Category: National Parks

Expedition Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller            Expedition Date:  October 10,11 & 12, 2019

On the road to Hot Springs we camped one night at Las Cruces, New Mexico KOA and I fattened up on Fat Boy Ice Cream. At El Paso, saw the border wall between USA and Mexico (Photo#2 just past Rosie’s head).  Mexico looked poverty central. Had two border control stops (Photo#3) along the interstate just east of El Paso. Rosie ate a fried apple pie at a famous Texas restaurant (Photo#5).  We passed Sweetwater, Texas, dove hunting capital of the United States.  In Peso, Texas and on east there were lots of oil wells everywhere.

After that long 980 mile drive, we arrived at the boyhood home of President Bill Clinton and the only national park that makes and serves it’s own home made beer…as it has a microbrewery on site. The National Park consisted of many hiking trails, 47 natural hot springs with an average temperature of 142 degrees plus several hot spring spas (Photo#9-#11) where you could get massages &/or relax in therapeutic whirlpools. An area called the Grand Promenade near bathhouse row, was the site where many trails began. Nearby were restaurants, shops, wax museum, magicians theater & a museum of oddities. Hot Springs has a vast history as a MLB baseball spring training site with appearances by Babe Ruth.

Expedition Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller        Expedition Date: October 4, 2019

In the park there were thousands of Joshua trees everywhere along with varieties of cacti and desert habitat.  Some Joshua trees grew 40 feet tall.  We hiked the 2 mile Ryan Ranch Trail to a ghost town, we kept a wary eye open for rattlesnakes, desert tortoises, iguanas & bighorn sheep.  The Ryan Brothers homesteaded this plot of land in the late 1800’s when the nearby Lost Horse Mine, the most successful gold mine in the area,  was just about near its peak production.  The trail is moderate with an 80 foot climb past yucca, black bush, creostone and twisted Joshua trees.  The house ruins remain well intact (Photos #5 & #6) built by strong adobe bricks and gives off a distinctive sheen or shine at night due to gold flakes mixed in the adobe bricks.  Nearby are ruins (Photos #7-#10) of outbuildings that once housed 60 people and abandoned mining machinery.  I saw something in the ground, dug and discovery an circa 1900 tin can.

A third stop, the Hidden Valley Trail, was once used by cattle rustlers. We viewed “Old Woman’s Face in  Rock” (Photo#11) used in a scene of the 1965 movie “The Satan Bug”. Also, many rock climbers were climbing high on the rocks.

Expedition Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller         Expedition Date: October 3 & 4, 2019

Welcome to California…gas skyrocketed to $4.99 per gallon. We drove 220 miles from Las Vegas & camped at Desert Hot Springs KOA. The campground had a large thermal hot spring which heated the swimming pool & whirlpools. Campers were on scorpion alert as several large scorpions were reported. We arrived at the right time as it was 114 degrees during the day two weeks ago. Bob Hope, Gene Autry, Frank Sinatra, Steve McQueen & many more actors lived next door in Palm Springs where Rosie & I had dinner at Dan & Sweet Sue’s Cafe.
On the drive through southern California we passed Victorville where Roy Rogers & Dale Evans used to live. I visited Roy’s Museum (built like a fort) back in 1991 when I was there to run the Los Angeles Marathon. Roy signed a bunch of comic books and photos for me.

Joshua Tree National Park was a very unique National Park with thousands of Joshua trees, varieties of cacti, desert shrubs & flowers, rock climbers & Mohave Desert habitat. We saw iguanas, squirrels and desert chipmunks. Outside at the Visitor Center I videoed and took photos of several roadrunners, very fast running birds. But I did not see Wiley-Coyote.

Expedition Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller             Expedition Date:   September 29, 2019

Our first hike of the day was the 2.5 mile Emerald Pools trail where we had several close encounters with deer and a beautiful waterfall.

The second hike was the strenuous, deadly & infamous Angel’s Landing. Daughter Jacque & husband Nick made the dangerous climb to the summit back in May. We hiked up 1,300 feet and made it 70% of the way before stopping due to strong winds and lack of daylight to make the summit. Photo#4 is looking back down the mountain at the trail that we just ascended on.  Many breathtaking views.  After the 59 mile drive back to the campsite we enjoyed a delicious dinner in Cedar City called the All American 50’s Diner.

Expedition Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller         Expedition Date:   September 27, 2019

The first day we hiked the northern or Upper Zion Park area called Kolob Canyon. The 4.5 mile Taylor Creek Trail, one of my favorites, had beautiful scenery and 46 creek crossings.  We viewed a circa 1930 pioneer log cabin called Larson Cabin (Photos #4 & #5).  The trail was so isolated we felt a sasquatch or a mountain lion would step out at any time.

