September 4, 2026-Ultimate Utah Adventure Day 14

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I think that I wrote last night that we were leaving Zion a day early because we had seen all there was to see and had done all there was to do. We still don't plan on getting home any earlier, but this will give us a little bit of breathing room when we do get home. 

Coming home from trips early isn't new to us. 26 plus years ago I walked out of the bathroom on our honeymoon, and Robby was trying to book an earlier flight home for us. Then we had done all there was to do, just like we did in Zion.

However, since we got an early start on the drive home, there are a few side trips that we took today. Our first stop this morning was at the North Rim at the Grand Canyon. The kids were pretty confused when we woke them this morning saying that we were at the Grand Canyon. 

There isn't a whole lot happening at the North Rim since their lodge burned a year ago. We walked around the sad lodge area remembering when we were last there. We stayed in the lodge, and it was Reagan's birthday possibly in 2013. Our cabin was so close to the rim of the Grand Canyon that Robby put set of drawers in front of the door just in case. We had never had anyone get out of bed and sleepwalk or wander in the middle of the night, but we were close enough to the edge that it did kind of bother us.

Most of those cabins are gone now plus the lodge with it's beautiful back porch overlooking the canyon is gone. Because the blocked off lodge set where the view was best, we had to park in that parking lot and unhook the car. Then we had to drive about 15 miles to really get a good look at the canyon.

We then stopped at a very small camper store at the Grand Canyon campground. I needed a sticker for this camper, a post card, and a pin (that's a new collection for my bulletin board by my bed in the camper because I got tired of looking at what I had on there this trip.) Anyway, the only 2 choices of postcards they had were of the burnt down lodge. Seriously, I had to buy a 5 dollar postcard book so I could send one postcard. 

We had a great view of the Grand Canyon on our drive and even on the way back to the main road. However, we have seen so many beautiful things on this trip, that the Grand Canyon is really not that impressive. There, I said it. It is grand, and it is beautiful, but wow, there is just beautiful scenery everywhere. Bryce and Capitol Reef are my current favorite National Parks but Zion is at least third on the list. Maybe the Petrified Forest will move up closer to the top tomorrow (It won't!)

Our next stop was a Navajo Bridge which was part of the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. We walked across it, but it was warm so we didn't stay too long. The kids have grown up traveling plus now they have every modern convenience with them-phones, ipads, gaming systems, tvs along with a full kitchen and bathroom. We rarely here anything from them.

However, today, I did hear a crash in the back. I turned to see Campbell standing by the fridge. She asked if I could help, so I jumped up and headed back there. I was expecting things to be splattered everywhere, but things had just fallen to the floor and not spilled. This was a miracle, because the roads today were either curving going up or down a mountain or incredibly bumpy. Nothing is where it started in this camper. For example, there is a container of yogurt in the fridge, that I have put the lid on 3 different times today because it keeps bouncing off.

We have always heard of Horseshoe Bend but have never stopped there. Today we changed that and took the long cut to get there. There were a lot of people walking the trail down the see the river. It was a completely different experience to something very similar at Dead Horse Point State Park. However, Horseshoe Bend was prettier, and we could have enjoyed it more without all of the people and without all of the heat. 

Then we were back on the road until we got to Winslow, Arizona. We also don't think that we had ever stood on the corner there like the song says. I looked on the blog, and we have stopped in Winslow and done some grocery shopping, but I didn't mention the corner. Tonight we fixed that too by taking a few pictures on the corner of that famous spot on Route 66.

Then it was a quick run into McDonalds as we drove our last 30 or so minutes. Robby had two spots picked to spend the night. This first one didn't really have any parking for us plus a sign said "no parking" where we wanted to park. We drove on to the next spot, and they had the perfect spot to park, but that sign said "no overnight parking." Robby went in and asked and was given the green light so we are all bedded down in a gas station parking lot. 

Tomorrow we have to drive quite a few miles so we will be getting an early stop because we have a few stops too. 

