Finally, after many months of research and planning the day had arrived. We were so excited to get started. We packed all our stuff into Richard's new car and were amazed at all the room we had. He bought a Corolla station wagon to drive to work each day and it proved to be a great little car for traveling, especially through the mountains.We left early and headed north toward Las Vegas. It was so very hot in Arizona and I wondered what it would be like in the Nevada desert. Las Vegas is about an 8 hr drive from Green Valley. Well, it was very hot also, but except for short walks between casino hotels, we mostly stayed cool indoors.
Our room was really nice. We were on the first floor of the Luxor on the front corner, so we had a view of both sides. It was equipped with a Jacuzzi, though we had no time to enjoy it. We were on the move, morning to night.
That evening we ate at a restaurant in the hotel called "Isis". It was real nice. Afterward, we hurried off to the Bally Resort to see Paul Anka's show. We had great seats, very close to the stage. He really puts on a wonderful show. He mingles with the whole audience and stops to hug and kiss all the ladies. When he got near, I could not resist jumping up for a hug. Richard was hot with the camera button. Paul Anka was not the least bit camera shy and encouraged everyone to take photos, unlike a lot of celebrity shows. He sang all the old favorites and also many of the songs he had written for others. We were amazed at his talent. He is timeless in his ability to entertain. Exhausted, we returned to our room (after a brief stop a the slots).
The next morning we were up and ready to go early. After breakfast, (and after a brief stop at the slots... Boy, were they tough this trip) we got our tickets for the "Secret of the Luxor Pyramid Trilogy". It is Luxor's theme show. Each of the hotels has a theme. It was sort of a movie/interactive experience, moving from one theatre to the next. We took a "plunge" on an elevator simulator to the depths of Luxor in search of the obelisk to unlock the secrets of the pyramid. From there we took the tour of the "Tutankamen Museum" in the lower levels of the Luxor. It is all reproductions that look so authentic.
We had another big evening planned so we prepared for dinner and ate in a restaurant at MGM Grand Hotel, that I learned about by chance on the Internet. There is no advertising, no signs leading one there and no one working at the hotel was really sure where it was located. We finally found someone to guide us and entered "Charlie Trotter's Restaurant". One of the most exclusive places where we have eaten. A most unusual experience. The menu was split. One side for vegetable dishes and the opposite for meat dishes. You picked one or the other side and then they proceeded to bring on seven courses of the most exotic foods, so fabulously prepared. It was an artistic and gastronomic delight for the senses. Our bill for the evening was presented in the form of an engraved, personalized, printed, "Thank You" note.
We staggered back into the real world and headed to the Hollywood Theatre in the MGM Grand where we had tickets to see the "Four Tops". They also put on a very energetic production and the whole crowd was howling. They are a lot older, but still can belt out a song.
We hurried back to the Luxor so that we could get some pictures of the laser show out front. For 1/2 hour each hour, they put on a great light show. Lasers go shooting out of the sphinx' eyes and lights are flashing everywhere. All this takes place in front of a fountain. The lasers are shown through the spray of the water and scatter the light in patterns and illustrations. They gathered quite a crowd of picture takers.
We were very tired after this big day and so (after a brief stop at the slots) we were back in our room and looking forward to the next adventure.
We left Las Vegas early (after a brief stop at the slots), looking forward to our scenic drive into Utah. Another nice day for traveling. We arrived at Zion around noon. It is about a three hour drive. Utah is a really wild state and very pristine.
We stayed at the Cliffrose Lodge & Gardens in a town called Springdale, UT, right at the park entrance. We had a nice room with a view of the park. It was a lot cooler in Zion than in Arizona. The altitude is about 4000 ft and we were only beginning our climb for the trip. We ate lunch at a little shop called Oscar's Deli. Richard ordered a roast beef sandwich and asked "How is the roast beef?", they replied, "I don't know, we are all vegetarians"! Wrong answer! We ate tuna instead.
