Bryce Canyon and Willis Creek Slot Canyon

Yesterday we visited our last national park of the trip.  Bryce Canyon is small, but really interesting.  The canyon sits at the top of the Colorado Plateau (Zion lies toward the middle and the Grand Canyon at the bottom), and it is filled with hoodoos which are columns of rock weathered over the ages.  Each of these pinnacles is stranger than the next.

We hiked to the bottom of the canyon and walked a loop through the hoodoos and sparse vegetation, offering some unique sites.

The kids stated it best when they proclaimed that "it looks like a Dr. Suess book!"

Afterward we traveled on some pretty rugged back roads to a hike in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.  The Willis Creek Slot Canyon trail literally follows the creek through several "slots," which are narrow canyons formed by the force of rushing water.

We literaly had to jump back and forth across the creek almost the entire 4+ mile hike, but it was totally worth it.  This was easily one of my favorite hikes of the trip. 

Today we are taking a rest day before we head north toward our new home in Wyoming.  It's hard to believe that we are almost done with this great adventure.  It's been an incredible experience.

Zion - Day 2

Zion was so beautiful that we just had to go back a second day.  First we hiked up the Watchman Trail.  This was a moderate 3.3 mile trail that led to the top of a butte with a striking view of the valley.  Along the way we spied a (thankfully) small snake in the trail.

Later we opted to drive to the eastern entrance of the Park to see the topography above the canyon walls.  To get to this less crowded area of the Park, you have to drive through a 1.1 mile tunnel that was blasted through a mountain in the 1930's.  On the other side the scenery is quite dramatic.

The mountain tops are rugged and beautiful, and it's easy to see the various layers that form them.  One particularly striking example is called Checkerboard Rock.

Seeing wildlife in the southwestern national parks is difficult in the oppressive heat of summer, and we have been disappointed to not see more.  Thane and Jordan especially were hoping to glimpse a mountain goat or two.  We briefly spied the back side of a few sheep on one of our hikes, and we were grateful for this rare glimpse.  But then on our way back, Jordan spotted another group of desert sheep.  We followed them slowly until they crossed the road right next to us.  What luck!

We drove another mile or two when Jordan spotted another pair of rams on a stone shelf just off the road.  We parked the truck and watched them eyeing each other (and even butting heads once) for about 30 minutes. 

It was a truly incredible experience - one that we won't soon forget!

Zion National Park

On Tuesday we headed to the glorious Zion National Park.  Wow - this is truly one of the most beautiful places we have ever traveled!  The Park is not big, but it is popular and visitors are required to ride a shuttle through the Park this time of year.  We opted to travel to the last line of the shuttle service and then work our way back.

First we hiked the easy 2 mile Riverside Walk, which follows the north fork of the Virgin River. 

 

We made some brief stops to get some photos, and then we hiked part of the Kayenta Trail (the rest has been temporarily closed due to a recent rock slide).  We thought that the view of up the canyon was spectacular.

And it was, until we turned the next corner to see THIS:

When we finished this trail, we headed across the way to hike the Lower Emerald Pools trail which features cool hanging gardens.  Zion is located in the high desert, and it was fascinating to see these gardens nourished by water that flows in nearby heights into porous sandstone.  The water continues to work its way through layers of sandstone until it hits a tough rock layer where it seeps out of the sandstone sideways watering ivy and bushes that grow in the moist environment.  The excess water then flows into pools that turn green with algea (hence the emerald pool name).

This was a tough place for the kids to earn their Junior Ranger badge - the Park takes education very seriously.  Still the Park staff do retain a sense of humor, as is evident by this sign we spotted in one of the shuttle buses.

If you ever get a chance to visit Zion, you should absolutely do it.  Just don't feed the animals!

Arches National Park

On Sunday we visited Arches National Park.  While the scenery is super cool, we were a bit underwhelmed.  Perhaps it was because the park is crowded or that it somehow felt lacking after Canyonlands, but either way we all agreed that this was not our favorite. 

That's not to say that it wasn't beautiful in its way.  The beginning of the park, especially, has a great mountain view with a field of undulating rocks that almost looked like a funky eiderdown quilt. 

We all enjoyed the walk around balancing rock, which is much larger (and more precariously perched) than it appears in the following photo:

The far end of the park holds the remnants of an old ranch nestled in a valley.  We enjoyed exploring this area, and the kids especially liked the close up view of some Indian petroglyphs from a rock outcropping on the ranch.

As we are in the last days of our great adventure, Jordan and I are really proud of how much the kids have grown over the summer.  They've been pushed to their limit both physically and emotionally, and they have met each challenge with grit. 

We are all looking forward to getting settled and back into a routine, but we will all hold special memories of our trip.  Only a few more stops before we reach our new home...

Canyonlands

In the race for best underrated national park, Canyonlands is a definite contender.  While not quite as dramatic as the Grand Canyon, Canyonlands is magnificent.  In fact, Jordan and I both agree that Canyonlands might be even better.  The Grand Canyon is narrow, and it is difficult to gain a clear perspective of its immensity.  Canyonlands, on the other hand, offers wide vistas and distinct layers in the canyons to appreciate. 

