Cape Final and Transept

We haven't ventured far to hike, so in the last two weeks we repeated hikes from last year. Of course the views are still spectacular. Here we are at Cape Final.

Sherri doing a tree pose, I'm glad she has good balance.

A nice spot for lunch with a view.

On Saturday 8-11 the symphony from Kanab UT played at the North Rim on the veranda. I was asked to represent Forever Resorts and introduce Symphony of the Canyons. This is an annual event which Forever Resorts sponsors. There are 45 symphony members and there were 300 people in the audience. The veranda was packed. I am introducing the orchestra.

I think the audience is laughing at my joke, not a bad spot for some music, and the sunset was spectacular!

This past week we hiked the Widforss Trail which we did three times last year. It's an enjoyable five mile hike very close to where we live. The views of Transept Canyon are pretty good.

Also on this day we hiked over to Uncle Jim's Cabin which was really a cave in the side of the rocks. Uncle Jim was an early pioneer with many colorful stories. He was not very tall.

The meadow below is very pretty.

My sister arrives tomorrow for a four day stay, we are looking forward to showing her around where we live, play and work. Also, tomorrow the owner of Forever Resorts is bringing nine buses to the North Rim. I will be a step on guide for one of the buses and Sherri will be welcoming people in the Lodge area. It should be an interesting and busy Monday.

Horseshoe Bend

Two weeks ago Sherri and I went on a shopping trip to Page. We had read and heard about  Horseshoe Bend Overlook just south of Page but had never had time to stop. It's a spot where land is several hundred feet above the Colorado River. We were amazed at the number of people who had parked and hiked the 1/3 of a mile to the overlook, most were not speaking English. The views and the rock formations are very cool. Wind and water can do some amazing things over millions of years. The photos below are river float trips, Sherri looking good and the Horseshoe Bend.

One of the reasons we went to Page was to buy groceries for the Gift Shop Employee Appreciation Picnic. Anthony and I (with Sherri's help) prepared and cooked lunch for our co-workers. The setting is pretty spectacular, right on the rim. We also gave out some prizes and all enjoyed a picnic rather than the another lunch in the Employee Dining Room. Some shots of the Gift Shop Employees having a good time.

Last week Anthony, Sherri, Ryder and I hiked from Saddle Mountain, in the designated wilderness, down to the Nankoweap trail head which is an additional 11 miles to the river. The hike we did is a steep seven mile round trip. We can take Ryder since we are not in the NPS. When we arrived at the trail head the clouds from the previous night's monsoon storms were laying low.

Although the temperature at 8800' never got above 70deg. the humidity was much higher than we are used to and we all worked up a sweat.One of the great things about this hike is we did not see another person all day. Storms did start to brew just east and north of us, fortunately we did not have a storm over head.

Ryder had a good time and he wanted to see what Anthony brought for lunch.

Above we are looking across the canyon. It was a great hike and we felt it coming straight uphill at elevation.
We have now passed the halfway point of the season and most have fallen into a good routine, we are looking forward to a good second half.