Grand Canyon

Grand Canyon is gigantic, but its parking lots do not always fit an RV and jeep trailer.  We stopped at the lookouts where we fit.  It was a crazy hazy day, so pictures of the canyon walls needed photo editing.  Still, the massiveness was impressive!

This plaque was on the observation deck of the tower.

The elk was crossing the road at the park entrance when we were leaving.  She paused after she crossed the road and posed for her photo!

People from all over the world come to the Grand Canyon.

Canyonlands National Park

Jeep, Inc. has a program called "Badge of Honor".  As a jeep owner, you check in via smartphone at the beginning of a trail.  Jeep will confirm your location and ship you a badge of the trail to mount on your vehicle.  There is a badge of honor for Elephant Hill in Canyonlands National Park.  So..... we had to do that trail!

 Elephant Hill starts out with a steep ascent of narrow turns.  Once the peak is reached, then loose rock and ledges between narrow turns make up the descent.  There are lots of traverses across sandy, dry creek beds as well.  It is eventually a loop, so you go out the same way you entered.

God has created the most beautiful rock gardens in Canyonlands.  This section is called the Needles District because of the tall rocky spires.  We ate lunch in this meadow looking out on Devil's Kitchen.

The backcountry ranger at the visitor's center enthusiastically suggested to continue on to Confluence Outlook.  We took the trail, parked, and then hiked up the hill to find this amazing view.  

Far below us, in the canyon, the two rivers--Green and Colorado--meet.  You can notice a slight variation in color of each river.  The view is breathtaking, and we stayed a long time.

Big Saturday in Moab--Parade and Last Trail

Big Saturday begins with a parade on Main Street of all the jeeps.  The jeeps are organized by the trail they run, so we were with the Flat Iron Mesa group.  Each trail has a different flag that the jeeps all mount on their CB antennas.

Howard has been wanting to use the "trail doors" all week.  It's been rather cool this week, so today was the last chance to use them.  Brrrr!

The scenery was gorgeous--cliffs and steep, redstone canyons.

The obstacles were interesting and challenging.

A "stock" Hummer signed up for this run (the black vehicle in the photo below).  He struggled through most of the obstacles successfully.  On "Tilt-a-Whirl", he had to be tow strapped by 2 older TJ Jeeps (red and white vehicles) because he was high-centered on a boulder.  When that didn't work, they helped him with a high lift in the front.  The jeep owners were grinning ear-to-ear.

Behind the Rocks Jeep Trail

Thursday's run was an arduous trail with several difficult obstacles.  We started at 9:00 AM and returned to our RV at 7:30 PM.

This photo shows the spectators and the overall view of White Knuckle Hill. The next three photos are of Howard descending White Knuckle Hill.

The next three photos are of Howard descending a very off-camber section.

The last three photos are actually from the first obstacle called Gatekeeper.  Howard was tilting 40 degrees at the top, so he was strapped the final few feet.

 

Views of God's amazing beauty in Utah....

The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof,

   the world and those who dwell therein,

for he has founded it upon the seas

   and established it upon the rivers.

Psalm 24:1-2

Who is this King of glory?

The Lord of hosts,

he is the King of glory!

Psalm 24:10

Irises at Dusk

The poppies had already closed up this evening, but the irises are at their prime--glorious shades of purple.