Zion and the inescapable bottleneck of mass tourism

I tried to pick a title that was less direct but it would not have captured the essence of our experience. Fact is, there are times when disappointments occur, which is okay, but we need to explain those too. We knew there would be shuttle rides from the park's entrance to each of the 12 or so stops, within the park. What we weren't planning on, was elbow to elbow hiking with several hundred of our closest strangers and all of this occurred after being crammed into the shuttle buses like sardines. Hard to imagine getting stressed out just trying to enjoy the outdoors but that's exactly what happened. The scenery is stunning and we can certainly see why this place is so popular. But, in cases like this, with all of the people, we might be loving the park to death. I am not sure what answers there are to this issue, but imagine this park in another 20 years without some visitor caps in place. What would hiking be like then? The driver-less shuttles would play their overly cheerful prerecorded messages as people quietly disembark.
"Please remember to hold on to your yellow GPS tethering cord at all times. They are what connects you to the hikers in front of you and will also be your guide for your return ride on our shuttle bus. Please enjoy your time at Zion and remember to enjoy the hologram images of the park's history, provided by our corporate sponsors. Don't forget to check out our award-winning souvenir shops as you are guided through our wonderful park. Again, on behalf of the federal bureaus of infotainment, enjoy Zion!" 
I know that paints a grim view of the future but in many way that's what is occurring now, minus the GPS tethers.
   We have heard that several other parks are experiencing similar issues with congestion. After what we saw at Zion we have decided not to go to Yosemite because, simply, the thrill is gone when you experience dog-pile tourism. 

Walking the narrows.

Near the beginning of the park and before the shuttle rides.

Beautiful rock formation in the park and it is easy to see why people are fascinated with this park.

We are early birds to national parks and as such we do miss some of the crowd.

The calm of early morning.

The cliffs and ledges are amazing here.

A riparian area in the desert is a most beautiful place, indeed.

We hiked through water for several miles and we found these cascades early on.

On of the few areas that we weren't with a lot of other people.

This stream does experience flash flooding, at times, which continues the erosion to this day.

Beautiful backdrops.

The shuttle buses were clean, efficient and packed with visitors on each ride.

Our return to the shuttle bus and the endless streams of humanity.

The spaces between the lines

Our kids, like us, need downtime every now and then to recharge. Living in a travel trailer can have it's downsides, even under the best of circumstances. Privacy... fugetaboutit! Alone time... LOL! Our living room, dining room and kitchen are all connected, and a special magnifying acoustic door separates the bathroom from those rooms. We not only know what each of us eats, but how quickly each of us processes those meals. Space is at a premium and quiet time is cherished. Thankfully our family has been traveling together a lot over past few years, so hearing toots is nothing new.
   On a daily basis, my wife plans the details of our travels and I fix the things that break. We split housework between the four of us. I do the driving when the rig is hooked-up. Elise does the shopping when we are camped. Sometimes she is gone for several hours at a time buying paper towels or cereal.
   We usually don't question what each other does because things inevitably pop up. For example, when we came home from Zion National Park we were exhausted after many miles of hiking. Sierra's cat looked odd and the cat knew we were looking at her so she tried to run away. Elise pounced on the cat as we saw something that looked like a beige piece of yarn stuck on the cat's rear end. Upon much much closer examination we realized it was actually a tapeworm oozing it's way out of her posterior. Sierra grabbed some wet wipes and started to pull on the fettuccine looking worm for a while until she couldn't handle the stench anymore and shouted, "Daddy please take over I can't breathe!" So I assumed the position and yanked on the slithering beast while the cat was meowing 4 letter words at us. After pulling out a good couple feet of the foulest smelling worm I've ever had the pleasure of sniffing, my wife chimed in by yelling, "I can't hold her anymore, get it out!" All this commotion occurred while my wife was gagging uncontrollably. While I was tugging on our cat's large intestines our trailer was rocking, there was lots of sailor-like swearing and panicked meowing.  I am truly surprised our neighboring RVers didn't call child protective services on us. Alas, I pulled on that rubbery, moist, smelly, beige worm until it popped out or snapped. I am still not sure which one happened, for the cat scurried under the couch to gather her thoughts after being so violated. We quickly disposed of the worm and rushed out to get medicine for all of our animals. All of this became a family affair because we live in such tight quarters.
   Don't get me wrong, there are good things about this lifestyle as well. We are seeing incredible places, meeting wonderful people, and falling in love with our country all over again. How cool is that? When we left the U.S., in February of 2015, on our drive to South America we just wanted to live some of our bucket list. We weren't angry at our country. Rather, we were disappointed in ourselves and how neglectful we had become about not living our own dreams. We eventually realized that our energy went to where our thoughts were. We woke up with our mental to-do list and it stayed with us all day, and who knows, maybe they even lingered into our dreams. Our energy followed our thoughts until either one got drained. We realized that our quiet times, back then, were actually recovery times and not truly detached quiet times.
   What occurred during our trip in Latin America is we discovered a serenity, in us, that we longed for. Our energy focused on better thoughts. You know, the kind of happy thoughts, like what do you want to be when you grow up, kind of thoughts. Should we turn left at the intersection or go straight? Unless we had a certain place to be, the path was irrelevant. This was so wildly different to our fully planned and wholey maximized days before, when every path was relevant and impacted our to-do lists.
   Though private space is limited in the RV, we still need to ensure the kids have their own quiet times. As we eventually find a town to call home and become integrated, in the U.S. again, it's important to recognize the fragility of our happiness. We want to remind our daughters that happiness is like a garden and it needs regular tending. 
   The four of us were recently talking about our goal of incorporating what we've learned abroad to our new lives here. It will be daunting at first but it has to occur. Sometimes words can't fully describe the feeling of receiving a blown kiss from across the room or feeling the disappointment of your father's exhale. We need to remind ourselves that there is so much depth in what can't be spoken and untold stories in the spaces between the lines.     

