The month of October was highlighted by our fall break. We flew out on an early Saturday morning flight and arrived in Vegas around 8AM. After getting our rental car, we went to Valley of the Fire. We went to the beehive area, hiked the white dome trail, hiked the fire wave trail along with the seven wonders trail. Those 3 miles felt like they were all being hiked on a beach because there was so much sand. We then piled into the car and drove to Zion and checked into the Driftwood Lodge.
After checking in, we went to dinner the Zion Brew Pub and fell asleep pretty quickly due to the time change. We got up the next morning and rented some e-bikes to ride thru the canyon without dealing with shuttles. The e-bikes were a hit and the girls probably thought it was the best part of the trip. While exploring the canyon, we hiked the riverside trail, scout’s lookout and the court of the patriarch. We got some ice cream for the girls and coffee for the us and then did a little souvenir shopping. We had dinner at Zion pizza and noodle and woke up the next morning ready for the next adventure.
We woke up and drove to the east side of the Zion Canyon, which was quite possibly the most scenic drive I’ve ever done. We arrived at the Ponderosa ranch and did the observation point hike and then drove to Bryce. We checked into the Ruby Inn and had dinner at the Bryce Canyon Cowboy club and relaxed in the hot tub afterwards. The following morning, we went and hiked the Navajo loop and queens garden trail. After having lunch at the trail head, we checked out 2 viewpoints (Inspiration point and Bryce point). We then decided to go for an ATV guided tour and that evening, we looked at the stars with the Dark Ranger Telescopes. The next morning, we did the scenic 18-mile drive through Bryce canyon and did the Bristlecone and tower bridge trails. We then spent the afternoon driving to Page, Arizona.
After checking into our hotel, we went for a swim and had dinner at the Dam grill. The next morning, we went on a tour of a secluded slot canyon and horseshoe bend. This tour was given on land owned by the Navajo tribe, so our tour was a chief and we learned a lot about the culture. After the tour, we did a short hike and hung out by the pool before going to dinner at State 48 tavern. We woke up the next morning and drove to Vegas and arrived at Mandalay Bay around 2PM. We walked down to the Bellagio for the water show and we enjoyed the people watching and seeing the sights. After dinner at the hotel, we went to bed as our flight home was at 7AM the following morning.
Sarah’s Things of the Month
Sarah’s fall softball team ended their season in early October, but she has decided to continue with the year-long “Bluehawks” program which will allow for her to keep playing thru the winter. Her volleyball team won a few games and Sarah is a very consistent server, along with being aware of situations and diving when necessary. She is also playing basketball with several of her classmates as they get ready for their CYO season.
Allison’s Thing of the Month
Allison’s volleyball team has been competitive in every game and she looks like she is really having fun when she is on the court. Her Jr. Trojan season ended while we were on fall break, but she enjoyed meeting several girls she hopes to play with in high school next year. She also kicked off our IGB season by joining her team for a fall session to better prepare them for the spring travel season.
A few more items from this month:
- Frank and Jan organized a group dinner, where Mark, Chris, and the Dodsons joined us for a nice dinner and a chance to catch up before they started traveling south for the winter.
- Frank and Mark have had an annual guy weekend that revolved around euchre since the late 80’s / early 90’s and I was invited to participate this year. I had a great time, got a little sleep and probably had too many beers.
- Deb took the girls to “trunk or treat” at CKS this year and they enjoyed getting some candy and seeing their friends.
- Halloween has changed for us, as Allison is off with friends in other neighborhoods and Sarah is running around our neighborhood but we don’t really know where she is. I ended the night watching some NFL football and hanging out around the fire.
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