Update From the Wild West

Day 9 Wednesday Part 1 I woke up early and started reading a National Geographic until it was time to eat breakfast and pack up. Then we pulled out of camp and went to a place to hike. We hiked to where we saw a bridge made out of rock. It was very interesting. We saw lots of mule deer and even one with antlers. Then we drove to Bryce Canyon. We saw lots of hoodoos that looked like big dribble castles that we make with sand. My favorite part was hiking along the edge on Rim Trail. Then we left and went to Zion National Park. - Mackenson Part 2 When we got to Zion National Park, we saw big horn sheep right on the side of the road and right as we passed them they started crossing the road. Then when we got into the main part of the park, we had to stop and talk to a ranger. She said we were too wide for the tunnel that was up ahead so she stopped traffic and said we had to drive down the middle. The tunnel we went through was a little over a mile long. Like always, Mom yelled out the window in the tunnel. Before we went to the campsite, we went to the visitors center but it was closed so we just went and found our campsite. It was kind of late so while the older kids helped with the supper and the guys set up their tent I played in a little stream that went right by our campsite. After we ate it was time for bed. - Berlica
8-8-19 Day 10 Thursday So today was a busy complex day but it went well. We got up fairly early and after breakfast packed up and pulled out of camp a little before 8:00am to go park the van and trailer at the shuttle parking in Zion National Park. The shuttle line was very long with lots of foreigners and many languages going on around us but the line moved quickly and soon we were on a shuttle heading up a magnificent valley with steep walls on both sides. The huge sandstone cliffs collects the snow melt and rain water and filters it through the sandstone until it hits a hard layer of shale I think it was, and then the water comes out of the rocks to form the creeks and streams which gives much needed water to an otherwise very dry area. The views were awesome and after taking the shuttle all the way to the end, we came back a few stops to one called Weeping Rock. At that stop we took a short hike up a side canyon that ended with a cliff area dripping water all along the edge. There were ferns there and Sean saw a few bird species that he hadn’t seen yet. After another short ride on the shuttle we again took a little longer hike up to the Lower Emerald Pools. This ended in a basin with a couple of waterfalls and cool plants and even some butterflies flying around. When we finished this hike we shuttles back to the parking lot where we got back in our vehicle and headed out of Zion and out of Utah. Our next stop was a special treat at Chic-filet for lunch to use some gift cards the kids had from VBS and then on to our campsite in Nevada. The goal was to find a campsite close to Hoover Dam and then go to see the dam. The closest campsite we could find was called Las Vegas Bay Campground and it was desert all around. The heat was intense but we hoped it would cool down some by the time we came back from the dam. We got to the Hoover Dam with just enough time to park and walk the length of the dam and back again crossing over into Arizona and back again. It was impressive to say the least!!! When we got back to camp the heat was still stifling so we moved the camper to a little more shaded area and tried to make the best of it. After a quick supper Heather and I loaded up all the laundry and headed into town to do wash, grocery shop, and pick up Beth Newton at the Las Vegas Airport. It was quite late when we got back but only Berlica and Mackenson were sleeping. Ellie, Faith, and Hannah decided to sleep outside while the boys and Sean were in the tent, and Berlica, Heather, Beth, and I slept in the camper. It was hot to say the least!! It gave us all a great appreciation for the comforts of life such as air conditioning and electricity. - Joan
Saturday Day 12

We left at a decent time this morning after a very WARM night in the desert. I can’t speak for all but there were several who didn’t sleep well last night. We had eggs, bacon, and left-over steak for breakfast. Then packed up and left. It’s a pleasure to have Beth with us. So nice to see her again.
We drove to California to say that we have been in California. Side note- the vast majority of cars we have seen at the National Parks have been from California. Second side note- I think we have close to 43 states on our state list and several Canadian provinces plus Germany. We stopped at a Dollar General to pick up a much needed deodorant in Needles, California, then continued our journey to the Grand Canyon. We made it in a rain storm and ran into the visitor center to get out of the rain and get the kids Jr Ranger books. We watched or slept through the informational video and then headed to our campsite. We had a yummy supper of hamburgers and other things. We quickly left to take a shuttle ride to Yaki point and watched the sunset. It was beautiful and we were cold. Quite a change from the morning. After we got back we loaded up the van and all went to shower. Yeah! We all feel and smell so much better. Since it was raining when we came back we decided to forgo the s’mores. And the guys decided to sleep in the van instead of a tent. We all had a good sleep, better than the night before and we’re looking forward to seeing more of the Grand Canyon. By Heather