Trip Report - Grand Circle & Houseboating
 

Hi to all!

I want to thank you all for your help. This was a trip of a lifetime! And anyone who has posted a question or a reply regarding this area of the country has been a help to me because I have read it all!! I spent a year planning this trip and could not have done it without all of you! So hopefully someone will glean something from this trip report that I will muddle through! I'm going to detail as much as I think is interesting and it's going to take me a while to get through it! Let me get started!

Who: my family consisting of me, my husband Mike, 14 year old son Taylor, 12 year old son Zack, and 6 year old daughter Faith. Also with us was my best friend Susan and her family. Her husband Bruce, 16 year old son Sam, 13 year old son Charlie, 11 year old daughter Emily, and 3 year old daughter Jamie.

When: July 30th - August 16th 2006

Originating from Baltimore, Maryland

As you can see we had quite the age range in our group - age 3 all the way to age 47! Could we all be happy on this trip? Would it work with 11 people, seven of whom were children??? Read ahead to find out the answers to these intriguing questions!

Day 1

We left Baltimore at about 7:30 am on a direct flight to Vegas on Southwest. The trip was an easy one and with the help of portable DVD players the kids stayed happy. When we got to Vegas we rented our mini vans and we were off to Springdale! By this time it was only 10:30 am in Vegas - I love gaining all of that time when you fly west!

We put some fast food in our bellies and were off! The drive to Springdale was an easy one. I have to say that I used AAA's website before I left and printed directions for each leg of our trip. I also got them to do a Triptik for us but I found the directions that I had printed were much more helpful than their Triptik! At any rate, we stopped in St. George in the WalMart for snacks, water, drinks, a small cooler and a few things I had forgotten. I realized that there would be no other WalMart for a long time to come so we tried to stock up!

After about two and a half hours on the road (not counting the Walmart stop) we arrived in Springdale. Well I just fell in love with this little town! The cliffs surrounding us were beautiful! We found the Desert Pearl in town and we knew we were going to be happy here. All that you have read about the Desert Pearl is true. And for those of you who have been there you know what I mean. We had three rooms on the first floor facing the river. The rooms are huge and well appointed with a very eclectic feel. The beds are super comfortable as are the pillows - I slept well at The Desert Pearl! The pool area is so relaxing as you gaze at the unique railroad tie architecture, the cool blue water and the beautiful cliffs of Zion! I think only Hawaii has topped this for my favorite pool!

At any rate, we all get settled in and go out on the patio where there are comfortable Adirondak chairs and lush green grass. The kids are just too tempted by the river and we tell them that they can stick their feet in. Well, you can imagine what happens next - they are all soaked in their clothes from head to toe! Having a blast with eachother and splashing around, exploring both sides of the bank (it is a small river - more like a creek at this part of town.) Let me tell you, if we had to do it over again we would just have the kids put their bathing suits on because the red clay of Zion which is in the Virgin River stains everything and does not wash out. Of course I recalled reading this somewhere but remembered it a bit too late! Susan and I had quite a time rinsing all of their clothes out later.

What can I say except that our introduction to Zion has been wonderful. I was here years ago as a young teenager but really don't remember it well. We are relaxed and happy and can't believe how beautiful it all is!

For dinner we walked to Zion Pizza & Noodle and everyone found something they liked on the menu. It was a Sunday and very crowded but the food was yummy and everyone was happy. We walked back to The Desert Pearl and fell into bed - what a long, wonderful day! Our adventure had begun, all of the planning was over and now the trip was here. I just love the feeling of the first day of a vacation when it is all ahead of you! I could hardly believe it was here! I fell asleep with the anticipation of going into the park tomorrow and feasting my eyes on more of this gorgeous place called Zion National Park!

To be continued.....

More! More! Enjoying your detailed report. DH and I hope to make a trip next spring; flying to Vegas and seeing the National Parks of Utah, and the Grand Canyon. Thanks for your report, looking forward to hearing more!

Scraphappy,

I'm enjoying your report so far, as we are thinking of a similar trip for next summer.

I hope you will add subsequent sections to this post and let the other 3 posts drop down into oblivion. :)

Yikes - I'm an idiot! Why are there four postings of my trip report???? Oh well, I'm not going to sweat it - I will indeed just add to this one and let the other ones go!

Day 2 - Zion National Park

In the middle of the night there were violent thunderstorms - so loud that I thought a bolt of lightening had hit the Desert Pearl. When we awoke the Virgin River was swolen and running fast. There were no tubers on it today!

