May 6, 2007: Mojave Desert, California.

Our route home took us through the desert in southern California. We stopped in the town of Blythe and camped in a spot along the lower Colorado River.




We made the last stop of our trip in Joshua Tree National Park, where some of the last of the disappearing giant yuccas can still be found. It was a sad night for us, not because we were pondering the demise of the tree, but because our trip has come to an end...



In the morning we drove back to Los Angeles, our point of origin. We had driven about 18,000 miles in a giant loop through 36 states and 3 Canadian provinces (plus a quick plane ride to Nicaragua).

Our next great adventure will be the upcoming year in our new home: sunny Seattle. We'll let you know if it deserves a blog. Come visit us.

THE END.

May 3, 2007: Sedona, Arizona.


A few miles outside Sedona is Meteor Crater, the site of a 50,000 year old crater formed by the impact of a 150ft diameter meteor. Folks thought it was a volcano for a long time into the 20th century. Duh.

Sedona is a rather pretty little town, in a valley surrounded by red sandstone cliffs and spires. Sedonans like to say that their town looks like Mars.







The Chapel of the Holy Cross is the cool place to worship. It was built right into one of the spires.





The nature here is great and all, but the town is a little weird. Too many stores selling crystals, tarot cards and books on spirtuality, meditation and healing.

April 30, 2007: Grand Canyon Nat'l Park, AZ

Our route to the south rim of the Grand Canyon took us over the Glen Canyon Dam, which holds back the 15 trillion-gallon Lake Powell behind it. It's one of the most controversial dams in the country, as it flooded the scenic Glen Canyon, ridded the lower Colorado of several fish species, and introduced invasive non-native plant species to the Grand Canyon. But we in the southwest like our A/C and our 20-minute showers.

The Grand Canyon is aptly named. Rim to rim it is 10 miles across as the crow flies, 25 miles as the hiker treads, and over 220 miles as the Hummer drives.


Pollution from L.A. and Phoenix has reduced visibility considerably here, but a thunderstorm overnight gave us relatively clear views.

April 26, 2007: Zion Nat'l Park, Utah.

Zion was re-discovered by Mormon settlers in the 1800s who thought they had discovered the promised land. Brigham Young said that they were wrong, that it was not Zion, and the name stuck. It was called "not Zion" for a good long while, but eventually people relaxed and started calling it Zion again.

The porous Navajo sandstone cliffs here drip hundred-year-old water from underneath alcoves.



Like Yosemite, the park is particularly attractive to climbers, who come to scale some of the sheer peaks. We set out (or up) for a spot 2,000 feet above the Virgin River.

After a few miles of relatively tame switchbacks up the mountain, we reached a plateau. From there, we had to climb another half-mile up a ridge with steep cliffs on each side. There were fixed lines most of the way up to make it a little easier, but it was really really scary.



But worth it. The peak is called Angel's Landing, so named because it was thought inaccessible for a long time and that only angels could get to it.






We were tired when we got down. We headed down to Springdale and over to the Mormon-church-turned-pub for replenishment. The place is a sign of slow progress for Utah.