Arches National Park

 We reached Arches National Park in Moab, Utah September 29.

We went on a short hike in the beginning of the day. It was really fun, the rocks were amazing.



This rock formation is called Balance Rock. It is amazing there is almost nothing holding the rock up.



Like the tourists that we are, we decided to take a 2 mile hike to see Landscape Arch, in the hottest part of the day, in the desert. That was a REALLY hot walk, not one of the more pleasant parts of the trip.  

Landscape Arch
Visitors to this Arch used to be allowed to walk underneath it, until a huge slab broke off. Because they are unsure of the stability of the arch we were not allowed to get very close.

Resting in the shade of one of the few trees. We found that the sand was very cool, so we buried our hands.

 

Later, we hiked to Wolffe Ranch where we saw these Petroglyphs.

These drawings are Petroglyphs, which means that they are chipped into the stone. Another type of cave drawing is called Pictograph which is drawn onto the stone.

Delicate Arch
The opening is32 feet wide and 46 feet tall. This Arch has been likened to A Ladies' Bloomers and a Cowboy's Chaps.   





At the end of the day we visited the Windows Arches. Which we think look like two eyes and a big nose.



Canyon Lands National Park

We reached Canyon Lands National Park September 28.  

Mesa Arch

Karoline and I climbed Mesa Arch with only three feet of rock between us and 1,000 feet of space. Notice that I an sitting down, let me tell you 1,000 feet of space is dizzying.

Lizard!

Scientists think that the grey colored rock behind Karoline occurred because of a meteorite falling a long time ago.

Antelope Island, Salt Lake City, Utah (by Lauren)

 September 27, we reached Antelope Island, Utah. As its name suggests Antelope Island is an island with... go figure, Antelope! It is the largest of ten islands on the Great Salt Lake. It is home to hundreds of bison and deer, and small herd of Antelope.

Pronghorn Antelope on Antelope Island

When we parked the RV the girls went outside and built ski resorts in the pebbles.

We went for a walk on the beach of the Great Salt Lake and found this strange metal ball. Dad thought that it was a buoy, Annabelle disagreed, she thought it was a cannonball.

We walked all the way down to the salty water, boy did it smell! There were many, tiny, shrimp that had washed up and died on shore, YUCK.

Red Stone Ridge Farm made it to the Great Salt Lake.

Sunset at Antelope Island

Don't Smile

There comes a time in everyone’s life when they are put in a position to perform a task that they would not necessarily choose to perform. Such as: changing a smelly diaper, cleaning toilets, dealing with a septic tank, or maybe picking dog dirt out of the tread of your shoes. Notice the common thread in the examples? They have to do with waste of some form or another. How about human waste; we all have it, we’ve all seen it, and we’ve all had to deal with it. So… why are the tasks associated with waste cloaked with fear and dread?

On your basic RV, you have two tanks; a “grey water” and a “black water” tank. The grey water tank holds the water from the sinks and shower, the black water tank holds, well… whatever you put in the toilet. I’m not sure why they refer to it as black water, but they do. I'm here to tell you there’s nothing quite like the task of dumping the black water tank on an RV. After watching the movie RV with Robin Williams I have to admit I was a little concerned the first time, to say the least.

My first time was in a road side rest area along I-80 in Ohio. Ohio is great. They have RV hookups and dump stations at most of their rest areas along the highway. The task consists of the following steps:

1. Remove the waste hose from inside the back bumper.

2. Remove the cap from the waste port on the RV and attach the hose

3. Open the cover to the dump station and insert the discharge end of the waste hose.

I have to pause for a moment and describe the waste hose. The waste hose is a flexible corrugated plastic pipe about four inches in diameter. At rest, the hose is about 6 to 7 feet long, however it can stretch to 10 to 12 feet or more. This point is key to appreciating the full impact of this story.

4. This is where the fun begins, since there are two tanks there are two valves, open the valve for the black water tank. There is nothing quite like the sight of human waste surging through the previously described waste hose. You have to see it to believe it. The pipe comes to life. It swells, expands, contorts, writhes, and twists, as the tanks drains. The more full the tank, I would later discover, the more lively the hose. This is difficult to describe so the best analogy I can give is that of a snake when you attempt to pin it down (or kill) with the blade of a shovel. I know that anybody that has done this will understand exactly what I am describing.

