Red the Traveling Dal Visits the American Southwest

[Elfy]

She looks right at home. The hat really suits her.

[Aijo]

How cute! I used to love the traveling Pinky series; it is good to see that there is another traveling doll series again!

[davidd]

Red's Adventures in Utah, USA continue - September 2021:

"Okay... let's get this show on the road! What is there to see and do around here?"

"I guess as long as we're going for a drive, we may as well drive on a road... although driving off-road might be more exciting! Still, they say Scenic Byway 12 is one of the most picturesque roads in the western United States."

"Here I am being 'picturesque' - or is it 'picaresque' - look it up - on the picturesque sign for a picturesque highway in a picturesque... you get the idea."

"What d'ya mean, we're hiking? What's with the hiking stuff? I thought we were driving? I mean, we have a Jeep, right?"

"Oh, look! An old dead tree! I hope the excitement level ratchets back down - I don't know how much more of this adrenaline rush I can handle!"

"What is the freakin' deal with everybody wanting me to pose in trees? And this isn't even a live tree!"

"Oh, look - another dead tree!"

"What's this? No, seriously, I'm asking you, woodn't you like to know what it is? Are you stumped? Nah, you're not even close; you're barking up the wrong dead tree!"

"I've heard of the Trail of the Lonesome Pine, but not the Trail of the Long Dead Pines."

"Finally! A tree that's not dead! Although you might be if you eat these berries! Just kidding... I think. Do any of you remember a guy named Euell Gibbons? 'D'ja ever eat a pine tree? Many parts are edible!' Yeah, well, he's dead now, which you might wanna file away for reference."

"Where are we going again? Over that-a-way? Izzat how ever'body out here in the Old West talks? This-a-way, that-a-way, head 'em off at the pass?"

"Whaaat? We're going up there? Like... how?"

"I shoulda figured that's how! Isn't there, like, a net or something? A rope? A parachute? An... ambulance?"

To Be Continued....

[Alliecat]

These were fun.
Red, trees are wonderful. Don't be unappreciative
I admit the spruce sap I tasted recently wasn't all that exciting, but I am going to see what one can do with pine needles when some fresh ones grow in the spring!

Your blue skies are fabulous. Are you using a polarizer? The ground colours don't look polarized though...

[davidd]

Red's Utah Adventures continue:

"Just a quick reminder of where we are, in case you forgot since

our last ex.citing episode."

"Or... maybe we're here; I don't know. It all tends to look alike."

"When last we saw me, I was perched halfway up a cliff in imminent danger

of plummeting to my doom!"

"I suppose the upside of being wedged in a crevice where I'll likely starve

to death and ravens will nest in my bleached skull is that I'm now much less

likely to plummet to my doom from the cliff face."

"Piece o' cake! Nothin' to it! I was just angling for sympathy!

It's the drama queen in me!"

"Just give me two or three hours to catch my breath after that ridiculous ordeal

and then we can go get lunch... okay?"

"What? It's not lunch time yet? Okay... let's see if there's anything worth

seeing around here! I hope it won't be snakes!"

"Hey... izzat a castle?"

"Looks kinda like where those Sea Monkeys live in the comic book ads!

'Cept... I don't see a sea! Or... any monkeys!"

"Well... maybe it's not a castle, but it's kinda cool. Even without Sea Monkeys."

"Look! That rock and I are wearing almost the same style hat!"

"Arright... that was... strenuous! Now how do I get down?"

"OH EM EFF GEE! We're Shadow Twinning! Please stop before I gag,

and promise not to ever do anything like this again!"

Who woulda guessed that twelve years after snapping the first photo, back in 2009

while on vacation, I'd be living within five miles of this very spot? And recreating

the same picture while hosting a Travel Doll? The lesson to be learned:

be careful where you stop to take pictures!

"Fake ancient ruins, but at least it's a step or two above random rock-stacking."

"Ooooh! Finally something that actually looks interesting! Let's check it out..."

"... after lunch!"

To Be Continued....

[Alliecat]

Wow, what fabulous scenery!! And completely devoid of... people. Perfect.
Ha! I remember those Sea Monkey ads!
I love the shadow pic, that's fun. And the flashback/re-created photo pair is really cool!

