carrie69

Hi there

Just wanted to say unfortunately we are back from our holiday but we had the best time! I LOVE Utah. Will be back later to post the first part of our trip report and photos once we have sorted them out.

Myer

Eagerly awaiting the report and photos.

SandyBrit

carrie69 - Looking forward to your trip report.

Sandy

cmcfong

Welcome home and happy birthday! Look forward to reading all about it.

Dayle

Hey, Carrie,

So glad you had a good time! Can't wait for your report!

carrie69

Well here we go then…I hope this isn’t too long but I don’t want to forget a thing!!

Day 1 16th June 2007. We arrived at Phoenix airport about 5.30pm full of excitement for our forthcoming trip. Ian had only found out where his surprise birthday trip was at the check in desk at Heathrow! I presented him with a copy of our trip itinery and I’m sure I saw a few tears in his eyes as he read it! We also got upgraded on our flight organised by a friend who works for British airways which I had no idea about which was really nice. Anyway so we arrive at Phoenix but unfortunately our suitcase didn’t!! I just couldn’t believe it. We did have a small holdall with us with toiletries, flip flops and a few other items but no clean clothes! BA staff took all our details and were hopeful we would get the case soon and gave us $150 to get some essentials until then. So we eventually picked up our car about 7pm and started our journey to Williams where we were staying overnight. I’m really glad I didn’t decide to try and get to Vegas that night as we were really tired after the flight and once it got dark we were struggling to stay awake. We turned the radio up and kept swapping driver and eventually made it. We stayed in the Holiday Inn which was good – nice sized room and clean – couldn’t ask for more.

Day 2 17th June
Woke up at 4am and couldn’t get back to sleep! Got up about 6am, checked out of the hotel and went to Dennys for breakfast. We forgot how big the portions were and decided we could have shared the grand slam we had ordered! We then went to a grocery store and stocked up on water, cereal bars for when we went on hikes and some chips and cookies. I had packed a foldaway cooler which we filled with ice so lovely cold drinks on tap! Having a cooler is a definite must for this sort of trip. We then drove up to the Hoover dam and took the tour there. It was very busy and very HOT especially as I only had my jeans to wear – I got some strange looks I can tell you. The tour was interesting and something Ians always wanted to do so we spent a couple of hours there before driving to Vegas. Wow we were glad we weren’t going in the other direction as the traffic was backed up for miles! We arrived an hour or so later and went straight to Old Navy to get some clothes – it was good to get into shorts! We then checked into the Bellagio – lovely hotel and central on the strip. Spent that evening exploring, watched the fountain show, ate far too much at the Bellagio buffet and then had a beer in a bar near ceasars. We were getting very tired again at this point and I fell asleep in the bar with a beer in my hand! Time for bed….

Day 3 18th June
Started off the day with a call to BA about our case – still no sign of it and they had no idea where it was. So we had a dilemma. We only had one more night in Vegas before leaving for Zion and knew there wouldn’t be anywhere much to shop for the rest of our trip so we decided we had to go and get more clothes in case we didn’t get our case at all. We ended up going to 2 outlet malls and spending most of the day shopping for the basics we would need – not the way I had wanted to spend the day so feeling a little despondent but trying hard not to let it spoil our trip. So we got back to the Bellagio late afternoon and were planning to go out that evening to the stratosphere tower. But as we were walking to our room we passed one of the bars – Sensi – which had a water feature wall outside it. The next think I knew I was flat on the floor after hitting my head hard on the granite wall. There had been water on the floor and I had slipped. I cut my arm also and there was blood dripping everywhere. It was the last straw and I sarted crying like a baby and then there were 3 security guys and the manager asking me if I was OK. We went back to the room and the security guys came with us obviously worried that I was badly hurt. They even called the paramedics which we felt was over the top but guessed they were just covering their butts. On the plus side the manager rang up to apologise, offered champagne and strawberries, $150 off our food and drink bill and an upgrade to an executive suite – Yes please!!!! The suite was amazing – huge with its own boardroom and about 5 TVs I think. We had a lot of fun in there and it almost made up for my aching head. By the time everything was sorted it was a bit late and I didn’t feel like going out anywhere so we had some drinks and dinner at the Bellagio again – well we had to spend the $150 didn’t we?!

