Family Reunion: Zion National Park, UT 6/26/08

We had another relaxed low-key day in Zion. We got up the usual mid-morning, rode our bikes into town and hung-out at an espresso café. They have a great internet connection and we were able to upload the blog easily. It was so pleasant that we stayed for quite awhile munching on muffins and getting caught up on the news. I was wondering how all the wildfires were doing in Nevada County and was relieved to hear that they were mostly under control. (Hope that’s true and not just what was reported in the news). By this time things were beginning to heat up so we thought we would explore some new swimming holes. I don’t know what changed overnight, but yikes, the water was freezing this morning! Our last swim was the night before, maybe 12 hours earlier(?) and I swear it felt great then. We kept trying different spots but the water didn’t get any warmer. We finally decided that the best way to get cleaned up was to go back to the campsite and take showers/wash hair using the outdoor shower on Winnie. (We were sure trying our best to look presentable for the family get together this afternoon). It felt great to finally wash our hair and soap up. The funny thing is just when I finished washing my hair our water ran out! Hard to believe we’ve run thru that much water in just a couple of days. Fortunately, the campground makes it easy to refill up. The rest of the afternoon was taking naps and reading trash magazines, (again thank you Megan. I LOVE that you now work for Entertainment Weekly. The only problem is that Ned and I are too old and too out of it to know who most of the “celebrities” are in the magazines…) We finally met up with Polly and Eric at the Visitors Center at about 3:00. It was WONDERFUL to see them. (Nancy we really missed you. It would have been great fun to have all of us together). We thought there was some symmetry in that we saw Polly & Eric at the beginning of our trip and now seeing them again towards the end. We had a fun afternoon visiting the Human History Museum, taking the tram up the canyon and having dinner and drinks at the lodge. (See photo). Afterwards, Eric and Polly stopped by our campsite and checked out our set-up. It was quite fun having “company” at our humble abode. They are just beginning their road trip – happy trails to you both! Afterwards, Ned & I rode our bikes into town to stock up on drinks for the ride across the desert tomorrow. We also wanted to post the picture as soon as possible so Nancy could see it. We are almost home (2 days) – looking forward to getting together with friends and family. I’ve missed you guys! P.S. Hoping to throw a big barbeque on July 5th for Ned’s birthday. If you’re reading this – you are invited. (Do you think the Mayor of Ville Platte will come? Come on down y’all, we’d love to show you our neck of the piney woods).

Lazy Days of Summer: Zion National Park, UT 6/25/08

Today was one of those perfect summer days. We got up about 9ish, made coffee, hung out for a bit and then decided to ride our bikes into town to find an internet connection. The wind had kicked up a bit last night, enough to really cool things down this morning. It felt great to go for a spin before the heat of the day made the ride unbearable. Because we are in a remote location and in a canyon, it was a bit tricky finding a reliable internet connection. We stopped by several motels and coffee shops before we found one that would allow me to upload our picture and blog from yesterday. By the time we finished it was close to noon, we hadn’t eaten anything yet today and were starving. We rode back to the campsite and decided to make our first official pancakes of the trip. For the record, they were blueberry and scrumptious! We hopped on our bikes again and rode along the Pa’rus Trail that parallels the Virgin River. We found the perfect swimming spot and spent the next hour or so just swimming and playing in the cold river. It felt marvelous. We so appreciate a nice cool swimming hole. One thing that was hard to get used to in the South were all the really warm and muddy lakes – and find one without gators! Ned suggested we hop on a shuttle and head up the canyon to do the Narrows Riverwalk. What a great suggestion. We spent 3 or 4 hours on this adventure. (See photo of us as we start up the Narrows). After a mile hike on a paved trail there is a set of stairs that lead into the river. The walls of the canyon become narrow and it is so much fun to walk up the river, over rocks and thru the fast current. At some points the river was up to about my mid-drift. This is a very popular activity in the park and we had a great time watching the human masses. I would say the majority of the people were visiting from other countries (Sweden, Germany, Japan, Italy) and it was very entertaining to see their different styles of negotiating the trek. Our favorite was the group of older Swedes, at least in their mid-70’s, who took on this hike with great earnestness and vigor. They were dressed from head to toe in long sleeve pants and shirts, floppy hats, scarves tied around their neck, all with matching walking sticks. They were determined to venture up the river as far as they could go. Meanwhile, Ned and I were wearing swim suits, carrying improvised walking sticks, stopping frequently to swim, and taking a break to munch on sandwiches at the bend in the river. These old guys were definitely showing us up! We eventually headed back to the visitor center, disembarked from the shuttle, hopped on our bikes and rode into town in search of liquor. (All in all, we rode about 13 miles today). One of the more annoying aspects of Utah is that it is really hard to find “adult beverages”. Ned finally settled on a great beer called “Polygamy Porter”. The tag line on the bottle says “Why have just one” and “Bring some home for the wives!” HA. I finally settled on ice tea – sigh. Back at the campsite, I took a nap in the hammock, Ned made us omelets for dinner and then we decided to go for another swim in the river before heading off to bed. It’s great because it stays light to well after 9. Was this a perfect day or what?! Tomorrow we meet up with Polly and Eric. I guess this means we are going to have to find a way to get cleaned up for company.