Day Five - Great American Road Trip - Idaho & Wyoming

This morning we awoke to a crash - Christian fell off the top bunk onto a backpack full of books.  It hurt a lot, but he was OK.  Only his "bum" hurt.  I told him he was lucky his butt wasn't in a sling and he believed me.

We left Salt Lake City for another world.  Northern Utah was pretty, but when we rolled through Idaho you knew it.  I don't have any pictures (somebody was using my phone to watch YouTube videos), but picture big soft mossy green mountains on all sides sliding gently into the greenest valleys of grassland. Cattle dotted the green landscape like little black ants.  It was so beautiful, yet so desolate.  Signs of civilization were scarce and when we went through Pocatello, I thought it was the big city.  No wonder Idaho is listed as the 7th least densely populated state.  As we approached the Wyoming border we could see the landscape changing from grasslands to pines and then we saw the Snake River.  For a water lawyer from Arizona the idea of rivers and creeks having real wet water is a thrill.

After finally passing into Wyoming, we started climbing.  And climbing.  The pines turned to Douglas firs - Christmas trees all around.  They were really tall and straight and thickly grouped.  We were entering the Tetons.

When we finally reached the top of the Teton Pass we saw Jackson Hole, Wyoming in the valley far below.  By now it was overcast and rainy but that seemed to heighten the smells of the evergreens and the lush colors of green.  To think that wagons and even cars into the 1920s passed through this area is hard to believe, but the pictures were there at the overlook to prove it.

As we drove down into Jackson Hole and to our campground, the rain continued and it was 57 degrees but this Arizona family didn't mind at all.  It sure beat the 115 we experienced only a week ago.  We checked in and drove on into downtown for some western tourist shopping.  We bought sweatshirts and Mackenzie finally got her cowgirl hat.

 Jackson has these cool elk antler arches on four sides of their downtown square.  The antlers fall off the elk in the fall, so no animals were hurt in the making of the arches.

We came back to camp and spent the evening playing cards ("Spoons").

We feel like great western campers, which is a good thing because tomorrow we are on to Yellowstone.

Hope we see some bears.

cindy

Day Four - Great American Road Trip - Salt Lake City

We spent a lot of time driving today from Bryce Canyon to Salt Lake City, so we didn't get to our campground until early afternoon.  While Kent took the kids to the pool, I called our RV rental place to talk about our little "black water" problem.  I alluded to this a couple of days ago, but didn't really specify.  Let's just say that where the "black water" comes out of the RV into a flexible pipe there is a leak in the valve which results in a persistent "dripping".  We're trying not to use the bathroom in the RV, but the good news is that the rental place will reimburse us if we fix it.  That's something we'll definitely do because we really don't like looking like the rednecks in the RV park with "black water" dripping into a bucket.  KWIM?

This evening we ventured into Salt Lake City on a free shuttle from the RV park to Temple Square.  On the 2 mile drive we were "toured" by an elderly couple who were married 52 years ago and sealed forever in the Temple into all eternity.  Hmmm . . . the free shuttle all of a sudden didn't sound free.

Sure enough, we were dropped on the side of Temple Square into the waiting arms of Sister Bradshaw and Sister Dizon who were waiting to take us on a full tour of the beautiful complex of buildings owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  These young ladies were very pleasant and answered all our questions (which we kept to subjects about the buildings).  We saw two visitor centers, the family history center, an auditorium with a gorgeous organ and of course, the outside of the Temple.

At the end we saw the big statute of Christ in a dome with the universe painted around him.

I would highly recommend the tour.  I'm not sure you can get through Temple Square without at least being approached by very friendly missionaries waiting to show you around.  It was very educational and the buildings are so nice.  Mackenzie especially liked the talk about "sealing families" in the Temple, so it was time to go to the food court at the nearby mall.  Over dinner we had a great conversation about Catholicism and Mormons.

On our way back to the RV park we couldn't help but stop and gaze at the beautiful snowy white Temple in the darkness.

I wish we could have spent more time in Salt Lake City.  I have to acknowledge our guides, Sister Bradshaw and Sister Dizon - we definitely would not have been able to see so much on Temple Square without them.

Tomorrow - on to Jackson Hole, Wyoming!

cindy

Day Three - Great American Road Trip - 4th of July

What a wonderful Independence Day!  We spent the day at Bryce Canyon in Utah, which must be one of the most beautiful places on earth.  God really outdid Himself here!

