Road Trip!

Hello all, I'm back! It feels nice to be home after 11 days away, even if those days did include beautiful scenery, good music, new cities, and even a family reunion. My Grand Tour of the Colorado Plateau reminded me that traveling for work has its perks. Still, I'm glad to be out of the car and home with Mr. Wonderful. Below are some of the sights I documented - mostly of water (because I am borderline obsessed and because it seems so special while driving through the desert).

Flaming Gorge Reservoir. This picture does not do the place justice.

I hiked the Angels Landing trail  one evening with a former classmate while in ZION. This is not a hike for the feint of heart, but it was beautiful. Also, some teenage Jewish boys in yarmulkes and tzitzis admonished us that the sun would set soon and to be careful. I guess we looked like stupid old people to them.

Glen Canyon Bridge over the Colorado behind me. I once said I would never cross it because I am afraid of heights. Then, I crossed it.

Glen Canyon Dam holding back Lake Powell. The Bureau of Reclamation visitors center was very celebratory of this place. Very. Celebratory. I was less celebratory; I missed a tour of the dam's insides by minutes.

Horseshoe Bend, Colorado River, right before sunset.

My hotel room at the Monte Vista Hotel, Flagstaff. Bing Crosby 's suite was right behind me. I want to know why movie stars were in Flagstaff in the 1940s or 1950s.

One of the quirky features of this Monte Vista  Hotel room.

I saw my very first lava flow ever at Sunset Crater.

Wupatki National Monument is an interesting place. Did I mention 1930s archaeologists dug  up the remains of about 100 people here? Did I mention digging people up was encouraged back then? Did Wupatki's brochures mention this? No. They did include pictures of a white lady who lived there as a caretaker in a rebuilt room at the top of this place during the 1950s, though.

I said "hello" to a lot of rivers on this trip. I made special effort to see the Green, Virgin, Animas, San Juan, Rio Grande, Arkansas, and North and South Platte rivers. They are part of my life at work, after all. This is the San Juan at Pagosa Springs.

North Fork South Platte River near Bailey, CO