Cal-wood

We travelled on Thursday from Santa Fe to Denver. We crossed back into Colorado at Raton Pass. Our main sight-seeing was the Garden of the Gods at Colorado Springs. After spending a night camping at Joseph and Janell's we had a day exploring Red Rocks , seeing another very clear discontinuity, and Dinosaur Ridge before driving though Golden. There was to be a Buffalo Bill parade the next day and there were tents up for various stalls including a black one with a silver fern -Hills Hats of NZ! We didn't stop as we were hungry. From Golden we drove through Boulder and on up the Left hand Gorge through Jamestown to Cal-wood. Cal-wood is an outdoor education centre. In the evening we went down to Boulder for tea and saw the sunset on the Flatirons and a view over Boulder.

Cal-wood is a very pretty place located in a valley in the Rockies. There are bears and mountain lions I am hoping not to see any - they do apparently stay in the more densely wooded parts of the property further down the valley.

Murray is leaving for his trip into Wyoming. On his return I will get him to make a post or two.

The GIS Institute has begun well, great instructors and great participants and I don't have to lead, only learn!

Visiting in Santa Fe

We arrived in Santa Fe late on Thursday night. We left the Colorado Plateau temporarily after our visit to Mesa Verde. We drove into the Rockies through Durango and Pagosa Springs. We crosssed the Great Divide camped at Big Meadows campsite.


The following day we drove down through Del Norte and Alamosa.







Rather than drive directly to Santa Fe we took a scenic route. (In Scenic Driving NewMexico these are drives 32 and 33) The first part called Valle Vidal is a 69 mile drive through the high meadows of the Sangres de Cristo mountains. It starts at the village of Costilla. The road is not sealed but was good. After passing through a gorge we passed into high meadow country with a beautiful stream. Just before the end of this section the others got a flat tyre. The spare was a space saver so the rest of the trip was a bit slower. We returned to sealed road at Cimarron. Cimarron was a rowdy place- a stop on the Sante Fe trail. The guide book mentions that a Las Vegas newspaper once wrote "everything is quiet in Cimarron. No one has been killed for three days." We found somewhere to put more air in the spare tyre on Richard and Christine's car. The Cimarron Canyon is a deep wood canyon though volcanic rock - the Palisades Sill.

We reached Taos just in time to have a meal at El Pueblo cafe and wreckers. ( Perhaps we can rename the Blue Lily?) We reached Santa Fe about 10.30pm.

Friday was spent sorting out tyres and the basics of living, with a visit in the afternoon to Santa Fe Plaza.






On Saturday we packed up drove out to White Rock Overlook to see the Rio Grande before driving on Bandellier National Monument. After morning tea and a nice play in the creek we walked to the peublo ruins. There was a large building on the flats and then many cave dwellings that we were able to climb into. We walked on the the Alcove House which had 4 ladders to climb. Madeline would have liked to go up but I managed to convince her the creek was fun. On the way back we drove throguh Los Alamos and visited the Bradbury Museum for about half an hour. While the science is interesting the whole Nuclear bomb thing is scary.

On Sunday mornng Liam and I went to the Santa Fe Children's Museum - we went again with Madeline on Friday. This is a great place with lots of interactive activities. In the afternoon although it was raining at first we went for a walk in the Sangres de Cristos mountains. We took a trail called the Borrego Trail - it was route used tomove sheep. The rain stopped and we had a pleasent 4 mile loop walk.

Richard had to return to work. So Monday the rest of us went up to Taos to explore the plaza. It was good to see the Rio Grande Gorge route in the daylight after driving it at night. We at a look at the Rio Grande walking across the bridge with a 1200 foot drop and returned to Santa Feover high plateau with some spectucular lighting in the distance.

Tuesday with an outing day that Liam had planned. Grand-dad Liam and I caught the Santa Fe Southern to travel 19 miles to Lamy. This train has a open flat car so we could be outside and get a view. We were very lucky as it was very clear. We had lunch at Lamy bought on the station and eaten under a shady tree. We had had a look at the Last Chance saloon which is a rebuilt example of what would have been there when train was the means of travel.

Wednesday was the shopping and final look around day for Anne with Christine and the children; this included a visit to Liam's school. Murray went for a walk in the ski area reaching Lake Peak 12400 feet.

Grandma's Brag Post

Of course the main reason for the trip is professional development and the travel through the Colorado Plateau and the Rockies have certainly provided that. As well I have three Geography/GIS conferences that I will be attending over the next two weeks. I hope to increase my skills with Arcview 9 among other things.

However family still comes first. I have had to miss Christopher's birthday and I was out of town on the day he was born but then I missed Liam's first birthday too. I left Charles with a big map of North America and I have managed to send a post card from most places. We have only had the Skype working once. But I have sorted out how to use the US postal service. I have found buying stamps in bulk at small town post offices the best. They are easy to find - on the main road with helpful friendly staff. Having said that the post office in Santa Fe was helpful (and Liam made a social contact Alex who is coming to play on Thursday. )

It was great to meet Laim and Madeline at Desert View. It seems that Liam and Madeline were excited and the grandparents were definitely restless as the expected arrival time drew near. It has been great spending so much time with both Liam and Madeline. Liam travelled in our car so we had lots of interesting conversations. He is currently really interested in differences with NZ and this has concentrated on the US flag. Liam has his own song about the stars and strips. He really enjoyed the junior ranger programme which has lead to lots of conversation about wildlife and geology. He looked out for different sorts of rock.

Madeline is delightful. Liam assured me that he thinks Madeline "understands the accents here". While Madeline does not choose to use a lot of words she clearly understands and has a really mischievious streak, and knows how to annoy her brother. Of course I think all the four children are great and that their parents are all doing a great job of parenting. (I did head this grandma's brag page) Liam enjoys his school (La Casita) and Christine is president of the board. Liam plans to take me to meet his teacher tomorrow.

Since arriving in Santa Fe I have been to the Children's Museum and Liam wants me to take him again so we are hoping to fit that in also tomorrow. Today we went on Liam's planned outing with me (we took Grand-dad) -the Santa Fe Sourthern Railway trip from Santa Fe to Lamy. We visited the Legal Tender saloon but our lunch was on the platform of the station - and then eaten under the shade in a picnic area.

So it will be hard to leave on Thursday but has been good to see where they are. It is hard wanting to be in two places at once and while electronic communication is great it is not the same as rocking your grand-daughter to sleep in the swing seat, watching Christopher gain confidence walking (he is probably running now) or having conversations about A- team matters with Liam and Charles.

Camping in USA

We have experienced a variety of sites, from mountain to desert to real mountains (as a man from Boulder said comparing San Bernardino to the Rockies).

Our first experience (see earlier post) was in the San Bernardino mountains. After flying for 12 hours and having a very long Sunday we didn't want to go too far. Following Richard's advice we looked out for a map book that showed campsites. As we drove up into the mountians we realised we were still lacking some essentials - namely fuel and matches. However the area was far from remote and we found a shopping centre at Lake Gregory. The camp site at Camp Dogwood, proved to be fairly typical of what we have found - a paved pull off area for car (or RV) a table, a fire area in a steel ring. This site also had showers which were free (but cold). We both slept well after all the flights and the getting organised.




The reason we didn't go too far the first day!






The next two nights were spent in comfort which was good as it allowed us time to catch up more sleep - thanks Colin and Lisa.

Our next site was at Jacob's Lake. This was a US Forest Service site. Again it was a pleasant site set in among the trees. The camp site manager was particulary pleasant and friendly.





The following night we camped for free in the National forest - where many others had obviously camped before. It was very peaceful.












Our site at Desert View was chosen for ease of locationing By Christine and Richard who we knew would not arrive until after dark. We initially wondered if we had made a bad choice as there was an automated registration system with a mechanical voice that became a bit trying but by dark there were few new campers. The first night at this site the camp was almost full with 50 sites taken, the following night it was almost empty with maybe 10-15 sites taken. There were no showers at this site - Anne was caught washing her hair photo by Liam and Madeline was much amused.

The next site at Monument Valley was described as exposed in the guide. It was. It was also interesting getting a site. There were all these sites for RV's with no-one there at 6pm. Tents had to have other sites. We used the 2-way radios with Anne and Liam at the registration while the others looked at sites. This worked well as some other people were allocated a site and when they looked at it they wondered where they could put their tent. The photo shows the site better than I can describe it. The kids loved the giant sandpit - we did not notice any risks maybe luck. I may have already mentioned that sleeping with one's head down hill is not a good idea especially when the ground is VERY hot. We realised that the fly is not necessary and the risk of rain is low- we could have got the fly up in time anyway. Christine and Richard were able to get some breeze into their tent but it was hot.

