DAY 88- White Sands...

Everyone told me that I definitely needed to stop by and see White Sands while I was in New Mexico.  They would mention other places but always would reference back and say that I HAD to see White Sands for sure.  So I left my hotel in Deming and headed to Las Cruces with the intention of driving straight through Las Cruces to White Sands and then coming back to Las Cruces for the nights hotel stay.  Yeah, it was a bit of back tracking but there’s a bit of planning in my “madness”.  It just doesn’t always seem the most obvious (and sometimes it’s not always obvious to me either) but it seems to always work out.  So… here I am doing a bit of an out and back later in the day.

The first hour was a straight shot on I-10 heading east.  I was singing along with my iPod; as the radio was kind of in a dead zone for the most part except for a few Spanish stations.  Along this stretch, I-10 is about 15 to 20 miles north of the border to Mexico.  I’ve got my cruise control set and I imagine the people looked at me weirdly as they pass by and watch me singing along; crazy woman!

Just before Las Cruces, I take the exit for Hwy US-70 heading east.  I’m taking a chance driving to White Sands and not checking to see if they might have closed this road for a test at the White Sands Missile Range.  The National Park website for White Sands has a phone number you can call to see if the highway is going to be closed that day or not.  I was taking a risk of possibly sitting in my car on a closed section of highway for three to four hours. 

Photo- The sign letting you know you are entering White Sands Missile Range.

Luckily, the highway ended up not being closed.  I drove up and over Organ Mountain and then past the White Sands Missile Range.  It made me a little leery driving through this area.  But I continued on.  There were quite a few vehicles with government plates passing me like I was standing still and I was doing 5mph over the speed limit. 

About a mile before I got to the turn off for White Sands National Monument, the speed limit was reduced and there was a border patrol check.  I felt like I had done enough of these as of late that I should be on file, or something.  I pull up to the stop sign and the guy asked the normal are you a US Citizen.  Yes, I am; I said.  Then, he asked what the purpose of my visit was.  I told him today it was to visit White Sands National Monument.  Then, I told him that I was on a road trip and that this would be my 6^th or 7^th National Park that I’ve visited.  He asked by yourself?  Yes, I told him and then said Crazy, huh?  He laughed and wished me a good day.

A mile later down the road I took a left into the White Sands National Monument parking lot at the visitor’s center.  I went in and looked at some displays and watched a 17 minute movie about White Sands.  There was a 6.5 mile loop drive into White Sands.  The entrance fee per car is $3 or in my case free when you have an annual National Parks Pass.  The gal at the visitor’s desk said that I could take 3 more passengers along on my pass if I wanted to.  I told her she hadn’t seen my filled up car or she would not have even mentioned that.

Photo- The White Sands Visitor's Center.

I left the visitor’s center and headed along the road to the gate.  I showed my annual pass and the gal talked about the highlights of the 6.5 mile road with a turn around.  Two miles in there was a desert nature hike that was a 1.2 mile hike in sand but would give me an idea of what the dunes were all about.  Four miles in was a boardwalk that was an easy ¾ mile hike.  There were picnic areas about 5 miles in and the turnabout was 6 miles in.  She really suggested the nature walk if I was looking for the best of White Sands.

Photos- Some of the AMAZING scenery that I saw on the nature hike in White Sands.

I drove in the two miles and parked in the parking lot for the nature hike.  It sounded like the best bet and I was really looking forward to really getting a feel for White Sands.  When I drove in, I could only see the edges of the dunes.  I walked the dirt path over to the base of the dunes and up I went; and Wow!  Man camera was getting a workout as well as I was from walking around in the sand.  I could feel my shoes gaining sand weight as I walked along.  Every so many feet there was a new sign post that had a factoid about the animals and life in the dunes.  I was rather surprised that there was so much life within a sand dune.  It appeared that most of the life occurred at night and that most of the wild life had adapted to their environment in some way like; the lizards were white, and the fox which was the largest predator in the dunes was small and big eared compared to other foxes out in the wilderness.  It was amazing and very educational hike.

Photo- I couldn't resist not putting my mark here!  It might last a day or two at most.

