Vacation - Zion - warmth and peace at last.

We arrived at our campsite in Zion national park in the early evening after having stopped along our way from the Grand Canyon at Desert View for one last look at the canyon and at several Native American roadside stands to buy jewelery and pottery. We also had to stop in Page for some groceries and lunch.

Zion National Park is one of my favorite parks in Utah. It is low key, warm and relaxing. I knew that by the time we had gone to this point in the trip everyone would be looking to wind down a bit and Ginny certainly loves Zion and for the most part she feels comfortable hiking about because most of the hikes we do are near the canyon floor, so this part of the trip was definitely planned with her in mind.

By now we had setting up camp down to a science, so after pulling in to the Watchman Campground it only took us 15 minutes to set up the tent trailer and decide what sights we could see before it got dark. Zion, like Bryce and the Grand Canyon, has a shuttle service so we hopped on the shuttle and went to visit the Court of the Patriarchs, an awesome trio of inspiring peaks named (left to right)Abraham, Isaac, and Moroni, with the white peak in back on the right called Jacob. We continued up the canyon to the next stop at Zion Lodge. The lodge has a nice large lawn in front that in the evening is host to a large herd of deer. They come wandering in at dusk to graze on the delectable blades of grass carefully tended and watered by the park staff. They paid us no mind and quietly grazed as if we didn't exist. It was totally dark by now so we headed back to camp. Kerri-Ann and Ginny REALLY wanted a campfire sometime during the trip so John and Drew hiked across the bridge to the grocery store, just outside the park, to buy some fire wood and Ginny and Kerri-Ann headed back to the campsite. In our excitement to get started that afternoon, none of us thought about having to come back in the dark, so no one had a flashlight to find our way back to camp. The other fun part of this campground is that it has tiny irrigation ditches criss-crossing all over the place through the campground. So there is Kerri-Ann and Ginny trying desperately to keep their bearings and get back to camp without having the guys get back from the store and have to come looking for them. They also didn't want to fall in the irrigation ditches they knew were lurking out there just waiting for them! So their plan was walk slowly and cautiously along until a car came and then walk as fast as they could while the headlights showed them the road ahead--well, as fast as they could walk while laughing. Soon all made it back to the tent trailer in one piece. No rescue party needed.

The next day was Sunday, so we attended the ward in Springdale, Utah just outside of the park. The church members were as friendly as ever and made us feel so welcome to join them.
After lunch we set out to explore as much of the Canyon as our feet and our energy would let us. As we boarded the bus I noticed a man and a women sitting in front of us on the bus. That was not unusual. What was is the fact that the woman had a mullet hair cut with the back of her hair going down to the middle of her back. Her hair was bushy and graying and she looked like she could take anyone that challenged her. Both her and her companion got off the bus when we did, and I said to Ginny, "I think I have seen a fox in the forest." That long mullet cut looked just like a gray fox tail. For the remainder of the day we kept seeing this man and the fox.

Our first hike was one of our favorite Zion hikes. It was to the lower, middle and upper Emerald ponds. It's fun because you wind your way through the shaded lush valley floor thick with trees, flowers and brush with only a small elevation rise to the lower ponds that are formed by the middle ponds pouring over the ledge above. From there we hiked up a steep hill, around behind this gigantic rock and come out up on the ledge above where the middle ponds are. From there the trail splits off and goes back towards the base of the high sheer cliffs that rise hundreds of feet. This trails is only about 3/4 of a mile but it is steep and rocky--sometimes hard to navigate for Ginny's short legs, but the reward at the end of the trail is SO worth it. You come to a large pond that is formed by a waterfall that pours over the cliffs from the high plateau above. Depending on the weather, sometimes the pond is a deep aqua color. No matter what the weather, it is a beautiful and cool place to see, rest, take pictures and enjoy before the hike back down. Ginny always has to take off her shoes and socks and put her feet into the cool water--it's just a tradition!

