Wall Calendar Triggers Grand Canyon Of COVID Torments

 

That which you see here is on the wall of my computer room.

Which would make that which you see here a wall calendar.

It has now been over a year since I have travelled further than 40 miles from my abode. 

I have not even been to the Dallas/Fort Worth Metromess for over a year. 

And this National Park themed wall calendar regularly torments me with reminders of scenic places I have been. 

For March it is Grand Canyon National Park.

I first saw Grand Canyon when I was 19. I had been to Yellowstone, and seeing the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, and thinking it quite impressive, I suggested heading south a few hundred miles to see the more famous Grand Canyon.

Before getting to Grand Canyon we visited Bryce Canyon and Zion Canyon, vowing to return, soon, with proper hiking gear.

After Bryce and Zion it was on to Grand Canyon. The North Rim. This truly was one of the more overwhelming shockingly scenic things I had ever seen. I was already in scenic wonder overload due to Bryce and Zion.

Ironically, it was just a brief visit to several of the North Rim overlooks, and then on to Las Vegas, then Los Angeles and Disneyland, vowing to return, soon, to Bryce, Zion and Grand Canyon.

It was just a few years later, in, I think, 1979, that I drove the longest roadtrip I ever drove, visiting places like Colorado and New Mexico and Texas for the first time. Just a little bit of Texas, after caving at Carlsbad Caverns National Park. 

Eventually made it to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, and hiked the Bright Angel Trail all the way to the Colorado. Going down was easy, going back to the top was brutal, and did not make it there til an hour after dark.

I don't remember for sure what came after Grand Canyon, that time. Probably Vegas and then on to Los Angeles. I think this was the time I stayed in San Diego for a few days and went to both the San Diego Zoo and the San Diego Wild Animal Park, or whatever it was called. I recollect going to a Sir George's buffet in a suburb of San Diego and driving around in Tijuana for a few miles. 

I did not make it back to Zion National Park til 1992, also visiting the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, before heading to Vegas. I never have managed to hike the Angel's Landing trail in Zion which I vowed to hike some day, after seeing a Ranger presentation in the Zion campground on that first visit to Zion.

I was back at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon the last day of 1993, staying overnight in Flagstaff. There was snow at the top of the canyon and the trails were ice covered at that elevation, so no hiking.

But, that same trip had me seeing this cool looking location on the San Juan River, north of Monument Valley. The San Juan Inn in Mexican Hat, Utah.

That following year I organized a group roadtrip, from which my Internet nickname came. As I made various reservations I would mail out itinerary info to my fellow roadtrippers, calling the mailing "Durango Dean's Wild West Adventure Tour" or something like that.

This trip began with four days of houseboating on Lake Powell, cruising all the way to Rainbow Bridge National Monument, then off the houseboat to the treacherous descent down the Moki Dugway, to the aforementioned town of Mexican Hat to stay at the San Juan Inn. Which had a wonderful restaurant, owned and operated by Navajo, where I learned I like Indian fry bread.

After Mexican Hat it was on to Monument Valley and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, where I had booked us log cabins. This was in mid October of that year. During the night a blizzard blew in. By morning we were trapped, awaiting snow plows to clear the road. It was wonderful, one of my favorite experiences ever.

When we were able to leave it was on to Zion where we had rooms booked in the National Park lodge. We did a lot of hiking at Zion, but still no hike to Angel's Landing. After Zion it was on to Vegas for four days, then an overnight stay in cabins at Stovepipe Wells in Death Valley. That was also one special night. Best swimming pool ever.

I got a flat tire in Death Valley. That turned out to be added fun. After Death Valley it was time to head north, towards home, with a night in Mammoth Lakes, a quick detour into Yosemite, an overnight in Redding, and then home.

That was one fun roadtrip, slightly repeated five years later with a different cast of characters, though some were the same. Did not enjoy the houseboat so much that time. But the Moki Dugway and Mexican Hat were again fun. As was staying several days in Moab, mountain biking. After Moab part of the group headed back to Washington, whilst two vehicles, including mine, headed to Durango, then overnighting in the Imperial Hotel ( I think that was the name ) in Silverton. The high elevation was taxing. Enjoyed it immensely, particularly imbibing in the hotel's saloon. The next day the other vehicle, after heading north on the Million Dollar Highway, began its return to Washington, while I continued on through Colorado, eventually coming to the headwaters of the Rio Grande.

Overnighted that night in Taos. I want to go back to Taos. And would have by now if it were not for the COVID intervention which mucked up a Taos visit plan. After Taos it was south to Alamogordo, overnight. An event there at the National Space Museum turned highly entertaining. 

