After four days off of boring chores I returned to a few more work days and then prepared to move the 5th-wheel to it’s winter home in Skull Valley, Arizona.
Although temperatures at Bryce Canyon were ranging from 50-80° fall was in the air with possible nights coming below freezing.
Yet the Bluebirds hadn’t quite given up on insects and headed south like I would soon do.
Sunday, my Monday, two desk shifts with dinner in between and close the visitor center then my last evening program for the season. Volume up or down?
It really has been busy this month and yet I enjoyed a few moments at Sunset Point all alone. But not for long before presenting the 11am hoodoo geology talk to a large group followed by roving a while and ending the day at the information desk. The coyote sound in my evening program was heard at the North campground and reported to me by a visitor.
On Tuesday, my Friday of a short week, I spent the afternoon at Yovimpa Point. A visitor spotted a dark brown medium-size mammal moving across a nearby rocky ledge and thought it was a very big squirrel having just visited Zion where the Rock Squirrels are large and overly friendly. Being sure it wasn’t that I had to dig deep into my brain while taking some lousy and out of focus photos before realizing it’s a Badger. The first one I’d ever seen at Bryce.
Talked to a young man on a months long road trip from Florida and was reminded of my first road trip at 22-years old. Living in a Vega for three months was the best trip ever and started my gypsy life. The next morning I posted my retirement announcement on Facebook and as I answered the many congratulations it dawned on me I could travel next summer like I did way back then. I grew excited about the idea of documenting the journey like I couldn’t do then. I want to revisit some places and discover many new. That was an epiphany! Now I am more than excited, like that young woman who took off in a Vega with a dog 45 years ago. Now solo with a cat is where it’s at, and I’m glamping with the camper. I could see visiting people and caravanning with others sometimes along the way. I haven’t felt this excited about something in a long time. I’m going to love this retirement thing with no more work days.
Cedar Canyon
One more trip to town before moving so I don’t have to shop along the road. But with mornings hoovering just below freezing I didn’t get a particularly early start. Drove to Cedar City via SR20, the slightly quicker route, then after too many shop-stops returned on the even more scenic route SR14.
Even saw a touch of fall color towards the top of the almost 10,000 foot pass. Treated myself to dinner at the highly recommended Outlaw Saloon in Hatch, Utah and all I can say is, WOW, what took me so long.
Friday I finally put the new sewer gate on and packed away some of the dust-collecting decorative chachkas that would not survive a rolling move. There’s only a little more to do before the RV would be unlivable.
Back for another four work days. The count down is on! After a light overnight rain, Saturday afternoon brought downpour with thunder and lightning that cancelled my 2pm hoodoo geology talk. Then it cleared so I went to rove at the rim for a while in raincoat with no camera in case it started to rain again.
Sunday morning I opened the visitor center in cold fog before heading out to Yovimpa Point. Then while eating lunch in the Rainbow Point parking lot I was interrupted by a couple who locked the keys in the trunk of the their rental so I called LE (law enforcement) to deal with that. Even with a brutal wind at Yovimpa I stayed two hours and did several talks hiding behind a huge Limber Pine in between.
A group of young folks danced and took video, nothing professional, and when I photobombed them was invited to join in. Keep your eyes open for their video that they hope will go viral.
Ponderosa Point view into the hoodoos
Stopped at several overlooks on the return drive.
At Agua Canyon overlook the weirdest thing happened. A little boy about 10-12 walked up to the fence with a throwaway mask in his hand, held it up to catch the wind, and then intentionally let it go. I was horrified and said I couldn’t believe he’d just done that. His reply, “I have another one in the car.” And I said don’t throw it over the edge anywhere. I told him it was a good thing I wasn’t a cop as I’d written him (his parents actually) a $100 ticket for littering. He just walked away and no adult present said a thing. WTF?
At that point I went home for dinner then back to Sunset Point and down five switchbacks carrying the tripod for the night before full moon rise. A nice couple was there, he set up with tripod very low. I shared the compass coordinates and we got lucky with the moon rising over Thor’s Hammer and through the hoodoo windows, again.
One more day at Yovimpa and thank goodness not windy. Briefly saw a pair of Peregrine Falcons flying together. Talked with a lot of awesome visitors about geology and fire ecology. My last day there presenting official programs. I will miss this happy place.
Posted on Bryce Canyon’s Facebook page for National Park Fashion Week (It’s a joke many parks did)
Possibly* my last work day and I wake up literally freezing at below 32°. That in itself makes me want to move from Bryce’s 8000 foot elevation. By the 11am hoodoo geology talk it had warmed into the 60s. Had a large attendance and presented several more mini talks about the hoodoos. (I say possibly* as the government could shutdown before I return for the last work days in October.)
Wednesday morning in the low 30s makes it hard to motivate but I have much to do getting ready to roll the next day. By noon I am mostly packed and if I was physically stronger could have rolled at least as far as Kanab 1 1/2 hours away for a warmer night. But my helper will arrive in the morning so I pretty much puttered the afternoon away. Rather frustrating that I used to do everything by myself and now am unable.
Tim arrives the next morning around 9:30 and I set him onto the roof to sweep the slides and take the booster down then I can crank down the antenna. After hitching the truck to the 5th-wheel the hoses and power cord were disconnected and I’m ready to roll. Not sure why that took three hours but I rolled out at 1 pm. Thirty minutes later I left the nearby Sinclair with both propane tanks full and all eight tires aired. Finally on the road again and at first feeling a little nervous as it’s been years since I towed the 5th-wheel. But once on the highway it follows so nicely I barely know it’s there.
The four hour drive moves me through familiar country and after passing through Kanab I am looking back up towards the not quite visible Bryce’s Pink Cliffs and see Molly’s Nipple, on the right, that I’ve looked at from the opposite direction all summer from Yovimpa Point.
I pass through the Cockscomb and over the ever shrinking Lake Powell at the Glen Canyon Dam, whiz through Page and drop down onto the Painted Desert.
By 5pm Arizona time I pulled into the night’s destination at the Navajo Reservation RV Park and Trading Post in Cameron, Arizona and enjoyed a carry-out dinner of Green Chili Stew before calling it an early night to bed for the next day’s final leg of this journey.
Sunday I opened the visitor center at 8am to a line of people who mostly wanted to use the bathroom. Within the next hour a long line also formed to ask us Rangers the typical question, “I just got here what should I do?” I sure wish people knew how to read a map or do a little pre-planning. Thank goodness I was only there a couple hours that went by lightning fast. Then off to Yovimpa Point for the afternoon, if I could find a place to park. I parked out of the way yet illegally hoping to move but before I could finish eating lunch while sitting in the truck was hemmed in front and back. Spent from noon to 4:30 at Yovimpa and the new supervisor Mike came out to watch and stayed for several hours. I lost track of how many times I did short talks about geology and fire ecology. I just pulled them in when folks came to the point. One couple asked at the desk if I was going to Yovimpa because their son had visited last week and told them to see me specifically. That sure felt good. My ego loves those kinds of strokes. I’ll miss that. Had to ask two kids from separate families not to throw rocks over the fence and down on a possible trail while parents stood and said nothing. Them, I won’t miss. But out of at least 93 contacts today most were amazing. I almost ran out of water and finally got back to the visitor center about 30 minutes after my day should have been over.
