Tidbits

A short series of pictures and descriptions of other trips and happenings.

To Yucatan, Mexico	To Arches in Utah	To Hexcel Alumni Breakfast	To the Lair of the Bear

Cozumel and the Yucatan Peninsula.

Sharon and I flew to Cozumel with our younger daughter during her spring break from college. We spent lots of time at the beach, went scuba diving, rented scooters to go around the island, and went parasailing.

The trip included a day to see the Maya ruins at Chichen Itza on the Peninsula. I don't know how we did it, but we talked Sharon into climbing to the top of the main pyramid. "So what," you say. "You don't know how afraid Sharon is of heights," I tell you. "It is just that way, that's all."

There is a steel chain in the center of the stairway. She was able to hold on to that for the way down. In the picture it is marked with a light streak in the center of the steps to the right. Many folks have done the same thing. The slope here is about 50 degrees; pretty steep and high.

From Cozumel we flew to Merida on the Peninsula, rented a car and drove to the ruins at Uxmal. This large complex, deep in the jungle, has a fantastic series of well preserved buildings with great detailed stone carvings on the facades.

What was even more amazing was Sharon climbing to the top of this pyramid. Going up was not too bad, but looking down and the return trip was not to her liking. It was a good thing there was a chain here also. The slope here is at least sixty degrees.

At first it is hard to realize how these large and tall buildings practically vanished into the jungle. Then when you look at the picture just above Sharon, you can see a new plant sprouting out off the stone. (click here to return to mats)

Meanwhile, I had walked around the top part and came down the back side which is even steeper. Notice the person standing at the bottom to get an idea of how high each step is. As I stood at the top and looked down, I tried to imagine what the high priests might have thought as they looked at the homes and people down below.

Natural Arches in Utah

Perhaps you have been there and enjoyed the scenery, like we did a few years ago. The landscape is fascinating and the way it came about is so incomprehensible that it blows your mind. Here. within driving distance, are the most fascinating stone arches Mother Nature has ever produced. Below are some pictures to show not only what some look like but also to show the size compared to us little humans. This certainly is one of the "Wonders of the World".

When you enter the park the road leads to some of the better known arches. Others require a short walk to see. Of course, one of the main attractions is Delicate Arch.

From a distance you can see how precarious this slender piece of rock hugs the side of a canyon. There is a hiking trail to get closer and see it from a different view point. But the question in both cases is: "How could it have survived the erosion over thousands of years and still stand there as it is?"

(National Parks Photo in the winter time)

As you go further into this magic land, you encounter arches such as these shown here. Let's zoom in and see how Jay or Sharon are dwarfed by the monoliths around them. Take a close look at the right bottom corners in the pictures above and below.

Awsome but that's not all.

As you go south of Moab, you will find another great area: the Needles. This is where ancient Indian people used to live; the onces who created lots of petro- and pictography on the surrounding rocks. One style used paints to outline hands, for example, and the other used a tool to scribe images on the dark brown rocks. Some of these depict animals and "news paper" emblems. Needles has lots of those interesting sights.

When we took a four-wheel-drive trip into this wilderness, we found the "Angel Arch". This poor angel, facing right and carying a big load on her back, also looked like she was carved out of stone by some gigantic artist. Notice Jay holding up a stone pillar while looking at the arch several hundred feet across a crevasse. How long will this last?

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