Christmas in Virginia

With COVID-19 and travel restrictions on everyone’s mind this year, the plan to spend the holidays in Virginia and Ohio came up for debate this year. My Ohio relatives told us that they were not accepting visitors, but Susan’s Virginia relatives wanted us to come, regardless. So, before committing to the trip, we went to the clinic and got tested for COVID-19; the results came back negative.

We planned to leave for Virginia early Saturday morning, but that plan was changed. The final SpaceX launch of the year, featuring an LZ-1 landing, was postponed until Saturday morning, so we really had no choice but to stick around and experience it in person. There isn’t anything I can think of that’s cooler or more amazing than watching a rocket return to Earth and land.

December 20

On Sunday morning, we got up early and left for Virginia at 6:00 am. We arrived at Susan’s mom’s house at 6:10 pm. We were greeted with her famous Hungarian dish – Rakott Krumpli. The vacation was off to a great start.

December 21

But then on Monday, things started to get ugly. A few days before our arrival, Nagymama had a new toilet installed, but the seal was too short. The installer suggested that she keep an eye out for leaks. After taking a shower Monday morning, Peter noticed that the tub was not draining properly. We tried to unclog the tub using vinegar and baking soda. After a few hours, the water drained. That evening, we noticed that the toilet was not flushing properly. At this point, we debated about going to a hotel until the plumbing was fixed.

Meanwhile, Jupiter and Saturn were about to merge into a single object. We went outside to check it out, but it was already pretty low in the sky and the clouds were occasionally blocking the view. Susan took Andrew to the library for a better view, and to freeload some Wi-Fi.

December 22

On Tuesday, we called the plumbers to come check out the pipes. Afterwards, Andrew and I went to Ashland to see trains. We stopped for some hot chocolate, then saw three trains pass by. On the way back home, we stopped at Best Buy and bought an inverter. While there, I received a request to stop and get some Ajax to scrub the bathtub. Turns out that the plumbers couldn’t fix the problem, so a septic system guy was called in. Luckily he made a special after-hours visit and unblocked the line from the tank side.

Meanwhile, Andrew and I were in Ashland, watching the Amtrak Auto Train. The sunset was quite nice.

Sunset in Ashland, Virginia

December 23

On Wednesday, we got out and did some things. First, we took Andrew and Peter to get haircuts. Andrew no longer needs to do the “head twist maneuver” to get the hair out of his eyes. Afterwards, Andrew and I went downtown and walked the bridge on Brown’s Island. I started to notice that the hamstrings on my left leg were pretty sore; must have been from all the driving and sitting. On the way home, I thought it would be nice pick up a strawberry pie from Shoney’s. We stopped, but they said that they had none; bummer. Finally, we stopped at Best Buy to pilfer a little more Wi-Fi.

December 24

On Christmas Eve, we spent most of the day sitting around, waiting for the events of the afternoon and evening to begin. After the church service, we went to the Pearce’s house for dinner. This has become the new tradition as of late. Although several things haven’t changed, a few big differences stand out. This was my first social gathering and I was a little apprehensive about being around more people inside. Also, the house was in the midst of an expansion and the new kitchen was not complete. For example, the refrigerator was still in the old kitchen, which is now included in the family room. Also, there is no plumbing in the new kitchen and the dining room table was on sawhorses.

While Dave was busy frying the fish, Caleb told us the story of the fishing trip. Apparently, five guys went on a fishing trip and caught about 500 pounds of fish. Turns out only one of the guys likes to eat fish, so he was looking to offload it wherever he could. We also got to hear a funny story of how Noah struggled to serve himself wine soup.

December 25

For Christmas, we normally drive to Ohio, but since those plans were dropped, we decided to go find some snow. The weather map showed snow on the ground as close as Staunton, so that was our destination. When we arrived, there was no snow on the ground, but we started seeing vehicles covered in snow. We decided to continue west towards Snowshoe, West Virginia. Heading west along US 250, we started seeing a dusting of snow on the ground. When we entered the George Washington National Forest, there was snow everywhere. As we crested a ridge, we pulled off the road at the Confederate Breastworks, which was a viewpoint and trail head. We got out to see the view and stretch our legs, but it was cold and windy, so we didn’t stay long.

David in the snow in George Washington National Forest

Back in the truck, we continued toward Snowshoe. As we entered Cass, we saw that the old train depot was open, so we stopped to look for food and use the facilities. The kitchen wasn’t open, so we crossed the river and stopped at the Bear Creek Lodge, aka Route 66 Outpost. Their kitchen was open, so we ordered lunch and sat for awhile. They also had Wi-Fi, so we partook while eating before returning home.

December 26

On Saturday, we stayed in Richmond. We dropped Susan off in the Best Buy parking lot – she was meeting a friend at Kohl’s – while we updated our apps with the Wi-Fi. Then we headed downtown to the Pipeline trail. With the recent rains, the James River was flowing heavy and muddy. The Pipeline trail runs along the top of a pipe that is right next to the river. While walking upstream, the pipe eventually went under water and we could no longer follow the trail.

David on the pipeline in Richmond, Virginia

Next we drove down to the Great Shiplock Park. From here, Andrew requested a drone flight clearance from Richmond International Airport, received it, and prepared the drone for flight. Meanwhile, I thought I heard a train. Sure enough, a CSX train with empty coal hoppers was heading our way on the raised track. I started shooting a video on my phone to capture the audio while Andrew fussed over the drone. As the train passed overhead, I saw the drone launch in the corner of my view.

After the train passed, we noted a green signal in the opposite direction. We had to make a decision – should we stay and wait, or should we try to see it from a different location? We decided to head up town and try to see it from a different viewpoint. We packed up the drone and started driving to another park. I took a wrong turn (darn one way streets) and had to cross the river, then cross back over again. Meanwhile, we saw the train approaching and passing. By the time we reached the park and jumped out of the truck, the last coal hopper passed by.