Day 4 19th June
Woke up in our suite and ordered breakfast, which they laid on the boardroom table – yummy! More calls to BA and then we checked out. We went to the stratosphere tower and Ian went on one of the rides but I was too chicken! Great views from up there too but wished we had been able to go up there at night as we had originally planned to see Vegas all lit up. We eventually left for Zion about midday. I have to say we were quite pleased to be leaving Vegas – we had fun but just felt it had lost some of its character from our previous visit in 1999. I think I’m a country girl at heart. The drive to Zion was uneventful and we checked into the Desert Pearl Inn – great place to stay – we really enjoyed it and the pool and hot tub area were lovely. We had a room with a balcony over looking the pool and it was very relaxing. The whole place just had a lovely atmosphere as did Springdale itself. That night we ate at the Switchback Grille and had a good meal there with a lovely glass of wine. Phoned BA who told us our case had been delivered to the Bellagio and then taken back to Phoenix – words fail me – we were promised it would be delivered to springdale the following day….

Here is the link to our photos for Hoover Dam and Vegas and hopefully I will get back tommorow to add the Zion part of our trip!

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...AbtHLdu3btmLio

Myer

The start from hell. I guess for everybody else to have a smooth vacation, somebody has to have all the problems.

I really hope it gets better.

ElendilPickle

Ow ow ow! I sure hope your trip got better after you left Vegas. What a nice surprise for your husband, though!

Lee Ann

wtm003

Great trip report! I can't wait for the rest of your report.

Dayle

Carrie,

I'm sorry you had such a rough start! Was your flight a non-stop and they still lost your luggage???? Did they have a copy of your itinerary so they would know to send it on to Springdale?

Ughhh!!!

carrie69

Thanks Guys! Dayle - yes it was a direct flight! Apparently its a global ongoing problem with BA and they have over 1200 lost bags sitting at Heathrow every day. We gave the staff our full itinery but they always seemed to be one step behind us!
Myer - have just been looking at your photos - they are great especially Antelope Canyon - wow! Right heres the Zion part....Bryce to follow soon hopefully - it takes ages to sort the photos out - we took over 500!!

Day 5 20th June
Early start with a 6am wake up call. The temperatures in Zion were over 100 so we decided to start our hikes early to avoid the hottest part of the day. We caught the shuttle into the park which was very efficient and frequent and were on the Angels Landing trail at about 7.15am. We thought other people may have the same idea but there was hardly anyone about. It was a gorgeous clear day and the temperature that early was perfect. We really loved the hike – so many switchbacks which had us gaining height quickly and rewarding us with fantastic views almost immediately. Every step we took it was beginning to heat up and we were glad we were loaded up with water. We made our way through refrigerator canyon which I imagine would be a grateful break from the sun later in the day and then onto the wiggles. We got to Scouts lookout about 8.15 am and wow the views were amazing – there were only a few other people up there but lots of chipmunks! We stopped for a while for a drink and a snack and contemplated the task ahead. I must say when I saw that last bit of the hike I was scared – I really didn’t think I would be able to do it – I mean it just looked like a vertical knife edge! I said as much to Ian who basically told me in the nicest possible way that I had booked this trip and had wanted to do the hike so just get my butt up there! I knew he was right and I had to give it a go at least. Plenty of people were turning round at this point and I didn’t blame them. Ian went first and I just kept my eyes looking ahead and didn’t dare look around too much – I was too busy clinging to those chains for dear life! Before I knew it we were up there – yeah we made it! With hindsight that last half mile looks a lot worse than it actually is – it is challenging but I didn’t get as close to dying as I as worried about. And the views were well worth it – we spent over an hour up there just soaking them up and chatting to other hikers. Views you would never get bored of. I was worried about getting down again but it was fine and there was only one point where the path seemed to narrow with a drop either side but otherwise we just enjoyed the views and the experience. I was glad we had our hiking boots on though. We saw one girl going up in flip-flops (thongs) – braver than me for sure. We made our way back down and were so glad we had started early in the day as it was getting really hot now and some of the hikers coming up didn’t look too happy in the heat!

