Spring Break 2011 - Day 5: Zion's National Park and Bryce Canyon

    Are we there yet? Are we there yet?  That is how I felt as this day began.  We were trying to get out the door and Brayden went out back.  Of course Mister Danger found the only mud pit outside.  The car was packed and we have to unpack it.  He was thigh high in mud.  We had to take him out back and spray him down.  Smart thinking on our part (meaning the parents) he had two pairs of shoes.  Finally we packed the car (for the second time) said our goodbyes and we were on the road.
 
       The plan today was to get into Utah.  With Brayden's little adventure we started a little behind.  As we drew closer to Utah we challenged the kids to look for as many temples that they could see.  Our first stop was St. George.  Some of us got out of the car and took pictures.  Then we jumped back in the car and were back on the road.  Driving through St. George there were some cute families playing in the water on a hot day.  It was time to move on.



St. George

                                                 
      Our second stop for the day was Zion's National Park.  We didn't know very much about this Park and our friends told us of some places to stop and see.  There were a few people camping but lots of traffic.  There is normally a bus shuttle that drives people to different locations, like the Grand Canyon, but it didn't start until the next day.  So we drove back into the park.  Zion is a place that you can do a lot of quick day hikes and see a beautiful sites.  We parked the car and headed up to Weeping Rock.  Weeping rock is a waterfall that depends on the snow melt from the neighboring mountains.  Because it was early spring their was a lot of water.  It was really wet and slippery.  Of course there were puddles everywhere and puddles attract kids.  The kids run through the puddles and try and get as wet as they can.  On the way up the trail and down there are signs pointing out all of the flowers and trees.  A really good nature walk for cub and boy scouts.  So now I have wet, enlightened kids and what do I do with them?  We drive around the rest of the park.  They have quiet a few references to Church things in this park.  There are a hike and place called Angel's Landing.  It is a waterfall that looks like Angel's are landing.  There are also rocks formations that is called the Organ.  We decided to park and do another hike to dry out the kids.  This one was called the Emerald pool.  Surprising enough the kids were quit enough that a family of deers walking across the trail we were hiking on.  Once you walked into the shadow of the mountain it cooled off a lot.  It was off back to the car and to drive through the park.  Zion's National Park was absolutely beautiful and a very picturesque place.
Two of my favorite things is the natural bridge and the checkerboard.



Weeping Rock




Angel's Landing



Emerald pool

Nautral Bridge

Checkerboard

   It was finally off to Bryce Canyon.  Between the two parks it is about 2 and a half hours.  By the time we got to Bryce it was almost sunset.  Bryce is also higher then Zion and there for more snow.  The kids were beyond exhausted and ready to get out of the car.  So we treated Bryce like the Black Gunnison earlier in our trip.  However, Bryce had more to look at and was much more beautiful.  I was feeling like I was back in Colorado.  The painted rainbow and the natrual bridge where my favorites here.  The painted rainbow is the layer of rock that looks like a rainbow when the sun sets.  So the prefect time to be there.  The natural bridge has it's own outlook from the road.  You have to get out of the car in order to see it.  It was a big surprise to both Matt and I.  He got out first and told me that I needed to see this one.  We finished a quick drive through the park and headed for the hotel.  This hotel was the negative side of the trip.  It was everything that we didn't pay for.  We went down to a family own resturant for dinner where the fruit of choice was oranges.  So all the kids had orange smiles.  It was off to bed and move on to the next day.

Nautral Bridge

Painted Rainbow

Overlook of Bryce Canyon

See Mommy is done!!

 

Pin count 6, State count 5, and two very tried parents.

Spring Break 2011: Day 4 - Las Vegas

          After two nights in Arizona it was time to move on once again.  It was nice to look at all the trees and then you blink and it is back to sage brush and desert.  We were headed to Las Vegas.  I lived in Las Vegas when I was Abby's age.  It has been a long time.  I was looking forward to seeing the old haunts.  First stop was to the Hoover Dam.  The kids watched Transformers (the first one) and asked if they could see Megatron.  We told them that he wasn't there anymore.  It was still nice to see the place in real life.  The bridge was finished and we drove across it on the way in.  It is called the Memorial bridge.

         We parked the car and headed back across the bridge to get another pin.  Long ago when we started our Military lives my Mother made a quilt of the United States.  We gather pins for all the places we have visited and some where family has visited and live.  So at this point in our trip we have five pins.  We picked up a pin for the Hoover Dam and for Las Vegas. 
     


There was a really cool memorial on the Nevada side of the Dam that is dedicated to those that built the Dam and those that lost there lives.  So after a quick purchase of pins and some more pictures it was off to Vegas.