After lunch we decided to go into the park for a drive until our room was ready. The price of the ticket allows one to enter all week. We began our drive not knowing what to expect. We were constantly dazzled by the scenery. Zion reminds me of a typical state park by the way you can drive through all of it. Of course, there are many trails for hikers. (Some day, we hope to be able to take those hikes.)
We traveled the driving trail and took many photographs. The Virgin River cuts through the interior of the park, and Zion Canyon, with its deep, narrow chasm and multicolored, vertical walls, cuts through the middle, with smaller canyons branching from it like fingers. The Virgin River began carving this canyon more than 13 million years ago. The beautiful colors, change with the light and they say that during a heavy rain, you can see hundreds of waterfalls pouring from the cracks in the rock, We continued on 7 miles until we came to the Temple of Sinawava, a natural amphitheater surrounded by cliffs.
We took another route and soon found the mile long Zion-Mt. Carmel Tunnel. This tunnel is considered an engineering marvel. Throughout the tunnel there are huge "windows" carved into the side of the mountain, said to allow ventilation when it was being built. It is way up in the mountain, over 8000 ft. and the view is marvelous.
We made it back to the motel and finally settled in. After reading all the information we could about Zion National Park, we decided to visit the Zion Canyon Theatre. With a 6 story high and 80 foot wide screen and cinemax, it was quite a sight. What a treat. One of the highlights of our visit. It was a travel back in time to meet the Anasazi Indians, to witness the hardship of the pioneers and to follow a quest for Spanish treasure. There was a very, very dramatic rock climbing sequence, that kept us on the edge of our seats. Later in the lobby, they demonstrated how they made the film along with the breathtaking fall that the climber took from the rock and a very realistic flood in the canyon. We had a great day and headed back to get ready for dinner.
We found a place to eat called Flanigan's Restaurant. it was packed, so evidently it was one of the best places in town to eat. We had a good meal and returned late to our room.
We were up again early the next morning and raring to go. We packed up the car and then visited a shop next door to pick up some souvenirs of our visit. The shop was full of southwestern items and jewelry and of course we found something to bring home. Then, breakfast at a small restaurant and we were happy to start on our next adventure... Bryce Canyon National Park.
Bryce Canyon National Park is about a 2 1/2 hour drive from Zion National Park. We drove over smaller roads to save time and also to see more of the real Utah. The drive was pleasurable as we climbed ever higher onto the Colorado Plateau. It was really hard to discern the change in the scenery from Zion to Bryce when all of a sudden those famous spires appeared. I swear we saw Wiley Coyote chasing the Road Runner. We stopped to take many photos even before we entered the park.
We arrived at our destination at Ruby's Inn before noon, but once again, we arrived a little early for check-in. The Best Western at Ruby's Inn is one of the very few places to stay at Bryce. It was like a lodge. Very large and very crowded with tourists.... bus loads.
So, we decided not to wait but head into the park. We soon discovered that most of the park was closed for road construction. Being greatly disappointed, we went ahead to the few view points that were available to us. We later learned that the best parts were the ones that were opened and the rest was more or less just a drive through. It is so exciting to pull into the parking area of the view points and see nothing particularly interesting, yet know that within a few steps you virtually step into another world. It can take your breath away with it's beauty. Richard and I both agree, we never thought in a hundred years that we would ever be there looking at places we have only read and wondered about.
Bryce was named after Ebeneezer Bryce, a Mormon settler who tried to make a go of the land for 5 years. His description of the place is: "A hell of a place to lose a cow", which survives today.
Spires arise from eroded canyon walls in wondrous shades of pink, yellow, buff and gold. It is about 8500 ft on top of the mesa and we were constantly short of breath. The park encompasses 56-square miles and you can just about see it all from any view point. When you look down into the canyon, you can see evergreen valleys filled with sagebrush.