After we got down we went to the Lodge for a drink and ice cream and sat on the grass outside for a while before doing the emerald pools trail. We should have done the upper trail but were feeling really tired so did the lower walk instead which was a bit disappointing as there was only a trickle of water! It was mid afternoon by this time and we were ready for a dip in the pool so we went back to the hotel and had a nap and swim – bliss. We sat and had a drink on our balcony watching the sunset and then went for a meal at the Spotted Dog - nice place and good food. Got back to the hotel and yes you guessed it – still no case. We loved Zion and definitely needed longer there – it felt like we had only scratched the surface but hey that gives us a good excuse to go back soon doesnt it? We always say you should leave a place wanting more......

Here are some of our Zion pictures
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...AbtHLdu3btmLkw

carrie69

oops this link should be the same pictures but with titles!

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...btmLm4&notag=1

Myer

Thanks for sharing your great photos!! I agree with you that the Lower Emerald Pool was disappointing. It got better each level up.

You are brave. Angel's Landing?

While walking from Menu Falls to the next lower shuttle stop I looked way up there and saw people up on Angel's Landing. No way!!!

Well, maybe just the start. None of this vertical knife stuff.

I can't wait to read your impressions of Bryce and the rest of the trip.

Things sound like they're getting better.

Myer

carrie,
I hope you don't mind. I took three random photos you posted and ran them thru a bit of enhancement(?).

They're quite small so I may have introduced more bad things.

http://www.travelwalks.com/back/ange...ng_1_after.jpg

http://www.travelwalks.com/back/ange...ng_2_after.jpg

http://www.travelwalks.com/back/ange...ng_3_after.jpg

maria_so

Carrie69,

So sorry to hear the start wasn't good but it's looking up! Oh how I miss it! I can't wait to read more of your trip report! Thanks for sharing it! Did you make it to calf creek (in escalante) after all? I know you said you wanted to go there when you were planning. We did Angel's landing in April, as you know , and people were telling us it gets wickedly hot in the summer. I can beleive it! It was hot in April when we went! Did you do the Narrows? Can't wait for the next installment.

My Paul is back home in the UK right now adn I was telling him of your trip report. He wishes he was in Utah now instead of all the rain.....

carrie69

Sorry - dont know why its posted all of my report again - anyone know how to edit or delete exsisting posts?

claire_bluesky

Thanks carrie69, enjoying your trip report. Be there in Oct. Looking forward to your next installment. Lovely photos.

myer, very nice enhancements. Once the photos are enhanced, is the enhancement representing or improving what you actually see?

Myer

carrie,
Great story telling!!!
- - - - -
claire,You bring up a very good point.

While my intention is to make the images look like what I saw, I wasn't there on those days to see exactly what Claire saw.

There are several parts to the enhancement. The colors may or may not be exactly what she saw. It's a contrast within shades of the same colors that makes part of the difference.

Out eyesight has some very impressive capabilities. We are able to cut through haze and to some extent glare. So that part is more like what they saw.

Digital cameras are notoriously poor at recording the far ends of the light spectrum.

The darks become too dark and the light become too light. Also, when you look to the left side of a scene and there are shadows there, your eyesight adjusts and you can see the details.

Conversely, when you look to the right and there's a very light part of the scene, your eyesight adjusts (pupils get smaller) so you can see the detail in the highlights.

When you photograph that scene, the camera does its best and averages. The lights are too light and the darks are too dark.

