Day 14 - Zion

Today we tried to get up early, but we failed miserably.

"Once we tried to get into Zion National Park, we realized we should have tried harder."

"The parking lot was TOTALLY FULL!"

On our second "vulture circling" of the parking lot, we came across someone who was pulling out.

Ah, the luck of the Irish.

"Actually, I think it was the luck of the Bunny."

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Once we were in Zion National Park, we hopped on the shuttle bus to go to our first location. (The road to all the cool stuff is only accessible to the shuttle buses right now.)

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Our first stop was at a ranger program about the animals in Zion.

After that, we rode the shuttle bus down to the end of the road, where we had lunch.

"There was a squirrel! It really wanted food... But you aren't supposed to feed them."

[img]

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After we had lunch, we went on the "riverside walk trail".

We didn't like it very much, because the trail was paved (hurts your feet), and was nowhere near the river.

Once we got there, we played in the river a little though, because we were really hot.

After a short time, we hiked back.

It was basically 2 miles of miserable.

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We rode the bus back to the visitor's center, and finished up our 59th Junior Ranger.

Then, we got back in our car.

And drove.

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It felt like forever, but halfway through we stopped for Chinese food to eat in the car.

And then we drove for another bunch of miles.

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Tomorrow's Hint:

You wish it wasn't here yet...

Day 13 - The day of... EXTREMES

Looking at the title, I bet you can guess that today is going to be a busy day.

We're going to be visiting Grand Staircase/Escalante, Bryce Canyon, & Cedar Breaks!

We are also going from 45 degrees and snow to more than 90 and super sunny!

Talk about extremes!

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First we spent an hour at the Grand Staircase/Escalante Visitor's Center. It wasn't a national park, it was BLM land.

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We then headed over to Bryce Canyon National Park.

"Fun Fact: It isn't actually a canyon, because there is no river flowing through it!"

We didn't really hike at all, but took lots of cool pictures.

We saw lots of cool stuff, and Bunny took panoramas with my phone.

[img: panoramas]

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From there, it was off to Cedar Breaks National Monument.

[img: sign w/ snow]

But on the way there...

"WE SAW SNOW!!"

[img: them w/ snow]

"We are now at about 10,000 foot altitude... Which is a lot compared to Vancouver's 100 ft." Well, yep.

[img: stufff.... figure it out.]

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After Cedar Breaks, we stopped at Zion on our way to St. George.

Tonight we are sleeping in a World mark Condo! :)

But it also means...

"Our road trip is almost over?"

Sadly, yes.

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By the way, St. George was super hot... Over 90 degrees hot.

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Tomorrow's Hint:

One of the National Parks I mentioned today we are stopping at again.

"But... You mentioned like, 5 different parks!"

I know. :)

Day 12 - Capitol Reef National Park

This is the park I mentioned yesterday...

Anyway, after eating a breakfast of oatmeal & chocolate muffins, we left the RV park at about 9 am.

We headed back to Capitol Reef, to get more pies. :)

We got 3 strawberry rhubarb pies, 1 apple pie, 2 chocolate ice creams, 1 ginormous cinnamon roll, and one coffee.

"I was wondering, why didn't I get any coffee?"

Because, you are hyper enough already. It took me 10 minutes just to get out of bed, while you lept out of bed and onto my face before exploding with excitement.

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We had checked out a family activity bag from the ranger station, and sat at a picnic table eating our pies & stuff while doing some of the stuff from the bag.

First we played Bird Bingo, and then my brother made an adaption from it called Jeo-birdy. (Like Jeopardy.)

"I won Jeo-birdy, with $5,000 more than Foxy!"

"Umm... Sure you did."

We also played some "Pioneer Games", Jacks and Pick-up Sticks.

But after a little while, we had to get back on the road again.

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We drove through the Dixie National Forest for a little while, before we got to Anasazi State Park.

"It was very cool! They were like Native Americans in the desert."

"They had different types of dwellings, and some were underground. It was awesome."

After a few hours there, we had to move on.

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At one part in the road, we were driving with a cliff on both sides. It was kind of scary.

But of course, we got out and took a panorama.

