Category Archives: Nature

Red Cliffs Lodge

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Red Cliffs Lodge Along the Colorado River

On our last night in Moab, after canoeing the Colorado River, we dined out at the Red Cliffs Lodge. As you can see from the view, it is quite aptly named. This is the view from the veranda, where we enjoyed dinner at sunset. Our canoe livery guy is the one who recommended this place to us. The lodge has been base camp for many famous westerns and is located along both the Colorado River and Utah 128, which arguably claims to be the second most scenic highway in America, after Route 1 in Big Sur, California.

At one of Anne’s home visits, she met a family that was planning on vacationing in Arches. Anne asked the student if they were also going to visit the next door neighbor, Canyonlands. The five-year-old sibling erupted with, “Candyland?” That’s right tike, the red rock candy mountains.

Sand Island Petroglyphs

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Sand Island Petroglyphs, Bluff City Utah, Established 600 AD

We arrived at Sand Island at about the time that the check engine light came on in the Prius. We were a little worried about it, but there wasn’t much we could do about it, so we went on with our day. At least the light wasn’t blinking. That would have been really bad. Sand Island is on BLM property. There is a boat launch, campground and about a hundred feet of rock wall covered in Anasazi petroglyphs. There is both figurative art and symbols. The nearby town of Bluff City, Utah boasts on its city limits sign, “Established 600 AD”.

Anne has been busy this week making home visits. She and the teacher that she will be long-term substituting for in the fall have set up appointments with as many of their students as they can. These home visits are something new to me. They certainly didn’t do this when our kids were in school. The idea of them is to give the students and the teacher a chance to meet each other, before school begins. These meetings are being conducted in the home. This sets them in a more neutral setting and gives the teacher a chance to meet the families too. Discipline is not much of a concern with these kids, but Anne can always tell them that she knows where they live. 

Mile 13 on Utah 163

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Mile 13 on Utah 163 – Conveniently Marked

This iconic view has been used in many movies. Most iconiclly, at the end of the running sequence in Forest Gump and as the movie poster for Thelma and Louise. You are looking south at the northern extreme of Monument Valley. There were plenty of other people at the top of this rise, including friends of the motorcyclists that is approaching. I have no idea why there is a turnout at the bottom of the hill. Maybe, it for people who missed the shot to turnaround? There is a parking lot just behind me, but we just pulled off onto the shoulder.

We bicycled in Forest Park again today. It being Monday, the bike path was not very crowded, at least compared to the weekend. We detoured from our normal route and took the little loop that goes through Kennedy Forest. Much of that path has been repaved, giving us asphalt that is as smooth as glass. We thought that all work had been completed, but we bumped into a work crew and had to walk our bikes around them. A brook has been installed in the forest. This addition of water will be a big boon to birds in the area. In other news, the city and the Civil War museum reached an agreement about the disposition of the Confederate War memorial. Basically, the museum is going to get the memorial. A crane and work crew were busily dismantling the memorial when we passed by it. Two TV news trucks were also in attendance.