Feb 1-3, 2011 Sedona, AZ

cholla and prickely pear cacti

We rolled into Sedona, AZ feeling pretty good about the Loaf, cruising along at 20 mpg (that’s VW fuel efficiency).  Sedona is beautiful, surrounded with red rocks in Arizona, north of Phoenix. Sonia was here about 13 years ago (she’s getting old) when on clinical in Tucson and wanted to explore the region a bit more.

We followed the trend of educating ourselves and obtaining the necessary regional and topo maps of the area at a local Sedona Visitor Center (we missed the Ranger station up the road...we should’ve just made a U-Turn, stay tuned to find out why). We walk in, take a look around and don’t see anything, so we ask for maps. The young man behind the counter says “well, ya gotta ask so we can talk to you and promote Jeep Tours and our vacation properties.” Right then and there, we should’ve turned around and walked out, but Jason wanted maps…So the guy tells us some mildly helpful information about mountain biking and hiking trails and lays a whole lot more promotional sales crap on us—should’ve made the U-Turn. 

Turns out, the guy gets commission on roping people into Vacation Rental Property Orientation with the hopes of becoming a sucker and buying in.  Jason proceeds to voice his opinion about “vacation rentals”  meanwhile, Sonia is nudging and kicking him to shut up…We graciously decline his offers of $84.95 + taxes for 2 nights in a studio apt or $116 + taxes for a 1 bedroom apt. Being a typical salesman, he can  always wheel and deal…”What if I can get you into the studio for $75?”. Sonia, with her spicy ways, replies, “we’ll take it for $72.50”. What’s $2.50…we agreed on $75, no taxes and no other “fees”.  Sweet---now we got a warm place to stay for the next  2 nights-- Temps are supposed to drop into the 20s and teens….brrr.  Wait, what’s the catch???  Now we have to be at this orientation from 3-5 pm.  That’s 2 hours we could be doing plenty of other things…but we have to sell our souls to have a proper roof over our heads for the next 2 nights. We have enough time to make a couple of bagel sandwiches, stop in a local bike shop for some trail info and a coffee.  We make it to our “meeting” right on time, just like Sonia’s Dad taught her.  We made a pact to “just say no”….as we walk in. 

We were greeted by a rather large, round gentleman named Mark. He was pleasant enough despite not feeling well.  He made a good salesman-style effort to get to know and befriend us.  We began our “orientation”….We sat and listened dutifully.  Then it was time to show us a villa. This large, round fella made it down 2 flights of stairs with the help of 2 handrails and gravity…and was still out of breath.  His gait analysis was rather poor—posteriorly tilted pelvis, externally rotated lower extremities, and no hip extension…more of a waddle then a walk. We certainly won’t be walking to see our villa…and were treated to a golf cart ride. Fearing we may not make it up the hill or worse come careening down the hill with all that extra front end weight,  we prepared ourselves in case we have to bail out!! Rest assured, we made it safely back to the headquarters so we can hear more of the sales pitch.

 Diamond Resorts International  offers global vacation rental properties for a mere $$$$$$ ....and like a proper salesman, when we declined the initial offer, there was the Manager who could make it “more affordable because we really would like to see a nice, young couple like you, Jason and Sonia, to take advantage of our offers and blah, blah, blah…” He was a guy who once worked as a Forester with Boise Cascade and suddenly he was bonded to Jason—a fellow woodsman….(they are good sales people….sharks!!)  Sonia is watching the clock as we approach and pass 5:00pm…and then 6:00pm…..OMG!! Sonia had to put her foot down and make it very clear that we were NOT interested.  Suddenly, our “friends” are turning on us—imagine that—damn salespeople. For a bit, Jason and Sonia were actually mildly considering buying in (these salespeople are good. They could sell a blind person binoculars) …but we were able to talk to our friend, Jeff, who’s job is to get people OUT of these contracts…Thanks Jeff.  The numbers were looking feasible, vacation dreams were in our mind’s eyes…I think there might have been subliminal messages in the 13 minute video—like in Barney and friends or Teletubbies kids shows.  Just when we think we are finally outta here and we’ve endured enough, the guy from Corporate comes and talks to us—pull in the heavy weights.  He proceeds to try to convince us to join and throws out some more enticing offers…NO! NO! NO!....Now Sonia’s blood sugar is dropping and she’s getting cranky. “No problem, we have a snack basket” they reply (they have thought of it all—good thing they don’t give out Rum and Cokes ;-) ) We forcefully decline again…these people are unrelenting. Jason and Sonia are chum in an ocean of blood thirsty sharks. We finally made ourselves clear and  were escorted down to where we can get our room for 2 nights---that’s all we wanted all along. The guy asks “so where will you be staying for 2 nights?” Sonia retorts, “probably next to the dumpster because we didn’t buy in…haha”. He didn’t laugh, but we did!!