The sun was shining now, however, and once again the temperature felt wonderful! We prepared our Camelbaks, put on our hiking shoes and were off to Zion National Park via the shuttle. I cannot say enough wonderful things about the shuttle. Staying in Springdale we never really got into our car - we took the shuttle or walked everywhere. We all loved this as we are suburbanites and at home must take the car everwhere we go! The shuttle buse drivers are informative and they literally come every 7-10 minutes.

At this point you might be thinking that we are really hikers and let me say that we are not. The four adults (myself included) are not in shape and none of us are used to hiking. So throughout the trip we chose easy hikes that we could do even with the little ones. Today we chose Emerald Pools.

We got off the shuttle bus at Zion Lodge. The trailhead is just across from the lodge. The lodge was nice but I have to say that I'm so glad we were staying in town at The Desert Pearl. I love the accessability to shops and restaurants. If your main goal was to hike and see Zion than I imagine staying at the lodge would be perfect. I have to say that throughout our trip I never got the advantage of the best light for photography because we didn't stay in the parks. If you want to be up at sunrise and see the sunset - stay in the parks.

OK, where was I? Oh yes, we started up the trail to the lower pool. It was a moderately uphill climb with beautiful views along the way. Have I mentioned how much I love Zion? Oh, I forgot to mention that of course we went to the visitor's center before we hopped on the shuttle. That's another favorite of mine - national park visitor's centers. I don't know why but I love the feeling of being in a visitor's center - probably the anticipation of seeing beautiful sights!

At any rate, all of us made it to the lower pool - pretty waterfall and mist was refreshing. Quite muddy after rain the night before though. At this point Susan and I stayed back with Jamie, her three year old and the rest of them went onto middle and upper pools. I was concerned about my six year old who really isn't much for walking or hiking. When we all met back at the lodge for lunch, the rest of the group was just bursting with how much fun they had climbing on the rocks and wading in the pools. It turns out that Faith, my six year old, was a champion hiker and lead the group for the entire hike. Along the way they nicknamed her "the beast!" I was so relieved. I thought we might be dealing with a whining six year old for the entire trip. She was so proud of herself and that set the tone for the entire trip!

That hike tired everyone out and after eating lunch at the lodge we went back to The Desert Pearl to swim and relax. Having three nights here was the smartest thing I did in the planning. It was so nice to begin the trip at a leisurly pace and we would have been very sad to leave after only two nights. There is plenty to do here in Zion!

The kids enjoyed the pool and we followed that with a relaxing happy hour on our patio. The adirondak chairs and pretty views make it a great place to unwind.

For dinner we got carry out pizza for the kids and then the four of us adults went to the Bit & Spur. I had kept my excpectations low since this restaurant seems to get mixed reviews. We sat outside (it was cool enough) and loved watching all of the hummingbirds at the feeders. That is another thing I love about the west - there are so many different types of hummingbirds. Here in the east we just have one, the ruby throated hummingbird. It rained while we ate but we stayed nice and dry under the patio roof they have. Dinner was delicious and the service was great. I had the tamales and Mike had the steak - both were yummy. The nicest part of the dinner was the break from the kids! It isn't easy traveling with seven kids but so far they have all been very well behaved and are having a great time with eachother. We had put Sam (age 16) and Taylor (age 14) in charge and all seemed fine when we arrived back at the Desert Pearl.

Thus ends day 2 of this adventure. I couldn't be happier - the west just soothes my soul.

To be continued...

Hi Scraphappy,

Really looking forward to the rest! It sounds like you did get off to a great start.

Thanks for reading Dayle, mlw and lvk!

Day 3 - More of Zion

Now the 11 of us are into a routine and the kids get up and are ready for another day of exploring! Did I mention that the little cafe at the Desert Pearl serves Starbucks? Just loved having a latte every morning. They have great breakfast items as well - hard boiled eggs, homemade cinnamon buns, muffins, cereal, yogurt and fruit. I could easily get all of us a quick bite to eat in the morning without costing a lot of money or time.

