The contrast couldn’t have been greater – from the dry, red mountains of Zion National Park to lush green jungle of Guatemala – and in between, a few days of gold and scarlet leaves and unseasonably warm days in Nova Scotia.

For a few years now, we’ve been planning to go hiking “sometime” with our old friends, Linda and Charles Austin, originally from Amherst and now living in Ottawa. They have joined us on Madcap on several occasions, and we’ve stayed with them in Ottawa, but have never joined them in one of their favourite activities. This was the year!

We flew to Las Vegas, a first for us and were immediately dazzled (or maybe dazed is the better word) by the sights and sounds of this mind boggling city – of imitation this and over-the-top that – of slot machines even at the airport – of casinos and colour and sound – of food and entertainment of all imaginable varieties – of fountains and canals and indoor street scenes complete with painted blue sky - all plunked down in one small area of desert.

Our hotel in the city was the Tropicana – with excellent rates, good clean rooms and convenient location right on the strip. Along with walking up and down the strip, enjoying window shopping in the hotels, and fine dining at Hash a Go Go (best breakfast), Wicked Spoon buffet at the Cosmopolitan (beautiful desserts), dinner at Café Grand Lux, breakfast buffet at Orleans (cheap and with yummy omelets), we took in the Cirque du Soleil show “O” and were awestruck by the expertise of the gymnasts, creativity of the set with water that appeared and disappeared, and choreography that made it all flow seamlessly.

After cramming in every bit of experience we could manage, we set off in our rented SUV for the Hoover Dam. Built in 5 years in the 1930’s it is a marvel of engineering. There were no tours that day so we didn’t get down into the works of the place, but we walked across the Mike O’Callaghan – Pat Tillman Memorial bridge (opened in 2010) that spans the river and connects Nevada to Arizona, and then across the dam itself, stopping to admire the art deco signs and towers, and stroking the feet of the lovely winged statues (supposed to bring good luck.) It was interesting to see the attention paid to artistic design as well as engineering when this dam was constructed and to read the plaque that honored “those men who, inspired by a vision of lonely lands made fruitful, conceived this great work and those others whose genius and labor made that vision a reality”.

You’ll see pictures in the gallery that try to show the impressiveness of the place, and will also show “our little friend, Steve”. Let me take a minute to fill you in on Steve’s story. As we waited for boarding in the Halifax airport, a couple approached us to ask if we would be interested in taking along a little stuffed monkey. He is from a small Alberta town and is on a voyage inspired by a story in “Chicken Soup for the Teenaged Soul”. Doug and his wife brought him to Atlantic Canada for a week of exploration and now wanted to send him off on another adventure. We happily took him into our care – he had already passed through security and his previous guides seemed trustworthy - and promised to hand him safely over to someone else after he explored with us. The students at Diamond Willow Middle School in Alberta are hoping he will return to them by Easter, with a journal filled with stories. As I posed him for pictures on the Hoover Dam and at Zion Park, Jim kept telling people “It’s a school project!” lest they think I was a bit old to have taken a stuffy along on our trip! (Students at the school – I just can’t remember the town in Alberta and don’t have the address with me. If you read this, will you please leave a comment and remind me?)

And then we were off to the mountains of Utah – and a few days of hiking. We drove through arid, flat country past a mirage that Charles and Linda swore was water and turned out to be slightly moist mud when we just had to drive down to investigate, (They still say it was water the last time they were there!) and on into foothills and finally to Rockville, Utah where we had rented the guest house on Two Feathers Ranch for our 5- day stay. It was a gorgeous place – surrounded by mountains, and set among white railed pastures complete with horses and long-horned cattle.

Next day we donned our hiking gear and headed for the park – a 10 minute drive. The nights and early mornings were cool so we dressed in layers that we gradually peeled away as the sun rose higher and our exertions warmed our bodies. That first day, we took it fairly easy – doing easy walks up along the river from the Temple of Sinawava to the Narrows, to the Emerald Pools and back to the Grotto and Zion Lodge. Each day, the shuttle bus wound past the Altar of Sacrifice, the Court of the Patriarchs, Angels Landing and the Great White Throne – all names given by Mormon pioneers. We were awestruck by the beauty of the place.

