After getting to Moab, several packages arrived. Previously, I had shown you the air filter. The replacement filter was ordered – it’s not normally available on the shelf in the small towns we were staying at and replaced it. Old vs New. The old filter was installed in March before the trip began.
It came with a sleeve to keep the bugs out. I cleaned out lots of dead bugs from the old one when I checked it, so this should help keep the big chunks out of the pleats.
After that, it was time to fix Evan’s bike. He was having flat tires, so I replaced the tubes and his shifter assembly and cable so he could shift gears.
Ducky tries out a helmet, exploring new fashion ideas. He is also my helper, making sure my tools were organized!
The filter box is also a great toy to play with!
All set for celebrating Randal’s first birthday!
It got a little warm in the bays while travelling through the Southwest in the summer. The candle was a little worse for wear, but it got the job done!
Randal really got into his cake!
So did everyone else! Ducky was all about the camera, though!
The next day, we dropped the kids off at the pool for a bit to cool off in the heat. They had a great time!
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Today we decided to drive to the Edge of the Cedars Utah State Park. We had seen signs for this park in our various journeys around Utah, but we had a free day, so we decided to go see it.
The park has a Great Kiva reconstruction, which Meagan was very excited about.
This is Randal’s preferred way to start the morning. And mid morning, if he can.
Ducky is right there with him, and is even less inclined to get up and going!
As a prelude to the Edge of the Cedars, I just want to say that for both Meagan and I, this is the best Puebloan / Early American museum we’ve been to. In fact, it is far superior to most, if not all, of the NPS sites we’ve been to on this trip.
There is a massive collection of various artifacts and they are all laid out in context and timeline to help you get a better understanding of the various cultures and time periods that they were extant in.
Below is a selected set of images to showcase what we saw. I have a bunch more pictures of the things on display, but I think this captures it quite well.
The ruins in the back of the museum. You can see the ladder to the Great Kiva sticking out over the walls.
Down in the Kiva, Ducky contemplates the greater mysteries of life. Or he might be ready to go run.
It was very important to him to climb down the ladder and back up on his own!
Out back on the nature path, the museum had this solar art piece constructed to demonstrate marking time by sun location.
Ducky vs the sculpture.
A combined timeline showing the various Puebloan cultures compared to cultures in Europe and when they were extant.
One of the really cool parts of the museum is they had a lot of their pottery pieces in storage or preservation, but they were still viewable. It was really nice to see the wide array of pieces.
Macaw feather sash. When we visited several NPS sites, there would always be a discussion that macaw bones were found and how they were part of the trade network. Edge of the Cedars actually had an intact sash on display!
Hafted knives.
Cottonwood plates. I think reproductions might be available in Pottery Barn or Pier 1.
Some of the cool mugs they had on display. After a couple hundred years, the handles went out of style, though.
A 1000 year old ladder from the kiva.
Loom artifacts overlaid on a photo from the 1800s of a native weaver using traditional methods.
Pueblo III pottery display.
This next part was in a (somewhat) narrow hallway, so it was difficult to get photos. The whole hallway was made up of these panels showing the evolution of rock art over the years. We have not seen as well put together display of the rock art anywhere else.
And so much more. If you happen to make your way out there, try to get there early as you will likely spend most of the day since there is so much to see!
Closing down Edge of the Cedars and getting ready to head back, but first a snack!
On our way back (as well as one the way too, but we passed it) we stopped at a little BLM turn off for the Needles and Anticline overlook.
From the sign board:
“The Needles overlook is located 22 miles from US Highway 191. This overlook offers an outstanding view of the Colorado River, the Needles section of Canyonlands National Park, and the Indian Creek area.”
“Anticline overlook is located 31 miles from US Highway 191. Sixteen of those miles are on a graveled, highly improved road. A walkway leads to an interpretive display and benches. The overlook faces north, and offers views of Dead Horse Point State Park, the Colorado River, and Kane Creek Canyon.”
We made the drive out to the Needles overlook, and we were not disappointed. I kept Ducky close at hand, since the site was very ‘wild’ and, well, it was only a 1000 foot drop or so off the edge.
We were treated to a double rainbow!
After the needles overlook, we decided to press on to the Anticline Overlook. The road was in good shape. I’ll have to put together the video we took out there – the scenery was spectacular.
Anticline signboard.
