On The Road Again!: May 2012

Thursday, May 31, 2012

Day 13: Wednesday, May 23rd- Rafting down the Colorado River

We woke up to overcast skies and chilly temperatures. I admit I was a bit concerned about us freezing on our raft trip. About an hour before we were supposed to leave for rafting, I realized Luke had no shoes to wear in the water. I threw his cruddy sneakers in the trash after our hike in the Narrows because the soles literally tore off his shoe. Mark, Luke, and I quickly ran out to the local Walmart and purchased him a pair of water shoes. Then the rest of us piled in the van and arrived at Blue Sky Adventures a few minutes later. Thankfully, the ‘experts’ fitted us all with water resistant gear (it was not quite cold enough for wet suits), life jackets, and unexpectedly, neoprene boots (Luke chose to wear his spiffy new water shoes instead.) After snapping a quick picture on Curtis’ ipod we were joined by another family of 4 with 2 small boys, and we piled into a 15 seat van (our gang felt right at home!) I learned that this family had moved from Florida to Nebraska to help plant a church and they homeschooled for a year while they transitioned to their new surroundings. During the drive upriver, our guide, Tim, informed us of the potential dangers in the river, taught us the universal, “I’m okay” sign (a tap on the head), and reviewed what to do in the event that we flipped or were thrown overboard.-Yikes! He did reassure us that this is highly unlikely-phew! We arrived at a launching point where the younger family decided they would opt for the less adventurous ride (I think they made the right decision!) –they would go with their guide to a spot further down the river to avoid the class 3 rapids and we would join them there. Our guide wore only his life jacket, a pair of swim trunks,short sleeved shirt, and sandals…he told Mark and I he thinks all the ‘wet gear’ cheapens the experience and feeling the river is part of the thrill…to each his own!! I was so grateful to not be freezing cold! Before we embarked, I asked what we should hold onto when we hit the rapids, he jokingly said ,” Your kids and your paddle!”…I was seriously hoping for some sort of a rope or handle to hang onto for dear life! Then he showed us how to wedge our legs under the inflated bench in front of us…I would later learn that surprisingly, this really works! We decided that Mark and Philip would initially ride up front since that would be the wettest and scariest position. I opted for the last row with Luke and Tim was behind us. He was an outstanding guide and though young,(just graduated from college), he was very knowledgeable about the Colorado River, the local geography, and history of the area we were traveling through. He was also very adept at handling the raft and giving ‘orders’ when needed. Everyone really enjoyed the plunge through the rapids and I was shocked that no one panicked or gave in to fear. In fact, after our first few rapids during a calm spell, he let us jockey positions and even suggested that the kids take turns ‘riding the bull’. I was quite surprised(and a little concerned) when Luke volunteered to do it first. So, he climbed on top the raft, grabbed the bag hanging there between his legs and dangled his feet over the front as we rode through some milder rapids. The only instruction was to lean back and fall into the boat should he lose his balance. He had a blast-laughing the entire time-my only regret is that I could not record this on my camera! Eventually, each family member (except for me!) took their turn up front in this position. For Curtis, Tim had the left side of the raft paddle backward while the right side paddled forward so that we’d be doing 360’s as we hit the rapids causing Curtis to get really soaked as the waves hit him. It was a blast :) Tim had total control of the raft and there really was no sense of fear at all. The water temperature was a brisk 50 degrees so we were all pretty chilled after the 1^st wall of water hit us. We were very much looking forward to the promised stop off at the hot springs along the river bank near the end of our trip. In the end, most of us just decided to just get our hands and feet warm since we’d have to strip off all the wet gear …it stunk like sulfur so we could not immerse the borrowed wet gear in the hot water. It was a welcome break from the cold. Towards the end of our time in the river, we headed under a bridge which housed a water conduit with 2 streams of water being released. Odesco made a comment about wanting to go under it so Tim steered the boat soaking Odesco only…it was pretty funny as I don’t think Odesco actually wanted to get wet nor did he think Tim would actually steer the boat into the falling water. Thankfully we were soon on dry land, the rafts and paddles were loaded on the trailer, and we were brought back to our van. We peeled off the wet water gear and headed over to the office where pictures of our trip were displayed on a large computer screen. Throughout the trip, one of the guys from Blue Sky positioned himself along the foot path next to the river and took photos as we paddled through the rapids. Our expressions were pretty hysterical! The photographer had a bicycle and would ride ahead to the next vantage point. They were selling the entire disc of pictures for $45 but we couldn’t justify the expense and decided the memories and Curtis’ one ipod picture would suffice.** Upon returning to the hotel, all the kids and Mark warmed up in the hot tub across the street…I opted for a HOT shower. We relaxed for a brief time, did more laundry, ran out to restock on groceries, and then went to Qdoba for dinner. This was a real treat since everyone was a little tired of Wendy’s for dinner~ I forgot to mention that soon after we finished rafting, the skies grew grayer and the rains came. Once again the Lord graciously showed us favor as He held off the rains for our rafting adventure!

