Albuquerque

Our trip between Cortez and Albuquerque on the Highway of the Ancients was long and dusty, punctuated by strange rock outcrops in the otherwise undulating desert landscape. We booked in to the RV park, and the next morning saw us setting our Garmin and Tom-Tom for the Sandia Peak Tramway.

 This cableway is reputed to be the longest in the world, and takes passengers 4.46km (2.7 miles) up the mountain, from the base station at 1999 meters (6559 ft) to the upper terminal, which is 3153 meters (10 378 ft). This breathtaking ride takes 15 minutes, and is an absolute joy, though the rapid change in altitude takes a few minutes to get used to. The view was amazing, Albuquerque  in the distance in one direction, and the mountains of New Mexico in another, enough to make us forget that we had totally miscalculated the weather, warm at the camp, but snowy and really cold at 10 300 ft! As we reflected on the day over a glass of great Californian red wine and barbecued spare rib, we once again concluded with gratitude that life is good, in fact, it does not get much better than this!

Mesa Verde

The Pueblo Indians, for reasons that are not altogether clear, moved from their farms on the tops of the mountains, and with remarkable skill, they built their homes in the cliffs below the summit, using every crack and crevice to make stores and living quarters.

They moved on, leaving these amazing cliff dwellings for bemused farmers to discover, centuries later, while looking for lost cattle in a blizzard. This fascinating history drew us there, and was the reason that we stopped in Cortez, Colorado, to explore the area.
 The road up into the Mesa Verde National Park wound upwards in steep hairpins with spectacular views, and we were thoroughly enjoying the drive until we noticed the clouds that were covering the sun and looking increasingly threatening. The Parks department has done a wonderful job of marking out paths to the overlooks where one has a clear view of the cliff dwellings – we decided that we would not take any of the tours on offer, which come with health warnings for folk with any type of problem, as the sites are very high (approximately 10 000 ft) and the tours entail much hiking and clambering up ladders on cliff-faces, definitely not an attractive thought to my mind!!

 We had just completed a walk along the first overlook, and were happily comparing our pictures, when the rain came down, and a very cold rain it was too. We decided to go on the circular drive anyway, in case the dwellings were visible from the road, and, of course, we ended up running to the lookout points in the rain (thank goodness for the wonderful rain jackets we bought in London!), taking photos and then charging back to our truck again to dry glasses and cameras in preparation for the next foray!

   And each time we decided that there would be no more foolish running in the rain, something even more interesting became visible, and out we went again! Eventually the rain dampened our enthusiasm, in a manner of speaking, and we gave up and headed for home – only to see the rain changing into small hail, and then to a full-blown snowstorm! Visibility decreased to nil, and the drive down the mountain took a hair-raising hour and a half, slip-sliding on the ice, peering through the snow and dodging the snow plow that came charging up the road clearing some of the obstruction. What an adventure!

Although we stayed on in Cortez another day in the hope that the weather would clear so that we could have another look at the Mesa, the forecast remained bleak and we left on Friday morning having thoroughly enjoyed ourselves despite rain, wind and snow, and hoping that some day we will be able to go back to this fascinating park in more favorable weather.

The Arches

Our drive from Cannonville to Mesa Verde, near Cortez, Colorado, was punctuated by interesting interludes. Near the town of Boulder (the terrain was made up of enormous rocks, no guesses as to why the town was named Boulder!) we were able to view a number of petroglyphs – pictures etched high into the canyon walls by ancient inhabitants of the area and still clearly visible today. After a stopover at Green River, where we spent the night in the A-OK RV Park and met a fascinating man called Steven, who sees healing as his mission and lives in an old RV parked in the RV Park, we arrived in Moab, where, we were told, the Arches National Park is a spot not to be missed. 

 It was only an hour’s drive from Green River to Moab, so we parked our Huisie at Portal RV Park and headed for the Arches. Once again, it was spectacular. This park is sandstone, and has the highest concentration of natural arches in one place, in the world. The sheer size of the rock formations is overwhelming, even after having seen the other impressive parks, and we enjoyed a happy afternoon of camera work and amazement!

 On many of the photos, people can be seen walking, dwarfed by these mighty stone towers.

Kodachrome Basin.

 After a few nights in Glendale, we decided that it made sense to move our camp nearer to the next attractions, instead of back-tracking after a day out, so we left bright and early, relieved to get out of the mud! The Cannonville KOA is a small park just beyond Bryce  Canyon, with lovely views of the surrounding cliffs, and well situated for forays in various directions.

 We set up camp, and spent the rest of the day at Bryce Canyon National Park, 12 miles away, as our ticket, bought on a snowy day, was valid for a week. We were fortunate to have  beautiful, sunny weather, which allowed us to complete our photos of this spectacular canyon in good light.