Next, I got in the car and drove to the boardwalk.  I got out of the car and started to walk along but the boardwalk was basically the same signs as the hike I had just done and it wasn’t nearly as pretty as the area I had walked.  I turned around about halfway out.  I got back in the car and drove along the road further into the dune.  It was amazing with the dune all around except for the paved road.  There were areas where sand was venturing onto the road.  I wondered about what kind of maintenance they had to do on the road to keep it clear.  Did they use a street sweeper to keep it clear? 

Photo- The paved road through White Sands.

About another ½ mile down the road, the speed limit dropped down to 25 mph and there was a sign stating that it was the end of the pavement.  Now I was driving on the dune and it was very surreal in that the whole landscape looked white like snow but it was actually sand.  Cars and buses were driving along the area and if it hadn’t been for their presence I would’ve felt like I was in another world altogether. 

About 5 miles along there was a sign for a picnic area and there were restrooms there too.  I swung in their out of curiosity. The picnic table areas were very unique and looked other worldly too.  I drove around that area for a bit and then worked my way back over and around the loop at the end of the drive.  There were large cleared turnout areas here and there for people to get out and climb up a dune, or take pictures, or to sled the dunes.  Yes, I said sled. 

Photo- The boy showing me how it is to sled on a dune.

I drove up to a mother and her son who were sledding one of the dune areas.  I asked how the sledding was.  The mother encouraged her son to show me how the sledding was and mentioned to me that it was quite a bit slower than snow.  The boy climbed back up the hillside of the dune and at the top jumped into his sled.  He really had to push to get any kind of start with the sled and then had to push here and there as he went down the hill too.  But it did look fun.  The mother said that the sleds were on sale at the gift shop at the visitor’s center if I wanted to give it a try.  I thanked her and her son for showing me; wished them a good day and back in the car I went. 

Photo- It's sand but it looks like snow!

I drove slowly here and there along the road back to the visitor’s center.  I stopped to take more pictures as I went along.  Back at the visitor’s center I went into the gift shop and purchased a couple of postcards and a bumper sticker.  I decided not to purchase the $17 sled; just to give sledding a chance on a sand dune.  What would I do with a sled afterwards?  It wouldn’t fit in my car.  I decided I would head back to Las Cruces and my hotel for the night.  But I will say this it was a wonderfully amazing experience being at White Sands and I would highly recommend people visit this wonderful area.

DAY 85- Historic Taos & Another Vegas...

I left the hotel and headed south about ½ mile towards the Taos historic area.  I had driven on the main road through the area and had visited the Taos Historic Inn the night before but hadn’t really gotten a full look at the area.  I turned on Carson Road and parked in a free parking lot.  I walked around the Historic area.  Most of the shops were not opened and I was wondering if I was really hitting it during the off season time.  I did see a wonderful little courtyard area as I checked to see if a gallery was open. 

Photos- There are several courtyards in historic Taos.

I crossed over Hwy 68 to heart of the Historic area.  I visited a couple of art galleries; one of which was a collective.  I ended up talking with the gal that was manning the collective about bicycling in the area.  She did it a little bit and had recently been joining her daughter in running in the area too.  She was real nice and I asked her what the winters were like in Taos.  She said that it got really cold and snowy; nothing like what I’ve gotten used to in Utah.  I asked her about other things in the area too. 

I continued to wander along.  I went to a t-shirt shop where I found a Taos t-shirt that I liked; a big surprise.  NOT!  I talked with the clerk at this shop and found out that quite a few of the businesses didn’t open until 11AM.  She didn’t know why but they did.  But she did say that it was a slow time of year until they started getting some REAL snow and then the skiers would be swinging by.  She teased me that I was more than welcome to hang out in her shop with her for the day; that was she wouldn’t be too lonely and I wouldn’t be chilly.  I had left my gloves in the car, and it was a bit chilly.   She was a bit of a character.

Photo- A side area of historic Taos.

Next, further down the way on the other side of a courtyard, I went into a clothing shop where a young gal had managed to get me to try on some items of pricey clothes that I really did not need at all.  She was a good salesperson.  She was fun to talk with and it was just fun trying on stuff that I knew I would never wear or need.  I felt like I was shopping with one of the gals.  I thanked her for her time and wished her luck finding an earring she had dropped just before I got there.  She said she had forgotten about the earring while I was there.