**edited on 6/20/12...see this post for the pictures of our whitewater adventure:)

All suited up and ready for the Colorado River...

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Day 12: Tuesday, May 22nd-Green River, Utah to Arches National Park, Utah to Glenwood Springs, Colorado- 316 miles

With full stomachs, we pushed on to Arches National Park. Enroute we saw many prairie dogs ‘standing guard”…even one in the middle of the road at a construction zone on the highway. We arrived at Arches late morning and realized quickly it was going to be a hot day! (in the 90’s with minimal shade). We parked at the Visitor Center and refilled all of our water bottles to the brim with ice from our cooler and then with the free spring water provided at water stations/spigots (almost all the National Parks we visited did this to discourage waste from disposable water bottles) We watched an interesting 15 minute Discovery Channel Movie about the park…thankfully, the kids all saw through the evolutionary explanations for such unique land forms. Mercy wanted to know, “Why can’t they see this happened because of a world wide flood?” One piece of information was shared to help visitors understand the importance of staying on the marked pathways. The parched ground looks lifeless but the video stated that walking on it harms a multitude of microscopic organisms which then kills the flora that does live on that rugged terrain. That causes harm to the animals which feed on it and it takes decades for the ground to return to its original state. I had no idea there was so much life happening within and underneath the dry cracked soil. A reminder to me that God is at work even when I don’t ‘see it on the surface.

After viewing the video, we headed up a very long, steep switchback road leading into the park. The ride up is a bit intimidating as you overlook high drop offs. We decided to take a hike to view the famous “Delicate Arch”…all the signs encourage hikers to drink a gallon of water per day…now we know why! The sign also stated that the hike was only 1.5 miles each way and we’re still trying to figure out how they measured that as it seemed much longer. This was another strenuous hike due to the intense heat and climbing hills and rock faces. Near the end, we had to walk along a high cliff ledge and the winds were strongly blowing. When we finally arrived at the viewing point, the winds were wildly gusting since there were no natural barriers. It was well worth the effort as this arch is remarkable and provided quite the photo op! Near the end of the trail back to the parking lot we took a short detour to view petroglyphs. These were believed to have been drawn on the wall by the Native Americans living on the land from1600-1800 AD. Those of us who did not finish their refreshing ice filled water bottles on the trail now had icky hot water remaining.

We then drove to see Landscape and Double O Arches and we walked on a short easy trail to view them. I was very thankful for the gusty winds since we were all sweaty and so dirty from the previous hike…I think it diffused some of our stench and dirt before we piled in the van to head for Glenwood Springs, ColoradoJ We skipped lunch and ate snacks to hold us over until we ate an early dinner at Wendy’s (we have been eating dinner here frequently due to the gluten free choices on the menu). We arrived at our family suite at the Glenwood Suites in the early evening. The younger kids and Mark enjoyed a swim in the indoor pool (located across the street at a sister hotel) while I started the laundry which was conveniently located on our floor. We did 3 loads before heading to bed…it felt great to slow down and regroup again. Earlier in the evening we decided to book this suite for another nite’ because we learned that Glenwood Springs was a great place to raft down the Colorado River-this was an add-on to our original plans. The suite was 2 rooms…one with a double bunk bed on the bottom and single on top and a 2^nd room with 2 queens. The top bunk was flush with the railing so Philip slept on top-(He terrified us the 2nd nite' crying out,"Help me, help me!"- we ran in the dark to the next room and found him having a bad dream...I was so relieved he had not fallen over the useless railing!) Curtis, Luke, and Odesco squeezed into a queen and the girls vied for space on the double bunk while Mark and I slept comfortably in the other queen:) Overall it worked out well and the complimentary breakfast was great with some gluten free options for Grace and the favorite waffle machine for the rest of the gang.

