6,500 Miles With the Crazies - A National Parks Road Trip Extravaganza

[cgersic]

I got a little behind in the report, so I'm going back a couple of days... In the Shoshone Falls photos, what is the Greek looking structure at the bottom left? You can't see it in the cropped photos, but you can on the ones further out. The Grand American Hotel is just stunning!! And the photos continue to make me catch my breath! Good job!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I think we're all sometimes guilty of thinking our way is the best way, but I always try to remember that it's not the ONLY way, and while it may be the best way for ME, that doesn't always make sense for someone else. Like...I'm left handed. So sometimes doing something in a certain way works for me that wouldn't work for one of the kids because the way our kitchen appliances are set up, they can't access things the same way with their right hands as I can with my left. My husband is one of those who will just come in and go "Why don't you just do this??" If I'm cooking, I use the plastic packaging that meat comes in to put biodegradable trash in, like the core of a bell pepper, or the ends of a zucchini, the stem of a broccoli, etc. Then when I'm done cooking, I take it out and throw the bio bits into the container for "green" trash, and put the plastic in the container for plastic. That's my system. My husband will come in, see the plastic container on the counter and say "Why don't you just throw this out?" and then he'll take it out and put it in the bin. Then when I have "green" trash, I have nowhere to go with it, and I end up having to just use my hands, which I HATE, AND I have to make several trips out to the containers instead of just one. I do 95% of the cooking. I told him I wanted a garbage can in our kitchen so I didn't have to go out to the bins with every bit of trash. So we bought a garbage can for the kitchen, but then a few years ago, they started making us separate our trash so we have plastic, green, and regular. My system works well for me....then if it's raining, I can wait until it stops to take out the trash all at once and divide it once I get out there. If my husband takes that away, I can't do that. I can't fit everything in my hands like I can into one of those plastic tray thingies. Then, my husband decided, without talking to me about it, to get rid of our trash can in the kitchen and replace it with a 3 container trash, but the 3 containers are all together smaller than the one I had before, so hardly anything fits in there, it opens with a foot pedal, but every time I push it, it slides back out of reach under the counter, and it has to be emptied pretty much every day, but it's an absolute PAIN to empty. Each compartment has a plastic bucket inside that you have to line with a trash bag, but the bag goes over the bucket handle and you can't lift it out because of the bag. But the lid also doesn't open all the way while it's under the counter, so you have to reach back and pull it out, then open it all the way to get the bucket out, and you still have to walk all the way to the bin to empty it. So it just triples my work. I hate the thing and haven't used it for a year, because it's so inconvenient. He uses it, but he doesn't empty it. So it just keeps overflowing because he keeps using it and never emptying it, but I refuse to empty it because I don't use it. He just gets it in his head that his way is better and rather than ask if that will work for me, since I'd be the one using it, he just does it and then can't understand why I don't use it. But he also won't empty it himself because it's such a pain. But I don't think he really makes the connection that it is so inconvenient. He's convinced it was a brilliant find, all the while not wanting to empty it because it's so much work. Yeah....everything seems a whole lot better when someone ELSE is doing the hard work.

Yeah, Morning Glory was already that kind of greenish hue when I saw it in the late 80s/early 90s. It's still beautiful, just sad that people don't care about keeping it natural. What would possess a person to say "Gosh this is beautiful....great place to throw my trash!"

I can certainly relate to a lot of that. The trash can would drive me nuts! I've hit my tipping point with the why don't you do this reactions. We've had several big blowups this week and I'm just emotionally drained from it all. You make an excellent point...everything seems better when someone else is doing the work. This even impacts my workplace life. It seems like nothing until other people have to do it. I can't tell you how many times I've been told that I do nothing (at home, not at work), and I think it's all because it's nothing since he's not the one having to do it. I can't even get respect for my work from him. I had a jam packed work day, but managed a little bit of time to cover some things for the younger one with school. Immediately after that, i took the older one to batting and he got an attitude with me for not seeing all of her softball team messages during the day. I work too! Ugh...just so frustrated and upset.

It is still really pretty in its current state. It's my understanding that a lot of it was coins. People would treat it like a fountain and throw in coins for good luck. That's not to say there isn't garbage in there either. Some of it is accidental too. Most of those pools are killers, so if your tissue flies out of your hands or the empty bottle you put down blows in....you're certainly not going after them. Back in 2005, my camera lens cap fell off and went through a boardwalk into a thermal feature. I still feel awful about it, but there's nothing safe I could do.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I got a little behind in the report, so I'm going back a couple of days... In the Shoshone Falls photos, what is the Greek looking structure at the bottom left? You can't see it in the cropped photos, but you can on the ones further out. The Grand American Hotel is just stunning!! And the photos continue to make me catch my breath! Good job!

I had been wondering the same thing, but forgot to look. I just did a little sleuthing and it appears to be the Shoshone Falls power plant. I have to assume they are doing something with hydropower. Nice looking power plant! I was so happy with the hotel. I could see staying there again if we ever get back to SLC. Thanks!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

July 26th continued...

So, we left Capitol Reef and headed towards Bryce, via Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument...and several other spots. You could already see things changing around us in the stone as well as an elevation gain and the addition of trees.

This forested area is actually the Dixie National Forest. We'd drive in and out of it several times. We were also driving with a lot of rain around us...

We ended up in a construction stop on our way through the forest. It wasn't awful, but not great either. Probably at least 20 minutes just sitting there.

While it wasn't a torrential downpour where we were, the rain was really building in around us...

To add to the challenges...more cattle on the road!

And still more rain...

We eventually made our way into Grand Staircase Escalante. I honestly can't recall which one of us was driving. I think it was me, because David was freaking out and hating me for taking us this way. The road took us up pretty high and there were sheer drops on both sides. So, it looks like this is us heading in and farther up...

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Yeah, we had stopped around this area just to give him a break from his fear of the road.



I've heard there are some pretty incredible areas down there that rival ultra popular lottery hikes like The Wave, but this came up on all of our phones and we were just trying to take it in while working on getting out.

