Sunday morning, we packed up our rig after a yummy breakfast of pancakes made by Mary, and headed out from Springville for Powell, Wyoming.
We got as far as Provo Canyon before we had to stop. Every time we have driven through Provo Canyon in the past, we took in the beauty from the car windows, always wanting to stop and enjoy Bridal Veil Falls and the river. So, in the interest of fun rather than "making good time," we made a stop just 20 minutes into our trip. The kids had a great time climbing and wading in the ice cold mountain water.
(These are a bit Where's Waldo-ish pictures, but if you look closely, you can see them climbing up the rocks and wood at the base of the falls)
Once Jett had ventured as far as I would let him up the base of the falls, they all came back down to the pool at the bottom, where he promptly found something else to climb...this huge rock, which in true Jett form, he scaled in no time at all! Blaze and Sierra decided that if Jett could do it, so could they, but it took a little more strategy and a couple more tries for them than it did for Jett, but they eventually made it up there!
After about 30 minutes or so of freezing feet and climbing, we piled back into our very thirsty rig to finish the drive through Provo Canyon....love the new road across the dam, so much nicer than before! This was one of my worry spots because I remembered that skinny road over the dam and how it was such a tiny 2 lane road so close to the rocks, but the improvements they have made there over the past couple of years made the drive a breeze, even with my trailer...what a relief!
After another hour or so of travel, it was time for a potty break and so we decided to stop at our usual rest stop in Echo Canyon (I think), forgetting that the east bound stop is not nearly as nice as the one on the west bound side! But it was okay, we found a place to park, and when we got out the kids noticed a couple of chipmunks (or squirrels?), in the dirt near the restrooms. What we thought was "a couple" was actually probably close to 100 or more!
Once we noticed the first couple, the kids ran back to the truck to get some peanuts to see if we could get them to come closer. Well, when they did that, the entire colony descended! There were so many of them darting in and out of the brush...the kids and I especially got a kick out of one really chubby one (this one has apparently developed a taste for people food) who kept coming and stealing the nuts from all the others! It was quite entertaining!
(Again, the picture is a little Where's Waldo-ish as the little buggers are the same color as the dirt, but they are there!)
After playing with the chipmunks and using the appropriate facilities, the kids noticed a trail leading up the hill behind the rest stop. They, of course, begged to go up the trail and eventually talked me into it, which I regretted almost immediately! Fortunately it was a very nice trail, cement...like a sidewalk, but it was sooo steep! I thought I was going to die by the time I got to the top, but the view was definitely worth it! It really was beautiful!
So, with all our wiggles out, we were back on the road. A little way down the road, my Aunt Robyn, Uncle Doug, and kids (Sean, Keesha, Savanna, and Mat) caught up with us. We knew we would be traveling this stretch on the same day as they were on their way home from California for my cousin Jordan's wedding in San Diego. It was so fun and such a relief having them backing me up the rest of the way home. Although I'm sure it was not so much fun for them having to be behind me going up this "little" hill! By the time I got to the top of this thing, I was barely going 45 MPH and my uncle (I hear) was dissing my Ford! But hey, I know my Ford would have done much better had I not been hauling an extremely overloaded trailer!!
We're HOME! Finally, after 17 hours of driving and probably over 100 gallons of gas, there they are...the Rocky Mountains of northern Wyoming! This was taken just as we were coming up on South Pass. We had about another 5 hours of driving to go, but we were so happy to finally see our mountains! We arrived safely in Powell at around 9:30, just before dark. It was so great to finally be back home, knowing that although circumstances aren't perfect right now, we will be making a go of it here at home!2 Comments:
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July 1, 2008 at 8:52 AM
Wow! That is gorgeous! Glad to see you guys made it safe. :)July 15, 2008 at 7:11 PMI get goose bumps every time I see "our mountains". I wish I was there with you! I am so jealous, but happy for you guys =)
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