Utah Adventure Day 8: Arches National Park, a Geologic Wonderland

Sunrise on the Landscape Arch, Devils Garden Trail, Arches National Park © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

By Karen Rubin, with Laini Miranda and Dave E. Leiberman

Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com

Arches National Park is a fantastical place, a geologic wonderland, and being able to wake up before the sun in the Devils Garden Campground and stroll along the Devils Garden Trail as the formations come alive with color, is extraordinary.

Arches’ sprawling landscape of 2,000 natural stone arches – the highest concentration of arches on the planet – plus hundreds of soaring pinnacles, massive rock fins, giant balanced rocks, coupled with its accessibility and ease of getting around (well, except for traffic and difficulty finding parking) and access (through Moab) draws hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, making it one of the most popular national parks. Indeed, Arches is so popular (and crowded) that it requires advance purchase, timed entry reservations just to enter, between April 1 and October 31.

Arches National Park is a geologic wonderland © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

We are lucky because Laini has cleverly booked two nights at the Devils Garden campground months before our trip. The campsite reservation acts as the entry ticket and for this reason but especially because of being immersed in the landscape, this is the absolute best way to experience Arches National Park. (Devils Garden Campground is pen year-round, with 52 sites, reservations for individual sites can be made up to six months in advance; for group sites can be reserved up to year in advance, www.nps.gov/arch)

Arches is the most touristic of all the places we have visited this trip and offers such a contrast with the wild camping and communion with ancient spirits (Bears Ears), the remote unmarked hikes (Grand Staircase-Escalante), the long meandering hikes (Capitol Reef) and our search through muck and mud to find archaeological sites (Glen Canyon).

Here, we go sightseeing for the dazzling arches that give the park its name, like the amazing Double Arch, the Windows, Landscape Arch and Delicate Arch, accessed along paved paths from parking lots, with restroom facilities.

A formation in Arches National Park that looks like Croesus had just been turned to rock © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Throughout Arches, there are formations – eroded monoliths – that inspire names, like Parade of Elephants, Petrified Dunes, Tower of Babel and Fiery Furnace, also trigger imagination. Some look so much like mudmen, we name them (we rechristen Balanced Rock “E.T.”, the Gossips we rename “The Suffragists,” and formations that look to me as if Nefertiti and Croesus had just been turned to rock.

The formation once known as “The Gossips” we re-name “The Suffragists” Arches National Park © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

The source of what we see is a salt bed, thousands of feet thick in places, that was deposited across the Colorado Plateau 300 million years ago when a sea flowed into the region and eventually evaporated, according to the Arches National Park notes. The salt bed was unstable and unable to hold the weight of the thick cover of rock formed from compressed debris. It shifted, buckled, liquefied and repositioned, thrusting rock layers upward as domes, while whole sections fell into cavities.

Doesn’t this rock formation look like Nefertiti? Imaginations run wild in Arches National Park © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Faults make the surface even more unstable. From the visitor center, you can see the result of a 2,500-foot displacement, the Moab Fault. The faults caused vertical cracks and wind and water over 100 million years of erosion and weathering, ultimately formed the arches of salmon-colored Entrada Sandstone and buff-colored Navajo Sandstone.

The process is ongoing – new features are being formed as old ones are transformed.

Sometimes the changes happen suddenly, violently. That was the case at the Skyline Arch, just next door to Devils Garden, where a massive boulder tumbled down in the 1940s, expanding the arch.

Waking before sunrise with the moon in Devils Garden Campground, Arches National Park © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

The most ambitious hikes in Arches National Park are to the Double O Arch (4.1 miles); the Primitive trail (2.1 miles one way, considered most difficult), and if you would do the whole Devils Garden Trail (7.8 miles, that goes to the Landscape Arch, Double O Arch, Dark Angel along a primitive trail, with narrow ledges, rock scrambling and few trail markers; be sure to take enough water— 1 liter of water per person, per hour).

We do none of these, holding out for our most ambitious hike, to Delicate Arch, for sunset but I already have my trepidations.

And, in addition to the outstanding Devils Garden trail, from the campground (which feels luxurious to us for its restrooms and running water), you can hikethe Broken Arch Loop Trail which runs past Tapestry Arch and Broken Arch, then swings south towards Sand Dune Arch and back up passed Skyline Arch before returning to the campground. (Unfortunately, we don’t have time for that hike. Next time!)

Sunrise in Devils Garden, Arches National Park © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

For my sunrise hike, I do the easy, paved trail, rushing to get to a good position for photos, and then continue on to do more of it, going to where I see the famous Landscape Arch. After my walk through the easy part of the Devils Garden Trail (it is surprising how fast the sun comes up, washing out the colors), I go back to the campsite where we have breakfast.

Sunrise in Devils Garden, Arches National Park © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

(Actually, we have to move from one campsite to another for our second night and Dave and Laini figure out to just put the tent with the sleeping bags and stuff on top of the Jeep and drive it over, which we do by check-out time.)

Landscape Arch, Devils Garden, Arches National Park © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

We then set out to explore Arches.

We only have one full day at Arches National Park, and it’s the end of our hiking/camping adventure, so we kind of go with the flow. We drive to the different sites, and do short hikes up to the various formations, basically doing the tourist thing.

An easy trail takes you to the Skyline Arch, Arches National Park © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

We follow a route, starting with the Skyline Arch adjacent to Devils Garden. Dave climbs to the top of that humongous boulder that fell down (scary to contemplate). The Skyline Arch Trail is short and easy, less than a half-mile roundtrip hike from the parking lot and back. The arch itself is one of the more popular landmarks in Arches. It makes for spectacular photographs, owing to its position, literally, on the skyline. And its proximity to the Devils Garden Campground makes it a perfect hike if you arrive late in the afternoon. (We arrived too late.)

Dave climbs atop of a boulder that came off the Skyline Arch © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

We go next to the observation area that overlooks The Fiery Furnace, a labyrinth of narrow sandstone canyons. (Hiking the Fiery Furnace requires agility and a permit, or a ticket for a ranger-led hike that must be reserved in advance through Recreation.gov; one route is marked, but getting lost is still possible.)

The Fiery Furnace, contrasted against snow-capped peaks, Arches National Park © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Next, we drive to one of the famous highlights of Arches (there are many, but this one is tops for me): the Double Arch Viewpoint and Trail. The tallest arch in the park at 122 ft., there seems to be this intricate dance between the two arches. An easy gravel path leads to the base of the two huge, arching spans. Of course Dave and Alli climb up to the arches, while Laini draws.

There seems to be an intricate dance between the two arches of the Double Arch, Arches National Park © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Balanced Rock is another signature landmark and just about everyone (who can get a parking space) walks the short hike around the base for up-close perspectives. We re-name Balanced Rock E. T. because from a certain angle, it’s a dead ringer for the endearing character.

“Balanced Rock”is a dead-ringer for the beloved E.T., Arches National Park © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

(The Arches National Park newsletter guide is invaluable – it recommends how much water to take, and gives excellent information about distance and time and difficulty for each of the hikes.)

Dinosaurs, Indians!

Arches National Park (believe it or not), has no food or lodging (that is, beyond the sensational Devils Garden campground) – so we drive out of the park into the delightful, hopping town of Moab for lunch at the food truck park, and a bit of shopping.

From here, we drive a short distance to where Laini promises we will encounter both dinosaurs and Indians.

Tracks made by three-toed meat-eating dinosaurs can be seen at the Poison Spider Dinosaur Tracksite and Rock Art Trail © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

We drive along Utah Scenic Byway 279 to the trailhead of the Poison Spider Dinosaur Tracksite and Rock Art Trail. It’s a quarter-mile walk up a steep, crumbly trail up a rocky hillside to two rock slabs where tracks made by three-toed meat-eating dinosaurs can be seen, as well as a wall with a good collection of petroglyphs.

This area was once a vast sand dune sea, known as an erg. These tracks would have been found along the edge of a lake between dunes. As the wind would blow across the dunes these tracks would have been gently buried in shifting sand and preserved. The preserved tracks were unearthed when the slabs fell from the sandstone cliffs above.

The trail switchbacks up the hill before coming alongside the petroglyph wall and then descends back to the parking lot. (Use caution: though short, there are a few steep areas and the trail can be hard to follow.)

(From this trailhead you can also connect to the Longbow Arch hiking trail that goes into a canyon to an arch, 2.4 miles roundtrip.)

The astonishing Utah Highway 279 Rock Art Site, where a huge rock wall face has the most amazing sets of petroglyphs and pictographs, Moab © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

A short distance along Potash Road is the Utah Highway 279 Rock Art Site, where a huge rock wall face has the most amazing sets of petroglyphs and pictographs. It looks like a museum exhibit, except this is where they were made and it is astonishing to contemplate that this is where people so very long ago stood here and carved and painted them.

The astonishing Utah Highway 279 Rock Art Site, where a huge rock wall face has the most amazing sets of petroglyphs and pictographs, Moab © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Archaeologists believe most of the rock art found here was created during the Archaic (6,000 – 1,000 B.C.) and Fremont (450-1300 A.D.) cultural periods. The art consists of pictographs (painted images) and petroglyphs (pecked, incised or chiseled images). The majority of the rock art features anthropomorphic (human forms) and zoomorphic (animal forms) but there are also curvilean lines, zigzags, wavy lines, concentric circles and abstract symbols. Sometimes both Archaic and Fremont petroglyphs can be found on the same rock art panel.

The astonishing Utah Highway 279 Rock Art Site, where a huge rock wall face has the most amazing sets of petroglyphs and pictographs, Moab © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Some of the rock art panels depict religious rituals and are considered sacred sites. Some depict migration routes, fertility, hunting, ceremonies, and cosmic events.

The astonishing Utah Highway 279 Rock Art Site, where a huge rock wall face has the most amazing sets of petroglyphs and pictographs, Moab © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

These petroglyphs were exposed when the road was widened, and it is a surreal experience to see these magnificent, huge murals just along the road – especially because it is beside a section popular with rock climbers (one was prosecuted for rock climbing where the protected petroglyphs are).

Fremont rock art often depicts trapezoidal anthropomorphs with horns, bighorn sheep, dogs, hunting scenes with weapons, and abstract objects – and sure enough, we see plenty of examples – there are horned anthropomorphs holding shields and paper doll-like cut-outs; at the southern end of the panel, we see a large bear with a hunter at its nose and another hunter over its back. The notes say this art is 3000 to 8000 years old.

The ancient rock-art panels are next to a popular rock climbing place © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

At the northern end of the panel, round holes carved into the sandstone underneath the left side would have once held roof poles of a structure which was excavated by archaeologists before the road construction. The rock panels extend 125 feet along Potash Road.

Sunset and Star-Gazing

We return to Arches National Park for sunset (there is still a long line of cars getting in with their timed admission tickets, but because we are camping, we breeze right in).

Laini suggests we hike the 3 miles roundtrip to Delicate Arch for the sunset, but I’m actually dreading it (my feet are actually bleeding from yesterday’s 11-mile Kane Gulch hike – the folly of hiking in boots that haven’t been broken in).

My trepidation comes from the description of the hike: The Delicate Arch hike is ranked difficult – the trail climbs 480 feet up a steep slickrock slope, and just before you get to Delicate Arch, follows a narrow rock ledge for about 200 yards). I am especially nervous about hiking the 1.5 miles back in the dark.

Laini, who has done the hike on their previous trip, admits she also has been dreading it but only wanted to do it for me, because I would have been disappointed not to see the iconic rock formation that Utah uses for its state symbol.

We set out and I ask what exactly we will see and she pulls up the photo she took on a previous trip. I suggest we not bother, but rather go to The Windows where I’ve been told is a popular place for sunset.

But before we leave the trail to the Delicate Arch, we explore the Wolfe Ranch historic site and walk a little further along a path to see an excellent example of historic Ute rock art – a huge bonus to coming here.

Historic Ute rock art at the Wolfe Ranch site, Arches National Park © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

The panel depicts a stylized horse and rider surrounded by bighorn sheep and dog-like animals which are typical of Ute rock art. The petroglyphs were carved sometime between 1660-1860.

The historic marker is fascinating because it also shows photos of an Ute on horseback in 1909. “The Utes’ acquisition of horses by the mid-1600s radically changed the way they hunted, worked and traveled.” Another photo depicts a Ute warrior and his bride, circa 1873. Utah’s name is derived from the Ute Indians who moved into this area around 1300 AD.

I’m thrilled we came here, and even more thrilled to go to The Windows for the sunset, which I had read in the park’s newsletter (so helpful!) is one of the great spots to watch the sunset.

The Windows, a great place to watch the sunset in Arches National Park © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

The Windows – just across from the Double Arch where we had been in the morning – is a pleasant half mile walk. We arrive just as the light is turning the rock deep gold, to orange, to red. I find a “comfortable” rock to sit on at the bottom of the arch while Dave, Laini and Alli (of course) climb up into the Windows.  Our view looks out to the Turret Arch and a wide open expanse, to where the sun dips below the horizon.

Watching the sunset from The Windows, Arches National Park © Laini Miranda/goingplacesfarandnear.com

We drive back to Moab to stop in for a bite and beer flight at Moab Brewery, and then return to the national park to do some stargazing before settling into our campsite.

Arches National Park is a great family park where a short walk brings you to many of the iconic features, and you can even see a lot from a car and the observation areas. Stop at the visitor center for advice, where you can watch an orientation film and see exhibits. A self-guiding audio tour is available. Ranger programs are offered seasonally.

For more information, and to reserve entry tickets and campsites, www.nps.gov/arch; info 435-719-2299; hiking info at https://www.nps.gov/arch/planyourvisit/hiking.htm

Sunrise from the Devils Garden Campground, Arches National Park © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

On our last morning, I awake again before sunrise and scramble up a small hill across the road from our campsite for a different view.

We pack up quickly for our departure which also entails packing up the rental sleeping bags and pads, which we ship back to Moosejaw.com from Moab, pick up breakfast from a delightful cafe, and head out for the drive back to Salt Lake City and our flight home, having had the most marvelous Utah Adventure, a trip of a lifetime for me.

Trip planning tools are available at https://www.visitutah.com/.

Advance Purchase Tickets Required

From April 1 to Oct. 1, 2023, you need to secure in advance a timed entry reservation in order to enter Arches National Park between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. Reservations must be secured three months in advance of the anticipated date of visiting Arches. A single booking of a timed entry ticket covers each registered visitor (an individual, couple, group or family). You can enjoy the park all day, entering and re-entering at will with the validated ticket. A $2 processing fee is added nto the standard park entry fee. Reservations are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis on Recreation.gov. (It may also be possible to obtain a limited number of tickets through Recreation.gov up to midnight the day before planning to visit the park.).

See:

UTAH ADVENTURE DAY 1-2: CAPITOL REEF’S COLORFUL CANYONS

UTAH ADVENTURE DAY 3-4: GRAND STAIRCASE-ESCALANTE POSES CHALLENGE

UTAH ADVENTURE DAY 4-5: DRIVING BURR TRAIL, EXPLORING GLEN CANYON, WILD CAMPING IN ARCH CANYON

UTAH ADVENTURE DAY 6: SACRED SITES, SPIRITS OF BEARS EARS NATIONAL MONUMENT

UTAH ADVENTURE DAY 6-7: HOUSE ON FIRE AMONG HIGHLIGHTS HIKING AMID SACRED SITES, SPIRITS OF BEARS EARS NATIONAL MONUMENT

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© 2023 Travel Features Syndicate, a division of Workstyles, Inc. All rights reserved. Visit goingplacesfarandnear.com, www.huffingtonpost.com/author/karen-rubin, and travelwritersmagazine.com/TravelFeaturesSyndicate/. Blogging at goingplacesnearandfar.wordpress.com and moralcompasstravel.info. Visit instagram.com/going_places_far_and_near and instagram.com/bigbackpacktraveler/ Send comments or questions to [email protected] Tweet @TravelFeatures. ‘Like’ us at facebook.com/KarenBRubin 

Utah Adventure Day 6-7: House on Fire Among Highlights Hiking Amid Sacred Sites, Spirits of Bears Ears National Monument

House on Fire is one of the most photographed – and dramatic – archeological sites in Bears Ears National Monument-Cedar Mesa © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

By Karen Rubin, with Laini Miranda and Dave E. Leiberman

Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com

What is truly special about Bears Ears National Monument-Cedar Mesa – and what draws Laini back time and again, are the remnants, artifacts and structures left by Ancestral Puebloans – ancestors of the Hopi and Zuni – who inhabited these canyons and cliffs between 700 and 2500 years ago. Arrowheads and other artifacts dating back 10,000 years have also been found in this region. Some of these sites are at once accessible yet also feel remote – so you feel you are the first archaeologist to discover, though obviously that can’t be since the BLM Rangers have left laminated info packets in metal cases in some of the dwellings. Still, we can pretend.

Our hikes bring us to these places that seem as if the occupants only recently vacated, leaving behind painted pottery shards, tiny corn husks, stone and bone tools, even their hand-prints, pictographs and petroglyphs that speak to us through time, as if to say, “We were here. We still are.”

Because these lands are sacred, all of us must be respectful of the dwellings and the archaeological artifacts that we come upon. And these sites truly feel sacred – precisely because of the artifacts, the pictographs and petroglyphs, you feel the presence of those who lived here. And because those of us who visit do show proper respect, these mud-and-stick (jacal) constructions delicate pictographs and petroglyphs etched into sandstone and  artifacts, though incredibly fragile, are here for us to discover, as if we are among the first.

It’s fairly miraculous these sites have survived Mother Nature, let alone humans.

After hiking to the Arch Canyon Ruins, Laini leads us to a trail to one of the outstanding highlights of the Bears Ears National Monument: the House on Fire, one of the most photographed (spectacular) sites in the region.

Hiking the Mule Canyon trail © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

This site features five granaries built into overhanging Cedar Mesa Sandstone with a streaked pattern that, in the early morning light, resembles flames (photo tip: because these dwellings were built to be south-facing, the most dramatic light is around 10-11 am depending upon time of year). (https://bearsearsmonument.org/house-on-fire/)

House on Fire is one of the most photographed – and dramatic – archeological sites in Bears Ears National Monument-Cedar Mesa © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

“As you take in the view, imagine how the ancient Puebloans lived here between 700 and 2,500 years ago,” Matcha writes at the visitutah.com site. “The granaries perched high in the cliffs stored corn, a main source of food. The Puebloans also ground Indian ricegrass into meal to make bread, and they ate abundant prickly pears. The ever-present yucca was invaluable, as its leaves were spun into fiber and woven into baskets, sandals, and bags, as well as ropes that are said to have helped reach some of the higher, less accessible granaries. The Native Americans used the root of the yucca for soap, and they roasted and ate the base of the plant.

