Dinner and a Spectacular Sunset

Stocked with fresh supplies from our grocery store run in Page, Utah, I was ready to make dinner tonight.  We had grilled country spare ribs with roasted potatoes and baked beans.  I got the charcoal started, and then went for a much-needed shower.  Henry watched the grill while Jeff and Ruth rested in the back of the RV.  The drive took a toll on Jeff so he took a much needed rest.  His raspberry Smirnoff drinks helped him relax, or at least I hope they did.

Ruth was sitting outside under the awming watching tv and noticed dark clouds coming overhead. Not again!  Fortunately, it didn't rain or get windy - the clouds just passed overhead and away.

As I was grilling the ribs, I could see the effects of the sunset out in the valley.  After we finished dinner, I made Jeff and the kids get up and look.  We packed up our dinner plates and leftovers, hopped in the Jeep and went out to see the valley in the light of the setting sun. 

It must have rained a bit out in the valley, because as we drove down the hill out of the campground, we saw a little bit of a rainbow next to one of the rock formations.  We raced down the hill to get to a spot where I could take a picture.  Then we drove a bit farther to see the area, and when we looked back, we saw a beautiful sunset behind us. 

We are taking a Navajo-guided tour tomorrow to see all of Monument Valley.  Without a Navajo guide, you can only drive a 17 mile loop.  This tour will get us into more areas of the valley and the guide will tell stories about the area, the indians who inhabit it, and legends about it. 

The Hilly, Bumpy Road to Monument Valley

This morning, we left Bryce Canyon and turned back east toward Monument Valley.  Monument Valley actually sits right on the Utah-Arizona border.  Our campground, Goulding's, is in Utah, while the tribal park is in Arizona.

The drive here was challenging.  The first challenge came before we even left Bryce.  Jeff couldn't get the braking device on the Jeep to work when we were towing it.  And when he finally got it to work, he had to break hard and it bumped out of place.  There was cursing involved...  There was a stretch of road where we weren't sure if the brake was working or not, but it all went well.

It was a pretty drive, although I hate to say that it's all starting to look the same.  Red rocks, mesas and sagebrush dotting the areas.  During this drive, we hit lots of rougher patches of road, which made for a bumpy ride.

We took Route 89 back toward  Glendale, as if we were going to Zion National Park again.  We continued south to Kanab (where Jeff successfully got the brake to kick in) and then on to Page, which sits on Lake Powell in the Glen Canyon recreation area.  Just when you think the scenery is similar, a bright blue lake appears that catches your eye.  And it has a massive rock sitting all by itself in it.  That's Lake Powell.  The lake was created when the dammed a river, and since the water runs off the mesas, it has the green-bluish water that we saw in Zion and Bryce.



Interesting cloud formation
from my window



We drove over a bridge that showed just how deep Glen Canyon is - very deep.  Because of the fence along the bridge, we couldn't get a good picture.  We had hoped to stay a night or two at the Wahweep Campground on Lake Powell, but there were no available spots.  Instead, we stopped in Page to go to the grocery store, figuring we might not see another one until the campground at Monument Valley.  From our experience in Bryce, we knew that when the only grocery store in town is the campground one, the prices are pretty steep. 

We then took Route 98 through the Navajo Indian Reservation, which seemed like an endless climb.  We kept seeing signs that we were at about 6,000 feet in elevation, but it seemed like we were always going up.  The engine didn't like that too much.  It also didn't like the return to desert hot temperatures.  And lastly, it didn't like the pokey car in front of us that wasn't in much of a hurry to get anywhere.  An RV towing a Jeep needs to pick up speed on the downhills to help get up hills better.  And that guy was killing us.

Once again, Jeff did a great job getting us and up and down Route 98.  Other than an occasional horse or house, there weren't many signs of civilization along the drive.  And there was no shoulder to the road or signs of service stations, so thank God we didn't overheat or break down.



Route 160 going into Monument
Valley



We finished up the drive on Route 160, which took us right into Monument Valley.  It was a bit bumpy in spots and only two lanes the whole way (like Route 98), but it was less hilly than Route 98.  We came to the first town since Page - fully loaded with a McDonald's, Burger King and gas stations.  From there, we turned left and went 22 miles into Monument Valley. 

Once we turned, we could already see some of the rock formations in the distance.  There are mesas and mountains all along the drive, but the spires and mesas in Monument Valley definitely stick out.  The closer you get, the more you see. 

We are camping at Goulding's Campground and Lodge.  Back in the '20's, a married couple with the last name of Goulding owned land outside of the Navajo Reservation and traded with them.  When the Depression hit, the Navajo were really hurting, so the Gouldings drove out to Hollywood with pictures of Monument Valley to show movie producers in the hopes of getting them to come out and film there.  That would help the local economy.  Lucky for them, they met John Ford, who was looking for a place to film a movie called "The Searchers."  And the rest is history.  The lodge grew and added a campground and a movie theater and a restaurant.  They show movies about Monument Valley and a John Wayne movie every night at the theater.

When I cook on the grill at our campsite, I can see part of Monument Valley in the distance.  What a view.

