Chimney Rock State Park (Rutherford County, North Carolina)

While I have seen the feature film "The Last of the Mohicans" and thoroughly enjoyed not only the story, but also much of the majestic scenery shot for the film, I had to take advantage of visiting Chimney Rock State Park near Asheville, NC while visiting my mother-in-law for Christmas. Leaving around noon, my wife and I drove the hour and half or so to the park through some truly beautiful country. When we finally reached the Rocky Broad River cutting through the Hickory Nut Gorge, where the Chimney Rock stands an eternal vigil overlooking the valley below, I was struck by many memories of scenery from the movie. The sheer cliffs, over which Hickory Nut Falls runs are quite stunning.

Having crossed the river, we made our way up the winding mountain road through the park to the bottom of the elevator that would take us up to the Chimney Rock feature itself. An easy walk through a manmade cave took us directly to the elevator door, and then a 26 story elevator ride took us up to the main visitor area around the Chimney Rock. The views of the river valley from up there are broad and sweeping. The short stairway climb to the top of the feature revealed a natural wonder. The Chimney Rock appears like a free-standing thumb, attached but also independent of the neighboring cliffs. I would have expected the top of the feature to have been sanded off and paved over into a smooth surface, but to my pleasant surprise, it has been left alone. Other than installing a rod-iron railing and an American flag at the top, the feature has been left pretty much intact as it has probably appeared for countless millennia. This was refreshing, though entirely unexpected.

We snapped a few pictures of the gorgeous view and made our way back down the elevator to the car. While it was a little bit of a drive to get here, the views made it all worthwhile. I hope to return at some point in the future to explore some of the trails in the park.

Beaver Falls (Madison County, Illinois)

Many years ago when I was a boy, I remember hiking to a small waterfall in the green wood near my home. It was while on a field trip. In the years since, I've often thought of place, but had no idea of it's exactly location. My directional skills were not so developed at that age. Only recently, I discovered that waterfall is called Beaver Falls and is approximately a mile and half back in the woods on the property of the Nature Institute, off of Levis Lane and up the bluffs behind Blue Pool.

As I was in St. Louis on business, I took a few extra days to visit with family and friends. I also planned a little time to revisit the small waterfall from my childhood memory. After arriving at the trailhead, I reviewed the posted map, which is little more than a few lines carved and painted into a piece of plywood and posted as an information an informational sign. I sprayed myself down with mosquito repellant, without which I probably would have been eaten alive by the little buggers in this humid wood above the Mississippi River's limestone bluffs. And then, I was off on my little adventure into the past.

At first, the trail was well cut, but as I proceeded I found it getting less and less easy to distinguish trail from woods. I also could not get a sense of direction in relation to the map. Eventually, I discovered this was due to my having taking a wrong turn. This was with the help of a referenced marker, noting the beginning of the Underground Railroad here at Hop Hollow. According to the marker, this was the jumping off point for thousands of slaves seeking freedom in the North prior to Lincoln's emancipation proclamation. A humbling site to be sure.

Continuing on, now with a better sense of where I was, I came across a small group of whitetail deer. I stopped to watch them as they foraged the area. After a few minutes, they had moved on and I made my way to the dry creek bed as described on the map. Unlike other creeks, which I was familiar with in the area, this one had many limestone steps as it made it's way downhill toward the mighty river below. During a year without the terrible drought we are now in, each of these steps would have produced a small waterfall onto itself.

Further upstream, or at least what would have been upstream, I came to a carved out area sunken below the surrounding woods. While it was dry and no water currently flowed over the fifteen foot-tall cliff directly in front of me, there was no mistaking this as the falls from my memory. In years past, there had been a small pool at what would have been the base of the falls. Over time, it appears that pool has been filled with silt and mud, but a good rain would probably bring it to life once again.

Having fulfilled my quest and found this place from my childhood, I headed back to the car. It was great to have visited this place once again and I look forward to returning again someday.