It is actually a heavily forested area as are many canyons of the southwest. The Paiute Indians, who once lived nearby called this place "the place where red rocks stand like men in a bowl-shaped canyon." It is so true. They attached great spiritual values to Bryce Canyon. It was a little cloudy this day, but after a while the sun finally peeked though casting unbelievable shadows and changing the colors to vibrant. The reds and yellows are caused by iron oxides in the rocks. The purple and lavenders by manganese. What an amazing light show. Richard took tons of photos (as usual) and I have a marvelous video.
We were amazed to see people all over the canyon at varying depths. We even saw a string of horses taking tourists on a walk along the rim trails. We were not quite ready for a trek into the canyon, so we opted for a climb up. After many stops along the way, we finally made it to the top. The oxygen was sparse at that altitude, at least for us and about a dozen others who were also gasping when they reached the top. OK, let's face it. It was only about 1/4 mile, but at a very steep angle. Besides, we were beginning to get use to the strenuous side of park adventures and having already walked all over Las Vegas and Zion we were getting into endurance shape. Well ... almost.
We stopped at a few more view points along the way to the park entrance before exiting. This is a beautiful place, I hope you all get to see someday.
It was still early, so we decided to take a ride to a nearby town to discover some little shops. Not disappointed, we found a few and picked up some interesting jewelry and beads.
After a buffet dinner at the Ruby's Inn Restaurant, we were very tired from our rigorous day of hiking. (Slight exaggeration here). We had a great time here, even if most of the park was closed. They say, Bryce Canyon is even more beautiful in the winter when snow covers the spires and the sun performs its vibrant light show.
Out came the maps as we polished off plans for our next step in the parks trip.
It was early in the morning and we were on the move. After checking out and having a bite to eat, we began one of our longest drives of the vacation to Arches National Park in Moab, UT. It was raining on and off. The drive to Arches takes about 5 hours. We decided once again to take smaller roads and enjoy the scenery. Richard took care of some business calls en route and I relaxed and read some brochures about the park.
Along the route we watched the ever changing scene. We passed by many cattle ranches and old abandoned mines. It seems as though we we're either in the bottom of a valley or high up on the plateau. It is a most interesting and unusual area. We finally reached Interstate 70, but it was as much if not more in the wilderness than the valleys with the ranches. We traveled 75 miles with no exits, no buildings or billboards. What a place to run out of gas. Luckily, we just made it.
It was getting late in the day, so instead of going straight to Moab to check-in, we headed straight for the park. At the entrance, one can look up toward the right and see a huge red mountain of sandstone. It is called the Great Wall. A road winds upward taking us higher and higher up the mountain, hugging close to the Great Wall. After a few miles we came upon an open vista and the beginning of the Arches.
Arches contains the greatest density of natural arches in the world. The park is 114-square miles and there are 1600 arches cataloged, from 3 ft wide to the 105 ft high, 291 ft wide Landscape Arch. The park was carved by the Colorado River and sits over salt beds thousands of feet thick. The altitude is about 4000 ft. You can just drive through and never get out of the car, but you will miss a lot of the arches that are farther back. The most famous ones are sometimes a mile into the trails. Throughout the park you'll see sculpted cliffs, slickrock mesas and formations carved by nature from sandstone. The colors are mind boggling. Thousands of colors from pink, lavender, cream, gold and red and every shade in between. We were disappointed that it was so cloudy and we did not get to fully see the ever changing colors and deepening shadows caused by the sun.
There are tame trails and really wild ones that you would need a license to use. We did a lot of climbing to reach the arches. We climbed to Cove Arch along a quarter-mile trail and stood overlooking the vast Salt Valley below and the Rockies skyline. We did not know it at the time, but in 1991 a huge slab about 60 ft long, 11 ft wide and 4.5 ft thick fell from the underside of one of the larger arches, making it even thinner. I don't think I would have wanted to stand under it, if I had known that! (see photo)
One of the most famous arches is Delicate Arch. To get to it there is a demanding mile-and-a-half hike that climbs 500 ft. We found a good vantage point and took telephoto pictures instead.
