Watchman at Zion National Park
Friday, 6/25/2004 - We started out after Jacob's last baseball
game on Friday night. We still had to finish packing, as if there was even a
chance that we would remember everything. It was about 10:30PM when we finally
hit the road. We drove late into the night to make up for the late start.
Saturday, 6/26/2004 - was a full day of driving. Our only long stop was at
Cabela's in Nebraska. We had a nice dinner and went through the store. Jacob and
Brandon both got salmon stuffed animals. We could have made it to the park
easily, but found a nice rest area about one hour away on I-25. We may not have
found a place if we went to Estes Park. It felt good to get a long night's rest.
Cabela's in Nebraska
Sunday, 6/27/2004 - we could not check in until 12:00 so we went
straight into the park and found a good spot at the Beaver Meadows Visitor's
Center. It was easy to get a spot since we were early, still on Ohio time.
We decided to take a nice hike and tire the kids out. A good 6.2 mile loop with
500' elevation change. It started out nice and sunny so we were in shorts. We
had lunch on the trail. But, we heard thunder when we were at the farthest
point. We picked up the pace a bit. It started raining a little. But, while we
were still about ½ mile out the hail started. After about 5 minutes, the kids
were not doing well. It was very cold and the hail hurt. We did not know whether
to take shelter from the hail or the lightning so we decided to run for it.
Dakota said "I feel like I'm not going to make it!" But, we did make it. It felt
good to get into the car and warm up. The road quickly turned into a river, so
we got back onto higher ground as soon as possible. The Neon is not exactly an
all terrain vehicle.
We checked in and recuperated. The storm caused flash floods from the national
park down to Denver. But, we did not have any problems at the campground except
that the kids could not play putt-putt.
We decided that we had enough adventure for the day so we would just take a
drive trough the park. At the entrance to the park we saw a beggar coyote. He
has probably been fed by people. We went up Trail Ridge Road. It was very foggy
and the kids liked driving up into the clouds, but, Dakota was a bit worried
about the cliffs. We saw many elk, pikas and yellow bellied marmots. The views
were somewhat obscured by the clouds, but made some of the sights even more
dramatic.
![]() Beggar Coyote |
![]() Elk |
![]() Pika |
Monday, 6/28/2004 - After Sunday's problems, we did not take and long hikes
since the weather forecast was the same. We got up early to go to Sheep Lakes
and try to see the big horn sheep. On the way we saw the Coyote by the entrance
again. This time he was scavenging some road kill right by the car. It was to
cloudy for the sheep to see down from the mountain to the lakes. So we did not
see any all day. But, we did see a lot of elk and a family of coyotes. There
were four pups.
Back at camp, the kids played putt-putt and more putt-putt. Then later they
played putt-putt again.
![]() Brandon and the Squirrel |
![]() Too much Putt-Putt |
Tuesday, 6/29/2004 - Another attempt at sighting some sheep. Finally we saw big horn sheep. We have been waiting for 2 years. There were six rams at sheep lakes when we got there. They gave us a great show. They moved right up onto a ridge and posed for us.
Wednesday, 6/30/2004 - Colleen called around to find a good horse back ride. She
found one at departing at 11:00. It was a private guided 3 hour ride up the
mountain. With the rain, the trail was treacherous. It was very steep and rocky
with deep mud between the rocks. It looked like a good way to hurt a horse's leg
to me. We went up and stopped at the top to take a break and snack. Cheese and
crackers for us and apples for the horses. It was a beautiful ride. It is much
better than hiking because you can let the horse watch the trail while you catch
the scenery. We decided to put on the rain gear on the way down, a good choice
because it rained most of the way down. It was a great ride, we all had fun.
![]() Colleen on Pat |
![]() Jacob getting ready on Chug |
![]() Brandon on Tucker |
![]() Going up! -Dakota on Trooper, Jacob & Brandon |
It was raining so we decided to pack up and hit the road a
little early. We left Rocky Mountain National Park at about 4:30 PM and drove
toward
Arches and stopped to sleep about 20 miles from Utah.
Thursday, 7/1/2004 - A short drive to Arches National Park (map). There was no
place to park the RV but they recommended a rest area about 2 miles down so we
parked there and drove the park. We unhooked the car and drove around the park.
We made three short hikes to some of the sites. We hiked to Balanced Rock, The
Windows and Delicate Arch and then drove to the Furnace Creek overlook. It was
very hot. The kids were ready to hit the road again.