I felt a little bit better being up high, but I knew we'd be coming down and mudslides are still a risk. So, I nervously took pics while David drove.

Maybe not the wisest thing, but we did stop in a little valley area ...

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Moving again...

Coming up...we finish our drive into Bryce, and I have some alone time in the park.

 

[Songbird76]

I can certainly relate to a lot of that. The trash can would drive me nuts! I've hit my tipping point with the why don't you do this reactions. We've had several big blowups this week and I'm just emotionally drained from it all. You make an excellent point...everything seems better when someone else is doing the work. This even impacts my workplace life. It seems like nothing until other people have to do it. I can't tell you how many times I've been told that I do nothing (at home, not at work), and I think it's all because it's nothing since he's not the one having to do it. I can't even get respect for my work from him. I had a jam packed work day, but managed a little bit of time to cover some things for the younger one with school. Immediately after that, i took the older one to batting and he got an attitude with me for not seeing all of her softball team messages during the day. I work too! Ugh...just so frustrated and upset.

It is still really pretty in its current state. It's my understanding that a lot of it was coins. People would treat it like a fountain and throw in coins for good luck. That's not to say there isn't garbage in there either. Some of it is accidental too. Most of those pools are killers, so if your tissue flies out of your hands or the empty bottle you put down blows in....you're certainly not going after them. Back in 2005, my camera lens cap fell off and went through a boardwalk into a thermal feature. I still feel awful about it, but there's nothing safe I could do.

Well, I AM lucky that my husband doesn't get on me about the things I don't get done. It's more that he's completely oblivious to what I DO. Amusing anecdote: When my daughter was born, I wasn't working outside the home, so my husband would go to work and I was home with E all day. One day, I was putting her in the play pen so I could go to the bathroom just as he got home. He needed the bathroom too, but we have 2....one upstairs and one downstairs. So he says "Oh, I'll just wait until you're done." I asked him why....he could just use the upstairs one. He says "Well I don't want to leave E alone in the playpen." I was like "Why not?" He says he just doesn't think she should be left unsupervised because what if something happens to her. I said "What do you think I do with her while your at work and I need to go to the bathroom? Do you think I wait all day until you get home so I can go? She's been in the playpen before while I cook, or while I go to the bathroom, etc." He says he never thought about it. And things like...when the washer broke and I had to do laundry in the bathtub, he kept telling me he'd call the repair guy, but it took 3 weeks before he finally remembered. And I would have called myself, but there are 2 with similar names and I always forgot which one it was, so he said he'd do it. When the dishwasher broke (dishes are his chore) he called right away because he didn't want to have to do the dishes by hand. I can tell you dishes in the sink are FAR easier than laundry in the bathtub! But if he's not the one doing the work, it just doesn't enter his mind. One of his favorite excuses for not doing things is "It's just handier if you do it." Yeah...handier for YOU.
I'm so sorry yours doesn't appreciate what you do. I find it difficult enough that mine is oblivious to everything and seems to think the groceries appear by magic, and laundry just floats itself into and out of the machines and back to our closets, etc. If he was always ridiculing me for what I didn't do, we'd have some serious issues. Of COURSE you're drained! How could you not be with everything on your plate?

I never thought about coins. That's still sad, though. I mean, stuff that's accidental, ok....not ideal, but not much you can do about it. Especially with kids who don't really understand the significance and who are maybe not as careful as adults are. But it's not a wishing well!

 

[cgersic]

Holy Moly I forgot how beautiful this area is! The rain photos are absolutely stunning and I can just hear the thunder and smell the trees and rain. The flash flooding however is no joke. You've got me sitting on the edge of my chair

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Well, I AM lucky that my husband doesn't get on me about the things I don't get done. It's more that he's completely oblivious to what I DO. Amusing anecdote: When my daughter was born, I wasn't working outside the home, so my husband would go to work and I was home with E all day. One day, I was putting her in the play pen so I could go to the bathroom just as he got home. He needed the bathroom too, but we have 2....one upstairs and one downstairs. So he says "Oh, I'll just wait until you're done." I asked him why....he could just use the upstairs one. He says "Well I don't want to leave E alone in the playpen." I was like "Why not?" He says he just doesn't think she should be left unsupervised because what if something happens to her. I said "What do you think I do with her while your at work and I need to go to the bathroom? Do you think I wait all day until you get home so I can go? She's been in the playpen before while I cook, or while I go to the bathroom, etc." He says he never thought about it. And things like...when the washer broke and I had to do laundry in the bathtub, he kept telling me he'd call the repair guy, but it took 3 weeks before he finally remembered. And I would have called myself, but there are 2 with similar names and I always forgot which one it was, so he said he'd do it. When the dishwasher broke (dishes are his chore) he called right away because he didn't want to have to do the dishes by hand. I can tell you dishes in the sink are FAR easier than laundry in the bathtub! But if he's not the one doing the work, it just doesn't enter his mind. One of his favorite excuses for not doing things is "It's just handier if you do it." Yeah...handier for YOU.
I'm so sorry yours doesn't appreciate what you do. I find it difficult enough that mine is oblivious to everything and seems to think the groceries appear by magic, and laundry just floats itself into and out of the machines and back to our closets, etc. If he was always ridiculing me for what I didn't do, we'd have some serious issues. Of COURSE you're drained! How could you not be with everything on your plate?

I never thought about coins. That's still sad, though. I mean, stuff that's accidental, ok....not ideal, but not much you can do about it. Especially with kids who don't really understand the significance and who are maybe not as careful as adults are. But it's not a wishing well!

I think mine is a blend. He's oblivious to what I do, but when we hit a rough patch, that obliviousness manifests into assuming I've just been doing absolutely nothing. I can certainly relate to all of this. I could share so many stories where he forgets about things he promised to do, because they don't impact him very much. I guess that's life. I know we all have times where we're a bit more self centered in our actions, even when we think we're being mindful of others and differences. It's still very frustrating. That's amazing with the realizations that came from that with E and the playpen. It's true too. David was never home when I was on maternity leave and always had this "some of us have to work" attitude about things during those times. My mom just would remind me that as long as the baby is in a safe and secure place in the house, it's OK to move about. Kendall's favorite was her swing. She used it so much that when I went to use it for Sam, the motor died within the first few weeks of her being born. I remember driving to Target, before I was supposed to be driving, just so I could have a new swing. Sadly, she never was into the swing like K. But yeah...I totally get the "it's just handier for you to do it" situations.

