Columbus

Packing for our next adventure! Bryce Canyon National Park, Zion National Park, Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam and finishing off with a show in Las Vegas!
Travel day to Bryce Canyon, Utah

Quite a long day! Up at at 4:30 am and Emily drove us to the airport. Four hour flight to Las Vegas then four hour drive to Bryce Canyon National Park. The drive was nothing short of breathtaking!Les mer
Hiking in Bryce Canyon

More hiking!
Hiking in Bryce Canyon

And more hiking!
Hiking in Bryce Canyon

The are no adjectives that do this Park justice. Everything is breathtaking!
Geological talk

We started out the morning by relaxing in the lodge in front of the huge fireplace and meeting other guests. We then went to the rim and listened to a very interesting talk about the geologicalLes mer
Mossy Cave hike

This afternoon we hiked the Mossy Cave trail. There was a "waterfall" which was basically a trickle of water going down a hill. The cave was actually a grotto and not very big. But the scenery wasLes mer
Fairyland Viewpoint

A spectacular view from a point north of the park.
Red Canyon Trail

After leaving Bryce Canyon this morning, we stopped in the Red Canyon Park area. We hiked up a small mountain to the top where we could see forever!
Zion National Park

We took a little detour on our way to Zion and spent a couple of hours in Kanab, Utah having lunch, browsing some shops and getting coffee. The drive into the park was mind boggling! The rock cliffsLes mer
Hiking at Zion

We took a very nice little hike before dinner.
Hike to Scout Lookout

This morning was the most ambitious hike we've taken yet. Two miles of upward climbing for a total ascent of 1,070 feet! What a view once we made it to the top. In some of the pictures you can seeLes mer
Hike to Scout Outlook

More from our hike today.
The Narrows

This was one of the most amazing hikes we've ever taken! A one mile hike along the Virgin River then about three more miles IN the river going upstream. Some of it was along the banks because theLes mer
The Narrows

More pictures from this hike.
Travel day to Grand Canyon

Most of the day was spent traveling from Zion National Park to the Grand Canyon. We could not believe the grandness of the scenery the entire way - from high red rock cliffs to thick forests to vastLes mer
Morning south rim bus tour

We had a very nice bus tour this morning and stopped at several viewpoints. Each stop had a different spectacular view of the canyon. The bus driver gave us a lot of interesting information along theLes mer
Watchtower grand canyon

On the eastern end of the southern rim is a structure called the watchtower. Built in the 1930's, it has three levels inside with large windows for viewing. It gave amazing high views!
Bright Angel Trail

This was our only hike during our short stay at the Grand Canyon. This trail goes all the way to the canyon floor, but had time to go down a half mile. It descends rapidly and has a number ofLes mer
Watching the sunset

We took another bus tour, this time to the west end of the southern rim. It had three stops for viewing the canyon, with the last one watching the spectacular sunset over the Grand Canyon. VeryLes mer
Hoover Dam tour

On our way from the Grand Canyon to Las Vegas we stopped at the Hoover Dam. We took a tour which included a movie about the making of the dam and a guided tour of the power plant, which was 500 feetLes mer
Blue Man Group show

We finished our adventure with a show at the Luxor hotel in Las Vegas, the Blue Man Group. There was lots of silliness and creative music. A great way to relax on our last night on the road.
Back home!

After 1,044 miles of driving, about 9 hours in the air, and countless miles hiking the beautiful western national parks, we're back home - tired and happy. We have many wonderful memories of anLes mer