On the Road Again.....

It has been a while since I have written on the blog.  We had a very nice visit with family in Las Vegas.  Went to several Circque du Soleil show's, thanks to our local connections.  Saw Willie Nelson in concert at the Belagio.  Visited Red Rocks and spent lots of family time.

Cousins playing, no fighting, no playing....can't keep it straight :)

hiking at Red Rocks in Las Vegas

Red Rocks

Luna hanging with Bruno Mars

We arrived just before Christmas and had planned to stay until Jan. 20th.  The week before we left we ended up selling our fifth wheel on Craigslist.  We really wanted to downsize for the remainder of our journey and didn't know how realistic it was.  After all of that process we started looking for our truck camper and soon realized it wasn't going to be easy.  Craigslist to rescue again and I found one that was almost brand new in Flagstaff, AZ.  Four hour drive and off we went. Older couple who never really used it.  We inspected everything and it looked good, until..........we hooked up a hose to test the pipes and water started gushing from the kitchen faucet and the toilet and who knows where else.  :(
The couple had no idea it hadn't been winterized.  They agreed to have everything fixed and so we headed back to Vegas and had to wait for 3 weeks.  Diego's family was so nice to be patient with us and take us in.  We flip flopped between his sister and family and his parents.  It worked out well, but after 2 months I know everyone was glad to have their space back.  Our space was quite a bit smaller than when we had arrived.  We went from a 33 foot living space to 8 feet.

The reason we downsized was because we wanted to be more flexible with moving around and able to stay in more national parks and forests.  Something that was more difficult with the big guy.  Also, we knew that a truck camper was something we would keep long after this full time journey.  The fifth wheel had become a lot of work.

Writing little bits and just the gist of where we went is the only way I'm gonna be able to keep up with this blog....So, here's the gist :)
Off we went on February 26th at 5pm, much like we had when we left New Jersey over a year ago. Leaving familiarity, late in the day and with no set place we were headed.  Just like our first night out from New Jersey we ended up in a Walmart parking lot :)  We slept in Prescott, AZ and woke up the next morning explored for a bit downtown (Whiskey Row) and to a lake just outside of town.  Then off to Sedona.

We stopped by a national monument Montezuma's Castle on the way and had a beautiful drive into Sedona.

Montezuma's Castle NM in Arizona

On Sunday we drove on passing through Flagstaff.......great town.  Headed up the national forest to the south rim of the Grand Canyon (north rim was closed).  Stayed at Mather's Campground there at the park.  We stayed at the Grand Canyon for a few days and the girls and I hiked down into the canyon......not all the way, but about an hour or two round trip.

Grand Canyon

From the Grand Canyon we went to Page, AZ to see Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend.  Both very impressive!

On to Zion National Park.  One of my favorites.  Beautiful!  Diego took a few days off so he could enjoy the next few days at the parks and get through the mountains to better internet coverage.  We found one of the last spots in the Zion campground.  Went out to do some hiking and exploring before the sun went down.  After we were back at the campground we invited a couple who was driving around looking for a spot to share our campsite.  We are so small now, we can fit anywhere.  Very nice people that live in California and were there for the weekend to climb.  They invited us to climb with them and you didn't have to ask Diego twice.  We spent the evening around a fire and the morning climbing in Zion.  Great time!

We headed on to Bryce Canyon "the not really a canyon" National Park.  Camped in the park with snow all around us.  Hiked down into the hoodoos and on Queens Garden and it was spectacular.  Spent the morning exploring and attended a ranger program.  Seeing all of these places and hearing the rangers is such an awesome reminder that we are seeing all of these natural wonders in a tiny little glimpse of what it has and will look like.  It's all changing and sometimes in our lifetime we can see the change and sometime we won't.  The Grand Canyon is getting deeper and wider every year, Bryce hoodoos are constantly growing and dying and one day Niagra Falls will run out of water.  The list goes on.

Thor's hammer in Bryce Canyon NP

Next we headed up scenic hwy 12 to Capitol Reef National Park.  Stayed outside the park this time because everyone needed a shower :)  Spent the night in Torrey, UT and headed into the park the next morning.  We did our usual.......Talk to the rangers, watched the video so we knew what we were seeing, got hiking recommendations and checked for ranger programs.  Ended up picnicing near the river and hiking to Hickman Bridge.

Early afternoon we drove to Grand Junction, CO.  The girls were so excited to see Colorado again.  We all really enjoyed that state before.  This was our first time to meet up back at a place we had been previously on our travels.  At Grand Junction back in June of 2015 we had headed north toward Dinosaur National Monument and kept on going north and west.  We slept at the same state park we had been to the year before only this time the weather was a lot colder and the campground almost completely empty.  We saw a few tenters in the distance.


Drove 70 headed for Golden/Denver area.  Diego had to be back to work today.  Long drive, but beautiful.  Stopped to see Vail and headed on.
We are now here in Golden and my girls are so happy.  They love this place and are as we speak in the community center pool playing with some friends.  We're gonna stay put in the Denver area for a few weeks.  Catch up with friends, get an oil change, and relax.