We were back into the park again for some more hiking. I must fill you in on how I was feeling physically - which was horrible. I had gotten Lyme Disease right before leaving Maryland. Now we are very well-versed on Lyme Disease - all of us have had it except my daughter. I had a bad fever and flu like symptoms about a week before we left on vacation. Then came the joint pain. My ankles, knees and wrists were all swollen and in pain. Luckily I had gotten anitbiotics right before I left Maryland and started on them immediately. However, my join pain was just not going away. I was a bit worried because I felt like I should be feeling better by now. Needless-to-say, hiking was not the easiest thing for me at this point. And today would be the day that we would do the Narrows. It had been closed the day before but it opened today, even though it had rained last night. The river was high but just under the limit. I was just a bit bummed that after so much anticipation of this special hike that I was in pain! I was determined to do it anyway!

So we went off to Weeping Rock which was a nice short hike with a beautiful view. Once again "the beast" or now we started calling her "hiker girl", my daughter Faith, lead the way!

As we finished Weeping Rock all of us started looking for good walking sticks. We found a few good ones while we were waiting for the shuttle bus to take us to Riverside Walk. Riverside Walk was a nice easy hike. The route is paved and so Susan had no trouble bringing Jamie in the stroller (Weeping Rock was paved as well.) When we got to the end, Susan took all of our electronics and stayed with Jamie while we ventured into the river! Luckily there were benches for those who were waiting.

The Virgin River looked like chocolate milk but the temperature was wonderful. Once again it wasn't too hot but hot enough that the water felt refreshing. We started in and I quickly began to wish that we had rented the special shoes for this hike. I saw many people wearing them and the shoes are high, to protect your ankles. That would have really come in handy for me with my ankles being so sore. The difficult thing about this hike is that you are stepping on a bottom just covered with rocks, but you can't see them. My ankles were being strained with every step! To add insult to injury I had to really use my walking stick to support me and I stumbled along and my hands and wrists were in extreme pain too. I basically had no grip. My fingers had been aching to the point that I was wondering if this was not Lyme Disease but something else!! Yikes, I was a liability to the rest of the group. I told them to go ahead of me but both Mike and Bruce wanted to keep an eye on me to make sure I didn't fall.

The bottom line is that I really loved it and felt a sense of accomplishment, even though we didn't go that far. We walked about 45 minutes in and then turned around. I highly recommend this hike to everyone and renting the equipment can only help you. The kids didn't need it - they were fine and loved the hike. Faith once again was leading the pack and handled the river like a pro! I couldn't believe this is the same daughter who still likes to ride in a stroller at home!

After walking Riverside Walk back to the shuttle bus stop we were mostly dry and feeling exhilarated by our adventure! We ate lunch right outside the park at Sol Foods. They had a wide variety to eat with good salads, sandwhiches and burgers.

Back at the Desert Pearl the kids were begging us to go tubing. I was exhausted but realized that we needed to make the most of our last day in Zion. So Susan and I called Zion Adventure Center to make sure they were tubing today and we were off with the kids to tube. The men stayed home and napped along with little Jamie.

When we arrived at the tubing place, they debriefed us explaining that the river was running fast and this would be no lazy river but more of an adventure ride. We said we were up for it so we took our tubes and walked through the RV park and down to the river.

I was a bit nervous about Faith, who again is only six, but she is a strong swimmer. And if her hiking was any indication she would be fine with this next challenge! Everyone got into the tubes with the greatest of ease - everyone except me, that is. Somehow in trying to hop into my tube from the shore, I went completely in the water - head under and everything. Well Susan and the kids were right there as well as some people on the shore and I've never seen people laugh so hard in my life - myself included. I must've looked hilarious because no one could stop laughing! We had tears running down our faces! I finally got into the tube with the help of a nice gentleman who had felt sorry for me as he stood on shore! It was just a short time before we hit our first set of "rapids." I have to say that I was thinking that this tubing was no big deal, after all I've been white water rafting a number of times. Well I was wrong - it was an adventure ride. We were bouncing off of rocks like little pinballs! A couple of times, there were real live hydraulics and Taylor got fipped right out of his tube. He was OK but his glasses ended up at the bottom of the river. What was I thinking letting him wear his glasses without a Croakie? At any rate, it was an hour and half of pure fun and laughs with a few hairy spots thrown in. And the views from the river were just spectacular. Around every bend, they just got better and better. I think my kids got tired of me pointing out the scenery every 5-10 minutes! When we got to the end of town we pulled out of the water and they came and picked up the tubes. We had to ride the shuttle bus back. We didn't dare sit on the seats - we were soaking wet!

When we got back to the Desert Pearl it took us an hour to tell all of our tubing stories to the men. We were all talking at once about how much fun we had. My three just loved it and once again Faith had done great and was very proud of herself!