We took advantage of the extra hours of daylight to fully explore the area, and we were not disappointed with the views or the sunset!
View of the Colorado River, the Anticline, and the potash mining operation.
Evan, of course, was not afraid of the drop. After this we kept him on a much shorter leash.
Kane Creek Canyon (taken not far from where Evan was…grrr)
Exploring the other parts of the overlook, I took a selfie! Didn’t realize it until about 5 second after this picture, as you will notice that my hair wisps are all standing straight out, and not blowing in the wind.
There was a ‘bizzt-crack’ of a nearby static discharge, not a full on lighting strike. After that, we beat feet back to the car before any more discharges or lightning happened!
As the sun set, we got a nice rainbow / fire in the sky effect!
Back at camp, Randal did his favorite thing – act like a big boy and sit in Daddy’s chair!
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Ducky ready to go on the Windows Trail. He made it about .1 mile then threw a fit, into the backpack he went.
We had someone take our picture at the top of the short trail. I’m not thrilled with the framing but that’s what we get.
Family shot out the other way.
Double Arch.
Delicate Arch in the background. Meagan and I took shifts so the babies could stay in the car in the heat.
We stopped by the old farmhouse that is still extant. There are a few places more hostile to living, farming, and ranching.
Skyline Arch.
The kids get their badges.
Cooling off with some watermelon back at camp!
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All packed up and ready to go, I make my last checks by doing a walk around. if you blow up the image, you may notice a window sticking out. I don’t recall catching that on the way out. Always something to double check all the things, as travelling the road can be unpredictable.
Meagan took the big 3 kids and Randal, while Garrett rode with me.
Meagan and crew stopped at the Fruita school house in Capitol Reef before heading out.
There was also a series of petroglyphs down the road a bit that they checked out.
Above the kids, if you blow up the image, you can see some petroglyphs on the rock behind them.
We had taken to putting Gambit and Gizmo into the shower when we travel. They were making some messes, so we figured that at least if it’s in the shower, it’d be pretty easy to clean up.
Well, we apparently forgot to take off the shampoo from the ledge and it fell at some point on the journey. When I hooked up the water, they got a bit of a bath. Sorry kitties!
All set up in our new site in Moab, UT.
We had some nice views of the mountain ranges on either side of the valley. There was a fair amount of smoke in the air from wildfires, a theme that would continue to repeat throughout our trip.
Never one to slow down, Randal is always on the move!
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Ducky picked out a walking stick. All set and ready for adventure!
Arya and Evan complete their books and receive their badges.
Jarek got his badge a bit later. Being older, he had more stuff to do. Also, he is very aggressive about our incentive program. If the kids complete the whole book, they get a sticker.
18 July
The next day we headed out to do a hike to the Rim Overlook. This was a fairly challenging hike for us. Fortunately, the weather was accommodating.
Headed up the trail, Alan carries Ducky and Meagan has Randal in a kid carrier pack.
Up at the top, we took a break to eat some snacks and rest a bit. Randal enjoyed being out!
Family photo at the top! Randal, despite his best efforts to run to the edge, was contained.
You can see the trip log below from the Garmin watch:
We did not bring enough water, as we ran out about 1/2 way down. Fortunately, the clouds were in and kept it cooler. We made some changes after this hike and carried additional water and toned down the hikes a bit to better accommodate the littles.
19 July
While Alan does some maintenance, Randal inspects the tool kit to see what things he can ‘fix’.
The truck’s air filter after several months of operations in the southwest dust.
A happy Randal plays with his bucket and the rocks.
Ducky is looking to fill Daddy’s shoes! Still has a little bit yet before he’s there, but he’s taken a few steps in that direction!
20 July
Ducky plays in the roadworks at our campsite.
Meagan and Randal ready to go! Today we headed back to Captiol Reef and visited the historic orchards that they maintain. You can eat your fill off the trees for free. For a small fee, you are welcome to pick fruit that is ripe to take with you. When we were there, Apricots were ripe and the kids enjoyed picking 13 pounds of fruit. It was a bit of struggle to stop them – they would have picked the trees clean if we let them!
Jarek on a ladder picking fruit.
Randal explores the orchards, happy to be free of his restraints!
