The Dry Heat Expedition (Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Disneyland)--UPDATE 6/12 (KSC and DTD)

[Flossbolna]

Those are gorgeous pictures and I think you made an excellent job balancing out the amount on how many you posted!!

Bryce is so pretty! You can tell that this is where Tony Baxter got the inspiration for the design for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad!

Sorry that Drew made you miss the bat talk! Seems like it nearly ruined your trip!!

I love the night time pictures. Viewing the stars from a place without any light pollution is so magical! When I was in Canada we had an evening out in the middle of nowhere and we just kept seeing so many shooting stars as this was when some meteorite were travelling through. It was amazing!

When Katharina was in the South West she got me a calendar with very similar posters. I had it in my kitchen and it was a constant reminder of that I need to go there.

 

[jedijill]

Beautiful pictures! Poor Drew. He just wanted the magical milk provider.

Jill in CO

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

PB&J eaten. Messy diaper changed. Dave just finished using the restroom. I think we can move on to new viewpoints now.

“Sighted sub, sank same.”

Why is that important? Because the kids are trying to become Junior Rangers.

That program is something I was unaware of and mightily cool to boot.
Dang shame my young’en ain’t anymore. Young that is. Don’t mean that I wouldn’t enjoy it myself. I wonder if they let doddering old folks play along with that little reindeer game? Collecting the badges would be cool as well.


“Badges… we don’t need no stinking badges!”

Or do we?

For the most part, it’s a lot of fun, and it’s a good way to keep the kids interested. The only exception I’ve seen thus far was when we visited Gettysburg Battlefield earlier this summer, and the book basically required a week’s worth of work and a doctoral dissertation in order to earn the badge. Everything else we’ve seen has been more reasonable.

Yah that does seem a bit excessi…

Wait a second!

Y’all went to Gettysburg and spent time on the national battlefield?
And didn’t tell anyone else about it?
And didn’t post any pictures or commentary on it?

No, no, sir… that won’t do.
I do believe that this calls for a bonus feature.

They have revised the statement on the sure things in life to include death, taxes, and Dave needing to take a dump in an inconvenient location.

What you feedin’ that boy?

I’m not sure who was responsible for designing the items in the National Park gift shops this year, but they must have known I was coming somehow.

From your explanation, it must be a group of former Imaganeers.
They seem to practice the same type of voodoo.

Ruby’s Inn looks like a tourist trap from the outside. The reason for this is because it’s a tourist trap.

No sense in disguising it, I suppose.
Still, it couldn’t be any more blatant than South of the Boarder.
(and likely less disappointing)

Nice to see a place concentrating on quality dessert items like pies for once. You know, rather than overrated items such as cakes.

No argument here, and these sound right enticing.
As far as I’m concerned… “Pie”, in all its guises (sweet, savory, dessert, entrée),
is close to the most perfect edible item in existence.

And the only thing more overrated then cake is cupcake.
(with an exception for reserved for Tres Leches Cake…
but then again, considering its density, that’s really pie anyway)

Naturally, the fine print (i.e. the schedule clearly printed on the page) shows that this doesn’t happen every night, and we happen to be there on a night with no astrology program.

Scheduling road trips does have its challenges.
It’s hard to drive a loop with limited time and still schedule in every bit that catches your imagination.

Does that trail look steep? Because it really feels steep when climbing out. And that couldn’t possibly be due to the fact that I’m an out-of-shape lardbutt.

Oh no… certainly not…
And that won’t be the issue if I ever get out there either.

Actually, he seems kind of ticked off. If you could translate his cries, I’m pretty sure he would be shouting, “I’m TIRED!!! I’M TIRED AND I NEED TO SLEEP!!!” I try a logical argument, such as, “If you’re tired, you should go to sleep, dummy.” But he doesn’t want to hear it.

I think it’s more like: I’m TIRED!!! AND I DON’T WANT TO BE TIRED SO I’M GOING TO SCREAM UNTIL YOU FIX IT FOR ME!!!

As any parent knows, transferring a sleeping baby from your arms to a stroller/crib is a delicate operation at best. If you’re not a parent, this is the most equivalent situation I can find:

That’s one rather apt equivalent.

