Ten year old Richard Hofmeister and nine year old Ryan Graham (cousins) arrived in Salt Lake City right on time on June 9. Their flight from Lansing, Michigan, was "fun" they said. Although it was a bit cool and rainy in Salt Lake City, their spirits were very high. After getting settled we made a trip to the grocery store to stock up on stuff kids like which we don't normally keep on hand. We also made a little trip at night (in the pouring rain) to show them the lights of the Capitol and the Morman Temple which were just down the street from our campground. VIP campground on North Temple was really a perfect location. It was close to the airport and the interstates which by the way are all under construction in Salt Lake City. Guess they are getting ready for the Olympics in 2002.

ZION NATIONAL PARK

We left Salt Lake City early on the morning on June 10 and made a bee line for southern Utah and immediately saw an improvement in weather. It was nice in warm at Zion National Park and during our two days there, we did a lot of hikes. We thought we would wear the boys out, but they were terrific hikers and quite frankly they wore us out. They especially loved the hikes which were difficult and entailed climbing over rocks. What boy wouldn't? Our one regret at Zion is that we did not stay in the park campground. It was a "first come—first served" campground and we didn't want to take a chance on not having a place to stay near the park. I had tried to reserve a spot in the campground just outside of Zion and they were full, so we camped in Hurricane which was really too far away for all that we wanted to do. Oh and the campground at the park was not full and we would have fit in nicely. If we were just on our own and not entertaining grandsons, we would have taken a chance and gone for the national park campground.

NORTH RIM OF THE GRAND CANYON

We had reserved a spot at Kanab, Utah, which was again far away from the park; it was 80 miles from the north rim. Since it was such a short ride from Hurricane to Kanab, we arrived early and set up in the small but lovely, Kanab RV Corral campground. If you like campgrounds which are as neat as a pin with wide wonderful sites, choose this one. The owners, Wim & Thea,  are from Holland and do a terrific job. Since the campground is only one block from town it was very convenient. In fact their next door neighbor is a Pizza Hut so that is where we ate dinner after spending the whole day at the Grand Canyon.

Our first afternoon in Kanab, we drove to the Paria Town Site which is a ghost town amidst some spectacular scenery where many movies had been shot. Although it was a long ride (33 miles east then 5 miles on a dirt road) once we got there, the boys had fun running through the buildings and up and down the hills.

We left early the second day and drove to the north rim and spent a good part of the day there. Richard and Ryan were impressed with the immenseness of it all. We were impressed with the small amount of people there as compared to the south rim. The only problem there was it had been such a long drive to get there and we had to drive back that day so we didn't drive the extra 30 or so miles to some of the viewpoints. Again we were wishing we could have camped in the park and checked out the campground. When we had tried to reserve we had been told that 34 feet is the maximum length and they were right. There were one or two spots that could maybe take a 37 foot RV but we wouldn't fit in. We did see quite a few big motorhomes parked in the various overlook parking lots, but that is real chancy to drive all that way and not be able to park anywhere. There are times when I wish we were still only 24 feet long.

BRYCE CANYON NATIONAL PARK

The drive from Kanab, Utah, to Bryce was nice and short so we arrived at Ruby's Inn campground early enough to be set up in time for lunch. This, by the way, is a very nice campground and is only one mile from the park entrance. After lunch we went into the park so the boys could get a look at what makes this park so special. They were amazed and said that pictures just didn't do it justice. We signed up for the 9 a.m., horseback ride into the canyon for the next morning, visited the Visitor Center and picked up two Junior Ranger booklets then we returned home and  let the boys relax by swimming in the indoor swimming pool.

The horse back ride was terrific. The best way to experience Bryce is from down in the canyon and the horse back ride is easier than hiking down. The two hour ride was just perfect and our leader, Brett was very knowledgeable. After lunch we went back into the park to check out all of the overlooks on the 18 mile road which ends up at over 9,000 feet in elevation. The boys found a couple of little piles of snow and delighted in chasing Ron with snowballs. We saw plenty of bristlecone pine trees and this was a first for Ron and I too. These amazing trees can be thousands of years old and survive best in the windiest, coldest part of the park.

We attended the campfire program at the campground on our second night in Bryce and that finished the requirement for the boy's Junior Ranger Badge. The morning we left, we went into the visitor center first so they could get their badges. They learned a lot and we were proud of their efforts.

CAPITOL REEF NATIONAL PARK

Our drive from Bryce to Torrey, Utah, was very exciting. The most direct route was route 12 which was red and wiggly on the map. Ron said he didn't mind. It was a spectacular drive and it did wind around and up and down, mountains. There were many switchbacks and the grades were 8 and 10 %; Ron handled them beautifully, but at the top of one mountain the road was a narrow ribbon. There was very little shoulder and it was straight down on both sides. He said that that was a little scary. It was like we were driving into spring because the aspen trees were just leafing out. Their color was so bright and new and the wild flowers were colorful and plentiful with hillsides completely blanketed. We had done that road from the other direction seven years ago in our 24 foot class C and I remember that it was fall and there were a whole different set of glorious colors.

