Travelogue

Our next stop was to see the Anasazi cliff dwellings in Mesa Verde National Park. The park's most spectacular cliff dwellings--Cliff House, Balcony House, and Long House--can only be visited during a ranger-guided tour, so we headed right for the Far View Visitor Center to purchase tickets for the ranger-led Balcony House Tour.

Andrew & Tommy at Mesa VerdeThe tour information had all these warnings for people with claustrophobia or a fear of heights. Apparently we were going to have to climb 32-foot-ladders up the sides of a cliff and crawl through narrow 30-foot-long crawl spaces. I started getting the same queasy feeling that I get before going on an amusement park ride. The kids were amused by my apprehension and just told me to relax.

To get to the Balcony House we drove the scenic Ruin Drive along the Chapin Mesa, stopping at the numerous view points along the way. It really was hard to believe that these ancient people actually built their homes into the sides of a cliff. They weren't just simple little caves either. Some of the dwellings looked like multistoried apartments with hundreds of rooms.

When we lined up for our Balcony House Tour, I was happy to see that there was a collection of butts much larger than mine that had to crawl through those tiny spaces we had been warned about. I was starting to relax. We were soon joined by our very enthusiastic ranger, who led us down a path to the base of one of those log ladders we had to climb. After a brief demonstration on the do's and don'ts of ladder climbing, the ranger asked Andrew and Tommy to lead. They scooted up the 32-foot-high ladder like little monkeys, making it look easy. It really wasn't bad at all. Our ranger spent the next hour leading us though crawl spaces and up and down ladders through the various rooms of this amazing dwelling. Along the way, he painted a picture for us of what life was like for the Anasazi people that inhabited these dwellings more than 800 years ago. Every once in awhile we are lucky enough to come across a ranger that truly loves what he is doing and whose enthusiasm is contagious. This was one of those lucky times and it definitely made for a more interesting and fun tour.

After the tour we headed over to the Chapin Mesa Museum where we learned more about the Anasazi and their fascinating life on the mesa. Andrew had just finished studying Native American culture in his 4th grade Social Studies class, so I think he got a kick out of seeing the real thing. From behind the Chapin Mesa Museum, we hiked the 1/4 mile trail to the Spruce Tree House, the park's best preserved ruin and the only one that you can visit on your own. We even got the chance to climb down a ladder through a smoke hole into a kiva, which was an underground ceremonial room.

Back at the museum we found out that in a few minutes there was going to be a genuine Hopi Indian ceremonial dance, which was something that happened here only once or twice a year. This was our lucky day--first the enthusiastic ranger and now dancing Hopi. We quickly headed down to the small amphitheater to catch the show, which was fascinating to watch. I always wonder if these ceremonies and rituals are still a part of their modern-day life or just a live history demonstration of past customs. I really hope that it's still a part of their culture today.

Description

Mesa Verde National Park, located in the very southwestern corner of Colorado, is an 80-square-mile mesa that rises 1,600 feet above the surrounding desert and river valley. It is the largest archaeological preserve in the U.S. with more than 4,000 Ancestral Puebloan (Anasazi) archaeological sites dating from 550 to 1270 AD. These sites include some of the largest cliff dwellings in the world, mesa-top pueblos, pit houses, and kivas (underground ceremonial rooms).

The Anasazi, which is a Navajo word meaning "ancient ones," began settling here in mesa-top pueblos around 750 AD. These peaceful and highly religious people were mostly farmers and potters. Around 1200, they moved their village down into the recesses of the cliffs and built multistoried apartment-style dwellings, often containing up to 400 rooms. By the middle of the 13th century, the mesa was a bustling trade center with a population of about 5,000 people. Then for some unknown reason, around the latter part of the 13th century, the pueblos were abandoned. Archaeologists are not sure why or where the Anasazi went. It is thought that the Hopi and other Native American tribes in the Four Corners area are descendants of these ancient cliff dwellers.

The major cliff dwellings were first seen by white settlers in 1888 when two ranchers, Richard and Charles Wetherill, were riding across the mesa in search of stray cattle. When they peered over the rim, they were shocked to see multistoried cliff dwellings build into the alcoves of the cliffs more than 2,000 feet above the valley floor. They climbed down to explore the deserted village, which they named Cliff Palace. In its 200 rooms and 23 kivas, which had been uninhabited for over 700 years, they found stone tools, pottery, baskets, and other artifacts. When word got out of their discovery, treasure hunters came in droves in search of valuable artifacts. In order to protect these treasures, President Theodore Roosevelt signed a bill in 1906 creating Mesa Verde as a National Park.