Eventually, we got checked in and moved into our studio apt for 2 nights…not super fancy or chic, but its out of the weather and we got a SHOWER!! Yahoo!!  We had grand plans to go out for dinner and wander around the town of Oak Creek but…we stayed “home” and made ravioli with kale and broccoli and drank red wine—catching up on internet stuff, phone calls and old episodes of Seinfeld.

A day we didn’t expect, but was a good learning experience and plenty of laughs (mostly amongst ourselves) …and 2 nights stay for 75 bucks….sweet!!  The stars have aligned again for us…thank you.

Tommorrow Mountain Biking in Sedona….getting back to nature.         

Wednesday, we got up leisurely, after watching stupid TV for entirely too many hours the night before. It was frigid cold outside, 24 degrees with a wind chill of -4….don’t think we’ll be biking today. We were both pretty happy hanging out inside.  By 1-2 pm, cabin fever is setting in and we decide to atleast take a drive up Oak Creek Canyon.  Yeah really smart—let’s go to a higher elevation and into a canyon with less sun…that’s us, smart. We brave the cold and take a short walk up the North Fork of Oak Creek…talk about frigid temps….OMG!! it was beautiful but we lasted about a mile and turned around to make a run for the Loaf. The creek was frozen in most places along with small frozen waterfalls on the steep canyon red rock faces.  A nice idea, but painfully cold. We drove back into Sedona and went out for lunch instead.

Tired out after that grueling hike, we came home and took a nap!!  Haha. Woke up and decided to go to Dinner at ELote Café—a recommendation by the 4 people we asked. It was excellent. An adoreable waitress greeted us with a big smile and a red hibiscus flower behind her ear. We had Elote, which is a fire-roasted corn mixed with  a spicy mayonnaise sauce—delicious.  Because we didn’t exert much energy today, we ate appetizers and drank margaritas instead. Because we had an exhausting day, we opted for a decadent chocolate pie for dessert.  An excellent meal at a lovely place—highly recommend it.

The next morning we wake up at a decent hour and make breakfast and coffee. Pack up and head out for a bike ride. Sonia’s not feeling so good, so she’ll bike/hike at a slower pace and Jason can go great guns on the bike trails. We ride the Bell Rock Trail—its absolutely gorgeous. Red Rocks with contrasting green trees in the valley against a sunny blue skies. A crisp, cold temperature of 30 degrees.  Bell Rock is supposedly a vortex and we wanted to find out. It’s pretty special, but neither of us came away healed or with greater spiritual powers. We did a short outing that day and had to get back to drive south to Tucson, AZ.

Sedona has become far more touristy and commercialized since Sonia last was there. The natural beauty is still worth seeing and we think there must be an eclectic population of locals, aside from the crystal-healing hippies that thrive in the Vortex.



Church of the Holy  Cross-built into the side of a cliff



Jan 31-Feb 1, 2011 Grand Canyon National Park

Depite our efforts to drive south and dodge the cold weather, we met a snow cell in the Grand Canyon. We arrived by noon in GCNP on the South Rim.  Our first stop was at Desert View Point. WOW! The Grand Canyon is GRANDE.  It is the canyon in which all other canyons are measured by. Another uplift of the earth’s layer some million years before, creating this vast, deep canyon. The Colorado River flows in the valley bottom at an elevation of 2, 450 ft. The rim elevations vary from 4000-8000 feet…It’s a massive gorge. It’s hard to really express the expanse of this canyon in pictures or words, you just have to see it to believe it. 
At this DesertView Point, the Watchtower is a cylindrical stone building that was erected in 1930s. A spriral staircase winds up to the top. The inside stone walls are painted with beautiful Hopi Indian drawing and pictures. There are small, medium and large windows framed in around the Watchtower offering different views into the Grand Canyon.  A cool building with good energy within the walls.

