Month: February 2019

Yesterday didn’t go as planned. We had a beautiful morning greet us, blue skies with little puffy white clouds. We knocked out morning chores and got on the road towards flagstaff where we had reserved a room at the Springhill Suites the night before. It was time for showers, laundry, and another Continue reading “Feb 10 – Lees Ferry to the back of a tow truck”

We woke up on the beach of Lake Powell at Lone Rock Campground to overcast skies and cool temperatures.

We set off for Glen Canyon Dam which is responsible for creating Lake Powell. Jen’s mom recommended that we try to tour the dam which we ended up doing. It was great advice, we all thoroughly enjoyed the tour. Henry shadowed the guide (Paul) as we went from the visitor center, down to the top of the dam, and on down to the generator house at the base of the dam.

He asked questions nearly every time Paul spoke and even practiced his backwards walking (like Paul) in case he wants to be a guide someday.

Our plan was to do horseshoe bend which is only a mile hike in and out, but the parking lot is under construction, so you have to take a shuttle and we were running out of patience and enthusiasm. Better to stop while we’re ahead. Instead, we grabbed groceries and fuel in Page and then proceeded on to Lees Ferry which is the only place within Glen Canyon where you can drive up to the Colorado River.

We found our site at the Lees Ferry Campground and settled down for the night.

We woke up inside Zion National Park again at site B46 in the Watchman Campground. We had a yummy breakfast of waffles, Jen found the tiniest waffle maker that was easy to justify making room for in one of our upper cabinets.

We cleaned up, put away the bedding and prepared us and the van for road travel. As we pulled out of the campground, we took the opportunity to fill up our water tanks and then made the short drive to the visitor center. The kids jumped out with Jen to stamp our national parks passport book and spend some of their money on trinkets from the park. I stayed in the van to participate in a planning call for a conference I’ll be attending in September.

We set out from the visitor center towards Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. The drive out of the East side of Zion takes you through the over mile long tunnel that cuts through the mountain and brings you out on the East side of the park which was more covered in snow.

We made our way out of the park and drove the couple hours to the Toadstool Trailhead where we hiked in to see the Toadstool formations and wander around a little bit.

After our hike we hustled to the Big Water Visitor center to complete the Jr. Ranger program for the national monument and to explore the cool dinosaur exhibits on display.

After getting their badges, these ones were circular which are unique to the others they’ve already received.

A quick drive East from the visitor center is the pull off for Lone Rock Beach which was our destination for the night. We pulled through the pay station, and weaved our way towards the beach. We were creeping along trying to pick a spot when all of the sudden we were no longer moving…. Ugh!

I made several attempts to dig out a path for the van to climb up to the top of the sand, but neither my hand digging nor the snow shovel were making much progress. Then I heard a voice ask if we were stuck, yes, yes we are. Andrew was cruising along the beach in front of us and must have seen me digging. He got out of his loaded Jeep and came over to help. He mentioned that he had been stuck in snow recently and another person stopped to help him get out, so he was returning the favor. He backed up his Jeep close enough to put on a tow strap and in four wheel drive he pulled our heavy van out.

Now unstuck, Jen could breathe and I could rebalance my confidence and humility. We drove a little further without incident and pulled up broadside along a sand dune overlooking Lake Powell. The kids played as Jen made dinner and the rest of the evening was like most of those before it.

After the long drive the day before we decided to take a zero mile day in the park. We had a campsite at the Watchman Campground that we liked (right next to the Virgin River) and wanted to do a family hike.

We fueled up with breakfast, finished school lessons, and renewed our site reservation for another day ($20). Then headed to Zion Lodge which is really nice and Amelia decided she’d like to stay there sometime 🙂

The trailhead for the Emerald Pools hikes is just across the street from the lodge, so we put on our packs, gloves, and hats, grabbed a quick family photo at the trailhead sign, and took off across the icy bridge that spans the Virgin River.