Going back to the bus, we followed the middle Emerald Pool trail that slowly descends the canyon wall, mostly following the cliff about a hundred feet above the valley floor. After our trip to the Grand Canyon, Ginny was feeling pretty brave about hiking this trail. There are small bushes and some trees at the edge of the trail that she was sure would save her if she thought she was going to fall off the cliff. All was going quite well and we were stopping to take pictures along the way. There are some beautiful pictures to be had along this trail as you can look out over the river and up the canyon. There was one place, however that had Ginny getting nervous again, when we came to one spot that had none of her beloved bushes and trees. I helped her by doing what I do best at those times, hold her hand and walk on the cliff side (she knows I'll save her!) Just as we were about half way across this bare spot and had stopped to take a picture, we were all surprised to hear her cell phone go off. Surprised because we had found NO cell service anywhere in the park until that moment. It was a text from David "Coleman hurt himself, we're at the ER" Kerri-Ann helped Ginny along the trail to a place that she could respond "What happened?" David said they were waiting for the CT scan to see how deep they went. Our question "How deep WHAT went???" And at that moment we lost cell service and no matter what Ginny did she couldn't get through. Suddenly she was much more concerned with finding out what had happened to Coleman than she was about the cliff she was standing by. For the next 3 1/2 hours we didn't know what was happening to our little Coleman, but our prayers were very much there for him. The rest of our hike down was uneventful, but beautiful!

When we arrived back at the lodge we took a break and got on the bus to head up to Weeping Rock. When we left for vacation this trail had been closed for about 2 weeks due to a land slide that went across the trail, but while we were are Bryce and the Grand Canyon a crew of youth volunteers cleaned up the mess. I really did not want to miss this feature of the canyon as it has some magnificent hanging gardens. Anyone that has seen these has to agree that these gardens are beyond what words can describe. The vegetation grows on the face of the cliff and under the overhang that forms the viewing area at the end of the trail. Here the green plants cling to to the red cliffs being watered by the water that has fallen on the tops of the mountains and has seeped down through the sandstone until it hits a layer of non-poreous rock which forces the water to the face of the cliff. Not only are the plants beautiful but standing in the alcove looking out on the canyon it looks like it is raining as the water drops from the cliff above. As we were returning to the bus we arrived at the location of the landslide to find that two of the young ladies that had helped clean up the mess were there taking some after-pictures. They explained what it took to clean up the mess and showed us pictures of the slide itself. We thanked them for their work and sharing the pictures with us and went on our way.

Our next stop would be at the Temple of Sinawava. This is the last stop at the top of the canyon and the bus starts its return trip down the canyon from here. There is a very good reason that this is the last stop. From this point on there is no room for a road as the canyon walls close in on the river. There is however a paved trail called the Riverside Walk that follows the river for about a mile upstream. Even though the trail ended one can walk up the river under the right conditions. You have to be cautious doing this because the river level can change rapidly due to the narrowness of the canyon and the large area that contributes water to the river. Flash floods are always a possibility if there is rain falling upstream and you may not even know it, so if you are thinking of walking the river know what the weather forecast is.

With only a few hours left to explore the canyon we hiked the the end of the trail and Ginny again followed tradition and remove her shoes and socks to walk in the water, but by this point no one wanted to venture upstream for any distance. We did talk to several individuals who had hiked what is called Zion Narrows. This hike starts at the Chamberlain Ranch Trailhead which is on the east edge of the park and the hike is some 16 miles long. It ends at this Riverside walk we were on. A backpacking permit is required from the park service to make this trek. This is one of the things that I would like to do and though many do this hike in a day, I think I would preferred to make it a two day trip staying at one of the back country camp sites. Not only would it be easier on the body but it would also allow for time to stop and enjoy natures creations. I am sure there would be many photos that I would also like to take.

By the time we started our return hiking to the bus my knees and feet were definitely tired and Ginny was out doing me. Now I know how she normally feels when she walks with me. I had to ask her to slow down several time.

