Zion National Park with Bob

When we hiked Bryce we were amazed at the landscape because it was truly spectacular. Then we went to Zion . . . what comes after spectacular???? Actually what is interesting is that the two places, although just about 60 miles or so apart, are very, very different. At Bryce you are at the top of the canyon looking down into the rocks and at Zion you enter the park and then travel 12 miles down into the park. The formations are totally different as well. Not sure if you'll be able to see the differences on the flip video or not?

On our third day we could either go back to Bryce or Zion (your pass is good for 7 days). We decided to go back to Zion and do the hike called Angels Landing. Oh my goodness. Let me put it to you this way; there are multiple signs that say "Warning, people have died on this hike. If you are afraid of heights do not attempt this route." So, being Bobby and I we thought that would be fun. It was; aren't we sicko's. The total hike took us around 4 hours but the ascent was incredible--very, very steep and the last .5 miles was extremely technical and crazy scary. Some pathways weren't more than 4 feet wide and on either side is a 1,500 foot vertical drop. They drove bars and chains into the route at the steepest points to help you hang on. Two weeks ago a woman slipped and died. So, the signs weren't any jokes. I guess a guy offed his wife there a couple of years back.

Another amazing thing at Zion is the tunnel. There is a 1.1 mile tunnel that was completed in 1933. The had three different teams start at three different places in the desired tunnel and they blasted and dug towards one another. None of the teams missed their marks by more than 1 foot!!!! Think of that and we didn't even have big technology then. Anyway, enjoy the footage. Hopefully I'll have some good pics.

Forgive the noise in the middle but the camera was outside of the truck to try and get the best possible footage.

Brother Bob & Bryce Canyon

I picked up Bob in Salt Lake City and we headed down to a small town called Glendale, which is just between Bryce Canyon National Park and Zion National Park. On Tuesday we hiked at Bryce and it was amazing.

Also, I got the message that the last couple of videos were choppy; probably because the internet connection has been so weak. Anyway, I'm re-uploading them tonight so try them again. If you press play, then pause and walk away from the computer for a few minutes, you'll see that the red bar beneath the player will get ahead of the little bubble. This will prevent the stop and go of the video. Hope that makes sense. :)

Last Days in Yellowstone & the Grand Tetons

We had such a wonderful trip to Yellowstone. So much to see and do we could have spent many more days. After I left the Johnson's I drove down Route 89 through Grand Teton National Park and it was stunning. There are two videos on this posting. (I re-uploaded these two videos on August 28th)

Yellowstone with the Johnsons

It sure was great having Sue, Kevin, Ingrid and Brian meet us in Yellowstone. The only downside was we didn't have enough days! The park is absolutely huge and really quite impossible to see in just 4 days. Imagine this; when you cross anyone of the main gates (there are 5 of them into the park) it takes at least an hour and fifteen minutes to get to anything. That is how vast it is. The lake, which sits in the middle has 141 miles of beach if you were to walk it. And the lake is just a fraction of the entire park.

Things I didnt know about Yellowstone:

* It was the first National Park in the world. 1872
* It is the largesst National Park in the US
* It has the largest fresh water lake at this altitude in the US.
* It has more thermal giesers than either New Zealand or Iceland
* It is a site of a super volacno 640,000 years ago.

Here is just a few snipits from our time together.

Not sure if you saw these?

I'm now on a good internet connection and am going through the videos and not sure if you got these two videos. If you saw it directly on youtube then I apologize. This was on our way to Yellowstone--two days, two parts..

Getting to Yellowstone

I have a terrible internet connection here and it takes forever to upload video.

Having a fabulous time. This is a place that everyone should have to come and see! WOW, amazing sites every turn you take. Johnson's are here and they all went off to Old Faithful today. I had a "Casey & Kona day." :)

In and Around Custer State Park

Finally getting caught up on some blogging here. Here's a bit of a re-cap.

We got to Custer State Park last Wednesday night and stayed through till this morning. The park is amazing. The wildlife is incredible; coming right up to the car or in the campground. We saw bison, antelope, big horn sheep, prairie dogs, deer (so big you wouldn't believe), burros that wouldn't move out of the way . . . no doubt I'm forgetting something here. We took a couple of really nice hikes. One up to Cathedral Spires and the other along a ridge line. We were able to take Kona on the second one and he loved it--getting to trudge through streams along the way. He is such a good travel companion and puts up with anything we throw at him.

Yesterday we went out to the Badlands. Talk about a stark contrast to the Black Hills! No doubt any pictures or film we took won't give it justice. It was a long day but definitely worth the trip as we don't have anything like it back East.