With another hour of daylight left, we decided to head to Ashland to see the Amtrak Auto Train. We checked the Amtrak train tracker web page and saw that it was just north of Ashland, but it wasn’t moving. We parked and turned on the scanner and waited. According to the dispatcher, there was a incorrect signal indication on the crossover and a crew was sent to look into it. About an hour later, the Auto Train was finally given permission to pass the red signals and continue southbound.

December 27

On Sunday, we used a gift certificate, did some home improvements, and visited family. First, we went to Tiny Tim’s Toy Shop in Ashland so Andrew could use his gift certificate. On the way, we stopped at Arby’s to get my favorite, only-in-Richmond health shake. Turns out they no longer have the custom menu. Another victim of the trying times brought on by COVID-19, perhaps? Who knows. All I know is that a tradition that has lasted since 1990 has now come to an end. In Ashland, we searched the toy store for something in the correct price and age range. Andrew ended up getting a gift for one of his friends.

Later that day, we went to visit our nephew Ephraim at his new house. On the way, we stopped to get some new bulbs for the kitchen light and the refrigerator. When we arrived, Ephraim was outside working on a special surprise for Magnolia. the four year old daughter of his fiancé Darby. Maggie is quite the little character. While we were there, she was excited telling her mom that she wanted to create a band and call it “Magaroni and Cheese”.

December 28

On Monday I needed to go for a hike. Andrew and I headed to the Texas Beach trail head in Richmond. From there, we hiked along the river to Belle Isle and back. Along the way, we saw an eastbound CSX coal train waiting at a signal. Later, we heard another train coming along the parallel track, but once again, Andrew was a little too slow at getting the drone ready to fly. Once the drone was ready, he flew it out over the river and got some nice shots of the city.

Two trains waiting near Richmond, Virginia

Garmin track of our hike to Belle Isle

Back at the truck, we decided to do some more exploring. We headed to Monument Avenue to see how many Confederate statues still remain. We came to the Robert E. Lee monument first and I was nearly horrified at how bad it looked. It was completely covered with graffiti and was surrounded by people taking pictures. It reminded me of something you might see in some war-torn country in Eastern Europe. Further down Monument Avenue, we saw bases where statues presumably once stood.

Feeling hungry, we decided to find a burger joint. We found Burgerworks on the map and drove to it. I was happy to see that they had shakes on the menu, so we ordered. Turns out, they had no ice cream, so once again, another shake failure. Grr. But the burger and fries were great.

December 29

Early Tuesday morning, we packed the truck and returned to Florida. We were on the road by 5:20 am and arrived at home around 6:00 pm.

Videos

Viera Balloon Glow

Tonight we drove to the park across from the Space Coast Stadium in Viera to see the balloons glow. There was a two night event set up with food vendors and about a dozen hot air balloons tethered to the ground. They even offered low, tethered flights for those who wanted to get their feet off the ground. Being December in Florida, the weather was perfect.

Susan and I drove over just before sunset to check it out. With the COVID-19 in the air, we should have thought to look up the event ahead of time because when we arrived, they expected us to already have tickets. Well, we didn’t. Luckily, they let us pay on the spot.

We parked in the big, somewhat muddy field and walked to the main entrance. From there, we walked past the food vendors, past the balloon rides, and finally past the stage with a live band playing. To my surprise, the line for tickets to ride stretched all the way across the grounds. The band was hard to hear because there was a public address system playing very loudly with speakers spread out across the grounds.

Tethered balloon glowing just after sunset

As it got darker, the balloons started glowing from within as the pilots fired their burners. To my surprise, the line for tickets to ride stretched all the way across the grounds. Once it was completely dark, the PA guy announced that all the balloons would glow on his mark. He counted down and the pilots turned up the heat. It was very impressive. This repeated about every 5 minutes, so there were many opportunities to see the balloons from every angle.

Meanwhile, all the food vendors had me wanting something to snack on. As we walked the line again, we came across an “ice cream” vendor selling frozen yogurt treats. I couldn’t believe that they had peanut butter shakes. I had no choice; I had to get one. To my surprise, Susan got something, too!

Below is a link to a collection of photos from the balloon glow.

Space Coast Half Marathon

The Space Coast Marathon is the oldest marathon in Florida. Over the past few years, it has been running a series of space-related races. The races in the series include the following themes: Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and Shuttle. Participants who run the full series get special recognition. Today's race is the Apollo race.

Last year, several of my co-workers ran the half marathon. Although I enjoy running 5K races, I held the position that they were all crazy running a half marathon; saying “Why would anyone pay money to torture themselves for 13.1 miles?” One co-worker implied I was soft and offered to push me in a stroller, like a baby. I told him he could pull me in a wagon and I would sip cold ones from a cooler and enjoy the ride. Another co-worker showed me her medal and described the race series to me. I had the feeling that she was thinking that, as a runner, I should challenge myself more. So I let the thought of running the half marathon become a possibility. It was true; I did need a new challenge. My previous race – the Melbourne Turkey Trot - was intended to help get me in shape for my ski vacation in Bend, Oregon. With that behind me, I didn’t really have anything else big planned. And, I wanted to prove to her (and myself) that I could accept and accomplish big things. The next day, I signed up.

Then COVID-19 hit. Several races were either cancelled or virtualized. I bought a Garmin runner’s watch to help motivate my training. The months went by and I continued to train, with the goal of completing the Red Carpet Run 10K race. in October. That race came and went and I had 6 weeks left to increase my distance from 6.2 miles to 13.1 miles.

To help with my motivation, I asked my co-worker how her training was coming along. She told me that she hadn’t been running. Through our talk, I think I ended up motivating her as much as she motivated me. We decided to let each other know when we were running so that we could build off of each other’s training momentum.

Then, two weeks before the half marathon, I ran 10 miles. The following day, I could barely bend at the waist. I gave up running for a week to avoid hurting myself further. Memories of the Melbourne Turkey Trot and the calf muscle injury began to haunt me. I thought, “Will I be able to run the half marathon?” With one week to go, the pain was nearly gone, so I decided to do a little test; I ran a short loop around the neighborhood. All seemed fine, so I was feeling good about the upcoming race.

