America's National Parks with Globus

After a long sabbatical, due to Covid, writer's block, loss of creative juices, and just plain laziness, I am going to attempt to put together a reasonably readable blog about the amazing 15-day tour of the National Parks that we completed with a wonderful group of 38 people, from September 23 to October 7, 2021.  The length of the trip makes it difficult to describe without the blog running on forever, but I will try not to end up with a War and Peace-length narrative.  Rather, I hope to let the pictures speak for themselves.   And we got some great pictures!  But as I think anyone on the trip will agree, no matter how good the photos were, they are no substitute for seeing these incredible places in person.

Esther and I flew to Las Vegas a couple of days early, because unlike most people, we love Vegas.  Also, Esther arranged a couple of activities for us and some other early arrivals.  On Wednesday night, we went to see the Michael Jackson Live show at the Strat, which was really good.

Looks like the real thing, doesn't he?  He put on a great show!

On Thursday, Esther had booked a kayak trip on the Colorado River for 16 of us.  We were picked up at Treasure Island, the tour hotel, and drove past the Hoover Dam to the Lake Mead Recreational area to get into the river.  

What a beautiful setting and such calm water as we paddled our first two miles upstream.

Mac takes a refreshing dip in the 50 degree river during a break.

We saw a bald eagle flying along the river.

Pat, Keith and Betty pose in front of me and Deke.

The guides took pictures of all of us coming out of the cave in the emerald water.

Heading back downstream in Dream Vacations weather, with gorgeous scenery.

Esther booked this trip with Globus, and Thursday night was our orientation dinner at Treasure Island.  All 38 of us were there to meet our guide, Steve Osten, and get information about how the tour would operate.  In addition, the group all got to meet each other.  Our neighborhood in North Carolina, Compass Pointe, was well represented with 22 people.  The other 14, besides Esther and me, were friends and family, most who had traveled with us before.

Steve was incredible, with 35 years of experience as a guide and a lifetime of working, hiking, and exploring National Parks all over the west.  He was very passionate about the geology, the wildlife, the Native American cultures and everything else we were exposed to on this trip.  He also had a great sense of humor, unlimited patience, and a wealth of knowledge about the best sights, restaurants, hiking trails, and when and where we would need to buy alcohol!!

We covered a lot of ground, stopping in 8 states.  

We left from Treasure Island the next morning at 8:00 AM, after an early breakfast.  This would be the basic routine for the next 14 days - luggage out early for pick-up, breakfast, then on the road!  Once we were on the road, we usually had a mid-morning rest stop and a stop for lunch, depending on how far we had to travel.  Rarely did we sit on the bus for more than a couple of hours without a stop for rest rooms, lunch or a park.

On this first travel day, we stopped at a Wal-Mart for two things. One, to buy something for lunch later, and two, to stock up on liquor, beer and wine for those locations we were headed to without bars or places to buy booze.  I think our group spent several thousand dollars in there, and that wasn't mostly for food!  For lunch, we stopped in Seligman, a town on historic  Route 66, which Steve referred to as a ticky-tacky, knicky-knacky kind of place, and ate our food from Wal-Mart.  

Katy and Chris found a ticky-tacky knicky knacky place to eat their lunch

We arrived at the south rim of the Grand Canyon at about 3:30, and got our first awesome views of the trip (if you don't count the liquor display at Wal-Mart). 

Esther and Karen at the edge of the Grand Canyon.

Pictures can't adequately capture the overwhelming grandeur that you feel in person.

We checked into the Yavapai Lodge, but then took the shuttle back to the rim to collect a National Parks passport and our first stamps at the Visitor Center.  A mandatory gift shop stop was included, before we took the shuttle out to Hopi Point to watch the sunset over the canyon.

We saw our first elk next to the parking lot of our lodge as we got off the bus.

 

The canyon looks different from every angle and in varying light,
but it is always spectacular.

The Boss got a great shot of the sun setting over the canyon.

Since the lodge was basically a motel with no real gathering space, we had our first social hour (or two) in the hallway, bringing chairs, drinks and snacks out to share with our neighbors.