[davidd]

Wow, what fabulous scenery!!  And completely devoid of... people.  Perfect.

The trail that leads up to those arches (there are about a dozen arches of various sizes and shapes on the 45 minute loop trail) is one of the last "best kept secrets" in the area. Even during the peak summer season when the wait time to get in to the nearby national parks can be hours long, there is often nobody at this site, or at most two or three other cars.

---

Red's Utah Adventures continue: BEHOLD! The BELLY of the DRAGON!

"This is the 'Instagram Famous' Belly of the Dragon Cave in south-central Utah!

Pretty much nobody knew about, or cared about, this sandstone cave

until a few years ago, when 'Instagram influencers' and other 'I wanna be

unique just like everybody else on Instagram' people discovered it, and began

posting hashtagged, geotagged selfies."

"This is kinda like what I imagine the Valley of the Kings in Egypt would be like!"

"Just follow me and you'll be fine!"

"C'mon - you ain't scared, are ya?  Scaredy cat! Scaredy cat!

Note the names carved in the soft sandstone of all the Instagram Influencers

who have trod these Hallowed Trails before us!"

"Gettin' dark, in'nit? Hey, izzat... izzat a GHOST?!?"

"This must be what Tom Sawyer and Becky Thatcher felt like when the last of their

matches gave out. 'Cept... I don't think anyone reads that old book anymore."

"There's the exit, up ahead! See, I told'ja you'd be fine if you just followed me!"

"We made it through... The Belly of the Dragon!"

"I hope you snapped lots of phone selfies to share on Instagram!

Isn't it fun to do something unique just like everybody else?"

"Okay... where'd I park the car?"

To Be Continued....

[Alliecat]

What a cool spot. I like the shot of her back-to, looking down the tunnel. It's too bad people have to mark all over natural spaces like this...
I think Red is learning more sarcasm than when she was here...

[Elfy]

She’s certainly been very adventurous (and snarky) on this leg of her travels.

[Lejays17]

Awful people to carve names / initials / whatever’s into the stones.

All the natural features are amazing - one of the most interesting places I’ve visited is around Queenstown Tas, which is all rocks as (sadly) tge mining essentially poisoned the landscape. It’s still beautiful in a way like the photos you’ve taken are, but with no greenery at all.

Red is very snarky & totally unappreciated the amazing array of rocks & dead trees she’s seen

[davidd]

It's too bad people have to mark all over natural spaces like this...

Awful people to carve names / initials / whatever’s into the stones.

I agree, the degree of graffiti carving is cause for dismay. At least there isn't any spray paint graffiti... yet. Rendering the defacement somewhat less unpalatable is knowing that this tunnel - it's not actually a cave - is a man-made feature, not a natural one. It was carved as an floodwater drainage tunnel decades ago, possibly over a century ago - I have not yet found a definitive source for the original construction date beyond "20th Century" - and passes directly under a highway. Years of erosion have given the tunnel a natural, cavern-like appearance.

[davidd]

Hey! It's been a while! Bet'cha thought we were done with the Southwest pics, huh?
Yeah, right! How many movie stars have we seen so far? None? Okay! And how many dinosaurs? Gotta see some dinosaurs, right? So come on, what are you waiting for!

First, tell me this: how many restaurant pics did you get from the other stops on this trip? Yeah, that's what I thought! So here are some more:

These o-rings oughtta hold me for a while!

Oh, look! Are they filming a movie?

Kanab, Utah was once known as "Little Hollywood" because hundreds - no kidding, hundreds of motion pictures were filmed here!

You Blew It Up! Darn You All To... Heck!

I think this is a rare Copper Banded Bison.

Oh, great! I get to meet Clint Eastwood... right after I've stuffed my face full of onion rings! So much for the silver screen's greatest love scene!

Speaking of silver - Hi Yo!

I'd ask you if you know who this next fella is, but I'm afraid you'll say "I dunno," so I won't ask - and if I have to tell you, there's no point in continuing this conversation... Pilgrim!

RANDOM HORSE-DRAWN FARM EQUIPMENT!