Ruth's Trip to the Hospital

The grill was heating up and we were sitting at the picnic table enjoying the perfect weather of the day.  Not a cloud in the sky, not too hot and not cold.  A slight breeze.

I made sun tea, and Ruth and I were going to have a glass of iced tea with some lemonade in it.  Ruth went back into the RV to get the lemonade out of the refrigerator and cut her leg on the RV door when she was going in. 

She came to tell me, and I got a clean, wet cloth to clean it up.  I am not one to deal well with blood, so I got Jeff.  He watches shows where they operate on people, so he could handle this.  He thought Ruth needed stitches, and she wanted no part of it.  He got the cut cleaned up and talked to Ruth about going to the little hospital in Panguitch to get it checked out.  She was afraid of getting stitches, but she was coming around to Jeff's way of thinking.  After about 40 minutes, he carried her to the Jeep and they went to the hospital, about 35 minutes away in Panguitch.

It's a good thing Jeff was able to talk her into it, because the doctor told her she made the right decision to come in.  She got seven stitches, and the nurse gave her ice cream for being such a good patient.  Because Ruth was so nervous about getting stitches for the first time - and who wouldn't be - she threw up a tiny bit while she was waiting.  The wonderful nurse washed Ruth's hair afterward to clean her up.  Great treatment, all around.

Henry and I ate a little bit of our dinner while we waited for Jeff and Ruth to return, and then we fed them when they got back.  Ruth has a purple bandage over her stitches and she can't go swimming for 10 days. We'll have to take her back to a doctor to have the stitches removed later in the trip. Ruth laid on the couch and watched television until she fell asleep.  She's our brave little trooper.

Catching Up is Hard to Do

You would think we've learned our lesson about getting behind on our trip blogging, but the internet connection at this campground has gotten us behind.  Technically, since it's Mountain Time, if I get this post done in the next 90 minutes, we'll be caught up. 

Today was a "take it easy" day.  Since we have a long drive coming up tomorrow, we didn't think driving another couple hundred miles today would be a good idea.  So sorry, Henry, we won't be making it to Capitol Reef National Park this trip.  And we didn't make it too far up Route 12 either.  After some of the hair raising drives we've had so far, I can't say I'm sorry to miss driving the backbone of a mountain with no guardrails and drop-offs on either side.  But I bet the scenery was amazing, and Jeff would have loved it.  Hindsight being 20-20, we should have stayed another night or two in Moab and driven to Capitol Reef from there.  Another time. 

Even though it was a take it easy day, I woke up early and drove into Bryce Canyon to see how Sunrise Point looked in the morning.  I got to watch a group of people taking the horseback riding trail along the rim of the canyon.  Not that wide of a trail, in my humble opinion...

I got back after an hour and got the kids breakfast.  Jeff was doing P90X and then some work.  He checked maps to figure out how we should make our way back east, since this is our most western point of the trip.  There's no straight shot over to Monument Valley in Utah from here; we'll have to head south to Arizona and then east to get there.  Jeff is excited to see Monument Valley, where many westerns were filmed.

It was about lunchtime, so we headed up to Ruby's to get something to eat.  Then we drove to the Mossy Cave Trail in Bryce to take a walk.  It's a short walk, only .8 mile roundtrip.  We started out walking along the river, and then went up a path that takes you to a place where you can see a waterfall.  There are also some hoodoos that have become arches, and thanks to a local taking friends on the same path, we learned that it's called the dragon, because the top of the formation looks like a dragon's head and body.

Since we had time, we drove into Bryce National Park via the main entrance and looked for deer or pronghorn.  A challenge was issued for who could spot the most animals, and of course, Jeff won by a large margin.

Back at the campsite, we hung out a bit and then I took the kids to the pool while Jeff worked.  It was packed.  My gut reaction was to leave and come back later, but the kids really wanted to swim.  So we stayed and tried to navigate through all the people.  The water was warmer than previous days, which was good.  After one dip in the pool, though, I spent the rest of my time in the hot tub.

Later in the afternoon, Henry, Ruth and I went over to the Old Bryce Town area.  Basically, it's more gift shops.  I have wanted to go to a rock shop since we got to Moab, and there was one here.  Ruth came along because there is an ice cream shop there too. 

The shop had great stuff.  They had trilobites, ancient fossils trapped in layers of shale, found in Wyoming.  The petrified wood samples were beautiful, and I found one I really liked.  They had arrowheads, marbles, geodes and even shark's teeth.  I even stumbled upon fossilized dinosaur dung.  Yes, that's right.  And you know what, it's really cool looking, very similar to petrified wood.

Henry got a trilobite, an arrowhead and some pieces of fossilized dinosaur bone.  Ruth got an animal carved out of stone.  And I got a slab of petrified wood and one of the pieces of fossilized dinosaur dung.  I just had to.  Someone will be at the house and say how pretty it is, and then we can tell them what it is. 

For our last night in Bryce, our dinner plans were grilling steaks and roasting potatoes in foil on the fire.  For dessert, we picked up some ice cream at the ice cream shop.  We had enough firewood for one more fire - a perfect way to end our stay here.

