May 30, 2011--Maynard Dixon Living History Museum

As mentioned earlier this is our last day in the Glendale area, but when we first were looking at this area to visit the real reason was Zion and Bryce. As I was looking at a tourism brochure for Kane County, UT I saw that the Maynard Dixon studio was here. Luckily it's only about 7 miles down the road. A few days ago we stopped at the Bingham Gallery which is operated by the Thunderbird Foundation which also owns the Dixon property. When Betsy told the owner that she was an artist he immediately invited her to bring her art kit back to the property and sketch. Now I can't draw a straight line with a ruler, but somehow felt that anyone with as much creative energy as Maynard Dixon must have left some lying about. So today after our trip to the sand dunes we went back. We elected to do the self guided tour. The history of the property is that Dixon and wife, Edith Hamlin purchased the property in 1938 and immediately started planning and building the house. The house was followed by a small garage, a cool house for food storage, a 3 bed bunkhouse, and of course the studio. The plantings around the buildings and in pots are simple and familiar species but are gorgeous. Betsy and I walked over to the property and looked at and went in to all the buildings and took pictures. I love old buildings and especially rural homes and out buildings. When you walked into any of these building you were immediately taken back to the 1930's and 40's. Dixon and Hamlin painted here until Dixon's death in 1946. The studio was completed in 1947. Hamlin continued to paint and invited other artists to visit. Ansel Adams was a frequent visitor.
In 1963 the property was sold to Milford Zornes, another notable artist. In 1999 the foundation purchased the property. Betsy elected to sit on the west patio and sketch the front exterior of the little cool house. I took more pictures and then practiced my Indian flute. What a calm, serene place. Just before doing this blog I reviewed the brochure on the buildings and noted that the studio wasn't completed until a year after Dixon died. I then read that he liked to paint on the west patio of the house. Maybe Betsy didn't choose that spot to sketch. Perhaps someone else guided her there.

May 30, 2011--Coral Pink Sand Dunes SP

Today is our last day in Glendale, but we're keeping with our stated policy of running ourselves ragged seeing whatever there is to see. Our first stop was Kanab for an infrequent restaurant breakfast. I'm not sure what took so long to cook a simple breakfast burrito and an order of egg's. Maybe the cook got deported. We then headed to Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park. We'd never heard of it, but kept passing the sign and decided to visit. Turned out to be quite interesting, different, and beautiful.
It's primary purpose is for ATV use, but even they didn't detract from the beauty. We found a nature hike among the dunes and even found flowers growing.

May 29, 2011--Cedar Breaks & Kolob Canyon

At this point we've seen the two main attractions, but that didn't stop us from hitting the road again.
Plus today is the running of the 100th Indianapolis 500 race, and we can listen to it as we drive. Hey, once a Hoosier, always a Hoosier. Todays route is a loop across Hwy 14 which is the home of Cedar Breaks Natl. Monument however it doesn't open until sometime in June due to the heavy snow they get. The elevation is over 10,000 ft and sure enough there was still quite a bit of snow and even ice on Navajo Lake. After coming down the mountain you enter Cedar City. From Cedar City we got on the interstate to Kolob Canyon which is another part of Zion. It had equally impressive rock formations and cliffs.
To complete the loop back to Glendale we had to go through the main part of Zion and sometimes we were so deep in the canyons that we lost our satellite radio signal. And then when we entered the mile long tunnel there were only 5 laps to go in the race. We hurried through and just as we came out the race announcer screamed "the race leader has crashed in turn four on the final lap". There were a few minutes of total confusion as we didn't know who crashed or who had actually won. Apparently we weren't alone as the broadcasters didn't seem to know either. Typical 500 drama.