It's just a no win sometimes...either oblivious or unappreciative. It's not all like this, but it feels like it's everything when things are ugly between us. Thankfully, mine does his own laundry and a number of other things. And maybe that's part of our issues...we've retained a certain level of independence on things in our marriage. I'll be chatting with friends about vacations or little personal treats, and while it's not a matter of things not necessarily being in their budgets, they blend their finances and sometimes feel the need for a certain level of approval before they do something. Which I totally understand. I certainly wouldn't go booking a big expensive trip without discussing and agreeing upon it at first, but sometimes it's nice not to have to clear all of the little things.

I also don't think the problem is solely the blame of more recent visitors. When you see the early historical photos with park guests, they'd use some of the cooler springs and pools as personal hot springs and would often test others with any number of things that gunked them up. Some of their early mistreatment of the various national parks were the foundation pieces for adding greater levels of protection (and related punishments for guests in violation) to the parks themselves. After seeing what the hot springs in AR looked like before they were tapped for the bathhouses, I still think what was done to protect Yellowstone and some of the other parks early on was just so critical in saving (as best as possible) them from humans. LOL

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Holy Moly I forgot how beautiful this area is! The rain photos are absolutely stunning and I can just hear the thunder and smell the trees and rain. The flash flooding however is no joke. You've got me sitting on the edge of my chair

It was just such an interesting contrast with the forested areas against all of these beautiful archeological formations. The rain was also kind of a treat. Scary, when you think about how bad it could be from a flooding perspective, but most people don't get to see rain hit these arid spots of the country. It certainly woke up a lot of the desert thorn apples along the way (pictures later on those). Spoiler alert- we make it out just fine. I don't think my pictures really captured all that we were seeing with the rain and potential flooding, but I'll get into it

 

[HouCuseChickie]

July 26th continued...

We continued our drive out of Grand Staircase Escalante. In all honesty, I'm not 100% where we were parts of the time, since this is one of those massive national monuments that extends well into the desert and many areas along the road also get tied into state parks. So, some of this ties into Anasazi SP, Escalante SP, Kodachrome Basin SP, and Red Canyon. I took as many pics as possible along the way, but it's hard to know where one thing ends and another begins. Some of these may even be out of chronological order, since it's tough when you've got multiple photo devices going.

We did hit a point where I briefly got some cellphone service and was able to see the radar and a more detailed weather advisory.

David didn't seem phased by it (but I'm the weather worrier- part of my dad's background is in meteorology), but we saw quite a few rushing streams that were concerning. If you've ever been to areas like this, these are often dry creek beds or areas that normally have no more than a trickle. So, I knew we didn't want to be there for long. What really freaked me out, and I don't think any of my photos ever captured it, were the muddy waterfalls that started to spring up in the rocks above us and around us. It really gave me a sense of urgency to get the heck out of there as quickly and safely as possible.

It's interesting, because the rain we drove through was never any hard driving rain, but it takes so little in the desert and the heavier rain we had seen in the vicinity surely feeds into some of these channels.

We hit more construction as we approached the Bryce area, but thankfully, it wasn't too awful.

We also noticed the rocks changing again. The grandeur of Bryce is more hidden, so you really don't see much of it just approaching, like you would at Capitol Reef, but there are hints of the drip castle formations and such as you start getting close.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

And in case anyone was wondering what the radar was like...I swear, just crazy to see so much rain here.

There aren't a ton of hotel type lodging options at Bryce...a number of cabins...but you've got something like three hotels outside of the park and the official park lodge in the park. Outside of the park, you have a little lodge that didn't get very good ratings, and then two Best Western options. I initially booked the one with slightly better ratings and nicer looking rooms/features, but someone on the forums advised me to go with the other best Western...aka Ruby's Inn. I guess it's a bit of a staple in the area. It is the closest to the park and had we used the park shuttle, it would have been the first stop before entering the park. My parents even stopped here on their 2018 road trip. My dad asked me to recreate a pic he took of my mom...the kids were so thrilled, but it made my parents happy.

2021

2018

The check in area had a nice woodsy lodge feeling, even though you could literally feel the huge gift shop looking at you from the lobby. The staff at the front desk was very courteous and while there were no issues checking in or with my credit card...my credit card was really beat up and I was afraid they might have a problem running it. This would come up as an issue later, but for now, we headed to the room.

The room wasn't bad...no better or worse than what we stayed at back in Kansas. It just had...well...an odor. David talked to the front desk about it and I guess it was from the carpets being freshly cleaned and deodorized.

While we were out, they went in and worked on it. With the rain and the time of day, we decided to skip my plan of seeing some of the park before dinner. So, we explored a bit.

I'm always such a fan of these artsy petrified wood pieces.

Festive tree!

The kids also wanted to check out the pool.

At some point in all of this, we lost David and Sam. I'm really not sure how, but it certainly made a certain someone very cranky with me. I guess he was ready for dinner. With the rain, we just decided to eat at the place on site, but I was at the pool, which was in a different area. On the way to meet them at the restaurant, we ran into a woman who used to live in the Houston area. We had a nice little chat before parting ways at the restaurant.

I know none of us did the buffet, but I can't remember what all we each got...although, I'm pretty certain David got the ribeye. The real issue was when I went to pay. I brought my card up to the cashier, but it gave me an "unreadable" message. I tried again and the same thing happened. Then I realized that the card felt strange and kind of light. Mind you, I got this card in 2019 and it started falling apart pretty early on. I remember being scared that it might not work at Disney back in January of 2020 because the coating with magnetic strip was starting to peel away. By the time of this trip, it was a sad frayed mess of peeling coating...but it still worked...and still had a couple of years on it until expiration. So, I looked at it more closely and realized that the card split in half...like the back had just separated from the front and I was just trying to use it with the front half of the card. I was able to stick the pieces together and the card reader accepted it. The adhesive held for the rest of the trip, but fell apart again in my hands when we got home...when I was calling to get a replacement.