I went into a sporting goods store down the street where they had a covered outside area that you could shop in.  I was kind of hoping to find a cheap winter cap but the cheapest I could find was $35.  I also looked at some nice winter jackets but they were way too pricey for this girl.  But I was having fun and the people in the area were fun to talk with.  I went in several more shops and eventually through another courtyard area.  I had a side walk vendor ask where I got my bag; he liked it.  And I couldn’t remember where I had gotten the bag.  I apologized to the guy and he said no worries gal.  I continued to explore and took a couple of turns.  I was almost across the street from where I went for dinner last night. 

I was in the mood for late lunch.  I found a nice little restaurant called Graham’s Grill which I had seen in the same booklet as the Adobe Bar I went to last night.  I went in and asked to see the menu.  There was a pumpkin bisque that sounded wonderful and I was very much in the mood for some soup.  I asked to be seated and was shortly after waited on. 

Photo- One of the entrances to Graham's Grill in Taos.

I ordered a mocha latte, the Pumpkin New Mexico Red Chili Bisque with a Caesar salad.  The server seemed glad that I knew what I wanted.  I could understand; on one side there were a pair of women talking over their open menus and on my other side was a guy with glass of wine, menu off to side and he’s pecking away at a laptop.  A HUGE green cup came with my steaming mocha latte.  I had to let it cool down, but I always love it when coffee is served in huge ceramic cups.  I looked around while I waited.  The walls were a warm lemon yellow; there were touches of royal blue and sage green with vaulted ceiling.  It was a fun atmosphere with a hint of yuppie. 

The bisque with salad arrived.  The salad threw me for a bit.  It was a Caesar dressing served over part of a still intact baby romaine lettuce head.  I definitely needed to use a fork and knife for this salad.  Awe! The bisque was amazing!  First there was the sweetness of the pumpkin and then the spice of the red chili and other spices would give it a wonderful kick but not too much of one.  The balance of the sweet and spicy was pure perfection.  What a wonderful meal it was and if the recipe for this bisque was in the cookbook that was being advertised on the table it might be worth the purchase.  But the last time I got to cook was over two weeks ago; what did I need a recipe book for?  But if any of you are looking for a gift for a cook in the family I bet this would be a good cookbook to get.

Photo- A bit of snow and evergreens heading south out of Taos.

Off south I went on Hwy 518 out of Taos; this was called a scenic byway.  I went through a forest of evergreen trees with bits of snow on the ground here and there.  The road wound around, up and over.  It was really a pretty drive and there was little traffic.  As I headed more south the scenery changed from evergreens to a more rocky arid landscape and then eventually to an almost flat dry brush.  There’s a lot of variety in the New Mexico area and maybe that’s why they call it the land of enchantment.

Photo- A rocky landscape as I headed further south towards Las Vegas,NM.

I drove into Las Vegas, NM and wouldn’t have known it until I saw the city limits sign.  Eventually, as I drove further there was a Wal-Mart and strip malls along the road.  It was nothing like the other Vegas; this one was a small town with no gambling.  I quickly got checked into my hotel, ran to the post office for stamps (got to keep the Popette in formed), and then ran by the visitor’s center.  The lady at the visitor’s center was in the process of locking the door when I arrived. 

Photo- The landscape just before Las Vegas,NM.

She asked me how she could help and then gave me a historical brochure that had over 900 different locations in the town; 900, huh?  That could take me awhile.  Most of the places were buildings that had historical significance for the Santa Fe Trail which went through the area.  I drove around for a bit and tried to get my bearings and find places.  But it was getting dark and it was hard finding places in the dark.  I grabbed some take out and went back to the hotel.

DAY 83- Art & in the Pursuit Of Warm Clothes...

I woke up to a thin layer of snow in the morning.  The weather reports had said there was supposed to be snow in Santa Fe on Sunday but I was still surprised it happened.  I put on my warmest clothes so I could go to breakfast; it was a very chilly walk across that parking lot.  On the way back I stopped at my car and dug around in my cycling gear bag.  Thank goodness, I had the cold gear in with my cycling stuff or I would’ve really been up the creek.

Photo- A church not far from the Georgia O'Keeffe Art Museum.

