Last days on the road

Believe it or not, the smaller plane is a two seater plane constructed about 15 years prior to the Spruce Goose (actually it was made out of birch with no metal in frame or fuselage, not even nails!!).  There are 8 engines on it, and it is impossible to get a good picture of it because you cannot get back far enough to get it all in your camera lense.

After a night at one of California’s very well kept Rest Areas (set up for campers and Truckers to spend the night while of the road), we headed to Ashland Oregon.  Home of a renowned Shakespearean theatre, as well as another large theatre, we thought we would take in a play.  Located on the California/Oregon border on Interstate 5, the town is very picturesque with the adjacent town of Talent cornering much of the destination theatre business in the North West America.  We were a day early for a production, so put it on our “bucket list” for next time and continued north to another Rest Area.

On our final Thursday we had a little town called McMinnville as our last destination.  A very enterprising aeronotical family had decided to create an enormous aero and space museum in the middle of no where in central orgeons grape growing country.  They built 2 huge buildings (each much larger than a football field!!).  One of these buildings now houses the legendary flying boat created by Howard Hughes called the “Spruce Goose” (with the largest wing span of any aircraft every made—110 yards (longer than a football field!!)).  Under its fuselage and expansive wings they have also collected dozens of other planes that tell the story of world aviation.

The second building houses the history of space travel over the last 50 years with actual space ships and replicas in the building.

A third building has also recently been constructed that contains a 7 story IMAX theatre that projects in 3D!  In this amazing theatre we saw a movie on the repair of the Hubble Telescope.  The cosmic photography as well as the description an video of the perilous repair mission left us in a state of complete amazement and feeling a little insignificant when you see the trillions of other bodies in the solar systems of our universe.  The 4 ½ hours we spent there only touched the surface of what there is to see—another place to return to soon!

After a final night in our last Rest Area, it was across the boarder at Sumas, a short visit with Russ and Diane, and the next day HOME!

9 weeks can pass very quickly when you enjoy every minute, so we will have to do it again to fill in some of the gaps soon.  We are always looking for travelling companions, so keep in touch and start looking forward to your adventure.

The next day found us at Fisherman’s wharf in San Francisco.  No one should miss this place, located on the dock in the heart of San Francisco.  Its many restaurants and boat tours could keep you busy for days.  We did the guided city bus tour though the incredibly steep downtown area with its enormous China town and Little Italy.  Streets and so steep and narrow that traffic conditions have forced many residents to look to the European/Asian solution of Scooters and motorcyles.  They even have their own metered parking locations on every street!  On a sunny day, the view of the great bridges, Alcatraz, and Angels Island (the first stop for all immigrants entering the USA from the Pacific) was one to be remembered.  Our exit along the amazing Golden Gate bridge truly capped off a wonderful day in a town that is a must for us to return to.

Winchester Mansion in San Jose

The next day on our road home was to San Jose where we wanted to see theWinchester Mansion.  Just of one hundred years ago, the eccentric widow of the owner of the Winchester gun company moved here from eastern USA to start a new life.  A psychic told her that to be forgiven for all the death that her family has caused by their invention, she must build a house in San Jose for the rest of her life.  In fact by maintaining the building program she might even see eternal life for herself.  For 38 years she built what started off to be a Victoria mansion and continued to grow until her death.  With over 10,000 windows (many of them stained glass from Tiffany’s in New York) and 47 fireplaces covering an area of several acres, you cannot believe what is there to be seen.  For some reason, the spirited requested that she do some rather unusual things in her construction such as make a stairway to no where, a door that opened to nothing but thin air on the second floor, stairways up to a room that consisted of 7 steps up and 11 steps down on the other side of the room, stair treads that range in height from2 inches to 8 inches, and so on.  All construction was done with the highest quality of materials and skillfull craftsmanship.  Adrienne constant comment was “I cannot believe this place”.

We spent so much time on the tour and wandering around the place that it was dark when we thought of leaving.  Fortunately when I asked the manager where we could stay for the night, he indicated his parking lot would be fine (with the spirits of Mrs Winchester!)

Santa Barbara side street.

The next day we headed north to Santa Barbara.  Here we have a 250 year old sea port that has seen occupation by the Spanish, the Mexicans and finally the USA over its life time.  Because of its Spanish history, much of the town is in this theme.  It has a large and colorful mainstreet with many dozens of interesting shops and restaurants.  The steet ends in an enormous pier with walking areas and restaurants and a spectacular view of the sunsets. It is another town that we definitely put on our “bucket list”.  I could spend a number of days just laying back and wandering around the town and beach areas.

