We were still camping in Colorado when our Ajijic friends Chuck and Jean flew into Durango to join us on a nine day RV adventure through some of the most stunning National Parks in the country. Here we are enjoying a drink at one of Durango's formal brothels.	We took a day trip along Skyline Drive to experience the turning of the leaves in the Rocky Mountains. It was nice but nothing like the phenomenal vistas we saw at this time last year while touring the New England states with Larry's sister Claudia and Lou.
By the time we got to the historic silver mining town of Silverton, the light mist was starting to turn into sleet and the mountain tops were starting to turn white.	Burr! After a short and crisp walk around town, we decided to find a nice warm restaurant. When we got there, it was packed with tourist dressed in the costume of the day. Cool!
The drive back to the RV was a white-knuckle experience. Larry hadn't driven on snow since our working days in Boise. It was near white-out conditions and the roads were as slick as snot.	We made it back to the RV ok, turned up the heat and played games. We taught Chuck an English Pub game called "Shut the Box." He learned quickly and commenced to beat Larry over and over.
In route from Durango, CO to Moab, UT, we stopped at the Mesa Verde National Park visitors center, disconnected the car and drove through those parts of the park we missed when we were here in September.	In Arches National Park, just north of Moab, our first significant sighting was not an arch, but rather Balanced Rock. This massive 7,000,000 pound boulder, balances nearly magically, atop this less than impressive pedestal.
Utah has the largest concentration of arches in the world. Their composition of red sandstone made conditions ripe for the creation of over 2,000 arches. In the background is Double Arches, the tallest and second longest in the park.	In route to Bryce Canyon and Zion National park, we took a break from our five-hour road trip and got to talking about life in a motorhome. Seemed fitting that our rig appeared to be posing for this picture.
Southwest Utah has an unbelievable collection of parks and monuments, with Bryce Canyon National Park taking the prize for the most spectacular. Bryce is not really a canyon, but rather a massive amphitheater, filled with Hoodoos.	We hiked along the rim, which sits at 8,000 to 9,000 feet with incredible views of the landscape below. We stopped often to take in the grandeur of mother-nature's work in progress.
Bryce Canyon has the most hoodoos than any place on earth. They are thin, gangly columns or pillars of rock standing five feet to ten stories tall. With a solid rock cap on the top, erosion wore away soil and softer rock below, creating the beauty of this national park.	Our next stop was Zion National Park, the most visited in Utah and among the top ten in the country. One cool hike was up to the "weeping wall." Water cascaded over this small enclave in the canyon wall that we walked through to take this picture.
Unlike Bryce, Zion is a true canyon. The Virgin River cut through the reddish colored sandstone to create the canyon that runs 15 miles long and as much as half of a mile deep. Cars are not allowed, so the Park provided natural gas busses that stopped at attractions along the way.	While on the bus, the driver pointed out these two rock climbers ascending to the top of the mountain. Zion has the most largest walls in the United States ranging from 800 to 2,500 feet in height, making it one of the most sought after climber destinations in the world.
The northern most tip of the canyon is called "the narrows." We hiked about a mile until the trail ended. Glorine was the only one who wanted to go further, which meant wading through the Virgin River another four miles to the end. Clearer minds prevailed and we headed back.	Another unique attractions of Zion was its east entrance along the Mount Carmel Highway. It includes this 5,613-foot tunnel, built back in the 1930s. From here we drove down a steep grade along with five switch-backs to get down to the canyon floor.
Chuck and Jean RVed with us to Las Vegas, where they visited family, then flew home to Oakland. We drove on to the Palm Springs area of California where we set up camp for three weeks and used it as our base to spend time with Carmen and her family.	Carmen, Mike and the kids joined us during our first weekend here. The desert heat made these pools a welcomed treat plus we nearly had the entire place to ourselves. This park is a haven for snowbirds, set to arrive in early November.
The Children's Discovery Center of the Desert was a great place to spend a Saturday afternoon. First, it was air conditioned. Second, it had both mind and physical activities that challenged, not only the kids, but the adult also.	The following week, we spent some time in Fullerton, then the weekend at a resort near Santa Barbara. We rented a park model, with a second floor just for the kids. Here we are on a hay-ride taking us to watch some rodeo events.
The Friday before Halloween is the Fall Harvest Festival at Golden Hills Elementary School. It reminded us of the days when our kids attended Christ the King School back in Mandan and we organized the school carnival.	We joined Carmen, Mike, Steve and Kathy for a belated birthday dinner for Steve at a restaurant in nearby Brea. Steve and Kathy introduced Mike and Carmen to one another. The rest is now history!
It is Sierra's birthday and she was delighted to open several presents during breakfast prior to heading off to school. Hello Kitty is her new favorite cartoon character, which now adorns her backpack, pillow cases and socks.	Hunter was sporting a few of the Hello Kitty props that Carmen and Grandma Glorine prepared for Sierra's birthday party the night before. He is going to be a handsome dude when he grows up.
Classmates and girl scouts made up the dozen or so girls that attended Sierra's party. After a game of tag in the back yard, a few of them stopped to pose for this picture. She is now seven years old.	One of the birthday traditions at this Barnhardt household is breakfast in bed. Dakota turned nine years old today. She wasn't quite awake when we invaded her space and sang happy birthday.
Later that evening Dakota was wide awake and happy to share a sushi dinner for her birthday. She would celebrate her birthday with a handful of friends the following weekend at a Huntington Beach hotel. She is getting to be a big girl!	After Dakota's birthday, we spent a couple of days at the campground, turned the car into a cargo van, mummified the RV for the winter and finalized our preparations for our next big adventure--A YEAR IN MEXICO!

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