House on Fire is one of the most photographed – and dramatic – archeological sites in Bears Ears National Monument-Cedar Mesa © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

“The pinyon pines that you weave around and duck under to reach the ancient sites were a key source of building material, fuel, and food. When burned, the wood created the high temperatures needed for firing pottery, while pine bark served as roofing and padding, and pinon nuts provided much-needed vitamins and protein.” (https://www.visitutah.com/articles/exploring-mule-canyon-house-on-fire-cave-tower)

You have to really look closely to discover these hand prints in House of Fire, Bears Ears National Monument-Cedar Mesa © Laini Miranda/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Matcha further advises to search for rock art located beneath an overhanging boulder in the wash below the House on Fire. And if you continue on the trail, there are several more sites worth seeing. While some sit right off the trail, you either need binoculars to see or have to climb 200 feet to reach them. “Toward the end of the canyon is the spectacular Wall Site, which has several intact rooms built into small caves in the pock-marked cliff. Some of the roofs still have the original roof timbers.”

(South Fork of Mule Canyon trail is 4.3 miles one-way, and elevation gain is 250 feet. Cave Tower Site is 1-1.5 miles round trip, and elevation change is less than 200 feet. Passes are required for day hiking, check with the Bureau of Land Management for the current fee amount. Be prepared with exact change.)

Coming upon The Tower Ruin, off the beaten path © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

After this spectacular hike, we drive west on Hwy 95 near milepost 103, then drive onto a dirt road for half a mile. We hike in and across the way, we see The Tower Ruin – a rare, two-story structure on the other side of the canyon.

The Tower Ruin, Bears Ears National Monument-Cedar Mesa © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

At first, it seems too steep a scramble for me, but Dave and Laini go down. Dave makes it look easy. Sure enough, he comes back to guide me to the site (so glad he did!).

The Tower Ruin, Bears Ears National Monument-Cedar Mesa © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

This site is so secluded, remote and untouched, it feels as if we discovered it on our own (though I’m sure that’s not true, the feeling is still so exciting).

The Tower Ruin, Bears Ears National Monument-Cedar Mesa © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

The tower construction seems to be “modern” – Laini says there is evidence of three different generations having a hand in the construction. There are fabulous pictographs and petrolyphs here. I imagine that one is a symbol for the chief.

The Tower Ruin, Bears Ears National Monument-Cedar Mesa © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Altogether, we have hiked about 9 to 10 miles today – so satisfying.

We drive into the town of Blanding for dinner and supplies, seeing signs along the way for Native American Crafts, Dinosaur Museum, State Edges of the Cedars Native American Museum.

The Tower Ruin, Bears Ears National Monument-Cedar Mesa © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Laini decides to change plans from our original itinerary and instead of leaving here for Canyonlands, we stay an extra night and day in Cedar Mesa.

So glad, because the second day’s hike is one of the best I have ever experienced.

Catching the last rays of sun driving back to our wild camping site in Arch Canyon from Blanding © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
 

Kane Gulch Trail

Take seriously the need to obtain permits in advance for certain hikes. We changed our plans in order to stay this second day in Cedar Mesa so did not get the necessary permit (limited to just 20 a day) to hike to Moon House – the only day hike that requires a permit instead of just a hiking day pass. We thought we might get away with it because we are here on Easter Sunday, but no such luck (the permit allocations fill up even months before). It is easier to get permits in summer months, which is when Laini and David found themselves the only ones at the site when they last visited (likely because of the heat; when we are here, in early spring, the weather is perfect).

Hiking the Kane Gulch Trail, Bears Ears National Monument-Cedar Mesa © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Instead, at the Kane Gulch Visitor Center, the Ranger suggests we hike the Kane Gulch Trail which starts right across the road. We purchase our day hiking passes ($5 pp – my America the Beautiful pass doesn’t count). She suggests what to look for at what distances.

Hiking the Kane Gulch Trail, Bears Ears National Monument-Cedar Mesa © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Dave gets out our hot-water maker and we have our breakfast at the picnic table outside the visitor center, then set out. Our plan is to go five miles, to the Stimper Arch, and five miles back.

Profile of an Indian Chief? Hiking the Kane Gulch Trail, Bears Ears National Monument-Cedar Mesa © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

At about a mile in, there is a short slot canyon where we see a formation to me looks like the profile of an Indian chief.

At the two-mile mark, Dave stashes our 5-gallon water jug so we have enough for the return.

Junction Ruin, Kane Gulch Trail, Bears Ears National Monument-Cedar Mesa © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com 

It’s four miles to the Junction Ruin which has some fabulous dwellings, pottery shards, and pictographs.Dave and Laini climb up sheer rock to get to an upper level (a defensive watchtower?) and could see remnants of a ladder that would have been used.

Turkey Pen, Kane Gulch Trail, Bears Ears National Monument-Cedar Mesa © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com 

Another .7 mile and we come to a site known as Turkey Pen. Looking up from the trail, it seems the cliff dwellings are cramped and close to the edge, but when we get up here, it is surprising how much space there actually is.

Turkey Pen, Kane Gulch Trail, Bears Ears National Monument-Cedar Mesa © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Here, we see some fabulous examples of mud and stick method of construction (jacal) and some exquisite painted pottery shards, pictographs, even the remnants of the actual turkey pen formed with sticks – so it almost seems you are coming upon a dwelling just after the residents left. You feel you are the archaeologist making the discovery – except for the printed notes left by the National Park Service- but still. 

Cliff dwellings along the Kane Gulch Trail, Bears Ears National Monument-Cedar Mesa © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

We also come upon a square kiva (most kivas Laini and Dave have seen are circular, Laini notes).

Junction Ruin, Kane Gulch Trail, Bears Ears National Monument-Cedar Mesa © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

You wonder about whether the site was designed to defend and who to defend from – people who would take food stored in the granary? One of the pictographs depicts sheep being killed, another of “lizard man.”

Cliff dwellings along the Kane Gulch Trail, Bears Ears National Monument-Cedar Mesa © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

As we hike, we keep our eyes peeled on the cliffs above for evidence of dwellings, well off the trail and likely minimally visited. Laini says there were thousands of cliff dwellings here and only a fraction have been discovered (or are still intact, but when you consider they are 1000 years old, and the crumbling rock all around, it is amazing any remain). We spot one and Laini goes off to try to find a way to climb up to it.

Cliff dwellings along the Kane Gulch Trail, Bears Ears National Monument-Cedar Mesa © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

We find a pleasant rock overhang to sit and have our picnic lunch, feeling like this would have been exactly what the Puebloans would have done.

We hike a further .3 miles to the Stimper Arch (which is the 5-mile mark), where we turn around.

Turkey Pen, Kane Gulch Trail, Bears Ears National Monument-Cedar Mesa © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
Turkey Pen, Kane Gulch Trail, Bears Ears National Monument-Cedar Mesa © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
Turkey Pen, Kane Gulch Trail, Bears Ears National Monument-Cedar Mesa © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
Turkey Pen, Kane Gulch Trail, Bears Ears National Monument-Cedar Mesa © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
Turkey Pen, Kane Gulch Trail, Bears Ears National Monument-Cedar Mesa © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

This hike has everything – it has just the right amount of physical challenge – a section where you scramble a bit and walk a narrow edge – gorgeous greenery, stunning rock formations, water features (but not too watery to hike), but best and most spectacular of all, these cliff dwellings that look like we have just discovered them, with relatively large and stunningly painted pottery shards, stone tools, stunning pictographs (I start thinking they are either indications of how many people lived in the dwelling like a census; markers of whose dwelling it is, like a family name?  or just being playful, artful?).

Turkey Pen, Kane Gulch Trail, Bears Ears National Monument-Cedar Mesa © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

The trail is not specifically marked – so you have to figure your own way using the landscape and intermittently placed cairns.

Turkey Pen, Kane Gulch Trail, Bears Ears National Monument-Cedar Mesa © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
The actual turkey pen, Kane Gulch Trail, Bears Ears National Monument-Cedar Mesa © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
Turkey Pen, Kane Gulch Trail, Bears Ears National Monument-Cedar Mesa © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Even though this is a popular trail, we come upon other people only occasionally (but it kind of reassures us we are going the right way).

The trail actually goes on for miles (days), connecting to other trails. (We meet a group of college students who are making a multi-day backpacking trip and will return on the Fish and Owl trail.)

Turkey Pen, Kane Gulch Trail, Bears Ears National Monument-Cedar Mesa © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
Turkey Pen, Kane Gulch Trail, Bears Ears National Monument-Cedar Mesa © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
Kane Gulch Trail, Bears Ears National Monument-Cedar Mesa © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

We get back to the start at 6:30 pm (we set out around 10 am), having hiked about 11 miles. (It took us 5 hours to get 5 miles (including the time exploring the archaeological sites) and 3 ½ hours to hike back.

Stimper Arch, Kane Gulch Trail, Bears Ears National Monument-Cedar Mesa © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

After this full day’s hike, we drive to Arches National Park. It’s a fairly long drive and already sunset by the time we arrive. This is the first time we have to set up camp in the dark and there is a strong wind that makes it difficult to keep the tent from blowing away (especially since I can’t find my tent stakes so we improvise, until they are ultimately found under the footprint.)

Dave makes a fire and we prepare dinner from our supplies.

It is night by the time we set up camp at the Devils Campground in Arches National Park © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

If You Go….

The Moon House Ruin is one of the best archaeology sites on Cedar Mesa, consists of three separate structures with 49 rooms; well preserved pictographs grace the walls of an interior courtyard and some of the rooms (the hike is 3.2-5.6 miles roundtrip). More of the best hikes in Bears Ears at http://www.hikingwalking.com/index.php/destinations/ut/ut_se/blanding

Day hiking in Bears Ears National Monument requires a day hiking pass. Day hiking passes are unlimited.

Bears Ears National Monument does not charge an entry fee where your America the Beautiful Pass would typically apply. However, activity fees called “Individual Special Recreation Permits” are charged for day hiking and backpacking (typically $2 at the trailhead). Visit the permits page for more information (https://www.blm.gov/programs/recreation/permits-and-passes/lotteries-and-permit-systems/utah/cedarmesa).

Visitor Centers:

Kane Gulch BLM Ranger Station, UT-261 36 miles west of Blanding. Open: March 1-June 15, September 1-October 31, 8 am-noon daily

Monticello Visitor Center, 216 S Main St., Hours: 9 am-5 pm, closes at 3 pm on Sunday, Phone: 435-587-3401

Blanding Visitor Center, 12 North Grayson Parkway, 9 am-5 p.m., closed Sunday

https://www.blm.gov/visit/bears-ears-national-monument

See:

UTAH ADVENTURE DAY 1-2: CAPITOL REEF’S COLORFUL CANYONS

UTAH ADVENTURE DAY 3-4: GRAND STAIRCASE-ESCALANTE POSES CHALLENGE

UTAH ADVENTURE DAY 4-5: DRIVING BURR TRAIL, EXPLORING GLEN CANYON, WILD CAMPING IN ARCH CANYON

UTAH ADVENTURE DAY 6: SACRED SITES, SPIRITS OF BEARS EARS NATIONAL MONUMENT

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© 2023 Travel Features Syndicate, a division of Workstyles, Inc. All rights reserved. Visit goingplacesfarandnear.com, www.huffingtonpost.com/author/karen-rubin, and travelwritersmagazine.com/TravelFeaturesSyndicate/. Blogging at goingplacesnearandfar.wordpress.com and moralcompasstravel.info. Visit instagram.com/going_places_far_and_near and instagram.com/bigbackpacktraveler/ Send comments or questions to [email protected] Tweet @TravelFeatures. ‘Like’ us at facebook.com/KarenBRubin 

Utah Adventure Day 6: Sacred Sites, Spirits of Bears Ears National Monument

Exploring the Arch Canyon ruins, Bears Ears National Monument-Cedar Mesa © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

By Karen Rubin, with Laini Miranda and Dave E. Leiberman

Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com

Bears Ears National Monument-Cedar Mesa is the highlight (out of so many) of our Utah Adventure – hitting on all cylinders of stunning landscape, fascinating cultural heritage, and the opportunity to really explore, adventure and discover for ourselves on some of the most wonderful hikes (Kane Gulch!) anywhere.

Wild camping in Arch Canyon, Bears Ears National Monument-Cedar Mesa © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Finally! I get to do wild camping that I have been so intrigued about ever since Dave and Laini spent much of a summer exploring the West in their Subaru Forester which they converted into a campervan.

Dave drives our rental Jeep down a dirt road into Arch Canyon until we find a spot we can claim for our own (it happens to be immediately adjacent to an Indian reservation, with a warning sign posted on a fence, “No trespassing.”). There are many other wild campers in this area in the spring and we get one of the last suitable spots. (But this is still so much more interesting than going further down the road to an actual campground where you need advance reservations for official campgrounds,  recreation.gov, information at 435-587-1500 M-F, 8 am-noon. No reservation is required for any BLM land that does not clearly prohibit camping and the custom is to find a site that already has a stone circle for a fire pit.)

Wild camping in Arch Canyon, Bears Ears National Monument-Cedar Mesa © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Where we set up is just a walk down a path that leads to the Arch Canyon trailhead and the Arch Canyon Ruins, where we get to explore cliff dwellings.

Indeed, Cedar Mesa is a network of canyons that are home to ancient archaeological ruins and rock art panels – the ultimate combination of spectacular scenery and fascinating cultural sites.

Streams carve into the banded yellow-gray and reddish-orange sandstone, creating fabulous formations and arches – Mother Nature’s sculpture. Cliffs are streaked with “desert varnish” – thin deposits of minerals including iron, manganese, magnetite and clay particles, combined with bacteria – which add to the painterly ambiance. And some of these have provided the overhang for dwellings.

Hiking the trail into Arch Canyon, Bears Ears National Monument-Cedar Mesa © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

What is truly special about Bears Ears National Monument-Cedar Mesa – and what draws Laini back time and again, are the remnants, artifacts and structures left by Ancestral Puebloans – ancestors of the Hopi and Zuni – who inhabited these canyons and cliffs between 700 and 2500 years ago. Arrowheads and other artifacts dating back 10,000 years have also been found in this region. Some of these sites are at once accessible yet also feel remote – so you feel you are the first archaeologist to discover, though obviously that can’t be since the BLM Rangers have left laminated info packets in metal cases in some of the dwellings. Still, we can pretend.

Hiking the trail into Arch Canyon, Bears Ears National Monument-Cedar Mesa © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Our hikes bring us to these places that seem as if the occupants only recently vacated, leaving behind painted pottery shards, tiny corn husks, stone and bone tools, even their hand-prints, pictographs and petroglyphs that speak to us through time, as if to say, “We were here. We still are.”

These sites in Bears Ears truly feel sacred – precisely because of the artifacts, the pictographs and petroglyphs, you feel the presence of those who lived here © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Indeed, there are a mind-boggling 100,000 known archaeological sites protected within the Bears Ears National Monument, which spans 1.35 million acres. The buttes and surroundings have long been held as sacred or significant by a number of the region’s Native American tribes.

But it has not been without controversy. 

Bears Ears National Monument was established in 2016 by President Barack Obama to preserve thousands of these indigenous cultural and archaeological sites. The Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition, an alliance of five sovereign Tribal nations with ties to Bears Ears (the Hopi, Navajo, Uintah and Ouray Ute Indian Tribe, Ute Mountain Ute and Zuni Tribe), was the driving force behind its designation and are partners in managing the monument along with the federal Bureau of Land Management and US Forest Service.

These sites in Bears Ears truly feel sacred – precisely because of the artifacts, the pictographs and petroglyphs, you feel the presence of those who lived here © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

In their proposal to have Bears Ears designated as a national monument, the Coalition described these canyonlands as ancestral land and the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) described the Bears Ears as “the most significant unprotected cultural landscape in the U.S.”

These sites in Bears Ears truly feel sacred – precisely because of the artifacts, the pictographs and petroglyphs, you feel the presence of those who lived here © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

But in 2017, catering to mining, fossil fuel and other extraction industry interests, Donald Trump drastically reduced the size of Bears Ears (by 85 percent) and Grand Staircase-Escalante (by half) – the single largest rollback of public lands protection in history. These changes exposed archaeological and paleontological sites to vandalism, looting and opened the door to drilling and mining. Moreover, Trump’s Interior Department, under Secretary Ryan Zinke (who left in 2019 in disgrace) offered meager plans for managing what remained of the monuments, leaving important cultural sites and wildlife habitat vulnerable.

These sites in Bears Ears truly feel sacred – precisely because of the artifacts, the pictographs and petroglyphs, you feel the presence of those who lived here © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Various groups brought lawsuits and President Joe Biden (who appointed Deb Haaland Interior Secretary, the first native American to hold the cabinet position and the first to lead the department which historically oversees the Bureau of Indian Affairs) restored the territory under protection in October 2021. The Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition and the federal government officially signed a cooperative agreement, unveiling the first monument boundary sign on June 18, 2022,

The Bears Ears National Monument is named for a pair of buttes that rise to elevations of 8,900 feet and 9,000 feet © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

The monument is named Bears Ears for a pair of buttes that rise to elevations of 8,900 feet and 9,000 feet – more than 2,000 feet above Utah state routes 95 and 261. The monument includes the area around the Bears Ears formation and adjacent land to the southeast along the Comb Ridge formation, as well as Indian Creek Canyon to the northeast. The monument also includes the Valley of the Gods to the south, the western part of the Manti-La Sal National Forest’s Monticello unit, and the Dark Canyon Wilderness to the north and west.

These sites in Bears Ears truly feel sacred – precisely because of the artifacts, the pictographs and petroglyphs, you feel the presence of those who lived here © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Because these lands are sacred, all of us must be respectful of the dwellings and the archaeological artifacts that we come upon. And these sites truly feel sacred – precisely because of the artifacts, the pictographs and petroglyphs, you feel the presence of those who lived here. And because those of us who visit do show proper respect, these mud-and-stick (jacal) constructions delicate pictographs and petroglyphs etched into sandstone and  artifacts, though incredibly fragile, are here for us to discover, as if we are among the first.

It’s fairly miraculous these sites have survived Mother Nature, let alone humans.

These sites in Bears Ears truly feel sacred – precisely because of the artifacts, the pictographs and petroglyphs, you feel the presence of those who lived here © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Indeed, we are able to see artifacts and sites that date back 1000 years, but it is mind-boggling to contemplate that this area has been inhabited since 12,000 BC to 6000 BC by the PaleoIndians; the Archaic (6000-2000 BC); Early Agriculture (2000-500 BC); Basketmaker II (500 BC to 500 AD); Basketmaker III (500-750 AD); Pueblo I (750-900 AD), Pueblo II (900-1150 AD-we see evidence of their kivas, plain gray pottery, black-on-white pottery); Pueblo III (1150-1290 AD, when the Four Corners Area was abandoned).

