It's Done!

I finished my photo album from London! This has been quite the project as it is a photo album, journal, and scrapbook all rolled into one with over 600 pictures, but I am pleased with the results. The opportunity to study in London for a semester is certainly something I want to remember for the rest of my life. Line up now for the viewing!

VCCC at Dorst Creek

We unpacked and repacked Friday, then headed up to Sequoia National Park to camp for the weekend with others from our church. On the way up we saw a bear! They were active during the time we were there; one of the other ladies in our group saw a bear too and one tried to get food from one of the campsites near us. We stayed at a group site at Dorst Creek. There was a community breakfast Saturday morning, then a group of us went to the creek to take pictures and play. It was pretty with ferns and flowers and the kids had fun playing in the water. I couldn't resist taking a bunch of pictures of Natalie. We headed back to our site and had lunch then nap time. Our family took a drive to Grant Grove to see the General Grant tree. We found this guy as we were getting in the van. Both the boys fell asleep on the drive, so Dad stayed in the car with them and the girls went to see the tree. Along the trail there were a number of Dogwoods, including the biggest one I have ever seen, it was large. Natalie got to have a picture with the General Grant tree, the third largest tree in the world with the widest diameter at the base. When we got back to camp, we had chili for dinner, which Natalie enjoyed. There was a big campfire and the boys got to roast marshmallows. On Sunday, we had a short service after breakfast, then broke camp and drove home for lunch.

Capitol Reef to Vegas to Home

We woke up Wednesday morning and packed up the trailer for the last time. Then we took a short walk by the river and saw a baby fawn. We drove out of Capitol Reef and arrived in Las Vegas about 6pm, Pacific time. We checked into our hotel, the Stratosphere, and settled into our rooms. For dinner, we walked a few blocks down to get pizza. The best part about that was the sunset as we were finishing up. We walked back to our hotel and relaxed before going to bed. In the morning, we walked to Denny's for breakfast then checked out and hit the road again. We had a smooth drive back to Visalia, arriving about 5:30pm at Isaac and Heather's house. We unloaded and had Chinese food for dinner, then Dad, Mom, and I made one more drive out to our house and it was good to be home.

Capitol Reef National Park

We left Arches before it got too hot this morning and drove to Capitol Reef. It was a shorter drive again and we were able to make it to our campsite and set up the trailer before having lunch. After eating, Dad, Isaac, and I took the scenic drive through Capitol Reef and it was beautiful. We took lots of pictures and enjoyed the drive. We got out at the end and walked around a little, but didn't hike at all. Then we drove back to our campsite and met up with the rest of the group as they were heading to the river. The boys loved getting to play in the river and it was a great way to cool off and have fun. Then we went to see petroglyphs. There weren't as many as I remember, some of the rocks had fallen off. We got back to our site and had dinner then went on a short hike to Sunset Point. We were a little late for the sunset, but still enjoyed an amazing view and a good walk. Dad and I also walked over to the edge of a deep canyon.

Arches National Park

We had a shorter drive today and made it to Arches National Park, UT in time to set up our trailer and have lunch. Arches is in the middle of the desert and it was hot, over 100. Poor Natalie had a fever too and the pool was closed. We drove through the park, enjoying the A/C in the van and jumping out to take pictures. Isaac and I walked around Balanced Rock, but that was the extent of the hiking because we were baking out in the sun. Isaac had to jump in this picture because it is hard to tell from the pictures just how big balanced rock is. I like Arches and it was fun to drive around. It is such an interesting and unusual landscape; desolate, but beautiful. I thought of Michelle and Jonah when I took this picture, my rock stacking buddies! Heather and Mom in front of delicate arch. After our drive through the park, we went into the town of Moab and got Mexican food for dinner. It was pretty good. Then we returned to our campsite to sit in the shade and drink water, trying to stay cool. Thankfully, it did cool off, but it wasn't comfortable for sleeping until about 3am.