That evening we headed a little north to the small town of Buellton and a very nice RV park that we have also marked as a “come-back-spot” because of its central location and the beautiful lawns and pool areas.

Bye Bye Beach

After 13 days in this beach environment, the clock started ticking a little faster and we still had a number of things we wanted to see on the way home—so we packed up and headed to our first stop at Sana Monica.  Located on the waterfront in Los Angels, the Sana Monica beach area is alive with activity.  The pier itself is very large with rides for the kids and a ferris wheel actually located on the pier.  The street leading to the pier has many small and interesting shops with one cross street that is permanently closed to traffic.  Here street vendors and entertainers were making the place and wonderful location on a typically warm day.  After checking out some of the sights we decided that this place is definitely on our list of future stops where we would like to spend more time.  Since we had tickets to visit the Getty Villa at 2:00 we were definitely caught short of time to really enjoy this unique part of L.A.

The previous day we were lucky enough to get tickets to the villa.  It is a bit of a process because you have to do it in advance on the internet—then they email you the tickets.  The reason for this is they need to control the number of people who visit the place because there is NO CHARGE for a ticket.  It is truly a destination that everyone going to the LA area should not miss.

The Getty Villa is  located just north of Santa Monica, this complex was built by J. Paul Getty (at one time the richest person on earth).  It replicates a Roman villa that was engulfed by the lava of the Pompei eruption, 2,000 years ago.  The original building was thought to be owned by Julius Ceaser’s father in law, so nothing was left to chance in its original construction.  Within this enormous complex, Getty displayed his world famous collection of Greek/Roman art.  There are countless rooms filled with antiquities that range from a real mummy (of a Greek official who spent his life “managing” Egypt) to regular items of daily use in a wealthy roman family, to statues of rock and bronze (some worth over $2,000,000 each.  The amazing thing about this place is that Getty put his enormous wealth in a trust and it completely pays for the enormous staff and security force as well as the maintenance  around the villa.  Admission is free!!!  Even the 2 guided tours of the Villa and Gardens are at no charge.  Just the limo ride from the gates at street level up the Roman simulated pavement drive to the entrance of the Villa with its amazing view of the Pacific ocean is worth your time.

Heading north through Malibu was next.  I only mention this place because this is the enormously large stretch of beach that has miles and miles of homes for the wealthy, and an RV park with a spectacular view of the ocean and easy access to Sana Monica and L.A.

The view from our spot in Huntington Beach

Americans typically get a little carried away at Halloween.  Can you believe this?

We have been pretty much ensconced in the warm beach life at Huntington.  Each day we get our usual parking spot down on the beach and set up our chairs, bikes etc outside Rita.  Then it is a bit of beach time, and often Ade reads while I jump on the scooter and explore the area some more.

I have ridden the scooter and explored from Long Beach to New Port.  It is an incredible stretch of beach with surfers all along the distance of about15 miles.  One thing that struck me was the different temperatures in the stretch.  Long Beach is significantly warmer to the point of being a little too hot, however the beaches are not as clean as the other areas because of the location in a small bay.  Also the surf is nowhere near as good as the other areas, so the hard core surfers always head a few miles south to Huntington to get the waves.

At Huntington (home of the US surf championships) you get the pro surfers doing their thing and it amazing to watch.  For a part of every day we just sit on the beach and watch them do their thing on the waves.  For surfers with lesser ability (or no ability, like me), they either head 5 miles north to Bolsa Chica or 5 miles south to New Port Beach.  My first day of trying, I was at Huntington and of course got beat up pretty good by the higher waves and surf.  My second attempt was at Bolsa Chica, where I had more success but never did stand up.  Finally I realized that my board was designed more for an experienced surfer.  A guy said I should rent a long board and head to New Port Beach where the waves are a consistant 2.5 fit high and the ocean bed is flat and only 4 ft deep for the longest way.  This allows you to walk out the place where the waves break and then get up on your board. 

One morning we headed to New Port Beach, and I rented a long board for $25 for one afternoon  and the next morning.  Finally after a number of years of trying, I actually got standing up on the board!  It is an amazing feeling even though, for me, it was short lived!  However, the second morning I got thrown off the board in shallow water and jammed into the sandy bottom—result was a mildly strained wrist which prevented me from further pushing myself up to a standing position on the board.  Oh well, I was not too concerned, I finally made it up and next time I go out into the surf it will be with someone who wants to learn, but is of my limited ability—it truly is a lot of fun out there but a little safer if you are with someone else.

