Balanced Rock

Leisurely morning. Our first on this trip. Slept until after 8am, took our time getting going. Neat rock, seemingly defying gravity. Just a short 0.3 mile walk around the base. Parking gettingもっと詳しく
Double Arch

Hard getting shots without random people in them. Look closely for R & Tom perched at the top. L & I were happily in the shade below. It's getting hot!
The Windows

R getting hot, tired, and hungry. "We can do hard things," Final loop at Arches! This is a fun park and we really enjoyed it (R loves any rock he can climb - not the arches themselves of course!),もっと詳しく
Canyonlands

Drove up a series of winding roads to the mesa top. Short video, handful of exhibits, demonstration of animal skulls, and rented audio CD for the canyon drive.
Nice breeze as we hiked out to Mesaもっと詳しく
Dead Horse State Park

Ending scene in Thelma & Louise - Susan Sarandon & Gina Davis, driving off the cliff. Great vistas of the wild geology around here. Legend is that cowboys corralled wild horses on the point, took theもっと詳しく
Departing Moab

Another slow morning - L played with a boy from Belgium (family is relocating to Michigan for work the next few years) while I made scrambled eggs. Refueled, replenished Tom's stock of lemon iced tea,もっと詳しく
Sego Canyon

Twenty minutes detour to see some pretty astounding rock art panels. On BLM land, these groupings were from different time periods, pre- and post- arrival of white man, both petroglyphs andもっと詳しく
Capitol Reef

Nineteen layers of rock - lifted up in the 100-mile long Waterpocket Fold. Now I know I'm the geeky daughter of a geeky geologist! Took hundreds of photos of the different types of rocks!もっと詳しく
Random Items

* Excited to find composting in Grand Canyon NP. Disappointed to not find it anywhere else. Pains me to throw food scraps in the landfill!
* It's so warm, I couldn't take off my wedding band if Iもっと詳しく
Animals on our journey

Special post for Joy! We've seen:
* cows
* horses, including a baby foal
* sheep, including baby lambs
* elk
* mule deer
* ravens
* quite a few lizards
* insects - neat beetles, giant orange stinkもっと詳しく
Scenic Highway 12

Winding drive between Capitol Reef and Bryce, through Dixie National Forest. Tom drove through the worst of the zig zags. Lots of fir, pines, and aspen. Funny to see cows grazing along the roads. Rもっと詳しく
Hoodoos Everywhere!!

Full day in Bryce Canyon - delicious scenery! The red, orange, and white rock spires were so extraordinary! Look like something impossible in nature, yet there they are! Met a wonderful family fromもっと詳しく
More Bryce Photos

Last National Park

Kind of wearing out. If we did this trip again, I'd do it in reverse. Feel like Zion is getting short shrift - didn't think twice about a three mile hike in the beginning. Less energy for sure now.もっと詳しく
The Narrows

Only alarm this trip - 7am to beat the crowds. Hearty breakfast, loaded our pack and water bottles. Swim suits on, trekking poles in hand. Park at the Visitor Center and 40-minute tram ride to lastもっと詳しく
More Zion Narrows Photos

Started the day overcast. First sunshine was popping through by the time we turned around. Clouds rolling in less than 90 minutes later. The rocks and cliffs were really pretty, but you could see howもっと詳しく
Narrows #3

Viva Las Vegas!

Another early morning, up before 7am. Gave away extra food to neighboring RVers (one had been our neighbor in Bryce!), got rid of trash and recycling. Three hour drive to Las Vegas - the kids and Iもっと詳しく
Goodbye Las Vegas!

Everyone slept in until around 10am - unheard of!! Checked out and headed to a yummy breakfast in Downtown. Tom dropped the three of us and all our luggage at McCarran, so I could squeeze in our lastもっと詳しく
Debbie Smith
Moab is my favorite place in the universe! So envious....but not of the temps!! You guys will never forget this amazing trip!!