Traveling through Moab, Utah

I wanted to share a few scrapbook layouts from our travels through the beautiful landscape of Moab, Utah last May.  We were lucky enough to spend 2 weeks in the Moab area so we had plenty of time to explore and take photos of Dead Horse State Park, Canyonlands National Park and Arches National Park.

AWAY WE GO - May 17, 2010 - Dead Horse State Park - Moab, Utah

JOURNALING:  We left Bryce Canyon about 9 am to make the 4 1/2 hour drive into Dead Horse State Park.  Along the way, we stopped at a Wal-Mart in Richfield.  We drove into the beautiful campground about 4 pm.  After finally figuring out how to get the trailer into the campsite, we set out to explore the point overlooking the Colorado River.  What a gorgeous place to watch the river wind through the canyon.

SUPPLIES USED:  Sketch by Lucy Chesna, National Parks papers

PICTURE PERFECT - May 18, 2010 - Moab, Utah - Dead Horse State Park - Canyonlands National Park

JOURNALING:  Here Matt captures both sunrise and sunset at Dead Horse State Park.  We drove the short distance to Canyonlands to visit both Mesa Arch and the Green River overlook, as well as the park road.

SUPPLIES USED:  Sketch by Heather, Bon Voyage Travel stack by DCWV, Paper bag

THE GREAT OUTDOORS - May 19, 2010 - Moab, Utah - Dead Horse State Park

JOURNALING:  Meander viewpoint and sunrise at the point.

SUPPLIES USED:  Roam papers by K&Co

FALSE KIVA - May 20, 2010 - Moab, Utah - Canyonlands National Park

JOURNALING:  What a peaceful, quiet place - The size and grandeur of the alcove seems at home with the simplicity of the structure.  What a perfect balance.

SUPPLIES USED:  Paper Lace by K&Co, Roam papers by K&Co, Scraplift of Lisa's layout based on Sassylilsketches April sketch

AZTEC BUTTE - May 20, 2010 - Moab, Utah - Canyonlands National Park

JOURNALING:  We hiked the 2.1 mile trail to Aztec Butte to view 3 ancient grainaries (1200 AD).  It was steep up the slick rock.

SUPPLIES USED:  Happy Trails papers by K&Co, Sketch by Cheri O'Neill

CANYONLANDS SUNSET - May 20, 2010 - Moab, Utah - Canyonlands National Park

JOURNALING:  We enjoyed a great picnic while watching the sun set over Green River.  What a beautiful spot.

SUPPLIES USED:  Happy Trails papers by K&Co, Sketch by Cheri O'Neill

ESCAPE INTO THE WILD - May 22, 2010 - Moab, Utah - Canyonlands National Park

JOURNALING:  We drove 74 miles south from Moab to visit the Needles area of Canyonlands.  On the way, we passed the Newspaper Rock petroglyphs.  Once in Canyonlands, we had a picnic lunch near Pothole Point.  We decided to brave the 50 mph winds to hike the Slickrock trail.  It was a 2.4 mile trail that wound its way up and down the slickrock, to give us gorgeous views of the canyon below.

SUPPLIES USED:  Boy Scouts papers from K&Co, Bazzill stitch template

NATURE WALKS - May 23, 2010 - Moab, Utah - Arches National Park

JOURNALING:  We drove to the Devil's Garden trailhead to do the 2.6 mile hke out to Landscape Arch.  On the way back, we visited the Pine Tree Arch and Tunnel Arch.  After a picnic lunch at Fiery Furnace, we enjoyed seeing all the major sites on our drive out of the park.

SUPPLIES USED:  Sketch by Cheri O'Neill at Let's Scrap, Happy Trails papers by K&Co, Postcards, 50 States Cricut Cartridge

OFF ROAD - May 25, 2010 - Moab, Utah - Canyonlands National Park

JOURNALING:  We decided to drive the 4 wheel drive road called Shafer Trail from Canyonlands and back to Moab.

SUPPLIES USED:  National Parks papers, Cardstock by DCVW

ARCHES NATIONAL PARK - May 25, 2010 - Moab, Utah

JOURNALING:  Delicate arch is such a recognized symbol of Arches.  Here Matt captures the "classic" shot as well as some other great views.