An hour later I was taking the shuttle bus from the hotel over to Santa Fe’s Plaza.  From there, I walked over to the Georgia O’Keeffe Art Museum.  I should say that I walked around it and finally found it.  It’s rather an understated adobe structure and doesn’t come off as the usual art museum.  I went in and paid the entry fee; the whole time my teeth are chattering.  The gal behind the counter said I looked pretty cold and if she had an extra jacket she would’ve given to me.  She mentioned that the man in the red shirt would be giving a talk on Georgia O’Keeffe at 10:30AM.  She also went on to say that no photos within the museum were allowed.  I went over to the man in the red shirt and asked him where the talk would take place.  He said in gallery No.7 at 10:30am.  He told me it was the largest gallery and pointed the general direction of where it was.

Photo- The understated outside of the Art Museum. I almost walked right by.

I was off to start viewing some of the museum before the talk.  The first room had quotes and a few well-spaced pieces of Georgia’s.  Most people walk right up to a painting or a piece of art.  I have the habit of looking briefly up close then stare at it from a distance.  It was rather interesting because it seemed like the security was keeping a close eye on me because of my out of norm behavior.  There was security in every room.  In the second gallery was where more art was displayed and there was a tour of some sort being given.  I continued my same pace and just went around the group; only half listening to what the female tour guide was saying.  I finally started to warm up and took off my jacket; being watched closely by the security staff.

I breezed through the third gallery and didn’t venture into the 4^th.  I went straight to the 7^th gallery room where the man in the red shirt had just barely started the talk.  I found a sit among the other listeners.  He talked about Georgia’s upbringing, her schooling in art, how she became a teacher, gave up on art for a while and then picked up art again in her life.  He also talked about her husband and how she eventually came out to live in New Mexico.  He talked about her being on the cutting edge of modernism in art.  How this museum is the only museum in the US that is focused on a female artist but that over half of the artists in this day and age are women.  I found it all very fascinating.

But I especially found it fascinating when the man in the red shirt talked about how Georgia was very independent and traveled alone going for days on end in her car in search of subjects that interested her.  People thought she was crazy and I have to say that even a woman in our time has that same bit of stigma from some people.  I very much felt a kin to Georgia in that moment. 

When I left the museum, the man in the red shirt was out front and he asked me what I thought.  I told him it was a wonderful museum and experience.  He said that’s why he committed himself to being a docent since 2006.  I thanked him for his talk and said that I sort of felt a kin to Georgia when he talked about her travels alone.  I told him I was on a long road trip and told him that it was 83.  Wow! He said now that’s a serious road trip.  He said to enjoy and be careful of Santa Fe’s sidewalks.  He was convinced that they were there long before the city was ever built.  I laughed and thanked him; some of them are in terrible shape.

Photo-The Chuck Jones Gallery.

Next, I was down and around the corner and saw a Chuck Jones Animation Art Gallery.  I went in and was greeted warmly by a tall black dreadlock haired man behind a desk.  He asked how I was and I said Cold.  He laughed and said he appreciated my honesty.  I laughed and said maybe I should stop there.  The gallery was pretty cool.  There’s art from Warner Brother’s Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny, and others.  There’s Dr. Seuss artwork too.  Quite a bit of it was numbered reproductions of the originals done by Chuck Jones.

Photo- Another gallery that I really liked in the area.

Down the street a little farther, I came across another gallery that sparked my interest.  It had sculptures of cougars on benches in front of its windows.  I went in and saw quite a wide range of styles and types of artwork.  I grabbed some of the cards for some of the artists that I like what they do.  Three out of the four artist’s cards I took were all self-taught artists with no BFA.  Wow!  That surprised me because most the time in Utah I’ve found quite often the opposite.

Photo- A layer of snow in the New Mexico Museum of Art.

Further down the street is the New Mexico Museum of Art.  I went in.  After paying the entrance fee, I’m directed out through an open courtyard area to the actual art museum.  Through the courtyard I walked and through another set of doors into a foyer area.  I decided to keep right.  The first segment is large more modern type art fixtures that I never seem to understand or get for the most part.  Then, the art museum takes a venture into “Scenes Seldom Seen” and features a couple of photos with Georgia O'Keeffe in them and one taken by her.  Then, there was also a painting that is done by her too.  It also features other well-known New Mexico artists but I don’t recognize any of them.  Upstairs there was a show on glass that was very interesting.  Back down the stairs I went and turned left this time.  This area talked about New Mexico’s art history and asked about what art is and who is determined to be classified as an artist which this area contained more art that I just didn’t get.

Photo- The Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi.