We boarded the bus and headed down canyon. On the way up the canyon the bus driver had pointed out a man and woman that were climbing the cliff face just south of the Temple of Sinawava, but I could not pick them out so on the way back I got Ginny to point them out. Zion is known for its cliff climbing opportunities and rightfully so. It takes a well trained climber at least two days to climb from the base of the cliffs up to the top of the canyon and these two were on just such a schedule. They had anchored for the night as it was less than an hour before dark. They would start again early the next morning with the slow but steady climb to the top. If you have never been to Zion before you cannot even imagine what it would be like to climb these cliffs. As a general rule there are no ledges to camp out on for the night. One literally hangs in your sleeping gear on the face of the cliff. I can't imagine doing this because you also have to realize that the evening winds in a canyon like this can be very strong which does not help matters.

Not wanting to returned to camp without having explored all that we could, we hopped off the bus at Big Bend. This stop is very open and allows one to sit and observe all the grandeur of the canyon with features like the Pipe Organ and Angels landing. Having spend all the time we could we jumped on the next bus and headed for camp. This vacation was coming to an end all to quickly.

I had mentioned when we were hiking to the Emerald Pools that we had seen wild turkeys in the bottom of the canyon last time we were in Zion and hoped to seen them again. It was looking like I would be disappointed in this regard, but as we were just below the lodge, low and behold, there were 10 to 12 wild turkeys crossing the road. The bus slowed down to let them cross but there was not enough light to get any pictures and they headed into the bush pretty quickly. It was fantastic to be able to see these birds and they are no small Thanksgiving bird to boot. I would estimate that some of these birds weighed in over 30 pound.

Once again were were getting back to camp at dark, but there was just enough light that we did not need the flashlights. It was now time for the capstone on this vacation. The much anticipated campfire over which we roasted hot dogs and prepared smore's. It was great to have a quick and relaxing meal. We did not need anything to big because we had had steak and potatoes for lunch.

We went to bed that night realizing the we had only this one night left to enjoy our time away from home. Kerri-Ann also pointed out that this was the first time all trip that she had felt like she was not cold. I don't know if it was the campfire, or the warming spirit of the Sabbath that made her feel this way. For the rest of us the whole trip have seemed pretty comfortable.

In the morning we arose to the task of clean up camp and removing things from the trailer and preparing it to be returned in the afternoon. We needed to have it back by 4:00 pm and we knew that it would be after 3:00 pm before we arrive in Salt Lake. Once this was all straightened away we made a quick dash up to the visitor center. We had a couple of last minute tasks to see to. Ginny and I had to make sure that we stamped our National Parks passport book (a traditional that my brother Steve has put me on to over 10 years ago.) We have always made it a point to stamp our passport at any national park that we visit and we were not going to miss this last opportunity. Ginny also started collecting walking stick medallions. She collected 4 on this trip. One from each national park and Red Canyon.

We had hoped to have spent another day in Zion but John and Kerri-Ann were expecting the arrival of a new little bundle of joy (a grandchild). They wanted to get back to Salt Lake and finish their shopping before they hit the road back to Canada. Since we did not stay the additional day I guess that we have an excuse to return again to do the things we didn't get to do and to see the things that we didn't get to see.

One thing we didn't mention was the several game sessions that we had on several evenings.

We played Settlers of Catan--John and Kerri-Ann are enthusiastic players! and we introduced them to Ticket to Ride. I'm sure the guys won most of the games, but that's probably NOT how the gals would remember it. Anyway, they were fun games and fun evenings!

Thinking about our vacation, we'd just like to say the sights were great and so was the company--Thanks Kerri-Ann & John. Hope we can do it again some time. And Thanks John for all your driving!

Vacation - the Grand Canyon South Rim or is it the Grand Fear

We all enjoyed our travels through the Indian reservations and we took our time making it to Cameron, Arizona. This allowed us to stop and see the many roadside native jewelery and art stands. In Cameron we stopped to stretch our legs, and to locate a geocache. We also spent a little time in the store where we came across a native lady weaving a wool rug. It was large and beautiful. She had been working on this rug 40 hours per week for 6 months and it was nearing completion. This rug was priced at 16,000 dollars, which sounds like a very large amount of money. It is certainly more than I would be able to pay for a rug. However, if you think about it, this lady was making about $32,000 per year. She definitely deserved every bit of it for the amount of work that is involved.

