On the Road Again

Sunny today, but only in the mid 80's.  Made it through Wyoming....to Cheyenne.  I think this is cowboy country, but haven't seen any :)  Yesterday we made it to just inside Wyoming.  The trip up through Utah was so interesting.  We were going to take I 15 all the way north to I 80, but a great guy at a truck stop suggested we take a different route as there was a looooonnnnnggg slooow uphill grade.  The route we took was very picturesque and doable!
We had a good night and a good day of travel today.  Now what we have to look forward to is Nebraska!  No offense Cornhuskers, but it is 500+ miles of flat and yellow!  
We are in a nice park tonight and K fixed some wonderful chicken for dinner.  We helped out with some sides and it was a good meal.  It actually got so chilly that we had to go inside after dinner.  It really does feel good to be chilly for a change.  I fb chatted with Mary Raak today, and she said it was 111 at Hoover Dam today.  I think I'm glad we're NOT there!  Some crisp Autumn weather sounds very good now.
We've been following the Caring Bridge Journal of our friends, Tim and Tiffany Stob and their little family.  What a blessing adoption is!  We are so thankful that we can embrace children from many countries and call them our grandchildren.  It is a wonderful thing,.
A note of sadness.  K's friend, Rebekah, passed away today.  She was 92.  She reminded K of her mother, so it was a difficult loss.  J and K visited Rebekah and her husband, Leo, last winter in Florida.  They are so thankful now that they took the opportunity to make the trip.  Please pray for Leo.  It will be a difficult time for him.  
Good night and God Bless.

Last Day in Zion

O.K. it was 104 degrees on Tuesday.  I didn't have a chance to blog yesterday.  So I'll tell you about yesterday...  tonight. We took the shuttle to the Weeping Wall with the hanging garden.  It was a short hike, but mostly UP!  It was worth it, and we met a delightful Dutch couple.  They are from Leiden in the Netherlands.  We had a good friend who was an exchange student from Leiden when we lived in Middleville....40 years ago!  That didn't have anything to do with the sightseeing, but I thought it was fun to remember Gerda Kromhout from Leiden :)
We continued to ride the shuttle all the way up the Canyon and then all the way down.  We got off periodically in order to take some pictures of things I had missed previously.  After lunch we took the shuttle downtown Springdale which is just a few blocks south of the Park.  Did a little shopping and then went back to the Park Visitors' Center and stopped at the Sol Market for our final fruit smoothie.  We have all become great fans of the frozen treat. It is too hot for ice cream and just right for the wonderful smoothies.  K usually settled on strawberry banana, J had blueberry banana :(  and P and I had mango.  They're made with frozen fruit and a little apple juice.  They were fantastic.  It was sad to think we were consuming our last one! We went back to the campground and hung out in the AC to recoup.  A belated birthday supper for P was at the Gourmet Grill located just in front of our campground.  We had had lunch there on Monday (or 3 of us had lunch) and it was such a HIT that P decided he wanted to celebrate there!  It was South of the Border food and it was delicious!
Tomorrow (Actually today) we're leaving Zion.
O.K.  Now it's Wednesday and we left this morning about 10:30.  The trip was uneventful except for the stop for lunch at a Flying J where we had 'must go' from our refrigerators.  As we were getting ready to pull out, a man drove up on a golf cart and 'observed' that our tires were 'pulling apart' and we should drive up to the adjacent Tire Company and let them look at them.  We were suspicious, but that does put some fear into the travel equation.  We asked a motorhome driver who was getting ready to pull away from the Tire Co. (after he had had his tires replaced)  how he happened to discover his tire problem!  Funny thing....the same golf cart jockey had pulled up next to him with the same observation as he had shared with us!!!  Red flag, red flag, red flag!  We decided to continue on our way.  Long story short, we made it to Evanston, Wyoming, just fine.  We're praying for the same results the remainder of our trip.
As for the scenery....it was wonderful...and different than we had seen before.  We are at about 6700 feet in a very picturesque little campground owned by the same family since the 1930's.  Thankfully, they have upgraded nicely along the way.  We will take off at a reasonable time tomorrow and not travel so far before stopping.  It was quite a long day.  We may actually have to have a blanket on the bed tonight!  It seems to be about 55-60 out right now.  It is a deep freeze compared to the triple digits in the Park. Good nite all.