![]() Dakota Under Balanced Rock |
![]() Turret Arch |
![]() South Window |
We made the rest of the drive to Zion. We stopped for a short stop at the Kolob Canyon visitor's center, but decided to head on to the campground instead of touring the area. It is about an hour drive around to the main entrance where the campground is. We arrived at about 9:00 PM, checked in, had a fire and relaxed.
Friday, 7/2/2004 - We hiked the Riverside Walk and continued through The Narrows. The Narrows is amazing. It is a narrow canyon, about 100-200 feet wide with sheer sandstone wall that go up 1000-2000 feet. We hiked up the river, mostly in the water, for a few hours. Along the way there were amazing views and occasional pools deep enough for us to swim in and cool off.
![]() Natures Swim Spa |
![]() A nice place to cool off |
![]() Our Favorite View - A wide turn / oasis |
![]() Brandon's Hole in the Wall |
![]() Dakota's Hole |
We drove to Mt. Zion Junction for dinner. It was a great drive through Zion and
the tunnels to get there. But the dinner at the Thunderbird Restaurant was not
too good. Although after the long day without eating the kids thought it was
good. On the way home we looked for a black light to help find scorpions, no
luck.
Saturday, 7/3/2004 - We rented tubes and floated down the Virgin River. It took
about 1 ½ hours to go about 2 ½ miles. We decided to go twice.
Sunday, 7/4/2004 - We hiked to the Emerald Pools and made it back in time for
the kids to hit the 2 ½ hour ranger program. We planned on doing something while
they were there, but, it was a special program for the 4th and the parents were
allowed to attend with the kids. Of course they wanted us to stay, so we did.
They had a show, played games and did crafts. At the end they earned their
Junior Ranger patches.
For the evening we took the shuttle up to Weeping Rock at about 9:30 PM. We
hiked the trail looking for ring tailed cats and scorpions. No luck on either.
But, we did see humming birds, bats and a skunk. Dakota was worried that the
shuttle was not coming back. He did not want to be stuck out there with no way
back. But, it came and on the ride home Brandon got to see a ring tailed cat.
The driver pointed it out, but the rest of us were not in position to see it.
We went looking for things that crawl in the night. We had no luck with
scorpions, but, we did find a black widow spider. And, I have never seen so many
cockroaches. They were everywhere, thousands of them, many different types. We
even found the night blooming poisonous flower we heard about in the ranger
program.
Black Widow Spider |
Monday, 7/5/2004 - Checkout was 11:00. The kids ran around, Colleen went to the
market and gift shop while I packed up. We hit the road just after 11:00. It was
about a 3 hour drive to Las Vegas. We parked at the Flying J (I-15, Exit 46) and
took the car to The Strip. The kids were impressed by the Hotels and Casinos. We
parked at Monte Carlo and hit their buffet. Now the kids were really impressed
with Vegas. Poached salmon, flank steak, chicken . . . and even rice crispy
treats. Not a buffet from home, it was really good food. Of course Colleen and I
had to hit a little black jack and a few slots. It went as expected, we will be
returning to work.
Next we went to New York, New York to hit the roller coaster. The line was long
and it was $12.95 each, $24 more than our dinner. We skipped the coaster and
played some of the arcade games. We had hopes of winning a BMW Z4, but all we
ended up with was an orange monkey. It was a great stop. On to California…..
The drive across the desert was something else. It was HOT, over 110°. I know
that is hardly a shock, but, there were probably a hundred cars broken down
along the way. After a while I started getting a little worried, after all out
engine was doing a lot more work climbing the hills pulling all of our weight
and the car. We ran the generator and roof air the whole way and kept the engine
AC off to reduce the engine heat. Next time I think we will cross the desert in
the night. It was amazing to be a hundred miles from anything on a six lane
highway in a traffic jam, wall to wall cars.
Once we hit Barstow, the roads were empty. I set the cruise control and flew
through the L.A. area all the way to Vista. Jacob did a great job keeping me
awake. He was determined to stay awake until we got to Al's place. We arrived at
about 11:30 PM. He had a great place to park. His house is at the top of a hill
and he has two lots behind that have lemon, orange, kumquat and peach trees.
Right at the bottom was a nice spot to park. A little work to level up but a
great spot. The neighbors even offered electric and water hook-ups.
Tuesday, 7/6/2004 - It finally caught up with me, I slept in and it felt good.
We took the opportunity to do laundry and clean the RV. Dakota went with Lori to
deliver some materials, always the one to try to help.
