Denver to Moab pictures
Moab to Grand Canyon pictures
Grand Canyon pictures
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Yellowstone--the first national park
Day 8-10: Yellowstone Park (WY and MT), West Yellowstone, MT
Friday July 8, 2011: We woke up early (thanks again, B man! ;) )--Mike worked from the RV and Grandpa S. and James headed into Yellowstone park to scope out the sights. We hopped into the rental car later in the afternoon and we all (me, James, Mike, Brendan, and Grandpa) entered the park together. It was absolutely amazing. West Yellowstone is a little bit out of the way (~30 miles from most of the sights), however the drive in was awesome. Picturesque rivers and meadows and a bald eagle's nest (with an eagle inside) within miles of the park entrance. (And Grandpa's gold appreciation pass got us in for free!) We headed into one of the pots/geysers/pools area and a massive storm came in. (not surprising, again, given my maiden name...) We booked it though the geyser area (which was amazing!) and headed by car to Old Faithful (which spouts out just about every 90 minutes or so). Just as we entered the gift shop, the storm worsened and started hailing. The tourists (who I'm sure had limited experience with hail) were nearly as excited for the weather as the big geyser! Headed then over to Old Faithful (it was still storming so B man and I watched it erupt inside--the guys watched it from outside). It was amazing to be so close to magma (only 3-5 miles below the surface) and at the world's most active volcano. The pools and bacterial mats were really interesting as well.
We split up for the first time today (I was happy to just hang out with B, the men headed on a 10 hour Yellowstone tour). Mike, James, and Grandpa had a long day but it sounds like it was a great way to see a good chunk of Yellowstone efficiently. Their tour guide was great, they visited the geysers and pools again as well as the pots, they visited Old Faithful again, and went to Yellowstone Lake and Lodge where they had a beer before finishing up the tour. B man and I had a great day. He napped for most of the morning, I finished up one of my books (Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother--very interesting book about Chinese parenting) and just relaxed. Then, the two of us visited the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center (which had live Grizzlies and wolves to see)--B loved it although I think partly it was because he thought the wolves were dogs :). Then we walked around W. Yellowstone--which was a neat little western resort town, had some ice cream (he ate like the entire cone, good boy!!) looked around in the shops, bought some "Moose Drool" brown ale and headed back to the campsite. We played with bubbles and his little play lawn mower and Barley and awaited the return of the men. We ate out at the Three Bear Restaurant (OK, somewhat overpriced average steakhouse food) and returned home. We were all asleep early.....
Day 10: Sunday, July 10, 2011
Up early again and went out to see the animals...we took a different route and didn't have so much luck with animal sites early. We headed back to the campsite, returned our rental car, and packed up the RV for another day of sight seeing. We started at the Grizzly/Wolf exhibit again as the guys hadn't seen it yet and then off to Yellowstone again. We took the northern route and started the sightseeing at the Grand Canyon/Yellowstone (not nearly as big as the Grand Canyon but still really cool). We saw a few more waterfalls and drove another 30 miles to get to Mammoth Hot Springs. On the drive, we saw a few bison and 4 bears (2 of the 4 black bears were apparently mating in the fields, although we missed that....) We didn't see any grizzly bears but I think I'm OK with that :) Mammoth Hot Springs was a cool spot as well. As we drove into the town, nearly 30 elk had parked themselves on the lawns of the hotel, the park administration, and some of the rangers' houses. They actually had permanent signs warning to leave the elk alone...I figure they must be permanent fixtures on the lawns! Then we got to see the springs after a short hike. They were not as active as they sometimes can be, but were still amazing. The pools were really cool--blue in the center (no bacteria can survive in those temperatures, then the orange rings contain thermophiles. Of course it smells sulfur-y but that's to be expected. We ended our trip about 5 miles north of Mammoth (Gardiner, MT) where we are camping at Rocky Mountain RV park.
We parked the RV and Grandpa immediatly started talking to our neighbor (ken) who was also a sea-bee (like Grandpa) and the two got along instantly. Small world, Ken trained in RI and served th two years after Grandpa S. Mike, James, and Grandpa talked about Grandpa's experience at the World Trade Center--it's amazing hearing the stories.