Which leads me to today. I got up at 4:00 am, got dressed, tried to eat, gathered my gear, and headed to Cocoa Village. Susan and I walked around as I tried to squash the nerves that were building in my stomach. And then the early morning dawn turned into an amazing sunrise and I knew it was going to be a good day.

Shaking off the pre-race nerves in the glow of the gorgeous dawn

At 6:30, I put on my mask and entered my corral. We all started moving towards the starting line. The race actually started at 6:00, but the runners were grouped based on which route they were taking and their expected pace. I was in the last of the groups. Susan and I sang the Star Spangled Banner to ourselves, then went our separate ways. The race was on.

At first, I was surprised by the number of walkers. I thought for sure that I’d come in last place, but instead I had to work hard to weave my way past a lot of walkers before finding open space and removing my mask.

The run along Rockledge Drive was gorgeous. Even though it was still early, there were a lot of spectators out cheering us on. The rising sun was glinting off the Indian River. It was a nice start to a long morning run.

About mile 6, I saw my co-worker standing along the route. She was not running because she decided to do the virtual race and avoid the crowds. She came over to me and started running along side me. She asked me how I was feeling, then teased me about all the people ahead of me. I laughed it off; I was just thankful to have made it that far and not have any pain. She dropped off and I continued to the turnaround point. So far, so good.

After crossing the 10 mile point, things started to get really hard. My calves had my full attention and my hips began to hurt. Strangely, it hurt less to run than to walk, but I was too tired to run. I was two hours into the race and knew that I could meet my 3 hour goal, but it would be close.

At 11 miles, I could see the 520 bridge, with the finish line at its base. The thought of quitting really wasn’t an option, since I had to get back to the finish line to find my ride home. Even so, steps were becoming more challenging.

At 12.5 miles, I entered Cocoa Village and the crowds started to get larger. The slower marathon runners were just entering their second 13.1 miles and I was wondering how in the world they could keep going. The spectators were great. Some were passing out beer shots. Others were offering motivational support. I saw a sign that said, “Why do all the cute ones run away?” I laughed, then heard a woman say, “See, I knew they would think that was funny.”

As I approached mile 13, I really wanted to finish strong, but I just didn’t have anything left. I rounded the last turn. With about 100 feet remaining, I ran to the finish line. I didn’t want them to take a picture of me walking across.

And then it was done. I made it – challenge complete. I picked up my finisher’s beach towel, put on my mask, and slowly walked back to the park.

Official South Half Marathon Results (not counting virtual runners):

• Overall: 985
• Men 50-54: 73
• Time: 2:47:12
• Pace: 12:46

SpaceX Falcon 9 B1049 Returns

Today, the record setting SpaceX Falcon 9 booster B1049 returned to Port Canaveral. This booster is first to be launched and recovered seven times and marks the 100th launch of a Falcon 9 booster.

SpaceX Starlink-15 Launch

Tonight SpaceX launched another 60 Starlink satellites into orbit. This launch was historically significant for two reasons. First, it was the seventh launch and recovery of the Falcon 9 booster B1049; a new record in reusability. And second, it was the 100th successful launch of a Falcon 9 booster. SpaceX continues to amaze and inspire those of us living on the Space Coast, as well as all the space geeks around the world.

SpaceX Starlink launch

 

Red Carpet Run

The Red Carpet Run is a movie-themed race based in Cocoa Village, Florida. It offered three distances this year: 5K, 10K, and half marathon. Many months ago, I signed up for the 10K race. I have been training for this race since completing my last race in May; the Running Zone 17’th Anniversary Virtual 5K.

To help train for this race, I used one of the coaches on my Garmin account. The training was basically the same, week after week. Wednesday and Friday workouts were simple drills and Sunday workouts were an increasingly longer run, with the longest being 7 miles.

Today started early – around 4:00 AM – to get to the starting line by 6:30. I got up, showered, and ate breakfast. Susan joined me for the drive to Cocoa Village. We parked in the dark and walked down to the City Park. There were already hundreds of people there; some hanging out with friends, some stretching, and some jogging around.

Around 5:30, the event staff got on the PA and welcomed us. The staff was set up on the stage of the amphitheater. After telling us the schedule of events, they started playing movie music, starting with the “Imperial March” from Star Wars. Nothing gets me revved up like Darth Vader music playing loudly in the park.

At 6:15, the staff broke in again and announced the details of the start. The plan was for all runners in all three races to join at the starting line, with masks on. Jonathon Howse (a home school parent and avid marathon runner) sang the national anthem, then the runners walked up the hill to the staring line. A few moments later, the race was under way. I hit the start button on my Garmin watch as I crossed the starting line, tucked my mask into my shirt, and wondered to myself, “Will the rain hold off?” and “Will I make it to the turn-around point without walking?”.

Up to this point, my fitness goal has been to run 5K without stopping to walk, and ideally do it in less than 30 minutes. I thought maybe today, I could achieve part of that goal.

As we headed North out of town along Indian River Drive, the crowd slowly started to spread out. I found a nice, comfortable pace and tried to stay out of everyone’s way and not run into anyone. There were people of all ages walking and running – kids, elderly, people with handicaps. It was here that I was passed by a young mother pushing a stroller with a child. It was still dark and the street lights were on as I passed one beautiful house after another. In some places, there were puddles on the road from recent rain and sprinkler run-off and some runners purposelessly ran through them. It was very humid, but the temperature wasn’t bad – around 75 degrees.

The first kilometer went by in about 7 and a half minutes. The second split time was similar. As we approached the 5K turn-around point, the race staff started pushing the runners to the right side of the road so the 5K runners could turn left and return to the finish. I was amazed at how thin the crowd got after that point. From this point on, only serious runners remained. I passed 3K and 4K without walking. I was feeling pretty good about it, too. And then something happened. I got confused. I looked at my watch, but it was still too dark to read it clearly. I started to think that I had passed the 5K point, but that didn’t make sense – I hadn’t reached the 10K turn-around point yet. Actually, I couldn’t even see the turn-around point ahead. Then I started thinking that maybe I passed it already, but that would have been impossible. I concluded that I had met my 5K without walking goal and started walking.

