June Full Moon Hike

 Great Basin National Park holds full moon hikes during the summer, and we had never been so I took Desert Boy to the one in early June. We had to get tickets to attend the event, and we got the last one at about 2 in the afternoon. This is a popular hike!

As we drove up the Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive, we were treated to some beautiful evening views.

The summit trailhead parking lot was full. Before long Ranger Steve started the program. It was colder than we thought it would be--30 degrees cooler than the valley bottom, hence all the coats you see in the photo. It was still rather light, but we would have a leisurely stroll to Stella Lake with stops--and no lights.

The aspens hadn't yet started budding out. At our stops we learned about various things. One of the coolest things was looking at the earth's shadow as our planet spun.

It's an interesting experience going on a hike with 40 other people.

Desert Boy had decked himself out with his junior ranger paraphernalia, and before long we were hanging out with the rangers at the end of the group. Steph graciously answered all sorts of Desert Boy's questions and kept him entertained.

It was fun seeing the moon appear over the horizon.

I kept stopping to take photos of it and switching lenses to try to capture it best for the Full Moon Challenge.

As we hiked, the appearance of the moon kept changing.

When we got to Stella Lake, the moon was hidden behind the ridge. But it gradually rose, lighting up the snow-covered slopes of Wheeler Peak.

And then the moon crested the ridge, reflecting in the lake.

It was a fun experience, and we'd love to go on more moonlit hikes without flashlights.

Have you ever been on a full moon hike? July has two full moons, July 1 and July 31.

Memorial Day Trip Day #3: Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

 We left Boulder, Utah Monday morning, bidding farewell to our gracious hosts and new and old friends. We stopped to check on the tadpoles, but the pools were so muddy we couldn't tell if they were in there or not. Then we headed on the marvelous Highway 12, with magnificent views of canyon country. A number of bicyclists were also on the road, which was harrowing for both them and vehicles as the shoulder is extremely small and the amount of traffic is pretty high.

When we got to Hole-in-the-Rock road we turned down it. I had wanted to do Peekaboo and Spooky Canyons during the trip, but the clouds were already gathering and we knew it just wasn't a good idea for that day. Lots of traffic was on the road, so maybe others were going to try and do canyons or just check out the 55-mile long road. We went to Devil's Garden, where we found plenty of places for the kids to explore.

I followed Desert Girl, and soon we were off on our own.

She was ready for some barefoot climbing challenges.

The rock was so much fun.

And the sand was nice and soft.

 We found flowers blooming, and Desert Girl always makes sure she stops and smells the flowers.

I had her try this tricky traverse and she did just fien.

Next we went to Escalante and had a picnic lunch at this nice park. It was getting cooler as the dark clouds approached, but Desert Girl couldn't resist enjoying the splash park.

We stopped at the Grand Staircase-Escalante visitor center and learned a bit about the ecology of the area, including the amazing cryptobiotic soil, which is held together by a combination of bacteria, fungi, and algae. I asked the lady at the counter if all the traffic was normal, and she said the monument was seeing a threefold increase from last year, mainly due to people learning about the place from the Internet. Many wanted to explore canyons.

We had one other notable stop on the way home: the swimming pool in Beaver, Utah. It was the first time we went there, and it was a lot of fun. Desert Girl let me give her swim lessons the whole time and she swam across the short way of the pool and later went off the diving board with a life jacket. Desert Boy almost managed a flip off the diving board. It was a lovely way to finish off the trip (and I got most of the sand out of my hair from the day before!). We'd definitely like to go back and explore more of Grand Staircase-Escalante.

Memorial Day Weekend Trip Day #1: Anasazi Museum and Lower Calf Creek Falls

 So the weather forecast for Memorial Day weekend basically stunk. Rain for three days, it said. I said we're going anyway. We had gotten an invite to a canyoneering get-together in Boulder, Utah, a place I had never been and wanted to see. We took off Friday night after work and after driving a few hours it got dark and rainy and we decided that instead of pushing through and setting up our tent in the rain, we would stay in a motel for the night.

The next morning we got up early and headed towards Torrey, Utah. I had driven through once years before but really didn't remember any of it. Then we headed south over Boulder Mountain, a road that was paved only in 1985. As we ascended towards the pass (at about 9,000 feet!) the rain turned into snow, and at times we crept along at only 15 miles per hour. At one point we stopped and Desert Girl and I had a little snowball fight.

When we rolled into Boulder, we decided we would check out the Anasazi State Park Museum, where we found interesting displays. Outside we found a pit house.

Desert Girl liked going into one of the buildings.

Then we headed to our meeting point, set up our tent, met old and new friends, had lunch, and decided to head out for a rainy hike with friends to Lower Calf Creek Falls, part of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. To get there we took the spectacular Highway 12, which follows the hogsback (top of the ridge for a number of miles), with dramatic dropoffs on both sides (and very few guard rails).

We turned into the popular campground eponymous with the falls, grabbed rain jackets and umbrellas, and started off on the 6-mile round trip hike.

We stopped for a family photo in this neat (and dry) alcove.

Along the hike were numbered stakes, and we followed along with the brochure. One visitor told us the pictographs were hard to find because they were so small. When we got to the viewing point, I was amazed at how large they were--nearly life size, just far away.

The rain let up a bit, but the skies stayed cloudy. I had fun looking at flowers and birds on the way.

Primrose with raindrops

We could hear the waterfall before we could see it. Then suddenly, through the trees, there it was.

As we got close, a cold wind pushed us back. But Desert Girl braved the wind and walked to the edge of the pool. The falls were huge, swollen from all the recent rains. It was a beautiful sight and kind of made up for the fact that we couldn't go into canyons that day.