~Balancing Rock~

Windows

Another Arch

Pretty View

Curtis thought the rock in the middle looked like a statue from Easter Island

"The Three Gossips"

The Wolfe Ranch settled in the late 1800's

We've got to hike up there? You can't tell from the picture but there is a steep rock face that we had to climb up. If you click on the picture and enlarge it, you can see the little dots...those are people!!

Here we go!!.....

A trail marker leads the way-it's called a cairn ~actually a line of fellow arch hunters led the way!

This is on the way back to the van but this ledge is situated right before you turn a corner and see the amazing view below...it was a little scary which is why we are hugging the wall since there is a significant drop off.

The Delicate Arch

There were so many people trying to get photos and I was so far away, it was impossible to communicate with the gang to let them know that there were strangers in our picture:( This arch is immense! The wind was really whipping at this point...a little scary since there is a major drop off behind the arch!

This was as close as I got since I was taking the pictures~This hike was definitely another highlight for me :) It's amazing that this arch can not be seen from the car as you drive around the park. The early settlers must have stumbled upon it as they explored the land and then spread the word...

Near the end of the trail...see the petroglyphs/rock engravings?

This is "Landscape Arch"(click on it to get a better view)...the largest arch on the planet-it is the length of a football field! In 1991, a huge chunk fell off it and hikers are no longer allowed underneath it. The video we watched had actual footage of the piece breaking off...scary stuff! I'm grateful there was a fence there now!!

"Double O" Arch

One final glimpse of God's remarkable handiwork !

Day 11: Monday, May 21st-Panguitch, Utah to Bryce Canyon National Park to Capitol Reef National Park to Green River, Utah. 331 miles

After a quick breakfast of oatmeal, hardboiled eggs (thanks Irene!), and Poptarts we headed back to Bryce Canyon to check out the overlooks we had missed the day before. We also stopped at Sunset Trail and hiked the Navajo Trail through “Wall Street” It was such as fun hike down into the cool air of the slot canyon. The way up required a bit more effort as we climbed uphill on sunny switchback trails.This became our new favorite hike.After leaving the park we stopped by a Trading Post Store and there was a hummingbird flying crazily as it vainly attempted to get nectar from the overhead lights. The owner said hummingbirds frequently come in his store and sometimes the only way to get them out is to turn off the lights. This was another gift from the Lord to me personally since I have a fascination with these fluttering powerhouses!

After this, we enjoyed a beautiful drive along Route 12 which is a National Scenic Byway/ All American Road. We traveled through many different terrains over 120 miles. We drove through stark desert, vivid rock canyons with scary switchbacks and steep drop offs, and at one point we were at an elevation of 9600 in the midst of an Aspen forest. Later we were surrounded by pine trees and then back in the red canyons again! For lunch we stopped at the remote Grand Staircase Escalante Visitor Center along Route 12. It was a picturesque setting for us to unload our food bins and make sandwiches. There were several hummingbird feeders with frequent visitors :) The bathrooms were clean( an added bonus while out on the road!) and they had a cool rustic weather station to collect information which is sent throughout the Grand Staircase Region to warn of distant storms that can cause flash flooding in 'wash' areas miles away.

We finally arrived at Capitol Reef National Park mid-afternoon. To be honest, we were not too impressed. I’m sure there were many treasures to be found here but the one hike we thought we’d be interested in, we learned was too dangerous of a climb so we opted out. Instead we took a driving tour of the park. We drove on a dirt road to a ‘wash’ area which had several signs posting NOT to drive in if there was a threat of rain. These are the areas prone to flash flooding in the canyons. Thankfully it was a beautiful, hot day so no worries there. In June there are several orchards(peaches, cherries) where tourists are permitted to pick fruit and eat all they want while there as long as it is not closed off by a gate. These orchards were planted many years ago by the Mormons as they settled in a little town called Fruita. It is a tiny spot of green in the midst of dry canyons. Unfortunately; we were several weeks too early to enjoy the free fruit.