Just like Indy, the switch fails.

“There's nothing to fear here.”

“That's what scares me.”

I’ve been battling Baby Drew off and on for 45 minutes and am exhausted. Julie nurses him a bit to calm him down, and of course he drifts off lovingly in her arms. Little punk.

Not only was it a wonderful night full of good memories, but a worthy reminder that sometimes we need to get outdoors, get away from all of the worries of life, and just sit quietly, drinking in a universe that is bigger, more beautiful, and more mysterious than any of us could ever hope to understand.

Getting all philosophical on us here are ya’?
I totally agree, with you, but still…


Great update, fabulous pictures, priceless memories.
Thanks for letting us poor schleps ride along.

 

[Dugette]

Ah, Bryce Canyon, brings back memories! That Natural Bridge was the big thing I remembered about it, but the whole place is just so beautiful. It was only a quick stop on my trip, so I didn't see the full extent of it like you did. Especially at night - very cool view of the stars and shooting stars!

 

[Leshaface]

Bryce point looks so amazing. Geez!

Very cool that they have something to do for the kids....uh, can adults partake? DH has no interest in outdoor activities

Glad Alison's recommendation helped get you some fabulous pie!

The photos you captured of the stars are absolutely breathtaking. A shooting star and such a clear shot of the milky way..incredible. Awesome update!

 

[Cinderella's Fella]

My God, it's full of stars!

 

[KatMark]

WOW!

WOW!

WOW!

I don't know what else to say...WOW. The views are spectacular and I think you put in the right amount of pictures and they are all awesome.

I would have offered to take Drew out as there is no way I'm listening to anything about bats!

I have never seen a shooting star. I know your kids know how lucky they are.

 

[franandaj]

Somehow you posted an update while I was mid hijacking your TR yet again.

1:15 p.m.—We make several stops along the road, checking out the various views from each overlook. Rather than turn this into a trip report where I post Every. Single. Picture. We. Took. On. The. Trip. Even. If. They’re. Bad. Or. 14. Versions. Of. The. Same. Picture, I’ll try and do my best to stick with the highlights. But there are a lot of highlights. The unique formations combined with the extremely clear air and the ability to see for miles in the distance makes for some truly striking views.

Your pictures are spectacular! The colors are so vibrant, much more so than mine.

1:20 p.m.—By far Julie’s favorite overlook is the one called Natural Bridge. Here we have another misnomer, as it’s actually an arch. An arch is formed when the forces of wind erosion create a hole in rock that gradually widens over time, whereas a natural bridge generally spans a valley and could be at least partially formed by a waterway. Anyway, I think Julie took roughly 80,000 photos here. .

I wouldn't have minded more pictures but maybe not all 80,000.

When I saw how much she was enjoying herself, I told Julie to pose. “Here’s your new Facebook picture,” I said. Turns out it was..

Great choice!

1:35 p.m.—Our next stop is Bryce Point, which is on the road that rings the main amphitheater in the park. So this will be our first view of the main attraction. There’s a bit of an uphill hike to get from the parking lot to the actual viewpoint, but it turns out to be worth the effort. This ended up being my favorite spot in all of Bryce Canyon. Not only can you see for miles once again, but the entire amphitheater is there for you to just drink in..

This was my favorite spot too, but the overlooks without railings really got to me and my vertigo.

Bryce Canyon is in a remote area of Utah, so if you need a place to stay, there aren’t too many places to choose from. There’s Ruby’s Inn, the “grand” Best Western across the street ($250-$300/night), and the Bryce Canyon Lodge inside the park. While it would have been fun to stay at the Lodge, running the numbers showed Ruby’s to be the cheapest place to stay, so that ended up as the winner..

Yikes! Based on those prices we wouldn't have stayed at the Lodge, thank goodness for off season travel. But then there is the risk of a freak snowstorm in Mid May when you do that.