At the Visitor Center we found Zion NP shirts at very reasonable prices and I bought a new sort of Indiana Jones hiking hat.  I was looked at a small travel trailer in the parking lot and before you knew it Rosie was talking to the single old lady, praying and exchanging phone numbers. The woman was from Canada traveling by herself and camping in four states.  She is so good making friendships to strangers.

We camped at the Cedar City, Utah KOA about 20 miles north of Kolob Canyons.  Cedar City is home of Southern Utah University. It was the beginning of fall classes and they had a nice fireworks display near the KOA. In town I pulled up behind a truck-up truck hauling a four wheeler and a dead deer (Photo#7).   I know what they were eating for supper. Rosie found the local coffee shop called The Grind House, full of posters, antiques, coffee smells and food.

Expedition Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller                Expedition Date:   September 28, 2019

After a 59 mile drive from our KOA campground to reach Zion NP’s southern entrance, we took shuttle buses into the park to hike 3 awesome trails. Zion is famous for incredible rock formations, high red and white sandstone cliffs.
First hike was The Narrows. A one mile hike brought Rosie & I past tiny grottos, weeping rocks, meadows of wildflowers, baby deer and hanging gardens. Leaving the trail, we walked almost a mile against the cold, current of Kolob Creek which flows through colorful, tight canyon walls. The water was not hypothermic but at 57 degrees the legs soon got numb.  In the hot summer this trek would be a real refreshing treat.  Once the water depth got waist high, we turned around and headed back. We kept an eye on the weather as a rain shower miles away would make the creek rise rapidly and hikers could drown. This famous trail is best hiked in the summer as you can go several more miles upstream and the cliffs become even more narrow but more colorful in the blazing sun.

 

Expedition Team:   Dave Miller, Rosie Miller      Expedition Date: September 26, 2019

After hiking all day we returned to Bryce Valley to our KOA Campground at Cannonville fifteen miles away. We encountered our first rain on the trip which produced an incredible double rainbow.

I felt God was protecting Rosie & I on our trip as this beautiful double rainbow looks like it ends right over our travel trailer at the campground just outside Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah. Today marks the one year anniversary when I entered the hospital for 34 straight days as my leukemia cancer came back. After five months of treatment God blessed me as I went into remission and had the opportunity this year to take this 30 day trip as well as attend my oldest son and my youngest daughters weddings.

Expedition Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller            Expedition Date:   September 25, 2019

Of the five Utah National Parks we visited on this trip, Bryce Canyon NP was the most beautiful.  We hiked the 7 mile Rim Trail.  The trail had several steep elevation changes but every quarter mile we hiked as we looked down into the canyon below, every sandstone formation or hoodoo would change colors depending how the sun struck it.  Most of the color formations were breathtaking.   AIligator Rock (Photo #8) was a neat nature formation.  I took some photos of prairie dogs which turned out to be chipmunks (Photo #9)   Several trails led down into the canyon including our horseback riding trail that we did the next morning.

That evening Rosie treated me to elk chili dinner at Bryce NP Lodge for my 64th birthday.  Delicious!

Expedition Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller           Expedition Date:   September 25, 2019

The drive to Canyonlands NP and on to Bryce Canyon NP was beautiful. We went through Red Rock Canyon tunnel where the canyon is the site of Butch Cassidy history.  Along Scenic Byway 12, we passed small towns and crossed the scary Grand Staircase-Escalante, a narrow strip of highway along steep cliffs an area where many dinosaur bones have been found. We gassed up at the unique Hollow Mountain in Hanksville, a gas station and convenience store carved  into the side of a large rock.

On Highway 24 a few miles before reaching the park in a tight valley of sandstone cliffs, we passed through the village of Fruita. This village, named after fruit orchards, was founded by pioneers who still today raise peaches, pears & apples.

Capital Reef National Park is composed of cliffs, canyons, domes & a geologic monocline. We hiked a beautiful trail beside a meandering stream that had colorful wildflowers.  

Expedition Team:  Dave Miller, Rosie Miller            Expedition Date:    September 22, 2019

On the main park road we passed famous natural sandstone formations named, The Three Gossips (Photos #2 & #3), The Cathedral (Photo #4) both rising over 4,400 feet high and  Balanced Rock (Photo #5) which weighs 3,577 tons.

We arrived at the strenuous trail to Delicate Arch and ascended 480 feet up a steep slickrock slope (Photos #6, #7 & #8).   The view from the summit was incredible (Photo # 9 & #10).  It was hot, the rocks were slippery in places and was quite a challenge.  Nick & Jacque made the same trek to the arch earlier in the year but we were running out of daylight and didn’t get to make the final mileage to the arch.  On the way down we viewed Ute rock art and an old pioneers cabin. One of the most common wildlife sightings were huge ravens.  The final two photos were the trail restroom.  I had seen this type of restroom before in Greece but this is the first one I saw at a National Park.  You sure have to be a good aim to succeed.

Afterwards we had a delicious Italian dinner in Moab and the next morning attended Catholic Mass at the small St. Pius Catholic Church.