Big Sur, CA

Hi everyone....well, we finally got our truck back from the shop last Tuesday night. We drove to meet up with Mike's Uncle Terry and Aunt Irene for dinner in Primm, CA and then kept driving till we reached Barstow. The next day (Braden's 15th birthday) we drove another seven hours to Big Sur, CA. We are staying at the Big Sur Campground and Cabins about 30 miles south of Monterey and Carmel. It is absolutely beautiful here! On Thursday, it rained in the morning so we drove up to Carmel and then did the 17 mile drive past Pebble Beach Golf Course and Spy Glass Hill Course ending up in Monterey at Fisherman's Wharf.

The past two days have been spend at Pfieffer Beach and Sand Dollar Beach enjoying the waves and the sand. Mike went for an amazing mountain bike ride yesterday....still training hard for his upcoming race. When he got back, he locked up his bike and we headed for the beach. During the night last night, someone stole his new bike. He is just in speaking to the local sheriff right now. We are praying that somehow we miraculously get the bike back. He had purchased it specifically for his race in three weeks and because it was a custom bike, it us unlikely that we would be able to get it replaced in time for the race.

Where we are is very remote...we have to drive several miles even to get cell phone service and iternet is very spotty at best....so....you'll have to wait for photos until we get somewhere more "civilized"!

Wish you all could see how amazing it is here...feels like heaven on earth.

Blessings....the Kehler Trailer

Vegas baby!

On Sunday night, May 9 we arrived in Las Vegas. We overnighted at Walmart (our favorite overnight spot!) and then moved to the KOA beside Circus Circus on Monday morning. We're having so much fun here...with one exception...our truck is having engine troubles so our stay here has been extended until a diesel tech has time to look at our truck and give us a diagnosis. Tonight we are going to Cirque du Soleil's KA at the MGM Grand. We are all excited to see this performance. We've spent some time and have over the course of several late afternoons/early evenings walked the entire strip...not necessarily by choice because of our lack of vehicle :-)
Braden got a kick out of this huge snake that slithered up and down out of the tree in the gift shop of the Rainforest Cafe.
Amy and I had a blast taking in all four floors of the M&M World store....the guys were there too, but weren't quite as enthusiastic as us!

At the Luxor hotel. So after being through most of the hotels, our favorites are Bellagio, Caesars, and The Venetian. The architecture inside these buildings is incredible...sometimes you truly feel like you are outside wandering around Europe.
Not the best photo but this shows Amy's half cast. The orthopedic specialist put on a partial cast and then used a tensor bandage to secure it on her arm so that we don't have to pay to have another hospital visit to get it removed.

Mountain Biking at Zion

Mike and Braden went mountain biking at Gooseberry Mesa near Zion. They had an amazing day biking along the ridge on slick-rock. In Mike's words it was "amazing and unique...like mountain biking on the moon with unlimited traction". Braden walked in the door of the trailer and the first words out of his mouth were "that was the most amazing biking I've ever done!!!"

While they were biking, Braden noticed a small hole in the side of one of the mesa rocks. He made Mike turn around so they could investigate and found a cave with this little "window" opening.

Great father/son time!

Zion National Park, Utah

On Mother's Day we went for an amazing hike to Angel's Landing in Zion National Park. Unfortunately we had a battery issue with our camera so we don't have any photos from that day. If you go to http://www.zionnational-park.com/images/album2/index10.htm you can see incredible photos of where we hiked. Amy and I didn't do the last bit of the hike because you had to use chains to climb up to the top. With Amy's hand being broken, she wouldn't have been able to use it to put all her weight on and lift herself up...so, we took a break at Scout's Lookout while the boys continued on all the way up to Angel's Landing. That suited me just fine as the rest of the trail was very steep and narrow with sheer cliffs on each side. We all agree that this is the most spectacular hike we've ever done.
Zion National Park was amazing! After being at the Grand Canyon which was cold and mostly inaccessible and then at Bryce Canyon which was even colder, Zion was a refreshing change. There are dozens of trails to hike and lots to see....and the views are incredible! This view is from the Canyon Overlook trail on the east side of the 1.1 mile tunnel built through the mountain in 1930. If you look close, you can see part of the switchback road that leads up to the tunnel. The photo below shows the mountain that the tunnel is built through.

The east entrance to the tunnel. If you are towing a trailer or driving a large vehicle, you require a pilot vehicle to lead you through the tunnel. The stop all oncoming traffic in both directions to let you pass through. Unfortunately, as mentioned in a prior blog entry, we were too long to pass through, so we just drove through from the west side once we were already camping in the park.

One of the pools along the Emerald Pools hike. There were a series of pools, each one getting progressively higher in elevation. The middle pool (pictured above) had a 30 to 40 foot waterfall down to the lower pool. An oasis in the desert.

