MountainRoadRanch

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Havasupai Adventure

After a five hour drive to St. George, and another 7 hours (which included stopping by the Las Vegas airport and crossing the bottleneck at Hoover Dam), we arrived at the Hilltop Parking lot and spent the night in the car...

The rest of our group left at about 5:30 am. (Remember, if you click on the photo, it will enlarge...)

Kev and Carol got a little later start.

We waited about 5 hours for our riding horses to arrive. The refrigerated trucks had first dibs on the pack animals, carrying fresh produce, dairy products, etc. down to the village.

We finally got our mounts...of course Cowboy Bob was....well Cowboy and since I was married to Cowboy, I became "Cowgirl" and was put in charge of leading the riding horses down the canyon. My horse was called "Shorty". The ride down was very hot (106), I dropped a water bottle in the first hundred yards...(No stopping, "keep going")

The guy in the turquoise shirt was a scout who was left by his leaders to wait 5 hours, then ride a horse down the canyon. He had never been on a horse in his life....so...we had to kind of take him under our wings. Needless to say, he was miserable. This is our campsite the first night.

The first night, I wondered what we had gotten into. Was this really worth it? At least we had water close by to cool off in.

The second night we moved to a better campsite with more shade.

I thought I was going on a 1/2 mile stroll to hang out by a beautiful waterfall. Little did I know what was in store. I took my sarong, a towel, food, a book to read and wore my swim suit. The photo below does not do this justice...hiking down nearly vertically hanging onto chains AND hiking through a tunnel/cave like area. Whew! Oh, well, the bottom was worth it.

Beautiful Mooney Falls.

I photographed interesting things...like fungus and ferns.

Then, had to wait our turn to hike up the ladders and chains again. Actually, kinda fun, but I swore I didn't want to do it again.

Later, we hiked in the other direction to Havasu Falls. This, just involved about 1/4 mile through sand, rock and dirt.

Beautiful playground.

Just enough spray coming off the falls to keep us cool in the 100 plus heat.

My opening to our tent faced this lovely little fern grotto.

A view of our campsite.

The Sacred Datura that bloomed all over. I joked to someone "there's enough of that here to get the entire campground of 200 people high for weeks"

If you look closely, you can see Cowboy sitting at the picnic table, relaxing and reading. This is right by Havasu Falls.

After 3 nights, we were ready to pack out.

The ride out provided more adventures...at least it was a little cooler. My horse was #91 and Bob's was "Blackie"

It was a trip of a lifetime...kinda like childbirth...the memories and photos are wonderful...the discomforts kind of fade away out of memory. So glad we were able to do it.

Also check out Desertbound's photos and narratives of the trip:

http://imdesertbound.blogspot.com/2010/06/people-of-blue-green-waters.html

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Johnson Canyon Hike

Brandon recommended the Johnson Canyon/Arch trail just south of Snow Canyon. It is only open until March 15 when they close it to hiking because of the wildlife (mostly desert tortoises) and the only water access for the summer months.

Johnson Arch (look closely, because it is backgrounded by rocks)

The water source at the top of the canyon.

I used the timer feature on my camera as I hiked this one alone.

Rocks under water.

Had to hike through some lava rock. This was a very fun hike. Highly recommended if you are in the area October 31 - March 15.

Saturday, we had planned a hike with my Uncle Scott to Purgatory and Babylon (gotta love those names), but got rained out. Bethany and I went to the Art Show at Dixie college. This one was my favorite, of clouds in Capitol Reef. It also won Best of Show and was for sale for $5,000.

This one was my second favorite called Twelve Pears. I love the color, contrast, texture, movement and energy in a so called "still" life.

This was my third favorite, a pastel portrait of a little cowboy and his dog. This show is well worth going to if you are in the area. I believe it goes until the end of March. I definitely want Bob to enter it next year!

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Red Cliffs Getaway Days 1-2

Last weekend I went walkabout (or drive-a-bout) First, began with a stop at the Meadow Hot Springs where I had the place to myself for a few minutes until some Mexicans showed up. Arrived at Beth's for a delicious spaghetti and meatballs dinner. I attended an amazing concert at the St. George Tabernacle featuring pianist and composer Kerry Henderson and also the inventor of the Electronic Valve Instrument, with whom she did several duets. I wish I had taken my camera there. The EVI was incredible. One instrument sounded like violins or trumpets or clarinets or oboes. The next morning featured a hike on the Chuckwalla Trail with about 15 ladies.

It was great fun to meet so many interesting women.

The view to the left is of Kerry's home where the retreat was held.

After the hike, I took a tour of the Jacob Hamlin homestead in Santa Clara. This is his original saddle.

I really liked this hurricane lamp. Named because the slots in it were designed to keep the wind from blowing it out.

After the tour, it was back to Kerry Henderson's home for a fabulous lunch. Cabbage salad, Shrimp Cocktail salad, Home made tortillas (wow), and assorted fresh salsas. Dessert was almond date balls and beet cupcakes.

The view from Kerry's front yard toward the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve. After lunch, we had an informative and inspirational presentation on embracing a healthier life style.