It was still raining a bit and skies were completely clouded over, so my evening plans were also scrapped. Before we traveled, my dad had mentioned that Bryce might be the best park for me to try my hand at Milky Way photography. Of course, I forgot my tripod at home (considering some alternatives in the future), but I'm pretty good with improv in these situations...but I can't do anything with a cloudy night sky. My dad's thoughts were that the higher elevation of Bryce mixed with fewer wildlife road risks, might make it a good choice. Oh, and that there aren't any really steep drop offs along the road that I might not see in the dark. I decided to take lemons and make lemonade. If I'm not staying up late to photograph the Milky Way, maybe I should get up early to see the light right after sunrise. Nobody else was interested in joining me, so I was going to get some solo time in the park. It probably didn't help that the kids were up late swimming, but at least there were these nice waiting areas outside.

Who am I kidding? I was ready for bed!

July 27th

I really can't recall what time I was up and out the door. I remember that sunrise was supposed to be around 6:15am, and I know I was up around 5:45am...but I was dragging. I also felt a little defeated when I went into the bathroom and saw how much daylight there was already out there. Even after Glacier, I completely forgot about how much light there is in higher elevations before official sunrise. Oh well, I was out the door and on my way into the park...fifth national park of the trip.

I was pretty excited. Maybe it's because Bryce looks so cool in pictures...or maybe it's that it served as a lot of the inspiration for the drip rock castle on BTMRR. Yeah, the entire time we were there, I kept saying "It's the Wildest Ride in the WILDERNESS!" It kind of falls flat when you're not at Disney, but I was thoroughly amused. Once in the car, I want to say that it took me a whopping minute to reach the park entrance. It was also early enough that the guard shack was closed.

As we know, morning is always a good time for wildlife. It moved too fast for me to get any pictures, but I saw a Steller's Jay right after entering the park. I know they are fairly common birds out west, but 1. I'd never seen one 2. We don't have them where I live 3. I like blue birds!

After seeing the pretty bird, a doe ran out in front of me. I was able to stop far enough out to get a quick picture.

The park was a ghost town, but I also didn't just want to be sitting in the middle of the road, losing good light.

I saw some more wildlife on my way in...wild turkeys!

What I did capture, shortly after this, were some cool pictures of clouds in the valleys below. I saw them at a slightly lower elevation, but was happy I was able to find another spot just a little ways up to get a picture of them.

Looks like this area has suffered some fire damage.

And then I just thought the moon looked cool. Totally wasting time!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Now, my goal was to go to Sunrise Point and snap some photos, but I totally missed the sign. I would later learn that much of this park is designed for people to drive all the way down to the end and hit the spots as they make their way back towards the entrance. So, I just kept driving. I think I'd made it to Ponderosa Canyon (or maybe it was Black Birch), by the time I decided to get out and see how far off I was. At least it was a scenic overlook, so pretty things to see.

At this point, I was sharing the park with a guy driving alone and a couple. We all pretty much headed out the same time to get to the end, which is Rainbow Point. I'm not so sure it was the most spectacular spot for sunrise, but it was pretty. I don't think I took sign pics at this point, so these stops may even be blending together in pics. It's all Bryce, so it's good.

I can tell by the sun and the mist/clouds that I took this before I had the family with me.



OK...I'm too tired to go back and change those first few...but based on this pic, it tells me those were all Rainbow Point and I guess I stopped at Ponderosa Point second.

I also noticed that several of the trails were closed off. Several looked kind of steep, but I think some had damage at points due to washouts from the rains. I was debating about staying a bit longer, but decided it was time to head back and get the rest of the family up for breakfast. I debated about stopping at Sunrise Point, even though it's a little hike, but I was content with what I'd seen. I wasn't exactly underwhelmed, but I still think I need to stop going in with these expectations. Bryce photographs really well, and I love some of my photos from later that morning. I just wasn't as moved as I thought I'd be. I will say that there were a couple of areas we'd see later on that wowed me a lot more and after seeing it sunrise light vs late morning light, it's definitely a park that looks different based on time of day and weather. When you see some of my dark cloud Bryce pics from later that morning, you'll also understand why I now kind of regret not seeing it in the rain and gloom.

On the flipside, no regrets about having this alone time in the park. It's such an amazing feeling to be one of the only people out and about in such an awe inspiring place. It just feels so different when I'm not having to worry about the kids or cater to anyone else's wants and wishes...not to mention virtually no distractions from others as well. Just Sandy...Bryce...and a camera. It kind of makes me want to pick a park to visit for a "me only" trip. It was also nice and chilly, so that made it even better...about 44 degrees.

I guess I had to get that darn moon again on the way out!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

And some utterly blinding sunlight!

That's better!

On the way out, the turkeys were still out and about...

Bye Bryce...I'll be back VERY soon!

When I got back to the inn, I was really expecting to see some life in the room, but everyone was still in bed. At least I got a spot right near the door so loading luggage would be a breeze. Once everyone finally did get up, we headed over to the same restaurant at the hotel for our breakfast. This was more of a breakfast buffet compared to the ones at other places, but still, nothing too exciting... OK...well free is kind of exciting. After breakfast, we headed back to the room, loaded up the vehicle, checked out, and drove into Bryce as a family.

Coming up...seeing more of Bryce, some vehicle stalkers- the good kind, and it may not be Thor's Hammer- but it'll have to do.

