Celebrating Independence from the Monarchy and the Church of England is a big deal regardless of where one is at in the United State, and Prior Lake is no exception. We decorated the pontoon, rode in the float parade, and enjoyed the day on the lake with Denise and her friends.	Captain Larry set course and maneuvered the pontoon through turbulent waters, as "all hands on deck" tossed water balloons and used water guns as we battled with other boaters in the parade. We were constantly watching for incoming balloons. Fun way to spend the 4th!
Denise took the float pad that Clara got for her birthday with and nearly doubled the square footage of our play area. Here grandma Glorine is relaxing while the kids are taking turns using it as a diving platform.	From Minnesota, we flew to California to spend a month with Carmen's family. The day before our RV trip, the family said farewell to Simone, their nanny for nearly four years. She will be greatly missed!
The first stop along our RV adventure was for lunch in Baker, California which sports the "World's tallest thermometer." Located in the Mohave Desert and being the gateway to Death Valley, one can see why this is so predominantly featured.	Bryce Canyon National Park was the first big stop of our journey. After hiking along the canyon rim, we stopped to pose for this picture with hoodoos in the background. Hoodoos, also called a "forest of stone," are odd-shaped pillars of rock left standing from the forces of erosion.
After hiking the easy part, we decided to traverse the canyon to the bottom to get a better glimpse of the hoodoos from their base. It was easier going down than back up, but well worth the effort.	Our next stop was at Red Canyon, right outside of Bryce Canyon National Park. It is a part of the Dixie National Forest and a miniature version of Bryce. We were impressed with the huge parking lots where we could park the RV.
We took a couple of hours to hike Red Canyon, which included an easy to moderate trail that led us to some of the most spectacular vistas along the way. Thank goodness people had the foresight of setting these vast land areas aside for us to enjoy.	Using a trail guide we got from the visitors center, the kids searched and found nearly all the different types of trees, bushes and wildflowers, that we would have otherwise missed given the stark beauty of the canyon. Dakota and Sierra had journals to record the highlights of each day.
As we entered Yellowstone National Park, we got caught in bumper to bumper traffic. Finally we found out why--it was this giant bison, that decided to share the road with us. It was so close to our car, we could almost reach out and touch it--but we were wise enough not to.	After a few stops along the way, we got to Yellowstone most favorite attraction, and without fail--Old Faithful erupted on schedule. While it is the most famous, it is one of 500 some geysers in Yellowstone--making it the largest concentration of geysers in the world.
Old Faithful Inn, built in 1903 with over 300 rooms, is the largest log structure in the world. Its towering lobby includes a massive fireplace, a hand-crafted clock made of copper, and beautiful wooden railings and staircases.	We rented a seven passenger van to make the most out of our four day adventure in Yellowstone. Here we stopped, had lunch and took in the sights of one of the 50+ waterfalls Yellowstone has to offer.
Yellowstone is home to some 10,000 thermal features that reside within the crater of an ancient super volcano measuring 34 miles by 45 miles--formed 600,000 years ago. Heat from this volcano makes its presence known today by heating ground water, like this inviting hot spring.	Yellowstone Lake is the largest fresh water lake in North America over 7,000 feet and reaches depths of 390 feet and covers 136 square miles. This fumarole thermal feature was once used by fisherman who would catch their fish then cook them in this boiling thermal, called Fishing Cone.
Yellowstone is among the youngest of the super eruptions that scientists have found throughout the northwest, stretching from Oregon to Wyoming. They are called Hot Spots, the oldest is estimated to have occurred some 16 million years ago.	While some of us were contemplating the probability of a modern day super volcano, the kids were interested in petting every dog they passed along our visit through the national parks. Their chance of having a dog soon is much greater than having another super eruption in our life time.
We stopped at Artist Point to capture the beauty of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Lower Falls, the biggest waterfall in Yellowstone at 308-feet tall, it is the second most photographed spot in Yellowstone--so we added our own!	While we prepared an afternoon lunch, Mike and Dakota hiked up the hill to see the last remaining petrified tree in Yellowstone. Thanks to thoughtless souvenir hunters and greedy poachers, the rest are said to be gone.
