Heading north from central Arizona to the National Parks in Utah

LEAVING ARIZONA...BUT FIRST A FEW LAST SITES TO SEE........

God's Little Houses In the Desert

St. Anthony Greek Orthodox Monastery in Florence,  AZ is a beautiful place to spend an afternoon.  Visitors who arrive are offered clothing to make sure one's limbs are covered up, including a woman's head.  All 55 monks, who help with visiting retreat pilgrims, are responsible for learning Greek even though they are from Russia, Rumania, Greece and the US.  The monks also raise their own food on the property, never eat meat and worship in the several chapels on the property.

One of several large and petite chapels devoted to a number of Saints.

The smallest chapel on the property.

View from a chapel on a hill near the monastery

All of the churches are ornate with gorgeous icons hanging on the walls.

A picture tells a thousand words...because I love maps, (and I'm the chief navigator) this is our itinerary for the next part of our trip which includes the Big 5 National Parks in Utah.

Map of our tour of the 4 corners

Leaving our summer camp rv resort in Casa Grande the 3rd week of March, our first stop was Camp Verde, AZ (#1).  We took the opportunity to revisit the red rock and hiking capital, Sedona.  This was a destination for us two years ago and returning was always anticipated. The eclectic hill top town of Jerome, organic restaurants of Sedona, and vortex mountain tops are big draws.  From this point until mid April, there are spring break vacationers everywhere which was something we should have considered.

MONTEZUMA CASTLE IN CAMP VERDE, AZ  (#1 on the map)

Wherever there are cliffs, ancient people built into them in the southwest.  However, the scenario is the same..800 years ago, the dwellings were abandoned in the southwest for undefined reasons. Some theories are climate and or social upheaval, but to happen at the same time in many different locations is really interesting.

Montezuma Castle could be improved with a park interpreter.  It was interesting to see but not up to the National Park standards we are accustomed to.

Just a side note, there is a difference between a National Monument and a Park.  A Monument tends to be small, with a emphasis on history or culture and is declared by the President and a Park is established by Congress.

SEDONA, AZ  (20 miles from #1)

The small resort town is full of art, red rocks, quaint restaurants, hiking trail heads everywhere, and busy roads with spring breakers.  We were here for a week 2 years ago in November.  That was definitely a better time to visit the area.

Our camera will never convey the scenery in Sedona or any place in the southwest, because it  surrounds you.  That is the astonishing part.

After a warm day of hiking, we will need an electric blanket at night.

PAGE, AZ and LAKE POWELL (#2 on the map)

We thought we would check out Lake Powell because I heard of the endless house boat trips people take.  What was found was a huge canyon which starts the Grand Canyon.  Bus loads of people take the short hike to the edge of this cliff called Horseshoe Bend.  It is a very scary experience especially on a windy day, but yet adults and children hop around so close to the edge for a look.

A part of Horseshoe Bend leading to the Grand Canyon.

 The rim of Horseshoe Bend, one of the most photographed views is Arizona, however you can see the potential risk at the edge.

Lake Powell is very large with many bends in the various tributaries which feed into it, however the Lake is 108 feet down because Las Vegas is a growing area.

That isn't snow, but canyon walls along Lake Powell.   We did however, experience snow showers the next day.

The stuff in the Lake is a marina full of house boats as large as cottages waiting for their owners.  But what a view.

Page, AZ, for a small town, is full of hotels catering to visitors looking for water sports and rural back country tours.  Without an ATV or boat, fun is elusive for land lubbers who did not bring their toys.  At the time we visited, boat tours were limited. We stayed right on the Lake in the National Park.


ZION NATIONAL PARK not necessarily a family friendly park experience (#3 on the map)

Zion is the park with massive elevated rock formations and deep canyons.  The sites are beautiful, the hiking is famous and an immense draw for families and thrill seekers.  We visited for many days, we were glad we saw it, but a return trip is unlikely.  The reasons are many.
 Denny is perched on a ledge and see how this designated hike shows a deadly drop off!  Nearly all the hikes have areas like this and several are full of these dangerous  areas.  Reports of people falling and rarely surviving  are all over the internet.  Toddlers are carried and young children bounce along these precarious paths.

ZION is ruled by the Virgin River.  When it floods, change happens and you better not be in the path,

The hikes are rated and even the easy category can have dangerous areas especially when crowded with people.  This picture shows a major drop-off and we turned around.