 As I stated before I lived in Las Vegas over twenty years ago.  When I left the Excalibur was the new thing.  Matt hates traffic but was a good support and drove through downtown so the kids could it.  They were also watching Despicable Me (a must see) when he steals the Pyramid from Las Vegas.  So they were on the look out for the Eiffel tower, Sphinx and the Pyramid. It was crazy to see how much it has changed.  We left seeing all the things on the kids list.  We pasted the famous Las Vegas sign that funny enough had a showgirl in front of it.  We had a good laugh about it but pasted on that. 
   It was on to Nellis AFB where I received my first id card and have memories of Desert Storm.  The housing that we lived on was off separate base housing.  It was sad to see that they cut down all the trees that where there.  They had all torn down the old house and had put up new ones.  It was officer and enlisted housing but now it was all enlisted.  It was really nice houses but I'm still sad about all the trees.  We also took the kids by my old elementary school.  The frame is still the same but it had changed a lot too.  Okay kids are ready to kill each other we need to get out of the car but where to because it is hot in Vegas.  It was on to the Thunderbird museum.  One of the perks of living in Colorado Springs is that every May the Thunderbirds come to the Academy for the graduation and we get to watch them.  So it was very exciting to see the history and learn more about the different jets that were used and all the different crews.  A proud history.

  Here's your trivia question: Why is the number 5 displayed upside? 

Our Bishop's Son

The other cool thing is our Bishop's son is on the maintenance crew for the Thunderbirds we found his picture on the wall.  It was finally off to see the temple.  The Las Vegas temple was the first one that I ever saw.  It was completed when we lived there.  I was also old enough to go to the dedication.  My Mom and I sat it Baptismal room and my Dad sat somewhere else.  The kids loved seeing the view from the temple of the cities.  We were finally on to Matt's friends house where we were staying the night.  We sat outside for awhile until the bugs came out and the bats followed the bugs.  It was time to go inside.  Talked late and finally it was time to go to bed.  We needed some rest before the next adventures.

Spring Break: Day Three: Grand Canyon

            With day three of our trip we slowed down a bit.  We were all up around eight after getting some much needed rest.  We went to the nearest Wal-mart to pick up some things for lunch and to buy Tangled.  The kids loved the movie and it was one that would be watched over and over again.  It was finally time to go to the Grand Canyon.  The kids were excited and looking forward to this place for a long time.  We have been talking about going to the Grand Canyon since we moved here to Colorado.  With a snow storm every spring we either stay put or get out of dodge.  This year we decided to get out of dodge.  On to the Grand Canyon: I remember going as a child when we moved from Las Vegas to San Antonio.  It was a long road trip but my Mom always found places to stop whether it was some weird place or something worth seeing.

          

Rock Layers.

  When I came as a child I remember all the traffic at the Grand Canyon.  We all go out to see the Grand Canyon while Mom hugged a tree behind us.  Funny enough the first place that we stopped at seems like the same spot that we stopped almost 20 years ago. 

What do you think?

            While being at the Grand Canyon we found out really quick who are little dare devils were Tori, Noelle and Brayden just wanted to hang off the edge while Abby had a little more caution.  This time going to the Grand Canyon they have a bus system that takes you out to Hermits Rest.  You can either ride the bus or get off at each stop or there are trails to walk along.  It really is a beautiful place and one of God’s greatest creations.

  
 There are plenty of places to take pictures.  I could take lots of pictures to fill a book with here.  The one thing I learned from the Grand Canyon this time was that the layer of rock meant a different time of the earth.  With Matt’s fear of heights we decided not to take the hike down in the canyon.  If ever you decide to go the trail is called Angel’s crossing.  With half the day gone we decided to get on the bus and head out to Hermit’s Rest.  While sitting on the bus Matt found out that there was a book written by the Rescuers of the Grand Canyon about all the deaths at the Grand Canyon.  A little morbid, I know.  One of the most interesting things we found out was that there use to be an uranium mine back in the day.  Smart planning on our part was that we planned that all of Tuesday we would spend at the Grand Canyon.  That way we could experience all that the Grand Canyon had to offer.  We definitely took in all that we wanted to see.

Angel's Crossing

  

Colorado River

End of the line.

Our little dare devils.

Looks like Matt has had it.

     Now that we were done with the Grand Canyon it was time to drive back into Flagstaff for some dinner and then some sleep before moving onto our next adventure.  We did make a stop at a gift shop and bought t-shirts and Matt's morbid book.  On the way back to where the car was park our bus driver shared the dumb joke of the day.

A tourist went up to park ranger and asked:

"When does a deer become an elk?"

The park ranger a little annoyed said:

"Six hundred years!"

      Look for another post for our next adventure.