8:20PM 6/20/14

Hello!

We woke up this morning in the Grand Hotel and are chocolate covered doughnuts for breakfast. We hit the road at 6:45 and headed to the Seguaro National Park. Along the way, we observed the trees that had the bottoms burnt up by the fire. We enjoyed looking at the different types of fire damage, but the tree that got it the worst was the Birch. Finally, we made it to Seguaro NP and paid off our $80 park passes by $5. 

 

We stopped in the Visitor Center to observe the gift shop and gather information on the cacti. After pictures in front of a cactus, we headed over to the picnic area. We are our lunch (Ham and Cheese, again) and walked around a bit to look at the cacti. Here are some pictures I took. 

We made it to the resort we are staying at and took a swim in the pool. We headed to dinner at El Molinito and ate the best Mexican food this entire trip. 

Until tomorrow,

Sarah Jackson

Leaving the Grand Canyon and into Tucson

We left the Grand Canyon early this morning and made are way down to Tucson.  Outside of Flagstaff the altitude was over 8000 feet and temperature was around 40.  Arriving in Tucson around lunch the altitude was 2000 feet and temperature over 100.  This was in about 200 miles.   Who knew there was a place in Arizona called Snow Bowl?

We drove to Saguaro National Park and saw the amazing saguaro cactuses.    There wasn't much of a crowd since it was the off season and it was over 100, but it was worth visiting.   We then drove to our hotel which is the amazing Westward Look Wyndham Grand Resort.   Going to the pool and looking at the mountains was a great end to the trip.

Here are a few pictures from today.

9:10PM 6/19/14

Hello!
We woke up this morning and ate powdered sugar doughnuts and apples for breakfast. We got dressed and headed out to the Grand Canyon. After a long drive, we made it to the canyon. Yesterday we decided on doing Bright Angel Trail, so we set off immediately while it was still cool. We started the long, steep, hike down 1.5 miles and took pictures of the wildlife on the way. We saw multiple squirrels and chipmunks, and beautiful orange bellied birds. Finally, after about an hour, we made it down to the mile and a half rest point. We all drank some water and ate some granola bars to prepare for the long hike upwards. Well, it turns out, hiking up is a lot harder than hiking down. After about an hour and a half, we finished the upward hike with multiple rest breaks along the way. Exhausted and dirty, we hopped onto the red bus and started the shuttle through multiple viewpoints. We saw about 5 viewpoints and stopped at Hermit's rest to buy Cokes and Slim Jims. We took the shuttle back to the car and drove to a pretty spot for a picnic. After our picnic, we got on the yellow shuttle and rode it to the Kaibab trail and started going down it. We decided to walk to "Ooh Ahh point," or as my dad called it, "Ooh la la point." We finally made it down to enjoy an incredible view of the canyon. After we hiked back up, we stumbled over to the car and drove home. We spent the afternoon swimming and taking showers. We then ate a giant pizza in We Cook Pizza and Pasta. My mom suggested that I dunk my pizza in ranch dressing, and it was delicious. So, here I am now, laying on the hotel bed blogging.
Until tomorrow!
-Sarah Jackson

The Grand Canyon National Park

Another amazing day both in weather and natural wonder.  We started the day at 7:15 with a hike down the Bright Angel trail.   The going down was easy and we reached the first outpost after a mile and a half in about 45 minutes or so.  We were over 1100 feet below the rim.  Then we had to walk back up.  Oh my!  An hour and half back up.  We were well prepared with water, snacks, etc.  There were people probably still on the trail coming up.

After the first hike, we rode the shuttle bus to the different places along the rim to see different views of the canyon including seeing some of the Colorado River rapids.  The depth from the rim to the bottom is very hard to imagine unless you see it.  You can see why they have warnings everywhere about not going to the bottom and back up in one day.

We had a nice picnic lunch and saw a few elk along the road.  Then we took another hike down to the Ooh Aah point on the South Kaibab trail.  The total hike was only two miles and we knocked it out in about an hour but it was steep and very tough to come back up.  We only descended about 750 feet below the rim but the up was a killer.  

After a long day we came back to the hotel for some clean up and showers.  (The dust on the trails is intense.)  We had pizza at a restaurant called, "We Cook Pizza and Pasta".  Yes that was the name.  Back in the room and soon to sleep as we drive to Tucson tomorrow to see the cactus.  Here are a few pics from today.

9:24PM 6/18/14

Hello!
Sorry I didn't get to post earlier!
We woke up at 6:00 this morning and went downstairs for breakfast. I had Cap'n Crunch cereal because the muffins were some sort of nut flavor. Once we finished, we hit the road for the Grand Canyon. After a while, we made it to Colorado. We were in Colorado for a bit before we arrived at Four Corners National Monument. We took turns assuming the awkward pose where you put one limb in each state and take a picture. The four states were New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, and Utah. All around the monument were the Native Americans of the Navajo Nation that were selling jewelry, pots, sand art, and more. I bought a pair of blue stone earrings.

