The kids spent the night with cousins at mom and dads so we did some more laundry/cleaning, bills, and continued hanging out at mom and dads.
Isabella went to spend the night at Julia’s and Emily at our house.
Happy Thanksgiving! 🦃🍁🧡
So much to be thankful for. Thankful for my family, big and small. Thankful to be healthy. Thankful to be able to stop and realize we have it better than we deserve.
The girls spent the night at Julia’s and spent most of the day there.
Then we all went over to mom’s house to set the table for Thanksgiving and I made 2 delicious pecan pies.
We drove up super late last night so Edwin and I slept in this morning. We had a mellow day of being back at home.
The girls played with some friends at school and then we went to JJs for dinner and the girls spent the night.
We were beat today. Physically and emotionally. We had already paid our deposit for the Narrows gear and we were excited and wanting to do it, but we were tired.
The girls had Rrollie pppollies for breakfast and thankfully the gear shop was right across the street.
Weather wasn’t supposed to come in until Thursday, but when we got in, they told us there was no danger of any flash flooding, but there was a 20% chance of rain in the afternoon. Good to know. The gear consisted of 2 neoprene bootie socks, a dry suit, and a walking stick. I’ve never worn a dry suit before. It needs to be suctioned by the ankles, but boy is it tight and uncomfortable.
We took the 40 minute bus ride up to the Temple of Sinawava. From there its a mile walk on a path along the river before the path ends and you continue in the river. You can follow the river up about 7 miles, but in the river you walk a rate of about 1 mile/hour so basically you go as far as you want before you turn around. You are walking in the Virgin River up this deep canyon.
The sun was already disappearing in the sky when got off the bus so with the thought of a possible storm we didn’t venture too far up the river. It kind of worked out because it was hard work walking in a river bed and we were pooped already from yesterday, so I think we enjoyed not worrying about seeing the “spots” up ahead, rather go as far as we wanted. We turned around after an hour and a half in an since we were in dry suits we floated down the river wher we could. The dry suits had enough air in them that they puffed up around our shoulders. It was super fun. We were dressed warm enough for the temperature but our hands did get cold since we didn’t have neoprene gloves. A bit of water came in down through our necks as well as we were floating but it was worth it.
I’m happy we turned around when we did. It took as about an hour to get back down the river and after the mile walk back to the bus stop we were happy to be sitting. We couldn’t wait to get back to the RV and get out of our dry suits which were now wet inside because water flowed in through the neck as we floated down. We were cold. We were tired. And 5 minutes into the bus ride the first sprinkles came from the sky. By the end of the 40 minutes back to the visitor center it was raining pretty solid. I was feeling extremely good that we didn’t push it today and didn’t get stuck in any weather.
It felt like it took forever to get the gear off the kids and ourselves. It was raining well at that point and being so close to getting warm and dry we all instantly felt ‘too cold’.
We warmed up as the girls finished their junior ranger packets then went back inside the visitors center to receive their badges.
We returned the gear and we were off. Last night the campsite was so nice we were contemplating staying another night and leaving middle of the night/morning instead. We had been planning to go home through Tahoe, but we saw the storm was coming to Tahoe Tuesday night so thought it better to a few hours in tonight. It was easier to not feel bummed about missing another sunset in Zion. It was storming in Zion. It was time to get out.
Pretty quickly into the drive we realized…what exactly are we going to Truckee for. We do need to pick up some winter gear, but its a long drive, only an hour more to Oakland, and then we don’t have to drive the 3 hours down from Tahoe or worry about missing the storm. So instead we are driving to Oakland.
Edwin is a beast with the machine. We are driving through the night to get on home for Thanksgiving 🦃 🍁 🧡
Holy Guacamole. I don’t even know if I can write about today. Today was intense. Luckily I can, because we are all safely on the ground that is level with the ground, but, wow.
Angels Landing is 5.4 round trip hike going up 1,488 feet. The first 2 miles are switchbacks and the last 1/2 to 3/4 miles are along a narrow spine to the top of “angels landing” with drop off on both sides of you at times with only a few feet of rock to walk on and a chain to hold on to.
We did the Angels Landing hike in Zion. I’m so incredibly impressed with the girls today. They were what they needed to be, both smart and strong, but more importantly they were poised. They gave the mountain their respect and thankfully it was given in return
….but need to star at from the beginning…
We woke up early to the do the Canyon Overlook Trail to catch the sunrise. I was happy we had clean laundry and clean floor mats and dog beds so the RV felt clean. The girls were tired and not excited about hiking early in morning even if it was only 1 mile. Thankfully we had some leftover pie from last night and I was smart enough to bring it with a few spoons. The sun warming up the canyon across the way was beautiful. I’m pretty sure they enjoyed it more as they were eating pie.
