Page 4C
East Oregonian
EAT, DRINK & EXPLORE
Saturday, August 26, 2017
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
The sun sets near Sedona, Arizona, silhouetting the jagged rimrock against fiery orange sky. The city of Sedona, known as a prime stargazer’s destination, controls light
pollution by regulating the brightness of outdoor lighting fixtures. The city’s McDonald’s has teal-colored arches instead of gold.
TRIP: Temperatures
reached 115 degrees
the day we arrived
Continued from 1C
to prepare for extreme heat
and a steep climb out.
“He’s our prevention
search-and-rescue ambas-
sador,” Ceja-Cervantes
said of the man on the sign.
“It’s a harsh environment
and visitors need to be
prepared.”
The mercury hit 115
degrees the day we arrived.
We got up the next morning
before sunrise to beat the
heat and hiked a mile below
the rim on the Kaibob Trail.
We drank plenty of water.
Victor would have been
proud.
We left after two days
with plans to return someday
to finish exploring this harsh
but beautiful terrain, maybe
hiking to the canyon bottom
or rafting the Colorado
River.
My husband Bill had
suggested this two-week
road trip to the Southwest
a few months before over
dinner. We would take the
long way to visit our son and
daughter-in-law in Southern
California, by way of Utah
and Arizona. The idea
percolated and took hold.
We put in a massive first
day driving from Pendleton
to Springville, Utah. Before
arriving at Grand Canyon,
we explored Utah’s Capitol
Reef National Park. Later,
we visited the red rock
formations of Sedona,
Arizona, before swinging
up through California,
stopping in Loma Linda for
a grandson fix, and heading
home via the redwoods.
While the Grand Canyon
stole the show, Capitol Reef
and Sedona held their own
beauty. We had ignored
Capitol Reef during an
earlier trip to Zion and Bryce
Canyon national parks. At
about 787,000 visitors a
year, this park gets only half
as many people as Bryce
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
The Grand Canyon turns blue in the deepening twilight.
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
A slow shutter speed captures the taillights of a car driving through the red rock country near Capital Reef National Park in Utah just
after sunset.
Canyon and a quarter of what Zion
gets, but the fewer tourists was part
of the appeal for us. Once there,
we gawked at and hiked through
canyons, gulches, domes, arches and
soaring cliffs without fighting the
crowds.
After soaking in the sights of
Capitol Reef and the Grand Canyon,
we headed to Sedona to stay with
friends. We figured we were sated
and probably would now be jaded
to whatever Sedona had to offer. We
were wrong.
The red sandstone formations
surrounding the town of 10,000
provide a striking view. We stood
atop a hill by the town airport and
watched the sun set behind the
red rock. Later, stars appeared en
masse in a velvety black sky. The
area is a mecca for stargazers and
night sky photographers. The city,
which restricts the brightness of
outdoor lighting to minimize light
pollution, is certified as a “Dark Sky
Community.” The local McDonald’s,
for example, has more subdued
teal-colored arches, instead of the
traditional golden ones.
As we headed to California, I
reflected that I cherish my life in
Oregon and wouldn’t choose to live
in the Southwest, but I love knowing
this rugged red world exists. It will
pull me back.
———
Contact Kathy Aney at kaney@
eastoregonian.com or call 541-966-
0810.
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Visitors stand on a viewpoint where they can see the vast expanse of the Grand Canyon
from the south edge.
Visitors to the Grand Canyon sometimes misjudge their own fitness and
the effects of hot weather when hiking below the rim. This warning sign
sits along the Kaibob Trail.