Looking at the Rings of Saturn

We got back from Zion National Park around 7 p.m.  Henry needed a ranger program to get his Bryce badge, so we planned to go to the Night Program on astronomy.  Jeff took Ruth to the pool and to get dinner, and Henry and I headed into Bryce National Park. 

First, we went to Sunset Point to see the sunset, and that's when we learned that sunset isn't the best time to view Bryce Canyon.  The sun doesn't set over the canyon - it rises over it.  It sets back behind the trees.  Good to know.

We tried to find a place to get something to eat, but didn't have any luck.  The Lodge was serving sit down dinners, and we didn't have time for that.  By the time we got to the General Store, it was closed.  So we headed back to the Visitor's Center for the astronomy program. 

On the way, we saw lots of deer, including a mom with two babies.

The astronomy program was a 45 minute lecture on the night sky at Bryce and space in general.  The ranger talked about the planets, the Milky Way, and galaxies beyond ours.  We learned that because Bryce is in a remote area not near cities, it has a great night sky for viewing stars.  When the moon isn't full, you can actually see parts of the Milky Way and other galaxies.  This is the one time I'm not excited to be somewhere during a full moon. 

After the talk, we went out behind the Visitor's Center to look at the sky with telescopes.  This is what we were waiting for!  We saw Saturn and its rings, and it's moon, Titan.  It looked amazing in the telescope - almost not real.  Then, when the moon rose over the building, they turned one of the telescopes on it so we could see the surface up close.  We could see craters and other features.  Again, amazing.  Last, we looked at a star.  We learned in the presentation that while many stars look singular to the naked eye, in a telescope, most stars have a buddy.  They move in overlapping circles.  So first we saw the star with our eyes, and then we looked in the telescope and saw it was actually two stars. 

We didn't get home until 11:00 p.m. but it was well worth it. 

Zion National Park

Yesterday, we took a day trip to Zion National Park.  We had planned to camp there for a few nights after leaving Bryce, but a few days ago, we decided to change plans a bit and just stay here a bit longer instead.  It's only about 85 miles away, and you have to go through a pretty long tunnel with length restrictions on vehicles.

It's a nice drive to Zion from here.  We saw a few small towns along the way, and some ranches with everything from cattle to alpacas to bison and elk.

After we passed the Zion National Park sign but before we got to the Visitor Center, Ruth spotted desert bighorn sheep up on a treeless mountain.  She started screaming "Sheep, sheep!"  She said at first she thought they were statues, but then saw one move.  The mountain she saw them on is actually called Checker Board Mesa because the grooves in it are horizontal and vertical so it looks like a checker board.

We were able to pull over and take some pictures of the sheep walking across the bottom of the mesa.  It is mid boggling how they do it without falling.  There's barely a ridge to walk on.  Ruth scored big points for spotting animals that her dad missed.

Once we passed the Visitor's Center and saw the drive ahead of us to get in the park, we knew we made the right decision about not camping there. After the tunnel, the road to get there winds in switchbacks down the canyon.  It was a great ride in the Jeep, but I don't know how we would have done it in the RV.  To give you an idea of the size of the tunnel, they have to close the tunnel to two-way traffic when a large RV, bus or truck goes through. Some RV's that are really long have to unhook their tow car and have someone else drive it through.  On our way into the park, we were behind a bus that drove right down the center of the tunnel. 

The view once you get out of the tunnel is amazing.  Slowly, we made our way down into the canyon.  At Bryce Canyon, you view the park from above.  At Zion, you view it from below. 

Zion also doesn't let you drive through the park in your vehicle.  After the Visitor's Center, you have to ride a park shuttle to see the rest of the park.  We picked up Junior Ranger booklets at the Visitor's Center (here they cost $1), asked for suggestions on hikes, and then hopped on a shuttle.  Very shortly, Jeff spotted a deer on the side of the road.

Our first stop was the Zion Lodge.  Jeff was starving, so we went to their snack bar and picked up some water and food to prepare for our first hike to Emerald Pools.

At Zion, what appears to be mountains from below are actually flat-topped mesas.  Snow and rain accumulate on top, and eventually, the water comes out in various streams and waterfalls throughout the park.  The water in the river and ponds in the park is green.  So at the end of our hike, we came to a waterfall that fed a emerald green pool.  The waterfall was relatively small, and right above us.  We all got a little spray from it.

After our hike, we got back on the bus and went to the very end of the Park road to the Riverside Walk trail.  This hike takes you alongside the Virgin River until it goes through a narrow canyon.  There are spots along the trail where you can wade in the river, and where the Riverside Trail meets the Narrows Trail is in the river.  When the Narrows trail begins, you walk in the river through narrow slot canyons.  Because of how quickly the river was flowing, they recommended that you only continue the hike if you had a walking stick.

Ruth tired of the hike halfway up, but we talked her into continuing to a spot where she could walk in the river barefoot.  We found a spot near the end of the trail, so I went with her to the river while Jeff and Henry continued the hike.