Arch Canyon Ruins

Hiking the trail into Arch Canyon, Bears Ears National Monument-Cedar Mesa © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Each day of our Utah Adventure, which so far has taken us through Capitol Reef National Park, Grand Staircase-Escalante, and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, has been so different in highlights, experience and even theme. Today’s theme is cultural, as we go in search of cliff dwellings through these canyons.

We wake up in our “wild” campsite and after breakfast, stroll down Arch Canyon Road and soon come to the Arch Canyon Ruin.

Seeing these structures, how they were built high up in the rock overhangs, camouflaged in rock, you wonder whether they were designed for defense: Who or what were they defending against? The fact that the Navajo named the Ancestral Pueblo people who were there before them, Anasazi – “enemy ancestors” (as we learned at the Anasazi State Park Museum in Boulder) suggests that there were conflicts among tribes or clans. Were these groups afraid of being attacked for their food or water? Or were they built so far above the river because of flash floods?

Arch Canyon ruins, Bears Ears National Monument-Cedar Mesa © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

A panel provides background about the Puebloan People and these cliff dwellings: Few people lived in Cedar Mesa from 700-1050 AD, but by 1050, there were many Pueblo communities throughout the mesa and its canyons. During this time, Cedar Mesa’s cultural landscapes were interconnected with those of Chaco Canyon to the southeast, Mesa Verde to the east and the kayenta region to the south. Later, smaller groups moved into Cedar Mesa’s canyons to occupy nearly inaccessible but defensible places such as cliff face alcoves and ledges. But by 1280 AD, a combination of social and environmental factors prompted the Puebloan people to migrate again from Cedar Mesa to lands to the south and east. Cedar Mesa’s descendant populations now reside among the Hopi of Arizona, the Zuni and Keres-speaking pueblos of New Mexico and the Tanoan peoples along the Rio Grande.

Arch Canyon ruins, Bears Ears National Monument-Cedar Mesa © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

I note the word “defensible” and wonder about who and what they were defending against.

In one of the structures, we see an innovation: shelves! We climb under boulders and see a pictograph of four hands.

We spend about two hours in this section, and then get the Jeep to go to the next destination. (You can hike between Arch Canyon and House on Fire, via Arch Canyon Road and Mule Canyon trail, 5.7 miles, or two hours, one way.)

Exploring the Arch Canyon ruins, Bears Ears National Monument-Cedar Mesa © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

We stop for a picnic lunch at Mule Canyon Ruin site along the road (almost a rest stop, complete with two bathrooms).

Laini leads us to a trail to one of the outstanding highlights of the Bears Ears National Monument: the House on Fire, one of the most photographed (spectacular) sites in the region.

If You Go….

Day hiking in Bears Ears National Monument requires a day hiking pass (there is no limit on the number of day hiking passes issued).

Bears Ears National Monument does not charge an entry fee where your America the Beautiful Pass would typically apply. However, activity fees called “Individual Special Recreation Permits” are charged for day hiking and backpacking (typically $2 at the trailhead). Because your America the Beautiful Pass does not cover Individual Special Recreation Permits, it does not apply toward your backpacking permit, Moon House permit, nor day hiking pass. Visit the permits page for more information.

Visitor Centers:

Kane Gulch BLM Ranger Station,  UT-261 36 miles west of Blanding. Open: March 1-June 15, September 1-October 31, 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m., 7 days a week

Monticello Visitor Center, 216 S Main St., Hours: 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Closes early at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, Phone: 435-587-3401

Blanding Visitor Center, 12 North Grayson Parkway, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., closed Sunday

More information: https://www.blm.gov/visit/bears-ears-national-monument

Next: House on Fire, Kane Gulch Trail

See:

UTAH ADVENTURE DAY 1-2: CAPITOL REEF’S COLORFUL CANYONS

UTAH ADVENTURE DAY 3-4: GRAND STAIRCASE-ESCALANTE POSES CHALLENGE

UTAH ADVENTURE DAY 4-5: DRIVING BURR TRAIL, EXPLORING GLEN CANYON, WILD CAMPING IN ARCH CANYON

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© 2023 Travel Features Syndicate, a division of Workstyles, Inc. All rights reserved. Visit goingplacesfarandnear.com, www.huffingtonpost.com/author/karen-rubin, and travelwritersmagazine.com/TravelFeaturesSyndicate/. Blogging at goingplacesnearandfar.wordpress.com and moralcompasstravel.info. Visit instagram.com/going_places_far_and_near and instagram.com/bigbackpacktraveler/ Send comments or questions to [email protected] Tweet @TravelFeatures. ‘Like’ us at facebook.com/KarenBRubin 

Utah Adventure Day 4-5: Driving Burr Trail, Exploring Glen Canyon, Wild Camping in Arch Canyon

In search of Defiance House archaeological site, tucked away in the Forgotten Canyon © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfaranadnear.com

By Karen Rubin, with Laini Miranda and Dave E. Leiberman

Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com

It’s the afternoon when we leave the Grand Staircase-Escalante after having a sensational hike through Big Horn Canyon, and drive through the Dixie National Forest on our way to Glen Canyon Recreation Area.

We stop in Boulder where the Magnolia burrito food truck that Dave and Laini love is based in the parking lot of the Anasazi State Park Museum. I wander into the museum for a quick look – the displays are really wonderful and had I had the time, I would have taken advantage of the interactive exhibits (you can grind corn using a mano and metate, identify seeds with a microscope, make rubbings of pottery designs).

I find it fascinating that “Anasazi” is actually a Navajo word meaning “ancient enemies” or “enemy ancestors” but it is not actually known what these people – Ancestral Pueblo who inhabited the area before the Navajo – called themselves. Still, the name has stuck. They were village-dwelling farmers – that is to say, not nomadic people – who lived in the Four Corners between 1 and 1300 AD, when there is some mystery about why they suddenly left en masse (some suspect it was the drought of historic proportions, only rivaled by our current 20-year drought). Behind the museum you can walk a short trail to the Coombs Site Ruins and a life-size, six-room replica of part of the pueblo as it would have existed 800-900 years ago. Beyond that are several more unexcavated areas. (Anasazi State Park Museum, Boulder, UT, 435-335-7308, www.stateparks.utah.gov)

Long Canyon on the Burr Trail © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfaranadnear.com
 

Just down the road from the museum, we turn onto the Burr Trail Scenic Backway, considered one of the most picturesque drives in Utah. Paved and graded in some sections, gravel and dirt in others, the road extends 66 miles from Boulder, passing the slickrock canyons of the Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument, the Badlands of Capitol Reef National Park, the Waterpocket Fold, and painted rock desert of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, ending at Bullfrog Basin on Lake Powell – our destination on the fourth day of our Utah Adventure.

Singing Canyon on the Burr Trail © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfaranadnear.com

I find it interesting to learn that the Burr Trail was originally developed as a cattle trail by stockman John Atlantic Burr (born in 1846 aboard the SS Brooklyn sailing across the Atlantic; his family established Burrville, Utah, in 1876). Burr developed the trail so he could take his herd through the rough, nearly impassable country around the Waterpocket Fold, Burr Canyon and Muley Twist Canyon.

Singing Canyon on the Burr Trail © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfaranadnear.com
Dave tries out the acoustics in Singing Canyon on the Burr Trail © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfaranadnear.com

We drive through Long Canyon and soon come to one of the highlights along the route, which accounts for its nickname, Singing Canyon. It looks like a setting for Jurassic Park. We walk in, feeling so small against these gigantic, high cliffs of red rock. Dave gets out his mini-guitar for the occasion and we revel in the acoustics that give the canyon its name (I can imagine proposals and weddings happening here).

Driving along the Burr Trail, it is eerie to see how such mighty rocks crumble © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfaranadnear.com

As we drive this rustic highway, we see giant red rock boulders strewn all over, having broken off from these cliffs, so close to road. Some are precariously balanced. We wonder over what period of time they came down (last century, or last week?), and whether more are likely to come down anytime soon.

Driving along the Burr Trail, it is eerie to see how such mighty rocks crumble © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfaranadnear.com

This is a landscape that seems at once fixed and yet is constantly changing. Burr Trail is like driving through destruction – you see these enormous, massive walls of rock collapsed in heaps and think how fragile it all is, how even the mighty can fall. It is as if it is all falling apart and you wonder how long before these rocks turn to mounds of sand.

The view from the top of the famous Burr Trail Switchbacks © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfaranadnear.com

We next come to the famous Burr Trail Switchbacks. The view from the top to the Henry Mountains and Waterpocket Fold is stunning. The intriguingly named “Waterpocket Fold” is a geologic wonder: a nearly 100-mile long warp in the Earth’s crust. Aclassic monocline – a “step-up” in the rock layers – it formed between 50 and 70 million years ago when a major mountain building event in western North America, the Laramide Orogeny, reactivated an ancient buried fault in this region.

The view from the top of the famous Burr Trail Switchbacks © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfaranadnear.com

After taking in the view, Dave maneuvers down the series of ridiculously steep, tight turns (scary!) several hundred feet to the valley below.

Starting the harrowing descent down the Burr Trail Switchbacks © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfaranadnear.com
 

[A note from the Bureau of Land Management: Although in dry weather the Burr Trail is easily accessible to passenger cars, wet weather may make the road impassable even for 4WD vehicles. Check with rangers or local officials for weather and road conditions. Recreational vehicles are not recommended. (https://www.visitutah.com/places-to-go/cities-and-towns/boulder/burr-trail)

The harrowing descent down the Burr Trail Switchbacks © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfaranadnear.com
The Burr Trail Scenic Backway, considered one of the most picturesque drives in Utah © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfaranadnear.com

We don’t get to do our wild camping tonight either, but rather have found what seems one of the few motels around, Tikaboo Lodge, and make do with the remaining food supplies we have.

(Note that there are very minimal amenities in the Bullfrog/Ticaboo area during the off-season. There are, however, two helpful outdoor outfitters/gas stations open until 4pm. )

Boating in Glen Canyon, Wild Camping in Arch Canyon

Our destination the next morning is Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Spanning 1.25 million acres, it stretches for hundreds of miles from Lees Ferry in Arizona to the Orange Cliffs of southern Utah.

Lake Powell is only 13% of the National Recreation Area, but is (or rather was) one of the largest man-made lakes in North America. At full pool (3700′ elevation) it is 186 miles long, has 1,960 miles of shoreline, some 96 major side canyons, and a capacity of 27 million acre-feet (32 million cubic meters). Its maximum depth (at Glen Canyon Dam) is 561 feet.

Boating on Lake Powell in Glen Canyon Recreation Area in search of cliff dwellings © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfaranadnear.com

But since 2001, declining water levels (the lake had dropped over 100 feet over a two-year period at the time of our visit) due to climate change and 20 years of drought have reshaped Lake Powell’s shoreline and changed or closed boat ramp access points, on-lake facilities, and dramatically altered the landscape. (Check conditions, www.nps.gov/glca/learn/changing-lake-levels.htm)

Boating on Lake Powell in Glen Canyon Recreation Area © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfaranadnear.com

I think that similar conditions must have been what caused the Ancestral Puebloans to leave their communities in 1300 AD after hundreds of years living here, because they also had experienced a 20-year long drought; the drought today is the worst since then.

The gorgeous formations reveal themselves on Lake Powell in Glen Canyon Recreation Area in search of cliff dwellings © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfaranadnear.com

Laini has rented a power boat from Bullfrog Boat Rentals (435-684-3010) at the Bullfrog Marina so we can explore the canyons that were flooded when they created the controversial Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado River. We are in search of signs of cliff dwellings or petroglyphs that may have been exposed with the drop in water level.

We get a map from the boat rental company and try to follow the mile markers on the lake that help us orient.

Compared to our two days of adventuring in Grand Staircase-Escalante, this day is like a resort vacation, with the luxury of a boat allowing us to traverse 20+ miles in one afternoon. 

The water level has dropped so much over the past two years that trees are poking out from the bottom.

Boating on Lake Powell in Glen Canyon Recreation Area in search of cliff dwellings © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfaranadnear.com

Dave navigates to Forgotten Canyon where Laini has information that a trail will lead to Defiance House Archaeological Site, an 800-year old cliff dwelling (nps.gov, 800-227-7286).

Because the water level is so low, we come to the edge of the water much earlier than expected, and pull up the boat onto a beach, have a picnic lunch (avocado on bread, peanut butter/jelly) under a rock awning (like the Ancestral Puebloans might have), and then set off on foot in search of the cliff dwelling.

Exploring Forgotten Canyon © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfaranadnear.com

This really feels like Indiana Jones, because there is no actual trail. We follow the water  – slogging along the deep mud, crisscrossing to avoid deeper water. Dave comes with me as Laini and Alli bound ahead to explore in the limited time we have before we have to get back to the boat. 

The site (which is only reachable by boat then foot) is usually just a quarter mile past the end of the water, but with the water level so much lower, it’s now over two miles away and we don’t have the time. Also there is so much overgrowth and prickly thickets that Laini and Alli can’t get through wearing shorts. They turn around and tell us we should make our way back to the boat.

In search of Defiance House archaeological site, tucked away in the Forgotten Canyon © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfaranadnear.com

Even with this disappointment, it has been an immensely fun adventure. 

As we boat out of the canyon, we see a vulture contemplating eating a dead fish on the shore.

Boating on Lake Powell in Glen Canyon Recreation Area in search of cliff dwellings © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfaranadnear.com

We are close to the time when we need to return the boat, but Dave pilots us into the Lost Eden Canyon. This turns out to be an absolutely magical (overused word but really apt) place – a superb finale to our adventure.

Lost Eden Canyon, Lake Powell in Glen Canyon Recreation Area in search of cliff dwellings © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfaranadnear.com
Lost Eden Canyon, Lake Powell in Glen Canyon Recreation Area in search of cliff dwellings © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfaranadnear.com

There are golden dapples on the gray rock faces like gold coins shimmering in sunlight. The water is a surreal emerald green under a brilliant blue sky, the rocks are orange, tan and gray, making interesting patterns, as we wind through the narrow canyon.

Lost Eden Canyon, Lake Powell in Glen Canyon Recreation Area in search of cliff dwellings © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfaranadnear.com

You can easily imagine how ancient artists were inspired not just by the colors, but the patterns in rock faces.

Lost Eden Canyon, Lake Powell in Glen Canyon Recreation Area in search of cliff dwellings © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfaranadnear.com

When we get back to the marina, it takes 30 minutes just to refill the tank ($200!) – which we hadn’t calculated for in getting the boat back in time.

Driving from Lake Powell on our way to our next stop, Bears Ears National Monument-Cedar Mesa, we stop at Outpost Marine Trading Post – as significant today as it must have been for early pioneers. It has a fabulous selection of gear and groceries for camping as well as fantastic sandwiches at incredibly reasonable prices (considering how desperate people can be at this point in their journey) – Reuben, probably best outside of NYC, $8; thick burgers; fresh sliced turkey only $4.99/lb (Dave can’t believe it so buys 2 pounds). Everyone is absolutely delighted as we savor our car dinner when we get back on the road.

We soon see a dead calf on the road and vultures hovering.

We stop at Hite Overlook for spectacular, iconic views of the Western landscape.

The historic marker here relates how in 1883 Navajo Chief Hoskininni led Cass Hite to the Canyon below, where he found gold. He opened a small store and post office, making his fortune off the miners. After World War II, the town’s population “swelled” to more than 200. This time, miners were searching for “hot” rocks (uranium). This mining boom also went bust and Hite returned to its small town existence. But in 1964, the waters of Lake Powell swallowed up Hite, leaving behind the only true treasure: the view.

Hite Overlook © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfaranadnear.com

We drive to Bears Ears-Cedar Mesa where we finally get to do the wild camping I have been so excited about (that means no services at all, just wilderness). The sun is descending and we are hoping to set up camp before dark.

Hite Overlook © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfaranadnear.com

Dave finds his way down a dirt road leading to Arch Canyon and we finally find a suitable site literally next door to a sign marking an Indian reservation (no trespassing!).

We set up in time before dark, but the full moon shines like a giant lantern, rising just as the sun sets, making flashlights unnecessary.

Wild camping in Arch Canyon © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfaranadnear.com

We sit around the campfire, enjoying the peace and reveling in our adventure. We will finally get to use our winter-rated sleeping bags and pads Dave had rented from Moosejaw (https://www.moosejaw.com/content/gear-rental, 877-666-7352). 

Each day of our trip, we are immersed in landscape that manifests different personality, character, color, texture, ambiance, even theme, and provide the contours for our experience.

Tomorrow we will get to meet Bears Ears and the spirits of the Ancestral Pueblo people.  

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, www.nps.gov/glca, 928-608-6200; Bullfrog Visitors Center, 435-684-7423.

See:

UTAH ADVENTURE DAY 1-2: CAPITOL REEF’S COLORFUL CANYONS

UTAH ADVENTURE DAY 3-4: GRAND STAIRCASE-ESCALANTE POSES CHALLENGE

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© 2023 Travel Features Syndicate, a division of Workstyles, Inc. All rights reserved. Visit goingplacesfarandnear.com, www.huffingtonpost.com/author/karen-rubin, and travelwritersmagazine.com/TravelFeaturesSyndicate/. Blogging at goingplacesnearandfar.wordpress.com and moralcompasstravel.info. Visit instagram.com/going_places_far_and_near and instagram.com/bigbackpacktraveler/ Send comments or questions to [email protected] Tweet @TravelFeatures. ‘Like’ us at facebook.com/KarenBRubin 

Utah Adventure Day 3-4: Grand Staircase-Escalante Poses Challenge

Hiking Big Horn Canyon, Grand Staircase-Escalante, Utah © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

By Karen Rubin, with Laini Miranda and Dave E. Leiberman

Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is a Delaware-sized museum of sedimentary erosion that takes you down a 200-million-year-old “staircase” – a series of plateaus that descend from Bryce Canyon south toward the Grand Canyon.

But it’s relatively new and unexplored: it was the last part of the Lower 48 United States to get cartographed. President Bill Clinton set aside these 1.87 million acres as a national monument in 1996 because its untrammeled significance distinguishes it for researchers and explorers alike – but it has been controversial ever since, as Trump and Republicans sought to reverse its protected status, slash the size of Grand Staircase in half and neighboring Bears Ears by 85%,and open up vast sections of both – including areas sacred to indigenous people – to extraction and exploitation. Biden reinstated the protected areas in 2021.

Unlike the exceptionally popular and trafficked Capitol Reef (which we visited on our first two days of our Utah Adventure), Zion, Bryce Canyon and Arches National Park, Grand Staircase-Escalante is for more hard-core adventures – most of the trails are barely marked, require four-wheel drive to reach the trailhead, and have minimal services (you are on your own).

