Shark Valley

As I mentioned in my last post, we recently took a vacation, and it was to a warm spot. Looking out the window at many inches of snow and thinking about a temperature that freezes your nose hairs by the time you get into the truck makes me want to go back to that warm spot. So here's the return, at least a visit of the memories. After a day and a half of travel that included two planes, we arrived in Miami, Florida.

The next day we gathered with family and headed to the Everglades. We wanted to visit Shark Valley, which is in the middle of the river of grass. It is also known for having a lot of alligators, and bicycle riding is a good way to see them up close.

I think this alligator is grinning at my brother, daring him to get closer! Alligators can move at 25-30 mph for short distances. I'm not sure how fast my brother can move.

Some of our group took the two-hour tram ride on the 15-mile loop. The rest of us biked seven miles to the tower and back. It was very warm and humid, but it was flat, so that made the riding relatively easy.

The Everglades is known for its birds. It used to have even more birds, but although the numbers are fewer today, birds are still a frequent sight. Above is an anhinga, also called a snake bird because when it's swimming its body is mostly underwater and its protruding head looks like a snake. After it has been in the water, it often spreads its wings to dry.

We saw over a dozen gators right next to the paved path. Desert Girl was quite concerned, but she felt safe in the bike seat.

This trail near the tower was closed due to high water. A peek down it made it seem quite wild, with many gators hanging out, waiting for a tourist who didn't follow the signs.

We finally got to the tower (in about an hour), and it felt good to get off the bikes and stretch our legs.

A white ibis was busy eating in the wetlands.

The tower is quite high, giving a great vantage point to see more of the Everglades. Coming from a mountainous area, it felt really strange to be in such a flat place.

The sawgrass stretched out as far as the eye could see, with little islands of trees where the elevation gained a few inches. Lending more drama to the scene were big storm clouds, which built every day we were in Florida.

A very tame cormorant sat on the railing the whole time we were on the tower. It even stayed when the tram arrived, with about 50 people all coming up to the tower at the same time.

I'd say that the view was worth hanging out for!

The way back was rather uneventful, with more beautiful birds and plenty of gators. We were fortunately spared mosquitoes--I didn't get a single bite the entire trip.

Even though it was winter, we still saw a few flowers blooming.

This tricolored heron (I think that's what it is) was not bothered by people and continued on its hunt for more food.

I had not been to the Everglades for 12 years, and it sure felt good to be back for a quick visit. I'd like to go back again some day and do some kayaking among the mangrove islands. It is such a fascinating place, and such a different ecosystem than anything else in the U.S.

Next up: more trip memories. Maybe they'll make you feel a little warmer too!

Moab Trip Day 3 - Slickrock Biking, Dinosaur Bones, and Rock Hounding

 On our final day in Moab we got up early and left the hotel. We had things we wanted to do. First on our list was to do some mountain bike riding on slickrock. I really wanted Desert Boy to try that out, as he loves bike riding and is surprisingly good at it. I did some research on the Internet before our trip to find out where to go. Despite the abundance of slickrock in the area, it turns out there's not much that's open to bikes and is relatively flat and close to a parking area. As Desert Boy's bike is rather basic (no gears, no hand brakes), we needed something that wasn't technical. Fortunately on one forum I found some advice to go to the cutoff of the Bar M trail and take it over towards the Circle O trail. We found the huge parking area (with just one other vehicle in it), and took off on the cutoff road.

 The cutoff road had some hills that really frustrated Desert Boy, and he was not happy walking his bike up them. But he loved the downhills. Before long we had met up with the Circle O trail and were riding on real slickrock!

 The views were awesome.

 The trail was marked with a brown line, and we were challenged to stay on it in order to protect the pockets of cryptobiotic soil (soil with microorganisms holding it together).

 The slickrock was a little difficult in places for Desert Boy, but it was relatively flat. Off in the distance we could see Arches National Park. We'll have to return again to go visit--we decided to skip it this time instead of doing a quick drive by. On our next trip it will probably be a main focus.

 Eventually the trail started descending faster, and we decided that would be a good turn-around point. It was such a nice ride, and my husband and I decided we need to figure out a way to go on a half day ride (sans kids).

With the bike ride over, we loaded up and headed to another nearby attraction: dinosaur bones!

 We took a slightly dubious road to Mill Canyon in the van, hoping we wouldn't get stuck in the deep sand. Fortunately we made it to the trailhead and started on the marked trail.

 A quick stop for a family photo! Everyone is starting to get the idea that if they smile the first time, I won't torture them with extra photos, and we can get it done right away.

 This trail was different than others I've been on--it showed distinct dinosaur bones in situ, but no big replicas anywhere. It made it feel like we were scientists making these big discoveries.

 Of course the signs helped quite a bit!

 The trail was gradual and good for our kids. We weren't totally alone--a family that had been at the race the day before was also there, and the kids had fun running along the trail together.

