An adventure in the Southwest

Stan's sister and brother-in-law, Linda and Ron Letnes, have an adventure each year with their Colorado daughter, Alyssa, her husband, Corey, and their children. It's always an exciting time, and this year was no exception, as the family explored Capital Reef, Bryce National Park, Zion National Park, the Grand Canyon and Monument Valley. It was a healthy trip too. No pop, chips or candy bars. Very impressive.
Linda writes:
Hi Stan,

Prior to our trip, Alyssa told us that none of the Huertas drink pop, eat chips, or buy candy bars. Throughout the trip we looked for healthy places to eat, so going to a Burger King wasn't supposed to be part of the plan. The only one we went into was in a Navaho Codetalker Museum (the owner's father was one of the codetalkers in WW2). Also there was an outdoor museum there sharing Navaho life, several hogans. 

It was well worth it.

Alyssa also told me that everyone is trying to step up their physical activity, so I brought them pedometers. (I recommend Omron, they are the best of the many pedometers I have worn over the years. You can just throw it in your pocket and it works fine. It also gives you a variety of information as well as a memory of the past seven days.)

We played "Beat Grandma," and most days most of them did. We went on as many hikes as we could, no one minded going around or taking the long way. We had a good competition running every day.

Our trip began by going around the rockslide in the Glenwood Springs area by way of Craig and Rifle, Col. All of us wanted to make a stop at Cisco, a deserted town we had glimpsed last year. There were more than Indian ruins on this trip!
Last year's weather had been perfect, but this year was a bit dicey at times. Stopped by a trooper an hour outside of Torrey, Utah, we turned back and entertained ourselves at Chill's which had arcade games, pool, and where the kids worked on my weak texting skills. By the time we left I was independently texting. The hotel manager told us we could make our move by catching the next snowplow and following close behind. To get out, we needed two snowplows and a trooper on a sometimes one-lane path, but get out we did.
In spite of weather delay, we made all our goals: Capital Reef, Bryce National Park, Zion National Park, the Grand Canyon and Monument Valley. The Huertas are avid learners, interested in all the surroundings. For a change of pace, next year we plan to fly into Washington DC. Everyone is excited about that!
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Click to enlarge the collage below for more detail of the trip sights.