gswrt: days 9 and 10: arches and stuff

on our way from bryce canyon to arches national park we happened to drive straight through capitol reef national park. the park preserves a bizarre fold in the earth's crust known as the water pocket fold. it's not too surprising that there is some geological anomaly out here. since we were driving through and enjoying the scenery we stopped to get our passport book stamped.

after driving a few hours through crazy utah mars-scape geography, we arrived in moab. we are definitely at the low end of the adrenaline junkie spectrum in moab. everyone here either moutain bikes on slickrock, sky dives, white water rafts, rock climbs, or sky dives on a mountain bike through the mountains into a raging river. they all say "dude" a lot.

we accessed arches national park just outside of moab. it is a beautiful place, full of big monolithic sandstone and large arches. the arches came to be after compressed salt beneath the earth's surface was washed away by water, leaving the sandstone formations. this whole trip has been a big geology class. we're probably only earning a C. david has mastered this one idea: "just think, all of this used to be under water."

we took a short hike through some large sandstone walls. it was educational.

then we drove around the park, discovering many different arches. this is a picture of the double arch; there are two sandstone arches over the same cave-like space. if you look closely, marta can be seen in the bottom of the picture. she's waving.

the next day, we hiked along the parks longest maintained trail. it's called devil's garden, and it's a 7 mile loop through some of the park's best arches. the hike follows large smooth sandstone formation, and required a bit of leaping. david demonstrates perfect leaping form in this photo.

one of the most famous arches in the devil's garden is landscape arch. it is 300 feet wide, and very narrow. it's hard to imagine how it stays up. of course, physics probably plays a role, but we're kind of tired of learning on this trip.

marta wanders out onto a ledge to look at landscape arch.

the final arch we saw is known as delicate arch, maiden's bloomers, or cowboys pants or chaps or something. it's on utah's license plate. it's over five stories tall, and in 2002, the olympic torch passed through the arch. no one protested. this beautiful arch clings to a cliff edge, overlooking the vastness of the park and the la sal mountains in the distance.

we have now completed our last national park hike of this trip. we're enjoying a provo girl pilsner at a picnic table outside of our hotel in the warm moab evening. it's been a good trip, but the time has come to head for home.

tomorrow morning, we start the move in earnest. we'll be sleeping in the central time zone tomorrow night, and we can't wait.

gswrt: day 8: hoodoo voodoo

the eighth day of our road trip was spent at bryce canyon, a smallish national park when compared to the likes of grand canyon and zion. despite its modest acreage, it is an amazing park. the defining feature of bryce is the rock formations known as hoodoos which fill natural amphitheaters in the canyon. the hoodoos are formed by wind, rain, and snow and glow magnificent reds, yellows, browns, purples, whites, and pinks.

we set out on the fairlyland trail and hiked amongst the hoodoos (david is in the lower right).

the canyon is filled with trees with roots, trunks, and branches twisted like corkscrews. this one is a bit past its growing prime, but demonstrates the phenomenon beautifully.

after the fairyland loop we headed out on the navajo loop which led us through a steep slot canyon. here is a picture of david standing in the orange glow of the canyon.

after passing through the slot canyon we came upon two natural stone bridges. marta celebrated by peeking.

as we hiked up out of bryce canyon, we found this in the trail. odd.
after the sun went down, we star gazed on the rim of the canyon, dined on local river trout, and then retired to our historic cabin for some fire-side trivial pursuit. they were the most luxurious accommodations of the trip. we love bryce canyon.

then we left.

gswrt: day 7b: photo update

we had such a great time on our second day in zion that we feel compelled to share a few photos with you. we have a faster internet connection, so here are some pictures of our hike and post-hike ice cream in the beautiful zion canyon.

david scrambles over smooth sandstone while hiking up to observation point.

marta pauses in a narrow slot canyon.

the view down zion canyon from atop observation point.

david enjoys a well-deserved strawberry ice cream in a waffle cone on the lawn at the historic zion lodge.

gswrt: day 7: great hike, slow internet

we are sorry to report that our internet connection is really slow this evening so we won't be able to get any pictures up.