Unfortunately, James has to head back to reality tomorrow. I think he's going to need another vacation to recover from this vacation! :) Tomorrow, we drop James off in billings, MT and begin to make our way to see my good friend, Sarah Wallace, in North Dakota......
Friday July 8, 2011: We woke up early (thanks again, B man! ;) )--Mike worked from the RV and Grandpa S. and James headed into Yellowstone park to scope out the sights. We hopped into the rental car later in the afternoon and we all (me, James, Mike, Brendan, and Grandpa) entered the park together. It was absolutely amazing. West Yellowstone is a little bit out of the way (~30 miles from most of the sights), however the drive in was awesome. Picturesque rivers and meadows and a bald eagle's nest (with an eagle inside) within miles of the park entrance. (And Grandpa's gold appreciation pass got us in for free!) We headed into one of the pots/geysers/pools area and a massive storm came in. (not surprising, again, given my maiden name...) We booked it though the geyser area (which was amazing!) and headed by car to Old Faithful (which spouts out just about every 90 minutes or so). Just as we entered the gift shop, the storm worsened and started hailing. The tourists (who I'm sure had limited experience with hail) were nearly as excited for the weather as the big geyser! Headed then over to Old Faithful (it was still storming so B man and I watched it erupt inside--the guys watched it from outside). It was amazing to be so close to magma (only 3-5 miles below the surface) and at the world's most active volcano. The pools and bacterial mats were really interesting as well.
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| Warning sign near Geysers/painters pots |
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| Old Faithful |
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| Old Faithful |
Day 9: Saturday, July 9, 2011
In what is now our Sullivan national park routine, Mike, B, and I woke up early and were out by 5:30 to catch the animal action at dawn. We were not disappointed. 2 hours and several elk, 30 bison (in the middle of the road, including babies suckling!), and a wolf pack later, we were back at the campground. Getting up early is somewhat painful (although we're up then now anyway) but is so worth it.We split up for the first time today (I was happy to just hang out with B, the men headed on a 10 hour Yellowstone tour). Mike, James, and Grandpa had a long day but it sounds like it was a great way to see a good chunk of Yellowstone efficiently. Their tour guide was great, they visited the geysers and pools again as well as the pots, they visited Old Faithful again, and went to Yellowstone Lake and Lodge where they had a beer before finishing up the tour. B man and I had a great day. He napped for most of the morning, I finished up one of my books (Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother--very interesting book about Chinese parenting) and just relaxed. Then, the two of us visited the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center (which had live Grizzlies and wolves to see)--B loved it although I think partly it was because he thought the wolves were dogs :). Then we walked around W. Yellowstone--which was a neat little western resort town, had some ice cream (he ate like the entire cone, good boy!!) looked around in the shops, bought some "Moose Drool" brown ale and headed back to the campsite. We played with bubbles and his little play lawn mower and Barley and awaited the return of the men. We ate out at the Three Bear Restaurant (OK, somewhat overpriced average steakhouse food) and returned home. We were all asleep early.....
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| Bison in the road |
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| Large, male, tagged bison! Yikes! |
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| pool |
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| Grand Canyon Falls-Yellowstone |
Up early again and went out to see the animals...we took a different route and didn't have so much luck with animal sites early. We headed back to the campsite, returned our rental car, and packed up the RV for another day of sight seeing. We started at the Grizzly/Wolf exhibit again as the guys hadn't seen it yet and then off to Yellowstone again. We took the northern route and started the sightseeing at the Grand Canyon/Yellowstone (not nearly as big as the Grand Canyon but still really cool). We saw a few more waterfalls and drove another 30 miles to get to Mammoth Hot Springs. On the drive, we saw a few bison and 4 bears (2 of the 4 black bears were apparently mating in the fields, although we missed that....) We didn't see any grizzly bears but I think I'm OK with that :) Mammoth Hot Springs was a cool spot as well. As we drove into the town, nearly 30 elk had parked themselves on the lawns of the hotel, the park administration, and some of the rangers' houses. They actually had permanent signs warning to leave the elk alone...I figure they must be permanent fixtures on the lawns! Then we got to see the springs after a short hike. They were not as active as they sometimes can be, but were still amazing. The pools were really cool--blue in the center (no bacteria can survive in those temperatures, then the orange rings contain thermophiles. Of course it smells sulfur-y but that's to be expected. We ended our trip about 5 miles north of Mammoth (Gardiner, MT) where we are camping at Rocky Mountain RV park.