Then it was off to Lego Land. We started out slow, the lines were very long and
the rides were a little young for the kids. Then we found our way to the more
advanced rides. It was great, the lines were short and just perfect for the
kids. Brandon and Dakota's faces were a good sign that the coaster was enough
for them. They looked terrified but were laughing a few seconds later, just
right. We went to the 4-D movie (3-D plus wind, water and smoke) and the Extreme
Sports show. Jacob loved the sports show. It had bikes, skateboards and high
flying basketball jamming (with a trampoline). The kids all climbed the rock
wall twice.
All made of Legos |
Alan and Lori took us to Macaroni Grill for dinner. Everyone enjoyed having a
good meal. And we didn't even have to fix it or clean up afterward.
Wednesday, 7/7/2004 - We went to the San Diego Wild Animal Park at noon. It is
nice. They have most of the animals in wide open, natural settings. All of the
herd animals from a region are together in an open area with a variety of
terrain. Hills, rocks, bushes, trees and a water hole. Most times you are not as
close as you would be at a normal zoo, but, it is neat to see the animals in a
more natural setting even if the herd is hundreds of yards away. They had some
animals that are no longer in the wild. Most of them are from places, like the
Sudan where there is no natural habitat left for them. They will release them
back into the wild if their native habitat is restored.
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![]() Timone!! |
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We were planning on golf for the evening. But, we were all a bit tired. Alan has
barely gotten any sleep since we have been here. So we just packed up some
things and headed to the beach. Jacob, Dakota and I played in the surf. Great
waves! Perfect size for us. Then we grilled some burgers and dogs and relaxed on
the beach. Okay, the kids did not relax, they played and we relaxed. We topped
off the dinner with s'mores cooked over an illegal fire. They had banned fires
some time ago but there were a fire pits scattered around so we just burned
enough to make s'mores and then put it out.
Thursday, 7/8/2004 - The kids wanted to go back to the ocean in the morning. The
waves were even better. We could ride them all the way in to the beach. By the
time we returned home Alan was there and ready for golf. We played 18 holes at
the par 3 course.
After golf we loaded up the four wheelers and took them to the ranch where Al
used to live. He has a 50 cc small quad that is perfect for the kids. The kids
all had a blast. They all want to stay longer.
![]() Colleen Takes a Spin |
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![]() Dakota |
![]() Alan |
![]() Jacob |
![]() Brandon |
Friday, 7/9/2004 - Dakota and Lori washed the car for us first thing in the morning. We did the laundry and packed everything up while the kids rode the quad around the orchard. Alan came home early for our last day. We went back to the miniature horse farm, on Poinsettia where Alan used to live. The neighbor girls came along and Lori bought the horses 5 bags of carrots. The kids made sure they all got some.
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Then we hit Rubio's for lunch. Colleen and I wanted some fish tacos before we
left. Rubio's was the restaurant that originally brought fish tacos to San
Diego.
We hit the road at about 2:30.
Four hours of traffic to get through Los Angeles. Too much for Colleen. Then to
top it off we had a small leak in a power steering pressure sensor and started
to lose fluid. We filled it and it was fine. Just a slow leak (more to come…).
Saturday, 7/10/2004 - We made the drive into Sequoia National Park. Arrived
about noon. Quite a drive into the park. It is a fairly steep and winding road,
about 40 miles to the campground.
Dorst Creek Campground - Site 27 - No hookups, nice sites.
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We made it to our camp site. The kids were disappointed because we had to move
from our first site (by Bear Rock) to another site. I had the wrong one site
number. We quickly made camp and headed out to take a tour. Right to the
highlight in Sequoia, the General Sherman tree. Not the oldest, tallest or
largest diameter. But, it is the largest living thing on earth … 2.7 million
pounds. The last branch that fell off of General Sherman was larger than any
tree in the eastern US (7 feet in diameter and about 140 feet tall)
Bear country!!! We finally saw our first bear. It was in the small meadow right
across from our camp site. It was a small bear that was tagged (Pink tag # 27).
We watched it eat for about 20 minutes. Then the rangers chased it away. We
later found out that the tagged bears have caused trouble in the past. So they
had to chase it away to try to teach it not to try to get food from the
campground. The kids did not like it though. It was not causing any trouble
where it was and was not bothering anyone.
Sunday - We got moving early so we could make the drive to Crystal Cave. We took
the first tour in the morning. It was good because the tour group looked quite a
bit smaller than the groups that were coming in as we were leaving. It is a wet
cave with a lot of formations. It even had a nice river that flowed through with
a several waterfalls along the way. The cave is about 700,000 years old.