[img]

Our final destination was the KOA at Cannonville, UT.



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Tomorrow's Hint:

We are heading to a National Park & a National Monument...

"With a canyon and a type of tree..." (respectively)

Day 11 - Goblin Valley State Park

We had to finish packing, and load up the car.

Today was the day we had to leave MOAB.

"Bye!! Hope to see you again soon!"

And off we were, towards Goblin Valley State Park.

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Goblin Valley was very cool, it was kind of formed the same way the Arches were formed...







"Some of them really did look like goblins!"

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We also made it to Capitol Reef National Park, but we were going to be exploring that more tomorrow. After stopping at a few old buildings, seeing some cool petroglyphs, and getting our Junior Ranger Books; we went down to the Gifford House.

"It had all kinds of cool pioneer-y stuff!"

"There were little pies, wild rice bread, and apple butter!"

After we had all this delicious food, we went out to some picnic tables outside.

"We went out very quietly, because there were deer out there!"

"We counted 8 of them! Crazy!"



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We pulled into 1,000 Lakes RV Park, where we stayed in a cabin.

"It looked kind of like the KOA cabin... Only bigger. And there were more beds! Foxy and I got our own!"

"But it was really hard to get up too... It was a bunk bed. I could make it up by climbing up the side of the ladder,"

"And I used my ears to hold onto the bars and swing myself up!"

"It was quite a feat."

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Tomorrow's Hint:

I mentioned it today...

If you were paying attention.

"Was I?"

I don't know Bunny, you need to answer that for yourself.

"How?"

Day 10 - KOA

So today is a fun day... We get to stay at the KOA all day!

"Yay!"

Except... We have stuff we have to do.

"Aw..."

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Foxy tried to help mom with the laundry... But that didn't work out.

"So instead, Bunny & I got to help Kayl with her homework!"

Yeah... "Help".

I had basically an entire week's worth of schoolwork to do...

The good thing about being at a school with computers, it means I can do my schoolwork anywhere with WiFi.

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After spending most of the day working on homework, packing up, and exploring the KOA, we got to go into town at about 5:30.

"We stopped at this really cool rock/fossil shop!"

"Kayl got some pretty-colored quartz beads, and Sean got some fossils! I think they were trilobites."

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It was really cool there... But afterwards we were hungry for dinner.

So we got to go to "Pasta Jays".

"It was very good Italian food!"

I got to try Tortellini Alfredo with chicken for the first time.

"It turns out I like turtle-ini."

Bunny... It's pronounced tortellini.

"Yeah! Turtle-ini!"

*sigh*

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"Tonight Kayl went on a night hike up to Delicate Arch."

"Even though I didn't get to go, she shared with me this cool picture!"



"Awesome!"

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  Tomorrow'sHint:

Even more cool rock formations! Ones we haven't seen yet!"

"Is that even possible?"

Day 9 - Dino Tracks/Fiery furnace

Today we got to sleep in a whole lot, which was amazing!

"Really? I was awake since, like, 10 am! So early!"

We got it the car to head out to a place where we could hopefully find dinosaur tracks.

It took us a while to get out of town, and past Arches National Park.

"When we drove by, there was a sign that said it was closed!"

"Because it had reached it's maximum capacity or something."

Yeah. We found out later that day that this was the first time EVER that it had to close because so many people wanted to go.

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We drove out to one road, but it was really a 4-wheel drive road, and our minivan couldn't really handle it.

"The second road we went to was cool though."

This road was better maintained, and at the end was a "self-guided trail".

"There were some dinosaur bones partially excavated in the cliff wall we were walking next to!"





But still, no dino tracks.

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We drove back to the start of the road, looking for the trail that was supposed to take us to the dino tracks. We eventually found it... And it was amazing!!!!










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Afterwards, we drove into Arches National Park (it had started letting a certain number of people in) and drove up to the Fiery Furnace trailhead.

We were 2 1/2 hours early for our tour, so we drove down the road a little to another trailhead, and hiked up to Landscape Arch.





This arch is really delicate, so it might not be around for a super long time like the others.

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We drove back to the Fiery Furnace Trailhead, and sat in the car for about 1/2 an hour before the tour was supposed to start.