We motored along, making our obligatory stops at the posted viewpoints.  Ominous cumulous clouds were looming over the western part of the canyon with intermittent breaks offering partial views into the massive canyon. We decided we would tough it out and camp (without electrical hookup) at Mather’s Campground in the park. One of 5 other campers in the huge CG of 300+ campsites—it was pretty quiet. We decided to take a bike ride along the South Rim of the Canyon and check out sunset.  Great idea.  Now it’s snowing (no accumulation, just dry flurry activity) and very cold. We dress in long johns, several layers, down jackets, hats, scarves, and ski gloves….why are we going for a bike ride?? Because we can!  People were definitely looking at us like we were crazy as we rode up Hermit Road.  We climbed and climbed and climbed some more….the views were outstanding. We’d roll into the viewpoints stopping to take a quick peek (can’t linger or else you’ll get cold)…and kept on riding. We got the highpoint and then started to descend and Sonia turned around---not willing to descend and lose all that elevation and traverse the snow and ice. She turned around and waited for Jason at a sunny location (she did planks to stay warm).  Then we had to hurry back, the sun was getting very low in the sky and it was getting colder---fortunately the ride home was mostly downhill, but that makes the wind chill even colder.

We made a quick stop at the grocery store—bad idea when tired, cold and HUNGRY!  An impulse buy, Entemann’s Raspberry Danish---we ate half of it that night. So good—can’t remember the last time we ate Entemann’s Danish.  We turned on the Little Buddy propane heater and huddled around to thaw out our hands and feet—why did we ride bikes?? Because we can!!We made hot chili and warmed ourselves inside and out. Ahhh…tired, full-belled and relatively warm…brush teeth with nearly ice cold water and go to bed.  Doesn’t this sound enticing? 

In the morning, we had to duke it out for who would turn the heat on. “you do it” “no you do it” “it’s too cold to move”  . We had ice frozen on the inside of the windows…it was probably our coldest night yet, somewhere around 20 degrees.  It was nasty. Every morning, Sonia wakes up with another invention or idea to keep her face warm at night—complaining “my nose is too big, it gets cold too fast!!”

We left in the AM, with the snow flying and zero visibility of the Grand Canyon--good thing we saw it yesterday. We are heading South to Sedona….hoping for warmth and sunshine. We’ll see…



Roadside camp with Lake Powell in the background-night before GCNP



Jan 29-30, 2011 Bryce Canyon National Park

Bryce Canyon National Park was another oddity worth seeing that looks like a scene from a fairytale.  It’s also a small park but it feels like you are on another planet.  Bryce Canyon is famous for its Hoodoos (a derivative of “voodoo” which means to cast a spell) which are pillars of rock in fantastic shapes left behind by erosion. They take on various colors from minerals in the soil, oranges/reds/whites/purples. The towers are constantly being broken down and reshaped by the forces of nature, thunderstorms but primarily the freezing and thawing patterns.  These hoodoos form castle-like formations with its rounded turrets and spires.  It's located at about 8,000 ft. elevation and has 200 days of freezing temperatures a year…brrr.
The Legend of Bryce Canyon: A coyote got mad at the people for doing bad things to the land and in his anger turned them all to stone.  When you stop and look around—it does look like human forms in the formations. Some are single, some are in groups or standing side-by-side—bizarre...

It was mostly sunny and pleasant on our first day for our walk-about. We took a hike along the rim from Inspiration Point to Sunset Point, then zig-zagged down into the heart of the mystic Hoodoo land on the valley floor via the Navajo Loop Trail. It’s a bit unnerving standing on the rim looking down into this jagged valley bottom—thinking it could really hurt if I fell in. But then when you descend into the valley and are amongst the hoodoos, there’s a very different, peaceful and comforting feeling—perhaps the spell was cast.  