In route to Gardener, MT for our 2:00 pm rafting appointment down the Yellowstone River, we saw dozens of Elk roaming the grounds of the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel. They must have been waiting to check in.	The two-hour white water rafting trip was nothing short of "exhilarating." When our guide took us through this class three rapid, we were totally immersed with family. The water was cool, but with the warm and sunny day it was just right.
While drifting down the Yellowstone, our guide drew our attention to this huge Bald Eagle, perched on a tree along the bank of the river. This is the first Bald Eagle the kids have seen and they were all very impressed.	After leaving Yellowstone, we hiked Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho, which is one of the Hot Spot--formed 15 million years ago. It encompasses 620 square miles and is one of the largest lava fields in the US.
We spent the night at a KOA near Twin Falls, Idaho, where we had a nice relaxing evening. Mike discovered this pond with four paddle wheel boats. Here is Grandma Glorine and Dakota ready to tie up after a sunset cruise.	The next day, we witnessed base jumping, similar to skydiving in that you free-fall with a parachute, but in this case off a bridge. Nearby, "Evel" Knievel failed in jumping the Snake River Canyon with his "sky cycle" in 1974.
This bridge is the only man-made structure in the United States where BASE jumping is allowed year-round without a permit. The kids were fascinated to meet this lady who, along with her husband, came from Florida to enjoy this extreme sport. We all decided to take a pass!	After a couple of long days on the road, we made it to Yosemite. Sierra was happy to learn that it was here that John Muir founded the Sierra Club, which helped to preserve the Yosemite Valley from developers, and launched a campaign to create a national park system.
We drove the RV over Tiago Pass on the northern portion of Yosemite with frequent stops to do some sightseeing. Here we watched four rock climbers work their way to the top, and later learned that Yosemite is one of the world's greatest area for climbing.	Half Dome is made up of solid granite and one of Yosemite's most notable rock formations. Through our binoculars, we could see a line of people ascending to the top of the doom on a trail with posts and braided cable to help guide some 50,000 hikers to the top each year.
The next day, we took a local bus from KOA to the Yosemite Valley. The Valley is only eight miles long and a mile deep, which is where the vast majority of Yosemite tourists go. Here is Yosemite Falls, the highest waterfall in North America.	At the base of the waterfall, the kids could not resist playing in Yosemite Creek, along with countless other souls. It was clear and cool, which was a real treat in the hot afternoon sun.
After drying off from playing in the creek, we hiked through the red woods in the Yosemite Valley. We hopped a bus that took us to the other end of the valley, where the weather could not have been more different.	Thank goodness for rain gear. It was predicted and it came. So the remainder of the afternoon and evening, we spend hiking in the rain. This was a real treat for our California grandchildren.
This is the closest we came to a bear in all the national parks we visited. It is at the entrance to one of the many park's restaurants. Later on we would learn that because of the heavy rains, a mud slide closed the road to KOA, and there were no more busses to take us back to the RV.	But thanks to the "over the top" efforts by staff of the Park Lodge, a YARTS bus came and took us the long way around and delivered us to KOA--at no additional cost! We got home after midnight. What a way to close out a wonderful 12 day adventure. Tomorrow--back to Fullerton.
With no Nanny, Grandma Glorine and Grandpa Larry took over babysitting duties until school would start on August 10. Southern California has lots to offer, which made for a wonderful experience. Here Dakota and Hunter are enjoying a local neighborhood water park.	All the kids are taking piano lessons and we got to enjoy watching Sierra and Dakota at their annual piano recital. We had taken the electronic keyboard along on the RV trip, but it was only used a time or two. None the less, both performed very well.
We spent a week in the RV at East Shores RV Park on Puddingstone Lake about 20 miles north of Carmen's place. The kids spent three days with us at the RV Park. One of those days was spent at Raging Rivers Water Park--California's largest. The kids loved it, especially the Dark Hole and the Bermuda Triangle! And the water park was only a miles from our campground.	A couple of days before we flew back to Mexico, we went shopping at Ralph's Grocery Store, just down the street from Carmen's and ran into Phil and Mary, friends from Ajijic. What a small world! They invited us over for a delightful dinner at their daughter's place, where they had spent the last month care-taking their two grandkids. Yes, it is a very small world!

July's web page includes July 1 through July 31.