We left Bryce behind and drove on past yet more lovely scenery, including leaves on the turn, and our first Indian, or should I say Native North American, lurking in some undergrowth!
We were so pleased we stopped to visit Kodachrome Basin State Park which is famous for its 67 sedimentary pipes.
Most of the red rock is made of 150 million year old sandstone. It is easily eroded, especially by heavy rain falls that cause flash floods in the summer, and rivulets of water cause cracks in the surface.
The pipes are made of harder sedimentary rock and are left when the surrounding softer layers erode.
We did two short hikes, the first The Sentinel Trail to Shakespeare’s Arch …
Then The Angel’s Palace Trail …
We continued on the Scenic Byway 12, and as advised by the leaflet, stopping at The Blues Overlook of the pink ledges of Powell Point, where miraculously we managed to take our photo from the same spot as the leaflet!
We managed the same trick at the Upper Valley Granary which was once a storage place of ancient Puebloans.
We checked in to Rainbow B&B for the night, and had a great dinner at the Circle D Eatery, home smoked brisket, the beef raised by Todd Phillips in Escalante, with mash and beans for me, and a Circle D black bean burger and chips for Chris. When we returned to Rainbow, the fire was lit in the games room and we played a couple of games of pool while chatting to the other guests, a guy from Amsterdam and a couple from Colorado who had brought their nanny and two kids on holiday with them, in a trailer, they were goats who liked to hike!
Next day we went to Calf Creek Falls. We were advised by Catherine at Rainbow that people had been parking on the roadside then walking Calf Creek Falls, even through the park was closed. We managed to find a spot to park and continued down the 3 mile hike alongside the creek.
Along the way we passed another granary built by the Fremont Culture AD700-1300 and also pictographs painted on the rock.
We also saw ‘desert varnish’, vertical coloured striping of the rock caused by the action of microscopic life.
The creek ran through the canyon and there was a 126ft waterfall at the end … the water was icy!
Once we got back to the road, we were pleased to see many more people were ignoring the No Parking sign and just getting on with their vacation!
We stopped for a quick restorative snack at the Kiva Koffeehouse, then continued to Boulder, where we joined the Burr Trail, a scenic route that took us into the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, first through slickrock, then down into Long Canyon which continued for 7 miles with tall red cliffs either side of the road, to a viewpoint across to a line of red cliffs called the Waterpocket Fold.
We then returned to Boulder and continued on the scenic route 12 to Torrey, which took us up to 9,600ft through highland pastures, pines and aspens, where we saw a cowboy and also deer.
We finally got to the end of Scenic Byway 12 and turned left into Torrey.
On leaving Springdale, we stopped off in Grafton, a ghost town, once a Mormon settlement which had been inhabited from 1859 until the last people left in 1945. There was a cemetery where people buried included two girls killed by a broken swing, men killed by Navajo raiders as well as a whole family who died of diphtheria. There was also a church and several houses which had been used as a film set in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
The Federal Shutdown has rather affected the itinerary! The National Parks are closed until further notice, as are all trails and hiking routes, with apparently a $150 fine for being found in a National Park, although not sure who will see you when all non-essential staff are on furlough! We will have to wait and see whether everything will be back to normal in a few days or not, but one way of looking at it is that we don’t know what we are missing! In the meantime though, there is plenty to see without the National Parks, even though they were meant to be the focus of our trip. State Parks are open, and many are linked with great scenic routes, so we will just have to make the most of things.
Our Utah Trail began with a series on PBS called “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea” which made us want to visit for ourselves, to see the stunning scenery and the wilderness and hike some trails.
Trivendrum was our last destination from which we were flying home, and while there was a temple and palace to see in the town, we’d picked a homestay on the outskirts and were really just here to repack our case and prepare for an early flight home so we had an added bonus.
There were crowds approaching the temple …
Once we reached the temple there were lots of women, some queuing to enter the temple and and other sleeping on the ground …
The temple was spectacular with all the lights …
There were shrines to the goddess on every junction and lights and music blaring from racks of speakers
Earlier, the priest had lit the hearth in the temple, then the fire was transferred to all the women’s hearths where they cooked their rice. Now they were waiting for the priests to bring holy water and sprinkle it on the puddings which sanctifies the offering to the goddess. Finally the priest arrived, firecrackers went off, and the pots were blessed.
The ladies then packed up and took their pots home, to take some as an offering at their own temples or take home to share with family and friends and we were given some rice too.
We stayed just a little north of Varkala … another lovely spot … with another lovely view …
Varkala has been a popular spot on the backpacker trail for 20 years, but is still relatively unspoilt as small hotels, cafes and shops selling clothes and souvenirs vie for space along the cliff, looking down on a huge sandy beach.
while at the other end the tourists strip off, worship the sun and swim.