That bridge was a clue to the status of the trail ahead, the first section was in the rising sunlight and slushy in spots, but very manageable. As we made the turn into the canyon and left the suns rays behind, the trail really iced up and things got more interesting.

We carefully (most the time) made our way to the lower pool which was frozen over but still had water crashing down from the waterfall above. At this point the path goes under the falls and takes you up the other side of the ravine which is in daylight, but getting to the other side wasn’t going to be easy or safe, so we watched the falls, took some photos and reversed direction, heading back to the lodge.

We got to see a pair of mule deer right off the path which never fails to raise my heart rate. When we made it back to a high spot overlooking the river, we took the opportunity to break out some snacks and have a drink of water.

It was all downhill from there (literally), we got back to the van and drove back to our campsite.

From the previous month, I had recognized my own need for more physical activity, so during our pit stop in Phoenix, I had grabbed my running shoes and it was the perfect day to make sure they still fit. My original plan was to do the Pa’ru trail, but as I ran past the visitor center I saw a sign for the Watchman Trail first, so I took it. I was feeling the elevation and the span of time since I’ve last asked my body to do such a task, so I didn’t make it to the end of the trail before I needed a break to catch my breath and drink some water. As I sat on a rock beside the trail, I heard some noises above me and was surprised to see a trio of big horn sheep feeding across the hillside in front of me. I watched them for awhile and then stretched my cramping muscles and descended back towards camp draining the last of the water in my bottle as I ran. The sun and activity warmed me up so I decided to jump into the river, brrrrr it was chilly, but also very refreshing.

Jen had started dinner in the Instant-pot so while our french dip meat cooked, the kids garnered their Jr. Ranger vests and we walked to the Visitor Center to finish what was required of them to receive their badges.

Along the way we passed by Loop A which is under reconstruction and a team of work trucks were busy moving dirt right in front of us. Watching the trucks work was a highlight for Henry and we practically had to drag him away as it was still chilly and we didn’t want the visitor center to close before we got there.

We watched a video presentation about the park and then the kids’ workbooks were complete. They were sworn in, cracked some jokes with the rangers and then received their fifth badges.

We walked back past the trucks getting put away for the evening, the kids grabbed some things out of the van and headed down to the riverbank. Amelia grabbed art supplies and sat on a bent tree she had found the day before.

Henry grabbed gloves so he could dig, shape and throw sand.

It was great watching them be them and as the sun set in front of us, a few deer came down on the opposite bank to have a drink, or maybe they were curious about Henry 😉

Dinner was beyond delicious and after the evening tasks were completed and we laid in bed, Jen and I chuckled about our current life, how crazy and challenging it is, but without a doubt, a blessing of rewards.

We woke a little less rested than usual. Maybe it was the first night back in the van, maybe it was the four of us in Jen and I’s queen size bed….
I flipped the switch on the electric kettle and checked the thermometer on the dash to see how cold it was outside (17degrees f), nice and chilly. Our tracks from driving in and playing in the snow last night have been filled in and covered up and its a beautiful morning with snow still blowing down in flurries. With coffee duty underway and the window shades pulled down letting in the morning sun reflecting off the snow all around, everyone starts to rouse out of their slumber.

The kids ate bagels with cream cheese and Jen made us some delicious oatmeal with bananas and peanut butter. After filling up our stomachs, the kids suited up to go enjoy the fresh new snow. Once the energy levels were down and the dishes washed, we buttoned down the cupboards and pulled out of the forest and onto the highway heading towards Zion National Park, about a three and a half hour drive.

One pull over to pee and a stop for lunch beside the vermillion cliffs which we’ve now drove past twice, the first time in the waining light of sunset, both times a sight to see. The 9 was closed east of the south entrance to Zion National Park, so we had to take a roundabout way which added about an hour to our drive, never a good thing, especially when you’ve got kids getting impatient 🙂

The roads climbed in elevation and the temps dropped, at one point as low as 8 degrees! The roads had been cleared well and the snow that was falling was driven off the road by the wind. We had to slow down in spots, but the intermittent clouds gave us wonderful glimpses of the scenery around us and the National Park we were entering.

