The theme of today's blog entry is "big hole in the ground." We left Jack's Canyon on our first anniversary and headed north to Meteor Crater. I'd been as a child, and Dave had never been. I remember thinking it was really cool. I wondered if I would think the same now.
I did! It is a BIG hole in the ground! Dave liked it as well. We did the usual tourist things there by walking to the various overlooks. We did not do the "difficult hike" however - we weren't allow since we were wearing flip flops! Pretty funny given the "difficult hike" looked to be pretty flat and pretty darn short. Oh well, we still got all the great views.
After leaving Meteor Crater, we headed to perhaps the most famous big hole in the ground in the USA: The Grand Canyon. We'd both been several times there, but it was our first time there together. It's quite a scenic location for our first anniversary.
After setting up the pop-up, we got a bottle of wine, cheese and crackers and headed to a secluded area of the South Rim for an anniversary happy-hour while watching the sun set. One couldn't ask for a nicer way to spend the day.
The following day, we spent time chasing birds and looking at a variety of vistas. Dave took the time to hike down into the canyon about 3,000'. I didn't go - I wasn't sure what my feet would think of this and I definitely didn't want to be a rescue! As the sign in the canyon reminds hikers - down is optional, up is mandatory.
We saw many pretty birds - the most exciting being the California Condor. It is huge! And magnificent. How could I be certain I saw the California Condor? Ah, I saw field marks that identify it without question: ID tags on each wing. Pretty cool to see the birds given that they are barely hanging on in the wild.
Enjoy some of the other pretty sites of the canyon and the birds there.
The night of the 15th, we set up the camper on some very isolated public lands. It was dark when we did this. After setting up, Dave stepped outside to use the facilities. I don't think his first foot hit the ground when he heard, very close by, the guttural growling grunt of a large near-by something in the dark. He make a sound I doubt he realized he was capable of and was back in the camper in a millisecond.
His gut told him 'big bear' and we spent our night there believing it. Scary! No photos of this big beast.
We got up on the 16th and headed out. Our next stop is driving through Escalante National Park to spend a few days in Zion - this time NOT as climbers!
Happy belated anniversary, you two! I've never seen such a big hole in the ground--cool! Re: birdos, I'd love to see a condor... but how come bird ids aren't included? My guesses (yes, I'm such a geek I have my natl geo book here) gray vireo, black throated gray warbler, western blue bird, common raven?
Oops. I should have IDed the little guys. :) The only one that is off - and it's a scale thing for sure - is that the one is not a gray vireo, but instead a Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher. The place was crawling with them. They're so cute!
One thing that occurred to me after this trip is that bird books do not have Condors in them. Is that because there are no more that were born in the wild? Or because no one could possibly foul up that idea. Weird.
Thanks for the extra bird-geek glee talk! :o) Now that I look closer at the gnatcatcher photo, I see what you mean--what a cutie with that white eye-ring and dark eyebrow! That is curious about the condor absence in your book. My natl geo book says the last ones were captured in the wild in 1987. I'm glad to hear the captive breeding program has been successful enough for you to see one in the wild! They're more than twice as big as a vulture--wow!
Nancy, just finished reading "Condor" by John Nielsen (2006). Really interesting if you haven't read it already. Plus, he discusses several other related books that sound good. I am resisting getting them. That may be futile though. :)
It was fun seeing the Condors in the wild, but sad to hear that they are still struggling more than everyone wishes. Chicks and adults die from eating garbage - Ugh. So sad.
The theme of today's blog entry is "big hole in the ground." We left Jack's Canyon on our first anniversary and headed north to Meteor Crater. I'd been as a child, and Dave had never been. I remember thinking it was really cool. I wondered if I would think the same now.
I did! It is a BIG hole in the ground! Dave liked it as well. We did the usual tourist things there by walking to the various overlooks. We did not do the "difficult hike" however - we weren't allow since we were wearing flip flops! Pretty funny given the "difficult hike" looked to be pretty flat and pretty darn short. Oh well, we still got all the great views.
After leaving Meteor Crater, we headed to perhaps the most famous big hole in the ground in the USA: The Grand Canyon. We'd both been several times there, but it was our first time there together. It's quite a scenic location for our first anniversary.
After setting up the pop-up, we got a bottle of wine, cheese and crackers and headed to a secluded area of the South Rim for an anniversary happy-hour while watching the sun set. One couldn't ask for a nicer way to spend the day.
The following day, we spent time chasing birds and looking at a variety of vistas. Dave took the time to hike down into the canyon about 3,000'. I didn't go - I wasn't sure what my feet would think of this and I definitely didn't want to be a rescue! As the sign in the canyon reminds hikers - down is optional, up is mandatory.
We saw many pretty birds - the most exciting being the California Condor. It is huge! And magnificent. How could I be certain I saw the California Condor? Ah, I saw field marks that identify it without question: ID tags on each wing. Pretty cool to see the birds given that they are barely hanging on in the wild. 
Enjoy some of the other pretty sites of the canyon and the birds there.
The night of the 15th, we set up the camper on some very isolated public lands. It was dark when we did this. After setting up, Dave stepped outside to use the facilities. I don't think his first foot hit the ground when he heard, very close by, the guttural growling grunt of a large near-by something in the dark. He make a sound I doubt he realized he was capable of and was back in the camper in a millisecond. 
His gut told him 'big bear' and we spent our night there believing it. Scary! No photos of this big beast. 
We got up on the 16th and headed out. Our next stop is driving through Escalante National Park to spend a few days in Zion - this time NOT as climbers!
6 comments:
Happy belated anniversary, you two! I've never seen such a big hole in the ground--cool! Re: birdos, I'd love to see a condor... but how come bird ids aren't included? My guesses (yes, I'm such a geek I have my natl geo book here) gray vireo, black throated gray warbler, western blue bird, common raven?
Oops. I should have IDed the little guys. :) The only one that is off - and it's a scale thing for sure - is that the one is not a gray vireo, but instead a Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher. The place was crawling with them. They're so cute!
One thing that occurred to me after this trip is that bird books do not have Condors in them. Is that because there are no more that were born in the wild? Or because no one could possibly foul up that idea. Weird.
Additional bird-geek glee...I love that particular photo of the b/g gnatcatcher since his dark eyebrow - indicating male - is so clear. Cute!
Thanks for the extra bird-geek glee talk! :o) Now that I look closer at the gnatcatcher photo, I see what you mean--what a cutie with that white eye-ring and dark eyebrow! That is curious about the condor absence in your book. My natl geo book says the last ones were captured in the wild in 1987. I'm glad to hear the captive breeding program has been successful enough for you to see one in the wild! They're more than twice as big as a vulture--wow!
The "up is mandatory" sign is just wrong in this day and age - I have a cell phone and they have a chopper right?
Nancy, just finished reading "Condor" by John Nielsen (2006). Really interesting if you haven't read it already. Plus, he discusses several other related books that sound good. I am resisting getting them. That may be futile though. :)
It was fun seeing the Condors in the wild, but sad to hear that they are still struggling more than everyone wishes. Chicks and adults die from eating garbage - Ugh. So sad.
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