June 26th & June 27th

The remainder of Wednesday was spent in domestic chores--putting away the groceries, unpacking, washing clothes, cleaning out the Jeep, etc.  Thursday morning, while it was still cool, we hiked up the cliff sheltering our little cove, which we've nicknamed 'Morris Mesa.'  It doesn't look that high from the RV park but gazing down from almost-the-top, we realized how far we'd ascended.  No discoveries of dinosaur tracks, Indian artifacts or rare wildflowers but we did get stunning views of Kanab to the south and Zion's white sandstone cliffs to the north.  And it also satisfied our curiosity as to 'what's up there?'.

 

From Morris Mesa,  Kanab to the south

 

 



 

 and Zion to the north.

 

In the afternoon, Fred worked out at the fitness center and Jan explored some of the shops before we had to attend a meeting of front desk staff at the lodge.  When we returned to the RV, it was suffocatingly hot, well beyond the ability of the A/C unit to cool even slightly.   With no shade at our site and temps of over 100* forecast for the next four days, we had to do something.  So we retracted the dinette slide on the passenger side to reduce the square-footage and eliminate windows on the east and west ends of the extension as well as the sky-lights in the ceiling.  We used sunshades from the 'eliminated' windows to insulate the rear and side windows in the bedroom.   Extending the awning and turning on a small fan each helped a bit.

After dinner we drove back to town for a talk at the BLM visitor center about the Spanish Trail.  In 1829 Armijo, attempting to establish a lucrative route between New Mexico and California, led 60 men and 100 mules across the seemingly impassable (and impossible) Cockscomb.  His plan was to trade New Mexican blankets and rugs for highly valued California mules and horses.  Recording only the briefest and sketchiest notes of his journey, Armijo's exact route is still to be determined.  A passage through the Cockscomb, perhaps near Armijo's, was used in the filming of the 1951 movie "Westward the Women."  The primary researcher mentioned that the actors and crew stayed at Parry Lodge and were bussed 65 miles to and from the shooting location each day.  The program was interesting and the presentation was effective and engaging.  It certainly deserved a larger audience than the seven us who attended.