nature – Brightside Nomads

Adventure

What’s Hot, Red, and Full of Rocks…Moab!!

By PapaWanderer August 5, 2018

Desert Playground – Moab

So after spending the last three weeks in 100+ temps, we thought it would be a good idea to stop at one more hot spot; Moab, Utah. We actually don’t mind the heat and have learned to make the most of our days early. I spent a bit of time in Moab during my college years. Mainly we came here to mountain bike, as it’s one of the best places in the US to do so. This time we had no mountain biking plans and hiking was the activity of choice. There is no shortage of options for outdoor hiking in and around Moab. There’s Canyonlands National Park, Arches National park and more public terrain than you can imagine. We decided, for our short trip, that Arches National Park was the best choice. It’s compact, offers a great variety of shorter family hikes and is absolutely incredible to explore.

Arches National Park – Day 1

On our first of three trips to the park, we decided on some shorter hikes and a drive around the large loop. We first hit up Double Arch. A short hike and a cool double arch that rose 80 feet above our heads. The terrain also offered some bouldering that our kids love. It’s pretty spectacular that you can get this close to these wonderous formations.

Next, we basically crossed the road to The Windows Arch and Turret Arch formations. The Windows are two arches in close proximity. You can go walk up underneath them and look out on the crazy arches landscape and mountains in the distance. If you take a vantage point a little further away you can see both arches at once and the formation almost looks like some kind of troll faced pair of glasses. Turret Arch stands directly across from The Windows. The Turret formation vaguely resembles a castle with a spire, hence the name. The whole loop is about a half mile. Easy for even the crankiest of kids. The loop provided ample opportunity for great photos and rock climbing for the kids. If you go in summer be prepared for some serious crowds and head out early to beat the heat. After taking in these first few arches, we decided to drive the 18-mile loop. You can see some amazing sites from your car along this drive. There are also dozens of pull outs so you can jump out and snap some epic pics. There are large towers, soaring rock fins, petrified sand dunes, bloody red and white chimneys, and of course arches. This is a great drive to take when the heat of the day starts pounding. This was a great first day in the park for us. We headed back to our hotel for some late day swimming and sampling some of the eateries Moab has on display.

The Arches loop drive.

Arches National Park – Day 2

Day 2 we decided to take a larger hike to one of the most iconic arches in the park; Delicate Arch. This hike is fairly moderate, but can become harder as the heat increases. You get to hike a big slick rock formation and through a small wash canyon on your way up. It’s a three mile round trip with almost 500 feet of elevation. The reward at the end is worth it. (even with a couple of cranking kids) I have seen the pics of the arch in magazines but they don’t prepare you for its real-life presence. The arch is big, I’d say maybe 70-80 feet tall and 30 feet wide. It’s stunning. The end of the hike could be a bit challenging if you have a fear of heights as you walk a narrow ledge around to the arch. It’s really not that bad if you don’t let your head get in the way. We took some great pictures and Colette ventured out to the arch itself for a little one on one. Even little Lennox liked the hike once he got to the top. The hike is crowded so be prepared for a lot of people on the trail and taking pics at the arch. The three mile hike ended back at the parking lot where there’s a short hike to some petroglyphs. The display is on the smaller side but no less impressive. We love to walk in the path of history and to know that Native Americans roamed this land and left their marks hundreds of years ago is always super cool.

We visited one more site this day; Balanced Rock. As the name suggests, this is a huge boulder balanced a hundred feet up on a small pillar of rock. The hike is super short and you can walk around the rock in under 15 min. It’s a great formation for the sheer audacity of its appearance. The kids climbed and bopped around as Katie and I speculated as to where it will fall when it tumbles. And tumble it will. Even though this park is all made of hard rock, from a geological perspective it’s very active and changing. The arches and balanced rocks won’t last forever. The rangers say that this park and the formations it contains are just the blink of an eye in the span of geologic history. The good news is that we probably have thousands of years before this alien landscape disappears.