David and Laini have been here before, so have scouted and know the ropes – like how to drive down the rustic, 55-mile long Hole-in-the-Rock road that begins on Highway 12, just southeast of the town of Escalante, and ends at the edge of a cliff. That road leads to the trailheads of the minimally marked trails into many slot canyons that Laini most wants to explore. When they came the last time, the road was almost impassable – we are lucky today, that the gravel and sand are not so deep. (Pro tip: go in early spring shortly after the road is regarded; in summer and fall, the washboard road has been so well-traveled and destroyed that it takes over an hour to drive just 20 miles, even in a four-wheel drive car with high clearance, as David and Laini learned through experience).

Hole in the Rock Road is actually a famous historic Mormon Trail. The off-highway portion begins/ends near Halls Crossing on Utah Highway 276 and goes near to the pioneer crossing of the Colorado River (now Lake Powell). A large group of Mormon settlers in wagons traveled this route on a journey from Escalante to Bluff, which they expected to take six weeks but actually took six months. It is an amazing expanse of open country. This is also the famed road featured in Edward Abbey’s cult classic, “The Monkey Wrench Gang”.

Names here are very descriptive and should give you some idea (they might as well use skull and crossbones instead of trail markers): Devils Garden (the easiest and most enchanting hike), Spooky Gulch (a moderate hike), Little Death Hollow, Death Hollow (a difficult hike). And then there’s Hell’s Backbone – a rugged, 45-mile long mostly unpaved mountain road from Escalante to Boulder through Dixie National Forest into Box Death Hollow Wilderness area that climbs far up the southern slopes of Boulder Mountain, reaching the summit at 9,200 feet; without stops takes nearly 2 hours to drive, is closed in winter and usually impassable during the snowmelt season of late spring.

The trail to Zebra Canyon, Grand Staircase-Escalante, Utah © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

The canyons are a rugged, desolate adventurers’ paradise – Jurassic Park comes to mind – and draws hard-core hikers, canyoneers and other outdoors enthusiasts. There are very few people around (the town is tiny), even reaching the trailhead requires four-wheel drive capable of off-road, and the trails are not marked, beyond a sign at the trailhead, and even these are rare.

As we head out for hikes, we have to be extremely mindful of carrying enough water and snacks. David hauls a 5-gallon collapsible water jug that he stashes for the trip back, and carries a 4L Hydrapak water bladder that he uses to refill our personal water bottles. We’re here in cool weather, but in summer, it can be dangerously hot. You are cautioned not to start out on these hikes after 10 am. David and Laini are also big fans of the lightweight Clif Energy Bloks that you can stock up on at Escalante Outfitters in town, where we get breakfast before heading out.

Dave, Laini and Alli hiking the trail to Zebra Canyon, Grand Staircase-Escalante, Utah © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Besides water, hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, snacks (and me a camera), a light compactable jacket, we try to carry as little as possible. (This means I can’t take my Nikon Z5 mirrorless –too big, bulky; on the more challenging hikes I rely on my Panasonic Lumix, my Olympus T6, and my Google Pixel phone, which actually capture the richest colors). Laini and David advise us that in some spots the slot canyons are only 10” wide and simply cannot accommodate a backpack.

On a previous trip, David and Laini had a sophic guide named Ace (or Yoda), who said things like, “Let the land reveal itself to you and you will ultimately find the red zone.” (I have no idea what the red zone represents but it sounds very Zen and I think it has something to do with the fact that there is no real trail – we have to find our own way using instinct, intuition, or just common sense, as well as the verbal descriptions of landmarks.)

The trail to Zebra Canyon, Grand Staircase-Escalante, Utah © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

(Actually, you don’t have to go off on your own – the Visitor Center can provide a list of outfitters in Escalante. David and Laini hired Ace Kvale on their first trip to the area; he’s a photographer and guide, https://acekvale.com/; see https://www.visitutah.com/Articles/Roaming-Grand-Staircase-Escalante. And apparently, there is actually a “red zone’, Laini tells me later, “literally an area of red swirly mounds in the middle of the otherwise white and yellow landscape.”)

This first morning, we hike to the Zebra Canyon – a slot canyon which is often too flooded to visit, as it was when Laini and David were last here. It’s a two-mile hike across flat open terrain to get to the entrance (virtually no shade).

Laini reads notes to direct our route that sound like Indiana Jones navigating by looking out for cryptic descriptions of land formations.

“Named after the vivid stripes that line its walls, Zebra Slot Canyon in Grand Staircase Escalante is perhaps the most unique canyon in Southern Utah,” the notes read. “To reach the stunning canyon requires an 8-mile drive down a dirt road, a 5-mile round trip hike that can be tricky to follow, and a challenging climb through very narrow canyon walls. Even though the Zebra Slot Canyon itself is only about a quarter-mile long, the long journey to reach it is completely worth the effort.”

The landscape here in the Grand Staircase Escalante is so different from Capitol Reef – swirls and folds, amazing color, the formations sensuous.

Moqui marbles on the trail to Zebra Canyon, Grand Staircase-Escalante, Utah © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

We come upon a literal pile of perfectly round rocks (“Moqui marbles”)—that look like chocolate bon bons or rubber balls formed by hand–that native peoples used like marbles or balls.

Zebra Canyon is wide open where it joins Harris Wash, but within 10 minutes, becomes deeper and narrower. Where it narrows, there can be a few pools of water from ankle to waist deep (you may want to take off your boots, but keep them with you); “15 minutes up the canyon you enter the short, but amazing Zebra section that ends at a small dryfall you can upclimb. This is the best section of Zebra. Above the small dryfall is a large pothole and the canyon opens. Head back down to Harris Wash when finished,“ the notes say.(www.roadtripryan.com/go/t/utah/escalante/zebratunnel)

The trail to Zebra Canyon, Grand Staircase-Escalante, Utah © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

I make it through a little ways, squeezing my way in, but then it becomes even narrower, with barely 10 inches to get through. This is much more technical, requiring real climbing skill, where you have to use your hands and legs to shimmy up the walls of the canyon and slither through. Essentially, every “step” is problem-solving a puzzle – involving seeing the puzzle in its full-dimension, thinking out of the box to use all your resources, and transfigure/manipulate/reshape your body. You need to be flexible (I’m not), have good strength in your upper body, hands and knees (I don’t), and it helps to be thin (no comment).

This is my first experience in a slot canyon, and I am intimidated. I don’t want to hold back the others or have them worry that I will be completely trapped inside (my worry), so I tell them to go on ahead and wait for them in a small wider section, enjoying watching others go through (and not return).

Laini demonstrates her rock climbing skill as she navigates the Zebra Canyon in Grand Staircase-Escalante © Dave E. Leiberman/goingplacesfarandnear.com
Dave and Alli meet the challenge of Zebra Canyon in Grand Staircase-Escalante © Laini Miranda/goingplacesfarandnear.com

It feels surreal, but I can hear people laughing through the rock walls, as if embedded in the rock (it’s weird).  While I wait, I watch the various techniques people use to scramble up the sides and solve the problem of slithering through. Very creative! (I’m sorry to have missed the experience but I did not want David and Laini to be concerned for me.) 

Dave demonstrates his climbing technique to get through the narrow sections of Zebra Canyon Grand Staircase-Escalante, Utah © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
 

Our plan is to next go to Tunnel Slot. The directions say to go down Harris Wash a little less than a mile (20-30 minutes) from Zebra to the first side canyon coming in on the left. Go up this side canyon about 10 minutes to reach the Tunnel. It can be dry, or a deep pool.

But instead of exiting to the other end of Zebra where I would expect these directions apply, David, Laini and Alli come back to where I am at the beginning, and we continue on in search of the Tunnel Slot Canyon that is supposed to be nearby.

Finding our way in Grand Staircase-Escalante, Utah © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Canyons don’t have signs or markers. People just know where to go. In some instances we find cairns (a marker made of piled-up rocks that leads you to the right path. I keep that in mind to throw back at bigots who have turned my name, Karen, into a slur: cairns lead the way to the right path).

But mostly, we just go (a tad unnerving because of the vastness of emptiness and the thought of actually wandering around totally lost, as I’ve seen in Survivor and/or Disaster movies).

Laini recalls another of Ace’s sagacious aphorisms, “Whichever way you go, that’s the best way.”

Dave demonstrates his climbing technique to get through a narrow slot canyon in Grand Staircase-Escalante, Utah © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

So, we find ourselves paving our own trail (that’s fun too) , walking over a vast section of slickrock – amazing white, swirled smooth mounds of rock like petrified ice cream – and instead find another slot to explore. This time, I scramble over boulders to get in (very proud of myself), but it doesn’t go far. Still. I did it and it gives me confidence for another day. We don’t actually find the Tunnel Slot Canyon.

We find our way to the trail we came in on (whew!), and return to the trailhead.

We’re back to the Jeep by 4:10 pm, having hiked for 6 hours (6 miles).

There are more slot canyons in this region of Utah than anywhere in North America, Laini says. (See: Top 10 Slot Canyons in Utah, https://www.utah.com/articles/post/top-10-slot-canyons-in-utah/)

The slots are reached along Hole in the Rock Road. And after these ambitious hikes, we continue driving on the road to Devils Garden, 13 miles south of Escalante

Devils Garden is an astonishing sight – a whole cityscape of hoodoos and arches. These are incredibly dramatic, mysterious – not rock at all, but seem to be imbued with spirits (hence the name, no doubt). To me, this place evokes Easter Island (and I wonder if that’s how the Easter Island statues were actually formed – originally hoodoos that islanders then carved). How is this place not so famous that everyone knows about it and comes? Don’t miss the Metate Arch.

Hoodoos abound in Devils Garden, Grand Staircase-Escalante, Utah © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
Metate Arch, Devils Garden, Grand Staircase-Escalante, Utah © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
Devils Garden, Grand Staircase-Escalante, Utah © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
Devils Garden, Grand Staircase-Escalante, Utah © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

This is probably the easiest trail in the area, and is absolutely magical. There is also a lovely picnic area and bathrooms.

Back in the Jeep, Laini leads us down a wild path to the no-name hoodoos overlook that she and David discovered wild camping on a previous trip (the drive was harrowing enough, like being in an ATV). From this high elevation we look through these towering rock formations to the vast expanse below. It’s tempting to camp here, but we return to our cozy cabin at Canyons of Escalante RV Park in Escalante.

Hoodoos overlook Grand Staircase-Escalante, Utah © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
Hoodoos overlook Grand Staircase-Escalante, Utah © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

At the trailhead, we had met two “influencers” who seemed to us to be amateurs since they were not even carrying much water. We see them again in  Zebra Canyon, where they were dressed incongruously in flowy blue dresses for a fashion shoot. At the end of the day, we happen upon them again at a restaurant adjacent to our campground, and learn they had completed Zebra, Tunnel, Spooky, and Pickaboo slot canyons all in one day!

Our cozy cabin at Canyons of Escalante RV Park, Escalante, Utah © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Big Horn Canyon

For our second day exploring Grand Staircase-Escalante, we head to Big Horn Canyon.

I’m more prepared today for this hike and basically, go with the flow (as Ace would say).

Big Horn Canyon is a tributary of Harris Wash. It runs for three miles through alternating slickrock and sand – the first two miles are in the wash. The slots cut into the Navajo sandstone rock layers displaying an unusually wide range of colors and forms.

We follow instructions which say to park at the two blue containers, then make our way down to the river bed (exactly where do we start?) and follow Harris Wash  of the Escalante River, crossing it many times (and can be hard to reach when the water is higher.)

This first part of the hike to reach the canyon is pleasant – we go back and forth over a riverbed which on this day, is mostly dry.

Hiking through Burr Canyon, Grand Staircase-Escalante, Utah © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

There are two slot canyons. The first over to the left is shorter and the hike ends when it becomes too narrow to pass through. The second one is long and the colors are spectacular. For a change in perspective, once the canyon walls open you can hike on the creamsicle swirled ice cream rocks. 

Hiking through Burr Canyon, Grand Staircase-Escalante, Utah © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Unlike Zebra, Big Horn Canyon is really easy to navigate (no need to slither up walls) – ideal for neophytes like me.

Hiking through Big Horn Canyon, Grand Staircase-Escalante, Utah © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
Hiking Big Horn Canyon, Grand Staircase-Escalante, Utah © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Big Horn Canyon is magnificent. Nature puts on a fantastic display of colors, patterns, swirls and shapes. You can imagine how the ancients got their inspiration for their art. Walking through, it feels like you are the ball in a psychedelic pin ball machine.

Hiking Big Horn Canyon, Grand Staircase-Escalante, Utah © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
Hiking Big Horn Canyon, Grand Staircase-Escalante, Utah © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
Hiking Big Horn Canyon, Grand Staircase-Escalante, Utah © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

This hike reminds Laini of Dr. Seuss’ “Oh the Places You Will Go.”

And I think to myself, how is this canyon not more popular!?! In fact, for the most part, we are completely alone – not a soul around (in contrast to Zebra which seemed to draw lots of people, despite its difficulty). It makes it all the more surreal when a couple does pop up in our space, bursting the reverie.

Hiking Big Horn Canyon, Grand Staircase-Escalante, Utah © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

The hike altogether is about six miles – absolute perfection.

We are back in the car at 2:14 pm, and head out to drive to our next stop, Glen Canyon, via the Burr Trail, a scenic byway. 

I have it on my list to tackle more of the best hikes in Escalante:

  • Spooky Gulch is a short slot canyon hike in the Grand Staircase-Escalante area, considered moderate difficulty. You can also visit Dry Fork and Peek-a-boo as a six-mile loop, each slot slightly more difficult and narrow than the last. Laini says this was one of her most favorite hikes. (Spooky gets to be only 10-inches narrow in some spots).
  • Calf Creek Falls is one of the most enchanting areas of the Grand Staircase-Escalante area, a verdant oasis amid tumbled stone monoliths, considered moderate difficulty.
  • Coyote Gulch isa winding, semi-narrow canyon that snakes its way down through incredible red rock, considered difficult. Laini says that she has had this one on her list, but it requires an overnight on the hike, or a 16+ mile hiking day, 8-10 hours.

Other moderate-rated hikes include Fortymile Gulch; Golden Cathedral; Little Death Hollow; Peek-a-boo Gulch and Round Valley Draw.

Information at Escalante Interagency Visitor Center, 755 West Main, Escalante UT 84726, 435-826-5499, www.blm.gov/programs/national-conservation-lands/utah/grand-staircase-escalante-national-monument. Another visitors center is at 745 US-89, Kanab, UT 84741, 435-644-1200.

Also, https://www.utah.com/destinations/national-monuments/grand-staircase-escalante-national-monument/

See:

Utah Adventure Day 1-2: Capitol Reef’s Colorful Canyons

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© 2023 Travel Features Syndicate, a division of Workstyles, Inc. All rights reserved. Visit goingplacesfarandnear.com, www.huffingtonpost.com/author/karen-rubin, and travelwritersmagazine.com/TravelFeaturesSyndicate/. Blogging at goingplacesnearandfar.wordpress.com and moralcompasstravel.info. Visit instagram.com/going_places_far_and_near and instagram.com/bigbackpacktraveler/ Send comments or questions to [email protected] Tweet @TravelFeatures. ‘Like’ us at facebook.com/KarenBRubin 

Utah Adventure Day 1-2: Capitol Reef’s Colorful Canyons

Hiking the Cohab Canyon Trail in Capitol Reef National Park, the first stop our Utah Adventure © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

By Karen Rubin, with Laini Miranda and Dave E. Leiberman

Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com

Travel is as much about resilience, adaptability and problem-solving, as it is about personal growth, rejuvenation, and human connection. And so, though our intent was to camp (mostly wild camping) for our 8-day expedition through Utah’s wilderness and immerse ourselves in the topography and indigenous culture, the forecast for the first half of our trip in mid-April was for temps down to the 20s. In fact, when we arrived, there was a fierce gale-force wind blowing at 60 mph that pushed our rental Jeep around and made it difficult even to open the door.

Laini and Dave have taken the temperature into account and fortunately booked a spacious two-bedroom AirBnB in Teasdale (https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/41151071) just outside Capitol Reef National Park for our first night, and a one-room cabin at Canyons of Escalante RV Park for two nights in Escalante (where Dave has arranged for delivery of winter-grade sleeping bags and pads from Moosejaw.com).

Laini and Dave – who are making their third trip back to Utah and have invited their friend Alli and me to join – have carefully planned the itinerary. Each day has its own highlight and each destination its own topography and character and therefore, the experience we have. At Capitol Reef National Park it is the colored rock formations; Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument (for hard-core adventurers) offers slot canyons and hoodoos; Lake Powell in the Glen Canyon Recreation Area is our boat expedition into the flooded canyon; Cedar Mesa offers hiking expeditions in search of cliff dwellings and petroglyphs; and Arches National Park offers the most dramatic, expansive landscapes.

Fortunately, during the course of our trip, just about all the hikes and experiences we have are new for Dave and Laini. 

We land at Salt Lake City Airport and pick up an off-road Jeep capable of plowing through deep gravel and sand from Alamo, and set out for the four-hour drive. Laini has planned to stop off at Walmart in Provo along the way to pick up food and camping supplies, and we find a delightful coffee shop (Java Junkie) for a snack and what becomes our all-time favorite coffee (Isis Roasters’ Grogg). 

Gorgeous views from the Scenic Drive through Capitol Reef National Park © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

We arrive at Capitol Reef in the late afternoon and (I suggest) we take advantage of the gorgeous light and weather and drive the Scenic Drive to get a sense of the park. It is utterly perfect – the warm light, rich colors – and we get such a wonderful introduction.

The Scenic Drive is a 7.9 mile (12.7 km) paved road, suitable for passenger vehicles. You would need about an hour and half roundtrip to drive the Scenic Drive and the two dirt spur roads, Grand Wash and Capitol Gorge which go into canyons and lead to trailheads. (You can follow the Park Service’s Virtual Tour: https://www.nps.gov/care/planyourvisit/scenicdrive.htm; the tour is free but you still need to pay the $20 park entrance fee when you drive the Scenic Drive – though my America the Beautiful Pass satisfies.)

(The Scenic Drive, Grand Wash, and Capitol Gorge roads can be closed due to snow, ice, mud, and flash floods. Check at the visitor center or call 435-425-3791, for possible road closures.)

‘A Wrinkle in the Earth’s Crust’

“A Wrinkle in the Earth’s Crust” is the poetic description of Capitol Reef – referring to how this stunning landscape was formed. “The light seems to flow or shine out of the rock rather than to be reflected from it,” is how Clarence Dutton, a geologist and early explorer, described it in the 1880s.