Crater Lake National Park (Crater Lake National Park, Oregon)

Not long after I moved to Reno several years ago, I took a long drive up through the Black Rock Desert of Northern Nevada and eventually came out not far from Crater Lake. It was early in the season, but not knowing the snow conditions, I decided to go ahead and visit the park. While I was unable to camp on that trip due to the snow, I was overwhelmed by the magnificent blue vastness of this natural wonder. As my wife and I have been on number of trips over the last couple of years, I wanted to share this beauty with her.

Leaving Lava Beds, we made our way to the city of Klamath Falls and while we had intended to camp this night, the extreme heat and my wife’s lack of sleep from the night before prompted us to get a hotel room before continuing on into the park. We had a wonderful dinner and rose early to finish the drive to Crater Lake, an hour or so beyond Klamath Falls.

Entering the park, it’s a very steep road up to the ridge of the collapsed volcano, which has filled with snowmelt to become one of the deepest lakes in the world. We stop at the visitor center to get a map and try to figure out exactly what we want to do, and then make our way up to the lodge, which sits on the ridge of the lake.

Upon one’s first viewing of Crater Lake, the extreme blueness cannot be over stated. Living near Lake Tahoe for many years now, I have some basis for comparison and there really is none. Crater Lake, as we are later told by a ranger, has been scientifically proven to be the clearest lake in the world, which also means that on a day like today the blue sky above gives the lake the most amazing color known. While always somewhat reserved, it’s pretty obvious that my wife is enthralled by the wonder in front of her eyes. We walk casually around a paved trail at the lodge and then down a steep path to the man-made Sinnott Memorial Lookout, which offers an unobstructed view of the lake. It is truly awe-inspiring.
After reviewing the map, we decide to take the short drive around the rim trail to the East to a spot called Sun Notch. It is our hope that we will be able to see the smaller of the two islands, Phantom Shop, from this vantage point. A short hike uphill puts us at a terrific altitude and looking down directly onto the Phantom Ship, which while small from this perspective is actually something like 5 stories tall above the surface of the water. How it got is name is obvious, as it has the general shape of a pirate ship sailing on the calm lake currents. Unlike the much larger and obvious at first glance Wizard Island, this little feature is tucked back into a quiet cove, which probably adds to it’s mystery.

We head back to the campground and begin to set up camp in the hopes of catching a quick nap before meeting some friends at the lodge’s dining room for a late dinner. We awake after an hour or so and drive back up to the lodge to enjoy a wonderful meal and some cheerful company.  After dinner, we chat in the fire-warmed lobby of the lodge until nearly 1:00AM. Finally looking at the clock, I suggest we should head back to camp. We wish our friends a safe journey home and walk out of the warmth of the lodge. We are all immediately awestruck by the lack of artificial light outside and the multitude of stars above us. The Milky Way is clearly visible in the heavens over our heads, and with the lake in the foreground, I can’t imagine a more divine image. Truly, truly amazing to see with human eyes. If only, I had the camera equipment to capture the image . . .

Arriving back at our campsite, Cass and I bundle up for what will prove to be a fairly cold night in a tent. We awake the next morning, break camp, and begin the long drive back home. The trip was definitely worth it.

Lava Beds (Siskiyou and Modoc Counties, California)

My wife and I had decided to take a weekend camping trip to Crater Lake, but I thought it would be a crime not to visit Lava Beds on the way, since it is only a slight detour. We got an early start and made our way up through Susanville until we reached the turn-off for Lava Beds. After a twenty or so mile trek down a poorly maintained highway, we saw a sign announcing our entrance into the National Monument and asking us to check in at the visitor center a few miles ahead.

Like all rangers in the service of the National Parks, we met some extremely friendly and helpful rangers at the visitor center. They provided some maps and asked us to check in at the White-nosed Bat Syndrome table outside, which we were happy to do. They asked the routine questions about other caves we had visited and I think were quite astonished at the number and diversity that we had been to in the last twelve months. We disinfected our shoes and gear and when on about our business.

Pulling out of the visitor center parking lot, we took a quick left turn to drive around Cave Loop, which contains the highest concentration of lava tube caves in the park. Not being thoroughly prepared for any difficult spelunking, we decided to stick to some of the easier caves.