The photo below is the view from close by our campsite. We had clear blue skies while we were there.

Bryce Canyon National Park

Bryce Canyon is in Southwestern Utah and is known for it's geological hoodoo formations. It is more like an amphitheater in shape than a canyon. The highest point we were at was at 9112 feet. There was still quite a bit of snow on some of the trails at the rim and the temperature was plus 5 celcius and windy. Needless to say, we opted for the three mile hike down into and through the canyon rather than walk along the rim for too long.

This is a view from the highest point. Absolutely amazing!
The Natural Bridge
Thor's Hammer

Antelope Canyon

On Wednesday morning, May 5 we took a tour with Antelope Canyon Tours to Antelope Canyon. The sandstone canyon is only a few feet wide with some openings that were about 8 feet across. The light shines in through openings to the top of the canyon giving amazing scenes such as this "sunset" photo which is really me holding the camera above my head and shooting up.

Our guide threw sand on a ledge within the canyon to make this sandfall.

This is one of the larger openings in the canyon....amazing!

If we have been impressed with one thing over the past many weeks it is how amazing God made our world. Just look at His majesty all around us....even the rocks will cry out. ""For you shall go out with joy, And be led out with peace; Themountains and the hills Shall break forth into singing before you, And all the trees of the field shall clap [their] hands." - Isa 55:12

Sandstone rock at Glen Canyon

Little critters at large! These guys were everywhere at the Grand Canyon and Glen Canyon.

One of the rock overhangs near the shore.

We kept being amazed at the layers of sandstone rock and the formations that they made all around this area.
Waves made by a passing boat along the shore...there was a steep drop off and the water was freezing, so we didn't go in for a dip!

Lake Powell/Glen Canyon...unexpected stop/blessing!

Because of Amy's broken hand/finger, we were informed by the doctor at the Grand Canyon that we needed to see an orthopedic specialist as her pinky finger had a 15 degree displacement. He was kind enough to book an appointment for us in Page which is on Lake Powell at the Glen Canyon dam. We likely would have driven right by, but instead had a few days to explore the Glen Canyon. This shot is of Amy sitting very near the edge of the Horseshoe Bend overlook. We hiked across sand for a mile to get to this view...but it was definitely worth it!
That little white triangle on the left is a boat and it's wake...just to give perspective on how far down it was!
Lake Powell...created when Glen Canyon Dam was finished in 1965. It took 17 years to fill the lake after construction was completed.
This is a view of the dam (second largest only to the Hoover Dam) and the bridge (4th highest in the US at just over 700 feet high). The dam was started 25 years after the Hoover Dam and is only 16 feet shorter but is 328 feet wider than the Hoover Dam. We went for a tour of the dam on Tuesday. It was very cool to go down the 54 story elevator ride to the bottom and to see the generators and turbines at work. The little blue things near the right hand bottom third of the photo are big river rafts that hold 25 people each. You can float down this section of the Colorado River for 4 hours and then take a one hour bus ride back....we didn't have time to take this in but it looked like fun!
Beautiful view of Lake Powell near dusk enroute to our campground.

Kaibab Trail - down into the Canyon

Later that day after being at Hermit's Rest and after the snow had cleared, we ventured down into the Canyon on Kaibab Trail. It is a 6.5 mile hike down to the river and you descend 4820 feet. The National Park Service doesn't recommend hiking down to the river and back again in one day because of the steep climb back up and you are not allowed to stay overnight unless you have a permit which requires booking nearly a year in advance. We hiked down approximately 900 feet to one of the look outs which was about 1.5 miles into the trail. The view from there was stunning.
From this viewpoint, you could look east and west along the canyon.
Part of one of the switch backs along the trail.

The trail was steep and narrow...they take mules with tourists down this same trail....would hate to have to pass them...and after doing some mountain horse back riding with Blue Bronna, would be terrified to be up higher off the trail on the back of a mule. It was very steep and already felt a little unnerving being on my own two feet!

More Stunning views

You can't tell from this photo, but about a half hour earlier, it was snowing so much you could hardly see...then it cleared off for this amazing view!

We took the shuttle bus to Hermit's Rest at the western end of the South Rim Trail. Here, on a pillar of a building built in the 30's was a plague giving glory to the One who created this canyon....just for our viewing pleasure!!

That's the Colorado River down below....one mile down below!

More Grand Canyon

This photo shows the almost 10 miles across from the South Rim of the Canyon (where we are) to the North Rim.
Braden climbing up from one of his "exploring over the edge" moments....it looks scarier than this really was as he was standing on quite a large ledge.
This was as close as i got to the very edge....and that was quite enough for this old gal!

I think Amy enjoyed playing with the squirrels almost as much as taking in the view...she does love critters!