Southwestern Journey 2024
(Photos by Teri, Mike, Hayley and Dick)

Adventures of 2021          Adventures of 2022          Adventures of 2023          Adventures of 2024

Once again Plan B raised its ugly head. Once again things did not go as planned. Once again we managed to overcome obstacles and have a fantastic trip.

Daughter Teri and I began planning early in 2024 for this trip, which would cover the final two weeks of October. It would include stops at the Grand Canyon, a Jeep tour of Monument Valley, a possible visit to Mesa Verde National Park, the train ride from Durango to Silverton, Colorado, and a final week at Arches and Canyonlands National Parks near Moab, Utah.

We left home early the morning of October 18, traveling south on CA 99, then east at Bakersfield on Highway 58 to Barstow. Here we took I-40 east across the desert and the Colorado River and to our first stop, an overnight stay in Kingman AZ. 

Things went off the rails that night in Kingman when I got up and made my way to the bathroom without turning on a light. I then sat down on the edge of the bed, but missed and went down all the way to the floor on to my tailbone. On my own, I would have foolishly gone on with my plans the next day, but thankfully Teri thought I needed to be checked out by a doctor.

We went to Kingman Regional Medical Center, where I was examined, tested, scanned, and generally poked and prodded.  We were both impressed with the professionalism and obvious caring of everybody on the staff there. There were no broken bones, but it was determined that I had a bit of atrial fibrillation and pneumonia. We were there about four hours during which I was prescribed four different medications, two for the pneumonia. Right after the initial incident and at times during the next two days Teri reports that I was confused and sometimes incoherent (although some will tell you that's my normal state).

In any event, we continued on to Yavapai Lodge, our motel at the Grand Canyon, and enjoyed an excellent dinner in the dining room. Teri had been to the South Rim several times, but it was my first visit. It compares well with the North Rim, where I have gone twice, but everywhere the canyon views are somewhat marred by haze (smoke? dust?).

The next day we drove along the canyon rim to the Desert View Watchtower, stopping at a number of vista points along the way. Access even to the lower part of the tower requires some stair climbing, so we did not go inside. I was walking like an old geezer, relying on my cane to stay upright. After we returned to the hotel, Teri picked up dinner from the nearby tavern. Both along the road and outside our room we saw many deer.

Monday, October 21 we stopped at Grand View, on our way to Mexican Hat, Utah. Besides the truly grand view of the canyon, on our way we had a good look at some of the dramatic formations in Monument Valley. As a precaution, we had canceled a planned Jeep tour of the valley, and made our time at Mexican Hat mainly a rest period. Still, we had magnificent scenery, with red sandstone cliffs above our location, and the San Juan River flowing beside us. Although I had never seen this stream before, the name was very familiar as a location in one of my favorite novel series, the Navajo detective stories of Tony Hillerman, and later his daughter, Ann.

Teri went out for a long walk along the river, seeing a rafter and several lizards. We were visited by three cats, who looked in our open door, and finally came inside. We gave them some meat scraps which they devoured eagerly. We went to the local store for ice cream. We had read about the rock formation that gives the town its name, and asked someone if it was visible from the road, which it was, so leaving Mexican Hat we saw the rock and took some photos.

We drove to the Four Corners, where neither of us had ever been. Admission was $8 per person, and another visitor asked me if I thought it was worth it. He said it was on his wife's bucket list, but he was not impressed. It is a flat, desert area with no "normal" southwest scenery - rock formations and trees were absent. However, Teri and I enjoyed watching a family of young boys. They would run in circles around the marker, going through four states in a matter of seconds, and the first to arrive flopped down and spread out across the corners. We both found a nice magnet to fill empty spaces on our refrigerator doors.

From this location we continued to Cortez, Colorado, where we would spend two nights. The original plan was to ride the steam train from nearby Durango to Silverton, above 9,000 feet in elevation. It's a three and a half hour ride in each direction with two hours in Silverton, something that did not sound good to me. But I was feeling good enough to spend a day without supervision, and I insisted that Teri follow through with her plans. She did and had a great time, with scenic views of 13,000 foot Rocky Mountain peaks along the way.. I continued to rest; sat outside on the patio for about ten minutes and got in a good nap. While in Cortez we ate at Tequila's, a very good Mexican restaurant.

The next day, Friday October 25, we set out for our final destination, Moab, Utah, where we would visit Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. Younger grandson Mike and his girlfriend Hayley would join us there. South of Moab we pulled in to Hole in the Rock. This is private land where the owner hollowed out the sandstone cliff and built a full-size house inside the rock. No one lives there now, but it is open for tours. Teri and I were not interested in such an unnatural "attraction," but used the restrooms and ate lunch at a  picnic table. A few days later Mike and Hayley drove down to this location and went into the house.

A little farther along the road is Wilson Arch, easily visible from US Highway 191 and named for a local pioneer who had a cabin nearby. We stopped and got a good look and some photos, but of course, did not try to climb up to the arch.

