Adventures in Azalea

04/09/2026

April 7 Tuesday
April 8 Wednesday
April 9 Thursday
Head eastward is the motto today!! We’d like to be home late on the 8th so Michael is focused on driving.
However there are many things to see along the way and getting out to stretch our legs and see. First up

El Malpais National Monument . This area is has “new” lava flow as early as 3,900 years ago back to 35,000 years ago. We were quite surprised as to how large the park is and multiple trails available.

A drive down portions of Route 66 provided some cool history and sadly many dilapidated buildings in sleepy towns that once flourished. Definitely a result of the interstate bypassing the towns this iconic highway once ran through.

Two cool stops was the Cadillac Ranch! Old Cadillacs turned upside down, spray painted a mutuas of colors. Who knew that would be a cool business! Stack cars, sell spray paint, watch the people come!

The next stop was The Big Texan Steak Ranch! Home of the FREE 72oz steak. Neither of us attempted that feat. Parts are a bit kitsch but the steak was amazing? The atmosphere fun and Texan!! This establishment is HUGE!! Indoor seating, upstairs seating, outside seating, bar seating! Each area has its own decor from big over sized rocking chairs and antiques, portraits that shift change, longhorn steer horns, cowboy hats and full gift store!! We sat at the bar so as not to have to wait on the dining room.

We travel onward to Oklahoma and stop for a short rest overnight.

April 8 Tuesday
Up at 3:30am and Michael is back in the drivers seat.
A few stops for fuel, dumping tanks, and grabbing a bite to eat and we arrive home at 8:30pm….
17 hours!!
Longest one day travel (and it wasn’t any fun)!

April 9 Thursday
We are fully unpacked, everything clean and set in place waiting for the next trip
Stay tuned! It’s going to be epic!!!

04/09/2026

April 6 Monday
3 States, 2 National Parks, 2 National Monuments, 1 National Historic Site, 1 Iconic Scene

A VERY FULL DAY

You know that campsite that has the spectacular sunset? Sunrise was pretty awesome too.
We left the site early (6:30) to head back to Canyonlands National Park to the Needles area (it’s the south end). We wanted to take in the whole park even if we had to break it up into two separate days.

This drive was about an hour from where we started our day since it was much further south and remote. On the way was a stop in Bears Ears National Monument at a sight called Newspaper Rock. This is a very well preserved area with multiple petroglyphs. They believe the oldest is 2000 years old however there is no way to know what they actually mean. We also saw a flock of wild turkeys. The males were showing off for their ladies with feathers in full splay. It is spring!!

The Needles area in Canyonlands had completely different types of formations - more like spires than other places we’ve been. There are several hikes in the area however due to both time and the and length of most of them, we only took the scenic drive and got out a few times getting a closer look.

Heading out of the Needles area of Canyonlands our new focus is getting to Monument Valley- specifically, the Forrest Gump spot. We are officially on our way back home. Michael nailed the photos!! Please be sure to look at those!!! They are epic!!

Next up… a different state… Arizona….Canyon de Chelly National Monument where they focus on the Diné people of 5,000 years ago. Their way of life and farming including remnants of pottery and homes are on display.

Hubbell Trading Post
This is the oldest operating trading posts on Navajo Nation. The Visitor center is full of interpretative displays explaining the early days starting in 1878. The family that lived and stayed the trading posts and there 12 children!! The trading posts has beautiful rugs made from the sheep’s wool still farmed on the land, pottery, jewelry and everyday goods for sell.
**Speaking of Arizona and Navajo Nation- time zones are hard to keep up with. Arizona stays year round on MST while Navajo Nation observes daylight savings. Navajo Nation has its own highways too.

National Park #2 Petrified Forest
We arrive 25 minutes before closing and the weather has shifted to cloudy and drizzling. This park has a 28 mile drive. We entered on the North end at Painted Forest. Driving south to the Jasper Forest as the rain began getting a bit heavier we decided we had seen what we wanted and headed back north to exit the park. We most likely would have enjoyed the Park more had it not been raining but honestly, after seeing all the mountains, colors, rock formations and flora we felt a bit let down.