 

[Songbird76]

I think mine is a blend. He's oblivious to what I do, but when we hit a rough patch, that obliviousness manifests into assuming I've just been doing absolutely nothing. I can certainly relate to all of this. I could share so many stories where he forgets about things he promised to do, because they don't impact him very much. I guess that's life. I know we all have times where we're a bit more self centered in our actions, even when we think we're being mindful of others and differences. It's still very frustrating. That's amazing with the realizations that came from that with E and the playpen. It's true too. David was never home when I was on maternity leave and always had this "some of us have to work" attitude about things during those times. My mom just would remind me that as long as the baby is in a safe and secure place in the house, it's OK to move about. Kendall's favorite was her swing. She used it so much that when I went to use it for Sam, the motor died within the first few weeks of her being born. I remember driving to Target, before I was supposed to be driving, just so I could have a new swing. Sadly, she never was into the swing like K. But yeah...I totally get the "it's just handier for you to do it" situations.

It's just a no win sometimes...either oblivious or unappreciative. It's not all like this, but it feels like it's everything when things are ugly between us. Thankfully, mine does his own laundry and a number of other things. And maybe that's part of our issues...we've retained a certain level of independence on things in our marriage. I'll be chatting with friends about vacations or little personal treats, and while it's not a matter of things not necessarily being in their budgets, they blend their finances and sometimes feel the need for a certain level of approval before they do something. Which I totally understand. I certainly wouldn't go booking a big expensive trip without discussing and agreeing upon it at first, but sometimes it's nice not to have to clear all of the little things.

I also don't think the problem is solely the blame of more recent visitors. When you see the early historical photos with park guests, they'd use some of the cooler springs and pools as personal hot springs and would often test others with any number of things that gunked them up. Some of their early mistreatment of the various national parks were the foundation pieces for adding greater levels of protection (and related punishments for guests in violation) to the parks themselves. After seeing what the hot springs in AR looked like before they were tapped for the bathhouses, I still think what was done to protect Yellowstone and some of the other parks early on was just so critical in saving (as best as possible) them from humans. LOL

Promising to do things....when I moved over here and I had to go to school to learn to speak Dutch, I walked to school every day. It was only about a 10-15 minute walk, which I really enjoyed. It was the only time I really got to myself, because my in-laws wouldn't allow us to go up to our room after dinner. We had to sit downstairs and watch TV with them if we were home, and they insisted I had to do my homework downstairs where they could supervise. (I was basically treated like an elementary school aged child.) So walking to school was when I could think and just "be". My MIL kept nagging me to ride a bike to school, because Dutch people ride bikes as transportation, not walk, and if I was going to adapt to life in the Netherlands, I was going to "have to learn how to ride a bike". I kept telling her I already KNOW how to ride a bike. I CHOOSE to walk. She kept saying Dutch people wouldn't choose to walk. I told her "I'm not Dutch." I complained to my husband about her constantly nagging about it, so he said "Well, with mom, you have to just tell her what she wants to hear and then do what you want. Just say 'Sure, sounds good.' and then ignore it. She'll be happy and you won't hear about it again for a couple of months." I tried that, and as soon as my husband got home, she said "Susan wants to learn to ride a bike. Go take her to the school grounds to practice." So it didn't work, but I did learn that's my husband's go-to strategy. Agree with whomever while actually not being in agreement and just not do what you told them you were going to do. I don't even think he always listens to what he's agreeing to. He just automatically says "Sure, sounds good" and then when you go to carry out whatever plans, he has no recollection of having made that plan.

That's interesting avout people using the pools as bath houses. I never knew that. I knew that there used to be a train that went there and it was primarily wealthy people who could afford to visit, but I didn't realize there were any springs they could actually get in. There are various places in Wyoming and South Dakota that use natural hot springs for swimming areas....Thermopolis, Saratoga, and then in South Dakota there is Evan's Plunge. We used to go to speech and Debate tournaments in Worland and stay at a hotel in Thermopolis that had a hot tub filled by a natural hot spring. The tournament was always in the winter, so it would be cold and there would be snow on the ground and the hot tub was outside, so you had to run to and from the hot tub in the cold. I guess I never really thought about what that hot spring was like originally. I'm glad Yellowstone has been at least somewhat preserved.

 

[Songbird76]

And in case anyone was wondering what the radar was like...I swear, just crazy to see so much rain here.

There aren't a ton of hotel type lodging options at Bryce...a number of cabins...but you've got something like three hotels outside of the park and the official park lodge in the park. Outside of the park, you have a little lodge that didn't get very good ratings, and then two Best Western options. I initially booked the one with slightly better ratings and nicer looking rooms/features, but someone on the forums advised me to go with the other best Western...aka Ruby's Inn. I guess it's a bit of a staple in the area. It is the closest to the park and had we used the park shuttle, it would have been the first stop before entering the park. My parents even stopped here on their 2018 road trip. My dad asked me to recreate a pic he took of my mom...the kids were so thrilled, but it made my parents happy.

2021

2018

The check in area had a nice woodsy lodge feeling, even though you could literally feel the huge gift shop looking at you from the lobby. The staff at the front desk was very courteous and while there were no issues checking in or with my credit card...my credit card was really beat up and I was afraid they might have a problem running it. This would come up as an issue later, but for now, we headed to the room.

The room wasn't bad...no better or worse than what we stayed at back in Kansas. It just had...well...an odor. David talked to the front desk about it and I guess it was from the carpets being freshly cleaned and deodorized.

While we were out, they went in and worked on it. With the rain and the time of day, we decided to skip my plan of seeing some of the park before dinner. So, we explored a bit.

I'm always such a fan of these artsy petrified wood pieces.

Festive tree!

The kids also wanted to check out the pool.

At some point in all of this, we lost David and Sam. I'm really not sure how, but it certainly made a certain someone very cranky with me. I guess he was ready for dinner. With the rain, we just decided to eat at the place on site, but I was at the pool, which was in a different area. On the way to meet them at the restaurant, we ran into a woman who used to live in the Houston area. We had a nice little chat before parting ways at the restaurant.

