Hiking and Biking

It's been a busy 2 days - first back to Bryce Canyon, listened to a ranger talk on geology then down into the canyon on a 5 km hike. It was amazing, walking beside the hoodoos, looking up the walls, & squeezing through slot canyons. The trail went down 600 ft in elevation, then back up - all this at over 8000 ft above sea level! We have been collecting corkscrews and bottle openers for a while & I think we found one of the only openers in Utah in the gift shop ( considering this is a Mormon state & limited drinking). Today we were off to Red Canyon, did 3 different hikes and biked along the trail along the hiway. It looked level but unfortunately it was quite uphill - we should come home in better shape! We did manage to snag a red rock for our pond. Thankfully it has warmed up - was still just below freezing overnite but up to around 18C  today. Tomorrow we are off to Zion Park in southern Utah, then into Arizona - not sure when we will update next as we may be back to cheap camping ie. Free. Meeting a few folks along the way - a couple from Oliver, BC & today a couple from Kelowna - small world. Still loving it!

Breathtaking Bryce Canyon

Our travels have taken us through Idaho, most notably Twin Falls where we were amazed at the Snake River Gorge & the Perrine Bridge 486 above the river,  the site of Evel Knieval's attempt to leap across in 1974. The Shoshone Falls, also on the Snake River drops 212 ft. & is called the " Niagra of the West". Hiway driving has been interesting, high elevations (4000-5530 ft), posted speed limit of 75 MPH with slow down for construction of 65 MPH.
In to Utah yesterday, temp of 26F in AM and snow in Salt Lake City. We spent a couple of hours in Temple Square, the Mormon "head office" & church -  actually enjoyed the tour given to just us by 2 young missionary women, one from Thailand, the other from Brazil. The buildings and displays are amazing, the best pictures were taken from the roof of their largest building which has over 4 acres on the roof with gardens, trees & fountains.

Today we drove to Panguitch, Utah, our base for Bryce Canyon touring. We actually have a campsite with full hook-ups & WiFi! We spent the afternoon in awe - first Red Canyon, then Bryce Canyon. Words will not do it justice, it truly is breathtaking. We stopped at several lookouts & did a bit of hiking - the elevation we were at is over 8000 ft! - hence a bit short-winded. Tomorrow we have more hikes planned, also want to do some biking in Red canyon. Still loving it!

Snow in Oregon

Our journey began going south thru the border at Osoyoos which took all of 15 min. most of it was waiting in line. No 20 questions, no need for all the proof of residency that I had collected, only a quick look in a few cupboards! Quick stop in Brewster, Wa. for a sandwich (stopped in a fruit packer parking lot) & a friendly fellow gave us 4 huge, delicious Fuji apples. We went to Leavenworth (quaint Bavarian town), but since it was a Saturday in October - Oktoberfest - there was no where to park our "little" rig so we will have to go another day. The scenery was amazing, beautiful fall colors, orchards, vineyards, then mountains, then back to cattle ranches, more vineyards - huge ones - & some crop fields. we have gone over a couple high mountain passes, pretty slow going up but we made it. Our first night's stop included large, paved, pull-through sites, a few trees, shopping close by & over night security - yes, you guessed it "Walmart". Cold in the morning (in Yakima)  26 F & only 8.5 C in the RV. We turned the furnace on then.
Robin drove the first day, but I took a turn yesterday - thru the Yakima valley, no high passes luckily.
We crossed the Columbia River into Oregon, saw many areas of gigantic wind turbines.
We stopped at the Wildhorse Resort & Casino & unfortunately left them some of our money. We crossed the 45th Parallel later yesterday - this is half way between the equator & the North Pole.
We arrived in Baker City, Oregon yesterday afternoon - it's a historic town, established in 1874 with well preserved buildings & beautiful huge trees - did some bike riding around, spent the night parked in a truck stop, watching it snow. We are off to find adventure, more to come later.

New Grandson

  October 5, 2012 at 1047 our newest grandchild arrived - Ty Jeffrey, 5 lbs & 11 oz, adorable, of course! We were blessed to be there & got to snuggle with Ty & Emma for a few days. Everything went well with the delivery and everyone is now home & doing great.
  This was the main focus of our trip to Alberta but we managed to fit in a family Thanksgiving dinner with all of our kids at Shane & Sarah's & time visiting with Scott. We made 3 trips out to see Karen's mom, helped her settle into her new place & took her out to Robin & Lawrence's farm for a visit & turkey dinner. The whole family also got together for a meal & catching up ( & showing off baby pictures!) We made a trip out to Two Hills for a wonderful visit with old friends, Sharon & Dwight, supper at the Two Hills Taco House & seeing more old friends at the hospital. Brought back lots of good memories. We wish we could have caught up with more people, but ther's always next time.

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  The trip out to Alberta & back was beautiful with the fall colors & good weather - we stopped for a nice hike at the Giant Cedars Boardwalk in Revelstoke Park & a picnic along a river. We're learning to trust our new GPS & finding it helpful. We're now back home, busy getting the yard ready for winter & stuffing more belongings into the motorhome. We leave next week, can't believe after the long countdown that it's really here!