4:30 p.m.—It’s a little early for dinner, but PB&J never seems to hold us for very long, so we decide to head out for some grub. Just like the hotels, the pickings are slim for dining options. And the reviews for the restaurants at Ruby’s were uniformly awful. Thankfully, Alison (franandaj) blazed a trail for us by visiting a couple of months before we did (see her Southwest Trip Report here). On her trip, she and Fran had visited Foster’s Family Restaurant and given it a solid recommendation, so off we go. After all, Alison wouldn’t dare steer us wrong…would she??.

Thanks for the shameless plug!

For dinner, I end up splitting the fried chicken platter with Sarah, since we’re both suckers for fried chicken. Plus, Alison said it was good, and we do everything Alison tells us to do..

Anyway, she was right. It’s good. Nothing out of this world, but for being in such a remote place, all of our food is perfectly decent. I can’t remember what Julie ordered, and the boys most likely scanned the menu for 20 minutes before ordering a burger and mac-and-cheese like they always do. But the point is, the food is decent, if not memorable..

I liked the fact that it appeared to be actually home made fried chicken and not Banquet. There definitely wasn't a lot to choose from in that neck of the woods!

The pies are excellent. Both are some of the best restaurant pies I’ve ever had. Seriously, you would be totally justified to skip dinner and just make a meal out of the pie at this place. Call me a bad DIS-er because we were too busy inhaling it to take food pictures..

I'm sorry we left too full to try the pie. Next time.

Still, we want to see the night sky, so we need to do something to kill the time. As we make the turn to the lodge, we find a prairie dog town in a field just off the road. Scotty, being our resident fan of cute furry animals, forces us to stop the car so he can get out and see them. It’s fun to watch them pop out of their holes and chirp warnings about the idiot tourists to each other..

I can't believe you got so many prairie dogs in that picture. We looked at that field over and over again hoping to spy some, but never did. I guess they didn't like the snow either.

The night sky at Bryce Canyon is truly spectacular. You’ll see so many more stars than you would at home, thanks to the absence of any light pollution from civilization. We stood here for quite a while, and it did not get old..

I would have loved to see skies like that, and Julie's pictures are just spectacular. She is really a top notch photographer! I guess when there is a snowstorm the skies just aren't that clear. and when it's that cold at night all you want to do is stay in your nice warm hotel room!

This evening was one of my favorite parts of the trip. Even without the ranger program, I was glad we’d stayed up to watch the stars. The kids had never seen shooting stars before, and it was a treat to hear them shout when they spotted one. Not only was it a wonderful night full of good memories, but a worthy reminder that sometimes we need to get outdoors, get away from all of the worries of life, and just sit quietly, drinking in a universe that is bigger, more beautiful, and more mysterious than any of us could ever hope to understand.

Coming Up Next: National Park #2. And given the way the trip is going, I’m sure one of the kids will #2 as well.

That's so great you had such a wonderful night. It's such a magical place and your kids got to see things that they wouldn't see many in other locations.

 

[Mrs. Knowitall]

Anyway, I think Julie took roughly 80,000 photos here.

Correction - 80,002

When I saw how much she was enjoying herself, I told Julie to pose. “Here’s your new Facebook picture,” I said. Turns out it was.

True story.

The only exception I’ve seen thus far was when we visited Gettysburg Battlefield earlier this summer, and the book basically required a week’s worth of work and a doctoral dissertation in order to earn the badge.

That one was hard core. Thankfully they were able to become "Junior Secret Service Agents" at the Eisenhower Farm - which is right next to Gettysburg....so the trip wasn't a total wash. That one was MUCH more doable!

Sarah had done a report in school on hoodoos in the spring, and announces to me, “I already knew most of that stuff.” Attagirl.

Proud parenting moment!

Dave announces to me, “I need to use the bathroom.”

Annoying parenting moment!

Not long after, the janitorial staff comes by and begins to close the door so they can wash the floors. “My son’s in there,” I tell them. “Okay,” they say, and block off the door anyway. I sure hope he’s ok in there.

I did not know this. Boy, you learn new things on this inter-web-thingy every day!

I can’t remember what Julie ordered,

I think it was a french dip type thing.

The pies are excellent. Both are some of the best restaurant pies I’ve ever had. Seriously, you would be totally justified to skip dinner and just make a meal out of the pie at this place. Call me a bad DIS-er because we were too busy inhaling it to take food pictures.

