(Cathy) Yes, I did nothing today. I needed the rest. No moon out tonight just tons of stars. We had pop tarts and coffee for breakfast.yum
(Glenn) Cathy and I enjoyed today. We slept later, I spent some time at the pool while Cathy took an afternoon nap, I washed the motorcycle (which was covered with dust, sand, bugs, and mud), and we soaked in the hot tub after we watched the sun set as we had pizza from the restaurant across the street. It is so quiet and peaceful here. There is really not many places to shop or eat in this area which has suited me just fine. No cell phone service but with hotel wifi I have been able to plan a few more stops ahead of us. The photos tonight were taken from the patio at the back door of our room. Tomorrow we plan to see Capitol Reef National Park which is only 2 miles from our hotel.
(Cathy) Yes, I did nothing today. I needed the rest. No moon out tonight just tons of stars. We had pop tarts and coffee for breakfast.yum
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(Glenn) Cathy and I were on the bike and rolling early today. We left Zion Park area and rode about one hour to Bryce Canyon National Park. We managed to beat the crowds and saw what we wanted to see in about three hours. We did not fall in love with it the way we did with Zion but the rock formations were SO unique. It looked like a canyon full of giant sand castles with colors of red, rose, salmon, and white. The park was not as large as others we have visited but it was definitely different. We continued on scenic Highway 12 to Capitol Reef National Park and enjoyed the curvy roads and scenery that rivaled some of the parks that we have visited. We had planned to visit Capitol Reef Park today also but after about 250 miles and Bryce Canyon under our belt we decided to call it a day. We are staying at the Capitol Reef Resort at the park for three nights and have a great view from our patio (picture tomorrow). We plan do totally relax tomorrow and visit Capitol Reef Park the following day. Today Cathy and I celebrated our 20th anniversary with a nice dinner tonight at the Rim Rock Restaurant. God has blessed me with a good life and a great wife and I do not take any of this for granted. (Cathy) Glenn fed me a steak dinner tonight. Breakfast was a blueberry muffin. Snack was cheese crackers. I'm still fighting a cold. I'm chaffed like a baby from being wet so long in the Narrows. I'm sore from top to bottom but Glenn is giving me recovery time. We have a great view of the red cliff mountains outside the patio. Little sitting area too. Glenn takes such good care of me, I can't even begin to explain. He is my best buddy and I too thank God every day for giving me my soul mate. Happy anniversary baby! Next 20 years? (Glenn) Today we returned to Zion National Park determined to hike as much as possible. We arrived about 8:30 AM and the crowds had lessened from yesterday (Labor Day). The Narrows is a section of Zion Canyon that has very steep walls and a curving path that is only accessible by hiking through the rocky river bed of the Virgin River. It was the best scenery we had seen in the park. Maybe because of the sounds of the flowing river or the way the sun crept down some of the areas of the canyon and not others, in any case it is hard to explain what we saw. We hiked to near the end of the narrows and that took us four hours of hiking through flowing water and maneuvering through rocks(4 miles in and another 4 miles out). We were in the water about 75 percent of the hike, usually between ankle and waist deep but we turned around near the end when we saw others were chest deep in water and carrying their backpacks over their head. We were very tired and had no idea it would take us that long. Realizing the only way out of the canyon was to retrace our steps, we managed to return in only three more hours because we were no longer stopping for photos and now we were walking with the flow of the river and not against it. Both of us are very tired but so glad we pushed through the hike to see all of it. This has to be one of the most scenic and unique trails in America and an adventure I will never forget. I am hoping to get some energy back tonight because we are counting on visiting two more national parks in Utah tomorrow. (Cathy) We rented water hiking socks and shoes and a walking stick. Stick came in real handy. Saved me several times.never really fell,just bobbled a few times. We never really felt the cold even though the temp of water was in 40's. Best money we spent today on our accessories. Stopped occasionally for a snack and water. I think I did very well today if I do say so myself. We got to near the end of Narrows. They close down Narrows if weather is not just right due to flash flooding. I would not want to be there in a flash flood. Where you gonna go? Walks are straight up. My bad toe waited to near the end