As we left Cameron, the excitement began to build knowing that we were only a little over an hour from seeing the large expanse of the might canyon and so we picked up the pace a bit. Our first stop in the park was at Desert View.

I did manage to get Ginny to come out to the overlook to get a picture with me. She has always been a great judge of beauty and character, so when she exclaimed it was drop dead gorgeous I was happy to hear that she was enjoying the view. Then I learned that the drop dead part of the statement was only stating that if she did not get away from the edge she was going to drop dead, no matter how gorgeous the view was. I am proud of Ginny. I know this was not easy and this was about as close to the edge as I was going to get her for the rest of the trip. She says it is terrifyingly beautiful. She wasn't sure which she wanted to do the most--look at the amazing view or throw up! Lucky for us, she never threw up once--nor did she fall of any cliffs!

We spent about 2 hours are Desert View but for Ginny it was probably an eternity. As we got ready to leave I knew she felt very small in such a vast expanse. I found something that would make Ginny feel a little better about herself and a little bigger--a doorway just her size. This lightened the mood. Isn't she so cute? I sure think so and I sure love her and appreciate her willingness to go on this trip. (There is no trick photography here, this is the actual size of this door.)

From Desert view we made our way to the campsite at Trailer Village, where we would spend the next several nights. There was us and our little tent trailer among all the large motor homes, but we did not mind. By staying in the trailer, it allowed for electricity (something that you do not get in many tent sites) so that I could use my CPAP. For this I was grateful, as was everyone else because I would not snore and keeping them awake. It also allowed us to come and go on the shuttle buses that came right to the campground at our leisure and spend time visiting the sites around the canyon. Then at the end of the day we could come back to have dinner. We could relax and Ginny could unwind from the worries that had brewed within her for the entire day. If you think I am joking about the feels brewing for the day just look at this photo. I tried to make Ginny feel safe and at the same time encourage her to see the things that God had created for us in this part of the world. This is her SAVE ME DREW look! Kerri-Ann and John were a great help to her too, I would hold her hand and help her get close to the edge, and Kerri-Ann and John would go ahead and check out the cliff and Kerri-Ann would tell Ginny if she thought it was a cliff Ginny could handle getting close to. It worked well.

The first evening we checked out the area around the visitor information center. We arrived after the information center itself had closed for the day but we hiked over to the rim and got a chance to see the canyon at sunset. This is an awesome experience and one I would recommend to anyone. The colors of the sunset and the colors of the canyon cliffs with the shadows make for a spectacular sight. I would said it is romantic, but I would not know this for sure as I was trying to keep my wife from running away from the rim. While we were in Page she bought a new novel called The Lost Symbol and I think she would have just a soon been in the tent trailer reading. In other words this is one sunset that she did not find all that romantic. Note from Ginny: Actually it wasn't too bad, I didn't get too close to the edge, but the shadows kind of blur the depth of the canyon so that helped..but Drew's right, I wasn't quite to the romantic state of mind.


Early the next morning, John and Kerri-Ann hiked down into the canyon on the Bright Angel trail to the Mile and a half rest house. I stayed back knowing the Ginny would appreciate me being with her and also I knew that my knees would suffer from the decent and the climb back out of the canyon.

We had planned on join up with Kerri-Ann and John on the rim at about 10:30 that morning. They left to start hiking just before 6:00 am and figured from the literature that they would be gone for 4 to 5 hours. As it turned out, they were back within 2 to 3 hours. From the pictures I think not only could I have made the trip, but I think Ginny may have been able to do it as well. She has been up to Timpanogos Cave twice and this looked less steep than the trail to the caves. Even so, we greatly enjoyed the time we spent together that morning. We got a chance to go to the visitor information center and the park book store before we met up with John and Kerri-Ann at the Hopi House. The Hopi house is a gift shop that contained many arts and crafts from the native American Indians.

