http://www.heatherdugan.com/blogBETA Travels and Journeys... Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:57:18 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 2006-2010 heather@heatherdugan.com (Heather Dugan) heather@heatherdugan.com (Heather Dugan) 1440 http://www.heatherdugan.com/blogNEW/wp-content/plugins/podpress/images/powered_by_podpress.jpg http://www.heatherdugan.com/blogBETA 144 144 http://www.heatherdugan.com/blogNEW/?feed=podcast Footsteps Travels and Journeys... Travel, outdoors, adventure, Heather, Dugan, stories Heather Dugan Heather Dugan heather@heatherdugan.com no no http://www.heatherdugan.com/blogBETA/2012/01/09/hoodoo-heaven-bryce-canyon-national-park-utah/ http://www.heatherdugan.com/blogBETA/2012/01/09/hoodoo-heaven-bryce-canyon-national-park-utah/#comments Mon, 09 Jan 2012 13:25:55 +0000 Heather Dugan http://heatherdugan.com/blog/taking-the-kids/hoodoo-heaven-bryce-canyon-national-park-utah/ http://www.heatherdugan.com/blogBETA/2012/01/09/hoodoo-heaven-bryce-canyon-national-park-utah/feed/ 17 0:03:44 Bryce Canyon has lingered as a treasured still-shot in my memory for some thirty years. One of those "perfect moments” from childhood that somehow attaches itself to your life and becomes a trailing accessory to it… Bryce Canyon has lingered as a treasured still-shot in my memory for some thirty years. One of those "perfect moments” from childhood that somehow attaches itself to your life and becomes a trailing accessory to it… Canyons, Extremes, Hiking Heather Dugan no no http://www.heatherdugan.com/blogBETA/2011/12/12/wagon-trail-capitol-gorge-in-capitol-reef-national-park-utah/ http://www.heatherdugan.com/blogBETA/2011/12/12/wagon-trail-capitol-gorge-in-capitol-reef-national-park-utah/#comments Mon, 12 Dec 2011 13:47:17 +0000 Heather Dugan http://www.heatherdugan.com/blog/taking-the-kids/wagon-trail-capitol-gorge-in-capitol-reef-national-park-utah/ http://www.heatherdugan.com/blogBETA/2011/12/12/wagon-trail-capitol-gorge-in-capitol-reef-national-park-utah/feed/ 11 0:01:12   The Capitol Gorge spur road revealed no more than its next winding turn, one intriguing twist at a time. The vistas were vertical. Rocky skyscrapers of Wingate sandstone towered dramatically, enclosing us in a one-way maze. The pitted gravel road[...]   The Capitol Gorge spur road revealed no more than its next winding turn, one intriguing twist at a time. The vistas were vertical. Rocky skyscrapers of Wingate sandstone towered dramatically, enclosing us in a one-way maze. The pitted gravel road offered few options but “forward” with measured care and speed. Every so often I slammed into my sensory limit, shifted into park and cautioned the kids to watch for non-existent cars out the rear window while I snapped off a couple of pictures. Finally parked at the road’s dead end, we set off on foot down a Mormon pioneer trail. In the hush, it wasn’t hard to imagine the distant creaking of wagon wheels. Evening would soon sheath the canyon area in utter darkness, but we walked the first part of the trail -sadly noting petroglyphs marred by not-so-ancient vandals. Further along the trail is a Pioneer Register with the scratched signatures of long ago passers-by. Approaching darkness would have prompted those turn-of-the-century travelers to set up their night’s camp but sent us on a reluctant trek back to our car and a slow winding drive in dimming light.       Updated from November 28, 2008. Canyons, Hiking Heather Dugan no no http://www.heatherdugan.com/blogBETA/2011/10/21/an-alpine-adventure-in-utah/ http://www.heatherdugan.com/blogBETA/2011/10/21/an-alpine-adventure-in-utah/#comments Fri, 21 Oct 2011 12:01:44 +0000 Heather Dugan http://www.heatherdugan.com/blog/photo/an-alpine-adventure-in-utah/ http://www.heatherdugan.com/blogBETA/2011/10/21/an-alpine-adventure-in-utah/feed/ 7 http://www.heatherdugan.com/blogBETA/2011/09/16/of-pictographs-and-petroglyphs/ http://www.heatherdugan.com/blogBETA/2011/09/16/of-pictographs-and-petroglyphs/#comments Fri, 16 Sep 2011 12:17:15 +0000 Heather Dugan http://www.heatherdugan.com/blog/taking-the-kids/of-pictographs-and-petroglyphs/ http://www.heatherdugan.com/blogBETA/2011/09/16/of-pictographs-and-petroglyphs/feed/ 10 0:00:55 We first heard of the Freemont people as we hiked to Lower Calf Creek Falls in the Grand Staircase-Escalante region. The remains of their