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On our drive from Mesa Verde National Park to Zion National Park, we watched
this houseboat being maneuvered through a roundabout. No problem. |
The scenic road we choose took us over
the Navajo Bridge, one of seven crossings over the Colorado River for 750 miles.
The bridge on the left was built in 1928. |
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The old bridge became a pedestrian bridge when the wider and much safer bridge
was completed in 1995. The old bridge leads nowhere but the kids
enjoyed looking down 470 feet to the river below. |
We reserved a site in a private RV
park nearest the entrance to Zion National Park and got a great one with a great
view of beautiful 2,000 feet sandstone mountains that line the park. |
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Zion National Park is a V-shaped park that is at its widest at the
south entrance and gets narrower as we travel north 21 miles to the
"narrows". |
This
particular weekend is an annual get together for Carmen and Julie a work
colleague, who organizes this awesome get away each summer. |
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Dakota, Sierra and Hunter spent countless hours playing, swimming and
swinging from ropes in the Virgin River. They loved moving these rock around
to divert water into their own horseshoe bend. |
The
'narrows' is literally the width of the river, which at this point is less than
a foot deep. One can choose a 10 mile hike or a half mile which is what we
chose. Watch out for flash floods. |
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Besides relaxing, hiking is the most popular activity in Zion and the
opportunities are endless. We choose Angels Landing trail which turned
out to be a bit more challenging that we expected. |
We did not make it to the top of
Angels Landing, but the views down into the canyon made it worth the effort.
These sandstone cliffs are great for mountain climbing, but we did not get to
see them today. |
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What a view! |
This
would be the year that our little Dakota became taller than her mom. My,
my! |
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When we packed up to leave for Minnesota, we were amused by this tent, which
is exactly like the one we had when we started camping when our kids were
young. |
After a five-day road trip from Zion
National Park to Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park in southern Minnesota we where
ready to extend our playtime with Clara and Chase. |
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We had gotten discount tickets for Cirque Italia, a European style circus
so we headed to Rochester which was the closest city from Jellystone. |
The
two-hour performance included acrobats, high wire acts, contortionists and other
exciting acts performed at typical circles, but this one was done over water. |
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A little family-owned attraction is Niagara Cave near Harmony.
It was discovered in 1924, when the owners went looking for their three
little pigs. They found them and much, much more. |
Niagara Cave turns out to be the
largest limestone cave in the Midwest with a depth of 200 feet and 1,750 feet
long. Its main feature is a 60 foot waterfall inside the cave. |
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At a cool but constant temperature of 55 degrees, it was to cool for us, but
perfect for Chase and Clara who love ice hockey and other winter
sports. |
After an extended week at Jellystone,
we traveled to South Dakota to renew our driver's license. We enjoyed the
beauty of Sioux Falls running through the city. |
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Back in Bismarck and time with Larry's brother Jack, Maryanne, and sisters
Lorraine, Lillian and Claudia. Francie, Bob's wife is standing between
us. |
Lillian granddaughter, Jamie got
married at an outdoor park, which turned out just perfect although rain was
forecasted for most of the day. |
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The wedding included a reception, dinner, dancing and an opportunity for
more picture, this one is Larry's older twin sister. |
Lori, mother of the bride (second to
the left) posed with four of five girl cousins who were all born in 1961, who
all traveled long distances to get in this picture. |
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We met Glorine's brother Willie and wife Barb for dinner and a tour of the
Garrison Dam. Along with a great visit, we got to see the spillway
open, the second time since it was completed in 1953. |
Glorine's oldest brother George was
doing great during our visit in his room at a local nursing home in Mandan. Last
year, he sold his home, downsized and doing well adjusting to a new lifestyle. |
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Lillian celebrated her 91st birthday, along with her children,
grandchildren and a few of us siblings. She is still living in her
home, with care from her daughters. |
Our next stop was back in
Minnesota to spend more time with Denise, who just completed this awesome home
on Prior Lake |
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Along with getting our yearly Medicare wellness visits, which both went
well, we got a chance to watch
Chase (at center position) play 5th grade football. It was cute watching these
kids improve over the few weeks we were there. |
About 20 minutes from Prior Lake is
Minnesota's Largest Candy Store and a place that Chase loves to shop. It
is not just candy, they have the largest selection of puzzles and specific
flavored sodas that Chase loves, along with some candy, of course. |
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Chase's (second red player on the left) first loves is ice hockey, which he has
been playing for five years. Here he scored a goal in heavy traffic. |
Friends Rich and Nancy met up with us
for lunch at a cool middle-eastern restaurant. They have moved from MN
snowbirds to permanent residents of Florida. |