to act up. I'm using some of Patsy's massage cream on my toes. (Glenn) We were on the road shortly after 6:00 AM attempting to arrive early at Zion National Park. I knew it would be crowded because today is Labor Day. Leaving the cabin there were a few sprinkles and it was 42 degrees. Cold start but it was warm in the floor of Zion Park when we arrived. We rode the shuttle throughout the park and even went on a few of trails to "weeping rock", the lower emerald pools, and to view the "Court of the Patriarchs". We are going to take the advice if Jim and Frances Neal and spend tomorrow on a trail along the river to walk in the river through "The Narrows" if it does not rain. This park is amazing with steep walled cliffs in every direction. What a beautiful country to live in. (Cathy) Every park is beautiful in their own way. I never knew that ROCKS came I so many different colors, shapes,sizes. It's just amazing. I have so many pics of rocks and mountains.. We were a day late with yesterday's blog since we had no internet at the lodge on the north rim of the Grand Canyon. (Glenn) Today we visited Lower Antelope Canyon in Page, Arizona. This "slot canyon" has been on my bucket list since one of our patients presented me with a photo he made here years ago. We toured the canyon at 9:00 AM and was amazed with the appearance of the sunlight reflecting on the walls. It is a small crevice-type canyon that requires some climbing and maneuvering to pass through. It is impossible to make a bad photo in this environment. The tour lasted about an hour and we made a lot of photos. After finishing the tour we went to Walmart to stock up for dinner tonight and breakfast in the morning. We rode about 3 hours to also see the north rim of the Grand Canyon. It is much less crowded than the touristy south rim but still had great canyon views. It was very cool- the north rim is 1000' higher than the south rim. We went on a trail to Bright Angel Point which was well worth the effort. From the point we saw a thunderstorm moving our way so we left for our cabin at Kaibab Lodge nearby. We had to ride a few miles in the rain and low 50's temperature before we reached the lodge. Our cabin is very primitive (no tv, Internet, radio, or telephone service) and we feel like we are really "roughing it". We had nothing else to occupy our time so we just talked to each other (LOL). (Cathy) Our guide at Antelope Canyon was Tyler, he is a Navaho Indian. He said if it rains within 60 miles of the canyon, they close it down as a precaution. One year before the tours were guided,12 tourist drowned when flash flood came unexpectedly. Weather is monitored hourly. First thing I've seen that the photos actually looked better than the real thing. Grand Canyon South Rim was good but not as impressive as North Rim. We did talk, but we also went to bed about 7:30. Glenn had his iphone white noise going to break the silence. I woke up slightly, thought the alarm had gone off. I asked " time to get up already?" Glenn says " noooo, go back to sleep" (it was 10:00 ish). Then later I kept hearing drums. Who plays drums around here? It was a thunderstorm. Lol Thunder, lightening and rain. Hadn't heard this in a long time. It was nice. Stopped up nose doesn't do much for good sleeping. (Glenn) We were fortunate to be staying less than 5 miles from the entrance to the south rim of the Grand Canyon so we arrived before much of the crowd. The park has a great bus shuttle system so we parked the bike and enjoyed the shuttle. It was very cool there this morning ( probably due to the elevation of the park). The views can't be explained and photos really don't do the Grand Canyon justice. It is so large and full of color. I have more of a fear of heights ( more so of falling from high places) than Cathy. She got closer to the cliff edges than I did and she made me nervous with all of the loose gravel and sand on the rocks. I thought we would just spend a few hours in the park but seven hours went by so fast and we just saw the highlights. We walked a few miles on some trails but mostly used the shuttle service to get to almost all of the observation points. We then rode 2-3 hours to Page, Arizona where we have a tour in Antelope Canyon scheduled in the morning. The only room I could find here was a Super 8 for almost $250/night. Tomorrow, after Antelope Canyon, we return to the Grand Canyon but will stay on the north rim of the canyon this time. (Cathy) A Super 8!! But it is nicer than most and it has a little sitting room along with a large bedroom area. They take advantage charging higher rates because they can. No rooms available anywhere else in the area. The Grand Canyon is certainly grand. It just goes on and on. Magnificent to say the least. God did good. I forgot something yesterday. When Glenn was in the Paris security office, he told the guy "and today is Sunday, nothing will be