Natural Wonders

After Dinosaur National Monument in Jensen Utah, our family took a round-about way of getting to the Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks that we'd eagerly been awaiting. We drove through Salt Lake City and then into Idaho where we set up camp close to Craters of the Moon National Monument.

Craters provided a unique volcanic landscape for us to explore.

The highlight for all of us was getting our permit and dropping into a few of the many caves created by the cooling of lava ages ago. After walking across black lava fields in the desert in July, we welcomed the temperature drop in the caves.

I never would have guessed Idaho would be where we'd learn more about volcanic activity, but we picked up enough knowledge here to pass the Junior Ranger program.

And then on to Jackson Hole to visit Grand Teton National Park.

Teton is a splendid place for hiking and wildlife viewing.

The most elusive animal we got to see was a pair of moose munching leaves.

A ranger program taught the boys a lot about bison which we would see many more of in Yellowstone than Teton.

We celebrated Atticus's 6th birthday in the park.

As a present we took the family whitewater rafting on the Snake River's class II and III rapids.

The boys were "hood ornaments" on the raft as we plunged through great waves like one named "Lunch Counter." Of course the boys finished eager for more!

But to date, nothing has been as awesome as

It's as close to a safari as anyone in our family has been.

A safari that has amazing thermal features.

And great scenery.

Scenery we could be a part of.

It's humbling to realize how temporary our place in this landscape is but encouraging that we're taking this time to engage the natural wonders that our country has.

Two-wheeled Tourism

We’ve toted a stable of bicycles with us throughout our stateside travels. And recently while driving, one of the bikes fell off our bike rack causing damage to it and one other bike on the rack. Fortunately, no one was hurt and both bikes are repairable with some parts and expertise. But the recent incident (and subsequent cash outlay) made me question whether bringing bikes along has been worth it.

So I’ve looked back at when we’ve used them and came up with this incomplete list.

Near Lancaster, PA Shelly and I enjoyed a road-bike ride through Amish country. We also rode the beautiful Enola Low Grade Trail alongside the Susquehanna River with the family.

In upstate New York, three of us rode a stretch of the 524-mile network of canal paths linked to the Erie Canal. The access point is only 1/2 mile from Shelly’s brother’s house. What a great resource!

Tennessee gave us a chance to ride with some fellow bike enthusiasts, including a Father’s Day ride for two dads.

While in Asheville, Baxter and I rode on some world-class single-track mountain bike trails in Pisgah National Forest. The bumps and berms of the Hard Times trail in the Bent Creek Experimental Forest still makes it our favorite trail so far this year.

In Kentucky, the boys and I got to ride a few miles with their great uncle.

In Iowa, bikes were transport to the store and the pool.

In Colorado, it was double track for the kids and single track through the Uncompahgre National Forest for the dads.

And in Utah, we brought bikes out in the mountain biking Mecca of Moab to for the full family to ride single track at Dead Horse Point State Park.

And later in the day we rode down the beautiful paved bike path back to town.

The boys were especially amused by the bike path sign warning of the steep down grade.

Also in the Vernal, UT area known as Dinosaurland we got the family of four riding single track again in McCoy Flats.

In between these rides there have been dozens of times we’ve just pulled out the bikes for a pedal around the block or the campground. Perhaps we haven’t needed all the bikes we brought with us (we’ve yet to use the trail-a-bike for Atticus). Sure would have been nice not to break a bike by dragging it behind the trailer on the highway. But enjoying what this country has to offer from the pace of a two-wheeled view has been a worthy luxury. We hope we get to cover a lot more of it pedaling.

Our First Few National Parks and Other Cool Places

Have to lead in with a question here: How many of you have heard of Black Canyon of the Gunnison? Alright, how many of you know it’s a National Park? If you’re like us, you’ve only recently heard of this Colorado natural wonder. We decided to check it out with my brother’s family and friends while we were camping nearby with them. We’re glad we did.

This half-mile deep, narrow canyon runs for dozens of miles. We sampled views from the top of the canyon and ventured part way down the wall on a short hike.

While Shelly and I will remember this little-known park for its magnificence, our boys will likely think of it as the place they first became Junior Park Rangers. Completing the workbook sections appropriate for their ages, Baxter and Atticus were sworn in and received their first Junior Park Ranger badges.

Sadly saying bye to our Colorado family, we ventured on our own to the southwest corner of the state to visit Mesa Verde National Park. 

Starting with a ranger-led tour of one of the largest cliff dwellings, we learned amazing facts about the people who inhabited the area some 700 years ago. Life expectancy in men was around 35 years, in women 23. The way the cliff dwellers got food and other supplies such as the stones with which they built their homes was by climbing down the rock face into the dwelling.

We were amazed by the amount of effort the people put into constructing various dwellings. The boys and we agree that we’re fortunate to have life as easy as we do (and that both parents have outlived the life-expectancy of the natives).

Packing up the trailer, we decided to take a detour through Four Corners Monument on our way to Utah. Though ultimately disappointing in the commercial nature of this attraction, the boys were thoroughly amused that we let them go “ahead of us” unchaperoned to both Arizona and Utah! 

And then there’s Moab. What a beautiful area! First stop: Arches National Park.

The scenery from the car kept us mesmerized, but hiking to a few of the park’s 2300 arches brought a more meaningful connection to these windows in time.

It also enabled completion of the field portion of the Junior Park Ranger booklets.

Though our focus is on national parks, we’re dropping in on other points of interest along the way. The jaunt to Dead Horse Point State Park was richly rewarding [more on this park in a later post].

Our final park visit in Moab was to Canyonlands National Park. Equally excellent for rock-hopping and jaw-dropping.

Despite temperatures topping 100 degrees, the number of beautiful things to see and fun things to do make Moab, Utah a likely repeat destination for our family. 

In addition to many national parks, the Park Service runs many national monuments throughout the country. Before leaving Utah, we set our sites on Dinosaur National Monument where we found, as you might expect, fascinating dinosaur remains. 

Recently redone, the monument’s visitor’s center and main exhibit at the Carnegie Quarry were top-notch. We were floored to find hundreds of dinosaur fossils exposed in the rock just as they had frozen in time 150 million years ago. This single site in Jensen, UT has produced hundreds of the world’s fossilized dinosaur skeletons. Being able to touch the fossils brings out the imagination in us.

Dinosaur National Monument highlights some of the area’s more modern inhabitants with information and preserved petroglyphs from only 1000 years ago.

In case you got confused by our detours, it’s important for me to keep score for you. We’re now up to 5 Junior Park Ranger badges for each boy (one at each of the four national parks, and one at the national monument). 

More things to see, learn, and do. We’re only halfway through our first of three months touring the public lands of our western states. Tomorrow we hitch up again and ride on to new sites.