Add together six national parks, two national monuments, one state park, one tribal park, plus Sin City for good measure. What do you get? Some great family memories that I hope my kids will cherish for the rest of their lives. We've taken some wonderful vacations over the past 20 years with them, but this was undoubtedly our most adventurous. I'll attempt to blog some anecdotes for you over the next few weeks.......
Our first park in our grand tour was Zion National Park, which also turned out to be my favorite of the trip. Photos cannot truly convey its beauty. The variety of hikes and end destinations were delightful. We loved that cars are forbidden in most areas of the park! You have to ride the park shuttle, and as we also learned, you had better obey the rules........
Our second morning, we climbed aboard the shuttle at the park entrance and waited for departure. It was as you picture a morning shuttle.........you could hear a pin drop. A man sitting directly in front of my kids began to rustle with something in his backpack and pulled out what appeared to be a honeybun. He opened it and took a bite. That's when the man seated in front of him turned around with an angry look on his face, pointed to the sign above his head that read "No Smoking/No Eating/No Drinking" and told the hungry fellow that there was no eating permitted on the shuttle. In an Australian accent, the guy responded, "Just having a little bite of breakfast" in a jovial manner. Mr. Serious said, "I'm an off duty park ranger. If you don't put that away, I'm going to tell the shuttle driver (who was not even on the bus at the time)." Hungry Man backed down and put away his breakfast and that's when my kids all turned around to look at me and gauge my reaction. I was trying not to laugh aloud. For years, I've poked fun at what I term "fake police" at malls, universities, etc. These people always seem to take their jobs way more seriously than actual police officers!
The best part was when Off-Duty-Park-Ranger got off at the first stop. When he was out of hearing range, the Australian dude looked at his hiking partner and said, "Wasn't he a bag full of joy?" The kids have been enjoying using their newfound phrase.
Hey, she still blogs! ;)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful scenery! I've never been to Zion, but I've heard that it's pretty amazing. I suppose now I'll have to put it on my list (you know, of 'Places I'd Like to See'; the one I never check anything off of) (*sigh*)
I share your annoyance with 'Toy Cops'. We live near a major university (why yes, as a matter of fact, it IS my alma mater; thanks for asking), and I almost never drive on campus anymore, because the 20-year-old campus cops are so obnoxiously full of themselves. One of 'em pulled me over once because the red tape I'd used to cover a cracked tail-light was peeled up a little around the edges, and wasn't quite the right shade of red. . .
Sounds like a wonderful vacation, I sometimes wish we could check out some of those things. For now, I'll enjoy the pics!
ReplyDeleteand eh, I ain't got any quibble with any of the rent-a-cops so long as they're within the confines of their responsibilities. I'd like 'em to be more polite but I've seen some of the dopes who've given 'em grief for no more than doing their jobs .... and I'm on their side.
And besides, they don't make the policies. Go holler at the dweeb at the office if a policy bothers you, not at the poor guy who's job depends on him enforcing it! In case you care, Queenie would be on your side. So be it!
Craig - Campus 'police' are the worst offenders it seems. The ones at my alma mater were notorious for getting to the Amy Joy Donut Shop first and clearing the place out of all the goodies, leaving us poor college students with donut holes.
ReplyDeleteXavier - People who think they have power are usually more worrisome than those who actually do have power. That's all I'll say on the matter.
Great pictures! I think we will need to take a family trip out there in the near future.
ReplyDeleteCampus police are the worst, but then, they are dealing with a bunch of hormone charged teens.
He could at least have been friendly about it - it's okay to pointo ut to someone that they are breaking the rules (assuming there is a valid reason for the rule - maybe bear-related?) but there are nice and not-nice ways to do it.
ReplyDeleteRuss - Between 3 cameras, we have over 700 photos. Take the kids when they are teens so you can do the hikes. Or, leave them home and have fun with the wife!
ReplyDeleteAgent - Exactly! It wasn't like the guy was eating a pastrami sandwich and making a mess. It was a pre-packaged honeybun! You can take food into the park, so I think the no eating rule was just to keep the bus clean.
Sounds like a great trip, super adventures! I'm not even gonna go to the rental-cop.. blech
ReplyDeleteLOL -- bag full of joy. I love Aussies.
ReplyDeleteGreat photos! Can't wait to hear more.
And, I am looking forward to your WTF? photo!!!
Sailor - It was truly a trip of a lifetime for us.
ReplyDeleteRhonda - I was not able to get a photo, but I will share the story soon!
Nice photos. And I love the "bag full of joy" park rangers!! We visited Grand Canyon back in April, but would love to visit Zion one day.
ReplyDeleteEm - You'd love Zion. The hikes are much more doable than anything at the Grand Canyon.
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