 | 20 April 2002, Mexican Hat, UT: The famous "Goosenecks" of the San Juan River, deeply entrenched meanders cut 1000' into the Honaker Trail Formation, a Pennsylvanian marine limestone. |
 | 20 April 2002, Comb Ridge, UT: The Hogbacks of Comb Ridge, capped by Triassic Navajo sandstone, on Rt. 163, near the junction with Rt. 666. |
 | 20 April 2002, Natural Bridges National Monument, UT: Sipapu Bridge overlook (look for the green patch lower-right of center) |
 | 20 April 2002, Natural Bridges National Monument, UT: Preparing to hike down to Kachina Bridge, intermittent snowing and wind blowing very hard. Hiking off the ridgeline looked like a good idea. |
 | 20 April 2002, Natural Bridges National Monument, UT: The approach to Kachina Bridge, only about 400' descent. |
 | 20 April 2002, Natural Bridges National Monument, UT: Yes, it is that cold out... and yes, the trail is that steep and dangerous. We've gotten use to both. |
 | 20 April 2002, Natural Bridges National Monument, UT: The approach to Kachina Bridge. |
 | 20 April 2002, Natural Bridges National Monument, UT: 20 April 2002, Natural Bridges National Monument, UT: Kachina Bridge. |
 | 20 April 2002, Natural Bridges National Monument, UT: Under Kachina Bridge. |
 | 20 April 2002, Natural Bridges National Monument, UT: Under Kachina Bridge. |
 | 20 April 2002, Natural Bridges National Monument, UT: Owachomo Bridge, 9' thick, spans 180'. |
 | 20 April 2002, S. Lake Powell, UT: On Rt. 95 south of Glen Canyon and Lake Powell, suddenly the Henry Mountains loom up 11,000'+ in the distance. Rt. 95 is a "Utah Scenic Highway" and it easily lives up to the hype. |
 | 20 April 2002, Hite Marina, UT: Hite was a gold/uranium mining town, now drowned by Lake Powell. The lake was down about 30' from normal, so we were camping where it typically is underwater. The benefit was lots of driftwood to use as firewood. |
 | 20 April 2002, Hite Marina, UT: Roaring fire, glass of wine, the lake and canyons of the Dirty Devil River. |
 | 20 April 2002, Hite Marina: Venus, Mars and Saturn line up, not visible here are Mercury and Jupiter. |
 | 21 April 2002, Hite Marina, UT: The normal lake level is visible on the far shoreline, our covered telescope in the foreground. |
 | 21 April 2002, Lake Powell, UT: Wandering around the Dirty Devil tributary. |
 | 21 April 2002, Rt. 24, UT: Factory Butte, made of Mancos shale capped with hard sandstone. This is a BLM access road, one of hundreds in a huge area open to off-road vehicles. The damage from this policy is readily visible from the highway, tire scars up and down every hill in sight. |
 | 21 April 2002, Capital Reef National Monument, UT: Petroglyphs abound on the sandstone walls. |
 | 21 April 2002, Capital Reef National Monument, UT: A petroglyph of Kokopelli (center), the first we had ever seen. "In Pueblo myths, Kokopelli carries in his hump seeds, babies, and blankets to offer to maidens that he seduces. In upper Rio Grande pueblos, he wanders between villages with bags of songs on his back. As a fertility symbol, he was welcome during corn planting season and was sought after by barren wives, although avoided by shy maidens." |
 | 21 April 2002, Capital Reef National Monument, UT: On a steep 5 mile hike up the ridgeline, one of our very best hikes, a view of the Pyramid |
 | 21 April 2002, Capital Reef National Monument, UT: From the top of the ridge, looking down at Waterpocket Fold and the road we climbed up from. About 1000' sheer drop. |
 | 21 April 2002, Capital Reef National Monument, UT: Yup... straight down, no bouncing until the bottom. Sarah casually eats her lunch. |
 | 21 April 2002, Capital Reef National Monument, UT: The Waterpocket Fold formation is a monocline of steeply tilted Jurrassic sandstones that uniquely erode to form water cavities. Here a stream has done the work, but wind is as important. |
