Hey, it's only been 19 months ...

Welcome back. My last blog entry was October 29, 2011. Mostly because 2012 sucked. Hard to believe I'm actually saying that about an entire year, but I am. The good news is that the healing has taken root and looks like we're back "on the road again." Yippee!

We just returned home from Memorial Day Weekend, mixing someplace Marg and I had visited before with an all-new journey. Just a short one, but quite memorable, nontheless. Two days in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and one night in a cabin at Kodachrome Basin State Park, both in Utah (our absolutely favorite scenic state).

Here are a few highlights:

The Toadstools just east of Kanab, Utah. It took is about 2 miles to hike the 1.5 mile roundtrip trail. (I think we missed a few rock cairns marking the way.) But the climb was sure worth it! We followed some dry washes and ended up on top of a plateau with some very strange formations (thus, the toadstools).

Marg under a BIG toadstool.

Toby under a short toadstool. Cousin Ellen, I thought you'd appreciate
TLGF (The Little Green Frog) under a toadstool!

We spent the rest of the day driving Cottonwood Canyon Road through the Grand Staircase. The rewards were the red, white, yellow and pink rocks, mixed with a variety of juniper, pinon pine and sagebrush.

Oh yeah, and the cow.

Just off the gravel and sand road was a short, paved trail to Grosvenor Arch; a rare double-arch within a monumental structure.




Grosvenor Arch



Us at the Arch. I love taking these awful self-portraits!

A closer view.

Last stop of the day ... Kodachrome Basin State Park. A really cool cabin, with lots of great amenities: comfy bed, full bath, microwave, coffeemaker, outdoor propane grill with all the necessary utensils, satellite TV, covered porch with picnic table, and a hiking trail just steps from the front door.



Cabin #4



View from the front porch. Just can't beat that, huh?

Morning got us on another backroad traveling south through the monument: Skutumpah Road. The second day's highlight was a fabulous 3-mile hike along Willis Creek in a slot canyon. The creek squiggled along the center of the canyon ... we just wished we'd worn our river shoes or flip-flops instead of sneakers so we could splash in the water all the way!

How about this fantastical tree dragon?

We finished the afternoon with a stop at a roadside park in Kanab for a late lunch and then returned to our RV in Hurricane, Utah. (Yes, even though we're back in our house in Las Vegas and I have a new Las Vegas job, we have kept our annual, leased campsite so we can visit any time.)

Well, friends and family, thanks for reading. Glad to be back sharing our outdoor adventures. The next big one should be our upcoming July vacation when we drive from San Diego to Morro Bay and Monterey, California.

Happy journeys!

Toby