7:15 to Yuma

A converted post office is now the Gowan Company building

(Editor's shout out: As I arrived in downtown Yuma, I got a call from my college chum, Skeeter. We talked college football, movies and hockey.)

Now, back to our regularly scheduled program...

Early Saturday morning, I left Phoenix for a day-trip to Yuma, AZ, to see what I could see. Yuma, on average, is one of the hottest cities in the U.S. and filled with sunshine. I was welcomed with temps in the mid- to high 70s, sunny skies and a nice breeze.


Downtown Yuma:

Space on the ground floor is available

Looking west on Main St.

The Kress building

The Yuma Theater

Drink anyone?

Looking east on Main St.

Looking south on 2nd St.

An old firehouse? See below

Ah, that's what it is

Random Buildings:

Yuma County Courthouse

Fourth Avenue School

Disrepair in Yuma:

A row of shops

An erstwhile law office

Hotel Del Sol

Odds and ends:

A train crosses the Colorado River from CA to AZ

Looking up the Colorado River from the Fourth Ave. Bridge

Lunch at Texas Roadhouse

Yuma Territorial Prison

Notice the ball and chain

After walking around downtown Yuma, I drove out to the Yuma Territorial Prison. It sits on a bluff overlooking the Colorado River.

The Sallyport. What the heck is a Sallyport?

Glad you asked

The main guard tower

Check out what this gal was in for

If you were really bad

Illuminating the Dark Cell

Entering the main cell block

Cell after cell

6 men to a cell. Stacked them 3 high

The yard

Prison stats

Of course, I signed the guest register

Prison cemetery

Zion Canyon Music Festival

Approaching Zion Canyon

I attended the 2nd annual Zion Canyon Music Festival in Springdale, UT. Springdale is right outside the gates to Zion National Park; it's one of the great places in the world. The festival started Friday evening and went most of Saturday. There was great weather and an eclectic lineup of acts. There were also numerous vendors selling t-shirts, jewelry, etc. There was also a beer and food tent that had samples of the local fare. Good times were had by all. Hopefully, this festival will continue to grow. Everyone should visit Zion Canyon once in their life.

Favorite Band: Thrift Store Cowboys
Favorite Band Name: Crippled Stripper (click to see their awesome logo)
Favorite Food: Gyros from Cafe Soleil
Favorite Gaff: The generator went out on the Mother Hips at 10:30 pm on Friday
Favorite Cover: Shine On You Crazy Diamond by Crippled Stripper

Thrift Store Cowboys on the main stage

Great stage backdrop

Vendors

Climbing wall for the kids

More vendors

Lodging: While in Springdale, I stayed with my friends Bill and Janelle, whom I've known since the early 90s. They have a great house with great views. It was really tough duty to take these pics while holding a glass of Maker's Mark and Mexican Coca-Cola. Don't weep for me!

Zion National Park

The East Temple

Zion National Park is my favorite place in the U.S. I worked there as a seasonal ranger in 1990 and 1991 and I try to visit there as often as possible. It's a geologic wonderland of Navajo red sandstone and the effects of water and wind erosion. I'll let the pictures tell the rest.

Mighty canyon walls

Towering rock formations

Rock within sand

Sand within rock

The saddle portion is an itinerant waterfall

A huge Ponderosa pine soaking in the late September sun

View from the itinerant waterfall. You can see the dry wash below

Slot canyons everywhere

Iron deposits on top of sandstone

Found this hiking up a drainage. Hope it isn't a headstone

Wind and water shape the rock

Oak Creek Dorm. My humble abode for two seasons

North Towards Utah

Entering Lake Mead National Recreation Area

On the way to the music festival, I took Route 93 out of Wickenberg, AZ, up through Kingman and then to Lake Mead NRA. Currently, the highway goes right over Hoover Dam, but a new bridge and roadway is being built to divert traffic off the dam. I then drove through Lake Mead up to Interstate 15 and then north to southern Utah.

Barren and desolate

Approaching Hoover Dam

Lake Mead looks a might low

Hoover Dam

The new bridge

Massive bridge support

The Grid

Bonus Video: I took video as I was crossing Hoover Dam, which will be a thing of the past once they open the new bridge to traffic. No people or animals were harmed during the filming of this video, nor were any citations issued.