And then I saw the 10K turn-around point. I rounded the point and started heading toward the finish line. It was here that I realized that I had started walking at 4.25K, not 5.25K. Regardless, that was still the farthest I’ve ever ran without stopping, so I’m proud of the achievement.

At the 6K point, my feet started burning. Soon afterwards, I could feel blisters starting to develop behind my big toe on both feet. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to run at all. Unlike most of Florida, this route has some elevation changes, so I ran on each down grade and walked everywhere else.

By now the sun was starting to rise in the Southeast sky. I could see the 520 bridge that marked the finish line area. It was still pretty far away. There were a few other runners near me, so I tried to keep pace with them. Since I was mostly walking, that was not working out too well. At the 9K point, I passed an event worker and told him that this should have been a 9K. He said, “Yeah, then you’d be finished right now”.

I entered town and turned East on the sidewalk along 520. I passed the one half mile remaining sign as another runner blew past me. I think he was the leader of the half marathon runners - amazing. I continued walking under the bridge and into the park. One quarter mile remaining. Then 200 meters remaining. I could see the finish line and the red carpet. I decided to finish strong and ran to the finish line.

Crossing the finish line of the Red Carpet Run 10K

I finished with an official time of 1:18:39. I was 112’th; 52’nd in the males and 5’th in my age group. That means that 60 women crossed the line before me. Women are amazingly strong distance runners. I just wonder if any of them were pushing strollers.

Utah Vacation-Returning Home

Today was our final day of vacation. It was time to say good-bye to Southwest Utah and return to Florida. In preparation, we had nearly all of our bags packed and by the door the night before. All that was left to do was get showers, get dressed, and try to eat as much of the remaining food as possible. While Susan packed the cooler one last time, I made countless trips in the dark across the condo parking lot, carrying two weeks worth of trash bags and recyclables.

Once packed, we made one final pass through the condo, wrote in the visitor log, and locked the door on our way out. The drive to Las Vegas is about 3.5 hours long. It travels South a few miles in Utah, then enters Arizona, the Utah again, and Arizona again, and finally into Nevada. The coolest part of the trip is the Virgin River Canyon. It’s hard to believe that engineers could find a way to route an interstate through there. The canyon is so narrow and twisty in one spot that the interstate is literally built above the river; not on one side or the other like one normally sees.

Thanks to the time zone change Las Vegas was an hour behind Utah time, so we had an extra hour to spend before returning the car to the airport. We took advantage of this time by exploring the Strip. We started at the North end and headed South. We found a parking spot outside Macy’s and started walking.

Our first stop was the Venetian. I wanted to see the gondolas. We walked in and BOOM!, slot machines and gambling devices as far as you can see. I asked an employee how to find the gondolas and he pointed the way, right through the casino. I asked about Andrew going that way and he said, “No problem, just stay three feet away from everything”. In North Carolina, Andrew wasn’t even allowed inside the casino. Welcome to family friendly Las Vegas.

We did our best to follow the directions and the signs, but still got lost. A security officer took pity on us and showed us the way.

The gondolas inside the Venetian

Back outside, we continued walking to Caesar’s Palace. We walked inside and again, the casino went on forever. There were several things about this place that I found interesting. First, the casino allowed smoking – YUCK. Second, they had full scale replicas of famous Italian sculptures, most notably Michelangelo’s David. Third, these places are basically self-contained cities. If you wanted, you would never have to go outside. There is plenty of food, shopping, and entertainment to last a weekend or even a week, although I would get tired of it quicker than that. And finally, near one of the exits is a multi-story, open shopping area. It is shaped like a horizontal ellipse, about four stories tall. The floors are held up by massive columns that are carved into sculptures of half naked goddesses with flowing gowns. Along a long side of the ellipse, there are escalators going up and down. The crazy thing is that the escalators are curved to match the arc of the ellipse. I’ve never seen anything like that before. I was starting to feel like a country bumpkin who’d never left his home town.

David and Andrew near statue of David, in Caesar's Palace

Next, we passed quickly through Treasure Island. Again, it was hard to find our way around inside. We eventually found a sign that led us to the parking garage and back outside. From there, we returned to our car.

The next goal was to see as much of the Strip as possible, catch the Welcome sign, eat lunch, and return the car. The following pictures were shot through the window of the car.

The Mirage

New York, New York

Excalibur

Luxor

This time, we were on the correct side of the road to stop at the Welcome sign. We pulled into the parking lot and drove to the end to get what tiny bit of shade we could find. There was a long line of tourists waiting to get their picture taken in front of the sign. We bypassed that and got a nice picture, with the help of zoom.

The famous Welcome sign

Back in the car, we went through the cooler one last time and decided what we could eat and what must be thrown away. We don’t like throwing food away, so we all ate as much as possible. Even so, there was still food and ice left in the cooler. We decided to keep it and headed for the Payless rental car return.

Inside the garage, we pulled up to the line and parked. An agent quickly greeted us and took the mileage numbers and the keys. We told her about the cooler and she said, “Leave it. We’ll take care of it”. That was the best outcome I could have imagined. We gathered our bags, left the well-used Styrofoam cooler behind, and walked to the airport shuttle bus.

At the airport, we checked our bags and walked to the gate. Our first flight was to Dallas Love Field. We chose to sit on the North side of the plane, hoping that maybe, just maybe, we’d get to finally see Hoover Dam.

Las Vegas from the air

Our one and only view of the Hoover Dam

After a brief stop in Dallas, we continued on to Orlando. The airport was nearly empty when we arrived. It was pouring down rain outside, which was very unusual for us, who had spent two weeks in the desert.

So, to summarize our vacation experience, we saw three national parks, enjoyed miles of scenic hiking, had good food, ice cream, and shakes whenever possible, got harassed by insects during lunch everyday, and even came back with a sexy new tan line (ask me about it and if you’re lucky, I’ll show you).

Click on the photo below to see the Photo Gallery.

