Wednesday, September 1, 2021

Tales of the Traveling Tote #28 and A Giveaway

Welcome to our September edition of 
Tales of the Traveling Tote, where 
ten adventurous ladies love to explore and 
share their adventures with you as they 
bring along their MacKenzie-Childs 
totes.


Guess where Miss Madi K is?  No, it is not on 
an airplane!  She is taking her first ever 
helicopter ride!!!  A couple of summers ago 
she got to pose by a helicopter before I took 
a ride, but she wasn't allowed onboard.  
This time she got to come along!

Miss Madi K has had quite the summer.  We spend 
most of our time during the summer back and forth 
from Lake Powell, and although that is spectacular, 
I have lived here in Utah since I graduated and came 
out to BYU for college, and have not seen all of the 
Five National Parks that we have in Utah.  My husband 
has gone to all of the parks as a Scout Leader, so this 
year I told him I wanted to hit some more of the parks.

Last year we had the good fortune of biking through 
Zion's Canyon.  Since the number of tourists were 
extremely limited last year in the National Parks, 
it felt like we had it all to ourselves.  This year we went to 
Bryce Canyon, which is just under 10 miles from where 
my mother grew up in Tropic Utah.  


We decided to start our adventure with a helicopter ride 
over Bryce Canyon.  It was absolutely breathtaking.  
We had participated in a family reunion many years ago 
down in Tropic, but somehow we didn't make it to Bryce!  
It is a park that is so unbelievably gorgeous.  Of course, 
pictures do not capture the majesty of Bryce Canyon.  


The helicopter pilot gave us a great tour and 
overview of the park.


Afterwards the pilot told us to go check out the 
last remaining airplane hangar from the WPA 
during the Great Depression.  The second to last 
one was in Boise, Idaho and it burned down last year. 
It is a beautiful old building with several airplanes 
parked in it.  Miss Madi K looks so good up 
against the old logs.

Next we headed in to Tropic to see my grandparents' 
graves and drive through Tropic.  
It still isn't much of a town, but 
has quite a few restaurants that 
support visitors to Bryce Canyon.


On the way back to Bryce we stopped for a 
short hike to Mossy Cave.  The hoodoos or rock 
towers in this part of Utah are spectacular.  
Hoodoos are also called Fairy Chimneys. 
 

Mossy Cave is a place my mom would have 
hiked to growing up.  She was born and raised 
in this area and moved to northern Utah during 
WWII for employment.  She married my father 
during WWII and then they moved to Wisconsin 
after the war ended.  My mom also worked at 
the Lodge in Bryce Canyon during summers.  
This whole area was her stomping grounds.


This waterfall on the hike to Mossy Cave was 
the exact same color as the rocks.  The channel 
the water comes down was created by the 
early Pioneers to bring irrigation water 
down to Tropic.


Next we returned to Bryce Canyon to drive and hike.
Part of Bryce Canyon is known as Fairyland, and 
that truly describes it.  


You can't quite capture the depth and scope 
and colors, but of all of the National Parks 
in Utah, this is just magical. 


Every lookout had something fabulous 
to see.  Because park attendance was 
moderate we were able to drive 
everywhere rather than take the bus. 



The arches are breathtaking but
in many areas the drop offs are a little scary.



We hiked down into Wall Street.  There is nothing 
like being down amongst the hoodoos and 
towering walls. 

Then the next weekend our oldest grandson had 
a pre-season game down in Southern Utah at Moab.
Moab is a little over 3 hours south of us 
and we have been down here for Glamping 
and side by side rides before, but I had 
never been to two more National Parks 
just outside of Moab. 
  
We decided we would go down for his game and 
on the way down and back we would hit two more 
of the Mighty 5 in Utah.


Our stop on the way down to the football game 
was at Arches National Park. It was just four miles 
outside of Moab.  This is the original 
log home that a family settled in.  It is 
beautifully preserved, although weathered.


We didn't have much time before the 
game started, so we raced up to 
the main arch in Arches, which is Delicate Arch.
Delicate Arch is featured on some of Utah's 
license plates.  You can see someone standing 
next to it to give you an idea of the scope 
and size of this arch.  It was pretty much uphill 
the whole way, but since it was just before 
sunset  it wasn't a bad hike.  We raced down 
the hill to make it to the game. 


This was the view leaving the park.  The variety of 
red sandstone is so spectacular in all of 
this surrounding area.


We raced over to the ball field and although we were two 
minutes late, they had already scored and scored again 
as we walked up. His team beat Moab 
51-6. 
 He is just a Freshman, but he was 
able to get in on the second half of the game and 
catch three passes.  It was well worth the trip. 


