Colorado, Utah, Reno & Virginia City

4th of July in Vail, Colorado

Even our furry friends dressed up for 4th of July. 

We walked around where our daughter, Tamara works. It is a cute area. 

I met the cutest puppy and this little girl. 

Unusual shopping items. Notice the camper on the back. 

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White River National Forest, Colorado 

Jeff and I found a nice bike trail along the river. This is a popular site for white water rafting. Too fast for me! 

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White River National Forest, Colorado

Jeff, Tamara and I took a beautiful but challenging hike. The entire hike was vertical. The hike had 6 different waterfalls. At the end of the hike was this stunning blue/green waterfall area. 

The gorgeous end. It was so worth the trip. 

We had such a fun time with both Tamara's. We will miss you :-(

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RV Park, Virgin Utah

The park has many activities. The 1st night I went to Candy Bingo. All you have to do is bring a candy bar instead of paying. Of course that means the price is candy. Well after 8 games I didn't win but they felt sorry for me and game me a mini candy bar. 

The town is small but cute. Some areas throughout the town.  

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Jeff and I took a spectacular bike ride to Zion National Park. It was wonderful to ride on the main road. Very little traffic because you have to have a permit to drive on the road. We did experience buses but you have to stop to let bus pass you. It is a law they can not pass bicycles in the park. 

We saw 2 different deer in the park. They didn't even move when we went close to them. Jeff read in park paper that they have Mule Deer.  They look like a normal deer to me. 

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Jeff found a ghost town. There was a cemetary there. I felt too weird to take a picture. Didn't see any ghost. After we went thru some old buildings and read the sign be careful for snakes, both Jeff and I turned white like a ghost.

This was the long dirt road to get to the Ghost area. 

On the drive, saw this cute sign. 

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We enjoyed a wonderful visit from Nathan for a busy weekend. 

Zion National Park, Utah

Narrows Trail

This is by far the hardest trail I have ever been on. Jeff wanted to do 16 miles down. We went to the visitors center to get the permit and much to my happiness you had to apply for the permit. After discussing this with a in shape young man, he said he had difficult time on the trail coming down for 16 miles. Once they drop you off, no other option than to complete the entire trail. So I was happy that we didn't do the trail coming down for 16 miles. We did do the same trail starting at the bottom and we accomplished 11 miles of the extremely difficult trail. 

Thanks to Nathan, he was a spectacular leader. He would check the depth of water before Jeff and I entered. We all took our falls into the water from the slippery rocks. Thank goodness no one got hurt. Toward the end I almost needed to crawl I was so tired. I got blisters on my feet and couldn't walk for a few days. It was so beautiful and awesome to complete something so exhausting. The pictures really don't show the difficulty.  You have to wear neoprene socks and water proof shoes becasue your feet are underwater most of the entire trail. This trail is the most talked about in Zion. Enjoy the pictures. 

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The next day after that strenuous hike, we had an 18 mile bike trail planned. Even thou I was sore, I totally enjoyed it. It was located by Byrce National Park. 

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Another bike trail Jeff and I did for 24 miles. It was located a few hours from Zion. Small town of Joseph 

"Hay" what are you doing there?

It was so tall, I wanted to get on top but nothing to climb on. I was hoping the farmers didn't catch me by the hay. 

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Great Basin National Park

Baker, Nevada

Lehmans Cave

Lehman Caves is a single cavern despite the name. It extends a quarter-mile into the limestone and marble that flanks the base of the Snake River. It is one of the region's most profusely decorated caves. 

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Virgina City, Nevada

Mansion in Virginia City

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Sequoia National Park

California

I am getting braver with heights !!

This is the largest tree on the earth  It's called the General Sherman Tree and it's about 2200 years old.  It's an amazing tree.

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Awesome drive up route 1 along the California Coast.

Elephant Seal's Life on the Beach. 

The males grow to as much as 5,000 pounds and 16 feet long. 

Females grow to as much as 1,800 pounds and 12 feet long. 

Pups weigh 60-80 pounds at birth and 3-4 feet long. When weaned at 28 days, they weigh between 250-350 pounds. At 3 months, the pups can dive deeper and stay down longer than adult sea lions and harbor seals. At 3.5 months, one by one, they travel north, some as far as the gulf of Alaska and do not touch land again until they return 6 months later. 

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We are on our way to Paso Robles, California. Stops after that are Las Vegas, Breckinridge, St. Louis, Mt. Olive. Bye for now....this is the same picture above in which I climb to the top. 

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Jeff and I celebrated our 34th Anniversary on July 15th. He said all he wanted was breakfast in bed. The morning of our anniversary I showed him this sign. 

Jeff and I wish all of you happiness and excellent health. Until next time !!