July 25, 2005
Vacation (part 4: Grand Canyon. Uh oh.)
The scale of the Grand Canyon was a bit overwhelming for the kids -- who even expressed some reservations during the car ride from Bryce about our planned mule ride. They didn't get any more enthusiastic after seeing a bit of the canyon, but the closer came when they visited the gift shop on the North Rim and browsed this book on deaths in the canyon. Case closed: we cancelled the mule ride, to great relief.
More pictures in the extended entry...
...Katie holds on.
On the way from the Grand Canyon back to Las Vegas, we planned to stop in Zion National Park and take the bus shuttle through the canyons. However, we arrived in the Park a bit later than planned, it was blazing hot, and the kids were a bit, um, subdued about the idea of more time sitting and trying to behave themselves. We walked over to the Virgin River, where a couple of folks were swimming. So Sean jumped right in, and convinced Katie that the water was fine.
After a long and refreshing swim, they were back in good spirits...
...so we pressed on to Vegas.
July 23, 2005
Vacation (part 3: Sunrise at Bryce, Sunset at Grand Canyon)
We got up early on our last day at Bryce to catch the sunrise. There were several other folks out at the overlook, taking pictures, and so forth. Katie and Sean were the only kids around.
More in the extended entry...
The hoodoos get a fantastic orange glow as the sun hits them.
Mary Ellen and Sean opted to hike along the rim to the next observation point. Katie and I drove over. When we all met up again, we went to breakfast and said goodbye to Bryce.
On the way to the Grand Canyon, we decided to run in to Zion Canyon for a look. It was worth it. We decided that we'd stop for a longer visit on our way back.
We arrived at the Grand Canyon Lodge on the North Rim late in the day -- just in time to get the bags into our cabin and take a stroll to Bright Angel Point to watch the sun set.
... view toward the South Rim as the sun set.
As a fantastic coda to the day, there was a guest who set up a telescope on the patio that overlooks the canyon. He let any and all (and especially the kids) look as much as they liked. It was powerful enough to see individuals on the South Rim (10 miles away) while the light was good, and 5 moons of Jupiter as it got dark. He was great about answering questions, too.
Vacation (part 2: Bryce Canyon)
Tuesday morning we drove the mile or two to the Canyon, then stopped a several pull-outs to get the kids out of the car and see the view. The first pace we stopped was in front of this arch, which was pretty cool, by unanimous consent.
More in the extended entry...
At the end of the secenic drive along the canyon, there is an overlook that offers a great view of the length of the park.
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Each overlooks had impressive views. The highlight of the stay at Bryce was the horse/mule ride iinto the canyon. We went during the middle of the day, and the heat was ridiculous, but it was a great up close view in and throught the hoodoos. Of course, the kids also got a hoot watching the animals do their business.
At the end of the day, we attended the daily rodeo across the street from the Ruby Inn. The rodeo was OK -- a little ragged in terms of continuity and pacing, but they did get the kids out in the dirt for a "find your shoes" contest. Sean did really well -- would have won if he had worn sandals.
The next day, we went back to the canyon. Sean and I went on a hike on the Queen's Garden trail -- down among the hoodoos, to a formation that was supposed to resemble Queen Victoria. It has really hot, and we started out (and down) with plenty of energy, but finished climbing out exhausted and seemingly unable to get fluid in fast enough. In the heat, at 8000 feet, a couple of miles and a few hundred feet of climbing is exhausting.
... at the top -- a hoodoo rises over the rim behind Sean
... Sean gets up close and personal with the hoodoos
... Looking at the hoodoos against the brilliant sky was a treat
... Queen Victoria, at the half-way point in our walk. There might be a family resemblance, I suppose
... by the time we were nearly done, we were nearly done in.
Couple of notes about Bryce: First, Mary Ellen and I both noted the great number of foreign language speakers -- German and French, mostly. It was sometimes a surprise to hear a tourist speak English. Also, the food at the Ruby Inn was really good, and a great value.
Next, watching the sun rise over the canyon.
Vacation (part 1: LV-Bryce Canyon)
We arrived in Las Vegas on Saturday morning, after catching a very early flight. We took the kids to the pool to bask in the intense heat and listen to a band play '80s "hits" (and listen to the kids play "Who is this? Did you like this one?") In the evening, we hit the strip to see the shiny things. The Treasure Island pirate show has been updated since I'd last seen it: it's gone from G to PG-13... More story and lots of pictures in the extended entry...
We wound up staying out pretty late (really late on East Coast time) so the following day was pretty much wasted as we slept in, hit the pool a bit and didn't do much at all. Monday we piled in the Toyota renta-SUV (drives like a van, with less seating room) and made a quick stop at a big box store to get a cheap-o styrofoam cooler and a couple of cases of water and Gatorade, and some boxes of sugar bombs cereal. We set out north through the desert. We got our first taste of really cool goeology as we hit the Virgin River gap in Arizona -- about a dozen miles of winding uphill road with towering rocks on either side.
We stopped for some fantastic Mexican food in St. George, Utah (it's in Ancestor Square, name TBD) then pressed on toward Bryce Canyon, generally following the Virgin River. Driving through Dixie National Forest, we stopped to look at a very intensely colored blue-green lake.
holding water trapped by lava. Another traveller told us about a waterfall where the lake empties, and we set off to find it. A couple of miles up a dirt road (next to the lava flow, so Sean got pictures) and a 20 minute hike brought us to the falls.
... Katie and Mary Ellen (that's them) hike toward the falls.
Just a few miles from Bryce is the Red Canyon, where we piled out and took pictures of the very red rock formations, and splashed in the river.
Katie wanted a "rabbit ears" shot.
After checking in at Ruby's Inn and having a surprisingly good meal, we got ready for a couple of days in Bryce Canyon.
Back East
We had a great vacation in Las Vegas, Bryce Canyon, Zion and the Grand Canyon. The kids were more impressed by Bryce than the others -- it seems more people-scale, and we went on horse rides and hikes through the hooodoos, saw a rodeo. Zion gets a thumbs-up because the kids went swimming in a river there, which is just what we needed at that point in the trip. I think the Grand Canyon is too big and incomprehensible for them to really appreciate. It might be for me, too. We did see lots of fossils, though, and that was a hit. Pictures will appear when I get them sorted and edited.
July 08, 2005
July 06, 2005
More Party Animals
After the zoo -- a neighborhood party with a cool pool for the kids, and cool beverages for the grownups. And fireworks for everybody.
July 05, 2005
Party Animals
We went to the the Zoo for a birthday party. The kids had a great time visiting the animals, playing with friends and generally carrying on in the fantastic weather.