Heading home... through Bryce Canyon, Red Canyon, and the Vermillon Cliffs

On our road trip two years ago, we hiked down the Grand Canyon and loved it. But this year, we went to a place even more splendid, not in grandeur, but in uniqueness – Bryce Canyon. It's a mesmerizing place with columns of eroding cliffs and stones, shaped into amphitheaters and canyons within canyons. When we hiked a trail that is considered one of the most beautiful three-mile hikes in the world, it felt like walking in the world's biggest cathedral. I took a hundred pictures within two hours. The kids ran ahead giddy with excitement, and Steve and I oohed and aahed at every switchback.

There are no words, so I'll let the pictures explain.

The day before, we explored Red Canyon, 15 miles West of Bryce Canyon.  There are arches cut out of the rock where the road leads through.  We forced the protesting kids out of the RV and went for yet another hike. Our offspring are getting a little hike-weary.  Oh, well.  Steve and I know that they whine at first, but once they are out there, they are having fun.

We are nearing the end of our road trip and are headed North through Utah, and now Idaho. Yesterday, we spent the day at Crystal Hot Springs, soaking in hot, mineralized water for five hours. These hot springs come from 8,000 feet under the earth and claim to have the most minerals of any hot springs in the world. America. There are two of the biggest water slides I have ever seen, and we spent lots of time tearing and shrieking down them – even water-shy Eva, securely bundled up in a life vest and held on Daddy's lap.

The days before that we made our way through the Catalina mountains, where it was 85 degrees hot. Eva and I went for a walk, and I wanted to take her picture in front of a big Cholla cactus. Seconds after I took the photo, Eva let out a blood curdling scream. One of the evil cactus thorns/needles/spikes/swords had poked through her shoes. It hurt, and I know just how much, because it happened to me, too.

We drove along the Vermillon Cliffs in Northern Arizona. I'm sure you are all tired of me using words like “gorgeous”, “breathtaking”, and “beautiful”, but what else can I say? They look like the Grand Canyon above ground, and they are gorgeous, breathtaking, and beautiful. Look:

The next blog entry will come from our own home - not the RV one, but the real one.  I don't know how to feel about that.  We are all ready to be home, but sad to leave the sun and adventures...