By sundown, the weather was getting cold and windy. There was one CG open—we would have been snow camping in the park---no thanks. So we treated ourselves to hot showers, TV, and  beds to sprawl out on in a hotel room in town. The next morning we poached a free continental breakfast in the neighboring hotel….what rebels we are ;-)

The next day we hiked the Queen’s Garden Trail down into the valley bottom again. A gentler, descent offering many great views of cool hoodoos, windows and doors formed into the rocks. Trees mangled and contorted in the valley floor. A popular hike in the park, we still didn’t see a bunch of people.  We didn’t linger too long this day because the clouds were rolling in fast and snow was imminent.  We decided to head South into AZ towards the Grand Canyon.
Winter travel has its benefits of little vehicle traffic and we’re allowed to drive your own rig into the park.  In the summer, visitors are required to use the shuttle to lessen traffic jams and lessen the impact on the land. 
Another awesome place….

Jan 26-28, 2011 Zion National Park



Virgin River Valley, Zion National Park


We've continued the Loaf Tour through Utah, the land of 3% beer (Mormon country and yes, even Heineken abides to the laws set forth by the LDS) and through some very beautiful countryside on the Colorado Plateau.  We spent two and a half days in Zion National Park gazing in wonder at the colorful canyon walls and mostly dormant vegetation.  We've developed a system getting to know our national parks.  The first day is usually spent driving around, getting our bearings, stopping in the visitor’s center and educating ourselves on the hows and whys of the park.

That night, we set up camp and establish a game plan for the next day's adventure--which usually includes some form of activity/exercise.  Zion seemed like a fairly small park, especially since half the road system was closed for the winter.  The main canyon was still amazing. This place must see gaggles of tourists in the summer, so we were happy to be here now--with just a few other crazies like us.  ZNP is located on the Southwest portion of the Colorado Plateau. It was formed by a large uplift in the continental crust-old sea bed, lake bed, sand dune, and lava then deposited in layers on top of each other, kind of like a cake.  Now all the exposed layers are vulnerable to erosional forces, mainly water and wind.  The Virgin River flows year round through the main valley floor while most other drainages run dry during the summer months. Despite what one would think about the River in a valley of red rocks...the water is a milky green color. We were surprised by that!!  It’s a truly magnificent place.

We camped for 2 nights at Watchman CG (the only one open-easy choice) and we were fortunate to have electrical hookups to run our heater-yeah! Nights were clear and cold, with millions of stars.  We had spectacular sunset colors on The Watchman and Crawford Arch—which is the skinniest arch on the entire Colorado Plateau—a mere sliver.

The camp host was a nice gentleman from Portland, OR and gave us some good insider info. You all know how much, we like to hunt and gather…well we gathered pecans from the non-native trees in the CG that were planted by the Mormons, who tried to settle in this valley in the 1880s.  Jason climbed up the tree like a monkey and shook the branches…we gathered up those nuts and enjoyed the sweetness in each morsel. A good activity for the day’s last light.
We were fortunate the weather was clear and sunny--offering great views.



Angel's Landing

 The highlight of Zion NP was our hike to Angel's Landing.  It's one of the most popular strenuous hikes in the park and even more perilous in the winter with snow and ice on the shady parts of the trail. The beginning of the trail is paved switchbacks up a rock face (a turbo Mom was pushing a stroller up it).  Then, the trail wanders through a slot canyon that infrequently sees the sun and is appropriately called Refrigerator Canyon. The trail then goes up another rock face through a section called Walter's Wiggles--which are a series of short switchbacks (normally not a problem, but with ice and snow...proceed with caution). Finally, you get up to the Scout’s Lookout and the views begin to open up.  Then (now it’s getting good), you hike along a knife ridge (apprx 1 mile long).  Steep, unforgiving drop-offs of a couple thousand feet on either side.....proceed with utmost watchfulness. Then, you get to the really best part....(for some people) where you have to hold onto chain rails to reach the summit. Imagine walking up steep stairs of uneven heights, with an occasional inconvenient icy patch disguised under some red-tinted sand and a handrail on one side that's a heavy duty chain...that's kind of what it was like--IT WAS AWESOME, FUN, CHALLENGING AND VERY REWARDING. The prize is the incredible view of Zion Canyon, The White Throne and Virgin River in the valley...some 2,000+ ft below. We enjoyed our well-deserved lunch on the top and let the other hikers come and go—and took in the solitude on top of Angel's Landing. A great hike--highly recommend it to those who are not afraid of heights and are up for an grand adventure. It’s well worth it. 