 I spotted this blooming cactus on the hike back.

Desert Girl was really tired, but she perked up when we reached this little cave.

Desert Boy tried to get in too, with a little help from Dad.

It ended in lots of laughs.

It was a great way to spend a rainy afternoon. We made it back to camp just in time for a delicious dinner and then it was off to bed to get ready for the next day's activities.

More Fun in Ely

 Whenever we go to town, we always have more than one thing to do! On the same day as our recent train ride, we also hauled our recycling in. I think we have more recycling than trash these days, something we're working hard on. (I'm reading Zero Waste Home, which is inspiring me to reduce the amount of trash we produce.)

Before the train ride, we had an opportunity to tour the East Ely Railroad Depot Museum, which is separate from the Nevada Northern Railway Museum, and the Engine House tour, both of which are also recommended.

We went up the steep steps in the depot and found that the museum encompassed most of the second floor. They had lots of old office equipment from when it was a functioning depot and saw 44 trains go by a day.

The kids moved quickly, but were interested.

One of the highlights was when the volunteer showed us the safe room. We saw the biggest dictionary we've ever seen (sorry, I didn't get a photo of it!). The photos along the hallway were also impressive, taken by one of the volunteers of railroad scenes across the West. Below is another office. They pretty much just got up and left the depot as is when it closed, so it is full of historical items.

Later we had a chance to play on the new playground across the street. What a great place for a playground. They had some cool swings that looked like horses.

The kids "galloped" for awhile.

Desert Boy couldn't resist climbing.

Then it was time to try the spinners. They made me too dizzy, but the kids loved them.

We ended up having time to swim a little, stop by the Art Bank (their changing exhibits make it worth a stop every time we go to town), and of course a grocery store visit. Often we only get to the store once every couple weeks or so, and this was one of those times where we were really short on fresh fruits and veggies.

The light on the drive home was spectacular. I stopped at the gate to Horns-a-Plenty to check it out and the cool clouds in the background. Horns-a-Plenty makes some awesome chandeliers, as well as lamps, candelabras, and more.


Nearby was a super cool gate, with elk silhouettes by Silver Jack Ironworks. It was a great way to end a lovely day.

Kershaw-Ryan State Park - Spring Break 2015

 We were headed home from Las Vegas, a five-hour prospect, and the sun was setting quickly. We had to make a decision: drive all the way home or spend one more night out? The plan had been to camp one more night (night five), but being so close to home, we could also feel the pull. When I thought about driving so far in the dark, though, with lots of animals along the road, I decided we would stay one more night. That way we would have time to explore a little more. And I'm all about exploration.

I started with the beautiful Joshua tree forest along Highway 93 west of Caliente. This isn't a forest like you see in the Eastern United States or in the Pacific Northwest or the Rocky Mountains. A Joshua tree forest is spectacular in its own way.

The setting sun really lit up these trees. Then I noticed two hawks talking to each other from the tops of two trees. I went a little closer to get a better look and found they were Swainson's hawks. These hawks winter in Argentina and are now back! Hello!

The flowers on the Joshua tree come in big terminal clumps.

The individual flowers themselves might not be so showy, but altogether they make for an impressive display.

We had to decide where to camp. We had several options: trailheads for the Silver State OHV trail, Kershaw-Ryan State Park, or Cathedral Gorge State Park. We ended up choosing Kershaw-Ryan, as I had never been there and it was only two miles from Caliente. We pulled into the 15-site campground and selected a site. The kids put up the tent all by themselves while I made their meal of choice: top ramen. Yep, we were living it up!

The very nice ranger stopped by and gave us a brochure and told us about the pay showers (8 minutes for 50 cents) and the firewood. We availed ourselves of both, then went to bed.

The next morning was chilly, so I started a fire and roused the kids to eat some hashbrowns. Yum!

I got just a little bit of attitude.

We wanted to get home by lunch so we could see my husband and have the afternoon to unpack, so we packed up and headed further into the park. We were amazed at what we found. A small wading pool was near the end of the road. Since it was March, it didn't have water in it, but we could imagine how much fun it would be in summer.

We also found a playground, which the kids loved.

We decided to take the Canyon overlook trail, about 1.4 miles long. But since we didn't have much time, I told the kids we were going on a trail run. They were good sports and started running.

The trail was great, with nice views.

And benches for resting and goofing around.

We kept climbing higher, getting a view of more of the park.

I wondered what was up the side canyons. Although the principal vegetation was sagebrush and everything seemed quite dry, these canyons are subject to flash floods. In fact, nearly all the park facilities were wiped out by two back-to-back flash floods in 1984, and it took a long time for the state to appropriate money to rebuild.

The canyon was originally developed in 1873 by Samuel and Hannah Kershaw, who called their ranch Meadow Valley Wash Ranch. In 1904 they sold it to rancher James Ryan, who then donated it to the state in 1926 as a park. The Civilian Conservation Corps developed facilities in 1934, and it became a state park in 1935. Although in some ways you feel like you're going back in time in the park, the frequent trains (we heard about ten during the night) remind you that progress is chugging along.

Leaves were just appearing on some of the trees.

When we finished the trail run (which the kids rocked!), they checked out the fish pond.

The ranger let them feed the fish, which they loved.

I'm looking forward to visiting again in the summer to check out all the rose bushes and for the kids to take a dip in the wading pool. This is truly an oasis, and the bird life is terrific. Kershaw-Ryan isn't far off the beaten path and definitely worth a stop. It was a wonderful way to end our fun spring break.