July 21
Anasazi State Park and Scenic Byway 12
We drove out along scenic byway 12 and stopped in at the Anasazi State Park. Jarek learned a lot from the staff about the dirt roads and flash floods. There was a road Jarek wanted us to take that became a 4 wheel track, and he wasn’t quite getting it why we didn’t want to go down it in the minivan!
Anasazi State Park is a site that has examples of ancient Puebloan and Fremont culture existing together, around the years 1200-1300 CE.
Foundations of the stone buildings.
A pit house reconstructed at the site.
A reconstructed structure that the kids were able to explore. It was built for people much smaller than us!
Complete with their books, they receive their badges from the park staff.
Scenic view from Scenic Byway 12.
Scenic view from Scenic Byway 12.
Back at the campground for a beautiful sunset!
Meagan and the kids went for a walk from the campsite to the nearby entrance of Fishlake National Forest.
July 22
After our adventures, we had a rest day. The kids built themselves a fort using folding chairs and blankets. Here, Evan plays with Randal.
Randal enjoys a freezie pop!
Alan did some maintenance on the van, an(other) expeditionary oil change! Part of the challenge of a trip like this is staying on top of the maintenance requirements for the cars.
All set for the next leg, tomorrow we head out to Moab!
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As we get ready to head out from Bryce Canyon, the kids help me check the torque on the lug nuts. A few years back, we had an incident with broken lug nuts when moving the trailer. Ever since then, I’ve made it part of my habit pattern to check them each time before we move the trailer.
While I proceeded to the next campground, Meagan and the kids went to the Escalante Petrified Forest State Park.
Jarek and Arya stand amongst the petrified logs.
They earned their Junior Ranger badges at the Interagency Visitor Center. Then it was off to the ‘Hole in the Rock.’
Hole in the Rock is the place where Mormon pioneers carved a passage through rock to a very steep descent.
Painting of the wagons going down through “the hole in the rock.”
“The Last Wagon”
Jarek and Evan pose for a picture with the Escalante Valley behind them.
A view of the Escalante Valley. You can see the road on the right.
Another view of the Escalante Valley.
Meanwhile, I arrived at our campsite outside of Capitol Reef National Park and set up. The views were not disappointing.
It was a little interesting getting situated, but I managed to get tucked in. The site was a bit narrower than I would have liked, but it was a quiet campground and the kids were happy to have lots of gravel to dig and play in. They are big on making roads and other vast construction projects at our sites!
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It’s been a little bit since my last update. A big part of that has been related to some Truck Troubles that we have had.
At the beginning of August, when we were in the Twin Falls area of Idaho, the truck threw some codes related to the Diesel Particulate Filter and was regenerating frequently. I was fortunate and able to find a shop close by (within walking distance!) to address the issues. They looked into it and resolved the issues, or so we thought.
Fast forward a bit later to the end of September, and the truck threw the same codes, but with an additional code pertaining to DPF soot build up. When we got to the Rapid City, SD area – we were staying in Custer, SD in the Black Hills, I had it looked at by a shop in Rapid City.
The shop found some of the same issues but indicated that the whole DPF assembly on the truck might need to be replaced, and that it would take 1) some time to get the parts and 2) take him about 3 weeks to get to the truck. Well, this didn’t work for a variety of reasons, the least of which was the campground we were staying at shuts down for the year on 4 Oct, and we couldn’t afford to hang out into late Oct waiting. Not to mention, the cold weather coming (eventually) – this time last year there was snow on the ground according to the locals.
So, we were at a decision point at what to do with the truck and the trip in general. Doing some research on available truck nearby, I was able to find one that met our needs at a reasonable price. So, we decided to purchase the new (to us) truck, a 2020 F350 dually, now christened Huginn, and send our (now) old truck, Fenrir, back to Florida to be repaired by the shop I use there.
Fenrir being loaded up on the trailer for transport back to Florida. Fortunately, the problem didn’t strand us on the road, but the assessment was that if the problems went unaddressed, that eventually it would lead to a force shutdown situation, stranding us. That is an unacceptable situation for us to be in.
Picking up Huginn at the dealership in Rapid City. The truck had all the add-ons that we would have added. It was perfect and ready to go!
Ready to go on the maiden voyage! Heading out of Custer, SD and down out of the Black Hills I got to learn how the new truck handled on the grades. Huginn did very well. I learned how to use the engine brake, which wasn’t available on Fenrir. With the trailer and the engine brake, I was able to maintain about a 42 mph descent on a 6% grade without touching the brakes, which was very nice.