Arches National Park – Day 3

On our last day in the park, we choose to go and see Landscape Arch. This is another iconic arch in the park and a short hike. This is the longest and highest arch in the park. The span is a couple hundred feet in the air and is almost the length of a football field. By this time I think the kids had enough arches. Katie and I really enjoyed this short hike and we got to see a couple of other small arches along the way.

We left the park and headed to our next destination. Another homecoming for me, as we were headed to Colorado high country. There awaited my alma mater (Western State Colorado University) and some of the most epic snowboarding I’ve ever ridden. Onwards to Gunnison and Crested Butte.

Adventure

Brian Head, Hurricane, St. George & Dinosaur Tracks… it’s sounding weird

By mamawanderer July 30, 2018

Welcome to Utah

We drove out of Yellowstone and made it to Salt Lake City where we spent a night to break up the drive. We have found the kids do better if we don’t have super long drives and it’s probably the same for the parents. We were also planning on camping for the next 4 days and with it being summer we wanted to find a campsite early. Our camping plans were quickly kiboshed after Lennox got sick. We decided to find an Airbnb rather than stay in a tent with a puking child. The temperatures were also dropping into the low 40’s at night in the area and although we could do it, that is pretty chilly for the kids. Our last minute search lead us to a place we had never heard of, Brian Head, Utah, for a few nights. It’s always good to be flexible while traveling and also can be fun to discover places you may never find otherwise. Brian Head is a super small town/ski resort sitting at an elevation of 10,000 ft. It is way up there and you can feel it. It is about an hour from Bryce Canyon National Park and we discovered 10 minutes away was Cedar Breaks National Monument. Being at a ski resort in summer meant we had the whole place to ourselves and it ended up being a perfect spot to relax and recover our sick little guy and then explore some spectacular parks.

Brian Head and Cedar Break National Monument

The drive up the mountain to Brian Head opened our eyes to the destruction a forest fire can cause. There were stretches of trees charred black for miles. In 2017 a wildfire burned 71,000 acres of the land here, the aftermath is very sad to view. Cedar Break National Monument is an enormous amphitheater of beautifully colored sedimentary rock that has been carved away into beautiful formations. We viewed this park from above and it was a spectacular site. It is part of the Grand Staircase, a geological formation which begins at the floor of the Grand Canyon and steps up across the Western US. Seeing these natural wonders and learning about the geology behind their formation makes you realize just how fluid the earth’s surface is and gives you perspective on time and the mere blink of an eye we stand on this earth.

Bryce Canyon National Park

Bryce Canyon is out of this world. From your drive into the park the red-hued rock formations are spectacular and as you explore further it becomes even more impressive. Looking out from above the park offers amazing views of the hoodoos balancing below and as you walk into the canyon your perspective changes and you begin to appreciate the enormity of the formations surrounding you. We started our day here early to beat the heat and it is a good thing we did because it gets smoking hot at the bottom of the canyon. We took the Navajo Loop/Queens Garden trail which starts at the rim of the canyon and quickly descends in elevation while you walk along a windy path with steep drops. This always makes me a little nervous with the kids but they did great and the path was quite wide and well traveled. As we dropped down it was evident how difficult the steep hike up was and we knew we would have some work on the other side getting out. We enjoyed our time and our surroundings, many of the rock formations have names, like Thors Hammer, the Queens Garden, Wall Street, so it is fun to look at these and make up your own. Being at Bryce is like walking through a fairyland, each hoodoo formation is unique and unbelievable. I’m not going to lie our hike was tough, it was 3 miles and 600 ft of elevation but the heat was a factor, and the kids aren’t always sunshine and rainbows. They did realize in order to get back to our car we needed to climb out of this canyon so with many breaks and some snacks they pushed on. We were playing leapfrog with another family with small children so this added some excitement. I was happy when I saw the mom carrying her little one up the steep hills that Lennox was only pulling on my arm and still able to walk. There were definitely some big cheers as we reached the top of the canyon and cold drinks needed, it was a great accomplishment and well worth the trek to the bottom.