Utah Vacation-Zion Wrap Up

Today was our last full day of vacation. I wanted to do one more trail in Zion and Susan wanted to find some nice Zion shirts. So, we packed our cooler and headed for Zion National Park.

Since we were in no hurry to catch a shuttle, we arrived at the East entrance a little later than usual. That, and it being Friday, meant that there were more people trying to get in. The Ranger was at the gate and the line was backed up pretty far. By the time we crept to third in line, another Ranger came out opened a second lane. I was just about to pull into that lane and be the first, but a guy in a Toyota truck cut right in front of me. Typical.

The trailhead for the East Rim Trail is just inside the entrance. We arrived, parked, and prepared for the hike. Susan decided to stay at the trailhead (she does not have marathon runner energy levels and her foot was sore), so it was just me and Andrew. The payoff for this hike is a view into the Zion canyon from the edge of a cliff above Weeping Rock. The trail from within the canyon has been closed due to a rockslide that was still being cleaned up. So, if you wanted that view, this was the only way to see it. Well, I would have liked to have seen it, but this is one of the longest hikes in the park and neither of us was ready for an all day trek.

We decided to go out for an hour or 2 miles, whichever came last. The first mile of the trail is relatively flat and very sandy; it is like walking on a volleyball court on the beach.  Eventually, it gets steeper and rockier and the switchbacks begin. We reached the two mile point first and I wanted to keep going to see if there was any view at all. We did and there wasn’t. We turned around and headed back to the trailhead. Later we learned that the views start at 2.9 miles. Oh well.

A panoramic view from the East Rim Trail

Back at the car, we decided to go try to find shirts at the Visitor Center. We headed West through the park to the Visitor Center. The parking lot was Christmas-shopping-at-the-mall crazy. Every time a spot opened, there were three of four cars trying to get it. I dropped Susan off close to the Visitor Center entrance and slowly drove around the lot. On my second lap, I found an empty 15 minute spot, pulled in, and set the timer on my watch. Tick tock, the minutes went by. With five minutes left, I saw Susan walking toward me with bag in hand. She did it!

With our immediate goals achieved, we headed to Springdale to prepare for our next goals. First, we needed a place to park. Preferably, it would be free and have a picnic table nearby. After driving all the way through town, we found a small park with two hour free parking and picnic tables along the Virgin River. Perfect. Second, we needed to check in with Southwest Airlines to get our boarding position set. We had over an hour before the window opened, so we pulled out the cooler and had lunch. Keeping with the theme of this trip, the bees arrived as soon as the food came out. For some reason, the bees were highly attracted to Andrew and he ran for cover. With him out of the way, they started harassing me, so I too had to run for cover.

After lunch, we still had a bit of time before the Southwest check in window opened. We found a nice shady spot in the grass and relaxed. We discussed what else we wanted to do today and Las Vegas came up. We thought about going back to the condo, packing, and spending the night in Las Vegas. We looked into prices and decided that it wasn’t worth it. Las Vegas taxes are outrageous.

The check in window opened and I entered my details into the Southwest app. Once again, we got three positions in boarding group A. Nice.

Since we were in Springdale and we were finished with lunch and we weren’t in a hurry, we decided we needed ice cream. Google gave us two choices and I chose one. We headed back into town and found the market that Google suggested. Andrew and I got a two scoop bowl of Orange Cream, then found a seat outside in the shade. At the next table, a guy was on a conference call on his laptop. I had forgotten that it was Friday and not everyone is on vacation. I thought it odd that he was not using a headset, so everyone could hear the full conversation. And even more odd was that he had a six pack of beer on the table and was working on one during the call. Interesting.

After the ice cream was gone, we headed back through Zion one final time. I absorbed as much as I possibly could, knowing that I may never get back to this park again (although I hope I do).

A view of the Checkerboard Mesa

Click on the photo below to see the Photo Gallery.

Utah Vacation-Johnson Canyon Slots

Today we planned to go in search of the best slot canyon we could find, within the limitations of Johnson Canyon. We packed our cooler and headed East out of Kanab. We then headed North on Johnson Canyon Road. After a few miles, we turned onto Bureau of Land Management route 500 (BLM 500), an unimproved road, and followed it to Lick Wash.

The Lick Wash Trail follows Lick Wash into a canyon. Since it is along a wash, there was no water present. The canyon was bone dry, but yet somehow, trees managed to grow.

David hiking the Lick Wash Trail

Narrow slot along the Lick Wash Trail

We then continued North on BLM 500 to the Willis Creek Trail. Somewhere along the route, we saw a sign that said that four wheel drive and high clearance vehicles are recommended. Well, it was for just this situation that we rented a Jeep. Unfortunately, Payless did not give us a Jeep. But luckily for us, we had lots of food and water available, in case we needed to wait for rescue.

The Willis Creek Trail is another slot canyon trail. But unlike others we have hiked, this one has flowing water. Nice. After only a half mile or so, we passed through our first slot and thought, “That was nice. I wonder if the trail gets any better from here?” That’s when we passed some hikers heading back up the trail. We asked them and they enthusiastically said that we need to keep going. That was encouraging. So keep going we did.

David entering a slot along the Willis Creek Trail

Susan at the other end of a slot along the Willis Creek Trail

Another slot along the Willis Creek Trail

Susan in a deep slot along the Willis Creek Trail

Back on the road, we continued North towards Bryce Canyon Visitor Center. It was now that the high clearance vehicle recommendation finally became clear. The road, which had been mostly level dirt and loose sand, became very steep and full of ruts. I carefully started down into a valley with high hopes that I’d be able to get out the other side. At the bottom, I thought, “That wasn’t so bad”. Getting out the other side turned out to be a non-issue and we continued on to Bryce Canyon. So much for all the gloomy foreshadowing.

At the Bryce Canyon Visitor Center, we went shopping for shirts. We really liked the shirts we found at North Rim and were looking for shirts with a similar style. We found them, but they were a little bit more expensive than the typical T-shirt, but hey, you only live once, so we splurged a little.

