Happy Jack is a Happy Place

Just had a wonderful long weekend camping in Happy Jack with my Arizonian cousin and her family. They suggested an area called Jones Crossing which is an old free-range cattle ranch, still occasionaly used. Check out the TREES! Oh, how we loved the shade!

We took a day trip to Tonto State Park which is the home of the largest natural bridge. We hiked down and explored the tunnel and pools of water within. It was amazing & totally not what you picture when you think of Arizona! It's a MUST-DO if you're ever here!

On the way back to camp we stopped in the cutest town ever (I know, you've never head me say that before...): Strawberry, Az! Here's an example of the cuteness--the permanent honey & fruit stand.

We got homemade ice cream in this cute little shop which doubled as an antique store! Yeah. amazing. Talk about a perfect combo! It was Coca-cola'd out, so that just really put it over the edge! :) And I was pleasently surprised when I ordered my PB & Chocoalte Swirled scoop "for here" and received it in a vintage glass with a real spoon!

We arrived back at camp barely beating another rain storm (this monsoon season is really something!), so we scrambled to put up the tarp again and spent the majority of the evening huddled underneath eating & playing rummy.

 Rounded off the weekend with a trip back to Strawberry in the morning for a fabulous breakfast and a tour of Kyle & Ashley's super cute home (psst--my love for old things, goodwill & flea market finds  and every kind of olive is genetic for sure)....And we still haven't left their house...two days later because um well...our truck engine kinda died. Well technically it wasn't dead yet, but let's just say we would be playing a dangerous game to keep truckin along through the desert. In the hour or so it took to drive down the mountain to their home there was this clunking/rattling/awful sounding noises coming from the engine that just grew and GREW and GREW.  So the husbands teamed up and got to excavating, found the problemo and ordered a new engine.

 And now we wait...

Sincerely, Sedona

Took a drive to visit Sedona from our cheap little motel. The whole time I was singing (mostly in my head!) 'There is no Arizona', I can't remember who its by...but it goes like this: "There is no Arizona, no painted desert, no Sedona...If there was a Grand Canyon, she could fill it up with the lies he's told her...." Anywho, that's been the song stuck in my head lately. Here's a recap of our visit to Sedona:

On the way from the Grand Canyon, we passed Bedrock City!!

We didn't go in, but Cody lifted me up to the top of the fence so I could get this shot to see what was inside!  And then it was back on the road. After checking into our motel we went into downtown Sedona for a walk around. It was full of artist shops, tourist t-shirts, candy stores but everything had that southwestern flair.

Rock Furniture!

A schmancy artsy store, super fun to browse!

Sadly, we did not find any chavelas here...And then it began to rain like mad again so it was back to the truck for Plan B: Pick up a pizza and chill in the motel.

YUM. If you're ever in Munds Park, Az check out their pizza place--there's only one, and it's right next to the first (of only two) gas stations when you get off the highway. Well worth the long wait at this local hub. Next stop: Happy Jack!!

Grand as Can Be

We decided to wait out the 4th of July weekend at Lake Powell where we had a site (& SHOWERS!!!). We got to enjoy some 'unofficial' fireworks from across the lake with a cool evening breeze. By the following morning there were pretty thick clouds, wind and some raindrops! It was very, very refreshing. Tanner enjoyed it quite a bit too! So we took advantage of the showers and went on our way to the Grand Canyon. Along the way we stopped at the canyons leading up to "The Grand". First was the Glen Canyon, which is just on the other side of the dam holding up Lake Powell.

Next we stopped at Grand Canyon East, which is in the "Navajo Nation", which means you'll pay $2 to get in, but its well worth it. The canyon here was pretty impressive too! There were also several booths of indian jewelry and restrooms, and I visited all of them. :)

Before going to "The Grand" we got a camping spot in Desert View just inside the park. We were so excited to have a spot with shade! Cody whipped out the hammock and got to hanging it. And here he is enjoying it.

