We stayed three nights after Zion with friend, who have a weekend place in the desert outside St. George, UT in a place called Ivins. While we really enjoyed the visit with them, their patio offered wonderful views of bird life, including a quite friendly roadrunner, as well as colorful cacti and a chipmunk.

Zion, one of the US’s most popular parks, is located at the intersection of Three major ecosystems – Mojave Desert, Colorado Plateau and Great Basin Valley. It was established as a national park in 1919. The park is essentially a narrow valley in the midst of very tall formations, with the Virgin River flowing through. The river initially flows through a narrow slot canyon 100′ below sandstone cliffs. This section, called the Narrows, is a very popular hiking location which offers the experience of wading in the river for as far as six miles up a much longer canyon.

The main visiting area is the first six miles of the canyon, where the cream/pink/red sandstone cliffs soar far above the valley floor. There are four life zones in the park – desert, riparian, woodland and conifer forest. The end of the shuttle ride is the Temple of Sinawava, where a one mile trail then leads to the Narrows. There are some seven hiking trails in the park, from short to six miles long and steep.

The main road from Springdale runs past the visitor center, climbs via switchback about five miles to a 1.1 mile long tunnel on the way to Mount Carmel and beyond. There are several viewpoints on the way up and beyond the tunnel.

Bryce is a top ten national park, one of several in Utah. It was discovered and named after Ebenezer Bryce, an early settler in the area, in 1874. It became a national park in 1928. The major feature of the park is Bryce Canyon. This is not a typical canyon, but is a collection of giant natural amphitheaters. They are distinctive for hoodoos – natural geological structures formed by frost weathering and stream erosion. The colors are dramatic with reds, orange and yellow colors.

Frost weathering is a mechanical weathering process that breaks down soil and rock through the freezing and thawing of water. The water seeps into cracks in rocks and freezes, expanding and putting pressure on the cracks to expand and break the rock.

The park offers numerous hiking and horse-backing opportunities. For those not so inclined, a 15 mile drive provides a significant number of overlooks which enable a wonderful view of the amphitheaters, as well as longer views of Escalante.

We left Moab and Arches and headed for Bryce National Park. Our route took us down 24S from I70 west via Hanksville and then through the narrow part of Capital Reef at Fruita. We then cut south on 12 to Boulder and Escalante to Bryce City. The scenery was spectacular down all along 24. The road then climbs to 11,313″ over Boulder Mountain and through the Dixie National Forest.

We found a neat little cafe in Boulder (Utah) called the Burr Trail Grill, which was well worth stopping at. The meal – and the craft beer – was great.

One evening we drove northeast of Moab to have dinner at the Red Bluff Inn, which sits right on the river about 10 miles from Moab. The terrain along the drive was incredible, and the following images were taken on my cell from the moving car.

Located just 5 mil;es outside Moab, Utah, Arches National Park is a 73000 acre wonderland of eroded sandstone fins, towers, ribs, gargoyles, hoodoos, balanced rocks and , of course, arches. The park has over 2000 arches including Delicate, Double, Sand, Landscape, Broken, Window, Skyline and so on.

Arches is an easy park to visit, offering a reasonable drive with multiple viewpoints, some with short walks, some with longer hiking opportunities.

A group of us recently toured the main national parks in Utah, visiting Arches, Bryce and Zion. On these travels we also visited Dead Horse Point State Park and drove through Capital Reef National Park. The scenery both in the parks and between them along the byways we spectacular.

Dead Horse Point is a small state park near Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, and just north of Moab, UT. It was formed in 1959. The park is on a mesa which narrows to a point which is only about 100′ wide and surrounded on three sides by steep cliffs which drop 200′ or so to the basin formed by the Colorado River. It provides a spectacular view of the river and Canyonlands NP, and should be a must stop if you are in the area. The park is best visited in late afternoon.

The name is derived from legends. The most popular has it that local settlers corraled a bunch of wild horses on the point, trapping them with a fence made from brush. After selecting the best, they left the rest to die from lack of water in order the keep the horses out of the hands of the Utes, the local Indian tribe.

The site has appeared in a number of movies including the car scene in “Thelma and Louise”.

Breckenridge is one of our favorite places to visit. This is particularly so in mid to late November, when the as;pens are in the process of changing color from green to yellow to – in some cases – orange/red. At this time we often drive up the road on the SE end of town up to Boreas Pass. This is a paved road that turns at some point to gravel, and is a favorite road for hikers, bikers and walkers, as well as drivers. Here are a few of this year’s images.

Warthogs

A widespread and conspicuously abundant resident of the African savanna. Often seen in family groups, trotting around with tail raised stiffly. This diurnal pig dines on grasses, insects, roots, berries and the like.

Honey Badger

The honey badger is black with a puppyish face and grey-white back. Loves to feed on broken up bee hives. Most widespread African carnivore, most powerful and aggressive for its size. Thinly distributed and infrequently seen.

