From Death Valley to Yosemite

Wow - only 10,000 foot change in elevation from Death Valley to Yosemite. What can I say about Death Valley??? It's brown and hot - 111 degrees - but it's a "dry heat" - that means you can shrivel up and die without breaking a sweat. Now, on to the more exciting and picturesque Yosemite. We heard the road through the park was open again since the fire is finished and decided to go. Oh yea, another beautiful national park. There is still some smoldering smoke, but not bad. Lots of devastation, but its a big place so much beauty is still intact. El Capitan and Half Dome were clear and bright in the shining sun. Plus we are loving all the green trees and cool temperatures.
Comments from Eldon: After Las Vegas, Death Valley was an extreme opposite. Nothing as far as you can see; and I mean nothing for miles and miles and miles.  Rhyolite, a ghost town, was interesting and the

highlight of Death Valley - a turn of the century mining town with many remaining remnants. Getting to Mono Lake yesterday was a pleasure after the desert. Yosemite has  alpine meadows, mountain lakes, waterfalls and amazing granite mountain obelisks and best of all, the giant Sequoia trees. An enjoyable journey here - we've been up and down many, many mountains this trip.
Comments from Larry:  A bear was knocking garbage cans around last night - rough night sleeping. The night before 3 wild burros were tromping around our campground - I like them though.. I had to ride up front with Cindy & Eldon in Death Valley because they were afraid I'd over heat. Today I got to nap in the camper where it was nice and cool and peaceful - I love Yosemite too.

Let's see ...... where have we been in the last week????? From Page we went to Lake Powell and visited friends we met in Alaska. From there we went to Hoover Dam and Lake Mead. Do you notice a lake theme here? Maybe we are a little homesick! Then on to Las Vegas. Interesting place; we went in all the major casinos, did a little gambling, went to a comedy show and the Mob Attraction. Will probably never go again - but I can say I've been there! Spent the weekend in Pahrump, NV with a friend who moved there from St. Ignace. Guess we did quite a bit in a week.
Comments from Eldon: It was nice be around the water. The friends we met up with are full-timers. That means they have sold their home and now live permanently in a 43 foot motor home. It's beautiful - they had 8 for dinner with room to spare. A nice break from the turtle - but don't get me wrong - I love my turtle (our camper). Between Lake Powell and Mead, we took an interesting detour. About a mile off the highway is the community of Colorado City. Probably the most unwelcome place I've ever been - it is home of the FLDS sect (Fundamental Latter Day Saints - otherwise known as polygamists.) No smiles, just stares, children motioning for us to get out of town, and being followed by a police car until we were out of the city limits. In Vegas, we stayed at the Circus Circus campground. So, we were on the strip and took the bus all over - two days was enough and ready to move on.
Comments from Harry: I spent most of the week in the air conditioned camper. Cindy has been teaching me how to walk on my leash better.

In Page, AZ. Today we went to Antelope slot canyon. Fantastic. We heard about this canyon from a German couple we had lunch with in Zion. They said it was the best thing they had seen. So, being the unscheduled people we are, we decided to come to Page. The canyon is on Navajo land. There is a tour fee; they put you in a monster truck and off you go. The pictures will tell you the rest......
Comments from Eldon: I felt like I was in a Salvador Dali painting. But it was realistic, not surrealistic. I'm debating in my mind, but this could be the best thing I've seen in all our travels.
Comments from Harry: I stayed in the air-conditioned camper today. It was cool.

North Rim - Grand Canyon

Grand Canyon was beautiful. Nice and cool there too. We agree the south rim is prettier, but the nice thing about the North Rim - it is not crowded.
Comments from Eldon: The Grand Canyon was cool. My first cloudless night - and the stars were unbelievable.
Comments from Harry: Cindy is trying to get me to walk better on a leash - I think it is kind of ridiculous, but we'll see. The Kaibab squirrels have white tails, dark bodies - weird.

Zion National Park

I gotta say - Zion National Park is nice. But I still liked Bryce better. It was hot, hot, hot - 98 or so degrees. In Zion, you are in the bottom of the canyons looking up. In Canyonlands, you are at the top looking down. You have to take the shuttle in Zion, no driving - which is fine with us. Yesterday we walked to the Narrows; after you reach the Narrows where canyons come together the rocky creek is the trail - we decided not to do that. We reached our goal of seeing all five southern Utah national parks - are we spoiled are what? We are in Kanab, UT tonight - we decided we needed air conditioning and showers. Heading to the north rim of the Grand Canyon tomorrow. Oh yea, stopped at Pipe Spring National Monument on our drive today. It was a Mormon church settlement; they talked about how it affected the Paiute Indians. We are in the remote part of Utah where polygamists settled when polygamy was outlawed so Utah could become a state. Pretty sure I saw some sister wives at the grocery today - I am NOT joking.
Comments from Eldon: I liked Zion a lot - I would have liked it better with more shade or less sun. You don't get much shade from 4 foot trees. I liked the tranquility of dry camping, but tonight I am enjoying the luxury of air conditioning and TV, even with the outside traffic. More mule deer all over - its getting to the point I don't need any more pictures. The view from the bottom of a canyon is different from what we have been seeing. Not sure I like it better. For me, Mesa Verde is still my favorite national park of the trip. We drove through off-shoot LDS country today - Cindy & I tried to guess which homes were polygamists by their size. In Kanab where we are tonight, it is famous for its stables of Hollywod horses. Trigger, Silver, and Scout all lived here during filming of Roy Rogers and The Lone Ranger. How cool is that? Still feel like I'm riding in a Western.
Comments from Harry: They made me ride up front again today because Cindy was afraid I'd get heat stroke. I have seen so many deer at campgrounds, I don't really care anymore. The babies are cute though. Met a nice woman from Toronto last night who had to pet me, but I liked the little girl from France the night before better. Oui, Oui.