We stayed at New Port for 2 days, parking Rita right on the end of

29^th avenue

, at the beach.  It was a fantastic spot.  I checked with the local traffic cop and she said we could stay up to 72 hours!

New Port has much more “old time” character than Huntington.  Many very old pubs and restaurants are on the “strip” across the road from the beach.  With a mean summer temperature in the mid seventies and winter temperature in the mid 60’s, it is no wonder that the place is popular year round.  It has a real “homey” feeling but we still liked our spot at Huntington a little better so we headed back after 2 days.

One of the reasons for liking Huntington, in addition to the spot we always had on the beach front was the many activities on the street extending from the pier.  Monday night is football night, and all the pubs have cheap beer, Tuesday night they close the street down for an evening “market” where restaurant, market garden and craft vendors sell their products in a warm and friendly street environment where several hundred people gather to shop and listen to the outdoor entertainers.  Friday afternoon at the entrance to the pier is an enormous street market, similar to Tuesday night’s but much bigger, and finally, Saturday there is always an enormous craft sale at the base of the pier.  On Halloween night, they once again shut down the main street and had treats for the kids and entertainment until midnight!

Our spot at New Port Beach!

 

I would never claim to be a "natural" at this sport!!

Ade took a number of these "Where is Tom" pictures!!

...only in my dreams!!!!

...to Huntington

West of Palm Springs there were well over 1,000 of these windmills.  I guess when you cannot count on water, wind is the next best thing.

Oct 24

Huntington Beach!

It is amazing to get within 60 miles of Los Angles and realize that from that point on you are in solid suburbia until you reach the ocean!  The traffic and the subdivisions are amazing.  Thank goodness we had the GPS to navigate us through the constant number of on-off ramps that lead to other freeways.

We arrived at Huntington a little after dark and had supper at Oceanside by the pier (where Chay and I spent many a day attempting to learn to surf!).  It was great to be back.  The moon was shining and we headed to our usual spot to park for the night.

The next day we headed to our same spot as last year.  For $15 we got a triple wide parking spot right on the beach—plenty of room to spread out with chairs, surf board, scooter and bike!!

...our usual spot on the beach at Huntington

The weather here has been wonderful with day time highs ranging from 70 to 80 degrees.  We love either sitting on the lawn chairs by Rita or going down on the sandy beach and watching the surfers do their thing.   Every day I make another effort at this most frustrating of sports, but progess is slow and limited, but I am now pretty good at surfing—belly down on the board!!!!!!!

Lake Havasu Area

Typical Desert mountains

...lots of Joshaua trees

Oct 22 Friday

We made a small detour to Cottonwood Cove, just below the Hoover Dam.  Unlike lake Meade (over 130 ft low in water level), this body was only about15 ft below normal, and it was a popular boating destination for people from Vegas.  On the way into the little beach side town we saw a huge desert turtle in the middle of the road.  It measured well over a foot long.  I stopped to persuade it to get moving off the middle of the road.  This took a few minutes and wouldn’t you believe it, I had to flag over a speeding motorist to prevent him from running over the turtle.  The only thanks I got was a fist in the air from the jerk!

Ade at Cottonwood Cove on the Colorado River, just below Hoover Dam

A pit stop on the way to LA was made at Lake Havasu—the home of London Bridge.  We have been here several times and always like staying at the State Park, on the beach, right in the middle of town (only 2 miles from London Bridge).  It is a beautiful location and we were luck to get a spot almost right on the lake.  However, Hunting is the power boat capital of USA.  Never have we seen so many large, powerful and noisy speed boats.  They are huge, often well over 30 ft long.

Even though the temperatures were in the mid 70’s in the day, I guess we were late in the year and the number of boats on the lake made it almost bearable and at night you would only hear the boats occasionally.  For a city that is only a little over 30 years old, Havasu has grown remarkably fast, with all the amenities, but with summer time temperatures in the 110 degree range, and also the countless big boats, I don’t think it would be our choice for a retirement haven—even though it has been a high choice for thousands of Americans.  With its very nice location and climate, it is the center of many very large events; for example, last year we saw the largest gathering of float model airplanes in America, and this year we went spent 3 hours at a huge antique car show (called Relics and Roots).  The show was so large that in that time we still did not see all the cars there.