We arrived a the Red Cliff Condos in Moab about 2:15, and spoke with Arturo, who was inspecting the units. Check-in time was 4 p.m. and we asked him if we could get in early, since I was tired and ready for a rest. He contacted the owners and got approval for us to go in. Mike and Hayley arrived just after 4:30, and we enjoyed a nice supper that Teri had prepared in advance and watched a little of the World Series.

Teri and I have stayed at this location twice before, and it's a fantastic facility, with three bedrooms and two baths, and everything needed for cooking and housekeeping. A bonus was a view of the La Sal Mountains out my window and from the parking lot. Being old and lame, I was privileged to enjoy the master bedroom with its private bath.

On Sunday the four of us went into Arches National Park. It was Hayley's first visit; Mike was there with me in 2004 when he was six. Teri and I may have lost count of how many times we have been. Regardless, we all enjoyed it very much (and all hope to return). Our first stop was Park Avenue, a long sandstone fin with shapes that reminded early visitors of a row of buildings in a big city. Although there are no arches in the area, there are a number of dramatic features, including a pinnacle balanced on a short base, and a group of spires known as the Three Gossips. Driving in to this point, and for the next several miles, there are endless dramatic sandstone walls, weird shapes and towers. After my first visit in 2002, I declared that if the park had not a single arch, it would still be worth seeing.

Our next stop was a vista point where the iconic Delicate Arch is visible. This familiar feature is the symbol of Arches National Park, appears on Utah license plates, and is honored on a postage stamp. Teri and I walked a very short level trail to a view of the arch, while Mike and Hayley took a slightly longer and much steeper trail up to a closer vista point. The three-mile round trip hike to the arch itself was not in our plans. Let it be noted that Teri and I have made that hike twice in the past, and my parents did it when they were in their 60s.

We went on to the trail to Sand Dune Arch. Although the round trip hike is less than half a mile and mostly level, I was not ready for hiking on a sandy trail, and waited at the car while the others explored the area. We continued on to the end of the road, stopping at Skyline Arch. On my first visit I had viewed this feature only from the road, and while it was a nice arch, I was not particularly impressed. During a later trip, Teri and I hiked in to the base, about a half mile distance, and up close it moved into the top five on my list of favorite arches. Once again I waited at the car while Teri, Mike and Hayley did the hike, this one with a bit more up and down than any other trail we walked on that day. This arch is notable for the fact that in 1940 a huge mass of rock fell from the opening, doubling the size.

As we turned back toward the park entrance, our final stop of the day was at the Windows Section. Within fairly short walking distances from the large parking area are a half dozen named arches and several lesser ones. Teri and Hayley set out on the uphill walk to North and South Windows. Mike stayed with me and accompanied me as I tried a short walk on the trial. This ended after 30 feet, but we had brought my folding chair, so I sat and enjoyed the many sandstone features visible from the trailhead.

We started our return to our temporary home, stopping for a while at the visitor center, just inside the park border, then returned to the Red Cliff Condos for a quiet evening, with an early start on tap the next morning.

Monday was the day of our biggest adventure, a Jeep tour of the Canyonlands National Park backcountry. Originally we scheduled a full day tour, but we changed to a hall day, and everyone was glad that we did. Two years ago Teri and I did a tour of Arches with the same company, Adrift Adventures, which offers over a dozen tours including several overnight outings, as well as river raft trips.

We arrived at our starting point at around 7:30 a.m., met Bill our driver, and headed north on US 191. Instead of going into Canyonlands via Utah 313, the usual passenger car route, we turned off the highway after a short distance on to Potash Road and entered a combination of private and Bureau of Land Management land several thousand feet below the level of the main part of the park.

Before we entered the national park, we went past areas where potash is mined and processed. At one point we were looking up at the tongue of land that ends at Dead Horse Point State Park, which Mike and Hayley would visit the next day.

We went past the usual array of Colorado Plateau scenery, with towers, sandstone walls, and various shapes. Throughout the trip we kept gaining in altitude, eventually coming out on to the White Rim, a sandstone formation about 1,200 feet lower than the Island in the Sky mesa, the upper part of the park.

We took a short side trip to Musselman Arch. This feature is unusual in that we stood on a gently sloping sandstone area, looking down at the TOP of the arch. Soon we started up the Shafer Trail, which winds up (and UP) the side of the canyon to the Island in the Sky in a series of heart-stopping switchbacks. Throughout the trip Bill give us information about the history, geology and unexpected events related to each area we passed through. The most amazing was finding a full-size semi truck halted on the Shafer Trail, which is strictly a 4-wheel drive trail for short wheelbase, high clearance vehicles. Bill did not say how the truck got out, but it was not there when we went through. Hopefully the driver learned to apply common sense to the use of his GPS.

We had made plans to go out to eat when we got back to Moab, our destination being Zax Restaurant, where Teri and I have eaten twice before. The first time we went, it offered an all you can eat buffet of single pizza slices, but the pandemic brought that to an end. The pizza is still as good as ever, and I ended up taking about half mine home, where it made a great breakfast the next day.

After our daily activities, Teri and I were content to relax at the condo, but Mike and Hayley went out a couple of times, once to a brewpub, and once to a golf course.