On our walk back to the car I can hear up ahead that Edwin and Isabella have run into someone we know. Someone from the trip? From the last park we were at? (we will run into the same people traveling the same itinerary for a few days) Even better…its Olivia, Ethan, Emily, & George from Corpus. How awesome to run into you on this trip and how lucky to be on this trail so early in the morning. So fun! We all gave hugs and after chatting for a bit we both continued on our way. Have fun on the rest of your trip to the Grand Canyon 🙂
We drove through the tunnel and went straight to the campground (only 1 open this time of year) but it was all full. This is the first full campground we’ve encountered. Bummer. All was good though because the town of Springdale borders the park and there was an campground close to the entrance into the park. Sweet! Edwin scored us an awesome spot right on the river.
We had planned to hike the Narrows Trail in the Temple of Sinawava. A photographer at Canyonlands told us about it. You have to rent dry suits because you walk up though a canyon in the river. The rental place was right across the street from the campground. Nice. The girl Madison talked us into doing the Narrows tomorrow because they were low on gear so we put up our deposit and decided to go out to breakfast (which was awesome at the Parkhouse Cafe) and hike the Angels Landing hike around lunchtime.
We have talked about this hike for the last few weeks. Edwin and I did this hike 20 years ago. We remember it being a little scary, but it was much scarier this time around. The spine with the chains is over 1/2 mile so its a long ways traveling like that. Don’t know if it is my age. But pretty sure its because the girls were with us. We were ready to turn around at any point, but the girls were steadfast.
The girls were so proud of themselves as they should be. The best part of the hike, their faces when they got to the top, for sure! The feeling of walking out onto angel’s landing itself is indescribable.
Going back down was easier, but not any less nerve-wracking. I’m actually proud of all 4 of us as we maneuvered our way down cautiously but confidently, and of Edwin and myself managing our nerves over the kids during the ascent and descent.
Now that we are back down, Edwin and I have been sitting around the campfire, and we honestly both feel a little ill about it. I’m just happy all ended well. Many people hike this every year but I have to say that I’m feeling like quite the irresponsible parent tonight having brought our kids on that hike. Tons of people have done it, many younger than ours, and for the millionth time we are back down, but don’t know if that was worth the risk in the end?
It is a doable route, however honest mistakes/slips could very easily be deadly. This is my 2nd time up, and pretty sure my last.
Ok, here are some pics, please don’t be mad at us if you think we’re crazy. Truth is I’m still a bit mad at myself.
This picture is making my stomach turn again.
When we were descending we saw a giant condor flying right around the north side of the cliffs. It felt very special. Vera very much enjoyed this sight. We were actually keeping an eye out for the Peregrine Falcon up top, but this proved to be quite a site. The California Condor is the largest flying bird and has a bigger wingspan than an eagle.
We got back to our RV, drove to our campsite, and it was a beautiful sunset on the river. Edwin got us an perfect spot right on the river, had good neighbors, and were beyond happy to enjoy a beer by the fire, on ground connected to more ground, and have a simple yet delicious dinner of hot dogs.
The girls were pooped and went to bed early so Edwin and I got to enjoy the night around the fire…even if we did switch back from being elated/proud/happy/incredulous with an also sickening/disbelief/guilty feelings. The other plus for staying up late…the girls never have enough patience to wait for the fire to get s’more perfect…but Edwin and I usually have ours right before bed.
Well that was an exciting morning. There was an ATV rental on site at the campground so we went there straight away when they opened at 9am. We rented a 4 person side by side ATV. It was super sun!! Surprisingly it was our first time ever renting something like this despite talking about it whenever we come across sand dunes.
At first we were bummed that it was rented as a “tour” but it still ended up being a blast!
Edwin drove the first leg with Isabella in the front. We went on a little “slot canyon” walk in the beginning of the tour.
I drove the 2nd leg and it was more fun that I thought it would be twisting and turning through the more vegetative part of the sand dunes. Then we switched again and Edwin drove till we got back to the big fat sand dunes. We knew it was about to end so we did a quick Chinese fire drill and I got to drive for a few minutes up and around the rolling sand dunes myself 🙂 That was definitely worth it, glad we did this today.
The rental was about 2 hours so when we got back we ate a little snack but then went back out to the sand dunes so we could run around them ourselves. And of course we wanted to get Daisy out there too running around especially before we went into Zion and she’d be stuck in the car most of the next few days. And check out this picture somebody took as we were walking up the sand dune. Ya think Daisy was happy to be out running around? (thank you again for taking that pic on your own and then just air dropping it to us 🙂
This sign made us stop and we picked up a HO MADE thunderberry pie.
