Day 1 - Zion National Park

We are at the Canyon Overlook Trail with Dr. Chris and the kids.  This short trail starts at a small parking lot near the east entrance of the Zion-Mt Carmel tunnel and leads to a fabulous view of the Lower canyon. 

   

The trail is 1-mile round trip and is mostly level and was carved out of the slickrock above Pine Creek. Andrew, our scout, finds something interesting on the trail.

Here is a photo of Chris and the kids.  From left to right, Andrew, Chris, Samantha, Trey and Sydney. 

Of course, keep an eye on your children as with most hikes in Zion, there are always exposed areas where one could fall if not careful.

Once at the viewpoint, an old metal plaque points out many prominent landmarks. Some interesting things to look for: the Route 9 switchbacks below, Bridge Mountain (the highest peak on the left side of the canyon), the East Temple (the impressive rock formation above the viewpoint to the right), and the Pine Creek stream far below. Also look closely at the canyon walls to find several of the Zion-Mount-Carmel Tunnel "windows". Relax for as long as you like then return the way you came.

After viewing the canyon overlook everyone decides to take a well deserved break for a snack and drink.  

 Halfway on the trail is a wonderful little shaded alcove with a seep and lush ferns growing out of the sandstone walls; this area provides great respite during the hotter summer months.  Chris and the kids decide its photo time.

This hike is short and sweet with a great viewpoint and everyone gives it a thumbs up!

Located at the Weeping Rock Trailhead, this is a very, very short walk up to the popular seeping wall of the park.

The weeping walls form a beautifully lush hanging garden with a little flowing stream below. This photo was taken from a platform area under the beautiful alcove with the wonderful water sprinkling from above; this is a perfect little spot for both young and old.

Speaking of young and old, its hard to tell the kids don't climb on the tree limb when Mom is leading the group.  Now which one is the kids and which one is the Mom?

One by one they all made it!  We need to talk with Mom about setting a good example for others to follow.  

The Riverside Walk heads a mile and a half up the canyon where you get wonderful views of the Virgin River as well as up-and-personal views of the lush vegetation (ferns, trees, moss) watered by the weeping walls.

Trey decides its time to look for gold.  No, that not Chris's feet in the water, its another park visitor.

Trey hangs on for the shuttle bus ride back to the parking lot.

Kathy and the girls relaxing.  We had a great first day at the park!

Petrified National Forest - Painted Desert

The Petrified Forest is known for its fossils, especially fallen trees that lived in the Late Triassic, about 225 million years ago.  Paleontologist have studied fossils in the park since 1920.

Rauisuchians provide an excellent example of convergent evolution. Though their body looks similar to meat eaters like Tyrannosaurus and Allosaurus who lived late during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, they are more closely related to Crocodiles than to Dinosaurs. 

Petrified wood is surprisingly heavy, weighing nearly 200 pounds per cubic foot, and its hardness is seven on a 10-point scale. A mix of silt, mud and volcanic ash buried these logs. This sediment cut off oxygen to the tree and the logs slowly decayed. Silica-laden groundwater seeped through the logs and replaced the original wood tissue with silica deposits. Eventually the silica crystallized in quartz, and the logs were preserved as petrified wood.  

Check out the information regarding the above section of petrified wood. 

This petrified tree has diameter of 10-feet.

Click on above photo to enlarge.  

This structure, called Agate House, is a partial reconstruction of an Indian Pueblo built almost ten centuries ago.  The petrified wood will far outlast the mud and mortar used to hold them together.

Here's a closer look at one of the sections.  Petrified wood's varied colors came from minerals in the silica-saturated waters.  Iron, carbon, manganese and some times cobalt and chromium produced patterns and blends of yellow, red, black, blue, brown, white and pink.

Those familiar with the Badlands sometime believe that the formation is merely piles of sand or mud. Badlands are actually rock, albeit relatively soft. The mud stones and clay stones easily wear away under centuries of wind and water, the outer layer weathers into a crumbling surface.  We are taking a walk at the Blue Mesa Trail.   Notice the hood, gloves and jacket.  It was very cold during our visit.

The Painted Desert is a United States desert of badlands in the Four Corners area from the Grand Canyon National Park into the Petrified Forest National Park. Much of the area within the Petrified Forest National Park is protected as the Petrified Forest National Wilderness Area.

The desert is composed of stratified layers of easily erodible siltstone, mudstone, and shale of the Triassic Chinle Formation. These fine grained rock layers contain abundant iron and manganese compounds which provide the pigments for the various colors of the region.

The day we visited the park it was very cold and sun was intermittent.  During a bright sunny day the colors of the desert are stunning.  

Montezuma Castle National Monument - Camp Verde AZ

Although Montezuma Castle is the show place of the monument, it is not the only building here.  Once upon a time, its 20 rooms stood along side more than 65 others in the castle,  Between 85-90 rooms housed a community of perhaps 150 people.

This is a model of what it might have looked liked inside the walls of the castle.  If you click on the photo, and look at the very top floor you can see an elder who carefully acts as a lookout in case of an approaching enemy tribe. 

You can see in this photo the various levels of the castle. It took ladders to climb the castle which made it incredibly difficult for enemy tribes to penetrate the natural defense of the vertical barrier.   

To construct their cliff tower, the residents created walls with river cobbler and limestone held together with mud mortar.  Mud plaster covered and sealed the walls.  

You can see a window in the center left portion of this photo.  By 1425, Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot and other villages throughout the valley were no longer occupied.  However, the people did not disappear.  Their descendants still live nearby, and they still return periodically to these villages of long ago.

Tuzigoot National Monument, Camp Verde, AZ

The Tuzigoot National Monument pronounced Too-zee-goot, is an ancient village or pueblo built by a culture known as Sinaqua.   The Sinaqua were agriculturalists with trade connections that spanned hundreds of miles. 

The pueblo consisted of 110 rooms including a second and third story structure.  The first buildings were built around 1000 A.D. 

Resembling a castle or fort, Tuzigoot (Apache for "crooked water) is considered perhaps the most beautiful site of the Sinaqua people.  

The ceilings were about six-feet-high and the pueblo is about 120 foot in height.  

By the time the people left the region around 1400 A.D., the Pueblo housed perhaps 250 people in its 110 rooms.  It was a city of its day, where people learned to resolve the problems of living together.