Highway 12 and SNOW!

Our route to Arches got modified thanks to my dad and God. Watching the weather is always important when you are traveling but even more so when driving a 36' motorhome pulling a F-150 behind you!  The first snow for Utah was being predicted for our travel day but dad had said "you have to drive Highway 12, it's one of the most beautiful roads in the country"... so we left at the crack of dawn (that's 8am for me!) to try to beat the storm and still get to see Highway 12...IT WAS WORTH IT!

Funny thing about the recommendation from my dad saying how amazing the road was going to be was that at the same time my mom was saying "oh no, that's the one with the huge drop offs and 12 percent grade, you don't want to do that!" Both were right as you'll see in the video below:

Driving thru Capitol Reef National Park on 12 the views were just spectacular! The colors of the mountains that changed from red to yellow to green to gray was just an amazing display of God's artistry!

More video of the epic drive!

As you can tell from the progression of the photos the clouds and winds were catching up to us. Gusts up to 50 miles an hour were predicted and it sure felt like it at times.

We pressed on thru the winds (that is blowing sand on the right) and didn't stop as planned so we could make it to Moab before the snow flew (yup, Paladin pool that's another missed stop!). We did get there in time but burr...baby it's cold outside!

We woke to find snow on the ground but at least the travel day was behind us. The weather still looks cold but no more snow so we can enjoy Arches National Park now!

Bryce Canyon

Hello from Bryce Canyon and from our mystery guest...

...Michelle! We grew up next to each other in Woodhaven so I have known Michelle since I was 2 years old (and yes, that is a very long time!). It was awesome to have her fly in from Oklahoma to stay with us in Phoebe and enjoy the sites of Bryce Canyon. And enjoy we did, earning our "I hiked the Hoodoos" Badge by finding benchmarks thru out the park and reporting back to the Visitors center with our proof that we were there. 

 

We hiked the Queen's Garden, the Navojo Loop, the Rim Trail, the Bristlecone Loop and parts of the Under the Rim trail and the Peekaboo Loop. Prepare for the photo dump...

 

This raven had a pretty good gig set up hanging out by the Ponderosa Point overlook. He would pose for your picture in hopes of a snack. Don't worry Emma, we did not give him any food!

We are missing the beautiful Michigan fall and the colors there but did at least see some of the Aspens changing color for us here.

We saw the Natural Bridge (above) which was such a remarkable site and a preview of what we will soon see in Arches National Park.

We just can't seem to capture the depth in these pictures but here you can see the switchbacks coming up at the end of the trail...an overall increase in elevation of 625 feet, which felt like all of it was at this switchback!

While it was a little cooler weather overall, it was still nice at the end of the day to relax and get in a few rays...and a cocktail!

Even Noodle got to come outside and enjoy some fresh outdoor air and sun!

So goodbye to the Hoodoos and on to Arches we go!

Zion...wow!

 

Hello from beautiful Zion National Park! Wow, it was just spectacular and I'll apologize now for the massive photo dump but it was just so pretty at every turn we kept taking more and more pictures!

The weather was still nice and warm in the 80s and a little cooler as we hiked up at the higher altitude. We did the narrows hike but not all the way thru the Virgin River (Dave didn't want to get wet and literally part of the hike is thru the river!). The park was crazy busy and you can't drive much past the visitors center. They provide shuttle buses to take you into the park. For those of you using this to plan, bring your bikes (electric would be best if you want to avoid the buses altogether). We were able to bike from our campground to the visitors center and then only needed the bus to take us to the trail stops.

 

We are missing the fabulous fall colors of Michigan and Utah doesn't have those crimson maple trees, just the cottonwoods that are starting to turn yellow.

The Virgin river runs thru the park and as you can see is also pretty low in places.

This was the part in the Narrows we could do without getting too wet.😁

 

There are just SO many pictures that the scenery is amazing. The blue sky, the colors of the sandstone, the water and the greenery really make Zion a special place touched by God's hands!

The climate provides for the cactus and ferns and these pretty little yellow flowers we never could figure out what they were. We hiked along the Grotto trail to see these but then we up to the Emerald pools trails. There are 3 trails to the pools, the lower, middle and upper. We recommend doing them in that order. It's about 5.5 miles total to do all 3 but so worth it for the views. The pools get their green color from the algae that grows in them. Maybe it was the time of the year we were here but they weren't too emerald to us, but again the views on the trail were phenomenal!

This was by the lower pool and falls. You get a nice refreshing shower as you walk under them. Check out the video below that shows the water. I have no explanation for the blue inverted chalice with the cross it in but again this place is certainly touched by the Holy Spirit! 

Gotta take some rests along the way. The funny part was that it must have been a special day in the park for 4th graders who were allowed in for free that day. Nothing like working hard to get up these hills to be passed by exuberant 4th graders running past you! 

The plus side is there were lots of Mom chaperones who were more than happy to take our picture! :)

 

This was at the middle pool and the water dropping over the side was really neat. I can only imagine what it must look like in the spring!

The beauty was just spectacular and you really had to look all around to appreciate it. Back at Phoebe (the RV) we had to stretch that to appreciate it as the water pressure at the campground was so great we sprung a leak in the water line to the fridge (note: make sure you hook up your water regulator as most RVs can handle about 60 lbs of pressure and some city lines have be up to 100! Thanks Dad for that advice!). Also thank goodness Dave is so handy that we were able to disassemble the tray under the slide to find the water line and the connection and replace a clamp. Still, not too shabby of a view even from our campsite in Springdale.  

So Pappy says "on to the next stop which is Bryce Canyon National Park". The temps are looking like they are going to get cooler as we are headed up northeast. It will still be awesome because we have a visitor flying in to camp with us for a few days. Very excited...stay tuned to find out who is coming!😉