Fairyland Trail (Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah)

From what Nick described to me, he had hiked a portion of this trail a few months back, but due to a knee injury he sustained at Zion, was unable to finish the 8.5-mile Fairyland Trail. That would all change this morning, as we decided to complete it in its entirety. The trail begins innocently enough from a vista point overlooking the Fairyland Canyon, which connects to the northern end of the Bryce Amphitheater. A slow decent through hoodoo formations yields some fantastic views of the amazing scenery. The hoodoo in this part of the canyon must number in the thousands and every twist and turn of the trail leads to views of more and more fantastic formations of them.

A mile or so in, we left the trail slightly to investigate a small formation that seemed to completely enclose an area in sandstone. Climbing up into the feature yielded a quiet little corner completely surrounded by the tall formations - a hidden cave with a skylight of sorts. Climbing back down to the trail, we continued onward over ever rolling hills through this amazing place.

At about the halfway mark, we reached a high peak overlooking the main amphitheater on one side and the Fairyland canyon on the other. We traversed this razors edge and thought of the pioneers that came before us who trail blazed this hike. What amazing thoughts must have been rolling around in their heads as they saw this landscape for the first time. I sometimes envy those great men and women, and wish I could have taken part in finding some of these gems in the old west.

Continuing on we find a sign indicating a natural bridge lay ahead short distance. And then, off in the distance we see this wondrous formation. A natural bridge made of sandstone. It almost looked manmade, but obviously was not. I got some great shots of the natural wonder. According to what Nick had been told, the side trail leading to the base of the natural bridge did not offer very good views of it and so we continued on, content with the shots that we had taken from afar.

 As the sun continued to rise overhead, the heat of the day began pressing down on us and as we neared the end of the trail, we found a lush meadow carpeted with grass and spring wildflowers, and a legion of insects about their business in the field. It was a sharp contrast to what we had seen below, as we had only a short time before commented about the lack of insects in the canyon.

The hour reaching early afternoon, we arrived back at Nick's car and headed out for our next destination on this long weekend trip.

Bryce Canyon (Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah)

My friend Nick and I had decided to take a weekend camping trip to see some more of the national parks in Southern Utah. Two years ago, we visited Arches, but this time we aimed for the area around Zion National Park, with Bryce Canyon as our first stop. The drive was a long, but after driving to the park early to catch the sunrise over the Bryce Canyon Amphitheater, none of the minor hardships really seemed to matter.

As we walked from the parking lot to a small vista point overlooking the entire amphitheater, I wondered what to expect. It was cold, bitterly cold up there, and with each step I began to question the wisdom of arriving so early. However, each step also revealed a slightly better view of Bryce Canyon's main attraction than the previous step. We joined a few more adventurers as the sun began to rise over the eastern edge of the canyon, and its glory highlight each and every one of the thousands of hoodoos that make up this magnificent feature. A hoodoo is the name given to the sandstone pillars left after erosion has washed away the remaining mass. Much like Monument Valley, but far more populace and extremely more spear like. The early morning sunlight bouncing off of these incredible features gave rise to thoughts of the divine. I must consider this one of the most glorious sunrises my eyes have ever witnessed - truly majestic.

The amphitheater itself is the main draw, but the park has much more to offer. The canyon itself contains the amphitheater, but also a myriad of other side canyons and more amazing geologic formations. While we didn't spend a great deal of time in the park, the time we did spend was well worth it. We did have time for a good hike through an area adjoining to the northern end of the amphitheater.

Napa Valley (Napa County, California)

My wife and I had been talking about taking a trip to California’s famous wine country, Napa Valley, for some time. Finally, after making the arrangements we were of for a weekend of wine tasting, winery tours, and some wondrous cuisine. We got an early start on Saturday morning and made the three and half hour drive from Reno to Napa. The trip was uneventful, but was clouded with spring showers along the way.

As our first tour and tasting was in the early afternoon, we drove straight to Robert Mondavi’s Winery. While the wetness of the area this day made for poor pictures of the vineyards, it certainly didn’t disturb the taste of the vino. Our tour took us through the winery, highlighting the production techniques, and ended in a fanciful tasting room with several other couples. We were given generous samples of three different varietals, and fourth glass, which was a blend. The entire selection was fantastic. Having enjoyed this first tour, we decided to get checked into our hotel a few miles south of the winery.

The John Muir Inn in Napa was nothing special as far as luxuries, but was gifted with wonderfully hospitable staff. As Cass wanted to lay down for a bit and I was mildly famished, I borrowed and umbrella from the front desk and walked around the corner to the highly recommended Fume Bistro and Bar for a light salad of pears and blue cheese. As we had dinner reservations later in the evening, I didn’t want to ruin my appetite for what promised to be an outstanding meal.