The route back to the condo was the same route we took a few days earlier. To our surprise, the short garden hose that bounced off a camper the other day was still lying on the side of the road.

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Utah Vacation-Zion Hiking

Today we planned to return to Zion National Park and do more hiking. Since the planned hikes are all inside the canyon, we had to reserve shuttle tickets yesterday. We received reservations for the 8-9:00 AM window. We packed and left the condo with plans to arrive at the Visitor Center at 8:30.

As usual, we entered the park from the East entrance. Once again, we arrived before the Ranger, so we scooted right through the gate. Our luck ran out at the top of the tunnel. With our reservation window starting to get uncomfortably tight, we found ourselves behind a camper. It was well past 8:00, so a Ranger was checking vehicles. The camper had to stop so the Ranger could arrange for the camper to go through the tunnel with no oncoming traffic. We waited forever, so it seemed, before downhill traffic was allowed to proceed. In reality, it was only six minutes.

We arrived at the Visitor Center with 15 minutes left in our reservation window. We walked very quickly towards the shuttle stop, but then I realized that I left my sunglasses in the car. I briefly considered leaving them, but the sky in Utah is so clear and the sun so bright, I knew I’d need them soon. I ran back to the car to get them, then rejoined the family near the shuttle boarding area. To our dismay, the line was pretty long. But then our luck changed for the better. We heard a Ranger call out for folks with 8-9:00 tickets. We called back, then hurried to the front of the line and on to the waiting shuttle. Phew!

We rode the shuttle to the Lodge. We ate another breakfast – got to keep the energy levels maxed out – and decided which trail to take first. We decided to do a short, easy, warm-up trail first.

Our first hike was along the Sand Bench Trail. I quickly recognized that something was different about this trail. There were two clear indicators. First, there was an odd smell in the air, and second, there were hoofprints in the sand. I realized that this was a dual use trail. We decided to take it anyway. We were soon enough pleased to see that the trails split apart. Walking in the deep sand, churned up by countless horses, was difficult. But then the trails merged again. Darn. If you are thinking ahead, you probably already guessed what came next. At a very narrow spot on the trail, four tourists on horseback came from the opposite direction. We got off the trail and squeezed into the available space as they passed.

We eventually reached the end of the trail at the Court of the Patriarchs. The final climb to the lookout was paved, so the going was much easier. Along the way, we passed very closely to two male deer who didn’t seem to be too upset with our proximity.

Panoramic view of the Court of the Patriarchs

After hiking through all that soft sand, we decided to take the canyon road back to the Lodge. Along the way, we met a family riding electric bikes. One of the bikes was foldable and we’re told that it easily fits in the trunk of a car. The father said that his bike can go 28 miles per hour and he once got 78 miles on a single charge, but that did include him pedaling part of the time. Pretty impressive.

Back at the Lodge, we fueled up again with an early lunch under the big tree. There we saw another deer, casually nibbling the fresh grass, seemingly oblivious to the people taking pictures nearby. At this point, Susan was ready to relax, so Andrew and I continued without her.

A deer nibbling the fresh grass near the Lodge

Our plan was to hike the West Rim Trail to Scout Lookout. This is one of the most difficult hikes in the park, but it offers a spectacular view of the canyon from the top of the cliff. We caught a shuttle from the Lodge to The Grotto, then crossed the river to the trailhead. The trail has four distinct sections. Section 1 is relatively flat and follows along the bank of the Virgin River. Section 2 starts the climb to the base of the cliff, then begins switching back and forth to gain elevation. This part was hard and hot, as there was little shade to be found. Section 3 enters a dry wash through a canyon and is completely shaded and nearly flat. And Section 4 is the real killer, labeled as Walter’s Wiggles on the trail map. This section is similar to the climb on the Wall Street Trail in Bryce Canyon. The pitch is so steep that the switchbacks are held up by walls. I started counting the number of switchbacks, but lost track around 18. After completing that final switchback, its a short hike to Scout Lookout.

Scout Lookout is an amazing payoff for a pretty tough hike. It has you perched atop a 1,000 foot tall vertical cliff. In some places, you can walk right up to the edge. There are no railings here. I could only get so close before I had to back up. I was unable to get close enough to look down. I looked around and found a few places where there were large rocks near the edge. From there I could lean against the rock and nearly look straight down. It was then that I realized that we were high above the Big Bend shuttle stop, where we got off and explored a few days earlier. Just writing about it makes my hands sweaty with anxiety.

Panoramic view of the canyon from Scout Lookout

Scout Lookout was the end of our hike, but the trail continues. The most iconic destination in the park – Angel’s Landing – is just another half mile up the trail. This part of the trail is along a very narrow shelf of rock that slants away from the mountain and, like all trails in Utah, is covered by fine sand. It is nearly impossible to walk on without slipping, and slipping leads to certain death, as the large sign attested (10 deaths since 2004). To help avoid killing off all the hikers, the trail has a chain screwed into the rock along the ledge so you can hang onto the chain and hopefully avoid the long fall to the canyon floor below. But, like a lot of things these days, this trail is closed due to COVID-19. There is just no way for two hikers to pass each other along the narrow ledge without getting extremely close to each other. Personally I’m glad it was closed. Otherwise I would have had to pass on that part and look like a big sissy in front of my son.

David hanging onto the chain at the start of the closed trail to Angel's Landing

After enjoying the thrill of victory and taking a much deserved break, we headed back down the trail. The trip down was incredibly fast and easy. I’m pretty sure it took less than half the time to descend as it took to climb. We were back at The Grotto in no time.

Looking down Section 2 of the West Rim Trail

At The Grotto, we refilled our water bottles from the park’s spring water refilling station and waited for a shuttle back to the Lodge. We waited, but no shuttles were coming. Finally one came. As the line moved forward towards the doors, the Ranger waved the bus along, even though there were at least four empty seats available. I was like, “What the !#$%^”. I asked about it and he told me that the shuttle was going to the Lodge. Well crap, we wanted to go to the Lodge! Apparently, everyone in front of us wanted to go to the Visitor Center, so he assumed everyone in line had the same idea. Grrr.