Bunny and Foxy weren't able to hike the difficult terrain, so they had to stay behind.

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There is a small misnomer about the fiery furnace, it is not as hot as the name suggests.

It was named for the amazing glow it gets at sunset.

In fact, it is usually about 10 degrees cooler than the rest of the park.

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The "difficult terrain" included some fun places... where you have to put your hands on one wall and your feet on another and make your way through a crack in the fins.









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It was an amazing day.

"Really?"

"Oh yeah, it was!"

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Tomorrow's Hint:

3 letters...

"K-O-A"

Day 8 - Rafting/4x4 Trip

Note: Bunny and Foxy were not able to come on this trip... They got a severe cold and had to sleep in or something.

Don't worry! They will be back again tomorrow.

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Today we had to get up a lot earlier, and drive to Tag-a-long Adventures.

The first thing we did was a morning 4x4 trip. It was super bumpy!

We got to drive all over Canyonlands, and our guide told us cool stuff about pothole arches and whatnot.

There was one time, when someone tried to pass us on a road, we went up onto the mountain at a 45 degree angle! The guy was too chicken to pass us though.

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The second half of the day was a rafting trip on the Colorado River. It wasn't as bumpy as the White Salmon back home, but still awesome!

We had lunch halfway though, but before that, dad and my brother got splashed with a HUGE WAVE!

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It was a great day overall, and lots of fun!

Note: Sorry this wasn't very long, but I wasn't able to take pictures.

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Tomorrow's Hint:

Is it really a "Fiery Furnace"?

And what are those dents in the rock?

Day 7 - Canyonlands

Today was a slow start... But we got to sleep in, which was a plus.

After a quick breakfast of oatmeal, we took a short drive to the Island in the Sky section of Canyonlands National Park.



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We stopped at the visitor's center, then headed out to the Grand View Point trailhead.

It was a great hike, and a really easy one too.

"It was only 2 miles."

"It also was not very close to a scary cliff of death!"



But I had to carry them most of the way. (Basically all of the way)



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It was an amazing view!



We also had lunch down there.

"The bread was very tasty."



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The next hike we did was Whale Rock.

"What do you mean? It doesn't look like a whale at all."

"It's just a big rock."





We saw this adorable tree on the way up.



"We also saw lots of cacti! March ate some."

On top of Whale rock, the view was amazing, but it was SUPER WINDY!

[img]

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We drove back toward Mesa Arch, which was a short hike.

"We knew that we were gonna get to do it tomorrow, but dad wanted us to check it out anyway."

[img]

"This arch seems kind of weird."

Why is that Bunny?

"Because it leans out over the cliff! Does it want to fall off?"

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That was our last stop in the park, and we drove back to the KOA.

We were making mac & cheese for dinner that night, but it was really windy out.

"We were in charge of grilling the asparagus, and it got a little bit of seasoning... From the sand."

"There was actually a thunder storm headed toward us! With thunder! And lightning!"

Yep. That was an interesting dinner.

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Tomorrow's Hint:

This is an all day trip... But with a lot of sitting.

Day 6 - Natural Bridges

Today was a slow morning. It was one of those days... When you have to drive for 3 hours just to get to the national park.

We actually drove for 1 hour to get to Newspaper Rock National Historic Site (a totally unplanned stop).

It took us another 30-45 minutes to get to Needles, our original destination. Needles is a unit of Canyonlands National Park.

"There are 4 units in Canyonlands... They all have different stuff in them."

We took some awesome pictures, and also got a Junior Ranger Book...

(It is at this point that I need to tell you all about our "Junior Ranger Adventures". This is a link to my family's website --> the Junior Ranger page. [Just FYI, it isn't caught up quite yet.])

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Then, after leaving there, we went drove 1 1/4 hours to get to Natural Bridges National Monument.

"Natural Bridges was actually Utah's first National Monument. Cool, huh?"

Yep. Natural Bridges was really cool.