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Hurricane, Utah

After leaving Brian Head we had a short drive to our next Airbnb in Hurricane, Utah. It is right next to St. George which we discovered is the fastest growing metropolis in the United States! There is construction on every corner of this place and it is pretty wild. You can see why people are coming here in droves, the weather is warm and it is surrounded by amazing rock formations. It is an outdoor playground with lots of mountain biking and a short two-hour drive from Las Vegas. We had a week here and our main goal besides exploring was finishing school. I appreciate what teachers endure at the end of the school year so much now. The last month was a struggle, we, however, promised (or bribed) the girls if they finished their books by the end of this week they would be able to buy guinea pigs upon our return. With lots of hard work, they both busted through their books and I was as excited as they were to be done with their homeschooling year!!!

Zion National Park

We heard Zion gets super crowded and in order to secure parking, you have to arrive early. Early isn’t too hard for us so we were fine with that. In addition, it was going to be another hot one so the morning hikes are best. We didn’t anticipate just how many people were swarming on Zion though. By the time we got in line for the bus into the park, the wait was already an hour! The hour passed as the kids chased lizards and frogs and did some Junior Ranger work. Not so bad. We opted for 3 shorter hikes and this gave us a perfect first taste of Zion.

Searching for Dino Tracks

We were full of excitement to find out we were staying in an area with evidence of dinosaurs nearby. We had to go investigate. The first site we went to was ok but a bit of a letdown. We found the marked tracks after hiking a short ways in scorching heat, they were small and hard to decipher. To the non-paleontologist I think they look like scratches in the rock but that’s ok, knowing this was a path actual dinos stepped foot was amazing and we were glad we went, the hunt was still on though. The next day we ventured out to the second site. This was an adventure, lots of dirt road driving through the desert with no cell signal and no cars in site. It’s amazing how remote so much of the land in the United States is. It felt like if our car broke down we may never get help but that didn’t happen and we always are prepared with lots of water just in case. When we arrived at the actual site there was great signage explaining the tracks and what dinos they belonged to. These tracks were huge and it was well worth the desolate drive to see them.

Adventure

Yellowstone – Part 2 Lightning crashing and Colors colliding

By mamawanderer July 10, 2018

Yellowstone continued….

Day 4 – Norris Geyser Basin – Caught in the storm

Today was our day to explore the Norris Geyser Basin. Although it was sprinkling when we set off, we all had our raincoats and were ready for anything. There is so much to see here and we were not going to let the weather get in the way of any of it. The reward of bad weather in nature is usually abundant beauty which was definitely the case here. The misty grey cloud filled air enveloped the geysers and brought their milky colors to light. It was a breathtaking scene.

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The most fascinating part of the hot springs to me are the colors they produce. Streams of color spill along the flowing water and both the colors and patterns are ever changing. It is mesmerizing.

After walking the short loop around the geysers we came to Steamboat Geyser. This geyser has been in the news as of late because, after being dormant for 4 years, in 2018 it’s already erupted 11 times. This is considered a big change and when you are located on a supervolcano any significant pattern shift is cause for exploration. Of course, we were hoping to see this geyser in action but weren’t that lucky. It did erupt the day we arrived and the day after we left and we saw some steam and bubbling action from it which was cool. At Steamboat, we took a family vote whether to continue our trek of the 1.5 mile lower loop or head back. Although the rain was picking up the vote was to take the hike. It wasn’t long before it started to downpour, but long enough that turning back wasn’t an option either. Soon above us it started roaring, thunder and flashes of lightning lit the sky. We knew being surrounded by a basin of water wasn’t the best place to be during a thunderstorm so we quickened the pace and as the storm intensified started running. Colette was terrified, as in so scared she thought she was going to die. Meanwhile Sienna was skipping along loving the rain. We made it back and between laughs and tears and extremely wet clothes we will never forget our hike around the Norris Geyser.

As we exited the park we drove out of the thunderstorm, into the sunshine and saw this giant bison walking along the road. We went to dinner and the meat eaters had some pig fired sausage. After dinner, we walked out to hail! The weather is crazy here, quick changes and you should be prepared for a little bit of everything.

Day 5 – Bubbling Mud Holes

These mud holes are so cool to watch. Depending on how much water there is makes them more or less thick. It is amazing to watch this thick liquid bubble and pop.