On Tuesday Mike and Hayley went to Dead Horse Point State Park, down a side road off the main route into Canyonlands. Teri and I stayed around the condo, and when the "kids" returned, they announced that Mike had proposed at the state park. This was not unexpected, but still the actual event gave rise to great excitement, including among the various relatives they quickly notified. We joked a bit about the "romantic" name of the proposal site, but as someone pointed out, the horses in question have been dead a very long time; their parents are dead, their siblings are dead; their children are dead, and it's now just part of history.

To celebrate, Teri fixed an excellent breakfast including bacon, toast and chocolate milk or coffee

That afternoon we all drove north through Moab, turning right at Utah Highway 128. This road runs roughly northeast along the Colorado River, joining I-70 after about 30 miles. At the halfway point is the Red Cliffs Lodge, where Teri and I stayed in 2015. Along the river there are the usual views of multi-colored sandstone cliffs and of course, good chances to see the river. This area was the location for a number of films, including the climactic scene in Thelma and Louise, and the lodge features a nice movie museum. I had visited it nine years ago, but it was down a flight of stairs, so I sat in the lobby, enjoying some pictures of John Wayne, while Mike and Hayley went down to look around. They decided they might want to stay at this location when (not if) they return to the area someday.

Back at the condo we had a barbeque dinner and a lazy evening.

Wednesday, October 30, our last full day at Moab, Mike and Hayley went golfing. We had a permit to enter Arches again, so Teri and I went there. I decided I could probably handle the short, moderately level trail to Double Arch in the Windows Section. This is a massive feature with two inter-connected arches, the tallest in the park at 112 feet and the second longest at 144 feet. It is probably my favorite of them all, and since the view from the parking area is not very good, I wanted to get closer.

The first part of the trail goes down gently and is the only really challenging section, and only for old men who have had recent health issues. I used my hiking poles, walked slowly and carefully, and had no problems. We found a nice flat sitting rock close to the arches, where I waited, while Teri went up the last hundred yards or so to just under the opening. It was fairly early in the day, it had rained the night before, and there were relatively few people on the trail. The distance is just over a half mile round trip.

From there we went to the Fiery Furnace, an area of brilliant red sandstone fins, spires and other formations. Our practice has always been to park and walk the quarter mile trail to an overlook. Hiking in this location is a major challenge, with no official trails, lots of up and down, and confusing areas with limited short distance views. A permit is required to hike there, and first-timers are strongly encouraged to sign up for a ranger-led hike. We watched a few people making their way through the maze, and at one point they lowered themselves into what looked like a hole, and did not reappear where we could see them.

It was still early, so we decided to go to Canyonlands, to the visitor center and the vista points where we could see the territory we had toured by Jeep earlier. It's about a half hour drive from the state highway to the visitor center, and we were ready for lunch. We ate at a picnic table next to the parking area, braving a cold breeze. We drove past the visitor center and stopped at several spots, looking for the best view of the switchbacks that constitute the Shafer Trail. The road goes about ten more miles past our last stopping point, but we were ready to head back to the condo.

We celebrated our last night in Moab by going out to dinner at the brewpub, and had a delicious meal, followed by our usual evening activities of TV (deciding game of the World Series), reading and loafing.

Thursday was departure day, with St. George Utah as our overnight stopping destination. Not surprisingly Mike and Hayley had a date with a golf course in the area. Teri and I got a fairly early start, and enjoyed some fantastic scenery, most of which we had been through before. After I-70 rises up from the desert north of Moab, we went through dramatic Colorado Plateau country, with canyons, mesas and interesting rock formations. We entered Fishlake National Forest, and for many miles had a dusting of snow along the road.

The highway drops down and leaves the forest, and then rises and re-enters it, where we found more snow, which continued for a while after we turned south on I-15. We made a stop to have a snack sitting in the car, then continued on to our destination, arriving so early that we wished we had planned to go a bit farther to Mesquite, Nevada. St. George used to be a fairly small town, but the low elevation temperatures and beautiful surroundings have attracted retirees from all over the U.S., to the point where the city population is now over 107 thousand. We got in a lot of reading and resting, and Mike and Hayley stopped in a for a while after their round of golf. They had a room only two doors away from ours.

Since we had a fairly long drive ahead of us, Teri and I left before 7 a.m. We made a couple of gas and rest stops, and went to Denny's in Tehachapi for breakfast/lunch. We had to go to Teri's place first, so our goal was to get there early enough that I would not have to drive home in the dark. We made it with a few hours to spare.

We took my hybrid Honda, enjoying an average mileage of a little over 33 MPG. We covered a total of about 2,500 miles. Teri did all the highway driving, while Mike took over for the places we went together in and around Moab, and my deepest thanks go out to them for this, as well as taking care of me during my health issues. After the first couple of days, I felt better each day, although I am using my cane regularly and being very careful.

Back at home I saw my doctor, who declared me free of pneumonia, but confirmed the a-fib with an EKG. I now have two medications, one a blood-thinner, probably for the long term.

Because I could not walk and carry anything at the same time, most of the loading and unloading fell to Teri, and Mike came over to my house and helped me finish taking things into the house. I have been blessed with an amazing family.

--Dick Estel, November 2024

More Photos