We Are Still Alive Out Here. I have pictures to prove it.

Hi all... sorry I have been absent from posting pics and stories for a stretch here. We have been so busy hiking and doing stuff and then I am so tired at night I just have not had the gumption to write a post.

Here is a quick run down of where we have been... we left Monument Valley and went up for a two nighter in Kanab, UT. Not much to say about Kanab.... it's a weird little place. If you ever happen through there eat at the Rewind Diner. It's legit. The surrounding landscape is really pretty it's just a real simple, small town. After Kanab we drove the short distance up in to Zion National Park. Now THAT is a place you have got to see. It's amazing. We spent five days there. Rudy stayed at a place called "The Doggie Dude Ranch" over the weekend so we could get some real long hikes in (no dogs allowed in the park or on the trails.) My only complaint about our time in Utah so far is this... CAN SOMEONE PLEASE TURN OFF THE HEAT???? And by SOMEONE I think we all know who I mean....


Good grief, people. How can you even live here? It's like some kind of human torture device this place called UTAH. 100 degrees every ding dong day. I am starting to freak out for a day that stays below 95. Anyway... we stopped off at a state park called Coral Pink Sand Dunes and that was supah dupah cool. Here are some pics from the walk we took....







It had just been raining so I think the dunes are a bit darker in hue than they would normally be. But what a cool place, no? It was fun. Rudy had a blast running loose and digging in the sand to his heart's content.

Here are a million (or so) shots from Zion. And NO... I am not sporting a record breaking sunburn. It just looks like it in every single picture because of the reflection off the red rocks.







This next series is from an ASS WHIPPING hike we did up to Observation Point. It was one of the best hikes we have ever accomplished but people... if you are gonna do it wait til a day that is not 98 degrees. It's 8 miles round trip with a 2100 foot gain in elevation via 4 solid miles of switch backs. Bleh. But the views are ever changing and mind blowing the entire way.

Nothing is more reassuring than huge rocks having fallen right down on the trail.


Look closely and you will see the zig zag of the trail cut through the scene... this is only a small portion of the lower trail taken on max zoom on my camera from the top.


Lower trail view...


These pics are going to be totally out of order here but I am too lazy to fix it so... This is a view from up top on the plateau approaching the look out point.


This is the inner canyon portion of the trail, getting higher up...


And this is the inner canyon... not visible unless you come up about 2 miles on this particular trail...


There I go disappearing around a corner...


Cool trees in an inner hanging canyon...


Almost to the top! The sky was beautiful really adding to the scene...


Billy at the point where you can go no further unless you fling your junk off the cliff.


The western rim above the Virgin River...


And me at the end of the line... whew! Not too shabby of a view. It was worth it.


Another neat thing that happened was that we both ran out of water up on top of the plateau with a 4 mile hike in full mid day sun left ahead of us to get back down. 98 degrees... no water, 4 miles of trail sloping down before you. Good times! That is something I never hope to experience again. By the time we hit the bottom I was like a zombie who just wanted water instead of the more traditional refreshment, brains. It wasn't pretty. We got on the shuttle bus (the only way to get around this part of the park) and seriously... every fool on that bus had a big, full, icy cold bottle of water. It was torture. It's the closest I have ever come to attacking a total stranger and stealing from them. I wanted their water but we had to wait on a steamy, hot, stinky bus, through 4 stops until we hit the visitor center. The water I drank there was the best I have ever had in my whole life. End of story.

One last tid bit. Zion is hoppin' with some creepy crawlies come sun down. On our last night without Rudy we strapped on our head lamps and set out to see what we could see. We were not let down. Here are the people we saw along the way... and a few groovy night exposure shots of the Watchman area of the park.










OK! That's a crapload of pictures eh??! Holy mackerel. Hope you enjoyed it. We have a two night trip across northern Nevada and then we will be in California which is where we will be for quite awhile. At least through the winter anyway. I will post again once we get settled in there. Adios.