Well, it was a wonderful last day in Zion and we packed a lot in. None of us were very hungry for dinner because we had eaten such a late lunch so we decided to walk to the ice cream shop and eat ice cream for dinner - the kids loved that idea!

Tomorrow we are off to Bryce!

To be continued...

scraphappy:

I started reading one of your other threads - o.k. so now I know it is all going to be on this one.

Love your format and all the details.

Sandy

Looking forward to more of this report!

Scraphappy--

Wonderful report!!! Thanks so much for the great, detailed writing. Brings back wonderful memories of our 2004 trip in the opposite direction. Good for you for sticking it out with joint pain. And for planning a trip for so many diverse ages.

I loved Zion too...but Bryce was the family favorite. Can't wait for your next installment.

You've inspired to carve out time in the next two weeks to do my SF/Yosemite/Sequoia/LA trip report from last week :)

For those who are sticking with me here - thanks for reading! Ccrosner - I've enjoyed your past trip reports so it really brought a smile to my face to know that you are reading mine. Can't wait for you to begin your current one. We actually did that same trip in 2004 - so we're on opposite vacation schedules - lol!

Ok, so it's onto Day 4 - Bryce

Well, let me say that the Desert Pearl is not an easy place to leave. I can see why so many of you recommend doing this trip in the opposite direction and ending with Zion. That was not possible for us because we will be meeting my parents in the Grand Canyon at the end of the Grand Circle and they will be joining us on the houseboat. So we had to leave the Grand Canyon for the end of our trip. But with starting with Zion it set the tone for the entire rest of the trip. We just loved everything about it so much that we were all happy campers - a great way to start a trip!

So it is with heavy hearts that we say Goodbye to Zion but luckily we get to linger a bit by traveling slowly on Rt. 9 and stopping at the many turn-offs. I have to say that this is the first time that I've been able to climb (even if it was via the mini-van) into the heights of Zion. It felt good to get a perspective from higher up. I would've loved to do Angel's Landing but my fear of heights and being out of shape kept me away.

As we were approaching Bryce, we went through Red Canyon. Very pretty, red rock formations as a bit of a preview of what was to come in Bryce. We got to Bryce around lunch time and decided to eat at Ruby's before entering the park. The place was a zoo and we were glad we were not staying there. I'm sure it is perfectly fine but it was a bit too crowded for us. After lunch we headed to the park because we were booked on the 2:00 horseback trip into the canyon. The check-in desk for the trip was in the lodge. Everyone was going on the trip except Susan (she is scared of horses), Jaimie (too young), Faith (also too young by just a smidgen) and me (who really wanted to go but was being a good friend to Susan and staying back with her!) As we were checking in, Faith was getting more and more upset that she could not go! I looked at the guy at the check-in desk and he looked at her and said, "You know, we do have a spot available if she wants to go." Well, she was so close to the age cut-off, and she flashed me this smile, and then the boys begged me, "Please Mom, can she go with us?" Mike seemed to think it was OK for her to go so I relented and said yes. While they got all saddled up, Susan, Jamie and I went up to the rim to wait for them to ride by.

Wow - the first glimpse of Bryce. How to describe it? Fanciful, unusual, beautiful, a spectacle of nature. Again, it has been years since I've been here although I remembered it well. The day couldn't have been more beautiful. It was cool, with clear blue skies and whispy clouds. Bryce just looked beautiful - what a fantasy land it is! Those hoodoos are just one of the most unique formations I've ever seen.

Our horseback riders finally emerged from the stables and Susan and I took as many pictures of them as possible as they descended down into the canyon. The neat thing was that none of them had ever been to Bryce before and the very first time they laid eyes on the ampitheater was on horseback. I loved seeing each of their expressions as they saw the canyon for the first time! It would be two hours before they would ascend back out of the canyon, and I couldn't wait to hear all about it when they got back!

While they were gone, Susan and I walked the rim. I had fun taking pictures from the different lookouts. I have yet to talk about my love for photography but it is a passion of mine. I had gotten two new lenses for my Canon 20D before I left for the trip and I was having a great time with both of them. Today I had my polarizer on and it was saturating the color of the hoodoos and the sky so that the pictures were looking pretty good for being taken in harsh light. I would not be able to get here for sunrise so these would have to do.

