Bryce Canyon

We wanted to go to Bryce on Tuesday, but the weather forecast said snow for Bryce, so we decided to wait another day. I had seen enough snow on Sunday and I do now understand why people wait until May to visit this area.

So Wednesday we packed a lunch and made our way to Bryce National Park. On our way there we saw these beautiful fields of purple flowers.

I took over 90 pictures at Bryce and it is hard to pick just a few to show in the blog. So you guys will have to wait until Doug puts the rest of them on Webshots. We decided to drive the 18 mile stretch with the car to the most southern end and then start our way back up. I have to say that I was getting a little bit disappointed as we were driving along, since from the road you really can't see any Hoodoos or canyons, or really anything other than a whole bunch of trees. We changed our mind really quickly when we arrived at the first lookout point.






By the time we were back at the beginning of Bryce, we were exhausted. It was a great day and Doug wanted to drive Route 14 one more time, since they say that it is a scenic drive and we really did not see anything while driving on it during the snow storm. It was a beautiful sunny day and not a cloud in the sky. I have to admit that it was a very nice drive, the road was clear and the snow on the summit was actually blinding. It truly was a great day.

We decided to leave Cedar City yesterday and move further north, since there was a high wind warning for Friday. We are now at the Nevada/Utah border, the wind has certainly caught up with us and we will move again on Sunday. There are only 750 miles left to go until we get to our destination.

Zion National Park

Zion National Park is just stunning. I really like the free shuttle system they have, since it allows Doug to also look around without having to watch were he is going.


I was so fascinated with all the different colors of the cliffs. It was so beautiful.



As you can see in the last picture, the sky was getting a little bit dark, but we were not worried yet. We decided to take Route 9 towards Route 89 and see some more of Zion, which is not viewable with the shuttle bus.

It was well worth the drive. The colors of the rocks are just so amazing.



So far so good, the weather seemed to stay to our east on Route 89 and we were going to go west on Route 14.

I saw the sign that said that the top was at 10,000 feet, but I don't think it really registered with me what was about to happen. First we just saw snow on the side of the road, the road itself was still dry.

Then, it started snowing a little bit and it started to stick on the road.

Yet, we are still climbing and I am getting worried. Our car does not have four wheel or all wheel drive, but Doug kept telling me that it would be okay. By the time we got to the summit the road was completely covered with snow, I am to nervous to take anymore pictures and Doug decided to put the car into manual drive, since the engine will act as a brake. We actually had to pass two cars, since they were going way to slow on the downhill. By the time we got to the bottom of the mountain the defrost was running on high, there was ice on the windshield and our license plate was covered with snow.

It sure was an adventures day and I was glad when we got back to the rig.

Kolob Canyon

We decided last Sunday on starting to check out the area around Cedar City, UT. The nearest park was Kolob Canyon. When we arrived to pay the entrance fee, we were advised that the fee was waived for the week, which saved us the $25 we would have to pay for Kolob Canyon as well as Zion National Park. I thought that was pretty cool.

Kolob Canyon is a beautiful 6 mile drive.




Since it was the last day for the free pass, we decided to go on to Zion National Park, since it is smaller than Bryce and it was early afternoon already.

Viva Las Vegas!

Before I tell you about Las Vegas, I have to show you guys the Joshua Tree. I never heard of it, but we saw a whole bunch of them on our way to Las Vegas.

Our trip to Las Vegas was fairly uneventful, until we got onto IH 515. You are supposed to exit right to IH 15 North, but of course I ended up in the lane to IH 15 South towards Los Angeles. Luckily the truck behind me realized what I did and let me back in the correct lane. Once we arrived at the campground Doug just grinned and asked me if I had different plans (very funny, NOT).

We got settled in and started exploring the town. It is amazing how much it has changed since we had been here 10 years ago and there was a ton of people. We went to the Belagio, since Doug wanted to see their water display. The place is just amazing and the water show with music was pretty awesome.



We got to see two different performances and they were very worthwhile watching.

The next day we went to the Pinball Hall of Fame. We both grew up on playing pinball and I can not believe just how many different kind of pinball machines from very old ones to the newest ones they have. We actually played for 2 1/2 hours and had a blast


The El Dorado pinball machine is special to Doug, since his brother actually owns one of them. Here are a couple of more pictures from Las Vegas.


We left Las Vegas yesterday and moved north to see Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park next. It sure is a lot colder up here. The temperature this morning was 45 degrees, which made me put the flannel sheets back on the bed. I am sure looking forward to seeing Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park next week.

North Ranch

This place is beautiful!! For you guys that have not been here yet, you have to put it on your list of parks to visit. It is so peaceful and relaxing here, it was just what I needed.

We arrived here on Saturday with a truck that was overheating and spitting a little bit of oil. Luckily Mike and Pat's RV lot is totally easy to back into and we all started looking for the oil leak. Luckily it was just the cap that had come loose and the truck cooled down again. It is so good to see Mike and Pat again. We got our hugs and then they left us alone to set up. We met up again with them and Tom and Sally for happy hour and had a great time catching up. Pat invited us for dinner and we had hamburgers, Pat's famous cauliflower casserole, Sally made fried potatoes and brought a green salad. Dinner was sooo good and I sure was glad that I did not have to cook that night. We got back to the rig about 8 pm and I was in bed within the next 30 minutes.

We had been traveling for a few days now and I am having problems with the all the time changes we are going through. So be the time we got here I was pretty burned out. I have to say after three days here I am refreshed and ready to go again. Here are some pictures of the beautiful cactus on Mike and Pat's lot.

We spend the last couple of days doing laundry, stocking up the fridge again, having happy hours and just plain relaxing. Now I am ready to tackle the next 1350 miles that we have left to go to get to Vancouver.

Mike and Pat, thank you so much for all you guys did for us!!!