After leaving Capitol Reef we headed to Green River, Utah to spend the night. This drive seemed to go on forever. Initially it was quite pleasant as we drove along deserted mountain roads in the midst of lush evergreens and aspens.We had no cell phone coverage so it was a bit daunting as we had almost no company on the road in either direction. Later the road took us through mountain passes again with crazy switchbacks and warning signs for truckers that there was a 6%grade for 6 miles (whatever that means? all I know is it was steep and unnerving) There were even 2 runaway truck ramps on this section. From this point on, all we could see were gray canyons and plateaus...I can’t really describe it other than to say it was so vast and almost depressing. We passed only 3 vehicles heading the same direction for about 115 miles. The land is so rugged it is uninhabitable (by humans anyway). It reminded us of a desolate moonscape. I dubbed this the ‘Loneliest Road in America’ and we were all so glad to finally see civilization and have cell phone coverage again. We spent the night in 2 adjoining rooms at a Knights Inn. One of the rooms smelled like our dentists’ office so we let the 4 boys sleep there (I don’t think they noticed!) We received 8 coupons for free breakfast at the restaurant next door. We thought it was a joke when the free item was one of the following: 1 pancake, 1 slice of toast, 1 piece of French toast,1 bowl of cereal or oatmeal in addition to one beverage. We were pleasantly surprised as the pancake was the size of the plate! Grace gave her pancake to Philip who has the biggest appetite (because she is eating a gluten free diet). They were out of oatmeal, the one thing she could eat, so we ordered her an egg and toast (she shared the toast with Mercy and Odesco). Our 'free' breakfast cost $12 (including tip) but our family of 8 was full and it was the only breakfast we had to pay for on our entire trip...not too bad:)

All 4 boys in a king bed at our cute motel The Purple Sage in Panguitch (outside of Bryce Canyon) where we scored another great deal on a 'family suite'

Doing our best to keep some semblance of order!

At one of the look out points we missed the day before...

~At Inspiration Point~

Another view of the hoodoos.

This reminds me of an amphitheater~

Heading down the trail to "Wall Street"

The dark spot is actually the slot canyon...we later realized that the guides recommend taking this hike in the opposite direction so that you enter the canyon from the bottom for more of a 'wow' effect....either way, we were sufficiently 'wowed' :)

Getting there...

"In Wall Street"

The view up into the slot canyon from the bottom...

That is one tall tree!!

Odesco found a nook on the trail ...and was covered with canyon dust!

A makeshift bridge...

~Hoodoos from the bottom up~

Another view from down in the canyon

The climb back up...

~'Thor's Hammer'...one of the more famous hoodoos~

~A view from the Scenic Byway~

Lunch time...it was blustery!

I could watch these crazy birds all day long!

Another view on the Byway...see the road cutting through the rock?

So remote...no cell phone out here!

We arrived at Capitol Reef and guess who got a hold of my camera?!

Another view within the park...

Capitol Reef National Park is named because of a few dome like structures which resemble the capitol building and reef because of the massive rocks which were a barrier to travel back when the park was discovered

We drove in this wash area to catch a glimpse of Cassidy's Arch (named after Butch Cassidy who was believed to hide out with his men in the plateau/canyon regions)

The Loneliest Road in America!

A great way to end the day:)

Friday, May 25, 2012

Day 10: Sunday, May 20th-Las Vegas, Nevada to Bryce Canyon National Park,Utah-286 miles

After saying our goodbyes to John, Irene, and Alyssa, we made the trek to Bryce Canyon in Utah. We stopped by our motel in Panguitch, a few miles outside of the park to unload our luggage and check the room out(the kids are not too thrilled with our check in routine...we make them wait in the car until we deem the room 'bedbug free') When we arrived in Bryce, we were shocked by the huge crowds there considering it is so early in the season. We learned soon enough what all the commotion was about. Every year Bryce hosts an Astronomy Festival...this year they changed the date so that it would coincide with the annular solar eclipse (A solar eclipse in which the moon covers all but a bright ring around the circumference of the sun because the moon is too far away from earth )This was to occur at 6:30 p.m. This eclipse was only visible in Asia and in certain western states within a 200 mile band. It was the 1st time in 18 years that an annular eclipse was visible in the western U.S.

anyone within a 200-mile-wide strip of territory between the Oregon-California coast and northwestern Texas, should have the chance to see a rare occurrence, weather permitting of course.

Source: redOrbit (http://s.tt/1aQEw)

anyone within a 200-mile-wide strip of territory between the Oregon-California coast and northwestern Texas, should have the chance to see a rare occurrence, weather permitting of course.

Source: redOrbit (http://s.tt/1aQEw)

anyone within a 200-mile-wide strip of territory between the Oregon-California coast and northwestern Texas, should have the chance to see a rare occurrence, weather permitting of course.