May 28, 2011--Bryce Canyon

From our current campground (Glendale, Ut) we're about 60 miles from Bryce. The road we used to get there runs through Longs Valley and it's very pretty. When we arrived at Bryce I was a little concerned because even though it was early in the day there were signs everywhere that parking lots were full and to use the shuttle bus. That didn't work for us since we had Tipper with us so we plowed on through and headed to the most distant overlook. The closer overlooks were crowded but the further we went the less people we saw. I guess Bryce Canyon needs some explanation. First, Bryce Canyon was named after Ebenezer and Mary Bryce who lived in the area from 1875 to about 1880. Second, the weird shaped, multi colored spires are called hoodoos, which are pinnacles or odd shaped rock shaped by the forces of erosion. I had always assumed that the basic rock structure was sandstone, but while there we learned that most of the hoodoos were limestone. According to the park newspaper approximately 200 days a year this area is subjected to low temperatures where the rain or snow melt freezes during the night and then melts during the day. The pressure from the water freezing and the washing away of small material when rain happens has created this wondrous landscape. It doesn't get much better than this.

May 27, 2011 Zion National Park

We are very excited today since we've both had Zion National Park on our to do list for a long time. A couple of things you need to know about Zion--you don't drive to the observation points as they have an excellent shuttle bus system, and unless you're a cliff climber you don't see Zion from it's heights but rather from the canyon floor. You become part of the park as opposed to looking down into it. We had to leave Tipper back at the trailer since dog's are not allowed most places in the park. We took the Riverside Walk which follows the Virgin River. It's amazing that you look at a cliff face that's a couple miles away and your eyes track up the face and then you get to the upward limit of your eyes and then you have to crane your neck to see the rest of the way to the top. Now that's tall. Along the river
there are cliffs with moisture seeping out of them and growing on bare rock are Columbine flowers and grasses. The second hike we took was to the Lower Emerald Pool. That was neat because you could walk under an overhang where the water spilled into the pool. Quite a place.


Can you see the climbers in the first picture?

May 26, 2011--Travel Day

It's time to move on, but before we leave Jacob Lake I have to mention the Jacob Lake Inn, which is one of three businesses in town--the other two are a gas station and the campground. The Inn has rooms, a gift shop, a restaurant, and a bakery. Now I'm not sure I'd drive up there just for a cinnamon roll or peach pie, but boy if you're going through make sure to stop and have a bite. Today we're headed off the Kaibab Plateau to Fredonia, AZ then on to Kanab, UT and finally to Glendale, UT where our next few days will be spent. We chose Glendale because it's somewhat centrally located between Zion Natl. Park and Bryce Canyon Natl. Park. Also because the RV Park there is small but rated very well, and is next door to the owners cattle ranch. We arrived and immediately liked the place. It's family run and the tree's and grass reminded us of spring in Indiana. There is a big field in back of us that's inhabited by a horse, two miniature donkeys and an alpaca. We've managed to coax the donkeys up to the fence so we can pet them, but the horse and alpaca are not playing with us yet. We unhooked the trailer and decided to head back to Kanab to get a couple of things that we had forgotten. While there we shopped and looked at a couple stores and even found the only antique store in town. On the way back to Glendale we found the foundation that operates an art gallery and the artist cabin of Maynard Dixon (I'll bet you've seen Maynard Dixon art as he was an iconic American West artist. Look him up on the internet) We of course stopped and Betsy and the gallery owner hit it off right away. We told him we would like to tour the cabin, but not that day since we were tired from driving. He said to come back anytime and also invited Betsy to bring her art supplies and she could paint up at the cabin. How exciting is that? The pictures are of our new neighbors.

May 25, 2011--North Rim Day 2 Continued

After our day at Cape Royal and Point Imperial we decided to head back to the Visitor Center area and get a cup of coffee at the North Rim Lodge. The lodge is built of stone and sits right on the edge of the canyon. And like the canyon the lodge gives the impression of being massive. Tipper and I found a couple of chairs on the patio/overlook area and Betsy went to find us coffee. Tipper was quite a hit as several young ladies from a school in Chattanooga, TN hugged and petted him. It got so ridiculous that I finally ask them if they had ever seen a dog before? The picture of Betsy and Tipper is in front of the outdoor fireplace! The dining room certainly gives the impression of a medieval castle. And of course the statue of Brighty (short for Bright Angel) is a tribute to all the mules who have worked in the canyon. What a great place.