Escaping the Arctic Blast @ Monument Valley

Sunrise at Monument Valley, taken from our hotel room's balcony

When we left San Diego last Saturday for a much needed week of R and R, Monument Valley was not in our itinerary at all. It was supposed to be San Diego- Zion National Park @ Kolob Canyon- Moab (Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park)-Zion-Las Vegas( for Cirque du Solei and Black Canyon of the Colorado River in Lake Mead)-San Diego. Tes, of The Craftista and also one of the authors of The Salitype Society, was supposed to join us in Moab for Monday and Tuesday, then, we separate when we go back to Zion, while they go to Bryce Canyon National Park. However, it seemed Mother Nature has another plan. 

Two days before we left for the trip, there was a forecast of snowstorm in North Zion. Instead of going to Kolob Canyon, we decided to take East Zion @ Mt. Carmel Junction to escape the wrath of the snowstorm while on the road. It turned out to be a good decision for us when we saw in the local news later that night the many cars which skidded on the road and therefore had been stranded in the middle of snow storm. That kind of stress was the last thing we wanted on a vacation. Thankfully, I was able to see from the weather map at weather.com a route that would escape the snow storm while on the road. That meant driving South East first before going North to Moab. This route brought us to Monument Valley. Also, because of snow storm  on Monday, Tes and Doods did not make it to Moab for safety. Instead, we decided to meet at Monument Valley on Tuesday, a place which is closer to the place of Tes' sister. It was such a joyful meeting.  

I (left) and Tes (right) at The View Hotel's Guest's Lobby

This was how the sky looked like when we started exploring Monument Valley.

The clouds promise a beautiful sunset, and I was hoping the sky will not frustrate us since I wanted to show off to Tes one of the spectacular desert sceneries of the Southwest at sunset. Thankfully, the sky cooperated and put on a show for us to have a blast taking photos at sunset at Monument Valley.

looking East at sunset, Monument Valley (notice it is the same landscape, only the colors of the sky changed)

still looking East, sunset

looking West @ sunset, Monument Valley

still looking West @ sunset, Monument Valley

The rooms at The View Hotel all had beautiful views. Here are some more pictures at sunrise from our room's balcony (in addition to the very first photo above).

Sunrise @ Monument Valley- view from hotel's room

sunrise, Monument Valley

Until of course, it was time for us to leave Monument Valley to escape again the path of snow storm which started to roll in when we left.

storm rolling in at Monument Valley

After a while, on our way to Page, Arizona to meet Ted and Doods again, the snow which we had been trying to escape for days caught on us.

snow poured in as we left  Monument Valley

snow covered road, thankfully, no thick accumulation yet when we passed this

Thankfully, when we reached Page, though overcast, but there was no snow. We felt successful again in escaping another snow storm. But have we escaped the Arctic blast because we escaped snow? Truth is, we woke up the next day at -5 Fahrenheit temperature, and we finished the two bottled water we brought inside our room, when we took bottled water to drink from our car, they were all FROZEN! The warm pictures of the desert at Monument Valley does not really tell the whole story behind the subfreezing temperatures.

Hidden Canyon, Zion National Park, Utah

The pictures below were from our hike to Hidden Canyon in Zion National Park, UT thanksgiving 2009 which I failed to share in this site. I can't believe almost a year had passed since we were in this place. The pictures may look very similar to Angel's Landing which we did the hike spring of 2009.

near the trailhead

The parking lot for the Hidden Canyon trailhead shares the same parking for Weeping Rock and Observation Point trailhead. The parking area is so small for the three popular trails that it can easily get packed. In the summer, there is no problem in parking because there is a free shuttle inside the park. However, during thanksgiving, everyone has to drive inside the canyon because the free shuttle is during weekends only. Thus, it took us a while to get parking and start the hike. But no complains, since the scenery closer to the Virgin River is just as awesome.

