Keep your eyes on the road, hands upon the wheel–A South West RT-The End!Bonus Tracks

[Captain_Oblivious]

Yeah, and when you are telling me that it is 114 Degrees F in Joshua Tree this Summer, I will tell you that, "It's a dry heat".

Touche!

"Dry heat" is the best. It may say 114 degrees, but it really only feels like 108.

I have a friend who served in Iraq and got sick of the "dry heat" jokes. He would always respond, "Ever stick your head in an oven?"

I don’t think this was an actual “point”, but it had a turn out and it was pretty. This is a shot of the whole valley.

This whole set of pictures is wonderful! What a beautiful place.

There was a Pronghorn on the side of the road. Fran has this saying, “if you see people stopped, maybe you might want to find out what they are looking at.” Sorry about all the pictures. We don’t get many Pronghorn in Long Beach.

Fran is wise. We've seen this car-parking phenomenon quite a bit in National Parks.

Just a short walk up the trail and you have even more of a view. Notice the trail off the right side of the picture. It may not look like much, but at 8000ft, it’s steeper than you think.

Duly noted. I'll make DW carry the baby.

And walking a little further along that trail you can see deeper into the canyon. Now you folks may not realize this, but I have mild Vertigo combined with a slight fear of heights. There were no railings up here. I noticed there was a “rim trail” from Bryce Point to Inspiration point. Um….No thanks! It was all I could do to stand up here (safely far enough from the ridge) and take these pictures.

Aw, man...I love a good fake "hanging off the edge" photo...

I was too tired and too hungry to consider climbing anything at this point, so we headed on out for some food. Right outside the park is a “town” called Bryce Canyon City. Basically it is a couple hotels, and RV park and a bunch of restaurants, gas station and shops owned by “Ruby’s”.

3 guesses where we're staying this summer.

It turned out to be a good move. While it was a pretty average kind of menu, the food was way above average.

Thanks for the tip! They're going on the list! I'm a sucker for good fried chicken.

 

[dolphingirl47]

I just can't get enough of the photos. The colours are absolutely stunning. Lunch sounded really nice.

Corinna

 

[rentayenta]

Lunch looks yummy especially the chicken. I have yet to meet a piece of fried chicken I don't like.


Great photos girl!

 

[Pinkocto]

Wow, those pictures are stunning! I had no idea formations like that even existed, they're amazing!

 

[Misskitty3]

Awesome pictures! What a beautiful place.....

 

[franandaj]

Anytime you see a bunch of cars pulled you will see wildlife....it's a rule in the West!

Those pics are amazing....your skills are coming back! Gorgeous scenery.

That chicken looks good!

Jill in CO

We definitely learned about that on this trip. I'm glad you like the pictures. It's hard not to get good pictures of such beautiful scenery. The chicken was good!

I also subscribe to the rule of where cars are slowing down or pulled over.....wildlife in sight!


Great pics of Bryce. Looks like you and Fran did get out to see a few of the vistas, vertigo or not. Good for you.


Food looks great!

I've learned that Fran is right, cars stopped on the road must mean something is up. There was only one overlook that triggered the Vertigo and that was the one without the railings. I got out at all of them. Most Fran could see from the car, but she did get out at two of them.

The pictures are beautiful, and I bad want to go see some of those "slot" canyons.

we always look around when cars are pulled over, from Texas as a kid it was a rule!

Lunch looks good too....

I'm sure the slot canyons are beautiful. Someday! Seems everyone knows about this look for stopped cars rule!

Alison, your pictures are just beautiful. I am so enjoying following along with your trip.

I'm glad you're having a fun time tagging along!

Touche!

"Dry heat" is the best. It may say 114 degrees, but it really only feels like 108.

I have a friend who served in Iraq and got sick of the "dry heat" jokes. He would always respond, "Ever stick your head in an oven?"

Yeah, I never really "got" the whole "dry heat" thing once you got over 100 degrees. Makes sense at 80 or 90 degrees, we can feel the difference between Florida and California at 85 degrees, but over 100 anywhere is just plain hot.

This whole set of pictures is wonderful! What a beautiful place.

You and your family are going to really enjoy it. It will be interesting to hear Scotty's take on it! You might even be able to do one of the nighttime ranger talks since it won't be "butt cold" at night when you are there.

Fran is wise. We've seen this car-parking phenomenon quite a bit in National Parks.

Duly noted. I'll make DW carry the baby.