O.K.  I've tried and tried and I can't get a slide show of my pictures.  So here is Flikr's version of Zion National Park.

Yellow is for sunshine!  More today :)  It's supposed to get only to 94, but yesterday it said 97 and it was 100, so we'll see.
I am in the camper blogging this morning as we hiked about four miles totaled yesterday, and if I am to hike this afternoon, I need to give my poor hips a morning off.  P and J and K are repeating the River Hike from yesterday, but with an additional 2 miles of actual river walking!  They continue from where we turned around yesterday...and the hike takes you right into the Virgin River.  I'm certain they will have a wonderful time.  J has agreed to share his pics with me.  This afternoon we hope to do the Human History Museum and a .6 mile mostly uphill hike to see some of the ruins the museum describes.  That is one of the things I really wanted to do.  To connect this beautiful place with its people is what I love.
Another subject.  So many of you have asked me to format the blog to show latest blogs first.  That is the way it comes up for me, and I've gone through all the formatting choices I can find and there seems to be no place for me to make a choice for that.  Please help if you know the answer.
I went out to wait for J and K and P to return from their morning hike.  They had called and asked me to meet them at the Gourmet Grill.  So I was sitting inside drinking a Diet Coke when I saw a guy I thought looked a lot like Bob Raak, a friend we work with at the Conference Grounds. I knew Bob and Mary were traveling to the Grand Canyon, but never would have thought I'd see then in Zion.  So I shook off the thought, when suddenly someone very strongly resembling Mary came into view.  I went outside and low and behold, it was them.....and they are staying in the same park as we are. We had a good hug and they went on their shuttle journey and I went back to wait for the other three.  
Turns out P, J and K had a fabulous hike along the River Walk and then through the river all the way to The Narrows!  They took great pics so I could hike it vicariously.  I was grateful.  They had lunch and shared their journey.

Sabbath in Zion

Good Sabbath from Zion National Park.  This is some of God's best work!  It is truly majestic here.  We did two hikes....a river hike of two miles...then lunch...and finally a 1.2 mile hike to Emerald Pool.  I will write more later.
Back from dinner at the Spotted Dog....there's a story about the way it got its name. Maybe I'll go into that, maybe not :)
Well what can we say, "We are record breakers!"  We have experienced record high temps almost everywhere we've been on this trip!  Today it was 100 degrees.  O.K., it's the desert and it's dry...but 100!!!!!!!!!!  It was quite cool this morning when we went on the ranger narrated shuttle trip.  And our first hike along the Virgin River was quite cool....needed a sweater.  But by the time we finished that hike it was already getting warm.  Our afternoon hike was O.K. when we were in the shade, but the sun was definitely uncomfortable.  When we arrived at the Emerald Pool, there was a mist coming out of the rocks and it felt good to be in the cool misted air.
The sheer sandstone rock walls here are the right type for sheer wall climbing.  We watched them through the binoculars and at one point I was able to zoom in and get a pretty good picture of a couple people lounging on the rock wall enjoying a bite of lunch.  INSANE!  Our ranger guide said that the climbers have fewer accidents than average folks who walk too near the edge of cliffs, or wear unsafe shoes, etc.  
Ranger Sarah gave us great information on the anthropology of the area.  The water source, Virgin River, was what sustained the people and made it possible to live here.
The rock formations have wonderful names.  The three patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; the Angels Landing, the Great White Throne, the Altar of Sacrifice, for example, are perfect for a Canyon named Zion.
Another interesting fact had to do with the small water falls dropping and dripping from the rocks.  Some of the water that we saw seeping down was over a thousand years old.  The sandstone is pourous and the snowmelt from the top makes its way down.  The geologists can carbon date some of the mineral particles in the water and actually determine its age!!!  That was an exciting fun fact.  
There were many small flowers, yellow, purple, white, and occasionally red. The water source makes it possible for this to be quite a lush area...surprising fact.
God blessed us with a wonderfully worshipful experience in one part of His wonderful creation and we are so thankful we can be here.

To Zion

Blue for the color of the sky.  Not a cloud to be seen.  It was a very interesting trip.  Getting to Zion was easy.  Getting through Zion was challenging to say the least.  We entered the park from the East and traveled through the Main (South) entrance.  There was 'road work,' there were switchbacks, tunnels...and amazing views of the canyon.  We arrived at our campground, which is located only a block from the Main Entrance to the Park, about noon.
There is a shuttle which stops in front of the campground and runs through the Park.  You can get on and off at any of the numerous stops.  Tomorrow we are going to take a ranger-led shuttle ride.  We have a few short hikes planned.  This afternoon we saw a huge screen movie about the history of the canyon.  It was very interesting.
K fixed a wonderful dinner of  Portabello Mushroom Lasagne, herbed bread, and salad.  Not a finer place to eat.
Today it was 96 degrees, tomorrow it is supposed to reach 97 with 98 predicted for Monday.  I really hope the weather man gets it wrong this time!!! 

Moonrise

I couldn't resist posting this wonderful picture of the moonrise we saw from Inspiration Point last night.  We almost gave up as the moonrise time was listed as 7:42pm.  We were talking with some great people from southern California and so we weren't keeping track of the time.  Suddenly, there it was.  It was one day past the full moon, but it certainly looked full to us.  It was another fantastic scene God blessed us with on this trip.

Bryce National Park

It's difficult to find a color in my choice of colors palate to match the colors in Bryce Canyon National Park.  What a beautiful place.  We signed up for a guided bus tour through the park for this morning.  The sun was out and it shone beautifully on the many colored rock formations.  The bus driver gave such a great commentary on many facets of the park, from geology, to biology, to anthropology to zoology.  We learned so much and were thoroughly entertained.  
After the bus tour, we returned to the RV's and had lunch while we plotted our next phase of this trip.  We thought we might stay another day here, but decided we could get all the highlights in with a 2-night stay.  
P and J had checked out the reasonable hikes available to us. We did a 1 1/2 mile hike from Sunset Point to Inspiration Point.  It was tough, but we did it!  
Tonight takes us out to Inspiration Point for sunset.  So thankful we could do this trip.  It seems that every park is more beautiful than the one before.
Tomorrow...."We're marching to Zion, Beautiful, Beautiful, Zion."

Moab to Bryce National Park

Moab was beautiful this morning as we left town.  There was a hazy almost transparent cloud hovering over the Spanish Mountain range which loomed up at the back of our campsite.  It was mesmerizingly beautiful.

Canyonlands National Park

This morning the sun shone beautifully and illuminated Canyonlands National Park as we left the Visitor's Center bound for the Islands in the Sky highlights.  We drove all the way to the end of that road to do a moderate hike to see vistas from two directions.  The views were spectacular, much different than Arches, our yesterday park.  We could see that the sky was getting dark in the distance.  J and K walked on ahead while N and P did some Raven watching and photographing.  It began to get quite dark, so we turned around.  Soon we heard J and K calling to us as they hurried back on the trail.  Cudos to them.  They made it allllllllllllll the way to the end of the trail.  Just as we reached the truck, the heavens opened and the rains came down.  The folks here in Utah, are thrilled as they get an average of 8 inches of rain per year.  We are laughing at the fact that they were blessed with a couple of them the only day we have to see Canyonlands National Park!  
We returned to Moab and lunched at Moab Diner!  J is particularly fond of the Food Network Program, "Drive Ins, Diners, and Dives!"  So he thought a trip to Moab Diner was in order.....even though it has not been featured on the show!
Diner food for all.  It was a fun time.  See the pic of J and K :)
The guys found out about some petroglyphs nearby in the Potash area.  The sun was shining again and we were off!  Well we found the spot where they were supposed to be visible!  Rain, rain, go away!  Come again after we're gone!
Wasn't to be.  So we drove back to the campground and settled in.

You know what happens when the sun shines on rain?  RAINBOW  oh my ....RAINBOW.  We enjoyed a lovely double rainbow.  Thank you God, for blessing us with your unending promises of love and care.

Arches National Park

We went to see the Arches National Park today. It was a great experience.  But can you say HOT... thus the sunny color for today.  Have you noticed the color change each day?  I have attempted to coordinate the color to the place or to a feeling.
  It was 95 degrees quite a bit of the day today.  Thank God for AC in the truck.  Most of the park we could see from the truck, but we did make a couple of short hikes to see some of the arch formations.  We all set out to see the Delicate Arch formation.  We didn't know EXACTLY how far it was.  In the heat and with walking problems, N and P only went a short way, but J and K decided they wanted to make the trek.  They returned a half hour later saying they still had a long, difficult and uphill hike to make.  They decided to turn around. Great attempt! 
This place is unbelievable!  We left about 9:30 this morning.  We didn't arrive back to the camper until 4:30.  It was 7 hours of amazingly spectacular views.  We had heard from our Sue that Moab, UT was one of her favorite places.  I can surely see why.  Every curve of the road revealed something wonderful.  Several of the rock formations have names given for their shape.  There were The Three Gossips, Balanced Rock, Delicate Arch, Landscape Arch, etc.  The Park Visitor Center suggested we look for shapes and name our own formations :)  We made a few feeble attempts.
We had made reservations to do a dinner/ Colorado River boat evening ride complete with light and sound show projected on the huge rock walls that line the river.  We all really enjoyed that.  And we had the bonus of a full moon.  It was beautiful. We are all thankful we have the opportunity and the ability to make this wonderful trip.
Tomorrow we're off to Canyonlands National Park.  Supposed to rain :(  Hope we get to see what we came to see.  At least it's supposed to be Cooler :)

Moab, Utah

Celebrating your birthday in this spectacular place...what a blessing.  Yes, we finally made it to Utah.  We arrived about noon without any further vehicle problems.  PTL.  We have about 10# of literature on this area.  So much to see, so little time.  After a conversation with the campground host, we have a plan.  This afternoon we took a scenic drive about 20 miles along the Colorado River.  We rode between such beautiful red rock formations.  They were 'ginormous.'  We stopped to take pictures and even made a stop at a winery located right on the river beneath the shadow of the rocks.  There were some vintage auto enthusiasts staying at the resort.  J had a great time inquiring about the cars.  Very impressive!!!!!!  
We stopped in downtown Moab to do some 'lookin.'  There was a shop advertised in the local shops literature that had intrigued us.  It was the 'Moab Dirt Shirt Shop.'  Since P had such difficulty keeping little smudges from finding their way on to his clothing, I was thinking a 'dirt shirt' was just the ticket.  The fabric from which the shirts are constructed is dyed with Moab red dirt.  They were sort of novel, but on second thought, maybe we'll keep looking for a suitable souvenir shirt :)
Tonight we will feast on K's delicious Teriyaki Marinated Salmon, Israeli Couscous, and Baby Lima Beans.  What a birthday feast for P.  More to follow.

Colorado National Monument

Sunday was a beautiful day.  We slept in a little, picked up some supplies, then had lunch together and talked about what we were going to do in the afternoon.  It was a sabbath, but not spent in church.  We rested for our trip into Utah tomorrow. We praised God for getting us here safely through all the vehicle problems.
Then we took a trip to the Colorado National Monument, located only a few miles from our campground.  God outdid himself in the beauty of the monument.  It is actually 23,000 acres of beautiful red rock, trees, sandstone rock, trees, and immense grandeur.  You rise to a 6,000+ ft. elevation.  It is spectacular!  I know we're overusing that adjective, but it's difficult to describe.  I'm sure our 'Pastor Tim' has probably seen this many times and will corroborate our impressions.  We were on the Rim Rock Drive for over two hours.  Every scenic overlook seemed more breathtaking than the last.  We could see the Colorado and Gunneson Rivers, as well as the city, below.  We are so thankful we stopped in this beautiful cityof Grand Junction, Colorado.  I'm posting a picture of J and K taken somewhere the highest elevation.  Enjoy.
We had a lovely dinner in a great Italian restaurant in Old Town Grand Junction.  We will be headed for Moab, Utah in the morning, P's 69th Birthday :)

