Day 2: Two National Parks in One Day

What an amazing day!  We drive out to the North Rim after a quick breakfast and packing up the site.  We did have a bit of a scare when the auto jack system said the jacks were stuck down (problematic when you are trying to go in a forward motion), but it reset itself and we were rolling.  Driving to the Rim reminds me of just how incredibly diverse the Arizona landscape is.  We go from scrub brush, to open meadows (where we see a herd of buffalo) and on to the expanse of the Grand Canyon.  We were even flagged down by a biker, who told us we had something pouring out of the back of our motorhome.  Fortunately, it was just water- which is apparently okay?

We had lunch at the Grand Canyon Lodge, next to a huge window overlooking the canyon.  Everyone else got normal meals, but when the waitress put my plate down in front of me, conversations stopped and heads turned.  The Navajo Taco is the biggest thing you’ve ever seen.  I’m pretty sure Dave was pointing and laughing too!  It was worth the humiliation though.

 We walked out to a frightening high overlook, teetering over the Canyon- where Carter immediately turned into a kicking, screaming badger.  Definitely time to move on.

We continue on to Utah, to the Zion National Monument.  We get in for free on Dave’s annual Tonto Pass.  We’ve saved $50 in entrance fees so far with it.  We do have to pay a $15 escort fee because the motorhome is too wide to fit through a gianourmous tunnel in the middle of the park.  It’s worth it.  It is the longest tunnel we’ve ever been in.  Hannah and Jack are in the front with Daddy- squealing with delight.  Zion is beautiful, beautiful, beautiful!  I imagine how fun it would be to hike it, until visions of our brief encounter with the Grand Canyon come back to me.  Perhaps in a few years…

 I take a zillion pictures while hanging my head out the side of the RV.  The weather is perfect.  Tatum has slept through all of Zion, so there is some concern that she might be sick.  Or just carsick.  She did throw up through an entire three day Mexican cruise when she was three. 

We end up in Beaver, UT, where we plan to grab a few groceries before we check into the local KOA.  Except, in southern Utah, on a Sunday evening…there are no groceries to be had.  The leftover gumbo was a lifesaver!  Somehow, the rice did not make it on board, so we had it over pasta instead.  A little strange, but not too bad with a lovely salad!  I say lovely because we made croutons out of sesame bagels, which turned out to be genius!

Tatum seems fine now.  Perhaps she was just sleeping off her big week at church camp.  Maybe we won’t show her the Zion pictures just yet.  We cap the evening off with smores.  Carter has this whole thing figured out, as he wields his stick with a flaming ball of mallow goo dangerously close to Jack’s head.  Jack is oblivious to the lurking danger.  Hannah touches her metal stick on accident, only to discover what a great conductor of heat that metal is.  She shook it off like a good camper, though.  Tatum is tonight’s maestro of roasting.  She turns out a pretty nice marshmallow.  We’re turning in tonight with the roasty scent of campfire in our hair.