Several of us signed up for the helicopter tour over the canyon the next morning, requiring another 6 AM wake up.  But it was worth every penny - at the end of the trip when we were talking about our favorite things on the tour, my sister Pat said the helicopter was definitely a highlight.

Totally different views from the air!

The Colorado River, the water that carved out this amazing place.

With our young German pilot, after an exhilarating ride!

The bus picked us up at the airport and we drove to the Desert View watchtower, for another view of the Grand Canyon.

The Desert View Watchtower is 20 miles east of where we stayed, and was 
designed by architect Mary Colter and completed in 1932. Check out that sky -
Dream Vacations weather!

More spectacular views - this is near the east entrance to the park.

Next we were off to Monument Valley, located on the Arizona/Utah border.  Not bad, in only two days we were already in 3 states!  Monument Valley is part of the Navajo Nation, so naturally Steve picked a lunch stop at a restaurant where he recommended we try the Navajo tacos.  Then it was on to Goulding's Lodge and an afternoon tour.

The Boss and I split a Navajo taco, and it was still too much food.
But delicious!

Some of the iconic monuments in the valley.  I might not have all of these correct, but I 
think from left to right we have Brigham's Tomb, the King on His Throne, Stagecoach,
Bear and Rabbit, Castle Butte, and  Big Indian.

These are the Left and Right Mittens.  One of them was used in a Jeep commercial.
Many movies, mostly westerns of course, have been filmed in the Valley.  The 
first was Stagecoach, with John Wayne.

My favorite cowgirl!  What a background!

That night we got into jeeps for a short ride to our outdoors Navajo dinner.  The food was just OK, but the setting was very cool, and we learned a bit of Navajo.  I only remember that the Happy Birthday song in Navajo lasts about 12 minutes!

Quite a backdrop for our dinner.

Probably our first group photo with everyone included, even Steve (the one wearing
a mask in the back).

We got an interesting lesson in the Navajo language from Patty, and then she sang
Happy Birthday for us, for quite a while.

We ended a long, busy day by drinking some of that Wal-Mart booze outside by the pool at Goulding's Lodge with some of our fellow Compass Pointers.

Up at dawn to head for Moab, Utah, home to Arches National Park.  The park is adjacent to the Colorado River (on which we kayaked in Arizona 3 days ago!) and has more than 2,000 natural sandstone arches.  That's the highest density of natural arches in the world.

Spectacular sunrise over Monument Valley!  Photo by Char Gwinn.

A quick stop at Wilson Arch as we near Moab.  It was named after a pioneer who had
a cabin nearby.

The best views of Delicate Arch are from a point requiring an uphill hike of about 
a half mile rising about 300 feet, which was no problem for our fit travelers.

The people climbing at the base of these arches give scale to the size of the openings.

That's primarily our group advancing on the arch - there were great views from the arch.

The ladies (and Deke?!) pose on the arch.

A handsome Green Bay Packers fan in front of a double arch.  Why are there no 
ladies around me, Deke?

I did hear an unnamed member of the group ask "Am I the only one that sees a lot of penises?"

We checked into the Hyatt Place in Moab after leaving the park.  It was a nice hotel, and a number of people spent some time at the pool.  Others ate in the restaurant or bar, which had some unusual rules about how, when and where you could drink.  Somehow, we made due.  And I got to watch the Sunday Night Football game between the Packers and the 49ers, won by the Pack on a last second field goal, so it was a good night!

Day 5 (only?) - we head for Denver, with a stop at Colorado National Monument.  This is an area of desert land high on the Colorado Plateau, with sheer-walled canyons cut into the rock formations. The drive up to the Canyon Rim Trail required some sharp switchbacks handled perfectly by our excellent bus driver, Steve (not Steve the guide).  Depending on which side of the bus you were on, it was a little nerve-wracking looking out the window straight down hundreds of feet. 

The Canyon Rim Trail runs along the edge of this cliff, and for the most part, has no railings.

With my healthy fear of heights, I'm surprised I got this photo looking straight down.

We were far enough from the edge to feel comfortable for this photo.

Once again, we see some amazing rock formations.

The view across the valley, which we will soon drive back down to and head for the 
Rocky Mountains and Denver.

