October 4, 2006

We had finished a hike thru Wire Pass to the junction with Buckskin Gulch and had a couple of hours left before sunset.  We stopped at the BLM Paria contact station to see what recommendations they had.  They suggested we check out the toadstools just up the road.  So there we were pulled over at the junction of Cottonwood Canyon Road and Route 89 debating taking a drive on Cottonwood vs. the toadstools; the drive was on our to do list, the toadstools were not, and we weren't sure how interesting they sounded anyway.  Up pulls a BLM pickup with a beautiful young lady behind the wheel who asks if we need help.  Yikes!  Two guys from Pennsylvania in the dusty Utah desert for a week, fumbling around trying to decide what to do, and here she comes to our rescue?  Just like in the movies.

Well, we end up hanging out with her for about a half hour, and it turns out Megan really knows the area and she says we will not be disappointed with the toadstools.  Barry, ever the ham, asks for a picture.

Funny side note - a full year later we head to Utah again and stop in the visitor center just outside Kanab and who do we see but Megan.  We - all three of us - do a double take, like hey, I know you - Megan?  Yeah, aren't you the 2 guys from Pennsylvania?  From now on, it will be a disappointment if we do not see her during every visit.

Now, on to the toadstools.  It's about a 30 minute walk to reach them.  Pretty mundane scenery along the way, but when you finally get there - geez, is this Mars?  The moon?   Just insane rock formations.  Here's pretty much the first view you get - not quite there yet, but starting to see what's to come.

It's as if every rock was delicately placed and feature of the land was painstakingly painted by hand.

This shot shows the distinct colors of the rock layers.  You can see how the rock has eroded over time to create this crazy place.  Dark brown at the very top, white next, then orange.

As you can see, some rocks are enormous - wonder how long before this guy falls.

A true random scattering of rocks of all sizes and shapes.

Most people just get to this main area and look around, then leave.  But if you go to your left you find more interesting formations around the corner.

Cool colors

Nice rock pile

The surrounding landscape is also quite awesome!

I just love the colors in this area.  After a while you realize how long the erosion process must have taken and the different density of the rock layers.

Well, curiosity got the better of me and I had to see if these delicately balanced rocks were fused tight to each other or not.  I would think they would be but it turns out they are not.  I moved exactly one rock, this rock, just a little.  Any guess what's hiding underneath?

A black and white bat!  I thought they always hung upside down.  I gently put the rock back and touched no more.

June 4, 2008

Arrived at Bryce Canyon the night before, got a good night's sleep and now ready to tackle the Fairyland Loop.  The weather was very iffy, 70% chance of rain, temps in the 50's.  But having driven from Pennsylvania for a week in Utah, we were not about to give up easily.  Jim and I had done the Fairyland Loop once before and had a great day.  We start this hike by doing the rim portion first, mainly because the scenery is not nearly as good as the rest of the trail.  The first 2 miles are cold and dreary, gray, threatening skies, hardly another soul to be found.  Every five minutes I'm thinking I should stop and put on my long pants, no signs of the weather improving.  This picture shows the kind of skies that would follow us a good part of the day.

We run into a couple from England on their honeymoon and chat for a few minutes.  They are heading back due to weather concerns.  We move on.  What can you say about this place.  The rock formations are other-worldly and unlike any others you'll find.

About an hour into the hike our luck starts to change.  The weather is improving, the clouds disapper and the sun is out!  The sky turns to that wonderful, clear, deep Utah blue.

For the next three hours we had plenty of sunny skies with just enough harmless clouds to add to the magical sights.  The earlier weather chased away the crowds and we pretty much had the trail all to ourselves, maybe saw 5 other people the rest of the way. 

It's days like these that the real benefits of travel, vacations, hiking, the outdoors become so obvious.    We were having a blast, getting tons of great pictures, meandering along at a leisurely pace with not a care in the world.  It may have been the most relaxing day of my life, no worries, nothing on my mind.  It gave me some new found appreciation for this park.  While it is no doubt a world class place, and while there is nothing like the first time you see these rocks, it was not high on my list of places to return to.  We just luckily caught it at a great time, where everything seemed to come together perfectly - weather, mood, company, itinerary.

This place is just so photogenic...

The color of the rocks...

The hoodoos...

Those mind-boggling trees - how do they survive...

I've always loved the relative openess of the park's features, spaced out so nicely, not at all crowded...

The contrast between green and orange...

It's now about mid afternoon and we hit the last part of the hike, 1.5 miles all uphill.  And the sun is gone and the clouds are back.  We're climbing at a steady pace and round a corner to see really dark clouds coming over the horizon just ahead of us. 

Our pace quickens.  Around another corner and now the wind picks up.  Our pace quickens some more.  Now the wind is really blowing.  Rain starts to fall.  The temperature had to drop 15-20 degrees in 10 minutes.  Stop to put on some gear - at least try to put on some gear, but the wind is too strong.  The little, tiny, erosion-generated pebbles that constantly break off and shape this place into the spectacular amphiteater that it is are now flying thru the air and hitting us like little darts.  I retreat behind a wall to finally get on some rain gear and resume the climb.  We are now moving as fast as we can without breaking into a jog.  The weather worsens with every step.  Uphill, hood on, head down, leaning into the wind, quads burning, heart pumping - no problem as long as the lightning stays away.

We finally reach top and get to the car just as the rain picks up.  Just another lesson to always be prepared for anything in these environments.  It can change so quickly.  I never mind the weather as long as I have the proper gear, and sometimes you get to see the parks at their most powerful, magnificent selves.  Today was just interesting timing.  We cancel the room we had and head to Zion for the night.  The temps are in the 50's when we get there, probably doesn't happen very often in Zion in June.  We find out the next day the were several inches of snow that night at Bryce. 

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