The dads and kids came back all smiles from their horseback trip. They all loved it and said it was even more fun than the tubing trip in Zion! My boys were a bit dissapointed that I hadn't gone. Zack said, "Mom, that is the absolute best way to see this canyon - you just have to do it one day!" I would say that is quite an endorsement for the horseback riding trip! We've gone on many horseback riding trips on various vacations and Mike even said this was his favorite. Although I was sad to have missed it - I am very blessed to have my best friend and her family with us on this vacation and the time spent with her was just as special!

By this time in the day we were all tired and it was time to check into our bed & breakfast. We stayed at the Stone Canyon Inn in Tropic which was about a 15 minute ride from Bryce. It was a beautiful inn with great views. Jennifer and Carl were gracious hosts and took care of our every need. The Roberts family were in a separate cottage that was fully equipped with two bedrooms and a full kitchen and a large hot tub on the deck. It was gorgeous! I highly recommend this place for families - we were very comfortable here. My family was in two separate bedrooms in the inn and they were very well appointed too.

The kids explored and chased jack rabbits around while we had a nice relaxing happy hour. We ate dinner in town (which is one stop sign) at Clarks. It was very good home-style cooking. The ribs and steaks were delicious. To add to the ambiance, there was an old fashioned candy store in the front of the restaurant (the kids loved it!) and a cowboy singing great country and western songs while we ate. This was a good find for a family dinner!

The hot tub got put to good use by the kids and then we were all off to bed. My body is still not feeling good. My fingers, hands, and wrists are in pain as are my ankles. I'm hoping that the antibiotics kick in soon!


To be continued...

scraphappy,

Still with you and still enjoying.

"I have yet to talk about my love for photography but it is a passion of mine."
Does that mean we will get to see some fabulous photos to accompany this great report?

No pressure, just asking. :D

LVK, you took the words out of my mouth...let's see some photos, scraphappy! I am loving this report and your manner of telling is charming. Keep it coming!

scraphappy~ what a wonderful report and relaxing way to start my morning!

This reminds me of road trips spent with my family when I was growing up and living in central Ca... we did road trips like that and I loved the hiking and discovering a new landscape to explore..

Thanks for posting. I am taking notes as a future guide for a spring trip..J.

Here's my test of a good trip report...

Does the report make me want to go visit the places the poster is describing? If yes, then its a good report.

This is such a good report, I've already started researching my family's trip!!! Way to go scraphappy!!! Thanks for opening my eyes to a new (for me) places to visit.

scraphappy - I'm on pins and neddles waiting for your next installment!! I'm planning a trip like this with my 13 year old daughter next summer and can't wait. It's sounds just like those MasterCard commercials..."priceless", thanks for sharing.

Thank you, thank you for all of your kind responses! I will have to get some of my pictures uploaded and provide a link for you to view them. They are not spectacular because as much as I love photography, I'm not very gifted at it! At any rate, you are all encouraging me to plow on with this trip report.

Day 5 - Bryce and Highway 12

We awoke to beautiful sunny skies and a delicious breakfast cooked by our hosts. Yogurt with granola, cranberry french toast and a homemade cinnamon bun - now that's my kind of breakfast! I love meeting new people at the breakfast table when I am staying at a b&b. We enjoyed talking with a delightful couple from Britain and a family from Virginia. I loved comparing notes, and hearing about their vacations.

After breakfast, the men were taking the kids on an ATV tour that the Stone Canyon Inn had arranged for us. I know many people are against ATV's but I knew the kids would have a good time and it is another fun way for them to explore this beautiful part of the country. Susan stayed back with Jamie and relaxed and I got to strike out on my own. This was a gift. I love taking my camera (I know, I know, you want to see pictures..lol!)and venturing out by myself. I got into the van and went back to Bryce. I decided to hike the Navajo loop but when I got to the fork in the trail, it was closed for repair. So I took a left and went down past Thors Hammer. I love how the hoodoos change as you descend into the canyon. As I was on the trail I recalled a conversation I had with Susan before we left for the trip. We were discussing how expensive the trip would be and she had asked, "Will we really like this trip? Will we have fun even though we're not big outdoors people? Will the kids have fun? What do you do in National Parks?" She was full of questions and I answered with an unsure manner, "I think we will like it. The west is so pretty and different. And everyone on Fodor's seems to love the Grand Circle." Well now I knew with certainty what the answer to her question was. It is a privilege to stand in these parks and gaze at the beauty that is hard to put into words. There simply is no doubt that this trip was the trip of a lifetime and is one that none of us will ever forget. I was so content and fulfilled being on that trail at that moment with the satisfaction of knowing that this trip was more than any of us ever dreamed it would be. I could have visited just Zion and been happy, or just Bryce and been happy and yet there were so many more parks that we would be visiting. It just doesn't get any better. If you have not come to this part of the country...you truly haven't experienced all that this beautiful United States of America is!

