RV'n 4 Jesus: October 2015

Our last post, we were heading out of Colorado going towards Utah. Oh, what an amazing trip that was. I think we have just as many "our travel to x destination" pictures than we have of those we've taken at the actual destination we happen to be touring. I really do want to say, what an absolutely awe-inspiring country we live in. I can't say anything about the state of our country, but we really do have so many magnificent sights that are right here in our own back yard. I have been completely blessed to have been able to do this trip with my parents. Seriously, it has shown me that there is no reason why people can't travel. You CAN do it on a budget, you CAN do it short term or long term. I know the Lord brought us on this journey and am so very thankful for it.

Now back to the beautiful state of Utah, and let me just start at the beginning, the Canyonlands National Park. How wondrous it was to see all of the different mountains or whatever, cliffs maybe, and rock formations. Coming from little ole Florida for most of my life, these areas were just so different from anything I had ever known. Such diversity in those areas. We took off to explore and had an amazing time of praising God at all of the stunning sights. Since we really were on a time schedule we pretty much just spent one day at each park, driving in and checking out all of the view points and very short hikes that wouldn't be too much on Daddy with his hip.

After Canyonlands NP, we went to the Arches NP. They were geographically so close together you could do one park one day and the other park the next. It was so mind boggling at how time and erosion had taken place and created such odd shaped rock formations. Some appeared to be balancing and looked like they could fall at any moment. It was also really interesting to read the names that the native peoples came up with for the formations. After reading the names, it was fun trying to see the shapes that they saw to name it. Hearing the stories behind them were so interesting too.

We were so blessed to be able to watch the lunar eclipse and super moon. So thankful that Momma suggested that we go back into the park for a dinner picnic and watch it from there across the canyon. Umm, let me just say here, absolutely astonishing! I hate my camera didn't take good pictures, but in a way, I look at it as a blessing. It caused me to put the camera down and I enjoyed the eclipse, watching it in quiet reverence. The really cool part was that there were probably 100 people at the same point we were and we sat in complete silence. You could have heard a pin drop. It was as if everyone was just as moved as we were. As we watched the sun set in one direction, we turned our chairs the other direction to watch as the moon peeked up over the mountain to begin its performance. It was another one of those once in a lifetime "just me and God" moments and I marveled in His presence that night. I was in a state of worship the entire time, and feel so very blessed to have seen this. Oh and it was my first eclipse I have ever seen since they always happen in the middle of the night back in Florida. It began that night at about 7:30/7:45.

Ok, now off to the next NP, Bryce. The cool thing about going to Bryce was that we were able to drive straight through Capital Reef NP which was just as breathtaking as the others. I want to say, for any of you that may be in an RV and do this trip, there was a crazy curvy steep section along this path, with 14% downgrades....up to this point the steepest we had been on was an 8%...the higher the number the steeper it is....so this section has some serious downgrades. You also get the privilege of driving through Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, which has more amazing sights. If you are a hiker, these NP's are for you. There are so many hikes you can take that it would keep you busy for months. can only imagine what hikers must see as they hike on paths that are a little less traveled.

We finally made it to Bryce NP. Momma said the one thing she wanted to do was hike the Hoodoos. We checked it out and were able to go in and do the Queen's garden section which was considered the "easier" way in and out of the canyon floor. Since we never found where exactly the Queens garden entrance was, we decided to go on in through the other entrance. YIKES...talk about crazy steep and switchbacks like crazy. I had no idea how long the path was down, but it felt like a mile at least....(but I'm sure it really wasn't). Thankfully, I was so awe-struck I really didn't pay much attention to the steep path with nothing to keep me from falling to my death. Whew, we FINALLY reached the bottom! We decided to head towards the Queens garden and exit through there. It was right at 3 miles, and both of my parents agreed we would just take it as slow as we had to and just enjoy the hike and the scenery. We are in the canyon floor with these rock formations that reached to the sky, hundreds of feet up. We felt about as big as an ant down there. The view gave us such a different perspective. Breathtaking was an understatement. My parents did great! e finally got to the Queen's garden and began our descent UP this time. Now remember they said this was the easier way in...OMW ARE YOU CRAZY?!?!?! Let me just say, I found out just how ridiculously out of shape I was in. This path was just as bad as the other path, it just didn't go as long. Praise God Momma needed to take a few breaks on the way out...I never would have made it straight up....and yes, there were NO railings to keep us safe and the wind was blowing like crazy! Yes, I must share with you, I literally prayed myself out of that canyon...when we finally reached the top I wanted to fall down and kiss the ground, but don't worry, I contained myself. We hiked the Hoodoos and we survived! It ended up being one of the most memorable excursions of our trip. Again, so thankful for Mom and her bucket list...I never would have known to add that to mine...LOL. It was a truly spectacular hike that I will never forget.