Day 6

Our last day in Yellowstone and my birthday. Such a great place to spend it. We decided to rise early in an attempt to catch the animals and with the cold temperatures, our first animal encounters were frosty bison. The light, fog, and crisp air made for a very picturesque morning. Our travels were even delayed by a herd of bison meandering in the road. When we arrived at the Hayden Valley where we anticipated seeing animals it was totally covered by a thick blanket of fog so we shifted plans and made our way to the falls.

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Upper Yellowstone Falls

The falls were beautiful on this frosty morning. We only stayed a few minutes as the kids were complaining about how cold they were so early in the morning. You can hike down to the lower falls which would be amazing but we saved that experience for next time. On a side note, Matt saw a huge grizzly run out into the road and then quickly scurry back into the woods. Unfortunately, I didn’t catch much except maybe a little bear booty.

Yellowstone Lake

We drove the entire lower loop which brought us by Yellowstone Lake, a magnificent site. The blue water was calm with still morning air and the snow-covered mountains stood majestically in the background.

Wildlife sightings…. a swan, blue heron, elk and ice faces

Grand Prismatic

This was the granddaddy of Yellowstone for me. We hiked to the overlook to start our exploration of this hot spring and looking down I was in awe of the size, many colors and sheer beauty of this hot spring. After our hike to the overlook, we traveled to eye level where you can view the beautiful intricacies of this spectacular natural work of art. Amazing.

From above

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On the boardwalk – the Grand Prismatic, Excelsior Geyser, Turquoise Pool and Opal Pool

Overall, our Yellowstone experience was far more incredible than I think any of us anticipated. I would return in a heartbeat. There is unlimited exploring to do here, such a vast stretch of land filled with amazing natural wonders and wildlife. Truly a highlight of our National Parks in the United States.

Adventure

Yellowstone – Part 1 Birthday, Bison and Blasting Geysers

By mamawanderer July 2, 2018

Day 1 – Our first glimpse of Yellowstone

The vast land of the West makes for long drives, we try to keep a days drive between 3 and 5 hours but lately we’ve had some big ones. Spokane to West Yellowstone was a long haul, the good thing is the land is beyond beautiful. Skies that fill the earth and your eyes for infinity, mountains soaring, rivers rushing and we were even lucky enough to spot a moose wading through the waterlogged land. When we finally arrived in West Yellowstone our curiosity put us right back in the car to check out the park for a few hours. We spotted our first bison off in the distance and were trying to convince Matt to turn back to get a closer look. We weren’t successful but everyone began laughing when just up ahead we saw an entire herd in the field. It was beyond my expectation to come face to face with these larger than life creatures, it was astonishing. We were also lucky to see an elk and its baby nestled below the road in some trees which was really amazing, along with an Osprey perched on a branch staring directly at us. Our brief first day was enough to entice us to rise early on day 2 to head to the Lamar Valley where we heard there was potential to see wolves, bear, badgers, wolverines, bison, moose and elk.

Day 2 – Rise and Shine – to the Lamar Valley in search of animals

Bison in the early morning light gave us a spectacular start to our day. It was soon to get even better. After waiting for some road construction for 15 minutes we were anxious to continue our drive towards the Lamar Valley when suddenly we saw a gathering of people alongside the road. To our amazement, we came upon a mama grizzly bear with her two cubs grazing in the field. We watched the cubs wrestle and play and it was one of the most spectacular sites I have ever witnessed. I was also envious of all the people with their mega telephoto lenses capturing shots as our lens just couldn’t quite get as close as I wished. Hopefully, you can get a sense of this special moment and these incredible creatures.

The Lamar Valley greeted us with impossibly picturesque views, land stretching for miles shaded with every color of green until it meets the grey mountains and brilliant blue sky. The view alone is worth the visit but our search for wildlife was also a success. We saw elk, huge herds of bison roaming, and pronghorn. The cool thing about this time of year is seeing the baby bison. They are so sweet, walking alongside their mama’s with gangly legs learning the ways of the bison world. One thing about Yellowstone is it is vast, to get to the valley from West Yellowstone took us a good two hours. The park is actually 3,472 square miles! That is a lot of protected land to explore.