September 3, 2026-Ultimate Utah Adventure Day 13

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We woke up super early today because this was Zion all day long! It was the best day so far on the trip. We have had a few wonderful days, but this day has topped them all. 

Robby splurged and not only rented boots, socks, and walking sticks for our hike today, he also rented electric bikes for the rest of the day. This way didn't have to ride the shuttle at all. They were all lined up for the shuttle when we passed them in the car to pick up our bikes.

The bike shop people were super friendly and helpful. They told us about the bikes and gave us directions on how to get into the park. Keaton and Campbell took off on their bikes, but it took Whitman a second to figure it out. Those bikes were heavy, and I struggled too getting started each time. After a bit Whitman figured it out, but I was always in the back of the pack. I didn't feel super confident going super fast like everyone else. At times Keaton would circle around to check on me!

From the bike shop, we biked about a mile and a half to the park entrance. Then we had to bike 9 miles through Zion Canyon. We had get to stop 9, and thankfully stops 1-3 were on a bike path. Then we did have to get on the main road. Thankfully, only buses could go on that road, and when they came on our side, we had to stop and get off the bikes for them to pass. We were able to make it all the way to the end of the road with only 1 bus passing us so that was a relief.

We were already wearing our neoprene socks and water boots. These were weird, but they were necessary for the hike. The guys said that the socks regulated our body temperature which was absolutely necessary because it was cold riding our bikes. We all even started our hike with jackets on, and I kept mine on but rolled up some most of the hike. 

The boots were necessary because they helped you not slip on the rocks plus they gave you ankle support. And the sticks were essential because without them you couldn't feel the rocks or the water depth in front of you. 

Once we parked our bikes, took us a bit to get situated. Robby had a water proof bag with charges, waters, and snacks for us. Then we had to walk a mile down a paved trail to get to where the narrows trail started. I had been freezing on the bike ride since it was before 8, but by the time that we had walked down the trail, we were starting to warm up even though the sun was never shining on us until we walked back, but then it was just on us some because of the deep canyon we were in.

Our first steps into the water were not as icy as I had expected, but it didn't take long for water to get to our toes. I guess the socks did their jobs because our feet were never really cold. We walked and walked over rocks and through the water. There were some spots where it was sandy which was easier to walk through the water in, but for the most part, we were stepping over rocks. There were some times that we were able to walk over dry land, but of course this was just rocks that we were walking over. 

There were a lot of people on the way down the Narrows, but it wasn't horrible but walking back was a different story. There were people everywhere-barefoot people, crying kids, old people, babies in backpacks-we reminded the kids to always come early and come prepared. 

We stopped once for snacks, and then we pressed on trying to make it to Wall Street. This is the section of the canyon where the walls narrow to about 30 feet they said. We thought that some areas were less than this. We have been in the narrow section of Canyonlands, but the canyon walls were not so, so tall. These walls were so high and so impressive! According to our watches, phones, and apps, we hiked past Orderville Canyon, through Wall Street and as far as the Elephant Temple before turning around.)

Really words can't describe how neat the hike was. It was beautiful. Now, on the way back, the water seemed higher and again I was way behind everyone else. It was more challenging going back because we had to navigate around all of the people, but I was pretty happy to see where we could get out of the water.

Of course this meant that we had to walk a mile back to the bikes. Robby pretty much sprinted the mile because he needed a stop at the restroom. Keaton and Campbell walked as fast as they could because they didn't want anyone to pass them. Whitman, who had felt pretty sickly yesterday, must have felt so much better today. He did great, and we enjoyed our leisurely walk back to the bikes. Of course, our boots were already heavy, but now they are water logged plus the socks are as well, so it was a tough mile hike.

Back at the bikes, we split up. The kids rode the 9 or so miles back to the camper while Robby and I rode to a short hike, Weeping Rock. It was basically a cliff that had water dripping off of it. It was neat, but I almost died walking up the incline even though it was just a quarter of a mile long.

It was worth it because our next stop was at the Zion Lodge. We had a picnic with the kids on the front lawn last time we were here, but this time Robby and I ate in the restaurant. We split a burger, and I was probably starving, but I have never had anything so good. 