Today we began our journey to Yellowstone. Only a small piece of the travel (about 60 of the 240 miles) was on highway so it was slower going. Mountains of Big Horn State Park also slowed the pace down as some spots were a 6% grade. Tomorrow we'll make our way to Yellowstone. We're at a cute little campground tonight. Very clean and homey. The service is great and the people are so friendly. A total population here in Ten Sleep of 362! It probably makes much of its revenue on campers like us since it is almost exactly half way between Custer and Yellowstone. If you're wondering it gets its' name from the American Indians. I guess there was an Indian village near Casper and one here; it took them ten nights (or "sleeps) to make it here--hence "Ten Sleeps." Two Videos to watch on this post

Long update

Sorry about the delay in blogging; the internet connection has been non-existent since we left Colorado! Where we are at in the park now (Custer State Park) we don't even have any cell service; not a bad thing.

I picked up the kids on Tuesday. The trailer just fit underneath the airport overpass! We stopped at my friend's health club in Ft. Collins and the kids swam and I worked out. Then we drove to Cheyenne, WY to the Terry Bison Ranch. You'll see the video of that day below. Then, scroll down to see the next day or so. I'll try and update more tomorrow when we get back to cell connection. I'm putting this post up from the top of a mountain at 9pm at night b/c it was driving me crazy that I couldn't get any connection and you were all probably waiting for the next installment!



Here's the next day while driving to Custer State Park in South Dakota.

From Nebraska to Colorado

Hello friends,

Sorry I've been a bit delayed with these postings. The Internet connection has been very slow and the videos haven't been uploading so easily. I should probably at least write each night even if I don't have the video.

On Sunday I left my friend's house in Ft. Collins and went and picked up the "King." We went and had dinner with another friend of mine, Sacha, in Boulder. Took Kona for a 3 mile hike in the plains after an early dinner. He loved it. Found a resevoir to swim in and chased an eagle off a rock where he/she was perched at sundown waiting to find some dinner.

Today we went to the Olympic Training Center down in Colorado springs. What a cool place. I didn't take too much video but I'm going to try and upload some photos. Never done that on this site before but I'll try and figute it out.

Funny thing is the RV park we are staying in. It's in Golden, CO. There are not that many places (believe it or not) around the Denver area and none up in Boulder. So, my friend from Ft. Collins recommended this place (although he has never stayed here) and it looked fabulous on the web site. Well, the place is nice BUT it is right next to a busy street! Incredible; the website doesn't say anything about that. It just tells you how beautiful it is sitting at the foothills of Golden, CO. Still, having a great time.

My day from Ottumwa to Nebraska

After 5 days in Ottumwa (and going to the Institute)I finally pushed out of Ottumwa. What a great place to raise a family and the people are so friendly. Kona had a great time with the kids and a fenced in back yard. Lots of walks in the park and getting spoiled.

Ottumwa to Nebraska

Well, I'm in a small town called Elm Creek, NE, in a roadside "RV" park just off the highway. I intended to make it to Lexington, NE 30 minutes west of here but dusk was falling and I wanted to make sure I had plenty of light to walk Kona and get everything hooked up.

Sorry to say the internet connection has been so bad today that I'm not able to post the video but I'll add it tomorrow once I get a strong signal. Will get up and drive to Ft. Collins, CO, via Cheyenne, WY. Probably about 6 hours drive, which is less than I originally thought. Bean is doing great. I need to upload some snapshots as well as the video blog. Good night.

My Day In Tahoe and The Boat Race!

Although it was a flyin' trip in and out for the IHRSA Institute it sure was great seeing Tahoe in the summer. What a difference from ski season! Had a great session with the IHRSA Institute attendees and an absolute blast with the "Build A Boat" team building workshop. Little did anyone on my group know that I am so darn competitie. LOL. This video is hysterical.

Trip to Tahoe for IHRSA Institute

Hello there. It's about 9pm PST and I'm driving in a shuttle van from Reno airport to Lake Tahoe. Isn't technology amazing. I'm uploading my video and writing in the blog while we're driving down the highway! Mind you, I'm a passenger, not the driver. LOL. Will be late by the time I get up the mountain but they say the weather has been spectacular.

Illinois to Iowa

Saturday afternoon now and I'm here in Ottumwa. Cool ride crossing over the Miss. River yesterday. Tried to to the flip camera but I messed it up so you'll just have to take my word for it. Kona is really happy here in Ottumwa; lots of kids, fenced in back yard and a nice park to go walking in. He's loving the attention and performing his tricks when requested . . . for treats, of course!