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

[Flossbolna]

I love all those pictures of the red/orange rocks. They are just so pretty. But happy baby pictures are very pretty, too! And in picture form they don't wake you up at night nor do they smell.

I like your tradition of having lunch with a view.

And those idiots are really amazing. There was an incident here this summer in Portugal where a couple stepped over a fence at a cliff to take a selfie of themselves and then fell down. Their two kids watched their parents fall. It was such a sad story.

 

[jedijill]

Beautiful scenery....and the rocks are pretty too! Love the pic of Drew in the Junior Ranger hat! In Rocky Mountian NP, they have a whole Jr Ranger uniform that he would look adorable in....well, before the poop incident!

The parks passes really do pay for themselves. I pay $40 for my annual pass for just RMNP and it only take 2 trips in a year to break even.

Jill in CO

 

[MEK]

Captain’s Log: Monday, 21 July 2014.

Can you say altitude headache???? I haven't gone that high in about 8 years thanks to altitude sickness. I'm jealous.

Sarah’s panoramic:

Love this!

9:00 a.m.—The park ranger shows up and opens the visitor center. We get to see her raise the flag.

Cool! What a great moment!

You get to go through a few awesome rock tunnels on the way, because highway engineers are amazingly cool people.

I think there is a speaker growing out of that rock? Those engineers really ARE amazing!

We also wandered the gift shop. Just to see if anything caught our eye.

One word - Adorable!

Yeah - THAT looks safe!

Great update. Once again, the scenery is just gorgeous and your pictures are awesome!

Now - back to Williamsburg. I really do think your kids would like it because its not just tours of houses (although you CAN tour houses that are super cool and filled with old guns and stuff like that), but the re-enactors really create this great theme of immersion. They act like they are living and working during that time period and they treat you like you are too. It's really cool to watch the kids get involved in the whole thing. Heck, where else can you stand in clay and help make bricks and watch a impromptu sword fight in the streets?

I only tease you about it because you guys do SO many educational things that I know this would be right up your alley. It's not dry at all. When you decide you just have to go, let me know because I have this great contact that I rent points from to stay in a timeshare.

 

[Dugette]

Another great update. Love all that scenery (and the kids are cute too!) I remember having no idea what to expect of Bryce Canyon and it just amazed me with it's beauty. Such an awesome view.

Side note on the Peapod - and maybe you already know this - but they re-designed them awhile back after a recall. I THINK you said you got a used one, so just FYI. And they now say to use for 1-year-old and up. Maybe he'll like it better when he gets a bit older? And learns how to sleep all night?

 

[KatMark]

Great update, Mark.

Love the pictures...what beautiful scenery. And Sarah is doing such a good job on her panoramic shots. My favorite those is the Junior Ranger photo...such a cutie patootie.

What an idiot tourist? Seriously, I don't think people think anymore.

Nice spot for a PBJ break.

Well, I'm glad we now know why Dave had to keep going to the bathroom.

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

4:18 a.m.—Wow! Three straight hours of sleep before he’s fussing again.

5:32 a.m.—Well, I guess we’re up for the day. Yay!

May he grow out of that fairly soon.
Do not miss that stuff…

Had a nice breakfast at the hotel. It was a standard hotel breakfast made immeasurably better when they brought out the huge tray of donuts halfway through our meal.

And even if you’re not willing to get up early but have a baby who refuses to sleep, the concept still works.

Well there’s a silver lining of sorts.

Route 14 is a beautiful drive, continually climbing the mountains in the Dixie National Forest.

The images certainly confirm the observation, but I did find myself having to research just exactly why a National Forest located entirely in Utah was named “Dixie”.

Yesterday, temperatures were over 100 degrees. This morning, at the higher elevations, they’re hovering in the 50’s.

Ahhhhhh…

It consists of an amphitheater facing west, with exposed red rock that through exposure to wind, rain, and the pressures of time has formed unique structures called “hoodoos”.

Who da’t, sayin’ who da’t, when I say who da’t?

