Paddling, Peddling and Hiking

Turning southwards on Hwy 12 we enjoyed the brief contrast of Aspen covered mountains (at 9,500 feet it was too early for the leaves to be out and the ground still had patches of snow) before we descended into slickrock canyon country. Taking in the scenery I didn't notice until the last moment that we were on a narrow stretch of road with steep drop off's on both sides. I found out later this ridge is called the "Hogback".

 A big surprise was the Kiva Coffee House perched on the cliff with 180 degree views overlooking the surrounding slickrock.....it even had the European coffee machines but was not open Tuesdays...next time...!!


The afternoon was warm, our choices were......hiking or kayaking. Needless to say we went out on the water. John took a dip, which takes some courage with temps around 10 degrees C (50 F). I went for a dip off the jetty the next morning and felt my body going numb as I huffed and puffed my way back to shore. We hiked the petrified wood trail and I was tempted to keep a piece to add to my small collection of rocks. I'm so glad I changed my mind because the Ranger Station was filled with letters of regret advising how much bad luck people had had since taking the petrified wood.

After reading that Kodachrome Basin had bike trails we detoured their on our way to Bryce Canyon. The trail wound it's way around interesting rock formations, up hills, through washes and deep sand...!! We really had lots of fun.

Uphill

more uphill...

woohoo downhill......