I attempted to bring both ends back in. The most dramatic difference is when I reduce the higlights (which contains the haze and glare). In effect this is where the glare in water and the reflection of sun against a mountain is located.

Then I do a bit of sharpenning to bring back some details.

So the answer is, in most cases I'm just bringing back what Carrie saw. In some instances I might make the colors a bit too bright or too dull because I really don't know what she saw. Also, what I like and what she likes may be different.

The 3 photos that I downloaded were selected at random. They're quite small so I introduced some bad things such as halos. If I had access to the originals (some way to download those or the images on a CD, etc), the results would be better.

Just to give to an idea, I spent about half a minute or so on each one.

To get a little more technical, I use a very little used colorspace in Photoshop known as LAB (the letters are read individually L-A-B). It's quite complex to learn and very easy to use once it's understood. The good part is that there's really only one book on the topic. It took me 3 months to read and I'm now on my second read of it.

That's not the only way to do things. There are a hundred ways to achieve the same results. The trick is to select an approach, learn it well and use it.

I hope this long explanation tells you what you wanted to know. If you have any other questions about what I did just ask.

carrie69

Hi there! Myer - enhance away all you like! thanks - they look good!
Maria - Was hoping you would post as I wanted to say thanks! I took a copy of your trip report away with us and it was a lot of help! We screwed up on Calf creek falls - I am just about to post about it. Hope you are not missing your man too much - and yes the rain.... its soooo depressing being back in the UK - we miss Utah a lot :.(
Ok heres the next installment - i will have to add photos later as need to get Ian to sort them out as i'm not very good at that part!

Day 6 21st June
Up early and usual call to BA who promised our case would be at Bryce that night. Mmmmm we weren’t holding our breath on that one. We checked out early and drove through Zion to do the overlook hike which gave good views, not too long and a hike most people would be able to manage I think. We also stopped at the checkerboard mesa area and took some photos – it was great until our camera battery died. Our UK – US power adapter was in the lost case so we weren’t too happy. Luckily we stopped at a store on the way to Bryce and managed to buy a US plug. We got to Bryce about 11.30am and prayed we would be able to check in early so we could charge the camera and thankfully we did. I had scissors and also a little screwdriver, which I always take away with us but had never used before – what luck. Ian changed the plug and we were back in business! We decided to drive the scenic drive and had a picnic lunch at Yovimpa point. On the way back we stopped at the viewpoints and lookouts. We decided the best part of Bryce was definitely the amphitheatre area near the Lodge. On another trip we probably wouldn’t bother doing the scenic drive again – I think it was Myer who mentioned that most of the lookouts were a bit repetitive other than natural bridge and I would agree with that. I would however like to do a few other hikes there – probably one more day would have been perfect.
We got back to the lodge area mid afternoon and decided to hike down sunset point and the Navajo Loop trail as far as we could until we got to the rock slide area and then backtracked and came back through the Queens Garden and up sunrise point. It was a lovely hike but still very hot – unusual for Bryce apparently as it was well into the 90’s. We took lots of photos and had fun naming all the hoodoos. We were surprised at how quiet the hike was – we only saw about 5 or 6 other people down there which was great. That evening we ate at the Lodge with a bottle of wine and then staggered back to bed. The highlight of the evening though definitely had to be opening the door to our room and seeing our case! Yipeee. We really loved Bryce –it’s not as obviously dramatic as Zion but there is something very beautiful and endearing about Bryce and we voted it the prettiest park on our trip. There is no other place quite like it I’m sure. Although we didn’t have much time there we definitely felt we had seen the best bits and made good use of the time we had although as ever another day would have been great!

