UTAH-STATE NUMBER 48!!!

May 13-May 27, 2018

Next up was Utah, our 48^th STATE! Woo hoo! Our mission is now complete! Not really. There is so much more to see and so many beautiful places to revisit and explore deeper.

Our first stop was Archview RV Park in Moab. For our first outing, we met up with the Howard and Chan Families in Arches National Park to hike the Sandstone/Broken/Drapery Arch trails. The group had a chance to catch up and see some beautiful scenery and formations.

(Sandstone Arch-the kids are at the bottom right)

(Broken Arch)

(Broken Arch from the other side)

(Drapery Arch)

(Drapery Arch up closer)

(view along hike)

A trip through the Fiery Furnace was next. This hike requires a tour or special permit to do. Since Greg would not be able to go during tour hours, we did this on our own (with the special permit). I was a bit nervous since the trail is not well marked except for some brown arrows on the brown rocks, marking the tour route. The reason for that is that you get to choose your path as long as you stay within the wash areas. Knowing how "directionally challenged" I am, that did not sound as awesome to me as it would to others. Eagle eyes Jacob was surprised that I spotted most of the arrows first. I told him it was because “my life depends on it!” But it was a fun hike with obstacles and cracks to make it through.

Next, we met the Schroeder family for the first time and went on the Grandstaff trail. It was one of Ellie's first hikes on the road and she enjoyed it. There were some challenges like a high wall to climb and some stream crossings but she enjoyed exploring. We enjoyed our visit with this family and hearing the stories of their life and journey.

Double Arch and Delicate Arch were next.

(Double Arch)

(Delicate Arch)

And last in Arches was Corona Arch, probably my favorite. This was another fun hike for Ellie with some steep rock climbs.

(Corona Arch-the kids and I are at the bottom right of the arch.  Ellie is the white spot a little further right)

(Jacob at the base of Corona)

(the trickiest and steepest part on the fairly slippery rock)

The next day, Greg's vacation began. We rented a jeep and took off on the Klondike Bluff off-road trail. This trail was more about a 4WD adventure than beauty. It made me very nervous in spots but Greg seems to know what he is doing. 

We stopped to check out some dinosaur prints in the slick rock and an old mining area. 

(This little stuffy belongs to one of Jordan's friends.  She has been traveling with us on our adventures this year)

After leaving that area, we traveled through Gemini Bridge, Long Canyon and Pucker Pass.

Then we loaded up our camping gear in the jeep and began to explore Canyonlands National Park along the White Rim Trail. It's a 100 mile trail that requires 4WD and we spent 2 nights on the trail.  There is no running water and you must pack out your trash.  There were pit toilets at every campsite though.

(I can't believe it all fit!)

(First night campsite)

Here's a video showing some of the NARROW twists and descents we had to make.  It was way more nerve wracking than it looks in the video.

This was a fun and pretty crevice/washout area that we were able to hike through.

(Second night campsite)

(View from 2nd campsite)

(The steep switchback road to leave the rim trail)

Still in Utah, we moved to Bryce Valley KOA in Cannonville.  We spent a day in Bryce Canyon National Park and hiked the rim trail,

(The pillars and colors are truly beautiful)

to the Queen's Garden trail (this one was steep down)

(The pillar on the left is the "Queen".  She is standing on platform and facing left.  She has a crown and appears to be carrying something.  It was hard for the kids to see but there was a picture down below which helped)

to the Navajo loop (and this one was a STEEP up)

(In this pic, you can see the brick walls marking the steep switchbacks)

(From the top)

The next day, we drove a few hours to Zion National Park. This place was CROWDED! There is not enough parking and you end up parking a ways out and then having to hike to even get to a shuttle stop (and many people have to park in the town and take a shuttle in). It is VERY pretty though. We tried hiking the Narrows but we didn't get too far as the water was just too cold for one of the kids and really to go further in than we did would require us to get wet up to our waists. So, we turned back. 

We then hiked to Emerald Pool. While probably very beautiful other times of the year, it was pretty dried up . It reminded me of Hamilton Pool just outside Austin only much less impressive.

Escalante Petrified Forest State Park was next. It was a pretty short trip to hike the self-guided Pertrifed Forest trail

The colors are just so pretty!

