HOO DOO YOU LOVE?

Monday, 5/24/10. With snow in the forecast, Tim is up at 4:30 a.m. to check the weather outside--it's snowing!! We are both dressed and ready to go at 6:30 a.m. and drive a short distance to Sunset Point.

Bryce Canyon is small compared to many national parks in the Southwest; however, it ranks among the most spectacular and rewarding of all America's parks. The rock formations and cliffs lie at the edge of the Paunsaugunt Plateau, and part of the geologic series of rock layers called the Grand Staircase. A hoodoo is a pillar of rock--pinnacles and spires--left by erosion.

The view is ABSOLUTELY STARTLING!
We walk around the rim and admire all the hoodoos covered with snow. By the time we finish breakfast, the snow has melted. Hike for 3.5 hours below the rim in the canyon. It is gorgeous and serene. Red rock, pine trees. Hoodoos and all..we LOVE it. Our favorite so far.

Bryce Lodge is quaint but we would rather have lunch in the RV + it's hailing outside! At 2:30 p.m, leave Bryce National Park and head 12W to 89S to 14W (Dixie National Forest), to I-15S to St. George.

There's a Walmart!..

restock the fridge! The locals recommend an RV park outside of Utah. The route takes us 30 miles through Arizona, then behold> Mesquite, Nevada.

We register at the CasaBlanca Hotel-Casino-Golf -Spa (and yes,- RV Park). Our site is actually in a fenced blacktop parking lot. Full water, sewer, electric and cable hookups. Very quiet, considering the hotel-casino is packed with people.

Tuesday, 5/25/10. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM! You are still beautiful inside and out...we love you. Wishing you a special day! XOXO

Ponderosa pines to palms!! OK, so I'll run this a.m....one mile for me, and Tim continues running down the road. Breakfast, laundry, bills, and P.O. Ready to roll at 1:00 p.m. and later approach Las Vegas. We have visited here before, but wandering along the Strip is still entertaining!

Circus-Circus has the world's only indoor, double-loop, double corkscrew coaster.


NEW YORK, NEW YORK! has a Manhattan Exp roller coaster that zips past the Statue of Liberty and city skyline.

And the big lion???? MGM Grand!

For lunch, park near Whole Food Market and decide we need more food items....and wine. Rt. 160 takes us to a fun-looking place--Terrible Town Casino and we stop to play a few slots.

Tim's a winner!! He's also a winner with a few locals at Bingo Barn.

Three hours later, we are rolling through the backroads en route to Death Valley National Park, California. It's late..and dark... and we come upon Furnace Creek Ranch Resort. Good a place as ever... until we are escorted to our site, which is along side the laundry and trash and restroom building and backed up to unidentifiable neighbors. Is this the overflow spot?? We look past the amenities and grill turkey legs to go with spinach and yam sides. Doors locked and lights out early.

MORE OF ZION

Friday, 5/21/10. Springdale, Utah, is 120 miles from Las Vegas and near the Arizona border. Zion Park Campground is the best! We see and hear the water rushing down the Virgin River and there are many friends for Zack to play with. We register for another two nights and decide to just hang out.


















Today we reshuffle STUFF again and put out of site the STUFF we really don't need. Strip bed, do laundry, reorganize bins, clean out RV. Tim continues an all-around RV check, tightens bolts and hinges, connects a gas alarm. Walk to P.O. in town and send mail.

An overland 4x4 backcountry tour is scheduled at 5:30pm. Our guide is Steve and he is driving us in a 1974 Mercedes Benz Unimog 404 (once a Swiss troop carrier) fueled by bio-diesel. First, through ghost town Grafton.


Grafton is the location where Paul Newman and Katherine Ross rode a bicycle to the music "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head." Question: Name that movie! (answer at end of post).







Stop by an old cemetery.

Summit mesa with 270 degree views.













Steve shared his wisdom of the local folklore, Indian and Mormon history, geography, geology, flora and fauna. We were surrounded by unusual rock formations, sage, cottonwood trees, a variety of cactus, lichen growth (colony dating), resurrection moss (changes colors with water), and the Utah State flower--seagull lily.













Thanks, Steve!..for the 3-hr thrilling experience on the hidden trails in Zion Canyon.
It's late evening and we stop at the local grill for calamari, salad, and beer. Zion Virgin Stout is a great beer. Must stock up.

Saturday, 5/22/10. It is sunny and 70+ degrees. We plan the next few days, then bike into town. Famous elk burgers and french fries for lunch at Blondie's. Can't pass up the famous Bumbleberry pie at the Bumbleberry Inn. As evening sets, famous Tim's chicken on the grill.