zion is a really gorgeous park. bright orange sandstone cliffs contrast the lush green valley floor. we hiked from the canyon floor to its rim this morning, which gave us an excellent opportunity to see a lot of what the park has to offer. i'm sorry that we can't share any pictures at this time. when we are done with our trip and settled into our new place we will have plenty of zion pictures in the gswrt wrap-up on the photos page of our blog.

one nice thing about today was that there weren't any federal agents trying to stop marta from getting in anywhere. we think that is a huge advantage of zion over glen canyon. also, zion has a great shuttle service so you don't have to worry about locking your keys in the car.

day 6: banned from the visitor center

today we headed from the grand canyon to zion national park. along the way we went through glen canyon national rec. area, escalante national staircase, and vermillion cliffs national monument. it was a really beautiful drive.

we stopped at the visitor center near the glen canyon dam, which dams the colorado river at glen canyon, creating lake powell. we hear it is a controversial structure, since glen canyon was one of the countries most beautiful canyons, but that is for another blog. anyway, we attempted to go into the visitor center to get some stamps in our national parks passport. for the first time at any visitor center we have ever been to, we were stopped at the door by some sort of security force that resembled the TSA. everyone had to pass through metal detectors to enter the visitor center, and marta was told that she couldn't enter the building with her purse. the last time marta left her purse in the car, a car window was smashed. she decided not to return the purse to the car, but instead to wait outside the security checkpoint in the building's entry way. the point of these security measures was a bit unclear, as going into the visitor center gets you no closer to the dam than the parking lot. i went in, got the stamp, and snapped the photo below while she waited outside. while i was inside, she was asked to physically leave the building because the security guards were so worried about what her purse might contain. i'm not certain what they were trying to protect. a couple days ago we actually drove over the hoover dam with her purse in the car. in fact, we've been over the golden gate bridge with her purse in the car. it was an odd, but brief distraction on the drive today.

moving on. we arrived at zion national park, and took our usual photo with the entrance sign. this time we managed to avoid locking our keys in the car.

upon entering the park we found a short hike that brought us to an overlook that provides a perfect view of zion canyon. this is a picture taken from the overlook. zion canyon is composed of giant sandstone walls shaped by the virgin river.

we took a second hike to the emerald pools, three small ponds that rest along the canyon walls, and successively cascade into each other through a series of waterfalls.

spring has brought a huge variety of wildflowers to every park we have been in thus far, and zion is no exeption. this little beauty is known as indian paintbrush, and appears to grow right out of the sides of the sandstone cliffs.

tomorrow we head out on a longer hike up to the rim of the canyon. the trail is called observation point, so expect lots of pictures.

day 5: descending to the bottom is optional...

returning to the rim is mandatory.

on our hike this morning into the canyon, we followed bright angel trail. signs along the way want hikers to understand that dehydration, heat stroke, and other horrible horrible things will befall the unprepared hiker. they implore you not to go too deep into the canyon because you must hike your way out. the title of this post is taken directly from one of these signs.

we set out after sunrise on the bright angel trail. the trail follows an old native american route. we followed it all the way to plateau point, which is a nice overlook of the colorado river. the complete route is 12 1/2 miles with a 3000 foot elevation change. that elevation change occurs over about 3 miles. it's steep. here is a picture of the trail that we took the evening before the hike. you can see the line of the trail extend all the way to it's end point at plateau point.

the morning sun made the canyon even more incredible to view, and getting close to the walls as we descended made the visit to the canyon much more intimate. here is a view along the trail.

when we reached the 4.5 mile mark, we were at a rest stop called indian garden. we were shocked by how lush and verdant it was. there is a river there, and a large grove of poplar trees (which provides a very welcome shade from the sun and 80 degree temperatures). as we approached indian garden, we took this photo of the spring time greenery along the trail. this is 3000 feet below the rim.

from indian garden, we continued out to plateau point. we were rewarded with expansive views of the canyon, intimate views of the river, and the roaring sounds of the rapids.

the climb out was hard, as expected. we were cheered along by this little guy.

we also saw an impressive number of huge california condors cruising right overhead and nesting in the cliffs. there were squirrels.

tomorrow we depart the grand canyon and head for zion national park. we have no idea what to expect. we'll be consulting our national parks book tonight, just as soon as we get back from this sweet cafeteria.
hopefully we will have internet access. keep your fingers crossed.

