Yellowstone

Flaming Gorge Dam on the Green River

Elk Antler arches around Jackson Hole Square

Grand Teton National Park

Grand Teton

Adam looking for minnows in Colter Bay, Grand Teton

Grand Teton

Ben in front of Old Faithful

If you look really closely, you can see the bald eagle in the tree

Grizzly bear at the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center in West Yellowstone

Gray wolf at the Discovery Center

Ben and Adam with elk in the background

Elk

Hot spring at Yellowstone

The blue water of the hot spring is from algae and the orange color surrounding it is from bacteria

A bubbling mud hole. This was one of Ben and Adam's favorite spots.

Ben in front of a geyser at Yellowstone

We took two days to travel through Wyoming to West Yellowstone, Montana just outside the West Entrance to Yellowstone National Park. I would have to say that this was some of the most spectacular driving of our entire trip as we went through the Grand Tetons. We also lucked out and drove up to Old Faithful 4 minutes before the scheduled eruption. I had no idea that this geyser only erupts for a few minutes every 90 minutes or so. We timed it perfectly! We also saw bison, elk and a bald eagle perched in its nest along our drive. That was before we even reached our destination!

Adam absolutely loved the geysers. I think for him it was like being surrounded by constant science experiments. Ben enjoyed looking for animal tracks and actually found bison tracks (and bison scat) right near the hot springs. We also went to the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center where we fortunately saw grizzly bears across a moat which was just fine with me. While I have truly loved and appreciated all the wonderful places we have seen, I would have to say that there is something special about Yellowstone.

Dinosaurland

View from the Douglas Pass in Colorado

Yes, the eyes really move back and forth all day long

The lobby of the Utah Field House of Natural History aka the Vernal Dinosaur Museum

Ben and Adam enjoying the real dinosaur fossils

Not to worry, this is the fake dinosaur replica

The dinosaur garden

We left Moab and ventured into Colorado on our way to Vernal, Utah and Dinosaurland. We actually went through the town of Dinosaur, Colorado on our way. Vernal is situated just past the Dinosaur National Monument and boasts a huge pink dinosaur with moving eyes and the Utah Field House of Natural History not to mention dinosaur statues all over town. As Ben is particularly crazy about dinosaurs, he loved the Natural History Museum. The boys could touch real dinosaur bones and fossils. It was an amazing exhibit and we went through several times. They also had a garden of dinosaur statues. For all you dinosaur fans, this is the place to go.

Moab, Utah

Scenery on our drive from Canyon de Chelly to Moab, Utah

Ben in front of a teepee at Bluff Fort in Utah

Adam tearing the cabin down at Bluff Fort

View from the Sorrel River Ranch

Outside view of our room at the Ranch

Part of our room at the Ranch

The kitchen and dining area of our room

Enjoying the spa

Ben enjoying the pool

Our Sunset Hummer excursion

"Hell's Revenge"

Believe it or not, this is really us in the Hummer. One of the other drivers took the picture as we came down the rock face. I'm glad I didn't see this picture until after the ride was over!

Rafting down the Colorado River

Window Arch at Arches National Park

This is Double Arch at Arches National Park which can be seen at the beginning of Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade

I wasn’t sure where to go after Canyon de Chelly. The original plan was to go through Santa Fe to Loveland, Colorado, but it just didn’t feel right. The suggestions to go to Mesa Verde and Albuquerque just didn’t seem to fit. While we were on the tour of Canyon de Chelly, a woman approached me and said she had overheard me speaking of our trip. She suggested we go to Sorrel River Ranch in Moab, Utah. That sounded like just the spot and I was able to get a 5 night reservation. Little did I know that while it is a working ranch, it is also the only 4 star resort in Utah. I had hoped that we could spend some time on a ranch during our travels and this was the perfect spot. The drive from Canyon de Chelly to Moab was spectacular. With all the red rock monuments, I felt as if we were in a John Wayne Western. We even had to stop for horses and sheep to cross the highway! The area around Moab is stunning and includes access to Arches and Canyonland National Parks and is right along the Colorado River.

The boys and I had a wonderful room at the Ranch complete with a front porch and our own kitchenette and breakfast nook. The staff took to the boys from the minute we arrived. One of them even watched the boys for a few hours so Mom could take advantage of the Spa. On our first day we did the Sunset Hummer Tour out of Moab. Ben decided that it was second in excitement only to California Screamin’ at Disneyland. We went forward (and backward) up sheer rock faces and even sideways at times. As you can see from the picture, we did not always have four wheels on the ground. The name of the trail was “Hell’s Revenge” which was aptly named. The next day we went rafting on the Colorado River and even went through a Level 3 rapid that had tipped two boats the week before. We got totally drenched as we went through but everyone managed to stay on the raft. Part of the time we were able to float in the river alongside the raft. We even had a little excitement as Mom and the boys drifted a little faster than anticipated ahead of the boat. There went another few gray hairs. The boys also managed to fit in a pony ride, some tennis and lots of swimming. It was definitely worth the 5 night stay.

