Mt. Rushmore, Yellowstone, the Tetons, Capitol Reef, Bryce Canyon!
Mt. Rushmore, Yellowstone, the Tetons, Capitol Reef, Bryce Canyon! One national monument and four national parks with the twins! What great hikers they are. PawPaw was in his happy place, doing what he loves and sharing the experiences with Silas and Emmett. Brian and his silver bullet Airstream brought the twins across the Midwest, and we met them by Mt. Rushmore. Then we moved on to Yellowstone, where we hiked and did some fishing. We saw a moose, but the bears didn’t come out of the trees. Disappointed! Really slanted to see some bear!
Then on to the Tetons, Dinosaur National Monument, and Capitol Reef. We met Erin, Darby, and Lydia (Darby’s friend) at Bryce Canyon. Erin had the days packed with adventures. Lots of hiking, white water rafting, ziplining, rock climbing, horseback riding, and finding waterfalls. Needless to say, a great time was had by all! Bryce Canyon hoodoos were spectacular. Each national park was incredibly unique. It’s mine and Tim’s second visit to several of the parks, but each time through is an amazing experience.
We are headed back to the Washington coast. We have an ETA of July 20. When we left Bryce, we thought we would go up to Salt Lake City the first night, but as we were driving, I saw a sign that said Great Basin National Park. We had never been to the Basin, so we changed our plans and headed west into Nevada and stayed at a campground within the national park.
I’ve never really considered what the Great Basin in Nevada is. Never really thought much about Nevada at all! The Basin is a totally different landscape than we have ever seen. It lies between California's Sierras and Utah’s Wasatch Mountains. High valleys and mountain ranges. Valleys of sagebrush. Dust tornadoes seemed endless, and the long stretches of road with not another vehicle passing us. They have very few services. Once, it was 82 miles, and once, it was 127 miles between gas stops and civilization. It is a harsh land, but we are glad we made the time to drive through.
On to the ocean, friends, and a Rooney wedding in Seattle.