Zion National Park part 2

Our second day in Zion began with coffee (mmm...pumpkin spice latte!) as every day should begin. We had decided to bike some trails today. We headed to the bike rental store across from the Bumbleberry to rent a bike for Jared. The guy there was very helpful and gave us lots of information regarding trails. We chose to drive back to Rockville, take Bridge Road and drive up Cry Baby Hill to ride the mesa trails in the area of Gooseberry Mesa. We traveled down the first trail which was very rough. Many ups and downs along with loose rock. The view from the mesa was incredible! We pedaled back to the main road and headed up to the second trail, which was a little longer, but less gnarly than the first one. There was a big "table" rock at the end of this trail which was shaded. We sat and enjoyed the view from there. Lauren and Jared then decided to ride the bikes down "Cry Baby Hill". Paul & I followed in the truck. We had to stop and switch out Paul's bike for Jared's because he got a flat tire going down the rough terrain. After the exhilerating ride down the hill, there is an immediate right turn and instant climb up the road to the bridge. Jared hitched a ride with us up the road. Here they come across the narrow bridge. Biking was so much fun. Lots of work on some of the trails, but the scenery is well worth the
effort. Lauren enjoyed a quick sandwich (only slightly smushed) before we packed up the truck to head to our next destination: Bryce Canyon National Park. On our way out of the park, we stopped to view Checkerboard Mesa. The effect of crossbedding, which is a layering of sandstone and vertical cracks in the rock. This creates a checkerboard pattern in the side of the mountain. It is more visible when the snow is sitting in the cracks. We drove on to Panguitch to check out the town and find some flys for fishing. No luck with the flys, so we drove on through Red Canyon and into Bryce to stay at the Ruby Inn. It's a very nice facility, complete with restaurant, groceries, camping store, and gift shop. Internet service is included in the price of your room.

Zion National Park Part 1

Finally, we decided to stop and see some of the beautiful places we usually pass by when we travel to my sister's home near Salt Lake City. Previously, we've been in the "hurry and get there" mode, so it was nice to schedule a few days to stop and smell the pine trees. Lauren and Jared are traveling with us, Alex had to stay home to attend classes and to work. Bea is driving up with Sally, Chris, Katie and Mom on Wednesday. The story I'm about to relate will totally amuse those of you who are aware of our history of suffering at the hands of buttinsky neighbors. We stopped in Dixie to buy some groceries for lunches before entering Zion. So we park in the Smith's parking lot and enter the store. As Paul walks in, he passes a couple and hears the woman say to her husband "that looks like a guy in Temecula". Paul turns around and says "did you say Temecula?" She replies "You are from Temecula!" Paul asks "where do I know you from?" She replies "Who's your favorite code enforcement officer?" UNBELIEVABLE! NOW THEY'VE FOLLOWED US TO UTAH! Raquel (we're on a first name basis now) asked Paul what he was doing here and he said "Trying to find a place to park my boat" :) She laughed and said she and her husband were up to explore So. Utah and guess where they're headed YUP! Zion Natl Park and Bryce Canyon NP! You just can't outrun the law! They will hunt you and find you. Hmmm....Dog the Bounty Hunter? We finished shopping and then ate at Cafe Rio since Jared had eaten there before and insisted it was the best. He was right! We then made our way to the Bumbleberry Motel in Springdale (home of the famous bumbleberry pie, who knew?) The office was closed when we arrived, but taped to the door was a note with our name on it. The note said we were assigned to room 103 and the key was in the door. OK folks, we're NOT in LA anymore! The next morning, we got up at 6 am, got dressed and Paul, Lauren and I drove into Zion to scope it out. Jared remained in bed....he doesn't do morning. Here are Lauren and I at the entrance to the park. After driving the scenic road through the park, we headed back to have breakfast and get Jared. Emerald Pools was our first hike. It's about a 2 mile loop to middle Emerald Pool and lower Emerald Pool. Jared and Lauren at the trailhead adjusting their packs. Emerald Pools was a beautiful hike. The water wasn't very emerald looking but I guess sometimes it glows due to the high algae content. Next we decided to hike up to Weeping Rock. The view was incredible from there. Our next hike was 2 mi. up to Hidden Canyon. It was pretty steep ascending 870 ft. in 1 mile. I know I've said this before, but it bears repeating: I am NOT a spring chicken! (even when I was a chicken, I wasn't very springy). Lauren and Jared hiked ahead and Paul and I brought up the rear. But we made it! It was a really beautiful area. This is us under an arch in Hidden Canyon. It was a great day! We headed back to town for a Pesto Pizza and salad. Then to bed.

to be continued....

Up, Up and Away

Tuesday the 14th of Nov. Rilla and I planned a fun outing. We drove out to Palm Springs to travel up in the aerial tramway. That morning as I was walking, the sky was very gray and cloudy. I prayed that God would allow the sun to shine through so we could have clear views from the tram. He said YES! After a uneventful drive, enjoying The Doobie Brothers, we arrived to a breezy, sunny, tram station. Ril posed in front of the tram just before we boarded. The tram is so fast going up the mountain! The floor rotates so you get many different views. There are 5 towers that you roll through on the way up which causes the car to swing each time you roll over the tower.
The whole ride takes 10 minutes. What a rush!
We arrived at the top of the tram and bought a map. We wanted to do some hiking, but didn't have much of a clue about where to go. Also, didn't want to get in over our limited abilities (OK, so we aren't exactly spring chickens!) We hiked the nature view trail (1.5mi), it was easy. So we went to the Ranger Station and filled out a permit to hike to Round Valley (2mi). We left at 12:00 and found the trail to be well marked, our elevation changed from 8516 at the tram station to 9100 at Round Valley. We found a nice little spot to enjoy the lunch we packed in with us.
So nice to sit and talk (100's of 1000's of words). Soon the shadows began to grow larger and we began to get a little chilled. We decided to pack up and start back about 3:15. For some reason, we thought that we needed to go on the trail to Wellman's Divide and then circle back to Long Valley. (OK Lauren, we are newbies at this!) We climbed and climbed and climbed up the trail towards Wellman's Divide. We probably did 8/10th of a mile when we decided to double check the map. We discovered that the trail we were on was headed up to the peak (NOT GOING THERE!) We immediately turned and headed back down the trail to Round Valley. You can sure make better time going downhill than uphill :0) From Round Valley, we hiked the 2 mi back to Long Valley. It got dark on us about the last 1/2 mile. But I had a flashlight (thanks for the tip Lauren) so we didn't trip and kill ourselves. Back to the tram station at 5:30, dinner at the cafe upstairs (nothing exciting there). We then boarded the tram for the ride down and incredible views of the Coachella Valley all lit up.

Ril, you are a super star! Thank you so much for going along with me on my first tram ride! I had a great time!

Next spring, we kayak the channel islands and then something really special: a full rotation at the top of the Bonaventure!

Love Ya!

The Fabulous Kate Rubke-Foxworth

New Community Lutheran Church presented featured soloists on October 14th. I was privileged to be in attendance to hear the beautiful and extremely gifted Kate.

Kate and Brian

Kate and Brian with Kate's parents Paul and Rilla Rubke

Dizzy (Kate and Brian's dachshund) dressed for Trick or Treat