Back to the Wash to Wash My Spirit Clean

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“Keep close to Nature’s heart… and break clear away once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.” ~ John Muir

When I asked Mark and Bobbie for recommendations on Valley of Fire hikes, both stressed emphatically, “You’ve got to hike the wash!”   Of course, this means an unofficial, unmarked, unmaintained trail, which makes me a bit uneasy as a solo hiker, not having done much exploring of unofficial trails.  But the great thing about hiking a wash is that the trail has been marked by nature.  Just follow the gully, and you can’t go wrong.  Continue reading →

Happy in the Jardin

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From Thanksgiving amidst the red rocks of the great Southwest to the Jardin at midnight in San Miguel de Allende in one blog post, I have some ‘splainin’ to do.   One of my intentions after retiring was to finally get the blog into “real time,” and we see how that has gone.  I can’t seem to get caught up, no matter how hard I try.  Do I dare make this a resolution? Continue reading →

Fare Thee Well, Dear Zion…

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I am the last of “the Red Rocks Gang” to leave Zion.  Like the last leaf dangling precariously from the bare bones limbs of the cottonwoods long after they have dropped their brilliant golden color for the season, I am reluctant to let go.

Each goodbye has taken a piece of me.  It is like pulling the bandaid off one hair at a time.  But none stung as badly as the “final goodbye” because it signifies Continue reading →

Where All But Angels Fear to Tread

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It’s my last day in Zion National Park, and I still haven’t done the one hike I came to do.  I had my sights set on the Angel’s Landing hike since last August, when I made plans to join the Red Rocks Gang in Southern Utah.   But I psyched myself out that I “wasn’t ready.”   For one reason or another, I haven’t been in the right frame of mind to attempt this hike since I arrived.   Conditions need be just right….weather that is cool but not rainy, a mid-week day with light crowds, and an opening when the rest of the gang is taking a day off or riding their mountain bikes, so I won’t miss out on a hike with the gang to a destination I have not yet seen.    But once I realize time is running out, it’s already too late… Continue reading →

Realities and Reflections…

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It was with an extreme mixture of emotions that I checked Dad out of the rehab center this past week.  He seemed to be doing so well mentally, but limited exercise was rapidly becoming a pitfall.  Although he had both a Physical Therapist and an Occupational Therapist, neither seemed to be working him to the extent he worked himself, just the weeks leading up to his pneumonia.   And no therapy on the weekends made me feel like we were losing ground. Continue reading →

Don’t Sleep in the Subway, Darlin’

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Zion has three extremely popular, highly sought out hikes in the park.   The Trifecta includes The Narrows, wading up the Virgin River between 1,000 ft walls, Angel’s Landing, climbing a sliver of a 1,500 ft high backbone, and The Subway.   Of these three, only the Subway requires a permit from the Zion Wilderness Center to enter.    They only allow 80 hikers into this area on any given day, sometimes requiring a lottery to manage the demand.  This hike is, according to NPS, “a strenuous 9-mile round-trip that requires route finding, creek crossing, and scrambling over boulders.”  No joke. Continue reading →

I’ve Been Through the Canyon on a Trail With No Name

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Zion National Park is “the gift that keeps on giving.”  Although there are so many notorious destination hikes, such as the Narrows and Angel’s Landing, it seems as if one could drop down into any canyon in the park and find equally stunning scenery.  Maybe not the adrenalin rush of guide rails of chains or special water boots required, but no less of a feast for the eyes. Continue reading →

Real Time Bytes

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I am typically running behind on blog posts. I find it challenging to be a “real time blogger.” Like many areas of my life, I tend to procrastinate. Just like one of my favorite Joni Mitchell songs, “I’m always running behind the time…just like this train.  Shakin’ into town with the brakes complaining.” 

It’s even tougher to stay current when hiking with the Red Rocks Gang.    Although I often “journal” a post in a timely manner, it takes me several days to do the photo downloading and selection.   So when in a place like Zion where every single day offers a hike worthy of its own blog post, it’s really easy to fall behind in a hurry.

But not this blog post.  It is coming to you “real time” Continue reading →

Seniors Love to Play the Slots

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I will endure a lot to get to play in a slot canyon.   Slots have to be my “lighthouses” of the Southwest, as I feel drawn to visit every one on the map.   So when the email comes with the promise of a slot canyon, it is an exciting day!  Plus we would be taking a road trip down toward Kanab, Utah to visit the Peek-a-Boo slot canyon.  I love to ride in the car when someone else is driving!   As long as that car stays reasonably level with all four wheels on the ground, that is.  Continue reading →