Gypsy & The Navigator

Cathedral Gorge State Park.........Shhhhh! Don't Tell

We have driven Nevada Highway 93 several times but always on our way to a destination so we have not stopped at Cathedral Gorge State Park.

This time we made it a destination.

Oh my!  How could we have waited so long to see this natural wonder?

Amazing that this geologic wonder is just a hop, skip and a jump off the highway.

The day was perfect.  Temperatures in the 70's and look at that sky. 

The 2000 acre park land was once home to the Fremont, Anaszi and Southern Paiutes.

Cathedral Gorge became one of Nevada's first state parks in 1935.

This dramatic landscape is composed of eroded soft bentonite clay.

Cathedral Gorge sits in Meadow Valley. A majority of Meadow Valley, which lies along U.S. Route 93 from the towns of  Caliente to Panaca, was covered by a freshwater lake nearly 1 million years ago.

The richly colored canyons of Cathedral Gorge are remnants of the ancient lakebed.

Over centuries the lake drained and along with the water volcanoes, earthquakes, and wind caused the erosion that created the spires and cliffs here at Cathedral Gorge.

Walt was curious about the horizontal line that ran along the cliffs.  The darker rock at top is compacted clay that hardened above the water level eons ago. The lighter rock sat at the middle of the lake.

The erosion continues today by rainwater, melting snow and wind.  

This geologic process has gone on for millions of years.

This place is a mecca for the imagination. The walls are lacy, feathered, filigreed, fluted and then molded into palaces, animals and of course cathedrals.

Hidden in those walls are what the locals call "the caves."  For the rest of us they are slot canyons.

Leaving Walt behind I disappeared into the narrow slots.

Once inside the narrow walls it is 10 degrees cooler.  Today wasn't hot but on a hot day this is where you would want to be.

Some of the slots were nice and wide.

Many had spots I had to squeeze through. 

By the time I was exploring the slots it was midday.  I kept thinking what spectacular photos there would be at sunset. Maybe another time.

But, even at midday there are some spots that are dark and secluded.

There are so many ways to go.........I spent a lot of time and I am sure I only touched a part of where the slots lead.

This one came to a dead end.

This one had a round room.

Picture post card views on the way out of the canyons.

The glorious formations continue and again.......look at that sky.

It was time for lunch.  We enjoyed it under the original picnic shelter that was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the 1930's.

This was our view as we had our lunch.   How fortunate we are.

The CCC also built a water tower. The water was pumped into a tank on the top of the tower and then piped to the picnic area.  The water in the well under the tower was too alkaline, so it is no longer in use.

The original bathrooms built by the CCC sit right among the formations.  There are new more modern ones now but they don't have this charm.

We have been here for hours.  We have not seen another human.  Shhhh......don't tell anyone about this place.  If it makes it to instagram it will be another Sedona or Horseshoe Bend.

The only sign of life were the ravens.  They were croaking and screaming bloody murder.  I think their attitude to us was "go away." A group of them is  called a congress or unkindness. It depends on the behavior of the group at the moment. They can be referred to as a constable, an unkindness, or a conspiracy.  All of those behaviors were definitely not happy about humans in their territory. 

The time came to leave the canyon because there was one more view we wanted to see.

About one mile north of the park entrance is Miller Point overlook.  

The shade shelter that crowns the hill was built by the CCC as well.

Here the view is above the canyon. The panoramic views of the gorge are spectacular and you get a view of the magic erosive power of wind and water.

It would be fun to see the water run through the dry wash below during a rain storm.  

What a pretty clay sculpture.  

Another great day out and about all alone in this striking landscape.  Again Shhhhh.........don't tell.  

Heading North Through Familiar Country

Our relaxing month in Camp Verde came to an end and it was time to slowly head north.

Traveling through Northern Arizona is very familiar territory to us.  We have been here many many times.

Being in a familiar place had me thinking about why people keep returning to familiar places rather than exploring new ones.

For us it is because there are some places we really like and are happy to return or they are on the route we need to take to wherever we happen to be going.

For others it is a fear of the unknown.

For others it is just disinterest or lack of curiosity about anything new.

I have talked to many of the people that come to Arizona for the winter from Canada or the Northern States that take the same route back and forth staying at the same places and never exploring anything new.

Some people are creatures of habit. They like going places they are familiar with and they know their way around.

Some keep returning to the same place because of an emotional attachment.  They have good memories of family and friends there so retrace the same steps.

Some places have such unique beauty that there is no reason to choose any other place to go.

For some the places they go are due to family traditions.  That's where they've always gone so will always go.

Which leads me to me.  Why am I always so curious?  Often I am thinking "where can I go next? what have I missed seeing?"

I'm not dissatisfied or discontent when I am stationery.  I can settle down and be happy as a clam in one place. 

Then I read a book or see a program on TV about someplace interesting and the travel bug bites and the location is on my wish list. 

Today's travels are brought to a close at the Kiabab Paiute Tribe RV Park near Pipe Spring National Monument.  Over the years we have watched the park being built but this was the first time we have stayed here.  It is nice with quite a bit of grass and the promise that those twigs of trees that have been planted will grow into beneficial shade in the not too distant future.

The next morning we are on our way again.  This day we are heading into Nevada.  

Nevada is a state we have done quite a bit of exploring in but this visit we are going somewhere new.

We have arrived in Caliente, NV staying for a few days at Young's RV Park.  Nothing notable about the park except its location.

The most notable building in Caliente is it's beautiful old railroad station.  This architectural masterpiece was originally built to host a Union Pacific Railroad depot in 1923.  It held the railroad station, a full service restaurant and 50 room hotel.  Why here in the middle of nowhere?  Caliente was thought to be the next big resort town of the American West. As Caliente is the halfway marker between the larger cities of Los Angeles and Salt Lake City, Union Pacific formerly used this railroad depot as a major hub.  When Union Pacific moved its hub to Las Vegas the big resort dreams were over. 

Caliente has tried to put some rejuvenation into the town and this pretty path along the river is near the RV park where we stayed.  Caliente is named for the nearby hot springs because Caliente means hot in Spanish.  I couldn't find anywhere that you could soak in the hot springs other than at the Hot Springs Motel.  It was once owned by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ and was the site of several forced marriages between under-aged girls and older men. This was brought out in the trial against it's leader Warren Jeffs.  The new owners have remodeled and are hoping its reputation is forgotten. 

On my walk at dusk I lingered on the bridge overlooking the wash that runs through the area.  This sweet girl came walking down toward me and was as curious about me as I was about her.  She posed for several photos and didn't flinch when cars drove over the bridge.  Finally I tired of standing in one spot and started to move.  She moved in the direction I headed and when I came to the end of the bridge she aimed for the trees and bedded down. 

Just like the deer I made my way toward the trees and bedded down in GypsyII.   Another great traveling day.