True story. The pie was incredible. I do wish we had taken pictures. Just trust us. It was incredible. I'm more of a "cake" person than a "pie" person, and I would cross the street for this. Seriously. THAT good.

At some point, Julie has to feed the baby.

And this quickly devolved into me holding and furiously bouncing a screaming baby, his screams ruining the peaceful calm of the canyon for many. When bouncing and jumping with a 22 pound weight in my arms stopped working, I resorting to pushing him back and forth in the stroller, praying that Mark would show up soon.

It’s time for the Wonderful World of Bats. Otherwise popularly known as Rats With Wings.

Sarah actually leaned over at one point and told me that she thought some were cute.

Julie nurses him a bit to calm him down, and of course he drifts off lovingly in her arms. Little punk.

Yeah, he was peaceful THIS time....but earlier at 7:00pm...not so much. 'Lil punk.

If you do, you might be rewarded with a shooting star.

We actually saw several. Julie didn’t see any, but then she reviewed the pictures, saw the one above, and shouted, “I got one! I can’t believe it! I got one!”

I was SO incredibly excited!!!

Not only was it a wonderful night full of good memories, but a worthy reminder that sometimes we need to get outdoors, get away from all of the worries of life, and just sit quietly, drinking in a universe that is bigger, more beautiful, and more mysterious than any of us could ever hope to understand.

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands." --Psalm 19:1

 

[Poolrat]

That might hit a little too close to home for me! I couldn't watch Parks & Recreation because it was too close to my work--idiots at public meetings, etc.

I could not watch the Office or Park and Recreation for that very reason.....


Julie ( and you ) got some great pictures at Bryce. WOW is right Kathy.

The nighttime pictures are spectacular.


A stop for some great pie? YUM.

A difficult baby makes for an easy child. I hope that holds true for you. My DS was bad like that but he was just always hungry. Once I could put cereal in with expressed milk he was better. Not convenient but I could sleep more.

 

[MEK]

Last read for the night!

Loved all the pictures of the Bryce Canyon - its really amazing. You pictures are spectacular and I bet its even more-so in person. Wowsa!

Very cool about the Junior Ranger program. Kind of a bummer about Gettysburg being too much work. Probably because there's so much that went on there, but still.

Poor Baby Drew. He really didn't want anything to do with that bat lecture. I'm glad he finally fell asleep. An overly tired child is just not that fun!

Cool that you were able to photograph a shooting star. Gotta Love that!

What? No dinner pics????

 

[Pluplo and The Duck]

The stars are amazing, your trip report is making me wan to include a lot more on our trip next year

 

[glennbo123]

Beautiful pictures, and I believe you that your star-gazing session was one of the highlights of the trip!

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

That is dating yourself!

Well, I ain't gettin' any younger.

I can understand that, but this show is different. They're physicists and while I'm sure physics comes into play in road engineering, you probably wouldn't think it was a great idea to write an app that calculates the Derivative since it's such a mundane daily task to have to always calculate.

I have no idea what that means. I think I used to.

Besides my father (who is a computer programmer) really likes the show, but then that could be Penny he's really watching.

I'm gonna guess that's the reason!

Yes and no. While she enjoyed the trips to Aricebo that she got to take, pretty much her job entailed writing code for the telescope to send out radio (or some kind of) waves to different points in the galaxy and hope that sometime, they would bounce back or even better, get some sort of sign that life was out there. They always brought a bottle of champagne with them in case they discovered life, but ended up just drinking it the last night before they went home. Then when Carl Sagan died, no one fund raised for the project any more so they aged her out because she had too much seniority and got paid too much.

OK done hijacking!

That's a shame. I always wonder if they'll ever find anything.

You made me laugh reading this several times, but none like the last statement...

We try to keep things classy here.

The first quote, is very true, and try to remember it everyday.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Those are gorgeous pictures and I think you made an excellent job balancing out the amount on how many you posted!!

Whew! I'm glad you said so, because I was worried!

Bryce is so pretty! You can tell that this is where Tony Baxter got the inspiration for the design for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad!