My friend, Nick, recommended the first one we explored. Golden Dome cave is noteworthy for two features. First, it has a figure-8 configuration and secondly, the bacteria for which the cave gets its name. We parked the jeep and walked a few yards to an ominous steel ladder reaching out of a large hole in the ground. After making the decent into the darkness, we turned on our flashlights and began to explore this subterranean mystery. Remnants of cooled lava abound in this underground cavern, which as I understand it, was formed when the outer surface of the lava flow begins to form a crust as it cools. Later, the still molten lava at the core of the flow drains away leaving the negative space behind in the form of a tubular cave. We continue exploring the walls and ceiling, and eventually begin to see the golden coloration of the bacteria on the surface of the rock. It looks almost like gold dust and was very beautiful.

 
Moving on, we visited Sunshine Cave, which is named for two openings in the cave ceiling that act much like skylights illuminating the darkness. This one was a bit more challenging to make our way into due to some moisture on the surface and some steepness to the cave floor, but we persevered and enjoyed the cavern’s beauty.

Having a keen interest in Native American petroglyphs and pictographs, I couldn’t resist hiking out to Big Painted Cave and Symbol Bridge. Cass elected to stay in the jeep while I walked the almost two mile trail through the desert to the caves. Along the way, I was greeted with numerous collapsed lava tubes and a small cinder cone volcano in the distance, which served as a stark contrast to Cinder Cone in Lassen with the amount of vegetation growing on it. Obviously, this volcano had been formed somewhat earlier than the one I had visited only a few weeks ago. Upon reaching Big Painted Cave, I was surprised to find that it was much less of a cave than the others we had explored. While the entrance was much larger and required a little climbing to get to, there really wasn’t much more to the cave than this large room at the entrance, fully illuminated by the sun. I searched, but failed to find any pictographs here, though the coloration of the rock formations was magnificent.

Only half a mile further, I found the entrance to Symbol Bridge Cave. Much like its neighbor, the cave is little more than one large room at the entrance. However unlike it’s twin, the pictographs here are numerous and obvious. I hiked a rugged little trail through the rocks to approach the pictograph panels, which were some of the most visually stunning I have seen in my travels.

I returned to the jeep and we continued on our journey across the Oregon border to our next stop. Perhaps, I will return to Lava Beds someday with proper gear and explore some of the more difficult caves.

Kings Canyon National Park (Kings Canyon National Park, California)

Not really know what to expect of this national park we decided to simply drive into it and stop at whatever caught our attention. We were ware of some of the mighty sequoias growing within the boundaries of the park, but beyond that we were fairly unaware of what sites we might see. What we found was heaven. This canyon, much like Yosemite Valley, was formed by glacial movements polishing the granite valley walls. In fact, it reminded me of a much more untouched Yosemite. The visitors here were sparse, unlike the famous valley to our north.

Stopping for one picture after the next, we tired, but couldn’t hope to capture this divine place with a camera. After reaching the bottom of the canyon, we stopped for lunch at he Cedar Grove lodge, which sits alongside a quite piece of the Kings River, responsible for cutting the original canyon long before the glaciers took their artistic brushes to it. Continuing on, we were amazed at the power of the river as we drove beside raging rapids littered with giant granite boulders. The sound of the water crashing over small falls and rapids like this can’t be explained; it must be experienced. It speaks directly to the soul and renews it. Muir said that all people need to get out into the wilderness to recharge themselves. He was right.

Continuing on, we stop at a couple of magnificent waterfalls, including Grizzly Falls, which is a broken fall of a couple of hundred feet. We meet several picnickers at the base of the fall and share in raw beauty of this place.

Unlike many national parks, this one seems to be a celebration of the land. This untamed place is a favorite destination of backpackers and explorers, as it is largely untouched by the “improvements” of the modern age. Only this single road enters the park, but beyond that are hundreds of square miles of wilderness. I hope to return someday to see more of this untouched and untamed land.