We parked the RV and Grandpa immediatly started talking to our neighbor (ken) who was also a sea-bee (like Grandpa) and the two got along instantly. Small world, Ken trained in RI and served th two years after Grandpa S. Mike, James, and Grandpa talked about Grandpa's experience at the World Trade Center--it's amazing hearing the stories.
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| Mike and Brendan at the Grizzly/Wolf Discovery Center |
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| He slides all by himself! |
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| speaks for itself--Mammoth Hot Springs |
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| Mammoth Hot Springs |
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Yellowstone...here we come!
Day 7: Salt Lake City, UT to West Yellowstone, MT (330 miles)
Started the day at 3 AM with Brendan crying, poor guy has prickly heat all over his body :( We were out playing by 5 AM and on the road by 9 AM. Headed up through Utah and into Idaho. We decided to take a scenic route (Mesa Falls Scenic Route) before heading into West Yellowstone. What a drive--we were able to see 2 falls and some gorgeous country before heading into West Yellowstone.
There was a man killed by a mama Grizzly a few days ago in Yellowstone, so everyone is on heightened alert. We are not suppoed to leave any coolers outside and we'll have to purchase some bear pepper spray tomorrow. The trails are apparently closed, so no hiking for us....I can't wait until tomorrow to explore the national park!
We had a nice spaghetti dinner, some wine (which was purchased at the RV park, which is the kind of camping I like to do!!)
Here are some pics from the day......
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Started the day at 3 AM with Brendan crying, poor guy has prickly heat all over his body :( We were out playing by 5 AM and on the road by 9 AM. Headed up through Utah and into Idaho. We decided to take a scenic route (Mesa Falls Scenic Route) before heading into West Yellowstone. What a drive--we were able to see 2 falls and some gorgeous country before heading into West Yellowstone.
There was a man killed by a mama Grizzly a few days ago in Yellowstone, so everyone is on heightened alert. We are not suppoed to leave any coolers outside and we'll have to purchase some bear pepper spray tomorrow. The trails are apparently closed, so no hiking for us....I can't wait until tomorrow to explore the national park!
We had a nice spaghetti dinner, some wine (which was purchased at the RV park, which is the kind of camping I like to do!!)
Here are some pics from the day......
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Hoover Dam, Lake Mead, and the journey to Yellowstone (part 1)
Bad wifi over the last few days (go figure, lack of wifi in campgrounds???)...so I'm catching up on the last few days.....
Day 4: Hoover Dam (July 4, 2011)
We got up early and left the Grand Canyon site and headed west to Hoover Dam, passing through more Native American reservation land (wow, it is different than what we're used to...). We arrived to the dam ahead of schedule, made it easily through the security checkpoint, and headed to the dam. It was quite a sight. It was even more interesting seeing this with 2 engineers (Grandpa S. and Mike). Grandpa particularly was very excited (as I excited as I've ever seen him!) and was in awe of the dam. We went on the power plant tour and got to see some of the innards of the dam, then we took tons of pictures from the observation deck (however, they are on the camera which is in the room where B man is sleeping now so I think I'll be posting pictures later). We were there for a few hours, in the desert heat, then headed to our new site for the next 2 nights. We landed at the Lake Mead RV Campground--we had a wonderful water view. It was gorgeous but HOT. Thank goodness for air conditioning! We did have some entertainment, however, 2 camp sites over with a guy pouring some gasoline into their fire (he was totally bombed) and Mike and James can update you on my interesting shower experience at the campground showers.
