2013 Winter Bryce Adventure

 Thors Hammer

We didn’t put puzzles together this year.

Well, I never put puzzles together.

Only Amy.

We packed them down.

We even bought a new one – a 3-d fox charmer.

We also took Scrabble, Rummikub, Bananagrams, Sumoku.

We didn’t play one game together.

What did we do when we weren’t doing something?

We watched sappy Hallmark Christmas movies until we turned into saps.

 Bristlecone Pines

Hiking down to Queen’s Garden,

I didn’t see anyone anywhere nearly as old as I am

but it’s hard to tell how old

Chinese, Japanese and Indians from India are.

Queen Victoria with an airplane flying out of her mouth.

Groomed trails behind Ruby’s Inn.

I just wore my boots.

Silence.

Beauty.

Fresh air.

 Queen Victoria from above - the trail between Sunrise and Sunset.

Limber Pines

On our way back, we stopped at the Visitor’s Center again.

“How come you don’t have a calendar deal?”

I asked the ranger behind the counter.

“We ran short of Bryce calendars this year

so we didn’t make the deal but I’ll give it to you.”

They only had three Bryce calendars left

so I bought one and a Colorado Plateau one

(buy one get the second one half price);

a 3-D puzzle for Amy for her birthday;

a 3-D solar system card for Eddy.

We also gave Amy the watch she picked out at SternMart.

SURPRISE.

Birthday lunch in dining room.

Mushroom sandwich for Amy; chicken wrap for me.

Then the employees sang Happy Birthday to her

and brought a huge brownie/ice cream/whipping cream dessert w/a candle.

Fun.

They gave us the local discount

because we told them we were here last year

on her birthday.

“Amy, do you want to get up and swim

or sleep in on your birthday?”

She was in the pool in 10 minutes.

My knees ache;

my shoulder aches;

my tooth aches;

my right foot falls asleep in my new boots.

I’m old--

but I’m having a great time.

We were excited about getting out to

our favorite loop at the end of the Park.

Bristlecone Loop Trail.

It was a mess.

Rough.

I felt like John Muir stranded on that glacier in Alaska.

“Let’s turn around and go back, Amy.”

“I think it’s shorter to go on.”

So we trudge on with all the strength we have.

Amy took pictures of a squirrel and a little bird.

I conserve my strength.

The snow is hard and choppy.

Too many boots going too deep.

If everyone had worn snowshoes

we would have been OK.

We took the Yovimpa Point trail shortcut to the parking lot.

We hardly went any distance at all.

Taking off our snowshoes, we walk to Rainbow Point.

Every year we stop at each viewpoint going down.

No, the scenery doesn’t visibly change

but the weather and snow scene do;

plus we need to replenish.

Besides Black Birch Canyon,

we stop at Ponderosa Canyon,

Agua Canyon, Natural Bridge, and Farview Point.

At Farview Point, we walk to Piracy Point—

no snowshoes, no poles because

we didn’t know we were going until we went.

Lovely hike to make up for the aborted Bristlecone Loop.

Winter quiet

Combines with the best air quality

For unparalleled views.

 I think this is Thors Hammer

 Hoodoos and eroding fins

Queen Victoria riding the camel???

As I snowshoed in on the last evening after dark, I thought:

I’m glad I didn’t ruin Amy’s trip by breaking a leg

Or having a stroke

Or a heart attack

Or even a panic attack;

Or an anaphylactic reaction;

Or a bladder infection since I forgot my pills for the first time ever.

(Don’t leave home without them.)

Or pneumonia, or asthma, or strep.
Or an eye infection or abscessed tooth.

I didn’t get lost or disoriented.

If I break a leg now, she’s already had her birthday trip.

I wouldn’t ruin anything.

So driving back to Ruby's Inn, I recite this to her.

She deadpans,

“You’ve never broken a leg.”

“No, and I’ve never had a stroke or heart attack either.”

But hey, it never hurts to be grateful.

 This is where Amy disappeared off the face of the earth.

 Tuesday morning at Paria Point.

 Tuesday afternoon - almost home.

I didn’t want to come.

Now I don’t want to go home.

Totally smogged in.

“Let’s go back to Bryce, Amy.

Clear skies, warm sun.

Turn Around.

What were we thinking?

This gloom and muggy air pollution is injurious to our health.

We can’t even see the mountains in front of us.

I never remember an inversion this bad.”

Trouble with me is:

When I am gone,

All I can think about is being home.

I miss DeRay and Eddy.

I count the days and hours.

When I get home,

All I can think about is the clear, clean air,

The pristine snow on the Hoodoos.

The hiking trails, the magnificent scenery,

The swimming pool just outside our door.

The maid who makes the bed and vacuums the floors,

the Amy-pre-prepared meals that only have to be warmed.

The sappy Hallmark movies.

Sharing all with my gentle, patient daughter

Who fastens my snowshoes

Now that it’s such a pain to bend and clasp.

The first pictures are Amy's

The last ones mine.