Home Again

Well, we made the trip home through the Utah/Arizona/Nevada/California desert! We definately could have stayed longer, but we were glad to be home too. Everyone agreed the the second half of our trip that included the National Parks was the best part. Most of the girls liked Yellowstone the best, because of all the animals, and I liked the Tetons the best. Kristian enjoyed the mountain states and really would like to move there, though he admits he might feel differently in winter.

We have already decided that the must be a Road Trip 2011, to the midwest, conviently starting Zion. We'd like to see Mt Rushmore and the Badlands and fill in the blanks on our map. after that, we'll only have a few states in the south, and the three uppermost New England states, before we've seen them all. They will have to wait until 2013 :).

We're very grateful to Aunt Karen for feeding the cats and watching the house, thanks! We missed all of our friends and family, and are looking foward to getting caught up with everyone. Thanks for following our adventure!

Zion National Park

After an overnight in Salt Lake City, we arrived at Zion National Park in southern Utah. We endured much rain and cold in the mountain states, and were nearly knocked over by the heat at Zion. We arrived mid-afternoon and after unhitching the trailer and setting up camp we were melting. For the first time in the almost 3 years we have owned this trailer, we actually turned the AC on. It works :). Then we decided to go drive through the Zion Mt Carmel tunnel.

The 1.1 mile Zion Mount Carmel Tunnel was finished in 1930. At that time it was the longest tunnel in the United States. It's got low clearance, plus it's curved on the sides. When we entered the park, we were told we had to hang a "No Tunnel" sign in our window, because our tow combo exceed the acceptable length (we meet the height requirement). Once we left the trailer at the campground, we were free to go through the tunnel. There are no lights in the tunnel, but there are cut outs to the canyon to provide some light. It was really cool! On the other side, there was Checkerboard Mesa and you can drive to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon from there.

After getting back to our sweltering camp, we decided to go check out the nearby virgin river that runs through the campground. The water was cool, but this was no glacier water like we had had up north. The river is swift in some places, and dh had fun moving rocks and creating a sort of swimmers rapids that the kids could coast down. The water was really deep in some places, and the girls had a great time.

The next day, we caught the Zion Shuttle bus up to the end of the canyon. Cars are not allowed in the canyon above the tunnel crossroad, because of the volume of park visitors. Before the shuttles were introduced, there were 3000 cars in the canyon vying for 400 parking spots. We got off at the Temple of Sinawava, to hike up the Riverside trail. This trail followed the river back into the canyon as it narrows, and ends when the canyon in so narrow, there is no more room for a trail. You can continue up the canyon, however, hiking in the river, assuming there is no flash flood warnings or danger. The canyon gets no narrow at some points, it's only 10 feet across. We hiked up the river until the water was over the twins' heads, and then we turned back. We all agreed we want to come back someday, and hike the whole thing.

Then we took the shuttle down to the trail to Weeping Rock. The sandstone cliffs of Zion absorb rain water, and then leak it out down the sides. This created "hanging gardens" of lush beautiful plants literally hanging to the sides of the cliffs in places. At Weeping Rock, water gushes out at a higher rate, and creates these gardens, as well as make the cliffs "weep."

After lunch at the Zion Lodge, we headed up the trail to Emerald pools. The lower pools is easily accessible, but the middle pool trail is considered "moderate" with sheer cliffs, warning to people afraid of heights and warnings about how people have fallen and died. The Upper pools trail is considered "strenuous" and no longer maintained by the park service. After reaching the lower pools, Mikaela and Madeline wanted to continue on, so DH took the twins back to the lodge for ice cream, and we headed up the stairs cut straight out of the sandstone cliff side. After reaching the middle pools, Mik and Mad wanted to continue on to the Upper pools, and so I sat down on a rock and tried to catch my breath, while they head up with the camera. Meanwhile, as I sat there, a deer wandered in from behind me. The girls got back just in time to snap some photos. They had diligently taken photos of each other at the Upper pool.

We head back towards the Lodge along the middle pools trails, and along the sheer face of the canyon walls. I admit portions of that trail even made me queasy. But the views up the canyon were gorgeous and it was mostly downhill back to the lodge, where we found dad and the twins eating ice cream on the grass. After our snack and our bus ride back to the campground, we all cooled off in the lovely Virgin River again. The older girls and I had hiked about 5 miles.

1 full day was NOT enough time in Zion Canyon. We all agreed that we need to come back, and soon!

Hiking in the Tetons

After rafting in the morning, we set out to explore 2 miles of the Lakeshore trail. This trail actually connects to a small island via a dyke. The views of Jackson Lake and the Teton range were spectacular. We also saw lots of birds and wildflowers. Just as we were returning to the picnic area and the trail head, we finally saw one! The elusive moose! A solo female was crunching away in the trees near the shoreline. She eyed us, and we eyed her, and she mostly just kept crunching away. We were thrilled!

