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| Natural Arch at Bryce Canyon NP |
Shortly before we left Helena, Pat fell off her bike while
avoiding a car. She fractured a bone in her right foot and had to wear a boot
for a month. Also, the planned completion of Pat’s tub was delayed due to delivery
of the wrong side panels. Months later we are still waiting for the replacement,
most likely stuck on a cargo ship off the coast of CA.
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| Bryce Canyon |
On Sept 27 we started our trip south. Our first layover was
near Salt Lake City, where we had our RV levelers repaired again. We got to
Bryce NP and really enjoyed the park. Pat could enjoy most of the park from the
lookouts along the park road. I did a couple solo hikes. The Park was
impressive plus we visited nearby Red Rock Canyon and Kodachrome Basin SP.
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| Navajo Trail BCNP |
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| Zion NP |
Next, we went to Zion NP and it was a complexly different
experience. Even a month after Labor Day, the park is very crowded. To get to
the park you take a city shuttle bus from your campground to the Visitor Center,
due to inadequate parking facilities there. Then you can board a NP shuttle bus
that takes you into the canyon to one of five designated stops. We took the NP
shuttle to the last stop and I hiked a bit and Pat took a shorter walk. We took
the bus back to the Lodge stop and I did a hike while Pat waited for me. We
were about to load back on the bus when we noticed the busses stopped moving. No
one in the know was sharing info, but we heard rumors that there was a car
accident near the park entrance, possibly a fatality. The order was to shelter
in place. After sitting on the bus for about 40 min. we found out that there
was an active shooter in a nearby town. Eventually the busses started moving
and we returned to the Visitor Center.
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| Big Horn Sheep ZNP |
We waited awhile for the city shuttle bus but soon realized
they were not operating. We started to walk back to our campground but found
that the police had closed off all access to that part of the town. We decided to get dinner at the only
available restaurant, a Thai restaurant. (Yes, someone has to get shot before
Pat will go to a Chinees or Thai restaurant). We were not the only ones who
decided that this was the best way to kill some time. After a 40 min wait, we got seated. During our meal we noticed things were starting
to get moving and after our meal, we were able to catch a shuttle bus back to
the campground.
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| Canyon Overlook ZNP |
Later we found out the details of the Active Shooter
Incident. A 55 yr. old local male threaten a couple with a knife. When the
police approached, he took off in his car hitting speeds in excess of 100 mph
while shooting at 10 passing cars. None of the people in the cars were hurt.
The police flattened one of his tires which forced him to stop and run away. Eventually
a large manhunt tracked him down and then he shot himself in the head with his
shotgun. Later he died. Not too many tears were shed by the thousands that were
inconvenienced for hours by his reckless actions.
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| Odyssey Aquarium, Phoenix |
The next day we skipped the busses and drove to other areas
of the park for sightseeing and hiking. Pat’s foot was bothering her due to all
the running around in the campgrounds and parks so we adjusted our schedule and
left Zion a few days early and skipped the Grand Canyon (which we have rafted
and visited before). We managed to get a last-minute timeshare in Scottsdale AZ
for a week before our timeshare week in Sedona.
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Sedona
|
On our way to Scottsdale, we had a quick visit with Phil and
Connie and saw their beautiful new house in Kingman AZ. Scottsdale is much
nicer than Phoenix. The best place we visited was the Musical Instrument
Museum. Their displays included a minimum of four video from every country,
featuring music played on locally made instruments.
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| Bluebird |
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| Sunset in Sedona |
Sedona was great as always, except for the crowds and
difficulty finding parking. I got a hike in everyday and Pat did some crafts at
the resort. She also took a Boynton Canyon trolley tour and learned a few
things. We also took a day trip to historic Jerome and toured the nearby Gold
Mine and Ghost Town in Haynes.
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| Gold Mine |
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| Sedona |
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| Collared Lizard |
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| Confused Saguaro, Sweetwater Preserve, AZ |
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| Sitting on a very large rock core sample for the building of TVA's Douglas Dam |
From Sedona we returned to Phoenix on Saturday and waited until
we could get the RV into the Ford Dealer on Monday to fix the door lock. We
went to the AZ Science Museum which was a disappointment. We drove to Fort
Davis, TX and toured the Ft Davis NHS, which was an Indian Wars' frontier military post, and then the McDonald Observatory which
was interesting and easily accessible. In Tennessee, we camped near Douglas Dam, which was built in record time, one year, in order to provide electricity for aluminum production during WWII. We stopped in Lewisburg to organize our
stuff in preparation of a move next Spring. We met Bill and Shirley for lunch
in Harrisonburg, VA and meet up with Pat’s aunts and cousins in Buckeystown,
MD. We ended our cross-country trip at an RV park in College Park.
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| McDonald Observatory |
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| Aunt Janice and Aunt Ann |
