2018 - Kenya Discovers the Wild West - Days 9 - 13

Day 9 – September 18, 2018 – Mountains and Arches

Spotted Wolf Canyon, UT along I70

We awoke to the sight and smell of smoke in the air as the Pole Creek and Bald Mountain fires rage south of here, burning over 90,000 acres. The reports were encouraging, however, because the wind has died down and over 1,500 firefighters are on the scene battling the blaze. So, because of road closures, we were forced to take another route south, which turned out to be the highlight of the day! We headed south to Interstate 70, then east through the Fish Lake Mountain range, including Spotted Wolf Canyon. Oh my, this was absolutely stunning. Elevations ranged from 5,000 to over 7,700 feet; the mountains and valleys varied from craggy and treed to steep red-rock cliffs with little vegetation. From the ear-popping ascents to the dizzying descents, across the red dessert terrain or gazing down deep jagged ravines; from sandstone crowning flat iron cliffs to the red rock of the Colorado Plateau caused by iron oxidation, nature certainly is the best artist ever!! This was a wow, just WOW!

North Window and South Window, Arches National Park

Skyline Arch

Balanced Rock

The fins

We stopped at a wayside for a little lunch. It was breezy but hot at 93 degrees! It reminded Father Robert of Kitui, Kenya, in March or September! It’s probably good to get him acclimated to being home again! And then we headed a bit south again to the entrance of Arches National Park. This, too, is simply amazing. This small rugged area contains a variety of sculptured red rocks created by water, ice, extreme temperatures, the movement of salt underground and a lot of time. Over 2,000 arches with at least a three-foot opening have been categorized in the Park. While driving along we see not only the arches, but many of the fins of red rock (tall thin slabs of rock standing side-by-side without touching), some balancing rocks atop base pillars as well as those formations named for the Three Gossips, the Court House, the Fiery Furnace, Sheep Rock,, Park Avenue, etc. This was so fun I even started naming a few of the formations myself – The king sleeping on a chair, the Angel, the Train, the Buffalo … maybe they’d pay me to name a few more formations!!! Overall, this too is a phenomenal place to see, nature outdoing itself again!

But we’re not done. We then meandered toward Colorado via the Colorado River Valley along the east side of Arches where we continued to encounter steep red-rock cliffs on both sides of us, all with many different formations on or alongside them. It is a long drive, but well worth the scenic beauty. We’re in Grand Junction for the evening, still marveling at the vast array of natural occurrences, in this case, all within a day’s drive from each other!

Day 10 – September 19, 2018 – Canyons and Mountains

Monument Canyon

Coke Ovens

Right next to Grand Junction is the little known gem, The Colorado National Monument. The canyon rim rises 2,000 feet above the Grand Valley of the Colorado River at a height of over 6,700 feet. It is like a mini-Grand Canyon with its bold and brilliantly colored plateau and sheer canyon walls, the towering naturally sculptured rock all within 32 square miles of rugged up-and-down terrain. The road takes us first zig-zagging our way up to the rim with an absolutely stunning view of the valley and Grand Junction below with another cliff far beyond that. We then circled the rim for about 20+ miles, finally zig-zagging our way back down. In all the red rock grows pinyon pines and Utah junipers. The junipers fascinate me as the roots tenaciously find their way to nourishing soil in the cracks of the rocks, while the fibrous looking trunks twist and turn across the stones. Again, nature’s artistry at work!

Utah juniper

The short walk through the junipers to view Ute Canyon was also fascinating. Under foot were layers and layers and layers of thin red slabs of rock, like they were piled there to build up the cliff. I found this very interesting. And, of course, Ute Canyon along with all of the other canyons and formations were simply stunning. As Father commented, everything is so unique in its own way, unbelievably stunning. Another WOW!

But that didn’t end our day. We drove east along Interstate 70 for about 130 miles in the canyon of the Colorado River. It too was an absolutely gorgeous drive with towering mountains hemming us in on both sides, through tunnels in the mountains, turning right, then left, then right, then left making our way up and then down the rugged terrain. This had to have been an expensive freeway to construct! We left the interstate for the back country to the little town of Kremmling along the upper Colorado River, half way between Steamboat Springs and Vail. Getting here was quite the adventure as we again meandered up and down mountains and viewed many beautiful valleys in this very sparsely populated area. Then, at an intersection of a tiny little village, we ventured onto a 24-mile long dirt road. Being somewhat apprehensive about taking that short cut, the crude little sign on the road assured us that yes, it indeed is a dirt road, but our car will be ok!!!! Actually, it was a great dirt road through more of the beautiful mountains.

We arrived in Kremmling mid-afternoon, so we had an opportunity to just relax – who knew that such stimulating and exhilarating scenery and nerve-wracking roads could be so tiring!! A relaxing dinner at a local brewery completed another wonderful day of dry canyons to high, jagged, lush mountains. Simply amazing – How Blessed we are.

Day 11, September 20, 2018 – More Mountains to the Prairie

Leaving Kremmling, MT this morning, we continued to follow up the Colorado River all the way through the west valley of the Rocky Mountain National Park. While this area is considerably more populated, it is still very beautiful, especially with the brilliantly colored yellow aspen leaves showing their fall motif and the morning sun glistening on the mountain tops. One of the benefits of coming here in the fall is to enjoy the fall colors against the backdrop of the deep green spruce trees and the mountains themselves. Driving through the ravines and canyons, we were literally in the clouds at several points. Father reflected it’s like heaven reaching down and meeting earth!