 My mom got a Kokopelli necklace. In case you're not familiar with Kokopelli here he is. He is the general symbol of the American Southwest and he is known to be mischievous.

Right after, we arrived in Arizona. 

After some more boring driving through the middle of the desert, we arrived at the Grand Canyon. We decided that we would take a preview for what we were going to see tomorrow. Below are two pictures I took. The first one is of the canyon, and the second one is the traditional "Dead Tree" picture. 

Afterwards, we decided that we were going to do the "Bright Angel" hike tomorrow and went off to dinner at Plaza Bonita. It was much better than La Hacienda. Finally we ended up in the hotel, which is where I am now. 

Well, until tomorrow!

-Sarah Jackson

A Grand Canyon Type of Day

We left Moab early this morning and made our way to the Four Corners.  We actually drove from Utah through the corner of Colorado and entered the Four Corners from New Mexico.  The Navajo tribe runs the Four Corners and after a $5 per head donation (including the kids) you get to walk around the Four Corners and visit the many stalls of Navajo artists.

We then drove into Arizona and about four hours through the Navajo Nation.  It is very stark and I really don't know how the people survive out there.  Then we entered the Grand Canyon NP and it is amazing.  I really didn't grasp the scope of the park and how high we actually are.   The altitude of the first stop was almost 7,500 feet!  Anyway, Sarah will have the details.  Here are a few pics.

8:50PM 6/17/14

Hello!
Rappelling is not easy work! I woke up this morning to the same alarm as yesterday, but this time at 5:45AM. Breakfast, however, was much better. The apple juice actually tasted like real apple juice, and the tour group had left so they still had muffins. They weren't blueberry but some sort of cinnamon flavor. Once we finished, we went outside to find the Moab Adventure tour van was already waiting for us. 
We rode all the way to the Moab Adventure Center and checked in. 15 minutes later, we were set up on another van with 7 other people (including the tour guides) and were ready to go down to the cliff. After a 10 minute drive and a 30 minute hike we arrived at the first stop. The tour guides set up the ropes and told us about how to rappel and we were ready to go. The first rappel was into a cave. My adventurous sister went  first in the family and rappelled down quickly. A little bit later I went next.
I was hooked onto the ropes, and then I was asked to perform the hardest task of the day, trusting the ropes. I had to lean back and let the ropes hold me. I trusted the guide and all, but I was terrified. I slowly leaned back and started working with the brake. At first, the rappelling was extremely difficult. I cautiously released the rope and struggled downward. Slowly but surely, I worked my way down to the ledge with a little pond. I nimbly avoided the water and continued downward. By now, my sister had come from the other rappel station to watch me. She talked to me as I finished the rappel and unhooked. We then walked across the sandy canyon to the next rappel, which was behind an arch. It was a ledge rappel, so about 1/3 of the way through you had a free fall where you just sat in the harness and pulled the brakes. I started the rappel and carefully made it to the ledge, where I stopped with my feet and slid down with the brakes. At the bottom of the canyon, there was a natural spring that provided drinkable water. The water was sweet and very cold. After everyone was down, we took a 2 mile hike back to the parking lot, crossing the river a grand total of 10 times. We all drove back, sandy and wet, and returned to the hotel where we swam for 45 minutes and ate lunch. 
After lunch, we decided to go get some shave ice at a local stand. I got Blue Raspberry and Hawaiian Punch. The punch flavor was tart, and the raspberry sweet. We finished our shave ice and headed to Canyonlands. 
While we were driving in, Abby and I were so exhausted from before that we slept until we arrived at a little viewing area. We hopped out of the car and observed the beautiful canyon below. Next, we took a .5 mile hike and looked at a huge arch that stretched in front of the canyon. Finally we returned to the hotel. Afterwards, we went to dinner at Milt's Stop and Eat. Milt's is the oldest restaurant in the city. It was built in 1954. We ate delicious burgers, fries, and milkshakes. We were all fat and happy by the end of the meal. 
So now here I am, with my legs under the covers watching Law and Order on the hotel TV. 
-Sarah Jackson

Rappelling and Canyonlands NP

Another great day here in Moab.  We started the morning rappelling down into a grotto and then over 100 feet into an arch.  Pretty amazing.  This afternoon we drove out to Canyonlands National Park.  We haven't been to the Grand Canyon yet, but this was impressive.