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We went to Buck Rock for the evening. There is an old fire lookout on top of
Buck Rock, unfortunately they close the tower at 6:00 PM. But, we could climb up
to the last level just a little below the lookout. It was a great view of the
Sierra Crest. We drove back for sunset at the campsite. We saw another bear in
the meadow by the entrance to the campground. This one was bigger and was not
tagged.
Monday - We had a nice breakfast, cooked over the grill and then went to
Lodgepole Visitor's Center for good long hot showers. It felt great. Then we
headed on down to climb to the top of Morro Rock. There are steps all the way to
the top and great views in all directions.
![]() Tunnel Log |
![]() Squatter's Cabin |
The kids were not up to another hike. So we drove by some of the sites that did not require much walking. We saw Tunnel Log, Dead Giant, Huckleberry Meadow, Squatters Cabin and Auto Log. Only about a mile of walking, mostly driving. Then we stopped by the Historical Museum. Brandon found a Long Horned Beetle. It's larvae cause the sequoia trees to drop their seeds instead of waiting for fire. We took pictures as usual and the Ranger (Laura_Delman@nps.org) asked us to send a copy to her.
![]() Long Horned Beetle - The larva bores into the sequoia cones and makes the seeds fall. |
Tuesday, 7/13/2004 - We took our time getting ready to go and left the park
around 11:00 PDT. We did get a chance to see one more bear. It was in the small
meadow across from our camp site again. We left the car off and drove down
separate. But, we did not need to, the drive down was much easier than I
expected. Then disaster struck, we sprung a leak in a power steering pressure
sensor. We were not sure what to do. But, we got Good Sam Emergency Roadside
Service just a few months ago since we knew we were going on this long trip. I
called and they said someone would be there in 60 minutes. Since we had pulled
over in a parking lot at a diner we went in and had lunch. The tow truck arrived
early, just after we finished lunch. I told the driver what was wrong and that
all I needed was a ¼" pipe plug to replace the sensor. He found a plug on his
truck and helped me install it. The engine had cooled enough and I was able to
crawl up by the engine and reach the sensor. We were back on the road again,
only a 2 hour delay, and we had a good lunch. P.S. The sensor is only used to
control the parking brake indicator on the dash, no control or protection, do
not worry.
We decided to drive hard and make some distance. But, we reached Reno at about
9:30 PM. The kids wanted another buffet like in Las Vegas. After the parking we
saw in Vegas we decided to drive right in with the motor home. It was great. The
Circus Circus had an RV & bus parking lot right as we hit the downtown area. The
buffet was closing in 10 minutes, we started to leave and then decided to go
load our plates and eat. We probably ate more food than if we had taken our
time. Then we hit the arcade games and won a bunch of stuffed animals. We
finished off with a trapeze act.
Everyone was wide awake and ready to go when we hit the road. The kids stayed up
and helped me drive until about 3:00. Nice flat drive east of Reno. We stopped
at the Flying J for the night. (I-80, Exit 176, Nevada)
Wednesday, 7/14/2004 - Driving . . . Nevada . . . Utah . . . Wyoming. We drove
hard and made it to the Buckboard Marina on the Flaming Gorge Reservoir. We
wanted to find a place with a hookup so we could have AC and nice long showers.
The reservoir is down 32 feet, the snow melt is not done yet. But as with
everywhere else, it is lower than normal. There was not a great place to swim at
the campground so took the car south to a swimming beach. The water was cold,
but we played for quite a while. We saw a small town to the south as we pulled
out so we decided to pick up some goods. There turned out to be a nice
restaurant attached to the carryout so we had dinner. By the time we got back we
just relaxed, put up the dish and watched some television.
Jacob & Dakota in Flaming Gorge
Jacob wanted to leave them in prison |
Thursday, 7/15/2004 - We were planning on renting a boat and spending the day on
the water. But, in the morning it looked like it was going to be an overcast,
rainy day. So, we packed up and hit the road at about 6:30. We drove solid to
Laramie, WY. We stopped at the old Laramie Territorial Prison. Butch Cassidy
spend some time there before he was pardoned by the governor and went on to meet
up with The Sundance Kid and the Hole in the Wall Gang. We spent almost 2 hours
there and then went to the historic downtown of Laramie. We got caught in
another hail storm. But this time we were close. On the road again. Lightning
all around, but we stayed ahead of the storm most of the time. We drove late
into the night and made it about 50 miles east of Des Moines, IA.
Friday, 7/16/2004 - We are ahead of the rain, but it looks like we will not have
very nice weather if we stop. So, we decided to drive steady and get home. No
stops. We arrived at home at about 5:00, one day ahead of schedule. Amanda was
there but no Chewy.