Another RV'er told us about Willis Creek Narrows so we decided to give it a go. It was fun! We walked through without freezing water and it was very pretty.

Afterwards, we took a drive through Kodachrome Basin State Park to view some of the chimney formations and hike to another arch.

(There we are at the very bottom!)

On our last day in the area, Greg got up at 5 am to drive back to Zion and hike the Angel's Landing trail. When he got to the park at 7:30 am, cars were already parking along the roadside. He made it to the trail and up past the area called “The Wiggles” to Scout's Overlook but the trail, which narrows WAAAYYYY down and requires a chain hand-rail, was so full of people that he decided to turn around. So disappointing! I can't believe it was that busy so early in the morning!

Look closely and you can see the line of people headed up

I have to admit that I felt a little underwhelmed by Utah.  I think that's because of the number of people who had told me it was their favorite and I expected to be totally blown away.  Don't get me wrong.  It IS very beautiful and so worth seeing, but I have seen places just as beautiful (and more beautiful) elsewhere in the US.  My favorite has not changed.

Greg's vacation continues through next week and there is so much more beauty to see as we move over to California.

Scottsdale and Cottonwood, Arizona

April 29-May 13, 2018

Trying to catch up! A week before we hit the road again, we closed and moved into our new home in Austin. We had been waiting for a town home to come available in the community near our old house.   Two finally did and one of them accepted our offer. We were able to get nearly everything unpacked and sleep there one night (for the kids) before heading out again.

Oh and we got a new doggie, Ellie!  She came to us as a foster from a euthanasia list and we decided to keep her.  At the time we left Austin, she was 11 months old.  We are not sure what she is, but the vet has suggested pointer mixed with a smaller breed.

We have been back on the road since the end of April and we have been so busy! Our very first stop was Benson, AZ to have lunch with Aunt Carolyn!

After lunch, we continued on our way to meet up with the Riggs family. We met them a year ago in AZ and wanted to catch back up with them.

We first camped at MCDOWELL MOUNTAIN REGIONAL PARK IN SCOTTSDALE. This was a really nice park. 

(Rock art at camp host site)

(the very cool playground)

(more of the playground)

The saguaros and ocotillos were in bloom and so pretty! 

There were some fantastic biking trails, too. 

Unfortunately, Ellie met her first teddy bear cholla cactus on one of those trails.  Poor Greg had to deal with this one on his own since the rest of us were 45 minutes away.  Those things do not come out easily.  Hopefully, Ellie now knows to avoid those nasty things!

Originally, the other family was supposed to stay at the campground also but some family health issues forced them to change their plans. BUT, we were still able to spend a lot of time with them and had a blast. We went swimming in her sister's amazing pool and hot tub,

had pizza at the Organ Stop (It was amazing to watch this guy play),

visited the Botanical Gardens,

(the birds loved this)

hiked the Hieroglyphics trail,

then hiked up to Hole in the Rock,

stood under Tonto Natural Bridge,

hiked some random Valentine trail (that we never discovered where it ended) and the Waterwheel trail.

(The kids had a blast on this rock "slide"!  Not sure what's up with this video)

The next week, we moved to VERDE VALLEY THOUSAND TRAILS RESORT IN COTTONWOOD, which is where we met the Riggs' originally. We didn't do too much while there during the week except a trip to Slide Rock State Park.  The water was frigid and I tried to avoid it, but after accidentally slipping and falling in, I agreed to test out the water slides.  It was fun but a little rough on the bottom!

On Friday, we met up again with the Riggs family for the weekend. Greg had to work Friday, but the rest of us went on the Fossil Springs hike. It was 10 miles round trip and pretty tough with an elevation change of 1500 feet! The kids did great, probably because they had friends to talk to.  The rest of us did pretty well too, although we struggled the last couple miles. But the waterfall at the end was so worth it!  You can't see it in my picture but just to the right of the falls about halfway down was a pool area known as the "Toilet Bowl" because you can swim into it and then down into a tunnel and be "flushed" out under the rocks and into the main pool area below!  So cool!

And for our last day, we put on our jackets and strapped on our headlamps to hike through the Lava River Cave.  This 3/4 mile lava cave was discovered in 1915.  The temps inside are between 32 and 40 degrees!

(the entrance of the cave)

It's always hard to say good-bye but I know we will see this great family again.