We continued to the very end of the road and stopped at the Devil's Garden Trail. There is about one mile of well maintained trail followed by five miles of more primitive hiking. We went in about a half mile and took photos of the Tunnel Arch that cannot be seen from the road. It was a very pleasant walk among the gorgeous Navajo sandstone pinnacles and pedestals.
On our way back to the entrance the sky began to clear and we could see it would be a beautiful sunset. About the time we were passing Balance Rock, the full brilliance of the sun illuminated the giant rock and we were so very lucky to be able to get pictures that would rival any professional. What a nice surprise. Vibrant red and yellow shadows turned the landscape to deepening orange as we continued to the entrance. It was a glorious finale to a wonderful day.
Moab is a bustling small town full of international tourists. Many are there to tour the parks, and to ride the rapids of the Colorado River. Cycling is also very popular.
We found our hotel and then had dinner at a very quaint restaurant called "Central Plaza". Realizing that the motion picture "City Slickers 11" was filmed in and around Moab and Arches, we asked the waitress if perhaps, Billy Crystal had eaten here. She said, "Yes, as a matter of fact, he sat right over there". She said the whole crew kind of took over the town.
We walked the streets at night passing many shops, typical of many tourist towns. Of course, we managed to find a shop that was still opened and Richard bought a beautiful piece of petrified wood that he is having cut and polished to make bookends. I also found many interesting stones and dinosaur bone chips to use in my jewelry.
We returned to our hotel to discuss our next step ahead. We were looking forward to our drive the next day, straight into the Rocky Mountains and our mountain railway adventure.
We faced another 5 hour drive over some pretty high mountain roads, so we got an early start. It was a beautiful drive to the Colorado border through the remainder of Utah's "Red Rock" country. We were climbing higher and higher. The majestic Rocky Mountains loomed ahead as we had our first look at the snow covered peaks. We passed by Telluride and down through a valley until we were at the town of Silverton, CO. We did not stop because we knew we would be spending time at Silverton after the train ride tomorrow. From Silverton, the road climbs higher and we had a beautiful drive to Durango. This was the scenic route we had been reading about and it was everything we thought it would be. We stopped while Richard made more business calls. I took photos and walked a trail to a gigantic water fall. It rushed down from the mountain and under the road. On the other side it spewed forth from a cave and fell to the depths of the valley for hundreds of feet. It was an unexpected treat to find it.
Soon, we continued on our way to Durango. Durango is a fairly good size city, unlike Silverton which is solely dependent on the train. Durango was founded by the Denver & Rio Grande Railway in 1879. The railway was constructed to haul mine ores, gold and silver, from the San Juan mountains The first thing we spotted upon entering the city limits was a glass factory. We stopped and watched the owner in his shop move the glass in and out of his ovens until he made a glass whale. It was very interesting. When we visited his store, we decided that we needed a few more paperweights for our collection.
We had no trouble finding our hotel, the Red Lion Inn. What a fantastic hotel it turned out to be. We had a wonderful room on the first floor, right at the Animas River. We could look our and see the kayaks and rafters rolling by on the river.
After getting settled, we drove to town. We checked out the train station so we would know what to do the next morning. We already had our tickets for the train. It is very hard to get tickets and we had to reserve them months ahead. The train and the station dominate the town and everything seems to revolve around it. The National Park Service designated the Silverton Branch of the D&RGW Railroad as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. We did a little touring of the Durango downtown area. It was full of shops and we walked through a few of them.
We had dinner at the hotel dining room. Very classy and delicious. We had another good view of the river. By then it was very late, and we had a very early call to catch the train. It leaves at 9am sharp, with boarding promptly at 8:30.
Grabbing a quick breakfast, we rushed across the street to board the train. It was only about two blocks away. One train was already leaving and ours was preparing to board. We found our car and quickly seated ourselves on the right side of the car. We had read enough to know that the scenery is best from this side. Our car was the parlor car and was the last one on the train. There were 15 cars all together. Most of the cars are opened to the outside and everyone gets black with soot. The other cars are regular passenger cars with bench seats. The car we were in, the "Alamosa" parlor car, is 115 years old. It had tables and chairs and a complete bar with waiter. It was much nicer than I had expected.
