Kaibab & Grand Canyon

Darron and I spent a couple days hiking Kaibab and the north rim of the Grand Canyon as an alternative to not being able to find the trail head of the originally planned hike.
We certainly didn't miss out on cool views:

The north rim was closed to most people, but not us. This allowed us to enjoy this incredible place without the throngs of morons.

This is Imperial Point:

Darron at Imperial Point lookout:

I'm in this picture on the left, out on the ridge by the large pine:

This was our campsite as viewed from another ridge:

Darron next to a 1,000 foot cliff:

The lower plateau is too cool to be real:

Another shot of the lower plateau:

The hiking was just awesome. Our only complaint was the thorns and flies. The patches of snow provided cold refreshment.

Darron, living on the edge:

A beautiful day:

This picture doesn't show it, but the pine forest had been on fire not so long ago.

The Grand Canyon and hiking. What better outing could be planned?

An endless amount of incredible views.

And a lot of cool herps:

Dry Canyon Outing

Andrew, Luke, and I went up to Dry Canyon to release a snake that had been found there a few days earlier. Then Andrew wanted to hike up the ridge. Luke had to be carried for most of the outing as it was very steep.
Andrew and Luke enjoying the view:

The valley below (Can you find Jared's house?):

Timpanogos in the background:

The walls in Dry Canyon are not dry. They seep and drip:

South canyon wall and moon:

We went to release one snake and found another (Mormon racer):

San Francisco Through Our Lens

10 inches of snow in Highland on the morning we flew out:
This was the first stop on our tour. It was some sort of weird but cool theater. The women up top are said to be weeping for the lack of arts or something like that.

Another photo of the same thing plus someone's head.

This is the Golden Gate Bridge. We were told that the weather is rarely clear enough to get photos like this, so we lucked out. On the way back the bridge was mostly obscured by fog.

Without too many native weeds, the landscape is very handsome. Here is another of the same basic shot:

Haight & Ashbury. Psychedelic colors. So, what? Most cities have their drug problems. San Francisco's drug culture is nothing to be proud of. There are still hippie people walking around Haight dressed weird and acting mentally ill.

A tugboat towing a freighter under the Golden Gate Bridge (photo taken from the bus):

A 5,000 piece jig-saw puzzle or just another one of our photos:

With the horrible economic problems, the bridge really is for sale. Just kidding.

No LDS churches were seen while touring the city. This Russian Orthodox church was interesting:

Oceanside from Twin Peaks:

Bayside from Twin Peaks. The view is 360 degrees, weather permitting

Sea lions are dogs of the sea. There were a lot of large jelly fish. There were people swimming in the cold, jelly fish infested waters. They must have been navy seals.

This is not the bird man of Alcatraz, but probably just as crazy

This sea lion that came up to us looking for a hand-out. It had a damaged left eye, but no shark scars.

Jen, sailboat, and Alcatraz

At the museum near Fisherman's Wharf we found an article about extreme brutality that happened on ships in the 1800's. A warrant for arrest was issued for a F. Ryan and J.W. Robbins for some of the brutality. This is not kind of geneology that most people hope to find (the photo is poor because it was taken through thick museum glass).

The Rainforest Cafe: a cool place to eat.

A lovely resort island (Alcatraz: island of the sea birds), which housed the worst of the worst. It is indeed possible to swim the 1.5 miles from Alcatraz to the mainland. Note: the bridge is behind the island in the photo, but the fog had rolled in and obscured it.

This was cell block "D" for isolation.

A spacious exercise yard, complete with a view and hopscotch:

A healthy breakfast was a must for Alcatraz prisoners:

This is Jennie looking thrilled to be visiting the Muir Woods, the only remaining coastal redwood forest on the planet. It was only about 8 miles after crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, leaving San Francisco.

These pictures don't show how incredible these trees are. One tree that had fallen was cross sectioned and a time line was drawn on its annual rings. The thing was over 1,100 years old, but there were trees that were twice it's diameter.

Even the clover was huge in this forest. It was about the size of your hand. The words "Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum" came to mind and I almost expected to see footprints in the 20 foot range and maybe a table the size of a house.