Zion Day 2 Pictures to follow

Today we headed to the gas station in Springdale. We found an apple orchard on the side of the road which offered u-pick fugi apples. We of course stopped for cider and fresh apples. It was another perfect day at the park.

We went to Big Bend. The shuttle dropped us off at the Big Bend which is the bend of the Virgin river. On the tops of the mountains around us we say people hiking the Angels Landing. We decided the name was perfect because that looked as close to heaven as anyone could get, or if you fall you will see the angels.

The next stop was the river walk which was 2 miles round trip. It also leads to the Narrows which is a hike that is pictured in the river between huge mountains. The river was flowing to much to cross and get to Narrows which was a disappointment.

Lexi achieved her Junior Ranger badge after 2 days of work and she was excited to get her badge. We ended up coming back early. We played pool at the barn, Lexi went to the playground, and we checked out all of the facilitites

Zion National Park

Pictures to follow

We had a late start to our trip due to a nail in our tire. Our journey started at 12:30 in the afternoon knowing we had an 8 hour drive to Zion Pondersosa Ranch. We did not take into consideration that Utah is 1 hour ahead of us. We had a harrowing drive, especially after Page to Kanab, it was dark and construction the entire way. We almost just stopped in a parking lot for the night but somehow carried on to the ranch. It was 9:30 and no one was answering the "emergency #" to show us where we were to park. We decided to find the RV parking and ended up at the barn and the horses. The General Manager found us there and guided us to a pull through spot. Believe me it was pitch black and there was no way we would have found this spot. We were all settled in and leveled around 11:30 Utah time. It was noisy, but we did it. When the sunlight came we found out how many people were notified of our arrival. There was a house and tent wagons within 50 feet of our site.


In the daylight of the next morning we were aware of what we drove to get to our location and it was unbelievable that we made it in the dark. We pulled into Zion the next morning and it was 70 degrees which was the best weather we have felt since April. We drove the park with the windows down. The first tunnel was great because we saw a family of Bighorn sheep walking the top of the tunnel as we entered. The next tunnel we entered was behind a tour bus so they stopped opposing traffic and we had full access of both lanes. It was 1.1 miles downhill driving with the windows down. We screamed like we were on the best roller coaster ever. In the middle were gallery windows to see the mammoth walls of Zions mountains. It was the greatest way of entering the park.

We went to the Visitors center and picked up the shuttle. The high was 89 degrees but it felt perfect. We hiked the Emerald Pool, Kayenta Trail and ended up at the Grotto. I talked Gerald into the hike even though it said it was moderately strenuous and about 2 miles. We ended up going the right way because the hard part was all downhill. We had some time and went to the Museum where Gerald fell asleep during the film, post hike. With everyone rejuvenated we hiked the Weeping Rock. The coolest part of this hike was seeing the cable structure that used to drop down mail and people, post 1930's, 2,000 feet to save 16 miles of travel. Once the tunnel was created this was not needed anymore.

School's In Session

Next update RV trip planned around Christmas

Now for the Paso Robles Wineries

On our last day, the temperatures were perfect. The high was 80 and the sun was shining. We decided to drive to Paso Robles to visit some wineries. We packed our lunch and other snacks and embarked on 45 minutes of beautiful scenery.

We began at J Lohrs winery. You earned your visit on a road that was probably laid 50 years ago. We actually had to pass a gigantic grape harvester on the road. It is huge, and drives over the grape vines. A sign that harvesting is around the corner. Gerald likes the blend of the J. Lohrs wine so we stocked up. This is a nice small winery.

Our next stop was Eberle Winery. The construction was a little tricky to get into the winery. It did not stop the masses. The winery was quite busy. They had tours every half hour for the man made caverns down below. We spent quite a bit of time at this winery. They were harvesting grapes and mashing their viognier grapes. This was a dog friendly winery. On our arrival the winery dogs were roaming around the entrance. Lexi liked this and asked if we could go to more wineries with dogs. The picture is Lexi with Cabernet, the black poodle.

When we arrived back to the trailer we had a snack and tasted our wine selections. This was a great last day. Time to drive the 12 hours back to reality.

Let's Talk About the Food

I just want everyone to know that everything here tastes a million times better than at home! When we lived at Vandenburg AFB, we would go to farmer's market sometimes more than once a week to get our produce.

On this trip we went to a few farmer's markets. We also went to the Old West Cinnamon Roll for cinnamon rolls. They are the best, we would always stop by when we lived here. The picture above is fresh berries and oranges we picked up at the farmer's market. We reheated the rolls each morning in the oven with our percolated coffee and fresh fruit. Delicious!

The SLO farmer's market was very busy on Thursday. We were so weighed down by what we bought that we had to leave early. We bought carrots, spinach, oranges and berries. I cooked the spinach the next day with just butter and salt. Lexi added to the meals ambiance with a scowl and the statement, "I don't want any spinach". I told Lexi it was from the market and then after she gave it a try was selling it to Gerald about how good it was, and how he has to try it. On a side note, wilted spinach is my favorite and I should have just eaten it and never said a word to the now converted spinach lovers.