taking pictures here and there while waiting for parking space

This is a short hike, but very steep. Only about 2.5 miles round trip hike, but the climb is over 1000 ft. Like Angels landing, it has several exposed sections on slickrock, some parts of the trail have chains attached to the wall to help navigate through the dangerous parts. However, unlike Angels Landing, the vertical drop-off is only in one side of the trail, unlike the last half mile to Angels Landing where you look at the vertical drop-off both sides (left and right).

trail to Hidden Canyon

the cars below from the trail looks very tiny, like pecks of dusts

Looking Down at Angels Landing ( somehow, Angels Landing looks smaller and not as scary

from Hidden Canyon Trail )

However, at the mouth of Hidden Canyon, the trail becomes wider and gentler, and the vertical drop-off disappears.

Hidden Canyon Wall

However, as one goes deeper and deeper into the canyon, the trail becomes narrower with a some rock scrambling. Since the view does not really change much anymore, we decided not to climb the pile of rocks that blocks the canyon, turned around and went to Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park for another sight seeing adventure.

Lake Cuyamaca, Julian, San Diego County

Lake Cuyamaca, Julian, San Diego County

One of the popular mountain retreats in San Diego is the historic gold mining town in Julian. Less than 40 miles from San Diego Bay, is the Cuyamaca Mountains which has the second highest peak in San Diego County, next to Warner Springs. The town of Julian, which is an official California Historical Landmark, is set in the Cuyamaca Mountains. Julian experienced a gold rush in the 1860s

Stonewall Mine- California's most productive Gold mine

( in 1893, $2,000,000 of gold mined in this site only with a 30 ft shaft - and that $2M was 117 years ago)

and while people were trying to wrestle gold deep beneath the Earth, another man in the name of James Madison brought a wagon loaded with young apple trees, and they flourished in the mountains. Today, the gold mines have been closed and is now part of protected archaelogical sites of CA State Parks, but the apple industry flourished.

Fallen Apples on the trail @ Lake Cuyamaca

Julian is now more famous for its apple cider and apple pie industry. Though the gold industry is now but a part of California's history, but every autumn, the oak leaves turn a crisp gold surrounding the closed gold mines.

The Gold are now in the Leaves

Historic Stonewall Mine Trail

I have never witnessed the Cuyamaca Mountains at its best, when its slopes were richly adorned with lush oak and pine forests. In October of 2003, someone got lost in the trails of Cuyamaca Mountains, he started a fire for rescuers to see him. Driven by Santa Ana winds, that fire burned out of control, burning more than 280,000 acres of land and claiming several lives. All of Cuyamaca, but the area around the lake got burned from the cedar fire. Sadly, the thick forest disappeared, except for those which surrounds Lake Cuyamaca and the forest closer to Julian.

Thankfully, the forest around the lake and Julian were spared from the 2003 cedar wildfire

Though I have failed to see the lushness of the forest in the Cuyamaca Mountains prior to the 2003 wildfire, but the serenity of this place continues to inspire me to go here maybe twice or thrice a year. Lots of wildlife can be seen early in the morning and late in the afternoon. It is fun to see wild turkeys strutting their stuff.

Wild Turkeys

Egret

Lake Cuyamaca is also popular for bird watchers. Ospreys, hawks, turkey vulture, and other migratory birds are often seen hovering above the oak and pine forests or silently looking for trouts on the lake. Deers are often marching in the meadows early in the morning or late afternoon as they move from the desert to the mountains. Lake Cuyamaca is popular for fishing, especially in autumn as the water starts to cool down. There is also 3.5 miles trail around the lake, and more than hundreds of miles of trails at Cuyamaca Rancho State Park.

Fall Curtain @ Lake Cuyamaca

What actually inspires me most each time I go to Lake Cuyamaca is being able to witness the sprouting of a new life after a scorching fire.