5. Close the black water valve and open the grey water valve. The theory behind this sequence is that the soapy and cleaner grey water will wash and flush out the waste hose as the grey water tank empties. The grey water doesn’t have quite the same effect in animating the hose.

6. Close the valves, stow the hose… the fun is over.

Why is there fear and dread associated with waste? I believe that it boils down to one simple fact. Nobody wants to touch it or have it touch them. So here is my advice: put on your rubber gloves, keep your lips tight, and enjoy.

The Lauren Game #3

The answers to the previous game are;
 Question #1, answer A, Crazy Horses' nickname was Curly. Question #2 the Niles' were at Wall Drug, a 'western' drug store in Wall, South Dakota.

New Questions;

#1) On this question all you have to do is guess, this cannot be googled (well you could try, but the answer wouldn't be there).


 Out of these six choices what do you think the Niles' have NOT eaten during their trip.


       a) Spaghetti with Sauce


       b) Salmon and Broccoli


       c) Tuna Fish, with Hummus and Carrot Sticks on the side
      
       d) Taco Salad with all the fixings (including guacamole)


       e) Steak, with Beans and Potatoes


       f) Macaroni and Cheese


#2)  Where in the World were the Niles' today?


     37.7 degrees N

     109.13 degrees W       

(HINT: State Monument)

Tetons. (Your Exclusive Update, by Lauren)

We arrived Saturday at the Tetons

The grey, craggy mountains are such a stark contrast between the flat, golden prairie

The view of the Mountains was somewhat distorted because of a Forest Fire in Idaho.



But I think that it added to dramatic effect, making the mountains look even more impressive.



 Ten years ago Dad and I came to Utah to visit his friends, I was 7 years old. When we stopped for lunch, in this same parking lot, I had insisted on eating on the roof of the car because I was afraid of the coyotes. Following tradition, when we stopped in the parking lot all the girls got on the roof for a photo.

Our real main objective at Teton National Park was to see a Moose. So we stopped at a Visitor Center and asked the Ranger if she could suggest a trail on which we would have a good chance of seeing a Moose. She suggested the Jenny Lake trail. A five mile round trip trail that had two major destinations; Hidden Falls and Moose Pond. Her only suggestion was that we make lots of noise. Why?...

...Because of the Bears.






Hidden Falls was Beautiful, and luckily we saw no Bears.
Unfortunately we saw no Moose either.

  

We were able to spot some Elk, with the help of our binoculars. There were quite a few elk wandering around on one of the mountains across from us. Daddy REALLY enjoyed the elk sighting,  he said that he felt like he was in heaven.







But our Teton trip wasn't complete until we left Teton National Park and started on our way to the camp ground where we were going to stay for the night. We noticed a large amount of cars parked along the side of the road, we stopped, and wouldn't you know, there was a bull moose lying in some bushes, down by the river.

He was one huge guy. And just before we left, a Momma Moose and her baby showed up, giving us a view of a full moose family. 

Today and tomorrow we will reach Canyon Lands National Park and Arches National Park. We will post more then. Miss You All!

  

Yellowstone! (Another) Update by Lauren

We Arrived!

Coyote, we had an amazing chance to see a coyote right up close!
(Warning! For those who might be squeamish: the next few pictures contain dead animal remains)

mmmmm! Elk... it's what's for dinner.

Dragging the carcass away from the road so he could eat in peace.

For whoever asked about a bear, here it is! A nice grizzly.

Bison

Old Faithful

Steam rising from Hot Springs and geysers, it seems like the surface of the moon!
Such a strange, beautiful, awe-inspiring place.

The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

The Old Faithful Inn
Such a beautiful and impressive building, pictures just can't grasp it.

A Hot Spring Pool.
Just imagine, we are standing on top of a volcano. The Lava is four miles beneath us.
Four miles seems like a lot, but then it is still hot enough to boil millions of gallons of water
right where we are standing.

We stayed at an RV park within Yellowstone.

Make sure you check out the new pictures on the previous post.