Day 7: Wednesday, July 4, 2007

Happy 4th Everyone!!

Today we drove to Sequoia National Park. We drove through what seemed like 100 miles of Orange groves and grape farms. We got to Sequoia about 12 noon. We started our trip through the park from the South Entrance. We hiked a 2 mile hike to Tharp's Cabin, a small cabin in a hollowed Sequoia tree. The Sequoia's are huge! Then Dan and Scott did a quick run up Moro Rock's 400+ step to a spectacular view. We checked out Grant's tree (the third largest tree in the US) and exited the park at the west entrance in King's Canyon. We returned to Three Rivers, where we are staying tonight. On the drive home we saw a 6 inch tarantula crossing the road. Glad we're not camping! The back country here in the Sierra's is really interesting. Mainly cattle and horse ranges. Tomorrow we are off to San Francisco to stay with our friends, Stewart and Noreen, until Saturday.

Look Dad, I found some firewood!! (for the next 10 years!)

Day 6: Tuesday July 3, 2007

We started the day off with a swim. It was already 96 degrees with 5% humidity at 9am. We left Vegas at about 11:30 to head over to Bakersfield, CA. That was about a 5 hour trip, 1.5 hours outside Sequoia National Park - our destination for tomorrow. We drove through the Mojave Desert where the temperature reached 111 degrees. The road seemed to go on straight for miles without changing. This area of the US seemed so desolate.


Crossing the Mojave Desert.

Nothing but cactus and sagebrush.

We passed this windmill farm as we went through the Tehachapi Pass.

Day 5: Monday July 2, 2007

Day 5: Monday, July 2, 2007 Las Vegas

We found a nice brunch buffet off the beaten path and drove around to see the sights. We parked at one end of the strip and walked between the casinos via the connecting walkways. It was fun to see the different themes in each resort. We found the indoor theme park and arcade at Circus, Circus. We couldn't believe there was even an indoor rollercoaster! The heat was unbelievable so we spent the afternoon at the pool and went out on the street later in the evening. Scott and I did go into one of the casinos at night for a while but were not lucky this time! All in all, we decided that Las Vegas was not for us. It was great to visit but as Dan put it, "it's really an adult playground".

Our hotel from the street.


Main Street Station had a nice inexpensive brunch. The hotel was full of old-fashioned charm.


Karen, Jake and Dan cooling off at the pool.


New York, New York Casino.

Day 4: Sunday July 1, 2007

Day 4: Sunday July 1, 2007Today we left Bryce Canyon and drove through Zion National Park on our way to Las Vegas. The road through Zion had incredible switchbacks and ran through the mountains. Where Bryce had jagged mountains and vast canyons, Zion had mountains that appeared etched and smooth. We continued on to Las Vegas in 110 plus degree heat. After the national parks, Las Vegas was a bit of a shell-shock! Our hotel, The Hilton Flamingo had over 2000 rooms. Our room overlooked the Bellagio where we had a great view of the fountains. We walked around at night to see some of the sights and a closer view of the Bellagio fountains which are set to music.

Exiting a long tunnel under the mountain at Zion.

A view from the visitor center.

Our first look at the Las Vegas strip.

The Bellagio Fountains from the street.

Day 3: Saturday, June 30, 2007

We were up early today to beat the heat and hike one of the trails into the canyon. The 2 mile hike down was narrow and had many switchbacks. We walked an hour down to "Hat Shop", an area where large rocks were balanced upon tall spires or "hoodoos". The walk up took 1 1/2 hours and was much hotter. By now the temperature had reached around 90 degrees and the air was extremely dry. In the afternoon we rented quads and had a guided private tour into Casco Canyon. This is the canyon that Butch Cassidy and The Hole in the Wall Gang ran in the early 1900's. Our tour guide filled us in on a lot of history and gave us a fantastic 4 hour tour. This was a busy, fun day.


Dan and Jake contemplate the long winding trail.


See the trail in the distance? We walked all that way!


The trail was steep and narrow.


The Cracas boys!


"Hat Shop"




Casco Canyon. The hole is where Butch Cassidy and his gang escaped through, hence the name "The Hole in the Wall Gang".


Dan and Karen following the guide. The ride was 12 miles into the canyon. Scott and Jake followed on one quad. Go, Mom!


Quading was a blast! Here we are at the end of the trail getting ready to head back.

Day 2: Friday June 29, 2007

Our destination for today was Bryce Canyon with a stop along the way at Alta Ski Resort. Dan and Jake got to see a "real" mountain for snowboarding! The mountains were beautiful and we managed a quick hike before climbing back in the car. We arrived at Bryce Canyon in the early evening and drove into the park at dusk. The mountains here were breathtaking and we stayed in the park long enough to see the moon rise over the valley. What a view!

The mountains along Salt Lake City are huge!

Alta Ski Resort: a view from the hiking trail. (lower trails)

A quick hike across from the ski resort. The wildflowers were beautiful.

The tunnels were built in the 1920's.

A view from the Rim Trail at dusk. It was amazing...

Thor's Hammer

We saw the moon quickly rise at dusk over the canyon.

Day 1: Thursday June 28

Day 1: Our flight to Salt Lake City was without any problems. We had a great view from the plane window and enjoyed watching the topography change as we traveled west. We met up with Dan and Jake who had spent a fun week with their grandparents Tom and Kay Cracas seeing the sights around Yellowstone. Our hosts for the evening were Tom and Joyce Cracas (Tom's cousin).