The next morning we got up early because we wanted 
to see Canyonlands National Park, which is also 
right outside of Moab.  We had to race back home for 
another grandson's football game, but we were able 
to catch Mesa Arch in Canyonlands with the 
morning sun shining through the arch, and see a 
lot of the beautiful park. 

We left all three parks wanting more, and we plan on 
returning with our bikes and to do more hikes. 
Now, after living in Utah since I came to 
college, I can say I have visited all of the 
Might 5!  I did tell my husband that I 
needed to return to Capitol Reef National 
Park because we visited that too many 
years ago and I am pretty sure we 
didn't spend much time there.  

So Madi K has now visited 4 of the 
National Parks in Utah.  Lucky traveler! 

Now for our giveaway.  Visit Cherry Kay to enter 
our giveaway for these darling Halloween towels.


All of our travelers would love 
a visit from you, so click on the links below to 
see where they have been off to.

Debbie with Miss Aurora @ Mountain Breaths 

Emily with Miss Courtney ChildsThe French Hutch
Jenna with Miss Coquille @The Painted Apron
Linda P with Miss Lola @ Life and Linda
Patti with Miss Kenzie @ Pandora's Box  
Rita with Miss Luna C Panoply 
Sarah with Miss Merri Mac @ Hyacinths for the Soul
Ricki Jill and Countess De Monet @ The Sketchy Reader
Cherry Kay and Carrie Ann Hall @ Entertaining Women 

And stay tuned for our next adventures on Dec. 1st.  
Christmas adventures are always so fun.




Jacqueline
Jacqueline

Chocolat - French for Chocolate. I adored chocolate from a young age when I had to sneak in the cupboard to find where my mother had hidden the Nestle's Chocolate Chips. Having read about the famous chocolat shoppes in Paris, when I finally got there I was determined to try a chocolate from every Paris shoppe. I invite you to share my adventures in creating, in travel, and in life.

10 comments:

  1. I couldn't love this any more, Jackie! We love Utah's national parks! The first time we went there, we visited Arches and Bryce (the latter is our favorite). The next time we visited all of them, and Bryce is still our favorite. We also visited a couple of state parks while there a couple years ago. You live in a gorgeous state. I hope Salt Lake recovers from the drought this year. And how fabulous that you were able to dart in and out of grandchildren's school events! Happy September!

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  2. What gorgeous scenery and the hoodoos and fairy chimneys are spectacular! I know it must make you feel close to your mom, hiking and exploring the places she grew up in. I can only imagine how busy you must be attending your grands games and events, and I know you are so proud of them. Thank you for taking us on such a fabulous tour of your beautiful Utah!
    Jenna

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  3. Wow it makes me want to visit all of those places! Such beauty! Love all of your adventures!

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  4. Jackie, you certainly have had a wonderful summer exploring national parks and especially seeing sights your mom grew up with. The scenery in Utah is spectacular and makes a wonderful backdrop for your photos. It is wonderful you've spent a lot of time this year with your children and grands, I always enjoy hearing and seeing your adventures. Wishing you more fun this holiday weekend, happy September Jackie.

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  5. Wow - I think I need to add Utah to my bucket list. My daughter has been and her photos are gorgeous. I am intrigued by the arches and wonder how they were formed and if the weather elements ever decay them? You two are very adventurous and I always look forward to your posts! That is one handsome grandson!! Enjoy the fall season!

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  6. Thanks, y'all, for the tours of the state parks! I had no idea that Delicate Arch was so huge! You and Deb are inspiring me to visit and revisit some of Alabama the Beautiful State Parks. :D BUT we have had such a crazy, wet summer. I can't remember a summer this wet before! Hopefully we'll have a pretty, sunny autumn so we can enjoy the great outdoors. Thanks for sharing your beautiful photographs with us! Utah is a beautiful state with a variety of landscapes. :D Cute photo on the sidelines, too! Happy September!

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  7. Such gorgeous scenery. Love seeing the hoodoos and the fairy chimneys. What a grand arch, so large. Mother Nature has some awesome scenery to take in and explore. I visited Bryce when I was younger. You are certainly busy. How fun to be able to see the grands play. Wishing you a fabulous Labor Day weekend. Happy September Jackie.

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  8. Jackie, the photos are fabulous! You definitely captured the magnificent beauty that abounds in these parks. Seeing these brought back wonderful memories of our trip in 1985. Truly amazing!
    You live a busy, full life! How fun to see the grandsons on the field and scoring. Have a fun Labor Day weekend.

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  9. So wonderful that Madi K has now visited 4 of the National Parks in Utah. Miss Aurora has these parks on her bucket list. I've lived in New York for almost all of my life, and I still haven't seen everything. Love seeing your grandson on the field with you. Happy September!

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