day 4: the biggest damn hole on the face of the earth

we found some internet access, and we are bursting at the seams to tell you about the grandest of canyons, the grand canyon.

before we got to the grand canyon, we stopped off at the hoover dam. it's dam big.


look how happy we were to get here!

you'd never know that while we took this picture, the car keys were locked in the car. the car was running. that little mishap delayed our arrival into the park by about half an hour. it also cost us $55.00. it could have been a lot worse. at least no one broke into it. yet.

once we were in the park, we made our way to the rim. this is what we saw.
spectacular!

soon enough we found some areas on the rim where we could hike quietly, and take long contemplative rests at over looks with views like this.....

truly spectacular! after staring down into the canyon, we found ourselves very antsy to hike into it. the canyon beckoned to us, and on day 5 we would heed its call.

day 3: it does indeed stay in vegas

it's more than just an ad campaign, folks. vegas wants so badly for the events that occur in vegas to stay in vegas that they didn't even offer us wireless internet. we had no way to blog. jerks. sinners.

we're in the grand canyon now. technically, we're on the south rim of the grand canyon, and plan to head down into the grand canyon via the bright angel trail early tomorrow morning. the internet we are using at the moment is 1.) in the hotel lobby, 2.) not on our computer, and 3.) costs $17.10/hour. don't hold your breath for a blog that is photo heavy.

hopefully zion national park offers better internet access, but we're not betting on it.

gswrt: day 2: life below sea level

panamint springs, where we are staying in death valley national park, is actually on the side of the panamint valley, adjacent to death valley, at about 2000 feet above sea level. the weather here is a cooler than in death valley, although the landscape is similarly rugged. this morning we ventured over the panamint range, which tops out at about 11,000 feet (the pass we took is at 5000 feet), to make our first official descent into death valley.

before it got too hot out (the predicted high on the valley floor was between 95 and 100 degrees), we took a short hike up mosaic canyon. this winding narrow canyon has marble walls, which have been polished smooth by flash floods, mixed with colorful conglomerate rock which resembles a mosaic pattern.

the narrow walls of the canyon provided us with the opportunity to have some fun scrambling and bouldering our way up the canyon. along the way we discovered a number of interesting cactus and other plants. we felt this one best exemplified the spirit of death valley.

from mosaic canyon we headed down to badwater, at the deepest part of the canyon floor.

this is the lowest point in the western hemisphere, and the hottest place in north america. it is a broad, flat, salty valley, and is certainly something to celebrate.

just up the road a few miles from badwater, 100 or so feet closer to sea level, is a spot that is poorly named the devil's golf course. the name comes from the belief that if there was a golf course here, it would be so challenging that only the devil himself would be able to play it. it is not a golf course, nor does it particularly resemble one. what it is is an immense area of rock salt spires that have been eroded away by wind and water into intricate and jagged forms about knee deep. it is quite gnarly looking and seems to go on forever.

we finished the day with some scenic drives and shorty hikes to places of interest like the borax mines which were home to the famous 20 mule teams. while we were at the visitor center getting our national parks passport stamped we saw a couple coyotes jog through the parking lot (he's in the shadow).
marta posed an interesting question, "why do we pronounce coyote, cai-o-tee?" anyone?

after all that, the heat finally wore us down. i can't say exactly how hot it was today, but i wouldn't be surprised if it hit 100. we returned to panamint springs for a siesta and an early dinner. tomorrow it is off to the las vegas, where we will answer the all important question, "what happens in vegas?"

gswrt: day 1: like a band of gypsies we go down the highway

today we began our 12 day road trip from santa cruz to madison. today's travels involved putting a little distance between us and the ocean, driving down interstate 5 through not-so-scenic bakersfield, through the mojave desert, and ending up in death valley national park. the highlight of the drive, at least until we got near the park, was this exit.


i always thought he was from muskokie, oklahoma, usa. not wasco, ca.

the drive into the park is a steep descent through sharp curves following the contours of a barren rocky mountainous wilderness. it is strikingly beautiful. here is a picture of rainbow canyon.


upon arriving in death valley we took a short hike through a small canyon to darwin falls. the amazing thing about this hike is how verdant and lush the area surrounding the falls is when compared to the stark and barren landscape of the valley surrounding it. it was simply breathtaking.