We had our own little beach almost on our doorstep as well as a coastal path running for 6km from Varkala to Edava with great views …
Otherwise, the main attractions were the fishermen – watching them pulling in their catch and maybe giving a hand …
… and watching the sunset.
We spent two fabulous evenings at the restaurant just along the beach called Palm Tree Heritage, where a handful of candlelit tables are laid out on the sand and you eat to the sound of the waves breaking on the beach … perfect.
Well the Maharajahs of Cochin certainly knew how to choose a spot for their summer palace and River Retreat now occupies the same place, still catching the breeze from the River Nila and enjoying the same view …
We came here so we could visit the Pooram at Pariyanampetta temple, dedicated to Bhagavathi or the Mother Goddess. Historically, a number of lower or sub castes were only allowed to enter the temple and worship on this one day. When we arrived the courtyard around the temple was already surrounded by Kaala Vela or bull effigies which are sent from the neighbouring small temples …
… and also Kuthira Vela or horse effigies.
We were told that elephants would come down these steps (120, we climbed them!), and here is the view of the temple.
Then we saw our first elephant arrive …
… and get dressed up in a gold plated caparison.
After a few minutes, he was joined by his mates as we watched from our vantage point beside the bulls.
Next, a chap in a dhotti and red scarf carrying a large knife walks round the temple several times …
… then the Kuthira Vela or horse effigies are carried round and and presented to the temple …
Followed by the bull effigies (and we had to move as our bull had to join in!).
We managed to head to the roof next as 5 more elephants arrived down the flight of steps …
The bull effigies have moving parts and they wave and nod their heads, their ears twirl and they blink. And if that’s not enough, when the lights came on they looked like a cross between a pinball machines with a huge score and fairground rides on a Saturday night as the lights flashed and chased …
Then 7 more elephants arrived! By now the place is heaving with bodies, there are 19 elephants, hardly a spare spot to stand, and the music from the drums and horns is deafening …and having been standing for 3 hours with little personal space and hardly a breathe of wind to relieve the heat … we decided to make our way home … and finally we spotted a tiger … three in fact, pulling the goddess Durga’s chariot!
The Pooram was everything we hoped it would be and are so pleased we went … even though we ended up stranded at River Retreat and stayed an extra couple of days as Kerala came to a standstill with a 48hr general strike and no transport. The roads were almost deserted … and the tuk-tuks tucked up in garages …
We have a little bungalow at Palmgrove Lake Resort, with a view of the backwaters … but the difference between here and Cherthala is striking.
Rush hour here is at midday and 5pm which is when the kettu vallam barges go out and return each day … mostly passed our bungalow!
Surprisingly no more than a few minutes go by before you see someone walking or waiting …
doing washing or in a boat …
running a cafe or even reading the paper … and despite the apparent isolation, they are all linked by the ferry.
We also got the little canoe ferry across the backwater where we are staying, which is used by the locals to cross the water so we could go for a walk where we passed a toddy shop selling hooch … although we didn’t try any!
Another day we took a 2 hour trip on a shakira, a small motor launch, which can go down the narrowest waterways.
We also picked up very fancy umbrellas with a sun reflective coating that double as parasols at the very famous Popy shop.
One evening, we went to the Avocado Garden for dinner, where we were shown into a lovely garden with tables and some low level seating with cushions. The fish in banana leaf was delicious as were the veg curries and they even played Bruce Springsteen on request!
We watched from Dreams bar as it got darker and the sun set.
Off to the train station next … for the Pariyanampetta Pooram!!
It was a long day’s drive to Cherthala, with the only real excitement being our desire to see a cashew nut tree .. and our driver’s determination to oblige, and show us the fruit, so here it is in the tree, with the little cashew nut in a case underneath, and the yellow cashew apple above …
Here is our driver, and a auto-rickshaw man who stopped to help, throwing stones up into the tree to dislodge the fruit and here is the fruit with nut case attached.
The fruit was not very ripe and rather bitter … but it explains why cashews are so expensive when you only get one nut per fruit growing spread out on the tree.
Nothing to do but turn up for meals, watch the water and the birdlife, take the odd boat trip and walk for a bit of light exercise. Late one afternoon we were punted in a small canoe and saw the sun set behind the coconut palms …
On the way back, as the light faded, the sky was filled with streamers of pink cloud, the sound of the muezzin was carried across the water from two directions towards us as the boat glided silently through the water, with only the sound of waterfowl and the creak of Chinese fishing nets lowering and rising in search of prawns.
Off Travelling Together 