Panama Canal Day 2

It was another sunny day in beautiful Florida. After brekie, we packed up, checked out, and headed back to the Everglades to hunt for alligators.

The logical place to do so was the Anhinga Trail just inside the park gates. We saw quite a few birds and photographed some of those but what we really wanted to see were GATORS! With higher water levels than last January, they have more choice of where to hang out in the park. During the dry season, the Anhinga Trail tends to stay wetter than other areas so that’s why that trail is considered to be a prime viewing area.

Fortunately, we ran into someone who had just seen a couple of gators so we bustled on over before they disappeared and we lost our chance. One guy was lounging in the water and the other was lying right beside the path - a boardwalk above the water level. Much of that animal was in the dark shade while some of him was in the bright sun. Photographically speaking, this makes for a lousy photo but we didn’t care. We saw what we came to see!

The morning was zooming along and we had miles to make so we left the park, satisfied with our Everglades expedition. We plugged in the GPS and headed to the airport. But along the way, we made a quick stop at the Fruit and Spice Park, an attraction Dawn had read about. We wanted to check out their gift shop. It was rather unremarkable so we continued on. Traffic was much busier than when we came in, of course. After driving on roads with lots of stops and limits of 45 mph we finally reached the freeway, a toll highway. Unfortunately, due to much road construction and the GPS not giving us enough warning when to turn, we zoomed past our turn-off. The rental car needed filling and at the gas station, we got good directions to the airport.

We were later than we wanted to be but not late enough to be in trouble. Returning the car went very smoothly and we connected with my cousins from Saskatchewan. The shuttle took us to the Port of Miami where we checked in and boarded our Norwegian Cruise Lines ship, the Norwegian Star.

We found our rooms, dropped off our carry-ons, then went to explore the ship. We hadn’t had lunch so we grabbed a quick bite before attending the mandatory safety drill. By that time our luggage had arrived and we began to unpack but soon realized the ship was underway. We headed out to take a few pics and see the sunset. 

Supper was at the Aqua Restaurant: steak, potatoes and the delicious wild mushroom quesadillas we remembered from the last cruise. There was chocolate on the dessert menu so that was the only choice, naturally. Enroute back to our rooms, we stopped to watch the last part of a Welcome Show at the Stardust Theater, then back to our rooms to call it a day!

Moab Day 6

Today we travelled to the Needles district of Canyonlands National Park, so named because of the formation of the rocks sticking straight up. Six Shooter Peaks was our first stop. It was a quick stop beside the road and the wind was really biting.

At the Visitors Center you could see the Island in the Sky district in the distance where we were yesterday. It is a very broad mesa. There are 3 districts in Canyonlands, naturally divided up by the Green and Colorado Rivers.

Another short stop was at a granary used by Pueblo Natives about 1,000 years ago.

We walked to Cave Springs further down the road and saw a cowboy camp as well as a cave used by cowboys and Pueblo natives many years before that. Both left their mark on the walls. Moisture from the springs seeped along some of the cave walls and plants grew in random places.

The Wooden Shoe Arch was another nice stop and there were cottonwood trees nearby in full glorious fall color. The sun warmed things up nicely and layer after layer of clothing got discarded.

Elephant Hill provided us with a better view of the Needles. But closer exploration would have required hiking in to the area or the use of a 4x4 vehicle with plenty of clearance. We stopped at a picnic area for a noon meal and a group photo.

On the way back to Moab we made a stop at Indian Creek, a world-class destination for rock climbers. There were quite a few groups climbing up a sheer rock wall and the task looked impossible.

Our final picture stop was Newspaper Rock State Park. There is a huge wall filled with petroglyphs of every kind. Unfortunately, others have added graffiti over the years as well.

We arrived back to Moab and had a short break before our farewell supper at the Sunset Grill. It’s a beautiful restaurant high atop a hill and the views of town were great. The food was quite wonderful and we wound up the program after we ate. It’s been fun!

Moab Day 5

It was so nice to have sun all day, right from the get go! And with no wind, the early morning shoot was much more pleasant than yesterday. About an hour from Moab is the Island in the Sky District of Canyonlands National Park. Our first stop was the iconic Mesa Arch. We knew it was popular but we were not prepared for how many other people would be there at that time of day too. Eventually they cleared away and we were able to get some shots of the sun shining on the arch with a view of the peaks underneath. It’s so nice when the weather and lighting conditions are perfect!

Next was a stop at the Green River Overlook. The Green River joins up with the bigger Colorado River and the view was tremendous.

We stopped to shoot another viewpoint where we could see a winding gravel road below. It looked like quite an adventure to drive that road!

Our last stop of the morning was the Visitor’s Center where we saw another well-done short film. There was a terrific viewpoint right across the road. Where I stood made some people nervous but I was well back from the edge, really I was!

After lunch and a rest, the group drove out to Arches again and we split into two parties. One group went on a hike to Delicate Arch. The other group, which I joined, did a variety of stops. We saw an original cabin of one of the early settlers.

Some more petroglyphs were nearby.

We were able to photograph Delicate Arch from quite a distance away. We could see dozens and dozens of people at the top and along the trail and were glad we had not done the hike to such a popular and over-crowded spot.

We did a short hike in between some ‘fins’ where there was a cool arch.

Our sunset spot was Skyline Arch and we had the place to ourselves. The moon was practically full again. The quality of light at that time of day makes the already red rocks, even more so!