Leaves Growing Back on almost Charred, Burned Trees

Though it feels sad to look at the charred trees, yet it is also uplifting to see how life goes back in them. It is inspiring to see how nature takes care of our beautiful yet very delicate Earth.

 

Orchard Farm Near Lake Cuyamaca

A visit to Cuyamaca, reminds me of how we, just like nature, can pick up the pieces and move on with life.

Thinking of Aspen

Aspen Trees Reflected on Lake, Bishop, California

It seems that time runs so fast these days, it is already October, and soon, December comes, and then the year 2011. I have been struggling with my time lately, it seems that 24 hours in a day is not enough :( So many things to do, yet so little time. Sometimes, I wish I am like the koalas, who have the luxury to sleep 16 to 18 hours in a day. However, then if I sleep that long I am afraid I will not be able to enjoy hiking, since there is only 6 to 8 hours left for me, and some trails require more time than that. Fall colors have peaked now in most places, I can just imagine the dreamy colors of the quaking aspen trees covering the rocky mountains.

The aspen tree is the most widely distributed tree species in North America.

Huge Colony of Aspen Trees

The Aspen trees range from Alaska down the Rocky Mountains to California and Mexico. Utah and Colorado is home to the largest portion of the natural acreage of aspen in the World. Aspen grow in large clonal colonies that is derived from a single seedling, and spreads through roots. The root system of an aspen is long lived, up to several thousand years old. Aspen survive forest fires, since their roots are below the heat of fire, and new aspen trees will sprout after the fire burns out. Before, we used to have a weekend get-away last week of September to enjoy the beautiful colors of aspen trees.

Relaxing in the lake surrounded by Golden Hues of Aspen

However, this year, I am so struggling with my time that a weekend get-away to the rocky mountains is just not possible :( The nearest vacation I can think of is somewhere in November. There may be no more golden colors that time of the year, but well, I enjoy barren aspen clothed in snow too, and would enjoy snowshoeing too. This time, having seen from a co-teacher sandboarding at the Great Sand Dunes National Park and snowboarding at the Rocky Mountains, I am looking at aspen rentals in Colorado. Sandboarding and snowshoeing, here I come :)

The Many Faces of Izu at Lion Camp, Wild Animal Park

All the 9 pictures below were taken from last weekend, in just a matter of few minutes. I may have featured the lions at Lion Camp in Wild Animal Park several times in this blog, however, let me share again these new set of pictures. This time, I won't put caption to the pictures. I arranged the pictures in order they were taken.

At Lion Camp, you can be nose to nose with a lion, literally, and still feel very safe. The lions can stare right at you with such intensity, even growl at you, yet, you will not run for your life. :) To come nose to nose with lions, there is a viewing area with very thick glass that separates man and lion, and both are in open space. However, for photography, I prefer to shoot the lions without glass. There is a second area to view the lions without glass, but this time, you can not be nose to nose with the lions, which is okay with me. What separates man and lion this time is the cliff between them. The lions can not jump off the cliff to the other side without falling off the cliff and they are smart enough not to do that either. However, in any case, so that the lions can't jump off the cliff, there is a hidden wire that prevents them from jumping off the cliff accidentally. The pictures above were from this open, grassy plain. To see how the lions roam around in their roomy camp, you check my previous post here. 

