Wednesday, March 28, 2012

From Tehachapi (via Vegas) to Zion NP

Mom has been freakin' out about all the photo editin' and stuffs that's happened since we last posted! But we say... over the last year, Ma has not been a great secretary anyway, so getting in one a week is a pretty good average heheh! Well... we did a few more fun things before leaving Tehachapi! One thing was to visit a valley nearby called the Cummings Valley. There are a lot of organic farms, vineyards and - an Ostrich Farm!

This is George and he's about forty years old. These big birds live to about 75 years of age!

On our last night, there was a train setting on the tracks next to our RV - Dad took a picture of it glowing in the sunset...
Next morning, we took off for Las Vegas - about 300+ miles; here are Momma's white knuckles!
Gassin' up...
We had a really good ride over to LV and a great sleep at a cool RV Park called Arizona Charlie's! Here we are descending into the valley where Las Vegas is!
We passed this place called Primm, which is a town right on the border of Cali and Nevada.
Great rates, but Ma and Pa weren't interested heheh!
Next morning, after gassin' up again, we headed out for Virgin, Utah, about 10 miles from Zion National Park. We took a potty stop.
This is the Virgin Canyon Rec Area heading into St. George, Utah.
After we set up camp, Mom and Dad took us to some BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land to shake out our feets and stuffs. It sure felt good and there was so much to smell and a ton of acreage to test out - wooeeeeehhhhhh!
This morning, we left early to check out Zion NP - is it ever gorgeous! However. It is not really dog friendly. So we took liberties in some areas and dipped our paws into the Virgin River etc. etc.
Above... the Virgin River with a buncha Red Rocks - awesome scenery.
Canyon after canyon stilled our breaths...


Oh how good that felt to dip our tootsies!
These are called the Three Patriarchs (above)
Checkerboard Mesa
By the shores of the Virgin...
More scenery from Zion
On the Pa'rus trail, where dogs are allowed - whew!
All the roads in Zion are paved with red sandstone! But this photo's special - check out the wild mountain goats crossing the road and on the slickrock - can you spy them? (There are three in this picture, but hard to see!) We have a video of them, but can't upload them at this point - it was a truly rare moment...
We did manage to get this uploaded, so here is a very short, very poor quality movie of the goats we saw - Dad had problems finding and getting the camera going, so it's not great, but you can see the "family group" anyway. Mom put music over the track, cause we were talking very loudly at those goat/sheepie animals, all allowed to go loose out there on the slick rocks! Anyway... enjoy!
From Mom: Thank you so much for your comments - want to visit you to see what you're all up to - running to catch a sunrise pic, then be back here a bit later to say hi! It really has been an eye-opening experience thus far and there's so much more to see that we're mind-boggled - after early photo shots, we're headed to the northern, higher elevation and less visited areas of Zion. The girls are extraordinary travelers - we're so proud of them!

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh wow! This is a FANTASTIC post! Excellent photos, and they really capture the beauty of the area. Soooooo wish we were tagging along!

Sierra Rose :)

Unknown said...

Ooh - this adventure just gets better and better!! :-)

(that ostrich head popping up nearly scared the life out of me though!)

Slobbers,
Honey the Great Dane

Bassetmomma said...

Thanks for sharing such beautiful pictures! That scenery with all the canyons is just breathtaking! I can`t imagine what it must be like to see it in person! You all must be awe struck! I love the picture of the train and one of my favorites is you two wetting your paws!

Molly the Airedale said...

Your pictures are just magnificent, girls! What an adventure!
George looks kinda grumpy.

Love ya lots,
Mitch

Frankie Furter and Ernie said...

I just about SWOONED over these beautiful GORGEOUS MAGNIFICENT Pictures. I have looked at them twice and plan to go back once more.
THANK you Sammie and Avalon fur sharing them with us.

The Army of Four said...

We always love the pix on your blog, but Great Dane in the morning! These are magnificent! Thank you for taking the time to share your breath-taking scenery with us!
Play bows,
Zim

Golden Daily Scoop said...

Yikes, that is a big bird!!! Your photos are gorgeous, they belong in a travel magazine.

Looks like your have a great time!!!

~Kim at Golden Pines~ said...

What a beautiful place and what a fun (!!!) adventure!! When I lived out west, I never got to go to Zion Natl. Park, and think I really missed out!!! THANKS for taking us along on your trip!!

NCmountainwoman said...

What a fantastic post! Thank you so much for taking us along.

The Thuglets said...

Thanks for sharing your amazing photos with us!
Big Nose Pokes
The Thugletsx

Barb said...

Hi Sammie and Avalon, Catching up with your trip - what glorious sights you're seeing! I'm going to UT in May and hope to see Zion. Your photos make me excited for the trip. Stay well and take care!