The kids were back at the camper taking the dogs out, eating their own lunches, and resting. We rode back to them-even with electric bikes, it still took about 25 minutes for us to ride the 5 miles back to the kids. We then stayed in the camper for 45 minutes. I tried to not sit down because I knew that I would have a hard time getting up because we were already tired.

We all left and went back up to stop 6 where we could at least look at the Angel's Landing Trail. I had originally wanted to walk some of that trail, but I did wise up, We then rode our bikes to the next stop and walked the Lower Emerald Pools trail. It was another rock with water dripping off of it, but it wasn't so steep so it was enjoyed much more.

By now, we had realized that we had done all there was to do today in Zion, so we have changed our plans and will head home tomorrow. We still may get home on Sunday, but we really didn't know what we would do tomorrow in Zion. The only other trail on my list was the Watchman but it is closed due to the flooding that happened here the other day. We might could take it easy tomorrow, but you know that isn't our style.

We took the kids to the Lodge for a few minutes, and then we zoomed on back to return our bikes. We had them out for almost 12 hours, and we put some miles on those babies. Then we all went to the visitor's center where we turned in our Jr. Ranger booklet. We had some postcards, stickers, and even a pin to buy. I know I have mentioned it before, but I just love gift shops even though I don't really buy anything.

The next stop was back to the camper to pick up the dogs and our boots, socks, and sticks to return. We mailed my postcards, returned the shoes, took a picture at the sign, and picked up Subway before coming back to the camper.

At the camper we all ate on the picnic table-Campbell wasn't going to eat at the table until we found a tablecloth. The other day at another campground when Marley needed a bath due to a potty accident, we washed her on the table, and I told the kids to always make sure you use a table cloth at a campground. I'm glad she was listening. 

We ate in the shadow of the Watchman and soaked in the scenery. Then we went to work-Keaton helped me inside, Whitman helped Robby outside, and Campbell managed the dogs. It took about 30 minutes, but the camper is pretty much clean(er) and organized again.

The kids started showering and working on a little bit of school while I worked on this blog. I'm pretty tired so I apologize where it doesn't make sense. Also, this is too much information, but did you know that after riding a bike all day long, your rear end can feel pretty bruised! Truth.

September 2, 2026-Ultimate Utah Adventure Day 12

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Even though we were sleeping in this morning, Robby and I both woke up at 7. We did lay in bed for a little bit before getting up. It didn't take for us to pack up and leave Bryce Canyon. 

Since we are in the camper, we have to take the long way to Zion. The long way, however, was much more fun to Keaton. Our first stop was in Cedar City at a Swig. Swig sells dirty sodas, and even though there is one in Conway. we have never been. Since they are based out of Utah, we had to stop.

We all got a drink plus Robby bought some cookies and pretzel bites. Not only did we stop once at Swig, at the next city that had one we stopped there as well. We had to mail off a care package to OBU so we were already stopping in that town. This time Campbell and Whitman didn't get anything, but the rest of us did plus Robby bought parmesan garlic pretzel bites with marinara. They were delicious.

We ran into Walmart and picked up a few things while we were in the Swig parking lot. We should have taken better stock though of what we needed. I'll get to that in a minute though. We did buy some more waters, cokes, gatorades, and a few snacks. 

From that town, it was just a bit of a drive to Zion. Robby did comment that since we have seen so much beauty on this trip, maybe that makes a bit less impressed with this gorgeous park. It is a park that Robby has always wanted to come back to visit for a few days, and for a bit this afternoon I was beginning to think that we weren't even going to make it a night here.

We are staying at the National Park campground which is right next to the visitor's center. When we checked in, the man told Robby that there was some mud on the site, and there's nothing he can do about it. Zion had some extreme flooding here a few days ago. We are right next to the river so we aren't sure if the mud came from the river or from the mountain beside us. 