SUPPLIES USED:  Sketch by Susan Stringfellow, Blue Awning papers by K&Co, Destinations Cricut cartridge

SLIPPIN THRU THE CRACKS - May 26, 2010 - Moab, Utah - Arches National Park

JOURNALING:  We were excited to explore the Fiery Furnace on a ranger led hike.  We also had a permit to return alone but had issues getting in.

SUPPLIES USED:  Martha Stewart Classic Woodland papers, Sketch by Amy Alvis

FOUR CORNERS WONDERS - May 27, 2010 - Utah

JOURNALING:  We decided to drive down to 4 corners to explore the ruins of "House on Fire".  We also toured Natural Bridges & Mokey Dugway.

SUPPLIES USED:  Roam papers by K&Co, Destinations Cricut cartridge, George & Basic Shapes Cricut cartridge

HISTORICAL SITES - May 28, 2010 - Utah

JOURNALING:  We spent our day doing the same drive, only in reverse and adding Valley of the Gods.  We also hiked out to the "Fallen Roof" ruin.  It was pretty difficult to find but definitely worth the scramble up and down the canyon walls.  We also re-revisited the Gooseneck State Park again.

SUPPLIES USED:  Complete Boy kit by My Minds Eye

May 2010 - Bryce Canyon National Park

Just a quick post to share some layouts from May of last year when we visited Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah.  It was probably the most unique National Park that we visited in Utah. 

BRYCE CANYON NATIONAL PARK HOODOOS - May 10, 2010 - Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

JOURNALING: We spent a week in Bryce Canyon National Park. We camped just to the North of the park entrance at Ruby's Inn. The weather was chilly, especially at night.
Mon: Drive from Zion to Bryce Canyon - 2 hours
Tue: Navajo Loop Hike - Snowing and cold
Wed: Park road drive to Rainbow Point
Thu: Rim Trail hike - Rain and sleet in afternoon
Fri: Queens Loop and Peek a Boo trail hikes
Sat: Fairyland Loop trail hike
Sun: Red Canyon hike in Dixie National Forrest

SUPPLIES USED: National Parks scrapbooking kit

SERENITY - May 11, 2010 - Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

JOURNALING: We woke to 32 degrees so Matt headed out for his sunrise shoot of Bryce Amphitheather and Thor's Hammer along. Snowy weather would end our hike early so we went to the visitors center and museum.

SUPPLIES USED: Complete Boy papers from My Minds Eye

NATURAL BEAUTY - May 12, 2010 - Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

JOURNALING: We woke up to cold and windy weather so we decided to explore the park by car. We drove the main park road from the north entrance to the end at Rainbow Point. we made several stops along the way including this one. Natural Bridge. Elevation 8627

SUPPLIES USED: Complete Boy papers from My Minds Eye

ENJOY THE RIDE - May 12, 2010 - Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

JOURNALING: We continued our drive out to the farthest south point on the park road, Rainbow Point. Shown here are the beautiful Pink cliffs and the steps of the park.

SUPPLIES USED: Complete Boy papers from My Minds Eye

AMAZING - May 12, 2010 - Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

JOURNALING: Our next stop of the day was the Fairyland Canyon area of the park. We would return in a couple of days to do the hike down into the canyon.

SUPPLIES USED: Complete Boy papers from My Minds Eye

BRYCE CANYON - May 12, 2010 - Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

JOURNALING: Our last stop of the day was a short hike to Mossy Cave, located outside the main park entrance.

SUPPLIES USED: Kraft paper by My Minds Eye Life Stories

MAGICAL SUNRISE - May 13, 2010 - Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

JOURNALING: Matt catches Thor's Hammer at sunrise

SUPPLIES USED: Kraft paper by My Minds Eye Life Stories

ADVENTURE RIM TRAIL - May 13, 2010 - Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

JOURNALING: We spent the morning hiking the 2.5 mile Rim trail in our down jackets.

