Red Canyon & Bryce Canyon- Utah

Our journey for the summer has begun! Our first day we traveled into Utah and spent our first night in a BLM Visitor Center parking lot! This was a first for us, as we'd never stayed in a parking lot before. We couldn't have asked for a nicer spot :-) We were up early to continue north towards Bryce Canyon National Park. We are camped at the Red Canyon campground, which is part of the Dixie National Forest in Utah. All set up, we went to fill out the payment stub....uh oh... this is a Double Site??? So we moved and we moved again to find a single site. But on the way through one of the circle drives, a Sabertooth Tiger Rock jumped out and attacked one of our trailer tires. With a loud howl, the trailer tire was injured. Chris had to unhook and rehitch the trailer to get the back tire away from that vicious rock. I'm not sure why the forest service finds it necessary to place such sharp objects on a tight turn. A local tire shop fixed us up quickly, though. The same day we saw a motor home battle the rocks on that turn but luckily his rock was more like a sleeping tortoise and he was able to escape.

All settled in we headed for Bryce Canyon National Park. It is beautiful. But I prefer looking at canyons from below and not from above adjacent to a ginormous cliff!

Red Canyon has some nice trails that take you right up to the Hoodoos without feeling like you are falling off the edge!

Here are Chris and Caleb standing next to one of the small Hoodoos on the trail. There is a nicely paved bike trail next to the campground that parallels scenic byway Highway 12 that we have been riding along. We are off to view more of Bryce Canyon today and are planning to stay put until after Memorial Day.

Summer Adventures Begin!

It sure has been a long time since my last posting! But summertime breezes are blowing through for this teacher and summer vacation is upon us! We have some great changes since our last adventure too. Chris has retired! Now we can travel the WHOLE summer- whoo hoo! He put in 26 years in law enforcement and now it's his turn to enjoy some time off! Laser, the police K-9, also got to retire! He lives with us and thinks he's living the good life now :-)

So off we go tomorrow to try to beat the Memorial Day crowds for our first leg of our trip. We will be heading North out of Arizona to beat the heat. We have a general itinerary that includes Red Canyon, near Bryce, in Utah. Then up to the Grand Tetons for a week or two. Followed by a meandering through Yellowstone National Park. Up to Teddy Roosevelt National Park's northern unit and up into Northwestern Ontario at Lake of the Woods to visit family. On the way back to Arizona we will most likely make a stop in the Black Hills of South Dakota because we love it there!

So no pictures today...but stay tuned! The adventure begins!

LABOR DAY and waiting

Labor Day 2009- Labor Day? You say. Yes. I have been remiss and have not posted. We camped in the woods of Northern Arizona near Gooseberry Springs. We took a drive, followed by a hike to an old fire lookout tower where Caleb found a pump that still worked to provide water for the dogs.

Although we couldn't get into the observation room, we were able to climb up very high...

for some spectacular views.

Truth is, there's definitely a letdown after being on the road. And although we are blessed to have jobs and head out once in a while, the gypsy spirit yearns to be going down the road. Perhaps my old cayuse (horse) Talmir is feeling the same way. He's 26 now and has learned to open the gate to the corral. Of course the other horse follows, and Tal trots down the road to a nearby ranch to see what those horses are up to. Now our follower, Drifter, allows himself to be haltered when we catch up and he dawdles on the lead line home. But not my Arab- oh no there is no catching him when he runs free. Luckily he decides eventually to start running home, so we follow and warn fellow drivers rushing home from the mad dash called Life. (Don't be alarmed, this is NOT a busy road!) So I am much like my aging horse and desire to open the gate and run free.

We had thought about running free this week, as I have a week off of school for a Fall Break. But, not all of us have the time off. So we are at home. This is the time of year the snowbirds start flocking but we wait for the next opportunity to open the gate!