On the Road Again

Good Morning Family and Friends.  John and Kathy's motorhome has a new water pump and we are rolling again.  Their generator is in question at this time, but we're moving forward in faith.
Since we didn't blog yesterday, we'll share our Friday adventure on Saturday.
Stayed in the camper until mid morning, then picked up John and Kathy, hereafter referred to as J and K, and went to lunch at Panera Bread.  Checked out the local offerings and decided on the Denver Mint and the Art Museum's King Tut Exhibit.  Unfortunately we didn't know that the Mint closed about 15 minutes before we arrived :(  However, the Art Museum was only 2 blocks away, so we just walked over.  The Tut Exhibit was fantastic.  We all enjoyed it very much. What a feat to send, move, or receive an exhibit of that magnitude and significance.  One of the artifacts had never left Egypt prior to this time.   Probably doesn't sound adventurous, but if you had been with us on the I-25 and Bus. 70 you might describe it as high adventure!!!
Then dinner and a movie.
We left Denver as J and K now had a repaired motorhome.   However, they called us to say the 'engine light' was on again.  J made a call and got the green light to go on.  We followed them in case there was a problem...but everything was fine.  We were all very thankful to God for getting us back on the road again.
God created spectacular artwork in Glenwood Canyon.  We were wowed by what we saw.  And the Colorado River flows alongside the highway....sweet sights.  We decided to stop in Grand Junction.  The Colorado National Monument is on our list of ttd's for tomorrow.  Hoping to post a couple of pics.  We will leave here on Monday morning for Moab, UT.  We are thankful that we are able to go on with this long awaited adventure.

The First Adventure

The first adventure is the blogspot adventure. If any of you have suggestions, please feel free to make them.

I thought it would be fun to share our 'travels' this way.  So our Utah National Parks trip is the 'maiden blog voyage.'

Sunday afternoon we left for a Niles, MI campground where we met John and Kathy.  They are following us in their motorhome.  After an evening with a wonderful meal (Kathy is a gourmet cook...did we score or what?) of salmon on the grill, a lovely salad, green beans and brownies, we shared our hopes and expectations for this adventure.

Monday took us through Illinois, Iowa, ending in Omaha, NE.  John and Kathy have some friends who live there in the summer.  We met them last winter in Destin, FL.  They are a lovely couple who had dinner for us when we arrived.  It was great to see them again and enjoy a wonderful meal together.

Tuesday we made it to Big Springs, NE.  Nebraska is never ending!  

We were thrilled to see Colorado on Wednesday morning. You can begin to see the mountains on the far horizon after you've traveled only a few hours.

About 2:30 in the afternoon we were cruising through the Denver area when a motorcyclist was insistent that we pull over.  We were on a busy Interstate, but Phil managed to pull over on the shoulder.  By the time we got out of the truck there was smoke pouring from under the 5th wheel.  We had a very flat tire.  We were thankful to God for sending the thoughtful cyclist who alerted us in time to avoid a disaster.  The guys changed the tire and we were off to Breckenridge to the nearest tire company that carried the tire we needed.  They were great and helped us find a campground there.  We were all pretty ready to stop at that point.  The campground was absolutely spectacular.  The ambient views of the mountains in Breckenridge surrounded us.  Everything was either paved or beautiful grass.  Fabulous!  We went out to dinner to belatedly celebrate John and Kathy's Anniversary.  Had a great time.

Thursday morning brought another 'vehicle issue.'  When John attempted to start the motorhome, dark grey smoke billowed out.  After several phone calls for information and opinions regarding best option, we headed back for Denver.  It was a much shorter and safer option than going forward farther into the mountains to Grand Junction.  We are here for at least tonight.  The repair company will look at it tomorrow morning.  By noon we should know how long we'll be here. We know that we make the plans and then God directs our way, and we are thankful for that blessing.  For some reason we need to spend time here.  It's all about the adventure.