Bryce Canyon, Red Canyon and more !

BRYCE CANYON NATIONAL PARK
Today was soooooo windy, it was hard to walk and the sandy dirt just blew all around us.  We were determined to see Bryce Canyon National Park, and so off we went ! It was beautiful and we were grateful for the blue skies, but it was so cold on that ridge that I am sure we did not fully appreciate what was before us, Mother Nature had her way with us today !

The spiked formations are called Hoodoo's and they are created out of the many weather elements, mainly snow, that have resulted in the odd shapes.  You can look at them and they can become many things in your imagination...its like a little world in front of you !

The Paiute Indians believed that the Hoodoo's were once living humans that had been turned to rock by evil spirited coyotes that had placed a spirit on them. 

There are trails leading to and around the canyon floor.  We were only on the surrounding rim but I am sure it is really neat to see this from the floor up.

Bad hair day and the last picture of one of Joe's favorite hats...it blew into the canyon a couple minutes after this picture was taken !

Notice the many colors too....that is another wonder of Hoodoo's...color and shape.

RED CANYON

Between Bryce Canyon National Park and Panguitch, you pass through Red Canyon and it is very regal too.  We did not stop at the Visitors center, we just took these from the highway.  

RENTAL TEEPEE'S

We ran across these Teepee's and just had to check them out.  You can stay in them, just like a tent and they looked pretty secure against the heavy winds we were in. 

OLD CARS
Joe and Henry found these heaps and were gaga for them....what do they say?  One mans junk is another mans treasure....Joe and Henry's treasures:

So that was our day and this is our last night in the area.  Tomorrow we head to Salt Lake City, about 250 miles north.  xxoo TML

North Pole Vacation !

This is how Dasher, Dancer, Prancer and the gang spend thier vacations....In Utah !!

Zion National Park

You can only enter Zion National Park via Route 9 and its a winding road that hugs the natural curve of the mountains as it climbs to the high elevations that range from 6 to 7000 feet.  Its pretty steep and we were sure glad we were not in our RV's !  As you come around each turn you see more and more breathtaking beauty...its just amazing to see the mountains, their shapes and how they seem to be perfectly stacked and balanced !  As if that were not enough, you can see pine trees just growing on ledges, on the tops and all along the floors and in between the mountains.  It is hard to describe !

Also on the east side, you have to come through a tunnel that is just over a mile long...RV's, buses and any other vehicle over 11' 4" must be escorted through the tunnel so they travel down the middle of the tunnel.  It is pitch black inside but every now and then there is a cave like opening to the outside to give a little light here and there ! I was not happy with the tunnel but I got through it...twice ! 

Okay, so here are some beautiful pictures we took today.  Enjoy Zion and all its wonder !  TML

Hello Utah !

Today we headed north and had a beautiful drive to Utah, up I-15 to 89 and into Panguitch, a town that is 30 miles from Bryce Canyon National Park and 50 miles from Zion National Park.  We are here 3 nights and that will give us a day at each park, starting tomorrow.

Okay, here are a few pictures of today's drive and let me just update you on gas prices, which are at 3.71 here.  We are now on Mountain Time, so 2 hours behind Georgia, I'm not sure what the elevation is but I think its higher than 7000.   We have excellent WiFi, which really surprises me !

Looking forward to posting some great pictures of the parks.  xxoo TML

Pawn Stars, Shelby's, Big Bucks and more !

(Just noticed that date shows Saturday but this is for Friday, June 3rd.  Our laptop is still on Georgia time !)

PAWN STARS !

We could not pass up on the opportunity to see Gold and Silver Pawn from the show PAWN STARS on the History Channel.  We got in and all of our jaws dropped at how expensive everything was and they had a slew of stuff, from pawned to souvenir...all over priced.  I just had to take a picture of the Super Bowl Rings...wait till you see the prices ! 

Super Bowl Rings....the 4 in the middle are $100,000.00 each...the outer circle of rings are $10,000.00 each, if you pay cash !

SHELBY MUSEUM 

Joe and Henry went out to the Shelby Museum and enjoyed looking at cars and the Las Vegas Racetrack where NASCAR is run.  Here are a few pictures that they took....

THE BIG BUCKS !

We went back to the old Vegas area to have lunch at the 4 Queens so we could take advantage of a 2-for-1 special on 1/2 rack of rib dinners....man was that good ! We have really eaten well in Vegas, no cooking at this stop, that's for sure !  Anyway, while we were there we took advantage of Binion's offer of a free keepsake photo taken with a little cash ! Check us out !

That's a Million Dollars and yes, its real !

CHOCOLATE FACTORY !

We stopped for a quick tour of the  Ethel M. Chocolate Factory where M&M's and Mars bars are produced, as well as truffles and other higher end brands.  We got to sample some and it was yummy but the price of the good stuff was well past our budget...since we didn't get to keep that million !  Anyway, we enjoyed the tour and headed to Wal-Mart to buy Joe a bag of Hershey's bars !

Tomorrow we head northeast into Utah, to Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks...we are all very excited to see them !  xxoo TML

VIVA LA$ VEGA$

My Aunt Dianne and Uncle Bill met up with us today and I can't tell you how great it felt to have visitors !  We had a great afternoon talking about RVing and then we all drove out to Hoover Dam to see the bridge again.  We met at our favorite part of Vegas, the old part, for dinner ! My $7.95 prime rib was excellent !!  What a fun night, great dinner and a street show to boot !  And, yes, Elvis was in the house !!

Tomorrow we hope to connect with Susan and Chris, our children who are here in Vegas with a large group of friends. For now, enjoy a few pictures from today !  xxoo TML

The Leonards !

The Magnificent Hoover Dam

Linda and Henry had previously toured the Hoover Dam, so today we went our separate ways in the morning and then met up for a fabulous and cheap lunch !   Joe and I took the tour of the Hoover Dam and it was really fun...a little crowded in our large tour group but we managed to stay near our guide to learn what we could.  Here are a few pictures ! 

This statue is outside the Visitors Center, probably a tribute to the men who worked on the dam for the 5 years it took to build it.  They earned $4 a day, worked 10 hour shifts and only had 2 days off a year.  The project was actually completed 2 years ahead of schedule !

This is a diagram of how water flows through the dam, creating electricity.  The outer pipes are the overflow pipes, which have only been used twice.

These are the Big Generators that produce all the electricity in the dam.

This is the Little Generator, which is used to run the dam itself ! 

This is one of the pipes that water flows through and 2 Greyhound buses would fit inside of it, easily !

Skinny paths between areas in the dam ! 

Views from either side of the overlook !

Interesting Trivia for you !  The dam was originally called Boulder Dam and then the name was changed as a tribute to Herbert Hoover, who came up with the idea for it, to the Hoover Dam.  President Roosevelt dedicated the dam when it was completed and he renamed it the Boulder Dam, thinking Hoover wasn't worth a dam !  Another politician later changed it again and permanently back to Hoover Dam...apparently thinking Hoover was worth a dam ! 

xxoo TML