Capitol Reef’s topography was caused by intense crustal pressure which reactivated a fault buried deep beneath the sedimentary rock layers of the Colorado Plateau. This caused the overlying sedimentary rock layers to fold or bend into a one-sided slope called a monocline © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Located in south-central Utah in the heart of red rock country, Capitol Reef National Park is a tapestry of cliffs, canyons, domes, and bridges. What makes Capitol Reef so special is how the rock layers tilt. The notes say that this was caused by intense crustal pressure which reactivated a fault buried deep beneath the sedimentary rock layers of the Colorado Plateau. This caused the overlying sedimentary rock layers to fold or bend into a one-sided slope called a monocline, which is uplifted 6,800 feet higher on the west side.

The Waterpocket Fold is named for the numerous small potholes, tanks, or “pockets” that hold rainwater and snowmelt and extends almost 100 miles from Thousand Lake Mountain to Lake Powell © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

It is named the Waterpocket Fold because of the numerous small potholes, tanks, or “pockets” that hold rainwater and snowmelt and extends almost 100 miles from Thousand Lake Mountain to Lake Powell. The Waterpocket Fold  has been impacted and shaped over eons by the geological processes of erosion, deposition, and uplift, all playing a part in the “drama” of Capitol Reef. This geologic feature is what accounts for the vibrant palette of constantly changing hues, as the light hits the towering cliffs, massive domes, arches, bridges and twisting canyons.

On the way back from our Scenic drive, we stop at a fascinating site, the Fremont Culture petroglyphs, not far from the Capitol Reef Visitor Center. The petroglyphs are reached after a short stroll on two boardwalks. The shorter boardwalk provides views of large, anthropomorphic (human-like) petroglyphs, zoomorphic (animal) petroglyphs of bighorn sheep and other animals, as well as geometric designs; the longer boardwalk parallels the cliffs and the petroglyphs along it are closer to the viewer but harder to see because of a patina that has developed over them.

Walk a short boardwalk to see the Fremont Culture petroglyphs © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

The indigenous people who lived in what is now Utah for about 1000 years, from 300-1300 CE are known as The Fremont Culture, named by the archaeologists for the Fremont River canyon where they were first defined as a distinct culture. These petroglyphs (images carved or pecked into stone) are one of the most visible aspects of their culture that remains, according to the historic panels at the site.

Writing or art? Or Both? The Fremont Culture petroglyphs © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Prehistoric people of Fremont Culture used area rock for tools and projectile points, and for the foundations of their homes. Clay was used for pottery, construction and to make figurines. Fertile floodplains supported crops of corn, beans, and squash along the streams of Capitol Reef until about 1300 CE.

(You can link to the audio guide, narrated by Rick Pickyavit, whose Southern Paiute ancestors lived here when the settlers arrived in the 1880s. https://www.nps.gov/care/learn/historyculture/fremont-culture-petroglyphs.htm)

Writing or art? Or Both? The Fremont Culture petroglyphs © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Pickyavit says that unlike his ancestors, who were nomadic, the Fremont people settled in these canyons and became farmers and hunter-gatherers. It is not known if they were related to the better-known Ancestral Puebloans. What is known about the Fremont people’s daily lives comes mainly from artifacts and from these petroglyphs, but it is not known where they came from or why they left suddenly in the 13th century (though I believe it is now widely accepted that the people left after a historic, 20-year drought). “As you walk these paths and hidden places, do not even touch the petroglyphs. Protect their legacy, even as I respect it.”

It is natural to imagine the meaning of the images, but, Pickyavit says, “Caution must always rule in the interpretation of petroglyphs. With few exceptions, we cannot really be sure what the ancient maker of the petroglyphs had in mind. Some consider almost all petroglyphs a form of writing, while others consider most of them to be art, not writing. The large trapezoid-shaped human figures excite interest. Many have headgear and horns. Figures are commonly seen with necklaces, earrings and sashes. Animals, especially bighorn sheep, appear in many petroglyphs, indications that they were hunted and perhaps revered.”

I wonder, since these were created by different people in different times, isn’t it possible some were messages (writing, information) and some were art?

Writing or art? Or Both? The Fremont Culture petroglyphs © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

He notes that “Following the disappearance of the Fremont people in the 13th century, no one resided in the Waterpocket Fold country for 500 years. During this time, however, Ute and Southern Paiute hunters and gatherers roamed the region. They lived in close harmony with the natural environment and left little evidence of their presence.”

We stop in Torrey at the Torrey Grill and BBQ which offers a sheltered outdoor setting complete with firepit (we are still concerned about COVID) and is serving late.

The wind is still howling when we get to the AirBnB – home with gorgeous interior design, so cozy and comforting. I wake in the middle of the night to a blizzard – gale force winds, giant flakes of snow – that leaves 3-5 inches by morning. I feel (without hyperbole) we would have died –crushed under the snow or frozen to death – had we camped. I imagine us in some Survivor (or Disaster) movie based on fact (not the last time this image occurs to me during our Utah Adventure).

Hiking Capitol Reef National Park

The Hickman Bridge trail is a perfect first hike in Capitol Reef National Park © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Considering the weather, we phone the Visitor Center to get their recommendation for hikes, and the Ranger recommends Hickman Bridge and Cohab Canyon, both in the nearby Fruita area (435-425-2791). The snow, so gorgeous in the morning, is gone by the time we arrive at Capitol Reef but for some oddly frozen patches, and we have perfect winter hiking weather.

Both these trails are extremely popular – and for good reason.

Gorgeous arches, formations and colors along the The Hickman Bridge trail makes it one of the most popular hikes in Capitol Reef National Park © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Hickman Bridge Trail, just 1.8 miles roundtrip, is the most popular trail (so the most crowded): it is geologically fascinating, relatively easy, great for families, with each step offering stunning visuals – red rock with beige and blond striations, textures, overhangs – and eminently doable to get the full  appreciation, with the climax of a spectacular arch. The hike encapsulates for us what Capitol Reef is about.

The Hickman Bridge, Capitol Reef National Park © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Along the Hickman Bridge Trail, you see high-desert views, traces of prehistoric American Indian culture, and evidence of the Civilian Conservation Corps’ work in the 1940s. After ascending through a scenic sandstone side-canyon, the trail loops under the grand 133-foot span of the Hickman Natural Bridge. This is considered a “moderate” trail, but I would say it is easy. What an introduction!

The 133-foot span of the Hickman Bridge, Capitol Reef National Park © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

From the same parking lot (and when it’s popular, it may well be difficult to find a parking spot so you have to wait for one to open), you can walk something like two miles to one end of the Cohab Trail. We smartly decide to move the car to a small, dirt parking lot, 1.2 miles down the Scenic Drive from the Capitol Reef Visitor Center, diagonally across from the picturesque historic Pendleton Barn, to access the trailhead at the other end (actually it is the beginning).  (If this dirt parking lot is filled, you can backtrack 2/10 mile and park at the picnic area.)

The picturesque, historic Pendleton Barn across from the Cohab Canyon trailhead © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

We have our lunch in the picnic area before starting out on the Cohab Trail.

Cohab Canyon trail is of easy-to-moderate difficulty with gorgeous vividly-colored rock formations and shapes. The first 0.3 mile is a tad steep (I’m glad I brought my hiking poles for this hike). A series of switchbacks lift you up 400 feet, all the while you gaze out at gorgeous views of the Johnson Mesa and Fruita Cliffs. But once within the canyon, the hiking is fairly easy.  

Hiking the Cohab Canyon Trail in Capitol Reef National Park, the first stop our Utah Adventure © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Cohab Canyon is called a “hanging canyon” because it sits above the Fremont River floodplain. The entire trail is so beautiful – we come upon a few slots to explore, a 20-foot high mushroom shaped hoodoo (a tree is growing out of the top!) surrounded by slickrock, the Cohab Canyon arch, then some stunning overlooks of the valley and Fruita.

A 20-foot high mushroom hoodoo on the Cohab Canyon Trail, Capitol Reef National Park © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

We opt not to do the whole hike, which goes 2.9 miles one way to the Hickman Trail parking lot (which would require taking a shuttle back, or, if you do the round trip, would take 4 hours). We hike in about 1.7 miles and return.

Dave ventures into a small slot off the Cohab Canyon Trail, Capitol Reef National Park © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

The two hikes – Hickman and Cohab Canyon – afford a very different experience, though both offer dramatic landscapes that are signature Capitol Reef. Hickman is well-traveled, ideal for families, and you feel like a tourist – but Cohab Canyon is all but devoid of other people so you feel the isolation (even if you do come upon another hiker here and there).

The climatic view from the Cohab Canyon Trail hike, Capitol Reef National Park © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Laini had The Castle Trail hike on her to-do list but unfortunately, we don’t have the time. (It’s described as an old trail that apparently is no longer “advertised” to the enigmatic “back side” of the Castle, exploring a hidden canyon lined with mammoth boulders and violet-colored hoodoos, taking about two hours.)  

You can see the cragged hunk of The Castle from just outside the Visitor Center. One of Capitol Reef National Park’s iconic landmarks, The Castle is a prominent sandstone formation made up of three primary layers: the bottom sandstone layer, the Moenkopi Formation, is 245 million years old; the middle gray-green layer, the Chinle Formation, was laid down as volcanic ash 225 million years ago; the top layer, including the Castle, Wingate Sandstone, formed 200 million years ago.

The Castle, one of Capitol Reef National Park’s iconic landmarks © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Also, though we didn’t hike Grand Wash on this trip, Laini and Dave hike it on their next one and highly recommend entering through the lower trailhead for an easy 20-30 minute walk through the most dramatic and narrowest part of the canyon, with towering walls over 100 feet overhead.

In the Fruita area, there are 15 hiking trails with trailheads located along Utah Highway 24 and the Scenic Drive. These offer a wide variety of hiking options from easy strolls over level ground to strenuous hikes involving steep climbs over uneven terrain near cliff edges. Round trip distances range from a mere quarter mile to 10 miles, and are well-marked with signs at the trailhead and at trail junctions and by cairns (stacks of rocks) along the way. Some trails have self-guiding brochures, available for a fee at the trailhead and visitor center.

The best detailed descriptions of these hikes are available at https://liveandlethike.com/category/utah/capitol-reef-national-park/

Capitol Reef also offers many hiking options for serious backpackers and those who enjoy exploring remote areas. Minimally marked hiking routes lead into narrow, twisting gorges, slot canyons, and to spectacular viewpoints high atop the Waterpocket Fold. Popular backcountry hikes in the southern section of the park include Upper and Lower Muley Twist Canyons and Halls Creek and in the Cathedral Valley area. A backcountry permit is required for camping outside of established campgrounds. The permit is free and can be obtained in person at the visitor center during normal business hours.

Capitol Reef offers so much to explore, Laini says, you really need more time there. Tourists overrun the main part, but there is a whole “backcountry” side that most miss.

See: https://www.nps.gov/care/planyourvisit/trailguide.htm  and https://www.nps.gov/care/planyourvisit/hiking.htm

Scenic Byway 12

Driving out of Capitol Reef we come to an overlook just as the sun is at a perfect angle to make the red rocks blaze.

We drive 64 of the 124 miles of the Scenic Byway 12 to Escalante. Scenic Byway 12 is Utah’s first “All-American Road,” (and one of Laini’s favorite roads in the country) winding through vast slickrock benches and canyons. We reach the summit, 9,600 feet – and the temp has dropped to 15 degrees – with sweeping vistas of the Henry Mountains, Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument and Capitol Reef National Park.

The view back to Capitol Reef National Park as we drive along Scenic Byway 12 © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Because the forecast had been for temps in the 20-30s, Dave and Laini booked a cabin  at Canyons of Escalante RV Park, right in Escalante. It is one room for the four of us– very cozy (we still have to go outside for the bathroom, so we have that camping experience). And we’re able to have dinner at one of their favorite places from their previous adventures, Escalante Outfitters, serving up the best pizza outside of New York.

Driving on Scenic Byway 12 from Capitol Reef National Park to Escalante © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

I find this day’s hikes in Capitol Reef perfect to acclimate and just become immersed in the spectacular scenery. And, I soon find out, these hikes are so very different from what we have yet to experience in the Grand Staircase-Escalante, where our Utah Adventure continues. Because Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is for more hardcore hikers.

Next: Grand Staircase-Escalante

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© 2023 Travel Features Syndicate, a division of Workstyles, Inc. All rights reserved. Visit goingplacesfarandnear.com, www.huffingtonpost.com/author/karen-rubin, and travelwritersmagazine.com/TravelFeaturesSyndicate/. Blogging at goingplacesnearandfar.wordpress.com and moralcompasstravel.info. Visit instagram.com/going_places_far_and_near and instagram.com/bigbackpacktraveler/ Send comments or questions to [email protected] Tweet @TravelFeatures. ‘Like’ us at facebook.com/KarenBRubin

Wellness & Travel, the Perfect Synergy

The quest for wellness is becoming ubiquitous, especially for travelers who seek out immersive nature and cultural experiences. Having just summated the 14,000-foot high Dead Woman’s Pass on Day 2 of Alpaca Expeditions’ four-day Inca Trail trek to Machu Picchu, one of our group leads yoga stretches © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Edited by Karen Rubin, Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com

Wellness travel is among the leading travel trends for 2023, as it has been for several years. But when the very act of breaking away from daily irritants, giving oneself the opportunity to rest, renew, recharge, revitalize, isn’t all travel wellness? The trend refers to the fact that people are traveling with greater intention to improve their physical, mental, emotional, even spiritual well-being.

It could be a visit to a wellness retreat or spa. But it could also be a hiking, biking, rafting, camping trip that gets you out into nature, pure air, with some physical exertion. It can be an itinerary that is spiritually uplifting or intellectually fulfilling, of doing something you love or even finding love. It could be travel that brings family and friends together, forging bonds and lifelong memories that also contribute to wellness, or even making new friends to conquer loneliness or isolation. Travel, at its essential core, is inevitably about life-enhancing, even life-changing experience. What’s new is people intentionally seeking out such experiences – and that the industry, from tour companies to hotels, cruiselines to destinations, from festivals and events to attractions – are tailoring their offerings to cater to the quest for wellness.

Not only does wellness impact how, where and why people travel, but through lifestyle changes, wellness also impacts longevity and financial security – which when you think about it, expands the market for travel with time, money and physical ability.

These themes emerged in the Global Wellness Summit’s report, “12 Wellness Trends for 2023” with implications of how travel, hospitality, even urban design, workplace policies (vacations are essential to recharge), government planning are accommodating. Among the key findings, as reported by the researchers:

WELLNESS + TRAVEL: From Global Smorgasbord to Hyper-Indigenous

By Elaine Glusac

Wellness and wellness tourism have long resembled Disney’s “It’s a Small World”: buffets of global experiences typically divorced from place. Yoga, born in India, is ubiquitous worldwide; ayahuasca retreats have departed their Amazonian homelands; you can get a Hawaiian Lomi Lomi massage in Dubai.

But with a new critique of wellness as a profound cultural appropriator, a rising social justice movement, and greater emphasis on authenticity, travelers are now seeking much deeper cultural experiences and showing interest in going to the source of ancient healing and knowledge to learn how they care for the land and for themselves. Indigenous travel and going to the cultural source for wellness is our travel trend for 2023.

There interest not only in going back to the origin places for wellness programs, but also to immerse in culture and heritage, such as in the Sacred Valley of Peru © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Community-led Indigenous travel offerings are surgingfrom the boreal forests of Canada to the Australian Outbackand speak deeply to travelers seeking inclusive, sustainable and regenerative travel experiences. The fast-mounting interest in original cultures includes Indigenous wellness practices, from purification ceremonies to food and nutrition.

Concurrently, culturally-rooted wellness experiences are booming globally and inspiring travelers to go to the original wellspring for authenticity. In Japan, traditional ryokans, or hot springs inns, are having an incredible renaissance as nature-based experiences that shift with the seasons. Resorts are exploring new menus of from-the-source wellness, whether traditional Arabic and Islamic medicine in the Middle East or Druidry in England. India, which gave the wellness world yoga, is poised to lure travelers back to the source with an upcoming center for traditional medicine partnered by the World Health Organization.

[Canada has really taken the lead to support tourism enterprises among its indigenous populations, under the umbrella of Indigenous Tourism Association (ITAC). In British Columbia, where there are 204 indigenous communities, a tourism development organization IndigenousBC.com is an excellent website to plan visits. Many of the Canadian indigenous communities offer wellness programs.

Also Ponant Cruises has introduced a series of programs that feature encounters with indigenous people, including the Inuit in Greenland, the Emberas in panama, Papuans in Papua New Guinea, us.ponant.com]

WELLNESS + SPORTS: New Business Models for Hospitality

By Lisa Starr

Savvy hospitality brands are responding to demands from wellness-focused clients looking beyond the basement gym, in search of pro-athlete-level equipment, fitness classes and wellness programming, whenever and wherever they travel. Some hotel brands are even creating facilities that cater to entire amateur or professional sports teams, expanding the function of the hotel and ensuring professional quality for the rest of us. We predict businesses that support this trend will become the go-to brands for future generations.

The ubiquity of the wellness-focused lifestyles of elite and professional athletes are fueling this trend and increasing demand for pro-level wellness at hotels and resorts. Hospitality brands like Kerzner International Holdings, owner of the Atlantis Resort and One&Only Resorts, are responding to the public preoccupation with sports with new concepts like the immersive global lifestyle brand SIRO, a “fitness and recovery hotel.” Zulal Wellness Resort by Chiva-Som in Qatar, the Middle East’s first full-immersion wellness resort, offers TAIM (traditional Arabic and Islamic medicine) treatments and hosted the German World Cup soccer team in 2022.

The global sports market is predicted to hit $20 billion by 2027, and we’re going to see new, creative, profitable intersections between sports and wellness. Sports of all types are being seen as a strategy to attract and connect with wellness-oriented consumers and travelers—and this timely business trend shows no sign of stopping.

Hospitality companies are catering to the rising interest and demand for wellness experiences, including the grand, historic Mohonk Mountain House in Hudson Valley, New York, which has provided a retreat for urban dwellers since Victorian times © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

WELLNESS + WATER: Blue, Hot and Wild

By Jane Kitchen

The pandemic spurred a hunger for in-nature experiences that shows no signs of abating. But when we talk about the nature surge, we usually remain on terra firma. In 2023, people will jump into the world’s wild waters for some “blue wellness”— with an unprecedented global surge in new-look hot springs destinations and wild and cross-country swimming going global. (The film, “Avatar: The Way of Water” likely helped.)

At the steamy end of the temperature spectrum, hot springs are now poised to be the next big thing in wellness. There are an unprecedented number of new and in-the-pipeline global destinations and new life is being breathed into long-forgotten facilities–from Australia to the US (where about 50 new projects are underway). A whole new social era in hot springs has arrived, where developers are combining live entertainment, watery wellness classes, restaurants and bars with traditional soaking. At Peninsula Hot Springs in Australia, take in live bands from its hot springs amphitheaters and do some hot springs yoga; at Sky Lagoon in Reykjavik, you soak in the midnight sun while sipping prosecco from a swim-up bar; you’ll soon be able to watch a baseball game while soaking in hot springs at Hokkaidos’ ESCON Field. This is social, affordable wellness and it’s pulling in a younger, diverse crowd.