After a bit of relaxing we went to check out the Grand Canyon to see how it compared to the others we had been impressed with. Nothing can compare to the Grand Canyon. WOW. As we visited the Glen & GCE I kept thinking, 'these canyons look huge--how can the GC be any bigger?'. Well it can. And it is. Absolutely amazing.

We walked the Rim Trail and took about a bajillion pictures. And then the clouds moved in, it got super dark and you could feel the thunder! So we hightailed it back to the truck barely in time for a big old rain storm. We caught some breaks on the way back to our campsite so we pulled over to one of the viewpoints to watch the distant storm. Well it wasn't so distant by the time we parked, yes it does move that fast! So we spent a minute shocked under a kiosk and by the time we ran back to the truck it was dumping buckets, and some hail too!

By the time we reached our campsite the rain had won. We quickly cleared out the back of the truck and the three of us (yes, Tanner had to sleep on our bed...) spent the rest of the evening in the camper shell watching the lightning. The thunder was super intense, a few rounds shook the truck! So we didn't get to enjoy the trees or hammock at our campsite, here's hoping we get another shot!

Lake Powell

Saturday morning we hurried to pack up before the bugs woke up again and headed back to Zion (only about 10 minutes away) to explore a bit on our  way to Lake Powell.

On the way we saw several of these roadside stores selling big sparkly rocks. My kind of thing. And then we continued down the road to Zion. We walked a short trail (there's only one you take doggies on), which was perfect because it was SUPER hot already. There were plenty of openings to dip your feet in the icy water along the way so it was bearable. My crisp & cold apple never tasted so good.

Look at how brave we are. Me: wearing shorts! and Tanner: so deep in the water--right up to his chinny-chin-chin! I guess if its hot enough he becomes filled with courage!

After our hike we drove through Zion amazed by the endless rock. There's alot of color variety too, red, pink, grey, white, black...

And the big horn sheep. I thought they were mountain goats, but Zion's brochure corrected me. We also saw these guys in the town near Lake Mead munching on gardens. Guess it's not the deer you have to worry about here! Those horns would definately persuade me to just let them have their fill! From Zion we were going to head to Bryce Canyon, but we ended up being in Zion longer than we expected, so when we stopped for lunch (Subway--so refreshing to have fresh veggies!) we pulled out the maps and decided to head straight to Lake Powell where campsites were still available.

On the way we took another slight detour (suprise!) and check out a BLM area that is popular for dirtbiking & off-roading (betcha didn't see that coming...) So we drove around, ok so I was driving originally getting into the place and then Cody was no longer comfortable (or just excited to off-road) and booted me from the drivers seat.  Had it not been five-thousand degrees it would have been a fun place to stay.

Arrived at Lake Powell & got to work setting up camp at around 4.

Cody won't stand for a standard E-Z Up, so he made his own!

Our home in dessert.

ZION, Utah

Friday morning we packed up & headed out to Zion National Park. Driving through the canyons as we entered Utah was so beautiful!

Apparently, we're not the only ones who think so. Zion was PACKED! After trying several 'first-come-first-serve' campgrounds we got ahold of some BLM info and made our own site by Virgin River, which really had the volume of a creek. But it was shady and semi-cold so we did not complain! Although the gnats & flies were pretty thick. Think constant high pitched buzzing. Ugh.

Once we cooled off a bit we walked around the cliffs behind us, and we lasted about 10 minutes before we raced back down to put our feet in the water! In the evening we were visited by several toads on their way to the creek  river. One stopped and hung out next to our camping lantern to catch the flies & gnats freshly grilled.

And of course Cody had to pick him up. He did teach me that toads pee when you pick them up so you have to grab them like so (see above) so you don't get peed on. Thanks Cody, I will be sure to keep that in mind next time I find myself with the desire to pick up a toad. :)

Thank you, Hoover Dam!

Thursday morning we visited the Hoover Dam to say thank you for creating Lake Mead. Without that lake we would not have survived the intense desert heat of 104'F! They recently finished a new bridge so you can drive right over it, instead of on it. We did both. :)

After that, it was straight to the lake again!!