As we leave the valley and return to the entrance, we stop for a couple of other noteworthy places. Before heading into Grant’s Grove, we take the jeep up a couple of rugged back roads to visit Stump Meadow and the Chicago Stump. These are painful reminders of what tragedies were affected by our recent ancestors in the quest for greed, with no thought to words preservation for their children or children’s children. These stumps are the remnants of more might sequoias ripped from the ground by the “progress” of man’s civilization. The Chicago Stump in particular tells a sad story. As explorers brought tales of the mighty trees back east, many people refused to believe that any tree so large could exist. As proof, the loggers cut down the General Noble Tree (what remains is known as the Chicago Stump), broke it into pieces, shipped it east, and reassembled it for spectators. Even after seeing the reconstructed tree with their own eyes, many onlookers still thought it was a hoax. The mighty tree had been killed for nothing, but the vanity and ignorance of mankind. It breaks my heart to see a place like this.

 

Stopping again at Grant’s Grove to see more of the giant sequoia, including the General Grant tree, we realize the hour is getting late and decide to head back to camp. After a visit from our friend the mule deer again, we turn in with thoughts of wild past of this land in our heads.

Sequoia National Park (Sequoia National Park, California)

Explorer and naturalist John Muir worked tirelessly to preserve the wonders of the Sierra for future generations. The Sequoia are but one magnificent example of the rewards of his life’s work. Driving up highway 180 from Fresno, my wife and I began seeing a large forest fire on the slopes we believed to be part of the park, and we feared that some of the mighty Sequoia might be lost as a result. As we checked in, I asked the ranger about it and he put our minds at easy by explaining that it was a prescribed burn, one of many that are done annually by the Park Service in an effort to clean up dry brush on the forest floor and prevent truly damaging fires from threatening the forest. The Park Service has learned that forest fires, while destructive are part of the natural ecosystem and cannot be fully suppressed without terrible consequences to the ecosystem. We learn more every day about how better to live in harmony with the world around us.

Sequoia, the word itself, sounds mighty and rightly so. Some of the trees in this very forest are the largest living things on the face of the Earth, by volume. I have visited other groves of these behemoths. The Mariposa and Calaveras groves to the north are both wonderful islands of Sequoias unto themselves, but don’t even begin to compare to the sheer number of big trees in this park, including the largest tree in the world, General Sherman.

As we arrive late in the afternoon, we content ourselves to get our camp set up and relax through the evening over a warm campfire. What a peaceful night’s rest it is possible to get here in the wilds.

Waking early, but not too early, we head out for our daily adventure, which begins with a trip to the ranger station and then on to the Giant Forest Museum, which is dedicated to educating park visitors on the majesty and fragility of mighty sequoia. The museum is well worth the stop, not only for the Sentinel Tree, which guards the entrance, but to learn about the nature and environment these trees thrive in.
 

Moving on, we drive down the mountain to Hospital Rock, which contains a number of beautiful Native American pictographs, careful preserved by an awning of limestone. Nearby, we find another example of Miwok presence as there is a small grinding rock overlooking the creek below.  While this small sub-section of the park has no obvious connection to the giant trees for which the park is named, it was still a worthwhile stop. Seeing the markers of these little settlements all over California gives one some idea of what life must have been like in the past.

Driving back up the mountain, we arrive at the General Sherman area with just enough time to catch a ranger-led lecture in front of the mighty tree. As Cass's leg has been bothering her, I let her out at the site and drive around the to the backside of the area to park the jeep. I didn’t expect it to be such a hike from the parking lot to the tree, but after a double-timed hike, I made it just in time. The ranger was knowledgeable and gave a wonderful presentation on the history of the park, the General Sherman tree, and the efforts to preserve the sequoia.

After an adventure filled day, we returned to our campsite and began preparing some dinner. Shortly after we began our meal, we were visited by a curious mule deer buck. He seemed to want to say hello to each of the campers in our area as he strolled from one site to the next, making friends all along the way. We turned in pretty early and prepared for the next day in the adjacent Kings Canyon.

Chaw'se Indian Grinding Rock (Amador County, California)

Only a couple of miles down the road from Black Chasm Cavern, we arrived at our second stop on this weekend adventure. The Chaw’se Indian Grinding Rock State Park was the ancestral home of a local band of the Miwok people. Here a large slab of marbleized limestone is filled with thousands of mortar holes used by the Miwok to grind acorns from the local oak trees into a paste used in breads and other staple foods of the tribe. This particular site is the home to the largest number of mortar holes in any given location, but is far from the only site of its type.