Hot springs, Blue Lagoon, Iceland. The future of wellness and nature immersion? Blue, hot, cold and wild. © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

On the cold side of the trend, there is surging interest in wild, cold and cross-country swimming, once the domains of serious athletes. Wild swimming groups like the Bluetits Chill Swimmers offer inclusive group swims that foster connection, and more global resorts are offering guided wild swimming programs—whether the Hotel J in Sweden or New York’s Mohonk Mountain House. Cross-country swimming is starting to take off, epic adventures where hiking and wild swimming are combined. People are even building wild swimming ponds instead of the old concrete swimming pools.

The future of wellness and nature immersion? Blue, hot, cold and wild.

WELLNESS + CITIES: Urban Infrastructure Just Might Save Cities

By Robbie Hammond and Omar Toro-Vacay

The role of the city has been reimagined countless times over the centuries (they’ve been trading posts, political and artistic centers, and, recently, concrete jungles of retail and offices). But the pandemic served as a wake-up call for just how unwell our cities are—sparking a new recognition of the inextricable relationship between the health of the cities and the health of city dwellers. Global cities are now at another historical inflection point where they are rebuilding themselves around the wellness needs of their citizens. “Urban wellness infrastructure” is no longer perceived as a luxury—it’s a necessity.

Urban wellness infrastructure—the melding of capital improvements and business opportunities that holistically address social, mental and physical health—is being embraced around the world as a solution for accelerating growth, fueling post-pandemic recovery and cultivating healthier, happier citizens.

There are so many powerful examples. Developed 20 years ago on an abandoned railway line in the heart of Manhattan, the Highline is a pioneering example of this trend—a wellness destination in its own right where people exercise, socialize and take in natural beauty in the heart of the city, which has become one of the most popular tourist sites in the city. The Highline has inspired over 60 such projects across America. The 11th Street Bridge Park in Washington, DC, a new public space project that connects neighborhoods and helps cross racial and economic divides, is an example of the new community-building urban wellness infrastructure.

The Highline, created out of a decrepit highway, is now one of the top attractions in New York City. Cities, back as a top destination for travelers, are consciously restructuring around health and wellness for residents and visitors alike. © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

In Singapore, the government is striving to become an “urban wellness haven,” creating a whole slate of programs and initiatives that showcase the city’s unique natural and wellness resources. In Monterrey, Mexico, a successful collaboration between private and public organizations, DistritoTec, is creating a thriving new community with wellness at its core—a model Mexico plans to replicate.

To remain vital in the next century, cities must become places not to survive but to thrive. That’s only possible with a new wellness infrastructure.

[Indeed, cities are making a comeback as top destinations for travelers in 2023 after the pandemic steered people to wide-open spaces. But much of the adaptations that worked so well to keep people well during the pandemic – like advance purchase timed-ticket admissions to museums and attractions to control capacity – are being kept in place.]

WELLNESS + SENSES: Multisensory Integration

By Ari Peralta

Advances in neuroscience and neuroaesthetics confirm that, when combined, the senses elevate our human experience. Nature is multisensory and it turns out, so are we. The senses have always been present in wellness. In fact, we subconsciously associate many wellness activities with one sense or another… spa is touch, wellness music is sound, chromotherapy is color, healthy food is taste and thermal is temperature. This siloed approach is quickly changing in remarkable ways.

Now brands are accessing multiple senses simultaneously to better support wellbeing outcomes, amplify wellness experience and influence behavioral change—think using multiple sensory cues in a harmonious way to deepen meditation. With a better grasp on evidence, wellness brands are using multisensory integration as an approach to deepen and amplify felt experiences. From wellness brands to spas to retailers, they are experimenting with playful combinations of light and sound, light and taste, etc., to build connection and more meaningful moments.

Some examples: In Saudi Arabia, the AIUIa Wellness Festival has curated a 360-degree multisensory event allowing visitors to stimulate and elevate all five senses amidst ancient and stunning surroundings; while Six Senses has teamed with mycoocoon to create synesthetic dining experiences, enabling guests to “taste” color and sound, while, in the metaverse, digital sense is becoming a reality, adding scent and touch to sight and sound.

WELLNESS + GATHERING: Wellness Comes for the Loneliness Epidemic

By Beth McGroarty

We “know” loneliness is skyrocketing, that it kills and that the #1 predictor of health and happiness is relationships. But somehow, the recent uber-capitalist wellness market has led with two things: a sea of keep-them-spending “me time” products and “digital wellness”both lonely journeys of “self-care.” The pandemic has proven to be the breaking point. The biggest wellness trend is the development of new spaces and experiences that bring people together in real life—creatively and with intentionwhere social connection is the burning center of the concept.

Social wellness clubs with different vibes and price-points will surge, where group bonding comes first and the (sometimes dizzying menus of) wellness experiences serve as social icebreakersfrom pioneer Remedy Place to social bathhouse Othership to Six Senses Place. With remote work, people need everyday places to be and belongand younger gens, who are ditching booze and bars, seek healthier social spaces. With human “communication” having devolved into emojis, the wellness world is now teaching us how to connect and empathize more deeply. Peoplehood, the group conversation concept from SoulCycle’s founders, nixes the bikes to teach “relational fitness” through active listening. “Empatho-delics/actives” (that drive human openness) will rise: psilocybin, MDMA (in clinical trials), and ancient botanical “social elixirs,” such as kanna and kava.

Boat Bike Tours’ cycling trip from Bruges to Amsterdam. Travel affords unlimited opportunities for social interaction and engagement, bringing together people from all points of the globe © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Tackling loneliness is a huge trend beyond the wellness space. Startups are bringing connection to those who need it most, whether it’s the elderly or black men. New social apps/platforms are actually social, creating dinner parties for strangers or bonding apartment dwellers. More governments are fighting loneliness with new policies, and there’s even a new “social medicine.” The future of wellness? A move from lonely to social self-care, from buying to belonging, from URL to IRL, from ego to empathy, from Goop to group.

[Travel is the antidote to loneliness, promoting social interactions. And while solo travel is one of the biggest new trends for 2023, but there are even apps that cater to solo travelers and that match people with travel buddies.]

Wellness + Workplace: Workplace Wellness Finally Starts to Mean Something

by Skyler Hubler and Cecelia Girr

From protected time off and prioritizing vacation time to finally acknowledging women’s health needs, employee wellness is getting a much-needed rethink. Employers have been casually tossing around the word “wellness” since the 1980s. But four decades later, we have little to show for it. Worldwide, 70% of knowledge workers have experienced burnout in the past year, and a recent global study found that 38% of workers hate their jobs so much that they wouldn’t wish it on their worst enemy. Clearly, all those “workplace wellness” initiatives haven’t been working for us. But with the pandemic dramatically accelerating shifts in work models and the mental health crisis—and employees newly empowered—things are changing

Copper Mountain Resort, Colorado Rockies: company-wide vacations and outings are part of a new focus on wellness in the workplace © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Superficial wellness at work schemes are being replaced with more meaningful solutions. Better balance is being achieved through movements such as extended, company-wide vacations and the “right to disconnect” from emails after hours; employers making in-person time count with memorable offsites and gatherings at wellness resorts and social wellness clubs (meetings held in ice baths are officially a thing). The workplace wellness reform is well underway and it’s set to change everything, from how we connect with coworkers to what we look for in a job.

[Indeed, there is every indication that some variation of remote work will remain, and people will claim their opportunity to be nomadic workers.]

WELLNESS + GOVERNMENTS: The Case for Coming Together

By Thierry Malleret

Wellness policies have been years in the making, but in 2023 and beyond, they will evolve, multiply and strengthen. Governments “know” the crippling economic and societal costs that come when people don’t feel mentally and physically well. They “know” that unwellness shrinks the labor force while simultaneously hurting productivity—the worst possible combo for long-term economic growth. They “know” that preventative wellness saves public money because it always costs less than cure.

Now more governments are moving from knowing to action, pursuing diversified policies aimed at, pursuing policies—aimed at improving physical, mental, work, environmental, and even financial wellbeingfrom healthy eating campaigns to funding regenerative agriculture and biodiversity protection.

Wellness policies will become far more prominent on the political agendas of national, regional and local governments. We predict they will be: (1) more expansive, by encompassing adjacent policies that contribute to our planetary, societal and individual wellbeing; (2) more “muscular,” toughening regulations and fighting vested interests; and (3) more local, because the greatest policy-success stories happen when you empower communities at the local level.

The Future of Wellness 2023 Trends report just released by the Global Wellness Summit identifies 12 key wellness trends impacting the wellness economy in 2023 and beyond. More information or to purchase the report, www.globalwellnesssummit.com/2023-global-wellness-trends.

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© 2023 Travel Features Syndicate, a division of Workstyles, Inc. All rights reserved. Visit goingplacesfarandnear.com, www.huffingtonpost.com/author/karen-rubin, and travelwritersmagazine.com/TravelFeaturesSyndicate/. Blogging at goingplacesnearandfar.wordpress.com and moralcompasstravel.info. Visit instagram.com/going_places_far_and_near and instagram.com/bigbackpacktraveler/ Send comments or questions to [email protected] Tweet @TravelFeatures. ‘Like’ us at facebook.com/NewsPhotoFeatures

Newly Opened Museum of Broadway Celebrates Artistry, Legacy of Theater

A ticket for admission to one of George M. Cohan’s shows © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

By Karen Rubin, Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com

There are actual top hat and dance shoes from A Chorus Line. You step into Doc’s drugstore from West Side Story. See costumes from Phantom of the Opera. There are scores of artifacts, music sheets, props, director notes, rehearsal photos. You see the original Playbills of iconic shows and theater posters going back to the very beginning of American (that is New York and ultimately Broadway) theater. And then you go “backstage” to see how all the creative and technical processes all come together, that speaks to you not so much as star-struck audience member but as a person yearning to be in theater. “Hey gang, let’s put on a show!”

This is the Museum of Broadway, newly opened in November, 2022.

Top hat and dance shoes from A Chorus Line, on display at the Museum of Broadway © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Rather than burst any star-studied illusions or theater magic, this opportunity to go behind the curtain is tremendously exciting – you get to see (and appreciate) what goes into such show-stoppers, cultural icons as Show Boat, Oklahoma, West Side Story, Fiddler on the Roof, Cats, Phantom of the Opera, Company, Rent, A Chorus Line, Lion King, The Wiz, Ain’t Misbehavin’ and Hamilton, several offering immersive experiences.

In all (believe it or not), the Museum limelights more than 500 individual productions from the 1700s to what is on stage now.

And you get insights into such theater luminaries as Ziegfeld, Sondheim, Webber, Fosse. You come away even more awestruck and under theater’s spell than when you entered.

The Museum features work from Emmy Award winning illustrator I. Javier Ameijeiras (Rent Live!), neon artist Dani B, Tony Award nominated dancer Robert Fairchild (An American in Paris, former NYCB principal), Drama Desk Award winning scenic designer David Korins (Hamilton, Beetlejuice), choreographer Julio Monge (West Side Story), and dancer Tanairi Vazquez (West Side Story, Hamilton). (Find a full list of the artists featured in the Museum at https://www.themuseumofbroadway.com/artists)

A Museum of Broadway homage to “Cats,” Andrew Lloyd Webber’s landmark musical based on the 1939 poetry collection Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

The Museum of Broadway is an immersive and interactive theatrical experience devoted to musicals, plays, and the people who make them. Featuring the work of dozens of designers, artists, and theatre historians, you are taken on a journey along the timeline of Broadway, from its birth to present day.

You travel through a visual history of Broadway, highlighting groundbreaking moments in a series of exhibits that showcase – and show off – dazzling costumes, props, renderings, rare photos, videos, artifacts, awards. Stops along the way highlight the pivotal shows or “game changers” that transformed the landscape of Broadway – the moments that pushed creative boundaries, challenged social norms, and paved the way for those who would follow.

Your visit to the Museum of Broadway starts back stage with sound effects, photos, that show how typical it would be for the Broadway performers to use the back stairs for warm ups © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
 

Your visit to the Museum of Broadway starts back stage (actually on the back stairs of the building, next door to historic Lyceum theater),  with sound effects, photos, that show how typical it would be for the Broadway performers to use the back stairs for warm ups.

Walk up three flights, where you hear “warm-ups” as you climb the stairs and go past rooms to show where hair, make-up would have been (performers are taught how to apply their own); the dressing rooms (one labeled “dressing room” is actually the bathroom) and get introduced to the traditions (even superstitions) of Broadway performers. (There is an elevator for those who cannot climb the stairs.)

You are brought into a waiting room before the introductory video – showcasing the Playbills and synopsis of shows currently on Broadway (can point to a QR code and purchase tickets right there), as the music for “Company” plays.

Then you are taken into a small screening room to see a video packing 250 years of history of New York theater into just four minutes. (It is surprising to learn the first actual public performance was in 1732 at the Playhouse, way downtown.)

The history of Broadway theater, told in a four-minute video at the Museum of Broadway dates back to 1732 © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

New York Theater at first was centered in lower Manhattan – where Financial District and Chinatown are today, then, as rents moved up, theaters moved uptown along Broadway to Union Square, Herald Square and finally to Times Square (renamed for the New York Times newspaper, which took up residence in 1904).

Oscar Hammerstein I (grandfather of lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II) was instrumental in opening a number of theater houses, beginning 1895 with the Olympia; the Schubert Brothers (Sam, Lee and JJ) soon followed, becoming a major powerhouse among theater owners.

Times Square became known as the Great White Way because of the lamps and electric white lights on marquees.

The Great Depression hit the theater industry hard – many theaters were converted to other purposes. But the end of World War II led to a Golden Age of Broadway, and Jujamcyn and Nederlander emerged as theater behemoths. Then, with the decline of New York City in the 1960s – crime, deteriorating condition – theaters were empty.

The city was desperate to revitalize the Times Square area and allowed the Marriott Marquis to build its new hotel (with a theater inside) to spur a renaissance. But that resulted in the destruction of five Broadway theaters – the so-called “Great Theater Massacre” of 1982. The outcry led to a new landmark preservation law to protect Broadway theaters.

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s record-breaking, longest-running “Phantom of the Opera,” has been seen by more than 19 million people over 35 years on Broadway. It is due to close in 2023 to make room for Webber’s new musical, “Bad Cinderella” © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

The revitalization really was spurred in the mid-1990s, when Disney signed a 99-year lease for the New Amsterdam Theater on 42nd Street and the city cleaned up Times Square. Broadway was back and “family friendly”, to the point there was a waiting list for incoming shows.

Then COVID hit in March 2020, shutting down the theaters -“the heartbeat of the city” – for 18 months, the longest period in theater history. Since Broadway is one of the top reasons visitors come to the city, and one of its top revenue-makers as well as employers, shutting down theater took its toll on the city’s finances.

After the video (I sit through it twice), you are brought into a sequence of rooms in a Timeline, showcasing the people and key productions – plays and musicals – that shaped the past, present and point to the future of Broadway theater.

Timeline panels at the Museum of Broadway showcase the people and key productions – plays and musicals – that shaped the past, present and point to the future of Broadway theater, going back to the earliest days with historic posters and photos © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

The first panels are really interesting, featuring posters of plays starring Edwin and John Wilkes Booth, and (ironically) a production of “An American Cousin,” starring Laura Keene at the New American Theater in March 3, 1859 – the play Abraham Lincoln was watching at Ford Theater in Washington DC when John Wilkes Booth assassinated him. There is also, an interesting discussion of censorship – when Olga Nethersole, who played Sapho, was arrested for corrupting public morals (indecency). The scandal, first unleashed by the producer to generate audience interest and then played up by newspapers to sell papers (Yellow Journalism), backfired on the show, which though actually quite tame, was censored, but Nethersole was ultimately acquitted.

The panels also highlight the contribution and breakthroughs of Black Americans in American theater and breakthroughs by women. But it is odd that the contribution by Jewish creators is hardly a footnote, while incorporating photos and hard-to-read photo captions of the Marx Brothers, Irving Berlin, showcasing Showboat without mentioning Oscar Hammerstein II and Jerome Kern, and Porgy and Bess without bothering to mention the Gershwins who wrote them.  

The influence of Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, George and Ira Gershwin, Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II, Kurt Weill, Sheldon Harnick, Jerry Bock, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, Stephen Schwartz, Jule Styne is undeniable throughout the museum because of the productions that are highlighted, but unremarked. The only mention of Yiddish Theater comes in a tiny reference in a panel for a 1990 show, “Those Were the Days”) (For this part of history, see “Broadway Musicals: A Jewish Legacy” from Great Performances on pbs.org (https://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/broadway-musicals-a-jewish-legacy-about-the-film/1476/)

There is a showcase of Ziegfeld Follies, as if you are in the (very pink and feathery) dressing room, with stunning costumes. There’s a photo but much information about Fanny Brice and a photo of Irving Berlin at the piano, but the notes emphasize how Ziegfeld reacted “when a few Follies cast members complained about sharing the stage with Black comedian Bert Williams, Ziegfeld’s reply was ‘The stage door is that way. I can do this show without any of you, but I cannot do it without Bert.’ And that was that.”

There is a whole set up for Showboat and how the musical changed the course of theater, redirecting the emphasis from the heavy operettas and the superficial music comedies which had dominated Broadway, providing complex, realistic characters, and integrating music and plot (but only passing mention of lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II and composer Jerome Kern who wrote the breakthrough musical based on Edna Ferber’s 1926 novel).

Hammerstein lambasted racial prejudice again in South Pacific:

 You’ve got to be taught to hate and fear/You’ve got to be taught from year to year/It’s got to be drummed in your dear little ear/You’ve got to be carefully taught.

You’ve got to be taught to be afraid/Of people whose eyes are oddly made/And people whose skin is a diff’rent shade/You’ve got to be carefully taught.

Show Boat, with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II based on Edna Ferber’s best-selling 1926 novel, changed the course of musical theater, redirecting the emphasis from the heavy operettas and the superficial music comedies which had dominated Broadway, providing complex, realistic characters, and integrating music and plot © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

It isn’t until the 1990s panel that there is any mention of Yiddish Theater – arguably the progenitor if not the incubator of Broadway theater – when we learn that “Those Were the Days” in 1990 brought “the Shteltl” and “The Music Hall” to Broadway in an intimate two-part review performed in both English and Yiddish. “The show evokes a period,” director Eleanor Reissa explained. “Created by Zalmen Mlotek and Moishe Rosenfeld, the musical honored the legacy of a vibrant and influential Yiddish stage that flourished on New York’s Lower East Side in the late 1800s and early 1900s. One of the district’s most formidable figures was Boris Thomashefsky, who opened a Yiddish theater on Broadway in 1923.”

