9,009.2 Miles Round Trip

Our Trip is done and we are home with lots of unpacking to do! We had a fantastic time and have great memories of this grand american road trip we got to take! We learned a few things for future camping road trips and we realize just how diverse our country is in it's people, geography and pace of life. Our advice: Take time to smell the roses and see the country you live in; you won't regret it!

Moon rising over Carlyle Lake

Budweiser & Arch: Great Combo in St. Louis

Our day visit to St. Louis was a lot of fun. We went and saw the famous Arch and rode up to the top in a metal pea pod tram contraption that fit 5 people per car! Interesting ride with strangers and wonderful views up top of St. Louis and the near by court building which was very stately looking. Just a short drive from the Arch was the Budweiser Brewery; one of many across the nation. The tour was FREE ~! and yes, you do get two free glasses of beer at the end of the tour! The brewery had some interesting architecture which was a surprise and of course, seeing the clydsdale horses was a treat! Here are some photos that were taken with a link to the full gallery at the end!

Vintage Budweiser

Bottling floor

Some Advertising: They are entitled- Tour was free!

One of many Budweiser's Clydsdale

Arch

Top Viewing windows of the Arch

Arch is a state park

Link: St. Louis Photo Gallery

Carlyle Lake, Illinois

We are camping at Carlyle Lake in Illinois which is 50 miles east of St. Louis, Missouri. It is a beautiful man-made lake and very well maintained campgrounds. Our campsite is lakeside so there are high hopes of good fishing. We plan on driving into St. Louis tomorrow to see the Gateway Arch and other touristy things the city has to offer. We are here 3 nights so we hope to have some nice down time as well. Added perks that we did not know would be here are: showers, laundry facilities, and yes.... WiFi from the near by marina!

Picture of a Deer taken on our hike at Seven Falls

Seven Falls and Garden of the Gods: Colorado Springs

Our three day stay in Colorado Springs was fabulous! We enjoyed spending a couple of evenings with friends Sonny and Brian and Lori and Bob. Wonderful company with great food equals the best of times! We also got to visit Pikes Peak, Seven Falls and Garden of the Gods. Our stay in Colorado has given us great memories and has left a lasting impression on us. Here are a few pictures with a link to the rest of Monty's beautiful pictures of our stay in Colorado.

Do not mess with us. We take our tourism seriously!

View of Highland Lake from Pike's Peak

View of two other lakes from Pike's Peak

A portion of Seven Falls

Garden of the Gods

Link for Colorado Picture Gallery

Mule Deer Fawn trapped in Buena Vista

Monty shot this quiet animal drama while I was shopping in a wonderful yarn shop in Buena Vista, Colorado named Serendipity. A mother Mule deer and her weeks old fawn were grazing between homes when the fawn got trapped behind a fence. Mom heeding the calls of her fawn kept going around the fenced area trying to reach her fawn. Eventually, the frawn figured out how to crawl under the fence which was probably how it got in there to begin with, rejoined Mom, got a snack and was happy once again!

Taylor River Canyon, Colorado

View of the Rocky Mountains from a lookout on the Cottonwood Pass that runs between

the Taylor River Canyon and the town of Buena Vista.

The Taylor River in Taylor River Canyon

This is Me rock climbing: NOT!!

My fly fisherman caught a trout in the Taylor River! It is catch and release but he has a cell phone picture to prove his catch! Yeah for cell phone cameras!

Our days spent in the Taylor River Canyon with the gorgeous Taylor River that runs through it was fantastic. Fly fishermen sprinkled along the river with hopes of catching the rainbow trouts they can see in the river! The One Mile campgrounds was quiet with plenty of forest and we could easily have stayed there a week! The near by town of Gunnison, the Taylor River Reseviour, rock climbing, white water rafting, fly fishing balanced the quiet with plenty to do if you chose to! On our way to Colorado Springs we took the Cottonwood Pass which is closed during the winter time but open at this time. We got great views of the Rocky Mountains as well as cut a lot of travel time to Colorado Springs!

Prairie Dog (aka Bear Bait) Stands in 4 States at One Time

Prairie Dog standing in 4 States
Four Corners is a tourist attraction that is in the Navajo Nation which claims to be where the corners of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Arizona meet. There is a floor plaque where you can stand in all four states at one time. Beware: There is a $3 per person fee to enter this very undeveloped fenced in area (kids under 12 are free) where there is the 4 Corners floor plaque and a bunch of primative wooden structures where some Native Americans sell trinkets for tourists along with some food and drink. I am glad we went though because the picture we took is priceless!!

Monument Valley and Taylor River Canyon, Colorado

We left the Grand Canyon and did the scenic drive through Monument Valley where numerous western movies have filmed on location there. Monument Valley resides in the Navajo Nation in Arizona and the winding road through this valley was spectacular to see. We are presently camping in Taylor River Canyon for three nights near Gunnison, Colorado. There is fly fishing in the Taylor River which is a short walk from our campsite and a nice coffee shop named The Bean which has free Wifi! Can you guess where we decided to have lunch today? This is a very nice and relaxing spot here in Colorado where there is lots of outdoor things to do or absolutely nothing to do but enjoy the scenary.