storage granaries perched at the edges of the high cliffs above us, and we were thrilled to spot their painted [...] We first heard of the Freemont people as we hiked to Lower Calf Creek Falls in the Grand Staircase-Escalante region. The remains of their storage granaries perched at the edges of the high cliffs above us, and we were thrilled to spot their painted rock art, “pictographs,” on a distant canyon wall... Hiking Heather Dugan no no http://www.heatherdugan.com/blogBETA/2011/08/22/the-goosenecks-at-capitol-reef-national-park-utah/ http://www.heatherdugan.com/blogBETA/2011/08/22/the-goosenecks-at-capitol-reef-national-park-utah/#comments Mon, 22 Aug 2011 11:53:31 +0000 Heather Dugan http://www.heatherdugan.com/blog/taking-the-kids/the-goosenecks-at-capitol-reef-national-park-utah/ http://www.heatherdugan.com/blogBETA/2011/08/22/the-goosenecks-at-capitol-reef-national-park-utah/feed/ 11 0:02:15 ...Absurd rock formations that sat like installed art at the edges of the road. Majestic pillared cliffs tinged into life by the low glow of a hot sun. And an endless enticing horizon, vacant of people and things, that made us feel like the privileg[...] ...Absurd rock formations that sat like installed art at the edges of the road. Majestic pillared cliffs tinged into life by the low glow of a hot sun. And an endless enticing horizon, vacant of people and things, that made us feel like the privileged last few walking an emptied earth…. Canyons, Hiking Heather Dugan no no http://www.heatherdugan.com/blogBETA/2011/03/30/featured-photo-ridge-riders-in-bryce-canyon/ http://www.heatherdugan.com/blogBETA/2011/03/30/featured-photo-ridge-riders-in-bryce-canyon/#comments Wed, 30 Mar 2011 04:01:17 +0000 Heather Dugan http://www.heatherdugan.com/blogNEW/?p=8167 http://www.heatherdugan.com/blogBETA/2011/03/30/featured-photo-ridge-riders-in-bryce-canyon/feed/ 4 http://www.heatherdugan.com/blogBETA/2011/03/16/featured-photo-arch-view-in-bryce-canyon/ http://www.heatherdugan.com/blogBETA/2011/03/16/featured-photo-arch-view-in-bryce-canyon/#comments Wed, 16 Mar 2011 04:02:23 +0000 Heather Dugan http://www.heatherdugan.com/blogNEW/?p=8116 http://www.heatherdugan.com/blogBETA/2011/03/16/featured-photo-arch-view-in-bryce-canyon/feed/ 6 http://www.heatherdugan.com/blogBETA/2009/01/04/wash-dry-fly-repeat/ http://www.heatherdugan.com/blogBETA/2009/01/04/wash-dry-fly-repeat/#comments Mon, 05 Jan 2009 02:32:53 +0000 Heather Dugan http://www.heatherdugan.com/blog/photo/wash-dry-fly-repeat/ http://www.heatherdugan.com/blogBETA/2009/01/04/wash-dry-fly-repeat/feed/ 8 0:01:23 How do you follow up an exhilarating week of hiking through southern Utah?  Well, yes…  there was a bit of laundry to catch up on  -and some of our socks are permanently tinted “Iron Oxide Red” (if it’s not yet a “Cra[...] How do you follow up an exhilarating week of hiking through southern Utah?  Well, yes…  there was a bit of laundry to catch up on  -and some of our socks are permanently tinted “Iron Oxide Red” (if it’s not yet a “Crayola” color, it should be).  Utah’s red soil proved to be both endearing and enduring.But after the dryer stops spinning…  then what?Lucky me.  After returning from July’s hiking vacation with the kids, I hopped on another west-bound plane for a long weekend in California.  A little spontaneous?  Not really.  I’m always aimed towards travel, similar to a dangling leaf waiting for the next decent breeze (but with carry-on luggage and a camera).  It’s usually just a matter of working out the occasionally innumerable details.  And I did.I was caught up on voice jobs, knew I’d get decent writing time and was more than slightly enticed by the photographic opportunities.   The Hilton Pleasanton at the Club was (surprise!) in Pleasanton, southeast of San Francisco and worked well, on almost every level (review to follow). My California days included: Mount Diablo, a drive up the California coast to Bodega Bay, Muir Woods, and Pebble Beach.  