Monthly Archives: August 2016

Mt. Rainier…

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I originally hadn’t planned to visit Mt. Rainier National Park – but ended up with some time and a student who told me that it was one of her favorite parts of a previous trip she and her family went on (thanks, Emma!). Visible from Seattle, Mt. Rainier is just stunning as you get closer and closer. And then you get to the Visitor Center (the nicest Visitor Center of the Parks I visited, by the way), and it is just all right there in front of you – and it’s just amazing.

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Um, yeah, so there’s no need to even try to describe that…

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The contrast of that deep, deep green with the white of the snow on the mountain along with that sky was one of my favorite parts of Mt. Rainier National Park.

Zion National Park…

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Zion National Park toward the Southwest corner of Utah and it’s a pretty easy drive from the Grand Canyon. Personally, it far surpassed my experience at the Grand Canyon – and that’s saying a TON. I was thoroughly impressed with everything about Zion – the hike I did to the Upper Emerald Pool was tough but provided incredible views, the shuttle service was fantastic and efficient, the Rangers I encountered were truly helpful and the sights were just out of this world. Much like the Grand Canyon, everything just seems to be so layered – but in a vertical fashion. I’m definitely looking forward to getting back to Zion – especially so that I can do the Zion Narrows Hike – I’m definitely disappointed that I didn’t do this from the start…

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The mixture of the rich, deep reds and the strong whites, along with the greens that could be found all over made for a very interesting mix throughout the Park.

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I’m not sure why, exactly, but I was just captivated by the Court of the Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob from left to right). Perhaps it was just the detail in each and the varying colors? I’m not really sure, but I plan to be back again to investigate further…

The Grand Canyon…

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The Grand Canyon was the first “big” National Park I had the chance to visit and I certainly was not disappointed. While it was hot and it rained – and I mean it rained – while I was there, I still had a great time walking along the South Rim of the Canyon.

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jclroadtripgcsunset0596The first spot that I stopped at after entering the Grand Canyon was the Desert View Watchtower – what a great way to get introduced to this Park. The structure itself is something else, but the views give you an idea of what’s to come. (The first pic is of the Watchtower itself, the second is from the top of the Watchtower and the third is from closer to sunset and was taken from Navajo Point).

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Everything you see in the Grand Canyon is just layered upon layered and one of the things I enjoyed the most is that nothing looks the same.

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I can’t say as I’ve ever seen myself as being afraid of heights, but I was absolutely hesitant to get too close to the edge of the Rim. Some people, however, didn’t have this same issue…

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Another one of my favorite parts of visiting the Grand Canyon was to see the effect that light had on the structures and their layers. As can be seen in the pic above and the photos below, a setting sun can really have a brilliant effect on it all…

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And then there was this little guy, who wasn’t affected by anything whatsoever…

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Mexican Hat Rock…

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For the life of me I can’t remember whether Mexican Hat Rock came between the Valley of the Gods and Monument Valley or after Monument Valley (so if anybody checking this out can help me out, it’d be greatly appreciated, and if it helps, I was traveling West through Utah at this point) – but that really doesn’t matter, this formation is great no matter where exactly it is… jclroadtrip-349

This was the first time that I saw a formation that I remember saying to myself How in the world is that thing standing and not falling over??? It was easily viewable and accessible from the main highway and I’m still amazed by the thing!

Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument…

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A longtime friend of mine told me that I absolutely had to stop to hike at Tent Rocks before getting to Santa Fe, New Mexico, and thankfully she knew about this spot, because I absolutely loved it. I had never been through a slot canyon before, and it was a ton of fun (the hike kicked my buttisimo, but it was still a ton of fun!)

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The contrast of the white rock with the bluest of skies is just magical.

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I had never had the opportunity to hike through a slot canyon before and I can’t even begin to explain how much I enjoyed this!

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Eventually, and I mean eventually, I got to the top of that…

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I loved this tree that almost felt like the start/finish line to the hike – and seeing lizards running around definitely took me back to my childhood of running around trying to catch them, like Rocky trying to catch that dang chicken…

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I’ve always loved the Smokey the Bear campaign and loved seeing these in some of the parks I visited. Not all were like this one, but many were – definitely cool to see.