Once in the park, we were favored with the sight of a few female elk grazing along the roadside, ambivalent to all the attention they were given by us spectators! Unfortunately, that was the only wildlife we saw in the park today. However, the vistas while driving through the park were simply unbelievable. After numerous switch backs up the mountain, we stopped at 10,100 feet to gaze and gasp at the valley below and surrounding mountains. Not only is it a LONG way down, but the terrain is something to behold.

But there are many more switchbacks as we climb above the tree line to the mountain tundra, at one point over 12,000 feet. We’re mighty short of breath up here about now! But, again, the views are spectacular. We stopped at the Alpine Visitor’s Center for a 360 degree view of the area. There is only a six-week growing period up this high, but the thin layer of soil does produce a plethora of low-growing flowers during that time. Because of the temperatures this time of year – the low 40s this morning with a very, very brisk wind – the elk that are generally found here grazing during the summer have moved to lower elevations and the Big Horn Sheep too have found warmer shelter elsewhere. There are still a couple glaciers in the rugged mountain tops as we head downward on the east side of the Park. Once again we admire nature’s incredible handiwork!

Kawuneeche Valley, Western Rocky Mountain National Park

But, alas, one must return to civilization; and Estes Park is a great place to stroll, shop and enjoy a most delicious ice cream cone! As we are now mindful of making our way back home, we traveled on Highway 34 along the gorgeous narrow ravine of the Big Thompson River, again the rugged mountains hemming us in on both sides. As we say good bye to the mountains, we cross the mile-high rather treeless plateau, north to Cheyenne, Wyoming, then eastward on the prairie along Interstate 80. This evening we stopped at the famous western town of Ogallala, Nebraska. We’re staying at the – get this – Lonesome Dove Lodge (those of you who are fans of western movies know what I mean!) and had a delicious meal at the original western town Front Street Steakhouse and Crystal Palace Saloon!! A fitting way to say adios to the Wild West as we meander eastward and downhill to home, don’t you think?!

Front Street of Ogallala, Nebraska

Days 12 & 13 – September 21 and 22, 2018 – Homeward Bound

What is there to say about driving across Nebraska’s prairie on their busy Interstate 80?? Well, there’s acres and acres of corn and grazing land; a few fair-sized cities along the way and the Archway across the highway at Kearney which pays tribute to the freedom of mobility of Americans, recreates the wagon train experience of crossing the prairie, the buffalo stampedes and other iconic westward movements in our country’s history. That’s about it.

Once we leave Omaha and cross into Iowa, we follow the Missouri River up about 20 miles to the beautiful DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge. Here we learn that the Refuge is a part of a larger network of refuges devoted to preserving and restoring increasingly scarce habitat for migrating birds. The ranger told us that over a million snow geese landed on DeSoto Lake last fall as they migrated south. How exciting that would have been to see!! Over 1,200 acres welcomes a wide variety of migratory bird species, and beckons hundreds of eagles to spend the winter there. With less than one percent of the original prairie landscape of our country left, they are also working to restore it, especially providing the plants necessary to attract monarch butterflies as they too migrate through here. Unfortunately for us, our timing wasn’t right and we saw no birds!

However, there is a piece of intriguing history here of the great Missouri River; and that is of the steamboat Bertrand, loaded with over $300,000 worth of supplies to be taken up the “Big Muddy”, as the Missouri was affectionately known, to gold miners and settlers in the Montana territory. Unfortunately, it sank on its maiden voyage April 8, 1865, and was quickly covered with mud. Much of the remarkably well preserved cargo, including dishes, glassware and serving platters, some champagne, some pantry staples, some items of clothing, ammunition, mining supplies, etc., were finally unearthed in the late 1960s, much of which is on display at the Visitors’ Center here. It’s fascinating to browse through what life was like over 150 years ago!

Our stay this evening in Sioux City is uneventful –- one more nice quiet evening before getting back to the busy-ness of “real life” tomorrow!

Saturday morning – As we wander home through northwestern Iowa and Minnesota, there are many signs of the tremendous amounts of rain they have had recently. Rivers have flowed over their banks into the ditches and low-lying corn fields, and some side roads that cross the rivers have been washed out. While the weather is a bit cool today, overall we’ve had remarkable weather – no rain, generally quite cool in the mornings but very comfortable during the days except for two days of hot sunshine! Of course, the high elevations and the fact that it is mid-September affects those temperatures as well.

Overall, we have all agreed this has been an amazing adventure. As Father Robert reflected, “It’s unbelievable. Things I’d never see anywhere else. You have to be there to really grasp the Wow factor. A once-in-a-lifetime experience. Out of this world!” While Bob and I have been to most of these places before, it’s been like a thrilling first-time venture, always seeing and experiencing something afresh. We are Blessed to meander through a small beautiful portion of our country with Father Robert. And we are so Blessed by his friendship. As they say in Kenya, “God is good all the time. All the time, God is good!” Asanta Sana