ramblings of a Seattle travel, food and photography hound
The Canyon Overlook Trail is a nice, moderately difficult hike, but it's so easy to miss. The trailhead doesn't start from the valley floor but rather from just east of the Zion-Mt. Carmel tunnel, 600ft above the valley floor. Entering or exiting Zion will also treat you to spectacular vistas as you take the winding... Continue Reading →
This is our second time at Zion Pizza & Noodle Company; the first time was in 2008. Pizzas here are pretty good, the dough thicker than we prefer. Our Combo Pizza of tomato sauce, pepperoni, black olives, onions, mushrooms, Canadian bacon, and two kinds of cheese really hit the spot after a long day. You... Continue Reading →
We'd been looking forward with some trepidation to this hike. Last time we were here in April 2008, it wasn't possible because the currents were too strong and water levels too high. The Narrows at Zion National Park is not a hike in the traditional sense because it involves wading in the Virgin River virtually the... Continue Reading →
Situated in the middle of Dixie National Forest, Cedar Breaks National Monument is a testament to the forces of uplift and erosion. It shares the visual splendor of Bryce Canyon National Park not too far away, but it stands 2,000 ft higher in elevation at over a breathtaking 10,000 ft above sea level. Although both... Continue Reading →
Michael and Jane Stern's 500 Things to Eat Before It's Too Late lists Idle Isle Cafe's idleberry pie as one of them. Idleberry is a trade name of theirs and consists of a combination of blueberries, blackberries and boysenberries, a worthy competitor of Springdale's bumbleberry pie. Located in Brigham City, the cafe also serves other... Continue Reading →
Petrified wood is a mysterious byproduct of geological processes. A petrified log looks just like wood on the outside but is usually a jumble of colorful quartz on the inside. How did this come to be? Here too in Petrified Forest National Park is the Painted Desert, the name given to the “badlands” whose outrageous... Continue Reading →
In 1864, the first group of Navajo was forced from their land by the U.S. government into an internment camp at Bosque Redondo, NM, followed by several other forced migrations. Four years later, they were allowed to return to their homeland in eastern Arizona and western New Mexico, but not before the Navajo's traditional way... Continue Reading →
Spider Rock, where Spider Woman taught the Navajos the art of weaving, towers 800 feet above the canyon floor. Many television commercials were filmed here, notably ones with cars precariously parked on top. It’s arguably the most spectacular physical feature of Canyon de Chelly National Monument, one best appreciated by driving to the overlook along... Continue Reading →
These sandstone monuments that tower above the flat, arid desert are almost clichés of Southwest travel. Ever since John Ford popularized Monument Valley in his films, it seems everyone has come to regard this area with its unique sandstone buttes as iconic symbols of the frontier West. Monument Valley is on Navajo reservation land. As... Continue Reading →
After leaving Natural Bridges National Monument, we had to descend the spectacular and cliff-hugging Moki Dugway, down almost 2000 ft, in order to get to Mexican Hat, where we stayed the night. The dugway was carved out of the cliffs for uranium-mining trucks back in 1958 to get from the mine at Fry Canyon to... Continue Reading →
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