A long way up to Angel's Landing

One of the best parts of this trip has been getting into the Canyons. Grand Canyon, Canyonlands, Dead Horse Point and Bryce are approached from roads that are above their rims. In each case we hiked down into the canyons or in the case of Canyonlands/Dead horse we took the three Jeep trails and criss-crossed the canyon bottom. At Zion Canyon, you approach it from the bottom next to the Virgin River. The river runs at about 3,000 feet above sea-level. The tops of the highest monoliths are over 5,000 feet. The best hike is Angel's Landing. These pictures capture some of the fantastic views.

These are the first of Walter's Wiggles -21 switchbacks named for the Park Superintendent who had them blasted out of the rock in the 1920's.

The second set of the wiggles is very wiggly.

Once you reach the Scout Landing the view of the Virgin River and the road is spectacular. There is a little railing but only on part of the overlook. This is around 1000 feet above the river.

The next landing is a hard pull up the rock. You have to hold onto these chains and pull yourself up. In a couple places you must lean back and go hand over hand as you move up the rock. The cliff drops almost straight down on the right for several hundred feet. (The height of Walter's second set of wiggles and then some.)

This is the second landing. Mom is standing directly in line with the final assault on Angel's Landing. The trail goes up in elevation another 350 feet or so. We chose to stop at this point.

I went down the trail a few yards and held onto the chain for the photo. Once you start going up again there is one chain, a four foot wide rock trail and shear drops of up to 1400 feet on both sides of the trail. No Thanks.

The hard part about coming down is that in some places the best position is the brown bottom decent. We had a great day on the hike and finished up with an extra three miles to the Emerald Pools.

Do do that Hoodoo that you do so well!

We made the short and beautiful drive to Bryce Canyon in time to set up, take a little nap and eat dinner. After dinner we went to Sunset Point to enjoy the sunset as the rays disappeared from the Hoodoos - that is what the formations are called.
We needed a campfire to stay warm. At almost 9,000 feet elevation the temperature is below freezing over 200 nights per year - including the two nights we were in camp.

One of the best things we did was take a hike down into the hoodoos. The assent is only about 500 feet but it is very icy. Our trail was about five miles in all. Looking up at the formations and passing between steep walls was wonderful.

What a surprize when we got to the floor of the canyon. We were in a forest. The trees grow right out of the hoodoos in some cases.

On the way back up the Queen's Garden trail the forest thins our and the formations take on layers of magnificent colors.

Up on the high overlooks the snow was deeper and the temperature was cold even in the sunlight. This view at just below 9,000 feet is one of my favorites. It is the Arch View overlook.

Ben Walks!

This video is mostly to show Gramma and Grampa that Ben is walking! And there is some of Paige in her princess dress...

Arches and Goblins

Just so you don't think we're getting soft, here is proof of the difficulty of the trails that we have hiked this trip.

Here is the famous Delicate Arch. This was just a warm up hike for us but it is a beautiful destination although very crowded. The drop offs from this trail had us all cringing as the little kids ran all over the "slickrock" which thankfully isn't very slick - more like sandpaper. BTW that is us sitting on the front leg of the arch.
Landscape Arch is the longest arch in the park. It is a 306 foot span. The trail is steep but sandy. Beyond Landscape the trail gets rough with some parts that require you to go on "all fours" and scramble.
Wall arch is actually right on the trail. It is the half way point of our Eight Arch Hike. We left early in the morning so we had very few people on the trail with us. Arches was our last Moab stop. We rested up on Sunday and moved on to Goblin Valley for Monday.

We made Carl and Bobbi watch "Galexy Quest" as a prep for Goblin Valley. For the rest of the trip we all chanted "Never give up, never surrender" whenever the going go tough. We explored the Goblins and stayed in the park that night.

This is really a great place for kids. You can climb on everything. The caves are short but have little passageways and various levels. We found no Beryllium Spheres in our search.

Great Harvest = Great Fun

We got to go on a "Field Trip" with the MOMS Club to Great Harvest Bread Company. It was a lot of fun and very informative. You might recognize our tour guide, Tracy Stout. There were a ton of kids there and at the end we all got a slice of warm bread. Ben had a great time hanging out in the Snugli.