Beth, the Boss, Gale, Karen, Sue and Barb pose at the overlook.

Our lunch stop was in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, notable for its hot springs and the Hotel Colorado, where Teddy Roosevelt spent a summer once.  Then it was over the Rocky Mountains to Denver.  Steve played John Denver's "Rocky Mountain High" and got the whole bus to sing along.

In Denver, we stayed downtown at the Hotel Indigo, which had no bar.  Our Walmart wine was gone, but fortunately our friend Terry, who is a wine and spirits distributor in Denver, came to the rescue.  She met us in the lobby with several good bottles of wine and we had a chance to catch up with her while we shared one.

For dinner, Rick and JoAnn, Pat and Deke, and Esther and I met for dinner at The Pig and The Sprout with some friends we grew up with in the Philippines.  

Very special to be able to have dinner with friends of over 50 years. Kevin (far left), me,
Pat (middle), Kile (on Pat's right) and Rick (far right) all went to high school in Manila.

The trip from Denver to Custer State Park through Wyoming to South Dakota was one of our longest, broken up with a stop for lunch and a couple of rest room breaks.  We arrived late afternoon at the State Game Lodge in the Park, the only place we spent two nights.  Dinner was included in the Lodge that night, and the bar was open!  

The State Game Lodge was built in 1920 and is listed on the National Register of Historic
Places.  It served as the summer White House for President Calvin Coolidge in 1927.

After a long bus ride, it was nice to gather for happy hour outside.  From left to right:
Rick, JoAnn, Sue, Deke, Karen, Pat, Betty, Ellen, and Esther's husband.

We were busy the next day, with our first stop at the Crazy Horse Memorial, a mountain monument under construction on privately held land in the Black Hills.  The site includes an Indian Museum and Native American Cultural Center.

The memorial, still being carved, is massive.  When finished (if ever), the monument
will be 563 feet high and 641 feet long.  We were told the entire Mount Rushmore
carving would fit on Crazy Horse's head alone.  If completed as designed, it would 
become the world's second tallest statue.

This photo shows what the final carving will look like (with the real thing
in the background).  Great photo by Pat Smith.  Some of us had doubts
about whether it will ever be completed.

The museum and cultural center had some pretty cool stuff.

Korczak Ziolkowski was the sculptor who began the memorial.  His family has continued 
work since his death.  They accept no government funding.  Korczak also did this sculpture
of horses fighting. The entire piece is supported by the tail of the horse on the left.

Dream Vacations weather got tested at bit here, as we had some drizzle when we first arrived.  However, the sun poked through and I'm told some people even got pictures of a rainbow.  Light rain started up as we left, but by the time we got to our next stop, Mount Rushmore, all was good.

Steve gathered the group and explained hiking options to get a closer look at the monument, and virtually everyone headed for the longer trail with LOTS of steps.  We also checked out the visitor center, gift shop (of course) and had lunch in their cafeteria.

All 38 of us in front of George, Tom, Teddy and Abe.

The long circular trail included something like 300 stairs, but our group managed with
no problem.  Not saying I didn't rest a couple of times!

Like almost everything we saw on this trip, the photos can't replace looking at it in person.

This photo was on display in the visitor center.  I can't imagine 
doing that job!  By the way, EVERY Visitor Center on this tour
 was really well done.

After lunch, it was back to the lodge for a couple of hours of free time before our "buffalo safari and chuckwagon cookout."  The weather forecast was not great so we stocked up on $4 rain ponchos in the gift shop.

OK, up to this point, the tour had met and exceeded all expectations, and I believe at the end of the trip everyone felt like it was amazing.  But it wasn't perfect.  The evening "Buffalo Safari" and chuckwagon cookout was a mess.  We loaded up into a half dozen open air jeeps for the safari, which ended up being a cold ride through the park with a stop next to an area of fenced-in buffalo for photos.  Then, because it was too cold for the outdoor cookout, we were taken to a small dining room for our dinner.  Unfortunately, there were already about 50 other people there and they crammed us all in elbow to elbow.  For the rest of the trip, we referred to this as "the super spreader event."  Of course, we did get to listen to two cowboys sing, and got a cheap cowboy hat and bandana.  Esther was seething and let Steve know about it, but our intrepid traveling companions generally took it all in stride in good humor.