I’m not quite sure where that term came from, but my best guess is that early explorers and settlers needed a word to describe these formations, and “whatsit” and “thingamajiggy” were already being used somewhere else.

And those explorers weren’t from Dixie, ‘cause we already have the word “hoodoo” roaming around in our vernacular.
‘Round here it means to cheat or swindle, as in: “That worthless lout would even hoodoo his own pappy”.

Then again, being as these hoodoos do seem to be cheating gravity, just maybe it was someone from Dixie that coined the term.

The weather is cool and windy, but we forget about all that as we soak in the views of the Cedar Breaks amphitheater.

Whoa…
Good as they are, I suspect those pictures don’t even do it justice.

It’s fun to watch the kids run up to the fence, get their first glimpse, and say, “Whoa….”

Heck, that’s the first thing I said just lookin’ at the pictures.
Trying to imagine being there.

Meanwhile, I’m not sure where Scotty’s Inspector Clouseau mustache came from.

“There is a time to laugh and a time not to laugh, and this is not one of them.”

The park entrance fee is $4/adult, but we show our Super-Secret Stonecutters Card to add another $8 to our tally of savings.

Still doing your part to keep Atlantis off the maps I see.

We were moving along fine until we hit a portion of U.S. 89 that’s closed down to 1 lane due to construction. Stupid highway engineers. How dare you maintain the nation’s infrastructure!

And more importantly, just where did they get the funds from to even do the work?

Why is he so happy? Because he no longer has to do a #2.

Well the road crews were busy working so he just figured that he should get busy doing his appointed job as well.

It’s all over his shorts, instead. I’ll blame the crappy diapers. You can decide if that’s figurative or literal.

Not much of a decision required there.

You get to go through a few awesome rock tunnels on the way, because highway engineers are amazingly cool people.

Well the tunnel is certainly very cool.

It was named after a Mormon settler named Ebenezer Bryce, who, when asked about his impression of the geological wonders of the area, demonstrated a keen understanding of the majesty and grandeur of the region, saying, “Well…it’s a hell of a place to lose a cow.”

A master of understatement.

“Bryce Canyon” is actually a misnomer. It’s not a canyon. There’s no river carving rock walls through a valley. But tourists don’t come all this way to see Bryce Regional Erosion,

“A rose by any other name…”

Yah that’s a load of bunk. Most of us wouldn’t consider heading out to the MK if they had named it the “Kingdom of Heat, Humidity, Thunder Storms and Interminably Long Lines”, so I’m good with calling this a canyon.

We’ve learned the root cause of the problem. When we first talked about going to the desert, Julie stressed the importance of proper hydration to the kids. Stressed, emphasized, threatened with bodily harm—you get the picture. So for the last 3 days, Dave has been draining water bottle after water bottle in the back seat of the van. But hey, at least he’s hydrated. And he listens to his Mommy.

That explains much…
I take it that he’s got a tendency to be an over-achiever.
And good for him that he listens (to his mom at least).

We also wandered the gift shop. Just to see if anything caught our eye.

I see that Drew has already attained complete mastery of the Eye Roll

“Daaaaad… do I haf’ta wear this goofy hat?
And will you stop taking my picture over and over and over…. Sheese!”

What does Baby Drew think?

“I see mommy!”

I present to you Touristus Idiotia, seen here in their native habitat:

Ummmm…. Just wow…
Would you do me a favor and post that one over in the club house as one of our “Bad Idea of the Day” posts? It certainly fits the concept and I just couldn’t take the credit for posting it.

In keeping with tradition, this looks like a great place for a PB&J sandwich.

If you’d gotten a picture of all of ya’, sandwich in hand looking out over the canyon, that would have been my vote for a Christmas card image.

 

[eandesmom]

Before our trip, Sarah had bought her very own iPod. She’d saved for a couple of years, and it was nice to see her diligence pay off. What is the primary use of this iPod? To take selfies, of course.

Confession: I don’t “get” selfies. Why would you want an oversized photo of my head obscuring whatever interesting sight is in the background?

