Summer Trip June, 2011

These are some of the photos from our Summer trip in June, 2011 up to Bryce Canyon, Zion National Park, and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.  We spent hours in the car talking, laughing and enjoying the beautiful scenery.  It's hard to believe we get along so well and enjoy so many of the same things.  What a great life we're leading!  No complaints, no regrets, only joy and happiness.  Sorry, honey, I know I'm supposed to be talking about our trip and geocaching, but this is the chance you took when you let me post the latest blog. 

Our first stop was Bryce Canyon where we learned about "hoodoos".   One night we went to a night astronomy event, hosted by the park rangers, where we got to look through giant telescopes.  We saw the moon up close, Saturn, and a Supernova.  It was so interesting, fun and we even got to bundle up because it was cold outside.

This is Martin in front of some of the hoodoos. 

We hiked along a trail that took us to the bottom of the canyon.  We even had lunch under a huge rock overhang (very romantic and private). Unfortunately, that meant we had to hike back up the canyon.  However, we lived to tell about it.

These are some of the interesting hoodoos.  You will notice the hold in the rock formation.  

************************************************************************************ This is called the Bryce Amphitheater.  It is hard to understand why until you see it.  You must admit that it does look like people with their eyes and bodies trained on a performance of some kind.

This is Martin getting ready to start on the trail to the bottom of the canyon.

This is one of my favorite photos only because I'm not a great photographer, but I thought this was a good one.  Now, on to our next stop, Zion National Park.

Zion National Park  

Like Bryce Canyon, the rock formations at Zion had many different layers.

Martin sitting by the stream.

Martin holding back the rock on the trail.

Martin drinking from the "rock".  It was amazing to us to see plants growing on the side of rocks and water just streaming out of the rock from seemingly nowhere.

Finally, the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

It was hard to believe that the white stuff in the center of the picture is snow.  There were patches of snow below trees and beside the road under trees.  It was amazing because it was 77 degrees outside.

 This is Angel's Window.  You can see the Colorado River through the "window".  You may also notice the viewpoint from above where you can walk to see more of this beautiful landscape.

Overall, this was a great vacation.  We returned home with great photos (over 2,000) and great memories.  I can't wait to do it again!

Hiking in Pima Canyon 5/30/11

Melanie and I went on a nice hike on a cool Sunday Morning. It was lovely weather. We walked the Pima Wash trail and caught a few geocaches along the way. Almost at 50!