Why must there be wild places?

Because the human, like any animal, requires solitude as well as companionship.

Marble Canyon

Vermillion Cliffs

Grand Canyon

Our constant companion on Kaibab Trail

Kaibab Plateau

Zion

Toward Angel's Landing

The Narrows

I admire this man's shorts

Obese squirrels all along the trail indicate that this rule has not been strictly followed.

Picking up a few days back: from the middle of nowhere we rode 86 miles to Marble Canyon. We made camp up on a flat rock (safe from ants!) near a Navajo Interpretation Center at the rim of the canyon, and between the two of us saw dozens of shooting stars before falling asleep. The next day we rode 42 miles to Jacob Lake (where, incidentally, there is no lake, only a pond, and even that is out of sight on private property) and met up with our friend Ryan Hayles, who gave us a lift down to the north rim of The Grand Canyon. We found a place to camp in the dark, and in the morning hiked down one of the side canyons to Roaring Springs, which Hayles noted would be more appropriately name Whispering Springs. Still nice, though, and freezing cold. On the way down Hayles introduced us to the prickly pear. Pleased to make your acquaintance. You are threatening, yet tasty. The hike was a little less than 10 miles round trip, with an elevation difference of 3,000 feet. The mule tours which we had to share the trail with all day kept things interesting. We said farewell to Hayles at Jacob Lake and rode 66 miles to Zion National Park. The following day we rode 10 miles to the other end of the park (we got a ride through a mile-long tunnel in an RV with a family from The Netherlands) and hiked up to Angel's Landing. Today, our second day in Zion, we hiked up Virgin River through what is known as The Narrows, and got our feet wet. We finished the day with a 35 mile ride to Washington (again!) where our new friend Dave picked us up and drove us the remaining 10 miles to St. George, where our other new friend, Denise, had a delicious meal waiting for us. Showers, laundry, soft beds. Oh, yes. It has been a little while since we've had such homely comforts! We've decided to take a day off, tomorrow, to recuperate from all this hiking and riding bicycles, before making our final push to the coast.