 

The Buffalo Safari departs, with everyone bundled up.

We passed some bighorn sheep right after we left the lodge.

We did see lots of buffalo (technically bison), but mostly through a wire fence.  
Turns out, they had rounded them up in the park a few days before.

One saving grace for me was seeing the prairie dog farm.  They are so DAMN CUTE!

The super spreader dinner.  To top it off, it started to rain on the way back to the lodge, 
which made it even colder in those open jeeps.

Tuesday, Day 8 - Before leaving South Dakota for Wyoming, we stopped in Deadwood.   

We boarded a bus for the Original Deadwood Tour, on an old yellow school bus.  Our driver and guide was Randy, who owned the tour company originally, but sold it to Kevin Costner.  Randy was hilarious, a good ol' boy who entertained us with stories about the brothels, casinos, history of the town, and attending Kevin Costner's wedding.  Sue called it the best tour of the trip!

When gold was discovered here in the 1870's, the city was a popular place that attracted
Wyatt Earp, Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickok, who was killed here.

Randy had us all laughing the entire length of the tour!

Deadwood looks like what you would expect an old western town to look like.  The entire
town is designated a National Historic Landmark for its well-preserved 19th century
frontier architecture.  Most of the town's buildings were built before 1900.

We had lunch in Deadwood, then headed for Sheridan, Wyoming, with a stop at Devil's Tower on the way.   

The best place to get photos of Devil's Tower, not to mention magnets and pins, rest rooms,
snacks and ice cream.  Have I mentioned the Dream Vacations weather lately?

Devil's Tower is a butte (an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a flat top -
smaller than mesas, plateaus and tablelands).  How's that Steve? I paid attention.
It was the first United States National Monument, established in 1906,
and stands 867 feet from base to summit.
It was featured in the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

On the way to Sheridan, Steve, who knew us well by now, provided us with the location of the nearest liquor store to our hotel, and it was a beauty.  I had to walk the three blocks back to the hotel with a box filled with wine bottles.  Our rooms on the first floor had small patios with a lawn area, so we had an impromptu (look it up) happy hour with our neighbors.  Dinner was at the Wyoming Rib and Chop House.

The following day we headed for Yellowstone National Park.  This is as good a time as any to repeat some of Steve's jokes.  For example, what is snow on the mountains called in this area?  Apache here, Apache there.  (Groans)   Next, Steve tells us that due to the difficulty of the cattle trail, over the years the cows' right legs became a little longer than their left legs, and they are known for their lean beef.  What are the cows called?  Eileen!  More groans.  Finally, Steve points out some caves in the mountains as we drive along.  He asks if we see anything in them.  We say no.  He says "That's because they are bare caves." Louder groans.   But after several days of this, we would start to laugh at the beginning of the story, knowing what was coming.

Our lunch stop was in Cody, Wyoming, named for Buffalo Bill Cody.  Based on Steve's recommendation, we had lunch at the Irma Hotel, which was built by Buffalo Bill in 1902 and named for his daughter.

The famous cherrywood bar in the hotel was a gift to Buffalo Bill from Queen Victoria.
On the day we had lunch, there was a touching tribute to the 13 servicemen and women 
who were killed at the airport in Afghanistan.

Bill posed with me outside the hotel.

Our next destination was the Mammoth Springs Lodge in Yellowstone, and on the way we got to see some more scenery and wildlife as we drove through Sunlight Basin.  Our route actually includes a short drive through Cooke, Montana (population 75) where we stopped for rest rooms.  

  

This is the scenery along the way - photo taken from the bus.

Not long after we entered the park from the east, we saw our first buffalo.  And what's that
small animal at the bottom of the picture?

It was a badger!  Steve was very excited because he said you just don't see them 
very often.

This buffalo had a baby beneath him.

The Mammoth Springs Lodge is a nice hotel located adjacent to a number of hot springs the hotel is named for.  A large group of elk were laying on the lawn as we pulled into the area.  Later, as we gathered for happy hour at some picnic tables, we saw a large male approach a female only 100 feet or so away from us.  Mating season!