When I returned, I decided to lay down for a bit myself. The early hour and the drive had tired me as well. After a couple of hours of restful sleep, we both arose and prepared for dinner. As we are both great fans of Japanese culture and cuisine, I had made a dinner reservation at Morimoto Napa a few weeks in advance. Having been to the chef’s location in Philadelphia, I was anxious to see if the dining experience was just as fantastic. We arrived and were treated to a seven-course omakase (chef’s choice) extravaganza. Our course selections varied from sashimi to a stylistic surf & turf, from tamarind and Thai chili ice cream to a fanciful salad with amazingly fresh vegetables being dipped in a garlic and anchovy oil bath. It was a truly amazing meal and will not likely be forgotten by either of us. Having filled ourselves with such an amazing spread of food, we returned to the hotel and relaxed.

Rising fairly early the next morning, we found the day to be quite a bit nice. The sun was even visible through the clouds, and the rain was reduced to an occasional mist. We drove to the northern end of the valley for our next tour and tasting to Castello di Amorosa. As we approached, it was apparent that this was no ordinary winery. A very authentic looking Italian Castle greeted us as we parked. We would later learn that everything including the stones and masonry work was authentic. Apparently, this winery had been built only a few years before as a personal project of a wealthy vintner. Later he decided to actually make wine, though it is only privately available – no distributors allowed. Our tour of the castle included all of the expected stops: the banquet hall, the chapel, the torture chamber complete with an antique and experienced iron maiden. We were also treated to a tour of the cave system hand-carved beneath the castle, which serves as the wine cellar.

Our tour ended with a formal wine tasting of about a dozen different selections. Having visited a few wineries in the past, I must say that the overall catalog of this “castle of love” is among the finest to have passed my lips. Cass enjoyed them all immensely as well. We agreed that this will be a stop every time we visit Napa.

Our tour and tasting completed, we headed off for some lunch before the drive back across the Sierras. We chose to try the Mustard Grille, which is along the St. Helena highway in the heart of Napa Valley. While there was a quite a wait to be seated due to the crowds, the food was well worth it. Our bellies full, our spirits content, we headed home. This had been a wonderful way to spend a romantic weekend.

Red Rock Canyon (Clark County, Nevada)

In addition to visiting the Valley of Fire on this trip, I decided to take time to visit Red Rock Canyon, just a few minutes West of Las Vegas. I had heard of this spectacular place from several friends, but had never, in all of my trips to Sin City, taken the time to see it with my own two eyes. Today, that would change.  After grabbing a quick lunch at the nearby Red Rock Casino, which takes it’s name from my destination, I headed out to the canyon.

From many miles away, the red cliff sides were already visible. I drove the scenic loop with every intention of doing some hiking. Unfortunately, duty called and I became involved in a minor crisis at my work. It didn’t, however, prevent me from seeing at least some of what this spectacular canyon has to offer.

I climbed around the Calico Hills a bit, while watching rock climbers scaling the flat faces in the distance. While I have never done any serious rock climbing, it really makes me want to put the gear I have to work and see how I would do outside of the indoor rock climbing facility.
Moving on, I head out to Ice Box Canyon, which my friend Amy had suggested as a great hike. While fighting to get a cell phone signal to continuing working the crisis, I decided to at least hike a little ways up into this canyon. It is named Ice Box due to the significant temperature difference between the air in this canyon and the surrounding desert. The angle of the canyon walls drastically limits the amount of direct sunlight that seeps into this little area, and so it remains much cooler than the rest of Red Rock Canyon. After about a mile and of hiking over sandstone boulders and through some fairly lush greenery, I decide to head back to the car. I have a plane to catch after all.

 

I wish I had more time to explore on this trip, but rest assured, I will be making it back to this magnificent canyon soon.

Fire Wave (Clark County, Nevada)

Since I was headed to Las Vegas anyway for work, I decided to take an extra day and explore an area of Valley of Fire State Park that I had read about. The Fire Wave is a not-so-well-known rock formation full of rich colors. It seemed worthy of checking out. I arrived at the park early and headed to the Northern end of the park, near where my sources said the trail to Fire Wave was located. Just as I had read, there was a very small sign on the side of the road labeled “Wave” with an arrow pointing off into the desert. I parked my rental car about at a pull-off about a quarter of a mile up the road and walked back to where the trail began.

Immediately upon loosing sight of the road, I was bombarded with a palate of deep reds, sandstone whites, and a all variations of pink in between. The landscape here is gorgeous. From the information I had, the Fire Wave itself was only about a quarter of a mile further, and so I began making my way over flat sandstone formations, until finally, I reached what was obviously the Fire Wave.

While the whole surrounding landscape is breathtaking in its beauty, this area above all us steals the show. Several wind-polished boulders and hillsides combine to form what seems to be a wave of lava frozen in time and space. The whites and reds take turns with each ripple. The wind has worn some sections down while leaving others as little islands of color for all to behold.

It’s no wonder this place is not talked about all that much, for I fear too much foot traffic would damage the Fire Wave’s splendor.