Next I walked around the square and ended up over by the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi.  It looked as though it was being refurbished.  So I just admired the beautiful outside of it for a bit.  Then, I walked over to the Chapel of Loretto and saw the Miraculous Staircase.  The all wooden stairs that was built by a carpenter for the nuns to get to the choir loft which contains no nails.  The stairs were wonderful wood but the chapel area itself was beautiful too I thought. 

Photos- The amazing Miraculous Stairs and the beautiful chapel.

I grabbed a bit of lunch and something warm to drink at the Blue Corn Café.  Then, I went through a couple of gift shops while burning time till the shuttle bus came; about another 15min.  I had had enough of this walking around in the cold weather.  I needed to see about getting some warmer clothing.  The gal that drove the shuttle told me where some stores were on the way back to the hotel and when I got back I jumped in my car in search of warm clothing.  I ended up at Kohl’s and purchased a turtle neck sweater, a fleece hooded jacket lined with Sherpa fur, a sweater cardigan, and another long sleeve shirt.  I figured that should do me and it only set me back about $80.  You gotta love Kohls!

Next, back at the hotel I put on warm clothes in preparation of going out for dinner.  The Cow Girl Restaurant had come highly recommended.  I parked my car and went in only to find that they had a large group had reserved much of the restaurant and the bar area was packed with customers and more customers waiting to sit.  The gal offered that I could get take out but I didn’t want to sit in my hotel room and eat.  I swung by three others that were on my list but they were closed on Sundays.  I felt a bit like I was in Utah.  A bit disappointed, I finally decided to go to a chain restaurant (Outback) that I saw earlier when I was at  Kohls. 

DAY 28- Crater Lake...

The last time that I saw Crater Lake was about 8 years ago.  It was in the early part of July and there was about 4 to 5 ft. of snow still surrounding the lake.  I had pictures of myself, my dog Rocky, and my friend Kory posing with a snowman in our shorts with the lake behind us.  Sorry, the copies of those photos are buried somewhere in a little 5X5 storage unit in Salt Lake City.  So you see, I had some memory of seeing the lake before.

Photo- My first sight of Crater Lake from Rim Village. Wow!

But when I got to the Rim Village and got out of my car, the lake still took my breath away.  It was rather surprising to see it with no snow, and the brilliant blue color didn’t seem quite as brilliant as the last time I saw it.  I think that was due to a couple of factors.  The first is that there’s smoke in the whole area because of the fire up at Sister’s is still burning.  In fact, that fire has now doubled overnight and they are struggling to attempt to contain it.  The second reason it doesn’t seem as brilliant blue is because there’s no snow.  The contrast with the snow and the light that the snow throws off just makes that blue of Crater Lake all that much more dramatic.

Photo- The pretty scenery on the drive but
note smoke making distance sighting hard.

I explored around the Rim village very quickly.  Taking quite a few pictures but not really being able to catch the real awe of the place.  I took the short trail down to Sinnott Memorial Overlook and got an even more amazing view of the lake.  I tried not to look down because I got a bit dizzy from the height.  Inside and behind the overlook area there’s a room with background information about the lake.  I walked along the path area that runs along the lake in the Rim Village area.

Photo- The view from Sinnott Memorial Overlook.

Photo- A photo taken from the Sinnott Memorial Overlook
(without the roof.)

I really had hoped to take the boat ride that goes down on the lake but the day before was the last day of the season that they ran the boat.  Go figure!  So I opted instead to take a trolley tour guide that goes along the rim road.  It’s a little over a two hour tour; stopping along the way and the National Parks Tour Guide explaining things as we go along.  I went to the Rim Village Café and grabbed lunch while I waited for my time slot for the trolley tour.  I ended up having a conversation with a gentleman named Frank who was from Grant Pass.  He invited me to join him and his friend for a 3 hour hike up to Garfield Peak; a trail with a 1000ft climb.  I thanked him and told him I had already reserved a tour on the trolley.  All I could imagine that I would’ve probably slowed down him and his friend.

Photo- Me with Crater Lake.