I had to get this picture for Al Carter.  This Invicta with Al's reverberator was truly a party on wheels in the "old days".

Other than it’s Longdon Bridge, the other claim to fame for the town is Havasu Falls.  It is a magical oasis of cascading water just east of town—however in the past two years it has been so dry that the falls have all but disappeared.

On the third day, we headed west to L.A.

Bye Bye Zion

The Attentive Student getting help from DAD.

 

A great little campsite right on the Virgin River, only 8 miles from Zion Park.  The price is right.  It is free!!  I do not know who looks after it, but the place was spotless! Also, it had firepits and lots of room for privacy!!  It is definitely in our plans if the Zion park spot is ever full.

At the Casino we stayed in Mesquite, this was the grand total of my winnings!!

Oct 18 to 21

After 8 days in Zion, the weather started to turn cloudy and rain/storm clouds were on the horizon, so we decided to head a little bit south to Mesquite to ride out the storm.  In Mesquite we changed pace and booked into a casino-hotel for 4 nights.

Mesquite is an interesting town.  It is located on the Virgin river at an elevation of less than 2,000 ft.  This is over a 2,400 ft drop from Zion, so it is considerably warmer in the winter.  When we arrived, it was a very comfortable 85 degrees.  The town is relatively new and located on the Nevada side of the of the north corner of the Nevada/Arizona border (wow, try to figure that one out!!).  Besides the 4 casinos, it has a number of beautiful golf courses, 2 of which are designed by Arnold Palmer.  The courses ramble through miles of newly developed retirement homes, most of which are either on the course or a house or two from the course.  The courses are extremely high end, but reasonably priced compared to those in Kelowna.  An instant membership is $5,000, and the monthly fees are $350.  For that not only do you get the golfing, but a club house that is out of this world, with tennis, pools, volleyball, horseshoes, dining and dancing and a first class restaurant (all year round!).  With the price of a new home in the $150,000 to $170,000 range, many Canadians are buying in these subdivisions.  Since the courses each meander over 7,000 yards through the back desert area of Mesquite, that makes 9 miles of homes located right on the course.  None of the holes are side-by-side, so it is hard to believe that these enormous courses actually start and end at the same club-house.

Another amazing thing is the incredible contrast between the beautifully manicures green fairways and the adjacent red desert land where the houses are designed in shades of light red/orange to blend into the desert surroundings.

While we were in town, they were getting ready for the big event of the year in town.  Mesquite is the home of the Golf World Long-ball Championship.  It attracts 1,000’s of people to the town and is their chance to shine on the world stage as this is televised on TSN and gets major coverage in the golf world.

Adrienne and I quite like the town where palm trees are as common as evergreens at home.  The casinos are very friendly.  Our room had 2 queen size beds and was very nice (in fact it had a note on the door that said it could be rented for as much as $400!), and we paid only $25 per night and that included breakfast.  The restaurant\ food in the casinos was about ½ the price of what we pay at home, and the quality was very good and portions about 50% more than we get at home!  No wonder so many young families were eating at the casino restaurants.   Also there was good free live entertainment 6 nights a week.  Also, like Los Vegas, they never close!

We were very fortunate with the weather in Mesquite.  For the first 3 days, the storms were in the hills around us, and we had great sunshine, so the pool/hot-tub was very attractive. About ¾ through the third day, that clouds and wind hit us.  The clouds were laced with lightening strikes, but we missed the main brunt of the storm.  This storm was quite impressive in some locations where it dropped 2 inches of rain in an area that gets only 5 inches a year!  Los Vegas had extreme flooding in the streets and the weather channel was constantly beeping alerts to warn certain cities in the area.

We woke up Thursday morning, somewhat earlier than usual, headed to the casino for our morning breakfast, and then after loading the bikes we were on our way.

After spending an hour showing Ade what I had discovered in the real estate market—such as 2 bedroom houses on the Arnold Palmer golf course for $150,000!—we were on our way to Huntington Beach.

If you do not have to spend the summer there, Mesquite is a pretty nice spot.

Angle's Landing

A well deserved break after Angels Landing



 

Oct 11 to 17 (Mon – Sun)

We relaxed on Monday, and I buzzed around on the scooter.  Ade laid back and relaxed.

