A further collection of photographs from Utah.
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Marvellous, even though I say it myself.
Category: tourism
Our trip to Utah, part three
We are very close to the point of this trip.
Friday, September 27th.
As soon as we were on our way, first thing was to find a bed for the night in the area of the Capitol Reef NP. This was a popular time of the year and so many places were full. Our ‘fall-back’ position was to sleep in the truck but I really hoped it wouldn’t come to that.
Eventually we found a room for just tonight in The Flute Shop and Motel in Torrey, just 10 miles from the National Park. Run by Vance and Elaine Morrill it was more than just a motel, it was a scene of much fascination. For Vance made flutes the American Indian way.
But more of that later.
Oh, and there’s a dog story as well. Again, I’m writing that up as a separate post.
On to the Capitol Reef Park.
Or rather a pause before we descended off the heights that surrounded this part of Utah down to the park.
The pause was to take a photograph of an intense rain storm that had a spot quite close where the remnants of a rainbow could just be made out. It’s hardly visible in the above picture.
It was simply stunning.
Beyond words.
I promised you a little more about Vance Morrill and his flutes. But apart from the photograph I will delay that for a while (until the draft of the post has been approved by Vance).
Here is Jean looking at them.
Finally, Vance promised to draw some routes in the morning to some of the lesser known spots in Capitol Reef.
Our trip to Utah, part two.
Continuing the journey.
Thursday, September 26th.
So, on the road again soon after 7am.
The countryside was enormous, a phrase that I will probably repeat. Our cattle experience of yesterday was repeated, albeit in a different way, today. Cattle feasting on the grass over hundreds of acres.
Then we came across this fine statue of a horse.
It was on the property of Crane Creek Ranch, another enormous homestead.
On and on we went.
The scenery gradually changed and more rocky land came closer to the road.
But we eventually got to the Salt Lake flats and continued to Loa, Utah, population less than 600 persons!
Where we stayed at the Sunny Motel. There was only about 20 miles to go, to the East, before we reached Capitol Reef National Park.
Tomorrow is another day!
Our trip to Utah and back, part one.
The story and photographs.
I’m going to post every other day or so trying to give an idea of what we experienced.
Monday, September 23rd.
This was a barn that we stopped at to photograph on the way through South-Eastern Oregon.
We had Brandy with us and he was loving the journey.
But after we reached Lakeview where we stopped for the night we found that he didn’t enjoy the motel.
Tuesday, September 24th.
So in the morning there was no question about what we had to do. Drive the 4 hours back to Merlin, reunite Brandy with his doggy friends that he missed too much, and then drive the 4 hours back to Lakeview!
(As it turned out this was a very good decision by us. There were too many places where dogs were not allowed!)
Wednesday, September 25th.
First thing in the morning we took a closer look at the water that is the origin of the name Lakeview.
Then followed a long drive, a very long drive, out of Oregon and into Nevada. They were in the main lonely roads.
But stunning scenery alongside the lonely road.
Including a spectacular sight of the mist in the bottom of a particular valley.
Then we came across a herd of cattle being moved along the road.
It was unique to our eyes.
So, that’s the start of our travels.
More in a couple of days time.
Hallo world!
An update.
We are staying at the Noor Hotel in Torrey, Utah. We are here for just one night and will be heading South in a few hours time on Highway UT-12, a scenic route, from this stupendous area of geological wonderland down to Kanab, about 200 miles away.
Tomorrow we will have been on our travels for just one week. To say that we have done a lot would be an understatement! It started by us getting to Lakeview, SE Oregon, on Monday evening and finding that Brandy was very unhappy. So much so that on the Tuesday morning we drove the 4 hours back to Merlin and left him with Jana and the gang. He was so pleased to be back and all the other dogs likewise to see Brandy.
Then we drove back to Lakeview the same day!
Now we have seen such sights that are beyond words. This part of the world is variously 7,000 – 8,000 feet high. We are over 7,000 feet now. The region is known as the Waterpocket Uplift that includes Capitol Reef National Park and is dramatic, sensational and overwhelmingly beautiful. I have taken over 150 photographs already. Trust me, I can’t wait to post some of the better ones in about 10 days time.
So that’s all for now. Jeannie and I are well, very fortunate to have come this way, but missing our dogs!
So love to you all.
It may be quite a long time before there’s another update from us, and I’m sorry I can’t yet welcome new visitors or engage in responses to individual comments. And apologies for not being able to share a picture. That will come!
Corgi cafes!
Why thousands are flocking to corgi cafes.
From the BBC News:
Corgi cafes are all the rage, so what’s behind the global phenomenon transforming the fortunes of this once overlooked dog breed?
Corgi cafes are especially popular in Asia, with businesses thriving in Thailand, Japan and China.
You can watch the video here.
There’s also another video on YouTube.
Enjoy!
A bit of a heads-up
A vacation is coming up!
Now it’s still two weeks away but on the 23rd September we are going away until the 8th October.
We are driving to Utah specifically to see the slot canyons in Capital Reef National Park, and elsewhere.
The story behind this was quite a few months ago I was reading on Ugly Hedgehog about these canyons and said to Jeannie that we really should try and go there before we get too old.
As it happened, Jana could babysit the house and dogs, cats and horses on the dates that I mentioned earlier on.
We are taking just one dog with us. We will take Brandy because he adores being taken for a drive and he has the habit of going for a walkabout when at home and we thought it wasn’t fair on Jana.
So it’s all uncertain as to what I shall do with the blog. Whether I will have time to use old posts, or leave it alone completely, or from time to time go online and leave a brief post.