After Alamogordo is was on to White Sands National Monument, eventually overnighting in a scary border town called Douglas, across the border from Agua Preita in Mexico. Next day discovered Bisbee. Loved it. Then happened upon Tombstone when they were having their annual Hellorado Days Celebration. Weirdest parade I have ever seen. Loved it.

After Tombstone it was on to Yuma, a couple years before my mom and dad moved there. Had a mighty fine time crossing the border to Algadones, Mexico. And then it was time to head north, to Vegas, again, then Tonopah, then Reno, then back to Washington.

I miss taking a good long roadtrip. Some days I get feeling doing such things will never happen again.

I probably should take that wall calendar off the wall, what with its reminders of places seen and in need of being seen. So far, though only in March, I've been to the National Parks on the calendar. those being January was Grand Tetons National Park, February was Sequoia National Park.

Let me sneak a peak at April.

Yosemite National Park. 

I've only been to Yosemite three times. And have only overnighted there once, staying three days in a cabin at Camp Curry. Would love to do that again. Maybe not Camp Curry, but the National Park lodge instead. I forget its name, but it's a famous one, Ahwahnee, that's it...

Nephew Spencer Jack Dangling In Danger Over Grand Canyon South Rim

Earlier today I mentioned I thought I might find myself blog chronicling Spencer Jack's Thanksgiving Week Road Trip.

I also speculated that I expected I would soon be seeing pictures of Spencer Jack at the Grand Canyon.

Well.

This evening three more photos arrived via email, including the one you see here with Spencer Jack dangling precariously off the edge of the Grand Canyon.

I am glad to see my Favorite Nephew Jason is continuing my Nephews in Danger tradition.

The text accompanying one of these three photos said....

Arrived safely at a cloud covered canyon. Spencer and I are warming up in the gift shop. There will be no hiking adventure today.

The clouds appear to have lifted a bit by the time Spencer Jack did his cliff dangling.

However, as you see below, previous to the cliff dangling, the Grand Canyon does appear to be a bit cloud shrouded. And cold.

The route from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon took Spencer Jack through Williams, Arizona, along the Mother Road, also known as Route 66.

Last year Spencer Jack and his dad had me thinking they were on a road trip on Route 66 when they sent me pictures that indicated such, but turned out to be a Route 66 related attraction in Disney California.

Those appear to be snowflakes falling on Spencer Jack in front of the Route 66 sign.

The last time I was at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon it was freezing, with snow on the ground, with the trails into the canyon treacherously coated in ice, rendering them not safe. If I remember right this was two days before New Years Day of 1994.

In October of 1994 I found myself at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, staying in a log cabin, when a blizzard struck, dropping a foot of snow overnight, stranding visitors in the park until snow plows could arrive.

That was one fun time, being stranded in a national park lodge.

One can see photos of my various times at the various Grand Canyon rims, in a Grand Canyon National Park blog post I made a few years back.

I do not know what is up next with Spencer Jack's Thanksgiving Week Road Trip. Overnight on the South Rim? Or in Flagstaff? Heading east tomorrow over the Painted Desert, heading to Monument Valley?

I suspect the answer to these probing questions will arrive tomorrow....

Spencer Jack Flies His Dad Over Mt. St. Helens On The Way To The Grand Canyon

Yesterday I blogged A Photo Of My Grandpa & Grandma Takes Me On A Detour Down Memory Lane in which I said something like "Jason if you are reading this you need to have Spencer Jack take you north to see if that Grandpa Porter memorial plaque still exists.

Well, Jason did read that and emailed that the going north to Lynden would have to wait til next week's agenda, because currently Spencer Jack is on Spring Break, which has Spencer Jack and my Favorite Nephew Jason flying to Las Vegas, I believe, unless the plan has changed since I last spoke to Jason.

From Las Vegas Spencer Jack is driving his dad to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.

Jason's dad, my Favorite Brother Jake, took Jason to see the grandest canyon in the world for the first time a month or two ago.

Jason was very impressed when he first saw the Grand Canyon. I remember my similar reaction a long long time ago. I can understand why Jason was eager to show Spencer Jack the Grand Canyon.

The email included a couple photos.

In the photo above I don't know which mountain is outside Spencer Jack's window.

Part of Jason's email said "Captured some great photos of two volcanoes on our way out of town. Apparently one of them erupted almost 36 years ago."

Well, I can tell the volcano in the foreground is Mount St. Helens. I don't know which volcano is in the distance. Adams? Hood? I don't think it's Mount Rainier.