Speaking of the park book store and gift stores, we came across a book that only increased Ginny's anxiety and was definitely not on her list of books to read. The title of the book was Over the Edge: Death in Grand Canyon. The book chronicles all of the known fatal mishaps in the Grand Canyon. We found this book in almost every store and gift shop in the park, and believe me, falling over the edge was not anything Ginny needed to keep being reminded of. She wants to know what sick minded person writes a book like that??

That morning the park was also hosting a quick draw painting contest. Artists were all along the rim trail, starting at the El Tovar Hotel and West to the Bright Angel trail head. This gave us the opportunity to see some amazing paintings and their artists as we walked to the Bright Angel trail head.

On our way back to camp we stopped at the train depot. The train have just arrived from Williams with passengers coming into the park. The depot is just across the street and down the hill from the El Tovar hotel. I love trains and if we ever return to the Grand Canyon I hope I can come by train.

Later in the day we took a trip to the laundry and to have a shower at campers services. When we arrived, and all the time we were there, there was a noble guest occupying his rightful place next the the water spicket at the trailer dump and filling station. He did not seem to mind having his picture taken or the fact that we were around. Later that evening we actually saw about 20 elk bounding through the trees while we were waiting for the bus at the Hermits Rest transfer station. We were waiting for a bus to take us to watch the sunset. When we returned to camp for the evening we heard an elk bugling. Who knows, it could have been this big boy.

In hopes of another great sunset we headed to the Hopi Point for the evening. On the way we stopped at the Yavapia Observation Station. It is very awe inspiring to see the contrasts of the Pines that go right up to the edge of the rim and to look out over a vast canyon the is long and wide. From Yavapia point one can see the depth of this wonder of the world. One can see the Phantom Ranch, the Colorado River and one of the bridges that crosses the river. These are many miles away and you have to know what your looking and the lighting must be just right to see them. It is a 9 mile hike down to the river--a drop of over 5000 feet. We also located the Visitors Center on the North rim. It helped to have people on that side of the canyon who were taking pictures. Every once in a while you would see the flash from a camera. Without this this visual clue and the aid of binoculars I don't believe I would have been able to locate it.

As the evening progressed, we headed to the bus transfer site where we could catch the bus out to Hopi Point, which is on the road to Hermits Rest. This section of road is closed to all traffic except the park buses. Hopi Point is where many people go to watch the sunset and so we had to wait for a bus with about 70 people ahead of us, so we arrived at Hopi Point just 20 minutes prior to sunset. Unfortunately there was a storm on the western horizon that was obscuring the sunset. None the less, we enjoyed what sunset there was, and the storm looked awesome on the horizon.For all the anxiety and fears that Ginny experienced, I believe we all enjoyed the time we spent. With a few days at the greatest canyon on earth behind us, we would begin to make our way back north the next morning.

We did not make it to Hermits Rest or anything west of Hopi Point on this trip. I guess that leaves us an excuse to return to the canyon again in the future. I know that this is not likely but I can hope to arrive on the train and get out to see the points that we missed on this trip. Other points I hope to see on a future trip include locations on the Bright Angel trail like One and a half mile rest house, three mile resthouse, and places on the rim like the Abyss, Mohave Point and Grandview Point, and I would certainly enjoy seeing the canyon from a helicopter (Ginny would actually like this as well, she loves to fly and it does not scare her.) Maybe I do have a hope of returning something in the future.

Vacation - Lake Powell

Lake Powell is a oasis in the midst of a desert. Its blue waters are a beautiful contrast against the reds, tans and whites of the canyon and its surrounding. We camped in the Wahweap campground and our campsite was just a few hundred feet into Arizona. The meant that the time was one hour late that it was in Utah. Being able to cross over the state line and back in a few steps allows one to experience time travel. Lose an hour, gain an hour, lose an hour gain an hour and only a few seconds have passed. While the campground is a true desert camp facility, they do have showers and this was a welcome treat.