Now with it pouring, Michael drives out of Arizona on I-40 and into New Mexico- the third state for the day! And another time change!!
Stoped at Fire Rock Casino for dinner, and a huge parking lot to overnight. Michael got a NY steak sandwich which he was thrilled with!! I got the Navajo Burger! it’s two burger patties on fry bread! Such a big sandwich that I could only eat 1/2 of it. Imagine a fry bread (tortilla sized fluffy fried bread) with two patties side by side with all the fixings!! Equally thrilled! We kept our money in our pockets by not taking any chances on the machines

04/08/2026

04/08/2026

April 5 Easter Night (Part 2)

As I sat by the fire on this Easter night I spent time reflecting on the gift that is The Resurrection. I spent time thinking about the Christ being betrayed (and still serving his betrayer), I thought about Christ asking for prayer, I thought about how Peter failed Christ after stating he never would, I thought about my own sin, I thought about how he loves me anyway. I thought about how it is ONLY because of HIS birth, death, burial, and resurrection that I have hope, I have love, I have life overjoyed.

04/08/2026

April 5 Easter Day (Part 1)

Arches National Park

Early morning entry to the park to avoid crowds was a winner!
And Wowsers! There are over 2000 natural arches. It’s impossible to see all of them since some are in restricted areas. The iconic ones- Broken Arch and Delicate Arch we did make it to with 1-2 mile trails. When we weren’t hiking we were driving and taking in the views. By 2pm we were at our campground. Site 18 has the best views of a campsite EVER!! We had rock formations behind us, mule deer prints right up to our site, a view of the sunset in front of us, and a trail to Tapestry Arch in the campground. Once we got settled in the site we took off hiking again. Tapestry Arch was all ours! No one else around. It was quiet, it was beautiful with the setting of sand and wildflowers and juniper trees. We made our way back to the Van and noted our steps were over 24,000 for the day.
After dinner the sunset was amazing, the temperature dropped and the clearest skies I’ve ever experienced allowed the stars and planets to shine more brightly.

04/08/2026

April 4 Saturday

Up and at ‘em early!

Took our time leaving Capitol Reef NP visiting some of the historic sites . We saw petroglyphs that were made a couple of thousand years ago. Such detail and the stories being told and recorded inspire my imagination. The best stop was the little (very little) one room schoolhouse with a wood stove in the middle. This structure also served as the church and the community center. It is exactly as I remember Little House on the Prairie schoolhouse.

Drive, drive,….see dozens of FREE RANGE cattle (and sadly one that will never roam again)…drive….

Arrive Canyonlands National Park

After waiting about 15 minutes to enter the gate we made our way to the Visitor Center and got the stamp!!!

Unsure of what to expect, other than canyons, we were once again filled with amazement. The park has two distinct areas.
North end- The Island in the Sky District.
South end- The Needles
And we were at the north end.

We took the scenic drive around the north side which gave us a quick 0.6 mile hike for a great view of the Mesa Arch. This is a beautiful arch that rivals the one we saw a few days ago (Devils Bridge). No one is allowed to climb on this arch but being able to look through it see the La Sal Mountains was very cool. As we continued on our journey we got out to enjoy multiple views. At one such stop we decided to sit on a rock, enjoy the scenery, take a breather and savor the cherry pie we had from the Gifford House in Capitol Reef!

We left the park and started to drive to the point where Thelma and Louise drove off the cliff….
As we drove we saw at least a dozen people rock climbing the sheer sides of the rock formations . We also saw more petroglyphs. This just amazes me!! As we got closer to our destination the road signs warned that high clearance 4X4 vehicles were needed. Our Azalea does not fit that description, so a u-turn and we head to Moab!

Moab - we found the town to be very walkable and dozens of outfitter shops and several restaurants.
For our overnight we did something we’ve never done- we parked on a city street. It was a dead end street at the side of a commercial building, dark and quiet. There was another van that parked on the opposite side of the street.

04/08/2026

April 3 Good Friday

Crisp woke up to outside being 22*!!
Scenic drive through Bryce Capitol Reef NP enjoying more scenic views .

Going towards Capital Reef National Park on another 112 mile scenic drive . It is astonishing to us how much and how quickly the terrain changes… forest with aspens, hoodoo like structures, mountains with snow atop, and sheer rock walls of varying colors.
Michael had done some research about the drive and surprised me with the best stop! The cutest coffee shop built into the side of the mountain, Kiva Koffeehouse . The views while savoring the delicious coffee was truly a breath of fresh air.

Once we arrived at Capitol Reef we did what we always do, grab the passport book, go to the visitor center, get the stamp, check out the exhibits and talk to a ranger! This was the perfect ranger to chat with as she described the various rock layers and the animal life that lives among them. She pointed out an area we definitely wanted to check out.
Driving another scenic route to the very end of the park yielded us the grand prize….. we FINALLY saw not 1, not 2, not 3, but FOUR BIG HORN SHEEP!! 🐑🐑🐑🐑.
We had almost given up and didn’t believe in their existence! But with the help of the geologist ranger explaining the rock layers, the food source and what to exactly be on the look out for.

