First a Hurricane Milton update:
Jon & DeeDee (who were visiting us in Zion) were delayed by 2 days getting back to their home in Venice, FL but luckily found no damage. Venice is located just 16 miles south of Siesta Key FL (where the Milton made landfall). The area did have a 5.5 feet storm surge, but their house was above that. Phew! And the best part, they got to stay two extra days in Las Vegas before flying out.
Dave and my townhouse in St. Petersburg also received no damage. Neighbors in our townhome development posted Facebook updates during the storm, so we could see there was no water intrusion. There was a main water break which shut off water for hours and the City of St Pete proactively closed two of their sewer plants; but both were back on the morning following Milton’s landfall. We were lucky as many parts of St. Pete are still without power 3 days later, which besides issues for residents, it causes traffic issues with the street lights inoperable. There were lots of trees down blocking roads as well.
We were very lucky to be spared and most thankful to Ginger & Juan in taking such great care of our home and ensuring the hurricane shutters were installed. They rock! And due to the direction of the storm, Tampa Bay had a negative storm surge, which was a huge relief to all those with extensive water damage from Helene. However, Tropicana Field, where the Tampa Bay Rays play (in St Pete), had its dome blown off. I guess it’s good the Rays didn’t make the playoffs this year. ☹
Now on to a lighter note; we enjoyed our remaining two days in Zion National Park. After Dave rested his ankle for the first 2 days (so bummed he missed those hikes); he and I hiked the Watchman Trail. The trailhead was less than ½ of a mile from our campsite and wound its way up 550 ft to a scenic overlook with gorgeous views It was a good hike for Dave’s ankle, not too steep and not too long. We returned to our RV to find Murphy sound asleep. I guess I shouldn’t feel guilty that he couldn’t join us; but I know he would have loved it.
That same day, Greg & Helen hiked the longer Many Pools Trial on the eastern rim of Zion. Greg noted it is an unmarked backcountry trail that follows a dry river bed over slick rock, up a canyon. It has many pools worn into the rock. Heading past a large dry fall, it narrows into a slot canyon. After negotiating a couple of dry falls in the slot, Greg & Helen encountered one they could not pass. They tried to climb/bushwack around it but found they did not have the gear to descend the 15’ cliff, so they headed back. Sounds like an adventurous hike and their pictures below are beautiful.
The next day was Greg’s birthday. The following is Greg’s description of their morning adventure.
On my birthday, we planned to hike to some petroglyphs and then up to a slot canyon. When that ran out, our plan was to walk around a mountain that formed the valley. It looked possible on the topographical map. The Park Service does not advertise the location of the petroglyphs. We climbed up some sketchy steep hills to get to a cliff face where we thought they might be. Nope. We then continued further up the canyon and found them right at the valley floor. There were two areas of drawings. It was very cool to have a connection with the person making those drawings on that wall maybe 1000s of years ago. We continued up the canyon until we encountered a dryfall we could not bypass. We went up the slickrock to the head of a different section of the valley, looking for a route up to the pass that would allow us to walk around the mountain. Both of us tried different routes. Each ended in pitches that were too steep to safely climb. We chose to abandon our plan and head back down. On the way down, we stopped for a rest, and Helen surprised me with a pastry complete with a birthday candle. She is a sweetheart! With our newfound time, we stopped and hiked the Park Service trail Canyon Overlook. It goes to a viewpoint where you can see the entire Zion Valley. After two days in the backcountry, being on a set trail with people was very different.
Dave’s ankle was throbbing during the night after our hike, so he passed on hiking the next day. I decided to do the same hike we did the day before, since it was so close to our campground. To keep me occupied during the hike, I counted the number of hikers hiking down (23) and I wanted to beat Dave and my time to the top (although we weren’t trying to set any speed records). I got to the first of two viewpoints 10 minutes faster than our time the day before. On the way down, I counted peeps heading up and I lost track but it was over 50. Getting crowded! I shaved 5 minutes off our descending time (even stopping several times to let hikers by) for a total of 15 minutes improvement. It was a great cardio workout for me.
When I returned from my hike, Dave and Murphy were enjoying guy time at the RV and were playing ball. I was quite hungry and I had spied a Nutella banana crepe with chocolate sauce on the menu of the restaurant we had lunch at a few days earlier. Dave and I hopped on the shuttle into town and arrived about 11:15 a.m. However, we had to wait until 11:30 to order lunch as Utah doesn’t allow a restaurant to serve liquor sold 11:30 a.m.,which is when the restaurant starts their lunch menu. Ugh. I was so hungry. And then the server brought out Dave’s lunch and said mine was being remade as the new cook was learning how to make the crepes. Double ugh. So, what’s a starving girl to do? Yep… I stole a few of Dave’s waffle fries while I waited. The crepe was amazing! My favorite – chocolate & bananas! Nothing better.
As noted earlier, it was Greg’s birthday, so we had a great dinner at Oscar’s Café, which had the highest rating of all the restaurants in the area (a 4.7). Greg didn’t want us to tell them it was his birthday, so no birthday singing at the table. Dratz! We shared two very large desserts: a warm homemade brownie with ice cream, whipped cream and walnuts and a very large piece of homemade carrot cake with delicious cream cheese frosting. Both were scrumptious.
Our next stop was Escalante Petrified Forest State Park. On the evening of our arrival, we hiked a trail which led us by a balanced rock, a pygmy forest (the tree growth is stunted due to limited rainfall), and petrified wood. And the best part, Murphy got to go! There is a sign noting the area us under video surveillance to ensure no one removes the petrified wood. Bad luck seems to follow anyone who steals rocks from the Petrified Forest. Hundreds of regretful visitors have mailed specimens back, sometimes weeks or years later, often with a remorseful letter attached.
We have a full day in Escalante to explore several slot canyons. Dave is sitting this one out due to claustrophobia. Watching You Tube videos of hikers conquering Peekaboo and Spooky slot canyons looks a bit intimidating. We shall see! Till the next blog…
So thankful for great friends to take care of our house Brenda, Done with hurricanes this year, ok? Dave, and this is the best life, Murphy.
Below are a few extra pictures from the week.