The river was clear and cool and refreshing.  We only went ankle-deep at the most.  While we were in the river, an enterprising rock squirrel decided to check out my purse and walked right on top of it.  We gave it a little scare and then I picked it up.

Soon, Jeff and Henry joined us.  Henry also got the same chuckle as Ruth and I did when he saw the man in the black Speedo bathing suit and the woman in a bikini wading in the water.  Zion, just like Arches and Bryce, are chock full of European tourists.

Surviving our second hike of the day in hotter temperatures than Bryce, we were done with exercise for the day.  We got back on the bus and went to the next stop to look for California condors and peregrine falcons, per Henry's request.  We did see some condors and even a few brave hikers making their way to Angel Falls, the highest and most terrifying hike in the park.

We then made our way back to the Zion Lodge for a Junior Ranger program about animals.  Jeff treated the kids to ice cream while we listened the ranger talk about the animals that live in Zion.  With the program under his belt, Henry and Ruth were ready to turn in their Junior Ranger booklets at the Visitors Center.  So off we went...

We left some money in the gift shop, and a nice ranger gave Henry both the Junior Ranger badge and patch because he did such a great job on his booklet.  Ruth opted to mail her booklet in to get her badge - she wasn't in the mood to chat with the ranger.

On the way out, we saw the bighorn sheep again, this time at the base of Checker Board Mesa, eating leaves from the bushes near the side of the road.  We took some more pictures, of course.

We really liked Zion, probably more than Bryce.  They're very different parks, though.  While both have the colorful rock formations, Bryce has more hoodoos that look like someone poured liquidy red sand into formations until they hardened.  Zion has the river that looks light green when it flows, and the red and white rock formations that look more like mountains. 

Because of the bad wifi here, it's taking forever to download pictures.  So we'll be adding some later when we have a better connection.

Henry's Review of the Bar G Wrangler's Dinner Show

We went to Ebenezer's Barn and Grill for dinner two nights ago.  It's here in Bryce Canyon City, just down the road from our campground.  We didn't know what to expect, but when we got there, it was a blast. There were five singers in a group called the Bar G Wranglers.  First Seth and Aaron did lasso tricks, then the manager Sheriff Shaun did gun tricks. We had dinner and we all got ribeye steaks. The dessert was peach cake with whipped cream on top.

After we got dinner, they started singing.  They sang songs like Rawhide, Room Full of Roses, River of NO Return, and Tumbling Tumbleweeds.  When Russ said they were going to sing a John Denver song, me and Dad looked up at each other and then he said they would sing John Denver's best song, Country Roads.  We were both surprised that they were singing it, and lots of people in the audience sang along, including me.

We had a really good time, and I bought a CD so we could listen to their songs in the Jeep and RV.

A Belated Arches Slideshow

We took a ton of pictures in Arches.  Here's some of them.

Bryce Canyon National Park Slideshow

Bryce Canyon National Park

After a great night's sleep in the cool air of Bryce Canyon, most of us slept in.  Jeff was up and at it early to do P90X and some work.  The forecast today was 0% chance of rain, so we were pretty excited to do some hiking.

With a bit of a late start, we headed into Bryce Canyon National Park.  It's a relatively small park, with only about 20 miles or so of road and about 10 pullouts with viewpoints.  Our first stop was the Visitor Center so the kids could get their Junior Ranger booklets and we could get some information on good hikes. The ranger gave us two recommendations at each end of the park to try.  We got back to the Jeep and took the top down so we'd have an unobstructed view.

The guide recommends driving to the end of the park without stopping and then getting out at the viewpoints on the way back, when all the pullouts are on the right side of the road. 

It didn't take long for Jeff to spot some pronghorn on his side of the road, and then some deer.  We climbed in elevation as we went deeper in the park, to more than 9,100 feet at the Rainbow Viewpoint.  The views from the rim are amazing.  At the next five or six stops, the views are of Bryce Canyon from different angles, revealing different formations, including arches and hoodoos.

All of the viewpoints are great, but the Natural Bridge one was really amazing.  The sign says it's an arch and not a natural bridge, but the original name has stuck.

There are ravens here at Bryce too, and I think they've figured out the best places where tourists leave snacks behind, because at one stop, they were stalking the sidewalk and seemed to have no fear of people. 

As we were headed to Sunset Point, the clouds forming above had gotten darker, and it started to rain.  We pulled over and put the top back on the Jeep.  Just as we were pulling out, Jeff spotted a mule deer resting in the shade of trees off to the left.

The rain got harder, so we bypassed Sunset Point and went into the general store.  We browsed a bit, but this rain shower wasn't passing so fast. And now it wasn't just raining, there was hail coming down too! 

Facing the incorrect weather prediction, we decided not to head toward the spot of our hike, but instead to go get lunch. We headed to Ruby's Diner for a good lunch.  On the way, we saw some prairie dogs in a meadow.  Ruth and Henry were very excited to check them out.

After lunch, the skies were still full of gray clouds, so we took a drive on Route 12 east to see what we could see.  Route 12 is an All American Road, which means it has unique scenery.  We went as far as Escalante National Monument.  It was a very scenic drive for the time we drove it.  But Jeff promised Ruth her pool time at 4:00 p.m., so we headed back.



