by Morgan
Hi there!!! I am Morgan and I am in 7th grade. I am a home school student and I love to play the violin. Some of the sports I love to play are: Softball, basketball, soccer and watch and play football with the family. Now then that is a little bit about me, so now, how about our trip? We started off staying in Monument CO. While we were there a miller moth flew up my PJ shorts so I stood up and felt the back side of my thigh and felt a lump so I screamed and got the moth out of my PJ’s. The National Parks/National Monuments we have visited at so far are: Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Mesa Verde, Glen canyon, Grand Canyon, Pipe Spring, Zion Canyon, and Bryce Canyon. Me and Joseph completed Rainbow Bridge National Monument when we went to Glen Canyon. Everyone also earned Parashant National Monument at Pipe Spring. I am enjoying the start to our trip and have completed 9 Junior Ranger badges in about 1 ½ weeks. by Joe (dad)
Dad drove out from Southern California to come play with us and he brought along 2 cousins for an added surprise! Made the trailer a little more "cozy" but everyone got enough sleep to be functional and hike around Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks. Zion National Park is more about looking up from the bottom of the canyons while Bryce Canyon (which technically isn't even a canyon) is more about looking into the canyons from the top rim. We championed the Navajo Loop Trail at Bryce Canyon so we could venture below the rim and get closer to the Hoodoos (Hoodoos are the tall, cylinder-ish rock formations) and see the 2 natural bridges down in the canyon. Biggest hit by far was dad treating everyone to ice cream at Zion National Park after a hike in 100 degree heat- thanks dad!! (second biggest hit was the stash of root beer float supplies that dad left at the trailer!)
by Joe (dad)
We hit a few "dead spots" as far as phone and internet connectivity last week, but couldn't just skip over our stops at the Four Corners, Lake Powell and the Grand Canyon! Four Corners is a terrific photo op and chance to separate yourself from your money on souvenirs....it was a quick stop for us. Lake Powell was as scenic as it was refreshing to play in the water. Everyone had fun speeding around the lake in the motor boat and hanging on for dear life on the inner tube. We've been trying different types of camping spots, so we tried a National Forest Campground for the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. We knew we wouldn't have any hook-ups, but don't think they had 40-ft trailers in mind when building the campground. We didn't fit in our reserved campsite, but at least backed out before we got our 7-ton trailer stuck in a culvert. The camp host was very helpful and we maneuvered in (and out) of another campsite. We also discovered that the battery in our trailer is good for almost 48 hours, which was almost enough juice to get the landing gear up when we broke camp (we had to plug into the truck for "more power"). by Joe (son) We wandered around Zion National Park today. We took the Scenic Tram ride up to the Temple of Sinawava (at the end of the line) before hiking the river walk and eating lunch. After lunch we split up: Dad, Morgan and I went to hike The Narrows while Mom corralled the rest of the gang back to the tram. We hiked for about an hour and a half through the Virgin River and some gorgeous sandstone cliffs. I'd certainly repeat the trek given another chance! by Joe (son) We've entered upon a new era of collecting! Most National Parks, Monuments, etc have a Junior Ranger program for us kids. We've traditionally worked toward our Badges whenever we visit, but of late we've been accumulating never-before-seen amounts of hardware. In the past two weeks, we've accumulated 7 Badges, and we're looking to nail at least one more in our current stay. Our resume includes (but is not limited to) the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Mesa Verde Cliff Dwellings, Glen Canyon (where Lake Powell is located), and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. My favorite thus far has been the Cliff Dwellings. It was certainly an amazing place to visit by Joe (dad)
We learned that Anasazi has become an old term for referring to some of the earliest Native Americans who lived in North America....Ancient Puebloans is now the most appropriate term. Mesa Verde National Park (the first 3 pictures above) is the only National Park out of 59 that is really about people rather than natural wonders (i.e. canyons, water falls, etc). We walked through several of the available cliff dwellings (made of sandstone bricks rather than mud bricks) and Joseph even held up a boulder for us while we hiked through! We made it to 4 States today and have a dog pile on the Four Corners to show for it! Lots of local artisan crafts for sale, but the photo op is really the main attraction. We had huge head winds all day today, so our gas mileage really sucked...almost got to gallons per mile rather than miles per gallon...hopefully that means we'll have tail winds when we head back east again :) by Joe (son)
Hey There!! I'm Joe. I'm a rising sophomore in the Class of 2017. Back in Colorado Springs, I attend St. Mary's High School (great place, by the way). This whole trip idea was spawned (by my reckoning) about a million years ago, though Dad insists it's really only as old as I am. Things are well underway in our "Silver Bullet" trailer, affectionately nicknamed "The Big Rolling Turd" as a Robin Williams tribute. We still have yet to fall into a set routine, so bedtimes, and consequently patience levels, have been fluctuating a bit of late. We do get along quite well when we are united in a longing for TV privileges, though!! Our first stop was the Colorado Heights RV Resort in Monument, CO, which I regard as the official start of the Hands and Feet Tour, though Dad insists our first day was really 9 June, when we left for Gunnison, CO. (Sigh...) Gunnison has been my favorite stop thus far (though we've only stopped once). Talk about a gorgeous place...I could definitely get used to living there! We've had a great start. Thus far I'm really looking forward to finding a place where I can pitch a tent (mostly to escape the snoring epidemic which has struck the bunkhouse. My requests for earplugs have thus far fallen on deaf ears, though I am told that I myself am the latest victim of the epidemic!) by Joe (dad) What a magnificent National Park! Driving to the Black Canyon, you'd never know you were about to open up to a 2,000 ft canyon of sheer walls. The first western explorers to come across the Black Canyon called it "impenetrable". These pictures are from the Painted Rock overlook, which was our consensus favorite spot. Lori was a bit freaked out about looking over the edge, but she braved out a couple peaks...man were they quick! Looking down on the birds was certainly unique perspective. by Joe (dad) We learned from living history sharing time with some of the residents at the local nursing home. Amazing stories of nursing and cowboying and travels around the US from people who have "been there, done that." Carlos entertained everyone with some tunes on the piano and we left more enriched than when we arrived. by Joe (dad) We were blessed to spend the afternoon (Thursday) with the Dussault and Zeiter families hiking and playing in the Aspen trees near Crested Butte...thank you for inviting us up for a BBQ! The kids hit it off hiking, slack lining and exploring the woods. Ice cream at the playground in Crested Butte was terrific, but the highlight was definitely evening prayers together there in the middle of town!! by Joe (dad) Usually I did the grocery shopping by myself, but now I have lots of helpers! Only had to put 1 or 2 extra things in the basket because of the "extra help"! We got up in time (barely) to make the 0715 daily mass today and had a treat going out for breakfast...went the Ol' Miner and had great pancakes. The restaurant had lots of animal trophies mounted on the wall...Mariana couldn't help shouting "mama, there's a bear...mama there's a bear!" Met several friendly folks and got some good history of Gunnison....the Pioneer Museum here is the place to go for local history and the brick walls inside the Ol' Miner restaurant used to be exterior walls before they enclosed the space to make room for another store! by Joe (dad)
We got packed out of our house late last week and we got moved into the trailer. Then we moved our trailer to a local campground to make sure we were really "disconnected" from the house. Of course the Miller Moth's are running and we had a trailer full of them on our first night in camp....just ask Morgan, she has a funny story about moths :) I had the storage bay all sorted out...then we went shopping...I need to figure out a new plan now. Thank you to all our family and friends for the prayer support as we embark on our year-long adventure across our great country! |
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July 2015
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