Day 5: Lake Mead (i.e. holy crap it is hot here)
120 degrees in the shade at 11:00 AM. OMG.
We kept B man inside for most of the day because it was so hot....Grandpa and James headed out on the bikes to check out the beach and marina....when they returned we drove the RV to the beach and rented jet skis. Awesome! We rode over to the back of the hoover dam. The lake was awesome--felt like bath water. We also hung out at the marina beach...Barley LOVED it. Brendan laughed at Barley as he was chasing the ball in the water and he cracked himself up as he threw rocks into the lake. A great afternoon. We arrived back at the campsite for some BBQ chicken (i made the sauce myself b/c we did not have bbq sauce--it was gooooood, if i do say so myself :) ). Tony, the park manager, stopped by and talked with us for a while. What a guy. He is from New York and drove heavy haulers (so of course the Sullivan men were delighted to talk with him) most of his life. He and his wife are the managers of the park and have been tour guides at Hoover Dam and Grand Canyon. He shared some terrific stories with us--the most notable was how he is close friends with the local tribe's medicine man. the medicine man told Tony how he learned to dose digoxin for symptoms of heart disease (chest pain, dizziness, shortness of breath, etc.). His father (a former medicine man) told him how to use a plant for these symptoms. He instructed him to cut and peal a piece of the root in a certain sized-cube. He then instructed him to find 2 rocks exactly the size of the cube so that he could reference that in the future when he needed to dispense that medication. Too big of a cube, and it would be toxic, too small...and not enough dig. Really interesting to hear how others practice their own medicine.....
Day 6: Lake Mead, NV to Salt Lake City, UT (446 miles)
Lots of driving today. On the road by 8:30, stopped at Superwalmart (Grandpa was very excited) and gas for lunchtime. I talked everyone into going to In-N-Out burger tonight for dinner, as it was probably the last opportunity that we would see one of those restaurants again during the trip, so we did it. Terrific :) Then, we settled into camp here in Salt Lake. The boys played ball outside and we just put B man down to bed. We're still hanging in there.....we have to keep making sure Barley is in the RV before we leave each stop (i.e. the last question EVERYONE has to ask before leaving a spot is "where is Barley?") so we avoid a national lampoon's vacation incident....but we're all hear and accounted for tonight :)
Until tomorrow.....or good wifi :)
Day 4: Hoover Dam (July 4, 2011)
We got up early and left the Grand Canyon site and headed west to Hoover Dam, passing through more Native American reservation land (wow, it is different than what we're used to...). We arrived to the dam ahead of schedule, made it easily through the security checkpoint, and headed to the dam. It was quite a sight. It was even more interesting seeing this with 2 engineers (Grandpa S. and Mike). Grandpa particularly was very excited (as I excited as I've ever seen him!) and was in awe of the dam. We went on the power plant tour and got to see some of the innards of the dam, then we took tons of pictures from the observation deck (however, they are on the camera which is in the room where B man is sleeping now so I think I'll be posting pictures later). We were there for a few hours, in the desert heat, then headed to our new site for the next 2 nights. We landed at the Lake Mead RV Campground--we had a wonderful water view. It was gorgeous but HOT. Thank goodness for air conditioning! We did have some entertainment, however, 2 camp sites over with a guy pouring some gasoline into their fire (he was totally bombed) and Mike and James can update you on my interesting shower experience at the campground showers.
Day 5: Lake Mead (i.e. holy crap it is hot here)
120 degrees in the shade at 11:00 AM. OMG.
