Road Trip 2014: Wupatki and Grand Canyon

July 3, 2014

[HINT: Click on the images in this post to get bigger versions]

Arizona has more national parks and monuments than any other state in the union. We were heading out to see a couple more of them on July 3. We had originally scheduled only a few hours at the Grand Canyon; Carla and I have been there a couple of times before. But my buddy Herb urged us to stay until sunset to get some great pictures. So we changed or plans and decided to spend the whole day in the area, spend the night in Williams, Arizona before heading on the last leg home.

July 3 travel: Flagstaff, Wupatki National Monument, the Grand Canyon

As you can see from the map above, the direct route to the Grand Canyon is directly north of Flagstaff on highway 180. One of my favorite drives in the entire country is Highway 89 north of Flagstaff, Arizona up to southern Utah. After passing the San Francisco Peaks of Flagstaff, you have a gentle decline with beautiful northern Arizona before you. Years ago when the kids were young we drove through here on our way home from visiting my folks in Prescott, Arizona where they lived after retirement. The area is on the edge of the painted desert and a big thunderstorm came up; the rain flowing in the ditches on the sides of the road looked like someone dumped thousands of gallons of paint. 

One of Carla's favorite places on earth (no hyperbole) is Wupatki National Monument. Here you'll find the remains of the ancient pueblo people such as the Sinagua who lived here around 500 A.D. Now that we had a full day, it was a no brainer we'd go north then head over to the east entrance of the Grand Canyon.

It was another stormy day as we approached the ancient site. There are no trees up here and as we walked up a hill to one of the ruins thunderclaps were closing in on us. I figured we'd be the highest thing for miles around so we grabbed a few quick pictures and skedaddled. When walking through the monument I didn't get a sense of how orderly the site is.

Birds' eye view of Wupatki pueblos.

Walking up to one of the sites we saw a couple of very colorful lizards scurrying down the path ahead of us.

Colorful lizard at Wupatki National Monument.

He sure didn't blend into the scenery here; maybe he is hideously poisonous and we lucked out. Or maybe he really does blend into the painted desert.

We stayed up on the accessible pueblos long enough to grab a couple of photos.

Walking up to an abandoned pueblo at the Wupatki National Monument

Jeanette making herself home in a pueblo at the Wupatki National Monument.

Jeanette and Carla at Wupatki National Monument

Jeanette and Carla  with a squall coming at Wupatki National Monument

We hopped back in the car promising ourselves we'd be back for a longer visit someday soon. We were on the edge of the storm and it promised to be an "interesting" day up on the Grand Canyon Rim.

After driving a little farther north on US 89 we headed west to get to the Grand Canyon. In the map below you can see the two of the rivers, the Colorado and the Little Colorado, that flow through and formed the canyon. We rougly paralleled the Little Colorado.

Rivers forming the Grand Canyon

On the way in we stopped by a Navajo view point that also had a small trading post. The storm we had been running from caught us. The winds were so strong we were afraid to get too close to the railing over the canyon; yes the wind was that strong. Carla and Jeanette went to the trading area - an open wooden structure with canvas top - when rain and hail hit. I jumped in the car and drove over near the entrance to the trading area; Carla and Jeanette hunkered down until it tapered a bit. Carla got a picture from inside the trading area after it cleared up a bit.

View of the Little Colorado canyon from the Navajo viewpoint.

When we first got there, Jeanette asked if this was the Grand Canyon. She is the most positive person I know and she marveled at it. I told her no, this is just a taste of what is coming. I've never been to the east end of the Grand Canyon so wasn't sure what to expect. Mary Colter, the architect behind La Posada Hotel in Winslow, Arizona designed the Indian Watchtower here. Too bad I didn't get a picture; you'll have to go yourselves I suppose. I did get a picture of me though ;)

Howard at the Indian Watchtower on the east end of the Grand Canyon

It was early afternoon and we were hungry so we had a bite to eat before heading west to the main entrance.  I was surprised (shouldn't I have looked at a map?) that we were still 25 miles from the main entrance to the Canyon. But it was a beautiful drive where we saw a herd of elk and caught glimpses of the Canyon. We parked and made our way to the Canyon rim. Our jaws dropped. It was beautiful.

South Rim of the Grand Canyon

South Rim of the Grand Canyon

 This picture is from an iPhone; maybe I ought to throw away my fancy Sony SLT A65

South Rim of the Grand Canyon

It was getting to be late afternoon/early evening when the storm caught up to us. Carla and I took matching pictures of the sun bouncing off a promontory. I had a polarized lens on which wouldn't pick up the rainbow.