“Hey, check me out! Here’s my forehead with a little piece of the Eiffel Tower behind me…”

However, Sarah did download an app that lets her do panoramic shots. Here’s one she got at Kolob Canyons:

I hear you. In general I don't get them either and every one I attempt to take is rather like the description above. ESPECIALLY the ones I attempted during a certain race last weekend. Oy. However, when solo, or as a couple, sometimes it is the only way to document that you were in fact somewhere. Just in case no one believed you.

I do love those stitching programs! I need to use it more often.

So, I’d started checking out the chain restaurants and found a promising possibility: Dickey’s Barbecue Pit. 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.

4:33 p.m.—I turn into town, having already researched the location of the restaurant.

4:34 p.m.—I can’t find the stupid restaurant.

4:35 p.m.—Neither can anyone else in the car.

4:38 p.m.—We decided to go check into the hotel.

4:58 p.m.—At least I can find the hotel. We’re staying at the Best Western Town & Country right on the main drag in Cedar City. This is one of the places where we (ahem) officially only have 2 kids, so the family waits in the car while I check in. I ask the clerk about places to eat in town, and he confirms that all of the local joints are closed. He produces a map of restaurants—this hotel is prepared for tourists! 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. Woohoo!

Naturally, according to the map it’s on the one side street we didn’t explore earlier.

5:20 p.m.—We finally find Dickey’s Barbecue Pit. Yes, it’s a chain. But it’s cheap. And it’s open. And as it turns out, it’s not bad. I go with a 2-meat platter (beef brisket and pulled pork) while Julie gets a loaded baked potato stuffed with beef brisket. Here’s a blurry picture:

For me, the pork is the star of the meal. Very tender and flavorful. The beef is slightly tough.

There’s a soft-serve ice cream machine in the back that is the source of free dessert. This is now Julie’s time to shine. Way, way, way, way, way back…

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:

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

So, the upshot is that we salvaged a decent meal and came in well under budget. Considering the destinations still to come, saving money is only going to help.

Winner winner chicken dinner! If only one place was open for some grub, this seems like a darn good option.

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.

1:24 a.m.—Baby Drew has been fussy in the pop-up tent from the beginning. It took him an hour to get to sleep in it. Now he’s fussing again. After nursing him, we give up and put him in his car seat.

4:18 a.m.—Wow! Three straight hours of sleep before he’s fussing again.

5:32 a.m.—Well, I guess we’re up for the day. Yay

who needs a wake up call? Do the kids sleep through this? I am too old to contemplate going through that. I truly admire the fortitude it takes.

8:43 a.m.—The weather is cool and windy, but we forget about all that as we soak in the views of the Cedar Breaks amphitheater.

Sarah’s panoramic:

I want to go to Utah. I mean I've been to Utah but I want to go again!

10:12 a.m.—We were moving along fine until we hit a portion of U.S. 89 that’s closed down to 1 lane due to construction. Stupid highway engineers. How dare you maintain the nation’s infrastructure! At least our travel buddy is doing ok.

Why is he so happy? Because he no longer has to do a #2. It’s all over his shorts, instead. I’ll blame the crappy diapers. You can decide if that’s figurative or literal.

Ohhhhh no fun! Poor everyone!

What does Baby Drew think?

That is one cute baby!

We look down the way to our left and see another observation point. The kids head down while Julie and I stay back to try and get a cool picture of them. As we wait, we get a rare wildlife sighting. I present to you Touristus Idiotia, seen here in their native habitat:

See that metal fence below? No way it’s wide enough to catch them if they fall. All it would take is one gust of wind. The guy on the end actually tightroped his way along the top beam to get there.

Unreal. And that happens!

Whew, all caught up!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[glennbo123]

Wow, what beautiful scenery! I could get used to looking at that.

It was named after a Mormon settler named Ebenezer Bryce, who, when asked about his impression of the geological wonders of the area, said...

"I'm sorry, I don't do impressions."

You get to go through a few awesome rock tunnels on the way, because highway engineers are amazingly cool people.

What's next, tunnels through giant redwood trees?

