More Zion

I'm a bit behind but I'll try to sum up the past few days
Thursday I hiked up the Narrows
which is the beautiful narrow canyon from which the Virgin river descends
It's hard to describe the beauty
but the pictures on the website will help a bit.

Coming from the prairie it was hard to believe that sandstone could come in such shapes
and that water could make such an amazing landscape
Sculpted, the only word to describe the walls.
Incredibly in this desert environment,
water fills the porous sandstone,
seeping deep down into the rock
and then dripping out when it meets a harder layer of sedimentary rock
this creates the lush environment at the bottom of the deep narrow canyons
with ferns, moss and other water lovign plants thriving while 1000 feet above the
landscape is scrub brush and cactus

I hiked for four hours up the Narrows,
Meeting Doug and Eric from Michigan
with whom I hiked intermittently the entire time

More next post on Emerald pools and Life in the Taylor (Tom and Lori's) Trailer

Zion

Zion!

A shaky van and tired me,
20+ hours on the road
two campsites

dead:
one bird
one rabbit

One triple egg omelete with potatoes
several granola bars
one taco salad
one burrito
two litres of Bolthouse farms juice
one iced chai
lots of water (tasting good and bad)

Finding out that my van stops vibrating at around 120km/ph

Arriving at Zion National Park
An amazing place of God's creation
The Mormons got that right
Parts look like someone melted red bricks over the hills
deep carved channels

WOW

TRAVEL PICTURES UP

Click on the link to the right for my new travel pics and the Pottery website

Utah Day one and Two

So here I am on this trip

The last stop I made in Regina was Starbucks for an iced chai tea
Picked up my order and turned around to see Aunt Sherry!
Great to have someone to chat with before the long road
And she paid for some pottery picked up earlier
Enough for a tank of gas :)

Don't know what is in store for me this trip but here are a few things to look forward to
Virgin Utah
Mountain biking and rock climbing in Zion National Park
Boulder City, Nevada and kayaking in Lake Mead
Baja Californina, Mexico
Columbia River, Washington

Right now I am in Livingstone Montana
The general area where most of one of my favorite movies
"A River Runs Through It" was filmed.
Stopped in to put some tires on the van,
and have an alignment done
Slept somewhere between Sidney and Billings pulling in after dark and finding the campsite totally empty.
Woke up to an incredible orange sunrise
Deer coming out of the woods to drink at the river
Hit the road at 6am
SO early compared to my schedule of the past few weeks.


Have traveled around 1050 km so far Just over half way to Virgin Utah

Asking God for a vision
an idea of where I am to go with the filmmaking urges
what to shoot and how to do it
what kind of viewpoint

Realized this morning how greatly I love clouds
Driving through the landscape with only blue sky
I found it boring,
but when I journeyed further into clouded skies my spirits were lifted.

Am looking forward to shooting Tom and Rob biking and climbing
and the teams and support crews in Baja.
And shooting some underwater in the ocean
I think I may need to pick up a wide angle and zoom lens at the Sony Store in Vegas.



Observations:

the number of towns with crystal meth billboards,
Meth = Death
Once is too much

Not something we have a problem with yet in Duval
(that I know of)

Manhunt at home

Up here in Spiritwood at Mom and Dad's place
this old convent has been filled up with RCMP officers involved in the search for the fugitive
Strange having to come through a checkpoint to visit.
Also staying here is a family who's farm is next to the criminal's.

Needless to say it's a busy place.

Tomorrow off further North.

Macbook : iTRAVELER

It arrived two days ago, 
THis plain brown box
could not possibly be heavy enough
Smaller white box inside
smaller white computer 
like a Russian nesting doll

Here's the plan...

I'm heading canoeing tomorrow
No computers allowed,

Then home for a week
Pottery sale and dinner set delivery
and then off to the States and Mexico
where I will utilize hotel and other free wireless
to keep everyone updated on my travels.

See you on the road!

This is my first test of the blogger widget on my new Macbook!