A small museum at the park is dedicated to the preservation of the Miwok Culture and a nearby village reconstruction shows how the Miwok lived. As I understand it, the local Miwoks still use the ceremonial round house for a few of their annual events. Its good see the effort put into saving this rich history of our land.

A short path from the museum leads out to the limestone slab and then around it in its entirety. It is something to behold the holes themselves range anywhere from 2 to 10 inches deep and must have taken many generations to grind to such depths. I can’t help but visualize tribal life at this site with numerous individuals hard at work making a living from the bounty of the surrounding lands. How peaceful and spiritual it must have been.

Black Chasm Cavern (Amador County, California)

My wife and I had decided to take a weekend camping in Central California, specifically in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. There were a couple of sites to see along the way and the underground chambers of Black Chasm Cavern were the first. The drive to Volcano, CA, which is very near the National Natural Landmark, was beautiful, but uneventful. We arrived just in time for the tour. We hurriedly paid our admission fees and headed down to the cavern entrance with the tour guide.

This cave boasts some of the most plentiful and magnificent helictite formations in the world. These crystal formations are thought to form when mineral rich water under immense pressure is forced through microscopic cracks in the surrounding water. The result are amazing crystalline shapes that seem to defy gravity.

The cave tour itself is fairly short and consists of only three chambers, but each has its own character of mysterious beauty. The final chamber, the Landmark Room, contains a wall with thousands of helictite formations and is the major reason for the site’s designation as a natural landmark.

Cinder Cone (Lassen Volcanic National Park, California)

Lassen Volcanic National Park is so close, it's difficult to not go exploring there at least once a year. Last year, Cass and I drove a few miles through the forest to Butte Lake in the Northwestern corner of the park, but didn't have much time to explore. However, an interesting feature of the park caught my interest and I promised myself to revisit it one day the following summer. Today was that day. I woke up early and got on the road around 6:00. With the top down on the jeep, the two-hour drive was rather brisk, but it was nice.

Arriving at the park, I found a place to park and headed for the Cinder Cone trailhead, just past the recently awakened Butte Lake. Mornings over a beautiful forest lake are always refreshing. Looking forward to the trail, I knew to be on the lookout for two other features of the park, the Fantastic Lava Beds and the Painted Dunes. I had read about them in literature on the park, but wasn't exactly sure what to expect to see or when to expect to see it. No problem, surprise is always the best approach and the Fantastic Lava Beds wasted no time in showing me the way. All along the Eastern side of the trail, large boulders of volcanic glass form a sea of dried lava, which according to signage was spewed forth over repeated eruptions from Cinder Cone. The lava bed itself stood approximately 30 feet taller than the ground of the surround forest and appeared as an agitated sea with rolling waves of the dark stone undulating and breaking one over the other.

This continued all the way up until the Cinder Cone volcano itself became visible in the distance. The dark gray cone rises from the barren landscape to a height of about 700 ft. above the surrounding area, with a steep and narrow path winding its way up the Western side. Making my way to the path, I remember how much fun I have in past adventure through landscapes made of volcanic ash. Today will be no different. Deciding to test my resolve, I begin making my way up great beast. With no shade to find, it gets quite hot and I have to stop a couple of times to rest. Eventually though, I reach the summit and look down into the inner cone of the volcano - magnificent.

Making my way around the cone on a worn trail, I am greeted with marvelous views of the entire Fantastic Lava Beds and the Painted Dunes on the East and Southeastern sides. In the distance I can see Butte Lake to the North and Snag Lag to the South East. And to the Southwest, the snow-covered Lassen Peak oversees all the goings-on in its namesake park. Truly a grand view from the top of Cinder Cone.