Do You Think You Can Fly?- Part 2

So you think you can fly? How are you going to do it? There are many several ways we can fly. 
1. Riding an airplane, not very exciting? 
2. Riding a hot air balloon, where you feel safe inside a basket as the burner heats up gas to raise the balloon higher and you get buoyed farther. Del Mar is the popular place for hot air balloon rides in San Diego where you will see the beauty of the Pacific Coastline in San Diego County. If however, you wanted the valleys, with the winery and vineyards below you, the nearest place from San Diego would be Temecula, in Riverside County. 
3. Parasailing, where you are attached to a parachute and then tied to a motorboat. Parasailing is considered by many as a hobby, not a sport since the person on the parachute has no control over movement and speed and therefore becomes simply a passenger like in an airplane, or hot air balloon. Parasailing in San Diego is more commonly seen at Mission Bay and Beach. 
4. Skydiving, is an aerial sport, where divers jump or fall from aircraft at an altitude. Skydivers can perform an assortment of aerial maneuvers before deploying a parachute to slow their descent. Skydiving in San Diego at Otay Lakes is set up to takeoff and land right in the same place thus allowing friends to watch the action. Their jumpships can hold up to 23 jumpers allowing group of friends to jump together.  
5. Ziplining, which a rider wears a harness which is securely connected to a cable suspended high above the ground, then rider glides along the cable. Nearest ziplining experience in San Diego is at San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park, where one glides over the African Safari exhibit. 
6. Then, there is hang gliding and paragliding, which was the aerial sport I introduced in my previous post. In this post, I will continue on sharing how paragliders and hang gliders fly. I will try to share the other different flying experiences in this blog some other time. Though I have photographed some friends who tried some flying experiences here in San Diego, however, for me, though I believe I can fly :) but as of this moment, I am enjoying photographing the activity, while I am hiking, walking around or touring some friends. My favorite outdoor activities would still be hiking, snorkeling and boogie boarding. I am very much a water and land person, though the sky is tempting me too :)
Now back to paragliding and hang gliding.......how do they fly?
A. Hang gliding
Ready.....get set....

 Run.....

Fly......

B. Paragliding
Ready.....get set....

Run........

Fly............

fly like a bird....without any rope tied to tow you behind a speeding motorboat. Fly without being contained in a basket and without a burner to produce hot air. Fly with an option fly up and down, fly North, South, West or East. Just fly......

Paragliding and hang gliding are unmotorized flying-sports. The two are similar in that you rely on the wind and thermal updrafts to help you glide in the air. Living in San Diego, it is not so much of a surprise to see a lot of surfers early in the morning and then, a lot of gliders later of the day. Early in the morning, there is less shore wind which is perfect for surfing, the conditions of the waves are much easier to ride. However, later of the day, the onshore wind picks up and ruin the surface conditions of the waves. The on shore wind creates a heavenly updraft off the cliffs that makes the paragliders float in all day long.

The glider exercises control by shifting body weight in opposition to a control flame. Hang gliders can soar for hours, gain thousands of feet of altitude in thermal updrafts, perform aerobatics in the air, and can glide cross-country for hundreds of miles. To become airborne, a hang glider's airspeed must equal about 20 mph. Airspeed is a combination of the pilot's running speed and the speed of the wind coming toward the pilot. The goal is to make the pressure above the wings less than the pressure below the wings to lift the glider up. As a wing lifts a glider up, gravity pulls it down. The two forces combine to create the gliding action. Pilots need to find constant upward forces to stay in the air for longer periods. While suspended in the harness system, the pilot steers a hang glider by shifting his or her center of balance. Leaning forward and backward causes the glider to dive or climb.

 In paragliding, the glider is strapped into a harness which is shaped like a chair. The harness is strung up to a parachute-like canopy called a "wing". The strings that connect the harness to the wing are collected into two bundles called "risers". The wind keeps you afloat while manipulation of the risers will direct your flight path. Hang gliding is similar to paragliding, though hang gliders are heavier than paragliders thus they require stronger winds. Hang gliders can glide higher and faster than paragliders.

Though paragliding and hang gliding are similar, but hang gliding is heavier and can glide much higher and faster

Paragliding and hang gliding are considered specialized sports which require much skill. However, you can get a taste of flight by going tandem:

this is to say, an experienced instructor goes with you and s/he helps you maneuver the aircraft. Student gliders start with tandem gliding first, then, as they learn about maneuvering and get their license to fly freely, they are able to fly on their own. Torrey Pines Gliderport is not only known as a free flight site, but also as a free flight school.