We got to the park entrance a half hour before the visitor center closed and I asked the ranger at the entrance if there was availability at the two campgrounds just inside the south entrance to the park, he said yes, so we entered and pulled into the parking lot for the visitor center with enough time for jen to jump out and grab Jr. Ranger workbooks for the kids.

We pulled through the South campground which looked like a ghost town, I guess it’s the off-season…. The ranger at the Watchman campground was pleasant and informed us that Loop B was open and we could drive through, pick out our spot and come back to register. B46 was our choice and we were blessed to have deer right next to the van as we drove through and right across the river from our campsite once we settled in.

We went for a quick walk down by the river and played on the sandy banks. Then it was time for a yummy dinner of pineapple ham, rice, and corn on the cob. We did some van gymnastics to burn off some energy and then tackled our evening chores of dishes, bathroom duties, and a chapter of Little Town on the Prairie. Then to bed for the littles upstairs and Jen and I watched Snowden which I had downloaded on Prime Video before we left Jen’s Mom’s. Not the greatest “feel good” movie, but worth the watch just to remind us of the importance of privacy and considering what we share…

We left our mailing address and comfortable pit stop of Jen’s Mom’s house to again take to the road in search of adventure and memories. We stopped by Acorn Propane to refill our tiny refillable propane tank .

We weren’t out of propane but we have been on our journey for over a month, using it daily to cook with on our propane cook stove and I wasn’t sure how long we could expect it to last. The attendant made the obligatory joke, “I don’t know if we have enough propane to fill that” but then set to his task. He filled out the paperwork and handed it to me to go inside the office to pay. I was surprised when it wasn’t only a half gallon, the tank holds about a gallon and that means we can expect it to last about two months between fill-ups!

Then we dropped off the trailblazer and Molly with Marco for safe keeping (maybe we’ll write a blog post about the decision to travel with or without our dog on another day).

We set our course (via Google Maps) to Montezuma’s Castle, which having lived in Arizona for 17 years, I had still not visited. We drove into a rainstorm that looked like it may put a damper on our stop but as we passed Lake Montezuma we were blessed with a beautiful rainbow (the most colors I’ve ever seen in one) and blue skies which held out for most of our time at the National Monument. We parked (commenting on how different it is to travel without Molly, somewhat better, somewhat worse), grabbed our national parks passport book and America The Beautiful Pass, and walked into the visitor center. The kids grabbed their Jr. Ranger workbooks and we took advantage of the temporary break in weather to walk the 1/3 mile route learning about the area, the castle, and the people that called it home.

After the walk, we headed back to the visitor center as the skies looked like they were going to let down with some more rain. Inside the visitor center Jen put on her teacher hat and guided the kids through the rest of their Jr. Ranger packets. After they were sworn in and received their 4th badges which were promptly attached to their vests from Christmas, thanks Aunt Jean.

We stamped a couple of pennies for the collection and got back into the van for our target destination for the night, Cameron Arizona. As we gained elevation and drew nearer to Flagstaff the fog thickened and the snow started falling. We slowed our speed and contemplated where we wanted to stop for the night. We pulled into Flagstaff to fill up the tank. If there’s one thing we don’t want to run out of in the snow, it’s diesel because that’s what our cabin heater runs on which keeps the van toasty even when it’s cold as ice outside.

We decided to drive towards Cameron but stop about a half hour outside of Flagstaff so the kids could play in the snow and we weren’t driving too much into the darkness. We pulled off onto the forest service road to a few inches of fresh snow without any tracks on them, we found a pull off with a fire ring, leveled the van, and called it our home for the night.

The kids suited up for the snow and out they went until Jen had dinner ready (Orange chicken, rice, and broccoli). After the delicious meal, we set up the bed (we were doing a sleep over, everyone in mom and dad’s bed), I washed the dishes while Jen and the kids tucked in while the snow fell and the wind howled all around us. Inside the van we were snug and cozy and excited for the destinations and adventures ahead.