We kept B man inside for most of the day because it was so hot....Grandpa and James headed out on the bikes to check out the beach and marina....when they returned we drove the RV to the beach and rented jet skis. Awesome! We rode over to the back of the hoover dam. The lake was awesome--felt like bath water. We also hung out at the marina beach...Barley LOVED it. Brendan laughed at Barley as he was chasing the ball in the water and he cracked himself up as he threw rocks into the lake. A great afternoon. We arrived back at the campsite for some BBQ chicken (i made the sauce myself b/c we did not have bbq sauce--it was gooooood, if i do say so myself :) ). Tony, the park manager, stopped by and talked with us for a while. What a guy. He is from New York and drove heavy haulers (so of course the Sullivan men were delighted to talk with him) most of his life. He and his wife are the managers of the park and have been tour guides at Hoover Dam and Grand Canyon. He shared some terrific stories with us--the most notable was how he is close friends with the local tribe's medicine man. the medicine man told Tony how he learned to dose digoxin for symptoms of heart disease (chest pain, dizziness, shortness of breath, etc.). His father (a former medicine man) told him how to use a plant for these symptoms. He instructed him to cut and peal a piece of the root in a certain sized-cube. He then instructed him to find 2 rocks exactly the size of the cube so that he could reference that in the future when he needed to dispense that medication. Too big of a cube, and it would be toxic, too small...and not enough dig. Really interesting to hear how others practice their own medicine.....
Day 6: Lake Mead, NV to Salt Lake City, UT (446 miles)
Lots of driving today. On the road by 8:30, stopped at Superwalmart (Grandpa was very excited) and gas for lunchtime. I talked everyone into going to In-N-Out burger tonight for dinner, as it was probably the last opportunity that we would see one of those restaurants again during the trip, so we did it. Terrific :) Then, we settled into camp here in Salt Lake. The boys played ball outside and we just put B man down to bed. We're still hanging in there.....we have to keep making sure Barley is in the RV before we leave each stop (i.e. the last question EVERYONE has to ask before leaving a spot is "where is Barley?") so we avoid a national lampoon's vacation incident....but we're all hear and accounted for tonight :)
Until tomorrow.....or good wifi :)
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Grand Canyon, July 3, 2011
Day 3: Grand Canyon, AZ
We had a leisurely morning today--we enjoyed meeting the family camping next to us at Grand Canyon Camper Village....they are from Germany and are here on vacation. We headed into Grand Canyon (we are staying about 1 mile outside of the actual park) after dropping Barley off at the dog kennel. We parked the RV and I stayed with our napping son while Mike, James, and Grandpa headed into the visitor center to plan out our trip. This park is amazing! The visitor center was huge and head a ton of information. We decided to go to the Grand Canyon village and take the shuttle around the scenic points. James and Grandpa headed in first and Mike and I stayed with Brendan so he could eat, etc....just as we were packed up and ready to leave, a big storm rolled through. James and Grandpa returned pretty quickly after that b/c the rangers pulled everyone from the rim due to the lightning. We decided to stay put in the RV for a little bit and just hung out. Once the storm cleared, Mike and I headed out to check out the canyon. It was amazing to say the least--hard to believe it is that big! We saw a mule tour (we decided next time we come, we are making the reservation 1 year ahead of time--which is recommended) and read some stories about hiking in the canyon (one medical student and marathoner died in 2004 from heat exhaustion). We took a stroll down the famous Bright Angel trail--I had some serious vertigo! We could see a good chunk of the trail as it made its way down to the Colorado river. We then headed back to the RV, gathered the rest of the crew, and hopped on the shuttle for the rest of the sights. It was awesome. (see below!)
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We had a leisurely morning today--we enjoyed meeting the family camping next to us at Grand Canyon Camper Village....they are from Germany and are here on vacation. We headed into Grand Canyon (we are staying about 1 mile outside of the actual park) after dropping Barley off at the dog kennel. We parked the RV and I stayed with our napping son while Mike, James, and Grandpa headed into the visitor center to plan out our trip. This park is amazing! The visitor center was huge and head a ton of information. We decided to go to the Grand Canyon village and take the shuttle around the scenic points. James and Grandpa headed in first and Mike and I stayed with Brendan so he could eat, etc....just as we were packed up and ready to leave, a big storm rolled through. James and Grandpa returned pretty quickly after that b/c the rangers pulled everyone from the rim due to the lightning. We decided to stay put in the RV for a little bit and just hung out. Once the storm cleared, Mike and I headed out to check out the canyon. It was amazing to say the least--hard to believe it is that big! We saw a mule tour (we decided next time we come, we are making the reservation 1 year ahead of time--which is recommended) and read some stories about hiking in the canyon (one medical student and marathoner died in 2004 from heat exhaustion). We took a stroll down the famous Bright Angel trail--I had some serious vertigo! We could see a good chunk of the trail as it made its way down to the Colorado river. We then headed back to the RV, gathered the rest of the crew, and hopped on the shuttle for the rest of the sights. It was awesome. (see below!)