8:44PM 6/16/14

Hello!
Once again, I am exhausted! 
So, we woke up this morning to the sound of my mom's phone alarm that is nature sounds and piano music. It was much more peaceful than the annoying alarm yesterday. We went downstairs for breakfast, to find that a tour group had descended upon the breakfast area and took all of the blueberry muffins. Abby and I decided on some cereal and apple juice that once again tasted like cranberries. We then grabbed our stuff and hopped in the car on our way to Arches National Park.
There's really no other way to put it: the park rocked. We drove the winding path up to the hiking trail that would lead to Delicate Arch. Once we started the trail, it seemed like a walk in the national park. However, we didn't see the giant hill coming up. The hill was extremely steep! We slowly paraded up the hill and finally arrived at the top. Surprisingly, I made it first. After the hill, we had to walk along an open cliff face all the way up to the arch. The arch itself was bigger than I expected. It was absolutely worthy of being the symbol of the American Southwest. We admired the arch and took some pictures before heading back down to the parking lot. It turns out that it is even harder to go down steep hills than up. We struggled down and then headed over to see some cave art, which was quite interesting. There were pictures of what appeared to be men riding horses hunting some sort of animal. Next we got back in the car, had snack, and went off to the viewing area. We looked at the arch from afar before going to the Fiery Furnace. The Fiery Furnace was just beautiful. The red rock shone in a maze-like form that would be difficult to hike through. After the Fiery Furnace, we went to the Double Arch, Windows, and Turret Arch. I didn't get any pictures there, but they were all totally amazing. We ate lunch near the Garden of Eden and decided between two paths. We could either walk down to park avenue, or we could go to the Sand Dune Arch/Broken Arch. We decided to go to the Sand Dune/Broken Arches because we had already seen park avenue the night before. The sand dune arch was beautifully but inconveniently placed in the sand. We had to dump it out of our shoes once we got back. The broken arch was in the middle of a field and a long boring hike, but it was worth it. By the time we finished, we were all exhausted and we headed back home after a brief visit to the gift shop. 

The entrance to the Arches National Park

 The view from the parking lot to the Delicate Arch Trail

 The view from the trail

 From the face of the cliff

 Delicate Arch. Sorry about the people in the picture, but you can use them for size reference.

A Mexican Hackberry bush

Fiery Furnace

Once we got back, we all rotated through the showers and decided to go out shopping. In the same store, I got some wooden flower earrings and Abby got a pocketknife. We then went to Zax Pizza, where my Mom, Dad, and I shared a meat lover's pizza and my sister had some very cheesy mac-n-cheese. Next we went to a bridge over the Colorado and walked across. I noted the locks that were secured on the bridge, one of which said "B+K Promise." This comes from a French tradition where when you get married, you lock a lock on a bridge or something similar and throw the key into a body of water. Very interesting, I thought. Finally we ended up back at the hotel where we watched the USA Ghana game reruns and ate chocolate covered pomegranate seeds. Tomorrow we're repelling!
-Sarah Jackson

Full Day at Arches

Once again Sarah will have the blow by blow but it was an amazing day in an amazing place.
This is just a sampling of some of the pictures today.

9:33PM 6/15/14

Hello!
I'm so exhausted I can barely think straight!
This morning we woke to the annoying sound of the hotel alarm around 6:30 mountain time. We hopped out of bed, went downstairs and had cold blueberry muffins and apple juice that tasted like cranberry juice for breakfast. Then, we waited outside in the windy weather for the van to arrive that would take us to the Moab Adventure Center base. We arrived at the base and got on a repainted school bus that took us down to the Colorado river. After a bathroom break and a safety briefing, we were ready to raft. We got on a boat with 7 other people, including our guide, Emily. Emily took us through Class 1 and Class 2 rapids. She told us these interesting facts:

• At some points, the Colorado River is 50 feet deep
• The Colorado River is high enough now to hit Lake Cortez. The last time this happened was 16 years ago.
• The river is running 24,000 CFS, which is high right now.
• The river can be green, brown, red, or clear depending on the levels of sediment in the water.
• The river is snow melt from the La Sal mountains, so it is very cold.
• The La Sal mountains were named because the explorers determined that it was too hot for there to be snow on top of the mountains so they decided that is was salt. La Sal is Spanish for salt, as the explorers were Spanish. 

The river was full of breathtaking views and odd rock structures, including "Mater pulling a Mobile Home," and "The King and his two Ladies." The water was extremely cold and the rapids would splash it up on your face. Just to add to the fun, the wind would blow on you making you even colder. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. However, it wasn't over yet. 

