Crater Lake National Park, Oregon - Sightseeing

I flew to Portland on Friday morning to meet up with Keith and Melissa, beginning a several day road trip through southern Oregon, northern California, and the Oregon coast.  The primary reason for this trip was to run the Avenue of Giants Marathon in northern California on May 1, but we planned several stops before and after the race to make for a fun adventure.  Friday was primarily a driving day, and we drove from Portland to Shady Cove during the afternoon.  Our motel, the Maple Leaf, was a very pleasant surprise, and we enjoyed a good Mexican dinner that night as well.

Driving through a rainbow

Our motel in Shady Cove

The next morning, we made the one hour drive from Shady Cove to Crater Lake National Park.  I've wanted to visit this park for many years, so I was extremely excited to get the chance to see it in person.  The lake fills the old caldera of collapsed Mount Mazama.  It is the deepest lake in the United States, and one of the purest bodies of water.

Entrance to Crater Lake National Park

Wizard Island in Crater Lake

Crater Lake

The lake was spectacular!  We spent time at the main visitor center before making our way to the Rim Village, the only location open this early in the season.  It was shocking to see how much snow was present at the rim.  We walked along the rim for some great views, but hiking without snowshoes was out of the question this time of year.

Wizard Island

Visitor Center

Rim Village snow banks

Keith enjoying the views

Crater Lake

We spent a couple of hours at Crater Lake before making our way to Eureka, California for the evening,  We drove through some redwood forests along the way, and enjoyed some great views of a the coast, a preview of things to come!

 Along the way to Eureka, CA

The coastal views north of Eureka, CA

Superstition Mountains and Phoenix, Arizona Area - Hiking and Road Biking

After spending a week in Massachusetts visiting family for the Christmas holiday, I headed to Phoenix, Arizona with Roger for what we hoped was going to be a warm escape from the winter.  We left Salt Lake in the midst of a cold snap and wind storm, but we knew the arctic air was following us all the way to Arizona.  Last minute repacking swapped shorts and t-shirts for thermal shirts and a heavy duty tent.  It wasn't the forecast we had hoped for, but we were still going to ring in the new year with a fun adventure.

View of the Superstition Mountains from camp

Our plan was to camp at Lost Dutchman State Park for three nights to hike in the Superstition Mountains, followed by two nights in a hotel so we could rent bikes and do some rides around the Phoenix area.  We landed in Phoenix on Tuesday afternoon and took care of some food and firewood shopping before heading to Lost Dutchman State Park before sunset.  We knew the storm was coming, but the evening was pleasant and we spent some time walking around and taking pictures of the gorgeous desert scenery.

Setting up the heavy duty tent

Desert sunset at Lost Dutchman State Park

Desert sunset at Lost Dutchman State Park

The weather wasn't as bad as I was expecting on Wednesday morning, but the storm clouds were quickly rolling in from the south.  We made nice breakfast, cleaned up, and hunkered down in the tent as the wind gusts increased and the first wave of rain moved in.

Storm approaching the Superstition Mountains

After a couple of hours, the wind subsided and the heavy rain became more showery.  We decided to hike around the trails at Lost Dutchman so we could be close to camp if the weather turned nasty.  It wasn't the nicest day for hiking, but it was fun to walk around the desert landscape and plants in weather that seemed more appropriate for the Pacific Northwest.

Cactus wren during the storm

 Stormy Superstition Mountains

Stormy Superstition Mountains

 Siphon Draw Trail

 Cholla cactus friends

Roger enjoying the stormy views

After a full afternoon of hiking, we returned to camp hoping to make dinner and start a nice fire for New Year's Eve.  The rain began to pick up so we decided to return to the tent and wait for it to pass.  The rain continued to fall for several hours and by 11 pm, I was beginning to worry that New Year's Eve was going to be a total washout.  The sound of raindrops finally began to subside just before midnight.  I emerged from the tent to find the rain had changed to snow and was coating the desert in an unexpected blanket of white.  We welcomed the new year at midnight with a "miracle" fire that I managed to start and a traditional spray of champagne in the middle of an Arizona snowstorm.

A rare Arizona snowstorm

Snow on New Year's Eve

Welcome 2015!

We awoke on New Year's Day to a desert landscape transformed into a winter wonderland.  The sun was out and so were the locals, taking lots of pictures of the snow covered Superstition Mountains.  After making a frosty breakfast, we headed to the Peralta trail head for some hiking in the Superstitions.