We pulled out of Durango with the whistle blowing, and everyone waved as we passed by. Almost immediately, we had our windows open and our heads outside to get better photos. We got a little sooty, but it was worth it. Within a mile we crossed the Animas River over a 253 ft. bridge, as we began to climb higher.
The San Juan Forest was accented by wild flowers as far as you could see. Thick groves of Aspen, colorful sandstone layers and vista views of the surrounding mountains fill our view. Many small waterfalls emptied into the river. We crossed the meandering river many times and the higher we climbed the more rapid it became. It was pure white water and definitely wild in many places. Just a beautiful sight to see there in the huge pine forest. There is no other way to see all of this wilderness except by train. At one point, the train stopped to let off a couple of hikers. They would follow the trails back to Durango along the river banks.
Many movies have been made along this river. There is a lodge, called "Wilderness Guest Ranch" that can only be reached by train or helicopter. When they are making movies, it is where the cast and crew stays.
We passed the site of a 1917 train wreck as we rounded a sharp curve known as Granite Point at the required speed of 10 mph. Soon we were at another slow order point, called "High Line". It is a narrow shelf, blasted out of red granite. The river was then about 400 ft below the track. We heard the wheels squeak and groan, adding sound effects to the winding turn. Richard took a shot worthy of National Geographic of the engine belching black soot as it rounding the curve with its many cars trailing behind. Several scenes from "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" were filmed along here. It was not long before we passed the site of another train wreck. This one had hit a rock slide in 1921.
We stopped twice to take on water from an overhead steel tank. The original wooden tanks are no longer in use. Coal and water are the ingredients that make a steam engine move. There is a tender following the engine that holds the water and coal. A fireman shovels coal into firebox until the temperature is right. The water vaporizes into steam and "we are off".
What a sight to look up to see the 13,000 ft peaks of the Rocky Mountains. We pass through canyons and paths carved in granite so close that I thought we could touch them.
Continuing our trip, following the river, we all too soon reentered the wide open Animas Valley nearing Silverton and our destination.
Welcome to Silverton, CO. Elevation 9305 ft. We wondered how this town ever became established here in the middle of the mountains and then learned about the gold and silver miners who rushed the area. The town is as flat as a pancake nestled between the mountain peaks. There is an old hotel, historical sites, many shops and restaurants. It is a restored western town, only here to serve the tourist from the trains. We debarked and found our bus for the return trip to Durango, then stopped at a restaurant for lunch. The whole trip took 3 1/2 hours. We left with tons of photos to remember it by.
The bus back was unbelievably hot and slow and definitely the worse part of the trip. If we would have lingered around instead of boarding the bus on time, we would have been picked up as stragglers and rushed to Durango in a cool swift van. Well, anyway, we certainly looked forward to returning to Durango and a nice dinner. Returning to our hotel, we quickly cleaned up and changed for dinner.
Before going into town for dinner, we took a tour of "The Grand Motorcar & Piano Collection", a private display of old cars and other antiques. We saw the car once owned by '20's movie star Jean Harlow and many great old classics in mint condition.
Durango was very crowded. Even though the train is the only attraction, it is always booked to capacity. We walked around and choose a restaurant called "The Ore House" and after a short wait, we had a delicious meal. We walked more through the town after dinner until the stores closed.
We were now prepared to leave the wilderness of the national parks and return to civilization and Santa Fe the next day. It would be our first time at the famous Indian Market and of course, we were looking forward to all the delicious tastes of Santa Fe.
After a hurried breakfast we were on our way. Our trip was cut one day short however, when Richard was called to San Diego for an emergency business meeting, so we had only one day to spend in Santa Fe instead of two. We wondered how we would fit in all we wanted to see and do. It was Saturday, Aug 19 and the second day of the Indian Market. We decided to plan our day and cram as much as we could into it.