Ubehebe Crater (Death Valley National Park, California)

My friends, Brent and Nick, and I had long heard of the sailing stones of Death Valley. After talking to the rangers on my last visit to the park and learning that winter is the ideal time to adventure in Death Valley, we decided to do some camping and explore some of the wonders the park has to offer.

Our adventure started with Ubehebe Crater, a large volcanic crater at the northern end of the park. Upon walking to the edge of the giant hole in the ground, I was amazed by the scale. I'm just guessing here, but the crater is probably 3/4 of a mile across and 600ft deep. The entire area surrounding the crater is covered with black volcanic ash, which adds a distinct character to this part of the desert.

After gazing in and taking a few pictures, we decided to descend into Hades and check out the bottom of the crater. A fairly well defined path leads down the gravel-covered side of the inner cone. The trip down seemed to take no effort at all and was much more akin to snow-shoeing downhill than anything else I can compare it to. The only challenge was to ensure we didn’t' fall flat on our faces and glide the rest of the way down. After a few dusty minutes, we reached the bottom and found ourselves surrounded by the inner cone. It's massive. The ground here is . . . well . . . a little bizarre. It's a dry red mud that has cracked open into large palm-sized flakes, but then has much smaller flakes on top of each of the large flakes. It really is interesting to look at the crack patterns.

We spent a few minutes exploring the bottom and then decided to make our way back to the rim. Obviously, going up was not nearly as easy as going down. Climbing back up the loose gravel at this grade and for this duration is quite the test of endurance. Along they way, my throat starts to feel as if it has a covering of dust all around it. I cough and hack my way back to the rim, and then once again marvel at nature's beauty in this valley of death.

Racetrack Playa (Death Valley National Park, California)

The main focus of our trip was the Racetrack Playa, which is a remote valley in the northwestern wilderness of Death Valley. It is famous for the sailing stones, which I had heard stories and reports about for a few years. On the muddy expanse of playa, rocks (in some cases large rocks) apparently move all by themselves, leaving a trail etched in the surface. Sometimes the paths are straight. Sometimes the paths curve. And sometimes, the paths take sharp turns or even double back on themselves. I had always wanted to see this natural wonder and today is the day.
 
Nick had been told on his visit to the park a couple of years ago that it was necessary to have a 4x4 vehicle with special tires to reach the Racetrack Playa. However, upon talking to rangers and reading some articles on the Internet, we believed the trip could be made in my Jeep Wrangler, which has some heavy-duty tires on it. Passing Ubehebe Crater, we turned down the gravel road towards the Racetrack, expecting it to be a rough and hazardous ride. To the contrary, it wasn’t' bad at all, and didn't even really require a 4x4. The trip is about 29 miles from the crater and traverses some amazing vistas of the park. We pass numerous joshua trees and other vegetation on our way.
 
Finally, we see the vast Racetrack Playa in the distance, with the "Grandstand" at the northern end. We make our way to a makeshift parking lot to find numerous other adventure seekers already here. We get out and start walking out towards the Grandstand, which is a rocky island in the middle of the dry muddy sea. Along the way, we are amazed at how smooth and lifeless the playa is. I have been to the Black Rock Desert before in Northern Nevada, but the playa there wasn't nearly as smooth as this. This almost seems polished when running ones fingers over it. We reach the Grandstand and begin climbing around exploring. Eventually, we find a few stones around the Grandstand that have some faint trails behind them. It is pretty amazing to ponder how this could have happened.
 

After a while, we decide to head down to the southern end of the playa, near where we are planning to camp. Again, we find a makeshift parking lot and begin exploring this end of the playa. While there is nothing at this end like the Grandstand formation, the sailing stones are far more numerous here. We begin seeing them about a 1/2 mile from the parking lot. Each one we find is surpassed in splendor by the next. The variety of trails and rock sizes is amazing. Finally, we make our way to a rock face on the southeast corner, which seems to be the source of many of the rocks scattered about the playa. As we approach the frequency and density of the sailing stones increases rapidly. There are hundreds of them here, most with a unique trail of some kind.
 
As the sun begins to go down in the west, we decide to make camp. Heading another 1/4 mile or so south of the playa, we come across the primitive campground we had been told of. We erect our tents and prepare some dinner over our camp stoves. Night falls quickly out here in the remote desert, as does the temperature. We go to bed with intentions of rising early and seeing the sunrise over the playa.
 
I awaken a bit before my friends and decide to get out and make some coffee over my camp stove. Wow!!! It's cold out here. I'd guess the temperature is only about 20 degrees at this early hour of 5 AM. As I hear my friends beginning to rustle in their respective tents, I begin packing my gear.
By 6 AM, we are packed back at the Grandstand parking lot. Sunrise is still about 30 minutes away, and with the unobstructed wind here on the northern end of the playa, it is damn cold! We explore the area and prepare for the sun. As it breaks over the mountain, we are able to capture some very cool pictures of the Grandstand, the playa, and of course, the sailing stones. Our time well spent, we decide to head on back to civilization.