As we wait, we get a rare wildlife sighting. I present to you Touristus Idiotia, seen here in their native habitat:

See that metal fence below? No way it’s wide enough to catch them if they fall. All it would take is one gust of wind. The guy on the end actually tightroped his way along the top beam to get there.

Or they might get impaled on the fence. And worse, other people see them and think "we need to get a picture like that!" Dopes.

 

[dgbg100106]

Beautiful scenery and great update...

I must say that Drew's little legs are so darn cute... That picture of him next to sign is off the cuteness scale.

 

[mickeystoontown]

We were at Chick Fil A this weekend ordering ice cream (yeah, we are weird and go to Chick Fil A for the ice cream and not the chicken) and as I was watching the teenager make our cones, I thought "Julie's ice cream cone skills are better than that."

It's been years and years since we've been out West. As a matter of fact, it was about 28-29 years ago. Hum, let's see if I can remember. Oh yeah, I got pregnant on the trip...our daughter just turned 28...yep, about 29 years ago. Needless to say, nobody asked if we enjoyed the trip.

So, how much did the National Park pass cost if you pre-paid for it? It sounds like you are definitely getting your money's worth by doing it that way.

The scenery in the pictures is absolutely breathtaking! The colors and formations are amazing! We don't have nuttin' like that to see in our neck of the woods. Just swamps and crops and rednecks. Speaking of rednecks, it wouldn't surprise me if the Touristus Idiotia was from around these parts.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Do what you gotta do.

I can predict you will be seeing less of the peapod thing from now on.

If you would have sighted him a little sooner, it wouldn't have been such a close call.

That would have required me to stop texting and pay attention to the road.

Is she charging you a licensing fee to use these pictures?
Wait, does she even know what a licensing fee is? I think I need to have a talk with her...

I've told her to stay away from bad influences. Basically anybody from Wisconsin.

Admit it - you thought about just leaving the shorts on the side of the road because you didn't want them in the car. It's Ok, we've all done it.

I would have, but I didn't want to leave an open fire burning in the wilderness. What with the drought and all.

Dang tooty, I'm on a roll! I done gone and read an update before it has been up for like 3 months.

It'll be harder once I start going 3 months between updates.

Nice pictures, idiot tourists, and a shout out to your own profession. Good work! Oh, and baby poop jokes. That just puts it all in the outstanding TR'ing category.

Good thing my family gives me plenty of material to work with!

Yikes! Having babies is not for the faint of heart!

It's also not for old farts like me!

Mmmmmm donuts!

Hey! I'm so happy that you posted these pictures! I always thought that years ago we pulled off the I-15 and visited Bryce Canyon's first stop, but after going to Bryce I realized that was way too far off the road for a "stop in". Now I know this was the park that we went to instead!

Glad I could solve the mystery for you!

I couldn't resist especially when Google is my friend. There is a lot of erroneous information out there, but this is the best that I came up with.

"American aboriginal peoples of the northwest picked up the word hoodoo from English-speaking fur trappers and, like them, used hoodoo to refer to any malignant creature or evil supernatural force. That's how it came to be applied to the curious columns of earth or rock. "

I still think it happened when one of them couldn't think of a word and said to his buddy, "Just go stand over there by those....hoodoos."

Thanks for the informative tidbit!

Very nice!

People are such idiots!

You're not kidding. Admit it, you were surprised I wasn't in the picture, weren't you?

I get the not enough time thing. There are multiple programs that I would like to watch, but just can't because I have too much important stuff to do, but this one you make time, after the kids have gone to bed. You wouldn't want your kids to pick up certain words from Sheldon's vocabulary!

I have heard great things about Big Bang Theory. I just never got on the train when it left the station. Lately, we've been going to bed almost as soon as the kids go down!

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

I love all those pictures of the red/orange rocks. They are just so pretty. But happy baby pictures are very pretty, too! And in picture form they don't wake you up at night nor do they smell.

That's exactly right! I'm too old for this @#$%.

I like your tradition of having lunch with a view.

It sure beats a Walmart parking lot!