A large male elk (on the left with antlers) looks over his harem.  It was "the rut" or mating 
season.

Palette Springs, located near the hotel.  Some of the group hiked the trails to see more
hot springs.

This is a hot spring cone named Liberty Cap, formed from the accumulation of 
mineral deposits over hundreds of years.

It was beautiful Dream Vacations weather as the sun was setting, so we gathered at the 
picnic tables for another happy hour. 

This magpie was very interested in the snacks we munched on during our party.

This buck was interested but she was not and he went on his way.  JoAnn got a great video
of the encounter.

Steve warned us that the wait for a table in The Mammoth Springs Hotel dining room could be up to 2 hours, so Nigel and I went and got a pager about 5:30.  Our dinner group grew to 12 people so when we got the call we split between two tables.  Our table drank a lot of wine and was rather boisterous, but we sure had fun.

The next day was a trip through Yellowstone, with stops at the Lower and Upper Falls on the Yellowstone River, a drive by Yellowstone Lake and the Lake Hotel, and the Continental Divide.  And that's just the morning agenda.

The bus took us to Lookout Point for a great view of the Lower Falls.  This is the largest 
volume waterfall in the Rocky Mountains and they fall 308 feet., twice as high as
Niagara Falls.

A great photo op on a beautiful day.  A bit chilly early in the morning, but it warmed up.

The Yellowstone River approaching the Upper Falls, which are upstream of the Lower Falls.

Many of our group took the entire flight of stairs to get down to the Upper Falls overlook.
The Upper Falls drop 109 feet.

Yellowstone Lake is the largest body of water in the Park and the largest freshwater lake above
7,000 feet in elevation in North America.  It has 110 miles of shoreline and its 
greatest depth is 394 feet.

The Lake Hotel is a grand old building; in fact, it's the oldest lodge in Yellowstone,
opened in 1891.  Look at that sky!  

We made a quick stop at the Continental Divide.  As spring runoff flows into Isa Lake, 
the lake overflows and empties into two oceans, AND does it backwards.  Water draining
to the east flows into the Pacific Ocean, and water draining to the west flows to the Atlantic.

From the lake, we headed to our accommodations at the Old Faithful Inn.  On the way, Steve gave us some information about the timing of eruptions at the various geysers.  Of course, Old Faithful erupts every 60 to 90 minutes without fail, hence its name.  As we pulled into the Lodge parking lot, Steve got very excited to see the Beehive Geyser erupting right in front of us!  We all jumped out to take pictures and videos.  We had lunch on the balcony of the Lodge, walked over to the Visitor's Center, and then watched Old Faithful erupt, before our next stop at the Fountain Paint Pot.

The Beehive Geyser, which typically only erupts twice a day, 
goes off just as we arrive at the Inn.  Steve was SO excited!

We ate snacks on the balcony of the Inn. That's Old Faithful steaming in the distance.

 

And thar she blows!  Because she is so regular, we probably saw 
her erupt 5 or 6 times.

The Old Faithful Inn opened in 1904 and was the first of the great park lodges of the American
West.  The structure is the largest log hotel in the world, possibly even the largest log building
 in the world. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1987.
Of course, we stayed in a more modern addition.

This picture doesn't really show how impressive the inside really is.

After lunch, we took a short bus ride to the Fountain Paint Pot area, and Steve gave us a guided tour.   In this area, four different types of thermal features are present.

This is a hot spring.  The bluer the water, the deeper and hotter it is.

This is a mud pot.  These thermal features have limited water, and hydrogen sulfide gas creates
sulfuric acid.  The acid dissolves the rock into fine silica and clay particles that mix with
water to form the mud.  The bubbles are the result of more gas being released. The 
important thing to know is that they smell like rotten eggs.

A fumarole is an opening in the crust which emits steam and gases, but has little water.

Last but not least, we have geysers.  Water that heats up and creates pressure that builds 
up until it is released in an eruption.

In the parking lot, we saw one of the old touring cars that used to be how tourists toured 
the park.