The faculities were good in that the showers were hot but over all the site was run down and not well maintained. Other than the buildings and general cleaning the water pump leaked ( and was all or nothing so Liam and I had a bit of fun getting water bottles filled without them being blown out of our hands) . A leaking washer on a pump in a desert location seemed to override the notices about conserving water. We showered in the morning as in the evening some exchange students -or similar group took up the showers.

At our next site at Natural Bridges we used ropes to lift the fly on Christine and Richard's tent and we left our fly off - much more pleasant to have some air. There was an area where I think we were meant to pitch the tents but we pitched in among the trees to keep the tents cooler - the children used the tent area as a sand pit.

At Mesa Verde we did camp in the official marked area and we did use the flys - it was raining as we arrived. This shower quickly passed. We had more rain in the night. We followed all the rules regarding bears but did not see any thing larger than deer. We have seen a number of animals - deer, squirrels (including the Kabab sqirrel on the north rim which has a white tail.), chipmucks, praire dogs, bats, humming birds and ravens.

At Mesa Verde we used the laundromat and showers so all ended up clean with clean clothes. Red sandstone is very photogenic but as dust very quickly ensures all one's clothes are dirty and the children grimy.

One thing we have enjoyed is very few insects. The lack of sand flies is no loss. We did notice mosquitos when we were camping in the forest but covered up. We did buy repellant. It was a bit concerning to read notices about plague at Natural Bridges but we followed the instructions - ie used a table cover and did not poke around animal holes.

Out final camping was in the Rockies (Big Meadows) - a total contrast. We lit the fire in the fire place and all had on out warmer trousers and jerseys. I think it was the first time since San Bernardino that I slept in rather than on my sleeping bag. It was easier to get to sleep. We did have to dry the flys because of condensation - not soemthing we had to think about before.This site was rather expensive at $14 for the facilities - long drop toilets and no water that didn't need boiling - we had our own. It was a extremely pretty site with big trees and wild flowers. It was just as well that we saw no bobcats or lynx as I don't know which is protected and which isn't, and I would not have been able to tell the difference.





Murray will no doubt have more experiences during his two weeks travel while I am at various conferences.

A Junior Ranger

While we were beginning our exploration of the southern Rim we met a Park Ranger who asked Liam if he would like to do the Junior Ranger programme. This seemed like fun so we listened to the talk and Liam had his book signed up. We worked on the activities as we visited the various viewpoints. We noted the birds and plants - Liam ticked some in advance - "we will see one of those". However we did see most of the things eventually. I enjoyed seeing humming birds. We also discovered a lot about Juniper.

Having successfully completed the Grand Canyon badge Liam and I were keen to continue. We found the programme at Navajo National Monument rather disappointing. Liam completed the programme and was given a badge without his booklet being checked. There was no certificate and the person seemed very vague about it all.

Not detered we went on to complete programmes at Natural Bridges. This was an excellent booklet well pitched at Liam's age group and the rangers made a good job of the presentation. Mesa Verde was not such a good certificate or booklet but the activites helped Liam understand what we were looking at. It also meant the adults had a good look at the Museum and learnt something too!! ( Maybe this is the underlying purpose of the programme?)

At Mesa Verde we bought a Junior Ranger hat to put the badges on.














While we were camping a Big Meadows Camping Site in the Rockies, Liam and I got talking with the rangers. One ranger said to Liam I have something for you if you pledge to care for the environment. Liam was well into this now and the ranger came up with a junior wildlife officer badge. Liam liked this badge as it is star shaped. On our return to Santa Fe we added his Sandia Peak badge as well and put the certificates up on the wall.

On Saturday we visited Bandelier National Monument. This was a very good junior ranger programme and a very good ranger completed the formalities. The badge was a sew-on one so in the evening Liam and I stitched it onto his hat.

Landforms of the Colorado Plateau

All the places we explored with Christine, Richard, Liam and Madeline are within the area known as the Colorado Plateau.

From St George we were also within this region and dramatic landforms were at every turn of the road. I described the initial places we visited within the Colorado plateau area in an earlier post. (particularly the north rim of the Gand Canyon)

Relatively early on Saturday morning we set out to explore the South rim of the canyon. This involved driving from Desert View camp site to various lookouts along the road which took us to the more popular and crowd Canyon Village. The first stop was right by our camp. Here we saw what looked like an Indian watch tower but was actually built in the 1930's. As the guide book said once the Indians were no longer a threat, safely away on reservations, the settlers discovered the value of their culture.