And those idiots are really amazing. There was an incident here this summer in Portugal where a couple stepped over a fence at a cliff to take a selfie of themselves and then fell down. Their two kids watched their parents fall. It was such a sad story.

I think I remember hearing about that in the news. Just awful. And so unnecessary, too.

Beautiful scenery....and the rocks are pretty too! Love the pic of Drew in the Junior Ranger hat! In Rocky Mountian NP, they have a whole Jr Ranger uniform that he would look adorable in....well, before the poop incident!

Spoiler alert: That Junior Ranger uniform was also available here, and may or may not be in Drew's pile of Christmas presents later this year.

The parks passes really do pay for themselves. I pay $40 for my annual pass for just RMNP and it only take 2 trips in a year to break even.

Sounds like a good deal! We may be checking that park out next summer...stay tuned.

Can you say altitude headache???? I haven't gone that high in about 8 years thanks to altitude sickness. I'm jealous.

You know, I didn't really notice the thin air. Probably because I usually have so little brain activity going on that I don't need much oxygen to sustain it.

Love this!

I've learned that I really like wide-angle shots.

Cool! What a great moment!

It wasn't anything too special, but it was nice to be there early to start the day.

I think there is a speaker growing out of that rock? Those engineers really ARE amazing!

You could say it's rockin'.

Whoops, sorry, I was channeling Barry there for a second.

One word - Adorable!

All together now: Awwwww...

Yeah - THAT looks safe!

Great update. Once again, the scenery is just gorgeous and your pictures are awesome!

Thanks Mary Ellen!

Now - back to Williamsburg. I really do think your kids would like it because its not just tours of houses (although you CAN tour houses that are super cool and filled with old guns and stuff like that), but the re-enactors really create this great theme of immersion. They act like they are living and working during that time period and they treat you like you are too. It's really cool to watch the kids get involved in the whole thing. Heck, where else can you stand in clay and help make bricks and watch a impromptu sword fight in the streets?

You had me at impromptu swordfights!

I only tease you about it because you guys do SO many educational things that I know this would be right up your alley. It's not dry at all. When you decide you just have to go, let me know because I have this great contact that I rent points from to stay in a timeshare.

Thanks! We've talked about going quite a bit. Like I said, it was just a matter of trying to figure out the best age for the kids to appreciate it. We're probably in that window now.

Another great update. Love all that scenery (and the kids are cute too!) I remember having no idea what to expect of Bryce Canyon and it just amazed me with it's beauty. Such an awesome view.

It really is an amazing place. We really loved it.

Side note on the Peapod - and maybe you already know this - but they re-designed them awhile back after a recall. I THINK you said you got a used one, so just FYI. And they now say to use for 1-year-old and up. Maybe he'll like it better when he gets a bit older? And learns how to sleep all night?

Hmmm...I wonder if they re-designed them to actually make a baby WANT to sleep in it?

Great update, Mark.

Love the pictures...what beautiful scenery. And Sarah is doing such a good job on her panoramic shots. My favorite those is the Junior Ranger photo...such a cutie patootie.

You should see the whole outfit!

What an idiot tourist? Seriously, I don't think people think anymore.

I think we've pretty much confirmed that.

Nice spot for a PBJ break.

Yeah, you could do a lot worse.

Well, I'm glad we now know why Dave had to keep going to the bathroom.

And he remained hydrated for the rest of the trip.

 

[jedijill]

*If* Santa brings the Jr Ranger outfit, I will need a picture.

Jill in CO

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

May he grow out of that fairly soon.
Do not miss that stuff…

Good news! We have successfully transferred him to the crib.

Bad news: he still gets up at least once a night. Not horrible, but I haven't slept through the night in over 7 months now.

Well there’s a silver lining of sorts.

We do like to beat the crowds. But we also like to be awake enough to enjoy it.

The images certainly confirm the observation, but I did find myself having to research just exactly why a National Forest located entirely in Utah was named “Dixie”.

Dunno. I was just reporting the facts.

Who da’t, sayin’ who da’t, when I say who da’t?

Gesundheit.

