Stargazing

Canyonlands is one of the best places in Utah--
make that the American southwest--
to view stars.
Dry weather, open spaces, high elevation,
and above all very little light pollution.
We were lucky enough to be out there during new moon phase,
which gave us optimal star gazing.
The milky way showed up very clearly,
along with every constellation in the spring sky.
My camera isn't very well suited for night photos,
since the maximum shutter opening is 15 seconds,
but I did get this terrific horizon view
of Airport Tower and a shining evening planet
(Venus, I think)
with the last glow of post-sunset light.

Kite Eating Tree

We tried to fly my kite out on the White Rim,
but the winds kept changing direction,
and our kite blew into a kite-eating juniper tree.
Fortunately Benjamin was able to climb up and retrieve it...
but the gusts made it hard to keep the kite aloft
and eventually we gave up.

Goblin Valley

We didn't have as much time in Goblin Valley
as we would have liked,

but the kids definitely enjoyed climbing on the rocks.
Ethan and Benjamin wanted to go off and do their own thing,
and Sophie was feeling a bit left out,
so I went around with her and we discovered goblin houses.
It's a terrific place for the imagination.

Tents and Smores

We had hoped to camp in Goblin Valley,
but even on a weekday, the campground was full.
So we found a nice nearby BLM spot.
The kids were pretty good about BLM camping--
careful with their litter,
and not too many complaints about the lack of bathrooms.
I even trained them to retrieve their used toilet paper
(and I was expecting a fight about that one,
but they were good.)

We had fun hanging out in the tent
(thanks again, Dad, for that tent!!)

Benjamin also built us a nice fire,
with firewood we bought at Goblin Valley state park.
We had forgotten the roasting sticks,
but we improvised with forks.
Everyone liked the s'mores.
Especially Sophie.

Perfect Dutch Oven Meal

Take a 14" wide, regular depth dutch oven.
Put down a little olive oil and a layer of onions,
then add whole fingerling potatoes
(you could use chopped potatoes, too).
These were young and tender so we left the skins on.

Next, a layer of baby sliced portobella mushrooms.
Then chicken thighs, bone-in,
with a little more olive oil drizzled on,
and salt, pepper and garlic powder:

Finally, add more potatoes
(we used a whole 5 pound bag from Costco)
and more onions
(we used about 6 or 7 onions' worth).

Here's how it ended up:
YUM!
(tomato a side dish, not in original pot)


No water needed-- and certainly no "cream of soup"--
the chicken and other things contributed quite a bit of juice.
We had a loaf of bread on the side
and it was very tasty as a sop for the juice.

Humoring Kids

Not long ago when we were up the canyon picnicking,
a couple of wild animals visited our site.
The kids wanted to feed them- we said no.
Then they wanted me to photograph them.
Sigh.
I explained that the light was low, my zoom was not ideal,
and that the pictures would not be good.
"Please, please, please!"
So here they are.
The top one is definitely Not up to My Standards of crispness
(low light, moving bird)--
it was a steller's jay (spelling?)
The bottom chipmunk did a little better,
but they were definitely cuter in their natural state.

Wildflower Detecting in Escalante

I went camping in Escalante Grand Staircase National Monument
for a couple of days with some friends.
It was a lovely trip.
I was surprised to see that so many flowers were still blooming down there.
Lots of cactus, mostly prickly pear,
but a number of other things too.
And in the Visitor Center of Capitol Reef,
as we were winding our way home,
I found a really great local wildflower book
that had just come out:
"Capitol Reef Wildflowers" by Deborah L. Clark.
It has some details and local species
that my regular Audubon book does not have.
For instance, the following globemallow
I was able to identify as the small leaf globemallow variety:

This stuff is giving me more problems.
I think it is probably a Hymenopappus,
but I can't quite really match the leaves to any variety I can find,
either in my flower books or on the web.

Here's one of the trail "flower gardens."
There were lots and lots of clumps of blooming cactus,
globemallow, and the Hymenopappus flowers too.
And many more!

Comforts of Winter Camping

This weekend was the annual OAC snowshoe campout.
Comforts included a fire,
hot food:

And ye olde comfort station:

Rocks and Smiles

Give boys some rocks to climb in,
and it's remarkable how happy they are.

I haven't seen a smile this big and genuine on Caleb's face
for quite a long time!

Conference Cookout

Our annual conference cookout up the canyon...
Dad builds a mean fire.

Listening to conference talks on the radio...

Are the cousins having fun yet?

It was a little chilly and the colors hadn't quite turned yet,
but we had a jolly picnic.

Rulers of Yellowstone

While we were stopped at Old Faithful,
one of the trucks in the parking lot got mobbed by ravens.
The truck owners had left sacks of unprotected food,
and the ravens promptly got at them.
One enterprising raven hopped off with a bag of chex mix:

I was watching him (her?) and the raven knew very well that if she/he pecked the bag, it would open and the mix could be eaten.
And other ravens knew it too.
There was a bit of a showdown, in fact:

Ravens aren't the only animals that rule the roost at Yellowstone.
The bison stroll along the road and everyone makes way:

Fabulous Canyonlands

Down by the river, it's so green this time of year!
Up on the cliffs, views defy description...

Though we had a lot of overcast weather and dust this trip
(bad for scenery pictures)
we did get gorgeous evening light out at White Crack,
which is one of the best overlook spots in my opinion.

Indian Paintbrush

Though I only got to see one claret cup cactus,
the Indian paintbrush at Canyonlands was blooming full force.
There weren't fields and fields of them,
but in the evening and morning, especially,
there were bright clumps that caught the eye.
These were all taken out at the White Crack area.

The same two clusters.
Above: backlit
Below: in full evening sun.

Happiness is...

A claret cup cactus!!
I have only seen these once before in my life,
and I love them so.
I am always on the lookout for them.
This is the only one I saw in Canyonlands this trip,
and it wasn't in full bloom,
and the cluster as a whole is relatively unimpressive...
but look at the buds.
When they all open, it will be spectacular.

And this is a full open claret cup.
These have to be the most beautiful flowers in the world.
Some day I want to retire to Tucson and have a yard full of these.