Basically, when there were lots of canyons and rivers flowed though them, making them bigger, the rivers liked to meander, and wander around. Sometimes, the river would wear away a the sides of a canyon enough, it made a "shortcut". Then, at the shortcut, it would wear away the bottom, but not the top, because the river wasn't that high up. So the river wore away at the canyon bottom, and made these bridges.

"Eventually, they fall apart... But new ones are being made, slowly over time."

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We hiked to the Sipapu bridge.

"It is the second largest natural bridge in the world!"

The hike was only 2 miles, but it was very hard. There were 3 VERY rickety wooden ladders we had to climb down, and some places that had these railings on a very steep rock. It was cool though, because we got to stand directly below the bridge.

We also went on another short but steep hike, and got to stand under another bridge.



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Then we left, but with a long drive home, we got to stop at Subway on the way back. We rolled into the cabin at 8:00.

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Tomorrow's Hint:

We are going to a different unit...

If you need inspiration, go back to the start of today's post.

Day 5 - Arches

Today will be awesome... We are heading to Arches National Park.

"Where is that?"

"It's in Utah, in the middle of the right side of the state."

Basically, it is a huge collection of natural rock arches.

"Over 2,000 of them!"

"They were formed when water eroded at the layers of rock built up over time."

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It was a short drive to the park from our cabin, only 45 min.

The first thing we did was drive up to the Delicate Arch trailhead. We passed a lot of stuff on the way there,-

"Because we really wanted to go hike!"

Yes Bunny. Even though we go there kinda early, there were still lots of people there.

It was a 3-mile strenuous hike.

"It was very strenuous; we had to hike up a big hill, then basically this side of a mountain made out of rock, then even higher and steeper up a mountain, until we got to the arch."

"It was AMAZING! And on the way up, we saw a cottontail bunny-rabbit! Just like me, see!"

"Anyway, the view was spectacular!"

But they were so tired from the hike up, they had to ride in my backpack for the way down.

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That hike was pretty hard, and it mostly wiped out the rest of the family too (including me!).

The rest of the day we took 3-4 small hikes, (less than one mile) to arches or scenic viewpoints. Overall, we had hiked almost 5 miles.

"That may not seem like a lot, but we were in the desert."

"We also were in a lot higher elevation than we are at home."

My brother and I both got a little overheated/elevation sickness.

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We had to stop by the grocery store on our way back to the cabin, and get food for tonight and tomorrow night.

For dinner, we had soup with bread and fried chicken. It was pretty good, but I had to go take the garbage to the dumpster afterwards.

Foxy & Bunny volunteered to come with me, but all they did was play on the playground while I dealed with the dumpster.

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Anyway, it was an AMAZING DAY!!

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Tomorrow's Hint:

We are going to see something very similar... But formed differently.

 "Check it out! I'm balancing it on my nose!"

Day 4 – Museum of Ancient Life

Today was the Museum of Ancient Life. We left our hotel room, all packed up, at about 9, and then drove for about an hour and a half to the museum. It was soooo cool, really the only way to try and describe it is through pictures.

“Yeah, Kayl took a LOT of pictures.”

Well, just stay with me. It’s very awesome.

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Oh no Bunny! Look out!

“Wow! A giant sea turtle!”

Ah! T-rex!

“Good thing this doesn’t move…”

“Wow. This is a dinosaur footprint, and it is so much bigger than us!”

“Check it out! A supersaurus!”

This is where panoramas come in handy.

“What do you think is in there?”

“Bunny, you go first.”

I thought this was cool, it’s petrified lightning.

Basically,

If you can’t view the image above, this is what it says:

When lightning strikes wet sand, it often fuses the sand grains and forms a hollow, glass tube called a fulgurite. These structures have been preserved in rocks back to Precambrian times.

“Those are some scary dinos!”

“Bunny, you know you aren’t actually underwater?”

“Don’t ruin the illusion Foxy…”

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Caution: Entering the Selfie zone

“Bunny! No one can see the dinosaurs you are with! Let me take those pictures.”

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We made it to MOAB tonight, and we are going to be staying in the KOA here for about a week. The main things we came down to Utah for are in MOAB.

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Tomorrow’s Hint:

We’re at MOAB now, so that means… Natural rock formations!!

"You mean 'COOL rock formations'!"