And those explorers weren’t from Dixie, ‘cause we already have the word “hoodoo” roaming around in our vernacular.
‘Round here it means to cheat or swindle, as in: “That worthless lout would even hoodoo his own pappy”.

Then again, being as these hoodoos do seem to be cheating gravity, just maybe it was someone from Dixie that coined the term.

It does seem like a very southern word. It also sounds like a word that MUST be used in conjunction with "Pappy".

Whoa…
Good as they are, I suspect those pictures don’t even do it justice.

No, they don't. With sights like these, you lose the sense of scale with a photograph. It will be even more of a problem when we reach the Grand Canyon.

Heck, that’s the first thing I said just lookin’ at the pictures.
Trying to imagine being there.

Indeed it is! Right there in writing.

“There is a time to laugh and a time not to laugh, and this is not one of them.”

+1

Do you know what kind of a bomb it was?
Yes, the exploding kind.

Still doing your part to keep Atlantis off the maps I see.

And keep the metric system down, and make Steve Guttenberg a star.

And more importantly, just where did they get the funds from to even do the work?

Great question. Probably borrowed it because that's what we do these days.

Well the road crews were busy working so he just figured that he should get busy doing his appointed job as well.

He is very reliable on that front.

Not much of a decision required there.

Well the tunnel is certainly very cool.

A master of understatement.

Sometimes you just have to wonder about people.

“A rose by any other name…”

Yah that’s a load of bunk. Most of us wouldn’t consider heading out to the MK if they had named it the “Kingdom of Heat, Humidity, Thunder Storms and Interminably Long Lines”, so I’m good with calling this a canyon.

It makes for a better name, anyway.

That explains much…
I take it that he’s got a tendency to be an over-achiever.
And good for him that he listens (to his mom at least).

He's a very, very smart kid. Brilliant, even. But the street-smarts and common sense are sometimes lacking.

I see that Drew has already attained complete mastery of the Eye Roll

“Daaaaad… do I haf’ta wear this goofy hat?
And will you stop taking my picture over and over and over…. Sheese!”

Get used to it, kid.

“I see mommy!”

That's EXACTLY what he's thinking!

Ummmm…. Just wow…
Would you do me a favor and post that one over in the club house as one of our “Bad Idea of the Day” posts? It certainly fits the concept and I just couldn’t take the credit for posting it.

Sure! I'd be glad to. I just keep forgetting to do it.

If you’d gotten a picture of all of ya’, sandwich in hand looking out over the canyon, that would have been my vote for a Christmas card image.

I found over the years that I have very few PB&J pictures, so I was trying to get at least this one.

 

[afwdwfan]

Confession: I've never seen a single episode of Big Bang Theory.

Only so many hours in the day, dude.

For this, you make time.

Mark, you really need to re-evaluate your priorities. This is one of the best things on TV these days.

4:18 a.m.—Wow! Three straight hours of sleep before he’s fussing again.

3 consecutive hours?!?! WOW! You must have really worn him out.

It was a standard hotel breakfast made immeasurably better when they brought out the huge tray of donuts halfway through our meal

Donuts make everything better.

We’ve found that the concept of Rope Drop works pretty much everywhere you go. If you’re willing to get up early, you can see even the most popular places before they are overcome with crowds.

Absolutely!

It’s fun to watch the kids run up to the fence, get their first glimpse, and say, “Whoa….”

And a nice reminder of why you and Julie are busting your butts and taking a baby cross country to give them the 50 state experience.

Meanwhile, I’m not sure where Scotty’s Inspector Clouseau mustache came from.

Were you dunking those donuts in some chocolate milk?

Stupid highway engineers. How dare you maintain the nation’s infrastructure!

What are they thinking? Oh, that's right. They don't!!!

“Well…it’s a hell of a place to lose a cow.”

More like a whole herd!

I had to rush in ahead of everyone to accompany Dave, who announced as we drove into the park that he really, really needed to go.

Get that kid a Stadium Pal.

We’ve learned the root cause of the problem. When we first talked about going to the desert, Julie stressed the importance of proper hydration to the kids. Stressed, emphasized, threatened with bodily harm—you get the picture. So for the last 3 days, Dave has been draining water bottle after water bottle in the back seat of the van.