How can it be 36 years since Mount St. Helens blew up? I recollect that day like it was yesterday. A little after 8 in the morning I was peacefully having myself a soak in the tub when I head loud concussive noise, like a bomb exploding. Soon a neighbor knocked on the door to tell us that the mountain had blown.

Throwing Thursday Back Off The Grand Canyon

I was looking through some old photo albums this morning and came upon that which you see here, taken the first time I visited the Grand Canyon, which would make this the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

I'm thinking this would qualify as one of those Throw Back Thursday photos.

A couple weeks ago, on Facebook, Mr. Spiffy posted a photo of himself and his Favorite Son Cameron dangling off the edge of the top of Half Dome in Yosemite. Mr. Spiffy asked others to post photos of themselves in precarious locations.

I posted one high atop a rock formation in Zion National Park. I did not remember this Grand Canyon high atop a rock formation photo at the time I was looking for a precarious photo.

My first time seeing the Grand Canyon was part of what ended up being a long roadtrip of the classic winging it, going with the flow type roadtrip, with no itinerary other than initial destination being Yellowstone.

On the way to Yellowstone we stopped in Ellensburg to rent an apartment for my last year of college, which was to start about four weeks hence. Spent four days exploring Yellowstone, including hiking to see Yellowstone Falls in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. I remember remarking that this is one grand canyon, and suggested heading south to see the more famous Grand Canyon.

On the way south we came to a turn off to Bryce Canyon National Park. Knew nothing about Bryce Canyon. It was not a long detour and en route to Bryce saw my first Utah redrock. Bryce Canyon turned out to be the most incredible thing I had ever seen, up to that point in my existence.

Then it was on to Zion, again knowing nothing about it. Entering the park from the east one comes to one amazing site after another. Stopped at each, not realizing the main attraction came later. Was surprised to find the road entering a tunnel. The tunnel had portals, which gave you quick views of where the tunnel was heading. Exiting the tunnel I found myself driving down a steep series of switch backs to reach the bottom of Zion Canyon.

In one day I had now seen two of the most incredible things I'd ever seen. Drove to the end of Zion Canyon, then hiked up the narrow slot canyon of the Temple of the Gods. Spent the night in Zion Canyon in my tent.

Next day we headed south some more, to Grand Canyon. When first a canyon came into view it was again one of the most incredible things I'd ever seen. And then realized this was a side canyon, not the main show.

After a few hours of taking in the Grand Canyon I decided, since it was close, why not head to Las Vegas, a town I'd never been to before. Arrived in Las Vegas well past midnight. It was extremely HOT. Set my tent up in a KOA. Did not really much like that first Vegas visit.

Decided, since we were close, why not head west to California, to the Los Angeles zone and go to Disneyland. Had roadtripped to Disneyland the year before, using San Clemente State Park as the base location.

Leaving Vegas stopped in a rest area. A drunk guy was parked in his pickup. He told me he was too drunk to drive, asked if I'd drive him home to Hollywood for a hundred bucks. Got him to his home, he had a guest house out back. His wife was so grateful to have him safely delivered we were talked into staying a couple days. Which is how I came to watch the movie Chinatown in a theater in Los Angeles' Chinatown.

After the unexpected stay in Hollywood headed south again, to the aforementioned San Clemente. Stayed in San Clemente a couple days, driving back north during the day to go to Disneyland, Knott's Berry Farm and Universal Studios and to explore the Los Angeles zone.

And then it was south to San Diego. Had not been to San Diego since I was 17, on my first roadtrip without my parental units. Tented in a KOA south of San Diego. Explored Balboa Park and the San Diego Zoo.

At the time it seemed like a good idea to drive into Mexico. And so crossed the border, without incident, unlike a couple years prior. Got lost driving in Tijuana. Bought way too much ridiculous stuff, including a five foot statue of Cortez, which I still have. My little 65 Mustang was stuffed with stuff, which made the rest of this trip a packing and un-packing challenge, til all the Mexican trinkets were unloaded back in that new apartment in Ellensburg.

Decided to visit the San Diego Wild Animal Park, staying at a nearby KOA. Was very impressed with the Wild Animal Park. Had never seen anything like it. Had never, previously had an up close surprise encounter with a tiger, or had a gorilla throw gorilla poop at me.

Somewhere near the Wild Animal Park stopped at an orange orchard where I bought a lot of the best oranges I have ever had.