On Tues Dave and Meg and Finley arrived.  We planned to hike the narrows tomorrow

When you are at Zion, it is almos a mystic experience.  The colorful beauty and immenseness of the surrounding cliffs  remind a person just how small we are.  First the area was an inland sea (700 million years ago); then the pressures inside the earth forced the whole area up about 10,000 ft; then the Zion river carved canyons 2,000 ft deep into the relatively soft sandstone layers.  The colored stratification (ranging from white to yellow to orange to red!) of the canyon walls never cease to capture and hold your attention as interest turns to amazement.

The hike up the Narrows starts with a free shuttle ride from your campsite or the town, to the end of the canyon (a distance of 8 or 9 miles).  Then you start a riverside walk for a mile and then you are forced to enter the rather cool waters of the Virgin River.  As you walk a mile or so up the river, the walls get much higher (up to 1,800 ft) and the channel gets narrower.  It is a somewhat tight feeling in places, but from time to time, the sun’s rays are able to shine between the walls, and the feeling is almost euphoric.

On Thursday,Meg and Dave did the hikes of Emerald Pools and Weeping rock.  At Weeping rock, the water bubbles out of a sandstone cliff.  There is so much water dripping out of the rock, that hundreds of hanging plants adorn the cliffs here.

Friday was our day for one of the more famous hikes in the park.  It is called Angels Landing. The full return hike is about 5 hours; it includes a scenic walk part way up the side of a cliff  where you finally inter a gap in the cliff.  After a bit of a tight walk between two cliffs, you enter 22 tight switch backs (Called Walters Wiggels) and eventually en d up on a plateau called Scouts landing.  Many people stop here, because what follows is is a narrow ridge that drops both side well over 1,000 ft, and at one point is only 3 ft wide!  The parks branch has installed quiet a number of chain handrails for those who might otherwise lose their balance, but the hike is definitely not for the slight of heart.

What amazed the 3 of us was that there were parents allowing children as yound as 3 years old to make this treacherous hike.  Meg and Dave were definitely shook up by the sight of so many people and children hiking this perilous trek.  They declined to go much more that 1/3 of the way along the “spine”, but I was determined to make it to the end.  However, once there, I could not believe the number of others who had made it.  Apparently it was one of the busiest days of the year because Angels Landing had been closed the previous 10 days due to maintenance.

At one point I was able to get a walk-by view of an enormous California Condor.  When it eventually flew, its wing span was about 7 ft!

The view from Angel’s Landing is truly breathless.  You get a 270 degree view of the valley below at about 1,800 ft.  It does seem a daunting hike, but once there, you do not want to leave.  This is my third time up to the location, but each time is just as satisfying as the first.

On Thursday,Meg and Dave did the hikes of Emerald Pools and Weeping rock.  At Weeping rock, the water bubbles out of a sandstone cliff.  There is so much water dripping out of the rock, that hundreds of hanging plants adorn the cliffs here.

Friday was our day for one of the more famous hikes in the park.  It is called Angels Landing. The full return hike is about 5 hours; it includes a scenic walk part way up the side of a cliff  where you finally inter a gap in the cliff.  After a bit of a tight walk between two cliffs, you enter 22 tight switch backs (Called Walters Wiggels) and eventually en d up on a plateau called Scouts landing.  Many people stop here, because what follows is is a narrow ridge that drops both side well over 1,000 ft, and at one point is only 3 ft wide!  The parks branch has installed quiet a number of chain handrails for those who might otherwise lose their balance, but the hike is definitely not for the slight of heart.

What amazed the 3 of us was that there were parents allowing children as yound as 3 years old to make this treacherous hike.  Meg and Dave were definitely shook up by the sight of so many people and children hiking this perilous trek.  They declined to go much more that 1/3 of the way along the "spine", but I was determined to make it to the end.  However, once there, I could not believe the number of others who had made it.  Apparently it was one of the busiest days of the year because Angels Landing had been closed the previous 10 days due to maintenance.

At one point I was able to get a walk-by view of an enormous California Condor.  When it eventually flew, its wing span was about 7 ft!

...a great background!

The color of the rock changes with every glance.

even more Rocks!

              ...don't break off!

Another shot in the "Narrows"

    The road on the way out of Zion

                     

               "I will do anything for a treat"

More Zion

                  ANGLE'S LANDING

Probably the most famous hike at Zion is Angels Landing.  You end up on top of this rock after 3 - 4 hours of walking/climbing!