Storms overhead at Bryce



We've come to learn that dark clouds threaten Bryce frequently, but the clouds move pretty quickly.  Sometimes the storm clouds bypass us and sometimes they don't.  Ruth lucked out because the dark clouds passed to the south of us while she and Henry were in the pool today.

We're taking a break at the RV now, gearing up for the Western Dinner tonight with singing cowboys.  I don't know who's more excited about it - Jeff or the kids.

Three Hills and Two Thunderstorms

Okay, now we're caught up enough to be writing about today.  Lesson learned - don't fall behind on blogging because it's so hard to catch up. 

We packed up and left Moab around 9:00 this morning. After consulting the book with highway grades, we saw that we had three tough spots on I-70 today. None as bad as Eisenhower Pass in Colorado, but when you’re in a motorhome towing a Jeep, any steep grade is challenging.


The whole ride was scenic, with more colorful rock formations all along the way. In one spot, it looked like a part of the earth was pushed skyward on a diagonal, and shards of earth are still sticking out.

Once again, Jeff and the RV did a great job tackling the higher elevations on the way up and down. On the last mountain, with a summit of 7700 feet, they were doing construction on the way up and had the highway down to one lane. We had a slow truck in front of us that killed our momentum, but we made it.

We finally got off of I-70 and got on Route 89 south. That took us through Marysdale, the home of the Big Rock Candy Mountain. The mountain got its name from hobos trying to lure others to hop on trains and head west – they said the west was full of great things – even a mountain made of candy. Burl Ives recorded the Depression era song and made it more famous. I read online that Butch Cassidy’s home is about 20 miles away from Marysdale, but we didn’t take the time to find it.

As we got on Route 89, there were dark clouds to the right of us and directly in front of us. While we’ve had storms all along our trip this summer, we’ve never had to drive through one. Fortunately, Route 89 took us in between the storms, but not through them. We had to deal with the winds of both, but it wasn’t too bad.

We drove through Panguitch, the last town before we got to our campground. It looked pretty cute, with restaurants, motels and campgrounds, and of course, gift shops.

We are camping at Ruby’s Campground, which is a half mile outside of Bryce Canyon National Park. It’s a big place – there’s a motel, restaurant, Old West-style village of shops, old west singing cowboy show and even a rodeo. Back in 1916, a guy named Reuben, aka Ruby, Syrett brought his family here to establish a ranch. After seeing Bryce Canyon, he told others about it and they came to visit him. He eventually built a lodging camp and served food, and the rest is history. The Syrett Family still run’s the Ruby’s enterprise today.

After the marathon of sightseeing in Moab, we decided to take it easy today. Two passing rain showers helped us come to that decision. There was a bit of thunder and lightning, but both storms passed quickly.

During the first storm, we grabbed lunch at the restaurant here. Then we set up the RV and Jeff masterfully got the RV in just the right spot so we’d have satellite reception. The All Star game is tonight and Henry wants to watch it.

Since Ruth has been a little grumpy at her lack of pool time due to the thunderstorms in Moab, after we set up camp, we all went to the pool. The pool is allegedly heated, but Jeff would challenge that assertion. Watching him go in, I decided I would head to the hot tub instead. Wise choice.  It's the perfect temperature - not too hot, but not just warm.

Still stuffed from our late lunch, Ruth and I went to check out the Ruby’s General Store. They have everything from artwork to snacks to jewelry to books.  And that's just the main General Store - we haven't even checked out the shops in the rest of the Ruby's compound.

Ruth bought a charm for her charm bracelet and some postcards, and we picked up some firewood and camp supplies. 

We finished the day with a campfire.  It's the perfect weather here for a campfire - cool and crisp air.  The heat of Moab is long gone.  We roasted hot dogs and then s'mores and Ruth was our deejay, selecting tunes on the iPad.  Around 10:00 p.m., it was time to call it a night.

Dinner and Shopping

All of our sightseeing made us very hungry, so we stopped at the Moab Brewery for an early dinner. Ruth has become very fond of the food at brew pubs after our stay in Grand Junction, and the Moab Brewery did not disappoint her.  She was ecstatic when she saw homemade root beer and black cherry soda on the menu. Ruth got the black cherry soda and Henry got the root beer. They both said their sodas were fantastic, and because we told them they could only have one, they both rationed it so the had some throughout their meal.  Otherwise, I think Henry would have downed his in two sips and ordered three more.

Our meals were very good, and I tried one of their beers, which was also very good. A gelatto place was right near the brewery retail store, so we got some to go.  Jeff had bourbon and cookies, Henry got the s'mores, Ruth got pink lemonade flavor and I got sweet cream with sour cherries and chocolate ribbons.  It was outstanding.

We went back to the campground, but after a little bit I was itching to go back to Moab and check out the downtown area. On the way, I had a great view of the setting sun behind the mountains.  Just beautiful.  I tried to find a place to pull over to take some pictures, but there weren't many options.  Along with the sunset, the remnants of the storm that had passed through our campground earlier was making it's way north to Arches. 