Things may become clearer nearer the time.
But it seemed like a good idea to give your a heads-up!
Stunning isn’t the half of it!
Now this is what I call survival!
A Vancouver, Washington dog survives a month in the wilderness.
Niko is a Vancouver family’s dog. He is also adventure partner to 16-year-old Caden Alt.
On July 26th, Niko went camping with Caden’s father, David Alt, in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. Located in South-West Washington it encompasses well over a million acres.
But I’ll let the KGW-TV blogsite tell you the full story.
ooOOoo
Dog Survives 31 Days In Woods After Being Hit By Car
By LINDSAY NADRICH, KGW-TV
VANCOUVER, Wash. (AP) — Niko, a Vancouver family’s dog, survived 31 days in the wilderness after getting hit by a car.
Niko is 16-year-old Caden Alt’s adventure partner.
“He’s always fun to have around,” Caden told KGW-TV. “He’s right there at your side walking around and yeah, he’s just awesome.”
On July 26, Niko went camping with Caden’s father, David Alt, in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. Later that night, Niko wandered over to the road and got hit by a car. David ran from the campsite just in time to see Niko sprint off into the woods.
“A lady jumped out of the car immediately and said, ‘I don’t know how he could’ve survived that,'” he said.
He searched all night, but could not find Niko. He said it was devastating.
For the next 31 days, he and Caden spent as much time as they could going back to look.
“Every weekend we went up there, we searched, that was pretty hard, coming back every day not finding anything,” Caden recalled.
Then last weekend, they got a call from two men who had seen a post about Niko on Facebook and spotted him about 100 yards from where he disappeared.
“That was, just like, my heart dropped for a second, like, is this happening?” Caden asked.
The Good Samaritans canceled their own trip and drove Niko straight to Vancouver.
“So, yeah, my son and I were just crying, it was, it was unbelievable, yeah, and then of course when we’re in the driveway and they bring him up, Caden and I are crying, those two grown men are crying, four guys crying, it was great,” David said.
Niko lost about 15 pounds but is otherwise doing well.
“Skin and bones and one eye shut, he had lost 30% of his body weight, but he immediately was eating and drinking,” David said.
Niko seemed pretty happy to be back by Caden’s side.
“It’s been amazing,” Caden said. “I’m so glad to have him back. He’s not like perfect, energetic back up to himself, but he’s getting there, better every day. He’s just as cute as ever, the house is filled again.”
So what did Niko do for 31 days alone in the woods?
“As far as trying to recap, only Niko knows the story right, too bad he couldn’t tell it,” David said.
During the month Niko was missing, David and Caden said they got a lot of support from people on social media, as well as a lot of tips that helped with the search. They said they are so thankful for everyone who kept them going.
___
Information from: KGW-TV, http://www.kgw.com/
ooOOoo
And it was very easy to close with a photograph of Niko. (And apologies, I didn’t make a note of the journal that published the photo.)
He is a gorgeous dog!
July 4th!
A cool idea from Austin.
I was at the Club NorthWest yesterday wearing my ‘U.S.’ shorts and Piper Cub T-shirt, something that I exercise in regularly, and Austin, my trainer, said why don’t you wear them tomorrow.
But then I couldn’t put a photograph in a post that came out at midnight, Oregon summer time, so I busied myself with a camera yesterday afternoon.
Here are the results!
And one to show the colours of the shorts a little better.
Well that’s all from me for today.
Happy July 4th!
Rafting the Rogue River, Conclusion
The last day of our experience of rafting downstream the Rogue River.
We are into the section of the Rogue River where it narrows and ‘white water’ appears. (In case you wondering why there are no photographs of real white-water it’s because I had to hang on with both hands and the iPhone stayed in my pocket!)
And there are times when we are being carried down by the flow very close to the rocks.
Some of the scenery is dramatic; ergo this rock towering over the edge of the river.
Another detail of the shoreline.
Then it was time for another to enter the kayak. We nudged the dinghy into a quiet edge of the river.
It was a 12-year-old girl who wanted to have a go in the kayak. She was excellent!
Once again, we moved out from the ‘resting’ area to join the main river.
And before we know it we had arrived at our destination.
We are at Morrisons Rogue River Lodge where there is a stop for lunch while Jean and I are to return by coach back to Grants Pass. We have only drifted 9 miles!
But it has been a wonderful 9 miles!
And for the close a picture of Morrisons Rogue River Lodge halt from the Morrisons website.
P.S. There is an interesting article on the total Rogue River in Wikipedia that is worth reading. It starts:
The Rogue River (Tolowa: yan-shuu-chit’ taa-ghii~-li~’,[7] Takelma: tak-elam[8]) in southwestern Oregon in the United States flows about 215 miles (346 km) in a generally westward direction from the Cascade Range to the Pacific Ocean. Known for its salmon runs, whitewater rafting, and rugged scenery, it was one of the original eight rivers named in the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968. Beginning near Crater Lake, which occupies the caldera left by the explosive volcanic eruption of Mount Mazama, the river flows through the geologically young High Cascades and the older Western Cascades, another volcanic province. Further west, the river passes through multiple exotic terranes of the more ancient Klamath Mountains. In the Kalmiopsis Wilderness section of the Rogue basin are some of the world’s best examples of rocks that form the Earth’s mantle. Near the mouth of the river, the only dinosaur fragments ever discovered in Oregon were found in the Otter Point Formation, along the coast of Curry County.
That’s all folks!
Learning from Dogs 