Arches

Delicate Arch

Alex takes in view near Delicate Arch

Girls hike toward Delicate Arch

Wow.  Arches National Park lived up to its reputation as a scenic wonderland.  Just like the Grand Canyon, the pictures just don't do it justice.  The whole place is otherworldly--unlike any terrain I have seen anywhere else on Earth.  We drove in to the park fairly early and parked at the Delicate Arch trailhead.  We were lucky that during the two mile hike to the Delicate Arch, we had enough cloud cover that the heat was tolerable.  After reaching the Arch and taking a few photos, we hiked back to the RV and drove the the Devil's Garden trail.  We couldn't talk the kids into another hike, so Natalie, Tessa and I did some of the trails on our own.  We ate lunch in the RV and then drove to some of the other scenic overlooks in the park, including the Balanced Rock, and the Fiery Furnace.  All were amazing.  The hiking wore us all out, so we decided to skip a bicycle ride and instead visit the local movie theater.  We moved the RV to a park inside of Moab (our last one was about 5 miles outside of town), and walked to Moab's only movie theater.  Of our three choices for movies, we picked "Zookeeper".  Probably only worth seeing if your choices are as limited as ours were.  But it was a nice, relaxing outing after all of our hiking.

Andi is worn out from hike to the Arch

Landscape Arch

Tessa on Devil's Garden Trail

Balanced Rock

Nat looks down from trail to Delicate Arch

Houseboat Adventures

Day 38, miles 7,049, states 14

Hey, George here again after a break in internet access.  From where I left off, we continued our drive to Lake Powell through Capitol Reef National Park, which gave us our first real taste of the geologic wonders we would see in eastern Utah.

Driving Through Capitol Reef National Park

Kirk and Alex on the top deck

I was hoping that our 3-day houseboat adventure on Lake Powell would be one of the highlights of our trip and give us a little respite from the RV.  The houseboat was 46' long and had a full-size kitchen, and living room, an outdoor grill, and an upper sun deck with a slide for the kids to splash into the lake.  We got to the rental place in the late morning and after getting a 10-minute block of instruction from a 19-year-old kid who didn't know port from starboard, we finally got underway a little after lunch.  I looked at the chart of the lake and headed for one of the canyons near the marina.  After about an hour of


Entering a canyon on Lake Powell

motoring along, we entered the canyon and started looking for a place to anchor the houseboat.  We saw other houseboats anchored in some peaceful appearing coves and decided to give that a try.  The idea is to put the bow of the boat against the shore and, with the anchor lines tied off at the stern, secure the anchors to something on the beach that will hold the vessel in place.  This sounded pretty easy, but with an inexperienced skipper and crew, it was a near disaster.  The site we picked was too steep and rocky, and the wakes from the many passing speed boats (who didn't slow a bit) rocked the lumbering houseboat all over.  When Kirk slipped into the water while trying to secure one of the anchors and nearly went under the boat, we decided we'd had enough.  We left the canyon and found a cove with a more gentle slope on the bay.  This made "beaching" the boat much easier (but still challenging for novices).

Our Houseboat is finally "Beached" in a cove

Alex and dogs enjoy a swim

The kids quickly made use of the slide, and we all cooled off in the lake for a little while.  Even the dogs had a good swim.  We cooked some burgers on the grill and had a nice dinner before calling it a night.  I'd had problems starting both the houseboat generator and the main engine, so we decided to try the first night without the generator since the air-conditioner was pretty anemic anyway.  But there was no relief from the heat at night.  Opening all of the windows and doors didn't do much to cool off the boat.  The only place that offered any relief was the top deck, where there was a nice breeze.  None of us slept much the first night.  In the morning I found that the wind had pushed us closer to the the shore. I was worried that we would get stuck, so we moved the boat to a nearby shore with fewer rocks.  But the engine starter was giving me fits, and we could not start the generator at all.  We were out of cell phone range, and I didn't have much faith in the shipboard radio.  So we decided to call it quits while we still could make it back.  I was able to get the boat started, but had quite a time dislodging it from the beach.  When we finally got out of the cove and motored the five miles back toward the marina, a thunderstorm rolled in.  The refuel station shut down due to lightning, and the rental company would not send a pilot out to take the boat in (their pilots normally take the boats in and out of the slips).  They told me that I could wait the storm out in the bay or try to bring the boat in myself.  Well, I sure as heck was not eager to test that fine ship's qualities in a storm, so I motored in to the marina in the 40-knot gusts and made it into the slip with some help from the rental company crew on the dock.  After some gentle "persuasion" from Natalie, we managed to get a partial refund on the houseboat rental fee, and a free night's stay at the RV park.  Even Kirk was glad to get back in the RV.