There are some nice shops and I went to a few with the limited time I had.  I bought a handmade pottery plate with one of the rock art images on them. There were a few colors ad designs to choose from, and it was difficult to pick just one.  I really wanted one of the bigger plates to display on a wall at home, but worried about it getting back in one piece. It’s called Moki Pottery, and they have a website I plan to check out when I get home. They have everything from mugs to plates to big bowls. I wish I had more time, because there was a very interesting shop called the Hogan Gallery with all kinds of Native American art, rugs, sculptures and jewelry that I passed on to get back before it got too dark. Luckily, they too have a website and will ship anywhere.

I Can See the Writing on the Wall

Before heading back to the campground after our jaunts to Canyonlands and Arches yesterday, we took a little detour down a road along the Colorado River we passed on our jet boat tour. It was a bit intimidating to drive alongside of massive red boulders that seemingly go up to the sky – what the locals call Wall Street. And directly on the other side of the road is the Colorado River.

After a few miles, we came to the wall with the rock art we saw from the boat. It was so much better to see it up close. They can date the carvings based on what the images are. If the image of a person is carrying a spear, they know it’s from around 500 AD. If the human figure is riding a horse, it would be much later, around 1500 AD, after the Spanish reintroduced horses to the area.

There are a few rock art sites near Moab, but this is the only one we got to see on this visit. It’s well worth seeing in person if you can, it’s an amazing piece of history.

A Final Pass Through Arches

While we were in the Visitors Center, storm clouds passed over us from behind and we could hear thunder. A storm was passing through, as predicted at the Visit’s Center, and Ruth was a bit freaked out. She’s not a fond of thunder and lightning. But since we were already at the park and I was curious to see what it would look like with the storm clouds coming through, we took a drive through the park again. There was one hike we still wanted to do – the one to Double Arch in the Windows Section.

We saw evidence of rain in some areas of the parks – little puddles formed on some of the rocks that had dents in them. The dark skies made the reds of the rocks look much different than when the sun or even the shade is on them. Very striking. And the holes in the clouds made spotlights on certain formations in the park.

Henry and I hiked up to Double Arch while Jeff and Ruth stayed in the car. It was just .3 miles, so it didn’t take long. The arch is amazing, because it’s an arch within an arch, with a little skylight on the top. I had hoped to ask someone to take our picture while we stood under the arch, but unfortunately, I picked the wrong person. I knew we were in trouble when she held the camera horizontally instead of vertically. No way she was going to get both us and the arch in the picture. I told her to zoom out and hoped for the best. Just to be safe, I took some pictures of Henry and got the whole arch in.



Henry at the Double Arch



On the way out, we saw a raven perched on the fence by the Jeep and took some pictures. Up close, you can see a little dark blue in their feathers.

We really enjoyed Arches National Park and hated to leave. Each time we went in, we saw things we had missed before. The hiking trails are excellent and easy to follow. I hope it’s not our last visit there.

Island in the Sky

Yesterday, with our third and last day in Moab, we considered our options. We hadn’t driven into Canyonlands National Park yet; we had only seen it by boat. We had two options: drive to the Needles district of the Park or Island in the Sky. We had to be in a spot with cell coverage by 1:30 pm. So Jeff could do a conference call so we chose Islands in the Sky since it was north of Arches National Park and Jeff could get a good cell signal at the Visitors Center there.


As we learned in the Visitors Center, the area that is Canyonlands National Park was formed millions of years ago when plates of the earth rose up and formed the Colorado Plateau. As the earth rose the Colorado and Green rivers formed and carved canyons out of areas that were once underwater. It’s the same Colorado River that continues to carve its way through the Grand Canyon.


The Island in the Sky section is a large mesa that rises about 5,200 feet above sea level. We looked up at some of this area when we were on the jet boat ride. The road out to Island the Sky splits at one point, and you can also drive out to Dead Horse Point which has a view of all of the canyons and the Colorado River.

We stopped at the Visitors’ Center so the kids could get their Junior Ranger booklets. We didn’t have much time since we needed to get back for Jeff’s conference call, but the kids are pros at this and can do the booklets pretty quickly. We drove out to the Mesa Arch trail and took a hike. It’s a short hike out to the canyon rim that has an arch at the end with a beautiful view.

The Mesa Arch is whiter than the arches in Arches National Park but it’s huge. There were some people who walked up on top of the arch and stood looking out in to the canyon. Considering that after the arch it’s a 500 foot straight drop below, none of us thought it was a wise move. It also made picture taking challenging, because who wants a bunch of crazy people standing on the arch in your picture?

View through the Mesa Arch

After our hike we headed back to the visitors Center and the kids turned their books in and got their Junior Ranger badges. Ruth picked out a magnet that’s a copy of a big horn sheep rock art carving.



We packed lunch in the cooler so we made sandwiches at the Arches Visitor Center parking lot. While Jeff was on his conference call, we went to watch the park orientation video which was required for the Junior Ranger badge there. It’s a discovery Channel video and tells the story of both Canyonlands and Arches. Then the kids turned their Junior Ranger booklets in and got their third Junior Ranger badge of the trip.