Capitol Reef is known for the Gifford House where they sell out daily of fruit pies and cinnamon rolls -so of course we indulged and grabbed 2 cherry pies. We felt lucky since there were only 6 left out of the 50 dozen she said they started with.

Our campground is nicely paved however it is once again pretty chilly out so no campfire and there is ZERO cellular reception here. So it’s early showers and early bedtime for an early morning tomorrow.

04/06/2026

April 2 Thursday
BRYCE CANYON NATIONAL PARK
Day 1
What a great day in Bryce Canyon. We were able to get a campsite in North Campground in Loop B. Only $15 . From our campsite we hiked 7 miles round trip. Walking the rim to Sunrise and then Sunset Points and taking the Navajo Loop. Going counter clockwise (because Native tradition is always counter clockwise for good luck) on Navajo Loop we made our way down multiple short switchbacks. The terrain was rocky with breathtaking views. One of those views was Wall Street! We took The detour to see Peekaboo point was a must see! We decided to only go to Peekaboo point and not the entire 3 mile loop.

04/06/2026

April 1 Wednesday NO FOOLING
Zion day 2

The weather!! It rained all night long and into the morning. We chose to take it easy and have some pancakes and sausage while trying to wait out the rain. Alas, we decided to make the best of it - how many times are you ever going to be in Zion?
So we put on our hiking gear and and made preparations for rain should not be needed… and it was needed! We took the shuttle to our stop and boom. It was time to get serious.

There is a famous trail in Zion called Angels Landing as it’s been said that only an Angel could land there- it narrow and it does require a special permit (which we did not, nor would I ever have) to hike that area however getting up to the start of it is open to anyone who dares the ascent of 1300 feet with 21 consecutive switchbacks called Walter’s Wiggles. This hike , although arduous and being drizzled upon was so worth it!!! With some cloudiness the feel was ethereal. A huge sense of accomplishment for me!!

After coming back down we were heading to explore another trail until we came to a big stop! WE were not going through the thick mud required to go further. The people we saw coming out was covered from the knees down was enough for us to turn around and call hiking done for the day.

We got cleaned up, rain now stopped and walked into the town, not the little shopping area outside of Zion but into Springdale about 1.5 miles for a restaurant called Scouts Bar and Grill. Seems fitting since we had just conquered Scouts Lookout!

We ended our day with over 23,000 steps! Good night 💤

04/06/2026

March 31
Woke up at Grand Canyon and drove to Horseshoe Bend. Although this is not a national park or monument it has great importance to the Native Americans and this sight is on Indian Territory.

This trip continually amazes me with the variety of beauty that exists.

Next… Lower Antelope Canyon- fabulous fabulous breathtaking

We had a Navajo guide (Auron) pronounced Orrin) take us through and point out several key features. And yes, that is your wallpaper for your computer or Apple phone. The canyon is breathtaking, indescribable, amazing……

Zion National Park

Arriving at Zion - new rock formations, new beauty. We drove through the mile long tunnel built in the 1930’s and just enjoyed the switchbacks . We got settled into our campsite and walked over to the shopping area. This little area is literally outside the walk up gate to Zion. It includes an outfitter store, a brewery, a coffeehouse, a hotel, a grocery, and of course a souvenir store. We grabbed a bite to eat and a couple of beers before turning in for the night. It’s been a long day- one that I must say God’s glory shone forth in innumerable forms.

04/06/2026

March 30-Monday

Grand Canyon Day 2

Brrrr- it’s a chilly 58* and windy morning. Dressing properly for me included layers of long sleeves, flannel, a thin puffer jacket and my toboggan! We got up early to catch the shuttle to the South Kaibab trails. This trail is known to be a hard to strenuous trail (as much so as Bright Angel) depending on how far down you go. As with the Bright Angel trail, it’s not the down but rather the way back up that is difficult. On this day we began the descent and felt really good. We had planned to go at least 1.5 miles down but at the 1 mile mark the winds were so severe we felt uneasy and unsafe to continue down the narrow trail so we headed back up.
Not ready to call it a day we hiked the South Rim trail
From Kaibab back to Mather Point (about 2.5 miles).
By the time we got back on the shuttle bus we had hiked about 5 miles total and it wasn’t even noon yet!

The Grand Canyon is well GRAND on so many levels. The beauty, the depth and the size of the park. We decided to drive to the other side of the park to take in more view points and enjoy a picnic lunch before enjoying a night back at the campground ⛺️ around a fire 🔥