Aw, man...I love a good fake "hanging off the edge" photo...

I seem to remember a few of those, the other overlooks will do just fine, they have railings.

3 guesses where we're staying this summer.

Ruby's?

But you will have a vehicle so you can drive wherever you want. A lot of the reviews I read were people who had taken bus trips or other sorts of mass transit and were kind of stuck there. I'm sure they have decent food for quick breakfasts, and you are bringing PB&J to eat lunch in a stunning view location right?

Thanks for the tip! They're going on the list! I'm a sucker for good fried chicken.

They had a few things on the menu that looked tasty, I just had the fried chicken bug from the sign on the grocery store in the parking lot next door. But I would definitely recommend them. The European tourists at the table next to us raved about their meals too.

I just can't get enough of the photos. The colours are absolutely stunning. Lunch sounded really nice.

Corinna

That's what I love about using the camera on Manual setting, you can control the light so the pictures show the most color. I took about 10 of each of these shots with varying light exposures and then once I was back home, picked the one that best displayed the color as I remembered it.

Lunch looks yummy especially the chicken. I have yet to meet a piece of fried chicken I don't like.


Great photos girl!

I've had some fried chicken I don't like, but not if it's made good!

Thanks on the photos!

Wow, those pictures are stunning! I had no idea formations like that even existed, they're amazing!

This is one of the most unique places on the planet1 It's beautiful!

Awesome pictures! What a beautiful place.....

Thanks! I loved seeing it in person after all these years!

 

[franandaj]

Before stopping at the Visitor’s Center, Fran wanted to take a look at the gift shop at Ruby’s. This was by far the largest gift shop that we had encountered the entire trip. There was no question about the motive of the owners of this establishment! Their bottom line was $$$s! I was pretty tired and not interested in walking around the massive gift shop. After I did a quick pass I found one of these in the lobby of the hotel.



This was one of the few places that I had a signal on my phone so I enjoyed the internet access while resting my feet a bit. Fran continued shopping.



The lobby had a very rustic feel to it.





We didn’t buy anything and headed on to the Visitor’s Center in the National Park. There was a lot of wide open spaces and the park was very beautiful.











On a screen in the lobby they had this display of the recent stats.



We watched the movie and walked around the little display area, but there wasn’t a whole lot to the visitor’s center so we headed back to the room for a nap. I made Fran drive around the various buildings of the hotel so I could take pictures.



The front of the Lodge in the Sun.



The back of the lodge.



Our building sans snow.



We laid down for a few hours before heading out to dinner. Nowhere did I read online that the Lodge had a restaurant. I guess that I hadn’t looked very hard, but we checked the menu the night before and it looked like a very nice place to eat. We didn’t have to leave campus or go very far, so it was a winner. Plus I’d eaten dinner in our hotel room for the past four nights. I was ready for a night out.



One thing about this place was that they focused on Healthy Sustainable Food. We weren’t sure how much we were going to like the meal. We had bread, which I believe may have been a whole grain, with olive oil. I think we eventually asked if they had any butter.



We had their soup of the day, which I believe was Chicken Vegetable.



And also shared a Spinach Salad.



For our entrees, we both went with the steak and sweet potato cake served with brocolini.





I had tried taking a picture of the menus, but it was just so dark in there that my pictures came out all blurry. For dessert, Fran went with the carrot cake.



Mine was something chocolate and decadent.



We had both brought our computers up to the lobby for Wifi, but we were seated so quickly and after our meal we were both so stuffed that we were ready for bed. We had another big day ahead of us, or at least we thought so.

[Continued in Next Post]

 

[franandaj]

[Continued from Previous Post]

I don’t know what came over me this trip, but I was up early every morning and raring to go!. I started packing up our stuff because today was another day of driving and we wanted to get an early start. After some coffee, I got started on some lunchtime snacks for us.



Yes we are creatures of habit. We like our Chicken Salad Sandwiches. I’m not a big fan of sandwiches, and this is one of the ones that I don’t complain too much about eating. The others are Meatballs subs and Roast Beef with either Cheddar or Provolone. But I digress, what do you folks really care about my sandwich preferences.



Then it was time for breakfast.



We were on the road before 9AM and made a short stop to take this picture that we had been meaning to get for the last two days.



We made another stop at the Visitor’s Center so that Fran could adopt a Prairie Dog, and then one last stop. This overlook is outside of the park so it can be viewed without park admission. Granted it’s not as impressive as the other stops, but you do get a flavor of what’s inside the park.