Thanks Dave and Glen for the hike info.



Jan 22-26, 2011 Salt Lake City, UT

We rolled into Salt Lake City from the East on I-80, which was an interesting and somewhat scenic drive, despite being on an Interstate Highway. Usually the landscape is dry, white and more of moonscape rather than wet, green and pretty. Due to the recent rainfall, the otherwise dry salt flats were more like shallow lakes filled with rippling, green- tinted, salty water. Tiny Brine shrimp live in these lakes and not much else…not surprising when the salinity fluctuates from 12% up to 33%....that’s pretty salty.  The Wasatch and Uinta Mountains encircle SLC and provide many outdoor recreational activities, year-round.  Although, there was intermittent bouts grapple falling from the sky on Saturday afternoon, there was no snow accumulation in the city, at an elevation of 4400 ft.

We were welcomed with big smiles, hugs and tall glasses of Rum and Coke upon arrival into Jason and Ying’s home. Jason and Jason have been good friends for 20 years.  They are more like family rather than friends. We temporarily moved out of Loaf and into their house-where we had the luxury of our own room and our own bathroom (wow—how lucky are we!!) We showered (ohhh that felt soooo good) and headed out for Sushi- DELICIOUS!  We went home, opened a few beers and started our traditional card game of A$$#*!E….3 years ago when Jason and Ying visited us in Leavenworth, we played this card game—it’s now become a tradition. We partied, laughed and had a great time.

We woke up after a good night’s rest—looking forward to a lazy Sunday. In the AM, we did some errands—Jiffy Lube, grocery store, car wash.  Jason Mann and Sonia hopped on J’s motorcycle (you all know Sonia’s a motorcycle mama) and took a cold ride around Salt Lake City. We cruised by the one-city-block-huge Mormon Temple-Beautiful architecture.  Once, we were sufficiently numb and cold, we went home to thaw out.  To embrace the American Tradition-- we ate a bunch of food and watched the football games on a big screen TV—ALL DAY LONG! It’ll be Green Bay Packers vs Pittsburgh Steelers  playing in the Superbowl on Feb 5.  It was a great day…we rarely sit and watch TV at our own house…but, man, was it a treat.  The evening was mellow—eating pizza, hanging out and planning the next day’s adventure.

Monday, we woke up early and geared up for a day of skiing at Snowbird. We were able to find discount tickets at a local sports shop and headed up to the mountain—a mere 30 minutes from home.  A glorious day--sunny, blue skies and cold—gorgeous views of snowy mountains all around us.  Unfortunately, no new snow, but it was still so much fun--long runs to go fast and carve turns.  It was uncrowded and we rarely waited in lines.  Snowbird is a big resort with lots of terrain to explore on 3 different sides of the mountain.  It took us all day, but we managed to ski all 3 sides. Sonia was even skiing black diamond runs…and loving it…and not falling!!  Back to the Loaf at closing time to soak up the last of the sun while drinking a beer with good company after a fun ski day.  Life is Good.