We were excited at the prospect of seeing John and Vallie Riley, owners of the Ten Thousand Lakes campground in Torrey. When we stayed there seven years ago, it was a brand new campground and we wrote about what a nice campground they had, how friendly they were and Vallie's muffins each morning. Vallie still makes muffins, but by order only and she says she could never quit making them because people come just because others have told them about the muffins. She said she spends three to four hours each evening making the six different kinds that she offers. She offers banana with walnuts, apple with cinnamon, bran with raisins, blueberry, lemon with fruit jam filling, and zucchini chocolate.

They have really expanded their campground and offer chuck wagon dinners each evening which sounded good, but we ran into some cold rainy weather so did not take advantage of that.

One thing I was looking forward to was getting a pie fix. Seven years ago, we discovered the Sun Glow restaurant 8 miles west of John and Vallie's place. The lady who made the pies was written up in the Salt Lake City paper for her delicious and unique pies. Would you believe she offered pickle pie and pinto bean pie among others? When we sampled them seven years ago we agreed that they were out of this world. We went this time and they weren't very good at all. I thought that maybe our tastes had changed. Even the apple pie that Ryan ordered was not good. We later  learned  that the same lady does not make the pies any longer. You can't always go back.

We did enjoy a full day of driving around Capitol Reef and visiting some of the sights and of course the visitor center.

ARCHES AND CANYONLANDS NATIONAL PARKS

We saved the best for last. At least Arches has been our favorite of the five big national parks in Utah. We planned to do a lot of tough hikes in Arches to give the boys something to talk about. When we had been there before we had done all of the hikes so we knew what they were like.

Our campground there was very nice and we were very close to the entrance of the park. Moab Valley campground is one of the most perfectly laid out campgrounds we have ever stayed at. The owner built the park and it is obvious that he knew his stuff. For example there are two sewer hookups (one in the middle and one at the end) for each site, and they were nice and flush with the ground. We knew from before that the campground in the national park has small sites and fills up fast (no reservations). People line up at 7 a.m. and wait in line for the few sites that are available each day.

The first thing we did was sign up for the Firey Furnace hike which is a ranger hike and very popular. As is was, we arrived on Thursday and the first opening was 4 p.m. on Saturday. We took another ranger hike on Friday morning and the boys worked on their Junior Ranger badge (each park has it's own program). We also hiked on our own. Because it was so hot there, we learned early on that it was best to hike late in the afternoon. I think that the boys liked Arches best; there so many great hikes and they were good.

We drove to Canyonlands which is only 30 miles from Arches but just visited the visitor center and showed the boys the road we biked down and across seven years ago. It is a wilderness park and best for four wheel drive vehicles.
 

BACK ON OUR OWN

We drove from Moab back to Salt Lake City and got the boys ready for their early morning flight on Tuesday June 23. It was time; they were ready to go home and I think we were ready to not be on vacation any longer. The vacation pace is so different from our normal lifestyle. We packed in a lot in two weeks where normally we would only move once a week at the most.

We stayed in Salt Lake City the day they left to get our house back in order then left early on Wednesday morning but planned a little detour to the Cummins shop for an oil change. Gosh those things are expensive in diesel motorhomes compared to gas powered motorhomes.
 

THAYNE, WYOMING, IS BEAUTIFUL

We are in a most beautiful Coast to Coast park in Thayne, Wyoming, and I just love it. We are in a valley and surrounded by snow covered mountains. Because we are at 6,000 feet it is spring here. In fact, the park has many lilac bushes which are full of fragrant blossoms. It is rainy today, but that doesn't matter; it is still beautiful. This is a big park and we look forward to our week here. There are a lot of seniors here who winter in the south and spend the entire summer here. I wouldn't mind, but we have places to go and things to do.

AT & T CELLULAR PHONES

I have been hearing a lot about the new one rate A T & T Cellular phone. I really want to have a phone so I will check into it more and let you know. From what I know so far, these digital, and analog phones run about $120-$200 then you contract to use A T & T for 12 months. You can choose to have 600 minutes for $89 per month/ 1,000 minutes for $119 per month or 1,400 minutes for $149 per month. They say there are no other charges.

EMAIL ON THE ROAD

I have not had any real problem getting email on the road. Most campgrounds are very helpful and have a jack that can be used. One place (Kanab, Utah) apologized that they didn't have their hook up yet, but sent me down the street to the library. The librarian unplugged their only phone so I could use the plug. It helps that we have an 800 number to log on with and that we don't do any surfing. Get on, download and get off. For that reason I won't be able to up date the web page for a while, but will keep getting email regularly.

Until next time.....Happy trails!