The Zion Park guide map introduces it well: “Everything in Zion takes life from the Virgin River’s scarce desert waters. Water flows, and solid rock melts into cliffs and towers. Landscape changes as canyons deepen to create forested highlands and lowland deserts. A ribbon of green marks the river’s course as diverse plants and animals take shelter and thrive in this canyon oasis.”

We climbed up and among those cliffs and towers – along the East Rim trail to Observation Point – a climb of over 2000 feet in about 4 miles switchbacking along cliff faces twisting through red canyons and finally rising up through scrubby bushes to a glorious overlook of the canyon and a small disc set into the rock that said we were at a height of 6508 feet. I can tell you – I felt like we had climbed every one of those feet but since Zion Park itself sits at about 4000 feet above sea level as part of the Grand Staircase (with the crenellated edges of Bryce Canyon at the top and the Grand Canyon at the bottom) it was just my weary body and panting lungs that were telling me stories. After a picnic lunch and a blissful rest while condors soared high over our heads, we headed back down those 4 miles, marveling at how high we had climbed and ending the day tired out but exhilarated by our efforts and the rewards of being in such a place.

Charles had been wanting to climb to Angels Landing ever since he first visited here 4 years ago, so we set off in that direction the next day. He went all the way to the very top – the last part with cliffs falling off on both sides and just a chain to cling to as he scrambled up and down – but we contented ourselves with a finish at Scout’s Lookoff – having climbed once more along rocky faces and through another canyon and finally up Walter’s Wiggles – a set of short steep switchbacks that brought us to a perfect plateau with breathtaking views in all directions. When we met a couple of guys just before this and I wearily asked how much farther, their cheery answer of “only 24 more switchbacks” made my jaw drop and shoulders slump. They must have felt badly because when we saw them again later, one fellow said, “My buddy told me I was mean to tell you about those switchbacks!” By then we had been up and down them so we had a good laugh.

A trip to the magical kingdom called Bryce Canyon was on the itinerary for our last full day in the mountains. With its magnificent hoodoos in shades from dark red to the palest rose, and rising like towers and minarets in tall clusters all over the canyon, it truly seemed a fairyland. We hiked a 3 – 4 hour loop of Rim trail, Queens Connector and Navajo Trail down among the hoodoos and back up an incredible set of switchbacks on the end wall of a canyon – aptly named Wall Street! On this and most other trails, along with the enjoying the physical exercise and breathtaking beauty, we did what we always do – talk with interesting people. We met Canadian land cruisers who travel the continent in an RV with canoe and bicycles strapped on it, several chatty American women who were happy to talk politics, a man beside me as I waited for a good sunset picture at the bridge who was on an annual hiking trip with his adult sons, a photographer at the same spot who generously gave Charles all sorts of advice on cameras and lenses.

And food – we must talk about food! Austins and Bissells shared cooking duties at the ranch and we dined on delicious chicken and chili and baked pork chops and shrimp pasta. Lunches were trail mix and cheese and apples and gallons of water. We dined out in Springdale at the Switchback Grill where the seafood was great and service friendly, and back in the big city (after a stop to check out some RV’s for future travels) we settled into the Tuscany Suites hotel not far from the airport and ate at the restaurant there for one last night. On the way up to Zion Park, we bought groceries at St George and when we asked where we could find the local liquor store for some wine, we were told it was just off the highway at exit 16. Well, we searched up and down for it, finally finding a lovely new, well stocked store, unmarked except for one small sign, down a long driveway and completely invisible from the road. This was Utah, Mormon country!

We were all on the same flight as far as Chicago where we said good-bye to our wonderful hiking companions and set about finding new friends for Steve. After eyeing a few people we settled on a father and son who looked like they would be approachable and responsible. Once past an initial hesitancy (understandable) about accepting a bag from total strangers, Nick and his dad listened to our story and agreed to take Steve off on his next adventure – to Bulgaria! What a well-travelled little monkey he will be by the time he returns to Alberta. (And what a great feeling to find trusting folks who were, like us, interested in contributing to his story.)

And so – our own journey came to an end. It was a fabulous 10 days of new experiences and new scenery, of pushing ourselves (upward) and relishing the satisfaction it, of sharing time and food and adventure with friends. Time now to regroup and set off for more of the same kind of thing – but in a different direction and a different environment.