The trolley tour around Crater Lake is very well worth the $25; and the guide that I had, Dave, was a former school teacher that was cracking puns and jokes along the way.  At one point, he even got out props of a rubber chicken and a huge pair of men’s underwear.  He would make up names of the Crater Lake scientists and what not like; Rockand Debris, who was an assistant to the Lake’s geologist. Dave, our tour guide, kept it interesting and seemed not to mind the hecklers at all.  In fact, one of the hecklers was a man from Texas and later he made a comment about sometimes people will come up with their boats pulled by large diesel trucks and expect to be able to fish on the lake with their boats.  Quite often, they are Texan’s wearing big ten gallon hats.

Photo- Inside the full trolley tour.

The tour guide then goes on to explain that access to the lake is near impossible. There are cliffs along the lake that vary in heights from 300ft to 1000ft.  The boats that are currently on the lake were helicoptered in and placed onto the lake.  They are stored and winterized just off to the side of the lake. 

Yes, there’s fish in the lake that were stocked into the lake years ago and in fact, they have fishing allowed.  It’s quite a hike to get down there to fish.  The fish are not native to the lake and some feel that the fish may have already made an impact on the ecology of the area but the only way to get rid of the fish safely would be to have them fished out.

What cause Crater Lake to be what it is?  Well, the tour guide explained that they believe at one time there was a HUGE mountain thousands of years ago and it had a volcanic episode.  Then, it collapse a bit on itself and over 800 years snow melting has filled it up.  But the interesting thing is because of a pumice area of rock in one of the cliff areas it maintains a certain height of water inside and will never overflow.  The pumice stone cliff area acts as similar as an overflow spout area works in a sink.  Thus, this lake will never overflow and evaporate.

The lake is one of the clearest waters in the world; and has done a clarity test that proved clear all the way down to 144ft.  The only other that comes close is Tahoe Lake which tested to 70ft. down.  The water is so clear because its source is only the snow pack that comes from snow.  There are no underground springs or rivers that run into the crater. The area gets on average 533 inches of snow.  In fact, the tour guide said he took about 800 years for the snow pack to fill the area.

Crater Lake is the 7^th deepest body of water in the world at 1,943ft.  The tour guide then did a visual prop of showing how deep the lake was.  He took a picture of the Eiffel Tour, the Washington Monument, and the Statue of Liberty; one right above the other.  He said that there still would be 150ft of water above that.  Across one way the lake is 6 miles and is 5 miles the other way.  The tour guide told a story of how a well known female swimmer had swam across the Lake in 1939.  Of course, she swam the 6 mile distance, she didn't want to be considered a sissy.  (This tour guide had me cracking up!)  It took the swimmer nearly 42 hours to swim across it.

Did I mention I was glad to take the trolley tour around the lake because it saved me trying to drive it?  I’m a bit scared of heights and there were times where off to the side of the road looked like a sheer 300 ft. drop off.  It was more than what my nerves could’ve handled and I’m really not sure I could bike around the lake either because that would unnerve me.  But I was glad to have the bus driver being driving, then I could look up and across (not down) and I could enjoy it.

Photo- The gully area that runs along the road on the way up to Crater Lake.
That's called Annie's Falls down there but that's as close as you get.

After the trolley tour, I walked through the Crater Lake Lodge and found out that there was a talk being given by another National Park employee on the back porch area of the lodge.  The talk covered some of the same things that the trolley tour did, but went more in depth with the first visitors that came to Crater Lake.  It was interesting imagine how the early visitors came up the rugged terrain and they had to have camped out because of the distances and time involved.  Unlike my day where I could be 50 miles away, visit the park for several hours and still manage to be back at my Aunt’s for dinner.

A Snowshoe SWITCH-A-ROO, A REAL Snowshoe, & A Pilates Bit…

I was enthused and all set Saturday morning to go on my first snowshoe of the season. Saturday morning dawned white from snow falling most of the night, and it was still lightly snowing as I headed over to Diane’s house to meet. She had her van warming up as I transferred my snowshoe gear to her vehicle. I went in to play with Ollie for a bit and chat about where we were going to snowshoe.


Diane said there was this place up Emigration where her boss goes and she thought it might be fun to check it out. It sounded good to me. I asked if it was near the top of the canyon, and she said it was somewhere in the middle section behind a grouping of houses. She wrote down the directions her boss told her. Well, and Kym flaked and wouldn’t be able to join us.


It was as we were going up Emigration that Diane handed me the directions and said,” Here’s the directions read them out loud for me.” So I start reading…

“Emigration Canyon,

Up 3 miles or so look for Fire Station,

Take a left,

Drive up – house on right with red awning,

Take right...”

