An all too brief visit to Zion was on today’s agenda. We had a relaxed morning at the camp, then drove the hour to Zion. The drive into the park is pretty amazing to begin with, including the 1.1 mile tunnel through the sandstone, which was the longest in the country at the time of its completion in 1930. We stopped by the visitors’ center and got some ideas for what to do, attempting to avoid the hottest part of the day (the high for the day was supposed to be 105º). We decided to have a picnic lunch, and then we did a children’s program, which was about Bighorn Sheep today. At the program, we met a family that had also driven cross country, from Long Island. They are taking a seven week trip! That took until about 3:00, at which time we went and watched a movie about the park (20 minutes; very interesting geological history). After that, we felt ready for a hike, as the temperature was beginning to cool. We went along the Virgin River to a couple of waterfalls, and then Clara and I hiked up to a parallel trail, while the others went back along the original trail. At that point, we were all pretty hot and tired, and after an ice cream break we decided to head back. Good thing, too, because once we got back to camp, made and ate dinner, it was 9:30 before we got the kids to bed. And it gets cold here overnight — probably 45º in the early morning.
Blog
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We Like this Campsite
For two nights, we are at Duck Creek campground in the Dixie National Forest. We have finally found a campsite that seems to suit us reasonably. Not too near a highway (though surprisingly, you can still hear traffic), no freight trains, not too many bugs. Here we’ve also been able to scrounge sufficient firewood, rather than having to buy at the exorbitant campground prices.
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Bryce Canyon
Today we visited Bryce Canyon, and it is an amazing place. We stopped at a couple of places for pictures, and hiked down into the canyon on a 1.3 mile loop. The hike took us past some very cool structures, as we walked down pretty steeply about 500 feet, and then of course the same distance back up. We then had a nice dinner at the lodge, and stopped by a couple more scenic overlooks before driving to our campground for the night. Pictures later.
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Camping Redux
Tonight we are in Green River State Park, Utah. We made it out of Colorado (sadly), and on to our first night of four consecutive camping nights. We will be here one night only, then two nights at the next site, between Bryce and Zion, then a fourth night on the north rim of the Grand Canyon. After that, a night in a lodge on the south rim, then on to Flagstaff, Arizona to visit with Susan’s cousins and aunt.
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Ketchup
I’ve been playing catch up with the photos on Flickr. If you go to my page of “Collections” you will see the Collection for this trip, and in it, the many sets I’ve organized thus far. Still more to go, and hopefully I’ll keep up with current work in the future, although after tonight we have four nights of camping, so who knows…
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Lazy On A Sunday Afternoon
In spite of the occasional threat of rain and thunder/lightning, we had a lovely, lazy Sunday afternoon here in Colorado. Uncle Mark and Aunt Rosa came home from church with us,
and we enjoyed some family time together. Around mid-afternoon, Nina, Mike, and their boys, Harry and Jack came over and we headed over to the pool. No more than two minutes after most of the kids got in the pool, the lifeguard shooed us out due to lightning in the sky. We waited a while, and the kids played Mother May I to pass the time,
but it just didn’t seem promising, so we went back to Rowell Ranch for a spell. About an hour later, we headed back to the pool and got some swimming in.
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A Tale of Two Calvaries
Our home church is Calvary Church, United Methodist, but when we visit Susan’s folks, we worship at their church — Calvary Baptist Church of Denver. Their church is a large, vibrant congregation with all kinds of activities going on. They had a nice program for the children during the service.
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Red Rocks
On the way home from Heritage Square, we made a brief stop at Red Rocks, the outdoor park and concert venue built into the (red) rocks.
Built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), and the Work Projects Administration (WPA) between 1936 and 1948
the natural amphitheater has played host to all sorts of acts, from the Beatles to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and everything between and outside.
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Saturday’s Doings
Today, we drove just barely into the foothills to a place called Heritage Square, “a unique, delightful replica of a Western village with Victorian architecture.”
Includes authentic old west artifacts such as an alpine slide, a ferris wheel, and modern versions of the old time medicine shows…
We enjoyed a couple of rides down the alpine slide, and a turn on the ferris wheel, but also had fun at a children’s theater production of Pinocchio
which included lots of audience participation. Well done!
