Cedar City, Utah

We arrived in Cedar City on April 21, one day before a big wind storm came through Utah.  Luckily southern Utah only sustained winds of about 35 mph, with gusts to 50 mph, but northern Utah was closer to 90 mph.  So we spent the day in a laundromat to wash rugs, heavy towels and blankets that I don't like to wash in our washing machine in the coach.  We also found a car wash that had a pet wash station - not as good as some of the self wash dog shops we've been in but good enough to get all the dust off the girls.

On Wednesday we went to Kolob Canyon and Zion National Park.  So much to see that we didn't take the time to do any major hikes, but just toured the main sites of the park.  The shuttles through the park were running so much of our viewing was from the shuttle, therefore not as many pictures.  Definitely we have some hikes scoped out we would like to do next visit.

Thursday we went east and saw Red Canyon (picture on right) and Bryce National Park.  Did I let those of you who gave us the national park annual pass know how much we have appreciated it?!  We have definitely enjoyed it 😀.

Friday was windy again, about 45 mph and then Saturday we were suppose to have heavy rains but got snow in addition to the rain.  So we just stayed around the motorhome making plans for the rest of our trip, doing shopping and normal "household" duties.  We also found one winery, Iron Gate,  that was very good, but they do buy all their grapes from either California or Columbia Valley, WA.

We've been on the road now for about three months and have seen so much while the time is going so fast.  With everywhere we have been, sights that we have seen, we keep discovering even more places that we would like to see.

As I'm using this blog as much for a diary of where we've been as well as sharing it with others, I'm also using it so we don't forget sites we would like to see in the area - here's just a few places on our list so far:  Arizona - Grand Canyon, Lake Powell and Antelope Canyon.  Nevada - Pahrump, Death Valley and Great Basin Nationl Park.  Utah - Arches, Canyonland and Capital Reef National Parks and Cedar Breaks National Monument (closed this time of year).  

On Monday, April 28th we'll be moving onto Provo, Utah area.

Las Vegas for Easter with the kids

We arrived in Las Vegas on April 11 and stayed through April 21, enjoying the week with our niece Tiphanie, Mike and kids.





The first thing we did was to go shopping to have snacks, food, and drinks for the three kids.  Totally amazed at how their appetites have changed and how much they can eat.  On Saturday we went with Tif and the kids to Container Park in downtown Vegas and also walked through the Fremont Street Experience.  A little risqué for the kids and probably my tastes but it was interesting. Loved the videos they played overhead.

Starting Sunday, we started having one kid per night staying with us and then on Wed and Thursday night we had all three.  In our spare time, the kids really enjoyed the swimming pool in the RV park and showed so much progress in their swimming abilities over the week.  On Friday night Nick wanted to stay one more night.  The kids were so very well behaved we really enjoyed our time with them, but by the end of the week I think Mom was getting a little lonely without kids😄.  The kids bought me some Easter Tulips and I know that "the girls" enjoyed all the attention as well.

On Monday we went to a couple of Vegas locations from shows we watch - Count Kustoms and Rick's Restoration.  We were going to go to Pawn Stars as well but found out that while we were at Rick's Restoration, the entire crew from all three shows were there filming a segment.  We did not see the Pawn Star crew, but did see some of their guests on the show.

On Tuesday we then went to Acrylic Tank Manufacturing where they film and make the Fish Tanks for the show Tanked.  The kids (mostly Kailey) made quite an impression on the person in their gift shop so soon we were taking pictures with Brett and then we were called back into the office area to meet "the general".  From there we went to see one of their large tanks they built in the Silverton Casino.

On Wednesday, Mike and Tif treated the kids and the two of us to see the Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay.  This was quite enjoyable and then we went onto Bellagio's to see their water show and conservatory.

More shopping, nail appointment, one more ATM tank at an RV shop and then lots of swimming,  ending the week sharing Easter dinner with Tiffany and the kids as Mike was working.  Overall a great time and we think the kids really enjoyed their Spring Break.  On Monday we moved onto Cedar City, Utah and the kids and Tif got back to their home schooling schedule.

Arizona Verde Valley Visit

We spent April 3 - 10 in the Verde Valley area, staying outside of Cottonwood, AZ.  This is definitely an area that we will be back to the visit.  So much to do in the area and a total surprise that they had such nice wineries.  There was a great winery right outside the entrance to the Thousand Trails park called Alcantara.  This was a home that was made into a winery, so it was very homey - you find a seat in the main living area or on the deck or patio and they came to you to do the poutings.  They were also very dog friendly.

There wasn't much grass in the park and the "girls" weren't allowed on it so that was probably the biggest negative.  They kept pulling us towards the grass and we kept pulling them back to the doggie area which was sand, rocks, and weeds with stickers.  Kyna decided to give up and just do her potty on the pavement.  She is definitely becoming a desert dog.  Lexie not so much, but loved her "lap time".  We didn't see much wildlife, but did see lots of eagles.


Couple of the highlites of this stay include:

Old Town Cottonwood - great barbecue and mexican food and we also enjoyed a couple of wineries:
We tasted at Pillsbury Wine Company, Fire Mountain and Burning Tree Cellars.  Definitely recommend Burning Tree Cellars - all of their wines were great.

Tuzigoot National Monument - another visit with our National Park pass.  This was a pueblo that was occupied between 1100 and 1425 A.D.  Over the years it crumbled and became a pile of rocks and crumbled mud until the National Park Service restored some of the rooms and used the additional rocks to make up the visitor center and buildings.  Next time we'll visit Montezuma Castle and Montezuma Well.

Jerome - loved the wineries and they had some great galleries and history of mining copper.  Great views since we were up in elevation to about 5200 feet.  We enjoyed a couple of wineries and among many galleries we enjoyed, the Kaleidoscope and art glass gallery was quite interesting.    We enjoyed the Passion Cellars and Echo Canyon Winery which is being phased out so all the wines we tasted were 10 - 12 years old.

 

Sedona was also a great place to visit with great views and galleries.  We visited the Chapel of the Holy Cross that was built on the hillside by a local rancher and sculptor Marguerite Brunswig Staude with some inspiration by Frank Lloyd Wright.  Sedona had one of the top 25 galleries in the United States that we really enjoyed as well as an entire shopping village of just craft shops and galleries - Tiaquepaque Village.  Outside of Sedona we stopped at one additional winery that we had heard  about, Passion Cellars, which had great wines at good values, but our wine cabinet in the motorhome was full!!!

Went onto Williams to the Grand Canyon Railway RV Park.  We checked out the train ride to the Grand Canyon Park along with the pet resorts for a future visit which helped split up our drive to Vegas.  Another place we would love to visit for a long period of time.  Williams is on the historic route 66 and there were many sites around the city to see.