About 10 sites have mud on them-not just some, but mud covering the site. We are probably parked on a few inches of mud. Thankfully, our mud is dry-at other sites the mud is not dry, and we would have worried about getting stuck. We were relieved that we were in the site we were in because the mud was manageable, but things continued to decline.

We had said that tonight we were going to have rice bowls for supper. Well, we could have had rice bowls, but we sure could not find the chicken. I guess that I didn't load it in the camper or possibly it is sitting in the garage. Then we shifted to pancakes and sausage for supper.

That was fine except I also forgot chocolate chips. We all like chocolate chips on our pancakes, but since we have syrup, everyone agreed that was fine. Robby fired up the griddle and was done cooking the sausage when he blew a breaker.

We do that often enough, so he went to the plug on our campsite, but he couldn't get it to reset. Of course, the first thought is that it is the camper and not the plus. However, he was able to try the empty neighbor's site to double check that it was the campsite plug. He then went to the check in gate and found a not so friendly ranger.

She eventually came and was able to fix it. I guess she had to flip a switch somewhere else for it to work again, but it did and all was well. So after mud, no chicken or chocolate, a blown breaker, and a rude ranger, our day could only go up.

And it did! We have a fun day now booked for tomorrow-more on that tomorrow. But Robby is at the point in the trip, that he is willing to spend all the money to make the fun memories. We ate our chocolate chip less pancakes and then went into town. 

We tried on shoes for tomorrow's hike, and then we drove back to Zion and through the tunnel. Right after the tunnel, we parked and hiked up Canyon Overlook. It was a fun hike-though I'm not sure why people think that it is ok to have trails on the side of mountains. We made it to the top just in time to see the sun set behind the mountains.

Campbell is all better now I think. I have had a few days when I felt back, but now I feel fine but just have a never ending cough, and my lungs where on fire during tonight's hike. Whitman now also has our cold, so I'm just hoping that we can get home before Robby gets it or maybe he will have built up immunity to it.

We hiked down the trail and back to the car. Then we headed back to our campsite and got the dogs. We walked down to the amphitheater for a ranger program. It was excellent! The ranger talked about the stars for 45 minutes and even shined her laser pointer at stars. We can clearly see the Milky Way because the stars are amazing. 

We then walked back to the camper and tried our best to pack our bags for tomorrow. It is hard because we really don't know what all we will need on our day of exploring.

September 1, 2026-Ultimate Utah Adventure Day 11

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We woke up this morning before the sunshine. It was rough especially since I woke up at 5:45 to go to the bathroom. That was disappointing to see that it was already time to wake up. Capitol Reef still might be my favorite park, but after today Bryce is a close second or it passed it. Plus I think that today's trail was my absolute favorite.

We parked at Sunrise Point, and this was our first experience in any of the parks so far that we struggled to find a parking spot and that we saw a lot of people. Robby had to drop us off, but he easily found a park spot. 

We joined the crowds of people on the overlook to look at the sun rise. We stood with them for a little bit, but then we decided that we would walk on down the trail. We started down Queen's Garden and walked down the steep decent. I think that it was even more difficult because the rain yesterday disturbed some of the rocks.

What was neat about this trail was that when we made it down lower, we were walking among the hoodoos. At some points, they even had to blast tunnels or almost doorways for the trail to go through. We eventually made it to the Queen Victoria (I think) hoodoo. I never really saw it, but that is where our trail changed to Navajo Loop trail. 

Then we would have preferred to go up the Wall Street trail, but it was closed so we ventured up the Two Bridges trail. The kids were walking way in front of us, so they missed out on seeing the two bridges, but really, it wasn't much. Then we started up Two Bridges, and gracious it was a haul.

We caught up to Whitman on the ascent, and we were having to take breaks on each switchback. Once we made it up the switchbacks, we still had a climb to go. However, when you turned around and looked at the view, Sunset Point, it was breath taking. It almost made the climb worth it.

Now, once we made it to the top, we still had to walk a half mile back to Sunrise Point to get to the car. On this walk, Campbell convinced Robby to go and get breakfast. We had to drive to another town, but our stop at Rustler's Restaurant also made the hike well worth it. 