The pure beauty of the Painted Dunes catches my attention and I'm compelled to seek different angles for my camera. Not having a lot of geologic knowledge of the area, I have to assume that there were mineral deposits in the volcanic ash blasted from Cinder Cone, and as that ash covered the surrounding landscape, the gray ash was decorated by patches rich in these mineral treasures. The end result looks like an artist’s canvas, with base gray polka-dotted with bright yellows and amazing reds and oranges. Nature is the greatest artist.

Making my way around to the backside of the cone, I shuffle down a much steeper path to the base, where I have another grand view of the Painted Dunes. I begin to make my way back to the trailhead and discover the trail actually travels through the dunes on the Southern side of Cinder Cone. Awesome, I get to see and touch them close up. They don't disappoint. A couple of miles further and I'm back at the jeep, but what a terrific day trip this has been. I will definitely have to return.

Fly Geyser (Washoe County, Nevada)

When my friend Nick mentioned that the Friends of Black Rock organization had permission to lead a short guided tour of this freakish landmark, which exists on private land, I jumped at the chance. As I understand it, this geyser was made unintentionally by well drilling back in the 1960's. The mineral-rich water, heated by geothermal energy erupted from the ground and began depositing at the drilling point. Over the years and decades, a mound of travertine has built up to the size of small house, and continues to spout hot water and minerals.

Nick, his girlfriend, Michelle, and I met up with the rest of the group early and waited for the guides to open the locked gate leading to the geyser. Quite a few people have showed up, as this opportunity is rare. As we make our way through the dry grasses, we can hear the water spouting from the top of the formation. 

As we approach, I'm drawn in by magnificent colors of the fungus and/or bacteria growing on the minerals. The steam pour off, in conjunction with the colors, and the Black Rock Desert in the background offer some amazing views.

The tour doesn't last long and soon, we are back on the road, but I'm thankful for the opportunity to see this oddity.

Lehman Caves (Great Basin National Park, Nevada)

This will be my second visit to the less traveled Great Basin National Park, which sits in Eastern Nevada along the Utah border. A strange park in that it does not have a single magnificent attraction to speak of, but boasts an amazing array of different ecosystems as one travels up the elevations of Wheeler Peak. We arrive and set up camp and then try to decide what to do first. Nick wants to go up and see the glacier and Bristlecone Pines. I agree, but as I have done this hike before and as the snow is still very prevalent as we reach the higher elevations, I stop near the top and allow Nick to continue on. The hike is refreshing and gives me just the incentive to make a campfire and enjoy a quiet restful evening under the stars in this remote place.

We rise early and break camp, and then head down to the Lehman Caves visitor center. We had previously purchased tickets for the most popular of the cave tours, which begins promptly at 9:00 AM.

As we enter the cave, the ranger tells stories of its discovery and early exploration. He shocks many visitors by shutting off his flashlight to simulate the conditions early spelunkers had to go through. Turning his the lights back on, we begin to see some of the amazing formations this cave has to offer. I comment about how dry it seems in contrast to many other caves I have visited. He agrees that his is one of the dryer caves known, but that hasn't stopped what little water there is from depositing minerals into all kinds of amazingly bazaar formations.

 

We visit several rooms within the caves, and each has its own story to share. One in particular that caught my attention though is filled with pools of shimmering water. Apparently this was a site to behold for early tourists and as such, the park service in an early era flooded some of the pools to make it more astonishing to visitors. The ranger assures us though that that water was drained in lieu of the now more conversationalist era of the park service, and that all the water now present is of natural origins - very cool.

The tour lasts about an hour and half and is well worth the money and time. This cave, like many others, holds many gems worth seeing.

The Narrows (Zion National Park, Utah)

After some lunch and a change of gear, we decide to head up to the Narrows, one of the main draws of the park. The bus drops us off at the northern end of the main canyon and signs indicate that we have another mile hike to reach the start of the Narrows. The Narrows, as the name implies, are the northern end of the canyon where the walls have closed in to such a point that mere yards separate one from the other. Looking up the sheer sides, one sees the roof is several hundred feet up, and through it all, the calm (at least today) river beckons adventure seekers.

The hike to the start is pretty crowded and after traversing a small portion of the Narrows, I can understand why. When we reach the jumping off point, I switch into some water shoes, which I use for kayaking and begin to wade up the shallow river. Nick, having left his gear at home, agrees to wait for me. I promise to not venture too far and make him wait too terribly long.

