Camping (euphemistically speaking)

Sunday April 27

It's official - we've been camping now. I'm dusty and smelly and my clothes are dirty. But we did run the generator this morning to make cappuccino's for Greg and Bella and although it got to below freezing in the park last night, the propane furnace in the camper kept it a nice and cozy 65F so that Jan wouldn't get cranky. This kind of camping I can take.

We spent the past 2 days in Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah in a real live campground with no RV hookups. It's a beautiful park with wall's of hoodoo's to take photos of and, I've heard, some great hikes down into the canyon. We did the scenic drive yesterday and then went out for sunset photos. But the highlight was the campfire around the picnic table where Greg cooked the burgers and where we sat to keep warm and hear the wonderful sputtering of burnt dry wood. Course we had to be ever vigilant to make sure the sparks didn't ignite the forest around us, nor land on the precious Bella who appears to have no idea what a campfire is and therefore no built in fear about fire (condo dog). We were somewhat relieved when the campfire finally burnt down and we could return to the safety of the camper.

We did hiking Jan style this morning though and had a blast. We signed up for a horse trail ride down to the bottom of the canyon ... and more importantly really, on the horse back up again. Turns out that we were both on Mules - Greg on Dixie, and myself on Winchester (who confided in me that she prefers to be called Winnie). According to our trail guide, Stetson, (I kid you not but could not obtain proof), the mules have a better temperament for the trail than horses and are 2 times more efficient than horses. The whole ride was almost 2 hours and was spectacular scenery the whole way. We had the most gorgeous blue sky with the red and white rocks, and green pine trees, and a little chipmunk even waved at our little parade going by. Apparently, the horses like to walk on the outside of the trail, next to the drop off , but we were to be assured that they would not fall off the edge and that we should just close our eyes if we were uncomfortable. The trail was a loop around to the bottom of the canyon and back up again and we never got off the animals and took a few breaks along the way to enjoy the view. Although the animals did all the work, our leg and butt muscles have something to say about the ride.

We drove back to Salt Lake City afterwards and have now officially closed our driving loop as well. Back to the KOA with a good internet connection and we are now on the fast track back home. We have extended the RV rental a couple of days so that we don't need to do the whole "all nighter" thing we used to do along I5. We decided we like stopping for pee breaks along the way. But it feels a little sad to have "closed the loop" on the trip and returning to ground we already covered. But at least I'll shower more often and won't be as dusty and smelly.