 | 21 April 2002, Capital Reef National Monument, UT: Some waterpockets found under an overhanging ledge. |
 | 21 April 2002, Capital Reef National Monument, UT: The scenic drive/trail system inside the park is the best we found anywhere. No crowds too. |
 | 21 April 2002, Capital Reef National Monument, UT: It was remarkable to find roads into the canyons... the whole place looked like the pod racing scene from Star Wars Episode I. |
 | 21 April 2002, Capital Reef National Monument, UT: Moon above the Wingate sandstone cliffs. |
 | 21 April 2002, Capital Reef National Monument, UT |
 | 21 April 2002, Capital Reef National Monument, UT: How Capital Reef got it's name (if only DC looked this great). |
 | 21 April 2002, Capital Reef National Monument, UT: The secret to how we avoid going to a motel during the entire trip... our hot shower and shower tent. Couple gallons of water and little propane, who needs Motel 6? |
 | 21 April 2002, Capital Reef National Monument, UT: This herd of deer visit the campground every evening, like they own the place. |
 | 22 April 2002, S. Boulder, UT: The Hogback ridge south of Boulder is the Jurassic Carmel Formation captsone, creating a narrow ridge with 1000' drop on both sides of the road. From here on a good day you can see 4 states. |
 | 22 April 2002, Bryce Canyon National Park, UT: Hoodoos in Bryce Canyon. |
 | 22 April 2002, Bryce Canyon National Park, UT: A short 3 mile hike among the hoodoos. |
 | 22 April 2002, Bryce Canyon National Park, UT: Yeah, more hoodoos... |
 | 22 April 2002, Bryce Canyon National Park, UT: Not the most interesting geologically, but pretty. |
 | 22 April 2002, Bryce Canyon National Park, UT: A sunset scene seen from, uh, Sunset Point. What you can't get from these pictures is how extremely cold it is camping at 8,000' in April. This is our second time camping at Bryce and freezing our butts off (last time in December with 10" snow). |
 | 23 April 2002, Snow Canyon State Park, UT: We did a drive-by of Zion National Park, but were unable to take the tourist density and National Park Service for more than a few minutes (NPS put a huge solar collection array on the roof of their visitor center... and then planted shade trees that cover it.) So, off to a nearby state park we knew and liked from a previous trip. On a long hot hike we came across many prickly pear blooms. |
 | 23 April 2002, Snow Canyon State Park, UT: Only a hour or so from Zion, Snow Canyon is quiet and lovely and much cheaper. |
 | 23 April 2002, Snow Canyon State Park, UT: Like we said before, a nice place to chill, or sweat, as we did hiking. It is hard to believe this is 100 miles from Bryce, but 30-40 degrees warmer. |
 | 23 April 2002, Snow Canyon State Park, UT: White Navajo sandstone caps the red Navajo sandstone here, hence the name, Snow Canyon. |
 | 24 April 2002, Snow Canyon State Park, UT: The white sandstone fractures and erodes naturally into amphitheaters. |
 | 23 April 2002, Snow Canyon State Park, UT: Fairly recent lava flows created black caves and tunnels amidst the white sandstone. |
 | 23 April 2002, Snow Canyon State Park, UT: No crowds at Snow Canyon, so we spread out the observatory. Unfortunately, it was cloudy this night. |
 | 23 April 2002, Snow Canyon State Park, UT: Sarah was amused that Pete uses a machete to chop wood. A versatile tool (and weapon) in an experienced hand. |
 | 24 April 2002, Mercury, NV: Near the "company" town of Mercury (that is, if your company is in the business of nuclear bomb testing), we had a flat on the Puck. |
 | 24 April 2002, Mercury, NV: At 55 mph, any flat immediately shreads the small tire. Paying close attention prevents damage to the rim. |
 | 24 April 2002, Mercury, NV: Sarah has fun lighting her first road flare. |