Campbell had waffles piled high with m and ms, strawberries, and bananas plus some bacon. Keaton had m and m pancakes. Whitman and I both had the kids American breakfast with eggs, hashbrowns, toast, and sausage for me and bacon for him. I also had hot chocolate, and I know it was probably from a packet, but it was the best hot chocolate I think that I have ever had. Robby had biscuits and gravy (they even toasted the biscuits) and an egg. It was so, so good-or maybe we were just so, so hungry.

Now, I said that the view was breathtaking, but what we came back to in the camper was also breathtaking-but not in a good way. Keaton unlocked the door and was the first to say "I smell poop." Well, bless poor Marley. Her tummy was upset, but thankfully she was in the kennel. 

Robby grabbed the kennel and got the hose, Campbell got Marley outside, Keaton took care of Bentley while I got the soap. Then Robby and Campbell washed Marley outside while Whitman hosed down her kennel. I was busy running around cleaning things inside and gathering necessary supplies. 

We were just going to take an hour break, but this little fiasco took us a bit longer so we were at the camper for an hour and a half. We then made a risky call and left Marley in her kennel when we left again to see more sights.

We stopped at pretty much every overlook and point that we could. Bryce Point and Inspiration Point were definitely my favorites. Then we also walked through the lodge again and browsed a general store. We even went back in the visitor center to collect a sticker saying that we hiked more than 3 miles at the park.

And imagine our relief when Robby went in the camper first after our outing and gave us the thumbs up sign. Marley made it fine! We celebrated with a load of laundry, and while Robby was doing that the kids did school. It was nearly 5 when all of that was finished, and people were getting pretty sleepy. 

We had to wake up Keaton and Campbell, and we even gave Whitman the option to go or not. He, of course, picked that he would stay in the camper and watch the dogs. We drove all the way through the park towards and ended at the last stop-Yakima Point and Rainbow Point. Would you guess what we saw at Rainbow Point? A rainbow. That was kind of neat; however, it is called rainbow point, not for rainbows, but for the colors of the rocks that you can see.

We then stopped at a few more overlooks chasing the sunset before we ditched our supper plans of rice bowls and ordered a pizza. We picked up supper and then quickly loaded the car in the sprinkling rain. Then we all ate and started on showers. Tomorrow we have a good bit of driving to do so we will need some sleep.

August 31, 2026-Ultimate Utah Adventure Day 10

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Yesterday evening was wet, and today has turned out to be a wet day too. We pulled out of the campground near Capitol Reef around 9 this morning or possibly it was 9:30. Either way, we were pleased with our time.

We had basically one road to drive down, but it was a doozy. It was hwy 12 which is one of the most scenic drives in America. It was that, but I felt it was also a little on the treacherous side. Ha! Actually, I wasn't nearly as stressed as I was in Colorado leaving Denver. 

The scenery was gorgeous even with a steep drop off and no guard rails on both sides. There were turn outs every few feet almost plus we were listening to our audio guide with information about what we were seeing. 

Before we even go to the scenic views, we had dealt with construction and a super long traffic light, a heard of cows in the road, and even crazy foggy weather. Thankfully, by the time we made it to the on top of a mountain part, everything had cleared up, and the drive was super nice-maybe because Robby was going pretty slowly so he could take it all in as well.

We arrived to our campground in Ruby's Inn right outside of Bryce Canyon just as the rain started. We ate as it rained. When there was a break in the rain, Robby hooked everything up, and we unhooked the car. Then the rain started, and it went on and on. 

Robby caught up on some work while the kids did school. Campbell is making her way through college algebra so she just has a test to do tomorrow, and then we can be finished with that at least this week. After school was finished, we had to wait on the rain to finish.

When it did, we headed towards the visitor's center. We did all the things there-bought a sticker, got our stamps, bought 2 postcards (one for an obu kid and one for a little friend studying the states), and turned in our jr ranger booklet plus at this park we even watched the movie. I stayed awake during it because I was busy working on writing the postcards.