Three of the park's cliff dwellings can be visited on ranger-guided tours--Cliff Palace, Balcony House, and Long House. Tickets for these tours, which are quite inexpensive, can be purchased at the Far View Visitor Center. You can also take the ¼ mile trail from the Chapin Mesa Museum for a self-guided tour of the Spruce Tree House, which is the park's best preserved ruin. Here you can climb down a ladder through a smoke hole into a kiva.

Travelogue

Visiting Canyonlands was frustrating for us. It was awesomely beautiful, like a smaller and much less crowded version of the Grand Canyon. Its labyrinth of red-rock canyons, with the Colorado and Green Rivers flowing through them, appeared like mountain biking and whitewater-rafting heaven. Unfortunately, neither our mountain bikes or our raft was with us this trip because we had flown out to pick up the RV.

Dead Horse Point State ParkThere was so much good stuff here, but we just weren't equipped this time to take advantage of it. We had to satisfy ourselves with just peeking over the rim at all the good stuff below. So we drove to one of the few areas of the park that was accessible by car--the Island in the Sky district. At the end of the 20-miled paved road is Grand View Point Overlook which really does have spectacular views down into the canyons. From there we walked the one-mile Grand View Trail along the rim for an awesome view of the Confluence of the Colorado and Green Rivers 2,000 feet below. On the way out, we made a brief side trip to nearby Dead Horse Point State Park which to our surprise had even more impressive views than Island in the Sky.

We definitely want to come back here some day and do it the right way--with mountain bikes and a raft strapped to the top of our four-wheel-drive.

Description

Canyonlands National Park, located in southwestern Utah near Moab, is Utah's largest national park, but also its least visited. Its high plateaus and deep canyons carved by the Colorado and Green Rivers are breathtakingly beautiful.

The park is divided into three very distinct districts, each of which is a 100-mile drive from the others. This and the fact that there are only 28 miles of paved roads make it a very difficult park to explore by car. The preferred means of transportation here are four-wheel drive vehicles, mountain bikes, horse, and foot.

The Colorado and Green Rivers flow into this park from the north, meet in the center of the park at a point called the Confluence, and then continue flowing south through the Cataract Canyon Rapids. The rivers, which make up the park's River District, form a Y dividing the park into its three distinct districts.

The Island in the Sky district, which is in the north between the two rivers, is the most accessible part of the park and therefore the most highly visited. The "Island" is actually a large mesa connected to the mainland by a narrow neck of land. A 20-mile paved road leads to Grand View Point Overlook with spectacular views down into the canyons. The easy one-mile long Grand View Trail takes you along the rim to views of the Confluence of the Colorado and Green Rivers 2,000 feet below.

The Maze district in the west is only accessible by four-wheel-drive roads and hiking trails. Therefore, very few people visit this region and it contains some of the wildest country left in the United States.

The Needles district in the southeastern portion of the park has 8 miles of paved road. The rest of the region is reachable only by backpacking or four-wheel-driving. This district is named after its colorful rock spires. It also contains impressive arches, grassy meadows, and the confluence of the Colorado and Green Rivers. It is the best place in the park for backpacking.

River running on the Green and Colorado Rivers provides one of the best ways to experience the park. The waters above the confluence are fairly calm and can be done with kayaks, canoes, rafts, or even jet boats. However, the river below the confluence is serious white water, where you should either have a guide or plenty of experience.

Another spectacular way to explore the park if you are in good shape is to mountain bike the 100-mile White Rim Trail in the Island in the Sky District. The White Rim Trail is on a precarious road 1,000 feet below the park's rim and 1,000 feet above the confluence. Most bikers take 3 or 4 days to complete the trip.

Summer temperatures get into the 100s, so hikes and bike rides should either be done very early or very late in the day, and much water should be brought along.

Travelogue

After our visit to Capitol Reef, we stopped for the night in Green River, Utah, on our way to Arches National Park. We chose to stay at a commercial campground where we did laundry and the boys played basketball.

Description

Good stopover for groceries and camping on I70 on the way to Arches and Canyonlands.

Travelogue

Our drive towards Arches took us right through Capitol Reef National Park, where we planned to spend a few hours exploring. Unfortunately, the scenic drive to Capitol Gorge--which was the main thing we wanted to do here--was closed because of flash floods. Too bad, because that's where the best views of the canyons and rock formations are. We would just have to make do with some of the highlights along Route 24, which was the way we were crossing the park anyway.

Andrew under Hickman Natural BridgeWe stopped first for a picnic at Fruita, just south of the Visitor Center. Unlike the colorful rock cliffs and barren desert of the rest of the park, Fruita was green oasis with cottonwood and willow trees along the banks of the river that flowed through it. It didn't seem like Utah at all. The Mormons, thinking it was a pretty nice place too, established a settlement here in the 1870s and planted orchards and vegetables along the river bank. There was also a nice campground here--a good place to stay on a future visit.

After lunch, we got back on Utah 24 and headed east through the park, making stops along the way. Our first stop was to peek through the windows of a tiny log cabin which used to be the Fruita schoolhouse. This tiny one-room building also served as a community center. Hard to imagine.

Then, for some history of a very different people that once settled this area, we stopped at the Petroglyph Pullout to see the thousand-year-old Fremont Indian rock art. We took the short walk to the viewpoint; however, since we weren't allowed to climb the talus slope to the base of the petroglyphs, we needed to use our binoculars to get a good look at them.

We hate to leave a National Park without doing at least one hike, so we decided to hike the 2-mile, fairly strenuous Hickman Bridge Trail. The "Bridge" at the end of this trail was not of the man-made variety but rather a beautiful 135 foot wide, 125 foot high Natural Bridge. Hikes with a specific destination at the end always work best with the kids--it keeps them going even when they want to turn back. The Natural Bridge really was quite impressive and a good preview of what was to come at our next stop, Arches National Park.

Description

Capitol Reef National Park in south central Utah is much less well known and therefore much less crowded than most of Utah's other national parks, such as Zion and Bryce. However, this undiscovered treasure offers some of the most spectacular scenery in Utah.

The park's central geological feature--the Waterpocket Fold- was formed more than 70 million years ago when forces within the earth began to uplift, squeeze, and fold dozens of rock formations into a giant 100-mile long wrinkle in the Earth's crust. It was named Waterpocket because of the many pools of water that get trapped in the tilted strata. Brilliantly colored rock spires, domes, canyons, and arches were carved out of the fold by millions of years of erosion.

Capitol Reef was named by explorers who found the cliffs of the Waterpocket Fold to be a barrier to their travel west. Many of these explorers had been seafaring men, so the rock barriers reminded them of an ocean "reef" blocking ocean travel. The rounded sandstone domes in the park reminded them of the domes on "capitol" buildings; hence the name Capitol Reef.

In stark contrast to the brilliant cliffs and barren desert of the park is the lush oasis of cottonwood, willow, and ash trees along the banks of the Fremont River. In the 1880's, Mormon pioneers established the community of Fruita here and planted orchards along the river's rich banks. These orchards, as well as a schoolhouse, blacksmith shop, and the Behunin Cabin, have been preserved here by the National Park Service. There is a campground and picnic area here as well.

Other evidence of much earlier human habitation can be found in the thousand-year-old petroglyphs left behind by the ancient Fremont and Anasazi people.

From Route 24, which crosses Capitol Reef National Park from east to west, you can see some of the park's best features, such as Capitol Dome, Chimney Rock, the Fruita Schoolhouse, and the roadside petroglyphs.

If you have more time, drive the paved 25-mile roundtrip scenic drive, which has excellent views of the dramatic canyons and rock formations of Capitol Reef. At the end of the scenic drive is the gravel Capitol Gorge Road, a 5-mile loop with what many think is the best scenery in the park.

Travelogue

Our next stop was the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and we were pretty excited about it. The approach to the North Rim through the Kaibab National Forest took us meandering through broad meadows and dense forests of ponderosa pines. The Kalchbrenners were following us in their RV and we were, as usual, talking back and forth on our handheld radios. Hans, or as we more affectionately call him, "The Great White Hunter" because of his incredible knack for spotting wildlife at great distances, was in heaven because of all the wildlife along the way. All we heard was, "Look, elk. Did you see that deer!" etc. I didn't see a thing.

Grand Canyon - North RimWe stopped briefly along the way to shrewdly bargain with some Native Americans selling jewelry. The kids bought some necklaces with genuine stone from the Grand Canyon.

We headed directly to the North Rim Campground where we had reservations--it really is a good idea to have reservations in a park as popular as this one. We were really pleased with the campground. It was set in a ponderosa pine forest right along the edge of the canyon. Thankfully, our sites were back a bit from the rim or we wouldn't have been able to relax with the kids running around. I'm always amazed how different things are out west than in the east. In the east there would have been fences all along the rim with warning signs posted about the dangers--everything to totally screw up a good photograph. Here, you had the much-preferred opportunity (or challenge) of experiencing the untouched beauty at your own risk.

Kid's at Grand CanyonThe kids needed to burn some energy, so they had a great time playing "pine cone wars." This complex game consisted of them collecting the numerous, quite sticky ponderosa pine cones lying all over the campground and then pelting them at each other, much to the younger ones' disadvantage. I find kids have the most fun with the simplest things--no complicated equipment or rules or adults to screw things up.

Once the "pine cone wars" were over, we headed over to the Grand Canyon Lodge to catch our first views of the Canyon. Although we had seen pictures and knew what to expect, it still took our breath away. It is so massive that we needed binoculars to see the buildings across the canyon on the South Rim 10 miles away.

We took the short hike from the Lodge to the 8,148-foot-high Bright Angel Point, which is one of the three major overlooks at the North Rim. The kids made us a little nervous along the narrow peninsula dividing Transept and Roaring Springs Canyons. We immediately established a "holding hands" rule for the remainder of the hike.

When we got back to the lodge, we sat in the rocking chairs on the deck for awhile taking in the incredible views. I really love National Park lodges and the way they are built so that they seem to be part of the landscape around them. The Grand Canyon Lodge is a great example of one. Its limestone walls, log beams, and green shingles blend perfectly with the rim rock and trees around it. The people that build these lodges also realize the importance of views. The huge picture windows in the Dining Room make it difficult to concentrate on what you're eating.

Herb with New Lazy DazeBack at the campground, the men decided to take some beach chairs to the rim to enjoy a cocktail. Since Michelle and I didn't think it would be very relaxing to let the kids run around near the canyon's edge, we nicely volunteered to stay behind and watch them. After about an hour, Hans and Herb came back without their beach chairs and told us that they would watch the kids while we enjoyed a cocktail on the rim. Sounded good to me.

We couldn't believe what we saw when we got there. The beach chairs were not just on the edge, rather they were perched on a rock peninsula which protruded out over the canyon. The only way to get out to them was to walk across a rock the width of a sidewalk. Michelle and I, who both have a bit of acrophobia, looked at each other in disbelief. We had two choices--get up the courage to go out there or go back to the kids. So, we looked around to see that no one was watching and then got down on all fours and crawled out to the chairs. I'm not sure why we found it so difficult--I've never thought twice about falling off a sidewalk and this was really no different.

Once we had our butts safely planted on the chairs, we tried to relax and enjoy the truly spectacular views and a glass of wine. We were amazed that during our sojourn there, several much braver souls nonchalantly strolled out onto our rock for a glance into the canyon, making us feel like even bigger weenies. We knew we had to eventually get off there, but neither one of us was too anxious to make the first move. We didn't even consider trying to carry the beach chairs--we'd leave that for the men. Not wanting to be left out there in the dark, we made our move, cheating death once again.

The next day we decided to take the 23-mile Cape Royal scenic drive to see the other two overlooks at the North Rim. At Cape Royal we took an easy .3 mile trail out to the tip of Cape Royal where there were great views of the central and eastern canyons. The kids had fun spotting lizards along the way, their favorite being one that was missing its tail. On the drive back, we took the 3-mile spur road to Point Imperial, the highest point on the North Rim. Each view was more spectacular than the next.

That evening we were all looking forward to having dinner at the Grand Canyon Lodge. As usual, I had everything planned out--we would walk the 1.5 miles to the Lodge on the Transept Trail (along the rim's edge) and then spend some time on the rocking chairs on the deck before dinner. To my dismay we were thwarted by a thunderstorm. However, after driving to the Lodge, the sun did come out, allowing us to spend our last evening there watching the sun set over the canyon. Dinner at the Lodge was wonderful as well.

Sometimes I get a little obsessive about having to do everything on the itinerary, so the next morning we hiked the Transept Trail along the rim from the campground to the Lodge. Some parts of the trail did come pretty close to the edge, so we had to implement the "holding hands" rule again (for me and Michelle that is).

After some Grand Canyon hat pin and t-shirt purchases at the Lodge, we set off for our next stop, Bryce Canyon.

Description

Grand Canyon National Park, which is located in northern Arizona, is the nation's most popular national park, with over 5 million visitors a year. Everything about it is massive—it is 277 miles long, 1 mile deep, and an average of 10 miles across. The views from the rim are unparalleled and extend for as much as 200 miles on a clear day.

The Grand Canyon is one of the most spectacular examples of erosion anywhere in the world, displaying 2 billion years of geological history on its canyon walls. For millions of years the waters of the Colorado River have carved this canyon, while runoff from the rim has cut hundreds of side canyons separated by buttes and mesas rising a thousand feet from the canyon floor. Its beauty defies description and a visit to the canyon is a humbling experience.

There are two ways to visit the park—the South and the North Rim. Although they are only 10 air miles apart from each other, it is a 215-mile drive between them. The South Rim, which is open all year, is by far the more popular section with more than 10 times the number of visitors than the North Rim, which is only open from May to late October. Advanced reservations are definitely recommended.

There are some wonderful day and overnight hikes in the park. However, because of the high demand for overnight permits, applications should be sent in as early as 4 months in advance. Also, summertime temperatures on the canyon floor often exceed 100 degrees, so hiking should be done in the early part of the day and lots of water should be brought along.

North Rim – Elevation 8000 feet

Since the North Rim is much less accessible than the South Rim, it is far less crowded and much more peaceful. The approach to the North Rim is through the Kaibab National Forest where you’re sure to see wildlife such as deer and elk along the way. The road travels through dense forests of ponderosa pines, Douglas firs, and aspens, as well as across broad meadows.

There are 3 major overlooks in the North Rim: Bright Angel Point, Point Imperial, and Cape Royal. While Point Imperial and Cape Royal are overlooks along scenic drives, Bright Angel Point can be reached on a ¼ trail right from the back steps of the Grand Canyon Lodge. This paved trail takes you along a narrow peninsula dividing Transept and Roaring Springs Canyons to the 8,148-foot-high Bright Angel Point.

A wonderful place to dine is the historic Grand Canyon Lodge, which stands perched along the edge of the North Rim, offering spectacular views of Bright Angel Canyon. Lodging is also available in the stone cabins scattered among the ponderosa pines along the canyon’s rim.

The North Rim Campground is the only campground in the North Rim. It has 83 sites and is located in a ponderosa forest, just a few feet away from the canyon’s rim. Be cautioned that there are no fences along the canyon’s edge, so watch your kids. Reservations for this campground should be made well in advance.

Another nice way to see the canyon is to hike the 1.5 mile long Transept Trail which goes along the rim’s edge connecting the North Rim Campground and the Grand Canyon Lodge.

Travelogue

Kid's in Lake MeadOur drive between the Hoover Dam and Zion National Park took us right past Lake Mead National Recreation Area. My first impression of Lake Mead from the overlook by the Visitor Center was that it seemed fake--more like a painting than reality. It was breathtakingly beautiful and had such an impact because it was the first time we had experienced the striking contrast of desert, water, and mountains in one visual expanse.

Rather than going back to I15, we chose the more scenic drive along the lakeshore. Around lunchtime, we stopped on the northern part of the lake at Overton Beach for a picnic lunch. As it was an extremely hot afternoon, we quickly donned our bathing suits and ran madly into the lake in hopes of some refreshment. However, at about 85 - 90 degrees, the tepid water was hardly refreshing. The water at this beach was quite shallow, probably accounting for its warm temperature. It was great fun anyway and a nice break on our 5 hour drive to Zion.