(It's a hay rake, if you don't know. Dorothy walks past one in the farmyard while she's signing "Over the Rainbow" in The Wizard of Oz. Probably not this very one, but one very like this very one!)

No movie stars in this next pic, but Henry Fonda may have stood right here on this very spot! No, sillies, it's not Golden Pond! Go watch "Drums Along the Mohawk" sometimes. You'll see young Henry - he was young, then, not like in that "Golden Pond" thing - fall down in the stream leading in to this pond. John Carradine is lurking around in the woods here, somewhere, too. If you don't know who John Carradine is, I'm done talking to you.

As long as we're up here in the forest, let's check out the autumn leaves. Remember this was last autumn... what year? Twenty-one, I think? The night-time temps were getting nippy and the leaves were just beginning to turn.

Oh... this is really close to the actual spot where Henry Fonda fell down in that movie.

But there are some more nice leaves over there. Follow me!

Artsy lens flare 'n' everything! We're making the most of those Little Hollywood production values!

How about another dead tree? Because it seems to be a recurring theme here in Utah:

And some lava rocks, for dramatic visual contrast:

Did I show you the national monument yet? The one that hardly anyone has ever heard of? Well, actually, there are a lot of national monuments that hardly anyone has ever heard of, but this is one of  'em:

Good thing I gave up smoking a while back! I shoulda worn my heart rate monitor!

Before we go any further, you might want to stock up on ammo. Or beer. Better make it both.

Museum Quality? So we're finally gonna see some quality?

Ooooh! Ahhhh! Fake exotic minerals... made of glass!

Oh, look! Tiny arches! This is my kind of hiking!

Dwelt a miner, forty-niner, and his daughter Clementiiiine!

So much for 'museum quality.' Wasn't there something else you said you wanted to see?

How about a dead guy in a stew pot? No, that wasn't it?

Oh, now I remember:

DINOSAURS!

M'kay, we can do dinosuars! Didn't I tell ya I'd show ya dinosaurs?

This stuff always goes downhill pretty quickly, doesn't it?

I'm sure you're figuring... or hoping... that we're almost done here in Utah, or Arizona, or wherever we are, right? Yeah, well, almost. Just a few more pix as a quick "coda," so to speak, to wrap things up, and then we'll be done... finally!

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0-----0

Do you remember that Lotto Guns Ammo Beer place? While you guys were buying beer, I purchased a lottery ticket! I was gonna split the winnings with all you guys! No, seriously, I was! But... we didn't win. Bummer.

You already saw me with Smokey the Bear, but that was fun, so here's another look!

Here I am sending postcards:

And finally... in addition to pictures taken in trees, it seems like

none of my stops are complete without...

... a lighthouse! In this case, the tallest lighthouse in the landlocked state of Utah, 843 driving miles (that's a lot in kilometers) or about 700 straight-line miles (still a lot in kilometers, about 1200 – there, I did the math for ya) from the nearest ocean.

And now I am off to my next host! See ya in a coupla weeks!

[Elfy]

The one where she’s flattened herself against the rock, that looks like she’s an outlaw hiding from the posse.

[davidd]

The one where she’s flattened herself against the rock, that looks like she’s an outlaw hiding from the posse.

D’oh! The caption was supposed to have been a reference to hiding out with the Butch Cassidy gang, and I totally spaced it out!

[Alliecat]

Yay!
Happy to see more of Red's adventures.
Why does the bison have bands around it...?  Was it falling apart or something?  Cool to see all the movie art around town (yes I knew who all the people were), and the lake looks very pretty.  You had some nice autumn colours.
Whoa, the canyon is fabulous.  What amazing scenery all around you there.  ...wait, 10,000 feet?  Really?  Cool.  I guess I didn't realize you had such high elevations, I mean, thought it was farther from the mountains.
Uh oh.  She has taken the Groove Doll Elevation Record from Sunsette & Aloalo at Haleakala
Ha! Lighthouse  Love it that she got to a lighthouse there too.  And she is so CUTE in that hat.
That was a fun set of photos.  It looks like a wonderful place to ex-plore.  Mom always wanted to visit that part of the world and never did.
Thanks for posting them!