We did a little shopping in the park store and then met Jeff at the car. It’s a nice gift shop with copies of the Native American rock art, prints and watercolors of the park and books. We picked up stickers for our national park passports, some post cards and a few pens. Henry got a “Utah Rocks” t-shirt with icons for all of the Utah National Parks on it. He thought that was a great bargain instead of getting a t-shirt from all five parks.

A Little Rain Before Dinner

While we were on the jet boat tour, Rory told us that they're having a strange summer weather-wise this year.  At this time of year, it's usually 115 degrees, but today it was in the low 90's.  And they think it's humid here because there's about 7 percent humidity.  Moab usually gets about 8 inches of rain a year, and they've already gotten five so far, well ahead of scheduled. It actually feels better here than at home when it's in the 80's and really humid.  It's true what they say about dry heat...

After our expensive breakfast this morning, we decided to grill burgers for dinner.  We set up some cherries and strawberries outside to snack on before dinner. But unfortunately, as I was about to get the charcoal started, dark clouds were coming overhead and we could hear the distant rumbles of thunder.  And then the rain came.  So we hunkered down in the RV for a bit to wait it out.  Jeff and the kids watched "Night at the Museum" while I cleaned a bit and looked at the pictures I took today. 

After about an hour, the rain had passed and I started the charcoal.  I had been nursing a headache from the noise of the boat ride, but the ibuprofen helped.  Ruth got up from the movie to tell me that she had a headache too, and thought she was going to throw up.  Fun....

She drank some Sprite that Jeff went and got for her, and that helped a bit.  She passed on dinner and rested on the couch until she fell asleep.  While she was resting, Henry roamed the campground taking pictures of rabbits and birds.  He's thinking about becoming a park ranger now. 

Canyonlands by Water

We asked the campground staff for a recommendation of a trip on the Colorado River that wasn't too rough.  We've seen some of the rapids on the river during this trip, and they're pretty rough.  The woman at the campground recommended a jet boat tour of Canyonlands, and after reading some very good reviews on TripAdvisor, we called to make a reservation.  We had a choice of a four hour daytime trip or a 1.5 hour sunset trip, but the sunset trip wasn't available today.  So the daytime trip it was.

To make our 1:00 p.m. departure, we left Arches after our hike at Devil's Garden and went to grab a quick lunch before it was time to get to the boat dock. I had hoped to make it through the whole trip without eating fast food, but we were in a pinch, so we grabbed lunch at Wendy's.

Our boat captain/tour guide Rory was outstanding. He was funny and very knowledgeable about the area. He's a Moab native - born and raised there. The kids really liked him because he talked to them and cracked jokes with them.

The boat went pretty fast, and Rory would stop from time to time to tell us stories about the river, the landscape and certain formations.  He couldn't say much while the boat was moving, because it got pretty loud.  Wouldn't you know it - I brought 10 pairs of ear plugs two thousand miles across country, but left them in the Jeep today.  By now it's clear that I'm the wimp in the family.  I hate loud noise and am afraid of going very fast on rides. But I had heard that the best way to see Canyonlands was by water, so I was determined to do it. And I have to say, once I got over my initial fears of the speed and the noise, I had a great time. Jeff and the kids loved it.  



Jug Handle Arch



Well, to be exact, Ruth had some issues part way though the ride when storm clouds appeared overhead. She was worried there would be a thunderstorm and we would get hit my lightning. It started to rain a bit and the water got a little choppy. But as people in every city we visit say, if you don't like the weather, just wait a minute. And that's what happened. In a few minutes, we got out from under the clouds and eventually even found the sun.

We passed so much beautiful scenery along the ride. Rory pointed out interesting things, like the spot where they filmed Thelma and Louise going off a cliff. In the movie it happened in the Grand Canyon, but it was really filmed in Moab. Hundreds of movies and commercials are filmed here. He showed us where they shot the commercial where the guy kisses his wife after breakfast and says he's going to work, and then parachutes off the cliff his house is on.  I've seen the commercial. 

He also pointed out a rock that looked like the profile of Richard Nixon.  It was a dead ringer.

Henry finally got to see some desert bighorn sheep, but sadly, we weren't quick enough to take a pictures of them. There's a section of the Colorado River where a train goes in and out, coming in empty to load up with potash mined in Moab and hauling it out. The train must have startled the sheep, and they went running alongside of the mountain. There aren't many sheep sightings, so this was really great.



Petroglyph



Near the end of the trip, Rory stopped the boat by some petroglyphs on rocks near the river.  They were carved by the Ute Indians, who chipped away at the black layer on the red rocks.  We saw carvings of bears, people and other figures.  And while we stopped, we also saw a tiny lizard who made a home in a little hole in a rock in the river. 

The kids enjoyed the lemonades and cookies on the ride, despite my warnings about the lack of facilities for the next three hours, after one potty stop. Rory joked that if anyone really had to go after the potty stop, he would help them use the "facili-trees." Henry thought that was very funny.

