May 9th-11th, 2019 Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks, Utah Day 9
Day 10
Day 11
ScaleIt is hard to comprehend the time required to create the geologic formations that we've visited over the last 11 days. Using very round numbers, it takes approximately 10 million years to make a substantial change in the landscape, like carving a canyon with a river. If a single human lifetime is around 75 years, that lifetime covers 0.00075% of that carving time. Or looking at it a different way, 133,000 generations of humans will have come and gone during that carving time. Can you comprehend these numbers? I definitely cannot and, honestly, I find it quite unsettling. Photos, Day 9Photos, Day 10Photos, Day 11
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May 8th, 2019 Zion National Park, Utah Zion National ParkHumans first began to inhabit the region now known as Zion National Park around 8,000 years ago, with the Mormons showing up in the late 1850s. In 1909, President William Howard Taft named the area Mukuntuweap National Monument in order to protect the canyon from development. In 1918, upon the creation of the National Park Service, the acting director of this new agency proposed renaming the area as Zion National Monument because: "The name change played to a prevalent bias of the time. Many believed that Spanish and Indian names would deter visitors who, if they could not pronounce the name of a place, might not bother to visit it. The new name, Zion, had greater appeal to an ethnocentric audience." Finally, in 1919, the monument was elevated in status to Zion National Park by President Woodrow Wilson. Pop quizZion is the fourth most-visited national park in the United States. What are the first three (in order, of course)? Music
PhotosHere are some of the photos we took today.
May 6th-7th, 2019 Torrey, Utah Day 6On Day 6, we checked out of the Moab Valley Inn and headed southwest for Torrey, Utah. Our destination for the night was the Skyridge Inn, an award-winning bed and breakfast located near the entrance to Capitol Reef National Park. After checking in, and with an ounce of energy remaining, we headed off to Sunset Point. Situated right near the entrance to the park, Sunset Point is a wonderful location from which to watch the sun set. In a stroke of luck, the best room at the Skyridge Inn was available for the evening, so the proprietor upgraded us to that room at no cost to us. With our own personal hot tub outside the room, it was a beautiful spot to take in the unspoiled landscape. Day 7On Day 7, we reluctantly left our master suite at the Skyridge Inn, toured Capitol Reef National Park and then down-scaled a bit to the T Lazy 7 Ranch cabins in Torrey, Utah. There is nothing much to speak of in Torrey — and I mean nothing — but it is conveniently located between Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks, our destinations for the next few days. MusicChris Barber is an English bandleader and trombonist. He's been performing since the 1950s, right up through at least 2017. For the record, Alison cannot stand his music, or any jazz for that matter. I, however, love it and can easily listen to it all day.
PhotosHere are some of the photos we took yesterday and today.
May 5th, 2019 Canyonlands National Park, Utah Terminology and historyA canyon is a deep cleft between cliffs that is formed from both the weather (wind and rain) and the erosion caused by a river. A mesa is a large area of elevated land that is flat on top and has cliffs on all sides. A butte is simply a small mesa. Canyonlands National Park is a large collection of canyons, mesas and buttes carved from the earth by the Colorado and Green Rivers. Declared a national park by President Lyndon Johnson in 1964, It is located just southwest of Moab, Utah and a stone's throw from Arches National Park. Author Edward Abbey, an American author and staunch environmentalist, described the Canyonlands as "the most weird, wonderful, magical place on earth—there is nothing else like it anywhere." Music
PhotosHere are some of the photos we took today.
May 4th, 2019 Arches National Park, Utah Arches National Park
The power of wind and waterThe geologic formations in Arches National Park were created by when an ancient sea covering the area evaporated, leaving behind lots of sand. Over time, that sand was compacted down into sandstone by the weight of the sediments that settled on top of it. That sandstone, in turn, was carved by water and wind into the formations that we see today. These formations continue to be carved, of course, by yet more water and yet more wind, so that the formations we see in the future will most likely not look like the formations that we toured today. Come see them while they last, because... The twin powers of water and wind are relentless. Music
PhotosHere are some of the photos we took today.
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Joshua GolubAn occasional blog about what's going on in our lives. Categories
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