Well, obviously!

And he listens to his Mommy.

Always, or just this one time?

I present to you Touristus Idiotia, seen here in their native habitat

In keeping with tradition, this looks like a great place for a PB&J sandwich.

Absolutely right. Just like most restaurants in Disney World, it's the experience, not the food.

 

[Leshaface]

4:18 a.m.—Wow! Three straight hours of sleep before he’s fussing again.

5:32 a.m.—Well, I guess we’re up for the day. Yay!

The only time I appreciated DS waking up at these hours was when we were on Disney vacations. DH and DM are not early risers, so having DS up would force them up

7:27 a.m.—Had a nice breakfast at the hotel. It was a standard hotel breakfast made immeasurably better when they brought out the huge tray of donuts halfway through our meal. Now we’re on the road with a full day ahead of us. We’re headed east out of Cedar City and into the mountains on Route 14.

Donuts anytime of the day brings a smile to my face!

Route 14 is a beautiful drive, continually climbing the mountains in the Dixie National Forest. Yesterday, temperatures were over 100 degrees. This morning, at the higher elevations, they’re hovering in the 50’s. We actually have to break out our sweatshirts. We also have our first wildlife sighting—a marmot that I nearly flatten as he shuffles off the road.

I bet the change in weather was a nice change.

Sarah’s panoramic:

Gorgeous shots!

Meanwhile, I’m not sure where Scotty’s Inspector Clouseau mustache came from.

10:53 a.m.—Our first stop is the visitor center, where we get our second passport stamp of the day and use our Get Out Of Jail Free card to avoid paying the $25 entrance fee. Our entrance fee tally is now at $68 saved, and we’re only 3 days into the trip!

Wow, you really have saved a lot so far. I thought it was some type of ploy to get people to pay a large sum up front. Guess not and that's awesome!

We’ve learned the root cause of the problem. When we first talked about going to the desert, Julie stressed the importance of proper hydration to the kids. Stressed, emphasized, threatened with bodily harm—you get the picture. So for the last 3 days, Dave has been draining water bottle after water bottle in the back seat of the van. But hey, at least he’s hydrated. And he listens to his Mommy.

I was wondering if/when you were going to address why he'd been going to the restroom a lot. What a good boy that he listened!

The views here are stunning. You can see for miles in the clear mountain air. When you live in a flat state like Delaware, where the highest point is measured by whoever can stand tallest in the tailgate of a pickup truck, this kind of panorama just does not grow old.

We look down the way to our left and see another observation point. The kids head down while Julie and I stay back to try and get a cool picture of them. As we wait, we get a rare wildlife sighting. I present to you Touristus Idiotia, seen here in their native habitat:

See that metal fence below? No way it’s wide enough to catch them if they fall. All it would take is one gust of wind. The guy on the end actually tightroped his way along the top beam to get there.

Oh geez. Not the brightest crayon in the box huh?

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

Good news! We have successfully transferred him to the crib.

Bad news: he still gets up at least once a night. Not horrible, but I haven't slept through the night in over 7 months now.

A good start. May he get settled soon.
Seven month is a long time, but twenty-two would be worse.
Not that Max cares, but I’d tell Drew that there’s really no need in breakin’ that particular record.

Dunno. I was just reporting the facts.

Ahhh, Well…
according to the Inter-webs (and we all know that everything out there is factual) it comes from local slang. Most of the larger municipalities are in the northern part of the state and apparently the folks up that way had borrowed the term and would often (and somewhat disparagingly) refer to the hotter, dryer southern part of the state as “Dixie”. Apparently someone in the forestry service took a shine to the local designation and made it official (at least within the confines of the USNPS).

There… that’s half the battle.

It does seem like a very southern word. It also sounds like a word that MUST be used in conjunction with "Pappy".

As astute observation if ever I’ve heard one, sir.
I shan’t be arguing the point.

He's a very, very smart kid. Brilliant, even. But the street-smarts and common sense are sometimes lacking.