While in Durango our girls made their first friends since returning to the U.S. Considering what our kids have gone through, this made us feel great to see them rebuilding what they lost in Nicaragua. These girls and their parents are setting the stage for long-term travels as well, and we wish them the best.

Paco is one lucky doggy.

We met our friends from Granada, who are actually from Canada, in Utah. 

While in Idaho we met up with other friends from Granada.

On visit from Granada, our good friends who we all miss.

Sierra playing mini-golf.

A community pool in Montrose, Colorado.

Pure pleasure, being shot out of a slide in Colorado.

The girls enjoying a hot tub.

Zoe getting ready to dig into a Jack fruit.

The kids were playing with a kitten which we did not adopt as we already have two cats.

A riverside bike trail in Montrose Colorado.

The biking trio. 

Sierra is practicing photography with this reflection image 

The beauty and surreal colors of Bryce Canyon

Truly breathtaking, is the only way to describe Bryce Canyon. The erosion and weathering over the eons has exposed a kaleidoscope of colors. This is one of mother nature's most magnificent art galleries. For the nature enthusiast, the park has tons of hiking trails which makes thinning out the herd of humanity easier to to do. Feeling a sense of calm and a connection with nature is an important part of experiencing the wild. Thankfully, once you exit the crowded bus stops you can go where you like and escape rather quickly. For us, we chose to do a mile and a half walk along the rim. Believe it or not, just by leaving the pavement, we went from hundreds of people down to just 8 people on the entire walk.
   The birds were going crazy in their early morning shuffle for the best worms, nuts and insects. Though they sang, chirped and pecked for attention, feeding their young chicks was their top priority. Hearing the clamoring of the chicks demanding ever more food from their parents was a reminder of just how dependent so many species are on this protected forest.
   My kids kept saying how Bryce Canyon was their favorite national park and I can see why. What is there not to like? They had nature, beauty and relatively quiet hiking trails to enjoy. For those interested in visiting this park, we were told that coming here just after a dusting of snow is really the best. If you choose to visit during peak summer times, like we did, get there early in the morning to beat the masses of humanity. Bring lots of drinking water as the higher altitudes between 8,000 to 9,000 feet can dry your gizzard out surprisingly fast. Finally, pets are not allowed off the paved areas, in the park, so plan accordingly for your pooches.   

The colors were captivating.

The red rock hoodoos going into the park.

Pretty cool highway tunnel.

These hoodoos are easily a hundred feet tall.

The beauty that was revealed through weathering and erosion in spectacular.

For the more adventurous there are hiking trails in this valley.

One of the rare family photos of our trip.

The early morning sunlight danced off the surfaces for great pictures.

Colorful hoodoos along the valley floor and valley walls.

Taking a picture of the photographer in training.

Beautiful array of colors and textures.

The whole family had fun on our hike.

Now that is a beautiful vista.

The view through the valley walls.

Walking along a ridge where steep drop offs were on both sides.

Amazing creations.

We were at Inspiration Point lookout. What else is there to do? 

One of my favorite views within the park.

A ranch just outside Grand Staircase-Escalante park.

Riparian area near Grand Staircase-Escalante park.

Canyonlands and Arches National Parks are easy parks to visit

Southeastern Utah is where the red rock wonderlands of the desert southwest begin, or end, depending on your perspective. Canyonlands and Arches National Park are on the eastern side of a chain of spectacular parks heading southwest towards Arizona. Some of the other parks in the area like Capital Reef and Grand Staircase-Escalante are not as well known as their sister parks of Bryce, Zion, Glen Canyon and the Grand Canyon. However, their areas incorporate millions of acres of protected spaces. As for Canyonlands we thought it was just as beautiful and it felt in many ways just as immense as the Grand Canyon without all of the crowds.
   Arches National Park was a arm chair tourists' dream. Most of the scenery is easily reachable by car and in fact, you barely have to leave the car for pictures. The majority of scenic turnouts had under 300 yard walking to get to the vantage points. We went on a longer 2 mile hike but afterward we said the scenery was not much different on the longer hike then the shorter ones. For us, it was more about getting out and walking off some excess energy then seeing something unique. As for Canyonlands and Arches N.P. they are truly easy parks to see from the air conditioned comfort of your car.
   Moab is the closest town to these parks and has every accommodation possible for the weary traveler. The prices in Moab are higher than elsewhere but that is to be expected in such a touristy area. We found the town of Moab to be in a delightful setting with the Colorado river making everything lush and green in the valley.

People standing under one of the arches in Canyonlands N.P.

The erosion and weathering in the park is amazing.

A couple of climber girls.

It is possible to take a 4x4 down to the canyon floor in this park.

The windy roads kept traffic speeds in check.

Incredible that plants can grow in such an inhospitable environment. 

Erosion is still spreading through the park.

Picturesque views were found throughout the park.

Arches N.P. had huge formations like this one. I took a picture with my truck to show the size.

Some of these spires were 60 feet tall.

The colors of the rocks were captivating.

An example of how easy it was to get good pictures in this park.

Thousands of stunning arches are found all throughout the park.

Nature uses the world as her canvas.

Our two mile death march.

This is the reason for our two mile trek.

Taking a break in the shade.

Like books stacked in a shelf.

People are sort of visible in the lower right side but they are small in comparison to the arch.