More to this life

Bryce Canyon National Park - The Land of the Hoodoo - June 8-9

Well, we were only planning one night at Lake Powell. But, we arrived late enough in the afternoon that we decided to stay two nights and get caught up on laundry and resupplying.

Today, we're on our way up (both geographically and elevation-wise) from Lake Powell to Bryce Canyon National Park.

Every journey deserves a little something special. We found this German Bakery in Orderville, UT, about an hour before we got to Bryce. Delicious!

Back on the road!

We're there! We were able to get a first-come campsite in the North Campground, just inside the entrance and right across the road from the Visitor's Center! Major Score! Now to set up and get ready for tomorrow.

Bryce Canyon is a small national park in southwestern Utah. Named after the Mormon Pioneer Ebenezer Bryce, Bryce Canyon became a national park in 1928.

Bryce is famous for its worldly unique geology, consisting of a series of horseshoe-shaped amphitheaters carved from the eastern edge of the Paunsaugunt Plateau in southern Utah. The erosional force of frost-wedging and the dissolving power of rainwater have shaped the colorful limestone rock of the Claron Formation into bizarre shapes including slot canyons, windows, fins, and spires called "hoodoos." Tinted with colors too numerous and subtle to name, these whimsically arranged rocks create a wondrous landscape of mazes, offering some of the most exciting and memorable walks and hikes imaginable.

Ponderosa pines, high elevation meadows, and fir-spruce forests border the rim of the plateau and abound with wildlife. This area boasts some of the world's best air quality, offering panoramic views of three states and approaching 200 miles of visibility. This, coupled with the lack of nearby large light sources, creates unparalleled opportunities for stargazing.

This is the highest point in Bryce - 9115 ft above sea level!

Annie got to see the sights as well.

Yes, they have plastic gloves on their hands. Part of becoming a Junior Ranger at Bryce is picking up at least 10 pieces of trash. Lizzie did 40!

Second highest point on the scenic drive and one of the three cutest girls!

This is called Natural Bridge.

Doesn't she look excited?

The "swearing in" ceremony for the Junior Ranger badge.

This is part of Red Canyon - part of the National Forest just outside Bryce.

North From the Grand Canyon and Lake Powell - June 6-7

So all that time at the Watchtower before we left the Grand Canyon "put us behind schedule", but I'm really grateful that God allowed us to be "behind schedule" because of what we missed later!

Making the climb up the newly re-opened portion of US89. It just re-opened in March after being closed for two years by a landslide.

We noticed that the temperature had dropped considerably. I thought at first it was because of the higher elevation, but Donna noticed "something white" on the side of the road! So, we stopped to investigate. This is what I found. We had "just missed" a hailstorm! It happened just north of Bitter Springs on the map above.

On to Horseshoe Bend! Emi decided she'd wait in the RV. This bend in the Colorado river is just a few miles south of Page, Arizona.

We finally got to the campground and it was HOT! Not exactly our kind of weather. It's a good thing I installed that second A/C unit before we left! We ran them both the whole time.

Looking to the east as the sun is setting on our first night here.

The next morning Abi, Lizzie and I went down to the lake to check out the fishing. Not much happening and it got hot again in a hurry! Back to the coolness of the air conditioning!

The next day, we had three families from Georgia pull into the sites next to us! They were on their way back east and were just coming out of Bryce and Zion National Parks!

This weather is more suited for these guys!

But the view is beautiful!

That's Navajo Mountain way back in the distance.

We went back that night to allow Abi to try the fishing again - this time with the bait of preference around this lake - anchovies!

She hooked a stripe bass on her first try! We were so excited about it and trying to get off the hook and back in the water that I forgot to take a picture! It was about a pound or a little better, but that counts!

After some necessary re-supply and laundry, tomorrow we're back on the road to Bryce Canyon!

So Thats Why They Call It GRAND! - June 2 - June 6

What a Place!

It's hard to describe this place - you just run out of superlatives!

I'll try to let the pictures help me out.

I failed to mention on the last post that we actually took a down day on the 3rd and enjoyed the quiet of the campground. Our first day in the park was on June 4 and today is day 2.

Donna is a little under the weather today because of too much sun the past few days, so the girls and I are off to get their “Junior Ranger Badges” and ride the rim trail on our bikes.

The Grand Canyon wasn’t thought of as grand by the first Europeans to see it. The Spanish, in the 1500’s saw it as an obstacle in their search for the “cities of gold”. Some of the first Americans to see it in the 1800’s described it as “completely valueless”. It wasn’t until men like Captain John Wesley Powell came in the late 1800’s and sent back reports about its beauty and ruggedness that there was much interest. Powell was the first to navigate the Colorado river all the way through the canyon. At night, along the river as they camped, he would write in his journal about all that he saw and his writings that changed the way the canyon was viewed. Then people saw it as a way to make money – that’s right – from rich east coast tourists. Men like Fred Harvey who built the El Tovar hotel in 1905 and the Sante Fe railroad which built a line up from Williams just to bring people to Harvey’s hotel.

Fortunately, men like Thoreau, Emerson, and Muir were equally influential and were championing the idea of preserving places like the Grand Canyon for future generations (us!) and were able to convince others as well.

Among those others just happened to be President Teddy Roosevelt! Yeah for them! Because of them and many others like them, we have this national treasure today.

But I digress. On to today’s adventure.

We took part in a Ranger led program as a part of the girl’s getting their badge and it helped me appreciate even more the importance of protecting this place.

The girls finished their requirements and were sworn in as “Grand Canyon Junior Rangers”.

These are the Kolb Brothers - who ran photography studio in the canyon for many years and it's now a part of the history.

The Heart Stone story.

This heart-shaped stone has a bit of folklore attached to it. During the 1930’s, the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) was being used to improve the National Parks and at the same time provide jobs for the many 18-25 year old young men who couldn’t find work. On such project was underway in the Grand Canyon and it’s told that one of the young men developed a “pining” for one of the girls working at the El-Tovar hotel. The girls weren’t allowed to have anything to do with the men in the CCC – so he could only try to express his love from a distance. It’s said he set this stone here so she could see it from the window her room in the servants’ dormitory. True? Who knows. But a neat bit of folklore from the history of the park.

After we finished the Ranger program, it’s time to get Passports stamped and go for that bike ride! Hanging out at the Verkamp's visitor center and having a snack. We also got passports stamped here. The Grand Canyon actually has 5 different places you can get your National Parks Passport stamped!

While we were going down to the Kolb Brothers Studio, we saw a rare site. Two of the rare California Condors!

This is the Hopi House - built in 1905.

Yavapai Point and Geology Museum - and another Passport stamp

Finally getting that bike ride in!

On the way back to the campground and the girls had to get their picture with Smokey!

Emi even found her own place!

All that riding and walking makes for one tired crew!

On our way back out of the park and we stopped at the Watchtower! A must if you visit! Here, you can see the river at the bottom of the canyon like nowhere else.