11/16/07 Zion, UT

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Friday morning at 8:00 am I met with our service manager and found that the RV was completely repaired and we were ready to go after some training on the newly installed Garmin GPS. We gathered Mayim from her luxury kennel experience, programmed the new GPS for Springdale, outside of Zion National Park, and headed the RV south. We were on the road for two miles when the new GPS tried to route us onto a road closed for construction. No problem, when we didn’t make the turn, it rerouted us to the next option. Hip, hip, hurrah!

The mood of the RV was total joy. We were back on the road. We had our dog (freshly fluffed from her grooming at the kennel). We were on our way to meet up with Mel!!! He had left Southern California hours before and he was headed in his suburban to Zion also. It had been six long (very long – very, very long) weeks since we’d been together going through the Columbia Gorge and leaving from Boise, Idaho. The family would be together for Thanksgiving!!!

Thanks to cell phones, we kept track of the other’s progress and it began to look like Mel might arrive before we did. When we arrived in Springdale, we pulled over and parked along side of the road to get our bearings regarding the location of the RV Park. While I was looking up the address, Mel pulled up behind us. What great timing! After he was done being mauled by Dave’s giant bear hug, being jumped on by Sarah, almost knocked over by Mayim, it was my turn to say hello. It was so great to see him!

We went down the road to an RV park at the entrance of Zion National Park. The views were spectacular. The RV wasn’t stocked with any fresh food since it had been in repair for a week and I was scrambling trying to figure what to make for dinner.

Mel said that we were going out – he and Jerry had found a fantastic rustic steakhouse, The Majestic View Lodge, during their last road trip – and off we went, promising Mayim that we would bring her leftovers.



We had so much fun being together and our meals were fantastic. It was great to be with another grown-up and we shared a bottle of wine. Of course, we taught Mel how to play “Cheat,” and then beat him mercilessly since he didn’t know all the tricks. Dave used Mel’s camera to take pictures of the taxidermy and museum. Finally we went back to the RV and having him to snuggle against in the bed made me wonder how I’d slept a night through without him.

The next day we enjoyed Zion National Park. Iron oxide has colored the park’s sandstone vivid shades of red, ochre and white. The park is sculpted by water flow, during storms the Zion’s massive plateaus funnel to gathering points and 3 million tons of rocks and dirt are carried by rain runoff into the Virgin River yearly creating the deep chasms.



There was plenty of hiking available, but it felt nice just being together in beautiful locations near the roads. We packed a yummy picnic lunch with steak bites from last night’s dinner and could have taken a nap of the warm red rocks. The tree’s fall colors contrasted beautifully with the red hues of the rocks.

We did a small amount of hiking near the tunnel on the Zion-Mt. Carmel Highway. Sarah and I found that we preferred paths with handrails in areas where if you slipped, you would plunge to your death. We decided to let Dave and Mel head on without us and that is where some of Mel’s spectacular pictures came from. They are standing over the Kolob Arch – the second longest arch in the world.

Sarah decided she wasn’t impressed by Checkerboard Mesa, even after Mel gave her the 50 cent geology lecture -- she can be a tough audience. However she did enjoy the 1.1 mile-long tunnel with the fantastic views and The Three Patriarchs where she and Mayim frolicked in the nearby river. Dave and Mel were crestfallen when we couldn’t buy any ice cream. Finally we went to a visitor’s center and watched a movie, and left the park promising ourselves that we’d come back during warm weather to do the three mile hike through the water to get to The Narrows, an incredible slot canyon.

We spent another night in the RV park outside of Zion and then headed on to Thousand Trails Valley Verde in Cottonwood, Arizona near Sedona. Mel and Dave drove the RV with the tow car and I drove the Suburban with Sarah and Mayim as my companions. It scares me to think of, but Dave and Mel listened to Dave’s favorite Barrage CD of zippy up-beat violin music for the entire five hour trip.



We stopped to take pictures at Glen Canyon Dam outside of Lake Powell. Maybe it was the low water level, but Mel had been expected something more, and it was sad to watch him be disappointed. That didn’t stop him from taking pictures, as he likes to say “dam pictures.” Fortunately, it was beautiful in other areas on the drive and Mayim is always supportive of a stop.