South Rim of the Grand Canyon

Rainbos over the South Rim of the Grand Canyon

There is a great bus system here; four bus lines serving various parts of the canyon. We knew for sunset we wanted to go as far west as we could; somewhere close to Mohave Point. We stopped for a quick bite then scouted for a bus to get us to a sunset viewing site. It turns out that there is a special point picked for sunset watching; extra busses wait to pick people up.  We climbed on and went up to Mohave Point. As we got off, a squall of wind and rain hit. We aren't made of sugar so we knew we wouldn't melt; we hunkered behind a small tree. Other people were not so intrepid; dozens of site seers jumped on the bus. After about 10 minutes the rain stopped and we saw that there were very few people who stayed to see the sunset. Our good luck! I imagine this was one of the least crowded sunset views in peak season.

Sunset at Mohave Point, Grand Canyon

Sunset at Mohave Point, Grand Canyon

Sunset at Mohave Point, Grand Canyon

 After the sun went down it got dark in a hurry! And I don't mean a little bit dark. After getting back to the visitor center we had a hard time finding the parking lot we pulled into. Thank goodness for remote entry; I pushed the "unlock" button until I saw the lights blink. We piled in and headed south down highway 180 into Williams, Arizona. It was pitch black on either side of us; I used the high beams most of the way down; something that doesn't happen in the populated area we live in.

Arizona is one of our top spots for vacations; is there any wonder why? After a nice night's sleep we were headed out on the last leg of our trip home.

Trains in Washington - May 12, 2014

Last month when we went for a hike on the Rowena Crest Trail on the Oregon side of the Columbia Gorge, I looked longingly across at all the BNSF trains rolling by on the northern, or Washington, side. With the weather looking very nice I decided to do one of the things I had planned as a regular activity in my semi-retirement. I went out train spotting. After scoping the trip on Google maps to find spots where the sun would be right.

Leaving Vancouver I saw two eastbound freights but to my dismay I also saw a lot of maintenance-of-way gear which made me think the rails might be shut down for the day while they worked on the tracks. As I drove the 33 miles out to the St. Cloud trail I didn't see many trains. After a 20 minute wait at the trail, a westbound train came roaring by; trains move a lot faster out here than in Portland where I'm usually watching trains. As a result, my first picture was nothing but a big orange blur.

I waited another 15 minutes with not trains in site. Since this is usually a very active line I figured maintenance was the work of the day, so I stopped at Bonneville dam for a look see. The lighting was all wrong for this picture; I was looking almost directly into the sun at midday. But you can get a sense of the power in the river.

Bonneville dam looking south across the Columbia River

I pulled into another area marked on my map and my suspicions were confirmed; lots of MOW vehicles.

Maintenance of Way workers

I decided to go for a drive farther east, then cut over on a bridge over to Hood River and then come back home. I saw a train in a side waiting for work to clear ahead; I thought I could at least get a shot at long distance from a turnout. I snapped a couple of pictures, then loaded camera and tripod in the car and as I started to drive on, I noticed the driving lights come on and heard a couple of short horn blasts indicating the train was preparing to move. I jumped back up and quickly set up in time to catch it passing by. Lighting again went against me, I was hoping to be on the south side of the tracks so I could have the sun behind me, but at this point, I'd take what I could get.

West bound grain train

I then found a little turnout just next to a tunnel; light would be in my favor! Hoping that trains might be getting free I set up hoping for  another westbound coming through the tunnel. I was rewarded!

Westbound

It was gaining speed and I had my shutter speed set fast. 

Moving west.

I found some places to catch trains; if weather breaks, I'll head back to a few of the spots next week when I have a Thursday, my designated play day, off.

Mother's Day Dinner

Carla is a little under the weather but we were still able to have a very nice Mother's Day. She puttered in the front yard planting things. Our front yard always looks so nice thanks to her gardening. I have a theory that the entire world can be divided into two camps; those who call it gardening and those you call it yardwork. Carla is a gardener; opposites attract.

Andrew and Henriët FaceTimed with us this afternoon and shared their final pick of name for Baba; sorry, you'll have to wait until he's born late May / early June before we can share. Jeff and Sarah dropped by with a beautiful flower in a coffee mug; they came in time to FaceTime with Andrew and Henriët as well.

I have been totally caught up in "The Martian" by Andy Weir. On my own I would have skipped dinner in favor of finishing the book (book report coming soon). But I bought some beautiful salmon, baby potatoes and asparagus (yes, I actually cooked asparagus!).