open". The guy says real serious "sir, today is Friday ". Really? Great! We don't know what day it is. Lol (Glenn) Have you ever had one of those days you wish never happened and you knew you would never forget? This morning we had a very long ride planned to the southern rim of the Grand Canyon by way of Meteor Crater (about 7 hours of riding time). We checked out before 8:00 AM and loaded our luggage in the bike. Cathy asked "Where did you put the helmets?" And I replied " they are locked on the back hooks on the bike". We looked and someone had cut our helmet straps and stole our helmets. All that was left were the D rings still locked on the bike. We filed a report with the Paris hotel in Las Vegas and the went searching for new helmets. It was 2:00 before we had our helmets (no red in Cathy's size so she got flat black) and only one audio system for the helmets in stock. I have one now in my helmet but can't use it to speak to Cathy until we find one for her helmet. It may be 1-2 weeks before we hit Salt Lake City and get one there for her. The stolen helmets are useless to the punks that did take them because once the D ring is cut from the strap the helmet is useless. We made it to our lodge just a couple of miles from the Grand Canyon park entrance about 9:00 PM. We should be glad they did not cut our tires or scratch the paint on the bike. Not a good day but it will be memorable. Tomorrow we explore the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, at least we feel cooler temperatures around here. (Cathy) Man would I like to get my hands on those little s.... We saw honda dealership on the way the Red Feather Lodge to check on my audio set. No luck but they were real nice. Nicer than the original place where we bought our new helmets. Started to get on the bike and Glenn says "where's s my glasses" "where's my glasses?" He starts back in the dealership, stops suddenly, and says "oh, they are on my face". Pulling a "Memaw". We had a good laugh but we needed one after our day. But things could have been so much worse. We are not hurt. Nothing wrong with the bike. Just gonna cost us almost a thousand dollars and a WHOLE LOT OF TROUBLE!! I thought Red Feather Lodge might be a teepee in the woods but turned out to be a really nice lodge. Another "feather" in Glenn's cap. God love him he really kept his cool today. (Glenn) Another day in Vegas. I have more fun watching all of the unusual characters walking the streets. I've seen many showgirls, Darth Vader, a Wookie, storm troopers, minions, Mario, drunk tourists, panhandlers, and so many more. I wish I had just set up our chairs near the street and watched all of this free entertainment. Cathy spent a few hours shopping in the " Miracle Mile" shops and we ate at the Rio casino's seafood buffet. It was fair but Cathy has now sworn off all buffets. We have visited two now and both caused her to have an unhappy tummy. We saw "Vegas:The Show" and it was fun but not near the production of the Jersey Boys show last night. We stayed out late on our last night and plan to ride out of Vegas on our bike tomorrow to the south rim of the Grand Canyon. (Glenn) This morning I worked on planning the direction of our trip for the week after we leave Las Vegas. Cathy and I strolled around some of the interesting (to Cathy) shops around the casinos. I managed to loose an entire two dollars in a slot machine in about twenty seconds and then remembered why I don't like gambling. Our lunch at the Border restaurant in Caesar's Palace was probably the freshest and most flavorful Mexican food I have ever eaten. All was made fresh and in house. We saw the "Jersey Boys" production about the life and career of Frankie Valli and were very impressed. The sound was perfect and we enjoyed hearing so many of his big hits. It was so much better than the Michael Jackson cirque show last night. (Cathy) We went to Cosmolitan Casino to see the largest chandelier in the world. It was beautiful but wondering who cleans it😂? Glenn is trying to get outside to see two showgirls outside having their pics made with tourists. We asked if Glenn could have his pic made with them? Sure.. Afterwards they tell him it's $10 per showgirl..glad there was only two of them! (Glenn) This morning we had a hard time getting out of bed. It was almost noon before we started our day. We bought some show tickets to see "Jersey Boys" and the Cirque de Soleil show "Michael Jackson One". It had some good music but it was probably my least favorite Cirque show I have seen. A lot of dancing, but a poor story and not much acrobatics. Tomorrow night we will see "Jersey Boys" and I have heard it is a great show. (Cathy) Not much from me. Little headache. Maybe I need more water. Getting ready for tomorrow. (Glenn) Today was definitely not one of our favorites. All started well sleeping later, enjoyed breakfast, and left while it was still