A room is devoted to the coveted Tony Awards and its namesake, Antoinette Perry, an actress, director, producer, and the dynamic wartime leader of the American Theatre Wing who had recently passed away when The Tony Awards made their official debut at a dinner in the Grand Ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria hotel on Easter Sunday, April 6, 1947.

You walk through rooms devoted to Oklahoma and a set for Doc’s drugstore in the homage to “West Side Story” (there’s a Jets jacket on display as well). A small room crams together Fiddler on the Roof, Hello Dolly, Neil Simon’s comedies before getting to the rock musicals – Jesus Christ Superstar – that led a new era on the Broadway stage.

Walk through the West Side Story set for Doc’s drugstore © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Thankfully, a major exhibit is devoted to Sondheim and you walk through what appears to be the set for Company.

The Wiz, we learn, got bad reviews, but the audience gave it a standing ovation and four curtain calls (the musical used a new marketing strategy of television commercials) – and you ease down yellow stairs.

A Chorus Line – one of the longest-running shows and the first to use computerized light board – features original costumes, marvelous 8×10 photos of the cast, plus I loved seeing original creative notes.

Notes for the opening song for A Chorus Line © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
Notes for “Handful of Keys” from A Chorus Line © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

(There is so much information crammed into a small space and the captions and notes are so small and hard to read (bring glasses), but you are encouraged to download an app where you can listen or read the notes.)

Honoring Broadway’s longest-running musical, “Phantom of the Opera”: a chandelier made of 13,917 glass beads – for the number of Broadway performances – and if you look at it to an angle, the Phantom’s mask emerges © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Then you come to Phantom of the Opera – with some sensational costumes (from 1986) and artifacts from the show. Phantom is now the longest-running production in Broadway history (it was scheduled to close in 2023, when a new Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, “Bad Cinderella” is due to open). Among Phantom’s plaudits: it is the largest generator of money and jobs in Broadway history and has been seen by 19.5 million people over 35 years. There is an amazing chandelier made of 13,917 glass beads – for the number of Broadway performances – and if you look at it to an angle, the Phantom’s mask emerges.

Along the way, staff people offer their own anecdotes or point you to artifacts or parts of the exhibit you might not have seen. And there are various interactive and videos, as Broadway tunes play in each exhibit.

The innovative costume/props for The Lion King on display at the Museum of Broadway © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

The setting for “Rent” was designed for the museum by the original set designer. I love seeing some of the innovative props/costumes that turn human actors into animals for Lion King. You walk through the “office” for Producers” (a Tony is in the bookcase), costumes from Hamilton, and there is a whole line of costumes representing the shows currently playing.

Costumes from “Hamilton” on display at the Museum of Broadway © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
 

Then you go down the stairs to the first floor where you are really treated to the back-stage, “let’s put on a show” tutorial.

This part of the Museum celebrates the behind-the-scenes of this dazzling American art form with a special exhibit, “The Making of a Broadway Show,” justifiably honoring the entirety of the community of brilliantly talented professionals – both onstage and off – who bring Broadway plays and musicals to life every night.

This section features multiple videos of directors of lighting, sound, music, as well as costumers and set designers discussing their craft. (Here, they should have given way more space and separated the sections of the exhibit better because the videos and sound overlap – even three and four at once – and the room is dark.)

Hey gang! Let’s put on a show: An entire floor Museum of Broadway is devoted to how a theater production comes together. Computerized lighting board © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

But if you put in some effort – and time – you are treated to absolutely fascinating information about producing, designing the music, the lights, the sound, costumes (and tricks of “distressing” costumes), direction, choreography. This whole section – most of an entire floor – is a goldmine for anyone who harbors any interest in pursuing a career in theater production. There are even time sheets for what a costumer’s day is like, and a timeline from conception to opening night of a production.

Techniques of a costumer at the Museum of Broadway © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Want to be a costume designer? Check out what a day looks like at the Museum of Broadway © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

At the end, I follow an arrow and found myself in a fantastic exhibit of Al Hirschfeld – the extraordinary cartoonist/caricaturist who was synonymous with every Broadway opening. We see many of his illustrations – from newspapers, posters, the originals, and I love the display of his sketchbooks that give a glimpse into his creative process – and learn about the origin of his iconic “Nina” embedded into his illustration (that became an obsession, much like Wordle is today, for New York Times readers). There is even a photo of him with his daughter, Nina, and a caricature of Nina, herself.

The origin of the famous Nina’s in Al Hirschfeld’s caricatures that so defined Broadway productions © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

The Museum of Broadway is founded by entrepreneur and two-time Tony Award-winning producer Julie Boardman and founder of the award-winning experiential agency, Rubik Marketing,Diane Nicoletti. Elie Landauis the general manager.

The team of expert curators for The Museum of Broadway is headed by Ben West (Resident Historian and Curator, Timeline & Special Exhibits) and includes Jennifer Ashley Tepper (Curator, Historical Buildings), John Kenrick (Curator, Game Changer History), Faye Armon-Troncoso (Set Decorator & Props Supervisor, Making of a Broadway Show), Lisa Zinni (Costume & Props Curator) and Michael McDonald (Historical Assets Manager).

The Museum of Broadway is founded in collaboration with Playbill, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, The Billy Rose Theatre Division at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, The Al Hirschfeld Foundation, Goodspeed Musicals, Creative Goods, and Concord Theatricals.

There is so much to delight anyone who enjoys, appreciates theater – you don’t have to be an avid theatergoer or aficionado or maven.

The artifacts, costumes, inside (backstage) info, and insights throughout the Museum of Broadway are fabulous. You need at least two to three hours to go through. And bring reading eyeglasses or magnifying glass to read the tiny captions and notes. Open 7 days a week, 10 am – 10 pm.

Indeed, the Museum of Broadway seems to be very much a hit – the museum had a steady stream of visitors.

The Museum of Broadway, 145 West 45th Street, New York, NY 10036, 212-239-6200 or 800-447-7400, www.themuseumofbroadway.com, follow @museumofbroadway on social channels.

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© 2022 Travel Features Syndicate, a division of Workstyles, Inc. All rights reserved. Visit goingplacesfarandnear.com, www.huffingtonpost.com/author/karen-rubin, and travelwritersmagazine.com/TravelFeaturesSyndicate/. Blogging at goingplacesnearandfar.wordpress.com and moralcompasstravel.info. Visit instagram.com/going_places_far_and_near and instagram.com/bigbackpacktraveler/ Send comments or questions to [email protected] Tweet @TravelFeatures. ‘Like’ us at facebook.com/NewsPhotoFeatures

Top Things to Do to Celebrate the Holidays in New York City

Rockefeller Center, NYC © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

By Karen Rubin, Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com

Santa has arrived on his sleigh to close out the 96th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.  The tree is alight at Rockefeller Center. Saks has its sound-and-light show and decorated windows. Macy’s and Bergdorf Goodman have their windows decorated. People flock into St. Patrick’s Cathedral, stop to hear a choral concert at St. Thomas. Cartier and Tiffany’s come gift wrapped. Fifth Avenue is decked out for the holiday. It’s Christmas time in the city. Here are some of the best ways to enjoy the city:

Macy’s windows theme for Holidays 2022: Give Love © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

As one of the most iconic holiday destinations in the world, New York City once again hosts a potpourri of festive experiences, attractions and events across dining, shopping, culture and entertainment throughout the five boros.

Macy’s windows theme for Holidays 2022: Give Love © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
Macy’s windows theme for Holidays 2022: Give Love © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Over the past few years, Bryant Park has emerged as the quintessential holiday destination in New York City – crammed with the most picturesque holiday market (actually marvelous items) in the city, a skating rink (free skating; skate rentals available) below a Christmas tree, an enchanting carousel, lovely eateries and snack places. It is the synthesis of the holiday.

Holidays in New York City: Bank of America Winter Village at Bryant Park © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Here are more highlights of Holidays in the City:

HOLIDAY PERFORMANCES

A New York City holiday staple: Radio City Rockettes performing Christmas Spectacular Wooden Soldiers © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
  • DREAM BIG: Big Apple Circus Returns to Lincoln Center for 45th Anniversary, through Jan. 1. For eight weeks, Big Top at Lincoln Center will be home to astonishing wonders and daring acrobatics, setting imaginations soaring to the most astounding, awe-inspiring heights.
  • Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes, Nov. 18–Jan. 2 has dazzled audiences of all ages for nearly a century with incredible costumes, festive songs, synchronized high kicks, new acts and several shows daily.
  • A Christmas Carola one-man show on Broadway, Nov. 21–Jan. 1. In this astonishing Broadway adaptation, Tony Award–winning actor Jefferson Mays tackles more than 50 roles in this season’s limited run of A Christmas Carol at the Nederlander Theatre. The beloved Dickens story featuring notable characters—Ebenezer Scrooge, Tiny Tim and the four ghosts—is making its return for the first time since 2019 and will enchant theatergoers with its redemptive story.
  • George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker Presented by New York City Ballet, Nov. 25–Dec. 31 at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center returns for its annual performance featuring exquisite costumes, magnificent sets and Tchaikovsky’s iconic score that transports audiences to a land of twirling snowflakes, leaping candy canes, waltzing flowers and more. On November 27, TDF Autism Friendly Performances will present the first-ever Autism-Friendly Performance of New York City Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker.
  • Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at New York City Center, Nov. 30–Dec. 24, returns to New York City Center for a season that has become a joyous winter tradition. Led by Artistic Director Robert Battle, Ailey’s extraordinary dancers will move audiences with world and company premieres by Kyle Abraham, Jamar Roberts, Paul Taylor, and Twyla Tharp. In addition to repertory favorites, founder Alvin Ailey’s choreography is spotlighted with a new production of Survivors and the staging of over a half dozen classic works, including the must-see American masterpiece Revelations.
  • The Magic Flute Holiday Presentation at The Met Opera, Dec. 16–Jan. 6. The Met Opera’s abridged, English-language version of Mozart’s magical fairy tale is a classic holiday treat for audiences of all ages, bringing the charming story and enchanting music to life. This year’s series features Maestro Duncan Ward, making his company debut conducting Julie Taymor’s irresistible production.

CULTURAL EVENTS

Fifth Avenue, decked out for the holidays © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
Holidays in New York City: St. Patrick’s Cathedral © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

HOLIDAY LIGHTS

Amaze Light Festival is the newest holiday attraction in New York City © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
  • Shine Bright Only at Hudson Yards, throughout the holidays, Hudson Yards, Manhattan. Featuring over 2 million twinkling lights, Shine Bright Only at Hudson Yards, presented by Wells Fargo, adorns the neighborhood with 115-miles of string lights, 725 evergreen trees dressed and 16-foot-tall illuminated set pieces in the shape of hot air balloons arranged through the Public Square and Gardens with a 32-foot hot air balloon centerpiece suspended in The Great Room of The Shops and Restaurants.
  • Lightscape at Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Nov. 16–Jan. 8, Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. Explore the garden after dark at the illuminated Lightscape, celebrating the beauty of nature with an enchanting one-mile trail through BBG’s 52-acre landscape. Sold out in its first season, this year’s after-dark, illuminated spectacular features new works of art alongside returning favorites. Enjoy the Winter Cathedral tunnel, Fire Garden and Sea of Light, as well as new site-specific light works by local artists, accompanied by a curated soundtrack.
  • Bronx Zoo Holiday Lights, Nov. 18–Jan. 8, Bronx Park, The Bronx. With more than 360 lanterns representing nearly 90 animal and plant species, Bronx Zoo’s family-centric holiday lights festival will connect visitors with real wildlife and wild places. During the evenings, the park comes to life with holiday cheer as immersive light displays, custom-designed animal lanterns (with some life-size, some larger-than-life-size) and animated light shows sparkle across the zoo. The celebration is complete with seasonal treats, classic holiday music and other festive entertainment. The beloved tradition is sure to enchant visitors of all ages, making it the perfect way to kick off the holidays this year.
  • NYBG GLOW, Select dates from November 18–January 14, Bedford Park, The Bronx. Discover the beauty of New York Botanical Garden through NYBG GLOW, which will illuminate the garden’s landmark landscape and historic buildings after dark with a newly expanded 1.5-mile colorful experience. Building upon sold-out evenings the past two years, the event is expanded across more of the garden’s collections.
  • Amaze Light Festival at Citi Field, Select dates from Nov. 20–Jan. 8, Flushing, Queens. Guests are greeted by the lovable characters Zing and Sparky from the Amaze storybook, who bring the stage dancers, singers and light show to life with their magic powers. Visit the holiday market and grab a treat at Sparky’s Sweet Spot. Enjoy culinary treats, specialty drinks and cocktails. Zip down Zing’s icy Thrill Hill, take in the wonder on a train ride, and write a letter to Santa.
  • NYC Winter Lantern Festival: Journey to the East, Oct. 21–Jan. 8, St. George, Staten Island. The NYC Winter Lantern Festival is back for its fourth year to transform a new venue, SIUH Community Park in Staten Island, into an immersive world of light. Enjoy over eight acres of luminescence, live DJ, projection mapping, food vendors.
  • NYC Winter Lantern Festival: Illuminate the Farm at Queens County Farm Museum, Nov. 11–Jan. 8, Glen Oaks, Queens. Back for its second year, the NYC Winter Lantern Festival transforms Queens County Farm into an immersive and radiant oasis with festive lights and handmade lanterns in the shape of flowers, tractors, farm animals.
  • Christmas Lights Tour of Dyker Heights from A Slice of Brooklyn Bus Tours, Dec. 1–31 (except 24 & 25), Dyker Heights, Brooklyn. Experience the extravagant Christmas light displays in Dyker Heights, also known as “Dyker Lights.” This guided bus tour, departing from Manhattan, offers visitors a special experience to view the uniquely decorated homes, learn about the history and stories of the neighborhood tradition.
Holidays in New York City: Bergdorf Goodman’s stunning window displays © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

ICE-SKATING, OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES:

Holidays in New York City: Ice skating at Bryant Park © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
  • The Rink at Rockefeller Center, Skate under the iconic Christmas tree, a quintessential NYC experience on the world-famous rink. In collaboration with Coach, Rockefeller Center will unveil this year’s activations, including a bespoke holiday gift shop, custom hospitality cart serving special treats, and live onsite patch customization for a curated line of Coach products. Santa will join visitors on the ice in December.
  • The Rink at Bryant Park, Midtown Manhattan. Enjoy NYC’s free 17,000-square-foot outdoor ice-skating rink at Bryant Park’s Winter Village. Visitors can also enjoy the Holiday Shops, free shows, events, activities, and eats and drinks at The Lodge.
  • Wollman Rink in Central Park, Midtown Manhattan. Enjoy skating in Central Park with the picturesque Manhattan skyline in the background. This year, Wollman Rink is partnering with Culture Pass.
  •  Classic Harbor Line Holiday-Themed Cruises, Manhattan. Enjoy four-course holiday brunch cruises, a Cocoa and Carols cruise and more holiday themes, while sailing across the East and Hudson Rivers with views of the NYC skyline and Lady Liberty.
  • City Cruises Holiday-Themed Cruises, Manhattan. Enjoy a NYC dining cruise (available Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s) featuring festive decor, meals and stunning views of the City while sailing across the East and Hudson Rivers from the glass-enclosed deck.
Holidays in New York City: Watching Saks’ light show at Rockefeller Center © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

FESTIVE HOLIDAY SHOPPING

Holidays in New York City: Bank of America Winter Village at Bryant Park © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
  • Bank of America Winter Village at Bryant Park, Bryant Park, Manhattan.
  • Shop at Grand Central Terminal, through Dec. 24, Midtown Manhattan. Grand Central Terminal welcomes back its famous indoor Holiday Fair to the splendor of Vanderbilt Hall after a two-year hiatus. The Grand Central Holiday Fair is one of New York City’s most coveted attractions, welcoming thousands of locals, commuters and visitors for a curated holiday shopping and gifting experience. This year’s event features 36 vendors, including Ekologic, Garden of Silver and Rebel Designs.
  • Union Square Holiday Market, throughDec. 24, Union Square, Manhattan. Urbanspace’s longest running holiday market returns with over 160 vendors featuring unique gifts created by local craftsmen, artists and entrepreneurs.
  • Brooklyn Flea Holiday Market, Sundays, through Dec. 24, Dumbo, Brooklyn. Come to Pearl Street for Dumbo’s iconic Brooklyn Flea Holiday Market. One of the borough’s most popular attractions, shoppers support local vendors and cross off holiday shopping with vintage and antique items, crafts and gourmet food stands.
  • Columbus Circle Holiday Market, through Dec. 24, Upper West Side, Manhattan. Known as one of the most elegant places for holiday shopping, visitors will lose themselves in aisles of art, jewelry, home goods and delicious eats from local artisans and designers, with the backdrop of NYC’s iconic Central Park.
Strolling Fifth Avenue is one of the highlights of Holidays in New York City © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
Strolling Fifth Avenue is one of the highlights of Holidays in New York City © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

NEW YEAR’S  

Gotta do it at least once in a lifetime: Watch the ball drop on New Year’s Eve in Times Square © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
  • New Year’s Eve Times Square Ball Drop, Times Square, Manhattan: The Waterford Crystal Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball will sparkle in Times Square all season, but watching its descent in person on New Year’s Eve is a spectacular, once-in-a-lifetime way to ring in the New Year. Guests can also stop by the New Year’s Eve Confetti Wishing Wall from December 1 on to submit (in person and online herefor nye wishing wall) a wish for the New Year on a piece of official NYE confetti that will be dropped at midnight as the ball drops. 
  •  NYRR Midnight Run in Central Park, Midtown Manhattan: Start the new year off on the right—and left—foot at the NYRR Midnight Run. Join the fun and celebrate as 2022 comes to a close; the countdown to 2023 begins at 11:59pm, and at the stroke of midnight, a fireworks display will light up the night sky and kick off the start of the 4-mile race.
  • Coney Island Polar Plunge, January 1, Coney Island, Brooklyn: Each year on January 1, members of the Polar Bear Club and anyone else brave enough to participate venture into the frigid waters at Coney Island. Watch hundreds of daring souls plunge into the Atlantic Ocean, where the temperature of the water hovers right above 40 degrees Fahrenheit and the air temperature can be well below freezing. The event is free, but in lieu of admission, participants are encouraged to donate to community organizations.

For additional holiday celebrations and itineraries, visit nycgo.com/holidays.