We returned to the Inn and checked into our rooms, then decided to hike the boardwalk past all the geysers and springs with Morning Glory Pool as our destination.

This old bison was just laying around about 100 feet off the boardwalk.

One of the hot springs visible along the boardwalk trail.

Much to my surprise, I got this shot of a coyote running across the field.

This was Grotto Geyser which was cool because it erupted in a couple of different places
at the same time.

The trail crosses the Firehole River, which was beautiful.

This is Giant Geyser.  Apparently it is very impressive, but  it last erupted in March of 2019.

The end of the trail, Morning Glory Pool.  Unfortunately, it's losing its brilliant color, because
people have been throwing things in, which clogs the vent and lowers the temperature.

A bunch of us met back on the balcony with wine and snacks and watched the sun set on a long, busy day of sightseeing and hiking.  We had a brilliant display of stars after dark.

Happy hour on the deck.  Deke with two women, Rick with two women, and 
me with one amazing woman!

Day 11 - an 8:00 AM departure from Yellowstone to head for the Grand Tetons and then Jackson.  We had some of the best photo opportunities on this day, which (need I say?) featured gorgeous weather.  

We approach the Grand Tetons - this was taken from the bus.

We stopped at the Jackson Lake Lodge (another historic landmark) for these photos 
of the Tetons.

The sharp peaks and abrupt rise from Jackson Hole distinguishes the Grand Tetons from
other mountain ranges.

A cool view of the Tetons through the windows of the Jackson Lake Lodge.

Maybe the most picturesque spot on the trip, the Oxbow Bend Turnout, on the Snake River,
with Mount Moran reflected perfectly in the water.

The self-named Wacky Widows - Judi, Annie, Sue, Rosemary, Barb and Mary Ellen.

This is Jenny Lake, named for a Shoshone Indian woman who married an Englshman, whose 
name was (and I'm not making this up) Beaver Dick Leigh.

Conditions were so perfect when we were there that the picture doesn't look real.
It looks like the Boss and I posed in front of a painting.

Next we stopped at the Chapel of the Transfiguration, for a unique photo op.

The window behind the altar inside the chapel frames the Cathedral Group of peaks.

The Cathedral Group is the group of the tallest mountains of the Teton Range.  That's 
Grand Teton on the left.

As Steve would say, the sights this morning were enough to knock your socks off!  We drove into Jackson (not Jackson Hole - that's the name of the valley) as Steve pointed out our hotel and places for lunch and dinner.   A bunch of us went to the Merry Piglets Mexican restaurant and ate way too much.

Our hotel was the Rustic Inn, which was my favorite on the trip.  We actually had our own A-frame cabin with a front porch. It was Sunday, so I watched some football while the Boss and Karen drank wine on the porch and chatted with the neighbors as they went by.  For dinner, we stayed at the Inn and hung out in the bar and watched football.

Pat and Deke under one of the four antler arches at the corners of the town square.

The Rustic Inn was adjacent to Flat Creek, and had a lovely trail, pond, and outdoor seating 
areas behind the cabins.  And look at that  Dream Vacations sky!

Our cabin at the Rustic Inn.  Most of the group wished we had another night here.

Nigel, me and Mac (among others) enjoyed a fine evening at the bar,
where we also ate and watched football.

We left Jackson (reluctantly) the next morning to drive to Salt Lake City.  Our route takes us through Wyoming, into Idaho, and on to Utah.  The scenery is beautiful with lots of yellows and oranges along with the dark greens of the pines.  We made a quick photo stop for a view of Bear Lake, had lunch in Logan, Utah, and arrived in Salt Lake City for a brief tour of Temple Square and the Mormon Tabernacle.

In this part of the country, having to stop for cows is not that unusual.

Late September and early October is when the leaves are at the peak of their colors.

Bear Lake, which spans the Idaho-Utah border.  It's unique turquoise-blue color is due to
refraction of limestone deposits suspended in the water.

Inside the Mormon Tabernacle with our two guides.  The massive organ is in the back where 
the Choir sings, or used to pre-Covid.

Assembly Hall was finished in 1882.  The main Temple was undergoing renovations at 
the time of our visit.