OK, am I getting too sentimental or what? Can you hear the Star Spangled Banner playing in the background? I'm sorry if I'm being sappy but I truly feel this way!!

Back to the trip... I got back to the Stone Canyon Inn and once again everyone was "abuzz" with excitement. They all loved their ATV adventure. Faith had been on the back of Mike's ATV but the rest of them had gotten to drive their own. There was only one casualty - my 14 year old, Taylor, had flipped off the back. He had gotten sand in his eyes and accidentally accelerated instead of using his brake. Luckily he was OK besides a few scrapes and bruises. Even still, he was full of enthusiasm about the trip!

It was time to pack up and take scenic Highway 12 to Torrey. I did wish we had one more night here so we could see more of Bryce, but it gives us a good reason to return one day! We had to reiterate to both Bruce and Mike that Highway 12 was a destination unto itself and that we wanted to pull over at the scenic spots. Those men tend to just want to get to the next destination as soon as possible. I keep telling them that we are here to see this area of the country, not to break any driving records - lol!

At about 12:00, we were off. The scenery changes along this route and it is fascinating to stop and drink it all in. At one spot, you could see for more than 100 miles - it was breathtaking! There was desert and canyons, mountains and pines, small towns and desolate areas too. I was so worried about driving over the hogback and it turned out not to be that big of a deal. When we got to it, we got out of the car at the scenic overlook and I felt very comfortable. I can't believe I was worried about it! As we arrived in Torrey, the topography changed again and we got a glimpse of the waterfold of Capitol Reef. Just amazing!

We found the Skyridge Inn and settled into four of their six rooms. This is a lovely bed and breakfast with all of the amenities you could ask for. It is cozy and comfortable with gorgeous views at every turn. I have to say that this is not the best place to stay with kids. The owners tried to be welcoming but in the end we did not feel comfortable there with our kids. The kids were very well behaved but we were having to be too self conscious about them. At one point my son was helping clear the table and carefully took the dishes to Jerry (the owner) in the kitchen and Jerry didn't even say thank you. My son commented later that he thought it was very rude of Jerry not to acknowledge him and I agreed. In fact, now that I think of it, Shauna and Jerry never spoke to our children during our stay. This is probably a wonderful place to stay without kids, but as beautiful of an inn as it is, it was our least favorite.

We fed the kids dinner and got them settled in and then the four of us adults went off to Cafe Diablo. This is a wonderful restaurant and should not be missed! It wasn't crowded that night so we did not have to wait for a table (they only take reservations for parties of 6 or more.) The chef surely knows how to blend flavors. And again, sneaking away from the kids was a nice break. We really enjoyed our dinner!

When we got back to the Skyridge, the kids were dead asleep even though it wasn't that late! This western air tires them out. We've had no problems on this trip getting them to bed! I fell asleep with the realization that my hands and ankles were starting to feel better. The only way I had been able to sleep was to take 800 mg. of Ibuprofin every night and even then I would wake up as soon as it wore off. Tonight I actually felt like I could survive the night without it! Yipppeee!

To be continued...

Hi Scraphappy,

I'm enjoying your report! It's fun to hear the impressions of first time visitors.

Re the Skyridge Inn in Torrey. Did you know whether or not kids are allowed? Many B&Bs don't accept guests under 12 or sometimes even 18. I don't know what their policy is, just wondered if that might explain the "vibe".

Hi Dayle,

I just want to tell you how much I've gleaned from all of your input on this board in the many searches that I did before this trip. It is because of you and many others that I was able to piece together such a wonderful trip!