For the official source on all there is to see and do in New York City, go to nycgo.com

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© 2022 Travel Features Syndicate, a division of Workstyles, Inc. All rights reserved. Visit goingplacesfarandnear.com, www.huffingtonpost.com/author/karen-rubin, and travelwritersmagazine.com/TravelFeaturesSyndicate/. Blogging at goingplacesnearandfar.wordpress.com and moralcompasstravel.info. Visit instagram.com/going_places_far_and_near and instagram.com/bigbackpacktraveler/ Send comments or questions to [email protected] Tweet @TravelFeatures. ‘Like’ us at facebook.com/NewsPhotoFeatures

New-York Historical’s ‘I’ll Have What She’s Having’ Examines How Jewish Delicatessens Became a Cornerstone of American Food Culture

I’ll Have What She’s Having’: The Jewish Deli exhibit at New-York Historical Society tells a deeply moving story about the American experience of immigration—how immigrants adapted their cuisine to create a new culture that both retained and transcended their own traditions © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

By Karen Rubin, Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com

New-York Historical Society’s exhibition “I’ll Have What She’s Having”: The Jewish Deli, is a fascinating exploration of the rich history of the Jewish immigrant experience that made the delicatessen so integral to New York and American culture. On view through April 2, 2023, the mouth-watering and culturally significant exhibition, organized by the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles (where it is on view through September 18), examines how Jewish immigrants, mostly from Central and Eastern Europe, imported and adapted traditions to create a cuisine that became a cornerstone of popular culture with worldwide influence.

The exhibition explores the food of immigrants; the heyday of the deli in the interwar period; delis in the New York Theater District; stories of Holocaust survivors and war refugees who found community in delis; the shifting and shrinking landscapes of delis across the country; and delis in popular culture. You get to see iconic neon signs, menus, advertisements, and deli workers’ uniforms alongside film clips depicting delis in popular culture and video documentaries.

Laura Mart, co-curator of I’ll Have What She’s Having”: The Jewish Deli, now at the New-York Historical Society, explains the transition from pushcart to delicatessen, along with the fortunes of Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Some 2 million Jews came from Eastern and Central Europe to the United States between 1880 and 1924, when nativist anti-immigrant furor shut down immigration (there is a display showing some of the anti-immigrant propaganda). New York was a stopover but also a destination for millions and they brought with them their food culture, which, of necessity, was adapted.

“Why make a museum show out of the Jewish deli – which is a specific and unusual topic? The ‘deli’ allowed us to explore themes of how people of different backgrounds relate to one another” in such a melting pot as New York, said Laura Mart, one of the curators. “It shows how Jewish-American culture was created and maintained through generations. And it is also about joy, more important than ever. Museums are a place for joyful learning.”

“It’s a story of tradition and change, adaptation and resilience,” said Lara Rabinovitch.

“It’s our great pleasure to present an exhibition on a topic so near and dear to the hearts of New Yorkers of all backgrounds,” said Dr. Louise Mirrer, president and CEO of New-York Historical, herself waxing nostalgic. I’ll Have What She’s Having’: The Jewish Deli tells a deeply moving story about the American experience of immigration—how immigrants adapted their cuisine to create a new culture that both retained and transcended their own traditions © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

“It’s our great pleasure to present an exhibition on a topic so near and dear to the hearts of New Yorkers of all backgrounds,” said Dr. Louise Mirrer, president and CEO of New-York Historical. ‘I’ll Have What She’s Having’: The Jewish Deli tells a deeply moving story about the American experience of immigration—how immigrants adapted their cuisine to create a new culture that both retained and transcended their own traditions. I hope visitors come away with a newfound appreciation for the Jewish deli, and, with it, the story of the United States.”

“Whether you grew up eating matzo ball soup or are learning about lox for the first time, this exhibition demonstrates how Jewish food became a cultural touchstone, familiar to Americans across ethnic backgrounds,” said co-curators Cate Thurston and Laura Mart. “This exhibition reveals facets of the lives of Central and Eastern European Jewish immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that echo in contemporary immigrant experiences. It shows how people adapt and transform their own cultural traditions over time, resulting in a living style of cooking, eating, and sharing community that is at once deeply rooted in their own heritage and continuously changing.”

I’ll Have What She’s Having is co-curated by Skirball curators Cate Thurston and Laura Mart along with Lara Rabinovitch, renowned writer, producer, and specialist in immigrant food cultures. It is coordinated at New-York Historical by Cristian Petru Panaite, curator of exhibitions. The exhibition explores topics including deli culture, the proliferation of delis alongside the expansion of New York’s Jewish communities, kosher meat manufacturing, shortages during World War II, and advertising campaigns that helped popularize Jewish foods throughout the city.

As is typical of New-York Historical’s exhibits, expanded presentation from its own collection and local twist includes additional artwork, artifacts, photographs of local establishments, and objects from deli owners, as well as costumes from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, a mouthwatering interactive, and a Bloomberg Connects audio tour.

A soldier fighting in Italy during World War II writes to his fiancée that he “had some tasty Jewish dishes just like home” thanks to the salami his mother had sent, a confirmation of the success of the “Send a Salami to Your Boy in the Army” campaign © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Highlights include a letter in New-York Historical’s Patricia D. Klingenstein Library collection from a soldier fighting in Italy during World War II writing to his fiancée that he “had some tasty Jewish dishes just like home” thanks to the salami his mother had sent—confirmation of the success of a famous “Send a Salami to Your Boy in the Army” campaign. (Panaite painstakingly poured over a huge collection of World War II letters, one by one, to find it.) 

There are photos of politicians and other notable figures eating and campaigning in delis, including then-US Senate candidate Hillary Clinton at Ben’s delicatessen in Greenvale, Long Island. Movie clips and film stills include the iconic scene in Nora Ephron’s romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally…, which inspired the exhibition title. This and other movie scenes underscore the prominent role of Jewish delis in American popular culture.

Special to New-York Historical’s presentation is a closer look at the expansion of Jewish communities at the turn of the 20th century, not just on the Lower East Side but also in Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. In the 1930s, some 3,000 delis operated in the city; today, only about a dozen remain. 

I’ll Have What She’s Having’: The Jewish Deli at the New-York Historical Society will evoke nostalgia in native New Yorkers, as well as a craving for a pastrami sandwich on rye © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

The exhibition gives special attention to dairy restaurants, which offered a safe meatless eating experience; a portion of the neon sign from the Famous Dairy Restaurant on the Upper West Side is on display. Salvaged artifacts, like the 2nd Avenue Delicatessen storefront sign and vintage meat slicers and scales from other delis, are also on view, along with costumes by Emmy Award-winning costume designer Donna Zakowska from the popular Prime Video series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

Visitors are invited to build their own sandwiches named after celebrities, such as Milton Berle, Sophie Tucker, Frank Sinatra,  Ethel Merman, and Sammy Davis Jr., in a digital interactive inspired by menu items from Reuben’s Deli and Stage Deli (the menus are on display). 

On the Bloomberg Connects app, exhibition goers can enjoy popular songs like “Hot Dogs and Knishes” from the 1920s, along with clips of Mayor Fiorello La Guardia discussing kosher meat pricing, 1950s radio ads, and interviews with deli owners forced  to close during the pandemic lockdown.  

It’s a trip down memory lane for so many of us native New Yorkers – with the neon signs from popular delis and suppliers (Hebrew National), menus (there is one from Reubens, the home of the Reubens sandwich, which was a very popular venue for my family).

The roots for Jewish Deli cuisine were the fermentation, the types of foods, the technology of food, that originated in Europe, but the hallmarks of the Jewish Deli culture go beyond the food – to the booths, the waiters, the zeitgeist of the deli. We learn that that ambiance evolved – first from pushcarts on the streets of the Lower East Side (street food), to stools, to counter-style take-away shops, to finally having seating in full-fledged restaurants.

Case in point: Joel Russ founded his appetizing store out of a barrel in 1907 in Manhattan. He moved up to selling herring and other salt-cured and smoked fish out of a pushcart and finally opened a brick-and-mortar store in 1914.His daughters, Hattie, Ida, and Anne, worked in the store from the time they were 11 and 12. In 1935, he renamed the store Russ & Daughters, and are known as the “Sturgeon Queens.”

The delis introduced Americans to borscht (Slavic), gefilte fish, kishke (Slavic), vereniki (Ukrainian), kasha varnishkes (Russian), herring and chopped liver (“What am I, chopped liver?”). Also latkes (Ashkenazi), blintzes, knishes, rugelach and babka. Cheesecake is actually an American innovation.

The industrialization of beef production and processing actually made Kosher beef more desirable, hence Hebrew National’s slogan, “We answer to a higher authority.” © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Interestingly, the rise of industrial food processing and cattle production (which mass produced beef and discouraged pork consumption) actually increased the desirability of Kosher food – certified as meeting religious standards, hence the Hebrew National slogan, “We answer to a higher authority.”

Jewish entrepreneurs in Chicago capitalized on the opportunity to produce kosher beef, but ultimately, what became the Jewish Delicatessen was American.

I’ll Have What She’s Having’: The Jewish Deli at the New-York Historical Society traces how Jewish cuisine was assimilated into American culture © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
 

“Meat was expensive in Europe. Jews couldn’t own land and meat was a luxury. But in the United States, meat became central to deli food.” At first, there was strict separation between deli restaurants like Katz’ and dairy restaurants, like Ratner’s – because Koshruth forbids the mixing of meat and milk – but over time, and with assimilation, even delis would offer items like cheesecake as dessert after a corned beef sandwich.

We learn about the Vienna Beef factory, founded in 1893 by Jewish Austro-Hungarian immigrants Emil Reichel and Sam Ladany. They first sold frankfurters at the 1893 World’s Columbia Exposition in Chicago, then expanded to include Vienna sausages, pastrami, corned beef and salami.

A photo of Katz’ Delicatessen, circa 1900, one of the artifacts on view at I’ll Have What She’s Having’: The Jewish Deli at the New-York Historical Society tracing how Jewish cuisine was assimilated into American culture © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Katz’s Delicatessen, likely the oldest continuously operating deli in the US, was founded in 1888 by two brothers named Iceland. The Katz family became business partners and by 1917, bought out the brothers. At a time when most deli food was being sold from carts and barrels on the street, Katz’s was a brick-and-mortar delicatessen.

In 1916 on Coney Island, Polish immigrant Nathan Handwerker began building his empire by selling franks for five cents and undercutting his competition, Feltman’s.

And then there is this intrigue: fraud and corruption became pervasive in the kosher meat industry. In 1925, an estimated 40 percent of meat sold as “kosher” was non-kosher. In 1933, the NYC Department of Health and US Department of Agriculture raided Jacob Branfman & Son, one of the city’s main kosher delicatessen manufacturers, and seized over 1,400 pounds of nonkosher beef briskets. The owner was sentenced to 30 days in the infamous city workhouse.

A sign from Katz Delicatessen from the World War II-era campaign © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

During World War II, Jewish delis promoted a campaign to “Senda Salami to Your Boy in the Army” (the slogan was developed by Sixth Avenue Delicatessen waiter Louis Schwartz) and used by delis including Katz’s. The slogan became so popular that comedian Jerry Lewis used it in the film, “At War with the Army” (1950).

Louis G. Schwartz, aka “Louie the Waiter,” helped raise more than $9 million in war bonds – that paid for 66 P-47 Thunderbolt fighter planes, each which bore the moniker, “Louie the Waiter.” Schwartz developed a rhyme to inspire patrons to buy the bonds, “you’ll buy war bonds sooner or later, so get them from Louis the Waiter!”

Al Hirschfeld’s caricature of Sixth Avenue Deli’s Louis G. Schwartz, aka “Louie the Waiter,” helped raise more than $9 million in war bonds and created the slogan, “Senda Salami to Your Boy in the Army”.

Most interesting is to learn about some of the people who found refuge in the delis – as owners or workers. Paula Weissman, born in present-day Ukraine, survived Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen concentration camps. She arrived in New York in 1948 with two dollars. After working in a Brooklyn girdle factory, she was hired as a temporary waitress at Fine & Schapiro Kosher Delicatessen on West 72nd Street. The 7-day temp job turned into 30 years.”In her black uniform and white shoes, Paula took the orders of Zero Mostel, Molly Picon, Rita Moreno and many other Broadway stars.”

Rena Drexler was liberated from Auschwitz in 1945 and moved to Munich, Germany, where she and her husband, Harry, began their new lives working in a deli. The couple moved to Los Angeles in 1951 and opened Drexler’s Deli on Burbank Boulevard in 1957, selling kosher meals and products for the Orthodox Jews who settled in the neighborhood.

Paula Weissman, one of the Holocaust survivors who made a new life at Jewish delicatessens © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

The original owner of the Second Avenue Deli, Abe Lebewohl, was a Holocaust refugee. Upon arriving in America and not even speaking the language, he took his first job in a Coney Island deli as a soda jerk, graduating to counterman and over the next few years, learning the secrets of superb pastrami and other traditional Jewish delicacies. In 1954, with a few thousand dollars he managed to set aside, Abe took over a tiny 10-seat luncheonette on East Tenth Street—the nucleus of the 2nd Ave Deli. Working around the clock for years—often filling in as cook, counterman, waiter, and even busboy—he put all his time and energy into making a success of his tiny establishment. “He never turned anyone away for lack of funds, he fed striking workers, homeless.” In 1996, he was robbed and murdered when making a bank deposit; the case unsolved.

In a nostalgic tribute to departed delis that continue to hold a place in the hearts of many New Yorkers, photographs show restaurants that closed in recent years. Eateries include the Upper West Side’s Fine & Schapiro Kosher Delicatessen, Jay & Lloyd’s Kosher Delicatessen in Brooklyn, and Loeser’s Kosher Deli in the Bronx. An exuberant hot dog-shaped sign from Jay & Lloyds Delicatessen, which closed in May 2020, and folk artist Harry Glaubach’s monumental carved and painted signage for Ben’s Best Kosher Delicatessen in Queens, also pay tribute to beloved establishments. The exhibition concludes on a hopeful note, highlighting new delis that have opened their doors in the past decade, such as Mile End and Frankel’s, both in Brooklyn, and USA Brooklyn Delicatessen, located steps from the site of the former Carnegie and Stage Delis in Manhattan.

Ben’s, still a force on Long Island and Manhattan is illustrative of the changes in the Jewish Deli that followed changes in the lives of American Jews. To be blunt, in the mid-20th century, restrictive covenants that barred Jews (and Blacks) from living in certain neighborhoods were lifted, and American Jews were flocking to the suburbs. The delis followed.

What I found fascinating was that the Jewish deli grew up as the American industrialized cattle industry grew – displacing home-grown pork – making beef plentiful and giving rise to the sky-high thick pastrami and corned beef sandwiches that would never have been available to Jews in their European shtetls, where meat would have been a cherished rarity.

Folk artist Harry Glaubach’s monumental carved and painted signage for Ben’s Best Kosher Delicatessen in Queens is on view at I’ll Have What She’s Having’: The Jewish Deliat the New-York Historical Society © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

The exhibit ponders how it was, why it was that Jewish deli became so much a part of American pop culture.

“There is no definitive answer as to why the deli has inspired generations of Jewish filmmakers, comedians, musicians and writers. Perhaps it is because so many Jewish creatives got their start in New York City, where they frequented Jewish delis and later infused these experiences into their work. Or maybe it is because the Jewish deli is one of the most public secular environments in Jewish American life. It is a place where characters can demonstrate or celebrate their Jewish identity outside of private or religious spheres. Whatever the reason, the deli continues to have significant influence on Jewish artists.”

The fifth generation “Katz,” Jake Dell, alongside a model of his family’s delicatessen and a video of the famous scene in “When Harry Met Sally” movie which provides the title for the New-York Historical Society’s exhibit, at I’ll Have What She’s Having’: The Jewish Deli. © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

The better question has to do with how Jewish cuisine has become as integrated into in American culture as bagels (with or without lox). And that’s because so many of the creatives – in Broadway theater, film – were Jewish.

But Jewish delis, themselves, are struggling today, particularly after the coronavirus pandemic, but also because of changing economics – the cost of that two-inch high pastrami on rye, the rent. The sandwich that used to cost $1.95 (see the Reubens menu), now costs $25. The fifth generation “Katz,” Jake Dell, on hand at the press preview, spoke of the changing economics, he said that they don’t even make a profit on a $25 pastrami sandwich. “The profit is in the soup.”

Programming: Private group tours can be arranged throughout the run of “I’ll Have What She’s Having”: The Jewish DeliFamily programming includes a food-focused family day celebrating foodways brought to New York City by immigrants from around the world. Living History programs bring to life the stories of proprietors, patrons, and staff of New York City’s Jewish delis. Visit nyhistory.org for dates and details.

“Confronting Hate 1937-1952”

“Confronting Hate 1937-1952” exhibit at New-York Historical Society documents the American Jewish Committee’s groundbreaking campaign to combat anti-Semitism and ultimately to fight all forms of hate and bigotry © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

After enjoying the joyful “I’ll Have What She’s Having,” go up to the second floor of the historical society for another, more serious, exhibition that is so timely in the here and now: “Confronting Hate 1937-1952” about the American Jewish Committee’s groundbreaking campaign to combat anti-Semitism and ultimately to fight all forms of hate and bigotry. To reach as many Americans as possible in the period leading up to the Holocaust, World War II and the aftermath, the agency embraced new mass communication technologies and partnered with talented allies – artists, writers, political leaders, church groups, politicians, magazine and newspaper editors. They produced comic books, ads, articles. Among the celebrities who joined a “Speaking for America” poster campaign in 1946: Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland and Danny Kaye, plus President Harry Truman and Admiral Chester Nimitz.

New-York Historical Society, New York’s First Museum

At the New-York Historical Society, New York’s first museum, you experience 400 years of history through groundbreaking exhibitions, immersive films, and thought-provoking conversations among renowned historians and public figures. A great destination for history since 1804, the Museum and the Patricia D. Klingenstein Library convey the stories of the city and nation’s diverse populations, expanding our understanding of who we are as Americans and how we came to be. Ever-rising to the challenge of bringing little or unknown histories to light, New-York Historical will soon inaugurate a new annex housing its Academy for American Democracy as well as the American LGBTQ+ Museum. These latest efforts to help forge the future by documenting the past join New-York Historical’s DiMenna Children’s History Museum and Center for Women’s History.

Digital exhibitions, apps, and For the Ages podcast make it possible for visitors everywhere to dive more deeply into history. Connect at nyhistory.org or at @nyhistory on FacebookTwitterInstagramYouTube, and Tumblr.

The New-York Historical Society is located at 170 Central Park West at Richard Gilder Way (77th Street), New York, NY 10024, 212-873-3400, nyhistory.org.

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© 2022 Travel Features Syndicate, a division of Workstyles, Inc. All rights reserved. Visit goingplacesfarandnear.com, www.huffingtonpost.com/author/karen-rubin, and travelwritersmagazine.com/TravelFeaturesSyndicate/. Blogging at goingplacesnearandfar.wordpress.com and moralcompasstravel.info. Visit instagram.com/going_places_far_and_near and instagram.com/bigbackpacktraveler/ Send comments or questions to [email protected] Tweet @TravelFeatures. ‘Like’ us at facebook.com/NewsPhotoFeatures

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