Our RV on the Ferry

The next morning, we drove the RV to the ferry landing and took the ferry across Lake Powell for our drive up to Moab.  This was another scenic delight, and we found a funny tourist trap called the "Hole in the Rock" just south of Moab--a 5,000 sqaure foot home that a man and his wife had carved in to the sandstone in the late 1940's and 1950's.  It was a fun little diversion.  We arrived in Moab early enough to restock at the grocery store and have dinner at a local pasta place before setting up camp at an RV park.

Tessa Arrives!

Salt Lake City

At Breakfast with Greg Stewart in Provo

Yesterday we continued along the very scenic Highway 89 from Idaho around Bear Lake in to Utah and Salt Lake City.  Once we got set up in the KOA in Salt Lake, the kids hung out in the RV for awhile while Natalie and I walked to a nearby mall and watched the movie, "Larry Crowne".  When we got back, we put Kirk in a taxi to the airport to pick up Tessa.  Kirk and Tessa returned together in another taxi near midnight.  We were all tired, but it was great to have the whole family together again.

Kids at our camp in Torrey, UT

Tessa enjoys the scenery in Utah

We left the RV camp fairly early and drove up to Ensign Point to take in a quick snapshot of Salt Lake City before heading down to Provo where our neighbor's son, Greg Stewart, attends BYU.   Greg picked out a great breakfast restaurant, and we all stuffed our faces.  We said goodbye to Greg and continued toward Bullfrog Basin on Lake Powell, where we will pick up the houseboat we are renting.  The drive toward Bullfrog was spectacular, and we found a nice campground about two hours short of our destination.  This may be our last chance at internet or cell phone use for a couple of days since we don't know what the situation will be on Lake Powell.

Geisers, Waterfalls, Canyons and Mountains Galore

Andi enjoys Old Faithful

Alex in front of the Prismatic Spring

We spent our first full day in Yellowstone exploring the geisers, boiling pools, and steaming springs near Old Faithful.  Natalie and Alex were most impressed with the amazing "Prismatic Spring" -- a bubbling, boiling, multicolored pool that produced kaleidoscopic steam.  We were disappointed to find that after unloading all of the bikes for a ride, the bike trail did not connect with the area where our RV was parked.  On top of that we had to work the RV out of a major traffic snarl in the
parking before driving back to the RV camp. 

The "Grand Canyon of Yellowstone"

The following day, we drove to the south rim of "Yellowstone's Grand Canyon" and found a good spot to park the RV.  Natalie once again baked some fresh biscuits to start our day, and we hiked five miles along the scenic south rim trail, checking out the canyon and waterfalls.  After our hike, we ate a late lunch in Canyon Village before heading back to camp.  We decided to try our luck with the bikes again and stopped at another bike trail near the RV camp.  This time we found the trail, but we weren't very impressed with it.  Good bicycle paths were definitely the one thing missing from Yellowstone (and most other national parks).

Grand Teton

Grand Teton

We left Yellowstone this morning via the southern exit and headed in to Grand Teton.  The drive through Grand Teton provided some of the most stunning mountain vistas we have seen on the trip (and by this point, we've seen a lot).  We decided to spend our limited time in this magnificent park doing another hike along one of the scenic trails.  We parked the RV at Jenny Lake and hiked the three mile trail along the southern tip of the lake to Hidden Falls.  After reaching the falls, we walked down to the shuttle boat launch and took the shuttle across the lake and back to the parking lot.  It was a great hike and a fun ride on the little shuttle boat.