The ride from Durango to Santa Fe was beautiful. It took about 4 hours. Maybe 15 minutes less if we did not have a massive pretzel explosion. Seems Richard tried the incisor method of opening the bag and was soon rewarded by a lap and car full of flying pretzels. We stopped to clean up and give the birds a salty treat.
We left the tall Rockies behind, but we stayed in the mountains all the way to Santa Fe. Santa Fe's elevation is over 7000 ft.
Outside of the city we spotted a huge flea market. Making a quick exit, we headed in. It turned out to be a rather famous place that has been there for years. It was much nicer than any flea market. We lingered and visited a lot of booths. They told us that this is the place to buy Indian items and they called the Indian Market in the Plaza, "Indian Markup Days". I found many of the items that I have been looking for and for so very much less than at the Market. A string of beads that I wanted was selling for $1 at the flea market. At the Indian Market they wanted $30! So I was very happy to find this place. We had to tear ourselves away and hurry to the hotel.
On the way to the hotel, we stopped at the light at Aqua Fria Rd. Richard took a turn and checked out the Insley's resident (my best friend Nettie's husband Tom is originally from Santa Fe). All is OK. I think this will be a regular stop for our Santa Fe trips.
The Inn of the Governors was easy to find. We were very lucky to get a room here. It is only two blocks from the plaza and fully booked a year ahead for the Indian Market Days. I called them just in time to latch on to a cancellation. We had a beautiful room with a kiva (beehive fireplace and a balcony overlooking the city. We really love Santa Fe. Hard to explain it except that it is a beautiful, fun place, filled with the flavor of the southwest.
We didn't have much time, so we headed straight for the Market and the beautiful plaza. Only Native Americans are permitted to have booths at the Market. Each one must represent a tribe. It was very diverse and many tribes were represented. There was pottery, beadwork, baskets, dolls, fetishes, jewelry, sculpture, paintings, weaving ... etc. Just about every medium one could imagine.
The items being shown were the very best and were being judged. A person could build their reputation and the value of their work would greatly increase. Many necklaces were for sale from $1,000 to $6,000. We concluded that Indian Market Days, was not actually a sale, but more of a contest between the participants for artist recognition. In the southwest when one buys an article made by the Indians, the items is always signed, no matter how small. Their work with silver and beads is certainly unsurpassed anywhere. Needless to say, we purchased not a thing! But enjoyed looking.
We walked and walked all around the plaza and ate lunch at the very crowded Central Plaza Diner. Then, we walked some more until we had covered the entire Market. I picked up some ideas for jewelry and Richard took some photos.
We left the plaza to explore the shops. We stopped at a glass shop that was closed the last time we were in Santa Fe. This time they were opened. After some more walking and window shopping, we returned to the hotel to get ready for dinner.
We decided to walk to the restaurant and headed out. After aimlessly wandering a few blocks in the wrong direction, we got out the map. The Santacafe was farther away then we thought and we had to rush to get there for our 7:15 reservation. What a great restaurant. We ate in a little courtyard, The same place as the first time we were there. They are noted for celebrities dropping in, but we looked and didn't spot one.
We left the restaurant full to the brim and a nice long walk was just what we needed. It was a very pleasant evening, actually a little cool. Many people were walking, and we enjoyed the atmosphere of Santa Fe at night.
Well, fun was now over. It was time to go home. Richard will have to catch a plane early Tuesday morning and we did not get home until late Sunday evening. Monday was for recharging.
It was an 8 hour drive from Santa Fe to Green Valley. The drive home was familiar. We took all the short cuts and talked about the wonderful times we had. The minute we arrived home, we popped in the video to relive it all.
Time flew so fast and we were only away 9 days. We think it was well planned and very full. We are already planning where to go next. We have decided that driving around the southwest is the only way to see it.
