Westward Ho with the Wilsons

John and I had an awesome time this summer as we traveled across the USA in "The Bear." We ended up touring the western National Parks. It didn't start as a plan but ended up that way. We visited Rocky Mountain NP, Arches NP, Yosemite NP (which we went to twice b/c it was so amazing), Kings Canyon NP, Sequoia NP (these last two were just me and Kaitlin b/c John was in FL) Zion NP, Bryce Canyon NP, The Grand Canyon NP (the last three were Robyn, John, Kaitlin & Chris) and finally Hot Springs NP in Arkansas on our way home. Wow! I cannot begin to describe how beautiful and amazing these places in America are. We often long for adventure in exotic locations but, there is a so much to see here at home.

When we were not visiting the National Parks, we hung around in California's State Parks. Ca has so much to offer. The coastline, especially along Big Sur, is spectacular with its cliffs, rocky formations and abundant sea life. We sat in our campsite for three days and watched humpbacks, sea otters, seals, elephant seals and birds too numerous to name from our lounge Chair. We didn't hike those days b/c we figured we had the best spot around and didn't need to go anywhere to improve upon the scenery. Further north up the coast the huge Coastal Redwoods, which rival their cousins the majestic Sequoias that are found inland at Yosemite and Sequoia NP, stand straight and incredibly tall These Coastal Redwoods are amazing in their own right and camping and hiking among them was awesome.

When John left to go back to FL, Kaitlin joined me and we made our way from San Francisco to Las Vegas. That is when we stopped in Sequoia and Kings Canyon NP. We hiked together every day covering at least 10-12 miles per day. We visited alpine lakes, waterfalls, amazing vista points and of course the majestic Sequoia forests. Old Sherman, located at Sequoia NP in the Giant Forest, is the largest living tree. I think it is the largest living thing on earth, other than those mushrooms that grow in a network underground. There are taller trees, fatter trees and older trees but, none as tall and fat and old as Old Sherman.
When we left CA we drove on to Vegas for the wedding weekend and picked up John and Chris. Our next adventure was into Utah. We went to Zion NP, which I found to be one of the most amazing spots yet, and then Bryce Canyon. When we realized we had a few days left and it was so close we decided to go to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. When you are only hours away from one of the seven wonders of the world you cannot just skip it. Kaitlin had never been and the rest of us had not been to the North Rim so it was breathtaking for all of us when we arrived. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate and we got rained and hailed on but, we did hike down about 5 miles or so and of course back up which is the hard part. It was amazing and I never tire of seeing it. In fact, after John and I dropped KT and Chris off at the airport in Vegas we went back to the Grand Canyon's North Rim. John dropped me off and I hike down to Phantom Ranch lodge, on the Colorado River at the bottom of the canyon, and back up the to South Rim the next morning. John drove 5 hours around to the South Rim and hiked down the next day to meet me on my way up. I have always wanted to hike rim-to-rim and now I have. I loved it and already want to do it again.
Well, after that, John and I drove home as fast as we could for Ches and Kim's party. We made a little side trip to Hot Springs Arkansas NP to take advantage of the hot spring bath houses. Once rejuvenated we made our way to FL and arrived home in "The Bear" safe and sound. It was an amazing trip. I hope you enjoy some of the images we captured. Pictures, at least my pictures, never do justice to subject at hand but at least you can get an idea of our trip.

See the slide show.