Our First Guests

Hi everyone! Well, we finally got to be tour guides this week. My mom and step-dad came to visit us this last Monday. It was great to see them and my mom had never seen this country so it was neat to take them around to all of the sights. We crammed in pretty much in 2 1/2 days. First, we went to Cedar Breaks and Brian Head ski resort. Then on Tuesday we took in Bryce Canyon National Park (where to my moms excitement, we saw some deer with a buck, and wild turkeys) Then we went to Kodachrome Basin. That's more of a desert with rock spires that are called Hoodoos. We also drove to the Hog Back on scenic route 12. that's a section of road built in 1930 for mail delivery. It cost 1 million dollars for 22 miles and a section goes on top of a ridge where you can see straight down over 1000 feet on both sides.

On Wednesday, we saw Zion National Park. The tall, sheer mountains and different formations were awesome. The tunnel connecting west and east Zion was an incredible work was engineering. It was started around 1920 and took 10 years to complete. they made shafts out the sides where they threw all the rubble. It goes a mile under a big mountain. If you close you can see one of the windows in the picture of the big red rock.

All in all, we had a great time and it went by too fast. So long for now, Vicki & Ed

Redoing the picture of Canyonlands

Now everyone will be able to see the close up of this incredible canyon. It wouldn't get big on my other blog. Remember just click twice on a picture to enlarge it. Love, Vicki

Dead Horse Point State Park

On our trip to the National Parks this last week we stayed at a state campground. This is right next to Canyonlands N.P. It had great views of the canyon where the Colorado River goes to meet the Green River and a unique legend about the name. It was said that some Cowboys in the late 1800's were chasing wild mustangs and they were going to corral them at this point because at one spot it is only 30 feet across and they made a barrier across to hold the horses. When they trapped the horses there they cut out the good ones and left. The leftover mustangs were left in the natural corral where they couldn't escape and they died of thirst, hence the name-Dead Horse Point. It's a really nice desert campground, the only problem was it was hot, and we were in a tent sweltering. We drove the truck on this trip and brought all our camping gear. By the 2nd day we were ready for an airconditioned hotel room with a pool, but we stuck it out and had a good time.

On another note-we are still not in danger from the wild fires here. Bye for now, Vicki & Ed P.S. this is the first of 2 blogs today.

Believe it or not-more National Parks!

Well, guess what-we went to 3 more National Parks last week. The first one was Canyonlands N.P. That's the 2 outside pictures. As you can see, it has incredible canyons and it's where the

Colorado River and Green River meet. In the first picture, if you look closely, there's a road going around the whole canyon area. It is a 100 mile 4 wheel drive vehicle road that takes 2 days to traverse. There is campgrounds and outhouses at a couple locations. You have to bring all your camping stuff and water and food to go there. Ed is dying to do it. Some of the dirt road is winding and steep and I'm a little leery about doing it. So we will see who wins that decision!

The next National Park was Arches. It was the neatest of them. We drove around a small mountain and the valley was filled with spires and buttes of red rocks, some rocks were precariously balanced on others. Off on trails and on some roads you could see all kinds of arches. This one pictured is called Delicate Arch. There was a big long arch that was made in 1991. For no reason all the rock inside it fell apart and it sounded like a big explosion. Hikers came to see what happened and there it was! This is definitely a worthwhile park to go to.

The last park was Capitol Reef N.P. This was on the way home. This is comprised of a 100 mile long red granite rock mountain wall and there is other interesting sights to see in it. There is also a historical old west town called Fruita. It's an old Mormon town and you can see some of the original buildings and there are orchards everywhere. You can pick fruit to eat right there for free and can pay to take some home. Of course, nothing was ripe yet. It was a great trip with alot of beautiful scenery. So long for now, Vicki & Ed

A Little of This and That

Hi everyone out there. This post is going to be a catch up on all the little details of our lives. First of all, we found out where we will be this winter. In northern Arizona, there is a small town called Seligman, and we will working at a KOA campground there. It's another high desert location and the temperature in the winter averages 50-60 degrees in the day and 20-30 degrees at night. It's only 70 miles to Ed's mom's house and 175 to my parents in Phoenix. It will be the same working schedule for our full hook-up spot and other benefits.

Next, my mom and step-dad will be coming up at the end of the month to visit and we've been busily planning all the places that we want to show them.

This weekend we had a big family reunion here. There was kids and ATV's everywhere. In southern Utah there is over 3000 miles of four-wheeler trails. You can take off from our KOA and ride on the roads in town and go on marked trails to just about anywhere. There are easy ones for beginners to difficult for experienced riders.

On a personal note: My hair is driving me crazy! I have to keep it up here because of the heat and wind and to top it off, I cut my bangs too short. They look like the way my mom cut them when I was little-short and crooked! Also, it's been an uphill battle on my weight because I'm not as active as I used to be. O.K., enough whining for now! We are planning on going camping in the truck this week so we can go on some scenic dirt roads. Well, you guys, I miss you and hope everyone is hanging in there. Till next time, Vicki & Ed

Utah's fires

I was going to talk about our trip to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon , and I will, but first I want to talk about the major fires here. I'm sure you all have been hearing about them, but I will still fill you in. Friday nite a lightning fire started up in the hills by interstate 15. With the strong winds by Saturday morning it was out of control and ended up being on both sides of the highway. It moved so fast that the highway patrol couldn't close the road fast enough and motorists actually got caught in it. Two motorcyclists stopped when the flames came close to them and the car behind them ran them over and killed them. Also, a semi-truck caught on fire but he ended up being alright. They closed the interstate for 95 miles and traffic was backed up forever and a mess. We had campers here that came Saturday and were incredibly glad to get here. The highway is back open, but the fire is 0 percent contained.

Now to the Grand Canyon-it was awesome! At first I thought it was going to be looking at it and it would be the same as the South Rim. But, there was one lookout that made it all worth while, and that's in the above picture. As you can see there's a path on top of that rock, and in the hole if you look closely, the Colorado River can be seen. The drive was pretty and went through forests and meadows and we saw a few deer. It was a wonderful time and I'm glad we decided to go. Well, that's it for now. I hope everyone had a great 4th of July. Take care everyone, Vicki & Ed

Revisiting Bryce Canyon

Hi everyone, we finally did the whole road through Bryce Canyon N.P. It was well worth it. The road gradually winds around some spectacular scenery with frequent pull-outs and little trails to go on. I keep thinking seeing more red rocks are going to get boring, but every time I'm in awe of this country. We also went to Bullhead City, AZ to visit Ed's mom. It's getting very hot there. It was 110 degrees. Sort of like sitting in an oven and basting and baking! With the 4th of July coming on a Wednesday, our reservations are more spread out which is nice. I think this week we plan on going down the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. I've only been to the south rim and I heard the north rim is incredible, so I can't wait. That's all for now. Take care everyone and know You're all in my thoughts. Bye, Vicki & Ed