You can't take enough pictures to capture this place.  Erosion has worn down sandstone into these "hoodoos" which are still eroding today.  There's simply nothing like this anywhere else in the world.

It was amazing to see one of the wonders of American landscapes on Independence Day.  As we continued through the various vistas at Bryce Canyon, I was struck by the people who were there with us.  We saw lots of people in red, white and blue, but heard only foreign languages - German, Italian, Danish, Swedish, French, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, Hindi and many others I couldn't identify.  They  came to OUR country and were celebrating our independence.  It was humbling in so many ways - to realize what a great and beautiful country we live in.

In the evening we went to a real rodeo, complete with bull and bronco riding, roping, barrel racing and the cutest kids riding sheep and calves.  There were so many foreign visitors there too, enjoying real Western all-American entertainment.

It was a great day to be an American!

cindy

Day Two - Great American Road Trip - Utah

The plan for today was to go to Bryce Canyon.  Plans change - we didn't make it there today.  Instead, we took a little detour to Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park.  We weren't disappointed.

I've seen some sand dunes in Indiana and Arizona before, but these were the most beautiful color and the finest sand I've ever felt.  Southern Utah is so interesting.  The colors change rapidly with little warning.  In the morning we were driving in red cliffs sliced sideways by some tremendous water force millions of years ago.  The next minute we are in pines and bleach white cliffs appear.  Finally, we ended up here, where erosion of sandstone created the most gorgeous beach without water.

If you see two tiny little specks near the top of the giant sand dune, that's Kent and Mackenzie.  They made it to the top in 90 degree weather.  It was quite an accomplishment, especially when you consider how deep the sand is.

I loved the yellow flowers that popped up out of the sand.

We did make the drive to Bryce Canyon today, but didn't visit.  We checked into a cool camping ground, Ruby's RV Camping and Lodge near Bryce, but the weather turned a little in the afternoon.  First deviation off schedule - we decided to stay one more day at Ruby's and see Bryce tomorrow.

We also had our first RV mishap - a little problem flushing the "black water."  We'll see how that works out tomorrow.

cindy

Day One - Great American Road Trip

Me.  My husband.  My kids.  In a RV.  For 20 days.  Traveling the West.  It's the Great American Road Trip and we'd love if you joined us (vicariously because there's no more room in this RV).  We didn't leave Scottsdale until 1:30 p.m. because we had to pick up the RV, learn to use it (we've never driven or stayed in one before) and pack it.

Today's route - through Flagstaff north of the Grand Canyon and ending in Kanab, Utah.  In between we saw gorgeous untouched parts of northern Arizona, near the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.  We drove through the Painted Desert on the Navajo Reservation and saw the Vermilion Cliffs.

  

It was beautiful right at sunset even if we took the pictures from the car.  We then stopped at Lee's Ferry just below Lake Powell.

We finally arrived at Kanab, Utah 9 hours after we left.  This should be the longest driving day on the trip (hopefully).  It was surprisingly easy even though we got 6 miles to the gallon going up to Flagstaff.  At that rate it's going to be a little expensive.

The kids LOVE the RV which means Kent and I love the RV.  They can move about somewhat and have more options for activities.  We even ate lunch while driving!  I'm hoping we are as enthusiastic about this on day 19.  We only left a few items at home - that we know about at this point.

Tomorrow we are off to Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon.  Tonight it's just time for bed.

See you tomorrow!

cindy

Check on the Bucket List

This summer I'm making a big checkmark on my bucket list.  The great American family vacation - that's on my bucket list.  It's a long vacation - 21 days - the longest vacation ever!  Ever since I was a kid I wanted the big western family RV vacation.  We're renting a RV and that's scary enough, but imagine a 21 day road trip with a 10 and 12 year old.  We know the kids may not enjoy every day (or any day), but we are confident that it will be a vacation they will always remember.

The journey begins in our home state - Arizona.  We're not going to see the obvious - the Grand Canyon - because we've already seen it and can with only a three hour car ride.  Instead, we'll be motoring through Utah, Wyoming, a bit of Idaho, Montana, South Dakota, Colorado and New Mexico.  That's right, 7 states and nearly 3000 miles in 21 days!  On the way we'll see multiple national parks, monuments and forests and some of the most beautiful places in the United States.

Oh boy, this is going to be awesome!

cindy