December 15th Update

   Although we're enjoying ourselves tremendously, we do miss everyone very much. We've seen and done so much since we've been in Mesa I'm not sure where to begin. So I'll start with todays events. We went to Celebration Church which is the best of the 3 we've tried here. In the afternoon we went to Mesa Art Festival where we watched & listened to a group of 4th and 5th graders play incredible Christmas music using Xilofones. On our way home we went to the Mormon Temple's Christmas light and music program. We've never seen so many lights. It was awesome.
     We bought a rosemary bush shaped like a Christmas tree and a few lights for inside. Bill has decorated the outside with lighted candy canes etc. We met some new friends for drinks by the fire after dinner at home.
   We have been spending a lot of time in the silversmith shop. It's actually sort of addicting. We have to go there in the morning after I go to Zumba.
    We have done some hiking and had nice visits with friends, Leslie, Christie and Avery from Michigan as well as with Aunt Shirley and Frank.

Lights at Mormon Temple

Beautiful Lapis Pendant, earings and mens ring Bill designed and made at the Silversmith shop as well as the ring that I made.

 

 

(Above)November 27th pictures from hiking at Pinnacle Peak with friends Leslie, Christie and Avery.

 

(above) Hike on Wind Cave trail to near the top of Usery Mountain.

 

Tehe

 

 

 

Arrival to Valle Del Oro, Mesa, Arizona & more pics from Bryce & Zion Nat'l Parks

   We've had such a wonderful time visiting some of the most beautiful national parks.  Although we hope to return again someday, there are so many other beautiful places in the U.S.A. yet for us to explore first.
   We had originally planned to arrive in Mesa January 1st, but made the decision to arrive November 2nd. This will give us options to visit areas within a few hours of Mesa. It feels nice to be grounded in one place for a while. Valle Del Oro is such a beautiful, luxurious resort. We're so thankful to have this opportunity. If interested, see http://www.cal-am.com/resorts/resorts_details.php?resorts_id=16        
   There is so much to offer here and so far the weather is great! Tomorrow Bill will go through the 3 hour orientation in the Wood Shop so that he can continue with one of his favorite hobbies. I may go to the fitness center tomorrow, Zumba Thursday and we'll both join the hiking club Friday. We're both interested in the Lapidary(Gemstones & Jewelry) classes and Silversmith among many others. There's many interesting shows to choose from, as well as happy hour with bands by the pool.
   I've added more pictures from Bryce Canyon. We'll add more from Arizona as we get them.

Bryce Canyon National Park

 

Bryce Canyon National Park

 

Zion Nat'l Park

 

Grand Canyon photos

   We arrived at Distant Drums RV Park in Camp Verde, AZ (near Sedona) at noon today. We will stay here for 2-3 nights before venturing further south to Mesa.
   We had a wonderful time at the Grand Canyon. They have no internet access at the campgrounds there, so I haven't been able to update our blog until now. I will post a few pictures of Grand Canyon and will post more details as soon as I have more time.
 

 

 

 

Driving to Grand Canyon Village (South Rim) tomorrow!

   We had a wonderful time at Bryce Canyon on Friday. We drove to Angel Point at the far end of the canyon and hiked a very scenic trail. From there we stopped at several other astounding viewing areas and took many pictures.
    Today we road our bikes along the scenic drive through Zion National Park. I wish I could find the right words to describe what a pleasant experience this was.
   We did not get to hike the Narrows and several other trails in Zion that we would like to as well as several hiking trails in Bryce Canyon. These are two of the most beautiful national parks that we've seen so far and we intend to visit them again someday. I will post more pictures when possible.
   Tomorrow we leave for Grand Canyon Village where we'll stay at the Trailer Village campground for seven nights!

Zion National Park

   Monday we transplanted from Kanab to Willow Wind RV Park in Hurricane, Utah. It's about 10 degrees warmer here. We had a wonderful time in Zion on Tuesday. They have a free shuttle from the visitor center through the park. It stops at 8 different trailhead and viewing areas and you may get off and on all day until ~8:30pm. We road to the end where we hiked a couple of miles along the Virgin River to the gateway to The Narrows. We hope to go back to complete the entire trail, but will need our water shoes as you have to cross the river several times. The Narrows trail continues for 2.2 miles round trip where the canyon walls are about 20ft apart and over 1000ft high. We also stopped to hike and take pictures at 2 other locations. I've attached a few pictures.
   Tomorrow we'll drive to Bryce Canyon which is approximately a 4 hour drive roundtrip. We'd like to see this before we leave the area as it could be years, if ever, that we're in this area again.

Gateway to The Narrows.

 

Hiking at Weeping Rock Trail, Zion Nat'l Park.

 

 

Grand Canyon North Rim, Glen Canyon/Lake Powell, Red Toadstool Trail

   On Saturday October 12th we drove to Grand Canyon, North Rims visitor center. We then hiked from there to Bright Angel Point plus another 3+ mile hike partially along the rim to the campground. I've attached a picture overlooking Angel Canyon, which is a feeder canyon into the Grand Canyon. The access road to the main Grand Canyon viewing area was closed for construction so we're hoping to get a better view from the south rim next week. I've also attached pictures from Red Toadstool trail, Glen Canyon Damn and Lake Powell.