Rather than wait for another shuttle, we decided to take the short trail to the Lodge. We found Susan, told her of our grand adventure, then caught a shuttle to Temple of Sinawava. This destination is deeper into the park, so there were plenty of shuttles available.

When the shuttle arrived, we were shocked by the number of people waiting in line to catch a shuttle back to the Visitor Center. We knew we’d be in for a long wait when we returned. Regardless, we all took the River Walk Trail to The Narrows. As expected, the number of hikers returning from The Narrows was large, so any thought of the line being shorter when we returned slipped away.

When we arrived at The Narrows, we found a nice spot on a large rock and watched the river glide by. We figured we’d just hang out until the number of hikers returning was less than four every five minutes. Well, that never happened. Hikers just kept appearing out of The Narrows.

Eventually we started slowly walking back the trail to the shuttle stop. The end of the line was in the same spot it was when we passed it earlier. Oh well, no big deal. We started playing a guessing game to see who could get the closest to the number of shuttles until we got on. The shuttles slowly came and left. After an hour, we were clearly going to be on the next bus, but there currently was no next bus in the queue. That’s when the Ranger asked for those going directly to the Visitor Center. We let him know that that was our plan, so he escorted us and several others past the normal line and directly to an express bus. Woo hoooo!

The ride back to the Visitor Center was fast and stop-free. The wind was blowing in the open vents and everyone was tired, but happy. The end of a very long day in an amazing national park. It doesn’t get much better.

Back at the Visitor Center, we found our car and started back to the condo. As usual, the drive out of the valley and through the tunnel was breathtaking. We stopped along the way out to capture another set of ‘magic light’ shots of the glowing rocks.

Outside the park, Andrew wanted to make one more stop. Since upgrading to Android 11, Andrew’s drone was out of commission. He found a different controller app that was compatible and wanted to try it out. We stopped near a section of highway with a sign that said, “Road Damage”. He wanted to get some drone footage of cars bouncing and weaving through the rollercoaster-like section of wavy pavement. Andrew got his video and we finally returned to the condo.

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Utah Vacation-Bryce Canyon

Today’s plan was to visit Bryce Canyon National Park. We packed the car and got going around 10:00 AM, and headed North. Along the way we entered a construction zone where a crew was paving the highway. We slowed as we approached, then we saw the BUMP sign. The transition from old to new pavement was quite dramatic. I could almost swear that the popup camper in front of us went airborne after hitting it. And then, out of the blue, a short garden hose came quickly into view. When they say BUMP in Utah, they mean it.

We arrived at Bryce Canyon around noon. We captured the obligatory park entrance picture, then continued to the Visitor Center. From there, we looked at the trail maps and chose the hike that had the following description, “If you can only do one hike, this might be the best choice”. This was the Queens/Navajo Combination Loop; clockwise direction recommended.

David standing near the Bryce Canyon National Park entrance sign

The trailhead was in the ‘Amphitheater’, which is near the Lodge. We stopped at the lodge first. Like other lodges we’ve visited, this one too was surrounded by small cabins. We left the lodge and walked to the trailhead.

When we arrived at the Amphitheater, we were blown away. Not by the wind (like at Cedar Breaks), but by the view. The hoodoos went on and on.

Bryce Canyon Amphitheater, looking Northeast

Bryce Canyon Amphitheater, looking Southeast

The trailhead was at Sunrise Point. The trail loop started with the Queens Garden Trail. This trail was mostly downhill and passed by many hoodoos. The payoff for this trail is a hoodoo that resembles Queen Victoria.

The Queen Victoria hoodoo on the Queens Garden Trail

Next, we followed the Navajo Loop trail through the forest below the hoodoos. At this point, we were thinking, “For every step we take downhill, that’s another step uphill later”. Along this section of trail, I noticed a distinct log lying on the ground that looked peculiarly like an alligator. Eventually, we reached a fork in the trail. We could take either the Wall Street Trail or the Two Bridges Trail up to Sunset Point, or we could take the Peek-A-Boo Loop Trail, which would add several miles to our hike. We chose to take the Wall Street Trail.

The Wall Street Trail is amazing and quite challenging. It was described to us as the closest thing Bryce Canyon has to a slot canyon. It is very narrow with hoodoos towering on both sides.

The "slot canyon" on the Wall Street Trail

As the trail winds closer to completion, it gets much steeper. Eventually, the trail becomes so steep that the switchbacks are held up by brick walls that are nearly vertical. I felt bad for one woman coming down who was clearly very anxious about the steepness of the trail. This is probably the reason they suggest to do the trail in the clockwise direction.

Looking up at the switchbacks on the Wall Street Trail

After many stops to catch our breath, we eventually made it to Sunset Point, which is at the opposite side of the Amphitheater from Sunrise Point.

We then returned to the car and headed south, past many viewpoints, to Rainbow Point. Here we had lunch, then hiked to Yovimpa Point. After that, we returned to the car and headed north. We stopped at each viewpoint along the route. The most interesting to me was the Natural Bridge viewpoint. The funny thing is, the information sign at the stop said that the formation was misnamed and is actually an arch.

The Natural Bridge, which is actually an arch

By now, it was getting late, so we started heading for home. Outside the park, we entered Bryce Canyon City. On the way in, we noticed some interesting shops, so we decided to stop on the way out. Andrew and I found an ice cream shop and had a bowl of Wild Huckleberry. Meanwhile, Susan went in search of souvenir shirts.

Back on the road, we passed through Red Canyon. Again, we thought this would be an interesting place to stop while driving in, but wanted to get to Bryce Canyon. Since it was now ‘magic light’ time, the rocks in Red Canyon were beautifully lit and demanded our attention. We stopped several times to grab some pictures.

Panoramic view inside Red Canyon

By now, the sun had set and we focused on getting home. The drive back was basically downhill from lush green meadows along the river, back to the desert landscape of Kanab. Along the way, we saw many deer in the fields. In many cases, the deer were sharing the green meadow grass with herds of cows.

