Day 1 of Vacation with Grandkids in Pigeon Forge

We brought 4 of the grandchildren to the Smoky Mountains for a quick vacation before they start school. It has been a rainy afternoon, but we caught a few minutes of dry, clear skies right after dinner. We spent that bit of time at The Island and made back to our room before the downpour.

On the Road Toward Home

The past two days have been full days of travel. This part of Summer Adventure 2016 is coming to an end. Ray has a couple of doctor appointments, I have a dentist appointment and the all important date with my niece, Kerri, for my shaggy hair and we have a date with grandchildren to go to the Smoky Mountains.

Friday we drove 452 miles from Green River, Utah to Seibert, Colorado. The drive in Colorado became congested and the road was rough with steep grades and there was a sustained wind. There were a couple of tunnels to pass through,  the longest was about 1.7 miles and it was eerie to be descending the 1.64% grade while inside the tunnel walls. It's a good thing we entered at 11,158 feet above sea level because it seemed we were diving into the bowels of Earth.  The views of the Rocky Mountains were incredible. 

When we reached Denver, I sent my friend, Terry, a text message to say hi and I would have said hi to Gail, if I had her number. After rolling through Denver the road leveled out, but the wind was steady and pushed against us until we stopped for the night in Seibert. 

The rocky ride caused a few problems....the door to the utility compartment had become lodged; it took 3 men to work and pry it open, only after I had been out lying under the coach trying to dislodge that door. Then we noticed the clock with indoor/outdoor temperature wasn't displaying the outdoor temperature. We assumed it had been jarred loose and lost, the kitchen backsplash dropped a section of tile. If we had wine, I think I would have had a glass. I ate potato chips, instead. 

Saturday we were up and on the road again. The road was better, traffic was minimal, but the wind was continuous. We stopped at a rest area after about 100 miles for a safety check of everything, especially the utilty door Ray put Duck Tape on to ensure it wouldn't blow open after being pried open the night before. All was well and we were rolling along another 150 miles. We stopped to make a sandwich for lunch. Ray went to look everything over. The tow lights were gone. I guess the wind carried them away. I'm glad there wasn't much traffic or those lights could have done some damage to a car. We didn't travel as far as we had planned. It was suppertime so we decided to stop for the night. I was chatting with Vicki A., as we often do, and she told me about a nice place they had stayed in the area. Deer Creek Valley RV Park was just 24 miles ahead, I called them, they had a place for us. Just as Vicki had said, it was a very nice place. 

We have another 652 miles to go. We may get there today. I hope you have enjoyed this adventure with us. I have taken more than 2,000 pictures, look for some of them to show up on Facebook after we get home. We've made a list of things to fix on the coach when we get there. I'm sure when the list is completed Ray will be ready for another adventure, maybe to find a pontoon ride in Wisconsin!

Two National Parks in One Day!

This morning was another early start and we finished just after lunch time, so we headed on over to the second park. Beginning with Arches National Park, we did a bit of hiking and lots of photography and video.  As you know, we have visited a number of national parks and seen a multitude of mountains, cliffs and canyons; but we have been amazed at the different beauty of this part of Utah, from the San Rafael Swell to Arches National Park to Canyonland National Park.

I-70 cuts through the split in this portion of the San Rafael Swell.

Balancing Rocks at Arches NP

Window Arch

Sand Dune Arch

Views from Canyonland NP

The Scenery of I-70...WOW!

As we drove to our next stop on Summer Adventure 2016 we are heading east on I-70. There is nothing boring about the trip today. Utah is a really gorgeous state.

Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park

Vicki J. recommended we go by the sand dunes while we were in the area of Zion NP. It was interesting to walk in those mounds of pink sand, see the plants growing there and we watched a couple of dune buggies out there playing. There was a couple out on the dunes with their two grandsons. It was interesting listening to the grandma, you could tell she had been a teacher. She had the boys out on a field trip and I'd guess they learned all there is to know about the dunes.

Now to answer your questions.... the sand is from erosion on the mountains south of the dunes, the wind blows and passes between two mountain peaks, which increases its velocity and carries the sand out to the dunes.  (the short version)

Bryce Canyon

We were on the road about 6:00 a.m. and it was worth it. Arriving early to the park allowed us to move around freely and see all the sights before the crowds arrived. Unlike Zion NP, Bryce Canyon is viewed entirely from above and completely different as you can see from the pictures.

Bryce Canyon is open year round with great facilities outside the park for summer and winter fun.

Zion National Park

We arrived at Zion NP early to get started on our day of exploration. Access to the Canyon Rd is by ZNP shuttle. There are nine stops and the shuttles ran about every 5 minutes. We rode the shuttle to the last stop where we had access to the trail along the Virgin River to The Narrows, since that is the most popular area. We got some great pictures along the trail as well as at each shuttle stop on the return trip. Yes you know I'll share a few of them here.

We chose to drive on through Zion NP and return to the motorhome via a scenic byway. It was a longer drive, but the views were worth it.

Las Vegas Boulevard

Since our internal clocks function on the Eastern Time Zone, we arrived on the strip earlier than most of the Vegas visitors and were able to walk the nearly empty streets and and cover most of the strip before they came out to play.

Lunch at the Stratosphere was a footlong hot dog, that should have been pictured on the menu. Oh my goodness; I've never seen anything like it. We each ordered one and only one would have fed us both.

We did the High Roller experience at The Linq, riding the world's tallest observation wheel.  The wheel is 520 ft in diameter and is 550 ft tall. There are 28 cabins which can hold as many as 40 people in each for the 30-minute revolution. Tickets may be purchased for the Happiest Half Hour ride in the open bar cabin. I don't know if there is more than one of those, but I'm sure it's very popular in the evening.

A quick stop at the Paris ticket counter for the Jersey Boys then on to the Bellagio where we stopped for a soda and a moment to rest and cool off a bit and watch the water show. On to the Cosmopolitan to get pictures of the huge Swarovski crystal chandelier. A fellow there told me it cost $60 million. I suppose if you are at The City Center, you must have such a showpiece. The last stop was the Aria, the new luxury hotel, retail, and casino. The limos were lined up there. The taxi stand and Uber pickup were at the back of the building.

Elvis is alive and driving the streets of Las Vegas! We caught sight of him today driving a newlywed couple down the strip. And Ray ran into some of the Transformers and they insisted on having their picture taken with him. We learned that Caeser's is celebrating its 50th anniversary in Vegas.

The Jersey Boys was an excellent show. We are very glad we chose to see it before it closes here. Celine isn't in town now, so we may have to come back another time to see her. We have enjoyed our time in Las Vegas, even with the daily temperatures reaching from 104 - 109 degrees each day.

Viva Las Vegas!

Fifteen years ago we stayed at the beautiful new Las Vegas Oasis RV Resort and have come back for another short visit. We've found everything to be just as we remember.

Yesterday we proved we're part of the 21st century. I downloaded the app and we are now Uber users. I am completely sold on Uber. There isn't a shuttle that runs from the resort to the strip, we knew if we drove we would have to find a place to park, tip the valet, then get back to where we parked and tip the valet again. Uber pulls up, calls you by name, already knows where you want to go, there is a bit of friendly conversation during the drive, then you arrive. The fare has been even less than we expected. I even told Ray I want to be an Uber driver when we get home, he frowned at me...

We have walked countless miles from Fremont Street, along the Strip and through the casinos and took a spin on the High Roller. We even saw the amazing $60 million Swarovski crystal chandelier at the Cosmopolitan Casino. I didn't get a picture of  that, maybe tomorrow. You just can't imagine how it spills out everywhere and 3 bars are encompassed within the strands of beads.