Canyon de Chelly

Petroglyphs on the Canyon walls

One of the Anasazi ruins from a distance. They look small but are up to 10 feet in height.

The top of the overhang often created the roof of the dwellings

This is a Navajo summer home that is actually currently inhabited. The American Indians grow all sorts of crops and fruit trees for their own consumption. You can see the pictographs and petroglyphs on the wall near the house that date back to 350 to 1300 A.D.

This is called the White House and is a famous Anasazi ruin

We stayed at the Thunderbird Lodge in Canyon de Chelly which is on the Navajo Reservation. It is unique among all the National Parks as it is totally within the Navajo Tribal Trust Land. Because of this, you can only enter the Canyon with a Navajo guide. Our guide was actually born and raised in the North Canyon. There are still 5 or 6 families living in the Canyon and many go there for the summer to tend their crops. It is one of the longest continually inhabited areas in North America and there are Anasazi Indian dwelling remains dating between 350 – 1300 A.D. There are also petroglyphs (pictures scraped into the rock) and pictographs (pictures painted on the rocks) on the stone walls of the Canyon. We had a wonderful time bumping along the rugged Canyon floor and Ben and Adam somehow managed to get a ride up front with the driver. Mom also bought some beautiful jewelry from the Navajo women and Ben watched one of the Elders paint on a piece of stone. It was quite an eye-opening experience seeing how many of the American Indians live even to this day. I’d have to say that it was a bit depressing seeing them on the Reservation and quite a learning experience for all of us.

Sedona to Canyon de Chelly

Ben at the Meteor Crater

Adam looking throught the telescope at Meteor Crater

Adam on top of a piece of petrified wood

Ben leaning against an entire petrified log

Ben and Adam dancing with the Painted Desert in the background

Ben with the Painted Desert in the background

Wow, this was by far the most packed day yet. We drove from Sedona to Canyon de Chelly which was reportedly a 4 hour drive. By the time we stopped at all the sites, we arrived 7 hours later. The boys were still raring to go and played soccer in the dark with three boys from Belgium who couldn't speak a word of English but still managed to teach Ben and Adam the correct way to kick a soccer ball.

On the drive, we had to stop and see the Meteor Crater which is the "First Proven, Best Preserved Meteorite Crater on Earth!" The meteor hit 50,000 years ago and the crater is over 4,000 feet across, and 550 feet deep. We then continued on to the Petrified Forest where we were amazed at the trees that were made into stone 225 million years ago. It's amazing to think you are looking at something that old. The trees basically lived in a swamp during the Triassic Period (think Dinosaurs) and were covered by sand containing volcanic ash that cut off the oxygen. The silica in the ash made the trees into stones. Years later erosion uncovered prehistoric trees. To top it all off, there is evidence of human life dating back 10,000 years. To finish off our excursions, we drove through the Painted Desert. Needless to say, Mom was a little tired by the time we hit the Thunderbird Lodge at Canyon de Chelly.

Sedona

Entrance to our condo at the Junipine Resort near Sedona

View from our deck

Ben and Adam enjoying the hot tub

Adam fishing at the Trout Farm

One of five fish Ben caught at the Trout Farm

Coffee Pot Rock in Sedona

Ship Rock

Ben by Oak Creek

On our way from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon to Sedona, we were on a desolate stretch of road with huge red mesas. All of a sudden, a roadside café appeared in a town (that is truly a euphemism) called Cliff Dwellers. We decided to stop for lunch without high expectations. Amazingly enough, Mom had the best salad of her life and ate it in peace as Adam and Ben killed flies with a flyswatter provided by the waitress. Right next door was a group of Native American women selling exquisite jewelry and arrowheads made from native regional stones. It was quite an unexpected little detour.

We arrived in Oak Canyon which is just before Sedona and stayed at the Junipine Resort. I had just booked this reservation 4 days ago and got an incredible deal on a two bedroom condo with our own hot tub and view of the creek and surrounding hills. After five days of cabins, Mom and the boys were thrilled to be in such a beautiful space. The boys have enjoyed watching TV as they have had no TV or DVD’s for FIVE DAYS and were going through withdrawal. We have also been enjoying the surrounding area. Ben and Adam spent time fishing yet again at a nearby trout farm. Ben caught 5 big fish which Mom gladly paid the trout farm to clean and put on ice. Not only that, but she gave 4 of them to the chef at the resort restaurant and he deboned, beheaded and prepared the 5th one so all she had to do was cook it in butter. Ben ate his own fish within hours of catching it and said it was the best fish he ever ate. Sedona is famous for it's red rock formations as you can see from the pictures above. The boys really liked Snoopy which looks exactly like him lying on his back. All in all we had a very relaxing time in this beautiful place.