We then drove around the park some-we didn't see anything of note except we did drive around all of the campgrounds plus we looked in the lodge. We like to check out all of the campgrounds just so we can see what we are missing by not being in the campground. Here, we aren't missing anything since we have power and water. 

Then we drove out of the park, through town, and to another section of the park to walk Mossy Creek Trail. It was just a short little hike, about a mile, to see a cave and to see a waterfall. We were even able to see some pretty cool hoodoos on the hike.

We then stopped at the general store in town. Pretty much everything in this town is Ruby's something or another. We are at Ruby's campground, and we went to Ruby's General Store beside Ruby's Inn right near Ruby's Laundromat. Seriously, good for Ruby. I think that she was actually an earlier settler here, and her family still runs all of this. 

The store was massive-we all got separated, but we eventually found every in the food section. We were all hungry. I guess I took the crock pot out so when we went to make the soup for supper earlier, we realized that we would have to make it on the stove. It was just a bag soup so it only took 15 minutes, but that was a long 15 minutes.

After eating, we played Whitman's warewolf game before urging everyone go to go bed. Tomorrow is an early morning!

August 30, 2026-Ultimate Utah Adventure Day 9

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We left the camper around 7 this morning. We were trying to beat the heat, but we all left wearing jackets. It took us a bit to drive to our trail, but by 7:30 we were climbing out of the car. Now, it is a bit eerie being the only car in the parking lot though.

Campbell had wigged herself out on the length and altitude gain on this trail, but once we got started all was well. We literally climbed to the very top of a cliff today. When you drive in, you can see Cassidy Arch, and it is at the very top of cliff or maybe I could even say a mountain.

The first part of the trail was steep, rocky switchbacks which we weren't sure were going to end. We took quite a bit breaks on this section of the trail. Once we finished the end of the switchbacks, the trail did get easier though we were constantly climbing the hill. 

We had walked over a mile and a half when we made it to the slick rock face that we had to walk over. The weather perfectly cooperated with us the entire day. We were often in the shade, or there was a breeze. Even when the sun would peak out, it was still comfortable. 

There was a lady walking in front of us, and we weren't sure why she had stopped. Then we realized that she was indeed at the end of the trail. Not only could we see the arch from where we were, but we could also walk across it. Our photos look like they were not real, but they were. Robby said that it was his favorite hike so far. I would pretty much agree! (Though everyone walking around on the top of the mountain side did make me and Campbell a little bit nervous.)

We took our pictures, and then after one last look we headed down the mountain. Of course getting down wasn't nearly as hard as getting up. We made it down after walking 3.4 miles, but we didn't head to the car. We kept walking along the grand wash-basically a dry riverbed.

We walked another 3.6 miles on the riverbed. The cliffs are on both sides of you, and it was neat to see. However, this afternoon it has stormed so I know that dry riverbed is no longer dry at all. We were all pretty beat after 7 miles of hiking.

We, of course, made time to to stop at the farmhouse on the way out of the park. As we were walking towards the building, Campbell told us to hurry up because more people were coming. Robby just about broke into a sprint and managed to grab the last cinnamon roll. Plus we managed to get a few pies. However, I just couldn't stomach paying 6 dollars for a cookie.

After leaving the park, we stopped at Rim Rock Patio for our late lunch. We had thought about eating supper out, but we were all pretty hungry. This was the perfect place-they had a patio so we opted to eat outside. There was baggo and horseshoes outside, but the view was wonderful. Plus the food was really good (though we were starving and could have eaten anything happily.)

We had pizza, salsa, nachos, and sloppy joes, and what we didn't eat, we brought home. Back at the camper, the girls took the dogs to to the dog park which they love. The temperature was comfortable plus it is the most lush grass ever. Then Robby did laundry while I napped. 

Then a crazy loud storm rolled through. All storms are loud in the camper, but the thunder was really loud, and then when the rain finally started we were having to shout at each other. We were trying to watch church from this morning, but there was no way for us to hear it so we had to give up. We would think that the rain had stopped, and then it would pour again.