cool (if you call 90 degrees cool). Check in time for our hotel in Las Vegas was not until 4:00 so we thought we would "swing by" Laughlin, Nevada to check out their casinos. We rode over 150 miles in the desert on roads with no service stations, business or houses (NOTHING but sand and shrubs as far as the eye could see) and seldom ever seeing a car. The temperature continued to rise and before we finally made it to Laughlin it was 108 degrees, I was almost out of gas, and Cathy looked like she was about to have a heat stroke. The worst part was we were still 90 minutes from Las Vegas! When Cathy went to the restroom to wash her face and try to take a shower in the sink, I went to the front desk and purchased a room for us to rest for a few hours. That was the best money spent on this trip so far. We showered, rested, and even washed a few clothes in the sink. We ate at the buffet at the casino and then hopped on the bike (it was still 108 degrees) and made it to our hotel (Paris on the Las Vegas strip) about 8:00. Coming into Las Vegas in the dark, my lighted mudflap broke loose and shorted a fuse a my bike leaving me with no lights on the trailer or tail lights and instrument panel lights on the bike. I repaired the bike before going to the room. The room is super nice (Cathy said she was tempted to stay in this room the four days we are here and enjoy air conditioning). (Cathy) Glenn is rubbing my arm saying "be sweet to me". He is the sweetest. Who else would get a hotel room for 4 hours so I could recover? 108 degrees in the desert on a motorcycle passes my tolerance level. I wasn't sure whether to cry, throw up or just throw myself under the motorcycle. I think this day was almost unbearable. But our room at Paris is just fabulous. Large room, king bed, big bathroom. Ice machine down the hall(not every hotel has ice machines) and then I found this little frig in the armoire!! I was so excited!! And to put icing on this cake, we weren't hungry until late, about 4:30, something didn't set well with my stomach. I think we stopped at every bathroom between Laughlin and the Strip. I'm looking forward to a better day tomorrow. We don't gamble but we do enjoy Vegas every now and then. Great shows and we just like looking inside all the hotel lobbies. And there are a lot of new hotels to look at. (Glenn) Today was definitely not one of our favorites. All started well sleeping later, enjoyed breakfast, and left while it was still cool (if you call 90 degrees cool). Check in time for our hotel in Las Vegas was not until 4:00 so we thought we would "swing by" Laughlin, Nevada to check out their casinos. We rode over 150 miles in the desert on roads with no service stations, business or houses (NOTHING but sand and shrubs as far as the eye could see) and seldom ever seeing a car. The temperature continued to rise and before we finally made it to Laughlin it was 108 degrees, I was almost out of gas, and Cathy looked like she was about to have a heat stroke. The worst part was we were still 90 minutes from Las Vegas! When Cathy went to the restroom to wash her face and try to take a shower in the sink, I went to the front desk and purchased a room for us to rest for a few hours. That was the best money spent on this trip so far. We showered, rested, and even washed a few clothes in the sink. We ate at the buffet at the casino and then hopped on the bike (it was still 108 degrees) and made it to our hotel (Paris on the Las Vegas strip) about 8:00. Coming into Las Vegas in the dark, my lighted mudflap broke loose and shorted a fuse a my bike leaving me with no lights on the trailer or tail lights and instrument panel lights on the bike. I repaired the bike before going to the room. The room is super nice (Cathy said she was tempted to stay in this room the four days we are here and enjoy air conditioning). (Cathy) Glenn is rubbing my arm saying "be sweet to me". He is the sweetest. Who else would get a hotel room for 4 hours so I could recover? 108 degrees in the desert on a motorcycle passes my tolerance level. I wasn't sure whether to cry, throw up or just throw myself under the motorcycle. I think this day was almost unbearable. But our room at Paris is just fabulous. Large room, king bed, big bathroom. Ice machine down the hall(not every hotel has ice machines) and then I found this little frig in the armoire!! I was so excited!! And to put icing on this cake, we weren't hungry until late, about 4:30, something didn't set well with my stomach. I think we stopped at every bathroom between Laughlin and the Strip. I'm looking forward to a better day tomorrow. We don't gamble but we do enjoy Vegas every now and then. Great shows and we just like looking inside all the hotel lobbies. And there are a lot of new hotels to look at. |
AuthorGlenn and Cathy Stephens Archives
October 2015
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