I have the better part of two days worth of pictures edited for your viewing pleasure of our trip out west. I haven't taken all the pictures of the SD cards so come of ziplining and our visit to the north rim of the Grand Canyon (our first full day) will come out of sequence. There are literally thousands of pictures! Many of them scenery. Which, while beautiful, is not the reason you have come to visit... There are a few I had to share, stick with me. And yes, this is going to be a pic ladden stop by my blog!
We drove a ton! We drove and drove and drove. I kid you not when I tell you that we put 1,695 miles on the Chevy SUV that we rented! And a vast majority of the driving was without music/radio, along straight aways that went on forever and with little stopping along the way. ALL of it driven by Michael.
What you don't see on this map is that after doing the big loop which brought us back to Vegas, we went back to Kanab, Utah to pick up the kids before heading back, again, to Vegas! We got to know that stretch of highway, if you could call it that, VERY well!
Day 2 of our trip began BEFORE the crack of dawn... We had to be in St George to meet our zip line adventure guides at 7am! Grandpa declared a 5am departure time for us with Grandma very sensibly organizing portable breakfasts for our car journey. We arrived with plenty of time to spare with beautiful views of the full moon setting along the way.
Once decked out in our harnesses and brain buckets, we set out for the Green Valley Gap in the coolness of the morning, desert air. Eagerly anticipating our adventures ahead. The children led the way, charging ahead, eager to get to the fun! Mia had to be accompanied on her first traverse 800 feet across the canyon. It was determined that I be the one to escort her. There was NO escort necessary!! This child is my DAREDEVIL!! On multiple occasions she about gave Michael a heart attack as she edged closer and closer to the canyon edges with no tether whatsoever. Needless to say, she opted to do the 3 remaining flights across the canyon solo. Arguing with Nikolas about who would be the first to go!
Grandma, who is afraid of heights, MADE IT!! We are so proud of her, such a big accomplishment! If you ever find yourself out in Southern Utah, I can't speak highly enough of Paragon Adventures. These guys were an excellent group of guides, fantastic with people of all age ranges, encouraging, and the equipment very well cared for and maintained. Highly recommended!
The kids had a climb of the climbing walls back at Paragon's home base while the adults got over adrenaline rushes and bills were paid. From here, we split up. Michael and I took off and a few days to ourselves while the kids enjoyed being spoiled by Grandma and Grandpa.
Court of the Patriarch's rising above Zion as we ride the bus up to the Temple of Sinawava.
Michael and I decided, at the very last minute, that we wanted to "hike" The Narrows in Zion National Park. We stopped briefly at a store in St. George to equip ourselves with the appropriate footwear for the occasion. We took the park shuttle up to the Temple of Sinawava, joined the masses on the hike up the Riverside Walk trail and then continue hiking right up the river to see some of the best "narrows" sections of the North Fork of the Virgin River. The water was cold and moving rather rapidly in places. For a brief stretch, we were in water up to my arm pits with my new "baby" (as the new Nikon is affectionately referred to) nestled in double Ziploc bags tighly sealed in my backpack perched a top my head.
The views towards the end of our hike, as the people pettered out and canyons narrowed were stunning!! Absolutely worth the time and energy. Had we not had to push on and drive another sizeable distance into the mountains, we would have pushed on.
Our original plan, and the reason we chose to spend the night at Brian Head, was to join the star party at Cedar Breaks National Monument. And had we not been thoroughly exausted from all our adventures, I am sure it would have been amazing. To see the full moon and meteor showers over the hoo doos at Cedar Breaks.
Instead, we opted to arise early and watch the sun rise over Cedar Breaks. We did watch the sun rise and we did see Cedar Breaks but these hoo doos are best suited for sunset we learned. The views are stunning with such depth to the color and detail. The wild flowers were equally as breath taking at this time of year.
Onward we must go!! We had made reservations for the 1pm tour at Lehman Caves at Great Basin National Park, still a good distance away. We drove some of the most desolate and barren roads I have ever been on. We happened upon an abandoned mining town along way. We stopped to explore a bit and had an upclose view of the smelters. Fascinating history.
Lehman Caves, though miles from anywhere and anything is well worth a visit. The cave features are just an arms reach away unlike any other cave I have been in. Tour groups are limited to 20 so reservations are well worth the phone call after you've logged that many miles to get there. Michael and I had hoped to hike out to the bristlecone pine trees after our cave tour but grey clouds had rolled in and the weather was getting rather ominous. Not conducive to hiking at such a height.
We pushed on to our hotel for the night in Ely. With a few day light hours to spare, we decided to go prospecting. We had read of a place just outside Ely called Garnet Hill and decided to try our luck. A quick stop at the local Ace Hardware and we were equipped with gloves, a hammer and chisel for all our rock hounding pleasure! We had a good time sifting through the volcanic rock looking for treasure. We would have had a better time had we not had to listen to the other family there ooh and aah over there larger, more frequent finds!
A quick bath for the car to rid her of the grasshopper and bug splat from all the driving!!
And that, my friends and family, concludes the pictures I have edited and stories I have to share for tonight. The boys are living it up in Chicago and Mizzy Moo is at her first sleep over so I have the luxury of sitting here all night. Perhaps tomorrow will bring you part two of our adventures!
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