I know none of us did the buffet, but I can't remember what all we each got...although, I'm pretty certain David got the ribeye. The real issue was when I went to pay. I brought my card up to the cashier, but it gave me an "unreadable" message. I tried again and the same thing happened. Then I realized that the card felt strange and kind of light. Mind you, I got this card in 2019 and it started falling apart pretty early on. I remember being scared that it might not work at Disney back in January of 2020 because the coating with magnetic strip was starting to peel away. By the time of this trip, it was a sad frayed mess of peeling coating...but it still worked...and still had a couple of years on it until expiration. So, I looked at it more closely and realized that the card split in half...like the back had just separated from the front and I was just trying to use it with the front half of the card. I was able to stick the pieces together and the card reader accepted it. The adhesive held for the rest of the trip, but fell apart again in my hands when we got home...when I was calling to get a replacement.

It was still raining a bit and skies were completely clouded over, so my evening plans were also scrapped. Before we traveled, my dad had mentioned that Bryce might be the best park for me to try my hand at Milky Way photography. Of course, I forgot my tripod at home (considering some alternatives in the future), but I'm pretty good with improv in these situations...but I can't do anything with a cloudy night sky. My dad's thoughts were that the higher elevation of Bryce mixed with fewer wildlife road risks, might make it a good choice. Oh, and that there aren't any really steep drop offs along the road that I might not see in the dark. I decided to take lemons and make lemonade. If I'm not staying up late to photograph the Milky Way, maybe I should get up early to see the light right after sunrise. Nobody else was interested in joining me, so I was going to get some solo time in the park. It probably didn't help that the kids were up late swimming, but at least there were these nice waiting areas outside.

Who am I kidding? I was ready for bed!

July 27th

I really can't recall what time I was up and out the door. I remember that sunrise was supposed to be around 6:15am, and I know I was up around 5:45am...but I was dragging. I also felt a little defeated when I went into the bathroom and saw how much daylight there was already out there. Even after Glacier, I completely forgot about how much light there is in higher elevations before official sunrise. Oh well, I was out the door and on my way into the park...fifth national park of the trip.

I was pretty excited. Maybe it's because Bryce looks so cool in pictures...or maybe it's that it served as a lot of the inspiration for the drip rock castle on BTMRR. Yeah, the entire time we were there, I kept saying "It's the Wildest Ride in the WILDERNESS!" It kind of falls flat when you're not at Disney, but I was thoroughly amused. Once in the car, I want to say that it took me a whopping minute to reach the park entrance. It was also early enough that the guard shack was closed.

As we know, morning is always a good time for wildlife. It moved too fast for me to get any pictures, but I saw a Steller's Jay right after entering the park. I know they are fairly common birds out west, but 1. I'd never seen one 2. We don't have them where I live 3. I like blue birds!

After seeing the pretty bird, a doe ran out in front of me. I was able to stop far enough out to get a quick picture.

The park was a ghost town, but I also didn't just want to be sitting in the middle of the road, losing good light.

I saw some more wildlife on my way in...wild turkeys!

What I did capture, shortly after this, were some cool pictures of clouds in the valleys below. I saw them at a slightly lower elevation, but was happy I was able to find another spot just a little ways up to get a picture of them.

Looks like this area has suffered some fire damage.

And then I just thought the moon looked cool. Totally wasting time!

They had just deodorized the carpet in the room? Sounds like that worked well!

I love the picture of the clouds low on the ground in the valley. So pretty!!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Promising to do things....when I moved over here and I had to go to school to learn to speak Dutch, I walked to school every day. It was only about a 10-15 minute walk, which I really enjoyed. It was the only time I really got to myself, because my in-laws wouldn't allow us to go up to our room after dinner. We had to sit downstairs and watch TV with them if we were home, and they insisted I had to do my homework downstairs where they could supervise. (I was basically treated like an elementary school aged child.) So walking to school was when I could think and just "be". My MIL kept nagging me to ride a bike to school, because Dutch people ride bikes as transportation, not walk, and if I was going to adapt to life in the Netherlands, I was going to "have to learn how to ride a bike". I kept telling her I already KNOW how to ride a bike. I CHOOSE to walk. She kept saying Dutch people wouldn't choose to walk. I told her "I'm not Dutch." I complained to my husband about her constantly nagging about it, so he said "Well, with mom, you have to just tell her what she wants to hear and then do what you want. Just say 'Sure, sounds good.' and then ignore it. She'll be happy and you won't hear about it again for a couple of months." I tried that, and as soon as my husband got home, she said "Susan wants to learn to ride a bike. Go take her to the school grounds to practice." So it didn't work, but I did learn that's my husband's go-to strategy. Agree with whomever while actually not being in agreement and just not do what you told them you were going to do. I don't even think he always listens to what he's agreeing to. He just automatically says "Sure, sounds good" and then when you go to carry out whatever plans, he has no recollection of having made that plan.

That's interesting avout people using the pools as bath houses. I never knew that. I knew that there used to be a train that went there and it was primarily wealthy people who could afford to visit, but I didn't realize there were any springs they could actually get in. There are various places in Wyoming and South Dakota that use natural hot springs for swimming areas....Thermopolis, Saratoga, and then in South Dakota there is Evan's Plunge. We used to go to speech and Debate tournaments in Worland and stay at a hotel in Thermopolis that had a hot tub filled by a natural hot spring. The tournament was always in the winter, so it would be cold and there would be snow on the ground and the hot tub was outside, so you had to run to and from the hot tub in the cold. I guess I never really thought about what that hot spring was like originally. I'm glad Yellowstone has been at least somewhat preserved.

Not to backtrack in the conversation, but I was thinking about your dishwashing vs. laundry comparison yesterday and how much worse it is to have to do laundry by hand vs. dishes...complete agreement. I'm not sure why it came to mind after the fact, but at some point we had our water shut off yesterday afternoon. The city is working on some of the water lines. Several months ago, a crew putting down fiber to upgrade our internet tapped some water lines and our water pressure has been an issue ever since. Shortly before it was shut off, I was thinking about storms and how we've had to do both by hand if we're without power for an extended time due to storm damage...I guess all of this Hurricane Ida nastiness had me thinking that way. Then suddenly...no water...and I'm thinking that I no longer even have the resources to do either by hand. I had this great urge to drive to the grocery store and buy a bunch of gallon jugs of water so that I had some means to hand wash things...and then the water was turned back on. It was a moment.