Day 6 June 22nd
Slept in later today and had breakfast at Bryce Lodge before starting the journey to Capitol Reef and the famous scenic highway 12. Well it didn’t disappoint- the scenery was dramatic and there was always something to look at. We tuned into a country channel on the radio and just enjoyed the drive. We are not normally into country music but it just seemed to fit the scenery in Utah – we kept hearing Lucky Man by Montgomery and Gentry and soon knew all the words and it became our holiday song! After driving through Escalante we decided to do one of the calf creek falls hikes. We had information on both – upper and lower. The lower one was longer but easier and the upper one was shorter but harder going. We wanted to drive the Burr Trail road also so decided to do the shorter upper calf creek walk to save some time. After finding the car park which was off a dirt track about 10 miles or so after the calf creek recreation area it was about 12.30-1pm and really hot – the phrase mad dogs and Englishmen came to mind at the time! The sun was really burning down so we put on our hats and covered ourselves in sun cream and got going. The start of the trail is just a sheer slickrock descent which was a little tricky in places. The trail then continued down along a sandy track for 1.5-2miles going down all the time to a green oasis in the distance.
When we finally got to the falls it was a bit of a let down – a trickle more than a fall – not surprising at this time of year I suppose. We didn’t stay long and headed back up which was tough going as the heat was intense and it was up all the way. There was hardly any shade and it felt like the sun was burning right through us. To be honest we really didn’t enjoy that hike much and in hindsight wished we had done the lower walk which looks much nicer. Oh well, we live and learn.
We then drove on to Boulder and stopped for gas and ice cream. A funny thing happened here – Ian filled the car up with gas and I went inside the store to choose ice cream. When Ian came in to pay, the girl at the till couldn’t get the right amount to show against the pump number he used. One of the guys there also got involved and was trying to sort it out. Meanwhile we had also picked up a 6 pack of beers and some cookies. After about 10 minutes of them playing with the till they just handed us $3 told us that for some reason the pump was showing a credit of $30 and it was their problem. There was a long queue behind us and they just wanted to forget about it. So basically they paid us $3 to fill the car with gas and take away some beers etc! It made us laugh as things like that just don’t happen in the UK!

Afterwards we drove the Burr Trail road – what a fantastic area. The first 10-15 miles was nice but not particularly dramatic but then you arrive at the top of a canyon and the view is great – a real Wow view! We continued driving down and through it until we came to a plateau with a view right across to Capitol reef where we decided we had better turn around and head back. It would have been nice to have a 4x4 and continue on right through Capitol Reef. What a gem to find. Thanks Utahtea for telling us about it. I don’t think our photos do it justice either. Definitely worth doing. We drove on to Torrey and got there early evening and checked into Austin Chuckwagons and just had time for a quick swim before dinner. I went to open our case as we hadn’t bothered to last night as it was late. Well we had bought new padlocks at the airport and now discovered that the keys didn’t open the lock –unbelievable - it was like something out of a comedy sketch except we weren’t laughing. Thankfully Randy Austin of Chuckwagons was very helpful and managed to break the lock for us with some of his tools – phew! Chuckwagons was a great place to stay – very reasonably priced, clean and a nice area outside to have a cold beer in the evening or a coffee and pastry in the morning. That night we ate at Café Diablo as recommended on here – fantastic meal – the entrees were a work of art to look at and the beef was melt in the mouth tender! One of the best meals of the trip.

maria_so

Carrie, Love the report and you're welcome. Flattered you took a copy of it but I'm glad it helped if only a bit. You're right, it sounds like a comedy strip but I'm glad you finally got it back and still have some oif your vacation left! I don't know how if I'd manage as well. All my gear would be in my suitcase and I think I would have a real hard time with that. It's scaring me a bit because I'll have alot more than gear on our upcoming trip to Yosemite in August for our wedding. I really don't know what I would do if they lost my luggage. I'm thinking I want to send the essentials ahead of time now...

Sorry you didn't make it the the lower falls but like you said, it's a good excuse to go back! Glad you enjoyed Cafe Diablo. Were you able to order wine with dinner this time? When we went, their seasonal liquor license hasn't gone to effect yet so we could only order beer.

Hope all the rain stops soon. It's been raining her in Texas too...rain rain go away....

Looking forward to the pics and your next installment. Thanks again for posting the trip report! I'm really enjoying it.