Definitely. The hoodoos are so unique, they make for an eye-catching detail.

Sorry that Drew made you miss the bat talk! Seems like it nearly ruined your trip!!

Not so much missing the bat talk. I didn't really care about that. It's just so frustrating to spend all that time putting a baby to sleep and then have him wake up immediately when you put him down.

I love the night time pictures. Viewing the stars from a place without any light pollution is so magical! When I was in Canada we had an evening out in the middle of nowhere and we just kept seeing so many shooting stars as this was when some meteorite were travelling through. It was amazing!

Cool! It doesn't get old, does it?

When Katharina was in the South West she got me a calendar with very similar posters. I had it in my kitchen and it was a constant reminder of that I need to go there.

I was amazed at how much ground Katharina covered on her trip--she shared her itinerary with me. She really saw a lot!

Beautiful pictures! Poor Drew. He just wanted the magical milk provider.

Jill in CO

Chances are, he always wants the Magical Milk Lady.

 

[that's nice]

Hummm… where did I leave off?

 

[that's nice]

Hey there! I'm trying to stay current. But as I quickly realized, I'm waaaaay behind.

Mine is my sense of direction and photographic memory.

I feel sorry for you. Bet you want to put your head under a tire after having Barry's face in your head all day.

5:35 p.m.—We’ve arrived. Are you all sitting down? No? I’ll wait.

Please wait… i need to find my couch.

5:36 p.m.—Everyone ready? We’re eating at a burger joint.

Shocking!

The hostess tells us it’s a 40-45 minute wait.

LOLOL… I know Melody would of been getting us all back into the car looking for the fastest place to eat.

6:18:30 p.m.—Crap. I’m getting old.

Yes. Yes you are.

Julie’s giving me some major stink eye.

Dun dun duuuuuunnnnnnn.

Sarah’s first order of business was to take off her orthopedic brace. She was recently diagnosed with scoliosis (curvature of the spine) and as a result has to wear a brace for 20 hours a day. She typically gets 4 hours of blessed relief in the afternoon, but due to the flight she had been wearing it for longer than usual and needed the break. So she took it off and placed it under the table.

Ouch… poor kid. But you should never put it under the table.

We also tried to cut costs by sticking with water. Not only did we find it important on this trip to stay hydrated in the dry desert air, but staying away from sodas saved us about $15 a pop every time we had dinner.

And it's healthier when you are eating burgers every day.

7:08 p.m.—we check into the Wyngate by Wyndham of Henderson, NV. The desk clerk promptly informs us that although we reserved a standard room, there are none available. Would we care for a 2-bedroom suite instead?

What were they expecting you to say? No, thanks, we'll sleep in the parking lot?

Good think you didn't check in earlier. You would of ended up in that standard room.

7:08:15 p.m.—Vacation Mojo is back!

7:30 p.m.—After unloading some bags, we picked up the girls and Drew from Target. And Sarah promptly informed us that she had left her brace back at Bachi Burger.

See. I told you. Never leave anything under the table… including a baby.

 

[that's nice]

6:29 a.m.—I guess that’s all the sleep we’re getting. Might as well get up and get moving. I sure hope the hotel has good coffee.

6:30? Isn't that like 830 EST? I'd take that in a minute.

Since we had the baby, we got tickets for the Powerplant Tour, which is 30 minutes and takes visitors through the portions of the dam dedicated to electric power generation.

Good call on taking this tour. 30 minutes was probably long enough.

9:35:15 a.m.—Julie says my dam jokes are getting old. I say that’s not possible.

I am on your side here.

Over on the side is a smaller brown turbine. We’re told that this turbine generates all of the power used for the dam facilities. The power of water is not to be underestimated.

Dam.

Model of the dam under construction:

They have a Giant helping them build back them? That's a huge hand!

*--Note: the baby is wearing a Wisconsin outfit. This was sent by a fellow DIS-er (FreezinRafiki) from Wisconsin, which sums up our total allegiance to the state. I’m just pointing this out to show that yes, we can be bought.**

**--Unless you’re a Dallas Cowboys fan. That ain’t happening.

Speaking of Giants….. I can send Drew a Giants shirt.

