Three Minutes of the Condor

After leaving Zion (the day after the Angel’s Landing hike), we’ve headed over to the Grand Canyon. The Navajo Bridge over the Grand Canyon is always a good stop.

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Zion National Superhighway

Over the last couple of days you may have noticed how Ian’s footwear kept changing, and how he went barefoot on the Angel’s Landing trail.

There’s a tale to tell.

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Angel’s Landing

On our last day at Zion it took us a while to figure out what to do. I was a bit footsore from doing 8.5 miles two days previously, and 5.4 miles yesterday. Ian’s knee was acting up. Our choices were to just hang around soaking up scenery, trying the Narrows (upcanyon where the walls close in on you), or Angel’s Landing, a knife-edge mesa.

Eventually we decided we’d go for the challenging Angel’s Landing, with a nearly 1500 foot climb and a 5.4 mile round trip.

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Huber-Terrific

When I go hiking around Central Ohio, I often look for a more out-of-the-way place. Sure, I also hit the main attractions, but I also have a yen for the different.

So, here in Zion, after hitting Observation Point, we went to Huber Wash.

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The Blue Monk

So, we (my son and I) are at Zion National Park. It’s time for some serious hiking. Our plans were to do the 8-mile round trip to Observation Point. Our neighbors (next campsite over) had mentioned that much of the trail was “paved”, but what did that mean?

And would it be a problem to hike it barefoot?

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Tryin’ Zion

After we left the Colorado National Monument, we kept going west on Interstate 70. It rained the whole time. We then turned south on Interstate 15. It rained about half the way.

However, by the time we cut back to Zion National Park, it had cleared and the sun was out.

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Out and Above

Well, I’m off again on a long hiking trip. I’m out west again, and this time my son, Ian, was able to join me.

Our first stop was the Colorado National Monument.

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Light Blogging

A warning: blogging may be light for a bit. I’m heading out again (like I did last year) and I don’t know what sort of opportunities I’ll have for writing, or even if I will have internet access.

I’ve queued up a few entries to fill things a bit.

But with any luck I’ll be able to post new stuff as I go along.

So check back occasionally, or if you get my facebook feed you’ll see when it post.

 

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Sandals. Yucca.

When I was at Mesa Verde and the Aztec Ruins National Monument, I took a look around their museums.

They had displays with sandal artifacts.

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Leftovers From Out West

I have some leftover pictures and comments from my trip Out West. They didn’t quite fit into the narrative of my previous “Out West” entries, so I’ll throw them all into this entry.

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Too Too Twain

My trip is winding down. I left Bryce Canyon driving through southeast Utah, which is really desolate. Then it’s into Colorado, through Denver, and across the Plains states.

But I did have one more place I really want to stop.

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The Bryce is Right — Barefoot

After spending the night camped in Red Canyon, I headed over to Bryce Canyon.

They seem to have a shoe fetish there.

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Bridge and Dam

[Late entry today; internet was down at my house.]

After I left Desert View in the Grand Canyon, I headed north and
visited two more units of the National Park System.

Again, neither cared that I was barefooted.

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Barefoot in the Parks

I left the Grand Canyon heading east, to Desert View. This is the location where the southward-flowing Colorado River makes a right turn and heads west, towards the main Grand Canyon Village.

I made some interesting observations at Desert View regarding barefootedness in the National Parks.

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Abyss Bus Barefoot Ban

So there I was, at the end of the Hermit’s Rest bus route, and the driver, the same one who had driven me out there while I was barefoot, asked “Do you have any shoes?”

I guess I’d had a bit of warning.

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