Hiking Trip Day Three (evening): Back to Zion Mountain Ranch

Day three wrapped in another beautiful evening and delicious dinner at the Zion Mountain Ranch.

On the walk to dinner we stopped to visit the horses, and got an up close and graphic view of nature that threw Syl for a loop.

Twenty minutes later, her face still evidenced the loop.

Hiking Trip Day Three (Afternoon): Kodachrome State Park

 On the way back to Zion we had two fantastic stops. First, Syl picked a burrito place from Google Maps that turned out to be a trailer in a trailer park, run by a delightful older lady named Georgie, who was just so (rightly!) proud of her delicious burritos! 

The second stop was even better! On our way back through Escalante National Monument, we saw a sign that said "Kodachrome State Park, 8 miles" pointing off to our left. So we took the turn, and ended up at one of our favorite places of the whole trip.

Kodachrome State Park is unique and beautiful, no doubt. But because it is a State Park rather than a National Park, it is also blissfully uncrowded. We had a wonderful time scampering up and down rocks and deviating from our planned trail at will.

This is one of my favorite shots of the whole trip.

There was one downside to this stop (that turned into an upside). Immediately below you will see the very last selfie ever taken in my all-time favorite, ten year old Pan Mass Challenge hat. We were standing on a narrow natural bridge with steep drops on either side. A gust of wind took both of our hats and deposited them on the very edge of a cliff.  Mindful of the many signs warning about the perils of loose rock, we froze and then looked around for a stick. Before we could find one, another gust took the hats over the edge.

Because she is Syl, Syl insisted we hike back to the car and drive down the valley to hike back into the cliff base where we hoped to find our hats. 

We hunted for a good twenty minutes, and found several hats and water bottles... but not ours.

Editing the photos back home, I "found" them... 

They only made it down about a third of the way, so we never had a chance!

Silver lining: There was a gift shop, where Syl and I both got a new commemorative hat.

An artist... and an actress!!!

 I am still fighting through all the photos I took on our Utah trip last month, AND I now have a bunch from Grammy's surprise 80th celebration this past weekend, but I could not wait to post these photos from the Wayland High School Fine Arts Awards ceremony last night!

We are SO PROUD of Syl for being recognized not only for most outstanding achievement in drawing (as a freshman!), but also for her award for her acting in her acting and improvisation elective! I knew she loved that class, but apparently she is really good at it too!

This work is a combination of three self portraits: the first drawn without looking at the paper, the second from memory, and the third a standard effort. Pretty cool effects!

This smile says it all. We could not be more proud of our multi-talented little girl!

Hiking Trip Day Three (morning): Capitol Reef National Park

 

We did two hikes before lunch the morning of Day Three, in Capitol Reef National Park. The first took us to Hickman Bridge, a natural rock formation that is often seen on the cover of tourism brochures and so forth. Once again, the topography was mind-blowing. 

The day started out chilly, but by the time we were a mile into the hike we were shedding layers.

As was the case most days, it took Syl a few minutes to shake off the sleepies.

 

Syl enjoyed scampering up rocks to find places to sit.

Hickman's Bridge itself was worth the hike.

 

After hiking back down we hydrated, snacked, and crossed the street to do a hike called Canab.

Not a bad day's work before noon!

Hiking Trip Day Two: Passing through Escalante and Cougar Ridge Lodge

After Bryce Canyon, Syl and I settled in for a long drive across much of the massive Escalante National Monument, to our next stop at the Cougar Ridge Lodge, near Capitol Reef National Park.

Escalante is amazing. We drove through it for hours, and the topography and even the climate changed radically severa times. 

At one point we were driving past deep snow!

Cougar Ridge Lodge, where we spent the night, was a lot like the ranch we stayed at near Zion, with maybe a little bit more of a working ranch vibe, and better views.

The cabin was more or less brand new, and incredibly nice.

Before dinner we popped into Capitol Reef National Park for a quick peek, since it was only ten minutes away.

This was the "driveway" to the lodge!