I’ll be writing about each of these and more; next… Still to come, Playa del Carmen, Mexico and Ohio’s great outdoors! Extremes, Hiking Heather Dugan no no http://www.heatherdugan.com/blogBETA/2008/11/18/bridge-over-the-reef-hickman-natural-bridge-capitol-reef-np-utah/ http://www.heatherdugan.com/blogBETA/2008/11/18/bridge-over-the-reef-hickman-natural-bridge-capitol-reef-np-utah/#comments Tue, 18 Nov 2008 16:38:49 +0000 Heather Dugan http://www.heatherdugan.com/blog/taking-the-kids/bridge-over-the-reef-hickman-natural-bridge-capitol-reef-np-utah/ http://www.heatherdugan.com/blogBETA/2008/11/18/bridge-over-the-reef-hickman-natural-bridge-capitol-reef-np-utah/feed/ 11 0:01:17 The hardest thing about Hickman Bridge trail was the heat. The trail was only two and a half miles round trip. It was rated “moderate” and had no major elevation changes, but the arid July temperature and intense Utah sun slowed us down to a m[...] The hardest thing about Hickman Bridge trail was the heat. The trail was only two and a half miles round trip. It was rated “moderate” and had no major elevation changes, but the arid July temperature and intense Utah sun slowed us down to a more measured speed. Teamwork and a moratorium on “Wow, is it hot!” helped, as did sipping freely from our ice water-filled Camelbaks. The landscape hit “surreal” fairly quickly. Sparse greenery. And no water in “the Reef” once we left the Freemont River near the trailhead, but the erosive marks of water were everywhere around us: Caves, canyons and Swiss-cheesed boulders… Swirled cliff faces, both smoothed and pocked across the same space… The ever-present “signature” white domes in the distance… And, Hickman Natural Bridge itself, Kayenta Formation sandstone that once straddled an erosive stream… The arch, Hickman Natural Bridge, spans a dramatic 133 feet from a height of 125 feet above the trail that slips beneath it. No man chiseled it, but its Artistry is evident. And it is Inspiration in the middle of nowhere… Extremes, Hiking Heather Dugan no no http://www.heatherdugan.com/blogBETA/2008/11/14/a-reef-in-the-desert-capitol-reef-np-utah-2/ http://www.heatherdugan.com/blogBETA/2008/11/14/a-reef-in-the-desert-capitol-reef-np-utah-2/#comments Fri, 14 Nov 2008 15:17:29 +0000 Heather Dugan http://www.heatherdugan.com/blogNEW/?p=1993 http://www.heatherdugan.com/blogBETA/2008/11/14/a-reef-in-the-desert-capitol-reef-np-utah-2/feed/ 5 0:02:11 Visiting Capitol Reef National Park felt a little like stepping right off the map. There were no crowds. In fact, when we first arrived in the late afternoon, the park office had already closed for the day. But there was a posted park map, so w[...] Visiting Capitol Reef National Park felt a little like stepping right off the map. There were no crowds. In fact, when we first arrived in the late afternoon, the park office had already closed for the day. But there was a posted park map, so we filled out a permit form, dropped our envelope and park fee into a lockbox, double-checked that posted map and did our preliminary explorations along the main drive. The Navajo aptly named the Capitol Reef area: “Land of the Sleeping Rainbow.” And the land does look as if someone got a little wild with the watercolors, splashing and spilling vibrant hues out to the next horizon… Giant chunks of tinted earth look as though they were squeezed in the fist of an over-sized toddler and then casually dropped in the wilderness. The abrupt variations in color, texture and formation tell geologic stories of ancient rivers and swamps, forests, a Saharan-type desert, and a one-time shallow ocean. Capitol Reef is the stand-out attraction of The Waterpocket Fold, a 100-mile long buckling of the Earth’s crust. Domes, arches, cliffs and narrow canyons are the main draw, but Capitol Reef also includes the Fruita Historic District. This preserved Morman settlement is a splash of green within the rocky landscape and has a working pick-your-own orchard. A cold snap had prematurely ended the apricot harvest when we visited leaving no fruit to pick, but a park ranger –eager for us to sample Fruita’s fruits- readily gave to us from her own stash of early apricots. The weather and season ultimately steer one’s hiking decisions at Capitol Reef. The intense summer sun and exposed trails made it essential to begin our hikes early in the day and to avoid some trails entirely: the hike to Cassidy (as in “Butch Cassidy”) Arch was tempting, but its access trail, the “Frying Pan,” sounded like a better choice for a cooler season. Distant rainstorms were a factor as well when choosing slot canyon hikes. While we didn’t get to Cassidy Arch, we were fortunate to see Hickman Natural Bridge. That hike will be “next up” in this Utah series… Hiking Heather Dugan no no