I still have some learning to do on the newer truck and the various features it has, but that will come with time. The adventure continues!
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After Zion, we departed for Bryce Canyon National Park. We had some awesome views of arches along the way and wildlife.
There was a herd of Bison along the road.
After arriving at our camp site, I set up the RV and went to go fix the bathroom shower door. One of the screws had come out of the track wheels and it fell of the track. Fairly easy fix, but to do so involved lifting the heavy glass doors out and reseating them in the track.
We stayed at Ruby’s Inn and Campground, just outside the park. The site we had was very large and we had our own grassy area and fire pit area. The kids loved it as they could play in the grass near the RV.
Taking a break from the heat. The kids were coloring and journaling in the shade. The blue cube is a misting fan we picked up to help combat the heat in the dry air.
We went to the Visitor Center, which is just down the road from the campground. It was busy, but not as busy as Zion. The kids did their books and got their badges. We learned in the museum that the whole area of Utah and parts of Colorado and Arizona, referred to as the Grand Staircase, is connected through geology (NPS, Wiki).
A depiction of the layers and their ages. Best viewed enlarged.
I got Ducky his own Camelbak and his own Junior Ranger hat. He is very proud of them. This way he carries his own water, and if I need to put him in the pack, I can strap his water to it so it’s accessible.
Ready to head out on the Mossy Cave trail. Ducky wanted to walk. I’m getting the GoPro ready to record the hike (yet to be processed…). You can view the Mossy Cave hike log here.
After a short hike, we made it to Mossy Cave, which is more of a grotto. We also found our first Hoodoo medallion.
The kids look on at the cave and watch the water flow.
Victory shot – shenanigans may have been involved!
From there, we hiked over to the Tropic Ditch. The kids enjoyed putting their hands in the water and feeling the speed of the current.
From there, we could take a short walk and see the Tropic Ditch waterfall and see other visitors playing in the pool.
After the hike, we did the scenic drive and got some awesome views of the Bryce Canyon formations.
Back at the campground, Ducky asked me to take him for a walk. So, we went on a walk around the campground and he told me all about the ghosts in the campground. Ducky is apparently very into ghosts right now. But we did meet another little boy, who was camping with his family that was an only child and was very excited to share his toys and have someone to play with.
Randal enjoys dinner in the cool evening. The building behind him is the Inn across the lake.
Everyone has a good time catching up with friends back home via video chat!
Evan takes Randal out for bike rids on Garrett’s bike. Randal really enjoys the rides!
Meagan, Jarek, and Randal went out for the Bristlecone Loop trail one morning and found their Hoodoo medallion.
Views from Bristlecone.
Views from Bristlecone.
Afterward, they went to check out the nearby town of Tropic.
Do you ever feel that you are having trouble navigating life?
Queens Garden – Navajo Loop Hike
We mounted up the family for a big hike to do the Queens Garden – Thor’s hammer – Navajo Loop Hike. You can view the GPS log of the hike.
So this was how it started…
The trail started off with a decent descent down the sandstone slope into the canyon.
We were rewarded with numerous spectacular formations along the trail.
Family shot at the bottom!
There were several places where the trail was carved through the rocks. Fortunately, it wasn’t as bad as Carlsbad Caverns where I had to crawl on my hands and knees.
The “Queen Victoria” Hoodoo.
Documenting the Hoodoo for the quest!
The Navajo Loop Hoodoo!
Taking a break on the way up.
Wait, you mean we have to back up all that?
How it ended… Family portrait at the (almost top) with Thor’s Hammer off to the left.
As we were headed out, we passed the start of the Wall Street trail, which we elected to not do, as we were all pretty tired after this hike.
Ducky and Randal enjoyed some playtime after the hike.
We made it back to the Visitor Center in time to get our Hoodoo stickers!
After the hike, we took a rest day.
I’d like to speak to the manager about my milk rations….
Meagan and the kids baked cookies for a treat.
Jarek get some cuddle time with Firefly and Gambit snoozes in his favorite spot on my chair.
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Getting into the site was a bit of an adventure. The sites were all back in and not aligned to be friendly for bigger rigs. They also had metal poles at the corners of each site so, no cheating. I ended up getting the rig backed in, although not straight in. The site was also only 1 foot longer than the RV, so that was additional fun.