I took this picture to show that yes, Hoover Dam can indeed generate enough power to send you traveling through time (flux capacitor not included):

1.21 gigawatts!!!!

Looking out towards the bridge:

That's cool!

And here we see that baby Drew is already done with our dam pictures.

Maybe he was face palming from all the dam jokes.

Wait, that’s better. Christmas card?

Could be… nice shot!

Julie nominated me to be the one who leaned over the edge to get this dam picture. Maybe she really was sick of my jokes.

That's crazy. My stomach got queazy just looking at that pic.

Looking out on the other side, we could see the Colorado River. Note the “bathtub ring” on the canyon walls that show where the water level has been in the past. Due to the ongoing drought in the area, the water level is at its lowest point since the 1960’s. To the left is one of the four penstock towers, where water flows into the pipes.

Unbelievable how low the water level is. It would take years of above average rain to get back to those levels.

 

[that's nice]

10:45 a.m.—We were finally ready to move on, but Scotty forced us to make one last stop on the way out at the dam gift shop.

Bud bump cha! You gonna be here all week?

Anyway, was the hike worth it?

Awesome views!!!

Depends on who you ask. The view was indeed spectacular, but Julie and David wanted no part of standing anywhere near the edge of the walkway. Not only were we very high up, but it was windy. We all held on tightly to our hats, cameras, and baby.

Glad you held onto the baby.

Anyway, the water is a gorgeous shade of blue. If you look closely at the islands, you can see the parts that are normally underwater.

I just saw a show on Lake Mead and it is crazy what is happening there. Marinas are hundreds of feet from the water.

11:43 a.m.—Somewhere along the way, we pull over and make our first gourmet lunch of the vacation. Long-time readers know that our vacations involve peanut butter & jelly sandwiches in some of the most beautiful locations on earth. Hey, we have to save money somewhere. Besides, it’s not about the meal. It’s about the view.

Do you ever buy Fluff, you know, just to switch it up a bit?

 

[that's nice]

1:22 p.m.—We’ve left the Lake Mead views behind and my keen observational skills tell me we may be entering Red Rock country.

You have a keen eye!

We pull into the first parking lot to stretch our legs. There’s a display showing a map of various hiking trails, but with a temperature over 100 degrees and no shade available, we’re about at eager to hike as we are to have a root canal on the spot. However, there is a rock formation close by with various nooks and crannies to explore. Our kids are drawn to it like a DISDad to bacon.

Bacon? Where? Bacon???

LOL…

We make a stop in the town of St. George at a McDonald’s for milkshakes. Dave needs to use the facilities. Again.

Was he super thirsty because of the temps?

Sweet!

We stayed a little while, just enjoying the clear air and gorgeous scenery.

Love this pic!

However, I learned to my dismay that both of these places were closed on Sundays. In fact, going down the list of local favorites, it appears Utah itself is closed on Sundays. Utah has a heavy Mormon population, and it appeared that most folks took their Sundays seriously.

Your lucky anything is open in Utah on Sunday.

This place promised that KIDS EAT FREE ON SUNDAYS, and also promised FREE ICE CREAM EVERY DAY. So, even if the food was lousy, it would at least be cheap.

Free food and free ice-cream? That's a win-win right there.

I see Dickey’s listed and ask about it—he says it’s new in town and he hasn’t tried it, but he has a 10%-off coupon he can give me.

Now it's a win-win-win!

Um, I mean, not too terribly long ago, Julie worked a summer job at a frozen yogurt place. So she has a lot of experience in creating the perfect soft-serve cone. Here she is demonstrating her award-winning form:

Well done Julie. At least you know if stay at home mom, or educator doesn't work out, you can always fall back on soft serve ice cream swirler.

Of course, Scotty figured it was better to just cut out the middle man.

….and then Scotty happened.

6:00 p.m.—We’re about to embark into the Utah wilderness, so it’s a good idea to gas up the car whenever you can. I had my choice of places to fill up in Cedar City, but in the end, I made the only choice a true DISboard member could make: Dinoco.

Great choice! Can't believe the gas prices out there…. feels just like home.