 | 24 April 2002, Rhyolite, NV: The Bottle House in the ghost town of Rhyolite is clearly unique. Even more unique were Suzy and Riley McCoy, the caretakers and sole inhabitants. They took a liking to us and let us camp next to their place (don't tell BLM). |
 | 24 April 2002, Rhyolite, NV: One of the more sound structures remaining in Rhyolite, the bank building. The rear wall is crumbling because of soil subsidence, so BLM plans to spend over $100,000 to shore it up. Your tax dollars (and Burning Man use fees) at work. |
 | 24 April 2002, Rhyolite, NV: The last standing house in the redlight district. Rhyolite had 10,000 people in 1912 and was a ghost town by 1919. |
 | 24 April 2002, Rhyolite, NV: Hundreds of acres are covered with rusting metal and broken glass. The debris goes several feet deep. |
 | 25 April 2002, Rhyolite, NV: Illuminated soley by the full moon. |
 | 25 April 2002, Rhyolite, NV: Another moonlite shot. |
 | 28 April 2002, Panamint Springs, CA: Seeing the gas prices, we knew we were back in California. |
 | 26 April 2002, Panamint Springs, CA: Finally back in California, but still fighting the weather. A sudden gust of wind toppled the telescope, shattering the Formica around the focuser. Fortunately the optics were undamaged, but observing during this trip was over. |
 | 26 April 2002, Panamint Springs, CA: This 2" long spider with nasty mandibles turned up on our mattress this morning. We took it to the ranger in Death Valley, who identified it as a harmless sun spider, friend to man. Looks can be deceiving. |
 | 26 April 2002, Badwater, CA: The lowest point in the western hemisphere. Instead of a rock souveneir, Pete took a water sample. Wearing khaki was a mistake, since tourists kept approaching him with questions. |
 | 26 April 2002, near Stovepipe Wells, CA: Mosaic Canyon is a nice easy hike (until you ditch the tourists and climb over the cataracts). The stream has smoothly polished marble and created mosaics of conglomerated gravel. |
 | 27 April 2002, Death Valley, CA: A steep climb up Wildrose Peak to about 9,000' gives a great view of Furnace Creek and Indian Wells. |
 | 27 April 2002, Wildrose Canyon, CA: On this hike, we were trailed by a large, noisy group of German exchange students. After stealthily cutting back around them, Sarah prepared several "Blair Witch" momentos to give them something to ponder when they returned. |
 | 27 April 2002, Panamint Range, CA: These charcoal kilns date back to the 1800's. |
 | 29 April 2002, near Mammoth Lakes, CA: It was snowing and blowing hard at about 8,500', but geothermal activity keeps the road warm and steaming. |
 | 29 April 2002, Gartnerville, NV: Looking at the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevadas, we could easily see a winter storm in the higher elevations. Although only about 5 hours from home, we decided to stay in Nevada until the weather cleared. Also, we had found a tire dealer who would could get us 3 new 145R10s from Reno the next day. |
 | 30 April 2002, Virginia City, NV: Virginia City is a tourist trap at about 6200' where we spent another bitterly cold night with blowing snow. The next day we found the only attraction in town worthwhile, the Western Historic Radio Museum. Owner Henry Rogers showed us his encyclopedic knowledge of radio history as he took us through his collection for several hours. We may have been his only visitors that day, but it was a priceless stop. |
 | 30 April 2002, Gartnerville, NV: Getting the new tires installed. Before we found these, we had been told they were no longer manufactured, so we replaced all 3 and kept the old ones. |
 | 30 April 2002, Eagle Summit, CA: The quick climb from South Lake Tahoe, blowing snow, but no chains needed. |
 | 30 April 2002, Placerville, CA: One of the new tires, just 80 miles from installation. No reason whatsoever for this one to fail, but there you are. Anyway, another quick change, then on home a few hours later. Time to head home for repairs. The end. |