The next day it rained all morning, and we suspected hiking was going to be out of the question. We headed down to Jenny Lake just after lunch anyway, and sure enough it did clear up. While Mikaela and Madeline went on a ranger led (parent free) Jr Ranger hike, DH and the twins and I took the boat across the lake to the Hidden Falls trail head. We hiked a mile up and back on the moderate trail, right in the shadow of Grand Teton to the fantastic waterfall. Then we headed back across the Lake on the boat to meet up with Mikaela and Madeline again to hike another 2.6 miles around Moose Ponds. e didn't see moose there, but much to Mikaela's delight, we saw LOTS of snakes, and saw evidence of both moose and bears. Hiking in the shadow of Grand Teton Peak was very picturesque, and this was my favorite hike so far.

As we approached the trailhead, the clouds became dark and ominous, and a strong cold wind began to blow. Just as our feet found the parking lot, it began to hail! We ran for the car, and headed down to Moose, WY for dinner.

The next morning, we packed up to leave, and although we had hoped to sunrise photos of the mountains, the entire Jackson Hole Valley was socked in with fog. Oh Well! On to Salt Lake City, and then Zion!

Rafting the Snake River

We got up bright and early and met our guide at 8am at the Teton Lodge for some rafting. We loaded up in vans and drove to the launch site about 10 minutes away. After the life jacket training, we donned said vest, and jumped in the raft (some of us more exuberantly than others- see photo of Kristian falling into the raft).

We were taking a scenic raft trip- so no whitewater for us. The raft traveled quite quickly though, and we learned that the Snake river is faster than the mighty Colorado. We saw lots of water fowl, plus bank swallows and a bald eagle. We desperately searched for moose, but saw none. Kristian spotted what he thought was a bear in the woods, but it turned out to be a large male bison, that jumped in the river just ahead of us. He got halfway across, and then changed his mind and turned and headed back for the bank. After several attempts he hefted himself back on the bank and we floated by. We also saw lots of pronghorn on the banks, all the while listening to history of the river from our guide.

The views of the mountain range were incredible, and a great time was had by all!

Leaving Yellowstone for the Grand Tetons

We left our campground bright and early to get a head start on the road to the Tetons. Unfortunately, a herd a Bison was entirely unconcerned about our schedule, and picked this time to stand in the road and impede traffic. Good Times.

The drive to the Tetons was beautiful. After leaving Yellowstone's South Entrance, we spotted a Grizzly bear across the river in the meadow. There were also many hilarious signs about watching for wildlife in the road, including one funny poem that went something like: "We saw wildlife, from afar, until we hit them, with our car." Unlike the Roosevelt Arch, we did at least take a photo at the Yellowstone sign upon leaving the park.

At our first glimpse of the Teton Range, we were awestruck. Grand Teton Peak is not quite as tall as Mt Rainier, but its very dramatic none the less. We were glad to find space at Colter Bay Campground, and got busy at the visitor center planning our stay. After taking a look at the camp store prices, we drove down to Jackson to get supplies, and also saw the first of many Pronghorn Antelope along with Elk and Bison, which we were now bored with. We looked carefully for moose, but didn't spot any. Tomorrow, rafting on the Snake River!

Old Faithful and Grand Geyser

On Monday, we took deep breaths, and braved the crowds at Old Faithful. It goes off ever 90 minutes or so, and we dutifully took our seats and waited with the crowd. It was great to see it, but we were ready to move on. We walked the geyser basin and got to see many of the famous hydrothermal features, as well as seeing the Riverside geyser go off. We had been told that the Grand Geyser was worth the wait, but it had a 4 hour window. After having passed it once, and realizing it had 2 hours to go, we decided to stick around and see if we could catch it. Some kids didn't make it (it was windy and COLD!), and DH took them back to the Lodge, but Mikaela, Abby and I stuck it out. In the meantime, an entire herd of Bison moved across the geyser area making people give up their seats to let them cross the boardwalk. Sure enough at the very end of its window, the Grand Geyser burst upwards in a spectacular show. As we left the Old Faithful area after dinner at the Lodge, we also saw the Castle Geyser do it's thing. The girls now know all about the four different kind of Hydrothermal features in Yellowstone, and what causes them.

PS There are a couple pictures with various people holding their noses: Most hydrothermal features are full of sulphur, which smells like rotten eggs. YUM.

Biking to our first Geyser & the Canyon

On Sunday, we put six bikes in the car somehow, and took them to the Lone Star Geyser. After taking pictures of the waterfall near the trail head, we rode off for the 2.4 mile ride to the geyser. The ride, along an abandoned freight road was gorgeous. Once at the geyser, we found folks who had been waiting 3 hours for it to go off, which it did within 15 minutes of our arrival. The 10 or so people who were there were much preferred over the hundreds we knew we would find at Old Faithful. The geyser was really cool, and we were glad for the 5 mile bike ride to work out the kinks from the 9 mile hike the day before.

We also stopped at a few more hydrothermal features on the way home, were we found more Bison in on and around the trails. We also went by Yellowstone Lake, and the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, with the spectacular Lower Falls. Tomorrow, Old Faithful!