It was a great excursion, well worth the money, and we'd recommend it to anyone visiting Moab, Canyonlands or Arches.

Morning Tour of Arches

We got a fairly early start this morning, first with breakfast in Moab.  We planned to go to the pancake breakfast at the campground, but balked when it was $5.50 per person.  At other campgrounds, it's been $2 or $3.  For that amount, we figured we could go into town and get a "real breakfast."  Wrong.


Jeff and Henry holding up the
Sand Dune Arch



We got a good breakfast, but the prices there made the $5.50 per person look like a real deal.  Lesson learned.  Moab is not a cheap place to visit.  Probably because it's a bit out of the way, and tourism is its primary industry.  There are probably lots of people who have to earn their year's salary between March and October.



After breakfast, we picked up some water and some ice for the cooler, and headed off to Arches to see the parts of the park that look best in the morning light. 



Our first stop was the trail to the Sand Dune Arch.  We hiked in between tall boulders in cool, red sand until we came to an arch up on the right.  The sand is made from the wind eroding the red rocks, and it's just like the sand at the beach, except it's red. The short hike was amazing.  Among the boulders, the temperature was so much cooler that out under the sun. It was a bit challenging hiking through the sand, but it was so much fun, and so neat to see. It was one of the highlights of our time in Arches.



Next, we drove out to the Devil's Garden section of the park.  It's at the end of the drive through Arches.  We took a mile and a half hike out to see a few arches:  Pine Tree, Tunnel, Landscape, Double O and Navajo.  We got our workout going up and down the hills, but again, there was something to see no matter where you looked.  It was my turn to be the pack mule carrying the water and we needed it in the heat.

We had fun looking at formations and saying what we thought they looked like again.  We passed a rock that looked like a crouching tiger, a hippo, and a pig today.

The kids are almost done with their Junior Ranger booklets, so tomorrow we'll go see a movie at the Visitors Center and they can get their badges.   

Arches Slideshow

Evening in Arches National Park

For dinner tonight, we made tacos at the campsite.  Around 6:00 p.m. we headed off to Arches National Park to check it out.

It's only about 15 minutes back up Route 191.  We stopped at the Visitor's Center to stamp the kids' national park passports and pick up their Junior Ranger booklets.  The ranger suggested we hang out at the Windows Section of the park this evening and take the hike there. 

From the minute you get into the park, you are surrounded by huge, red formations that boggle the mind.  There really are no words for how beautiful this park is.  There are times you wish your head could turn around 360 degrees so you can take it all in.

As we drove through the park, we spotted formations that looked like an elephant, a sphinx, a rhinoceros, and a pharaoh.  Every turn brought more and more amazing sights. 

Our first hike was around the Balanced Rock formation.  A huge, roundish boulder appears to be perching atop another tall rectangular boulder like a lollipop on a stick.  There were a few other similar formations around it, except the wind and weather had not worn out the middle layer of stone to create a balanced rock formation.

In the distance, we started seeing a few arches and other oddly shaped features.  What's great about Arches is that with every turn, an odd shaped rock may turn out to be an arch, or a feature shadowed by shade may look completely different when sunlight hits it.

We came to the Windows Section and began our hike.  From the parking lot, you can see one huge arch -either the North or the South Arch  -  but not the others.  It's not until you get up to the one arch and look to the right that you see two more in a formation over to the side.  And it's not until you start the trail to those two arches that you see the South Arch (if the other is the North One).

I like Arches National Park because most of the drive is low, and you're looking up.  I like that much better than the Colorado Monument, where you drive up and look down.  That freaks me out.  And when I'm freaked out, I pester Jeff and the kids to be careful.  It's not fun, but I can't help it. This is why we're not going to the Grand Canyon on this trip.  I am convinced that Henry will fall in.

The hikes around North and South Window were amazing.  We got a family photo in a place I was okay to stand, and then I took a picture of Jeff and the kids in a place I wasn't okay going to.  I'm going to try to work up the nerve to do it before we leave, because it would make for a great family photo.  Baby steps...

We drove out to the Delicate Arch view point, the most famous arch in the park, and the image that's on the Utah quarter.  We looked at it from a distance, at the lower viewpoint.  Once again, until you turn a corner, it looks like another vertical formation.  I'm sure it's gorgeous up close, but I don't think I'll be doing that hike.  Jeff might.

We watched the early part of the sunset at the Park Avenue section of the park and I took a few pictures.  Jeff was thrilled to see West Virginia license plates on the truck next to us.  As Henry and I were taking pictures of the canyon, Jeff chatted with the West Virginia folks.  They're from Wheeling.

After that, we headed back to the campground.  Just like in Grand Junction, they have these nasty biting gnats here that travel in swarms.  The kids and I sprayed ourselves with Off at the park, and that seemed to work fine.  They're here at the campground too, so I sprayed a little yard fogger and lit a citronella candle so I could sit outside and enjoy the cooler weather and the beautiful sky. 

Eventually, Ruth and Henry came out to join me and we looked for stars.  Henry spotted the Big Dipper. 

The best time to be out and about in these parts is early morning and late in the evening, so I better call it a night and get some rest.