Autumn for Golden Aspen

Although the end of October is quickly approaching and fall is turning to winter, early October brought Autumn for golden Aspen and magical light to southern Utah.  Ever since working at the North Rim Grand Canyon starting in 2008 I’ve been enamored by the golden aspen leaves, and sometimes get reds and oranges too.

Sevier River valley

A few days after my Ranger guided moon walk it was time to go shopping again.  Why does this have to be done so frequently?  Yet the 1 1/2 hour drive proves quite scenic first south on SR89 then over the Markagunt Plateau westward to Cedar City.

I’d hoped the golden Aspen were still brilliant and wasn’t disappointed.  Even the downward side of peak showed quite colorful in places.

Followed a long ignored sign from SR14 to Aspen Mirror Lake and in less than a block drive on bumpy road found a parking lot with only a few other vehicles.  With several choices of direction and no trail indication on the Dixie National Forest sign I wasn’t the only one wondering which way to walk.  Several of the paths were obvious OHV trails and deep in dusty sand.

My second trail choice brought me through some sparse yet colorful Aspen forest and quickly to the lakeshore.

Such a lovely surprise to have water, and then still enough to live up to its name.

Families hiked on the trail circling the small lake.

Made one other quick stop at the closed Duck Creek campground entrance.  I couldn’t lollygag as I still had to get to town for groceries and back before dark along the deer-alley drive.  (My favorite shot of this bunch.)

Survived shopping with a special gift from a lady in front of me at the cashier who joked about adding my yummy looking ice cream to her order.  And then she paid for it without my knowing.  There is good in this world.

I made it home just before sunset even with another stop in the golden Aspen groves growing out of an ancient lava flow near Navajo Lake.

The color contrast was spectacular especially shooting mostly into the sun which put a warm glow on the land.

Good morning moon

Back to work early for opening on my Monday on Saturday then a favorite schedule to Yovimpa Point, 18 miles away from the crazy visitor center.  Found parking after only three loops and barely out of the truck when a visitor came to me and said someone was locked in a bathroom, drop-pit no less.  I remembered hearing this same story earlier in the week and figured it had been fixed.  Some visitors managed to get it open while I was calling on the radio for repairs and making a closed sign for the door.  Ah, starting the day for a Park Ranger.

Hazy Yovimpa view

After three hours including two scheduled Grand Staircase geology talks and many mini geology and fire ecology talks at Yovimpa I drove to Farview Point to rove, and for a hot dog off the food wagon.

On the way back to headquarters I stopped at the Watchman connector trail parking because I never had before.  Located in a burn from 2009 the view is open to the east with a rapid drop off the edge of the plateau.  Just getting ready to leave and an older couple in a motorhome flip a U-turn into the tiny parking and he immediately jumps out.  I asked the driver to move a bit to get off the road before answering questions and turning them around while stopping traffic.  Does anybody know how to read a map, like the one every national park provides?

I presented my wildlife evening program the next day.  At the end a little boy wanted to talk about people going off trail and seeing/hearing a drone while hiking the Queen’s trail.  We talked, with his family, about helping Rangers by informing people to follow rules, but only if they feel comfortable with that.  There just aren’t enough Park Rangers.

Monday I presented two hoodoo geology talks by Sunset Point and roved a bit along the rim.  That night was an appreciation party for the Interpretation staff’s supervisor.  Being some of us would be leaving before Halloween this was a costume party.  This entire team rocks it hard and survived the COVID19 summer season at Bryce Canyon while providing most outstanding, and frequently complemented, visitor services.

My Friday on Tuesday was non-stop busy starting with counting people in and out of the visitor center to maintain a 50 person capacity.  Then after lunch a couple hours constantly answering questions and orienting visitors to the park.  Seems many do no planning and may not even know what they came to see at Bryce.  I happily headed to the rim for a history walk and was joined by 26 wonderful visitors.  Then I roved along the rim for about an hour enjoying the light and shadows that are so divine this time of year.

The next two days off were filled with chores.  Morning lows hoovering around freezing meant attaching heat tape and insulation to the new non-leaking water hose.  Propane tanks were filled and a couple blog posts written.  With only two weeks left of work I cleaned the truckcamper to ready it for packing and moving into.  BTW, I bought a Bissell pet-fur vacuum cleaner that really does the trick sucking up even Sierra’s long silky cat hair.

Back to work and hoodoo geology talks.  As I approached Sunset Point I saw a woman standing on the wrong side of the fence on a narrow ledge followed by a young boy standing next to a parent throwing rocks over the edge just above a trail.  When I ask them to desist I get a look like deer caught in headlights.  They are oblivious yet do comply.  Park Rangers shouldn’t have to discipline visitors.

The next day before my Rim Walk I roved at the Navajo Loop trailhead, always an interesting activity answering numerous questions and trying to inform people about trail recommendations and difficulty.  I watched as two 20-something muscle-bound jug-head looking guys came off the trail red-faced and sweating while each carried a huge and obviously heavy boulder.  In shock, the only thing I thought to say was how they couldn’t remove those rocks from the park so they left them behind a fence a bit up the trail.  I actually went back the next day and there they sat.  What was the point other than a stupid challenge?  They could be historic CCC trail-wall building material.

Sunday night, before the evening program, I shot along the rim with golden light and as I walked through the forest returning to the outdoor seating watched several mule deer grazing nearby.

In the early morning as I left home to open the visitor center I startled two elk along the road, and they startled me.  Later that day I watched a pair of Peregrine Falcons soar from Yovimpa Point.  Park Rangers love living in the wild.

The possible down-side to living remote is the drive to town, except when you make it a girls’ day.  We left early and saw the wranglers rise out.

Two weeks from my last trip over the pass and many of the golden Aspen leaves have tarnished to bronze, and turned brown to fall down.  Yet patches of color still highlight on the hillsides.

The next two days off included more cleaning, organizing, and getting ready to move.  Many things can’t be moved until the last minute, but I like to be as ready as I can.  Then back to work for one more week when it’s the last opening, closing, and each program.  Feels like wash, rinse, and repeat, but not for much longer.