So after Bryce NP we set off to Zion NP. We decided to just stay on the outskirts of the area.  We stumbled across a really small, only 12 sights "mom and pop", RV park, right off the road but under a beautiful canopy of trees with wonderful fast wifi and only $25 a night....it was great! As Momma was checking in, she realized that the actual office was in a small building shared with the small town post office. I wish we would have gotten a picture, it was definately old school small town USA for sure. They even had free cucumbers fresh picked from the garden...did you catch that...FREE! I will just say, it was a great little spot. Ok, back to Zion, since we arrived later in the afternoon, we decided to go on in and explore the park and make a plan for the next day.  They offered a trolley to see the park since driving is prohibited. We were so thankful for the trolley. We even got to see two different groups of guys who climbed the mountain side. The trolley driver said they were staying the night on the side of the mountain in one of those hammock things...CRAAAAZYYYYY, no thank you!  But, it was really cool seeing them in action so high. The park was great and we even got to see the sunset as we were heading out of the park. It gave a completely different view of the park but was so relaxing.

We got up the next day with our plan to hike the Narrows, to see all the stuff we could see. At this point let me tell you that it was a Saturday....the entrance gate had a line almost a mile long. It took us over 30 minutes to get in the gate. I will admit, I was seriously dreading the battle to see the park, hike the paths and see the sights with all these people. If you haven't been to Zion, I will give you a hint...DONT GO ON A SATURDAY!  Since you can't drive into the park, the only was is through the Visitor Center. Then you take the trolly to the different stops. So, we finally got to the Visitor Center and drove around for another 30 minutes trying to find a parking spot....they put a sign out as we were circling that said, there was parking available in town and then you could ride the trolly back into the park from town....and this would be where I bailed! I completely gave up on the thought of doing Zion that day. I am so thankful that we were able to view the park the day before and have that experience WITHOUT the 4 million people! (ok so maybe I am exagerating a little). lol

As we left the park, there was a line even longer than the one we experienced when we entered the park. That was just crazy! We went back the the rv and came up with a new plan for the day. We hit a really cool tourist shop and then Mom and I thought we would hit the little town and just knock around. We found a little grocery/hardware store. It was GREAT! I think we spent almost 2 hours in there, they had everything from horse shoes to fabric in there. Even hung out with the man that worked in the hardware shop for a while. It was just a great small town USA experience.

The next morning we headed out to go back to Flagstaff. Kind of bitter sweet again, we were now starting to go back to stops we made on our way across the United States. The reality of going home was really starting to hit.

I also wanted to share with you that during our time through Utah, he began praying and asking the Lord for wisdom and discernment on heading home early. After much prayer we decided it was time to start our journey back home. We were way ahead of schedule and we didn't want to stall for time just because we planned our trip through February. So, I am happy and sad to say we are heading home after our weekend visiting with our friends the Dunn's.  We wanted to meet up at the Grand Canyon and see the "big ditch" together, play some games and just enjoy each other one more time before we head back to Florida. I will put up a whole new post just for that weekend trip....Can't wait to see them again....Next stop...Flagstaff, AZ.

Thanks for traveling with us on our journey! Hope you enjoy the pictures and please keep us in your prayers!!!

Love you all,
Kristi
Carol and Bob
Galatians 6:9-10

Arches National Park