                    THE VIRGIN RIVER

This little river is responsible for all of the rock sculpture in Zion (over serveral million years though).

Zion parks

                 THE NARROWS

We walked about 2 km up the river.  As you went further, the rock walls get narrower and higher, so a point where they soar to 1,800 ft above you.

It gets a little precarious at times!

Oct 11 to 17 (Mon – Sun)

We relaxed on Monday, and I buzzed around on the scooter.  Ade laid back and relaxed.

On Tues Dave and Meg and Finley arrived.  We planned to hike the narrows tomorrow

When you are at Zion, it is almos a mystic experience.  The colorful beauty and immenseness of the surrounding cliffs  remind a person just how small we are.  First the area was an inland sea (700 million years ago); then the pressures inside the earth forced the whole area up about 10,000 ft; then the Zion river carved canyons 2,000 ft deep into the relatively soft sandstone layers.  The colored stratification (ranging from white to yellow to orange to red!) of the canyon walls never cease to capture and hold your attention as interest turns to amazement.

The hike up the Narrows starts with a free shuttle ride from your campsite or the town, to the end of the canyon (a distance of 8 or 9 miles).  Then you start a riverside walk for a mile and then you are forced to enter the rather cool waters of the Virgin River.  As you walk a mile or so up the river, the walls get much higher (up to 1,800 ft) and the channel gets narrower.  It is a somewhat tight feeling in places, but from time to time, the sun’s rays are able to shine between the walls, and the feeling is almost euphoric.

This little water fall came from a distance of about 1,000 ft.

Meanwhile, "back at the ranch"!

Zion, via Lake Meade, Hoover Dam and Vegas

Sunday October 10, 2010

By 9:00 we were packed and had to say good bye to Parker, although both of us would have just as soon spent another day or so.  However, Dave and Meg and Finley were to meet us in Zion, so we made tracks.  It is quite a desert run when you head north on the Colorado river from Parker.  Not much in the way of agriculture in this dry waste-land

Just before Los Vegas, we stopped at the Hoover Dam.  It was one of President Roosevelt’s pet projects in the New Deal financial package that he and Congress used to get the USA out of the depression years of the 1930’s.  In it’s day, it was an engineering wonder, but by the standards of modern dams, it is just another big dam.  For the next 6 months or so, the highway runs along the top of the dam, which is only about ¼ mile long, but reasonably tall.  Because of the paranoia of the American psych., you must pass through a check-search point before the Dam, where they interrogate you and check out your vehicles for aliens, bombs, and saboteurs.  In a few months the new highway will completely bypass the dam over a newly constructed bridge a few hundred yards south of the dam.  The dam provides the electricity for Los Vegas, and backs up the Colorado river to form lake Meade.  This lake is enormous with hundreds of miles of lake shore and is regarded by many as the houseboat Mecca for North America (the industry on Meade is considerably bigger than even the Shushwap).

As soon as you see lake Meade, one thing strikes you immediately.  The lake is about 100 ft lower than the maximum height the dam allows.  This was a low water time of year, but in the last decade, Meade has been continually loosing water.  Its high level is expected to be 70 ft lower than it used to be years ago.  This reduced amount of water reserve is having a dramatic effect on its ability to generate power—brown-outs in Vegas?? Would America let that happen??  There is even concern that if the present climatic drought conditions continue for 15 years or so, the water will not rise high enough to enter the penstocks and generate any electricity period!

On the north side of the dam is the town of Boulder.  This is a very nice place, with attractive newer houses.  Ade was surprised that it has not been regarded as a retirement haven for Canadians as it is within a few hours drive or so many attractions from Vegas to the National parks of Zion, Bryce, and Grand Canyon and only minutes away from the enormous lake Meade.

Over the years we have certainly seen enough of Los Vegas, so we skirted the town, although we did get a great view of the skyline of Vegas with its structurally amazing buildings on the strip.

We pulled into Zion about 5:30.  The entry to Zion, through the quaint little town of Springdale is very appealing.  There are no box stores, and many of the shops have a quaint uniqueness about them that definitely attracts walk-by pedestrians.  Unfortunately, the park was full, but we did have a back up plan.  Last year we found a very quiet location on a paved cul-de-sac about ¼ mile off the strip of the main part of town.  We returned to find it just as we had left it last year, so we parked Rita, and spent the night surrounded by 1,500 ft sandstone walls on one side and exposed to a crystal clear black sky with hundreds of bright stars twinkling down on us.