we finished our day with a delicious pasta dinner at the panamint springs resort while we planned our full day in the park tomorrow.


much of today was spent driving. there should be a lot more to report on tomorrow, as we descend the last 2000 feet into the valley of death. please look for gswrt: day 2: life below sea level, coming soon.

adios santa cruz

we left santa cruz this morning. it is hard to leave so many good people behind. you know who you are, and you will be missed. keep in touch. here is our last moment on the front porch of the best little house we've ever lived in.

last is best?

jack and roxanne made the trip up from austin, tx to the bay area this past weekend. on friday we met up with them in san francisco along with casey, dipa, chris, and olivia.


we had a lovely night out in the mission neighborhood of san francisco, wine tasted across the santa cruz mountains on saturday, and then everybody came back to our house for fajitas on the grill and revelry into the night. on sunday we took jack and roxanne to see the redwoods and around santa cruz. it was a really lovely weekend.

quite early on in the weekend, it became clear that chris and olivia, jack and roxanne, and marta and i all intended to blog about the weekend. at some point on friday, this reunion week became somewhat of a blogging competition. below is a picture of jack taking a picture for his blog. he stepped right in front of me to get that one. tough competition.


chris utilized his iphone technology to log the all important first blog entry of the weekend, while we were on our way to dinner. i think jack and roxanne are going to come away with the completeness award as they have chosen to take a multiple entry approach (part 1, part 2). unfortunately, we weren't first and probably won't have the most complete blog about the weekend. instead of blogging, we have been packing for our move.


things are nearly all boxed up. the truck arrives tomorrow. we have some going away parties on friday and saturday. on sunday we take off for death valley to begin the great southwest road trip. we will do our best to do a better job of blogging about the gswrt than we did about this past weekend. we will have to, since we won't have anyone else's blog to pick up the slack.

mexican getaway

while david was sabering sparkling wine bottles in santa cruz, i was taking in the mexican sun in la paz, baja sur california, mexico. it was awesome.

here is a picture of my friends and i after some cold water snorkeling.


my comrades and i spent many hours on beaches, many pesos on fish tacos, and many calories swimming with sea lions. the highlight of the trip was our day of snorkeling around the large island of espiritu santo. this island is home to beautiful beach coves of sparkling clear green water, monster cactus, and marine mammals. we snorkeled with the very playful baby sea lions, and later caught the most spectacular show mother nature has to offer--the humpback whale breaching.

this is a picture of this whale's 2nd breach. she breached 4 times in less than 30 minutes, all within 100 feet of us. it was a most incredible experience.


there are lots more pictures of the trip, but i have to focus on packing the house up for another cross country move. stay posted for more pictures in a few weeks. maybe.

365 days of food

some time ago i set out to photograph all the food i ate for an entire year. the goal was to photograph every breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack for the entire year. at the outset of the project i wasn't exactly sure what i was going to do with these photographs. maybe a collage, or a flip book. the following short film is the result of that project.



admittedly things didn't go to well with the project. right from the get go i started missing meals. it was hard to remember. then i would feel guilty for coming up short on the project. i tried to keep going, but only 3 short days into the project it was already a lie. i hadn't captured everything i ate, and a project where someone photographs a lot of what they eat isn't too interesting. anyway, i have since come to terms with the degree of success of the project, and i decided that it was worth sharing anyway. instead of everything i ate for 365 days, it was more like most of what i ate for four days.

a dream realized

while marta is on a short vacation in mexico my friends chris and casey came down to santa cruz for a man weekend of sorts. we made chili, enjoyed the sunny day, and decided to give sabering a champagne-style bottle a try. sabrage is the technique in which a champagne bottle is opened using a sword or saber. the saber is slid along the body of the bottle toward the neck. the force of the blade hitting the lip breaks the glass to separate the collar from the neck of the bottle. below is the video of our first attempt. as you'll see, we choose to use a meat clever since we didn't have a saber on hand. the female voices in the background are those of our neighbors, not any female attendees of the man event.



i would call that that a success, although i don't think the technique is supposed to involve lopping off the upper half of the bottle. the second attempt was not videotaped, but you can see from the resulting cork that it was a much cleaner operation.