Team Taylor

Brain cancer is...

...hanging with Taylor's Team.

Dinner's destination was Grand Junction for dinner with Taylor and Sarah and their daughters.  What a treat to meet the girls!  What an occasion! 

Here's the lead up to the day's Grand Junction grand finale.

Elmo channeled our last lab, Lilah, to join us for breakfast at the ranch.

Yussef led us on a tour of the ranch's back acreage, which is rich with the ruins of an ancient village and remains like rock art (below).

On our way out of the ranch, the pet sheep came running when we opened our bag of Sun Chips, offered as a parting treat. (Fortunately, the ranch's website tipped us off to the pets' favorite.)

The drive north was beautiful (surprised?), including a stop at Arches National Park.  

Southwest Exploration?  This was the seventh day of awesomeness.  More to come!

Well, Hellooo Colorado!

Brain cancer is...

 ...making our way north.

Tonight we are staying at The Canyon of the Ancients Guest Ranch near Cortez, Colorado.  We chose it when planning our trip because, until this place, we had never seen a lodging earn a full five stars on every rating service we checked (e.g., Google, Trip Advisor, and Yelp).

It's owned by wonderful people Ming and Gary.  Gary showed us around the ranch in an amphibious four-wheeler.  Oops, Gary and dogs Bear, Bessie, Delores, Teddy, and Elmo.  Amazing.  We learned how the ranch has earned its fans. Here are a couple pics of the grounds:

We'll insert more pictures tomorrow, when Internet is plentiful, but above you see our evening scene. (Added some photos 2/19.) Our cabin, The Cowboy Cabin, is to the left.  Here's Darrell and his dog, Bessie, next to our cabin earlier in the day:

And here's the cat, Rascal.

On our way, we...

...stood in four states.  We learned that the Four Corners Monument also serves as the boundary between two First American governments:  The Navajo and the Ute.  You see their flags above us, in addition to the state flags.

Lunch was in Cortez.

Darrell enjoyed tasting wine at Sutcliffe Vineyards, near the Ranch.  We did not know that Colorado has a thriving wine industry.

Thanks for your support, Team D., on our dessert extravaganza.  Today's dessert was...

...Navajo Fry Bread.

We had it at the Four Corners Monument and had to ask what state we were in.  Colorado.

It was our first fry bread ever in Colorado; usually we eat it in Arizona.  We learned much from the Navajo woman who prepared it for us, including the correct flour to use (Blue Bird).  She also told us about the relationship between the Navajo and Ute in this region.

Navajo Fry Bread:  Delicious wherever we are!

Dessert:  Did you have yours today, Team D?

State 48's Been Great.

Brain cancer is...

 ...back in uniform.

We left our winter wonderland and headed south to Arizona, State 48, which allowed Darrell to again suit up in his favorite gear (above).

From your responses to yesterday's photos, we judge that we were not alone in being startled by the beauty of Bryce in winter.  Every day of this trip has brought surprises.  Here are today's highlights:

1.  Before leaving Utah, we traveled through the National Monument, Grand Staircase-Escalante. Part of our explorations were on a dusty dirt road.

2.  Many species of dinosaurs are being discovered in the eastern part of the Monument.  Did you know that there were many kinds of triceratops, not just one?  Or that their headgear was probably brightly colored?  Here Darrell concedes.

3.  In Arizona, we enjoyed Glen Canyon Dam, its bridge, and Lake Powell.

4.  We hiked to Horseshoe Bend, on the Colorado River:

Crazy Cool

Thanks, Tall Guy, for taking the pic!

5.  We also took the short hike to some Hanging Gardens, right in the middle of the desert.

Steps away from the Gardens

The Gardens!  Fed by water that seeps through the porous stone cliffs.

 

6.  We ate every bite of our surf and turf at the restaurant recommended by our hotel:  State 48.

From our table, we enjoyed the garage door, opened before our eyes for the first time since fall.

Dessert? A house made ice cream sandwich, beer battered and deep fried.  Worth it.

Happy Monday, Team D!  Here's to surprises.

How Do You Do, Hoodoos?

Brain cancer is...

...breaking out jeans and hiking shoes today, Day Four.

Today we were stunned by the beauty of Bryce Canyon National Park in the winter.  Yesterday was Zion, bottom to top.  Today was Bryce, top to bottom.  (We started at the rim then hiked down.) Here are a few pics.

(Side note:  Here's a 2:28-minute video if you'd like more of the day's scenery.  Click here for YouTube link instead.)

The top:

Our First Peek, Sunset Point

Down we went, to the Queen's Garden:

That's the Garden, Behind Us.

That's the Queen...

...Queen Victoria, that Is.

And then back up via Navajo Loop to Sunrise Point:

Switchbacks, from the Top, after We Climbed them.

The View on the Way Up.

Where to Put Mud Flaps?

One more, from our drive around the rim:

Aptly Named Inspiration Point

Here are some things we enjoyed learning about Bryce:

1. Bryce Canyon is not a canyon.  It's a series of amphitheaters.
2. Bryce Canyon is much smaller than Zion, and less traveled.  It's also higher in elevation (witness the snow), from 8,000-9,000 feet. We were actually off season at Bryce, compared to busy Zion just yesterday.
3. We saw bristle cone pines, estimated at 1,600 years of age.
4. Those rock spires are called hoodoos.  They form when softer rock near the bottom of the spire is covered with harder rock, and the softer rock erodes first.

Okay, here's the new hat after dinner.

So snazzy.

It's been nice, Bryce!

Zion from Bottom to Top

Brain cancer is...

...amazed to find a hat that fits, right there at the Zion Visitor Center!

(Yes, a similar one left the store with us. A cool thing about this hat:  It's soakable.  Curt's currently trying to decide if it's safe for Optune users to soak it.  We're standing by. Don't look for the new hat in today's photos. It's for special occasions, like dinner.)

Today was amazing in the canyon, from bottom:

to top:

What a day!  Then we headed to Bryce, where the landscape changed dramatically.

One final bit of happiness:  With all the hiking, we had dessert at dinner yesterday and today.  Today was five-fruit pie (including rhubarb!) and ice cream.  Not sorry!

And to day is only Day Three.  We hope your Saturday was happiness-filled as well, Team D!