Greetings from Larry and Jan. We are back in South Carolina after an enjoyable summer adventure. Finding time on the trip for the blog post is a challenge so this post is not as timely as I would like. Finding the balance between getting out on the trail and sitting behind the computer screen is a push, pull effort, well at least for me. This is the third post for our National Park Tour – 2019 covering the last four NPs. FYI, there will be two more posts. The fourth post will be the time spent with the Snyder Clan in Michigan then finishing the blog posts with our time in Michigan back to South Carolina.

This phase of the summer ended up being a wind down as we worked our way towards the mid-west. These parks were not as dramatic as those earlier in the south and west, although we found them interesting in their own rite.

After leaving the Nevada and Utah desert we headed to Hot Springs, South Dakota to the Wind Cave National Park. The main attraction is the cave. The bad news was the cave was closed due to a broken elevator and would not reopen for several weeks. However, we were able to regroup and find plenty to do. The park is not just about the cave. The setting is great plus lots of diverse wildlife. If you are looking for prairie dogs and bison this is a good stop for you. The park is close to the Custer State Park and Mt Rushmore which were nice side trips.

Our next move was north to North Dakota, the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. The heart of this park is the Little Missouri River and the Badlands setting. This park also has a lot of bison. Nice trails along the river plus the Badlands are just fun to experience.

Moving from the Badlands, the next stop was International Falls, Minnesota and Voyageurs National Park. This park is all about the water and the historic waterway made famous by the French-Canadian Voyageurs. The park’s history is grounded in the era of fur trading in the 1700s between the Ojibwe Indians, the traders and filling the demand of the European markets. The Voyageurs were the transporters of their day. Lots of lore that made this an interesting and educational stop. Today this area supports a large sports fishing effort plus there is a strong environmental focus on the ecosystem. At this point we wished we had brought the kayaks. It was fun to poke around International Falls which reminded us of cities we had visited north of the border.

Our future travel plans include spending time along the Mississippi River. On the way back south, we stopped at Sandy Lake, a Corps of Engineers park at the head waters of the Mississippi. Stay tuned as we take on that adventure in the next year or two. Again, we wished we had the kayaks and a fishing rod.

The final national park was Cuyahoga Valley. Our RV site was near Akron. Over the years had been by this park many times and did not know it existed. The park is centered around the canal between Cleveland and Akron opened in 1827. The park has over 125 miles of trails for hiking and biking. The park includes the Cuyahoga and Crooked Rivers. Here we hit the trails but wished we had our bikes to take full advantage of the canal tow path. Lots of history to check out. The plan is to go back and make this a destination stop.

The rest of the trip was more about visiting with friends and family. Made a stop at Traverse City to see if we could go back home again. The next posting coming very shortly.

God bless,

Larry and Jan

The 2019 summer tour of the national parks continues. Leg two of the trip is now past history. This section tended to be off the grid resulting in a mismatch of internet access and time available. In trying to figure out what to call this leg the lowest common denominator seemed to be the desert, most of it in the high desert. The stops along the road were the national parks of the Grand Sand Dunes, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Grand Canyon-north rim, and the Great Basin. Utah state parks also called us to Dead Horse and the Escalante Petrified Forest which included time at the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. This leg was just short of three weeks.

Once we got past the generator side trip, things have gone fairly well. Well, except for the encounter of a rock with the under carriage of the RV. That is a story for another time. The weather has been really good except hitting the Grand Canyon at the monsoon season. Although the daily routine quite often does require working around the midday heat.

The first stop was the Grand Sand Dune. The area is unique in that it maintains itself with wind and water. It was created by nature from grains and pebbles from nearby mountains. It has kept its overall presence for hundreds of years. Lots to do here climbing/hiking the dunes and climbing nearby mountains plus just playing in the water which is relaxing. Normally the water in the creek would be gone by this time but this year there has been plenty of rain.

The next stop was the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. Really did not know what to expect here. The gorge cut by the Gunnison is dramatic. It is so deep and steep it is hard to see the bottom. The striated painted wall cliffs are impressive. There are rim hikes as it is not very practical to hike down. Great place to visit and take pictures, not a lot of hiking for us.

Last time we were in Utah we fell in love with Moab and the Dead Horse Point State Park. It looks like a smaller Grand Canyon which it makes easier to hike and get good photo shots. It is a favorite place for photographers to get outstanding sunrise and sunset pictures. At the bottom is the Colorado River which you will see again, once we get to the Grand Canyon. The park gets its name from The Legend of Dead Horse Point. There is an area in the canyon called the neck where the cowboys of old would herd wild horses to pick the best. The story goes once they left the remaining herd behind in the corral where they perished within a few feet of the river. They also mine Potash here which is pumped into pools, dried and they used for fertilizer. Yes, we plan to come here again.

Last time we visited Utah there was not enough time to catch the Grand Staircase-Escalante area. This is diverse and colorful area as you will see from the photos. The landscape puts on a show all by itself. The layers and the colors never stop. There are many slot canyons which are fun to explore and experience. We did a lot of hiking and driving. At the end we wished we had one more day!

We sited the RV at the Escalante Petrified Forest State Park. This park actually had a lot of Petrified Wood more than we have seen at previous stops over the years. Unpredictably, we spent some time exploring the park and trails. There was an easy /lower trail which was curated and very fascinating. The higher section was more aggressive, more interesting and not well marked. Yes, I got lost on one of those early morning hikes. Mainly because, I was more interested in what was along the trail instead of focusing on where I was going. However, I did find my way back, eventually.

The Grand Canyon-North Rim was out of the way for this trip. After doing the South Rim a few years back it just seemed like we should do it. The word on the street was it is not as busy. The footprint seemed smaller. In the four days that we were there we did all the trails we wanted and saw many great sights/views. The weather did get in our way but never stopped us for a full day. Good experience and yes, we could go back if the opportunity ever presented itself.

The final stop for this leg was the Great Basin National Park in Baker, Nevada. You have to want to go there as you need get through the desert if you come from the south. The high elevation worked ok but glad we had got to practice breathing thin air before we got here. It was very hot during our time here. The park also has the Lehman Caves which are unique in their own rite. The hikes were challenging and rewarding. The remoteness for this park was a bit scary. The pictures tell the story of our stay which was fun, interesting and educational.

This completes this section for the trip. Next time there will be more national parks, four to be exact. The last post will be our time with family and friends as we get back to Michigan and the Midwest. This trip has gone so fast. It is hard to grasp that the trip is already 50% over. Really enjoying seeing the country and meeting new people. Home is still a long way off and is not calling us back.

God Bless,

Larry and Jan