Source: redOrbit (http://s.tt/1aQEw)

Bryce and other National Parks were evidently some of the best places in the U.S. to view it…how cool is that? I think we were the only ones there who had no clue this was going on as most people we saw had chairs, blankets etc. to make viewing the eclipse comfortable. When we arrived at the front gate we were strongly advised not to bring our van into the park but instead to take advantage of the free shuttle buses available. After our experience with parking at Zion, we decided to follow the Ranger’s advice. We arrived at Bryce Point and waited until 5pm for the Rangers to hand out special eclipse viewing glasses. Then we decided to take a hike down into the canyon. We all loved this park! The ‘hoodoos’ are really unusual landforms and the colors are so vivid.They are in really strange shapes and it is fun to imagine them representing different animals...we 'saw' all sorts of creatures during out hike! Luke was the expert:) We all agreed the hike into the canyon was not as scary as the Grand Canyon and it was one of our highlights from the trip. It took us about an hour to get back up to Bryce Point, one of the main viewing areas for the eclipse. The place was crawling with astronomy enthusiasts and avid photographers…there was even a booth selling stuff with the ‘Ring of Fire” logo on it. There were people everywhere and we had a hard time finding a spot for all 8 of us…we finally settled on the path overlooking the canyon. We sat back and watched as the eclipse began…it was like waiting for a pot of water to boil as the moon slowly moved over the sun…it was better to take a break and then look again because you could notice the progression more. I think we were entertainment for the people immediately surrounding us as the kids soon grew bored and began tricking Mercy by covering her glasses so that she could no longer see the sun(the glasses make everything but the sun black so she could not see their shenanigans with her glasses on). After viewing for about 45 minutes, we moved down to the parking area knowing that halfway through the eclipse (when the ring of fire was evident), the crowds would disperse and there would be bedlam as all those people tried to get on a shuttle back to their cars. We watched the final 15 minutes from the parking area with a very enthusiastic Park Ranger who literally counted down until the ring of fire was visible. There was even a blown up image from a special telescope projected onto a sheet hanging from a truck. Luke had the creative idea of snapping a picture through the glasses. A lady behind us informed us that attempting that would melt the camera lens! I’m sure glad she told us! The odd thing about the eclipse is that you never would have known it was going on if you were not viewing it through the glasses because this was not a total eclipse when the sun appears dark. Shortly after the ring of fire appeared, we loaded onto the 1^st bus down to our van. Five minutes into the trip, the bus totally died…we should have guessed something wasn’t right when the bus driver could not open the doors but had to radio another driver to manually pry them open so that we could climb on board. The poor driver was left stranded with a bus of tired passengers who all tried to outrun the crowds only to watch bus after bus pass us by. Finally, he unloaded a few passengers at a tim.e onto other passing buses which were already pretty full. Those left behind (that would include our gang) had to wait over an hour for another bus to get to us down to where our van was parked. It was definitely a test as we were all (our family and the other passengers) tired, hungry and getting impatient..and 3 empty buses drove right past us to pick passengers up at Bryce Point rather than offloading our bus. It was after 9pm by the time we made it back to our van but we had already planned to return at 10pm for a stargazing/astronomy program at the park. We had planned to just drive to a spot in the park and view the night sky but because of the Festival Bryce had a special Astronomy program going on. We ate some snacks and went to the Visitor Center to kill some time and check out the displays while the sky grew darker. The National Parks in Utah are known as “The Last Grand Sanctuary of Natural Darkness” because of their high elevation and pure air quality which makes star gazing much more vivid. Bryce even uses special lighting around the buildings so as not to create ‘light pollution’. I was really hoping Luke would get to see a night sky similar to what we experienced last year in Jackson Hole, Wyoming (he slept through it). It was pitch dark and we walked to a remote parking lot which had the very knowledgeable astronomy enthusiasts manning some high powered telescopes set to view Saturn, Mars, Pluto, a star cluster called M-5. Viewing Saturn was surreal as it looked like a perfect tiny computer generated icon. It was quite comical as we all moved from scope to scope and tried to find each other in the dark. You were not permitted to use a flashlight so it was by voice only. At one point we ‘lost’ Philip who later commented he could find us anywhere because we are so loud! It was too early to view the Milky Way without a telescope but we decided to call it a night. Thankfully, Luke was not disappointed and we were all amazed at how the Lord worked out all the details for us to see His glories in His creation. As we walked back to the van this is what resounded in my grateful heart: