Spring Break.....

Day 1
Spring Break was from Saturday, March 23rd to March 31st.  We hired a motorhome and planned on heading to the Grand Canyon, sightseeing on the way there and back.  What we hadn't planned on was a snowstorm hitting on the Friday night, lasting all night and into the next day and -12C when we were due to leave, in our 25 ft vehicle, with no snow chains or suitable snow tyres! 

But that didn't stop us, and after Stu and Jakeb went and picked it up, in 8 inches of snow, we set off at around 1pm. We had to avoid the mountains due to the inclement weather and travelled on the I 25 to South Fork, with some great scenery along the way.
I had read about the world's highest suspension bridge which spans the Arkansas River at a height of 1053 feet, so we drove up into the park to check it out, but unfortunately due to the snow, the bridge was closed.  We did have a look around and it was very impressive looking down into the gorge, with all the snow on the rocks and trees.

 

We are still fascinated with snow and ice and the pattern on the tyres of the RV amazed me!

We eventually got out into the country and it was great to be on these long, straight roads, with mountains either side of us.....and no snow on the road.

Our RV had been winterised, which meant we couldn't use the shower, toilet or sink as the pipes would freeze.  It was a bit of a pain at times, particularly when we arrived at South Fork and camped the night in a very dodgy RV park with 1 toilet and 1 shower for everybody!

Day 2
The next day our plan was to get to Utah.  Along the way we stopped at Mesa Verde National Park, located in Montezuma County, Colorado.  There are cliff dwellings of the ancestral Pueblo people who made it their home for over 700 years, from A.D. 600 to 1300.

Joshuah came across a chipmunk along the track..another notch in the "wildlife encounter" belt!

We had no idea of the scenery we would encounter along the way to Utah and as it was so spectacular we had to stop often to take photos!

We hit Utah on dusk and the colours on the rocks were incredible.  We spent the night in a tiny place called Bluff, which was surrounded by amazing rock formations....AND more than one toilet and shower!!

Day 3
Monument Valley was on my list of places to go to when I knew we were coming to the US and before we knew it we were there.  It didn't disappoint!

                       Does this count as wildlife?

There were plenty of Navajo jewellery and art work stalls on the side of the road, which we didn't stop at, but just before we arrived at the Grand Canyon we stopped at the Little Colorado River Navajo Tribal Park, where we got to see a pretty impressive gorge as well as some jewellery and art work.

We finally made it to the Grand Canyon and again it was as impressive as we all had anticipated! Fortunately we had booked a camping site in advance as the campgrounds were all full. We did have one slightly stressful experience in the CAR carpark, considering we were the only 25ft RV in the CAR carpark!! Needless to say, people weren't very patient!

Seeing the Grand Canyon for the first time is one of those "take your breath away" moments.  It is GRAND, huge, ever-changing, stunning, rugged, immense...the list goes on!

We were able to walk along the rim of it and every viewpoint was spectacular.  Watching the sun go down over the Grand Canyon was another of those "I can't believe I'm here" moments, with the colours constantly changing.

 Of course the boys had to do the obligatory "sit as close to the edge as mum will let you" photo, which was nowhere near as daunting as some of the other places people chose to sit for their photos! Obviously their mums weren't close by...

 Day 4
We decided to treat the boys and each other to a helicopter ride over and into the Grand Canyon....again another amazing experience that didn't disappoint.....to see it from another perspective was WOW!

We left the Grand Canyon amidst great debate over how wide it was...Joshuah won with the nearest gestimation....Stu came last!!  We wanted to visit Canyonlands NP and the only way to get there was to head back the way we had come the day before.  Of all the places in the world to have to drive  through again, this was one of the best!!

We arrived at Canyonlands NP in Utah again on dusk which again made for more stunning scenery.  The only disappointment was it was such a beautiful place, and we ran out of light too soon.

Day 5
Again, much to the boys annoyance, we were up early and off to Island in the Sky, Canyonlands NP.  This was near Moab where we had heard the Moab Jeep Week was on.  If we hadn't heard about this we would have known anyway, as there were jeeps EVERYWHERE in and around Moab. It consists of trail rides, mostly day long trips, departing from Moab throughout this week long event. The Red Rock 4-Wheelers of Moab officially runs approximately 9 different trails every day, with "Big Saturday" culminating in the largest ever single trail ride departure happening - around 30 groups line up in down town Moab to head off in every direction for 30 different trails!If you ever get to visit Moab, you will see why this is an ideal location to hold this event!  There was no RV parking available anywhere in the town, so we spent the night out in the NP.
I have run out of superlatives to describe the country we were seeing, and Island in the Sky is no exception.  There were huge canyons, snowy mountains, massive expanses of eroding land.

We watched 4WD's and cyclists driving/riding up and down this steep, steep gravel road that hugged the cliff wall....it was like watching something in slow motion...just hoping noone went off the edge....particularly on the corners. Fortunately everyone we saw made it OK. What thrill seekers! Then we read a sign that told us that trucks used to do it all the time... when they were mining uranium and for mustering cattle. We did read that a few cattle did end up over the edge though!!!!

 The contrasts in colour were exceptional....again like the Kimberley....but with snow in the distance!

Day 6
Arches NP was our final calling place before we headed back to Denver.  It was a beautiful day, blue skies and sunshine.  My first day of wearing a short sleeved shirt since arriving in the US in January...what a moment! Again, if you ever get the chance to visit this area you are in for a treat.

This NP was Joshuah's favourite as the rock climbing was plentiful.....

There was a gruelling 2.6km steep uphill (one way) walk to see the "Delicate Arch".  Again a spectacular rock formation......

All throughout the park there were arches formed and forming and the landscape looked like something from another planet....

We left Arches NP at 3pm and drove straight back to Denver, eventually getting home at 10pm.  What an amazing experience and opportunity to see this part of the world.