Yesterday we did some hiking (I just can’t escape it) and exploring in the great sand dunes. It was so amazing! After a few hours we hit the road and headed north to the Garden of the Gods. Matt and I were here 20 years ago. It was nice to see again,
it was even better that we can share the beauty with our children. We didn’t get out of the RV (the weather changes very quickly here) it was really cold and windy. Arrived back in Denver last night around 10:00. Today we are up early and ready for our next adventure…..
Yesterday in Durango and Alamosa
Yesterday we spent the day in Durango, great town. On the way to Alamosa we  (actually Matt) learned a valuable lesson. DON’T  try to drive an RV up a mountain with less than a 1/4 tank of gas. On a side note, his incredibly wise wife (that’s me) mentioned BEFORE he started the drive up the mountain that he was very low on gas.  OK, back to the story… He had to turn around at close to the top and coast down and BARELY made it to the gas station. Now, if you ask my husband he will tell you exactly what he said to me when we pulled in, “see, plenty of gas”  Meanwhile, I now have an ulcer, high blood pressure and a few more gray hairs😣 We arrived a little later than expected to Alamosa (probably due to him not listening to me🤔) so we found an awesome brew pub and had dinner.  Today,  great sand dunes and in to Colorado.Â
Puttin’ in some more windshield time!
Our day at the Grand Canyon
Well, we started our day with a helicopter ride over the grand canyon. WOW!!! It was amazing. As we were flying to get to the canyon, we flew over some untouched land. The pilot said some people hike in there and will camp all summer. Matt later asked if I would want to do that for maybe a week not a whole summer. Uh no, I kinda like a bed, shower and smelling nice but you go ahead🌲🌲⛺After the helicopter we had a great lunch at a little Mexican restaurant in town. We were going to do a little hiking even though it was 2:00 and 87 degrees (hmmmm, apparently we did not learn our lesson from yesterday 🌡🔥) We decided to just walk along the walkway it was only .7 miles. As we were stopped taking our selfies, the kids noticed a guy and his budfy over to the right of us jumping from one little cliff to another. What do you think happened to the idiots? Yup,one of them tumbled down from one of the cliffs 🤕 and the other was stuck on another cliff. I posted a picture…From the far left is the trail we were on, the guy and his friend went to point #1,down to 2 (which is where the one guy was stuck. The idiot jumped from 2 to 3 then fell to 4 (you can see him in the picture)It was one of the most terrifying things we have ever seen. They had to call in the rangers to rescue him.While he is waiting to be rescued, I hope he is thanking God he did not keep tumbling down. We are hoping he goes right to jail for putting those park rangers lives in danger having to save him. Besides that excitement, we loved the view in the grand canyon. On our way to Page,Arizona…
Zion national park
Today we went hiking in Zion national park.  I wasn’t sure that I wanted to go after the trama I suffered yesterday but, I am the leader of this clan (don’t tell Matt I said that 😉) so of course I had to go.  The park is so incredibly beautiful. We did learn a valuable lesson….when it is suggested to go hiking early morning or late afternoon due to the heat (it was 94 degrees today)  PLEASE LISTEN! These people know more than you.  We started our hike at 1:00.  Again!! We learned our lesson.  Our hike lasted 5 hours (seemed like 18 hours) Did I mention it was HOT?🌡🔥  Oh yeah, we saw a tarantula ,that was neat but creepy🕷 We had a great dinner at the Zion brew pub after our hike. We saw the most beautiful full moon as we drove out of town and of course we pulled over to take pictures On our way now to the grand canyon,  Matt has a big surprise planned for us tomorrow so stay tuned….
Utah scenery
Middle school
Somebody in our family (not naming names) missed the bus to the RV today. The laughter afterwards made up for all of the cold rain, and hail that was crashing down on us for about 15 minutes. Overall a great day.
Our adventure in Bryce canyon….
Today started our pretty good. We got to Bryce canyon( we ran into a friend from Rochester). Matt and I decided to take the shuttle to Bryce point and do a nice little hike (1.3 miles) to inspiration point with the kiddos.  Well…..Kiersten said it would be so nice to go down in the canyon. Of course daddy agreed with his princess.  The thing is, if you hike DOWN into the canyon you have to hike UP to get out of the canyon. Trying to be a trooper , I followed my husband and our children of the corn( that is their new name because I think they are trying to kill me🤔)  We did a couple of trails and I said ,”can we find the easiest trail up?” Matt and Kiersten said “yes”. I swear I saw them look at each other and snicker. What the heck did I ever do to those two?  Oh yeah, before I forget…..THERE IS NO EASY WAY UP FROM THE CANYON!!!  Anyways, almost to the top and we have lightening bolts and hail. The children of the corn ran up to the top to safety and Matt waited for me.(I guess he realizes that the kids will eventually move out and he will be stuck with me). So,  we finally made it out of the canyon and we were waiting with a hundred othere people for a shuttle to take us to our vehicles. The bus gets there, we try to huddle close so we can all get on together. I stood behind the kids to make sure they got on. The bus driver started closing the door as I was pushing Kiersy  in and my hand got stuck AND he started driving away.  A guy next to me grabbed my hand out as I looked up to see my family drive away. I grabbed the next bus 10 freezing cold minutes later and when I was delivered to my stop I was greeted and being videotaped by my family .  All I have to say to my family is…sleep with one eye open😘   Next stop…Zion national park.
Take a breath, or two… or 10
Faithful husband stays back with struggling mother as they take on Delicate Arch with their impatient children. Two football field lengths ahead stood the develishly good looking ryan pease and those other children “encouraging” their mother as she slowly takes on the slope one step at a time. At last they finally make it to the top and enjoy the views, engraving the scene into their heads taking in every detail. Along with making memories, we also made new friends. After sharing laughs from their kids throwing water bottles down the cliff the family’s part ways hoping to see each other on their next hike. In order to take revenge on her family, the dedicated mother sets off racing down the mountain leaving her family in the dust. In the end it was a good adventure with a great twist.
Hiked to the delicate arches
Well, Peaser had up at 5:30 this morning. Mind you, we didn’t get to the campsite last night(I mean this morning) until 1:00a.m.  We really wanted to see the sunrise but missed it. It was a 3 mile round trip hike to get to the arch. Not gonna lie…. the kids had to stop and wait a few times for me. Then a 2 year old passed me. That’s when I put my big girl pants on,pushed that toddler aside and climbed that cliff. It was worth it!!  It is so beautiful, it took my breath away.  Being able to share this experience with my family,  even though I was the butt of a few of their jokes is amazing. Oh yeah Kier, it was so funny when you pretended to kick me off the edge of the cliff 🤕