 I really liked the views.

 More dinosaur bones. Seeing them in the rock gave me a greater appreciation of how hard it could be to excavate them. It also gave me a much better idea of how to look for fossils. I probably wouldn't have known I was looking at dinosaur fossils without some guidance.

 Across the draw were some remnants of an old mining operation.

 Then we drove around the corner to half-way house, a rest stop for early travelers to and from Moab. While the kids dug in the sand, I went for a short bike ride to check out another area.

 It had nice slickrock, but also a lot of deep sand and steeper ascents, so I was really glad we had chosen the other spot for Desert Boy's first slickrock experience. Apparently Dead Horse State Park also has some good bike trails for kids. We'll have to try them out on another trip.

 Then it was time to get in the van and drive for hours. But I couldn't help myself and found directions in a book to a rock hounding place right off the interstate. In fact, the directions were to go half-mile past a sign and then go through the gate. That's right, just go through the gate on the side of the Interstate. No on/off ramp, just slow down, pull over, and get off. The directions were good, we found the gate.

We drove near the bluff and started looking for jasper, in particular for jasper geodes with calcite and celestite crystals.

 We weren't exactly sure what we were looking for, to tell you the truth, so we just picked up any rocks that caught our eye. We will take them to some geologist friends and find out what we got!

 It didn't matter too much what we were finding, because we were having a good time and the scenery was fabulous.

 The terrain was fun and slightly challenging, but not overwhelming.

 We could see the Interstate nearby, and the San Rafael Swell extended in both directions. We saw quite a few roads and decided we would have to go back and do some more exploring in this area.

 Then it was time to get back on the Interstate--go through the gate, check for traffic, and merge!

 We had another stop when my husband found a cattle exclosure. He loves to check them out and see the differences between grazed and ungrazed land.

 Desert Girl was a little cheeky.

 Can you see her attitude? Oh my, she gives us so many laughs!

She loves to explore and learn.

The rest of the trip was mostly driving, although the kids enjoyed half an hour at the playground while I went grocery shopping. They ran the whole time. 

We had an awesome three days. Now we're back to our regular routine, but just looking at these photos brings back good memories.

Moab Trip Day 2: Dinosaur Tracks & Corona Arch

 After the race, lunch (and a nap for Desert Girl), and a long swim at the hotel pool, it was time to begin our afternoon adventures. We wanted to hike to Corona Arch, and we learned at the information center about some dinosaur tracks on the way. So we went and checked them out at the marked pullout. They were hard to find, but once we did we thought they were neat.

 We could see the race finish across the Colorado River, with folks still finishing the trail marathon. Some people ran eight hours that day. Wow.

 This lizard was taking the more relaxed approach to life, soaking up rays on the beautiful weekend.

 I was fascinated by the prickly pear cactus.

 Turns out I wasn't the only one. I turned around and found Desert Girl learning about the cacti. I like her hand-in-the-pocket approach.

 I couldn't hear what she said, but I think it was a learning moment.

 Meanwhile I had given Desert Boy a little camera and he was scampering around looking for good vantage points.

Then it was time to go down the road to the Corona Arch trailhead. The hiking brochure said the hike was 1.5 miles each way and included a ladder and another obstacle, plus lots of hiking on slickrock. That sounded good to us.

 Right after we pulled into the parking lot, three more vehicles full of people came in and lots of people jumped out. We let them go ahead of us so we could have a little quiet on the trail.

 Before long we came to the cable. Desert Boy was delighted (and so was I).

 Desert Girl had been happy riding on Daddy's back, but at this point she really wanted out. She likes doing the fun stuff, too.

 We could see Corona Arch well.

 We also passed by Bow Tie Arch.

 That rock is so incredible!

 The kids were happy running all over it. We had caught up to the crowd, and they were sitting on the slickrock observing the arch. Actually, they were observing the people on the arch.

 Apparently it has become popular to do the Corona arch swing, which is to jump off the top and swing on the rope. One company charges $100 cash to take people to do this. I don't think it's particularly nice to the arch, but we had never seen something like this, so we decided to stay and watch. But I didn't like being by a crowd, so we went under the arch and to the other side.

 We found a lot fewer people on the other side. One of those people was a kid about Desert Boy's age, and they had a grand time playing while I scampered around, looking around the corner.

Desert Girl tried out her climbing skills.

 Train tracks cut through this area to get to the potash mine.

 Then the guy jumped and went for quite a swing.

 The sun was setting fast, so it was time for us to hike back.

 No one seemed to pay Bow Tie Arch much attention.

 We arrived at the ladder. Desert Boy enjoyed it so much that he climbed down, then back up, then down again.

 Desert Girl also liked it.

It was a really fun hike, just the right distance for us and with such wonderful terrain. We wanted more time to explore the Moab area, but we knew we just had a little time left, as we had to drive home the next day, which was six hours away. What else could we squeeze into our vacation? Stay tuned...