So to put that into South’rn parlance:
The boy could cipher to the drop how much rain will fall, but it just don’t occur that he might ought come back in the house once it commences.

Wonder where he picked that up form…
Not a problem though. Book smarts will take one a very long way indeed. But once out on his own he’d do well to find someone to spend time with that can make up for that deficiency.


Like his pappy did.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

I hear you. In general I don't get them either and every one I attempt to take is rather like the description above. ESPECIALLY the ones I attempted during a certain race last weekend. Oy. However, when solo, or as a couple, sometimes it is the only way to document that you were in fact somewhere. Just in case no one believed you.

I figure they other people in my family are all better-looking. I'll stick with pictures of them.

I do love those stitching programs! I need to use it more often.

I love the wide angle!

Winner winner chicken dinner! If only one place was open for some grub, this seems like a darn good option.

I think it turned out to be a good choice! Definitely helped on the budget. The other chains were open, but really, Taco Bell is just too dangerous.

who needs a wake up call? Do the kids sleep through this? I am too old to contemplate going through that. I truly admire the fortitude it takes.

Thanks, but I'm too old for this too! The kids actually seem to sleep through it. Don't ask me how. Or they may wake up, but don't seem to have trouble falling back asleep. I'm a light sleeper anyway, so it takes me like 20 minutes to fall asleep every time I lay down.

I want to go to Utah. I mean I've been to Utah but I want to go again!

Me too!

Ohhhhh no fun! Poor everyone!

Bleh.

It is amazing how quickly you get desensitized to this stuff, though.

That is one cute baby!

Blame his mommy!

Unreal. And that happens!

Wow, what beautiful scenery! I could get used to looking at that.

It most definitely does not suck.

"I'm sorry, I don't do impressions."

What's next, tunnels through giant redwood trees?

Be thankful they still exist...because these days, no environmental group would ever let us try it!

Or they might get impaled on the fence. And worse, other people see them and think "we need to get a picture like that!" Dopes.

Seriously. You can see my kids in the lower left corner of the picture. Hopefully they were thinking, "What a bunch of morons."

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Beautiful scenery and great update...

I must say that Drew's little legs are so darn cute... That picture of him next to sign is off the cuteness scale.

My wife LOVES his chubby legs. She squeals over them once a day, at least.

We're thinking of modeling his Halloween costume after a certain movie character. Can you see the resemblance?

We were at Chick Fil A this weekend ordering ice cream (yeah, we are weird and go to Chick Fil A for the ice cream and not the chicken) and as I was watching the teenager make our cones, I thought "Julie's ice cream cone skills are better than that."

I'm sure she will be happy to hear that! And Chick Fil-A has really good milkshakes, too.

It's been years and years since we've been out West. As a matter of fact, it was about 28-29 years ago. Hum, let's see if I can remember. Oh yeah, I got pregnant on the trip...our daughter just turned 28...yep, about 29 years ago. Needless to say, nobody asked if we enjoyed the trip.

This made me spit out my soda. It sounds like you really enjoyed the trip!

So, how much did the National Park pass cost if you pre-paid for it? It sounds like you are definitely getting your money's worth by doing it that way.

The pass was $80 and gets you into any Federal park land for the entire year. We pre-ordered it just so we'd have it in our pocket when we started the trip, but that was actually unnecessary. You can buy it for the same price at just about any National Park.

The scenery in the pictures is absolutely breathtaking! The colors and formations are amazing! We don't have nuttin' like that to see in our neck of the woods. Just swamps and crops and rednecks. Speaking of rednecks, it wouldn't surprise me if the Touristus Idiotia was from around these parts.

Oh, I'm sure we can all find plenty of candidates for that title! And Delaware doesn't have anything like this, either. Maybe that's why we enjoy traveling so much!

 

[afwdwfan]

My wife LOVES his chubby legs. She squeals over them once a day, at least.

We're thinking of modeling his Halloween costume after a certain movie character. Can you see the resemblance?

Do it!!! But you and Julie should be Ghostbusters to go along with the theme.