We got off the river after a while and waited about 10 minutes before we returned to Emily's boat, which now only had 8 people including Emily. A new family of 3 replaced the 6 other people that had half day trips. After about 15 minutes with the new group, we stopped for lunch at the Red Canyon Lodge. We had hot dogs, lemonade, chips, and the biggest chocolate chip cookies I'd ever seen. They were like personal sized cookie cakes. Once we were done we used the restroom in the Porta Potties, which were quite possibly the cleanest Porta Potties I'd ever seen. We got back on the boat and ready for the Class 3 rapids. 

Emily steered us through the giant waves that crashed against us from all sides. One of the waves literally came right at me, and my mom and I got drenched. It was so awesome! Emily was telling us that the other day, one of the groups had "Dump-trucked," which means the boat tipped over spilling out everyone but the boat didn't completely flip. 

Our last mission was to make it to the cutoff. We paddled hard through two eddies which were aiming to sway us away from the exit. Finally we made it to the beach, where we boarded yet another bus and were given some well deserved popsicles. 

When we got back to the hotel, we went swimming in the hotel pool for about 45 minutes and took showers. By the time we all rotated through, we were ready for dinner. After asking all the tour guides where the best place would be to watch the Spurs Game, we went to the Moab Brewery. I ordered chicken tenders and french fries, which came 15 minutes later with my all time favorite: Ranch dip. My mom requested that all of the TVs in the room were turned to the Spurs game so we could watch the unfortunate beginning of the game. The Spurs were not, repeat not, looking so good. When we were leaving, my mom bought us some ice cream. My sister got "Kryptonite," which was a mix of flavors, and I got "Sugar Cookie," which tasted very similarly to Birthday Cake ice cream. 

We then decided that we would take a little sneak peek at the Arches Park where we will be going tomorrow. We drove along, looking at the odd rocks that looked like sheets. We also noticed two arches in the distance. Finally we arrived in one of the main places we wanted to go, which was the Balancing Rock. The Balancing rock is a rock formation that was basically two different kinds of rock stacked. The bottom one was mud rock, which eroded more quickly than the top, which was sandstone. The difference in erosion times concluded in a rock that appears to be balancing on top of another. We then headed back home, which is where I am now.

Tomorrow we are going to the Arches Park. I'll blog about it in the evening.

-Sarah Jackson

Side Note: I apologize for the lack of pictures. I'll try to get some more to you tomorrow.

Arches -- Balanced Rock

Arches. Park Avenue

Whitewater Rafting on the Colorado

Wow!  What a day!  We started this morning taking a school bus about 45 minutes up a scenic byway on the banks of the Colorado River.  I've attached a couple of pics to give you some idea of what it is like.   I strapped the GoPro to my head and I have about two hours of video but I'm going to edit it down.

The rapids were amazing and the water was a crisp 61 degrees.    This is where we had lunch today.   The whole day was great and I can't wait to upload the videos. 

8:54PM 6/14/14

Hello!
Sorry I couldn't get to you guys earlier today, but we were driving though the desert pretty much all day. We started out in the Hampton Inn in Roswell. We woke up and went downstairs and had cereal and apple juice for breakfast. Then we hit the road. When we drove through Albuquerque we sang the "Traditional" Thanksgiving song, "Albuquerque is a Turkey."

(Sing to "Oh my darling Clementine")

Albuquerque is a turkey,

And he's feathered, and he's fine.

He's my Albuquerque Turkey,

And he's absolutely mine.

He's the best pet you can get yet,

Better than a dog or cat,

He's my Albuquerque Turkey,

And I'm awfully proud of that.

I took some pictures as we were driving along. Sorry for the quality, especially on the third one.

The first three pictures were of mountians in the middle of New Mexico, and the last three are of Bloomfield. I thought it was a neat little town. While we were in New Mexico, we decided to stop by the Aztec Ruins that were there. However, though the name "Aztec Ruins" might imply that they were built by Aztecs, they were named incorrectly by the Spanish and were actually built by the Pueblo Indians. I got a little picture happy, so I'm just going to put in a couple of pictures rather than the hundreds that I took. I apologize for the weird lighting in some of them but I just adore the lighting in the second one. The last one is a map of the ruins.

Finally we made it to Colorado. Photo by Abby Jackson.

After a bit more driving, we ended up in Utah. That's right, 3 states in one day. We stopped and took some pictures of the sign.

We ended up in a little city called Moab, Utah. We stopped at the hotel, dropped off our stuff and walked down the street for dinner. Let me just say, "La Hacienda" in Moab, Utah was not the greatest Mexican food I'd ever had. However, Abby and I did enjoy a good game of squares.
In order for you to get a true understsanding of what this city is all about, let me just say it rocks. No, literally, it rocks. This is the view from the hotel room. The shadow is the hotel itself.

Anyways, I'm done for today. Tomorrow we're going white water rafting. I'll blog tomorrow night.
-Sarah Jackson