SUPPLIES USED: Destinations paper by Colorbok

QUEENS GARDEN TRAIL - May 14, 2010 - Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

JOURNALING: We started our day by hiking the Queen's Garden trail with its namesake rock formation of Queen Victoria.

SUPPLIES USED: Destinations paper by Colorbok

BRYCE CANYON UTAH - May 14, 2010 - Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

JOURNALING: We decided to extend our hike by continuing onto the Peekaboo loop trail. It was very quiet and beautiful, however, we were amazed at the snow remaining.

SUPPLIES USED: Boy Scouts paper by K&Co, Sketch by Page Maps

BRYCE CANYON LODGE - May 14, 2010 - Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

JOURNALING: After our hikes, we stopped for lunch at the lodge. We explored the lodge area and found these great cabins and an old gas station.

SUPPLIES USED: Mirabelle papers by The Paper Studio, Sketch by Cheri O'Neill

FAIRYLAND CANYON GOOD TIMES - May 15, 2010 - Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

JOURNALING: Our last full day in Bryce. What a great hike to end with.

SUPPLIES USED: Cinnamon Stick by Cloud 9

ESCAPE TO NATURE - May 16, 2010 - Dixie National Forest, Red Canyon, Utah

JOURNALING: We hiked the Pink Ledges and the Birdseye trail at this beautiful park.

SUPPLIES USED: National Park paper kit

2010 Trip Summary by State

I got curious to know exactly where all we lived last year so I tallied up our nights spent in each state or province for 2010 and below is what I came up with.  Not too surprising that Alaska was the largest chunk of time followed by our home in Colorado (since we didn't start our trip until mid-March). 

These totals include only states in which we actually spend a night.  We visited many others while driving through but since we didn't actually sleep there, they don't make the list.  I can't wait to see what 2011 brings!!!

Total Days	% of Year	Location
12	3.29%	Alberta, Canada
146	40.00%	Alaska
1	0.27%	Arizona
5	1.37%	British Columbia, Canada
95	26.03%	Colorado
2	0.55%	Kansas
18	4.93%	Missouri
9	2.47%	Montana
1	0.27%	Oklahoma
33	9.04%	Texas
27	7.40%	Utah
5	1.37%	Washington
11	3.01%	Yukon, Canada
365	100.00%	Total 2010

Zion National Park - Scrapbook pages

I am loving my new scanner.  I have gotten all the layouts that I've done scanned into the computer and I'm slowing getting them all keyworded and uploaded to my new website (more details to follow as I get it ready to go).

I wanted to share the layouts that I did for the time we spent in Zion National Park in May of last year. Zion is located in Southern Utah and we had a very long drive to get from South Padre Island, Texas to the park.  We did spend one day in Flagstaff, AZ along our route.  We spent the week of May 4 through May 10 in the park and found it fantastic.  We didn't get to do a couple of hikes that we wanted to do so there will definitely be a return trip there.

TOURIST - May, 3, 2010 - Flagstaff, Arizona

JOURNALING:  We overnighted in Flagstaff, AZ at a Camping World with hopes of getting our leaky slide fixed before we headed North.  They found the problem but could not fix it.

SUPPLIES USED:  Postcard, Papers & Embellishments by Best Occasions

 

UTAH BOUND - May 2010 - Utah

JOURNALING:  May totals:  2,912 miles in 45+ hours of driving

SUPPLIES USED:  K&Co Road Trip

WONDER - May 4, 2010 - Zion National Park, Utah

JOURNALING:  To get to our campsite in Springdale, we had to drive through the tunnel.  It was a tight fit

SUPPLIES USED: National Park paper, Best Occasions paper, K&Co Boy Scouts title

EMERALD POOLS - May 5, 2010 - Zion National Park, Utah

JOURNALING:  Our first full day at Zion Nat'l Park.  We got off the shuttle at the Zion Lodge to hike up to Emerald Pools.  After the hike we picniced and found ice cream at the lodge.

SUPPLIES USED:  Cocoa Mint papers & stickers by Cloud 9

TOGETHER - May 5, 2010 - Zion National Park, Utah

JOURNALING:  After lunch we hiked the riverside walk along the Virgin River.