The water is cool, but not cold, and I am joined by numerous hikers of all ages as we shimmer and shake our way over the slick creek gravel river bottom. In some places there is dry land on one side or the other, but for most of the distance I travel (a total of about half a mile) I am simply wading in water anywhere from knee to navel deep. What fun this is.
 

I think back to my childhood and of exploring the twists and turns of Hurricane Creek in Kentucky with my dad. Those were some of my fondest memories of him and I can't help but think of him now as I walk down a similar path, but in a far distant land. I miss dad. I wish he were still with us to see or perhaps even experience some of the wonders I have seen in my life. I think he would have enjoyed many of them.

Reaching a point, I tell myself that I will travel around one final bend and then turn back to rejoin Nick who was patiently waiting for me. After turning that bend, I decide to take one more. The child-like joy of this amazing hike is something that I hesitate to let go, but I must. My friend has been good enough to allow me to do this, while he waits. I turn around and head back for the start, all the while telling myself that I will one day soon hike (or wade) the entire "trail".

Emerald Pools (Zion National Park, Utah)

Looking for some shorter hikes to allow a little recovery time from our previous day's travels, Nick recommends we hike up to the three emerald pools across from the Zion Lodge, in the approximate center of the canyon. The hike first crosses a bridge over the Virgin River that was responsible for the carving of this wondrous place. We were able to get some great shots from here.

Continuing on up the fairly steep trail, we encounter a few wild friends, including a mule deer enjoying an early morning snack. He has apparently not learned to be scared of men, as he casually walks right past us in his search for breakfast foods to his liking.

As we approach the first and lowest of the three pools, we are greeted by the pattering of some small waterfalls above us. The water has carved out a large bowl into the sandstone in which the lower emerald pool sits. From above several small waterfalls rain moisture from the world above the canyon into this small oasis.

The trail leads on to the second of the pools, rising ever more steeply along the way. The second pool though is less substantial than the first and simply requires stepping across it to continue on to the third and final pool.

As we reach the destination, we are greeted by a rock climber relaxing in the cool shade near the large upper emerald pool. Scanning the area, we notice a belay rope on cliff side around the back of the pool. Apparently our friend is not alone, we realize as he radios some comrades presumably preparing to descend. I only wish I was in better shape and practiced enough to do some of this cliff scaling. My experience with it has been limited to manmade walls, and even with those it is obvious that I lack training. Perhaps someday, I will take this pastime up more seriously. For now though, hiking will have to do.

Zion National Park (Zion National Park, Utah)

When entering Zion Canyon, for which the national park was created to protect, I cannot help but think of much it reminds me of Yosemite Valley, though cut in sandstone instead of granite. The towering peaks on either side offer some amazing views. As we rise from a restful night's sleep under a warm breeze, we break camp and head to the visitor’s center to catch the shuttle. Private cars are generally not allowed in most of the canyon and visitors must take advantage of free shuttles that ferry adventurers to the various parts of the canyon.

We first stop at the Court of the Patriarchs, as the sun just begins to crown the three tall red peaks. The view from here is amazing and there is no wonder why early Mormon settlers named this area after the patriarchs of the bible. The stop is short though and we quick catch the next shuttle and continue on our journey.

Cedar Breaks (Iron County, Utah)

I suppose if I had seen Cedar Breaks before Bryce Canyon, I would have been more impressed. That is not to say that this national monument is not breathtaking, but it does lack some of the grandeur of its local cousin. The Cedar Breaks Amphitheater appears approximately the same size and sits at a slightly higher altitude than Bryce, but lacks the numerous hoodoo structures the national park is famous for. The higher elevation also means that there was still some snow in the area, and the visitor center had yet to open for the year. Still it was amazing in it's own way.

We had originally planned on hitting Zion first and then these two parks the next day, but due to getting a few hours ahead of our planned schedule reversed things a bit. That being said, it was time to start seeing about arrangements for the night and since we had reserved a campsite in Zion, which is where we headed.

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.