Description

Lake Mead, which was the nation's. first National Recreation Area, is extremely popular for boating, fishing, and swimming. The two lakes that make up the Lake Mead NRA were formed by the Hoover and Davis Dams. Surrounding the lakes are the country's three major desert ecosystems--the Mojave, Great Basin, and Sonoran deserts.

Travelogue

Kalchbrenner Family at Hoover DamAs great fans of Chevy Chase's Vacation movies, we pride ourselves on our Griswold-like vacations and just couldn't pass up the opportunity to take our "dam" pictures and stop at the "dam" gift shop at the Hoover Dam.

We drove across the very impressive bridge over the dam, entering into Arizona and a different time zone. We then parked the car and walked back into Nevada to the Visitor Center, making sure to spend time with our legs straddled across both time zones, advertising the fact that we were novice travelers. But who cares. It's great to be unjaded and awed by new experiences.

We were fortunate to be able to take the hardhat tour, which took us into the bowels of the dam through the tunnels into the power plant and control rooms. Remember the scene in Vacation when Clark wandered off from the tour and wound up hanging from the side of the dam. That's the tour we took except we boringly stayed with the tour group. Today unfortunately, because of security concerns since September 11, these tours inside the dam are no longer offered and have been replaced by the Discovery Tour which explains things from the top of the dam.

Description

The Hoover Dam is located in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River about 30 miles southeast of Las Vegas at the Nevada-Arizona border. It rises more than 700 feet above the Colorado River and is considered to be one of the greatest engineering works in history.

The Dam was built during the Depression by thousands of men who came to the Black Canyon to find work to feed their families. It took less than 5 years to complete what was the largest dam of its time. Now, more than 60 years later, Hoover Dam still stands as a world-renowned structure. The dam is a National Historic Landmark and has been rated by the American Society of Civil Engineers as one of America's Seven Modern Civil Engineering Wonders.

In 1937, the Bureau of Reclamation began conducting tours through the Hoover Dam and Power Plant. Today, more than a million visitors a year take the tour and millions more drive across the dam.

Unfortunately, since 9/11, the hardhat tours into the dam are no longer offered. However, there is a Discovery Tour which takes you onto the top of the dam and explains things from there.

Travelogue

Las Vegas will always hold a special place in our hearts because it was our first stop after taking possession of our new Lazy Daze motor home. Although we were new to RVing, we had a strong feeling that Circusland RV Park, which was actually located right on the strip, was not your typical campground. The kids were in heaven. We spent an enjoyable afternoon at the campground pool taking advantage of the conveniently located laundry room right next to it.

When it cooled off in the evening, we set off to walk the 3 miles of the strip to the MGM hotel where we were to meet our friends. Normally a 3 mile walk with our then 8 and 10-year-old boys would have resulted in some degree of whining, but there was just too much to distract them. We saw the battle and sinking of pirate ships at Pirates Cove, the Atlantis show at Caesars, and much, much more. And all this for free. It fit in very nicely with our budget.

My favorite show of all was the beautiful dancing fountains at the Bellagio Hotel. We didn't even know that there was a show, but had just stopped to take a break and admire the very refreshing looking lake in front of the hotel. The next thing we knew, Andrea Bocelli started singing and the fountains in the lake came alive in a magnificent display of choreographed dancing and lights. We were totally mesmerized by the breath-taking show. Herb and I just looked at each other in astonishment. I think I broke the mood when I asked him if he could do the same thing with the RV poop hoses.

The next morning our friends arrived in their rental motor home enthusiastically ready for an RV experience. We spent the morning at the Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum, where we were entertained by some pretty bizarre exhibits, and the afternoon at Wet and Wild Water Park, right across the street from our campground. The kids and dads went on some adrenaline pumping slides while the moms floated in tubes in a river that encircled the park.

We then said goodbye to Las Vegas and headed towards Zion National Park to experience some wonders that were a little more natural than those in Las Vegas.

Description

I'm not even going to attempt to describe Las Vegas--there are plenty of guidebooks that are entirely devoted to that.

However, I'm not sure that everyone knows that Las Vegas has become a great family destination and that there is actually an RV park right on the strip. Circusland RV Park is located on the north end of the strip right by Circus Circus Hotel and Casino and across the street from Wet and Wild Water Park. Although the sites themselves are on a parking lot, there is a nice pool and, after all, you are right on the strip in walking distance to everything..