Zion National Park, Utah

 After visiting California we drove back over the Sierra Nevada's and into Las Vegas where we stayed for two nights. This was the first time on our trip we backtracked with the camper.  Heading back down a route that we traveled before was both a blessing and a curse. The blessing was that we knew the route and what to expect; the curse was that we knew the route and what to expect and it wasn't going to be pleasant!

Backtracking meant that we needed to drive back over the Rockies...something that I came to dread while towing the camper. The mountain range between California and Nevada had some of the steepest and longest grades of our trip. At one point we had a 6% grade for 16 miles. For those of you who may not know, 6% is nearly the steepest grade you will find on the interstate system. At a 6% grade I burn gas like a sun of a gun not to mention a max speed of 45 miles an hour for 16 miles while the truck howls like nothing I have ever heard coming from a vehicle!

After a two night stay in Las Vegas we headed north into Utah where we stayed at a small RV park just off of I-15 in Lead, Utah. Lead was a quite little town just about 30 miles from Zion National Park where we enjoyed some beautiful scenery, weather and a few hikes around the canyon. The congestion around Zion was much more than we were expecting. The visitor center was packed and the Ranger station was turning visitors around to park in town and requesting that everyone take the shuttle bus into the park.

Once we found a parking space and gathered our water and granola bars, we headed off to the shuttle bus to carry us up the canyon to the hiking path of our choice.

Enjoy the Ride!

Seth and Katherine

On the eigth day God created....

And on the eighth day God looked at all he had done and said:

Let there be a vehicle for man to rest his weary feet.

It will look as good with a fresh coat of wax

As it does with a fresh coat of mud.

The vehicle will have the power of 400 horses.

It can be used to pickup the love of his life

for a night on the town

Or to carry a ton of bricks for a neighbor next door.

The vehicle will have a limitless number

of modification and upgrades.

It can be jacked up or can be dropped down 

With tires, lights and grill guards galore

The vehicle will be timeless, as functional after 50 years

As it is at 5 days..

It will be an office, playground, workstation, camper 

And a man's most trusted machine.

And so it was as it always will be, and God created the Truck!

 (In no particular order)

Near Savannah, Georgia

Beartooth Mountains, Montana

Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts

Hollywood, CA

Carlsbad (Dark Canyon), New Mexico

Kansas City (Worlds of Fun), MO

Ochopee (Big Cypress), Florida

Sequoia National Park (Tree Tunnel), California

Washington, D.C.

Orlando (Disney World), Florida

Pickerel Lake, South Dakota

A service station on the New Jersey Turnpike.

White Sands National Park, New Mexico

Lillington, North Carolina

Liberty, MO

Gulf Shores National Seashore, Florida

Jacksonville, Florida

Somewhere outside Flagstaff, Arizona

Hoover Dam, Nevada

Gordonsville, Virginia

Flamingo (Everglades), Florida

Death Valley National Park, California

Yosemite National Park, CA

Carlsbad, New Mexico

Carolina Beach, North Carolina

Charlotte Speedway, North Carolina

Enjoy the Ride!

Seth and Katherine

Yosemite National Park, CA

Yosemite lived up to it's reputation. The towering granite peaks, cascading waterfalls and picturesque mountain streams did not disappoint. We drove 200 miles from Bakersfield to Yosemite and it was worth every mile we drove to experience the park up close and personal.

We spent the afternoon in the valley which is the most popular destination in the park and where all of the park rangers direct new visitors. We entered the park from the south which descends into the valley through the man made tunnel and opens up the the scenic lookout over El Capitan, Bridal Veil and Half Dome. After a brief stop at the lookout we finished the decent into the valley to hike a few of the trails that lead up to the base of the waterfalls.

The scenery from every angle of Yosemite was just simply breathtaking which explains why it is one of Americas most visited national parks. Like many of the other popular national parks Yosemite also had a well run shuttle system to conveniently transport park visitors from trail to trail.

After spending most of our time around the visitor center and walking a handful of trails to the waterfalls we ended the day by jumping in the truck and driving the entire loop around the valley and capping of the day with a picnic at the giant redwoods located in the park.

The kids collecting trash as part of the Junior Ranger program.

A view of the valley. El Capitan on the left, Bridal Veil on the right and Half Dome in the background.

The kids enjoying a hike along the river.

The girls looking at the waterfall in the distance.

This is the Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls.

The lone tree in the middle of the field was just a beautiful display of God's creation.

Enjoy the Ride!

Seth and Katherine