New Year's Day

First sunrise of 2015

We had planed to hike the 13 mile Weavers Needle loop, including the popular Peralta Trail, but the trail beyond the saddle overlooking the Weavers Needle was buried in several inches of untrammeled snow.  With no trail to follow, we headed back to the trail head and drove to the short and relatively easy Hieroglyphic Trail near Gold Canyon.  After reaching the petroglyph area, we hiked a bit farther up the canyon to escape the crowds that were out for their New Year hikes.  We returned to camp around sunset and enjoyed a nice fire as the skies cleared and the stars gave us a show.

Cacti and snow

Peralta Trail

Peralta Trail

Saddle of the Peralta Trail with Weavers Needle

Hieroglyphic Trail

Despite the cold temperatures, we rented road bikes and checked into a hotel in Tempe for the remainder of the trip.  On Friday, we did a 40 mile ride along the Bush Highway, paralleling the Salt River, and then up and over Usery Pass.  Our ride on Saturday was a 55 mile loop around McDowell Mountain that included a stop at Fountain Hills.  It was great to be on a bike in January and the sun made it feel warm, despite the cool temperatures.

Saguaro Lake

Bush Highway

Fountain Hills

Before heading to the airport on Sunday to return to Salt Lake, we spent the afternoon at the Desert Botanical Garden near Phoenix.  The sun was out, the temperatures we back to normal, and the gardens were full of impressive desert plants.  It was a great way to finish our Arizona adventure to welcome the new year.

Roger at the Desert Botanical Garden

Desert Botanical Garden

Desert Botanical Garden

Desert Botanical Garden

Canyonlands National Park, Utah - Camping and Hiking

A quote from my friend Mate's holiday letter: "As you greet the New Year, so, too, shall you spend it."

I had good reason to go to bed just after midnight on New Year's Eve - an early morning departure to Moab to visit some of my favorite places in Southern Utah. If you want to see some of the most spectacular sites around Moab and not feel like you are in Disneyland or L.A. traffic, you need to be able to tolerate a little heat or a little cold. It keeps the crowds to a minimum. There have been many trips to this area during the height of summer, including Salt Creek Canyon - the gold standard of misery to which all other unbearable experiences are compared (at least according to some.) But I can only remember visiting the area once during the winter and it was right after I moved to Utah. I'll take the heat over the cold any day, but I always appreciate an outdoor experience without the crowds. This trip was on familiar territory but visiting in a different season made it feel like a whole new experience.

We set up camp the first night near the Colorado River, just outside of Moab. There were a few hours of daylight left so we decided to check out Arches National Park. There were very few visitors and the snow capped redrock made for some great scenes.


sunset and the LaSal Mountains

Balanced Rock

Double Arch

Turret Arch

Brandon in his tent

Since we were so close to Moab, we decided to do a little grocery shopping and have a "fancy" dinner, complete with real cooked food and beer!


Brandon cooking over the fire

Me making fajitas

On Friday we traveled south to the Needles district of Canyonlands National Park. This is a relatively quiet area even during the mild season so we pretty much had the park to ourselves. We set up camp and hiked into Lost Canyon. The weather was somewhat mild for January and we enjoyed the sunshine by relaxing on some rocks and checking out the views.


Brandon and Rob

Hiking into Lost Canyon

"Potholes" full of water

Rob

Brandon

The next day we did a longer hike into Chesler Park. It was colder and a little snowy, a big change from my last visit to this area in July.


on the way to Chesler Park

me in Elephant Canyon

Rob

the Needles

dusting of snow on the Needles

We set a record for our coldest camping experience the final night. We decided to camp in the Island in the Sky district of Canyonlands National Park. The temperature dropped to minus 9 degrees F in Moab and it may have been even colder where we were - high up on a plateau surrounded by canyons. It certainly was invigorating weather to wake up to. Most of our tent stakes were abandoned that morning since they didn't want to budge from the frozen ground. Once the sun warmed things up a bit we checked out some of the views in Island in the Sky.

Island in the Sky

Mesa Arch

Me on the edge of the canyon

frosty tents

brrrrr!!

"It Depends on Us... another year lies before us like an unwritten page, an unspent coin, an unwalked road. How the pages will read, what treasures will be gained in exchange for time, or what we find along the way, will largely depend on us."

-- Esther Baldwin York


we added our stone...