June 2009 Vacation:
Friday 12th- Drive 16 hours to Burlington, Colorado. Spend night in hotel (yuck).
Saturday 13th- Drive to Colorado Springs, follow the Arkansas River up towards Salida. Take scenic road down Hwy 69 to Westcliffe, Colorado (a little town nestled between the Wet Mountains and the Sangre de Cristo Range). Camp at 9,000 feet at Alvarado Campground. Hike to mountain stream near campsite. Big storm with lightning, thunder, and heavy winds scared us to the car for 2 hours from midnight to 2am...awake at 2am to the most stars we have ever seen...and headed back to the tent.
Sunday 14th- Hike 14 miles (round trip) to Venable Lake in the Sangre de Cristo's...make it to just above the tree line. Drive 6 hours to Great Sand Dunes National Park near Mount Blanca (14,000+ ft). Find cozy, private little campground with a gorgeous view of the dunes and the San Juan Valley. Sleep under shooting stars.
Monday 15th- Hike in the Great Sand Dunes...it was actually chilly! Drive 5 hours to Mesa Verde National Park...book it to the visitor center to purchase tickets for the last guided tour of the day at Cliff Palace.
Tuesday 16th- Wake up at 5am to hike 2 miles on Knife Edge Trail in Mesa Verde, watch the sun rise. Eat an all you can eat pancake breakfast at the lodge after our hike. Take a guided tour of "Balcony House"....a beautiful cliff dwelling of the Ancestral Puebloans (formerly called Anasazi). Exhausted...drive 6 hours to Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona. Arrive at Grand Canyon, put together packs for hike in to canyon tomorrow. Camp at Mather Campground on South Rim.
Wednesday 17th- Wake up at 4am....drive to Bright Angel Trail Head. In a hurry to start the hike, forget hiking poles, head back to car to get them just before heading down trail. About 30 minutes down the trail (with the rim looking farther up than can be imagined at 5 am) realize we didn't lock the car. Anna takes pack off and starts an arduous journey back to the top to lock car. Gets to top and indeed, the car was not locked. Thank goodness we remembered sooner than later, but still..agghh!!!!! Mother Nature misted us on the way down and kept us cool. Record low temps for June, it was only 55 or 60 degrees when we started out. Hike 4.65 miles down to Indian Gardens, a little oasis/paradise in the midst of a dry canyon. Continue hiking 5 miles to Phantom Ranch at the bottom of the canyon. Cross a beautiful foot bridge over the Colorado River to get to camp. Takes us 6 hours total to descend. Set up camp near Bright Angel Creek... thunderstorm rolls in and drops of rain fall, but it is 80 degrees at the bottom and the sun shined for the entirety of the short storm. The canyon acted as an amphitheater. Eat a well-deserved, delicious stew dinner followed by chocolate cake at Phantom Ranch. Sleep so very soundly.
Thursday 18th- Wake up at 4:30am for pancake breakfast at Phantom Ranch. Start hike back to the rim. Takes us 2 hours to make the the 5 miles from the bottom to Indian Gardens (we were booking it). Hike the 4.65 miles back to the rim in 3 hours 15 minutes. Grand total of 5 hours 15 minutes to hike 9.65 miles with a 5,000 foot elevation gain....whoo hoo!!!!!! Relax at top, stare out over overlook to see what we accomplished. Eat a fabulous dinner at Bright Angel Lodge. Watch the sun set over the canyon then relax with a campfire. Sleep even more sound than the night before....legs as sore as hell itself.
Friday 19th- last view of the Grand Canyon then a 5 hour drive through beautiful country to Zion National Park in Utah. Make it all the way to the front gates of the park to find out Zion is packed full...there are no more camp site available. In the middle of nowhere between Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks, stumble upon a quaint little Bed and Breakfast called Broken Arrowhead B&B. Someone has just checked out and we are in luck, we get the last empty cabin. Soak our tired legs and bodies in the hot tub, looking out over the White Cliffs. Eat a fabulous dinner made by the owners of the B&B in their restaurant. Sleep in a real bed for the first time in 6 nights....feels good.
Saturday 20th- Wake up and have a fabulous pancake breakfast compliments of B&B (of course). Decide to bypass Zion and Bryce and head straight to Arches National Park in Utah. Drive 4-5 hours to Arches, and again, the campground in the park is full! Camp not far from the park right on the Colorado River. Hike 4 miles to Morning Glory Arch.
Sunday 21st- Stake out early in front of visitors center at Arches in hopes to get one of the 11 sites that were opening up. Get the 8th site. Hike around Arches all day. Head to Moab Brewery for some local brews. Camp out under the stars.
Monday 22nd- Head out of the park for awhile to check out Dead Horse Point and hike around. Make it back to the park by 3 pm for a tour of the Fiery Furnace..very cool. Hang out with some friends we met (Steve, Lauren, and their 4 year old son Alex) by the campfire and spend our last night of camping.
Tuesday 23rd- Leave at 11 am for home....decide to drive all through the night....
Wednesday 24th- Arrive in Louisville, KY at 10 am after a 23 hour drive, straight through.
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