Utah: Hoodoos And Other Surprises!

Bryce Canyon National Park (in south-central Utah) is best known for its hoodoos. Never heard of them? Neither had we, but we found out that a hoodoo is a deep orange and/or white lumpy limestone pillar. Their creation is a long story, but in a nutshell, here’s what happened: Limestone walls were uplifted millions of years ago by the crunching and crinkling of the earth’s crust. Acidic rain eventually rounded the tops of the limestone walls. Next, the freeze-and-melt cycle kicked in, about 200 days each year, sculpting the stone. Ice forces rock apart at crack lines, eventually making window-like holes in the limestone. When the top of the “window” collapses, what’s left is a hoodoo, a fascinating knobby spindle that often resembles humans, in singles or groups. The hoodoos reminded me of giant chess pieces.

When not supervising the Hoodoos, a side project of the Park Rangers at Bryce is protection of the Utah Prairie Dogs, a threatened species.  Prairie Dogs are in the rodent family and (while not porcine), are “hams” as they like to pose for the camera in the midst of running from one burrow opening to another in their meadow habitat. Amusing to watch.

The elevation at Bryce is about 7000 feet, so it was quite chilly, even at the end of May. In fact, we awoke one morning to over an inch of snow! That day, after we dusted the snow off my car, we took a side trip to Capitol Reef National Park in the Utah desert. Capitol Reef isn‘t as well known as some of the other parks, but it was just as beautiful. The name “Capitol” refers to a huge dome-like white formation, which resembles the U.S. Capitol Building. There were other formations too, such as Chimney Rock and Cathedral Rock. We even started nicknaming some of them ourselves - for instance “Shea Stadium.” In the valley of this park there was once a small Mormon enclave along the Fremont River. The Mormons grew fruit here; many of the orchards still exist, making a very pretty sight at the base of the stone cliffs. Also at the base of one of the cliffs were some 1000-year old petroglyphs, Indian drawings etched in the stone.

Mid-week we took a break from our usually intense sightseeing, spending two days in Kanab, Utah. There we washed the RV and our clothes, stocked up on groceries, took it easy, and I had my hair trimmed. As a stranger in town, that meant taking a chance on an unfamiliar hairdresser….but phew, the results were fine! The downtime also gave me a chance to start reading Travels with Charley, John Steinbeck’s 1960 account of his journey across America with his poodle in a small motor home. (Bob read the book about 2 months ago.) Steinbeck has an eloquent knack for capturing America’s quirks and sights. It’s an enjoyable tale, especially since we’re in the midst of a similar expedition.

 Lake Powell was our next stop, on the border between Arizona and Utah. Created in 1963 by the construction of the Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado River, the stunning dark blue lake is 185 miles long. It was a surprising sight at first, since you don’t expect a lake in the middle of the desert. Houseboats are popular here; we strolled through the maze of boat slips to take a look at them. Some of the houseboats are huge and include waterslides and hot tubs. One day we sunbathed on the lake’s edge; it was a very hot day and the water looked inviting. However, the water was ICE cold and only one of us (guess who) was able to make the polar bear plunge.

A highlight of this week was a pontoon boat trip down the Colorado River, starting on the non-lake side of the dam and heading south for about 15 miles to Lee‘s Ferry. The river flows through a narrow canyon, with towering cliffs on both sides. This was not a white-water ride (as Bob will tell you, I have become a chicken). The meandering four-hour cruise was serene and delightful. We saw a blue heron, osprey, and more petroglyphs.

Last but not least, we toured Mesa Verde National Park yesterday, in the southwest corner of Colorado. Mesa Verde houses thousands of Ancestral Puebloan archeological sites from approximately 1000-1200 AD. The cliff dwellings (Bob and I call them cave condos), built in the large alcove openings in the cliff walls, were made of sandstone bricks with mud mortar. The complexes included sleeping and food storage rooms, plus kivas, which are round under-floor chambers with a single ceiling opening, used both as an entry (via ladder) and as a chimney. The architecture was well tailored to the shape of the natural opening and took advantage of the stone’s coolness in the summer and protection from the cold in the winter. What hearty and clever people these were!

We’ll be spending about seven more days in Utah, whose name was derived from the nomadic Ute Indian tribe. Who knew? Hoodoo?

Love from us both, Patty