Rocky Mountain + Utah Big 5 National Parks

Covid19 put a hiatus on non-essential travel for several months this spring. I was a bit worried about our summer plans, which was to head west and hit several national parks. My son, Noah, completed 4th grade this year, and during the year that kids are in 4th grade, they are allowed a free pass to all of the national parks for that year. Originally, we were going to head out at the end of June and travel over the 4th of July, but we decided that would be too busy, plus I was going to begin a graduate course at the end of June, and my co-traveler was beginning summer school teaching. So, we bumped our trip up to the middle of June. We started from Eastern Iowa and went to Colorado, Utah, and Arizona (briefly). I used a post from MyUtahParks to guide our planning, and Noah helped me plan the whole thing out as part of his "voluntary-but-mom-required-schoolwork". Here's what the daily itinerary looked like: 

Day 1: Drive to Loveland, CO

Day 2: Explore Rocky Mountain National Park

Day 3: Drive to Moab, UT

Day 4: Explore Arches National Park

Day 5: Explore Canyonlands National Park

Day 6: Drive to Kanab, UT. Stop through Page, AZ at Horseshoe Bend & Lake Powell

Day 7: Explore Zion National Park

Day 8: We were supposed to go to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, but it was closed due to fire. Instead, we rested and hiked to Moqui Cave in Kanab.

Day 9: Explore Bryce Canyon National Park

Day 10: Explore Grand Escalante-Staircase National Monument

Day 11: Explore Capitol Reef National Park

Day 12 & 13: Drive home

Whew! It was an amazing time, and we were able to do *most* of what we had planned. We used the AllTrails app plus the books I got about the national parks to guide our hiking. We hiked in the mornings and evenings to avoid the hottest part of the day and took picnic lunches with us lots of places. 

These are the two books I used, and I'm so thankful I bought both of them! They provided some background about each park as well as some tips about where to go and which hikes were most popular as well as some that aren't as popular. If you're going to hike more, I'd recommend the one on the left, as it has a chart for each park of every hike with details about how hard it is, how long, etc. If you're going to drive more, then the one on the left might be more helpful. But, if you've got the budget, I'd get both. 

 

We also stayed in some pretty unique places, including a tipi and a covered wagon! The tipi was at Ruby's Inn Campground right outside of Bryce Canyon National Park. The covered wagon was at Broken Spur Inn near Capitol Reef. The wagon was our favorite night of lodging--all of us agreed!

New House!

Wowzas, it's been a crazy month--I moved and started school at about the same time! Here's some pictures from the last month, in reverse order....

Apparently I have too many clothes...knocked this right out of the wall today. Drilled a new hole and got it back in working order. 

I have a spider named Charlotte living on my deck. So far, Charlotte caught a dragonfly and a moth. I'm secretly hoping she goes away, but I'm too scared to kill her...

Pacino is trying hard to adjust....

My blue wall, after painting and hanging everything!

He's actually sat in his hammock a few times!

New towel holder since the oven handle isn't wide enough. Got this at a vintage fair in Tipton.

Doesn't the blue look so much better?!

Pacino isn't quite used to the idea of living in a new home, but he's almost forgiven me. 

He still loves water! And now we have more sinks to choose from...

Our last moment at Creekside Drive. Pacino hid behind the dryer and it took awhile to coax him out. 

Then we had a sleepover at Lori's. He mostly hid under the couch, but he did check out the bathroom sink.

He still also appreciates laying in the tub.

July is for Being Outside

Apparently I spent a lot of time outside in July. Here are those pictures plus some other random ones!

Maxine loves her popcorn.

Found this super cute table at a place in Ankeny called Tweedle Dee's. A guy from Bondurant makes them for her--super cool!

The peach tree is almost falling down because there are so many peaches!

Pacino and I are exhausted from packing boxes...

Took a little bike ride through Marion the other day. I love this trail!

The fam at the family reunion.

These pictures are in backwards order...I was trying to take a picture of me eating the strawberry! I had to get help to make it work.

This is a freshwater spring. The water was chilly but very clear. Could see everything! Even the water bubbling up from the spring.

This is the backbone trail at Backbone State Park. Not really as much climbing as it looks, but gotta pay attention! 

The trout stream was very cool. Crystal clear water that you could see the bottom and all the fish!

We did go in to a verrrrry little cave. By in, I mean two steps.

Drove through the trout stream on the way in, similar to Ledges State Park.

Played in a madhatter Volley's tournament. Thinking I was probably top 5 before the last games. Ended up in 16th, which was enough to win back the $10 I paid to play!

Spent an afternoon laying at the beach. I didn't get to the ocean this summer, so this was the best I could do...

I think this bridge is super cool! It's at Palisade's Kepler State Park. 

We spent the morning hiking around.

Celebrating a birthday! Murder-mystery style.

An afternoon in a kayak is always good. Minus the wind...

My condo is SOLD!

I could see almosssttt this whole entire rainbow. 

These are pictures from Palisades, too, but from a different day. 

Poor Pacino got very, very tired of being in here during house showings. 

I also finally got him a cushion for his table/bed...but he prefers the chaise instead. Big surprise!