Mongoose

Most frequently the banded version. Most commonly observed of a group of small carnivores. Occur in playful family groups, or troops, throughout Botswana. Feeds on insects, scorpions, amphibians, reptiles and eggs.

Squirrel

Common in ground and bush varieties; the first is located in the arid part of Botswana and the second in the bush lands.

Bushbaby

Most widespread and common member of a group of nocturnal primates distantly related to the lemur. Seen throughout the northern half of Botswana. Feed on insects. Inhabit wooded ares. Keen eyes and lightning speed.

Leopard Tortoise

A large and attractively marked tortoise found in the savanna of eastern and southern Africa. A grazing species that favors semiarid thorny to grassland habitats. Dwells in abandoned burrows. Grazes among mixed grasses, and favors succulents and thistles.

Scrub Hare

Largest and most common African hare. Nocturnal, tend to freeze when disturbed.

Bat Eared Fox

Small, silver-grey insectivore with huge ears and black eye-mask. Found anywhere the harvester termite is found, usually short grass plains. Will also eat lizards, gerbils, small birds, scorpions beetle larvae and other insects. Mostly nocturnal, often seen in small family groups.

Monitor Lizard

Lizards in the genus Varansus. Long necks, powerful tails and well-developed limbs. Terrestrial and carnivorous. Very abundant near water.

Side Striped Jackal

Relatively uncommon in Botswana. Grayish in color, with a horizontal stripe on each flank and often a white-tipped tail. Opportunistic feeder, taking rats, mice, birds, insects, carrion, fruit and termites.

African Wild Cat

Similat to coomon house cat in appearance. Ringed tail, brown tinge to back of ears and unspotted torso.Prey on reptiles, amphibians and birds.

Genet

Long, lean carnivores that appear catlike with a tail as long as the body. Round and elongated spots. Omnivorous. weighs 2-7 pounds.

Caracal

Smaller but heavier than the serval, resemble European lynx, with a tan coat and tufted ears. Solitary nocturnal hunters which feed on birds, small antelope and young livestock. Remarkable hunters. Rarely seen and mostly at night.

Black Mamba

Species of highly venomous snakes, native to sub-Saharan Africa. Second longest venomous snake after the king cobra. Mature snakes grow to 2-3 meters in length. Very fast. Seldom seen.

The hippopotamus, also known as the hippo, is a large semi aquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa. After elephants and rhinoceroses, the hippo is the next largest land mammal. The closest living relatives of the hippos are cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises). Hippos are recognizable for their barrel-shaped torsos, wide opening mouths with large canine tusks, nearly hairless bodies, pillar-like legs and large size. Adults average 3300 pounds for bulls and 2000 for cows. They are capable of running almost 20 mph over short distances.

After elephants and rhinos, the hippo is the next largest land mammal. Its’ closet living relatives are cetaceans – whales, porpoises, dolphins and the like. Hippos are recognizable for their barrel-shaped torsos, wide opening mouths with large canine tusks, nearly hairless bodies, pillar=like legs and large size. Adults average 3300 pounds for bulls and 2900 for cows. It is capable of running almost 20 mph for short distances.

Hippos inhabit rivers, lakes and mangrove swamps. Territorial males each preside over a stretch of water and a group of five to thirty cows and calves. The bull has breweding access to all the cows in his territory. Mating and birth both take place in water. During the day, hippos remain cool by staying in water or mud, emerging at dusk to graze on grasses. A hippo will travel 2-3 miles per night, eating around 90 pounds of grass. By dawn they are back in the water. Grazing is solitary and non-territorial. Hippos are the most dangerous animals in the world due to their aggressive and unpredictable nature. They are threatened by habitat loss and poaching for meat and ivory.

Their skin is protected by a natural secretion of a red-colored sunscreen substance that is sometimes called a “blood sweat”. The hippo’s life span is typically 40-50 years. They are not particularly good swimmers. They rarely enter deep water. They can survive under water for 4-6 minutes at a time. They sleep with both hemispheres of their brains resting, and usually sleep on land or water with the nostrils exposed.

Hippos have a significant impact on the land across they walk, keeping the land clear of vegetation and depressing the ground. Over time they can redirect the path of streams, swamps ans d channels. Yawning, very common, serves as a threat display. When fighting the bulls use their incisors to block each other’s attacks and their large canines as offensive weapons. The most common hippo vocalization is the “wheeze honk”, which can travel over long distances in air. The call starts as a high-pitched squeal followed by a deeper resonant call. The animals can recognize the calls of other individuals.

Cows reach sexual maturity at five to six years of age and have a gestation period of eight months. Females will typically not begin ovulation after giving birth for 17 months. Calves weigh on average 110 pounds. Hippos coexist alongside a variety of large predators including Nile crocodiles, lions and spotted hyenas. Calves are particularly susceptible.