That night’s dinner was a very special treat for us.  Ying made a traditional Chinese Hot Pot meal. It’s a large, but somewhat shallow pot separated into two compartments.  Two different kinds of watery-sauces (soup consistency) are kept at a rolling boil in the pot.  One is a spicy sauce(with these“tongue-numb-ers” –small seeds that make your tongue numb—a strange and moderately unpleasant sensation) and the other sauce was very mild.  Plates of raw, leafy greens, mushroom strings, thinly sliced lamb, chicken and shrimp surrounded the Hot Pot which is in the center of the table. Here’s how it’s done. 1) put the meat and veggies in the boiling hot sauces to cook them—typically, meat goes in the spicy sauce and veggies in the other (but it doesn’t really matter)  2) take out cooked meat and wilted greens 3) put them in your small bowl that has another sauce-soy sauce with diced ginger, garlic, green onions and 4)eat it with chopsticks. YUM DELICIOUS!  Traditionally, this meal could take hours to eat—there is absolutely no rush to finish. We had interesting conversations about cultures, traditions, history, travelling etc…a delicious and fun meal shared with good friends…We are so fortunate. 

Tuesday, all four of us packed backpacks and headed into the hills to find some hot springs.  We were all excited and ready for an adventure.  An hour drive South from home led us to a gated and LOCKED forest service road!! DAMN IT! They neglected to mention that on the internet!! 4.6 miles from the trailhead and another 2.5 miles to hike into the Hot Springs---there wasn’t enough daylight to do it all!! DAMN IT!!  So we took a short walk down by the creek and headed home. DAMN IT!!  We were bummed out, so we played cribbage, then went out for another Sushi Dinner. This place is well-loved and frequented by Jason and Ying.  It was excellent. We had Hamachi Kama (fish face—sorry Mom). Sonia is generally not into eating these things, but it was excellent.  Very tender, light yellowtail tuna served with 3 dipping sauces.  It was very good practice using chopsticks too.   Ying was kind enough to give us the best part of the fish (between the pectoral fins and the gill plates)—who would’ve thought. Hamachi Kama is not on the menu and served only to select people. How lucky are we. After eating and drinking sake, we headed back home to play Mille Bourne (a French card game) and headed off to bed with heavy hearts, knowing the next day we leave and Jason goes back to work for 2 weeks in WY.

Wednesday morning we packed and loaded up the Loaf and said our “see you laters” and are now heading south to Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon and much more in the SW.

We are so grateful to have friends like we do. We want to thank Jason and Ying for opening up their home, being so hospitable, gracious and generous...AND providing such a unexpected and rich culinary experience while in Salt Lake City. Did you know that SLC has more restaurants per capita than any other US city? It does.  So, thank you again Jason and Ying. It was nice to touch down and be in the comforts of a home for 4.5 days!!  But for now, the Loaf is feeling neglected, well-rested and ready to hit the road again.

Will post some Zion stuff tomorrow then we're off to Bryce Canyon.  YeeeHaaa!!!

Jan 19, 20, 21, 2010 Death Valley National Park

Who says there isn’t water in Death Valley…our last water stop was in Trono at the restrooms to fill our solar shower (which was a short and delightful experience). A bustling little town (not really) where they mine sodium chloride, borax and soda ash…there may have been a few others too. Luckliy, the people of Trono have 3 churches to choose from…Thank God for that.

We motored into the park on a sunny, 65 degree day along 178 North into the Southern WIldrose entrance. We took a 12 mile dirt side road to check out Ballarat, a ghost town.  I thought ghost towns were supposed to be vacant…this one had a little store and a campground-hmmm. ..Anyway we crusied along the dirt road checking out the Panamint Range and Death Valley.  Death Valley is the largest area of designated national park wilderness in the contiguous US at 3,099,770 acres. Nearly 1, 000 miles of roads-paved and dirt-provide accessibility to a lot of places, except for the very remote locations. Death Valley was designated a National Park in 1994 after they began noticing a considerable impact on the land. Back in 1870-80s, mining began in a greedy search for gold and silver. It was a boom and bust pattern of mining for years.  Chinese miners began gathering borax using 20 mule teams to haul it off to railheads. Many of these mines are now abandoned and closed, mine tailings left as a result. 