I thought the farmer's market would suffice for the trip, but I needed more. I had to go to the farms that provided all this good stuff. It was apple harvest time so we went to the orchards. The road to the orchards was a 5 mile narrow winding road. This was going to be an earned visit.

Before I begin, you have to visualize that it took 10 times reversing and pulling forward to just get the F-250 out of the parking spot in downtown SLO. It was like a moray eel trying to wiggle out of its cave. A slow and long process. The smug Prius owners who were waiting for the parking spot, were probably sneering at our very gluttonous choice of vehicles.

Now we were on a winding road, along a creek, and crossing bridges that only allow one car at a time to cross. Cars continuously came the other way around the mountainous bends. The only time we screamed was when we were facing our equal match, another F-250 coming the other way. I thought the tow mirrors were going to have a kissing moment, but we made it through. Of course, the mailman was also delivering the mail with his truck parked on the side. They say that mailmen have an easy job. I can tell you that mailman has the most treacherous route.

It was all worth it in the end. The cider was probably the best I have ever tasted. I am not a cider lover at all, until we lived in the Central Coast. Lexi was asking about it and I told her my traditional, I don't want to share statement, "You won't like it." She is learning that means you really want to try it. I think she figured this out a long time ago at See's candies. The apples were so good and sweet it did taste like candy. Anyway, we did that trip again because I needed more cider.

Bob Jones Bicycle Path

Each morning Max and I go on a bike ride. The path is named the Bob Jones pathway. It starts at the KOA and it is an incredible path to the beach. I read that in the future the path will start in San Luis Obispo and end at Avila Beach. Currently it is around 2.8 miles one way. It is an incredible ride that doesn't feel like you have ridden over 5 miles when you are done. I decided to take a pictorial of the trip so you could virtually ride with me.

It couldn't be a more perfect ride. You ride along a creek, by the apple orchards, through a golf course and then end at the beach. What could be more perfect.

Tourist Attractions

It started to rain so we stayed in the area and went to a few local wineries. We started collecting our bottles of wine. Wine tasting isn't the same with an 8 year old. After the initial excitement of the very cool gift shop(picking up everything glass and telling us the price) and wanting a $7 tiny candy bar we started to enjoy ourselves. We went to Leticia and Edna Valley Vineyard and found a few bottles, but nothing that says, "Wow, you NEED a case of this!" The pourer, who also doesn't like Chardonnay, said we needed to goto Paso Robles for the grapes grown in a hotter climate so the berry flavor comes through. We are planning to go there on Friday when the vineyards have their cave tours and BBQ's. We checked the weather that evening and it said that the pouring rain would continue for the next 24 hours.

Lexi said she wanted to goto Hearst Castle and started to recite all the cool things she learned on the last tour. We made reservations for Tour 2 of Hearst's private rooms, office, and kitchen. We started our journey early and stopped at Costco for a jacket and soup for dinner. Then we stopped at Morro Bay to feed the seals. Lexi liked this last time and insisted we returned.

We arrived too early for our tour at Hearst castle. The Park Ranger gave Lexi a Junior Ranger activity book ,and that helped passed the time. The tour was incredible. We were with a small group of 12. At the beginning of the tour, everyone said where they were from and we were the only ones from the U.S. The crazy part, the people did not know each other. We had people from Germany, Wales, the U.K. We have been feeling like we are the only Americans here, especially at the RV park. Everyday, the caravanning Europeans swarm the RV park with their RV rentals. The men wear interesting outfits such as tight capris and the women all need their bunyons and teeth fixed. During the tour I was so shocked to see this ladies crazy big toe going over all the other toes, and the fact that she was actually wearing sandals. Oh, I know I can wait for government health care!

We loved the tour and the Europeans had great questions. One group was into antiquities and the others had toured many castles. Normally, when someone has a question, I am thinking in my head, "oh great, another stupid, irrelevant question that the docent can't answer or just told you and you weren't listening". I get this all day at work, I really don't need this when I just paid $24 for a tour. The Europeans had toured the castles in their country and were asking questions about the ceiling and all of the Europeon art that the churches sold to the wealthy Americans after the war. There was this statue of Madonna in Hearst's bedroom and they asked about the artwork. The statue is valued as the most valuable piece of art in the house. We are talking about thousands of pieces of art and this was the most valuable! The docent said it was a gift to Hearst from a friend. The docent wasn't even going to tell us that, if he hadn't asked. They really added to the tour.

My favorite room was where Heda Hopper would stay. It was in the tower and above the pool. The docent said that the voices from the pool can be heard very well in the room. Probably, a good source for information for her gossip column. We also liked the library with all the gates and locks to protect the books. The story behind this was Charlie Chaplain was misusing a book and holding it over the pool, then the locks were installed. It was a great tour. I can't wait to do tour 3 covering the Art Deco rooms of the castle.