Bryce Canyon National Park lived up to all of our expectations. The colors and shapes were out of this world.

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Utah Vacation-Zion Shuttle to Canyon

Today was Zion National Park day. Although we have already driven through the park several times, today we planned to actually go where only the shuttles can go. It reminds me of my early days in Florida when we would ride the monorail and boats around Disney World versus the first day we went inside. The difference is quite grand.

Zion has a shuttle service that runs inside the park. Before COVID-19, you could show up and catch a bus at any time, as long as you were willing to stand on the bus. Now, you must get a reservation for a specific time because the buses now have very limited seating. In addition to the booking, we realized early on that the park is crowded and the Visitor Center parking lot fills early. Yesterday, we booked the 8-9:00 AM shuttle window and planned to arrive at the Visitor Center before 8:00. Another thing to consider was the tunnel. According to what we read, the tunnel was not open until 8:00. So, we found ourselves in a predicament. Should we get up extra early and take the long way to get to the Visitor Center before 8:00, or sleep an extra hour and take the direct route through the tunnel and risk being late for our shuttle. We decided to take the direct route. Our first surprise was at the East entrance. There was no one at the gate, so we just drove right in. We do not feel any guilt for this, since we have the National Park Annual Pass. The second surprise came when we approached the tunnel. Again, there was no one there and the tunnel was not closed, so we drove straight through. So, in the end, we got to sleep a little longer and we still made it to the Visitor Center early and easily found a parking spot. Good start.

The shuttle bus started boarding early, so we were on our way to Zion Lodge before 8:00. The Lodge is surrounded by a collection of buildings. There’s the main building, with a food service, gift shop, and check in. Then there’s other buildings that are like hotels. And finally, there are private cabins.

Shuttle at the Lodge stop, the sun just touching the peaks

The one thing that really stood out to me was the lawn in front of the Lodge. It is a large open green space with one of the largest trees I’ve ever seen right in the middle. I was thinking at the time that I bet under that tree would be a nice place to eat lunch.

Massive tree in the lawn in front of the Lodge

After grabbing a breakfast sandwich from the lodge, we began our first hike. We took the Emerald Pools Trail up to the Lower Emerald Pool. From there, we continued up past the Middle Emerald Pool to the Upper Emerald Pool. Along the way, we were surprised twice. First, we came across a deer nibbling on the dry grass near the trail, then the trail passed below two small waterfalls.

Waterfall over Emerald Pools Trail

The lower and middle pools are nice, but the upper is the prize. It is a small pool surrounded by large rocks in a small nook in the vertical cliffs. Andrew and I climbed up on top of one of the large rocks and took in the scene. The pool was very green and inviting and the sun was now high enough to start filling the canyon with light.

Upper Emerald Pool as seen from a large rock

After soaking it all in for a while, we took the Kayenta Trail to The Grotto. The hike down was very scenic. I enjoyed watching the shadows from the canyon walls slowly walk across the valley and expose more areas with light. The winding river was especially beautiful as the light revealed its colors.

Virgin River winding through the canyon

At The Grotto, we caught a shuttle back to the Lodge. It was nearly lunch time, so we ordered some food. As expected, the lawn was now in direct sunlight and the tree in the center cast an enormous shadow over half of it. We easily found a nice shady spot, spread out our blanket, and ate. Even though we were surrounded by people – all keeping the proper social distance – I still felt like it was just us and the mountains. I felt very much at home in this place.

Andrew under the large tree in the lawn of the Lodge

After lunch Andrew and I took the shuttle to the Temple of Sinawava. From there, we walked along the Riverside Walk to The Narrows. The shuttle driver referred to Riverside Walk as “The Wides”. I said ‘walked’ because this was no hike. It is basically a sidewalk that follows the river for about a mile into the narrowing canyon. Along the way, we saw a Herron in the river and plenty of chubby squirrels. At The Narrows, the Riverside Walk ends. If you want to continue, you must cross the Virgin River. There is no way across without getting wet. We decided we’d come back when we were better prepared.

Entrance to The Narrows

Back at the Temple stop, we caught a shuttle to Big Bend. From here, we hiked a short ways down to a bend in the river that is surrounded on three sides by a massive cliff. I can’t express enough how amazingly tiny I felt next to these vertical walls. It is a sight that must be seen to be believed.

We caught the next shuttle and returned to the Lodge. We found Susan and continued to the Visitor Center. By this time, we were getting hungry again, so we found a picnic table in the parking lot and had second lunch.

After eating again, we packed the car and headed back towards the condo. On the way up the mountain, we decided that we would do the Canyon Overlook Trail if we could find a place to park. Once through the tunnel, we saw that the small lot was full, so we continued homeward. To our surprise, we did see some spots not far from the trailhead, so I turned around at the next pull off and returned to where I saw the spots. Luckily, one was still available, else we would have had to go through the tunnel to the valley to turn around again.

We parked and hiked the Canyon Overlook Trail. As mentioned earlier, the trail starts with steps that climb a little ways up and around the entrance to the tunnel. I didn’t realize it until then that there is a bridge just before the entrance to the tunnel and there’s a trail in the narrow canyon below the bridge. That is something to keep in mind for another day. The trail is very short and leads to one of the best views one can imagine. Along the way, the trail is actually held up by a metal frame with wooden boards that span a gap; not one for the fearful. From the overlook, the entire canyon that the winding road climbs through is visible. I’d give it an 11 on a scale of 1 to 10 for bang-for-the-buck.

View from the Canyon Overlook Trail

Back on the road again, we wound our way East out of the park. It is always an amazing drive, and this time was no different. Susan spotted a Bighorn Sheep in a small valley, so I stopped at the next pull off. When we got out and walked a short way to a rocky overlook, we saw a small herd of nine sheep in total.

Herd of Bighorn Sheep

Back on the road again, the ‘magic light’ was making the scenery even more amazing than normal. One particular spot was glowing gloriously – the Checkboard Mesa.

Checkerboard Mesa in 'magic light'

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