As I mentioned last week, when I wrote about Navajo National Monument, Tom and I spent quite a bit of time viewing the ruins of Ancestral Puebloan people in October.  Shortly after visiting Navajo, we visited Hovenweep National Monument.  Talk about the middle of nowhere! Hovenweep National Monument is on the border of Utah and …

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As we visited National Park sites in Arizona and Utah, Tom and I often saw bridges, arches, and windows carved into the sandstone layers.  We visited Arches National Park in 2006, which is one of the big parks everyone hits sometime in their life.  This trip we visited Natural Bridges National Monument which is similar, …

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In December, 2016, President Obama created Bears Ears National Monument.  His proclamation set aside 1.35 million acres to be jointly administered by the US Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management.  One year later, December of 2017, President Trump slashed the size of the monument to 200,000 acres and divided the remaining land into two …

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The Navajo Nation owns the biggest piece of Arizona of anyone except the Federal Government.  Their reservation in northeastern Arizona is huge, especially compared to the Southern Paiutes in northwestern Arizona.  The Navajo have the largest tribal population, so it seems right that they have so much land.  After hearing about the Navajo for so …

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After a good night’s rest at Rubys Inn, I was ready to resume exploring the area.  Tom and I stopped for one more hike in the park – Mossy Cave Trail – before leaving Bryce Canyon. Even though Mossy Cave Trail is one of the easiest in the park, Tom and I had never done …

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Bryce Canyon is my favorite National Park.  I know I always say that each park site has its own beauty.  I still feel that way, but Bryce is the absolute perfect blend of everything I want in a National Park.  Its beauty is incomparable and it is very accessible compared to other parks.  You can …

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Tom and I finished working at Pipe Spring on September 29.  Although I still have a few more posts about things we saw on our days off, this will be the last post about working at Pipe Spring (I think).  So I will do my usual “Frequently Asked Questions” post.  You can read the previous …

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Everyplace we go on our travels we meet interesting people.  Some we get to know pretty well, like the young seasonal rangers here at Pipe Spring.  Others we just speak to for a minute or two.  Some we keep in touch with through the years.  I especially appreciate Facebook and being able to stay in …

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Previously I wrote about the animals we have on the ranch and taking care of them.  We have longhorn cattle, a horse, a mule, and – my favorite – the chickens.  We also see plenty of wildlife, especially lizards and rabbits.  I haven’t seen a rattlesnake this summer, which is just fine with me.  We …

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In September, Pipe Spring National Monument was one of the participants in the Southwest Astronomy Festival.  The event spanned a three county area, with two national park sites and several Utah state parks participating.  Cedar Breaks National Monument is known for its dark sky program, but it doesn’t have anything on Pipe Spring. The Kaibab …

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