 

 

Lake Powell and Glen Canyon

   We drove into Arizona today to see Glen Canyon and Lake Powell. When we arrived there, we were so thankful to find out the Government is allowing many national parks in Utah and Arizona to open and they let us in! On the way there we hiked the Red Toadstool Trail for a couple miles. There were many red rock formations shaped like toadstools. I will post pictures soon.
   We're planning to go to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon tomorrow! We confirmed that they will, in fact, be open at 8AM in the morning.
  Keeping you posted while we actually have internet access today.
   
   

Kanab, Utah

  We're enjoying the town of Kanab. It's known for over 100 old western movies made in the area years ago. It's often referred to as "Little Hollywood" or "The Heart of the Parks". Thanks to the visitor center and our neighbors, we've found a few fascinating State Parks to visit while we're waiting patiently for the National Parks to reopen. Also, we took a tour of the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary which is the nation's largest no-kill sanctuary for companion animals. www.bestfriends.org 
   Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park was quite beautiful with its coral pink sand. We had another fascinating day at the Kodachrome Basin State Park which is near Bryce Canyon National Park. There is over 67 sand pipes (see pics below) interesting rock formations. We took a short-cut home down a 35 mile mostly two track dirt road where we were able to view Bryce Canyon from a distance. 
   It sounds like the Federal Gov't may allow the State of Utah to open up 8 different National Parks possibly by Saturday morning. We are very hopeful, but more hopeful for a federal budget.
   I will attach pictures of Kanab area along with a couple pictures from the Jackson Hole, WY area as soon as possible.

Teton Mountains

 

Linda, Bill & Sharon Hiking

 

Coral Sands State Park

 

Kodachrome State Park

                                                                   

Kodachrome State Park

 

43 Mile scenic dirt road between Kodachrome State Park and Kanab

 

View of Bryce Canyon from a distance

 

He asked to be part of the movie. TEHE ;)

 

More Pictures of Yellowstone and Salt Lake City, Utah

   We had an awesome adventure during our 18 days in Yellowstone. On Tuesday, the 24th we drove to Jackson, WY where we spent 4 nights at a very nice campground within a few hundred feet of the Teton mountains and a gorgeous view. We managed to get a few pictures and a little hiking in on the 24th before the snow & rain set in for 3 days. But we had a nice visit with Sharon. So thankful to have the opportunity to visit with her and learn about her interesting life.
   We're now staying at the KOA RV resort in Salt Lake City. We went to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir on Sunday morning which was wonderful. Today was shopping and laundry so we'll have tomorrow to explore more of the Mormon Temple Square. Wednesday we begin our journey to Kanab, UT where we'll be staying at the Kanab Coral Campground. I plan to post more pictures, but here is a few more from Yellowstone and one of the Choir. I love how the Elk was posing for his pictures.

Us on top a mountain overlooking Old Faithful.

An Elk posing for his picture.

Grizzly Bear at the east end of Yellowstone Nat'l Park.

Morning Glory Pool near Old Faithful.

The Grand Geyser.

Mormon Tabernacle Choir on Sunday morning.

Yellowstone National Park Pictures

 

 

We're really enjoying Yellowstone area, it's so beautiful. So far we've visited Old Faithful and area. Also, the Mammoth area along with a few sites along the way including Artist Painters Pots and Gibbons Falls. Yesterday we drove to the Canyon and hiked to ALL of the overlooks. Between them all at the Canyon, we figured we had climbed over 2000 feet in less than 1.5 miles plus the same in downhills and another 1-2 miles in horizontal. Such a beautiful place with so many breath taking views that are well worth the hikes. We're hoping to get to see the many other sites throughout the park in the near future. We have many, many awesome photos. I'll try to post a few of our favorites. The WIFI is still sporadic, but we'll keep you posted when possible.

 

Mammoth Hotsprings, Yellowstone National Park

Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

Elk

Old Faithful

Mountain Goats

Mammoth Hotsprings

Mammoth Hotsprings

 

 

 

West Yellowstone!

We arrived at the Grizzly RV Resort in West Yellowstone, MT on Friday, September 6th. Today we ventured to Old Faithful and were able to capture some awesome pictures of buffalo and elk, as well as Old Faithful. I will be posting more photos. Still learning how to blog and our WIFI access is sporadic.

Our 1st couple weeks on our adventure west.

It's been almost 2 weeks since we crossed the Mackinac Bridge on our way out west. We've seen and done so much and it's already September 3, 2013. We had a great visit with family in Birchwood, WI. It was so good to see everyone. After passing through Sioux Falls, SD over night, we stayed at an RV resort in Hermosa, SD. There we were only 20-30 minutes from many attractions and ~45 minutes to the Badlands. We had so many great experiences and many, many great pictures from Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Custer State Park, Wind Cave as well as the Badlands.
Such an amazing part of our beautiful country. I've attached a few of our many, many photos. I hope to post more often now since I've finally created our blog.

Oh give me a home, where the buffalo roam.

Mount Rushmore National Park

The Badlands National Park

Prairie Dogs were everywhere

Needles Highway

 

Sylvan Lake

Crazy Horse

Crazy Horse

On Tuesday, September 3rd we moved to an RV park in Spearfish, SD where we'll tour the Spearfish Canyon and the town of Deadwood. On Thursday we'll travel to West Yellowstone, MT and stay at the Grizzly RV Park for ~3 weeks while stopping in Billings, MT for a rest night on the way.