Navajo Twins, Monument Valley

Monument Valley Vista

Link to the Monument Valley Gallery Photos

Grand Canyon: North and South Rim

View of Grand Canyon from the North Rim

We explored the North Rim of the Grand Canyon which has a higher elevation than the South Rim before driving 4-5 hours around the Grand Canyon to reach the South Rim. We are presently camping in the Grand Canyon Village camping grounds which makes exploring the Grand Canyon's vistas easy to get to. We will spend 4 nights here. Today we drove south to Flagstaff, Arizona to get supplies from Wally World and we are enjoying a Starbucks coffee and using their Wifi. We got video and pictures of the sunset yesterday at the South Rim. The Grand Canyon is so big the pictures do not do it justice. The magnitude is so large, it sometimes doesn't look real when you are standing there looking at it! Click here for the : Grand Canyon Photo Gallery

Zion National Park - Utah

Here we are at the entrance of Zion National Park. It was a clear and sunny day that day. Monty got some great photos!

Southern Utah - Canyon Mecca!!

We have made our way down to Zion National Park and this will finish our tour of southern Utah; home of a variety of national parks, forests and canyons famous for their diversity of geological rock formations and scenic vistas. We started with the Arches National Park and headed southwest winding down through Glen Canyon, the Canyonlands National Park, Capital Reef National Park, Dixie National Forest and then through the Red Canyon into Bryce National Park and Zion National Park. We have spent a wonderful week here in Utah. Tomorrow we head down to Arizona towards the north rim of the Grand Canyon! Below are some photos with a link to see all the photos posted as of now. We have Wifi at this campsite so Monty will be uploading more pictures through this evening!

Rainbow Point in Bryce Canyon

Herd of Prong Horn Deer in Dixie National Forest

Prong Horn Deer with twins!

Humming Bird at Campsite

Kodachrome Basin

Rainbow Point in Bryce Canyon

Link to the Photo Gallories: All Photo Gallories

Our Off Road Campsite, Red Canyon and Bryce Canyon

Our last camping experience was off road camping. Here is a picture of where we set up our camp in Lockhart Basin! It is literally in the middle of nowhere! Click on the link to see the rest of the pictures for Lockhart Basin. (Lockhart Basin Pictures)

Off Road Campsite in Lockhart Basin

On our way to Bryce Canyon National Park we went through Red Canyon... it was beautiful!

Red Canyon Stone Tunnel

Formations in Red Canyon

Changes in scenary in Bryce Canyon

Glen Canyon and Capital Reef Park

Here are some of the wonderful scenaries we saw on our way to Bryce Canyon via Glen Canyon and the the Captial Reef Park. We are presently camped just outside of Bryce Canyon National Park and we have WIFI but surprisingly no phone service! We are off to a very slow start today but we have two more days to explore the park!

Indian Creek - Off Road Camping

We camped two nights off road near Indian Creek in the canyonlands of Utah. It was great to explore and see the fantastic views out in the middle of no where. The trucks 4 wheel drive came in very handy. The Tear Drop trailer was equally fine on the rough roads. This morning we traveled via a scenic byway through Glen Canyon which was breath taking! We hope the pictures do it justice. We are presently in the Bryce Canyon area and our cell phones have service and we have Internet access now. Monty is uploading his pictures and we will post them soon! Tomorrow we are off to explore Bryce National Park.

Arches National Park

Here are some of the great pictures Monty got yesterday at Arches National Park!

The Organ

Delicate Arch

Elephant Butt!

Balanced Rock

To see the rest of the awsome photos from Arches, click on this link! (Arches Photos)

Today we will finish the Arches National Park by doing the last hike called the Devils Garden!

3 Morning Rules to Live by on a 7 week Road Trip

Rule 1:

If you are cranky in the morning, wait till the mood passess before talking.

Rule 2:

If you are cheery in the morning, wait till the mood passess before talking.

Rule 3:

No talking until you have drank at least one cup of coffee and have used the restroom.

Loma, Colorado - Interesting Street Names

We are presently in the canyon lands of Utah home of the Arches National Park and the Canyonlands National Park. On our way south from Wyoming we crossed into Colorado and drove through a small town named Loma. It had the most strange street names! M 1/4 Road, L 7/10 Road. Imagine the fun a math teacher could have with those street names! I surfed the net to try to find out the reasons behind such unique street names but was not able to find any explainations. Click on this link to Google Maps and see the street names for yourself! Loma, Colorado Map

Flaming Gorge Scenic Drive

Tomorrow, we will be driving the Flaming Gorge Scenic drive on our way to the Arches National Park in Utah. We are still in Wyoming this evening and surprisingly got an Internet connection here at the campsite. The terrain has changed from rugged mountain views to high desert plains as we travel southward. For the moment, there is no rain! It has been replaced with winds of 40 mph and temperatures are still 40F in the evening. It is still an improvement over the last week's weather!

Tear Drop Set Up Kept Us Dry - Bear Bait's New Coat

Canopy's kept us dry, Tear Drop kept us very warm, propane stove enables us to have bisquits with breakfast and coffee in the mornings. Electric hook up powers our laptops/gadgets and charges our batteries. Home away from home!

Tori (aka Bear Bait) was shivering with her sweater on so we bought her a fleece coat with faux fur leg and neck cuffs! She doesn't look happy in the picture but she is warm!

Oldies On The Road and Bear Bait (aka Tori)

Yellowstone National Park Pictures

Yellowstone Geysers

Old Faithful Geyser

Yellowstone Bison

Yellowstone Big Horn Sheep

Yellowstone Elk

Monty is still uploading his pictures through tonight. Click on the link to see the photos that are already uploaded: Yellowstone Pictures