Deserts and Mountains

We have spent the past several days scooting around Utah and Arizona. And good Lord above it is hot here! Brad, Aurora and I did one of our favourite hikes a few days ago (Wed) in Utah near Moab. The name of the trail was Negro Bill Canyon. At the end of the trail was Morning Glory Bridge, the 6th largest rock bridge in the US. It is 243 foot long unsupported rock arch. Luckily, Aurora was allowed on this trail. Unlike most dog walkers on the trail we kept her on a lead given the plethora of cacti and huge poison ivy that lined the trail. This was an awesome hike. Part of the reason we loved it so much was that although it followed the creek bed, much of the trail was shaded with trees offering some much needed coverage from the sun. Along the trail were prickely pear cacti in bloom as well as many flowering plants that are foreign to us.

On Thursday we went to Mesa Verde. This is the only National Park in the US dedicated to human made structures. Mesa Verde is home to hundreds of cliff dwellings that were built and inhabited by the Anasazi people from 550AD to 1280AD. We did two ranger led hikes, one to Cliff Palace and another to Balcony House. They were awesome. In Balcony House we could explore the different rooms and see some of the tools that these people used for grinding corn. There are also reminants of painted art on the rock walls. Loved this place.

From Mesa Verde we did about 6 hours of driving into the desert. As we entered the desert the temperature began to rise and rise and rise and our A/C began to blow hot air. Peerrrrrfect. Oh, and we ran out of water.  It was a long sweaty drive for us cool-weather Canucks.  This was the first time for both of us being in a desert. Actually walking into the desert a little was like walking into a foreign exhibit. It was hard to believe that such a diversity of plants could survive and thrive in this arid climate. Very impressive. We even saw some broad leaf plants which pretty much blew my mind!


Friday we went to the Grand Canyon. We entered the park from the North Entrance and did a short hike to Bright Angel Point. Because there are very limited trails you can bring a dog on we couldn't do too much exploring. It was way too hot to even consider leaving Rora in the truck. The hike we did was pretty spectaular. You could see over 111km away! We found a nice spot to have a picnic that had a great view too. After lunch we went into the campground to shower up and do some laundry. While waiting for our laundry to dry we got talking to another young couple on a road trip. They are from Charlotte, NC. After chatting for 1/2 hour or so we decided to hang out for the night. We were all headed to Zion NP so we convoyed to some free Bearau of Land Management camping land just outside of Zion. We spent the night drinking yummy Fat Tire beer and sharing a meal of fried potatoes and baked beans. It was great to have company.

Saturday we had breakfast with our new friends and then parted ways. We spent the day in Springdale, just outside of Zion National Park. We intended to do some hiking in the park in the morning, but by 9:30am there was a line up of cars waiting to get into the park. So we did a U-turn and came back to town. Our day was spent checking out the farmers market, neat shops and wandering the streets. Around 3pm we ventured into the park and found the dog-friendly trail. It was another beauty. The far off mountains look like castles. They have so many spires and hoodoos that look like turrets from afar.


After leaving the park we drove an hour or two into Dixie National Forest. All National Forests in the States have free camping. To our delight as we drove in we saw a sign that read "Camping limted to 16 days". Ha! That'll do! So, yesterday we spent the whole day relaxing, crafting, eating and exploring the forest. The place was damn near deserted so Aurora got to explore at will around the forest. She found more owl pellets and a small deer leg (hoof still attached). We would have stayed longer but it was cold and windy. We went from 31 degrees in Springdale to 3 degrees in the forest. Despite the weather it was really nice to stay in one place for a full 24 hours.

Today we are heading to Las Vegas! Ha, probably wont be there for long but we are going to try our luck at the slots with a few spare bucks. Wish us luck!

Peas and Love