Paige was mesmerized by the wheat grinder - it was huge and loud.

And at the end we bought the best bread ever - White Chocolate Cinnamon Chip. It was more like a dessert than bread, but it was tasty!

Above the Rim and below...

We took three different 4-Wheel Drive roads into and out of Canyonlands. Just before a steep series of switchbacks we pose above what will be our lunch destination far below on the "White Rim."












I had a little trouble getting into position for a really good photo above the rim.



We didn't realize that the rock ledge was only about three feet thick and undercut us by about fifty feet. This was our first destination of the day - Gemini Arches. The sheer drops are all several hundred feet. This place had a plaque to a young man who died there "doing what he loved best." (Falling off high rock monoliths?)








Are these Big Horn Goats or Big Horn Sheep? They scampered across the Schaeffer Trail as we decended into the canyon. They jump from rock to rock like ping pong balls. I was impressed. We also saw an Antelope, a ducky and Elvis.











From the White Rim we had a great view of the Colorado River just below Dead Horse Point.

Runnin' Outta Gas

Sara and I took the kids to the Natural History Museum on Monday and had a great time looking at all of the cool animals (stuffed), bones, dioramas and skeletons they have there. I didn't get any pictures while we were there - but the real fun started when we ran out of gas on the 405. Note to self: when gas light comes on, you probably don't have 3 gallons of gas left.

Luckily we were only about 1/4 mile from the Devonshire exit.

And this strapping young fellow came and rescued us...

While these sweet children all slept away.

After about 15 minutes we were on our way!

The Journey Continues or Life in the Navajo Nation

This was us at the turn around point of our hike into the Grand Canyon. We made it to the first outhouse just ahead of about 30 Boy Scouts from Buffalo, New York.
Hance Canyon - named for John Hance. He was an ancestor of yours on the Sage side and the first White man to establish a residence at the rim of the GC. He was a famous story teller who was given to tall tales and made a good living leading tours. Nowdays, a Ranger dresses up as John Hance and entertains visitors to the park.
This Condor is more handsome than the one we saw gliding over Hance Canyon but they have a wingspan of about 9 feet.
How is this for a camp site? Our view is pretty impressive. We hiked the trails that start in our little RV park.
Here we are at the overlook before we dropped into Monument Valley. I took pictures like I was on a Mississippi riverboat. Lucky for you I am only sending the one. The two mittens and the other mesa are each a mile apart and over 1000 feet high. We are headed for Moab for the rest of the week and next weekend.

More from Mom and Dad

Dad! Don't step back!! Sunset at Yavapai Point. This was Friday. We hiked down Bright Angel Trail on Saturday and were quite proud of our 1 1/2 miles until we talked to all of you today!
Mom selected our first night's accomodations---saw Elvis and two aliens.
We have never seen so many windmills------and it was very, very windy. This is Tehachapi Pass
Sunset at Yavapai Point------the other direction. We looked for a condor, but didn't see one until just a brief glimpse as we left on Sunday. They have been re-introduced here and several other places, as you know!
We'll send some more pictures! we miss you all.

New Babysitting Method

The other day while I was making breakfast, Ben somehow climbed inside of the barstool. He could not figure out how to get out, but he seemed pretty happy to be in there. Then it hit me - my new babysitting method! Now I can finally get stuff done without chasing after this little guy. Paige was also happy to oblige and get in the barstool cage.

And I'm not kidding - this is going to be my new method for keeping the kids contained while I make dinner.

Benny Boy

Ben took a walk around the yard the other day to test out his new walker.

Cherry Blossom Time in D.C.

We took The Metro to Capitol Mall to see the Cherry Blossoms. As we approached DC the car filled up with Baseball fans and blossom gawkers. Where did all of these Cherry Trees come from? The tidal basin in encircled with trees. I have always loved the Jefferson Memorial. It is the center piece of the festival.
Yes, you can rent paddle boats and add "freezing to death" as a part of your visit.
Our lovely ladies pose on the bridge with the Washington Monument as a backdrop.

We join the crowd on the steps of the JM to watch the always fascinating Cloggers perform.

Evan and his Daddy had a great time looking at the horses and picking up sticks.