Jenny Lake hiking trail at Grand Teton

Nat on Jenny Lake hiking trail

Jenny Lake Shuttle Boat

Next, we drove another 30 miles or so to Jackson Hole, Wyoming--home of the famous ski resort.  This was a fun little resort town where we had dinner and did a little shopping before continuing down Highway 89 through Wyoming and in to a small piece of Idaho where we made camp at the KOA in Montpelier.  The drive from Yellowstone to Montpelier was absolutely stunning and might even qualify as the most beautiful leg of our journey to date. 

Jackson Hole, Wy

Seattle Fish Market

Big Sky to Yellowstone

Day 30, states 14, miles 6170

Big Sky, MT

Gallatin Valley, MT





Yesterday morning we ventured back in to Bozeman for breakfast at the Western Cafe followed by some shopping.  Natalie wasn't going to have anyone claiming her new bear, so she let Andi pick out her own from the same shop--a brown one that she named "Otis".  After stopping at our favorite resupply depot (Walmart), we headed down Hwy 191 and enjoyed the famously scenic drive  through the Gallatin Valley toward Big Sky and Yellowstone.   We arrived in West Yellowstone (the town in Montana, not the park) around 4pm and did some shopping.  I picked up some cowboy boots and a vest to go with the Stetson Natalie bought for me in Kalispell and Andi found a pair of moccasins.  After shopping and enjoying some of my new favorite ice cream (huckelberry), we headed in to the park.  Yellowstone quickly impressed us, and we could see why it is the crown jewel of the National Park system.  Around each corner we found a new breathtaking view, and we hadn't gone far before encountering some of the wildlife.  We stopped to take a picture in front of some bison just in time for Natalie to read to us from brochure that the park ranger gave us.   "DO NOT STOP ON THE ROAD TO TAKE PICTURES OF THE WILDLIFE.  DO NOT APPROACH WITHIN 25 YARDS OF THE BISON!  THEY ARE UNPREDICTABLE.  SEVERAL PARK VISTORS HAVE BEEN GORED BY ANGRY BISON!"

Alex and Bison

After surviving the Bison pictures, we drove the 50-mile circuit around the top of the park to Fishing Bridge, which is the location of the only RV campsite in Yellowstone.  This one, unlike other national park campsites, actually has electrical and water hookups and hot showers available.  But there is no cell phone or internet service, so Kirk and the kids had to suffer with just watching a John Wayne movie with us in the RV.  This morning we decided to take advantage of our location within the park and get an early start vistiting   Old Faithful.  We arrived early enough that there was still plenty of parking for our RV.  After getting the RV parked, Natalie made hot biscuits.  We discovered that we had cell phone coverage (and therefore internet) in our parking spot, so I was able to post this update.

More of Montana

Western Montana

After spending two nights in Kalispell, we started working our way down toward Yellowstone.  The drive across western Montana lived up to our expectations for scenic beauty, with lush green valleys and snow capped mountains in the distance.  Our first stop was in the state capital, Helena, where we explored the downtown area and enjoyed some Huckelberry ice cream and crepes.  Then we continued on to Butte--a small town known for its copper mining history (it should also be known for its industrial sized mosquitoes).  We camped overnight at the Butte KOA, where I convinced the kids to watch "Caddyshack".  This movie earned an unequivocal eight thumbs down from Natalie and the kids and a quick donation to the movie library at our next RV camp.  In the morning, we stopped by the World Museum of Mining--an interesting place that might have been more interesting if we could have convinced the kids to do the underground mine tour with us.

From Butte, we drove an hour-and-a-half to reach Bozeman.  In contrast to stale, blue collar Butte, Bozeman is a college town with younger crowd and more vibrant atmosphere.  We stopped by the movie theater so the kids (and dad) could see the latest "Transformers" sequel.  Mom was a good sport and endured it for the team.  After the movie, we set up at a great little RV park at the edge of town with the nicest owners we have met.  The wife gave Natalie and me a lift back into town, and we had a date while the kids hung out at the RV park.  We happened to be in Bozeman for "Musicfest".  The downtown area was only open to pedestrian traffic.  A good size crowed of mostly college kids (with a few of us older folk sprinkled in) enjoyed the live music, shopping, and eateries.  Natalie and I had some dinner at a pizzeria (I couldn't talk her in to a bison burger), and I bought her something to remember our time in Bozeman--a large stuffed black bear that she quickly named "Montana".

Musicfest in Bozeman, MT