On the way in to Zion we passed by a huge treat and caught a glimpse of a golden eagle. The first one I’ve ever seen in real life in the wild. Very cool. The reason we were able to see it is because it was scavenging on a deer carcass on the side of the road. We actually pulled over and walked back down the road to get a better look, but as we were getting closer a car from the different direction stopped right in front of it and it flew away. How cool it was to see that.
We entered the east side of the park in Zion. Zion National Park. 15th National Park. There is a 1.1 mile tunnel with low clearance separating the main canyon of Zion with the east side of the park. We entered the park at 4pm but it was too late to get “escorted” through the low clearance tunnel (large motor homes must be escorted one-way through the tunnel because of the height of the sides of the tunnel) Wwhich was fine because we checked out Checkerboard Mesa on the East side of the park and camped right outside the park. It was a really clear night and the stars were amazing, but it was a cold night too.
I haven’t really talked about the night sky this past week. It’s been incredible! The moon has been getting smaller each night and the dark sky here in Southern Utah is really something. There are so many stars. So much input, that I’m embarrassed to confess that it is difficult to pick out even the Big Dipper most of the time. At home when your lucky to see some stars the Big Dipper stands out because that’s about all that out there. Here there are so many stars you can see, the Milky Way, everything that its hard to discern. I really would like to spend more time figuring out the night sky. Of course ther is never any internet in the areas where there really is a dark night sky to try and help orient us. What is crazy here at Zion though is I swear I can see the faint dull glow from Vegas (2.5 hours away) in the sky tonight unlike at Bryce nad Natural Bridges.
Competing for just as exciting as the night sky is the campground has a lounge for the campers with foozeball and 6 sets of washer/dryers. We’re going to be home in a few days but we really needed to do some laundry.
We survived the snow storm. Of the 15 or so campers the other day only 3 of us are left. It felt nice to have the campground to ourselves. The sun is starting to pop out so we’re looking forward to going for a walk.
We are all dressed ready to go, RV picked up ready to pull in and the slide…and…it breaks again. This time while the slide is popped out, it won’t come in. Seriously!?! Argh…
Edwin is my ⭐️ HERO! He gets on the phone with the mechanic who fixed it back in Grand Junction a week and a half ago. The motor popped about of the gear track yet again. Edwin was be able to fix it of course 🙂 So thankful that Edwin can fix just about anything and makes doing a trip like this possible with something always needing fixing on this RV. Its kind of crazy how the RV business gets away with selling expensive that are built so poorly.
So while Edwin worked on the RV the girls and I walked over to the visitor center to work on their junior ranger packets. Here’s some of the geology of Bryce Canyon National Park.
Bryce Canyon National Park is not really a canyon rather than a collection of amphitheaters full of geological structures called hoodoos formed by frost wedging. Other places have hoodoos but Bryce Canyon National Park has the largest collection of them in one place.
We also found out that the goblin hoodoos we were just at Goblin Valley State Park are wind eroded hoodoos.
Bryce Canyon National Park lies on the edge of the Paunaugunt Plateau.
It is the beginning of what is known as the Grand Staircase. It starts in Bryce, goes through Zion national park, and ends in the Grand Canyon.
We finished up at the visitor center, but not before Vera became one with the animals,
got their junior ranger badges,
met up with Edwin and drove to the trailhead. We combined the Queens trail with the Navajo loop and did the Queens/Navajo loop trail. We ended up buying these cool little rubber chains for your shoes to walk on the icy trails. It was frustrating earlier that we couldn’t just go… when we were ready too but ended up working out and still got out on the trail with blue skies. The intense color of the sandstone with the the fresh white snow and deep blue sky was pretty incredible.
We took yaktrax off about five minutes to early. For an hour the time I spent wondering if it was worth the 20 buck a pair I realize in last switchback how much they helped us along the way. It was really slippery without them on. Glad we got them plus it made the hike more of an adventure.
We walked along the Rim Trail back to the car and started making our way to Zion. We stopped at coral pink sand dunes about 45 minutes outside of Zion National Park. Edwin and I came here 20 years ago and definitely wanted to bring the kids here. We got there right after sunset so about an hour later than we wanted but we still had enough time to walk around the sand dunes and have a big run down one of them, Daisy lives sand in general and ran around like the crazy little dog she is.
SNOW ❄️ We woke up to snow. We were expecting it and not ideal to be in national parks without snow gear but this was the weather and we were coming this direction. It ended up being quite nice because we had a relaxing day just hanging out in the RV.
We did make a big trip outside to the general store 🙂
Tomorrow’s supposed to be a nice sunny day. Should be beautiful with the snow