11/27 Sedona

I've struggled with Sedona a bit, mostly around access. There are so many limitations, no parking, no dogs, no, no no.

I think that there are a lot of folks who spend a lot on property in the red rock country- which is stunningly beautiful, and are working hard to keep people out of their backyard.

Finding somewhere to fill water tanks- not here.

How about empty the grey water? Nope

How about some cool wild forest camping- nope- only in designated spots, and there are just a few- over crowded spots. People staking claim to a spot with tents made it feel even more restricted.

It all takes the fun out of the place.

The trailheads are packed by 8:30 and there are cars lining the road nearby. How can that be? There are tons of trails! Are they really all like this? The hikers seem to have a different mindset, like it's 100 percent about the Instagram photo rather than the experience of seeing a place. The community seems to have a different mindset. We were hiking in the "wilderness" with golf courses and condos built right up to the fence line, and the noise of the maintenance machines was constant for hours. It's like there's no regard for the incredible scenery aside from having the prized property at its doorstep.

So, it's beautiful, but really a poor experience.

That said, here are some photos from our beautiful hike in Boynton canyon. We were just going to the canyon when we met someone that was going to the Subway, to get "the photo" of the Subway cave, ok, let's check that out. It was an amazing place, up on a cliff face where ancient peoples had shelters above the valley floor. What they were interested was next to that, and a cool photo- but that was all they had eyes for, not the ancients.

Weird

We retreated to the dispersed site closer to Flagstaff, and it was refreshing to have some space again.

I wonder if there are some dogs down there!?

There’s a cool pertoglyph behind Susan, maybe a spiral, maybe a turtle?

11/24 Grand Canyon

Yesterday we explored Lees Ferry on the way to the Grand Canyon area. That's where the rafting trips put in the Colorado river. Lee is a historic figure that owned and operated a ferry at this part of the Colorado. Like so many, the story is about the hardship and ultimate bust of a business. It's very interesting how many ventures were iconic to an area, but for a very short time period. (thinking of the Bodie mining claim, Borax works and this area of the Colorado river).

We got up early to enjoy the (freezing wind) sunrise overlooking the Grand Canyon. It's an inspiring scene, and starting so early there were very few people- until later :) Enjoyed a late breakfast skillet at the Bright Angel lodge and the artist studios that were nearby.

Topped off the day with a hike to Red Mountain, so Ginger could hike with us- she managed to climb a six foot ladder with 2x4 rungs without a second thought. On the way down, I held her harness, but she found it just as easy as going up- crazy dog.

The Colorado River below Desert View, Grand Canyon National Park

Susan and Ginger exploring erosion patterns on the Red Mountain hike

would you rather watch that sunset, or play with me?

Just Magical! looks like dinner will be late again.

Red Canyon Utah, 11/22

Wow! This felt like a hidden gem of a park!. The campground was closed, but that would be an ideal place to explore. The park is just outside of Bryce canyon, but is much smaller, bit in our half day hiking there, we saw 2 people with 2 dogs.

Our trail was a combination of the Golden wall trail and the Buckhorn trail, and hair raising overlook. Just under five miles, but a lot of up and down through the red rock hoodoos, and forest. Just magical! The best part is that dogs are allowed, which we find fantastic.

Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah 11/20

Ginger is taking a break, as we are in the National Park, and her movements are restricted, I don't think she minds much. There are more people here to dote over her in the campground and places she can go to.

Tomorrow though, we'll hike the Red Canyon, just outside the park. She will love that.

Bryce Canyon is amazing, but they made some technical mistakes that are persistent. There is no canyon, rather an amphitheater of incredible, superfabulous hoodoos. There is a Natural Bridge overlook that is technically an arch. So, let's petition for a name change and some updates…. Nah. The marketing department wouldn't be interested in that.

Cool temperatures- like a low of 23, and a high of 42, allow us to neglect Ginger with abandon, and go hike the fabulous trails.

We will explore Red Canyon today, 11/22, which is just outside the NP, so Ginger will be able to join us for a walk- no more resting for her!

Also there are some trails there that are MTB friendly, so maybe I'll get in a bike ride as well?

Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada 11/17

When I made reservations at the Valley of Fire State Park, I got so annoyed that I trimmed our stay from 3 days to 2. Welp, that was likely a bad choice, but we had a great time exploring this park while we were here.

The annoyance was largely that it felt that they kept adding on fees and charges for things that weren't optional. I first read that the camp sites are $10- great!, but there's the day use fees- per person, there's the out of state person surcharge, there's the taxes applied to the bill, So the $30 for 3 days turned out to be $85.

But we lucked into the most amazing, fantastic campsite! It was in its own little red rock amphitheater, with amazing formations, sunshine, shade structure with picnic table, water and trash cans. The neighbor said that we'd hear/see bighorn sheep in the evening and maybe a desert fox - right! What?!?! For real! The big horn are smart enough to turn on the water spigot, but not turn it off.

There's no describing the excitement of exploring the nooks and crannies of the sandstone erosion, only to find petroglyphs carved nearby.