I'm not sure which bothers me more...being required to stay downstairs and monitored like a young child or the "sure, sounds good" approach. For the biking, I know a lot of people have the "When in Rome..." mindset, but I still think there needs to be some flexibility. It's not like you were walking an hour to school. I would have been tempted to get the most ridiculous bike and parade all over town on it...like long flowing streamers, a glittery seat, spoke decorations all through the wheels, and crazy stuff in my basket. Hey, you'd be riding a bike It also gets me that she said you want to learn...when you've already made it clear that you know how. While I'm sure like driving, there's probably different Dutch bike etiquette, but riding a bike is riding a bike.

I know I'd seen something on it in one of our trips while at the Visitor Center in Mammoth. I had a hard time finding anything about it online...probably because they don't want to give any ammunition to modern society to try this out when nobody is looking. I found this, which at least contains some of the information concerning the bathing in the springs during the early stages of the park. https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/yell/clary/sec7.htm
I do also recall hearing about the train, and I think it's a similar scenario with Glacier. The elite/wealthy of the time would travel in by train to these places that were largely inaccessible to the common person. The Thermopolis thought is kind of the reverse of what I had when we went to the hot springs in Colorado. I had visions of us sitting in these natural hot springs, but they built modern cement pools and tapped the hot springs to fill the pools. That may have also been because of the springs in FL. I know we have some here too, but I just remember people taking these day trips to the local springs. Ginnie Springs (pictured below), was one of the closest ones to us. Maybe only about a 30-45 min drive when we lived in Gainesville. I guess I just pictured a hot/warm version of this...

 

[HouCuseChickie]

They had just deodorized the carpet in the room? Sounds like that worked well!

I love the picture of the clouds low on the ground in the valley. So pretty!!

Yeah...not a lot of good things adding up in my mind on that. It was still better than the moldy mildewy issues going on in that West Yellowstone motel.

Thanks! That was one of those surprising things I got from just being in there early in the morning.

 

[Songbird76]

Not to backtrack in the conversation, but I was thinking about your dishwashing vs. laundry comparison yesterday and how much worse it is to have to do laundry by hand vs. dishes...complete agreement. I'm not sure why it came to mind after the fact, but at some point we had our water shut off yesterday afternoon. The city is working on some of the water lines. Several months ago, a crew putting down fiber to upgrade our internet tapped some water lines and our water pressure has been an issue ever since. Shortly before it was shut off, I was thinking about storms and how we've had to do both by hand if we're without power for an extended time due to storm damage...I guess all of this Hurricane Ida nastiness had me thinking that way. Then suddenly...no water...and I'm thinking that I no longer even have the resources to do either by hand. I had this great urge to drive to the grocery store and buy a bunch of gallon jugs of water so that I had some means to hand wash things...and then the water was turned back on. It was a moment.

I'm not sure which bothers me more...being required to stay downstairs and monitored like a young child or the "sure, sounds good" approach. For the biking, I know a lot of people have the "When in Rome..." mindset, but I still think there needs to be some flexibility. It's not like you were walking an hour to school. I would have been tempted to get the most ridiculous bike and parade all over town on it...like long flowing streamers, a glittery seat, spoke decorations all through the wheels, and crazy stuff in my basket. Hey, you'd be riding a bike It also gets me that she said you want to learn...when you've already made it clear that you know how. While I'm sure like driving, there's probably different Dutch bike etiquette, but riding a bike is riding a bike.

I know I'd seen something on it in one of our trips while at the Visitor Center in Mammoth. I had a hard time finding anything about it online...probably because they don't want to give any ammunition to modern society to try this out when nobody is looking. I found this, which at least contains some of the information concerning the bathing in the springs during the early stages of the park. https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/yell/clary/sec7.htm
I do also recall hearing about the train, and I think it's a similar scenario with Glacier. The elite/wealthy of the time would travel in by train to these places that were largely inaccessible to the common person. The Thermopolis thought is kind of the reverse of what I had when we went to the hot springs in Colorado. I had visions of us sitting in these natural hot springs, but they built modern cement pools and tapped the hot springs to fill the pools. That may have also been because of the springs in FL. I know we have some here too, but I just remember people taking these day trips to the local springs. Ginnie Springs (pictured below), was one of the closest ones to us. Maybe only about a 30-45 min drive when we lived in Gainesville. I guess I just pictured a hot/warm version of this...

View attachment 584194

Yikes! I'm glad the water was only out for a little bit. Not being able to do dishes, shower, do laundry....that would be really difficult! It's not fun doing it by hand, but better than not being able to do it at all!

You think you're kidding about the bike with the glitter and such, but people actually do this here to deter anyone from stealing their bike. Bike theft is a huge problem in the Netherlands. Chances are, if you don't lock it properly, it will get stolen. Sometimes even if you lock it, they will cut the lock off. So people will "decorate" their bikes to be as ugly as possible, and also to stand out, so that no one would dare to steal it. I saw one once that had some sort of a foam spray all over it, like it looked like shaving cream, and it was spray painted neon yellow. I think what bothered me most about the bike situation was that I had made it clear I preferred walking and had no intention of riding a bike. SHE wanted me to ride a bike. And the reason SHE wanted me to ride a bike was that she was embarrassed that anyone should not assume I was Dutch, and not riding a bike, in her mind, is a dead giveaway that I am not Dutch. She had the same problem with my Christmas sweatshirt. It's bright red and has a Christmas tree on it. By American standards, it's really nice. Not at all what one would call an "ugly sweater". But Christmas isn't really a "thing" here like it is in the US, so wearing a Christmas design at all is kind of an announcement that one is not Dutch. Or at least, at the time when I moved here it was. Now they sell Christmas tree dresses, and Santa suit dresses, and sweaters with giant reindeer heads on them. But we went to the market every friday to buy vegetables and flowers, and we'd get coffee at the cafe right by the market square. I was wearing that sweatshirt and everyone that passed, she made sure to tell them I was American so they knew she hadn't raised me to wear such gaudy clothing. She wouldn't let me put up blue Christmas decorations that were visible outside of the house, like in the window, because blue ornaments were not in style and she didn't want anyone thinking she was so out of style, or that she would allow her children to be out of style. She was very worried about how SHE appeared because she was associated with someone wearing a Christmas sweater. The bike thing was about HER, not me. What would people think if they found out that she hadn't gotten me to adapt to Dutch culture?? Well...I'm NOT Dutch. And riding a bike isn't going to magically make me so. If it's a matter of safety or well-being, ok....or if it's too far to walk every day, fine. But just for vanity because you don't want to draw attention to the fact that your son married a foreigner? No....I'm not worried about them knowing I'm not Dutch. They'll hear it as soon as I open my mouth anyway, and if someone is going to judge me for where I was (or wasn't) born, that says more about them than it says about me. That's just bigotry. But that's what all the rules were for....like not being allowed to speak English. It was more about trying to get me to appear to be Dutch so no one would suspect that I was a foreigner.

