Lottery Losers At The Wave

So probably the toughest ticket in the Southwest, or possibly the world, is The Wave, one of Nature's more extraordinary desert sandstone displays, the six mile hike to which is controlled and administered by the BLM. Such is its popularity. We had never heard of The Wave before, but, seeing some photographs in various places, we were hooked; totally. Of course, you need a wilderness permit, to be obtained at the BLM offices in Kanab. And what you discover, upon presenting yourself there for application, is that there is a Wave Lottery, conducted daily (including weekends and holidays), at 9AM, via which ten persons per day are permitted to make the journey. Part of our staying in Kanab an extra day or two was to enter the Wave Lottery for a Thursday hike.  

The Wave; off the web

Ditto; just Google/image Wave, Utah and you'll come up with lots more;
it's one of the landscape photographer's ultimate dreams

So we arrived extra early Wednesday morning, Veterans' Day, assuming punctuality
might carry some weight...Fortune favors the early bird...right?

So there were 77 contestants that Wednesday morning; here, the Lottery Goddess
is explaining the process, eligibility, the hike, the risks, etc; she was good...I have
never felt better informed and prepared...seriously

1/77 isn't bad, certainly better than Powerball; and I was feeling unusually optimistic

But it was not to be our day to visit The Wave

Maybe next spring, or fall, I'll post some pix like this of us hiking The Wave...

Kanab, Utah's Little Hollywood

The town of Kanab prides itself on being the epicenter of Utah's once-formidable Western film and TV industry. Beginning with Tom Mix in 1924 and then the big studios a few years later, Kanab saw a parade of some of the greatest stars and film-makers for half a century. Not a small part of all this was the entrepreneurship of the Parry brothers, who promoted the landscape and lore and who provided the lodge that would be production headquarters for countless movies and TV shows. Parry's Lodge is still there, and there is a free Museum of Little Hollywood (and Trading Post), but the main interest to us were the many plaques lining the main drag. For those of our vintage (and with an interest in both western and cinema history), it was a fun stroll, full of memories and a few discoveries.

It all started with this guy, but the big studios
were not far behind

Another of the Immortals

Did you know that the Rat Pack originally was
founded by Bogey and that the name was
bestowed by Lauren Bacall? Extra credit: name
a western in which Bogey played a supporting
character

OK, this would have been a Western in the 18th
century

Just a flesh wound; OK, so where is Cleavon
Little (of Blazing Saddles fame)?

North, east, south, or west, this guy was funny

Just passed away...into a Technicolor Heaven,
hopefully

Never played the bad guy...except in real life

Never played the bad guy...

Also a snake whisperer

Everyman's Everyman

She and Roy and Trigger were going through a
rough patch...

#1 TV Western

#1 movie cowboy; also never played a bad guy...

Outside the Little Hollywood Museum

Among the many sets at the Museum, this from The Outlaw
Josey Wales; made of styrofoam or somesuch, of course

Presumed origin of the Blazing Saddles
character; bonus question: who was the referent
of Mel Brooks' character, Governor William J.
Lepetomane?

Entrance to Parry's Lodge

Bryce Canyon National Park

We'd been to Bryce in the early 90s with our daughters. It was the summer-time, and I remember thinking "wouldn't this be interesting to see with some snow on it?" Be careful what you wish for. This time we got to Bryce in between storms, and my 25 year-old wish was granted. There also was snow and ice on the trails and pathways out to the overlooks. Bryce is mostly about 7,500-8,100 feet in elevation. Another storm was on the way, and we wanted to get to the north rim of the Grand Canyon before that next storm closed the road for the season. So, we spent but a few hours in Bryce. Fortunately, it is one of the nation's smallest national parks, and its main road--everything of interest is east of the road--is less than 20 miles long. But what a glorious 20 miles!

An arch, and not a small one, too

We arrived a bit past lunch-time, and I was concerned about
light for the pix; but there was plenty, and the objects of interest
were east and down and far away

Panorama

Regarding the geology here, refer to the color-coded depiction
of the Grand Staircase (vermillion, chocolate, white, gray, and
pink sandstone cliffs...) at the end of the preceding post; the
amphitheaters, fins, spires, arches, hoodoos, etc., of Bryce are
all from the top-most pink cliffs of the Grand Staircase; 8,000
feet up there

Us, there

"Nevermore!"

A forest of spires

Pretty incredible place

Grand Staircase/Escalante/Route 12

Southern Utah has five of the nation's great national parks, not a few national monuments, and, of course, the north rim of the Grand Canyon, just over the border. And scores of state and other parks, too. Our current travels have been a reconnaissance in force, and apart from the Arches NP area, we have been breezing through, seeing what seemed of interest or obligatory and taking lots of notes for a future extended visit. Cold weather has been chasing and inhibiting us. The Bigfoot is good down to sub-zero temperatures, we know, but it's just not all that much fun hiking in 30 degree temperatures, with occasional snow and ice on the ground. Among the notes taken, in any case, is the impressiveness of the Grand Staircase/Escalante National Monument. A few of its 1.9 million acres (!) can be seen from Utah's route 12 "All-American Road" and from US 89. On some maps it will be just a blank spot between Canyonlands NP and Bryce Canyon NP. If you enter this blank spot, be sure to have the National Monument's map and brochure as well as the Route Guide to Scenic Byway 12. The scenery rivals what you can see in the national parks and there seem to be camping and recreational opportunities around every bend. We discovered all this at the end of the trail and not the beginning, and so our visit was a bit less disciplined than it might have been. Nonetheless, we were struck by the scenery, among other things, and took a few pix.... Oh yes, to be designated an "All-American Road," a federal designation, a road has to be "a destination unto itself," in addition to meeting a variety of other requirements.