My memory is vague regarding the rest of this roadtrip. Don't remember if it included going to San Francisco. Do remember taking the Klamath Falls route through Oregon, rather than I-5, due to the need to return to Ellensburg in Eastern Washington to unload my car full of Mexican trinkets.

My Favorite Nephew Jason Takes Me Back To The Grand Canyon

Last week Spencer Jack's great grandma told me that Spencer Jack's dad, my Favorite Nephew Jason, was flying south to Phoenix to go on a roadtrip with Spencer Jack's grandpa, my Favorite Brother Jake, to the Grand Canyon.

Photo documentation of Jason at the Grand Canyon began arriving yesterday.

I looked at the picture of Jason pointing to the Grand Canyon and then looked to my left to see a  picture of myself at a different location on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.

That would be the picture to which I refer below.

I have not been to the Grand Canyon since 1994. Two visits in one year.

The first 1994 Grand Canyon visit took place on 1994's New Years Day. That visit was to the South Rim. It was freezing, with the Bright Angel Trail to the Colorado not hikeable due to a thick covering of ice.

Years prior to that 1994 Grand Canyon visit I hiked the Bright Angel Trail all the way to the Colorado. Brutal hike. Most hikes one goes up, then down. Hiking the Grand Canyon, the easy part, going down, comes first. And then the hard hike back to the top. The sun set before reaching the top.

Like I said. Brutal.

My second 1994 visit to the Grand Canyon was in October, to stay in a log cabin on the North Rim. A blizzard blew in overnight. It was a bit jarring to have gone from very warm houseboating on the Colorado River via Lake Powell, to a day later shivering in a blizzard.

We arrived at the Grand Canyon after the sun set. A third of my travel companions had never seen the Grand Canyon. We assumed it would be available to be seen in the morning. But in the morning the photo below shows all that could be seen of the Grand Canyon.

We were told that what we were not seeing was very rare. The North Rim closes in winter, due to too much snow. Usually the snow arrives after the park is closed for the season, hence us getting stuck in a blizzard being a rare treat. It was kind of fun, I have to admit.

I have never seen a warning sign in Arizona like this one below that Jason is showing us.

Of the critters on that list, when I've been in Arizona, I have only seen lizards and spiders, with those spiders being in the form of tarantulas.

I suspect Jason had himself a mighty fine time seeing the Grand Canyon. Jason is returning to Arizona in a month or two, with Spencer Jack. I suspect Spencer Jack is likely going to get to see the Grand Canyon on that visit.

If Jason was a bit shocked at how overly developed the South Rim is, I know I was, well, it's a couple hundred mile drive to get the nine miles to the North Rim, with the North Rim not overly developed. No multiple hotels. No mall. No HUGE crowds.

The Grand Canyon Is Following Me

Way too frequently I'll hear something on TV or the radio. Or read something. Or be talking on the phone, which happened today. Or get an email, which also happened today, in which something is verbalized that causes me to think if I heard that 10 years ago my imagination would have been unable to conjure a scenario in which it made sense.

Like an email I just got from Twitter.

I just realized the previous sentence is yet one more example. Just 5 years ago I would have assumed Twitter must be a person who emailed me. But, today's email, from Twitter, said in the subject line "The Grand Canyon is now following you on Twitter!"

The Grand Canyon following me? On Twitter? Instantly makes sense to me in 2009. In 1999 I would have thought the message to be nonsensical gibberish.

When I was talking to my mom today she asked me if I got the picture of an arch they texted me. In 1999 the verb "texted" would have sounded like a mistake. I remember long ago when cordless phones became popular my mom told me she thought they were a passing fad. Now 25 years later my mom and dad are using ultra cordless phones, called cell phones, to send pictures.

What a world. By the way, the National Parks of America is also following me on Twitter.

The Top Ten Places I Want To Escape To

Washington Mutual's Problem Resolution Center called and left a message. I called back. And left a message. I've no clue as to which of the Washington Mutual Problem's the caller was seeking to resolve. Right now I don't care.

Instead I'm in the mood to muse as to where I'd like to go to escape here, someplace fun that I've already been to and know is fun. I'm not in the mood for anything new right now. Though I am taking the TRE train to Dallas tomorrow morning. I live on the edge.

So, where do I want to go if I could right now? I'll try and think of the Top Ten. That should occupy 10 more minutes of waiting for Sarah Palin to have her meltdown.

In no particular order.

Bryce Canyon National Park. I love everything about this place. It's otherworldly scenery. It's great hikes. Ruby's Inn. I spent an Easter weekend at Bryce Canyon a few years ago. It was in late Spring. There was still snow at Bryce. It's at a high elevation, as in over 9000 feet above sea level at the highest.