I bought a plancha for my grill last month and have been waiting through the spring rain for a chance to use it. Plancha is a fancy word for cast iron griddle; I have an enameled one that fits in the grill by removing one of the grate sections. Cooking raw potatoes would take a lot longer than the 20 minutes for the salmon so I hunted for a recipe and found one on Cook's Illustrated.  I made my own garlic-rosemary olive oil by mixing 9 cloves of garlic, 1 teaspoon of minced rosemary and some salt in 4 tablespoons of olive oil. I sautéd the mixture for a few minutes; don't let the heat get too hot or you'll burn the garlic (like I did). No problem it still tasted great.

Garlic-rosemary olive oil prep

The key is to partially pre-cook the potatoes. I scrubbed, let them dry, cut them in half and poked holes in the skin side. Then I brushed on a tablespoon of the oil and liberally sprinkled salt on them. While the salmon started I microwaved them for 8 minutes on high.

Potatoes after the microwave.

I picked up a beautiful piece of salmon at the market. In October 2011 I made this cedar planked salmon with dijon mustard and brown sugar; Carla requested a redo for her special dinner. I originally got the  Bobby Flay recipe from Food Network; my version can be found here. The recipe calls for taking the skin off the bottom; I totally butchered the job. I've plank-smoked salmon before without removing the skin; next time the skin stays on. Rinse with cold water, dry off, place on a cedar plank that has soaked in water a few hours, sprinkle with salt and pepper, smear with dijon mustard and sprinkle brown sugar on top of it all. Then into the grill until it reaches about 135°F.  I've taken salmon off at 120°, but you are on your own. 

Salmon prepped for salt, pepper, mustard, and brown sugar.

Believe it or not I actually cooked asparagus!. Toss in a bit of olive oil and salt and pepper and onto the grill. 

Asparagus believe it or not

I started the salmon, then immediately put the spuds in the microwave; when they came out 8 minutes later, I tossed with a bit more oil and threw on the plancha, then added the asparagus

 I don't normally need all the space on my humongus grill. But it really comes in handy on a day like this.

Everything on the grill

 The asparagus was a bit large so took a bit more time cooking than the other items.

Ready to serve

Dinner is served.

A nice dinner.

I bought a tripod and ball-head for my camera Friday and used it for these pictures. My angle was way too high, but I was able to shoot at slow shutter speeds without blurring the pictures. I'll work on my camera angles as I continue to use it.

Fanno Creek Trail

Fanno Creek flows through Washington, Clackamas, and Washington counties. There is a trail alongside most of the creek; it comes within a mile of our house and Carla and I have walked on a few stretches of it. We've never walked north of Hall Blvd because of all the traffic. A few months ago the Tualatin Parks and Recreation District along with the City of Beaverton put a pedestrian crossing across Hall. I thought it was high time to get out along that stretch of the creek. I wasn't gone long because it started raining buckets.

Reflections in the creek.

Denny Rd entrance looking south.

Rowena Crest Trail

April 13, 2014

The past couple of Aprils we've headed out the Columbia Gorge to Mosier to have lunch at the Mosier Community Dinner which supports the local volunteer fire department. Mosier is a small town and this dinner at the local Grange hall has a small town feel. The locals make various salads and sides and they have a big smoker full of salmon out front. Seating is community style so you get to meet people who have been coming to this shindig for over 40 years.

Before dinner we went with the Watsons and Lees a bit past Mosier to the Rowena Crest Trail overlooking the majestic Columbia River. It's about 90 miles from our home on the west side of Portland.

We started in Beaverton, way on the left, and headed east 90 miles to get to Rowena Crest

 The only way to get an idea of this expansive view is to try a picture in panorama mode.

Looking north across the Columbia River into Washington.

One of the extra benefits for me is the view of the BNSF rail line running east and west on the Washington side of the river.

Train rolling west toward Vancouver, WA

Overlooking a little canyon with homes just south of the Columbia River

Mt Hood (I think) peeking over the ridge.

John borrowed a camera from me and Jay, a retired biologist with the Fish and Wildlife Service, brought his classification books to identify some of the flora.

John and Jay pursuing their crafts.

Dr. Jay classifying a plant

Karen, Carla, and Mary Ann

The girls hiked around and enjoyed the views. John, Jay, and I wouldn't know if we had a good time until we got home and reviewed our pictures and documents.

Jay didn't need a classification guide to identify this poison oak along the trail. I'm glad he pointed it out; I'm never sure if a tri-leaf plant is dangerous or not.

Poison oak along the trail 

April 2013

I wasn't happy with the pictures I took of Mosier this day, so I'm going to reach back to last year's pictures when we went with the Lees.

Smoker full of salmon in front of the Mosier Grange Hall

Buffet line

Family-style seating.

Carla, Karen, and John enjoying dinner.

After dinner last year we headed up the hill south of Hood River to get a glimpse of the apple trees and Mt. Hood.

A row of apple trees

Mt Hood rises up to the clouds.