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| Desert View |
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| James, Brendan, Mike, and Barley |
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| Mike, Brendan, James, and Grandpa S. |
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| Mike and Brendan at Hopi Point |
We arrived back at the campsite just in time to witness the local 4th of July parade, which literally came in through our campground right in front of our spot! Complete with fire trucks, police cars, and loud sirens...Brendan slept through the whole thing! I guess it was a pretty long day!
Off to Lake Mead, NV tomorrow morning...until tomorrow night!
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Sullivan Family Vacation
More like National Lampoon's Vacation! :)
Today is day #2 of our (estimated) 21 day trip back home...I meant to start this up last night but there was no wifi in the middle of the desert. Hmmph.
Day -1 (June 30, 2011): Denver
Day 1: Denver to Moab, UT
Once again, we got up early :) and so we went for a walk before breakfast. We got to see the early morning sites--we could see both of the windows of arches national park. After our walk and morning breakfast (thanks to Grandpa for making pancakes and eggs, we were off again. We stopped at Wilson arch in UT (awesome, more pics to come), saw a part of the Navajo reservation, then made it into the park. We stopped off at one viewing point then traveled to our campsite to get tucked in the for night. Which, is what I'm about to do. We are having a lot of fun, Brendan is doing so much better than I even imagined...he had so much fun tonight just playing with the rocks at our campsite and he's been sleeping like a champ.
Until tomorrow......
Today is day #2 of our (estimated) 21 day trip back home...I meant to start this up last night but there was no wifi in the middle of the desert. Hmmph.
Day -1 (June 30, 2011): Denver
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| Sullivan men in the moving truck |
I officially completed fellowship! Kind of a big day I guess. We had visions of the RV picking me up in front of the hospital, but alas....we were not done moving out of our apartment. Turns out we had more stuff than the movers estimated. So, thanks to Metro taxi for providing me with a ride home. It was fun, though, to see the apartment empty and to watch the movers head out. Brendan, Mike, and Grandpa S. got up into Bob's truck (the mover) before he pulled out with our stuff.
We bought a decent bottle of champagne then headed out towards DIA (in order to pick up James early in the morning). We stayed at a truck stop (Flying J's) of all places, but it worked out just fine.
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| champagne to celebrate! |
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| first dinner in the RV! B does not look too excited.... |
Day 1: Denver to Moab, UT
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| Mike driving the RV, leaving Flying Js |
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| B man in his car seat |
We (or I should say Brendan) woke up nice and early, we ate breakfast, and we headed to DIA to meet James. From here, we headed west on I70, past the ski areas where we spent so much time 1st year, through the Rockies (which still had plnty of snowpack left). The Colorado River was high and fast and we followed it along I70 as we made our way out of Colorado. We made it to Utah and stopped in Moab, UT for the night. Drove 350 miles in 7 hours and 30 minute. Avg mpg: 8 (yikes! but thats an RV for you)
Day 2: Moab, UT to Grand Canyon Village, AZ
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| Mike and Brendan taking in the scenery and the horses at our campground |
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| camp store |
Once again, we got up early :) and so we went for a walk before breakfast. We got to see the early morning sites--we could see both of the windows of arches national park. After our walk and morning breakfast (thanks to Grandpa for making pancakes and eggs, we were off again. We stopped at Wilson arch in UT (awesome, more pics to come), saw a part of the Navajo reservation, then made it into the park. We stopped off at one viewing point then traveled to our campsite to get tucked in the for night. Which, is what I'm about to do. We are having a lot of fun, Brendan is doing so much better than I even imagined...he had so much fun tonight just playing with the rocks at our campsite and he's been sleeping like a champ.
Until tomorrow......
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