Grand Canyon National Park. I've been there several times. Have stayed overnight twice. Once at the South Rim. Camping. I hate camping. And the most recent time, at the North Rim, staying in log cabins. A blizzard roared in overnight leaving us snowbound til snowplows from Utah could rescue us. I've only hiked down into the Grand Canyon once. It's a real good thing.

Arches National Park and Moab. Well, also Canyonlands National Park. Moab is your base town and in all directions there is good stuff to do. Like the photo at the top, that's me biking the Slick Rock Trail by Moab. That's a group hike in Arches NP, called The Fiery Furnace, on the left. You have to pay a fee and it has to be ranger led. You can get lost in there.

Yosemite National Park. The first time I saw this place was in fall. I was not all that thrilled. Then sometime in the 90s we rented a big ol' Cadillac, 3 other guys and me, and went on a road trip, ending up in Yosemite at Curry Village. It was spring, the waterfalls were out of control. I loved it.

Disneyland & California. I've not been to Disneyland since 1994, not since they've added Disney California. I've loved Disneyland ever since I was 13 and got taken there on what was to be my next to the last family vacation. We loved Disneyland so much we went again the next year. I was 14. I never went on a family vacation again. 7 years later I was in California on my own, staying at San Clemente State Park. And remembering back 7 years prior. That seems like such a short time now, but then it seemed like so much had changed. Over the following years I've lost count of the number of road trips to California and Disneyland. I guess the last one was in 2000. But I didn't get to go to Disneyland. Yuma instead. To spend Christmas with my mom and dad. It was real tempting when you saw road signs saying it was only 120 miles to Anaheim to take a right and skip Yuma. But I'm not one to ignore my mom and dad. Even though, apparently, they and others think I do. (That's called slipping in an Easter Egg to see if anyone reads this drivel)

Lake Powell. You need to, at least once in your short life, go to Lake Powell. You don't need to rent a houseboat to have Lake Powell reveal its charms. But a houseboat helps. Good housemates on the houseboat are important also. I've houseboated Lake Powell twice, both times in the 1990s. The water is warm and clear. The scenery is among the best on the planet. Which is why you'll be sharing the lake with so many darn foreigners.

Las Vegas. Any longer than 4 days and Vegas wears out its welcome. But I always have fun there. It can be exhausting. It's not the gambling that attracts me, it's the way over the top over stimulating nature of the whole place. I've only been to Vegas once since I moved to Texas. That was on a roadtrip back to Texas after spending a week or two in Washington. Those trips back were so much more pleasant than the more recent ones. Why? I do not know. That's Nephew Joey and me riding the roller coaster at the New York New York casino when I took Joey and his brother to Vegas the summer before I moved to Texas.

Taos, New Mexico. There was nothing I did not like about Taos. I love the southwest adobe style. The great places to eat. How fun it was to ride my bike around Taos and discover interesting things, like the grave of Kit Carson. And the Taos Pueblo. Even the Taos McDonald's is special.

Yellowstone National Park. I've not been to Yellowstone since the fall before wildfires burned most of the park. Yellowstone is one place I don't mind camping. Hiking over all the boardwalks to see the bubbling water and exploding geysers, loved it when I was a kid, loved it when I wasn't a kid. Yellowstone has been a fond memory ever since my little brother and me were awakened by our mom screaming, standing on top of the picnic table, because a bear was running through camp.

Bears remind me of Stehekin. I've only been there once but everything about it was perfect. A long boat ride up Lake Chelan, staying in the National Park Lodge. Stehekin is in the North Cascades National Park zone of Washington. We brought bikes and pedaled daily up to one of the best bakeries ever, the Stehekin Pastry Company. For dinner each night we'd take a long bus ride up the valley to the Stehekin Valley Ranch where the Courtneys would make a real good dinner for us and a lot of other people.

Stehekin is related to another place I'd like to escape to right about now. That being hiking deep into the North Cascades. The trails are good. What you see when you get to the end of the trail is amazing. Some summers I would go on a hike up in Cascades several times a month, til the snows returned in October. It always amazed me, when I lived up there, how many northwesterners had never experienced the sea of peaks, that being the seemingly endless sea of mountain peaks that extends north and south, with things like Mount Rainier sticking up higher.

I've gone up to 10 places I wish I could escape to right now and I left out Zion National Park. It should be in the Top Ten too. I don't remember ever being so surprised by a place as I was by Zion the first time I saw it. The tunnel into the canyon remains one of the finest moments of my pretty much un-momentous life.