Best Friends Animal Sanctuary

This place is amazing. Famously amazing. One of the nation's premier animal sanctuaries, set in a stunning piece of Utah canyon country (just outside of Moab), we took the bus tour, visited some animals and had lunch in the vegan cafeteria with the breathtaking view.

road to Kanab

The next destination was Kanab, Utah but it was a long drive to get there, mostly on highway 89 (above) through the Navajo Reservation and Lake Powell - which looked sort of dreamy in the afternoon light (below).

Bright Angel Trail

 

As someone who has hiked to Phantom Ranch at the bottom of the Grand Canyon and back, as well as to Indian Gardens, which is part way down, I am pretty familiar with the Bright Angel Trail. I have memories - the two serious hikers who were going from south rim to north rim, and the lady in high heels who was apparently just "sampling" the trail. That day we did something in between.





El Tovar

We had breakfast at the El Tovar Hotel and it was everything it is cracked up to be: great food, great service, and great atmosphere. I seem to remember unusual and unusually good pancakes.



Maswik

Staying at Maswik Lodge and dining in its cafeteria was meaningful since, when I worked at the Grand Canyon back in the early 90's, I spent a certain amount of time there and had not been back since. The place looked mostly the same with a few improvements.

Grand Canyon squall

We arrived at the south rim of the Grand Canyon just in time for the squall. It was another impressive display of contrasts: about half an hour of sunshine followed by this hailstorm that could be seen blowing rapidly across the canyon. The timing was good; early enough to enjoy the spectacle and then take refuge in the car. The hailstones stuck and resembled snow.

Arizona contrasts

Within a 24-hour time period we experienced all the night-and-day contrasts of southern and northern Arizona. The differences have always amazed me. After strolling around warm Old Town Scottsdale (below), dining in the open air and swimming to our hearts' content, we hopped in the car and took the highway to Flagstaff, where the vibe was more about warm food in a cozy restaurant on a chilly day (in our case it was a Thai place called Pato). The final leg of the journey was the long drive past the snow-capped San Franscisco Peaks (above) to the south rim of the Grand Canyon. While these separate segments are wildly different, I find that I like all of them, thus making Arizona one of my favorite states.



the Saguaro Scottsdale

There has always been something seductively unreal for me about the state of Arizona. For quite a few years we had wanted to stay at the Saguaro Hotel in Scottsdale, and then one day it happened. One of the bests parts was this pool.



Aptos revisited

One more trip to Aptos to see the beach, try a new coffee house - Surf City Coffee in the memorable Redwood Village (below), and dine at our old favorite, Ambrosia.



Point Pinos

The famous Point Pinos at sunset, the way it looked on our one-year anniversary.

Rocky Point

After years of driving by it, we finally stopped at Big Sur's Rocky Point. What can I say, it is a beautiful rocky point with a beautiful upscale restaurant on it. I think we had the fish and chips.

Carpinteria Bluffs

This is a really nice place to go for a walk and embodies the typical Santa Barbara county experience: breathtaking natural beauty combined with industrial trimmings. The natural beauty part includes a seal rookery and everything around it; the "industrial trimmings" in this case include the railroad tracks, which you need to step across, and this pier that is used by the folks that work on the oil rigs. Somehow it all comes together.

 

Golfland

Now and then we like to play these slightly over the top "putt putt" golf courses... Golfland in Milpitas is a good one, full of castles, forts and pagodas.

apples explained

...by the cultivators of the very distinctive  Kiku apple.

Mount Diablo

At 3,849 feet Mount Diablo is one of the highest points in the Bay Area and, standing in relative isolation, is historically famous for the panorama it offers. Early surveys of the state used Mount Diablo as a reference point for mapping out California and beyond. For that and other reasons Mount Diablo State Park had been on my radar for some time, and it was nice to finally set foot in it. Driving around sunset was visually pleasant, but I could only take so much elevation gain along the narrow, curvy road. Still, it was worth it.

Lupinus

I encountered this field of lupines in California and posted the photo on Facebook, as I am wont to do. It was brought to my attention that they are called Bluebonnets in Texas, and I paused; are they really the same flower? The answer is yes, both are members of the genus Lupinus which includes over 200 species. Not sure which species these are, but their famous Texan cousins, the state flower of Texas, is Lupinus texensis.

enormous grasshopper

The enormous grasshopper that was trying to blend in right where I ran my fingers over the aromatic sage brush at the Wrigley Botanic Garden.

anchor plant

The beautiful and unusual anchor plant  (Colletia paradoxa) from Brazil, seen at the Wrigley Botanic Garden. To me it looks like a flock of origami birds in flight.

Wrigley Memorial and Botanic Garden

The thing to do once settled into Avalon is to take the long walk to the Wrigley Memorial and Botanic Garden. The memorial honors chewing gum magnate William Wrigley (1861-1932), who at one time owned most of Catalina Island. The botanic garden is, well, a nicely situated botanic garden. The view from the top says it all - grandiose, yes, but also rough and rugged.