Our first stop was the side of the road a few times to take a picture of the most beautiful rainbow ever. It just kept following us. The girls made sure to get quite a few pictures of it.

We eventually did leave, and we were pretty surprised to see the water rushing in some of the creeks. We have to assume that the dry creek bed we walked through earlier was flooded like those creeks. Then we walked down the little boardwalk so we could see the petroglyphs.

Next up was a little drive the other way down the road. We did stop at the town of Notom. Apparently, when they were naming the town, someone said, "well, we have No Tom here," and that is how the town got it's name.

We then drove back through the National Park before realizing that sunset was beautiful. We stopped so the girls could take some pictures. They even hiked to the top of a hill to get better shots. Whitman even joined them, and they all came down the trail with their arms linked in a circle. It was amazing that they didn't fall down the hill. 

Back at the camper, the girls walked the dogs briefly. Then everyone heated up their own suppers. Now, the girls are headed to the bath house to take their showers, and Whitman is going to take his shower here. Then I'm next in the shower because I'm about to fall asleep!

August 29, 2026-Ultimate Utah Adventure Day 8

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We didn't leave Moab until 9:00 this morning. It was nice getting to sleep in a little bit before getting up. Of course we were quiet when we did start getting everything ready to leave, but it is just hard to be quiet with the dogs and with starting the camper. When Robby starts that camper, it is like a race car revving its engine.

Campbell woke up feeling much better this morning, but she did continue to remind us that she was sick-especially during our trail hike this afternoon. I do believe that I am getting her cold now, so that will be fun. Graham wrote late last night saying that he felt horrible, but it looks like he hasn't stopped today and has had a busy day. 

We stopped in Green River where we had actually stayed before years ago with Grannymom and Grandpa when Campbell was a baby. Robby drove past a museum and hotel and immediately remembered it. We had to get gas so we stopped at a Maverick, which according to Keaton is a famous Utah gas station that she sees her blogger stop at.

Not only did we get gas, but we also had some dirty sodas. Whitman was sleeping so I stayed in the camper, but they fixed me up with cream and vanilla flavoring in mine. I like my dirty sodas with more cream than actual coke. 

We had to drive through Capitol Reef National Park to get to our campground tonight in Torrey We made here about 12:30, and this is the first campground that Robby has not had an extra 110 outlet to plus up our back air conditioner. Our front one can easily do the job, but he likes the noise. However, there may be no air conditioners running tonight, because it is chilly tonight. During our night time walk with the dogs, we both had on jackets plus it was more like a jog because it was so cold. It is just 64!

After getting everything set up, we left for Capitol Reef. They sky was pretty dark, but we pressed on. Our first stop was an overlook and then to Gooseneck point which was another overlook. I really think that Capitol Reef is my favorite park. It is so gorgeous, and in the middle is the orchard..where they sell pies. However, they were out of them today! We knew that they would be because it was nearly 4 when we went. Though we will be there tomorrow at 9 when they open!

We stopped at the visitor's center-it was small and hot so we didn't stay long Then it was down an unpaved road. I mentioned that the sky was dark earlier, and on our drive a ranger stopped us to make sure that we weren't hiking in that area in case it rained/flash flooded. 

We then drove to Hickman Bridge. This is the hike that the ranger suggested to me, and he even mentioned that it would be a good one to do because of the weather. This was a 2 mile round trip hike to a bridge. It was really neat with spectacular views. There was a bit of uphill, but it wasn't horrible. 

However, Whitman and Campbell were a bit concerned about the weather. It never rained or even thundered, but we might have been in a pickle if a rain storm did come our way. It was a fun hike with lots to see on it. I think that it might have been my favorite hike so far. 

We made it down the mountain and drove around Torrey for a bit. We even stopped in a store that said "Bakery" on the sign. It was not a bakery, instead it was just a tiny grocery store. We were disappointed, but back at the camper we heated up some chicken pasta and all was well. Robby and I even had some ice cream before our walk which could have been why we were so cold!

Tomorrow is an early day-maybe even the earliest yet!