Canyon floors are beautiful and dramatic as long as rain is not forecasted for any area which feed the Virgin River in  Zion.

The canyons are very deep carved out by water power.

Checkerboard Mountain is east of the more popular areas of the park. It is influenced more by wind.  The hiking is more at the ground level and perhaps a little safer.  Denny could only safely climb a short distance up but does give the mountain's  height some perspective.

The canyon of the Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was named by Mormon settlers.

My advice is to stay well outside of the very pricey Zion entrance, and drive to the park.  We settled on Hurricane (25 min. drive); it offered nice restaurants, grocery stores and reasonably priced, very nice RV parks and hotels.


BRYCE CANYON NATIONAL PARK (#4 on the map)

As you can see from the map, Utah's Big 5 are all in southern Utah but each offers a different landscape.  A large area of Utah and Colorado were lifted up millions of year ago only to be carved and shaped differently because of the rocks and minerals in each locale.

Bryce is fairly small and the popular areas for viewing and hiking are situated around the rim of the Amphitheater.  You can see people hiking to the canyon floor.

You can hike the rim of the canyon or decent into the base for more spectacular beauty.

These structures are hoodoos made of relatively softer rock carved by rain.

The hoodoo sides appear crumbly, but are strong enough to tolerate weather conditions.

The protective cap of the hoodoo insures the structure.  When it gives way, the stone underneath disintegrates. 

In the late 1800's, Mr. Bryce started his homestead farm just outside the canyon.  When asked what he thought about the fascinating rock formations near him, he said "It's a heck of a place to lose a cow."

Bryce is an easy park to visit with a camper or hotel reservation.  It is also accessible on a bike path (5 miles in length) which leads to every viewing area and trail head around the Amphitheater without the hassle of finding a parking place.  A shuttle service runs in the summer.
The Bryce Lodge looks very attractive with small cabins adjacent to it.  I inquired about the prices and at this time of the year,  $190 to $250 per night.  It did appear that major renovations were made to the park and the upgrades are beautiful.

Lounging at the Lodge

 The hiking is much safer here and is generally less crowded than Zion.  The altitudes and hiking grades are still challenging, but not dangerous.  You can always just take a horse to give your feet a rest.

HEADING TO THE NEXT PARK..

The trip to Capitol Reef along Scenic Highway 12 was remote, stunning and a white knuckle adventure for the driver.  Only about 2 or 3 hours separate each of the Big 5 National Parks in Utah, but such diverse landscape and temperature changes were unexpected.


CAPITOL REEF NATIONAL PARK, TORREY, UT (#5 ON THE MAP)

One road traverses the Park.

This is a beautiful road now, but has only been this way since 1964.  Until then, the main road actually ran through a canyon used by wagon trains and Model Ts alike connecting the world with the little, 10 family town of Fruita, AZ.

This was the old road, but now it is a trail.  We noticed metal rods protruding out of the rock walls.  Thinking that they measured any rock movement was incorrect.  The town of Fruita, attempting to establish stable communications with the outside world, inserted rods into the rock and attached telephone lines. Unfortunately they never worked well. Watch out for rainstorms however.

Metal rods have no use now

The beautiful floor, outside logs and foundation are original, but the heating system was in a corner.

Park volunteers give lectures inside about life in Fruita, Utah.

The small gathering of Mormons in 1880 settled in a valley, started orchards and eventually called the town Fruita.  The one room school house is one of the few remaining original structures and was used until 1941.

The orchards are now tended by the Park Service and the entire community turns out for picking time.  

I told Denny the cinnamon roll did not come from these trees, but he ordered it anyway.  

The Park Service does a wonderful business selling small pies and jams from a local bakery who uses the fruit from Fruita, in the only home still standing.  The Park has an orchardist who is caring for and expanding the tree farms.

The views never end and each hike is so different.

The canyon sides are stunning.

This Park does not offer shuttle transportation, (like the previous Parks) so driving is the only way to visit the various trail heads for hiking.  You can bike but at 6900 foot elevation, that would have been a challenge for us.

We cut this challenge hike short because those clouds turned into circling rain clouds and the hike seemed to be a never ending ascension.

Capitol Reef, where there is a picture around every bend in the road

On to #6 and #7...Canyonlands and Arches!