We first hiked to the top of Aztec Butte, which offered some great views of the park.  

It's hard to see, but the butte has a ledge around the top where you can hike and explore some old grain storage bins tucked away from the elements.  The kids especially loved this part of the hike.

We did some more hiking and then stopped at numerous scenic viewpoints around the park loop.  Each view was more striking then the next!

To be honest, we were all starting to get slightly weary of seeing "more red rocks."  In fact on the way to Canyonlands I told the kids not to expect much.  Boy do I stand corrected!  We are grateful to this guy for his love of the great outdoors and hiking.  We may grumble and complain on the way up, but the sweat and effort have been totally worth it!

Monument Valley and Bluff Fort

Today we traveled to the iconic Monument Valley.  We've seen this place in numerous films, and it was pretty amazing to be able to see it in person.  The Valley is located on a Navajo Reservation, and the museum at the Visitor Center featured the role of the Navajo code breakers during World War II.  What a meaningful contribution to the war effort!

There are numerous ways to explore the valley, but we opted to drive on our own.  While it was great to be able to view this gorgeous spot without distraction, the road through the valley is very rough. 

Still the drive was worth it, and even the kids were impressed.

On our way back to the RV park, we made an unplanned stop at a small living history museum called Fort Bluff.  Nestled in a narrow valley, Fort Bluff was a village first inhabited by a group of Mormon missionaries.

The museum featured some of the original log cabins, numerous reproduction wagons, a mill, a blacksmith, a community hall/church and a school house.

We saw a short film about the pioneers who settled this area.  Settling the west involved back- breaking and often fatal work.  Topography in the west is stunningly beautiful, but it is in many ways a brutal environment.  We are grateful for those who settled this area, and for those men who helped to keep it free.

Mesa Verde

Yesterday we visited the fabulous Mesa Verde Park in southern Colorado.  This has been on my bucket list for awhile, and the park didn't disappoint!  Our first stop was a tour of Cliff Palace, the largest cliff dwelling in North America.  Built between 1190 and 1260, the dwelling was home to about 150 people.

It was fascinating to learn about the ancient Puebloan people who built numerous cliff dwellings throughout the surrounding area. We had fun speculating on the surprised reactions of early explorers who were just riding/walking through the mountains (like the ones below) to find these spectacular ruins nestled in the cliffs and overhangs. 

Our park ranger was a top notch tour guide.  In addition to his extensive knowledge of the park and Puebloan Indian culture, he had numerous anecdotal stories of his years at the park.  One included a special tour with Charlie Daniels (of "Devil Went Down to Georgia" fame), who sat right in the spot where Annabel was seated.  Annabel thought this was pretty cool, especially since she does want to learn to play the fiddle.

Evidence of the everyday life of the cliff dwellers is abundant.  You can even see where the Puebloans placed their hands to steady themselves as they walked up and down steep stairs to get to/from their homes.  There are even finger imprints in some (see the bottom circle in the photo below).

The Puebloans had two types of pets:  dogs and turkeys.  Turkeys were utilitarian pets, as the Indians used their feathers to weave into other fibrous plants to make material for clothing.

There are numerous other types of dwellings - both cliff and ground - to explore in the park.  Mesa Verde also boasts some beautiful scenic vistas.

On our way back to the campground we made a detour to see the 4 corners monument.  Here's Thane standing where Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah all meet.

Petrified Forest

This afternoon we toured the small but mighty Petrified Forest National Park.  For an area that is only 26 miles from one end to the other, this park has a lot to offer.

The southern part of the area is known for its petrified logs.  These logs were once trees that were buried in sediment and protected from decay.  Over many years, water seeped through the ground and slowly replaced organic material in the tree with various gems and minerals.  Essentially the trees became fossils.  It's uncanny how these fossils look like trees but feel like stone.

Lots of dinosaur bones have also been found in the park, and there is a great little museum highlighting some of the finds near the south entrance.

Further along the road you can find the remains of some pueblos built by local Native Americans.  They left behind a treasure trove of petroglyphs in an area known as Newspaper Rock.  This set of stones contains over 650 petroglyphs created over 2000 years.

The northern part of the park focuses on the painted desert.  Such a beautiful area!

We are spending the night in Holbrook, a western town whose heyday peaked in the 1950s.  It's hard not to imagine how different tourism was back in the glory days of Rte 66.  In fact this area was one of three that was featured in the movie Cars.  It was super cool to drive through town to find a hotel and several antique cars that played a role in the movie.

In the words of Mater (from aforementioned Cars):  "I tell you what buddy, it just don't get better than this!"

Family Ties

We have been loving our time in Arizona, despite the ridiculously hot weather.  It's been so great to be together and reconnect.  Today we got to celebrate my Dad's 70th birthday.  All five of the grandkids made it so much fun with balloons, a scavenger hunt, homemade gifts, music and cake.

Our nephews are amazingly sweet, and all five of the kiddos play together so well.  We just love Cody, Lukie and Nathan:

We are all so happy to be moving closer and can't wait to make more silly memories together!