SUPPLIES USED:  Cinnamon Stick papers by Cloud 9

RELAXING SUNSETS - May 5, 2010 - Zion National Park, Utah

JOURNALING: The Watchman rock formation guards the southern park entrance.  What a sight at sunset.

SUPPLIES USED:  Cinnamon Stick papers by Cloud 9, Distress crackle paint

BACK TO NATURE - May 6, 2010 - Zion National Park, Utah

JOURNALING:  We spent the afternoon exploring Weeping Rock.  We walked along the Pa'rus trail in the evening to find that perfect spot for the sunset photo of the Watchman.
Sunrise at Court of the Patriarchs
Sunset on the Watchman
Pa'rus trail
Weeping Rock

SUPPLIES USED:  Wild Indigo by Cloud 9 Design

HIKING HIDDEN CANYON - May 7, 2010 - Zion National Park, Utah

JOURNALING:
Trail No:  Hidden Canyon
Direction:  Shuttle to Weeping Rock stop
Required Gear:  boots, poles, backpack, water, food, chains
Information:  2.4 miles, 853 ft elevation gain, steep drop offs

SUPPLIES USED:  ATD Great Outdoors papers & embellishments

ANGELS LANDING HIKE - May 7, 2010 - Zion National Park, Utah

JOURNALING:  After reading the trail description for steep drop offs and chains, we decided that Matt should do this by himself.

SUPPLIES USED:  Boy Scouts papers by K&Co, postcards

WHAT A VIEW - May 7, 2010 - Zion Nation Park, Utah

JOURNALING:  Matt takes a few minutes to reward himself with the beautiful views from the top of Angel's Landing

SUPPLIES USED:  Memories papers by The Paper Studio

COOL CLEAR WATER - May 7, 2010 - Zion National Park, Utah

JOURNALING:  We re-visited this gorgeous water fall for some peace & quiet.  Zion National Park.  Big Bend area.

SUPPLIES USED:  Travel papers by Me & My Big Ideas

LAZY DAYS - May 8, 2010 - Zion National Park, Utah

JOURNALING:  After long days of hiking we were ready to relax.

SUPPLIES USED:  Travel papers by Me & My Big Ideas

TRUE BEAUTY - May 8, 2010 - Zion National Park, Utah

JOURNALING:  We drove to Kolob Canyon to hike the Taylor Creek trail.

SUPPLIES USED:  Linen Closet papers by DCWV

WHAT A VIEW - May 9, 2010 - Zion National Park, Utah

JOURNALING:  We spent our last full day exploring the Zion - Mt. Carmel drive.  we hiked the Canyon Overlook trail to enjoy the beautiful views.  We also drove further to the Checkerboard Mesa's near the east entrance

SUPPLIES USED:  Complete Boy papers by My Minds Eye

SOME OF MY FAVORITES - May 9, 2010 - Zion National Park, Utah

JOURNALING:  We spent 7 days at Zion before making the 2 hour drive to Bryce on May 10.

SUPPLIES USED:  Complete Boy by My Minds Eye

Ah... the joys of Colorado weather...

And the fun begins....  hopefully the weather will clear out for our drive on Sunday.

...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM WEDNESDAY TO NOON
MST THURSDAY...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DENVER HAS ISSUED A WINTER
WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM
WEDNESDAY TO NOON MST THURSDAY.

* TIMING...LIGHT TO MODERATE SNOWFALL WEDNESDAY EVENING THROUGH
  LATE THURSDAY MORNING.

* ACCUMULATION/WIND...SNOW TOTALS WILL RANGE FROM 3 TO 7 INCHES
  WITH THE HIGHER AMOUNTS ACROSS SOUTHERN AND WESTERN SECTIONS OF
  THE METRO AREA. NORTHEAST WINDS 10 TO 20 MPH WEDNESDAY EVENING
  WILL WEAKEN AFTER MIDNIGHT.

* IMPACTS...ROADS WILL LIKELY BECOME SLUSHY AND POSSIBLY SNOW
  COVERED OVERNIGHT. BRIDGES AND OVERPASSES MAY ALSO BECOME QUITE
  ICY. MOTORISTS SHOULD PREPARE THEIR VEHICLES BEFORE WEATHER AND
  ROAD CONDITIONS DETERIORATE WEDNESDAY EVENING.