The majority of our group had signed up for dinner at the Ruby River Steakhouse, which was pretty good.  Esther left her purse at the restaurant and someone else left their glasses, but the staff brought them back to our hotel.  Good service!

Day 12 - Our destination was Bryce Canyon National Park, and we got our biggest test of Dream Vacations weather.  We left Salt Lake City at 7:45 AM, and arrived at Bryce Canyon in time for lunch at Ruby's Inn.  After lunch, we drove up to the canyon in the rain.

Rain and fog upon our arrival at the first canyon overlook at Inspiration Point.  Can't see
a thing.  Dream Vacations weather has expired.   :-(

Steve suggested we go back to the Visitor Center so people can get  their passports stamped, then go back and hope the fog has cleared. And voila! Dream Vacations weather comes through!

So we didn't have blue sky and bright sunshine, but we got rid of the fog enough to 
enjoy these spectacular views.

We saw the horseback riders coming up the trail.

Steve pointed out a Ponderosa pine, and told us its bark smelled like vanilla, so naturally
our curious group gathered around to scratch and sniff.  Others took pictures of this spectacle.

Steve and Esther are happy it all worked out.

Back at the hotel, we had some time before dinner, and a lot of people still had wine, booze, beer and snacks to get rid of before heading back to Vegas the next day.  I asked the lady at the desk if we could use the breakfast room for a gathering and was told no.  Esther went a step further and asked to speak to a manager.  Next thing you know, about half of the group ended up in a conference room where we enjoyed one last happy hour! 

Many of us then took the shuttle over to Ebeneezer's Barn and Grill for dinner and the show.

The show was a country music concert that was surprisingly good.  And the food was good, too.

The show featured this 14-year-old named Roosevelt, who was really 
good.  We chatted with her and her parents after the show.

As we boarded the bus the next morning (our last travel day) in heavy fog, Steve said he wanted to take us back up to another spot at Bryce Canyon just in case the fog lifted enough for the view.  He said it might be futile, but it was only 20 minutes out of the way.  We drove through the fog all the way, but when we got to the lookout spot, the fog was lifting!

We got some amazing morning views of the canyon and the valley beyond, with the sun
poking through in the distance.  The Dream Vacations weather legend lives on.

Our next and last stop was Zion National Park.  It was another very scenic drive, and we arrived at the park before 11:00 AM.  Zion was different from some of the other parks, in that we hiked the bottom of the canyon and looked up at the sheer walls, instead of looking from the top down.  We hiked the Riverside Walk, a two-mile round trip.

An incredible view as we enter the park on the bus.

Looking up at the canyon walls as we walk the trail.

This is called the Weeping Rock, for obvious reasons.

No worries about rain or fog during our time at Zion.

A group of Compass Pointers - Kathy and Greg, Susan and Mark, and Debbie and Bob.

We were provided with a box lunch, which many ate at the park.  We ate ours on the bus, a monster turkey sandwich and an outstanding chocolate chip cookie!

From Zion, it was finally time to return to Las Vegas.  At our rest room stop in Nevaada, we realized it was the last such break, and it was a little sad.

Our final gathering was the farewell dinner in the same conference room at Treasure Island where we started 14 days ago.  Steve told us what a great group we were, and Esther told everyone it was the best group we've ever had.  After dinner, there was much hugging and fond goodbyes.

Our last group photo - a lot of happy travelers!

Most people left the following morning, but some left on late evening flights or stayed an extra night.  Esther and I recommended the comedy magic show of Mac King to those staying later, and about 13 of us went to Excalibur for the matinee.  He was hilarious and did some great magic as well.  

The Boss and I took the red eye leaving at 11:30 PM, and flew through Chicago to get home to Wilmington.  A 6-hour delay in Chicago was a little annoying but we made it home safe and sound.

For me, this trip exceeded my expectations, and I heard the same from most of our fellow travelers.  A large part of the credit has to go to our guide Steve, who managed the group perfectly, made sure everything went smoothly, and made it both interesting and fun all along the way. 

We look forward to seeing you on a future DreamVacations hosted adventure!  

I welcome and encourage comments in the space below.