
After a long and stressful day, we didn’t to have a release…. throw something.

There was a road behind the campsite and it looked promising, so we ventured up it, no idea there was a fire tower
It was nice to see Pongo with Flight of the Crowswing’s Tacoma again
and James and Elizabeth, the best adventuring couple in the world.
We stopped an owl, but he fly away
Settling on a branch too far away for good photos
While at the fire tower, we had cell service and I learned my mom had passed the night before.
My mom is the one that really got me started in camping and encouraged it. This is her in blue suit with her mom and sister (I’m in lower left corner) camping a Foley Beach State Park. I remember the family taking an RV on the beach at Apalachicola, sometimes 10 feet at a time as we moved boards from the back to the front. Through scouting and backpacking trips, she was always supportive… Rest in Peace!
When we took out yesterday, a fisherman asked if we were scared in kayaks with all the alligators… we of course said no and decided we needed to find them. We switched sides of Lake Marion and put in at the Sparkleberry Swamp Landing in the Santee National Wildlife Refugee. With a name like Sparkleberry Swamp it must have alligators.
And I spotted one, normally James and Elizabeth see everything first, but not today.
We argued about it’s size (the men thought it was bigger, like always?) but look at the tail, and that isn’t the end, it’s eyes are in the small water opening on the left side of frame. I still say it was over 12 feet.
The swamp doesn’t open up that way Beth let us know.
After an evening around a fire and Long Island Ice Teas, James and Beth decided the Flippac needed their Aurora Borealis Light. It works great in the tent, but too bright to sleep under.
First drive into Zion National Park, wow it is pretty, but crowded, luckily Beth found a hike for the Lower Clear Creek slot canyon via the Hobbit Hole. Perfect, we had the place to ourselves.
After the tight part of the slot ended, we hiked along the creek bed, Deb took pictures of patterns on rocks, and James, Beth and me created “content” for out YouTube channels (ie we hiked and shot too many videos)
Just can’t go wrong here…
Climbers on a multi-pitch route… we watched them as we ate lunch, the other view was the picture above.
The moon rises over Kolob Canyon in Zion NP
After a full day of hiking, exploring and wondering, Deb and I headed to Salt Lake City (5 hours away) for her morning flight home. We did stop for our first In-N-Out meal, no I didn’t get it Animal style.
Day 4 of road trip and what an awesome camp, right on the edge of the Little Colorado River (at least it was at the bottom of the cliff)
Petrified National Forest
What we look like at every stop ; )
My first Petrograph… a stork delivers a baby or eats a frog?
Twin Arrows gas station on Route 66 in Arizona
The Grand Canyon from the Historic Navajo Bridge
That was a short ride on the BRP, broken shifter cable
time to hike
for the view
Grandfather Mtn (left) to Grandmother Mtn
Every time I see a rock face I wonder if it’s climbable, this one had chalk marks, so yes it is!
Finished the day with an evening ride
Knitting with NoNo…..
Deb wonders what I will play….