There are more directions but I stop there, and I say, “Gee, that sounds like its up by my friend Henry’s house.” I’m trying to place the area it in my mind. The “Human GPS” at work. I put the sheet of directions down and I’m waiting to get closer to the Fire Station. My brain thinks of the area we are driving to.


Diane tells me to the read the rest of the directions as she pulls off to the side into Ruth’s Diner parking lot. I think this is strange for her. “Please read the rest of the directions,” she says again. So I humor her…

“Drive past BIG dog house on left,

Turn left,

Old beater truck – take right,

Keep driving until road dead ends,

Walk up trail about ¼ mile,

Then take left up to crest.

AND this is all just a big joke to take you to breakfast to celebrate your birthday….”

“Oh MAN!” I laugh as Diane reaches in the back seat for a leopard printed feathered gift bag.
“Happy Birthday Girl!” Diane hands me the gift bag, “I’ve been planning this for a week. You are hard to pull a surprise on and I thought you were never going to finish reading those directions."  Shortly afterwards Kym showed up to join us and we had a nice breakfast and I got to open some presents. It was fun and a first that anyone’s pulled a successful birthday surprise on me.


On the way back to Diane’s we made arrangements for a REAL snowshoe the next morning. I arrive the next morning and as I get out of my car I yell jokingly,” Are we going for a REAL snowshoe this time?” Diane laughs and yep we really went on a snowshoe this time. Here are some photos from it…

I was surprised there was about 2ft of snow in the nearby mountains.

Snow was still coming down as we were snowshoeing around.

Myself in my glorified snowshoe gear.

Diane just being Diane!LOL!

This morning was my 10th pilates reformer class. It was the same teacher (Cathy) that I had two weeks ago where my abs hurt almost the entire week afterwards, and half way through the class she had asked me if it was my first pilates class. At that time, I had told her,” No but I have no core muscles.” I liked how she taught the class. She would go around the class and with her hands helped and talked me into how to do the proper position. She also is really good for helping me to push myself just a bit out of my comfort zone.

This morning, I was the first to arrive on a cold November morning. I told her that after her last class I took two weeks ago my abs hurt the rest of the week. We talked some more about how I was going to Jump Board and other early morning classes. She said that she hoped I would notice an improvement when I was in class today.

Lo & Behold! I surprised myself. I managed that head stand like position which I guess is called a “short spine”. It’s the same position I tried last Friday morning and had the machine come apart in my hand. I discovered I was doing it all wrong. I was bending my legs too early and I can be more stable if I keep my arms down straight against my side. There were still quite a few times in the class that I couldn’t really manage to do some of the positions in the class but I did notice that I’m managing more in each class; little by little.

I know I am progressing because my abs are not hurting as I’m sitting here writing this. I also have noticed that I’m getting more definition in my abs. Granted, I’m still WAY off from a six pack.

Yurting Expedition...

Part of the view from yurt the first morning.

I had packed my borrowed backpack the night before. It weighed in at 35 lbs. which I thought wasn’t too bad. Bee, a friend, was planning on joining us for the yurting but then got offered a warmer and better deal of backpacking the Canyonlands back country. She had offered to go up part of the way with us and carry some of our supplies. I carpooled with her; leaving approximately 10-15 minutes before Polly and Eric said they would be ready. They were cross country skiing the way up and would probably pass me hiking on the way up; or so we all figured.

The snow gate- there's Bee and Zephyr!

About 10am, with a misting of rain I found myself hiking up the canyon. Bee helped me put on the backpack. We ended up having to jerry-rig the bottom supporting strap with a fanny pack and a bungee cord because I was a little larger around than the 28” waisted friend (Bee’s tall skinny hubby) that the backpack belonged to. There was no taking this pack off without help to put it back on.

A close up I took myself shortly after starting out.

I started out at an easy pace with my snow boots with the yakstrax attached. Check in time for the yurt was 1pm. So, there was really no rush to hike the 4.75miles up to the yurt. Within a mile, I turned to notice that Bee was no longer in sight. She had my snowshoes that I would have strapped to the outside of my pack. I only let her take those because I really wanted to go up under my own steam. Two years ago when I went yurting with this group I had really been a burden with one carrying my sleeping bag and another ending up carrying my backpack. This year I was determined not to be a burden.


