Homeward Bound

We are rolling through the mountains of Colorado today and hoping to arrive home on Monday.  The view through the windshield is beautiful; snowy mountain tops, the rushing Colorado River, and the ski villages of Vail and Copper Mountain.  Speaking of beautiful views, we filled our last week with several of them while camped in, Moab,Utah.

First stop: Arches National Park.

Then Canyonlands, Islands in the Sky.

Dead Horse Point State Park

Yesterday we hiked the Chesler Park Trail in the Needles of Canyonland.  

Before leaving the Needles we walked a short path through very tall brush to a "Cowboy Camp".  The sign said the natural alcove in the huge red rock was used as a bunkhouse for ranch-hands of the property until 1975, when the National park acquired it....interesting.

Now, HOME...there's no place like it!  We miss our family and our friends!  Zeeland or BUST!

Great Little Town

Kanarraville, Utah, is a very small town in the foothills of the Kanarra Mountains.  Two very different hiking trails are a favorite weekend family spot for the locals.  Springcreek Trail winds into a canyon as it follows a narrow mountain stream.

Kanarra Falls Trail also winds into a canyon and the hiker is treated to two water falls at the very end, and even a little snow on the top.

Taylor Creek Trail, which is part of Kolob Canyon and Zion National Park surprised us because it isn't a main attraction of Zion, but it was close (just six miles away from our campsite) so we had nothing to lose and, as it turned out, a whole lot of beautiful hiking to gain.

A homesteaded cabin from the 1930's still stands along the trail.

While looking for fishing holes we discovered the small town of Parowan, which is known for petroglyphs and dinosaur tracks.

We searched all around the hillside next to the sign reading 'Dinosaur Tracks', determined to find one to show our grandkids.  What do you think kids?  An antasaurus, the duck-billed dinosaur?

Oh, did Jerry find a fishing hole? Yup!

French Friends

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The first time we saw Alois and Romane we passed them on Highway 89, between Page, Arizona and Kanab, Utah.  The sight of their bicycles buried in camping gear, as they peddled alongside the highway, captured our attention.  A few days later we thought we spotted the same over-packed bicycles parked at the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, while we waited for our scheduled tour to begin.  A quick scan of the crowd proved we were right!  After sharing a short conversation with them we learned, Alois and, Romane are from France and have been traveling in the U.S. since arriving at O'Hare Airport in August.  After utilyzing various methods of travel, including bus, they purchased the bicycles in Flagstaff, AZ.  Having been to Flagstaff ourselves and knowing the mountainous terrain they had traversed from there to Kanab, we were in awe.  The tour of the sanctuary was just one of many things to do in Kanab and after about one week we left for Kanaraville, Utah.  While enjoying one of many sunny Utah days on a drive to Cedarbreaks National Park from our campsite in Kanaraville, we spotted two bicyclists coming down the mountain highway.  We remarked how fun it would be if they were the 'kids' from France.  They were!  We stopped, talked for a bit and I took this picture.

They explained that they were headed to Cedar City, which is just a few miles from Kanaraville, to work for one month at Dust Devil Ranch Horse Rescue, where Romane will be breaking (which we learned is referred to in France by a word that means 'taking the fire out of') and training horses.  They accepted our invitation to join us for pizza last Thursday and we thoroughly enjoyed learning more about them and a little bit about France, as well.  They are investigating the possibility of continuing their travels on horse-back when they leave Cedar City, agreeing that it would be a whole lot less exhausting than bicycling.  Happy Trails, Alois and Romane, it was such a pleasure to meet you!