Liam, Murray and Richard took a shuttle bus to Hopi point which is beyond canyon Village, while Christine and I did some shopping. After tea we returned to the Desert View Lookout. A pleasant evening walk and interesting light.

We left the Grand Canyon on Sunday morning. On the way to the Navajo National Monument we stopped and looked at some dinasour footprints and bones near Tuba City, on Navajo land. At the Navajo National Monument we walked a short distance and saw some pueblo dwellings in a cave across a canyon.
We drove on to Monument Valley. In some ways I found this more spectcualar than the grand Canyon. However I do advise if sleeping in desert not to sleep with your head downhill from your feet. I woke feeling very odd and got up and spent the rest of the night sleeping on the camp chairs under the eating shelter. Quite comfortable actually and much cooler. It also meant I was able to watch the sunrise which was really special.











After leaving Monument Valley we stopped off at Goose Neck State park. This was like looking at a geomorphology text book but in a context of a whole region. I am sure I have been shown this site as an example of entrenched meanders many times.


The Valley of the Gods was as the Rough Guide said 17 miles of dusty road but the landforms were interesting. While the Navajo thought they looked like warriors, Liam thought they looked like Policemen, along with a money with a hat. We back tracked a little to take the route that took us up the Moki Dugway . This was not my favourite drive but the view was great and the whole escarpment interesting.

Natural Bridge National Monument has three natural bridges cut in the sandstone by meandering rivers along with plenty more evidence of human occupation. We left our camp early ( very early for Murray but coffee is good) and walked down to the Sapapu bridge. We looked Kachina Bridge and the Horseshoe Ruin from viewpoints short wolks from the road. We walked doen to the third bridge Owachomo. By this time it was getting hot and we were glad of the early start and the oranges etc we had carried.

The next two sites we visited on the plateau focused on the human occupation of the plateau - Mesa Verde National Park and Bandelier National Monument. (For those interested in chronological order we travelled off the plateau, through the Rockies and on to Santa Fe, it is strictly not on the plateau, between these visits - I will write about this in a later post).

As with the other dwellings we had seen it is interesting to imagine the lives of the people. At Mesa Verde we took a guided tour of the Cliff Palace. After climbing around one understands why small children were kept strapped to backboards - Madeline was also firmly strapped into her backpack.

Iconic Landforms of the South West USA

After leaving Las Vegas we began our exploration of some of the amazing landforms of the South West. Our first stop was Valley of Fire.

After leaving the Valley of Fire we drove on leaving Nevada, cutting across Arizona into Utah. Which for some reason Murray thought he would not visit. In St George we where able to contact Richard and coordinate time and meeting place. This meant we drove back to Arizona (actually we shuttled across the border again as we found Fredona is not the place to buy groceries and we went up to Kanab).



Once we had all our groceries we drove to Jacob's Lake which is a Forest Service camp site.














The following day was spent exploring the North Rim of the Grand Rim.
The Grand Canyon was spectacular -certainly my photos don't do it justice.

























By the end of the afternoon I was feeling canyoned out and I enjoyed the high meadows as we drove back and found a free camp site in the national forest.












We also saw evidence of a fire - June this year called the Warm Fire. It was a natural fire which then became too intense.



The following morning which was Friday we drove to Lees Ferry and crossed the Navajo Bridge. We spent some time in the information centre and looking at the bridges. It is interesting getting some feel, even if superficial, of the local history. John Lee seems to have been an interesting and controversial person.

We had arranged to meet Richard and Christine and knew we had time to spare so went up to Page to see the Glen Dam and Lake Powell. The interperation centre was interesting - I remembered to take my pocket knife out of my pocket before going through security.

While we were travelling down to Desert View passing though small settlements such as Cedar Ridge and Gap ( all the are is part of the Navajo Nation) we received a text to say that the Golf Club in Wainuiomata was closed due to flooding - this was very hard to imagine in the shimmering heat of the Arizona Strip.

We arrived at Desert View and found a site that would take two and was not too hard to find. Just as both grandparents were thinking it would be nice if the family arrived in they pulled. Great excitement tempered by Liam walking into a rock in the dark. Finally everyone settled for the night.