Panamint Dunes (we made it to the highest dune you can see)



  



-282 ft. elevation



The valley gets an annual rainfall of 2 inches!!  When there are storms with precipitation, most of it gets absorbed by the mountains and little is left to fall into the valley. Death Valley is the hottest place in North America not only because it has the lowest elevation, -282 below sea level, but because the surrounding mountains recirculate the hot air and keep it from dissipating at night. The hottest recorded temp was 134 degrees in 1994—that’s HOT!!  During summer, daytime highs can be up to 120 degrees and the nighttime temps may not drop below 100 degrees----there’s no relief. Geoloigic forces have made it so the highest point and lowest point  in the lower 48 are both in CA. Mt Whitney (14, 491 ft) and Badwater Basin (-282 ft below sealevel) are only 100 ft miles from each other…that’s crazy cataclysmic forces thrusting rock layers up and opposing errosional forces ….Its pretty astounding standing there looking around at the outcomes of such powerful forces of nature.  With that being said, Death Valley is hot, dry and a land of extremes, therefore plants and animals have to be highly adaptable to survive there.  Surprisingly, there are nearly 1000 native plant species.

cotton top cactus

A few animals live there—kangaroo rats, sidewinder snakes, and a highly adaptable pupfish. The Kangaroo rat can live without a single drop of water!! It gets water from seeds it gathers and will burrow in holes to trap moisture. The sidewinder can also live w/o water—it gets water from its food- the kangaroo rats and then the snake moves into their burrows---jerks!  This pupfish is pretty interesting. It’s extremely heat-tolerant (duh), can live in water temps of 112 degrees and can survive water 3x’s saltier then the ocean!! That’s just crazy. Jason should’ve fished for one---it could’ve seasoned our bland corn chowder we had for dinner!!

OK—enough on the geek-out specs…it really is fascinating…check it out someday.



death valley mountains ~7,000 ft. (snow, pinion pines and junipers)



So, we drove up to the Charcoal Kilns. These are beehive looking stuctures that were built out of limestone, sand and gravel to make charcoal to spelt silver/lead ore.  Then we drove to the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes.  We took a hike to the highest sand dune we could see. Walking in the desert, up and down sand was a difficult task. It did feel really good to take off our shoes and socks—a good exfoliant. After that, we headed for camp, but had to take a detour on 20 Mule Team Canyon Road. A twisty, turny graded dirt road they hauled borax with 20 mule teams, hence the name. Beautiful time—evening sundown—the colors and textures in the landscape were spectacular.  We free-camped at Hole-in-the Wall under a full moon. Another glorious day.   The next day we hiked from our camp into Slit canyon (thanks to our friend Rich Hayden for the recommendation and route description).   It was quite a unique adventure that included a few 10-15 ft rock climbs, a few talus slope scrambles and some tight slot pushes.  It's basically a canyon that gets eroded by strong flash floods that occur very infrequently now, but over thousands and thousands of years, has eroded into an intricate maze of twists and turns. It was apprx an 8 mile hike roundtrip--giving us just barely enough time to pack up the van and catch the sunset at Badwater and a  drive through popular Artist's drive.

rock climb in Slit Canyon

That night we camped up Echo Canyon, just outside of the Furnace Creek area.  We woke at 6:30am the next morning to catch a beautiful sunrise at Zabrinske Point.  Jason went for a quick hike/jog up a random canyon while Sonia talked with a park ranger about driving routes to Salt Lake City.  We even took showers with our trusty solar shower, totally naked, on what normally would have been a busy tourist road.  The temps and weather have been great...upper 60's during the day and the 40's at night.  We're now on our way to our friends Jason and Ying's in Salt Lake City via I-83 (awesome alternate route with great western vistas of high desert plant communities, numerous mountains and salt flats).  We are so ready for a proper shower (its been 6 days!) and some time to launder our clothes and relax with friends in the comforts of a home. We are still enjoying ourselves and look forward to spending time in the Colorado Plateau after SLC. We are planning to get a day or two to ski in the Wasatch Mountains, probably Deer Valley or Snowbird, maybe both.  We'll be in Salt Lake City until Wednesday, in great cell service, so feel free to give us a call.   Until the next time...take care





Jason in a grotto (water swirl cavity)



natural stair case

another rock climb in Slit Canyon

Sunrise, Moon set

20 mule team canyon

shower site at 20 mule canyon

sunrise at Zabrinske Point

Death Valley, CA...mark it down as a place to visit...but go in the winter....