Saturday, February 27, 2010

Still on the edge of the world

Tonight is our 9th night sitting on top this unbelievable chasm in the ground, but we will be leaving in the morning. We assume you have seen the two pictures that we posted earlier on our blog last week looking out our windows.

It's time to share a little of where we are and what we can see around us. This is our two rigs sitting on the edge looking west. You don't get the full effect in this photo but you do get some of the beauty of the area.


Going around and looking east you can see our rigs again at the top of the hill with a view all the way to the bottom and the San Juan river below. You will have to look closely to see us at the top of the 1000' drop.

When we first set up our rig at the top we realized that we where straddling this large crack so decided to move over about 5' just in case the rock decided to drop off.

If you look close in the previous photos you will notice how undercut the top layer of rocks is so that was another reason to move back a little.



Looking down on the Goosenecks from our campsite is quite a view. It takes the river about 7 miles to cover about 3 land miles in this area. You can see how far the river has traveled quite a ways in the 3 spots that you can see here.
This scene changes constantly all day long as the sun passes over the area. It's hard not to take a picture every hour.



Just another view on one of the sunny days we had here. We would have 2 days of sun and then 2 days of clouds and storms. Spent a lot of time traveling the area on nice days and just relaxing and making cards and jewelry on the cold, cloudy and wet days.



Alice decided on one of the better days it was a good time to pull up a chair, enjoy the view and a good book. We both continue to be amazed at what mother nature has carved out of desert and the beauty left behind.

We took a drive in the surrounding countryside and on the way back it started to snow. In the morning we were greeted by some very strange sights around us.


By 9:00 AM most of the snow has melted except for what was still clinging to the plants. The ground has turned to mud and we gain about an inch in height because of all the mud sticking to the bottom of our shoes as we walk around the area. What a mess but what can one do.


The clouds sitting on the ground and coming up from the canyon gave this view to us as we got out in the morning.



We are heading to the small town of Bluff in the morning to spend the night so we can flush out our tanks, do a little laundry and then will meet up with Robbie and Alice, who are staying here another night, for the last 100 miles to Moab Utah where we hope to get into our sites some- time early next week.
The park is still full of snow but just maybe we can get settled and start to learn our volunteer routine and spend some time hiking the park and seeing the surrounding area.
As a parting shot, here is a picture that Dick took late one evening with the clouds of a passing storm over the mountains. We had gone out for a ride and caught this sight as we came home.
Yes he took a little liberty with a photo editing program to get the moon in just the right place.

We still have pictures to share of Valley of the Gods, Monument Valley, Moki Dugway, Natural Bridges and more so stay tuned.
To be continued...


1 comment:

picinichml said...

that really is an amazing view. I feel so blessed to have a view of Mt. Rainier every day right outside my front door. I'd love to see those in person though! That last one that you edited was amazing!