All the hot springs I have been to have been the cement pools that are just fed by natural springs, but I've never been to Saratoga, Wyoming, so I'm not sure about those. I can't imagine just wading in somewhere that wasn't meant for it, though. I would never just go to Yellowstone and think "Gosh, I wonder what that water feels like and how hot it is....let's find out!"

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Yikes! I'm glad the water was only out for a little bit. Not being able to do dishes, shower, do laundry....that would be really difficult! It's not fun doing it by hand, but better than not being able to do it at all!

You think you're kidding about the bike with the glitter and such, but people actually do this here to deter anyone from stealing their bike. Bike theft is a huge problem in the Netherlands. Chances are, if you don't lock it properly, it will get stolen. Sometimes even if you lock it, they will cut the lock off. So people will "decorate" their bikes to be as ugly as possible, and also to stand out, so that no one would dare to steal it. I saw one once that had some sort of a foam spray all over it, like it looked like shaving cream, and it was spray painted neon yellow. I think what bothered me most about the bike situation was that I had made it clear I preferred walking and had no intention of riding a bike. SHE wanted me to ride a bike. And the reason SHE wanted me to ride a bike was that she was embarrassed that anyone should not assume I was Dutch, and not riding a bike, in her mind, is a dead giveaway that I am not Dutch. She had the same problem with my Christmas sweatshirt. It's bright red and has a Christmas tree on it. By American standards, it's really nice. Not at all what one would call an "ugly sweater". But Christmas isn't really a "thing" here like it is in the US, so wearing a Christmas design at all is kind of an announcement that one is not Dutch. Or at least, at the time when I moved here it was. Now they sell Christmas tree dresses, and Santa suit dresses, and sweaters with giant reindeer heads on them. But we went to the market every friday to buy vegetables and flowers, and we'd get coffee at the cafe right by the market square. I was wearing that sweatshirt and everyone that passed, she made sure to tell them I was American so they knew she hadn't raised me to wear such gaudy clothing. She wouldn't let me put up blue Christmas decorations that were visible outside of the house, like in the window, because blue ornaments were not in style and she didn't want anyone thinking she was so out of style, or that she would allow her children to be out of style. She was very worried about how SHE appeared because she was associated with someone wearing a Christmas sweater. The bike thing was about HER, not me. What would people think if they found out that she hadn't gotten me to adapt to Dutch culture?? Well...I'm NOT Dutch. And riding a bike isn't going to magically make me so. If it's a matter of safety or well-being, ok....or if it's too far to walk every day, fine. But just for vanity because you don't want to draw attention to the fact that your son married a foreigner? No....I'm not worried about them knowing I'm not Dutch. They'll hear it as soon as I open my mouth anyway, and if someone is going to judge me for where I was (or wasn't) born, that says more about them than it says about me. That's just bigotry. But that's what all the rules were for....like not being allowed to speak English. It was more about trying to get me to appear to be Dutch so no one would suspect that I was a foreigner.

All the hot springs I have been to have been the cement pools that are just fed by natural springs, but I've never been to Saratoga, Wyoming, so I'm not sure about those. I can't imagine just wading in somewhere that wasn't meant for it, though. I would never just go to Yellowstone and think "Gosh, I wonder what that water feels like and how hot it is....let's find out!"

It's a strang, panicky, sort of feeling. I knew they'd turn it back on and I knew it was off so they could fix what had been messed up with water flow. Still, there's that "WE HAVE NO WATER!!!" sort of feeling.

Oh wow! So, dream bike for a 1970s little girl in the US is bike protection in the Netherlands. Wow! Granted, my kids always had to lock their bikes at school too. It's amazing how many bikes get stolen during the school day. I would have to assume that those are "her" sort of thoughts over people knowing that you're not Dutch. Like she's being irrational and it's not a big deal to others. We have a cousin who has lived in the Netherlands for decades and I never have heard any issues with her being American and having some US based traditions and actions.

That's wild about the sweatshirt. The fact that she felt the need to announce to people that you're not Dutch. Just WOW. The blue decoration thing hits a different nerve with me. I've seen that on and off throughout my life in different areas from different people, but the reason was always so that people don't see them putting a color associated wtih Judaism in their Christmas decor and somehow tie them to that. It's been ages, but I know I heard it from someone I knew when I was very young. I remember watching them prep to put lights on their house and they had the job of swapping out all of the blue bulbs for any other color, because that's not a Christian color. Like you said, the moment you start speaking, people will know you're not Dutch. I know different generations have these rules, and I remember a lot of these kinds of things with my grandparents, but at some point...the rules aren't so much rules as they are an intollerance for anyone other than those they perceive to be like them.

I know thereare a couple of areas of the rivers in Yellowstone where it's thermally heated at a safe temp and people are allowed to swim. I think they're spots in the Firehole River (I want to say it's an area north of Norris) and in the Yellowstone (Boiling River section north of Mammoth) where you can get in.