Mammoth Hot Springs

Our first views of hot springs did not disappoint. The thermal springs here average 170 degrees and have created the most amazing travertine terraces. The water is mesmerizing as the sun brings about various colors but even more so are the subtle shades of the stacked formations. The textures created by the mineral deposits are so beautiful its hard to believe nature’s design skills are this amazing. You could probably come each day and experience a new wonder among the flowing water and glowing rock. Incredible and a great contrast to our earlier animal encounters. We close out Day 2 in awe of our adventures and eager to discover more in this magnificent park.

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Day 3 – Celebrating Lennox’s birthday geyser style!

Today brought us a birthday boy, and the big 5 at that! For a long time, Lennox has stated his spirit animals are the buffalo and eagle so I think it was fortuitous his birthday fell while we were in Yellowstone. We woke up to a super excited boy, excited to open presents that is, and he went along with the idea of checking out the geysers. We started at Old Faithful which was scheduled to erupt around 9:30. After about 10 minutes of on and off spurting water and steam, each of which we and the rest of the crowd were sure was the start of the blast, Old Faithful finally showed us its power and there was no mistaking the real thing. It was spectacular to see all this water shooting up to the sky and hear the rushing sound and pressure exploding. I think the kids expected it to shoot all the way to the moon, their imagination can at times dampen the reality of mother nature. We did learn each eruption is different and they range from 130 to 180 feet which is pretty impressive.

5 years old!

Old Faithful

Geyser Loop Trail

After seeing Old Faithful I kind of expected everything on the Geyser Loop Trail to be less spectacular but I was so wrong. This thermal basin is full of geysers, hot springs and their colors, textures, bubbles and eruptions all are incredibly unique and amazing. We were lucky to catch some small geysers bubbling and erupting and super lucky to see the Beehive Geyser which shoots water 200 feet into the air and only erupts every 16 – 18 hours. We also saw the Grand Geyser erupt, you can see photos below of this spectacular geyser. If I could I would walk this loop 1000 times because it is everchanging and such a beautiful and rare piece of nature.

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Grand Geyser

We waited about 30 minutes for the Grand Geyser to erupt. Lennox was super impatient and repeatedly said, “But we already saw a geyser erupt!” I guess extra patience didn’t come with the number change to 5 but he does think he grew a few inches overnight. Anyway, the Grand Geyser was worth the wait and so different from Old Faithful. The eruption lasted a long time and it had a second side eruption at the end which was really cool.

Snow storm!

I don’t think this is unusual for Yellowstone but we have been in some pretty spectacular spring weather and our day was sunny enough to sunburn so coming across snow/hail as we exited the park was surprising. We first noticed cars approaching us with snow on them and were a bit perplexed. Then the traffic slowed as we ran into the snow. What followed was incredible, the bison began crossing a river with their babies, they were up to neck deep and the babies had to swim. It was quite a site and also fun to end Lennox’s birthday with some white stuff.

Yellowstone to be continued…..

Adventure

Roaring Ocean and Giant Trees – Northern California

By mamawanderer June 4, 2018

Redwood National Park

California is a huge state and we had a long drive North after leaving San Francisco to our next stop in Northern Cali. The drive was beautiful, through mountains and valleys, and amongst ocean views and giant trees. We arrived at our Airbnb nestled on top of a little mountain with the steepest driveway I have ever seen. From the house, we could look down on the tiny town of 350 people, Orick, California. It was perfect! For the next few days, we explored some of the most beautiful forests in existence. We hiked amongst the largest trees in the world, the Coastal Redwoods. The forests here breath life straight into your soul while making you feel like a mere pebble on the surface of the earth. Your eyes can wander up to space typically filled with clouds and see deep red veined bark and green boughs gently swaying. Walking among these monsters is so unexplainable and unearthly you must experience it for yourself but here are some photos to try to give some perspective on the wonders of the forest.

