On July 3 we left home in the RV headed for Lake Powell and other sites in the west. The first night we stopped at the Sam's Club in Amarillo. The second night we spent at the campground at Abiquiu Reservoir in New Mexico. We also took a little scooter ride around Abiquiu lake which was extremely low due to the ongoing drought.
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Lake Abiquiu - very low water |
On July 5 we drove to a rest area south of Moab where we spent the night. On July 6 we drove to Nuns Park Campground in Provo Canyon where we stayed for 2 nights. We used that time to ride our bikes on the Provo Canyon bike trail up to Vivian Park. We also took the scooter on the Alpine Loop over to Granite Flats in American Fork Canyon and up the Squaw Peak trail in Provo Canyon.
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Liz at Bridal Veil Falls in Provo Canyon |
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Liz on the bike trail crossing the Provo River in Provo Canyon
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Tibble Fork Reservoir in American Fork Canyon |
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View of Provo and Utah Valley from the Squaw Peak Trail |
On July 8 we drove up to Midway, UT for a Zollinger family reunion. We stayed the night at Pine Creek Campground. In the afternoon there was a family gathering at a pavilion in Charleston where we had a chance to greet all the families of Liz's brothers and sisters. That night we went to a performance of the "Sound of Music" at an outdoor theater. The next morning we all gathered at Justin Englebright's house in Midway for an auction of items that everyone had brought for that purpose. It was great to see all the siblings and nieces and nephews together again. Almost every family was represented including Bryan, Alan, Anna Maria and Jim, Liz and Lee, Barbara and Frank, Paul, Jacob and Kimberly, and Thales and Bonnie.
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Auction - Frank Clark, his son Bret and his son-in-law ran it |
July 9 we drove to Price, UT where we stayed the night. The next day we drove down to Bullfrog Marina where we met up with the Keeton family for a week on the houseboat at Lake Powell. We stayed down river on the Escalante and had a great time exploring, water skiing, hiking, and playing in the sand. The lake was so low this year that Gregory Natural Bridge in Fiftymile Canyon was uncovered and we could actually take the boat underneath the bridge. This bridge has been under water since 1969.
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Reayen showing Grandpa how she hurt her foot |
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Grandma with Elynn |
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Akston on top of the pyramid with Kathryn & John |
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Ryder driving the boat |
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Gregory Natural Bridge in Fiftymile Canyon (usually covered by water) |
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Water was so low that we could take the boat under the bridge |
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Ryder with sand toys |
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John, Akston & Kathryn |
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Elynn with her cutest smile |
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Reayen with her boot on her broken foot |
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Early morning on top of the houseboat |
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Exploring narrow canyons |
On July 17 we left Lake Powell and spent 2 nights at Devil's Canyon Campground just outside of Blanding, UT. We spent our day there on the scooter exploring the local mountain range on the forest roads. On July 19 we drove to Mesa Verde National Park where we staying for a couple of nights at Morfield Campground. On July 20 we explored the park and visited all the Indian ruins that were open to see.
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Overlooking Indian ruins in Mesa Verde |
On Julty 21 we drove up to Purgatory Resort in Colorado where we stayed the night. That day we took the Scooter up to Silverton, CO which is a trip we have always wanted to take. It was a cool little mining town and tourist destination and we really enjoyed the beauty of the drive.
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Overlook of the San Juan Mountains on the drive up to Silverton |
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Downtown Silverton, Colorado |
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Panoramic view of the San Juan Mountains |
On July 22 we headed home arriving on July 23. Most of this trip was a revisit to places we had been before including the stops in Utah, Lake Powell and Mesa Verde. However, the trip to Silverton was new for us and something we have always wanted to do.