Pre Cruise Land Adventure

Yosemite

The adventure started with a visit to Yosemite Valley. Taking in the wonder while looking for boulders for Syd to climb. This was our first experience climbing outside the gym. Soon we learned the rating systems at the gym and on the mountain are from different playbooks. A hold on granite and a hold in sandstone and one at the gym can be rated the same but way tougher. Still we found climbs we(ok…Syd) could handle. Syd had a blast. Dad needs to spend more time at the gym before our next granite climb. After a couple days playing in the 106 degree valley heat we headed up to Tenaya lake, Tuolumne meadows and Tioga pass. The vistas are unbelievable every way you turn. Begs you to slow down, lean up against a tree and just take it all in.

Now let’s go find a rock to climb.

Now let’s go checkout the wildlife…

Bodie and Mono lake

Another visit to our favorite ghost town. What a wild place in its hey day. Hard to believe how hard life was even in the boom years. $5 a day for 12 hours in hellish conditions thousands of feet underground. Only to spend most in the saloon gambling and drinking it away. The mine owner safe and sound up on Knob Hill in San Francisco. I guess things haven’t really changed that much.

After floating in Mono lake. Syd showing everyone how salty it was. Only 8hrs to the next fresh water shower.

Well the first day we took a drive all around the park stopping at every view along the route. Great way to get the lay of the land and see what area you’d like to hike. Like Zion and Yosemite I’m sorry but the photos won’t do justice to this place.

Vegas

Although we swore our last visit to Sin City was our last, we thought we’d scare Syd away with a taste of the hedonism.

Unfortunately she loved it.

No While traveling to Great Basin NP we stopped in the town of Delta pop. 3500. Other than one of the world’s most productive Berillium pit mines it is known for its proximity to Topaz relocation center. An internment camp for US citizens and immigrants of Japanese descent. This little town has a comprehensive, modern museum on Topaz. We had a great tour guide that gave a graphic look at a sad episode in our history. We pulled over to visit and happened to park in front of another great little museum next door about the history of Delta. Run by a woman born and raised in town, she was an amazing docent. She described every part of the pretty extraordinary museum in this small town, more proud of its past than just its proximity to its infamous neighbor.

Zion National Park

A little climbing, a little e-bike riding and a whole lot of gazing at vistas that photos just don’t do it justice. Yosemite, Zion and Bryce, if nothing else put this whole human experience into perspective.

The Longest Shortest road to Bryce

Cliff had heard about a backcountry road (Cottonwood Canyon Road) that followed the Paria river down from Bryce. Slot canyons, Arches, Kodachrome State Park and the solitude not found in Zion and Bryce. The road is dirt and passable in a 2wd vehicle if it’s dry. The area has been in a drought for two years so off we went. The first stop was Toadstool Hoodoos…

As we were exploring near the hoodoos we noticed storms over the Grand Canyon. We decided to get moving. Unfortunately about 12 miles along the 40 mile journey another dark cloud appeared over the ridge to our west. The lightning started and soon we found ourselves in the middle of the first flash flood in 2 years…

We made a run for high ground but the clay on the high ground turned the consistency of axle grease and we were dead in our tracks. Safe from the flood but marooned in the middle on no where with no cell reception. We resigned ourselves to sleeping in the car that night and hiking out in the morning. The rain had stopped so we waited an hour to see if things improved. Even though the ground was dry 1/2” below the surface the mud was too slippery to get any traction. As we started to get comfortable for the evening I remembered the annoying promos for satellite service on your iPhone. Well I gave it a try and it worked. 911 put me in touch with a guy she knew and 90 min later, my new best friend Nick, a mid 80’s looking gentleman with a mud tire equipped jeep. He hooked a tow rope up and pulled me along behind for a few miles through washouts ponds and washes, still running pretty well. We parted ways when we got to a stable part of the road and got to Bryce via pavement. Thanks Nick! Undaunted, we will be back after they put the road back together.

Bryce Canyon National Park

Arriving in the dark after our adventure I let the girls sleep in. We stayed at Ruby’s Inn in Bryce Ciiy right outside the park. Ruby set up the first lodge at the site of the current Bryce Canyon Lodge at the turn of the 20th century. When the National Park took over they kicked him out and he moved his operation just outside the park. He built a little empire here. I don’t think there’s one business in this town that his descendants don’t own. Rubys Inn., RV park, restaurant, general store, rock Shop, ice cream shop, stables, atv’s and a gas station. It’s as if Cracker Barrel bought a cruise ship.

Topaz

Topaz Museumhttp://topazmuseum.org

Fossil Hunting

Syd requested a stop at a fossil dig about 50 miles down the highway and then 20 miles down a dirt road. And what do you know, another thunder storm lingered on the ridge to our south. We got a little rain and with the ptsd from the last off road experience, dad was on the hot seat. We arrived at the dig unscathed but had to hide in the car while lightning struck the hills where we were planning to dig. It was way more fun than than I’d imagined. You use a rock hammer and split slabs of slate to see if any fossils lie between the layers. Every rock that’s split is a surprise. Usually nothing but rock, but then you open one and there it is, a 200 million year old creature.

Great Basin National Park

Lehman Caves

The old west

Sand Mountain State Park, Nevada