The Stoltzfus Family's Quest for Adventure

After we left Bryce, we headed for Capitol Reef.This park is nested in a canyon and has Native American carvings (petroglyphs) and a Mormon settlement. Upon arriving, we got some recommendations from Park Rangers and headed out a dirt road towards the Pioneer Register and the Tanks. Pioneer Register is the place in the canyon where early settlers would sign the canyon walls. The Tanks are big holes in the rocks filled with water so clear you could see little organisms swimming around. You couldn't see the bottom because the pools were so deep. We camped for the night in Dixie National Forest. In the morning we hiked to Hickman's Bridge, a natural arch, then did a creek hike. This creek had multiple little waterfalls, then a big one with a slide that Heidi slid down. After going to the Gifford House for ice cream and cherry pie, we headed for Canyonlands.   In Canyonlands we visited some viewpoints. We hiked up Upheaval Dome, a crater scientists believe it was either caused by...

Sunday morning we visited Bryce Canyon National Park. After getting some recommendations from the Visitor's Center, we got on the shuttle bus heading for Bryce Point. We disembarked, got our pictures then boarded the bus to Inspiration Point. We hiked from there to Sunset Point, At Sunset Point we hiked down the Navajo Loop to the Queen's Garden. We hiked up to Sunrise Point. We hopped back onto the bus to take us back to our car so we could drive to a few lookouts before heading to Capitol Reef.

We drove into the park to the Visitor's Center where we got in line for the shuttle because you aren't allowed to drive through the park yourself. We waited in line for about 45 minutes before boarding the shuttle and riding to the last stop, where we got off and walked back the Riverwalk. The Riverwalk is a paved walkway following the Virgin River upstream. At the end of it is where the walkway stops, and the fun begins.  The hiking trail at the end of the walkway is called The Narrows and it follows the Virgin River, and by follows, I mean it IS the Virgin River. You wade upstream or walk on the occasional beach. We spent about three hours on this hike, and it was really fun!  We re-boarded t he shuttle and made two others stops to small hikes, Weeping Rock and Lower Emerald Pool. The trail to Middle and Upper Emerald Pools was cut off by a landslide a week ago, as was the Angel's Landing Trail. After leaving the park, we went back to the same campground as the ...

Thursday we drove to the Grand Canyon. Before we got to the Grand Canyon, we went to Horseshoe Bend. There the Colorado River makes a 280° turn. We got to the North Rim of the Canyon at about 2:30. We did a lot of little walks to lookouts and hiked about a mile down the Cliff Springs trail. When we got tired of hiking, we drove down a dirt road just outside the park until we found a spot to pull off and camp. It was about 60° outside.      In the morning we packed up camp and drove back into the park for a three hour hike down into the canyon to Supai Tunnel. Tired and thirsty, we said good-bye to the Grand Canyon and headed for Zion. We reached Zion at about 4:30. We checked out the Visitor's Center, got some good information and found a place to camp. The coolest thing about the road into Zion is 1.1 mile tunnel you drive through. We found a nice campground with showers so we each took our first shower in three days. After supper we played a couple rounds of Can-J...

On Wednesday we explored Mesa Verde National Park. We had a 10:00 tour of Cliff Palace, the most famous part of the park. We walked down uneven sandstone steps to get the cliff dwellings. We spent about 45 minutes walking through the relics. After the tour was finished, we drove around the park to look at other cliff dwellings, pit houses and pueblos. Just after we left the park, we had to make another tire stop to replace the front two tires. Then we drove about an hour and a half to Four Corners Monument, and after taking pictures of our family standing in four different states (I don't have that picture on my phone), we drove to a campground in a Navajo park.     

We started Day Four with a white water rafting trip down the Animas River. Jeff and Rhonda kayaked, while Heidi and Maria were in a raft with the guide and two other people (who turned out to be from Harrisburg!). It was a really fun time.  Once back in Durango, we took the shuttle to Silverton, which is an Old West mining town nestled at the base of the mountains. At 2:30, we boarded the scenic steam train (similar to the Strasburg Railroad) for the three hour trip back to Durango. The tracks follow a creek, which was extremely beautiful. We were in an open air car, which wasn't a problem until it started to rain.  About 2/3 of the way through the trip, we encountered a problem. The rain had washed down the newly burned mountainside (there were forest fires on that mountain just last week), bringing along with it ash and debris. The rains created flash floods, one which left debris all over the railroad tracks. The mudslide and also eroded part of the soil un...