Seriously Sinatra is playing, XM radio, channel 73--with the high river and the high rock in the background. We are feeling very mellow...perhaps the wilderness is taking over?


Sunday, 5/23/10. Such discipline!.. Tim has been running 3-4 miles on a regular a.m. basis. He is working his way up steep inclines, much like the Notch (Erin knows). Shower, breakfast, secure the RV.

At 11:45 am, we head for Bryce Canyon National Park, Rt. 9 to 89 North. We check out the various campgrounds in the Park and locate a quiet spot nestled in the pines at Sunset Point. No hookups...65 degrees and there are rumors of impending snow! Turkey burgers, mashed potatoes and green beans for dinner. Cloudy night, quiet sleep. Looking forward to exploring Bryce Canyon.


Answer to above question: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

ZION NATIONAL PARK

Wed, 5/19/10. Leave Big Rock Candy Mountain, Marysville in Utah, and enjoy a 3-hour winding road drive through colorful valleys and mountains en route to Zion National Park.











A bit of good news to report... 17 mpg , an RV fuel consumption improvement! And here we are at... A TUNNEL?? Measured all around the rig to see if we pass the park tunnel restrictions. BY MERE INCHES (with side mirrors in). Whew, we got through without sheering off the top and sides. Stop at the first trail - Canyon Overlook and take a 2-mile hike. Just beautiful!




There's a leg in that photo below! Want to guess who is napping?

Stratigraphy (Eric knows) is the study of rock layers, showing the relative age of rocks. Zion's geologic makeup is Temple Cap Formation, Navajo sandstone, Kayenta mudstone (dinosaur tracks), Springdale sandstone, Moenave deposits (pooling waters and floods), Chinle Formations (soft shales, petrified wood), and on and on and on.















We had previously made reservations for an overnight stay at Zion Lodge. The setting of our historic western cabin (for 2) is striking. Off in the distance, Zack is very content in the RV.





Thursday, 5/20/10. Sleeping in a cushy cabin bed was strange. And our fine dining at the Zion Lodge restaurant wasn't so great. We actually missed being in our RV!! Happy to get back to our RV...STUFF...and Zack. Coffee, breakfast, and plan our day at Zion. Until late afternoon we biked and hiked the trails Grotto, Weeping Rock and Temple of Sinawava. Amazing panoramic views and amazing array of plants and wildlife.
































< Tim biking.










Tim napping> by the Virgin River. Wonder what he's dreaming about?















Had a wonderful time exploring Zion terrain. Celebrated back at the Lodge with soft-serve ice cream cones. It's getting late and we must get rolling down the road to the next park. Why are we rushing??...there's a lovely RV park just outside of Zion, in Springdale.

P.S. Hey, Dick and Marie..thanks! for letting us know who Gretchen Wilson is from Pocahontas, Ill. Should have known...she's the "Redneck Woman!"

ARCHES NATIONAL PARK

Tues, 5/18/10. 8:15 am.. coffee, breakfast and make trail mix. We are ready for hiking! From the campground, drive 2 miles and enter Arches National Park.

RVTip#5 - All you seniors out there need to get a one-time purchase ($10) Golden Pass. It will get you in all National Parks free!

Over 100 million years of erosion created the sculptured rock scenery in Arches National Park. There are over 2000 arches ranging in size from a 3-ft opening to the longest--Landscape Arch--measuring 306 ft base to base. American Indians used this area for thousands of years. The 18-mile scenic drive is amazing! Hiked 3-4 miles through trails of magnificent stone arches, fins, balanced rocks and other geological formations.

Leave Moab at 4:30pm after filling up with diesel and propane gas. Take Rt. 191 to I-70 West. Exit 23 to I89 South. Time to find a site for the night.

"In the Big Rock Candy Mountains, There's a land that's fair and bright, Where the handouts grow on bushes, And you sleep out every night. Where the boxcars are all empty, And the sun shines every day, And the birds and bees, And the cigarette trees, The lemonade springs, Where the bluebird sings, In the Big Rock Candy Mountains." Question: What singer is best remembered for recording in 1949 "Big Rock Candy Mountain"? (answer at end of post).

Caramel-colored mountains and lemonade springs...do I see a bluebird? We must stay here for the night!!

Our site is so serene and laid back... the neighbors friendly. Shortribs on the grill, yams, and broccoli for dinner. Not in any hurry to leave this setting.

Answer to question above: Burl Ives