafed, bones reflecting sun.
On the other side, green grassland of Boulder Ut.
with its treasure grill, everything made from scratch
and served with a smile, by Grace.
Sated, we're off across a narrow ridge with a 700 foot drop on BOTH sides.
"Beige sandstone on top, red sandstone in the inner canyons, where iron oxidized.
It doesn't take much hemtite to make it red."
Time for a nap on soft sand in shade of pinon pine,
cattle lowing, gentle breeze,
nearby junipers loaded with giant berries.
How do they do that in a draught?
Later, some would share this campsite,
but have the courtesy to disappear.
A walk down the wash,
new Scats and Tracks guide in hand, just in case.
Terry off on his bicycle.
Cat tracks! More the size of jaguar, than mountain lion,
which is sometimes found in this territory.
Colorado Chipmunk?
A skirmish! Several of them.
The sand is carpeted with tracks of so many animals who've stayed hidden.
Down to the pasture.
More cows since I left Texas.
One eyes me suspiciously, as a self appointed sentinel.
What's making that cow run?
A cyclist, gray hair flying, no helmet.
Cows scattering to their calves as he passes.
Breath in the scene, reminiscent of another prarie.
Back a different way.
Mule deer tracks.
A yodel from the summit.
Serenade
Birds of prey hunting for supper.
jdw
4/16/11
Lower Calf Creek Trail to the falls,
6.2 miles round trip, not counting explorations into side canyons,
along a riparian waterway, verdant enough to forget I'm in the desert,
despite my passing familiarity with some of the plants,
which look so healthy here.
Divine water, celebrated by young children, who's laughter is infectious.
The night's camping spot acceptable,
until an amazing gift!
Through a slot in the rocks (shaped like Southern Illinois),
an almost full moon, complete with ring,
rises and lights up the whole valley.
jdw
4/17/11
Sunday morning at Bryce Canyon.
Tall rock spires the Paiute called Legend People,
that coyote turned into rock, because they were evil.
Rock man's church.
Wide 2.9 mile trail down to Queen's Garden,
full of families in a holiday mood.
Babies in packs on daddys' backs.
Daddy's holding toddlers hands, answering myriad questions.
Older children scampering.
More Asians and French and German speakers, than English.
Castle at the garden entrance.
As if more accent were required,
Queen Victoria presiding over red rocks, tall pines, azure sky and occasional clouds,
Visitor's center is anti-climatic.
We drive in search of home for our last night and the full moon.
Per inquiry at Long Valley Junction, we're at 7,600 feet.
Too cold, especially with snow covered ground.
Hoping for wonderful, on a closed road, and thanks to Josh, we found perfect!
Across a railroad car bridge over a roiling stream, nestled between mountains,
under tall trees, a rolling green pasture, complete with corral.
Snow on north facing slopes, but warm enough for one layer.
Use up food and celebrate a trip well taken
through extrordinary beauty and small differences of opinion,
working together with humor and love.
Amen
Moon was late in rising over the East ridge.
jdw
4/18/11
Birdsong aroused us to each other.
Packed and out of camp by an albiet late sunrise.
Thank-you Carrol Ranch, one of several in the valley of the Virgin River,
also heading to Nevada
via one more national park.
Mt. Carmel Junction Golf Course seems out of place, though full of foursomes.
Hike to Pine Creek Canyon Overlook,
astounding for height of "cemented red sand dunes" and contrast with Virgin River
and it's verdant vegetation.
Disturbing to be so close on the trail to people in pain,
expressed in whining, lack of appreciation or worse:
lack of respect for the fragile beauty here.
These are English speakers, and children seem not so well loved.
jdw
4/19/11
Fortunately, there's some space for re-entry
through the Virgin River Valley and high desert with its Joshua trees,
"indicators of 5000 feet elevation."
Seems strange to be back in civilization.
I'd rather be in nature.
No doubt, it's time to simplify my complicated life
and allocate more of my resources to what's left of the earth.
Great is the challenge to love what is,
though I know that's the place to start.
How blessed I am to have taken this trip, especially with my love.
God help me share this blessing for the highest good.
jdw
Quotations are from Terry Wright, geologist.
