Last stop: Bryce National Park

Bryce National Park is located in Utah about an hour or so from Zion National Park. It is a fairly small park, something like 56 square miles or so I think. But equally as beautiful with the hoodoos, orange and yellow in color.


A strange park with pillars, ridges and arches all fiery colors. We had another two nights here, our last two of the vacation.


It was also colder here, only reached the lower 70's during the day, and we had a few thunder and lightening storms. Fortunately for us, it never really rained hard on us!


We enjoyed another day hike here, our last one for this trip. It is a totally different experience walking through all these cliffs, ridges and pillars. Especially coming from the NW. Awesome trip, good vacation. Now back to work I suppose. :)

Zion National Park

After travelling to the Grand Canyon and Havasupai Indian Reservation we went to Zion National Park in Utah. We enjoyed the sites, mountains and hiked of course. One popular hike we did is called The Narrows and hikes upstream in the Virgin River for four miles or so. The canyon walls narrow and are incredibly steep. Really a fun hike, especially for the 94 degree weather in the sun!


There was a side creek flowing into the Virgin River that we hiked up for a while.


More awesome canyon pictures!!


Another favorite hike of mine, having done it once before when Sarah and I travelled to Zion three years ago. This hike is called Angel's Landing, 2.5 miles up, climbing about 1500 feet in elevation. It switchbacks quite a bit, then follows the top ledge for a bit before reaching the end. The train is also quite steep and has chains for hand railings along some of it. A few spots in the trail have a 1200 foot drop on both sides of the 3 foot wide path!! Awesome!!!


Sarah and I, what a great friend she is. I'm so glad we were able to go on another road trip together. This is number five for us both.

Vacation #2

So, after Puerto Rico, another vacation was planned with my friend Sarah and her husband, Dan and friend, Matt. For this vacation we planned on a long road trip to a few national parks in AZ and Utah. First stop was the Grand Canyon. Grand is a good word for this park, beautiful at all times and always a nice view from either rim. We headed to the south rim for two nights and did a 6 mile day hike down the Bright Angel trail. Each level of the canyon is a whole different sort of beauty.


Next stop was a trip to the Havasupi Reservation about 50 miles west of the Grand Canyon Village on the South Rim. There is a little village called Supai about 8 miles from the road, and then a campground another 2 miles from the village that civilians can enjoy. The main attraction in this canyon: the waterfalls and Havasu Creek. The water is an awesome milky blue color due to lime. It was an amazing, breathtaking little sanctuary in this canyon. After we hiked the 10 miles, this site was our first breath of fresh air. We had two nights in the campground right next to the creek, about a half a mile from this waterfall, named Havasu Falls. The campground was full, reservations are needed. Tourists/hikers all have the choice of riding a mule/horse down, walking, or a helicopter down. A mule can also be reserved to carry any luggage down. We did it the old fashioned way and carried our stuff.


The second day in the canyon we explored the second waterfall, Mooney Falls, about a 200 foot drop. The trail to this water fall went right down the cliff, tunnels had been blasted and chains placed to assist climbers up and down. Here are Sarah and her husband, Dan heading down the first tunnel.


Mooney Falls, viewed from one of the ledges in between tunnels. The best part was swimming, especially in such hot weather. I was very impressed with this canyon and God's creation. Truly a fantastic location. On the other hand, it was crowded with an easy 300 people in the campground alone, plus a lodge located in the village also housing guests and tourists. But, I recommend it for anyone in the mood for some great waterfalls.

Oregon Coast

I visited with some great friends at the Oregon Coast this weekend. Amanda and Lisa were roommates in college for one year and Amanda and I went to high school together.

Here is a picture of the Yaquina Head Lighthouse near Newport, Oregon.

A Caribbean Vacation

Time for vacation after four long months in Seattle. And what better location than Puerto Rico?? My friend Elia and I took off for a five day stay on the island last week. The trip went relatively smooth except for some very burnt skin and not being able to find my driver's license at the airport! Yikes!! Luckily they let me come home anyway which was nice, but doesn't give me comfort about the nations security. haha.

We started off the trip staying a night in the city of San Juan, then went on a tour of the Caribbean National Forest, aka, tropical rain forest about 45 minutes from the city. It was awesome! This picture doesn't give it glory, but the forest was quite a site. We did a quick mile and a half hike and then left for the resort.

We stayed at this amazing resort called El Conquistador right on the East side of the Island, where the Atlantic and the Caribbean meet. This picture is from Old San Juan, Elia and I toured two old forts built in the early 1600 by the Spanish occupiers of the island. One fort is in the far distance in this picture.


Ahh, check out that beautiful water!! And of course the beautiful women!!


The beaches were fantastic, and the water was an amazing color that we just don't have here in Oregon. After getting completely scorched in the sun I snorkeled for a bit, watching the cool fish and coral. Great experience.