 Kodachrome Basin is a geological formation very close to where we were staying, so we packed a picnic and set off to see what we could find. After the spectacular sights of Bryce and Zion, we did not believe that there could be anything quite as impressive further on – we were wrong! Although the area is small, the rock formations are impressive – the hoodoos jut many meters up into the sky, out of the relatively flat surroundings

 It is easy to understand why the early inhabitants thought that spirits inhabited these areas – the rock formations are so unlikely that it is difficult to believe they are real.

 Kodachrome Basin is not one of the really popular tourist destinations, so it was quiet, and we had a wonderful day driving on dirt roads, following pointers to places of interest and walking halfway up a mountain to see a natural bridge in the rock. We arrived home sunburnt and exhausted, but well pleased with our day’s explorations!

Zion National Park

According to the commentary on the shuttle bus in the Zion Valley, Zion is an ancient Hebrew word meaning “Place of Refuge”, and one can imagine the early settlers finding this magnificent secret place and feeling safe and near to the presence of the Creator – everything is SO big, and the road leads one down, down, down, through deep gorges and one-way tunnels, winding back upon itself in an unbelievable series of hairpin bends until at last one reaches the valley floor and the road runs next to the river that carved this gorge in the first place – a small, unassuming river flowing along peacefully, looking deceptively calm and gentle.

Mighty rock faces rise vertically next to the water, and the valley is green with cottonwoods and grass. At the visitors’ centre cars are left in a series of car parks and shuttle buses take visitors to various points of interest along the river, where well-kept trail paths make walking along the river a joy.

The animals in the valley seem almost to enjoy the exposure to humans, and the little squirrels we saw stood on hind legs and posed – no, really, they DID! Mule deer ran across our path, and munched the new leaves on the tree nearby, completely oblivious of the camera clicks of delighted tourist! Despite the number of  people there, the silence and overwhelming peace left one with a lasting sense of having been in a very special, deeply spiritual place of refuge, and we left there very aware of how small we are, and how privileged to have been given a glimpse of  Zion.

Bryce Canyon

The weather looked really doubtful the morning we were to go to Bryce Canyon, one of the highlights of Canyonland, but we decided to go anyway, and we set of undaunted by the heavy clouds that kept hiding the sun. After an hour’s drive we began seeing the first spectacular rock formations, and that was only the beginning of a wonderful day.

  The weather was very unpredictable, bright sunshine one moment and then, to our disbelief, it began snowing – or was it fine hail? – we were not sure, but whatever it was, neither of us has EVER been so cold! We were at the furthest end of one of the viewpoints, absolutely awestruck by the beauty, when the clouds covered and it came down, catching us trying to run back to the truck at an elevation of 9100 ft!

 It is so hard to believe that all these amazing rock sculptures are the result of wind and water erosion - they look like the completed work of  a master artist, carefully planned and executed.

 The river visible in the distance is partly responsible for the erosion that sculpted this canyon.

We were chilled to the bone, but exhilarated and exhausted by the time we finally returned to camp, after a satisfying if unusual day of sightseeing!

The tiny specs on top of the rock beside the left-hand tree are people at the viewpoint, staring in awe at the scene before them.

PS:s We returned two days later, in the sunshine, to take better pictures of the rock formations, as most of our original photos were very dull due to poor light – and we enjoyed it just as much second time around!

After Los Vegas

We began the drive from Las Vegas to Glendale on a cool morning, (what a relief after the blistering heat of the previous few days,) and the countryside was simply desert, best described in Afrikaans, ‘n dorre, verlate landskap!

An enormous stone mountain appeared in the distance, torn down the centre by a huge schism in the rock, and to our amazement, the road headed straight for the opening, and down we went!

The scenery was awe-inspiring and Sid had a difficult drive on the winding, steeply descending road.

Gradually the countryside changed, and by the time we neared Glendale, we were driving along a fertile little valley, flanked by the rocky mountains that characterize the whole area.

We stopped to have a look at Moqui Cave, discovered by some Mormon farmers two generations ago and developed into a pub and dance-hall, which apparently operated until fairly recently before it was turned into a museum, where dinosaur footprints discovered in the area are on display, along with other interesting bits of local history.

 

Bauer Ranch RV Park is a pretty, rural park on a farm, right next to the road, in an apple orchard in full bloom – what a sight! Despite a very muddy site, we were soon unhooked and set up, and spent the rest of the day pottering around the village, and planning our trip to Bryce Canyon (about an hour’s drive away) the following day. We fell asleep to the sound of rain on the roof of our Huisie – soporific indeed!