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Fern Canyon

We ventured off to Fern Canyon for a hike and getting there was half the adventure. I’m not a very experienced off-road traveler and although there was a “road” it was a good thing we had our big vehicle to navigate through the rough terrain. There has been lots of rain here so we had to drive through a fair amount of water, bump over potholes, through a river, and rumble along the gravel road. The ocean’s foam tipped wavey surface stretched off into the horizon on one side and Elk grazed casually on the other, both were pretty spectacular. We started our hike at Fern Canyon tiptoeing around trying to avoid the water but soon realized we were all in and the only navigable path was to jump in the water. The kids were soon knee-deep and having a blast. The vegetation around us was almost a glowing green as the sunlight illuminated the canyon. It felt like you were in Jurassic Park, and in fact, one of the movies was filmed here. This hike ranks high on the list for beauty and adventure and the rush of spring water made it even more exhilarating.

Agate Beach

We started looking for agates even though we don’t know exactly what we’re looking for. The ocean was spectacular on this spring day and we enjoyed searching for stones and sea creatures. We still don’t know if we found any agates, most likely not, but we had a great walk on the sandy shore.

Elk

It was amazing to see elk grazing in the grass so close to the road. Each day they seemed to wander to a new spot, sometimes right by a local house. There are many road signs showing elk attacking humans and the bodily harm they can cause which, although serious, was so absurd it made us laugh.

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Paul Bunyan and the Trees of Mystery

When Paul Bunyan and Big Blue are 50 feet tall you must stop for the photo op. Of course, we checked out the Trees of Mystery which had some interesting things to see and the best part was the sky ride to a beautiful overlook. Well, that was the best part for everyone except for Sienna. She is a bit afraid of heights and once at the top decide she would hike down the “extreme trail” instead of board the sky ride again. Thankfully Matt volunteered to join her on the hike which ended up being super steep and hardcore. They were troopers for sure. After we stopped at the drive-through tree which was a bit tight for my comfort in our oversized car but we made it!

Ocean Power

The ocean in this part of California is no joke. The wind whips, waves roar and it would eat you up if you let it. It gives you perspective on all those who brave these waters and the elements. What an amazing land to walk along.

Final hike and scenic drive through the most magnificent grove of Coastal Redwoods

The kids completed another Junior Ranger Program and we bid farewell to these majestic trees. It still blows my mind some of these trees are thousands of years old. Imagine what has walked among them and the earth’s changes they have experienced, resilient creatures they are. It is also sad to note that 95 out of every 100 of these magnificent trees were logged in the past. We are lucky to have the National Parks to preserve and protect these wonders so our future generations can experience their grandeur.

Cool Places

The Mighty Yosemite Valley

By PapaWanderer May 9, 2018

“Keep close to Nature’s heart… and break clear away, once in a while, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.” – John Muir

Five Days in the Yosemite Valley

Much like in Joshua Tree, words fail me when trying to describe our experience here in Yosemite. Yosemite National Park is an incredible place. We came into the park through the South entrance, which is a beautiful drive. The road in is very curvy and slow but somehow driving high in the mountains at sunset makes it all worthwhile. The most spectacular part of this drive is exiting the tunnel into the Yosemite Valley. You are greeted by a humbling vista of the whole valley, El Capitan standing regally, guarding over the valley floor, Bridalveil falls flowing unending into the forest below and the Merced River winding like a silver snake towards the towering edifice of Half Dome in the distance. The might Yosemite Falls showering the valley floor from thousands of feet above. And this was just what we could see from the very first pull out after the tunnel exit. We spent the next week learning about the history of this park, hiking into nature to get up close and personal with these majestic landmarks, and just being happy to be alive and able to enjoy this paradise on earth. Sienna got to spend her birthday in Yosemite. (Lucky for anyone let alone an 8 year old!) She is so full of life and has no fear. The raw beauty of Yosemite matched her soul’s intensity perfectly. Lennox, Sienna, and Colette got to be sworn in as Junior Rangers and Katie and I both hope a little of the magic of this place carries with them as they grow. We hope that the images we captured share a tiny bit of the majesty of the Yosemite Valley and serve to inspire any who see them continue to support and steward these national treasures.