Rev. 2/05/99

A Short Trip in January to Idaho

Last summer Carol suggested to our son, who lives in Idaho, that we sneak up and "cater" a surprise party for Kathy, his wife, on her 40th birthday. Her birthday is Jan. 25th. The details of the party were planned out via e-mail between Carol and John using his e-mail ID at work to keep it a secret. Carol's e-mail network of friends all over the US contributed ideas for games and menu items. So I guess you could call it an Internet party.

This would be a great excuse for a quick break after the holidays. So we managed to book a flight into Las Vegas about a week before the big date.

Arriving in Las Vegas about 8:30am, it took a couple of hours to get the Roadtrek started, stock up on a few supplies and gas up. We were on the road about 11:00 am -- heading north into snow country. Snow flurries started south of Ely, NV where we called it quits for the night. The next morning we had to thaw out the RT -- now I remember why we live in Hawaii.

We hit fresh snow on the road north of Ely. This area is where we usually see antelope and deer. This time all we saw was a lone coyote along side the road.

Up in Idaho it was snowing and cold. We "hid out" in a local motel while we purchased the food, party items, etc. Saturday, the day of the party, one of Kathy's friends kept her busy with a movie, late lunch and manage to drag things on until 6:00 pm. During that time we rushed over to their home and everyone pitched in; cooked food, decorated the house and helped greet the guests at 5:30 (most of whom we didn't know) -- 6:00 Kathy arrived to a dark house. The surprise was perfect (and she didn't even know we were in town). Even the grandkids, who were in on the secret never let it out of the bag.

The trip has given us a chance to enjoy our grandkids who are really growing up. Carol spent a lot of time with Kristin just doing "girl talk" and I helped Kody build a Pine Wood Derby car for Cub Scouts. And it gave Carol a chance to romp in the snow with John's new puppy, LT and play with all their kittens.

We left Idaho Sunday morning heading south toward Salt Lake City. There was a storm coming up from the southwest also headed for Salt Lake and we were trying to get through and far enough south to miss it. We kept driving all day. Just outside of Panguitch we paused to watch the Blue Moon rise over the mountains. Finally about 7:30 we got to Ruby's Inn at Bryce NP.

That evening, in the comfort of our room, we watched the news on TV telling of the storm dumping snow on Salt Lake City. It had been a long drive, over 500 miles but worth it to miss the storm.

About thirty years ago we stayed at Ruby's Inn with our three boys. In the evening when we were in the mountains we would try to find a dirt road that led into the back country and take a drive looking for wild animals. On that trip after dinner we drove up the East Fork of the Sevier River. About five miles up we spotted a small animal with three or four young waddling up the hill side. I thought it was a porcupine. Stopping the car I grabbed a towel, told the family I was going to catch up with it and swat it with the towel to bring back a bunch of quills for them. Then I took off at a fast run to catch them. Next thing the family knew was here I came running back again. Turned out that my porcupines were a family of skunks which I recognized just in time. The kids never did let me forget about my "porcupine".

The next morning the weather was cold, about 5 degrees with a chilling wind. It is always a bit chilly at Bryce where the elevation is between 8000 and 9000 feet. But the sky was pretty clear. Carol and I stopped at just about every view point along the ridge road, just drinking in the vistas. We never tire of seeing Bryce; but it is very different in the winter with snow on the ground. The snow is like frosting on the spires and minarets that make Bryce so spectacular.

A real surprise -- another Roadtrek pulled into one of the parking area where we were. We don't see too many of them on the road. They were a couple from Kansas touring the parks in the west. And they were also headed for Las Vegas. We ran into them down in Zion NP and again saw them in Las Vegas.

We left Bryce and headed down the road to Zion NP. The entry road from the east has two tunnels through solid rock as it winds down to the canyon floor. The first tunnel is short but the second is so long that it has "portholes" cut in the wall periodically to keep people from getting claustraphobia.

The weather was much warmer at Zion with an elevation of about 6000 feet and sheltered in a deep canyon.

A drive up to the Lodge is a must. On the other side of the road from the Lodge are the "Emerald Pools" where our kids chased trout about thirty years ago. Along the way you see many of the huge monoliths Zion is famous for.

After Zion we headed back to Las Vegas and arrived a bit after five. It has been a great two weeks. Now it is just the job of getting some repair work done, cleaning up and storing the Roadtrek for the next trip -- then catch the flight back home to Hawaii.