Most of the snow was between 4 to 6 feet.

It was the 1.5 mile marker that I took a bit of a break. I stood and drank from my water bottle; enjoying string cheese from my fanny pack. I waited there for about 4-5 minutes figuring that it was just a matter of time before Polly, Eric, & Bee would arrive on their cross country skies. Nope, no sign and the misting rain was starting to turn sleet. I continued on.

A bit of fog combined with misty rain on the way up.

About 2/3 of the way up, I saw my last cross country skier coming down. I was then all by myself. It was really quiet and sometimes I found myself almost jumping out of my skin when a clump of snow would plop down off a nearby pine tree. ¾ of the way up, I was starting to really feel the weight of my pack. I took my mittens and tucked them under the shoulder straps to help pad a little bit. I also started counting steps; about every 25 steps I would pause for a bit. The sleet was turning to big flakes of snow.

The yurt during the second day.

The last ½ mile, I was REALLY feeling that pack and wondering where in the H – E – double hockey sticks the yurt was. I started swearing out loud and I tell you it would have embarrassed a sailor to hear me. But I figured I was alone. Though, I did have the image of a rabbit coming out and saying,” Lady! Do you mind? My little bunnies really shouldn’t be hearing this.” Not that anything like that would happen except in the movies. The swearing and the anger were helping me along. Finally, with a huge sigh the yurt came into view. I was never so happy to see a structure in my life.


Snow- woman & man that someone had made before we arrived at the yurt.



Polly geting wood for the wood stove.

Eric doing abit of reading the first night.

I took off my pack and waited. Polly and Eric had the keys to the yurt. I moved around after taking off my pack to keep warm. I shoveled a bit. The snow was coming down lightly. After almost an hour, I started walking down the road to look for Polly, Eric, & dogs. I was wondering if they had a problem and had to turn around. ¾ of a mile later, there they all were moving very slowly. I took the leash for Jack and walked along with them to the yurt.



Myself and the ever spoiled one-eyed Jack!

 It ended up going between rain and snow all the first night. We could hear an owl hooting in a nearby tree for some of the night. The next morning it was beautiful! We all went out. I followed on my snowshoes and tried to keep up as they cross country skied. After a half hour, I decided to turn around. I was having a tough time keeping up and the snow was melting. There was one instance, where I stepped outside of their cross country ski track and ended up going in the snow up to my lower thigh. I turned around and went back to the yurt; where Jack cuddled up to me and I did a bit of reading.

You could hear the snow melting around the yurt, but no leaking in the yurt. It kept us nice, dry, and warm as long as the wood stove was fed. One little problem, with the melting snow was the restrooms. During the afternoon, there ended up being almost 2” of water in the women’s restroom. Later on in the early evening, we discovered the women’s restroom door was frozen shut. We all ended up using the men’s and left the door open just in case during the night.



The second night in the “wee” hours of the morning, I heard howling of coyotes. I woke up Polly and Eric to listen. One coyote sounded as though it was maybe 15 yards away from the yurt and the other answering coyote’s howl came from a distance. I thought that it was really amazing listening to them. I was also getting a kick out of Zephyr’s reaction to the howling. He seemed to have this quizzical look and would tilt his head a bit.

The beautiful sunrise the second morning!

Another beautiful morning, and the day we would be heading back to civilization. It was with a bit of disappointment that I started to repack. I left 1 hour before Polly & Eric left. Since they were skiing down it would only take them about an hour. We figured it would take me about 2 hours to hike down. So I would start out early while they did cleaning and restocked the firewood from the lean to that was behind the yurt.

One of many amazing views on the way down.

About ¼ of a mile down, my yakstrax got tied up in the shoe laces of the other snow boot. I went down; almost face planted it. I tell you it is REALLY hard to stand up when you have 35 lbs. of weight on your back. I opted to take off the yakstrax and retied the snow boots. Then I continued hiking down the canyon. About 1/3 of the way down I found a group of gals that were out hiking the day with their dogs. I hiked at a good clip and quite often said hi or answered questions about the yurt as I went down. I arrived at the bottom but couldn’t manage to take the backpack off by myself. I ended up enlisting a cyclist that was taking a break near the snow gate. I beat Polly, Eric, & the dogs by about 5 minutes.

My first sighting of civilization-- a group of ladies out for the day.