The North Rim of the GRAND CANYON!

What a TREAT to spend 4th of July on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon! Mike and I have been to the south rim a few times and I MUST SAY that I absolultely prefer the North Rim! It took a 41 mile drive in from the nearest town which had a country store NOT McDonalds! The south rim is so comercial. The north rim is much harder to get to but is truly pristine and still very natural. We arrived around 9:30 and got acclimated. Sat on the deck...stared into the canyon. All of us were hungry so we took note that lunch was served in the dining room at 11:30. At 11:28 I asked the host if we could be seated in a window seat to which he replied "certainly, but lunch isn't served until 11:30"...to which I replied, "that's in like 2 minutes" to which he replied, "no ma'am, it's 10:30!" HA HA HA! I had NO IDEA that Arizona, though really in mountain standard time, does NOT keep to daylight savings time. IT really CRACKED me up! So, we used our extra hour sitting in what the lodge calls the "Sun Room... it's a huge room with 30 foot ceilings and a big fireplace... hardwood floors and three HUGE windows that look out over the canyon. The room was filled with plush leather sofa's and chairs. We lounged for an hour catching up on our journals. It was possibly the most relaxing part of the trip thus far.

Thou it wasn't planned this way it was AWESOME for the girls to have visited both Bryce and Zion prior as CLEARLY the crescendo was the GRAND CANYON! They don't call it "Grand" for nothin'! It's two miles deep and 18 miles across! God's creativity and color palate continue to astound us!

North of the Canyon we went thru many miles of burn...

Also north of the Canyon we went thru these BEAUTIFUL meadows... no wildlife, but a great place for those Beefalo heards to congregate (Beefalo were breeded in the Canyon area as a cross between Buffalo and Cattle to produce a less fatty kind of meat) they now roam freely in the area. We were hoping to see them but never got a glimpse.

I thought this was a cute shot. Michael was showing the girls where he hiked to the basin of the canyon back in college.

I really liked this lodge. It's my favorite thus far.

OK. Within 5 minutes of us arriving, this is where we "parked". How could you not? It was one of the most picturesque places I've ever been.

I had to... it was just too peaceful.

This was such a great view spot...granted, it was on this tight little precipice...Mike and Kasey wouldn't even come down with us! Kristin and I are so much alike!

Mike and his girls!

I know this was past the little railing but I just HAD to venture out!

Me and my girls!

Me and my guy! (Awwwww.....)

We had lunch in the North Rim Lodge Restaurant. Yup... that was our view...

This room is called the "sun room". These were the sofa's that we sat in for like two hours, writing in our journals... in front of the girls are three HUGE windows...and the canyon... it was heavenly!

Check this out. This is called "Angel's Window"... we walked out on top of it...to the end...

This was Pueblo ruins from 1060AD that the girls thought was "lame".

Me and my "K"...

We've had a "few" of these moments!

Mike was in the bathroom so we played with the camera... not exactly what I was looking for but it worked.

41 miles north of the rim entrance is a little town called "Jacob Lake". We stopped for a pitstop but found that they had an on site bakery that made KILLER bakery items. We all bought one for a snack and decided that they were so AMAZING that we needed to get some for breakfast the next morning. We got two apple turnovers (my favorite!) and two cinnamon raisin and nut sticky buns with about a half inch of frosting on the top (mike's favorite). I found Krissy eating her apple turnover at the picnic table and she said to me, "this is the best breakfast I have EVER had!" So sweet! Literally!

ZION!

Totally didn't expect this but as we spent our first day in southern Utah yesterday it got to be almost 100 degrees...BUT... last night, as soon as the sun went down it plummeted to the 60s! So great for sleeping! We were actaully COLD! So nice! Today there was so much symbolism that needs to be noted: First, it's Sunday and we needed to find a place of worship, so we chose ZION NATIONAL PARK! God's Cathedral! And it was amazing! We drove into the park from the east side to Third Day's "Show Me Your Glory!" It was such majestic, breathtaking creation! Secondly, we have chosen to read John Bunyan's "Pilgrims Progress" on this trip which has prompted alot of conversation. Christian's goal is to get to the Celestial City (aka Zion!) and we made it! (though we're not done with the book yet!) The park has different parts to it but in 1927 the National Park system constructed a 2 mile tunnel to connect the east and west of the park. From the west side you can take a shuttle to the north part of the park but because of the heat it was suggested that we get our hikes in early. We got to the Zion Lodge by 8:30 and did a river walk hike to Emerald Pools... there are three levels...so we went under the waterfall, and then on top of the water falls were the pools are... so pretty. We finished up with a shuttle ride to the absolute north of the park where we meandered around a bit. By the time we got back to the lodge it was 102 degrees! The park was for the most part founded by the Mormons with some influence of Protestant Settlers and therefore most of the peaks are named after biblical things such as Angels Landing, the West Temple, The Court of the Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob), the Alter of Sacrifice and the Great White Throne. Though mormon, it was really cool to hear so so many biblical references. So enough jibber jabber... here's some pictures of this park...

