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.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
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.
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.
Monday, September 27, 2010
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.
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.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
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.
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.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
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!!!
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.
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