Because of losing an hour, we only got to spend a very short time at Glen Canyon dam. This dam, like others on the Colorado, always amazes me. They are so tall and hold back so much water and this water houses many boats including large houseboats. John and Kerri-Ann are now interested in renting a houseboat. That will have to be another vacation, and on that vacation Ginny wants to go on a tour of Antelope Canyon. This is a awesome slot canyon that is just south and east of Page Arizona.

As we left the area, we stopped and bought more groceries at Walmart and then headed off to the Grand Canyon. Along the way, we stopped at several locations where the native American's were selling native American art and jewelery. These people make some very beautiful pieces.

Vacation - Bryce Canyon (overcoming fear)

About a year ago our friends John and Kerri-Ann Holladay (our friends from Calgary, Alberta) expressed a desire to see the Grand Canyon and asked that I plan a trip for us to visit the canyon. I had been to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon when I was in my teens but I had never been to the South Rim and I new that with Ginny's fear of heights that this may be my only chance to see the Canyon from the south rim. I also knew that Ginny would most likely not enjoy that vacation if all we did was go to the Grand Canyon, so I decided that we would stop and enjoy other things on our way to and from our ultimate destination. For this trip, we had made reservations at park campgrounds and we had rented a tent trailer.

After months of planning and several months of deep anxiety Ginny, along with John and Kerri-Ann and myself, we were on our way south on a little vacation. (The deep anxiety was all on Ginny's part. She carried enough for all of us.) I had planned the trip so that we could acclimate her to the heights that we would be experiencing.

We first stopped at Bryce Canyon national park. We did not get out of town until around two in the afternoon because of a few problems that needed to be taken care of. Having had a late start we were not able to stop along the way to pick up any geocaches, but we did stop in Red Canyon to take a few pictures. This put us into the Bryce Canyon North Campground at about 7:00 pm, so we set up camp and had dinner, played a game or two and retired for the evening. This most likely did not help with Ginny's anxiety because it meant there was now one more night to worry about facing her fears. Shortly after setting up camp it started to rain. In the end I think it was good that we did not get to go to the canyon rim that evening. This would have just increase the anxiety.

On Tuesday morning we arose to a beautiful day and a small chance of rain, but we were not going to let it stop us from getting into the canyon. We packed a few snacks, water and jackets and headed to Sunrise Point. Ginny walked with fear and keep saying I hope I can make it. She really wanted to and hoped that she would be able to handle this and so did I. The last time we were at Bryce, the boys and I hiked through the canyon while she sat at the top clinging to the railing and all the time we were gone she was getting more and more worked up because she worried I would return minus some of the boys because they had fallen over a cliff. She was more than relieved when we all returned about an hour and a half later. This time, on the edge of the canyon she was not so sure she could do it but we encourage her and so down the trail we went. Within a matter of 15 minutes she had started to overcome most of her anxiety and she was starting to enjoy herself. By the time we were into the hike 30 minutes she was confident that she had overcome the fear she had started with. When we started the hike I gave her the camera. I did this for two reasons. First I did not want to stop to take any pictures when she did not feel comfortable and second, I wanted her to be able to say that most of the pictures were ones that she had taken and in this way emphasize the fact that she had accomplished what she feared she could not, and also to allow her to express her joy in having seen the canyon. We had planned out hike to return to the rim by way of Wall Street. This is a narrow slot canyon among the hoodoo and take one from the canyon floor to the rim and in very short distance. While it is steep you climb out of the canyon on a group of switch backs. This did not seem to bother Ginny, until we were within 50 or 60 feet of the rim. By this time she was starting to feel the anxiety once again, but she was confident enough to return to the top of the canyon. I am so proud of her and she appreciated the beauty of this part of God's world.

We spent the remainder of the day visiting the sites on the canyon rim around the Amphitheater. This included Inspiraton Point, and Bryce Point, but Ginny's nerves did not permit her to enjoy these areas of the park.

Early on Wednesday we packed up camp and headed on our way. We did stop in Red Canyon to find a couple of geocaches and then were on the road to our next camp at Lake Powell.