zion

zion national park is spectacular.  its canyons are colorful and lush. the virgin river, which runs through the park and carved the canyons over thousands of years, is iridescent and gentle.  the tiny town outside zion's southern gate, springdale, is cute and quaint. we had great experiences in our two days at the park: driving in on route 9, exploring the bottom of the canyon and river, and ending our time at the park with a white-knuckle hike called angels landing.

the drive into the park from the east on route 9, even after the crazy drive we had through colorado and utah, was special.  all of zion evokes a john williams' score, but the drive in feels like entering jurassic park for the first time.  one of zion's iconic sites, the checkerboard mesa, is on the ride in. our pic is above.  also on the ride in is a drive through the mile-long zion-mt. carmel tunnel through the sandstone mesa built in the 1930s - a very cool experience.

on our first day we explored the zion human history museum, a good extension to the visitors center, and the canyons from the bottom, hiking along the virgin river for a couple miles.  first thing  monday morning we hiked angels landing - a steep (nearly 1500 ft ascent) and narrow hike up the side of one mesa and then out to the edge.  the last half mile is very narrow and rocky.  chains through the middle of the path help keep hikers on the path.  it was a bit nerve racking, as several hikers have died on the trail in the last five years, but the views were amazing.

zion was a special place - an incredible experience for whitney and me.

  

Routes 12 and 89

we took routes 12 and 89 southwest from just inside utah's eastern border through capitol reef national park, escalante petrified forest, red canyon, dixie national forest, bryce canyon national park, and to the door of zion. It's an incredible drive – otherworldly, incredible canyon walls and peaks on all sides, fantastic colors.  whit and i spent the whole route exchanging, “wow, look at this.” a few shots, which don't begin to capture the scale, are below.

Curiosity at work

Steve mentioned in a previous post the great hospitality that his cousins, Tony and Lydia, showed us  during our stay in Colorado. Our two nights at their home on the outskirts of Boulder were a perfect start to our journey. Their balanced, honest approach to living and building a home is a model for us to draw inspiration from as we start our own lives together.

We admired right away that though both have engaging careers, they also have hobbies that push them to try and learn new things. Lydia is a gifted artist worthy of her own gallery space. She has a studio space off the living room, and many of her watercolors displayed throughout the house are gorgeous renderings of images has collected from her travels.

We loved the tour Tony gave us of the work spaces he has created for his many hobbies. He has a shop that he uses to restore antique cars and tractors. He used the old Chevy below on his birthday to load and haul three massive loads of wood to dry for winter.

He built a chicken coop he and Lydia use to raise hens that produce the most colorful and delicious eggs I've had.

He uses an old tractor he found on Craigslist and restored to plow a plot of land and grow an assortment of vegetables, including tomatoes, lettuce, spinach, garlic, beets, and potatoes. Yield from this crop is used to make homemade canned spaghetti sauces and tomatillo salsa. They have also planted a veritable orchard to boot with peach, apple, and now currant trees that all bear fruit or soon will.

And when we thought they couldn't get any cooler, they did. They're beekeepers, too, raising boxes of bees they use to make their own honey.

All of these major "side-projects" are manifestations of their curiosity at work. When we asked Tony how they learned how to do all of these fascinating things, he said he learned it all from reading books.

Thanks again for sharing your home with us, Tony and Lydia. Steve and I have lots of reading to do!

boulder --> boulder

tony made some great omelets for breakfast, we packed up and hit the road today for boulder, utah. It's 8ish hours from boulder, co and tony had a great recommendation on a place to stay. the journey has been so scenic. the contrast with the plains is stunning. we're about to cross into utah heading west on i-70. the transition from mountains to mesas is amazing.

palisade, colorado is an interesting place. it's a little wine and peach village on the colorado river maybe 30 min east of grand junction. we drove by and had no idea what we were seeing. a little internet research – 182 day growing season, 78% sunshine, its the peach capital of colorado. there were also a number of wineries.

we've had our first injury of the trip. whitney slammed her right thumb in the door when we stopped for gas. it has put a damper on her day. our moms both had the same nursing advice and we are going to work on it tonight. thanks, moms!