globallagarto

I went to Paria Canyon a few days ago (mid May). It’s very beautiful and extremely unique. Only 20 people per day are given permits to camp overnight in the canyon, but day hike permits are unlimited and available at trailheads. I didn’t have an overnight permit so I camped at Stateline Campground (I was the only person there) and then hiked from Wire Pass trailhead through Wire Pass and Buckskin Gulch for about 8 miles or so and then returned the same way. I considered going from Wire Pass trailhead to Whitehouse trailhead (21 miles), but the shuttle I contacted costs $75 and I didn’t think the other stretch of canyon would be significantly different from what I had already seen.

The canyon was amazing. It’s so narrow, my shoulders touched both sides in at least one spot. Logs jammed high overhead from flooding were a reminder that being caught in this canyon during a flash flood would certainly be fatal. There were some beautiful petroglyphs as well. In some places the high red walls were smooth, reminiscent of Zion National Park. In other sections the walls looked like sculpture of choppy seas. In terms of wildlife, crows flapped through the canyon fairly often, and there were canyon wrens and (cliff?) swallows. I saw one small snake (not a rattler) next to a knee deep mud section that was unavoidable. There were some partial carcasses in the canyon: a hawk, a bobcat, and some partial deer pelts—which must be how buckskin gulch got its name. I don’t know but I would guess that mountain lions eat deer, etc. near the canyon rim and parts fall over the edge. I only saw 2 people on my way in, and a only few more when I turned around. Mostly I hiked in solitude, which was nice.

I recommend this place but it is a harsh environment. The narrow canyons are cool and shady but outside the canyons the sun is intense and hot. Plenty of water is needed, and good weather conditions are essential. Rain anywhere upstream could be catastrophic.

My wife and I flew to Colorado to attend a wedding but we gave ourselves several extra days to spend some time in the mountains. We liked Estes Park a lot, it has beautiful views and a river walk. We also saw a whole herd of elk. We found a great Costa Rican restaurant there called Pura Vida, which we highly recommend.

This is a great zoo. We even saw a red fox trotting along with a freshly killed squirrel in its mouth as we were approaching the zoo—an added bonus! Our favorites were the giraffe exhibit where you can hand feed the giraffes, and the ski lift to a viewing area high on the side of the mountain above the zoo. All the exhibits tried to recreate the natural habitat of the animals. I highly recommend this zoo.

My dog Jack and I camped last night at Calabasas campground in Southern Arizona and hiked to the Atascosa Lookout today. My thermometer showed that it got down to the high 30’s last night, which was pretty chilly for Southern Arizona in April! Jack didn’t seem too happy about it. We missed the trailhead twice (not well marked) but the scenic route really was scenic so it wasn’t a problem. Had a great hike to the lookout, and from the top the views went on forever in all directions. To the south you could look many miles into Mexico. It’s a strange feeling to start a hike in cactus and end up in the pines. The lookout is an old fire lookout cabin. Edward Abbey worked there for a while and wrote about it. I hadn’t heard of this hike until last summer when I read an article on it and saw some photos of the views. Very beautiful.

This is one of the most amazing places in the world! Astonishingly unique and beautiful scenery with unbelievable systems of connected cave dwellings carved out like an ant tunnels by ancient people both above ground and underground. Frescoes and relief carvings have been damaged but still are amazing. It gets swarmed with tourists in the high season, but I’ve also been there in the late fall when there was almost no one around.

Phoenix might not seem like a very good place to hear blues, but the city is made up of transplants who have relocated here, and many of them are from Chicago or other spots along the blues migration trail; from Mississippi to Chicago. There are a couple places in Phoenix that offer blues, but this is my favorite. It’s small, dark, a bit dingy, and has great music. I used to go hear Chico Chisholm here, an elderly bluesman who had played with some of the greats in his youth. There’s a small dancefloor that gets very crowded as almost everyone gets out there at some point. Fun place. Most nights no cover charge.

Great Chicago Blues.

Blues Central in terms Chicago blues history. Chicago style blues was born here, and much of “The Blues Brothers” was filmed here. I haven’t been there since the late 80’s but I’ve heard it has changed a lot in recent years and that even the famous open market has been relocated.

Great festival, it used to be called the King Biscuit Blues Festival. In 2005 the name was changed to the Arkansas Blues and Heritage Festival. I prefer acoustic Mississippi Delta style blues, and I thought that the best blues I heard at the festival was played by some of the elderly individuals who weren’t officially part of the festival but were playing old beat up slide guitars on street corners with their guitar cases open for tips. I loved it. I recommend visiting this festival.

I lived here for a while. Extremely diverse community, lots of good food!