This is the Great White Throne!

Here's the girls contemplating the symbolism...

One of the waterfalls that Kristin and I stood under which felt GREAT!

The Court of the Patriarchs!

Checkerboard Mesa!

This is Zions Arch. The two mile tunnel is kinda carved behind this.

Just south of the park is a funky little town called Springdale. Our host at the campground suggested we try a restaurant down here called "Oscars Cafe"...turned out to be TOP KNOTCH! They had two specialties, their MURDER BURGER and Mahi Mahi Fish Tacos... guess who got which? Another FABULOUS DAY!

Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

Bryce Canyon National Park was amazing... We caught the afternoon sun there which highlighted the hoodoos dramaticly. Such a beautiful place...

We asked an older lady working at the gift shop where the best place to get home made food and she directed us out of the park to a place called "Bryce Canyon Pines". She told us to have pie while we were there... turns out the place was "real america"... so cute... joke books on the table, a counter with tractor seats on posts... Mike had an elk burger! but the real treat was the pies... we had both coconut cream and banana-blueberry cream pies... amazing! We would definitely recommend this place... while were were scarfin' down our dinner in comes...(que the cowboy music)... this twenty something authentic cowboy... granted, he rode his fourwheeler in and not his trusty stead, but this guy was legit... He was dusty, had the Wrangler Jeans on... big belt buckle...a ten gallon hat...AND... cowboy boots...WITH SPURS! I secretly got a picture of him with my cell phone (because my daughters were too embarrassed to take a picture with him!) for Kasey's friend Justine who has vowed to marry a cowboy... it was so funny... Justine, we found your man, at the Bryce Canyon Pines! Just remember to order PIE!

Arches National Park, Moab Utah!

Arches Natl Park was amazing! Over 2000 arches! We spent the evening in Moab after our park drive and hikes... such a cute little town... it was a great day!

Camping in the high desert is interesting!

Sand Dune Arch was my favorite...

Delicate Arch...

Balance Rock...very cool...

Thats us!

Up and Over the Rockies!

Here's the new truck... now travel with us! We were absolutely amazed at te diverse terain as we went over the Rockies. We saw Buffalo and big horned sheep... lots of black tail deer as well, but the landscapes were amazing! We drove from Colorado Springs to Moab, Utah. Here's a picture of Stephen, Moira, Mike and me just before we left the Springs. Dear friends. So glad we had some time with these sweet people and their kids, Spencer and Bo. Stephen and I met before we turned one and have been friends ever since.

I posted a few pics of the landscape change so you could see what I was talking about... also, all major rivers were at flood stage... including the Mississippi and the Misouri but I didn't take pictures of those...

Colorado Springs, Colorado!

Sorry I haven't posted in a few days but we had our first emergency. During our 14 hour drive across Kansas on Wednesday (flatland) our mpg started getting worse (down to 7 mpg) and mike started noticing the truck was shifting hard. About an hour before our destination of our friends, house the allays in Colorado Springs where we planned to stay two nights the car started skipping a gear so it was either barely running orbit like 7000 rpms. This GREATLY concerned us. Michael was able to nurse it along with the manual shift thing but it clearly was "not right". We made it to Steve and Moira's by 7:30pm but the next morning Steve and Mike left the trailer in their driveway and took the truck to the only Ford dealership in town. They confirmed the transmission trouble and were able to fix it but couldn't confirm that it would happen again which really freaked us out knowing we were spending the next two weeks in the rocky mountains! Our truck had trouble in the flatlands of America, what on earth was going to happen at 12,000 feet where there arent any dealerships? This is when I realized that though I griped about it earlier, mikes desire to get a V8 would be a much smarter option to do what we wanted to do so... Call it crazy but we traded the fixed V6 Explorer in for a V8 white crew cab pickup. It took most of the day to work out the details but we actually were able to stay on schedule, mike and Steve got to shop cars all day, the girls and I got some downtime home with Moira, Spence and Bo, clean up the trailer and do some laundry and now we're in a better vehicle with plenty of power getting about 3-4 mpg better which makes a world of difference with today's as prices (FYi...cheapest we have paid thus far is $3.35). I look at this whole "snafu" as a God thing. We were only spending 2 days on the whole trip in a major city with friends. This couldve happened in the middle of no where in 106 degree heat like we experienced in the plains. We could've been stranded in some motel while mike found a solution BUT God worked it out that we were totally well cared for at the Allabys, there was a huge dealership like 15 minutes away AND our friend Dave Dariano who owns a Ford dealership in NY was available to counsel us (and give us the inside scoop!) thru the transaction. If it was going to happen, Gods timing was perfect! It ALWAYS IS! (good lesson for when I think it doesn't!) we left the next morning ON TIME and spent the day crossing the Rockies up to 11,000 feet with no problem. It was a gorgeous day! We made it to Moab Utah in time to set up and see Arches National Park for the late afternoon. THANK YOU Lord Jesus for caring for the little and BIG concerns of our lives and being trustworthy with everything!