Columbia Falls August 15

The resort town of Whitefish

We decided to take it easy today after a 1500 mile drive from Tucson. We slept in and then explored the town of Whitefish. They were having their annual Huckleberry Festival which included an art fair. Actually if it weren’t for the jewelry booths there wouldn’t have been much of a fair! Bob and I tasted a huckleberry which looked like a blueberry but very tart. We stopped at the Amtrak station and a few of the shops in town. The weather is spectacular; sunny and low 80’s. We drove to Kalispell to hit Costco to stock up on a few items and of course to enjoy a pizza lunch. Golf followed at Meadow Lake. I found lots of huckleberry bushes along the edge of the rough; of course I shouldn’t have been there to find them. They are a favorite food of the grizzly bear so this must be their favorite time of the year. Our tee time was 4:10 and because of daylight savings time as well as our northern location, we finished 18 holes at 8:30 in daylight! The course is in good condition with lush fairways. We decided to play again on Tuesday. I love having these long days. It’s been a long time since we have enjoyed daylight savings time!

Golden Spike National Monument August 13

We slept in this morning and didn’t get on the road until 8:30. The weather is unseasonably cool and temperature was in the 60’s when we left Fillmore. We have reservations tonight in Idaho Falls which is around 5 ½ hours so we left time for a stop at the Golden Spike National Monument thanks to a recommendation from Bob and Barb Heaps. The Central Pacific Railroad, starting in Sacramento, laid 690 miles of track and the Union Pacific Railroad, starting in Omaha laid 1086 miles of track for a total of 1776 miles of track. All of this building was financed by the US government from an act of Congress passed in 1862. As the two companies neared each other in Utah, they raced to grade and claim more land subsidies, both pushing so far that they passed each other and for over 200 miles competing graders advanced in opposite directions on parallel grades. Congress finally declared a meeting place to be at Promontory Summit where on May 10, 1869, Central Pacific’s Jupiter and Union Pacific’s No. 119 pulled up to the one rail gap left on the track. After a golden spike was symbolically tapped, a final iron spike was driven to connect the railroads joining the East to the West and changing America forever. We were lucky to be there at the right time to witness a reenactment of the event with exact replicas.

Lower Antelope Canyon August 12

We woke up early this morning in anticipation of seeing the slot canyon. I’ve waited over 30 years since I saw my first photo and have been dying to make some great pictures. We were told to be there at 8 am for the best light so we were at the gate at 7:50! It was still locked but there were already a couple of cars ahead of us waiting to get in. The guy with the keys arrived at 8:07 and we all drove in. After paying our $26 each we were given a photographers pass that allowed us to stay in the canyon for 4 hours. That is the hot tip! If you tell them you are a photographer, you forgo the one hour tour and can go on your own. There was a tour at 8:30 so we jumped ahead and a guide took us to the opening. I doubt that we could have found it on our own as it is just a narrow crack in the earth. You can see the photo of Bob entering the crack at the surface. We followed the crack into a larger space where there were sets of ladders/stairs to get you deeper into the canyon. Before they built the ladders, adventurers must have had to repel down. The walls of the canyon are Navajo sandstone that have been carved by water and debris into gorgeous shapes with narrow passages of as little as 18” to larger “rooms”. We were forced to turn sideways in many passages just to get through. Everywhere we turned there was another beautiful view to photograph! The canyon did not disappoint even after 30 years of anticipation.

We left the canyon at 11:00 and had a notable stop at the Express Stop where they have the best rest rooms of any gas station ever…definitely 5 star! After one more stop at a view point of Lake Powell we were back on the road. Lunch was at the Three Bears Café and Creamery in Kanab. A cute little place with delicious homemade soup. We stopped for the night in Fillmore,UT (named after Millard Fillmore by Brigham Young)and ate a pretty good dinner at The Garden of Eatin’. I’m not making this up.

Page, AZ August 11, 2010

Horseshoe Bend

We left SaddleBrooke this morning at 8 am to begin our Western adventure. We stopped in Scottsdale to pick up some meds that my doctor is giving me because the mail order pharmacy goofed. We don't know whether our van is going to make it through the trip. On our first day out, a rock hit our windshield resulting in a chip and a crack. Then the wind blew the passenger door into a guard rail denting the edge of the door.We started climbing toward Flagstaff and as the elevation rose the temperatures plummeted. By the time we stopped for lunch in Flagstaff, it was a lovely 80 degrees and we had reached 7000'. The terrain had changed from cactus desert to pines and mountains. Then we started back down as we drove towards Page and the temps climbed back up into the 90's. We drove through an area that looked like the Badlands of South Dakota and then as we approached Page, red sandstone mountains appeared. We were driving through Navajo lands and encountered villages and trading posts selling rugs, pottery and jewelery. After we checked into our motel at 3:30 we drove out to the slot canyons to gather information. Much to our surprise the gates were locked tight! We found a tourist information center and discovered that Horseshoe Bend view point was just out of town. I had seen photos of this before but had no idea where they had been taken. What a bonus! We were shown other viewpoints so we kept busy until sunset. After a mexican dinner, I worked on my photos from the day.