Day 11 – May 30 Hoodoos and Snafus

I had a vivid realization today: Starting the day with a big ol’ plate of Huevos Enchiladas is about the best way to start the day EVER. I broke camp early and began today’s travels by purposely going about 18 miles in the wrong direction.

Two years ago, Jesse and I stumbled upon – or maybe I should give credit where it’s deserved – Jesse found a Mexican restaurant in Kanab called Nedra’s Too. He liked the pun on the name, so that’s where we went. It was a lovely discovery. The food was superb, and we sat outside on the patio, enjoying the perfect Utah night. We happened to be the last patrons for the night (not an irregularity when we traveled together) so instead of rushing us, they simply left a bus tub by the back door and said we could just put our dishes there when we were finished enjoying the evening. This kind of food and service will always bring me back, even if it is more than 1000 miles away from home.

I had intended to go there Wednesday night for dinner until I discovered they were closed on Wednesdays. So Plan B was to get up early and head in for breakfast. It didn’t disappoint. The food, the service, the atmosphere – all wonderful.  I look forward to dining there again whenever I’m in the area.

After the fabulous breakfast, I set out for Bryce Canyon. Now I have heard many many people say how wonderful Bryce is, and I didn’t doubt them, but I’ve seen some pretty spectacular sites in the last few years. I don’t think anything prepared me for this.

Before you even get to Bryce, you go through Red Canyon. I thought it was amazing, and you can see it from the road. I stopped and took a few pictures, posting one on Facebook. What an introduction to one of the most illogical and mesmerizing geological formations in the U.S. The main formations at Bryce are called Hoodoos, and they look like castle turrets or minarets or spires. I can’t describe the fairytale effect this landscape has – everywhere you look something else surprises. I intend to post a lot of pictures with this entry, and there are many many more that I could post.(And I will be posting some more when I have all the ones from my cell uploaded.) That said – a slight snafu to the whole picture-taking process ensued.

My lens on the new camera I bought for the hikes quit working just right yesterday. I had to tap the camera on my leg to get the lens to close all the way, but that system was working just fine. At least it was till about two-thirds through my eight-mile hike here today. Suddenly, the camera lens wouldn’t open at all. Then it would open just a little, but be out of focus. Then I could zoom it out and it would be in focus for just one distance. But most of the time, it just wouldn’t extend. Very frustrated, I took a number of pictures on my phone, which of course has an inferior camera compared to my point and shoot. I did bring my old camera, but it has a strange battery charger, and I somehow forgot or misplaced the charger, so it’ll be good for about 100 shots, at the best.

My euphoric mood was suddenly lost. Now this hike was a very physical hike with a lot of elevation gain and loss, with some of the gains extremely steep. This hadn’t bothered me much at all; I just paused long enough for my heart rate to return to normal when I was winded. In fact, I’d been please to realize almost three miles into the hike that my feet weren’t bothering me at all. This was the first day I hadn’t felt pain in them. (I know it was that hot tub last night – I might have to fit in a soak once in a while!) It had been, to that point, the most enjoyable hike of the trip so far. But now, everything seemed wrong. The hike lost all its magic for about 30 minutes. I cursed the camera, I cursed myself for forgetting the charger to my old one, I cursed the area for not having a store where I could look for a replacement at a decent cost. And I cursed that I have to find the money to buy another camera most likely.

Starting to feel like Forrest Gump at the National Parks

So as I’m stomping along, cursing, I come across a pleasant couple, Viv and Jeff, whom  I’d seen at the rest place earlier in the trail. We visited briefly, and I told them of my camera woes. It turns out they had a Canon much like mine and just happened to have an extra battery charger on the trip with them. They offered to bring it to my campsite later in the afternoon when we had finished our hikes, and give it to me. Serendipity at work once again it seemed.

This lightened my mood somewhat, but I still had residual discontent. I finished the hike taking shots with my phone and occasionally getting the damn camera to work. The last part of the hike – the Navajo Loop, was extremely crowded, even with the crazy elevation climb it entailed. There was apparently a tour bus of Chinese tourists that had just unloaded, and I bet I encountered about 50 of them in the last half-mile. As a bobbed and weaved around them, climbing to the rim trail to take me back to my campsite, I was still a little sour.

Some areas - lots of people

When Viv and Jeff stopped by the campsite, we realized the charger they had was for a slightly different sized Canon battery. But we had a lovely visit and exchanged information. We plan to connect on Facebook and keep in touch. Who knows? Maybe it’s the beginning of a great friendship. It was at the very least, a wonderful connection and a great example of the generosity of strangers. What a lovely world it is out here.

Tunnel vision

After they left, I decided to grab a quick shower to wash the trail dust off my legs, and when I arrived at the showers, they were just closing – an hour earlier than scheduled – and I couldn’t talk the woman into letting me run five minutes over the time they were to close. So I went to the next closest place for a shower, and they were $5 showers. I decided I could sponge bathe for that and returned back to camp, still grumpy and discontent.

I’m better now, after fixing myself a burger and sitting here enjoying the warmth of my campfire, but it seems that mood determines so much. I wonder too if a little loneliness hasn’t crept into the mix with the disappointment on the camera, the shower, and the unpleasant interaction with the store clerk.

What a mixed bag today has been. One thing is certain, there doesn’t seem to be many dull or boring moments in my life on the road.