Regarding Skyridge. I had several conversations with Shauna when I booked our rooms and she was aware of the exact number of kids we had with us. They do allow children and even have a basket full of videos and games for the kids to play with. Their common room was very child friendly, it was just their attitude that wasn't. I did see a slight shift of attitude when I told her how active I was on this board and tripadvisor.com. And I have to say that she emailed me when we got home to say how well behaved the kids were while we were there. It just seemed a bit too late at that point. Again I want to say that the Skyridge is a beautiful, clean and well-run b&b. I think in general b&b's are not the best place for kids. However, some of them are more suited to families. The Stone Canyon Inn in Tropic is run by a wonderful couple with an 18 month old. There were many other kids staying here and they are more set-up for families due to their two cottages (two more cottages are almost completed as well!) I don't want people to be scared off from the Skyridge because it is a beautiful place to stay and I think our experience would've been different had we been without the kids. Don't want to belabor this point anyway - just trying to be honest in my trip report!

I've got company this weekend but I'll try to post more when everyone is in bed tonight!

Thanks for reading and again, Dayle, I enjoy all of your feedback and input!

My wife and kids did Zion and Bryce a few years ago and I know what your talking about(gorgeous scenery)We hiked in both parks. If your going to hike in Bryce, bring as much water as you can carry

Happy Labor Day everyone! I'll march on with this trip report - I hope some of you are still with me!

Day 6 - Capitol Reef & Goblin Valley

Breakfast was delicious at the Skyridge - orange pecan pancakes and ham - very yummy! We packed up and headed out for Capitol Reef. For the first time on our trip we awoke to a cloudy, drizzly sky. The scenery was beautiful as we drove to the visitors center. We watched their slide presentation which was very informative and then headed out to the scenic route. We drove down to Capitol Gorge and hiked the trail. It was flat and easy and it stopped raining long enough for our hike! We saw petroglyphs and the Pioneer Register - very interesting. The kids enjoyed this hike - it's along a wash and provided a couple of nice opportunities for the kids to do some climbing. When we were finished, we got back into our vans and it started raining a bit harder. We were going to pick some peaches but the rain squelched our plans. We stopped at Gifford House and got some homemade ice cream made from the orchard fruit. It was worth the stop for sure!

Capitol Reef is a beautiful park and we saw just a small part of it. I love the waterpocket fold and the different colors that are in the rock. I was wishing the weather was better since we were seeing it in a very gray light. With the rain, we decided to head to Moab a bit earlier than we had planned. We had hoped to do another hike but none of us really wanted to be out in the rain - it was a bit chilly too!

We drove along Route 24 and enjoyed the changing topography. We always made sure we had plenty of snacks and drinks when we were driving which was a good thing. There are not very many places to stop as you travel in southern Utah. Even when you come to small towns they very often don't have places to eat which are open. This drive was no different. We came to Hanksville which seemed to be a one light town with two gas stations. This would be the last small town until we arrived in Green River which would indeed have some restaurants and fast food. I guess I'm used to driving in the east which always has plenty of rest stops with food and gas!

We had decided that we would try to stop at Goblin Valley State Park. I had read about it here on the forum and a little bit in the guide books. There is a small sign off of Rt. 24 that indicates the left turn for Goblin Valley. However it doesn't say how far it is. We were driving into the desert and it seemed like we would never get there. My husband was skeptical and wanted to turn around and go back to Rt. 24. Finally we found another little sign that said it was 7 miles to Goblin Valley. We pulled over to consult with Bruce and Susan. I couldn't guarantee everyone that it would be worth the stop. Susan made the decision for all of us saying that we were only 7 miles away and that it would be worth checking it out. Let me reiterate that we felt like we were in the middle of nowhere which was a strange feeling. We didn't see any other cars or any signs of civilization! We drove the 7 miles, arrived at the park and followed the signs to the "goblins." When we got out of the car we looked across the valley and couldn't believe it. It really looked like the planet Mars! You can't say that it is beautiful but it certainly is like nothing you have seen before. I kept saying that I felt like I was in the Star Wars movie on the planet Tatoine! The kids looked at us, "Can we go climb on those things???" "Go for it!" was our response. Well I cannot explain to you how much fun our kids had here. They climbed and climbed shouting to us. "Over here, come over here!" I was taking pictures at a feverish pace trying to follow them! Even Faith and Jamie could find smaller goblins to climb. Faith loved exploring this very strange and different park and the boys thought they had died and gone to heaven. Even the 16 year old, Sammy, was having a blast. There was only one other family in the park, and they eventually left - we had the entire place to ourselves. We were saying that if this place were located on the east coast, it would be a mob scene with families! And here it was, empty! The best playground nature could build, all for us! I'm not sure if we would've enjoyed it as much if we didn't have kids but I can tell you that it is worth seeing! We spent at least an hour there