And some close ups.











And then we were on our way. Everything wasn’t all monuments and rock formations, there was definitely some prairie land.



But soon we were back to the Red Rock Park. Looks a lot different without the snow huh?















And back on the highway again.



And back through all the sleepy little towns







The road just stretched out before us. Where were we going? You’ll find out soon enough.

 

[jedijill]

I love all those rustic buildings! Dinner looks good.

Adopt a prairie dog?? There are a ton here I could just send Fran for free.

Jill in CO

 

[franandaj]

I love all those rustic buildings! Dinner looks good.

Adopt a prairie dog?? There are a ton here I could just send Fran for free.

Jill in CO

Yeah, but the one that we got at the gift shop doesn't need a litter box or food!

 

[dgbg100106]

Love the update and dinner looked good, so did you like it? You said you were not sure your were gonna like it or not?

That kind of Prairie Dog is my style also. Pictures?

 

[franandaj]

Love the update and dinner looked good, so did you like it? You said you were not sure your were gonna like it or not?

That kind of Prairie Dog is my style also. Pictures?

It turned out that the healthy ingredients did not detract from the taste. I'm not a big sweet potato fan, so I didn't care for the side all that much, but the steak was good. I know we didn't have any leftovers on that so I'm pretty sure we ate them all, they were small too.

I'll see if I can find the Prairie Dog, we may have packed him, what with moving next week and all!

 

[franandaj]

I'm pretty sure we packed him. But here's a picture that I found online.

 

[dolphingirl47]

Boy, that was cold. I am glad that you did not have to go far for dinner and that the food was nice despite being healthy. The prairie dog is so cute.

Corinna

 

[jedijill]

I'm pretty sure we packed him. But here's a picture that I found online.

That's the best kind of prairie dog!

Jill in CO

 

[PrincessInOz]

Ruby's Gift shop is even bigger than the one at Cameron? WOW!


Food looks great. Dinner might have been made from healthy and sustainable produce but it still has to taste good to me.

Did Fran name the prairie dog she adopted? That's a great program, I guess. Don't prairie dogs breed like rabbits?

Love your chicken and salad sandwich snack.

Looking forward to seeing where you ended up next.

 

[rentayenta]

Dinner looks delicious and I do care what kind of sandwiches you all like.

I prefer the rocks without snow.

 

[Pinkocto]

That prairie dog is too funny! Even if they breed like rabbits I would be very excited to see one in the wild

Those desserts look amazing!

The rocks are beautiful both ways, but I think I like the snow covered ones better.

 

[Luvchefmic]

Your photos are stunning ! What a beautiful area Now I AM a big sweet potato fan Could probably eat it every day That dinner looked delicious and that leather chair I could just picture sinking into it with a good book

Adorable Prairie Dog, best part no fuss no muss OK where are we off to next ?

 

[franandaj]

Boy, that was cold. I am glad that you did not have to go far for dinner and that the food was nice despite being healthy. The prairie dog is so cute.

Corinna

We were wishing for some of that cold on our WDW trip!

That's the best kind of prairie dog!

Jill in CO

Ruby's Gift shop is even bigger than the one at Cameron? WOW!


Food looks great. Dinner might have been made from healthy and sustainable produce but it still has to taste good to me.

Did Fran name the prairie dog she adopted? That's a great program, I guess. Don't prairie dogs breed like rabbits?

Love your chicken and salad sandwich snack.

Looking forward to seeing where you ended up next.

I forgot about Cameron, but yeah I think it was bigger. It did taste good so that was nice. Yes, his name is Wallace. They donate a portion of the proceeds of the adoption fee back to the live Prairie dogs.

Dinner looks delicious and I do care what kind of sandwiches you all like.

I prefer the rocks without snow.

Awwww how sweet.

That prairie dog is too funny! Even if they breed like rabbits I would be very excited to see one in the wild

Those desserts look amazing!

The rocks are beautiful both ways, but I think I like the snow covered ones better.

We kept looking but never saw any. I thought the snow covered ones were really pretty.

Your photos are stunning ! What a beautiful area Now I AM a big sweet potato fan Could probably eat it every day That dinner looked delicious and that leather chair I could just picture sinking into it with a good book

Adorable Prairie Dog, best part no fuss no muss OK where are we off to next ?

Thanks! The dinner was good! Fran didn't give me too long there before we were off again.

Update coming soon.