64 Degrees in December???

Wow, we had 64 degrees and sun today here in Denver.  Matt and I wanted to run around in our flip flops!!!  We figured it has been about 3 months since we have seen weather that warm.  Another 60 degree day tomorrow!!!

We have spent the last week running lots of errands and enjoying being back in civilization.  Well, maybe I should define civilization to mean "different restaurants".  I think we've hit just about every restaurant that we can think of in the last week.  As I was cooking dinner tonight, I realized it was the first time I've cooked in the RV since before we left Haines in November. 

We had a great weekend staying in the mountains with Jayme & Andy.  We were both surprised that we had a touch of altitude sickness with a nasty little headache.  I guess when you spend the last 8 months at sea level, its easy to lose!  We enjoyed visiting their beautiful new home and trekking around in the new snowfall.  Too bad our skis are in Missouri in my car!!!  Guess we didn't think that one through!!!

We are still hoping to leave next Sunday to start the two day drive to Missouri for Christmas but they are forecasting a bit of snow so we will be keeping a watch on it.

Meet Feisty & Hunter...

As I mentioned a couple of days ago, we visited the American Bald Eagle Foundation to photograph some of their resident owls.  Both Feisty and Hunter were injured and no longer able to survive in the wild so they were brought to the foundation for care for the remainder of their lives.

Here is Feisty.  She is a Great Grey Owl.  Great grey owls are the tallest owls in North America, but will still weigh only about 3 pounds.  Aren't those eyes wonderful????

Next, we met Hunter who is a favorite of one of the interns there.  Hunter is much smaller than Feisty and is a Barred owl. Who couldn't love that face???

Here is Cory (the intern) with Hunter.  What a cute pair.

Haines, Alaska - More Bald Eagles

So we are now in our 4th straight day of heavy wind and rain!!  Everything here is wonderful except the weather, although the locals do say that they can't remember the last time it was this rainy... 

We took a drive today up to the Bald Eagle Preserve (click on the name for more information) to check out the weather conditions (38 degrees & rainy) and the eagles (too many to count).  As we made the drive, I attempted to count the number of eagles that we saw from the road...  Well, after less than 1/4 of a mile, I could not keep up and lost count at over 40 (just in the trees).  We stopped at several of the pullouts to see the eagles in the river flats and in the trees, we estimate that we saw between 500 - 800 eagles this morning.  We are so lucky to be able to witness this, I don't think we'll ever have this type of viewing again...

We also stopped by the Bald Eagle Foundation to drop off some photos we did for them from our photo shoot of the owls yesterday (I'll post some photos of these adorable little guys in a couple of days, especially for you Annie).  We also had the opportunity to be within 5 feet of the new bald eagle, Scotty, that is housed at in the Foundation's mews.  He was received by them about 3 weeks ago and they are in the process of training the injured bird to sit on the glove for educational purposes.  We were able to sit quietly in a corner to watch them train the eagle with his food (rabbit, fish & rat).  It was amazing to be that close to such a large (over 11 pounds) magnificent creature.  Here is a photo Matt took yesterday of the training.

Dan is training Scotty (the eagle) with food incentives to step onto his gloved arm.

Below are some more of Matt's great photos from the past weeks, ENJOY!!!

Take Off. An adult bald eagle takes and heads down river in search of salmon on the Chilkoot river in Haines, Alaska.

Fluffed. As the wind blew on a cold Alaskan day, this eagle fluffed up his feathers on his perch overlooking the Chilkat river.

The Cry. Overlooking the Chilkat river, this bald eagle vocalizes his dominance to the other eagles in the area.

White Tips. After seeing this eagle for three weeks out of photo range, I was fortunate enough to get close enough to get some shots of this beautiful bird. The eagle has a rare pigmentation causing its wingtips to go white, as well as its talons. It is one of the most beautiful birds in flight as the wing tips really accent its motion.  (Same eagle in the next 4 photos)